Chapter 75: The Awards Ceremony
In countless stories, from ancient times to the present day, there has always been a golden rule: "If there's smoke, there's no injury." Even Bakugo, who didn't have much exposure to such things, was familiar with this unspoken rule.
He stared intently at the smoke. Even though he had immense confidence in his last attack and believed there was no way Yoshikage Kira could have withstood it, he was still terrified that Kira would give him a huge surprise, leap out of the cloud completely unscathed, and throw his exhausted body out of the ring.
Just as Bakugo was trapped in this state of conflicted anxiety, the smoke began to clear.
There was no surprise, no unexpected twist. The upper half of Yoshikage Kira's uniform was in tatters. He was lying face down on the ground, motionless, looking for all the world like a corpse. His posture was remarkably similar to Bakugo's.
Don't tell me he really couldn't block it? Bakugo felt a sense of relief, but also a twinge of disappointment.
Midnight ran over to check on Kira's condition. She placed a hand on his neck and could feel a steady pulse. Relieved, she asked, "Kira-san, are you able to move?"
Kira didn't respond. His eyes were closed, as if he had already passed out.
Midnight stood up, cracked her whip, and announced loudly, "Kira is unable to continue! The winner of this match is Bakugo!"
The school had been prepared. The moment Midnight spoke, a barrage of fireworks shot into the sky. The flames at the four corners of the stadium roared higher, accompanied by triumphant music. The cheers of countless people were all for Katsuki Bakugo.
"The champion of this year's Sports Festival has been decided! It is—KATSUKI BAKUGO!"
For some reason, hearing those words, Bakugo felt no excitement at all. He buried his face in his arms and muttered in a hoarse voice, "I'm the champion... so why am I not happy at all?"
Bakugo knew the answer. He hadn't defeated Izuku Midoriya or Shoto Todoroki. And even with Kira, the one he had defeated, he had a nagging feeling that he had been holding back.
In his heart, this championship felt hollow. It had no value.
Yoshikage Kira opened his eyes. An unfamiliar ceiling. As expected, he was in the nurse's office.
"You're awake already?" Ryanne's soft voice sounded beside him. "You don't look it, but you're surprisingly durable."
Yoshikage Kira turned his head and saw Ryanne sitting in a chair beside him, her feet, clad in white thigh-high stockings, propped up on his bed. She wore a pair of rimless glasses and was holding a magazine in one hand and an apple in the other, taking small bites.
If Kira wasn't mistaken, it was a fashion magazine. The cover model was the popular idol hero, Uwabami.
Kira sat up and got out of bed on the other side. He saw a fresh gym uniform folded neatly by the bed. After a moment's hesitation, he began to put it on without a change in expression.
As he was dressing, he said casually, "What do you mean by that? I lost to Bakugo, didn't I?"
"I think the one who took a massive explosion like that without getting seriously hurt is the stronger one. You don't need a doctor like me at all," she said, taking another bite of her apple. She paused to look back at her magazine and said, seemingly offhandedly, "But if that's what you say, then I'll just go with that."
After that, Ryanne said nothing more, appearing to be engrossed in her magazine. But in reality, the face hidden behind the magazine was completely flushed, and she was occasionally sneaking glances at Kira's upper body.
Kira finished dressing and headed for the door. Ryanne's voice suddenly called out from behind him. "If you go now, you might just make it to the awards ceremony."
"Thanks."
Yoshikage Kira didn't look back. With that one short word of thanks, he opened the door and left the infirmary.
In the stadium.
All the first-year students were standing in the center of the field. Cementoss had already turned the grandstand he had built back into cement, and like a circus performer, he was pouring it, clump by clump, into woven bags, which were then carried off the field by the staff.
Midnight, as the host, stood on the two-meter-high stage to give the closing remarks. She cracked her whip against the stage and said loudly, "This concludes all the events for this year's U.A. Sports Festival! Next up is the awards ceremony!"
As smoke billowed across the stage, a multi-leveled awards podium rose from below, revealing three figures.
"This year's champion is Katsuki Bakugo! The second-place winner, Yoshikage Kira, is unable to attend due to his condition. His medal will be presented to him at a later date." Midnight was a little surprised. She had received word from the infirmary that Kira had recovered, which is why they had started the ceremony. If he wasn't here, wasn't it all meaningless?
Although she was confused, she maintained her professional demeanor and continued, "In third place are Shoto Todoroki and Fumikage Tokoyami! As they did not determine a winner between them, they will share the third-place prize!"
Tokoyami and Todoroki stood together on the third-place platform. Tokoyami, with his eyes closed and his arms crossed, said coolly to Todoroki, "You know the weakness of my Quirk. If we had fought, I would not have been your match."
So you're saying you're the real third place winner? Is that it?
Shoto Todoroki looked at the second-place platform, which was empty. To his surprise, the first-place winner, Bakugo, was also staring at the empty platform with a grim expression, his hands in his pockets, as if wondering why Kira hadn't come.
The ceremony continued according to schedule. Midnight waved her hand and shouted with a smile, "The person presenting the medals this year is, of course, none other than that man! He is—"
"IT'S ALRIGHT NOW! WHY? BECAUSE—"
On a high platform that few people had been paying attention to, a powerful, dark figure stood with his hands on his hips, laughing. He performed a high-difficulty leap, crossing several meters in an instant and landing in front of the awards podium like a human comet.
"—I AM HERE (ALL MIGHT)!"
All Might's words were completely drowned out by Midnight. He was in a cool, one-knee landing pose, looking up at her with an embarrassed expression.
"And now, it's time to award the medals! Stand tall and receive the fruits of your victory!"
Midnight made an apologetic gesture and picked up the medal box from the pedestal. Inside, four medals were laid out in order. It was clear, however, that one of them would not be handed out just yet.
All Might picked up a bronze medal, placed it around Tokoyami's neck, and hugged him. "Young Tokoyami," he said in a low voice, "your Quirk is very powerful. But you cannot rely on it too much."
Tokoyami nodded maturely. "I will learn from the bitter taste of this defeat and use it as nourishment for my spirit."
Next, All Might came to Todoroki. He had intended to give him a hug as well, but a glance up at the stands revealed Endeavor staring at him and making a threatening gesture. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he smiled and placed the medal around Todoroki's neck.
"Young Todoroki, your Quirk is powerful. But it seems you were reluctant to use it. I was very happy to see you use it in your match. But remember, do not reject them. Because they belong to you."
Todoroki nodded, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "I know. I need a few days to think."
Under Endeavor's murderous glare, All Might couldn't resist giving Todoroki a quick hug. "Young Todoroki, I'm sure you will figure everything out."
All Might glanced at the empty second-place spot, letting out an imperceptible sigh. He finally walked over to Bakugo, only to be taken aback by his expression, which was like that of a defeated rooster.
All Might clapped him on the shoulder. "Young Bakugo," he said with a smile, "you won. Why don't you smile?"
Katsuki Bakugo looked at the hero he had admired since childhood about to present him with a medal, and a strange feeling welled up inside him. He subconsciously voiced the conflict in his heart. "All Might... I don't accept this result. I didn't fight those guys. I don't acknowledge this victory."
All Might chuckled. He forcefully placed the medal around Katsuki Bakugo's neck. "In a world where objective evaluation is the mainstream, it's rare to find someone who sticks to their own subjective evaluation. Take it. Think of this medal as a scar, something to always motivate you."
"All Might," Bakugo said, not refusing, his hand closing around the medal. He suddenly asked, "That Yoshikage Kira guy... do you know where he is?"
All Might was a little surprised, but he still responded with a booming laugh. "Don't you worry! I will find him and personally hand him what belongs to him."
All Might turned to the cameras, showing the winners on the podium behind him, and shouted to the entire stadium, "Here are your top three! But I believe that every single person here today has the potential to stand on this podium!"
"As we saw in the competition, you competed with each other, improved each other, and constantly climbed to greater heights! The next generation of heroes has, without a doubt, begun to show its promise! And so, in closing, I have one more thing to say! Please, everyone, raise your arms and shout with me—"
The entire audience stood up and, as if they had all had the same thought, raised their hands. "PLUS ULTRA!"
Only All Might, who couldn't read the room, shouted, "GOOD WORK, EVERYONE!"
The entire stadium instantly fell silent. The audience began to question him. "Shouldn't you have shouted the school motto just now?"
"No, well, I just thought everyone was probably very tired..." All Might began to sweat profusely, not knowing how to explain himself.
In a dim bar, a television was playing the scene from the Sports Festival, adding a bit of life to the cold, gloomy room.
"Teacher, are you sure you're not mistaken? Do you really think that person will be one of our comrades? He gave your disciple, me, quite a beating, you know," a white-haired man, with a preserved hand that reeked of formaldehyde covering his face, said from his seat at the bar. He swirled the blood-red liquid in his glass, his tone nonchalant.
"I'm not mistaken. I can feel it. He is the same as me. We are both chosen," a hoarse voice said, its source unknown.
"How ridiculous. For a cradle of heroes, U.A. really is a den of filth," Tomura Shigaraki said, his eyes narrowed. "A place like that... I will destroy it for you, Teacher."
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 400 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you!