Wow, we really are moving at a rapid pace! At this rate, I think we'll definitely get the story up to date around the end of April! Anyways, thanks for getting this story to over 100 reviews, everyone! It means a lot to me!
Also, I forgot to respond to a guest review from one of the recent chapters. Sorry about that!
Ex Valor: Great chapter, keep up the great work. So, later on in the story will the Eden Zero Characters get their own arc in the my hero story or will you be making up one for them?
Good question, and I think given the universe that they're in, some of the EZ characters will get arcs of their own made by me, while others will be based around their stories in the actual series. I'm especially excited to work with characters like Homura and Shiki more in terms of character arcs.
Now onto the chapter to close out the first round of the tournament!
"Nice going out there, Steiner!" Eijiro complimented with a thumbs up as Weisz returned from the field.
"Yeah, that was incredible!" Toru added. Smirking with pride, the Machina Maker Quirk user sat himself down next to his classmates.
"I was pretty rad out there, wasn't I?" he assumed, "Bet everybody's quaking in their boots about who they'll be fighting next..." he remarked confidently, huffing out puffs of steam from his nostrils.
'What an egomaniac...' Rebecca muttered inwardly.
"Hey Rebecca..." Izuku began, getting her attention as she looked over to her best friend, "shouldn't you be getting ready for your match?" he asked of her.
"O-Oh, right!" she stuttered out in response, quickly shooting up to her feet and hurrying off, "Wish me luck, guys!" she exclaimed with a wave of her right hand.
"Knowing you, you won't need it," Izuku remarked, much to her surprise as she stopped for a moment. She then cracked a smile with a giggle, hurrying off into the tunnel. In the meantime, some of the others stared over at the One For All inheritor in shock.
"Midoriya, since when were you such a smooth talker?" Mina inquired, causing him to widen his eyes.
"Wh-What?" he stuttered out, blushing a little.
"Yeah man, that was like the coolest line any dude could say to a girl!" Denki noted with a wink, "A-plus on the flirting!" he remarked. Izuku's face exploded into a bright red.
"F-F-F-Flirting?!" he stammered, "N-No, it's not like that!" he claimed, waving his hands around frantically.
"Guys, shut up," Kyoka chimed in, "The next fight's about to start," she pointed out. Inwardly, Izuku thanked the Earphone Jack Quirk user as he sighed with relief. He looked down toward the field to see Tetsutetsu and Laguna make their way onto the stage, having been introduced by Present Mic.
"That guy's from General Studies like Shinso, right?" Hanta inquired, putting his right hand onto his chin.
"Yeah, and I didn't see him use his Quirk..." Rikido mentioned while crossing his arms over his chest, "Wonder what it's like..." he said curiously. Taking out his notebook, Izuku readied a blank page. From what he knew and heard, Tetsutetsu's Quirk was similar to Eijiro's. But as for Laguna, there was nothing. So now was a good opportunity to see what the General Studies student was like in battle.
"You may begin when ready!" Midnight declared, swinging her flail down. In that instant, Tetsutetsu coated his body in a silvery steel.
"I don't know how two Gen Ed guys managed to get this far, but you're not getting any further like your friend!" he vowed, charging forward. Removing his hands from his pockets, Laguna let out a sigh.
"You know..." he began as blue-glowing lines appeared underneath his left eye, "I thought heroes weren't supposed to just charge in recklessly..." he remarked, suddenly forming a massive hand made up of water in front of himself. Everyone gasped in surprise. Tetsutetsu had no time to dodge as the water hand crashed into him, causing him to tumble back along the concrete field. He stopped before he could make his way out of bounds, getting back onto his feet.
"What the heck?!" he yelped in surprise, widening his eyes.
"You can't go underestimating the power of water, dude," Laguna noted, "It can even crush steel..." he pointed out, swinging his right hand out to fire off a flurry of water pellets that rained onto his opponent.
"AGH!" he yelled in agony.
"No freakin' way..." Eijiro uttered out, quite shocked by battle.
"How's this guy just in General Studies?!" Minoru wondered aloud, "His Quirk's crazy strong!" he yelled. Hearing that, Izuku had to agree. Laguna definitely had a Quirk that would've almost certainly landed him in the Hero Course for certain if he had taken the exam. But did he?
"Dammit..." Tetsutetsu cursed as he slammed his right fist against the ground, making it crack. Gnashing his sharp teeth, he charged forward. "I'M NOT GIVING UP!" he yelled angrily at his foe. He narrowed his eyes, taking notice of the tears pricking his opponent's.
"Tears..." he uttered out, readying his fingers, "You lose," he said. The moment he snapped his fingers as Tetsutetsu attempted to punch him, the Steel Quirk user splashed onto the ground in the form of water. Everyone gasped in shock. "Don't worry, I can turn him back," Laguna assured, looking over to Midnight, "But this is as good as immobilizing him, right?" he guessed.
"Y-Yes!" she stuttered in response, "Husert wins!" she announced, aiming her flail toward him, "He advances to the second round!" she declared. With another snap of his fingers, the blue-haired man made the puddle of water transform back into Tetsutetsu.
"My signature technique lets me use my opponent's tears to my advantage," he told his former foe, "Sorry if it scared you," he apologized in advance.
Laguna Husert! Quirk: Tears Lover!
He's got control over the moisture of his body and water, allowing him to use it in all sorts of ways! However, he can only manipulate a target's moisture if they're tearing up! And there's all sorts of ways to go and do that!
"Dude, your Quirk's insane..." Tetsutetsu pointed out while lying on his knees, "How the hell aren't you in the Hero Course?" he asked of his departing foe.
"...Ever stop to think that I didn't want to be there in the first place?" he questioned back, looking up into the stands to see his cheering classmates. More specifically, he looked towards Hitoshi, who stared back tiredly. Meanwhile, Weisz was actually starting to sweat a little. His first match might've been a clean win. But with Laguna being his opponent next, he wasn't so sure what would happen...
"Huh..." Rebecca exhaled, calming herself down after tying her hair up into a ponytail. She was admittedly nervous about fighting. But after Izuku's encouraging words, she was determined to win. At that moment, the door to the waiting room opened. "Huh?" she uttered out, right before paling with fright, "AAAAH!" she shrieked, seeing the rather stone-faced and hardened expression upon Ochaco's face.
"Oh, uh... sorry!" the Zero Gravity Quirk user quickly apologized with a stutter.
"N-No, you're fine!" Rebecca assured while stammering, "I know you're probably nervous about fighting Kacchan..." she pointed out.
"Yeah..." Ochaco admitted in reply, "You might face him, too..." she noted, glancing off to the side.
"I know..." the Leaper Quirk user responded, "But you know, I'm not scared," she confessed, much to her classmate's surprise, "I mean, after seeing how Izuku stood up to him during our combat training..." she continued, "I figure no one should really just give up against him," she stated, "And I'm sure you won't either," she assured additionally with a wink. Ochaco gave off a smile, followed by a giggle.
"Deku means a lot to you, doesn't he?" she guessed, causing Rebecca to blink in surprise.
"Yeah, he's my best friend..." she noted in reply, giving off a small blush and a smile, "Anyways, I better get going!" she realized, running off. Inwardly, Ochaco wished her classmate good luck before contemplating her upcoming match.
"We're almost done with the first round, folks!" Mic exclaimed over the microphone, "There've been some crazy matches so far, and we're close to ending it with a bang!" he pointed out, "Now for the fifteenth match!" he announced as the two competitors made their way up onto the stage, "From the Hero Course's Class A, we have the speeding beauty, Rebecca Bluegarden!" he introduced.
"Eheheheh..." the Leaper Quirk user chuckled sheepishly, somewhat flattered as the crowd cheered.
"And her opponent, who's hailing from the Support Course, Maria Slime, the long-legged lady who can make those legs longer!" Mic introduced as the young woman took her lollipop out from her mouth and tossed it aside.
"Wait, Support?" Rebecca repeated out of surprise.
"Not in the same class as Mei, but yeah," Maria answered, "Anyways kitten, I think we should get this party started," she insisted with a smirk. Letting off a glare, the Leaper Quirk user took a ready stance.
"And begin!" Midnight exclaimed, swinging down her flail.
"Heh," Maria chuckled, stretching her leg out toward her opponent, who blinked in surprise before ducking away to avoid getting struck, "Don't think you're safe just yet, kitten..." she advised, "Against me, you've got no chance..." she stated confidently.
Maria Slime! Quirk: Slime!
She can manipulate parts of her body to stretch and bend in a way that's like slime itself! However, she can only stretch one part of her body at a time!
'She's definitely fast, but I won't get fooled!' Rebecca declared inwardly, activating her Quirk as the wing-like markings at her legs glowed a bright blue. She sped forward to her opponent.
"Oh right, you've got speed at your side..." Maria realized. Her stretched leg quickly retracted, catching up to the Leaper Quirk user. She reacted too late as she was kicked in the back of the head, being sent flying forward toward her foe. "Gotcha'," he remarked, slamming her left fist into her target's stomach. Saliva flew from her mouth as she gasped for air, getting slammed down against the ground.
"Rebecca!" Kyoka exclaimed in fright.
"Hang in there!" Shiki cried out desperately. Izuku grimaced, gritting his teeth worriedly for his best friend. Regaining her breath, she stood back up and glared at Maria.
"Heh," she chuckled, rearing her right fist back. Seeing that, the Leaper Quirk user sped toward her left side and slid to a stop. Thinking that she had found her opening, she charged. However, the Slime Quirk user smirked. "Too bad," she remarked. Lifting her left leg up, she stretched it out to slam into Rebecca's stomach, causing her to wince while also sending her flying out of the ring. With teary eyes, she managed to look towards the stands, seeing the shocked expressions on everyone's faces, including Izuku's. She was about to lose.
'Everyone... I'm sorry...!' she apologized inwardly as her Ether markings kept glowing brightly.
No one realized in that moment because it never happened in our time, but... Rebecca unlocked another nature behind her Quirk.
"Ah!" she gasped, suddenly finding herself standing on the stage.
'What... just happened?' she asked inwardly, seeing Maria standing across from her, 'I was about to lose and...' she noted to herself, narrowing her eyes.
"And begin!" Midnight exclaimed, swinging down her flail.
"Heh," the Slime Quirk user chuckled out, stretching her right leg toward her foe. Reacting quickly, Rebecca ducked down and dashed forward as her markings glowed brightly. With a smirk, her opponent reeled her leg in, about to strike her from behind. However, the Leaper Quirk user ducked to evade it in the nick of time, much to her surprise.
'She... knew that was coming?!' she questioned inwardly with widened eyes.
'I have no idea what's going on...' Rebecca admitted through her thoughts, speeding forward even faster, 'but I'm not going to waste this chance!' she declared inwardly, tackling her foe before she could fully reel her leg in.
"Hey...!" she yelled out. With a mighty shout, the Leaper Quirk user grabbed her by her uniform, swinging her around before tossing her down onto the ground. She tumbled over to a stop, pushing herself up with a glare.
"Slime, you're out of bounds!" Midnight announced, causing Maria to gasp as she saw that she was indeed just outside of the white lines that made up the ring. Her opponent took deep, tired breaths, wiping the sweat off of her face with her right hand. She had no idea how things had turned out the way they did, nor why she wound up seeing what could've been her defeat. She looked up towards the stands and smiled to Izuku, who grinned back, happy that his best friend had won.
The plot thickens as the first round is nearly over! I have to say, I really enjoyed getting to write Rebecca's struggles as well. It's going to lead to something pretty amazing in the future...
But that's it for now, everyone! Hope you enjoyed!