The music transitioned into an orchestral piece that felt far too dignified for the absolute chaos that had just unfolded.
The three pedestals rose from the stadium floor.
On the third-place spot stood Katsuki Bakugo. To the shock of every person in the stands—and especially the faculty—he stood perfectly still, his hands shoved into his pockets, staring at the concrete.
On the first-place spot stood Shoto Todoroki. He looked like he was attending a funeral.
The gold medal hung around his neck, but he stared at it with a hollow expression, his mind clearly stuck on the fact that he'd "won" because of a technicality involving a spiked shoe and a lecture on morality.
And then, there was the second-place spot.
Haruto Akagi stood there, looking far too comfortable.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," Present Mic's voice crackled.
"THE AWARDS CEREMONY! IN THIRD PLACE, KATSUKI BAKUGO! IN SECOND, HARUTO AKAGI! AND THE WINNER OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL... SHOTO TODOROKI!"
The crowd's reaction was a mess — cheers, boos, and confused whispering.
All Might descended from the sky, landing in front of the podiums with his signature "I am here!" laugh.
He approached Bakugo first, reaching out with a medal.
"Young Bakugo!" All Might started, hesitating as he noticed the boy's eerily still demeanor.
"You showed incredible drive! To accept this medal is to acknowledge your growth, even when the path is... difficult."
Bakugo simply leaned forward, allowing All Might to drape the medal over his neck.
"Whatever," he muttered.
"Next time, I won't lose."
Next, All Might turned to Haruto.
The Symbol of Peace stood before the boy who had just turned his school's final match into a lecture on bureaucratic absurdity.
All Might held the silver medal, his smile slightly strained.
"Young Akagi," All Might said, his voice dropping so only those on the podium could hear.
"Rules are the foundation of a hero's path. You have a brilliant mind, but a hero must also be a pillar of order. To follow the rules is to respect those you save."
Haruto looked at the silver medal, then back at All Might.
"Rules are like a high-end GPS, All Might," Haruto said.
"They're great until they tell you to drive off a cliff. I'd rather keep my eyes on the road."
All Might sighed, the "dad energy" radiating off him as he draped the silver medal around Haruto's neck.
"You are truly a handful. Try not to sell this on the internet immediately, please."
"No promises." Haruto chirped.
Finally, All Might moved to Todoroki. He placed his heavy hands on the boy's shoulders.
"Young Todoroki. You reached for your own fire today. That is the true victory. Regardless of how the match ended, you took a step forward."
All Might placed the gold medal around Todoroki's neck. Shoto looked at Haruto, then back at the gold.
"It doesn't feel like a win," he whispered.
"That's because the gold is just painted lead, Shoto," Haruto said, leaning over from the second-place spot.
"The real prize was the existential dread we made along the way. That's the real win."
Midnight stepped forward, cracking her whip to signal the end of the ceremony. "The Sports Festival is officially concluded! Students, return to your classes for final briefings!"
***
"You're all exhausted," Aizawa began, his eyes scanning the room.
They lingered on Todoroki, who was staring at his left hand, and then on Haruto, who was currently trying to see if his silver medal was magnetic by sticking it to the side of his desk.
"The Sports Festival is over. Some of you met expectations. Some of you... exceeded them in ways that are currently giving the school's legal department a migraine." He looked at Haruto.
"You have two days off for physical and mental recovery. Use them."
"When you return, we will begin the hero agency internships."
"Dismissed."
The classroom emptied slowly. Haruto fell into step with the group heading toward the exit.
No one spoke for a minute. Then Kirishima broke the silence.
"So... What was that about?"
Kaminari nodded. "Yeah, man. You wore them on purpose. Knowing you'd get caught. Why?"
Haruto shrugged. "Wanted to see what would happen."
"That's it?"
"That's it. You ever just... poke a hornet's nest to see if the hornets actually care? Turns out, they do. Very dramatic about it, too."
Iida adjusted his glasses, chopping the air with his hand.
"But the rules exist for a reason, Akagi. Following them is what separates heroes from villains. Order must be maintained, otherwise—"
Haruto held up a hand.
"Whoa. Save the sermon, Iida. I'm not here for the extended director's cut."
Iida blinked. "I don't—"
"Hypothetical," Haruto cut him off.
"Your brother. Tensei. Great guy. Loves justice."
He tilted his head.
"One day, a villain hurts him. Bad. The system moves like a grandma in the left lane. What do you do, Iida? Trust in the process? Or go full John Wick?"
Iida's mouth opened. Closed. His hand hovered mid-chop.
"That is... the rules clearly state..."
Haruto waited a moment. Then smirked.
"Yeah. That's the point. It's all fun and games until you or your family are in the crosshairs, then, the law is thrown out the window."
He turned and kept walking.
The group stood frozen for a second, then hurried after him.
"Wait," Jiro called out.
"You really don't care? You were better than everyone today."
"Being the winner is a lot of work. You have to do interviews, you have to be a role model, you have to pretend you don't eat cereal directly out of the box at 3:00 AM. Who has the time? Not me"
Iida said nothing. He was still staring at the ground.
Kirishima clapped him on the shoulder. "Hey. You okay?"
Iida looked up. Forced a nod.
"I will be. I just... need to think."
***
The station was nearly empty at this hour. A few salarymen waited on the opposite platform.
Haruto and Toru sat on a bench near the edge of the platform.
The train arrived.
The carriage was mostly empty. They took a pair of seats near the back—him by the window, her beside him.
Haruto stared out the window for about three seconds, then turned to Toru.
"So. My mom."
Toru's invisible head tilted. "What about her?"
"She's going to ground me. No, she is going to kill me, then ground my ghost." He rubbed his face.
"I need you there. As a witness. And a human shield."
"You want me to watch your mom yell at you?"
"I want you to exist in her peripheral vision so she remembers I have friends and maybe goes easier on me. It's called emotional buffer zone."
Toru sighed. "Fine. I'll be there."
She was quiet for a moment. The train rattled. A recording announced the next station.
Then she asked, softly
"Did it hurt?"
Haruto blinked. "What?"
"I'm serious, Haruto," Toru's voice whispered.
"I watched from the stands. When that fire swallowed you... even if you can heal, you still feel it. I can't imagine what it's like to just...get burned alive"
Haruto looked down at his arm. The skin was perfectly new.
"Pain is just part of the job description, Toru-chan. Look at Midoriya. Every time that kid throws a punch, he's basically hitting a 'self-destruct' button on his own limbs. He knows it's coming, he knows it'll hurt like hell, and he does it anyway."
"I hate to say that," she murmured.
"But... I can't argue. We're supposed to be the next generation of heroes. We can't exactly expect to save people and come home without a scratch. It's your attitude towards it, that is just...crappy"
"The crappiest," Haruto agreed, the smirk returning to his face.
"But hey, it is great for television."
***
As they reached the Akagi residence, Haruto paused, his hand hovering over the knob.
"Okay, Toru. Briefing. If she picks up a slipper, you create a diversion. Knock over a lamp. Pretend you're a ghost. Haunt her. I'll buy you a strawberry crepe tomorrow if we both make it out alive."
"I'm not haunting your mother, Haruto."
"Fine. Just... look sad. Exist sadly. You're very good at that."
"I'm invisible. She can't see me looking sad."
"She can feel it. Mothers have a sixth sense for these things."
He took a deep breath. Held it. Let it out.
"Okay. Here goes nothing. Operation 'Don't Let My Mom Ground Me For Life' is officially—"
"Just open the door, Haruto."
He pushed it open and stepped inside.
The smell of ginger beef hit him immediately—warm, rich, and somehow terrifying.
Because ginger beef meant his mom had cooked.
"I'm home!" he shouted, his voice cracking like a teenager in a coming-of-age movie.
He stepped further inside. Toru followed.
"And I brought a witness!" Haruto added, scanning the living room for movement.
"She's invisible! You can't yell at her!"
From the kitchen, a pot clanged.
Haruto flinched.
"That sounded aggressive," Toru whispered.
"That's her 'I've-been-crying-and-now-I'm -angry' clang," Haruto whispered back.
"Very dangerous. We're in the endgame now."
The kitchen door swung open.
Hana Akagi stepped out, wiping her hands on her apron. Her eyes were red. And she was holding a ladle like a weapon.
"Haruto Akagi."
"Hi, Mom. Nice ladle. New?"
"Don't."
"Fair enough."
She looked at Toru beside him.
"Toru."
"Hello, Mrs. Akagi."
"Did you see what he did?"
"I did."
"And you didn't stop him?"
Toru was quiet for a moment. Her uniform shifted nervously under Hana's gaze. The silence stretched. Haruto could feel her sweating beside him.
"Well?" Hana pressed, her grip on the ladle tightening.
Toru cracked.
"You are absolutely right, Mrs. Akagi. You should ground him. Ground him hard. Take away his phone. His dignity. All of it."
Haruto's head snapped toward her. "Wait—"
"Don't 'wait' me, Haruto," Toru continued, her voice gaining momentum.
"I've been covering for you for years. YEARS. Do you know what he does? He leaves his trays at the cafeteria table. Every single day. Doesn't stack them. Doesn't return them. Just... walks away. Like some kind of animal."
Hana's eyes narrowed. "He doesn't clear his tray?"
"Never. Not once. I've watched him. He finishes eating, wipes his mouth with his sleeve, and abandons everything. The poor cafeteria ladies"
Haruto opened his mouth, then closed it. "I'm... forgetful."
"You're a menace."
Hana lowered the ladle slightly. "Toru, is this true?"
"Mrs. Akagi, I have a mental list of his crimes. It's very long and very detailed."
"You have a list?"
"Someone has to document the chaos."
Toru continued, warming up now.
"He falls asleep during every afternoon class. Every single one."
Haruto rubbed his neck. "The seats are comfortable—"
"They're not comfortable. You just don't sleep at night."
Hana's eyes narrowed further.
Toru pressed on. "He never returns library books on time. Ever. The librarian has already given up asking."
"The books were boring—"
"Then don't check them out!"
Toru took a breath.
"And he hums during class. Constantly. That one song."
She tried to mimic it.
"Dun-dun-dun-dun... dun-dun-dun... I wanna be the very best...?"
Haruto stared at her. "That was terrible."
"I'm invisible, not a singer."
"You just butchered a classic. That's the pokemon theme, you know"
"Haruto, It's embarrassing. Momo asked me once if you were possessed. I didn't know how to answer."
Hana crossed her arms. "Anything else?"
Toru hesitated.
"He doesn't give up his seat on the train to elderly people. I've seen it. An old lady was standing right in front of him, gripping the pole for dear life, and he just... kept scrolling on his phone."
Haruto's mouth opened. "That's not...she looked fine"
"She had a cane, Haruto. A cane."
Hana's eye twitched. "A cane?"
Hana looked at her son. Then at the floating uniform. Then back at her son.
"Three weeks."
"Mom—"
"Four weeks."
Toru nodded approvingly. "Add another week for the poor old lady."
"Five weeks"
Haruto threw his hands up.
"Five weeks?! That's it. I'm filing a formal protest. I'm going to stand outside this house with a sign that says 'Free Haruto' until justice is served!"
He paused.
"Wait, I'm grounded. I can't go outside. This is a nightmare. A conspiracy."
"This is what you deserve," Toru said sweetly.
Hana turned back toward the kitchen.
"Dinner's ready. Both of you. Wash your hands. And Haruto?"
"Yeah, Mom?"
"Toru gets extra dessert."
"What?!"
"She's earned it."
Toru's invisible hand patted his back. "You're welcome."
"I hate you."
"No, you don't."
"...No. I don't."
They walked into the kitchen together. As they crossed the threshold, Haruto started humming the Pokémon theme under his breath.
Toru kicked his ankle.
"Aww," Haruto whined, hopping on one foot.