Chapter 10: The Tournament

And we're back!

Getting right into it, here's the tenth chapter! I got to write a lot of fighting this chapter, but since there were so many fights I had to make them small. Next time there's only four fights, so I can expand them more.

Anyways, enjoy!

Feel free to review, but don't just rip into me. I'm doing this for fun, not excessive criticism.

The crowd was cheering louder than ever as the students all walked out onto the field. A series of recreational games had been prepared before the finals to keep the crowd entertained, and allow the students already eliminated to continue showing off their Quirks.

That didn't matter to Moxie and Hiryu, though, who had both made it through to the tournament round. Hiryu was doing a couple of breathing exercises, and Moxie was doing some simple stretches while they waited.

Before long, it was time, and everyone took their seats while Midoriya left for his match.

"And here are the first contestants for the first match!" Present Mic exclaimed, still somehow finding it necessary to shout over the speakers, "He won first place in the obstacle course without even using a Quirk, but what's with that plain look on his face? It's Class 1-A's Izuku Midoriya!"

"He hasn't made much of a splash yet, but could he actually be something incredible? From the General Course, It's Hitoshi Shinso!" Present Mic shouted.

"Just don't say anything to him." Ojiro whispered to himself, as the match began, Midoriya took a deep breath as he readied himself, and it seemed to work, until Shinso made an off-handed comment about Ojiro being stupid for withdrawing. Which quickly got a response from Midoriya, who charged forward, demanding his opponent take back what they said, in the next instant Midoriya stopped dead as his eyes took on a spaced look.

"Oh man," Said Ojiro as he grabbed his head in frustration, "I told him not to say a word to that guy!"

"What's happening?" Uraraka asked, taken by surprise like the majority of the class, "What's wrong with Midoriya?"

"Shinso's Quirk is brainwashing." Ojiro explained.

"So, it's over then?" Tsuyu asked, her monotone voice failing to hide her worry for her classmates, "Midoriya can't fight against mind control." She said, watching as Shinso ordered Midoriya to turn around and walk out of the ring.

"It's a simple form, from what I understand," Ojiro said, "I was brought back to reality after bumping into another person. But what are the odds of an outside force interfering in a match like this?"

"Th-then that's it." Hiryu sighed.

"Nah, he's got this." Moxie grinned, hands behind his head.

"How?" Ojiro asked.

"Not a clue." Moxie shrugged.

Everyone watched in silence as Midoriya approached the edge of the ring, suddenly, Midoriya's fingers began glowing with the red lines of his Quirk and, with a single flex, he released a shockwave which blew up a gale force wind from the ring.

Everyone looked on in shock.

"Man, I almost had a heart attack." Ojiro commented.

The crowd cheered as Midoriya turned back to Shinso, keeping his hand on his mouth this time. Shinso tried in vain to get Midoriya to answer him, but Midoriya wouldn't fall for the same trick twice as he ran across the arena and barreled into his opponent.

Shinso struggled against Midoriya, but he wasn't strong enough to keep from getting pushed back towards the edge of the arena, things got tense when Shinso got a couple of punches in on Midoriya's face before trying to yank him out of the arena, but Midoriya grabbed his arm and performed the same throw he used on Bakugo, slamming Shinso down where his foot was outside of the line.

"Shinso is out of bounds!" Announced Midnight as she pointed to Midoriya, "Izuku Midoriya is the winner!" The crowd cheered as the majority of Class 1-A let out a collective sigh of relief.

"That came out of nowhere!" Ashido said, "Suddenly breaking out of the mind control like that!"

"Told'ja!" Moxie laughed.

"How'd you know?" Ashido demanded.

"I didn't." Moxie shrugged, "All I had was confidence."

.

"It's time for the next match!" Present Mic announced, "He's super cool, and he's blazing hot, from Class 1-A it's Shoto Todoroki!"

"And his opponent, also from Class 1-A, he hasn't done much yet, but he's full of talent, It's Hanta Sero!" Present Mic finished.

"Begin!" Midnight said.

"I don't think I can win." Sero admitted, "But I don't feel like losing either!" He shouted, suddenly wrapping Todoroki in tape and throwing him towards the side of the arena.

Todoroki managed to stop himself by creating an ice wall, then he sent a massive glacier at Sero.

"G-Geez…" Ashido whispered, shivering.

"Sero gave it his best try, at least." Moxie shrugged.

.

"Hiryu, it's me and you next!" Kaminari told her, standing up.

"R-Right!" Hiryu nodded, following him out of the viewing area.

Hiryu readied herself as best she could in the waiting room. This would be the first time she'd be so close to the center of attention, and in front of so many people. All too soon, it was time to go out.

"It's time for the next match!" She heard Present Mic announce, "He's electrifying! From Class 1-A, it's Denki Kaminari!"

Hiryu saw Kaminari walk out onto the field and took a deep breath, knowing her turn was next.

"She may be nervous, but she's practically royalty! His opponent, the draconic Wyva Hiryu!"

Upon hearing her name, Hiryu made her way out onto the field, trying to ignore the hundreds of people cheering at her.

"Wanna grab a bite after this? I'll be happy to console you if you want. Because this match will probably be over in an instant!" Kaminari bragged. Hiryu wanted to say something in return, but couldn't bring herself to.

"Begin!" Midnight shouted.

Hiryu stretched out her wings as Kaminari rushed forward, his arms crackling.

"Like I said, this'll be over in an instant!" He shouted, "Indiscriminate Shock, one-point-three million volts!"

Hiryu took to the skies as Kaminari let loose a massive shockwave of electricity, dodging the attack in its entirety, though it nearly caught her on the way up.

Looking down once it ended, she saw Kaminari just standing about, giving thumbs ups and saying "Yay."

Landing next to him, she just kind of… gently pushed him out of the ring.

"Hiryu… wins!" Midnight announced.

"Well… it was over in an instant…" Hiryu mumbled quietly, leaving the arena as quickly as she could without seeming like she was rushing.

.

"Next up! He's blazing fast, Class 1-A's Tenya Iida!" Present Mic announced, "And his opponent, also from Class 1-A, it's Eijiro Kirishima!"

"Begin!"

Kirishima hardened his arms and head in preparation as Iida charged at him, tanking the blow head on and countering with a blow to the stomach that pushed Iida back.

"That speed is worthless if you can't move me!" Kirishima grinned.

Iida readied himself in a running position, a few feet ahead of Kirishima, who braced himself for what was coming.

"Recipro… burst!" Iida rocketed off the mark with his special move, slamming into Kirishima and sending him flying out of bounds with a single kick.

"Iida… wins!" Midnight announced.

"Ah, d#mn… should've seen that coming." Kirishima groaned as he picked himself up.

.

"Next up! She's got the power to make anything she wants, it's Momo Yaoyorozu!" Present Mic announced, "And her opponent! This little bunny may be fast, but his greatest strength is unpredictability! It's Moxie Usagi!"

Moxie shrugged off his jacket and took a fighting stance, smiling as he looked at Yaoyorozu across the ring.

"Begin!"

Moxie leapt off the mark, flying towards Yaoyorozu. Yaoyorozu barely had time to think about making a shield before he was landing in front of her, his right foot bouncing off the ground and rocketing towards her.

She held up a shield in time, blocking the attack and sliding back from the force of it.

"Now… a weapon!" Yaoyorozu narrowed her brow, holding her hand out to create some kind of weapon.

"Moxie… wins!" Midnight shouted, interrupting her.

"What?" Yaoyorozu looked down, realizing her foot had slid out of bounds, "It's… over?"

"Yep! Try to dodge instead of blocking next time." Moxie told her, hopping away to pick up his jacket.

"Oh…"

.

"And it's time for the next match! He's a multi-armed, towering mass of pure muscle! It's Class 1-A's Mezo Shoji!" Present Mic announced, "And his opponent! She may not look like much, but she's a force to be reckoned with! It's Class 1-B's Itsuka Kendo!"

"Best of luck." Shoji told her.

"Thanks, you too."

"Begin!"

Shoji and Kendo ran at each other, clashing in the center of the ring. Shoji's three right arms came down together for an attack, which Kendo expanded her left hand to block. Twisting around to his side, she expanded her right fist and shoved him to the side.

Shoji quickly caught himself and charged back in, swinging at Kendo, who ducked both swings. Dodging around behind him, Kendo expanded her fists right behind his back and sent him flying forward, out of bounds.

"Kendo… wins!"

"Thanks for that luck." Kendo laughed, offering Shoji a hand up.

.

"Next up is a match of two cuties, the pink-skinned Mina Ashido and the froggy Tsuyu Asui!" Present Mic announced.

Ashido and Tsuyu took their places at either side of the ring, Tsuyu seemed a little annoyed at Present Mic's description of them.

"Begin!"

Ashido leapt into action, tossing a handful of acid towards Tsuyu, who jumped into the air to dodge. Ashido slid along the ground like she was skating as she approached Asui, forcing the girl to dodge more handfuls of acid.

Landing behind Ashido, Tsuyu wrapped her tongue around Ashido's waist, yanking her out of bounds.

"Asui… wins!"

"Ah, man!" Ashido groaned.

.

"It's time for the final match of the first round!" Present Mic announced, "His explosive Quirk is only matched by his explosive temper, it's Katsuki Bakugo! And his opponent, the zero-gravity wielding Ochako Uraraka!"

Ochako opened with the first move, trying to grab Bakugo and float him out of bounds, but he countered with an explosion. The match went on from there, Ochako desperately trying to reach Bakugo as he kept her at bay with explosions, earning the ire of the crowd. It didn't take long for the crowd to start booing.

"Th-This is tough to watch…" Hiryu admitted.

"Then don't." Moxie told her, "But don't underestimate Ochako. Bakugo isn't, so why should you?"

It was then that Ochako revealed her big plan. By keeping low, she had forced Bakugo to kick up rubble, which she had floated into the air above them, creating her own miniature meteor storm.

Everyone gasped as the rubble dropped down towards Bakugo, it looked like Ochako's victory, but then… Bakugo blew all the rubble away with one massive blast.

It was over, then. Ochako's big move had failed, and even though she tried to keep going, she couldn't get her body to move anymore. Moxie felt a twinge of sympathy watching her as she was carted off the field.

With the ring a little torn up, and the first round over, it was time for an intermission.

Moxie left to go get a snack from the vending machine, bouncing off. He ran into a few people on the way there, saying hi as he passed by. As he reached the vending machine, a familiar ponytail caught his eye.

"Hey, Kendo!"

Kendo looked up with a granola bar in hand as Moxie bounced up to her.

"Hey Moxie! What's up?" She asked.

"Was gettin' a snack." Moxie told her.

"Huh, me too." Kendo nodded, holding up the granola bar, "So, I guess we're up against each other next."

"Yep! But it won't be like sparring, I'm aiming to win." Moxie grinned, selecting a bag of trail mix.

"So am I, so watch yourself." Kendo laughed, picking up the bag of trail mix and handing it to him.

"Let's give 'em somethin' good to watch, alright?"

"Alright, let's give it our all."

And there's the whole chapter! Like I said, lots of fighting.

Next time, the fights should get more interesting, so tune in for that.

Enigma, signing off.