Chapter 10: BT Begins!

After a brief respite, we 32 victors all gathered around (for some reason, all the girls of our Class, 1-A, were dressed up as cheerleaders) as Midnight announced the final event to determine the Sports Festival winner.

'Tournament style...' I gulped. 'I figured as much. This means we're gonna have to fight each other to crown a victor. And the thought of having to go up against a lot of opponents here...that's not very reassuring.'

"All right, now I'll determine who fights whom through this lottery." Midnight announced, holding up a box with the word 'Lots' on it. "Once the matchups are decided, we'll do a fun bit of recreation, and then we'll commence! Whether or not the 32 who will be competing want to join in on the recreation activities is up to you, since I'm sure many of you will be wanting to take a breather or reserve your strength. So, starting from the team that placed 1st, let's determine the order."

"Ummm...excuse me, sorry!" We all turned to Ojiro, who had his hand raised. "I'm, sitting this one out."

"Ojiro!?" I gasped, along with more surprised gasps and exclamations.

"Truth is...I don't remember anything that happened during the Human Cavalry Battle up until the very last seconds." He explained. "Probably due to that damn kids Quirk."

I looked at the baggy-eyed kid who was he leader of that team, only for him to look away. 'That guy from the General Department...'

"I know, I know. I know it's my big chance, and I know it's stupid to throw it away..." He continued. "But this is the place everyone earned by clashing at their full power. I wouldn't feel right standing among you without even understanding how I got here...I just can't do it."

'The place everyone earned by clashing at their full power...' I thought, as another person from class 1-B also stood out. 'Ojiro's pride...it's something to really admire.'

So Ojiro and the other boy, Shouda, dropped out, and were replaced by Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki entering, before the matchups were decided.

"Let's see..." I looked at the matchups lineup before I finally found my name, and the person I would be fighting in the first round. "Yamatsuki? wait..isn't that-?"

"Wowzer!" Sure enough, Kazan from the General Department appeared beside me. "We're going to be fighting!? So awesome! I can't wait! I'm gonna show you all my best moves! Of course, you'll be fighting really hard as well, though, right? Wait, if we're fighting, then we should be preparing! Independently! I don't wanna spoil anything! Okay! Gotcha! See you later!" He then sprinted off.

"...Whu?" Was all I could muster.

"So, I'm up against Shishida?" Hina mumbled, looking over at the bestial glasses-wearer, who growled at her. "Eep!"

"Ah! Of course! My first opponent is Kojirou Bondo!" Stanley grinned up at the large teen. "Let us make this a spectacular battle, that will go down in Hero history! Sweaty!" Kojirou didn't respond.

"I wonder who Hagane is fighting..." I couldn't help but look, and saw a familiar name next to him, lined up for round one. "Mochisuki...Yoshi?"

"Looks like it." She stated. "He seems very strong...I wanna know how strong he is. In fact, there's a lot we don't know about him. I wonder if he's French? I like France. Did you know that a large majority of English language is derived from French? And that many French cuisines and their words were copied over to England?"

'When did she start talking about France?' I thought in bewilderment. 'Still though...she's right. I know practically nothing about Hagane...I don't even know his Quirk! And he placed 2nd in both the race, and the Human Cavalry battle!'

I thought further. 'But then again...the same could be said for my first opponent; Yamatsuki. Im practically walking into this fight blind! I'd better use this time to get ready...'

HERO

Turns out, i didn't spend it getting ready. I spent it at a table, twiddling my thumbs in nervous anticipation. "Izuku's matchup is first...and he's fighting against that guy Ojiro was worried about...and Ochako's up against Katsuki! And Yoshi up against Hagane...and why am I worrying about all of this when it's my fight I should be worried about!?" I sighed. "Is the pressure getting to me? It's hard to figure out why..."

"Oooooh!" I flinched as Cairo suddenly came in and faceplanted the table.

"C-Cairo! Are you okay?" I asked.

"My fight is right after Midoriya's." He groaned. "And I'm up against that Naito girl. The one who stole our headband.."

"That girl who looked like a guy? The one that formed that helmet around her head?" I questioned.

"That's the one." He confirmed. "I'll be honest, Ryota, I didn't want to enter this thing in the first place, I just want to cook! But everybody convinced me saying 'It's the perfect opportunity to show your cooking Quirk off to everybody'. Ugh, the whole reason I joined the Department of Support was NOT to get decked in the face. I should just say 'I give' as soon as I'm out there."

'That's demoralised if I've ever seen it.' I thought.

"But, Cairo, since you've come this far, that's exactly why you've got to give it your all!" I emphasised. "A battleground is the perfect place to prove how amazing your Doping Cooking really is!"

"I don't know...She's a tough opponent." He groaned.

"Well, what did you sign up to Yuuei for?" I asked. "To show us your amazing cooking, right? And I think it's awesome! So now you have to go out there and prove it to them! 'Cause you're Yuuei's co-chef, Cairo Utage, right?"

"...Hey...yeah, you're right!" He stood up. "I'm Yuuei's amazing sues-chef! I'm the guy who will cook meals fit for the greatest Heroes ever! I'll whip something up that'll knock everybody's socks off, including my opponents! Thanks, Ryota! I gotta go get cooking!" He then sprinted off.

"Looks like he found his determination." I smiled lightly, before frowning again. "Wish I could find mine."

HERO

"Gooooooo! Izukuuuuuuuuuuu!"

"Ryota...please, stop."

I was watching the match from the sidelines of the giant cement stadium, seeing as we were also competitors, we had to get ready as well, and could watch the match from here, and I was cheering my friend on. Spiritually of course, he couldn't hear me.

"Is this a habit?" Holly asked.

"Seems so." Yoshi responded.

Midoriya's match actually ended rather quickly, thankfully in his victory, leaving me to breath a huge sigh of relief, as it was really risky in the beginning, and I admittedly cried into his shoudler as he sat down in the seat we saved for him.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, folks! It's time for match 2!" Present Mic announced. "First! An iron-willed star brawler of Class 1-B! Department of Heroics; Kurai Naito!...Wait, isn't Kurai a boys name?" She walked onto the battlefield, looking calm and composed.

"And her opponent! Everybody at Yuuei knows and loves him! For feeding them, that is! A Hero chef-in-training! Cairo Utage!" Cairo ran into the battlefield, carrying a silver platter with him.

"Uhh, weapons aren't allowed." The referee, Cementoss, told him.

"S-Sorry!" Cairo apologised. "I just wanted to keep it warm!" He lifted the lid off to reveal a glazed ham with a salad dressing. "My secret weapon!"

"That looks really good..." Denki drooled.

Cairo began eating the meal, with Kurai waiting patiently, until he had finished. "Alright! I'm ready!"

"I-If you're finished with your meal, then let the fight begin!" Present Mic declared.

Cairo immediately jumped forward at an impressive speed and pulled back a fist. Kurai seemed to be anticipating it through, as a steel suit suddenly formed around her torso in preparation, but as Cairo punched her in said spot, er eyes noticeably widened and she was sent skidding back nearly to the edge of the arena, which almost caused a ring-out. it was obvious she wasn't expecting the blow to be so powerful.

"He's strong for a such a stocky guy!" Ochako commented, making Izuku pull a face I couldn't recognise.

"Ryota, you worked with him in the Human Cavalry Battle, can you explain?" Iida requested.

"Cairo has a Quirk called Doping Cooking." I explained. "He can make food which boosts your abilities for a small period of time. That meat he just ate probably boosted his strength, but I don't know how long for."

Kurai recovered from the blow and stepped forward quickly, whereas Cairo had gotten into a defensive position by raising his arms up, probably in anticipation of a counter...it was a really poor stance though, I could tell he wasn't a fighter. Kurai ran at him and formed a silver gauntlet around both her fists, the two of them throwing a punch with their fists clashing in a burst of strength, but Cairo just barely overpowered Kurai, making her stumble back, giving Cairo time to swing his arm into her shielded midsection, throwing her onto her back.

"You are impressively strong." Kurai complimented as she got up.

"Oh, uh, thanks." Cairo accepted it.

"I hope you don't mind, but I will have to fight with full force now." She said, just before she was entirely covered in silver armour.

"Oh, boy..." Cairo panted as he threw his fist, but Kurai was prepared this time and crossed her arms to block it and threw him off, before punching him in the gut, upon which he went to grab her, but she backstepped away to avoid it. She ran at him, but Cairo copied what she did as he crossed his arms in front of him to protect himself as she punched at him forcefully, again and again.

"That retard won't win just hiding like a coward." Katsuki snorted.

"C'mon, Cairo!" I begged.

Then, out of nowhere, Cairo let down his guard and grabbed Kurai by the arm and leg, before lifting her above his head, obviously putting a lot of strain on him. "I...have to do this...!" He grunted, as he began taking slow, steady steps towards the edge of the battlefield.

"Oh! He's trying to throw her off and win by ring-out!" Denki realised.

"But it looks like he's struggling. Her armour must be heavy." Momo observed.

Cairo kept stepping forward. "Just...a little...more...!"

But, it didn't last, as he dropped her and panted heavily. This gave Kurai enough time to get up and knee him in the stomach, making him stumble back.

"That was very rude of you, picking up a young woman like that. How uncouth!" Kurai disapproved before headbutting Cairo in his face, throwing his head back and stumbling around, before she delivered two swift strikes to his chest.

"Hah...hah..." He panted. "Fine then...I'll do this! It's my only shot now! Haaaaaaaaah!" Cairo suddenly unleashed a flurry of powerful punches which forced Kurai on the defense as the blows impacted against her, digging her hedls in to avoid getting pushed back. Cairo then unleashed a final sweeping punch that knocked her clean off of her feet, and made her skid back right to the edge of the battleground.

He panted for a moment, as Kurai picked herself up, and started walking towards him. "...Shoot." He then suddenly collapsed!

"What's this!? Cairo just fell flat on his face!" Present Mic announced.

"What happened?" Ochako thought aloud.

"Cairo's Doping Cooking has a major drawback, in that when time runs out, their body is damaged." I explained. "I guess that was his last-ditch attempt to knock her out."

Kurai walked over to Cairo, and raised her steel boot up, as if ready to step down on Cairo's face. But, she clenched her metal fist, then slowly lowered her leg, her armour disappearing as Cairo simply couldn't move from the muscle strain.

"Cairo Utage is unable to continue! Therefore, the winner is Kurai Naito!"

'Poor Cairo...' I thought as a medical team whisked him away. 'I hope a lot of people noticed how great his cooking was, though...'

The third match was Shouto vs. Hanta, which, again, ended quite quickly after Shouto froze him, leaving Hanta unable to fight.

"Now, we'll move directly onto match 4!" Present Mic announced. "Our first contestant! A real tough, bulky fighter who charged his way into this place! Department of Heroics; Kojirou Bondo!" The giant teen stomped out onto the battlefield.

"And his opponent! An enigmatic fighter who surprised all of us with a display of...unique, skills. Department of Heroics; Stanley Williams!" There was a pause. "...Uh...Stanley Williams?"

"Ladiiiiiiiiies annnnnnnnnnnd Gentlemeeeeeeeeeeen!" A familiar voice shouted out. "Tonight! For ooooooooone niiiiiiiiiight onlyyyyyyyyyy! The amaaaaaaaazing fight, between twoooooooo superstar studens from Class Ooooooooooooooone Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

The little rotound figure ran out and jumped onto the battlefield with a twirl, his body shining with sweat. "Kojirou Bondo! Versus the one! The only!" He began posing. "S! T! A! N! L! E! Y! Stanley! SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSWEATYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

"Ooooooooooooh! That's an entrance if I've ever seen one!" present Mic marvelled.

"Of course you'd like him." Shouta mumbled.

"What's up with that guy?" Ochako asked.

On a stand above us, for the Department of Partnership, Edward ever so slowly turned to Meredith. "...So...is he a distant cousin of you-"

"You're one to talk, Edward England." The Mexico born Meredith Cuervo hissed.

"He's gonna get crushed." Katsuki grunted, looking at the size difference between Kojirou and Stanley.

"In that case, let the match...begin!" Present Mic announced.

"The debuting move! Sweaty!" Stanley jumped onto his stomach, and began sliding forward using his sweat. Kojirou upchucked a large vat of cement, but the little fighter drifted out of the way. "Hiyah!" As soon as he got close, he jumped up and punched Kojirou in the stomach, only for the big guy to be unaffected. "Oh! So ineffective! But in that case! Huzzah!" He then jumped again and kicked his opponent in the head, only for it to, again, do nothing.

"That, didn't seem like it did anything..." Rikidou observed.

He was proven correct as Kojirou punched Stanley in the face, making a majority of people flinch as the guy fell on his afro, making him bounce up then land on his face, followed by a pause.

"...Is he knocked out?" Mezou wondered.

"Iiiiiincredible, ladies and gentlemen!" Stanley jumped to his feet, seemingly unaffected, before wiping his grazed face. "A spectacular pnch from Kojirou Bondo, but Stanley Williams is far from defeated!"

"He seems fine." Yoshi commented.

Kojirou didn't display a reaction before his head opened up and he shot cement from it towards Stanley, who only gave abig goofygrin before the cement washed over him.

"If he's caught in all that cement, he'll be unable to move, and lose!" Minoru panicked.

However, as the cement died down, Stanley was revealed to be perfectly fine! "A valiant attempt by Kojirou!" Stanley cried. "However! Stanley's Sweat Quirk allows anything to harmlessly slide off of his body! So amazing! So inspiring! So...Sweatyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

"That's...so manly!" Eijirou approved.

"Now! Sweatyyyyyy Shot!" Stanley swung his arm, launching a blob of shiny sweat that hit Kojirou in the face, makig him cry out in disgust and rub his face. "Ladies and gentlemen! It's time for the main event!" He then slid behind Kojirou and jumped up, grabbing the giants back.

"Wait, he's not really gonna-!?" I began.

"Sssssssweatyyyyyy...!" Stanley lifted Kojirou right off the ground! "Suuuuuuuuuuuuupleeeeeeeeeex!" He smashed Kojirou's head backwards into the ground!"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaat!?" Most of the crowd gasped.

"That little guy suplexed that big guy!" Denki yelled.

Stanley posed as Kojirou was flat on his back. "Ladies and gentlemen! Please! Do not be astonished yet! For it is time for the final, super sweaty, finisher move!"

Stanley grabbed one of Kojirou's legs, and began heaving with all his might, slowly pulling the big classmate into a whirling spin, faster and faster.

"He's...really gonna...!" I couldn't believe it!

"Sweatyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Tooooooooooooooooooss!" Stanley threw Kojirou, and he landed with a crash outside the battlefield!

"...I...In...INCREDIBLE!" Present Mic cried. "Kojirou Bondo has lost by ring-out! The winner is-!"

"STANLEEEEEEEEEY WILLIAAAAAAAAAAAMS!" The victor himself announced.

"I don't believe it! That little bastard won!?" Katsuki gasped.

"That was amazing, Stanley!" Many Class 1-B students cheered.

'He's sure to catch a lot of attention from sponsors with that performance.' I thought as Stanley waved to the crowd, before hopping off the battlefield, and heping kojirou to his feet, the two of them shaking hands.

"What an amzing sign of sportsmanship! That's what being a Hero is all about!" Present Mic approved. "Now then, let's not waste anymore time, and move onto the next round!"

I must admit, I didn't watch Denki's match against Ibara, as I headed down to a preparation room in order to ready myself. My match against Kazan was after Iida and Mei's. I paced back and forth, trying to figure myself out.

'I'm so shaken...' I thought. 'Is it nerves? Why would I have them...I should feel grateful I've got to this point! But still...I'm truly nervous. I wonder what kind of an opponent Kazan will be? He's from the General department like Hitoshi...does he have a similar sneaky Quirk?"

"Hiya, Ueno!"

"Aaaaah!" I yelled, finding Kazan behind me. "K-Kazan!? What are you doing here!? Shouldn't you be getting ready?"

"Well, yeah, of course, our big fight is coming up soon, right? I am so pumped for it, ready to show off my best moves, my best skills, everything!" He grinned. "Though, after Hitoshi lost, me and him got to talk, and it made me think for a bit, then think a bit more, then I had an idea I wanted to talk about, then wanted to talk with it with someone, so I decided I'd ask you!"

"...So, you want to ask me something?" I simplified.

"Yep! that's what I said! You mind? Please?" He asked again.

"Uh...aks away." I accepted.

"Great! Thanks!" He beamed, before taking a deep breath.

"What do you think a hero is?"

"...Huh?" I must admit, I was not expecting a question like that. "What do you mean?"

"Um, well, how can I describe it? A bit difficult to put into words, you see." Kazan pondered. "Like...what does a Hero represent? What is a Hero supposed to do? How is a Hero supposed to act? Is a Hero good or bad?"

"Well, those answers should be obvious, right? A Hero represents justice, and righteousness, to act kind and compassionate and...of course they're good." I told him.

He sighed. "I know, that's what everyone says..." He pressed a finger against his forehead in thought. "The thing is, I've been trying to find out the meaning behind the term 'Hero' for a long while now...but, I don't think I can accurately say, yet. There's just too many conflicting arguments in my head."

He then smirked. "Welp, guess I'll figure it out someday! Sorry for bothering you! I'll see you in our fight, then! Good luck!" He then hurried off.

'Asking what a Hero means...what they represent...in a society like todays, everybody should know an answer like that...' I looked at where Kazan had turned a corner. 'What happened to you to make you question that, Kazan?"

HERO

"Well, uh, after a rather short match 6, we're moving straight onto match 7!" I heard Present Mic announce as I stood in the entranceway. "Our first competitor, while we haven't seen much of his skills, has a lot of assured skill! Department of General Studies; Yamatsuki Kazan!"

'I truly am grateful to have gotten so far...I never thought I would make it here!' I thought, as I walked forward. 'I originally thought that it would be fine if I lost here...'

"And our second competitor, who has surprised no doubt everybody here with his teamwork, leadership, and unprecedented usage of what some may call a useless Quirk!"

'But now that I'm here...I don't want to lose!'

"Department of Heroics; Ueno Ryota!"

I walked out into the sunlight, and onto the platform, Kazan standing in front of me.

'No turning back now. Fight with everything you have!'

"Let Match 7...begin!"

Yes! I finally managed to get a new chapter up!

Hey everybody! You doing good? Sorry I've been away for a while, been very busy, but I finally managed to do a chapter! However, just to let you all know, University is starting next week, so my update time may be cut greatly.

No new OC's introduced this chapter, but we got to see a couple of them fight hard! And thank you for everybody who left reviews for the last chapter! I can't believe how popular this story is, thank you so much! Also, dakrLord98, that sounds like a awesome idea! I can't tell you yet, but if you want any info, just send me a PM!

Right then, I wanna get this chapter out to you guys as soon as possible, so I hope you enjoyed it, and I shall see you all in the next chapter!