It took about fifteen minutes, when the stadium was finally rebuilt. Cementoss wanted to be certain that this new layer of cement would be much harder than the last one, not wanting to go through another ordeal of rubble coming for the audience.
The rest of the three matches for round two, was really something for the crowd.
Because his surgery took some time, Izuku was unable to see the results between Bakugō and Kirishima's match, along with Tokoyami and Iida's. Luckily, while Sierra's match with Mina was about to start, Ochako and Tsuyu informed him of the outcome for both matches.
While Kirishima held out much longer than Uraraka, thanks to his Hardening Quirk, even getting in a few scratches to hit Bakugō, it left him slower and leaving part of his blindspots open for the attack. Bakugō, while was forced to defend and dodge, took the time to land as much damage as he could to test out how strong Kirishima's Hardening was and how long it took before he's unable to keep using his Quirk. In the end, as Bakugō predicted, Kirishima could no longer keep using his Hardening and, after a barrage of powerful explosions, he was left unconscious and the victor went to Katsuki.
While the fight between Tokoyami and Iida, was actually a surprise. While Dark Shadow helped Tokoyami by attacking at long range, Iida was far too fast for the shadow bird to catch. And because he was left out in the light for too long, it drained the Shadow Quirk and, unintentionally, left himself wide open for Iida to use his Recipro Burst. With massive speed, he got in front of Tokoyami and shoved him as hard as he could to get him off his feet. Tokoyami ended up out of bounds, and Iida took the win.
Once caught up, the match between Ashido and Sierra started. For this match up, Izuku was a bit worried.
'With her acid, she can seriously hurt Sis. And, because of her shoes, Ashido is able to glide and move faster... However, if Sis could catch up to her and catch her off guard, she should be able to take the win.'
For this match up, Sierra chose to stay in her human-form. Nobody knows if she's going to turn into an animal later, or not at all. It was a big mystery, while most hope she would morph into another creature, especially to the one form none were able to do. Animal Quirk Users who can shape-shift into multiple animals, especially into a dragon, which only those who posses Dragon Quirks can tap into, was really something to behold.
Mina, while a bit surprised that her friend wasn't going to turn into an animal and was worried about hurting her friend, beamed up at the younger-girl.
"Sorry, Sis, but this win is going to be mine!" She announced, releasing the acid through her Acidproof shoes and started sliding on the ground, looking to be skating in her own acid. "I hope you're ready!"
Sierra smirked at her friend.
"Don't think you've already won the war, when the battle had just begun."
She ran toward Ashido.
The mauve-girl was stunned that her friend would choose to charge towards her when she was already on the move towards her, but pushed it aside and flung her arms forward, shooting out some of her acid.
Sierra took a guess about the acid Mina made, believing that the more acid she releases, the stronger they become. So, the less acid she releases, the less damage they cause. She, also, figured that Mina wants to try and spook her with her acid.
...Unfortunately for Mina, Sierra is no stranger to acid... All thanks to her experience with the League of Villains, when she was four and was force to go through some messed up situations that would scar anybody for life.
...That, and Raiden had some friends of his to enhance the material of the Jika-Tabi. So, imagine Mina's surprise when her friend, who neither flinched or slowed down, ran right through her acid as if running through a puddle of water.
Once she was close, Sierra slammed the palm of her left-hand to her left-shoulder and jabbed two fingers onto the underbelly of her arm.
The impact was very surprising... Though, nothing could prepare Ashido when, when trying to release another handful of acid with her left-arm... No acid was produced from her left-hand.
It was very startling.
Midnight and Cementoss were just as surprised on what they saw. Even Present Mic wasn't sure on what he saw to being possible, while Shōta beamed up with pride.
'She really learned everything Raiden taught her,' he thought. 'Only a few heroes are able to use pressure points to stop Quirk from activating, and he's one of them. To pass down that knowledge to Sierra, and mastering it at such a young age... It makes her more valuable to becoming a future hero... Though, it does make me wonder -He looked over to his classroom, seeing a bandaged, limping Midoriya watching the fight.- Could he be at the same level as Ra Ra, to use pressure points? And if so, why didn't he use it, during his fight with Todoroki?'
Ashido stared down at her limb, feeling it going numb and cold, as the acid in her hand dripped to the ground.
Her golden-yellow eyes, surrounded in black, stared up at her opponent, who reminded behind her back.
"What did you do to my arm? And my Quirk?" She asked, feeling a bit scared when she could barely twitch her fingers.
Sierra gave her a reassuring smile.
"I stopped the flow of your chi in your arm, preventing you from using your Quirk and ceasing the secretion of acid your body is producing." She answered. "Don't worry, it's only temporary, and it'll wear off. Which will give me plenty of time to bring you down!"
Mina quickly skated skated away from her opponent.
"You'll have to catch me first, Ra Ra!"
Sierra flashed her a wolf-like smile, then stunned her by gliding on the acid trailer, quickly catching up to her.
Out of instinct, Mina flung her right-hand to her opponent.
"But how?! Your shoes should be melting!"
Sorta easily dodged the splutter of acid, then thrusted forward, while bending low, to slide between her opponent's legs and get behind her.
"Normal shoes would be melting, if they weren't Acidproof. Fortunately for me, my godfather gave me shoes that are Acidproof like your own."
To the announcement, Sierra thrusted her fingers to Mina's right-arm and jabbed into two more spots at the back of her head.
...Her body felt numb to the sudden coldness, both her arms dangling, and her acid no longer coming off her hands or skin.
In a desperate attempt to keep fighting, she focused her Quirk to her feet and tried to skate as fast as she could around the ring.
...
...One minute she was getting away, struggling to stay standing when the heavy weight in her arms threatened to pull her down...
...
...Next thing she knows, she's knocked to the ground by a white-wolf, pinned by the creature's thin, but strong form.
She's completely at her mercy. Sierra pinned both the back of Mina's knees with her own feet, claws gently digging through the material of their P.E. clothes and resting on top of her skin. The claws at her forearms sat on her shoulder-blades.
The wolf let out a terrifying snarl, lifting her lips to show off her fangs to her captured victim.
"It's best you surrender, Ashido." She growled, her eyes flashing a wildness nature Mina only see from wind animals on TV. "Even if you were to get me off of you, you can't use your Quirk through your hands and will be left to use your feet to flee. And I doubt you'll be able to take on a wolf, without the use of your hands."
Knowing that she's right and seeing that she doesn't have a chance to beat her, Mina clenched her eyes together.
"...I give up." She grounded out, pouting that she admitted defeat.
Midnight heard her, and snapped her flogger-style whip.
"Ashido has given up!" She proudly announced. "Sierra Arashi, advances to the next round!"
Everyone cheered for the white-wolf, who jumped off of Mina and, just for the heck of it, raised her head and let out a mighty howl of victory.
...Her howl sounded like a wind blowing through a wind-chime, creating a beautiful melody.
When she finished her howling, she morphed back into her human-self and kneeled over a struggling Ashido.
"Here," she said. "This might be a bit painful, but it'll rid away the effects."
Before Ashido could ask her how much it'll hurt, she found herself wincing and gasping from the jabbing of the fingers digging into her back and, when slightly flipping her over, into her side and stomach. The burning feeling coursed throughout her body... Only for the pain to immediately die away and the numbing feeling gone, as if it never existed in the first place.
...With it, she can freely move her arms and hands, once more... Along with being able to use her Acid Quirk, again.
When she finished her work and seeing the joy on Mina's face on being able to use her Quirk, Sierra offered her a helping hand to get back to her feet.
Mina beamed up at her, accepting the hand.
"I knew that I wouldn't be able to take you on," she said. "With you being a ninja and al-"
"Actually, I was trained by somebody who could be compared to being a ninja, but are a Special Elite Force of assassins called 'Yau (Night Rain)'."
Mina's eyes widened to the news... Then, she wrapped her arms around Sierra, pulling her into a tight hug.
"I WAS RIGHT! YOU ARE A NINJA! ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS IS A NINJA!"
Thanks to the earplugs in her ears, her voice didn't irritated Sierra's hearing. Though, she did grumbled that one of her classmate is still calling her a ninja.
'Guess I can't get them to see that I'm not a classified ninja, despite having a godfather who many kept referring to being a trained ninja/assassin... Oh well.'
Izuku beamed down at his sister, excitement coursing through his body from the thought of her being part of the big four in the semi-finals, along with their friend, Iida... Though, his heart did quiver and a strong tug of fear entered his heart, from the thought of Sierra fighting either Shōto Todoroki... Or worse, Katsuki Bakugō.
"I can't believe Sis got Mina." Tōru gasped, sounding very shocked. "What's more? She ran through her acid, and her shoes didn't melt away! Did she predict that she would be fighting Mina?! Can she see the future?!"
Izuku smirked at his classmate's astonishment.
"Our godfather wanted us to be prepare for anything, which includes protecting our feet from anything hazardous that could melt through our shoes and damage them. So, he had us inscribe special customized footwear to our hero-suits for Support Group to make our shoes immune to Acid and other elemental properties."
Ochako stared down at his feet, slightly wincing at his cast up left-leg, seeing some similarities footwear Sierra is wearing, but could match to being the same brand of shoes he wore for his hero-suit, besides it looking less bulky and in a black with the secondary color being dark-green.
"But, Deku, the shoes you're wearing right now isn't the same ones you wore with your costume." She pointed out, earning a smile and a confirmed nod.
"Yeah. I was, actually, testing those shoes out to see how well I could use them and see if they best suit me if I go out as a hero. I'm considering to having these to be my main footwear for my hero-suit, since they're just like the Jika-Tabi I'm used to wearing and are much lighter to walk in, undetected, than the other ones."
"And now we have our top four participates, entering the Semi-Final round!" Present Mic proudly announced, as a picture image of the four entering the semi-final appeared on the big screens.
As Sierra and Mina left the arena, walking towards the same direction and deciding to accompany each other before they go their separate ways. Todoroki walked towards them to take their place in the fight.
Barely crossing path with the girls, Sierra heard something from the older-boy.
"...I'm sorry..."
She didn't pause, nor did she look at him... A small-smile appeared on her face, silently taking the message to heart, which Ashido wasn't able to hear.
'...Good luck, Todoroki-kun... Though, you may not be needing it, with your fight against Kacchan.'
"And to start off the Semi-Finals-...! Okay, for me, I just wanna say, this match up feels like it should be the Final Round for the Tournament! How can we be having Shōto Todoroki vs Katsuki Bakugō, at the start of the Semi-Finals?!"
"Just because you want them to already be fighting in the Final Round, doesn't mean you're going to get it, Mic. Just hurry up, and let them fight. I wanna get this over with."
"...Once again, people, Eraser Head! The life of the party!"
Sierra sat in the Waiting Room with Iida, both wanting to prepare themselves for their fight. Luckily, they have a TV monitor in the room. So, they'll be able to watch the fight go on between Todoroki and Bakugō like everybody else.
"While I do admire their attempt to ease everybody's concern and stress, I believe Present Mic should consider being more serious when announcing the fight between opponents." Iida commented.
Sierra nodded her head in agreement.
"Since Aizawa-sensei isn't really one to talk much, unless he feels the need to do so, Present Mic doesn't seem to mind to doing the talking for the both of them. While at the same time, express his own excitement of the Sports Festival. After all, we're reaching near the Final Round of the Sports Festival."
Iida simply folded his arms over his chest.
"Even so... -The two watch the screen, watching the two start their attacks after Present Mic told them to start, with Todoroki sending a massive column of ice towards Bakugō, who powered his way through it with his Explosion.- Who do you think will win, Sierra-chan?"
Sierra shrugged her shoulders.
"Beats me," she answered. "Honestly, it can go either way."
Tenya was quite surprised to her honesty, turning to stare at her.
"Really?"
She smirked at his surprised statement.
"While Todoroki-kun is clearly the strongest in the class, his many years at forsaking part of himself and, in terms, snuffing his fire out, left him at an imbalance with his Quirks and not at his fullest potential at using both of them, together. And while his ice is very strong, it's weak against extreme heat. He's, also, better suited for long-range than close-range, to better his options at capturing his opponents from afar. On the other hand, while Bakugō's Explosion is very powerful, he has a limit to how much force and how large he make them from his nitroglycerin-sweat. And, because its sweat, made from his body and water, he can risk dehydrating himself and over-exerting his muscles. He's, also, more into close-range combat, to prevent himself from overusing his Quirk at a distance."
Todoroki enveloped Bakugō in a wall of ice, just as he did with Ibara.
"Waaah?! Todoroki froze Bakugō with a powerful ice blast! His opponent is completely buried within in! Is it possible that we've already got a winner, so soon?!"
The two stared at the large-ice Todoroki made. While it was still a surprising sight, it wasn't very startling as the first one he made. They could, also, see that it was much smaller.
"He's in more control with his Ice Quirk than the last time he used it with his fight with Ibara Shiozaki." Iida commented, amazed on how his classmate is able to produce so much ice.
"He's being cautious, knowing that Bakugō's Explosion will prevent his ice from freezing him." Sierra replied, hearing a rumble sound coming from the ice. "And now, Kacchan is using his Quirk to power through the ice."
Just as she said was going to happen, a massive hole appeared in the wall of ice, as massive shards scattered across the arena, with Bakugō standing within the hole.
"Impossible!" Iida yelled, standing out of his seat. "Nobody should be able to dig through that! It must at least five tons!"
"Like I said, Ten, his ice is weak to extreme heat and, because he's more equipped to close-range, Kacchan has no problem blasting through the ice. However, because of the coolness surrounding his body in the process, he's forced to increase the heat into his hands to produce more nitroglycerin-sweat. Which means, he's going to try and rush Todoroki."
"That's some Ice you got there... Too bad you fucking suck at aiming!" Bakugō yelled, launching himself towards his opponent, who pushed himself to run and try to make contact with Bakugō with his right-hand.
...He immediately dodged the hand and, raising himself a bit higher in the air, Katsuki grabbed for his opponent's left-sleeve and the top of his head.
"Are you fucking with me, Icy-Hot BASTARD?! Don't underestimate me!"
With all his strength and the instant his feet planted firmly to the ground, he tossed Todoroki as hard as he could, releasing a blast of his explosion to send him farther.
With quick reflexes, Todoroki shifted himself right and, with his hand, summoned ice to catch him... Then, with both his right-hand and foot, slide with the moving element.
"And Todoroki caught himself on time, and is now surfing on ice! That looks like fun!"
He circled around Bakugō, giving him no room to dodge, while his opponent charged ahead to grab him. This time, Todoroki anticipated his movement and grabbed at his right-arm with his left, avoiding the explosion.
Sierra's eyes widened at his decision.
'Is he going to use it?'
She saw his hand tensing up for a few seconds... Only to then tossed Bakugō to the side and getting off of his ice.
She let out a tiring sigh.
'He maybe in the beginning process on healing, but he's still uncomfortable on using his Fire Quirk. And now, with Kacchan demanding him to use it on him, along with Endeavour, no doubt, calling out from the peanut gallery to use it, is going to stress him out even more so.'
"What the hell, Icy-Hot?! Am I not worthy for your fire?!" Bakugō snarled, as explosion popped off his hands.
Sierra glared at Bakugō.
"He may not look like it, but Kacchan's starting to figure out Todoroki-kun's movement and fighting-style... He purposely dodged his attack, so he can get a better idea on how his opponent fights."
Iida was really surprised by her deduction.
"You mean to tell me, he would've allowed himself to be frozen by Todoroki-kun's ice?"
Sierra nodded her head.
"He wouldn't care if his ice touched him. So long as he could get in a reach to lay an attack on him, a little ice, no matter how massive it is, won't stop him from going all out."
It was something to take in, especially when Aizawa, also, commented on how Bakugō is adapting more to his opponent's fighting-style and how Todoroki's attack are too simple.
Tenya was completely taken back on how similar his classmate and their teacher's words are almost the same when describing the outcome of the fight.
"Both you and Aizawa-sensei deducted on what's going on in the match, Sierra-chan... If I didn't know any better, I would assume you both are sharing the same thoughts, like how you and Midoriya do."
Sierra smiled at the Class President's words, taking it in as a compliment.
"Thanks, Ten."
Her smile immediately went away, when watching Bakugō charging towards his opponent.
"Bastard! I'll show you what'll happen, if you make a fool out of me...! I'll kill you, if you don't give me the same power you used on Shitty-nerd Deku!"
No matter how many times he makes that same threat to everyone in their classroom, Tenya was still taken back that he would scream it out at the top of his lungs, in front of everybody watching the Sports Festival.
"...How can anybody expect him to become a hero, after displaying a destructive behavior that a villain possesses?"
"He had this behavior, ever since he gained his Quirk." Sierra answered, having already gotten used to the oldest-student's violent behavior years ago. "With everybody praising his Quirk and how he'll become the greatest and strongest hero, he ended up gaining a superiority complex. -She watches Katsuki use his Quirk to launch himself in the air.- ...My mom told me a few times, 'Nothing good can come from spoiling a child'... Seeing the results from Kacchan, proves that she was right."
A faint trail of steam came off of Todoroki's body, as ice from Todoroki's right-side evaporated off his body... Then, fire burst off of his left-side.
Iida and Sierra were stunned.
"He's going to use his fire, against Bakugō-kun?!"
Sierra didn't know how to answer that, as Bakugō released small-burst of explosions off his hands to swiftly make his body spin, cloaking himself in a drill/tornado-like smoke.
'He most likely regained some of his fire, after his fight with Izu. And, if he were to use that same attack he used with Izu, he can cut off the oxygen surrounding the tornado-smoke and certainly win against Kacchan...!'
Bakugō grew closer to his opponent, his tornado-smoke spinning faster. Todoroki stood his ground, extending his left-arm towards Bakugō, the flames raging through the changing of the wind.
...
...
...
...The hand lowered...
...
...
...The fire-died away...
...
...
...
...
...
...Todoroki took the attack... Not moving to even block the attack.
...
...
...A massive explosion engulfed the entire arena, almost the exact force of a missile.
Their room shook from the vibration of the explosion, which they immediately got under the table in case the light from above them comes down on them.
"Did he released all of that power, in that attack?!" Iida cried, hunch over Sierra should their table collapse and want to not have his fellow classmate get hurt.
"It must be from gathering so much oxygen, while creating that tornado of his." She replied, slowly pulling away from Iida when the shaking finally stopped. "The more air that's gathered, the stronger the attack. He must've learned a way to increase the strength of his explosion and not use too much of his sweat, while preparing for the Sports Festival.
Tenya didn't like the sound of that.
"That'll make him more of a danger, if he keeps up his destructive behavior."
Both looked up at the screen, which remained intact on its spot... Both were stunned by the sight:
Katsuki Bakugō, in all his raging glory, stood over an unconscious Shōto Todoroki, sprawled on the patch of his destroyed ice... Out of bounds. Bakugō, not in the slightest, happy of the outcome, as he yelled and shook the unconscious boy, preaching on how he didn't give it his all and this wasn't a victory for him.
By the time Midnight used her Somnambulist Quirk to force Bakugō to sleep, she announced him as the winner of the match and in the final match.
Both Iida and Sierra turned to each other, nervous and uncomfortable of the outcome, while the crowd outside erupted in cheer.
...Then, Tenya's phone went off, which was being held in a locker that contained his belongings.
He retrieved his phone... The call was coming from his mother.
...
...
...Both of their hearts felt frozen, when he answered the phone and the frantic concern of his mother could be heard through the device.
"...That was-..." Kirishima didn't know the right words to describe what they just saw.
"It was destructive, and not very heroic-like." Yaoyurozu voiced out, disapproved of the oldest-student's action. "He brings great shame to the school."
Mineta trembled behind his seat.
"That fight was a massacre! Now, I'm scared on who's going to be fighting him in the final round! He's going to rip them to pieces, once he wakes up!"
"...In all honesty, I'd rather Iida-kun fight Bakugō-kun instead of Sis." Kaminari replied, which earned him a glare from Izuku. "No offense, Midoriya-kun. She may be strong, and clever, but Bakugō-kun we'll end up beating her to a bloody pulp. I mean, you saw what he did to Uraraka-chan! She's lucky that she got out of there, with just scrapes in a few burn marks!"
"Though I hate to side with the idiot on this, Kaminari-kun does have a fair point." Jirō backed up. "Sis isn't physically strong enough to fight him. Plus, she needs to rely on her animal-forms to keep up, while Iida-kun can just use his speed to quickly rush his opponent and get them out of bounds. Just like he did with Tokoyami-kun, in their match."
The Raven/Shadow-Quirk User didn't say anything to counter her claim, as his pride is still a bit sore.
"And from how many times she morphed today, she outta be over-exerting herself to exhaustion, even when she took the few breaks to recuperate." Satō added in.
Izuku heard just enough of their doubts to his sister, especially when she proved how skilled she is time and time, again... He's beginning to see her point of view, whenever others doubted him and she did all she could to keep pushing him forward.
"None of you know Sis, like I do." He growled out, watching Cementoss and Ectoplasm clearing the ice off the stage and field. "You may think you do, because she or I had told you about her struggles. What you don't know, is all the hardships we push ourselves through, during our training. None of you even know who it was that taught us how to fight, besides hearing that he's our godfather. And though she may not appear strong as a human, that doesn't make her weak... After all, most of you thought I would end up last, when we were doing a Quirk Assessment Test., all because I had trouble controlling my Quirk."
Some of the students bowed their heads, ashamed for underestimating the green-haired teen the moment they first saw him and heard on how his body was badly damaged after using his Quirk. And now, they're judging doing it, again, with Sierra.
"...You're right, Midoriya-kun." Momo replied, bowing her head to the fifteen year-old. "We had no right to already make assumption on Sierra-chan's chances on winning against Bakugō-kun is not possible, when we don't truly know how it'll turn out. Please, accept our apologies, for being so rude."
"We didn't mean to sound so unsupportive." Hagakure explained. "We just don't want to see what Bakugō-kun will do to her, if they fought each other. He didn't go easy on Ocha, when they fought."
Feeling sightly offended, Uraraka turned to stare at the invisible girl.
"I knew he wouldn't hold back," she said. "And still, I gave it my all. Even if he were to try and hold back, I wouldn't want him to do so, thinking I wouldn't be able to handle his strength. It wouldn't be much of a fair match, if he didn't take me seriously. -She turned to Izuku, smiling determinedly.- Ten and Sis are our friends, so I'll root for whichever of them that ends up fighting Bakugō. No matter how low of a chance they may appear to have, I'll still cheer them on."
Izuku nodded his head to the first friend he made since joining U.A.
"Thanks, Uraraka-chan."
She beamed up at his gratitude.
"Yeah, but that still doesn't change from the fact that Iida-kun has more of a chance at winning this match than Sierra-chan." Mineta pointed out.
Like his friend, he earned a glare from the green-haired teenager.
"Remember the Quirk Assessment Test? When we took turn on the Long Distance Throw Test? -The shortest-boy nodded his head, s bit nervous when he flashed him an evil smile.- Recall what animal she was, when she threw the ball. Along with when she caught the Nomu off guard, before she turned into a dragon. Then, you'll see why I still claim she has a chance to beat Iida-kun."
They all thought about the hint he gave them... Then, many blushed when they remembered her elephant-form.
"...I take it back. It could go either way." Satō replied, earning some nods from the others who thought the same thing.
"All right, folks! Now that we got rid of the ice, it's time to begin the next fight!"
Shōta glared at his friend's inability to sit still in his seat.
"You're overly excited for this match up, Mic." He said, in his usual monotone voice.
"You darn right I am! I'm getting literal goosebumps from how far Ra Ra is exceeding in the games! I'm hoping for her to be in the final round with Bakugō and putting him in his place!"
The thirty-one year-old didn't make any comment on that. He truly is disgusted by learning about Bakugō's bullying towards Izuku and, no doubt, his daughter. But, as his teacher, despite his inability to be humble and be considerate of others, he shows great potential on being a hero... He just need to get passed his mad-dog persona and get off his high horse, and then he'll be a step closer at being a hero.
Right before Hizashi was about to announce, Midnight, who returned to the arena when the ice finally cleared, raised her hand in the air.
"Everyone! We have an important announcement to make!" Midnight called out, going to the center of the ring, with Cementoss accompanying her.
"During the cleaning process of the ring, Tenya Iida and Sierra Arashi had came to inform Midnight of a family emergency that just came forth." Cementoss announced, which got the crowd and a couple of the students concerned. "We don't know the whole detail, but, because of the dire situation... Tenya Iida had forfeited his chance to compete."
Everyone was completely taken back by the news... Izuku felt his heart clench in his chest.
'If Iida-kun backed down, that means-...'
"And so, because he surrendered, that means Sierra Arashi automatically wins the match, before it even started. Which means, -She snapped her flogger-style whip, smiling big and proudly.- WE NOW MOVE ON TO THE FINAL MATCH OF THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS SPORTS FESTIVAL!*"
Hizashi's jaw dropped at the announcement... Then, as tears fell behind his shades, regained his exciting persona and proudly screamed into the microphone.
"WHICH MEANS, WE HAVE KATSUKI BAKUGŌ, COMPETING AGAINST SIERRA ARASHI! THIS THE ONE OF THE FIGHTS I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR TO HAPPEN! THIS IS GOING TO BE A MATCH TO REMEMBER, FOLKS!"
Sitting beside him, Shōta remained quiet... His hands are clenching into tight fists, as his teeth slowly grinding together... He isn't happy, let alone excited, for this match up.
'I may had stood up for him, when he was fighting Uraraka, but after seeing the extent he put into the attacks to bring her down -He glared down at the left-side of the ring, as a slightly drowsy, but still seething, pissed off Bakugō walked to the stage.- ...I can't convince her to stop, or even come up with any excuse to prevent the two from fighting each other... Which I can only do, is give my silent support to her... And hope Bakugō won't torture her, as much as he did with his last opponents.'
"Nani?! He quit?! Naze?!" Kaminari cried out, slightly shivering when he saw the raging Bakugō coming to the ring.
"So much for that elephant plan..." Mineta muttered, earning a jab in the ear by jirō.
"Whatever that family emergency is about, it must be very serious. Kero." Asui suspected, seeing Sierra making her way to the arena. "But now, that leaves Sis to face off Bakugō-kun."
"And after his performances in the games, he'll surely overpower her." Yaoyurozu added in, glaring down at the oldest-student of the class.
Some of the students turned to Izuku, who opened his journal that he got from his locker, ready to take notes.
"You still think she has a chance to win this, Midoriya-kun?" Shōji from the back asked.
"...Honestly, it can go either way." He replied, pinning his journal against his lap with his cast left-arm. "Kacchan has superior brute force, he can even use whatever weaknesses she possesses to his advantage... However, Sis and I studied his every move and skills, even coming up with possible theories that could come in handy to give her a lead of her own."
Nobody knew if they should be relieved, or worried to his opinion.
"Sis will beat him."
Most of the students turned to Mina, who say beside Kirishima, staying quiet since her loss against the fourteen year-old.
"Mina-chan?" Hagakure called out, getting the mauve-colored girl to turn to them, flashing them a confidential smile.
"She was able to take me down, using her own strength and through pressure points, before turning into a wolf to pin me down. She even anticipated Kaminari-kun's attack, and was able to dodge his lightning. -She sent a firm nod to Izuku, smiling big.- If she can apprehend us that quickly, either as an animal or human, then there's no doubt that she'll be able to hold her own against Bakugō-kun."
"I'm going to agree with Ashido-chan on that." Tokoyami replied, smirking at some of his classmates' stunned looks. "Both she and Midoriya-kun both stayed focused on what to do, during the Cavalry Battle. They even figured out on a possible ability on my Quirk, that even I didn't know Dark Shadow was capable of doing. And if they've studied on Bakugō-kun's Quirk, then Sis should be able to figure out a way on getting passed his Explosion Quirk."
They all stayed quiet turning to one another, before they turned their attention to their two classmates.
Izuku smiled big and proud.
'Whether you do win this match against Kacchan or lose, Sis. I'll be proud of you, for getting this far... We'll all be proud of you, for giving it your all... Just, please, be careful.'
A pair of footsteps caught his attention from his left... Shōto Todoroki stood before him.
...He seemed a bit awkward, with a hint of nervous.
"...Can I sit here?"
Izuku was surprised by the question.
On the one hand, he still hasn't forgiven him for slightly burning his sister during the Calvary Battle... But on the other hand, and mostly on that part, he truly wants to help Todoroki heal.
...And one of the healing process he needs right now, is for Izuku to become his friend.
He sent him a smile, nodding his head.
"Go ahead, Todoroki."
From the four corners of the stage, the flames bursted out to the highest of their peak. The crowd above them was going nuts, pumped up with excitement and adrenaline.
Sierra can hear many of them calling out her make, cheering her on... Only a few called out to Bakugō... They were yelling at him to not seriously wound her and, for once, stop acting like a villain.
She let out a low growl. Her emotions had gone very negative, since Iida got that call from his mother about his brother, Tensei, being attacked by a villain and is fighting for his life. And now, just the slightest thought that irritates her, can very much set her off.
'Dad already gave them a lecture, when they called him out during his fight with Ocha. Are they really asking for another lecture?'
In front of her, Bakugō kept sneering. Clearly, he isn't satisfied with the outcome on winning with his fight against Todoroki.
And now, because Iida forfeited, he has to fight with one of his childhood acquaintances he grew up since he was a toddler.
...She isn't his favorite person, just like many others... And yet, she's one of the very few he tolerates on having around... Most of the time.
Still, he found it idiotic that the Class Representative just gave up, all because of some family emergency.
Sierra glared at the older-teen... She wanted to say something to him, before they even start fighting and if he chooses to be a prick, she's not going to hold anything back.
"...Kacchan." She barked, getting him to slightly jerk his head up and glare back at her. "...Cut it out."
...He was completely taken back by her words... Then, his temper spiked up.
"What did you just say to me, Half-Blood?" He snarled, his Quirk jumping from both his hands.
Sierra wasn't fazed by the response, folding her arms over her chest, feeling her control to stay put starting to loosen.
"I want you to quit acting like a spoil child, who didn't get what he wanted, and to get over the unsatisfying fight you had with Todoroki-kun. If you want people to take you seriously, you'll drop your grudge and accept that you won the match."
Her words set him off and, before Midnight or even Present Mic allowed the two to begin, he charged for the girl, roaring in rage and his hands held out to his sides.
"SHUT UP!"
Just as he brought his left-hand to lay an attack of explosion to her, Sierra, who triggered all of her senses to activate at once, morphed into her cheetah-form and dodged the attack by running underneath the limb that tried to tag her.
Some of the sparks from his Explosion Quirk slightly singed her fur and the small-exposed parts of her back, but it didn't slow her down in the least.
Bakugō didn't have any time to react, before something rammed against his left-side and made him stumble to his right-knee, kneeling.
She gave him an uninterested look, her tail wagging in stress and agitation.
"Wow! We barely started the fight, and it seems Sierra Arashi is at a good start on bringing down her opponent! But then, Shōto Todoroki was in a similar position, before Bakugō turned the tables on him! Will she be lucky enough to accomplish her intentions?!"
Present Mic's commentary seemed to had added fuel to the fire, when the sixteen year-old used his Quirk to shoot himself backwards towards the cheetah, twisting his body to face her.
"Don't you make a fool out of me, like that Icy-Hot Bastard!" He yelled.
...Sierra ran towards him, then, in the last minute, leaped over him, using his body like a springboard to get into the air. She morphed into her Golden Eagle-form, hovering in the air over Katsuki's fallen form when she shoved him to the ground.
"I'm not the one who's making a fool of themselves, Short Fuse." She screeched, glaring in disgust. "The one who is making you look like a fool, is yourself. So, unless you plan to look like a raging toddler in front of the entire viewing audience of the entire world, you'll drop this childish act of yours, get over what you didn't ask for and focus on fighting me, whether you wanted to face me or not."
Sparks were the only warning she gained, when Bakugō used his Quirk to shoot up into the air, raising his body straight and raising his right-hand to the bird.
...Sierra wasn't amused... She morphed into her dragon-form, and clamped down her teeth to the exploding hand.
While he should've expected this to happen, Katsuki was completely taken back when he found himself within her fangs, grunting at the feeling of fangs keeping a firm grip on his arm. He knows that if she wanted to, she could easily spill blood, to the point to even rip his limb clean off his body.
He, secretly, hopes she doesn't consider thinking on doing so; everyone will only pity him, and that's the one thing he loathe from the depths of his soul.
Her slit-eyes held so much rage within that iris.
"It's clear that you won't listen to words... Well, perhaps you'll listen to this!"
She forced her wings to raise the both of them to the sky, almost reaching to the hole of the roof, only to then dive back down to Earth.
Bakugō used his right-hand to attack, releasing multiple of explosions to her face in his attempt to free himself.
...His attack had no effect on freeing, even when they left signs of small-burns to appear on her face.
And like a whip, she pulled her head back and threw the whitish-blonde teen back to the stadium, pushing her body back up in the process to avoid slamming to the ground.
A smoke of dust concealed the sixteen year-old, which left the crowd in questioning if the exploding boy is okay or not.
Sierra landed back down to the stadium, growling lowly at the dust of smoke... As it slowly died away, revealing Bakugō getting back up from the impact he was able to lessen by using his Explosion Quirk to help slow down his fall.
He snarled at her.
"Gotta admit it, Ra Ra, I never expect you to suddenly grow the balls to come at me like that. -His Explosion Quirk popped from his palm, as a feral smile spread on his face.- You better keep this up, and don't you even THINK about holding back! Like that pussy Icy-Hot Bastard!"
Sierra slammed her tail to the ground, scraping her claws against the stone ground.
'I've wanted to fight him, for a long time. And now that I'm fighting him here, in the Sports Festival... It's time to do what I swore I would do, when that time came.'
TBC
*:...Did we just skipped the second and third year competing in the Sports Festival, or did we only focused on the first year and didn't see how the second and third years did? I, honestly, would've rather see their reactions (along with Izuku's fanboy persona), when watching how the other classes performs... Especially, the Big Three.
I went and saw my family, on December fifteenth... It's the first Christmas gathering I did with my family, without my great-grandmother, who passed away this year... Y'all still miss her but we're still happy they're still have each other.
Merry Christmas, everyone! And a Happy New year, too!
R&R