"So, Jamming-whey, couldn't take a stick to the noggin?" She smirked.
"It was a club made out of concrete!" The idiot defended himself. "And I couldn't see her half the time anyways whenever she dropped it, so give me a break!"
"Sure sure." She waved off. "Completely understandable with the screaming of terror." Jiro let out a snort.
"I have to admit, I expected that fight to go the other direction." Momo commented, getting out of the weird state she's been in since her own fight ended. "You really took me by surprise, Hagakure."
"With determination, anything is possible!" The girl fist pumped by the way her clothes moved. "Although Midnight's forcing me to actually get a costume now, so I'll have to cut my hair after the festival's over. That's not going to be fun."
"You could always put it into a pigtail or bun, it's long enough for that right?" Iruma pointed out. How would he even know that?
"You even know the length." The moan she gave caused everyone that was not genuinely insane or dense to flinch.
"Yeah, everytime you hug me I feel it. It's past shoulder length." The guy couldn't comprehend any malicious intent from anybody, but he was weirdly observant when it came to little details that everyone ignored.
"Oh, my match is up soon!" Ashido shouted. "Wish me luck!"
"Good luck!" Most of the girls and Mineta shouted, and they slowly turned to him. "What, she has acid, imagine if she slowly melted off the clothes of her opponent like a video game."
"But that would be rude to Ibara. What if she gets cold?" Iruma chastised as if that was the only issue, and considering the density, it was best that they let him think that.
"Oh come on, don't you want to see a girl naked?"
"Why? It's just boobs and girl parts down there." The record scratch could be heard for miles. "What? Am I wrong?"
"For his sake, let's leave him in the dark. That innocence is too pure to corrupt." Tsu said with her usual straight face.
"What are you talking about?" The boy asked.
"Nothing man, don't worry about it." Kaminari patted the boy's back. "Now let's cheer on our friend!" Good job Jamming-whey, you upgraded to slightly-less-dumb older brother status.
"Right, go Mina! Go Iabra! You're both so amazing and cool!" And the little guy still couldn't pick a side. It really was like watching over a little brother. Made her wish she took the chance to know him before UA.
Speaking of, she better get to talking to Momo before she goes back to being weirdly quiet. "So you're doing fine?"
"Hm?" The girl turned. "Ah, yes, fine. You don't need to worry about me." She would wait until after the Festival then, because now she realized the girl was just locking up.
==
"A pinkie who has energy and moves to spare, you saw her make her way through the Obstacle Corse and her burn enemies in the Cavalry Race. Give it up for … MINA ASHIDO!!"
Mina strutted to the stage, giving a little twirl and dance. Yeah, it was time to show the world what she got! She had to deal with the asshole known as Bakugo to get here, but it would all be worth it! Her acid would eat through those vines in seconds! It would be a shame to mess with another girl's hair like that, but sacrifices had to be made for the greater good.
"And her opponent, a woman who could be the silent assassin with how quiet her plants move, she makes her way through growing with competition. Show some hands for the only 1-B kid to make it this far … IBARA SHIOZAKII!!"
"Pardon me, but what about my performance thus far gives off the impression I'm a lowsome, sinful killer? I'm surrounded by so many blasphemous heathens that dare taint the warriors of the lord's grace." They weren't kidding, she is a religious nut.
"Oh … um, sorry, just trying to spice it up." She got Mic-sensei to backtrack, impressive.
"I didn't enter UA for selfish reasons, but to bring salvation upon others." She got in a prayer position, and it actually looked like heaven itself was starting to shine light on the girl. She could look up and see Kaminari blush, only to be stabbed by Jiro. Ah, tsundere's at their finest.
"You got this Ibara! Your hair is super strong and pretty!" Iruma shouted, and she didn't need whatever extra sense he had to know the look of spite Toru was now sending the 1-B girl, or the pout Ochako would probably give if she was around to hear it.
"Of course, I shall do my best." The girl flushed, and Ashido now felt caught in between one of the world's most dangerous love squares.
"Ready … set … begin!" Mina decided to move first, using a low acid to skate around the field and make herself a hard target. This was the first move she ever came up with since her quirk first came in, and she's an absolute pro when it came to dancing, so fast and quick movements were practically in her blood by this point!
==
Nedzu took a sip of tea, delicious as always. "Lovely to see you again Sullivan, never took you for a fan of the sports festival."
"I'm always a fan of bright and determined youths who always dedicate themselves towards a goal, I am an educator too after being a father and grandfather." The Chairdemon poured himself a cup of Hellgrey tea. "And my precious Izuku-kun will love analyzing all those unique new quirks for those journals of his."
"Will he now?" The rat sipped his tea. "I was under the impression the boy would have loved watching this in person … if he wasn't a missing person."
"Oh, it's not like I would've stopped him if he asked." Right, doting grandfather. "But he's dedicating this time now to passing the End of Terminus. He's ranked up so quickly in just a few months. From Aleph(1) to Gimel(3) in almost no time."
Ah yes, ranks. Demons always had the need to feel superior that even surpassed that of humans. "Regardless, it's nice to see you anyway, I love to chat about the many talents we have this year, even if a few concern me mentally."
"Really, how so?" Sullivan asked. "I know from my darling daughter Bakugo can be quite troublesome, but a year or so in Bablys remedial hell would fix that right up in a jiffy." If the stories he heard were any indication they would only make it worse as the boy just fit right in.
"While I may disagree on that last part, Bakugo is a slight issue compared to my main concerns. Particular towards Young Suzuki and how his home life has gone."
"Oh, the quirkless child, if I recall correctly?"
"Actually he's the next user of One For All." Nedzu chuckled. "Your thoughts?"
"Ah, the old flame. Quite beautiful to witness in action. But better to let it breathe and grow naturally, you don't want to let it burn out so quickly." Cryptic, just how he liked it. "The boy seems to handle danger quite well, evading it better than any quirk user I've seen, even better than most demons. My Izuku-kun more often than not strives to confront and take it on with a precious smile on his face."
"True, i've never seen the boy truly fight, but he has a kind soul …" Nedzu frowned. "One groomed, not naturally made."
"Ah, want me to kill some parents?"
"As much as I desire such an outcome, I believe death will be too good a punishment for these bastards. They need to suffer for every moment of torment they put the lad through. That, and their deaths may not be taken too kindly by Suzuki's fragile mental state."
"Ah, door mat, got it." How the demon put together things so quickly always intrigued the rat. "Oh, here's the necronomicon you requested." He handed him a book made out of human flesh.
"Oh yes, I've been waiting a while for this. Now I just need to save that Ashly fellow and our deadite problem should be solved within a month."
==
Ibara had trouble getting a grip on the mobile student, she was light on her feet and quite nimble. Almost as elusive as the angel. "You've truly been blessed with the gift of speed and agility."
"I worked hard to get this good, but thanks anyway!" The pink girl dodged yet another attempt to grab her. "You're not so bad yourself. I really have to be quick to avoid you! You're a lot of fun!"
"I'm simply doing my best to perform my duties so that I may do the lord's work as proficiently as possible." The girl's acid was creating openings in the ground, allowing her to slide with gratefulness. Cracks and weak spots that could be easily traveled through.
The problem was speed and prediction. She was getting better during the fight, but the girl had gotten a few in close moments to spray acid on her body. She could feel her skin burning up. Another problem was that the one moment she did grab the girl her acid ate through her vines, so she was going to need more and fast.
She watched the pink blur move, predicting and predicting …. there! "Give me strength, lord." She grew as many vines at a time and sent them into the ground, creating a massive wall of the green plants, giving the illusion that she was taking a moment to bide her time in shelter.
The vines folded over when the girl came close, enveloping her in a cocoon of vines that squeezed tight. "I'm not out yet!" The vines began sizzling. "I'll burn through them in a second!"
"Then I shall not give you a second." Her angel kept cheering Ibara's name from the background, she had more of his faith than his own classmate, she wouldn't let it go to waste! "I won't disappoint my angel!"
"You got it baaaa…..!" The acid user didn't have any time to finish her retort as the vines she planted deep in the ground finally sprouted up, enveloping the girl high in the air before leaning over past the boundary. One second passed … two … "Ha, i'm out-shit!" The girl freed herself into defeat.
"Mina Ashido is out of bounds! The Winner is Ibara Shiozaki!" The crowd went wild. Ibara gave a polite bow and extended her hand in friendship.
"You did well, young Ashido." She smiled. "As expected from an ally of the angel."
"You're even less subtle than Toru, which is a bit backwards when I think about it." The girl nonetheless accepted the hand. "If you want my advice, take action while you can, there's already two others that like him like you do, and he's as naively innocent as they come."
"So there's not one whore that threatens my angel's purity, but two."
"Hey, they're not whores." The girl blinked. "Okay maybe Toru is, but Ochako definitely isn't one, she's super sweet." The girl that dove headfirst into explosions? An adrenaline junkie no doubt, someone unfit to be by her angel's side.
==
Iida walked up with Suzuki, Hagakure, and Mineta as they made their way into Uraraka's room. "Ochako, I'm glad you're okay. The Recovery Nurse is really good." Suzuki was the first to greet her, still being just a little off when it came to placing names. "She made my noodle fingers better in no time."
"Iruma, you really are too much at times." Uraraka was laughing at the boy's choice of words. "Thanks for checking up on me guys."
"Of course, we're friends right?" Mineta asked with a smile. "Been locked together since day one."
"Actually it was day three, that's when the whole evacuation thing happened." Hagakure pointed out.
"Yeah, I made us float and Iida became an exit sign." Humiliation was a small pierce to pay if it kept the girl in high spirits after her defeat. "I'm glad you made it through Toru, good job."
"Yep, now I get to beat up the vine hussie in 1-B." Hagakure began chuckling in a very disturbing manner. "Everyone in the Flying Gluttons made it to the second round of the tournament, baring Hatsumei of course."
"And may the world be better off for it." Iida couldn't help but groan. "Such a reprehensible woman! A truer fiend has never graced the halls of UA until now!"
"Hatsumei is a very nice girl. She made super cool jetpacks and everything."
"Iruma, just cause she's good to you doesn't mean she's good to everyone else." Ochako deadpanned.
"... Oh, like my parents." And the girls of the group suddenly found themselves hugging the boy, and he was inclined to follow suit, as was Mineta.
"Dude, how can you keep saying stuff like that with a smile on your face?" Mineta raised his eyebrow.
"I mean, I'm sure everyone has it bad at some point." The boy shrugged. "Todoroki has a lot of problems." The boy looked at his right hand, specifically the injured fingers that were wrapped up. "I think I have a way to help him during the fight, but...I might hurt myself doing it. Just don't freak out when I do."
"Suzuki, it absolutely concerns us when you say you're going to hurt yourself." Iida had to reprimand. "You shouldn't put yourself through needless pain if you don't have to."
"But I do have to." The boy nodded. "He's being a moron and I have to show him how to treat his life right, like with the handy-man, just this time with more flicking … and maybe punching."
"You're going to use your quirk again, right?" Ochako looked sad. "The one that you used against the zero pointer?"
"Iruma-kun, is...is anyone telling you to do this?" Hagakure spoke with what he was sure was an equally worried expression. "Did anyone beg or ask you to do this?"
"No, I'm doing this for myself." He spoke. "This isn't for standing out or playing the game, I need to teach him how to forget his family!" Suzuki reached his hand into the air. "Plus Ultra!"