"Sorry for the long wait, everyone!" Present Mic called out. "But we've finally cleared off the last of the ice! I gotta say, between the nail-biters that were Midoriya vs. Maishirao and Yasakani vs. Shinso and the utter smackdowns that were Torekuroshi vs. Neito and Todoroki vs. Sero, this is starting to shape up to be one hell of a final tournament! Let's start off with our fifth bracket!
"Guess it's time to face the music," Katsuki grumbled as he walked up to the arena.
"In this corner, we have the bombastic bombardier with a fiery temper, Katsuki Bakugou! And his opponent, the girl who can defy gravity and inertia with a single touch, Ochako Uraraka!"
Ochako had a nervous look on her face but hid it well with a determined gaze as she and Katsuki both stepped into the arena.
"I'm worried about this match. Bakugou has been known to be quite aggressive, after all." Tenya muttered.
"I almost don't want to watch," Kyoka admitted.
"Will you guys relax? Kaachan knows when too far is too far." Kirby spoke in defense of her boyfriend.
Katsuki took a deep breath as he prepared himself. He was vaguely aware of Ochako's quirk, so he had to be careful.
"Give me everything you got, Round Face." The explosive blonde said. "Winning means nothing if it's just handed to you. I also hope you can show you have what it takes to beat me."
Ochako nodded in understanding and got into a fighting stance. As soon as the match was called, the brunette immediately rushed forward, intent on tackling Katsuki.
Katsuki, in kind, brought up his right arm. Ochako quickly ducked to avoid the incoming explosion but failed to calculate how much force it put out, sending her reeling back.
Quickly, the explosive blonde jumped back and looked at the smoke, keeping his guard up in case Ochako tried something. Suddenly, he saw a shadow appear through the smoke and quickly launched another attack, only for his eyes to widen in shock when he touched the ground instead.
It turned out Ochako had ditched the top part of her uniform, leaving her with only her tank top and pants, and thrown it using her Quirk to get the drop on Katsuki.
"Now's my chance!" Ochako thought as she threw her hand at Katsuki. "If I can make him float-."
Her thoughts were interrupted when Katsuki blasted her away without hesitation.
"Holy shit his reflexes are insane!" Sero exclaimed.
"Man, he's not holding anything back..." Eijirou muttered.
Ochako skidded across the ground on her back, groaning in pain before getting back up to her feet, giving Katsuki a calculated glint as she breathed heavily. Katsuki was also giving her a close look, both of them circling around each other.
"Gotta finish this fast. Round Face can use whatever rubble I make as ammo against me."
"I gotta keep Bakugou guessing. I only have one shot at this."
Ochako kept up the strategy of moving in close, then backing out of the way using her Quirk as Katsuki created more and more craters in the arena.
"Young Uraraka knows she's at a disadvantage and is giving it her all just the same," Toshinori noted. "What do you think, Tsunade?"
The woman nodded in agreement. "She's got an effective strategy at play but someone needs to help that girl build up her stamina."
"Hey! How can you say you want to be a hero like that!?" shouted a male Pro Hero, standing up in outrage, unable to handle the sight of Ochako being blasted so many times. "If there's such a huge difference in your abilities, then just hurry up and send her out of bounds! Stop bullying and playing with the girl!"
Another female Pro Hero jumped up next to him to join in. "Yeah! Yeah!"
This started uproaring the crowd into booing Katsuki for seemingly unheroic actions until Aizawa called him out over the mic.
"Was that a Pro saying he's playing around? How many years have you been a pro!?"
The booing instantly halted as Aizawa glared at the one who started it all.
"If you're saying that with a straight face, there's no point in you watching anymore, so go home and look into changing careers!"
The words hit the Pro Hero harshly, who looked like he was about to cry. He wanted to argue, to bluster, to say something, but no words came out. He would be arguing against a teacher at UA, the most prestigious school known for its Heroics Course. That would not look good for him. In order to be a teacher of UA, they had to pass a strict test among other requirements. In short, arguing with someone from UA would just make you look like a fool. Especially if it was Nedzu someone was to argue with.
"Bakugo is being careful because he's acknowledging the strength of his opponent who's made it this far. It's because he's doing everything he can to win that he can't go easy on her or let his guard down. Because in our field, doing such a thing is a death sentence. So do us all a favor and either sit down or go home and quit being a Hero! That goes for the second person who joined in on that!"
"BAHAHAHAHA!" Garp laughed as he stood up. "The Hobo is right! In battle one cannot underestimate their opponent! It's folly to assume anyone could be weak based on looks alone!"
"I agree," Shanks said, also standing up. "Bakugou is far more of a Hero than any of you who simply see him as a cowardly bully. And Uraraka is pouring every ounce of her determination and drive into this match. This is a contest of equals, and only a fool would believe otherwise!"
After hearing such harsh words, both Pro Heroes sat back down meekly, not wanting to draw any more attention.
"Glad to see somebody gets it," Katsuki smirked. "Anyone who can take one of my full-power explosions and still stand can't be considered weak or defenseless."
Ochako smiled back. "I think it's right about time. You were probably expecting me to try this, but the problem is... That kept you laser-focused on taking me out."
Katsuki suddenly saw Ochako press her fingers together in the way she did when deactivating her Quirk. He suddenly looked up and many in the audience did as well, seeing thousands of pieces of debris floating in midair which were now coming down in a meteor shower. At the same time, Ochako rushed at Katsuki, hoping to overwhelm him from two different angles.
"You almost had me, Round Face!" Katsuki shouted. "But I still have one last move I can try!"
Suddenly, honest-to-goodness Conqueror's Haki exploded out of him. Ochako was nearly overwhelmed by the sheer willpower as the force of it disintegrated the debris, blowing dust everywhere. Despite the pressure, Ochako continued forward, a small flicker of Haki glowing off her as well.
"So she's Haki-sensitive too, huh?" The explosive blonde thought. "Guess you really do have the chops, Round Face.
Ochako then let out a cry of determination despite the overwhelming force turning her legs to jelly, and threw her fist at Katsuki, whose eyes widened in amazement when it was coated in the familiar black coating of Armament Haki.
Instinctively, Katsuki threw his arms up, only to stop when he noticed no impact was hitting him. He then realized Ochako was unconscious yet still standing on her feet, a look of pure determination glaring forward all the same.
"Damn... She won't give up until the very end..." He thought before turning to the crowd. "You see that, you prejudiced bastards!? That right there is a real Hero! One who refuses to give up, even when her own body tells her she can't go on! You still think I'm just picking on her!? That she's so weak that she needs help making it this far!?"
The two Pro Heroes who called Katsuki out earlier were now even more humiliated as Midnight quickly came over to check up on Ochako.
"Ochako Uraraka is officially knocked out. The winner of the fifth bracket is Katsuki Bakugo!"
Ochako woke up in the medical area, Recovery Girl having healed her injuries with help from Tsunade's adopted daughter and sidekick, Shizune.
"That was amazing work. Even though you didn't win, you made people realize what a true hero is all about." Shizune smiled. "Even if some of the Pros in the stands needed that kick in the pants from Bakugo to realize it."
Shizune's prized pet pig, Ton-Ton, oinked in agreement, climbing onto Ochako's bed and nuzzling her affectionately as if telling her that she did good all the same.
Izuku, Tenya, Hilda, and Kirby suddenly all came in, all of them with excited looks.
"That was fantastic work!" Tenya said. "For a moment I didn't realize you had a plan in mind, Uraraka!"
"I knew I couldn't just race at Bakugo and tag him out of the arena," Ochako said. "He'd see it coming easily."
Hilda suddenly pulled Ochako into a soft, marshmallow embrace, making the brunette blush as the plumper girl squeezed her close and gently.
"You were amazing out there, Occhan! I don't care if you lost, you proved yourself a true hero!"
Ochako teared up and hugged back as Izuku smiled at the sight while Kirby chuckled and whispered to Tenya.
"Bakugou actually was singing her praises to me privately. He still has his pride, after all."
The next match was between Penny and Juuzo Honenuki, which Penny easily won by flying above the softened ground Juuzo made with his Quirk. She then used her Configuration: Pop-Off to fire sticky green gelatin spheres that latched onto Juuzo's hands, allowing her to tackle him out of bounds.
Next was Kirby against Tsuburaba. The boy tried using his Quirk, [Solid Air], to erect a barrier in front of Kirby, who simply transformed into her Hammer Form and smashed it to pieces before knocking poor Tsuburaba out of bounds with a swing to the stomach.
After that was Mipha against Sen Kaibara. Sen tried going for a full frontal assault, using his Quirk, [Gyrate], to spin his arms like drills to knock Mipha out of bounds. However, the fish-esque girl was quite fast and graceful, bobbing and weaving his attacks before knocking him out with a concussive blast of water from her hands.
Nia was against Awase next. Awase tried using his Quirk, [Weld], to pin Nia's feet to the floor, but she showed off cat-like agility and superhuman speed and strength thanks to her Quirk, [Ultimate Breed], which essentially gave her every kind of cat-esque power one could imagine.
The battle between Rebecca and Kuroiro was a curb stomp in the former's favor. All Rebecca had to do was pull out a Flashbang Grenade from a compartment created in her stomach and blind Kuroiro with it before knocking him out of bounds with a non-lethal shotgun round.
"Alright, after some fast and loose matches, this one is sure to be a treat!" Present Mic grinned. "First, we have the feisty shapeshifting beast girl, Nimona Blackheart-Goldenlion! And her opponent, the WHOA, BIG Girl herself with a knack for building gadgets that'll blow your mind; it's Fio Germi!"
Nimona did a few warm-up stretches while Fio finished eating a Bao dumpling, rubbing her belly afterward.
"Pre-Fight Snack?" Nimona playfully asked, leaning over.
"Yeah, helps calm my nerves." Fio giggled as she took a Sumo Stance. "You'll find I have plenty of tools at my disposal. And don't worry, since I'm a Support Course student, they're approved."
Nimona smirked, her eyes glowing fiercely with competitive spirit. Midnight soon raised her whip and called the match to begin as Nimona transformed into a cheetah and dashed at inhuman speeds toward Fio.
Fio took out several parts kept in a backpack she was carrying and configured them with her Quirk, [Tech Guru], into a fully automated steel gauntlet, which she used to punch at Nimona, who quickly jumped over the blow and went sailing over Fio, stopping herself from running out of bounds.
"The thing about my Quirk is that not only does it let me repair any damage to any machine, I can also disassemble and reassemble anything mechanical in nature to make all sorts of tools!"
Fio demonstrated her Quirk once more by configuring more parts into a net launcher, firing it at Nimona, who quickly shapeshifted into a housefly and buzzed around the net before turning back to normal and growing a pair of dragon wings to fly into Fio, ramming into her stomach, making her wheeze.
"Metal!" The shapeshifting girl grinned before transforming into a grizzly bear and preparing to bellyflop on top of Fio.
"I don't think so!" The rotund bespectacled girl shouted as she pulled out one last set of parts, turning it into a cannon that fired a powerful blast of energy that sent Nimona flying before she could react, landing out of bounds and groaning in pain.
"NIMONA IS OUT OF BOUNDS! FIO WINS!"
Fio cheered and flashed a pair of peace signs before lumbering over to Nimona and helping her up to her feet.
"Yep! I felt that one."
Fio giggled. "Come on, let's get you treated."
"Next up we have the rocket speedster! Coming from a long line of heroes with turbine engines for organs! Give it up for... Tenya Iida!"
Tenya walked up to the arena, a look of determination on his face.
"And our second big-brained sweetheart from the Support Course! A fully-equipped gadget dynamo, ready to show her stuff! Let's hear it for... Mei Hatsume!"
Mei was decked out in her own Support Gear but seemed confused when she noticed something about Tenya.
"Hey, what gives? Where's the gear I offered you before the match?"
Tenya adjusted his glasses. "Your friend Fio informed me of your intentions to showcase the gear you created. Honestly, I'm fine with that, since we're all here to get attention for our chosen future. But don't you think the CEOs you're hoping to impress will think better of you if you offer a personal demonstration, rather than use someone else as a guinea pig?"
"Hehehe, good on Germi for that." Mina giggled. "Iida is always so earnest, he would have said 'Yes' to what Hatsume asked him without question otherwise."
Tenya lowered his body, ready to fight. "Don't just tell them about your products... Show them what your creations can do!"
Mei was so busy processing what Tenya had just said that she was nearly unprepared as he dashed her at max speed. She quickly lowered her goggles and launched herself out of the way using her hydraulic attachments. Her system sensors let her detect where Tenya was coming from, but with no way to predict the match she was flustered and scrambling for a solution.
"Well, if you don't want to use my super cute babies... Then I can always use them myself!"
She hit a switch, triggering a package to drop.
"It's a good thing I registered for my instant delivery cases just in case!"
She donned herself with special gear to lighten her body and improve her stability. She then ran right at Tenya using electromagnetic shoes to increase speed, and special gauntlets to improve punching power.
Tenya dodged the first blow and prepared to come in with a leg sweep, but Mei quickly pulled out a gun meant to fire capture nets, forcing him backward to avoid getting trapped. He didn't quite succeed but was able to get up and launched himself full force at Mei, catching her off-guard and causing her to land out of the ring.
"The winner by ring-out; Tenya Iida!" Midnight announced.
Mei was left stunned by all the events that happened in such quick succession, but then her Quirk, [Zoom], showed her something; All the CEOs she had wanted to impress were talking excitedly.
"Those gadgets seem very useful for hero work."
"It'd be easy to market them, especially to heroes struggling against villains."
"A few tweaks to her creations and she could easily be the next great support inventor."
Mei's eyes began to tear up, her smile widening. Tenya was just getting out of the net when he was shocked by Mei leaping into his arms and planting a big fat kiss right on the lips.
"Thank you for the wonderful advice!"
"Man! Even Iida is getting game?!" Minoru cried from the seats. "When is it gonna be my turn?!"
"When you stop acting like a perverted loser?" Kyouka dryly answered as the dwarfish boy just slumped, a dark cloud forming over his head.
"Well, I like to think there's one for everyone out there!" Penny said optimistically.
"Hehehehe, it looks like Iida has stepped into the real world." Ben chuckled as he saw Tenya frozen in shock, a faint hint of pink on his face. "Go get some, brother!"
"Let's move on to the next match!" Present Mic called out. "First we have the dark avian samurai, Fumikage Tokoyami! And our second Recommendation Student, the great creator who can literally pull anything from her body, Momo Yaoyorozu!"
"Heh, this outta be fun," Katsuki smirked. "Seeing that stuck-up Rec-Girl get taken down a peg."
"Bakugou, that's not cool," Izuku called out with a dirty look.
As Momo prepared to charge Fumikage, Dark Shadow quickly made himself appear, lunging toward the creator girl, who quickly created a shield to block the incoming blow, being pushed back in the process.
"This is most troubling. Momo's main issue is that she tends to over-analyze before a confrontation." Penny said. "As for Tokoyami, he has that covered thanks to Dark Shadow being a sentient entity with its own mind, essentially giving him a second brain."
Momo was kept purely on the defensive from Dark Shadow's fierce onslaught, creating shields that were easily smashed through by the sentient Quirk. However, she then realized that the symbiotic duo had stopped.
"Now's my chance!"
"Momo Yaoyorozu has been knocked out of bounds! The winner is Fumikage Tokoyami!" Midnight announced.
Momo's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked to see she was indeed pushed out of bounds. As the full weight of her humiliating defeat set in, she fell to her knees with a far-off look in her eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by her classmates, none more so than Shoto.
"She came here hoping to showcase her skills... Only to get beaten too easily."
"Geez, Poor Yaoyorozu..." Present Mic said sympathetically before regaining his focus. "Anyway, on to the next match! We have the sparkling laser boy, Yuuga Aoyama! And the glamorous acid queen, Mina Ashido!"
"Awww man, I wish I could see Ashido get clothing damage!" Minoru said, only to be bonked by a giant fist of stone created by Ben.
"Shaddup, Mineta. You're only making yourself look bad."
"Considering the fact we're all classmates, Ashido and Aoyama both have a good idea of each other's Quirks from all our Heroics 101 classes," Izuku noted. "The difference is that Ashido can constantly produce acid from her bodily fluids, while Aoyama can only fire off his Navel Laser for so long before his stomach starts to hurt."
"But Fio helped upgrade his belt. Surely he can last a bit longer, right?" Sero pointed out.
"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" Penny said.
As the fight began, Mina continuously skated away from Yuuga's laser shots. The upgraded belt from Fio was a godsend and had been approved for use in the final tournament, but he was running out of stored charges and would soon have to force the lasers out like he normally did.
"Here's my shot!"
She tossed a glob of acid, successfully hitting Yuuga's belt, not only shorting it out but causing his pants to fall down.
"Mon Dieu!"
He tried to pull up his pants to preserve his dignity, but dignity was ultimately the least of his concerns as Mina got close and nailed him with a hard uppercut to his jaw.
"Winner by knockout; Mina Ashido!"
The next match between Denki and Ibara ended rather quickly, with Denki unleashing his full electrical power which was easily quashed out by Ibara's vines, leaving him dummified and open to be restrained.
"Man, that was just embarrassing." Ben winced. "Someone's gotta help Denki with controlling the electricity he creates."
A loud THUMP was suddenly heard as everyone turned to see Setsuna holding an unconscious Monoma by the back of his collar.
"He was gonna try and start shit again and I'm pretty sure we're all tired of it, right?"
"You can say that again!" Katsuki laughed.
The final match of the first randomized bracket came down to both Eijirou and Tetsutetsu basically slugging it out. After ten straight minutes of wailing on each other in their hardened states, they ended up knocking themselves out when they punched each other across the face at the same time.
"Somehow, I knew that was gonna happen..." Itsuka dryly noted.
"Same here..." Kyouka voiced in agreement.
After both boys had time to recover, they settled the draw with an arm-wrestling match.
It was here the difference in their Quirks more clearly stood out. Tetsutetsu was about pure offense, but his Quirk could be drained from too much exertion. Meanwhile, Eijirou seemed more suited to defense, and his Quirk had a set time limit.
This gave the rock-hard redhead the advantage when Tetsutetsu overextended, causing his metal casing to crack and letting Eijirou pin him to the mat. In spite of his victory, Eijirou still offered Tetsutetsu a hand up.
"That was one heck of a manly contest. You put up a good fight."
Tetsutetsu smirked and accepted the help.
"Next time I'll make sure to add more iron to my breakfast. I could have gone on a little longer if I built up my metal deficiency."
"And with that, it's time to randomize the next rounds!" Present Mic announced as the jumbotron showed who would be fighting who, going by a chance spin before all the matches landed together.
Izuku Midoriya vs Katsuki Bakugou
Benio Torekuroshi vs Shoto Todoroki
Hilda Yasakani vs Kirby Sakurai
Mipha Hashimoto vs Nia Hanekoma
Rebecca Santiago vs Fio Germi
Tenya Iida vs Ibara Shiozaki
Fumikage Tokoyami vs Mina Ashido
Eijirou Kirishima vs Penny Polendina
"But first, before we get into these next exciting matches, we'll be taking a quick break!" Present Mic said.
And with that, the first round of brackets has been completed! Next time, we'll see Izuku and Katsuki finally settle their years-long dispute with each other once and for all and Ben will show Shoto just how foolish he's being by limiting himself!
Hope you liked the fights, I really did my best to make some of them stand out. Sorry if a few were skipped, though.