"THE FIRST MATCH OF THE SECOND ROUND! Both want to claim the top spot, BAKUGO!"
"Tch."
"VERSUS! KIRISHIMA!"
'Right here, right now, I'll show the world what I can do.'
"READY? START!"
At the shout both 1-A students charged forward. Just before they met in the middle of the field Bakugo swung his hand, letting loose with one of his signature explosions. Fire and smoke engulfed Kirishima, but Bakugo didn't lower his guard. Moments later, Kirishima emerged from the smoke unscathed, his skin hardened, launching a punch towards Bakugo's face. "Take this!"
Already on guard, Bakugo dodged to his left, but he wasn't able to keep Kirishima's hardened skin from grazing the right side of his face, cutting it slightly. Still, encountering no resistance Kirishima overextended himself, allowing Bakugo to launch an explosion into Kirishima's unprotected right side. The redhead grunted; the bast was strong enough to tear through Kirishima's uniform, exposing the skin underneath, now slightly blackened but otherwise undamaged. As both competitors drew back, Kirishima did so smiling.
"That won't work on me, Bakugo!" Kirishima yelled over the roar of the crowd as he charged back in. Bakugo growled as he fell backwards dodging Kirishima's wild punches.
"And Bakugo retreats, unable to overcome Kirishima's defense!" Present Mic announced.
"COME ON KIRI! You can do it!" Mina cheered through cupped hands.
"It's rare to see Bakugo on the defensive, kero." Tsuyu croaked from where the 1-A girls sat together.
"Yeah, you think Kirishima has a chance of winning?" Jiro asked, resting her head on her arms currently draped over the railing in front of her.
"No." The class 1-A representatives answered at the same time. Turning their hardened eyes away from the match, the two looked at each other surprised, but a gesture of concession from Yaoyorozu led Kendo to explain.
"Kirishima's Quirk might be making it difficult for Bakugo since he can withstand his explosions, but it's clear that Kirishima isn't used to fighting. His swings are wild and besides his opening attack where he grazed Bakugo, he hasn't been able to hit him since Bakugo turned his attention to dodging."
"So?" Mina huffed, pouting, her pink cheeks inflated to show her displeasure at the ravenette and orangette's doubt. "Bakugo's attacks won't do anything, and even if he can't hit him now, Kirishima's bound to eventually, right?"
"That would be the case normally," Momo said agreeably, cutting in to ward off any arguing before it could break out, "However, it takes more energy for Kirishima to attack than it takes for Bakugo to dodge. Combine that with him having to keep his Quirk active and wasting additional energy due to his lack of form-"
An explosion cut her off, "Bakugo finally counters again! Huh? What's this? Unlike before, it's working?"
"You've been straining to keep your whole body rock-hard the entire fight, right?" Bakugo questioned with a demonic smile as Kirishima grimaced in pain, a new hole in the left side of his uniform. Unlike its twin on Kirishima's right side, the skin underneath this new hole was singed. "Your Quirk might make you harder, but it draws on your stamina to stay up. Do too many things at once in that state like rushing forward to attack, and your defense will eventually start to fall apart."
Drawing back his arm, Bakugo launched an explosion, forcing Kirishima to quickly raise his arms to guard. The smoke dissipated quickly, but Kirishima only had time to widen his eyes before another explosion slammed into him, then another, and another. Bakugo launched a veritable barrage at the redhead, attacking as quickly as the recoil of the explosions pushed his hands backwards. All Kirishima could do was retreat behind the defense his Quirk provided, grimacing as Bakugo's explosions tore his uniform to shreds and his hardened skin began to chip away.
Seeing Kirishima's 'armor' falter, Bakugo rushed forward to deliver the finishing blow. "DIEEEE!" he screamed, launching a final large explosion into Kirishima's chest. The redheaded hardening hero-in-training was blown backwards, eyes glazing over as Bakugo grinned savagely, gasping slightly. "Well, I can understand why you wouldn't want to fight me in a drawn-out match."
"Kirishima is unable to battle, Bakugo wins!" Midnight announced with a flick of her whip once it became clear that Kirishima wouldn't be getting back up.
"And we have our second semi-finalists, Katsuki Bakugo!" Present Mic yelled over the roar of the crowd.
As U.A. robots loaded Kirishima onto a stretcher, Bakugo made his way back towards the student tunnel, where the next competitor stood waiting silently. Neither student spoke as Bakugo strode past before stopping, their backs to one another. "Oi, Half-and-Half," Bakugo called out, said boy turned to find himself looking at Bakugo's back, the blond not having even bothered to turn around. "Remember what I said in the locker room? It doesn't matter that you beat me in the other events, because at the end of the day, I'm gonna win this facade of a festival." Todoroki's eyes narrowed as Bakugo turned his head slightly, allowing Todoroki to glimpse the dark smile splitting his face, "I bet right now you're thinking that you can still win with just your ice. That even if the copycat who used your Quirk lost, you still have a chance. After all, he might have had your Quirk, but he clearly didn't have your control over it. Your skill with it."
"And what if I am?" Todoroki questioned coldly.
"Copycat came at me with everything he could draw upon, ice and fire, but he still lost in the end. Do you honestly think a match between the two of us would be any different when you refuse to even use half of your Quirk?" Bakugo turned back and resumed his walk away, throwing out one more remark as he went, "At this rate, for all your talk about being the best, the one moving on to the semi-finals; it won't be you." Todoroki didn't respond, but his heterochromatic eyes stayed locked onto the back of Bakugo's uniform until the boy was out of sight.
"IT'S NOW TIME FOR THE SECOND MATCH! Both competitors have given top class performances at this year's sports festival! KENDO!"
'Todoroki's gonna come at me with his ice as soon as the match begins. I have to be ready.'
"VERSUS! TODOROKI!"
'She's strong, I have to end this quickly before she has time to act.'
"Ready?"
'One things clear-'
'From the start-'
'I have to go all out!'
"START!"
A wave of ice immediately erupted from Todoroki's foot racing across the arena to Kendo who cursed. Enlarging her hand, she channeled the power of One for All before letting loose with a wild swing. For a moment, time itself seemed to freeze, before the glacier of ice cracked and shattered. A blast of air rushed across the arena, pushing Todoroki back although he quickly caught himself by creating a half circle of ice behind him. The cold wind rushed through the audience, forcing many to cower or brace themselves until it passed.
"WOW! Kendo managed to stop Todoroki's attack with pure strength!" Present Mic announced to the roar of the crowd cheering on the spectacle, not that either competitor cared. Once more, Todoroki launched a wave of ice, only for Kendo to destroy it with a One for All infused punch. Two more times this repeated, until both competitors paused to recover and think.
"My hands are almost at their limit," Kendo grimaced, looking down at her enlarged hands, which were now an ominous shade of red. "Even though my hands can withstand the full power of One for All when I enlarge them, they can't do it forever. That's why I alternated the hand I was punching with. Even then, each hand probably has one more punch left, anymore after that though, and they'll start to fracture, if not break. Still-' Kendo looked across the arena to where Todoroki stood exhaling mist, the right side of his body dotted with frost, 'his attacks are getting smaller. He's weakening.'
'This match is going on for too long,' Todoroki frowned as he gazed towards the panting orangette. 'There's no doubt that Kendo's pushing herself, but even if she's approaching her limit, so am I. I put too much power into those earlier attacks hoping to end the match before she had time to counter. Since she was able to hold on this long, her best bet's to turn this into an endurance match.'
"I need to end this quickly." Once more Todoroki sent a wave of ice at Kendo, only for it to shatter when she countered. This time though, Todoroki pushed through the blowback sent his way, building a spire of ice in front of Kendo that he ran up, the icy memorial concealing him from Kendo's view. With a swing of her left hand, the orangete's hands reached their limit. The spire was blown away, only to reveal Todoroki falling towards Kendo, his hand outstretched towards her!"
"Shit!" Cursing, Kendo leapt backwards, but she was unable to stop Todoroki from touching the ground where she'd just been standing sending a trail of ice rushing her way. Airborne, the ice quickly reached Kendo, ensnaring her right foot before it began to crawl up her leg.
'He's too close!" Kendo cried out in her mind, 'At this range, Todoroki can send his glaciers at me before I have time to react. It was only when we were further apart that we fought on even ground. I have to get him away from me!' It only took a moment for all this to run through Kendo's mind, but that was all the time needed for the ice to finish crawling up the lower part of her leg. As the ice touched her knee, Kendo's instincts took over. Before she could think, her left arm was drawn back, orange veins glowing with the power of One for All before Big Fist activated. Just like in her match against Shoji it wasn't just Kendo's hand that grew, but her arm as well, tearing through the sleeve of her uniform. With a primitive roar, Kendo brought her enlarged arm forward and the ice shattered, blowing Todoroki back.
With the ice now gone, Kendo fell back to the stage, her mind catching up with what just happened as her Quirks deactivated, causing her arm to shrink back down to its normal size. 'Is that how it works?' Kendo wondered, staring at her now exposed limb. 'I've always enlarged my hands before using One for All. If I reverse it and activate One for All first, does One for All boost my Quirk, allowing me to enlarge other parts of my body?'
"That punch was weaker than your other ones." Todoroki's voice cut through Kendo's racing mind, and the orangette turned to lock eyes with the heterochromatic boy. "You've never increased the size of anything but your hands either. Have you been hiding what you can do?" Todoroki's normally stoic voice was strained with emotion, and Kendo couldn't help but widen her eyes in shock. Todoroki was never emotional, "Answer me!" Yeah, he was angry.
Seeing that Kendo didn't seem interested in sharing, Todoroki growled before he began running forward, 'He's slower,' Kendo thought as she fell into a fighting stance, 'and the frost has spread. But if it's only affecting his right side, which is the side he uses to produce ice, then the best moment to strike is…Now!'
As Todoroki's right foot left the ground, Kendo struck. Bringing her right arm forward, the orangette repeated what she'd done earlier, channeling the power of One for All and then Big Fist through her right arm. Just like her left arm had done, Kendo's right arm grew, shredding her sleeve before slamming into Todoroki's chest. Unprepared, spittle flew as Todoroki was sent flying backwards, tumbling head over heels, but even still he managed to freeze Kendo's left arm with his right hand.
'He's good,' Kendo thought warily, as she eyed Todoroki. 'His skill, his mastery of his Quirk, everything about him shows just how strong he is.' With another brief respite in the fighting, Kendo didn't hesitate to practice using her new ability. Deactivating the power in her right arm, Kendo focused on increasing her left, growing it to a point the ice shattered and fell away before she let it shrink down once more.
'Todoroki's right,' Kendo thought as said boy rose, 'that attack wasn't as strong as when I use One for All through my enlarged hands. Still, it was stronger than Big Fist by itself. Plus,' she looked down at her reddened hands, 'even though my hands are at their limit, they didn't break. I may not be able to fight the same way I did earlier, but this way, I can keep going.'
Coughing, Todoroki climbed back to his feet, every exhale now accompanied by a fine mist. A light layer of frost coated his cheek, his arm, his leg, practically dotting his entire right side. Eyes furrowed, glaring, Todoroki sent ice at Kendo, but the attack was both slow and small enough that the orangette could dodge it, leaping to the side. 'Why?' Todoroki charged as Kendo's right arm grew. Prepared, Todoroki dodged to the side, but the force of the attack still sent him smashing into his ice. "Why?"
"Huh?" Kendo blinked.
"Why?" Todoroki repeated, raising his head, his two colored eyes staring into Kendo's own. "Why did you hold back? Why are you trying so hard? You, Honenuki, Bakugo. Why is everyone of you so determined to win?!" Unspoken, another question was asked in his mind, 'Why is it when I'm facing you all, I can almost forget his face?'
"Todoroki, do you remember what I said in the locker room this morning?" The son of the #2 Hero blinked dumbly. "No one here's just going to roll over and let you win. Hero Course, Support Course, General Studies, everyone is doing their best to win. Everyone except for you."
"Shut up."
"Tell me, do you even want to win?"
Shut up!"
"Do you even want to be a hero?"
"Wha-" Todoroki's eyes widened in shock, a memory he'd all but forgotten rose unbidden to his mind.
The day's training had been particularly harsh. Curled up into a ball, Shoto Todoroki clutched his stomach as he cried, his head lying in a pool of his own vomit, all while Endeavor stared down at him in disgust. The door to the training room was thrown open, feet pattered against the wooden floors but Todoroki couldn't bring himself to turn and look to see who it was. "Please stop, he's only five!" The voice of his mother had cut off whatever it was Endeavor was saying. Shoto relaxed slightly when her cool hand made contact with his warm back, gently rubbing soothing circles into it.
"He's already five! Get out of my way!" The sound of flesh on flesh caused Shoto to look up, look as his mom fell backwards, her right hand rising to clutch her shocked face, the side of which was already starting to redden. Endeavor stood there frozen, his hand outstretched, his former stoicism replaced with an expression of disbelief as he gazed at his fallen wife.
"I-Rei-I. I-I have to go." Endeavor rushed out pushing through the doorway and past Fuyumi, who was crouching behind the door, peering in with Natsuo right beside her.
That night, Shoto had knelt on his mother's lap, face buried against her shirt as he sobbed into her bosom. "I don't wanna be a hero, Mom! I…I… don't want to become like Dad. I don't want to become somebody who hurts you!"
A soft cool hand on the back of his head had calmed him as his Mom gently stroked his hair, "Oh, Shoto. Don't say that, not all heroes are bad." Shoto had looked up at his Mom's gray eyes, eyes that looked just like his right one. "You want to be a hero, right? To help people? It's okay for you to be one. You don't have to be a prisoner of your blood. It's okay for you to become whoever you want to be."
As the memory of his mother's words fell away, Todoroki's left side began to steam before fire erupted from his body. The heat was enough to force Kendo back, and those close to the arena had to shield their faces against the sudden brightness and heat. The frost coating Todoroki's right side steamed as it evaporated and disappeared. "I… I want to be a hero." Kendo looked up, the two students once more locking eyes, an understanding passing through them that this was it.
"Sorry, Todoroki," Kendo couldn't help but smile as she planted her feet and channeled One for All throughout her entire body, "I'm glad you finally decided to go Plus Ultra, but I'm going to be the one who wins!"
"Smiling in this situation? Just how crazy are you?" Crouching, Todoroki gave out a final warning, "Don't blame me for whatever happens next." Ice sprouted from the ground around him while the fire that burnt across his left side grew into a raging inferno.
"Cementoss, stop them before they go any further!" Midnight ordered, "If they go all out right now-"
"We won't be able to guarantee the safety of the audience." Cementoss grunted as he planted his hands against the cement pillar he'd been sitting atop. Waves of cement moved towards the battlefield, but it was slow, too slow.
At an unspoken signal, the two students moved. Todoroki sent out a wave of ice, one comparable to the glacier he'd used at the start of the first round when he'd tried to entrap Honenuki. Kendo leapt over the ice, ignoring the pain that ran through her legs or how the ice curled behind her like a wave to come back at her. 'One for All, then Big Fist, then One for All again! So what if my hand breaks? This is it, I've got to give everything I've got!'
As Kendo raced towards him, her right arm growing in size before it became coated in those strange orange veins of hers, Todoroki couldn't help but return her wide smile. Bringing his left arm forward, hand glowing orange from how hot it was, Todoroki directed the flames he'd shunned for so long, embracing his Quirk's full power just as Kendo brought her arm forward.
The collision of attacks sent the strongest wind yet hurling through the stadium, forcing everyone, be they civilian or hero to shield themselves. Midnight yelped as her stage was sent flying.
"Just because something is powerful, doesn't necessarily mean it's good," Cementoss muttered as he rose to his feet, ears ringing, "Still… this is impressive."
"Eraserhead," Mic complained, microphone off, "just what the heck is up with your class?"
"Just like when Bakugo faced Monoma, Todoroki's ice at the beginning cooled the air, which expanded when he used his fire." Aizawa's bored voice explained over the stadium speakers.
"Still, we can't see a thing. Hey, Midnight! Who won?!" Grumbling, the R-Rated heroine climbed back to her feet, rubbing her head. As the smoke dissipated, the audience leaned forward in eager anticipation. Two shapes could be made out, one on the field who, as the audience watched, stumbled before falling down to one knee. The other lay limply out of bounds, slumped against a wall.
"S-Shoto Todoroki is out of bounds!" Midnight yelled, her voice echoing throughout the silent stadium. Drawing her whip from her belt she pointed it at the kneeling victor, "Itsuka Kendo advances to the third round!"
There was cheering at the announcement, but it was muted, the audience still reeling in shock from the clash of Quirks that had just occurred. 'I see,' Izuku thought, hands folded in front of his face while he rested his elbows on his knees, 'That's Itsuka Kendo, the girl Momo told me about. I understand the confusion when it came to her description of the 'veins'. They don't have any clear connection to her Quirk besides increasing her strength. Her ability to increase the size of other parts of her body also seems to be newly developed. Interesting, very interesting.'
While Izuku's thoughts were focused on the match, his companions weren't. 'I'm so bo〜red.' Himiko complained, still disguised as a violet eyed ravenette. Maintaining a form for so long would normally be a massive drain on Himiko's blood supply. After she'd fled from home and actually started using her Quirk Himiko had experimented with her Quirk, to survive on the cruel backstreets of Japan knowing just what she, and by extension her Quirk were capable of, was a necessity. Himiko had eventually figured out that a cup of blood equated to roughly a day of transformation. Getting that much blood though was hard, especially since Himiko didn't have either the training or the time to properly drain a person. She couldn't just hang out around the bodies of those she killed and wait, there was no telling when a hero might show up.
But then she'd met Izu-kun. Izu-kun who'd used his connections with a guy named Sensei to reward her after the Hassaikai raid with five whole gallons of blood from different people who'd 'mysteriously vanished'. Himiko didn't care though, the world was cruel but she had her blood and her Izu-kun. 'Ah, Izu-kun.' Himiko blushed, focusing back on the boy in front of her. 'First we go on a date, then you act all cool and bossy, going so far as to take a hostage. You really know how to show a girl a good time.'
While Himiko rubbed her thighs together to sate the burning desire of her love, Lady Nagant's attention was split alternating between the still smoking battlefield and the green haired villain sitting next to her. Just as soon as the first word spilled from her mouth she'd known she'd made a mistake. A moment of weakness, of doubt, and she opened up to a villain of all things? Just how weak-willed was she? She hadn't spilt everything, in fact she'd only touched on the bare basics, the things that he likely could find out for himself or already knew. Her recruitment by the Commission, her training, her early assignments (none of which had involved killing), and finally her murder of Crimson Riot.
Izuku hadn't once questioned her, nor had he spoken. He had done exactly as he promised, listening silently as she spoke. His silence had been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that he didn't judge her, didn't rage and hurl her actions back in her face. Yet, at the same time, she almost wished he had. Once she'd finished talking, fallen silent, head down staring at her empty plate, Izuku had simply asked if she was done. With what? Her career? The lies? Her food? Her silence was an answer all its own, so together they'd made their way back to their seats. Izuku's bodyguard, Toga, slipping from the crowd as soon as they began moving to follow them.
Occasionally, Izuku's eyes wandered over towards her, but most of the time he kept his attention on the action below. It was maddening, and yet also relieving, 'Wait, do I seriously feel better now that I've talked about my feelings?' Nagant thought in disbelief. 'You have got to be kidding me. Still-' she bit her lip, eyes flickering once more to look at the greenette's side, 'I really wish I knew what he was thinking.'
"You're an idiot." Kendo yelped as her professional diagnosis was delivered with a rap to the noggin by Recovery Girl's cane. "By all rights, I should declare you ineligible to continue. Right arm broken along with your hand and fingers. Strained legs and tendons from that jump of yours. A fracture in your left hand. Just what exactly do you have to say for yourself?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You better be." Kendo flinched the best she could as the cane smacked into the floor. "Still," Recovery Girl sighed, "it's not the worst I've seen, so while you will be tired, you'll still be able to continue if you want to. Just be glad it's clear that you're using that brain of yours. If you were like that blond oaf, charging in recklessly without a second thought, I'd likely tie you to this bed and never let you leave the room."
Kendo chuckled, "Good joke." When Recovery Girl remained silent, Kendo struggled to sit up in her hospital bed, "That was a joke, right?" Recovery Girl merely turned, flashing Kendo a disarming grandmotherly smile. Kendo gulped before crawling back down under the covers. Maybe it was best not to piss off the diminutive nurse.
"Sorry for the delay folks, but after the last match's EXPLOSIVE finish, we needed some time to repair the field. But now we're back with ROUND THREE! TOKOYAMI! VERSUS! ASHIDO! READY? START!"
"Dark Shadow."
"I'm on it!" At his master's command, the shadowy Quirk zigzagged across the field, arms outstretched to grab the pink alien, but, at the moment of contact, the Quirk yelped in pain, quickly letting go and retreating.
"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami cried out in concern.
"Sorry!" Ashido called as she raced forward past the sentient shadow. The moment the match had started, Ashido had cloaked her arms and shoulders in acid, figuring that Tokoyami would try to have Dark Shadow push her out of bounds the same way he'd done with Shinso. Letting the acid slide down her arms and congeal in her hands, Ashido raced towards Tokoyami, throwing blobs of acid as she went. Tokoyami was forced to retreat, dodging backwards in order to keep her at a distance.
"Dark Shadow, I need your help!" Tokoyami called out. Pushing through the pain, Dark Shadow roared as it came at Ashido a second time. Hands out, Dark Shadow was just about to grab Ashido from behind when the pinkette dropped, falling into a split as she raised her arms to point overhead directly at Dark Shadow.
"Acid Stream!" Acid sprayed from her hands and Dark Shadow screeched as it hit home, the Quirk quickly falling back to disappear into a shocked Tokoyami.
"Dark Shadow, are you done?" Tokoyami asked, concerned instead of angry. A wisp sprouted, yellow eyes wide as if the Quirk was about to cry, though it only nodded. "Very well, I resign." Tokoyami sighed before bowing to Ashido.
"Tokoyami gives up! Mina Ashido advances to the third round!" As an overjoyed Ashido screeched in excitement with the crowd's cheering Iida could only smile in faint amusement, applauding his friend's performance before the sound of his phone ringing distracted him.
Checking his caller I.D., Iida quickly rushed to make his excuses before making his way to the hallway behind the 1-A seats. "Hello, Nii-san. I am sorry to report that I lost in the first round of the finals." Iida said stiffly.
A laugh sounded over the phone, "Don't worry about it, you're a first year and a student of U.A. at that. You're going up against the best of the best. All this means is that you'll need to train and get stronger."
"Aye!" Iida said, standing back straight, "I will do my best."
"Still as stiff as ever, huh? Don't ever change. I watched your match, even if it wasn't what you hoped for, you still made it to the finals. Odds are you're going to get quite a few offers. Speaking of learning opportunities, I got one that you might be interested in."
"Really?" Iida's brow furrowed.
"Yeah, remember how growing up, you always said you wanted to patrol with me?"
"Of course. Wait, you don't mean-"
"That's right, consider this a professional offer from the Team Idaten agency and the Pro Hero Ingenium. You don't have to take it if you don't want to, or if you get an offer from someone else you'd rather pursue. If you want to go somewhere else, don't refuse on account of me. Take your time, think this through, and know that whatever choice you make, I'm proud of you."
Iida sniffled, eyes wet and shining, "Thank you."
"You're crying, aren't you?"
"No."
There was a sigh over the phone, "Geez, what am I going to do with you? I swear, just yesterday, I was bringing you to my agency so my sidekicks could meet the cute younger brother I was always going on about. Now here you are, all grown up and training to be a hero right alongside your Big Brother. Well I won't keep you since I know you're busy. Enjoy the festival."
"I will." Lowering the phone, Iida couldn't contain the tears that fell, dotting his phone screen. As Tensei hung up Iida's background came into focus displaying a photo of a young Tenya Iida looking up, eyes wide in awe as he clutched the armored leg of an in-costume Ingenium.
"It's time for the final match of Round Two! 1-B's last remaining students, both of whom entered through recommendation, face off to determine just who is the strongest from their class. Whoever wins will have to confront 1-A's remnant, it's TOKAGE! VERSUS! YOARASHI! READY? BEGIN!"
"Dammit!" Tokage roared in frustration as she charged forward recklessly, a sharp contrast to the composed and pitying persona she'd possessed when facing Uraraka. "Even if I'm going to lose, I'm still going to try my best. Plus Ultra and all that!"
Yoarashi's smile widened, "Good, that's the spirit of U.A. I love to see so much! Show me what you can do, Tokage." Thrusting his hand forward, Yoarashi sent a burst of wind at the green haired girl, which smashed into Tokage, flinging her over the line and out of bounds. Before she could hit the ground though, Tokage's body split the floating pieces, flying just above the grass as they circled around to come at Yoarashi from the side.
"Even though Tokage is technically out of bounds, since she never made contact with the ground, I'll allow her to continue!" Midnight announced before any questions could be raised.
The two competitors didn't care. As Tokage's body flew at him, Yoarashi redirected the air around him, molding it into a circular upwards draft that drew in the greenette's pieces, entrapping her. Whirling around in the miniature twister, Tokage's pieces drew together and reconnected until the sharp toothed girl had fully remade her limbs, torso, and head, where her sharp teeth were grinding together, although all six body parts remained separate from one another. As members of the same class, Tokage and Yoarashi had faced each other before in hero training exercises, and every match always ended the same way: with Tokage's pieces entrapped in a miniature tornado just like they were now. In preparation for the festival, Tokage had worked tirelessly to devise a way to face Yoarashi, but she hadn't exactly been able to test it for fear of giving it away.
"Don't think this match is over yet, Yoarashi," Tokage called as she mentally prepared to enact her plan. Turning her head so she was facing Yoarashi head on, the buzzcut boy's head turned to track her as she spoke. "After all, what's a competition without a major upset?" At the word 'upset', Tokage's reformed body separated, but instead of dispersing and moving the pieces as a single unit like she normally did, Tokage instead mentally hurled each piece of her body as far away from each other as she could. Her range could only extend so far, and she could feel herself losing control of some pieces as they slipped beyond her reach. Thankfully, losing pieces wasn't a big deal since Tokage was able to regenerate, even if there was a limit to how much she could heal. Still, her plan worked, and multiple pieces of her body managed to slip free of Yoarashi's wind.
Yoarashi's concentration turned from Tokage's head as the pieces slipped out of his control though he quickly began to weave the air around him to recapture them. Unfortunately for Yoarashi, this too was part of Tokage's plan. Distracted by his need to focus on bending the winds to his will, Yoarashi hadn't noticed one of Tokage's arms had remained whole, floating in place in the wind current behind him, its' fist pointed at his back. At a mental command, the fist separated from the arm, rocketing forward to slam into Yoarashi's back.
"AND TOKAGE MANAGES TO LAND THE FIRST BLOW ON YOARASHI OF THE DAY!"
Grunting at the sudden impact, Yoarashi stumbled forward. It was only for a moment, but it was enough for him to lose control of the winds, which immediately died down. Knowing this was the only chance she would get, Tokage mentally hurled every piece of her body at Yoarashi that she could. As the pieces closed in, for a moment Tokage thought she had done it, that she had managed to get the better of the best student in her class if not her year. That hope died though as Yoarashi looked up at her rapidly approaching head with that damn grin of his. Grasping ahold of the dissipating air, Yoarashi redirected it downwards, sending a mass of invisible force straight down on the unsuspecting Tokage. Wind roared in her ears, which quickly popped as Tokage's body was pinned to the ground. "I give," Tokage squeaked in pain.
"Tokage has surrendered. Inasa Yoarashi advances!" After his bye in the last round, the return of the first year stand out combined with a dominating victory over a recommendation student, the announcement was heralded with widespread cheering.
"And that concludes the second round! We'll be moving straight into Round Three but first, we need to figure out just who will be taking Yaoyorozu's place as the next round bye with free passage straight to the finals!"
Once more, a wheel appeared on the stadium screens containing the last name and a headshot of all the students who'd made it to the second round of the finals. The losers' slices turned gray and fell away, leaving only the four students who remained; Yaoyorozu's headshot having replaced Yoarashi's in the 'BYE' box. Once more, chibi Nezu appeared to give the four-way wheel a spin. Around it went as the audience looked on with bated breath and eager anticipation. Bakugo looked on, face blank, while Yoarashi sported an eager smile. Kendo slept in her bed; under Recovery Girl's supervision, the nurse would wake her if she had to. Only Mina seemed desperate, having apparently realized just who it was she'd be facing if she wasn't chosen. The pinkette's eyes were closed and her fingers were crossed while she whispered a rapid but quiet, "Please, please, please," to the universe.
Unfortunately for Ashido, the universe didn't seem to want to listen to her plea as the wheel came to a stop on Kendo's picture.
"And we have our first finalist, ITSUKA KENDO!" Mic announced. "She's given an impressive performance so far and she'll soon be joined by two others. For those of you in need of a reminder, of what the matches look like here's an updated tournament bracket:"
Katsuki Bakugo vs Momo Yaoyorozu
Mina Ashido vs Inasa Yoarashi
Bye: Itsuka Kendo
"And now, without any further ado, let's start the semifinals!"
Author's Note:
Hey, everybody I'm back. Sorry for the late post but if you've noticed I try to update this story on the first weekend of every month. Blame the calendar if you want to but at least next month you'll be getting your update on either the first or second...probably. Oh come on don't get mad I can't control everything. Anyways I'm back at college and in the middle of training to be an RA. With move ins coming up as well as the chaos of a new school year beginning I expect things to be hectic to say the least so wish me luck.
But you all don't care about that you guys care about the story. Whelp round 2's done and we're moving onto round 3. Don't worry the next chapter will have both round 3 and kick off the chaos I've been building up to. I hope it meets your expectations but considering it's done (and over on my P-atreon for those of you who want to read it now) I can't really go back and change it. Sorry about the lack of Izuku last chapter but you have him making an appearance here now, there's just a lot of things going on but don't worry he has a role to play. Shoto had his awakening moment and I hope my reasoning of him going all out because others are actually pushing him to match them fits since it shatters his innate belief of being superior to others. Itsuka moves on because right now she's quite a bit more powerful than cannon Izuku was at this point. As for the others well no real comment except next chapter we finally get the Momo vs Bakugo face off *insert evil laugh here*. All I'll say about the next three chapters is that this is where the fun begins.
Anyways as always thanks for reading. I started a Twitch account at /dyavollucifer for those of you who want to interact with me more directly. No upload or schedule since I'll just play when I can but if you have questiosn about the story, want to talk or complain to me directly, or even just hang out feel free to hit it up.
Please as always leave a comment since they keep me writing and until next time this is the devil wondering if anyone actually makes fan art of his story or is interested in making a cover art for it signing off,
- D'yavol Lucifer 3:)
*IMPORTANT NOTICE*
All the cover art for my stories are ones I found online. I am really interested in using fanart provided by you the readers to replace them. If you're interested draw something up and pm me so I can send you the details on where to send it or pm me and I'll give you some details so you can draw one. As I say in my bio if I use it I may add you as an oc in one of my stories! Isn't that exciting!
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August 5, 2023
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Anime/Manga: My Hero Academia
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