Chapter 18 - Closing Out! Uraraka vs Ida!
Admittedly not having a significant interest in the fight between Yaoyorozu and Jiro, the cute reindeer boy, Chopper, had made his way out of the spectator stands and was currently going to catch up with his friends who were both preparing for battle against each other, Ochaco Uraraka and Tenya Ida.
"Ah, Chopper." Ida said, having not made his way to his waiting room yet, but being glad to see his friend regardless.
"Oh… hey Ida." Chopper stated, looking up at the boy, "I heard that your next fight is against Uraraka, are you sure you're alright with that?"
"Hm? But of course, my dear friend!" Ida stated, "It is surely a stressful occasion for me, but worry not! This point on our maps is not but one; it is not the only point that defines our relationship! So long as we both keep that in mind, nothing bad should come of this match!"
"Uh… I didn't really get all that…" Chopper admitted, "But… if you're okay with it, then that's good! Would you want to come with me to make sure Uraraka's alright too?"
Ida paused for a moment, considering what would be best for his friend.
"...No, and I don't believe you should either." Ida stated.
Hearing this from Ida, Chopper only had one response.
"Huh?"
In her own preparation room, Uraraka sat at a table, her brows furrowed, and an intense aura surrounding her.
This event was one of serious potential consequences to her… this was her first chance to show the world of pros what she could do; it was the first step for her to be able to make enough money to let her family live carefree lives, unobstructed by financial woes.
"Maaaannn…" Mina Ashido stated, entering into the door to the prep room Uraraka was in, "That guy beat me without even breaking a sweat... I didn't even get to show off my coolest moves!"
"Oh… good try anyways, Mina." Uraraka responded.
"Oh hey Ocha-" Mina began, before seeing the look on Ochaco's face, "WOAH?! What's with the scary look on your face?!"
"Ah… I'm just a little bit nervous for my next match…" Uraraka muttered.
"Oh… yeah. It's against Ida, right?" Mina noted, "You sure you'll be up for it? You guys are pretty close, after all."
"Yeah… I'll be fine." Uraraka stated, "This event… we're both looking to prove ourselves in it! So long as we both give it our best, I'm sure everything will work out just fine!"
"Right?" Mina said back to Ochaco with a smile, heading for the door, "Seems you've got a positive energy about this whole thing. Well, good luck out there! Beat Ida for me!"
"Yeah!.. I'll… try my best."
As Mina left, Ochaco was left yet again with nothing but a cold, deafening silence. She would be called for her match any second now… and when that time came, she'd win.
"Not going to give any tips to float-girl, Deku?" Bakugo asked Izuku aggressively, the latter of which was shocked by Bakugo making normal small talk with him.
"A-ah!" Izuku let out, "Well… this is her own match! Even if she wanted it… I figure it'd be doing her a disservice by giving her any advice."
"Hah. Seems you've got some balls after all." Bakugo smirked, "Keep up that moxie. Remember, we're fighting in the second round… and I don't want you bringing anything but your best!"
"Huh? Well I mean, there's no guarantee-"
"You're not gonna lose." Bakugo interjected, "And I won't either. At the very least, both of us have to acknowledge each other that much… otherwise, we're gonna be in a world of pain when it comes time for our match."
Bakugo then began to walk off, going to attempt to sit somewhere by his lonesome, though his friends likely wouldn't make that last long.
"Kacchan…" Izuku thought, "I should brainstorm ways to beat him… since I've already got a plan laid out for Shoji."
"NEXT UP IN THE RING, WE HAVE TENYA IDA, CLASS PRESIDENT OF 1-A!" Present Mic shouted, "FIGHTING AGAINST HIM IS MY OWN PERSONAL PICK TO TAKE IT ALL… OCHACO URARAKA, ALSO OF THE HERO COURSE!"
Both parties remained silent for a moment after their names were called, as they both heard the crowds around them cheer. The reality began to seep in for both fighters that they would be fighting one another... it was a moment that neither felt as prepared for as they would have liked, but nonetheless, they still had to accept that it would come nonetheless.
"Ida." Uraraka said, breaking the silence, "Let's give it our best."
Hearing Uraraka's words, Ida first offered his friend a solemn smile.
"READY…"
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Ida said, breaking his silence.
"START!"
The second that Present Mic announced that, Ida's engines fired. Uraraka had her guard up, and Ida took a firm breath through his nose, exhaling through his mouth. What seemed to be a second later, his engines bursted, and he began to run directly at his adversary… and Uraraka ran right back.
"Uraraka… what would you say her best bet is?" Ryuko asked Izuku.
"Well, Ida has complete control over the ground in this fight thanks to his incredible speed." Izuku said, as Ryuko followed along with his reasoning, "If Uraraka can get Ida to float… his mobility will be massively compromised! From there, it's just a battle of how to get him out of the arena!"
Uraraka, despite not having taken advice from Izuku, had come up with a general plan herself.
"Ida'll lead with a kick of some kind!" Ochaco thought, "I just have to-"
Before she expected it however, Ida leapt off of the ground, and delivered a swift roundhouse kick to the side of Uraraka's head, sending her barrelling to the outside of the arena.
"OH, AND IT SEEMS THAT URARAKA'S ALREADY OUT OF BOUNDS… CAN SHE FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT BACK?!"
Lightening herself, Uraraka began to kick off of the air behind her like she was swimming, propelling herself back onto the arena and landing on it firmly. Ida rushed towards Uraraka, and on instinct, Uraraka reacted, jumping into the air, still lightened. Doing so, she was able to dodge a kick from Ida, which left the boy vulnerable.
"Perfect!" Uraraka thought, smirking, "Now… release!"
Above Ida, Uraraka released her quirk's effect on herself, landing on top of the boy's shoulders. She put her hands up, prepared to attack with her quirk, but Ida wasn't going to make this easy.
"Not so fast!" Ida shouted, grabbing Uraraka by one arm and attempting to throw her out of bounds. Uraraka, however, took advantage of this, lightening herself to throw off Ida, and getting herself out of the boy's grip before he could react. Panicked, Uraraka wasn't sure just what to do from here, so she mimicked Izuku, and readied a 'Straw Hat Smash' which was to hit Ida's head.
"Release!"
Uraraka released control over her quirk right when her foot reached Ida's head, allowing for her strike on Ida to be far more powerful than it normally would be, causing Ida to stagger backwards after the impact of Uraraka's blow.
"Oops! I got carried away!" Uraraka thought.
"A valiant effort, Uraraka." Ida stated, with a smile on his face, "You've learnt a lot… but, it'll take more than that to defeat me!"
Ida then kicked up the gear he was using, as he jumped in the air, aiming to hit Uraraka right on the side of the body with a roundhouse kick using his left leg. As expected, Uraraka rolled out of the way to dodge, and aimed to utilize her Zero-Gravity quirk on Ida while he remained airborne from his last kick.
"Don't think I can't move freely in the air!" Ida stated, as utilizing his engines, he accelerated the leg he had previously used to attempt to attack Uraraka, this time succeeding in hitting her, and straight back into the center of the ring, no less.
"AND THAT'S A… firm hit from Ida…" Present Mic announced, beginning to lose his enthusiasm.
"Don't think I'm done yet!" Uraraka shouted, charging back towards Ida.
"Give up! I do not wish to senselessly harm you!"
Despite Ida's plea, Uraraka rushed towards Ida once more, attempting to grab him… but with another hit from Ida, she failed. Then, she tried again. She failed again. Then she tried again, only to meet another failure.
In the audience stands, nobody could bear to watch the fight.
"She keeps charging relentlessly, but… this is…" Present Mic began to mumble.
"How long is this gonna go on for?" Ryuko announced, "I'm bored! Uraraka should really just drop that floating rock pile on him!"
"Well, Ida doesn't know about the existence of it." Izuku noted, "After Uraraka began planning that, she's been drawing Ida's attention to the ground while subtly giving herself more ammunition!"
Uraraka was breathing heavily, as Ida only breathed lightly. It was clear that this fight was clearly more exhausting for one than the other.
"Now… then…" Uraraka stated, putting her hands together, "Let's see if you can dodge this!"
Ida questioned what was happening, as suddenly, he looked above himself.
"I thought she had something planned… but this?!"
Above him, thousands of rocks all began to fall from the sky, attacking the battlefield below indiscriminately. Ida utilized his engines to quickly dodge them, but with his focus clearly on dodging, he never noticed that Uraraka was on offense.
Touching Ida with all five of her fingers, Ida was shocked, as Uraraka's win condition was achieved, and Ida began to float.
"OH?! AND WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT… URARAKA HAS JUST SET UP A METEOR STORM, AND USING THAT, SHE'S GOTTEN A HOLD OF TENYA IDA WITH HER QUIRK!" Present Mic announced, "THIS BATTLE… IT AIN'T OVER JUST YET, FOLKS!"
"While she has issues with hesitating arbitrarily, her ability to adapt…" Aizawa thought, "Quite honestly, it's incredible. She's cemented herself as someone to look out for, that's for sure."
The floating Ida was forced to dodge rocks by flipping in midair, but unfortunately, even that wasn't enough to avoid getting hit by some, causing him to take just as much damage as Uraraka had up to that point; all of the progress Tenya Ida had made was outdone by Uraraka's attack she had been setting up all game.
"My limit…" Uraraka stated, holding back from throwing up by covering her mouth, "I'm nearing it… but… I can still do this! Like Deku… I'll win!"
Lightening herself, Uraraka then sought to fly up beside Ida.
"I must apologize, Uraraka." Ida stated, as Uraraka was shocked by Ida's calm tone.
Before Uraraka could even blink, Ida had activated his quirk in full throttle.
"RECIPRO-BURST!"
Boosting into Uraraka at unprecedented speeds, he hit her in the chest, shooting her across the stadium and out of bounds. Ida landed on the ground, as his engines stalled afterwards… he was useless after this point.
"Hey! What's the big idea?! Why are you going all out on just a poor, defenseless girl?!" A nameless pro from the audience clamored, "Just to be sure… you want to be a hero… right?! Then stop toying with the poor girl!"
"Yeah, he's right!" another pro said, as the crowd began booing Ida.
Static on the microphone of an announcer began to ring, as everyone's attention was drawn to it.
"Ha… if that's how you see this fight, then I think you might have to get your eyes checked… especially as a pro hero. Go home and start job hunting." Aizawa shot daggers into every person who had boo'd previously, "Uraraka's not some weak girl who needs your pity. She's been giving it her all this entire fight, and is a foe who's gone so far as to push Class 1-A's president to use his strongest technique! He recognized her strength!"
"N-no way!" Ida thought, but not in response to Aizawa's speech.
From the air, none other than Ochaco Uraraka could be seen, still lightened, and flying down towards the arena below. Landing on it, Ida breathed heavily, unsure of what he could do next.
Uraraka covered her mouth again, coughing, as this time, instead of almost throwing up, she coughed up blood.
"Blood…"
"Neither of us can use our quirks now." Ida stated, "So I supposed we'll have to finish this without them then!"
Uraraka could barely move, but nonetheless, she still sought to keep fighting.
"Back during the Battle Trial… I was knocked out randomly, and ended up contributing nothing." Uraraka thought, "During USJ, I could do nothing while my friends fought a monster… now, I won't sit back and do nothing!"
On the flipside, Ida thought similar thoughts.
"Uraraka… during this fight, my opinion of her has only risen." Ida thought, "Not only that… It inspires me to do better! No longer will I be the fool who couldn't even call for help… no longer will I be the fool who gets knocked out by some random energy blast! Today… I will prove myself!"
The spirits of both Uraraka and Ida had both grown massively in that instant, to the degree that neither would've been knocked out by the energy blast both mentioned prior… and in juxtaposition, their strength had grown as well. Both fighters ran towards each other with ferocity, as both punched each other with all of their might, falling onto the floor afterwards.
"AND IT'S A DOUBLE KNOCKOUT! BOTH IDA AND URARAKA HAVE FALLEN… SO THE WINNER WILL… WAIT, WHAT?!"
Before Present Mic could finish his speech, Ida began to get up, straining himself in order to do so.
"IT SEEMS THAT TENYA IDA HAS GOT UP… BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!"
Mimicking her friend, Ochaco Uraraka also got up. The pair were both exhausted, but nonetheless, they both had a fight to win.
"Like before… whoever wins… no hard feelings… okay?" Uraraka confirmed with Ida.
"Of course, let us end this." Ida stated.
While Uraraka was struggling to even get out words, Ida could flawlessly, a byproduct of their conditioning. While Uraraka wasn't used to extreme physical exertion, Ida was due to the fact that training his quirk required him to be.
"My engines are cooling down… my quirk should be able to be used again in 10 seconds!" Ida thought.
Uraraka, seemingly overhearing this, rushed towards Ida, screaming in the process. She threw a left punch at Ida, who dodged effortlessly, as Uraraka fell onto the ground in the process. She struggled to get back up, but succeeded nonetheless.
"I'm… not… done!" Uraraka shouted.
Lightening herself once more, Uraraka allowed herself to get up much easier… but this would be at the cost of long term stamina, as her quirk was already at its limits.
"Ida's quirk will come back any second now!" Uraraka thought, "I have to make this last blow count!"
A ferocity of a wild beast inside of her, Uraraka then clocked her fist back. Ida could do nothing but stand there, unable to counter Uraraka's blow due to the speed her weightlessness gave it.
"Final Stand: 9.8 Impact!"
While Uraraka's fist rocketed towards Ida, she briefly put her other hand in front of it, putting her fingertips together and shouting, "RELEASE" as she did so in order to return weight to her fist. Once she did, Ida was firmly struck by a hard enough impact that his glasses broke as soon as his face was touched.
The spectators watched on in awe, as a girl they had all previously believed to be defenseless was strong enough to defeat someone who they had all believed was so far above her that it wasn't even funny.
"OH, AND OCAHCO URARAKA HAS UNLEASHED A DEVASTATING BLOW ON COMPETITOR TENYA IDA!"
Ida began to fall backwards due to the strong impact of Uraraka's punch, which had its power boosted by her incredible willpower in this fight.
"Uraraka… She's really giving it her all to beat me." Ida thought, "As her friend, I am very proud of her… and as my friend, she must be giving it all she's got… but… I'm sorry, even now, I cannot let you win."
Stopping himself from falling backwards, the Engines on Ida's calves began to spark once more, as he regained his footing. Ida began to formulate a plan on how to defeat Uraraka, but no such plan was needed. Uraraka was already on the ground, all out of energy, as Midnight came to check up on her.
"Not… yet…" Uraraka stated, panting on the ground, "...Dad!"
"...Uraraka is unable to continue!" Midnight announced, "Tenya Ida, moves on to the second round."
Ida breathed in, and bowed to Uraraka.
"You were strong."
Tears were brought back into Uraraka's eyes, as a pair of robots then came from out of nowhere with a stretcher.
"Take Ochaco Uraraka to Recovery Girl." Midnight ordered.
"Roger." Both robots responded.
"Dang… that was intense." Ryuko stated, "I had goosebumps the entire tail-end of that fight."
Ryuko turned over to Izuku, noticing that Izuku held a stern expression on his face, keeping silent. Ryuko then returned her attention to the battlefield… This wasn't just some school activity, but something that people had to genuinely bet their futures on proclaiming victory within. It wasn't something she could take as lightly as she had been up to this point.
"Well… I'm going to prepare for my fight now." Ryuko stated, getting up out of her seat.
"It's against Kirishima, right?" Izuku stated, getting up to face Ryuko, "You got a plan?"
Ryuko responded with a smirk, "You bet I do."
"Sorry I missed your call before… Dad." Uraraka said in an isolated position, talking into her cellphone.
"Not at all. I know you must be busy." the voice of her father responded, "Mom and I saw the whole thing on TV! You were so close… and did amazingly, honey!"
"But… there was so much more I could have done…"
"Well, you'll just have to put that into your plan for next year, right?"
"But… it only matters if you win…" Uraraka explained, "Cause you gotta show how to deal with everything to the pros."
"Don't worry about it, there's no rush."
"B-but for you… and Mom… I have to…"
"...Ochaco, you don't have to go so crazy over us." the voice of her father reassured her, "Nobody's born perfect… but that's okay! No matter the case… I know that my kind little Ochaco is gonna grow up to be a great hero someday."
Both at the kind words of her father, and the cold way she thought of her own loss, Ochaco Uraraka had burst into tears.
The next match was a short one of Ibara Shiozaki versus Tsuyu Asui. Tsuyu Asui was able to utilize her Frog quirk to dodge and weave through Ibara's vines, but in the end, Tsuyu lost due to Ibara's non-stop onslaught of attacks against her, never being able to get close enough to Ibara to counter her.
Next up was Shoto Todoroki versus Mei Hatsume.
"...Out of my way." the boy with red and white hair coldly ordered to his old man, on his way to begin preparing for his match.
"You disgrace me, Shoto." the father of the boy, Endeavor, responded, "You could have effortlessly dominated both Dodgebands and the Maze if you had used your left side."
Shoto's calm face began to have a quiet rage seep into it.
"Cease this pointless rebellion. It won't allow you any progress on your goal to surpass All Might."
A drop of sweat began to formulate on Shoto's face.
"You're different from your brothers! You are my greatest creation!"
"Is that all you have to say to me?"
Endeavor said nothing in response, for he had grown desensitized to Shoto's childish qualms with him.
"I'll win this with Mom's power alone… I'll never use your power in battle, so long as I can prevent it!"
"That may be good enough while you're a schoolkid." Endeavor put bluntly, "But you'll reach your limit soon enough."
Shoto's face was no longer recognizable as the same calm one as before. Put face to face with his old man, and being told words that he didn't want or need to hear over and over again… only fury remained within him now.
"HALFWAY THROUGH THE FIRST ROUND, AND ON OUR LEFT, COVERED IN HEAD TO TOE WITH SUPPORT ITEMS, WE HAVE MEI HATSUME OF THE SUPPORT COURSE!" Present Mic announced, "AND ON OUR RIGHT, WE HAVE THE STRONGEST OF THE STRONG, THE SON OF ENDEAVOR, SHOTO TODOROKI!"
With a swift "READY" and "GO" a moment later, the match between Hatsume and Todoroki began.
"Alright! Time to showcase my first baby…" Mei Hatsume stated, as she activated a support device, "An easy way for those without mobility enhancing quirks to keep up… Thruster Boots!"
Mei Hatsume rocketed towards Todoroki, but he didn't seem intent on playing her game.
"Sorry about this." Todoroki said.
The next moment, the entire arena was covered with a massive iceberg, the likes of which extended past every spectator, leaving everyone around in awe. The strength of Shoto Todoroki was unlike any other competitor… easily, he must've been the strongest in the Hero Course…
…
Right?
"T-thats…" Mei Hatsume stated, "A bit much… don't you think?"
Mei Hatsume was completely trapped inside of the iceberg which Shoto Todoroki had created… the attack wasn't just a spectacle, but it had accuracy and power which enabled him to effortlessly win the match.
"..." Midnight said with her face alone, "Hatsume… can you move?"
"Hmm… well technically no…" Hatsume stated, but the ice around her began to melt, "But with my built in warming devices on my suit… I'll be able to in no time!"
Todoroki watched Mei Hatsume slowly melt the ice around her, who mind you, he could have easily taken out at any moment.
"Sorry… I overdid it." he stated, "I was just annoyed."
"Not a problem!" Hatsume stated, getting out of Todoroki's iceberg a few seconds later, "But… at least let me go over my sales pitch, alright?!"
"Fine."
For the next ten minutes, Mei Hatsume proceeded to show off her arsenal of support items to the crowds… however, none were so unwise as to forget what Todoroki had shown them previously; his strength was unbelievable.
"HATSUME IS OUT OF THE RING!" Present Mic announced, "SHOTO TODOROKI MOVES ON TO THE SECOND ROUND!"
"Woah… that Todoroki is incredible." Kaminari noted.
"Yeah, but…" Bakugo began, before energizing himself, "I bet I could kick his ass."
"Uh… you sure, dude?"
Bakugo simply smirked at Kaminari, before sitting back down, losing himself in his thoughts, "But something about him… he looks… hurt."
Ryuko was stationed inside of the waiting area. She quickly breathed in, and breathed out.
"I've come a long way to get here…" Ryuko thought aloud, "And have gotten pretty lucky… I won't let that go to waste!"
Suddenly, the door to the waiting room opened, as Shoto Todoroki revealed himself.
"It's your turn." Todoroki stated plainly.
"Well, that was fast." Ryuko sarcastically uttered, as she got up, "Aren't you supposed to be some super-prodigy or something?"
"I don't need to hear your judging words right now." Todoroki, annoyed by something else, stated. Ryuko paused.
"You sure you're alright, dude?" Ryuko said, turning to face Todoroki.
Todoroki said nothing, and walked off. Ryuko merely muttered a 'Hm." and began walking to the arena to begin her own fight. She had no time to worry about Todoroki now, especially when she was going up against someone like Kirishima.
"NEXT UP, WE HAVE THE BATTLE OF THE RED HAIRS!" Present Mic announced, "ON THE LEFT, WE THE HARDENING MASTER, KIRISHIMA! AND ON THE RIGHT, THE QUIRKLESS WONDER WITH AN ASTONISHING HANDLE ON HER BLADE, RYUKO MATOI!"
"You gonna be alright in this battle?" Kirishima asked, not intending to offend.
"What, you scared of hitting a girl?" Ryuko commented, poking fun at Kirishima.
"No… not to underestimate you or anything, but my Hardening packs quite a punch-"
"Quit your self-entitled jabberin'." Ryuko interjected, "I made my way through the qualifiers just like anyone else. I can take a hit."
"READY?!" Present Mic shouted.
Kirishima smiled, impressed by Ryuko's manliness, "Heh. Alright then! Let's have a good match!"
"You bet your ass we will!" Ryuko stated, quickly grabbing her Scissor Blade from her guitar case on her back.
"START!"
Beginning the match, Ryuko threw the guitar case which formerly contained her Scissor Blade directly at Kirishima. Surprised by Ryuko's first attack, his only defense was to harden in order to block. Kirishima only smiled at this, and then rushed towards Ryuko.
"He undid his hardening when he began to rush towards me…" Ryuko thought, as she blocked a punch from Kirishima with her blade, but was still knocked back due to the power of his hardened punch, "And he only seems to harden when he's in close range…"
Kirishima began to push back Ryuko, as he ran towards her, striking her with hardened punch after hardened punch, each of which Ryuko blocked with her Scissor Blade.
"KIRISHIMA SEEMS TO BE GAINING GROUND ON RYUKO, PUSHING HER CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE EDGE OF THE ARENA!" Present Mic shouted, "IS THIS THE END FOR OUR FRIEND WITH THE LESS RED HAIR?!"
"Heh." Ryuko said, a smirk growing on her face as she was pushed back, to the shock of Kirishima, "Let's finish this off quick then, shall we?"
Ryuko then sidestepped right before Kirishima was to unleash a blow that would have knocked her two punches away from the edge of the arena, quickly getting behind the boy. Kirishima quickly adapted, turning around, as Ryuko began to unleash a flurry of blows on Kirishima, which the boy had to harden to stop.
"OH?! AND IT SEEMS RYUKO'S GOT KIRISHIMA IN A CORNER! HE CAN'T ATTACK!"
"Your mass… it increases when you use your quirk, doesn't it?!" Ryuko confidently shouted towards Kirishima, continuing her blows on the boy, who merely absorbed them all, "So if I just keep wailing on you with these blows… you can't dodge cuz you're too heavy to move!"
"Damn… she saw right through me!"
Kirishima was locked in a corner, unable to do anything to counter Ryuko's attack… but what's worse, he was beginning to bleed.
"Not only that… but her Scissor Blade is so strong as well! My hardening can't fully defend against it!"
In a desperate attempt, Kirishima clocked his hardened fist back, and threw a punch at Ryuko... but, while hardened, it was far too slow.
"You know what they say…" Ryuko smirked, as she grabbed Kirishima's arm, "The bigger they are… THE HARDER THEY FALL!"
Ryuko had thrown Kirishima to the ground, utilizing his own weight against him in order to deal a crushing blow, even to the boy who's primary strength was defense.
"OH?! KIRISHIMA SEEMS TO BE KNOCKED DOWN! THIS BATTLE'S GETTING INTENSE!"
"Your quirk… it ain't bad at all." Ryuko noted, "But even I could read your blows from miles away! Your skills are lacking!"
"Hah…" Kirishima mouthed, struggling to get up, "Seems I underestimated you earlier due to your quirklessness…"
"Don't make excuses! Let's finish this fight!"
"You're right! Let's go!"
Kirishima then started to rush back at Ryuko, as she swung her Scissor Blade… straight over his head?!
Seemingly having learned his lesson from his last encounter, Kirishima now took a more reactionary approach in this fight, as he had dodged Ryuko's last attack, making it go straight over his head. Now placing Ryuko into a vulnerable position, Kirishima threw his fist up at Ryuko, hardening it at the last second to launch an ultra-powerful uppercut onto the girl.
"AND A SOLID HIT HAS BEEN LANDED ON RYUKO! THIS COULD BE BAD!"
Ryuko began to become frustrated, as it seemed that her foe was beginning to learn... but she saw an opportunity.
"YOU'RE WIDE OPEN!" Ryuko shouted, as she did a flip in midair and slashed at Kirishima with her blade, dealing massive damage to the boy and stunning him.
Ryuko then landed on the ground, and attempted to get another barrage of blows out onto Kirishima again, but he jumped back to dodge!
"You're right about one thing… My skills are lacking!" Kirishima stated, jumping forwards and hardening himself, "I've been relying on my quirk too much! Thanks for teaching me that!"
Kirishima launched a firm punch, but Ryuko blocked Kirishima's attack. Kirishima then jumped into the air, trying something new and launching a kick at Ryuko. This attack caught Ryuko off guard, as she was hit in the side of her face, and knocked across the arena.
"THIS BATTLE'S SEEMED TO HAVE CHANGED IT'S PACE!" Present Mic shouted, "WITH KIRISHIMA LANDING SOME SOLID HITS, RYUKO'S MORE INJURED THAN EVER… BUT KIRISHIMA'S NOT LOOKING SO HOT EITHER! JUST WHO WILL WIN THIS FIGHT?!"
"You're taking things seriously now." Ryuko said with a smile, as Kirishima returned her smile, "Let's end this! Scissor Blade: Decapitation Mode!"
Ryuko began to rush towards Kirishima, shouting as she did so. Kirishima formulated a plan himself.
"I have to…"
Before Kirishima could act, however, Ryuko had already slashed her opponent square in the chest with insane speeds, as a cut was formed from the solid impact of her blow... due to the girl's inhuman speeds, this fight was over.
"Finishing Move: Sen'i Sōshitsu!" Ryuko called out.
Kirishima stood still for a second, as whether or not Ryuko's blow did any significant damage was up in the air, but...
"Y-you're pretty good…" Kirishima said, breaking his silence, as he fell straight onto the ground.
"WITH A BAD WOUND IN HIS CHEST… WILL KIRISHIMA BE ABLE TO GO ON?!" Present Mic shouted, as Midnight observed the scene.
"Kirishima is knocked out cold!" Midnight announced, "Ryuko Matoi moves on to the second round!"
Cheers erupted from the stadium, as nobody could believe that Ryuko Matoi had managed to beat out someone like Eijiro Kirishima, who had made an astonishing impact in the first and second rounds.
"You're not bad either." Ryuko responded to her former foe, as she began to leave the arena, recovery bots rushing towards Kirishima to heal him.
"Now then…" Ryuko thought, injured from her battle, but still looking ahead, "Guess that Todoroki bastard's up next."
"OUR NEXT TWO MATCHES WILL BE ONES TO REMEMBER FOLKS! FIRST UP… WE HAVE A MATCH BETWEEN TWO TEAMMATES FROM THE SECOND ROUND! BOTH STARING EACH OTHER DOWN, WE HAVE IZUKU MIDORIYA AND MEZO SHOJI!"
"This battle will be over in the blink of an eye… won't it?" Shoji questioned, as Izuku returned an awkward smirk.
"Are you okay with that?" the boy asked.
"READY?!" Present Mic announced.
"I've made my peace with it." Shoji remarked, avoiding the question, "I'd rather you not hold back for my sake."
"Got it."
"START!" Present Mic shouted.
In the blink of an eye, Izuku disappeared, and launched a firm kick into Shoji's chest.
Shoji was knocked out of the arena.
"WHAT?!" Present Mic shouted, "S-SHOJI IS ALREADY OUT OF BOUNDS?! IZUKU MIDORIYA MOVES ON TO THE SECOND ROUND!"
The crowd went on fire after Izuku's astonishing performance, and they questioned how in an instant, he had disappeared and defeated Shoji.
"Get off the stage, damn nerd!" Bakugo yelled out from the hallway to the arena, "Some people are waiting their turn here!"
"Ah… yeah!" Izuku stated, as he ran off.
"Hm… seems like someone has absolutely zero patience." Monoma scoffed, beginning to walk on the field, passing by the injured Shoji.
"WELL… IT SEEMS THAT WE'RE ALREADY MOVING TO OUR NEXT MATCH THEN?!" Present Mic announced.
"Shoji… are you alright?" Midnight questioned, tending to the boy.
"Of course… even though I told him not to, I'm sure Midoriya held back so as to not fatally wound me." Shoji stated, "I only hope that in this next match, Bakugo's foe will be given the same treatment."
"Don't worry for me, octopus boy. Your classmate will be nothing but ash soon enough." Monoma stated.
"NOW… MOVING INTO OUR NEXT MATCH, WITH ONLY A FACE A MOTHER COULD LOVE, WE HAVE KATSUKI BAKUGO!" Present Mic shouted, "AND OPPOSING HIM IS THE PHANTOM THIEF OF CLASS 1-B's HERO COURSE, NEITO MONOMA!"
"Hmm… Phantom Thief, that's not such a bad name." Monoma commented, "Katsuki Bakugo… hmph… this match will be over in a flash."
"You're right." Bakugo confidently declared.
"READY…" Present Mic shouted, as Bakugo and Monoma prepared themselves, "START!"
"HARDEN-" Monoma attempted to think, but in an instant, Bakugo vanished, and just like Midoriya, instantly knocked his foe out of bounds.
While Shoji was on the right of the door he walked through, Monoma was on the left… but unlike Midoriya, Bakugo didn't hold back against his foe, as a large dent was left in the walls of the arena.
"A-AND JUST LIKE THAT, MONOMA'S KNOCKED OUT OF BOUNDS?!" Present Mic shouted.
"He seems to be completely knocked out too…" Midnight commented.
"Bakugo didn't hold back against him at all…" Shoji added.
Not giving any concrete response, Bakugo simply turned around and walked out of the arena.
"Get on with the matches, don't let these stomps stop 'em!" Bakugo shouted up to Present mic.
"U-UH… IT SEEMS THAT THE FIRST ROUNDS COME TO ITS CONCLUSION THEN?!" Present Mic noted, flustered by Bakugo's orders, "UH… NEXT UP, MOMO YAOYOROZU VS HITOSHI SHINSO!"
Authors Note
I hope you all enjoyed the first round of the tournament!
With all these fights, I've tried to move forward the narrative in one way or another. From Ida and Ochaco both growing their spirits in a battle against each other, to Ryuko showcasing that her being quirkless doesn't exactly mean she's weak, to Izuku and Bakugo both taking out their foes in one shot... this tournament has a whole lot of omph to it!
Next time, we'll be starting off with Momo Yaoyorozu vs Hitoshi Shinso, a short battle of wits. We'll be skipping over the match afterwards, Tenya Ida vs Ibara Shiozaki, as that match was already covered in canon; in fact, due to Ida's growth in his spirit, it might even be easier for him! Finally, to round out Chapter 19, Ryuko Matoi vs Shoto Todoroki will occur! Both seemed to be friendly with one another before the Sports Festival, but Todoroki seems to have closed himself off from Ryuko since then... is there a reason for this? Find out next time!
After Chapter 19, Chapter 20 will be purely dedicated to Izuku Midoriya vs Katsuki Bakugo. I truly believe that this upcoming battle is one of the highlights of the entire series... and I truly cannot wait to show it all to you, as a LOT of plot will be contained within that chapter.
There are only a few more chapters to go within the Sports Festival, after that, we'll be moving on to completely new material. I'll see you all there when the time comes.