MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Musutafu.
Sitting in the stands, Akatsuki and most of the rest of the students participating in the final event of the U.A. Sports Festival were listening to the opening remarks for the tournament with varying emotions. The exceptions were the two students participating in the tournament's first match, Sakura and Hanta, who were standing in the two entrance tunnels on either side of the ring. And the other exceptions were Tatsuo and Shoto, who were making their way to the waiting rooms until it was their turn to step onto the ring.
{"And we're back for the main event~!"} Hizashi shouted, his loud voice echoing over the stadium through the speaker system. {"I know this is what you've all been waiting for! This afternoon, we will crown the first year, Sports Festival Champion! If you're ready for the action, let me here you say, 'Yeah~~~~~~~~!'"}
"Yeah~~~~~~~~!" The crowd echoed energetically.
{"Now that's what I'm talking about!"} Hizashi said, the satisfaction in his tone impossible to hide.
{"Do you have to try and make everyone as loud as you are?"} Shota asked, sounding like he would rather be anywhere but in the booth with HIzashi.
{"Stop being so grumpy, Aizawa!"} HIzashi shouted good-naturedly. {"This is one of only three chances these future Heroes have to show the world what they are capable of before graduation!"}
{"Yes, yes, I get it."} Shota replied in an annoyed tone. {"Just pipe down, will you? You know what? Even better, let's send it to our Mistress of Ceremony, Midnight."}
With that, Shota, before Hizashi could say, or do anything, cut off the microphones in the broadcast booth. Then, as if he put in a monumental amount of effort, he lay back in his chair and wiped the many beads of sweat on his forehead.
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~!*
Hearing that Nemuri would be coming back on stage, many of the men in the audience cheered loudly. As for the women, they also cheered. However, their cheers were more for the upcoming event than Nemuri specifically.
*Click!* *Click!* *Click!*
With Shota throwing the show to her combined with the cheers from the crowd, Nemuri had no choice but to come out to the stage. However, instead of being annoyed that Shota went off script, Nemuri smiled in her usual way as the sound of her high heels echoed through the stadium.
"Just as Present Mic said..." Nemuri said into her microphone as she walked to the front of the stage. "This is one of three chances the first-year students have to show everyone what they can do. And this event, the one-on-one tournament is the main event for each Sports Festival. So, without further ado, let us welcome the first pair of students onto the ring."
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~!*
As Nemuri's words ended, the screen lit up with the tournament bracket. A moment later, the image zoomed-in on the first match.
"Sero Hanta and Matou Sakura, both from Class 1-A, please make your way to the ring!" Nemuri shouted sonorously, her usual seductive tone nowhere to be heard.
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~!*
With Nemuri's announcement, Sakura and Hanta stepped out into the stadium to the cheers of the crowd. At the same time, Hizashi began introducing the two competitors with his over the top radio broadcaster flare.
Meanwhile, in the tunnels leading to one of the waiting rooms, Tatsuo was standing face to face with one of the country's top Heroes, Todoroki Enji, better known as Endeavor.
Enji was a tall man, standing at 6'5" tall, with a very muscular physique, spiked up, crimson-red hair, and turquoise eyes wearing his Hero costume, which consisted of a navy-turquoise bodysuit, a pair of white bracers, and flames on his upper arms, chest, lower legs and feet, and most prominently, his shoulders. He also had flames covering his face and head in the form of a mustache, beard, eye mask, and horns on the sides of his head.
"So... How long are you gonna stand there staring at me?" Tatsuo asked, clearly not impressed by the large man standing in front of him with his arms crossed in a posture that was clearly trying to intimidate him. "Because I'm pretty sure the first match isn't going to last too long. And I don't wanna be late for the ass kicking your son asked for. I take being punctual pretty serious, after all."
The flames over Enji's eyebrows flickered violently in response to Tatsuo's disrespectful tone.
"So, this is the kind of brat Static is raising." Enji said in a tone filled with displeasure. "It would have been better if he brought you back to America instead of staying here."
"Yeah, like the government would have let me, a teleporter, leave for another country." Tatsuo replied while rolling his eyes. "Did all those flames burn your brain, or something?"
Once again, the flames on Enji's face flickered. Yet, they flickered much more violently than the first time. Clearly, Enji was reaching the end of his patience.
"I don't have time to deal with your nonsense." Enji said sharply. "I came here to make you an offer."
Once again, Tatsuo rolled his eyes. Yet, Enji acted as if he did not see it and continued.
"Make Shoto use the fire half of his [Quirk]." Enji said, his tone making it sound more like an order than a request. "And if you do, as compensation for your loss, I'll take you as an intern during the weeklong internship next month."
"Are you serious?" Tatsuo asked, his tone flat.
"Of course, I am." Enji replied. "Interning with someone of my caliber would look good on your transcripts at graduation."
"No, you've misunderstood." Tatsuo replied, his tone seemingly lowering the temperature of the corridor, despite Enji's flames. "You actually think I'd lose to him if he could get his head out of his ass long enough to use his full strength?"
This time, not only the flames on Enji's face flickered. Instead, it was every flame on his body from the top of his head to the ones covering his boots. Clearly, Japan's No. 2 Hero was getting more and more irritated with every word that came out of Tatsuo's mouth.
"Watch your tone, Boy." Enji growled.
"But you know what?" Tatsuo asked, completely ignoring Enji's aggressive tone. "I will find a way to get him to use his flames. But not for the reason you're thinking."
When Enji heard that Tatsuo intended to force Shoto to use his flames, his posture relaxed quite a bit. But when he heard what came after the "but," he tensed once again.
"Instead, I'll do it to show you that the Joe Jackson School of Parenting isn't the best example of how to raise a kid." Tatsuo continued as he started walking forward. "Besides all that, Todoroki actually had the audacity to challenge me earlier today. And as it just so happens, I've been wanting to show him what kind of mistake he made ever since then."
With that, Tatsuo stepped around Enji, leaving the Hero to stand there fuming at the disrespect. But after only a few moments, Enji took a deep breath before exhaling a stream of fire. He then turned his head to look back over his shoulder just in time to see Tatsuo enter his waiting room.
"That kid's got fire." Enji muttered begrudgingly. "And I can respect that. Even so, he WILL be a steppingstone for Shoto's rise as the No. 1 Hero in the future."
After that, Enji began walking, leaving the stadium's tunnels and making his way to his seat among the other Heroes to watch the upcoming match.
Meanwhile, Shoto, sitting in a waiting room on the other side of the stadium, was clearly not in the best mood. With his head down, fists clenched, and teeth grinding angrily, he was seriously contemplating pulling out all of his red hair and gouging out his turquoise eye after a conversation with his father, Enji, that took place minutes ago.
"I'll prove him wrong." Shoto said while clenching his fists even tighter. "I'll be the strongest without using his fire."
However, when he remembered the disdain in both Tatsuo's and Katsuki's gazes earlier in the day, for some reason he could not understand, that line felt as though it could not be farther from the truth.
Then, the words Tatsuo said to him in the waiting room before the opening ceremony played in Shoto's mind again.
"Make them my own, huh?" Shoto muttered while looking down at his hands. "The flames are no more his than my eye or hair… Is that really true? But if it were, why would mom…?"
Reaching that point, Shoto slowly raised his left hand and touched the scar-tissue around his left eye. Unfortunately, instead of raising his resolve, doing that only made him feel more uncertain about himself. As a result, he lapsed back into thought, completely ignoring the match between Sakura and Hanta that began playing on the monitor in the room.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo, who had only entered his own waiting room a moment ago, was watching the match on the monitor.
"Yeah, this isn't gonna take long." Tatsuo muttered to himself.
On the screen, it was obvious to see that Hanta was at a disadvantage from the start. Without anything to connect the tape he could dispense from his elbows onto, his mobility options were quite limited. Though, that's not to say that Sakura was at a complete terrain advantage, either. Because, the only shadows in the ring were her own and Hanta's.
Unfortunately for Hanta, Sakura was strong enough to spread her own shadow to the point that it covered most of the ring, leaving very little area for him to maneuver.
Still, because of the size of Sakura's shadow, the only thing Hanta could do was avoid the tendrils that grew from the ring to either lash him or restrain him. All the while, he had to try his best not to fall off the ring, as well.
And that was exactly what he did for the next seven minutes. Unfortunately, around that time, his shadow came into contact with Sakura's expanded Shadow. And that was what led to his defeat, as a pair of shadows grew from his own shadow, snaked their way up his legs, and completely stopped his movements before Sakura used the shadows to gently place him outside of the ring.
"Yeah, that's about how I expected things to go." Tatsuo muttered to himself as he stood up. "Sero did last a few minutes longer than I expected, though. He's really agile. Maybe I should pitch a Spider-Man build to him in the future."
Shaking off the thoughts of making a budget Spider-Man, Tatsuo stepped towards the waiting room door. By the time he reached it, his contemplative expression was gone. Replacing it was the proud, dominant expression of a dragon who had been provoked one too many times by a particular father-son pair with serious daddy issues.
"Alright, it's time to traumati--- *Cough* Put the younger Todoroki in his place." Tatsuo said to himself as he twisted the doorknob. "And I'll definitely make him use his flames. That way, I can destroy his father's dre--- *Cough* Let his father know that it's not the [Quirk], but the Hero using it that leads to greatness."
*Click!*
With that said, Tatsuo stepped through the door and started walking through the hallways towards the entrance. As he did, the sound of the crowd became clearer and clearer in his ears. Unfortunately, because of the number he drew, he did not get to see Sakura as she left the stadium. Though, he did see the wryly smiling Hanta walking in the opposite direction.
"Hey, Sero." Tatsuo's asked with a smile. "You alright?"
"Physically?" Hanta asked rhetorically. "I'm just fine. Matou-San didn't hurt me at all. But my pride definitely took a hit. I couldn't even get close."
"Yeah, Sakura's shadows make her a pain for anyone who has to fight her. Still, you did a damn good job out there."
As he said that, Tatsuo patted Hanta on the shoulder as he walked past.
"Can you beat her?" Hanta, turning around to look at Tatsuo's back after he passed, asked curiously.
"Hmm?" Tatsuo hummed, looking over his shoulder as he continued to walk. "Yeah, I'd win."
After speaking his peace, Tatsuo did not utter another word, leaving Hanta to shake his head with another wry smile on his face.
"I don't know why I expected anything else." Hanta said to himself as he started walking towards the seating reserved for the tournament participants.
Not long after that little interlude, Tatsuo reached the entrance to the stadium. And just as he expected, the noise from the crowd was nearly deafening. Even so, the smile never left his face.
And when he looked across the stadium, he could see Shoto waiting to be introduced, as well. However, Shoto's expression was nowhere near as relaxed as his own. Instead, it was clear to see that Shoto was warring with himself on the inside.
"Money says Endeavor stopped by to talk to him, too." Tatsuo said, his casual smile curling into something much more dangerous. "Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! By the time this is over, neither the father nor the son is gonna be very happy with the outcome."
{"And now, it's time for the second match of the first round!"} Hizashi's voice sounded throughout the stadium. {"Introducing first, he's his own living temperature scale, though he prefers to keep things cool. Ladies and Gentlemen, let's give it up for Todoroki Shoto~~~~~!"}
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
Not only did the crowd cheer for the introduction of another student. But their cheers were even louder because they recognized the name Todoroki.
Meanwhile, Shoto began walking towards the ring without acknowledging any of the audience's cheers. Though, his eyes did flick towards the flaming Hero standing opposite the entrance he used to enter the stadium.
{"And next, we have the young man who dominated the first two events!"} Hizashi continued. {"With is Space-related [Quirk], you never know where he'll be next. Give it up for our next contestant, Soramoto Tatsuo~~~~~!"}
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~!*
Noticing that the crowd was less enthusiastic when it came to greeting him, Tatsuo's smile cramped slightly. Though, he did not make a scene. He knew his name was not as famous as Shoto's, Todoroki was a much more famous name than Soramoto, after all. Even so, he made his way towards the ring with confidence.
"Okay, you both know the rules, right?" Nemuri, standing on the stage in her usual position, asked after both students were in the ring. Receiving nods from both Tatsuo and Todoroki, she continued. "Then, I won't explain them again. Just remember, show the crowd what you can do, got it?"
Once again, Tatsuo and Shoto nodded their heads.
"Then, let the match…" Nemuri said while raising her whip as she paused for dramatic effect.
"Sorry, Soramoto." Shoto said just loud enough for Tatsuo to hear as he stepped forward with his right foot.
"Begin!" Nemuri shouted as she brought the whip down.
*Crack!*
At that moment, Nemuri's whip slapped the stage. At the same time, the temperature plummeted as a giant glacier formed in the ring, completely engulfing Tatsuo inside, its tip reaching even higher than the highest point of the stadium.