AN: Been a while I suppose, but I've been writing the whole time, bit of a longer chapter to show for it. Enjoy!
The Battles Begin
oooOo Izuku oOooo
Izuku's head swiveled slowly as he glanced around the area surrounding the rear exit of the Sport Festival stadium. Still a bit fatigued from the cavalry battle, he'd seated himself upon a hastily constructed bench of quicksteel, floating at a height that left the soles of his bare feet brushing lightly against the cool concrete floor.
It was a typical summer day in Musutafu, with not a cloud in the sky, a beam of afternoon sunlight cutting across Izuku's torso from the nearby doorway.
His gaze returned to Todoroki's unflinching stare, the grey of his right side appearing almost black, since unlike Izuku, he stood completely in shadow. The look was cold, so vastly different from Kacchan's fiery glares, but not hostile in the slightest. Nevertheless, Izuku found it almost eerie how blank the boy could appear at times, a mask that seemed to come effortlessly to him, though Izuku had occasionally seen other emotions flash across his features.
"I was overwhelmed," Todoroki said levelly, breaking the silence that had mounted between them. He glanced down to his left hand, staring at it as if the appendage had personally offended him. "In a moment of weakness, I abandoned a vow that I'd lived by for years." He paused, tilting his head with obvious curiosity. "What is it about you that prompted such a response?"
Izuku frowned in thought, lacking the context behind Todoroki's odd statement. But he wasn't stupid, there was only one incident that seemed out of the ordinary in the previous event…
"I assume you're referring to your flames?" Izuku questioned, just to avoid any misunderstandings.
"I admit that I grossly misjudged your abilities, Midoriya," Shoto said, confirming his suspicions with his lack of denial. "I feared that, despite your quick recovery, your injuries would cripple your overall combat effectiveness, but you've proven that I was sorely mistaken."
Izuku nodded neutrally. "Right… so then what is this all—"
"You know my father is the rank two hero, Endeavor, correct?" Todoroki cut over him sharply.
He did. So perhaps this concerned the man more than the quirk itself… Izuku had always found his classmate's over-reliance on his cryokinesis strange, but the boy's ice had always been absurdly powerful. Avoiding the destructive properties of fire in non-lethal fights wasn't unreasonable at all… but maybe there was more to it after all…
"I may have jumped the gun earlier, but the sentiment hasn't changed. Now that my old man has seen your power for himself, I've only got that much more reason to crush you with my ice alone."
Izuku remained silent, an uncomfortable feeling creeping into his gut. This was probably the most he'd heard Todoroki speak ever, and he had a feeling it wasn't without reason.
"Have you ever heard of… quirk marriages?"
The uncomfortable feeling grew sharply, latching onto Izuku's innards and twisting them into a painful knot. His expression must have twisted in a similar manner, since Todoroki nodded as if his suspicions had been confirmed.
"I'd have been surprised if someone like you hadn't."
"I… also know that they've been outlawed for several decades now…" Izuku hedged, hoping that this conversation wasn't headed in the direction he'd expected.
"Of course they are…" Todoroki huffed, his expression contorting into a humorless imitation of grin. It looked wrong on his face, as it were never meant to be there…
"My father has been powerful ever since graduating UA, pursuing the titled of the strongest hero with a singlemindedness that could be terrifying at times… Had he been born in another era, he'd probably have been considered an unrivaled prodigy. But of course, with All Might at the summit…" Todoroki trailed off, a ghost of a genuine smile appearing for a moment before it was wiped away just as quickly.
"Along with that physical strength of course, came the status and clout one would expect from even less popular heroes. His long-running record of cases solved opened certain doors that one would normally consider… less that morally sound… All to gain the ideal quirk to pair with his own…
Whether the man actually broke the law or not matters little, I'm sure that there's some obscure loophole that allowed him to buy the favor of my mother's parents. Regardless of the exact series of events that led to that point, Mother was never in that house of her own volition, I at least know that much…" Todoroki's eyes grew haunted, as if reliving a particular harrowing nightmare.
"—'I can't stand to see that left side of yours…'" Shoto raised his left hand, unusually steady as he obscured the livid scar around his eye. His gaze snapped back to Izuku's own. "She said that, you know… before throwing scalding water in my face…"
It was so much worse that he'd imagined.
Izuku had never had the highest opinion of the Number Two Hero, but as Shoto illustrated his early years living in the Todoroki household, his impression of the 'hero' quickly shifted from indifference to disgust. Though his second-hand loathing of the man's actions obviously paled in comparison to the overwhelming hatred harbored by the son.
Yet it was the life of Shoto's mother that was the true tragedy here.
Izuku could see it in the boy's blue and grey eyes that even now, he held no ill-will towards the woman that, in a moment of weakness, gave into her baser fears and irreparably damaged his face, and perhaps even more critically, whatever relationship they'd managed to build in spite of the circumstances…
Todoroki had the ideal—in the most ironic sense of the word—origin story of someone destined for greatness. The kind of story you'd expect from the fictional heroes of old, before the evolution of quirks made the stories a reality…
"—In short, not using my left side against you was my revenge on him," Todoroki said, seemingly glaring right through Izuku. "Never using my rotten father's quirk… no... by rising to the top without using it… I'll have denied him everything."
Izuku was speechless for a moment, unable to process everything he'd been told in the last few minutes at once. They each had their own reasons to aim for the top, but where Todoroki lived with the crippling expectations of heroing royalty, Izuku had worked his way up from the concrete, starting with nothing and turning it into his strength.
The green-haired hero couldn't help but think how exhausting that must have been…
Todoroki turned to walk away, apparently satisfied with how well he'd conveyed his resolve, and for a moment, Izuku was going to let him go, doubtful that words alone could ever hold enough weight to influence his beliefs. But something spurred him to act regardless—he couldn't quite accept Todoroki's self-restriction without voicing his own thoughts about it.
But did he even have the right? How could he judge his classmate's resolve, having never experienced anything that came close to his suffering.
Steeling his nerves and bulldozing his way through any doubts he had, Izuku willed his quicksteel platform through the air, quickly cutting off the retreating hero-in-training.
"I won't act as if I'll every understand what you went through, Todoroki…" Izuku said, kicking his feet idly and glancing away in thought.
Todoroki merely stared back impassively, waiting patiently for whatever he had to say. There was that mask again… and after divulging such a harrowing tale as well…
"What is it?" Todoroki said after a moment.
Izuku pulled his legs up and crossed them, the shape of his quicksteel perch warping and shifting to stabalize. His eyes returned to Todoroki's, casually observing the burning fury that was so meticulously contained behind the cold exterior…
"My quirk was actually incredibly mediocre when I was younger…" Izuku said with a wistful smile.
Ah, so that earned a reaction.
The dual quirked boy's eyes had widened slightly at the sudden tangent, and Izuku didn't blame him. As aloof as Todoroki always tried to appear, he'd probably been expecting some kind of judgement on his home life, and braced himself accordingly, but the direction Izuku had taken must have startled him.
Since he and Kacchan had come to UA, only the blonde knew of his old reputation in school, and Izuku knew that his girlfriend wouldn't have said a word to any of their new classmates. She'd been even keener to leave those days behind them than he had.
"Kinda hard to believe, huh?" He chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his neck. "But yeah, plenty of emitters like yours or Kacchan's quirk seem plenty flashy when they first manifest, but Quicksteel started off barely as big as a grapefruit, and just about as threatening." He willed an orb of the original size to float between them.
Izuku grinned in remembrance, leaning forward eagerly. "I couldn't even move it! It'd only react to my emotions, like a glorified mood ring!" he chirped. "You'd never believe how many times I got in trouble for disrupting class before I got it under control..."
Shoto leaned forward after a pause, "So… how did it become like…this?"
Oh… so the teen could show a bit of curiosity. Izuku wasn't exactly sure of where he was going with this story, but if it ended up being nothing more than a conversation between peers, then he couldn't think of anyone who needed someone in his corner more than Shoto. But perhaps he was getting ahead of himself.
"Meditation helped with the unwanted movement," Izuku said, leaning back onto the floating platform. "And as for the rest…" he grinned, coating the flesh of his right hand with the separated mass so it matched his left. "You'll just have to wait and see! We are competitors after all," he added with a grin.
Todoroki sighed, but didn't seem too upset at the information Izuku had withheld.
"I'll tell you what, Todoroki, when we settle things in the semifinals, I'll tell you all about quicksteel, as long as you do the same for me." He leaned forward eagerly, "I've been dying to get a closer look at how your ice works… y'know when you're not trying to impale me…"
"R-right…" Todoroki said hesitantly, earning an internal laugh from Izuku. Of all the things to be intimidated by… though he supposed his quirk obsession could be a bit overwhelming at times…
"As far as your 'pledge' goes," Izuku said lightly, watching as Todoroki immediately stiffened up. "I don't know whether your decision is 'right' or not… I don't think either of us can be truly objective… But for someone to be born with a quirk so amazing and purposefully not use it…" Izuku trailed off, leaving the rest unspoken, but fixed Todoroki with a fierce stare. "I'll come at you with everything I've got, Todoroki. I hope that you don't regret your decision in the end…"
Having said his piece, Izuku stood suddenly, his quicksteel morphing beneath his feet as he gradually gained altitude. Fully taking advantage of the temporary permission they'd been granted for quirk usage off school grounds, he soared into the sky, relishing in the freedom of flight he was often denied.
Izuku knew that his class's assigned seating was located in the upper levels of the stadium, so he figured it'd be faster to fly over the top than to navigate the maze-like interior. And if he could spot some of the heroes milling about the stadium with his aerial view, then it couldn't hurt to get an autograph or two...
He barely registered how the wind whipped at his hair, the recent conversation with Todoroki weighing heavily on his mind…
oooOo Katsumi oOooo
"I know its not really a huge part of the festival, but I can't help but get into the spirit of the recreational events too!" Uraraka said with stars in her eyes.
Katsumi pulled the brunette back by the collar, growing more and more uncomfortable with how far she was leaning over the railing to peer down onto the field. Her eye twitched at the brunette's enthusiasm. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Round face! Those are the events for side characters!"
The bubbly girl was still outfitted in a flashy orange UA cheer uniform, courtesy of the purple fucker and Sparky's admittedly elaborate ruse. The lengths those two would go to get a girl to show some leg was a bit disturbing, but she could at least respect their tenacity if nothing else.
Katsumi shuddered at the scenario she'd so carefully dodged, grateful that she'd been adamant in her refusal when Uraraka had approached her half an hour previously. Katsumi knew it hadn't been a requirement of the festival in previous years, but she'd still almost been swayed by the girl's pleading gaze. The girl's wide, doe eyes should be illegal in her opinion.
Needless to say, the crowd had been quite enthusiastic when the girls of class 1-A had shown up in matching cheerleading uniforms after the lunch break. Some had chosen to stay and frolic with the rest of the extras in the events no one gave a rat's ass about, while others had taken the extra time to prep for the upcoming matches.
Katsumi herself had immediately retreated to their class's reserved seating, knowing that there would be several other matches taking place before her own. Uraraka had ended up tagging along to watch the treasure hunt from a better vantage point.
"Uraraka-chan!" The pink one called, sliding over to the girl's side. "Nice work, girl! Third place, not too bad!"
Katsumi's eye twitched at the reminder of her team's less-than-stellar placing in the previous event. But Uraraka took the 'compliment' with a grace that Deku would have been proud of…
"Thanks, Mina-chan!" the brunette said, frowning softly a moment later. "I'm sorry, but I didn't see where you ended up…"
Ashido waved away Uraraka's worries, propping her legs up lazily on the railing. "Don't sweat it, girl! I ended up teaming with Ojiro and that girl from the support department. She's actually got some really useful stuff with her!" she added thoughtfully. "We were doing alright in the beginning, but we got caught off guard when Todoroki started tossing around glaciers and stuff!" She turned her attention to Katsumi with wide, amber eyes, "What the heck was going on up there, anyway, Katsumiin!? We totally lost track of the frontrunners when Izu-kun started doing his thing with that crazy quirk of his!"
"I admit that I'm a bit curious about that myself," Uraraka said, turning to face her as well. Once you left our horse, we couldn't exactly see what was going on…"
"Perhaps I can shed some light on the events that occurred in our battle with our prestigious class representative!"
Katsumi sighed heavily, knowing only one person that so consistently sounded like they had a stick perpetually shoved up their ass…
"Iida-kun! Congrats on second place!" Uraraka called happily, waving towards where the studious boy, along with the rest of his team barring Todoroki made their way into the reserved seating.
"Many thanks, Uraraka-kun!" he called, seating himself in the second row, directly behind her and Uraraka's seats. He chopped a muscular forearm several times through the air, just barely missing the back of Katsumi's head.
Only a restraining palm from the brunette beside her was preventing her from exploding the four-eyes bastard.
"—We had quite an effective strategy planned out from the beginning, if I do say so myself! Not to mention a team backed by the destructive power of Todoroki and Kaminari's elemental abilities! But Midoriya-kun has once again proven why he was selected to be our esteemed class representative!"
"C'mooon!" Mina whined, turning on the bespectacled boy. "That doesn't tell us anything! We all saw Todoroki's giant path of ice randomly explode at the end!" She threw her hands skyward as if miming an exposion. Something interesting must have happened!"
"It was Midoriya-san," Yaoyorozu commented, taking her seat at a more sedated pace. "We'd thought we had him cornered, but he just punched through the ice bridge we were all standing on!" She pinched her chin between her thumb and forefinger thoughtfully. "I probably couldn't tell you as much as Bakugo-san, but the amount of power he's shown at times is quite terrifying. I admit that I find myself at a loss to how I'd fight him head-on if we were to be matched up, though I suppose that's getting ahead of myself.
The black-haired beauty smiled over at one of Katsumi's own former-teammates. Elbows was probably the girl's first opponent, but that hardly concerned Katsumi. If Boobzilla, by some miracle, made her way through Icy-hot, then she'd still have to fight Deku before she even had a chance to battle Katsumi.
"Seriously?" Pinky deadpanned, slumping back into her seat with a puff of air. "I knew Izuku was amazing, but that's crazy… Half of us almost got smushed from falling ice!"
Katsumi scoffed, cutting through the conversation like a knife. "If you can't handle that small a threat, then you shouldn't be here."
Mina pouted at that, eyebrows pinching together over striking amber eyes.
"So mean, Katsumi-chan!" Uraraka moaned, puffing up her cheeks with a frown.
"Not that I'd put it the same way, kero, but I understand what she's saying…" Tsuyu said, taking her seat as well. "Being realistic, the zero-pointers in the obstacle race could have done a lot more damage than the falling ice in the first place!"
By this point, nearly all of their class had trickled into their assigned seating area, and now that Katsumi took another look at the field, she saw that the extras had finally cleared out for the real competitors. Cementoss appeared to be constructing a massive replica of a traditional martial arts platform in the very center of the arena. A project that might have normally taken several days to complete, would be finished in a matter of minutes.
Thank fuck that that was the case too, or Katsumi might have gone mad with the wait...
The matches would be starting soon, so where the hell was—
"I'm not late, am I?" A familiar voice whispered in her ear. She didn't jump in the slightest, of course. Not at all.
"Took you long enough, Nerd," she murmured, not bothering to glance in Deku's direction as he dropped down from above into the seat to her right. "Only you would miss your own match. Get caught up stalking all the B-list heroes in the VIP section?"
"Stalking? Aww, c'mon! I'm not that bad, Kacchan! Give me a little credit."
Katsumi rolled her eyes, grabbing at the spiral notebook that he'd tried to tuck away while she wasn't looking. She missed, leaving her embarrassingly sprawled across his lap. But the action seemed to surprise the nerd enough to let his guard down. "Oh? Then what's this, huh?!" she cried proudly.
The notebook was the same brand that Deku'd favored since they were kids, college ruled and double length. Katsumi's eyes lidded with humor at the dorky title of this particular volume, Hero Analysis for the Future, The UA Arc.
"Pfft! What is this, Dragonball? Getting a bit ahead of yourself Deku?! Who made you the main character?"
Izuku's normally vibrant eyes seemed to dim at her statement, but she couldn't see why such a comment would affect him so much. It wasn't as if she hadn't been far more flagrant in his presence. But he seemed to have a lot on his mind, so Katsumi put it out of hers. For now at least…
"Midoriya-kun! You were sorely missed, though I urge you to be more punctual in the future, you are the class representative and must set an example for th—"
"Alright, Four-eyes, quit yer' fuckin yappin, already!" Katsumi cut in, physically feeling her blood pressure rise as the boy went on and on.
"How vulgar!" Iida stated, reeling back with offense. How engines still expected anyone, let alone Katsumi, to adhere to his own personal level of decorum was beyond her understanding.
"Midoriya! Way to bring it home for 1-A my man!" Kirishima called from where he sat several rows behind them. He was flanked on the right by Pikachu and Lobes, with Tentacles, Birdbrain and Invisalign's floating cheer uniform to his left.
"Thanks, Kirishima! Sorry for any trouble this one probably caused you in the last event."
A cold palm settled on her shoulder, and by this point the chill was welcoming rather than startling. A sensation she'd already begun to associate with Deku's touch. She might have been embarrassed as he pulled her closer, if he wasn't apologizing to their classmate like she was a burden or some shit! They should be the ones grateful to be on her team!
"The fuck is that supposed to mean, Deku!?"
"No problem, man!" Kirishima said, completely ignoring her and tossing a grin and a thumbs up their way. "We kicked some ass! Don't think I'll take it easy on you, team leader!"
"I'll kill you." Katsumi deadpanned, inwardly grinning as the redhead's eye twitched in response.
"Yeah, yeah, Kacchan, I'm sure you'll get your fill of murder by the end of the tournament…" Izuku said, retracting his hand, but not before brushing his hand through her hair, the cold touch of quicksteel on her neck sending chills down her spine. But he seamlessly continued as if he wasn't turning her into a puddle in the middle of all their classmates.
"Speaking of our opponents," he said, pilfering back the notebook that she'd forgotten in her hands and turning it to the last page he'd written on. "I've barely had a chance to record all the new quirks I've seen today with the first and second events occurring so close together…" He glanced down their row, "Did any of you fight with—" He checked the notebook, "Tokage… Setsuna, during the Cavalry Battle?"
"How the fuck am I supposed to know who that is, nerd? I barely know these idiots' names, let alone some B-lister!"
He rolled his eyes, ignoring her snark for what it was. "I cross-referenced her name with the top scores that came with our UA acceptance letters and she wasn't listed in the top ten, so either her score was on the lower end, or—" His eyes flicked over to where Ponytail was chatting with Lobes.
"In on recommendation…" Katsumi murmured, completing his train of thought.
"That's what I was thinking… I should have asked Todoroki earlier when I had the chance, but maybe… Hey, Momo!"
"Ah, Midoriya-san?"
"Did you recognize anyone competing today from your recommendation exam? Or maybe Todoroki mentioned something?" Izuku tapped his pencil thoughtfully against the page with the girl's name written.
Yaoyorozu touched a knuckle to her lips as she pondered the question, nodding to herself a moment later. "Yes, in fact there was, now that you mention it… A green-haired girl and a boy with a particularly unnerving smile, his teeth were quite blocky if I remember correctly! Does that help?" she added, frowning slightly.
Izuku was already scribbling the information he could gather on the lined pages. "That's plenty, thanks! I ran into the latter of the two—he's got the ability to either dissolve a surface into something resembling quicksand," Izuku commented idly. "But Setsuna… I suppose she's still a mystery…"
"Eh… not quite." Katsumi grumbled, "I may remember wrecking the team with that girl on it… how they managed to actually end up in fourth is a fuckin' miracle if you ask me…"
Izuku turned to her expectantly, pencil poised to record anything she could add. It was a sight she'd grown used to in their many years together, but it never failed to bring a warm feeling to her gut. Not that she'd ever admit that out loud…
"All I saw her do was pop off her hand and send it through the air, but ponytail and icy-hot's quirks are no joke, if this Setsuna chick is on the same level, then there's got to be more to it than that…" Katsumi kicked her feet up on the railing, feigning indifference.
"Interesting…" Izuku murmured, filling the page in the span of a few minutes.
"Wow, I forgot how intense they could get…" Mina whispered to Ochako who nodded back in response.
"Totally! But I'm glad it's Izuku-kun that has the first match of the tournament, I'd be so nervous!" the brunette chirped back, visibly shaken at the thought.
Katsumi herself couldn't wait for her turn to get into the arena. But for the time being, she'd settle for living vicariously through the nerd. Lucky bastard got picked for the first round.
"Hellooo all you party people!" a familiar voice thundered through the stadium, and unlike during the UA entrance exam, the thousands of live spectators roared right back.
"Are you ready to see these sixteen finalists duke it out for the title of Undisputed Strongest first year!?" Present Mic paused like the commentator pro he was, the crowd going apeshit for the the most anticipated final event. "For our first match, you're in luck, listeners! It's the man of miracles himself, he's swept the first two events with prodigious ease! It's class 1-A's Midoriya… IZUKU!"
Now that's what she was talkin' about! Katsumi swatted repeatedly at Izuku's shoulder, "Get down there, nerd, go show em what an S-tier hero really looks like!"
Izuku grinned crookedly over at her, handing off his notebook, and getting to his feet. "Wish me luck?"
"Hah! Luck's for weaklings, Deku!" Katsumi suddenly lunged forward, shoving him bodily over the railing.
The yelp the nerd let out as he toppled over the edge brought a grin to her lips, but Ochako and Mina, not to mention the rest of her class in the rows behind them, all flipped out for some reason
"Izuku-kun!"
"Midorin!"
"Ah, calm your tits, Pinky, he's fine…"
The sections of the crow sitting closest to 1-A gasped audibly as Izuku fell the first few meters, but quickly changed their tune as his quicksteel caught up, slowing his descent until he leveled out, carving his way fluidly through the air to the arena below. The camera drones had of course followed him the entire way down, broadcasting the memorable entrance for the world to see.
The fans were obviously losing their minds…
"He's insane!"
"So cool! How does he do it!?"
"Did you see him take on Endeavor's kid!? He punched through a friggin' glacier!"
"Izuku-kun! We love you!"
…
Oh god the nerd had fangirls already… But Katsumi couldn't help but grin at the well-deserved praise. It was about fuckin time that Izuku got it through his head that they were the best, it was time to prove it to the world!
"Cool it, Hotshot! The listeners can only take so much!" Mic cried, playing to the crowd. "And his opponent, she got in on recommendation, folks! It's class 1-B's own Setsuna… Tokage!"
The girl took to the stage in a much more sedate manner than her competitor. She entered, stretching her arms over her head with an air of nonchalance that impressed even Katsumi. It seemed that she wasn't the only one looking forward to proving her worth on a national stage. Tough luck that she wouldn't be making it past the first round…
"Oh… I'm so nervous!" Ochako whispered to her left, once again leaning over the railing. As if those extra few inches would afford her a better view of the match.
"HAHAH you should be!" a voice called, seemingly coming from the divider to the far right of the section dedicated to their class. The high tones instantly grated on Katsumi's nerves, and before she'd even turned in the speaker's direction, she knew the bastard was gonna' piss her off. Call it intuition…
"They're all going crazy for class 1-A just because you were better at getting attacked, but so far it just looks like you're all getting carried by one above average student! And you call yourselves heroes!?"
Katsumi's eyes snapped to the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy that was peeking over the barrier to the next section like some sorta creep. "Hah?! The fuck did you just say, asshole? Am I supposed to know you?"
She didn't recognize the prick on first glance, but that didn't mean much. Katsumi didn't bother to remember most of these pathetic excuses for heroes anyway. Luckily, some of her class did seem to know the boy…
"Wasn't he the guy that stole Todoroki's quirk in the cavalry battle? He was quite brutal with his retaliation if I remember…" Ponytail whispered from the row behind her.
Iida was quick to confirm. "Indeed! Young man, it is quite rude of you to taunt your fellow competitors! Have you no shame?!" His forearm chopped sharply through the air to add emphasis to his point.
"Bahahah! You were the dumbass they had to melt out of that ice block?!" Katsumi cackled madly. "As much as it pains me to agree with engines here, D-listers that didn't even make it to the knockout rounds shouldn't talk!" Katsumi drawled, immediately dismissing the boy as a threat.
The voyeur seemed to take a deep breath for some kind of response, before a slightly oversized hand wacked him over the head from behind. He slid comically out of sight, only for a smiling orange-haired girl with sparkling turquoise eyes to replace him.
"Sorry about him, he gets like that when he's off his leash," she said, waving apologetically. "Good luck to your classmate! Setsuna's pretty tough!"
"Like we need fucking luc—"
"Thanks! You too!" Round face chirped, boldly cutting Katsumi off.
Damn it. She was learning…
"And Begin!"
Katsumi's gaze snapped back to the arena below, glancing toward the big screen to double check that she hadn't missed any of the action.
She hadn't. Deku was simply observing his opponent with a calculating gaze, his quirk twitching around at shoulder height. It came as no surprise to see him starting out with a more passive approach. Katsumi was honestly just as excited for this match as she was for her own. When completing team exercises in class, Izuku often took utilized his mobility strategically, only taking a head on fight when it served some purpose for the objective.
But now… he had no choice.
Katsumi recognized the exact moment Deku was done planning. A slight tensing of his right shoulder was the only tell, only visible because she'd happened to be looking at a display with an ideal angle.
His jabbed out a loosely clenched fist, plunging it into his quirk and molding a staff in the blink of an eye. The weapon whistled through the air in a devasting horizontal strike, lengthening and extending its range just enough to slam into his opponent at the apex of the arc.
Even Setsuna herself seemed to be startled at the sudden attack, grin falling away and eyes shooting wide. The glinting quicksteel rod impacted the narrowest point of the girl's waist, and for a moment, the spectators went silent at the perceived result.
"No way!" Round Face gasped to her left.
"D…did he just kill her?!"
Izuku's staff seemed to cut through the point of impact, bisecting the green-haired girl completely in half… Even Katsumi's eyes had been fooled for a moment, but a closer inspection revealed the truth.
Setsuna's torso had separated completely from her shapely hips and legs. The blue material of her UA jacket flapped in the wind as the upper half floated in place. The 1-B student's snarky grin was back in place.
Katsumi leaned forward, peering with narrowed eyes over steepled fingers. "Well that's a bit more troublesome than I'd thought…"
"An opponent that can divide her body at will…" Iida mused in his typical uptight fashion. "For someone like Midoriya, who relies on purely physical attacks for offense, that seems like quite the unfortunate matchup!"
"Ehh? Worried already?! I guess class 1-A isn't so great after all!?"
Great. The B-lister was talking again…
Katsumi relaxed her posture and leaned back into her seat, swiveling a piercing crimson eye towards the blonde annoyance. "Keep watching, extra. You're about to learn exactly why encountering real danger makes so much of a difference."
Though, as she watched Setsuna disassemble herself before the world, Katsumi was only more certain that the fans would get their money's worth.
oooOo Izuku oOooo
Setsuna's quirk was amazing!
Izuku slipped, ducked, and leaped away as he was assaulted with by the disembodied pieces of his opponent's left arm.
Complete separation of body parts with no obvious drawbacks? Plus she had remote control of the detatched parts beyond what any normal body could accomplish! Setsuna's torso, sans arm, still floated idly above her legs even as more and more parts continued to peel off her body. There had to be some kind of limit to the girl's ability to split, or at least her ability to manipulate the pieces…
What kind of range did she have… Was there a 'primary' piece that controlled the rest? A time limit?
Izuku skipped backwards with feather-light footwork to put some distance between them, all the while keeping a sharp eye on the white paint denoting the arena's boundaries. Sure enough, a stream of body parts followed after him, moving deceptively quickly through the air. Curiously enough, the size of each part didn't seem too affect how quickly they could move…
Alright… If that was the case, then it was reasonable to assume that the heavier appendages could pack a greater punch, but exactly how strong were they?
Only one way to find out…
Izuku suddenly skidded to a halt, coating his forearm with quicksteel just to be safe and blocked the literal flying elbow with a crossguard. It was a testament to Setsuna's strength that Izuku could feel the impact of the first strike as it slammed into his unflinching guard. In fact, it felt significantly stronger than any blow without the weight of a body to back it up had any right to be.
But it was nothing he couldn't handle.
Izuku could see how wonderfully useful Tokage's quirk would be with a more dynamic objective to achieve, but unfortunately for her, there was no other mission in the ring to achieve but victory… Knowing that Setsuna truly did not have the destructive power to decisively KO him, if he could avoid being bombarded by body parts from multiple angles, all he had to worry about was locking the slippery 1-B student down…
"Woah! It seems like Setsuna's got her opponent on the ropes! The buggy-bodied dynamo from class 1-B seems to have proven her mettle, putting the powerhouse Midoriya on the defensive! Eraserhead, how will he get himself out of this one!?"
"It's been a while since I've taught a first year as talented as Midoriya in hand to hand combat, and that quirk of his only bolsters his power even further… However, for someone like Tokage, whose quirk renders physical attacks all but useless, all of that means nothing—"
"You heard it here first, folks! Midoriya is screwed!"
"—You didn't let me finish, Mic, this match is far from over… As we've clearly seen up to this point, Midoriya's quicksteel is hardly that one-dimensional… Even I haven't seen everything that kid is capable of…"
So Aizawa could compliment his students—apparently just not to their faces…
Izuku couldn't help but grin even as Setsuna attempted to blindside him with what looked like a piece of her left shoulder, not that he could really tell at this point. His senses served him well letting him duck the attack by a hair, leaping to the side in the next moment, and seemingly falling for the trap his opponent had set.
A barrage of limbs descended on his position, all led by the girl's two grasping hands in what he assumed was an attempt to restrain him.
But he had a gambit of his own…
Izuku had picked out a few habits of the admittedly prodigious 1-B student over the course of their short match. He knew better than to simply assume her quirk was so strong from the get go, it most likely took years and years of practice to be able to control so many parts simultaneously. He'd yet to see the upper limit of how many times she could split, but for whatever reason, Setsuna seemed to leave her hands completely assembled. He imagined the dexterity offered by all digits working in conjunction was far more valuable than any force she could generate with the fingers on their own.
Most importantly, it meant that they would probably not split apart unless she consciously willed it to happen. Considering her head and torso were still floating safely at the other end of the arena, she shouldn't be able to recognize Izuku's intentions until it was too late.
He spun around, quicksteel suddenly bloating into a massive bubble and encapsulating the barrage of Setsuna pieces in an instant. Settling his palm on the spherical surface was enough to solidify the structure, entrapping the various limbs for good. The ringing clangs of the frantic body parts fruitlessly trying to make their escape echoed across the arena, but was dwarfed by the raucous cheering of the crowd at his counterattack.
But he'd long since tuned all that unnecessary information out. His heartbeat had accelerated to a comfortably rapid pace, endorphins pumping from the admittedly short game of cat and mouse.
With a thought, Izuku shrunk the size of the spherical prison down to a more manageable size, venting the excess air out of miniscule openings so as to not let his 'hostages' escape.
A subtle grin came upon his lips. The venue was about as far from a freeway underpass as you could get, and his opponent was far more attractive than the sludge monster had been—not that that was very difficult to accomplish—but to think he'd ended up employing such a similar strategy to back then…
But this opponent was far from finished. Izuku's jade-green eyes flashed as he leveled a stare across the arena to a visibly flustered Setsuna. She hovered several meters above the arena floor, her upper torso divided into several pieces—flashing a reasonably toned midriff he might add—while her head remained whole. Other than that, though, it seemed both arms from the shoulder down were missing, as well as the girl's legs from mid thigh…
The toothy grin remained, but her body language, as much as Izuku could tell while it was in that state, screamed indecision.
"So… where do we go from here, Setsuna-san?" Izuku called over the distance. He strafed the girl's position slowly, always keeping a hand on his quicksteel prison as it floated alongside him. "Will you attack with your torso next? Or maybe a butt cheek?" He flashed a cheeky grin her way.
A bit out of character for sure… but maybe Kacchan had been rubbing off more on him that he'd thought…
"Hah! You wish you could touch this ass, hotshot!" his opponent snarked back. "But I'm hardly incapacitated!" She demonstrated this fact by undulating her unrestrained body parts tauntingly through the air. The action earned a decidedly male cheer from the crowd. "How do you even plan to win when I can just avoid you until you tire out?!" she added, tilting her head entirely upside down while she spoke
It was a bluff.
Izuku's quirk, unlike most emitters, had a single niche weakness that made for particularly poor matchups with specific opponents, but otherwise did not drain his stamina in any overt way. Setsuna's however, was most likely classified as transformative, which often came with the obvious drawback of a limited amount of time it could be used.
Izuku considered it as a reasonable tradeoff for the often-multifaceted nature of that class of quirks, but in this situation, it played heavily into his favor. He could run out the clock, betting on Tokage's limit to come far before his… but he did have another, more immediate option.
It wasn't very hero-like though…
He brought the encapsulated limbs up to chest level, palming the sphere between his mismatched hands in contemplation. "Forfeit, or I'll start breaking fingers…"
"D-dude…" She deadpanned, the involuntary utterance barely audible in the distance between them.
Setsuna suddenly lurched forward with several body parts as if she was going to rush his position, but Izuku had been waiting for something like that.
With a twitch of his fingers, the quicksteel between his palms shifted slightly, applying a generous amount of pressure to where he could feel her fingers within. Not enough to break anything yet, but definitely enough to prove he was capable of doing so.
The warning worked, halting his opponent's rush before it could even begin.
The green-haired girl scowled in frustration, turning to Midnight keeping careful watch on the sidelines. "I give."
oooOo Shoto oOooo
Shoto couldn't quite find it in himself to join the rest of his classmates to watch the first few matches before his own. Not that he had anything against them all, but with his conversation with Midoriya weighing heavily on his mind, he truly needed an introspective moment to calm his swirling thoughts.
The small locker room was distinctly modern when compared to the traditional Japanese architecture that adorned the majority of his Father's estate. The dojo that he'd spent most of his childhood training in may have been a less than stellar experience at times, but humans were creatures of habit after all…
The white stone walls and metallic storage containers were too clinical for his tastes.
But it was a minor inconvenience, a small sacrifice in exchange for the massive monitor that dominated the far side of the room. Multiple camera angles from the main stage were projected, giving anyone who didn't wish to watch the action live, an opportunity to observe their competitors.
Todoroki's own first-round opponent, was shorter girl from their sister hero course. A Brunette, whose hair was styled in a way that shadowed her eyes whenever he'd laid eyes on her. She'd barely shown her hand so far in the competition. He'd have to go into his first bout blind, relying on his power to carry him in lieu of proper research on his opponent, but that was hardly anything new.
No, his real intention was obvious. Assuming that Midoriya continued his winning trend, Todoroki would be facing him in the quarterfinals, so any information on how the enigmatic class rep fought would be invaluable.
It was obvious that Setsuna Tokage's quirk was formidable, her skill at putting it to use even more so. But even after being put on the back foot initially, the match had concluded in an expected, albeit anticlimactic, matter. Not that the first match had really given him any earthshattering revelations… Shoto had already known that letting Izuku get his hands on him would seal his loss in an instant.
He couldn't help but wonder exactly how Midoriya had forced Setsuna's surrender. What had he said to her? Some kind of threat? Shoto hadn't exactly expected it from the heroic teen, but after considering Midoriya's actions in the admittedly short time he'd known him, the boy was nothing if not pragmatic.
At least when Bakugo's life wasn't on the line…
A glance back to the monitor revealed the next round underway. A fair-skinned girl with orange hair, and an athletic figured quickly traded blows with a boy whose exposed skin looked vaguely similar to when Midoriya wrapped himself in his quirk. From what he could tell, however, the 1-B student lacked all the finesse and versatility that made Midoriya so dangerous, relying only on brute strength. Though frankly, the green-haired boy most likely had him beat on that front as well…
Against his current opponent, though, the boy's metal body proved quite effective.
Enlarged fists slammed relentlessly into the boy's metal body, the girl displaying a sound mix of martial styles. It was no surprise that they leaned more towards elements of boxing rather than techniques that favored kicking or grappling. But the metal boy seemed to tank everything the girl could dish out and then some.
He absorbed every punch, palm strike or chop that was sent his way, tucking himself behind a peekaboo style guard and holding his ground. Shoto had to admit that what the boy lacked in technique he certainly made up for in tenacity.
Both fighters showed their mettle, proving for the world to see that they belonged at a school as prestigious as UA. Shoto made an attempt to analyse their fighting styles, but it was halfhearted at best…
Every narrative he'd considered for this tournament involved his own clash with Midoriya, meaning that whoever won the current bout, would inevitably lose to the powerhouse in the next round…
Another glance to the screen showed the fight coming to a close, the metal-boy from 1-B tackling his classmate to the ground and pinning her with a lock that appeared determinedly nonviolent. Perhaps a hint of mercy between peers? Not that it was exactly exploitable at this point of the competition…
Todoroki rose, exiting the locker room and making his way through the many hallways towards the south entrance of the main stage. While this may have been his first time participating in this particular competition, it wasn't the first time he'd made an appearance in a televised event, being a spawn of the number two hero came with its own set of perks after all…
He patiently waited for his name to be announced over the loudspeakers, clearing his mind of all errant thoughts. His opponent was unknown, but his ice had never let him down before. Frost swirled idily under his right palm, the dull hum of the roaring crowds serving as a backdrop to the scene until finally…
"You've seen him in action all day, folks! The back to back runner-up to the first two events is here! The man of ice and fire himself, TODOROKI SHOOOTOOOOO!"
A bit melodramatic for Shoto's tastes, but tacky intros notwithstanding, it was time.
oooOo Izuku oOooo
"Seriously, Izuku, I told you already, I'm fine!" Tokage said, not for the first time. Though that was probably his fault for apologizing so much.
Despite the girl's reassurances, the way he'd won certainly hadn't felt very sporting. In fact, he expected that some of his own classmates might have a few words for him when he got back to his seat. He could perfectly imagine the way Kirishima might find his 'lack of manliness' personally insulting.
But luckily, the girl's playful personality leant itself well to not holding grudges. She'd forgiven him immediately, and had remained friendly while he'd observed the match that followed.
Both fighters had put on a show the viewers would surely remember, but in the end, Tetsutetsu had proven his iron will, coming out victorious and cementing his place as Izuku's next opponent.
Setsuna, who'd stayed and watched the match to support both of her classmates, had offered to walk back with him back to their class's seating area. He'd accepted, knowing that their assigned sections were right beside each other. Flying back to his seat during someone else's time in the spotlight would be beyond rude, despite the time in may have saved him in the long run… He'd heard Todoroki's introduction over the loud speakers just moments previously, so they'd have to hurry if he didn't want to miss the beginning of his fight…
"—hellooo, earth to Izuku!"
He caught hold of the disembodied hand that'd gone to poke at his forehead.
"Nice reflexes, though I guess I shouldn't be surprised." She shot him a sheepish grin, but the apology wasn't needed. He'd gladly forgive the girl for the chance to inspect her quirk in a non-combative environment.
He turned the appendage every which way, the quicksteel digits of his left hand handling the with a deliberate care. The edge left by the separation of Setsuna's hand at the wrist, was the same fleshy color of her natural skin tone, rounded, unblemished, and without any indication of how the muscles and ligaments were directed to move. Just another oddity surrounding the sometime illogical nature of quirks, he supposed.
"Ah… I guess I deserved that, but can I have my hand back now?"
Izuku blanched, caught up in his inspection. "Sorry! I couldn't help but be curious. Your quirk is really unique, Tokage-san."
"No worries," she said, leading the way up the stairs that led to their section of the stadium. "And you're one to talk! I thought Tetsutetsu's steel was pretty incredible already, but I can't help but feel sorry for him!" She leaned in flirtatiously, vibrant, dark-green hair bouncing with the motion. "You're something else, Izuku-kun!"
Izuku coughed lightly, putting a bit more distance between them, but Setsuna didn't seem to take offense. Perhaps he'd been reading into things a bit? Maybe her forward nature was just a part of her personality…
"So what's up with your hand?" Setsuna asked suddenly, her playful tone turning more curious. "You move the rest of that stuff around like it's nothing, but your left's always metal, and it's so cold!" she said, shivering as her own limb reattached to her body.
How to answer that? Well, it wasn't exactly a secret… Anyone who looked into the villain attack with any effort could figure it out with some basic deduction.
"You guys heard about the stuff that went down at the USJ right?" Izuku said, taking a left turn that Setsuna followed unconsciously.
"Of course," she said matter of factly. "It's all anyone at school was talking about for weeks! At least until the tournament got closer," she added belatedly. Setsuna quirked her lips to the side, "People were amazed that a class of first years could escape a real villain attack unscathed…"
"Nearly unscathed," Izuku clarified, separating the quicksteel from his left wrist, revealing the scarred stump underneath. He leveled a blank look at the girl who'd paused in shock, blinking slowly at the information.
"Dude…"
Apparently 1-B hadn't been entirely aware of the situation, not that it really changed anything, It was hardly a weakness at this point, at least not against any of his future opponents from the other classes.
"Risks of the hero lifestyle, right?" Izuku joked, reattaching the prosthetic and wiggling his fingers playfully. Realizing that he'd arrived at the turnoff for his class's seats, he left the still-speechless girl with a parting shot. "Don't sweat the loss, Setsuna-san! At the end of the Tournament the sponsors will remember that you lost to the future champion."
He threw a wave over his shoulder before entering his class's section, making his way down the bleachers to where he'd left Katsumi a half-hour previously. Only for his attention to be drawn away from his girlfriend, and towards the arena where he could see Todoroki and his opponent taking the stage.
"You sure took your time, nerd," Kacchan taunted as Izuku took his seat beside her.
He laughed, kicking his feet up over the ledge of their section. "What? No scathing review of my match? No 'shoulda layed her out in the first four seconds, nerd!" Izuku did his best to pitch his voice to match her aggressive drawl. From the look she was giving him, it appeared that she wasn't amused.
"Who the fuck was that supposed to be!?" she growled, eyebrow twitching at the snickers from the few classmates sitting close enough to overhear.
"I dunno, Bakugo," Jiro called, twirling one of her jacks innocently. "That sounded pretty familiar…"
"Fuck off, Lobes! No one asked you!"
The bickering appeared to finally trigger Iida's tolerance for misbehavior. He shot out of his seat, chopping his arm with rapid fire swishes. "That is quite enough, don't you think?! One of our esteemed classmates is about to do battle on this most prestigious stage. Do you not think that we should give him our full attention?!"
"Alright, Iida, we get it." Izuku grinned sheepishly. "He's right, guys, lets see what Todoroki's really made of, eh?
"Right!" The class chimed, turning their attention towards the stadium.
oooOo Shoto oOooo
Todoroki coughed lightly into a fist as he came to a stop several meters across from his opponent, tuning out the roaring crowds as best he could. The girl standing opposite him was…
Odd. That was the first descriptor that came to mind, anyway… It wasn't thought in a malicious way, but from her strange appearance to the unnerving way she grinned at him from under her bangs was just… off putting.
Perhaps a cautious approach was his best bet at this point… Not that that changed his strategy much...
He coughed again, a slight tickle in his throat irritating him beyond belief. It'd been ages since he'd last been sick in the slightest, as much as he despised his father's fire, the inhuman resistances to extreme temperature had done wonders for his immune system. Shoto glanced over to where Midnight stood to one side of the marked boundaries, prepared and ready to officiate the match. The anticipation was tangible on the air, until finally…
"Ready… BEGIN!" Present Mic cried, signaling the fight to commence.
This was it. A decisive first strike was the obvious choice.
Todoroki inhaled deeply, letting the frost flood his being… only, he couldn't. His lungs were unable to receive any air as his throat constricted seemingly of his own accord. Heterocramatic eyes flew wide at the unexpected asphyixiation, his body lurching as it tried to force even the smallest bit of precious oxygen down his windpipe.
"What the—".
At least that's what he might have said if it wasn't for the blockage, but even as that thought crossed his mind, an even more pressing concern made itself known. Namely, the massive forest of fungi that began to sprout from the exposed surfaces of his skin.
"Woah! It looks like 1-B's Komori's got the hookup, yo! Look at those magic mushrooms go!"
"They really gave you a hero license…" Aizawa sighed at the questionable commentary.
"Just stay groovy, Eraserhead!" the blonde radio host shot back, audibly throwing him a double thumbs up.
Todoroki might have appreciated the witty banter between the two longtime friends a bit more if he hadn't been so preoccupied with his current situation.
How foolished he'd been… Focusing so bullheadedly on a match that was still two rounds away, while he'd still had a formidable, if strange, opponent right in front of him! He really was off his game today…
Todoroki idly rubbed the pads of the thumb and forefinger of his right hand together, a nervous tick from when he was younger. But it served its purpose, the soothing frost immediately crackling to life in his palm.
Even as one of the spongy mushrooms, the one swelling up from his forehead to be precise, began to completely obscure his vision, his heartrate also began to slow… As long he had his ice, he couldn't lose… He wouldn't.
"Aren't my wonderful shrooms just lovely?" a nasally voice called. But Todoroki couldn't pinpoint her location as the creeping fungi continued to bloat, blinding him and muffling his senses.
No matter.
Todoroki retained enough freedom of motion to take a knee, placing a palm against the concrete surface of the arena. Such a large-scale attack was impractical in the previous events, considering the limitations in place, but in a 1v1, there was no one else in the ring to act as collateral damage. His quirk activated, and Todoroki shivered.
Ice Age.
oooOo Izuku oOooo
"What's going on!? Is Todoroki-san okay?" Uraraka said
Izuku frowned down at the arena, chin resting upon his clasped hands while some of his classmates echoed the brunette's worry. Personally, he felt it was a bit early to judge the match, but Komori's quirk was nothing if not unique…
Massive, distinctly organic-looking structures were sprouting seemingly everywhere within the boundaries of the arena, including both competitors. However, where Komori jauntily hopped around, admiring her mushrooms without a care in the world, Todoroki had responded with obvious distress, even before the forest of fungus had begun to grow on his body.
"It's gotta be pretty hard to move around with all that stuff growing off him, but still…" Izuku's brows narrowed over glinting verdant eyes.
"But Todoroki should just be able to blast her away, right?!" Kirishima was practically climbing over the row below him to get a better look at the action. "Why's he hesitating so much?"
"We're missing something…" Katsumi grumbled by his side, a thoughtful expression coming over her features.
Izuku dipped his chin in agreement. Todoroki's quirk was powerful, but even more relevant was the boy's judgement and quick reactions. It wasn't like him to let someone get the jump on him like that…
But in the next moment, as if in response to their worries, Todoroki's struggling form stilled, earning a curious expression from Komori as she circled his location.
The crowd seemed to freeze in suspense, and in the next moment the metaphor was given reality as ice and frost erupted in a concentric pattern with Todoroki at the epicenter. Gusts of bonechilling air buffeted the crowd along with the expanding ice, but did nothing to deter their shouts and cheers at the flashy attack.
Izuku's eyes widened with interest at the way the sudden assault spread to cover the entire arena as his class erupted with astonished cries. Todoroki's attacks, at least the large-scale ones he'd been showcasing all day had always been directional, originating from his right side, and traveling in a single vector. But this one was different, an area of effect attack that covered every direction, even those in the boy's blind spot.
It was definitely something he'd keep in mind…
Despite the less than ideal start, the match had been decided in an instant, Komori's mushrooms withering and falling off Todoroki's body the minute she'd been immobilized. Or perhaps the fungi struggled to grow in such frigid conditions? Izuku wasn't exactly sure, but he made note of it regardless, hoping he'd be given the chance to study her quirk when their lives were less hectic.
Izuku chuckled at the thought. As if that would ever happen…
Down on ground-level, Midnight idly brushed the frost that clung to the sheer material of her costume, before cracking her whip through the air—"Todoroki wins by immobilization!"—prompting Todoroki to melt his opponent out of the ice.
Izuku had never really given much thought to the boy using his fire in these types of scenarios, undoing the destruction caused by his ice, but given the conversation they'd had so recently, it certainly held a new significance, at least in his eyes…
oooOoOoOooo
The cheers and taunts among their classmates were a bit more of a mixed bag for the next match, both competitors being from 1-A. But from an objective standpoint, Izuku just wanted to see how far Momo could push the application of her near-limitless quirk.
That wasn't to say that he wanted Sero to lose… But to a self-proclaimed connoisseur of quirks such as himself, Creation was just so fascinating!
"Don't hold back, Sero! Show her that us average students can go hard too!"
"Is that supposed to be a complement, Kirishima?" Mina said skeptically, tilting her head back to where the boy sat behind her.
"Rip off her clothes like one of those old fighting games!"
Izuku didn't need to check who'd shouted that encouraging bit of commentary… He ignored the pained cry that followed. He'd lived with his friends long enough to recognize the sound of Mineta being impaled by Jiro's jacks in an instant. No, Izuku was much more interested in watching the match unfold.
"BEGIN!"
Sero took immediate action at Present Mic's call, firing off his super-adhesive tape from both elbows. The bone-white ribbons of material rocketed toward Yaoyorozu's position with a surprising velocity, latching tightly around the arm she'd raised in defense.
In an attempt to end the match before his academically inclined opponent could react, Sero twirled in place, swinging the partially restrained Momo in a wide arc.
Izuku winced, the rest of the class gasping in unison as the girl was flung bodily towards the perimeter of the arena. But Izuku could tell that the girl wasn't out of this yet, her expression was calm, brows narrowed into a fierce focus as the cyan glow of her quirk lit up around her restrained forearm.
A hollow cylinder seemed to sprout out of her forearm, expanding the constrictive tape enough so she could slip her wrist free.
"Clever…" Katsumi commented under her breath to his left. "But how will she push that advantage…"
As if in response to Katsumi's commentary, Momo tumbled with the momentum of Sero's toss, regaining her feet with and impressive grace. She spawned several objects in the palms of her hands, flinging them across the distance between her and Sero in the next moment.
"Woah! The woman of creation, Yaoyorozu Momo, ditches Hanta Sero's trap in an instant! What else does she have up her sleeve, folks?!"
Izuku's eyes flicked to one of several monitors displaying a closer perspective of the fight, trying to pick out exactly what the objects tossed by Momo were… They were oblong in shape, each a bright red color, detailed with an image that Izuku couldn't quite identify at this distance. But if he wasn't mistaken…
Russian matryoshka dolls?
But the girl's creations proved to be more than meets the eye in the next moment, audibly popping open and ejecting not scaled down dolls, but thick, billowing clouds of grey smoke. Without a second thought, the ponytailed girl sprinted into the smokescreen even as the glow of her quirk flared up once more, right as Izuku, as well as the rest of the spectators, all lost sight of both combatants.
"It looks like Yaoyorozu's using a smokescreen to eliminate the ranged advantage of her opponent." Aizawa drawled into his microphone. "It looks like that girl's finally learning to multitask…"
"Wicked commentary, Eraserhead! But we can't see what's going on! Midnight, what situation down there!?"
The pro acting as referee on the ground level, stood ready, eyes peeled to pick out any sign of either combatant within the smoke. For a moment, the cheers and shouts of the fans dimmed, everyone waiting on the edge of their seats for some indication of the action.
What seemed like minutes later, but in reality was only a few seconds, a particularly powerful gust of wind swept the smoke away revealing Momo pinning Sero to the arena floor, his arms cuffed tightly behind his back, clearly restrained enough to decide the match.
Midnight's declaring Momo as the winner was merely a formality at that point, only made more evident by the crowd's roar of approval even before the official result had been announced.
"Good shit, girl!" Jiro called through cupped hands from the row behind him.
"Alright! You killed it!" Mina echoed.
"Better luck next time, buddy. That was still a rad fight!" Kaminari added good-naturedly.
Momo straighted up, tearing off the odd-looking pair of goggles that had she'd had fastened around her head. She glanced around to the cheering crowd with wide eyes, as if their praise came as a surprise… Izuku wasn't sure why, she seemed to come into the match with a plan, and executed it near-flawlessly.
The goggles, which, after a bit of thought, Izuku suspected were some kind of thermal imaging device, or something else that allowed her to see while Sero's own vision was obscured. After establishing such a favorable situation, it probably hadn't taken much effort to take down the more mobility focused Sero.
But now that she'd won, Momo had an even more pressing matter to consider. How would her creation, which topped the charts for versatility, stack up against Todoroki's raw combat ability? She was skilled, but Izuku couldn't help but have his doubts…
With that being said, the opening round was barely half way done, and up next was…
"Oi, shitty hair!" Katsumi growled as she stood, palms sparking with anticipation. "Try not to die too quickly, I've been waiting far too long for a fight!"
With that ultimatum delivered, she hopped up onto the ledge of their section, before dropping down several stories to the arena below. The telltale crack of her explosion indicated her softening the landing.
Kaminari snickered, patting the now-sweating redhead at his side companionably. "It was nice knowing you, dude…"
"Aww, cmon guys, how 'bout a little support over here!?" Kirishima cried exaggeratedly. His eyes shot frantically to each of his classmates before turning desperately to Izuku. "Midoriya! You gotta do me a solid, you got any advice? Man to man!"
Izuku chuckled lightly at the display, pondering the question for a moment before settling on what he felt was an acceptable response. "I know you're all about the manliness…" he leveled a piercing gaze at his classmate. "Don't go easy on her… You'll regret it…"