As all of the students left the arena, Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and Hagakure caught up with Bulla and Pan in the cafeteria. "Hey, girls!" Yaoyorozu said as the three of them approached the Class Representative.
"Hey, Momo!" Bulla said with a smile as the three sat with them. "Hey, Hagakure, no hard feelings, huh?"
"The hardest of feelings! We wanted to make it to the final round!" She cried as Jiro pat her on the back.
"Her team was just so strong, Hagakure. They were bound to make it to the next round." Jiro told her defeated friend as she suddenly glared at Bulla and Pan. "That being said, it would have been nice to make it to the next round."
"I hope I do well. My opponent could be anybody..." Yaoyorozu said depressingly.
"Do you have any strategies planned out?" Pan asked her. "It would suck if you got put against one of the heavier hitters."
"I don't, but I think that the best course of action would be to put up a line of defense. Like preparing a shield to make sure I don't sustain damage." Yaoyorozu explained, holding her hand over her chest in an attempt to calm her nerves.
"Is that all you have?" Bulla asked her.
"I figured it'd be the most well-rounded. I thought it'd be good for any situation." She explained nervously.
"I don't see anything wrong with it, Class Rep." Jiro chimed in.
"Yeah, I think it'd be Yaomomo's best shot!" Hagakure consented.
"Think about it, if you're against Todoroki, or Bakugo, or Iida. You'll honestly need more than a shield to keep yourself safe." Pan told her.
"I suppose you're right... What do you think I should do?" She asked, her worries growing significantly.
"Your Quirk is Creation!" Bulla confirmed, putting a finger to her chin. "Why don't you make some kind of massive light source to throw off your opponent? When they're off-balance, knock them out of bounds."
"Like a flash grenade!" Hagakure said, correcting Bulla's word choice. "Yaomomo, that'd be brilliant!"
"A flash grenade... I think that might just work!" Yaoyorozu said excitedly.
"Hey, Brief, Yaoyorozu?" Kaminari said as he and Mineta approached the table of girls.
"Kaminari, Mineta, what can I do for you?" Bulla asked them.
"Well, I'm sure you already know, since you're, like, the Class Rep and Deputy, but they said all the girls have to wear those uniforms for the big cheer battle this afternoon." Mineta asked as he turned around, pointing to the group of girls in orange two-piece outfits.
As Jiro began to freak out about the thought of wearing such a small outfit, Bulla looked to Yaoyorozu, who just shook her head, oblivious to any news of a cheer battle. "We haven't heard anything like that. You sure about this?" Bulla asked them.
"You don't have to believe me if you wanna get in trouble." Mineta continued as Kaminari nodded. "But this is coming straight from Mr. Aizawa. I thought that maybe you'd forgotten, so I figured I'd remind you, just in case."
All of a sudden, Bulla got up from her seat, stepping over the bench and walking up to the duo. With all eyes on her, she kneeled down and reached out, gently cupping the back of Mineta's neck. As their eyes met, Bulla repeated her question. "Mineta, are we supposed to wear cheerleader outfits for some cheer battle?"
"Y-Y-Yeah! I'm telling you, i-it's the truth!" He stuttered as Bulla's kind blue eyes continued to lock his gaze, as if peering into his soul.
"And this is coming from Mr. Aizawa himself?"
"O-Of course! We just heard-d from him!" Mineta's eyes filled with horror as Bulla's soft gaze become a stone-cold glare, and the grip on his neck tightened.
"You're lying. Why would Aizawa tell something like that to you of all people, and not another one of the Class Officers? Do you really think he'd subject the girls to some shameless fanservice without consulting them first?" The rage in her voice was clear as every pair of eyes began to narrow with anger.
"Kaminari... So help me, if I end up facing you in the ring, you're going to be sorry!" Pan told him, clenching her fists.
"You see, boys, I really don't like getting lied to. And my father always lied to my mother about not loving her, so she developed a methodology to know when a man is lying. If you try something like this again, I will make sure the punishment is severe. Are we clear?" Bulla told them, switching to an innocent smile. Unable to speak, out of fear of Bulla's wrath, the boys simply nodded. "Good. Now, let's get back to the arena, girls." She said, gesturing for her classmates and best friend to follow her.
"Get those foam fingers in the air! It's almost time for the last round!" Present Mic announced as the dismissed students gather around in the arena. "But before that: Good news for everyone who didn't make the finals. Since this is a sports festival, we've prepared some super fun side games that everyone can participate in! We even brought in cheerleaders from America to get your blood pumping! So with that being said, have fun competing everyone! After they're over, the sixteen students from the top four teams will be duking it out one-on-one in a tournament-style fighting competition!"
"Alright! Exactly what I've been waiting for!" Pan cried out with her fist raised into the air.
"I promise you're not going to want to miss these epic match ups!" Present Mic continued, displaying a tournament bracket on the monitors.
"Come closer and draw lots to see who you're up against. You'll be matched with the number ahead of you in pairs. It shouldn't require explanation, but just in case: #1 will fight #2, #3 will fight #4, and so on." Midnight announced as she held up a yellow box with the word 'Lots' messily written on the front. "Then enjoy the pleasure of the recreational games before we start. The sixteen finalist have the option of participating in those activities or sitting out to prepare for battle. I'm sure you all want to conserve your stamina. I'll start with the first place team." As she stepped down, several students tried to calm their nerves.
First stepping past Team Todoroki, followed by Team Son, Team Bakugo, and finally, Team Midoriya. Once all the lots were drawn, they took a brief break period in order to put the brackets into the system. "I got number five. What about you?" Bulla asked her friend.
"Number eight, I'm the last match of the first half. How about you, Shinso?" Pan asked her teammate.
"Number four. So it's likely that I'll fight you in the third round, Brief." Shinso told her.
"What about you-" Before she could ask, Bulla turned around to see Aoyama groveling on the ground. "Uh...Aoyama...?"
"Oui..." Aoyama quietly said as he held up his laminated card, displaying '#6' on it.
"Oh, so you're my opponent. That's quite a matchup! I guess it'll be your rematch from our training together, huh?" She asked him with a smile.
"I wish not to stare death in the face..." He said under his breath as Bulla laughed nervously.
"Take a look at the bracket, my dears!" Midnight suddenly said, cracking her whip towards the monitor. "These are your opponents!"
As the crowd began to cheer, Pan squinted her eyes, reading the name that appeared in her bracket. "I'm fighting...Kirishima. What's his Quirk, Bulla?"
"Not sure if I should tell you." Bulla told her with a wink. "Frankly, I'll have a better chance at beating Kirishima, so it'd be nice if he blind-sides you."
"Ugh, you snake!" Pan told her jokingly as Bulla read through the starting contestants.
"Hatsume... She's a Support Course student. If Midoriya can defeat her, he'll fight either Shinso or Todoroki..." As her eyes scrolled over to the side, reading the names on the other side of the bracket. "Bakugo vs. Sero... They were partners during the combat training, so I'm sure that would be interesting. Ashido vs. Kaminari, another one that I'll have to keep my eyes on. "Iida and Uraraka, two of the Class Officers in battle together. If Uraraka can only float Iida out of the ring, I'm sure he'll do his best to beat her painlessly. And then Tokoyami and Momo..."
"What's on your mind, Bulla?" Pan asked her all of a sudden.
"Momo is fighting Tokoyami. That Dark Shadow Quirk of his seems to have little to no weaknesses. I hope the plan we came up with will have some kind of affect. For all we know, Dark Shadow might be able to attack completely unprompted." As Bulla began to ramble on, analyzing how her friend and Deputy would fair against Dark Shadow, Pan began to laugh. "Huh?"
"Bulla, Momo is going to be fine. Trust in her, alright?" Pan told her, lightly punching her shoulder.
"Yeah, you're right." She responded. "I know that Momo will do great!"
"Okay!" Present Mic intervened as the monitor switched to read 'Recreation'. "Let's press for one more momentary interlude! Before the battle begins, it's time for some pulse-pounding side games!"
As Bulla began to walk away, Pan lightly grabbed her arm. "Hey, aren't you going to participate?"
"In all honesty, I'll be fighting Midoriya, or Todoroki. I've never seen Midoriya use his Quirk, and I've only heard briefly that it's apparently super powerful. On the other hand, Todoroki, being able to use both fire and ice will really be a challenge to work around. I've said before, I can't brute force it forever. I need to think of a strategy." She explained, her eyes full of determination.
With a warm smile spreading across Pan's face, she fought back the urge to tear up, holding both of Bulla's hands. "Bulla, I'm so happy to see you like this. After... After the incident, you changed. Became more secluded, less confident, always on the verge of bursting into tears. But I can see it. You've grown. Not just physically, but emotionally. I'm so happy to be your friend, and I'm so happy to still have you." With her kind words, Pan stepped forward and embraced her closest, dearest friend.
Shocked at the sudden display, it took a moment for Bulla to process. However, after that moment, a tear streamed down her cheeks, and she lightly accepted, and returned, her best friend's embrace. "Thank you, Pan."
As the two parted, and Pan held Bulla's shoulder, both were now full of newfound strength. "Now go! Do what you need to to beat that guy!"