I don't own My Hero Academia or Kill la Kill, please don't sue.
"Let the first match of the Sports Festival finals begin!"
Izuku Midoriya awkwardly pushed his way past rows of pro heroes trying to get to his class's section of the stands. He didn't come across a single empty seat as he searched for his own, making for many apologies to the pros who he had to step over. Due to Honnouji Academy taking up an entire half of the stadium, the stands were somehow even more packed than usual. He'd have to pick up the pace though, Ryuko's fight would be starting any second! Perhaps he picked up too much pace though, as he stumbled over someone's legs.
"Hey, watch it kid!" a gruff voice scolded him.
"I'm really sorry sir!" Izuku squeaked out.
The man he accidentally tripped on glared at him, nearly paralyzing him with fear. He was far more intimidating than any of the other pros he came across. His costume kind of made him look like some kind of secret agent, with his black combat vest that exposed his very large muscles and two submachine guns that looked a lot like sewing machines (sewing machine guns?) hanging on the sides of his hips. What stood out the most to Izuku though was his hair, a mohawk that was so red and spiky that it put Kirishima's to shame.
"There are two things you need to know," he growled. "One-"
"No no no, there are zero things he needs to know," a raspy voice cut the mohawk man off.
Izuku's savior was a tall, lanky man with blue hair. He wore his white shirt with the top half unbuttoned and a messily done tie, almost like he was just itching to take the thing off. Actually he really looked like he wanted to take all of his clothes off, if his unzipped pants that were a hair away from slipping off was any indication.
He smiled at Izuku, though his aviator sunglasses completely obscured his eyes. "I apologize for my friend here. He's just... a huge jerk sometimes."
"Hey!"
"Oh no, it was my fault!" Izuku apologized. "I was just trying to get to my seat when I tripped on him. I'll be out of your hair, no problem!"
Izuku quickly ran away from the duo, breathing a sigh of relief when he finally got to a break in the stands. Now, back to finding his seat-
"What were you thinking? You almost blew our cover!"
Izuku stopped in his tracks and looked to see where the voice had come from. It wasn't easy, since everyone in the stadium was cheering and shouting as loud as they could, but he eventually found its source far away from the crowds leaning against a wall. It was the blue haired man and the mohawk guy from before!
"I almost blew our cover?" the mohawk man scoffed. "You're the one parading around in those ridiculous clothes, acting like those sunglasses disguise shit!"
"Alright fine, forget I said anything," the blue haired man relented, his voice now much deeper and smoother than before. "Did you find anywhere to take the shot?"
"You've seen this place. You can't walk two feet without bumping into a kid, some costumed freak, or both!"
"Damn. Well, we better keep looking. Hopefully everyone will be too distracted by the match."
Take the shot? Were they photographers or something? But the mohawk guy made it sound like they were supposed to be undercover. Perhaps they were secret photographers? Whatever they were, Izuku wished them luck in finding a good location to take their pictures, but he had to get to his seat before the fight started! Luckily he was able to find his class without too much issue and took his seat next to Iida and Uraraka.
"Hey Deku, we saved you a seat!" she greeted him. "Ready to watch the fight?"
"You bet! Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen Ryuko at her full power since the first day of combat training. And even then she had to hold back so she wouldn't hurt Todoroki too much or destroy the building they were fighting in. This is the first time we'll get to see her go all out!"
"I too am intrigued by Matoi's full potential," Iida agreed. "I heard she made quite the show in the entrance exam, but her opponent won't make this an easy fight. There's a good chance she might lose right here."
"No way! There's no way Ryuko can lose! She'll beat Gamagoori no problem, just watch!"
Izuku, Iida, and Uraraka all turned their heads to see where the new voice had come from. Just a second ago, the seat next to Izuku had been empty. But now, a girl with a bowl haircut wearing a white and blue sailor uniform was sitting right next to them, Mako Mankanshoku.
"Mankanshoku?" Izuku exclaimed in shock. "What are you doing here? I thought you and your family were sitting in the Honnouji section!"
"Well we were, but we got kicked out. Dad tried harvesting someone's organs while they were asleep," she explained. "So they sent me to sneak in and watch the fight and memorize it so I can explain it to them later!"
Iida chopped his arms at her. "I am sorry, but this section of the stadium is for Class 1-A students only! Additionally, since you have been ejected from the premises by Honnouji Academy and do not possess an access pass to the Sports Festival, you are technically trespassing on UA property! While I would like to welcome a friend of Matoi's to watch her fight with us, I am afraid I must report you to the Sports Festival security!"
"If this is for your class only, then why are they here?" Mankanshoku asked.
She pointed at the three new arrivals walking down the steps like they owned the place. The Elite Four. Or maybe it was the Elite Three right now? Anyway, all three of them had changed out of their tracksuits and into their very white, very spiky Goku Uniforms.
"Geez, what is this shithole? Is this where they dump the garbage or something?" Sanageyama grumbled, stepping over a piece of gum on the floor. "I thought we were getting a private viewing box!"
"Are you kidding me?" Jakuzure shrieked. "It was bad enough sharing a changing room with them, but now we have to watch the finals with these losers? And what the hell is that underachiever doing here too?"
"Both of you quit your complaining," Inumuta scolded. "As of now, we are merely competitors in the Sports Festival and we'll behave as such. Lady Satsuki also requested to be alone with Iori to discuss potential upgrades to our Goku Uniforms."
Izuku felt a shiver go down his back as three of the most powerful villains in Japan casually took the seats behind him and his friends at a sporting event. As soon as they got settled in their seats, most of Izuku's classmates moved as far away from them as possible. Most of them.
"What the hell do you bastards think you're doing here?" Kacchan growled. "You have five seconds to get the hell out of here before I kill you! I haven't forgotten how you made a fool out of me!"
"Oh really? That's funny, because I did," Sanageyama taunted.
Despite the number of protests from his classmates and Izuku's own silent prayers, Kacchan snarled and lunged for the Elite, the palm of his hand glowing with sparks. But unlike during the first two events, he didn't make an attempt to dodge. Jakuzure and Inumuta didn't even get up from their seats. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, there wasn't even a speck of dust on their immaculate white uniforms.
Sanageyama just smirked arrogantly as he picked Kacchan up by his hair, maintaining a firm grip even as he squirmed around. He walked over to an empty seat and forcefully sat Kacchan down. It might have been a bit too hard though, since the chair instantly broke under the force of impact, leaving Kacchan sitting in a crater on the floor.
Izuku just lowered his head as Sanageyama returned to his seat and put his feet on the one in front of him, which just so happened to be Izuku's. The Elites were scary before when they were just wearing their tracksuits, but he was eventually able to see them as just more competitors in the festival to overcome. Now that they were in full regalia however, the weight of his situation was starting to sink in. He would be facing opponents that regularly fought All Might and could nearly beat him. He couldn't even use All Might's power in a single limb without breaking it, how was he supposed to win now?
"I... well, this is certainly unexpected, but Honnouji Academy is sponsoring this event and providing security, so I suppose that they're allowed here," Iida finally spoke, returning his attention to Mankanshoku. "But to let you in here would be against the rules, which as class representative is something I cannot allow! Unless someone from Honnouji invites you to say, you'll have to leave!"
"She can stay."
"Are you crazy?" Jakuzure yelled at Sanageyama. "It's bad enough that we have to sit with these bozos, now you're letting the slacker here too?"
He just shrugged in response. "Why not? She might even provide some entertainment. Certainly more than this sad excuse of a fight."
Wait, the fight had already started? Izuku turned his attention to the battlefield, where Ryuko and Gamagoori were swinging at each other at full power. Or, at least that's what he expected. Instead it looked like they were just staring at each other. What was she doing?
Gamagoori stood tall transformed in his Shackle Regalia, covered in spikes and cloth wrappings, steam expelling from his ball gag.
Ryuko Matoi hardened her gaze as she slowly marched up to her opponent, her blade drawn. He returned the glare back at her, though she could only make out a glimmer of light from his eyes due to the wrappings around his head. The two of them stood in the center of the battlefield, unmoving. Really unmoving.
"Do you want to fight or not?" he broke the silence.
"Course I do!"
"Then why aren't you attacking me?"
"I love how you guys act like I'm stupid, calling me a fool, but you're a bigger fool!" Ryuko laughed, savoring the chance to gloat over her opponent for a change. "Oh I know the deal, your uniform absorbs the power of whatever attacks you and turns it back on the attacker! So I sure as hell ain't gonna attack you! And this fight can be won by ring-out right? So all I need to do is knock you out while you're completely helpless!"
As soon as she finished her sentence, she picked Gamagoori up and ran to the other side of the battlefield as fast as she could. It was pretty hard just to get a grip on Gamagoori, but running while holding him seriously strained her. Damn, even with Senketsu that guy was heavy! Oh well, it would all be over in a sec-
"If you thought I'd fall for such an obvious tactic, then I guess you're an even bigger fool!"
Something slithered and twisted around violently in her hands, making her drop Gamagoori. When she looked back at him, he was standing upright in the same position as before. But now small bits of the cloth wrappings had unraveled, making tiny whips that rapidly lashed around. They were far too short to actually reach her, but she wasn't their target. He was hitting himself!
"IF YOU WON'T ATTACK ME, THEN I'LL ATTACK MYSELF!" he bellowed, his uniform rapidly increased in size, forcing Ryuko back. "I HAVE MY OWN SPECIAL TECHNIQUES FOR DISCIPLINING, I'LL KEEP SLAPPING, AND WHIPPING, AND BEATING MYSELF UNTIL I CLIMAX! THIS IS MY JIJŌ JIBAKU: SELF-FLAGELLATION!"
"What the hell?"
"LET ME SHOW YOU! THREE STAR GOKU UNIFORM: SCOURGE REGALIA!"
In an instant, dozens if not hundreds of barbed whips exploded out from under Gamagoori's uniform. They flayed around violently, covering the entire battlefield and even hitting some unlucky viewers in the stands. Being right in front of Gamagoori when he unleashed his attack, Ryuko was helpless as she was knocked around like a rag doll. Everytime she tried to stand up, another whip would knock her back down.
All she could do was lie down on the ground, in hopes of waiting out the hurricane of whips. It wasn't pleasant though, as each lash stung like hell, especially when they hit her... backside. Damn that stung! Actually, that last one felt kind of good that time.
Now that the shock of the attack had worn off, she was able to focus on Gamagoori himself. She didn't get a good look the other night when he used it against the yakuza due to the explosions, but now she could see his Scourge Regalia in its entirety. He was still wrapped up in bandages like a mummy, but they were much more form-fitting and accompanied by pieces of black armor and orange spikes. His helmet looked pretty similar to an old American hero who wore an armored suit, though she was pretty sure that guy never had a bright yellow ball gag in his mouth.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Gamagoori taunted. "YOU KNOW THAT IF YOU FALL OUT OF BOUNDS YOU LOSE THE MATCH!"
"Thanks for clearing things up!" she managed to snark in-between whip strikes. "It's not like they haven't said that eight times already!"
Gamagoori just grunted in response, pulling his whips back towards him. Just as quickly as they came out, every single whip rushed back to him, wrapping him back up in his armored cocoon. And hitting her again as they came back.
"I CAN DO THIS ALL DAY!"
"Yeah I know, I know!"
"WELL THEN, WHAT'S YOUR NEXT MOVE?"
Ryuko growled in frustration. She was starting to get tired of this charade. So what if his uniform made him hard or whatever? She had the perfect weapon to cut past it! Even if he was able to absorb the damage, Senketsu would be able to absorb his Life Fibers and leave him defenseless!
"Oh nothing special, just your basic, in your face attack!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Finishing Move: Sen-I-Soshitsu!"
Extending her scissor blade into its Decapitation Mode, she charged straight at Gamagoori as fast as she could. He couldn't move out of the way in time, nor did he even try to. She swung her blade onto his uniform, waiting for the warm feeling of his Life Fibers being absorbed into Senketsu. But it never came. Gamagoori was still standing in place, like nothing had even happened!
"His uniform doesn't have any Life Fibers on its surface. There wasn't anything for me to absorb!" Senketsu exclaimed.
"Are you kidding me?"
"SURPRISED? THE SURFACE OF MY SHACKLE REGALIA ISN'T MADE OF LIFE FIBERS, BUT A SPECIAL ULTRA-DENSE ARMORED FABRIC! IT'S TOUGH ENOUGH TO MAKE YOUR HOMEROOM TEACHER'S SCARF LOOK LIKE IT'S MADE OF PAPER MACHE!" Gamagoori explained. "IF YOU WANT TO ABSORB ITS LIFE FIBERS, YOU'LL HAVE TO CUT THROUGH THE OUTER ARMOR FIRST! THEN YOU'LL HAVE TO THRUST YOUR BLADE INTO THE UNIFORM!"
Ignoring his... interesting phrasing, he really just told her how to beat him! Just typical of Satsuki and her goons, always having some compulsive need to run their mouths no matter what.
"Thanks for the tip, guess I know what to do now!"
"Ryuko wait-"
Senketsu never got to finish his thought as Ryuko charged in for an attack again. She couldn't rely on absorbing his Life Fibers right now, so she'd have to make up for it with pure physical force! She swung as hard as she could, aiming to slash clean through his cloth armor, but the blade simply bounced off.
"BAD IDEA, IF YOU ATTACK ME I BECOME THAT MUCH STRONGER! REMEMBER? SCOURGE REGALIA!"
There was no way he was gonna catch her off guard like that a second time. She readied her scissor blade and started knocking whips away, but there were just too many. For every whip that she blocked, another five hit her, each one stinging even worse than before.
"GO ON, KEEP RESISTING!" Gamagoori laughed. "YOUR KAMUI IS FEEDING ME MORE POWER THAN ANY HERO OR EVEN ALL MIGHT EVER COULD! YOU'RE LIKE A BATTERY FOR MY SCOURGE REGALIA! SO KEEP ON FIGHTING, IT'S HELPING ME WIN!"
He thrusted his chest out towards Ryuko, launching another surge of whips at her. The concentrated attack pushed her all the way to the edge of the arena and he quickly shifted to his more wild whip lashes, covering the entire battlefield. She dashed across the perimeter of the battlefield trying to dodge the whip strikes, but the sheer volume of them made that impossible. There was nowhere for her to run!
"Gamagoori has Matoi dancing around the arena like a puppet on strings! Or maybe a puppet on whips is more accurate!"
"From my own experiences with her, Matoi is certainly powerful, but she's too used to relying on that power alone. Fighting an opponent equal to her in strength and durability is something she's not used to, so she's becoming desperate and reckless."
Izuku Midoriya looked at the fight below, which was looking worse and worse for Ryuko by the second. Just like Present Mic said, all she could do to avoid the barrage of whips was dance around the battlefield hoping not to get hit. Even then, she was still getting hit fairly often, if her yelps of pain were any indication. He couldn't really blame her though. It couldn't have been easy to dodge that many wild attacks, especially since not even the spectators in the stands could dodge the stray whip strikes.
He was actually one of the luckier members of his class for not getting hit at all. Most of his classmates were rubbing stinging whip marks and even the stadium itself wasn't safe, as there were now gigantic dents in the concrete wherever a whip hit. The only ones who weren't fazed by the uncontrolled attack from Gamagoori were his fellow Elites, who dodged every whip that came their way, sometimes without even looking. And apparently Mankanshoku as well.
"Come on Ryuko! You can beat him!" she shouted, worried for her friend.
"Don't get your hopes up Slacker," Jakuzure butted in. "The transfer student's a bigger wuss than I gave her credit for!"
"She'll beat him, I know she will! This morning me and my family all wished that she'd win as hard as we could, so she has to win!" Mankanshoku protested. "Come on Midoriya, you know her! Tell them that she's gonna win!"
Izuku would have liked to join her in cheering for their friend, but he wasn't so sure if he agreed Mankanshoku's assessment. Matoi's recklessness and aggression already put her at a disadvantage against an opponent like Gamagoori, but even if she stayed calm there just didn't seem like there was much she could do.
"I'm not so sure. Her initial plan was pretty good, but unfortunately Gamagoori already learned how to get around that from his fight with All Might in Kashek," he said. "Right now it looks like she's in a lose-lose scenario. Like Gamagoori said, the only way she can hurt him is by cutting through his outer armor. But in order to do that she has to hit him, which only makes him more powerful. And if she doesn't attack him at all, he'll just attack himself and power up that way!"
Jakuzure laughed. "Guess you're smarter than you look after all Crybaby. Looks like New Girl is doubly boned!"
"But I noticed something," Izuku continued his analysis, ignoring the comment. "Whenever he finishes an attack with Scourge Regalia, he has to wrap himself back up in his whips. For that brief moment, the center of his uniform is completely exposed without being guarded by any whips! Ryuko could try to use that opportunity to attack him while his defenses are down and attacking won't power him up. But the transformation is so fast that getting a hit in would be nearly impossible, especially after having to endure an attack of his own! She does seem to have a significant speed advantage over him though. She could try to fake him out by directing his attack somewhere else and then striking before he can recover. But that wouldn't work since he prefers to use his whips in an area-of-effect attack! But sometimes he does try a concentrated attack though, Ryuko just needs a way to make sure that he uses it instead of the-"
"Would you knock it off?" Sanageyama interrupted his muttering by literally knocking him on the head with his shinai. "All that muttering is giving me a damn headache!"
"Seriously, that was even creepier than when Doggy here goes on one of his exposition dumps. When was the last time you touched another person? Or grass?"
"I'm sorry that I'm the only one who ever understands what's going on. And his assessment is quite correct," Inumuta defended both himself and Izuku. "Matoi can only hurt Gamagoori when the Life Fibers of his uniform are exposed. The only time that happens is when he activates Scourge Regalia, which is too powerful and has too much range for Matoi to get in close. She has to cut through his armor when he's not attacking, but that only powers him up. Essentially, she has to attack him without attacking him, which is impossible."
"That may be true, but there's still that small window of opportunity to attack while his still mid-transformation," he countered. "That way she can attack him without fear of powering him up!"
"And how do you expect her to do that? Like you said, the transformation happens too fast for her to get an attack in. No, the only opportunity for attack is when he's in Scourge Regalia, which I just explained is impossible for her to do. And that's not even factoring in the chance that Matoi would even think of that. Based off of the combat data I have on her as well as her performance in class and social interactions, there's only a 17.3% chance she even notices that weakness."
Okay, he kind of did have a point. Izuku was so used to analyzing heroes and how they incorporated quirks and support items into their fighting styles that he forgot that Ryuko... didn't tend to do any of that. She was definitely at a tactical disadvantage. At least, she would be if she was alone.
"Alright, but that's only factoring the decisions she'd make on her own," he pointed out. "And right now, she isn't."
"Hm, you might be right. I wasn't able to account for the fact that a Kamui is a living being. But it doesn't matter. Living or not, a Kamui is nothing more than a Goku Uniform with a higher concentration of Life Fibers. It's a tool. Hardly capable of providing Matoi with insight."
"Geez, you two are like a match made in nerd-heaven," Jakuzure groaned.
'You're wrong!" Mankanshouku interrupted. "Senketsu isn't a tool, he's Ryuko's friend and partner! When she has her Sunday best on, nothing can stop her! They both want to win and they'll do anything to get there! It doesn't matter how much he whips her, she'll always get back up!"
"She's right. If there's one thing Ryuko has going for her, it's her will to win. I've only fought with her once before, but I know that giving up is never option for her. And this is the most determined I've ever seen her," Izuku agreed. "Gamagoori isn't trying to end things quickly, he wants to wear her down slowly and outlast her. If that's his plan, he's making a big mistake."
"I don't know, if there's anyone who can match her will, it's Gamagoori. Especially now that he's fighting in front of his queen," Sanageyama pointed up towards Satsuki Kiryuin's private box. "Matoi might not be holding anything back, but neither is he. You'd have to kill him to make him stop fighting. And even that might not work. Like that story about the day Lady Satsuki invited him to join her."
"Story?"
"Oh yeah, he loves telling it. Thinks it's the best of how we all got recruited. I've heard it so many times I got the thing memorized. It goes a little something like this."
Three Years Ago: Rinne-Do Junior High Graduation Ceremony
Satsuki Kiryuin stood at the outskirts of Rinne-Do Junior High, peacefully meditating and enjoying the soft breeze, just strong enough to carry the cherry blossom petals through the wind. As soon as the graduation ceremony was finished, the entire school would be under her control. It was just a formality really, she made it very clear who was in charge a few days ago.
In the grand scheme of things, the school hardly had any economic or military value. Rinne-Do was nothing more than a backwater hamlet, not even under the protection of heroes. The only reason it hadn't been conquered before was because it wasn't worth the effort. But she had to start somewhere. She couldn't risk drawing the attention of the heroes and her mother wouldn't be willing to provide her with access to the ludicrous amounts of money and Life Fibers she required unless she proved that her plan was a worthy investment. If all went well, Honnouji Academy would be completed in a few years time. That was when she'd bring Independent Japan to its knees.
What a ridiculous name, "Independent Japan". There was nothing independent about people willingly and gladly putting their entire lives in the hands of a handful of "heroes". Satsuki would enjoy tearing apart that pathetic society very much. But that was far in the future, what she needed to focus on was the present. And in the present, there was one more obstacle in her way.
She turned to face the man approaching her. "This is unexpected. Shouldn't the Student Council President be overseeing the ceremony of the graduating class?"
"You want to take over this school and I can't let that happen!" Ira Gamagoori declared. "So I'm here to stop you once and for all! It is my duty to protect this school and those who can't protect themselves! I'll make sure that they're safe from your tyranny!"
How sad. She had expected more from him, but he was just another wannabe hero. Protecting those who can't protect themselves, how pathetic. Doing that only made people weak and complacent like cattle, unable and unwilling to fight for themselves. She was no tyrant, but their liberator from that oppressive ideology! She'd see how much Gamagoori was willing to defend the weak when he was completely naked, exposed and humiliated for the whole world to see!
He let out a mighty battlecry and charged straight at her with his arms stretched out in front of him. His bottom half was completely ungaurded, which due to his height, was perfectly at eye level for Satsuki. This would be over quickly. She didn't even bother unsheathing Bakuzan as she swiped the blade across his abdomen, shredding clean through his school uniform. But it never made contact with his flesh.
"Oh?" she wondered out loud.
She finished her counter-attack with two more slashes aimed at Gamagoori's wrists and ankles. Once again, his uniform was ripped to pieces, but Gamagoori himself was unharmed. He turned around, revealing that underneath his clothes, he was clad in metal armor.
"Steel armor. A clever trick."
"It's no mere steel, but a special titanium alloy I got from some relatives! Good luck cutting through it!"
Satsuki simply scoffed. Did he really think that armor would protect him? No material on Earth could withstand her blade, which was fashioned from hardened Life Fibers. The only reason he hadn't been sliced clean in two was because she kept its sheath on and wasn't expecting any resistance. All she needed to do to finish him was hold back slightly less.
"Even with your armor, you can't defeat me," she said while shaking her head.
"Who said anything about defeating you? I never expected to win in a fight. Believe me, I know I'm not strong enough to beat you."
"Well then, why do you oppose me?" Satsuki asked, wondering what he was planning if not defeat her.
"I can't beat you, but I won't let you beat me!"
"Come again?" she raised an eyebrow, both intrigued and confused by what he was saying.
"YOU CAN'T BEAT ME BECAUSE YOU CAN'T MAKE ME KNEEL TO YOU! HURT MY BODY HOWEVER YOU LIKE, MY HEART WILL REMAIN UNSCARRED!" Gamagoori laughed defiantly. "SO IF YOU'RE PLANNING ON TAKING THIS SCHOOL BY FORCE BEWARE! I'LL STAND ALONE AGAINST YOU IF I HAVE TO! I'LL SHOW YOU THAT THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD WHO WILL STAND UP TO YOUR KIND OF TYRANNY! THAT IS MY PURPOSE IN LIFE!"
It nearly took Satsuki all of her willpower to suppress a smirk. She wouldn't be able to take over Japan alone and Gamagoori seemed like the perfect person to have at her side. Of course, she still needed to make sure that he could support his words with actions.
"Then why don't we put your resolve to the test?" she said, gripping Bakuzan in both hands. "But you'll get no mercy from me if you fail!"
Satsuki started slicing away at Gamagoori, who was guarding his unprotected face with his arms. Each strike made large gusts of wind and left cracks in his armor, but Gamagoori gritted his teeth and bore all of it. So he was strong after all. Perfect. It was time to stop holding back!
While Gamagoori was still recoiling from her last strike, she drove the tip of her sheath into his diaphragm as hard as she could. The blow knocked the wind out of Gamagoori and the small cracks in his armor widened and spread until the entire thing started to crumble into pieces. He gasped for breath and grasped at the blade lodged in his armor, but his knees were shaking.
"I WILL NEVER KNEEL, NOT TO YOU!" he screamed out in pain. "AGH! I WILL NEVER KNEEL TO YOU-!"
Satsuki cut him off by pulling her blade out from Gamagoori, making him collapse onto the ground with a loud thud. What a shame. And he was doing so well at first too. She began to return Bakuzan to her hip, but something was missing. The sheath was gone! She looked back at Gamagoori. Not only did he hold onto it, but he was using it to prop himself up!
Satsuki stopped holding her smile back. He kept his word after all. Even knocked unconscious, he still wasn't kneeling. Though unfortunately Gamagoori was not able to take pride in his accomplishment. She dragged his body away from the trees and laid him on his back. A swift chop to a pressure point on the back of his head woke him up, making him gasp in shock.
"Did I- did I lose?" he asked.
"Yes, you did. But you also kept your promise, you didn't kneel," she answered, retrieving her sheath from his ruined armor. "Gamagoori, your will is strong and unbreakable. I want you to join me. Be my shield and I will put your resolve to good use."
"Those aren't the words of a power-hungry conqueror," he realized. "You're planning something big, aren't you?"
Satsuki smiled at him. And explained everything.
"Heroes have made people weak. They're nothing more than pigs in human clothing, kept soft and placated by a society that drills it into their heads that only a 'hero' is capable of saving them. It is my purpose in life to fight against that world and remake it," she turned her back to him, the sun's rays illuminating her. "This world needs more people like you Gamagoori, but that can't happen if you coddle and protect them, stunting their ability to grow. In two years time, I will create a new high school and it will be my army. If you join me I promise that I will grant new strength and a new purpose, the opportunity to lead by example."
"Very well. I will wait two years for you," Gamagoori answered, holding out a massive hand for her to shake. "I look forward to serving you, Lady Satsuki."
Present
Izuku Midoriya was silent for a few moments as Sanageyama finished telling the story about how Gamagoori met Satsuki Kiryuin. It was a lot to take in for him. How was he even supposed to respond to something like that? Fortunately, his classmates were listening too and were able to do that for him.
"'Hurt my body however you like, my heart will remain unscarred'? That has to be the manliest thing I ever heard!" Kirishima exclaimed, wiping a few tears from his eyes. "But there's still something I don't understand. If Gamagoori was so determined to never kneel to anyone and stand up to tyrants, why is he serving under someone who wants to conquer all of Japan?"
"Yeah, it sounds like he could have been an amazing hero!" Ashido joined in. "All of you could be if you wanted to. So what's the deal with the 'destroy all heroes' thing?"
Jakuzure gagged. "Ugh, pass!"
"I already explained," Sanageyama replied. "Lady Satsuki believes that people are never gonna want to go out and fight to protect themselves when they think a hero'll do it for them. I guess she was able to convince him that she was right."
"That's not true! Why do you think any of us are here training to be heroes?" Izuku finally spoke up. "When I see All Might save people from a disaster or defeat powerful villains like you, no offense, it makes me want to be a hero just like him, someone who saves people with a smile on his face! Heroes do inspire people, they make them hopeful for a better tomorrow and inspire them to help make that future come true! That's what leading by example is, not wrecking cities and forcing people under your rule!"
"Maybe that's true for you, but you're just a very special boy," Sanageyama said mockingly. "I've seen the people in your society when they're truly in danger and let me tell you, there's no inspiration to make a difference there. They're practically pulling up lawn chairs and popcorn while they wait for someone else to show up and save their sorry asses. Like that Sludge Villain incident last year, all those heroes rendered completely useless as soon as they have to step a little out of their comfort zone. The only one who actually tried doing anything was some kid!"
"And don't even get me started on those braindead civilians," Jakuzure sneered. "The costumed idiots can't be everywhere and when they aren't, people do nothing. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people could be saved right now if someone would just do something. But they don't. They're nothing but pigs in human clothing."
"Actually, pigs are rather intelligent creatures," Inumuta pointed out. "I'd say comparing the average citizen in Independent Japan to a pig is quite favorable. Certainly more than they deserve."
How could what they were saying be true? It wasn't like he and his classmates were some anomalies for wanting to be heroes, everyone in Independent Japan loved heroes! But come to think about it, admiring heroes and actually wanting to be one were pretty different things. Sure everyone in his old middle school class said they wanted to be heroes, but he and Kacchan were the only ones who actually bothered applying.
They did have a point, he couldn't be everywhere at once. And if the vast majority of people saw the presence of heroes as an excuse to do nothing, maybe saving everyone wasn't a reasonable expectation after all. But that didn't mean he couldn't at least try!
"So what if most people aren't doing anything? There are still a few who are!" Izuku shouted out. "All Might inspired me to be a hero and I don't care if I'm the only one, I'll be the only hero in the world if I have to! And if I'm only able to inspire one person to be a hero, that's enough, because that person will inspire another! There will always be people who want to be heroes, I know that."
Sanageyama shrugged. "Well, that's what Lady Satsuki and her more devoted lackeys believe at least. Personally, I'm with her so I can train for my rematch with her by fighting the strongest people in the world."
"If fighting is the only thing you care about, then why not be a hero and fight villains instead?" Uraraka asked.
"Because villains are weak!" he scoffed. "I mean, so are heroes, but at least they have some standards for pros. Meanwhile any common criminal who happens to use a quirk gets classified as a villain."
Izuku was too busy replaying the conversation he had with the Elites in his mind to bother responding. Honnouji Academy's ideology was just so... fundamentally different to his own. Izuku had been admiring heroes as long as he could remember, that's why he wanted to be one. Perhaps her upbringing was what caused Satsuki Kiryuin's disdain for heroes. He looked up at her private box, catching a glimpse of the mighty Demon Empress herself. And for a moment, he could have sworn she was looking at him too.
Ryuko Matoi was not having a good time. Better than before certainly, but only because being able to stand her ground against Gamagoori's assault was an improvement to getting knocked around the arena like a beach ball. Staying in one place helped a lot, since most of the whips would never come near her. But the ones that did were pushing her blocking skills to the limit. Even on the rare occasion she was able to cut one to pieces, it hardly made a difference.
"I TOLD YOU BEFORE, I AM LADY SATSUKI'S SHIELD!" he bellowed for what had to be the tenth time. "AND I WILL CRUSH YOU!"
"Keep dreaming!" she managed to grunt. "Cuz there's no way I'm gonna lose to you!"
"WHAT ARE YOU EVEN FIGHTING FOR? TO GET REVENGE FOR YOUR FATHER'S MURDER? IS THAT IT? SOME PETTY VENDETTA? NOW YOU KNOW WHY LADY SATSUKI NEVER ACCEPTED YOUR CHALLENGE, SUCH TRIVIAL THINGS ARE BENEATH HER!"
"Why do you suddenly care about all that ambition crap? What happened to power being the only thing that matters?"
"AMBITION WITHOUT POWER TO BACK IT UP IS JUST A WISH! POWER USED WITHOUT AMBITION IS PETTY AND WASTEFUL!" he screamed. "YOU NEED BOTH TO TRULY BE STRONG! AND LADY SATSUKI HAS BOTH! THAT'S WHY YOU'LL NEVER BEAT HER! AND WHY YOU'LL NEVER BEAT ME EITHER!"
While Ryuko was fuming over the third time some idiot called her motivations for fighting petty during the festival alone, Gamagoori hit her right in the face with a whip strike. The attack caught her off guard and sent her flying back, nearly knocking her out of the arena. It was only because she stopped herself by stabbing her scissor blade in the ground that she didn't lose the fight right there.
"Ryuko, are you okay?" Senketsu asked.
"Just caught me off guard, that's all. We've come this far, so it's too late to quit!"
She pulled her scissor blade out of the ground and stood back on her feet. Senketsu's thrusters fired up as she prepared to charge Gamagoori at top speed and hit as hard as she could. But right before she could take off, the thrusters died out.
"If we're going to win this, you need to come up with a plan. You've already tried attacking him straight on and it ended poorly."
A plan? She already tried a plan and that ended poorly too! But Senketsu was right, not having a plan would be even worse. She tried fighting Nomu without a plan and the only thing she accomplished was breaking her bones. It was only because of Midoriya's plan that they were able to survive. What would he do right now? Ryuko closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I think I got something. You said that he can't attack in Shackle Regalia and Scourge Regalia weakens his defenses right? But when he wraps himself up again he can't attack or defend!" Ryuko whispered to her partner. "So all we gotta do is attack him when he's in that state. But first we need to make him transform."
"YOU'RE CRAZY AND STUPID, BAD COMBINATION!" Gamagoori taunted her.
"Your luck is the only thing that's bad around here!" she shot back. "Cause now you gotta fight me! So let's fight!"
Ryuko rushed in screaming as loud as she could, swinging her scissor blade onto Gamagoori's uniform. To an outside observer, it probably looked like she was completely losing her mind. The wild slashes and bloodthirsty roars helped sell that illusion. But despite her desperate screaming, she wasn't swinging as hard as she could. She needed him to transform without powering him up too much. And if all of his power came from reflecting attacks, then weakening her own attacks would weaken his as well.
"HAS IT NOT SUNK INTO THAT THICK SKULL OF YOURS YET? NO AMOUNT OF SLASHING WILL GET THROUGH MY ARMOR!" Gamagoori bellowed, apparently having fallen for her deception. "YOU SET A BAD EXAMPLE WITH YOUR REBELLIOUS WAYS, NOW ACCEPT YOUR PUNISHMENT! SCOURGE REGALIA!"
Another barrage of whips was launched at Ryuko, but this time she was expecting it. She spun her scissor blade around in front of her, making it act as a shield. It wouldn;t have worked against his previous attacks, but this time the whips were traveling much slower, so she could block them all without having to concentrate as much. Not only was blocking much easier, but the whips were being cut to pieces as soon as her blade made contact with them. He'd run out of whips completely at this rate, and that was when she'd strike.
"If beating you means getting closer to finding out who killed my dad, then damnit I'm gonna beat you!"
Her scissor blade was starting to get so jammed up from cutting whips to pieces that one of them wasn't even chopped up, but rather knocked back. Right into Gamagoori's face. It was ever so subtle, but Ryuko knew that she saw him flinch and shudder with rage. He wasn't so unshakeable after all!
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH!" he growled in anger, growing in size until he was more than twice his original height. "I AM THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE CHAIR! I LEAD BY EXAMPLE, THAT'S WHY I BIND AN WHIP MYSELF SO MERCILESSLY! IT'S HOW I INSPIRE YOU TROUBLEMAKERS TO CHANGE YOUR WAYS AND BECOME PRODUCTIVE STUDENTS! IT'S HOW I BRING ORDER TO THE CHAOS OF THIS WORLD! THE SHACKLE REGALIA IS THE EMBODIMENT OF THAT ETHOS! BUT IF YOU STILL REFUSE TO CONFORM TO THE RULES, THAT'S WHEN I BURY MY COMPASSION AND BRING OUT THE WHIP! THAT IS THE SCOURGE REGALIA! AND IF THAT STILL DOESN'T CONVINCE YOU TO FALL IN LINE, THEN YOU LEAVE ME NO CHOICE! I'LL UNLEASH THE MIGHT OF THE SHACKLE REGALIA UPON YOU!"
Gamagoori gritted his teeth so hard it crushed the ball gag in his mouth. The whips stopped flailing as they were retracted and reshaped into six gigantic spiked rings attached to chains, holding three in each hand.
"I AM GOING TO REVOKE YOUR INDEPENDENT STATUS AND MOLD YOU INTO A PROPER STUDENT!"
He hurled the spiked rings at her like oversized frisbees and pulled them back with the chains they were attached to where he could throw them again. They were far too fast and powerful for Ryuko to block them all simply by spinning, and each hit hurt far more than any of his whip strikes. She wanted to scream out in frustration. What the hell was with this guy? All that and the only thing she accomplished was pissing him off? There was no way she could get close to him now!
"YOU HAVE THE SLUTTIEST UNIFORM I'VE EVER SEEN!" Gamagoori roared. "HOW DARE YOU COME TO SCHOOL WEARING THAT! IT'S DISGUSTING, IT'S DEVIANT, IT'S DEPRAVED!"
"I don't give a shit about what you or anyone thinks! And what about your precious Lady Satsuki?" she retorted.
"LADY SATSUKI IS AN EXCEPTION! HER IRON WILL AND WELL-TRAINED BODY ARE IDEAL AND MAKE ANYTHING SHE WEARS NOBLE AND PURE!"
"Oh come on! That makes literally zero sense! It's just a bunch of self-serving, hypocritical bullshit and you know it!"
Another spiked ring was coming straight for Ryuko's head, so she readied her scissor blade and knocked it away. But as soon as she blocked the attack, another hit her hands, knocking the blade out of her hands and sending it flying away. Crap! Without it, she couldn't attack him or even defend herself! Sure enough, Gamagoori slammed all six rings onto her, completely restraining her. This was really bad now!
"HAHAHA! LOOKS LIKE I FINALLY RATTLED YOUR CAGE!" Gamagoori laughed. "NOW THEN RYUKO MATOI, I'M GOING TO MOLD YOU INTO SHAPE!"
As Ryuko tried fruitlessly struggling against her binds, Gamagoori's spiked gauntlets started to expand and change shape. They now completely covered his hands, each one bigger than a person. And on the inside was a mold that eerily resembled a one-star student. Was that why they all looked the same?
"AFTER I'M DONE WITH YOU, YOU'LL LOOK LIKE A PROPER FEMALE STUDENT! CONSIDER IT A FRESH START! AND NOW, TASTE MY MOLD!"
Both halves of the mold slammed into Ryuko, crushing her in their grip. Forget losing the fight, that thing might actually kill her! She tried breaking free, but the binds made it impossible to even move. All she could do was helplessly squirm as he turned her into a human waffle.
"GO ON, STRUGGLE! AND REFLECT ON YOUR WICKED WAYS! THAT'S IT, YES! I WILL STRAIGHTEN YOU OUT! I WON'T STOP UNTIL YOU'RE MOLDED INTO A PROPER STUDENT!"
"Come on Ryuko, focus!" Senketsu exclaimed. "You can think of a way out of this!"
"Oh no, I happen to just like being crushed to death!" she snarked. "I am thinking! And what I'm thinking is that there's no way out of this! How the hell am I supposed to do anything while I'm inside him like this?"
"Wait, inside of him... I think I know how we can beat him! We need to get inside his uniform!"
"Are you crazy? We're inside him right now and we can't do anything! How do you expect to even move?"
"I thought crazy was what we did best. Ryuko, I know I'm asking a lot of you, but I need you to trust me right now."
Ryuko's memory flashed back to her first fight with Sanageyama. Where she deliberately got a piece of Senketsu cut off so she could blind him. Doing that must have hurt him so much, why did he agree to listen to her? Because he trusted her to come up with a plan. The least she could do was return the favor.
"Ok," she nodded. "I trust you Senketsu."
"Then just leave this to me!"
The warm feeling of being synchronized with Senketsu suddenly ceased. Without any of Senketsu's spiky bits getting in the way, Ryuko was able to slip out from Gamagoori's shackles and escape the mold. Transforming back into her base state was able to let her break free, but that couldn't have been all Senketsu was planning. There was no way they'd win like this.
"WELL THAT'S AN IMPROVEMENT ON YOUR APPEARANCE!" Gamagoori laughed. "PERHAPS YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE THINGS MY WAY AFTER ALL!"
"Oh blow it out your ass you bondage-loving tool!"
"YOU'LL LEARN SOME MANNERS AT THE END OF MY WHIP!" he yelled back. "ULTIMATE WHIP OF LOVE!"
Gamagoori bundled all of his whips together into a single massive shaft that shot out from his pelvis. He could deny it all he liked, that guy was totally a giant pervert. Whatever Senketsu was planning, it had better be good. There was no way she could dodge or block without being synchronized. Ryuko braced for impact as the attack struck her right in the stomach, but for some reason it didn't knock her back at all. Senketsu had grabbed onto his shaft by forming a mouth and biting down! Ryuko followed his lead and grabbed as many whips as she could, even putting some in her mouth like Senketsu.
Gamagoori briefly gasped in shock, but quickly regained his composure and retracted his whips. With Ryuko still hanging on. Well, the first step of the plan worked, they were inside of his uniform. But the wrappings were so tight that it was getting hard to breath. She'd run out of oxygen in a few seconds at most.
"I SEE YOU WERE THINKING THAT EVEN THE HUNTER SPARES THE BIRD THAT FLIES CLOSE TO HIS BOSOM! BUT I'M AFRAID THAT I'M NOT THAT SENTIMENTAL!" Gamagoori laughed. "NOW, I'LL STRANGLE YOU RIGHT HERE!"
Ryuko gasped for breath as the already tight bindings constricted her even more. She couldn't see anything and her entire body was being smushed up against Gamagoori. If she only had a minute of oxygen before, now she only had a few seconds.
"RUNNING SHORT ON BREATH ARE WE? IF ONLY YOU HAD YOUR BLADE YOU COULD FIGHT BACK!"
"That's what he thinks! Ryuko, synchronize now!"
Finding the pin on her glove wasn't easy when she couldn't see. Actually pulling it out was even harder. But Ryuko managed to grab it with her teeth and yank it out, activating her transformation.
"Life Fiber Synchronize!"
"Gamagoori has Matoi completely wrapped up! She looks like she's struggling under there, but nothing's working! The match can be won by immobilizing your opponent, so is this the end?"
Izuku Midoriya was at the edge of his seat watching the fight, which would looked like it would be over soon. Gamagoori had her completely trapped in his bindings, wrapped up extremely tightly around her figure. She only had a few more seconds before Midnight would declare her immobilized and the match over.
"Uh oh, guess it's over!" Jakuzure smirked. "And here I thought New Girl was actually worth fighting!"
"I can't believe she's gonna lose like this!" Uraraka said. "It's only the first round!"
"What the hell do you think you're doing Matoi?" Kacchan snarled. "Don't you dare lose to this idiot before I get the chance to kill you myself!"
"That's a shame," Inumuta lamented. "I wanted to gather more Kamui combat data!"
All around Izuku, his classmates' reactions varied from worry to disappointment, but the all had one thing in common: They thought Ryuko would lose. But he just couldn't believe that it would end like this! She didn't get trapped underneath his uniform by accident, she was very clearly holding onto his Ultimate Whip of Love as it was retracted.
"Come on Ryuko!" Mankanshoku shouted. "Don't give up now, burst through his stomach like an alien!"
Wait, burst through his stomach? Come to think of it, she was in the perfect position for an attack right now! She had a clear shot underneath Gamagoori's armor while he couldn't attack her with his whips! Was that what she was planning the whole time? But she still needed a way to actually attack, and Izuku didn't know how she could do that without her sword.
"No wait! Something's wrong!" Sanageyama exclaimed.
Beams of red light shone through Gamagoori's uniform as a curved blade sprouted out from underneath. And then another one. Gamagoori screamed and writhed in pain as he jumped around the arena, the blades underneath his armor growing in number and size. The red blades made one final push through his uniform and just like that, all the cloth wrappings were shredded to pieces.
Now free, Ryuko stood in front of her opponent in her transformed state. But now nearly every inch of Senketsu was covered in the same red blades that cut through Gamagoori's uniform. The longest blades were between her knuckles, making them look like claws. She didn't have a blade with her, so she turned herself into one!
"Senketsu Senjin!"
Ryuko Matoi announced the name of her and Senketsu's new form. Now she understood what he was planning, his armor may have been too densely packed to cut through from the outside, but from the inside she could wedge her blades in between the gaps in his armor! And this new form was perfectly suited to the job.
She dashed over to where her scissor blade was knocked back and picked up out of the ground. The cloth armor that was once so impossible to destroy was now on the ground in pieces, leaving his Life Fibers exposed. And since he wasn't able to absorb any of the energy from her attack...
"You don't haver enough energy to change into your Scourge Regalia do you?" she realized.
Gamagoori grunted and tried shielding himself with what little remained of his armor. But it wouldn't be enough.
"Too late! Now your Life Fibers are totally exposed! Scissor Blade: Decapitation Mode!"
Ryuko fired up Senketsu's thrusters, pushing her speed to its maximum. Her extended scissor blade sliced clean through his uniform with minimal resistance. Gamagoori's noe exposed Life Fibers were absorbed by Senketsu, making the rest of his uniform explode into ribbons.
"Finishing Move: Sen-I-Soshitsu!"
"Impossible!" Gamagoori cried out as his naked body crashed into the floor, leaving a massive crater.
"The winner of the first match of the finals is Ryuko Matoi!" Midnight announced.
For a few moments, there was nothing but dead silence as everyone in the audience took the time just to process what happened. Then the crowd erupted into cheers. The Honnouji side of the stadium was loud, but mostly from the no-stars while the higher ranked students merely politely applauded. But everyone on the hero side of the stadium was practically jumping for joy, a few heroes even hugging each other.
"Yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about! I can't even believe what happened and I saw the thing with my own eyes!" Present Mic shouted over the speaker system "Ryuko Matoi has just defeated one of the Elite Four, and advances on to the second round! Now take a few minutes to stretch those legs while we repair the battlefield!"
Ryuko smiled widely at Senketsu as she unsynchronized. "Now that's what I call a plan!"
"If a Goku Uniform can transform in multiple stages, why can't I?"
"I love it when you think outside of the box like that!"
Ira Gamagoori knelt on the ground in defeat, completely nude. Tears were now streaming freely down his face, but he couldn't even summon the will to wipe them away. Matoi hadn't even bothered sparing him a second glance as she exited the battlefield. How pathetic of him, he had disgraced himself in front of Lady Satsuki herself!
His clothes might have been stripped away, but he still had one item left with him. It was a small blade, but it would do its job of restoring what little honor he could. Ira let out a mighty roar as he raised the knife up and prepared to plunge it into his stomach.
"Wait, don't do it!" the referee shouted out.
Her words couldn't stop him, this was the price of his failure! But before the knife could connect with his flesh, a sonic boom shattered the window of one of the private boxes and a hand shattered the blade. Ira forced himself to look up at his unwanted savior.
"Lady... Satsuki?"
"It's too early to be kneeling in defeat Gamagoori," she spoke. "So wipe your tears. Even if your body is broken, your heart is still unscarred."
Why? Why would she bother going out of her way to save a pathetic weakling like him? He didn't deserve to be in her presence, much less her mercy! But the least he could do was honor her request. After all, there was still much work to be done. But right now, he was tired. Giving into his exhaustion, Ira collapsed onto his back, lying on the ground.
"Um, do you mind getting off the field?" the referee asked him. "We're trying to set up for the next match here. And we have some spare t-shirts to change into."
A/N: Alright, so this fight was pretty much the same as canon. The only difference was that I wrote Ryuko's thought process out to make her look a little bit smarter. In canon, she was so boneheaded during this fight that I'd almost consider her out of character. I know she's no genius, but she can be pretty clever when she needs to be.
IMO, the real meat of this chapter was Izuku's interactions with the Elite Four. He's starting to see that hero society isn't as perfect as he thinks it is much earlier, since in canon he doesn't really see what's wrong with hero society until recently in the manga. I also wanted to build up to his confrontation with Satsuki herself, which will happen at some point during the Sports Festival.
Also, this story has finally made it to 100 reviews! Here's hoping to another hundred!