"Here we are! The final four have earned their spots by besting their challengers, and now only two more fights stand between them and total victory! In this first match of our third round, we have our invincible counter fighter, Mako Ishiwatari! And his opponent, the fearsome fire bender, Hinote Homura!"

Mako sauntered up to the arena with the exaggerated swagger of a champion, a stark contrast to the girl who has walked up the stairs without any acknowledgement of the screaming audience.

"Woah-ho!" He tapped his chin and narrowed his eyes at her. "Getting a better look at you, you aren't too shabby! Where've you been all this time?"

She got into the same feral stance she took when fighting Suiiki. "Behind your chair being ignored as always."

"Have I been blind or what? I had no idea you were…you got something in your hair there. Is that-"

"Spit."

He raised his eyes to the group of adults laughing above the entrance she had come from. "Looks like someone needs a taste of their own medicine!" He spat in his own hands and started bouncing it around inside the walls.

"Don't. You'll get disqualified and you're one of the people I've been looking forward to fighting."

He ejected the mucus onto the concrete stage. "Aww, that's nice of you to worry about me. Alrighty then, I'll get him back after I become champion! That way, I can't be disqualified!"

A smile tried to shove its way past her battle frown. "No need to try and flirt here, I'm still going all out against you."

"I don't care either way, you don't mess with one of Mako's friends."

"YOU MAY BEGIIIINN!"

Mako clapped his hands together for a shockwave to preemptively stuff whatever she shot out at him, successfully blowing the spear of fire she'd thrown out at him away.

Gritting her teeth, she stomped her leg on the ground and created a trail of fire which sped over to Mako's legs, unfazed by the continuing torrent of wind. The flames climbed his clothes, and although his effort was great, swatting his pants proved ineffective as it continuously spread across his clothes. Interestingly enough, he felt no heat coming from the flames at all, as if they weren't even there.

Giving him no time to think, she forced the embers to swell into a large fire wheel that covered his entire surrounding area. The cage she created had not taken away from the growing engulfment happening on his own body, and now he could barely see his clothes past the flames covering him.

He clapped his hands to create the same shockwave as before and saw it offered little help to his situation, even worsening it by giving the flames more fuel. He also had begun to feel the heat on his body rising; Hinote was slowly raising the temperature of the fire.

Futilely patting himself down inside the spire of flame, he decided to make a gambit and run right into the walls of his trap. The plan fizzled out immediately upon reaching the spinning walls, feeling a heat unlike anything else coming off them. Like a moth on the edge of a bulb, he touched it for barely a moment before recoiling off as he gasped for cooler air.

"So, she's going to wait me out until I become a smoked chicken?" He peered up to the opening above his head. "Thank you, Ranika!" He slammed his hands on the ground and a thunderous boom sounded off, accompanied with a concussive blast that shot him high above the opening of the spire he was trapped in. Feeling triumphant, he looked to where Hinote had been standing and panicked once he saw an ankh of flame flying towards him.

Reflecting it away, he suddenly was hit from behind and his sides all at once, his body sent soaring to the ground. In his descent, he saw Hinote had dashed beneath him with her hands reared back for a punch. Mako quickly shifted in the air to turn his hands in her direction to reflect her attack.

In an instant, his vision filled with fire. The embers stuck to his shirt erupted, and his entire body was encased with a bright burning fire that blocked his sight completely. Her punch landed squarely between his ribcage, knocking the wind out of him so even as he felt his hand grace against her shoulders, his priority was more on breathing again rather than fighting.

Once he landed on the concrete of the arena, he tapped the floor three times and shook his head while he fruitlessly tried to get air in his system. The fire disappeared entirely and Hinote ran over and began worriedly pushing on his chest with Ikasaki close by watching her technique with a mix of surprise and admiration.

"Oof, and another one bites the dust to Hinote's unstoppable fiery rage! A lightning round in the purest sense, she read his escape plan like a book and sent him packing with a forfeit in under two minutes! And she graciously helps him recover as well, what a good sport! With that well-earned triumph, she advances to the Grand Finals!"

"This fire bitch is getting annoying." Someone groaned

"Can you disqualify someone for being too boring?" Their friend said.

Their jeers phased her not as she continued trying to get air flowing inside him again, and shortly after she was rewarded with a sharp gasp from him.

"Whew…thought I killed you there, sorry!" She helped him back on his feet. "Guess I could've just let you hit the ground but I was trying to be thorough with your beatdown! Maybe I went a bit far!"

"It's fine…urgh, maybe not all fine." Taking a second to get himself straight, he stabilized himself and smiled at her. "There goes my shot at getting into U.A, tch! How did you know I was going to jump? I never did that before then, you couldn't have predicted that!"

"After you fought Ranika, I figured the idea of propelling yourself around using the inertia might still be in your subconscious, so I left an opening at the top of my entrapment so you would immediately consider the opportunity of using the option."

"…so what I'm hearing is, you put a trap inside your trap? That's that inversed psychometry or whatever, yeah?"

"Uh, sure?"

"Alright, lovebirds! As adorable and stunning of a couple you two make, we need to get the stage all cleaned up!" Ikasaki's vines began removing rubble while the arena repair team were filling up the holes with cement and smoothing it over.

"Yes sir! I appreciate that fight, Mako!" Hinote bowed to him respectfully. She suddenly felt her hand being rummaged around in and alarmingly pulled back. "Wha-What do you think-"

"Great match, Hinote! I'll go back in the way you came, cool? Cool. Got something I need to do!"

"Come now!" She was pushed lightly by Ikasaki off the stage. "Shoo, shoo! Get on with your bad self!"

Across the field, Mako strut across the grass like a strutting rooster. Even in his loss, the crowd seemed to love his presence, and he made sure to take full advantage of it. Carefully eyeing the people above the field entrance, he unsuspectingly strode up to them until he was just underneath who he wanted.

"Alright, my adoring fans! Can I get an M?!"

The crowd gleefully responded. "M!"

"How about an A?"

"A!"

"Lemme get that K!"

"K!"

"I wanna hear an O!"

"O!"

"Now go crazy, AHHHH!"

The crowd screamed with immeasurable hype, and during their frenzied cries, he aimed his hand at one person in particular and opened his hand. The spit with Hinote's hair and all flew perfectly through the holes in the gate and straight into the man's mouth.

"No way! Even Mako?!" Ranika fell onto the bed where Kisho was laying. "Hinote's going fucking insane-o style!"

"OWW!" He reeled to the bare edge of the hospital bed, already losing space from the rowdy pink-haired menace stealing the space. "Please be mindful of my injury!"

"Whoops! I keep forgetting you're there!"

Hanako closed her eyes while biting her lip, taking slow, long breaths. "Ranika, sit in your chair." Her voice shook on every syllable.

"Awwww, they're so uncomfortable! These metal backs can't be good for anyone besides chiropractor's interests! How can doctors-"

"SIT-!" She clawed at her forehead for half a second. "…down. Or stand up if you need to, just stop pushing him around. I've heard his shrill voice for the past twenty minutes and that is twenty minutes too long."

Kisho snorted, trying to keep his laugh muffled.

"What's that? Did you have something to add?"

"I- I didn't say anything."

"Let's keep it that way."

"Shh! Everyone, Shh! The next fighters are coming!" Ranika pulled the tiny flat screen closer and turned the volume up way higher than any medical facility would normally allow. "There's Daisuke! Ha! Looks like he's pissing his pants right now!"

Hanako nodded her head while holding back a groan. "Yeah, I see."

"Shiiiiit, Manaka's half tank or something! Those abs are fucking ridiculous!"

"Okay, enough language Ranika. Try to be a little more mature."

She jumped towards the screen and pointed to the girl in the close-up. "But seriously! What are those? Those aren't abs, those are god damn bricks!"

The woman took her exceedingly long hair and gripped it tightly, barely keeping her rage quelled. "Ranika, one more time and it's to the station for you. Erina would not mind; you're already on thin ice with her!"

"As if you haven't sworn a billion times before." Ranika plumped back into her seat. "Adults always get to do whatever they want!"

"Hah! If only! That's an exaggeration if I've ever heard one."

"You guys do! Everytime we try to do something, you guys-"

"What you guys want to do is usually reta...stupid beyond all belief, there's a huge difference."

Kisho turned over in his bed while keeping his eyes away from the volatile woman. "Admittedly, a grown adult who gets drunk every night is far more harmful than say, a child simply wanting a new ball, yes?."

"You speaking is a waste of time and you should give up."

"I see."

Ranika suddenly reared her head back as if she'd been hit with an overbearing odor. "Wait, back up. I'm on thin ice with Erina?"

"What do you think!? After that little stunt during fitting, of course you would be. I should've taken away your-"

"What stunt?"

Now Hanako audibly groaned. "You know what you did, when you smashed that computer? Threw it across the ground and hit Tsubame with it?"

"…when I threw the computer?"

"Yes…?" Seeing her younger sister's sharp attitude change tipped her off as well. "Someone mussed the story."

"Mmm." Ranika silently returned to watching the television while tapping her foot against the floor. "Mm-Hmm."

Doing his best to not be seen or heard, the president quietly remained focused on the screen. Staring at her hulking mass, Kisho was reminded of Manaka's request to fight Inouye back during the demonstrations.

So the ape managed to best Inouye then? He thought to himself. How's that possible? If all she had was brute strength then surely, she should've been fuel for his type of ability. Does that mean she's actually…

"FIGHTERS! YOU MAY NOW…BEEEEEEEEEEGIN!"

Manaka sped to Daisuke with both arms reared back. His face dropped in fear but he spread his legs apart and braced for her attack. Once she had reached less than a meter away, he shifted to his water form and ran forward, ready to phase through her punch.

She halted herself mere inches away with a smile on her face. "You really think I'd be that simple-minded to throw myself off the stage?" Her hands slammed together in a deafening clap that shook his watery form vigorously. His concentration was lost, resulting in him turning back to normal while stumbling backwards.

"Easy!" Manaka unleashed a flurry of punches on him with barely any energy expended from her body, yet the force of each blow devastated the boy's much smaller frame. With almost a full foot of height advantage, she gripped his head with her hands and wailed blows upon his face. He quickly turned into water to free himself but remembered to return to normal so not to fall victim to another shockwave.

Daisuke swept the ground with a metal leg but found her stance was nearly unshakeable, in fact almost damaging himself before her legs gave. Looking up, he moved aside just in time to avoid an overhead smash into the ground, raising up several large chunks of concrete.

"H-hey, that c-could've hurt me!" He whimpered.

Manaka pulled her hand out of the concrete and shook the dust off. "That's why we're here. To pound each other until there's nothing but atoms remaining."

His pupils shrunk once she reared her leg back and tossed a particularly large concrete slab into the air.

"I-i-uh…I don't th-think that's…we're not trying to…k-kill each-"

"Suit yourself." Manaka jumped into the air surprisingly high and spiked the slab down towards him. He raised his arms up in metal form and felt the concrete break apart across his metallic body. His heart jumped when he felt Manaka's body land on top of him after. "I'll do as I please." Straddling him, she began pulverizing his body with punch after punch, each one getting successively stronger and faster. Even Daisuke's body had limits, and the dents were getting deeper and deeper.

Without warning, Daisuke slammed his head forward into her nose, surely shattering every bone inside. With a scream, she halted her attacks to cover the bleeding, leaving her ribcage open to a slam of his knee that finally made her retreat off of him.

"So…the mouse at last fights back." She felt her nose and found it had been flattened, along with a searing pain across her entire face discouraging her from messing with it again. "I'll have to thank you for that."

Her flying clothesline almost went unregistered by him save for the primal yell she gave out when she rushed his way. Ducking low on instinct saved his life as she harmlessly flew by and had to stop herself from flying off the edge of the arena. He had no time to think though, her hand was already swinging backwards to backhand him. He turned his head into water and countered with his own right hook that dislocated her jaw. Without missing a beat, she gripped her jaw and audibly cracked it with a feral look in her eyes.

"Yes! That's more like it! Now I'm starting to have some real FUN!" Her emphasis on the last word alerted him to her next attack. She ran forward and rapidly swung her arms in front of her like a piston, throwing hundreds of punches within seconds. He noted her eyes keenly watching him and deduced she was waiting for him to shift into something else.

With water no longer being a viable option for him, he morphed into rubber, a form he hadn't shown before. Her punches snapped back to herself and sent herself backwards quite a way, stunned at this new development. Daisuke breathed deeply, shaky breaths betraying his otherwise stern look.

"Your tricks are starting to wear on me, shifter. But I must confess, you truly live up to your reputation! Not a warrior or strongman, but you are hardier than many others I've felled." She clapped her hands in both congratulations and excitement. "Truth be told, you're one of the first I've fought to last longer than 3 minutes. Be proud and stand tall!" She more commanded than encouraged him, and he very nearly listened. "Away with this demure, timid posture, this meek and subservient aura about you! Show me your steeled resolve to live! To survive! Challenge me, and prevail!"

"C-c-c-can't we just-"

"NO!"

She reared much farther back than ever before; she almost touched the ground with how far back she stretched her right arm. With a throaty chuckle, she muttered to herself.

"Salvo 3…Dragon Fire!"

The punch was the last thing Daisuke fathomed. The image of her body moving so quickly that it seemed to temporarily ignite caused him to freeze in bemusement. Once he hit the ground, he felt all his senses return and a guttural shout escaped his lungs. Looking down, he saw his metal casing had fractured on his chest.

Erina stood up in the bleachers with no chance to reach the front of them due to the immense crowd hanging on to the barrier gates. However, she'd been reading Manaka's mind the whole match and had heard her go into her third level. Trying to wade her way to the front, she was pulled back time and time again by offended audience members who thought she was stealing their spots.

"Oh geez, this place has become more of a gladiator's ring than a festival!" Her attempts to move to the student section were met with similar rewards of pushback and dirty looks from those who had remained in their seats. The roar of the audience grew in volume, which was followed by a loud crash from the unseen arena. Cradling her head, she sat back in her seat in defeat. "I'm so sorry, please Daisuke, just make it through this…"

Inside the stage, a cloud of dust enveloped the two fighters as Manaka gleefully pounded the ground below her, until she realized her target was no longer there, only leftover sand in the wake of her rage. She stood up and carefully surveyed the area for any sign of him.

"Hiding? Don't waste the time!" She clapped her hands several times, creating an air current that blew all the dust away. To her confusion, she still couldn't find Daisuke despite the clear view she had of the ring.

An uppercut to her jaw startled as much as it bruised. Another jab to her face was followed by a sharp kick to her abdomen. Momentarily crumpled, she swung herself in a circle several times and managed to strike Daisuke away from her.

Infuriated, she dug her hands into the ground and began lifting a massive chunk of concrete upwards. The ring shook violently as it struggled to maintain its structural integrity against the grand uprooting.

"Wirbelwind!" Manaka roared as she accomplished her goal and ruptured the entire floor in a wave of exploding concrete that was headed straight for her target. Try as he might, the radius was too large to avoid and he was launched into the air by the surge.

She jumped after him and proceeded to beat his body in midair while still rising, as if she was in flight. Even though his body had automatically turned to metal, the cracks in the metallic coat were only getting larger. The hulking monster grabbed both his legs and began to plummet, ready to smash him as soon as they made impact.

"Stop it! I forf-mmmph! NnMmm!" His cries were muffled by her covering his mouth with her leg.

"Absolutely not!" She gleefully screamed. "This is the best part! Die with the honor of drawing my blood!"

Seeing the rapidly approaching ground, Daisuke turned his arms into sand and flung them towards Manaka's eyes with everything he had. The rushing wind aided his efforts and her eyes were covered in a thick layer of dirt.

"AHHHH!" She released him and futilely brushed her eyes, unknowingly scratching them with the sand inside.

Seeing this as his only chance, he twisted his body above hers and forcefully wrapped his arms around her waist and arms. He turned his arms to water, melded them together, then returned them to metal, creating a weld between them that even Manaka couldn't break out of, albeit she had been occupied with saving her eyesight. Pressing his head against hers to add to the crash, they landed on a mass of vines and foliage, brought about by Ikasaki. The impact was still enough to make Daisuke's head slam into the back of hers painfully, surely causing more than just a concussion.

Observing their lighter than expected landing, he turned back into water and released her from his grip. Upon seeing the blood from the back of her head, he immediately lost his composure.

"Ah! N-no, I didn't mean t-to do all that! She…uhm…"

He was silenced by Ikasaki while he, with unnecessary flair, raised the boy into the air on a large flower.

"AND THERE IS OUR WINNER! What a raucous and eventful match that was, with a lot more work from our sideline observer, Officer Ikasaki, than you all might expect! Without his covert covering of much of the arena floor, I think our contestants would've been long since retired!"

Daisuke was startled by the deafening applause he received from his bout with Manaka. Signs of him were held and flung all over. Inconspicuously, a couple vines toted Manaka's body over to the side entrance where a large stretcher was waiting.

"She'll be alright." Ikasaki lowered him back down to the ground level. "You're gonna want to see the nurse too. Seems that exquisite shell eventually stops putting itself back together."

"Right…okay sir." He meekly covered his face as the cheers made him flush with embarrassment. Catching Suiiki's face from the crowd, he lightly laughed at the gaping mouth of his friend as he stared in disbelief. Hinote noticed him looking their way and grabbed Suiiki's hand, likely leading him to the field entrance where Daisuke himself was headed.

"Sand…" He heard Manaka weakly say while being carried off. "You tricked me…by turning…into sand…hehehehe…cough…" She grunted from the pain of the back of her head moving around. "Again…you must… fight me again…"

"No." Daisuke said calmly. "No, I don't think I will."

The infirmary bustled with voices, nearly hectic with the plethora of students inside, although most weren't injured themselves; merely there to pass the time.

"I'm still in shock Daisuke managed to overcome the brute." Kisho said, then turning to the closed curtains on the other side of the room. "No offense, Manaka. You did well."

"Your words are meaningless; Daisuke proved his superiority. I am most satisfied." She spoke, paying no heed to the amount of force she put in her voice. A large mass of mauve hair covered her eyes, protecting Daisuke from her violent gaze for the time being.

"I'd take offense for Daisuke," Suiiki started. "But can't even lie, I'm flabbergasted myself. Heh, flabber! Pfft!" He held back an immature giggle. "Always wanted to use that word!"

"Of course your feeble mind finds mere words humorous." The president rolled his eyes.

"Hey, man! That word is comedy gold! Anyway, back to the main thing! I, uh…what was I saying?"

"You were dick riding Daisuke?" Ranika joked, sitting beside Genso on an empty bed.

"Oh yeah, Daisuke! I was goin-waitasec…what?" His face went flush when he realized what she'd said.

"Ranika!" Daisuke yelped at her wording. "Regardless…I-I'm just happy they g-gave us a break before the finals. M-my chest is killing me, it feels like it's-it's…caved in." The timid boy laid back on his own bed and lightly tapped his wound, wincing in response to the sharp stabbing sensation it caused. "Isn't that n-n-nurse supposed to be watching us? Not that I'm…eager to s-s-see her again."

"Nah, Kisho chased her off." Ranika said, idly playing with Genso's glasses, note not of his own consent. "Something about him makes her really miffed, even more than the rest of us."

"Her splenetic manner is none of my fault nor concern." Kisho grunted as he pushed himself off his bed and shook his mostly healed hand in slight wonder. "Have to give her due praise, she's miraculous when doing her job. A true shame she would be so vitriolic. I'd have ample use of a healer of her capabilities."

"I wished she'd left it as it was, your jerk face deserved a lot more than that, making Asai run away by insulting her!"

"Would you lay off!" Ranika barked. "You can't just keep talking out of your ass without proof. She was always kinda scaredy, it's just as likely she got embarrassed and ran off." She side eyed Kisho. "Which still means you put her there just to win by default…"

"Kisho!" Tsubame rushed into the room and was taken aback by all the occupants inside. "Uh…Are all of you hurt?"

A man who they'd only seen once peered out from behind the corner curtain. "This shifter's injuries are not yet mended, and the blue haired one's wounds must still be attended." Hijiri spoke almost in song.

The vice president looked at her classmates in disappointment.

"What, we can't support our friend while he prepares for his final fight?"

She mostly ignored him and gave a very puzzled look at Genso, who'd been trying to hide his body behind Ranika's. "You too! Now I was hopin' you'd at least have a lick of sense about you!"

"Ah…well they made some…convincing arguments."

"Give it a rest, Tsu. He's a nerd, not a teacher's pet." Ranika hoisted him up on her back without warning. "But we get it, we're headed out. Peace out, Dai! We'll meet up with you before the finals!"

"I'm not a teacher's pet!" She cried. "I just happen to enjoy helping them! And representing them at events! And following their rules, which you should as well!"

"Licks Erina's boots, helps her with grading papers, makes lunch for her daily, huge tattletale," Suiiki gently squeezed Daisuke's hand – who nodded in acknowledgement – and made for the exit, rustling Tsubame's hair whilst walking past her. "I mean, let's face it: you're a bona fide catgirl!"

"WHAT?!" Everyone said in unison.

"I mean, she'd obviously be a cat if she was a pet, right? Don't you all agree?"

"I-I-I…"

"The fuck…"

"If I recall correctly…"

"No."

"I don't think people get that far into the term, to be honest." Tsubame tried to rub her hair the right way again, licking her hands and repeatedly combing over it until she was content.

"…cat.

"Cat."

"Definitely a cat."

"Am not! Ranika, stop them!" She whined.

"Are too!" Suiiki teased, being playfully pushed into a wall by Ranika, who was still forcing Genso to ride upon her back. "What, did you not see that grooming?"

"…they've got a point, Tsubame." She admitted. Noting her mellow tone, Tsubame let the teasing go and crept closer to her girlfriend.

"Uh, babe? You seem mighty solemn, what's eatin' ya?"

"Wha? Oh, it's nothing! I'm just thinking…" Ranika stared at her lover somewhat suspiciously before shaking her head. "Nah, it's nothing."

"Now hold on, what was that look in-"

"Can I be returned to the Earth?" Genso quickly asked. "I appreciate the gesture to care for my being but I am certain I can manage the-ouch!" His sentence was interrupted when she dropped him onto his feet without warning and caused his injury to flare up again.

"Oops, proooobably should've done it lightly."

Tsubame turned to his leg. "How'd that happen anyway?"

"…I'd prefer not to-"

"He got into the spirit watching your fight with Daisuke." She heaved him back over her shoulders, which he finally accepted. "I never thought I would hear him scream about anything, perhaps you're not the only person I've rubbed off on. And not just in the fun way."

"Gross…" Kisho languidly walked out of the nearly empty infirmary. "Must you always be so vulgar?" He checked his watch with a short huff. "Though it's at least more entertaining than sitting around for another half hour. I'd even take Mako's company over this tedium."

"Anyway," She continued. "I owe him for helping me with my quirk. I wouldn't have even been able to compete if not for ol' glasses here. Speaking of, here you go. Your visions awful, by the way!" She handed him his spectacles, which were smeared beyond belief with sweat from off her hands.

"One might even surmise I need ocular assistance to see properly." He lightly blew on them and cleaned them off with his shirt collar. "Interesting how that works."

"Hey, was that big brain code for "no shit, sherlock?" Huh? I heard that snark in there!"

Tsubame bit her lip as she saw the rest of the group minus Daisuke carry on towards the vendors outside while Kisho muttered to himself. She quickly zipped to Ranika's side. "So, ummm…" She started, keeping her voice low so Suiiki wouldn't hear up ahead. "I see you guys were getting along better with Kisho."

She adjusted Genso's position on her back. "Kinda been chilling out, I guess. He's still got his hot air but somehow, he's seeming more…is tolerable the right word?" She asked Genso, who merely shrugged.

"Most likely, though I've personally never had quarrels with his like."

Ranika stopped walking suddenly. "Suiiki! We're taking Kisho with us."

He tripped over his own feet at the news. "Whuh-huh?! Says who?"

"Says me if you don't like picking teeth off the ground. He hasn't antagonized us much lately, so I don't have an issue with it."

"Yes, he has!"

"Besides your conjecture with Asai?" She checked with Genso who gave a thumbs up on her appropriate use of the word. Suiiki stuttered multiple times trying to think of examples. Ranika turned around and shouted loud enough to echo throughout the halls. "Kisho, you said you were bored? Then move your ass! We're going to the vendors!"

Startled by the offer, he opened his mouth to voice his usual snide comment, then thought better of it and joined them with a slight hurry. "I suppose there's worse company. What do you intend to eat?"

Tsubame perked up behind them excitedly. "Oh, I heard there's those funnel cakes at the entrance. Maybe we can try those?"

Their unanimous "NO!" reverberated throughout the halls.