The instant the starting signal sounded, the arena erupted into motion as forty students surged forward, standing on a raised platform forming a 200-meter-wide circle. Present Mic's voice boomed across the stadium as the cameras zoomed in from every angle, unwilling to miss any part of the fight. "AND WE'RE OFF! THIS IS IT, FOLKS! FORTY STUDENTS ENTER, AND ONLY FIFTEEN ARE WALKING AWAY FROM THIS FREE-FOR-ALL!"
From the booth, Aizawa leaned forward, eyes moving rapidly from screen to screen. "Although this is a free-for-all, the contestants who can form teams will be at an advantage." Takeru took out his visor to observe the fight more closely and record his peers in action.
Takeru could see that Class 1-B was clearly more organized, united behind Kendo, whereas Class 1-A's heavy hitters, Todoroki and Bakugo, were positioned at far ends of the stadium. Todoroki would no doubt try to freeze the whole stadium, Takeru thought. He spotted a girl with a jet pack and all kinds of tech attached to her. A support course student had somehow made it all the way here, Takeru thought, impressed. The visor identified her as Mei Hatsume, quirk: Zoom. Interesting. Takeru also spotted Shinso, the brainwashing guy. "LET THE GAMES BEGIN."
Todoroki sent a massive ice pillar one hundred feet high, freezing everything in its wake until—CRACK! A massive punch shattered the ice into snowflakes. Monoma stood there, cackling maniacally, slowly beginning to float. Idiot, Takeru thought. If he had the sense God gave a goose, he would blitz everybody instead of showboating. Todoroki sent another ice wave, which Monoma smashed, and Juzo, the guy with the liquefaction quirk, ran under Monoma, liquefying the ground. Takeru saw Kendo at the back directing her classmates.
Takeru felt a tap on his shoulder, and a waterfall of blue hair covered his vision. He grabbed Nejire by the hip as she squealed and placed her on his lap. They were in the VIP box courtesy of Shun so the press could not take pictures behind the privacy glass. Nejire was drinking her mint-blue slushie as she watched the match intently.
Todoroki stood with one arm extended, jaw clenched as he continued to flood the battlefield with ice, erecting walls and spikes in broad strokes designed to control space rather than target individuals. "He is freezing everyone indiscriminately, and without using his fire, he won't be able to keep this up." "Stay back," Todoroki warned, sending another wave forward. The ice shattered as if struck by artillery. Neito Monoma smashed through the fragments, mad with laughter. "Is this the best Class 1-A can do? I am so disappointed. I thought you guys were supposed to be so much better than us!"
Kirishima charged recklessly. Monoma grabbed Kirishima by the leg and smashed him against the ice, then proceeded to throw him into Shinso, where they both flew out of bounds.
Bakugo snarled and unleashed a barrage of explosions directly at Monoma, the blasts engulfing him in fire and smoke. "DIE!" Bakugo shouted, pressing the attack. When the smoke cleared, Monoma was still standing, his shirt ripped but completely unharmed. He stepped forward and punched again, the shockwave flattening the ground and hurling Bakugo backward into the rubble, where he barely stabilized himself with another explosion. "HE'S TANKING BAKUGO'S ATTACKS LIKE THEY ARE NOTHING!" Present Mic yelled. "THAT POWER IS FROM KUROGANE! "
Monoma laughed openly as he advanced, slamming both fists into the ground and sending a rippling wave of force that obliterated Todoroki's ice field entirely. Fragments flew in every direction, forcing multiple students to scramble or be knocked off balance. "IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO, 1-A?!" Monoma shouted toward the cameras.
On the far side of the arena, Itsuka Kendo assessed the chaos with clenched fists, her eyes narrowed in focus. "This is the opening we were waiting for," she ordered firmly. "We split them up and overwhelm them through teamwork." Pony Tsunotori took to the air immediately, launching her horns to intercept Sato Rikido. Sato dodged the horns, only to become tangled in Ibara's vines, and Kendo followed up with a big-fisted haymaker that sent him out of bounds. Reiko Yanagi lifted debris behind Shoji Mezo, cutting off his retreat as Ibara Shiozaki's vines wrapped around his legs and dragged him bodily toward the arena edge, where Pony's horns finished him off. "SHOJI IS OUT!" Present Mic called. Jurota Shishida charged toward Uraraka, who tried to float debris to strike him, but Reiko used her telekinesis to stall the attack, allowing Jurota to finish her off with a shoulder check. "CLASS 1-B IS MOVING LIKE A UNIT!" Present Mic added.
They are all attacking individually, Takeru thought. Fucking bastards. Todoroki and Bakugo should have set their egos aside and taken leadership. Todoroki continued sending massive ice waves, his attacks becoming more frantic and indiscriminate. The frog girl had gone into hibernation, and Kendo did not hesitate to punch her into oblivion. Iida managed to knock out the glue-head guy, only for Kendo to start barking orders. Soon Juzo liquefied the ground, making Iida stumble, and Ibara's vines wrapped him up as Beast landed the blow that sent him crashing out.
Bakugo sent another massive explosion toward Monoma, no doubt intent on testing himself against Takeru's quirk. This idiot is going to run out of time, Takeru thought, as Monoma relished the opportunity to insult and humiliate Class 1-A. Izuku Midoriya gathered a team, breathing hard but focused. "Monoma's the problem," he said quickly. "If he stays up, no one else can move." Momo Yaoyorozu nodded without hesitation. "I'll create cover. It won't stop him, but it will give us seconds." Jiro Kyoka tightened her grip on her jacks. "I will blast him full force using the smoke as cover." Kaminari Denki swallowed but nodded. "I'll do the same, but make sure you all run away before I let loose." Tokoyami's shadow spread behind them. "Dark Shadow will draw his attention." Izuku took a breath. "Then we do it together."
"NOW!" Izuku shouted as Momo triggered the smoke bomb, thick clouds spreading across the battlefield. Dark Shadow surged from the haze, striking Monoma from the side. Monoma swung blindly, his punch blasting the smoke apart, but Blackwhip snapped out at the same moment, wrapping tightly around his torso and arms. "WHAT IS THIS?!" Monoma shouted as he pulled Izuku off the ground. Jiro slammed her jacks into the ground, and the soundwave ripped through the arena. Monoma screamed, clutching his ears as his borrowed strength faltered, and Kaminari jumped onto Monoma, wrapping himself around him and shocking him, before Izuku threw a stunned Monoma out of bounds.
High in the stands, Takeru staggered violently, gripping the armrest as pain ripped through his skull and his vision blurred. For a brief moment, he could not hear anything except a piercing whine. That frequency, he realized with growing dread. Nejire was too intent on the exciting fight to notice. Takeru left the box, stumbling as his balance was gone. He felt himself returning to normal, but for a minute he felt very human, and he did not like it.
The siren blared, and Present Mic's voice rose over the roar of the crowd. "MONOMA IS OUT! THE BIGGEST THREAT IN THE MATCH HAS BEEN ELIMINATED!"
Takeru sank back into his seat, heart pounding as the realization settled heavily in his mind. What on earth was that? Did he have some kind of weakness to extremely high frequencies? The ringing in his ear, the pain, the inability to balance himself. He needed to understand what had happened and mitigate it. Takeru could not let anyone know not his classmates, escpecially not the HPSC almost all his leverage came from his strenght allowing anyone to question it would be something Takeru would never allow. He needed to find a way to protect his ears.
Takeru rejoined Neijre to watch the match as Bakugo set off a massive explosion that sent the tech girl flying. Sadly, Mina was caught in the crossfire and sent reeling as well. He saw the arena cracked and cratered, massive ice shards littered everywhere. He switched to thermal to check Todoroki's body temperature and was shocked to see a girl frozen. TORU. "Nejire! Someone is frozen. I need to help!"
Takeru got up and flew straight to Midnight, who was referee—"No interfer—" "Toru is trapped in the ice. She's going to get hypothermia," Takeru said, not waiting for a response before blitzing into the arena. His visor locked on, locating Toru in a heartbeat as he smashed through the ice and retrieved the girl. "OHH, WHAT IS THIS?! INTERFERENCE FROM OUTSIDE?!" Present Mic shouted, but Aizawa immediately understood what was happening. "Kurogane just saved Hagakure. She could have died of hypothermia if she had stayed that way."
A horn blared as Cementoss quickly reshaped the arena floor into a maze of ten-foot-tall walls. Fewer than twenty-five contestants remained, most of them from Class 1-B, who seemed intent on wiping out their fellow hero course students. Takeru could hear Toru's heartbeat and felt her body temperature plummeting. Hope she doesn't get frostbite. The pro heroes were staring at him when he noticed Endeavor and All Might in the pro hero box.
Takeru zoomed toward them instantly. "Endeavor, she has hypothermia!" Takeru said. Endeavor's eyes widened as he stepped forward, his palms igniting as he sent a gentle current of warmth toward Toru. Takeru laid her on a couch, ripped off a curtain, and wrapped Toru in it. "All Might, we need Recovery Girl." All Might nodded and disappeared in a flash.
Endeavor watched Takeru with cold, analytical eyes as his flames warmed Toru. "Good job," he grunted. "All these pro heroes, and you're the only one who noticed."
"I am the class president of 1-A. It is my duty," Takeru said, rubbing Toru's back as her teeth chattered uncontrollably.
All Might appeared moments later with Recovery Girl in his arms. He gently set the old woman down, only for her to immediately smack him on the head with her cane.
"What were you doing?" she snapped. "You almost let the girl freeze to death on national TV!"
She moved past him without waiting for an answer, approached Toru, and planted a kiss on her forehead. A soft glow followed as Toru's shivering eased, her breathing steadying as the healing took effect. Exhaustion finally claimed her, and she fell asleep in Takeru's arms.
"Carry her to the hospital wing, child," Recovery Girl said briskly.
Takeru nodded, carefully lifting Toru and turning toward the exit. As he walked, he gave All Might a brief nod before continuing down the corridor.
Halfway there, he noticed Endeavor walking alongside him.
"You are Shoto's only competition," Endeavor said, his eyebrows igniting faintly as his voice took on an accusatory edge. "If he used his fire, I'm certain he could give you a real challenge. You should push him harder."
Takeru sighed. "Endeavor, of all the heroes in Japan, you are the one I admire the most. Your quirk is destructive and powerful, but one-dimensional, and yet you have pushed it further than anyone else ever has. You have solved five times as many cases as the next ten heroes combined." He glanced at Endeavor briefly. "And yet you fail to see the obvious."
Endeavor's eyes widened at the unexpected praise before narrowing with suspicion. "See what?"
Takeru continued calmly, "You are a persistent man. Maybe it's time you changed your approach if you want Shoto to reach his full potential. He doesn't see his flames as his quirk. He sees them as yours."
Endeavor stiffened.
"He hates you," Takeru said bluntly, but without malice. "He resents you, and because of that, he rejects you. So he rejects his fire as well. All your shouting will accomplish nothing." Takeru paused, then added more quietly, "If you truly love your son, you should talk to him, not talk at him."
Endeavor said nothing.
"It isn't about what you want for him," Takeru finished. "It's about what he wants for himself."
"You speak as if you know my son," Endeavor said at last, his voice low almost a growl.
"The flaws of other people are more apparent to us than our own, Endeavor. Better men than you have done worse things. If your son means more to you than some means to overcome All Might, maybe you should tell him that. Shoto is my classmate; I... was rather harsh in my criticism of him when he refused to use his fire. I still don't agree with him, but I understand now."
Endeavor looked like he would punch Takeru, but he merely scowled and stomped off. The heat of his flames receded as Takeru entered the hospital wing, laying Toru down as the nurses took over. As Takeru was walking out, he heard a girl calling him: "Oi, oi!! Future number one!"
The support item girl with zoom eyes waved at him frantically. The girl had a bandage on her head, but it had not seemed to have dimmed her enthusiasm. Takeru smiled at her. "Hatsume-san, I must say your support items were quite formidable."
Mei's eyes widened. "You know... my name? OF COURSE!! My babies are awesome! Sadly, I was blasted away before I could showcase them."
"Hey, I could make you something! You're going to go pro, and everyone says you're All Might's son. If you wear my support gear, everyone will buy my babies, and I will make so much money."
She got off her bed, and her hospital shift slid to reveal her breasts. Takeru could hardly keep his eyes off them as the girl went on about her future business plans.
"Ummm..."
The girl had clambered on top of him, her hands groping his muscles. "You're so big and strong! You could carry an arsenal on your back! There are so many babies I could make for you. What do you say?!"
Her face was an inch from his, her legs wrapped around his hips and her arms around his neck. Takeru, this bitch is crazy... and hot... hot and crazy... Trying desperately to ignore the breasts pressing into him, he thought, FOCUS! FOCUS!
"Actually, there is something I want from you," Takeru said with a smirk. "I need you to keep it top secret!"
Mei's eyes widened. "I can do anything!"