My Hero Academia: Aura Farming

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[Player's Pledge]

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| Class 1-A's waiting room |

...

"Huff... the nerves are killing me," Kaminari muttered, before glancing around at his classmates, most of whom were calmly lounging around.

His head snapped toward them, looking outraged as he slammed both hands on the table.

"Why do you guys look so calm?!"

"...We just prepared as much as we could. There's no point in getting nervous now." Sato, who was nearby said with a serious tone.

"Yeah, having given it my all... it kind of gives me peace of mind, you know? Whatever happens out there, it'll be the best I can do. No more what-ifs." Kirishima nodded, pumping up a fist.

"Look at you lucky guys who got Takahashi's help, being so optimistic..." Kaminari looked at them with deadfish eyes, grumbling gloomily.

He recalled that fateful day—the one where he'd asked Taka to help him like the others. His class rep asked for a demonstration, and he gave it.

But as he finished, he was met with a pitiful look.

"Can't help, sorry," Those were his exact words.

To make up for it, Taka had given him a few pointers on something he called "surrounding awareness" and how to use it better, but not much of it had stuck.

Thus, his training for the rest of the week ended up being rather plain: Releasing electricity constantly in an attempt to raise his brain-frying threshold—which, as you can expect, didn't work out at all.

So now, here he was, about to step into one of the most-watched events in the country, where his future as a hero would be put to the test, with nothing to show for it.

"Damnit..." He groaned, slouching over the table.

On the other side of the room, sitting against the wall, Taka gave him a pitying look.

'I'll tell him about getting support equipment like the one in the show once this is all done.'

Making that promise to himself, he went back to looking like he was thinking about something very important while everyone waited for the festival to start.

—At least, that was the plan, until a certain someone's footsteps approached.

"...?"

Taka opened one eye—and saw the familiar face of Todoroki heading his way.

'Right. This guy's one for dramatic challenges.'

Huffing slightly, Taka lifted his head and met the approaching mood guy's gaze head-on.

"Takahashi," Todoroki called him out once he stood before him, his tone solemn.

"Todoroki," Taka mimicked the tone.

Todoroki's eyebrow twitched at the mimicry. But he pressed on with what he had to say.

"I know you're stronger than me. That's already been made clear. No matter how much I deny it, or excuse my defeat back then on my emotions getting the better of me... the truth remains the same. You're stronger."

Bakugo, who was nearby, turned to look at them, his expression faintly surprised.

'Oh?'

Taka's eyebrow arched. That genuinely wasn't something he'd expected.

But then Todoroki spoke again, his tone shifting.

"But that doesn't mean anything." His cold eyes fixed on Taka. "Stronger or not... I'm telling you in advance. Today I'm going to beat you."

His eyes narrowed, determination and something sharper underneath it showing through.

"At this competition, I will win. And not even you, however superior you might turn out to be, will force my fire. I will win regardless of it all."

Silence settled over the entire room after those words.

Taka didn't say anything for a moment, seemingly musing on it.

Everyone else just watched the tense exchange with uneasy looks.

Then—

"Hah?! What are you talking about, you shitty half-and-half bastard?!"

Bakugo shoved his way into the conversation, stopping right next to Todoroki and glaring at him point-blank.

"...I think I heard you say you'll win—but that's not possible, because for that, you'd have to beat me too!"

Todoroki's gaze shifted to him, shooting back an unbothered look.

"I will."

"...Look at the nerve!" A vein appeared on Bakugo's forehead. Then he pointed at Taka with his thumb. "Let me make things clear for you. In this competition, the only one who's beating this bastard is me. So you can say goodbye to that little plan of yours right now—because if you want first place, you'll have to beat the one who beats him first... me!"

"..."

A silence full of collective disbelief washed over the room.

Nobody believed in him for a second.

Even Todoroki didn't know how to respond to that level of delusion.

Taka stayed quiet through all of it, eyes moving slowly between the growing number of challengers around him.

But then, just as he was about to say something—

"No."

A voice no one had expected broke through the awkward silence, coming from somewhere in the middle of the rest of the students.

All eyes turned—landing on an incredibly nervous-looking, but otherwise determined Midoriya, staring at them from his seat with visible conviction.

"K-Kachan, Takahashi-kun, Todoroki-kun... The one who will win today... is me!"

The declaration left everyone just as baffled as the other two times it had been said—especially because this time it was coming from Midoriya, of all people.

Eyes bounced between the four now tangled up in this standoff, blinking in disbelief at how things had spiralled in the few minutes before the main event.

"Everyone is so motivated..." Kirishima muttered, before going quiet and staring at his fist with a flicker of frustration—only to snap his head up the next instant and rise to his feet just like Midoriya. "—You know what? No. That'll be me. I'm taking first place from all of you!"

Everyone's eyes shifted to him, thrown off by the fact that someone else had jumped into the challenges' boat.

'What kind of youthful moment was this?' Some couldn't help but think, somewhere between amusement and disbelief.

—But before long, even the ones joking about it couldn't help but catch on.

All that training, all that improvement crammed into two weeks, just for this festival... and they were going to be content with anything other than first place?

What would any of that effort have been worth, then?

That thought struck a spark in the motivation that had been quietly building in everyone throughout the training the past two weeks.

"No, you all... I'm the one taking first place." Sato was the first, fixing the group with a serious look and pointing a thumb at himself.

"The peak may be lonely, but settling for anything less is improper." Tokoyami followed, arms crossed and eyes closed, while leaning on a wall at the corner of the room that was slightly darker than the rest.

"Alright, you've done it now! I'm gonna have to take first place from all of you!" Hagakure jumped from her seat and declared boldly, raising a gloved fist.

Sero let out an amused huff before shrugging with a wide smile. "I guess I'm gonna get a little serious and aim for first place then!"

"... You know what? I don't need any training to beat you all!" Kaminari shot up from his slouched position, putting a foot up on his seat. "My quirk alone is all I need to stand at the top!"

"Your zipper is down, Kaminari-kun—and also, I'm going to aim for first place too, everyone, and I won't make it easy-kero," Tsuyu said, finger at her mouth.

"Ah?!"

"I WILL DO MY BEST, YA ALL HEAR ME?!" Uraraka bellowed—apparently the most carried away of anyone, her expression nothing short of fervent.

"Yeey~ I'm gonna make you all eat the curb!" Mina shouted, riding the wave of energy.

"E-everyone, we are U.A. students—even if we're motivated, we should conduct ourselves with grace—still, I will say, I too shall aim for first place. I won't be left behind!" Iida started with a lecture—only to end up roped in along with everyone else.

"I shall aim for first place as well." Even the usually silent Shoji joined in.

"Me too," Koda added, though barely above a whisper and lifting his hand shyly.

"First place... maybe I can manage it?" Ojiro muttered, though without sounding entirely convinced.

"Don't count on it—I'm the one who's going to be the dazzliest of all!" Aoyama slipped in.

Lastly, there was Jiro.

Everyone looked at her, as if waiting for her to say her piece.

She didn't look like she wanted to join in—but, in the end, she couldn't hold out against the crowd.

Still, she did it her own way.

"I'm going to kick your ass, Takahashi."

Once everyone had had their say, they all turned back to the group that had started it, challenging looks falling upon them.

For once, Todoroki and Bakugo felt the pressure coming not from Taka, but from the classmates they'd already dismissed.

Taka, on the other hand, sat with his eyes closed, not looking remotely fazed.

'Bunch of cornballs...' He thought, trying his best to hold back the shudder he felt from showing.

Seeing him stoically dismiss their declarations, all eyes fixed on him with equally challenging stares.

"You're gonna get your ass kicked, class rep!" Mina shouted, lifting a fist.

"We're going to beat you!" Hagakure joined in.

"Don't think you're gonna speed-blitz through us, Taka!" Kirishima added.

"Yeah, today's the day we properly ground you!" Sero threw in.

Even the ones who stayed quiet felt it. They hadn't trained this hard to get outclassed today. Today, their training was going to show.

Taka opened his eyes, gave them a long, awkward look—before sighing.

"Couldn't have it any other way." He said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Everyone smirked at that. Their biggest opponent had acknowledged them—

"But I should warn you all. There's someone I'm planning on putting on a big show for today, so..."

His eyes swept across everyone, glinting faintly.

"I'm toning down the moderation for today."

That landed like a wave hitting a still lake.

Silence stretched across the room as everyone processed it.

And then—

"I-is that so... G-go for it!"

"W-we're not scared in the slightest!"

"Y-yeah, you can try, Taka, but you'll be c-crushed!"

"Can I forfeit now?"

Confidence collapsed in an instant.

Even Todoroki, Midoriya, and Bakugo felt cold sweat run down their backs.

Then—

-Click!-

The door of the room opened, and Yaoyorozu stepped through it.

"Everyone, please get ready—we're about to head out!"

Everyone swallowed nervously at that.

Everyone, that is, except Taka.

'Alright, let's do this.' He thought with a smirk.

He stood up.

It was time.

...

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| Minutes later, main field... |

...

-BAM!-

-BAM!-

-BAM!-

Fireworks filled the sky with beautiful figures that set the cheerful ambiance, the roar of the crowd swallowing the explosions whole in response.

Soon, Present Mic's voice rang out across the stadium and beyond.

{"And thus, the U.A. Sports Festival at last begins, everyone. The grand battle where our fledgling heroes sharpen their swords once a year and compete for glory!"}

The crowd roared as the hype started building.

{"And what better way to kick things off than a warm welcome to the hottest topic around these days. The rising new stars who pulled off the impossible, and came out the other side through sheer perseverance and will!"}

Several small figures began emerging from the darkness of one of the gates, stepping into the light of the field with a confidence that felt almost contagious.

Leading the way at the front, a familiar boy was the first to pull every gaze in the stadium—and every camera.

"That's him!"

"Holy shit, look how he walks. He's like a pro already."

"U.A. students are just a different breed altogether."

One by one, the rest followed, soon revealing the full class.

Gasps followed as they crossed the field with unwavering gazes fixed ahead.

Even those who glanced around, with slight traces of anxiety before the ginormous crowd, didn't come across as nervous teenagers facing the public eye for the first time.

They looked like prepared combatants, even if slightly overwhelmed by the attention.

{"HERE IT IS, CLASS 1-A FROM THE HERO COURSE!"}

The crowd roared back.

With that entrance, the group made their way to the center of the field.

And following their appearance—

{"And of course, although they haven't had as much screentime, we can't forget about the other promising stars of the future—GIVE A WARM WELCOME TO CLASS 1-B FROM THE HERO COURSE TOO!"}

Several other figures began stepping onto the field, drawing their share of attention. They weren't the main draw of the event, but the crowd's curiosity was piqued, wondering what Quirks they'd get to see from them, seeing as how they had gotten into the hero course as well.

Taka glanced at them and sighed faintly.

'I'm sorry to all of you.'

Whether by his hand or his classmates', those guys weren't going to shine very brightly today.

'Or at least, less than they already did in the show.'

As Class 1-B made their way to the center and took their place beside them, a stream of other groups began filing onto the field through the remaining gates spread around the stadium.

"Next up, General Studies, classes C, D, and E!—Support course, F, G, and H!—And of course, the Business course, I, J, K!"

With a brief—and by comparison, slightly deflating—introduction, each course made its entrance and joined the growing mass of first years at the center.

The crowd buzzed with excitement as the presentations wrapped up.

Then, a striking figure stepped onto the stage set up before the sea of students, stopping at the microphone.

"It's Midnight!"

"Whoo!"

"So she's the one presenting the first years this time, huh?"

"Nezu must be busy preparing to do the same with the third years."

"R-rating is the best!"

-Whip!-

A sharp crack through the microphone silenced the restless crowd and the mass of students alike.

"Everyone, quiet. It's time for the player's pledge!"

She then snapped her whip toward the students, pointing it at one in particular.

"Representing the students is Takahashi Fukumoto, from class 1-A!"

Everyone turned to look, and the cameras snapped to him once again, his face filling the giant screens. His class didn't seem particularly surprised, but a wave of muttering swept through the other classes the moment his name was called.

"That's him, right?"

"He doesn't look that powerful."

"Did he really beat that villain?"

"I've heard some people call him the next All Might, but he doesn't have the same presence."

And the chatter went on.

His classmates didn't look particularly pleased at the doubts being thrown Taka's way.

But in the end, they didn't need to do anything.

All Taka had to do to put it to rest—was take a step forward.

-Crch-

"..."

The instant his shoe met the grass, all sound died.

Not from fear—but from something instinctual. The kind of silence that falls when someone demands a room for silence. Like a single clap cutting through noise, or a glass being hit with a spoon multiple times.

Only now—it was just his walk.

It was a strange thing. The until-then roaring stadium had gone completely still, and people were noticing it.

Yet no one dared anything beyond a whisper.

In that silence, the sound of each step became audible, sending a chill through the crowd.

—Thunk, thunk, thunk—

His footsteps echoed across the stadium as he climbed the stairs to the stage, one by one.

Until, at last, he stood before the microphone, every eye in the stadium on him alone.

And so—

"Today, I pledge—"

He eyed the camera, his voice echoing in the hearts of everyone listening.

And especially, on that of a girl watching him from the front rows.

"—to make history,"

…

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Was that last line tuff? It's the best I could come up with that wasn't just a Bakugo copy, or overly cheesy stuff.)