Immortālitās

Chapter Fourteen

"Hello, listeners!" Present Mic revved up the audience, and they cheered the loudest they have all day. "We have finally reached the end! The last battle of the U.A. High School sports festival! With this one match, the top student of the first years will be decided! From the hero course, we have Katsuki Bakugo! Versus! Also, from the hero course, Ivan Tantarimoto!"

I knew the moment Present Mic gave us the go-ahead, Katsuki would gun to end this battle as quickly as possible. Which would be okay, considering I'd be aiming to do the same exact thing. Even so, this final battle was going to be different than the one I had with Shoto. In my fight with the red-and-white haired boy, I could tell that he had been emotionally compromised, and so he refused to go against me with his full power. Katsuki on the other hand? He's always aiming to be number one, and so I knew he'd be coming at me with everything he had. In fact, he looked absolutely murderous on the other side of the stage, and if his heart was set on a different path, he would be quite the frightening villain to behold.

Thankfully, he was set on the path of heroism.

"Now—!" Present Mic extended the word dramatically. "Ready?! Start!"

I took a page out of Ochaco's book and charged at Katsuki the moment Present Mic shouted for us to begin. Thus, in the same way as Ochaco's match, he threw up his arms and fired an explosion towards me before I got too close. I dodged to the side, and in the same moment, sent a surge of energy into my leg and continued my charge forward. Katsuki wasn't startled, as I was suddenly in his face, and he went to bat me away with an explosive uppercut.

To the surprise of Katsuki and the crowd, I let his uppercut strike me in the chin. I felt the explosion singe my jawline, but I grabbed on to his arm before I got blown away and used the momentum to suplex the other boy into the ground.

"Not even being phased by Bakugo's attack, Ivan just used the momentum of the blow to suplex the explosive quirk user! Again, what is with your class Aizawa?!"

"You dirty regenerator!" Bakugo spat before jumping away. "I was hoping to fight Half-and-half in the finals, but somehow I got stuck with you!"

"You weren't exactly my first pick to fight in the finals either, princess," I smirked, rubbing my chin. "How'd you like that suplex? I didn't hurt your back too much, did I?"

He growled at me and charged. I started running but stopped in my tracks as Katsuki used an explosion to propel himself off the ground. He shot high into the air and then used another explosion to alter his course back towards me.

He was flying through the air like a human torpedo, and I infused my legs with energy and slammed my feet through the cement to get properly stabilized.

This was going to be the deciding clash of the battle, and I wanted no chance of getting blown out of bounds.

He added momentum to his downward plummet by spinning, and the closer he got the crazier his face became.

"Howitzer Impact!" Katsuki named his move as he closed in on my location.

There was a moment of clarity as our gazes locked on to each other and Katsuki's eyes widened in surprise.

I was putting up no defensive measures for his attack.

When the other boy entered my space, I snapped my hand out, grabbing his neck, and slammed him on the ground a split second before his massive explosion went off. This forced the energy from the said explosion to go up, rather than out, so neither of us were blown off the stage. My hand gently squeezed around Katsuki's neck, and I chuckled internally at the predicament he just found himself in. He was in for a gruesome experience once the smoke cleared enough for him to see my face.

That moment came not even two seconds later as a gap in the billowing smoke passed between us, and I watched as the explosion boy's face went white with the sight my face surely gave him. I looked at my reflection in his watery eyes.

It appeared, in a twisted way, that I was smirking at the startled boy. Most of the skin on the left side of my face was blown or scorched off as my quirk worked on regenerating the damage.

I felt like a villain from an old hero comic.

With Katsuki being so shaken up, it was time to attempt my new idea.

My quirk allowed me to manifest the energy that circulated throughout my body. But from what I've been feeling, it was more than just energy. It was vital energy. Life energy. My life force. It was, in essence, an extension of myself: my being.

It was my wants. My thoughts. My ideas.

My will.

And I was going to try to use it and push my will onto Katsuki.

I looked into Katsuki's eyes and thought one thing as the energy full of my intent washed over his downed form.

Submit.

It took only a moment before his entire body froze up. Not even a second after that, his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

"Bakugo added momentum and rotation to his huge blast!" I heard Present Mic calling over the stadium. Only a couple of seconds have passed since Katsuki's final explosion went off. "It was the same he showed us in his fight with Uraraka! Just like a human projectile, he fired himself off at Ivan! It didn't look like Ivan was going to put up any kind of defense, but there was some movement before Bakugo's explosion went off! Who will be left standing once the smoke clears?!"

The thickest of the smoke was finally beginning to clear, and I raised my fist to the stunned crowd.

"The winner is—!" Present Mic paused dramatically and allowed Midnight to announce the winner.

"Katsuki Bakugo has been rendered unconscious!" She raised her arm in my favor. "Ivan Tantarimoto wins!"

I roared into the heavens as the crowd erupted into a thunderous applause.

"All of the events have been completed!" Present Mic's voice could barely be heard over the rambunctious crowd. "The champion of this year's first-year U.A. sports festival is from Class 1-A, Ivan Tantarimoto!"

-|I|-

"Ivan!" Ochaco crashed into me as I made my way towards the award ceremony platforms. "You won! Your fight was amazing!"

"Thank you," I hugged her back with a chuckle. "As long as you're cheering me on, no one will stand a chance!"

"I was really worried after that first hit Bakugo got in," she continued on, unphased by the comment I made to her. "But then you suplexed him out of nowhere like bam! Then that giant explosion at the end?! Whoosh! I almost screamed, but somehow, I knew you'd come out the winner in the end! Congratulations!"

I laughed at her excited babbling.

"What happened after the explosion went off, anyway?"

"My new idea worked," I winked at her.

"Ivan!~" She whined. "No one got to see what you did!"

"Bakugo did!"

Speaking of our not-so-friendly neighborhood explosive boy...

I heard muffled screaming as Bakugo was suddenly wheeled past us on a cement block. There was a muzzle on his mouth, which explained the screaming, and Ochaco and I looked on in amusement as the aggressive boy was chained onto the platform for second-place.

"You should head out to where the other students are at," I directed Ochaco as Shoto and Fumikage also walked in and took their place on the two third-place platforms. "It appears that the closing ceremony is about to begin."

"Un!" She nodded her head before hugging me once more. "I'll see you out there, Ivan! And congratulations again!"

I waved her off and then walked to stand on the platform for first-place. Katsuki tried lunging at me while screaming, but the chains held him down. I laughed lightly at the situation I found myself in before taking a peek at Shoto. He looked just as defeated as he did earlier in the day. Fumikage and I shared a look with each other before shrugging.

What an odd ceremony this was about to be.

"All of the events for the first-year's U.A. sports festival have been completed," Midnight announced and the platforms slowly started to rise from the ground. "We will now begin the award ceremony!"

There was loud cheering and fireworks as we rose into the sunlight.

I was going to be all cool and stand with my arms crossed, but then I noticed Fumikage was doing the same thing. So, I decided to pull an All Might.

I stood with my hands balled on my hips and a smile plastered on my face.

I found Ochaco standing in the crowd and winked at her.

She gave me a big smile and thumbs-up in return.

"We will now reward the medals!" Midnight gestured towards the roof of the stadium. "The one presenting these medals will, of course, be this man!"

There was a dramatic pause before laughter could be heard from the direction of Midnight's point. A startled excitement escaped the crowd, as only one hero could laugh like that.

"It's All Might!"

"Our very own, All Might—!"

"I have brought the medals here—!"

I tried not to laugh at the small mix-up between our two teachers.

"Now then," Midnight then handed the four medals to All Might. "Please present these medals to the students, All Might, beginning with third-place!"

All Might took the four medals and walked towards Shoto and Fumikage.

"Young Tokoyami!" All Might placed the medal around his head. "Congratulations to you my boy! You sure are strong."

"Your words are too generous," Fumikage replied to the hero.

"However," Fumikage froze as All Might hugged him. "In order to successfully handle yourself in different types of situations, you mustn't rely solely on your quirk. Train up your own strength, and then you'll have more options available to you in your future battles!"

"Yes, sir." Fumikage bowed once more to the man. "I will take your suggestion to heart."

"Young Todoroki," the solemn boy was next. "Congratulations. I can only assume that there was a reason behind you not using your left side against Young Ivan?"

"I had an opportunity with Midoriya," he mumbled in response. "But then I became uncertain of my abilities. I'm starting to understand a little bit of why you are so interested in him. It has been my goal to become a hero like you, but it wouldn't feel right for me to be the first of everyone else to break away. There is something I must rectify first."

Wow.

What a monologue.

"The look on your face is unlike before," All Might nodded and then hugged the boy. "I won't ask about the details. You'll be able to do what is needed of you, I'm sure of it."

"In time, yes."

"Now then, Young Bakugo! This is too much!" He laughed and started to remove the muzzle from the boy's mouth. "You didn't quite reach your goal and fell short on the pledge you made at the beginning of the festival. But, you showed the world your incredible strength and no one will doubt how you have gotten to where you stand right now!"

"All Might," Katsuki growled. "Second place is not worth anything! Who cares if it's recognized by the world?! If I don't recognize it myself, then it's nothing! It's rubbish!"

"Mmm," All Might played off his anger. "People are constantly compared publicly in this world and there are few who can aim for the top of an unchanging scale. So, this is what I'm going to say to you, Young Bakugo! Take this medal! Think of it as an injury, so you will never forget what happened here! Let it be the fuel to your heart, as you race towards new victories!"

"I said I didn't want it!"

"Now, now Bakugo."

We all watched, and I fought once more against the laughter in my chest, as All Might struggled with Bakugo to get the second-place medal around his head.

"Young Ivan!" He finally approached me after his hard-fought win with Katsuki. "Look where life as taken you! You have displayed great strength, adaptability, and unwavering determination! Those have all brought you to where you are today! You now stand before your fellow students as their champion!"

"Thank you, sir," I bowed to him so he could place the medal around my neck.

"You have come a long way," he hugged me. "Your parents would surely be proud of you."

Don't cry.

Don't cry.

Don't cry!

Dang it.

"These are your winners this time!" The sun seemed to give All Might a spotlight as he gestured towards the crowd of gathered students. "But listen to me now! Any of you students could have been standing on these podiums today. Just as we all witnessed! Competing, improving one another, and climbing even further! Those are all traits worthy of being an excellent hero! The next generation of heroes is beginning to show its growth, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you all! So, with all of that being said, I have one more thing to say! Everyone, say it with me!"

"Ready—!"

"Thank you for your hard work!"

"Plus Ultra!"

This time, I didn't hold back my laughter as everyone scolded All Might for closing the ceremony by saying the wrong thing.

-|I|-

"Good work," Aizawa said from in front of our class. "There will be no school tomorrow, or the day after. The pro heroes who watched the festival are going to want to recruit you, so we're going to work on consolidating all of the offers before class resumes. We will announce it once we get back. Rest well and look forward to that day."

"Yes, sir!"

"Ochaco," I walked over to the girl's desk after we were dismissed.

"Yes, Ivan?" She looked at me curiously.

"I was just wondering," I scratched the back of my neck. "With us having the next two days off, would you like to meet up and train sometime?"

"O-of course!" She shouted before turning red. "I-I mean, of course. I would love to, Ivan. When were you thinking?"

"How about the day after tomorrow?" I suggested. "That way we're both fully rested."

"That sounds good to me," she smiled. "Is there a specific place or time you'd like to meet?"

"How about we trade numbers?" I took my flip phone out. "We can coordinate the details tomorrow."

"You have a flip phone too?!" She excitedly took her own phone out and we traded. "I thought I was going to be the only one! M-my family can't afford one, which I'm sure you understand why."

She got quiet and nervous at the end.

"I understand," I smiled at her while putting my information in her contacts. "We can be flip phone buddies!"

I handed her phone back to her after typing in my name.

Ivan Tantarimoto:D

She looked at it and giggled, before handing my phone back.

Ochaco Uraraka!~:)

So cute.

"I'll text you tomorrow, then?" I put my phone back in my pocket.

"That sounds good to me!" She stood from her desk. "Walk with me to the train station?"

I nodded and we left the emptied classroom.

-|I|-

"Big brother Ivan!"

"You won! We watched you!"

I smiled at the younger children gathered around my legs.

"I did it for you guys!" I ruffled the hair of the ones closest to me. "I don't want you all getting in trouble for being up so late, shouldn't you all be in bed?"

"We were waiting for you!"

"We want to hear about everything!"

"In the morning," I laughed at their disappointed faces. "How about this. If you all go to bed right now, I'll help with making breakfast in the morning and then I'll tell you all about it!"

"Yay!"

"I love big brother Ivan's cooking!"

They collectively cheered and dispersed from the hallway.

I entered my bedroom and took my phone out.

I: Hey, Ochaco! I know I said I'd text you tomorrow, but I just wanted to say goodnight! I hope you sleep well!

I only had to wait a few moments before my phone went off.

O: I will now, Ivan! Thank you! Good night! :))!

I smiled at her reply.

Sweet dreams.

Hello, friends! I apologize once more for the delay, but here we are! The U.A. Sports Festival has ended and Ivan has come out victorious! Thank you for reading, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

TTFN.