Katsuki wasted no time rushing Uraraka. Uraraka rushed at him as well, keeping low to the ground. He let loose an explosion that tore up the floor. Uraraka barely managed to dodge out of the way in time. She touched a couple of larger chunks of debris and threw them at Katsuki, cancelling out her quirk on them just before they reached him. He used some smaller explosions to break them apart but still got pelted by the smaller pieces that created.
His vision was also temporarily obscured by the dust it created. He looked around wildly to figure out where Uraraka had gone but couldn't spot her. He felt fingers brush his left arm and spun around quickly and loosed an explosion in that direction. He heard a small grunt of pain before the dust settled and he once again spotted his opponent. She gave him a fierce look of determination that he couldn't help but return.
She rushed again and he met her head on, doing his best to keep her at a distance so she couldn't use her quirk on him. Katsuki had far too many close calls, she was far more skilled than he originally thought. He brought his hands together, he needed some space. "Stun grenade!" he used his quirk to unleash a bright flash of light and used it to disengage from Uraraka's immediate area. Uraraka blinked after the light faded to clear her vision. "She's better than I had originally thought…" Katsuki thought as he narrowed his eyes at the still recovering Uraraka. "No way I'm gonna lose though. I made Deku promise to meet me in the finals. I'm gonna hold up my end of that too."
Uraraka, who had now recovered, rushed at Katsuki once again, keeping low to the ground. The two continued to exchange moves. One or both would rush the other, Katsuki would let loose an explosion to make sure Uraraka kept her distance and she would manage to dodge most of them. In a rare moment of rest the two stared each other down while Katsuki flexed his hands. If this wore on too long… Katsuki quickly shook the thought away. He would win, that's all there was to it.
Uraraka rushed again this time kicking up dust from the carved up floor. Katsuki did his best to track her movements. Maybe he should have listened to Izuku when he said his costume should have something to help him with dust and smoke because it was nearly impossible to track her. He spotted a shadow approaching from the left and didn't hesitate to set off another explosion in that direction. That only kicked up more dust and his face fell as he felt a hand firmly place itself on his back.
The effect was immediate. He began to gently float off the ground. The dust cleared and he spotted the proud face of Uraraka, now jacketless, holding her hands close to each other in preparation to release her quirk. "I think this is my win Bakugou!" Uraraka said, clearly out of breath. She put her hands together and Katsuki painfully landed on his back. With his gaze focused upwards he had no trouble seeing the large amount of debris, that he had no doubt created, falling towards him. He sucked in a deep breath, raised his hands towards the falling debris, and let loose a massive explosion. The debris was destroyed or redirected away from the field.
He slowly pushed himself onto his knees and locked eyes with Uraraka who was also on her knees. She smiled at him. "So close, huh?" she said before collapsing. Katsuki shakily pushed himself to his feet while the crowd cheered and he was led to Recovery Girl's office. He was pushed into a bed as Uraraka was transferred from the stretcher to a bed of her own. Recovery Girl looked over her and sighed. "You kids need to learn to not hurt yourselves so much fighting. This is nothing she won't recover from but she shouldn't have been baiting you like that! If she wasn't so quick to get out of the way there might be some more permanent damage." Recovery Girl said, annoyed.
"We both promised not to hold back, so we didn't. We both did our best to win." Katsuki said after Recovery Girl had started to patch up his injuries.
She sighed. "You kids these days…" She handed him a couple gummies. "Here take these, they'll give you some energy back."
Katsuki popped the gummies into his mouth when the door to the small office burst open. "Kacchan are you ok?!" Izuku asked, scanning the room till his eyes fell on Katsuki. "Oh, you're fine."
"And you're much too loud! If you're going to be in here be more quiet. I have another patient." Recovery Girl scolded. Izuku made a startled noise and quickly nodded his head.
Shinsou and Hatsume entered the room as soon as Izuku left the doorway and the three surrounded the bed Katsuki was currently in. "I'm fine you idiots." he said half heartedly.
Izuku frowned in thought. "If you say so."
"That match was pretty intense. Congrats on the win." Shinsou said, looking over at the still sleeping Uraraka.
"Thanks." Katsuki grunted out. His gaze also fell on Uraraka. He felt an odd sense of pride when he looked at her. Kinda like when Izuku would finally get something right when they had first started training together. She'd fought well and he felt no one else from his class could have put up as much of a fight as she did; not even the half n half bastard. Unbeknownst to him a small smile had made its way onto his face.
Izuku glanced between the two and smiled as well. Shinsou went to open his mouth but Izuku quickly put a hand over Shinsou's mouth and shook his head, frowning. Shinsou held his stare for a moment before backing down. Izuku removed his hand and smiled again. "If you're clear to go Kacchan we should head back to the stands. The second round will be starting soon."
Katsuki's smile faded as he looked over at Recovery Girl for confirmation. He got a quick nod in return. "Yeah, let's go. I need to conserve my energy to deal with the other idiots worrying anyway." Katsuki said as he pushed past the others.
Izuku was once again nervously bouncing in his seat. He was scheduled to be the last match of the round, but that's not what had him nervous. His opponent was Todoroki. Izuku knew he was strong. Of course Katsuki had downplayed Todoroki's skill but Izuku was a pro at reading him by now. He'd been at least slightly impressed by Todoroki.
Izuku's nervous energy didn't dissipate as he watched Katsuki go against the bird-headed student from his class. With his quirk he didn't stand a chance; Katsuki's quirk proved to be a perfect counter. The match was over quickly. Shinsou tapped him on the shoulder and gave a rare smile as he got up to go for his match. Izuku returned it. Unfortunately Shinsou's match does not go in his favor. He's pitted against another student from Katsuki's class; one Izuku remembered him saying was a recommendation student. She must have been warned about Shinsou's quirk so his easy path to victory was ruled out. It's not like he didn't put up a fight though. After seeing that she wouldn't fall for his quirk he gave it his all. Trying to put everything he'd learned in the couple weeks he'd been doing vigilante work to use. In the end it wasn't enough though and he ended up losing. Izuku patted him on the back as he returned to his seat. Shinsou spent the majority of the next match staring at the floor and frowning.
Finally it was Izuku's turn. He shakily handed his notebook to Shinsou once more. "Don't hold back got it? Show class 1-a what we can do." Shinsou said as Izuku started to walk away.
Izuku nodded his head. "I don't plan to. I'll win, just watch me." Shinsou studied his expression before nodding, satisfied. Izuku then rushed down to the prep room to get ready for his next match. He took deep breaths to calm himself. This was it; no more time to prepare. There was no way he could lose here. Not after promising to meet Katsuki in the finals. Izuku did a quick check over his staff. This would likely be the most important tool in his arsenal against Todoroki and his ice. Izuku frowned. Though he now knew that Todoroki could use fire like his dad. Though would he actually use it in this match? He'd just have to do his best.
"From general studies, the student who's surprised us all so far Midoriya Izuku!" Izuku had managed to push his nervousness aside while he walked out onto the field. "And his opponent from the hero course, class 1-a's powerhouse, Todoroki Shouto!" Todoroki, stoic as ever, walked out to stand across from him. Todoroki nodded respectfully towards him. Izuku barely had time to return the gesture before the match started and ice was rushing towards him. From pure reflex alone he managed to swing his staff around and blow up the quickly approaching ice.
Todoroki didn't let up though. He kept sending wave after wave of ice that Izuku barely kept up with. It was only with the ease that came with practice that he was able to replace the cartridges fast enough to keep up with the relentless attacks. "Looks like our general studies student is on the ropes again! Will he manage to pull through like before or has he met his match?" Izuku attempted to tune out the once again less than helpful commentary from Present Mic. He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. He had limited stamina and limited amounts of refill cartridges. Izuku scanned his opponent for any weakness he could use to slip past the assault. Then he saw it. The faintest signs of a shiver and the beginnings of frost on Todoroki's right side. Yes Izuku had a limit, but so did Todoroki.
Shoto breathed out a cloud of cold air as he sent yet another wave of ice at Izuku who once again blew it away. Shoto was getting frustrated. He had wanted to end this quickly, but Izuku proved to be unexpectedly tenacious. He needed to end this quickly. He could feel the frost beginning to coat his skin and the bone deep chill that indicated he was close to overusing his quirk. His attacks were weakening and Izuku used the openings to get in close. Izuku swept at Shoto's feet and managed to knock him off them. On reflex he used his ice to catch himself and put some distance between him and Izuku. Shoto would be the first to admit that his strong suit was not close quarters combat, but from what he's seen that's where Izuku thrived.
As the two danced around each other more, Shoto watch as Izuku's face grew more and more focused until a look a realization passed his features. He abruptly shoved Shoto back, who in his surprise put up little resistance, and retreated slightly. Shoto watched as Izuku's expression turned dark. "Do you really think you can hold back on me Todoroki?" he shouted at Shoto. Shoto said nothing, instead breathing out another cloud of cold air. "I told you to not hold back! Everyone here is giving it their all! For some of us this is the best shot we have at getting into the hero course! So for you to hold back when I'm trying to prove myself is insulting. You'll never win by using only half of your power! Do you think a villain is going to go easy on you? If you could save someone with your fire would you still refuse to use it!?" Izuku ranted at him angrily.
Shoto was taken aback. He couldn't believe that the boy in front of him now was the same boy who'd managed to befriend Katsuki. Still as unexpected as this development was Shoto was upset. He'd told Izuku about why he didn't use that man's quirk. At the time it seemed like he understood, so why was he talking like this now? Shoto's expression darkened as well. "I told you I won't us that-" Shoto was cut off as Izuku clenched his staff tighter.
"His quirk? Do you know how lucky you are to have a quirk at all? I've always wanted to be a hero, and that is so much harder without a quirk. Some would say it was impossible. You were given a quirk perfect for heroics and you choose to not use it to the fullest." Izuku sighed angrily as Shoto attempted to speak up. "Dammit Todoroki! It's your quirk! Not his! GIVE IT YOUR ALL!"
Shoto felt his resolve crumble in the face of this determined, quirkless, student in front of him. He clenched his left hand and felt sparks of flame begin to sprout to life. Soon his entire left side erupted into flames. Izuku's previously dark expression had changed into one of triumph and determination. "You're crazy. Did you know that? You've just helped your opponent." Shoto said evenly, doing his best to hide the emotion from his voice.
Izuku's determined grin widened. "I've been told that once or twice." he twirled his staff before settling into a fighting stance. "Now when I win it'll really count."
Shoto sent his fire at Izuku. He noted he had little control over it likely due to under use. Though he couldn't find it in himself to even think about holding back. He went at Izuku with everything he had. Izuku dodged around his wild flames rather gracefully while still using his staff to blow away Shoto's ice. All the while his determined grin stayed on his face. Shoto found the energy of the battle infectious and soon a similar smile was on his face. Both lost themselves in the fight.
The two backed up from each other panting. Izuku ejected another cartridge from his staff and replaced it with a new one. Shoto's arm had stayed alight the entire time and he was starting to feel the effects of having little control over his fire. "Let's end this Midoriya. We both know neither of us will last much longer."
Izuku stretched his arms. "I couldn't agree more Todoroki. Give it all you have."
Shoto nodded. He focused on unleashing both fire and ice at once; attempting to combine them into an improvised super move of sorts. Izuku rushed him and as the two were about to clash Shoto saw from the corner of his eye the teachers, Midnight and Cementoss, rushing to interfere. They were too late as Shoto's attack tore through the walls Cementoss constructed and the wind created from the impact nullified Midnight's quirk. Shoto, still stunned from the large scale attack, watched helplessly as a blur of green appeared off to his side and, with the capture weapon he'd used in the first round, threw Shoto out of bounds.
As soon as the air cleared it was clear to all Izuku had won. Shoto lay on his back out of bounds, panting heavily. Izuku stood near the edge of the field panting as well. "In an explosive finish Midoriya is the winner!" Present Mic announced and the crowd went wild.
Shoto watched at Izuku walked over to him. "That was, a good match Todoroki. I hope-" Izuku paused "-that we can be friends?" Izuku smiled at him.
Shoto looked up at his face and thought. Having a friend like Izuku sounded… nice. Shoto gave him a small smile and nod. The happy look on Izuku's face as Shoto was taken to Recovery Girl's office was enough to convince him that he'd made the right choice. He was glad that if he had to lose to anyone, that it had been Izuku.