"WILL ALL THE CONTESTANTS IN THE LAST ROUND OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL PLEASE MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE ARENA!" The call from the intercom alerted me and the others that we needed to make our way out of the waiting room.
Shoda had made it into the next round as well, but for some reason he hadn't come into the room to strategize with us. Perhaps he already had plans to deal with the others, it's probably best not to think about it.
After a minute of walking we made it back into the open arena, a cement stage had been set up by Cementoss and a screen was set up behind Midnight. All the contestants had arrived, 16 of us in total, though only 5 of us were from 1-B to my displeasure.
Another thing I noticed is that all the girls from 1-A ended up wearing cheerleading outfits for some reason. Some of the guys were confused and the girls wearing the outfits seemed livid, though a couple seemed to be fine with it.
"Alright, before we begin we need to determine the brackets. Once we do, we can start the first match not long after. Now, from the first place team-" Midnight was talking about the lots that were about to be drawn, but before she could finish she was interrupted by a student from 1-A with a tail.
"Um, excuse me but I would like to withdraw." The crowd was shocked to hear this and turned silent, even the other students in his class were shocked and started arguing to get him to reconsider, but they just couldn't convince him.
"Nirengeki Shoda from 1-B, I also want to withdraw for the same reason." Now Shoda was talking about stepping down, how could this be happening? If he leaves then the next team is all 1-A students and they'll surely put two people to fill out the slots!
"Shoda, I know that-" before I could even try to convince him to stay he raised his hand and shook his head.
"I'm sorry class rep, but I've made up my mind. I ask that you respect that decision." Shoda did a small bow before we turned our attention back to Midnight since she had the final say in this decision.
"Talk like that is extremely naive boys, it really TURNS ME ON! Your withdrawals are accepted." Every single person in the stadium looked at Midnight in exasperation. "In that case, we'll have to move up two people from the fifth place cavalry battle team."
With that out of the way, the two students from the fifth place team were chosen, ending up being Boomie and rip off Tetsutetsu. I would learn names but it's easier to go by nicknames.
"Now then, let's draw the lots!" The screen behind lit up, showing our names on two wheels before they stopped on two names. "The first round will be Kinoko Komori vs Momo Yaoyorozu!"
Komori looks around for the person she will be fighting, finding the other girl who happens to be waving at her with a smile on her face. Komori tries to give a smile back, but it is filled with nerves.
The wheels spun once again, this time removing Komori's and Yaoyorozu's names. "The second match will be Yui Kodai vs Fumikage Tokoyami!"
The two find each other quickly, standing next to each other. They don't exchange words but nod their heads at one another.
Another spin of the wheels and another match was chosen, "The third match will be Katsuki Bakugou vs Ochako Uraraka!"
I looked around for Boomie and see him confused at the name, though the other person is staring at him with wide eyes. She looks scared, shaking a little at the idea of facing Boomie.
The wheel spun again, "The fourth match will be Mei Hatsume vs Tenya Iida!"
The support course girl that was with Midoriya's team zooms up to Iida and starts talking right in his face, causing to take a few steps back but she follows.
Another spin of the wheel gives the next match, "The fifth match will be Hiryu Rin vs Shoto Todoroki."
Todoroki doesn't bother looking around for Rin, he just stood, staring at the screen with dark eyes. Rin however fell to the floor, understanding that he will probably be beaten easily.
The wheel spins again, there are only a few names left. "The sixth match will be Denki Kaminari vs Eijiro Kirishima!"
Spark Plug and Rip Off Tetsutetsu look at each other, giving friendly smiles and even handshakes with smiles on their faces.
The penultimate spin of the wheel and the seventh match is decided. "The seventh match will be Izuku Midoriya vs Hitoshi Shinso."
The purple haired boy walks up to Midoriya and proceeds to talk to him, however before Greenie could answer his mouth is covered by the tail of the student that dropped out of the tournament.
And that leaves the last match. "And the last match of the first round will be Yuga Aoyama vs Clay!"
The boy who I'm going to be facing walks up to me and does a pose for some reason. "I'm sorry Mon Cheri, but this match will be mine." He even winks, causing a small star to appear next to him.
"Right…" I just walk away from that before I punch his very punchable face.
"With the matches selected we will give the contestants 15 minutes before the first match to prepare. Make sure that you go to the bathroom in that time, don't want to miss any of the action!" And with that remark Midnight walks off the stage.
Since my fight is the last one I have the idea to head to the booth where the rest of our class is waiting, but before that I need to wish Komori and Kodai luck in their fights.
"Komori, Kodai, you guys are up first. Let's show the world that 1-B aren't going to be in 1-A's shadow for any longer!" The two girls nod their heads before heading off to the waiting room together. Me and Rin though make our way to the booth where our class is waiting for us.
When we arrive there most of the class starts celebrating our accomplishment about making it to the final round.
"You guys are gonna do so good in the final round!" Kendo started clapping, getting the rest of the class to start clapping as well.
"As expected of the class rep! Truly, you are an example we must all strive towards!" Shishida started praising us as well, clapping very enthusiastically.
"You better not screw this up for us." Kamakiri didn't clap for us but gave encouragement in his own way.
"We're gonna show everyone that class 1-B isn't the afterthought!" I roared with enthusiasm and the others cheered loudly. It was nearly time for the first match to start so I sat with the others talking about their predictions on the match.
A few minutes later and Midnight walked onto a platform that was at the edge of the arena, grabbing the attention of everyone again with a crack of her whip.
"The first round of the tournament is about to begin!" Small explosions occurred at the edge of the arena, getting everyone pumped up and the crowd cheering in excitement.
"ALRIGHT, LET'S GET THE FUN STARTED! FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ARENA, SHE'S THE BRILLIANT AND RESOURCEFUL STRATEGIST WITH A QUIRK THAT CAN MATERIALIZE JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. GIVE IT UP FOR THE INGENIOUS MOMO YAOYOROZU!" Present Mic announced the arrival of the first competitor, followed by the girl coming out of the tunnel and waving to the crowd.
"AND COMING IN FROM THE LEFT SIDE, SHE'S NOT YOUR AVERAGE FUN-GI! WITH A QUIRK THAT ALLOWS HER TO SPAWN MUSHROOMS, SHE'S READY TO TURN THIS ARENA INTO A FUNGAL BATTLEFIELD! LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE SPORE-TACULAR KINOKO KOMORI!" From the other side of the arena, Komori appeared from the tunnel, her nervousness on display as she shakily walked to the arena.
"Let's have a good match." Using my transformation to increase my senses I was able to make out what the two were saying to each other before the match started. Momo spoke first, a smile on her face as she waited for Komori to respond.
"S-sure." Komori nodded her head and stuttered a response, but before Momo could question why she was nervous Midnight cracked her whip and drew their attention.
"Are you both ready?" The two girls nodded their heads. "Then let the first match, BEGIN!"
And with that signal Yaoyorozu was off. She charged at Komori, her quirk activating and creating a metal staff in her hand while Komori simply panicked and activated her own quirk, spawning mushrooms in front of her.
Yaoyorozu, too late to stop, ends up running into the mushroom field and stepping on multiple mushrooms. This new paste that attaches to the bottom of her shoes causes Yaoyorozu to start slipping around, though it isn't enough to get her to fall or submit.
Komori runs at Yaoyorozu, scared but still determined to win the match and make our class proud. Though before she can get too close, Yaoyorozu swipes at Komori with her staff, hitting her in the side and knocking her to the ground.
Yaoyorozu takes a few more careful steps closer, keeping her staff ready for a counterattack, but it was unneeded. With Komori still on the ground, Yaoyorozu creates a set of quirk negating handcuffs and applies them to the hands of Komori.
Seeing that she can no longer use her quirk and her hands are bound, Komori forfeits the match. The crowd cheers for the first match, and Yaoyorozu takes the handcuffs off of Komori's hands before bowing and offering her opponent a handshake.
Komori hesitantly accepts the handshake, though when they are asked to leave the field she runs off of the arena and back into the tunnel. With the enhanced senses I have I'm able to hear the sounds of sobbing from the tunnel, only getting louder as she gets further into the tunnel.
"Hey Clay, I'm gonna check on Komori, make sure to tell me the results of the next match." Kendo stands up and tells me of her plans, me nodding my head before turning back to the arena.
The next match was delayed by a little bit while the mushrooms are cleared from the stage, though it didn't take long till the stage is ready for the next match, between Kodai and Tokoyami.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME BACK TO THE NEXT FIGHT IN THE ONE ON ONE MATCHES IN THIS YEAR'S SPORTS FESTIVAL! LET'S GIVE A WARM WELCOME TO OUR NEXT CONTESTANTS, SHALL WE?"
The crowd cheered with excitement, their blood pumping in anticipation to watch the next match of the competition. "AND NOW, ENTERING FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ARENA, HE'S NEVER TRULY ALONE, HE SUFFERS FROM A SEVERE CASE OF EIGHTH GRADE SYNDROME, HE'S OUR KNIGHT OF DARKNESS, FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI FROM HERO CLASS 1-A!"
The avian headed bird walked into the arena, ignoring the comments that Present Mic made about his syndrome, arms crossed as he stared at the opening to the opposite hallway where his opponent would come from.
"AND COMING IN FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ARENA, SHE IS THE MASTER OF SIZE, THE SILENT BUT DEADLY TYPE, EXPERT ON STOICISM, YUI KODAI FROM HERO CLASS 1-B!"
Kodai walked into the arena, the same neutral look on her face as always as she stared at her opponent. When she walked into the arena she gave Tokoyami a quick bow, the bird boy returning one out of courtesy.
As Kodai was walking into the arena, our class noticed that there were some things on her waist, pouches. She didn't have them before in any of the other events so this must be something that she added for the final round of the tournament.
"Anyone want to guess what's in those pouches?" I spoke out to the others in the booth, causing them to start debating what she could be using.
"It would be likely that Lady Kodai is using those pouches to hold items that she can grow in order to use as weapons." Shishida spoke out his opinion, other students agreeing with his likely deduction.
"I reckon she has something that can be used as a shield, probably some pebbles to use as projectiles, and probably a nail or needle to use as a weapon." I give my ideas on what could be in her bag.
Before we can theorize anymore, Midnight walks up to the stand and cracks her whip again. "Both contestants know the rules?" The two in the arena nod their heads. "Then let this match… BEGIN!"
Without wasting a second, Tokoyami summons forth his Dark Shadow and sends it barreling towards Kodai, though before it can arrive it is hit with a huge boulder. The sentient quirk, after gaining its bearings once again, attempts to go around the boulder, but unfortunately another one blocks the path.
Kodai, after buying herself time to arm herself, reaches into her pouch and pulls out a pin, one with the design of UA's logo on its face, before also pulling out a nail from her other pouch. Growing the two items, Kodai is left with a makeshift spear and shield combo.
The stoic girl of class 1-B goes around her boulders on the side that wasn't blocked and charges at Tokoyami with her weapons in hand. The bird boy of 1-A seeing the charging girl calls back Dark Shadow to protect him, though by the time he returns, Kodai is nearly on top of him.
Dark Shadow attempts to punch Kodai away from Tokoyami, though his strike is blocked by her makeshift shield. Kodai strikes back, swiping at his head with her spear, though the attack merely glides through Dark Shadows semi-corporeal form.
Seeing that her attack didn't work, Kodai jumps back and drops her spear before reaching into her pouch to grab a few more pebbles. Tokoyami sees what she's doing and sends Dark Shadow to stop her, though before he can Kodai launches all the pebbles in her hand at the boy, creating a wall of boulders that block Dark Shadow's progress.
The wall of boulders all come crashing down creating a cloud of dust that shields the arena from view for a few moments. When the dust settles, it shows Tokoyami and Dark shadow struggling against one of the boulders over the boundary of the arena.
"Tokoyami is out of bounds, therefore, Yui Kodai is the winner!" Midnight called the match, the crowd roaring with approval at the outcome of the match. Kodai walked over to Tokoyami and shrunk the boulder that was threatening to crush the boy down to its former size of a pebble.
Tokoyami bows to the girl before walking down the hall to his waiting room. Before Kodai leaves the stage though, she walks to all of her boulders and shrinks them back down to their pebble sizes and places them back into their pouches.
The stage only needs a small bit of maintenance so the next match up should take about five minutes before the next match begins. That five minutes is how long it takes for Yui to reappear in the booth with her ever present stoic face even as we cheer her name.
"Good on you Kodai, congrats on making it to the next round." I congratulate the girl on her achievement and she just nods her head at me in appreciation.
A few moments later and the next match up is called, Katsuki Bakugou against Ochaco Uraraka. Boomie versus the person who was giggling at Iida reprimanding us for having Fluffal Cat in the cafeteria a while ago. Honestly, I don't care who wins, but it would be nice to face Boomie and put him in his place.
"LADS AND LASSES, HERO'S AND CIVIES, THE NEXT ROUND OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL IS ABOUT TO START. IT'S BEEN AN EXPLOSIVE SHOW SO FAR, BUT THIS NEXT MATCH IS GOING TO MAKE THAT LITERAL!" Present Mic came back with his commentary and the crowd was cheering once again.
"ENTERING FROM THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ARENA, ROCKETING TO THE TOP OF THE FIRST YEARS, HE'S GOT AN EXPLOSIVE ATTITUDE AND THE QUIRK TO MATCH, KATSUKI BAKUGOU!" As his name was called the boy walked into the arena, hands in his pockets and a scowl present on his face.
"AND COMING FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ARENA, HER CHEERY ATTITUDE WILL PUT A SMILE ON ANYONE'S FACE, WATCH AS SHE FLOATS AWAY FROM THE COMPETITION, MY FAVOURITE FOR THIS MATCH, OCHACO URARAKA!" Contrasting the description that Present Mic spoke of, the girl did not in fact have a smile on her face when she walked into the arena, she looked frightened even.
"Anyone else thinks that girl looks more scared than she should?" I voice out my concerns to the class and they all voice their agreements. "Maybe she'll forfeit the match."
"As much as it would be wise for her to forfeit the match, if she truly wants to gain the attention of pro's then it would be better that she doesn't." Honenuki spoke out and as much as I wanted to argue, we all knew he was right.
"Hopefully Boomie doesn't take it too far." I pay my full attention to the arena as Midnight walks up with her whip held high.
"Are you both ready?" Both contestants nod their heads, though Uraraka is a bit delayed. Midnight takes note of this, but continues anyways. "Then… BEGIN!"
As soon as Midnight swings her whip down, to the surprise of everyone Uraraka is the one who makes the first move, charging towards Bakugou. Her posture is low to the ground, hands out and fingers spread.
When she is finally in range though, Bakugou instantly blasts Uraraka in the face, sending her back and tearing up some of the ground with her. A smoke screen is created from the blast as well, blocking the view of Bakugou.
In an impressive display of creativity and reflexes, Uraraka takes off her gym shirt and launches it at Bakugou, distracting him long enough to get behind him, but he unfortunately reacts too fast and blasts another explosion in her face.
"She isn't getting anywhere." Tsubaraba spoke out from next to Awase as he nodded his head in agreement. "She's just getting blasted over and over."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." I speak up as well, some of the other students looking towards me while others simply continue observing the match. "Remember her quirk, she needs ammo for it to work, and those explosions are giving her plenty."
I point up to the sky and those listening point their gaze in their direction. There, they see a group of stones in the sky, defying gravity.
"She has a plan, it's only a matter of if that plan of hers will work."
Going back to the match, Uraraka was continuing to charge at Bakugou and getting more ammo for her final attack. The crowd though wasn't liking the tide of the battle at all. They were beginning to chant their boo's and displeasure over the brutality of the match.
Eraser Head started berating the crowd himself, saying something about Bakugou respecting his opponent or something like that. I honestly didn't listen, I was too busy watching the scene of Uraraka putting her hands together.
Without much notice the rocks that were floating overhead began falling like meteors. During this terrifying spectacle, Uraraka continued her charge at Bakugou who only looked up with wide eyes before putting his arm up.
As Uraraka was nearing, arm outstretched to touch his chest, Bakugou let loose with his explosion. All the rocks that were above his head were blown away, nothing more but dust in the wind. Uraraka herself was blown away from the pressure of the explosion, landing on her back with a stunned and saddened look on her face.
Clutching his hand as if it were sore, Bakugou kept his eyes trained on his opponent, making sure she wouldn't do anything. For her part, Uraraka rose from the ground shakily, before turning around and promptly falling to the ground in exhaustion.
Midnight came forward and inspected the girl, even as she tried to crawl towards Bakugou and continue the fight. It was there that it was decided Bakugou won his match, Uraraka being too exhausted to continue the fight.
"Damn, I thought she had that in the bag." I slumped in my seat, somehow exhausted even though I hadn't fought that battle. "Who knew Boomie was actually a good fighter?"
"Well, the girl was no slouch either. I don't think many people could deal with that final move of hers, even some pro's would be hard pressed to deal with it." Shoda voiced his opinion, others nodding his head.
"Yeah, guess it just means I get a better chance at facing Boomie in the finals." I put a grin on my face, thinking about getting revenge for blasting us back in the cafeteria.
"Not if I beat him first." Kodai spoke out this time, a somehow still stoic yet determined face.
"Yeah! You show Boomie what girl power is!" Tokage cheered for Kodai, the others also cheering in excitement for Kodai fighting Bakugou.
The next match took a while since Boomie tore through the arena and Cementoss had to fix it. During the time we were waiting, Kendo and Komori came back, Komori with puffy eyes though no one commented on it.
Kendo sat next to me, leaning over so I could listen in on what she had to say. "Komori is very upset about what happened in the arena. She's feeling like she let us all down since she lost. If you can try talking to her that might help things."
"Right." I nod my head, understanding what needs to happen. The match below begins, a match between the pretentious prick that is Tenya Iida and the surprise from the support course, Mei Hatsumei. Though Iida is for some reason decked out in support gear.
As the match takes off, it is soon clear that we aren't going to be missing much if I take Komori off to the side and speak. Making the decision, I stand up and walk behind Komori, tapping her on the shoulder and signaling her to follow me.
We walk out of the room, making sure that no one can hear our talk. Komori is visibly nervous, shaking, rubbing her arms, head down, I can even hear the occasional sniffle. When I think we're far enough away I slink down against the wall and invite Komori to sit next to me.
"So, I hear you think we're disappointed in you, that you think you let us down." I get straight to the point, Komori sniffling more occasionally now as I wait for her to say something. When it's clear she won't I continue myself.
"You know, I would probably be feeling pretty down myself if I lost. I said so much about proving we aren't the extra's or afterthoughts of 1-A and then I lose even though I'm one of the strongest in the class." Komori begins crying harder, but I just continue speaking.
"But you want to know something? We made it into the final round of the sports festival in our first year. Hell, only 10 of the available slots are filled with people from 1-A, if we really were the after thoughts then all 16 spots would be filled with 1-A."
"B-but I s-still lost when i-it mattered. Now e-everyone's going to th-think that 1-B is weak. And it's all m-my fault." Komori finally spoke out.
"But that's the thing, I don't think 1-B is weak." Komori looks up to me, tears filling her eyes. "I don't think that Shishida is weak, I don't think that Shiozaki is weak, I don't think that Kamakiri or Kendo or Rin or Tsuburaba are weak. And I know for certain that you aren't weak."
There was now confusion in her eyes, trying to understand what I said as if it was a calculus equation.
"Do you remember the advice I gave you in our first battle trial?" Komori wiped the tears from her eyes as she nodded her head. "Well, with that one move you could single handedly wipe out the entire hero course."
Now with her eyes wide, Komori looks at me incredulously and with a bit of fear and apprehension in her eyes. Ever since I had mentioned spawning mushrooms in the windpipes of people Komori had been scared something bad could happen if she wasn't careful.
"Listen, no one is disappointed in you. There is no reason for us to be disappointed in you. You gave it your best shot and that's all we can ask. In fact, others might be a bit jealous of you." I add that final bit with a smirk.
"W-what! Why would a-anyone be j-jealous of me?!" She waves her hands in front of her, separating herself and me for a moment.
"Because you made it to the final round of the sports festival. And though you weren't able to show much, you still probably made an impression on some pro's." I stand up, wiping my pants down of dust and offer my hand to Komori. "Come on, Rin will be having his match soon."
Komori looks at the offered hand and hesitantly accepts. "R-right." We begin making our way to the class booth, but before we reach the door Komori stops me. "U-um, Clay?"
"What's up?" I see Komori twiddling her fingers so I assume she has a request for me.
"Y-you wouldn't h-happen to have any… m-mushroom monsters… would you?" She keeps looking at the ground, continuing to twiddle her thumbs.
I'm a bit caught off guard by the request. I know of a couple of mushroom monsters, but they probably wouldn't be to Komori's liking. I'm about to say no when I remember a specific archetype of monsters, one that's based around plants and happens to have a mushroom.
"I do!" Komori's eyes widen in surprise and joy at my declaration. After seeing me pause for so long she must have thought that I didn't and was thinking of some other way to appease her. "Just be careful with him, he happens to also be on fire."
And without another warning I summon [Sylvan Komushroomo]. The monster is a fairly large mushroom, reaching up to my knees at the top of its cap. The mushroom's cap is orange and fades to yellow at the bottom, however, the cap is also completely alight with fire. Its body is a greyish colour and it is holding a staff with a circle at the top with a branch going through it, separating the two halves. Inside each half are 2 gold rings each.
"Komori, say hello to Sylvan Komushroomo." Before I even finish speaking, Komori zooms to the monster and hugs its body with all her might. Komushroomo doesn't seem all that bothered by it so I just let her have all the hugs she needs.
We continue our path back to the class booth and see that the match is finally over, Hatsumei forfeiting the match after advertising all of her inventions.
When Komori walks in with a new monster the others all look towards me with mischievous looks in their eyes, except for Kuroiro who looks at me with a hint of jealousy. I pay that no mind and walk back to my seat next to Kendo and prepare for the next match.