Chapter 38 - One on One
After morning classes were done, lunch was next on the agenda. After lunch was eaten, and appetites were satisfied, the students of U.A's hero course were preparing for hero class. However, instead of ordering them to put on their hero costumes, the teachers ordered them to put on their gym uniforms and head to Gym Gamma. They obeyed, and Class 1-A, Class 1-B, and their American students headed there. When they arrived, Aizawa and Vlad King were waiting with them, along with, surprisingly enough, Endeavor! Upon seeing him, Todoroki became uneasy about his father's surprise visit, like he knew his father was there for something more than just visiting U.A.
"Hello, students of Class 1-A, Class 1-B, and our visiting American students." Endeavor spoke, his tone polite yet still rough sounding. "After the impressive performance that the American students of Class 1-A have put on, I have decided to return to watch, and see if Class 1-B's American students can be as impressive as they are."
In a weird way, all fifty-one students knew what, or more importantly 'who', Endeavor was talking about. Aside from Class 1-A and their American students witnessing the 'sparring match' between Endeavor and Matthew, Class 1-B had also heard about it as well. And in turn, the American students of Class 1-A, had told the American students of Class 1-B, about what had happened. So, all students figured at that the only reason Endeavor was at U.A, was just to see Matthew in action again.
"For today's, and tomorrow's, training exercises, we will have sparring matches between our students." Endeavor continued. "You will each pick somebody of your choosing to fight against, and then you will spar. Same rules as last year's Sports Festival: anything goes, no time limit, only way to win is to incapacitate your opponent, make them admit defeat, or throw them out of bounds. Today, we will hold the first thirteen matches, while tomorrow, we'll hold the next thirteen. That is all I have to say, and I will let Eraser Head continue."
Aizawa stepped forward, and announced, "Here's how this will go: I will call a name, and that student will come up here and choose his opponent. The two will then battle until one wins, and then retire themselves to the benches. I will act as referee for this particular match, and will step in if it gets out of hand. Afterwards, Vlad King will handle the next battle, repeating the process of calling up a name, and acting as referee. Alright, now that I have explained the rules and how it will work, the first student to come up will be Yusuf Kingston."
Despite what had occurred last night, Yusuf was rested and ready to go! He came out into the middle of Gym Gamma, while all other students, Vlad King, and Endeavor retired to the sidelines, as to not get in the way of the fighting. Aizawa stayed out in the middle of Gym Gamma, as he was the acting referee.
Yusuf then chose, to everyone's surprise, Mineta as his opponent! Mineta, both confident and scared at the same time, came forward to the middle of Gym Gamma, and prepared himself for battle. After a few seconds, Aizawa ordered the match to begin, and Yusuf and Mineta began battling against each other!
The sparring matches were on!
But as Bakugo watched the fight intensely, he turned and looked at Peter, who was equally intensive in watching the fight. Bakugo knew who he was going to be battling against, if he was chosen for a sparring match on this day. And if not this day, the next one then…
Yusuf chose Mineta to be his opponent, because he honestly thought that Mineta was going to be an easy victory. However, he was dead wrong; Mineta ended up winning the fight, by pinning Yusuf to the ground with the sticky balls from his head! Afterwards, Yusuf had to be scraped off the floor, and the sparring matches continued.
Vlad King chose Iida next, and Iida chose Ralphie to fight against. The fight started out in Iida's favor, as he was able to get some solid hits in on Ralphie. However, after Ralphie ingested some spinach from a can, which he randomly pulled from his tracksuit top, the last forty seconds of the fight ended with Ralphie DECIMATING Iida! By the end of the fight, Iida looked like he had been run over by an eighteen wheeler! Fortunately, it wasn't so bad as that he needed to be carried out on a stretcher, but it still took a toll on him.
After that battle, Yaoyaorozu was called up next, to which she chose to battle against Kendo. Unlike their fight at the Joint Training Battle, Yaoyaorozu was able to come up with a strategy, and defeated Kendo! Afterwards, the two girls shook hands, and gave each other respect.
For the rest of the class, eleven of the sparring matches continued. Students were called up, and they chose their opponents. Some won, some lost, and some ended in a draw, but all in all, the students were proving their skill as combatants, just as they did at the Sports Festival. Even the Americans were proving themselves to be skilled, as Murdock won his match against Sero. However, Sunshine lost her match, which she battled against Tokage. However, there was no hard feelings, and Sunshine congratulated her afterwards.
After the eleventh match, Vlad King called Monoma up to spar next. Monoma, a confident and rather smug look on his face, pushed past Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, and came up to the middle of Gym Gamma.
"Alright, Monoma." said Vlad King. "Who will choose as your opponent?"
"It's my time to shine in the spotlight." Monoma replied, his tone as smug and confident as the look on his face. "I will bring Class 1-B to glory, by ending the one person who has no place among us in U.A. Just because you are a member of Class 1-A, and you don't have a quirk, that doesn't make you special; it makes you weaker than the rest of us. Come and face me, Matthew Noble; I'll prove your true worth."
Matthew, who honestly had enough of Monoma's smugness, came forward to spar. He then began loosening his joints, stretching, and throwing a couple of punches and kicks into the air.
"Monoma's made a huge mistake." said Kendo, as she sat on a bench, along with the rest of those who had already fought.
"How so?" asked Yusuf, who was sitting beside her.
"Monoma's quirk allows him to copy other people's quirks, but he can only hold one at a time, and he can only hold it for ten minutes. And your friend, Matthew, is quirkless."
"And that means that he can't copy Matthew's quirk and use it against him, because Matthew doesn't have a quirk in the first place! That is a huge mistake! But wait… couldn't Monoma have copied a quirk from somebody while walking out, and now he's holding onto it and waiting to use it?"
"That is very likely, as Monoma's pretty crafty." Kendo replied. "Who knows what quirk he could've copied from those who haven't fought yet?"
"Do you think Matthew has a fighting chance?" Yusuf asked.
"If he can hold on for ten minutes or less, he will. But it all depends on what quirk Monoma has chosen…"
Matthew knew of Monoma's quirk, having seen it in action, and hearing about it from his fellow American students in Class 1-B. The only thing that Matthew was wondering was who's quirk did Monoma take. Because, depending on how powerful it was, it meant that Matthew could either win or lose this battle.
"Okay, when you're ready!" said Vlad King. "Begin!"
Matthew didn't waste any time; he charged forward and kicked at Monoma! Monoma dodged, but Matthew regained his footing and kicked again, to which Monoma activated the quirk he copied, and his entire body hardened into steel! He then blocked the kick with his arm, but Matthew still came after him!
"Hey, he copied my quirk!" said Tetsutetsu, somewhat annoyed that it was his quirk that was copied.
Despite Matthew's kicks, Monoma would not break! Matthew then kicked him into the air and proceeded to unleash a furious combo of punches, but that did nothing to Monoma! Monoma then kicked off him and sent him reeling, as his strength was doubled thanks to Tetsutetsu's quirk! Matthew hit the floor hard, but he rolled back and recovered! Both he and Monoma stood there, a hardened look on Matthew's face, while a rather smug look on Monoma's face?
"What's the matter?" asked Monoma, his tone patronizing, as he turned off Tetsutetsu's quirk. "Things not going your way for a change?"
"No, I'm just getting warmed up." Matthew replied. "And I'm waiting to see which one of us runs out of energy first."
Matthew then ran forward and tried to kick again, but Monoma slid underneath his leg, barely avoiding getting hit! He then activated Tetsutetsu's quirk again, turning his body to steel, and turned around to try and punch Matthew! Matthew dodged and elbowed him in the face, but it had no effect! Matthew punched at him, but Monoma dodged and kicked Matthew's legs, sending him into the air!
Matthew rolled and recovered, and Monoma grabbed him, intending to knee him in the chest! Matthew then blocked with both his hands, threw his arms up to get Monoma off him, and then backed up and punched him hard! Monoma blocked, but was sent sliding back, and Matthew ran forward to punch him!
However, Monoma dodged, grabbed Matthew, and slammed him hard on the ground! He then proceeded to unload punches on Matthew's torso, which made Matthew spit up blood! Matthew then pushed off Monoma's legs, and slid out from underneath him! He then did a backflip kick, which hit Monoma square in the jaw! It didn't hurt, but it did cause him to look up, and Matthew took that opportunity to get out of his sight! Monoma turned around, and Matthew shoved him forward, before running up from behind and slamming Monoma to the ground!
Unfortunately for Matthew, none of his attacks were doing any damage to Monoma; he had picked the perfect quirk to defend himself with, and it was working! Only a few times in his life, Matthew Noble had felt outclassed, and this was one of those times! However, despite being tired and worn out from the fight, Matthew wasn't going to go down that easily! He hadn't come this far just to lose like this! Not now, not ever!
Monoma then recovered from the running attack, got back up quickly and punched Matthew! Matthew blocked it, despite the pain that shot through his arms, and was sent sliding back! He then took a familiar fighting stance, and then let out a yell as he raced forward to attack!
"Straight from the teachings of my Uncle Stephen!" Matthew yelled. "Five Hour - Paralyzation Finger Flick!"
Endeavor, who was watching the match intensely, remembered when Matthew used the 'twenty-four hour' version of the finger flick on him; his left arm shut down entirely for the day, only coming back to full use after twenty-four hours! However, considering Matthew was only using a 'five hour' version, it wouldn't be as powerful as the one that was used before.
Matthew charged forward, dodged Monoma's kick, aimed for Monoma's chest and-
CRACK!
Matthew let out a yell of pain and jumped back! He then looked down at the finger on his right hand; it was now colored a dark red, signifying he had broke it against Monoma's steel chest!
Seeing that, Midoriya knew how that felt; he had been on the receiving end of having broken fingers whenever he used the 'Delaware Smash'.
Over the course of training to become a hero, and his time at Justice High, Matthew had received his fair share of broken bones. Because he was quirkless, he was always putting his body on the line, which meant he would get hurt more often than his classmates. Fortunately, Justice High had a doctor with a healing quirk, so he was often covered when it came to his injuries. Not only that, but thanks to his training, Matthew had developed a high pain tolerance, meaning he could keep going, no matter how bad his pain was.
But here, Matthew was running out of tactics; it was as if nothing could penetrate through Monoma's steel body! He really was outclassed in this situation! And to make matters worse, Matthew was getting tired, while Monoma seemed to be perfectly fine! It was almost as if his quirk was strengthening him!
"Looks like you've been wounded." said Monoma, his tone smug, as he turned off Tetsutetsu's quirk. "What are you going to do now, huh? Try another tactic? Face it, you're going to lose. The great American from Class 1-A is going to fall before someone of Class 1-B. You're alone, there's nobody to save you. Nobody to cheer you on… you're all alone. Poor Matthew Noble, all alone…"
The look on Matthew's face was one of tiredness and pain, and he looked like he was going to break. He was sweating profusely, breathing hard, and holding his right hand, with the broken finger looking weak and useless.
"He's done for…" Sunshine spoke, her tone saddened.
However, then something happened that nobody was expecting: Aizawa, Endeavor, Vlad King, Class 1-A, Class 1-B, the American students, Monoma, they weren't expecting what happened next. They thought that Matthew, for the first time, was going to be done for. But he wasn't…
He was smiling.
The smug smile faded from Monoma's face, and he asked with a confused tone, "What are you smiling for? Didn't you hear me? You're all alone."
"You're wrong, that's why I'm smiling." Matthew replied, his tone calm and collected. "I'm not alone, as I have my friends with me, no matter where I am. And as for there being nobody to save me, I've already been saved. You see, I've believe in God, and he's why I'm not afraid. He knows what's going to happen, and whether or not I'll win this battle. And even if I don't win today, God and my friends can help pick me back up. So you-"
"Enough speaking of your God!" Peter yelled, his tone angered. "Just give up already, quirkless!"
"Shut up!" Bakugo roared. "Let him speak, you dumb idiot!"
The smug look returned to Monoma's face, and he asked in a patronizing tone, "Did Shiozaki tell you that? She just as stupid as you are, if you think that silly beliefs will get you far. I know that you two like each other, and when I'm done with you, she'll be next to suffer…"
Actually, Monoma had no plans to hurt Shiozaki; he was just saying that so that he could get a rise out of Matthew. And it did work, as a furious look creeped over Matthew's face. Matthew then took a step forward, then another, and then he began full on running towards Monoma!
"Now I'll finish you off." said Monoma, as he turned Tetsutetsu's quirk back on.
Monoma then attempted to punch Matthew, but Matthew dodged it! Monoma tried again, but Matthew dodged the next one as well! Over and over, Monoma attempted to hit Matthew, but Matthew kept dodging his attacks! After a couple of minutes, Monoma was now the one then getting tired! And, then things went bad for him; his time ran out, and Tetsutetsu's quirk faded from his copy quirk! A look of horror came across Monoma's face, as he realized he was now the one at a disadvantage!
Matthew then began planning out his strategy for attack, just as he did when he battled against Bakugo back during the Hostage Exercise. The strategy went like this:
1. Left hook to face.
2. Left jab to body.
3. Dodge wild left hook.
4. Block right jab with right elbow.
5. Respond with right kick to body.
6. Right knee to face.
7. Grab back of head and deliver right knee again.
8. Back up, and deliver flying missile dropkick.
9. Apply submission to arm.
10. Wait for the admit to defeat.
11. Warn that if opponent ever threatens friends again, will come for him.
With his strategy planned out, Matthew started by delivering the left hook to Monoma's face! He then delivered a left jab to his body, and dodged his desperate left hook! He then blocked his right jab with his right elbow, and responded with a right kick to the body! Monoma bent over in pain, and Matthew delivered a right knee to his face, then grabbed him by the back of the head, and did it again! Monoma, now bleeding from the nose and mouth, was dazed and confused from the attack! Matthew then backed up, and delivered a flying missile dropkick that sent Monoma crashing to the ground! Quickly, Matthew then went over and applied a submission hold onto Monoma's arm, cranking it back all the way and causing Monoma to let out a yell of pain!
"Admit defeat!" Matthew yelled. "I'll break it! Admit defeat!"
"No…" Monoma muttered.
"Okay then." Matthew replied, applying pressure. "Time to make a wish!"
"AGGGH! I ADMIT DEFEAT! I GIVE UP! I GIVE UP!"
"Good." said Matthew, letting go of Monoma's arm and standing up. He then knelt down, leaned in Monoma's face, and said in a quiet yet fierce tone, "You ever threaten Shiozaki, or any of my friends, and I'll show you that I can play the role of a villain as well. And if you ever lay a finger on Shiozaki with the intention to hurt her, it'll take them a month before they can find your body."
Matthew pulled back and limped off, while Monoma laid on the ground, his face filled with fear. Vlad King went over to check on Monoma, while Matthew went over to where the students who had finished fighting were. He then noticed that Kendo and Yusuf had shocked looks on their faces.
"Gee, do I really scare you guys?" Matthew asked.
"To be honest, you do." Kendo replied. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you've really changed, Matthew." Yusuf added. "You're not the guy that we knew back at Justice High."
"I know." Matthew replied. "And I wonder if that's a good thing…"
Matthew then watched as two robots came with a stretcher, which Vlad King picked Monoma up and placed him on. The two robots then wheeled him away; the twelfth match was done. Now all was left was the thirteenth and final match for the day.
But little did anyone know, that the next match… was going to be between Peter and Bakugo. And considering the grudge the two seemed to have against each other, it seemed for sure that the fight was going to spiral out of control!
Author's Notes: Okay, so this chapter was just an appetizer. As for the next chapter and what to expect... it's going to be the main course! For the main event, we're going to have Katsuki Bakugo take on Peter Cisco, in a no-holds barred, knock down, drag out, fight of the ages! Hold on tight, because its going to get something FIERCE!
Ralphie: Hey, why didn't you make my fight more detailed?
Heroboy005: (Somewhat annoyed) You won, didn't you?
Ralphie: Yeah, but why couldn't you give more details as to how I won?
Heroboy005: Because it would take too long. Anyway, why do you keep pestering me?
Ralphie: Can I ask you a question?
Heroboy005: You just did.
Ralphie: Okay, can I ask you two questions?
Heroboy005: You just did.
Ralphie: Alright... can I ask you four questions?
Heroboy005: You just did.
Ralphie: When?
Heroboy005: Right now!
Ralphie: (Shocked) GAH! My mind is blown!
(Gets back in the story)
Heroboy005: (Smiling) It's so simple.
R&R,
Heroboy005
