Katsuki Does Not Dream of Pink Cheeks

Chapter 30: Siren

Inches from Katsuki's face, the red ball retracted via Deku's Black Whip. From there his freckled rival leapt into the air, rapidly twirling in a powerful motion that rendered him invisible but for the electric green-black cyclone that took his place. Soy Sauce Face tossed his own ball up to the spinning young hero, offering the green-black tornado more firepower for his impending assault.

"A double fake-out. Figured as much. That damn nerd's not gonna risk me catching his ball."

Now that he no longer had a lock on the ball, even dodging was going to be difficult. Catching was out of the question, especially since his rival's ammo had just doubled. Or at least, catching was no longer an option for anyone else. Katsuki was more than willing to accept the challenge.

"Ashido! Here!" Katsuki called, quickly tossing his ball her way after spotting her to his left.

Apparently surprised to hear him call her by name, Ashido turned curiously and caught the ball as she continued sliding on the sheet of ice below them with her acid.

"For me? What's the catch?"

"Don't waste it! I need both my hands free!" he replied, eyes already back on the floating green hurricane.

"Thanks!" she replied giddily, sounding more distant as she presumedly kept maneuvering on the ice.

Katsuki watched the cyclone with extreme focus in order to pin down Deku's rhythm. Once confident he had it down, the blonde devil flashed a cocksure grin and began to mimic his rival's movement. It wasn't an unfamiliar principle, for the motion was similar to a move already in his arsenal. Thanks to that, all Bakugo had to do was adjust and sync up to his opponent's timing.

"Not gonna give me any vision, eh? Two can play that game, Chosen One."

"What the —" Soy Sauce commented as he watched the explosion user form a cyclone of his own via explosions.

"Bastard Howitzer!" he announced, spinning in place.

"He's like a spinning top!" Shittyshima observed from behind him.

Deku abruptly halted midair for an instant to hurl a ball toward the uninitiated, it may have seemed a random and impulsive move. Katsuki knew it was anything second ball tailed behind, shadowing the first thrown, each with a Black Whip tendril trailing behind them. As much as it pained him to admit it, he was thankful for the visual aids, for he had failed to even see Deku throw the second ball. Without a moment to lose, Katsuki rapidly diverted to the right with his continuous spin. As he anticipated, the balls were course corrected through Black Whip and sailed toward the moving Katsuki cyclone.

"Nice big brain idea, but you made my job easier too!"

Knowing their course, Bakugo preemptively stopped spinning and leapt above the balls just before they could hit him and grasped a black whip with each hand. Deku's look of shocking realization was worthy of being painted and hung in a high art gallery so far as Lord Explosion Murder was concerned.

"Hope your face freezes like that!" Katsuki grinned maniacally, twisting violently as he resumed spinning in infamous Howitzer fashion. "You thought that'd help you aim at a moving target, huh? Time to form a new plan ya damn nerd! You gonna undo Black Whip or get dragged over here?!"

Though able to remain air bound through Float, Deku struggled to stay on his team's side of the ring as Katsuki jerked the black whips forcefully with each rotation of his spin. The dark-green-haired boy was at a dangerous crossroads. Releasing Black Whip would leave two balls for Team 2 to catch and get him out. On the other hand, if he maintained the whips, that left him with but two unappealing options: Allowing Katsuki to pull him over to their side — which would get him out the second he touched the ground — or to use Air Force and force the murderous hurricane pulling him to relent; But the same rules that had kept Katsuki from leaning into his foremost strengths were an equally trying handicap for the new holder of One for All. Even if dialed back, an imprecise Air Force blast would likely get him carded at a bare minimum.

Bakugo felt the resistance in his hands cease as Deku released Black Whip and dropped to the ground with an expression of melded apprehension and frustration. The blonde had no time to waste. Without a moment's hesitation, Katsuki dived down to catch the falling ball closest to him. He'd secured two balls for his side, but Deku wasn't out yet.

The young hero was able to achieve the feat through a risky left-handed blast that sent him to the ground in time to catch the red ball at the cost of due pain to his back as a result of the harsh landing. Katsuki couldn't have cared less. He grinned through the pain.

"Caught ball! Izuku Midoriya is out! Point, Katsuki Bakugo!" Mt. Lady announced from her highchair.

"KATSUKI BAKUGO BREAKING AWAY WITH AN EARLY LEAD! What a tense and engaging way to start kicking things off! YEEEEAAAAHHHH!" Present Mic affirmed over mixed reactions from the crowd.

"Sorry guys!" began Deku, rubbing the back of his head embarrassedly as he moved to the out zone to Team 1's side of Mt. Lady's chair. "I'll make it up to you all when I get back in!"

He smiled to his teammates from the sideline. An expression Uraraka returned with enthusiasm. Katsuki envied that about him. Win or lose, he was all smiles and hope. It always infuriated Bakugo when he witnessed how easily his rival was able to shake off failures. But there was no time to ponder on rivals on the sidelines. Plenty more were still in play and gunning for him.

Invisibitch was not one of those rivals. Katsuki saw her coming a mile away as he regained his footing. Though he remembered Grayhair's quirk and knew it was a potential explanation for the ball slowly moving toward him, the pace and nature of the movement seemed very human and flawed to him.

"Go on and try me then, Dumbass Ghost!" he taunted to confirm.

"Eep!" a girl's voice yelped as the seemingly floating ball halted before falling to the ground.

"You idiot!" Katsuki rebuked her, mercilessly flinging his ball toward her.

Just as he registered the ball bouncing off his target's invisible frame, ice shot up and obstructed his view before encircling Katsuki entirely. The high top of the newly formed cage was left unsealed, allowing the light to enter that enabled him to see.

Whether by error or for unknown purpose, he'd been left plenty of room to move inside of the ice prison.

"Toru Hagakure's been hit! Point, Katsuki Bakugo!" he heard Mt. Lady's distorted voice update.

Though he was only just barely able to make out what the chief umpire said, Katsuki was thankful to have confirmed what his eyes had deduced. Normally he would have regarded the confirmation with indifference, but the assurance was a small comfort since his last target was still invisible.

"Yuga Aoyama is out! Point, Setsuna Tokage!"

Lord Explosion Murder looked up above to the lone opening in the ice. As the ice had grown taller up above, it had also grown thinner, leaving a single hole in the partial roof. It appeared as if he'd been left with a chimney or entrapped in a boiling flask. The more he observed his surroundings, the angrier he grew. Reaching that opening up above would pose no problem, but Katsuki suspected that was the reason it had been left in the first place. Given the size of the hole, exiting through it would undoubtedly make him into an easy target. Exploding his way out was also a strategy that held certain risks; Katsuki's enemies had a general idea of where he was, but the same was no longer true for him. The second he took or made an exit, it would be open season.

"Waiting this out isn't an option either," he concluded, shifting attention to the ball near his feet that had been trapped with him. "I can't keep first place if I waste too much time in here."

"You haven't bombed your way out yet?" a vaguely recognizable voice inquired.

The young hero's head jerked instantly, triggered by the proximity. An annoyingly familiar severed mouth met his gaze, though it had already put considerable distance between them and now floated well above him.

"So it's you, huh? Should know better than to mess with me after last time."

Taunting was standard for Katsuki, but here it served the dual purpose of luring his visitor into a conversation while he tried to get an estimate on how many pieces of the 1-B recommended student had joined him the ice prison. The blonde spotted at least 20 separate indigo-colored pieces, with more steadily coming down through the top hole.

"My mistake from then was assuming that you couldn't change." Chop Up replied, her severed mouth now closer as it and many more pieces began rapidly encircling him.

"Knowing where you messed up won't do you any good against me. I know all your chopped-up pieces don't pack much of a punch. They're annoying as hell to hit, but that's about it."

"Don't have to worry about hurting you. I just have to get you out." She shot back as her pieces continued circling round him.

"Tch. I don't care what plan you and Icy Hot cooked up, that ain't happening."

He debated blowing her away with explosions but knowing that could play into the strategist's plan made him cautious. Katsuki recalled her devious mind from the joint training battle they'd faced off in. Tricking him into destroying the ice and making an easy target of himself was well within the realm of possibility. Given how well she was able to move when in pieces, Chop Up would be able to clear away from him in no time if she needed to. He needed to bide his time and wait for an opportunity to surprise her. Ideally before she surprised him first.

However, natural a response as explosions were for the blonde firecracker, a far more preferable option still remained to him. Katsuki surveyed the inside of the prison and the pieces circling him one last time before finalizing his plan. Chop Up hadn't brought in a ball with her. And though he couldn't pick out her eyes from among all the flying pieces surrounding him, he counted roughly 50 pieces. It wasn't an estimate he trusted very much given their mobility, but the fact that he was being circled gave him faith that an exact count wouldn't be necessary. If Chop Up was able to surround him, she had eyes on him. It was as simple as that.

Katsuki then released a bright stun grenade, sure to either blind his adversary or put them on the defensive. Chop Up's pieces came to stops and jolted in place in response, giving the blonde a perfect opportunity to return his attention to the crimson ball at his feet, which he bent over and firmly grasped. If his opponents' plan had been to draw him out of the ice like a rat or get him out through a catch, that plan was about to blow up in their face.

"The strongest isn't always the winner in a fight." Chop Up's soft voice stated, as close as it had been before.

The fiery blonde lurched leftward, fueled by unease and instinct, ready to meet the voice this time with a ball to the face. Before his eyes could even fully register the shift in his foe's form, legs latched around his waist and his arms were forcefully brought to his sides by Chop Up's surprisingly strong elbows as she strong-armed him into a tight embrace. Though he managed to maintain a hold on the ball with his right hand, it seemed sure to fall if he flailed the arm or if any more pressure was applied to it.

"What the hell?! Get off me!"

"No can do. If I touch the ground here, I'm out." She replied coyly.

Her dusky green eyes met his. They were cocky and full of satisfaction. Katsuki had only turned his head for a moment and the trickster had still managed to bring all her pieces back together. He'd anticipated an improvement in her skills, but this exceeded expectations.

"Not my problem! Get the hell off me! I'll kill you!"

"Blinding me was a good idea, but one you've used before. I'm glad I've seen you use that stun a few times. Might not have been able to get the timing down and learn your tells otherwise."

"I saw your damn pieces react!" Katsuki called her out.

"I was faking it." She replied with a wicked grin. "How did I do?"

"Like I care about your damn plan! You didn't get me out, so you and Icy Hot did all this for nothing!"

"Now that you mention it, we didn't come up with a name for this combo move yet. I'll have to think of one so you can remember it."

"Will you get off me already you damn freak?! This pointless hold's not gonna get you anywhere!"

"I'm glad I got to take another crack at you, Bakugo. I've been itching for a chance to get revenge for last year. Looks like this is it."

"Are you deaf?!"

"Nice of them to let us use our costumes this time. I wouldn't have been able to regenerate any other clothes. Might have made this awkward."

"Stop yapping about weird shit!"

"I don't know about you," she paused, arching her back as she tightened her hold on his arms and squeezed her thighs against his waist. "But keeping this hold is making me kind of stiff."

Anger fled his face as surprise found it. Katsuki kept his focus on Chop Up's drawn back head. Her dark moss-green hair grew thinner and wavier the lower down it went, ending just below her shoulders. The scaly indigo mask over her eyes did nothing to hide their green light as she reopened them to assess and further taunt him. This inspired her grin to widen, revealing long pointed teeth.

"Last year when you took me down, you said you hadn't changed. I never did buy that. It was obvious you had. It seemed to be for the better too. Left me pretty clueless on how to dismantle you. So, I waited. And you kept changing. Especially recently."

"How many times do I have to drill this into you! Get off or you're —"

"If you wanted me off, I'd be off already." Chop Up cut him off sassily.

Surprise transformed into embarrassment. The bound blonde felt his face heat up at the bold implication. The ends of his captor's smile curled up ever higher. Dangerous as he sensed it was to continue looking her in the eye, Katsuki didn't dare let his eyes roam elsewhere. Unfortunately maintaining this focus came at the cost of offering a vehement denial of the innuendo.

"Think I thought of a name for this combo: Caged Siren's Song. What do you think? Have a nice ring to it?" she inquired, squeezing her thighs inward against him once more.

"S-stop that!" the red-faced boy demanded.

"Why haven't you tried falling forward to get me out, I wonder?"

"Shut up!"

"Don't worry about me. I could always just split apart and fly away if it came to that." Chop Up continued, glancing down. "Oh, I see. A fall would be pretty uncomfortable for you right now."

Reflexive throbbing confirmed her every word.

"Stop screwing around!"

"I thought Todoroki was supposed to be the hot and cold one?"

"Don't compare me to that Icy Hot bastard, you lizard bitch!"

"Always with the pet names," she sighed. "Okay then. Let's put your memory to the test."

"I'm not playing with you damn it!"

"But I'm playing with you," the scaly hero purred as something soft found Katsuki's left hand. "Think you could help me out? I dropped this."

If the feel hadn't been confirmation enough, Bakugo found irrefutable proof upon looking down to his hand. A scaly violet breast had been given to him. It pulsed there, begging to be squeezed. He looked up to her chest to verify. There was indeed a vacant hole in his captor's chest where the right breast should have been.

"Don't be shy, I appreciate the help."

His fingers lightly clasped around the breast as it pulled them upward, leading him to her chest before stopping abruptly at the elbow due to the hold Chop Up had him in.

"Sorry. I feel vulnerable. Could you drop that for me?" she requested, glancing down to the ball still held in his right hand.

"… In your dreams."

"Trust me, I'm such a klutz, you're gonna need both hands." Insisted the green-eyed siren.

The left breast fell from her chest like a costume piece, leaving another void space where her bosom should have been. It dropped for a moment before stopping by Katsuki's motionless wrist and jostling it to the side, causing the ball he'd been holding so desperately to drop back down to the ground. Then the aggressive breast took its place in his newly freed hand.

"I'm just falling apart today," she moaned, releasing his arms and lifting her hair up as if to clear any obstructions from a canvas. "Think you can help put me back together again, Bakugo?"

"You damn brat…" He mumbled, letting her breasts partly guide his hands up to their vacant chest, where he pushed them back in place like sensual puzzle pieces.

Katsuki stared in disbelief at his own actions, hands frozen on Tokage's breasts. The thin scaly texture of the indigo bodysuit combined with the wonderful suppleness of her bosom felt like heaven to the touch. The body looked as beautiful as it felt, for her costume showcased every asset to the siren's frame. He felt his eyes droop further and further in admiration, first marveling at her enthralling breasts with all the vigor his hands had, then tracing the fine lines of her abdominals — so fine they could be seen plunging through her center-jeweled belt — which he tracked downward lecherously until he arrived at the dead end of her pelvis that pressed against his erection, pinning the top of his member to his belly, a commanding thigh to each side keeping her in place around his waist.

"Give them a feel to make sure they're nice and in place." Tokage dictated sadistically.

His eyes darted back up to her jade gaze and fierce sharp-toothed smirk. Katsuki instantly obliged her, eyeing the hellishly coveted bosom once more as he began to squeeze her breasts, savoring every moment of the bliss. The seductress kept her hands in her dark-green hair, beaming with satisfaction while observing her obedient captive ooze with unapologetic lust.

"How's that memory of yours doing?" she quizzed cockily.

"Huh?" Katsuki asked, caught off guard as he met her eyes once more, utterly dazed.

"Say my name." she commanded.

"…Tokage." He indulged her, staring with brazen longing.

"Thought so. You like to be dominated. Interesting." Stated the siren, placing a hand atop his head and ruffling his hair.

"What are you… doing?"

"Playing with you. Remember?"

Tokage suddenly rammed her face into his, initiating a forceful kiss as her tongue drilled into his mouth, sought out Katsuki's and subjugated it, leading it wherever she pleased as if claiming his entire mouth as territory. He impulsively moved his hands from her breasts and wrapped arms around Tokage's irresistible body. Bakugo throbbed violently when the kiss deepened and Tokage began wildly gyrating her thighs. He intuitively humped upward, desperate to grind against her firm nether region as much as possible.

When he began to grow short of breath, Katsuki opened his eyes only to find Tokage's malevolent emeralds staring back at him, as if watching a creature in captivity. They maintained the bizarre eye contact for a long moment. Yet as unconventional as it was, Katsuki couldn't help but feel weirdly comfortable. He didn't even notice himself fully run out of air.

Thankfully Tokage noticed and abruptly broke off the kiss, biting down hard on his lip before their mouths parted ways and pulling his head back by the hair with the hand she had placed atop his head.

"Didn't mean to turn you blue so early. Rest for a bit." She ordered, carelessly dropping his limp and horny head down to her chest.

Feeling as if he'd landed face first on a heavenly cloud, Bakugo moved up just enough for his eyes to find Tokage's. The jades smiled back with malice. He felt like lizard food.

"Go ahead. I can tell you're dying to." She consented in daring fashion.

He wasted no time in proceeding to motorboat her, instantly growing further intoxicated by the warmth and texture of Tokage's scale-clad bosom. She left him to his own devices for quite some time. Katsuki could feel her beaming down on him with a sadist's high. He hugged her tight, trying to burrow deep into her chest. Her hips had stopped twisting, yet his urge to hump had only increased, which he didn't remotely hesitate to do. He could tell she'd moved her hands back to her hair since he didn't feel them within his embrace or hanging over his arms. This was a spectator sport for Setsuna Tokage.

After an embarrassingly long time spent indulging himself, Katsuki felt his head being patted repeatedly. Soon after, he was abruptly pulled up by the hair like a vegetable. His picker's face was one of evolved spiteful ecstasy.

"Let's test you again while we're at it. Do you know my given name?"

"Your… given name?" he repeated back, fully aware of her meaning, but too stunned to articulate a real answer.

"You're not one for worrying about formalities anyway. Go for it." She urged, inching her enticing face ever so closer to his.

Tokage wasn't kept waiting for long. Bakugo was amazed how unexpectedly resourceful he could be with names when given the proper motivation. His classmates would have likely considered this a breakthrough if it weren't being prompted by the most outrageous circumstances.

"It's… Setsuna. It's Setsuna, damn it…"

"Whatever jogged your memory?" she asked coyly, enveloping him in another violent kiss without warning.

Katsuki reciprocated but couldn't overcome the evident disparity in their experience. His lizard-like snogging partner was set on continuing to lead the exchange. He acquiesced and diverted his efforts to other favored areas. Namely, grinding into her loins and fondling Tokage's breast with one hand while holding her tight with the other. The viper responded by biting down hard into his inner lip mid-kiss. He tasted iron, soon numb to any of the pain.

Unrelenting, Setsuna began to pull her head back, refusing to release his lip all at once, inexorably causing his bottom lip to slink back to his mouth like a rubber band. She efficiently licked her upper lip clean of the blood she'd drawn from him.

"I only bit your lip. Why's your nose bleeding?" flexing her thighs against him in a sudden motion, causing Katsuki to cum in surprise.

A low inadvertent moan left him, to which Tokage flashed another fanged grin. Cum continued to gradually ooze from the tip of his restrained member, which affirmatively pulsed against Setsuna's sheathed lower lips all the while.

"S-stop that…" he barely managed to utter, eyes rolling to the back of his head due to the pleasure.

"You're not very convincing."

She spitefully tightened her thighs' grip on his loin for good measure.

"St- sto- sto- stop…" Katsuki only just persisted, the last of his words but a whisper.

The torturer momentarily obliged and watched him doubtfully, a brow raising on cue as he continued vigorously grinding his erection against her covered glory. Tokage's fanged smile widened as she watched Katsuki contradict himself by desperately rubbing his sex into her groin and lower abdomen. Humping upward with his constrained cock was as essential as breathing. His body practically did it with autonomy and the explosion hero had no means by which to command it to cease.

"Why bother lying if you're so bad at it?" smugly glancing down to observe the erect bulge as it mashed against her cut lower abs.

"… This is ridiculous!" he chastised himself, frustration ebbing away as his face was recolored by abject yearning.

"You're telling me. Now… Beg for the rest, Bakugo."

Insults and vehement protests were the furthest thing from his mind in that moment. All he could feel was pure sensual pleasure. The thrill of molten seed slowly spewing from him. He lacked even the patience to feign ignorance and prolong the inevitable.

"Please…" he gave in exhaustedly.

"You can do better than that. Try harder." She insisted, inching closer and pinning his member even harder against his stomach with her firm abs.

"To…kage…"

"Good. Struggle." Setsuna assessed, her face perilously close to his.

"Give it to me… Everything you have!"

"Beg." She asserted, teasing him with a squeeze from her thighs.

"Please… Tokage…" Katsuki obeyed, lusting for her every feature. "I want you so bad… So damn bad…!"

"That's better. Keep going."

"Fuuuuucccck…" he panted, throbbing in body and soul. "I-I'm…. going to…"

"I know." Tokage asserted, unexpectedly twisting her lower body and causing Lord Explosion Murder to partly live up to his name.

"Damn it!..." Katsuki exclaimed in exhaustion as cum began to geyser from his worn out and immensely satisfied nether region.

"It's all over now," she verbalized with vindictive condescension. "I always hoped I'd be able to dominate you as payback for last year. Never imagined it would be like this though."

"You dirty…" Katsuki trailed off drunkenly, cock still twitching against the firm groin against it.

"Save the pillow talk, you're long gone."

As if on cue he was hit on the head, briefly bopping his skull down and up. He looked left in disbelief. A rogue hand had just smacked him with the red ball he'd dropped earlier.

"It was fun playing with you. I can't believe how much fun I had testing this strategy and watching you thirst for me." Tokage gloated, tilting his head up by the chin with her remaining hand so he'd look directly at her.

"…"

He was speechless.

"How about one more for the road? I don't think I'll be seeing you again next round," she continued, closing in on Katsuki and gauging his wide-eyed stare. "Pucker up."

Setsuna offered one last peck before withdrawing triumphantly and finally releasing her hold on him. Her feet swirled around the ice dome along with the hand that'd gotten him out.

"Oops. Guess I'm able to stay up on my own after all." She joked, bringing a dominant finger to his forehead while looking down on him. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll try not to brag about this to Itsuka. Think it's safe to say we're already more than even after this."

The blonde offered no resistance as Setsuna Tokage proceeded to tip him over like a domino. He was that stunned, even now. Though he fell hard on the ground, Katsuki felt he hadn't been punished adequately whatsoever. The hovering siren surveyed his state from up above with the abundant satisfaction that only long sought vengeance could brew.

"Only seems fair to leave you drooling on the ground. That's how you left me after your flawless victory," Tokage mocked, placing a hand to her hip cockily. "Take your time getting out of here. You'll probably want to take down that tent. I'll be sure to let the umpire know you're out."

"…"

"This was fun. See you around." She bid him farewell, concluding there wasn't going to be an outburst to enjoy after all.

The siren and her swirling severed pieces hovered upward to the only available exit. For every indigo chunk that left, Katsuki felt a mental lash that resounded throughout his entire body. Shame, anger, disappointment; He felt an erratically fluctuating degree of all these emotions. This wasn't the first time he'd fallen to feminine wiles. Not even the first he'd fallen to them that day. Yet some hopelessly sick part of him had still enjoyed every moment of each fall.

"That's 3 hit!" Mt. Lady exclaimed from outside. "Points, Yui Kodai! Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, Mei Hatsume, and Mashirao Ojiro are all out!"

Bakugo wondered how long he'd been tuning the chief umpire out; And how many people had gotten out while he was stupefied.

"Hmph. Well, don't pull a stunt like that again! Teamwork is encouraged but blocking off all the action from the audience is a big no-no!" Mt. Lady loudly coughed before continuing, as if to bring the crowd to attention. "I've just been informed Katsuki Bakugo is out. The points go to Setsuna Tokage. As well as a red card for both her and Shoto Todoroki for denying you all the chance to see it for yourselves! Now someone demolish that obstruction already! It's bad for ratings!"

The ticking timebomb of a blonde determined this was a prime opportunity to blow off some steam and took the liberties of demolition upon himself, hopping up to both feet and releasing an unrestrained blast from each hand. Wiping away the blood that remained on his face, he proceeded to do likewise to the remaining two ice walls, drowning out muffled sounds of alarm from his peers outside with shattering ice. Katsuki did this just in time to witness Tokage drift back over to Todoroki from the umpire's highchair.

"How did you pull that off?" Icy Hot inquired of her.

"Told you it was a foolproof strategy. Good job isolating him for me." Tokage replied, looking over to Bakugo with a smug expression.

"Give us a little warning next time, would ya?!" Ashido complained from down below him.

Katsuki looked to her. Sure enough, she'd fallen flat on her rump and now greeted him with a look of mild aggravation.

"It's your own damn fault for getting so close."

"I was about to melt the ice for you! Wouldn't kill ya to show some appreciation!" she stuck a tongue out at him.

"Get up already. You're a sitting duck down there." Katsuki replied dismissively, heading to the out zone of players to his side of the arena.

Tail, Shittyshima, and Support Junkie had all formed a line to Team 2's side of Mt. Lady's highchair. The umpire glared down at him from above, presumably for taking too long to join the other out players. He hastened his pace to avoid being chastised and took his place in line beside the pink-haired support course student. Upon getting a look at the court from the new angle, he realized his team had taken an early lead. Team 2 had 13 players in-play while Team 1 had dwindled down to 10. However, Deku was back in the game, so Katsuki still considered the overall update a net loss. He looked to the scoreboard screen opposite Mt. Lady on the reverse side of the arena's dividing line. Held up by two pillars, it listed all the players who'd obtained points thus far.

Setsuna Tokage 18.9 Points

Yui Kodai 11.5 Points

Eijiro Kirishima 11 Points

Katsuki Bakugo 10.3 Points

Tsuyu Asui 7 Points

Itsuka Kendo 4.7 Points

Fumikage Tokoyami 3.6 Points

Mina Ashido 2.7 Points

Ibara Shiozaki 1 Points

Reiko Yanagi .7 Points

Seeing the one who had gotten him out in 1st place rubbed salt in Katsuki's open wound. Most of his peers would have been thrilled to be sitting where he was on the scoreboard, but being out at all was profoundly frustrating for the blonde. The circumstances by which he'd been hit certainly didn't discourage that inclination.

"Since you extras are the only other ones out, we must be catching balls pretty consistently." he proposed gruffly.

"Who you still calling an extra?!" Shittyshima raved.

"You get used to it…" Tail deadpanned.

"That's right! We've caught 3 to their 1, so I'll be able to get back in and show off my babies in no time!" Support Junkie gushed.

"No way! I'm going back in first! You got that?!"

"Weren't you listening to the rules at all? That's not up to us. The one who catches the ball decides." Tail corrected him.

"Then I'm even more right! Like any of them would be stupid enough not to put me back in!"

"With that winning personality?" Tail asked doubtfully. "You're right. How could they resist?"

Though temped to rebuke his classmate, Bakugo knew he had a point.

"What moron made that rule?! This shouldn't be a popularity contest!"

"Hey peanut gallery," Mt. Lady interrupted from up above, glaring down at them. "That rule's there for a reason. If you're a pro and can't play well with others, other pros won't want to partner up with you. Reputation is half the job. So this will be good practical experience for some of you."

"More than one way to gain a reputation." Katsuki mumbled angrily.

Mt. Lady's eyes softened for a moment. Their gazes only met for an instant, yet still long enough to convey one thing, whether she had intended to or not: She was rooting for him. Katsuki had no way of knowing if it was out of pity, fondness, or mild curiosity, but the flaxen-haired hero was holding out hope for him, nevertheless. The young hero didn't know how to feel about that. It wasn't that the thought of others pulling for him was disconcerting but rather… Katsuki much preferred it when their view of him was one that left no room for doubt to begin with.

The blonde shifted his attention to his Team 2 cohorts, eager to see if watching firsthand could manifest his desire for one of the students to catch a ball and select him as the returning player. Itsuka Kendo was his first point of focus. The ginger donned a confident expression that dared any of the opposition to try throwing a ball her way. Her hands were already enlarged and formed into fists. Katsuki knew this round was one more well-suited to her strengths than his.

Not far from her, Ballhead darted left to right repeatedly in a display of sheer terror. Frankly, the grape hero looked surprised to have made it this far. Birdbrain soared up above him with his shadowy wings, readying a ball to his right for whatever target his keen eyes settled on. Back down below, Katsuki caught Ashido breakdancing as a ball sailed overhead. Instead of rolling when it hit the ground, the ball stuck in place on the arena floor, likely from the glue-like adhesive it appeared to be coated in. Further down the line at the far end, Ivy maintained a tranquil stance with hands clasped to her chest, a crimson ball visibly trapped in her mane of vinery.

"Looks like that prissy houseplant took my advice after all." He commented, more to himself than anyone else.

"You got that right! Shiozaki's killing it out there! Saved Monoma from a supercharged pitch from Kaminari!" Shittyshima declared proudly.

"It's funny how everything was spread between teams. Feels like they got a lot of the strongest throwers and we got all the strongest catchers. Still… I'm pretty sure Kodai from your class is going to dominate this whole round if we don't get a handle on her soon." Tail assessed.

"Her size quirk is amazing! Makes me think of all sorts of unique babies I could make for her!"

"THIS IS BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE A REAL WAR OF ATTRITION, HUH?!" Present Mic's voice boomed all around them. "Both sides have gotten 7 outs a piece, but Team 2 has caught so many balls that it's starting to look like they may take the win here! What do you think, Eraserhead?!"

"I think that it would be foolish for any of them to grow complacent. Team 1's attack power is nothing to scoff at. They have several quirks that could turn the tables here. Yui Kodai's just one example of that." Aizawa added dryly.

"That's true! She did just get 3 out in one go! Talk about a dodgeball powerhouse! And it looks like she's about to throw another size shifting atom bomb their way! Will Team 2 be any more prepared for this one?!"

Katsuki followed the gazes of his fellow sideliners. A raven-haired girl in a red and white costume and cap had drawn her arms up and back in a pitcher's stance. Given where she stood, it seemed she was taking aim at Kendo specifically.

"Hold on… Why would she go for Kendo? I mean, if anyone's risky to target…" Tail questioned.

"You're right, going for Kendo is risky," confirmed Shittyshima with a knowing smile. "But Kodai knows it's worth the risk. Kendo's worth the most points on our team. You get her out, you're basically guaranteed to move on!"

"That's fair…" Tail replied. "Guess that's also why Tokage went for you instead of someone easier, huh, Bakugo?"

"Bingo! Say, why don't you share how that all went down, Mr. Ego? You underestimate another one of us extras?" Shittyshima inquired cockily, looking over to Katsuki expectedly.

"Shut your damn mouth," Katsuki spat. "That siren bitch and Icy Hot's cheap trick doesn't prove anything. The second I get back in, they're dead!"

"Siren?" Shittyshima and Tail parroted back in unison.

"Will you idiots shut up?! I'm trying to watch." He cut them off, looking back to who he presumed to be Kodai as she hurled a fastball toward Kendo.

Midway through its journey as it sailed forward, the red ball suddenly grew massive in size, not quite touching the ground, but not far off from it either. Kendo quickly braced herself and met the pitch with open hands, revealing several purple balls jutting out from her left palm.

"Again?!" exclaimed Bakugo in outraged disbelief.

The bloated ball stuck upon making contact with Kendo's rigged up hand, though the force was still enough to push her back a few feet in the process of catching it. Before Mt. Lady even had time to call the play, Kendo's open giant right was sent back in a harsh motion by an attack Katsuki was instantly able to identify: Deku's Air Force. This caused the surprised ginger to stumble as her right arm and shoulder were pulled back by the same force that had hit the hand itself. The pressure from Deku's Air Force was just that intense.

"Release!" Katsuki heard a voice from hellish dreams shout out.

Knowing fully well who the voice belonged to, he followed his gut and looked above Kendo to confirm his suspicions. A floating red ball could be seen up high in the airspace above his ginger rival. Well above any of the players' eye level but also below the peak of the chief umpire's seat. With Uraraka's utterance, the ball commenced a rapid descent, on course for a direct hit on its mark. However, Katsuki Bakugo was not the only one who had recognized the determined voice of the gravity hero.

Itsuka Kendo looked up above as she stumbled, her face exhibiting a sharp focus. Deciding to go with gravity, she leaned into the motion Deku's Air Force pushed her into, placed her right palm to the ground and assumed a half-handstand, leaving her left arm outstretched to the side while maintaining a loose hold on the ball she had caught with the sticky ball aided hand. Now upside down, both lower ends of her teal qipao dropped, revealing her tight black undershorts as Kendo spread her legs before perfectly closing them on the descending red ball, trapping it between them.

After waiting a moment to see if the catch held, Mt. Lady verified what had left students and audience alike awestruck.

"That's two caught balls! Yui Kodai and Ochaco Uraraka are out! Points, Itsuka Kendo! Declare which two teammates you want back in!"

Letting out a sigh of relief as the ball to her side returned to its original size, Kendo proceeded to let the one she'd caught with her legs to fall to the ground as she catapulted herself back up with the enlarged right hand she'd balanced herself on, landing gracefully on her feet. The ginger martial artist turned her head to the sideline. Katsuki could feel her sea breeze teal eyes grin at him.

"How about we get Tetsutetsu and Bakugo back in here." Kendo replied nonchalantly.

Behind her, Katsuki could see the digital scoreboard shift names and numbers accordingly. Itsuka Kendo had just run away with first place at 45.7 Points.


The Preview:

Round 2 heads toward its climax as Bakugo returns and declares war on Tokage. Team 1 makes a comeback with some more unique combinations and the contestants fight tooth and nail to assure their place in the final round of the festival in the final minutes of the dodgeball game. Underperformers are forced to try their hearts out in an attempt to recover. Assist points are revealed and shake up the scores!

Next time: Chapter 31 – Finalists. Go beyond, plus ultra!


AN:

Not quite as prompt as planned, but extra long to make up for that. The holidays were kind of hectic to schedule around. Expect at least one chapter a month from now to the finale. Hoping to keep an even better pace than that, but we'll see. Happy New Year!

Review Responses:

DrGonzo37- Thanks for the warm welcome back! Sorry Covid's been such a world-shaking phenomenon. Your intuition on the players to watch out for was right on the money! Also got a kick out of your Seinfeld reference lmao.

Ultimatrix bearer- I miss dodgeball too! Stay awesome!

Dark flame mana- Only time can tell. One thing's for certain: Katsuki's gonna be trying to enact a lot of vengeance before this festival's through haha

CaedmonCousland- Really appreciated your first insight a bunch! That's exactly what I've been going for, so I'm glad that's how it's been coming off. As for the dodgeball rules, it's actually the reverse, I probably could have been clearer on that. I wanted to mimic the first year festivals' way of putting a target on the backs of the frontrunners, so that's how I decided on the point system. Also enjoyed your thoughts on the romance front! Overjoyed to see the dichotomy is being appreciated.