I scooped up the discarded jacket before walking over to Hagakure, who had seemingly flipped over onto her back and was letting out a drawn-out groan. I could just leave her there to wallow in her loss. But…

"Need a hand?" I asked, reaching my arm down to her. She provided an entertaining fight and was actually a challenge for a moment, so it was the least I could do. Plus, I was still holding her jacket. It makes things a lot easier if we left at the same time.

I felt a hand touch mine as Hagakure pulled herself off the ground. Surprisingly, the crowd started cheering, a far cry from the booing and jeering from earlier.

"What a brilliant display of camaraderie to end that great match!" Present Mic shouted as we both left the arena.

"That was great!" Hagakure chirped. "I really thought I had you there for a minute."

"Once you started taking it seriously, you actually did somewhat decent," I told her.

"Wow, you really can't just give a compliment, can you?" she laughed. "So, what did you think of my fighting style?"

I thought for a moment. "Your movements could do with being more actually random, right now you are choosing what feels random, but it actually isn't. Other than that, you just need to get stronger, so your hits are more impactful."

"Yeah, you took so many hits there that I kinda figured I need to be physically stronger. I really wish I could have put up more of a fight."

I sighed a bit. "Look on the bright side. You have now hit me more than anyone else has in a fight. Even at the USJ, I only got directly hit three times, I think."

She giggled. "Was that meant to be comforting?"

I shrugged and we continued walking in comfortable silence. My next match would be against the winner of the fight between Tokoyami and Kaminari. Though to be honest, I don't see Kaminari being able to win. Not much time had passed from the previous round, and he got close to his apparent limit with his quirk earlier. Tokoyami had shown to be a formidable foe, and if Kaminari got close to losing a match where his opponent didn't try and fight, I don't see a world in which he wins. So that just meant I would be facing Tokoyami in the semi-finals.

"… Thanks," Hagakure said out of nowhere. What she was thanking me for went unsaid.

I paused for a moment, thinking about how to respond, before biting out, "They were pissing me off." The 'you're welcome' also went unsaid.

"But did you have to hit so hard?" she whined. "My jaw still hurts."

"It was a fight, you should have expected that much," I shot back. "Though it might be good if you stop by the infirmary, just in case."

"Yeah, I really don't want to be scolded by Recovery Girl again."

"Hm," I grunted. "I get the odd feeling she's not going to be happy with me by the end of today."

I scratched at the back of my neck with my free hand. Oh, that's right. "By the way, do you want your jacket back?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh! Right." Hagakure took the offered article and slipped it on.

I had to wonder why exactly Hagakure was also exempt from my hatred. Kaiji I could excuse it as being a one-off special case, but a second person? That suggests there is some sort of reason behind it. I was 90% sure by now that — like most of my problems these days — my hatred for others was caused by the entity linked to my quirk. So why were those two the exceptions to the rule?

Was it because they were important somehow? Kaiji was essentially my only friend for 15 years, and Hagakure is probably the person I was closest to at UA. Was their importance to who I am play a role in my feelings towards them? No, that doesn't make sense. The reason those two are close to me is because I don't hate them, not the other way around.

I suppose the only one who would know is the tentacled asshole, but I got the feeling I would receive no answers if I asked. If it weren't for the fact that it was pretty much the source of my power, I'd much prefer it if we had nothing to do with each other.

Hagakure took a breath as if to say something but seemed to change her mind before saying anything. I sighed. "You're doing it again. What do you want to say? You've already thanked me, so it can't be that this time."

She huffed out a laugh. "Caught me again. Never mind, it's not important."

Seeing we were at the infirmary, I stopped and turned towards her. "Why does importance matter? If you want to say something, say it."

"It's really nothing. I just wanted to say you're a good friend."

"We aren't friends…" I started.

"We're acquaintances," Hagakure finished, smile clear through her voice. She fidgeted a bit before quickly stepping in close, wrapping her arms and squeezing for a brief moment before jumping back, reaching for the door. "Thank you."

She quickly entered the infirmary as I stood there, confused. What was that all about? She already said thank you, why did she feel the need to do so again?

I shook my head. I had the semi-finals to prepare for.

~X~

I didn't bother going back into the seating area before my next match. Present Mic was loud enough that I could hear the results just fine from the prep rooms, and it gave me time to plan.

As I had expected, Tokoyami won his fight fairly quickly. That made two of his battles end in such a manner, though I believe Kaminari lasted longer than Yaoyorozu had. He would most likely attempt the same strategy against me, so I could probably exploit that.

Let's see… when the match starts, he'll send Dark Shadow to try and push me out of the ring. I could block the shadow with my tentacles and try and pivot between it and Tokoyami. Once between them, I could engage Tokoyami hand-to-hand, while using my tentacles to keep Dark Shadow at bay.

Had Tokoyami shown any skill in close quarters yet? We were somewhat kindred spirits in our shared desire to fade into the background, so I can't say I've ever noticed him being in close range, he normally relied on Dark Shadow.

"Well, folks! That was an explosive end to the quarterfinals!" Present Mic announced voice dulled through the many layers of concrete between the speakers and me. "Next up, we will have a short break before the first match of the semi-finals."

I sighed and finished up my stretches a bit earlier than intended. The break would be about 10 minutes long, so I had a bit of time to kill. I pulled my phone out of my locker and checked the messages.

As I expected, Kaiji had sent a constant stream of texts over the course of the day.

Kaiji

Good luck!

Wtf

What was that speech

Thats the best you could come up with?

Woo! 4th place!

Oof. Thats rough

You did well though!

Wait you still got through?

Stop talking and fight already

Where did you even learn how to do that

Ouch that punch looked like it hurt

The crowd really hates you now

Your teacher is right! They shouldnt be treating you so harshly

The last message consisted of just a smirking emoji.

Sotoki

What does that even mean?

Kaiji

Your here!

Has someone made a friend?

Ah, he must be talking about me helping Hagakure up. I should have figured he would see it that way.

Sotoki

We're not friends. We're acquaintances.

Kaiji

:O

You *have* made a friend!

Im so proud!

Sotoki

I'm leaving.

Kaiji

Dont go!

Kaiji

Btw me and Orime were planning on taking a train over there tomorrow

You should bring your new friend

Or is it friends?

Sotoki

If I feel like it.

Kaiji

…

I should have expected that

I locked my phone and put it back in the locker. A meeting between the three of them sounded like an utter nightmare. Kaiji was bad enough by himself, but adding the opportunity to share a bunch of stories from when we were kids would just make him so much worse. Plus, Tsuchigumo would probably go feral if she ever found out about Hagakure's costume.

I sighed and cracked my neck before walking out of the prep room to my fight against Tokoyami.

~X~

I almost shivered from the sudden cold upon walking out onto the arena. Just what happened in the fight between Midoriya and Todoroki? The break between rounds was even longer this time because they apparently needed to repair the ring, and the air temperature just felt off.

Tokoyami faced me, face unreadable. Or more accurately, I have no idea how to read his expression. I'd get it down eventually. Maybe.

Midnight called the match to start, and immediately Dark Shadow appeared and flew towards me. I had already begun to move, rolling to the side. It was the exact same approach he had done previously, making him predictable.

Dark Shadow followed up without much delay, and I had to duck lest I get grabbed and dragged out of the ring. Tokoyami still hadn't moved, keeping a sizeable distance between us. I used the brief reprieve in Dark Shadow's assault to grow two tentacles out of my upper back, ready for their sweeping lunge from the air. A black arm drew nearer, and I stood ready.

Closer… closer… Now!

Once the sentient quirk was close enough, I struck. The plan was to block Dark Shadow's attack with one tentacle, and then use the other to grab the cord between them and Tokoyami and pin them to the ground. My maximum length with the tentacles was roughly ten meters, and Tokoyami was probably about fifteen meters away. Once I got my ten-meter head start, I would have plenty of time to eliminate him before Dark Shadow could catch up.

Though, as they always say, no plan survives contact with the enemy. Quite literally so in this case. As I brought up the tentacle to block, Dark Shadow's yellow eyes flashed, and they roared. The arm vibrated and stretched into a massive claw, sweeping across my chest.

Fabric tore as Dark Shadow's rampaging strike slashed me. Drops of blood hit the white concrete. Curiously, the tentacle I used to block was still intact. It wasn't that Dark Shadow had managed to tear through the tendril, but rather that they somehow moved right through it. Probably some form of quirk interaction weirdness.

Dark Shadow drooped and let out a warbling noise. Tokoyami looked off balance, surprised at the sudden bloodshed, no matter how minor. Not exactly as I planned, but this situation was still workable, I'd just need to strike quickly before Dark Shadow or Tokoyami could recover.

I stretched the two tentacles to their maximum length and pierced the concrete, forming a V-shape. It was a risky manoeuvre, but with my chest scratched as it was, hand-to-hand wasn't ideal anymore. I slingshot myself towards Tokoyami, whose eyes widened as I rocketed towards him.

"Dark Shadow!"

"A-Aye!"

The slight delay in response was all I needed. I could hear Dark Shadow chasing after me, but I was going too fast for them to catch up. Tokoyami, realising this, tried to move out of the way, which would have made me fly out of the ring.

I impacted his chest with my shoulder, my own chest screaming in pain. I smiled under the portal on my face as I heard Tokoyami cough as the air left his lungs.

I knew I couldn't trust the assumption that Tokoyami wouldn't be capable in close range after my movements became hindered by the cuts on my chest, so the only solution would be to end the fight in a single hit. If Tokoyami had reacted faster and got out of the way or if Dark Shadow caught up to me, it would have all been over, but I likely would have lost if I let them recover from the shock of Dark Shadow's sudden violence.

Tokoyami hit the floor outside the ring, and moments later I landed a few feet away.

"And with that sudden finishing move from Wazawa, we have our first finalist!" Present Mic screamed. Honestly, his title probably fits him the best out of all of them I've seen.

I groaned as I stood up, chest aching. Poking at the wound, I found out that it was luckily fairly shallow. Nothing Recovery Girl couldn't fix — even though she'd likely grouse about it. I paid no heed to Tokoyami being fussed over by his quirk as I left the arena to head back to the infirmary once again.

~X~

"Why am I not surprised?" Recovery Girl sighed. "I just finished with that Midoriya boy and now you're here."

"Hey," I argued, "I told you I wouldn't be injured for a few weeks. It's been a few weeks. Besides, this one isn't even my fault."

She huffed. "Fine, just don't come back here requiring surgery." She kissed my arm — something that I still needed to focus on just to stop my instinctive reaction — and the torn skin began patching itself back together.

Also, requiring surgery? Just what happened in Midoriya's and Todoroki's fight? I couldn't help but feel as if I missed the most explosive battle of the entire tournament. Bakugo wasn't even in that one.

Speaking of, I would need to go up against either him or Todoroki for the finals. Honestly, my chances of winning were low. My eyes were feeling heavy after the healing, and both my body and mind were reaching their limits from exhaustion. In comparison, both Todoroki and Bakugo had a relatively easier time throughout the entire festival. They were much fresher. If it was an even match, I think I'd have a decent shot at beating them, even if I had to rely on one of my trump cards, but as it stood my chances weren't great. And even then, I didn't want to reveal those secret weapons in a public event. It would be better to leave it for a life-or-death scenario.

The walls rattled a bit from the shockwave of one of Bakugo's explosions. So, the fight's already started? I shuffled over to the marshalling area, feet dragging along the ground.

I wonder which would be worse to go against. Todoroki has already shown that he can freeze my tentacles solid and would likely go for the same strategy. Bakugo, however, had his explosions. Whilst I once may have believed my tentacles could block his attacks, that guy at the USJ punching through them proved that someone like Bakugo could easily overcome them. Ultimately, Bakugo would probably be worse, purely because I had at least experienced going up against Todoroki, no matter how briefly.

"It looks like we have our second finalist! Bakugo Katsuki from 1A will go on to fight in the next round, right after our most helpful Cementoss fixes the ring once more!"

Well…

Shit.