"Present Mic's business trip…was to Shiketsu?"
"Guess so." Kirishima groaned. "Which means we have to listen to him the whole time. Like we don't get enough of him here."
Present Mic's a good choice, thought Todoroki. But I'm not sure why they would bring him in for this. Perhaps because of his…persona?
After the initial shock of hearing a UA teacher at a Shiketsu event, Izuku noticed the camera pan out to reveal the stadium. It was packed with civilians, and far bigger than the main building UA used in the sports festival. However, considering that the UA sports festival held part of their festivities outside the arena, it balanced out. The area for combat in the center was larger, too, with no clear outer ring for people getting knocked out of bounds.
Izuku barely had any time to register any other unique facets of the arena when sixteen faces flashed across the screen, including a few he recognized.
"Looks like everyone from the Provisional License exam's here," said Kirishima. "Including that creepy flesh dude." He gave a low growl. "Hope he gets his ass kicked."
"1,000 yen on whoever fights flesh-boy winning." Kaminari grinned as Kirishima slapped his hand, taking the bet.
Looks like there's plenty of new faces here, too… Izuku narrowed his eyes, pulling something from his back pocket – a notebook, labeled with a small 13.5 on the front cover. I got a new hero book just for this…
"Let's go over the rules, my good listeners!" Present Mic was shouting as always, alongside a man none from Class 1-A recognized. "The tournament is single elimination, one-on-one combat. That means one K.O. and you're out, baby!"
Another voice joined him, this one sounding much more formal. He introduced himself as the other announcer, Frequency, before continuing. "There are two ways a combatant can be eliminated: knockout or submission."
"No out-of-bounds?" Tenya raised an eyebrow. "That can't be the safest option."
Jiro shrugged her shoulders. "Violence gets publicity."
"Now, without further ado…our first set of combatants!"
The first Shiketsu student that walked onto the field was one that Kirishima and Kaminari recognized in an instant. They shouted in unison, both immediately rushing close to the TV.
"It's him!"
Shishikura kept walking through the battlefield, his visible eye narrowing as he looked around – the other hidden by his long purple hair. The long coat that he wore swayed softly in the gentle breeze.
"The freaky-deaky second-year who can turn anyone into piles of mush – it's Seiji Shishikura!"
Kirishima growled low, in an almost animalistic way. "Damn. I was hoping flesh-boy wouldn't show up first."
"What? Afraid you have to support him now, cause you took my bet?" Kaminari gave a grin, looking to Jiro for approval.
"Pretty sure he was hoping you'd forget about the bet." Jiro smirked.
"Aw, you don't give me any credit!"
"And the second-year analyst with a constant need of some sleep aids… Kyoya Reizo!"
The young man that exited the west gate of the stadium, heading slowly onto the field, looked nothing like a healthy hero. Even from the distance of the camera and seeing it on the TV, Izuku could see the heavy bags under his eyes. He was relatively tall, but thin and sallow. It looked like the slightest breeze could knock him over.
"Ah, man…that's not good for my chances." Kaminari leaned back, frowning. "He'll probably get creamed in five seconds flat."
"Looks like a cool thousand yen, Eijiro!" Mina smirked, giving Kirishima a quick peck on the cheek.
No. Izuku frowned, looking at the TV. There's something…different about him.
"Oh, I know that look." Ochaco smiled, noticing her boyfriend in deep concentration. "What's his deal, Deku? Anything interesting?"
Izuku nodded, one hand to his chin, the other holding her hand. "It's the way he's moving. He looks almost sickly, and clearly he's tired, but he's walking just fine. Normally there'd be a slight delay in someone's actions if they were this ill. But he's walking like someone who's never been sick a day in their life."
Tenya frowned. "Maybe it's his Quirk. There are some of them that are pretty rough on one's body." He chuckled. "You know that better than anyone, Midoriya."
Izuku shrugged, turning back to the TV. Shishikura had already made it to the starting position, and Reizo arrived at his own. However, before making any other moves, before the match even began, Reizo sat down. He crossed his legs, closed his tired eyes, and sat unnaturally still. Despite the roar of the crowd around him, and the countdown clock rapidly reaching zero, he made no attempt to move.
What is he doing? Does he have some kind of powerup?
"Let the first match of the Shiketsu Sports Festival tournament BEGIIIIN!"
Shishikura frowned, raising a hand. One finger split off from the rest, rapidly headed toward Reizo. "If you're not going to take this seriously, then why are you even here?"
"Seiji Shishikura. Quirk: Meatball. He can manipulate his own flesh, as well as the flesh of others. If one of his detached fleshballs attaches to someone, they'll be kneaded into a pile of flesh as well."
"What a KEE-RAZY power this guy's got, Frequency! Sounds like Reizo better start dodging quick!"
However, just before the projectile flesh hit him, Reizo's eyes snapped open. He jumped up with a practiced form, before landing in a clear martial arts stance. Ojiro leaned forward in his chair, raising an eyebrow.
"Aikido, huh? That's an unusual martial art for a tournament like this." At Izuku's puzzled glance, he smiled and continued. "It's based on fluid motion, using your opponent's force against them. But it's fallen out of favor since Quirks came around. It's impractical with some of the powerhouse Quirks in the world."
At the exact moment that Shishikura fired more blasts of flesh, Reizo began running to the left, then to the right. He then dove down, barely missing three more shots from the purple-haired student. Shishikura smirked, firing a large mass while Reizo was turned away after his dive.
However, Reizo jumped high above it, without even looking at it. He then arced his body mid-air, dodging yet another blast from the indigo-haired student.
"Damn! Is your Quirk foresight?" Shishikura frowned. "The only way you could have dodged was by –"
"By knowing in advance." Reizo finished Shishikura's sentence at the same time as he did, causing him to frown even more.
"Kyoya Reizo. Quirk: Timelines. He can envision thirty-six different scenarios at once, as well as how they play out, by sitting still and concentrating for ten seconds. However, doing so causes immense sleep deprivation in the long run."
A foresight ability. And a strong one at that. Izuku stared at the TV, deep in thought. And if he's already used the ability once, then he's likely already seen the smartest strategy.
Reizo frowned, keeping his stance, and waiting for Shishikura to move. There's twenty-nine possibilities now. Based on the scenarios, he'll either launch left, set up a perimeter, or rush.
Shishikura launched a ball of flesh to the left, then right, sending them both at Reizo. Sixteen possibilities. He'll have assumed I'll dodge again. Let's shake things up!
Todoroki raised an eyebrow as Reizo ran straight ahead, letting both end up behind him. He backflipped at the exact moment the balls of flesh passed under him, smirking as they slammed back into Shishikura with enough force to knock him down. While he wasn't out of the count, it was a good blow.
However, Shishikura was smiling when he stood up. "Gotcha."
"There!" Tenya pushed his glasses up, narrowing his eyes. "On his leg!"
On the back of Reizo's left leg, a tiny bit of Shishikura's flesh remained, but now it was expanding. Reizo frowned – he didn't have much time now. Four possibilities. He sprinted toward Shishikura, dodging left, then rolling into a launched uppercut. Shishikura's flesh blast landed, taking out his legs, but the kneading wasn't fast enough to stop Reizo's momentum.
"One possibility!"
Shishikura was launched into the air from the force of the uppercut, landing flat on his back with a dull thud. As the flesh around his legs returned to the body from whence it came, Reizo stood up, giving a half-hearted smile despite his tired demeanor.
"ALL RIGHT, folks! Looks like the winner of this creepy match is…Kyoya Reizo!"
Kaminari cheered, while Kirishima let out a long sigh. "Yes! Flesh-boy gets his ass kicked, AND I get 1,000 yen!"
"Funny how you think this is over, Kaminari." Kirishima turned, grinning. "Looks like we're about to have a competition of our own."
"You're on, man!" Kaminari slapped his hand, smirking.
Just goes to show how far strategic planning goes. Izuku wrote furiously in his notebook on Reizo. Thirty-six different scenarios? I bet that number fluctuates depending on how much time he spends in concentration. It would make him a great support hero.
Sero chuckled, glancing at Izuku. "Looks like you've already got someone new to study."
Izuku shrugged, glancing to see the referees and medics waking Shishikura. "Hey, I'm always willing to learn about new Quirks."
"Nerd." Ochaco playfully punched his arm, giggling, earning herself a light blush from the green-haired hero in training.
…...
"And with the clearing of the stage, listeners, it's TIME for roooound 2! Our first contestant...the passionate first year with a full wind in his sails, it's Inasa Yoarashi!"
Todoroki narrowed his eyes as the familiar smiling, close-shaven first year ran onto the field, jumping and posing for the crowd. Interesting…it would appear despite not receiving his license, Shiketsu's staff let him participate anyway. Unless…perhaps this was recorded before three weeks ago?
Tsu smiled. "This ought to be interesting."
"You said it." Kirishima grinned, before suddenly turning to the left. He shouted at Kaminari, betting that Yoarashi would win before Kaminari got the chance. He scowled, bits of electricity leaving his fingers, before shrugging.
"Hey, no one said I had to take the bet."
Hagakure gave an audible sigh. "And to think, that would have been interesting…"
After much teasing, Kaminari relented. "Fine. I'll take the damn bet. 1,000 yen."
"And our second contestant…the second-year seamstress whose needles are her own hands…Haruhi Fukushima!"
Fukushima was a small girl, but lithe, clearly built for speed more than strength. Her white gloves covered whatever Quirk she had, but she looked nervous before the far larger Yoarashi. Kaminari frowned, knowing that this match would be over in less than a minute.
Damn. How mismatched. Todoroki sighed. I almost don't want to watch.
Fukushima removed her gloves, sighing. The underside of her fingers tapered into blades, almost like claws. They had been sharpened, too, showing that they were actually made of protruding bone.
"Haruhi Fukushima. Quirk: Bone Claws. She can use the claws on her hands to attack and defend, as they remain stronger than normal flesh. She can also launch them like needles on strings."
"I hope you know I won't forfeit." She took a fighting stance, her nervousness melting into bravado. Yoarashi smiled, only giving a thumbs up and a wide grin, before taking a stance himself.
"Let the second match…BEGIIIIIIN!"
Yoarashi remained almost completely still as Fukushima blitzed forward, her claws raised in an X. She opened the match with a slash downward – then an attempt at a piercing blow, forcing Yoarashi backwards.
Just as I thought. She has the advantage at close range. Todoroki glanced over to see Izuku, once again scribbling furiously. But Yoarashi…he's good at all ranges with that Quirk of his.
Before Fukushima could properly react, Yoarashi jumped up, causing twin cyclones to appear beneath the two of them with his Quirk. Fukushima shouted in surprise as the tornado launched her several dozen feet into the air.
"Inasa Yoarashi. Quirk:Whirlwind. He can manipulate the air around him, doing anything from light breezes to intense gales. He can also control these winds to great effect."
"You've got plenty of passion, Fukushima! And that's enough to earn a pass from me!" Yoarashi grinned, watching as Fukushima flailed about, unable to regain her bearing in the air. "But I'M winning this tournament!"
As Yoarashi landed on the stadium ground, the winds around Fukushima began to rapidly spin, causing her to spin within the miniature tornado he was generating. When half a minute had passed, the tornado dispelled when she was a foot above the ground.
After ten seconds, unable to get up from the intense dizziness, the bombastic voice of Present Mic could be heard once more.
"ALL RIGHT, listeners! With Fukushima being indisposed, the winner is…Inasa Yoarashi!"
"Damn it!" Kaminari tossed the 1,000 yen back to Kirishima, who smirked as he pocketed the money.
"Like you had a chance on that one." Kirishima kept the smirk only until Mina gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He turned away, letting no one see that his face was as red as his hair.
Exactly what I thought would happen. Todoroki frowned, watching as the other students from Class 1-A chatted about Yoarashi's seemingly easy victory. As for my bet…he's got first place locked down.
He looked out the window, quietly contemplating Yoarashi's next move and the rest of the tournament, as the stadium was cleared for the third battle of Round 1.