Luna, Diana, and Selene quickly hurried to Recovery Girl's office as fast as they can. They quickly entered inside and saw Aisha stretching her arms while being completely healed on the bed.
"Oh, hey, girls." Aisha greeted.
Diana instantly grabbed Aisha's arms.
"Aisha, that was awesome!" Diana smiled excitedly. She then shook her friend wildly. "Totally awesome!"
"Uh, Diana, quit shaking her." Selene said as she pulled Diana away by grabbing the back of her shirt. She looked back at Aisha. "So, how are you feeling?"
"I'm good." Aisha replied.
"And how do you feel after losing against Todoroki?" Luna asked as she sat down on the bed next to Aisha.
"Much better, actually." Aisha answered. "I didn't even care if I win or lose. I'm just glad it was a fair match between us, so we can move forward. He may have a long way to go just like me, but I have faith in him."
"We're so proud of you, Aisha." Luna said, placing her hand on Aisha's shoulder. "And I'm sure Todoroki will be proud of you too."
Little did Aisha know is that Shoto is listening from the entrance in the hallway. He formed a small smile on his face and then walked away.
Meanwhile, the final match showcased Shoto versus Katsuki. Both boys stood on the field stage to face each other.
Aisha walked back to the stands with her friends.
"That was amazing, Aisha." Jiro said with a smile.
"Despite your loss, that was pretty respected fight." Tsuyu said.
"Agreed." Tokoyami concurred. "You must be very proud of yourself."
"Oh, thanks, guys." Aisha smiled. "I appreciate it."
Aisha, Diana, Selene, and Luna took their seats as they paid close attention to the final match, knowing that this fight is gonna be extremely intense.
"From the hero course, Shoto Todoroki vs his classmate Katsuki Bakugo!" Present Mic announced. "Now, begin!"
Shoto unleashed a more controlled version of a massive ice ridge from his boots straight towards Katsuki. But Katsuki delivered a flurry of quick explosions to destroy the ice with rapid speed while trying to defend himself until he soon ended up being encased in a large mass of ice.
"Todoroki starts with a crazy ice blast! Bakugo has seemed to be completely buried! Is it possible that we already have a winner down there?" Present Mic announced.
I see. Aisha thought. It seems Shoto has more control on his ice since he fought Sero. He's being cautious this time.
Suddenly, the loud sound of heavy thud was heard from the ice.
"What's that terrifying sound?!" Mineta asked.
"It's gotta be Bakugo's doing." Tsuyu said.
Then, Katsuki used his explosions to tunnel through the ice and finally escaped out of the it, sending icy shard to scatter everywhere. Shoto quickly jumped back when it happened.
Aisha, Diana, Selene, and Luna stared at the fight with surprising faces.
"OMG!" Diana exclaimed in surprise. "Did he just tunnel through the ice like that?!"
"That guy is insane." Aisha said.
"You got some pretty powerful attacks." Katsuki commended. He rushed forward with his explosions. "But you're a bad aim!"
Shoto charged forward and reached out to attack Katsuki, who quickly evaded with an explosion.
"Try harder!" Katsuki shouted.
Katsuki then grabbed onto Shoto's head and left side before backflipping over him.
"Are you underestimating me, idiot?!" Katsuki warned with a yell.
Katsuki threw Shoto away toward the edge of the arena with an explosion.
But Shoto swiftly recovered. He created an ice wave and surfed around Katsuki while also avoiding falling out of bounds.
"Looks like fun!" Present Mic announced.
Katsuki swiftly avoided the ice and proceeded to attack Shoto in mid-air. But Shoto grabbed Katsuki's arm with his left hand.
That immediately caught a smiling Endeavor's attention.
"Use your left side!" Endeavor shouted.
Hearing Endeavor's voice stunned both Shoto and Katsuki.
"Do it, Shoto!" Endeavor yelled.
Instead of using his fire, Shoto simply tossed Katsuki away.
Shoto's restraint made Katsuki deeply aggravated.
"Stop screwing around." Katsuki said angrily. "What do think I'm not worthy of you fire?"
"Bakugo timed his explosion and grabbed Todoroki's left side on purpose. He's done his research. His aptitude becomes more apparent with every fight." Aizawa explained.
"Interesting." Present Mic said.
"Todoroki doing well so far, but his attacks are too simple." Aizawa added. "It seems that he lost his spark after his fight with Midoriya and Aisha."
"You bastard! I'll tell you what'll happen if you make a fool out of me!" Katsuki shouted threateningly. "I'll kill you! I don't want any doubt that I'm the best student at the festival! That's only possible if you came 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 and that psychic girl! If you don't wanna win this, then why are you even here? Show everyone you're here to destroy me!"
As Katsuki charged forward, Shoto felt silently hesitant over his opponent's words. He started remembering his fight with Izuku and Aisha, making him unsure about his future and the purpose of using his left side.
Shoto then started to drop his left hand, signaling that he is willing to give up.
Then suddenly, Izuku and Aisha's encouraging words prevented Shoto from doing so.
"Come on, Todoroki!" Izuku shouted as he stood up from the stands. "Don't give up! Do your best!"
"You can win this!" Aisha yelled as she also stood up. "We believe in you!"
Midoriya. Aisha. Shoto thought in utter surprise.
"That stupid nerd." Bakugo said as he hurled himself with his explosions. "And that psychic girl should mind her own business."
Feeling impassioned by his friends' encouragement, Shoto ignited his flames from his entire left side and readied to counter Katsuki's next move.
Hell yeah. That's it. Katsuki thought. He propelled himself to the sky into a circular motion and used explosions to encase himself in a twister-like wind straight towards Shoto. If your gonna face me, you can't half past it. Try everything you can to defeat me. Don't you dare hold back!
Shoto aimed his flames at Katsuki and prepared to strike. But unfortunately, he recalled the haunting memories of his family that forced him to extinguish his flames, leaving himself completely open to Katsuki's incoming attack.
However, Katsuki didn't take notice and readied to attack Shoto.
"Howitzer Impact!" Katsuki yelled.
Katsuki rammed forward and released an enhanced explosive blast into the ice, blasting the ice ridge and the entire stadium with a huge explosion. The impact not only destroyed Shoto's ice with destructive force, but it sent Shoto flying out of bounds.
The entire students, the pro heroes, and the audience watched the explosion in amazement.
"Woah! Bakugo define speed rotation with a huge blast like he use on Diana! He turned himself into a human missile!" Present Mic explained. "Todoroki did fire up the flame attack that wowed us in his matches with Midoriya and Aisha. So, what has happened to our two top competitors?"
From the sidelines, Endeavor watched the aftermath with a scowl.
After the dust settled from the explosion, Katsuki laid on the ground in utter shock. But when he looked at Shoto, his shock instantly turned into pure anger.
"You choose not to use your fire." Katsuki said.
The screen showed Shoto lying unconscious on top of his ice. But Katsuki wasn't having it.
"No." Katsuki muttered. He struggled to get back up and ran up to an unconscious Shoto. "Hey! Hey!"
Displeased with his victory, Katsuki grabbed an unconscious Shoto's shirt.
"You stop messing around! This isn't a real win for me unless you try harder!" Katsuki demanded furiously as his voice was started breaking in his sentences. "It can't end this way! Now, get up!"
Suddenly, a violet aroma encircled Katsuki that knocked him to sleep. That amora was coming from Midnight, who ripped off the sleeves of her costume.
From the stands, only Aisha, Luna, and Izuku looked shocked at the outcome of the final battle.
Midnight approached the unconscious Shoto and Katsuki before facing up to the audience.
"Todoroki is out of bounds! That means Bakugo is the winner!" Midnight announced.
The crowd cheered for Katsuki's victory.
"And with that, the final match is officially over! The first-year champion of the UA Sport festival is Katsuki Bakugo of Class 1A!" Present Mic announced.
With the Sports Festival concluded, fireworks erupted above the stadium as the awards ceremony was set to begin. All the students from different classes gathered together at the center of the stadium from below.
"The first-year students have completed all of the events of the UA sport Festival! Now it's time to relax and enjoy the award ceremony!" Midnight announced.
A sudden smoke occurred behind Midnight as three podiums rose out of the ground. The first, second and third place contestants stood on top of the podiums. From the right side, Tokoyami stood on the third-place podium. From the left side, Aisha and Shoto stood on the second-place podium together. Katsuki stood on the first-place podium in between the other two podiums. But he was unexpectedly restrained in chains and a muzzle over his mouth as he furiously and violently tried to break free.
All the students, mostly Class 1-A, watched Katsuki's wild, crazy grunts.
"Woah." Kaminari said.
"What the heck?" Jiro said.
"He's been going nuts ever since he woken up." Kirishima said. "Man, Bakugo. Pull yourself together."
Diana laughed so hard and quickly took out her phone, recording Katsuki's crazy grunts with a wide smile.
"Oh, Bakugo. You're making it too easy on yourself." Diana said.
"He's acting like a feral animal." Tokoyami said to himself.
Bakugo grunted angrily at Shoto, who paid no attention to him. Aisha rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Midnight then turned to the press.
"Tenya Iida actually shares the 3rd place reward with Tokoyami, but unfortunately, he had to leave for family reasons!" Midnight explained. "You gotta love those familial bonds!"
"Too bad Iida couldn't be here. He was so excited." Tsuyu stated.
"Yeah" Izuku said sadly.
"Now, let's bring out the hardware. Of course, there's only two people worth of distributing the awards." Midnight announced.
All Might and Tarot Chariot stood on top of the stadium. All Might's signature laugh caught the audience's attention, making them cheer with excitement.
All Might and Tarot Chariot jumped down together.
"Citizens! I Am..." All Might spoke.
"All Might is the number 1 hero and his lovely wife Tarot Chariot!" Midnight interrupted.
All Might and Tarot Chariot landed together on the ground. But only All Might turned his annoyance to Midnight, while Tarot Chariot covered her mouth to hold back her giggle.
"Really?!" Everyone yelled disappointedly to Midnight.
"Ruined that, didn't I?" Midnight apologized.
"Don't worry. He'll get over it." Tarot Chariot said. She turned to her husband with a threatening glare. "Right, honey?"
"Yes, ma'am." All Might replied quickly.
"Now that you and your wife are here, All Might." Midnight said as she held the medals to the heroes. "Why don't we start the presentation?"
All Might grabbed the bronze medal and walked over to Tokoyami with Tarot Chariot by his side.
"Young Tokoyami, congratulations. You showed great strength out there." All Might said.
All Might handed the bronze medal to Tokoyami.
"Your words humble me, sir." Tokoyami said.
All Might reached over to hug Tokoyami.
"However, you have more training to do. If your gonna fight with different kinds of villains, you're not gonna be able to rely on your Quirk in every battle you face." All Might advised.
All Might released Tokoyami from the hug.
"Yes, sir." Tokoyami replied as he looked at his medal.
"Keep working hard and you will reach true greatness with your Quirk." Tarot Chariot added.
"Yes, ma'am." Tokoyami nodded.
All Might and Tarot Chariot moved over to Shoto and Aisha.
"Young Todoroki and young Rozu, congratulations." All Might said as he and his wife handed silver medals to Shoto and Aisha. "I'm assuming there's a reason you didn't use your left side, although it cost you the final."
"Midoriya and Aisha opened my eyes during our match, but then I began to doubt myself." Shoto explained. "I think I now know understand why you're so interested in Midoriya and Luna. I want 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 see." Tarot Chariot said.
"I never seen this sort of look on your face before." All Might reassured as he hugged Shoto. "But trust yourself. I'm sure you'll work things out."
"And you?" Tarot Chariot asked Aisha.
"Well, my reason is different." Aisha replied. "When Luna opened my eyes during our match, I've learned that I got a lot of work to do. And if I want to become a hero like you and All Might, I have to work on channeling my true self through my Quirk and never hold back."
"And I'm sure your parents will be proud of you." Tarot Chariot said as she placed her hand on Aisha's shoulder. "Keep up with the good work."
"Thank you, ma'am." Aisha smiled.
All Might and Tarot Chariot moved over to Katsuki.
"And now Young Bakugo." All Might spoke.
All Might and Tarot Chariot noticed the chains and muzzle on Katsuki.
"Is this a little bit too much?" Tarot Chariot questioned.
"Well, you did what you said you did in the pledge. You're true to your word." All Might said proudly as he took the muzzle off over Katsuki's mouth.
"All Might." Katsuki growled. He looked at All Might with an angry look on his face. "Winning first place this way does not prove that I'm the best one here! Even if the world considers me the winner, I refuse to accept it like this!"
Look at that face. All Might thought in fear.
"In a world where we're constantly compared to one another, there are very few who can keep their eye on the top spot. You're one of them." All Might continued.
Tarot Chariot noticed All Might was scared of Katsuki's angry face, so she took the gold medal from his hands and walked up to offer it to Katsuki.
"Please accept this medal." Tarot Chariot said. "Even if you have to think of it as a scar, something you'll never forget."
"I don't want that piece of garbage!" Katsuki barked.
Tarot Chariot proceeded to hand the gold medal over Katsuki.
"Get that trash off of me, lady!" Katsuki yelled.
Tarot Chariot forcibly placed the gold medal in Katsuki's mouth.
Diana snapped a picture of the scene on her phone while trying to contain her laughter.
All Might and Tarot Chariot then turned to the audience to close out the ceremony.
"Here they are! The winners of this year's Sport's Festival!" Tarot Chariot spoke.
"But listen closely." All Might added. "Any of you first year's could've ended up standing on these podiums. Think about what you've done today. You've challenged each other and grown even closer to becoming pros. I think our next generation of heroes are out most promising one yet." He grabbed his wife's hand and looked back at the audience one more time. "So, I have one more thing to say. I want everyone say it with me. UA is…"
"Plus Ultra!" The audience yelled out loud.
"Thanks to all you hard work!" All Might shouted.
"Well, that was unexpected." Tarot Chariot sweatdropped.
"What?! That was a perfect time to say 'Plus Ultra', All Might!" The crowd yelled furiously.
"Oh, well, yeah. I guess, but everyone did such a good job." All Might argued.
Afterwards, all Class 1-A students returned back to their classroom.
"Nice work. You have the next two days off to recuperate." Aizawa announced. "I'm sure the pros who watch the festival will want to recruit some of you. You will look over the draft forms when you return. Get some rest. You still have a lot of training."
"Yes, sir!" Class 1-A student understood.
Diana covered her mouth to contain her laughter when she can't stop staring at Katsuki, who is still holding his medal in his teeth with an angry look on his face.
Izuku looked over to Iida's seat with a sad face, which caught Luna's attention and made her wonder what exactly happened to their class president.
The next day, Shoto walked up to the Rozu household.
Ophelia opened the door.
"Oh, Shoto. It's been a long time." Ophelia greeted. "What brings you here?"
"Hello, Ophelia. I'm here for Aisha." Shoto replied. "I'm on my way to visit my mom and I was hoping she could join me today."
"Oh, okay." Ophelia said. She turned her head to the living room. "Girls, can one of you go get Aisha?"
Dawn, Ezra, and Zaria came running to the front door. They happened to be Ophelia and Aisha's younger sisters. The Rozu triplets turned their attention to Shoto and instantly fell in love.
"Oh, excellent! So, you're the boy Aisha was talking about!" Dawn said.
"She's right about one thing. You're cute!" Ezra added.
"Yeah!" Zaria agreed.
Shoto blushed shyly at the triplets' comment.
"Okay. Can one of you three go get Aisha and tell her that Shoto's here?" Ophelia asked.
"I will! I'll tell her!" Dawn said.
"No, I wanna tell her!" Ezra argued as she ran after Dawn.
"No, I wanna do it!" Zaria shouted. She ran after her sisters. "Wait a minute!"
A minute later, Aisha ran down the stairs with the triplets and walked up to the front door.
"Oh, hey, Shoto." Aisha greeted.
"I'm heading to the hospital to visit my mother." Shoto said. "I was wondering if you would like to join me."
Aisha looked surprised by Shoto's invitation.
"Oh, yeah, sure. I'll go with you." Aisha replied. She turned to her sisters. "I'll be back."
Aisha closed the door and walked to the street with Shoto.
Dawn, Ezra, and Zaria watched their older sister from the window. Only Zaria was tsking with a smile.
"Our sister knows how to pick 'em." Zaria said.
"He's so dreamy." Ezra added.
"They'll definitely have a future together." Dawn finished.
"Who wants cheesecake brownies?" Ophelia called out.
That cheered the Rozu triplets up as they had a race over who would have the brownies first.
Shoto and Aisha walked down the street. Aisha noticed a little boy chatting about the Sports Festival to her mother. Seeing them made Aisha put a smile on her face, but she turned to the silent Shoto with concern.
"So, Shoto, I know we're going to visit your mother. But why?" Aisha asked.
"Because of your match back at the festival." Shoto answered. "How do you know about what happened to my mother?"
"From my mom." Aisha answered. "She was furious when she heard about your mom being put to the mental institution by your dad. I didn't mean to overhear about that, but I was only a kid at the time before Amora came into existence. I only visited her twice. I know it's none of my business, but have you been visiting your mother every now and then?"
"No, not really." Shoto said sadly.
"I see. So then, what made you starting visiting her now?" Aisha asked.
"Ever since that day, I thought the sight of me would cause my mother nothing but pain, so I never visited." Shoto explained. "But we will always be connected by blood by our history with my father. That's why If I'm ever going to use this body and these powers to become a hero. If I'm gonna give it all I have, if I'm gonna be the hero I want to be, I need to see her. There's so much we need to talk about. I'll rescue her from this place, no matter what. That's my first step of getting back on track."
Aisha looked at Shoto with a surprise face. If Shoto continue on his path to becoming a hero without anything holding him back, he needs to have closure with his mother.
"Shoto, I just want to let you know. No matter what happens, I'm proud of you." Aisha said with a soft smile.
Shoto looked at Aisha with a blushing face, but he quickly looked forward. He then grabbed Aisha's hand with his.
"Thank you." Shoto said.
Aisha blushed and smiled.
Shoto and Aisha arrived at the mental hospital. They entered inside and checked in to visit his mother, which led them to stand right in front of the door.
Shoto reached his hand out to the door, but he stopped and sighed.
"You can do this." Aisha said as she placed a comforting hand on Shoto's left shoulder. "And I'll be right by your side."
Thanks to Aisha's words, Shoto finally mustered up the courage and opened the door. Inside the room, his mother Rei was looking out the window.
Shoto and Aisha entered the room together.
"Hello, mom." Shoto greeted.
Rei turned her head to meet her son.
Shoto approached his mother as Aisha watched with a warm smile.
After Selene returned to her house, she sat in the dining room and stared at the table filled with delicious foods.
"Congrats, Selene!" Zodiac Moon smiled happily. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there at the festival, but when I saw your matches on TV, I couldn't resist awarding you your favorites!"
"OMG! You're the best, mom!" Selene smiled as she got up and hugged her mother.
Meanwhile, Luna and her parents enjoyed themselves eating lunch in a local restaurant. Thanks to Tarot Chariot's Magic Card, she disguised herself to avoid public attention.
"We're so proud of you, Luna." Tarot Chariot said with a smile.
"Even though you didn't win the festival, you gave it all you got." All Might added. "We couldn't be any more prouder."
"Thanks, guys." Luna said. "I have a question though, which I'm pretty sure you two have the answer. Did you two participated the Sports Festival?"
"I didn't, but your father did." Luna replied.
"Really? Why didn't you?" Luna asked in confusion.
"I was working as a magician at the time in the U.S." Tarot Chariot answered. "But your father, on the other hand, was..."
"First place winner." All Might grinned. "Back in my day…"
As Tarot Chariot listened to All Might's story, Luna remembered Izuku's match with Shinso, especially on how Izuku was able to break free from Shinso's brainwashing.
Mom. Dad. My friends. Luna thought. I have them all to thank for getting me where I am today. But if I want to become a hero like my parents, I have to find out how to utilize this mysterious power and channel it as my own power like my Quirk. So, I can finally say "I Am Here" to the world.
At the Asaka household, Diana was watching the Sports Festival award ceremony on the couch inside the living room. She chomped a bowl of chips and laughed uncontrollably when the TV screen showed a furious Katsuki being chained on the podium.
"Oh man! This is the best day ever!" Diana laughed. "I'm so glad I've got this on a video!"
"Diana, keep your voice down! I'm meditating here!" Black King scolded.
Review and enjoy!