"C'mon, you gotta eat something," Kaede implores across the room. Morita's eyes glaze over as she continues to drink her black coffee, completely ignoring the pixie. Kaede's attention flicks over toward her sister, as though Morita isn't the only one she's talking to.

But her twin just stares at her piece of plain toast.

Takara's knee bounces restlessly under the table. She mechanically shovels yogurt into her mouth without really tasting it.

"Deep breaths," Araya advises, leaning back in his seat. He gives his friends a solid nod as he stuffs a full hard-boiled egg in his mouth. "We'll do what we can."

Aiya squeezes her eyes shut. When she speaks, her voice comes out as a squeak. "We're gonna be on TV."

"The public is finally going to see what we've worked so hard for," Takara tells her, placing a hand on her shoulder. This is, of course, what she's been telling herself when her hands start to sweat.

She thinks back to the Sports Festival seven years ago when she first saw Suneater in action. He's been her favorite hero ever since she saw him dominate the competition. Even though he didn't win that year, nor any of the years following, she knows his heart was in it. And it still brought plenty of praise to his name.

The girl steels her nerves. If she can make an impression, she'll be good to go. The idea floats around her head if any little kids will be watching and hold her in high regard for the next seven years until their first U.A. Sports Festival.

"We should get going," Ohara announces to the whole room. She stands on a chair to get everyone's attention. "If we get to the locker rooms by 9:00 am, we will have time to mentally prepare."

The sound of shuffling chairs fills the air as the students prepare to head out. Takara and Araya push back from the table and rise to take their dishes to the kitchen. When Aiya doesn't follow, the boy leans down to speak in hushed tones. She leans away, sending him a wary look out of the side of her eye.

Takara tries to get nearer, but she can't hear what was said among all the other anxious voices in the room. She watches as Aiya resignedly takes a bite of her toast before passing it to Araya. He gives her a nod and follows the flow of people into the kitchen.

Takara breathes a sigh of relief.

•°•☆•°•

With the upperclassmen still to come later today, the first year students head to the arena. Colosseum is more like it, Takara can't help but think as she cranes her neck to see the top of the towering walls.

Sensei McCaffery and Class 1-B's Rosebud stand by the student entrance, taking attendance and making sure no unwarranted visitors enter.

"My classes have always been frontrunners for the Sports Festival," Rosebud gloats, letting her voice carry to where the students can hear. "And I expect this year will be no different. Especially since you're so new at all of this. Don't be too discouraged when you lose, sweetpea."

The 1-A teacher sighs. "Might I remind you, they're the ones competing, not us."

"Oh, but dear," Rosebud shakes her head consolingly, "their performance will be a direct result of your teaching. And when they lose, you'll see where you need to improve as an educator. You can't expect to be perfect your first time around.

McCaffery merely nods and checks his students off on his clipboard.

Rosebud crosses her mantis-like arms and stage whispers to one of her students. "He can't even talk up his own class. You guys are sure to win."

"Or maybe," Sensei McCaffery interjects, "I believe their actions will speak for themselves."

Takara and her fellow students pause to watch the conversation unfold.

"You know everyone's eyes will be on our two classes." The teacher aggressively checks a box on her attendance list. "The rivalry between Classes A and B is tradition at this school."

"Tradition is just peer pressure from the dead."

"No, it's something everyone looks forward to!"

McCaffery takes a deep breath and continues writing calmly on his clipboard. "Grand. Feel free to pile that pressure onto your own students. If this is why you're averse to joint training, then you're doing your students a disservice. Let them have some fun today, would ya?"

"This is not about having fun!" The Class 1-B teacher has given up all pretense of checking attendance. "Everything we do here is about giving the future heroes the best education possible!"

Sensei McCaffery languidly looks up from his paper. His aqua eyes cut into Rosebud's flustered demeanor. "All the more reason to let 'em have a bit of fun, no?" She opens her mouth to rebuke his point, but he has already turned to his students. "You can't succeed if you're too stressed to focus. Let yourselves have some fun, and pick 'n choose your moments for one hundred percent. Run yourselves too hard and you'll dig yourselves into the sand."

He sends his gaze over all the assembled students, not just his own, then cuts another glance at Rosebud. "Don't just stand here. You've got a festival in thirty minutes."

Ohara whistles to get her classmates' attention and leads them through the tunnel to their locker rooms.

"Hey, wait up!" A voice calls from behind them. A group of students form Class 1-B push through to catch up with the front of the class. A tall boy with spiky brown hair begins walking backwards to make eye contact with the class. His voice is muffled by the high-tech gas mask that covers the bottom of his face. "I just wanted you guys to know that not all of us are super down with Rosebud's competitiveness. If you're ever up to training together, just let us know."

Ohara nods her head with a considering look. "That would be a good opportunity for all of us. We'll keep that in mind."

Though they can't see the bottom half of the boy's face, his eyes indicate a smile. "Great!"

"Don't get too excited," another student from 1-B chimes in, pushing forward. The cold lighting of the corridor illuminates their ashen complexion. "We've got other work to do. Maybe if we can find openings in both our schedules."

"Yeah, 'course," Ohara affirms. "School comes first."

The new students gives a bemused smile, brown eyes flashing, and continues down the hallway with their disproportionately long legs. From their collar and sleeves, Takara notices dark feathers poking out and blending with the inky black of their messy hair.

"I shouldn't be telling you this," a voice whispers in Takara's ear. The girl jumps, almost positive that Araya had been there a moment before. Now, a set of distant dark blue eyes stares intently at her. Takara recognizes her as Recovery Girl's granddaughter, Chika.

She leans in, curious, and the girl speaks conspiratorially. "Be careful of their quirk," she warns, nodding at the student far ahead of them.

"What do you mean?" Takara asks. Some of her classmates start to gather around the two.

A stout dark-skinned girl with wire rim glasses and bouncing curls grabs Chika's arm and pulls her out of Takara's personal space. "Just that they can't always control it," the new girl says with a shrug, pulling her friend along.

Chika looks back over her shoulder. "I've seen too many people already in the infirmary because of her."

The words send a chill skittering down Takara's back. The students of Class 1-A exchange apprehensive glances, trying to interpret the ominous warning as Class 1-B pulls ahead.

"They're probably trying to psych us out," Hirose remarks with a roll of his eyes. He pushes open the door to the 1-A locker room. "This is a competition. Of course they're going to try to mess with your heads."

Ohara follows the boy into the room. "That seems unsportsman-like."

And totally unlike Chika, Takara can't help but think. The thought eases her worries, trusting what she knows about the girl. Even so, she files it in the back of her mind to keep space between herself and the feathered student.

•°•☆•°•

The deafening roar of the crowd sends a thrill through Takara. As she walks through the tunnel to the arena, time seems to slow down. This is the moment she has been waiting for. This is the moment she will show the public who she is.

She tries to memorize every detail as her eyes adjust to the light. The way the stands are a blur of motion and unknown faces. The towering walls curved over to provide shade. The giant screens displaying the anticipation of the students. The sun sends their shadows onto the soft grass under their feet. The girl vows to draw the scene later, to capture every detail.

The Stage, she'd call it.

Atop a raised platform at the center of the arena are the referees: Chemex and Kumarēza. The science and math teachers, respectively, for the first years. With Chemex's hyper-aware senses and Kumarēza's telekinesis, they're the obvious choices for the sideline referees. She can observe the tiny details that decide a match, and he can intervene if things get too heated.

Chemex's eyes rove about the assembled students and crowd. Her smile grows ever wider as she lifts the microphone to her lips. "What a fantastically talented group of students!" She cheers from her podium. "This group of first years will knock your socks off! Here to deliver the commencement speech is the student who scored the highest in the heroics entrance exams, Kisho Sugita!"

Takara had never realized who was in the top of her grade but now figures she should have put two and two together. He has an incredibly powerful quirk that would have been amazing at taking down the robot villains from a distance. Not to mention, he has his school work so organized. She can imagine him getting top marks on all his exams.

The boy straightens his uniform and begins climbing the stairs to the podium. He keeps his face in a pleasant smile, a smile that surely had adults commenting all his life on how mature he seems. This smile sees right through them, makes them feel as though their best qualities are seen. It's a practiced expression, one to set someone's mind at ease. The face of a hero.

"This is the day we show the world what we can do," Sugita begins, his soft voice amplified by the loudspeakers. "Though this is a competition, I advise we all remember to find the joy in today."

Takara smiles at his recollection of their teacher's words.

"We'll do our best so that we may have pride in ourselves. I look forward to competing with all of you. This is only the beginning of our journey, and I'm excited to see where it leads us." With one last smile over the assembled first years, Sugita hands the microphone back over to Chemex and begins descending the stairs to raucous applause.

Though other students may grumble their jealousy of the hero student up on the podium, they can't help feeling his strong sense of leadership. Araya claps him on the back and sends him a nod. Morita makes obscenely loud cheers that cause nearby students to give her strange looks.

"Well said," Kumarēza praises. His single blue eye glimmers. "Now let us turn our attention to the screens where we will see our first event."

Aiya fiddles with the sleeves of her jacket as the screens begin to tick through pictures of various events through the years. Takara loops her arm through her friend's and gives her a squeeze, which the girl reciprocates.

The wheel of events slows down, landing on...

"The Obstacle Course!" Chemex cheers. The announcement is met with wild applause.

Takara can feel Aiya relax a little bit. Having a quirk that allows her to fly must give her a major advantage for any obstacle that gets in her way.

"You must follow the path around the arena," Kumarēza explains. "Starting at the South Tunnel and ending at the North. And beware: the obstacles are not for the faint of heart."

Chemex hops cheerfully on the stage and snags the microphone from her co-worker's hands. "Contestants, line up at the start!"

The students walk toward the large metal gate on the south side of the stadium. They mill about and exchange bets or wishes of luck. Morita snags Takara's hand and gives it a squeeze. Their eyes meet with a smile.

Takara catches Kaede glancing over at her sister. The pixie's jaw is set. When she notices Takara looking at her, she gives a confident nod that says only one thing: she's playing to win.

Takara reciprocates the gesture. She won't go easy on anything standing in the way between her and that first place podium.

"What an awesome event to start on," Chemex commentates as the students prepare themselves. "With multiple unique sections and obstacles, it will give many of the students a chance to shine!"

"It will certainly be a toss-up," Kumarēza adds. "I'm looking forward to seeing how they do. So let's get it started!"

"On your marks!" Chemex exclaims as the metal door begins to creep open. "Get set!"

The students sink into a running stance. Shoes pound the ground, anxious to find their footing. A hand twitches here and there. Takara swipes a flyaway hair back into her ponytail. The roar of the crowd falls to a quiet murmur.

For just a moment, all is still.

"Go!"

A horn blares over the arena, and the students thunder off into the tunnel.

Featured Character: Takara Juba
Quirk: Nephrite Jade
Likes: Painting