The rest of the tournament went as expected. There were no more giant icebergs taking over the ring, most people's quirks were kept well under control. Class 1-a controlled almost all of the bracket, and Tokoyami, Aishido, Kirishima, and Iida came out on top. Iida went head to head against Mei Hatsume, who, after showing off her support items, kindly let Iida win. And last but not least, Uraraka faced off against a hero from class 1-b, Shiozaki Ibara, a plant based quirk. She tried her best, but in the end she was overwhelmed with Ibara's vines, losing after being immobilized.
So here Suzuka sat, in the staging area for her own match up against Bakugou. It was a small, brightly lit room, filled with tables and chairs. However, Suzuka didn't feel much like sitting. Instead she stood next to a nearby equipment rack, one that held her own helmet. She'd decided not to use it for the first half of the tournament, she wanted everyone to know that she was capable without her equipment.
Quietly, Suzuka placed the helmet over the top of her head, making sure that her hair was tucked in where it should be. She clicked the button on her wrist, nervously making sure that her glider still worked.
I'm going to have to keep the fight in the air as much as possible. She thought to herself, clicking the button one more time, just to be safe. If i'm in the air he won't be able to use his quirk against me. She knew that fighting in the air was a near impossible task for even herself. She'd have to use her quirk to mostly keep herself up, but she also didn't require her hands to use her quirk.
A knock on the door brought Suzuka back to her senses.
"Midoriya, it's time!" A friendly voice came, the rescue hero Thirteen.
"Coming!" Midoriya told her, joining her at the door. Quietly, she opened the door to find Thirteen waiting for her.
"Are you ready?" Thirteen asked her, earning a small smile from Suzuka. Suzuka nodded, following Thirteen down the hallway towards a brightly lit door. "Excited?"
"Nervous." Suzuka told her honestly. As they reached the end of the hallway, Thirteen stopped turning to Suzuka. They placed a hand on each of her shoulders, squeezing them gently.
"You're going to do great." Thirteen told her finally. "When they call your name, exit through the door to your right, okay?" Suzuka nodded as Thirteen left her. Suzuka turned back to the door, waiting patiently for Present Mic to call her name.
"And now! The final match of the first round!"
This is it!
"Both from the Hero Course 1-a, in the right corner we have Suzuka Midoriya! And in the left corner, Katsuki Bakugou!" Suzuka took several steps into the bright stadium, the crowd roaring around her. Slowly she began to make her way to the stage in front of her, the fire that accented the stairs lighting up at she took the steps. She could feel the heat pricking her skin as the flames died out and as she made it to the top of the steps, she finally got a look at her competitor. There, standing a mere fifty yards from her, was Kachaan.
Katsuki glared down his nose at Suzuka, a fire in his eyes that Suzuka has only seen a few times before. She knew that he was bringing his all to this match, something that Suzuka was going to have to bring as well. Under his gaze, Suzuka could feel herself shudder, the way he looked at her, there was something else in his eyes, something she couldn't quite place.
"Don't do that." Katsuki told her from across the stage.
"Do what?"
"Shake like that." Katsuki replied.
"Ready? AND GO!" Present Mic called over the loudspeaker. Suzuka growled, clicking her mask into place and taking off at Katsuki at full speed.
I've got to get to him fast and hit him where it counts! Before he gets an attack on me! She thought to herself balling her fist at her side. He always opens up with a big right hook! The closer she got to him, the higher she raised her fist until finally she was right on top of him. That's when she saw it, what she was expecting. His right hand began to crackle and as he swiped at her with it, Suzuka forced herself into the air, at least 20 feet above him and out of range of his attacks.
Katsuki watched Suzuka, awestruck, as she soared above him, but he lost her in the bright sunlight, which forced him to shield his eyes.
Now is my chance! Suzuka thought to herself, gliding down towards Katsuki. I'll have to make this quick so I can get back up into the air. She told herself, sending a kinetic wall towards Katsuki. The wall hit him, sending him flying across the stage while the recoil helped Suzuka retain her loft. As Katsuki got to his feet, searching the sky for her, Suzuka came back down at him from behind, again throwing a wall at him and causing him to tumble head over heels to the other side. Suzuka made her third turn but this time Katsuki was ready for her, and as she swung down to attack him, he jumped for her, grabbing her out of the sky and throwing her to the ground.
Suzuka hit the ground hard, tumbling several meters away from him. She sprang to her feet quickly, again lunging at him full speed only realizing once it was too late that she wasn't going to get to him. Again Katsuki swiped at her, hands blazing, and Suzuka shielded herself.
Now! She thought frantically, and before the smoke could settle Suzuka jumped out of it, her fist flying towards Katsuki's face, ready for a maxed out punch to the cheek. He was prepared, however, and easily caught her fist in his own hand, clenching down on it hard.
"Give up now." His words pierced Suzuka right through to her core and she gasped, her eyes burning. She couldn't believe he'd said something like that to her, after everything they'd been through, all the training; she wasn't going to give up now. No, she deserved to be here as much as he did. To her surprise Katsuki's other hand began to crackle and pop as he reared it behind his head.
"No!" Suzuka shouted. Again she let another surge of kinetic power fly at Katsuki, but this time she focused it from her hand. She heard the crack before she knew what happened, and Katsuki growled, pulling his hand back from her. She had broken his hand
"Dammit!" Katsuki shouted, taking a few steps back. "You're gonna pay for that!" He roared, lighting both his hands and running towards Suzuka. All Suzuka could do was create a shield between herself and an angry Katsuki, which he began beating on incessantly with both his flaming fists.
"Katsuki-" Suzuka shouted at him, her shield beginning to fracture. As he beat her shield with his bad fist, she suddenly felt bad for having broken it in the first place. "Your hand-!"
"Fuck my hand! You better not let me get to you!" He shouted, going to town on her shield until it splintered into a million pieces. The shattering of her shield made Suzuka sick to her stomach and she wanted to hurl right then, but she couldn't because now she was on the defensive. She dodged Katsuki's well aimed fiery fists by ducking and weaving through her nausea.
I have to do something! She panicked, lashing out at Katsuki with her field. He fought through it, landing a well placed punch into her side. The punch sent Suzuka reeling to her knees and she struggled to breathe, the wind knocked from her. Her side stung, burnt from his fire, and Suzuka gasped for air as Katsuki stood over her.
"I told you to give up." He said again. Suzuka glared up at him.
"I'm not quitting Katsuki." Suzuka hissed through her teeth. Suzuka groaned getting to her feet and sinking into a defensive posture, her hands raised in front of her. She sent two kinetic surges at Katsuki, who dodged the first one, but was hit with the second. The surge sent him flying back where he landed in an angry heap. "I'm NOT quitting!" She growled, letting another wave fly. This time Katsuki jumped out of the way, causing the ground where he once stood to shatter into a pile of loose debris. He ran for Suzuka, fists blazing, who shielded herself against his advances, and grabbed up the debris behind him. Suzuka growled, tossing the debris at Katsuki, praying that they would hit him. Suzuka was growing tired, so tired, and holding the shield and the rocks made her stomach churn. Unfortunately, Katsuki saw right through her plan of attack and he turned, incinerating the rocks mid air with his own quirk. Again he turned to Suzuka, bashing her shield with his fiery hands so hard it made his knuckles bleed.
"I warned you, Dori!" He shouted at her.
I can't let him break another shield or I'm done for. She told herself, swiping at Katsuki with a surge of her kinetic energy. He flew backwards, into the smoke his fiery quirk left behind. He didn't emerge from within, but instead Katsuki began firing off his quirk left and right, creating with it a makeshift smoke screen, leaving Suzuka terrified as she could not see him. My helmet. She thought suddenly, using the kinetic field as her eyes.
Though the smoke was thick, it could not hide him completely and movement behind her caught her attention. With a flick of her wrist Suzuka shielded herself as Katsuki's flaming fist collided with her shield. As soon as he struck, he disappeared again into the smoke, this time appearing from Suzuka's right. She was prepared for it, seeing him through her kinetic vision, shielding herself once more.
I'm done with this! Suzuka thought furiously, releasing a kinetic wave and blowing away the black smoke. No sooner had she blown away the smoke, than Katsuki appeared, his fist, mere inches from her face. Panicked, Suzuka lashed out at him, sending him sprawling across the field. But this time he didn't fly nearly as far, and Suzuka paused, bending over, trying to catch her breath. She was so tired, and he had scared the shit out of her, but despite his hand Katsuki didn't seem phased. Again Suzuka propelled herself into the air, using her glider to catch herself. She flew through the air at Katsuki her fist out in front of her, ready to hit him with another wall of kinetic energy.
"That's not gonna work on me anymore Dori!" Katsuki shouted at her, swiping his hand through the air. A cloud of fire knocked Suzuka back to the ground, where she tumbled several yards head over feet. This time she did not get up right away. The tumbling left her body sore, her visor broken. She was tired and tired of being thrown around. Slowly, she got to her knees, taking off her helmet and tossing it several feet away.
After her recent bout of flight, Suzuka was spent. She threw up all over the ground next to her, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Taking a deep breath she got to her feet, wobbling as she did so. Katsuki stood a mere five feet from her, watching her coolly, his eyes smoldering with some kind of emotion.
"Quit." He told her again. Suzuka glared at Katsuki, whipping her hand across her chest and outward, flinging another wall of kinetic force at him. It barely pushed him, so she tried again with her other arm, stumbling as she did.
"I can't quit, Kachaan." She told him weakly. "I-" but she did not get to finish those words. As she took one more step, her eyes fluttered shut and her breathing hitched; Suzuka blacked out, her knees buckling underneath her and she began to fall, but Katsuki was fast and he got to her quickly, catching her before she could come crashing to the ground.
Suzuka was heavy in his arms and as he caught her it brought both of them crashing to the ground. Katsuki hissed, his broken hand throbbing, but that pain was nothing in comparison to seeing her lying here like this. He felt... guilty? Was that it? Was that how he felt? He'd never tell her that but it was definitely guilt.
What did he have to be guilty for? He asked her to stop several times. He knew she wasn't going to win, but she was so determined… Quietly, he brushed a stray strand of hair from Suzuka's dirty face, in a rare show of affection.
"And the winner by knockout is Katsuki Bakugou!" Midnight shouted over the intercom. Across the way came running Recovery Girl with one of her mechanized gurneys. Katsuki looked down at Suzuka as Recovery Girl reached them.
"Is she breathing?" Recovery Girl asked him quietly. Katsuki nodded dumbly as Recovery Girl checked her pulse, pulled open her eyelids to check her dilation. She let out a sigh of relief, giving Katsuki a smile.
"She's just exhausted." Recovery Girl told him giving Suzuka a kiss on the forehead. "She'll be fine after some rest."