Chapter 41: Sports Festival Arc (6)
~Ren Y. POV~
[UA High School, Contestant's Dining Room, Japan]
I hate it when I'm right. When I entered to collect my lunch the boys and girls of Class 1-A stared at me saving a seat for me in the middle.
Bakugo seeing my situation laughed at my awkwardness. He soon fucked off the side with Kirishima enjoying my suffering as I shot a glare at him. That prompted him to flip me off in return…
I take back whatever nice words I had for him. Pity ass wild Pomeranian.
Noticing the staring I broke the ice as I asked rubbing the back of my head in an embarrassed tone, "So… how's the Sports Festival, everyone…?"
I could see some groaning with Toga grinning changing topics with a cheeky grin, "I think the Sports Festival is fine Ren-kun… Ochaco, Izuku, Shinso, and I got in."
Bakugo almost choked, hearing Izuku manage to enter. Changing topics, I congratulated the team, looking towards the trio, "Oh! That's good. Congratulations on making it to the third event, guys. Where's Izuku anyway?"
Bakugo eyes dart around, spotting him with the other Support Course students, with Shinso speaking in a confident tone, "It looked like your friend managed to predict what you would do in the Calvary Battle. He even went as far as creating a Support Gear suited for my needs. Also, my bad guys…"
He raised his hands sheepishly to the other members of Class 1-A as they sighed, with Itsuka congratulating them in a supportive tone, "It was no problem, Shinso-kun. You managed to get yourself and your team a spot in the final event."
Shinso blushed lightly from the compliment as Toga answered, tilting her head in a cheerful tone, "Yup! Shinso hard carried with his Quirk on the job. But I wonder what the next event is, though… any ideas, Ren-kun?"
All eyes on me, Bakugo also stayed as I responded, taking a bite of my food in an obvious tone, "Easy. It's gonna be a tournament-style battle one-on, one match. If previous records of the Sports Festival were to be believed, then that should be the final event or, at the very least, some variation that consists of head-to-head competition."
Bakugo grinned upon hearing that. But Kirishima asked me in a surprised tone, with his eyes going wide at my answer stunned, "Whoa, man!! But wait, how the heck do you know that…?"
I didn't have to answer this time, Sero voiced out loud in a knowing tone with his arms crossed, realizing it, "You know he actually has a point. It was a tournament last year, too, now that I think about it. The format's always different, but most years involve some kind of head-to-head competition."
Hearing Sero's answer, Kirishima gets himself pumped up with a raised fist in an optimistic tone, "A tournament, huh? So, we'll be up in that ring I see on TV every year! Now I can't wait to get it started!!"
Smirking at his confidence, I see Toru and Kinoko aren't the same in that regard. Mina soon points out with her finger pointing at me in a curious tone, "Damn, it sucks not being in the limelight. But moving from that, hey, big guy, what happened with that mist that Warp Villain had? I managed to see again with Toru placing her hands in some kind of portal what to that?"
All eyes on me, it was Bakugo answering her question in a stoic tone with his arms crossed, defending me, "He found a way to refine his copied Quirks. He mentioned it on our way back here, keeping that secret for the finale of the events."
There was a surprise from all of them, with Toru agreeing in a bubbly tone, knowing about this before the Sports Festival, "What Bakugo said! He even used his refined version of Aizawa-Sensei Quirk [Erasure] on me! Can you show them Ren-kun?"
Shrugging my shoulders, I did just that using [Negation] on Toru. Her invisibility soon vanished, replaced with a beauty with a happy grin on her face drawing all attention away from me for the moment.
Ochaco looked in disbelief as she spoke in a tone of disbelief, "That… Toru is that really you?"
Only to be confirmed with her voice as she strikes a pose flashing a peace sign as she confidently says, "The one and only."
The entire class except Bakugo went wild for her, "WOAAAAH!!"
Everyone soon began to crowd around her, showering her with compliments. Toru blushed, not used to this, as she rubbed her head in embarrassment, saying in a shy tone, "It's thanks to Ren-kun with his upgraded version of Aizawa's Sensei Quirk [Negation]. Unlike Aizawa Sensei, he can erase Mutant Type Quirks to a degree."
Momo looked at me surprised as she asked, with everyone busy seeing Toru for the first time in a stunned tone, "Oh my… that's certainly impressive. Did you recently acquire the ability to refine your Copy Quirks?"
Nodding my head, I explained as I depowered [Negation], explaining what happened to [Warp Gate] in the process in a chill tone, "Pretty much. I did the same to [Warp Gate], now called [Wormhole]. I don't need mist to open my portals but just instantly summon them, but when I refined it, I lost the ability to manipulate the mist. The weakness is the same with coordinate-based, but if I can see it, I can summon it."
*Swirl*
Showing they saw the portal appear instantly. And I closed it as it appeared with me speaking to Momo in a casual tone, "Other than that, I got permission from Nezu to help create a support gear for Toru to be seen without me using my [Negation], Quirk. When she absorbs enough light, her invisibility glitches enough to be seen. It's a work in progress, though…"
Toru blushed as her figures turned invisible. But it was when Denki smirked, jabbing my sides, bringing up another topic, causing Kinoko to blush in a mischievous tone, "Man, you are such a playboy, you know that? Which reminds me… what's this about a promise about a massage and food if they helped you out? Come on, man, share with us the story behind that…?"
Yui only added on with a neutral expression as she bluntly stated, "Pervert…"
Rubbing the back of my head, hearing that I had no way to defend myself from her harsh cold words. I explained to them what happened last week when both appeared in Toga's home assisting in their training.
With me being the only one to see Toru's progress it was already possible to help her gain strength faster and heal quicker with my [Massage] skill. The same goes for Kinoko, as the more she trains her base form, the more effective her Quirk [Mushroom] becomes quicker to spawn spores.
It doesn't help that I motivated them more when I cooked their favorite dishes, making them like my food. Nowhere near the almighty foodgasm. But I'm nearly done completing that skill since I had my job experience working at Hopper's Café, much to the girl's embarrassment.
The guys looked at me stunned, with Denki sagely nodding his head. The girls had these odd deadpan expressions, staring into Toru and Kiniko's red-beat faces. Or at least one of their faces…
/////
[UA High School, Stadium, Japan]
After eating during that 1-hour break, we all returned to the stadium. We made it in time for the cheerleaders from the USA to dance, with Present Mic speaking excitedly, "Before we got to the final event, I've got good news for all those out of the running! This is still a sports festival, so we've prepared recreational activities for all participants! We even shipped in cheerleaders from America to get you pumped up!"
They ordered cheerleaders from America… I can't tell if that's bad showing Japanese cheerleaders are bad or that the school could even buy off cheerleaders, to begin with here.
Soon enough, though, with the cheerleaders done dancing around, Present Mic continues to speak for the upcoming event, "Once that's over, we're on to the final event. Between the 16 members of the 4 winning teams… we'll have a formal tournament!! A series of one one-on-one battles!!"
Hearing this, Midnight soon appeared, holding a box containing lots at random as she explained the rules on the stage in an excited tone, "The matchups will be decided by drawing lots. Once that's settled, we'll move on to the festivities and then the tournament itself! It's up to each of you 16 finalists whether you participate in the fun. I expect some of you would rather take a breather and save your strength. Now, let's start with the first-place team…"
But that was when both Toru and Kinoko raised their hands, with Kinoko shyly muttering out loud, "I'd… we'd like to drop out."
This caused everyone to be surprised by their sudden withdrawal. But it was when Toru explained in a sheepish tone their reasonings, "Don't get us wrong guys, we would've liked to continue, but… we aren't exactly the fighting type in this situation. There are times when a hero gotta know there are some battles we can't win."
Kinoko soon spoke as she looked at me, smiling as she explained why they withdrew in a determined tone, "We know this is a great opportunity, and I know how stupid it seems to throw it away… We probably wouldn't have made it this far without our Class Rep's help, but we want to do this our way. And I just can't take it."
Everyone listening to their response could only stay in silence with Midnight looking down but grinned, nodding her head in understanding, "How naïve and green… I like it! There are times when the correct choice is to retreat in battle, I don't fault you for that. You both showed your worth don't forget that."
They nodded, appreciating Midnight's advice as she began to announce the next team to pick, following up with my teammates withdrawing, "Toru and Kinoko have officially withdrawn! Replacing those two will be members of Team Shoto, which took fifth place."
Seeing this, Shoto looked surprised, along with his team having a chance to join in the second match. Before they could pick, it was already decided, with Ida speaking in a stoic tone with a light nod, "Momo. Shoto. I believe you two will be best picked for this event."
They looked surprised, with Momo asking in a stunned tone, seeing Ida and Denki take a step back, smiling, "No, wait… Ida. Kamanari. You two are okay allowing Shoto and me to enter the final event…"
Denki smirked, giving a thumbs up with a curt nod, encouraging the two in a cheerful tone with his arms behind his head, "Yeah. I think the ones who did the most would be able to pull through. I doubt I would make it long enough against everyone here for long till I go into my dumb mode. Besides, there's always the next two, so what's losing one."
Shoto looked stunned, seeing his classmate's willingness as he spoke, exhaling in a stoic tone promising to them, "Ida. Denki… I promise to win this for you guys."
They smiled as Momo and Shoto were now in the competition. You know what this fucking smells like?
It smells like plot. Fucking plot armor does exist.
Whatever, I'll win this. This Sports Festival seems to be finally shaping up to be an interesting event – the fuck is this.
My eyes were on the board showcasing the battles ahead… they were certainly something to behold. And my knowledge of canon slowly getting thrown away. Either way, the matchups are gonna be interesting, to say the least…
Ren Yuki vs. Mei Hatsume
Shoto Todoroki vs. Sen Kaibara
Izuku Midoriya vs. Neito Monoma
Ochaco Uraraka vs. Himiko Toga
Kosei Tsuburaba vs. Katsuki Bakugo
Kirishima Eijiro vs. Shinso Hitoshi
Shihai Kurorio vs. Momo Yaoyorozu
Hanata Sero vs. Mina Ashido
... Who the hell made these matchups? I want my EXP damn it!