"I'll be damned if I, as the fastest living creature, am going to lose this race!" - flashed through his mind. He was holding back, of course, and not showing all his might, but he wasn't going to lose to anyone. He rushed forward with such speed that his silhouette was barely recognizable. In the blink of an eye, he was at the edge of the minefield.
Sonic, with incredible ease, flew into the minefield like a released arrow. He ran without paying the slightest attention to the mines exploding behind him. His speed was so fast that the mines did not have time to react.
He spotted Todoroki and Bakugo up ahead, fighting.
Grinning, Sonic decided to have a little fun. He deliberately ran beside them, causing the mines to explode right under their feet. The blast wave threw them upwards, causing them to shriek, but Sonic, meanwhile, was already far ahead, rushing towards the finish line like a rocket. He felt that the victory was already in his pocket, and nothing could stop him.
And so, Sonic already heard the commentator, surprised by what was happening, exclaimed:
"Unbelievable! What kind of madness is this! Why are so many mines exploding? " Sonic, listening to his enthusiastic remarks, couldn't hold back a smirk. He was so fast that no one could realize that he was the one making all this commotion. A mischievous idea popped into his head.
"Hehe, let them break their heads," he thought.
Sonic decided to finish in silence, not drawing too much attention to himself. He thought it would be funny if no one noticed his arrival, Sonic quickened his pace, preparing for a silent triumph.
And so, like a silent wind, Sonic crossed the finish line without anyone noticing.
He quietly and stealthily walked over and lowered himself to the ground behind Nemuri, crossing his arms over his chest and watching the events on the big screen with curiosity. He watched with interest as the other participants traversed the minefield. Suddenly, there was a deafening explosion on the screen, causing all the spectators to freeze. Sonic raised an eyebrow, surprised by the power of what had happened. As it turned out, it was Midoriya, who took advantage of the blast from the mines like a catapult to make an incredible leap forward, taking the lead.
"Wow!" - Sonic thought to himself, looking at the kid with admiration.
"Not only is he brave, but he's also pretty darn resourceful. " Sonic smiled, anticipating further events to come. He realized that his finish would not go unnoticed, and soon everyone would find out who was really the fastest.
After a long minute filled with excitement, Midoriya finally crossed the finish line. At the same second, there were loud claps like thunderclaps, colored confetti flew into the air, and the stadium erupted in applause and cheers.
Sonic, who was watching with a slight condescending smile, saw tears welling up in Midoriya's eyes, overflowing with joy and relief.
The commentator, as if waking up from his stupor, solemnly announced:
"And the winner of the first stage of the festival is... Midoriya Izuku!"
At that moment, Sonic couldn't help himself and stood up to his full height and loudly proclaimed, drowning out the cheering noise of the stadium:
"Well, finally! What took you so long to dig up there?! I'm bored already!"
After his remark, Nemuri literally stared at him with eyes full of amazement.
She clearly didn't understand how he ended up behind her. Most of the people present had a similar reaction - they couldn't believe that someone had managed to finish before the winner was announced.
Midoriya, who had just received congratulations, also turned to Sonic and, pointing his finger at him, mumbled something, trying to figure out how he had gotten here.
Nemuri, noticing everyone's confusion, immediately looked towards the commentator's booth and, loudly announced:
"Hey, we need to watch the slow motion! How did he even get here?" At the same moment, breathing heavily and radiating disappointment at their loss, Todoroki and Bakugo approached the finish line. They were clearly out of sorts and probably didn't notice what was going on around them, busy digesting their defeat.
Todoroki, though hiding his emotions under a mask of cold calm, still gave himself away with a look. His eyes met Sonic's and cast a brief but obvious beam of latent dislike. The icy calm faltered slightly, giving way to a barely perceptible but palpable irritation.
Bakugo, on the other hand... his reaction was far more violent. Without even trying to restrain himself, he began to swear openly, sending Sonic a stream of curses interspersed with angry shouts. His face flushed, his fists clenched, and his entire being screamed rage. The difference in the reactions of the two opponents was eloquent and amusingly contrasting.
Meanwhile, the rest of the competitors began to pull up to the finish line.
While they were recovering, the teachers scrutinized the finish line tape. And, as it turned out, the slow motion footage did indeed capture the quick blue blur that had swept past the finish line moments before Midoriya exploded.
The commentator, watching the footage, was shocked by what he saw. Stuttering and struggling to choose his words, he finally announced:
"And-so... after careful review of the tape... the n-winner of the first stage is... Sonic!" The stadium fell into a deafening silence for a moment, and then exploded with a new wave of shouts and applause mixed with bewildered cheers. All eyes were now on the mysterious blue runner who had so skillfully managed to outrun everyone and finish before everyone else.
So, after announcing Sonic as the winner, Nemuri approached him with a soft smile, congratulating him sincerely:
"Congratulations on your victory, Sonic! That was just incredible!"
Her eyes glowed with admiration.
At that moment, a little guy with purple hair appeared next to Sonic as if out of thin air. He turned sharply towards him, started pointing his finger at him, his face contorted with anger and... bloody tears flowed from his eyes.
"Uh, who's that?"
Nemuri, confused for a moment, immediately pulled herself together and replied:
"Ah, that's Mineta. He was in your place before you got here. He seems to have a quirk involving sticky balls...".
"Sticky balls? Crying blood? What a world..." - Sonic thought.
Suddenly they were interrupted by his classmates. They surrounded him in a tight ring, excitedly discussing his incredible speed.
"That's crazy, Sonic! How do you run so fast?" - exclaimed one.
"That's your quirk, isn't it? Super speed?" - asked another.
"You're just lightning fast! I didn't even see you whiz by!" - added a third. Some started comparing him to Iida:
"He's fast too, of course, but you've outdone him! That's actually something with something!".
Mineta's muttering, which never translated into intelligible words, was drowned out by the clamor of classmates discussing Sonic's incredible speed with amazement and admiration.
"Well, guys, I told you I'm not just a hedgehog."
He said it as if it explained everything, without, however, revealing a single secret.
Sonic, who was enjoying the confusion of his classmates, was suddenly pulled out of his musings by Midoriya, who squeezed through the crowd and stared at him with burning eyes.
"Sonic-san, what does your super speed have to do with your hedgehog appearance? Is it some kind of special mutation? Or maybe you're using the force of friction? What if I add to it..." - he began to pepper Sonic with questions, his mumbling growing quieter and slurred, his eyes glittering with a fanatical gleam.
Sonic felt slightly embarrassed by this intense scrutiny and began to slowly back away. Luckily, Uraraka and Iida arrived just in time.
"Hey Midoriya, give Sonic a break, you're going to torture him now!" Iida on the other hand, as collected and polite as ever, stepped forward and addressed Sonic:
"I apologize for Midoriya's behavior. I'm very curious to know how you trained your quirk? Did you use any special methods, endurance training or special speed exercises?" He looked at Sonic seriously and interestedly, waiting for an answer. Sonic, breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking around at the trio in front of him,he answered Iida's question with a casual smile:
"Well, you know, nothing much. Just been running around a lot." He shrugged, pretending not to give it much thought. Sonic's answer clearly disappointed Iida. His face expressed unconcealed bewilderment and slight sadness at such a simple and uninformative answer, but like a polite and well-mannered man, he didn't insist and simply nodded, accepting the answer.
However, their dialog was interrupted by the appearance of Bakugo. He approached Sonic, burning him with a look full of rage and dislike.
"Look at me, shit!" - he growled, looming over Sonic. Sonic, not at all embarrassed by Bakugo's threatening appearance, looked at him with a slight chuckle and leaned back nonchalantly, asking jokingly:
"Oh, what's wrong?"
Bakugo, hearing Sonic's mocking words, froze for a moment, his eyes throwing lightning bolts. Fury was boiling inside him, but he tried his best not to let it get to him.
Giving Sonic an icy, contemptuous glare, he gritted his teeth:
"It was an accident, shit. And it won't happen again! I'm going to win!" With those words, turning on his heels, he promptly left, leaving behind a trail of displeasure and threats. Sonic, after seeing him off with a glance, only grinned.
"Good, let him get ready," he thought, and then shifted his gaze back to Iida and Midoriya.
At that moment, everyone's attention abruptly shifted to Midnight. She, with a flick of her whip, achieved absolute silence. Her voice, resounded throughout the stadium:
"All right, contestants! This is the moment of truth! Only 42 of you will make it to the second stage! It's time to find out about the next challenge - it's the Battle of the Riders!"
Midnight's announcement caused a wave of discussion among the participants. She, after taking a short pause, continued:
"In the second round, the participants will have to team up in teams of a maximum of four people. You will need to choose a leader and line up in a so-called 'chariot' for him! On the leader's head will be worn a patch with the sum of points earned by your team in the first round!"
Her words caused a storm of emotions. Everyone started looking around, thinking of potential allies and game strategy.
Midnight, taking the tension to the limit, summed it up:
"So, the student ranked 42nd has only five points, and so, on the upswing..." She paused meaningfully, casting a fleeting, guilty glance in Sonic's direction.
He immediately became wary, sensing a catch. Finishing with a slight hesitation, she continued:
"... and the first one to arrive has ten million!" The stadium exploded with a rumble like the roar of an impending storm. Surprised exclamations, shocked whispers, and anticipatory shouts blended into a single cacophony.
"The purpose of the competition is simple - steal the armbands from the other teams to get their points!" - she finished her speech with a spectacular swing of her whip.
Sonic, feeling the weight of other people's gazes on him, felt as if he was enveloped by tentacles. He realized perfectly well that he was now the most desirable target for everyone, like a tidbit for a hungry pack.
He saw the greed and predatory anticipation in the eyes of the other participants. In an instant he went from winner to target, and that... he liked it.
"Ten million points, then..." - he thought, squinting his eyes.
" Well, let them try to get them."