Aaron's POV
"STAAAAART!" Midnight's sultry yet commanding shout rang across the stadium—
and all hell broke loose.
The moment the word left her lips, the ground shook under dozens of footsteps, quirks flaring left and right. I remembered exactly how Todoroki tried to freeze everyone in the anime, so I didn't give him the chance. The instant ice crackled at my heels, I had already bolted free of the swarm.
Titan's Pulse: 100% + Double Up.
Lightning shot through my veins, my body exploding forward like a cannonball.
"WHOOOOA! ARE YOU SEEING THIS, FOLKS? HE'S MOVING LIKE A THUNDERCLAP—NO, LIKE A STRAIGHT-UP LIGHTNING BOLT!" Present Mic's voice boomed, nearly blowing out the speakers.
The crowd erupted in awe as I streaked ahead, the cheers vibrating the stadium walls. Behind me, Todoroki was already freezing chunks of the ground, but he looked like he was running underwater compared to my pace.
Up ahead, the first obstacle loomed—giant robots like those from the entrance exam. I didn't even slow down. Leaping high, I cocked my fist back—
BOOOOM!
My punch slammed into a robot's face, launching it backwards in a shower of sparks and twisted metal. Gasps and cheers rose from the stands.
"And down goes a ROBOT! He didn't even stop to think—just KABOOOM, outta my sight!" Present Mic hollered, his voice cracking with excitement.
I landed smoothly and kept sprinting, leaving the remaining robots for the others to wrestle with. My eyes locked onto the second obstacle: a massive chasm, pillars jutting out like jagged teeth.
No hesitation. I jumped pillar to pillar, crossing with fluid grace.
"How do you train a lightning bolt like this, Eraser?" Present Mic asked, his tone dropping in awe.
"I didn't do anything," Aizawa replied in his flat monotone, though his eyes followed me keenly. "He's just that good."
The minefield came into view next. Instead of dread, a grin spread across my face.
Let's give them an even bigger shock.
I triggered Clear Mind, narrowing my focus down to a single objective: Do not step on the mines.
Every step was precise, my senses razor-sharp. The crowd collectively held its breath as I dashed across the mines at full speed—never triggering a single one. Dust flew behind me, but not a single explosion followed.
And then—
The finish line.
For a heartbeat, silence. The crowd stared with wide eyes, mouths hanging open. Then the entire stadium erupted. Applause thundered, cheers shook the air.
"UN-BE-LIEVABLE! LADIES AND GENTS, YOU JUST WITNESSED THE FASTEST CLEAR IN SPORTS FESTIVAL HISTORY! THAT WAS LIGHTNING—NO, A STRAIGHT-UP HUMAN STORM!" Present Mic bellowed, nearly dancing at his booth.
On the big screen, Todoroki was just crossing the pit, Midoriya hot on his heels, Bakugo snarling behind them like a wild animal.
'Well, that was easy,' I smirked to myself.
...….
The rest of the students trickled in, with Midoriya, Todoroki, and Bakugo crossing almost together thanks to Midoriya's controlled quirk use. Within minutes, all forty-two qualifiers made it through.
"And that's the last one!" Midnight purred into her mic.
The giant screen flickered, showing the final results. My name gleamed at the very top.
But it wasn't just my placement that stunned the audience—it was the points.
"Ten. Million. Points." Midnight's sultry voice drew out the words like a whip-crack. "That's right, folks! Our first place, Aaron Black, carries TEN MILLION POINTS into the next round!"
Gasps tore through the stands. Murmurs buzzed like angry bees. All eyes zeroed in on me once again, their stares sharp, envious, hungry.
Midnight wasted no time. "Next round—Cavalry Battle!"
The crowd roared approval at the announcement. Midnight explained the rules: teams of two to four, points stacked, chaos inevitable.
Ten minutes. That was all we had to form alliances.
I could feel it—everyone was avoiding me like the plague. They weren't stupid. Whoever teamed up with me would paint a massive target on their back. But going solo wasn't an option. I needed at least one partner.
Scanning the crowd, my eyes landed on a tall, broad student from Class 1-B. His arms and body were covered in thick brown hair, like a bear. Strong build, powerful presence.
'Perfect.'
I walked up and tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned, surprise flickering in his polite gaze. "Yes, sir?"
"Ah, no need to be so formal," I said with a grin. "Name's Aaron Black."
"Nice to meet you, Aaron. I'm Shishida Jūrōta."
I cut straight to the point. "Wanna team with me?"
....
Third Person POV
"Huh… are you sure?" Jūrōta blinked in disbelief. The first-place finisher, the boy everyone was whispering about, asking him to team up? Because of his mutation, he was used to being judged, avoided, even feared. To be sought out instead felt surreal.
"Yeah, why not? You're strong, right?" Aaron asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yes. My quirk gives me far more strength than most of my peers," Jūrōta admitted.
"Perfect. Just the two of us, then." Aaron's grin was confident, almost daring.
"J… just us?" Jūrōta asked nervously.
"Relax. We'll win. Trust me," Aaron replied before jogging off toward the toilets.
Minutes later, he returned—not empty-handed, but carrying a sleek black metal staff. He'd already registered it as his support equipment, retrieved through a quick portal trip home. No one questioned it.
As the signal drew near, Jūrōta activated his quirk. His body grew, hair thickening, muscles expanding, until he towered like a massive beast.
"Whoa…" Aaron blinked in honest surprise. He had assumed Jūrōta's mutation was purely physical, not a full-on transformation. "That's awesome."
"Thank you," Jūrōta rumbled, his deep voice polite even in this form. "Climb on my back."
Aaron did so, balancing his staff with one hand. "Alright. You've guessed it already. The moment this starts, we're everyone's target. Just move where I tell you, and we'll win."
The stadium buzzed with anticipation, the tension sharp as a blade.
"STAAAART!" Present Mic screamed, the signal echoing through the arena.
"Run left!" Aaron commanded immediately as dozens of teams surged toward them at once. Jūrōta thundered forward, Aaron spinning his staff in a blur to keep attackers at bay. Sparks flew as rival teams clashed around them, the crowd howling with excitement.
The real threats were obvious: Midoriya's team with Hatsume's gadgets, Todoroki's deadly squad, Bakugo's feral crew, and Monoma's schemers from Class 1-B.
Midoriya's group, jetpack-propelled, closed in fast. But Aaron was waiting. With Titan's Pulse at 100%, he swung his staff—only to be blocked by Tokoyami's Dark Shadow.
"DARK SHADOW BLOCKS THE STRIKE! MIDORIYA'S TEAM MAKING A MOVE!" Present Mic bellowed, his commentary sharp and fast.
Midoriya lunged, fingers inches from Aaron's headband.
But Aaron twisted, retracting his staff and kicking Midoriya away. The recoil launched him back onto Jūrōta's back in one fluid motion.
The crowd exploded.
"TODOROKI'S TEAM ON THE FLANK!" Present Mic roared.
"NOW!" Todoroki shouted, ice spreading as Denki released a crackling wave of electricity.
"Jump, Jūrōta!" Aaron yelled at the same instant.
The bear-like student leapt skyward, electricity crackling harmlessly below.
Aaron didn't miss his chance—his staff shot out, extending like a spear. With a swift flick, he snatched Todoroki's headband clean off.
The crowd went wild.
"HE DID IT AGAIN! LADIES AND GENTS, THAT'S TWO STRAIGHT-OUT PLAYS OF GENIUS! THE CROWD IS LOSING THEIR MINDS!" Present Mic practically screamed himself hoarse as the cheers shook the stadium.
Aaron and Jūrōta landed back on solid ground, their momentum unbroken, the crowd roaring their names.
The cavalry battle had only just begun—but Aaron had already stolen the spotlight.
This back and forth went on for some time until it was Bakugo's turn to try.
He came crashing down on Aaron solo, right hand cocked back, explosions popping as sparks illuminated his feral grin.
"DIIIIIIEEEEE!" Bakugo roared, aiming to blast Aaron clean off.
But Aaron calmly shifted, pushing Bakugo's right hand aside with a sharp parry before snatching him by the collar. In one smooth motion, he spun Bakugo around like a whirlwind and hurled him back toward his team. The stadium gasped as Bakugo tumbled mid-air, only to realize Aaron had already stolen a band from his neck before tossing him.
"OOOOHHH! DID YOU SEE THAT?!" Present Mic's voice boomed like thunder. "BAKUGO JUST GOT MANHANDLED AND STRIPPED OF A BAND! AARON IS RUNNING THIS FIELD LIKE A GENERAL!"
The crowd erupted into wild cheers, stomping and clapping as the hype built to its peak.
"One MINUTE LEFT! IT'S NOW OR NEVER!" Present Mic bellowed, igniting the entire stadium into a frenzy.
And just like that, the charge began once again.
This time, everyone attacked at once—Todoroki with a wave of ice and Denki's sparks blazing from the left, Bakugo and his team swooping in from the right, and Midoriya's squad launching head-on. The arena became a storm of quirks, noise, and desperation.
The first strikes came from Todoroki and Bakugo. Aaron met Bakugo's furious assault head-on, staff spinning and sparking as it clashed against explosive blasts, but in that opening Todoroki managed to freeze Jūrōta's hands and feet solid.
Aaron finally shoved Bakugo back, only to be met by Midoriya charging through the chaos, determination blazing in his eyes. Aaron swung his staff to knock Izuku away—
—but Midoriya did something completely unexpected.
"NOW!" Izuku roared, his arm glowing violently green.
For a brief instant, Aaron's eyes widened.
Izuku unleashed One For All at 100%, swinging his arm with raw power. The shockwave alone ripped across the battlefield, a roaring gale that sent Aaron flying through the air like a ragdoll. The entire stadium went silent before exploding into deafening screams.
'Tch… I wasn't going to use it, but you forced my hand.' Aaron thought as he twisted mid-air, his expression sharpening.
He invoked everything at once—Titan's Pulse, Double Up, and Clear Mind—boosting himself to a staggering 230–250% output, the equivalent of wielding roughly 23–25% of OFA.
With a roar, he punched the air. The sheer force of the strike created a shockwave that countered Midoriya's blast and launched Aaron back toward the ground. He landed with precision on the back of still-frozen Jūrōta, a smirk tugging at his lips despite the chaos.
The crowd went absolutely feral.
"HE'S STILL IN THIS! AARON BLACK JUST DEFIED THE ODDS AGAIN!" Present Mic shouted, his voice cracking with excitement.
And as Todoroki, Bakugo, and Midoriya all gathered to charge once more, ready to clash in a final desperate assault—
Present Mic's voice boomed louder than ever:
"AAAAANNNNNND… THAT'S IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"
The buzzer sounded, signaling the end of the match as the entire stadium shook with roaring applause.