Chapter 40: Sports Festival Arc (5)
~Ren Y. POV~
[UA High School, Stadium, Japan]
"These four teams will proceed to the final event!"
Hearing the words of Present Mic, I let go of my [Negation]. I observed Team Todoroki with a hint of pity that Ida, Shoto, Momo, and Denki not being able to participate in the finale of the Sports Festival.
But my eyes were on Shoto as he had a look of disbelief on his face, truly expecting to win. I don't pity him in the slightest.
Everyone did their best to earn their right here. And here he is, half-assing his attempts to be a hero.
But soon, Present Mic began to speak out loud, informing everyone in a chill tone, talking to Aizawa-Sensei, "We'll proceed to the afternoon portion after a 1-hour lunch break! See you then!! Hey, Eraser Head, wanna grab some food?"
I laughed lightly, hearing him rather go to sleep. Soon, I met up with Momo, Ida, and Denki, asking in a sheepish tone, "Sorry I had to kick you guys out of the running of the Sports Festival. But you didn't exactly leave me the choice of leaving me alone…"
Ida sighed as he adjusted his glasses with a friendly smile on his face as he spoke stoically of the event, "You have nothing to apologize for, Ren-kun. You merely did what you had to do in the Calvary Battle. It was merely an honor for you to go all out."
Rubbing the back of my head, Momo curtly nodded her head, sighing out loud in a defeated tone, "Sigh… It's a pity, but congrats all the same, Ren, Toru, and Kinoko. You expertly planned this there's no shame in that."
Denki smirked at me, being chill about his loss in a confident tone with his arms crossed, curtly nodding his head, "No problem, man. If it happens, it happens no use crying over what happened. But man, you were holding out on us."
Jabbing his shoulder to my side, I couldn't help but chuckle at my classmate's reassurances, accepting their loss in a chill tone, "Well, you guys are taking your loss well. I hope there won't be any bad blood between us. I guess I was worried for nothing. And you Shoto…"
Having his name heard he took in a deep breath as he exhaled asking me in a neutral tone his eyes seeming lost, "Sigh… sorry to abruptly ask this but can I borrow some of your time…"
The others looked confused and a few concerned, but I replied in a confident tone, easing their worries, "Sure. Hopefully, we'll meet up with you guys later for lunch, okay?"
Few agreed with my words as they left us alone, with Momo speaking, taking a moment to look between me and Todoroki as she said in a concerned tone, "Wanting to compete against one another is fine, but classmates shouldn't fight over one loss…"
Shoto raised his head, looking at his team, before muttering in a disappointed tone, "It's fine, Momo. And… I'm sorry for making you guys lose because of me."
Momo smiled as did the rest of his team, seeing the situation wasn't as bad as it first seemed between me and Prince Zuko. Once they left, we moved to a more private section location within the stadium.
There, he stared intently at me, his eyes narrowing as he stated in a stoic tone, "You managed to defeat me…"
There was something in his eyes when he said that. But I responded in a neutral tone, keeping my hands in my pocket and leaning my back against the wall, "I did, yes. I may fool around, but I also work hard to improve, giving my everything. Unlike you, though, everyone did their best, and perhaps you should give both a try, just like that left side of yours because well…"
I didn't need to finish my words as Shoto frowned. He touched the scarred left side of his face when I mentioned it, his expression became severe as he spoke in a harsh tone, "I can't – no, it would be more accurate to say I refuse to use this side. I won't give that man the satisfaction of seeing me use his power…"
Raising an eyebrow, this is what I have problems with entitled tragic characters. They think their fucking entitled to rage or act like an emo-edge lord.
Seeing my neutral expression with a raised eyebrow, Shoto continues explaining in a neutral tone his story, "You know my father is Endeavor. The second-greatest hero of all time. But tell me this, Ren… are you All Might's illegitimate child or something with how his paying attention to you?"
I didn't know when, but that comment pissed me off. Glaring, I said, losing my chill from earlier in a tense tone, "Are you trying to piss me off, Todoroki? Because last I checked, I'm a fucking orphan working my way up through life this better be a fucking joke…"
Seeing my shift in tone, aggression, and angry expression, he looked surprised. It's something I don't tell everyone in the class, but the memories of this body are mine as it was the previous person, and so were the emotions.
You can better believe how Shoto's fumbling this badly, starting with that as I was quickly losing patience with him. But bitterly, I responded, asking in a blunt tone, calming down, "If you have something to say, just say it and be over with already."
Shoto, seeing he hit a sore spot for me, got straight to the point as he looked down in a defeated tone and said, "I apologize if I hit a sore spot… But if you're somehow connected to the number 1 guy, then I have all the more reason for me to crush you."
After calming down, I listened to a sad tale about his father and Quirk's marriages, easing my anger. It's certainly more impactful seeing it in person than in the story I'll give him that much, but…
I couldn't help but voice out loud in a sympathetic tone, "That's rough, buddy."
I can even tell Bakugo listening to the conversation as Shoto continues explaining in a serious tone, "In short, not using my left side was a sort of revenge against him. Never using my rotten father's quirk… no, by rising to the top without using it, I'll deny him everything."
Blinking, I muttered out loud in an obvious tone, surprising him, "That's stupid."
My words seem to cause him to have a serious expression asking curiously with a raised brow, "Why do you think so?"
Crossing my arms together, I responded in a neutral tone, eyeing Shoto, explaining his stupidity, "Because it's your power, not your bastard of an old man. If you wanted to spite that asshole, then you shouldn't have been a hero in the first place. That would be the ultimate form of revenge against him. But instead, from what I've seen, you're merely playing hero for fun in my eyes."
He shot a glare at me as he tried to speak, "I never – "
No. I interrupted him, jabbing my finger at his chest, making my point stand, looking intently at Prince Zuko in a defiant tone, "You say that, but from the Calvary, Battle says otherwise. Because of your vendetta holding yourself back, you made your team fail. Not only will you pledge to yourself, but in the near future, if you want to be a hero, you have to realize that half your power won't be enough when saving lives needs your fire. I want you to think about why you became a hero in the first place…"
I turned around to leave without giving Shoto time to respond. I made my point stand. While yes, I feel sorry for the guy, it doesn't mean I have to give him special treatment because of his sad backstory.
Turning around the corridor, I see Bakugo is already ahead. Not wasting any time, I walked to him, and asked bluntly to him, "So… you heard everything from the conversation then Bakugo?"
He seemed to pause lightly, seeing I addressed him by name rather than by wild Pomeranian nickname this time. But he returned with a light scoff in a stoic tone, "Tch. Yeah, I heard everything, you thief. Didn't think of you being the type to get easily riled up, though."
Rolling my eyes, walking side by side with Bakugo, I replied in a neutral tone with my hands in my pocket, "Wasn't either till he brought that topic. No one likes to be pointed out as being poor with nothing, much less having to be an orphan. Definitely doesn't help being Quirkless during those years, but I managed. Did you think I should've done the whole conversation differently, I wonder, with Prince Zuko?"
He merely scoffed but ultimately responded with a determined tone, gazing at me with a defiant grin, "Hell no. You said what you wanted to say to him. Half-assing while everyone's putting their all, you just gave him a piece of your mind."
Curtly nodding, agreeing with him, he soon asked with his eyes narrowed the question about the Calvary Battle in a stern tone, "And another thing… you didn't use that villain's Quirk [Warp Gate]. No… it's accurate to say it's an improved version without the black mist it used to produce."
Ah, I've been wondering when someone would point that out. Contrary to what people expect from Bakugo, being the angry kid with an explosive personality, lies a true genius underneath his tough exterior.
Not bothering to lie, I confessed that much about his words in a neutral tone as we walked down the corridor halls to lunch, "I'll admit that your words are correct. It wasn't till last week I figured out something new that I could understand what the word was again… Ah! Refine my Copy Quirks thanks to All Might's Quirk, although I probably can't refine my [All in One]."
He cocked an eyebrow seeing I'm that open mouth about my abilities. But I did say to him I won't be using [Negation] as I explained in a chill tone, "If you're worried I would use my refined quirk of Aizawa Sensei's [Erasure] that I call [Negation], I won't use it for this portion of the event."
This got his attention as he bluntly asked with a genuine, curious tone, his eyes narrowed with a challenging glint in them, "Oh? Think you can mow the competition down with that handicap like that icy hot bastard?"
I shook my head as I replied with a smug grin, irritating him as I spoke in a confident tone, "I want a challenge. Using [Negation] would earn me a clean win, but I would rather gain the experience and besides…"
*Crackle*
*Vumm*
My eyes stared towards Bakugo as he raised his hand, sparks flying with mine raised with a halo ring in a determined tone, "… I would rather fight it out to test my limits. Like I said in my pledge to everyone… You better get your game on."
Bakugo scoffed but expressed a feral grin as we both walked down the hallway corridor. I sensed something changed when I said those words to him. Not a sense of bad blood but more so… I think it is mutual respect wishing to see who's the number 1 in class.
But oh boy, things are gonna be weird for me when I enter the contestant's dining facility with everyone wanting answers. If there's a downside to being popular is the noisy people wanting to know about me or the fans after me.
At the very least, in this world, anime girls are cute and sexy with their bodies. Toga can confirm that much heh.