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[Second Stage]
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...
Upon finishing the first stage of the tournament, Present Mic announced that the second stage would follow right after a short break.
As he did, the winner of the last match of the previous round arrived back at the class's section in the stands, fresh from his... "victory."
He, however, didn't look very pleased.
"To have been played like that… how shameful!" Iida muttered as he made his way to his seat, biting his lower lip in pure regret.
"It's okay, Iida, at least you won, didn't you?" Uraraka patted his back, looking at him pitifully.
Once he sat, Iida leaned forward, covering his face with both palms. "I made a fool out of myself, that's what I did."
His classmates could only watch him wail with wry looks.
The truth was… yes, he had made a fool of himself. So no one had the heart to lie to him.
Instead, they opted for a change of topic.
"By the way, Takahashi actually never came back." Sero said, glancing around and, as expected, finding no one in their class rep's seat.
Kirishima looked annoyed. "Did our words of appreciation really make him cringe that much?"
"Keh, he has the nerve to call us corny… has he heard himself?" Mina said, clearly still sore about her loss.
"To be fair, he does back up his corniness by actually doing cool stuff, and being a pretty solid class rep…" Sato muttered, to the irritation of a few.
Yaoyorozu, who hadn't been there when it all went down, looked at them confusedly. "What happened?"
Hagakure's fist waved furiously in the air. "We expressed our sincere appreciation for him, and he called us corny and said he would be watching from somewhere else. Can you believe him?!"
"To be fair, it made me cringe a little too," Jiro muttered in a low voice—still heard by everyone else.
Everyone looked at her with betrayal.
While she received the resulting glares, Midoriya—now wrapped in bandages in the upper row of seats—looked at the platform with a nervous expression.
"Still, Takahashi-san has been gone for a while now… the second stage and his fight are right about to start. He won't miss it just because he wasn't here to see it called, will he?"
"He's been watching all the fights so far."
This time, a voice no one had expected rang out.
Bakugo, also covered in bandages like Midoriya, but a little less so, had actually offered a full sentence.
They all turned—equally baffled by him sharing a thought instead of just insulting them, and equally confused by what that thought was.
Bakugo looked a bit annoyed by the attention, but pointed up regardless.
"I saw him during our match. That bastard is looking down on everyone as usual."
Every eye followed the direction he'd pointed, and after a few seconds of searching—they all found him.
Sitting at the border of the stadium's roof, leaning an elbow on a curled-up leg while the other dangled off the edge, his hair lifting in the wind… was Taka.
This time, there was actually wind up there, so it was at least a bit more believable than the other times.
"Damn, even sitting alone he looks cool," Kaminari sighed, sounding genuinely annoyed by it.
"So that's where he went," Sato said, looking up at the class rep's figure perched high above.
"Why up there, though? Isn't it a bit hard to see the fights from that distance?" Hagakure asked curiously.
"I think our class representative just likes to look cool," Tsuyu answered, tilting her head as she watched him.
"And you're all only noticing now?!" Bakugo asked, looking at them with disbelief.
"Yeah, what he said," Jiro sent them a baffled look.
It had taken them way too long.
"That cannot simply be it!" Iida protested, standing up with an upset look. "We must be missing something he's trying to teach us—I know it!"
Everyone shot him pitying looks.
"He sure has brainwashed you already, Iida," Jiro said, looking at him wryly.
Before he could say anything more, however—
—Bam!—
A firework burst in the sky, cutting through the chatter, and Present Mic's voice followed right after.
{"The wait is over, everyone! Time for the second stage of this tournament!"}
In step with his announcement, the screen shifted to show the two upcoming fighters.
Taka and Todoroki.
{"And of course, the first fight of this stage is already in order. So let's not waste any more time—let's get right into the fun stuff, shall we?!"}
Following his words, a figure stepped out from the shadows of one of the two gates and into the field.
Todoroki.
{"One, you already know him. An ice-cold attitude, accompanied by overwhelming firepower—or rather, ice power—Shoto Todoroki!"}
The screen above settled on him for a moment, showing him walking toward the arena with a serious, unyielding expression.
Then the camera pulled back out, sweeping across the whole field before slowly panning to the opposite gate—accompanied, of course, by Present Mic's narration.
{"The other—the talk of everyone lately, and the first one to answer when I ask a question in class… His ambition knows no limits, and neither do his victories—Takahashi Fukumoto!"}
Following the announcement, Taka stepped into the field—or not.
The camera settled on the gate, waiting for his figure to step into the light the way Todoroki had.
But no movement came.
A silence stretched as everyone watched the screen with anticipation, expecting him to appear at any moment, or for something to happen at least.
But no matter how long they waited, nothing did. The gate remained as empty as it had been.
Present Mic quickly filled the air, though clearly unable to hide his confusion.
{"It seems, ladies and gentlemen… that our participant Takahashi isn't here? Perhaps he ran into a small setback on his way to the field."}
By then, Todoroki had already reached the arena. He stared at the spot where Taka was supposed to emerge from, frowning at his long-awaited opponent's absence.
Had Takahashi actually run away? After all that talk?
'No.'
He dismissed the thought almost immediately.
There wasn't any reason for that guy not to show up—especially not after talking as big as he had. He didn't strike him as someone who spoke empty words.
But if so, where was—?
"Hmm?"
His eyes widened, along with everyone else's, as a bright crimson light suddenly lit up at the very top of the stadium.
{"That's…!"}
Even Present Mic sounded baffled.
"Oh god," Jiro facepalmed from her seat.
"What were you saying, Iida?" Kaminari asked, grinning.
The bespectacled boy could only adjust his glasses as he stared at the light show unfolding overhead, too baffled to form an answer.
Luckily, he didn't need to. Tokoyami supplied one in his place.
"Making a grand entrance is just as much a part of the job as fighting and rescuing."
"He's just an attention whore," Bakugo cut him off.
While the class debated the spectacle before them, the cameras locked onto the figure standing at the top.
Takahashi.
He stood at the center of the beacon of light—or perhaps he was it—arms crossed, eyes fixed directly down on the platform.
A stunned silence fell as everyone took in the sight.
Aizawa massaged his temples, sitting beside a wide-eyed Present Mic.
But then, before Present Mic could even say anything about it—
—BAM!—
Taka leaped, his figure shooting into the sky like a flare.
—Before quickly plummeting back down like a comet.
Seeing him diving in his direction, Todoroki quickly raised his arms to brace for the incoming impact.
Which proved the right call, since not even a second later—
—BOOOM!—
The falling crimson star landed.
The arena rumbled and shook, dust exploded upward and swallowed the landing spot, and a burst of displaced air swept across the whole field. Todoroki had to dig in slightly to keep from being pushed back by it.
Eventually, the aftermath settled, and he was finally able to get a proper look at his opponent.
Even though the thick dust cloud was still hanging around him, the crimson energy wrapping Taka's outline and the two red eyes gave Todoroki a clear enough picture of what he was up against.
This certainly wasn't going to be easy.
Eventually, the dust cleared, and the aura receded back into Taka, leaving him standing with his hands in his pockets relaxedly like all the lightwork and enormous power from before had never existed—though, the concrete beneath him split by fissures and cracks did make it clear it had been no collective dream.
{"Nevermind, everyone—it seems our participant just wanted to make a dramatic entrance!"} Present Mic managed, laughing a little.
{"Takahashi, take this seriously."} Aizawa, for his part, was not laughing.
But when did he?
As the commentary continued, Todoroki squinted across at him.
"Takahashi… Do you think this is a joke?"
Taka didn't look bothered in the slightest. "Don't complain to me because you couldn't think of a cool way to get up here yourself. You could have skated on an ice wave to the platform or something."
"…"
Todoroki had no idea how to answer that.
For some reason, Taka sounded genuinely serious about the entrance thing rather than playing around for laughs.
So he shook his head and readied himself instead.
Taka did the same, taking both hands out of his pockets.
And in unison, Present Mic's countdown began.
{"Ready—?!"}
Both teenagers locked gazes.
"I hope you do better this time than in our last fight," Taka said, earning a frown from Todoroki.
"This time nothing is holding me back." He answered, cold air beginning to seep off him.
"Allow me to disagree. There's plenty holding you back."
"Mind your own damn business."
"Don't drag me off to tell me your backstory next time, then."
Silence settled after that.
But nothing more needed to be said anyway, since not even a second later—
{"Start!"}
The moment for words was over.
"Hiss…" Todoroki took a long, steady breath in, cold amassing around him in enormous quantities, his eyes locked onto Taka with a furious look.
He was going all out from the very start. That much he had learned he needed to do if he wanted to win.
-Thud!-
Thus, his foot came down on the floor ahead of him, and from it—
—SSSSSHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!—
A wave of ice burst forward, growing bigger and faster with every centimeter it claimed of the platform.
Before even two seconds had passed, most of the arena was already encased, the wave continuing to surge outward without slowing, pressing on even after the platform itself had been entirely covered.
It only stopped when it was mere meters from reaching the stands and the people in them.
Thus, leaving the entire platform encased in ice—every part of it, save for Todoroki's spot.
"…"
He stood there, surveying the thoroughly overkill attack and its aftermath with narrowed eyes, his gaze sweeping left to right across the silence that had fallen over the arena, his caution evident.
While he was doing that, after a moment of stunned silence, the crowd erupted into cheers and disbelieving shouts. They'd seen him produce enormous ice waves before. But this was simply another level.
Was this kid really not a pro already?
Chatter swept through the stands, the crowd completely absorbed by the display.
{"What do they feed these kids…?"} Present Mic's comment cut through a moment later.
Down on the field, both Midnight and Cementoss stared at the giant ice formation covering everything, exchanging hesitant looks.
Had that been enough? Was Takahashi down?
In any other case, it would be safe to call it right there—Todoroki had won, and if anything, they'd be looking at penalizing him for the sheer danger of an attack that size.
But this wasn't any other case. This was Takahashi.
So they waited, watching patiently.
Yet, several seconds passed, and nothing stirred.
The two teachers scanned the platform, wondering if there was some corner the ice hadn't reached. Some spot Taka managed to slip into.
There wasn't. There was nowhere on that platform the wave hadn't touched.
'If so, he must be inside the ice.' Midnight thought wryly, shaking her head.
And if he still hadn't come out—then no matter how extraordinary he'd seemed up until now, it was safe to conclude the match was over.
For such a promising student to go out this way. What a shame.
Letting out a quiet sigh, she raised her whip to call the result.
But just as she was about to—
"Ah?!"
—RUMBLE!—
Her arm came down as she nearly lost her balance.
The entire arena—no, the stadium—began to shake, like something enormous was building pressure beneath it and about to go off.
"What's happening?!"
"A villain attack?!"
"Where are the heroes?!"
"Holy shit, something's about to blow!"
The crowd panicked.
Todoroki, by contrast, didn't look surprised. His frown deepened, but that was all.
Because he was already familiar with how this went.
—CRACK!—
It began with a single fissure splitting the massive ice formation covering the entire arena clean in half.
All chatter cut out at once, every eye dropping to the crack.
—Shin!—
Then another appeared, splitting it into four.
And then another. And then another. And then another after that.
Soon the entire formation was laced with cracks in every direction. Every trace of the solid, imposing structure it had presented was gone—it looked like one solid hit away from coming down entirely.
Which is exactly what happened.
—SHATTER!—
Suddenly, the whole ice formation exploded at once, shards firing out in every direction.
But they didn't travel more than a few meters before every last one of them stopped mid-flight—forming a slow-spinning sphere of frozen shards hovering around a single figure at the center.
"…!" Todoroki's eyes widened.
Not because he hadn't expected his attack to fail.
But because of how.
Taka was there, as would be expected.
But he wasn't standing.
He was looking enormously bored—seated on an ice throne, leaning back against the armrest with his head resting on his fist.
"That's getting old by now."
Then, with a wave of his hand—
—TATATATATATATATA!!!—
The hundred or so shards fired like bullets toward Todoroki, who barely managed to throw up a thick wall in time to hide behind.
Knowing it wouldn't hold long under that kind of pressure, he kept reinforcing it—layering ice on ice, making sure nothing punched fully through.
—TATATATATATATATA!!!—
The wall on his back trembled ominously before the unending barrage, and Todoroki's teeth grit with every reinforcement he was forced to put on the wall, cold seeping through him, even if little by little.
Only after about a whole minute of continuous hammering against his wall, did the barrage stop.
When it did, Todoroki stepped out from behind the wall, breathing harder than before, a faint shiver running through him.
Taka looked at him with a flat, condescending expression.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling cold?"
"Enough…" Todoroki spat, his frown sharpening. "Why are you so obsessed with making me use my fire?! Did my old man buy you off?!"
At that, Taka finally dropped his relaxed posture, slouching forward and leaning both elbows on his knees.
"What would I even want from a mere number two?"
Todoroki looked briefly shaken at that, not having expected such overconfidence.
Taka snorted. "You want to know why I keep pressing you to use your fire? The answer is simple... Your attitude pisses me off. You want to be a hero, but you half-ass it by only using your ice. You say you'll beat me, but you half-ass it by only using your ice. You say you want to get back at Endeavor, but you half-ass it by letting his existence dictate how you use your own Quirk… like Bakugo says, you're a half-and-half bastard."
"Shut up…"
Taka stood up from the throne, then waved his hand at it and melted it in one go.
"I could just beat you right now and be done with this round."
Aura began seeping off him.
"But I was chosen as class representative by everyone, so I'll do my duty."
"Mind your own goddamn business!"
"Todoroki," Taka spoke, cutting him off and locking his red eyes with him.
"…"
"I'll beat the half-assery out of you. Whether you want it or not."
...
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-To Be Continued...-
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(A/N: Extra aura farming this chapter, and a promise of a beat down that will inevitably be fulfilled. How was it? I personally nearly cringed more than a few times, but it was fun to reread.
Also, self-promoting time: I'm uploading a new fanfic—A One Piece one. Hopefully to last more than the last one I did.
It should, given that there are more stakes in this one than in the last, and so it's more fun to write.
But well, that'll be up to you guys to judge.
To sum up the ff's plot: The mc is given a system that allows him to purchase actual hacks to use. Like Kill-Aura, Wallhack, X-ray, and whatever else I could come up with or find.
To purchase this, he has to gain notoriety and raise his bounty.
The overall premise was hard to balance, given the many legal holes in the way of buying the hacks, but I think it'll make for a fun story now that I've revised it properly.
Anyway, check it out if you want, or not.)