My Hero Academia: Aura Farming

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[Following Fights]

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...

"It can't be…"

Endeavor couldn't believe what he was seeing.

When he saw Shoto finally shake off his shackles and use his fire, he had been ecstatic.

At last, his son had left his childish phase and embraced his glorious destiny.

At last, the countdown to surpassing All Might had begun ticking.

He felt so overjoyed that for a moment he almost made a scene—interrupting the fight to shout encouragement at his son for taking that big step toward becoming the next number one.

His flames even intensified for a moment.

But when the clash between the two youths unfolded, he saw something that stopped him cold.

Fire.

No—something similar. It looked like flames, crimson as hell itself. Hotter, more intense, and considerably more dangerous.

And they weren't his son's.

They were from his opponent.

'Wasn't his Quirk Telekinesis…?' Endeavor couldn't help but question, staring in disbelief at the blazing inferno condensed before Takahashi—a sphere of pure flames and electricity.

And what followed only cemented his fear.

His son threw his best at him. Both ice and fire.

But in the end, Takahashi's attack engulfed both like an insatiable inferno and advanced toward his son uninterrupted.

For a moment, he saw his son's imminent death, and moved to try and stop it somehow.

But at the last second, the attack curved beyond logic and launched itself into the air harmlessly—followed by his son being thrown out of bounds while he and many others had been focused on the catastrophic blast going off overhead.

Endeavor had already known Shoto wouldn't win.

But this way?

With his fire being completely outclassed?

His teeth ground together.

It could be argued that Shoto's mastery of his own power was primitive at best. His control over ice was exceptional, certainly, but without an equal command of his fire—and further still, without full control over the harmony of both sides to produce something greater—Shoto was far from his full potential.

But what about Takahashi? He was a teenager, the same age as Shoto, and was already capable of unleashing that kind of destructive power while barely, if at all, looking winded.

Who was to say this was his limit?

—Especially when a Quirk described as telekinesis had turned out like this. If it was capable of that, what else was it hiding?

"It can't be..."

At that moment, Endeavor felt the full weight of Takahashi's words in his bones.

The problem is, when he does, it'll be meaningless—because by then, I'll have already replaced the symbol of peace.

Before this fight, he had only known Takahashi by name, and some mentions during his arising fame after the USJ incident. He watched briefly the video, and came to the conclusion that Taka was a promising future hero without a doubt.

But that was all he was able to take from it.

Now that he had been able watch his prowess from up close, however, he realized Takahashi was more than that.

Perhaps, like he had said… it would all be meaningless.

Perhaps, the era of All Might was coming to an end.

"..."

Endeavor stared silently between Takahashi—standing on the platform with a victorious expression—and Shoto, who, despite having lost, looked strangely refreshed.

For a moment his flames burned brighter than before.

But after a while, he turned and left without a word.

He had a lot to think about.

...

°

°

°

| Upper rows of the stadium, VIP seats: |

...

"That kid sure is taking it far," Seiji muttered, smiling wryly as he watched Taka's figure still on the platform.

Beside him, Eri let out an awed hum, eyes wide as she stared down at the arena. "Taka is amazing."

But then she turned to Seiji.

"… But why did Taka enter the fight from up there instead of through the big doors like the others?" She pointed at the stadium's ceiling.

"... Huh?"

Seiji looked briefly startled, then let out a choked laugh.

"That kid just loves to show off. And today he has someone to aim all that toward, so he's going a bit further than usual."

"Someone?" Eri looked curious.

Seiji let out a small laugh and rubber her head. "You, of course, Eri. He's usually a bit more subtle about it, but he's going all out today. So humor him a little and act surprised, will you?"

"But I am surprised."

Seiji smile widened slightly and turned his eyes back to Taka down below. "Then that's fine."

As he did, he took in Taka's confident expression, and the way he was already walking away from the platform, victorious after what would have been an impossible and ridiculous fight last year.

"He's come a long way. He deserves it a little."

...

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| Minutes later, Class 1-A's section: |

…

After a while, Taka arrived back at the section, drawing everyone's attention as he walked in like he owned the place.

Everyone stared at him speechlessly. Still a bit stricken by the display of raw power from the fight just now.

For some reason, they had the feeling that that last attack had been a lot more powerful than what he showed against the villain at the USJ.

Even Todoroki, after using his fire—something that no one had expected would happen given his reticence to use it—ended up being overwhelmed completely regardless.

The more they saw about Taka, the more unfair they felt life was.

How does one come across such a powerful Quirk?

"You came back. Decided we were good enough for you, Sir Takahashi?"

As he sat down, Jiro mocked him with a smirk right away.

Taka briefly gave her a flat look."If you guys don't start again, then yes."

She snorted.

"By the way, what were you and Todoroki talking about so much? I swear you spent more time talking than fighting."

"Personal matters." Taka answered curtly, evidently not about to go into it much.

Midoriya muttered something from his corner. "That must be why Todoroki-kun used his fire…"

Taka's eyebrow twitched at his quick realization.

But well, it wasn't that hard to pick up on it.

Todoroki had refused to use his fire. Taka had talked to him about something. Todoroki used his fire.

The sequence of events couldn't make it clearer, could it?

As he thought amusedly about it, suddenly, he felt a gaze upon him.

He turned slightly and found Bakugo looking at him with a piercing gaze.

A little more and he would start shooting explosions from the eyes.

"What?" Taka asked, loud enough for him to hear.

"..."

Bakugo didn't answer. Instead, his frown only deepened.

"..."

"..."

For a moment their gazes clashed. With neither looking away for a whole minute.

But in the end, Bakugo looked away first.

As he did, however, Taka noticed something different. The guy was angry, yes, nothing new there—but in his gaze, he was also carrying something heavier than his usual explosiveness.

And the truth was, yes, he was.

If the previous games had been a direct showcase of Taka's superiority, that last clash had only driven it home further.

With each of Taka's turns to show off, Bakugo felt his own chances shrink a little more.

And now that their fight was just one obstacle away, the pressure was becoming genuinely hard to hold off.

Bakugo's fist trembled slightly.

Noticing it, his eyes widened for a moment, before he clicked his tongue and stood up.

Then, without saying anything, he walked off, leaving the class' section soon after.

As he left, eyes followed him out.

"One arrives, and another leaves."

"I wonder if we make people uncomfortable."

"He must just be nervous. If he wins this fight, he'll be Taka's next victim, after all."

"Yeah, I'd be terrified if I were him."

Taka stared at his departing back with an impassive look, whatever was on his mind known only to him.

After that, minutes passed while Cementoss worked through the damage he and Todoroki had left behind.

While that happened, Iida—who had been talking with Uraraka—suddenly received a call and stepped away to take it somewhere quieter.

And just at that same moment, Jiro, who had been scrolling her phone while they waited, suddenly flinched.

Taka glanced at her, then flinched himself.

She was checking a news site—specifically, breaking news about the near-hospitalization of Ingenium and the capture of the Hero Killer, all at the hands of a certain vigilante.

Quickly, and before she could finish reading, Taka looked away, feigning upmost ignorance to what she was reading.

Not long after, Iida returned, looking shaken but otherwise relieved.

"What happened, Iida-kun?" Midoriya asked, watching his classmate with worry.

Iida seemed to consider whether to speak for a moment, then nodded, his grave expression seeming to relieve for a second as he shared what was on his mind.

"My brother was attacked by the Hero Killer."

Everyone turned to him in disbelief.

"The Hero Killer?!"

"The one that's been on the news lately?!"

"Is he okay?!"

Iida nodded, still looking like his heart had nearly given out a minute ago. "A vigilante intervened just before things could escalate. Rockinesis. Thanks to him, the Hero Killer was captured, and my brother avoided the worst."

"Rockinesis? Whoa."

Uraraka looked at him worriedly. "Is your brother okay, then?"

"Yes, luckily, the Hero Killer wasn't able to do much to him before Rockinesis arrived." Iida nodded.

Gasps and surprised expressions emerged from the class. But since nothing seemed to have gone horribly wrong, Everyone began wishing the best for Iida and his brother, followed by a wave of comments about the Hero Killer and Rockinesis.

While that went on, Taka stared at the air in front of him with an expression carved from stone, as if it were the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.

"…"

"…"

All while Jiro's gaze burned into the side of his head from right beside him.

"That's crazy, ain't it, Takahashi?"

"Hmm, yes. Criminals these days sure are bold."

"Not to mention the coincidence of the one saving Iida's brother being Rockinesis."

"Maybe he was passing by."

"..."

"..."

Luckily, it seemed he wouldn't have to feign ignorance for long.

{"The arena is repaired, everyone—shall we move on to the next fight?!"} Present Mic's announcement rang out suddenly, gathering everyone's attention back to the arena.

As usual, the screen changed and the next two contestants' pictures appeared.

Bakugo and Tokoyami.

The crowd cheered, and waited for them to step out.

They didn't disappoint.

Soon, Tokoyami stepped from the shadows and into the light, gaze locked ahead.

Then, without warning, Dark Shadow emerged from him, spread both arms wide behind him like a pair of enormous black wings, and slammed them into the ground with great force—

-Thud!-

—launching Tokoyami in a high arc through the air, all the way from the entrance to the platform.

He landed brusquely, but imposingly as well. Looking, in what would probably be his words, like a fallen angel that had descended to deliver judgement.

The crowd cheered in excitement.

But that wasn't the end of it.

—BOOM!—

An explosion cut through the noise, and every eye swung to the opposite side.

Bakugo stepped into the light, scowl sharp as ever.

Then, once he had the crowd's attention—

—BOOM!—

He snapped both hands down and launched himself into the sky like a rocket.

—BOOM!—

—BOOM!—

—BOOM!—

From up there, he let off a rapid chain of explosions, spinning his body wildly through the air as he descended.

Until he came crashing down one final time, sliding into a proper pose right at his spot.

The crowd went wild.

"Look what you started…" Jiro muttered, a bead of sweat on her forehead as she stared down at the two.

Taka watched the spectacle in silence for a moment before stifling a short laugh. "They're trying to get sponsorships, aren't they? A little showmanship won't hurt them."

Jiro looked like she was about to say something to that—then stopped, mouth hesitating.

Then she seemed to actually start thinking about it.

"… It's still too embarrassing," she said eventually, cringing at the notion of pulling something like that when her own fight came after this one.

"Only if you do it wrong." Taka refuted her.

"Not everyone has a hide as thick as yours."

Taka didn't answer. He just shrugged.

Jiro grumbled at his silence, then leaned forward to watch the fight already unfolding below.

Her mind, however, was somewhere else entirely.

As she turned her attention to it, so did Taka.

First, the two fighters sized each other up. Bakugo hadn't paid much attention to his classmates throughout the festival, and Tokoyami wanted to get a real feel for what he was dealing with.

After enough of that, both moved.

Bakugo launched himself with the clear intention of ending it fast.

While Tokoyami went in committed to going all out.

And so he did.

Dark Shadow, who had been floating at his side, suddenly did something unusual—something that shouldn't have been possible for months yet.

It wrapped itself around Tokoyami like armor.

His special move… Darksomething, had come in early.

That was also part of why Taka had pushed him to work on his hand-to-hand combat—not only to make better use of the numerical advantage of fighting as two, but to be able to get the most out of this new technique once it arrived.

The current Tokoyami was a much more rounded fighter.

—BOOOM!—

"Hngh—!"

Of course—that didn't guarantee him victory.

As much as he'd grown, this particular matchup was a genuinely bad draw for him.

Not only was the daylight already sapping Dark Shadow's strength, but Bakugo's explosions served as their own powerful light source—an additional, active counter to exactly the kind of power Dark Shadow needed to be at its most dangerous.

So he was fighting with his armor on, yes. But in its current state, and with his still-developing control over it, it wasn't enough.

And even less so against a Bakugo who was fighting with a target far bigger than Tokoyami in mind.

Before long—even with Tokoyami putting up a real fight and landing a few hits—Dark Shadow eventually gave out, and he was blasted out of bounds.

{"Tokoyami is out of bounds—Bakugo advances to the next round!"}

With that, Bakugo took the victory.

As he stood there, breathing hard and sweating, his gaze drifted up to the class section and locked onto Taka.

And he let out a faint smile.

He was ready.

His fight with Midoriya had left him more uncertain than he'd expected. And as his fight with Taka drew closer, the pressure had only mounted.

But now, after letting some steam out, the doubt had cleared.

He'd prepared everything he could, and he was in the best shape he'd be in.

He couldn't win. That much had become clear over the course of the day.

But there was one thing he wouldn't let go of.

He'd make Taka acknowledge Katsuki Bakugo as the peerless prodigy he had always been.

Taka didn't count as a peer. He had the feeling the guy wasn't human.

So he didn't count as a prodigy either—just a freak.

With that settled, and a new kind of resolve in place, he turned away with a sneer and walked off.

On Taka's side, he watched him go with a flat look, then snorted to himself.

If the guy was carrying that much confidence, he hoped he'd bring something worth seeing.

The arena reconstruction after that didn't take long. A few minutes later it was finished, and the next fight was about to start.

Jiro had already left for it, as had Uraraka.

Soon enough, both appeared at the field entrances.

Uraraka floated herself up to the platform, then struck an awkward pose. She'd clearly thought of a simple entrance but hadn't figured out what to do once she'd gotten there.

Jiro, on the other hand…

'The hell…?' Taka's eyebrow twitched.

She walked down to the arena with a boombox on her shoulder, letting out music.

Once there, she set the boombox aside, out of bounds, and crossed her arms in some kind of mic-drop pose.

Looking incredibly awkward through all of it.

'She might need some extra tutoring,' Taka thought, resisting the urge to facepalm.

Uraraka too, now that he thought about it.

It seemed he might have to help his classmates work on their presence, even after the festival wrapped up.

While he quietly dreaded the new responsibility being added to his list, the fight between the two didn't stay in the countdown for long.

{"Start!"}

The first thing that became clear once both clashed was that Jiro had the close-combat advantage. Not only had her training along the others to hit Taka helped in that regard, but her earlobes gave her reach and threat range that Uraraka simply couldn't match at that distance.

Uraraka tried to close in, but couldn't. Jiro was quicker on her feet, and good at keeping her out using physical strikes or her earlobes as stabbing tools.

But soon, that same advantage turned into a liability.

In one exchange, Uraraka nearly managed to touch her earlobes with her fingertips.

She missed—but it was enough. Jiro had felt how close that was, and the alarm it sent through her shifted her thinking.

So she switched to the next option and drove her earlobes into the floor, trying to throw Uraraka off with her new technique.

—BZZZZ!—

That's when the second disadvantage showed itself.

The moment the soundwave struck the ground, Uraraka went zero gravity, cleared the tremor entirely with ease by just hovering over it, and dropped straight down onto Jiro.

The result followed naturally. Between the shaking from the quake and the drop coming from above, Jiro couldn't dodge cleanly in time—and even though she nearly managed it, Uraraka grazed her fingertips across her.

Which was all it took. Unable to do anything, Jiro went floating, and the fight was over. Declared as her being unable to continue fighting.

It was a tough draw—much like Tokoyami, she'd been in a matchup where close combat was risky and her strongest move had been completely nullified.

After the fight wrapped up, both made their way back to the section.

Uraraka looked like she was floating without her Quirk. Jiro, on the other hand, wore an expression that said she might snap at the first thing Taka said to her.

So he said nothing. Just gave her a small smile.

"..."

"..."

Eventually she let out a long sigh and let some of the frown ease off her face—though she still wasn't looking anywhere near satisfied.

Taka figured something else later would do more for her mood than anything he could offer right now, so he let her drift into her own thoughts.

'We'll see if she can stay upset after what's coming.'

With the fight done, and since Jiro's technique had done a number on the platform, the over-exploited Cementoss had to deal with repairs again.

It didn't take long, since the damage was concentrated in one area. Once it was done—as was Cementoss—the last fight of the stage got underway.

Ojiro versus Iida.

A clash of close-quarters fighters.

Taka leaned back for this one.

Ojiro had sharpened his fighting skills over the past week, but so had Iida. And Iida's Quirk made for a genuinely troublesome problem for someone whose power was as straightforward as Ojiro's.

And just as predicted—though the fight was scrappy, given that both were solid in close combat—Iida's speed-driven strikes eventually did the job and put Ojiro out.

And with that, the second stage of the tournament came to a close.

Three fights remained before the final.

Bakugo against Taka. Uraraka against Iida. And then whatever followed for the final.

As everything settled for the incoming stage, Taka smiled faintly and opened his status.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: (181 Base) 1500

▸ Defense: (362 Base) 3000

▸ Aura Projection: 37,000

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Total Aura: 88,266 → 45,993 (52%)

1st Clone's aura: 12,273 (14%)

2nd Clone's aura: 5,000 (6%)

3rd Clone's aura: 5,000 (6%)

4th Clone's aura: 5,000 (6%)

...

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

'This sure is growing fast.'

This festival was turning out to be far more than he had expected, and even more than that.

And there was still more to come.

Smiling at that, he quickly allocated what he'd gained so far, then turned his attention back to the arena.

His fight against Bakugo was right around the corner.

Better prepare for yet another grand entrance.

...

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-To Be Continued…-

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(A/N: What are you guys thinking about the growth speed? Is it being satisfactory? Originally it was tamer, but my patreons felt it was too little, so I boosted it a bit.)