Author's note : when my beta challenges me "make the Yui fight awesome", I was skeptic.
Now it is the one of my favorite to have written.
As usual, thanks for the kind comments, and kind reviews.
PS: Yes I love MGRR and damn it helped write the fights.
Chapter 22: Let's get dangerous.
"This will be okay, Yui. We know you can do it!"
For all his faults, such as his tactlessness, his arrogance, his ability to be kind of a dick and loving to show-off, Monoma was also a good friend.
Sure, he got a lot more than his comrades in this rivalry stuff, but he also prepared a lot of plans for his team to improve and have winning odds against their enemy.
Here he was with Itsuka, trying to cheer up Yui. The emotionless girl didn't seem worried but her friends knew her better, and to be fair, she had reasons to fear the fight: Katsuki was one of the valedictorian, and unlike Izuku, who had an endurance weakness, didn't truly have one.
He was also supposed to be incredibly talented at fighting, trained openly a lot, and was a top student. In short, he was the second coming of Endeavor or Miruko, or he was something to fear if you had over two brain cells and saw him becoming a mix of the two ravenous heroes.
"Yes, I know. Don't worry so much, I won't be the only member of 1B to fail her assignment."
Yui stated her aim coldly, but inside her eyes there was a passion, one that could easily equal her opponent.
——————
In the ring, the two fighters faced off against each other, Katsuki with his shark smile, and Yui looking as emotionless as ever. Fiery passion vs a weeping angel.
"Hey, y'know, if you want to surrender, no one would blame you." Katsuki says with a small wave of his hand.
While some people might take it as pure arrogance and him looking down on his opponent (which was it, to be fair), it was also a way for him to be kind to his enemy, letting her know she had a way out of this fight before it even started.
"No. Thank you." She nods to him with her expressionless face before fiddling with her gym uniform.
"Begin!"
At that instant, Katsuki rushed toward Yui, who simply took a button from her uniform. After all, it was technically support gear, right?
When the giant button hit Katsuki in the face, he was surprised, as just as quickly, the button took back its normal size and the girl used the string as some kind of whip.
While a giant button was weaker than what he was used to destroying, Katsuki had to jump to dodge the attack, as he didn't have the time to stop the attack.
"WHAT?!"
"… I like to train."
Yui simply stated her answer, to Katsuki's surprise, before taking her hair pin, launching it with an expert hand to him, and making it as big as him when it was close to him.
Suddenly, Katsuki was forced to defend himself in midair, sacrificing his left hand to destroy the giant hairpin that flew toward him.
A colossal explosion tore into the ground as the pin was shattered, small pebbles and a few larger rocks were blasted from the stage, much to Cementoss's dismay, it was his hardest construct!
—————
Meanwhile, in the commentary booth…
"Did you see that coming?!"
"… Absolutely not, but that is superb use of her quirk."
—————
As his explosion created smoke, Katsuki managed to land safely, still processing what was happening. Sure, all the 1B proved themselves to be dangerous fighters, but this one was part of Hanta's team! Hanta! How the hell was she that dangerous?
"Here I come."
The coldness in her voice made a shiver of excitement run through Katsuki, who funneled all his passion in this fight. Oh boy, he expected little from this match, but he was so goddamn fucking wrong.
As soon he managed to get into a defensive position, Yui resumed her onslaught, as a pencil pierced the smoke, at high speed like a crossbow bolt. It passed Katsuki as he sidesteps it, and it embedded itself into the wall far behind him, which said a lot about her strength and accuracy.
"I FUCKING LOVE THAT! KEEP THIS FIGHT INTERESTING!" Katsuki screams as he blasts the smoke away with his left hand.
"Great. Because there are more coming up!"
—————
"… Monoma? Did you give her advice on how to fight?!" Izuku says over the wall that separates the two classes.
"I tried, but she told me she had her plans. I… didn't expect that. Shit, I might have to rework all of my plans to include this level of skill now!"
Izuku didn't feel better to know that even the 1B didn't know that side of their friend. After all, Katsuki was his friend/rival, and he also wanted to fight him properly.
"Kacchan, you better not fuck this one up." Izuku says as he slides off of the wall and into his seat.
—————
Meanwhile, Yui was testing Katsuki with her attacks, alternating between using furniture and her special whip to attack from various angles. She was also happy to see she had caused him to have a bloody nose, though her enemy was now blocking her attack with even more explosions, punching his way through her attacks.
He still had a smile on his face, but it wasn't arrogant anymore… It was a genuinely radiant smile, as he enjoyed himself, and that stare…
At that moment, Yui knew that in Katsuki's eye, she was the only one. Good. Because she felt the same way: she had someone to take down, and dammit, she didn't care about the rest. She had an enemy, an obstacle to destroy and she would give it all of her heart.
Her mouth moved by a micro movement on her lips as they twitched up only a millimeter, as she hummed, pleased. Yes, it was a good fight coming up.
"HEY, GIRL. WHAT IS YOUR NAME AGAIN?" Katsuki said before she tossed another random object. Funny, her style is something akin to his new uncle. Still, he could win if he moved fast enough to get in close combat.
"Yui." No last name needed, at the end of this fight they will know each other better than most in each other's classes. First name is all that's needed.
Impact after impact, Katsuki was punching his way through the onslaught of objects. He had to admit; he didn't expect her to have changed her button from plastic to tungsten, way harder.
Changing the size of things while conserving their momentum… What a dangerous quirk! And her fighting skill…
The wind coming from his left told him that another blow from the button, pretty much as big as him, was coming up.
Meanwhile, he was sweating more and more. Each of his movements was a reaction to each of her latest set of attacks. Truly, someone who didn't want to make a show, a spectacle, prove something or shit like that.
He was an enemy to destroy, and she was trying her best to do that efficiently.
"CONTINUE YUI! THAT'S WHAT I CALL A GODDAMN FIGHT!"
At that moment, Katsuki didn't expect Yui herself to appear from his smoke, with some of the debris in hand, that she threw as a grape shot at him.
The debris actually hit his face, as she didn't use her quirk on it. It made him close his eyes for a second before he felt a fist slam into his gut. She was strong, even in close combat. Sure, Izuku hit harder than her, but it was a close comparison, he had to admit.
She kicked the back of his knee hard enough that he fell backwards; she knelt down to him with one hand on his collar and the other cocked back ready to punch his nose.
"Good. Because I plan to win."
Cerulean eyes look into lava red with so much determination that they practically glow as the waterfall of onyx hair frames her porcelain face.
Katsuki gritted his teeth, and answered with an explosion powered punch to her face that staggered her enough that his feet were quickly brought up to his chest before slamming into her stomach, the force sending her flying away.
"Well, fat chance! I am going to win this!" He said, as he jumped to his feet in one motion.
If Yui was thrown a few meters back, she managed to stop her fall with a gummy bear that she turned into a soft cushion. However, she had to spit a tooth out, as Katsuki didn't hold back. Good, it meant he took her seriously. Proof #2 being him rushing for another attack, as she would have trouble defending herself.
"GRENADE BUSTER!"
Oh, that was cute, he named it. Yui managed to use a small toy-key, looking like a famous shield of a Nintendo franchise, to stop Katsuki's attack. It barely slowed the explosion, which cracked the barrier, just in time to burn the gummy bear, leaving a disturbing smell of burned sugar.
As he landed, Katsuki tried to see Yui's face. As usual, his prosopagnosia stopped him from making any sense of the details he could see on her face. Just the general look, black hair, pale skin and a little bit of red that he thinks is blood. Good, he was doing damage.
However, she exuded the same fighting aura as him. Someone to not trifle with, as they would fuck you up otherwise.
"Hey, Yui, I apologize for not taking you seriously at first."
It seemed like a good thing to do, as he saw the girl grabbing more and more rocks from her pocket.
"Apologies accepted. Thank you for taking me seriously and not treating me like a weak girl."
"Bitch, you ain't weak! I haven't had a fight this awesome since a god damn fucking long time!" his grin turns manic as his eyes hardened into a glare of determination.
"Good. Now, how about I win now?"
"AS I SAY, YOU ARE WELCOME TO TRY!"
Both actually needed the break they took to banter, to catch their breath. After that, in a movement that clearly showed that Yui played baseball, she threw a handful of rocks at Katsuki, who once again, thought of destroying them…
Before he had a different idea, and performed an explosion-assisted jump into the air, higher than ever before, then full sending into a dive kick toward Yui.
The 1B's last fighter was currently running out of defensive gear, and it was a problem she needed to solve. Thankfully, she wasn't out of resources and spat something at Katsuki… Her secret weapon.
As the exploding ash blond boy almost hit the girl, he suddenly saw a giant pink gum ball stopping him, before sticking to him. Not enough to get her a win, or stop Katsuki for more than a handful of seconds, but it was enough for her to retrieve one of the pencils she had thrown earlier.
As such, the ice queen dashed to her ultimate weapon. As she heard an explosion from behind her, she knew she might have been optimistic. However, she didn't turn back to retrieve the pencil once more, and threw it at Katsuki again.
Bakugou was already on her, as she tried to do that, and instead of letting her throw the projectile at him, he grabbed her by the wrist, before getting her on the ground.
While another girl like Mina would have said something like "Kinky~~" as Katsuki had no experience with girls, Yui was still in combat mode and instead of throwing the pen, used it to stab in the leg Katsuki who screamed in pain… Before answering with an explosive fist in the face of Yui.
——————
"Is that legal?"
"… Technically, it is Cementoss' fault for not taking all of her stuff beforehand, and failing to notice the button."
"You aren't worried by the violence used by your student?"
"Bitch, Vlad's student is as violent as him, and both of them seem to enjoy the fight a bit too much. Also, if you say what I think you are going to say, I am telling Nemuri you have a new crush and I will tell her the name."
"… Stop killing my joke."
"NEVER!"
——————
If Katsuki was on top of Yui, she was defenceless and gave back as much as she took, though the difference of frame and musculature wasn't in her favor. Each hit made the blood beat in her head until she had the idea to stop stabbing and try to use her pen as a Bő. It was at that moment that Katsuki blew it from her hands, however, leaving a burn with his bang.
Yui still managed to get enough movement to give a headbutt to Katsuki, who answered in kind, their forefront hitting each other full force, making her head slam into the ground…
——————
"… Doesn't it look like they are going to kiss?"
It was Mina who dared to say that, and Itsuka looked relieved.
"Thank god, I am not the only one who thought that. She never showed that much emotion in the classroom, nor this tendency to be such a… Blood knight."
"NO 1B SHALL DATE 1A!"
Monoma took his role as a leader seriously, but got hit sadly by his own attack when a Momo, under the brilliant advice of Mina, said with an actress' talent:
"Sad, I thought I would invite you to drink tea and discuss quirks, but since you want to create such a wall…"
Monoma looked at the girl, trying to find his words at first, while Izuku and Toru just laughed at the spectacle. All Izuku hoped, though, was for Katsuki to win.
—————
In the end, Katsuki won, as just after the headbutt, he managed to violently slap Yui with an explosion. The kuudere of 1B lost consciousness, despite trying with all of her grit to stay conscious… Mainly because Katsuki was nothing but thorough and gave her three other explosion powered slaps.
When the referees joined them, Katsuki was bleeding from his fist, his legs, his nose, his uniform was in ruins and he had the biggest smile his mom had ever seen.
"Don't you think you went hard against her, young Bakugou?"
Katsuki looked at Cementoss as if he had two heads.
"SHE WAS JUST THAT STRONG AND DETERMINED TO BEAT MY OWN ASS! DON'T YOU DARE SAY SHE DIDN'T DESERVE THAT MUCH! If I had given less, she would have definitely won! Now, if you are done being stupid, I am going to bring this strong bitch to the infirmary because we both need stitches."
He may have been battered, but damn it if he would not honor this fighter. Yui, right? He would remember the name. He never had such a determined sparring partner.
—————
"You know, I almost feel bad for you, Ibara."
Momo was drinking her tea, peacefully, while the Christian looked at her.
"Why? She clearly weakened him down!"
"Because if you don't fight with the same drive as her, Katsuki is going to be extremely pissed, and she made him sweat quite a lot. So… enjoy the super powered, angry, explosive man for your next fight."
Ibara paled before praying twice as fast.
"However, I am surprised by Yui."
"You know what they say, it is always the quiet ones that are the most dangerous."
——————
Koda sneezed while petting his rabbit.
——————
"Tsss, anyway. It will be time to fight against each other, my fated rival!"
Izuku looked at Monoma while drinking a smoothie with Toru. He was always wondering how the food seemed to disappear inside of her.
"Yes, sure, if you say so."
"… WHY DON'T YOU TAKE ME SERIOUSLY?!"
"For a simple reason, really."
Izuku had a knowing smirk, as Monoma, red, looked at him, waiting for the answer.
"Because you want me to take you seriously, and honestly, you bore me. So… Yes, no, I don't consider you as my rival. That is Katsuki's role."
Monoma screamed in rage, and someone almost punished Katsuki until they saw he was sleeping after Recovery Girl's kiss.
Hell, in fact, Katsuki and Yui were probably the two most hurt students beside Kirishima and Izuku, though they had mostly bruised themselves and no broken bones had to be healed.
——————
The two analysts of the opposite classroom faced each other on the ring, once Cementoss had, once again, managed to repair it. Once it had been dried, the students stepped onto it, but the mood each had was very different.
One side we had Monoma, angry, serious and who didn't plan to show off for the gallery. On the other side was Izuku, who was beaming and playing with his cards in his hand.
"WHY DON'T YOU TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY?! IT IS THE FINAL STAGE OF U.A.'S SPORT FESTIVAL!"
"Because I am just appreciating the moment. Too much stress is bad, y'know. Besides, we are already in the second round of the final in our first year. We technically already showed our ability to the heroes that might want to offer us an internship."
Izuku grinned before taking a deck with blue cards and a strange red and white sphere on their back out of his pocket.
"Also, it is fucking funny to annoy you."
Monoma inhaled before cracking the ground, turning into steel before smashing the ground in front of him.
"I know you are trying to trigger me, so that I rush you without thinking. That will not work on me, and I am going to beat you! For my fallen comrade!"
"Technically, shouldn't I be more legitimate than you then, since 1B only lost one fight?"
"… YOU JUST ADMITTED YOU LOST MORE MATCHES! NOW…"
"Bored now. Blaziken, Mach-Punch."
Monoma, with all his analytical mind, could understand what happened soon after that.
First off, Izuku had picked a card, and threw it while speaking. Then, a big humanoid red and white chicken appeared. The second after that, it darted in front of him and its fist (?), claws (?) hit him in his steel face.
Monoma actually felt the skin cracking under the powerful fist, before Izuku, afar, added with joy…
"STRATOPERCUT"
—————
"Nejire, we agree that was clearly a Shoryuken?"
"It is a Shoryuken… It's so bad the old versions of that game disappeared long ago…"
Hey, she loved to play old fighting games with Mirio and Tamaki. Also, it was a test to see how Tenko would react, since he supposedly knew the series, but strangely, didn't seem to want to invite them to his home. Why? Embarrassing parents/guardians? Or something else?
"I know… An old arcade that has some of the old games?"
That was also a good option, and Tenko just won a few points.
"That might be fun. Let's go there later, okay?"
"Sure! Wait. Is this a friend date?"
Tenko seemed unsure of what was happening, as Nejire only answered with a knowing smile while Tamaki and Mirio quietly laughed. They too had been on a friendly date with Nejire more than once, and no one seemed to understand how Nejire just managed to get down to her final life, only to turn it around.
Romance was inevitable, and Tenko had no way to avoid it.
—————
Meanwhile, Monoma was in a pickle. With his steel form, he barely managed to stand his ground against the monster Izuku summoned while he seemed to look at his cards, standing in the same place as the beginning of the fight.
"Hmm, who should be the next…"
Apparently, he was expecting Monoma to best his beast, but it also meant he only had one of them. Good, that was a good thing for him. Another one, and Monoma would have been toast. It also showed that Izuku had an endurance limit that prevented him from summoning too many monsters at the same time.
In other words… If Monoma beat down that monster, as their hands clenched against each other, he would have an excellent shot at winning! Or at least, he would face Itsuka and most likely lose.
"BLAZI!"
However, the fire chicken was still pumped up, and Monoma needed to deal with that first. He groaned, as he didn't want to use that quirk now, as it was one of the few that could have won against Itsuka, but it was necessary.
Monoma grew several sizes in one instant, ripping apart his top, and stopping being encased in steel. Instead, he was a giant bigfoot-like monster who still had the Blaziken's fist in his, and he promptly used that opportunity to crush the chicken that beat his face earlier, with a pleasured smile.
"Found my new card!"
To Monoma's surprise, Izuku didn't seem worried by his card being crushed to dust, or by the giant beast that was rushing against him.
"I SUMMON THEE! LUTRI!"
Suddenly, an otter appeared. That actually managed to stop Monoma in his tracks, as he saw the cute critter looking at him, and Izuku seemingly proud of using such a cute creature against him. This was followed by Monoma screaming at the summon, who slapped his face.
What?
While the slap was not powerful, something strange happened, as the otter then touched Izuku… Who grew up in the same way as Monoma, in a similar creature form.
"Lutri the Spellchaser. A quirk copying creature."
Monoma barely managed to dodge the attack, but he felt the power behind it and the fact that… Well… While Izuku was clearly no Itsuka, he clearly learned to fight more than Monoma, who was relying on quirks.
"Thanks for destroying Blaziken. It showed me how you solve your problem by using the required tools for your skills. The issue is apparently that you are the guy who never thinks of using a screwdriver to nail something if they don't have a hammer, right?"
Monoma, who was panting because of his previous fight with Blaziken, who got a few hits against him, took this opportunity to breathe… And elected to not answer, simply rushing Izuku.
He couldn't be better than him in this form! Monoma had trained besides his friend to master it, and he had the power and the pride of his classroom with it!
Izuku had one year of training with Mr Compress, and he was excellent in analysis.
His opponent was readying themselves to support with their right foot, apparently. However, when Monoma threw Mina, it was with his left hand. Feint.
Izuku, when the first fake punch was thrown, simply dodged it with minimal movements. He didn't need to know how to hurry in this new form, if he could move efficiently instead.
Then, while Monoma went for a real and powerful right hook, he felt the palm of Izuku's giant hand hitting his chin. He didn't see the counter coming, and he clearly saw the difference in fighting skills with him.
The 1A strategist wasn't that powerful physically, nor did he have an excellent technique. However, he had a few moves he had practiced a lot and then apparently trained to use in various situations.
"Here is my point, Monoma. Sometimes, you don't get to choose your tools. So you learn to improvise, adapt and overcome."
"I AMN'T DONE YE… Why is it spinning around me?"
"Direct hit in the brain. Fight efficiently, not strongly. By the way, do you write with the left or right hand?"
"… Right hand, why?"
Izuku grabbed his left arm and promptly threw him on the ground, slamming him with his newfound strength. Then, Giant Izuku hit expertly once again, hitting his weakened opponent on his left arm.
Monoma, still not beaten or broken despite the pain, though he was mainly powering through sheer grit and determination, managed to gather enough strength to strike Izuku, right under the belt.
All the men watching the match winced from the sight.
"… Isn't that against the rule, Eraser?"
"If it is not, it should be. However, I think Izuku is still going to win."
"Oh, why do you say that?"
"Because I am pretty sure an arm shouldn't look like a disarticulated puppet."
It was true, as Monoma's left arm had been dislocated in a few places… And Izuku, who felt the pain, remembered how hard his step-dad had trained him against pain, besides living as a bullied kid in a shit school.
So, Izuku did as always when that happened. He gritted his teeth hard and took Monoma's arm, while still smiling, and used it to immobilize his opponent on the ground.
Sure, Izuku could, and many people in the same position would have hit Monoma back, even harder. However, Izuku wanted it to be a heroic fight. Not a bully, a street fight. Izuku wanted it to be proper. If his opponent didn't play fair, then he would beat him within the rules, just to make the win better.
It was at this instant Monoma noticed that he couldn't use his arms and still tried to move to fight.
That's when Monoma noticed the other thing he forgot.
Lutri the otter was in front of his face, claws out.
Monoma then learned why otters are often considered apex predators, despite being mainly known for cuddling and cuteness.
With Izuku perfectly holding Monoma on the ground, who was still suffering from the otter's attack, the blond man took a bet and switched once again of quirk, choosing… Setsuna's. He didn't want to burn all of his aces now, but it was that or losing.
With Setsuna's quirk, he could heal his arms, and then he could beat Izuku and his summons!
Sadly for him, this time, Izuku didn't give him the time to use it. The moment Monoma switched form, Izuku grabbed his head and slammed it on the ground. Twice. Paradoxically, had Monoma thought of switching to Kendo's quirk or Tetsutetsu's and tried to endure the pain, he could have won.
However, as Midoriya said earlier, Monoma was the type of person who thought of using only the right tool for the job.
Meanwhile, Izuku didn't exactly plan for what Monoma would do, just what he could do, and how he could turn the tables in his favor. It had been a new unknown opponent, so he adapted, learned and overcame.
That was why Izuku was standing, and Monoma was on the ground, unconscious.
—————
"Hey ginger girl!"
"Mmmh? Hatsume, that's right?"
"You can call me Mei! Hey, give it your all! The more I force you to be serious, the better I can sell my babies!"
"With pleasure. On a side note… Do you know how to make gear that grows with you? I might need gloves now that I think about it…"
Mei smiled, as she walked with the person she was going to exchange blows soon enough.
"Hey, how about a bet? Beat me, and I make you awesome stuff. Loose, and you are going to use my stuff and my brand!"
Itsuka looked at Mei, and gave her back the same smile.
"With pleasure! Let's have a fun match!"