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MHA Paragon 2.0 Chapter 41: Sports Festival Pt. 3
🕑 Added 2025-02-14 02:33:07 +0000 UTC"Goddamnit!" Bakugo cursed as she landed just behind the finish line, one last explosion propelling her forward. She whirled around to glare at Midoriya and me, fury crackling in her eyes. "That was absolute bullshit! There's no way that should have worked!"
"Actually," I countered, my gaze unfocused as I mentally ran the numbers, "if you do the math, there was very little chance Midoriya wouldn’t have crossed the finish line first."
"Shut up!" Bakugo growled, her glare shifting to me. "You’re just as bad as Deku! Since when the hell could you control lightning?!"
I shrugged, though I couldn’t stop the shit-eating grin from creeping across my face. "Just one of the few tricks I’ve picked up. No big deal. Pretty cool though, right?"
Before Bakugo could respond, the temperature plummeted. A thin layer of frost spread across the ground as Todoroki skated over the finish line, his expression slightly dazed.
"I... came in fourth?" he muttered, eyes narrowing in disbelief. "How is that possible?"
"I’ll tell you why!" Bakugo roared, jabbing a finger at Midoriya and me. "Because these two are fucking cheats, that’s why!"
"I didn’t cheat, Katsumi." Midoriya’s voice was calm, firm. He emphasized Bakugo’s first name, and I nearly whistled at the way her face twitched at the sound of it.
"I beat you fair and square. And I didn’t even have to use my quirk."
For a split second, Bakugo had no comeback.
Which meant I absolutely had to jump in.
"Oh shit, Midoriya, my man, I didn’t know you had it in you." I threw an arm around him, pulling him into a half-hug. "You need to bring out this side of yourself more often, the look on Firecracker’s face is priceless."
Bakugo’s scowl snapped back into place, eyes blazing. "Shut it, pretty boy."
I stuck my tongue out at her but decided not to poke the bear further. Instead, I turned my attention to Todoroki, who was still standing frozen in place, staring blankly at the three of us.
"Hey, Ice Prince. You having a stroke or something?"
Todoroki blinked, slowly lifting his gaze to meet mine. His next words sent a chill down my spine.
"Kenji Atoma."
I raised an eyebrow. "That’s my name."
"Why did you beat me?"
I blinked. "What do you mean, why did I beat you? Was I supposed to stop and let you win?"
Todoroki’s unblinking gaze didn’t waver. "You aren’t anyone of importance. You should have lost."
A beat of silence.
I exhaled through my nose, keeping my voice light despite the urge to punch the aristocratic arrogance right out of his mouth. "Well, sorry you feel that way. But hey, at least you still lost to Midoriya and Bakugo too."
His eyes flicked toward them briefly before locking onto me again.
"I knew Midoriya to be a threat. And Bakugo has proven her abilities time and time again. But you?" His tone was flat, unreadable. "I thought you were a fool who took nothing seriously."
I let out a sharp bark of laughter. "Sorry that not all of us have a giant icicle shoved up our ass, Todoroki."
That should’ve ended the conversation. But he wasn’t done.
"When you fought Iida, I thought I could defeat you without effort," he continued, ignoring my jab entirely. "Now, I believe you may actually be a decent fight."
I turned back to stare at him.
"You’re a real person, right?"
---
"And with that, the first event of the Sports Festival is over!"
The roar of the crowd filled the stadium as Midnight’s voice rang out, excitement buzzing in the air.
"Let’s give a round of applause to all those who participated!"
As the clapping and cheers died down, she continued, "Now, for the second event—the Cavalry Battle!"
I listened as she explained the rules.
Each participant would receive a headband marked with a point value based on their placement in the race. Teams of two to four people would then battle to steal headbands from others while protecting their own.
"The event will last fifteen minutes," Midnight continued. "At the end, teams will be ranked by their total points. However, there are a few restrictions—headbands must be worn around the head or neck, and quirks may not be used with malicious intent."
It all seemed pretty straightforward.
Until I looked down at the headband in my hands.
1,000,000
...in bold red lettering.
'What... the fuck… is this?'
I could feel the weight of it. The tension in the air as other students noticed.
"Why are they punishing me for getting first place?! Everyone and their mother is going to be after me!"
"Hey, Kenji, how much is first place—" Mina peeked over my shoulder.
Then she erupted into cackling laughter.
"Oh my god."
I sighed.
"Have fun finding a teammate with that bounty on your head!" she teased, hands on her hips, her face lit up with evil amusement.
"What, you won’t team up with me?" I asked, feigning surprise.
Mina grinned and shook her head. "Nope. Have fun!"
Then she took off, disappearing into the crowd before I could say another word.
'She’s gonna pay for that later.'
"Seems like you could use some assistance!"
I turned toward the boisterous voice, my eyes landing on a girl with salmon-pink dreadlocks and reticle-shaped eyes. She grinned at me, waving excitedly.
"You’re the guy who placed first, right?"
"Yeah," I admitted dejectedly.
Her grin widened. "Perfect! Let’s team up!"
I blinked. "You… want to team up?"
She nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! Everyone’s gonna be watching you—which gives me the perfect chance to show off my babies!"
"Your… babies?"
"My babies!" she declared even louder, reaching for her belt.
With a press of a button, a pair of mechanical arms shot into the air from a bag strapped to her back.
I stared.
Long. Hard.
Then I shrugged. "Not like I have better options. What’s your name?"
The girl stretched out a hand.
"Mei Hatsume! But you can call me Mei! You’re Kenji Atoma, right?"
"Yeah, and you can call me Kenji. Now, do we want to look for more teammates, or do you think between me, you, and your… ‘babies’… we’re covered?"
Without hesitation, Mei pressed another button.
Six more arms sprouted from her back.
She pulled down a pair of mechanical goggles over her eyes.
I exhaled, rubbing my temples. "I guess that’s all the answer I need."
---
"And that's time! All teams prepare yourselves you're fifteen minutes start...now!"
During the ten or so minutes Mei and I had taken to strategize I couldn't help but wonder how many teams would aim to steal my headband. The answer was every last one of them.
A bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face as the ground trembled beneath me and I stared down the sea of people ready to crash down on me.
"That headband is mine pretty boy!"
'Fuck my life,' I thought with a click of my tongue all while Mei cackled wildly, strapped to my back with flux wrappings and her mechanical arms chomping at the bit, "That sound like a whole lot of trouble!"
"Damn right, it is," I muttered before stomping my foot on the ground sending a tide of flux flooding across the earth.
Those who had led the charge weren't able to stop in time and suddenly found themselves trapped as my flux latched onto their shoes and refused to let go. Many were sent flying from their position atop their teammate's backs and found themselves even more stuck.
But many other teams found a way to maneuver around my defensive moat, taking to the air, or attacking from afar with enlarged limbs or elongated appendages all seeking to take the headband around my neck.
"Woah, is that a non-Newtonian fluid?!" Mei asked peering over my shoulder as the bottom of my shoes began to light up with purple sparks.
"Sure is, now hold on!" I warned before I took off flying straight back and up the wall before taking off skating around the edge of the arena completely horizontal to the ground and taking my moat of flux with me.
"Damnit he's getting away!"
"And just like that the Calvary Battle is off to a chaotic start with everyone aiming for Kenji Atoma and his million-point headband! Will he make it out or be torn apart by his colleagues?"
'Why does she sound so cheerful about that last part?!'
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