"Well, what are the chances." Sukuna glanced at Izuku standing before him in the arena. The matches for the semifinals were between him and Izuku, while Iida was set to fight Bakugo.
As the match begun, Izuku wasted no time, going straight to 10% before charging towards Sukuna. The green haired boy appeared before him, throwing a kick to which Sukuna blocked it nonchalantly.
"Heh. You have to do better than that." Sukuna grinned, his black tattoos forming as he grabbed Izuku's legs, flinging him away like he was a broken toy.
Flipping through the air, Izuku used multiple Delaware Smashes, sending a bunch of wind pressure towards Sukuna who dodged all of them, the ground around him shattering. Sukuna pitied Cementoss a little bit, only a little bit, the hero having to fix up the arena every time a match finishes.
'Screw it.' Izuku went up to 15% Full Cowling before dashing towards Sukuna again, with the pink haired boy clearly noticing his increase in speed.
A brawl started, though it was clear that Sukuna's physical strength was superior to Izuku's. But the green haired boy wouldn't give up that easily.
Tanking a punch to the face, Izuku didn't react despite the pain and returned the favor by sending a kick back. Sukuna leaned back a little, dodging the kick before he charged forward, slamming his fist into Izuku's gut.
Izuku choked before he was sent flying back. He quickly slammed his fist into the ground, sliding back a little as he glanced at Sukuna again, his eyes clearing signalling that he still wanted to scrap. Sukuna had a mix of a smile and a smirk, impressed at his resolve.
They both started clashing once again. Sukuna noticed that Izuku was dodging more of his strikes than during the start of the fight. The green haired boy was also predicting his counters, and using unpredictable angles to get some strikes in, causing Sukuna block and skid back more times than he would've liked to admit.
If he hadn't had a physical strengthening Quirk, Sukuna would've thought he had an intelligence Quirk instead with how terrifyingly quick he analyzed and adapted to his fighting style.
"Tceh...How problematic..." He whispered. Izuku widened his eyes as Sukuna's speed increased dramatically. He was forced to dodged a stomp from above. This wasn't an attack he should block, else he'd risk a fracture.
As Izuku jumped away, he looked at Sukuna's stomp which devastated the ground. Izuku gritted his teeth as the air around him buckled as power gathered, and something in his shoulder gave a warning pop, as he rose to 20% Full Cowling.
A clean, bright spike of pain tore through, every heartbeat felt like a hammer strike against his ribs, trying to knock its way out. His instincts begged for retreat.
But he used more anyway.
'Full Cowling 25%!'
"Oi, you look like you're about to kill me." Sukuna commented, noticing Izuku's bloodshot eyes, though internally Sukuna knew he wasn't going to enjoy blocking Izuku's punches as much anymore. He was sure the Nomu back then still packed more of a punch even though Izuku increased his power usage. But that doesn't mean he enjoys getting hit by them.
The two fighters disappeared, appearing in the middle as their fists clashed, sending out a giant shockwave that cracked the ground below them. Izuku went in for another punch, but his eyes rolled back as Sukuna, still faster than him, sent a powerful blow to his chest.
Izuku flew back yet again, tumbling on the ground, stopping just at the edge of the arena. He coughed, realizing there were some drops of blood leaking out of his mouth and nose.
"Izuku...." Inko gasped, covering her mouth, her eyes threatening to leak tears. She couldn't bear it, watching her son being hurt like this. But she promised herself that she would support her son, and that's what she will do.
"GO IZUKU!!!!"
Izuku widened his eyes, hearing his mother's desperate shout. He forced himself to stand up, looking at Sukuna walking towards him.
"I'd expected you to be backed into a corner like this. It seems you're still a predictable fighter, breaking yourself to win fights. Predictable heroes die quickly." Sukuna commented. Izuku grinned a little, clenching his fists.
"Then maybe we fought each other too soon, seeing as I'm still working on my Quirk."
Sukuna only gave an amused smile. "Perhaps. Then I suggest we stop dawdling and finish this."
Both fighters disappeared from their positions yet again as they charged towards one another, fists clenched tightly. There was no grand strategy. Just instinct and muscle memory carved into them as their foot planted, their hips turned and their shoulders followed. The punch came forward...
The pavement beneath them cratered outward in a violent bloom. There was no dramatic clash like they were in some anime. It only last for a second before, Izuku immediately flew back, obliterated against a wall that surrendered without argument.
"Damnit... I'm still so far behind..."
Those were his last words before he faded out of consciousness.
...
"So, if I win this fight, does that mean that I'm the strongest in our year?" Sukuna asked, his tone clearly taunting Bakugo who as expected, reacted to it.
"Shut the hell up and fight me! I don't wanna hear your crap!"
"Is it nonsense if I'm just speaking facts?"
Bakugo had won against Iida during the semifinals, with the blue haired teen's mysterious mental distraction being the flaw Bakugo exploited to take the win.
As Midnight declared the fight to start, Bakugo wasted no time and an sent out an explosion from his palm, appearing before Sukuna who blocked it. It proved not to be a wise choice, as a part of his sleeve was shredded by it.
He retaliated by throwing a punch at Bakugo who suddenly blasted upwards with his explosion, before maneuvering with a couple more explosions before landing behind Sukuna sending a large blast towards the pink haired boy.
Sukuna leaped away just in time, avoiding the attack. Bakugo growled a little in anger.
"Why the hell are you dodging like a coward?!" He shouted, before Sukuna appeared again a second later.
Bakugo stretched out his left hand, sending a massive explosion at Sukuna who barely dodged it, before grabbing Bakugo's extended arm and slamming his fist straight into the blonde's stomach. Bakugo's torso caved in and he choked on his spit. Sukuna relentlessly punched his stomach a couple more times before he slammed his fist into Bakugo's face.
The blonde flew back before he cracked out into a maniacal grin, having expected Sukuna to do this, before managing to regain composure by taking himself to the air, and then using explosions to propel himself in a circular motion to create a tornado, heading straight towards the pink head.
With a yell, Bakugo sent out a giant explosion that covered half the arena. In actuality, the ensuing twister had collected oxygen and momentum to fuel the subsequent explosion, with the blast comparable to a missile.
The blast had rocked the arena, as the crowd, especially Sukuna's parents and Mina, watched in anticipation and worry.
The smoke cleared. Bakugo's grin immediately left, turning into a scowl.
"Fuck! I should've known..." He'd all but forgotten about Sukuna's other abilities, seeing as the teen only uses his physical strength most of the time.
Sukuna walked out of the smoke, completely unscathed. His shirt was destroyed from the explosion, revealing his muscular torso and the black markings around his body.
"I gotta give it to you. That actually hurt more than I thought." Sukuna commented.
"Uh Mina... You're drooling..." Momo's sweat dropped as she tapped the entranced pink girl on her shoulder. Mina tuned her out, staring at Sukuna hungrily.
Bakugo wasted no time, preparing another devastating explosion, before his eyes widened, and he stopped moving. Sukuna was behind him, slowly walking away.
Bakugo spat out blood as he was blasted back to the wall, slamming into it.
"Fuck... You..."
To be continued....
(Yeah I know, anticlimactic and a lame ending to the whole arc)