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17 - These Bright Flames

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

"Alright, listeners!" 

Present Mic spoke and the cheers of the crowd increased. The camera flashes were also flashing, a little too much. All attention was on the two competitors in the arena.  "The first match of the semi-finals is here! With both challengers being children of pros, this is definitely a battle of the elites!"

Megumi cringed at the description. Being in the shadow of her parents was something that always weighed her down and even more so now. Both of them had been winners of the Sports Festival during their time. She was proud of their victory, but it had left her saddled with an unneeded legacy.

But today would her fight. Her moment to shine and step away from her parents' legacy. Megumi glanced at Todoroki, whose expression was as unreadable as always, but looked like there was something lingering beneath the surface. Maybe his fight with Midoriya had broken through his icy mask. 

"From the hero course, we have Shoto Todoroki!" Present Mic announced with his flamboyant flair, making the crowd even more exciting. "Versus Megumi Okumura, also from the hero course! And let the match begin!"

'I'm not going to give him a moment to attack,' Megumi spoke mentally, flames erupting around her feet. Without even wasting a second, she swiftly raised her hands into the air. The flames erupted into a towering white wall. She pushed the flames towards Todoroki, who erected a wall of his own. Only it was ice. 

The moment the two attacks came in contact with each other, steam erupted as the ice started to melt. 

"Are you really that foolish, Todoroki?" Megumi taunted childishly. "You're gonna use your ice against another fire user?"

Todoroki's face contorted into slight anger; he didn't reply to her taunts, instead created even a bigger wall of ice. Megumi snorted as she raised the intensity of her flames, increasing their temperature. If Todoroki kept on using his ice, then her victory was assured. But still...

She slashed her hands in the shape of a cross and her dazzling white flames cut through the wall of ice, melting it an instant. The push of the flames also sent Todoroki tumbling towards the boundary, but he steadied himself by creating an ice shield behind him. 

'If long-range attacks don't work, then I'll just have to move close,'  Megumi thought as she rushed towards Todoroki, her shoes splashing against the water from the melted ice. She was about to reach him, her left hand lit up in flames to grab him, but just as she was about to do so, he froze her arms, almost extinguishing her flames. The keyword being almost. Because the second the ice made contact with the flames, it started to melt and soak her uniform. But nevertheless, it was another opportunity for her to attack. 

Megumi raised her right hand, covering it in parts with her flames and slammed it into Todoroki's chest. A look of shock spread across his face as he grunted in pain, but even then he managed to steady himself from falling. 

"Come on, Todoroki!" Megumi nearly yelled as she lunged at him, ready to attack him with her fists. "If you keep using your ice, you are assuring a defeat for yourself. Use your fire against me, Todoroki! Let's see whose flames burn brighter!"

She kept on punching him and Todoroki kept on blocking her at the same time, covering his hands with ice to block her fiery fists. He still wasn't using his flames. but there was a storm brewing in his mismatched eyes. He just needed a push. 

"Alright fine!" Megumi spoke between punches. "Don't use your flames. But I'll keep on using mine till I defeat you."

Even as she was speaking, Endeavor's voice came echoing through the crowd, booming and too loud. He was practically scolding Todoroki, trying to get him to use his flames. Megumi couldn't help but cringe. Her dad was overbearing but in an affectionate way and he knew when to stop. But oh god, Endeavor felt like he was overbearing to a nauseating degree. Was this why Todoroki refused to use his flames? Because of his dad?

Megumi rolled her eyes, as she swung her fist into Todoroki's shoulders. It didn't matter. She didn't really care much if he used his flames. All she had to do was use her full strength and end this fight. But still...there was something inside her, something that wanted her to try one last time.

As ice formed on Todoroki's right side, Megumi spoke out. "If Midoriya was a strong opponent, then I am a strong one too! Show me your flames, Todoroki! Come on, show them!"

Just as he was about to attack, he froze. It was almost like that last sentence had really struck him. Then, the ice on his right side began to melt as his left side lit up on fire. 

"Finally!" Megumi expressed with a grin. "Now, the real fight begins!"

Even for someone who was as used to heat as her, Todoroki's flames were quite hot. She moved to attack him, grabbing his lit up left hand with her own lit up hands. The clash of the fires produced huge sparks in the air. She tried to twist his arm behind his back, but then he raised the intensity of his fire and wrenched his arm back. Fire fell from his arms onto her clothes and she stumbled back. 

"Well, you're using your full strength now," She smirked widely. "Maybe I'll use my own too."

Megumi had trained hard for this one move. She had watched videos upon videos of her mother doing this move, but with her own quirk. She had forced her dad to train with her and teach her how to use the entirety of her flames for this. And now, it was time for Megumi to try this out for herself. Even if she wasn't ready to handle the heat that came with this move, she would have to use it.

She erased all her flames and now concentrated on summoning them all over her body, not from over her skin but from under it. After all, her quirk was White Flame Aura. Not just the ability to create fire but also create an aura out of her flames. 

"Angelic Aura-" Megumi started to yell, as her temperature started to rise. She was used to having a naturally warm body, but right now, she had to step beyond her limits and put all her strengths into this attack. 

But before she could continue, Todoroki slammed an icy fist into her stomach before using his flames to send her stumbling back. Nevertheless, her concentration didn't break and she continued to let the flames build up inside her.

Only a second later she realized that Todoroki had not made another move after his previous attack. With a horrible sinking feeling, she looked down to see her left foot was just outside the boundary. 

'Oh no, oh no, oh no...'

It was at that moment the noise of the crowd hit Megumi's ears. When Midnight pointed her finger towards the winner of the round, the cheers of the crowd grew exponentially louder.

"The battle of the elites is now over! Shoto Todoroki will head to the finals!" Present Mic announced.

Megumi's concentration shattered and the flames pooling beneath her skin disappeared. She had lost. Even after all her efforts, she had lost. And she couldn't even use her best move. This sucked. This all sucked. 

"It was a good fight," Todoroki suddenly said, grabbing her attention. "You fought well."

Before she could say anything, his back was already to her and he was walking off. Megumi just smiled sadly. 'I guess I can take that.'

'But next time,' She added as an afterthought. 'Next time, I'm gonna win.'

*

After getting scolded by Recover Girl for overdoing it (turns out her skin had literally been smoking when she had tried to activate Angelic Aura) and getting her body temperature back to it's normal state, Megumi tiredly strode back to the 1-A sitting area. She hobbled down the stairs with a yawn and answered a few greetings as she walked down. 

"Megumi-chan, you were really amazing out there! You looked so cool with your fire!" Uraraka complimented with a bright smile. Seated next to her was a battered (but looking much better) Midoriya, who was still wearing a bandage in many places across his body. Iida was nowhere to be found.

"That last move was really cool!" Midoriya spoke brightly. "It looked like you were prepared to use a really powerful attack."

"Thank you both," Megumi answered with a smile of her own. After quickly answering Midoriya's questions about Angelic Aura, she walked over to her seat next to Natsume, who was waiting expectantly, with a grin.

"That was awesome! Your fight is probably my favorite one, after the one between Midoriya and Todoroki of course," He spoke, ruffling her hair as she sat down.

"That's a really backhanded way of complimenting me." Now tired and with almost no energy left, Megumi didn't even push his hand away. But a second later, he dropped it on his own. 

"You made it just in time for the finals, by the way," Natsume spoke, as they turned their attention to the arena. "Tokoyami lost to Bakugo. Which means it's going to be Bakugo and Todoroki in the finals. This is going to be another interesting fight."

Her interest was piqued. Both Todoroki and Bakugo had explosively powerful quirks. Her fight with Todoroki had told her enough. It would be interesting to see how this match was going to turn out.

"At least we've arrived! The best of the best among U.A.'s first years will be decided! It's the final match! Todoroki vs Bakugo! Start!"

Todoroki started it off by launching the massive glacier he had used in his fight against Sero. But this time it was a lot more concentrated and had been aimed carefully. But Bakugo easily blasted through the glacier with his explosions, spinning his body around and propelling it foreward.

The battle got increasingly chaotic as Bakugo got angrier the longer Todoroki refused to his fire. He kept on taunting Todoroki, trying to get him to use his fire. Now, Megumi felt a little worried. 

'Why wasn't he using his fire?' She thought. 'What happened to him?'

And as though it was destined to happen, behind her, Midoriya stood up from his seat and yelled as loud as he could, "Todoroki-kun! Don't lose! Do your best!"

It was like Midoriya's words had struck a chord in him. Todoroki's left side erupted in flames as he looked very determined. Bakugo was spinning in mid-air now, explosions lighting up his palms. Then, just as quickly as it happened, the flames flickered and disappeared from Todoroki's arm. But by then, it was already too late. Bakugo unleashed his massive explosion. The shockwave rocked the entire stadium and dust clouds filled the arena. 

Soon enough, the dust clouds faded, revealing Todoroki passed out, out of bounds, on the broken remnants of his glacier. Bakugo didn't seem to accept this as he angrily ran towards the unconscious boy, picking him up and trying to get him to fight back. 

But Midnight stepped on the arena and used her quirk, knocking out Bakugo in an instant. 

"Todoroki is out of bounds! So Bakugo is the winner!" Midnight announced loudly. "And that concludes our contest! The first year winner of U.A.'s Sports Festival is Katsuki Bakugo of Class A!"

The audience broke out into very loud cheers, obviously having enjoyed the match. But something, told Megumi, Bakugo would not be very happy about this victory.

Fireworks erupted over the stadium. All participants were gathered on the stadium grounds. The media was gather behind them, their cameras flashing constantly. 

"All the first year events for this years U.A's Sports Festival have been completed," Midnight announced with a smile. "Now, we will move onto the awards ceremony."

Triumphant music played as even more fireworks were launched above the stadium. In a puff of smoke, the podium rose from the ground. And everyone could finally see how angry Bakugo was about this victory. He was chained to the podium and he was wearing a muzzle on his mouth. And standing next to Tokoyami on their shared third position step, Megumi had the first sight of Bakugo's angry struggle. All of their classmates were cringing and looked like they were experiencing all levels of embarrassment. 

"What a bloodthirsty beast," Tokoyami spoke, next to her. Megumi covered her mouth and snorted. 

Meanwhile, Bakugo kept on struggling and making angry noises. 

"Now we'll hand out the medals!" Midnight spoke with enthusiasm. "This year, the medal will be presented by this man..."

A loud, yet familiar laughter filled the stadium. Recognizing the laughter, the audience started cheering and yelling his name. He leapt off the roof of the stadium, still laughing.

"I'm here with all the medals!" He spoke triumphantly. 

"Our hero, All Might!" Midnight finished her earlier sentence to the cheers of the crowd. After a very short talk with her, All Might began handing out the medals. First up, were the two medals to be handed to the third place winners.

Megumi and Tokoyami both straightened themselves, standing in a very alert position. All Might first went to Tokoyami, hanging the medal around his neck. "Congratulations, young Tokoyami. You're so strong."

"I don't deserve such praise," Tokoyami spoke stiffly. But then All Might hugged him and he was silenced. The pro-hero whispered something into his ear, and as he stepped away, Tokoyami almost puffed up his chest. 

Next up was Megumi, who stood up straight, her hands clenched into fists at her side. "Congratulations, young Okumura. You fought really well."

"Uh thank you," Megumi answered, blushing slightly as All Might hung the bronze medal around her neck. All Might complimented her. Freaking All Might complimented her.

Then he crouched down and hugged her and Megumi almost cried out of joy. He gently whispered, "Your quirk is strong, like both your parents. And with a little bit more training, you'll even surpass them, so keep on working hard, okay?"

"Y-yes!" Megumi answered proudly. Even if she had lost in her battle, getting a medal from All Might really made up for most of the sadness she had felt. This was probably the best moment of her life and she would make sure to burn it onto her memory. 

After handing over Todoroki his medal and speaking to him, All Might was finally standing in front of a still struggling Bakugo. The pro hero freed him from his muzzle and instantly Bakugo's expression morphed into something demonic.

All Might remained calm though. "In this world of comparative assessment, not many people can uphold the absolute evaluation of an unchanging scale." The gold medal glittered underneath the sunlight. "Accept this medal as part of your scars so that you never forget."

"I said I don't want it!" Bakugo yelled, still looking like a rabid demon. All Might struggled to hang the medal around his neck and in the end gave up, hanging the medal around Bakugo's teeth.

Then, he turned to face the audience and spoke with a voice that was much, much louder. "These were the winners this time. But everyone, every student had the possibility of standing up here, just as you have seen. The sight of them competing, enhancing each other and rising further above...the next generation of heroes is definitely sprouting forth! And so here's some final words. Everyone, please repeat after me. Ready?"

"Plus Ultra!" spoke the audience, but the words that came out of All Might's mouth were, "Good work!"

People started booing immediately. "You're supposed to say Plus Ultra there, All Might!"

Megumi smiled to herself. Such an action packed day had finally come to an end. 

It was fun; it was fun and now Megumi was looking forward to what the future held for her (and also her classmates).

we're finally done with the sports festival arc! next up is one of my favorite arcs a.k.a the internship and the stain arc! i've been looking forward to writing this for a long while and i'm so glad it's finally gonna happen. any guesses as to who megumi will intern with? 👀👀

whoever guesses right gets a virtual cookie 🤭

till then, i hope you all enjoyed this chapter! let me know your thoughts in the comments!


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