"So who do you think is going to win?" Kaminari leaned in toward Ayumu.
Ayumu shrugged, "Probably Bakugo, after training with him and really witnessing how strong he is I just can't see this fight going any other way."
Sero laughed, "Yeah, but he'll pull his punches a little for her right? She's a girl."
Ayumu gave Sero a sideways glance, "Somehow I doubt that."
As the buzzer went off, signaling the start of the fight, everyone turned their attention back to the field to see Uraraka sprinting full speed at Bakugo.
"Wow! Look at her go! And all she has to do is touch him one time!" Midoriya exclaimed from the front row.
"But it won't be easy, you know Bakugo's not going to let her get too close to him." Iida reminded.
Midoriya nodded, "Which is why he won't dodge. He'll focus his energy on counter attack."
In a sweeping motion, Bakugo set off an explosion right into Uraraka's face. Smoke filled the arena below making it hard to see what was happening.
Ayumu leaned over the back of the front row of chairs and looked at Midoriya, "How did you know he wouldn't dodge? If she wants to touch him to make him float, wouldn't it be smart to dodge? Bakugo's fast enough to get out of the way."
Midoriya flinched away from her sudden closeness, glancing at her before turning his attention back to the match, "He's not really one to back away from a fight. Plus countering is a more effective way to knock her out of the ring. If he keeps dodging he would just tire himself out."
"Hmm," Ayumu turned her attention from Midoriya and back to the match before leaning back in her seat, "That makes sense."
A second blast went off through the smoke.
"Woah! She threw her jacket over as a decoy! What incredibly quick thinking!" Present Mic's commentary came over the speakers.
Uraraka appeared out of the smoke right behind Bakugo, but he turned around just in time, knocking her away with another powerful blast. Uraraka rolled on the ground, landing on her feet a few yard away, still in bounds.
"Look at that reaction time." Sero commented.
Kaminari griminced, "Seriously, the dude's insane. You can't get the drop on him. And since Uraraka can't use her quirk unless she touches him, his lightning fast reflexes put her at a huge disadvantage."
Ayumu felt her heart pounding painfully in her chest remembering how, not that long ago, those reflexes saved her life at the USJ. Those reflexes also kicked her ass more than once when they were training together.
Bakugo appeared out of the smoke as quickly as Uraraka got to her feet, another blast dragging along the ground sending rubble into the girl's face along with the explosion itself. The smoke didn't even have a chance to clear before Uraraka rushed behind Bakugo, earning herself another explosion. Each time Bakugo hit Uraraka, she came back full force, rushing toward him. Bakugo's blasts kept gaining more and more power as he quickly reacted to each of her attacks.
Ayumu leaned forward using her elbows to support her, hands clasped together covering her mouth. The crowd was becoming anxious, calling for the teachers to step in and stop the match. A hero from the crowd called for Bakugo to end the fight, send her out of bounds and Ayumu half wished he would.
"The crowd is now booing Bakugo!" Present Mic announced as if it wasn't obvious. "And honestly, I kind of agree with what they're say-"
Mic was cut off before Mr. Aizawa spoke, "Where is the man who started this uproar? Are you a pro? Because if you're being serious, you can go home and hang up your cape. I'd suggest looking into another career."
Ayumu let out a laugh and covered her mouth.
"Do you know what he's taking about?" Midoriya asked no one in particular.
"Bakugo's fierceness is an acknowledgment of his opponent's strength. He knows she deserves to have made it this far. So he's making sure he does whatever it takes to keep her at bay and come out on top." Mr. Aizawa's words calmed the crowd.
"Hey! Look!"
Ayumu looked up to where Kaminari was pointing toward the sky to see hundreds of rocks of all sizes floating above the stadium. Uraraka released her quirk and the rocks plummeted to the earth.
Midoriya jumped up from his seat, "Hey! She had a plan all along!"
Ayumu followed the path of the rocks with her eyes back to where Bakugo and Uraraka stood. Uraraka dashed forward toward Bakugo whose attention had been taken by the debris racing toward him. He lazily raised his hand toward the sky and released a massive explosion toward the sky. Ayumu covered her face as the air and heat from the blast blew around the stadium. Her hair whipped around her head before falling back into place messily. Small pieces of rock fell to the ground still, landing haphazardly in the stands. Ayumu picked up one of the pieces that landed near her and dropped it instantly, burnt from the heat radiating off of it.
As the smoke cleared, Uraraka's body was revealed, lying a few yards away from where she had been hit with the blast. She sat up and stared into the smoke. Bakugo stayed standing, hand still in the air. Ayumu felt her mouth drop open and covered it with her hand. The whole stadium felt like it was stopped in time, frozen in absolute shock.
"Bakugo bangs out a huge demonstration of power! He blasted apart Uraraka's finishing move and remains untouched!" Present Mic's commentary echoed across the stands.
Ayumu watched as Uraraka shakely pulled herself to her feet. Bakugo began to rush her, but as soon as she took a step, Uraraka fell to the ground and Bakugo halted his attack.
"Uraraka is down!"
Uraraka pulled herself forward for a moment and Bakugo got back into a stance to fight, but Midnight stepped in, holding a hand up for him to wait. Midnight knelt down beside Uraraka for a moment before her voice filled the stadium.
"Uraraka is KO'd. Bakugo advances to the second round!"
The crowd cheered and Ayumu let out the breath she'd been holding and sat back in her seat.
"Ugh, that was hard to watch." Kaminari noted and Sero nodded.
Ayumu shrugged, "I think it was really inspiring. Uraraka did a really good job holding her own."
It wasn't long before Bakugo came down the stairs again.
Sero was the first to notice him, "Hey, Bakugo, playing the villain huh? Must have been tough."
"Even if it was just because of who you were up against, you did make a pretty convincing bad guy." Tsyu commented from across the section.
Bakugo glared at them, "Shut up, you idiots or else!"
"Seriously, dude, I don't know how you were able to aim a powerful blast at a frail girl like that. I couldn't help, but hold back against Shiozaki."
"She completely overpowered you, Kaminari." Tsyu interrupted.
"Can you just let me have this?" Kaminari squeaked.
Bakugo fell into his seat next to Ayumu, "I definitely wouldn't call that girl 'frail'."
"Well I think she did a great job." Ayumu took another sip of the sprite she'd forgotten about before making a face. It had gone warm.
Kaminari laughed, "You would think that."
Ayumu turned in her seat to face him, "What does that mean?"
"Hey, they're doing the rematch between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu." Sero interjected.
"I'm a little more interested in what Kaminari meant by his comment."
Kaminari glanced at her for a moment before turning his eyes back to the match, "I didn't mean anything by it. It was just a joke."
"Explain it to me."
Bakugo nudged her with his elbow, "Let it go. He'll short circuit trying to give you an answer."
"Hey!"
"Can you guys shut up and watch the match?" Sero insisted again.
Kirishima and Tetsutetsu arm wrestled for a few moments before Kirishima slammed Tetsutetsu's arm into the table, winning and advancing to the next round.
Ayumu turned her back on Kaminari to face Bakugo, "Hey, I already know what you're going to say, but I think you did a great job against Uraraka. It couldn't have been an easy match."
Bakugo rolled his eyes, "It could've been worse."
"Well I'm glad training together came in handy with all of the smoke your quirk caused." Ayumu smiled.
"Yeah, I guess it did."
"So the match hasn't started yet?" Uraraka came down the stairs.
Ayumu moved to say something to her, but caught sight of her face. It was clear she'd been crying. She took her seat between Iida and Toyokyami before turning her attention to the field where the first match of the second round was to begin any minute. Ayumu leaned forward and put her hand on Uraraka's shoulder.
"Hey, I thought you did a really great job out there. I don't think I would have ever been able to come up with something like that. It was really clever."
Uraraka looked up and gave her a small smile, "Thanks. I'll just have to try harder next year."
Ayumu smiled and nodded and they both turned their attention to the field as Todoroki and Midoriya made their ways to the field.