Assassin in the Arena

The Sports Festival was in full swing, and the UA High School stadium was packed with excited fans cheering on the to-be-young heroes. On the edge of the walls, high above everyone and out of sight, Killua watched with a faint smile on his lips, his sapphire eyes scanning the arena below.

Just like his dad said, a lot of people would be watching. The arena was packed, almost the whole city seemed to be attending, and that did not include all the people who watched from the safety of their homes or listened to their radio as they drove. The whole of Japan would be watching today, heroes looking for potential students and interns, for rising stars. Unfortunately, Killua would have to outshine everyone, including his friends. He had to draw all the attention to himself in order to protect his classmates and more specifically Midoriya, All Might's successor.

Even if his path was predetermined, he had to hold a temporary title that left the villains scared shitless, obviously not Symbol of Peace, which was already taken, maybe Symbol of Power ... Nah, that would suit Bakugo better... How about Symbol of Fear??... Too villainous. Whatever, that was a problem for future him. Right now he had to focus. Draw attention to himself, piss everyone off so they could offer him a sliver of a challenge, win this whole fucking waste of precious time -goodbye anime, goodbye video games, goodbye sleep- god he was becoming lazy in this world. Though can you blame him? He's pretty sure that the only people that could beat him are the top two heroes, All Might -who let's face it, even weakened, he's terrifyingly strong- and Endeavour -who has a very punchable face, but his fire control is off the charts, shitty father but really strong and influential- Killua could sympathize with his friend.

Of course, that's not including unknown villains or international heroes. He is arrogant but not that much... Well, that is a lie, putting it simply, the Japanese hero society was shit, Shota even as an underground hero was more than capable of keeping up with him, given that it was a fight on equal grounds, no quirk, no nen.

Ryoku, even as a top hero would be an easy fight, a huge target, and not lighting resistant scales (he had done his research), Mirko... Well honestly, he was conflicted about her, she might be number six but she was far better than Best Jeanist, those legs of hers were really strong. Best Jeanist could easily be defeated with a lighting transfer in his strings and Edgeshot, well... He wasn't bad but he was no Zoldyck...

His phone buzzed again as one very uptight classmate of his tried once again to reach him... For the fifth time in the past two minutes. Iida was persistent that's for sure. He sighed as he closed his eyes, the view already recorded and printed in his mind.

Look out Japan because the Symbol of Hope is rising... Yeah, no. He prefers fear... He will work on that, besides he might go full dark and choose Bounty Hunter, but then again he's drawing attention to himself on national TV... Who was he kidding, Shikari it was. He hated having his future all laid out for him once again, but such was life, at least this time it was his own decisions that laid him where he was.

With yet another buzz from his phone, one more sigh, and one last look at the crowd below him, he disappeared from the stadium's wall.

A minute later he was standing at the arena's entry, he could hear his classmates making their way to where he was waiting.

"Where were you?? I tried to call you multiple times" He was immediately assaulted by a karate chop and Iida's questions.

"Doesn't matter... What happened?" Killua asked sensing the tension between his classmates, especially the troublesome trio. (For those who're wondering, Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki).

"Todoroki declared war on Midoriya" Mina eagerly replied, her only reply was a distracted sound of agreement from Killua, which plummeted her eagerness for drama. "That's your reaction?"

"It's not surprising, besides this declaration helps to take a portion of the tension off now which is better than while being on live tv"

"It also helps remind us that other than comrades we're also competitors " Momo chimed in.

"I guess..." Mina whispered disheartening.

They walked down the dark tunnel as a class, no words were exchanged as they made their way toward the arena, where they would almost immediately turn from comrades to enemies, the sound of their footsteps echoing, the feel of the cool air on their skin, the smell of the damp walls, at that very moment everything was slown down as they felt their nerves rising.

"The stars of this year's sports festival, the ones you've all been waiting for. The miraculous new stars who overcame enemy attacks with their hearts of steel! Hero course, class 1-A, am I right?" The studio filled with cheers as their class walked out at the studio. Their faces even though they were full of determination, sips of anxiety could be seen.

"Will we be able to give our best performance being watched by so many people?" Iida questioned. "This is also a part of the training required to become a pro!"

"They haven't been getting as much airtime, but this class is also full of talent! Hero course, class 1-B! Next up, general studies classes C, D, and E! Support course, classes F, G, and H are here too! And business course, classes I, J, and K! All of U.A.'s first years are here now!"

"Wow, he just brushed off the other classes" Toru whispered.

"Every year the main focus is the hero courses, it's not unusual for the other classes to be brushed off," Shoto told her in a calm voice, at this point, she was just surprised he talked to her.

As they reached the podium they saw Midnight waving her black whip.

"Is she really the best-qualified person for this?" Killua questioned out loud the school's choice while trying to hide his slight blush at his teacher's outfit. He might be a strong, cold and ruthless former assassin, but he is still a teenager.

"It's time for the student pledge," The R-Rated hero said.

"Is it okay for her to be at a high school even though she's R-Rated?" Tokoyami thought aloud, not noticing his outside thoughts gaining some of his classmates' attention.

"That's a good question," Todoroki told him while Mineta told everyone to shut up.

"Representing the students is Killua Zoldyck from Class 1-A!" Everyone turned and looked at Killua who didn't seem surprised at that and just walked forward to the podium.

"It must be because he finished first in the exam," Midoriya said.

"I have a bad feeling about this" Todoroki mattered gaining some attention from his classmates.

"Yeah me too, at this point I think Bakugo was a better choice for the pledge" Momo agreed with her friend, but as she said the last part both of them turned to look at the explosive blonde who was silently seething. "Actually I take it back, I would take Killua over Bakugo any time"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Killua is..." Shoto trailed off trying to find the right words to describe his friend.

"A little shit" Jiro offered. No one said otherwise.

As Killua reached the microphone he took a breath. "Dear fellow competitors, let me start by saying that I'm so excited to be here today, surrounded by many talented people." He started off as kind as Killua could be, giving hope to his classmates "But let's be real, I'm here to win. And I know you all are too. So let me give you some advice: when you see me out there on the field, don't bother trying to keep up. You're just gonna get tired." He continued, unknowingly crashing class 1-A's hope. "In fact, I'm pretty sure half of you are already out of breath just standing here listening to me. But hey, that's okay, because second place is a great place to be! You know, if you're into that kind of thing. Me? I prefer first." The class could now feel the hatred that the rest of the first years radiated, some, namely Bakugo and Todoroki, were excited about the challenge while others were already on the verge of breaking down.

"So let's give it our all out there, folks. And remember, if you can't beat me, well...at least you tried. And who knows maybe you'll get a participation ribbon or something. Good luck" He finished his speech while everyone booed at him, what they didn't know yet was that he was planning to win this without a scratch in his body.

"Now, let's get started right away!" Midnight once again gained the attention of the crowd and the students alike. "The first game is what you would call a qualifier! Every year, many drink their tears here! Now, here is the fateful first game!" She said as a screen appeared behind her showing everyone the spinning "The first challenge is..." She said as it slowed down and finally showed everyone the results "Obstacle Race!"

"All 11 classes will participate in this race. The course will be the outer circumference of this stadium -- about four kilometers!" a Robotic voice explained.

"Our school's selling point is Freedom!" Midnight said linking her lips. "As long as you stay on the course, what you do doesn't matter! Now, everyone take your places!"

Killua stood at the starting line, his eyes scanning the course ahead of him. As the green light lightened up Killua burst forward along with the mess of students eventually blocking the entry to the course simultaneously making the first obstacle obvious. Killua didn't hesitate, his body moving with incredible speed and agility as he weaved between and above the other runners. Within moments, he was at the front of the pack. Shoto froze the path and trapped many students but just as was expected most if not all of his classmates escaped, and both of the friends were running side by side.

"Any specific reason you're not running ahead?" Shoto asked taking even breaths.

"I want to draw attention, so I need to nerf my speed just for now..." A set of giant robots stood in their way, their metal frames towering over Killua's small frame. But he wasn't intimidated. With a fierce determination in his eyes, he darted forward, jumping on the outstretched arm of the robot that tried to punch him, with one final jump as he reached the robot's shoulder, lightning gathered around him and he delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to the robot's head. The head got removed from the robot because of the strength behind the kick and ended up traveling through another robot, leaving a hole in the second robot's chest.

As Killua reached the ground he continued running, not sparring a glance behind him knowing full well that his friend was more than capable of taking care of these robots. Soon a cold draft reached him, Shoto had frozen the robots, probably in a way that benefited him.

The other runners fell behind him, their own abilities no match for Killua's speed and strength.

The third obstacle was a pit, with a rope bridge spanning the gap. But Killua didn't take the easy way out. Instead, he leaped from rock to rock, his body moving with a fluid grace that left the other runners and the audience in awe. Even as they struggled to keep up, Killua surged forward, his eyes locked on the finish line.

The final obstacle was a minefield, using Gyo, he was able to spot all the mines. Shoto was a few steps behind him and Bakugo wasn't far behind, still, he decided to hold off his speed for now, to use it as his trump card. And so, he weaved through the minefields avoiding every single one without slowing his pace.

He heard an explosion from behind him, different from Bakugo's. He sped up, still not using Godspeed, but enhancing his legs with KO, as he felt three knowing Auras closing in on him. The ground shuttered as he speed up and passed the finish line claiming first place.