Hey all! We got another chapter pretty quick after yesterday's! Thanks for your continued support. We're gonna be slowly closing in on the Sports Festival tournament matches soon! But first, let's get into some hijinks for the time being! I think that should be fun!
"Hmm..." Rebecca hummed worriedly as she looked around in search of Izuku, having already gotten her food in the crowded cafeteria. For some reason, Katsuki and Shoto were also absent. The Leaper Quirk user sighed, glancing down for a moment. With the second round of the Sports Festival over, she had time to think about what had happened during then when she saw herself and her teammates get zapped by Denki.
'It was almost like what happened with the USJ attack...' she noted to herself in remembrance, 'Only... it wasn't a dream...' she realized, looking down at her legs where her skin was exposed, 'Was this... Leaper's power?' she wondered aloud, 'I should probably ask Witch if she-'
"Hey Becca!" Mina greeted as she suddenly skipped over and put her arm around her classmate, causing her to blink in surprise, "Excited to get into the next round?" she guessed with a smile.
"Uh, yeah," the Leaper Quirk user replied, "Honestly, I'm just happy we managed to get in at all..." she admitted, "I didn't think we'd have enough points to cut it..." she noted aloud.
"Well, it's true that the other teams that didn't get in lost their headbands," Momo chimed in as she approached alongside Kyoka and the other 1-A girls, "Though I didn't expect to see the competition be thinned out so little after the cavalry battle..." she admitted.
"And not only that, there's thirty-one people left," the Earphone Jack Quirk user pointed out, "How're they gonna format the tournament with an odd number?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Maybe someone will get a bye from the first round," Tsuyu suggested.
"Probably..." Rebecca agreed, "Oh, Homura!" she greeted upon spotting the Soul Blade Quirk user seated nearby and enjoying some udon, "Congrats on the big win!" she complimented.
"It was nothing at all," she responded, "Todoroki simply underestimated my strength again," she told her classmates, who blinked in surprise, "I do hope he won't underestimate me when it comes time for the tournament..." she added firmly, balling her hands into fists. Remembering her pledge from earlier today, Rebecca gave off a worried look. She was about to say something...
"Hey, Yaoyorozu," Denki's voice chimed in, getting the attentions of the girls as they turned to see him there alongside Minoru and Weisz. Upon seeing the trio, Rebecca gave off a skeptical look.
"What is it, Kaminari?" the Creation Quirk user asked.
"Uh, I'm not sure if you girls heard..." Minoru began, turning and pointing towards a group of cheerleaders skipping through the cafeteria, "but all the girls are supposed to get dressed up in those cheerleader uniforms," he told them.
"HUHHHHHH?!" Kyoka exclaimed in surprise as her cable-like earlobes sprung up.
"That's funny, I didn't hear anything about that..." Momo admitted as she raised an eyebrow.
"You don't have to believe us..." Weisz chimed in, "but this is coming from Mister Aizawa himself," he pointed out. Completely unconvinced, Rebecca gave off an annoyed look. And then she blinked upon realizing something. A devious grin crossed her face.
"Hey, Kyoka..." she whispered, getting the Earphone Jack Quirk user's attention as she glanced over. Rebecca leaned over and whispered into her ear before she perked up in surprise. The other boys noticed.
"Uh... whatcha' talkin' about over there, Rebecca?" Weisz inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, nothing!" the Leaper Quirk user claimed in reply, turning to face them, "But you know... I think this is a pretty obvious play to get us in cheerleading outfits," she noted with a smirk. The three boys grimaced.
"Uh, n-no!" Minoru stuttered in response, waving his hands and sweating, "M-Mister Aizawa-"
"Dude, don't think we're dense," Kyoka advised while brandishing her jacks, "We're in the middle of a tournament after all..." she muttered angrily, causing the three boys to shiver.
"Now there's no reason get all worked up over this..." Rebecca chimed in, placing a hand onto her friend's shoulder, "How 'bout we cut a deal for some fun?" she suggested.
"A-A deal?" Denki stammered in question.
"Mm-hmm," the Leaper Quirk user responded with a nod of her head, "We don't tell Mister Aizawa what you tried to do..." she began, "and in exchange..." she continued as the trio of perverse teens grimaced in fright. What was she going to make them do?
"Uh..." Izuku uttered out, blinking rapidly to register what he was witnessing once he got back onto the field. Beside him, Rebecca grinned at her handiwork. Thanks to the deal she cut with the boys earlier, she not only saved the girls from dressing as cheerleaders by accident, she got Denki, Minoru, and Weisz to wear the outfits instead.
"THIS ISN'T FUNNY!" the Machina Maker Quirk user yelled angrily while blushing.
"Consider it a lesson for being pervs, duckies!" Rebecca shouted back while still smiling, chuckling all the while.
"You really caught them off guard, huh?" Izuku guessed, earning a nod in reply from his best friend. However, she then noticed the troubled expression upon the One For All inheritor's face.
"Wh-What is it?" she stuttered in question.
"I... had a talk with Todoroki," he replied. He quietly explained what he learned before lunch about the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user's upbringing. It was... hard. Rebecca could feel her eyes slowly widening with each thing her friend recalled hearing.
"Whoa..." she uttered afterwards, "I mean... I know he's all hyper-focused on beating you, but..." she kept going, looking over to Shoto, "I thought Quirk Marriages like that were outlawed..." she admitted.
"So did I..." her best friend confessed, "Either way, I already echoed Todoroki's declaration of war," he confirmed, "I'll do what I can to beat him," he vowed firmly.
"Izuku..." the Leaper Quirk user uttered out worriedly.
"All right, it's time to announce the matchups for the first round of the tournament!" Midnight announced while up on stage, "Before we get started, one competitor from the winning team of the last round gets a bye," she told the 31 students still in the competition, "Aoyama, Granbell, Kogetsu, and Fumikage," she continued to the winners of the cavalry battle, "Please decide amongst yourselves who will get the bye for the first round," she requested.
"Someone gets to skip the first round of battles, huh?" Shiki noted, putting his hands onto his hips.
"Then I believe it's clear who we should nominate," Fumikage remarked with crossed arms.
"Wi," Yuga agreed. The three of them turned to Homura, who blinked in surprise and blushed.
"I..." she uttered, managing to let off a small smile, "I'm truly grateful," she said with a bow, "Good luck to you three," she remarked before stepping forward. Noticing, Midnight smirked.
"Kogetsu will be advancing to the second round via the bye she's been granted!" she announced as the crowd cheered, "Now then, it's time to draw lots to determine who'll be facing whom in the other matches!" she declared, picking up a box with a hole in it.
"Um... excuse me?" Mashirao chimed in, getting her attention. It turned out that he didn't want to compete in the tournament ahead. Rather, he didn't feel worthy of it as he didn't remember a thing during the cavalry battle. The same applied to Nirengeki, who also wanted to drop out.
'Come to think of it, weren't those two on the same team?' Rebecca wondered inwardly, 'I'm sure I saw them with...' she started to remember, only to wind up spotting Hitoshi and Laguna nearby. They both didn't seem to care that their teammates were withdrawing from the event. Midnight finally accepted Mashirao and Nirengeki's withdrawals.
"Now then, we'll need two competitors in place of them," she noted aloud, "In which case..." she continued, drawing her flail, "Asui and Shoji!" she exclaimed over the mic, catching the attentions of the two in question, "In recognition of your hard work during the cavalry battle, you'll advance to the next round!" she declared.
"Ribbit!" Tsuyu croaked happily.
"We're honored," Mezo added as he bowed politely. Minoru seethed in the background, tearing up out of frustration. Soon afterwards, the matches were announced in order.
Homura Kogetsu (BYE) Kleene Rutherford VS Tsuyu Asui Denki Kaminari VS Ibara Shiozaki Mei Hatsume VS Tenya Iida Izuku Midoriya VS Hitoshi Shinso Kris Rutherford VS Mezo Shoji Shoto Todoroki VS Hanta Sero Setsuna Tokage VS Yuga Aoyama Shiki Granbell VS Yosetsu Awase Reiko Yanagi VS Momo Yaoyorozu Itsuka Kendo VS Mina Ashido Fumikage Tokoyami VS Eijiro Kirishima Weisz Steiner VS Juzo Honenuki Laguna Husert VS Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu Rebecca Bluegarden VS Maria Slime Katsuki Bakugo VS Ochaco Uraraka"Maria Slime?" Rebecca uttered in confusion upon spotting the name next to hers on the bracket.
"You rang?" the young woman she'd be facing remarked in question, getting her attention as she yelped in surprise to see her there, "Looking forward to our dance later, kitten," she said, walking off and licking a lollipop.
'That... was weird...' the Leaper Quirk user admitted inwardly as a drop of sweat rolled down her head. She then recalled Maria using her Quirk during the obstacle race. 'I'm gonna have to be really quick if I'm gonna win!' she noted to herself, balling her hands into fists. Everyone was prepared to fight however they needed to for the tournament, psyching themselves up however they could and thinking of strategies. It was going to be one heck of a brawl...
Sipping on his drink in his bar, Joe set down the glass on the counter before exhaling a sigh. Kurogiri took notice.
"Something troubling you?" he inquired, narrowing his yellow eyes.
"Nah, I'm feelin' peachy," the bar owner assured, "As a matter of fact, I got eyes on a guy who's stirring up some trouble in Japan," he pointed out, "You heard of the Hero Killer?" he inquired curiously with a grin.
And the plot thickens! I'm hoping to really hammer in that I'm doing something a lot different compared to my prior Miles Morales AU in the forum. This is going to be something I'm really gonna treasure going forward. Anyways, thanks again for the continued support of this story! More will hopefully come quite soon!