It took longer than what she would've liked, but Sakura had managed to get back to the stands and her friends. Luckily for her the match had only just started and Lianna was only feeling out her opponent.
Lianna's opponent, Jurota Shishida, is one of the tallest from Class 1-B and it shows. He's a giant of a man and towered over Lianna. Though the much smaller girl tried her hardest not to be intimidated by him.
"U-Um... H-Hello again." Lianna quietly spoke as she glanced at the giant.
Shishida grunted. "Looks like I underestimated you if you managed to make it this far. I'm impressed."
Lianna chuckled nervously as she started to play with her hands. "U-Um... T-Thank you."
"Still as the last member of my class still in this tournament, I cannot disappoint them." Shishida spoke sternly as he took a few steps back from Lianna. "I won't be like my other classmate's and hold things a secret. I will be going at you with my full strength."
Lianna was taken back by him moving away from herself, but she quickly got herself ready for anything he was gonna try to do.
Though what surprised and horrified the young hero-in-training was that her opponents body started to change. The fur on his body grew larger and unkempt. His fangs growing larger. One of his fangs was the same size of Lianna's own head. Once his body had finished growing and changing, Shishida was three times the size of Lianna. Now instead of Shishida standing on his legs, he was now on all fours. He dragged his front left paw onto the stage. The stage around his paw crumbled away.
"Looks like Shishida from class 1-B isn't messing around. Though as the last surviving member from his class in the tournament, he has a lot riding on this."
Shishida grunted as his snout was mere inches away from Lianna's head. He then raised his front right paw up high and brought it down at Lianna. Fortunately, for the scarred girl she quickly dodged to the side before his claw could hit her.
Not wasting anytime, Shishida charged towards Lianna. Lianna used her quirk to try and get away from the charging student, but she wasn't fast enough. Shishida grabbed Lianna, with his big meaty hands and threw her into the ground, hard.
"LIANNA!" Her friends shouted and yelled.
Worry and fear instilled into their hearts as Lianna had yet to move seconds after the vicious attack.
Lianna didn't have time to think before she was lifted up and threw to the edge of the arena. Lianna tried to move, but her vision was messed up. Red liquid from her head was trailing over her eyes, and from what little she could see was no better. Everything was doubled, sometimes tripled; the audience, her opponent, even the stage looked like it stretches further than it did before.
As Lianna moved her legs, pain shot through them. The same can be said for her head and arms. Though through gritted teeth and groans escaping from her mouth, she somehow made it to her feet. With pain shooting through her ribs, Lianna stumbled toward her opponent.
"COME ON LIANNA!" Lianna heard her friends cheering her on.
Shishida however, was not going to waste time waiting for Lianna recover as he charged directly at her. Whether it being either through sheer instinct or by accident, Lianna had dodged Shishida's charge, thought she fell to the ground right after.
"That was a close escape from Kawajiri, but who knows how much more she can take!"
No... I can still move...
I can still win this...
Once again, Lianna gritted her teeth and pushed through the pain in order to stand firmly on her feet. Her vision however was still causing her trouble as she was still seeing double.
Come on Lianna, get yourself together. You can't let everyone down.
Lianna focused her eyes to the best of her ability to get a clearer view of her opponent. However, as she heard Shishida charging towards her, she had to think fast. As she heard Shishida charge get closer, Lianna muscled up the last of her strength and put it all into her Quirk. Just before Shishida's charge could hit Lianna, she opened her eyes and suddenly the giant student was pushed far, far away.
It was close. Both teetering on the edges of the stage, though one was in a worse state than the other. Still Lianna was determined to win. She pushed herself forward, step by step.
"YOU CAN DO IT, LIANNA! DON'T GIVE UP!" The class 1-A student heard more encouragement from her friends and classmates.
With her friends standing by her side, Lianna felt another burst of energy surge through her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
They're right. I can do this. No, I will do this.
Lianna opened her eyes, just in time for Jurota to see Jurota starting another charging attack. However, this time Lianna was ready for his charge. Lianna prepared herself as the charging student drew near. She breathed evenly and concentrated on her surroundings, then her feet left the arena floor and levitated.
"NOW'S YOUR CHANCE SHISHIDA. FINISH OFF THAT 1-A LOSER!" Came from a rowdy student from Class 1-B.
"Shut it, Monoma!" Came from another Student from the same class. This time she was a lot nicer than the other student.
No, concentrate Lianna.
Lianna shook her head as she refocused herself on the area around her. As Lianna ascended further into the air, parts of the unearthed arena started to fuse together and thrusted into the air. However, before she could do more, Lianna felt large hands grab onto her legs, and slammed her into the ground.
"Agh!" Lianna cried out, before her vision started to darken.
Shishida raised up a lifeless Lianna, ready to throw her out of the arena's boundaries to finish off this match. "You put up a formidable fight, though it must end." Shishida growled out in his gargantuan form as he gazed at the weakened opponent.
"G... G... G..." Lianna struggled to say anything, but she managed to pull herself closer to the towering beast.
"Hmm?" Jurota grunted as he glanced at his batted and bruised opponent.
A smirk suddenly appeared on Lianna, that confused her opponent. "G-Got you."
Lianna managed to push herself out of Jurota's grasp as the boulders she was barely holding up, arced down, and slammed into Jurota. The force of the impact sent Jurota out of his Beast form, but more importantly outside of the Boundaries of the arena.
"I don't believe it, but Kawajiri managed to scrape out a victory. She moves on to the semi-finals." Present Mic yelled as his voice echoed throughout the arena.
Cheers filled the arena, and a small patter of boo's came from the Class 1-B side of the audience as Lianna slowly made it to her feet. She shambled over towards her defeated opponent.
Jurota smiled to himself as he stood up with help from Lianna's outstretched hand. "I guess we were the ones that were overconfident. Your class is on a whole other level."
Lianna shook her head. "We-we're just the s-same as you g-guys. It's j-just that everyone has b-been pushing themselves h-harder."
Jurota grunted as his smile fell. "Well we'll have to push ourselves even harder. We refuse to fall behind."
What concerned the Class 1-B student was that his opponent started to sway on her feet, her eyes looked unfocused and she clutched at her head as if she were in great pain. "T-That's good. Y-You should... push... push yourselves..."
"Are you feeling alright, Kawajiri?" Jurota asked looking on at his former opponent with concern.
"I-I-I'm... I'm fine..." Lianna mumbled out, swaying more erratically.
Within an instant, Lianna eyes closed and fell forwards. Thankfully, Jurota was quick enough to catch her before she collided with the floor. Silence took over the arena and was instead filled with concern.
"Kawajiri?" Jurota shook his opponent, but there was no response. "Kawajiri!" He shook the 1-A student, but still no response.
Without wasting any time, Jurota scooped up his former opponent and carried her off the stage and inside the arena. "Hang on, Kawajiri."
"LIANNA!"
Sakura screamed from the deep depths of her lungs as she stared at the unconscious form of her dear friend and family member.
"Sakura." A warm and comforting handheld tightly to her as worry overtook the feline student.
Sakura glanced at the owner of the hand and saw that both Kyoka and Momo looked on with concern. Shortly after, Ochaco, Tsu, Mina and Toru had joined the trio.
"Come on, it looks like he Lianna to Recovery Girl. Ribbit." Tsu spoke up as she glanced at her worried friends. "Lianna's going to be fine. She's strong."
Ochaco nodded her head vigorously. "Yeah!"
Sakura wasn't as convinced.
It didn't take the group of friends long to track down their fellow classmate as she had made it to Recovery Girl's office. Inside, Recovery Girl was checking on Lianna. With the door firmly locked and an 'Examination in Progress' sign on the door, the group of friends sighed in resignation. The 5 students stood looking inside the room, feeling antsy. Though no more than the feline student.
The physician flashed a small flashlight into Lianna's eyes for any signs of a concussion. With the way her match went it only stands to reason that, that would be the first thing Recovery Girl would check.
"Hmm... I can't see any symptoms of a concussion. Though it still doesn't explain why you suddenly collapsed. Was there anything that caused you to feel off balanced or dizzy?" Recovery Girl asked as she laid her cane on her lap as she sat on the chair next to Lianna's bed.
Lianna lowered her head as she closed her eyes. Though as a few seconds passed and pain shot through her head. Her hand went to her head as the sharp pain intensified.
"Ahh!"
Lianna gasped in pain as her vision started to blur again. Without realising it, her hand drifted to her nose and felt her fingers feel wet.
Trying to refocus her eyesight, she saw that her fingers were stained with her blood.
"I-I-It's happening a-again." Lianna groaned out.
"Again, dearie?" Recovery Girl asked as she passed the Hero-In-Training a tissue.
Lianna thanked the elderly Hero and wiped the blood from her nose. "W-When I first used m-my quirk, I got r-really intense headaches and nose bleeds. J-Just l-l-like today."
"How often do these headaches and nose bleeds occur?" Recovery Girl pondered.
"T-They're not r-really all that c-c-common. J-J-J-Just when I-I-I overuse m-m-my Quirk." Lianna wiped at her nose again as her eyes trailed down to her lap. She squeezed her hands tightly on to the covers of the infirmary bed. "I-I t-thought that I-I was b-better now. S-Stronger... In-Instead, I'm..." Lianna mumbled quietly to herself.
Unfortunately for her, the physician hero heard her. "You are stronger. And don't you forget it." Recovering Girl held her cane and jumped down from her chair. "That scared little girl, I first met a few months ago is not here anymore. Instead, I see a strong young woman, eager to become a hero and help those in need."
A light blush settled over Lianna as she shook her head. Though Recovery Girl kept up her compliments. "I don't know if I know anyone that has the drive to move onwards like you do, dearie."
With assistance from her cane, Recovery Girl made her way towards the door. "You rest up now, young lady. I'll talk to Moonlight letting her know you're resting."
Immediately, Lianna sat up about to retort, but a sudden spike of pain leached into her head, stopping as she laid back down. "It's for the benefit of your health. We don't need you dying out there on stage. Just rest for a while, and I'll wake you in time for your match. I'm sure your friends outside are worried about you as well."
Friends?
Lianna turned her head to the side, and sure enough Sakura, Tsu and Ochaco were outside. Even Yaoyorozu, Jiro, Ashido and Hagakure were there. They all looked worried.
But that's all you're good at, worrying those you're close to. It's a wonder how much longer they can tolerate someone as weak as you.
No... No... They care about me.
"Li"
For how long? Sooner or later, they'll see you as a lost cause and leave you behind... Just like your parents and your little brother.
No! No! No! That isn't true. Mikoto, Ryuko and Sakura care for me. My friends too.
"anna"
Are you sure?
O-Of course...
. . .
. . .
"LIANNA!"
Hearing her name, snapped Lianna out from the battle with her inner thoughts. She would be lying to herself if she weren't relieved to see her close friends.
As she shook away the thoughts trapped inside her head, her friends came into view clearer. Sakura was sitting on the infirmary bed with her paws tightly holding onto Lianna's own. "Lianna! I was so worried. When we all saw you collapse, I... I... I didn't know what to think."
Then one by one, each of her friends joined in with Sakura. Each taking turns voicing their worries. It was a little overwhelming for the young Hero-in-training but welcomed it.
They do care... They do care...
After a while staying in Lianna's temporary Infirmary room, her friends left her to rest. Sakura took one last glance at Lianna's sleeping form as she closed the door behind her. As Sakura turned back around to face her friends, apprehension and worry were immediately instilled in them. It was hard for Sakura to really fault them as Lianna fainting replayed in all of their minds. It worried them all as they walked away from the Infirmary.
No, she's going to be fine. She's just exhausted from overusing her Quirk.
"Li Li is gonna be alright, right?" Mina spoke up. Her usual chipper tone gone, instead replaced with something a lot more somber.
"I... I... I hope..." Toru mumbled out as the arms of her gym clothes slumped.
A dark cloud settled over the group of friends, but quickly dissipated as Ochaco perked up. "I know. How about we throw a surprise party for her? To cheer her up."
Everyone's mood grew more lighter from Ochaco's idea. "Yeah!" Both Mina and Toru cheered.
"I'm sure Kawajiri would love that." Momo agreed excitedly. Kyoka nodded her head with her.
With this idea brought forward by Ochaco it dramatically improved everyone's mood. Even Sakurai's mood has risen.
"Then it's decided then, 'Operation cheer up Lianna with a party' is happening." Mina asked as she glanced to the feline student. Both with eagerness and excitement etched into her face. It was that infectious, that everyone wore the same expression as they all glanced at Sakura.
Not wanting to disappoint her friends, and actively wanting to cheer up Lianna,
Sakura agreed with a small smirk. "Alright, I'll ask Mom see what we can do."
"YEAH!" Everyone cheered. Even the usually more reserved Momo, was into it.
"Alright, we've got something planned tonight and tomorrow morning, but we can do it tomorrow night." Sakura explained to her friends, though while they were all understanding in wanting to wait, they all were excited.
Everyone nodded their heads at Sakura as they continued to walk back to their seats. Before they got to the stands, they all heard Present Mic's booming voice.
"Just one more match remain before we start the Semi-finals. Four out of the six competitors have already been decided. The Class Representative of Class-1A Tenya Ida, faces off against the unstoppable force Shoto Todoroki. Then we have the battle between two close friends, however, will they remain close once the dust has settled; Sakura Otanashi will face Lianna Kawajiri in your second Semi-final match. However, before that, the final match of the Quarterfinals. The loudmouth of Class-1A Katsuki Bakugo faces his classmate that remains shrouded in Darkness, Fumikage Tokoyami."
W-What?
"Huh? Her Opponent? Semi-Finals?" Sakura questioned.
"Yeah. You're her semi-final opponent, Sakura. Did you not know? Ribbit." Tsu asked as she glanced at Sakura's curious face.
"Did you seriously not pay attention to the brackets?" Kyoka asked.
Sakura shook her head. "No, I was just concentration on my matches. I wasn't really looking at who I was facing next." Sakura then turned to face all of her friends completely dumbfounded, though not before a certain familiar voice spoke up from behind her.
"My little kittens are working so hard. I'm so proud of them." Ryuko teased as she smirked at the feline student.
Sakura instantly blushed from embarrassment from hearing the teasing name. "Ryuko! Not in front of my friends!" Sakura pouted.
Though Sakura's pouted did not stop giggled from her friends to erupt. Not even her two Moms could keep their mouths straight as they both could not contain their laughter.
Still… they seem happier than they were earlier when we were talking about Lianna, so I guess I can deal with some teasing.
"So, how are you girls doing?" Mom asked as she glanced at each of Sakura's friends, before ending on her daughter.
"Hmm, we're doing alright Miss Moonlight." Momo answered formally.
"Just worried for Li Li" Toru spoke up again as her arms slouched again.
The mood then darkened again, as they all thought of their friend.
"We've spoken to Recovery Girl, Lianna's just going to need some rest, then she'll be back to her usual self in no time." Mom spoke up, reassuring her students and daughter.
"Hopefully, she'll be fine for your match Sakura." Ryuko then relaxed her shoulders as Mom held onto her arm. "Honestly, I thought today was going to be fun, seeing my kittens show off their stuff. You two sure know how to make us worry."
Sakura chuckled nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck.
"Oh yeah." Ochaco said as she glanced at both of Sakura's parents. "Umm… w-we were thinking of having a party for Lianna. With her collapsing, we wanted to do something to cheer her up."
"Sakura has already said you're doing something tonight and tomorrow morning." Mina continued for her bubbly friend.
"Hmm." Moonlight nodded her head. "We're having a sort of family get-together tonight with the rest of the Pussycats. Then tomorrow morning…" Mikoto then glanced at Sakura and then at Ryuko, both given her little nods. "Lianna asked us to visit her parent's and little brother's grave's tomorrow morning. She wants to make up for lost time."
"O-Oh…" All of the students', not including Sakura's, mood's darkened.
Ochaco glanced at her friends, then at Sakura, Moonlight and Pixie-bob. "Then we'll have to make the party mean a lot more."
Sakura nodded her head vigorously as all of the student's faces were filled with fiery determination.
"Alright! I'm fired up." Mina shouted, startling everyone. "We're doing this party, and it's gonna be amazing." Mina declared as she pointed at Sakura. "You and Lianna, go and kill it in your match."
"YEAH!" Everyone cheered.