I'm just going to leave this here... remember: There is always a method to the madness. Enjoy!
Another delay in-between matches it would seem. The near complete destruction of the ring would yield such a requirement of course. The damage inflicted by Izuku and Sogiita's brawl was quite extensive.
Sogiita was carted away, mostly just to remove him from the arena. His wounds were already healing rapidly, and he would seemingly be in perfect condition by the time he would wake from his slumber.
Izuku returned to the waiting room with Ochako, and was greeted by tackled by Kirishima, said tackle just barely missing Ochako herself.
"You're a big man now aren't you!? Pounding on a level 5 like that!" Kirishima rubbed Izuku's head in a playful fashion. "You shouldn't scare us like that! We thought you were done for!"
"H-hey! I didn't mean to! Get off of me! And watch my arm, it's still sore!" Izuku replied.
"It's all good!" Kirishima replied, letting go and letting Izuku stand up, doing the same shortly after. "That was an amazing fight though! And when you two clashed in the final attack…! I could just feel the manly energy; I could barely contain myself from running out like Uraraka did!"
"Y-you think so?" Izuku rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I don't think much of it… I mean, I got excited when I won because I didn't think I was going to pull it off, but…"
"Are you kidding me?" Kirishima asked. "You heard those people out there, right? All of them were cheering for you man! You got them all super pumped up!"
"Even All Might came down to cheer you on in the end, Midoriya." Tenya added.
"W-well… I… Hahaha!" Izuku started to laugh nervously. "I-I just really don't know what to say!"
"You shouldn't let it go to your head." Fumikage stated. "…But you should take some pride in what you've accomplished. You're the only one not only to be able to best a level 5 esper, but do so twice. In this competition's standing, that is quite the feat of power."
"Yeah… I mean, Bakugou couldn't even beat a level 0…" Kirishima added.
"I heard that you little piece of shit!" Katsuki shouted. "You calling me weak or something!? I'll blow all of the level 5's away, all at once!"
"Sure sure, whatever you say…" Kirishima mocked, only seeking to anger Katsuki more. And it was working.
"If you're trying to pick a fight with me, you're making it a lot easier for me to consider blasting your ass into the deepest depths of hell!" Katsuki fired back.
"And away they go… honestly. That bad attitude of Bakugou's is just going to get him into trouble later..." Momo commented. "And it doesn't help that Kirishima knows which buttons to push to egg him on…"
"It's just how he is…" Izuku replied with a smile.
"Hi hi! Congratulations on your win, Izuku-chan!" Misaki called out from behind Ochako, who she was suddenly hugging from behind. Ochako looked rather uncomfortable "You're coolness power is really going up!"
"Thanks I guess?" Izuku replied. "You two sure have become friends quickly!"
"S-something like that!" Ochako replied.
"Hey, Shokuhou, what the hell are you doing showing support for the opposing side…?" Mikoto joined the conversation.
"Well… I'm already out of the competition… so I'm just rooting for the team you're not on!" Misaki replied. Mikoto seemed to spark angrily.
"Y-you can let me go n-now!" Ochako stuttered out.
"Aww, but I wanted to bond!" Misaki replied, then leaned in close and whispered into Ochako's ear. "And think of who else could do this to you? A nice affectionate cuddle, little bit of nuzzling into your neck… maybe he gets a little bit frisky when you're not expecting it…"
"Y-you're giving impure thoughts to this honest maiden, please stop!" Ochako whispered back, blushing red. Misaki seemed to giggle in response.
"Huh… wonder what their whispering about…" Izuku questioned out loud.
"Who knows…?" Kirishima responded.
"Better question: who cares?" Katsuki added. From across the room, Accelerator seemed to be occasionally watching the events unfold as he rested comfortably on one of the couches.
"Hey Accelerator!" Tsuchimikado suddenly popped over the side of the couch. "Watcha doin?"
"Why the fuck are you asking?" Accelerator replied. "Shouldn't you be off saving the day with that fucking hero?"
"Nah, saving is such a strong word for a guy like me, you know?" Tsuchimikado replied. "So… you're up next. Went from fighting first to last, must suck huh?"
"Like I care." Accelerator replied. "Honestly I wouldn't mind just throwing the match and going home. But that shitty brat wouldn't let me hear the end of it. Fucking Worst… telling her about this entire piece of shit competition…"
"Yeah… should have heard Maika when she found out I lost in the first round… went to bed hungry, nya." Tsuchimikado joked, but Accelerator didn't seem to care. "So… what are you going to do about your opponent then?"
"No idea. I got to keep it non-fatal for appearances, right?" Accelerator sat up. "Though I have to admit… wasn't exactly watching the matches after mine much. No idea what this bitch can do… guess I'll find out either way."
"Ah… lazy Accelerator is lazy! What would Last Order say, nya? I'm sure Worst would probably just join you in laziness, but she would still probably mock you about it anyway, nya." Tsuchimikado jokingly stated.
"Shut the fuck up if you value having a jaw." Accelerator threatened.
"Aye aye… as anti-social as always I see…" Tsuchimikado replied. He quickly ducked under when Accelerator suddenly reached up, as if trying to grab him. Tsuchimikado scuttled away before Accelerator could catch him.
Amidst the growing chaos, the speaker in the waiting room clicked on.
It was time for the final match of round two.
-Arena Field-
"Huh… you sure look confident." Accelerator commented. "You saw the first match before, right? It's not too late to back out."
"Thanks, but I can't now!" Ochako cheerfully replied. "If I were to back out, that'd leave Deku all alone! So I'm going to give it everything I got! Even if you are the strongest Esper!" Ochako seemed pumped; excited.
'…The girl has an awful lot of spunk, that's for sure.' Accelerator replied. 'Too bad. She's come across a one way road that leads off of a cliff… eh, why the hell not? We will just launcher her out of the ring and be done with it.'
"We have reached the final match of round two! Another brave hero stands up to the mighty Accelerator. Can she defeat the strongest esper in Academy City!? There is only one way to find out… and the time is now! Begin!" The announcer shouted.
Ochako ran forward, charging at Accelerator. He narrowed his eyes, switching on the electrode on his neck, and clicking his teeth while doing so. She got in close and slid to a stop, and spun, aiming to deliver an upward kick to Accelerator's head.
Fear filled those who were watching and waiting, just to see what would happen.
They got their answer, as Ochako's leg collided with Accelerator's head, knocking him over to the side, causing him to roll as a result, ending up on his back. Ochako herself suddenly looked sick, but this faded after a short time. But she had done what most thought to be impossible.
Ochako had managed to damage Accelerator.
"I… I think I get it!" Izuku said from inside the waiting room. "She used her ability to nullify gravity, thus changing the value of the vector! Even if just a minor bit, gravity would have some kind of influence on a force vector's direction… so she used her ability on herself for a short time to take gravity out of the equation, throwing off Accelerator's calculations!"
"…So your theory is true then… if the actual values are different from what Accelerator calculates and attempts to execute… his ability will fail!" Fumikage replied. Izuku was still worried however.
Ochako's tactic would work, but only for so long. The moment Accelerator fully figured out how Ochako's ability worked, the match would be over.
Accelerator stared blankly into the sky for a time.
'Huh… she managed to hit me…' Accelerator seemed more surprised than angry. 'Taking her weight, shape of suit, and wind resistance into account… no… was it just a little bit faster? Was it a slightly different direction? I wonder…' Accelerator mused as he slowly got to his feet. His left cheek stung; that blow was definitely hard.
'I did it… it worked…!' Ochako mentally cheered. But she had to act quickly. She ran for Accelerator again, but this time, Accelerator stomped the ground, unleashing a shockwave all around him that blasted her back.
"Interesting…!" Accelerator's face broke out into an off-putting grin. "For some reason I can't be mad at that! Only seen my ability once, and you already found a way around it, huh!? Are you some kind of genius or something…?"
"N-no… N-not at all!" Ochako reflexively took a step back. She didn't even realize it, but terror seemed to fill her body as Accelerator spoke.
"Well! Let's see what you got anyway then! I want to see what makes you so special!" Accelerator literally flew forward. On reflex alone, Ochako's ability activated again and just before she could leave the ground, Accelerator was in her face, seeming reaching for her. Her nausea setting in quickly, she reflexively uppercut Accelerator, her tactic apparently still working as it passed through unaltered, sending Accelerator into the air.
He flipped in the air and came crashing back down with a kick, just narrowly missing Ochako, but the impact shockwave blasted her back. While moving, she deactivated her quirk and landed on her back, rolling but managed to transition into a kneeling stance, getting back onto her feet. Accelerator smashed his other foot into ground, kicking up debris, including a rather large and sharp chunk of concrete, which he then sent like a rocket towards Ochako.
Whether consciously, or on pure combat reflex alone, Ochako managed to catch the piece of concrete with a spin, activating her quirk on it, and hurled it back. Accelerator managed to dodge all but a small part of it, which again remained unaltered by Accelerator's Vector Change, and cut the right side of his cheek open as it grazed him with a sharp corner.
Ochako panted, but not really out of exhaustion. It almost seemed as if she was undergoing a massive panic attack, and her body was trying desperately to calm itself down.
"Not bad, not bad at all! That's an interesting ability you got there…!" Accelerator said. "Not just your hands, but things you touch seem to be able to bypass my AIM field... kind of odd. I've had someone get passed it by out-right negating it before… even someone pulling back just before they hit me to throw off the timing of reflection and causing it to fail… but I never thought something as simple as someone turning off gravity would be able to negatively affect me this much!"
"Y-you… figured it out…!?" Ochako fearfully asked.
"Figured it out the moment you kicked me across the face… figured it'd be a little bit more fun to see what you can do with it, and man… you're like a regular commando! Combat training and physical endurance is able to do a lot huh!? You really are strong for a girl!" Accelerator replied. "But… I've grown bored of that game. We won't be playing that anymore. I wouldn't recommend trying it again."
"Damn… he managed to figure out her technique…" Fumikage cursed.
"…But, he revealed a major weak-point…" Izuku commented. "Throwing off the timing by pulling back just before it hits… If Uraraka can use that…!"
"Don't disappoint me." Accelerator said. "You've done very well. Most people would have been dead at that first strike… so come. Let's do this dance some more." Ochako's panting had slowed, but was not completely gone. The nausea caused by her using her quirk on herself didn't help either.
'Pulling back… just before hitting…!' Ochako repeated it in her head. She moved toward Accelerator to deliver a punch, but the force was completely reflected, sending her back. It wasn't enough to break her arm like Fumikage's, but it did cause a serious amount of pain. Accelerator hit her in the side, launching her across the ring.
"Just knowing what you have to do to break through isn't the same as being able to do it. You can't see someone fly and learn how to do it just because you saw them do the deed. Now might be a good time to cut your losses and bail." Accelerator warned.
"I… I can't!" Ochako replied, slowly getting back on her feet.
"Why not? Edge of the ring is right there. Just jump on out and we'll both be done." Accelerator kicked a small stone over the edge of the ring to emphases his point.
"I can't because… If I do, Deku will be all alone out here…!" Ochako replied. Accelerator started to clap.
"Congratulations, you learned that being on top of the world is an awfully lonely position." Accelerator replied. "Tell me something I don't know. This Deku guy… Midoriya Izuku? Sure, he's a little special… but is he really worth risking your life over? Just to comfort him?" Ochako first looked confused, but gradually started to smile.
"Yes, he is!" She proudly replied, running towards Accelerator again. Accelerator narrowed his eyes. Ochako attacked, and it was reflected. Accelerator didn't counter attack. This continued for a while, Ochako repeatedly trying to attack Accelerator and it merely bouncing off. She even tried her Quirk to enhance her strikes, but it failed; Accelerator had already made modifications to his AIM field to reflect those attacks as well. Ochako was starting to exhaust herself trying.
"That important huh…? I could have torn off your arm at any second, but you're still trying…?" Accelerator asked.
"Yeah… it might not make sense to you but… Deku is someone I care about, someone important to me… so I'm not just going to abandon him!" Ochako charged again. Accelerator clicked his teeth and clenched his fingers tightly enough to cause the bones to pop.
Ochako went for a punch, trying to figure out what Accelerator meant by pulling back at the last second. Her fist flew through the air.
It struck Accelerator across the face, forcing him back.
By some miracle, she had figured it out. The technique needed to negate and bypass Accelerator's reflection.
But the discovery was far too late.
Accelerator reeled his arm back open palmed and slammed it into Ochako's stomach, ramping up the force of the strike with his ability to the point in which it outright ejected her from the ring. She hit the wall with a crash and fell, landing on her butt. It stung.
"Damn… it…!" Ochako choked out, still reeling from the attack.
"…Gave you too little credit." Accelerator commented. "Took a while but you figured it out… too bad. Just a few blows sooner and you would have stood a chance." Accelerator picked up his walking stick and deactivated his electrode. '…Fifteen minutes huh… you lasted in a fight with me for fifteen minutes all because you made me not want to kill you… either these heroes are actually worth a shit or I'm starting to get soft…' He thought to himself as he started to leave the ring.
"What a battle… Uphill the entire time but never she gave up, despite certain defeat. I am proud to be able to witness such emotional struggle… but this is not a contest where I get to decide who wins just because of who I wanted to come out on top I'm afraid. The winner of this match is the Accelerator!" The crowd slowly erupted into cheers and applause not only for Accelerator, but Ochako herself.
"…I was almost there huh." Ochako said to herself, somewhat smiling. "So close to being able to stand right alongside him." She slowly stood up. "So… I'll just have to get stronger then! And keep doing it until I can! I won't let Deku… or any of my other friends stand alone!" She knew no one else could hear her, but it was more of a statement for herself anyway. A statement of her determination, and a goal for herself she needed to make clear.
Suddenly, a thought she had been mulling over for a short time because of a certain busty blond reappeared in her head. For some reason, despite her injuries and her defeat, something appeared to have happened positively in her mind.
The confusion in her heart and mind was suddenly clear.
And she made a decision.
"Now, we thank all of our contestants for today's events, and unfortunately, the second round is over! Before we all go, let us decide who will face each other in the semi-finals!" The announcer called out, the brackets appearing again. It randomized the remaining four fighters. "We apologize to our esper friends, but because it is now three espers against one hero, it looks like two from the esper side of things will have to duke it out. Now; let's see those results!" The announcer shouted, and the bracket's randomization stopped, displaying the next day's matches.
"Yes!" Mikoto shouted happily.
"Oh come on, really!?" Touma lamented. "Such Misfortune!"
"Y-you're kidding right…? I'm next!?" Izuku said.
Accelerator merely clicked his teeth.
The matches were as follows.
Match 1: Midoriya Izuku versus Accelerator.
Match 2: Kamijou Touma versus Misaka Mikoto.
-Waiting Room, a few minutes later-
"A-are you sure you're ok, Uraraka?" Izuku asked. Most of the participants apparently had decided to hang back for a bit to converse amongst themselves before leaving.
"I'm fine… just a few scrapes and bruises… and some soreness… but I'm ok!" Ochako replied.
"All that looked painful… but if you're sure…" Tenya asked.
"Hey… sorry about Accelerator you guys." Touma walked up to the group rubbing the back of his head. "I've… only really fought him with my Imagine Breaker… so I had no idea about that weakness he's got… otherwise I would have told you."
"Its fine, nothing can be done now." Ochako did indeed feel sore, but her pain would have to wait. "Hey… could I be excused for a bit?"
"Huh? Sure but… why?" Izuku asked.
"I just need to talk to Shokuhou for a little while… I'm sorry; I'll be back in a bit!" Ochako replied, walking away from the group.
"Wonder what that's about…" Izuku said.
"…Shokuhou can read minds… maybe it's related…" Tenya replied, not knowing how right he was.
A knock came at the door, and it suddenly opened.
"Yo, I saw your guy's matches, you all are getting really good!" All Might said as he walked inside.
"All Might! What are you doing here?" Izuku asked.
"Oh a few reasons… since I'm on vacation technically, I'm a little bit more free with what I can say and do… and in that case, you guys are in one of the largest commercial hubs around, with a good chunk of the day left because the matches seemingly ended early! How about a little bit of extra spending money?" All Might asked. The group of heroes gladly accepted, causing All Might to smile as he dug in his pockets.
"Thanks… but you said there were multiple reasons, right?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah… about that…" All Might's smile faded as he looked up, rubbing the back of his neck. He then looked toward Touma.
"…Oh no." Touma preemptively said.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry… but me and Aizawa need to talk to you for a little bit about these shenanigans you seem to have gotten wrapped up in." All Might replied. Touma only had a two word response.
"…Such Misfortune."