I legit got this done the day it was supposed to be posted. I need a break.
Idk if any of y'all know what utaites are but I went to After the Rain's online live the other day and it was awesome. Check their songs out, they do some good stuff. Favorite original song is "Yukoku Yume to Mimagau", favorite cover that they did is their cover of "Chuunibyou Gekihatsu Boy". Also Mafumafu (one of the members) is amazing and my favorite song from him is "Haikyo Kuni no Alice" Soraru is awesome too but I haven't gotten a chance to listen to his originals yet (I like his covers a lot)
(Disaster says: I like Panda Hero, Queen of Hearts, and Lost Highlight, if you're gonna write about utaites.)
Anyway, happy reading!
Idol
"Who's up next?"
After I ran into Todoroki in the halls, I went back to the seating area to watch the next match. I was still very shaken up, but that didn't stop me from plopping down next to Kirishima.
"Yangchen vs Tokoyami," The redhead informed. "It hasn't started yet, though."
"Great." I sunk into my seat. "Time to see how Yangchen wins this one."
"I'm not so sure…"
I jumped at the voice, turning towards Uraraka who was holding out her phone to us. Midoriya was on a video call from the infirmary, and we could see him flip open his notebook and start on a rant.
"According to my notes, Yangchen's fighting style is very close-combat based, and she has immense difficulty with long ranged weapons. This makes it hard for her to fight up-front power quirks like Aoyama, so she had to distract him."
Sweet Jesus, what a try-hard.
"So?" Uraraka chimed in. "She's quick, and she's got access to any weapon she wants."
"Dark Shadow is a long range quirk, which means that Yangchen can't get as close to Tokoyami as she might need to if she wants to win. We saw this in his match against Yaoyorozu, Dark Shadow was able to attack close without Tokoyami needing to get close to her. Dark Shadow concentrated on one place and forced Yaoyorozu out. Yangchen would have to either distract him or wait for Tokoyami to tire himself out, which could take a while."
"I see." I sighed in my seat.
"Aaaaaaand now, ladies and gentlemen, give it up for your next competitor: Tokoyami Fumikage!"
Tokoyami walked out, emo as ever. He waited at the edge of the arena as Present Mic continued.
"Please welcome his opponent, Tse Yangchen!"
Yangchen walked out, eyes locked on Tokoyami. Her posture was perfect (something which I had learned was actually not on purpose most of the time) yet something was… off. I could practically see the gears turning in her head. From the looks of it, she was hunting for a solution.
My stomach swooped in sympathy for my friend.
"She doesn't have a plan."
"Yangchen, are you sure you have everything you need?"
"Yes mom, I'm sure!"
"We're going to miss you so much, sweetie. Don't forget to call us!"
"I won't forget!"
"Jordan, go walk your sister to the gate. We'll meet you back here."
"Fine…"
Jordan and Yangchen set off into the airport.
"Tohoku. You're going to the Tohoku International High School."
"No, I'm going to live with hermits in the woods. OF COURSE I'M GOING TO TOHOKU, as we discussed like twenty times at dinner, in the car, and I don't know, the office of foreign education. I'm going to discuss it over with the man I'm living with."
"Who is it again?"
"A pro hero. Apparently he's got an adopted daughter the same age as us, and he's a teacher at one of the really good hero schools over there. Beat that, mister 'Bei He Academy is better.'"
"I mean, it is. So why wouldn't you go to the school he teaches at?"
"I dunno, seems kinda deadly if it's that prestigious. And ever since Tohoku added their hero course, Miyagi crime rates have dropped exponentially."
"Miyagi?"
"Yeah, that's where Tohoku is. The school also has a good volleyball team."
"Great."
Jordan and Yangchen arrive at the gate, and they load her suitcases onto the cart. Idk the last time I was on a plane was like five years ago.
"I guess I'll see you next summer, then, asshole."
"Sure, f*ckwad. I'll be expecting you to come back with a couple medals on your neck. If not that, top of the class."
They hug.
"Goodbye!"
"Goodbye…"
"You may begin!"
Dark Shadow poked out of Tokoyami's shirt, ready to attack Yangchen at its command. Yangchen tensed up, fists in front of her face. Anyone who knew her like I did would know that she was scared.
Luckily, nobody here did know her like I did.
"Dark Shadow!"
Dark Shadow burst forward, lunging at Yangchen's stomach. She stood there, frozen in fear, until the last second. Yangchen quickly ducked away.
"Ooh! A quick evasion!"
Dark Shadow reared up for another attack, aiming for Yangchen's stomach.
"There's the focusing on one point strategy…" Deku muttered on the phone, hand on his mouth.
Yangchen must have noticed this, and she began using a stance to try and hide her stomach. She made her movements quicker and more unpredictable; ducking one time and cartwheeling away another.
I was once again impressed by her flexibility. She almost looked like a dancer out there.
That is, until she went for the offensive. Then she had the aura of a lioness.
Yangchen's hand went to her belt, and in a matter of seconds she was wielding a long chain with a ball on the end. She swung it around, and when Dark Shadow lunged back at her again, she entangled it in the chain.
"Captured! Can Tokoyami escape this?"
Dark Shadow squirmed and eventually burst from the chain, metal flying everywhere. He lunged, aiming for Yangchen's stomach.
Dark Shadow made its approach…
"Aorgh!"
Yangchen howled in pain, dropping to her knees and curling up.
"Oh? What's this? Is Tse injured?"
"What?"
I didn't even realize I was standing up until I felt a hand on my forearm. Kirishima's eyes bore into mine, sending me the silent message that if I didn't want to look like an idiot, I should probably sit down.
I grudgingly complied.
Yangchen held up one finger as though to signal that she was fine, just begging for one moment. Tokoyami called back Dark Shadow and approached her.
"I am sorry." Tokoyami held out a hand to Yangchen.
Well, at least he's a good sport.
Yangchen slowly uncurled from her place on the floor.
Wait...
"No… I am!"
She whipped out a bright flashlight with lightning speed and aimed it at Dark Shadow. Now it was Dark Shadow's turn to shriek in pain, as he had on a pained expression and shrunk considerably in size. She kicked him in the side, forcing him to the ground.
A laugh left my mouth.
Of course she'd pull something so absurd.
"How… how did you know my weakness?" Tokoyami asked.
"I saw the way ya hid from Kiraru in the Cavalry Battle! Don't think it wasn't obvious!"
Dark Shadow tried to jump at her legs, but couldn't overcome the light. Yangchen made herself a snow shovel and began to slowly shove Tokoyami out of the arena.
A strange strategy, but it was working. She still had the flashlight, and when Tokoyami tried to get up, he got clonked on the head by the shovel.
I winced. That's gotta hurt.
Several minutes later, with a final push, Tokoyami landed just over the white boundary.
"Tokoyami is out of bounds! Tse is the winner!"
Yangchen clicked off the flashlight and offered a hand to Tokoyami. They shook hands and exited the arena, going opposite ways. Midnight made a comment to Cementos, who nodded. Cementos then returned to his seat, seeming to be preparing for the next match. But what really caught my eye was Yangchen.
As she walked back, she was smiling so insanely wide that she'd given up trying to hide it. She mumbled something to herself, which I could only understand as 'hope you can see me down here, hacks and.'
Wonder what that's about.
"Excuse me sir! That was amazing!"
"Oh, uh, thank you."
"Why'd you become a hero?"
"Well, I want to make a world where heroes have time to kill. We're under constant pressure, working day-in, day-out to help society. I wanna in a world where that pressure is lifted and heroes only have to deal with small scuffles. Where heroes can enjoy a bit of boredom. I'd always wanted that."
"How'd you do it?"
"What do you mean?"
"How did you become a hero?"
"Well, I guess, I grew into liking the idea of being a hero. I worked hard and trained myself and my quirk. Why do you ask?"
"I'm transferring here from China for high school. Off to Musutafu to meet my guardian, then probably off to Tohoku for school, but I'm honestly just lookin' for a good enough hero school."
"Hm. Hopefully you'll find Japan a nice place. What's your quirk, kid?"
"Transmutation."
"How does it work?"
"I can touch somethin' and turn it into somethin' else. The weight stays the same, and it doesn't work on living things. I also can't change the same object twice."
Yangchen picks up a rock and presses it between her hands. The rock turns into a rubber duck.
"That seems like a great quirk, depending on how you use it. Here's a question, let's say there's a villain with a lightning quirk. How do you take him down?"
"Probably use my quirk to get a wooden weapon. Find a way to distract them, then attack from behind."
"Hm, not bad, kid. If you're looking to become a hero, here's what I'll say. You talked about searching for schools earlier, good place to start. Basically just find a place that'll train you well, whether it be a hero course or the Public Safety Commission's special out-of-school course. Although that's probably out of the question if you're not rich or don't have any good recommendations."
"Not a problem for me."
"Rich or good recommendations?"
"Probably both."
"What's your name, kid?"
"Tse Yangchen."
"Well, Tse, my name is Hawks. I'm expecting to see your name in the headlines next year. I've got to go now, but I'll hope to see you when you become a hero."
"Goodbye, sir!"
"Welcome back, Yangchen!"
Yangchen sunk into her seat, probably tired after her match and climbing the stairs.
"Thanks. Who's fightin' down there?"
"Kirishima and Bakugou. It's a pretty balanced match, given Kacchan's quirk paired against Kirishima's. Kacchan can provide a lot of force with his explosions, while Kirishima can defend remarkably well." Deku scribbled in his notebook, muttering his analysis. I could hear the pencil from the phone.
"Maodun," Yangchen put her feet up on the seat in front of her. "An unstoppable force meets an immovable object."
"Mao-what?" Uraraka turned to look at her.
"'Maodun' means contradiction in Chinese. I'd give you the legend about it, but I think you'd prefer to watch the match."
Just then, Bakugou fired off the biggest explosion of the match. Kirishima crossed his arms in front of his face as the smoke rose around him.
"What's happening?"
"I can't see!"
The smoke billowed out, revealing the arena. Kirishima lay flat on his back, unconscious, on the edge of the arena.
"Uh, Kirishima has been knocked out! Bakugou moves on to the next round!"
Kirishima was dragged away on a stretcher as Bakugou turned the other way indifferently. Kirishima's eyes fluttered open, but the robots encouraged him to rest. Yangchen looked down at him, looked left and right, and then blew a kiss.
She freaking blew a kiss.
Gosh, they're such an oblivious couple.
I'll make sure to keep this all to myself until one of them fesses up to their feelings.
And seriously, she looked around too. How did she not see me watching?
Anyway, the screens around the arena showed the brackets, leaving four final competitors.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this concludes the second round of the finals! Please give a big hand for our final four: Todoroki Shoto, Amano Kiraru, Tse Yangchen, and Bakugou Katsuki!"
The audience roared in applause as I processed the new information. First, that I'd have to fight Todoroki. He'll probably kill me before I'm given the chance to knock some final sense into him.
Second, Yangchen has to fight Bakugou. Which isn't necessarily good either.
"Damn, don't give us a lot of time to rest, do they?"
Yangchen's voice startled me.
"Yeah…"
"What I mean by that is that yer match is up next."
"Oh, yeah it is!" I looked down at my still glowing hands. "But...I…"
"Hm?" Yangchen leaned over to peer at my hands. "I was wonderin' why you didn't use yer quirk against Iida. I take this is why?"
"Yeah." I turned my hands so my palms faced my legs, hiding the faint light. "This has never happened before. I need a strat to beat Strawberry Vanilla without using my quirk."
Yangchne's mouth quirked up. "Strawberry Vanilla?"
I grinned at her. "You're not the only one who can come up with nicknames."
"Fair enough." Yangchen shrugged. "So while yer hands are glowing, you can't use your quirk."
"Mhm."
Yangchen sighed, looking at the ceiling in thought. "I'm honestly not sure how to beat Zukkun like that, 'specially since now he's got his fire. I'm not sure some low-level pros could take him on. Maybe he's right to say he can't be beat…"
Oh you've got to be kidding me.
I stood up at the thought. "Todoroki's just like us." I clenched my fist. "Broken, battered, and beatable."
I jumped out of my seat and bounced back to the endless hallways to the arena before Yangchen had a chance to reply.
If he looks perfect, I'll just have to make him not.
I huffed under my breath at that thought while running to the waiting room.
Easier said than done.
"Aaand now, please welcome, Todoroki Shoto and Amano Kiraru! The winner of this match will move on to the final round!"
Todoroki and I walked through the archways. The sun shined down on us serenely, giving a false sense of peace to the whole matter. We walked into the arena, ready for our signal.
"Competitors ready… begin!"
Todoroki immediately fired a blast of ice at me. Not as big as he was doing with Midoriya (He must be getting tired. Figures) but still enough so that it would push me out if I waited around long enough. I jumped to the left as he reared up for his next attack.
"An immediate attack by Todoroki! What will Amano do?"
If I ran forward and got him to completely ice the arena, he'd destroy his field of view. Then I could figure something out from there.
However, that was not what Todoroki had in mind.
No, he made a spear out of ice.
A freaking r.
I thought this guy was a long-range fighter!
In my confusion I must have relaxed a little, because Todoroki was suddenly racing at me.
Oh shoot.
Luckily the tip was blunt, or he would have impaled me through the stomach. I gasped as the breath was knocked out of me. Todoroki then kicked my vulnerable form and I went flying to the side of the stadium.
Like I'd lose here.
I managed to get my feet on the ground, and in a few fluid (practiced?) moves, I cartwheeled away from the boundary.
I barely had time to catch my breath before Todoroki was before me again. This time he jabbed for my shoulder. I caught it with my forearm (That hurt-) and brought up a knee to his stomach. He twisted out of the way gracefully and pivoted on his foot so that suddenly he was behind me.
Where did he learn this shit!?
It felt like I was twisting in slow motion as he raised his right (right? What about the left?) hand.
I had no other options so I just repeated what I did against Iida:
I slapped my glowing hand on his eyes.
He made a grunt of surprise and combusted.
No, not like the blushing combusted.
His left side literally combusted.
I screamed in surprise and dropped to the ground, cradling my hand. It didn't look like it scarred, like my leg, but it was still painful.
Wait, my leg.
The burn was covered in ice.
And it stung.
"Did that while you were distracted," Todoroki panted from above me. "Now, how about we end this parade?"
"She's being an idiot."
"Hm?"
"Ah, Shigaraki. No, I was just watching the Sports Festival."
"Hm. Who's fight-"
"...Shigaraki?"
"Why are you watching her fight?"
"Uh...what do you mean? She's facing the son of the number two hero, why wouldn't I watch it?"
"So you don't know who she is?"
"Kira something. I dunno."
"...Okay. Also Sensei wants to meet with you later."
"What?"
"Ya heard me. I have a gym master to beat so if you need anything Kurogiri will be at the bar."
"Got it."
"Phew…"
Deku: SAINT LOUIS SMAAAASH!
Yangchen: Do you even know where Saint Louis is? Cuz I sure as hell don't.
(Disaster: the term 'maodun' does actually mean contradiction in Chinese. The legend states that there was once a merchant, trying to sell a spear and a shield. He claimed that the spear could pierce any shield in the world, and that the shield could block any spear attack. One day someone asked what would happen if someone took the merchant's spear and struck the shield with it, to which the merchant had no answer. The word 'maodun,' as a result, literally translates to 'spear-shield.')