Chapter 09: One on One
"So, talk with Endeavor went sour?"
Qrow's question halted Toshinori's train of thought, bringing him back into the roaring stadium as the crowd around the teacher's booth waited in anticipation for the tournament to begin.
"Hm?" Toshinori hummed at Qrow.
"Tai told me that your head was elsewhere during the lunch break," Qrow said.
"O-Oh?" Toshinori thought back during the intermission break when he met up with the Xiao Long-Roses, plus Izuku and Weiss. While he did engage in conversation when directly spoken to, Toshinori's mind was mainly occupied by Endeavor's words.
'I will make that into a hero to surpass one day. That is the sole reason why I created him.'
The declaration didn't sit well with Toshinori, as did Endeavor's use of the words 'that' and 'created' in reference to Shouto Todoroki.
"He spoke as though Young Todoroki is…"
"Toshi?" The sound of Qrow's voice had Toshinori realize that he didn't really answer the man's question.
"Oh! Sorry, Qrow. How my talk with Endeavor went? Well…" Toshinori wasn't sure how to word his thoughts on the matter, not when he had only one piece of the puzzle to work with. "…it went…unexpected."
Qrow arched a brow. "Unexpected?"
"…Yeah."
Ozpin listened in silently. He recalled meeting the youngest of the Todoroki family for the first time during the recommendation exam back in February. With just his ice alone, Shouto Todoroki was placed second in said exam, close behind a young man with a powerful wind Quirk – who strangely declined the admission into UA. Upon speaking with Todoroki, Ozpin was met with a coldness in his eyes as chilled as Todoroki's ice despite the young man's politeness towards the older gentleman.
With how long Ozpin has been UA's vice principal, he has met students with similar eyes to Todoroki and some of those students have led a hard knock life: poor living conditions, antisocial personality, strained relationships, and the like…
Taking into account Endeavor's abrasive attitude and his apparent animosity towards Toshinori, perhaps Todoroki was among such students…
[Shouto Todoroki vs. May Marigold]
{Ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between! It's the moment we've all been waiting for! The UA Sports Festival final competition: The One-on-One Tournament!}
And the crowd goes wild, ready to see the students in action.
{And our opening match for the tournament will be Class 1-A's Shouto Todoroki vs. Class 1-B's May Marigold! The rules are simple. Force your opponent out of bounds or immobilize them! Or you can also try to get them to say 'I forfeit'! And don't worry about getting hurt, because we have the ever so reliable Recovery Girl ready to heal! Anything goes but zero life-threatening stuff! Kay? Heroes are meant to stop villains, not kill them!}
"I'll intervene if things go out of hand," Cementoss said, sitting in a chair he made across from Midnight's referee podium.
"I wonder how Marigold is going to fight against Todoroki," Ochako said. Ruby wondered too.
"Yeah…Todoroki is a bit of a powerhouse," she said.
Monoma peered over the wall that separated 1-A's section from 1-B's. "A powerhouse, huh? You 1-A reprobates are so full of yourselves! Can't you see that this is Marigold's chance to redeem herself for joining up with the likes of you!" He starts laughing before Monoma was promptly pulled away from below and Kendo took his place.
"Sorry about that guy, he's got a few loose screws," she said before going away.
"A few?" Sero asked.
"And I'll be fighting that soon…" Ruby thought.
{Ready? …Go!}
May took a deep breath and she disappeared.
{And Marigold does her disappearing act! How would Todoroki respond?}
Todoroki looked around for anything to indicate where May could be. He then heard running footsteps coming up to his left side. He swatted his arm out and May reappeared as she jumped back. Todoroki releases a trail of ice towards her. May dodged the trap and took a breath again to turn invisible. Todoroki uses his ice to cover the arena with a sheet of ice. May had probably jumped to avoid it, only to nearly lose her balance and reappear.
{Todoroki has frozen the arena, making it hard to keep up right! Is this it for Marigold?}
May wobbled as she tried to get back on her footing before Todoroki could attack. She started sliding her feet against the ice until she was 'skating' on the ice.
{Would you look at that! Ms. Marigold is sliding on the ice to gain momentum!}
Todoroki notices her sliding towards his right side and starts to prepare to attack. May disappears and Todoroki saw that she had changed trajectory, seeing how the disrupted ice curved, and went to grab his left arm. He generates ice around his right foot, the ice stopping below his knee, to prevent being pulled. May loses her grip, reappears, and slips on the ice, sliding away. She struggled to get on her feet and sees Todoroki running towards her.
Marigold closed her eyes and raised her arm. "I forfeit."
Todoroki gave a light gasp and slowed to a halt. "You…won't even try?" Todoroki asked her.
"I know when I'm done," May told him.
"May Marigold have forfeited the fight! Shouto Todoroki will move on to the next round!" Midnight announced.
{And that concludes the first match! Man, I was hoping for a little more. It was getting interesting.}
Aizawa decided to speak up.
{There is nothing wrong with bowing out from a fight you can't win. It shows a great deal of modesty and level headedness.}
While some were disappointed with how short the match was, there were heroes who thought it was a smart move. May simply lacked the firepower to go up against Endeavor's son.
"Marigold! This was your chance to redeem yourself!" Monoma declared once she came to the stands. "How could you have thrown the match?"
May looks him with a raised brow. "Uh, 'cause I know that I was gonna get my butt handed to me. And you mean by 'redeem myself'? Midoriya asked me to join his team and I did."
"Then why did you continue with the fight?" Neptune asked. May shrugged.
"I guess I wanted to see if I can do anything."
"You were amazing regardless, Marigold," Fionna clapped.
May smiled. "Thanks, Thyme."
Monoma sneered. "Whatever. Yanagi, 1-A has already got one score ahead of us. It's up to us to tip the scale."
Yanagi was indifferent. "Kay."
No one bothered to tell Monoma that they were outnumbered: With 32 competitors, one was from 1-C, one was from 1-H, 11 of them is from their class 1-B, and 19 from 1-A…And considering that two of their own will soon be facing each other…
[Reiko Yanagi vs. Hanta Sero]
This fight didn't last as long as the previous one. Yanagi did make an honest effort, her use of her Poltergeist Quirk had helped prevent Sero's Tape for a while, but she was eventually ensnared by the tape when it was proven that she could only control the course of one string of tape at her current level.
Thus, giving Sero the win.
From the waiting room, Ruby lets out a breath before getting up. "I'm heading out!"
"Good luck out there, Rose!" Izuku said.
"Break a leg, Ruby!" Ochako cheered.
"But not really!" Tenya said.
"And be careful not to let Monoma touch you, got it?" Kirishima told her and gave her thumbs up.
Ruby returns the gesture with her own plus a grin. "Got it!" She nearly runs into Jaune on her way out. "Oh, sorry, Jaune!" The blonde before her stared at her wordless. He looked like he was concerned about something. "Jaune?"
Jaune opened his mouth and then sighs before smiling. "Do your best, Ruby."
Ruby smiles. "Thanks, Jaune. I will!"
[Neito Monoma vs. Ruby Rose]
{We're already starting the 3rd match! Class 1-B's Neito Monoma vs Class 1-A's own flower girl, Ruby Rose!}
"Let's go, Ruby Rose!" Yang, Mirio, and Nejire cheered from the stands. They clapped a few times. "Let's go, Ruby Rose!" Ruby smiled at the sight and waved at them.
"Wow…looks like you're handling your enochlophobia," smirked Monoma. Ruby stopped waving and gave him a confused look.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" she asked.
{Ready? …}
Monoma shrugged like it was no big deal. "Oh, you know…Your fear of large crowds."
Ruby stiffened on the spot.
{…Go!}
"Look at all these people, watching your every move," Monoma said, looking at the crowd around them. And Ruby jerkily did the same. She gasped at all the people in the stands. She felt a bead of sweat went down her trembling chin.
"S-So many people…" Ruby muttered, her voice quivering. She takes a step back.
Monoma's grin seems to grow at this, seeing that his tactic was working. "Yes, yes! A lot of people. Perhaps thousands – no – millions of people watching you as we speak!"
Ruby suddenly felt very small. "…Millions…?"
She took another step back.
"Is Rose walking backwards?" Tenya questioned.
"She'll get out of bounds if she continues!" said Mina.
"Monoma is probably using Ruby's fear of large crowds against her!" Ochako realized.
"What? Really? That jerk. He's always spoutin' how full of it we are! Look at what he's doing!" Kirishima growled.
"Snap out of it, Ruby!" Jaune shouted.
Izuku clenched his hand into a fist. "Come on, Rose…"
"I'm willing to bet that all these people saw you in your bra," Monoma continued.
"They did?!"
Monoma starts walking. "You know, if you lose now, you won't have to deal with the pressure of all these eyes on you," he continued as he walked towards Ruby.
Ruby freezes at the spot. "Stop it…"
"All you have to do is let me take you out of bounds, k? Or you could do it yourself, if you want."
Ruby covers her ears. "Stop it."
"Better yet, just tell Midnight that you're forfeiting," Monoma insisted.
Ruby takes in a sharp breath. She crouched before burst towards a surprised Monoma. He gets taken into the swirl of rose petals, yellow petals now accompanying the red.
"Stopitstopitstopitstopitstopitstopitstopit! Stop it!" Ruby exclaimed from the swirl. She makes a sudden stop right before crossing the border. In a burst of yellow petals, a shocked Monoma materialized and got thrown out of the arena. Monoma laid spread eagle in the green grass, staring at the sky in shock at what just happened and slightly dazed.
"Neito Monoma is out of bounds! The winner of this match is Ruby Rose!" Midnight announced.
Ruby blinked a few times. "…I won?"
{Uh…um…That was quick…}
Aizawa sighs.
{Annnd that's the complete opposite presented by Monoma…}
"Woo-hoo! You did it, Ruby!" Mina cheered.
"Yeah…Don't know how, but I did," Ruby said, still a little shaky.
"Will you be okay?" Ochako asked.
"Yeah, I will be," Ruby said. "You'll be going next, right Iida? Show them what you are made of!"
Tenya nodded. "I will. You can count it!"
[Mei Hatsume v. Tenya Iida]
…Well…Tenya showed what his patience was made of.
He was talked into wearing Hatsume's gear for a fair fight. However, instead of a proper battle, Hatsume proceeds to display the functionality of not only the gear she wore but also what Tenya wore, the Auto Balancer, to potential investors.
After ten minutes of Hatsume using Tenya as a guinea pig, she simply walked out of bounds, much to Tenya's disbelief.
"What are you doing?!"
"Getting out of the fight, duuuh," Hatsume said, like it was obvious.
"But that means you lost!"
"Hmmm…no, I think I won."
Tenya gaps at her. "Wha…What are you talking about?"
"Rose failed to showcase her babies to the world in her fight! I may have lost the battle, but I've won the war of advertisement!" Hatsume declared. She waved a dismissive hand at the agitated Tenya. "I only used you. Sorry." She didn't look like she was sorry at all.
"I HATE YOOOUUU!"
Tenya glowered later in the stands for the next match. "How pathetic…"
"Look on the bright side, you get to advance," Ruby said, trying to be assuring.
"Out of pure coincidence that I was up against someone who is in this more for profit than honor…What would my brother think…?" Tenya frowned. Ruby sat quietly, unsure what to say to make Tenya feel better. She feels Tsuyu take her arm.
"Don't worry about him, Ruby. He'll be back to his usual in a little bit," Tsuyu said.
"I hope," Ruby said.
"…Say, isn't Midoriya and Arc up next?" Tsuyu asked, helping to take Ruby's mind off Tenya's dilemma.
"Huh? Oh, yeah you're right!" Ruby said.
"Who are you gonna root for?"
Ruby looked out at the arena, where Izuku and Jaune are now heading towards.
Who indeed…Her childhood friend, Jaune, whom she had known since they were kids and did a lot of things together growing up or her relatively new friend, Izuku, whom she had met a little over year ago and only just started to hang out with back in March but got along very, very well and know about his greatest secret?
"…I don't know…"
[Before the Match]
There was a knock at the waiting room when Jaune was preparing himself for his match with Izuku.
"Come in," he said.
"Do you have a minute, Arc?" Pyrrha asked as she entered.
"Nikos…Uh, sure," Jaune said, surprised to see her. "If I may, why are you here?"
"I wanted to wish you luck," Pyrrha smiled.
"…Wish me luck?" Jaune breathed a humorless laugh. "Yeah…I might need that considering who I'm facing. To be honest, I think I should just…forfeit." He sits down at the table with uncertainty in his eyes.
Pyrrha frowned and took a seat next to Jaune. "Why?"
"Why? We've all seen what Midoriya can do…"
"Arc…You don't always need strength to win," Pyrrha said.
Jaune's grin was lopsided. "That's easy for you to say. You're Achillea. The Invincible Girl. The Hero Princess. All Might's sidekick…There's practically nothing you can't do."
Jaune's word hit a cord in Pyrrha that she had been ignoring. A ping of shame that she had been hiding since the USJ.
"Nothing I can't do…I wasn't able to prevent Eraser Head from getting hurt," she found herself saying. Jaune looks at her. "…I wasn't able to help Thirteen. And…if it wasn't for Eraser Head, you could've…" Pyrrha didn't dare to finish, but Jaune what she was talking about. He still had thoughts about it. How Shigaraki grabbed his face, ready to do what he did to Pyrrha's arm. If it hadn't been for Aizawa using his Quirk despite how beaten he was…Jaune could've…
Pyrrha puts a hand on her arm, where she was injured by Shigaraki. "As a hero, I should've done something more. We were…so lucky that All Might came when he did." At a cost, she didn't say out loud.
"Nikos…I-I'm sorry for making you feel this way. I wasn't thinking. I…" Jaune sighed.
{Will Jaune Arc and Izuku Midoriya take the stage?}
"I wanted to say something else, but…I'm not sure if I am even qualified to impart advice," Pyrrha lamented.
"…Tell me," Jaune said. Pyrrha's eyes were wide at his words. He looked at her, this time without uncertainty, but a gentle smile that reached his eyes. "I'd like to hear it."
Pyrrha could feel her own smile form on her face. "…In a battle of strength what is truly measured is a person's skill. Try and outsmart your opponent."
Jaune chuckled and it was genuine and humorous. "Outsmart Midoriya? I do think that I might have a way to at least last a little longer, but I don't think it would end in my favor."
"Well, you never know unless you try," Pyrrha said.
Jaune nodded with a warm smile. "Yeah…you're right. Thanks, Nikos." He goes to leave before he stopped to look at Pyrrha. "…You're…still amazing, by the way." They were simple words, but they gave a warm feeling in Pyrrha's chest.
"Thank you so much," Pyrrha said with gratitude. "And Arc?"
"Yeah?"
"…I'll be rooting for you," Pyrrha smiled.
Jaune smiled back. "…Thanks."
{~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* - Our Hero Academia - *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~}
Jaune Arc
Quirk: Amp
"He can transfer his own stamina to boost a person's strength, stamina, and Quirk."
— Affiliation: UA High School Hero Class 1-A Student
— Birthday: 06/22 (Cancer)
— Height: 185 cm
— Blood Type: A
— Likes: Comic Books
— Color: Vis Vis (F9E08C)
{~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* - Our Hero Academia - *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~}
Shouto Todoroki
Quirk: Half-Cold, Half-Hot
"Two Quirks: 'Generates ice and cold with his right side and fire and heat with his left side."
— Affiliation: UA High School Hero Class 1-A Student
— Birthday: 01/11 (Capricorn)
— Height: 176 cm
— Blood Type: O
— Likes: Cold Soba Noodles
— Color: Cyan (00FFFF)
{~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* - Our Hero Academia - *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~}
[Izuku Midoriya vs. Jaune Arc]
{Let's get this ball rollin'! In this match, we have the first fight between fellow classmates of 1-A! Izuku Midoriya vs Jaune Arc!}
{Read? …Go!}
Jaune was the first to attack, running towards Izuku at full speed.
{And Arc makes his first move!}
Izuku readies himself. "I'm not sure what Arc is planning, so I have to be ready for anything!" He sees Jaune taking a hold of his own arm and a familiar whitish ripple of Jaune's Quirk in action. Jaune throws his first punch. Izuku raises his arm to block it, wincing at the impact. "It's strong…Did Arc amp himself?!" Izuku dodges Jaune's next punch. "Looks like I have no choice!" The tiny, green sparks return on his right arm. "Be mindful…One for All 5%!" Izuku uses his right arm to block another enhanced punch. He pushes Jaune back. Jaune backs up and goes to charge his leg. "He's enhancing his leg!" Izuku dashes towards him and Jaune kicks him, pushing him back.
{Looks like a classic hand-to-hand combat match!}
"Look at them go!" Kirishima said.
"I didn't think that Arc could fight in a tournament like this," Mina said.
"At Midoriya's current level, this could be anyone's game," Sero said.
"This is really exciting!" Ochako exclaimed. She notices Ruby with her head low. "Ruby?"
"AH! I still don't know who to cheer for!" Ruby shouted.
"I don't think I can get him out of bounds. He's got the height advantage. I've got to find a way to immobilize Arc!" Izuku ducks another punch. "And I'll do that by using his height against him!" He swung a kick at Jaune's legs and grabbed his arm. Jaune wasn't able to stop Izuku from pulling him to the ground and twisting his wrist in a pronating wristlock.
Jaune struggled to get back up, Izuku's hold was tight and firm.
"Are you unable to break free, Arc?" Midnight asked from her podium.
Jaune slumps in defeat. "…No."
"I'm sorry, Arc," Izuku said, the green sparks starting to go away as Jaune's whitish glow faded.
Midnight gave an affirmed nod. "Jaune Arc has been immobilized! Izuku Midoriya wins!"
The crowd cheered for Izuku's success, the Arc sisters did not, sad that Jaune lost. Then, the sisters started cheering for Jaune anyway, happy that he did all he could.
Jaune could hear them cheering for him as he stood up.
"Sounds like you have a wonderful family," Izuku said.
"Yep…All seven of my sisters," Jaune said.
"Huh…Huh?" Seven sisters?
Jaune returned to the waiting room and had a surprise waiting for him. A certain heroine clad in bronze, hair colored like flames, and vivid green eyes.
"Nikos…" Jaune said, shocked.
Pyrrha raised from her seat. "You did amazing out there, Arc. That was a clever use of your Quirk."
Jaune chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "I mean…I did last longer than I thought I would."
"You've at least given it a chance," Pyrrha said. "And I am proud of you for that."
"Thanks, Nikos," Jaune thanked. "…Wait, I thought you were going back to patrolling earlier."
"I was, but Death Arms said that I could take a break for a while."
"Oh, that's nice of him," Jaune said.
Pyrrha nodded. "Yes… Weeell…he really said—"
'Go on and take a break…from Mt. Lady! That woman has to stop exploiting you!'
Jaune sweatdrops. "O-Oh."
"Congrats, Deku!" Ochako cheered once Izuku made it back to the 1-A waiting room.
"Th-Thank you, Uraraka…" Izuku blushed. "I didn't know you could amp yourself, Arc."
"That was something I figured out a few days ago," Jaune said. "I was thinking that if my dad was able to use his Quirk on himself, I thought I could try it myself. I still need practice with it though."
"That is pretty amazing," Izuku said. He notices Ruby looking down. "You okay, Rose?"
Ruby sighs. "I couldn't pick who to cheer for. I am happy that Midoriya won, but I'm also sad that Jaune lost..."
Jaune gives her a smile. "It's okay, Ruby. I'm more than happy that I lasted longer than I expected."
A warm smile tugged on Ruby's mouth, and it made Jaune feel comfort. Ruby then said, "So, who's next?"
"Me!" Nora grinned. "I'll be going up against Hirochi Sinchou!"
"Hitoshi Shinso," Ren corrected.
"Yeah, him!"
"Do you remember what I told you, Valkyrie?" Ojiro asked.
Nora groaned. "After you said it, like what, a thousand times?"
"Valkyrie…"
"Yeah, yeah, I knooow. Don't talk to him. I got it."
Ojiro was urgent. "I just…" He sighs. "I just don't want you to get caught in his trap too, okay?"
"Oh, don't worry about me," Nora grinned. She flashes a peace sign. "I'll have that guy sprawling out of bounds in no time!"
[Nora Valkyrie vs. Hitoshi Shinso]
"Nora Valkyrie is out of bounds!" Midnight announced.
Nora blinked, realizing that she is now outside of the arena. "Huh?"
"Hitoshi Shinso wins this match!"
Shinsou smirked. "Heh…" He turned and left.
{Well, that was a lackluster battle! I was really hoping for some action!}
Meanwhile, Nora was left confused. "What just…"
"I'm so sorry, Ojiro!" Nora cried. "I tried not talking! I really did! But then, he said something about you guys and—"
"Easy, easy, Valkyrie. I'm not mad," Ojiro said. "Truth be told, I should have seen this coming." In the weeks that the classmates have known each other, it was proven that Nora was a bit of a motormouth.
"So, you're not mad?" asked Nora.
Ojiro shook his head. "No, Valkyrie."
Nora faces her classmates. "I'm really sorry, guys."
"It's okay, Valkyrie," Kirishima said. "That dude's Quirk seems weird."
"Yeah, all you did was talk to him!" Kaminari said. "Just…what is his Quirk?"
Izuku was deep in thought now. "It seems that whatever Shinso's Quirk is, it can be triggered by talking…"
[Penny Polendina vs. Minoru Mineta]
{Next up is 1-B's Penny Polendina vs 1-A's Minoru Mineta!}
Many of Class 1-B can be heard cheering for the freckle-faced, bright-green-eyed ginger.
"Good luck, Polendina!" Kendo shouted.
"We're rootin' for ya, Polendina!" Sun exclaimed.
"Thanks, guys!" Penny thanked cheerfully.
"How cute. Just so you know, I also have an entourage of adoring fans too," Mineta bragged. "Right, guys?"
"You can do it, Polendina!" Mina cheered.
"Fight well, Polendina!" Momo applauded.
"Kick his ass, Polendina!" Sero declared.
"Guys! What the hell?!" Mineta yelled.
{Ready? …Go!}
Mineta grabbed the balls on his head and started throwing them around the arena until the sticky spheres littered the stage!
{Mineta has covered the arena with his Pop-Off balls! …I did not like the way that sounded!}
The stout teenager then used the balls to bounce off and hop around as Penny stood where she was, her hands still clasped together behind her back and looking forward with a neutrally cute expression.
"Hahahaha! Try and keep up with me, Polendina!" Mineta exclaimed.
Then, Penny smiled with a cute giggle. Without as much as a flick of a wrist, strings sprung out of her fingers and wrapped around Mineta in mid jump.
Mineta blinked. "…Huh?"
Then, Penny giggled again before flinging Mineta into the air, throwing him out of bounds.
Penny smiled sweetly. "Thank you for a wonderful battle!"
[Penny Polendina! Her Quirk: Strings! She can create steel strong strings from the tips of her fingers. Be careful not to get entangled by them!]
Mineta twitched like a squashed roach on the ground.
"Show up hands, guys. Who saw this coming?" Sero questioned. He and everyone else who cared enough raised their hands.
"Just was he trying to prove?" Jaune wondered.
Toshinori knew of Penny Polendina, the same as every other student in the 1st year hero course. As the 1st year heroics teacher, he had taught both 1-A and 1-B. So, just as he knows of the Quirks and capabilities of Class 1-A, Toshinori also knows of 1-B's abilities.
"Young Polendina has a great mastery over her Quirk already," Toshinori observed, somewhat thinking out loud. "Her skills are exceptional for her age."
"I'm glad you think that way about her, Toshinori," Ironwood said. "I have no doubt that you would be further impressed later."
Toshinori raises a brow in confusion.
[Rest of the First Round Fights]
The rest of the fights went on.
The next three were over quick: Tsuyu used her frog tongue to get Mina out of bounds, Bakugo was able to overpower Ren despite the latter's honest effort, and Tokoyami knocked Momo out of bounds. The last of the three came as bit of a shock, due to Momo's combination of intellect and multi-useful Quirk. Despite this, she opted for a shield to block Dark Shadow's attack, but it became a catalyst for her defeat. Really, the girl was probably overthinking.
The next two took a while: the fight between Kamakiri and Kirishima was cool for many as Kamakiri strike his blades against Kirishima's harden skin. Eventually, Kamakiri decided to forfeit seeing that he won't be able to break through Kirishima's defenses, much to Monoma's dismay. Shouji was a tank of sorts, as Sun come to realize. He eventually used a kung fu fighting style that his father had taught him in conjunction with his Quirk, giving Sun the win in the end.
In the next fight, Kendo gets rendered weightless by Ochako when she tried to strike her and was easily taken out of bounds. Kaminari made an honest attempt to win against Shiozaki, but he made the poor choice of using his Indiscriminate Shock at the start of the fight. Not only did it left Shiozaki unscathed thanks to her vines, but it also left Kaminari in 'jamming-yay' mode, getting him easily immobilized. And lastly, Weiss used a bit of her ice to trap Kinoko.
In the end, Tsuyu, Bakugo, Tokoyami, Kirishima, Sun, Ochako, Shiozaki, and Weiss were able to advance too.
{And that is it for the first round! Now, let's look at the bracket to see who's facing whom in the second round!}
The bracket system again shows up to show the results.
[Todoroki vs. Sero] [Rose vs. Iida]
[Midoriya vs. Shinso] [Polendina vs. Asui]
[Bakugo vs. Tokoyami] [Tetsutetsu vs. Kirishima]
[Wukong vs. Uraraka] [Shiozaki vs. Schnee]
Sero flashes a thumbs up at Todoroki. "Looks like we're gonna go toe-to-toe, Todoroki!" Sero grinned. Todoroki gave a curt sidewise glance and looked away. Sero sweatdropped at the action. "O-Okay…"
"…Me against…Iida?" Ruby said to herself, staring at her and Tenya's names. "Looks like I'll be fighting one of my classmates after all…He and I are based around speed. I wonder how I should counter him…"
"Hm? What is it, Rose?" asked Tenya. His question made Ruby realize that she was staring again.
"Uh-Um…I…" Ruby flustered. As she floundered, she remembered how upset Tenya was over how his recent 'victory' panned out, which no doubt wounded Tenya's pride a bit. Hatsume and her inventions did make him look rather silly. And Tenya has very little doubt that his older brother thought the same thing. Ruby does too, but for her it's something normal between siblings: the older sibling ribbing their younger siblings whenever they've done something humorous. Ruby can recall moments where she'd find herself in a quite embarrassing scenario and Yang, to this day, would not let her live it down…And now she can add the 'bra incident' to the mix…
Ruby flashes him an awkward smile. "…Ya know…From my experience, it's normal to look silly in front of your siblings. Sure, they might tease you for it, but it's coming from a place of love." That's what Yang told her. Doesn't stop Ruby from being annoyed, but she loved her all the same. Maybe it's the same for Tenya and his brother? Judging from Tenya's serious frown, it doesn't seem to be the case.
"…Perhaps…But this was my chance to further prove my worth to follow my brother's footsteps…And my first fight was nothing more than a joke…" he bemoaned.
"Well…in that case, I'll do my best against you, Iida!" Ruby declared. And finally, Tenya smiled and nodded.
"And I you, Rose." Ruby beamed, happy that she finally helped Tenya in some way.
But, Izuku wasn't as enthused with his green eyes glued to the name next his: Hitoshi Shinsou. "I'll be fighting Shinsou after all…" He trailed his eyes over to see his future opponent smirking at him before walking away. "I still haven't figured out how his Quirk works…"
"Midoriya," Ojiro said as he walked up to him. "Hey…can we talk?" Nora was with him, looking less like her cheery self, and that made Izuku feel more uneasy as doesn't recall Nora ever without an ear-to-ear grin.
This is going to be a tad stressful…
It won't be long and Todoroki would be heading out for his fight against Sero. As Endeavor was unable to track down his son before his first fight, the man decided to wait for him near the corridor, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed. After waiting for a minute or so, Todoroki finally shows up and upon seeing his father Todoroki's neutral expression turned sour.
"Shouto. I've been meaning to speak with you," the fiery No. 2 hero said, his flaming eyes glaring downward at his son.
"…Is that right?" Todoroki said as he walked past Endeavor. The blatant act of disrespect somewhat irked Endeavor, but he didn't let it show. Since the boy has started training for the Sports Festival, Todoroki had been giving Endeavor the cold shoulder. As much as Endeavor wanted to confront Todoroki about his attitude, the man reminded himself that the boy was merely being rebellious, as a lot of teens do.
In Endeavor's mind, Todoroki will one day drop out of his phase and realize Endeavor's authority and his purpose. For now, Endeavor had to be patient.
Still…
'Your son, Young Shouto, has done phenomenal in the last two competitions! And without using his left side!'
…there was one thing Endeavor wanted to address.
"Why haven't you used the power I gave you, yet?" Endeavor asked, his tone authoritative. Todoroki paused his walk, but doesn't turn around. "If you had used it, you wouldn't have wasted time with that girl and her weak Quirk." Endeavor narrowed his eyes. "I expect more from you."
"…I don't need it," Todoroki said finally, his voice was cold. "I don't need your fire to win." Endeavor only huffed.
"That childish notion of yours won't get you anywhere."
"We'll see about that."
Endeavor remained, unmoving and unbothered, as Todoroki walked away with a fierce gaze forward.
Unknown to both, they had an eavesdropper.
[Shouto Todoroki vs Hanta Sero]
{And without further delay, let's begin with the second round!}
As the crowd cheered, Izuku sat quietly, still uneasy about his eventual fight with Shinsou even after speaking with Nora and Ojiro.
"You okay, Deku? You're awfully quiet," Ochako observed, showing her concern.
"Midoriya?" Ruby asked.
"Oh! No, I'm okay. Really!" Izuku insisted. Ruby felt that he wasn't being truthful, as he would be fighting Shinsou after her and Tenya. Whatever Shinsou's Quirk is, the young man was able to effortlessly win his first-round fight against Nora just by talking. Sure, an easy solution to this is to just don't talk to Shinsou, but there is a lingering thought of the possibility that there is more to it…
"Oh! Look! Here comes Todoroki and Sero!" Hagakure exclaimed as the said students emerged from the opposite corridors.
"I wonder how this is gonna turn out," Kaminari said.
"To be honest, I don't see this fight ending in Sero's favor," Jiro said.
"Yeah, I think so too," Jaune agreed. "With all that fire power – or ice power – Todoroki has…yeah, Sero's not gonna win this."
As Ruby waited for the match to begin, she noticed Izuku looking thoughtful again. "Midoriya?"
"…Does Todoroki seem…off?" Izuku asked, his eyes remaining forward. Ruby looks down at the arena too. She couldn't see Todoroki's face well, but something about his expression made her curious. He looked…angry? Such an expression on Todoroki looked so foreign on him to Ruby. What could have happened to make Todoroki have such a look?
{Ready? …Go!}
Sero acted fast, shooting out his tape and wrapping it around Todoroki's midsection. Everyone, including Sero, was surprised when Todoroki didn't make an attempt to escape or even evade/stop the attack.
Then, a moment later, Todoroki releases a large wave of ice that not only freed him from his restraints and excessively freezes Sero in place and half freezes Midnight, but the ice had reached heights so high that it could be seen over the stadium, narrowly missing the crowd of people in that direction, including the students of class 1-A.
Others stared in awe at the display of power, including Yang, Mirio, Tamaki, and Nejire plus Emerald and Mercury.
For once, Present Mic was speechless as he stared at the giant iceberg with his face pressed up against the glass and his sunglasses askew.
Even the other teachers were left awestruck, including Toshinori, slack jawed.
"Oh…my…"
Outside, Pyrrha struggled to speak about the sight above her. "Oh my…Oh my…"
Similarly to Present Mic, Coco's own sunglasses were also misaligned as she and Pyrrha gazed up at the ice with open mouths, shocked to see it from outside of the stadium.
"OH MY GOODNESS!"
"H-Hanta SSSero has been immobilized! Sh-Shouto Todoroki wins!" Midnight announced, cold from the ice.
Izuku watched as the ice melted and the crowd give Sero an assuring 'Don't mind!'. Once the ice had melted enough, he got to see Todoroki's face once more and a weighted feeling began to fill his chest…
Todoroki looked…sad…
Next Chapter: Trick of the Mind
"I'll be…I…I-I'll be f-fighting…"
"Come on, Midoriya!"
"I will get into the hero course."
"No…It's a good thing…"