Chapter 24: Rumble!
"Are you sure you can't stay just a bit longer? I hardly think you ate enough."
Iida smiles at his mother, always grateful, and fondly exasperated, with her making sure he eats enough. He swears, he could eat an entire buffet and the woman would still be offering him a plate, but he loves her all the same.
"If I keep eating, I won't be able to run today. And with the festival and everything else going on, that's somewhat important."
He might as well have been talking to a brick wall because no sooner is he done talking than she is handing him a tupperware of food 'just in case.'
"I have to get down to the agency early." She gives him a quick kiss on the forehead. "Be careful out there today."
"When am I not?" She shoots him a disbelieving look before heading out the door. Okay, unfair. Sure, he pulled some reckless stunts in school but Iida hardly believes that-
Oh! Jeez! The Sports Festival is starting soon! Tensei grabs his helmet and phone off the table, setting up notifications to show him highlights as the events went on throughout the day.
Yeah, he very much wanted to watch live, hell, he wanted to be there. But…the good ole hero killer had to choose today out of all days to be spotted around Hosu. It was dumb to think of it that way, he knows. So since he can't support his brother at the festival today, Tensei is going to do the next best thing.
Ingenium is going to make sure the Hero Killer is off the streets far before his brother becomes a hero so Tenya would never have to worry about him. So no one would have to worry about any of their family members who happen to be heroes.
Tensei puts his helmet on and whisks the door open dramatically. "Gotta go fast!" Was there anyone around to hear him? No. But that doesn't stop him! Ingenium races out onto the street and toward a new day. He thinks it's going to be a good one.
"So we're all in agreement that Izuku's got this one in the bag right?" Denki asks the seventeen other members of class 1-A sitting with him in the stands, the first 1v1 match of the festival set to begin in just a few minutes. The only person missing besides Izuku was Bakugo, who was down in the waiting rooms since his match was up next.
"Totally!" Toru waves her arms around dramatically. "Midoriya can turn invisible anytime he wants! Guy is practically made for this event, it's unfair!"
"Izuku, huh?" Mina is one of the most observant people in the class when it came to things that usually didn't matter, but don't tell her that.
"Cousins," Denki replies casually and shrugs before elbowing Uraraka next to him. "You know, I bet he'd let you call him Izuku too if you asked." The demigod doubles over with laughter with how red the girl gets. Those two were too easy sometimes.
"I am unsure…" Yaomomo cups her chin in her hand. "We haven't seen much of what Fukidashi is capable of. And if the second event was anything to go by, being caught off guard by him could have devastating results."
"I agree with you full-heartedly!" Iida chops enthusiastically. Denki will never get over how much he enjoys the sight. "However, in that same token, those in 1-B are also unaware of Midoriya's capabilities! Something that even I, his classmate, have not been able to fully grasp despite his thorough explanation after the battle trials!"
Knowing that just remembering what Izuku said would cause him to short circuit, Denki doesn't even try, opting to listen in on more of his classmates' opinions.
"You bring up a good point and I would still pick Midoriya to win, however, I do not believe it will be as one-sided as Kaminari believes it to be," Yaomomo responds elegantly.
"Please." Tenko leans back in his seat and puts his foot up on the empty seat in front of him. "I've played enough fighting games with Midoriya to know he's got this in the bag. Once he figures out your style, you're done…unless it's me. His Sub-Zero still ain't got nothing on my Scorpion."
"Maybe. But if Midoriya goes into this overconfident, he could lose because of it. Happens to even the most experienced fighter." Ojiro adds his two cents.
"I want Midoriya to win as much as the next guy." Sero rubs the back of his head, almost looking ashamed. "But what Fukidashi pulled in the second event was crazy! What's stopping him from just blowing Midoriya out of the ring as soon as the match starts?"
"Not sure, but that's probably one of his best moves," Shoji's created mouth appendage or whatever the hell it is says. "If he can survive that, he can probably take anything the guy can throw."
"There's a lot more to him than that one move."
"Huh, what else do you think there is Izuk-" Denki coughs and sputters, as do many others, at the sight of his cousin-no, his cousin's clone, leaning against the railing scribbling quickly in a notebook.
"When Fukidashi used his move, the actual word 'Whoosh' appeared before we were all blown away. That suggests the word he used was special, but it remains to be seen, can he do this with any word? Or a select few? Is there a limit to the amount of area he can affect? Because his voice is directly involved, does the way he says a word affect what happens? What about pitch? Does the mutation of his head have anything to do with it? It's fascinating…"
The clone looks up at them all after his mutter spree, seemingly unfazed. "I apologize. I've been told I can get carried away. You can call me Twelve. I am the analyst."
"While it is always nice to meet another one of Midoriya's clones," Iida speaks for them all again. "Is it alright for you all to be out here-"
"Relax!" Several more clones appear in front of them all and Denki can't help but notice the one whose hands and legs are tied and mouth gagged on the ground. "Don't worry," the lead clone reassures them. "Me, Two, by the way, Three, and Eleven are used to babysitting duty. Now, Three, help me…"
"I still don't see the point of this," Three grumbles while he grabs the tied-up clone's shoulders and lifts him up while Two grabs him by the legs.
"Quit your whining, you won't be kicked this way, and it gives us a few minutes of peace." And before any of them can say or do anything, the two clones dump the third over the railing, letting him fall to the ground below.
Iida is at a loss for words. "Di-did you just-"
"Clooooooones." Two turns his hand back and forth as if that does anything. "We're not real, it's fine. And Thirteen will be back in a few minutes anyway." Despite what he just said, Two grabs the back of the jacket of another clone starting to climb the railing. "Still not letting you jump, Nine."
"Awww."
The clones are quick to move out of the way as Present Mic introduces Izuku and Fukidashi to the arena, class 1-A getting extra loud for their president.
"IZUKUUUUUUUU! Show that mortal who's boss and why you- excuse me?… What do you mean I can't have this bullhorn?… Do you know who I am?…well how about I introduce myself-
"Brother! No!"
"Get out of my way! With where I plan to put this bullhorn, I hope human throats expand like snakes for his sake!"
Denki couldn't facepalm any harder listening to his uncle and dad argue with stadium security. Thankfully, it didn't seem like anyone else had figured out who that was.
"Sorry about that small delay folks, but let's get this rumble going!" Present Mic being the professional he is, is easily able to get the crowd hyped again. "Looks like our gladiators are ready!"
"This is not to the death…" Aizawa is quick to point out.
"Force a ring out, knock your opponent out, or force them to surrender, that's how you win it here! If our referee Midnight is ready, let's start because we sure are!"
Midnight raises her whip. "Midoriya, ready? Fukidashi, ready?…begin!" And with the crack of her whip, they were off and it was just like Sero said.
"Whoooooooosh!"
The wind is strong but Izuku was ready, conjuring two knives and stabbing them into the ground, he's pushed back a little bit but it becomes clear quickly he's not going anywhere.
As soon as Fukidashi's attack ends, Izuku's charging at him, whipping two throwing knives at his opponent.
"Boing!"
The word appears in front of Fukidashi, shielding him and bouncing the knives right back to the sender, which Izuku deflects effortlessly with a dagger.
"Wow! And without missing a…beat…these two competitors are already trading blows! Who will seize the advantage first?!"
"Beat…really…"
"Uh-oh, I hope I'm not in…treble…Shota…"
"Commercial break will be here soon." The threat is clear.
Fukidashi tries to back up as Izuku continues his advance but he's cut off when the 1-B student suddenly finds himself surrounded by almost a dozen clones, all brandishing knives.
"And now it's a guessing game! Which one is the real Midoriya?! Can Fukidashi find the right one in time?!"
The Izuku clones close in quickly but before they can-
"Poof!"
"In an unexpected turn of events, Fukidashi has pulled a disappearing act, filling the whole arena in smoke! I can't see a thing! What's happening?! This doesn't make for good tv kiddos!"
"Vroom!"
Fukidashi zooms out of the smoke at a speed even Iida was impressed by before putting his hand on the ground.
"Rumble!"
It's like an earthquake hits the ground when the word touches, shaking the ring and making all the Izuku clones dissipate except the real one who lands unceremoniously on his butt.
"Rush!"
Izuku's opponent, well, rushes at him, on top of his cousin who's only barely on his feet.
"Pow!"
The green-haired boy raises up his arms just in turn to block the hit by the materialized word but it's clear it still hurts. But Fukidashi has a problem. Izuku has time to counterattack. At least Denki thinks he does.
"Flutter! Flutter!"
Before everyone's eyes, the two words shift into wings that aren't dissimilar to Hawks' and they travel to Fukidashi's back, flapping him out of harm's way. Izuku is quick to try more throwing knives but Fukidashi is ready again.
"Slap!"
True to its name, the word slaps the knives out of the air, or it would have if the knives were real. Fukidashi lets out a soft "whimper…" before the real Izuku reveals himself and the two real knives pierce the two words giving his opponent flight while also impaling his opponent in the back of his shoulder blades at the same time.
"Ouch!" Fukidashi drops to the ground like a rock, landing straight on his face. "Flop!" By the time he rolls to his side, Izuku has his knee on him and a dagger aimed at the boy's face.
"Gulp." Denki doesn't hear what he says next but it's not hard to figure out.
"Manga Fukidashi has surrendered! Izuku Midoriya moves on to the next round!" Midnight cries out to the crowd's delight.
"You go Izuku! Show them what tricksters can do! Yes hahahaha!" Well, Uncle Loki was certainly happy, and judging by the wide smile on Izuku's face, he heard his dad's sentiments before giving the crowd one last bow and walking off next to Fukidashi who was being carted off by medical robots.
"What a thrilling first round! And thank you to the ever reliable Cementoss for fixing our ring! I talked to Nezu by the way, no raise in the works but he's preparing you a lovely gift basket. Now I think I speak for us when I say we're ready for more, huh?!"
"From class 1-A, he has an explosive temper and the quirk to match, it's Katsuki Bakugo! And his opponent, the self-proclaimed queen of the reptiles, welcome Setsuna Tokage!"
Setsuna takes a deep breath and walks up to the rings trying to pretend she isn't being watched by millions of people right now. She kinda wishes there was a way to turn off her ears when she detaches them for moments like these but so far, no luck.
Mr. Scowls a lot or Bakugo as he's better known, stands with his arms crossed at the other end of the ring, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else but here. Setsuna knows that should be insulting but it feels more like a challenge! Yeah! She's gonna make sure he keeps feeling that way, but for a whole different reason.
He isn't even looking at her, just staring up at the stands at his class…where now that she follows his gaze, Setsuna sees Midoriya just got back. Oh, she gets it now. Bakugo is already looking ahead to his next opponent and completely skipping over her! Yeah, that's not gonna slide.
Midnight brings down her whip and the match begins with Bakugo barely sparing a glance her way before unleashing a massive explosion in her direction.
"Oh! Say it ain't so! With just one move, Katsuki Bakugo detonates an explosion so big, even I heard it! And folks I didn't have my hearing aids in! Was one move enough to finish it?!"
"Tsk." Bakugo continues glaring at the stands. He slaps his arm as if a fly had bitten him, then he slaps his other arm, then he slaps again. "Huh?"
Oops, should've been paying attention. Setsuna's mouth grins as different parts of her body quickly begin to overwhelm the explosion boy, pushing him slowly back to the line. Thank god they let her wear her hero costume under her gym uniform.
Bakugo lets off as many small explosions as he can but the pieces are small and they are fast, meaning by the time he's gotten an explosion off, Setsuna has moved the body part to safety.
"Bakugo unleashed a massive explosion, trying to go for a one hit KO! Setsuna Tokage challenged him back and Bakugo might as well have said, you and what army because it's this army here!"
The angry blonde roars in frustration, and points his hands to the ground in an effort to take flight but Setsuna is faster, her pieces swirling around Bakugo and hitting him in different spots to throw his trajectory off so bad, he ends up blasting himself even closer to the line, all the while being whipped by Setsuna.
"Maybe next time, pay attention to your opponent!" Setsuna's mouth teases a safe distance away. She didn't have all the time in the world before her body parts would stop moving but that didn't matter, he was almost out! She was going to do it! Just a little closer…
"That's enough!" Bakugo drags his hands across the ground and launches two explosions to the other side of the ring. It doesn't come anywhere near hitting the rest of Setsuna's body but that's not the problem.
The problem is, she can't see.
Bakugo's explosions had covered everything in smoke and she was blind! Sure, she knew where all her pieces were and was desperately scattering them around to find Bakugo but no luck. If he got to her…
"Seriously?! That's two matches in a row you kids have covered the cameras in smoke! We couldn't even get our close-up on Cementoss' face after Bakugo destroyed his ring again! Rude."
"Rude that Cementoss has to repair the ring again or rude you couldn't get his reaction?…"
"I think you know."
If Bakugo got to her now, she'd be helpless! Setsuna starts to form herself back as quickly as she can but the smoke moving in the corner of her eye tells her all she needs to know.
She sees him raise both of his hands before a bright flash blinds her and a wave of heat blasts her onto the dirt and grass.
"Setsuna Tokage is out! Katsuki Bakugo is your winner!"
Dammit! She had been so close! Setsuna reforms herself on her hands and knees on the ground, panting. Thankfully, only a few pieces are missing here and there so hopefully, a quick nap in Recovery Girl's office and she'd be back up. Just another time she wishes she could regenerate herself without being completely exhausted after.
She wanted to be back up to fight the next round originally but it didn't look like that was happening. With a sigh, the dinosaur enthusiast pushes herself up to her feet, the noise of the crowd only now registering in her mind, that and Bakugo standing with his hands in his pockets watching her.
"Not bad." Setsuna hadn't even fully registered what he said before he stalks off to wherever. She waves off the medical bots and smiles and waves at her classmates who give her encouraging cheers as she walks back into the tunnel.
The green-haired girl is able to turn the corner before collapsing against the wall and sliding onto the ground. Maybe she shouldn't have turned down those bots, but who wants to be carried off after losing? What can she say? She's lovably stubborn. Most of her peers wouldn't use 'lovably' but that's their loss.
Just a few minutes to catch her breath and she'd be on her way. Setsuna closes her eyes and focuses on deep breaths. It would be really easy to fall asleep here she realizes, but would that be such a bad thing?
Yeah, she lost in the first round and that really sucks but there had to be some positives here. Sure, she just kind of floated through the first round, and despite what they said, she doesn't feel like she helped her team much in the second round, did she even earn her place in the-
Setsuna was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't even realize another person was approaching her before they slid down to sit right next to her. She cracks an eye open, a small grin forming on her face. "What are you doing here?"
Kaminari matches her grin, leaning against the wall. "You know those scavenger hunts they had in between the rounds? I got one and one of the things I have to do is find the hottest girl I can and sit next to her."
"Wow, that's really what you're going with?"
He nods. "Yeah. And I couldn't find Mt. Lady, so here I am."
It takes a second for her to realize what he said. "Jerk!" She laughs, giving him a light punch on the arm.
"Ack! Oh, the pain…" he slumps fully onto the ground. "I can barely feel my arm…don't know…if I can compete…"
"And how do you expect to properly avenge my loss from down there?" Setsuna gets out between her giggles. Yeah, he was being dumb but it was cute.
"Oh, trust me, avenging is in my blood." Kaminari sits back up. "I'll win my next round for you."
"Next round? Babe, I deserve the whole tournament."
Kaminari laughs. "Sure, I'll win this whole thing for you." He looks up at her, speaking more somberly. "Are you okay?"
All she can manage is a shrug. "Yeah, man. It happens. I'm good."
She tries to force a smile at him but he doesn't smile back, looking around the hall instead before replying in a softer voice. "No one's around if you don't want to be okay for a bit."
Setsuna scoffs, looking down and trying to use it to cover a sniffle. "Wouldn't wanna keep you from Mt. Lady."
"Nah." Kaminari waves her off. "I'm out of her league anyway." Setsuna snickers but leans a little against him anyway, the two teenagers enjoying each other's company.
"I…didn't think this would be happening again so soon." Do Izuku's clones count as multiple personalities? He probably has a disorder or several that are undiagnosed if the scene before him was any indication.
He was back in the stands with his class but several of his clones had beaten him to it. Two and Eleven waved at him from where they sat on top of a gagged Thirteen, the only explanation being that they could only throw him over the ledge so many times.
Twelve sits next to Tsu, asking her question after question which she answers calmly, and Eight rocks in a corner while Three consoles him. Izuku has everything under control. Yup. Nothing to see.
He walks over sheepishly when Uraraka waves him over, offering several apologies as he goes. "Don't be sorry!" Uraraka chastises him when he sits next to her. "They're funny, and it's more of you, how could that be a bad thing?"
Red explodes on both their faces, with Uraraka not realizing what she was saying before she said it, and Izuku trying and failing to find a response. Neither notice Thirteen struggling harder in his makeshift prison. Or Mina bumping Toru and pointing at the struggling clone with the face of someone trying very hard to connect a few dots.
Everyone is saved by Present Mic.
"Thanks for waiting, everybody! And for our third round, we have the heiress of 1-A, the Princess of Creation, Momo Yaoyorozu! Versus, the dark horse of General Studies, the mysterious, Hitoshi Shinso!"
"Who do you think is going to win, Deku?" Uraraka asks, thankful for the excuse to change the subject, unknown to Izuku.
"It's hard to say." Izuku hums in thought. "Yaomomo has one of the most versatile quirks I've ever seen, and the mind to use it. But Shinso-"
"And the match begins!"
"-is a complete wild card. He got people to work with him during both events so maybe some sort of boost quirk for others? Or some kind of intelligence? I'm not sure, either could really help-"
"And just like that, it's over!" Izuku and Uraraka look up and down at the ring in confusion. Shinso stood in the middle, hands in his pockets, and Yaomomo stood outside the ring looking around. "Momo Yaoyorozu walks out of the ring on her own! Hitoshi Shinso is your winner! Wow, what happened?!"
"Maybe if you had been paying closer attention…"
"I'm paying enough attention to see our first two matches had smoke covering them half the time and this one ended in seconds…"
Thor leans over to his brother so he can hear him over the crowd. "I'm just spitballing here, but considering the number of times I've witnessed you do it, was that-"
"Brainwashing," Loki answers. Thor turns to look at his brother because the way he said that was strange. His voice is airy, and he's staring down at the purple-haired boy who makes his way out of the ring, a smirk slowly forming on his face.
"Brother?"
"Brainwashing," Loki repeats, chucking a little. "I can't believe it…brainwashing…after all this time-"
"Brother, is everything alright?"
Loki takes a sharp intake of breath, coming back to himself and shaking his head a bit. "Yes…yes, I'm fine. I apologize, Thor." He gives Inko's hand a squeeze and a reassuring smile to his worried wife before turning back to Thor. "Yes, everything's better than ever actually. I just figured out the solution to a little problem I've been having."
Izuku falls back into his chair, trying to dissect whatever he just saw. Uraraka and several of the other girls left to comfort Yaomomo who looked upset after the loss so Izuku was left to figure out Shinso's quirk.
It was strong, but subtle. A dangerous combination. But he thinks he might have a lead. Between the members of his team who did everything they could to protect him, and seeing Shinso convince others to potentially fall into a gorge for him, Izuku would have to guess his quirk was some sort of persuasion.
Shinso wasn't close to Yaomomo so it wasn't touch based like his father, 'or like me if I could ever figure it out,' Izuku grumbles bitterly in his mind. But if not that, then what?
"After what was probably Cementoss' favorite match so far, we move on to our fourth brawl of the day! This one promises to be a real clash of the titans! He likes bird watching and browsing cloaks online, it's Fumikage Tokoyami!"
"And his quirk."
"Right! And his partner in crime, Dark Shadow! Versus, the two-toned prodigal son, it's Shoto Todoroki!"
The son of Endeavor walks into the ring, opposite Tokoyami, to much fanfare, but you couldn't tell by looking at his face, which holds a much deeper scowl than normal. Something was different. Todoroki was usually blank and uncaring, but here, he was angry.
Izuku couldn't tell why he was mad but the glorified flaming trash can watching closely from one of the balconies nearby gives him some guesses.
Midnight cracks her whip and the temperature drops. A glacier that could've put some of the ones Izuku saw in Antarctica to shame explodes from Todoroki, encasing Tokoyami and going nearly as high as the stadium. Never had he been so happy to not feel cold.
The same couldn't be said for his poor classmates, the ones left in the stands shivering. Thank goodness Tsu left with the other girls to go see Yaomomo.
"W-w-well…that was certainly…something." Iida is so cold, he can't even chop his hands properly as he talks. Truly, the darkest days are upon them.
"J-jeez, overkill much?" Sero's teeth chatter while thumbing the glacier. "Could you i-imagine getting caught in that?"
"W-what a chilling reception, Todoroki! But it looks like this one's over before it even began!"
The ice beginning to crack seems to disagree with Present Mic, before Dark Shadow bursts from the ice, helping Tokoyami out. "You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?!"
Dark Shadow charges, a little bigger than normal Izuku notices, probably because of the shadows caused by the ice. She raises a claw but Todoroki launches more ice at her to slow her down while simultaneously creating more ice under his feet to run away.
Todoroki tries to impale the quirk with ice spikes but she dodges and barely slows down, causing him to have to jump out of the way of her next attack.
"Dumbass." Kacchan shakes his head. Izuku usually wasn't in the business of agreeing with him, but he couldn't help but agree this time.
"Why would you say that, bro?" Kirishima asks the question on most of their minds.
"'Cause IcyHot could've won already, but instead, he wants to be a dumbass, so, therefore, he is a dumbass." Izuku had never heard it put so eloquently before. What Katsuki Bakugo was truly capable of will forever continue to elude Izuku.
But he was right. Todoroki would have won already if he just used his fire. Izuku and Dark Shadow had a kinship in not being a fan of the substance. While campfires and torches around Asgard didn't bother him much, the fire Todoroki produces…even though he only felt it for a moment, Izuku could tell it was powerful. His skin prickles just thinking about it.
The point is, Todoroki could've saved himself a lot of running around if he had just used his fire already, now his best option is to-
As if reading his mind, Todoroki creates a wall of ice in front of Tokoyami and uses it to start to push the other boy out of bounds. Dark Shadow tries to save her partner but Todoroki, knowing which way the quirk was going, constantly impales her with ice spikes to keep her back until it is too late.
"Sorry Tokoyami, this isn't a Pokémon battle, the trainers can be attacked here! Shoto Todoroki is the winner!"
Izuku's skin prickles again but this time, it's real. He looks over to see the flames around Endeavor growing exponentially. And as much fun as it was to see the man upset, Izuku has other things on his mind with Todoroki.
Oh! Sidetrack, would Endeavor be upset if he walked into his office as All Might and said he was retiring? Or maybe he could turn into Endeavor and go on a long rant to the media about the greatness that is All Might. He could make illusions of tears! Dangit, Izuku, no, stop. Now is not the time for pranks.
That comes later.
By now, all of the girls had returned minus Uraraka with Yaomomo who didn't look great but was still a bit better than how she initially looked after her fight.
"IcyHot's lucky Poe never thought to train himself," Kacchan scoffs.
"I'm up after Urarka's fight so I should probably get down to the waiting rooms, wish me luck?" Kirishima holds his fist out for Kacchan who just crosses his arms and looks away.
Kirishima doesn't waver, slowly moving his fist closer and closer to the blonde while Sero did his best to contain his laughs. Eventually, and predictably, Bakugo breaks.
"You don't need luck, now get the fuck out of here!" Kacchan screams while Kirishima looks genuinely touched.
"That's so manly, I knew you believed in me, man! Thanks!" The redhead runs off before he could have his head bitten off by a pissed-off pomeranian.
"Awww Bakugo, you're so sweet!" Huh, Izuku didn't know Mina had a death wish. "I knew you were one of those guys. He acts like he's all tough but really, on the inside, he's all soft and cuddly."
"You know, that's like little dogs." Maybe Toru's family can save money and have her buried with Mina? "They bark and bark but really, all they want is attention. Is that what you want, huh Bakugo? Well, you have our attention, yes you do, yes you do!"
It's scary how calm Kacchan is when he turns around. He points at Mina. "I will drown you in your own acid." He moves his finger to Toru. "Your body will be unbelievably easy to hide."
"Oh my god…" Toru gasps. "I think he just complimented my quirk! That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me! Awww, you did just want attention!" Izuku can't stop the laugh that escapes him…or the dread when those red eyes turn to him, so he just gives an innocent wave.
"Alright fans, it's time to move to the other side of the bracket! First up, she can make you feel like you're walking on the moon just about anywhere, Ochako Uraraka! Her opponent? President of class 1-B and capable of giving you an entire ovation by herself, Itsuka Kendo!"
Izuku leans over the balcony to get a closer look, even Two and Eleven let Thirteen sit up to watch.
"Begin!"
Uraraka wastes no time, barreling straight ahead at her opponent and Kendo looks more than eager to meet her, but just before they get to each other in the middle, Uraraka floats herself, jumping in the air out of Kendo's reach.
The brown-haired girl is quick to release her quirk, bringing herself down hard on Kendo. She attempts to slam her heel into Kendo's head but the other girl is quick to enlarge her hands and block the attack. Uraraka follows it up with a hard kick to Kendo's back, but she barely stumbles.
Instead, she grabs Uraraka with one of her enlarged hands and attempts to toss her out of the ring, but Uraraka taps herself again, stopping her impromptu flight and landing back on the ground.
"Nice, she's already using some of the stuff you taught her," Thirteen observes, now gagless and watching the fight with stars in his eyes. Izuku rolls his eyes at his clone's antics but can't help but feel a little proud.
The two fighters run at each other again and this time they meet, exchanging blows, which mostly consists of Uraraka dodging and blocking Kendo's normal-sized fist.
"Hey hey, this is great and everything, but why isn't Kendo using her quirk?
"Kendo knows she's the more experienced fighter and can win that way without her quirk, whereas if she did use it, she'd just be giving Uraraka more chances to touch her and remove her gravity."
Uraraka regains her footing and tries for two punches at Kendo's head but the more experienced girl dodges easily and lands quick jab at Uraraka's face but the anti-gravity user doesn't let up, she lets off punch after punch anywhere she can, but Kendo is able to dodge them all.
Finally, a punch by Uraraka gets away from her and Kendo ducks it, landing a solid blow to Uraraka's gut, when she bends over from the pain, Kendo slams her in the face again with her other fist.
Again, despite being bruised and bleeding from the nose, Uraraka yells in defiance, getting up and going for another swing at Kendo's head. The orange-haired girl leans back and gets ready to block. Izuku smiles.
This whole time, Uraraka had only been fighting with her fists, leading Kendo to believe that's all she knew how to fight with, but that was far from the truth. He's been saying it this whole time, fights are as mental as they are physical, and it made him warm seeing Uraraka take to his lessons so quickly. He knows his fighting style is a bit unorthodox, to say the least.
Uraraka feints her punch and kicks Kendo's leg out from under her. It's honestly impressive that Kendo is able to stay on her feet but her balance was off and that's all that mattered. Uraraka grabs Kendo's right shoulder with all five fingers of her right hand, delivering a nice uppercut and elbow strike with her left at the same time to make sure Kendo couldn't stop her. And now with her gravity removed, Kendo could do nothing as she was thrown out of the ring.
"Ochako Uraraka is your winner! Better watch out 1-B, you only have one left!"
Izuku cheers louder than anyone else, well, he and Thirteen both. Uraraka smiles and waves to the crowd before going to talk to Kendo, the cheers from the crowd getting louder as they walk out of the ring tougher.
"That was awesome!" Thirteen yells in excitement!
"I know right?!" Izuku agrees. "The way she baited Kendo, wow!"
Thirteen sighs dreamily, looking back at the ring. "Yeah…she can kick my ass any day."
He is then promptly returned to the ground and gagged again by Two and Eleven. "And that's enough out of you!"
Izuku decides to go with a few others, Tsu and Iida, to check on Uraraka at Recovery Girl's office. They use the various tv's placed in the upper corners of the hallway to watch the next match as they go.
It's Kirishima versus Denki and don't get him wrong, Izuku thinks Kirishima is great, but he's got faith in his cousin.
Denki starts with a lightning blast but in the few seconds it took him to use it, Kirishima hardens his entire body and tanks the blast. Wow.
But mostly tank is probably a better description. He's already panting a bit and his hardened skin is black where the strike hit but Kirishima, much like the girls last match, runs in fists raised anyway.
And it looks like Denki isn't one to just sit back and shoot ranged attacks all day because the blonde covers himself in lighting and moves to hit Kirishima head-on.
Unfortunately, Izuku can already tell Kirishima is pretty out-classed here. Denki's already enhanced speed and reflexes are increased even more when he does this and Kirishima is just too slow to hit him, with Denki dodging and weaving through any blows his opponent tries.
Kirishima's hardening quirk is keeping him in the fight though, especially since it's absorbing most of the brunt of Denki's counters. He can tell Denki does not like punching his opponent so Izuku wonders if he'll do anything-
It is the day of people answering his thoughts because right then, Denki slides on his knees under Kirishima's punch and grabs him by the ankle.
In a move that makes Izuku very uncomfortable because it reminds him of what a certain Nomu did to him, Denki swings Kirishima around like he's a new hammer and slams him into the ground over and over until finally, Kirishima's hardening fades.
Denki stops and lets him go and try as he might, Kirishima can't get back on his feet. Midnight runs over and confirms the victory for Denki. At least Kirishima would be on his way to the office so they could all give him their best wishes.
And hopefully, Denki would come too so Izuku could tease him. It was pretty impossible to miss the loud "DENKIIIIIII!" heard from the crowd after his win. Izuku giggles when a panning shot of the audience shows a very annoyed looking Endeavor.
Izuku knocks on the door to Recovery Girl's office, he gives his other two friends a thumbs up, and opens the door.
"I'm surprised we could get both of these students in the ring today! Taking a break from blowing up the support labs, it's Mei Hatsume! And taking a break from blowing up people in the latest video game, please welcome, Tenko Shimura!"
Thinking of himself as a character in a fighting game is all that was able to help Tenko push through his nervousness and walk out into the field. Well that, and knowing he was fighting for a lot more than a medal here.
Hatsume had approached him, and by approached he means viciously dragged him, to talk about their match and offer him a plethora of her gadgets he could use. But Tenko wasn't dumb. He had plenty of experience with NPC's walking up to him in games and offering quests with obvious ulterior motives.
And the support girl must not have that much experience with people because he saw right through her. All it took was selecting the right dialogue prompt at the right time and in a few minutes, she had admitted to what she was really up to.
Honestly, it was kind of funny. And he respects the grind, but Tenko wants an actual fight. He needs to show his progress as a hero here. And not just to Gran, or All Might, or some scouts. He feels like he needs to do this for himself and for her.
"Begin!"
Tenko speeds at Hatsume as fast as he can, being in the support course, she probably doesn't have much fighting experience so if he can just get to her, he should be able to just push her out. But he learns very quickly that getting to her is going to be a problem.
"Hero students sure are quick, aren't they?"
Hatsume's voice travels across the arena via a mic she wears on her head. It catches Tenko off guard for a second but he keeps running at the pink-haired girl, who had yet to move.
"What?! Hey! This is my show, you can't just butt in out of nowhere! She can't do this! Someone taze her or something," Present Mic argues.
"I find myself enjoying this job a lot more now for some reason."
"Eraserrrrrr, why do you hate me so?!"
Tenko reaches out and is about to grab Hatsume when she's shot off the ground by a wire in her backpack, happily cackling and explaining her 'baby' to the audience, or rather, the support companies in the audience.
Just barely stopping himself from falling after tripping over the wire, Tenko whirls around and goes back. If she thinks she's still going to be able to use him in her advertisement, Hatsume's got another thing coming.
He wraps all five fingers around the wire and almost immediately, it begins to decay at his touch. "Hey!" Hatsume detaches the cord from the rest of her backpack and uses three others to get herself back to the ground.
He grins wickedly at her annoyed expression and runs at her again. "Some opponents can be pesky or just downright rude!" She gestures at him as if it was needed. "Probably best to lay them down!" With a quickness Tenko didn't know she had, Hatsume fires a net gun at him, which easily wraps him up and takes the yelping boy to the ground.
"How about that capture gun to use against villains?! And next we have-oh c'mon! That's not fair!" She was probably referring to Tenko disintegrating her net and standing back up. "How dare you?! You think you can just turn all my babies to dust and get away with it?!"
Tenko shrugs. "Yeah."
"Not to worry ladies and gentlemen, I, Mei Hatsume, have just the tools to defeat this villain!"
So, good news first. He was getting an actual fight. Bad news, judging by the look on her face, he was getting a fight.
Hatsume's boots pulse and rocket her into the air where she points gauntlets from her wrist at him. "Decay these!" Two more wires shoot out at him and it only takes Tenko half a second to realize they're electrified. 'Smart. I can't touch them.'
But as fast as the electric cables are, they aren't as fast as Gran Torino, of which Tenko has a lot of practice in dodging. He moves out of the way of both cords, which instead of hitting him, land on either side of him. Hatsume doesn't miss a beat, cackling more as the wires reel her toward him at an even faster rate, her boot ready to strike.
Tenko is just barely able to backflip out of the way before Hatsume's foot cracks to the ground beneath her. He's forced to back up even more when the mad girl throws a bunch of little balls onto the ground, each one expanding with spikes.
"In a car chase or chasing a villain?! Use baby 717 to cut off their escape! I give you the Hatsume guarantee they'll be turning themselves in if they step on one of these!"
She wasn't kidding. He was trapped. Behind him was the line to the arena, in front of him are a bunch of little spikes, so many he couldn't move forward. And Tenko was stuck dodging Hatsume's electrified cords, which she kept firing at him before reeling them back in and trying again.
"Now apologize for what you did to my babies, you monster!"
"What else was I supposed to do?!"
"Let me advertise everything I had and I would've stepped out and let you have the win!"
"I didn't want to win like that! Besides, isn't this all a great display of your inventions too!"
That actually got Hatsume to stop for a moment. "You're right…it is…maybe you're not so bad after all. But you still deserve to be fried after what you did!" And the dodging commences.
Think, Tenko, think! This is no different than any level on any game, and there's always a solution! He watches Hatsume's cords reel back to her before being shot at him again.
Oh, there was a solution…and he's going to blame Midoriya for being a bad influence on him for this. But being a hero was about going plus ultra, to stop the villains and save the people who needed to be saved. And he would do it no matter what it takes!
'Hope you're watching Hana!' Tenko sidesteps one of the cords but this time, he grabs onto it, leaving his thumb extended so as to not decay it. Tenko sucks in a deep breath but can't stop his yell of pain but it works because before Hatsume can stop anything, the cord is reeling him over the spikes and right back to her.
"Wha-" She lets out an 'oof!' When Tenko uses the momentum to land a kick to her stomach. And then with maybe just a bit of anger at the shocking he just got, he rips off her wrist gauntlets and decays them. He puts Hatsume on her stomach, tearing her backpack off and decaying it as well before pinning the pink-haired girl to the ground.
"Hatsume, can you move?" Midnight inquires.
She wiggles a bit before throwing him a glare over his shoulder. "This was probably a better showing of my babies but you still owe me help at the lab for all the ones you destroyed."
Tenko, not realizing the deal with a devil this was, agrees because yeah, he understood being attached to electronics and feels a little bad.
"Tenko Shimura is your winner!"
"Tomura seems to be coming along quite well, wouldn't you say?" Kurogiri asks a fuming Shigaraki. The question is mostly to get her to speak and stop grinding her teeth so much.
"Yeah." Kurogiri tenses as she stands, ready to save the computer of any furniture that may be caught in her tantrum, but no, she merely stands with her back to him, watching the stream. "I've seen this movie before."
The portal user makes a questioning hum. Shigaraki finally turns to him. "I've seen this arc before in shows. This is where the heroes get stronger and learn to work together to take down the nasty villain who, through their own stupidity, thinks they can win on their own."
"What are you saying?" Kurogiri can feel it, a breakthrough was happening.
Shigaraki narrows her eyes at him. "I am not some generic villain for the heroes to toss aside like I don't matter. I am a person who's going to get back at the people who deserve it." She moves over to the computer and sits down, opening a new tab and starting to look a few things up.
"What are you doing?"
"The problem with so many of these villains in movies and shows is that they lose because they're arrogant and refuse to change." She stops, looking down and sighing. "I already made that mistake at the USJ." She shakes her head and continues typing.
"I'm not going to do that again. And I'm not stupid enough to think I can beat Tenko, that green-haired brat Midoriya, or all the heroes by myself so I'm gonna take a page out of their book."
She turns around, revealing the picture of somebody Kurogiri hadn't seen in a long time. "The heroes want to work as a team? Fine. Then let's start forming a team of our own."
Tenya Iida walks proudly out of the dark hall to the announcement of his name. Kamakiri sneers at him from across the ring. "Fighters! Ready?!" Midnight announces. Tenya bends low, his engines revving. Kamakiri extends blades from each of his forearms, getting into a fighting position.
"One chance. Put your weapons down and surrender," Tensei is tense, ready to explode and move at a moment's notice, backup is on the way but it's still going to be at least a couple of minutes.
"You're quicker than I gave you credit for," the hero killer Stain observes from across the dark alley. "No matter, I knew purging this world of the filth people call heroes wouldn't be easy, but I will carry this burden."
Midnight looks back and forth between the fighters.
Tensei bends low, the pipes in his arms barely containing his quirk. Stain gives him a wicked snarl, unsheathing his sword in his right hand, and a massive dagger in his left, getting into a fighting position.
"Begin!"
The ring cracks under Tenya's feet as he practically soars at Kamakiri aiming a kick at the other boy's face, but it looks like he was ready because he rolls under Tenya, dodging the attack.
Tensei swears, jumping back just in time from where Stain had rolled under him and dodging a double slash from the villain. But the hero killer might as well have a speed quirk of his own because he's on Tensei immediately.
Tenya maneuvers the best he can, remembering everything his brother taught him to avoid Kamakiri's blades. Tenya makes like he's going to overcommit to his right and when Kamakiri takes the bait, he switches and kicks his opponent as hard as he can in the ribs with his left leg.
Stain hits the wall violently, but the killer is back on his feet almost instantly. But Tensei wasn't giving him a second. He goes to pummel the villain back into the ground but Stain backflips over him, planting a spike from his boot into his back.
Tenya cries out in pain, reacting instinctively, swinging his arm behind him and, though he would never admit it, feeling satisfied when it connects solidly with the boy's face.
Kamakiri is dangerous and Tenya knows he can't let up, Tensei taught him better. The 1-B student stumbles and Tenya has a devastating knee to his chest before he can recover.
His arm roars with power, and with his knee in Stain's sternum, a powerful punch to the head is all Tensei should need to end this. But he feels dread when he sees Stain smirk and a glint of metal.
"Recipro Burst!" Tenya holds Kamakiri by the neck and before the dinosaur-looking boy can blink, Tenya is at the edge of the ring throwing him out.
Tensei falls to the ground, his body cold and frozen. Try as he might, he can't move.
Midnight raises her whip. "We have a winner!"
Stain's sword might as well be the scythe of the grim reaper as it appears in Ingenium's line of sight. 'Mom, dad…Tenya…I'm sorry.'
He can hear the sirens approaching and the shouts over the hero channel but Tensei knows they won't make it in time. He tries to move again but it's in vain.
"You have…something, Ingenium. I will admit as much. Do not fret." Stain raises his sword. "Your days as a hero may be over, but you will live on to spread my legend and word."
"Tenya Iida is your winner!"
Try as he might to fight, the pain in his back is becoming too much and darkness is quickly overtaking Tensei. All he can see is his blood and Stain's boots walking away. That is, until a new figure emerges from seemingly nowhere.
"Interesting, you're letting him live," the new man says in a breathy voice.
"It is necessary."
"If you believe so," the new man concedes, seemingly uncaring. "Come. The time has come for you to fulfill your end of our bargain." Tensei can hear no more before the darkness overtakes him.
Tenya offers his hand to the downed Kamakiri. "You are a very skilled fighter."
Kamakiri slaps his hand away, standing on his own. "Whatever." He stomps away before Tenya could try to say more.
He turns around, wondering what he said that could've angered the boy so much, but smiles when he sees his friends and classmates cheering for him in the stands, Midoriya and Uraraka front and center.
They both performed so admirably in their fights, Tenya just hopes they feel the same about him. He holds a hand up to his class, causing them to cheer louder and Tenya to smile. It looks like they did. He only hopes he made his brother proud as well.