Howdy folks, how's it going?
Honestly hoping this chapter goes through alright, site's been a bit wonky lately.
As always, huge shout out to Chaos productions for his assistance. I would also have liked to do a shout out to the two reviewers that actually correctly guessed the inspiration for last chapter's fight, but I can't even check the reviews due to the aforementioned site wonkiness…
And as always I own neither BNHA nor WH 40K.
Now, without further ado, enjoy.
/
As the roar of the crowds dimmed and the combatants were carried or walked off the stage, up in the private booth, Kaina let out a low a whistle. "Gotta say, I didn't except the very first match to be a straight up sword fight. Good thing you guys still got Recovery Girl working here, because otherwise I imagine you'd get quite the PR nightmare if something had gone wrong."
"In fairness, U.A. also boasts of some of the most advanced medical facilities that money can buy. Recovery Girl never has any budget issues. But still your point is valid." Toshinori replied with a sigh. "I imagine the faculty's not going to be quite so permissive when she finally retires, if a proper replacement cannot be found. But at least those two showed greater restraint than I was expecting, so small mercies, I suppose. Speaking of, what did you think of the boy?"
"Honestly? From a purely technical standpoint, he's a bit of a mess." The heroine replied, looking ponderingly towards the screens, where some replays and highlights of the fight were still being shown. "There was little to no formal training of any kind in the way he carried himself that fight. Kid's clearly a self-taught brawler. That is usually an issue against better trained enemies, but he's also clearly not stupid, what with that little fake out at the end." She ultimately gave a little shrug. "He's unpredictable, is the vibe I am getting. And in my experience, out in the field that counts for a lot."
A fair enough assessment, the emaciated man found, having long since come to much the same conclusions during the time he'd know the odd teen. Credit where credit was due though, the boy was indeed showing far more restrain than he'd have expected so far. One could only hope it'd stay that way.
He scowled at the thought, trying to ignore the little voice in his head that was scolding him for just jinxing himself.
/
"Heya, guys!" Izuku called out cheerily as he approached the class' stands, making more than one student stop and double take at his sudden appearance.
"Uh, you got here quick, Midoriya." Sero commented uncertainly. "Congrats on the win, by the way."
"Thankz, Tapey boy!" The green-haired teen replied with a wide grin as he plopped down at his seat, not noticing how the other boy quietly mouthed the nickname in confusion. "T'wuz a proppah good scrap, it wuz. Shame it ended so fast, but I guess dat'z just how it iz sum times. Remind me tah look up bugsy later tho, he wuz a gud sport, unlike some gitz."
The surprisingly passive-aggressive end to that sentence was emphasized with a pointed glance in Todoroki's direction, the other teen just as pointedly ignoring it.
"Midoriya." Momo spoke up, after moment of looking him over and noticing the various nicks and scratches all over his uniform. "Maybe you should've dropped by the infirmary after the match, at least for a quick patch up?"
"You wot?" The boy replied confusedly, before reaching up to his cheek and smudging up the bit of blood that had been there. "Oh, dis? Nah, Boss, diz just be a wee scratch, I dun even feel it, ain't no need tah bother patchin' I up. Besides, ain't no way I wuz gonna be missin' dah next fite just fer dat!"
No zogging way he was gonna be around Recovery Girl any more than the absolutely necessary either, but they didn't really need to know that.
"If you're sure…" The pony-tailed girl conceded somewhat uncertainly, before their attention once more turned towards the announcer's booth.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, after an intense but rather collateral damage free bout, we are ready to proceed to the second fight! Bring in the contestants!" Present Mic's voice blared throughout the stadium, and once more cheers broke out as the contestants took their cue and stepped forward.
"In this corner, he's big, he's strong, he can throw hands like nobody else, let's give up for Mezo Shoji of 1-A!"
Shoji stepped up to the arena quietly, demeanor as stoic as ever, even as the crowds clapped and cheered. It was certainly a novel experience for the masked boy, but one that, he inwardly mused, I couldn't say he disliked, even if he thought Mic-sensei introductions could use some work.
"And his opponent, this lady has thorns, folks, and she is not afraid to use them, let's hear it for Ibara Shiozaki of 1-B!"
"…A bit more aggressive an introduction than I would have preferred, but I suppose it is harmless enough." The girl in question commented calmly as she approached, her entire demeanour radiating a confident serenity, as she looked over to her opponent and gave him a small, acknowledging nod. "I don't generally care for violence, but all the same, I do hope we can have a good match."
"Likewise." The masked boy replied with a nod of his own, after which silence falling between then, neither finding that there was much more to be said.
"Alright, you two, I doubt I'll have to worry about stressing this as much as with the last two," Midnight stated as she glanced between them, earning her a blink from the vine-haired girl and a knowing nod from the masked boy. "But I expect a nice, clean fight here. Are both combatants ready?"
"Yes." Shoji replied as he took a stance, his arms wide, almost as if they were wings that were unfolding ominously.
"Indeed." Shiozaki replied, calmly, but unlike her opponent, she didn't make much of a move, only clasping her hands together in apparent prayer.
"Alright, then… BEGIN!"
The masked boy did not waste time, immediately rushing towards the vine-haired girl, who remained motionless, even as some of her thorny tendrils surged towards him like lashing serpents. With an agility belied by his bulk, Shoji ducked under the first and leapt over the second without breaking stride. The third vine did hit home though, wrapping around one of boy's arms, but Shiozaki frowned as she found that this completely failed to stop the charge bearing down on her despite her efforts. Making a snap decision, turned her back to her opponent, the long veil of vines that was her hair moving and weaving into a bramble barrier, all sharp thorns aiming squarely at the incoming threat.
The sudden obstacle did give the masked boy pause, and with a glance at the vine still wrapped around his arm, he stopped, grabbed on to it, and begun stepping back, heaving at it as he went. His opponent seemed to have expected this, however, as several of her vines immediately slammed down and begun burrowing into the concrete, anchoring her in place.
Shoji frowned at this, specially so when his now stationary position allowed a few more vines to grip at him, wrapping around his arms and his torso, but he boy planted his feet, and did not budge at the pull.
"And Shoji's initial attempt at closing the gap is shut down as Shiozaki bunkers down, turning things into a tug of war!"
"Speaking in terms of defense, Shiozaki has the advantage in this match up, especially if it becomes a war of attrition." Aizawa threw in, because he just knew he was gonna catch flack later if didn't at least try the bare minimum at this commentator thing. "But Shoji's strength should not be discounted just yet."
For his part, the masked boy assessed the situation with a quiet hum, glancing down at the vines currently restraining him… and then for each arm that was restrained, a new one grew, grabbing onto the offending vines. With bulging muscles and a grunt of exertion, the boy heaved, ripping off the vines restraining him and immediately dashing around the blockade.
He had but a few moments to see Shiozaki glance in his direction as he came into view with wide eyes, before the surprise passed and the girl's form vanished behind even more vines, as the makeshift bramble past grew all around her in a protective sphere before he could fully cross the distance.
"Wow, Shiozaki takes the bunkering down up to 11. How will Shoji get past now?!"
How indeed, the boy in question thought to himself with a grunt of annoyance. He was under no illusion that this was not a bad match up for him, extra eyes and ears would avail him little here. Some more vines lashed out at him from the bramble ball as he thought, but again he managed to avoid them fairly easily, but Aizawa-sensei's commentary was fairly accurate. This was going nowhere fast, and there was no indication that Shiozaki would run out of steam before he did.
It became readily apparent to the boy that the only way to keep this from becoming a slog of attrition he was doomed to lose was to take a big gamble.
And so, throwing caution to the wind, the boy once again ducked and wove through the attacking vines as he charged the bramble barrier, growing as many arms with hands and mouths as he was able along the way.
As soon as he reached his target, he grabbed it tight, hands grasping and mouths biting for any purchase they could find. Just as he expected, the wall of vines immediately reacted, various tendrils wrapping around all over his body, attempting to drag him under, but the boy held firm, every muscle bulging against the restraints, keeping him in place.
"Oh boy, ladies and gentlemen, it seems like Shoji is trying to rip Shiozaki out of her lair with sheer brute force!"
That was certainly a possibility that had crossed the boy's mind the moment this idea had popped into head, but given how every vine he ripped and bit off was immediately replaced, it was clearly not feasible. Which led to what he was actually trying to do.
The boy focused, ignoring the stinging from all the nicks and cuts from the thorns, and with all of his strength, he begun to pull at the sphere. Not to try to breach the barrier, nor to free himself. Rather, he was straining to pull it up.
And slowly, ever so slowly, Shiozaki and the sphere she wove around herself were lifted off the ground, the vines that had been anchoring her into place going taut and snapping under the pressure, until with one final grunt, the boy completely ripped it off the ground, holding it aloft over his head.
"WOWZA! Like a titan holding the world, Shoji managed to dislodge Shiozaki! The strength on this kid!"
The boy did not waste time, immediately retracting most of his arms to free himself, making to toss the sphere with his opponent in it out of bounds.
But alas, Shiozaki's surprise and disorientation didn't last as long as he might have hoped. Just as he was about to make the throw, the sphere in his hands lost cohesion, unweaving as the multitudes of vines lashed out, making the boy lose his steady grip as gravity worked against him, trapping him in a massive entanglement.
From above the mass of vines, Shiozaki rose, calmly stepping down to the concrete floor, and turning around as her hair finished wrapping itself in a cocoon around her opponent, leaving only his head free.
"It was a valiant effort." She said in genuine praise as she looked down at the boy. "I am impressed with your strength, but I do believe this is over."
"…Yeah." Shoji admitted with a sigh, after a few moments of straining, to no avail. "It's my loss."
"Shoji has conceded defeat! Shiozaki wins the match!" Midnight immediately called the match, the crowds roaring their approval.
The fight ended, the vine-haired girl promptly released her foe, the large mass of mass of tendrils fading back into a more regular hair length, and she stepped forward, gently reaching out a hand to her downed opponent. Shoji took it gracefully, getting back to his feet, realizing as he did that she was looking him over, at all the little nicks and cuts he'd accrued during the fight.
"Please forgive me for hurting you." She said, her tone one of such genuine sorrow that the masked boy couldn't help but blink.
"It's quite alright, I heal quickly with my quirk." He reassured with a calm nod, most of the minor injuries around his arms already fading away. "And besides, in the grand scheme of things, you did me a favor."
"Beg pardon?" The girl voiced her confusion, blinking in turn.
"…Let's just say that I don't envy you your next match." Shoji commented with a knowing glance back to his class' stands.
/
To be quite honest, I had intended to get two matches done in this chapter, but the writing got away from me a bit. Some of the future matches will be very quick if not outright glossed over tho, or else it'll prolly be a bit of a slog.
Also, how about that recent manga chapter with Momo growing gun turrets, uh? Gotta admit, mine was a very wide grin when I saw that panel. I do so love it when I am enabled by canon.
Anyway, next time the tournament continues with a bit more speed, but before that we have the next update to Through the Eternities, so look forward to that.
Cya all in the next one, stay safe and take care.