24.04.2023
It is I, the Absolute Madman and I'm back with your weekly dose of this unholy adventure! But before we dive into the chapter, let's address a comment!:
Jack Redhawke - You and me both buddy, you and me both.
And now, the chapter!:
The cafeteria was understandably quite packed at the moment as the two back-to-back events had taken a toll on everyone's energy levels which needed to be regenerated with some delicious food that Lunch Rush himself never failed to prepare. There were of course those that wished to explore the grounds during the break period and maybe try some of the food offered by the many different vendors, but true loyalists knew already that Lunch Rush's cooking was second to none! Just don't let their mothers hear that…
"Is it me or is this tasting even better than usual?!" Kirishima exclaimed as he almost gorged on the food in front of him.
"I know, right?!" Ashido agreed instantly, devouring her own meal at a similar, albeit a bit more tactful, pace.
"Perhaps it has to do with the fact that we've managed to reach the tournament phase?" Izuku speculated as he showed way more table manners than his two classmates combined. "It might also be because we're pretty drained at the moment and all food in general tastes better?" He proposed thoughtfully.
"Well, whatever the case, this is some really good food!" Kirishima said whilst chewing, somehow able to avoid choking despite having a full mouth.
"Are they… always like that?" Shinso, who was the most tame out of the four, asked with confusion written all over his face. It didn't stop him from silently enjoying his food though.
"More or less." Izuku confirmed with a smile. "They're quite the lively duo, but I can assure you that they're both very nice, just overzealous at times." He explained and felt great relief when Shinso's shoulders sagged a bit, indicating his relaxed state.
"You guys must know each other well for you to be able to vouch for them so easily." Shinso commented with a small smile. "I'm not really one for socializing, so I don't even know all of my classmates' names to be honest." He revealed with an awkward chuckle. "Plus I didn't really want to befriend them since I originally wanted to join the hero course." And that news was shocking enough to make both Kirishima and Ashido pause mid-bite.
"Wait, really?!" The duo exclaimed in perfect sync.
"Yeah, but my quirk doesn't work on robots since they, you know, don't have brains that I can brainwash. Thankfully my written exam was enough to land me a spot in the general course, but it's rumored that if you do well enough in the Sports Festival it'd be possible to transfer up into the hero course." Shinso explained and the trio listened intently, intrigued by all the new things they were learning about their newest friend. "That's why I wanted to do my best and maybe show off a bit, but I'm not sure if I can make the cut with my performance. I mean, I'd have fallen into that pit during the first event if it wasn't for you." He looked at Izuku as he recalled the most unfortunate circumstance of their first meeting. "And I only made it as far as I did because you invited me to join your team. I'm pretty sure I'd have been eliminated if it wasn't for you guys."
"And I think it's the other way around." Izuku stated with confidence, causing Shinso to snap his head towards him. "You may have already forgotten but WE would've been eliminated if it wasn't for YOU saving our backsides at the last moment." He reminded the purple-haired boy and a look of disbelief appeared on his face.
"Yeah bro! That was super manly! The way you tricked that blonde was cool as hell!" Kirishima immediately jumped aboard the hype train and shared his own opinion on the matter, causing Shinso's eyebrows to rise even higher.
"And Midori is right! Maybe you wouldn't have been able to advance on your own, but we surely wouldn't be able to advance without you!" Ashido stated with the same amount of confidence that both Izuku and Kirishima displayed. "But we worked together and all four of us managed to advance. We did it as a team!" She added with a grin and a thumbs up.
"A team…" Shinso mumbled to himself, still positively bamboozled and surprised by the praise being thrown his way like confetti on a birthday party.
"We worked as a team, we all gave it everything we had and we were able to get into the final event. Though let me tell you, if we were to face each other in the tournament, I won't be holding back. That'd be an insult!" Izuku said with conviction and Kirishima looked almost ready to explode at such a manly declaration.
"Hell yeah dude! I won't take it easy on you either!" The redhead stated with a grin. "And once you make it into the hero course you gotta become our training buddy!"
"Once I make it into the hero course, huh…?" Shinso thought to himself, a fond smile on his face and one tiny tear threatening to spill from his eye. "I'd like that, very much so actually." He said and it was the straw that broke the camel's back as Kirishima stood up in a flash and hugged his purple-haired teammate with all his might!
The color from Shinso's hair flooded his face as he struggled to breathe in the vice-like grip whilst the other two people at the table laughed at the scene.
After they finished their meals and cleaned up their table they still had some time before they had to return to the stadium and so the four of them began planning their next move.
Shinso used this opportunity to finally break off from the group to recharge his introverted batteries with some quality alone time before the final event started. The others were sad to see him go, but they also knew that they'd no doubt see each other very soon.
With just the three of them left Ashido and Kirishima tried roping Izuku into joining them on their trip around the festival grounds to check out the different stalls and maybe get something to snack on in the meantime. Izuku didn't have any other plans or even any ideas on what to do, but he also didn't want to be third-wheeling on his friends' outing and so he politely declined. Ashido and Kirishima didn't pressure him into changing his mind and simply left to enjoy the festivities while they could.
This however left Izuku with nothing to do and no one to turn to. He was considering simply heading back to the stadium early and waiting for the matchups to be announced live, but someone had spotted him and his plans just changed.
"Hello Midoriya." Izuku turned around as soon as he heard his name being called and he couldn't stop himself from smiling.
"Hello to you too, Shiozaki." He responded, always happy to see a familiar face.
"Are you perchance unoccupied at the moment?" She asked simply as she approached.
"I was actually just thinking about what I should do with the remaining time, but couldn't figure out anything except heading back to the stadium." Izuku explained and the smile on Shiozaki's face got just a little wider.
"Well then, would you like to explore the festival grounds with me?" She offered. "I was supposed to go with Itsuka, but Monoma was causing trouble again and she had to go deal with him." She added and the two chuckled.
"He must be livid about not making it to the tournament stage." Izuku guessed and Shiozaki nodded in confirmation. "I hope he matures over the course of the next three years, we already have one foul-mouthed blonde and that's more than enough already." He joked and they shared yet another chuckle at their classmate's expense.
"So… about my offer?" Shiozaki repeated whilst swaying back and forth on her feet.
"Oh, right! I'd love to accompany you." Izuku answered quickly and extended his elbow for Shiozaki to hold onto like an old fashioned gentleman. "Shall we go?" He asked with a smile.
"We shall." Shiozaki responded and held onto the offered elbow, quite smitten by the gesture.
The duo explored the festival grounds, being mindful of the time throughout their escapade. They saw many interesting stalls selling a whole slew of memorabilia and gadgets of all kinds, a few performers entertaining the younger members of the crowd and a healthy amount of different heroes mixed in with the regular folk, enjoying the break like everyone else.
Izuku was already quite full after the hearty meal that he'd eaten just a few minutes ago, yet he still gave in and agreed to try out a few things when Shiozaki proposed they do so. First and the most important spot was the nearest takoyaki stand, a staple snack for any respectable festival to have. Later they also tried some yakitori and then went for something sweeter with their final choice being a pair of chocolate bananas in different flavors. Although, for some very strange and hard to explain reason, Izuku was quite drawn to the fish-shaped taiyaki. He didn't dwell on that feeling too long as their time was limited and they still had a lot to see.
Where the food vendors ended, stalls with various festival games began. Everything from throwing ping-pong balls into plastic cups to popping balloons with darts could be found there, a testament to just how diverse and profitable the Sports Festival truly was.
Izuku was tempted to try his luck in a few games, but that'd surely take a lot of time and that's the one luxury that they didn't have. Although if everything during the tournament stage went smoothly, there's a chance that he'd be able to try out at least a couple of games before the stalls start to pack up and depart towards another scheduled event.
The scarcity of time didn't stop Kirishima from winning some kind of a pink plushie that was immediately snatched up by Ashido the second he received it. Izuku and Shiozaki came across the pair towards the end of their tour and for a split second Izuku saw a face-splitting grin appear on Ashido's face, one that promised great mischief in the days to come. It vanished as soon as it appeared however so Izuku simply took it as merely a trick of the light. What a grave mistake that would turn out to be.
Future catastrophes aside, Izuku was genuinely happy to be able to spend some quality time with one of his closest friends, as well as getting to enjoy the festival like the rest without having to worry about the competition or the tournament. Nothing ever lasts forever however and soon it was time to face his own reality.
"We should do this more often." Shiozaki said as they were approaching the stadium, only a few minutes of the break left.
"Sure. Though I'm not sure if there are any festivals planned in the near future around here." Izuku responded as he scratched his head.
"That's a good question. I'll have to ask the girls about that, they might know." Shiozaki stated after a short pause of thought.
"Good idea. I'll do the same. I'm pretty sure that Ashido knows that kind of stuff like the back of her hand." Izuku said with a smile. "For now though it looks like we have to part since we're in different classes. Good luck in your matches, I hope we'll have a chance to face each other." Izuku wished and Shiozaki responded in kind.
After that they went their separate ways to join their classmates in the stands and wait for the matchups of the first round to be revealed.
Midnight walked on stage once the timer for the break ran out and, after striking a provocative pose, began to talk.
"Welcome back everyone! I hope you've managed to work out all the kinks out of your legs and backs because once the action starts it's not going to stop until the very end!" She started, already earning herself quite the applause right off the bat. "As you're all already aware, the final event of the Sports Festival is always a one on one tournament where our students really get to shine like the bright stars they are!" And once again the crowd cheered for the R-rated heroine. She truly was a natural at this, wasn't she?
The big screen behind her flickered to life as the names of all the contestants started flashing, forming impromptu matchups but not stopping just yet.
"And now comes the part that all of you were waiting for! Let us reveal the final matchups!" Midnight declared and the names started slowing down one by one before eventually stopping in their respective spots on screen.
Izuku tuned out the umpire at this point as he opted to study the list by himself instead. One thing that immediately stood out to him was that he and Shiozaki could face off in the second round if they were to win their first matches. He was confident that Shiozaki would be able to win without major issues, but he was somewhat less sure about the outcome of his own fight. Speaking of, he should probably figure out who he would have to face in the first round before he started planning for the future.
Match Six - Midoriya Izuku vs Shinso Hitoshi.
That's… that's quite spicy. And quite the news to digest. Izuku wanted nothing more than to see his newest friend succeed and make his dream about becoming a hero come true. However, there was also the more selfish part of him that wanted to show off his own skills to the pros in the stands and face Shiozaki in the second round.
Well, his fight was close to the far end of the first round so he still had plenty of time to figure out how he wanted to handle that situation. To take his mind off this issue for at least a moment Izuku decided to take a look at the other matchups to see if there were any worth paying extra attention to.
The opening match - Bakugo vs Tokoyami - was bound to be quite one-sided due to Dark Shadow being weak against light, so - as much as he hated to admit it - Bakugo would probably win without a problem. Fourth match - Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu - was interesting due to the very similar quirks of the two contestants. They both seemed to be able to absorb substantial amounts of damage so it'd probably turn into a slog, but it would be interesting to find out which one of them emerges victorious. The last matchup that Izuku had at least some interest in was the second to last match of the first round - Todoroki vs Yaoyorozu. He had a bad feeling about this match, but time will tell if his gut was right.
A few things were clear to Izuku - positioning Bakugo and Todoroki on opposite sides of the bracket was no coincidence and was probably decided on to ensure that the audience ends up glued to their seats till the very end to watch the final showdown between the two powerhouses. He was a bit concerned with Todoroki's first match since he was already quite infamous for having an overwhelming offense coupled up with a tendency for not holding back. Yaoyorozu - whose quirk was far more versatile but required concentration to use - would surely have a tough time finding an opening, but the outcome of that battle was still undecided.
Meanwhile in the stands, a shady-looking business shark was navigating the sea of people to reach his seat before the first fight started so as not to annoy the members of the audience. He himself was quite annoyed though as his secretary forgot to cancel a meeting with some I-Island eggheads about the possibility of upgrading their current security systems.
"- yes, it'd be possible to hand all of the vital functions to a Virtual Intelligence, though teaching it the dos and don'ts is bound to take some time. On top of that you'd need quite bulky servers to house the VI itself as well as all the recommended security measures." He spoke into the communicator around his ear. "Replacing your current Air Space Shield with the newest model of Rheined-Metal would make the targeting easy enough for a VI to handle with minimal training, so that could be a good place to start. Later we could discuss integrating other security systems into the VI's list of competence, but starting small is your safest bet on the road to fully automating your defenses. And for the last time - Martha is not a product, therefore, she is not for sale!" And with that he hung up, giving his client an opportunity to rethink his offer for potential changes.
As soon as he finished the first call he dialed up a different number as he sat down in his seat, a lot less annoyed than just a moment ago, but still quite agitated nonetheless.
"Martha, do I have any other appointments scheduled or am I finally free?" He asked, hoping to finally receive a satisfactory answer.
"Your schedule is clear for the rest of the day sir." His assistant responded immediately.
"Good, make sure it stays that way. And if those eggheads try to alter my offer, threaten them with calling it off entirely! I've had it with their snide remarks and their superiority complex. If they think that they know more about security and developing AI than me then they are welcome to try and one-up me to their hearts' content!" And with that he finished his second call, pulling the communicator out of his ear and stuffing it into his pocket before Martha could answer.
Martin Kravchenko was quite the busy man, making deals left, right and center and expanding his influence on the world-wide scale. Sometimes though he wanted nothing more than to be left to his own devices so that he could pursue his selfish personal goals, like learning more about the boy that carries around the Blade of Antwyr and the daemon that lives within the aforementioned weapon.
"Now, Izuku Midoriya, show me something interesting."
Ayo, what does he want to see? O.o
Anyhow, you got some brief innocent fluff between best boi and holliest girl, it ain't much but it's honest work I swear!
Also on a sidenote - we now have a discord server for the followers of the Absolute Madman! And here it is! - discord,gg/dqzu33pe (just remember to change to , to a . and it'll work, I've tested it!)
That's all for today so have a great day and I'll catch y'all in the next update!