Chapter 28 - Proving Your Worth
Wanting more information on Adena, Endeavor came up to where the remaining students were watching the battle. When he came up, Murdock was talking with Charlotte and Melody, who were behind him, and as a result, he saw Endeavor come up.
"Uh-oh…" Murdock spoke, his tone somewhat worried. "Don't look now, but here comes your pa, Todo."
Todoroki, who had come from the eliminated stands to talk with Murdock, turned around, and saw his father coming towards the four of them. His anger began to burn and his blood became cold, as questions began forming in his mind about why his father was up there. He wasn't the only one who went on the defensive, however; Murdock looked like a gunslinger about to gun down his opponent, while Yaoyaorozu was in the stands on the other side, about to get up and help if there was going to be trouble.
"Father." Todoroki spoke, his tone calm yet angered.
"Shoto." Endeavor replied, his tone stoic. "I came to check up on you."
"Really?" Todoroki asked, his tone unmoving. "As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. Now what else are you here for?"
"I'm here because I'm impressed by that girl, the one with the flame quirk." Endeavor replied. "I would like to know more about her."
"If you're trying to create a quirk marriage between me and this girl, then you'll get nothing."
"I'm not planning on doing that; I want to know more about this girl, to see if I have any chance of recruiting her for my hero agency."
"I don't know what kind of trick you're pulling here, Endeavor, but you're not going to get anywhere." Murdock interjected.
"You stay out of this." Endeavor snarled, pointing at Murdock. "You're not part of our family, so you have no say in this."
"Don't talk to my friend that way, father!" Todoroki growled.
"Easy!" Melody interjected, standing up and between Todoroki and his father. "If you two start fighting, not only will you injure yourselves, but you'll also injure everyone else up here. Mr. Endeavor, if it is that important that you need information about Adena, I can give it to you. But, I want you to leave Todoroki and Murdock alone."
Endeavor paused to think about the offer for a few seconds, and then replied, "Fair enough; once I get all that I want to know, I'll leave."
"Okay, ask away." Melody replied, sitting back down.
"Adena Drake, when did her quirk first manifest?" asked Endeavor, crossing his arms.
"Her quirk revealed itself when she was three." Melody replied. "She sneezed and set her kindergarten lunch room on fire. No was one hurt, however, and they put the fire out before it could cause any substantial damage."
"What's her rank at Justice High?" Endeavor asked.
"In terms of grades, she's number seven, but when it comes to her power level, she's number three." Melody replied, her tone somewhat proud.
"What about hero internships back in your country? Does she have any opportunities from them?"
"No, as users with fire related quirks tend to get a bad reputation, for being a liability for collateral damage. However, Firehouse Subs has been begging her to be their spokesperson."
A confused look came over Endeavor's face, and he asked, "Firehouse Subs?"
"Sandwiches." Murdock replied.
"Oh." said Endeavor, now understanding. "Has she always been so… perky?"
"Oh yeah." Melody replied, her tone somewhat comical. "You can count on her to be a bright light in bad situations."
"Hmm…" Endeavor mused, scratching his chin. "Okay, I have all the information that I need. Thank you, young lady…"
"Sure thing." Melody replied, giving a nod of respect.
Endeavor went up the stairs, while Todoroki and Murdock watched cautiously. After Endeavor was gone, Todoroki said his goodbyes and left the stand of the remaining contestants. He wanted to keep a close eye on his father, and to keep him from enacting his arrogant plans.
While Endeavor was getting information about Adena, the match down below between Matthew Noble and Katsuki Bakugo was about to begin. The two had come up and onto the platform, and were now staring each other down; Matthew with a determined look on his face, and Bakugo with a snarl on his face.
"Introducing first, from Justice High and representing himself, the Quirkless Wonder, Matthew Noble!" Present Mic announced over the loudspeakers. "And his opponent, from U.A and representing Team Japan, the winner of last year's Sports Festival, Katsuki Bakugo!"
The crowd cheered wildly for the two competitors, to which Simba raised his hands to quiet them down. Present Mic was readying to do a play-by-play of the battle, while Simba raised his left hand into the air.
"Let the battle commence!" Simba announced, throwing his hand down in a knife motion.
Bakugo fired a blast at Matthew, who quickly dodged out of the way of it and recovered. Bakugo fired again, and Matthew dodged it again, barely getting burnt. But while Matthew was getting back to his feet, Bakugo used both hands to blast himself towards Matthew, who barely had time to dodge out of the way of his explosive punch. Bakugo then flew out of bounds, but blasted himself back into the arena, as Matthew began running away from him.
"I can't get close to him when he's using ranged attacks." Matthew thought to himself, as he dodged Bakugo's arial blasts. "I only can do melee, so I need to keep on my toes and find an opening."
Bakugo then stopped the arial blasts and landed, letting out a sneer as he stood up. Matthew stopped and turned to face him, panting from having to put all his effort into dodging.
"Looks like you're at a major disadvantage, Noble." Bakugo spoke, his tone somewhat prideful. "You can only do close-ranged attacks, so you're useless from far away. As long as I keep you away, you can't get close enough to deal damage. All I'll have to do is wear you down, and then throw you out when you're tired and weak."
Bakugo fired another blast, and Matthew dodged, continuing the cycle of being unable to attack. It was then that he noticed the thick clouds of dust, created from when Bakugo had viciously opened fire on him. This gave Matthew an idea on how to get close to his opponent, but it was going to be a huge gamble, and it was going to be risky. But, Matthew wasn't one for playing it safe, and he loved nothing more than to take risks.
"I should thank you for making these huge clouds, Bakugo." said Matthew, a small smirk on his face, as he stepped into one of the dust clouds. "You've given me the perfect cover."
Through the dust clouds, Bakugo could see the faint sight of Matthew's silhouette, and he fired an explosive blast at him! However, when the blast cleared the dust, Matthew was nowhere to be seen; it was only an afterimage, which he left after moving through the dust clouds. Bakugo fired over and over, hoping to hit Matthew, but it was no use; he was keeping out of sight, and more dust clouds were being created with each blast. Bakugo then decided that it would be best to have Matthew come to him, and then engage him in hand-to-hand combat.
Sure enough, Matthew did come to him, and Bakugo barely had time to block his punch to the face! The two began going at it like two kick-boxers, with both trading and blocking each others' attacks! When the tension began going up, Bakugo started using explosive-based punches, which Matthew now had to dodge, as trying to block with his arms burned him! The two were at an equal speed and pace, with neither gaining at the advantage over the other, until Matthew tried to go for a right armlock. He proceeded to block Bakugo's punch, quickly grabbed his arm, tripped him by using an elbow-jab and leg-swipe, and then put his arms around Bakugo's arm, pulling as hard as he could!
Bakugo, knowing he was in danger, began firing explosions from his right arm, which made Matthew let go; he would've been blasted in the face if he didn't. Bakugo quickly blasted himself off the ground and away from Matthew, landing on his feet and readying a huge blast! He fired and, for a second, thought that he hit Matthew! But when he looked up, Matthew was flying out of the sky, with his right fingers in a familiar position of attack!
"Straight from the teachings of my Uncle Stephen…" Matthew announced, as he came flying towards Bakugo. "Thirty Minute - Paralyzation Finger Flick!"
Bakugo's eyes widened, and he began going on the defensive, not wanting to get hit by Matthew's attack! Matthew landed, wound his hand back, and attempted to strike Bakugo's mid-section, which would paralyze him completely for thirty minutes!
The 'Paralyzation Finger Flick' was a special move taught to Matthew by his uncle. It could paralyze anybody who got hit by it, and depending on the severity of the move, the person could be paralyzed for up to twenty-four hours. However, Matthew mostly used small hits, which could paralyze somebody for only half an hour, or even a shorter time.
Matthew got close and attempted to strike, but Bakugo grabbed Matthew's right hand with his left hand, causing him to flick him in the palm! Instantly, the paralyzation took effect, and Bakugo's left hand shut down completely! Bakugo then fired an explosive blast from his right hand into Matthew's face, sending him flying back! When Matthew was a good distance away, Bakugo raised his hands and readied a 'STUN GRENADE' attack, having to output all his power into his right hand! He fired the large blast, and the fighting platform lit up with the explosion, which faded into black smoke! But when the smoke cleared, Matthew was nowhere to be seen!
Suddenly, somebody began shoving Bakugo forward at a quick speed, and Bakugo turned his head, seeing that it was Matthew, who was able to quickly get behind him! He then turned, grabbed Matthew's arm with his right hand, and attempted to throw him with his 'EXPLODE-A-PULT' move, but since his left hand was paralyzed, he couldn't create an explosive blast! So now the two were pushing against each other, and they were only a few seconds left till they got to the out-of-bounds line!
As they were doing this, Matthew began plotting out a strategy in his head. The strategy went like this:
Block wild punches, respond with strong right front kick to ribs. Wrap arms around neck, deliver left knee to ribs. Move to back, deliver elbow to jaw. Dodge blast, counter with hard jab to stomach. Double palm heel strike to stomach. Right elbow strike, trip with right leg swipe, paralyzation finger flick to mid-section. End fight.
Matthew put this plan into action, and his sure enough, his readings were correct: Bakugo attacked with wild punches, which Matthew blocked and responded with a strong right kick to his ribs! Bakugo then hit with a right haymaker, which made Matthew wrap his arms around his neck, and hit a left knee to his ribs! He then moved Bakugo back, and delivered an elbow to his jar as hard as he could, causing Bakugo to begin bleeding from the mouth.
Bakugo moved back and fired a large blast, but Matthew dodged it, and hit a hard jab to Bakugo's stomach! He then faked like he was moving back, and hit Bakugo with a double palm heel strike to his stomach, making Bakugo spit up a little blood. Angered at spitting up his own blood, Bakugo readied to his use his 'HOWITZER IMPACT'! But before he could jump in the air, Matthew jumped first, hitting him with a right elbow strike to the shoulder! He then tripped him with a right leg swipe, and readied the paralyzation finger flick with his right hand, jabbing it into Bakugo's mid-section!
"Thirty Minute - Paralyzation Finger Flick." said Matthew, panting hard and still maintaining a fighting stance.
Bakugo moved to try and get up, but found that he couldn't move; everything below his neck was paralyzed. The crowd had gone silent, stunned at how Matthew was able to finish Bakugo off with precision moves.
"Answer truthfully, Bakugo; can you move?" asked Simba.
Bakugo lifted his head and let out a loud yell of anger, trying his hardest to move. He then let out an annoyed groan, and laid his head back down on the ground; this was his way of accepting defeat.
"Bakugo is immobilized!" Simba announced. "The winner, Matthew Noble!"
Up in the stands, Matthew's friends and fellow students cheered for him, and he responded by waving to them. Two medical robots were sent out to carry Bakugo off the platform on a stretcher, as Matthew watched and also talked with his defeated opponent.
"You did good, Bakugo." said Matthew, who was winded from the fight. "Had you hit me with that 'Howitzer Impact' of yours, it would've been game over for me."
"No." Bakugo grunted out, his tone somewhat humble, as the robots put him on the stretcher. "You would've found a way to dodge that. The only way to defeat you, would've been just to straight up knock you out. Now do us all a favor, and drop that 'dirtbag' in the finals. Cause if you lose, I'll blast you all the way back to kindergarten when this wears off."
Matthew smiled and replied, "You got it, my friend."
"This isn't the tie-breaker." said Bakugo, a small grin on his face, as Matthew walked alongside the stretcher. "You won our first fight, and I won our little sparring match, and now you win this fight. Next time, I'll be the one who beats you."
"We'll see, my friend, we'll see."
As they began going down the steps of the arena, Matthew lifted Bakugo's immobilized right hand, put it into a fist, and fist-bumped it. Despite being unable to control his paralyzed body, Bakugo accepted that gesture. Matthew had proved his worth to his opponent, and had been accepted as an equal in his eyes.
And that was quite impressive, since Matthew was quirkless.
Author's Notes: Sorry about not posting a chapter for this FanFiction in a long while; been busy with other projects, both in and out of FanFiction. Special thanks to 'Bluebarnowl' for the scene idea where Endeavor asks about Adena.
R&R,
Heroboy005