A/N: I had a broken phone for a bit, so writing was tough— And now I need a new laptop, that might make it a little difficult to post as much. But the reason this chapter took forever was moreso because Pokemon released and that took over my life for a while lmao. So no promises, but here we go!
Chapter Twentyseven- PLAYED: Mei vs. Bakugo
More of the matches continued on after Shiro rejoined her classmates to celebrate her victory.
First up was Tenya Iida versus Hanta Sero:
The fight went fairly quickly, with Sero's tape Quirk and reaction speeds well enough to do well at the start, but Iida's incredible speed and tactical planning made it a very quick match as he pushed his classmate out of bounds before Sero realized what was happening.
Iida, as expected, politely bowed to his opponent and helped him up, garnering cheers from the crowd for his sportsmanship.
Next was Eijiro Kirishima and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu:
The two were confident as they approached the stage, glaring at each other.
"Now I can finally show that my Quirk's superior;" Tetsutetsu scowled.
"Yeah right, yours is just a copy," Kirishima retorted.
The two were angered by the fact that they were constantly being compared due to their similar Quirks. Luckily, they both had special devices created by the Support Class for just such an occasion.
Tetsutetsu was smirking as he placed the shock-absorption devices Izuku had created onto each arm. When he looked up at Kirishima though, his expression dropped and he pointed at him accusingly.
"W-What the hell is that?"
Kirishima smirked, his arms now equipped with two very similar devices to Tetsutetsu's.
"From the Support Class! They'll let me punch way harder—- Wait what?!" Kirishima gasped as he saw Tetsutetsu's devices.
The two both looked up into the crowd, straight towards Class 1-H where Izuku and Mei were sitting. Izuku gulped.
"Mei… What did you make for that Kirishima guy…?"
"Well he wanted to hit harder, so I made a couple of babies that absorb the shock from the impact," Mei explained.
Izuku sighed and slumped down into his seat. "I think you're rubbing off on me too much…"
Mei chuckled. "Well look at it this way, now we can see whose creation is better!"
Down on the field, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu scowled and readied themselves, Kirishima hardening his skin while Tetsutetsu's body became like steel.
"This is getting too repetitive!" They both yelled in unison.
As the battle began, it was a furious test of blows to each other, without any regard for dodging or trying to block. Everyone watched the exciting test of strength and endurance, as the two were able to punch much faster and harder thanks to there being little shock from hitting their opponent.
Eventually, the two delivered finishing blows, punching each other hard in the face. Izuku's device broke off of Tetsutetsu's arm, while Mei's stayed in tact.
"O-Oh no! It broke," Izuku exclaimed.
"Aha! I win!" Mei jumped up triumphantly.
Izuku would've felt bad if that cost Tetsutetsu the match, but the two both fell at the same time, mutually KO'd, which was a big relief to Izuku.
In the end, they were to wait to decide the victor until the two recovered to settle it with an arm-wrestling match.
The next fight was Denki Kaminari vs. Mina Ashido:
Based on the Cavalry Battle, Izuku knew that Kaminari's electricity Quirk was powerful, but he could also recall how Ashido's odd, secreted substance seemed to have many different uses.
Kaminari was cocky from the get go, wanting to end it all quickly.
"Indiscriminate Shock!" As he yelled, he brought his hands forward, sending electric shocks all over the stage—
However, Ashido was ready for this. Thanks to her Quirk allowing her to change the solubility and viscosity of her acid, she was able to cover herself in it without having to worry about it hurting her at all. This prevented the electricity from being conducted into her, and left Kaminari with a dumbfounded look as his electricity made him go brainless.
"You make it too easy!~" Ashido ran in and simply pushed the boy back out of contention. Kaminari landed on the ground and just sort of rolled around mindlessly as Ashido was declared the winner.
When it came time for Mei to head down to the field, nobody was more nervous than Izuku, who was pacing back and forth in the stands, a hand over his mouth as he muttered incoherently. Yuki and Shiro watched him for a bit, finding it a bit amusing.
"Midoriya… Are you still nervous about your upcoming fight? Did I not inspire you enough," Shiro questioned, cracking her knuckles. "Because I can totally grab someone and—"
Yuki put a hand on the girl's head to push her away, making her struggle against his strength.
"You're worried about Hatsume, right?"
Izuku stopped and looked down to the stage below, where Mei was walking out now.
"We kind of ticked Kacchan off," Izuku explained. "So of course I'm worried."
Yuki let go of Shiro, who scowled and began to weakly hit him as he acted like he didn't notice her.
"At this point, I don't know if anyone could stop her," Yuki responded. "She seems to have a lot of things figure out."
Izuku nodded, not taking his eyes off the field below.
Mei… Kacchan…
Being worried about Mei's safety was only part of it. The other was seeing his old friend and his new friend having to face off against each other. The conflicting emotions were a jumble of confusion within Izuku's mind, as he wasn't sure what he should be feeling.
"It's another showdown between the Support and Hero Classes!"
As Present Mic began to announce, the crowd got fired up from the anticipation of seeing more crazy antics and the rivalry that was brewing between the Heroes and the Support classes. Mei and Bakugo began to walk out onto the stage.
"At 2-1, will the Hero course even the score?" Present Mic's question only furthered the hype. "We have the wild Mei Hatsume from Class H, and the star of the Hero Entrance Exams, Katsuki Bakugo!"
As the two stopped, Mei smiled widely and waved around to the crowd. Bakugo watched her, cracking his knuckles as an equally big, but infinitely more sinister, appeared on his face. Everyone in Class 1-A gulped as they knew just how explosive their classmate could be.
"Whoever the hell you are, pink-hair," Bakugo scowled. "I'm gonna kick your ass."
Mei looked over at the seething boy and chuckled. "They just said my name ya know!"
"Are. You. Ready?! Let's Begin!"
Suddenly there was a bit of mic feedback, as Mei flipped the microphone on that was at her ear. She spread her hands out and began to make her announcement, turning away from her opponent.
"That's right! I'm Hatsume Mei of the Support Class! And today, I'm going to show off what I can of my wonderful babies!"
Bakugo was ticked off instantly as Mei's voice carried around the stadium. "You think this is a fuckin' circus show?" He rushed in, using his left hand behind himself to explode forward, his right hand ready to strike.
There was a small beep as Bakugo grew near, and the Drift device that Mei had tinkered with suddenly shot a powerful force from the left chamber and propelled her to her right, avoiding him with ease. As she landed on the ground again, Mei spun on her heels, turning towards the crowd yet again.
"This wonderful baby was created by my good friend Izuku, but I've made many modifications to it to show off its true potential!Sensors all around detect oncoming attacks!"
Bakugo was rushing in quickly again, having only been surprised for a moment. He came in fast, reaching and sending an explosion forward at a bit more of a range, trying to surprise his opponent so she couldn't dodge.
Up in the stands, Izuku leaned forward in his seat, gasping. S-She didn't dodge it-!
~Mid Chapter Break~
(Device Breakdown)
Name: Drift
Creator: Izuku Midoriya (Edited by Mei Hatsume)
Function: Maneuverability
Appearance: A steel piece that's worn like a belt around the waist. From the belt piece are two long metal pieces pointing backwards, down and away from the user, one to the right and one to the left.
How It Works: At first, this device works based on either voice commands or hand movements. It allows the user to quickly swivel and avoid oncoming attacks, acting as a sort of focal point for them to move around(EX: Like a martial artist might do with a staff.). Within each chamber, a metal rod can be loaded in. This rod can be fired out with intense pressure, propelling the user in either direction, or can be used as an attack itself(EX: Izuku using it on the robot in the obstacle race.) The rod itself is in tact and can be recovered for later use, otherwise loading a new rod into the chamber is as simple as pushing it in and twisting til a noise is heard. During the Festival, Hatsume Mei has made some adjustments, such as sensors that can detect and dodge oncoming threats from any angle.~
There was smoke looming from the explosion, and Bakugo smirked a bit for a moment, before realizing that Mei was still standing within it. As the smoke cleared a bit, it was apparent that the Drift device had slammed the metal rods into the ground, stabilizing Mei, who was covered in a bit of soot but otherwise was smiling as if she didn't care.
"This baby is even capable of detecting powerful forces, and quickly stabilizing you!"
"W-Wow, she was able to make it automatic?" Izuku smiled excitedly in the stands. "That's amazing!"
"Did you expect any differently? That girl's pretty crazy," Shiro commented excitedly.
"Says the one who committed a crime on national TV," Yuki muttered, which garnered a huff from Shiro.
Back down below, Bakugo let out a yell of frustration.
"You can't make a fool out of me! Now you're just an easier target!"
Bakugo took a step forward, bringing his hands together with them open slightly towards Mei. They began to glow and emit a high pitched noise.
"Just die!"
The spiky-haired boy sent out a large explosion outwards, a powerful blast that left a crater along the ground as it shot out towards the wall and exploded the whole way, making those sitting around that area get up in a panic. Luckily however, Mei had leaned back and fired off the two Drift chambers, sending herself flying backwards away from the attack.
"Ahh, Hatsume manages to dodge yet again-!"
"This sort of thing is easy thanks to this amazing baby!"
"H-hey, the commentary is my job!"
Bakugo's hands were smoking as he flexed them, shaking off the slight pain he was feeling from letting off such a strong attack. He watched as Mei slid across the ground in a sort of elegant manner, the girl smiling still, enjoying the attention immensely. Her eyes were looking up towards the stands, which only made Bakugo more angry.
"Who the hell are you looking at? I'm your opponent!" Bakugo waved a finger at her accusingly.
Up in the stands, Mei had her eye on certain individuals using her Zoom quirk- The businessmen who had come to watch and analyze the Sports Festival for money purposes. The men were watching with intrigue, a couple of them talking amongst themselves hurriedly.
I'm not done yet!~ Mei thought as she clicked a button at her waist.
Suddenly, Bakugo felt something on his right arm. He looked down, surprised as he noticed a metal bracelet of sorts expanding on it. Confused, he grabbed it with his opposite hand and tried to tug it off, but it was tightly holding onto him.
"What is that? Is that a Support item…?" Izuku looked to Yuki and Shiro, who shrugged.
Behind them, there was a snicker. They turned and looked up at Soga Ninsei, the boy whose Quirk allowed him to detach his limbs and use them from afar.
"Hatsume had such a wicked plan, that there was no way I couldn't help her out! Especially after that jerk Bakugo stomped on my hand like that," Ninsei said with a scowl.
"A plan?"
The pretty-boy Ninsei laughed cockily. "Of course, a secret plan that will now enact and show that we Supports are the ultimate-"
By now, the other three had turned their attention back to the field, ignoring him. He ran back out in front of them, waving his hands.
"O-Okay okay! So basically, I slipped one of Hatsume's devices onto Bakugo," Ninsei explained. "After she saw how I was able to trick him in the Obstacle Race, she wanted me to try and get it on him!"
"Sabotage is surely going to get her disqualified," Yuki pointed out.
"Mei wouldn't do that," Izuku said, shaking his head. "Would she…?"
"No it's not like that," Ninsei cut in, shaking his hands furiously. "Since there's that one item limit, Hatsume can't show everything off. So she gave one to Bakugo for him to show off for her!"
Izuku and Yuki were shaken by this. Shiro fell back in laughter.
"That's such a crazy work-around! Hatsume's totally the best," the girl exclaimed as she laughed.
"Well, leave it up to her to do something wild. No way would Bakugo have accepted the device from anyone," Yuki commented.
Izuku looked down towards the stage, conflicted about this new development.
Mei, what the heck are you doing?!
Down on the field, Bakugo finally gave up on removing the device. He looked up at Mei with contempt, the girl looking back and giving him a taunting hand motion to say, 'Bring it on.'
"Bakugo! What is that device? Were you sabo-"
Midnight's words were cut off as Bakugo exploded forward, both hands behind himself as he rushed down his opponent in the blink of an eye. Now Mei felt the pressure of the fight, her smile wavering a bit as she saw the boy coming at her with powerful explosions.
"First that bastard Deku…" Bakugo reached his left hand towards Mei, the Drift device beeping and sensing this, propelling her up into the air. However, this was merely a feint as Bakugo didn't set off his left hand, and instead lifted his right hand upwards towards her. "I won't let you do the same, salmon head!"
The device on Bakugo's arm made a noise before he fired off an explosion up towards Mei. The girl was sent flying away a bit from the attack, managing to slide along the ground and come to a stop. However, Bakugo was already upon her again.
"Bakugo's relentless! Will the defensive strategy perish?"
"Calculating… 80% chance to dodge left," came a voice from the device on Bakugo's arm.
"What?" Ignoring it for the most part, Bakugo tried to throw a punch at Mei, the girl looked back, noticing that she was close to the boundary corner of the stage, forcing her to dodge to her left. Bakugo quickly recovered by exploding his hand from the whiffed punch, sending himself towards Mei as he swung his left hand forward to attack again.
"100% chance to dodge left."
Bakugo sent an explosion out towards Mei, who used the Drift to shoot herself to the left to avoid it, now leaving Bakugo with his back to the edge of the stage.
That thing was right…! He thought, looking at the device. Mei could see it in Bakugo's eyes as he began to realize.
"Well, now it's time to finish it!"
With that announcement, Mei ran straight towards Bakugo, not showing any fear. He held up his right hand towards her, ready to blow her away.
"100% chance to dodge left or right."
"Shut the fuck up!" Bakugo angrily spread both hands out and sent explosions to either side of Mei, causing her to stumble as her plan to avoid it was suddenly shambled. As she came closer, Bakugo let out a frustrated yell and stepped foreward, slamming his head into hers, headbutting her and sending her sprawling backwards.
Everyone was in shock at this attack. A small trickle of blood fell down Bakugo's face from the force of the impact. Mei was shaking a bit as she held onto her forehead, slowly walking backwards and looking at him with a shaken smile.
"H-How did she even survive an attack like that," Shiro commented from 1-H's section.
"If anyone is as hard-headed as that guy, it's probably Hatsume," Yuki replied.
"T-That baby my powerful helper has equipped can predict to a 99% certainty where your opponent will move, as long as it gets a good scan of the surrounding area!"
Bakugo looked down at the device and clenched his fist tightly.
"Screw your stupid toy! I'm not your helper!" He clamped his teeth down onto the device, trying to get it off that way, ignoring the throbbing pain from the headbutt.
Mei sighed. I knew it wouldn't be that easy— I guess I gotta go out with a bang!
"Now I'm going to finish it! Which of my marvelous babies will reign supreme?"
Mei activated the Drift, firing herself forward up into the air, flying towards Bakugo quickly. He scowled and held his left hand backwards, making an explosion to fly right at her.
"I'll destroy your damned babies!"
"That's the spirit!"
"I don't know what's happening, but it's like they're ready to finish the fight! This is getting crazy," Present Mic exclaimed as the crowd was at the edge of their seats.
It was over before anyone could even register what had happened. There were a few explosions, before someone could be seen flying through the smoke.
"T-That concludes… the presentation…!"
Mei landed outside of the bounds of the stage, bouncing and sliding a bit before stopping, a smile still on her face even as she passed out, smoke rising from her body..
Back on stage, Bakugo was breathing and sweating hard, his palms steaming. In front of him, on the ground in destroyed pieces, was the Drift device.
"0…%...chance… to… to…"
The wrist device had gotten damaged as well. Bakugo put a hand over it and blew it up, his Quirk-enhanced sweat protecting his skin from taking any damage as the device fell off to the ground, a smoldering heap.
"Hatsume has been knocked out of bounds! Bakugo is the winner," Midnight announced.
"Gah! That guy really didn't hold back at all," Ninsei exclaimed, watching as Izuku, Yuki, and Shiro all quickly left their seats. "Hey, where are you—"
"They're probably making sure she's alright," came the nearby voice of Taka, who was cleaning his glasses. The short rounded boy pointed up at the monitors.
Up on screen, they showed replays of what had occurred since it was too quick to see.
Mei had attempted to swoop under Bakugo to try and dodge his attack and grab his legs, but Bakugo had reacted very quickly and shot an explosion down, sending her slamming down into the ground. He then followed it up by landing and sending a double-handed explosion to send her flying across the stage and out of bounds. All of this was terrifying for those watching, as they realized just how fast and perceptive Bakugo truly was.
"T-That guy's… a monster," Ninsei commented, gulping.
He hoped and prayed that he wouldn't be found out for helping Mei, less he incur the wrath of the explosive demon.
Izuku and the others arrived at the Nurse's station as Mei was being attended to. She had some bandages around her head and several patches on her body, but she still smiled at them, though a bit weakly.
"Mei…!" Izuku looked down at her worriedly. "That looked pretty bad, are you alright?"
"Duh! I can't be brought down that—" Mei suddenly broke out into a coughing fit, causing Izuku to panic a bit.
"She's inhaled a good amount of smoke and suffered some minor burns, otherwise she's bruised and rattled from all the explosions," came the voice of Recovery Girl from nearby.
"S-So nothing too bad…?"
Recovery Girl shook her head. "She'll be fine, with some rest. Now can you get out of here! It's cramped with so many of you in here."
The woman shooed them out, but Izuku stayed by the door.
"W-Wait, can I stay at least—?"
"I'm pretty sure you have an important match coming up, so get a move-on," the older woman said, pushing him out and slamming the door.
Izuku sighed and felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Yuki there, giving him a serious look.
"She's right. There's only one more match til you fight Todoroki," he stated. "If there's any adjustments or anything you want to make, now's the time."
"Right," Izuku muttered reluctantly. He remembered what Todoroki had said when they encountered each other right here outside of the Nurse's station, about Izuku projecting onto him.
The best thing I can do for Mei now… Is to prove that he's wrong, and win the next round. This is my chance to show I belong in the Hero class!
Clenching his fists tightly, Izuku headed off to begin his final preparations.
To Be Continued
Next Chapter: ZERO - Izuku vs Todoroki
A/N: Next one is the start of the big fight! Thanks for reading, and hope you're looking forward to it!