It wasn't even five minutes into the battle and Midoriya was already under Shinsou's control.Seriously?Minoko thought,I wonder what he said to make Midoriya riled up like that.Their class watched the battle tensely as Midoriya started walking towards the edge of the stage.Come on Midoriya.
Minoko closed her eyes as a large gust of wind passed them. When she opened them back up, Midoriya was breathing heavily, stopping just behind the boundary line. Cheers erupted from the crowd.
"He did it," Minoko said to herself. "I have no clue how he was able to, but he did it."
It seems like Shinsou was also confused as to how Midoriya was able to break out of his control considering the frustrated look on his face. He continued to yell, trying to get Midoriya to say something, but he wasn't falling for it again.
The two had resulted in pushing and punching each other, until Midoriya found his opening and flipped Shinsou over his shoulder. Midnight raised her hand, "Shinsou is out of bounds! Midoriya advances to the second round!"
The crowd cheered, and so did their class. "Ahh, I really thought he was done for," Kirishima said, as he clapped.
"A second later and hewasdone for," Minoko said.
"Hey, Bakugou, that's the same flip he did on you during the battle trails right?" Kaminair asked.
"Shut up you idiot," Bakugou said.
Kaminari stared at the distance with a dark look on his face, "I don't knowwhyyou thought that was a good thing to bring up," Minoko sighed.
"Thank you for waiting!" Present Mic yelled, "Our next battle is between these two!" The screen changed to show Todoroki and Sero. "He's capable. He's capable but why can't he get rid of his blandness! From the Hero Course, Sero Hanta."
"Why is his commentary so mean," Minoko said. Now she was nervous to know what he was going to say when it's her time to fight.
"Versus! Third and first place in the prelims. You're too strong! He's not a recommendation student for nothing! Also from the Hero Course, Todoroki Shouto!"
"The contrast," Minoko muttered.
They watch as Sero and Todoroki step on stage. When they started, Sero immediately shot tape from his elbows, wrapping them around Todoroki and flinging him towards the edge of the ring. "So fast," Minoko commented as she opened up her order of Takoyaki.
But before Todoroki gets anywhere near the boundary line, ice sprouted from his feet, speeding towards Sero. A burst of cold air surrounded the arena followed by shaking, and next thing they knew there was a huge block of ice in the ring big enough that to reach the bleachers, trapping Sero in it.
Minoko shivered in her seat as Midnight spoke, "Sero…can you move?"
"Of course not," Sero's stuttering voice said.
"Sero is paralyzed, Todoroki advances to the second round!"
The arena was silent for a moment, stunned at what happened. Everyone watched as steam fill the place as Todoroki melted the ice.
Someone broke the silence, "Don't mind!"
"Don't mind!"
Soon enough the whole arena was cheering, "Don't mind!"
"Aah, Todoroki made the Takoyaki cold," Minoko slumped, as she nibbled on one. "Do you want some?" she offered the box to Kirishima, "There's another toothpick there somewhere."
Kirishima accepted the box, "Oi! Can I have some?" Kaminari asked.
"Knock yourself out," Minoko shrugged, "Wait a minute," she stared at Kaminari's face that had sauce on his cheek, "Isn't your match next? Why are you still here?"
"Ah!" He shot up from his seat, "I forgot!"
"Goodluck!" They called after him.
He'd lose his head if it wasn't attached to his neck,Minoko thought, chuckling to herself.
"Now that everything's dry and ready, let's get going with the third round!" Present Mic said. "The assassin from Class B. Beautiful things come with thorns! From the Hero Course, Shiozaki Ibara!" The vine haired girl walked up to the stage with her hands clasped together. "Versus! The Sparkling killing boy, from the Hero Course, Kaminari Denki!"
"May I interrupt?" Shiozaki raised her hand from below. "What do you mean by assassin? I came this far into the tournament aiming for victory, not the lives of my opponents."
"S—sorry!"
"The reason why I came to UA is not for evil intentions," Shiozaki spreaded her arms and the light shone on her as if there was a spotlight.
"Ahh, she's cute," Minoko said, leaning back on her seat, "Kaminari's done for."
"You of little faith!" Iida exclaimed.
Minoko snorted, "She's cute, he's gonna want to show off and fry his brain."
"How about after this match we go out and eat? I can comfort you," Kaminari said, sparks of electricity appearing around him. "Because this match will be over in a second."
"Indiscriminate Shock, 13,000,000 volts!"
He discharged the electricity and it went towards Shiozaki. The girl just turned around and used her vines as a shield. This lasted for until a few more seconds before Shiozaki's vines sprouted from the ground, capturing Kaminari—who was now in his 'Whey' mode.
"Instant defeat! I repeat, instant defeat!"
"Shiozaki advances to the second round!"
"He really did that," Kirishima said.
"Told you," Minoko laughed.
"What happened?!" Someone from the stand next to them asked. Looking over, Minoko found a blond boy peeking over the division. "I thought he said he'd end it in a second. How strange.Hewas defeated in a second instead! Isn't Class A supposed to be better than Class B?" The boy cackled before falling limp backwards.
Another head peeked over the division, "Sorry about him," Kendo said.
"Who was that?" Minoko asked.
"Monoma Neito," Kirishima answered. "He was the one our team went after during the Cavalry Battle."
"Oh yeah," Minoko said, recalling seeing them running after another blond. "What's up with that? I thought with Bakugou on your team, you'll be going for 10 million."
"We were but Monoma provoked him," Kirishima pointed to the blond behind them.
Minoko craned her head back and saw irritation lingering in Bakugou's features—eye twitching and mouth in a frown. "I see," she said.
Their conversation was interrupted by a flurry of words coming from Midoriya. He was muttering about the fight that just happened. "You've just finished, but you're already planning your next strategy?" Uraraka said.
Minoko hummed as she listened to them talk.Quirk analysis huh,she thought.So that's why he was insistent on asking questions about my quirk during the first day.
The fire erupted from the ring once again, indicating the start of another match. "He's like a backbone, from the Hero Course, Iida Tenya! Versus! The one fully equipped with support items, from the Support Course, Hatsume Mei!"
"What's Iida doing?" she hears Satou ask.
Minoko looked closer and found Iida wearing support gear. Midnight reminded that Hero Course students weren't allowed support items unless they had filled in a request like Aoyama. "I'm sorry! But her sportsmanship moved me! She said that since we've both come this far, we were both equally matched. She wanted a fair match, so she handed me an item. I didn't think I should reduce such a strong spirit!"
"Such youthful passion!" Midnight squealed. "I give you permission!"
"Oh boy," Minoko muttered.I recognize these tactics anywhere."Iida, run for it!"
"Aren't you going to prepare for your match?" Kirishima asked.
"Nope," Minoko said, "This is gonna take a while."Besides, I'm already preparing from here. I've been contemplating for the past 10 minutes whether or not I should attack first. I could try going into my pocket dimension then swapping with my opponent so I can easily toss them out of bounds , but I doubt anyone's gonna stay still once the match starts.
"What do you mean?" Midoriya asked.
"My mom used to use flowery words to get me to try her support items," Minoko said, trailing off to remembering her mother's words."Mikko! Try these glasses on, they'll look really cute on you!"She imitated her mother's voice. "They were lazer glasses that I accidentally used on the television." Then once again,"Mikko! This ribbon is so soft, touch it!"She raised her left hand, "The ribbon was made up of shape memory alloy that trapped my hand for three days."
She looked back at the stage, "This is the same. Hatsume is using this as a business opportunity."
"Well, shedidjoin my team because of all the attention we'll be getting," Midoriya chuckled.
Minoko nodded, "My mom would absolutely love her."
And just as she had predicted, Hatsume started speaking through a microphone. "How is it Iida? Don't you feel a whole lot faster? Of course you do! The machine is supporting the user's movements!"
Hatsume's sale pitch lasted a whole ten minutes. "I think I'm gonna go down now," Minoko said, standing up.
"Ah! I'll go down too." Ashido stood up and followed her out of the stands—their classmates wishing both of them luck.
Minoko stood at one of the tunnels as Iida was announced as the winner. She watched as an emotional Iida made his way towards the tunnel she was in. Minoko patted his shoulder as he passed by, "Support Engineers are scary," she said. "Mom was like that too."
"I am sorry for all you had to go through," Iida nodded at her solemnly. "I wish you luck on your match."
Minoko laughed, letting Iida head back. "Alright! It's time for the fifth match! Does anything come out of those horns? From the Hero Course, Ashido Mina!" Ashido walked up to the stage.
Minoko followed her lead as she was introduced. "Coming in second place in the obstacle course! Like a fly, she just appears out of nowhere! Also from the Hero Course, Kaeda Minoko!"
First a snail, now a fly?!Minoko sighed,Well, that introduction could have gone worse.
"May the best one win," Ashido grinned at her. Minoko returned the sentiment with a smile.
"Fifth match, Start!"
In the end, maybe I shouldn't attack first.
Ashido zoomed in a line, using her acid to make her faster as she threw acid in Minoko's way. Minoko grabbed three bracelets. She let one drop to the ground and threw the two forwards in an upwards motion on either side of Ashido, before touching her arm. She was brought into her pocket dimension and she immediately set out to find a rope. "Found it," she exclaimed. She looped it around her right arm before sending herself and the rope back to the real world by swapping out with the bracelet she threw to Ashido's left..
She appeared above Ashido who was looking at the other bracelet to her right. Minoko twirled the rope around using her left hand, aiming for Ashido. The pink girl's eyes widened when she realized she chose the wrong bracelet to focus on, but caught on to what she was trying to do, so she sent acid upwards. Minoko tapped herself with her right hand and in a quick succession went into the pocket dimension then back out using the other bracelet that she had dropped.
She appeared on the arena again and rushed forward, hissing when she realized that Ashido's reflexes were faster than she realized and some of her acid landed on the bottom of her jogger pants, hitting a bit of her leg. Minoko tried to ignore the burning sensation and instead sent the rope forwards in an angle that went around Ashido. The same move she pulled on Todoroki during the battle trials.
Minoko clasped the end of the rope, looping it around and pulling on it as if she was tying a knot with Ashido in it. The girl had her body and arms trapped underneath the rope, "You know I can just burn this off right?" Ashido smirked, acid already forming in her palms.
"Of course," Minoko said.If they fight long distance, then you gotta bring them to you.She pulled on the rope, making Ashido slip forward as the sole of her shoes were still filled with acid.
Realizing what she was doing, Ashido made two consecutive semi circles with her right, then left foot, shooting the same acid on her shoes towards Minoko. This move achieved both attacking her and removing the slippery surface that Minoko was using to pull on Ashido.
Minoko jumped as high as she could without letting go of the rope, letting the acid pass. She landed on the ground just as Ashido started to break the rope with her acid. Minoko rushed forward, letting the rope loose. The rope slowly went undone, and before Ashido was fully free, Minoko took the opportunity to reach her right hand towards the girl's arm.
Ashido coated her arm with acid, making Minoko pull back. "Heh? Acid's not very good on the skin, is it?" Ashido asked, aiming a punch at her.
Minoko raised both arms, bringing them to an 'X', blocking Ashido's attack. She pushed her arms up, throwing Ashido's fist away, leaving her torso open. Minoko knew if she tried to reach for it, Ashido would just use her acid filled arm to make her back away, so instead, Minoko sent her back with a kick.
Ashido stumbled, but the girl had great balance. She managed to stay upright and alert.Just a bit more,Minoko thought. She dodged the acid that Ashido threw her way and grabbed her hair clip, exchanging it with a metal pole. Minoko used it like a spear, thrusting it towards Ashido. The other girl dodged it, moving to either the side or backwards, as she shot acid at the pole. Minoko let the acid eat through the pole, slowly making it shorter.
Two more steps.Another thrust.Perfect!Minoko pulled the pole back and threw it forward, aiming for Ashido's middle. Once the pole was out of her hand, she tapped herself with her right hand.The rope tactic didn't work the way I wanted it to, but it served enough distraction for her to forget.She briefly appeared in her pocket dimension before she switched out.
"Where's she—" Ashido's voice filled her ears as Minoko appeared behind her, using the other bracelet she threw to the air earlier. Just as Ashido was turning her head, Minoko's right hand was already centimeters away from her back.
Minoko sent Ashido to her pocket dimension, letting out a relieved sigh. She could faintly feel burning in the back of her mind,Ashido's acid.Lucky for Minoko, she needs to get her out anyway.
She walked towards the edge of the ring, grabbing another hair clip. She threw it over the boundary line as she swapped it with Ashido. The girl landed on the girl with a thud. Horns sounded as Midnight's word echoed through the arena. "Ashido is out of bounds! Kaeda moves to the second round!"
"You're too fast!" Ashido whined. "You still caught me!"
Minoko chuckled, extending her left hand towards the other girl, "Well, you certainly didn't make it easy. You caught on to my plans really fast, did you know?"
"Ohoho," Ashido accepted her hand, and allowed Minoko to pull her up, "Are you calling me smart?"
"Aww such youthful energy! You girls are making me tear up!" Midnight exclaimed, as they walked back into the tunnels.
Minoko waved goodbye to Ashido, saying she needs to go to Recovery Girl first. She reached the infirmary and was met by the elderly woman. "Hello dearie, what is it that you need?" Recovery Girl asked.
"Ah, just these burns," Minoko pointed to her leg and her arms, where she was hit with the splashes. "They don't hurt as much but they're starting to itch a bit."
"Come sit down," the woman said, gesturing to a chair with her cane. Minoko did as told and from where she sat, she saw Kaminari who was slowly coming down from his 'Whey' mode, on one of the beds. "Mwah!" Minoko could feel the pain and itchiness go away and so did some of her stamina. "There you go! You're free to watch the next matches or stay here to rest if you want."
"I think I'll watch the other battles," Minoko said, "Thank you for your help!"
Minoko started making her way back, when she passed the waiting rooms. If she remembered correctly, Ochako left at the same time she and Ashido did to get ready. She walked over to the second waiting room and knocked, before coming in. "Hey Ochako," she greeted, "nervous?"
Ochako gave an awkward chuckle, "You can say that."
Minoko hummed, "I'm not the best with words, especially if it involves comforting or encouraging," she started, "but, I'd say you're a tough girl Ochako," she said. "No one's invincible, who knows, maybe you're the one who'll beat down his ego a bit. Besides, you already beat him once, remember?" she sent a wink to the girl.
Ochako laughed, not an awkward or nervous one, just a happy laugh. "Oh yeah, the racing game." She nodded, "You're right! I already won once, albeit in a video game, but a win is a win!"
Minoko laughed with her, "That's the spirit!"
Ochako smiled at her, "Thanks. I needed a bit of a laugh."
Minoko raised a hand to her nape, a tint of red on her cheeks, "Well, haha, yeah no problem!"
"How'd your match go? I'm sorry I wasn't able to watch it," Ochako said.
"I won," Minoko said, "but let me tell you something, acid burns. A lot."
"Congratulations!" Ochako laughed. "Are you gonna watch the other battles? Kirishima's match is soon, right?"
"Oh, right," Minoko said in realization. "Well then, I'll see you later. I'm rooting for you!"
Minoko exited the waiting room and walked back to the bleachers where 1A was, and watched as the winner for the sixth match was announced. "Yaoyorozu is out of bounds. Tokoyami advances to the second round!"
It's over already?Minoko thought in surprise.Whoever won was gonna be my next opponent and I didn't even see any of it.She walked over and sat next to Sero—who just came back after warming up—since Kirishima was already gone since his match was next. "Yo!" She plopped down next to him.
"Hey! I saw your match," Sero said, "Congrats on getting to the next round."
"Thanks," Minoko smiled at him, before leaning forward to grab something from her seat from earlier. "I still have sweets here, want any?"
"Yeah!"
"The seventh match is against two similar quirks!" Present Mic announced. "Masculine man of guts and steel, from the Hero Course, Testsutetsu Tetsutetsu! Versus! Masculine man of guts and hardening, from the Hero Course, Kirishima Eijirou!"
"I think Present Mic's running out of introductory gags," Minoko commented.
Sero laughed, "You got called a fly on national television," he reminded her.
"Ah, I forgot I'm supposed to be mad at you for calling me a snail," Minoko said, reaching for the lollipop.
"I already licked it! It's mine now!" Sero exclaimed.
"Tch, whatever tape dispenser," she said.
Sero laughed, "You sound like Bakugou when you call me that."
"Hah?!" Minoko mimicked the blond's angry look, "You say something Soy Sauce Face?!"
The two laughed, "We're lucky he's not here and preparing or we'd be both dead by now," Sero said.
"Yeah."
"The manly seventh match will now start!"
The two hardened and steeled their bodies accordingly and went in for a punch. The manly match ended up with the two throwing punches and getting back at each other. Kirishima hits' Tetsutetsu's face, Tetsutetsu backs up and hits Kirishima's face.
This went on for a couple of minutes before they hit each other one last time at the same time at the same spot before they both went down. "The winner for the seventh manly match is…" Present Mic trailed off as he waited for Midnight's verdict.
"They're both down! It's a draw!" Midnight announced. "In case of a draw, the winner will be decided by a simple arm wrestling match!"
Minoko watched as the two were carried away by helper robots. "Will an arm wrestling match really settle that?" she shook her head, leaning back on her seat.
"While they are recovering, we will proceed to our next match!" The screen changed to show images of Bakugou and Ochako.
"The eighth and final match of the first round! A celebrity since middle school with a face only a mother could love, from the Hero Course, Bakugou Katsuki!" Minoko and Sero couldn't help but snort at Present Mic's comment while looking at the huge scowl on Bakugou's face. "Versus! I want to root for her, from the Hero Course, Uraraka Ochako!"
"Jeez, we knew that the commentary was biased," Minoko said.
"But at least make some effort to hide it," Sero sighed.
"Has it started yet?" Kaminari appeared next to them.
"Just about," Sero said.
Good luck Ochako!Minoko cheered in her mind.
Ochako was the first to engage, by the looks of it, she was expecting Bakugou's attack, but wasn't fast enough to react. Minoko frowned at all the smoke surrounding the arena. It'll certainly make watching the match harder, but Ochako could use this to her advantage. Just as she thought this, Ochako made her jacket float to Bakuou's other side, making a diversion.
It wasn't enough though.
Minoko lightly flinched as Bakugou sent another large blast towards Ochako. But the brunette wasn't finished as she charged once again, before getting hit by another explosion. She was blasted back, but charged again, then blasted, then charged again. The same sequence repeated over and over, when Minoko noticed something.
Bakugou's really digging into the stage with his explosions,she thought as she watched debris break into the air as Bakugou let out another explosion. Minoko kept her eyes on the debris, following it, and before she knew it, she had her eyes widened.So that's why Ochako's keeping close to the ground.She watched Ochako's bent form charge at Bakugou again.
"Shouldn't this be stopped?" Minoko hears a guy ask from the crowd.
"Her quick attack didn't work, so she's getting desperate."
"Yeah! If you're so much stronger than her, then push her out of bounds already!"
"He's getting boo-ed at," Minoko sighed, clicking her tongue.
Kaminari and Sero looked at her, "Ah, you're annoyed. What's up?"
Minoko hummed, "I'm willing to bet that if it were a guy fighting down here right now, they'd be praised for their determination. But since Ochako's a girl, it's desperation," she said, slumping back on her seat, as she continued to watch the battle with narrowed eyes. "They'rethe ones so desperate for that narrative that they don't even realize that shehasa plan."
"A plan?"
She let out a sigh, but before she could point it out, Mr. Aizawa spoke, "Was that a pro that said he was playing?" he asked. "How many years have you been a pro? If you really mean that, then you should probably just head home. Go look for information about changing careers."
Mr. Aizawa…
"Bakugou is on guard because he acknowledges the strength of his opponent that has come this far," he continued, "He's trying his best to win, and that's why he's not holding back."
"Look up," Minoko said.
Sero and Kaminari let out a gasp, just as Ochako deactivated her quirk. The debris that she had collected came crashing down as she ran towards Bakugou who was looking up at the sky. He raised his left arm, with his right supporting it, before letting out a huge explosion.
Minoko closed her eyes at the brightness and gustiness of the blast, opening them again as Ochako yelped, flying across the stage. "Bakugou! THat was a satisfying blast!" Present Mic exclaimed, "He proudly breaks through Uraraka's secret strategy!"
Ochako…Minoko thought as she watched the girl's body shake as she stood up. Bakugou grinned as he started to charge towards her, but stopped when collapsed as she took a step forward. Midnight stepped into the stage, "Uraraka is incapacitated. Bakugou advances to the second round!"
They watched as Ochako got carried away by the helper robots. Midoriya stood up as his fight was next, "Good luck," Minoko said, with a wave.
Midoriya nodded at her, "Thank you."
The others wished him luck too as he walked over to the door. The next match was him against Todoroki—who they would have wished luck as well, if he was actually around.Now that I think about it…has he been spending all his time in the waiting rooms?
Her question remained unanswered as Bakugou came into the stands. "Yo, Bakugou!" Sero greetes, "Must've been hard to play the villain," he said.
"Because of the strange pairing, youwerequite the villain," Tsuyu said.
"Shut up!" He yelled, taking a seat next to Kaminari.
"But I don't know how you can blast explosives at such a frail girl," Kaminari sighed, "I couldn't help but hold back." She and the rest of the class gave him a look.
"You were completely paralyzed, Kaminari," Tsuyu said.
"Yeah," Minoko sighed, "and we even wanted you that blasting your quirk at max power isn't gonna guarantee your win."
"Oh, come on you two," Kaminari said.
Bakugou let out a huff, "What part of her was frail?" he asked no one in particular.
Minoko smiled, leaning forward to grab something from her sweet stash, "Congratulations on your win," she said. " Here."
Bakugou stared at the lollipop before looking away, "I don't want it."
Minoko pulled her arm back, "Not a fan of sweets then," she said. "I have something sour, bitter, and spicy here as well. Which one do you want?"
"None of them."
"Oh come on!"
"I'm not a child!"
In the end Minoko managed to give Bakugou one of those candy that pops in your mouth, the spicy kind since that's the only flavor he'd accept so she'd leave him alone.
"The seventh match ended in a draw…what will be the result of Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's arm wrestling match?!"
The two contenders were in the middle of the state with a concrete table, yelling their hearts out as they tried to make the other's arm topple over. Their grips on the table, so hard that their hands have sunk into the concrete.
A few more minutes of yelling, there was a breakthrough. "Kirishima advances to the second round!" Kirishima yelled as Tetsutetsu clutched his arm.
"It was a great fight," Kirishima said, hand offered towards Tetsutetsu who huffed before taking his hand with a smile.
Minoko cheered with the class as Kirishima raised his arms towards them in victory. In the corner of her eye, she spots a brunette entering their stand. "Ah! Ochako, welcome back. How are you—eh? Are you alright?" She asked, spotting the swelling around her eyes.
"Are your eyes injured?" Iida exclaimed. "Please go to Recovery Girl!"
"Don't worry," Ochako said, taking a seat between Iida and Tokoyami. "I already did, this is different."
Different?Minoko thought. She reached forward and ruffled Ochako's hair, "Well, if you need something to cheer up with, I'm pretty sure there's mochi mallows in my stash over there," she said.
The girl immediately perked up, "Really?! Where?"
"Thank you for waiting everybody!" Present Mic exclaimed as the corners of the stage lit up again.
"Let's start our second round of battles!"
Notes:
Hey guys! Gonna be real busy this week so there will probably be no updates, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stick around for the next one!
TRIVIA!!
As much as she complains about being a test subject, Minoko quite likes testing her mother's creations. She's never been good at building so testing is her only way to help.