Hiroto stood in the hallway leading into the stadium mentally preparing himself for the tournament ahead. The officials were still arranging the matchups for the upcoming tournament, so his mind was racing with the possible opponents he could be facing. It both excited him and made him nervous.
After his team and the girl's team, Ren's team came in third, accompanied by 3 students from Class 1-B that he knew nothing about. Megumi's team came in fourth, but even that was thrown into uncertainty. Mahina and Kairi declined to participate in the fight, citing their Quirks' limitations without support items. Yurei also declined, still uncertain of his control over his ghostly half. That left 3 spots open with no inkling of who was filling them yet.
Hiroto sighed. "I should've been paying more attention during the last two events. I don't like not being able to plan."
"Hey man, you look even more intense than usual!" Hiroto turned to see Kage walking towards him, a smile on his face. "Something eating you?"
"I'm just processing the suspense. There are so many potential opponents that I don't know." Hiroto took a deep breath. "I just hope I can keep up."
"Dude, you're a strategizing machine! You'll do fine!" Kage slapped him on the back. "Besides, nobody gets the drop on Power Creep, right?"
"Nobody except us!" Shion's voice echoed down the hall. The two turned to see the usual suspects walking towards them. Seeing everybody refreshed and ready put a smile on Hiroto's face.
"Hiro-kun! Are you ready to kick some butt?" Terra beamed as she bounded over to her friend.
"I'm getting there." He shrugged. "What about you guys?
Yu eyed Hiroto thoughtfully, a confident smile appearing on his face. "Ready to do my best!"
"I took a quick power nap, so I should be good to go," Sachi replied with a warm smile. "As class reps, we need to represent our class well. Give it your all, Hiroto."
"H-he always d-does," Osen said sweetly, drinking a water bottle to make sure she was properly hydrated.
Hiroto looked around the group. "Where's Itano?"
"He's calibrating his support items," Shion said with a hint of worry. "I hope I get paired with him or someone from the support group. My Quirk isn't as useful when my opponent doesn't have anything on them."
Terra jumped in front of her. "Don't talk down about yourself like that! We wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for your strategy during the Cavalry battle!"
"Agreed, and you definitely gave me a run for my money during that sparring session a few weeks ago," Sachi said, giving her an encouraging wink. "I'm still waiting for that rematch, so think of this as a warmup."
"Everybody here has earned their way into this tournament, including you," Hiroto said with a smile. "You can do this."
Amidst the outpouring of encouragement, Hiroto's comment pushed Shion over the edge, her cheeks heating up instantly. "T-thank you, da . . . Hiroto. I'll do my best."
Hiroto smiled. "That's all any of us can do."
Without warning, Present Mic's voice blasted over the loudspeakers. "Alright! It's time for our contender's to report to the field so we can get this par-tay started!"
The group took a deep breath and made their way out into the stadium, the crowd's cheering immediate and overwhelming. Before he could assess the unknown opponents, Hiroto's attention was drawn toward the monitor as Present Mic got the crowd amped up for the start of the tournament.
"Our first matchup of the final tournament is gonna be crazy! From class 1-A: winner of the first event, Hiroto Aizawa! He'll be facing the firebird of class 1-B: Susaku Ren!"
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."
