The Awards Ceremony

Throughout countless works of art, from ancient times to the present, the golden rule of "no harm from smoke" has always been upheld. Even Bakugo, who doesn't usually have much contact with such matters, is well aware of this unspoken rule.

He stared intently at the smoke, even though he was very confident in his attack and thought that Jilan Jiyu couldn't possibly withstand it. He was also afraid that Jilan Jiyu would give him a big surprise, emerging unscathed and throwing him out of the arena while he was still in a stunned state.

Just as Bakugo was stuck in this dilemma, unable to extricate himself, the smoke gradually dissipated.

There were no surprises or unexpected events. Jilan Jiyu's upper body clothes were tattered, and he looked like a corpse, lying face down on the ground motionless, much like Bakugo's current posture.

Did this guy really fail to block it? Bakugo felt relieved but also somewhat disappointed.

He rushed over at Midnight to check on Jilan's condition. He touched Jilan's neck and could feel his pulse was still beating steadily. Reassured, he asked Jilan, "Jilan, can you still move?"

Jilan did not reply; her eyes were closed, as if she had already fainted.

Midnight stood up, brandished his riding crop, and loudly announced, "Jilan is incapacitated! Bakugo wins this match!"

The school was well-prepared. As they uttered those words at Midnight, several fireworks simultaneously soared into the sky, and the flames at the four corners of the stadium burned even more fiercely to the rousing music. Countless cheers were given to Katsuki Bakugo at the same time!

"The champion of this Sports Festival has been decided, and he is— Katsuki Bakugo!"

For some reason, Bakugo showed no excitement upon hearing this. He buried his face in his arms and muttered hoarsely to himself, "I'm the champion, so why am I not happy at all?"

Bakugo knew the answer himself: he hadn't defeated Izuku Midoriya or Shoto Todoroki. Even when he defeated Jilan, he always felt like Yoshiran was holding back.

In his mind, this championship was not very valuable and had no significance whatsoever.

Jilan Jiyu opened their eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling; if they weren't mistaken, this was the infirmary.

"You woke up quickly, didn't you?" Rui En's gentle voice sounded beside him. "You don't look like it on the surface, but you're actually quite resilient."

Jilan Jiyu turned their heads and found Rui En sitting on a chair next to them, with her feet, clad in white stockings, on the bed. She was wearing rimless glasses, holding a magazine in one hand and an apple in the other, taking small bites.

If Jilan Jiyu are not mistaken, it should be a fashion magazine, with a cover featuring a popular idol hero, Uwabami.

Jilan Jiyu sat up in bed, got out of bed from the other side, and saw a brand new tracksuit next to the bed. Jilan hesitated for a moment, then put it on without changing her expression.

As Jilan dressed, he casually remarked, "What do you mean by that? I guess I lost to Bakugo, right?"

"I think you're even stronger since you weren't seriously injured in that huge explosion. You don't really need a doctor like me," she said, taking a bite of her apple, pausing, and then continuing to read her magazine. "But since you put it that way, I'll take it that way."

Then, Rui En stopped talking and seemed to have continued reading intently, but in reality, her face, which was hidden by the magazine, was flushed, and she kept stealing glances at Jilan's upper body.

Jilan put on her clothes and headed towards the door when Rui En's voice suddenly came from outside. "If you go now, you might still make it to the awards ceremony!"

"Thanks."

Jilan Jiyu didn't turn around; they simply thanked her and left the infirmary.

Stadium.

All the first-year students stood on the central playground. The Cementoss had turned the constructed grandstand back into cement, and like acrobats, they poured clumps of cement into woven bags, sealed them, and had them transported out of the venue by the staff.

As the host, Midnight stood on the two-meter-high stage and naturally summarized the closing ceremony of this Sports Festival. The riding crop she held cracked on the stage as she announced loudly, "The entire schedule of this year's U.A. High School Sports Festival has concluded. Next, we will proceed with the awards ceremony!"

As smoke filled the stands, the award ceremonial platform, arranged in varying heights, rose from below the stage, revealing the figures of three people.

"This time, the champion is Katsuki Bakugo. The runner-up, Jilan Jiyu, is not present yet due to health reasons; his medal will be awarded later." Midnight was somewhat surprised. The awards ceremony was only started after receiving news from the infirmary that Jilan Jiyu had recovered. Wouldn't it be meaningless if he weren't there?

Although she was somewhat puzzled, she maintained her professional demeanor and continued, "Third place goes to Shoto Todoroki and Fumikage Tokoyami. They didn't settle for a win, so they're tied for third!"

Fumikage Tokoyami and Shoto Todoroki both stood on the third-place platform. Tokoyami, with his eyes closed and arms crossed, said calmly to Shoto Todoroki, "You should know the weakness of my Quirk. If the two of us were to fight, I would be no match for you."

So, is that what you mean by "you're the real third one"?

Shoto Todoroki looked at the platform representing second place, which was empty. To his surprise, Shoto Todoroki, who was in first place, was also looking at the platform with a gloomy Bakugo, his hands in his pockets, seemingly wondering why Jilan Jiyu hadn't come over.

The awards ceremony continued as scheduled. Midnight waved and laughed, announcing loudly, "This year's award presenter is none other than that person—"

"It's all alright now. If you're wondering why, well—"

On the high platform where few people were paying attention, a muscular, Dark Shadow figure stood with his hands on his hips, laughing loudly. He performed a difficult jump, instantly covering a distance of several meters and crashing into the podium like a human comet!

"All Might (Here I come!)!"

All Might's words were completely drowned out by Midnight, and he looked at her with an embarrassed expression, kneeling on one knee in a cool pose.

"Next comes the medal distribution. Hold your heads high and proudly accept the fruits of your victory!"

Midnight made an apologetic gesture, picked up the medal box on the cylinder, which contained four medals, but it was clear that one of them would not be distributed for the time being.

All Might picked up a yellow medal, pinned it on Tokoyami's head, hugged him, and whispered, "Tokoyami, your Quirk is very powerful, but you can't rely on Quirk too much."

Tokoyami An nodded maturely. "I will taste the bitter fruit of this failure and turn it into spiritual nourishment."

Next, All Might went to Shoto Todoroki, who was standing next to him. He originally wanted to give him a hug, but when he glanced up at the stands, he saw Endeavor staring at him and making a threatening gesture. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he smiled as he put the headband on Shoto Todoroki.

"Boy, your Quirk is very strong, but it seems you're refusing to use it, isn't it? I'm very happy that you were able to use it in this competition, but remember, don't resist them, because they belong to you."

Hong nodded, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "I know, I need to think about it for a few days."

Despite All Might 'Endeavor murderous glare, All Might couldn't help but hug Shoto Todoroki. "Todoroki, I believe you'll handle everything."

All Might glanced at the second-place position, sighed almost imperceptibly, and finally walked up to Bakugo. He was suddenly startled by Bakugo's droopy expression, like a defeated rooster.

All Might patted Bakugo on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Bakugo, you've won, why aren't you smiling happily?"

As Katsuki Bakugo watched his childhood hero present him with a medal, a strange feeling welled up inside him. He subconsciously blurted out his inner turmoil, "All Might, I don't accept this result. I didn't fight those guys, so I refuse to acknowledge my victory."

All Might chuckled and forcefully hung the medal around Katsuki Bakugo's neck. "In this world where objective evaluation is the mainstream, it's rare to find someone who can consistently stick to their subjective judgment. Accept it, treat this medal as your scar, and let it always motivate you."

All Might, aka "Bakugo," didn't refuse. He gripped the medal and suddenly asked, "Do you know where Jilan Jiyu is?"

All Might was somewhat surprised, but still laughed and replied, "Don't worry, I will find him and personally hand over this thing that belongs to him."

All Might revealed the people on the podium behind him to the camera, laughing loudly as he announced to the audience, "The top three are here, but I believe everyone here has the potential to stand on this podium!"

Just like in the competition, everyone competes, improves, and strives to reach higher levels. The next generation of heroes has undoubtedly already begun to emerge. So, in closing, I want to say, please join me in raising our arms and shouting—"

The entire audience stood up, raising their hands as if they had a sudden realization, chanting "psultra!"

Only All Might, oblivious to the atmosphere, shouted, "Everyone, you've worked hard!"

The entire arena fell silent instantly, with the audience questioning All Might, "Shouldn't you be shouting the school motto now?"

"No, well, I think everyone's working pretty hard right now," All Might said, sweating profusely, unsure how to explain.

In a dimly lit bar, a television was showing footage of Sports Festival, adding a touch of life to the otherwise gloomy atmosphere.

"Teacher, you're not mistaken, are you? Do you really think that guy is our partner? He really gave your disciple a huge blow." A white-haired man with a hand masked to his face, reeking of formaldehyde, sat at the bar, swirling a blood-red glass of liquor in one hand, speaking casually.

"There's no mistake, I can feel that feeling. He must be one of the chosen ones, just like me." A hoarse voice seemed to come from nowhere.

"How laughable. For a cradle of heroes, U.A. High School is truly a den of iniquity." Tomura Shigaraki squinted slightly. "I'll destroy that place for my teacher."