I've seen this kid around. Bessie thought. Her opponent looked confident, but not intimidating. This was the boy who spent his efforts observing and analyzing. She figured if he relied this much on strategy his quirk probably wasn't physically too powerful. She figured wrong.
At the sound of the whistle he basically doubled in size and green sparks flared around his limbs. Now he looked intimidating.
Deku punched at the ground, sending a tremor at his opponent. The floor shook under Bessie throwing her off balance but she managed to stay upright. Midoriya used this moment of distraction to quickly circle around Bessie and put her in a hold, but she wasn't having it. She placed each of her hands on her attacker and singed his arms, causing him to let go. Bessie charged up two fireballs and while they were still forming on her hands she swung them at Izuku, who used his powerful legs to launch himself out of her reach.
While Midoriya was in the air Bessie sent her two fireballs up after him. They connected.
Midoriya landed, clutching his shoulder.
"That hurt." He said. "Your quirk is really cool."
"I'm just getting warmed up. If you'll pardon the pun." She replied.
Bessie fired a few more shots but this time Izuku was ready for them. Using short bursts he shot himself sideways to dodge each one. He then closed the gap between himself and his opponent but diverged at the last minute in anticipation of a more powerful blast.
"You're a rare case." Bessie observed. "You rely on both raw power and strategy. I probably won't beat you, but that won't stop me from trying my hardest. Your quirk makes you a powerful opponent in close quarters, so as long as I can stay out of your reach I'm at an advantage."
"You're right." Midoriya affirmed. "If I can't reach you I can't beat you. But my reach is longer than you realize."
The next moment Izuku wound up a punch which he unleashed with a shout of "Smaaaash!" as his arm lit up with an unusual glow. Midoriya's swing created a powerful blast of wind which temporarily drained the air around Bessie making her unable to create fire. In this moment Midoriya launched himself toward Bessie, lifted her off the ground and set her down outside the circle. The pierce of Iida's now familiar whistle sounded and the fight was over.
"Good fight." Bessie said when her breath returned. "Did I burn you bad?"
"It's nothing." Deku shrugged. "Recovery Girl will fix me right up."
"You were amazing, Deku!" Uraraka admired. "You too, Bessie! I can't wait for my turn to fight you!"
"Ochaco-san said I was amazing!" Deku whimpered when he thought she couldn't hear him.
The next battle was ready to begin. Tenya summoned Minoru and Bessie to the same battlefield as the previous one.
So this is Mineta. Bessie thought, eyeing the small person in front of her and remembering Momo's warning from earlier.
Once the battle started Mineta grabbed a multitude of his sticky growths and set them down in a mound. He then grabbed another one and threw it at Bessie.
Bessie, not knowing what it was and witnessing Mineta handle them like they were harmless, made the mistake of catching it. Once it was stuck to her hand she made the second mistake of trying to pull it off with her other hand. It dawned on her that her hands were now stuck together.
Mineta's small frame darted across the battlefield and shot past Bessie before turning round. Slamming into her back, he gradually pushed her toward the mound where he hoped to immobilize her.
Focus, Bessie! Think! First thing you need to do is free your hands. If you can't pull them apart, maybe…
She made a small, intense fireball in each hand. The purple ball gluing them together dried up and crumbled. Bessie quickly parted her hands before they suffered any damage of their own and released her charged attack harmlessly into the sky. Mineta realized this a split second to late, and as he stormed Bessie she grabbed him, swung him round with his own momentum and hurled him out of the circle.
"Mineta-san is ejected from the circle!" Iida announced. "Bessie-san is the winner!"
Mineta stood up, dusted himself off and walked towards Bessie. "That was really cool! Great move!" he extended a hand in congratulations.
Bessie advanced to return the gesture. Just as the two neared each other Minoru's right foot struck his left heel and he fell forward, but his hand kept advancing. Bessie realized this and as quickly as a striking viper she grabbed Mineta's wrist, halting both his advance and his fall. She lifted him in this grip until his eyes were level with hers.
"Not with me, you don't." she said firmly. She swung him over her head and set him down on the Pop-Off mound he had set down earlier. He bounced high into the air, and at the apex of his bounce he was bombarded with a barrage of fireballs which Bessie shot at him without even looking. When Mineta hit the ground again a painful lesson was ringing in his ears.
"You got that?" Bessie asked, standing over him. He raised a shaky, smoking 'thumbs-up' which flopped back to the ground again. A few of the onlooking girls stifled some snickers.
Next was Yaoyorozu. They were situated in the facility where Tsuyu and Tokoyami had their practical exam. Once the fight was underway Bessie shot a blast at Momo which she blocked using a pair of oven gloves.
"Oven mitts?" Bessie snarked. "That's random. What's your hero name? Super Trophy Wife?"
Bessie sent a few more quick blasts, which Yaoyorozu kept blocking, but the attacker kept increasing her intensity and before long the oven gloves caught fire and Creati had to toss them aside.
"Gotcha!" Bessie gloated and began to form a much larger fireball.
"Not quite!" Yaoyorozu retorted, pulling a small fire extinguisher from her leg and quickly dousing Bessie before her fireball could reach maximum size. She turned relatively pale and desperately attempted a few more fireballs, but because she was caked in white powder from the extinguisher and surrounded by nitrogen nothing happened. Momo stepped in close, seized her by the shoulders and tripped her with a heel, making her land outside the circle. Another fight was over.
"Another battle completed! Yaoyorozu is the winner!" Tenya announced "Your next opponent will be me!"
Tenya rinsed his whistle in a glass of water and handed it to Yaoyorozu, who draped it around her neck and directed the crowd to the Downpour Zone in USJ.
Bessie shivered in the cold of the Downpour Zone. This place is a double edged sword for my quirk, she thought. The cold water will keep my hands from burning, but it'll also make it difficult to create fireballs. Add the fact that my opponent has been watching each of my battles carefully, and I'd better watch myself.
"Begin!" Yaoyorozu called out above the pouring water. Bessie strained a fireball into her hand which hissed and flickered and when she threw it it barely traveled a foot before disappearing. Tenya zipped past her, tripping her up. She stuck out her arms, breaking her fall in the puddle-depth water. She stood up shaking the water from her drenched fingers. As she was trying to create another fireball her opponent shot past her again, this time striking her forehead with an extended forearm. She fell on her back with a splash. Again she struggled to her feet, unable to see her opponent, partly due to the torrential darkness and partly due to his blinding speed. In an attempt to light up her surroundings she fought to create a fireball as bright as possible, but this time she heard her opponent before she could see him.
"Recipro… BURST!"
Tenya's foot caught Bessie square in the gut, knocking out her wind. She doubled over and collapsed face down into the water.
"Looks like the vic-" Momo began, but quieted down when Bessie put up a shaking hand in a 'wait!' gesture.
Straining her neck, she raised her face above the water, heaving to get her breath back. Tenya motioned to grab her arm and place her outside the circle but a blast from her quirk served double duty, escaping Tenya's grasp and flipping her onto her back: her face was now above the water.
Iida moved to seize her again but this time a blast from both hands sent Bessie into the air. As she came down she landed the ball of her foot on the back of his head. Tenya reeled as Bessie recomposed herself.
Consistent downpour of water meant Tenya's engine cooled down much more quickly than usual following his Recipro Burst. In no time at all he was ready to use his quirk again. Going back to the strategy that worked, Tenya shot past Bessie once more, extending a foot to trip her again. Although he landed a successful hit, Bessie now anticipated his move and used a fireball recoil to keep from falling over.
Expecting the same pattern as before, Bessie ducked and stuck out her own foot. Her expectation paid off and as Iida came past he was now the one to trip. Because of his inhuman speed he landed on the surface of the water, skidded across it and came to a halt outside the circle.
"An astonishing comeback!" Yaoyorozu announced. "Bessie is the winner!"
Iida came to his feet. "I didn't see that one coming. Very well done," he said. "Are you alright?"
Besssie put a hand on her stomach and gave a few more deep breaths. "Yeah, I think so. You hit hard!" she exclaimed, sounding more impressed than in pain.
"It comes with the quirk." He explained. "Sorry about that, Bessie-san" Iida lowered his head respectfully.
"No worries." Bessie comforted. "This is the sort of thing a hero needs to learn how to handle sooner or later."
Next chapter – vs Uraraka, Kaminari, Bakugo and Ashido