The Final Match

*General POV*

"HEAR ONE AND ALL!!! IT'S THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR!!! THE FINAL MATCH OF THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL FOR THE FIRST YEAR!!!"

Present Mics excitedly hype's up the crowds, "We've had a massive upset with one of the crowd favorites being knocked out in the first round by his own classmate of all people! Then soon after, more than half the participants in the next round were quickly incapacitated by the cumulative work of two people."

The two doors on the sides of the arena open up, and a shadowy figure could be seen in the darkness of each door, "Complete domination in each match utilizing the power of his mind, body, and his quirk. The crowd favorite, SHIRO HIROTA!!!!"

The figure on the right starts moving forwards, and out comes a tall and lean boy with sharp gray eyes and spikey white hair. As if he had no care in the world, a smile was showing on his face and the crowd cheered wildly as Shiro moved closer to the arena.

"And his opponent! The odds seem against him, but he has been doing well throughout the whole tournament as well. Stare into his shadow, and it might just stare back at you. It's Fumikage Tokoyami!!!"

A boy with the head of a blackbird steps forwards. Even though the crowd's opinion of him wasn't as high as his opponent's, he marched forwards confidently, his head held high.

Present Mic shuts off his microphone and looks over to his fellow commentator, pro hero, and teacher, Eraserhead, "Tell me, Aizawa. These are both your students, what do you think the outcome will be?"

Aizawa replies annoyedly, "Do you really want me to answer this?"

Present Mic nods his head excitedly, "Yeah, yeah. It's an on-site interview."

Aizawa groans but reluctantly responds, "All in all, Shiro will probably win."

"Probably? Not definitely?"

He nods, "Probably. Nothing is definite. If Tokoyami can pull off something that Shiro will never expect or Shiro makes some sort of mistake by overlooking something, Tokoyami has a chance. Using "definitely" in this way doesn't factor in luck and human error. After all, those can be the factors that decide whether you live or die."

Aizawa pauses for a moment before talking again, "Then again, this is Shiro we are talking about, so I can assume that he has calculated everything humanly possible."

*Shiro POV*

"Looks like it's down to the two of us, huh? It'll be good to have a..."

I paused slightly before finishing the sentence with a smirk, "Rematch~"

Tokoyami grimaces as he remembers "our" fight in USJ, "This time… things won't go your way."

I raise an amused eyebrow, "Hoh? Do you have some sort of special trick to defeat me?"

He smirks, "Last time, you said that because of the nature of my quirk, I never trained my body and relied on my quirk to do all my fighting."

"Well yes, but actually no, but whatever, yeah, I said that."

He stares at me blankly before growling, "You… you aren't taking this seriously at all, aren't you?"

My eyes widen slightly in amusement, "Not taking this seriously? No, no, no. On the contrary, I am quite serious about this. Hell, I'd say that I am taking this more seriously than you. After all, I have a goal that is far more complicated than the rest of you."

Present Mic finally starts the countdown, "Three!"

Tokoyami kisses his teeth in annoyance and I can hear him mutter, "Bastard. I'll show you."

"Two!"

I raise my hands in the air, challenging him, "Oh please, go ahead."

"One!"

"I'd be delighted."

"START!!!"

Tokoyami activates his quirk, but instead of sending it out towards his opponent, he wraps it around himself, in shadowy armor, "Black Ankh!"

"Hoh? Impressive. Using Dark Shadow to make up for your lack of physical strength. You might surpass me in terms of strength and speed right now."

My eyes narrow in excitement, "Very well, I'll play along."

'This shouldn't be an issue. I expected him to change something after Kuro fought with him. Plus, I haven't had as many chances as I would've liked to demonstrate my close combat abilities, so in the end, everything works out.'

Wrapping my hands in a layer of Bungee Gum, I make the outside harder while making the inside softer to give the inside a padding to protect my hands. All around me I can hear the faint whispers about my tactic against Tokoyami and Present Mic comments on this as well.

"Oya Oya Oya? Shiro is going to fight his opponent head-on? Impossible!? What happened to the sneaky Shiro that we knew before?"

Tokoyami sees this and his visible annoyance becomes even more visible, "You damn bastard! You just said that I am stronger and faster, yet you still choose to fight me in this way!"

I shrug my shoulders, "You may be stronger and faster, but I have a key advantage over you."

"What?"

"If you win I'll tell you. But, you might end up figuring it out anyways."

I roll my fingers and my head, "Better get started then."

Tokoyami dashes forwards and swings wildly from down from the right. I duck underneath his arm and jab at his exposed face. Dark Shadow quickly moves to cover it, nullifying the shock.

'This is to be expected'

Tokoymai swings outwards and I leap backward dodging his attack easily, 'He's fast, but he's got nothing on the Nomu.'

Molding the end of my "gloves" into a single point, I dash forward and Tokoyami throws a straight punch at me, 'Throwing such a plain punch when he knows I can dodge it? Is he trying to bait me? Whatever, I'll play along with you.'

Once again, I easily dodge it by ducking down and appearing quickly underneath him, getting a clear shot at his chin, "No need to end this so early."

Instead of throwing an uppercut at his exposed chin, I slam my fist into his stomach, causing him to cough up some saliva. "Oh? Your core is moderately strong. You must've been working out recently."

He glares down at me, "Now I have you!"

'So that's what this is.'

Extending Dark Shadow's Claws from his hands, his extra appendages give him an extra reach and he quickly attempts to bear hug me, "How predictable."

Leaping into the air, I use Tokoyami's neck as a bar and swing behind him, sending him crashing into the ground, "Your intent was too obvious."

He growls at me and quickly gets up, keeping his extended arms in front of him, "Tch, always analyzing things aren't you."

I chuckle, "It's a habit. And trust me… it helps."

I change my gloves from pointed back to round, 'Should probably start finishing this up, or they'll think that I am playing with him too much.'

I take a step forward, but before I can do anything else, Tokoyami starts advancing, "Good your learning. No point in letting your opponent control the flow."

He uses Dark Shadow to throw himself into the air and puts his hands together, "Take this!"

I roll to the side and he slams his arms into the ground, crushing the ground beneath him, "Oh, scary~"

He quickly gets up and swings his arm out to hit me and I sigh as I duck underneath, 'He's really inexperienced.'

Experience. Even though his strength and speed were above mine, he was far below me in terms of combat experience, skill, agility, and strategy.

'It's not about the size, it's how you use it.'

I appear beneath him, just like how I did before, and soften the outside of my right glove. His left arm tries to hit me, but I hit it hard enough to stop his momentum and push it back.

With my right hand, I uppercut Tokoyami in the chin, shaking his brain up, "Urgh."

"Not unconscious yet?"

Pulling my hand back, a pink line of Bungee Gum stretches out from in between his chin and my fist, "This one will hurt more."

Contracting the Bungee Gum, my fist flies at his chin even faster than before and strikes him once again. This time, I see his eyes roll into the back of his head, and I nod in satisfaction.

Midnight flashes her whip, "The winner, by KO, is SHIRO HIROTA!!!"

Present Mic takes the reins back on the show, "And like that, all the events have been completed! The winner of this year's first-year U.A. sports festival is… from Class-A, Shiro Hirota!"

A smile appears on my face as I look up to the clouds, 'Another step on my long path.'

I get taken back to the waiting room where it is explained that once Tokoyami regains consciousness, the awards ceremony will start. In the meantime, I can relax and tidy myself up.

I splash some water on my face and reflect on my fight, 'Did I drag it on for too long? This fight might negatively affect me.'

Taking a seat, I continue thinking, 'If the heroes interpret that incorrectly, then they might think that I like to play with my opponents. It does seem that way now that I think about it. Fighting Kirishima with a bow, Kuro against Shinso, my fight against Momo, and finally going hand to hand against Tokoyami.'

I frown slightly when the door suddenly slams open and Momo comes in, accompanied by a few of my classmates, Kirishima, Mina, Jiro, Sero, and Kaminari.

"Well, well, it's good to see you lot."

Momo runs up to me and hugs me tightly, pushing her chest against mine, "Congrats, you won."

I nod my head slightly, "Yeah, I did, didn't I."

Kaminari stares at me with jealousy, "Tch, lucky bastard!"

My gaze switches to them, "So, how is everyone else?"

Kirishima sticks up one of his thumbs and smiles at me, "Everyone is okay! The others went to see Tokoyami and a few just stayed put. We still haven't found Todoroki yet, though…"

Ever since his loss in the first round, he had disappeared and no one knew where he had gone.

I looked towards Momo who had let go of me, "When I left, did you see Izuku?"

She nods her head and begins to explain, "A few minutes after you left, he was wheeled in on a cart and put onto the bed. He was already unconscious when he arrived and I don't think Recovery Girl's healing helped with that."

Jiro frowns, "Her healing didn't work?"

Momo and I shared a glance and I decided to explain, "It probably healed his injuries, but her quirk requires energy to heal. Izuku was already tired from all the past heals, and he was barely standing during the fight. Did Recovery Girl say if he would be ready by the award ceremony?"

Momo shrugs, "I didn't ask."

"I see."

Kirishima looks around nervously and sighs, "If no one is going to ask it I will, Shiro… Are you really scared of blood?"

Momo's eyes narrow and I slowly look up at him and reply calmly, "Yes."

Kaminairi's eyes widened, "Oh, so it was true? What ha-, Ow! That hurt, Jiro!"

Before he had been able to finish his sentence, Jiro had stabbed his ear with her ear jack, "You idiot, you don't just ask that!"

But I raise my hand, "No, it's fine. I understand your curiosity, I would've asked the same. It's a result of a childhood trauma from when I was little. Ever since then blood has always made me freeze up and I just can't stand it."

Sero leans backward, "Man, that's surprising though. With your medical know-how, I never would've guessed that you would be scared of blood.

I drop to the floor and put my hands together making a thick layer of Bungee Gum. Stretching it out to around two meters, I layer it twice before letting go.

"Well, I have some time before the presentations, so I'm gonna take a nap. Tell Tokoyami sorry in case I hurt him too much."

Momo nods and everyone leaves me on my own, 'Hmm, they seemed ok, but I hope that my relationship with the other members of Class A remains stable.'

Closing my eyes, I relax my body and let my exhaustion overcome me. Within a couple of minutes, I'm happily snoozing away.

*Thirty Minutes later*

A mental timer goes off in my head, and my eyes open slightly, 'Shit, I wish I could sleep longer, but I better start getting ready.'

Rolling off of my Bungee Gum bed, I fall onto the cold stone floor and lay there for a few seconds before pushing myself to my feet.

Letting out a yawn, I walk over to the bathroom when I hear a knock on the door which is quickly followed by a male voice, "Shiro Hirota? Are you awake? I was told that you were napping."

I called back, "Yes, I just woke up. Is the awards ceremony soon?"

The staff member confirms it, "Yes if you could get ready soon, I will take you to the designated location."

I give my confirmation and wash my face before looking in the mirror, 'Face is clean, clothes are clean, hair is messy but neat, everything looks good.'

Exiting the bathroom, I open the door and look at the brown-haired staff member, "Alright, I'm good."

He nods his head and simply says, "Follow me, then."

We walk along the edge of the stadium for a bit before we take an elevator down a level and start walking underneath the stage, "So are we going to pop out from the bottom?"

He nods his head, "Yup, the second and third places will also be there."

"How will third place work? Was there a battle between the two who were knocked out in the semifinals, or…?"

The staff member chuckles, "Man, you really do like to know everything."

I shrug my shoulders, "It makes me comfortable."

The staff member chuckles again before answering my question, "The two losers from the semifinals will share the title of third place."

"I see."

Eventually, we reach a room with a podium. I look around and Tokoyami and Momo are already there, but no sign of Izuku.

"Will Midoriya be participating?"

The staff member nods, "I think so. The Recovery Girl told us to wait a bit."

On cue, I hear a familiar voice, "You better be careful, you brat. It's probably through sheer willpower that you are standing."

"Yes, I understand, Recovery Girl."

"And after this, you will stay in bed for two days. Doctors order."

"Two days!? But-"

"Doctors orders!"

"Yes…"

The door behind us opens and Izuku is walking towards us, albeit at a rather slow pace.

I grin at him, "How you feeling?"

He rolls his eyes, "Dead."

The brown-haired staff member that guided me here claps his hands, "Alright get up into your positions. It's almost time."

We all nod our heads and I step up onto the tallest pillar while Tokoyami takes second and Momo and Midoriya both share third. The podium starts to rise and above us, a panel opens up

Midnight's voice can be heard loudly as we get closer to the surface "And now we will reveal the winners!"

I hear the sounds of fireworks and a cloud of smoke appears, covering us, 'Nice.'

Seconds later, we arrive at the surface, and in front of me are all the first years and some press behind them. Many of Class B gives me dirty looks and only a couple wave at me, namely, Testu Tetsu, Kendo, and Setsuna.

Midnight points at us and smiles widely, "Now we will be awarding the medals. The presentation of the medals will of course be done by this man."

On top of the stadium, a shadow of a bulky man with bunny ears rose, followed by a burst of loud and powerful laughter, "Hahahahahah!"

He leaps through the air and both he and Midnight talk at the same time, "Our very own hero, ALL MIGHT!!!"

"I have brought the medals here!!!"

There is a very awkward silence between the two, as Midnight mentally apologizes for her mistake.

Midnight, her smile now showing traces of nervousness, gestures to us, "Now All Might if you could, please present the medals."

He nods his head and grabs a bronze medal, starting with Izuku, "Midoriya, your desire to win and will to keep going are going to be very helpful in your future career as a hero. Many people have high hopes for you."

He pauses for a second, "But if you could learn how to control your quirk without harming yourself, that would be great."

Midoriya turns bright red and nods his head, muttering, "Thanks."

All Might puts the medal around his neck and gives him a short hug. He grabs the next medal and returns to the third-place podium, where Momo is waiting.

"Yaoyorozu, your intellect and the creative use of your quirk are top notch above the rest. I have no doubt in my heart that you will be successful in the future. You may have lost now, but I feel that if you put your mind to it, you could overcome anything. Keep up the good work."

Momo curtsies slightly, "Your words honor me."

He puts a bronze medal around her neck, hugs her, then moves down and grabs a silver one, moving onto Tokoyami, "Tokoyami, if this were a week ago, I would've said something along the lines of, your quirk, while powerful, can also leave the rest of you exposed. However, your fight in the finals proved otherwise. Using Black Shadow as armor makes up for your lack of physical strength. Keep growing like that, and learn from every encounter. Congratulations."

Tokoyami nods his head, "Yes, I did learn something from that fight."

He gives me a side glance, and I smirk, 'Looks like he figured it out.'

All Might gives him his medal and a hug before finally grabbing the gold medal and appearing in front of me, "Hirota… There are a lot of things I want to say to you right now, but I'll try and keep it short. Your abilities as a whole are above your peers and the use of your quirk is never disappointing. However, if you could not try to extend things just for your own benefit, that might be good."

I chuckle and rub the back of my head, "Ah, looks like you caught me."

He sighs and gives me a gold medal and a hug, "Congratulations, Shiro Hirota."

AN: It's been awhile since I've written a longer chapter like this

I just learned something revolutionary… Did you know… on Web Novel… to search up GIFS… you can type in certain emojis instead of describing them…

Also, I finished The Promised Neverland Manga and that was pretty fire. A solid 10/10. I started Tokyo Ghoul last week, and I'm halfway through, it's okay.

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The Dragon of MHA

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