Chapter 22: Crouching Ochaco, Hidden Dragon
Ochaco took a deep breath as she sat in the waiting room. She knew that her bout with Bakugo was coming up soon and she felt as if that she had trained well enough for her to be ready. But yet, here she was, incredibly nervous. There could have been a number of different reasons as to why she was feeling this way.
'Could it be the crowd?' She pondered to herself. 'No, that can't be it. I wasn't nervous during the Obstacle Course or the Calvary Battle. Maybe…I'm scared of Bakugo.' She remembered the ferocity that Bakugo had when Izuku went up for his Quirk Apprehension Test when they first started attending U.A., the anger in his eyes and just how badly he had beaten Izuku during the Battle Training. If he had no reservations for beating someone that Izuku had considered his friend, then what was he going to be like going up against her? But those thoughts were briefly on pause as the door opened up.
"Oh, my apologies Uraraka!" Tenya said as he saw her in the room,. "I'm afraid I did not know you were in he- Oh my god, why are you staring at me like that?!" He quickly exclaimed as he saw the unnerving stare that she was unknowingly giving him. Ochaco realized what she was doing and quickly stopped.
"I'm sorry!" She quickly apologized. "I tend to make weird faces from time to time, I'll try not to do it again!"
"If it is involuntary, then there is no need to apologize." Tenya reassured her. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you doing here?" Ochaco began to look at the table to try and avoid eye contact with the Class Secretary.
"Um…What exactly are you doing here?" Ochaco asked.
"I'm waiting for a call from my family and my brother, he hopefully should be calling anytime soon now. No doubt he'll be talk about how, 'Great it is that the Iida family's pride will be kept up by the next great Ingenium.' Despite how my…match went." Tenya responded with a slight smile on his face. But it then went back to a more quizzical expression. "But it's obvious that you are trying to deflect the question, so would you be so kind as to what exactly you are making that face for?" Ochaco gulped as she realized that her trick didn't work.
"I um…I do it when I get nervous. And right now…I'm scared to fight Bakugo." She admitted rather sheepishly. Just as she was about to go more into depth about what she was feeling, Izuku suddenly entered the room.
"Ah, U-Uraraka. I was w-w-wondering how you were doing?" Izuku stammered out in a rather concerned tone.
"Um, I'm okay right now. How did the other matchs after Iida go?" Ochaco asked.
"Well, Ashido was able to easily beat Aoyama with her acid, which melted his belt…and which then resulted in everyone seeing his underwear, which looked rather expensive and comfortable if you asked me." Izuku commented. "And I can't believe I didn't think about his belt being his strength as well as his weakness. I mean, it makes so much sense. I-"
"Midoriya." Tenya exclaimed, trying to get him back on track.
"Oh, sorry. Um…Yaoyorozu lost her match with Tokyami." Izuku hesitantly said, which shocked Ochaco.
"Is she okay?" She asked, concerned for the health of her friend.
"Well, Sento went to go to check up on her, and it's been a while since anybody has seen the two of them." Izuku answered.
"Oh, I see." Ochaco responded in a rather somber tone. Izuku couldn't help but notice her looking rather nervous.
"I-Is everything o-o-okay?" He asked. Ochaco couldn't help but sigh.
"My match with Bakugo is coming up and…to say that I'm nervous would be a complete understatement." She began to explain, with both of the boys paying attention as she spoke. "I think we aren't the only ones who have noticed the brutality that he has in all of his battles. He doesn't hold back. It's terrifying to have to face him again. I mean, I remember how your battle with him went during our Battle Training. He looked like he wanted to kill you. It's not something I really wanted to see again." Izuku couldn't help but feel bad for his friend for she was about to go through. He then reached behind his back and pulled out his notebook containing details about all his classmates.
"You can use this, if you want to." Izuku said, surprising both Ochaco and Tenya. "It has notes on everyone in 1-A, including Kacchan. And it has notes about what everyone's strengths and weaknesses. It hopefully will be able to help you come up with a strategy to beat Kacchan in a head-to-head fight. I know it won't be much, but-"
"Thank you, but I can't do that." Ochaco suddenly spoke up, taking Izuku by surprise.
"What?" Izuku couldn't help but question. Ochaco gave a small smile.
"You've been a good friend Izuku, a really good friend." She had begun to explain. "But I can't help but feel as if I had relied on you too much during the Calvary Battle. Don't get me wrong, I was really glad to help you out, but I felt as if I wasn't able to really let myself stand out to the potential heroes I could intern under." She then got up from her seat and began to walk to the door. "I plan to beat Bakugo by myself. And I'll be sure to see you in the finals." She said as she gave the two a thumbs up, but it was clear to see that she was still nervous as she was slightly shaking. She then exited the room, leaving the two boys alone.
"She certainly has some great ambitions." Tenya remarked. "Hopefully, her skills will match up with what she wants to achieve."
"Yeah. Same here." Izuku muttered under his breath. "But knowing Kacchan…I can't help but worry for her." Tenya patted him on the back.
"I understand your concerns, but hopefully Bakugo will know to hold back in his fight against her." Tenya said to reassure Izuku. But Izuku couldn't help but feel worried as his friend became ready for her fight.
(X)
"There you are!" Mina excitedly exclaimed as Sento and Momo walked back to their seats. Mineta was about to get up to use the restroom, but Mina accidently knocked him into one of the backs of the seats, which resulted in the pint-sized hero in training being knocked out. Mina quickly took a seat right next to Momo with a small grin on her face. "Bet you two had a very touching moment with each other, didn't you?" Momo's becoming rather flush.
"I…would rather not talk about it." She responded, but Mina raised her eyebrow making it known that she wasn't going to leave unless she got an answer. "…Yes, a very tender moment."
"Did you two hug?" Mina questioned.
"…Yes. For a while." Momo hesitantly replied.
"How did his body feel?" Mina probed.
"It was very…Why do you keep asking me these questions?" Momo asked, deciding to flip the tables. Mina confidently smirked.
"Because it's cute that you two nerds are discovering your feelings for each other in a very cute and heartwarming way." The alien-looking hero in training responded. But Momo suspected that she had other intentions.
"…Do you have feelings for him as well?" Momo questioned. Mina's eyes shot open wide and began laughing nervously.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I wouldn't want to take your first love away from you." Mina quickly blurted out, leaving Momo confused.
"First love?" She asked herself. Mina then diverted her attention back to the arena.
"Hey, would you look at that! The next match is about to begin, we wouldn't want to miss out on a single second now, wouldn't we?!" Mina exclaimed, but Momo wasn't done with her questioning.
"Do you really think he has-"
"Kick his butt Kirishima! Or Banjo! Or whoever just so that way I look like a good friend to either one of you! Let's go boys!" Mina shouted to her heart's content. Momo realized that she wasn't going to get anymore answers from her friend, so she decided to put her attention to the upcoming battle.
Match 7: Eijiro Kirishima vs. Ryuga Banjo
"In this corner, with a height of 170 centimeters! He's the Red-Headed Menace of Class 1-A! With a spirit as unbreakable as his Quirk! It's….EIJIRO KIRISHIMA!" Present Mic shouted into the microphone, with both the crowd and Kirishima pumped up for the upcoming fight.
"Hell yeah! That's super manly!" Kirishima shouted as he pounded both of his fists together.
"And in the other corner, coming in at 174 centimeters! The Deadly Dragon whose fire burns brightest in the darkness! The man with the Fist of Fury! It's…RYUGA BANJO!" Mic shouted. Aizawa leaned over and covered his microphone.
"What's with the voice now?" Aizawa questioned. That's when Mic leaned over with a slight smirk on his face.
"I know that Banjo does boxing on the side, so I figured why not do the boxer announcer voice to make it seem more fun?" Mic replied. Aizawa gave him a dead panned stare.
"You're an idiot." He said as he went back to his station. Mic just continued to smirk.
"You wouldn't know what to do if I wasn't there by your side." He responded. The audience were going crazy as Banjo cracked his knuckles with a confident smirk on his face.
"Just so you know Kirishima," Banjo began to say as he transformed, "I get the feeling like I can't lose! And when that happens, that's when I know for sure my opponent's going down!" Kirishima couldn't help but chuckle at Banjo's remark.
"I wouldn't expect it any other way, bro!" Kirishima replied. The two fighters got into stances to signify to one another that they were ready to finally face off with one another.
"FIGHT!" Midnight shouted. The two fighters ran towards each other. Kirishima hardened one of his fists while Banjo cocked his fist back. As the two finally came close together, as if they were of the same mindset, the two fighters punched each other square in the face. The right eye of Banjo's helmet slightly cracked. Banjo saw an opportunity and punched Kirishima square in the stomach. Even through the armor, Banjo could tell that Kirishima had hardened his stomach just in time, but that didn't seem to matter a Kirishima shuffled back in pain a couple of steps.
"Damn, you got one hell of a punch." Banjo remarked as he now noticed the crack in his lense.
"Same bro," Kirishima said as he tried his best to catch his breath, "I mean, I don't know anybody that was able to take my breath away…Not that way." He said as he realized he made the statement more suggestive than he intended.
"Nah, it's cool man." Banjo said as he shrugged his shoulders. He then proceeded to try to do a spinning roundhouse kick on Kirishima, but his opponent saw the attack coming and dodged the attack.
"HEY, THAT'S MY MOVE!" Mirko screamed from her seat in a rather angry voice. She tried her best to climb over the railing, and it took the combined efforts of Hawks, Ryukyu and Crust to hold her back. Even then, they were having a hard time from keeping her from jumping onto the field.
"Damn bro, not even a breather?" Kirishima asked he tried to throw a jab to Banjo's face. Banjo ducked underneath the jab. The Dragon themed boy then kneed Kirishima in the stomach.
"Sorry, sometimes guys don't give you breaks." Banjo said in a rather relaxed voice. Kirishima raised an eyebrow.
"Are you talking about Faust?' Kirishima asked. Banjo gave an uneasy groan.
"It's…complicated." Banjo began to say as his mind began to drift off.
(X)
3 Weeks After Banjo met Sento
The fighter swatted at the robotic dragon that his friend had created just a week ago. To say that the two weren't getting along was a major understatement. As the robotic dragon flew away from the slap, he spewed a small amount of blue fire out of it's mouth, almost catching Banjo's sleeve ablaze.
"Geez, don't do that again!" Banjo exclaimed in a rather angry voice. "This jacket is worth more than the scrap that made you, you overgrown tin can!" The dragon looked rather offended and flew away from the boy and landed on top of a crate in the warehouse.
"You two need couple's therapy." Sento said as he sat on top of a crate, thinking it was a bit of a funny remark. Banjo, however, gave a rather livid look.
"Why the hell does that thing always try to light me on fire? I mean, I barely have done anything to it!" Banjo complained. Sento raised an eyebrow.
"You mean besides constantly swatting at him, screaming when you first saw it and trying hit it with that rolled up magazine?" Sento asked. Banjo sheepishly looked to the side.
"Good point…But that thing should be sorry. That was my recent issue of Heroes Illustrated and it was the swimsuit edition too!" Banjo grumbled. Sento looked rather shocked by the statement. Banjo raised an eyebrow. "What? Many people get those kinds of magazines! Plus, it had Midnight, Uwabami, Pixie-Bob from the Wild Wild Pussycats! Some of the hottest heroes in the business! Do you have any idea what that layout does to a guy like me?"
"Scratch that idea about couple's therapy, "You" need therapy." Sento remarked, putting huge emphasis on the you. Banjo raised an eyebrow.
"You know, that's rather hypocritical coming from you." Banjo said.
"What do you mean?" Sento questioned. Banjo shook his head.
"You're the Mt. Lady fan, and she constantly is flaunting that…Rather great looking butt…But yet you also are asking me to buy her merchandise for you because you are embarrassed that Owner will catch you with that kind of stuff." Banjo retorted. The two stared at each other while Dragon just watched on in curiosity.
"…Touché." Was all that Sento said as he got up from his seat and started walking toward Dragon. "You wanna come down, buddy?" He asked the mechanical being. Dragon looked at him and flew down into his creator's hand. Sento then looked at Banjo.
"Why can't you two be like this?" Sento asked as Dragon looked at Banjo as well.
"It's because you're it's creator! Obviously he'll bow to your every wish! Also, why the hell are we in a warehouse?" Banjo angrily asked. Sento rolled his eyes at the question.
"Because if the two of you do decide to finally your armored form, there won't be a ton of damage in my lab. Also, it's so that way we can easily transition into the next scene more seamlessly by having us not too far away from the next action scene." Sento remarked.
"I-…Wait, what?" Banjo, in a confused state, questioned. Even after being friends with Sento now for 3 weeks, he was still getting used to the brainiac's unique mannerisms. All of a sudden, the two heard a sudden rumbling that was a couple of blocks away from their current location. The two boys looked at each other with a look on each other's faces, both very different. While Sento had a very smug look, Banjo had a rather annoyed look. "Don't." He said as the two boys began to run to see what the cause was. "I hate when you're right." Banjo muttered underneath his breath.
The two boys reached where the commotion was coming from, but they had hidden themselves behind a corner to avoid getting spotted. The way they were positioned was a bit…
"Why the hell are you sitting on my shoulders?" Banjo quietly asked. All he got in response was shush from Sento. The two looked and saw what looked like the culprit of a recent crime. The man was huge, looking about he was around 259 centimeters tall. He was some kind of combination of man and alligator. His hands were covered in wraps covered in dried blood, more than likely from previous victims. He was shirtless, showing off a rather muscular physique. He wore dark pants, torn at the very bottom of the legs. The being was preoccupied with looking at his recent acquirement.
"Oh, come to Papa." He muttered under his breath as he began counting all the money he gathered.
"Geez, that's one ugly motherfu-" Banjo began to say, but Sento quickly covered his mouth to stop them from being heard. That's when the creature stopped what he was doing and started sniffing. Banjo took Sento's hand off his mouth by force. "What the hell is he doing?" Banjo questioned.
"It looks like he's…trying to look for a scent?" Sento hesitantly said. Banjo raised an eyebrow.
"What does that mean?" Banjo asked. That's when he heard Sento suddenly smelling him. "What the hell are you-"
"Are you wearing cologne?" Sento questioned, with a slightly worried look on his face.
"Yeah, it's to impress the ladies." Banjo replied. Sento's expression just got worse.
"Banjo, that is probably the worst thing you could wear right now." Sento suddenly stated. Banjo was about to say something, but Sento cut him off. "I got bored a couple of nights ago and decided to learn about reptiles for some reason. And one of the things that I learned about them is that Crocodylians have a great sense of smell."
"…How great is their sense of smell?" Banjo quietly asked.
"Around 4 miles." A deep voice suddenly said. The two boys eyes widened as they slowly turned their attention to where said voice came from…And the creature was standing right in front of them.
"…How the hell did we not hear you sneak up on us?" Banjo questioned. The creature just shrugged in response.
"Maybe it was because you were too busy making out with your boyfriend to notice." He responded. The two boys looked at each other, the quickly proceeded to freak out.
"W-We're just friends!" Banjo began to quickly explain. "Plus, I don't roll that way at all!"
"Same here! Even if I was, he's not my type!" Sento also explained.
"See? We-…Wait, what do you mean that I'm not your type?" Banjo suddenly questioned his friend. Sento looked at him with a deadpanned expression on his face.
"Are you being serious right now?" Sento asked. The creature rubbed his eyes in frustration.
"Yeah, I think you are focusing on the wrong thing right now." He simply said.
"Oh, right sorry." Banjo said as he turned his attention back onto what was more than likely about to become a fight. "Guess I should focus on the big ugly elephant in the room." He quipped.
"Wow, attacking someone on their looks," The creature retorted, "way to the high road there. Plus, you don't even know me kid."
"That's actually a good point, who are you?" Sento began to question. "I mean, I can you assume that you just robbed a bank thanks to the dead giveaway that's behind."
"Oh no, that wasn't me." The robbing creature pleaded. "It was another guy. I think he said his name was 'No Shit Sherlock.' As for who I am, people call me Gator. Figured this money would be a great way to pay for my next vacation. But as of right now, what's stopping that from happening is two annoying teenagers." The two teenagers just stared at Gator with a mixture of shocked and scared.
"…Maybe you should do that thing now." Banjo muttered.
RABBIT! DIAMOND!
Gator quickly tried to punch Banjo, but Sento quickly stepped in the way of the punch and blocked it with a hard-light barrier. Gator was a bit shocked to see this, but nonetheless, he just gritted his teeth and proceed to punch once again.
"Think that fancy thing is going to save your ass?" Gator roared as he grabbed the shield by the corners and threw Sento into a wall. Gator then looked at Banjo. "You're next after I break your boyfriend." He stated, before turning his attention back to Sento. He rushed at the boy, but Sento just jumped out of the way at the very last second. "Stand still you little bastard!" Gator shouted as he grabbed a dumpster and threw it at him. Sento was caught off by this and as a result of this, the dumpster hit him, and he became trapped between the wall and the dumpster. Sento let pit a quick yell to signify that he was in pain. Before he could even make another move, Gator punched Sento in the face, knocking the boy out instantly. Had it not been for the suit that Sento was wearing, his head would have been crushed instantly. Banjo could do nothing but watch in horror as his friend was being brutalized by this alligator/human hybrid.
"STOP IT!" Banjo screamed as he pulled out the Dragon Fullbottle. Gator turned his attention back onto the fighter and chuckled.
"What are you going to do about it?" Gator questioned.
"Isn't it obvious?" Banjo asked. "I'm going to beat the shit out of you." He had said, trying to sound tough. Gator just laughed harder as a result of that remark.
"You can't be serious." Gator remarked.
"You're damn right I'm serious." Banjo retorted. "That's my best friend you're hurting. And I'm not going to let some alligator freak kill him."
"Oh, so you're calling me a freak based on my appearance. That's just-"
"STOP MAKING ME SEEM LIKE I'M A BAD GUY!" Banjo snapped. Gator just roared in response as he proceeded to charge at Banjo. The boy then shook the Dragon fullbottle and prepared to punch him in the face. That's when the Dragon flew in-between the two combatants, spewing out a giant wall of blue flames. The two stopped dead in their tracks to avoid getting burned. "What the hell was that for?!" Banjo questioned the mechanical Dragon. It roared in response as it quickly fell back around the corner and flew back, bringing back a surprise.
"What the hell is that?" Gator asked as the Dragon placed a driver into Banjo's hands. The boy just smirked in response.
"Your worst nightmare." Banjo remarked as he placed the driver on his waist. Dragon then flew into Banjo's hand and took the Dragon fullbottle from his grasp. Dragon then threw the bottle into the air and it landed perfectly into the slot on its back. Banjo then flipped up the head and tail into the Dragons body and placed it into the driver.
CROSS-Z DRAGON!
Gator raised his eyebrow as Banjo began to turn the lever as tubes began forming out of the driver until they were fully completed.
ARE YOU READY?
Banjo smirked as the question rang out and got into his boxing form.
"HENSHIN!" The boy yelled as the two halfbodies came together and the shoulder armor was the finishing touch.
WAKE UP BURNING!
GET CROSS-Z DRAGON!
YEAH!
Banjo cracked his knuckles as ran forward.
"I get the feeling that I can't lose!" The boy said as he punched Gator straight in his stomach. The reptilian man was caught by surprised by how powerful the punch was as he tried to catch his breath that he just lost. But Banjo didn't even give him a chance as he punched Gator in his ribs, causing a few to crack as his fist made contact. Gator tried to swing at Banjo, but the boy dodged at the last second and kicked Gator in the shin as hard as he could.
Gator let out a harsh scream as he was forced to go down on his knew to relieve the pain. Banjo then turned the lever once again.
READY GO!
Banjos fist was covered in a blue flame as brought his fist into Gators face. The punch was so powerful that a couple of the reptilians teeth were knocked out of his head along with some blood. Gator tried his best to get back up, but it was easy to tell that he had no more energy left in him as he fainted and hit the ground with a heavy thud.
"I…don't have a clever pun for this." Banjo sheepishly said as he stood over the knocked-out foe. He then strolled over to the dumpster that had pinned Sento and casually pushed it to the side. He then hoisted his friend over his shoulder and proceed to walk away. "Come on buddy, let's get you home." Banjo muttered. He then looked down to the Dragon in his driver. "Thanks for the help. You did good." He begrudgingly said as he quickly picked up his pace as he could hear sirens approaching their location.
(X)
Banjo smiled softly as his flashback ended…Only to be taken back to reality as he was decked straight in the face.
"OW!" Banjo screamed as he looked back to Kirishima. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHTING!" Kirishima barked back. "You were staring into space for a like a minute!"
"I WAS HAVING A FLASHBACK! YOU DON'T PUNCH SOMEONE WHEN THEY'RE HAVING A FLASHBACK!" Banjo shouted.
"…What?" Kirishima questioned.
"WILL YOU TWO GET BACK TO FIGHTING?!" Midnight screamed at the boys, scaring the both of them.
"Yes mistress!" Banjo shakenly said as the two fighters brought their attention back to each other.
"Let's do-…Wait, did you just call her mis-" Kirishima was cut off as Banjo punched him in the face. Kirishima realized this too late as he had failed to activate his Quirk. Kirishima tried to go for a left hook as he hardened his fist, but Banjo saw the attack coming as he backed away from the punch. Banjo then swept Kirishima's legs out from underneath him, causing the redhead to fall flat on his back. Banjo then wound his leg as he kicked Kirishima as hard as he could in the side. Thanks to the enhancements that the suit brought, the kick was powerful to knock Kirishima out of the ring.
"RYUGA BANJO WINS!" Present Mic called out. Banjo threw his fist up in the air as the crowd started to go wild.
"You're damn right I did!" He exclaimed. "…Oh yeah, right!" He muttered to himself as he went to go help Kirishima off the ground.
"LET'S GO BANJO!" Nejire cheered. Mirio smirked at his friend and the support she was giving.
"Glad she certainly has that spirit," he remarked to Tamaki, " we should try our best to be examples for our juniors and-…You are hiding in your hoodie again, aren't you?" He asked, not even looking at Tamaki. His friend let out a rather pathetic noise in response as he hid deeper into his hoodie.
"Well, that was a rather exciting round. Two combatants that had Quirks that can be rather effective pitted against each other." Present Mic commented, as Aizawa was too busy trying his best to get his eyedrops open. "But with our second to last round over, everyone can't help but wonder who the last person moving onto the next round will be. Well, after these words from our sponsors, we will find out as next round is-"
(X)
Match 8: Katsuki Bakugo vs. Ochaco Uraraka
The two combatants stared at each other; no words being exchanged as Ochaco tried her best to come up with a strategy in her mind. She knew that this was going to be a brutal fight, and that she will have to go all out.
"You're the girl that messes with gravity, right?" Bakugo suddenly asked, throwing Ochaco off a bit. He then just scowled at her. "You might as well give up now, because I'm not holding back." Ochaco matched his expression.
'Neither am I.' She thought to herself as she steadied her nerves.
"START!" Present Mic screamed. Ochaco immediately started to charge at Bakugo, not even trying to get him a chance to react.
"Do you think she'll be able to do it?" Jiro asked aloud to her classmates, who were watching intensely alongside her. "I mean, we've seen him in action, and I don't know if he'll even let her get a chance…Or even-"
"He'll want to keep his distance from her," Izuku began to say, "Even just touching him accidently and she'll send him floating." Bakugo then prepared himself to throw a right hook. Ochaco remembered how he had used this in the Battle Training against Izuku and knew that she could try to exploit this. But it was of no use as she was caught in the face with an explosion. The crowd reacted in a rather negative way.
"Going that harsh on a girl? Seriously?" One of the crowd members muttered as they continued to watch. Ochaco internally cursed herself out for not being able to use this to her advantage. Bakugo took a couple of stepped forward as he was ready to finish this.
"Now die." He muttered to himself as he saw her gym uniform as the smoke began to clear. He immediately attacked…Only to be shocked to see that it was just her jacket. The crowd watched on as Ochaco tried to pull a sneak attack from behind and use her Quirk on him. But it seemed that Bakugo caught on quick as he let off an explosion and sent the girl flying. Ochaco tried to steady herself, but it didn't matter as he used another explosion. Their classmates watched in horror as Bakugo just continued using more explosions to attack Ochaco. Jiro covered her eyes as she couldn't watch it anymore.
"So he really is that kind of guy…" Mineta muttered as he grew angry. He wasn't the only one as Banjo was trying his best to keep himself in his seat so that way he didn't walk down to the arena and beat the shit out of Bakugo. But no matter how many times Bakugo used another explosion, Ochaco got back up. She wiped the sweat and dirt off her cheek.
"I'm not done yet!" She exclaimed as she tried to catch her breath. The crowd could tell that the girl was just desperate to win at this point.
"Hey, shouldn't you stop this?" A crowd member called out to Cementoss. "This is getting too painful to watch." But the plea fell on deaf ears as the match continued. It was at this point that one member of the audience couldn't take it anymore.
"Hey! That's not the way someone aspiring to be a hero should act!" A pro-hero called out. "If you're really that much stronger than her, just throw her out of the ring already! Stop toying with the poor girl!" This sudden outcry got a small majority of the crowd to turn on the boy, as they began to boo him.
"To be honest, I agree with-" Present Mic began to say, but he was quickly cut off as Aizawa elbowed him and took the microphone from him.
"Which one of you said that?" He began to question. "If you're a pro, how much experience do you have?" The crowd began to die down as they listened to him. "It that's what you're taking away from this, you might as well go home and start looking for a new job. She has come this far, and he knows her strength. This caution shows that he recognizes her a worthy opponent. It's because he wants to win so badly that there can be no room for carelessness or holding back." But the two combatants weren't paying attention as they just continued to stare each other, showing the determination that they had. That was when Ochaco finally moved as she began to put her hands together.
"Thanks Bakugo," She began to mutter, "For not dropping your guard!" She exclaimed as her fingers finally made contact with each other.
"What?" He asked. That's when he realized something. Whenever she tried to attack, she kept low to the ground. And thanks to the many explosions, the ground would turn into rubble…Which could be used as some kind of ammunition thanks to her Quirk. He looked up to the sky as he saw hundreds of pieces of rubble quickly falling towards him. Ochacos hopes rose as she knew that even if he tried to dodge or intercept the attack, there would more than likely be an opening she could exploit and there could be a chance to win. But those hopes were quickly dashed as Bakugo put his hand to the sky and let out a giant explosion, destroying the pieces of rubble and knocking Ochaco off balance. "I knew that you came up with some kind of plan…You've been hanging out with Deku to come up with that idea, right?" He questioned as a serious smile spread across his face. "Right now, it's time to get serious…Uraraka." The girl knew that she was at her limit, but she still needed to win this. To help those that matter in her life. Her Dad. Her Mom. All she wanted to do was to help them and their smiles helped fueled her spirits…But as she took a step forward, her eyesight began to fail her as she feel to the ground. The crowd watched as the girl then tried her best to crawl to her opponent in some last bid to try and beat him. Midnight immediately went to the girl to check on her condition.
"Mom…Dad…" She muttered as she stared at the ground. Seeing the state that the girl was in, she immediately called over two robots to take her to the infirmary, and she made the call.
"Ochaco Uraraka is unable to move onto the second round." She stated. "Katsuki Bakugo is the winner." Bakugo couldn't help but stare in bewilderment at the statement. But as the call was made, the crowd did not react in any kind of way. They saw the brutality that the boy had used on the girl. For the first time since the Festival started…The crowd was silent.
(X)
Elsewhere…
Tensei Iida was having a hard time breathing. He could feel his blood starting to fill up his lungs. It hurt to even move in the slightest. His legs…He tried his best to move them. But there was no movement. He couldn't feel his legs. The Turbo Hero worst fears were becoming a reality as he looked at his attacker. The glowing red eyes piercing straight into his soul.
"Hero. Do you even know what that word means?" His attacker began to say. Tensei was helpless as the only thing he could do was listen to the rantings of a mad man. "A hero is someone who always goes out of there way to protect the innocent. Someone who constantly risks their lives in order to stop those that wish to that seek to wreak havoc on this society. But people have forgotten what that word means. These shams that call themselves "heroes" are nothing more than glory hounds that want nothing more than money and fame." The Hero Killer knelt down to get a closer look at his prey. "I will weed out the fakers who dare take the title of hero and show the world what it means to truly be a hero. And know that as you lie here, bleeding out helplessly, know that you will not be the last hero that I kill in the pursuit of my goal." And with that, Stain proceeded to climb up a fire escape to the rooftop. He needed to get away from the scene. His purpose needed to be continued.
He jumped over to a neighboring rooftop, sprinting as hard as he could. He slid over an air conditioning unit that was currently blocking his path. The Hero Killer spotted another fire escape that led to the top of another taller building. A perfect way to get a better look at the city. A better look at where he could strike next. The Hero Killer took a running jump to the fire escape and grabbed onto one of the railings of the fire escape. He pulled himself up and quickly climbed up the ladders up to the rooftop. Once he got to the top, he noticed a water tower. A perfect vantage point. He climbed the ladder to the top of it. He looked out onto the city as he crotched down.
"The fools." Stain remarked to himself. "They are caught up in the monopolization of these so-called heroics. These "heroes" are nothing more than just pretenders. Try to fill up their wallets with cheap merchandise. But I will purge them off the face of the Earth." He then stared at the blade in his hand, as a sinister smile spread on his face.
"That is my promise."
Happy 2 Year Anniversary Everyone! It has been almost 6 months since I lasted updated to this story, but this mainly has to do with the fact that I had busy with my first semester at school. By the time I'm writing this, I will hopefully be on my last semester in college. When I started writing this story, I was just a Sophomore who created this because I was bored and I had no idea what I was doing. Now I'm almost done with college and have a second story that combines my two favorite franchises, and that will have a spin-off and huge events if everything goes to plan. It has been a weird journey, but I don't think that I would change a thing. To the casual readers and those that have been around since the very beginning of my FanFiction journey, from the bottom of my heart, Thank You.
Thank you for giving this story a chance. Thank you for watching my writing improve. Thank you for being so patient with my rather hectic uploads. Thank you for giving your thoughts on this story and ways to improve. And thank you for watching these characters grow. I know that this sounds like something that someone would say that is about to say that they are giving up due to unforeseen circumstances. But believe me, I'm not stopping. I want to continue to keep writing these stories to entertain you and I will try my best to improve my upload schedule, because these stories mean so much to me and you, that I would be gutted to give that up. That is my promise. Sorry if I sound too sappy, but it's just the truth. Now then...
Next time on Hero of Love & Peace: The Quarter-Final Round of the Tournament is about to began. Can Izuku make and keep a promise that he made to himself? The Class Representative and Class Secretary go head to head in a battle of the nerds. Can Mina survive long enough to be beat Tokoyami and Dark Shadow? And emotions go flying as the battle you have been waiting for finally happens as Banjo faces Bakugo.
(And if you need something to read while you wait, check out chapter 1 of my other story, The Heroes Time Forgot. And just know that there may be some crossover with that story and this one)