"10 million points," Hiroto thought to himself as he glanced at the scoreboard. "I should've insisted Ren finish the race."
Hiroto stood out on the field in the midst of the scores of students all frantically rushing around trying to form teams for the next event: the Cavalry Battle. He knew that due to his victory in the first event, the amount of people who would want to form a team with him would be pretty minimal. Taking him out meant a guaranteed place in the one-on-one tournament to come. "As soon as that whistle blew, I got separated from everyone. I half-expected Terra to team up with me, but she's nowhere to be seen. I'd better find someone quick before-"
"Hey man, it seems you're struggling to find a team!" Kage gave a wide grin as he walked up behind Hiroto.
"Here to rub it in?" Hiroto flashed a sarcastic smirk.
"Maybe a little," Kage punched his arm, "but I was actually looking for a fourth man for our team. You interested?"
"You managed to put together a team of three in this mess?"
"That we did,'' he replied as Hiroto saw Yu walking over to them.
"H-hope you don't mind teaming up with us again," he said hopefully.
Hiroto looked at the two and smiled. "You guys had my back last round. I wouldn't have it any other way." He glanced around. "You said you had someone else?"
"Weeeellll, not exactly," Kage said. "I mean, we had an idea, but if you were on board, we thought you should be the one to ask him."
"Y-you have a way of instilling confidence in others," Yu said as he glanced behind Hiroto, "and he looks like he needs all the help he can get right now."
As Hiroto turned to look, a downward shift in the local gravity made it clear who the recruit was immediately. Behind him, he found Itano, rushing around from group to group with a noticeably panicked look on his face. Hiroto couldn't help but feel a large amount of sympathy for him.
Kage noticed the concerned look on Hiroto's face and grinned. "Figured you'd want him on your team, so we didn't want to steal him out from under you."
Hiroto pushed his way through the crowd to reach Itano. The boy's Quirk regulator was being pushed to its absolute limit. As he got closer, Hiroto placed a hand on the panicked boy's shoulder, causing him to whirl around and freeze in place.
"H-H-Hiroto," he stammered as he looked around to see if he was with anyone else. "W-was I bothering you? I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"
"Relax, Itano." Hiroto gave a reassuring smile. "Glad to see you made it through the race!"
"J-j-just barely," Itano grinned weakly as he tried to loosen up. "B-b-but now n-n-nobody wants me on their t-t-team. Not that I can b-b-blame them. I'd probably j-j-just hurt their ch-ch-chances anyway, and-" Hiroto raised hand to stop him.
"I want you on my team, Itano." Hiroto motioned for Kage and Yu to come over. "We all do."
Itano was speechless. ". . . r-r-really?"
"Of course!" Kage said, putting an arm around the nervous boy. "Friends gotta stick together, right?"
"F-f-friends?"
"You didn't think the lunchroom was a one-time thing, did you?" Yu asked, a slight look of concern on his face.
"I-I-I mean, I didn't want to p-p-presume, so . . ." Itano hung his head.
Hiroto smiled. "Chin up, Itano. You're one of us, and if these two taught me anything last event, we don't leave our own behind."
The inventor lifted his face, his eyes glistening with tears. "Y-y-you really m-m-mean it?!"
YOU ARE READING
Hiro Rising
Fanfiction"A young boy sets out to prove that he has what it takes to be a hero on his own, but even in an era of peace, he's about to learn that, sometimes, having people by your side is the only way to succeed."
