With the extended break, I finally got an opportunity to engage in my favorite pasttime. Hero watching. The stands were full of Heroes. Heroes I had met. Heroes I had observed. Heroes I had only seen on TV or on the internet. And also dozens of Heroes I didn't know. Either local Heroes, or those who avoided the limelight like Eraserhead-sensei did. I had looked up at the crowd between the matches, but that was rarely more than one minute.
And best of all, directly opposite me and in the front row were Japan's top twenty Heroes. Not all of them, of course. Todoroki Enji was in his private box. Part of me suspected negative reasons for this, but that may have just been a response to my encounter with him earlier. All Might was also missing, officially because as a UA teacher he was helping to run and judge the Sports Fest. But that also meant that he didn't have to spend an unspecified amount of time in his muscle form.
The rest of them were there, however. With one, notable counter exception. Seated between Ryukyu and Gang Orca was someone I didn't recognize. She had short blonde hair, pulled tight into a tiny ponytail in back. She had bright... no electric blue eyes. While her face didn't have the high cheeks of a model and her nose appeared to have been broken at least once, she was still cute. Definitely pretty, if not classically beautiful. The shape of her features suggested she was Caucasian, and the way she sat back in the chair with one leg propped up on the arena wall made me think American. She was about 160 centimeters tall, and generally on the slender side, though her bust was larger than you might expect for the rest of her. Not huge, but above average for a Japanese person. She was wearing a short sleeved, long-tailed, red, denim blouse. Underneath it she had black leggings, which shimmered in the late morning sun. And her shoes were also red, with a gold Nike swoosh. And these weren't off the shelf sneakers, either. The grey soles were thick and had a pattern I was familiar with. They were the sort used by Heroes who needed shoes that would grip firmly but also release easily. Speedsters, or those who used their super strength to lift heavy or awkward objects frequently. Though I didn't think I had met her, her face looked familiar. Particularly her lips and chin.
There was also the fact that the Heroes on either side of her, currently numbers nine and ten in Japan, were giving her frequently looks of unabashed awe. Like I would have given All Might before I began spending time with him. Or still might give Superman. Or... No way...
It could have been my imagination, but I think she noticed me looking at her, and winked.
\Advisory-sensei, I hope you are watching and can see this,/ I signed, \And, I guess, that you know JSL. But if you are and do, I'm going to need to borrow my book back after this. I'm guessing you know why. And if not, look between Gang Orca-san and Ryukyu-san. And hopefully tell me if I am wrong./
Of course she couldn't answer me, even if she saw. But I tried.
The other thing I has noticed, is that while Mei had changed and gone into the stands, all of the other defeated fighters from the first round had returned to their pods. We did have the best seats in the house. And I caught a glimpse of Tokoyami lecturing a shrunken Dark Shadow. That got me riled up a bit more.
"Okay, break is OVAAA!" Present Mic shouted. He had given the crowd a warning, but I was too focused on everything else.
"Let's have our next two contestant come on down..."
"Midoriya and Hitoshi, please make your way to the platform, before this one says anything else."
I offered a silent thanks to Aizawa-sensei for the save. Then I hurried out to the stage. Unlike with Ami, there was no mental exchange as we entered theatrically. I just jogged to one of the starting boxes, and waited for my opponent. Who, in turn, took his time.
"Are you both ready?" Cementoss asked us as soon as Hitoshi was in position, not giving us or Mic-sensei any time to talk. I nodded.
"Yes," the mind controller answered.
"Then begin."
"Let's have a good match," Hitoshi said to me.
"Do you really want that?" I asked. There was a groan from the audience, especially the section where 1-A and 1-B were seated. Except for a certain subset of individuals.
"Does it matter?" he answered, a bit of an edge to his voice. Then, more evenly he ordered, "Go jump out of the ring."
I turned my back to him, and walked four long and deliberate steps towards the edge. Then I rotated, and walked six steps towards him. He cringed. But I spun back and took the same six steps away.
I repeated the move, walking back and forth. Hitoshi-san looked first confused. Then annoyed. Then he snapped.
"What are you doing?" he barely kept from shouting. I fixed him with a dark gaze.
"Pacing," I explained, "I'm debating on how best to deal with you."
And speaking of explaining... I hadn't just answered him like an idiot. Gamer's Mind gave me a fifty percent chance to ignore mental ailments and status effects. And if it failed, I had planned to use my TK to stop myself. I couldn't be certain either would work, but I thought between the two, I figured I had a chance. And if not, I would try boosting my Determination and Luck higher, which I hoped would let me reroll my proverbial saving throw. Or maybe not even proverbially, all things considered.
Only I didn't need it. As soon as I answered him...
[Status ailment Charm resisted. Skill Charm Resistance (lvl 1) unlocked.]
After that, any time he gave me an order or I responded to him, my new skill pinged. It went up by a level or sometimes two. I was hoping to get it to level 20 or so before the fight was over, though there was the risk I would fail my resistance first. But a minimum risk chance to grind a resistance skill was hard to pass up.
And, to be perfectly honest, I was enjoying watching him sweat.
"What does that mean?" he asked, nervously.
"Well," I explained, "It sort of feels like you are targeting my class. So far you have been directly responsible for disqualifying seven students, and they are all from class 1-A. I don't think you had any influence over the tournament bracket. And the last four teams of the Cavalry Battle were all made of of at least two class 1-A students. But at the same time, as the saying goes 'Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern'. Or 'three times is a deliberate attack', depending on the situation."
He cringed.
"Not to mention, the girl you stole the headband from? She's my best friend. And so I can't help but want a little payback, even if it's not very Heroic."
"What are you going to do?" he pressed. He was hoping one of these times to catch me.
"How is Midoriya doing that?" Present Mic asked no-one. The Knights probably could have told him. They would see the alert screens, even if the font was not legible at a distance.
"Probably controlling his body telekinetically," Aizawa-sensei guessed, almost accurately, "Either that or the first order didn't work because Midoriya has convinced himself this isn't a ring. And Hitoshi is too distracted to realize he hasn't tried giving any orders since then."
"Stop," the purple-haired boy squeaked out a command after hearing that.
"Stop what?" I asked sternly, "Stop walking? Stop scaring you? Stop breathing? You need to be more clear, or things might not end up like you expect."
"Leave the stage. Jump off the platform. Run out of the arena. Go home."
Ping, ping, ping, ping.
"So I'm thinking," I ignored him "I should either princess carry you to the edge and drop you outside, to humiliate you and show just how little of a threat you are. Or I should break your jaw so you can't surrender, and then pummel you until Cementoss-sensei decides you can't take any more."
[Could use a deeper voice and some knuckle cracking, but not a bad start. Skill Intimidate (lvl 1) unlocked.]
I froze. And then looked up at the top of the arena. At a certain box. At everything I didn't want to be as a Hero.
All Might wouldn't have done this. Maybe if Hitoshi was some unrepentant career Villain and killer, who was threatening a hostage. Even then, probably not.
I sighed and let the anger flow out of me. Then I walked over. Darted around behind him. Lifted him by the back of his jersey. Carried him to the edge of the platform. And dropped him on his ass, just outside the line.
"Ha!" I heard Ashido-chan shout from the stands.
"Winner, Midoriya Izuku," Cementoss declared flatly. And did not tell us to go to the nurse, since no blows had been exchanged.
"Could you at least put a shirt on?" Hitoshi asked me petulantly.
"Sure," I said.
[Status Resistance failed. Charm Resistance improved (lvl 16).]
I couldn't even sigh as I ran blindly back to the locker room.
I returned, wearing one of my other tank tops, just at Mikoto and Hi... Shimooka-chan reached their starting positions. I hurried back to my pod, noting that number three was now empty.
"Two lovely ladies," Present Mic announced, "the battle of light versus lightning SKREEEE."
There was a sharp metallic shriek, almost like someone yanked a cable out of the socket.
"Are you both ready?"
"Yes," Mikoto said.
"I am," Shimooka-chan said.
"Then begin."
Mikoto pulled four discs off the armband. She released them, but held out hands, fingers splayed. Sparks crackled between, but not randomly. They flowed from digit to digit. And the coins were caught in the magnetic flow, circling slowly in front of Mikoto.
I hadn't seen that trick before, and wondered if she had been inspired by Ami's defense from before.
Shimooka watched her carefully. Unlike my earlier match with Ami, the photokinetic was also a ranged fighter. And the polished metal discs would reflect her light, if Mikoto could get them in the way. Or at least reflect it for a second or two before the heat of the light or laser started to melt them. Either way, it was clear Shimooka had to be careful where and how she aimed her light. Shimooka had also said she could defend with her light, but would it be enough against Mikoto's firepower?
They were like two Old West gunslingers, watching each other. Waiting for the other to blink, flinch, or otherwise leave an opening.
Hikari casually twisted her hand up, pointing her palm at Mikoto. The slender brunette caught the move. She kept three of the discs spinning around her left hand, and pulled the fourth to her right hand. She aimed that coin at the taller girl's open hand.
Hikari's palm lit up. Mikoto fired the railgun. It passed right through Hikari's hand and arm. Or what had appeared to be the photokinetic's arm. The air began to twist and shimmer. And the rest of Hikari melted away.
The entire area above the stage remained hazy. Mikoto looked around. Then all of the discs popped off the armband and began to circle around Mikoto's entire body.
"For those who might be wondering," Aizawa explained, "Shimooka is bending the light around her. But she is still learning how to do it, so she makes a mirage haze in the area as well. That way if part of her shows through, it might be reflected somewhere nearby."
"Ki Detection," I intoned. Then added, "Clairvoyance."
Both worked. Like with Hagakure-chan, Clairvoyance saw through Shimooka's invisibility. But I could also see some of the bent light, giving her a shimmery appearance. And Ki Detection wasn't really sight. Or any other sense. I could feel her life energy, and it conformed to her physical shape. My mind interpreted it as sight, seeing it as blobs of color on a field of darkness. The stronger the ki, the closer the shape was to the person's true appearance. And because of that, it was easier to use Ki Detection if I closed my eyes.
So if I was facing her next round, I didn't have to worry about finding her. I let Clairvoyance lapse, since it was more draining. But I kept Ki Detection up.
Mikoto started varying the speed of the electricity dancing up and down her arms and fingers. As a a result, the orbits of her coins was also irregular. I think she was trying to keep Shimooka-chan from finding a good opening to attack. While also staying ready to counter whatever move the photokinetic did make.
It looked like Hikari was removing her jersey. I couldn't be sure, because clothing didn't have ki. But I couldn't imagine why she would pantomime it otherwise. Unless she was testing if Mikoto could detect her.
Shimooka-san's face appeared directly in front of Mikoto. My friend flinched, but didn't attack the mirage.
Shimooka held her arms out to the side, like an old time bull fighter. Was she copying me, and trying to remove some of Mikoto's coins? Or maybe she was going to try to get Mikoto to go after it, like bull?
The answer was closer to my second theory. Shimooka threw her jacket at Mikoto. Then dove to the side. Mikoto glanced at the blue cloth, and seemed to dismiss it. Until it hit one of her discs and engulfed her right arm. Mikoto flinched and her eyes widened. She turned towards the jersey. Fired four of her rounds into it. They weren't as fast or powerful as the full Railgun (even the reduced speed, non-lethal Railguns). But the jacket had nothing behind it, so it and the shots sailed away.
Shimooka stepped up behind Mikoto. She grabbed my classmate's shoulder and left arm. She turned, and levered the slighter girl into a very pretty over-the-back shoulder throw. Shimooka released at just the right point, and Mikoto sailed out of the ring. Mikoto landed on her side, but rolled well. So between that and the softness of the turf, she wasn't hurt. That should have been the end.
"1," Cementoss rumbled.
Except that was soon as she felt her feet leave the pavement, Mikoto reacted. With training honed to nearly instinct, her body became a living taser. The photokinetic's back arced even as she released Mikoto. And she collapsed. Before Mikoto hit the grass, Hikari was in a lump on the stage floor.
"2."
"For those of you not clear on what happened," Aizawa-sensei announced flatly, "Because Shimooka was down before Misaka landed out of bounds, she gets the standard ten count. If she recovers, she wins. If she can't get up in time, Misaka gets the KO."
"4."
Shimooka shuddered, and then surged to her feet.
"Sorry, no," Eraserhead sounded slightly amused. And then the standing Shimooka vanished, revealing the real one barely on her knees. I calculated the distance from the announcer's box to the platform, so I could add that distance to my notes about Eraserhead's power. Later, after the final round.
"6."
Hikari had one foot under her, but was holding herself up on her other knee and both hands. The muscles of her bare arms twitched visibly under her pale skin. She pushed hard with both hands. Swung her other leg under her. She was now in a crouch.
"7."
Clenching her fists, and glowing slightly, Hikari stood. Then her leg spasmed, and she almost went down. Squeezing her eyes shut in determination and against the pain, she caught herself as Cementoss stopped in the middle of saying "8."
Shimooka shuddered, but manually, not automatically. Like someone shaking out their muscles but not able to move to much. Then she walked over and defiantly retrieved her jersey. She ignored the two perfectly round holes that had been punched in it. The crowd cheered as she put it on. Though I think I also heard some shouts of disappointment.
"Winner, Shimooka Hikari." Cementoss confirmed, "And you definitely need to get cleared by Recovery Girl before you compete in the next round."
Mikoto and Hi... Shimooka shook hands, and Mikoto offered the taller girl a shoulder. Together they headed for the medical office opposite the lockers.
"What did you do to her?" Recovery Girl asked immediately, seeing taller girl limping.
"Forty kilovolts at two milliamps," Mikoto said, "give or take 500 volts and point one milliamps."
"Hmm," the retired Heroine frowned, "Less that a standard stun gun, but still dangerous. And what about you?"
"I threw her about three meters, onto grass," Hikari answered.
"I'm fine," Mikoto odjected, "I rolled with it. And she has to compete next round."
"Here, take these," Recovery Girl handed Shimooka an OTC pain killer and her standard vitamin gummi, "And pucker up."
Recovery Girl gave Hikari a quick peck on the lips. Hikari blushed for a moment.
"Now lie down for a few minutes, and drink this," she pointed to a bed and gave the girl a sports drink.
"I will check you again then, and tell you if you are clear for the next match."
"And me?" Mikoto asked, to be safe. She had heard horror stories of fellow students, and even teachers, who tried to skip out on Recovery Girl.
"You're fine," the doctor glanced her over, "I'll give you an ibuprofen if you want, but you can go."
"So next we have Class 1-A's two titanesses of CQC," Present Mic had managed to plug his microphone back in, "Penryu Modura and Cain Cassandra."
Cass and Mo-chan entered the ring. Mo-chan's two swords were already floating beside her. But the swordswoman dropped into a karate stance.
"What do we have here?" Mic sounded honestly confused.
"Are you both ready?" came the almost mechanical question from the judge, "Then begin."
Mo-chan charged immediately. She launched a kick at Cassandra's midsection. Clarent circled counterclockwise and slashed at Cass's neck from behind. And the kukri went the other way, and targeted Cass's knee.
Not that it mattered. As all the Knights, and presumably Mo-chan too, knew, Cassandra might like to have someone watch her back. It made things easier. But it wasn't generally necessary.
Cass leaned deep to the left, letting Clarent fly over her. At the same time she lifted her right leg and kicked the kukri. The curved short sword did no go flying, but was stopped by her foot along its flat. Then Cassandra caught Mo-chan's foot. She pushed off the kukri, forcing the lighter blonde backwards. Pushing her leg up into a near vertical splits. Mo-chan struggled not to fall backwards, knowing that would put her in a bad position.
Cass suddenly released Mo-chan's leg. She dropped into a low spin, sweeping the swordswoman's remaining foot. As Mo-chan fell, Cass flipped forward, dodging a downward blow from Clarent. She caught Mo-chan by the arm. Flipped the other girl with her. Cassandra landed on her back, with Mo-chan on top of her. She trapped her opponent's arms with her arms, and began to apply pressure to her neck. She wrapped her legs around Mo-chan's waist, but to limit how much the blonde could thrash, and how deep of a breath she could take. The kukri darted unsteadily over, but Cassandra rolled them both to the side, using the trapped Modura as a shield.
After a few tense seconds, Mo-chan tapped out. Only after sensei declared her the winner, did Cassandra release her.
"Judo and wrestling, too?" Mo-chan wheezed, looking at Cass suspiciously. The silent girl only shrugged. But I agreed with the blonde. I had never looked at Cassandra's Skills tab (or most of the Knights, for that matter), but it seemed the number of martial arts Skills she had was functionally unlimited. I had yet to find a style she wasn't familiar with. Just ones she, in her own words, "wasn't that good with".
Though I guess she could have been boasting or teasing. She didn't do either often, but she wasn't without her pride and a wry sense of humor.
After sending Mo-chan to get checked, Cementoss signaled the booth.
"And now, for our last match of the quarter finals," Mic-sensei proclaimed, "We had Todoroki Shouto versus Kirishima Eijiro."
The two redheads took to the stage. Kirishima quickly and excitedly. Todoroki-kun took a more measured pace.
"Are you both ready?" Cementoss-sensei prompted when they were in place, "Then begin."
Kirishima instantly covered himself in a layer of Hardened flesh. A heartbeat later, he was surrounded by ice. I noticed this time Todoroki-kun only covered a bit under a third of the field, instead of over half of it. I guess he thought there was less chance of Kirishima-kun dodging it.
Except this time his opponent was prepared. Kirishima immediately shut off his Quirk, giving him a maybe a centimeter on each side of his body to work with. Then he activated Harden again, only more so. The ice cracked as the sterner material of my manly classmate slammed into it from all sides. Kirishima repeated the move, only this time he added a bit of a punch into it. The ice above his arm shattered. He shrunk down again, and started to pull himself free.
Todoroki-kun wasn't just waiting. He skated across the smooth top of the ice block. And as his opponent broke free, slammed him in the chest with a twenty kilogram snowball. It scattered like the wind, but the force sent Kirishima sliding. He Hardened his hands and tried to dig his spike-like fingertips in. But the top of the ice was too smooth, and he was moving too fast. There was a bit of ear-splinting scraping at the end, but he still scooted off the iceberg and right off of the platform.
"Winner, Todoroki Shouto."
"That was a really manly snowball," Kirishima grinned at Todoroki-kun. The other boy's eyes softened. Just a little. And he inclined his head to Kirishima.
"Shimooka-chan has not returned from her check-up yet," Cementoss noted, "We will need to check on her."
"If you don't mind," Todoroki-kun said in his normal, flat tone, "and she doesn't mind, it seems Cain-san and I are both ready to go. Perhaps we could hold our match now, while someone confirms Shimooka can continue?"
Cassandra looked at him thoughtfully. Then she exited her pod.
\I see no problem with that,/ she signed, \once the arena is cleared, of course./
Todoroki-kun walked back onto the grass. Cementoss lifted his hands. First the stage closed, almost like a giant bear trap. The ice was crushed into powder and a few small chunks. Then it bent the other way, rising in the middle, dumping the snow and ice onto the lawn. After it settled, Ishiyama-sensei spread his hands flat. Smoothing the few spots where crushing the ice cracked or gouged the concrete.
"OKAY!" Mic-sensei shouted in English, before reverting to Japanese, "Slight change of plans. We are going to hold the second semi-final match first. Cain Cassandra will take on Todoroki Shouto for a spot in the final round."
"Are you both ready?"
Cementoss received matching nods.
"Then begin."
Iida-kun was the fastest in our class. Maybe in UA at that moment. Even if I gave it my all, including using Ki Reinforcement and TK Aura to the point of breaking myself, I couldn't beat him in a race. And that was before I learned about his Recipro Burst in the second round.
But in terms of reaction speed, in terms of starting to move, Cassandra had the rest of us beat. Not because she was quicker. No, it it was because she knew that she needed to move before we did. And due to her precision, she couldn't jump the gun. At least not accidentally. So she had unlearned that fractional hesitation we all had. If she ever learned it to begin with, I suppose. Between those two advantages...
The literal instant after Cementoss finished mouthing the word "Begin", milliseconds before the sound reached her ears, she moved. Based on the last two rounds, it was a safe bet that Todoroki-kun would launch a massive block of ice. He would try to encase her, or if he was creative, just push her off. Sure enough, less than a second later, a third glacier covered the field. From the ground up to the height of her neck.
Cassandra was prepared. As she felt the ice solidify in the air and move towards her, she jumped. It was a close thing. Her Quirk gave her control and flexibility, not speed. If she had jumped any later or the ice had moved any faster, she would have been hit. She landed on the ice, still running forward. She had to reach Todoroki-kun before he could come up with a new, better plan. Cassandra could break ice, but she had limits. If nothing else, the length of her limbs. Would he know that?
His response was not what I expected. He gritted his teeth and lifted his right hand. And the platform of ice began to rise, to angle up. He wasn't lifting it. He was just making more ice. Maybe on top, maybe on bottom, likely both, though I couldn't be sure. The important point was that Cassandra was no longer skimming a flat surface. She was running up an increasingly angled slope.
And she was losing momentum. Still, she was moving forward. Todoroki stepped back. Closed his left eye. Frost formed on his skin. And the glacier began to grow backwards, as well as up.
'I'm not going to look like that cartoon coyote,' Cassandra said flatly. And for a moment, I couldn't help but picture it. Her arms and legs moving so fast they were almost a blur, even though she was stuck in place. The ice smoking as she started to slide back.
Reality was much less comical. If she had cleats on her shoes, she might have been able to cover the last little bit and get a good jump. But she knew she couldn't make it as she was. Cass stared at Todoroki-kun through the translucent ice, and stopped. Still standing, not even a bit off balance, she slid back down the ice face. It was about a 40 degree angle now, so she picked up speed quickly. At the bottom she hopped off onto the grass.
"Winner, Todoroki Shouto."
Cassandra turned to look at me, and declared, 'Izuku, avenge me.'
Her tone was joking, but there was also an edge to it. She would have been more satisfied if he had fought her and she lost, instead of using traps to force her out.
'Don't count your chickens,' I told the her, and the rest of the Knights. And inclined my head.
Standing at the entrance to the arena floor, tall and resolute, stood Shimooka Hikari. Staring at me.
Status Changes for Midoriya Izuku:
Skills:
Ki Detection (D/I): 31 → 34
JSL (W/A) LB: 16 → 17
Physics, Basic (W): 7 → 8
Charm Resistance (D/W): → 16
Intimidate (C/I): → 1
