"The 15 minutes are over! End of the game!!"
Midnight finally announces the end of the cavalry battle, and I begin to undo the shield.
The Kagune barrier cracks in the middle, the two halves falling to the ground with a sound similar to a heavy log hitting the floor.
Slowly, they begin to break apart into small red fragments.
I waste no time and step off the Kagune platform, and with Himiko still on my shoulder, I casually walk to the other side of the arena.
Leaving the other participants somewhat confused by my actions, but they understand the reason when the area where the shield stood begins to tremble and crack.
Just as the last participant steps away from the cracks, that section of the arena floor collapses, raising a cloud of dust.
This happened because of the shield's "roots," which had kept it firmly in place.
Then there's a break for the students to eat and rest a bit before the finals.
After everyone is gathered in the arena, now completely rebuilt thanks to Cementoss, the results are finally announced.
Himiko and I are in first place, and overall, the vast majority who advanced are students from Class 1A.
Next, some withdrawals happen for various reasons.
It seems someone had mentally controlled some of the students, who didn't feel they deserved to compete.
The withdrawals open up spots for new competitors.
A few minutes later, the big screen flickers, showing the first round brackets.
[ Bracket A
Izuku Midoriya vs Hitoshi Shinso
Shoto Todoroki vs Hanta Sero
Katsuki Bakugo vs Ochaco Uraraka
Mina Ashido vs Himiko Toga ]
[ Bracket B
Ken Kaneki vs Denki Kaminari
Eijiro Kirishima vs Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
Fumikage Tokoyami vs Momo Yaoyorozu
Tenya Iida vs Mei Hatsume ]
Slowly, I turn my gaze toward Kaminari, who is sweating coldly while staring at the screen with wide eyes.
"I'm cooked," he mutters quietly.
I look away, not wanting to make the poor guy even more uncomfortable.
─── ◆ ───
The first match is Midoriya's.
It starts with him ignoring the multiple warnings from the tail guy (whose name I definitely didn't forget) and getting caught by Hitoshi Shinso's quirk.
"Doesn't that kid look a lot like Aizawa-sensei?" Mina asks, placing a finger on her chin.
"Damn, that must've hurt," she adds when Midoriya breaks free from the mind control and punches the guy in the face.
'Looking at it that way, they really do look alike…' Half of Class 1A seems to reflect on the boy's familiar appearance.
Midoriya wins.
─── ◆ ───
"So! For our second match of the day! Both competitors are from Class 1A this time!" Midnight announces, and the crowd roars.
"On one side: Ken Kaneki, FIRST place in all previous competitions and FIRST place in this year's U.A. entrance exam!"
She raises her arms into the air, placing heavy emphasis on the word FIRST.
Tec! Tec!! Tec!!!
I crack my neck three times with worryingly loud sounds.
"On the other side…"
"Denki Kaminari… from Class 1A"
She lazily points her whip at the boy.
'Why does sensei clearly have a favorite????'
Kaminari complains internally, but takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
"Uh… go easy on me, Kaneki," he says, raising his arms in a fighting stance.
"Do your best," I reply, already releasing my Rinkaku.
'Don't tell me you're going to try close combat, man…'
I really want to help Kaminari at least get some recognition from the scouts, but if he comes at me head-on, it'll be tough.
"Begin!"
Immediately after the start, Kaminari drops his boxing stance and extends his hands, firing a shockwave toward me.
I create a barrier with my tentacles.
The electric blast hits the Kagune, frying it slightly.
I sigh in relief when I see Kaminari taking a long-range approach.
But the relief fades as he starts releasing more and more energy at me.
'No!! Idiot!! Don't use it all at once!!!!'
The electricity wasn't doing much against me, and Himiko had already told me how Kaminari gets after overusing his quirk.
And then, the discharge stops.
Kaminari stands still, panting, head lowered, small sparks still crackling around him.
I dissolve the Kagune barrier and rush forward as fast as I can.
Kaminari starts raising his hands, slowly forming a thumbs-up with each one, but before he can finish, I punch him in the stomach, sending him flying to the edge of the arena.
'…'
'Sorry, dude.'
─── ◆ ───
"Winner: Ken Kaneki!" Midnight announces.
"Kero, Kaneki-kun might've overdone it a bit," Tsuyu says.
Some classmates nod in agreement, looking concerned.
"Actually, it was better this way," Jiro replies.
She explains how Kaminari becomes kind of… "dumb" after overusing his quirk, having seen it firsthand during the USJ incident.
"It would leave a bad impression on the scouts if they saw him like that."
"It would also be terrible for his public image," Momo adds.
"I see."
─── ◆ ───
I head back up to the stands after checking on Kaminari in the infirmary (he's still unconscious) and after a quick bathroom break.
'Now it should be Todoroki and Sero's match.'
'Hope I didn't miss anything…'
"Winner… Shoto Todoroki," Midnight says, shivering from the cold.
'Huh?'
What I see is a massive iceberg freezing a large portion of the arena, including half of Midnight.
Everyone else is either silent or wide-eyed.
Himiko notices me and waves, patting the empty seat beside her.
I shrug and walk over.
─── ◆ ───
Kirishima's match is against someone named Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu from Class 1B.
A guy with a rather peculiar name and a quirk very similar to Kirishima's, body hardening
The fight is evenly matched, with both of them violently exchanging punches against each other's armored bodies.
In the end, they both fall at the same time, resulting in a draw.
Later, they have a rematch in an arm-wrestling contest, with Kirishima coming out victorious.
─── ◆ ───
If you'd like to support my work and receive bonuses such as 5 to 10 advanced chapters, spoilers, early access to my new books, polls, and more, check out:
P @ t r 3 0 n - Condor7