────────────────────────
[SpeedBlitzing]
────────────────────────
…
Taka let out a huff as the fight was finally over.
Turns out, Bakugo had made him try harder than he'd expected. Today was full of surprises.
He hadn't actually expected him to strike during his dramatic aura power-up—after all, it was practically an unwritten rule never to attack during such times.
At least in fair fights.
But he couldn't really blame him for it, even though it had taken him by surprise and managed to injure him a little, breaching past the aura he had allocated in his defense stat. The blonde had needed to use everything he had to win, and it was his own lack of preparation that cost him there.
Plus, he was Bakugo. He should have expected it coming from him.
Then there was also the fact that the blonde had also managed to destroy his Susanoo rip-off in that last explosion—something he hadn't expected either.
The blonde had more firepower than he'd given him credit for.
However, there was also the fact that he was currently fighting at about half his power. The other half was with the clones, doing whatever they were doing right now.
'Well, my total aura probably increased throughout the fight, so my allocated stats are probably even less than half.'
Regardless, if it had been him at full power, he had no doubt he'd have shrugged off any of Bakugo's attacks, surprise factor or not.
'Well, it's not right to make excuses. It's my fault I got surprised because of overconfidence—again.'
He suppressed the urge to massage his temple.
Whether it was in his clones or in himself, it seemed to be a recurring issue.
He might need to address that after the festival.
'That, and other stuff.'
-Sigh…-
'… So much stuff on my list all of a sudden…'
With a bleak look, he turned around and prepared to walk off.
"Wait…"
However, a weak voice from the spot he'd sent Bakugo flying to stopped him.
He turned his head and found Bakugo there—clearly exhausted and worn down, sitting against the wall he'd hit earlier, not having moved since.
"What?" Taka asked, raising an eyebrow, having expected Bakugo to be unable to speak to him, either from pride, or from whatever breakdown he might be having over losing.
Surprisingly, however, it seemed he'd misjudged the blonde.
"Before, you said I was a weakling…" Bakugo's eyes finally lifted, staring directly at Taka. "Am I… strong now?"
Taka's brows furrowed.
'So that was it?'
Turns out, it hadn't been the fact that he'd lost what bothered him.
No, losing probably bothered him too. But that comment he threw at him weeks ago was probably his main focus right now.
"..."
Taka took a moment to consider it.
In the grand scheme of things, he was still far from the top hitters out there, and quite far from canon Bakugo and the heights he'd reach during his final fight against AFO.
But right now, was he a weakling?
Taka closed his eyes for a moment. Meditating over it.
Bakugo stared silently, too tired to hurry him, or say anything.
But then, Taka opened his eyes again.
Only to turn around instead of facing him.
Seeing him leaving, Bakugo's last reserves of anger sprung out.
"What about my answer, asshole?!"
Taka stopped for a second and tilted his head just a little. "I don't know, you tell me. Are you strong?"
And so, not waiting for an answer, he began walking away again.
Bakugo stared at his departing back with a bleak look.
"…"
In the end, he didn't get his answer.
For a moment, his teeth gritted in anger.
He wanted to shout, to grab him and demand an answer—but he simply didn't have the energy to do it.
But then the tension drained out of him, and he repeated the question Taka had left him in his mind.
'Am I strong?'
He had wanted Taka to acknowledge him as the prodigy he'd always been. His strength, everything he'd built up. He wanted the concept of Bakugo Katsuki to stay exactly as high as it had been until that guy showed up.
But if it came down to answering it himself…
I don't know, you tell me.
—then, could he say he was strong?
Bakugo didn't even take a second to reach the answer.
No.
He didn't even need Taka to tell him. Rather, he now understood why he'd gotten a question back instead of an answer.
Was he satisfied with what he'd accomplished today? Had this been his best? Could he actually call himself strong now?
Or was there more ahead?
More he could tap into, more potential still waiting, more Katsuki Bakugo could become—to one day become truly strong and not need to go asking such questions, like a needy bitch.
"Keh…" He scoffed, the corner of his mouth curling faintly upward. "In the end, you're as corny as the other extras…"
-Thud-
Then—he collapsed to the side, unconscious.
Soon after, he was carried away by the school staff to the infirmary.
Meanwhile, Taka disappeared into the gate under everyone's watchful eye without looking back. Cementoss, standing beside Midnight, let out a sigh as both finally left.
"This year's fights sure are above our pay grade."
Midnight nodded. "Where do kids like these come from?"
{"Excuse me, Cementoss, please begin reconstruction of the platform right away, OH YEAH!"}
"I'm asking Nezu for a raise after this." Cementoss said, letting out a sigh, and dragging his feet off to fulfill his purpose.
Minutes later, Taka returned to the class's section once again.
Upon arrival, many just smiled wryly at him, as if his victorious return had been a given, even if the way it had ended was still a bit baffling.
Midoriya, in particular, wore a mixture of conflicted and awed expressions.
Once again, Taka had proven himself the pinnacle of their class. Even Bakugo, the person he admired most, had been completely unable to defeat him.
Though…
'He managed to reach him.' His eyes narrowed, just briefly, as he caught the small red mark on Taka's cheek—one he recognized as the result of Bakugo's surprise attack during Taka's telekinesis charge, the one moment he'd theorized could be a chance to breach his usual unbreakable defenses.
It wasn't much—but it was something. Somehow, it made Taka feel more grounded.
It made reaching him feel more possible, even if still bleak and difficult.
'This year, I wasn't even capable of fighting him, and I doubt I could have won even if I had… but next year, it'll be different.'
He would put his soul and body into making sure he wouldn't disappoint All Might or Takahashi again.
With that determination settling in, Midoriya glanced at Taka and clenched his fist, feeling the shonen spirit of rivalry sweep into him.
While Midoriya continued with his antics, Taka leaned forward to watch the next fight, which would decide who his final opponent would be for the first years' part of the festival's closure.
Uraraka against Iida.
"Pfft," Taka let out a small chuckle at the situation.
He found it a bit funny that, instead of Midoriya being there, it was his two friends who'd ended up reaching the finals.
'Although, didn't basically the same thing happen in the show, just with Uraraka losing a bit earlier?'
Taka's smile dropped, and he scratched the back of his head with an odd look.
'In the end, things didn't diverge all that much.'
The only difference was that all the heavy hitters of the class were down already—so Iida wouldn't have to face Todoroki of all people, nor would Uraraka have to face Bakugo.
Whoever won would have to face him, though.
Now, which of the protagonist's two main friends would win? He was curious to see.
...
°
°
°
| Minutes later… |
...
After a while more, the arena was repaired, and the second-to-last fight of the tournament began.
Surprisingly, it was more hard-fought than he'd been expecting.
Sure, Iida was fast, while Uraraka was otherwise fairly average in raw stats by comparison.
But since the fight had to happen up close, Uraraka's Quirk made her quite the problem.
One touch from her would send Iida flying, with nowhere to use his speed—he was a runner, not a flyer.
Maybe he could try using his engines as propellers to maneuver mid-air, but that was easier said than done.
So most of the fight was spent with Iida trying to sneak up on her, strike at blind spots, or create openings, while Uraraka stayed on the defensive.
It wasn't the sort of epic battle everyone had been expecting for the finals. The previous fights had raised the bar a bit too high for two people with fairly ordinary Quirks by comparison.
But it still did the job of being entertaining enough.
It even got to the point where Iida got so frustrated that he nearly lost—trying to throw her off fast enough that, even if she activated her Quirk on him, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from crossing the bounds.
Ultimately, she saved herself by making herself float before she hit the ground. In the process, however, she released Iida from her Quirk's effect, and nearly sent him out of bounds himself.
With his engines, he managed to redirect his fall at the last second, saving him from the close call as well.
So, in the end, it all came down to one last desperate move.
Iida went full barbarian, figuratively speaking, and decided that if he couldn't fight up close, he'd fight even closer instead.
So, after a few moments of dashing around to mess with her head, he went in for a full-body tackle at high speed, aiming to push her out of bounds.
She, of course, activated her Quirk the instant she got hold of him.
Gravity, of course, let go of him. But it didn't do much—his tackle had already connected, so their momentum didn't die.
Instead, the two began drifting toward the bounds.
So Uraraka had to make herself float as well. With that, both began rising, clear of the danger of losing.
At least, until Iida pulled out his last desperate move.
Using his Recipro Burst, Iida put an end to their ascent by aiming his engines upward, and instead drove both of them back down—toward the edge of the platform.
And with Uraraka being the one facing the ground, the victor was decided.
Iida won.
Albeit with plenty of bruises on his face, the product of Uraraka desperately trying to pull him off her in those last seconds.
Still, he bore his victory with a proud face—a bit sullen, but proud otherwise.
And so, the final stage of the tournament arrived.
First, there was a small break for the finalists to prepare and rest before their final fight. Iida went for a quick check-up with Recovery Girl, while Taka remained at the class's section, holding his usual meditative pose, or chatting with Jiro whenever he got bored of looking focused.
But before long, the break ended, and the two stood facing each other on opposite sides of the platform, each giving the other the kind of look one gives an opponent in a match about to start.
Which they were.
"I hope to learn a lot from this encounter, Takahashi-san!" Iida bowed deeply.
"Likewise," Taka answered lightly, with a faint nod.
{"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, HERE IT IS, THE MOMENT EVERYONE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR… THE FINAAAAALS!"}
The crowd roared, albeit a bit less intensely than in previous matches.
While Iida wasn't weak, he was clearly lacking in firepower compared to most of Taka's previous opponents. So with this matchup, and for the final fight no less, it was hard to imagine a clash where both sides put their souls and bodies on the line.
{"On one side, we have the kid who's been kicking ass and making sure everyone gets a good look of it, rising star of the hero course—TAKAHASHI FUKUMOTO!"}
The crowd roared his name, already a favorite of many.
{"On the other side, we have the kid who blitzes through his opponents at lightspeed, the fastest and most uptight kid in his generation—TENYA IIDA!"}
The crowd roared again, although not quite as enthusiastically.
But Iida didn't seem to care. He just stared at Taka with unwavering focus.
{"NOW THEN… ARE YOU READYYY, CONTESTANTS?!"}
Both gave a small nod.
{"ARE YOU READY, CROWD?!"}
The crowd shrieked in desperation, worn down from all the build-up.
{"THEN LET'S GET GOING... READY—?!"}
"Takahashi-kun, please don't go easy on me in this fight," Iida suddenly said, earning a raised eyebrow from Taka.
He shrugged, giving him a nod. "Sure. But are you prepared for what that implies?"
"… Maybe," Iida answered, not looking quite convinced by his own request.
Regardless, Taka simply shrugged. "Very well."
{"SET—!"}
"If so, I want to apologize in advance."
Iida looked confused for a second. "For what reason?"
A small smirk appeared on Taka's face, giving Iida goosebumps.
"I'm stealing your gimmick for now."
{"STAAAAAART!"}
The instant the start was given, Iida shot forward without hesitation, using his full speed from the get-go, deciding not to dwell too much on Taka's words.
As he approached, the flames in his engines flared up, turning blue from the intensity.
"Recipro—!"
He jumped, one leg sweeping horizontally, like a sword, aiming, of course, at his one target.
Taka.
"—Burst!"
—THUD!—
The propelled kick hit its target cleanly, creating a small shockwave from the force and making both his and Taka's clothes and hair flutter.
However, as Iida recovered from his own attack, his brow twitched into a brief frown as he found his leg had been stopped easily by Taka's forearm.
Even as the engine kept spewing fire, the arm didn't budge an inch.
Deep down, though, he'd already expected something like that.
So, just as quickly, he kicked Taka's chest with his other leg and, using it as a foothold, jumped away, his engines putting more distance between them.
He looked ready to go at it again, but as his eyes settled on Taka, he flinched.
There it was.
The crimson hue surrounding him. It meant Taka wouldn't be staying passive for much longer.
Iida was torn between attacking again or putting even more distance between them.
Sadly, it seemed that was never up to him.
"…!"
Suddenly, the figure of Taka vanished.
—Not.
Iida's eyes widened as he caught sight of a trail of crimson silhouettes frozen mid-stride, like a trail of light left behind by something that moved too fast.
They disappeared almost instantly, not even a second after he caught sight of them, but he was quick enough to track them.
They led… behind him.
"You caught on pretty quickly, huh?"
His eyes widened, and he jumped back as he turned around, facing Taka yet again—who had somehow moved fast enough to vanish from his sight completely.
He was there, standing with both hands relaxed in his pockets.
Suddenly, he dropped into a slight crouch, like a spring ready to release, all while still talking to Iida. "I know I agreed to fight seriously, but if we did that, there wouldn't be much fight for the crowd to enjoy. So, let's do it like this."
The aura around him began flaring again—this time, however, it was different. Not like flames, but electricity, crackling around him like a sharp charge.
"I'll drain my strength down to a basic level…"
-Swooosh!-
Suddenly, he vanished again, the trail of silhouettes making it easier for Iida to track where he was.
He turned around again, his face tight with worry. There Taka was, smirking faintly.
"And in exchange, I'll pour everything into speed."
A faint flash of worry crept up Iida's back.
But soon, he shrugged it off with a shake of head, smiling nervously.
"Do as you like, Takahashi-kun. I won't give up, no matter what."
"Then let's see if you can keep up, shall we?"
The instant those words left his mouth—
—BAM!—
The concrete beneath his feet exploded, and his figure blurred, disappearing from the spot.
Iida looked around quickly, searching for him.
He followed the trail, but it was longer than before, and disappearing faster than he could track it.
Then it got worse. As one trail vanished, another covered it.
Then more appeared, around the same spot.
Taka was moving fast. Too fast.
Iida's teeth ground together, and seeing no hope in tracking him directly, he changed plans.
His engines roared to life, and without further delay, he too began running circles around the platform.
The elusive figure of Taka remained invisible, even as Iida moved at high speed, hoping that would do something.
But the next second, he realized it didn't.
—Thud!—
His mind blanked for a moment as something struck him in the face.
He managed to keep his footing before losing control of his speed entirely, but when he looked back at what had hit him, he found nothing.
—Bam!—
Then another blow landed.
This time he braced through it and quickly snapped his head toward where it had come from.
But all he saw was a trail of crimson silhouettes in its place.
—Whack!—
Then another blow came.
And another, then another, and another again.
Iida found himself pummeled by a barrage of fists from a figure too fast to even be seen delivering them.
What was worse, they were heavy. Not as heavy as a Taka at full power would hit, judging by what he'd seen him do—but still powerful like those from a professional boxer or worse.
'How is this basic level?!'
Iida's brow knitted into a frown, and he kept up his sprint, hoping it would at least make it harder for Taka to land hits.
But even as he ran, he felt blow after blow connect. He pushed through them, doing his best not to slow down.
—BAM!—
Until one caught him square in the face, snapping his head back against his own momentum.
He went down hard, his back hitting the ground. It felt like his face had run straight into a wall.
It was enough to leave him dazed for a few seconds.
But as he lay there staring at the sky, he caught sight of something else.
The screen—the one the audience used to see things properly from so far away.
It spanned the whole platform, and on it, he could see Taka's figure.
It was fast… Horrendously fast.
If not for how wide the footage was, even there Taka's figure would have been impossible to follow, it was that fast.
In comparison, even his Recipro Burst paled considerably.
Could he even do anything against that speed? He couldn't track him, see him, or even dodge him.
He was utterly outmatched, even in what he was most confident in. His speed.
He wiped his wrist across his nose, clearing the nosebleed there.
Then he stood up.
He had to try.
His eyes stayed on the screen, scanning for anything helpful.
Patterns. A rough read on his location, when he'd strike. Any weakness—
And then he saw it, even if only briefly—Taka's curve was shorter than normal, just before he dove straight at him.
He wasn't able to react in time.
But he saw it.
—THUD!—
The blow sent him rolling across the concrete.
He caught himself after a moment and quickly pushed back to his feet.
But then, before he could check the screen—
—Bam!—
Another blow arrived, this time to his solar plexus.
He fell to his knees, the air leaving him.
But as he knelt there—
—Bam!—
Another blow hit, knocking him fully to the ground.
Yet, despite it, he still tried to get up.
Only for a kick to land, sending him rolling across the platform.
Every time, closer to the bounds. Closer to defeat.
Until something snapped in Iida.
Something came to mind—something borrowed from his very opponent.
Putting both hands on the ground, his engines roared.
And just as he felt Taka approaching—more out of instinct than actually knowing he was there—
"Raaah!"
He spun around, moving impossibly fast as his engines propelled him.
Like breakdancing.
And amid all that spinning, he caught a glimpse—Taka, come to a full stop right in front of him.
"Nice one," Taka said.
But just as Iida was beginning to feel the joy of having gained the upper hand in all that beating—
-Tack!-
His leg was grabbed mid-spin.
"But you need to rotate the waist more."
And he was thrown.
"Aaaah!"
He ended up still spinning through the air.
And eventually, landed on his face. Out of bounds.
Thus, marking the end of the fight, just like that.
"It was a good play, but not near fast enough. Sorry, Iida." Taka said out loud, walking to the border of the platform.
Iida breathed hard as he lay on the grass below. "N-no need to apologize. This is just my own lackings as a fighter showing. It seems I still lack training."
Taka smiled, and walked back to the center.
As he did, the crowd didn't roar in emotion, but there were some cheers anyway.
And soon—
{"Iida is out of bounds, Takahashi Fukumoto—WIIINS!!!"} Present Mic declared the result.
And with that, at last, the tournament came to an end.
Seeing the cheering crowd, Taka let out a small huff through his nose in relief that everything was finally ending, smiling faintly. "Not a big finale, but I guess it works."
Instantly after, his eyes drifted to the side, checking his status page for the final result achieved now that the sports festival was at last coming to an end.
Not that his aura would stop growing just because the festival ended. There was probably many days of continuous growth incoming.
And, of course, the very probable permanent boost to his passive earnings from now on.
Smiling at the future awaiting him, Taka focused back on what the final result was.
· ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]
▸ Strength: 181
▸ Defense: 362
▸ Aura Projection: 50,000
─────────────
Total Aura: 103,322 → 61,049 (54%)
1st Clone's aura: 12,273 (12%)
2nd Clone's aura: 5,000 (5%)
3rd Clone's aura: 5,000 (5%)
4th Clone's aura: 5,000 (5%)
...
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Finally past the 100k.
All in all, around 50k of gains in just some hours.
And more to come.
'This day just turns better and better, doesn't it?'
With his smile widening, his eyes drifted to the vip section of the crowd.
'Now, all that rests, is that.'
…
────────────────────────
-To Be Continued...-
────────────────────────
Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.
pḁtreon.com/TheSynonym (Change the a)
─────────────
(A/N: And so, at last the festival is over, and it has brought a great power boost with it. Now Taka is ready for whatever comes his way... or is he?
Discover it in the next chapters.)