The arena had been fully repaired one final time. Every crack filled, every scorch mark cleaned, the floor pristine and waiting. Fifty-five thousand people packed the stadium, millions more watching on television across Japan. Pro heroes from every agency, support companies, business executives, all watching to see who would win U.A.'s Sports Festival.
Arthur stood in the tunnel, hearing the crowd's roar. Todoroki stood across from him in the opposite tunnel, visible through the arena opening. Frost already covered his right arm, his breath misting in the air he'd cooled around himself.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Present Mic's voice was hoarse but still booming. "THIS IS IT! THE FINALS! ARTHUR HIMURA VERSUS SHOTO TODOROKI! ONE OF THESE STUDENTS WILL BE CROWNED CHAMPION OF THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL!"
The crowd's noise intensified, became almost painful in volume.
"In one corner, we have Shoto Todoroki! Son of the number two hero Endeavor! He's dominated every match with overwhelming ice power! But will his refusal to use his fire quirk cost him the championship?!"
Endeavor was screaming something from the stands, but Todoroki didn't even glance in his direction.
"And in the other corner, Arthur Himura! He's been absolutely untouchable this entire tournament! Not a single opponent has landed a meaningful hit! Can Todoroki's ice break through his perfect defense?!"
Arthur and Todoroki walked into the arena simultaneously. The noise was deafening, overwhelming, but Arthur tuned it out. His focus narrowed to the opponent in front of him, to the battlefield, to the upcoming combat.
They stopped at their designated positions, maybe twenty meters apart. Close enough to engage quickly, far enough to allow for ranged attacks.
Midnight stood between them, whip raised. "This is the final match! The winner becomes the Sports Festival champion! All quirk usage is permitted! Fight until one competitor is unable to continue, yields, or goes out of bounds!"
She looked at both of them, making sure they understood.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes," Todoroki said, ice already forming around his feet.
"Ready," Arthur confirmed, manifesting a single blade.
"THEN... BEGIN!"
Todoroki didn't wait. His right foot slammed down and ice exploded across the entire arena. A tsunami of frozen death that consumed everything, massive enough to freeze a building solid.
Arthur's blade flashed, and he poured energy into it, creating a shell of heat around himself. The ice crashed against his defense, trying to freeze him, trying to trap him. Steam erupted where thermal energy met absolute cold.
When the ice cleared, Arthur stood in a small circle of unfrozen ground, blade humming with power. The rest of the arena was a winter wasteland, ice sculptures and frozen terrain stretching in every direction.
Todoroki was already attacking again. Ice pillars erupted from the ground, trying to spear Arthur from below. Ice walls closed in from the sides, trying to crush him. The temperature had dropped so far that Arthur's breath was visible.
Impressive, Arthur acknowledged, moving. His ice control is exceptional. Range, speed, precision, all outstanding.
But predictable.
Arthur's Instinct read the attacks before they formed, saw the patterns in how Todoroki positioned his body, where he looked, how he shifted his weight. Each ice attack was telegraphed by micro-movements he could interpret.
Arthur flowed through the assault like water, his blade carving through ice constructs, his movement always one step ahead of the attacks. He closed the distance between them giving Todoroki no time to establish better positioning.
Close-range combat is where ice quirks struggle. Too easy to dodge, too slow to form.
Todoroki recognized the danger and created a massive ice wall between them, buying himself space. But Arthur's blade cut through it like paper, energy slicing through molecular bonds.
"You're strong," Arthur called across the arena. "Better than most pro heroes I've seen. But you're fighting with one hand tied behind your back."
"I don't need my left side to beat you!" Todoroki's response was immediate, defensive.
"No?" Arthur manifested a second blade. "Then prove it."
He attacked, His blades moved in patterns honed over centuries, each strike forcing Todoroki to defend, to create ice barriers, to retreat.
The dual-quirked student was talented, his ice formation speed was remarkable, but Arthur was faster. Every construct Todoroki created, Arthur destroyed. Every defensive position, Arthur breached.
Within thirty seconds, Arthur had Todoroki backed against the arena wall, both blades aimed at vital points.
"First touch," Arthur said, pulling back.
Todoroki's eyes widened with fury and frustration. "This isn't training!"
"I know. But I'm showing you the gap." Arthur stepped back, giving him space. "You can't win fighting at half power. Use your fire."
"NO!" Ice erupted from Todoroki's entire body, a desperate explosion of cold that forced Arthur to retreat. "I don't need his power! I'll win with my mother's quirk alone!"
The ice kept coming, wave after wave, Todoroki's control fragmenting as emotion took over. But his right side was completely frosted over now, his movements slowing, his formation speed decreasing.
He's freezing himself, Arthur realized. Without fire to regulate his temperature, he's shutting down his own body.
Arthur could end it now. One clean strike, and Todoroki would be unable to continue. But something held him back, some echo of his conversation with the boy in the stairwell.
He's not just fighting me. He's fighting his father, his past, himself.
"Todoroki!" Arthur's voice cut through the chaos. "You're going to lose! Not because you're weak, but because you're too stubborn to use everything you have!"
"SHUT UP!" More ice, bigger, faster, more desperate.
"You think refusing your fire makes you strong? It makes you a fool!" Arthur's blade carved through another wave. "You're letting your father control you even when he's not here! You're giving him power over your choices!"
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
The ice attacks were becoming erratic now, less controlled. Todoroki's right side was almost completely frozen, his breath coming in gasps, his body temperature dangerously low.
Arthur saw the opening. Todoroki was at his limit, physically and mentally.
End it. Clean and decisive.
Arthur moved, faster than Todoroki could track in his current state. His blades dismissed, replaced by a single controlled burst of lightning that struck Todoroki's chest. Enough to disrupt his ice formation, to break his concentration completely.
Todoroki collapsed to one knee, gasping, trying to form ice but his quirk wasn't responding. His body had hit its limit, the frost covering too much of his circulatory system.
Arthur's blade reappeared at Todoroki's throat, gentle but unmistakable.
"Yield," Arthur said quietly. "You fought well. But this is over."
Todoroki looked up at him, and Arthur saw something break in his eyes. Not just defeat, but realization. He'd pushed himself to the absolute limit, handicapped himself as much as possible, and it still hadn't been enough.
"I..." Todoroki's voice was barely a whisper. "I yield."
The stadium exploded with noise, but Arthur barely heard it. He dismissed his blade, offered Todoroki a hand.
The dual-quirked student stared at it for a long moment, then took it, let Arthur pull him up. His right side was still covered in frost, his body shaking from the cold.
"TODOROKI HAS YIELDED!" Midnight's voice carried across the arena. "ARTHUR HIMURA IS THE WINNER! YOUR SPORTS FESTIVAL CHAMPION!"
The crowd's roar was deafening. Confetti was falling, cameras were flashing, Present Mic was screaming something about an incredible tournament.
Arthur helped Todoroki walk toward the medical station, supporting him as the frost slowly began to melt. Recovery Girl was already there, tsking at Todoroki's self-inflicted hypothermia.
"You're an idiot," she told him bluntly. "Talented, but an idiot. Sit."
As medics attended to Todoroki, Arthur walked back to the center of the arena. The attention intense, thousands of eyes on him.
I won, the thought felt strange, distant. But this wasn't about winning. This was about showing them what's possible.
Midnight raised his arm in victory, and the crowd somehow got even louder.
"ARTHUR HIMURA! FIRST-YEAR CHAMPION OF THE U.A. SPORTS FESTIVAL!"
The award ceremony was surreal.
Arthur stood on the first-place podium, gold medal around his neck, as All Might presented the awards. The Symbol of Peace's smile was genuine, proud, as he placed the medal.
"Young Himura," All Might said quietly, so only Arthur could hear. "You showed incredible skill today. But remember, being the strongest isn't the same as being the greatest hero. Keep that in mind."
"I will," Arthur replied.
Todoroki stood on the second-place podium, silver medal hanging from his neck, expression complicated. He'd fought well, pushed himself to the limit, and it hadn't been enough. The lesson was harsh but necessary.
Tokoyami and Bakugo shared the third-place podium, both looking frustrated for different reasons. Bakugo hadn't even fought for third place he'd refused to participate after losing to Arthur, had to be sedated and chained to the podium. It would have been funny if it wasn't so sad.
Pride is a dangerous thing, Arthur thought, looking at the blonde. It drives you to greatness but can also destroy you.
The crowd was chanting his name, cameras were flashing, reporters were already writing their stories. Tomorrow, his face would be on every news site, every sports page, every hero agency's recruitment board.
"How does it feel?" Yaoyorozu asked later, after the ceremony, when Class 1-A had gathered in the prep area. "Being champion?"
"Strange," Arthur admitted. "Like it doesn't quite feel real yet."
"You were amazing!" Ashido bounced despite her own elimination. "Completely untouchable! I don't think anyone even hurt you!"
"Todoroki came close," Arthur said diplomatically.
"No he didn't," Kaminari said flatly. "Dude, you dominated everyone. It wasn't even competitive."
"Kaminari's right," Kirishima added. "You made Bakugo look like a beginner, and he's one of the strongest in our class. That's insane."
Arthur said nothing, just accepted the congratulations, the praise, the acknowledgment. But inside, he was thinking about what came next.
The Sports Festival is over. Training resumes. The League of Villains is still out there, planning their next move. And I need to be stronger when they come.
"Hey," Midoriya approached, arm still bandaged. "Congratulations. You deserved it."
"Thank you. Your fight with Todoroki was impressive."
"I lost."
"You won something more important. You helped him start accepting himself." Arthur looked at where Todoroki sat alone, still processing his defeat. "That matters more than any tournament victory."
Midoriya smiled slightly. "Maybe. But you still kicked everyone's ass."
"Language, Midoriya," Iida said, appearing with his characteristic hand chops. "But yes, Arthur's performance was exemplary! A true display of heroic excellence!"
The conversations continued, his classmates processing the festival in their own ways. Some were disappointed with their performances, others proud despite losses, all of them already thinking about how to improve.
Good, Arthur thought. They're learning. Growing. In a few years, they'll be formidable.
But his mind kept returning to Todoroki's fight, to the stubborn refusal to use fire, to the self-destructive pride that had cost him the match.
He's stronger than he showed today. Much stronger. But he's fighting himself more than any opponent.
Just like I once did.
The sun was setting as Arthur left U.A., medal in his bag, mind processing everything that had happened. The Sports Festival was over, but the year was just beginning.
His phone buzzed. Class group chat, already active with tournament post-mortems and planning for tomorrow.
Kirishima: "WE'RE ALL GOING OUT TO CELEBRATE! Even you losers who got eliminated early!"
Bakugo: "I'M NOT A LOSER"
Kaminari: "you're literally chained to a podium in the official photos"
Bakugo: "I'LL KILL YOU"
Ashido: "arthur you have to come! you're the champion!"
Himura: "I'll be there."
Yaoyorozu: "I'll make reservations somewhere appropriate for a class celebration."
Todoroki: "I'll pass."
Midoriya: "Todoroki, you should come! You did great!"
Todoroki: "No."
Arthur stared at that last message, then made a decision. He typed quickly.
Himura: "Todoroki. Meet me at the school gates. Five minutes."
A long pause, then:
Todoroki: "Why?"
Himura: "Because we need to talk. And you need to hear what I have to say."
Another pause.
Todoroki: "Fine."
Arthur pocketed his phone and waited. Five minutes later, Todoroki appeared, still looking cold, still carrying the weight of his defeat.
"What do you want?"
"To tell you something important," Arthur said. "You're stronger than you showed today. We both know it."
"Doesn't matter. I still lost."
"You lost because you're fighting the wrong enemy. You think refusing your fire hurts your father, but the only person it hurts is you."
"You don't understand—"
"I understand perfectly." Arthur's voice was firm. "You think your fire is his power, his legacy, his victory. But it's not. It's yours. It's part of you whether you like it or not."
"It came from him."
"So what? Your ice came from your mother, but I bet you don't feel guilty using that." Arthur met Todoroki's eyes directly. "You're not your father. Using your full power doesn't make you him. It makes you whole."
Todoroki was quiet for a long moment. "Easy for you to say. You don't have a father who created you as a weapon."
"No," Arthur agreed. "But I had a father who put a crown on my head and expected me to be perfect. To lead without flaw, to never show weakness, to carry burdens no child should carry. I understand what it means to be created for someone else's dream."
That seemed to surprise Todoroki. "How did you handle it?"
"Poorly," Arthur admitted. "I tried to be what everyone expected. It destroyed me." He paused. "Don't make my mistakes, Todoroki. Don't let someone else's expectations define your limits. Be strong because you choose to be, not because you refuse to be."
Todoroki looked at him for a long time, then nodded slowly. "I'll... think about it."
"Good. Now come celebrate with the class. You earned second place. That matters."
"I don't feel like celebrating a loss."
"Then come to learn from it. Either way, you're coming."
Despite everything, Todoroki almost smiled. "You're bossy."
"I'm practical. There's a difference."
They walked toward the restaurant together, the sun setting behind them, the Sports Festival officially over.
Tomorrow, training would resume. The world would keep turning. The League of Villains would keep planning.
But for tonight, they were just students who'd survived their first major test.
And Arthur Pendragon, was one step closer to becoming the hero this world needed.
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