"At last, we've arrived!!"
Present Mic's voice echoed throughout the stadium, his tone full of passion.
"After countless trials and tribulations, the best of the best among UA's firsts years will now be decided! It's the final match, Ryugamine versus Todoroki!"
All the people sitting inside the stadium, and even those outside watching through their screen, held their breaths as they stared at the two teens walk onto the battle platform.
The children from the orphanage cheered while waving the banner they made. The heroes watched with strong interest. Students of other hero schools focused closely to take note of their strongest rival in the future.
And in an underground laboratory, a man with scars all over his face and life support tubes stuck on his back, listened to the blaring television. A short old man wearing a lab coat stood beside him, along with a blue-haired manchild who was glaring hatefully at the white-haired teenager on the screen.
"Doctor, how sure are you about your conjecture?"
"I am 80% certain, master. For a young man to possess such strength, a basic ability to control the body is not enough. No matter how much training the human body undergoes, possessing that level of speed and power is impossible. It can only be done if he is the successor of THAT Quirk…or his genes had evolved and surpassed the normal human's."
The short and bald guy called Doctor said. He paused, and twirled his mustache before continuing.
"However, that green haired teenager who exhibited a similarly powerful strength is also suspicious. It's the reason I'm not fully certain."
"In that case, keep a closer eye on both of them. One For All's successor…heh. All Might has moved quite fast."
The faceless figure chuckled. His tone was light, as if he didn't take this matter seriously at all.
Hiro didn't know that he was just misunderstood as OFA's successor by his target. At this moment, he gave a casual nod to Todoroki as the two of them stood in the arena.
"Are the two of you ready?"
"Yes/Yes."
"Then let the battle begin!"
As soon as Midnight gave the signal, Todoroki didn't waste any time. From below his right feet, huge amounts of ice surged.
Everyone in the audience gasped in awe as a massive iceberg emerged from the arena. It was even taller than when Todoroki fought against Koda, the ice shooting past the stadium's roof.
"Sorry, I know you're strong. So I won't hold back."
Todoroki said, breathing slightly heavier. He had watched Hiro's battle with the Nomu. Against that kind of speed and strength, a barrage of ice like before won't be effective. But as long as he was quick enough and trapped Hiro, he would win.
Buried under such a thick amount of ice, he won't even have the leverage to exert his strength.
Just as Todoroki thought so, a clear crack rang out. Then, under his and the audience's stunned gazes, the glacier that was almost as tall as a skyscraper crumbled.
"You won't hold yourself back? Funny that you should mention that."
From the icy remains, a white haired teenager casually strolled out with his hands in his pocket. Steam rose from his body and his skin was slightly red. But other than that, he didn't look fazed by the attack at all.
"You know, your father approached me just now."
"Him? What for?"
Todoroki asked, his voice slightly agitated. At the same time, he didn't forget to launch continuous ice attacks at his opponent's direction to stop him from approaching.
Hiro didn't bother dodging. The ice pelted against him, yet it was unable to even make him pause in his footsteps.
"He told me a bunch of nonsense I couldn't care to remember. However, one thing he did say stuck with me."
Hiro smiled and swatted away a piece of ice that was heading straight for his face. It bounced back, hitting Todoroki in the stomach and causing the icefire teenager to stagger.
"He said you could defeat me if you used your left side. Is that right?"
"That's none of your concern!"
Todoroki shouted, and once again unleashed a large wave of ice attack.
This time, Hiro didn't choose to take it head on. He took out his right hand from his pocket and punched the incoming attack.
Although his base physique hasn't gotten stronger, after the second awakening of his Quirk, he could now boost his strength much higher than before.
With this punch, Todoroki's attack shattered like glitters. And it didn't stop at just that. The remaining force sent the icefire boy flying over to the edge of the arena.
He stopped himself from dropping out of bounds by creating an ice wall behind him. After, he dropped on one knee, gasping for breath at the impact of that punch.
"You're right, it's none of my concern."
Hiro said, uncaring about how much shock his punch similarly sent to the watching audience.
"However…hey, Todoroki, do you really want to be a hero?"
"Huff, huff, of course!"
Todoroki replied as he staggered to his feet. His legs were shaking and sweat poured down from his forehead. His body became increasingly numb as hypothermia started to set in.
But still, he raised his head in defiance and met Hiro's gaze. From a young age, he was inspired by All Might to become a hero. Even with his bastard father's influence, it didn't stop his pursuit to become one.
"I see. Then can I assume you just look down on everyone?"
"What?"
Todoroki's brow furrowed, a sense of deja vu settling in.
"Is it like a challenge? Showing the world you can defeat your peers using only half your power? Or do you really believe you don't even need to use it to surpass us? Even now, when your back is against the wall, you don't seem to have any plans on using your left side's power at all. Being so looked down upon, I feel a bit offended."
Todoroki gritted his teeth as he saw Hiro's mock hurt expression. Now he remembered. Isn't this the same thing he said in the locker room? Was Hiro holding a grudge for that all this time?!
"I have my own reasons for not using my left side, and it's not because I look down on anyone."
"Hmm, I see. Whatever your reason, I hope it's enough that you don't regret it when you fail to save a person's life in the future."
Hiro said with a smile, before his figure blurred and disappeared. Todoroki only had time to widen his eyes before he felt a solid impact on the back of his neck and his vision darkened.
"Shoto Todoroki has been knocked unconscious! The final winner of the match, and this whole tournament, is Hiro Ryugamine!"
Hiro donned a casual smile and waved to the crowd. This time, however, his smile was more genuine than anything he ever gave before.
"Ryugamine! Ryugamine! Ryugamine!"
"Onii-chan!"
Staring at the looks of admiration and worship on the children's faces, his heart swelled with pride. The cheers from the thousands of people in the stadium couldn't even compare to one of them in his heart.
After that, the battle for the third place was automatically won by Mina due to Midoriya being unfit to battle. There was a brief break as everyone waited for Todoroki to wake up before the awards ceremony was held.
"Now for the medals! Presenting them this year is you-know-who!"
"I am here…with the medals!"
In front of the makeshift podium where Hiro, Mina, and Todoroki stood, a muscular figure descended from the sky. The crowd erupted into cheers as All Might, wearing his hero costume, stood before everyone.
The blond hero smiled and waved briefly to the crowd, before walking in front of the excited pink-skinned girl.
"Congratulations, Ashido-san! You're a strong one. Continue to hone your control over your Quirk and I look forward to what you'll achieve in the future."
"Thank you, All Might-sensei!"
Mina beamed as All Might personally placed the bronze medal on her neck and patted her encouragingly on the shoulder. She waved to the crowd, before facing Hiro and giving a peace sign while holding the medal in her hand.
Then, All Might moved in front of Todoroki who was looking somewhat lost and gave him the silver medal.
"Todoroki-kun, congratulations!"
"…thank you, All Might-sensei."
"You look hesitant. Is there a problem?"
Todoroki slightly shifted his gaze away, glancing at Hiro who was talking and laughing with Mina, before replying in a low voice.
"This tournament…my loss against Ryugamine and the question he posed made me reconsider my decision. You know, I've always wanted to become a hero like you, All Might. And I realize I can't do that while not giving it my all. But…"
Todoroki frowned, and met the number 1 hero's gaze.
"It's not like I can just forget and get over things. That's not enough. There's still something I have to settle first."
"That's a new look I'm seeing on your face, so say no more! Whatever you must settle, I'm sure you can do it."
All Might said and gave Todoroki a tight hug. Finally, he moved in front of the winner of the tournament, gold medal in hand.
"Ryugamine-kun, congratulations!"
"Thank you, All Might-sensei."
Hiro smiled, lowering his head as the blond hero placed the medal on his neck.
"You've proven to everyone that all the effort and hardship you endured was not wasted. Continue on this path, young man. In you, I see a great hero in the making!"
"I'll try my best."
All Might smiled and gave Hiro a tight hug. Then, he turned around and faced the crowd.
"Everyone here today has the potential to be standing up here!"
On the 1A seats, a certain blond explosive teenager clenched his fist. He stared at the people on the podium, particularly the white haired teenager in the middle, and vowed to be the one standing in that place next year.
"Competition! Encouragement! Pushing each other to climb higher and higher!"
The rest of class 1B's eyes narrowed, especially Monoma. This sports festival was almost a showcase solely for 1A. Next time, it would be their class' turn instead.
"The sprouts of today will grow into the heroes of tomorrow!"
Back at the underground laboratory, the faceless figure quietly listened to the man responsible for turning him into this state, dark thoughts brewing inside his head.
"In that spirit, let's have one final cheer! Everyone, say it with me. One, two, and…"
""PLUS ULTRAAA!!!""
"Thnaks for the hard work!"
"Huh?"
"Isn't it Plus Ultra!?"
Thus, amidst the confusion, the first year's UA Sports Festival finally ended.
A/N: Whew, we escaped the curse of the story being axed at the UA Sports Festival. Overall, I'd say this part of the story went well. At least, I'm satisfied with the way things go. Even the unexpected Quirk Awakening, now that I think about it, was perfectly timed.
Next, we'll have the internship arc! Based on the overwhelming vote results, Hiro will study under the rabbit hero, Mirko. Let's see what'll happen when a battle junky bunny hangs out with our overpowered protagonist.
As always, you can access advanced chapters on patreon.com/Ked2002