Chapter 14: The Final Matches
...Oh yeah, forgot, I was knocked out for this next bit.
Thankfully, I have a friend nowadays whose Quirk records memories, so I managed to borrow some of my friends and have their memories be extracted, allowing me to tell it to you all.
After the match, I was taken to the infirmary. Apparently I was in pretty bad shape and was hooked-up to life support. Izuku, Iida, Ochako, Edward, Kagome, Eijirou, Rikidou and a now awake Yoshi were around me.
"Ryota..." Izuku breathed sadly.
"he suffered many injuries all over his body during that match." Recovery Girl told them. "On top of that, he overexerted himself and exhausted his body. If I used my Quirk on him in hisn current state, he could slip into a coma, so now it's a matter of waiting until his body is rested enough to handle being repaired."
"...What about Hagane?" Iida asked the elephant in the room.
"His injuries were severe as well, but unlike Ueno, he wasn't exhausted, so I was able to heal him." She said. "But as soon as I was done, he left, despite needing to rest."
"You didn't stop him?" Iida questioned.
"It is my job to heal you young ones, but I cannot stop you stomping off to do what you want. That's your decision."
"That bastard!" Kagome yelled. "He went way too far! Now Ryota is...!"
"It was Ryota's will to continue fighting. I think he understood the consequences." Edward said.
Ochako noticed Yoshi hadn't said anything, and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay, Yoshi?"
"...Is it my fault?" Everybody turned to Yoshi as she spoke. "Did Ryota fight so hard for me?"
"...To be honest, that is the kind of guy he seems to be." Rikidou admitted knowingly.
"he did it for everybody!" Eijirou weeped manly tears. "The tears won't stop! I just can't get over how cool he was during that!"
"...I really, really hope he doesn't die." Yoshi whispered.
"H-H-He's not gonna die!" Izuku shrieked.
"He might if you shout like that." Recovery Girl stated. "Come now, you should leave him to rest, that is all he needs right now."
Izuku bit his lip. "Ryota...watch over me in my next round, okay?"
"Now YOU'RE talking like he's dead!" Everybody else shouted.
They all left the room , only to find a set of clothes floating beside the door. "...Tooru?" Iida asked.
"Eeek!" She squealed, apparently not having noticed them. "Hey everybody! So, Ryota's gonna be okay, right? Right?"
"As long as he gets rest." Edward confirmed.
"That's good!" She breathed in relief, followed by a pause. "...Well, see you guys!" She then ran off.
"...She's a weird one." Rikidou stated.
"So, Edward, Kagome, what are you two gonna do now?" Ochako asked them.
"The only thing I can do at the minute. Keep fighting." Edward responded.
"I guess all I can do is watch and wait for Ryota to wake up." Kagome shrugged. "But if I ever find that Hagane, I'll tear him limb from limb!"
"Later. For now, let's get back to our seats. Meredith's match is going on at the moment." Edward told her.
Ubeknownst to them, Hagane was around the corner on the opposite end of the corridor, arms folded and leaning back, waiting for me to wake up.
HERO
"Ow, ow, ouch..." Meredtih hissed, dabbing her hands, which had slight burn makrs on them.
"You sure you're okay, Meredith?" Edward asked.
"I'm fine." She hissed. "Mina Ashido's Acid Quirk was more dangerous then I thought, I can't fight well against non-contact Quirks like that."
"Sorryyyyyyyyyy!" Mina apologised from her seat below them.
"Who cares what happens to the opponent as long as you win!?" Bakugou grumbled.
"Well, I feel bad about it!" Mina yelled at him.
"Don't be. You beat me, simple as. We both wanted to win, but you did in the end, nothing more to be said." Meredith assured her.
"But..." Mina pouted.
"Nooooow everybody! We're onto match 6 of Round 2!" Present Mic announced. "Our first contestant! From the General Department! You remember her bouncing around all over the place in the first round, iiiiiiiit's Matsushita Hisa!"
"I'm in the quarterfinals!" She cheered as she jumped straight from the doorway onto the arena thanks to her springs, bouncing on the spot for a second due to momentum.
"And our second fighter this match! The dark shadow from Class 1-A! Tokoyami Fumikage!" Fumikage jogged lightly up the steps onto the arena.
"So it's Fumikage, huh? This is gonna be good!" Denki smiled.
"Now then! Let Match 6...BEGIN!"
As soon as the battle begun Hisa launched herself towards him, but Dark Shadow blocked the attack. She then srpung to the side of him and rocketed forward, but once again Fumikage's shadow creature blocked the attack, but this time grabbed onto her spring leg and began moving to the edge of the arena to try and drop her out.
"You won't get me that easily!" Hisa declared as she kicked the shadow with her other leg, making it release her before she landed and jumped at him again. Since Fumikage couldn't recall his Quirk monster quick enough, he physically jumped out of the way as she landed where he previously was, with his Quirk returning to him.
"That shadow of yours sure is stronger then it looks, huh?" Hisa figured. "But! Can it handle this!?" She suddenly jumped forward, and as Dark Shadow prepared to block again, Hisa suddenly compressed her right leg.
"Spring Kick!" She unleashed a kick with the full power of her Quirk-enhanced lag, completely blasting into both Fumikage and his Quirk and making him gasp in pain as he was pushed back to the edge of the arena.
"Wow! That was powerful!" Sero gasped.
"Alright! This oughta end it!" Hisa nodded as she jumped at him again. "Spring Kick!"
However, at the last second, Dark Shadow emerged, but instead of trying to block it, diverted the kick past them by slamming itself into her.
"Oh no!" She gasped as she flew past him and bounced onto the ground.
"Matsushita Hisa has jumped out of the arena, meaning that Tokoyami Fumikage is the winner!" Present Mic announced.
"I forgot there was an out-of-bounds rule..." Hisa wept softly.
"Hisa had the advantage in terms of power and speed, but Fumikage's defence and strategy won it for him." Ojiro nodded.
Edward then stood up. "Right then, I'm up next."
"Careful. You're facing Holly Elwell. She's stronger then she looks." Kagome told him.
"Is that because she beat you?" Edward asked.
"Shut up. Get away from me before you molest me." Kagame huffed.
"I'll take that as a 'good luck'." Edward said, before walking off with a light smile. "Time to see if she's worth my time or not."
"Moving right along, it's time for match 7!" Mic cheered. "Our first contestant! A real gamer girl from the Department of Support! Holly Elwell!" Holly emerged from the doorway and walked calmly onto the platform.
"And her opponent! Everybody knows him as the strongest star of the Department of Partnership! Joining us all the way from Fullbright University in England; Edward Crowley!" Edward walked nonchalantly onto the field with his hands in his pockets.
"Gotta admit, I've seen a lot of really interesting powerful people here today." Edward admitted. "I hope you don't fall short."
"I promise I won't." Holly stated plainly.
"Let's get match 7 underway, people! BEGIN!"
Edward immediately held out his hand, but pixels formed into giant 8-bit iron boots around Holly's feet, allowing her to stand her ground as the invisible force pushed against her. "So you prevented that. But that means we've only just begun." Edward told her.
"True. I wonder whose SP will last longer, though? Yours or mine?" Holly wondered as a pixelated fireball suddenly formed in her hand. "Fire!" She shot the little attack forward.
"Don't try ranged attacks against me." Edward stated as he held out his hand again, making the fireball freeze in place. "You'll NEVER beat me in that sense." He immediately shot the attack back at her with twice the speed.
"Equip!" Holly formed a simple silver shield in front of her to block the fireball. As it made contact, it exploded into actual, non-pixel flames before they died down. "Thunder!" Suddenly, a pixelated bolt of lightning dropped down towards Edward.
"True. I can't stop non-physical elements like lightning..." He held his hand up, and the bolt froze in midair. "But this is just a bunch of pixels you grouped together in the shape of a lightning bolt, I can easily control it!" Once more, he threw her own attack back at her, and this time she leaned out of the way to dodge it, knowing she would get electrocuted.
"Equip!" The shield dissolved into pixels that reformed into a bow and arrow, which she fired.
"Didn't you hear me?" An irked Edward asked as he stopped the arrow. "That's not going to work!" He tossed it back at her, but she dodged it again.
Holly continued creating new arrows to fire at him, whilst Edward continued to block them and throw them back, only for her to dodge them.
"...This is getting boring." Eijirou admitted.
"She must be planning something..." Izuku pondered.
Just then, when Edward blocked another arrow, he clutched his head. "Ack!"
"Now your SP gauge is below half." Holly stated. "Looks like I won in that regard."
"She made me waste my Quirk on all those stupid arrows..." Edward realised. "Fine then, I'll finish this instantly!" He clapped his hands together and gathered all of his energy into his palms.
"Psy-Push!" He thrust both of his palms forward and released a shockwave that pushed Holly back despite her weights. She dug her heels in as a form of resistance, but was still being pushed towards the edge of the arena.
"Almost...there...!" Edward strained, when suddenly his head began pounding furiously. "Aaaarrrgghghhh! Damnit!" He clutched his skull with both hands in pain as the force let up on Holly.
"Your SP is completely depleted now." Holly stated as her boots dissolved into pixels to reform into a fireball. "Fire!" She tossed it forward and exploded into Edward, scorching his chest. "Thunder!" The pixel lightning bolt then fell down and electrocuted him, making him cry out in pain.
"Yeah, i can understand how painful that would be." Denki said.
"It's not as severe as you think." Kagome told him. "Those little 'spells' she uses have nowhere near as much power as actual elements. They're nothing more then stupid gimmicks."
"...Are you still salty she beat you?" Meredith asked.
"Be quiet." Kagome grumbled.
Edward staggered around, but remained standing despite the pain.
"You're HP is low after just too attacks?" Holly thought aloud. "Doesn't matter, I'll end this. Equip!" She was suddenly wielding a giant, pixelated sword as she ran towards him and pulled her weapon back.
"Don't...get ignorant!" Edward instantly held out his hand again and blasted her back in the air, taking her by surprise and making her land out of the arena.
"And Elwell has been knocked out of the arena in a big comeback! The winner is Edward Crowley!"
Everyone cheered as he massaged his temple. "That was tougher then I thought...that was good, though. I'd better go and see Recovery Girl."
He walked away as Holly sat up. "I didn't think he'd recover his SP so quickly..." She mumbled. "I should have checked his Skills..."
"Alright! It's us, next!" Eijirou fist-pumped.
"I am going to destroy you." Bakugou threatened, making small explosions in his palm.
HERO
Edward went to Recovery girl's office and got his burns healed up during the final match. Bakugou won and so the Quarterfinal line-up was decided.
"So I'm facing Bakugou this time? This oughta be good." He smirked, before looking over at my bed. "How is he?"
"He's had enough rest for me to use my Quirk on him, so most of his injuries have healed now, but that means now he needs to repeat the cycle and restore the stamina he has lost recovering." Recovery Girl said. "He might not wake up for a while.
"Right." He jumped off of the bed he was sitting on. "I'd better go and get ready."
Edward walked into the lobby where everyone was waiting. Class 1-A was talking amongst themselves.
"You're facing Todoroki next round, Midoriya." Tsuyu said.
"I know..." Izuku mumbled. "I'm trying to think of a way to combat him."
"Todoroki is really strong, but so are you, Midoriya...ah, I don't know who I should vote for!" Eijirou cried.
"After Ryota faced Hagane, I don't wanna see this match!" Minoru cried.
"Don't worry! Deku's not gonna get beaten as badly as Ryota!...I hope!" Ochako said, making Izuku pull a disturbed face.
"Speaking of Hagane, Iida is facing him next round." Denki said.
"Here he comes now." Sero pointed as Iida walked over to them.
"What are you all talking about?" Iida asked.
"About you facing Hagane in the next round, apparently." Momo said.
"Hmm, that's the thing..." Iida said.
"What's up?" Eijirou asked.
"Mr. Shouto just spoke with me." Iida said. "Hagane has dropped out of the tournament."
"What!?" Everybody gasped, gaining the attention of the Class 1-B students and Department of Partnership.
"He dropped out. That's...weird." Yoshi said.
"Why would Hagane drop out now?" Ojiro wondered.
Kosei Tsuburaba looked at Yui Kodai. "Hey, Yui, you're friends with Hagane, right? You know why?"
Yui kept her emotionless expression. "I don't know. It doesn't seem like something he would do. And I haven't seen him since that match."
"Mr. Shouto said that Hagane approached him and told him he'd dropped out because 'he didn't want to fight anybody else'." Iida recounted.
"Well that could mean anything." Meredith exclaimed.
"What goes on through that guys head?" Denki asked.
"It doesn't matter right now. Iida, does that mean you're passing unopposed?" Izuku asked.
"As far as I know." Iida nodded.
"Then the matches are practically already half decided." Edward nodded. "Let's see what the rest of it has in store..."
HERO
After Izuku lost to Todoroki, he was placed in the hospital as well. Since Iida simply passed, the match between Mina and Fumikage ended in the latters victory.
"Izuku..." Ochako whimpered.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine." Momo assured him. "Izuku and Ryota...they're both tougher then they seem."
"Now it's Edward versus Bakugou." Mezou said. "They're both incredibly strong in their own rights, this should be interesting to watch."
"Wow, folks! I can't believe it, but we're already onto the final match of the Quarterfinals!" Prsent Mic cried. "But let me tell you, this final one is gonna be a good one, I can tell! Because! Our first contestant is the psychic star of the Department of Partnership; Edward Crowley!" Edward walked onto the battlefield with folded arms.
"And the second contestant! The explosive ball of strength and rage from Class 1-A! Katsuki Bakugou!" Bakugou stomped up onto the battlefield.
"Finally! I've been looking forward to this!" Bakugou grinned darkly. "Don't think your little psychic push is gonna work on me. I'm gonna be the champion, and nobody, especially not someone from that crappy Department, is gonna beat me!"
"We'll see about that." Was all Edward said.
"Let the final match of the Quarterfinals...BEGIN!"
"You think I'm gonna fall for that predictable shit!?" Bakugou roared as Edwrad began pushing him with psychic force. Bakugou threw both arms behind him and unleashed a blast from each palm, making him rocket forward.
"His explosion force is stronger then my kinesis?" Edward gasped.
"Take this!" Bakugou roared as he shot his palm forward and created an explosion. Edward used his power to push himself away from the blast, gaining fair distance between them.
"If that's how it is. I'll go all out!" Edward clapped his hands together. "Psy-Push!"
"Bastard!" Bakugou began exploding from his palms again, but the force was so great he had to do it repeatedly in order to maintain a constant force against Hagane's Quirk, leaving him suspended in midair shooting flames from his palms.
"They seem evenly matched." Momo noted.
"I'm not gonna lose to some guy whose not even from here!" Bakugou shouted.
"He didn't even bother to learn where Edward was from." The whole of the Department of Partnership groaned.
"Aaaaaargh!" Bakugou slammed his palm ionto the ground and launched an explosion, causing pitch black debris smoke to cover him.
"Crap! I can't use my Quirk on him if I can't see him!" Edward cursed.
Bakugou instantly launched himself forward with another explosion. "Die!" He then slammed his palm into Edward's chest and launched an explosion.
"Edward!" Meredith gasped.
Edwrad stumbled back and clutched his charred chest.
"Aaaahhhhh!" Bakugou, meanwhile, was getting ready to attack again.
"Psy-Lock!" Edward held out his hand and Bakugou suddenly froze in midair. "Talk tough all you want, you can't do anything if you can't move."
"Grrrr!" Bakugou growled, obviously straining against the force. "Don't underestimate me!" Bakugou had been frozen with one arm behind him, so using that, he shot an explosion out of it and smashed himself into the ground.
"Did he just shoot himself into the ground!?" Denki gasped.
"You think he broke his face!?" Eijirou suggested.
"You're determined, I'll give you that." Edward mumbled.
"Grrrrraaaahhhh!" Bakugou roared as he exploded the ground around him, making more debris smoke appear.
"Again?" Edward questioned as more explosions happened around him, until he was completely surrounded by black smoke. "Damnit, which direction is he gonna come from!?"
Bakugou jumped out directly behind him. "Behind you!" Edward only had time to turn around before Bakugou blasted him in the face.
Edward's burnt face was thrown back as smoke billowed out of his mouth, and he staggered back. "I'm gonna win! I'm gonna beat everyone!" Bakugou yelled.
"Oh...just...shut up!" Edward held his hand out and unleashed a small burst of psychic energy that hit Bakugou in the chest with the force of a powerful punch. "Psy-Shock!"
"Gah! You little-!" Bakugou raised his hand up.
"Psy-Shock!" Edward released the power again, this time hitting Bakugou's arm and throwing it back, preventing him from using his Quirk.
"Psy-Shock x2!" He released two more bursts that hit Bakugou in the chest and face. "Psy-Shock x3!" Three more to the chest, making Bakugou cough violently.
"H-Hey, Edward! Didn't you say Psy-Shock was hard to do!?" Kagomne yelled out. "You're overexerting yourself you stupid idiot!"
"Psy-Shock...x5!" He released five more blasts that hit Bakugou in all his limbs and head, blood dribbling from his nose. "Arrrrrgggaaaaaggghhhh!" Edward suddenly clutched his head as the recoil caught up with him, throbbing in pain.
"You...fucking...DIE!" Bakugou slammed both of his palms into Edward in fury, the explosion blasting Edward into the air and making him crash down onto his back.
"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII think that's it, folks! The winner is Katsuki Bakugou!" Bakugou sniffed as Edward sturgled into a sitting position.
"Hah...hah...You're a real prick, you know that?" Edward hissed, wiping blood from his lips.
"What the hell is a prick?" Bakugou grumbled.
"Screw you." He spat a reply as the medic bots came to take him away.
"That's hatred right there." Kyota nodded.
"And that's it, everybody!" Present Mic said. "Now, we are finally mving onto...the Semifinals!"
Oh, yeah.
The semifinals was when I woke up.
HERO
The first thing I remembered as an uncomfortable numbing sensation all over my body.
"Uuuuuuuugh..." I groaned. I was lying down, so I sat up. I seemed to be in a bed. "Where...what...?"
"Ryota! You're awake!" I looked to the left of me to find my best friend, also in bed.
"Izuku?" I mumbled, looking around. "Are we in Recovery Girl's ward? What are you doing here?"
"I got hurt by Shouto." Izuku said, making me flinch as he showed me his scarred hand.
"Geez, Izuku, are you okay?" I asked.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I was more worried about you!" He told me.
"Yeah...I lost against Hagane, didn't I?" I sighed, flumping down on my bed.
"Are you...sad?" He asked hesitantly.
"...No. Not really." I told him. "I think...I was looking for something during my fight with him. But I don't think I found it."
"What were you looking for?" He wondered.
"...I don't know. And that's what I'm concerned about." I said.
"Oh, you're awake?" Recovery Girl said as she walked in. "That's impressive. I didn't think you'd be awake since the end of the tournament, given how tired you were."
"Wait, the end?" I sat up again. "How long have I been out?"
"It's the semifinals now." Edward said as he walked in behind her. "Sorry to say, I didn't make it."
"Guess I was hurt kinda bad..." I remembered. "How is Yoshi now?"
"She's up and walking, perfectly fine." Recovery Girl told me.
"That's good." I breathed in relief. "...What about Hagane?"
"He left as soon as I healed him." She said.
"But the thing is, he dropped out of the tournament." Izuku told me.
I looked at him in shock. "What? Hagane...dropped out?"
"Said he didn't want to fight anybody else." Edward added.
'Hagane dropped out?' I thought. It genuinely came as a big shock to me. 'Why on earth would he do that? He was so powerful, there was a strong chance he could have won! There was no chance he could have gotten cold feet...was it a personal problem?...Or...could it be my fault!?'
I stood up. "Hey, hey, you need to rest." Recovery Girl told me. "You're body is still exhausted."
"I have to find Hagane." I said.
"Why are you doing that?" Izuku asked.
"I wanna hear why he did that." I told him.
"Ryota, nobody has seen Hagane since he left here, and even if you did find him, why would he tell you?" Edward said.
"I at least need to try." I told him.
"My word, Class 1-A sure is reckless this year." Recovery Girl whispered.
I walked out of the room and looked around. "Now where on earth could he be? Where would Hagane go?...I have no idea. It could take ages to find hi-"
I then happened to see him peering at me from around the corner in a very creepy way, making me freeze in shock and stare back terrified for a moment.
"...Hagane!" I cried out, making him run. "Come back!"
He ran down the corridors as I chased after him. 'What exactly is he doing? Is he trying to lead me somewhere? This is kinda childish though...'
He finally stopped in a room overlooking the tournament, with just the two of us alone.
"You could've just told me you wanted to come here." I complained. "Anyway, Hagane, I need to ask you something-"
"Why I dropped out. Right?" He asked, catching me off guard. "I didn't want to continue any more. I felt that other fights would tarnish my memory of ours."
"That's a bit...do you, value our fight?" I asked.
"I do." He turned towards me. "Ueno Ryota...in that battle, you made me feel something which I thought I had lost a long time ago...enthusiasm. The feeling of adrenaline, I felt that it had abandoned me, and yet...fighting you, I could sense it once more."
'He felt that so strongly?' I couldn't help thinking.
"For some reason, you are different then others to me, Ueno." Hagane told me. "I don't know why, or how, but you are someone who made me feel again. And so...I thank you for that."
He then walked past me, then looked back at me. "Continue to improve, Ueno. I look forward to seeing what you are capable of." He then walked out of the room.
"Hagane..." I found myself thinking aloud. "Are you really that empty inside?"
As much as I hate to admit it...I clenched my fist and stared at the floor.
"...I can understand that." I admitted.
I then looked out of the window, to see that the final match was beginning.
HERO
I returned to my seat with Izuku and Edward to see the winners. Hagane had also taken his own seat to be bombarded with questions by everybody else, but he remained quiet.
"God, he looks downright evil." Denki mumbled.
He was referring to Bakugou, who was the winner, and was currently chained up to the top spot, as he was thrashing around violently and most likely yelling horrible, horrible curses behind that iron mask.
'He's that mad just because Todoroki went easy on him?' I thought. 'God, he's become even worse now that he's made it to U.A!'
"Ungrateful little shit." I heard Edward grunt. It was easy to tell he hated Bakugou after their match.
And, that was the end of the Sports Festival. Was it a result anybody? With the victor looking like a locked-up madman, I don't think so. But Bakugou won nonetheless.
I had learned just a little more about Hagane, the first person I ever truly pushed myself against, I met a lot of new friends, and I had got further in the Sports Festival then I ever dreamed I would.
But that was only the beginning. because things began to get a lot, lot tougher from there. And I wouldn't be prepared for any of it.
That is the end of the Sports Festival Arc, ladies and Gentlemen! It took a while, but we finally made it!
If you guys are wondering why I skipped so many of the final matches, well, you've already read them in the Manga, haven't you? And if not, you're gonna watch them in the anime. Plus, it's really a pain to write all of that from the manga.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, everybody! There was a bit of foreshadowing here with both Hagane and Ryota, as well as all of the other matches I hope you enjoyed reading.
(BTW, bit of 'My Hero Story' trivia. Did you know the last two chapters had the exact same word count; 4394?)
As always, thank you for reading! And I shall see you all in the next chapter!