Alright! We are back and running at full-throttle! I apologize again for the lack of a proper chapter last week, but it's nice to see that a lot of you enjoyed the omake! This week's Review Time will cover reviews from both chapter 32 and last week's omake, so if you reviewed for both, your responses could be bundled together.

Review Time:

avidreaded, uchihaNaruto247, Jack Inqu, The 0bservanc3: Tokoyami is indeed a very powerful opponent, especially in a situation like the Sports Festival. I'm pleased to see that people recognize this and are proud of Ochako doing as well as she did against him.

Naruffoku: Pony's language barrier is difficult to portray well, since English and Japanese are two fundamentally different languages not only in terms of structure and grammar, but also in they way they use jokes and euphemisms. Obviously, since I'm writing this fic in English and am only fluent in English, there will be some stuff that gets lost in translation. I do not mean to imply that Pony is unintelligent, since this is certainly not the case, but she has canonically been shown to be rather innocent and trusting, to the point where Monoma is able to repeatedly get away with messing with her. I'm just having fun with that.

Slayer76: I do not think that Ochako will ever be able to affect the air itself. The main reason that she was able to use Zero Gravity on Dark Shadow is because of his physical presence, which renders him solid for all intents and purposes. I do enjoy insanity a bit too much, so I have to be careful not to drive Izuku completely overboard XD.

Mrguy22594: I will probably have to do an omake on the video at some point. I keep meaning to show how viral it is, but it either never fits or I forget. It's gotten reasonably popular though. The SAO Abridged scene with Kirito and Asuna arguing with themselves is a good way of imagining this, yes.

ILiekFishes: Yeah, I don't think it's going to be a surprise to anyone when that turns out to be Ochako's Hero Name. Of course my goal is to make things more intense! I hope I succeeded at that in this chapter as well. Honestly, that scene might happen anyway. The relationship between Izuku and Other Izuku certainly isn't going away anytime soon and that certainly seems like the type of thing Izuku might think about.

Tism-schism: Well, obviously I can't confirm or deny this theory without massive spoilers, but I will say that you certainly provide some good evidence for it.

The 0bservanc3: Good to know the problem is fixed. Honestly, the regular updates are as much to keep me productive as they are to keep the fans entertained. I'm a bit of a schmuck when it comes to long-term projects, so this is good for me. I do remember that quote from Watchmen now. Thank you for reminding me!

I warned you that my Monoma has more to him than you think :D I will admit that I took inspiration from Shinso's backstory for him. It's great to see that I'm changing some people's opinions of him for the better. Honestly, I have no idea why Pony isn't used more. She's so easy to have fun with! And yes, dramatic irony is in full effect regarding the Izuku vs Monoma fight. I really want to leave the conclusion at least plausibly up in the air, even though basically everyone knows that Izuku will win. As for how he'll react to Izuku's Quirk...well, let's just say that it will be more of a revelation for Izuku than it will for Neito.

As for more powerful Quirks having more specific triggers, a few examples I can think of off the top of my head are Momo having to know the exact molecular structure of whatever she creates, Aizawa only being able to erase Quirks as long as he keeps his eyes open and on his target, Kurogiri having to be familiar with his destination for warping, Himiko needing blood to fuel her transformations and, of course, the physical backlash from Ow Fuck my Arm. I'm really trying to handle the shipping and character development well and it's always good to hear that I'm doing that.

From the get-go, I knew that I wanted to do more with Dark Shadow. He's a SENTIENT QUIRK for chrissakes and he gets so little love in canon! It's a crime! Upon looking back, it does look like what Aizawa said could have been construed as a joke. I'll chalk it up to him being the straight man stuck in a booth with Present Mic. You can't NOT banter with Present Mic when you're his co-host. I don't care who you are. The video did indeed go slightly viral, especially with the Sports Festival driving more traffic to the U.A. HeroTube channel. I don't think that Ochako can double-apply her Quirk. That would just make it too OP. I do intend to have other contests where people will be able to request Omakes. I just don't know what those might be at the moment. Any ideas are welcome!

My tech problems are indeed all sorted out! I've got my new SSD installed and my computer is running better than ever. Exactly how much of this omake is canon is up to debate. I'm not sure whether Other Izuku can actually screw with Izuku's mind like that, though him being able to "leave" to his subconscious seems plausible. It might answer your question to say that answering your question would result in spoilers concerning Other Izuku's true nature.

KiraWani: I had never heard of Enen no Shouboutai before now and after looking it up and realizing it's by the same guy who did Soul Eater, I will certainly have to check it out.

The_Narr_Master: Having Izuku accidentally break someone's brain because they tried to read his mind would be hilarious. If I ever end up introducing such a character, that would pretty much be a required scene for them.

Reverseflash: I will admit that the idea of catching up to Viridescent is one that has occurred to me before. I guess when a fic has been the undisputed (let's be real here) number one in Follows, Favorites AND Reviews for as long as it has, it becomes a bit of a target for hopeful writers. Torchbearer is clawing its way steadily up the ranks though. We've actually already made it to page one if you filter by Reviews and we're on page two if you filter by Follows or Favorites. I do firmly believe that I owe this not only to my amazing fans but also to my regular update schedule which keeps new people coming in and old ones coming back.

Guest: To use anything beyond 5% of OFA's power, Izuku does need to consume flames. He also needs to consume flames to use fire attacks. The amount required scales linearly with the amount of power he is attempting to use. Full Cowl operates under its own set of rules that have not yet been entirely revealed.

Ayame77: Welcome aboard! I understand that not everyone likes the review section, but I'll have to ask you to just scroll past it if you're not interested. The post-chapter Author's Notes section is it's own thing that generally contains things that I actually want everyone to read, so that's why I keep them separated. I'm glad you're enjoying the fic though!

Darashiko, D3lph0xL0v3r, axc-0, DeepWound78, JLR01, 0 Jordinio 0, bhennen, CodeTalker69, GlassedGamer, HankFlamion18, C_J_Robbins, Sentinel07, Eramis8, Devildogg20, Guest, ajm35 and everyone else: Thank you and I hope that you continue to enjoy!

Now, let's keep this thing going! Time for everyone's favorite six-armed man!

Chapter Thirty-Three: Man of Steel

Mezo Shoji was amused. Most people would be unable to tell this just from looking at him, and for good reason, but the feeling was there nevertheless. The source (perhaps sources would be a more accurate term?) of his amusement was a rather simple one: two of his friends had apparently gotten together fairly recently and were still in that early stage where they had not told anyone yet. This resulted in them doing their best to keep things secret and it was from these actions that Mezo derived his current amusement.

It was not as though they were doing a bad job of it per-se, it was simply that Mezo had made it his business to be a highly observant individual; a trait which was made all the more potent when dealing with those whom he actually knew. It was for this reason that he would have ordinarily contented himself with simply sitting back and observing, given that the average individual would likely not pick up on all the subtle details that he did.

Katsuki Bakugo was not what one could refer to as an "average individual" however, and so Mezo had found it necessary to intervene when Midoriya was in danger of blowing his cover by making some half-baked excuse to go and see Uraraka after her match had ended. Mezo had briefly made eye-contact with Midoriya and shaken his head slightly, which had apparently been enough for the smaller boy to take the hint. He had quickly disguised his movements as him fishing his ever-present notebook out from wherever he kept it and had wished Mezo good luck in his match.

The match between Mezo and Ashido was to be postponed for a few minutes while Cementoss repaired the minor damage that Dark Shadow's talons had caused to the ring in the previous match, so Mezo was currently making his way to one of the waiting rooms. Before he could open the door, however, he had heard Uraraka's voice and had reflexively started listening. She seemed to be on the phone with someone. A man, judging by the voice on the other end, though Mezo could not make out precisely what was being said.

"Yeah, I know, Daddy. I just wish I could've made it a bit further, you know? It's not every day a chance like this comes around, after all…" she trailed off while the man on the other end, apparently her father, responded in a hearty tone, "I know, right? I knew the video had gotten around, but I never thought I'd actually have fans! If I'm being honest, I'd probably be a lot more torn up about my loss if it hadn't been for them."

There was another pause as she listened to her father, followed by an exasperated huff.

"Daddy! I told you that I'll introduce you to him soon! We're trying to keep things low-key at the moment; you guys and his mom are the only ones who know. Well…apart from one of our friends who might have figured it out, but he's not the type to spread it around. Yes, I know Mom wants to meet him too. No, I don't know exactly when. No, I haven't met his mom either."

There was another pause and Mezo could practically see the scandalized look on Uraraka's face.

"No, Daddy, he is not 'comforting me about my loss!' I am not covering for him! Geez! I know that dads are supposed to be suspicious of their daughter's boyfriends, but this is ridiculous! I'm hanging up now!"

Another pause.

"…Yeah. I love you too, Daddy. Tell Mom too, okay? I've gotta get back to the stands so I don't miss the next match; two of my friends are in it. No, one of them is not him! You know what? Just for that I'm not telling you, so there! Figure it out on your own!" the call was ended and Mezo heard Uraraka sigh.

Mezo took that opportunity to enter the waiting room.

"Uraraka-san, how are your injuries?"

"Gah! Shoji-kun!" it was all Mezo could do to stop himself from chuckling as she nearly jumped out of her skin, "How much did you…wait, I guess it doesn't matter how much you heard, does it?"

"I only arrived a few moments ago and heard the latter portion of your conversation." he answered anyway, "I can verify that nobody else was around to overhear you, though you may want to be careful what you talk about on-campus if you truly do wish to keep things a secret."

"Yeah, I know." she had the good grace to look slightly abashed.

"Additionally, you may want to be a bit less…bold…about dragging Midoriya away for a private moment."

She pinked up at that, but did not respond further, which only served to give Mezo a few extra ideas about exactly what she had pulled Midoriya aside to do. He might very well have to revise his assessment of exactly how daring Ochako Uraraka was capable of being.

"My injuries are fine." she answered his original question, "They weren't really that bad and Recovery Girl was able to fix me up in a few seconds." Mezo nodded in satisfaction at this.

"Alright, it looks like Cementoss is just about done servicing the ring, so would our next two combatants please stand by!"

"That would be my cue." Mezo stated.

"Good luck, Shoji-kun!" Uraraka smiled at him as she exited the room, "I'll be rooting for Mina-chan too, of course, but good luck anyway!"

Mezo nodded in appreciation and proceeded down the hall to the entrance to the field.

T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r

The stands buzzed with excitement that ran the gamut from discussions of the previous match, wagers on the next one, speculation as to the outcome and all the way to general excitement from those who were happy just to be there. The combined cacophony, when filtered through the entrance tunnel that Mezo currently occupied, was distorted in to an echoing roar of noise that seemed to deliberately fill the air with energy.

It wasn't often that he showed his status as the youngest member of Class 1-A, but Mezo found himself taking a long, slow breath to calm himself. It was well that he did, as immediately after he began his exhale, the announcement he had been waiting for was given.

"ALRIGHT! Thank you for your patience, Listeners! It is now time to begin! Match Two: He's larger-than-life in both appearance and power! He'd be formidable with just two arms, but this contender has SIX! Let's hear it for Mezo Shoji!"

Mezo took his cue and walked out onto the field to a mixture of applause and gasps of recognition. This was to be expected, he supposed. After all, the memory of "Infinity Girl" was still fresh in the audience's minds; it wasn't a stretch to imagine they might remember her opponent as well.

"Hey, that's him, right?"

"Who else could it be?"

"Dr. Vertigo's monster, right? Is it safe for him to be here?"

"Dude, it was just a video. He was playing a part."

"And now for his opponent! Don't let her playful pink demeanor fool you: if you let your guard down, she'll melt you down to your very bones! She's Mina Ashido!"

As Mezo had expected, Ashido seemed to be completely in her element. She made a show of smiling and waving to the crowd as she approached the ring and, judging from the volume of the applause, they were eating it up.

Some people were just natural-born crowd pleasers. Mezo had known this for some time, but he would be lying if he said a small part of himself didn't envy them for it. After all, it was just common sense that, in the head of the moment, someone who looked so much like a Villain would be harder to trust.

"We all have our roles to play. Simply do what you can and your soul shall be at peace."

Each time Mezo remembered this quote, it seemed to take on just a bit more meaning for him.

Well, for now I should focus on winning this match, I suppose.

"You ready, Shoji?" Ashido had one hand resting on her cocked hip as she smirked at him from across the ring, "I'm taking this seriously, I hope you know."

"I am also aiming for victory, Ashido-san. Do not expect to escape unscathed."

Whether this plan succeeds or not, I know that I, at least, shall have no such luxury.

That was the crux of the matter: Mezo knew that Ashido was faster than him and had a longer reach, objectively speaking. There was simply no way that he would be able to close the distance without taking some hits from her acid and, given that he was a flesh-and-blood fighter, this would inevitably result in him taking damage.

"Everyone talks about winning and losing, but this doesn't really feel like a game, you know?" the pink contestant scratched her cheek with an index finger.

"I suppose it depends on your perspective."

"Alright, that's enough chit-chat! Shoji, are you ready?" Midnight got things back on-track.

"I am."

"Ashido, are you ready?"

"You bet!"

"Very well. Take your stances…and BEGIN!"

Mezo wasted no time in charging his opponent, arms spread wide. Ashido had clearly been expecting this, as she already had a handful of acid ready and waiting for him. She threw it with a wide motion, causing it to spread outwards in a crescent-shaped wave that Mezo was forced to leap over. Anticipating her next action, he tucked and rolled and was rewarded with the sound of a second batch of acid splashing onto the cement tiles behind him. A burning sensation told him that a few flecks must have struck one of his arms. A quick flick was sufficient to dislodge it, but it left behind a few small patches of burnt-looking skin.

As he regained his feet, Mezo saw that Ashido had stayed in motion during the exchange and was now located further back and off to the side, clearly intent on circling around him. She was sliding across the ring, using the acid secreted from her feet to "skate" more quickly than she could run.

As expected: I have no chance of overtaking her under these circumstances. It was worth a try, I suppose. Now all that remains is to grit my teeth and take it.

"I will give you one chance to surrender, Ashido-san. I would really rather not have to do this."

"You didn't strike me as the joking type, Shoji!"

"An accurate observation."

Then Mezo charged. Ashido wasted no time in hurling more acid at him, clearly expecting a repeat of their initial exchange.

Mezo imagined that she was rather surprised, then, when he did not change course in the slightest.

It was a little-known fact about Dupli-Arms that they were not actually arms when in their natural state. Indeed, it was more accurate to describe them as tentacles. Each tentacle had a node on the end of it that could be made to replicate various body parts. It was true that this was most commonly used for hands, eyes, ears or even mouths, but that was far from its limit. It could also be made to, for instance, duplicate itself and then duplicate an arm. The result of this hypothetical trickery would be an extruded limb that was not only longer than the original, but almost completely expendable.

Mezo was pleased that this hypothetical use turned out to be feasible in the middle of combat. He was less pleased that this did not cause the acid eating away at his flesh to hurt any less.

"HOLY CRAP, Listeners! In what was either a moment of inspiration or a moment of madness, contestant Shoji has charged straight into Ashido's acid! It doesn't look as though he's enjoying it too much either!"

Indeed, the sudden pain had caused Mezo's body to rebel against him and cut his speed in an attempt to get away from the source. He had regained control, but not before Ashido had fled to the other end of the ring, clearly taken aback by his actions.

I didn't expect the pain to be so great…it truly does feel as though my flesh is being eaten away.

Mezo whipped his duplicated limb, causing the acid to fly off of it before he retracted it, leaving his standard arm in its place, looking as though it had been burnt.

"Shoji, are you INSANE?!" his opponent was clearly shaken.

"I took a calculated risk, Ashido-san." Mezo replied, "I know that you are capable of producing very powerful acid, but I also knew that you would not risk using lethal methods during a match like this."

"So, just because it won't kill you, it doesn't matter? You could still end up really hurt if it hits you the wrong way, you know, even with me dialing back the corrosiveness."

"I am acting with full understanding of this. Feel free to surrender if you do not think that you can stomach it."

He charged again, generating six extended arms as he did so.

Ashido's eyes narrowed and her lips parted in a snarl.

"Don't get the wrong idea, Shoji; just because I don't want to hurt you doesn't mean I won't."

There was acid running down her exposed forearms and pooling in her hands, forming a pair of viscous globs. Drops of acid hissed against the concrete as she raised her arms.

"If you won't give up, then I'll have to make you give up! ACID BURST!" she brought her hands together, causing the globs of acid to explode violently outwards.

Mezo had miscalculated. There were too many projectiles for him to block them all with his duplicated limbs. He would have to prioritize his vital areas.

Eyes. Throat. Chest. Groin. Thighs. Mezo reflexively shifted his guard to these six areas just before he ran full-tilt into Ashido's attack.

The pain was similar to the first time while still being entirely different. It was clear that multiple points of contact made it more difficult to focus. Mezo's instinct was to grit his teeth, tense his muscles and roll on the ground until the acid was off of him.

But he couldn't. If he slowed down again, then Ashido would just escape again. Eventually, he would be unable to continue.

"We all have our roles to play. Simply do what you can and your soul will be at peace."

"I shall carry out his vendetta against this city, even at the cost of my own life!"

That. I need that sort of resolve now. Well, if we all have roles to play…

"RRROOOOOAAAAAHHHHHH!"

…then I suppose I should play the one that everyone is expecting me to play!

A primal scream that dulled his pain, an all-out charge with arms spread wide even as the acid clinging to his limbs was flung away and all of his willpower was laser-focused on the would-be Hero in front of him.

His opponent hesitated for the slightest instant before dashing towards him and attempting to leap over him, acid building in one of her hands as she did so.

Later, Mezo would review the footage of the match and realize the reason for her hesitation:

In that moment, with patches of clothing burnt away, unnaturally long limbs spread wide and eyes full of madness, he looked positively bestial.

In that moment, as he flared his arms and made an updraft-assisted leap, seizing Ashido's legs with two of his elongated right arms, he was truly worthy of being considered Dr. Vertigo's monster.

In that moment, as he whirled around and flung his opponent clear of the ring and onto the comparably-soft ground outside of it, Mezo felt a strange sense of tranquility. Even though his external visage suggested that he was consumed with fury, he was overcome with a profound sense of internal calm. He was in the proverbial eye of the storm, able to look out and behold its majesty without being consumed by it.

"Lo, and I shall bear witness to this fury. I shall allow it to pass around and through me, that I might look upon its passing and know it in its entirety. Where the rage has passed, there will be nothing. Only I shall remain."

Mezo was only passively aware of Midnight and Present Mic announcing his victory and the crowd applauding him as he retracted his extended limbs and looked upon his damaged hands, clenching and unclenching them as he experienced his own pain as though it were not his.

I suppose this is what is meant by "mind over matter?" That or It's the adrenalin. That could be it.

Either way, I should see Recovery Girl.

"Shoji, did you pass out while standing?" Midnight was tapping the side of his face with her whip as she looked up at him with a cocked eyebrow.

"Ah, no, Midnight-sensei. I was lost in thought. I am going to see Recovery Girl now."

"Good idea. Maybe you clipped your head at some point."

With that, Mezo exited the field.

T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r

Eijiro Kirishima was conflicted. On the one hand, Shoji had just put on an incredibly manly display of pure guts and willpower. There was no question that he deserved his victory after a showing like that. On the other hand, Mina had lost, which meant that they wouldn't be able to meet up in the semifinals like they had promised.

The arena was damaged, which meant that they would be spending some time fixing it, right?

Enough time?

Had to be. He didn't need long.

"I'd better go get ready for my fight. You guys hold down the fort, yeah?"

He was given various responses from his classmates which ranged from "Good luck!" to "Who do you think you're talking to, dumbass?" as he hurriedly left the stands.

It was bad luck. It was nothing more than bad luck and he needed to make sure she knew that. Two losses back-to-back in the same day…Eijiro didn't think that Mina was weak or anything like that, but chances were good that she wasn't taking it well.

They were told to leave their phones and stuff in the waiting room, right? She was second in the bracket, which meant that she would have gone to waiting room two. She hadn't really taken any damage during her fight, so if she had gone to Recovery Girl, she wouldn't be long. Hell, Mina was tough; chances were good she hadn't gone to Recovery Girl anyway.

With that logic, Eijiro made his way to the second waiting room and was rewarded with the sight of Mina's phone on the table. His horn buddy was nowhere to be seen, so she must have gone to see Recovery Girl after all.

"Hey, Ei."

…OR, she might have been leaning against the wall next to the door. Probably would have scared the crap out of him if Eijiro hadn't been looking for her in the first place. He gave the door a gentle shove, causing it to close with a click before he turned to face her properly, taking a couple of seconds to finalize what he wanted to say.

"You doing alright, Mina?"

"Back hurts a little bit." she shrugged, her expression neutral, "I rolled with the fall, so it's not too bad."

"You put up a hell of a fight. I don't think anybody expected Shoji to do something like that."

"It didn't matter in the end though."

She didn't have her usual sparkle in her eyes. All of the energy and life that defined who Mina Ashido was seemed to have just up and left. She wasn't sad like she had been after the USJ incident; this was different. It seemed like she had just…given up.

To Eijiro, this was almost worse. No, strike that, it was worse.

"Mina." her gaze remained downcast, "Mina, look at me." he lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze, "It's not your fault. The thing with Tetsutetsu wasn't your fault either."

"That's the kind of thing you say to someone just to make them feel better, but it's never true, is it?" she tried to smile, but all it did was make her look sad, "How could it not have been my fault, Ei? They were both one-on-one. Just me and my opponent, but I lost both times."

"It was just bad luck."

Those words had roughly the opposite of the effect that Eijiro had intended. Mina shoved his arm away, clearly upset.

"'Bad luck?' What kind of pathetic excuse is that supposed to be? What kind of loser would I be if I blamed luck?!"

She pushed past him, going for her phone on the table.

I can't let her leave like this!

Eijiro grabbed her upper arm, stopping Mina in her tracks. She tried to pull away from him, but he didn't let go.

"Let me go!"

"I'm telling you, neither of those was your fault! How could you have known you were paired off against the one guy your strategy with the flag wouldn't have worked against? How could you have known that Shoji would just power through your acid like that? What were you supposed to do, melt him down to his bones or something?!"

"It doesn't matter!" she yelled, her voice breaking as she did so, "Heroes deal with the unexpected every single day! If I can't even cope with stuff like that now, how am I supposed to when it's someone's life on the line?!"

"That's why we're here, Mina!" Eijiro shouted back, "We're not Heroes yet! It's easy to forget that sometimes, what with the costumes and the exercises and everything, but the fact of the matter is that we're not Heroes and you know what? Nobody expects us to be. Not when we haven't even completed a full term yet."

"How many times do I get to screw up before people realize that it's something wrong with me?!" she was openly crying at this point, "Kurogiri got away because of me. Tetsutetsu got the flag because of me. I choked in front of all those people, lost the match and broke our promise because of me, Ei!" she pounded her free fist against his chest, punctuating her statements.

Eijiro released her arm and moved his hand to the back of her head, planting her forehead against his collar. One of her horns caught him on the cheek as he did this, but he ignored the sting.

"We're supposed to screw up. We're supposed to fail. We're supposed to fall flat on our faces, eat shit and then get up and keep going. 'If you wanna be a Hero, then fail as hard as possible while you're still young. Make every single mistake you can, that way when it's go time for real, you don't gotta to worry about making a single one.'" Eijiro chuckled a bit after he said that, "I can't take credit for that last bit, since Crimson Riot said it, but you get it, right?"

Mina grabbed fistfuls of his shirt as she took deep, shaky breaths.

"But…we promised…"

"Sure, it sucks that we won't be able to meet in the semifinals, but that was all so one of us could stand at the top, right? As long as I go out there and win, then our promise still stands!"

"…Okay." she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close, "I'll hold you to that, Ei. You better not lose against the same guy that I lost against, or we're both sunk." Eijiro returned her embrace, jaw set and eyes sharp.

"I won't. I give you my word as a man."

T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r

"My sincerest apologies for all the downtime spent fixing the ring, Listeners! Let's now get the third match underway! This one promises to be a real knock-down drag-out manly brawl, so those of you who like that kind of thing, make sure not to touch that dial! And if your TV has a dial, it's probably worth a TON of money to an antiques collector, so you should probably look into that afterwards!"

"Since my co-host seems to have gotten off-topic, the third match is Eijiro Kirishima versus Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu. Both of you get out here."

"Shota! That's not how you're supposed to introduce the fighters! Where's your sense of drama?!"

"It took one look at yours and shot itself in the head."

Eijiro and his opponent entered the ring at the same time and stood across from each other, sizing each other up. All-told, they were of a similar build. Tetsutetsu might have been an inch or so taller.

"Hey, you better not hold anything back here, 1-A." Tetsutetsu said, baring his sharp teeth that so closely resembled Eijiro's, "If I'm gonna prove that all you are is a copy of me, then I don't want you making any excuses afterwards."

"If there's a copy here, then it's not me." Eijiro might ordinarily have risen to a taunt like that, but he couldn't afford to right then. "I gave my word as a man that I would win this, so you don't stand a chance in hell against me right now."

Tetsutetsu's grin faded at that. He studied Eijiro with a curious look in his eyes before furrowing his brow and nodding curtly.

"I see. If it's like that, then I need to go all-out from the get-go, huh?"

"Kirishima, are you ready?"

"Yeah, Midnight-sensei."

"Tetsutetsu, are you ready?"

"Let's get this thing going."

"Very good. Take your stances…and BEGIN!"

Eijiro shot towards his opponent, arm cocked back as he engaged his full-body hardening even as his opponent's skin took on the gray sheen of steel as he mirrored Eijiro's pose. Neither slowed down before they collided in the center of the ring, fists smashing into each other's faces, causing their heads to jerk to the side before they immediately recovered and went on the offensive again.

In spite of the taunts that they exchanged, saying things like "You'll have to do better than that!" or "That didn't hurt!" Eijiro had to admit that Tetsutetsu's blows were starting to take their toll on him. He was every bit as strong as Eijiro himself was, and every bit as solid from what he could tell, if not more so.

This won't work. If I'm going to win, I can't just attack wildly. Remember what Bakugo and Ojiro have been drilling into that thick skull of yours, Riot!

Suddenly, a hardened fist flashed out and nailed Tetsutetsu in the face, causing his head to jerk back slightly, but seeming to lack the force of Eijiro's previous blows.

"What's the problem? You getting tired? That one was weaker than the others!" he retaliated with a heavy straight that struck against Eijiro's raised forearm before he was struck in the face by yet another sharp blow.

"Oh? What's this, Listeners? Kirishima seems to have changed his movements all of a sudden!"

"Seriously, what's with these weak-ass punches?!" Tetsutetsu was clearly growing frustrated as another of his blows was caught by Eijiro's guard before he was struck in the face yet again by Eijiro's left, "You won't get anywhere with those!" he launched a haymaker at Eijiro, intending to break through his guard, but he was met with a surprise.

*CLANG*

Eijiro had not blocked this time. Instead, he had swayed his head to the side, stepped in and nailed Tetsutetsu full in the face with a full-body strike, sending him crashing to the floor.

"WHOA-HO! Was that a cross-counter?!"

That was, in fact, exactly what it was.

"Cross-counter, huh?" Tetsutetsu regained his feet and cracked his neck, "Didn't know you were a boxer. Why hide it until now if you're so determined to win, huh?"

"Honestly, it's not how I prefer to do things." Eijiro responded, rolling his shoulders, "I'm all about having a good old-fashioned brawl, but, as my friends have shown me, that's not always the best call."

"'Swallow your pride and do what's best,' huh?" Tetsutetsu sighed and bounced on the balls of his feet, "Guess I should probably do the same."

He dashed forwards with an overhead hammer fist, which Eijiro sidestepped before being caught in the gut by a vicious knee.

"You see, you're not the only one with smart friends. I've got a few of those myself." a follow-up hook sent Eijiro to the ground, his last-second guard not having been enough to absorb all of the impact.

"This appears to be the match of hidden depths, Listeners! Tetsutetsu is now moving completely differently than he was before!"

Heh…I guess we really are similar, huh? Here I thought I could get the upper hand on him by using an actual style, but he's got one too…go figure.

Eijiro stood back up and took a deep breath, reinforcing his Quirk as much as possible.

Forget saving anything for the upcoming matches; I need to give this everything I've got right here, right now!

Eijiro put his guard up, bent his knees and dashed towards his opponent. He was met with a hook, which he ducked before retaliating with an uppercut. Tetsutetsu rolled with the blow, striking out wildly with his leg as he went down and smashing it against Eijiro's guard, knocking him off-balance long enough for Tetsutetsu to recover.

Block. Dodge. Body. Body. Head. Counter. Block. Eijiro's conscious mind was practically non-existent save for the most basic of reactionary thoughts. Somewhere in the back of his mind though, he began to understand the fundamental difference between Tetsutetsu and himself.

If he had been asked, Eijiro would likely not have been able to put it into words, but he could see it on a basic, essential level: he had been focusing on improving his speed and technique to augment his power while Tetsutetsu had evidently doubled-down on the power and gained enough technique to help him leverage it. That was likely why he seemed to be mixing moves together almost randomly as the situation called for it.

Eijiro was by no means an experienced boxer. He had only been training in earnest for just under a month. It would, under most circumstances, be considered odd for him to be able to read and react to his opponent's moves as well as he was currently doing. In terms of overall technique, the pair of them were more or less equal, with Eijiro having a slight edge due to his moveset being from a single style of fighting, thus making it more cohesive.

The difference was speed. Tetsutetsu's moves, while destructive and accurate, lacked the snap that Eijiro's had. This led to him telegraphing many of his moves unnecessarily, which allowed Eijiro's inexperienced mind the extra fraction of a second it required to formulate the appropriate response.

As Ojiro would later say, he could hardly have asked for a better opponent at that point in his development.

Sharper. Faster. Stronger. He's gonna kick me next.

…Why hasn't it hit yet? Did I see it coming that far in advance? Could I have countered it? Could I still counter it?

Unfortunately, the inexperienced mind is prone to questioning itself and, failing to commit to a single course of action, attempts two simultaneously, inevitably leading to failure. In Eijiro's momentary lapse in judgement, he attempted to step in and strike at Tetsutetsu's exposed torso before the kick could land. Unfortunately for him, he had acted too late and Tetsutetsu, having divined this course of action through means known only to himself, had feinted with the kick, turning it into a knee instead, which connected with Eijiro's side just as his fist connected with Tetsutetsu's gut.

While Tetsutetsu had the edge in raw power, Eijiro's step-in had given him the advantage of momentum. The punch was not as clean or as deep as it could have been, but Eijiro's full weight had been behind it in the instant before he was sent to the ground by Tetsutetsu's knee.

"A dual exchange?! No! Kirishima is on the ground while Tetsutetsu is still standing! The man of steel clearly has the edge!"

"That depends."

"On what, Shota?"

"On whether Kirishima is able to keep this match going or not. In case you haven't noticed, he's been getting in two or three strikes for every one of Tetsutetsu's. The question then becomes 'Is each of Tetsutetsu's strikes doing two or three times as much damage to Kirishima as Kirishima's strikes are doing to him?' This match could still go either way."

I've been…hitting him more? I guess I have. He hits like a freaking truck though, even with Hardening…

…have I been hurting him? He's still standing. He hasn't gone down except for that one time.

He did go down though, and that's all I need to know!

Eijiro stood up again, noticing that Tetsutetsu had been waiting for him. Apparently, another thing the two of them shared was their sense of fair play.

If Eijiro wasn't careful, he might actually start to like the guy.

T – o – r – c – h – b – e – a – r – e – r

Five minutes later, the fight was still going and Mina Ashido was on the edge of her seat. She had known that Tetsutetsu was strong from seeing him in action during the previous events, but the idea that he was such a force to be reckoned with was more than she had expected. He had knocked Ei down a total of four times now while Ei had only downed him once at the beginning.

"Damn!" Bakugo was apparently thinking something similar, "After that cross-counter at the beginning, I thought he had this in the bag, but he's been getting his shit kicked in ever since that steel bastard decided to take him seriously! What's his deal?!"

"That cross-counter was a best-case scenario punch." Ojiro said with his arms crossed, watching the fight below with an intense gaze.

"What do you mean?" Mina inquired.

"He means that the steel bastard practically handed it over to him on a silver fucking platter." Bakugo snapped.

"You see, Ashido-san," Ojiro elaborated, "there are three important components to performing a successful counter. First, you have to know the type of attack that your opponent is going to use. Second, you have to know when your opponent is going to use that attack. Third, you have to know the correct type of move to counter this attack with."

"Oh!" apparently this had lit up a lightbulb for Midoriya, "Tetsutetsu-san was only using straights!"

"That's right." Ojiro agreed, "After each of Kirishima-san's jabs, he would attack with a left straight, trying to break Kirishima-san's guard. When your opponent only uses a single attack in such a predictable way, the first two requirements are easily fulfilled. As for the third, well, a straight is always the first technique one learns to counter, since it's such a staple. Of course, what Kirishima-san did was more of a hook than a true cross, but since he stepped in so far, it did the job just fine."

Mina understood and it didn't help her to feel better about the situation.

"But, Tetsutetsu's been using all sorts of different attacks! How is he supposed to counter him now?"

"He's not." Bakugo stated bluntly, "A counter is a tough thing to pull off and it's really risky if you do it wrong. Against an ordinary person, that might not be such a bad idea for Kirishima since he could just power through it, but against someone who practically has the same Quirk as him? Forget it."

"How's he supposed to win then, Bakugo?!" Mina snapped at him, causing him to shoot her a sideways glance with a raised eyebrow.

"Weren't you listening to Aizawa? He's wearing him down, or at least he's trying to."

"He's faster than Tetsutetsu-san is." Midoriya explained, "He's been landing more attacks than his opponent has. They haven't been as strong individually, but the damage has to be piling up on him."

"He's been making almost no effort to block Kirishima-san's strikes because he doesn't see them as a threat." Ojiro concurred, "Trust me when I say that's a mistake. Kirishima-san is doing exactly what he's supposed to do in a situation like this: he's playing to his strengths. Namely, his endurance."

"Endurance? But he's being taken apart!" Mina protested.

"It seemed that way during his fight with me during the Battle Trial too, didn't it?" Ojiro smirked, "I poured on the gas in order to finish him off quickly, but he just kept fighting back, didn't he? If you ask me, the one in trouble here is Tetsutetsu."

"DOWN! TETSUTETSU IS DOWN!"

"What?!" Mina's head spun around so fast that she nearly gave herself whiplash.

"What did I tell you? The real fight starts now."

Well, that's another fight that I didn't expect to have go on for so long, but Tetsutetsu had to go and take a level in badass. I just couldn't justify Eijiro's classmates recognizing that he needs to improve his fighting style without also recognizing that people such as Kendo, Monoma or Honenuki would probably come to similar conclusions about Tetsutetsu. The main difference here is that Eijiro has an expert like Ojiro teaching him. How will this impact the outcome of the fight? Find out next time!

As always, thank you for reading!