I do not own My Hero Academia or any of its characters.
Sports Festival: Results
Lee stepped out of the bathroom and stopped, seeing Momo waiting for him. "What's up?"
"Why are you being so mean to Mineta?" Momo asked.
Lee frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Are you being serious right now?" Momo asked, hands on her hips. "You threaten him basically any time he opens his mouth, you call him names, and he's constantly terrified you're going to hurt him. And that's all just from the Sports Festival. I want to know why."
"No, I don't..." Lee trailed off, thinking back.
After a moment, he realized she was right. He had been doing everything she accused him of to Mineta. And he had thought nothing of it. His shoulder sank as faces drifted through his mind. His classmates from before U.A. The ones who had taken one look at him and treated him like he was treating Mineta. And, if he was honest, Aoyama. he didn't outright bully Aoyama like he was Mineta, but he did severely dislike him. And not for any real reason either. He just wasn't being fair. He sighed, raising his hands to his face.
"Fuck," he groaned. "I didn't mean...I didn't even realize I was doing that. I just wanted him to leave you three alone."
"We can deal with him," Momo said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "He's an annoying pervert, but he's not that bad. But you owe him an apology. A real one. And you need to be nicer to him."
"I know," Lee sighed. "I'll go do that now."
"He was heading down to check on Midoriya with most of the others while they rebuild the arena," Momo said. "You should check on Midoriya too. He's in pretty bad shape from what I've heard."
Lee nodded. "Thanks. For making me realize how I've been acting before I could get worse."
Momo smiled and nodded, then turned and walked away. Lee turned and headed for Recovery Girl's office, meeting Uraraka, Iida, Mineta, and Su as they were on their way back from the nurse's office.
"Oh, hey Lee," Uraraka said, Lee noticing, for the first time, how Mineta ducked around behind someone else, in this case Iida, to hide from him. "You going to check on Deku?"
"Yeah," Lee said. "In a minute. Mineta, can I talk to you for a sec?"
"O-Oh, uh, s-sure!" Mineta stammered.
The others left and Mineta began to panic instantly.
"Whatever you it is you think I did, I swear I didn't!" Mineta said quickly. "I haven't gone near any of the-"
"Shut up!" Lee groaned, then sighed. "Sorry. I'm not here for that. I'm not here to threaten you, or to hurt you. I'm...here to apologize. Earlier, when I was threatening you, hitting you, calling you names...I didn't even think about it. I was acting like...no...I was a bully, and I'm sorry. I strive to be the nice guy, and to help everyone, and yet, I didn't even give bullying you a second thought. I guess I'm not so different from...No, sorry. I'm not looking for your pity, and I know you're probably not going to forgive me right away, but I promise I'm done. I won't hurt you or threaten you anymore."
"Who are you not different from?" Mineta asked.
"Everyone," Lee sighed. "Before U.A., I only had two friends, one of which was my sister. Everyone else just saw me as the freaky poor kid with the exoskeleton. They never beat me up, especially since they couldn't touch me, but they found other ways to hurt me instead. I swore I was going to be different from them. I was going to help everyone. It's part of why I want to be a hero. But I guess I'm not a very good hero, because I didn't think twice about doing the same thing to you. I really am sorry."
"Well you probably should have thought about that before you acted like a bully, then," Mineta said, walking past him, giving him a wide birth.
Lee sighed. "You're right." He sighed, walking to the nurse's office and knocking, only for a scrawny blond guy with an extremely angular face and two massive strands of blond hair hanging down on either side of his head to step out.
"If you're here to see Midoriya, he's undergoing surgery right now," the man said.
"The breaks were that bad?" Lee asked.
"Yes," the man said. "Recovery Girl will do what she can."
"Alright," Lee said. "I guess I'll be back later then."
The man nodded and turned to head back inside, only to stop as Lee spoke again.
"By the way, I think you chose a good successor, but only if he can learn to use his Quirk without his body breaking," Lee said, the man staring at him. "Obviously he was too afraid to use it growing up to learn to use it properly, so you've got your work cut out for you. But if he can learn, he'll be an excellent successor."
"How did you..." All Might trailed off.
"You always disappear right after your heroic deed," Lee said. "My sister always thought that it was because your power isn't just super strength, but total body enhancement, meaning that you turn into the form everyone knows when you use it, but you probably can't hold that form forever. She looked back at pictures of your battles from after you'd left and the cops were taking the villains into custody. In the old days, there was nothing. But then more recently, more and more often, this form would be there, watching the arrest. It became more and more frequent in more recent months. Eventually, she put two and two together."
"Your sister's a sharp one," All Might said.
"My sister's quirk makes her a super-genius," Lee said. "She designed my exoskeleton. Anyway, look after Midoriya. I'm going to head back. And I'll keep my mouth shut about your Quirk. Promise."
All Might nodded and headed back into the nurse's office and Lee headed toward the stands, only to change his mind and head to the top of the stadium, using his Quirk to run up the wall. As he sat down, Iida was just finishing using his Recipro burst to shove Kendo out of bounds. Lee smiled. Well done. During Momo and Fumikage's fight, Mina also got knocked out of bounds in one hit. The next fight was a longer one. Bakugo was able to dodge Eijiro's blows, and Eijiro was able to withstand Bakugo's. After a particularly strong explosion to Eijiro's side failed, Bakugo began to simply evade Eijiro's punches, probably waiting for his hardening to time out. Then, suddenly, Bakugo went on the offensive. He unleased a massive stream of explosions, ending with a massive right hook explosion that hurled Eijiro away.
"Kirishima has been knocked out!" Midnight said. "Bakugo is the winner!"
"And with that vicious carpet bombing, Bakugo moves on to the semifinals!" the DJ shouted. "Ladies and gentlemen, your final four!"
The screens all displayed images of Todoroki, Iida, Fumikage, and Bakugo. Lee sighed. He kinda wish he'd been there. it would have saved Midoriya a lot of pain, and probably permanent damage. But, it was for the best. Todoroki needed to face Midoriya, who likewise needed to face Todoroki. After a few more minutes, Iida and Todoroki stepped into the ring together.
"The first match of the semifinals is a battle of elites!" the DJ announced. "From the Hero Course, Tenya Iida! Versus, his classmate, Shoto Todoroki! Start!"
Todoroki sent a wave of ice at Iida, who took off instantly, narrowly avoiding the ice before beginning to close in while circling. Todoroki sent out another wave of ice on an intercept course and Iida reversed directions, the ice boxing him in now. Todoroki sent out another wave of ice, but Iida jumped forward, clearing the ice and reaching Todoroki before activating his Recipro Burst for a kick. Todoroki barely managed to duck under it, and Iida landed on his feet before blue flames exploded out of his pipes again, flipping him backward and slamming a kick into Todoroki, smashing him to the ground. Todoroki tried to freeze Iida, but he was already in the air, grabbing Todoroki by the back of the shirt. He took off toward the edge of the ring, but before he could reach it, Todoroki froze his exhaust pipes. Todoroki landed on his feet when Iida stopped and began to freeze Iida instantly. Once only Iida's head was exposed, Todoroki stood, being announced the winner as he stared at his left hand.
Lee sighed as Todoroki began to thaw Iida. He had expected Todoroki to win, but he had been kind of hoping Iida would do it. After a few minutes, Fumikage and Bakugo's fight began. For the first couple of minutes, Bakugo was slamming explosion after explosion into Dark Shadow, seeming to be trying to destroy it. However, after a couple minutes, he flipped over both Dark Shadow and Fumikage, then landed behind them and set of a massive, blinding explosion that he called Stun Grenade. Accurate name, considering the amount of light the explosion let out. When the smoke cleared, Bakugo was pinning Fumikage to the ground, holding his beak and with small, bright explosions going off in his other hand, leaving Dark Shadow as little more than his namesake on the ground. Lee's eyes widened. Light. That was Dark Shadow's weakness. Fumikage surrendered, as his Quirk had been rendered helpless, and Bakugo let him up.
Lee sighed. He hadn't seen that ending coming. He had suspected Bakugo would win, but only because he'd slip past Dark Shadow and land a direct hit. He hadn't expected Bakugo's Quirk to involve Dark Shadow's weakness.
"There you are," Momo said, walking over from where she'd left a massive ladder. "What are you doing up here?"
"I just...wanted a little while to myself," Lee said.
"Mineta said you apologized," Momo said. "He was skeptical about your sincerity."
"I would have been too," Lee said. "You know, I used to be bullied."
"You?" Momo asked.
"Yeah," Lee said. "Not physically, obviously. None of them were able to beat me up, even though a couple had impressive Quirks. But I was ostracized and hated because I had to wear my exoskeleton, and for having a metal spine. And for being pour. Even in a world of super heroes, people still discriminate based on wealth. Go figure."
"Some things never change," Momo said. "Why bully Fumikage if you knew how it felt?"
"I honestly don't know," Lee said. "I didn't even realize I had been until you said something. I guess...part of my brain just...thought it was normal for someone to be treated like that. Or maybe...some part of me thought that if no one else was, I would be again."
"You won't," Momo said. "No one's going to treat you like that, so long as you stop treating others like that."
"I'm done," Lee said. "I'm not going to pick on him anymore, and I'm done hating Aoyama."
Momo nodded, looking to the arena. "It's starting."
Lee looked as well and nodded. Bakugo and Todoroki were both already in the ring. The moment the order was given, Todoroki sent a massive ice formation rivalling the one he'd hit Sero with at Bakugo, who began to blast it as fast as he could. it was more controlled than the one he hit Sero with, however. He wasn't angry, he was being careful. After a moment, the ground began to tremble over and over as the muffled sounds of explosions leaked out of the ice, Then, finally, the ice began to crack. Then, it exploded open just in front of Todoroki, who leapt away instantly. Bakugo launched himself forward and Todoroki charged, only for Bakugo to flip over Todoroki with a blast from each hand. Then, he grabbed Todoroki by the left shoulder and the hair on his left side, flipping to the ground and landing on his feet before hurling Todoroki, launching him with an explosion. Todoroki caught himself with a wave of ice, surfing around away from the edge of the arena on it, watching Bakugo carefully. He sent a wave of ice at Bakugo, who ducked around it, then leapt at Todoroki. Todoroki avoided the blast, his left hand grabbing Bakugo's arm.
"Use your left side!" Endeavor shouted. "Do it Shoto!"
Instead, Todoroki merely flung Bakugo by the arm. Bakugo landed on his feet and right hand, skidding to a stop.
"Stop screwing around!" Bakugo snarled. "What do you think I'm not worthy of your fire?"
"Bakugo timed his explosions and grabbed Todoroki's left side on purpose," Aizawa said. "He's done his research. His aptitude for this becomes more apparent with every fight."
"Interesting," the DJ said.
"Todoroki's doing well so far, but his attacks are too simple," Aizawa said. "It almost seems like he lost his spark after the match with Midoriya."
"You bastard!" Bakugo shouted, explosions going off from his hands. "I'll tell you what'll happen if you make a fool out of me! I'll kill you! I don't want there to be any doubt that I'm the best student at the festival! That's only possible if you come at me as hard as you can! There's no point if you don't fight me with the same power you used against Deku! if you don't wanna win this, why are you even here!?" He took off sprinting. "Show everyone you're trying to destroy me!"
"Come on Todoroki!" Midoriya shouted from below Momo and Lee suddenly. "Don't give up! Do your best!"
Flames began to rage from Todoroki's body suddenly and Lee smirked.
"And so it begins," Lee said.
"Are we safe up here?" Momo asked.
"Probably not," Lee said. "But if anything happens, I'll make sure to get us out of here."
Momo nodded, leaning on his side and he wrapped an arm around her, resting his hand just above her waist. In the ring, Bakugo took flight with his explosions, hen held his right hand across his chest, using his explosions to begin to spin in the air, spinning so fast that he formed a funnel of smoke as he streaked toward Todoroki. Then, just as Todoroki raised his left hand, his flames suddenly died out, and he instead formed himself a shield of ice.
"Howitzer Impact!" Bakugo shouted, setting off a massive explosion that absolutely obliterated all of the ice in the ring and filled the stadium with smoke.
"Wow!" the DJ cheered. "Bakugo combined speed and rotation with a huge explosion like he used against Uraraka to turn himself into a human missile! Todoroki did fire up a huge flame attack like he used against Midoriya, so what has become of our two competitors?"
When the smoke cleared, Bakugo was lying on the ground, but Todoroki was sitting in a heap against a wall of ice blocking one of the doorways, far out of bounds. Bakugo was pissed. He sprinted to Todoroki and lifted him by the front of his shirt, demanding he wake up and keep fighting, saying it wasn't a real win for him unless Todoroki try harder. However, Todoroki was unconscious, and when Midnight activated her Quirk a moment later, a Quirk which released pink-tinted sleeping gas from her skin, so was Bakugo. However, despite having to put Bakugo to sleep, she still called it fairly, announcing Bakugo the winner of the Sports Festival.
"Bakugo's going to be pissed," Lee said, pushing himself up, offering Momo his hand. "We should head back."
Momo nodded, accepting his help before he lifted her bridal-style, and ran back down the wall before skidding to a stop by the door. Momo sighed as he set her down, then hugged him. "Thank you for apologizing, even if he's not ready to forgive you."
"Thank you for showing me I was wrong," Lee said, hugging her back. "Come on. We'll miss the chance to congratulate the class hot-head."
Momo smiled and nodded, the two of them heading back into the stadium together. They were all called back into the interior of the stadium for the award ceremony and once they'd all gathered, a cloud of smoke and confetti exploded up behind Midnight before a stand for first, second, and third place rose. In first was Bakugo, with heavy steel restrains on his elbows, hands, and covering his mouth, as well as a massive cement pillar behind him that he was strapped to. In second place was Todoroki. And in third, Fumikage.
"Whoa," Mineta said, staring at Bakugo, who was raging around trying to break free to keep fighting Todoroki.
"What the heck?" Kyoka asked.
"He's been going nuts ever since he woke up," Eijiro said. "Man Bakugo. Pull yourself together."
"He's acting like a feral animal," Fumikage said.
"Tenya Iida actually shares the third place award with Tokoyami," Midnight said. "But unfortunately he had to leave for family reasons. gotta love those familial bonds." She kissed the tip of her index finger and Fumikage suddenly stiffened, staring at her strangely, muttering something under his breath.
"Too bad Iida couldn't be here, he was so excited," Su said.
"Anyone know what happened?" Lee asked.
Most people shook their heads, though Lee noticed Midoriya and Uraraka both staring at the ground in silence. He left it alone, gathering it was none of his business.
"Now, let's break out the hardware!" Midnight said. "Of course there's only one person worthy of distributing the awards!"
Just then, All Might moved into view on top of the stadium in his public form, giving his signature laugh. The crowd went crazy instantly as he leapt to the ground.
"All Might, the Number One Hero!" Midnight announced, at the same time as he was saying his catch phrase and completely drowning him out.
She apologized and he turned back to the three present winners. She asked him to begin and held up a small tray with three medals on it. He started with Fumikage.
"Young Tokoyami, congratulations!" All Might said, putting the medal around Fumikage's head. "You showed great strength out there."
"Your words humble me, sir," Fumikage said.
"However," All Might said, pulling Fumikage into a hug and patting his back. "You've got more training to do if you're going to be able to fight against different kinds of villains. You're not going to be able to rely on your Quirk at every battle you face."
"Yes sir," Fumikage said quietly, holding his medal up to stare at it.
"Young Todoroki," All Might said, taking the silver medal to him and slipping it over his head. "Congratulations. I'm assuming there's a reason you didn't use your left side, even though it cost you the final."
"Midoriya opened my eyes during our match," Todoroki said. "But then I started to doubt myself. I think I now understand a little bit about why you're so interested in him. I wanted to be the kind of hero you are, but my path...isn't as clear as I thought it was. I have a lot to think about, and I still need to settle things with someone very soon."
"I've never seen this sort of look on your face before," All Might said, hugging Todoroki. "I won't ask for details, but trust yourself and I'm sure you'll work things out."
"Right," Todoroki said.
"And now, young Bakugo," All Might said, only to stop as he saw how heavily restrained Bakugo was. "Hm. This is a little much." He unclipped the restraint around Bakugo's mouth. "Well, you did what you said you'd do in the pledge. You're true to your word!"
"All Might!" Bakugo snarled. "Winning first place this way, DOESN'T PROVE THAT I'M THE BEST ONE HERE! ! ! EVEN IF THE WORLD CONSIDERS ME THE WINNER I REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT LIKE THIS! ! !"
All Might cleared his throat and held his left hand up, looking off to the side as he obviously scrambled for something to say to calm Bakugo down while sounding like a hero. "In a world where we're constantly compared to one another, there are very few that can keep their eyes focused on the top spot. You are one of them." He saw the fury still filling Bakugo's face and hurriedly picked up the gold medal. "Please accept this medal. Even if you have to think of it as a scar. Something you'll never forget."
"I don't want that piece of garbage!" Bakugo shouted.
"Come on now," All Might said, going to put it around his neck, only for Bakugo to tip his head back, the strap crossing the bridge of his nose instead.
"Get that trash off of me you idiot!" Bakugo shouted, just before the strap slipped into his mouth.
All Might let go and turned away as the crowd cheered like he'd actually gotten it around his neck. Bakugo's teeth clenched instantly, holding the medal up.
"Here they are, the winners of this year's Sports Festival!" All Might announced. "But listen closely! Any of you first-years could have ended up standing on these podiums. Think about what you've done today. You've challenged each other, learned, and climbed even closer toward your goals of being pros. I think the next generation of heroes is proving to be our most promising one yet! So I have one more thing to say!" He pointed at the sky. "I want to hear everyone yell it with me! U.A. is..."
"Plus Ultra!" the entire stadium shouted at the same time as All Might shouted something else, which was entirely drowned out but obviously different.
After a moment of silence, everyone began to yell at him. Lee laughed, shaking his head. After a few more minutes, the ceremony ended and they began to leave, Lee seeing Shinso talking to a couple of scouts out of the corner of his eye. He smiled, catching up to the rest of his class as they headed back to the classroom, taking their seats before Aizawa walked in.
"Nice work," Aizawa said. "You have the next two days of school off to recuperate. I'm sure the pros who watched the festival will want to recruit some of you. We'll look over the draft forms and update your paperwork when you return. Get some rest. You still have a lot of training."
"Yes sir!" the class responded.
He dismissed them and they all left. Lee walked outside and looked around, but he didn't see anyone waiting for him. He frowned. Amy was supposed to be picking him up today. They were supposed to go out and celebrate him being in the Sports Festival, but there was no one. He pulled out his phone and dialed, but after ringing a couple minutes, it went to voice mail. He stared at it a moment before putting it away. His eyes flicked to his exoskeleton's arms, but he shook his head. It was nothing. She was probably just running late.
"Oh Lee!" Mina's voice called out before she wrapped her arms around him. "You coming shopping with us?"
"I can't today," Lee said. "I'm supposed to meet up with my sister and Tatsumi for a celebration. Sorry."
"It's alright," Mina smiled. "Tell your sister I said hi!"
"Me too!" Toru agreed.
"And from me as well," Momo agreed. "Will I see you for training tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Lee nodded. "I'll be there."
"Wait, you two are still training together?" Mina asked. "No fair! You can't hog him!"
"Relax, Mina," Lee said. "It's just training. I need to learn to control that energy that tried to interrupt my fight with Midoriya, and she's about the only person smart enough to figure out how. Now, I gotta run. I'll talk to you all tomorrow."
They all waved and he took off, running back home. However, when he opened the door using his key, the house was empty. He tried her phone again, once again getting voicemail after it had rung a few minutes, then sat down in the living room to wait.
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