Hi, everyone! I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I did while writing it. Please feel free to review, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia or any of its characters. Mizuki, however, is my own creation.
Let's start with the story, shall we?*
Chapter 27
Katsuki left the moment his sister let loose her last explosion, on his way to the waiting room. Eijiro had tried to stay until the very end before he too rushed towards the waiting room to prepared for his battle against Katsuki.
"She used her explosions to move her body? T-That's kind of scary…" Sero trailed off as he paled at the match that ended. He honestly thought that she met her match only to be proven wrong when she blasted Kaminari out of the ring.
"Mizuki-chan is way too talented with her Quirk! No matter what type of pinch she's in, as long as she's able to use her explosions, she comes out as victor!" Mina stated and found it a bit frustrating that Mizuki was that blessed.
"Indeed. I'm just wondering why she didn't send a large explosion at Kaminari from the beginning. It would've been quicker to kick with a large explosion without making contact," Tokoyami mused, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Mi-chan can't control where the explosion goes then." They glanced at Izuku. "She was born with an abnormal number of sweat glands, giving her the possibility to use it all over her body. But, the only two places she can control where the explosion goes is on her feet and hand palms," he explained.
"If she lets a large explosion loose on her leg, there's no telling where it would go. That's why she shortens the distance and lets out an explosion on impact," he informed them, receiving blank looks as his nerdy side came out.
"I see… That makes more sense. In the battle with the male from general studies, she went to kick him but he dodged. The explosion she set off didn't show any signs of control," Iida murmured as he cupped his chin.
"Alright! Time for the second match of the second round! We have our hardcore and manly guy! It's Kirishima! Verses! He's been blowing his way through his matches! It's Bakugou!" Present Mic announced as the two students stepped onto the stage, the spectators cheering.
"Oh shit. It's boyfriend against brother. This is going to be epic!" Akira laughed as she watched the redhead stand against the ash blonde male. So far, it was going to be the most interesting match for her.
"You got this Kirishima-chan! Kick Explodo-kill's ass!" Rinako called, her hand next to her mouth while her other arm shot into the air. Akira chuckled in amusement at the female's words and pointed at the screen.
"You know, if he beats Katsuki, he's going to have to face off against Mizuki, right?" Akira pointed out and Rinako's cheering got lost in her throat as she made a chocking sound. She didn't think that far.
"However, I highly doubt it," Akira sighed out, her shoulders slumping. "Don't get wrong, I'm cheering for him but this is Katsuki we're talking about." Rinako puffed cheeks and inhaled deeply, Akira's eyes widening.
"GO, KIRISHIMA!"
Akira wanted to bury herself ten feet under the ground and tried to hide her head between her arms. Rinako was going full out and Akira was left to have to deal with the crazy blonde, everyone staring at them.
Someone, help me.
Eijiro cracked his knuckles as she stood opposite of Katsuki. The ash blonde male scowled at him, red eyes glaring through him. He could do this. He needed to make sure that he ended this match as quickly as possible.
"You're going to need my brother's approval first…"
He knew that, but how on earth was he going to get that? Eijiro wondered, yelling the question in his mind. Katsuki was the type of person who only concentrated on winning when he stepped onto the stage. He wasn't the type to care about anything else.
Eijiro inhaled deeply and relaxed his tensed muscles. The only way he could get his approval was beating him. It was a crazy thought, yet he had no other choice. He was determined to win this match.
"Second match of the second round… START!"
The two men went on the attack as soon as Present Mic gave the signal. Eijiro didn't hesitate at all, his body hardening as he went in with a punch. Katsuki barely dodged the fist, his cheek receiving a cut from the hardening.
"Take that!" He yelled and slammed an exploding palm in the male's side. Eijiro, who knew that Katsuki would be impatient, already hardened his body giving him an advantage. They broke apart, his grin wide.
"That won't work on me, Explosion Boy!" Eijiro told him as smoke came from the area where he protected against the explosion. His clothing on his side was torn from the force but it was the only damage he sustained.
Katsuki scowled, his cheek stinging where he received a blow, his eyes narrowing onto the redhead in front of him. He's not budging. There's more to him than just hardening… Katsuki thought and scoffed.
Mizuki came running out from the back of the stadium and grabbed onto the railing. She was slightly out of breath, her head protesting at her fast movement and her eyes snapping towards the stage on the field.
I made it! She thought and sighed in relief. She didn't dare to move from her spot, worried that she was going to miss anything if she went back to sit with the class. Besides, she didn't want Recovery Girl to drag her away from everyone either.
"Mizuki…" Mizuki glanced up a pair of duo coloured eyes, crimson eyes blinking in surprise. Shoto stood against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and his facial expression impassive. This was where he was standing the entire time?
"Ice Bastard… What are you doing here?"
"I can ask you the same question. Why aren't you sitting with the rest of the class?" Shoto asked and Mizuki frowned. She recalled the male's attitude and found her own mood souring at the thought. She huffed and averted her eyes away from him.
"I don't have to tell you shit. Don't act like you care when you haven't even taken my words into consideration yet," Mizuki snapped at him, Shoto's brows furrowing together as he recalled what she told him.
"Those aren't eyes of a hero."
She didn't know what was going on with him or why he was acting like an ass. She didn't know what was going on between him and his father who walked around all high and mighty. All she knew was that it irritated her.
They stood the rest of the time in silence, not looking at each other and not wanting to say anything else. Mizuki had her eyes glued to the stage while Shoto glanced between her and the stage, his thoughts kept to himself.
"Bakugou's having a hard time fighting back against Kirishima's fierce attack!"
Katsuki was quick on his feet, managing to dodge Eijiro's relentless attacks as he stayed on the defence. It was getting on his nerves. He went to counter with another large explosion, a fist emerging through the smoke.
He jumped back and dug his feel into the ground. Eijiro was breathing heavy, his hardening briefly vanishing and it made Katsuki smirk. He straightened himself up, sparks appearing on his hand palms.
Eijiro went to attack him again, but Katsuki stepped forward, countering with the swing of his right hand. Eijiro let out a silent cry as he was burned from the explosion, Katsuki's smirk widening into a grin.
"Bakugou goes to counter again! What's this? Unlike before, it's working?!"
"You've been straining to keep your whole body rock-hard this whole time, right? If you attack quickly in that state, sooner or later, it'll start coming apart!" Katsuki said and attacked Eijiro with a large explosion coming from both his hand palms.
Eijiro managed to block the attack by hardening himself in time. Quirks were physical techniques too. There was always a limit and he was quickly reaching his own. He needed to put an end to this fight and quickly.
"Bastard, you think you can beat me that easily? Huh? Aren't you underestimating me too much?" Katsuki asked as Eijiro swallowed thickly at the dangerous glare. His aura spelled danger and the sparks in his hands only made it worse.
"You not good enough to beat me! And you're not good enough for Mizuki either!" Katsuki yelled out, Eijiro's eyes widening when Katsuki let out a barrage of explosions towards the redhead with a cry.
Eijiro gritted his teeth as he tried to brace himself against the onslaught, his clothing tearing apart and his hardening coming off as well. His explosions became more and more stronger as he continued.
"I…I know that!" Katsuki's eyes briefly widened. "That's why I want to prove that I'm worthy!" EIjiro yelled out, Katsuki taking a step back as he eyed the male carefully. Eijiro breathed heavy and managed to harden his arm.
"That's more like it! Kirishima!" Katsuki exclaimed and charged straight towards the redhead. Eijiro gritted his teeth as he held his hardening in his arm. He let out a cry and ran straight towards Katsuki, his fist pulled back.
"DIE!"
Katsuki let loose a large explosion, a hardened fist making contact with his cheek. The ash blonde stumbled back while EIjiro fell onto the ground, his body covered in minor burn wounds from the explosion.
"Kirishima-kun is immobilized! Bakugou-kun advances to the next round!" Midnight announced with the hit of her whip. The crowd went wild at the results, the two males giving them the satisfaction of a good fight.
"I understand why you wouldn't a dragged-out match with me." Katsuki breathed heavy and brushed his sore cheek, clicking his tongue. It hurts, damn Shitty Hair. He thought with a smirk as he looked at Eijiro's unconscious figure.
"With that vicious carpet-bombing, Bakugou advances to the third round!" Present Mic declared over the speaker and then blinked. He paled slightly at the person Katsuki would face next, Aizawa's brows knitting together.
"H-He's going against Mizuki?! We're all doomed!" Mineta exclaimed, with a horror filled expression, some of his classmates having the same expression. It was a match that they dreaded to see from the beginning.
Katsuki felt a pair of eyes on his and turned around, crimson orbs meeting an identical pair. Mizuki stood behind one of the railings, at the way top above the crowd of spectators. She wore a smirk that matched his own, eyes gleaming.
The tension in the air was high, the connection the twins sharing had them both feel the various of emotions. Everything felt clear. They could see each other stand on opposite sides of one another, their Quirks unconsciously raging.
Come at me, Mizuki. I'll show you that I'm the number one.
Mizuki's eyes briefly widened when she heard her brother's voice in her thoughts. It felt like he was standing right next to her. A breeze whipped past her as she put her hands on her hips and her smirk widened into a grin.
Don't disappoint me, Katsuki.
The male heard her voice and then chuckled. He walked off without another word, both of them thrilled by what was waiting for them. The warnings of Recovery Girl faded away In Mizuki's thoughts for a moment, sparks appearing over her body.
There had been a lingering tension that formed between her and her brother ever since they started at U.A. High School. She had proven herself on multiple equations and Katsuki had taken each shot, pushing himself to come out on top.
Now, they would finally settle the score.
Mizuki clenched her fists and turned to walk away, her blazing eyes catching Shoto off guard. Those eyes weren't filled with hatred or anger. They were filled with anticipation, fortitude and most of all a yearning. For what? He didn't know.
Mizuki was forced to rest for the remaining two matches that laid ahead, meaning that she wouldn't know who the winners wore until she went out for her own match. Recovery Girl had very strictly forbidden her to do so.
It was frustrating. She could feel the brimming need to watch the fights, wishing that she could see it through her brother's eyes. It only made her scoff. She would be so lucky that she could see things through his eyes.
Speaking of which, the booming boy came waltzing into the infirmary not long after his match and with a kiss from Recovery Girl, he was gone again. He didn't waste any time and luckily didn't see her laying around.
Recovery Girl closed the curtains leading to the last bed where Mizuki rested. The medicine had kicked in a while ago, the nausea and dizziness more bearable. She could only hope that the resting would make it go away completely.
She was forbidden to stand up until her match was due and couldn't check up on Eijiro. She did hear him winch and silent curse underneath his breath as the older woman went to work. It gave Mizuki a sense of peacefulness.
Kaminari was long gone by the time she arrived back at Recovery Girl, the male up and running with only a few bandages. She still couldn't believe that he was dumb enough to catch her leg and withstand two of her explosions at close range. Was he that desperate?
"There you go, all bandaged up. You can take these gummies later tonight for the last healing," Recovery Girl spoke up, Mizuki's closed eyes briefly twitching. She forced herself not to open her eyes and scolded herself to rest.
"Thank you, Recovery Girl! I feel much better! I'd better go before I miss the next match!" Eijiro said and waved off the older female before running out the door. He still had way too much energy to spare.
The next match was Izuku against Iida and Mizuki bit her bottom lip. She wanted to watch it so badly! She wanted to see how Izuku was going to handle his newly developed portion of his Quirk against Iida, the one who had underestimated him from the beginning.
It was damn unfair.
She was going to bully the green haired male later on to give her all the details of the matches that lay ahead. She wanted to know every single detail! She didn't want to miss anything and thinking about Izuku reminded her that he never let out anything. He would mutter into eternity if he could.
Which reminded her. If she thought logically about the next two matches, either Izuku or Iida was going to go up against Shoto. She frowned. If Izuku won then he would go up against Shoto and it was the long-awaited battle that had been pending since morning.
"Resting means no thinking about the upcoming matches!" Recovery Girl called form the other side of the curtains and Mizuki visibly froze. She was found out! How on earth did this pro hero know she was thinking about it?
Damn it, she was good.
"Huh? The match already started? Damn! I thought I would be here on time!" Eijiro stated, a bit out of breath as he arrived by the stands where the rest of his classmates sat. He moved a bit faster when he heard Present Mic start with the announcement of the match.
"Yeah, they're already going at it!" Sero replied pointing at the stage where Iida and Izuku stood opposite of each other, the two staring each other off before Iida went in to charge. Eijiro looked at the fight and went to sit down, the spot feeling emptier than he expected it to be.
"Well done in your fight against Bakugou, Kirishima! You put up a good fight!" Kaminari said while giving him a thumbs-up. Eijiro laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head with a slight smile on his lips.
"Thanks…" He said and glanced around, not finding any of the two ash blondes sitting with the rest. He expected to at least see Mizuki sitting here since Kaminari returned, but she was nowhere to be found.
"Where's Mizuki?"
"Who knows? She hadn't been here during your fight against Bakugou either. Kaminari said that he didn't see her in the infirmary," Sero stated, pointing at Kaminari as he shook his head to add to the statement.
"Bakugou's also missing in action. Maybe he went to look for her? Or maybe he's preparing with his battle to go up against her?" Kaminari mused, Eijiro's brows twitching to furrow and a frown coming onto his lips. Where could she be?
"Oh! Midoriya nearly dodges an attack from Iida! He's been able to dodge as many attacks as he can but how long will he be able to go on? Come on, Midoriya! Show us your moves!" Present Mic called over the microphone.
Izuku jumped back from Iida and inhaled shakily. Iida was fast and managed to get in a few bruises on his cheek and arm. He was going to have trouble if he didn't use his Quirk. The only problem was that he hadn't practised to use it against a person yet. He only went up against Mizuki that one time.
"Sorry, Midoriya-kun, but I'm going to have to cut this fight short," Iida said and Izuku's eyes narrowed onto the male. Iida took a stance, his engines making a clicking sound and the green haired male immediately knew what was going to happen.
"Recipro…Burst!"
Izuku gritted his teeth and pulled out his hand, holding onto his finger as he activated his Quirk. Iida came in front of him, the male's eyes widening when Izuku let out a cry, releasing his full power from his finger.
There was a large force of wind that pushed Iida backwards and nearly out of the ring. The crowd exclaimed at the sudden gush of wind. Meanwhile, class A winced at the pain the male caused onto himself with his Quirk.
"Iida-kun, thank you for showing me your ultimate move…" Izuku said through gritted teeth as he tensed his body, the pain of his finger banging in the back of his head. Iida's eyes widened when he saw Izuku's body become lightened with green sparks and charged.
He had ten seconds before his engines stalled. He needed to win before that time. He went to charge against Izuku once again, the green haired male also going in forward without a moment of hesitation.
I'm glad that I got to spar with Mi-chan, especially since she also prefers fighting with her legs! Izuku thought and ducked as soon as Iida kicked with his hyper charged engines. Mi-chan's fight may have been short but I've learned enough to use it here!
Iida's eyes widened when Izuku kicked his other leg out from underneath him. He then pushed himself up and brought his leg down on Iida. Control. Control. It won't explode. It won't explode. It won't explode.
Iida managed to evade the attack just in time, the shockwave from the kick pushing against him. He took a step backwards and went to charge his engines and unfortunately found that his time was shortened.
He looked at Izuku and frowned. He had never seen the male attack like that before. His movements were strange and out of character. His usage of his Quirk suddenly differed after he destroyed his finger.
He almost moved like…
"Mizuki-san…?" Ochaco trailed off as she stared at the fight with wide eyes. Izuku was moving just like his childhood best friend. His leg movements and the way he twisted his body resembled the ash blonde female perfectly.
She was astonished. She found that the more she got to know him and the more she watched him, the more amazing he became. He was always evolving, always yearning for knowledge to become stronger. It was admirable and heart-warming.
"Y-You're kidding right? Midoriya is fighting like Mizuki? When did that happen?" Kaminari asked as he pointed at the fight, his own eyes wide in disbelief. It was the first time they saw him actually engaged in a combat fight since the beginning of the festival.
"Not to mention he didn't break anything besides his own finger. Did he get a better grip on his power?" Eijiro asked, uncertain if what he was seeing was reality. A thought came up to him, his eyes briefly widening.
Now that he thought about it, it did seem that he and Mizuki had a training session together. Was that it? What exactly happened in that session to have him develop this much in such a short time span?
"However, it seems like Midoriya-chan is still new to that technique of his. He still relies on the destructive power from before," Tsuyu pointed out. If he was confident enough with his new development, he wouldn't have broken his finger.
"You can only use that move of yours for a few seconds before your engines stalls, right, Iida-kun?" Izuku asked, the dark-haired male's eyes narrowing. He admired Izuku's observation and deductive skills, just not in the middle of the fight when he was in a pinch.
Green sparks moved on his body before he attacked once again. Iida looked at the male's movements, his swaying reminding him of Mizuki. He was going to go for the legs again and he needed to move out of the way before that.
He then jumped; his legs still able to carry him away from the possible leg sweep before his eyes widened. Izuku had pulled back a fist and charged, Iida giving him the perfect target with his feet not on the ground anymore.
Smash! Izuku slammed into the male's abdomen, concentrating hard on not letting his power slip in the force. Iida coughed and was sent flying backwards, the wind force pushing him further that he anticipated. He pressed his feet into the ground as soon as he landed and glared up at Izuku.
"Iida-kun is out of bounds! Midoriya-kun, wins!"
Iida's eyes widened as it snapped towards his feet. He was standing over the line. The crowd cheered around him as he looked back at Izuku who breathed heavy, his broken finger dandling painfully.
He deliberately moved like Mizuki to have him predict that he would do it again, only to bait him into a situation where he was vulnerable. Izuku had thought out the perfect plan and executed it without causing much damage.
"I completely lost to you, Midoriya-kun," Iida said as he shook Izuku's hand, the green haired male smiling sheepishly. "You're still better than me. I will work hard so that I can beat you," he added and Izuku nodded.
"I'll keep on working hard too," Izuku said. Iida was the perfect opponent for him to test out his new state. It worked better than he expected, but could feel the strain in his muscles. He still wasn't entirely there yet.
Thank you, Mi-chan. I still had to use 100% to buy me some time but I managed to use it with your fighting style. Izuku thought, the ash blonde female's smirk flashing through his thoughts as she confidently stood.
I hope I can show you that I've gotten stronger.
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