"Midoriya, are you… All Might's secret love child or something?" Shoto asked. As Midoriya burst into denial and rambling over his own denial, Shoto focused less on the words that he was saying and more on the way he was saying it, the emotions in it.
"And I take it that Midoriya's…"
"Is the same thing."
Nebulos has been very insistent with that. What did he mean by it? Had he just told Shoto that, so he'd stop inquiring? Was he saying that Midoriya was also part of some Quirk Marriage? Or that it was some secret that All Might wasn't letting go public, like with…
He resisted the urge to raise his hand to his burnt skin, a constant reminder of what his old man had stolen from him. What his actions had forced Shoto's mother to do. How every news story talking about him was a fresh wave of disgust and hatred-
And yet when Midoriya talked about All Might, the way he reacted… there was none of that. No disgust. No hatred. No sign of repression. And yet he looked up to All Might, incredibly so, but no more than any other fan. If All Might was his father, wouldn't that dull it? Of course, he supposed he wasn't one to guess.
"You said that 'it's not like that', so there is some connection." Shoto interrupted, having decided to let Midoriya do one of his trademark ramblings for long enough. "But at the same time, it must be something the two of you can't talk about. I'm not surprised."
"Eh?" Midoriya asked, "Why?"
Shoto looked at the green-haired boy. Innocent. Had that been something he'd also been denied? "I tried to see if Nebulos would tell me anything about you. He knows about what my old man – Endeavour – did in order to try and take the number 1 hero spot from All Might. He hasn't told anyone else and he told me you were in the same sort of situation." He paused and let out a sigh. "But the way you reacted and act around All Might… I don't think All Might created you to be the next number one hero."
Shoto watched as Midoriya inhaled, choking and spluttering. Understandable, anyone would be shocked at such an accusation levelled at any hero, let alone All Might.
(Izuku, on the other hand, was shocked at just how close to reality that sounded. Not in being created but being specifically chosen.)
"… my mother said to me once 'Your left side is unsightly'… as she poured boiling water onto my face." Shoto explained slowly. The sudden intake of breath from Midoriya is about what he expected. "My old man… he stole my childhood and a loving mother from me, all because he wanted to create a hero to beat All Might and be number 1. He selectively chose my mother just to get the perfect mix of Quirks."
As Shoto continued on and told his story, he idly thought to himself that whatever thoughts some people might have about Nebulos, he seemed to value privacy at least. He had to wonder what lead to him knowing though. Given all that talk about the main character and him knowing… it did mean the choices were limited. Was he the Main Character? Was it Midoriya? Was it someone else and this discussion happened differently before?
It was at least something different to consider.
Ah, karage. Without a doubt one of my favourite foods of Japan. Oh sure, American style – Western style sorry – fried chicken is nice and has plenty to it, but there's just something to the Japanese recipe and the portions - smaller in size, bigger in quantity - that is utterly delectable. Of course, I don't always have it… I wonder, maybe next week I can talk to Lunch Rush, see if he has a toaster press and would like to make toasties?
"Jirou, Momo, you heard about what's happening after lunch, right?"
And instantly I shift my positioning and start to head towards Mineta's voice. I don't even know what he's up to but if he's talking to Jirou and Momo then it can't be good. Oh, and look, Kaminari is with him… even MORE reason to be suspicious.
"What?" Momo asked.
As I slowly peered over a nearby plant I watched as Mineta turned around with all the confidence in the world and pointed to a set of cheerleader girls who I swear must universally have some long nose Quirk
"After lunch, you girls are supposed to have a cheer battle with them. Aizawa mentioned it and I wanted to make sure you knew." Mineta noted, Kaminari nodding his head. Right, this is getting farcical… but how about I have a bit of fun with this?
"Really? From what I heard Aizawa-sensei had an entirely different idea." I remarked, walking from behind the corner. "That some of the guys would dress up and do the battle."
Jirou and Momo looked at me incredulously… before Jirou's eyes widened and a scowl appeared on her face. Momo… just tilted her head. "I suppose in the name of equality… but that does somewhat ruin the spirit of the idea." Momo noted.
"Y-yeah, listen to YaoMomo Andros!" Kaminari insisted.
"It only works if it's the girls!" Mineta added… before both he and Kaminari got an earphone jack rammed into their ears and played at hopefully LESS than full blast, given what Jirou did last time.
"Oh, cram it you two! And to think you almost had me there!" Jirou growled out.
Momo sighed. "Another one of Mineta's schemes?" She asked rhetorically. "Oh dear, I almost fell for that too."
Both boys, quickly recovering from the jacks, clearly weren't recovering from the crush of their perverse fantasies being denied. "You jerk Nebulos! We just wanted to see and admire them in skimpy costumes!" Mineta insisted
"Is it so wrong to want to see a teenage boy fantasy?" Kaminari added.
"You have the American girls to look at!" Jirou countered.
I just coughed and cleared my throat. "Actually, I mostly just overheard the two of you trying to pull this off." I… legitimately didn't know if this came up or not. Cheerleader outfits clearly were not on my diary list. It did make something in my mind tingle but that could also be memories of seeing cheerleaders in entertainment back in the old life. "But at the same time… Momo, the girls trust you more… maybe you could see if any of them actually want a costume?"
Momo raised an eyebrow at that. "Hmm, I suppose. But they are skimpy and embarrassing, would there be anyone who would want-"
"I have my measurements ready and waiting." Toru, who had managed to approach without anyone noticing, said. "I like the style, and I like to show off!~"
I hummed… before I nodded my head and crossed my arms. "Makes sense, you want to show off your Quirk," I admitted.
"Don't pretend like you're being noble!" Mineta accused.
"Skimpy is skimpy!" Kaminari added.
"I'm at least being honest and seeing if they want to do it!" I shot back… before definitely not stomping off. I needed more karage to put up with this shit.
"For those of you who missed out, don't worry, this is a sports festival and we have some side games for you to play before the next round! When that's over, the sixteen people from the four teams that made it through will take each other on, one on one!"
Thank you, Mic. But wow… I honestly was not betting on having made it this far. Oh, I aimed to win, but with me not able to use my cables last round and holding back on my gas usage there were a few times where I felt it was pretty close. At least we worked as a team though – Shinso's plan to control others just seemed selfish.
"Is it the same every year?" Mina asked. Damnit, I zoned out again, didn't I? Of course, fun thing to note is that while Momo hadn't decided to dress up, Uraraka, Mina and Hagakure HAD, and upon being told about it Kendo and Komori had decided to join in. Really thank goodness Kendo is so perky, she can actually get that team to work together.
"It's different, but there's always a one on one match," Sero explained. "Last year it was a one on one foam sword match."
I blinked for a moment. "But that… so massively benefits strength and speed types like Midoriya and me." I noted. "What if Mina melted it?"
"Why me?" Mina questioned.
"Because Bakugou is more precise than you when it comes to Quirk use." I countered, Mina pouting in reply.
Still, with no-one withdrawing – which HAD been noted down along with Shinso's Quirk – we soon moved on to the brackets being drawn. All I could say is that I'd reached in and pulled out the first paper I got, I didn't try to shuffle them around, I didn't know what it would result in. I have scattered snapshots of some matches, but I don't think Jirou fought welder guy originally, to give an example.
Which left the drawings as follows and in order.
Midoriya Izuku vs Hitoshi Shinso
"That's you right? Midoriya Izuku?" Shinso asked. "Looking forward to the first match."
"Oh, me too!" Izuku said… before taking on a blank stare. Oh, come on Shinso, really? I didn't say you couldn't keep it a secret. And yet… huh, he's given me a look? Maybe he's worried about another Nebula Gas thing?
Sero Hanta vs Todoroki Shoto
"Ooof, against Todoroki this early?" Sero complained... before pumping a fist "I'll have to take you on at my best!"
Todoroki just gave Sero a look.
Kaminari Denki vs Tokage Setsuna
"Oooh, I get to go up against a 1-B cutie! Hey, when I win, do you want to go out for a drink sometime?" Kaminari asked.
"Oi oi! If, IF you win!" Setsuna warned. "I'm not about to make it easy for you!"
Hatsume Mei vs Iida Tenya
I could see that twinkle in Mei's eyes. Thiiis is going to be a headache.
Ashido Mina vs Shoda Nirengeki
"Ah, good luck," Shoda said, a little smile on his face.
"You too!" Mina exclaimed with a smile. Guess they don't really know what the other can do – we didn't see much of Mina's last match and likewise with Shoda.
Tokoyami Fumikage vs Yaroyozu Momo
"I look forward to our match," Tokoyami commented.
"Ah, you too?" Momo half asked, clearly having been taken off guard by the openness.
Kirishima Eijro vs Nebulos Andros
"Toughness vs Tankyness? At least it's better than you vs Tetsutetsu." I admitted.
Kirishima stumbled in place at that. "Wait, we fought each other-"
"Yes."
"In the first-"
"Yes"
"… was it good?"
"You two were so evenly matched they had to do some manly tiebreaker that I don't remember." I insisted.
Kirishima hummed… and then moved away. Towards the 1-B group. Huh, maybe he wants to talk to- Ah, I see.
Bakugou Katsuki vs Uraraka Ochako
Ooof, again. And seeing Uraraka flinch at that was NOT nice to see. Thing is, of the big matches I know of…. This seems to match up. Midoriya vs Shinso, then Sero vs Todoroki. Iida against Mei. Bakugou vs Uraraka. That's a lot of similarities. Was it fate? Was it luck? I doubt the drawing is rigged…
Over in the third stage arena, Principal Nedzu sneezed
But there has to be some reason, right? Maybe I'm thinking too hard about it… ah, Mei's heading towards Iida. Gonna need to intercept that before she does what I think she's planning. As Mei gets closer to Iida, I place a hand on her shoulder, causing her to stop and look.
"Mei, are you planning on just using Iida as a display piece?" I asked bluntly. "And then giving up?"
Mei, to her credit, didn't even try to shake her head, she just smiled wider. "Of course! We're on the big stage Andros, I can show off my babies to the world, especially the big companies, here!" She exclaimed; arms outspread.
"All well and good," I noted before glancing at Iida and then back to Mei. "But I don't need to know how things went to know you. And if you don't give Iida a proper fight…. I'm going to make SURE your mum and dad know."
Mei recoiled as if she'd been slapped. "You wouldn't!"
"I swear I still feel tingles from an EMP Mei, try me." I countered.
Mei glared back at me even through her goggles… before letting out an aggravated sigh.
I sighed as I sat down and leaned back in the seats. I mean, good seats, don't get me wrong, this clearly wasn't something Cementoss alone just spent an hour putting together, but it's kinda hard to relax when you're focused so much on the fates of so many up and coming potential heroes. I hadn't even taken part in the extra games, I'd… honestly just found somewhere to go and vent off a whole bunch of Nebula Gas without anyone else being nearby. I was stressing and I didn't have a suit nearby, so I tried to use it to relax. It didn't help and just made me more worried. So… I was doing the one thing I could do to relax.
"Andros, is that a toy of you?" Sato asked carefully, watching as I fiddled about with the figure that very much reflected my transformed state… minus the accessories I couldn't justify bringing with me.
"I'm not that egotistical Sato…" I trailed off. "It's a Figuart. A high-quality action figure from way back. The seller even restored it for me."
"Wait, so you got a Figuart of… yourself?" Sato questioned… before his eyes widened. "No wait, that's Blood Stark?"
"The original," I confirmed. "Messing with it kinda helps relieve the tension."
Sato let out a low whistle at that. "Right, you don't have your suits with you. Least it's an open space." He pointed out.
Amazingly, it didn't make it any easier.
Midoriya Izuku, a nervous smile desperately clinging to his face in front of the entire crowd, watched his opponent carefully. Hitoshi Shinso, from the general studies course. Aside from a brief moment where for some reason Nebulos – it was really hard to think of him as Andros, he still struggled with calling Asui Tsuyu – had transformed and almost seemed… angry in a way reminiscent of Kacchan at his worst he had no idea as to what the other student's Quirk was. He hadn't even bothered to ask the overly knowledgeable classmate what it was, he knew what the response would be. But he still remembered what All Might had told him-
"Your classmates, they're pretty aggressive," Shinso noted. "Is all that is needed to get into the hero course that you have to be some muscle head?"
"START!"
"What did you jus-" Midoriya started, charging forward, green energy sparking off him as he started to activate Full Cowl… and then the whole world seemed to go out of focus. As if he was drifting in a void, as if the world was so distant. He could feel the energy still half prepared in his body, unused, but it was as if he couldn't connect it.
"Turn around and walk out of bounds." Shinso's voice seemed to almost echo through. And Izuku could see his own body start to turn itself around. Starting to walk, starting to slowly, jerkily march back the way he came. Any commentary, any feeling, it all went dull.
He knew he didn't want to walk out of bounds, he didn't want to lose in the first round! He hadn't even shown off his skills yet! He'd barely shown off his Quirk! He was meant to make this the point where he could go and say, "I am here!" But his body wasn't responding. It just seemed robotic, out of his control.
He was going to lose because he couldn't keep a lid on his own temper when someone else insulted his classmates. He could see All Might looking at him, staring back at him
"Oh, Toshi…"
Wait, what? That was a voice? A female voice?!
"He's trying. Kid's got spirit!"
Who? That was a man's voice, a little rough too!
"He's only used to a little! Toshi had more time to get adjusted and he'd have trouble with this!" The female voice again, and Toshi… Toshinori, All Might?
"… I wouldn't count him out yet." A third voice? It sounded softer but… with strength behind it. A strength of will.
"Ya sure? She's got a point, kid's only got what, 3, 4%?" The rougher voice asked.
"He can hear us."
At once, a collection of shadows near All Might seemed to take on wispy, humanoid forms, looking at him, staring at him. One of them seemed to move, followed by another… before a third, frailer one, dipped its head.
"Even like this, it's only chance he can hear some of us." The soft voice said.
"The energy…" The female voice remarked.
"Let's give it a push!" The rough voice remarked, even as, with a step down, for a brief moment, Izuku could feel all the energy he had gathered in a brief moment flow into one toe. He could feel the uncontrolled power of One for All slam down and with a sharp intake of pain, reality snapped back into focus… just before he would have crossed the line.
"What's this?! Midoriya has suddenly stopped!"
He had… but that meant… it was a mind control Quirk. He'd used it when Izuku had answered his question so that implied conscious control… he must have asked Nebulos a question earlier! If One for All did weird things like that under the effects, then maybe Nebula Gas… he said it caused aggression!
"How?! How did you do that?" Shinso yelled.
Izuku actively fought the urge to answer back, and simply clenched his fists, ignoring the pain as he let One for All surge through his body, focusing on as much power as he could take right now… about four percent. One for All Full Cowl could finish this quickly.
I winced as not long after that question I saw Izuku rush at Shinso, grab him, and spin with him in tow. I swear I saw him say something else, but soon he let go, sending Shinso skidding away from the force of the throw, before he lost his footing, tumbling just over the line.
"Hitoshi Shinso is out of bounds! The winner is Midoriya Izuku!" Midnight declared.
Really, if I had to, I would flat out insist to Aizawa-sensei that Shinso was the perfect kind of guy to take on his style of fighting but… talk about the absolute worst matchup. I had the advantage of knowing what he did and having a Quirk that messes with my emotions to snap me out, Midoriya had neither but it seemed the predecessors were still watching out for him. And if it had been Kirishima or Bakugou… he'd have won instantly.
Granted he'd have ended up blasted anyway if he denied Bakugou to THAT extent. Now that I think about it the only other person who has an out to him is Tokoyami… because he has Dark Shadow. Yeesh.
It was a mystery. Midoriya Izuku's Quirk, the boy himself… hell, you could say that about most of the hero course in general as far as Shinso Hitoshi was concerned. He had thought he'd be in the clear when he was matched up against someone who, as far as he knew, was just some strength enhancer. But then it hadn't been the only time he had made that mistake today, had it?
"Shinso-san!" Shinso turned back at that… and saw Midoriya holding out his hand towards him. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to get so…"
"Ah, don't worry about it." Shinso brushed off. "Not only did you almost go out of bounds, but you had to push yourself to get me out afterwards because of it. How many people could say they got to do that? Just watch yourself… or you're going to trip up against someone else."
… he should have expected the resulting answering, even if using his Quirk was just the icing on the cake.
And yet not long after they left it was time for Sero and Todoroki to face off. I honestly felt really sorry for Sero. His Quirk is extremely good, flexible, potent, and has more utility than a large number of superpowers out there but… well, he's up against Todoroki.
Even as the match was declared started, Shoto hadn't considered Sero to be much of a threat. His Quirk, while very good for capture, was nothing compared to his ice. But even he'd been a bit shocked when the tape shot out and wrapped around him, dragging him towards the edge. Given what… Endeavour had just said to him, there was an urge to just go all out, to let loose with his anger.
But that wasn't what he had planned. Instead beneath his feet, ice started to form, extending out to go WITH the motion, turning into an ice path that took into the air while still inside the lines… and sending him right back towards Sero. With a quick burst of frost coating the tape before crumbling into frozen pieces, Todoroki slid towards the other boy, letting his ice extend out into a long strip, skimming just by and underneath Sero's own feet, sending him slipping… and allowing him to place his right hand over the boy, freezing his hands and feet to the floor of the arena.
It was over in seconds. It was fast but showed a bit much about just how fine a detail he could freeze things with. But still…
"You're acting disgracefully. If you'd use your left side, you'd have an overwhelming advantage."
Despite his… father's statement…
"Are you kidding me? Did I just see someone who had enough control to not freeze ME yesterday decide it was better to just FLASH FREEZE A BUILDING?"
It felt more satisfying to listen to a classmate's wisdom than his. Showing off his precision over power felt… satisfying.
And I wish I could say that the next match was much longer but…
"So, about that drink…" Kaminari trailed off.
"You gotta beat me first." Setsuna insisted, stretching her arms from side to side. "Way I see it though? You can't."
Kaminari smirked. "Then how about I take you down in one blow?" He questioned.
Setsuna simply smirked back in response.
"START!"
"Indiscriminate Discharge 1,300,000 Volts!" Kaminari boisterously declared, his body sparking before letting loose with a powerful barrage of electricity… only for Setsuna to leap into the air, before her arms, legs, body, and head all disconnect from one another, the body moving forwards as the arms spread out and the head goes straight up in the air. Now the thing about electricity is that when it spreads out, it can hit a lot of things, yes… but it tends to run all it's current through one thing, wasting energy by converting it into heat. Which means that even though the electricity ran through Setsuna's main body, and then carried on to her legs, there just wasn't enough juice for the attack to reach every part of her.
That's not to say that Setsuna was unaffected though. Her arms and hands spasmed in the air as her mouth frothed slightly from the shock of the electricity, but even as her smoking main body and legs collapsed to the ground… the rest of her was unharmed. For a moment, it seemed like both players had essentially knocked themselves out of it with the one move – Kaminari naturally in full Whey mode – but soon Setsuna's head shook itself and her hands balled into fists before the arms started to fly at Kaminari.
"Lizard Double Barrel!" Setsuna declared, both arms slamming the fists into Kaminari's stomach… before the hands fired off of those arms, pushing him back even further and faster, before flinging him out of the ring entirely.
"Kaminari is out of bounds! The winner is Tokage Setsuna!"
"Ahrerere?! Didn't we specifically tell him NOT to use it all at once?" Monoma had asked on cue, the moment the match was over his head popping over the barricade.
I just let out a groan. "That absolute idiot! He was thinking about getting a date!" I moaned.
"To be fair I didn't know she had that Quirk, maybe Kaminari didn't see it either?" Jirou pointed out.
I shook my head. "Just because you can't see it isn't an excuse… Mei and Kaminari are working on Equipment to help him with precision – so he doesn't keep taking himself out of a fight with attacks like that." I explained.
Jirou nodded… before Momo snapped her fingers suddenly. "Oh, I know! Ojiro-san, you're very good at hand to hand fighting. Maybe you could teach him some basics?" Momo asked.
Jirou slapped her forehead at that. "Oh duh, of course! Human stun gun!" She exclaimed.
While Ojiro smiled and nodded, I joined Jirou in facepalming. Goddamnit, that's so obvious in hindsight.
If one was to ask Hatsume Mei how she felt right now, annoyed would be amongst many other words she'd use. So, what it one person's feelings got hurt, this was an event where everyone was supposed to promote themselves as intensely as possible, shouldn't she get a chance to show herself off to the support companies?
Clearly, Andros was the one with skewed priorities here, but if he insisted on her taking on his classmate seriously… she was going to take it seriously, smiling and waving to the crowd – but especially the support companies – as she walked out. On her back was a speaker system with a hooked-up headset, with her newly upgraded – and thus flash resistant – goggles on her head. Each arm had a white gauntlet on it as a framework of metal extended up to her shoulders. The Jet Boots were still on of course – all the better to keep up with someone as fast as an Iida, but she had supplemented it with the set of wings on her back, as well as an assortment of gadgets that were on her belt – among others were two blank Fullbottles.
"She's a walking arsenal of technology, the dynamo of the Support Course, Hatsume Mei!" Present Mic bellowed, Mei just smiling and waving as the crowd cheered, listening to the robotics of the suit play in time, as the systems finish calibrating. "VERSUS! The Middleman Class President! Iida Tenya!"
Mei glanced over and watched as the scion of the Iida family looked her dead on, a determined stare on his face. "May this be a good match." Iida declared, an eager smile on his face, as he could only hope the family was watching.
"Just not too fast of one!" Mei shot back. "Andros didn't want me to use you as a display piece… but I plan to show the companies my Babies!~"
Iida flinched back at the… straightforwardness. "Wait, what do you-"
"START!" Midnight shouted.
Iida blinked, but shook his head and took off towards Mei at a run. Mei simply grinned and slid her goggles down… before the boots let out the sound of a whine and ignited the jets, sending her rolling towards Iida at the same speed! Fortunately, the systems in her goggles were designed to automatically adjust the jets to minimize the risk of getting herself knocked out, but it let her zoom past Iida with just a little wave, before spinning to a halt. "You might have engines in your legs, but you're not the only one who can use speed to their advantage Iida-kun!" Mei announced – quite literally given the speaker system mounted to the top of her backpack.
"Those jet skates… you used them in the cavalry battle!" Iida noted.
"Exactly! But don't think I'm just some one-trick pony, there's plenty more to come!" Mei pointed out, as the left gauntlet vibrated slightly, even as Iida started to rush at her. "For example, a pair of arm support braces perfectly for those who can use them or those who need that bit of help for whatever reason!" Iida was getting closer faster and faster… before the boots activated, the jets on her left foot activated from the front of the boot this time, sending Mei skidding into a quarter turn and then some from the thrust, Iida stumbling mid-run as he tried to adjust for a suddenly missed knee. "But when you add a kinetic gauntlet-" Mei added, her arm suddenly speeding up and slamming into Iida's stomach, sending him sprawling backwards "-you can fight the fastest foes and use your own movement to fight them!"
Iida let out a cough, before giving Mei a stern look. "I thought you said you weren't going to make a sales pitch?!" He asked incredulously.
"I said I wouldn't use you for a display piece!" Mei corrected, placing a hand over the headset microphone as she did. "You want me to stop, you need to come to me!" With that, she removed the hand. "Of course, we all know Iida's speed here, we've seen it earlier, so you might be wondering just what to do if you don't know what they can do? What if they try to stay close up?"
At that Iida moved towards her… before coming to a halt as she said that. As Mei thrust out another hand, Iida turned his right leg outward and ignited the jets briefly, sending him skidding to the side and barely dodging a purplish stream of goop that soon expanded outwards.
"A clever thought, but most villains wouldn't expect the wonder of the capture foam glove, and even then fewer would be able to dodge it!" Mei continued gleefully. It was becoming clear to Iida at the least that while she was selling her products, she wasn't going to take it easy. Going for a standard dash attack would only trigger the jet system – but it had to react somehow, and the goggles seemed like the most likely trigger. Staying at range wasn't an option, she could keep using that foam on him and leave him nowhere to go. Letting her turn this into a chase and, presumably, building up power into that other gauntlet. The best approach would be to disorientate her! Building up speed briefly, he took off into a run, aiming to rush around Hatsume-san…
… or at least she was assuming that's what he had in mind as he rushed around her, the ever-present grin on her face only growing wider. It wasn't a bad strategy, and one that lesser support students would have no answer too and would get taken out by a surprise attack, but she had an ace up her sleeve, shutting off the microphone even as the speakers, backed up by two more, let out a disorientating warbling sound for a brief moment, enough to knock Iida backwards, dangerously close to the edge of the ring. Thankfully for both of them, Iida was skilled enough to use the jets of his engines to counter the force of the sonic blast.
"Of course, when you've got an emergency on your hands, a dubstomp(tm) blast is the only way to send them sprawling!" Mei announced as Iida dashed towards her. "But what if they're too close for the foam I hear you ask?"
In a blur of movement, Mei grabbed one of the Fullbottles off of her belt and flicked it open as she tossed it. The Fullbottle itself was empty at the moment, but it wouldn't be for long, the bottle sucking in the ignited fire from Iida's engines as it passed and mixed it with a rush of open air, letting out a loud popping sound as the bottle burst, the force of the miniature explosion leaving Iida stumbling, and allowing for Mei to deliver another boosted punch, sending the boy skidding backwards.
"Sometimes you can think fast and use a gas storage tool like these to make a miniature explosion, giving you the advantage!" Mei explained to the audience, even as she let loose another spray of foam towards Iida… only for it to fall short as, unlike she expected, he didn't just activate his engines again to dash forward, the expanding and hardening foam quickly obscuring him from sight. "Ooohoh? Going to try and hide from me now? Don't worry, I have just the way to deal with-"
"-BURST!"
And then the one thing that Mei hadn't been expecting happened. She'd thought he'd stop using the engines because he planned to hide behind the foam, to take a moment to plan, and that she could take advantage of that and hit him with an aerial bombardment. If he tried to counter by zooming into the air her goggles would pick it up and she could counter him with ease. He'd go for something conventional.
She hadn't expected for him to take a page out of a good chunk of the rest of the hero course's book and to use his super speedy move to slam one leg into the foam wall, sending the debris flying at her and throwing up a cloud of purple dust… but to also carry him forward and land a kick with the other leg with his leftover kinetic energy, sending her sprawling across the ground, the foam gauntlet firing out and impacting into the concrete, the cable soon going taught… and landing her just outside the ring.
"Hatsume Mei is out of bounds! The victory goes to Iida Tenya!" Midnight declared.
Mei sighed at that, her usually ever-present smile faltering. She hadn't gotten to show some of the more obscure babies she wanted to use… but then there was a shadow in front of her, as Iida held out a hand to her. She smiled and took it back in turn, before he gestured at her headset. In an instant, her smile was bigger than ever, as she handed it to him.
"I must say Hatsume-san, that was a very clever tactic!" Iida declared as he thrust both arms out towards her goggles. "You were using your goggles to predict my movements and land your blows, correct?"
"Exactly! These goggles are synced so that they can help my arm braces land the hits in time to even the fastest of moves!" Mei noted, speaking into the headset microphone.
"If it hadn't been for me being willing to hurt myself to block them, I might never have knocked you out, your equipment is extremely potent!" Iida added, his voice stiff and formal, but clearly with some passion in it, one arm thrusting up and forwards alternating in a 90-degree arc. "While I might have won, you've shown that the greatest support items can compete with us, if not win!"
It was cheesy, formal, and almost sounded planned… but Mei couldn't help but smile at this boy respecting what she wanted to do and even helping out a last-minute bit of advertising.
"So youthful!~" Midnight cried out. Anyone who thought they might have seen hearts literally float about her, or for some reason a sunset laden beach, were sadly mistaken.
I just stared, slackjawed. Oh sure, I'd expected it to be a decent fight, but that was… shockingly close from where I'd seen it. Iida had to act fast, Mei was not giving him a single moment to breathe… and purely with her own Babies. And yet Iida had managed it by fighting in a more… Izuku style. Or Bakugou really.
"Ah! That's me up next!" Mina exclaimed excitedly, before clasping a hand on my shoulder. "I'll make sure I win - someone has to make sure you can't."
I just laughed and shook my head. "Oi oi, don't underestimate Shoda-san - he's smart," I warned.
"Oooh, could you tell me his Quirk then?" Mina asked, leaning over. That by itself would be fine, but I noticed the nearby Tokoyami and Momo had also leaned slightly at that.
I crossed my arms across my face, brown hair brushed past as I did. "Nuh-uh. I told you guys, not doing that. 'Sides, I want to see you win without any help, Mina." I remarked.
The pink puffy moth blinked at that and grinned with… I think that's a slight blush. Oh. Oh, wow was I… oh damn and she's gone. For fu- I was never really that good with reading emotions in the last life but could she…
"Can you tell me at least?"
I almost leapt out of my seat with a very undignified yelp as Hagakure leaned over and asked her question.