Stadium
"She gave it her best shot!" Tetsutetsu declared in support. "Now, it's on me to bring Class 1-B further!"
Monoma leaned over his side to address 1-A. "You 1-A students might have won this round, but Tetsutetsu won't let us down. He'll prove we're…"
Suddenly, he was rendered unconscious by a chop to the neck from Toru. "Sorry about him guys." She poked her head over the wall, fortunately in the uniform, meaning everyone knew it was her due to it not being invisible. "He's a bit much sometimes."
It wasn't long before the fourth match was announced with the combatants already on the stage.
"Let's keep pumping out these matches!" Present Mic announced. "Get ready to watch two new players duke it out!" The crowd cheered as both the combatants got into the arena. "Hopefully, that shiny belt serves some kind of purpose.
It's Yuga Aoyama from the Hero Course!" Yuga just struck a pose for the crowd. "Verses, Is there some kind of purpose for those things sticking out of her head? From the same class, Mina Ashido!"
Mina looked at her opponent, confident she'd win. "This match will be a piece of cake."
"I do believe you will eat those words, madame." Yuga returned.
"Alright, begin the fourth match!" Mic announced.
Aoyama vs Ashido
Yuga fired a laser, but Mina deftly jumped over it before making acid from her shoes to skate along the ground. "It'll take more than that if you want to beat me."
"I could say the same about your present movements." Yuga remarked, continuing to fire lasers in succession.
"I'd say there's a big difference." Ashido retorted, sliding under one laser attack, twirling over the next, and spinning past the next one. "My movements have only gotten better this past month to the point you can't nail me down."
That seemed to prove true as even when Yuga attempted to lead shots, he couldn't pin Mina down. It got to the point he was beginning to falter as his weakness began to show. At this point, he had to take a gamble.
"H-Here's a...big one!" Yuga yelled, making a larger beam that he shot out for about three seconds.
Mina was ready for this and managed to avoid it effortlessly while making a beeline towards her target. The gamble didn't pay off for the French boy as his stomach began to ache.
"Here's my shot!" Mina declared, skating along her acid quickly.
She reached out her hand and palmed it right into Yuga's face with all her might. Given his current state, making him unable to properly defend himself, along with her momentum, Yuga was sent sailing right out the arena.
"Aoyama is out of bounds." Midnight announced. "The winner of this match is Ashido!"
Stadium
The crowd cheered for her victory as Mic commented, "Dang, Aoyama went down hard! That's an indisputable victory if I've ever seen one, sports fans!"
"Wow, Mina's amazing." Tsu remarked.
"The match unfolded like I thought it would." Izuku noted figuratively and literally. "I definitely underestimated Ashido. Though, now that I think about it, she did place 10th out of the class on the Quirk Assessment. She has a great Quirk, but she won because of her physical strength."
"Good to see both Denki and Mina made it to the next round." Rex noted with a smile, as he left the stands due to his match being next. "Hopefully those two won't let the next come between them."
At the same time Rex and Tenya left, Ochaco ended up slipping away herself.
Hallways
Ashido entered the hallways only to be met by Denki. "Hey Mina." He nodded. "You were amazing out there."
"Yeah, same to you." She ran over to Denki before kissing him on the cheek and winking. "As for that, it's my sign that there'll be no hard feelings nor holding back come our match."
"Took the words right out of my mouth." Denki offered his hand. "C'mon, let's go enjoy the rest of the rounds before our match."
Mina happily took his offered hand before the couple walked off to the stands together. Both were content that no matter the result, they'd give their coming match their best. In the end, there'd be no hard feelings between them.
Stadium
"Now, let's charge right into the fifth match!" Present Mic declared. "He's the guy who's been maintaining an impressive lead, it's Rex Salazar from the Hero Course! His opponent is the kid with engines in his legs, it's Tenya Iida also from the Hero Course!"
"Let's make this a match nobody will forget." Rex declared confidently.
Tenya smiled. "I wholeheartedly agree."
"With our competitors raring to go, let's begin!" Present Mic declared.
Salazar vs Iida
Tenya revved his engines while Rex built the Rex Ride, and the two of them charged one another. The former lept to land a powerful kick on his opponent's head, but the latter decided it was about time he showed the fruits of his month-long training with Izuku.
Rex extended his right arm and built a Smack Hand from it, to Tenya's shock, before he was suddenly grabbed in his entirety. Salazar sped on over to the edge, fully utilizing the favorable position his surprise gave him, to simply drop Iida outside the arena.
"Iida had been set out of bounds!" Midnight announced. "Salazar advances!"
Stadium
Rex disassembled his builds before approaching Tenya. "Hey, I just wanted to say…"
"Don't apologize." Tenya interrupted sincerely. "I should have been more careful in my approach. Due to my own underestimation, I failed. That is an important lesson you have just taught me. My failure to know it beforehand is what led to my loss."
"Thanks Iida." Rex stated.
"That's our class rep for ya." Denki commented with a smile. "Should have figured he wouldn't settle for his current strength."
"No kidding." Mina agreed. "The fact that he managed to keep it hidden all this time is only more impressive."
"No doubt this will get the pros talking more about him than they already are." Hanta stated.
"The match unfolded like I thought it would." Izuku noted once more. "Without knowing Rex could utilize two builds, it was only a matter of when that would be deployed to trip Tenya up."
"Now, let's not let this hot streak cool!" Mic announced. "Time to move on to the sixth match! Offence and Defense in one. The dark samurai and his darker shadow, from the Hero Course, Fumikage Tokoyami!"
The bird boy didn't move a muscle as he focused on his opponent. "Verses, The great creator. She was admitted because of recommendation, and I think we can all see why. Also, from class 1-A, Momo Yaoyorozu!"
Momo was ready to show her skills in battle especially since she has been in regular contact with Izuku and Rex ever since her loss to the pair prior. Their information was quite invaluable for her own month of training, in many ways.
"How do you think this one will end?" Mashirao asked Izuku. "Any clue?"
"Timing is going to be key." Midoriya explained.
"Oh, how so?" Ojiro wondered.
"If Momo has become even half as fast as Rex is with his builds, it'll come down to adapting." Izuku responded. "Dealing with whatever she might create as they come or having the power to plow through. Conversely, if she hasn't improved that aspect, or her opponent can out speed her, it'll come down to overwhelming her."
"SIXTH MATCH, BEGIN!" Mic announced.
Tokoyami vs Yaoyorozu
Momo was quick to generate a shield and prepared to make a flash bang grenade while Tokoyami sent out his Dark Shadow. Yaoyorozu managed to defend against Dark Shadow's first pass before creating said flashbang. When Dark Shadow came back, Momo blocked it again.
She then engaged and threw the flash bang at Fumikage's feet. The fact that it didn't immediately do anything only led to the raven headed student moving to the side before Dark Shadow came back around managing to get rid of the shield and push Yaoyorozu back.
This was perfect as it gave her the opportunity to generate a shield, blocking her eyes, as the flash bang went off. This generated a large burst of light that forced Dark Shadow back and temporarily blinded Fumikage.
Momo, who was already pointed in his direction, dashed forward before bashing her shield into Fumikage's gut knocking him off his feet. She then generated her metal staff before thrusting it into her fellow student's gut sending him crashing outside the arena.
"Tokoyami is out of bounds." Midnight declared. "Momo Yaoyorozu takes the match."
Stadium
Fumikage managed to stand up before respectfully bowing to Momo and walking away without a word. Momo simply breathed a sigh of relief at managing to get a win.
It was now that Midoriya noticed Ochaco was gone. "Hey, where's Uraraka?"
"I don't know." Ojiro answered. "She left after Aoyama and Ashido's match."
"I think I recall Iida going to look for her." Rex added. "If you want, you could go look for her, and I'll give you a run down on the next match. Well, provided it starts before you get back."
"Thanks Rex." Midoriya stated before heading out to find his female friend.
"Okay!" It wasn't long before Present Mic began announcing the next battle. "The seventh match will be between two completely redundant Quirks! First, a passionate, manly fighter made of rock. The Hero Course's Eijiro Kirishima!"
Even without hearing it, Eijiro just knew what would be said of his opponent. "Verses, a passionate, manly fighter made of steel. The Hero Course's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!" The 1-B fight yelled to amp himself up.
"Make us proud Tetsutetsu!" Toru cheered. "Bring 1-B its first win!"
"Can't wait to see how this ends!" Mic declared. "BEGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"
Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu
Both activated their Quirks and charged while giving a war cry. They clashed fists, making sparks from the impact. The two of them struggled, but neither budged. They were equal in power. Kirishima reeled back his other fist and went for another punch.
Tetsutetsu did the same thing, so they clashed once more. They did this repeatedly until Eijiro grabbed the steel fist he was about to clash with and pulled his opponent in for a solid punch to the gut. The attack was slightly effective, but Tetsutetsu used his free hand to punch Kirishima.
He landed a solid blow on the guy's ribs making the red head let go and attempt to back up a bit. The steel fighter didn't back down as he went for another punch, but it was blocked by Eijiro, who punched out as well. Each strike had a large amount of force behind it.
Tetsutetsu dodged an attack from Kirishima before countering with a solid punch to the cheek. Kirishima didn't budge from this. He instead slid his face across his opponent's arm to get close and punch the ironclad boy in his forehead.
The two kept at it, clashing, striking, countering, and retaliating. Neither of them were backing down and went all out, no matter what. It was going to be a while, but since there was no clear winner for this battle, it was still worth watching.
"I thought you were supposed to be STRONG!" Tetsutetsu taunted, landing a direct hit on Kirishima's face.
The 1-A student came back with one of his own. "That's funny, I heard the same lie about YOU!"
Tetsutetsu caught his fist and tightened his grip. "Are you calling my friends liars!?"
He used his free hand to go for another punch, only for it to be caught by Eijiro. "Tough talk, but you haven't impressed me tin skin!"
The two continued to struggle, neither one of them moving from their position at all. They both reared their heads back and then slammed them into each other. Eventually the struggle was broken when Eijiro pushed his metal counterpart back and went for a punch.
Tetsutetsu guarded his face, but the red head went under his guard to land an uppercut to the chin. The ironclad student forced his head back down and went for a counter. Kirishima guarded his left, but Tetsutetsu managed to get around it to land a vicious hook to his cheek.
The rock skinned fighter forced his head back into place as he then slammed his fist down, forcing Tetsutetsu to flinch. That didn't last long, as the steel student countered with another hook to Eijiro's right cheek.
They were both looking to finish this with their next attack, so they charged while forgetting about defense. The pair slammed their fists into each other's jaws before reeling back and falling the ground. Both Quirks deactivated.
"They're both down, so it's a draw!" Midnight had walked over and inspected the downed fighters. "When the contestants recover from this battle, the winner will be determined in a simple contest. Perhaps arm wrestling."
Stadium
"While we wait for Tetsutetsu and Kirishima to recover, we'll move on to the next battle!" Present Mic announced.
The screen showed the final match of the top 16, and it was not a fight many looked forward to.
"This might be the most disturbing matchup." Asui commented.
"I know." Kyoka agreed. "I almost don't want to watch it."
Ochaco and Katsuki were both making their way into the arena.
"The eighth and final battle in the first round of matches!" Present Mic started. "He was kind of a hot shot in middle school, and just look at that determined face. From the Hero Course, Katsuki Bakugo!"
The crowd cheered a bit, but Bakugo looked annoyed. "Verses, who I'm personally rooting for and also from the Hero course, Ochaco Uraraka!" There was a large cheer for her, and she took a deep breath, readying herself for the fight to come.
"You're the one who screws around with gravity, right pink cheeks?" Katsuki remembered.
"Pink Cheeks!?" Ochaco repeated.
"Well, if you're going to give up, do it now." Bakugo declared. "Cause I'm not holding anything back."
The slight amount of intimidation Katsuki was showing, though effective, wouldn't make Uraraka back down. She put on a serious face and showed she meant business. Bakugo's expression didn't change, showing that he meant what he said.
"Midoriya." Tenya stated. "I'm curious. What was that strategy you came up with that would give Uraraka an advantage against Bakugo?"
"Strategy?" Rex questioned.
"I offered her a strategy, but she declined." Izuku informed. "Honestly, it wasn't much of a plan. Kacchan's so strong. When it comes to close combat, he almost never has openings, and the more he moves, the more he sweats, which just makes his Quirk more powerful.
He's gotten good at using his explosions to move around in the air, but if Uraraka can touch him, she can use her Quirk to make him float. She could then send him out of bounds. That's why it's obvious as to what Uraraka needs to do to get the upper hand."
"Let the eighth match, begin!" Mic announced.
Bakugo vs Uraraka
Ochaco ran forward while keeping her body low and hands open. "Giving up isn't an option for me!"
"Whoa, look at her go." Midoriya remarked. "That's a good start, and all she has to do is touch him one time."
"But it won't be easy." Tenya reminded him. "You know Bakugo won't let her get too close."
"Which is why he won't dodge." Izuku added. "He'll focus his energy on counterattacking."
Katsuki raised his right palm then said, "And now you die."
He reared his right arm back. Uraraka noticed this and was getting ready to telegraph the attack when Bakugo changed his starting attack to a forward explosion. He landed a close ranged explosion forcing her back.
"Uraraka!" Iida and Midoriya declared in unison.
"Looks like Bakugo's not planning on showing her any mercy." Asui commented.
"Would any of you have wanted him to show mercy after making it all this way?" Rex asked, drawing everyone's attention. "Besides, I thought we went over this on the first two days; the very first lesson Mr. Aizawa taught us.
Looks to me like Bakugo and I are the only ones who understood. As Heroes, we'll go up against the unfairness of the world, and it's not about to show any of us mercy. Honestly, I still don't like Bakugo all that much, but I can respect aspects of him."
The rest of the class shared looks with one another while Toru, on 1-B's side, vividly remembered that day over one month ago now. For as much as she cried, the lessons she learned from failing have stuck with her.
The smoke was starting to clear, so Bakugo got his palms up. "You should have dropped out of the match." He saw Ochaco's jacket coming into view, so the explosive student prepared to counter. "There's no way you can beat me!"
He let loose another explosion, and the force cleared out some of the smoke showing he pinned the jacket. Uraraka wasn't there as she used his own smokescreen against him and feigned an assault with her jacket. Bakugo was surprised as Ochaco came out of the smoke behind him.
"Woah!" Mic commentated. "She threw her jacket as a decoy! What incredibly quick thinking!"
She was inches away from his back, but Bakugo saw the attack coming before blasting her away. She flew back a bit but was able to recover before hiding in the smoke.
"Look at that reaction time." Hanta pointed out. "You can't get the drop on him, and since Uraraka can't use her Quirk unless she touches him, his reflexes put her at a huge disadvantage."
Katsuki cleared the smoke away unwilling to let her escape his sight again.
She ran forward, but Bakugo dragged his hand on the ground making an arched explosion. "Too slow!"
He once again hit his target and sent rubble flying.
Ochaco tried another flank, but she gave away her position by yelling, "I've got you!"
Bakugo was getting tired of this and made an even larger explosion that she couldn't dodge. Despite what Rex said, the rest of 1-A were worried about Uraraka since she was taking a beating. Kyoka covered her eyes, and a few others looked sick.
"Is she okay?" Tsu worriedly asked.
"I can't watch this." Jiro said, keeping her eyes covered.
Rex couldn't exactly fault them since Bakugo was a rather barbaric fighter, but he was more focused on just what Uraraka was planning. It was one attempt after another that were met with constant failures.
"This isn't over yet!" Ochaco yelled, only to be met by another explosion.
Smoke was almost everywhere, except where Katsuki was. He was looking around for her only to spot Ochaco coming in for yet another rush resulting in him blasting her back once more. It was clearly taking its toll on her.
"Looks like she's not resting between attacks, despite being exploded." Mic quietly commented. "The poor girl."
She went one more time and got blasted away again.
"You idiots." Neito remarked. "Look closer."
It was an unexpected source, but Rex took that advice in stride. He looked over the entire battlefield now before ultimately spotting what he needed to see.
"Hey, shouldn't one of the teachers step in?"
"Yeah, this is too rough."
"This is shameful! Listen kid, you really want to be a Hero? Then, stop acting like a bully. If you're so good, just send her out of bounds!"
Another explosion signaled that Bakugo either didn't care about that guy's opinion, or he was too focused on his opponent to listen.
"Stop toying with the girl and end this match!"
"Yeah, you heard the guy!"
"The crowd is now booing Bakugo!" Mic announced. "Honestly, I kind of agree with what…Eraser Head, what are you…GAH!"
Apparently, 1-A's homeroom teacher had breached the commentor box, after moving from wherever he had been sitting, and snatched the microphone.
"Where's the man who started this uproar?" Aizawa questioned. "Are you a pro? Because if you're serious, go home, hang up your cape, and look into another career."
That made the audience shut up real fast.
"You know what he's talking about?" Izuku wondered.
That shocked Rex since Izuku knew Bakugo better than anyone. Not only that, but he's usually the guy five steps ahead. In the end, it seems Rex's practice observing people saw him figure this out ahead of his friend.
"Bakugo's fierceness is an acknowledgement of his opponent's strength." Aizawa explained. "He knows she deserved to have made it this far, so he's doing whatever it takes to come out on top."
Ochaco was still standing while Bakugo kept his eyes on her.
"I think…it's about time." She stated. "Thank you, Bakugo for keeping your eyes on me."
Katsuki was confused while Rex knew exactly what was coming. He heard Monama silently berating the Pros for not noticing the strategy before explaining the things both had come to see. The debris being missing from a shredded arena.
All a result of a relentless assault which kept the boy distracted while giving the girl more ammo to use. At this, the crowd looked up to see hundreds of pieces of debris and rubble floating above the arena. All but Rex, Neito, and Aizawa were surprised.
Ochaco then let out a battle cry as she released her Quirk, her real plan now being put into action. The debris began falling and since there was so much of it, the attack was going to cover everywhere that Katsuki could ever be.
"A meteor shower!" Mic exclaimed, shocked.
"Now you notice." Aizawa gave him back his mic before leaving the booth.
As the rubble was falling, Bakugo was focused solely on the falling rocks coming his way. While he did that, Ochaco sprinted towards him. Multiple attacks coming from different directions. It doesn't matter what he does. He'll be open to one of them.
He can't dodge all the debris, and if he wants to blast away that attack, he must solely focus on it rather than Ochaco. Likewise, if he goes for Ochaco, he'll undoubtedly get pummeled by the debris falling towards him.
Since there's so much, he'd either get buried or taken out of it. It was a real catch twenty-two, but Bakugo would still try to overcome it all. He raised his hand all the way and seemed to brace himself. With Ochaco mere inches away, his forearm flared with a massive explosion.
It destroyed the debris aimed at him while making a massive shockwave that could be felt from the stands. It blasted his opponent away and sent her tumbling to the ground. When the smoke cleared, Ochaco was struggling to get back up, looking in the smoke, terrified at the power.
"I figured you'd have some sort of stupid plan to beat me." Bakugo then spoke up. "You are friends with that damn nerd, and he's close with the tin can as well."
"Bakugo bangs out a huge demonstration of power!" Present Mic announced. "He blasted apart Uraraka's finishing move and remains untouched!"
Ochaco was scared and looked helpless as she was on the verge of collapsing. Even though she was in a hopeless situation, she forced herself to her feet.
"Alright then." Katsuki smiled. "Time for us to get serious, Uraraka!"
He began running towards his prey, and she turned around to do the same. Despite everything that just happened, no matter how hopeless the situation was for her, she still had some fight left. Her heart was in it, her mind was in it, but her body wasn't.
She stumbled back down to the ground causing Bakugo to cease his charge. She was still struggling, trying to force herself back onto her feet, since she didn't want to give up. She wanted to show the world that she has what it takes.
"This is too much." Iida said.
"Yeah." Midoriya agreed. "She's way past her limit."
"As class rep, I order that not a one of you look away." Rex declared firmly. "Uraraka deserves, at bear minimum, that much respect."
Ochaco wanted to make her family proud, to make people see her as pro material. Her legs wouldn't let her stand, so she used her arms to start crawling towards her opponent.
The girl struggled to speak. "I can…do this…I can…still fight…I can."
She wanted to prove that she was strong, just like her friends, before she ultimately stopped moving. Midnight entered the arena and checked to see if Ochaco was alright. She was unconscious.
"Uraraka is unconscious.' Midnight informed the crowd. "Bakugo advances to the next round."
Uraraka was sent off atop a stretcher. At this point, Izuku took off from the stands. Rex could assume he was to see Ochaco. It wasn't long before Bakugo returned to the stands.
Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu (Tiebreaker)
It wasn't long after that Eijiro and Tetsutetsu walked to the arena, with Cementoss and Midnight following. Cementoss made a cement cube from the ground and then the two got on each side. They activated their Quirks and locked arms. Time for the tie breaker.
"WAHOOOOO!" Present Mic yelled out, as the two boys were cracking the cement cube they competed on. "We are finally about to learn who the true winner is from the seventh match! Kirishima or Tetsutetsu! Whoever prevails here, will advance to the second round!"
Right at the end of Mic's commentary, Tetsutetsu's hand cracked from the pressure, and he started to falter. Eijiro noticed and used all his strength to slam the steel arm into the cube, breaking both the steel and cube.
"Kirishima is the winner." Midnight announced. "Add him to the bracket."
Stadium
Eijiro yelled at the top of his lungs "YEAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
He then looked down at his opponent.
"Ah, damn metal deficiency." Tetsutetsu cursed. "Should have eaten more iron this morning."
He then looked up at his opponent who extended a hand. "Hey man, you put up a good fight."
Tetsutetsu accepted, letting Eijiro pull him up, which made Midnight look like a girl fawning over a crush. With that settled, the second round of the tournament could begin.
When it comes to Momo vs Fumikage, I have no problems with the fact she lost in canon. Here, Yaoyorozu had incentive to make her creations faster, I.E. Rex right there being fairly quick with his builds. Additionally, she got in early with Rex and Izuku. While they didn't train together, they still kept in contact about their Quirks leading to her victory. Considering how much Rex has achieved, a simple match was almost necessary to let other people shine.