Hey everyone! We're back with another chapter of "Through the Rough"! After last time, it seems there's been a bit more traffic to this story, which I'm really happy about! I think by the end of this month, we should hopefully hit the 30-chapter mark and get closer and closer to being caught up. But that is easier said than done. Anyways, here are a couple of guest reviews that I'd like to respond to!
Ex Valor: Great chapter. So, later on when you do the movies. Will you do anything different for Heroes Rising and World Hero Mission? Like at the end of Heroes Rising, instead of getting it to Bakugo, can you give it to Shiki or maybe Rebecca?
First off, thanks for your comment. As to your questions, that's yet to be determined. I've already got Two Heroes set in stone, but I don't know what I'll do for Heroes: Rising or World Heroes' Mission just yet. I have some ideas in mind, but they'll be brought into the light when the time comes. They aren't going to come out for a while though, so please be patient.
Guest: Good chapter. When you do rising hero, shiki could fight with deku and shoto while Rebecca helps Uraraka hold off Nine. As for OT: Good job. Wonder how the final exams arc will work out.
Thanks again for the kind comment! Again, I have yet to really consider options for the movie chapters since they're so far away. But we'll see what happens when we get to them.
That's all the comments for now! Time to get this chapter started!
"RECIPRO... BURRRRSSSSTTT!" Tenya exclaimed, unleashing blue flames from his exhausts before speeding past Ibara's vines. He then grabbed his opponent from behind by her shoulders and pushed her toward the edge of the ring. Once he shoved her out of bounds, he came to a stop. He politely bowed afterwards.
"Shiozaki is out of bounds! Iida wins!" Midnight announced as she swung her flail out. The crowd cheered.
"Way to go, Iida!" Ochaco cheered as she pumped up her right fist.
"Man, that was super fast!" Shiki noted excitedly, "Tenya's amazing!" he added as his eyes sparkled.
"So the first match of the next round is gonna be Homura against Tenya..." Rebecca realized, putting her hand onto her chin, "Blades against speed..." she mentioned, "Not sure who would win a fight like that..." she admitted.
"Uh oh!" Mina chimed in, "Looks like someone's taking after her boyfriend~!" she teased. The Leaper Quirk user blushed a bright red.
"N-No!" she stuttered out, "I told you, we're not like that!" she claimed out of frustration.
"Sure you did..." Mina responded with a sly smirk. Out of annoyance, Kyoka poked her with her jacks. "OW!" she yelped.
"Knock it off, Ashido..." the Earphone Jack Quirk user insisted of her, "Rebecca already said that she and Midoriya aren't a thing..." she noted, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I know... but they look so cute together!" Mina pointed out. Chuckling sheepishly, the Leaper Quirk user thanked Kyoka for stepping in. She looked down toward the field to see Izuku walk up the steps.
"Now for the third match of the second round!" Mic announced excitedly, "Winning his first match by the skin of his teeth is Izuku Midoriya of Class A's Hero Course!" he exclaimed in introduction, "We'll see how he fares against the raging wind that is Kris Rutherford, who's from Class B's Hero Course!" he added as the Wind Rage Quirk user walked onto the stage, "We're gonna see just who comes out on top!" the announcer declared loudly as the crowd cheered.
"Your Quirk..." Kris began, getting his opponent's attention as he blinked in surprise, "it's quite unique," he noted, "Similar to All Might's..." he mentioned, narrowing his eyes.
"Oh, uh..." Izuku stuttered out, taking on a ready stance.
"Nevertheless, I won't lose here," his opponent declared as his green-glowing markings appeared along his arms, "To avenge my sister, I'll make it to the semifinals... and defeat Kogetsu," he vowed while having wind swirl about him. The One For All inheritor could understand his foe's compassion. But even so, he didn't want to lose either. He took a ready stance.
"And... begin!" Midnight exclaimed, swinging down her flail. Izuku shot forward in an instant, readying his right fist as he reared it back. Swinging his right arm, Kris had a gust blow him back. He tumbled along the ground, coming to a stop as he reactivated his Full Cowling.
"Skymech Ninjutsu Attack..." his opponent began, putting his right hand into a seal before swinging both of his arms back, "WINDSTORM SLASH!" he bellowed, firing off a huge blast of wind that blew his foe back while leaving an x-shaped mark in the concrete.
"Yikes!" Weisz yelped from the stands.
"That Quirk's insanely strong..." Eijiro noted with a grimace.
"But what's the difference between his and his sister's?" Minoru asked curiously.
"I think it's the flow of their wind," Mezo answered, getting their attentions.
"The... flow?" Ochaco repeated in confusion.
"Yeah," Tsuyu responded, putting a finger onto her cheek, "Kleene's wind was pulling me in during our match," she recalled as she glanced up in thought.
"And Kris' was pushing back on me," the Dupli-Arms Quirk user added, "Midoriya's not going to be able to get close without finding a way around it..." he pointed out.
"I have faith that he will," Homura chimed in to everyone's surprise, "Izuku is strong," she noted, "And besides..." she continued, glancing over to Shoto, "he is aiming for the top," she stated firmly.
"Five Percent..." the One For All inheritor started to echo, only to wind up blown away again by another strong blast of wind. He fell onto his back, grimacing all the while. Watching from the stands and clutching his pants nervously was All Might, whose eyes were shaking.
"Come on, Young Midoriya..." he pleaded, seeing his successor slowly get back onto his feet and pant heavily.
"Why do you wanna be a hero?" Kris asked after a moment, causing him to perk up in surprise, "Everyone has their reasons," he pointed out, "Fame, money, networking..." he listed off, "It goes on," he noted, "So what's your reason?" he questioned curiously.
"Why does it matter to you?" Izuku wondered aloud in response, quickly leaping aside to evade another blast of wind.
"Because my sister and I share the dream of becoming heroes in honor of family," the Wind Rage Quirk user answered, "I want to know what kinds of heroes we'll have to surpass in order to reach that goal," he mentioned seriously, "So what kind do you want to be?" he asked again. Taking a few deep breaths, Izuku remembered what Ochaco and Shiki had said about their own dreams of becoming heroes. Hearing them at face value, anyone would think they were selfish. But understanding who they were and knowing where they came from, their goals were admirable. And his...
"I... want to be a hero that saves people with a smile on my face," he stated firmly as Kris blinked in surprise, "And I know I've a lot of work to do before I can reach that level..." he added in admittance, "But today, this'll be my start!" he declared vigorously as the green bio-electricity sparked around him.
"I see..." Kris uttered in realization, making his markings glow brightly as he readied his right hand, enshrouding it in wind, "In that case, I'll finish this now," he decided, "I know how strong you could be if this fight were to continue," he concluded, "Skymech Ninjutsu Attack..." he began, dashing forward, "WINDSTORM PALM STRIKE!" he bellowed, about to slam the palm of his hand into his opponent. Izuku grimaced.
'Five Percent isn't going to be enough to endure these wind attacks!' he noted inwardly, 'But going all out means risking a part of my body...' he realized, 'That'll be fine!' he assured of himself, 'I'll have a lot of time before the next round to recover!' he pointed out through his thoughts, curling his left ring finger in and having it surge with energy, 'Just imagine the egg in the microwave...' he insisted of himself. Kris closed in.
"DELAWARE..." his opponent started to echo as his classmates in the stands blinked in surprise, "SMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he roared, flicking his finger just as the Wind Rage Quirk user approached. A huge blast of air erupted afterwards, with everyone bracing themselves from its force. Once it subsided, Rebecca looked out worriedly toward the field, which was covered by a cloud of dust.
"Ergh..." Kris groaned out, sitting up from wherever he was. He felt his head touch something, causing him to blink in surprise. He looked to see that it was the stadium wall. "Ah!" he gasped, realizing that he had been blown out of the ring. Back upon the stage, Izuku's ring finger was broken as he winced. But nevertheless, he remained standing firm where he was. Midnight raised her flail and aimed it at him.
"Midoriya wins!" she announced, "He advances to the third round!" she declared, causing the crowd to cheer excitedly.
"YEAH! WAY TO GO!" Rebecca exclaimed from the stands.
"He broke his finger like he did earlier..." Tsuyu pointed out.
"But he won without doing serious damage to himself," Mashirao added, "I think that's good for him," he noted reassuringly.
"True," Kyoka agreed. Kris stood up from the wall and exhaled a sigh of frustration. He looked up at his Class B classmates before glancing back at his opponent, who gave him a respectful bow before departing.
'Save people with a smile...' the Wind Rage Quirk user remembered, clenching his fists, 'I wish I could do that for you... Kleene,' he admitted inwardly.
"Damn brat..." Tomura muttered out in frustration, having watched the match live on TV.
"Heh," Drakken chuckled, "Get over yourself, Shigaraki..." he advised seriously while drinking his whiskey, "You're gonna just give yourself a headache over all this Sports Festival crap..." he pointed out.
"Shut up..." the Decay Quirk user grumbled, glaring back at him.
"Hmph," Drakken scoffed with a smirk, turning back to Kurogiri, "So anyways..." he continued to the warping villain, "this Hero Killer's been on the streets maiming heroes left and right," he told him, "Some dead, others left on the brink, you name it," he mentioned, "Point is, he's been making rounds as a bad guy thinning out the competition," he noted, "What say you and the brat take him in as someone to finally join your motley crew?" he inquired with a smirk. Kurogiri narrowed his eyes.
"What will it cost us?" he asked.
"Nothin'," Drakken replied, sliding his empty glass with ice back over the counter, "That's 'cause I got another job to deal with," he pointed out, getting up from the bar stool and heading off, "You remember what your boss said about Hermit, right?" he inquired curiously. Elsewhere in Japan, Müller was grinning excitedly as he held onto what looked like a data chip.
"I've finally done it..." he noted aloud, "I've successfully made a copy of the Master Code Quirk!" he exclaimed with delight, "Although... I will need to test it to make sure..." he realized, "And if all goes well, I'll create a copy for myself...!" he concluded, chuckling a little, "So..." he continued, looking toward another figure in the laboratory with him, "are you ready to be my first test subject?" he inquired curiously. He was speaking to a tall thin man. He had a long pointy nose and elfish ears. Half of his slim face looked like it was cracked, and he had some armor-like metal covering his large and spiky chin. He had sharp teeth, dark lipstick, and piercings. He wore dark clothes and carried a scythe.
"Byahaha..." he laughed, "It'd be my pleasure for Drakken Joe's sake..." he remarked, licking his lips.
And the plot thickens! I'm still super excited to get into the remaining Sports Festival matches. If you wanna see them sooner, then please leave reviews as either guests or users! I'd really love to hear all your thoughts! Thanks again, and I'll see you later!