After her fight, Ayano took her aisle seat at the back again. She carefully analyzed each and every fight, although she was eagerly awaiting Bakugou's. Throughout his entire fight, she held a gentle smile.
She not only admired Uraraka's strength, but she was happy to see Bakugou's change. He never underestimated his opponent, not even for a second – something that, in the past, would surely not be the case.
His ambition was real and it was roaring, causing the excitement to course through Ayano. Particularly at his release of a large explosion, repelling all of the debris that Uraraka had used against him.
Ayano gave a small, breathy laugh. She felt goosebumps rise on her skin, the shivers running down her body. Her lips tilted up and her grin looked eerily similar to Bakugou's when he accepted a challenge and was ready to get serious. "That bastard…to hide something like this from me!"
She had her suspicions about his capabilities, but she had yet to actually see his maximum output. Ayano was shaking, not with fear but with awe and exhilaration. She made a mental note to make sure to give the blond a beating for never mentioning this explosive power to her.
The fight between Midoriya and Todoroki did little to quell her excitement. While on that high, Ayano quickly won against her next opponent, Shiozaki. Although she had wanted to observe the 1-B student, Ayano deduced that it would be too risky. Binding types like her were particularly tricky to deal with and those fights tended to end quickly, as seen from the match between Shiozaki and Kaminari.
Soon enough, the second round of matches was over and the tournament reached the final four with Todoroki, Ayano, Tokoyami, and Bakugou.
Ayano faced Todoroki with her normally impassive face but for some reason, he felt as though she were glaring at him.
"It's time for the first match of the third round! Sasaki Ayano versus Todoroki Shoto! I think a lot of us were expecting it to be a Class 1-A show, but Sasaki has exceeded our expectations! The last one standing for not only the Support Course but for all the girls out there! Girl power!"
"Todoroki Shoto…" Ayano addressed him with an even voice but again, he felt uneasy about her. "I've run thousands of simulations already, and in almost every one of them, I lose. There is less than a one percent chance where I advance to the next round. In fact, it is far less than one percent."
"You are superior in nearly every single way. Your quirk, your physique, your fighting experience, and so on. It would be nothing short of a miracle if I were to win here, but I do not believe in miracles." Todoroki furrowed his brows, unsure of where she was going with this.
Midnight looked at her with confusion as well. "Sasaki, am I to take this as a forfeiture?" The girl responded without looking at Midnight. "Do not misunderstand. Although I am almost certain of my loss, that does not mean I will not benefit from this fight. Support companies are still watching, and I intend to give them a show. Besides…"
She turned her head to the stands, glancing up at the section designated for Class 1-A. Bakugou and Midoriya flinched under her gaze, neither one completely sure of who she was looking at. "If I were to forfeit, it would be an immense amount of disrespect to someone important to me."
The girl turned her head back to face Todoroki and it was now his turn to flinch, anxiety fluttering within him. "I also have some business with you." She stated.
"START!"
Ayano wasted no time in lunging at her opponent, catching him slightly by surprise. Todoroki quickly created a wall of ice, but Ayano was already within a foot of him. She used her air soles to push her off the ground, easily swinging around the pillar of ice to kick him in the left side.
His body was pushed to the side from the force but Ayano followed him with her air soles, throwing out more punches and kicks. She gave him very little time to react, not even waiting for his body to hit the ground before attacking again.
"Uuoohh! It's a full-frontal attack by Sasaki! But Todoroki manages to break through!"
The boy released chunks of ice from below him, causing Ayano to back off in order to dodge the frost at her feet. He took this moment of reprieve to cough and catch his breath, but Ayano would have none of it.
Raising her arm and taking aim, she shot a blast of air at the pillars of ice to shatter them. The force of the gust pushed Todoroki back. Although it wasn't to the same scale as Midoriya's finger flicks, he still had to form a block of ice behind him to make sure that he wouldn't be blown out of the arena.
Without hesitation, Ayano's air soles pushed her off the ground to lunge at him. Not having enough time to dodge, Todoroki raised his arms and crossed them in front of his face to block her punch. Unfortunately, she simply switched to her left arm and delivered a hard punch to his now unguarded mid-section.
The upper half of the boy's body sprung forward as he coughed up remnants from his stomach. Once again using this chance, Ayano cupped her hands together on the back of his head, swinging his head down onto her knee.
"…" Even the chatty Present Mic had no words for what he was seeing. The crowd was much quieter as well, many onlookers shocked at the girl's actions. "W-what…what is this…ruthlessness? It's almost cruel!"
Todoroki had managed to drive her back with rows of ice. For some reason, she relented and stood away from him, watching him catch his breath. He wiped at his face, smearing blood on it and around his hand from his bloody nose. He was already panting, but Ayano was in picture-perfect condition.
She held a completely dispassionate look, but Todoroki could have sworn he saw a face of contempt directed towards him.
"Much of the observers are surprised. I assume many of them only see this match as a fight between high schoolers and that many of them did not expect this kind of behavior from me, or the current one-sidedness of the fight." She raised her right arm, the gears in her bionic arm cover whirring.
"I, however, do not see this as 'just a fight between high schoolers.' I intend to teach you a lesson." Her words were followed by a massive gust of air, forcing Todoroki to make another block of ice behind him in order to hold him in place.
The winds caused his eyes to tear up, but he could still make out a blurry hook shooting towards him. He just barely dodged to the side, causing the grappling hook to pierce the block of ice instead of his ribcage.
With the hook still lodged in the ice, Ayano retracted the rope, quickly pulling herself towards it and towards him. Todoroki stomped his foot, layers of ice forming from it and darting at Ayano. Having predicted this move, she easily dodged by launching herself up with her air soles.
In mid-air, Ayano swiveled over and behind him. She kicked at his left side again, hearing a slight crunch. Todoroki rolled across the ground, clutching at his left ribs. Hearing her monotone voice, he looked up. "Ruthless? Maybe. Cruel? Perhaps." She took slow, calculated steps toward him.
"I highly doubt a villain would care about such pretenses though." Her fist slammed into the concrete, Todoroki having rolled away just in time to dodge. A thick dent was left in his place. Ayano lifted her fist and unclenched it, steam flowing out from the bionic arm cover.
"Would a villain hesitate in attacking? Would a villain give you time to react? Give you time to rest?" She asked rhetorically, throwing out more attacks as she went.
"If I were a villain, my actions would not just be seen as ruthless or cruel. It would be expected." Todoroki's eyes widened, realizing Ayano's intentions. She had been attacking and aiming only for his left side, the side he vowed not to use. It was an onslaught of concussive blows.
She was trying to force him into a corner just like Midoriya had. Trying to force him to use his flames. Was this the 'lesson' she was trying to teach him?
"What are you trying to do? You and Midoriya are childhood friends, did he put you up to this?" The girl raised a single eyebrow at him. "Izuku? He doesn't have anything to do with this, although your fight with him did give me many insights about you." Todoroki's confusion etched itself further onto his face.
"Then, is it for your 'analysis?' Are you playing around with me like you did for Iida?" She scoffed. "I will admit that I took my time this entire Sports Festival for my own reasons, but that does not apply with you."
Ayano reached into one of the pouches on her utility belt, pulling out a few red pills. "Am I deliberately playing the role of a villain? Yes, I am. Am I trying to force you into using your left side? That depends." She threw the pills at him, explosions being released upon impact with the ice he used to block them.
However, they served as a good enough distraction for Ayano to position herself behind Todoroki. "As I told Iida-san before, it is foolish to obstruct one's own field of vision when against a faster opponent." The dual-haired boy swiveled to block her kick, but he reacted too late and was once again hit on his left side.
"To be perfectly honest, whether or not you use your left side in this battle matters little to me. Recall that I mentioned only having less than a one percent chance of winning. The main condition for that was you never using your flames." Todoroki frowned in annoyance. "Then why are you doing all this?"
As they spoke, they exchanged blows. "A person of your caliber has surely noticed that I keep aiming for your left side. Any smart villain would do the same and take advantage of it. None of my attacks would land if you would just use your flames, yet you do not. It is your weakness, and a rather trivial one at that." At that last remark, Todoroki lashed out at her, successfully landing a solid blow for the first time.
"What would you know about me?!" Ayano stepped back and they stared each other down. She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. "I refuse to use my left side in battle! I'll be the one to decide if it's trivial or not."
The girl regarded him with disinterest. "I realize that my comment may be offensive, but I will not rescind it." Her eyes darted to the stands, at Endeavor watching the fight with a careful eye. "I come from a rather loving household, so I agree – I could never even hope to imagine what you have experienced. However, it is clear to see that your refusal to use your flames stems from hatred of your father."
"I am not saying that your past is trivial. I am saying that your reactions and your decisions due to your past are trivial." Todoroki only grew more annoyed, lashing out at her with more ice.
"The more you use your ice and the more you refuse to use your flames, the slower you get…" Her fist hit its mark on his left again. "…and the more advantageous it will be for me."
Todoroki nearly growled at her. "I will reach the top without using it. That way, I will have denied him everything." "Is that why you want to become a hero? Out of spite?" He flinched at her cold remarks.
He studied her. Although he had only landed one solid attack onto her, he did manage to scrape her many times. Her body was littered with scratches and small bruises. Her hair was in slight disarray from all the moving. Her breaths grew shorter as the match dragged on.
She was different in almost every way, but Todoroki still saw flashes of his match against Midoriya with her words. Why did he want to become a hero? Was it really out of spite? Midoriya showed him a glimpse of his desires. He wanted to become a hero for himself, not his father. However, something like that was easier said than done. It's not like he could just forget everything his father had ever done. There was no way he could just use his left side again like nothing happened.
"If that is really why you want to become a hero…" Ayano shifted her stance, preparing herself.
"I will end you here."
Chills went down Todoroki's spine, and it wasn't because of the overuse of his ice.
Her air soles propelled her toward him, the two exchanging more blows. Even though Todoroki was slowing down because of the frost build-up, Ayano was also slowing down from fatigue. As she said before, the boy holds a superior physique and battle sense.
He gained the advantage and managed to pierce her with a large shard of ice. Ayano yelped in pain, clutching at the wound on her stomach. Sweat was dripping down her chin, her chest heaving with every pant.
The blood pooled around her hand, dripping to the concrete and showing no signs of stopping. There was no way she could continue like this, leaving her with only one choice.
Ayano took out two pills, and yellow and a green one. She took a deep breath, steeling herself. She crushed the yellow pill against her side. The acid burning her wound, successfully cauterizing it to stop the bleeding.
Todoroki and much of the audience looked on in horror as Ayano screamed from the pain. She buckled over and fell to her knees, her screams echoing around the stadium.
Her screams were soon replaced with heavy breaths. She lifted a shaky hand to her side and crushed the green pill over her now cauterized wound. The green slime from within the capsule sealed itself over her skin, adding another precautionary measure to ensure that the injury would not open.
Looking at her tattered gym uniform and ragged appearance, Todoroki was again reminded of his match against Midoriya. As Ayano lifted her head to glare at him, he saw a vision of a beat up Midoriya next to her. They both held such determination in their eyes, going against him with everything they had.
"…Why…Why!? Why are you doing this?!" He yelled at her, demanding an answer. "I can understand Midoriya…but why you?! Why are you going so far!?" He could see why Midoriya said what he did during their match. Todoroki only using half of his strength would piss off anyone who was aiming to become the number one hero as well. Ayano, however, was someone of the Support Course. Why would she feel the same way? Why was she opposing him like this? Why was she playing the villain?
The girl gave a bitter laugh as she slowly got back to her feet. "I have no intention of becoming a hero. I never did." "Then, why?!" He asked again.
"My reasons for joining the Support Course…they are no different from the reasons of people who join the Hero Course." She clenched her fist, the gears in her bionic arm cover working. "Machines…equipment…technology. We create these things in order to make living in society easier, to make people's lives easier, to help people. Isn't helping people what heroes do too?"
Todoroki flinched at the murderous aura he felt radiating off of Ayano. "You…someone like you who wants to become a hero out of spite, to rebel against your father…I could never accept a reason like that! At this rate, even Bakugou will become a far better hero than you!" A gust of air shot out of her palm, causing Todoroki to make a pillar of ice behind him again.
Her air soles pushed her forward and she punched him in the stomach so hard it shattered the ice that supported him. He flew backwards, Ayano rolling on the ground with him as she was unable to keep her balance with how beat up she was.
The two struggled to lift themselves up, their arms shaking as they pushed off the ground. "A villain is not going to wait for you. A villain is not going to fight fairly, like in a tournament. A villain is not going to care about your family issues or your background."
"Like I said, any smart villain would notice in a heartbeat that you are only using half of your strength. You think they won't take advantage of that? You think they won't use that against you?" She clenched her teeth from the pain. Talking and shouting had irritated her wound.
"How can you ever become a hero…how can you ever help anybody…save anybody with only half of your strength? Your left side…your flames…they could mean the difference between somebody's life and death!"
"Are you going to let your father dictate what kind of hero you will become!? You are a disgrace! You are a disgrace to true heroes! You are a disgrace to people like me who live to help others, who create support items to help people!"
Todoroki's heart dropped.
Ayano was furious. Beyond furious.
She was somebody who only wanted to help others. That was her reason for creating support items. It was her life's purpose. She wanted to create support items for heroes because of the same reason. Heroes save lives. Support items save lives. Someone like Todoroki was the kind of person that she least wanted to become a hero, a person that she least wanted to use her support items.
Bakugou was not exactly virtuous in his reasons for becoming a hero either and he most certainly wasn't doing it to help people, but at least he gave everything his all.
"The most amazing hero always wins in the end."
How could Todoroki win if he never used all of his power? How could he save people if he was always at half of his strength?
A hero like that…Ayano could never accept a hero like that!
Todoroki knew she was right. He knew everything she said was right. Her and Midoriya, both. Yet, it was just so hard for him to accept his left side.
Ayano prepared for what she assumed was her final attack. Her stamina was at her limit. Her legs barely supporting her. She clenched her fist, puffs of steam being released from her bionic arm cover. Sparks of electricity were emanating from the equipment.
She shifted her weight and propelled herself into the air. Coming down at Todoroki, she reared her arm back and opened her mouth in a battle cry. Before impact, she could have sworn she saw a flicker of his flames.
As the two collided, a big explosion was produced. Shards of ice and debris were scattered everywhere. The spectators ducked for cover, hoping to avoid the barrage.
As the smoke cleared, everyone kept their eyes trained on the two figures laying down in the arena. Their muscles twitched, aching to relax but neither opponent relented. Each of them slowly got up, their arms and legs shaking in agony.
The chilled air revealed their labored breathing, each breath producing a cloud of fog. Neither stood up straight, their legs barely bringing them to an upright position in the first place. They wobbled, as if they were trying to keep balance while on a moving train.
Ayano's arm hung limp at her side, adorned with bruises, scratches, and burn marks. The tattered remains of her bionic arm cover clung to the limb.
Todoroki was in no better condition. He stared into her eyes. They looked dark, nearly lifeless, but she was still standing. As she took a shaky step forward, he gulped and prepared for another attack although he wasn't sure if he could take it.
His concerns were unwarranted though, as Ayano fell face first into the concrete.
Midnight jumped into the arena, checking the girl's pulse and for any signs of consciousness.
"Sasaki is out of commission! Todoroki advances to the finals!"