The sounds of a distant fight reached my ears. Instead of watching Kirishima's match, I went to check on Denki. After his fight, he didn't even have time to enter his "yay mode"; he just passed out after his last words, and I was honestly kind of worried.
To my surprise, when I entered the infirmary, I noticed Jiro watching Denki sleep, her elbow on the bed, gently touching his skin with her earphones in. She was so focused that she didn't notice me until I spoke.
"Did I interrupt something?"
She almost screamed, her eyes twitching as her face went red. Her arms flailed in desperation while Denki simply exhaled in silence.
"Y-you got it all w-wrong, AKUMA!"
"Is that so? Heh, alright, alright, my fault."
She looked at me, embarrassed but deeply concerned about her friend, forcing an annoyed look onto her face. "Didn't I tell you not to push him too far?! Look at him!"
"We let ourselves go a little, but it's alright. He just gave everything he had and went to sleep. Don't you think you're being overprotective?" I asked, scratching my head while she silently ground her teeth. With an annoyed look, she sighed.
"I guess he's fine, but still, why didn't you stop him?"
"I don't know, maybe he wanted to impress someone?" I said, making a doubtful gesture with both hands while smiling. She looked at me, thought for a second as I stood to leave the room, and then her face went completely red. As I left, I heard her one last time:
"J-jerk!"
How cute. Well, anyway, now that I was sure Denki wasn't in danger, I could return to the balcony with my classmates. As I walked, I found Bakugo, hands in his pockets and looking somewhat unsure. He noticed me too and made a "tch" with his mouth that made me a little angry, not going to lie.
"Did Kirishima win?"
"Do you care?"
"Not really, but you seem angry. Is something bothering you, oh, perfect king?"
He smiled, a vein popping out of his skull, lifting his left hand to show me the small explosions sparking in his palm. Perhaps it was my lack of response that made him stop, looking away for a second before we made eye contact again.
"Aren't you going to tell me to contain myself against your little friend?"
"Why should I? You're not supposed to. It's a fight, after all."
"Is that so? So why don't you ever really fight seriously?"
I froze for a moment... Sometimes I forgot this guy had sharp senses. What a hassle. I took a deep breath before answering while smirking, "Do you really think that, huh, Bakugo?"
He came up to me, grabbing my clothes and pulling me close to his face. He looked at me with a challenging gaze.
"Don't you dare lose before I kill you, because I'm going to make that fake smile of yours disappear, so don't underestimate me!"
He pushed me away. I hit my back against the wall as I watched him walk away. Mmh, I guess it's good for me to have someone shutting my mouth every now and then...
I finally returned to the balcony. My plan was to encourage Uraraka, but thanks to Bakugo, I lost my chance. Anyway, I sat with Deku, who was nervously looking at the platform where those two were about to fight. Despite that, there was a little bit of hope in his eyes.
"Do you trust her?" I asked while sitting. He seemed to be pulled from his trance and quickly responded.
"I do! It's just that... Bakugo is..."
"I don't really get what happened between you two, but if you're so scared of him, why don't you just fight him? I can see you winning against that guy."
He looked at me with a surprised face, then he looked away, back at the platform, as he scratched his cheek.
"I... I don't see myself fighting against him."
"That's what I like about you, Izuku. It's almost like this world isn't for you."
"Ah...? W-what do you mean by that, Akuma-kun?"
"I wonder..."
"THE LAST FIGHT OF THE ROUND IS ABOUT TO START!"
Present Mic's voice suddenly interrupted my conversation. Deku's shoulders tensed as he gathered all his courage to watch as Midnight gave the signal. In only a matter of seconds, the fight began.
It didn't even take a blink for Bakugo to fly toward Uraraka, who immediately dodged the first attack. The explosion sent her body flying before she stood up and went after him. He didn't wait, however, dashing at her and gaining the advantage with an explosion directly to the face.
Bakugo seemed more aggressive, I thought. As the smoke cleared and a torn uniform was shown in his hand, a kick struck his head. Yes, it seemed that Uraraka had taken advantage of the private tutoring I gave her.
Bakugo responded, blowing her away. As the debris accumulated, I couldn't help but smile as the pattern repeated itself: she attacked, he defended and counterattacked, making Uraraka weaker and weaker. In a fight of endurance, she was going to lose ten out of ten times, but I wondered, just for a second, if something else was going to change in this fight.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
"SHE'S A GIRL, YOU CRAZY FOOL!"
"AND YOU WANT TO BE A HERO?!?"
Ah, so they started....
The sound wave of the spectators screaming at Bakugo invaded my ears. My classmates had different looks on their faces; most of them agreed with those who screamed. I turned around and saw Deku, looking worried
.
"Are you really thinking the same as them?"
"Ahm, no.... Akuma, you don't?"
"Pfft, please, Deku. Do you think the villains are going to take it easy on her just because she's a girl? Listen, Uraraka is as strong as everyone else. Not everything comes down to raw power, you know?"
He nodded, and I took a deep breath as I grabbed him with my arm and pulled him next to me with a mischievous smile.
"And maybe, she just wants to show someone she's strong enough to be at his side. Who might that be?"
Deku, unlike Jiro, was quicker to understand things, getting red instantly as smoke came out of his head. A choppy slap hit me in the head. I turned around to see Iida, waving his head in annoyance as I smiled at him.
Moving my eyes back to the explosive fight, I remembered a conversation with Uraraka in one of the last training sessions we had. It was a joke that made me laugh back in my world, and I wanted to see if something so stupid and incoherent would have real repercussions in this type of situation.
"If you're in a situation where you can't win and need a distraction, forget everything about heroism, grab a handful of dirt and throw it directly in your opponent's eyes."
So when she actually did, my god, I almost blew my cover laughing.
She was getting cornered by Bakugo, explosion after explosion, she couldn't keep up. Aizawa was scolding the heroes who screamed injustice over the speaker. That's when everything became clear to the rest of them. Seeing the broken debris in the air as she activated her quirk, Bakugo was probably the last one to realize. At that moment, a cloud of dust went directly into his eyes, a last gift from her opponent.
Bakugo reacted like a wild animal, covering his face with both hands as he tried to clear the dirt, trying to understand what was happening. Uraraka didn't wait as she deactivated her quirk, using all she had to direct the attack exactly where Bakugo was standing.
It was a decisive moment. Even I, for a single second, thought she had won. I truly believed she was going to win in an incredible show of battle IQ, but...
The sound of an explosion so big that the ears of everyone around me seemed to collapse. A cloud of dust and smoke covered the entire arena around the platform as tiny remnants of concrete harmlessly impacted my skin.
"THE SMOKE IS CLEARING!! WHAT IS THAT, AIZAWA! IS THAT?!"
Standing with half of his uniform torn was Bakugo, his left arm smoking as his body was covered in bruises and sweat. On the other side of the platform, Uraraka was out of bounds and incapable of moving.
"KATSUKI BAKUGO WINS THE ROUND AND ADVANCES TO THE NEXT STAGE!!!"
People cheered, but it certainly wasn't a great victory. Midnight had to help Uraraka onto the robo-stretcher. Hmmm, I was disappointed. It would have been extremely funny if she had won, a shame.
With that, the first round ended. And speaking of which, Deku was already gone. He was going to visit Uraraka, obviously. Now I was more nervous about my matchup. Iida, ignoring the fact I'd just saved his brother some hours ago, his quirk was problematic. How could I counter it in an easy way? That was my dilemma.... Ahh, so annoying.
Before the fight started, I went to visit Uraraka. After all, I had a kind of relationship with her, so it would be irresponsible not to check on her. I walked the corridors alone. To my surprise, she was already there, looking somewhat defeated and beaten up.
"Aren't you forcing your body too much?"
"I-I'm fine. I want to see Deku fight, and..."
"Support him just like he did?"
She looked at me and nodded in silence. I turned around to walk alongside her. She hit me with her elbow as she smiled.
"You're good at reading people."
"It was a good fight, impressive to say the least. Even if you lack a lot of things compared to Bakugo, you put up a fight others with a better matchup wouldn't have."
"Is that your way of saying I did good?"
"It is."
"Then thanks, Akuma. Your 'technique' really helped me."
We looked at each other and shared a laugh. The sound from outside told me the fight was about to start. Uraraka hit her own cheeks in preparation; it seemed she was really nervous about this.
We got to the balcony together. She looked around and sat with Iida and Tokoyami. I sat with Momo. She waved, and we smiled at each other, but nothing was said. They were already in their positions, Todoroki and Deku, looking at each other. I really couldn't wait.
"START!"
Todoroki really didn't play around. An instant monument of ice was thrown directly at Midoriya, who instead of breaking his finger to counter it, ran to it, punching it directly. I got up from my seat to see it more clearly.
Wait, was he already that advanced?!
The punch shattered the ice like it was nothing. To my relief, the mark around his body wasn't glowing as I remembered; it was more off, like it was still in a very early stage. That's good, I guess, but really, how was this kid so far from his original version?
While I was lost in my thoughts, the battle continued. Deku advanced, and Todoroki had no intention of backing down, his attacks getting more and more aggressive as Deku tried to get closer.
"Isn't he already stronger than you, Bakugo?"
"HAH?! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?! DO YOU WANT TO DIE?!"
Kirishima, who had just recovered from his battle, entered with no less than a great question. Was Deku already stronger than Bakugo? He wasn't yet breaking limbs, which gave him an enormous advantage in the fight, but still, something was off.
I closed my eyes as I sat down, taking control of the string I'd left in Deku's body during his first fight, and quickly realized I was right.
Even if the damage wasn't that clear, he was still breaking himself, or rather, degrading his own flesh little by little.
He wasn't going to change, huh?
The rate of consecutive hits didn't stop. Deku was cutting the distance, his punches piercing as Todoroki considered his strategy. For the first time, he was going to take the initiative.
He stomped the ground, making ice spikes emerge. Deku jumped, trying to avoid them. These spikes fused as Deku was landing to make a final attack. Obviously, this didn't happen. The ice shattered as One For All impacted freely. Todoroki's breath seemed to get colder and colder. Instead, Izuku was grabbing his arm while biting his lips. This was clearly hurting him. Alas, was he a masochist in every timeline?
"YOU CAN'T WIN IF YOU CONTINUE LIKE THAT!"
He screamed for the whole world to hear. Todoroki didn't seem to stop; he kept attacking, and Izuku evaded what he could and shattered what he needed to survive. It was obvious who had the upper hand, but Deku was not one to give up so easily.
"FIGHT ME! WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT! OR DO YOU WISH TO REACH THE TOP USING ONLY YOUR HALF?!"
This fucking guy, he was so fucking crazy it made me feel alive. How could I have lived a past life so boring?! Really, how could I have survived missing this?! Ahh, I wondered if Lyubim ever experienced this much excitement as I.
My smile became so wide I could feel Momo's gaze on me, which made me stop. I couldn't let myself go this early, but anyway, the fight seemed to have changed pace. Both were now attacking each other, saying things without paying any mind to the world that surrounded them.
The sound and waves of hits Midoriya gave were crazy. The cold air hit my skin, and finally, what I was expecting happened.
They abandoned the endurance fight they were having to enter a full close-quarters fight, punches and kicks. But at the same time, Todoroki sent a wave of ice into Deku's blind spot, forcing him to use One For All. To the surprise of everyone...
"AGH?!"
"DEKU!" screamed Uraraka, standing up from her seat and running to the edge of the balcony. His arm finally broke as the ice debris landed on the platform.
But Deku didn't stop, didn't land, and didn't hesitate to run towards Todoroki. He tried to cover himself, but with his Ice quirk at its limit, he could only receive a punch from Deku's other arm.
"DON'T GET DISTRACTED! THIS ONE IS INTACT!"
Todoroki landed as Deku charged again, screaming as he covered the distance.
"THAT QUIRK! IT'S YOURS AND YOURS ALONE! SO—"
"USE IT!"
A blaze of fire emerged from the deep half of Todoroki's body, covering himself in flames as his cold half instantly melted. But time was something he didn't have, as Deku's primitive Full Cowl was already active. This last hit was everything Deku had left, and it might be his biggest hit until now.
The pro heroes didn't hesitate to try and intervene. Ice spikes tried to stop Deku's charge but failed miserably. Paired with these two opposing elements, the results were obviously devastating. Deku's charge clashed with Cementoss's walls as Todoroki's blow did with equal force, maybe even more. An explosion so big it led to a flash that made my eyes lose sight of the world for a moment.
And when I came back, the first thing I saw was a platform crumbling to dust, Todoroki standing, leaving a trace in front of him, and on the other half, unmoving, Izuku Midoriya, lying flat on the ground with both of his arms broken.
"Mhm..."
My string, which somehow survived, indicated that Deku's body, despite the obvious harm, didn't present anything that could turn into a chronic injury, which meant... he no longer had that limit, at least for now.
Even if the fight ended the same way, the result was nothing similar. This Deku was way more than I imagined, and only changing so little things.... I couldn't help but imagine what kind of monster this guy was destined to be, but I did, because I already knew, and it was scary.
The next fight was uneventful. Momo was good, yet when faced against an opponent like Tokoyami, there was nothing left to do. I went to her as she returned to the waiting room. She was looking at her food without really doing anything.
"You're more demoralized than I thought."
"Is... that supposed to be a good thing?"
"Oh no... erm, I really suck at trying to get your spirits up, right?"
She laughed as I scratched the back of my neck. As calmly as ever, she sighed, looking back at her food.
"I think I'm not as good as everyone else thinks I am."
"For what? Losing a match against a super opponent? Please, everyone is destined to lose at least 100 times. You only need to get up 101."
She looked at me, her eyes shining in a way I'd never seen before. It gave me... a strange sensation I couldn't describe.
"Does that apply to you too... Akuma?"
"It applies especially to me."
Momo laughed again, but it wasn't the same. Her laugh was now backed by feelings unknown to me, but they seemed to be positive, so I felt relieved.
"Thanks, Akuma, I think you said what I needed."
"Is that so? I'm happy, then."
She looked at me weirdly, opened her mouth but nothing came out of it. Then her expression softened.
"Good Luck."
And with that, I left the room to face my next opponent, Tenya Iida.
As I entered the arena, the tension between us was clear. His face showed a smile, but his true feelings were pretty simple to read: he wanted to win, he wanted to defeat me. It wasn't hostile, obviously, but I couldn't help but feel a little excited.
"It's a pleasure, President."
"It's the same here, Akuma."
"START!"
He instantly disappeared from my sight. I turned around as fast as I could, but he was already there, waiting for a direct hit.
PAM!
The kick went directly into my head, sending me flying. Unlike any other, I stopped in a one-arm handstand, quickly regaining my composure as he ran to his next attack.
Unfortunately for him, I was perfect for him.
A wall of thread was thrown in every direction. It didn't matter if I couldn't see him; I could still get him. But to my surprise, there was no hit.
My head went down as he landed right next to me, grabbing my arm, trying to throw me out of bounds. So he jumped? Smart ass.
He didn't get time to do so. My arm quickly came off as I rolled on the ground. He stopped, looking at my arm with a scared expression. This cost him. The arm divided itself and restrained his body more quickly than he could react. As I regenerated my limb, I dashed to him with my fist prepared.
"Aren't you being very hostile today?"
He dashed again. At that moment, the extra organ I created, my tentacle, came out of my lower back. Without the necessity of me moving, Iida was easily repelled by it, impeding his attack.
He couldn't really do anything against me right now. His fighting style was basically running around, hitting one good kick, and running with the opponent to throw him out of bounds, but that could be quickly resolved.
We looked at each other as my extra organ balanced in the air. I crouched in place, touching the ground with both of my hands, inserting thousands of little strings.
"DON'T GET DISTRACTED!"
He said. I didn't even realize he'd sped up at me; it was so quick my tentacle wasn't even capable of keeping up. But it was over, I had already won.
As I flew thanks to the kick directly to my face, I used my tentacle to embed myself in the ground. Iida tried to run at me, but I simply pulled my hand and, at the same time, the whole platform broke.
"W-WHAT IS THIS, AIZAWA?! IIDA IS INCAPABLE OF MOVING WHEN THE PLATFORM GETS DESTROYED LIKE THAT?! HOW WAS YOUR STUDENT CAPABLE OF DOING SOMETHING LIKE THIS?"
Pretty simple, really. Inserting small strings into the cement, extending them to fill the spaces between concrete. It doesn't matter if it's a quirk; it can't be perfect. And when you make all those little strings grab onto everything they can and you pull...
You get a zone with enough debris for a speed user to think twice before running in this place. I landed on the newly made ground.
"You can't hide anymore, can you?"
"There's no need!"
We ran at each other at high speed, but I could now certainly keep up with him. He was the first one to throw a punch. I moved out of the way, and as I let my body go down, I grabbed his arm. Passing behind him, I threw a web of strings, gluing his hand behind his back.
He tried to retaliate but quickly found both of his feet were also grabbed to the ground thanks to me. I made a jump to create distance as his muscles tensed, trying to get free.
I extended one hand, controlling the threads previously used to break the ground now to attach to his body, mummifying him in an instant. With that, the fight was over.
"TENYA IIDA IS INCAPABLE OF MOVING, AKUMA MATSUMOTO PASSES TO THE NEXT ROUND!"
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I'm back! Sorry for my absence, I became addicted to Umausume for a week, but I'm here once again