08.05.2023
It is I, the Absolute Madman and I'm back with your weekly dose of the shitposting Evil Within! And seeing as there are no comments to answer we can jump straight into the action!:
The events that unfolded after Izuku's match were… worrying to say the least. As expected Todoroki won his fight against Yaoyorozu with an overwhelming show of force, the bout ending almost as soon as it was started and resulting in Yaoyorozu being simply pushed out of the arena by the rapidly expanding mass of ice. The most worrying thing about this outcome was the fact that Yaoyorozu didn't get back up right away. She didn't seem to be injured, although the fall was bound to leave her with a couple of bruises, so the only other reason for her behavior could be in her mind and that's what Izuku didn't want to see.
"I'll have to check up on her after this to make sure she can recover. The last thing I want is for someone so promising to end up doubting their own capabilities." Izuku thought to himself with resolve.
The second round of the tournament began a few minutes later, as soon as the glacier melted and was completely removed from the arena. As expected Bakugo won his fight in that trademark brutal fashion of his, both outpowering and outsmarting his opponent, advancing to the semi-finals by breaking some sweat.
During the second round Iida had excused himself from their booth as he'd received a phone call from his parents. Izuku was sure that they simply meant to congratulate him on his performance, but when Iida didn't return before Izuku's match began the greenhead couldn't help but start to worry. He'd later find out that he was indeed correct to worry about his fellow classmate, but that's a piece of information for a later date.
"It's almost time for the semi-finals, but we still have two more bouts of the second round to go through!" Midnight announced as Izuku headed out of his tunnel and onto the arena in the middle. "Approaching from my left side - he didn't yet have a chance to shine, but gave us an excellent show of sportsmanship and self-control! Concrete on the outside and pudding on the inside - Midoriya Izuku from class A of the hero course!" The introduction once again left Izuku puzzled, but he had much more important things to pay attention to, so he let the comments slide.
"Miss Kayama is a truly intriguing woman. I wonder where she gets all of these poetic comparisons from?" Izuku thought to himself for a split moment before focusing on the more important stuff.
"Moron." The daemon summed up its warden.
"And approaching from my right - she looks like an angel, but don't let it fool you because this rose has a whole bunch of thorns! Eager to help or whip you back into shape - Shiozaki Ibara from class B of the hero course!" This time it was Shiozaki's turn to be puzzled by the introduction.
"I even made sure to pay extra attention to my hair yesterday. There shouldn't be any thorns in them…" Shiozaki wondered as she ran a hand through her hand, confirming to herself that there really were no thorns there. "Strange…"
The two friends approached the middle of the arena and smiled at each other.
"We really have to stop meeting like this." Izuku cracked a joke to break the ice.
"Indeed. I do have to admit that whilst facing you is great fun I'd prefer it if we could just hang out in peace." Shiozaki responded courtly.
"You all already know the rules, but let me recall them anyway! The fight ends when either of the contestants is unable to continue or leaves the bounds of the arena! If I deem that either of you is going too far I'll stop the fight as well! Is everything clear?" After getting nods from the students she grinned and stepped back so as not to get caught up in the fight.
"Good luck." Izuku wished as he unsheathed his sword and laid it on his shoulder with a single arm.
"Good luck to you as well." Shiozaki responded in kind as she prepared her vines for the opening strike.
"Our contestants are ready, so let the battle… Begin!" Midnight announced and the fight started.
Shiozaki wasted no time and opened up by thrusting all of her vines forward, hoping to push Izuku back as she knew that he was a strictly melee fighter so keeping him at a distance would grant her a significant amount of control over the flow of the battle.
Izuku cast his shield in front of him as soon as the bout began and dodged to the side whilst simultaneously swinging his sword in an overhead slash, cleaving away some of Shiozaki's vines in the process and limiting her capabilities a bit. He didn't have time for another attack however as Shiozaki was quick on her feet and immediately turned all of her vines around, hoping to catch him off guard. Izuku used his sword to block the hit but had to retreat under the pressure.
The brief pause allowed them to reorganize themselves as Izuku shouldered his sword again and Shiozaki recalled her vines so as to avoid getting them tangled up into one giant mess.
As soon as she was ready Shiozaki rushed forward, hoping to corner Izuku and immobilize or push him out of bounds to secure a victory for herself. She spread her vines on her sides to hopefully limit his possible moves, but was not prepared for him to come rushing directly at her.
Thankfully she left a handful of vines at her side for emergencies and she was able to slow down his advance just enough for the more distant tendrils to swing back around and start surrounding Izuku from all directions. In yet another impressive show of tenacity he kept moving forward, hacking away at her defenses with powerful swings whilst slowing down the attack from the rear with multiple barriers.
This time it was Shiozaki who was forced to retreat as Izuku's swings came uncomfortably close to landing a clean hit on her and whilst she was sure she'd be able to continue the fight it wouldn't be pleasant in the slightest. And so she recalled more vines to her side and formed a singular solid wall between them, using the cover to step back and gather more vines for her next offensive.
She could clearly feel him chopping her vines off but it'd take a long enough time to put a dent in her forces to worry about losing those tendrils. Once she was ready for him she recalled the last vines remaining in the wall and launched her own attack at the same time, hoping to confuse him with the sheer amount of movement that his eyes would need to track at the same time.
Against all odds he managed to stand his ground and even cut off a few more of her vines, but it was clear that he was getting tired due to the constant onslaught. Shiozaki was sure that she'd be able to outpace him if they just continued their cat and mouse game like this, but that probably wouldn't make her an intern that some of the higher ranking heroes would like to extend and internship offer to, so she tried to figure out a way to end the fight sooner rather than later.
She studied her opponent closely, noting how his muscles flexed and contorted to provide power for each of his swings, how sweat flew off his forehead every time he spun around to cut down an especially dangerous clump of tendrils aiming for what she guessed would be his blind spot. She had a great deal of respect for her friend and the impressive form that he'd developed but she noticed that there was a weakness to his stance and she forged a plan to exploit it.
The vines that she'd recalled from the wall earlier were still at her side in case Izuku tried to do another reckless charge directly at her, but now she decided to make them her trump card. She sent those tendrils snaking along the ground on the far right side, close enough to the main force to blend in, but far out enough not to be held back by the assault. Once they were in position Shiozaki had them sweep the ground, landing a clean hit on Izuku's legs and throwing him off balance as well as off rhythm. Seeing an opening to finish the fight Shiozaki dumped all of her vines to drown Izuku with overwhelming numbers and even though he fought back valiantly with his barrier, the fight was already over by that point.
Once the struggling concluded Midnight left her spot at the side of the arena and approached the giant clump of vines that Izuku was currently trapped inside of. She was meant to ask him whether or not he could continue, but one look inside was all it took for Midnight to give her verdict.
"Midoriya Izuku is unable to continue! The winner is Shiozaki Ibara!" She declared and the crowd, once again, went wild with cheers at the impressive show that those two put on.
As soon as the umpire ended the fight Shiozaki recalled all of her vines, freeing Izuku from the restraints and allowing him to get back up. He had a couple of bruises where the vines clamped down on him to make sure he stayed in place but it was nothing that he couldn't take care of himself. Shiozaki approached the man just as the golden glow along his injuries died down to reveal a slightly irritated, but otherwise undamaged skin.
"I almost had you that one time." Izuku stated with a smile when Shiozaki walked up to him.
"If it wasn't for the couple of vines that I've left at my side our bout would've surely ended at that very moment." Shiozaki agreed and extended a hand for the fellow greenhead to shake.
"Well, I wish you good luck in the semi-finals." Izuku said as he gently took the offered hand and placed a light kiss on the back of her hand with a slight bow.
It almost seemed as if the crowd got even more riled up by that display, though it was hard to tell with Midnight yelling over the spectators thanks to her microphone.
"What a true gentleman! He took the loss with dignity and even congratulated the damsel! I'm telling you ladies, they don't make them like these anymore! Stake your claims before someone else does!" The R-Rated Hero stated passionately with a labored breath.
Both Shiozaki and Izuku were perplexed at what their umpire had just said, completely unaware of what that all was about, though they could feel the atmosphere get a bit awkward so they decided to separate and go back to their classmates so that the next match could be started without a delay.
"All this teenage energy is getting me quite riled up! That's youth for you!"
As soon as Izuku stepped into class A's booth he was greeted by most of the people gathered there.
"Dang bro, you were doing so well!" Kirishima pushed his way to the very front to welcome his friend back.
"Yeah, you almost had her but then she swept you off your feet like swoosh!" Ashido added in her usual overly energetic fashion even going so far as to make sound effects.
Izuku was overjoyed at the warm welcome, but he couldn't ignore the fact that Iida still hadn't returned after receiving the call. It couldn't be a trivial matter if he was gone for such a long time and now that he was out of the tournament Izuku couldn't help but worry. Another thing on his mind was also the state that Yaoyorozu was in at the moment.
Unfortunately her defeat at the hands of a fellow recommended student really stung, but Jirou was already on the case trying to lift her spirits up. Izuku was thankful for that and decided to leave the two alone for a moment, opting to keep a close eye on the raven-haired classmate from afar.
Once all the excitement died down Izuku and his friends returned to their seats to watch yet another display of overkill from Todoroki which concluded the second round in a rather spectacular, but at the same time lackluster, manner. Right after that Midnight announced a short break to straighten out your legs and/or grab some more snacks whilst the contestants prepare for the semi-finals.
The break was over in a manner of minutes and the crowd couldn't wait to watch the most exciting parts of the tournament.
Bakugo once again demolished his opponent with a brutal mix of brawn and brains, surprising no one and advancing to the final round. The other side of the bracket on the other hand looked vastly different.
In what was probably the most unexpected turn of events Todoroki failed to eliminate Shiozaki with his signature 'glacier to the face' move that he'd shown off a couple of times already. Call it overly telegraphed and predictable, but the more attentive spectators could easily notice that Todoroki's moves were becoming sluggish. His first two rounds began with a very confident, solid step that immediately engulfed everything in front of him inside of a giant glacier. This time it was more as if he stumbled forward and the glacier had none of the momentum that the audience was used to seeing.
Still, the fact that Shiozaki actually managed to dodge the opening move was enough of a distraction for people to stop paying attention to how either of them moved and just enjoy the show.
To her credit Shiozaki actually gave Todoroki a run for his money, using her vines to shield herself from the pillars and waves of frost that he sent at her time and time again. She even mounted a couple of offensives herself, but Todoroki's ice was not only a powerful weapon but also an impregnable shield. Not exactly indestructible as Shiozaki managed to puncture it a few times but sturdy enough to keep Todoroki firmly out of her reach.
Once Todoroki regained his composure however the tide of battle turned back in his favor. His attacks got all of their momentum back and Shiozaki was eventually pushed back and overpowered by the onslaught of frost.
Another, even shorter, break was announced so that Cementos could fix the arena and for Todoroki to catch his breath before the finals. It wasn't enough however and the final match that everyone was looking forward to ended up being a complete disappointment.
Bakugo gained the upper hand right at the start and remained firmly in control throughout the bout, taunting his opponent and blowing away all of his defenses before blasting him off the platform to secure a win. In his typical arrogant fashion, Bakugo was actually furious that he'd won so easily. He kept shouting at Todoroki even after the match concluded and had to be forced to accept the golden medal. You just can't please this fuckin' guy!
Anyways, even though the final match was a complete disaster, the Sports Festival itself was deemed as a fairly successful one and even came close to matching the second and third years' numbers despite the few upsets in between.
Shiozaki even won a bronze medal for taking the third spot so Izuku could definitely agree that the Sports Festival was fun. What wasn't fun however were the things that happened in the background.
Once Iida left the booth after receiving the phone call he was not seen for the rest of the day, even when they all returned to the dorms to unwind after the relatively long day. They probably would've been left in the dark about his circumstances if it wasn't for Kaminari conveniently turning on the TV just as a news reporter was describing the newest victim of a psychopath known as the Hero Killer - Iida Tensei, none other than their Iida's older brother.
The news shocked everyone besides Bakugo and Todoroki who retreated to their rooms as if nothing even happened. Normally Izuku would've had a few choice words to offer to them, but right now he was more worried about his classmate to give a damn about schooling those two problem children.
Iida was one of the strictest and most level-headed students in their class, but there was no way of knowing he wouldn't fly off the rails after a tragedy like that. There was nothing Izuku could do at this point however, even as the class representative, so he vowed to keep an eye on Iida once he returned.
"Keep an eye on Yaoyorozu, keep an eye on Iida, watch out for Bakugo and Todoroki… At this point I'm going to need more eyes." Izuku joked somberly.
"I know a guy that can set you up with ALL the eyes you could ever want, intrigued?" The daemon offered, but Izuku chose not to humor its attempts at distracting him.
"I really hope this won't turn into yet another crisis." Izuku thought to himself as the news broadcast ended and the present students retreated to their rooms to finally relax.
Anyone ordered a healthy dose of foreshadowing? No? Welp, it's on the house then!
Izuku lost to Shiozaki - did anyone expect it? Was anyone counting on it? As if! Who'd expect the MC to lose without any character development moments thrown into the fight whatsoever? An Absolute Madman, that's who!
Anywho, have a great day and I'll catch y'all in the next update!