Chapter 24: (Episode 21: Battle on, Challengers!)
The opening theme commences.
"You know, now that I know who the artist is, I want to kick myself for not recognizing it sooner…! I literally know all of his songs by heart, but I couldn't recognize his voice?!"
"Tell me about it- I knew there was something familiar about the ending song, but dammit, I couldn't figure it out myself! Little Glee Monster is literally my favorite band!"
"Bro, Kenshi Yonezu is my favorite artist!" Hanta announced, him and Mina despairing that their loyalty was tested and they failed, much to Denki's entertainment before the black-haired boy suddenly asked as he changed the subject, "Anyway, what are you girls doing here? I thought you all wanted to stick together."
"Well, yeah, but you guys are like super fun to hang around, and I thought there would be room…" Mina's eyes looked past the three to glare at Katsuki for a moment before her expression returned to its usual shine, smiling as she giggled, "Besides, Jiro and Yaoyorozu kind of said they wanted their own space anyway!"
"They got tired of you, huh…?" Denki chuckled with the pink-skinned punching him back, causing him to yelp at the sneak attack.
"Oh, Midoriya-" Hitoshi looked over to the greenet after getting over the shock of someone wanting him, Izuku blinking his big, emerald eyes up to his new friend as the boy sent him a thumbs up, noting, "I forgot to tell you this earlier, but good luck on your next match."
"My next match… Shinso-kun, that's not for a long while…"
"I was more so talking about who you're going up against."
"Oh…" Izuku caught on to what Hitoshi was trying to communicate, the last scene from the recent episode coming back to mind as he realized who he was up against, "Oh…"
The horror that was setting into Izuku's gaze caused Hitoshi to laugh a little, he wasn't ashamed to admit, as he would totally have felt the same.
"How many more of these things do we have to watch before I can go back home…?" Tomura whined out, but his question was overshadowed by the cheering that erupted when the quick shot of Izuku and Shoto fighting in the arena played.
Meanwhile, Izuku was trying to get his mind off fighting Shoto by asking instead, "Who- Uh, Wh-Who's match is next, a-actually…?"
"Isn't it…" Hitoshi suddenly whipped his neck around, causing the two to his right to jump in surprise at the action before his lavender gaze landed on one of them, Tenya beginning to sweat under his glare before he heard the boy say, "Eeee… Something with an 'ii'..."
"Iida Tenya."
"Dammit, I knew I was right…!"
Ochaco looked in between Hitoshi and Tenya before she asked out loud, "What's going on?"
"Shinso-kun has informed me that he sometimes struggles with remembering names."
"Oh, okay!" Ochaco smiled, thankfully that it was just that while Hitoshi rubbed his neck awkwardly at this fact being made public.
"I'm sure you'll get it down eventually, Shinso-kun…" Izuku gently reassured the bashful purplenet as the opening song came to an end.
The crowd went wild once all the ice was removed from the stage, Mic's announcement coming in soon after, "Everybody, sorry for the long wait! The stage that was frozen in the second match is finally dry, so on to the next match!"
Hanta shivered at the chilling reminder of what happened to him in that fight, but quickly brushed it aside in excitement for the next contenders.
"The assassin from Class B! Pretty things have thorns, you know!" Mic yelled out as the green-haired girl walked out on stage, announcing her name and course with enthusiasm, "From the hero course, it's Shiozaki Ibara! Versus-"
Climbing the steps from the other side of the arena, Kaminari made himself known with Mic's commentary as he smirked to his opponent, "Sparking Killing Boy! From the hero course, it's Kaminari Denki!"
Title screen 'Episode 21. Battle on, Challengers!'
"So I was right…!" Ochaco grinned before turning back to Denki as she cheered, "Good luck, Kaminari-kun! You got this!"
Hearing the brunette's support and seeing that gleam in her eyes, directed at him, Denki prayed for his future self to win this match or he would never forgive himself. It was his glorious moment to impress Ochaco, he couldn't fail now.
"NOW, we'll have a super flashy battle this time too-"
"Um…"
Surprised at being interrupted, Mic paid his sights down to the stage where Shiozaki was facing him, with her hand raised up as her other rested on her chest, hoping to gain his attention.
"Please excuse the interruption. What do you mean by 'assassin'? I have only come to find victory, not to take my opponent's life."
"I-I'm sorry!" Mic quickly swooped in to apologize to his student, hoping he hadn't offended her by his words.
"In the first place, I wished to enter U.A. High School not for wicked reasons, but for the salvation of others…" Shiozaki, however, ignored his pleas as she continued to defend her good name, the sunlight shining down upon her while she brought her hands together to rest.
"I said, I'm sorry! My bad, okay?!"
"She's… something." Hanta murmured, tapping Denki against the shoulder as he whispered, "You got this, man."
Denki already had all the luck he needed, so he was very confident in his ability to win against Ibara, even with hardly knowing her skills and power.
"Class B has people like this in it, too, huh?" Kaminari sighed to himself as he watched Shiozaki bow to the announcer's booth. As she turned back around, getting a good look at her appearance, he began to think while watching her walk back on stage, 'She's got big eyes and a pretty face, but it looks like she's really strong. I've gotta discharge all my electricity here, huh? Actually, she's pretty, but she's also kinda cute… I've gotta ask her out sometime, huh? All right…!'
While he couldn't deny his thoughts on Ibara, Denki wished they didn't have to be broadcasted for the entire theater to listen to, shrinking in his seat from Mina and Hanta's teasing. But, most of all, he was worried that his future self's thinking might somehow hurt Ochaco's feelings, now feeling nervous for his match.
'I don't think Kaminari-kun's strategy is the best, but he knows his quirk better than us…!' Ochaco criticized the blond's thought process, but still hoped for his win.
"A-Anyway, START!"
"When this is over, wanna grab a bite to eat? I'll comfort you if you'll have me." Kaminari called out over the cheering of the crowd. Shiozaki blinked in surprise at the question before her opponent suddenly charged up his power, electricity pouring from his skin as he grinned, "'Cause this match'll probably be over in a second…! Indiscriminate Shock… 1.3 Million Volts!"
'Good, good, doing good so far… And smooth way of asking, gotta take notes for later with Uraraka…' Denki was liking his odds so far, bopping his head along to the beat that started to play as he smirked.
Watching him discharge lightning, with it heading her way, Shiozaki simply turned around, cupped her hands together, then raised her hair to where it covered her body, breaking it off just as Kaminari's attack hit. Hitting his limit at once, the boy immediately switched into 'yee' mode as the concrete underneath his feet broke open to reveal the greenette's attack, her hair wrapping him up and lifting him into the air, immobilizing him in a second.
"It was decided in an instant! I'll say it once more! AN INSTANT!" Mic yelled out like crazy, with Midnight throwing her whip out toward Shiozaki.
"Shiozaki-san advances to the second round!"
Denki wished for somebody to kill him, as laughter filled the theater room, getting shaken around by Hanta as he blew his chance at both winning and impressing Ochaco.
"Dumbass." Katsuki scoffed while Eijiro nervously rubbed his thumbs together, feeling sorry for his friend.
"That was the single most entertaining thing I've seen all day…! The NPC jinxed his own match- How hilarious is that…?! Everybody knows releasing your strongest attack is a noob's move!" Tomura cackled as his sides began to hurt, clutching them while he fell off the couch in a fit of laughter. Katsuki chuckled at what he just watched while Denki sunk further into his seat.
"Kaminari, Kaminari, it'll be okay…! Better luck next year!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Denki huffed, ignoring Hanta's taunting voice as he eyed the bobbing brown hair of Ochaco.
"-they'll grow in almost immediately. In other words, she can't go bald!"
"I guess that's a plus, kero. Kind of strange to mention it, though."
"Man…" Jiro rubbed the back of her head, voicing her disappointment in the winner until an annoying voice sounded from the other side of the wall.
"What's that?" Monoma gasped, leaning over the divider between them and Class 1-A as he laughed down to their sister classmates, "Didn't he say he'd settle this in a second? That's strange, he was defeated in a second, wasn't he? Class A is supposed to be better than Class B, so isn't that weird?"
While Monoma was busy talking down about Class 1-A, hanging onto the wall for dear life, unknowingly, Kendo sighed as she stood up from her seat before walking over to her classmate and went to hit him in the back of the head. Before the blond could fall on his face, though, she very gently caught him by the collar of his shirt, then stood up taller so she could see over the wall as she smiled down to the confused expressions of the other class.
"Sorry!"
Taken aback by his sudden change in personality, the one question on everyone's mind as they accepted Kendo's apology was: 'What was that just now?'
"Yeah… I'd like to know the same thing."
"He seemed so… different, before, when we fought against him in the cavalry battle. Now he's… for a lack of a better word… insane?"
"Bastard couldn't accept his loss." Katsuki scoffed after Mina and Hanta's claims, while Tomura began to laugh again.
"I fucking love this guy…! I wish he was here over you boring heroes."
"There was no way he'd shock her with that."
"And then she extended her vines to bind him. Kaminari's quirk was completely blocked."
"Some quirks don't work well against others, but it would've been better if he'd been able to deal with it…"
A few heroes evaluated the match they just watched with one another as Shiozaki walked back through the gate, with Midnight watching over Kaminari as he was rolled to the nurse's office with the help of their robots. Meanwhile, further in the stands, Uraraka sat, stone-faced, as they awaited the next fight until Midoriya's voice crept into her concentration and she jolted in her seat at the words coming from his mouth, furiously writing them down just as fast.
"Kaminari-kun's quirk is supposed to be strong, but Shiozaki-san is a strong opponent who placed fourth in the entrance exam. Vines, huh? I wonder if it's like Kamui Woods' quirk. Binding types really are strong. I hardly ever see anyone break out. It'd be impossible to get close while avoiding all those vines, so you'd either have to tear them off or get through with brute force… Oh, but in order to keep you from doing that, she'd go after your hands first… Umm…"
Izuku had been mumbling about Ibara and Denki's match as well, but due to the loudspeakers, it was mostly canceled out until you listened hard enough. And when those on his row and above paid their attention to the greenet, very softly, could they make out his voice muttering away about the possibilities.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Midoriya…" Denki sighed under his breath, sniffing while Hanta grinned like crazy after hearing all that. The blond had already been despairing, and with everyone's opinion, both here and those on screen, he recognized his foolishness in launching a big attack right off the bat. He learned his lesson.
"Wow, he talks a lot when he gets down to it…" Hitoshi murmured under his breath just as Izuku snapped out of his muttering state, coming back to the world as he blinked up at the screen.
"It's just, I mean, this is pretty much my hobby…" Midoriya bashfully admitted when Uraraka asked him about making countermeasures. Hearing this had the brunette interested, with her friend luckily choosing to share his hobby, "It's not every day I get a chance to see amazing quirks outside of those in our class… Oh, right! I've been putting these together for everyone in Class A, too. For your Zero Gravity, too!"
Uraraka appeared to be shocked by this information.
Ochaco, unlike her future counterpart, showed excitement at hearing this.
"Oh my god, you can draw, Deku-kun?! Your drawing of me looked so good- Lemme see what you have on me so far…! Please, pretty please!"
Holding onto his notebook for dear life, Izuku leaned away from Ochaco's outstretched to make a grab for it. Hitoshi also helped to keep her back, which the brunette only giggled about toward his antics. Soon, the green-haired boy froze up as he took in what she had to say on screen as well, about him being amazing. She thought he was amazing.
Izuku leaned closer to Toshinori, who in response, placed his bony arm around the teen as he gently smiled at the boy once more trying to hide himself with his notebook.
"I don't think he took a breather during that entire time he was talking to himself…"
"That would be impossible, unless, somehow, Midoriya has an air breathing quirk."
"Dude, don't joke like that. Not funny." Hanta lightly hit Denki on the head after what he said, the blond wincing before he rubbed the spot where his friend hit him.
"I didn't even say it in a joking way…!"
"It's like he's the epitome of the middle of the pack! From the hero course, it's Iida Tenya!"
"Ah, so it wasn't next, but the one after the next match…" Hitoshi muttered under his breath while Ochaco got situated back into her seat properly. Tenya mentally prepared for his battle against Mei, wondering, just like everyone else, what sort of items the girl would use against him.
"From the support course, it's Hatsume Mei!"
Up in the stands, Jiro narrowed her eyes down to the stage as she wondered aloud, "He's up against the support course, huh?"
"I wonder what kind of fight it'll be?"
"I mean, what is that?" Sato blinked suddenly, watching their classmate secure an auto-balancer on his back with a clasp at his exclamation, "Iida's also fully-equipped with support items!"
"That's generally against the rules for those in the hero course. Those who must use equipment needed to petition beforehand." Midnight announced as she eyed the boy, reminding him of their policies as Iida gaped, seeming to have forgotten them.
"Mei-chan did mention earlier that to keep things fair, the support course were allowed to bring their own support items. That's why we couldn't wear our costumes either, kero." Tsuyu remembered as well, which only brought more shame to Tenya, even though it wasn't his fault.
"Shoot…!"
"Iida-kun, don't worry about it." Ochaco backed her friend on the back while unknowingly, Hanta shivered at those words.
"-my heart was moved by my opponent's sportsmanship. Even though she is from the support course, she said she wanted an even match since she made it this far. She said she wanted to fight fairly. So, she gave me this equipment!" Iida defended his actions in the ways of sportsmanship, clenching his fist before he brought his hand up to rest on his chest as he proclaimed, "I didn't think I could ignore her fighting spirit!"
"Oh, youth!" Midnight squealed, drinking in the earnest from Iida until she collected herself a second later, flashing her whip as she instated, "I'll allow it!"
Ignoring the pro hero's unusual behavior, Tenya sighed at hearing that, and began to relax better for his upcoming match, which helped settle Ochaco back into her seat. However, some of the other students still weren't okay with moving on from what they just witnessed.
"H… How old is Midnight…?"
"Twenty-nine." Izuku answered the question a bit too quickly.
"Bro… she's getting horny off of high school kids- How the hell is she allowed to work at a high school…?!"
"Unless you become the principal of U.A., Midnight Sensei isn't going anywhere." Minoru suddenly appeared on the back of the couch, in between Denki and Mina, with both teens jumping back in their seats.
"Of course you would say that…!" Toru huffed while the short male had no idea what she meant by that.
'Is this one of those times that Aizawa Sensei told me about yesterday…? Did I say something wrong, then? What did I say…?' Minoru pondered on these questions as he sat back down.
"Well, that doesn't sound good." Hitoshi noted after getting a look at Izuku's thoughts on this match, with him thinking that Mei wasn't the kind of person that Tenya thought she was.
"-let's start the fourth match!"
Ochaco tensed up in her seat a little bit at Hizashi's announcement, clenching and unclenching her fists as she thinned her lip, 'Getting closer… The episode is speeding through these other matches, which is making me even more nervous than I already am…'
Immediately, Iida ran straight toward Hatsume, who showed no signs of moving as he got closer until she broke out into a wide grin, her voice carrying across the entire stadium, "Isn't that acceleration wonderful, Iida-kun?"
"A mic?" Iida briefly questioned, noting the headset around her ear.
"Why?" Mic also had a few questions, as well as his friend beside him.
"She's wearing speakers?"
"Don't your legs feel lighter than usual? That's only to be expected! Those leg parts are helping the wearer's movements along! And I…" Hatsume spoke as if she were at an auction, but eventually, Iida caught up to where she stood, about to ram her over before she suddenly shot out a hydraulic pole from her backpack. He tripped over the metal rod, with the girl carrying on with her announcement, "...can evade easily with my hydraulic attachments!"
Gazing up at the audience, Hatsume was able to see far up into the stands, eyeing a few men talking amongst themselves as she thought, 'The support companies are sitting… Oh, they're biting! I've got 'em!'
"Hatsume Mei. Quirk: Zoom. If she gets serious, she can see clearly up to five kilometers away!"
"Only when she gets serious…?" Izuku hummed as he quickly wrote this information down.
"Maybe that's why her quirk wasn't used in the cavalry battle… Not very useful." Ochaco tapped her index finger against her chin as she answered Izuku's rhetorical question.
Meanwhile, Hitoshi looked over the girl's head to carefully watch Tenya, who sat slumped in his seat as the match, if you could even call it that, continued.
Iida tripped over her support item again as he tried an attack from behind, struggling to gain his footing back as he came very close to the edge of the arena before his own gear came into play. Thanks to the auto-balancer, he was able to right his step and twist back around so he could run back for Hatsume.
"What are you planning?"
"Iida-kun changed course adeptly! It's thanks to the auto-balancer that I made! The leg parts detect the wearer's brainwaves to predict their movements, so there's no need to worry about time lag!"
Up in the announcer's booth, since Hatsume had control of the speakers, somehow, Mic and Aizawa were left watching this like the rest of the audience, with no need for commentary. The dark-haired hero had his bandaged arm surprisingly resting on his head as they took in the scene before them.
"What is this…?"
"She's very good at hard selling…"
"This is getting boring, kero."
"I kind of feel bad for Iida-kun…"
"It's like this episode is trying to get through the rest of the matches."
"Yeah, probably to get back to its main character…!"
"Hey, I wanna fucking watch my fight all the way through! Fuck shitty Deku's match with Half n' Half!" Katsuki yelled out after Denki's claim, sending a shiver down Ochaco's spine.
"You're the last match, kero." Tsuyu pointed out before she blinked, tilting her head next as she asked, "Who's match is next?"
"Shit, I don't know- Does anybody have them written down; in order?" Hanta asked out to the group, a few eyes looking over to Izuku, who sheepishly blinked back at them before shaking his head.
"S-Sorry…"
"There's no need for an apology, Young Midoriya. You are completely fine."
"I know that I still have to fight Aoyama, Yaoyorozu fights Tokoyami, and Kirishima has to fight… the Class B guy- What was his name again."
"Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu…!" Denki blurted out as he broke into laughter, with Hanta not too far behind him, as Eijiro ducked his head down.
"How is this still not over yet? Kaminari's fight literally took less than a minute because he underestimated a girl." Kyoka grumbled out as Mei continued to present her support items, with Momo thinning her lip as she brought her fist to rest against her chest.
"While it is quite informative, I also find her presentation to be a bit excessive. Majority of the audience are looking for a fight from us hero course students, not this."
Meanwhile, Tenya was slipping more and more into despair as the round went on. He couldn't even find it in himself to defend his good name when Mei had captured him with a net and called it 'catching a villain', to which he was obviously not.
'If anything, she's the villain in all this…! Deceiving and lying to me in such a way!' Tenya's thoughts were getting bold, and Ochaco worried for her friend as she caught his scowl.
"-me, Hatsume Mei! Everyone from the support companies, the choice is clear: Hatsume Mei, Hatsume Mei, Hatsume Mei!"
While she sung her praise, the men in the booth that she had spotted earlier appeared conflicted, one muttering under his breath as they watched her, "What is she, a politician?"
"And now, I will talk about the next support item!"
"There's still more?" another looked like he couldn't take it anymore.
"She came prepared, kero." Tsuyu noted while everyone braced themselves for another boring presentation. They weren't expecting 'ten minutes later' to pop up instead, prompting Tenya to fall sideways on the couch with those on his row whipping around to check up on him.
After showing everything she had, Hatsume just walked off the stage she created, wiping her brow as she sighed to herself, "I've presented each and every last one of them. I have nothing left to say!"
"H-Hatsume-san is out of bounds." Midnight awkwardly threw her hand up, still processing everything that had happened until she eventually threw her whip towards the other side of the arena next, announcing, "Iida-kun advances to the second round!"
"YOU TRICKED ME…!"
Turning her head away from the cheering crowd, Hatsume murmured as she began to walk away, "I'm sorry. I used you."
"I hate you!" Iida declared out in pure rage while Hatsume brushed it off with a soft giggle.
"I didn't think the word 'hate' would be in your vocabulary, Iida-kun…" Ochaco tried to laugh it off, but immediately stopped when she caught tear tracks running down Tenya's face, causing her to panic as she shrieked, "IIDA-KUN?!"
'I hope my brother never sees my pathetic match… How humiliating of the Iida family name…'
"Iida and Uraraka really got the short end of the stick…" Denki mumbled under his breath until a rough jab hit him in the arm, glaring over at Hanta before he watched his friend point to himself, remembering as he gasped, "Oh, and I guess you too…"
"What do you mean you 'guess'?! Since you pulled out your strongest move on your opponent, I'd say you're not too far behind, mister!"
Denki was offended by that.
"Ochaco-chan still has some time before her match." Tsuyu pointed out after they watched the brunette walk away from the stands and into the hallway with a shadow over her expression.
"Going up against Bakugo-kun, I wouldn't blame her for walking away if it meant more concentration." Toru reminded her friend while Mina grew ecstatic as her match was now upon them.
"Make sure not to slip over my Acid, Aoyama…!"
"As long as you don't outshine moi." Yuga teased back in response, winking as he smiled again, which brightened Mina's own grin as he seemed to be okay. Shota's talk with him must have been successful.
"From the hero course, it's Ashido Mina!"
Bringing her arms back down, the pink-haired girl cackled as she pointed at her opponent while teasing, "My first match is a piece of cake!"
"I'll return those words right back at you."
"Dammit, Aoyama, why does it keep showing you looking at us…?! Stop it, it's weird!"
"Mineta, if I had the answer, I would certainly quit. But alas, this is the future, after all, so no can do." Yuga replied back to his peer before catching the murderous stares from the girls, side eyeing Minoru as they both caught their glares while the blond noted to the other, "But perhaps instead, you should be worried about something else, yes?"
"Y-Yeah…" Minoru nodded back, thinking about how this show just seemed to be putting him in a bad light every time he said something that could be described as sexual.
"-Aoyama-kun will probably attack from a distance with his laser. So the match will be decided by how well Ashido-san can slip through Aoyama-kun's attacks and turn it into a close combat match. But there's nothing to use as cover on the stage, so Ashido-san might be at a slight disadvantage."
Mina puffed out her cheeks at Izuku's analysis, crossing her arms as she sighed out loud enough for him to hear, "You underestimate me, Midori-kun…"
"S-Sorry…!" Izuku squeaked out an apology that the girl giggled at.
"-START!"
"The early bird gets the worm!" Aoyama declared as he immediately shot his quirk toward Ashido, who raced forward before leaping just out of the way of his laser.
"Whoops!" Ashido cried before she landed back down, activating her quirk to slide across it for better speed while she called out to her opponent, "Since we were on the same team for combat training, I know all about your quirk!"
"Do you now?"
"And you also got a quirk introduction while Ididn't…!" Mina cackled and while this was for their knowledge and not them up on screen, Yuga still felt a little fearful looking down into her amber eyes.
"At the fitness test-"
'If I shoot more than a second, I get a stomachache.'
"That's what you said!" Ashido used the boy's words against him, with Aoyama already starting to feel the sick rumble to his tummy as he continuously shot his laser at her, queasily watching as she continued dodging his repeated attacks.
"You're… persistent!" Aoyama complained before he shot another beam her way, that Ashido ducked under before zipping to the right and running alongside the light toward him. His insides began to protest, close to hitting his limit as he uttered with sweat beads forming, "My… My stomach…"
"Now!" Ashido grinned, throwing a pool of acid in Aoyama's direction, landing on his belt before the substance began to eat and rust the metal, which made the blond scream until his pants started to slip down from his waist.
"Oh no, my precious belt! And my pants!"
While her opponent fiddled with his clothing, trying not to flash the crowd, Ashido slid in with her final combo as she cried out with triumph, "I'll finish it… with this!"
Her fist came flying up, punching Aoyama hard in the jaw as he slowly fell back from the impact, hitting the ground with his pants still somewhat down and out cold.
"Aoyama-kun has fainted! Ashido-san advances to the second round!"
"YEAH!" Mina jumped up out of her seat with Toru joining her as well, the two girls dancing on their toes while the rest of the theater congratulated her on the win. While he was disappointed that he didn't win, Yuga could accept his defeat as he nodded to his opponent.
"Well played, Ashido. Well played."
"Ashido's easy victory is indisputable!"
"Well, you didn't have to phrase it like that…"
"It kind of was, though?" Rikido raised his brow at Yuga seemingly taking back his word just because of Hizashi's announcement.
Despite his classmate winning either way, Mineta was still upset by the winner as he clenched his fists, shaking in his seat as Shoji glanced over to hear him say through gritted teeth, "If only Aoyama and Ashido's quirks were switched…!"
"You're too much of a scumbag."
"Thank you for that, Jiro…!" Mina huffed, with the purplenette sending her a thumbs up in response, before she turned over to face Minoru and Yuga, who appeared pale, while she yelled at the other, "Mineta!"
"Hey, I didn't say anything!"
"Yeah you did!"
"Nuh-uh! I said nothing…! And what I said isn't thatscumbag-y; I just wanted you and Aoyama to switch quirks!"
"Well I would never switch my quirk out for someone else's!" Mina stuck her tongue out toward the boy before looking over to Yuga, who jolted in his seat before he heard her say gently, "Not that there's anything wrong with your quirk, I would just hategetting stomach aches all the time just for overusing it."
"N-No, you are completely valid, Ashido." Yuga smiled back while he internally screamed to himself, 'Just when I was feeling better about myself, why did it have to show Mineta saying something like that…?!'
"Let's move on to the sixth match!"
"Hey, I said get back to work!" Kamui was starting to get annoyed with Mt. Lady's constant distraction of the TV screen outside of the stadium gate, watching the festival instead of doing the job she signed up for.
"She really doesn't want to do her job, huh…?"
"Why volunteer for a security job if you're not actually going to do your job?"
"Good luck, Yaoyorozu." Kyoka lightly elbowed her friend, grinning up at Momo as the other girl smiled with confidence in her abilities.
Mashirao and Mezo wished the same thing for Fumikage, who dipped his head in acknowledgement.
"All-purpose Creation! She was admitted through recommendations, so her abilities are certified! From the hero course, it's Yaoyorozu Momo!"
"Midoriya, what do you think of this match?" Ojiro leaned forward, resting his arms across the empty seat in front of him as he asked his question.
"I think time will be the key."
"Time?"
'It's just as Present Mic Sensei says, I'm up against Tokoyami-san with Dark Shadow, offense and defense in one body.' Yaoyorozu reminded herself, narrowing her eyes over to the unreadable gaze of her opponent as her thoughts continued, 'In addition, Tokoyami-san can bring out Dark Shadow with no time lag, so there is no doubt he'll start with a preemptive strike. If I create a simple shield that doesn't take much time and block Tokoyami-san's attack… If I just give myself enough time to make a weapon-'
"Sixth match, START!"
Yaoyorozu gaped at the announcement whereas Tokoyami didn't waste a second, "Go, Dark Shadow!"
"Got it!"
'Quickly create a shield.' Yaoyorozu told herself as she raised her arm up, taking the brute of Dark Shadow's claw that caused her to lose her footing and slide backwards. Throwing out her other hand, eyeing her opponent's quirk, her hand beginning to glow as she activated her power again, "Next, a weapon-"
Dark Shadow wouldn't let her as she came swooping back down, aiming for her arm once more with Yaoyorozu having to step back from the blow, struggling to recuperate herself, 'I can't collect my thoughts!'
Momo seemed to have underestimated her opponent, faintly surprised at how one-sided this fight was making itself out to be. While she had hope for herself, hearing her thoughts with Fumikage shown to be completely silent didn't ease her troubles, thinning her lip as the match went on.
Dark Shadow's attack eventually caused Yaoyorozu to lose her grip on her creation, sending it flying out of the ring while she was forced backwards once more. Quickly moving her arm back in position, she made another shield only for her opponent's quirk to immediately push her back again. But she endeared, gritting her teeth as she stood tall and faced Tokoyami and his relentless attacks.
However, none came as she held the shield closer, gaping at this opportunity, 'His attacks have stopped? Now!'
Just as she created a staff, Midnight's voice rang out, catching her attention as their teacher called, "Yaoyorozu-san! Out of bounds!"
Blinking at her exclamation, Yaoyorozu looked behind to find to her horror that her foot had passed the border line. Meaning she had lost without being able to do anything.
"Tokoyami-kun advances to the second round!"
Cheers rang throughout the theater room as they congratulated Fumikage on his win, but that was all white noise to her. Momo couldn't believe what she had just watched, feeling her eyes watering up as her eyes flickered across the screen. There was no way that had just happened, she was a recommendation student, but she had lost. Why?
"Yaoyorozu…?" Kyoka quirked an eyebrow to how stiff Momo was, the dark-haired girl blinking back tears while her lip quivered.
"An overwhelming victory! A completely overwhelming victory! Tokoyami's Dark Shadow! Could it be the greatest quirk ever?"
"Okay, kind of exaggerating it a bit there. I say both Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami's quirks are great."
'Not if there was nothing I could do with it…!' Momo frustratingly thought after hearing Hanta's praise, with Kyoka shooting her a concerned glance before the other stood abruptly from her seat and made a dash for the bathroom.
"Yaoyorozu…!"
"What's going on?" Shota sat up in his seat while Kyoka slumped back down in hers.
"I don't know, um… I mean, Yaoyorozu just went to the bathroom, I think, so…"
Thinning his lip as they listened, both Shota and Toshinori had a feeling that wasn't just the problem, but there was nothing they could do about it until she came back out.
"-forced her out of bounds."
"He was trying not to hurt her?" Ojiro intercepted from Midoriya's quick ramble, his classmate looking back with a nod as he sighed, "That's how easy it was for him, huh? She must feel really frustrated…"
Midoriya agreed wholeheartedly, lowering his head before he blinked as he just noticed the empty seat beside him, a waterdowned drink in her place.
"Okay, let's move on! Next up…" Mic called out, with Midoriya's eyes looking up to the closest screen to see Kirishima and Tetsutetsu doing the same pose as the pro hero announced, "The seventh match is a match-up between redundant quirks!"
Ochaco tried not to wince hearing that, but it must have been noticeable as Tenya placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Manly and passionate steel! From the hero course, it's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu!"
"LAME!"
"Stop it…!"
"Versus- Manly and passionate hardening! From the hero course, it's Kirishima Eijiro!"
"Even our intros are the same?!" Kirishima teared up at this revelation.
"Okay, now that's lame- And don't even try to say it's not, Kirishima." Hanta stuck his finger out towards Eijiro, poking the boy in the cheek, which effectively quieted him while Denki laughed at the other's dumbfounded expression.
While Class 1-B was voicing their support for their classmate, Mineta was busy trying to sleep through the match, with Jiro about having it with his shenanigans as she plugged her Earphone Jack into his ear to wake him up, "Get a hold of yourself."
'Honestly, I'd fall asleep too…' Eijiro didn't blame him one bit.
"Let's START this passionate seventh match!"
Tetsutetsu cried out as he ran for Kirishima, who did the same, with their respective quirks active before they found each other in the center of the stage, rearing their fists back before they collided, causing sparks.
Meanwhile, walking to one of the waiting rooms below the stadium, Iida sighed as he cracked open the door before he heard Uraraka call from inside, "Good work, Iida-kun."
"Oh, Urarak-" Iida replied before catching the twisted expression his friend wore, shouting out, "You're not like yourself at all! Your brow's all wrinkled!"
"My brow?" Uraraka questioned until she realized what he was talking about, laughing it off as she rubbed the back of her head, "Oh, it's just my nerves… Must've reached my brow."
"Can they not change the matches once they've already been decided…? I mean, some of these felt very one-sided to me." Denki asked while a few of the students gave the blond a questionable glance.
"Are you sure you're not just saying that because of the way your match turned out?"
Denki neither confirmed, nor denied that claim, and Shota was too far away to answer his burning question.
"-like yours, Iida-kun?"
Her friend blinked at what she was trying to imply from watching his match with Hatsume, questioning out loud, "Like mine?"
"Uraraka-san!"
That was until the door opened again, with Midoriya standing there as Uraraka exclaimed in surprise, "Deku-kun! Huh? You don't want to watch the others' matches?"
"Most ended quickly, and now Kirishima-kun is up against someone from Class B."
"What Midoriya means by that, is that obviously, Kirishima is way better than Tetsutetsu. See, he didn't even know what his name was…!" Hanta patted Eijiro on the back as Denki and Mina nodded in full support of their friend.
"Just because Midoriya didn't know his name, doesn't make me better than him… It'd be the same way if I were to be in Class 1-B instead…"
"Kirishima, do not say something so tragic…!"
"Then, next… soon…" Uraraka casted her eyes down onto the table, squeezing her hands together as her nerves amplified from what her friend said.
"But, well, I don't think even Bakugo-kun would use a full-strength explosion on a girl…"
"He would." Midoriya immediately shot down Iida's claim as Uraraka smiled through the pain of knowing that.
Several students narrowed their eyes onto Katsuki, who, when noticing them, eyed each of them back as he spat out, "What?"
"Dude, she's a girl…"
"And?! Do I look like I care…?! This is gonna be the one time I fucking agree with Deku on something because I said I'm gonna be number one, and I'm not letting anyone steal that from me again!" Katsuki yelled back at Denki, who flinched away from his shouting, before the ash blond turned to the second row next, calling down to Ochaco, "Nor am I getting some half-assed victory, so Round Face! Fucking give it your all or I'll kill you!"
"Y-Yes, Bakugo-kun…" Ochaco wanted to cry so badly, but she knew there was no avoiding this fight.
"Shitty Deku, put your fucking shitty ass notebooks away- This is against me and Round Face ONLY!" Katsuki finished off with that before plopping back down into his seat, spitting as he expected Ochaco to be all over this 'plan' that Izuku thought of for the brunette to beat him. It wouldn't work, he knew that much about it.
After Katsuki was done yelling, Izuku glanced down at his open notebook, a half-written plan for Ochaco as well in the pages before he tapped Hitoshi on the shoulder and whispered into the boy's ear, "Can you hand this over to Uraraka-san, please…?"
"Sure thing…" Hitoshi took the burnt book in hand, gently tapping Ochaco on the shoulder next as he held out the thin notebook for her to take, "Here."
Surprised by the gesture, Ochaco figured it was the plan Izuku was talking about earlier, faintly shocked that he was also able to come up with one sitting here as she reached her hand toward it.
"Thanks, Deku-kun." Uraraka smiled up at her friends, grateful for their support as she placed her fingers together before reassuring them, "But, it's fine."
Pushing the notebook away, Ochaco gave Hitoshi the same smile while Izuku and Tenya blinked in surprise at hearing this. Same with Katsuki, though he did a good job at hiding it.
"You're amazing, Deku-kun. I keep seeing more and more amazing sides to you. During the cavalry battle, I thought it'd be easier to team up with friends, but now that I think about it, I might've been trying to rely on you."
"I-I-I don't mind-"
"I know, Deku-kun, but I mind." Ochaco personally placed his notebook back in Izuku's lap, the greenet blinking down to it before looking back over to her, gazing at her smile as she stated, "It's like you said, Bakugo-kun's not going to go easy on me, so it's only fair that I use everything I have right now to try and beat him."
Glancing back to Katsuki as well, Ochaco grinned up at the blond as she noted to him too, "That's the kind of fight you're looking for, right, Bakugo-kun?"
He simply gave a huff in response, and as she turned back to face the front, a few of the students couldn't help but still worry about how things would play out now because of this.
'She made the right choice.' Enji had no choice but to watch these other students, so while patiently waiting for Shoto's match again, he evaluated the other kids and picked out which ones would make great heroes and who should have been dropped from the first day.
"-fine." Uraraka stopped in front of the door, but before she went to open it, she thought of one last thing to say so her friends wouldn't worry too much, "Everyone's facing the future and trying their hardest. That means we're all rivals, right? That's why…"
Holding a shaky thumbs up, Uraraka did her best to smile as she challenged Iida and Midoriya, "Let's meet in the finals!"
Tetsutetsu raised his steel arms up as a shield before his opponent rammed his fist under that for an uppercut blow, breaking right through his defense. Kirishima too brought his hardened arms up as a shield before his opponent also rammed his fist under for an uppercut blow, breaking right through his defense. They traded hits for a while longer until eventually, one hard punch knocked both of them out at the same time, landing hard on the concrete stage.
"The two guys with the same quirks! Tetsutetsu versus Kirishima! A head-to-head fistfight! The winner is…" Mic cheered with anticipation as Midnight walked over to make sure the two boys were okay, as well as conscious.
But glancing over their bloody and battered bodies, she determined that there was no winner, raising her hand up as she announced so, "Both contestants down! It's a draw!"
"Oh, come on, that's boring…"
"Well, I guess that settles it, then…" Eijiro chuckled softly as Hanta and Denki looked over to see his smile while he tried to say, "Me and Tetsutetsu are both equals."
"Nah, you totally were bleeding less, it looked to be, so I still think you're better than your carbon copy."
Denki cackled at Hanta's quick remark and Eijiro's dumbfounded expression, "Carbon copy…!"
"Idiots…" Katsuki grinded his teeth as he had no choice but to listen to the three of them.
"While we wait for Tetsutetsu and Kirishima to recover, we'll start the next match!"
"It's already here…?" Ochaco rubbed her arms as her nerves came crawling back.
"You sure you don't want to just glance over the plan in his notebook?"
"Nope, I'm good, but thanks, Shinso-kun…!" Ochaco nervously smiled over to the wavy-haired boy, Tenya placing his hand back on her shoulder while she noted to Hitoshi, "You know, you're actually not so bad once you let people get to know you."
"Thanks…? I think…" Hitoshi didn't know how to take that.
"-to watch…"
Iida and Midoriya both sat in their seats with tension in their shoulders, only increasing once they caught Uraraka walking out from the gate underneath them, her back to them. If they weren't worried before, they sure were now as watching her only made this match-up feel more real, nervous for what kind of fight it would be against Bakugo.
'Uraraka-san… Do your best!' Izuku fretted over the brunette as they soon watched her opponent take to the stage, Uraraka and Bakugo facing one another, with his hands in his pockets, as they waited for Mic's call.
"The eighth and last match of the first round! He was kind of famous in middle school! This isn't the face of a regular person! From the hero course, it's Bakugo Katsuki! Versus…" Mic said his next words quietly over the audience's cheering before going back to his usual tone soon after, "She's the one I'm rooting for- FROM THE HERO COURSE, IT'S URARAKA OCHACO!"
Taking in a deep breath, she held it in for a few seconds before slowly exhaling, showing the focus and concentration she had for this fight. Bakugo, on the other hand, appeared bored and unfazed by his opponent, impatiently waiting for their teacher to start the match so he could get it over with and win.
"Eighth match, start!"
The ending theme commences.
Ochaco immediately fell from her seat as the harmony came on, overwhelmed with relief that she had a few minutes more to prepare for her inevitable fight.
"Uraraka-kun?!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine…" Ochaco quickly reassured her friend as she sighed, picking herself up off the carpet as she explained to Tenya with a giggle, "I just got a little too happy when the song started…"
"Still nervous about your fight?" Hitoshi quirked an eyebrow down to Ochaco, who nodded at his question while he turned his eyes to the other side of the room as he reminded her of what could relax her nerves, "You know, you wouldn't have to be so nervous if you looked-"
"Thanks, but really, I wanted to be able to do this on my own…!" Ochaco took in a deep breath as she stood back up, shooting Izuku a smile as he looked at her with worry.
"Technically, you won't be since that isn't actually you fighting…"
"Anyway, I'm gonna go to the restroom real fast. Don't spoil anything for me…!" Ochaco grinned with a peace sign as she walked away from the sofa.
"Wait, Uraraka, I'll come with you." Kyoka stood up as well, catching the brunette before she left the room.
"Oh, girls trip to the bathroom…!" Mina mistook their intentions, growing excited as she grabbed for Tsuyu and Toru's hands; the invisible reaching out for hers, pulling them up before racing down to join Ochaco and Kyoka.
"Why do girls always have to go to the bathroom together…?"
"I think that's one of the things we'll never understand."
As the five girls walked over to the corner bathrooms, Tsuyu glanced back at where Kyoka had been sitting before asking, "Where's Momo-chan?"
"She ran to the bathroom, so I wanted to check on her…" Kyoka responded while pushing the door open, stopping in her tracks at what she saw, with the rest of the girls pausing as they softly gasped.
Momo sat in the corner of the room, her back hunched over with her legs up as she hugged herself, quiet sobs echoing with bundled up toilet paper around the floor. It was a sight that shocked all of them as she had always been overly confident in her abilities and seemed to hold herself together. Seeing her like this didn't seem like the girl they had gotten to know, nor did it sit right with them.
"Yaoyorozu…!" Kyoka moved first, causing Momo to freeze up before slowly raising her head as the purplenette stopped at her side, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Ochaco dropped to her other side with the other two crouching in front of Momo, Tsuyu standing behind them, watching as she wiped away her runny makeup.
"I-I- My apologies-"
"Hey, hey, there's nothing to apologize for, Yaoyorozu-san… Are you okay? What happened?" Ochaco rubbed her shoulder, attempting to soothe the girl's sobs while she waited for Momo to become responsive.
"It's- I was admitted through recommendations, and yet, there was nothing that I could have done to defeat Tokoyami-san's quirk…! I couldn't do a-anything…! To-Todoroki-san was able to show off his abilities, but I- I couldn't do anything…!"
"Yaoyorozu, that's so not true…! You did amazing in the cavalry battle-"
"Because of Todoroki-san's instructions…! I couldn't do anything on my own- What kind of recommendation student am I…?! Unable to win on my own- I don't deserve such privilege…!" Momo wailed, cutting off Mina, who looked around at the other girls to see if they had anything else to say in order to calm their friend down.
"Yaoyorozu, look, this hasn't happened yet-"
"I understand that, but even so, it still shows that with my skills now, I wouldn't be able to defeat Tokoyami-san…! I was utterly overpowered!"
"It could have just been a bad matchup…" Toru tried next, but it only caused Momo to bury her head back into her legs, bringing the girls to look at one another again.
A few seconds went by before a soft knock came over the door, five heads turning at the sound as they heard Shota's voice echo, "I'm not rushing you girls, I'm just making you aware that the episode has ended."
Hearing that made them feel rushed to help Momo feel better faster, giving each other looks after watching the girl shrink into herself more, hugging her legs tighter.
"Momo-chan, your biggest problem was that you were thinking before you acted instead of doing both simultaneously, which Tokoyami-chan took advantage of." Tsuyu finally broke through the tension in the air, the other four looking up at the greenette with panic in their eyes, usually a signal that she was being too blunt, but she continued anyway as Momo slowly raised her head, "You gave him that opening and he didn't hesitate while you did, kero. You didn't have a plan on how to counter Tokoyami's quirk before you got out onto the field, and you were thinking of strategies and was caught off guard when the match started. You became unsure of yourself as the match progressed, and that was the reason why you lost."
Being blunt to people is a trait usually seen in a negative light because of how straightforward and uncaring one can sound. But that was why Tsuyu liked being blunt. She didn't like lying or dancing around the truth; if she had to say something, she was going to say it.
"We're here, watching this show, so that we can learn from our mistakes, right, kero? Just because you're a recommended student, doesn't mean you'll always win. Everyone loses."
"Which is something Bakugo doesn't have a concept of…" Kyoka spat under her breath before turning to Ochaco as she told her, "Uraraka, you better kick his ass and win so you can shut him up."
"Um, okay…?"
"Wait, Uraraka-san's match is underway…?" Momo softly questioned, all the girls nodding in reply as she gasped, "H-How long was I in here for…?"
"Not too long, but like Aizawa Sensei said, episode's ended, so they're waiting for us to continue." Kyoka reassured her as she helped Momo stand back up, supporting her.
"But before we get out there-" Mina maneuvered her way to Momo's other side as she placed her hands on her hips, "Girl, we need to do a quick makeover, and fast."
"I'll tell them you'll be out in a minute." Ochaco chuckled as she headed towards the door.
"It's gonna take more than a minute…!" Mina countered with the brunette waving back in acknowledgement as exited the bathroom.
"I thought she had to use it…?" Kyoka murmured with a raise of her brow.
A few minutes later, they cleaned up her black tear trails, freshening up her face with some requested supplies that were soon provided, Momo blinking at the mirror once they were done. Her eyes were still a little red and puffy, but it wouldn't be noticeable once they got back out in the dim lighting, as the other four reassured.
"I… I thank you for doing this for me…"
"It's not a problem, Yaoyorozu…! I love doing other people's makeup and might I say, I am a boss at it!" Mina posed with the makeup brush as she clasped the blush case.
"If you ever need to talk about anything, Yaoyorozu-san, we'll always be here for you…!" Toru bounced on her feet as she hugged Momo.
"Until we get back home, kero."
"Tsuyu-chan, not now."
"You know, you look really good without makeup, too." Kyoka smiled up at Momo, who blinked over to the short-haired female as she added along with that statement, "I honestly didn't think you were wearing any because it looks so natural."
Momo's cheeks deepened as she blushed, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear as she replied, "My mother had left her kit in my room… and I had gotten curious using it this morning…"
"So you had none on yesterday, right?" Mina clarified, with a nod from Momo before a knock came from the door again, Ochaco poking her head back inside.
"Sorry to be a bit pushy, but we're waiting…!"
"We're coming!" Mina called back, placing the things she held back down before grinning to the others, "We should totally have a sleepover one of these days and do each other's makeup…!"
"OMG, yes!" Toru squealed in agreement as they exited the bathroom, Kyoka sticking close to Momo's side as she watched her dark eyes stay on the floor.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"For now, yes. I am sorry for keeping everyone waiting-"
"Hey, hey, it's all okay, yeah?" Kyoka quickly went to reassure her, making sure she wasn't about to cry before she added, "Like Tsuyu-chan said, we're watching all this to learn from our mistakes, so don't worry about it."
Momo tried to believe her, nodding back silently as they walked back to the first row.
"Finally…" Katsuki grunted out as he watched the five of them conjoin on the front row, with Ochaco returning to her spot in the second, everyone calling out their replies to continue. Only the screen still stayed loading, crying out as he snatched his pillow, "God-fucking-dammit, this bastard is going to be the death of me!"
He crossed the boundary, but before he could slap Tomura awake, the villain suddenly jumped him, taking Katsuki by surprise as he stumbled back before the man's arms wrapped around him.
"BAKUGO!"
"Almost fell asleep there until I heard you yelling, Bakugo, but can't wait to see how your match plays out against that-"
A jab to his side immediately shut him down, Tomura gaping at the strike while he released Katsuki, who pushed himself out of his arms, backing up as he coughed into his hand before bumping into something. Or, someone, he found as he looked back and almost choked on air, seeing Izuku standing there.
"DEKU, THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
"H-He was ch-choking you-"
"YEAH, I FUCKING KNOW THAT, BUT WHY THE FUCK ARE YA OVER HERE?!"
"FREAKING WORRY ABOUT THAT LATER AND GET THE HELL BACK OVER HERE, YOU IDIOTS!" Denki shouted helplessly over, Tomura slowly getting back up, which triggered something in the two boys to book it back to the other side.
Once they were safely over, the students crowded the pair to make sure they were okay, with Katsuki's rebuttal of them to go away. Izuku was lightly scolded by Toshinori before receiving a hug shortly after, the rest of his friends joining in with Hitoshi standing off to the side before Ochaco pulled him in.
"I'm going to kill that stupid kid…" Tomura spat as he stood back up, plopping onto the sofa with a huff.
"We're not letting you go over there anymore, Bakugo."
"Why the fuck not?! I'm fucking fine; I ain't fucking scared of that asshole!" Katsuki yelled back at Shota as he too sat back down in his seat.
"You may not be, but I'm scared that he may have taken an interest in you in some way, so from now on, if he falls asleep again, we'll have to figure out some other way of waking him up." Shota explained to Katsuki, who only scoffed in reply as the other three sat down.
"Whatever."
"This is why restraining this villain should have been your first priority." Enji huffed as Shota went to go back to the first row, hearing the older man grunt out next, "For situations like this."
"Unlike you, Endeavor, I would rather put the students' safety above defeating villains."
"That is why you were injured, Eraser Head." Enji challenged, but Shota pointedly ignored it as he continued on his way down.