Their Hero Academia – Chapter 35: The Sports Festival Part 8: Round Four—FIGHT!
Mika hadn't seen Shiro since his fight with the moth girl from General Studies, which was worrisome. Her ex-tweenage boyfriend was moody under the best circumstances and not always the world's most gracious loser. If he hadn't rejoined his 1-B classmates in the stands, then it meant one of two things. Either he had been hurt a lot more than it had looked or he was somewhere sulking.
Her money was on sulking. With having Doc Clock and her Rewind Quirk for a doctor, competitors taken out of the fight generally got back up pretty quickly. Plus, she just knew Shiro.
As she'd expected, she found him on a bench in one of the hallways beneath the stadium, just outside the waiting rooms, his hands folded in front of him and his head down. He'd lost to the moth girl and thus any shot at fighting Kirishima-Bakugo. Kirishima-Bakugo had lost her own fight too, but she supposed that was small consolation to him (it probably made him feel worse). Who'd known Todorki had had it in her?
When she'd talked with him at lunch with Kana and Anime, they'd offered him fairly contradictory advice on how to handle his infatuation.. Kana had suggested cutting out the theatrics and just having an honest conversation with Kirishima-Bakugo. Anime had suggested a wacky scheme in which he pretended to be dating Kana, Mika, and her in order to make Kirishima-Bakugo jealous (that had been shot down as both a) not desirable by multiple parties (mostly Shiro and Kana), b) illogical because Kirishima-Bakugo knew Kana was interested in Haimawari and c) something that only worked in bad harem anime and soap operas). Mika's suggestion of hijacking the broadcast equipment and making an anguished declaration of love on the big screen had also been shot down on the grounds it would probably get him eighty-years detention and publically embarrass her with her parents in the stands. Of course, she hadn't been completely serious about that, but it would have been hilarious to see him try. She'd ultimately sided with Kana. Just because she loved drama didn't mean she actually wanted to see him get hurt.
She plopped down on the bench next to him. "You okay, 'ro?"
"Mmm."
She put an arm around him and scooted a little closer, until she was pressed right up against him. "You wanna talk about it?"
"Mmm-nnn."
"Okay, you don't gotta if you don't wanna." She gave him a little squeeze. "You wanna touch my boobs? That always cheers me up."
"Mmm-nnn."
"You just been down here the whole time?"
He shook his head. "I brought a post-victory gift to Kocho. She'll need her strength to keep fighting. I'd intended to check on Kirishima-Bakugo too… but lost my nerve."
Well, at least he was talking. "I've got some time before my next fight. You want to tell me how to beat Dashi?"
He shook his head. "I've got to stand with my Class. But I'm sure you can figure something out."
So much for that. Some of his hair was still mussed and she smoothed it back into place. "You want me to just sit here with you for a while?"
"Mmm…hmm."
Sure, Shiro was a pain in the ass. But he was also her friend. She could be here for him, for a little while at least.
Koharu held her breath for a moment, then let it out slowly, thoughts racing through her mind faster than she could keep up with. Sitting in the waiting room, getting ready for her next fight, she should have felt exhausted from everything she'd done so far, but instead only felt wired with nervous energy.
She'd beaten Shiro Monoma and made it to the second seed. It was, frankly, almost unbelievable. She'd taken down a Hero Course student. Granted, she'd had an extremely favorable match-up. She was pretty sure she couldn't have taken down Deku's kid or the bird girl. But she couldn't psyche herself up like that. She could do this. She'd practiced, trained as much as she could, worked out, everything. She'd almost made it into the Hero Course.
Absently, she unfurled her proboscis and inserted it into the protein pouch she was holding, slurping up the contents. Being unable to eat solid foods was inconvenient sometimes, but she managed. There were a surprising number of options available on the market these days; insect Quirks like hers or other variations were surprisingly common.
Surprisingly, Monoma had actually brought it to her. She'd meant to get one from one of the food stalls, but had gotten caught up watching the other fights before her next. She'd tried to apologize for beating him, but he'd waved her off. Said he just wanted to support an up and coming talent, now that he was out of the running.
She didn't know what to make of that.
And, of course, her next fight would be one of the few Hero Course kids she actually knew. She liked Ojiro and her friends, Sero and Sato. They'd been more than welcoming and encouraging in just the short time she'd known them. Not the best impression to have to beat up the friends you've just made.
On the other hand, she was pretty sure there was very little Ojiro could do to her if it came down to it. She just had to stay out of her way. Even if she went invisible like she had in her fight against that cartoon girl… Well, Koharu might have a couple tricks up her sleeve for that. She'd never tested them against someone invisible before, but she supposed there was no time like the present.
She wondered just what the odds were of making it to the Hero Course. The famous Hitoshi Shinso, the Underground Hero known as the Voice, had gotten knocked out in his first fight, and yet had impressed Eraserhead for him to take him under his wing. It had taken a lot of extra training after that, but he'd made it in. He was still a legend in the General Studies Courses.
Koharu had already gotten farther than he had. She didn't dream of winning, not with the people in the other matches. She wouldn't last a minute against Todoroki, she was certain. Maybe she could take Mineta, if she could keep out of range of those sticky balls she shot. Maybe. And maybe she could beat the zippy guy. But Midoriya or Tetsutetsu were probably right out.
The door to the waiting room opened. "Kocho?" She looked up to see a cat-eared woman with dark hair at the door. One of the teachers from the Business and Management Courses, she thought. "They're ready for you."
She took another breath. This was it.
"And we're back and ready for the second seed! First up, Koharu Kocho, the Moth-Maiden of General Studies! She's already made her mark getting this far, surpassing even some of the Recommendation Students! It's been a long time since we've seen a General Studies student get this far! Will her winning streak continue? And facing her is Kimiko Ojiro, the Invisible Girl of the Hero Course! She proved her stealth and skill already, but is it enough to last?"
"You do realize this is a serious competition and not some reality television show?"
"It can be two things!"
Ojiro gave Koharu a friendly wave. "Oh, man," she said, "I can't believe we've got to fight! Totally unfair!"
Koharu shrugged apologetically. "Just how the matches worked out, I guess."
Ojiro crossed her arms. "Yeah, well…" she said, then pointed dramatically (Koharu assumed she was pointing; at least her sleeve was pointing at her)., "don't think I'm going to go easy on you just because I like you!"
She smiled. For someone invisible, Ojiro obviously had a flare for theatrics. "Yeah, well, I'm not going to go easy on you either!"
"Ladies," Hawkeye said, sounding very tired, "if you're ready? FIGHT!"
Immediately, Ojiro winked out of existence, her clothes becoming as invisible as the rest of her. Koharu drew in a deep breath, then flapped her wings hard, lifting off the ground. Before she had gotten more than a foot up, though, she felt a leg smack into her midsection, knocking the breath out of her and knocking her back to the ground. Another blow came almost immediately, a punch upside her head. Ojiro was obviously faster than she looked (Which, given that she was invisible, probably wasn't hard.), having closed the distance between them quickly. A third blow followed, another punch that made the world go blurry.
She had to do something, had to get back in the fight. She couldn't just get smacked around like this!
She flapped her wings hard, forward instead of down, feeling her left wing slap into Ojiro. Koharu used the brief moment it bought her to let loose with a blob of String-Shot, unfocused and messy. A yelp let her know she'd nearly hit Ojiro, who winked back into existence briefly, before turning invisible again.
Another pair of blows slammed into Koharu before she could get her guard up and she lashed out with her wings again, flapping wildly until she felt her right wings connect with Ojiro again. It didn't give her much time though; Ojiro was tough and Koharu was forced to bring her wings back in, folding them in front of her protectively. They served as a shield for a moment, blocking several fast blows. Koharu winced. Her wings were tougher than they looked, but they couldn't take too much of a beating. She tried to swat Ojiro away with them again, but missed each time. Ojiro was clearly getting her rhythm.
The blows stopped through and the sound of shoes on concrete suggested Ojiro was trying to get behind her. Koharu flapped her wings as hard and fast as she could, desperate to get airborne. A rush of air behind her suggested she'd done it just in time. Now in the air and out of grabbing range, she actually had a moment to think. She could unleash her Scales, but unless she knew where to aim, she'd have to throw them pretty broadly and even then, she might miss Ojiro. And if she used up enough of them before she took Ojiro out, she'd be unable to fly and then they'd be right back where they started. So first things first, she needed to find her target.
"Hey!" came a voice from somewhere down below. "Get back down here and fight me! What'd am I supposed to do now?" A broken piece of rubble floated up in the air for a moment before it went flying at her, but Koharu dodged it easily. There weren't any other would-be projectiles big enough for Ojiro to hurt her with, even if she could throw that far.
With what most have seemed to onlookers like a violation of all common sense, Koharu closed her eyes.
The feathery antennae that sprouted from her forehead, which normally hung loose, lifted up and began feeding information to her brain. For a moment, it was overwhelming. Her antennae brought forth all kinds of sensory information, very different than the information returned by her eyes, ears, or nose. It took a few seconds for her to make the switch from one set of senses to the other successfully. But once she did, she was approximately aware of where everyone in the stands was, aware of countless foods being eaten, of all kinds of conversations happening, and, most importantly, where exactly Ojiro was.
"HAAAACK!" Koharu shot out a thin stream of her String Shot, quickly entangling Ojiro's legs. The invisible girl let out a cry of alarm as she tripped and went down. But she caught herself, keeping her from hitting her head or otherwise injuring herself.
"Hey! No fair!" Ojiro said. "I'm invisible! Lucky shot!" Koharu's eyes snapped open and she could see that Ojiro had returned to visibility and was working to try and free herself. This only served to get her hands stuck as well. "Oooh, yuck! This stuff's disgusting!"
Koharu took another breath, then dove down, swooping in at Ojiro. She grabbed the back of the girl's gym uniform and kept flying, right up to the edge of the ring. Once there, all she had to do was let go and Ojiro went flying out of bounds.
The crowd exploded with applause. "Ojiro is out of bounds!" Hawkeye announced. "Kocho wins!"
"I think we've got a rising star here on our hands! What's a girl like this doing in General Studies? The Hero Course is missing out and the second seed is off to a bang!"
Koharu walked over to Ojiro. Her String-Shot was already starting to dissolve; she hadn't put too much effort into it, she'd just needed Ojiro immobilized for a few moments. She offered Ojiro a hand up and felt a hand wrap around hers.
"Thanks," Ojiro said, as she helped her up. "Also, gross! That stuff came out of your mouth! I'm gonna be washing my hands for a month!"
Koharu had to laugh at that. "You're not the first person to say that. Really am sorry about beating you, though."
Ojiro shrugged. "I didn't even think I'd get this far. Besides, somebody's gotta win!"
Koharu didn't think that someone would be her, not beyond this. But she was proud of what she'd done. Maybe… just maybe, this would all work out. Placing was no guarantee; there were stories of General Studies students who'd made it to the Tournament round more on luck than skill and hadn't moved anywhere.
So she guessed the real question was, was she lucky or skilled? Monoma and Ojiro were both skilled with amazing Quirks. They just weren't particularly suited to fighting hers.
She just had to keep fighting to find out.
"And now we've got Mika Miketa back again, facing off against Kimiko Dashi! I'm really hoping for a good, clean fight this time! Nobody needs a repeat of the last time Mineta got in the ring!"
"It's the kind of trick that only works once anyway, Mic."
Mika stepped into the ring, across from Kimiko Dashi. The tri-hair colored girl looked pretty relaxed and that really wasn't surprising. Her match against the wheeled girl from 1-C had taken less than five minutes, since all Dashi'd had to do was freeze her and then accelerate her out of the ring. Which meant she couldn't get hit, not even once, or it'd be all over for her. And that might be a tall order. She was pretty light on her hooves, but if all she had was one shot…
"Tetsutetsu warned me about you, you know," Dashi said. "And I saw your match against Kan. I'm not going to fall for your mouth."
"Really? Kana's ratting me out? That is just so incredibly rude." Mika gave Dashi her best smile. "You wouldn't believe the number of people who've said that though." She got a glare in return. Must have been doing something right.
Hawkeye pinched the bridge of her nose. The English teacher seemed to be having a bad day. There had been a lot of talking and not fighting today. But she knew the job was dangerous when she took it. "Are you done making a mockery of things, Mineta?" she asked.
"Sure thing, Teach," Mika said.
"My apologies for the delay," Dashi said. Mika made a face. Suck-up.
"Then… FIGHT!"
In a snap, Dashi brought up her arm and fired a red "stop" beam from it, but Mika was already moving, the beam sizzling through the air where she had been. She lowered her head and fired an opening volley of sticky balls from her horns, not really bothering to aim, just to disorient. If they stuck to Dashi, so much the better. But even if they didn't, they might trip her up later. Mika would just bounce off.
She kept running, hooves slamming into the concrete. Dashi kept firing, red beams racing through the air. Hopefully they weren't hitting anyone in the stands or anything. Provocation probably wasn't going to work here; she was actually going to have to fight.
Mika turned and fired, launching another volley of her sticky balls. Dashi was quick on the defense though and fired a red beam again, stopping them in mid-air. They hovered there without stopping, neither moving forward nor falling. Just like she wanted. Mika took a running start then jumped, sailing over the blasts Dashi put her way. She landed on the hovering balls and then bounced, launching back up into the air.
Dashi tracked her ascent for a moment then fired a yellow beam. Mika hadn't known she could do that! Crap! She'd only seen the blue and red beams so far. It struck her dead on and time seemed to slow to a crawl. She was still falling, but at a fraction of the speed before. Below, she could see Dashi moving out of the way, seeming to be a blur.
After what seemed like an hour but was probably only a minute or so, Mika hit the ground. Fast as she could, she spun around throwing a roundhouse kick. Just like she'd predicted, Dashi was right behind her, about to fire another beam. The kick connected, hitting the weird traffic light looking gizmo Dashi wore on her arm with a mighty clang and throwing off her aim. Probably helped her focus her Quirk or something. A red beam went wild, heading towards the stands again. Mika followed up with a second kick, hitting Dashi in the stomach and sending her flying back a few feet.
Mika fired off another sticky ball, a single one from her left horn. Dashi, still dazed from the kick, fired off a series a red beams, none of them hitting it. Instead, the ball smacked right into her open right hand with a slightly wet plop sound. Dashi tried to shake it off, but it held fast, and would for a while yet.
Then, Dashi brought her hand up and jerked in surprise as nothing seemed to happen. She looked down at her hand like it had betrayed her, trying again to shake the sticky ball from it. . "What the?"
She brought her hand up again and this time Mika could see the barest hint of red flashing around the ball. Slightly bigger than a softball, her sticky ball had been large enough to cover Dashi's palm and fingers. And with the ball blocking the beam, Dashi's Quirk was effectively taken out of the fight. All this time and Mika hadn't seen her ever fire a beam out of her left hand. Combined with her support item there, it had suggested to her that Dashi could only fire her beams from her right.
She'd been correct in that guess.
Mika raced across the ring and Dashi's face twisted up in anger. "You're… how did you… You're not supposed to be this smart!"
Closing the gap, Mika lashed out, kicking again with her right leg. Dashi sidestepped the blow, trying to return a punch of her own, but Mika ducked away from it. Still partially ducked, she rammed into Dashi's middle, her horns going on either side of her. With a jerk and a twist, Mika lifted Dashi, and gave her a toss out of the ring.
"Dashi is out of bounds!" Hawkeye announced. "Mineta wins!"
"How about that, folks? Class 1-A's horned girl takes the win again! And all without a single dirty joke! I guess we won't have to edit the home video version of this fight after all!"
Mika grinned. And very quietly, she spoke to herself. "I'm more than a pretty face," she said. "Or a foul mouth. That's just more fun."
"You."
Isamu jumped when the door to the waiting room flew open. He'd been so deep in thought that he'd lost track of his surroundings. But it wasn't one of the teachers come to fetch him for his match. No, it was the person who scared him most in all the world. Kirishima-Bakugo. Her red eyes were locked on him in an intense glare that, if she'd had some kind of eyebeam Quirk, would have meant he was dead.
"Yes?" he said. "Me?"
Apparently his mouth was running on extra stupid today.
"You're fighting Izzy." It wasn't a question.
"Ah, yeah," Isamu replied, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He was pretty sure he could get away from her before she could kill him. And somebody would surely be here any minute to fetch him. He probably wouldn't die today.
Kirishima-Bakugo crossed her arms and frowned, hesitating, as though searching for the right words. Her entire body language radiated tension and barely repressed rage. Probably searching for the best way to describe how she'd explode his head. It seemed to be her go-to intimidation tactic.
"If you're going to threaten me," he said, "can you just get it over with? Explode my head, rip my arms off, whatever?"
That got a laugh out of her, which, in all honest, was far scary than any other sound he'd ever heard her make, including all the different times he'd heard her scream "die!" He scrambled up out of his chair and towards the back of the suddenly too small room. There was no escape.
Katsumi recovered from her laugh and he thought, for just a moment, he saw something like amusement or approval in her eyes. "You're starting to grow a spine," she said.
"Ah, maybe?"
She shook her head. "And now you've blown it, Newb."
"You were, you were saying something about Izumi?" he tried.
She nodded. "Right. I don't like you, and you don't like me. But we both like Izzy."
He nodded. More like he was terrified of her, but not setting her off was probably in his best interest, so he was just going to be agreeable. Unless she was here to threaten him if he wound up hurting Izumi when they fought. Which would probably be pretty hypocritical, given how all out he'd seen her go against their mutual friend, but he also wouldn't put it past her.
"Izzy, lots of people treat her like she's fragile. I did. More than I should have." She jabbed a finger in his direction. "So don't go easy on her. She wants a fight? Give it to her. Or you're going to answer to me."
Okay, he was not expecting that. He didn't claim to understand the full extent of the friendship between Izumi and Kirishima-Bakugo; he only knew how protective the latter was of Izumi. That had certainly seemed to shift in the fight between the two. A now, she was telling him to fight instead of trying to scare him off?
The coma theory continued to look more and more likely. Coma dreams didn't have to make sense.
"I can… I can do that," he said, finally finding his voice.
"Good," Kirishima-Bakugo growled. "Remember it, Newb. I find out you went easy on her…" She made a cutting gesture across her neck, then turned and left.
Isamu realized he'd been holding his breath and finally let it out, sucking in gulps of air greedily. That girl was going to be the death of him some day, he was sure of it.
But for now, he had to survive his next match.