MHA:A New Ending

Six minutes after I arrived, all five groups gathered in the center of the arena. Cheers from the whole stadium made my ears tingle, and the ovations were stunning as Midnight entered my gaze. She was the arbiter of this event, so without losing time she ascended the platform to make her presentation.

"AKUMA MATSUMOTO FROM CLASS 1-A!"

She called my name, just as I expected—one of the perks of ending up in first place in the exam. I strode onto the platform, the whispers of the other classes reaching my ears.

Nobody was happy, and somehow, I liked it.

I scanned the stadium, which seemed to be calming down to avoid interrupting the announcements. I didn't want to waste anyone's time, so I decided to end this quickly.

"To all viewers, ignore the worthless contestants. Look at me; that's all you need to do."

With that, I left the stadium. The backlash was immediate.

"You arrogant bastard!"

"What do you mean, worthless?!"

"I'm going to crush you!!"

The chorus of boos was like music to my eyes. My gaze met Bakugo's, and he wasn't angry but looking at me with an approval that was, admittedly, hard to understand.

As I rejoined my group, I could still feel the gazes of the other groups on me. Someone pulled me closer by force. My sense of smell told me it was Momo.

"Why did you do that?!" she asked, sounding both offended and intrigued, with a slightly nervous look.

"I had to show off a little. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"That's not the point!...I..."

"OKAY! SO LET'S EXPLAIN HOW THIS IS GOING TO WORK!"

Midnight interrupted us once again. Yaoyorozu gave up on our conversation with a conflicted face as I smiled at her. The Obstacle Race was selected, just as I'd thought.

After we were relocated, everyone stared at the tunnel. I moved to the very front and prepared myself.

"READY?! START!"

My body instantly modified, my legs becoming larger and more massive for an explosive start. I heard Todoroki's ice appear; he was going to catch me at this rate.

The sprint from the start line to the tunnel was probably a new record. I left everyone else behind, with Shoto gaining on me. I looked at the ceiling of the tunnel and launched a thread like a rope, letting myself swing at great speed outside the tunnel, leaving Shoto behind. The momentum from the run was enough for a good jump, putting me at the start of the first obstacle.

My legs reverted to normal as I landed in the dirt. After a corner, the robot zone became instantly visible. They detected me and the first one advanced without hesitation.

The machine's punch impacted the ground with great force. I jumped over it and started running on its metallic arm. It tried to retaliate with another punch, but I leaped before it could even see me. Two threads from my forearms locked onto its head, improvising a slingshot. The air resistance hit me as I crossed the robot's rectangular head, forming a cocoon around my body to protect me as I destroyed every electric part inside before exiting from its nape.

With that, the robot fell, completely disconnected. Since I wasn't trying to make things easier for the rest, I didn't immediately land on the ground. Instead, I used my thread to swing right through the remaining robots. They ignored me, focusing on the other contestants.

"AKUMA MATSUMOTO DOESN'T HESITATE TO DESTROY A ROBOT WITH EASE! AND NOW SHOTO TODOROKI IS FREEZING THE NEXT ONE!.

The air felt colder as Present Mic's voice blasted from the speakers. I ran faster, once again supported by my modified legs, leaving him behind until I reached the fall.

I didn't stop. Instead, I directly jumped into the dark pit.

"WHA...?! IS HE CRAZY?!"

I let myself fall for a second before throwing a cord that embedded itself in one of the dirt pillars. Thanks to my new reinforced body, my arm didn't split in half as I balanced myself out. The parabola and momentum were enough to send me flying away. To everyone's surprise, I did a full backflip, shooting another thread to the other side of the fall, completing the zone in less than 10 seconds.

I did a cartwheel to avoid unnecessary damage, leaving a trace of smoke behind me as I started running again. Being incapable of running out of breath was so fun that I couldn't believe how I'd lived a life without this quirk.

And now came the final step. I heard explosions getting closer, so without any time to spare, I started running into the minefield.

It didn't take me more than five steps before a mine detonated. Unlike anyone else here, this was exactly what I was looking for.

"AGAIN?! AKUMA MATSUMOTO WAS THE FIRST ONE TO DETONATE A MINE! AND... IS HE FLYING?!"

The mine was an impulse that cost me nothing but half of my foot. I grabbed my leg as I was falling to make the regeneration smoother. Using my hand, I landed on another mine, repeating the process of flying and regenerating my limbs. My ears rang in desperation, making me lose some balance.

I landed on the ground with both of my legs this time. Luckily, I didn't explode. As I was about to start running, a cold wave of ice suddenly froze my left leg. I turned to see Todoroki pass me.

"Get off my way, Akuma."

"And stay down, you extra!" Bakugo passed me too. Looking back, I could see the others also getting closer, but there was no problem now. With a smile, my leg was chopped off clean. At the same time, a big explosion was heard at the back of the field.

My taxi was here.

I threw my thread into the air as Izuku Midoriya flew by on the piece of metal he used as a platform. After it stuck, I was propelled at the same speed. My mind raced as we got closer to the end. I launched my body onto the object and got in.

"AKUMA?!"

"Sorry, Midoriya, it's my time to shine!".

I pushed off the platform and threw both of my forearm threads to the wall of the tunnel leading to the finish line. The rebound explosion made by Deku made my hair move violently as the three main characters passed me at insane speed. I let my improvised large slingshot go, and the inertia hit my body like a whip. I rotated on my own body, making me similar to a bullet.

"WHO IS GOING TO WIN THIS, AIZAWA?!"

The sound completely disappeared from my surroundings. Everything seemed frozen in time. I looked around to see Todoroki running with all his might on the ice, Bakugo using his explosions to the maximum, and Midoriya grabbing the metal for dear life.

In an instant, we were entering the tunnel, and the next blink, I was colliding with the ground, the smell of fresh dirt entering my nose as my body rolled on the grass.

I quickly raised my head to listen to the environment. The sound of cheers and happy screams flooded the stadium. Izuku, Todoroki, and Bakugo were all looking at the big screen.

Unlike the original show, this time the race was far closer—so close that they needed to replay the last seconds for the spectators to see. And in the replay, it could be seen clearly: for a mere millisecond, for a centimeter...

"IZUKU MIDORIYA IS THE WINNER OF THE RACE!"

God fucking dammit.

I couldn't help but hit the ground with enough force for my regeneration to kick in. I gritted my teeth in silence. I was trying to win, I aimed to win, so why did I fail?

"Ugh... I always hate to lose."

Do I need to be second place in every fucking life I have?

I stood up in silence. To the outside, I didn't even seem tired—no sweat, no shortness of breath, only an angry and disappointed face.

There was no point in getting mad. It was a fair competition after all, and he was the protagonist. But still, that little thorn was itching in my core. I couldn't let that distract me; my plan came first.

With this, the Cavalry Battle was just about to start. I needed to leave.

As Midnight explained the rules of the tournament, and everyone stared at Deku like a lion would gaze at a bunny, I took out my cellphone, quickly texting Karma. I'd talked with him about this moment; even if Lyubim sort of messed up my plan, it wasn't a total loss. Now, I just needed to find my best partner for this—one who wouldn't question Karma's silence.

"Akuma! Should we team up?" The face of Mina appeared in my sight, Bakugo and Kirishima behind her.

"Hey Akuma, your quirk is perfect for this, isn't it? Should we team up?" Denki and Momo also looked at me, with Todoroki in the background, but looking at me seriously. Deku was also staring at me, hoping I'd choose him.

And I mean, I don't judge them. I'm not the most friendly person, but come on, my quirk is all they need.

"I'm sorry, guys, but I already chose my team."

I scratched my head, and Momo quickly retaliated like a negotiator.

"Who? I think you're better with us, Akuma."

"No, no! Akuma is better with us!"

"Like I said, I already chose him."

I pointed to the other side of the arena. There, a young purple-haired student stood with two other students: Hitoshi Shinso, my perfect choice.

"Him?!"

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CLAP

The fresh pain on my head made my body instantly kneel. It was impossible for me to understand how this shit could hurt so much, but now I was in Karma's body.

As the blur in my eyes disappeared, I checked my surroundings. I was on the roof of a building in an unknown city. I was dressed in the Taskmaster copy costume I'd made for Karma, and I was here for a mission.

Like I said, not only Akuma Matsumoto needed to be unpredictable, but also Karma, the Ghost of Musutafu. And this action was going to confuse the mind of my aimed target, Shigaraki.

I checked Karma's phone; I was in Hosu, still on time. Without losing a single second, I ran from roof to roof. After some minutes, I found it. Jumping into an alley, I landed on my knees, sending a shockwave to the surrounding area.

"Who?!"

I parried my target's katana with my armored arm guard. Lying on the ground was Ingenium, Iida's brother. He was still conscious, hurt and bleeding, but not in danger.

To my other side stood Chizome Akaguro, mostly known as Stain, the Hero Killer.

"Who are you? A hero? You dare call yourself a hero?!"

"I'm not a hero, Stain. A pleasure to be meeting you. My name is Karma, and I'm here to deliver your destined death, for the sins you have committed!"

"Wait!"

Ingenium was probably trying to warn me about this guy's quirk, but it was unnecessary. Even if I was in Karma's body and he technically could bleed (even if fake), it wasn't necessary. He wasn't going to hit me once!

His katana cut the air multiple times before I even closed the distance between us. He was quick, and I couldn't use my quirk normally, so there was a problem.

I dodged his multiple attacks as best I could. He threw some knives that I destroyed with a Phantom Bullet.

"Wha...?!"

"Oh! Let's see if that makes you last more!"

I started making another bullet as I jumped to avoid a lower attack. With my hand, I calculated a detour for his slash. The katana hit the ground as my knuckles impacted his chin, making him back off.

"You're so confident in your abilities, but you can't land a strike on me? How pathetic of you, Hero Killer."

"You dare?! What a great opponent you are! I'm going to make you repent for interrupting my hunt, trying to be a hero, but..."

"Let me interrupt you again then. I'm not here to listen to your rotten vision of the world. I'm here to kill you, so prepare yourself!"

"Ah?!"

We both dashed at each other. He attacked with his katana while his other hand reached for a spare knife. I slid between his legs, making him unable to reach me and forcing him to turn around. I skidded and stopped on the floor, jumped onto the wall to use it as an impulse to deliver a kick to his head.

He mostly blocked it with his arm, but his body was thrown away. He jumped to try an upper attack, leaving him exposed enough for me to kill him if I wanted to, but he was still necessary, so I just broke his katana with a phantom bullet.

That didn't stop him. He landed and immediately jumped with the remaining piece to hit me. I dodged, but his hand reached for my face. Incapable of moving, I used my leg to hit him in the bicep, making his attack land away from me as I lowered my body. With a BJJ stance, I grabbed him from his hips, lifted him in the air, and threw him to the ground.

His back landed with a serious hit, but that didn't stop him. He kicked me in the chin. I took a step back, and the next second, a knife cut my mask in two, making me bleed from the nose. I jumped back, grabbing my nose to avoid him licking it, grabbed the broken pieces of the mask, and saved them inside my costume as I put on a spare ski mask.

I unbuttoned the cape, grabbing it with one hand as we circled each other in the alley. He was purely focused on me, one knife in each hand. A last clash occurred.

He threw one knife at me. I used a bullet to destroy it as his speed took me by surprise once again. I blocked the upcoming knife with my cape. It ended up tearing itself apart but served its purpose. I threw the rest to Stain, using it as a distraction. He slashed past it as I hit him with a double leg kick. His body slammed against the wall, but he used it as an impulse to get closer to me in a blink.

I let my body fall back to avoid the hit, quickly recomposing to grab Stain's wrist as his knife was centimeters away from my eye.

The sound of sirens started to blare in the city. We looked at each other before he jumped away in a blink, disappearing into the darkness. I quickly rushed to Ingenium. In my lower back was a first aid kit that I'd asked Karma to buy.

"Ingenium!"

I knelt without stopping, quickly disarming his armor to stop the bleeding. He hadn't passed out, thanks to...

Anyway, he didn't pass out, so I did what I could to make different tourniquets to stop the bleeding. He didn't seem to be in a life-or-death situation, but it was bad.

"Freeze!"

The sound of guns pointing at me made me forget about the guy. I tried to speak, but Ingenium stopped me.

"I... it's okay... officers... this man... saved me..."

"Call a hospital, you fucking morons!"

I screamed, and they obeyed. Looking worried, we stared at each other. He didn't know everything I knew. If he knew what kind of person I was, that I didn't save him because I wanted to, but for my personal benefits, he wouldn't be this grateful, right? He wouldn't be smiling like this, right?

"Karma... you say you are named... thank you... for... for saving me..."

"...Yeah, you're welcome."

Altruism is based on selfishness after all.