Chapter 73: Lord Monoma Decides to Reflect on His Life
Katsuki Bakugo, for some reason, was completely fired up. In his match against Fumikage Tokoyami, he was overwhelmingly aggressive, relentlessly pressuring him. In the eyes of others, Dark Shadow, which was almost unbeatable with its ability to fight at both close and long range, was completely unable to utilize its strength. After a bout of chasing and thrashing, Tokoyami, just like Todoroki before him, was pinned to the ground by Bakugo and forced to surrender.
"Why was Tokoyami's Dark Shadow dodging so much?" Mineta asked in disbelief. "Is Bakugo really so strong that you can't even get near him!?"
Midoriya sat to the side, silent. Having teamed up with Tokoyami in the cavalry battle, he knew that Dark Shadow had a fatal weakness: a fear of light. The brighter the light, the less power it could exert, especially against sudden flashes.
It seems Bakugo has already figured out that weakness. The explosions from his palms were like a string of firecrackers, the uninterrupted flashes of light and concussive blasts terrifying the beast of darkness, preventing Tokoyami from using his true strength.
Amidst his rage, Bakugo had maintained a cool head. With an absolute advantage, he advanced to the finals, where he would fight Yoshikage Kira for the championship.
After his injuries were healed, Midoriya had returned to the stadium, just in time to run into a rushing Tenya Iida. Iida's expression was one of surprise, but he didn't say anything to Midoriya, leaving the school without a word.
It was only when he got back to the stands that Midoriya learned of Iida's sudden withdrawal. He suppressed the unease in his heart and watched the match between Kira and Todoroki in its entirety. He was amazed by Kira's sharp judgment and held his breath during Todoroki's perilous moments. When he saw Todoroki finally unleash his flames under pressure, followed by Kira's smiling face, he suddenly felt a shudder run through his body, a sense of loss, as if something had left him.
It was an indescribable feeling, as if a part of the Quirk All Might had given him was missing—a dark and frenzied power. Just as the thought of asking All Might about it entered his mind, the power quietly returned to his body, merging back into the ocean of his strength.
To ensure Bakugo had enough stamina for his final match against Kira, he was given a twenty-minute break after the semi-finals. The medical staff gave him a full check-up. (Incidentally, Kira also had a check-up, but the results showed only minor injuries that healed with a few breaths, without any need for medical intervention.)
Bakugo didn't use this time to rest. Instead, he went up to the Class 1-A section of the stands.
"Deku! You just got healed and you're already back watching the matches!? You got a death wish or something!?" Seeing Midoriya, Bakugo's face instantly soured. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, kicked Kirishima's shin, and said impatiently, "Hey, where'd that Kira bastard go? Did he watch my match?"
Kirishima, unbothered by his rudeness, said with a smile, "Mr. Aizawa called Kira-kun away a little while ago. He didn't have time to watch your match. He's probably in the waiting room now."
"What about Half-and-Half? Where'd he go!?"
This time, Ashido answered him. "Todoroki-kun was taken away by his father. He might be back in a bit."
"Seriously, I just found out today that Todoroki's father is Endeavor!" Kaminari said, leaning in excitedly. "He's the Number Two Pro Hero! He's not on All Might's level, but he's still a super intense old guy!"
Bakugo had no interest in hearing any of this. He was getting annoyed. He grit his teeth and forced out, "The people I wanted to see this match aren't even here. Hahaha... great. You're all just great!"
Watching Bakugo stalk away like a common thug, the cheerful chatter instantly died down. The few who had spoken exchanged glances and shrugged.
Bakugo's next opponent is Kira. It looks like he can't wait.
"EVERYONE, THE BREAK IS OVER, AND THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR HAS ARRIVED! I'M SURE YOU'RE ALL JUST AS EAGER AS I AM TO SEE WHO WILL TAKE THE CROWN!" Present Mic handed the microphone to the recently returned Shota Aizawa. "LET'S ASK THE HOMEROOM TEACHER OF CLASS 1-A, SHOTA AIZAWA, FOR HIS THOUGHTS! IT'S NO EXAGGERATION TO SAY THAT THIS YEAR'S SPORTS FESTIVAL HAS BEEN THE STAGE FOR HERO COURSE CLASS 1-A! IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAVING REAL COMBAT EXPERIENCE AND NOT REALLY THAT HUGE, CLASS 1-B!?"
A vein throbbed on Tetsutetsu's forehead. "That Mic guy has a really foul mouth! Does he love poking at people's sore spots or what!?"
"He's right. We're trash. The non-recyclable kind. Mic wasn't wrong," said Pony Tsunotori, the American girl with the fluent Japanese, as if she had seen through the meaning of life. She adjusted the broken horn on her head and looked at Tetsutetsu with vacant eyes. "And you, the one who got hit in the nose by a horn, you really are an idiot."
"What did you say!? Didn't I explain it clearly? It was that Yoshikage Kira bastard who set me up!"
Itsuka Kendo looked at the blond-haired boy beside her and teased, "Speaking of foul-mouthed people, we have one of those over here too, don't we?"
For a rare moment, Neito Monoma didn't say anything inflammatory. He was resting his head on his hand, looking like a philosopher. "Tell me," he said suddenly, "do you think it would be embarrassing if we just went and surrendered now?"
"Eh!? Why would you say that? That's not like you at all!" Tetsutetsu turned his head in disbelief. "I don't care what you think! I'll never give up, no matter what!"
"Tetsutetsu, look at the bigger picture. Face the facts. In our first clash with Class A, we lost. It was a crushing defeat."
There wasn't a trace of discouragement on Neito Monoma's face. He rested his chin on his hands and said with a confident smile, "But there's no need to worry. This is just the beginning. We lost because we have no real combat experience, right? Then let's compare ourselves again when we're standing on the same starting line as Class A. We are far from our limit!"
They say a real man doesn't cry easily. Tetsutetsu wiped away a tear of emotion from his eye. "Monoma," he said, his voice thick, "I never knew you were a true man! Alright! I, Tetsutetsu, will make this promise today! If you want to defeat Class B—wait no, Class A—then you can definitely count me in!"
Monoma smiled and said nothing.
Being completely wiped out in this Sports Festival was a huge blow to Class 1-B. Many of them had lost their confidence. Like Pony Tsunotori, they had accepted in their hearts that Class B was inferior to Class A. No one had even refuted Mic's sarcastic comments. This made Monoma feel incredibly frustrated.
He had learned one thing from this failure: a person's abilities have their limits—no, that wasn't it.
During the cavalry battle, when he was being hunted by Bakugo, several of the Class B teams, after losing their own points, hadn't gone after Class A. Instead, they had come after him, the soft target. And they hadn't even managed to get his points; they had just served them up for Bakugo.
Yes, it was a free-for-all. It was understandable to act in one's own self-interest. But they had agreed on a strategy beforehand. To be backstabbed like that was disheartening.
It wasn't until he saw Bakugo, Kira, Todoroki, and Midoriya fight that Monoma understood. Class B needed a role model. They needed someone whose strength they could acknowledge from the bottom of their hearts.
He understood that he was just a schemer. Even if the others pretended to agree with him, in private, they wouldn't mind gossiping about the guy who could only steal other people's Quirks.
And so, Monoma made a decision. He would support... no, not support, nurture. He would nurture a soul for Class 1-B. Before they could even think about taking on Class A, they had to stabilize their own ranks. There could be no more traitors. The hot-blooded, manly Tetsutetsu was perfectly suited to be that leader, someone who could unite Class B.
Looking at Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, a feeling of apology suddenly welled up in Monoma's heart.
I'm sorry for pushing you to the forefront. But for the sake of this class, I'm sure you're willing, right...? The first thing I need to do is restore your confidence.
Monoma also wanted to be a hero, to fight fair and square without any tricks. But deep down, he knew the truth: he was just a joker. He would never get to play the part of a straight-laced, righteous hero.
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