"I'm going to win this, and I'll do it using my right side only." Shoto said before walking away from Izuku. The two had just had a conversation regarding their connection to the top two heroes in Japan at the moment. First, he assumed that Izuku was All Might's love child, but then he went on to explain the abusive childhood he had as the child of Endeavor. And how his hatred towards his father has been why he's only used his right side through the festival and even before. Izuku tried to convince him to use both sides but Shoto was adamant to using only his right side only to honor his mother and to spite his father.
"Todoroki..." Izuku called out before activating Full Cowling. "If we meet in this bracket, the moment you hold back against me by only using that right side: I'm going to knock you out."
"Cute threat, too bad it won't amount to much." Shoto said before leaving. Izuku sighed and decided to head to the cafeteria to meet up with his friends. Once he arrived, he was surprised to see how full it was. He spotted Hayato and Ochaco sitting nearby with Eijiro, Tsuyu, and Fumikage and quickly walked over to them.
"I'm back."
"We got you your lunch, Deku!" Ochaco happily said as she passed a plate of curry and rice over to him. He happily began to eat before noticing a teasing look from Eijiro and Hayato.
"What?"
"WE didn't get you lunch, SHE-" Hayato was cut off by Ochaco swiftly hitting his stomach. "First my back now my gut?! Are you trying to stop me from competing?!"
"Alright then! Now onto the afternoon activities, we have many recreational activities planned but first we have to decide the brackets for the tournament, where the sixteen competitors from the last competition will battle it out one-on-one to see who comes out on top!" Midnight announced as the first-years regrouped in the stadium after lunch. She pointed to the screen behind her and took out a red box, to which the sixteen winners of the last competition walked up to and pulled out flashing cards before numbers labeled from 1 to 8 appeared on them. "And this is the bracket based on the results of the drawing!" Midnight announced making the screen change to a bracket with the matches set up as:
Match 1: Midoriya vs Honenuki
Match 2: Awase vs Kiryuu
Match 3: Todoroki vs Sero
Match 4: Kaminari vs Shiozaki
Match 5: Iida vs Ashido
Match 6: Tokoyami vs Yaoyorozu
Match 7: Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu
Match 8: Uraraka vs Bakugo
"Are you serious?!" Eijiro and Tetsutetsu yelled as they noticed they were fighting each other.
"I'll give it my all." Fumikage said calmly while Momo gulped.
"Th-That's what I want!"
"I'll refrain from hurting you, Ashido." Tenya said looking at Mina.
"I'll kick your ass, Iida!" Mina said before noticing how silent Izuku and Hayato were.
"Deku?" Ochaco asked before she took another look at the bracket. Momo did the same and both girls took a step back as they realized the path the two boys were headed towards.
'If I win...I fight Hayato/Deku if he wins...' Both boys thought as they looked at each other.
"...Izuku?" Hayato said as he waited by Izuku's waiting room, right outside the door. The recreational activities had just finished and the sixteen competitors all took time to themselves to either clear their nerves or mentally prepare for the tournament while also letting their bodies rest.
"Yeah?" Izuku said as he stood behind the door, ready to open it any second.
"You saw what could happen, right...?"
"...yeah."
"What do you think's gonna happen...?"
"I...I don't know..."
"You better win this fight."
"I will. And you better win yours."
"I will. Good luck." Hayato said walking away from the door. As he left, Izuku walked outside as they called his name, signaling him that it was his time to leave to the battlefield. As he walked away, he stopped walking and turned around to call to his best friend.
"Hayato!"
"What?"
"You better cheer me on!" Hayato smiled at this and raised his hand.
"You bet! I'll make sure Ochaco does too!" Izuku smiled as Hayato turned the corner before leaving to the stadium again. He made his way through the hallway and to the arena, which now had a raised stage to resemble a martial arts arena with a bonfire on each corner.
"You ready, Midoriya?" Juzo asked as he gave Izuku a skeletal-like smile.
"Yes."
"In one corner, we have the freaky-looking guy from Class 1-B: Juzo Honenuki! In the other, we have the plain-looking kid from Class 1-A, Izuku Midoriya!" Present Mic announced making both boys sigh while Inko and Hisashi both began to cheer loudly for their son.
"You keep talking like that, Mic, and you're gonna be replaced by someone else." Aizawa said as the fires next to the boys died down. "Either force your opponent out of bounds, or immobilize them: that's all you need to do to win. You can also make them say they give up."
"We have Recovery Girl on standby but we will not allow any life threatening injuries! Heroes should only use their fists to stop villains!"
"I'll stop them if it gets dangerous." A cement block-like man said as he sat nearby on a chair he had made.
"Thank you, Cementoss! Now, begin!"
Almost immediately, Izuku activated Full Cowling and jumped towards Juzo who simply chuckled and stomped his foot on the ground: making it catch Izuku's legs to trap him in place. He then dove into the ground as if it were water and swam towards him, making Izuku struggle to pull his legs out from the trap.
"Izuku/Deku!" Hayato and Ochaco yelled from the stands as Juzo grabbed the boy by his leg, like a Shark that had just caught its prey. He then began to pull him towards the edge of the arena, making Izuku grit his teeth.
"I'm not losing so easily!" Izuku yelled as he pushed his powers to the max his body could take and pushed his hands towards the ground. The force behind the movement created a burst of wind that hit Juzo in the liquefied ground while also propelling himself into the air. He landed on the only part of ground that was unaffected by Juzo's Quirk and smiled as he came up to catch a breath of air. He jumped forward and grabbed the boy by the collar, pulling him out of the ground and towards the edge of the arena. "Sorry it had to be so quick, but I need to see him in the next round." Izuku said before he pushed Juzo in front of him and out of the arena.
"Juzo Honenuki is out of bounds! The winner is Izuku Midoriya!" Midnight announced as the crowd erupted into cheers, especially from his parents making Izuku smile.
"Maaan! It sucks that I lost, I thought my Softening would've beaten you for sure." Juzo said sitting up. Izuku extended his hand to him which he accepted in defeat.
"It would've if I hadn't thought of that move in the last moment, you Class 1-B guys must be pretty tough."
"We are! Maybe we can show you guys just how tough we can be one day." Juzo said as he flexed his bicep playfully with a smile.
"I look forward to it." Izuku said before shaking the boy's hand one more time.
"What amazing sportsmanship! Hayato Kiryuu and Yosetsu Awase, please come down to the arena!" Present Mic said as Izuku and Juzo left the arena. Following their departure, Hayato and a spiky black haired boy wearing a diamond patterned headband made their way up the arena. "First up, the foul-mouthed welder from Class 1-B: Yosetsu Awase! Next is the basic blur from Class 1-A: Hayato Kiryuu!" Present Mic announced as the two walked up to in front of each other and shook hands.
"Can I ask you for a favor, win or lose?" Yosetsu asked sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"Uh, sure?" Hayato shrugged confused by the question.
"Can you tell your classmate that I think she's hot?" Hayato raised an eyebrow at this question before Yosetsu pointed to the stands where Class 1-A sat. "The one with the ponytail? That can make things from her body?"
"Make things from her-MOMO?!" Hayato asked as a light blush crept on his face. "You think Momo's hot?!"
"I mean, haven't you seen her?" Yosetsu asked making Hayato blush even more.
"W-Well yeah, but-"
"Start!"
Yosetsu took advantage of Hayato's daze to his favor to dash towards him. Hayato snapped out of it right as he was about to touch him and quickly ran past him.
'H-He thinks Momo's hot...' Hayato shook his head to snap out of it again only to see Yosetsu swing a punch at him. The punch connected making him stagger before he tackled the boy to the ground.
"All I gotta do is immobilize you, so if I can just weld you to the ground: I win!" Yosetsu said as he grabbed Hayato's wrist, ready to slam it on the floor.
"Sorry about this." Yosetsu turned his head only to be met with a hard punch to his cheek knocking him off. He staggered backwards as the blow had rattled him slightly while Hayato jumped to his feet. "I have to face him after this, I can't lose to you here." Hayato said before activating his Quirk and quickly delivering a swift kick to Yosetsu's gut, quickly knocking the air out of him. Yosetsu held his stomach before falling down onto his knees in pain.
"Kiryuu advances to the second round!" Midnight announced as she saw how Yosetsu was now unable to stand up. The crowd began cheering again, especially the Midoriyas and the Kiryuus, while Sorahiko sat next to All Might and the other faculty watching intently.
"Amazing, his speed is phenomenal." All Might said as Hayato helped Yosetsu off of the arena and to the exit.
"But, he's still too stiff. Something tripped him up, this fight could've been over the moment it started." Sorahiko said crossing his arms. He smirked as the shadow of his grandson left the exit. 'But, that's my boy.'
"You alright?" Hayato asked as he stood by the bathroom door while Yosetsu was currently vomiting inside.
"That was...so fast..." Yosetsu said in between retches.
"Sorry, I went overboard thinking of the next round." Hayato said before beginning to walk away.
"You're gonna do me that favor, right?" Yosetsu called out making Hayato gulp as his heart rate began to increase.
"Y-Yeah! You bet!" Hayato said before making his way to the Class 1-A seats. Once he was there, he looked around to see Izuku waving him over, with an empty seat next to him and Ochaco, before noticing Momo with an empty seat next to her as well. He hesitated to walk towards Izuku but still did it before sitting down next to them.
"That was awesome!" Ochaco said giving him a thumbs up while Izuku nodded.
"You won."
"So did you."
"I guess it's gonna be me and you in the next round, huh?"
"Don't hold back." Hayato said raising a fist making him nod again and do the same.
"I won't." The three jumped up as a wall of ice was raised in front of them, only to look down and see Hanta frozen near the bottom and Shoto standing in front of him with his left hand on him.
"Todoroki advances to the second round!"
"This was...Todoroki's...?" Izuku asked before the ice was quickly melted down to vapor by a red-haired man with what looked like a mask and beard made of fire. "Endeavor..." They watched Hanta be placed on a stretcher with a blanket over him while Shoto walked away, looking at his left hand disdainfully. They watched as Denki made his way to the arena as did a pale girl with green hair resembling vines.
"From Class 1-B, we have the wall of thorns: Ibara Shiozaki, versus the electric hotshot from Class 1-A: Denki Kaminari! Start!" Present Mic announced before Denki quickly covered himself in electricity.
"Indiscriminate Shock: 1.3 Million Volts!" The electricity made its way to the ground before suddenly, a large amount of vines tore out of it and around him while Ibara stood with her back turned and a wall of vines behind her.
"Shiozaki advances to the second round!"
"Kaminari is eliminated almost instantly, what insane power!" Present Mic said while Denki was taken away by a stretcher as well while he held two thumbs up and a dumb look on his face.
"Next is Iida against Mina right?" Ochaco asked earning a nod from the two. The two students made their way into the arena while Hayato noticed Momo stand up to start heading down.
"Start!" He turned his attention back to the fight to see Mina using her acid to slide on the ground away from Tenya who was currently chasing her.
"Take this!" Mina spun around and threw splashes of her acid towards him. Tenya slid out of the way only to be met with a kick to the head from her. "Got you!" Iida took a few steps back as he regained his composure and studied his situation carefully.
'Ashido is playing a game of Cat and Mouse with me, but when I feel like I'm about to catch her: she swaps roles to make me avoid her only for her to hit me. I have to flip the script if I want to win this.' Tenya thought as he jumped backwards to avoid more of Mina's acid. He ducked as she went for another kick only to grab her other leg and spin her around. He let go once he knew he was close enough to see Mina go through the air and out of bounds.
"Ashido is out of bounds! Iida advances to the second round!" Midnight announced as she helped the girl up from where she landed. Mina rubbed her back sadly while Tenya bowed to her.
"Thank you for being a challenging opponent." Tenya said before both of them left the stadium only for Fumikage and Momo to take their places.
"Now next up is the silent samurai of Class 1-A: Fumikage Tokoyami! And his opponent is the girl who came in through recommendations and the queen of creation, Class 1-A's: Momo Yaoyorozu!" The two stood on opposite sides of the arena and Momo gulped as Fumikage calmly looked at her, determination burning in his eyes.
'If I make a quick shield to block his attacks, I'll have the time to make a weapon to attack him.' Momo thought before seeing Dark Shadow appear from his body.
"Start!"
Dark Shadow went straight for Momo while she made a small shield to cover her arm, she then held it up to block his attack only for Dark Shadow to knock it off her arm. She quickly created another one to block his next attack while the attacks forced her backwards.
'Soon, soon he'll have an opening!' Momo thought as the attacks kept slamming into her shield and pushing her backwards. Dark Shadow then returned to Fumikage's side making her smile. 'There!' She extended her left hand making a bo staff form in it and readied herself to charge.
"MOMO!" Hayato called out, leaning over the edge, catching the girl's attention before seeing Midnight point her whip at her.
"Yaoyorozu is out of bounds!" She dropped the staff as she heard the announcement and looked down to see that all the constant attacks had pushed her to where one leg was out of bounds. "Tokoyami advances to the next round." Momo dropped her shield and looked at Fumikage who calmly bowed to her and began to walk away.
"Tokoyami makes quick work of Yaoyorozu! Could Dark Shadow be the best Quirk of all time?!"
"You're damn right I am!"
"I...I lost..." Momo said to herself as she made her way out of the arena.
"Wow poor Yao-momo...Hayato you should maybe-" Ochaco and Izuku turned to their side to see what Hayato was doing only to see that he was missing from where he was standing before. "Hayato?"
"Where did he go?" Izuku asked quietly before hearing what sounded like someone running in the hallway.
"I actually lost so easily...I couldn't think and I lost..." Momo said quietly as she looked at the stairs leading to where her class was sitting. She bit her lower lip as she felt it begin to quiver and her eyes begin to water. She covered her eyes to stop her tears from falling while trying to hold back her sobs. "I'm so useless..."
"Momo..." She removed her hands and looked up to see Hayato standing at the top of the stairs, panting as if he had just been running.
"Kiryuu, good job on your win. I can't say I understand how it feels." Momo said turning around to hold back her sobs before feeling a slight gust of wind. She turned back around to see Hayato standing behind her, his expression changing from slight exhaustion to worry. "What are you even doing here? You and Midoriya aren't set to fight until after Bakugo and Uraraka do. You should go back to have a seat...you need your ener-" She stopped talking as Hayato pulled her in for a hug.
"Momo. I might not be as close to you as Jiro or the others...but I can see you're hurting." Hayato said making Momo's tears begin to flow even more and she returned the hug, tighter than he was holding her. "What happened?"
"I...I couldn't think right! I'm not like you or the others! I need a moment of peace to visualize what I'm going to do!" Momo yelled into Hayato's chest making him smile and rub the back of her head with his hand. "I could've had him! I could've won! But I'm just so useless in a fight!"
"Who said you were useless?" Hayato asked pulling them apart to look her in the eyes. "You are one of the most useful people I have ever met. Everybody has their limits, so why worry about what yours are?"
"But-"
"Momo, we aren't perfect. We're first year students, we're not pros. Why are you so worried about being this perfect hero so quickly?" Hayato asked as he placed both of his hands on her cheeks. "I made the mistake of thinking like that when the USJ Incident happened, I'm not the world's best speedster. I didn't have to think I could've done anything to prevent what happened that day, so why should you act like it's a bad thing you lost today?"
"I'm from a famous hero family, I grew up needing to know how to be at the top every time, only worrying about what I need..." Momo grabbed Hayato's right hand with hers. "...instead of worrying about what I want..."
"You don't need to be at the top already, you're already one of the best people in our class. One loss isn't the end of the world."
"But I'm-"
"-the most amazing person I have ever met. You're already heroic, insanely skilled, how smart you are is unparalleled. Everybody in the class shines in something, you shine everywhere. You don't need to win some tournament to prove that, you stand out already just by being you." Hayato said making Momo smile at him. "This loss is just a lesson you're gonna have to learn to think a little faster or to improvise."
"Why are you so..."
"So, what?
"Why are you so like this? Why did you come see me?"
"Iida and Ochaco told me that feel better message when my grandpa kicked the bucket was your idea. You found a way to make me feel better when I was feeling lower than I ever have before. You did that for me, when everybody else was trying their damn hardest to make me stop crying and hating the world." Hayato said making Momo blush and laugh quietly. "Thank you for that."
"Thank you for this, I guess I had a lapse in my confidence." Momo said before looking at Hayato in the eyes. "And I think I still have enough to do this." Momo said before wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling her face closer to his.
"Come on!" Eijiro yelled as he had every part of his body from the neck up toughened by his Quirk while Tetsutetsu was now completely made of metal. Tetsutetsu delivered a hard uppercut to his jaw only for Eijiro to respond and deliver a hard punch to the side of his head. He used his last bit of energy to deliver blow after blow to his head making Tetsutetsu take steps back every time while he took it full force. The crowd cheered on as Tetsutetsu began to feel his Quirk weaken until he took one last step back.
"Tetsutetsu is out of bounds! Kirishima advances to the second round!" Eijiro roared victoriously earning a positive response from the crowd while Tetsutetsu deactivated his Quirk, falling to his knees from fatigue.
"That was...a good match." Eijiro said extending a hand to him. Tetsutetsu grinned and grabbed his hand making Midnight swoon while Present Mic began to clap.
"And this passionate battle between two redundant Quirks has finally reached its end! Now up next is Ochaco Uraraka versus Katsuki Bakugo!" Present Mic announced making both Katsuki and Ochaco stand up from their waiting rooms and walk to the arena. When Ochaco did however, she looked to see Izuku waiting for her with a smile on his face.
"Deku?"
"I wanted to wish you good luck." Izuku said walking up to her. "Kacchan is gonna be a tough opponent. You want some advice?"
"No thanks. I think I know what to do." Ochaco said before beginning to walk away. She turned around to look at him one last time and gave him a bright smile. "You know, ever since day one I've been learning just how amazing you really are." Izuku blushed at this. "I'll do my best to win!"
"Good luck." Izuku said nodding to her. Ochaco continued leaving until she made her way to the arena where Katsuki stood waiting for her.
"First up is the master of zero gravity from Class 1-A: Ochaco Uraraka! And her opponent is the master of disaster from Class 1-A: Katsuki Bakugo!"
"I'm gonna take you down, round face." Katsuki said readying his hands.
"Bring it."
"Start!"
Hearing her signal, Ochaco immediately ran towards Katsuki with her body lowered. He growled and made a swiping motion making an explosion that sent her rolling backwards. The crowd flinched at this before she quickly got up and ran through the smoke towards him again.
"Don't underestimate me!" Katsuki yelled as the top of her P.E. Uniform appeared from the smoke in front of him. He made an explosion only to see that it was only her shirt and Ochaco was actually behind him wearing a black tank top.
"Got you!" Ochaco yelled as her hand was a second away from touching his back. He quickly swiped his left hand backwards and hit her with another explosion sending Ochaco flying again. She stood back up and began running the same way again only for Katsuki to respond with explosion after explosion, each time she stood back up to run at him. This continued for several minutes, making the crowd flinch every time he would connect an explosion.
"This is brutal..." A spectator said watching Ochaco fall to the floor, covered in dirt and scratches from the explosions.
"Should we let this keep happening, Eraser?" Present Mic said while Aizawa, Midnight, and Cementoss all stayed calm and watching intently as Ochaco stood back up again.
"You should stay down, Uraraka." Katsuki said as he felt his muscles begin to ache.
"Not until I win! Release!" Ochaco yelled as she pressed her fingertips together, revealing that all the debris that Katsuki had sent into the air from the explosions had all accumulated when she had touched them. It all began to fall down as if it was a meteor shower and she made one last break for Katsuki. The crowd began to cheer for her as everything looked like it had just flipped into her favor now. But then Katsuki raised his left hand and fired a colossal explosion, obliterating all of Ochaco's weapons at once while also creating such a strong gust of wind that it sent everyone watching, especially Ochaco, backwards. Once the dust settled all eyes were on Katsuki and Ochaco who was now struggling to stand up. "W-Why...? How could you do that?"
"We're on two different levels, I don't know what the hell Deku put you up to...but it's time to surrender, Uraraka." Katsuki said walking towards her. She stood up to continue fighting, but at that moment she felt her body finally give up on her and she began to fall forward. Luckily, he caught her in time and laid her on the ground for Midnight to walk over and check on her. She placed a hand on her forehead and then two fingers on her neck before nodding.
"Uraraka is out of commission. Bakugo advances to the second round." Midnight announced making the crowd roar with applause as he began to leave. Izuku stood up to go see Ochaco as a pair of robots came with a stretcher and took the girl away.
"Alright then! Now that the first round is over, we're gonna give our competitors a moment to regain their energy before we start with the first match of the second round!" Present Mic yelled making the crowd cheer. "And this is gonna be a doozy, these two have been best friends for eleven years. They've trained together and there is not one thing these two don't know about each other, so I hope you're ready for what could be the most exciting match of the day: Izuku Midoriya versus Hayato Kiryuu!"