The Immortal Hero: Phoenix

Chapter 18: Survivors Guilt

The Crowd roared with excitement at the announcement of the Battle Tournament. It was a staple of the Sports Festival and the event that really let the participants show off their individual strengths without being easily overshadowed by their teammates like in the second event or the mass of contestants like in the first event. All 16 Finalists were pumped up and ready to show their stuff.

Midnight smiled and picked up a box with the word "Lots" written on it. "The Match-Ups will be decided by drawing lots! Once that's settled, we'll get the Tournament underway! It's up to each of you to decide how far you're willing to go! Let's start with the first place team..."

"Uh, Excuse me." Ojiro suddenly interrupted, raising his hand. Izuka turned to look at him, noticing the disappointed look on his face. "I'd... like to drop out."

Izuka blinked "What!? Ojiro, why!?"

"Come on man, this is our chance to get noticed by the Pros!" Kirishima yelled.

Ojiro clenched his fist. He looked to be pained by his decision but unable to change it. "I have no memories of the last event... I just woke up at the end with a winning position. It's probably because of HIS quirk..." his eyes flicked to Shinso, who looked away disinterestedly.

"I know this is a great opportunity and I know how stupid it sounds to just throw that away... but everyone else worked hard to get here with their own strength! And yet here I am standing here without even knowing how or why! I'm sorry, but I can't accept that!"

Toru gestured wildly, "You're thinking about it too hard! Just show your skills in the tournament!"

"Yeah, Toru's right! By that logic, I shouldn't be here either." Mina pointed out.

Ojiro's hand covered his face, "I can't! This is about my pride!"

The other boy from Shinso's team: Nirengaki Shoda spoke up, "I can't remember anything either... I want to withdraw as well. This is a contest of skill, so it'd be against the spirit of the Sports Festival to let someone who didn't do anything get to the finals."

Kirishima wiped away a tear; "Damn, these guys are so manly!"

"WELL, WE HAVE A STRANGE TURN OF EVENTS! LET'S SEE WHAT MIDNIGHT DECIDES!"

Midnight seemed to glare down at the two boys; "You're both so naive..." she cracks her whip, "THAT TURNS ME ON! Shoda and Ojiro are officially withdrawn!"

The others blinked, trying to figure out what Midnight had just said. "Replacing these two... hmm, I was going to suggest members of Team Monoma, since they were the last team to have their chief captured in the last event, but I heard that little quip about not doing your best in the First Round! So instead, I'll be replacing Ojiro and Shoda with the two students with the highest score from the Obstacle Race! That's Ibara Shiozaki and Juzo Honenuki!"

On the edge of the arena, Monoma scowled and Katsuki smirked at him. Even Izuka felt a bit of vindictive pleasure; serves him right for not doing his best! The two additional finalists ran to replace Ojiro and Shoda, and the group drew lots, showing them to Midnight. She hummed and pushed some buttons on her phone, then smiled. "Now with our number of finalists back to 16, here are the match ups for the First Round!" Midnight declared, showing the match ups on the big screen.

First Match: Midoriya VS Shinso

Second Match: Kaminari VS Iida

Third Match: Kirishima VS Yaoyorozu

Fourth Match: Sero VS Shiozaki

Fifth Match: Ashido VS Uraraka

Sixth Match: Todoroki VS Aoyama