Once the ice had been removed and the crowd got over their shock from the last match, the fire torches sprung to life as the next combatants walked onto the stage.
"ALRIGHT Y'ALL! WE HAVE A RED HEADED BEAUTY WITH SOME SERIOUS HANDS OF STONE! FROM THE HERO COURSE, ITSUKA KENDO! VERSUS… THE ACID WIELDING WARRIOR, WILL ANY OF IT COME OUT OF HER HORNS!? FROM THE HERO COURSE, MINA ASHIDO!"
Down on the stage, Kendo gave a small bow out of respect before readying herself. "Hope we can put on a good show after those last matches, right?"
Mina simply popped her knuckles and smirked towards her opponent. "Meh, I wouldn't worry about that, but it's time for me to kick your big handed butt."
"Oh, is that so?" Kendo grinned and got into her fighting stance. "Let's find out then."
"START!"
"Alright!" Kendo took the initiative and charged first. Mina quickly filled her hands with acid and began throwing them forward towards the incoming girl. Kendo's agility was just enough to dodge her way in and out between the flying acidic balls and come in close, expanding her hands out to their larger sizes and swinging them forward. Mina yelped and flipped backwards just as the massive punch rushed towards her.
"Woah, those things are fast!" Mina yelled out as she caught her balance and stepped back. She only had a second to breathe before another fist came straight towards her face. The pink teen dropped into the splits as the large hand whipped by her hair, quickly spinning herself and sweeping out Kendo's legs from underneath her. The red head yelled in surprise as she fell backwards to the ground while Mina flipped up from her hands and swung her leg down towards her foe. Kendo barely got her hand to block in time as the foot connected to her palm. Gritting her teeth, Kendo threw her hand out shoving Mina off of her, who threw her own body backwards landing on her hands and spinning before flipping back to her feet.
"What are you, some sort of break dancer?" Kendo sarcastically asked as she stood up to her feet, earning a snicker from her opponent.
"I may have had a lesson or two," Mina chuckled as she bounced on her toes. "Comes in handy when you need it."
"Well, it won't help you with me!" Kendo kicked off the ground and ducked under a single incoming ball of acid and threw a leg sweep out. Mina flipped over the incoming leg, but was then left in the air as Kendo's hands expanded outward and clasped over her body catching her.
"Ow, that hurt!" Mina growled out as she struggled to wiggle her body loose, but the enormous hands held strong and refused to budge. "wow, they are strong, too!"
"WOW, LOOKS LIKE ASHIDO HAS BEEN CAUGHT LIKE A BUZZING FLY! WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN!?" Mic shouted out his commentary to the match.
"Got you now," Kendo smirked as she began carrying Mina towards the edge. "Now all I have to do is- Agh!"
Kendo yelled out in pain to the stinging sensation in her palms. She was forced to open her hands allowing Mina to escape, the pink girl's hands dripping with acid. "That's dirty." Kendo growled out.
"You do whatever you can to win!" Mina smirked and threw several more acid chunks towards Kendo's feet making her stumble back evading them, leaving her open for an attack. Mina clenched her fist and leaped forward. "And I for sure wanna win!"
The right cross to Kendo's face sent a loud crack through the air, many thinking a straight hit like that would have been the end. To Mina's shock however, Kendo turned towards her even with the fist smashed into her cheek. Some blood dripped down the red headed teen's mouth as she smirked through the pain, her left hand raised up behind her. "My turn."
Mina could only watch in terror as the fist expanded out to it's full size. "Oh shit…"
Ashido could barely get her arms in front of her in time as the massive fist collided with her block, but the force was far too much. She felt her body launched through the air and skid across the grass and onto her back.
"Ashido is out! Kendo wins!" Midnight announced to the crowd.
Seeing the outcome was certainly surprising for the class A students. Mina was one of the more athletic members there, and she was taken out with such an overwhelming hit. Tokoyami frowned to himself seeing his classmate knocked out of bounds. "I feel bad for Ashido. The power difference was very surprising."
"Yeah, that Kendo girl is pretty tough." Kaminari chimed in.
Both Katara and Momo sighed in disappointment. They had hoped Mina could have continued, but it seemed that luck wasn't on her side today.
"Well isn't this a shocker now, huh!?"
Katara and the others looked up to the sudden voice above them, frowning when they saw Monoma wided eyed and grinning down at them from the class B section. "What's this weirdo want?" Kaminari grunted from his seat.
The crazed class B student continued to smirk down at them as he laughed to himself. "Isn't class A supposed to be the better class, and yet class B has been victorious again!? What a shocking outcome! It seems your class is not all big and bad like you claim! And we still have another one of ours competing still! Maybe class B will take the spotlight away from you all for once! AHAHAHAHAA!"
"Dude, you take this stuff way too seriously." Juzo frowned to his classmates antics.
"what's with this guy?" Kirishima moaned in annoyance, knowing he also had to face is class B counterpart.
"Just ignore him, maybe he'll shut up eventually." Jiro rolled her eyes and leaned back into her seat.
While the crowds cheers slowly died, Katara looked through the other classmates and saw Tokoyami standing up from his seat and walk towards the steps. "Heading down now?" She asked him, still surprised he didn't go down earlier like Uraraka did.
"Yes, I should have gone down earlier, but I was curious to see Ashido's match. I hope to see my name on the board for the next round." Tokoyami explained.
Katara grinned up to him. "Agreed. Maybe we can have a rematch to our last battle."
Tokoyami let out a small sigh but smiled. "Perhaps, but I saw your talent back at the USJ. I think we both know how that would turn out for us."
As he walked by her, Momo raised her eyebrow towards Katara to that statement. "What was that supposed to mean?"
Katara chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. "I… may have shown him one of my special moves back then."
Momo rolled her eyes and laughed to the statement. "Another special move? What else do you have to surprise us with?"
That statement caused Katara to blush slightly, turning away to hide the look on her face. 'You have no idea…' She whispered internally. She then caught sight of someone at the top of the steps that surprised her. "Midoriya?"
Momo felt her heart skip a beat when she heard his name, her face heating up slightly for a moment confusing her. 'I-I was just concerned for him, that's all! I mean… just concerned about his condition and all.' She tried telling herself. She shook her head to why she was so flustered, turning around to say congratulations, but what she saw made her heart drop. "Midoriya?"
Midoriya slowly made his way down the steps, his right arm still slung in a cast and his left fingers wrapped up. His head was hung low in disappointment, not like someone who just claimed victory. His eyes were distant as he blankly stared to the ground, his mind too distracted to hear his name until he felt a hand grip his forearm startling him. He glanced over to see Katara retracting her hand. "Oh.. S-sorry, I didn't hear you." he quietly mumbled.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Katara asked him, "You just won, but you don't seem happy at all."
"Yeah and you didn't come back for a while. I-" Momo blushed when she realized what she was about to say before clearing her throat. "-We were getting worried and…"
She stopped talking when she saw the solemn look across his face, stunned silent as he walked passed them and dropped into the next row of seats. Both of them were at a loss for words to the way he was behaving before Midnight walked into the center of the stage below and captured everyone's attention.
"I have just received some news regarding one of the previous contestants. Due to the injuries he sustained from his match, Izuku Midoriya has been deemed unfit to continue on! Therefore, he is scratched from his next match!"
"What!?" Katara gasped out in shock to the news. Momo was also in disbelief, looking down to Midoriya in pity. She felt her heart clench as she remembered what he told her on the beach, this opportunity to finally prove to the world about who he could be. And now it was done for him, and he didn't even lose.
"Midoriya…" She whispered out in pain seeing his dream crushed. He didn't even lift his head to the news announced, obvious he already knew this was coming.
Fifteen minutes earlier
Midoriya wobbled slightly as Recovery Girl's lips retracted off of him, sighing in relief that the majority of the pain was gone. "Thank you, ma'am. I- Ouch!" he winced out as his right arm twitched, still somewhat red and swollen in the sling "I guess I need another treatment later."
The nurse frowned and turned away from him, making him blush in embarrassment as All Might chuckled. "Perhaps she's a little upset you are causing her more work every time she sees you."
"Y-yeah, my bad." Midoriya laughed and rubbed his head with his left, which he also had to be careful since they were still sensitive. "So, how long until I can get this fixed? I have my next match later."
The nurse sighed as she put her clipboard back down and looked back to him. "There won't be another treatment today."
Midoriya's eyes shot open in confusion. "What? How am I supposed to compete then!? I qualified for the next match and I-
"And then what, are you going to injure yourself again and be in here?" Recovery girl shot out, shocking the other two in the room. "Your fingers are still in a sprained state since you already broke them earlier today. Your right arm was shattered, not mentioning your right finger that was broken twice in one match when you reused it. Your body can only take so much punishment in one day. You need time for it to heal."
"Wait, you need to reconsider this…" All Might pleaded to the smaller woman, "Midoriya is more determined than anyone to prove today why- OW!"
All Might clenched his smacked nose as the nurse retracted her cane and glared up to him. "I blame you more for this, All Might. In just a few months I've healed both of his legs twice, and this is the third time his right arm has been broken. I cannot heal him anymore than I have now for his own safety. Therefore…" she took a breath in shame to what she had to say. "I am ordering his next match to me called off."
Both hero and apprentice were struck by the news, Midoriya's mouth trembling in disbelief. "Wh-what…"
"No, please. You can't do this already…" All Might pleaded, "You are taking Midoriya's chance at proving himself by doing this. If this ends for him now, how-
Toshinori was cut off as Midoriya opened the door to the room and left without saying a word, leaving the hero with a hard pain in his stomach. "Midoriya…"
"All Might…" Recovery Girl sighed out, "If he injures himself again this fast, he may start ending up with lasting damage. Not even my healing can solve everything. And after I finish his treatment tomorrow, I won't heal injuries like this anymore."
Toshinori gasped in shock, seeing the one benefit to Midoriya's injuries now shutting the door on him as she continued.
"You must find a way for him to control the power you gave him, and soon. Otherwise he will never progress to the level he needs to be."
Not sure what else to say, Toshinori left the room as well to look for Midoriya, but found the boy standing alone in the hallway. He felt his stomach clench as he approached the boy from behind, knowing how much pain he was in right now. "Midoriya, I know you must be disappointed, but you can't let this keep you down. Everyone deals with struggle trying-
"All Might…" Midoriya's shaky words came out, his shoulders shuttering slightly. "Was it all a mistake? Should… should someone like me ever have been given one for all? Does… a quirkless kid like me deserve this power?"
Midoriya gritted his teeth in shame to his condition. Even after All Might explained how he himself was quirkless before one for all, Izuku couldn't shake the fact he had been defeated. Not by an enemy with overwhelming strength, but he was beaten by himself. That fact alone is what stung more than anything to him. He felt worthless to be the wielder of such a great power. He felt the presence of someone staring at him, turning to see Bakugo glaring his direction. The exploding teen sneered to himself and looked back forward.
'You really are pathetic, Deku…' he whispered internally before clenching his fist. '… And I lost to you… so what the hell does that make me?' Bakugo glanced over towards Yaoyorozu, who just so happened to look his direction at the same time. His cold glare sent a chill down her neck as he stood up and walked towards the steps, his eyes locked onto the creationist. "Don't think your top score during the test will help you. You better not disappoint me down there."
Momo felt her body shake slightly as he stomped passed her, gripping her arm as she realized her fight was coming closer. She glanced over to Katara who was still looking down to Midoriya in pity, and slowly got up from her seat and silently went up the stairs as well to prepare herself. How much it would actually help was to be determined.
Out of the corner of his eye, Todoroki stared at what would have been his opponent later in disappointment. He himself was getting a bypass and a free ride to the semi finals… but it felt unwarranted. Even though he wanted to win, he wanted to earn it himself. This not how he wanted to get a victory. He leaned back in his seat as he looked back to the stage to the next combatants.
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE! WHILE IT IS UNFORTUNATE NEWS FOR OUR ONE CONTESTANT, THIS MEANS THAT TODOROKI WILL ADVANCE TO THE NEXT ROUND AUTOMATICALLY. BUT FOR NOW, IT'S TIME TO GET THIS NEXT ROUND GOING! FIGHTING NEXT, WE HAVE OFFENSE AND DEFENSE IN ONE BODY! FROM THE HERO COURSE, FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI! VERSUS… THIS GIRL WILL FLOAT YOUR HEARTS AWAY! FROM THE HERO COURSE, OCHACO URARAKA!"
Uraraka looked up towards her class, her eyes catching sight of Midoriya looking down her direction. She felt horrible when she heard the news of his match. To see him try so hard and not be allowed to continue made her heart ache. But when she saw his eyes meet with hers, she felt butterflies in her stomach when he gave a small smile and nod towards her. She blushed and looked down to the ground, feeling warm that he was still encouraging her in his state.
"He tried so hard, and now it's my turn…" Uraraka clenched her fists and stared forward. "It's time I do the same!"
"START!"
"Let's go, dark shadow!" Tokoyami yelled out, summoning his quirk out and launching it forward. Uraraka readied herself and jumped out of the way just as the large claws swiped towards her, ducking low and sprinting straight towards Tokoyami. 'If I can touch him, I can float him out of bounds and I win!' she said to herself as she kicked off the ground. Before she could get close enough, however, she felt the sunlight go out and look up in shock as dark shadow was bearing down on her.
"Got you, now!"dark shadow hissed out as he swiped down at Uraraka, the burnette rolling out of range just as its claws swung at her. She could not avoid the second swing as it connected with her shoulder and sent her tumbling a few feet. She grunted and stood back to her feet in determination.
"I'm not going down easy!" uraraka screamed in defiance and rushed forward once more, this time watching as dark shadow approached. "Wait for it…" she whispered to herself as the claws extended out and swiped. "Now!"
Sliding underneath the arm, Uraraka now sprinted as fast as she could right towards Tokoyami, his eyes wide as he was unable to retract dark shadow in time. He threw a punch out to keep her at bay, but she was able to slide passed it and connect her hand onto his chest and activate her quirk.
"Now I got you!" She yelled out and pushed forward, causing Tokoyami to float upward and out towards the edge of the stage. Many gasps came from the crowd as they saw him approaching the edge thinking this was it for him, but Tokoyami kept his calm and knew what to do.
"Dark shadow, do it now." he demanded, the shadow quirk shooting down to the floor of the stage and digging its claws into the concrete and stopping him. Uraraka's eyes went wide in shock.
"What?" she mumbled out as she watched tokoyami use his quirk as an anchor and retract himself back down to the ground. Before she could even move, dark shadow rushed out and its clawed hands latched onto both of her arms pinning her in place. Even as she struggled, she was no match for the quirks strength and was helpless.
"That was a smart move Uraraka, I applaud you for that." Tokoyami nodded even as she tried thrashing in the shadow's grip. "Dark shadow however can go wherever I command him, therefore your quirks power is irrelevant to him."
Gritting her teeth, Uraraka pulled with all of her strength to break her arms loose, but the shadow bird held strong as it picked her up and began carrying her towards the edge. Her eyes stared in fright as the out of bounds line grew closer. She swung her legs to kick at the shadow, but it stayed just out of her range as she panicked. "No, let me go!" she thrashed and thrashed, but went silent as she was dropped onto the concrete outside of the line.
"Uraraka is out of bounds. Tokoyami wins!" Midnight announced with a snap of her whip.
The crowds cheered out to the quick and abrupt end, leaving the gravity girl stunned and defeated. "I… my quirk did nothing…" She looked down to the ground in shame. "He beat me so easily..."
At the top of the steps, Mina came running down in annoyance. "Wait the match is over already? Come on!"
Katara turned up to see the pink girl cross her arms pouting. "It just did yes. Were you in the nurses room?"
"No, I had to go the bathroom. I wanted to see Tokoyami's match." Mina sighed and slumped in the seat behind the waterbender. "Oh well, guess I'll see him in the next round. Would have been fun to go against him."
Katara smiled and patted her friends knee. "Yeah, sorry about the match. You did good, though."
"Yeah. Those big ass hands hurt!" Mina shook her hands and frowned. "My arms are still stinging from that block."
Katara couldn't help but laugh at her statement. "I mean that's one way to describe them. Still, good job though."
"Thanks." Mina then looked down towards the head of green hair sitting there and rubbed the back of her head. "I heard about Midoriya over the intercom. How's he doing?"
"He's… quiet." Katara whispered, giving a small shake of her head. "I'm not sure he really wants to talk about it now."
"Hmm…" Mina groaned to herself and leaned back in her seat. "Such a bummer since he won. Hehe, so far our fabulous five isn't doing so well."
Katara tilted her head in confusion. "The what five?"
Mina grinned back at her. "Yep. I call that our group who went to the beach. So far only you and Tokoyami are going on. Yaomomo's the tie breaker."
"I guess you are right." Katara chuckled and turned to see Momo's response, but was surprised when she didn't see her there. "Wait… where did she go?"
"Oh I passed by Yaoyorozu when I was heading back. She looked a little flustered but didn't want to talk about it."
Katara looked up to the top of the stairs, completely surprised that she never even noticed Yaoyorozu leave. Knowing that she had to face Bakugo though, she understood why Mina said she looked stressed about something. She got up and made her way towards the top of the stairs too.
"Hey, where you going? Kirishima's up next." Mina said as she pointed to the bracket board.
"I'm going to see how she is doing. She was there for me earlier, so its only fair I do the same."
As she disappeared over the top and down the hallway, a set of eyes turned around and watched her disappear, deciding they should follow as well.
The cheers from the crowd during the next match barely reached the waiting room Yaoyorozu was stationed inside, and she was grateful that was all she could hear. She wanted a calm space to try and relax her nerves, but the more she tried to clear her head the more the image of Bakugo came into her head. She held her arm out and noticed the slight shake in her hands, sneering to herself in disappointment to her fear.
Since coming to school at UA, she had seen what her classmates were capable of. In terms of raw power and battle prowess, he was for sure towards the top of the class. Sure she had her quirk, but time was the issue in this match. She knew he was not the kind to sit around and let her make something that would work against her. The door opening broke her thoughts, making her turn to see who it was. When she saw the culprit, she let out a small sigh and smiled. "Hey, Katara…"
"Hey, how you feeling?" Katara asked her, earning a small grunt in return.
"I mean… as good as I can be." Momo breathed out as she adjusted in her chair.
"You shouldn't worry yourself too much. You can handle this guy."
Yaoyorozu looked back down and clenched her fists, hating the feeling she had inside of her stomach. Before she could answer, the sudden knock on the door surprised both of them, thinking it was another security letting them know to be ready. When it opened, Yaoyorozu's eyes widened when she saw who it was. "Midoriya?"
Izuku came through the door and nodded towards her. His face was more serious than it normally was, especially around just girls. They weren't sure if it was his emotions from his match still over him, but whatever it was, it sent a strange chill through Yaoyorozu's spine.
"I… just wanted to see how you were doing." he calmly stated, "Since you are going against Kachaan, I was hoping to talk to you before."
Momo was really surprised by his words to her. 'He came to see how I was doing?' she couldn't help but feel the heat in her cheeks rise, but the nerves in her chest were keeping her in control as she looked away again. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. It's just after seeing him fight, I'm not sure what would be the best thing to do."
Midoriya nodded as he rubbed his injured arm remembering his battle against Bakugo. "He is not just strong, but determined. He will not stop for anything so that he will be the winner. He has always been like this."
Katara thought back to the match she watched between Midoriya and Bakugo, wincing when she imagined how brutal he was again. "I mean… as crazy as he is, you can get around him. He is fast, but you can do this."
"Yeah, I suppose…" Yaoyorozu fake chuckled as she tried calming herself. "And while this is a match, I don't think Bakugo would go all out for this."
Midoriya swallowed the lump in his throat from her statement. He could tell she knew the truth, that he was not the type to hold back against her. She was saying this to try and calm her mind, and he wanted to help her. He pulled out his tattered notepad from his shirt and held it up. "Kachaan always starts with a wide right swing for his power attacks."
Momo turned back towards him in surprise to his advice. "Really?" She saw the notebook he always wrote in, realizing it was his analysis book on people and their powers. She began wondering if he wrote about her in their, but she shook the thought away and focused. "If you have an idea, I'll take it."
"Take this!"
Both Kirishima and Tetsutetsu continued trading blows with each other, neither even attempting to block. Their match had gone on for ten minutes at this point, both of their hardened states pushed to their limits. And then in simultaneous hits, both teens went down at the same time, pain and exhaustion pushing them over the edge. The crowd was silent as Midnight ran over to check on their conditions, a smirk coming across her face when she realized both had been knocked out at the exact same time. She raised her hand up to announce the crowd.
"Both combatants are down, its a draw! After they wake, they will settle this in a show of strength in arm wrestling!"
Most of class A was silent to the outcome, mostly out of shock to such a grueling match and how it somehow ended in a tie for both. Tsu croaked as she watched the two unconcious teens carried out of the ring. "Ribbit… he lasted as long as Kirishima. He's pretty strong."
"yeah, didn't expect that. I Figured Kirishima would have been stronger." Kaminari rubbed his head in surprise.
Shoji however crossed his arms as he looked towards the passed out Tetsutetsu, "You have to remember just because we class A, doesn't mean we are the strongest here. He was quite the powerhouse himself."
Tokoyami glanced up towards the class B stands, remembering he had to go against Kendo in the next round. "Indeed. They are proving to be quite formidable."
"Yeah, you better kick her butt for me, bird brain." Mina teased and bumped his shoulder, making him sigh out.
Uraraka watched as the two combatants were carried out of the arena and the teachers readied the stage for the final match of the first rounds. "Time for Bakugo and Yaoyorozu…" She said to herself, for some reason getting a tight feeling in her stomach once again. Why was this happening to her? She couldn't explain why it was all of a sudden. When she thought of her name, she couldn't help but imagine Midoriya again. Midoriya… who happen to disappear when she got back to here, and when Yaoyorozu was about to fight.
"I-I mean it's no big deal, it could be he just went to the bathroom. A-and why would it matter if he did talk to her… we are all just friends." She told herself, looking back and feeling her stomach flutter suddenly when she caught sight of him again coming down the steps. "Deku!"
She then felt that similar tightness in her chest when she saw him sit next to Katara up above. She knew Yaoyorozu and Katara were close, which is no surprise she went to see her, and Midoriya with her confirmed her theory. "It's just him being nice… he would do that for anyone…" She tried telling herself… although her eye twitch said something else. She would simply talk to Midoriya after the matches and see how he was doing.
"ALRIGHTY Y'ALL! HERE WE ARE, THE FINAL MATCH OF THE FIRST ROUND! WE GOT AN INTERESTING ONE TO END IT ON! FIRST, HE WAS KIND OF FAMOUS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL, BUT NOW HE IS HERE WITH THE BIG BOYS! FROM THE HERO COURSE, KATSUKI BAKUGO! VERSUS… THE ULTIMATE CREATIONIST! SHE'S HERE THROUGH RECOMMENDATIONS. FROM THE HERO COURSE, MOMO YAOYOROZU!"
Bakugo cracked his knuckles glaring across the stage to his target, baring his teeth when he heard them cheer for her. "Now I'll show them who they should be watching." he hissed to himself.
Momo squeezed her arm in nervousness, but she took a deep breath to try and relax herself. She knew that if she hesitated too much, he would surely get the jump on her. She had to be quick thinking and react, it was the only way she was going to beat him. "Keep it simple. Fast creations." Midoriya's words replayed in her head as she-
"START!"
Momo's eyes shot open as Bakugo launched himself across the stage much faster than she had expected, but she still acted and created a shield on her arm just as his right hand came forward. "Just like he said…" She whispered as his arm swung around and connected with the steel. A loud crack rang through the air as she blocked the attack, caught off guard by how much power was behind the blast. She kept her footing however and glared forward. "Now if can-
"Die!"
She yelped out as another blast rocked her shield, Bakugo not letting up as she had to keep both hands on the shield just to steady it. She then felt another, and another blast strike the guard, each hit pushing her back. Her eyes went behind and saw the out of bounds was getting closer, her heart racing as she couldn't do anything but block. 'I have to do something!' she screamed internally. She needed just a few moments to make something for offense, and she wasn't going to get it here. After another powerful strike, she looked through the smoke as his right hand wound back for another blast. She quickly ducked and rolled forward just as his hand came up for a strike, landing behind him and safe for a second.
"Now I can hit him from here!" she flipped around and prepared to conjure a steel rod to shove him out, but screamed as she was caught in a blast he shot out behind himself. She bounced across the ground from the explosion, causing Katara and Midoriya to sit up in worry.
"He's too fast. She can't move quick enough." Katara whispered as she watched Momo crawl back up. Midoriya however shook his head.
"No… she's too nervous." Midoriya clenched his fists as he saw the look on her face. One that he knew from experience. "It's just like I felt all those years before here."
Katara looked over to him at what he said, feeling her blood begin to heat up as she glared back to Bakugo on the stage.
Momo huffed out trying to steady her breathing, spinning on her feet back around feet only to be bull rushed by Bakugo once again. She threw up her shield to block part of his attack just in time as some of the flares got by and scorched her shirt. She whined from the slight burning on her shoulders, but had no time to think as another blast came and knocked the shield out of her arms.
"OUCH, BAKUGO LANDS ANOTHER POWERFUL BLAST ON HER! WHAT IS SHE GOING TO DO!?" Mic shouted out as the crowd began to worry about the outcome of this battle.
"You think I'm gonna give you a chance to make some stupid shit!?" Bakugo roared out and charged once again. Momo panicked and formed another shield to stop him, only to be launched several feet onto her back. She only had a moment before Bakugo stood above her and slammed his fist into the shield once more, the bright flash from his quirk erupting outward and billowing up. Momo yelped in pain as her back was pummeled into the ground beneath her, unable to move as she kept her arms up to block the attacks.
Bakugo hissed out as his hands sparked out once more. "I know all about how you can make anything with your power. How about try doing that now!?" He brought his fist down over and over, the barrage of blasts engulfing the stage as the terrified girl could do nothing but block, her small strategy from earlier thrown out the window. Momo winced in both pain and fear as she clenched her eyes shut, not able to move from her spot as he refused to let up his attacks. Soon the other members of the class began feeling a sick feeling in their stomach to the sight.
"I don't think I can watch more of this…" Jiro covered her mouth in disgust to the horrid actions of Bakugo.
"Dude… this is rough." Sero winced out as the girl below yelped out in fear.
While Katara herself despised the sight and the fact her friend was being hurt, there was a strange feeling she got from watching the match. On a technical level, Bakugo was in fact being very smart, not giving her a chance to focus and use her quirk. In a battle this was actually very wise, but this… this was different. The look she saw in his eyes was of hatred, and frustration. Something he was focusing directly toward Yaoyorozu. She then felt a shaking to her side and felt her neck sweat at look on Midoriya's face. His brow was hardened and his gaze filled with anger, his fist clenching so tight his knuckles turned white. She had never seen him so angry before.
Momo herself couldn't even think straight as she laid helpless on the ground, her arms growing numb from holding back the blasts. Then suddenly the blasts from above stopped, Bakugo dropping down and swiping his arm forward sending a lateral blast and sent her bouncing across the stage. She coughed out due to the smoke and the pain in her chest, looking up in fright to the figure slowly coming her way.
"What is this? Is this all you got?" Bakugo growled as he walked through the smoke. "Is this what the so called "top score" in the class assessment has to offer? Why don't you show me why the hell you are the so called top scorer!"
Momo's heart clenched at his words, the breath in her throat caught as she felt a wave of fear came over her. She felt her legs shake as she tried to get up, but her body seemed to only want to lay back down. She was now experiencing what she was worried about from before, that the scores they earned on day one didn't represent the actual strength rankings in the class. But then she remembered Midoriya… and he proved even the lowest score in the class can do amazing things. If he could, then she for sure was going to.
"No…" She glared and stood back up. "I'm not done yet!" She summoned another shield and from her left formed a steel pole into her hand. Bakugo sneered and held his right hand towards her and gripped his forearm with his left. Momo saw this and chose to bring the fight to him this time, charging forward and throwing her weapon towards him. He easily dodged it, but she still ran toward him and conjured another one to swing forward. "I'm not done!"
And then his hand erupted.
Katara and the others gasped in shock as an enormous blast shot out from Bakugo engulfing the area in front of him and launching Yaoyorozu backwards. She screamed out as she was engulfed by the blast and launched up and over the stage. The tumbled through the air before she bounced across the ground and skidded to a stop. She looked up in utter disbelief to the power he unleashed, not even realizing where she was until her hands felt the grass beneath her. Her heart stopped as she looked back down and saw she was not only out of the ring, but she was off the stage itself.
"Yaoyorozu is out. Bakugo wins!" Midnight announced to the silent crowd, the eerie silence hanging over the arena. More people were concerned for the girls well being after taking a powerful attack like that. The class A students were at a loss of words, not sure what to say to such a one sided beat down. They looked down in worry and pity to their friend, who simply stared down to the ground from her knees.
"I… couldn't do anything." Momo's hands gripped at the grass below, tearing up the strips of green out of frustration.
Bakugo exhaled from his spot, letting his arms settle from the massive explosion he just used. He knew it was not necessary to use his trump card, but he wanted to prove the difference between the two of them to the entire country. He looked down to the silent girl below and scoffed. "So, is this what the school considers elite, something they seem to always brag about? Someone pathetic like you made it in through recommendations?"
Momo's blood ran cold at the words he just said, her her heart racing as he spoke to her. Her eyes slowly drifted up to see him glaring down at her, grunting before he turned and walked off stage.
"After all that crap you spew about others and their faults, you can't even do shit yourself. You can't do anything with that stupid quirk of yours."
Those last words caused Momo's heart to drop in her chest, her mouth trembling as she was left alone on the field, the wind the only thing she could hear as her mind felt lost. After a minute sitting in defeat, she was somehow able to move up from the ground. She walked silently through the hall out of the arena, her eyes hung low towards the ground. She didn't even care about the burns on her shirt or the scrapes across her body. Her mind was too distraught over what had happened out there on stage. She was an embarrassment as a hero and someone who was supposed to be strong. This was the chance for her to finally show that, but instead the complete opposite happened.
She felt completely helpless. No, she was completely useless. A failure. Just as Bakugo said, the top score in the class and yet she was unable to do anything. But the last words he said after she lost hurt more than the match itself. His last sentence repeating inside of her head over and over again.
"You can't do anything with that stupid quirk…" She whispered to herself, her hand clenching over her mouth to hold back her sobs. She leaned her shoulder against the wall as she felt her eyes water, sliding down to her knees as she felt her legs weaken. Her eyes clenched shut to try and slow her tears, but it only caused her mind to project the similar feeling she had all those years ago, trapped alone in that hallway in school as that horrid face and golden eyes glared down at her.
"You can't do anything else with that stupid quirk of yours." the memory in her head replayed those words used against her way back then as her tormentors hand hardened before swinging towards her.
Yaoyorozu whined out as she fought to rid the memory from her, her sobs echoing in the hall as she sat against the wall and buried her head into her knees. After years had passed from those days, she had hoped she was beyond her timid and defenseless state, but now she felt like nothing had changed. She was still helpless.
"Yaoyorozu…"
The sound of her name snapped her head up in shock, looking over to see both Midoriya and Katara standing there in silence. The crying girl wanted to wipe her face, but she instead turned away from them and hugged her legs tighter. "P-please, just go away. I- I don't want to talk right now."
"Look, I'm really sorry how it turned out…" Katara tried reassuring her as she approached. "You had a tough opponent, but you can't let that get to you and-
"Katara, please…" Yaoyorozu huffed out between sobs, "I just don't want to talk."
Katara held her tongue when she saw the look on Momo's face, almost feeling the pain she was experiencing now. She wanted to try and make her feel better, but she was afraid if she pushed too hard it could make her feel worse than she already was. To her surprise however, Midoriya walked forward and took a seat against the wall a few feet next to the sobbing girl. Momo looked back towards him and forwned. "I said I don't want to talk now, okay?" She grunted, hoping he would just go away. She didn't want them to see her like this.
Midoriya however stared forward to the other wall, his own heart racing for several reasons. "I… I know how you feel right now, Yaoyorozu." he shakingly said, making her roll her eyes.
"No you don't. You won your match earlier. You got hurt, but you were able to do what you wanted. You weren't helpless like I was. Everything you told me earlier was pointless. Because I couldn't even do anything." she whimpered out, laying her shaking chin onto her knees. "Nothing has changed."
"That's not true…" Katara said as she came and knelt in front of the two of them. "You are amazing and strong. You are-
"I'm helpless and useless! Just as I've always been!" Yaoyorozu suddenly screamed out shocking both of them. She didn't even try to conceal the tears as they flowed free now, her face laced with pain and emotions as she glared to the two of them.
"Ever since I was little, people took advantage of me! 'Such a cool quirk you have' they would say, asking me to make things they wanted or money they needed. When I would say no, they would hurt me, and I did nothing about it! I was too scared to tell anyone, and I was too weak to defend myself. I just sat there, just like I did now! I am at a hero school now, and nothing has changed! You have no idea what it's like to feel helpless like I did!"
Her words cut through both Midoriya and Katara like a knife, both of them not knowing this about their friend. They sat in shock as Momo buried her face and cried again, the painful memories coming back up. What the creationist didn't know was that both of them could relate to her more than she could ever imagine. Katara reached forward and gripped the sobbing girls knee, feeling her shake to the touch.
"I know exactly what it feels like, more than you could ever imagine…" Katara whispered out, catching Yaoyorozu's attention. The crying girl looked up through her watery eyes as Katara touched the pendant on her neck. "I was too helpless when I was young, and something terrible happened. All because I was not able to do anything, somebody close to me was taken away."
Midoriya looked over to the waterbender in shock, seeing the pained look on her face and seeing she was not lying. He didn't know what she was referring to, but he could tell it was something personal to her. He looked back to Yaoyorozu who stared at the necklace in shock as well, her mouth shaking to hearing that.
"I… I'm sorry." Momo wiped the tears away as she sniffled. "I didn't know."
"I do too… know how it feels to feel helpless. I was more than helpless…" Midoriya said, causing both of them to look his way. "M-my quirk manifested late, so all through middle school, I thought I was quirkless. Every day I was tormented, made fun of for being useless. I had no way of defending myself, so I had to deal with it, day in and out. No one wanted to be friends with a quirkless loser like me. Not even Kachaan, who I was close with when we were little, wanted to hang around a weakling like me. I had no one."
Momo swallowed as she looked back and forth to the two in front of her. The look in their eyes, the tone in their voice, their past they were telling her; they did know the feelings she had inside, the emotions she had bottled up and hidden. But they weren't like that anymore. They were strong and determined, something she tried to do but failed at.
"But you are truly amazing, Yaoyorozu." Midoriya smiled towards her, "You have such a great quirk, and are the smartest one in the class. You are so talented that you made it in by recommendations and-
"No… I didn't."
Mdoriya and Katara tilted their heads in confusion when yaoyorozu suddenly cut him off there. "What do you mean? You made it through recommendations, that means someone saw true potential in you-
"I wasn't recommended!" Momo yelled out, the crack in her voice shocking both of them.
Before either of them could ask what she meant, Momo shot over and latched onto Midoriya's arm. His face burned red from the sudden touch, but the sounds of her sobs snapped him out of his shock. Her face was buried into his shoulder, her tears pouring down her face as she couldn't control herself anymore. She tightened her grip on his forearm and held it tight to her chest, seeking his warmth for any form of comfort. Midoriya has breathing hard, but he sat still and allowed her to cry.
Katara sat silent and in just as much confusion to her words as Midoriya, but they didn't have the heart to ask what she meant to what she said. She reached forward and gripped her friends trembling leg, giving her whatever comfort she could offer.
Notes: So the first round of the tournament is complete. Some dark secrets to Yaoyorozu's past being revealed, and sorry if i made you sad.
Round two is next. Till next time!