My Hero Academia: Aura Farming

[mr.avocadoman]

So... who wants to bet that he'll use the throne ability in the Chivalry/second round of the festival? Sitting on his throne, while looking down at his opponents.

Or would he use it in the 1v1 round and go "go ahead, try to get me to move." Or go "Congratulations, for all of the effort you spent, you made me uncross my legs/lean forward. You should be proud of yourself."

 

[CornCorn]

I like the character moment here, really I do, especially with Eri, but… the system payoff feels disconnected. The rewarded ability leans back into aura farming more in a way that doesn't really have much use directly after the MC has this whole realization that he has been harmfully obsessed with it to the point he forgot a little girl was being taken apart by a Yakuza boss, which makes the moment feel like it is being undermined. Also, the aura reward isn't really… meaningful since we don't have a clear 1:1 on what these numbers actually mean in any stats since this mostly just seems to be going off vibes-based math for what amount of aura in each stat allows the MC to do.

 

[CosmoBoi]

▸ You can convert a fraction of your aura into a seat of your choice.

Click to shrink...

Alabama Brawl!?!?

 

[Plebston323]

With this skill he can 'He He' to victory

 

[The Synonym]

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[Consequences 2]
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| Two days later, class time… |

…

"So, does anyone know what's wrong with this sentence?" Present Mic tapped the board, gesturing toward the English phrase written on it.

A hand shot up almost instantly.

Present Mic lit up. "ALRIGHT, show us what you got, Yaoyorozu!"

The girl nodded with a composed face as she stood up. "The issue lies within the third and fifth—"

Through it all, in the seat in front of hers, Taka simply looked blankly at the air, tuning the class out completely, his mind somewhere else entirely.

'Why hasn't that guy called for me yet…?'

His finger tapped lightly against his desk—quiet enough not to interrupt, but constant, betraying his impatience.

The fact that he'd been unusually silent today—leaving most of the answers to Yaoyorozu and the others—hadn't gone unnoticed.

Every now and then, a few glances drifted his way, eyes flicking between him and the rhythmic tapping of his finger.

But eventually, attention returned to the lesson—and to Present Mic's loud, energetic teaching.

Meanwhile, Taka remained elsewhere.

'Where are you…?'

His gaze flickered toward the speakers in the corner of the classroom, his brows knitting slightly as he half-expected Nezu's voice to come through at any moment and call for him.

He'd been like this since morning.

Now it was already the period after lunch—

And still, nothing.

Not even a hint of Nezu.

If anything, it only made Taka more uneasy.

He had walked into school fully prepared to face the wrath of that overgrown rodent.

Excuses thoroughly prepared, contingency plans in case he got exposed as a criminal, even backup plans for tricking All Might and escaping if things went south.

But instead… Nothing. Classes went on as usual, as if nothing was wrong.

And that unnerved him more than anything.

Still, he wasn't about to relax. He knew his worst enemy far too well.

Consequences.

They always came—no matter how long they took.

So Taka stayed alert, his eyes shifting between the ceiling speakers and the classroom door, half-expecting a teacher to barge in at any second and drag him out like a criminal.

Then—

The bell rang, signaling the end of the period.

For a moment, as Present Mic gathered his things, Taka even considered that the hero might suddenly turn around and try to subdue him.

But in the end, once he had his things, Present Mic called out a loud farewell as he left the room.

As he walked out the door, a hand suddenly dropped onto Taka's shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Yo, bro. Something wrong?" Kirishima asked, standing beside his seat with a slightly worried face.

Taka glanced at him. "No. Why?"

Kirishima scratched the back of his head, looking a bit troubled. "You just seemed… impatient about something. And you didn't answer a single question today. I mean, it's not like you have to, but… I guess I'm just not used to it."

A brief silence settled between them as they held each other's gaze.

Eventually, Taka let out a quiet sigh.

"Well, you're not wrong. I was distracted… but I guess it didn't matter in the end."

Kirishima raised an eyebrow at the cryptic answer but didn't push further.

With that, Taka stood up.

Seeing he'd seemingly snapped out of it just as suddenly as he'd fallen into it, Kirishima shrugged and followed as they both headed toward the group on the other side of the classroom.

As they approached, Kaminari was already groaning, slumped in his seat with a completely drained expression.

"Ugh, my brain can't handle both training and classes… couldn't they just give us these two weeks to train instead?"

"Why? So you can slack off for half of it like you're already doing?" Jiro shot back from the side.

"Hey, it's called resting! And whether my rest takes half the training time or not is none of your business!"

The group chuckled.

Then, they noticed Taka and Kirishima joining them.

"Yo, looks like you managed to snap Takahashi out of his trance," Sero said with a grin.

"Yeah, it was weird not hearing you race Yaoyorozu to answer first," Mina added, giving Taka a teasing look.

"I do not race anyone!" Yaoyorozu's voice came from across the room.

"It kinda looks like you do," Asui commented from her seat nearby.

"Anyway," Kaminari cut in, turning to Taka with curiosity, "what had you so quiet? More than usual, I mean."

"Yeah," Jiro added, a slight smirk forming, "you looked pretty impatient… almost like you were guilty of something."

Everyone turned to her, all sharing the same expression: Wait, he did?

Taka did too—though his was more of a flat, unimpressed stare.

"I think that's just your dislike of my training methods talking."

"Hah?!" Jiro snapped, shooting him an annoyed glare.

"Now, now, let's calm down," Sato said, raising a hand between them.

"Hell no! Do you have any idea how much my earlobes have been hurting since Friday?!" Jiro shot back, pointing accusingly at Taka.

"Not much?" Taka replied lazily.

"Not much?! Of course not, they've been hurting like—huh?"

Her hand moved to her earphone jacks, poking and pressing at them with a puzzled expression.

'They… barely hurt anymore?'

Her head snapped toward Taka.

He was staring back at her with a blank, almost innocent look.

"You were saying?"

"…Damnit."

Taka crossed his arms. "Then I assume there are no complaints about continuing my training."

Jiro gritted her teeth.

But before she could fire back—

{"Takahashi Fukumoto, please make your way to the director's office."}

"Oh shit," Taka muttered.

A second later, he realized he'd said that out loud.

Not just the group—half the class had heard. Although it had been a mutter, everyone had been silent to hear the speaker when he said it.

"..." He glanced around at the stunned faces, most of them already covering their mouths, clearly on the verge of bursting into laughter.

Taka just stared back at them, completely deadpan.

"I didn't know the class rep had that kind of mouth. I'm honestly shocked," Mina said, barely holding in her giggles.

Asui nodded. "That's not very nice to say."

"T-Takahashi-san! While I understand there are moments where one may lose control, this is a classroom—a sacred place of learning! You should refrain from such language!" Iida exclaimed.

"The class rep… cursed." Ochako, who hadn't been paying attention before, turned toward them with wide eyes.

Jiro didn't say anything, but the grin tugging at her lips—and the faint surprise in her expression—made it clear she wasn't that shocked.

Still trying not to laugh, Kaminari looked at him incredulously. "Dude… Takahashi, what did you do to be this scared of the principal?"

"Nothing," Taka replied flatly, rolling his eyes.

"That didn't sound like nothing, bro," Kirishima said with a wry chuckle.

Taka huffed. "It's a private matter. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

He brushed past them, heading for the door.

A moment later, he stepped out into the hallway, closing it behind him—

Leaving the aftermath of his slip for the class to deal with on their own.

He let out a sigh.

"Well, I said I wanted to shed the edgy persona, didn't I? Might as well let this be the first step…"

Grumbling, annoyed at the turn of events, he shook his head and began walking forward, his face steeling.

It was time.

To face the consequences.

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later, principal's office… |

…

"Would you like some tea?"

"Uh, no, thank you."

"Shame."

"…"

"Now, I know what you're wondering…"

"…"

"…How does the principal maintain his fur in such pristine condition?"

"…"

"Was that not it?"

"…"

"Then tell me, what is it you're thinking of, Takahashi?"

Taka sat in front of Nezu at his desk, a bit taken aback by the principal's apparent carefreeness.

'Does he not know? No, that's hardly possible… maybe he doesn't care?'

He eyed the giant rodent's face, who simply smiled at him.

'That, or it's all an act… I can't really read an animal's expressions.'

He frowned, his patience for all this theatrics wearing thin.

"Is it because of what I did yesterday?"

"What did you do yesterday?" Nezu asked, still smiling.

Taka scanned him.

Did he truly not know?

"I raided the Shie Hassaikai and beat up their leader."

Nezu nodded, taking a sip of tea. "Ah, yes, I recall that happening."

A beat of silence passed between the two.

Then…

"So?" Taka asked.

"So what?" Nezu asked back.

"Aren't you going to reprimand me for it?"

"Should I? Don't tell me you feel guilty for it?"

Saying so, Nezu stood up—or rather, jumped down from his chair—and began walking around the room.

"I mean, it would make sense. You broke your end of the deal by not only raiding a highly dangerous criminal organization, but you also did it under the same persona we had been trying to leave behind, and even went as far as recording yourself, along with your new associates, while you raided the base. Something that, if I may say, feels like you are quite blatantly mocking me."

"…" Taka's eyebrows creased even more as each point was laid out plainly in front of him.

"Hmm… yes, I think that makes sense. But before reprimanding you… I suppose it is my responsibility as a teacher to ask you…"

As he said that, Nezu stopped walking and turned to stare straight into Taka's eyes.

"Why did you do it, Takahashi?"

Taka's mouth opened.

For a moment, he considered going with the excuse he had prepared—that his "precognitive" skill had acted, sending a sharp alert that forced him to act.

As for why he recorded it, and why Gentle was there… he had planned to say that Gentle had volunteered midway, and that the idea of recording came from him.

Although he doubted Nezu would fully believe it, Taka knew that without proof, there wasn't much Nezu could actually do.

But just as he was about to say it—

He closed his mouth before a single word came out.

'Is his guilt trip really working on me?' Taka wondered.

Maybe that was it.

But looking at it again… maybe it was also his own promise.

To become an Aura Farmer true to himself.

If he couldn't even state his reasons confidently—if he had to sneak around the law using lies and deceit—then was he really staying true to himself?

It wasn't the smart choice. That much was obvious.

But he wasn't about to regret what he had done yesterday.

So, without a hint of hesitation, he met Nezu's gaze head-on.

"I wanted to rescue a girl who was being experimented on, and no, I don't feel particularly guilty about it."

Silence fell once more in the room.

Until—

Nezu's smile widened, this time less feigned.

"Ah, yes. Eri-chan. I heard of her from the heroes involved in yesterday's incident…"

Nezu walked back to his seat, climbing onto it before settling down in front of Taka again.

"While it's good that you don't regret your actions—given that you've already committed to them—I would like to understand your reasoning for attempting it alone. Leaving your associates during the raid aside, of course. You could have contacted the authorities and let them handle the arrest… and also—how you even knew about her—"

He grabbed the monitor on his desk and turned it toward Taka.

"—given that she has no records of any kind. That child is, quite literally, a ghost in the system right now."

The screen displayed what looked like an official government page.

Eri's profile picture was there—

But nothing else.

No data. No history. No identifiers.

Just an empty page.

Taka's mouth tightened slightly.

But he didn't back down.

"You know about my precognitive ability. The one that lets me sense rising danger?"

Nezu nodded.

"It also seems to let me glimpse a specific future."

Nezu blinked, his smile fading just a little.

"Go on."

"In that glimpse, I saw a raid on the Shie Hassaikai. A large-scale operation—heroes and police working together."

Taka's gaze sharpened slightly.

"But because of that… they were noticed beforehand. The moment they started gathering that kind of force, the Shie Hassaikai caught wind of it."

He leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing.

"And you've seen the video, haven't you? Overhaul's ability lets him fuse with his subordinates and manipulate matter. If he had time to prepare—if he knew they were coming—he could've gathered resources and turned himself into something far worse," His tone lowered. "Something that would've put everyone else I might have brought with me at risk."

A brief pause settled, in which both stared at each other.

Then, Taka spoke again, "Instead, I moved first and alone. Therefore, undetected and able to take Overhaul by surprise with zero loss."

Nezu stayed silent for a moment.

"And Eri-chan?"

Taka even blink.

"I learned about her from that same glimpse of the future. She was the reason for the raid in the first place. "

"I see…" Nezu murmured, slipping into thought as he scratched at his muzzle.

After a brief pause, he spoke again. "In that future, you said they almost failed. How did they succeed?"

Taka hesitated for a second, then answered anyway. "Midoriya was part of the operation. He joined the team, and with his Quirk working together with Eri's, he managed to power up enough to face Overhaul directly. Even then… There were still losses."

Something flickered in Nezu's eyes at the mention of Midoriya.

Taka continued regardless. "That's why I acted. To avoid that future—and to stop that girl's suffering from continuing needlessly. That's also why I don't regret it, Principal."

Nezu kept brushing the lower part of his muzzle as he listened.

When Taka finished, the silence lingered for a moment.

Then, Nezu smiled again.

"You truly are a very interesting student, Takahashi."

Taka deadpanned, having expected a stronger reaction—or at least something more after all that.

Even if he hadn't outright revealed everything related to his future knowledge, he had still dropped a big bomb here, you know?

Yet, to his luck—or maybe not—Nezu's questioning stopped right there.

"While I understand your motives now, I also cannot overlook the fact that you ignored our agreement. I'm sure we could have found a solution if you had simply come to me first."

Taka had no real answer to that.

Truthfully, he had just lumped the entire hero system into his "can't help" category, so the thought of going to Nezu hadn't even crossed his mind.

Still… the rat probably could have helped in some way.

Even so, he had been the only one confident enough to counter Chisaki's ability, so maybe his decision hadn't been that bad after all.

'Well, whatever. The past is the past,' Taka thought, brushing it off.

He lifted his gaze back to Nezu, preparing himself for whatever harsh punishment was coming.

"As for your punishment—"

'There it is…' He sighed inwardly, already imagining being banned from the festival—or worse, expelled.

"—I will decide it at a later date. Your training period is about to start, correct? You may go. I won't keep you."

Taka almost fell from the chair.

After straightening himself back up, he sent the rat principal a deadpan look. "… Just like that?"

"You would prefer if I barred you from participating in the festival?" Nezu asked, smiling in a way that felt just a bit too sharp.

"Uh… no." Taka winced, already backing off as he made his way to the door. "Goodbye, Principal."

"Before you leave…"

Taka paused, his hand already on the handle. He glanced back, a hint of wariness in his expression.

"Yeah?"

"You never told me why you recorded everything. I imagine it would have been far more effective if you had remained unseen."

"I, uh…" Taka blanked.

There was a tense silence in which Taka struggled to answer.

But having no answer to that which didn't reveal the outright nature of his Quirk, his mind involuntarily immediately reached for the excuse he had prepared earlier.

"That was… Gentle Criminal's idea. He did it on his own."

Nezu's smile softened slightly.

"I see. You may go now."

Taka nodded, a bit stiffly this time, before stepping out and closing the door behind him.

'My bad, Gentle.'

-Click-

Left alone, Nezu let out a quiet chuckle.

"I had wondered if it was simply a trait of our student… but perhaps there is more to it."

He opened a folder containing Taka's data, gathered since the day he had supposedly gained his Quirk.

Several details had been circled and annotated—most notably the dates he had recorded himself, the reach and popularity those recordings achieved, and a clear correlation with the growth of his power over time.

There was also a specific section saved for the recording of the USJ incident, taken by an unknown individual who had never been identified.

Normally, it'd be normal to think it had been a villain that had gone unnoticed, given the lack of reasons for someone to be there at that point in time, other than being part of the villain attack.

But given his student's clear interest in showing his achievements to the public eye, and the fact that he could make a clone of himself...

Nezu's eyes then shifted, flipping the folder's page to a new one, almost blank.

In it, the picture of Rockinesis' new suit was visible, along with a few sections for registering information about the Yakuza villains.

Another instance in which Takahashi shook Japan... And another instance in which he happened to have a camera registering everything.

"Perhaps, there's more to it."

…

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Ahhh, I'm losing my habits, all due to my university assignments.
Maybe arson might be a feasible career instead)

 

[The Synonym]

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[Consequences 3]
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...

After the talk with Nezu, Taka walked through the hallways with a slightly dazed expression.

'I really went and spoke about my future knowledge...' He let out a dragged sigh. 'Just from that, I bet that damn rat already figured out a hundred things I didn't expect him to...'

Massaging his temples, he decided not to think about it. Talking to Nezu was too complicated. He'd probably spend a whole day turning over what the principal might have inferred from even the smallest, most inoffensive words.

So, deciding not to waste brain power on that, he looked ahead with a slight smile.

'Ignorance truly is bliss.'

Now that the consequences he'd feared had finally arrived and passed—that he'd chosen to set aside what he'd overshared with Nezu and the repercussions it'd probably bring, and now that the whole ordeal with Eri was at last resolved—Taka felt ten times lighter.

He was finally leaving a chapter behind and entering a new one.

And this one was called Sports Festival.

His grin chased away the daze, and his stride turned purposeful.

'One and a half weeks,' he reminded himself. 'I've got until then to get this class into shape.'

Whether he accomplished it or not, he'd make sure of one thing.

That at the festival, it wouldn't be only him who'd be aura farming.

...

°

°

°

| Minutes later... |

...

After a while, Taka arrived at the battle center, finding all of his classmates already deep in intensive training.

Iida ran at full speed along the outer walls of the battle center, back and forth without pause.

Kaminari released his lightning in careful bursts at an isolated zone, struggling not to make his usual dumb face.

Tsuyu used her tongue to swing herself around the mock electrical posts spread across the fake city... how she didn't mind having her tongue touch such things, he didn't know. But he admired her for it.

Sero attempted something similar, using his tape instead and moving at a considerably faster speed. Almost like a significantly weaker and plain Spider-Man.

Others, like Ojiro, Shoji, Hagakure, and Sato, stuck to physical training or combat drills.

As for the rest, plenty had gone to other sites across U.A. to train their Quirks more effectively, having put in a request through him, as class rep, a few days ago for Nezu to approve.

Tokoyami had reserved the school's baseball field at night, planning on using the powerful floodlights installed there to build his Quirk's resistance to light, since the Festival would be held in full daylight.

Koda had asked for a spot in the U.A. forest zone, planning on using his Quirk to communicate with the animals there, and... train somehow? Taka wasn't entirely sure how he planned to do that, but he'd probably ask him later. That guy could certainly use some help.

Bakugo had also asked for a private space in the same zone—though well away from Koda. Apparently, he'd decided the forest was the best target for his rampage.

Taka had considered refusing him, but in the end, he figured the guy just wanted to keep his training private, and whatever techniques he might develop there, secret. So he granted the request.

Though he did make him ask nicely first.

All in all, the whole class was going at it hard, and at the rate things were progressing, they'd be reasonably ready when the day of the festival arrived.

But reasonably ready wasn't enough.

He'd already studied most of their training and what each person needed in particular. On top of that, he'd had a clone write down everything he could recall about their training from the show, and planned on using it as a coaching reference.

Of course, he wasn't expecting most of them to accomplish in just over a week what had taken them a whole semester in the show.

But he'd at least help them reach what they could.

Arriving at that conclusion, and after a quick glance around and a nod to himself, he began making his way calmly through the mock city, eventually reaching the spot he was looking for.

'And it all starts with this guy...'

As expected, Midoriya was already there.

Unlike before, though, he was no longer struggling to move. Now he was moving like a proper fighter—dashing left and right, striking without hesitation, all while holding Full Cowl constantly without problem.

There was still some lag getting in and out of the state, but all in all, Midoriya had the hang of it.

Which meant it was time to move on to the next phase of his training and focus all that power into a proper technique.

As Taka walked up to him, Midoriya caught the approaching presence and turned.

"Takahashi-san!"

Taka gave him a quick nod. "Looks like you've progressed a lot."

"Yes! With this state, I can finally be confident I won't need to rely on destroying my body for the Sports Festival. It's all thanks to you, Takahashi-san!"

"So long as you know it."

Midoriya nearly stumbled at the complete lack of humility, but quickly caught himself.

As he glanced back ahead, however, he saw something odd.

Taka was stretching.

"... Um, Takahashi-san?"

Taka ignored him. "Since we can say you've mostly figured out that ability of yours, it's time to move on to the next part of your training."

Hearing that—and seeing him stretch—it didn't take much for Midoriya to connect the dots.

"I-I mean, you've already done so much for me, I think I can take it from here..."

Taka didn't so much as flinch. "You can take the reins of your training once we're fully done. But there's something I need to fix in you first—if I don't, I won't sleep peacefully for a while."

With that, he finished stretching, his aura beginning to seep off him.

Midoriya sweatdropped. "Um... can't you just tell me what it is I need to fix?"

Taka smiled slightly. "I prefer bashing the knowledge into your head. It's always the most efficient method."

Midoriya didn't look thrilled.

But by then, it seemed he'd understood there was no way out of it. So he stopped holding back and activated Full Cowl, his face turning into a mixture of reluctance and determination.

The two stood apart—one with electric current crackling across his body, the other with a calm crimson aura bleeding off him.

A beat of tense silence dragged on.

Then—

—BANG!—

Both shot forward.

...

°

°

°

| Minutes later... |

...

Taka walked calmly back through the Battle Center, unharmed, his eyes drifting as he moved with clear purpose.

He passed Mina's training spot along the way and saw her working alongside Uraraka, firing at rocks that the brunette was keeping afloat with her Quirk.

Kirishima's spot was nearby too. He caught the redhead jumping from the side of a building. Strange training, but if it worked for him, who was he to judge?

Eventually, he reached the area where Jiro usually set up. And yes—there she was, standing in front of a building wall, looking exhausted as she glared at it like it was her nemesis.

The surface was covered in small marks—all from her earphone jacks, driven into it again and again, some deeper, others shallow.

Despite her complaints, she was definitely putting in the effort.

As he approached, his footsteps grew a little louder, and Jiro's withering gaze shifted to him.

She was clearly not in a great mood.

"Oi, Takahashi, I did what you asked." She tilted her head toward the wall. "I can now pierce the damn concrete with my jacks."

"Well done." Taka offered a soft nod of congratulations.

Jiro's expression went flat. "Don't 'well done' me. I did what you asked—now tell me why this wasn't a waste of time."

Taka answered with an equally flat stare. "Don't ask me. Think of the answer yourself."

Jiro's brows furrowed, and her earphone jacks lifted slowly in a way that was, somehow, threatening.

"—But if you're that anxious about it, I suppose I can give you a hint." Taka offered.

"Just say it outright."

Ignoring her, Taka tapped the floor twice with his foot, then pointed a finger at it.

Jiro looked between him and the floor, then back at him, and then back at the floor again, before ultimately returning to him, this time looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"I'm not gonna bow down to you." She said dryly.

"I meant pierce the ground." Taka clarified, sounding a bit exasperated.

"...The hell?" She didn't look convinced, but did it anyway, kneeling down to let her earlobes reach the floor.

Then she glanced back up at him. "What now?"

He looked at her with pity.

"I thought it'd be obvious at this point."

A vein appeared on her forehead, the urge to fire a sound wave at him nearly overtaking her—until, just then, she realized she actually might be able to.

Without thinking twice, she sent a burst of sound through her jacks into the ground.

—BZZZZZZZ!—

The next instant, the concrete shattered, and a tremor erupted across the surrounding area.

The shaking threw off her kneeling position, and she stumbled backward.

Taka, on the other hand, was floating a few centimeters above the ground, so he avoided it completely.

By the time it settled, Jiro blinked.

"Whoa."

Taka said nothing, just let her process it.

He did float her back onto her feet, though. She let it happen—too focused on what she'd just done to pay the telekinesis much mind.

After a moment, she pointed at the shattered ground. "I did that."

Taka nodded. "Yeah."

She slapped her forehead.

"How did I not think of that? It's so obvious... sending the sound waves into the ground—it's exactly the kind of offensive move I'd been missing, and it was right beneath my feet the whole time. You were right, Takahashi. I was wrong..."

Taka smiled, closing his eyes and nodding faintly, as if proud of her.

"—IS THAT WHAT YOU THOUGHT I'D SAY?! You could've said something, you psycho! I thought it'd be some complicated technique I was missing, not just stabbing the damn floor!"

Taka's smile fell flat.

"Talk about ungrateful."

Jiro clicked her tongue and dropped onto a nearby piece of rubble that looked good enough to sit on, looking away.

"...But I guess I wouldn't have thought about strengthening my jacks without your training... so thanks for that, I guess."

"Add a sorry in there, and I might consider accepting it."

"Don't push your luck."

Snorting with a slight smirk, he sat on the curb and let out a low sigh—actually a bit worn out from his spar with Midoriya.

Just a bit.

'And that does it for Jiro's training,' He thought, smiling at yet another thing in his list getting checked, before his smile became crooked. 'If only Midoriya were like her…'

Taka couldn't help but compare both of them, recalling his spar from just a while ago with the greenhead.

There hadn't been much noteworthy about the spar itself. Just the fact that he'd kept attacking Midoriya's legs, and even left openings for him to use them—all of which Midoriya had somehow ignored, continuing to try overly complicated plans that accounted only for his fists.

Taka was fairly sure that fighting with your legs was basically instinctual, which made him genuinely impressed by Midoriya's ability to suppress that instinct completely.

He'd ended up beating him into the ground, with the greenhead never figuring out what the problem was.

He could tell him—hell, if he so much as said the word "leg," he was pretty sure Midoriya would realize.

But he wasn't going to.

In principle. Midoriya had to figure it out himself, for the sake of his self-esteem, and yadayada.

But also because it was such a simple thing that if he didn't, Taka might actually start wondering whether Midoriya had some kind of disability.

He would only spell it out if three days before the Sports Festival came and the so-called protagonist still showed no signs of figuring it out—but he wouldn't be happy about it.

'Actually, it shouldn't even take past tomorrow,' he thought grimly, reassessing the time limit he could tolerate seeing Midoriya not connect the dots.

"Hey." Jiro's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He looked over to find her watching him with an odd expression. "Anyway, what did the principal call you for?"

Taka looked away immediately. "Stuff. You know—class representative stuff."

"Is that so?" Jiro asked airily. "Hmm~."

She hummed, clearly not convinced.

A short pause followed, during which Taka thought he might have gotten away with it.

Then Jiro opened her mouth again.

"By the way, I was just thinking back to when we first met, and the funniest thing came to mind."

"...What?"

"You see, I remember that after I showed up, you beat up those delinquents, right? Then you made them float... but I don't remember you oozing that red aura you're always surrounded by nowadays."

"..."

She looked up at the sky, seeming to turn it over carefully. "And I remember the same thing one day during lunch, when you met my friends. You held your chopsticks in the air, but there was no red aura around them or you… It's funny, that kind of invisible telekinesis, it reminds me somewhat of a certain vigilante."

Her gaze dropped back to him.

"What's with that?"

A long pause followed.

Taka looked away, while Jiro's eyes stayed fixed on him.

For a moment, it looked like she was actually onto something here. At least, that was the case, until—

"Hmph."

He snorted, eyes closing, mouth curling into a faint smirk.

His eyes then opened again, settling on hers with easy composure.

"That's because my strength and telekinetic output were much lower back then. Because of that, the energy was fainter—and therefore less visible." He raised a finger, factually. "Remember my first days at U.A.? The energy barely seeped out of me at all. It only got violent when I threw the ball. The more output I use, the more visible and aggressive it becomes."

Jiro seemed struck by that.

"Tsk." She clicked her tongue and looked away. "I see..."

Seeing her reaction, Taka nodded slowly.

Internally, he let out a long sigh of relief. 'Thank god I'd already thought through that slip-up beforehand.'

Still quietly rattled, and not wanting to risk any more questions, he slowly began to rise off the ground—startling Jiro slightly, who settled back into a deadpan once the surprise passed.

"...Where are you going?"

"Maybe someone needs their class rep. You never know."

And without giving her a chance to ask anything else, he shot away.

Jiro was left there, staring at his retreating back with a flat expression, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

...

°

°

°

| Hours later... |

...

By the time evening came, school had ended, and Taka was already flying over Shizuoka.

He wasn't planning on doing anything with his clones today, so he stayed on course for home rather than the Rockibase.

As he flew calmly through the clouds, his mind drifted back to the approaching Sports Festival and everything he still had to do before it arrived.

Training his classmates was an obvious yes. Probably the most important thing right now.

But it wasn't the only thing he could do.

He'd been putting it off, caught up with all the chaos that he was sunk in for the past week or so—The USJ incident, then the realization of Eri and his own unhealthy obsession, and then the consequent raid on the Hassaikai.

But now that most of his problems were resolved, he could finally focus on what he'd been neglecting.

His projects—in other words, the other applications of aura he hadn't yet discovered.

He'd already accumulated quite a few ideas to try and develop into proper skills, and with a week or so left, he'd have enough breathing room to actually work on them.

Whether any of it would come in handy at the Sports Festival, he wasn't sure. But he wasn't about to pass up a chance to grow stronger—beyond simply accumulating more aura.

'I wonder how many of those ideas will actually pan out into something useful, though.'

His aura had proven remarkably versatile.

But it had to have limits, right?

Right?

He smirked faintly at the thought.

'Hopefully not.'

His eyes drifted downward as the thought passed. He was approaching his usual landing zone.

So he began descending.

A minute or so later, he touched down—quick and soft enough that he passed for nothing more than a large bird coming in to roost.

Then he covered the rest of the way on foot.

Shortly after, he stood before the front door of his house.

He pulled out his keys and opened the door.

… What he hadn't expected when he did so, however, was to see Seiji standing right there behind it, arms crossed, and with a thoroughly displeased look on his face.

"Well, well, well… look who it is," Seiji said with a dragged and clearly resentful tone.

"How's it going, Seiji?"

The casualness in Taka's tone only made Seiji's expression worse.

"Hohoho... look at you, having the nerve to ask, even after what you pulled the other day. Three days, Takahashi. I wasn't able to come home for THREE DAYS!"

Taka winced at that.

"My bad."

Seiji looked like he wanted to say some very bad words—but held himself back at the last second, for some reason.

"Whatever. Now that you're here, deal with the consequences of your actions."

He stepped aside.

Taka raised an eyebrow—then saw what lay beyond him.

Or rather, who.

'Oh shit.'

Consequences, it turned out, still had one more card to play. He had planned for this, of course—but not for it to happen quite this fast.

Seiji let out a sigh. "Luckily for you, this whole process was going to take more than a week or so, and I was going to come back utterly pissed—but your dear principal intervened yesterday and vouched for me to be the one to take her in for the time being. Thanks to that, I was able to come back today and not a whole damn week later."

'Damnit it, Nezu,' Taka winced.

Sitting there, on the couch, was Eri, watching him with an expression every bit as surprised as his own.

"You're that person!"

The last of the consequences had arrived.

Brotherhood.

…

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

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[The Synonym]

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[Sports Festival]
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| Last day before the Sports Festival… |

...

-Clang!-

"Ah...!"

Yaoyorozu fell on one knee, her staff clattering to the floor alongside her.

Taka stood before her, expression impassive.

"Your reaction time has improved a lot compared to our first spar."

Yaoyorozu took a moment to collect herself, gradually pulling back to her feet. Despite Taka's compliment, she didn't look particularly pleased. "I see. Thank you, Takahashi-san."

Taka studied her expression for a moment before speaking again, his tone softer. "No need to look so down. There's still a lot to cover, but you're prepared well enough for the festival. You had only been lacking quick decision-making and assessment skills during fights. Now you have them, so there's no way you won't do well."

At that, she seemed to snap out of whatever self-deprecating thoughts she'd been having, looking at him surprised for a second before smiling a little. "Thank you, Takahashi-san. Truly."

"No need."

With that, he made a quick beckoning motion, and a box flew in from somewhere and landed in his hands.

He then tossed it to Yaoyorozu, who fumbled slightly before catching it—her eyes widening like platters the moment she got a proper look at it.

"T-this is... Golden Tips Imperial Tea—how did you get this, Takahashi-san?! It's an extremely rare product!"

"A friend gave it to me. I'm not much for tea, since I prefer stronger flavors, but I figured you'd like it. Consider it a congratulatory gift for completing the training before the Sports Festival."

"A gift from a friend..." Yaoyorozu murmured, eyes glistening.

Seeing that she had liked it—even though she was rich enough to probably track one down with minimal effort—Taka smiled, satisfied.

Then he raised his arm, and from somewhere, his backpack flew straight into his hand.

"It's late now, so I'll be going. Good luck tomorrow."

"Yes!" Yaoyorozu saluted, much to Taka's amusement.

Thus, he began to walk away, planning on returning home.

As he headed toward the exit, he passed several classmates still sunk in training of their own, making use of their last hours to the fullest—Sero, Kirishima, Shoji, and a few others.

Plenty had already relocated to better sites for their respective training. Tsuyu had gone to the school's pool, Mina, Uraraka, and Aoyama had ended up at the USJ facility, and Iida had moved to the track field, plus many others—leaving Ground Beta considerably emptier than when it had all started.

As he passed by, many of the remaining ones waved.

"Yo, class rep, you leaving?!" Sero called out, standing beside Kirishima and Ojiro.

Taka gave them a nod.

"See you tomorrow then!"

Taka waved back and walked on.

It had been one hectic week and a half, that was for sure.

Developing his own abilities while helping everyone else at the same time—it was an experience he wasn't sure he wanted to repeat. So much to keep track of, and so little time to breathe.

But he'd say the result was worth it.

For starters, he'd managed to give everyone at least some help with their training, and largely thanks to the impressive results he'd gotten out of Jiro and Midoriya, which prompted more and more of the class to ask for some coaching.

By the way, Midoriya had taken two full days to figure out he needed to kick rather than punch. He almost wanted to smack him for it, but he did exactly that plenty of times during their training to help him figure it out, so he held back.

Of course, he wasn't a miracle worker.

For some of his classmates, his help had been groundbreaking—like Tsuyu, Hagakure, or Tokoyami—or Jiro and Midoriya themselves, since their Quirks had a lot of untapped potential he'd been able to help draw out with his show knowledge, even if to varying degrees.

There were others he sadly hadn't been able to help much, or at all. Kaminari's Quirk, for now, only made him a living taser, and he would need some support items before he could get more use out of it. Todoroki and Bakugo were more or less training on their own terms, so he didn't have a hand in helping them either.

For others, his help had been more a matter of smoothing over rough edges—things that may or may not have been directly related to their Quirks. Like Yaoyorozu, whom he'd helped get accustomed to actual fights so she wouldn't freeze up as she had in the show. Or Koda, whom he'd taught a bit about controlling his voice. Or Kirishima, Sato, and Ojiro, whom he'd mostly done physical training with, helping them correct mistakes in their techniques and footwork. And lastly, Iida, whom he'd helped with kicking techniques after the bespectacled boy spotted his breakdancing-infused fighting style and came asking.

Speaking of Iida, he hadn't forgotten the canon event coming up that involved him. He'd already laid out a few contingency plans for that, so he wasn't too worried.

All in all, the Sports Festival showed promise, and Taka couldn't help smirking once the thought of it being tomorrow landed on his mind.

'And thus, the week of preparation finally ends,' Taka thought as the exit finally came into sight, letting out a long sigh.

Now all that remained was to wait until tomorrow, and things would play out.

'...Actually, I need to prepare the player's pledge,' he sweatdropped, immediately recalling the speech that the student ranked first had to give right before the games.

In other words, the one he had to give.

'I can't say I have stage fright, but this is my first time making a speech, isn't it?' He mused, sighing in a troubled manner.

His mind went over the one Bakugo had given in the show.

'I pledge to win... It's pretty good, I have to give it to him.'

The short-fused guy had been pretty inspired that day.

He could, of course, copy his and get done with it.

But that's the way losers think.

He had to make it better than that.

'An aura farmer never rests, I guess...' He thought with a sigh, aware that his duty still wasn't over.

...

°

°

°

| An hour later... |

...

Taka stood outside his house, rummaging through his backpack for his keys.

After a little while longer, he found them, let himself in, and closed the door behind him—letting out a groan as the soothing feeling of finally being home settled over him.

Only for the first thing to greet him—

"Welcome back..." A tiny voice greeted.

—to be Eri, sitting on the couch watching TV from the living room.

"Finally done, eh, Taka?" Seiji leaned sideways to peek at him from behind the couch, barely visible from the entranceway. He'd apparently been keeping her company through whatever they were watching.

"Yeah. It's finally over." Taka answered, pausing at the entrance to take off his shoes.

As he did, he found himself thinking about how things had gone since Eri arrived.

It had been awkward at first.

Since he spent most days at school until late due to the Sports Festival preparations, he'd had to rely mostly on Seiji to keep him updated on how she was doing.

During the first few days, she'd stayed in her room most of the time—only coming out to eat, or coming out when he returned from U.A.

But as the days passed and she grew a bit more comfortable with the house, she'd started moving around more freely. Seiji had encouraged it by letting her use the TV, which, as you can see, had worked wonders.

Still, beyond knowing she was somewhat more at ease than at the start, Taka was largely in the dark about how she truly felt.

He hadn't unlocked anything like telepathy, so there was no way to know what was going on in her head most of the time. She wasn't particularly talkative, either.

He could only assume she wasn't unhappy, at least.

But just like in the show, she wasn't smiling.

—And Taka wasn't planning on letting that go on for long.

The Culture Festival was still quite far off, roughly a semester away, so having his class put on a concert like in the show wasn't exactly likely.

With his clones, he could always put one together himself. But he wasn't sure whether it had only been the music that made Eri smile in the show, or whether other factors had played just as big a part. Like the effort that everyone put into it, and that she had seen.

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't try something.

'Good thing I've been working on a new song for this,' Taka thought, smiling faintly.

He already had a plan mostly sorted out, and while some of the arrangements had been tricky to put together, they were largely taken care of.

Now all that remained was to wait for the right moment.

Smiling faintly, he finished taking off his shoes and stepped into the house for good.

As he did, he couldn't help but notice the entranced look Eri had as she watched TV. Seiji stood behind the couch, leaning on the headrest with a smirk on his face.

The TV faced away from the entrance, so he couldn't see what was on. He walked closer and turned his head to get a better look at what had Eri so interested.

"..."

Then, his eyebrow twitched.

{"So what if you can see, the dark inside of——!"}

His gaze lingered on the screen for a beat, then shifted to the two watching it.

Seiji was grinning widely, sneaking glances at him as if it were the funniest thing in the world. Eri, while not smiling, was watching with a worrying level of focus.

Then, to top it off, she turned to him and pointed at the screen.

"That's you, Taka?"

Taka's mouth twitched.

"...Yeah..."

Eri nodded, seemingly letting that sink in, before turning back to the TV, eyes glued to it.

Taka stared at her with a slightly pained look, then turned to Seiji. "Why is she...?"

"You've gotten quite famous. A video of yours got recommended to her. I just caught her watching it and joined in." Seiji shrugged.

Taka gave him a flat look, then turned back to her and the screen.

'For real...?'

To his luck, after a few more seconds, the video ended—before then switching to another recording of Taka's "performances."

"That's also you?" Eri asked.

"Hm." Taka let out a loud hum of confirmation, doing his best not to let her notice he was massaging his temples, his face slightly hot from the embarrassment.

He really wasn't good with this kind of situation.

"I see..." Eri said.

Then she went back to focusing on it, eyes glued to the screen.

Taka's gaze slid to Seiji, and a silent back-and-forth started up between them.

'How long are you planning to let her watch that?' his side-eye said plainly.

Seiji's eyebrows rose, his expression unmistakably reading: 'Why? Embarrassed, Taka?'

Taka let out a sigh.

Then he reached into his pocket and pulled something out.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat, snapping Eri out of her TV-induced trance and drawing both her and Seiji's attention.

Seeing he had it, he held up what he was holding. "Nezu was feeling generous today and handed me two tickets to front-row seats at the festival."

"Festival?" Eri looked uncertain.

"It's a very famous competition. Taka and his classmates will be participating in it." Seiji explained.

She still didn't seem to fully grasp it, but she got the general idea. "I see."

Taka stepped over and ruffled her hair. "Think you can make some time in your packed schedule to watch me win?"

Eri pursed her lips and gave a small nod under his hand. "Hmm."

Taka smiled. "Good. There's going to be a spectacle at the end. It'd be a shame if you missed it."

Seiji sent him a flat look. "Really?"

"Hey, I got permission this time." Taka shrugged.

Seiji didn't look convinced, but Taka simply ignored him, grinning slightly.

'It's all coming together.'

...

°

°

°

| The next day, U.A. stadium grounds... |

...

To say it was cramped would be an understatement. U.A.'s campus was packed with people in every direction—some coming and going from the stadium, others walking around and browsing the food stalls and souvenir stands, of which there were a hundred or so, and others simply chatting as they waited for everything to begin.

"Hey, what time was the third year's competition?"

"Later, in the afternoon. First, the first years and second years go."

"Bummer. I just came for the third year, so I guess I'll find something to do until then."

"You crazy? Why would you skip the first years with the bombs they've got this year?!"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been living under a rock? This year we've got Endeavor's son, Ingenium's little brother, and most importantly—the kid who was all over national television the other day. The one who saved the school from a terrorist attack."

"That kid was from U.A.?"

The school was the most talked-about it had been in a long while, with multiple names drawing the attention of people and heroes from all around the country.

The festival was an important event, sure.

But this year's was different, and everyone knew it.

"..."

Standing on top of the stadium, a figure looked down at the people below, his coat fluttering in the wind at that height.

And soon, many more—just like him—began walking to his side, striking similarly dramatic poses.

"And so it begins."

Then—they all disappeared.

…

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

────────────────────────

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──────

(A/N: And so it begins indeed. At last, we got into the Sports Festival arc. Now, I could have liked to add what abilities or plans Taka came up with during the week of training, but I think it'd be better to keep the surprise.

There's one thing some readers have been asking, and it's honestly very feasible, so it will make its appearance here.)

 

[TheDanny]

"You know about my precognitive ability. The one that lets me sense rising danger?"

Nezu nodded.

"It also seems to let me glimpse a specific future."

Nezu blinked, his smile fading just a little.

"Go on."

"In that glimpse, I saw a raid on the Shie Hassaikai. A large-scale operation—heroes and police working together."

Click to shrink...

Ugh, I hate it every time an SI talks about their otherworldly knowledge.

Couldn't he have dressed it up a little? Him following some kind of siding about a little girl in bandages running through alleyways and investigating them it the source? She's done it before.

 

[Percival12]

Man i was waiting with baited breath for some future knowledge to get leaked to Nezu. I enjoy thinking about what different authors versions of nezu do with knowledge like this its fascinating.

 

[Carnub]

Excited for more dude! Fun chapters

 

[MorbiIIionaire]

"Hah?!" Jiro snapped,

Click to shrink...

"—IS THAT WHAT YOU THOUGHT I'D SAY?

Click to shrink...

Jiro was left there, staring at his retreating back with a flat expression, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

Click to shrink...

We Jiro fans be eating good lmao. Love her in this story, wannabe delinquent cool girl.

How long are you planning to let her watch that?' his side-eye said plainly.

Seiji's eyebrows rose, his expression unmistakably reading: 'Why? Embarrassed, Taka?'

Click to shrink...

Very cute give me more.

Nedzu is a troll who already knows how his powers work lmao. Thats why hes letting him participate so he can grow stronger haha sasuga bear rat thing...

 

[LeonT]

This story flat out has one of my favourite showings of Jiro.

It's very rare that's she so, well, fun. She's usually regulated as "side chick" or a background girl. Cute but generally uninteresting outside of music/peeping interactions. This? She's a character. I love it.

 

[Despacitoleo]

So cool of the mc to totally allow nezu to find hints about using quirk totally on purpose


Also is the mc going to do the classic mastermind aura technique of saying "it was all apart of my plan"

 

[K5P26]

Oh man, i knew he's going to perform on the festival, also his clones just kept jojo posing its hilarious, and its so funny that he cringes watching others watch his recorded performances.

 

[The Synonym]

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[Player's Pledge]
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| Class 1-A's waiting room |

...

"Huff... the nerves are killing me," Kaminari muttered, before glancing around at his classmates, most of whom were calmly lounging around.

His head snapped toward them, looking outraged as he slammed both hands on the table.

"Why do you guys look so calm?!"

"...We just prepared as much as we could. There's no point in getting nervous now." Sato, who was nearby said with a serious tone.

"Yeah, having given it my all... it kind of gives me peace of mind, you know? Whatever happens out there, it'll be the best I can do. No more what-ifs." Kirishima nodded, pumping up a fist.

"Look at you lucky guys who got Takahashi's help, being so optimistic..." Kaminari looked at them with deadfish eyes, grumbling gloomily.

He recalled that fateful day—the one where he'd asked Taka to help him like the others. His class rep asked for a demonstration, and he gave it.

But as he finished, he was met with a pitiful look.

"Can't help, sorry," Those were his exact words.

To make up for it, Taka had given him a few pointers on something he called "surrounding awareness" and how to use it better, but not much of it had stuck.

Thus, his training for the rest of the week ended up being rather plain: Releasing electricity constantly in an attempt to raise his brain-frying threshold—which, as you can expect, didn't work out at all.

So now, here he was, about to step into one of the most-watched events in the country, where his future as a hero would be put to the test, with nothing to show for it.

"Damnit..." He groaned, slouching over the table.

On the other side of the room, sitting against the wall, Taka gave him a pitying look.

'I'll tell him about getting support equipment like the one in the show once this is all done.'

Making that promise to himself, he went back to looking like he was thinking about something very important while everyone waited for the festival to start.

—At least, that was the plan, until a certain someone's footsteps approached.

"...?"

Taka opened one eye—and saw the familiar face of Todoroki heading his way.

'Right. This guy's one for dramatic challenges.'

Huffing slightly, Taka lifted his head and met the approaching mood guy's gaze head-on.

"Takahashi," Todoroki called him out once he stood before him, his tone solemn.

"Todoroki," Taka mimicked the tone.

Todoroki's eyebrow twitched at the mimicry. But he pressed on with what he had to say.

"I know you're stronger than me. That's already been made clear. No matter how much I deny it, or excuse my defeat back then on my emotions getting the better of me... the truth remains the same. You're stronger."

Bakugo, who was nearby, turned to look at them, his expression faintly surprised.

'Oh?'

Taka's eyebrow arched. That genuinely wasn't something he'd expected.

But then Todoroki spoke again, his tone shifting.

"But that doesn't mean anything." His cold eyes fixed on Taka. "Stronger or not... I'm telling you in advance. Today I'm going to beat you."

His eyes narrowed, determination and something sharper underneath it showing through.

"At this competition, I will win. And not even you, however superior you might turn out to be, will force my fire. I will win regardless of it all."

Silence settled over the entire room after those words.

Taka didn't say anything for a moment, seemingly musing on it.

Everyone else just watched the tense exchange with uneasy looks.

Then—

"Hah?! What are you talking about, you shitty half-and-half bastard?!"

Bakugo shoved his way into the conversation, stopping right next to Todoroki and glaring at him point-blank.

"...I think I heard you say you'll win—but that's not possible, because for that, you'd have to beat me too!"

Todoroki's gaze shifted to him, shooting back an unbothered look.

"I will."

"...Look at the nerve!" A vein appeared on Bakugo's forehead. Then he pointed at Taka with his thumb. "Let me make things clear for you. In this competition, the only one who's beating this bastard is me. So you can say goodbye to that little plan of yours right now—because if you want first place, you'll have to beat the one who beats him first... me!"

"..."

A silence full of collective disbelief washed over the room.

Nobody believed in him for a second.

Even Todoroki didn't know how to respond to that level of delusion.

Taka stayed quiet through all of it, eyes moving slowly between the growing number of challengers around him.

But then, just as he was about to say something—

"No."

A voice no one had expected broke through the awkward silence, coming from somewhere in the middle of the rest of the students.

All eyes turned—landing on an incredibly nervous-looking, but otherwise determined Midoriya, staring at them from his seat with visible conviction.

"K-Kachan, Takahashi-kun, Todoroki-kun... The one who will win today... is me!"

The declaration left everyone just as baffled as the other two times it had been said—especially because this time it was coming from Midoriya, of all people.

Eyes bounced between the four now tangled up in this standoff, blinking in disbelief at how things had spiralled in the few minutes before the main event.

"Everyone is so motivated..." Kirishima muttered, before going quiet and staring at his fist with a flicker of frustration—only to snap his head up the next instant and rise to his feet just like Midoriya. "—You know what? No. That'll be me. I'm taking first place from all of you!"

Everyone's eyes shifted to him, thrown off by the fact that someone else had jumped into the challenges' boat.

'What kind of youthful moment was this?' Some couldn't help but think, somewhere between amusement and disbelief.

—But before long, even the ones joking about it couldn't help but catch on.

All that training, all that improvement crammed into two weeks, just for this festival... and they were going to be content with anything other than first place?

What would any of that effort have been worth, then?

That thought struck a spark in the motivation that had been quietly building in everyone throughout the training the past two weeks.

"No, you all... I'm the one taking first place." Sato was the first, fixing the group with a serious look and pointing a thumb at himself.

"The peak may be lonely, but settling for anything less is improper." Tokoyami followed, arms crossed and eyes closed, while leaning on a wall at the corner of the room that was slightly darker than the rest.

"Alright, you've done it now! I'm gonna have to take first place from all of you!" Hagakure jumped from her seat and declared boldly, raising a gloved fist.

Sero let out an amused huff before shrugging with a wide smile. "I guess I'm gonna get a little serious and aim for first place then!"

"... You know what? I don't need any training to beat you all!" Kaminari shot up from his slouched position, putting a foot up on his seat. "My quirk alone is all I need to stand at the top!"

"Your zipper is down, Kaminari-kun—and also, I'm going to aim for first place too, everyone, and I won't make it easy-kero," Tsuyu said, finger at her mouth.

"Ah?!"

"I WILL DO MY BEST, YA ALL HEAR ME?!" Uraraka bellowed—apparently the most carried away of anyone, her expression nothing short of fervent.

"Yeey~ I'm gonna make you all eat the curb!" Mina shouted, riding the wave of energy.

"E-everyone, we are U.A. students—even if we're motivated, we should conduct ourselves with grace—still, I will say, I too shall aim for first place. I won't be left behind!" Iida started with a lecture—only to end up roped in along with everyone else.

"I shall aim for first place as well." Even the usually silent Shoji joined in.

"Me too," Koda added, though barely above a whisper and lifting his hand shyly.

"First place... maybe I can manage it?" Ojiro muttered, though without sounding entirely convinced.

"Don't count on it—I'm the one who's going to be the dazzliest of all!" Aoyama slipped in.

Lastly, there was Jiro.

Everyone looked at her, as if waiting for her to say her piece.

She didn't look like she wanted to join in—but, in the end, she couldn't hold out against the crowd.

Still, she did it her own way.

"I'm going to kick your ass, Takahashi."

Once everyone had had their say, they all turned back to the group that had started it, challenging looks falling upon them.

For once, Todoroki and Bakugo felt the pressure coming not from Taka, but from the classmates they'd already dismissed.

Taka, on the other hand, sat with his eyes closed, not looking remotely fazed.

'Bunch of cornballs...' He thought, trying his best to hold back the shudder he felt from showing.

Seeing him stoically dismiss their declarations, all eyes fixed on him with equally challenging stares.

"You're gonna get your ass kicked, class rep!" Mina shouted, lifting a fist.

"We're going to beat you!" Hagakure joined in.

"Don't think you're gonna speed-blitz through us, Taka!" Kirishima added.

"Yeah, today's the day we properly ground you!" Sero threw in.

Even the ones who stayed quiet felt it. They hadn't trained this hard to get outclassed today. Today, their training was going to show.

Taka opened his eyes, gave them a long, awkward look—before sighing.

"Couldn't have it any other way." He said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Everyone smirked at that. Their biggest opponent had acknowledged them—

"But I should warn you all. There's someone I'm planning on putting on a big show for today, so..."

His eyes swept across everyone, glinting faintly.

"I'm toning down the moderation for today."

That landed like a wave hitting a still lake.

Silence stretched across the room as everyone processed it.

And then—

"I-is that so... G-go for it!"

"W-we're not scared in the slightest!"

"Y-yeah, you can try, Taka, but you'll be c-crushed!"

"Can I forfeit now?"

Confidence collapsed in an instant.

Even Todoroki, Midoriya, and Bakugo felt cold sweat run down their backs.

Then—

-Click!-

The door of the room opened, and Yaoyorozu stepped through it.

"Everyone, please get ready—we're about to head out!"

Everyone swallowed nervously at that.

Everyone, that is, except Taka.

'Alright, let's do this.' He thought with a smirk.

He stood up.

It was time.

...

°

°

°

| Minutes later, main field... |

...

-BAM!-

-BAM!-

-BAM!-

Fireworks filled the sky with beautiful figures that set the cheerful ambiance, the roar of the crowd swallowing the explosions whole in response.

Soon, Present Mic's voice rang out across the stadium and beyond.

{"And thus, the U.A. Sports Festival at last begins, everyone. The grand battle where our fledgling heroes sharpen their swords once a year and compete for glory!"}

The crowd roared as the hype started building.

{"And what better way to kick things off than a warm welcome to the hottest topic around these days. The rising new stars who pulled off the impossible, and came out the other side through sheer perseverance and will!"}

Several small figures began emerging from the darkness of one of the gates, stepping into the light of the field with a confidence that felt almost contagious.

Leading the way at the front, a familiar boy was the first to pull every gaze in the stadium—and every camera.

"That's him!"

"Holy shit, look how he walks. He's like a pro already."

"U.A. students are just a different breed altogether."

One by one, the rest followed, soon revealing the full class.

Gasps followed as they crossed the field with unwavering gazes fixed ahead.

Even those who glanced around, with slight traces of anxiety before the ginormous crowd, didn't come across as nervous teenagers facing the public eye for the first time.

They looked like prepared combatants, even if slightly overwhelmed by the attention.

{"HERE IT IS, CLASS 1-A FROM THE HERO COURSE!"}

The crowd roared back.

With that entrance, the group made their way to the center of the field.

And following their appearance—

{"And of course, although they haven't had as much screentime, we can't forget about the other promising stars of the future—GIVE A WARM WELCOME TO CLASS 1-B FROM THE HERO COURSE TOO!"}

Several other figures began stepping onto the field, drawing their share of attention. They weren't the main draw of the event, but the crowd's curiosity was piqued, wondering what Quirks they'd get to see from them, seeing as how they had gotten into the hero course as well.

Taka glanced at them and sighed faintly.

'I'm sorry to all of you.'

Whether by his hand or his classmates', those guys weren't going to shine very brightly today.

'Or at least, less than they already did in the show.'

As Class 1-B made their way to the center and took their place beside them, a stream of other groups began filing onto the field through the remaining gates spread around the stadium.

"Next up, General Studies, classes C, D, and E!—Support course, F, G, and H!—And of course, the Business course, I, J, K!"

With a brief—and by comparison, slightly deflating—introduction, each course made its entrance and joined the growing mass of first years at the center.

The crowd buzzed with excitement as the presentations wrapped up.

Then, a striking figure stepped onto the stage set up before the sea of students, stopping at the microphone.

"It's Midnight!"

"Whoo!"

"So she's the one presenting the first years this time, huh?"

"Nezu must be busy preparing to do the same with the third years."

"R-rating is the best!"

-Whip!-

A sharp crack through the microphone silenced the restless crowd and the mass of students alike.

"Everyone, quiet. It's time for the player's pledge!"

She then snapped her whip toward the students, pointing it at one in particular.

"Representing the students is Takahashi Fukumoto, from class 1-A!"

Everyone turned to look, and the cameras snapped to him once again, his face filling the giant screens. His class didn't seem particularly surprised, but a wave of muttering swept through the other classes the moment his name was called.

"That's him, right?"

"He doesn't look that powerful."

"Did he really beat that villain?"

"I've heard some people call him the next All Might, but he doesn't have the same presence."

And the chatter went on.

His classmates didn't look particularly pleased at the doubts being thrown Taka's way.

But in the end, they didn't need to do anything.

All Taka had to do to put it to rest—was take a step forward.

-Crch-

"..."

The instant his shoe met the grass, all sound died.

Not from fear—but from something instinctual. The kind of silence that falls when someone demands a room for silence. Like a single clap cutting through noise, or a glass being hit with a spoon multiple times.

Only now—it was just his walk.

It was a strange thing. The until-then roaring stadium had gone completely still, and people were noticing it.

Yet no one dared anything beyond a whisper.

In that silence, the sound of each step became audible, sending a chill through the crowd.

—Thunk, thunk, thunk—

His footsteps echoed across the stadium as he climbed the stairs to the stage, one by one.

Until, at last, he stood before the microphone, every eye in the stadium on him alone.

And so—

"Today, I pledge—"

He eyed the camera, his voice echoing in the hearts of everyone listening.

And especially, on that of a girl watching him from the front rows.

"—to make history,"

…

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

────────────────────────

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

patreon.com/TheSynonym

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(A/N: Was that last line tuff? It's the best I could come up with that wasn't just a Bakugo copy, or overly cheesy stuff.)

 

[MorbiIIionaire]

Nice speech, short and to the point while not being as arrogant sounding as Bakugo's. +100 aura. I wonder if he is gonna get gains during the tourney or after. Either way Nedzu will be watching with great interest, prolly even pull strings to make the first year tourney reach more eyes and ears then normal even.

 

[Sceonn]

Not a fan of Nezu somehow honing in to Views=power for Taka. I mean the guy started out his career as a streamer.

The speech is pure Aura farming, maybe he'll tune his aura gold?

 

[TheDanny]

"No, you all... I'm the one taking first place." Sato was the first, fixing the group with a serious look and pointing a thumb at himself.

Click to shrink...

No, Sato! Don't do the Vegeta pose!!!

He eyed the camera, his voice echoing in the hearts of everyone listening.

And especially, on that of a girl watching him from the front rows.

"—to make history,"

Click to shrink...

Is he planning to show off for Eri?

 

[K5P26]

No, Sato! Don't do the Vegeta pose!!!


Is he planning to show off for Eri?

Click to shrink...

Nothing motivates an aura farmer more than aura farming for the people that matters

 

[LeonT]

Showing off for Eri?

+Six billion aura points

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────
[Race]
────────────────────────

...

"Today, I pledge—to make history."

Taka's pledge echoed across the entire stadium, breaking the silence that had held it until now.

A long, stunned silence followed, as everyone turned the words over in their minds.

It was such an extraordinarily confident—bordering on delusional—statement that no one could even muster anger or offense, unlike if he'd simply declared he'd win.

This was different.

It was the sort of declaration that stopped making you think the person ahead looked down on you, and started making you wonder if they had a screw loose. After all, what kind of teenager set out to make history? Most just cared about their immediate future—like winning—not something so far-reaching.

This one was an outlier, apparently.

That, or he was trying to sound profound and important—which maybe he was.

But some—those closer to him, or simply more perceptive than others—caught a deeper meaning beneath the simple statement.

What did it mean to make history?

To win? Perhaps, but that was just a part of it.

To earn internship offers, then? Recognition was a closer truth to his pledge, but in the end, still just a fragment.

No. To make history meant to leave a bigger impression than any previous year of U.A.'s Sports Festival had ever managed—to imprint his name in the minds of everyone present, and everyone watching from afar.

To make this the most impressive year the competition had ever seen.

—Even more so than All Might's.

Whether because he'd be winning in a way never seen before...

—or because today would mark the day someone bigger than All Might made his official appearance to the world.

—Or because he'd be losing so spectacularly, it'd become history in its own right.

Who could say what he actually meant?

In the end, whether he'd be making a fool of himself or truly delivering on his pledge... it was about to be seen.

In the teachers' area, All Might sweatdropped—feeling, once again, the weight of his student pressing down on him.

'You certainly don't hold back at all, young Takahashi...'

As everyone was still processing his words, Taka quietly made his way down from the stage and slipped back into the mass of students.

"..."

Having seen the player's pledge wrapped up in such short order, Midnight let out a sigh before stepping up to continue. The Festival couldn't grind to a halt over an outrageous pledge, after all.

"Now then, let's move on to the games right away!" She cracked her whip against the air.

In unison, the giant screens at the top of the stadium shifted to a spinning slot-machine display, cycling through possibilities while everyone watched, slightly overwhelmed by how fast things were moving.

As it spun, Midnight smiled into the microphone. "The first game is what we call a qualifier! Every year, many students have to swallow their frustration upon being eliminated right here, before things even get good!—Now, let's see what kind of torment awaits them!"

Her whip snapped toward the screens, and the spinning display began to slow.

Until it settled, at last, on a game.

{Obstacle Race!}

Taka's mouth curled slightly upward.

'So this stayed the same as in the show…'

Perhaps the teachers had already chosen everything beforehand.

That gave him a great deal of peace of mind. At least now he knew his plans wouldn't be thrown off by the events actually being random.

'Although I still haven't figured out who I'm going to partner with in the second game,' Taka deadpanned, feeling his asocial tendencies flaring up again.

While he calmly pondered such important matters, Midnight proceeded to explain the rules—basically, stay on the course, and anything goes so long as you don't go full terrorist.

The race was four kilometers long, running all the way around the stadium circumference.

Everyone swallowed nervously at the realization that the first elimination round was a flat-out race—meaning that if they weren't fast enough, they were basically as good as done.

Everyone except Taka, of course. He simply closed his eyes through the whole explanation, either uninterested or focused on something else entirely.

Eventually, the explanation ended, and all students began moving toward the starting gate—a massive arch leading out of the stadium.

Slowly, they gathered there, some elbowing others for the best spots at the front and sparking small skirmishes, while others settled calmly for what they could get or simply didn't care.

Amidst it all, while they waited for everything to finally begin, Class 1-A scanned the crowd for familiar faces.

Todoroki picked out Bakugo not far ahead. The explosive teen turned and grinned wickedly at him once he spotted him in return.

Behind them, Midoriya swallowed, taking slow, steady breaths and quietly preparing to kick his Full Cowl into gear the moment the race started.

The others looked around too, searching for who had once been their classmates—but who today were their opponents.

-BZZZ-

One light went out.

Everyone stopped looking around and fixed their eyes forward, locked on a single thing.

First place.

-BZZZ-

Another went out, leaving only one light remaining. Muscles and tendons tightened in unison, adrenaline beginning to surge through everyone's veins.

Beads of sweat rolled down foreheads. For a moment, the collective nervous swallowing of hundreds of students seemed to converge into a single audible sound.

The crowd held its breath.

Then.

-BZZZ-

The last light vanished.

"START!"

Midnight's voice was barely into its first syllable before every student had already launched off.

Everyone scrambled toward the exit as fast as they could, flooding into the tunnel leading outside and shoving others aside to carve out any position ahead.

Unfortunately, that same desperate surge forward was precisely what led most of them to their demise.

"M—move!"

"Agh, don't push!"

"Damn it, I can't move!"

In no time, the furious forward press became its own obstacle. The mass of students began condensing—eventually too dense for the tunnel to handle properly.

What had started as a breakneck race ground to a dead stop as everyone tried to push forward and found they couldn't, each one blocking everyone else.

Not even fifteen seconds in, and the race had already hit an impasse.

At least—until the truly exceptional began to move.

—Tsssssss...!—

—BOOOM!—

—Swoosh!—

Three figures shot ahead of the pack the instant the mass got stuck.

Todoroki, who released an enormous wave of ice through his feet—propelling himself forward while encasing the feet of those around him in the process.

Bakugo, who detonated an explosion and blasted off like a bullet in an instant.

And Midoriya, who bounced between the tunnel's high walls until he finally found a way through, shooting out alongside the other two.

But they weren't the only ones who made it out.

Just a few seconds later, several other figures began emerging from the tangle.

A ray of light cut through the air as Aoyama launched himself over the crowd with his laser.

A mass of pure black catapulted overhead alongside him—Tokoyami, now wrapped in Dark Shadow.

Yaoyorozu vaulted over the mass using her staff, clearing the tunnel and sidestepping Todoroki's freezing wave in the process.

Uraraka skipped the congestion entirely by levitating herself overhead, releasing her Quirk only once she was clear.

Meanwhile, deep inside the crowd, a charging figure began shouldering his way through the students, shattering the ice encasing his feet with nothing but sheer forward momentum.

That being Kirishima.

"Oryaaaa!"

He broke through, quickly picking his pace back up and charging after the others.

With Kirishima acting as an unclogger, the pressure that had built up inside the mass released, sending a wave of students finally spilling out of the tunnel—though many stumbled from the sudden burst, or found their feet still locked in ice and couldn't advance.

Still, most of Class 1-A managed to get clear quickly and resumed the chase.

Class 1-B was fast to escape as well, with a girl whose hair grew in long, vine-like strands having taken the lead some time ago.

And so the race was underway. Class 1-A with the immediate advantage.

{"Whoa, I can't believe it. Most of Class 1-A cleared the first hurdle without even breaking a sweat! You did an amazing job with them, Aizawa!"}

{"That's nothing but the result of their own effort. I had little to do with their improvement."}

{"Then what wonderful students you have!"}

While that exchange played out over the speakers, Todoroki, Bakugo, and Midoriya were already approaching the first obstacle zone.

"T-that's...!" Midoriya gasped, slowing down as he recognized exactly what lay ahead.

Zero Pointers—the same robots that had cost him an arm to bring down during the entrance exam. And not just one. There were many of them.

Alongside them, at their feet, smaller robots ranging from one to three points patrolled the area.

'The path is completely blocked, there's no way we can—'

{"It seems our frontrunners have reached the first obstacle of the race... ROBO INFER—!"}

"Out of the way."

"DIEEEEE!"

His thought and Present Mic's narration were both cut short as Todoroki and Bakugo launched ahead simultaneously—one generating a massive wave of ice that swept over one of the Zero Pointers entirely—

—TSSSSSSS...!—

—BOOOOOM!—

—before Bakugo rocketed in and drove an explosion straight into the robot's face, toppling it completely as shards of Todoroki's ice rained down by the dozens.

The Zero Pointer in the middle crashed to the ground with a tremendous tremor, throwing up an enormous dust cloud that swallowed the whole area.

Bakugo and Todoroki used the cover to slip past the remaining robots undetected and kept moving.

{"Whoa, I didn't even finish presenting the obstacle, and these kids are already past it!"}

Midoriya, meanwhile, watched it all unfold wide-eyed.

But seeing Bakugo and Todoroki press on without a moment's hesitation, he bit back whatever he'd been about to say and kicked off as well, shooting forward with Full Cowl active.

Having paused even briefly while the other two hadn't, Midoriya found himself a step behind.

Meanwhile, the rest of the participants who reached the obstacle slowed to assess the Robo Inferno situation.

But while most hesitated, unsure about charging through a battlefield of hostile robots, the Class 1-A students pushed on regardless.

Robots were smacked aside or avoided outright. Within seconds, the 1-A students had made the whole thing look almost effortlessly simple as they sprinted through, leaving the other classes to fend for themselves.

Back at the front, Midoriya, Todoroki, and Bakugo soon arrived at the second obstacle and stopped for a moment to take in what they were looking at.

{"Now's my chance! Ahem—anyway, everyone, it seems our first obstacle was a piece of cake for those at the front. The rest of the students don't seem to be having much trouble either... but how about the second one?!"}

Stretching before them was a vast canyon-like obstacle—towering pillars interconnected by tightropes, serving as bridges all the way across to the far side.

{"If you lose your balance and drop, you're completely disqualified, so unless you're confident in your balance, crawl rather than risk it... this obstacle's name is... THE FAL—OH COME ON, THE THREE ARE ALREADY HALFWAY THROUGH IT, WHAT ARE THESE KIDS EATING?!"}

Just as Present Mic said, the three were already halfway across the obstacle, crossing it at a speed that was probably not intended for anyone to have—save Iida, who was unfortunately still on his way there, having fallen too far behind at the start due to Todoroki's ice.

By the time the rest of Class 1-A arrived at the second obstacle, with a few from other classes mixed in, the three at the front were already finishing it.

{"What's this?! These three are speedrunning through our carefully crafted race! Oi, Aizawa, tell your students to show some showmanship and let the audience enjoy it properly!"}

{"They're doing exactly as they should. This isn't an event where they can afford to hold back—unlike certain others..."}

{"Hmm? What do you mean, Aizawa?"}

As Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki finally drew close enough to see the third and final obstacle, they couldn't help glancing at each other.

A frown settled over all three of them.

Something had felt off all the way until now, but seeing each other's expressions now made it clear.

Something… No, someone was missing.

And as if in sync with that realization—

{"WHAAAAAAT?!"}

Present Mic's baffled shout tore through the microphone, a few decibels short of deafening everyone in the stadium.

Students mid-race, crowd, teachers—everyone flinched.

Before anyone could ask what it was, Present Mic gave them the answer.

{"The proclaimed history-maker, Takahashi—IS STILL AT THE START OF THE RACE?!"}

The three at the front felt their eyes go wide, brows pulling into deep frowns.

Takahashi... hadn't moved from the start?!

The cameras shifted, swinging back to the stadium gate.

There he was. Still inside, hands in pockets, eyes closed.

The crowd erupted.

{"Dear student Takahashi, you are aware that you need to complete the circuit for a result to count, correct?"}

Taka gave a visible nod. But didn't move.

{"..."}

Present Mic was at a complete loss.

Aizawa, meanwhile, stared flatly ahead, suppressing the urge to call his student out in front of all Japan.

In the end, Present Mic let out a shrug. {"Well... if that's his decision, I suppose we have to respect it."}

Outraged cries rang out from all around—especially after what Taka had declared—but despite them all, he didn't budge.

The cameras shifted back to the three frontrunners.

The three moved neck and neck, none of them able to break away from the others.

Soon, they reached the final obstacle at last, all three stopping in unison as it came into view, with Present Mic's narration following right behind.

{"At last, we've arrived at the final obstacle! Most of the students are still halfway through the second, and one in particular hasn't even started running yet—but those in pursuit will catch up soon enough, so let's get into it!"}

All three narrowed their eyes, wariness spiking.

{"In short—and it's fairly obvious at a glance—it's a minefield!!! The mines are visible enough that you can spot them if you look carefully. However, doing so will slow you down, so—WHAT WILL YOU ALL DO?! YEAAAAH!"}

"Mines... are they out of their minds?" Midoriya's eyebrow twitched.

{"By the way, they're recreational, so they don't pack the same punch as a real one—but they'll still knock you around, so don't underestimate them, contestants!"}

—BOOOM!—

"This doesn't affect me!"

The moment Present Mic finished, Bakugo launched off with an explosion behind him, sailing clean over the mines without ever needing to touch the ground.

Todoroki and Midoriya gritted their teeth and shot after him.

They broke through the minefield like it was nothing. Todoroki using his ice to create an ice surface between him and the ground to avoid triggering any, Bakugo flying overhead and landing only in clear spots to launch himself again, and Midoriya pushing hard with his enhanced state while keeping a close eye on the ground beneath him.

As they crossed, the gate leading back to the stadium at last came into view.

Still far off—but in sight. And with it in sight, all three turned on each other.

"Deku—don't even think about running beside me!" Bakugo snapped, swinging an explosion that Midoriya had to dodge, almost losing his footing and coming down on a mine.

Luckily, his training with Taka had given him enough experience with high-speed mobility. He recovered quickly and pushed on.

"I just told you—SCRAM!" Bakugo attacked again.

"No!" Midoriya answered with a kick, batting Bakugo's hand away before it could reach him—and nearly sending him stumbling into a mine in return.

Using their skirmish, Todoroki slipped into the lead.

The two noticed immediately, shook each other off, and surged back ahead.

With that, they finally cleared the minefield, the path ahead opening up clean.

{"It looks like we're on the final stretch! From here it's a pure, flat-out sprint to the finish line. WHO WILL BE THE ONE TO REACH IT FIRST?!"}

The three glared at each other, the competitiveness between them reaching a boil.

"I told you, half-and-half—YOU'RE NOT TAKING FIRST PLACE FROM ME!" Bakugo burst forward, swinging an explosion at Todoroki.

—BOOOM!—

Todoroki barely dodged, then sent a burst of ice back in return, which Bakugo dodged in kind.

Midoriya caught the edge of it and had to wrench himself sideways to avoid getting hit.

As he ran, he swung one arm with enough force to generate a gust that broke both their rhythms.

The two struck back.

And so it went—as the gate drew closer and closer, the three lunged at each other more and more freely, like animals growing greedier the nearer they got to the prize.

They were so focused on each other that they'd completely forgotten the most important variable in this race.

Fortunately, it was kind enough to remind them.

All at once—students, crowd, teachers, and beyond—everyone had the strange sensation of hearing a voice.

Not quite hearing it, more like imagining it—and yet it came through with an uncanny clarity.

"Time is up."

Everyone froze for a moment. But since it felt more like a thought than a sound, most brushed it aside—everyone except the three at the front, who knew exactly whose voice it was.

A deep sense of foreboding settled over them.

Then they understood why.

{"What is this?! TAKAHASHI IS MOVING!"}

The three's eyes went wide.

""He's coming!"" The three thought in unison, quickly stopping their fight and focusing solely on the goal ahead.

The cameras swung back to the starting line.

There, Taka had taken his hands out of his pockets and was calmly rolling his neck.

While all eyes fell upon him, wondering what he was about to do, Taka calmly muttered under his breath something to himself.

"Let's see… If my calculations are correct—4 kilometers should take me about 20 seconds more or less to cross."

His eyes fixed ahead, sharp and unblinking.

Then, it happened.

—FWOOOOSH!—

A deep, fierce aura erupted around him—almost like a blowtorch given form—wreathed in crimson lightning.

Every eye in the stadium snapped to his blazing figure, drawn to it like a beacon.

Taka then settled into a runner's stance.

"Let's make this good."

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Imaginary Technique: My Theme](ACTIVATED!)

Song chosen: Spitfire - Eurobeat

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The instant he said that, a sound—or rather, a melody—detonated into everyone's head.

It was sharp and climbing, like an engine roaring to life, or an alarm going off, warning of impending doom—or perhaps, something better.

Whatever it was leading to, or whatever it was happening, everyone felt it from the goosebumps building up in their body and their caught breaths.

They wouldn't be able to blink for the next few seconds.

From his runner pose, Taka huffed lightly, his mouth curling slightly upward. "You have twenty seconds before I catch up, you three,"

Then his smile widened into a smirk, eyes catching a gleam of pure excitement.

"Let's see if you can make it before then."

—BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!—

The next instant, Taka's crimson figure shot ahead at a speed that defied processing—so fast, so violent, that the sheer explosion of kinetic force blasted a massive column of loose dirt from the stadium floor straight into the sky.

None of it reached the stands, but every pair of eyes in the stadium locked onto that rising pillar of earth—shooting up, then crashing back down.

Then the cameras found him, and all attention shifted to the cause.

A blur of red, tearing across the course like a fired round, moving so fast the camera had to pull all the way back just to keep it in frame.

5 seconds.

The blur hit the first obstacle.

Scattered across it, Zero Pointers and smaller robots still prowled—keeping dozens of students from other classes frozen in place, unable to push forward.

They didn't have to wait long.

The sound of splitting air arrived before he did—a sharp, screaming tear that snapped every head around.

—WREEAAAAK!—

—BOOOOOOM!!!—

—CRASH!—

—BOOOOM!!!—

The blur of red ripped through the Robo Inferno like a round through paper. The Zero Pointers didn't even register him before they were gone—hurled sideways, crashing into the trees beyond the course in a chain of impacts that shook the ground—clearing the path entirely.

9 seconds.

The gap between obstacles vanished.

The second obstacle soon came into view. The Fall.

For a fraction of a second, the red blur seemed to slow at the edge.

Until—

—BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!—

The ground cratered. Cracks spidered outward in every direction as the blur detonated upward like a rocket, the blazing aura trailing behind him only making the image more accurate as he climbed—and kept climbing—clearing the entire obstacle in one unbroken arc, not a single tightrope touched.

11 seconds.

Of course, what goes up, comes down.

The red blur peaked.

Then dropped.

A crimson meteor, falling fast and getting faster.

—BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!—

The landing shook the earth. A section of the artificial canyon crumbled at the impact, dust surging outward in a ring that swallowed the whole area.

And before it could even settle, he was already gone.

—SWOOOOOOSH!—

14 seconds.

At last, he reached the last obstacle.

Students still carefully picking their way through the minefield heard it first—the sound of air tearing apart somewhere behind them—and spun around with wide eyes.

At the far end of the tunnel leading back into the stadium, the three frontrunners heard it too.

They turned.

Their expressions said everything.

Bakugo stripped his explosions back to pure propulsion and poured everything he had into them.

Todoroki drove his ice output higher, even as the cold began crawling up his own legs.

Midoriya pushed Full Cowl up a few more percentages, feeling the current surge through his muscles, and damaging them—but granting him more speed.

With that, they faced forward and ran. No longer daring to look back or to the side.

16 seconds.

With no more curves, no more obstacles, and nothing between Taka and the finish line but a straight run for it…

He hit the turbo.

—BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!—

Earth and wind split as he accelerated to the max. He moved like a bullet train that had cut its brakes—only even faster, a lot faster.

In his wake, mines the other contestants had carefully stepped around began detonating one after another—a chain of explosions ripping down the path behind him.

But none of it reached anyone.

The sheer vacuum of displaced air he left behind swallowed each blast as it went, collapsing them inward before they could spread.

Students in his path were already stumbling aside before he arrived.

Then he was in the tunnel.

18 seconds.

The three could see it.

The light at the end, the stadium, the finish line.

Victory.

So close they could feel it.

19 seconds.

—SWOOOSH!—

But just as they were a meter, maybe two from the exit—

He passed them.

Not through the middle of them.

Not by shoving them aside.

"Wha...!"

"That can't be...!"

"...!"

Up.

He was running on the ceiling.

—And worst of all... he was moonwalking while doing it.

Faster than them.

Inside the stadium, the crowd waited, breath held, already knowing somehow what was coming.

—SWOOOSH!—

A blur of red shot from the gate like a fired shell, spinning through the air—before slamming down onto the track and skidding, carving a long trail through dirt and dust that took a stretched, breathless moment to finally settle.

When it did, there stood Takahashi, frozen in the motion of finishing, completely still.

Then, slowly, he straightened up.

… And brushed his hair back as the cameras found his face, letting the sun fall on his smiling face.

{"TAKAHASHI FUKUMOTO WIIIIIIIINS!!!"}

...

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

────────────────────────

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

pḁtreon.com/TheSynonym (Change the a)

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(A/N: Sorry for the wait, university wasn't kind this week. Lots of projects due, and homework. But we are back, and with a rather long chapter, since I didn't want this to encompass more than a chapter. How was the move Taka pulled up this time?)

 

[JustANoob]

The aura is too bright

 

[Kachellzz]

Not him moonwalking. That's high key disrespectful, and I'm going to agree with Bakugo's crash out when it comes. Bakugo was respectful enough to take Uraraka serious in their manga fight. Taka is just flexing on them. (It's highly amusing)

 

[The Radiance's Follower]

Well, Well, Well. Just a few steps to first place. But you end up getting flexed on.

He was hitting this pose kek. The most optimal running pose.

 

[ArbC2]

"You been hit by,you been hit by,a smooth rocc" bonk