Ch12: Class 1A vs. Class 1B
Note: Hi everyone!! Everyone seems like they've been waiting for this one. I hope you guys enjoy it. I had a certain direction that I wanted to take, but in order to do that, I had to rewrite Peter's fight scene quite a few times to make it fit. The original scene was a little bit too brutal for a tournament setting so it got toned down slightly from what I originally had pictured. It also serves as a stepping stone to Shoto's character development. So I apologize for anyone who was hoping for something more graphic. I might post the original as a deleted scene later on.
This one took me quite a while... I've been busy writing a eulogy as well so hopefully it holds up well.
My grandfather was my version of Uncle Ben. Him and my grandmother took me in at a young age and I'll always be grateful to him for that.
@SulliMike23: He definitely is about to get sent to the infirmary via robot stretcher! Hope you enjoy the chapter! :)
@CRUDEN: Thanks for the review! Hopefully its as satisfying as possible!!
@BobIsBadAtEnglish: Monoma thinks he has a plan... lol. At the end of the day, Monoma's quirk isn't actually very practical in my own opinion. Everyone has to train hard to use their powers creatively, but he's kind of a jack of all trades but a master of none. I feel like it'd be extremely hard for him to beat someone like Peter to say the least even with a solid plan. I hope you like this chapter at the end of the day... it was one that admittedly took longer than I expected it to.
@abijayks: Theres definitely a planned scene where Peter meets Shoto's mom in the hospital. That ones gonna come a little later. I also plan on him meeting the rest of the Todoroki's at some point. As for the bully McGuire dance, I could probably see that happening if the two lost a bet to Jiro or something. I'll give it some thought! Thanks for the review!
@bladeknight1226: Yeah he's toast. I love Dragon Ball and everything Toriyama related, from Dragon Quest to Dr. Slump. RIP big guy... :( Unfortunately I didn't add the Recoome gut shot, but that doesn't mean it won't happen in the future. ;)
Thank you guys for continuing to read and review!! I really do appreciate it so much!
I do not own any of the characters depicted in this story...
"WELL, WELL, WELL!! HOW ABOUT THAT FOR AN EXCLAMATION POINT VICTORY!!! NO WONDER HE'S THE CROWD FAVORITE!!!" Present Mic shouted, referencing Shoto's match.
"UP NEXT WE HAVE ONE HECK OF AN INTERESTING MATCHUP!!! ITS AN ALL OUT SHOWDOWN BETWEEN HERO COURSE CLASSES A AND B!!!! WINNER MOVES ON!!! LOSER GOES HOME!!!! NOTHING WRONG WITH A LITTLE FRIENDLY COMPETITION AM I RIGHT?!?!?! ITS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT BOTH FIGHTERS ARE ALREADY IN THE TUNNEL AND READY TO GO, SO WHY DONT WE JUMP RIGHT ON INTO IT!!!!"
Class 1A watched the tunnel with extreme anticipation as Present Mic got the crowd amped up. Jiro and Mina both looked at Momo, who was ready to cheer her heart out for the boy she kept close to her heart. In this particular moment, she looked like she was ready to burst.
"Alright you guys! Let's show Parker we're behind him all the way!!!" Mina shouted with a fist in the air, as the rest of the class got out of their seats, with the exception of Bakugo of course.
Shoto rejoined his class and decided to take the spot directly behind Momo. He leaned forward towards the crush of his best friend, "Did I miss anything?"
She turned around with a proud smile, "Nope you're just in time. He's about to get announced!"
Shoto stared intently at the tunnel his best friend was in and spoke to the girl as he continued to look on, "I don't know what that guy said to you... But I haven't ever seen him this protective over someone before. You mean a lot to him... You've been his biggest source of motivation during the entire festival." He said, unaware that he was playing the role of a wingman extremely well.
Momo blushed as the girls beside her silently smirked at one another.
"OUR FIRST FIGHTER IS LOOKING TO MAKE HIS NAME KNOWN TO JAPAN!!! THIS KID IS ABOUT AS TOUGH AS THEY COME FOLKS!!! HE'S GOT IT ALL!!! STRENGTH, SPEED, AGILITY, AND ONE HECK OF AN AMAZING QUIRK!!! ALL THE WAY FROM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!! FROM HERO COURSE CLASS 1A!! PETER PARKERRRRRRRR!!!!!"
Peter took a deep breath and began his walk towards the ring. His face told the whole story... He wasn't just here to win, he was here to dominate his opponent in every sense of the word. As he walked towards his destination the jumbotron showed the stoic expression of the boy to the entire stadium.
"LETS GO PARKER!!!!" Kirishima belted out, which started the cheers from his classmates.
"I have never seen someone look so ready to knock somebody out in my entire life." Mina commented with wide eyes.
"Play stupid games... Win stupid prizes." Jiro grinned as she said her new favorite catch phrase.
"He looks confident and focused... I'd say his chances look pretty good." Tenya observed.
Momo smirked, 'Show them what you can do Peter...' she mentally encouraged.
As Peter stepped into the ring, Takashi and Yana looked down on him from their box. "Did I mention that he's coming over for dinner tomorrow?" Yana said as she looked at her husband.
"Only about twenty times." Takashi chuckled, "I'm looking forward to it. He seems like a pretty impressive young man... I wonder if he fights as well as he gives speeches."
"Looks like we're about to find out..." Yana said as they continued to wait for the match to start.
"OUR OTHER CONTESTANT IS A REAL WILD CARD!!! CLASS B IS POWERFUL TOO FOLKS!!!! HE'S LOOKING TO SEND HIS OPPONENT TO THE STANDS EARLY!!! WITH THE QUIRK THIS KID HAS, THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT COULD HAPPEN!!! PLEASE WELCOME FROM THE HERO COURSE, CLASS 1B'S NEITO MONOMAAAAAAAA!!!!!"
The blonde came out of his tunnel with a look in his eyes and a facial expression that was abnormal for him. His classmates watched as the cockiness had seemingly left him and was replaced by anger. Kendo and Tetsutetsu looked at one another with worry... In that moment they weren't sure if the timing of their confrontation with him was ideal, but one thing they both knew for certain was that he was about to do something incredibly stupid.
As Neito stepped into the ring he made a quick detour and walked up to Cementoss. Peter watched closely as he placed a hand on the hero. 'So that's your game plan... Not really a problem for me honestly. Probably shoulda copied Midnight's quirk if you wanted to get anywhere.' he thought as a smirk appeared on his face.
"Sharp looking ring you made here Mr. Cementoss! We appreciate all the hard work."
The pro nodded and smiled as the boy made his way into the ring.
Though he had an extreme distaste for the boy, Peter was a good sport at heart. He began to walk forward to the confusion of his opponent. When he stopped in front of him, he extended a hand towards him as a gesture of sportsmanship... But Neito was appalled by the formality. Before he could even begin to think of the consequences of his actions... with all the anger and frustration that had built up inside of him, he drew his fist back and slammed it into the side of Peter's head. The boy didn't move an inch as he slowly turned his head back to face his opponent.
"WOAH!!! HEY!!! THE FIGHT HASN'T EVEN STARTED YET!!! WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON DOWN THERE?!?!"
Aizawa glared down towards the two and activated his quirk on Parker in case things got out of hand... he locked his eyes on his student and watched closely. 'Don't retaliate Parker... This is not the particular hill you want to die on...'
Class 1A was left absolutely infuriated by the action they had witnessed as they began to voice their discontent.
"HEY!!! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Kirishima shouted in anger.
"THAT HAS TO MERIT DISQUALIFICATION!!!" Iida yelled out.
Momo and Shoto had flames of anger in their eyes as the shouting spread to the rest of the stadium. The only thing that kept them from storming the ring was the fact that they knew that Monoma had just put the final nail in his own coffin.
As the fans in the stands began to grow restless at the egregious unsportsmanlike behavior of Monoma, Takashi had to try to settle his wife down from her fit of anger that had taken ahold of her very being.
Aizawa and Present Mic watched in anticipation as the shouting continued... After a few more seconds, Shouta blinked, releasing his hold on his student... He had come to the conclusion that if Parker was going to react, he would have done it by now.
'Now we just have to wait and see what Midnight has to say about all this...' Aizawa thought.
In light of the response from the crowd, Midnight was forced into making a decision quickly.
"NEITO MONOMA!!! YOU ARE HEREBY DISQUALIF-"
"NO!" A voice shouted as the crowd grew silent. Peter stood across from his opponent with clenched fist as he continued to speak. He was going to get his fight one way or the other, but he preferred it to be inside the ring, instead of in the stands. "Ms. Midnight... I would like to protest the disqualification of my opponent... Please let this fight continue."
Midnight wasn't sure what the right decision was but eventually reasoned that Parker's formal protest would take any heat off the administration for allowing the fight to continue after what had just taken place. Besides, the particular energy coming from Parker... Interested her.
"Very well... But this is your only warning young man!" She glared at the blonde. "One more slip up and you will face disqualification along with further punishment from Principal Nezu... Both of you separate! Now!"
"LOOKS LIKE THE THIRD MATCH IS BACK ON!!! EVERYONE MIGHT WANNA GRAB SOME POPCORN, BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE THIS MATCH IS PERSONAL!!!!!"
Peter glared at Neito before uttering a chilling warning of his own, "You had better hope that wasn't your best shot." Then he turned away and made his way to his side of the ring. Midnight raised her hand.
"ALRIGHT YOU TWO!!! I WANT A CLEAN FIGHT!!! CONTESTANTS READY?!" She asked as they both gave their nods of confirmation. She dropped her hand.
"BEGIN!!!"
Before Monoma could activate his borrowed power a string of web attached itself to his chest and he was pulled forward with a strength he had never felt before. As the blonde flew towards him, Peter drew back his right hand and with his open palm, latched onto the face of Monoma and slammed his body against the ground. The ring cracked upon the boy's impact as Monoma laid on the ground trembling in pain. Peter took a step forward and turned to face his opponent.
"AND PARKER KICKS OFF THE MATCH WITH AN INCREDIBLY HARDCORE DISPLAY OF POWER!!!! THIS MATCH COULD VERY WELL ALREADY BE OVER!!!"
"I estimate that that was only a fraction of his power... I've seen him hit people much harder than that before..." Shouta added to the commentary. 'Is he showing mercy or just playing with his food?'
The spectators all were blown away by the mixture of speed and power that was displayed by the young upstart. Through the air he could hear the cheers of his classmates in the stands.
"Oh come on, don't tell me that's all the fight you've got in you... And after all that trash you talked?! Regardless, if I were you, I'd give up now while I still could..."
Monoma picked himself up and tried to shake the cob webs from his head. The flames of anger crackled inside of him as he tried to throw another right hook. This time however, he whiffed. Peter dodged and countered with a vicious gut punch that left the boy hobbled over clutching his stomach. Then he followed up with a right hook of his own that sent Neito sliding on his back across the ring.
Neito was shaken. He didn't expect this kind of power to come from his opponent. His vision was blurred and he felt dizzy. He needed to buy himself a few seconds to recover, he quickly rolled to his stomach and smacked his palm to the ground as a large wall of concrete separated the two fighters. Monoma stood and tried to regain his composure but it was a very short lived reprieve.
Peter took a look at the wall and plastered his webbing to each side. After backing up a few steps, he burst through the barrier feet first. Monoma's eyes widened at the sight of Peter's fist inches from his face. After the punch connected, Peter grabbed a handful of his blonde hair and forced Neito's head downward where his face was met with Peter's kneecap. He stood his opponent back up and sent a headbutt crashing into the blonde's face, leaving him even more disoriented than he already was as both of his eyes blackened. In an instant, Monoma felt his left leg buckle as Peter sent a powerful kick to the side of his thigh. He pulled Neito towards him as he stepped to the side and swept his legs out from under him before tossing him to the ground.
"HOW ABOUT THAT SPORTS FANS?!?! PARKER HAS TAKEN COMPLETE CONTROL OF THIS FIGHT, AND BY THE LOOKS OF THINGS, I DON'T THINK THAT'S ABOUT TO CHANGE ANY TIME SOON!!!!"
He winced once again from the pain that had been afflicted onto him at such an unbelievable speed.
"Give up... You're done. You never stood a chance anyway."
There was no response from his opponent as he tried to stumble back to his feet. Once he stood, Peter offered him one final chance to give up.
"You need to forfeit. I'm showing you more mercy than you deserve right now... I could, personally, do this all day, but you obviously can't."
Monoma spat in his face... After wiping away the mixture of saliva and blood, Peter popped his knuckles and neck. "Suit yourself..."
He grabbed Monoma's uniform and slung him through the concrete wall he had created. Peter launched himself up over the barrier with his webs and then shot two more to the ground beside Neito. He zipped downwards like a rocket on top of the boy, causing his body to fold upwards. As Monoma began to panic he latched onto Peter's leg and copied his quirk. He shot a web against his opponent's chest...
Peter stared at him unimpressed, "Really?..." He said flatly as he effortlessly removed the web from his chest with his left hand. "This is just sad at this point... You came into this underestimating me from the start. Your plan didn't work and now you're just desperate..." He glared down at the boy under his feet. "You're lucky this was a structured match with rules in place to keep you relatively safe... If you ever insult her or my family ever again... I will break you."
Peter decided that it was time to end this fight... He drew back his right hand, per Monoma's decision earlier, and knocked out his opponent.
He stood up and began to walk away as Midnight took up the mic. "MONOMA IS KO'D!!!! PARKER IS THE WINNER!!!"
As cheers roared from the crowd, he exited the ring with his hands in his pockets.
"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!! THAT'S WHAT I CALL ACTION!!! WHAT AN INCREDIBLY ONE SIDED DEBUT FROM THIS ROOKIE!!! AFTER A SHOWING LIKE THAT, I WOULDN'T BET AGAINST HIM FOR THE REST OF THIS COMPETITION!!!!"
Takashi Yaoyorozu looked down with amazement. In all his years of watching the UA sports festival, he had never seen such an effortlessly dominant performance. The longer the day went by, the more his interest in the young man grew. "Well now, Momo said he was extremely capable, but that was something else!" He said as he gave an impressed look to his wife.
"Agreed..." Yana said with a smile as she brushed her hair to the side. "I like him." She stated softly.
Takashi looked at her with amusement, "You haven't even met him yet!"
She chuckled as her eyes drifted over towards her husband's, "Call it a mother's intuition... Something tells me that we better get used to this boy being in the picture." She winked and patted him on the back. "She's not so little anymore Takashi, you've gotten extremely lucky with the boyfriend situation so far... But I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later."
He chuckled as he took off his glasses and wiped the lenses with his shirt. "Well, as long as she's happy, that's the only thing that matters to me."
"That went just about how I expected... *ribbit"
"Welp... Note to self... Don't piss off Parker." Sero said with a grin.
"No... I think the lesson here is that nobody should insult YaoMomo in front of him." Denki smirked as he turned back to look at the girl in question who was busy smiling at the boy heading into the tunnel.
"Holy crap he's strong..." Mina said as she couldn't take her eyes off the damaged ring.
Bakugo, true to his word, sat back with a wide grin on his face.
"It's funny... Despite all that transpired before the match... Parker still held back." Shoto said as the rest of the class turned to him in shock.
"Ummm... Are you sure about that?" Jiro said skeptically.
"Yes... Parker is incredibly strong... I've seen him lift up my sister's car when she dropped her favorite lipstick and it rolled underneath it... He has to physically pull his punches in every fight to a certain degree... But there were numerous times that he stopped fighting when he had multiple openings to attack. If I know him, he was probably trying to talk that kid into forfeiting the match so he wouldn't have to keep battering him. He doesn't want to hurt people... It's not who he is." His eyes drifted to Momo, "What you saw was the exception to the rule... Brought about by the constant disrespect of the people he cares most for in the world."
Shoto silently reflected on the bigger picture, 'He didn't let his grudge change the foundation of who he is...'
After hearing the words from his best friend, Momo made a cold pack with her quirk. "Think you could cool this off for me?" She asked Shoto, who remembered the cheap shot his friend had suffered before the match. He smiled and took it in his right hand. The pack suddenly frosted over and he handed it back to her. She thanked him and quickly made her way up the stairs and through the hallway as she ran towards the tunnel Peter had exited into.
Peter walked through the tunnel and exhaled deeply. All his irritation, frustration, and resentment had left him as soon as the match had ended. He looked down and examined his body, he was used to walking away from fights covered in injuries due to his reckless nature... But Neito wasn't able to put a single scratch on him... He touched the side of his head... At least not after the match had started anyway.
As he rounded the corner he heard footsteps trotting towards him, when he looked up, he was pleasantly surprised to find Momo approaching him with a wide smile on her face carrying something purple in her right hand.
"I figured you might need this after that right hook you blocked with your face..." She said with a chuckle as she gently pressed the pack against his head. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment as his hand seemed to move by itself over her own.
"Thanks..." He said softly. "You know, before I saw you coming up to me with that smile, I was kind of afraid you'd think I went a little too overboard with that whole thing..." He admitted sheepishly. "I'm not usually one to let my frustrations get the better of me like that... I hope you don't think any different of me."
Momo was slightly taken aback by his words. She looked at him with disbelief and amusement as a small chuckle escaped from her. "Peter... You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. There isn't a person alive that wouldn't have been upset by all those things he said to you... Believe me, you let him off a lot easier than Todoroki or I would have..." She said without a shred of dishonesty in her eyes. "I must get my temper from my mother, because when I saw him hit you, I nearly ran out there myself." She admitted to him with a laugh.
He offered a small smile at her words, "Well... I didn't exactly let him off as easily as you'd think... I'm pretty sure that headbutt I gave him broke his nose." He withdrew his hand from hers and rubbed his neck. "But that's a pretty big load off my mind. Thanks Mo."
"I should be thanking you... If I'm being totally honest, what he said to me in the cafeteria did actually sting a bit... It was pretty satisfying to watch karma catch up with him." She winked. "Now come on, let's go watch the next match."
She placed a hand on his lower back and led him down the hall. On their way back to their seats, they passed the infirmary and noticed Izuku waiting outside clutching his hand that bore his broken fingers. Peter and Momo looked at each other and smiled.
"Hey Midoriya!" Peter called out.
The green haired boy looked up and Peter tossed him the cold pack Momo had made. As the boy caught it he grinned nervously. "Th-thanks."
The boy nodded as the two continued towards their class.
"Someone should really get that kid some calcium supplements." He joked as Momo snickered.
As the two finally approached the stairs that led to their section, Jiro was the first to notice their arrival. She smirked and nudged the pink girl beside her, who turned around and shrieked excitedly. The rest of the class to turn around to see the most recent addition to the second round. They all took turns congratulating him on his victory as the two took their seats.
"You put on quite a show out there. Congratulations on your advancement to the quarter finals! You must be feeling pretty confident after that decisive victory." Tenya said with a thumbs up from a few seats away.
Peter looked at his class rep with a grin, "Job's not done yet. Gonna have to pay attention to this next round... Looks like the winner is who I get to face next." He got comfortable as Cementoss put the finishing touches on the newly repaired ring.
While Midoriya sat outside the infirmary entrance, Recovery Girl was busy lecturing All Might about his lack of success at teaching the young man to use his power responsibly. The cold pack his classmates had tossed him earlier was beginning to approach room temperature. He looked down at his hand with hardly any sign of discomfort on his face... As crazy as it sounded, the boy was starting to get used to the pain that came with breaking the bones in his body. Still... He knew that he was spinning his wheels when it came to harnessing the cultivated power of One for All. Even if the pain of breaking himself was becoming more manageable, that didn't mean his body wouldn't eventually shut down on him if he was forced to push his limits when trying to rescue someone in the future. It could mean the difference between a saved life or a tragic death of a civilian or fellow hero who needed his help.
Izuku was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as a pair of robots carried Neito past him on a stretcher. The boy gulped as he noticed his state of unconsciousness. 'I guess that's why they say you should fear the anger of a good man...'
As the muffled voice of Present Mic ushered in the start of the fourth match Izuku began to focus on what his advancement to the second round of the tournament meant for him. He remembered what Shinso had said during their fight...
"You've managed to succeed without using your power to this point, at least from what I can tell... You know... You're going to have to use it sooner or later... You've gotten lucky so far... But if you think you're going to get through this whole tournament without your power, then that's just pure stupidity and ignorance on your own part..."
The boy was right... No matter how he looked at it, Midoriya knew that the road ahead of him would no longer allow him to avoid using One for All. The sixteen who made it this far were all incredibly powerful... Representing some of the very best of UA's first year students... And in the second round, the level of difficulty was going to double at least. Both Parker and Todoroki alone were on his side of the bracket... And if he, some-crazy-how, was lucky enough to make it to the finals... Tokoyami, Iida, Yaoyorozu... Or Kacchan could be waiting for him at the top, just to name a few. He shook the thoughts from his head. Right now he couldn't afford to focus on anything further than his match with Todoroki.
Midoriya's mind replayed his private conversation with his classmate. He had been through so much in his young life... More hardship than most would face over the course of a full lifetime. The boy was like a comic book character... A hero with a tragic backstory, fighting with every ounce of strength in him to rise above it. How was he supposed to compete against someone who had the kind of motivation Todoroki carried with him into the ring? Regardless... Izuku felt strongly that he owed it to everyone who had supported him to bring that same will to win into his next match. He had no choice but to give it his all.
Suddenly the door opened and All Might stepped out in his skeletal form. Izuku's idol took a seat beside him and exhaled heavily. "Man oh man... I don't think she'll ever give me a break." He chuckled.
"Yeah... She's definitely getting worried about all the broken bones... Sorry about that by the way... I'm trying as hard as I can to control your power but it's way harder than I could have ever expected..."
Toshinori smiled, "Don't worry kid, you're doing great! You won the first two rounds on your instincts alone. You're using everything you've learned up to this point... When you finally are able to wield One for All without restraint, you're going to be unstoppable. Heck, you're a lot farther along than I was at your age. How on earth did you break out of young Shinso's mind control?!"
Izuku looked back down at his fractured fingers. "I didn't..."
All Might turned to him in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"Before I stepped out of bounds... I saw something in the tunnel ahead of me... And my power activated on its own, snapping me out of it." Izuku said as he looked up to see a serious expression on his mentor's face.
"I need to know exactly what it was that you saw."
"RRRRAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!"
Kirishima roared as he delivered a haymaker to the side of Tetsutetsu's metal face.
The silver haired boy let out a yell of his own as he threw an upper cut into the redhead's chin.
The two fighters had been at it for a little while now, trading blow after blow, recklessly trying to break through the other's seemingly impenetrable defense.
"I don't get it... Who on the tournament committee thought this wouldn't be a total snooze fest? It's just two dudes screaming and punching each other as hard as they can!" Toru said exasperated.
"They've been going at it for a while now... At what point do you think they'll just call it a draw and make them rock, paper, scissors for it?" Kaminari said as Jiro handed him her phone charging cable. He sighed and popped the metal end into his mouth.
"Does that actually work?" Peter raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Jiro.
"Sure does!" Jiro chuckled. "But he whines about it sometimes."
"That's awesome!" Peter laughed as Kaminari leaned back with his hands behind his head.
"Are you learning anything at all from this match Parker?" Shoto asked him out of curiosity.
He turned his attention to the ring. "Actually... Yeah."
"What could you possibly be learning from this?" Mina questioned.
"You'll see..." He smirked before turning to Momo. "Looks like they're slowing down out there... Care if I walk you to the waiting room?"
She smiled softly as his offer soothed her creeping anxiety. "I'd like that."
The two got up as the class wished her luck in her fight and they made their way into the hallway that led down into the waiting areas.
"So, how are you feeling?" Peter asked her as they continued down a flight of stairs.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit nervous... It's kinda odd... I never knew you could feel anxious and confident at the same time. It's quite an emotional ride." She answered as they reached the bottom.
"Yeah... I've been there a few times myself. It's a little bit of an uncomfortable feeling isn't it?"
"Just a bit... But it's waaaay better than the feelings I used to get. I would get so worked up that I couldn't make simple quick decisions. It was so frustrating to know that I was getting in my own way." She said as they started to pass the first block of waiting rooms.
"You've come an extremely long way... And you've worked really hard Mo... I don't know very much more about this Kendo chick other than what you've told me earlier... But I do know Momo Yaoyorozu. You can do this. You have an incredible power and more importantly, you're great at using it... You really are one of the smartest, strongest, most incredible people I've ever met... You can do anything you set your mind to... And if things get rough out there, just think of whatever motivates you the most and let it carry you forward." Peter said as they stopped at her assigned room.
He opened the door for her and she stepped inside. "Hey Peter?"
"Yeah?"
That last bit of encouragement did it. The dam that held back her feelings was finally cracked. "Would... You be interested in spending some more time together outside of class?..."
His eyes widened as his heart pounded like a drum.
She continued, "I know we just trained for a whole week together... And we go to the cafe every morning... But I thought may-"
"A-absolutely. Anything. Anytime. A-anywhere... Y-you name it." He interrupted her with a bit of excitement and nervousness as his voice broke slightly. He tried desperately to act casual, but she was able to see through it like a window.
Her eyebrows raised at his clumsy reaction. She felt her self esteem sky rocket by the fact that she was able to make someone like him awkwardly stumble over his usually calculated and charismatic words.
She giggled, 'This whole flirting thing is going to be fun.' she thought to herself mischievously. "I'll find you after the match Peter. Thanks for walking me down here." She winked at him and as he stared back at her with pink cheeks he watched the door close in front of him.
He finally snapped himself to attention and turned around to head back to his seat, but this time there was a certain lightness to his stride, as if the world had just got even brighter to him.
The boy trotted down the steps and hopped into the seat beside his best friend. He felt like he was on top of the world. "What'd I miss?" He said as he looked around. Over half the class was completely checked out.
Shoto looked at him with a slightly vexed expression. "Not much." He said as the two students in the ring continued to trade blows.
"Huh... And here I thought they'd be wrapping up soo-"
Just before Peter could finish his thought, one of the two fighters finally was knocked to the ground unconscious. Everyone snapped to attention as Midnight went over to check. After waving her hand in front of the boys face, she stood back up and spoke.
"KIRISHIMA HAS BEEN KNOCKED OUT!!!! TETSUTETSU MOVES ON TO THE SECOND ROUND!!!"
Everyone in class A was shocked by the announcement... No one thought that Eijiro would fall in the very first round. They watched as the boy slowly regained his senses. The redhead blinked a couple of times before realizing what had just happened. He managed to stand up as Tetsutetsu was walking out of the ring.
"Hey!" He called out as he staggered over to the silver haired boy who had managed to beat him. He held out his hand. "Good fight man! You really clocked me there at the end! Good luck in the rest of your matches."
Tetsutetsu grinned and took his hand, "You're a heck of a fighter my man! Thanks! We should do this again sometime." The boy had now officially changed his own opinion on his rival class due to the good hearted nature of his opponent. The olive branch was officially exchanged between the two classes due to the chivalrous nature of Eijiro Kirishima... Though the rivalry had the bitterness removed, the two classes would continue to compete against each other in good spirits for their remaining years at UA High.
Shoto watched as the two exited the arena together. "Looks like Kirishima just repaired our reputation..." He turned to his friend. "So it would seem that you'll be facing Tetsutetsu next... How do you like your chances?"
Peter leaned back in his seat as he kicked up his feet. "Well... In all honesty, this is actually the best case scenario for me personally. I don't wanna get too far ahead of myself, but I'm pretty sure I've seen enough to know that I can definitely win this... Which means that we'll probably be seeing each other in the semi finals bud."
"WHA... WAIT... IS IT OVER?... HEY!HEY!HEY! EVERYONE!!! HOW ABOUT A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THOSE TWO KIDS HUH?! TALK ABOUT GOING THE DISTANCE!!!! WE'VE GOT QUITE A FEW MORE MATCHES AHEAD OF US TO GET TO, SO HOW ABOUT WE DIVE RIGHT ON INTO THE NEXT ONE?!?!?! IN THIS MATCH WE HAVE A REAL DOOZIE FOR YOU GUYS!!!! SO FAR THE YOUNG MEN OF THE FIRST YEARS HAVE BEEN HOGGING THE SPOTLIGHT, BUT THAT'S ALL ABOUT TO CHANGE!!!! UP NEXT WE HAVE TWO YOUNG LADIES WHO ARE ABLE TO KNOCK YOUR HEADS AND YOUR SOCKS OFF!!!! YOU'RE IN FOR A REAL TREAT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!!"
'Alright Mo... Time to show everyone what you've shown me all week... You've got this...' Peter thought to himself as the stadium began to rumble.
Takashi and Yana both looked towards the tunnel anxiously as Present Mic continued with the introductions.
Little girls everywhere scooted closer to their televisions with eyes full of wonder.
"OUR FIRST FIGHTER IS NO STRANGER TO A RING!!!! SHE IS AN ABSOLUTE MACHINE WITH FIST OF FURY AND DESTRUCTION!!!!! SHE IS WELL VERSED IN OVER FIVE DIFFERENT STYLES OF HAND TO HAND COMBAT!!!! SHE IS FIERCE!!!! SHE IS RUTHLESS!!!! AND SHE IS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF CLASS 1B!!!!! FROM THE HERO COURSE!!!! ITSUKA KENDOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
The orange haired girl walked confidently out of her tunnel with a determined grin on her face, tying her hair into a side ponytail as she made her way towards the ring. The cheers from class B's section in the stands were deafening. She was their leader... and they were dead set on letting everyone know that she was the real deal. She walked up the steps to the ring and cracked her knuckles as the crowd welcomed her in an overwhelming fashion.
"HOLD ON TO YOUR HEADS FOLKS, WE'D BE EXTREMELY REMISSED IF WE DIDN'T GIVE MISS KENDO'S OPPONENT THE CREDIT SHE DESERVES AS WELL!!!! THIS YOUNG LADY IS AN EXCELLENT FIGHTER IN HER OWN RIGHT!!!! SHE'S ONE OF THE FOUR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS WHO WERE ADMITTED INTO THE HERO COURSE VIA RECOMMENDATION!!!! SHE ALSO HOLDS THE NUMBER TWO SPOT ON THE TOURNAMENT'S POPULARITY CHART!!!! SHE IS STRONG!!! SHE IS CUNNING!!! AND SHE IS THE VICE REPRESENTATIVE OF HERO COURSE CLASS 1A!!!!!! MOMO YAOYOROZUUUUUUUU!!!!!!"
The stadium turned to see Momo walk out of her own tunnel stretching her arms across her body... With a stoic expression that was identical to Peter's from earlier.
"I've never seen that look in her eye before..." Jiro said in a quiet shock as she turned to see Peter smirking as if she had already won the fight. "What did you say to her when you walked her to the waiting room?"
Peter looked at the best friend of his crush as his expression remained unchanged, "Nothing she didn't already know..." He turned to the rest of his classmates who stared at him. "She's going to win this. Watch and see."
"WELL WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?! LETS CHEER HER ON!!!!" Mina yelled in excitement and started a 'YAO-YO-RO-ZU!' chant that would become a trend during the next two sports festivals.
Soon enough the entire stadium joined in as her parents looked on in disbelief and pride. It was a moment that would live in their memories forever.
Momo remained laser focused as she entered the ring. Upon her entrance, she unzipped the top of her uniform revealing the black sports bra she wore underneath. She removed the metallic blue top and tossed it out of the ring. She finished stretching as she made her way over towards her opponent and bowed respectfully.
Unlike Monoma, Kendo demonstrated true leadership and bowed as well. When they both stood up, the orange haired girl smiled and held up a fist.
The corner of Momo's mouth curled upwards as their knuckles tapped together. The two turned around and made their way to the sidelines. They turned around as Midnight raised her hand. Momo noticed the smile and wink that was given to her by the R rated heroine who had expressed a special interest in her. "ALRIGHT LADIES! LETS GET STARTED! CONTESTANTS READY?!!"
They both gave her the nod.
Her hand shot downward. "BEGIN!!!"
Immediately, Kendo charged her opponent. 'I can't waste any time! If she doesn't have any time to think, then she can't use that quirk of hers!'
Suddenly there was a loud bang and a bright light stunned the martial artist. Her vision left her and she felt the strike of a metal staff connect with various joints on her body. All at once she found herself lying on her back against the concrete. Fortunately for her, when her vision returned she found herself still within the borders of the sidelines. She quickly got to her feet but didn't see her adversary.
Her eyes widened. 'Behind me!' she whipped around just in time to deflect the barrage of attacks that Momo began to unleash as she drove Kendo towards the nearest sideline.
"WHAT A COMMANDING START FROM MOMO YAOYOROZU!!!! IT SEEMS LIKE SHE'S CAUGHT ITSUKA KENDO COMPLETELY BY SURPRISE!!!"
Blocking the strikes from her opponent's weapons was quickly beginning to take a toll on her arms. Itsuka knew that she had to do something to even their footing fast... And that started by disarming the opposition. She kept the distance between them close as she began to change her defensive approach. As the flurries of staff attacks continued, she found an opening and began to dodge instead of blocking. Once the very first opportunity presented itself, Kendo lunged forward and latched onto the weapon, placing her hands just outside of Momo's to give her leverage. She used her advantage to flip the weapon over leaving Momo's arms crossed over one another. The unideal situation left her vulnerable to the elbow that Kendo buried into her chest, causing the girl to release her staff. Itsuka grinned, "Let's see how well you do without this." She said before tossing the weapon towards the sideline.
The orange haired girl charged at her opponent relentlessly, forcing Momo into hand to hand combat.
The members of class 1A watched as the fight carried on.
Shoto furrowed his brow as he watched the events unfold before him. "This isn't good... Kendo's beginning to dictate the direction of this fight..." he said as he turned to Peter. To his surprise, the boy was still smirking.
The two of class 1A's strongest minds had prepared for virtually any situation all week long... And this was definitely one of them. "Let her..." Peter shrugged, "because if she thinks that Mo can't fight without that staff, then she's in for one hell of a reality check."
Momo skillfully deflected, blocked, and dodged every single attack Kendo threw her way. She was now fully aware of why Peter was so adamant to start every training session with a match without quirks. She remembered his instructions from their very first lesson. She could hear them so clearly as if he were standing right beside her.
"Move your feet! Don't get caught flat footed... Stay on your toes!"
Her feet were in a constant state of motion as she continued to evade Kendo's attacks.
"Be patient... You don't have to counter every time... Wait for your opponent to make a mistake."
The orange haired girl was beginning to get frustrated as she continued her assault... Her aggravation provided Momo an opening...
"A good punch comes from your whole body, not just your arm... Draw power from your core... Take a breath... Drive your feet and step into it!"
Momo knocked Kendo's uncommonly sloppy punch away and countered hard as she drew her fist back and stepped forward, sending her fist into Itsuka's face. The girl let out a yelp as she stumbled backwards a few steps.
"WELL WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT!!! LOOKS LIKE BOTH OF THESE GIRLS KNOW THEIR WAY AROUND A FIST FIGHT!!!"
'I don't understand... Everything I was able to find out about her before the match told me she has trouble making quick decisions when under pressure and relies heavily on her quirk for combat... but neither of those things are true...' Kendo thought as she continued to back off of her opponent.
She wiped a small trace of blood from her nose. "Fine then... How about we get serious?" She said as her fist grew larger and she rushed her opponent with no remorse.
Momo quickly braced herself as she created a large tungsten shield that was immediately crumpled like paper from Itsuka's elevated attack power.
Suddenly, Momo found herself on the ropes as each shield she made was crushed into useless rubble... She was on her heels and nearing the borders of the ring fast.
"AND ITSUKA KENDO TURNS THE TABLES ONCE AGAIN!!! SHE ABSOLUTELY REFUSES TO GO AWAY QUIETLY! SHE'S PUSHING YAOYOROZU TOWARDS THE EDGE OF THE RING!!!!"
"Come on... Find a way Mo... Find a way..." Peter said under his breath as he stood with his arms crossed. He noticed his foot beginning to tap on the ground and forced himself to stop. 'She can pull this out...'
The creation artist remained on the defensive as she refused to let panic set in. 'I have to think of something... I can't just keep avoiding her.'
More of Peter's words entered her mind.
"...if things get rough out there, just think of whatever motivates you the most and let it carry you forward."
She didn't have to spend more than a single second to figure out what that was as his smiling face popped into her mind.
'She has to have a weakness I can exploit somewhere.' Momo thought, filled with a new wave of determination.
Momo tucked and rolled on her shoulder away from Kendo's fist that reached out to grab her. 'Wait... That was easier to dodge than I expected it to be...'
Itsuka lunged forward once again and swung her fist towards the girl, only this time, she connected with nothing. She swung again and again but to no avail.
'It's just like I thought, her fists are the only thing that increases in size! Her wrists and arms don't change... Making her hands heavier and harder to swing around the bigger she makes them. She has to sacrifice speed for strength!!!!'
Momo watched carefully as she timed her next strike. 'I have the advantage as long as I don't slip up!'
In her closed fist, another canister appeared as she remained untouched by Itsuka. Once she had put enough distance between them she tossed the object at her opponent's feet and smoke began to thicken around her.
'I have to work fast... It won't take long for her to fan away this smoke with her quirk!'
"OUR TWO FIGHTERS HAVE DISAPPEARED INTO A CLOUD OF SMOKE!!! WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN THERE?!?!"
As the representative of class B increased the size of her hands further, she waved away the smoke in a very short amount of time... But to her dismay... She was virtually trapped in place by caltrops that had been scattered all over the ring. Yaoyorozu stood before her as she repeated tossed and caught another grenade in her hand. "You really are as tough as they say you are Kendo... Thanks for giving me your best. You've helped make me a better fighter." Momo said with sincerity as she tossed the grenade at her.
A glob of webbing covered her and made movement impossible.
"WHAT INSANITY!!! YAOYOROZU HAS JUST BORROWED A TRICK FROM HER OWN CLASSMATE TO SUBDUE HER OPPONENT?!?! HOW THE HECK IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!?!?!"
"WHAT THE?!" She said as she struggled in vain.
Midnight stepped forward and began her announcement. "KENDO HAS BEEN IMMOBILIZED!!!! YAOYOROZU WINS!!!!!"
"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT FOLKS!!! MOMO YAOYOROZU HAS JUST SHOWED US EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANS TO 'FIGHT LIKE A GIRL!!!' I SURE AS HECK WOULDN'T WANT TO LOOK ACROSS THE RING AND SEE HER STARING BACK AT ME!!! YOU'LL BE SEEING MORE OF HER IN THE QUARTER FINALS!!!!"
As the crowd resumed her signature chant. Peter smiled with pride as he looked down at Momo. He looked at his classmates. Everyone had joined in on the chant. The only two who remained silent were Bakugo and Shoto. He leaned over to the latter. "Told ya so." He smirked as he made his way towards the bottom of the steps of their private section of seats.
Shoto and a few others looked at him with confusion as he climbed up on the railing. "What are you doing Parker?" Shoto asked him as he turned around to face his class.
"I'm just gonna go help get Kendo unstuck. I'll be right back." He started to jump but stopped at Iida's protest.
"Don't just go jumping out of the stands like a lunatic!!! Just wait for one of the maintenance robots to get her out!" He chopped the air violently.
"Well I hate to upset ya class rep, but those robots aren't gonna be able to help. They'll just get stuck too... So the options are we can either wait two hours for that to dissolve on its own or I can go down there and remove it."
"Well can you at least go down there like a civilized human being instead of jumping out there like a wild animal?!" Iida pleaded.
"Alright, alright... But I'm not taking the stairs." He said as he began to walk down the vertical wall with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Once he was on level ground he trotted to the ring at a brisk pace to find Momo zipping up her uniform and Midnight standing over Kendo trying to figure out what the best way to go about freeing her was.
As Momo noticed him climbing the steps into the ring, a wide grin appeared on her face. The adrenaline from the match was still pumping in her veins, bringing out a bold attitude from deep inside of her.
A different kind of game was about to start for the two heroes-in-training.
"What's wrong? Couldn't wait to say hi?" She noticed his cheeks turn red. She definitely understood her pink friend more than ever in that moment.
"Yeah- I MEAN! I'm here to help out with the whole web situation..." He mentally slapped himself at his misstep.
She giggled at him with a wink. "I'll wait for you in the tunnel."
"Sounds good! This shouldn't take long." He said as he jogged over towards Midnight... Luckily the caltrops had already been removed from the rings surface. "Hey! Sorry! I know I'm not supposed to be down here, but I figured you guys could use a hand."
Midnight turned to him, "It's fine Mr. Parker. I was actually about to send for you... From what Aizawa tells me, you can remove this stuff without any trouble."
"Yeah I'll take care of it in no time." He said as he approached the orange haired girl. "Hi! Peter Parker! Nice to meet ya." He jokingly stuck his hand out for a handshake.
"Pffffft. Hey... Itsuka Kendo... Likewise. I'd shake your hand but... I'm a little tied up at the moment." She joked back.
Peter began to remove the web.
"So... You and that Yaoyorozu girl must be pretty tight huh?"
He looked up with a grin, "Yeah... We spent the whole week training for this thing together. She was the first person I got close to when I came here from America... She's pretty amazing."
"I'll say... I have a lot of respect for a girl who can hold her own in a fight... Tell her I'll be working hard just in case we ever get the chance to fight again."
"I will." He continued to grin as he removed the last bit of webbing from her upper body and crouched down to free her legs.
"So... Hey... I'm sorry about Monoma... He's usually not like that. I'm not sure what all he said to you but as his class rep, I'll try to keep him in line better. You seem like a nice guy."
"Water under the bridge... Sorry I broke his nose..."
"Ahhh he earned it... Fair warning though, you might have a harder time doing that to Tetsutetsu... He's a lot less fragile on account of the whole made-of-steal thing." She laughed.
"So I've noticed..." He chuckled as he finished up. He stood back up and held out his hand. "Tell him I'm looking forward to a good fight."
"Sure thing!" The two shook hands and Peter made his way towards the tunnel, where a certain girl was waiting for him with a wide smile on her face.
"Well, well, well... Congrats on the victory! You really showed out! How do you feel?" He asked with a smirk.
"If you're about to say 'I told you so' to me for the second time in one day Peter Parker, then I hope you're prepared for the fact that I will never miss a chance to play that same card on you from this point on..." She said as she matched his smirk and stepped closer to him.
"I..."
"Peter..."
"Told..."
"Peter..." She took another step closer. They stood less than a foot apart at this point.
"You..."
She squinted her eyes at him. "Don't you dare..." She had trouble containing her smile.
"... Yeah I can't do it." He laughed.
She poked an index finger into his firm chest. "Smart boy."
"I'm so freaking proud of you Mo... You have no idea..." He said with a huge smile.
In that very moment she truly felt what it was like to be on top of the world. "Like I said before... It would be impossible for me not to acknowledge your part in this whole thing... I couldn't have done it without you." The index finger that rested against his chest reluctantly pulled away.
The two grinned at each other and began their walk back towards their seats.