Izuku and Kacchan had arrived at the arena where the mystery hero match was taking place. They sat on the benches surrounding the center stage, where the battles would unfold. The venue was packed, almost every seat was taken, and the crowd was buzzing with excitement. They screamed, cheered, and made a tremendous noise.
The announcer, a man in his thirties dressed in a costume resembling a hero, stepped forward. He stood in the center and clapped his hands three times. The entire hall fell silent.
"Thank you for coming to witness this event, where you'll have the chance to show your potential as heroes! I won't waste time with small talk, so let's get right to it. Anyone in the audience can get a shot at fighting the mystery hero, if you're the fastest to answer a trivia question. When I ask a question, a screen with a button will appear in front of you. If you press it, a light and microphone will focus on you. If you answer correctly, you'll get to fight the mystery hero. If the first challenger defeats the hero, the event ends right there. But the show goes on until someone wins - and don't forget the prize!"
"ARE YOU READY?"
"YES!"
The crowd was full of anticipation and excitement. Everyone was ready for the first question. But before that… it was time to reveal the mystery hero. The lights went out. The announcer led out a figure covered in a black cloth. The lights came back on, and eyes focused to see clearly.
"Who could the hero be?" echoed from the crowd.
The announcer removed the cloth, and the hero was revealed.
"And here is today's hero: Ihsasih!"
The audience fell silent. All eyes turned toward the center, confused.
"Who is that?"
"I'm not sure..."
"Did I come here for nothing?"
Izuku and Kacchan tried to figure out who this mysterious "hero" was, but even they didn't know, despite being heroes themselves. The man was around 180 cm tall, with black hair and sharp round eyes. He wore a formal suit. Izuku rested his chin on his palm and observed as Ihsasih showed no expression or emotion, he just stood tall and watched the crowd.
"Are we ready?" the announcer shouted. The audience was still quiet. He scratched his head. "I'll ask again, ARE WE READY!?"
This time the crowd roared. "That's the spirit I like! The first question will appear on your screens in… 3, 2, 1..."
The hall went quiet. Everyone focused. Hands hovered near the buttons.
The screen lit up with the question: "Who won the first-year battle section of the U.A. Sports Festival?"
Izuku turned to Kacchan, who was completely focused.
"Kacchan, you were the one who won it."
Kacchan slammed the button lightning-fast, but someone beat him to it.
"God damn it!" Kacchan growled and buried his face in his hand. "The question was about me and I didn't even get to answer!"
A spotlight shone on the other side of the arena, onto a young boy who still looked like a high schooler. He said, "The answer is Katsuki Bakugo."
"That is absolutely correct!" declared the announcer. "We have our first challenger - come on down!"
"Don't say my name out loud!"
The boy walked to the center ring. He wore shorts and a t-shirt, with short brown hair. The announcer asked for his name and quirk type. A screen appeared above the center of the hall:
Name: ThomasQuirk Name: Aegis BarrierQuirk Type: Defensive - Shield Generation
Description:The user can generate solid energy shields of varying sizes and shapes that can block physical attacks, projectiles, and certain energy-based assaults. These shields are semi-transparent with a faint blue glow and can appear anywhere within a 10-meter radius around the user.
"Wow, that quirk's pretty strong, if he knows how to use it properly," Izuku said out loud, clearly excited. "This is gonna be awesome!" he shouted, pointing toward the ceiling. Kacchan stood beside him and smiled at Izuku.
Thomas and Ihsasih stood facing each other, about 20 meters apart. Thomas stretched, bounced in place, and shook his head as if to ready himself for the fight. Ihsasih remained motionless, emotionless, yet confident. The announcer shouted:
"Are we ready? 3, 2, 1… Fight!"
Thomas didn't hesitate. He sprinted directly at his opponent.
"Trampoline Shield!" he yelled. A transparent horizontal shield appeared in midair, launching him upward above Ihsasih. He charged his fist and aimed straight for Ihsasih's head.
"Take this!"
No one could see what Ihsasih did. While Thomas was still in the air, Ihsasih clenched his fist and punched him directly in the stomach. Thomas's punch seemed to have no effect. He dropped to the ground, motionless, though he still tried to get back up.
"Ihsasih is seriously strong… I hope Thomas is okay." Izuku said, clearly worried. Kacchan tapped Izuku to get his attention and pointed at Thomas.
"See that, Izuku? The kid's still trying to get up, but it looks bad."
Izuku nodded. "That punch wasn't normal… there was something else behind it."
Eventually, Thomas couldn't continue. He was taken away by a doctor for examination. Ihsasih had won the match. The crowd assumed Thomas was weak - that he couldn't even take one punch, which only made the rest of the audience even more eager to try.
"Thomas didn't last long, so let's move right on to the next question!" said the announcer.