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Chapter 22 - A rest

After a one-hour break and receiving treatment for his right wrist, Doryoku tried to escape the festival as he had nothing to do there after all.

But, it turns out that he must be present for receive his prize from director Nezu and in front of a lot of people, so Doryoku had to go almost forced to receive the medal from him.

And in the middle of the entire stadium, in front of all the heroes and people who gave their support to all, Doryoku was on a podium in first place, Oboro in second while waving to the crowd happily and Aizawa in third after beat Hizashi with his typical sleepy expression.

Doryoku seemed very calm but actually he was a nervous wreck internally as always, plus he never liked taking pictures or going on camera, so it was doubly awkward and overwhelming.

Director Nezu after finishing with his pending things and on Ectoplasm's shoulders, approached Aizawa with the bronze medal in hand while Last laser held the rest.

"You did very well young Aizawa, even with the simplicity of your quirk you reached third place with ingenuity, I expect a lot from you in the future!" Director Nezu said with a satisfied smile as Aizawa received the medal and made a small bow as a sign of respect.

Director Nezu took from Last laser the silver medal and approached Oboro to then put it on his neck and say...

"Congratulations young Shirakumo, you are an expert in combat from what I was told, I hope the UA fits to your full talent!" Director Nezu said smiling proudly as Oboro proudly received the medal from him as well.

"Thank you very much Director Nezu, it's an honor!" Oboro said excitedly as he made a small bow in respect and director Nezu nodded in satisfaction.

Director Nezu took the last gold medal and approached Doryoku while he was looking noticeably more nervous being the center of everyone's attention.

"Huhu, look at him he looks like a jelly in an earthquake, what a champion" Mirai said with a mocking smile seeing Doryoku's nervous attitude after all the festival.

"You can Suzuki-kun I know how you feel!" Azami said quite understandingly as she gave her support to Doryoku's awkward situation.

"Come on friend make the public happy and get their cheers!!" Hizashi said with a big smile as usual and giving his advice that would only serve him.

Director Nezu approached Doryoku and put the medal around his neck with his typical happy smile as always and then said...

"You exceeded all my expectations young Suzuki, enjoy the prize and wait for my call when classes start again!" Director Nezu said with a big, excited smile and a lot of expectation.

"Do you have something to ask?" Director Nezu asked seeing that Doryoku seemed to want to say something.

Doryoku hesitated for a second not to remain the center of attention, but in the end he decided to ask.

"C-can I sell this medal?" Doryoku asked nervously as he took the gold medal in his hands.

"Hahaha, you are quite a character young Suzuki, it was an excellent joke!" Director Nezu said laughing loudly and not taking the question seriously and then walking away.

'Haha, I was serious' said Doryoku with a nervous smile, not sure what to do with the gold medal around his neck.

Director Nezu dropped from Ectoplasm's shoulders and walked over to his small microphone to say...

"It was a pleasure to be with all of you public at home and present, these will be great heroes of the future, a very bright future before the new generations and that will surely keep us safe from the evil of the world!" Director Nezu said with a big smile as all the students looked proud as well as the audience.

"See you all next year, and Plus Ultra!" Director Nezu said ending his little speech and raising his hand excitedly.

"Plus Ultra!!!" said all the heroes around, the participants and all the people in the stands and in their homes at the same time.

And with all this, the sports festival comes to an end and Doryoku will finally be able to rest after so many emotions and discoveries.

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"It was exciting friend, one of the best experiences of my life, as well as the craziest!" Oboro said with great excitement as he walked with Doryoku to their homes, both of them wearing their sports suits and their medals still.

"I want to sleep" was the only thing Doryoku could say, who had the face of a civil servant in the morning, in addition to a light bandage on his wrist.

"I'm a bit tired too, does it show?!" Oboro said with an excited smile although he seemed a couple of millimeters less excited making Doryoku look at him with blank eyes.

Both friends walked until they reached the home of Doryoku who quickly said goodbye to Oboro to go straight to sleep.

"Thanks for all friend, I owe you a big one this time" Doryoku said with a grateful smile after all the help from Oboro.

"Don't worry, we're friends, friends never owe each other anything!" Oboro said shaking his head as he smiled and then went home.

"See you tomorrow, you can come home if you want, Okā-san will prepare shrimps for lunch!" Oboro said as he said goodbye and ran home quickly.

"See ya!" Doryoku said saying goodbye with a slight smile to Oboro and then going home.

Just by arriving in front of the home, Doryoku relaxed quite a bit and the smell of the food that came out of it only made him feel happier to return home.

*Knock**Knock*

"Okā-chan, I'm here!" Doryoku said out loud to get his mother's attention.

Footsteps were heard behind the door and as it opened Doryoku was quickly caught in a deadly embrace from his mother.

"Dory-chan, I'm so proud you were the first at the festival and you got over your fears!" Nintai said with a big proud and happy smile as she hugged Doryoku tighter.

"I-I'm glad you're happy Okā-chan" said Doryoku barely breathing, but also looking quite happy.

Nintai stopped hugging her son for a moment and took Doryoku's medal quickly and eagerly to say...

"I'll hang it in the kitchen so I can show off to anyone who walks in!" Nintai said as she took the medal and ran to the kitchen quite proudly.

Doryoku could only smile warmly upon seeing his mother's attitude, and then enter the house and help with dinner.

"No little gentleman, you just sit there waiting for your food, you must be very tired!" Nintai said pulling Doryoku away from the kitchen and letting him rest.

"B-but Okā-chan-" said Doryoku trying to reason and being interrupted by his mother.

"No buts, sit back and wait!" Nintai said seriously making Doryoku just sit defeated in the dining room and wait for his food.

And with all this, the day of the sports festival is over, plus Doryoku was finally able to sleep and eat a good dinner after so much unnecessary exercise.

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"Okā-chan, I'm going to visit Oboro I'll come back later!" Doryoku said dressed in his favorite wine long-sleeved shirt as he walked out the door of his home.

"Be careful Dory-chan and come back early-!" Nintai said from the kitchen until she was suddenly quiet.

Doryoku seemed a bit confused by the abrupt silence of his mother until...

"Wuahhhhhhh!!!" Nintai yelled in shock and then ran towards Doryoku at high speed.

"D-Dory-chan, 20, money, yen, million how?!" Nintai said in shock unable to articulate a complete sentence as she held up her phone.

"I see" Doryoku said with a hand on his chin trying to accommodate the words that his mother said randomly to make sense of it.

Nintai took a deep breath to calm herself and showed her son her phone so he could see that there were 20 million yen that came out of nowhere.

"Ohh, that was the prize for the winner of the sports festival, surprise" Doryoku said calmly and then smiled slightly and made Jazz hands for express surprise.

"So that's why, that's why you participated in the festival Dory-chan!" Nintai said, tying up the loose ends of everything quite impressed.

"That's right, at least I hope this can help you a bit for a while" Doryoku said, smiling slightly when he saw his mother's expression.

Some tears of happiness fell from Nintai's eyes and she hugged her son tightly and then said...

"Buahhhh, what did I do to deserve you Dory-chan?!" Nintai said as she hugged her son with pride and affection as he returned the hug.

After a few minutes of hugging, Nintai released Doryoku excitedly to say.

"Tomorrow we have to go shopping, there are many things that we need, in addition to clothes for you that you always wear the same!" Nintai said with a smile and a lot of anticipation for tomorrow.

"Actually this is more of a decision than a necessity, but it doesn't matter I guess" said Doryoku who didn't seem bothered with his favorite shirt.

"See you Okā-chan, I'm already late" said Doryoku as he said goodbye to his mother with a slight smile and then walked towards Oboro's home.

"Be careful Dory-chan and have fun!" Nintai said with a big smile as she said goodbye to her son.

But even with all this, there was a bit of sadness and disappointment in Nintai, after all, she believed that her son had finally had a wish of his own, something selfish for just one time.

She was also relieved to see that her son didn't want to be a hero, a relief that made her feel a bit guilty.

Doryoku was always the same, he only cares about her and nothing else, she never saw him be selfish or that something really made him feel happy or motivated to do so, which worried her.

She could tell that Doryoku felt emotion in difficult situations, as did his father, but that was just a glimpse of what he could be if something filled him with passion and took all his feelings out.

Doryoku was a lot like his father in almost every way, but Daiki always knew what he wanted, to be a hero and save others, a dream that he made come true despite everything and what everyone told him.

But that will be a topic for another day, after all, Doryoku still had his whole life ahead of him to know what he really wanted.

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