Right away, Todoroki tried to freeze Deku with the ice spikes that raced toward him. Midoriya activated OFA and tried to punch the ice. It destroyed one spike, but before he could even pull his fist back, more ice was coming. 'Damn! 5% isn't strong enough to blow away all this ice! And I can't dodge it now that it's so close! I have to...' he held up his hand and flicked a finger at 100%. Completely blowing away all of the ice.
"WOAH! HE SMASHED IT!"
Deku clenched his hand and Todoroki sent another attack of spikes. Deku tried to dodge by jumping to the side. Todoroki narrowed his eyes and sent another while Deku was still in the air. Forcing him to blow it away with another finger at 100%.
"HE DESTROYED IT AGAIN!"
Sasuke peered closely at Todoroki. 'Every time Todoroki's ice is blown away, he's also sent skidding off the arena; nonetheless, he's catching himself with his ice.' He held his hands together in front of his face, 'For Midoriya to win this, he could probably rush towards him and spam a couple or more of his fingers to get him out, but I doubt he'd do that; although, just wearing him down should work too. If only Midoriya can consistently dodge...'
Deku's breaths were ragged as his hand shook. He thought, 'Damn! Even though I can use OFA safely now, I'm stuck with just breaking my fingers again! 5% isn't nearly strong enough to effectively deal with his ice. I have to see through his strategy... Come on, think. I have to find that opening! I only have six fingers left.'
Todoroki asked, "Are you trying to make this an endurance match? I'll just end this right now."
He shot more spikes which Deku blew away, but this time he also charged at Deku on the ice. Deku tried to blow it away again with another finger, but Todoroki jumped and almost landed on top of him, making Deku jump away. When Todoroki's hand slammed on the ground, more ice chased after Deku, but he was fast enough to dodge to the side.
While the fight progressed, up in the stands the masked man looked on; although, his eyes occasionally drifted to the stands where the 1-A students sat. Another man next to him leaned in. Half his face was covered and he asked, "Not interested in the fight?"
"It's a good fight, but I'm more interested to see Sasuke's upcoming fights. His quirk is interesting."
"Have you decided to scout him out?"
"More than likely, but I'll see how he performs from here before I commit to the decision. What about you?"
"I have someone I plan on recruiting already. He can definitely use my guidance."
Down at the arena, Todoroki's ice was weakening, but Midoriya himself only had one uninjured finger left.
"Why are you going this far?"
Deku charged at him, "I want to live up to his expectations!"
While Midoriya explained his motivation Sasuke's brow furrowed, 'Midoriya, what are you talking to him about down there? If you focused entirely on offense you definitely could have beaten him by now.'
Deku punched Todoroki again, "I can't even begin to understand your circumstances or your resolution, but even so..." Sasuke popped into his mind.
"I think the idea that you'll become number one without using your full strength and that you're doing this to disavow someone is a damn joke!"
Todoroki looked down as memories of his abusive childhood flooded his memory, "Shut up..."
Deku got close to him, "That's why I'm gonna win! I'm gonna surpass you!" He punched him in the gut, sending him flying.
'If I can get through to Todoroki... Maybe, just maybe I could get through to Sasuke too!'
Todoroki groveled to his feet slowly, coughing. "My father—"
"IT'S YOURS!" Deku's whole face tensed as he thought about Sasuke, 'I don't know what that quirk is, but if that quirk isn't Sasuke's, then One For All isn't my quirk either! It's nonsense!' "IT'S YOUR POWER!"
Todoroki's mouth was open; his eyes eased as fire finally erupted from his left side in a glorious burst of flames that made everyone within the vicinity sweat from the heat. "I'm gonna be... A hero!"
Sasuke's eyes went wide. Even with how far away he was he heard what Deku shouted. Sasuke looked away from the fight, 'It's the quirk he was born with... Of course, it's his... But why the hell would you sacrifice your body parts just to prove that?! You could have won by now so many times!'
Mina herself was also listening; she stared at Sasuke wondering how he'd react to that info. 'Midoriya made a good point there... It's a part of your body, Sasuke.'
Down at the arena both Deku and Todoroki charged right at each other, but this time Cementoss created multiple walls between them, "Midnight!" Midnight ripped a part of her costume to release a mist. The resulting explosion from the collision of them hitting the walls caused a gust of wind that made everyone in the stadium raise their arms to block it.
The smoke lasted a while, but as it cleared Deku could be seen leaning against a wall with his head down. His body wavered and tilted over until he collapsed onto the ground.
Midnight announced, "Midoriya is out of bounds. Todoroki advances to the third round!"
Sasuke shot up out of his seat and made his way to the Nurse's office; Ochako, Iida, Mineta, and Asui followed along.
When they all busted through the door, Sasuke noticed skinny All Might, but didn't say his name. Midoriya was on the bed with his left arm in a cast and three of his fingers in splints on the other hand. "Oh hey, guys... The next match... What..." He looked around hazily.
Iida pointed behind himself with his thumb, "It seems that due to the explosion; the next round is postponed for repairs."
Mineta pointed at him with a shaky finger, "That was scary Midoriya, no hero is gonna want that."
Asui poked him with her tongue, "Not digging the way you're rubbing that salt in."
"But it's true, isn't it?" Mineta replied.
Sasuke trudged forward next to his bed. His brow was tense as he stared down at Midoriya. "Midoriya, you could have won that fight. You had a lot of different chances, why did you throw it away?"
Midoriya's eyes were closed and he grimaced, "I'm... Sorry... I wanted him to use his full power and accept himself... If I'd kept my mouth shut, I could have beat him... I just had to go and tell him all that..."
All Might stated, "You were trying to get him to realize something."
"Todoroki looked so sad that... I meddled when I didn't need to... But that's not it... More importantly, back then I was just… Frustrated. I'm sorry."
All Might said, "It's certainly an unfortunate outcome, but even so, meddling when you don't have to is one of the principal qualities of a hero."
Sasuke's eyes eased and he paused. He remembered the incident where Midoriya charged head-first at a slime monster and smiled, "That's just like you... Well next time you do something like that, try to avoid destroying your limbs in the process.
Midoriya let out a weak chuckle, "I'll try... But I can't promise..."
Sasuke sighed, "Well either way..." His face became serious, "You fought well, Midoriya. You're strong."
Midoriya opened his eyes to look at him, and he cried. "Sasuke..."
Sasuke reeled back a tiny bit, 'He's crying?' he cleared his throat and turned around, "Well either way, come and watch me win the tournament when you feel better," He strolled out of the Nurse's Office.
Back up in the stands, Kaminari approached Mina, "Hey, Ashido! You and Sasuke are always arguing with each other, what's up with you guys?" He raised a brow.
"Nothing really, he's just... He's such an idiot!" She waved around her arms.
Kaminari blinked and scratched his head, "You know uhhh... Are you two..."
Ashido stared at him and blinked, "Are we what?"
Kaminari laughed nervously and pointed fingers at her, "Are you two like a couple?"
Ashido blinked, "A couple..." she looked down.
Kaminari put up his hands, "I mean it's cool if you two are, I'm just wondering. I mean, the first time I saw you two together you were hugging and stuff."
"A couple... Couple... Two people... Me and Sasuke... Together... Eh?" her pink skin turned red and she darted back at Kaminari, "I-I WOULD NEVER DATE SUCH AN OVERPROTECTIVE IDIOT! THAT IDIOT IS ALWAYS KEEPING SECRETS AND TREATING ME LIKE A KID AND—"
"I'M SO SORRY!" Kaminari ran off, "I WON'T ASK AGAIN!" His voice faded away as he turned the corner. Ashido's skin tone returned to normal and sighed. She looked back in front and saw that the rest of the class was staring at her, all with widened eyes. She rubbed the back of her neck, "Heh heh... Sorry about that, I'm gonna go use the restroom."
She rushed off into the hallway and progressively slowed down to a stroll. 'Sasuke and me in a relationship? How does anyone come to that conclusion? We're just best friends... Does Sasuke see me in that way?' she put a finger on her chin and looked up, 'Naaaaah,' she smirked then stopped, 'Unless?... Naaaaah... I wonder how—'
"Hey, Mina."
"AHHH!" she jolted around and saw it was just Kirishima. "Oh... Hi. What's up?"
Kirishima raised a brow, "I was just going to the restroom, but what's up with you lately? It's like whenever you're around Sasuke, you start acting weird."
"H-huh? What are you talking about?" Mina played with her hands.
"You know what I'm talking about, Mina. It's been going on since the testing battle. I'm pretty sure everyone's noticed. Whenever you two are together it's either flirting or arguing. Do you..." Kirishima's eyes peered, "Do you like him or something?"
Ashido face-planted, then yelled up at the sky with red cheeks, "Why does everyone keep saying that today?!"
Kirishima blinked and smiled awkwardly, "Huh?"
Mina sighed, "It's... It's not like that. It's complicated. It would take forever to explain, and I don't think he wants other people to know about it in the first place... It's related to some stuff that happened back when I knew him in Elementary school, but don't worry; I'm doing okay!" She smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
Kirishima smiled, "If you say so," he kept walking past her, taking a mental note. 'Elementary school? Well, that explains why I didn't ever meet him before.'
Mina made her way back to the stands as Sasuke stood across from Tokoyami. 'The round between Iida and Shiozaki ended that fast?'
She strolled over to her seat and sat down. 'Beat him up, Tokoyami!' her fists were clenched in her lap, 'Please win; either Tokoyami, Bakugo, or Todoroki. One of you guys... Sasuke needs a reality check like now! I don't know what I'd do if he ended up getting it from the wrong guy…'
"AND FOR THE SECOND BATTLE OF THE SECOND ROUND! WE HAVE TWO BROODING EDGY TEENS AT ONCE! I MIGHT HAVE TO TAKE OFF MY SHADES TO SEE DUE TO ALL THE DARKNESS IN THE ARENA! UCHIHA SASUKE! VERSUS! FUMIKAGE TOKOYAMI! START!"
Tokoyami attacked first, "Dark Shadow!"
Sasuke put his ribcage up to block it; Dark Shadow slashed at the ribcage, showing visible claw marks halfway through it. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and let down his ribcage; purple energy coiled around him as he opted for dodging. 'That quirk of his packs more of a punch than Midoriya, getting hit by that too many times would be bad news.'
Up in the stands, Kaminari asked, "Hey, has anyone else noticed that their quirks are kinda similar? Both are some kind of energy thing that comes from their body."
Kirishima replied, "It's sort of similar, but Tokoyami's seems like it's conscious."
"It has a lot more range too," Yaoyorozu added.
Sasuke weaved past a charge by Dark Shadow and dashed straight at Tokoyami, "You can't move around much yourself, can you?"
"Dark Shadow!" Sasuke quickly looked behind at Dark Shadow who had turned around and was about to hit him. He quickly manifested a ribcage and Dark Shadow's slash turned into a grab; his hands wrapped around Sasuke's Susanoo rib cage and got ready to throw him.
'He's gonna try and get me out of bounds!' Sasuke focused and increased the size of the rib cage, forcing Dark Shadow to drop him since his size was set. Tokoyami sweated and tried to attack again. Sasuke thought, 'I don't wanna reveal it this early, I should end this fast.'
"SASUKE JUST BARELY AVOIDS BEING THROWN OUT OF BOUNDS! HE'LL THINK TWICE BEFORE TRYING THAT AGAIN!"
Sasuke swung a skeletal arm at Dark Shadow, increasing the size of the hand last second as it clashed with the opponent sending it flying. Dark Shadow being sent so far made Tokoyami stumble and Sasuke capitalized on this by blitzing, getting ready to punch him out of bounds, but hesitating. 'Is this how I want to win?'
He adjusts the straight and turns it into a right hook punch; Tokoyami starts to fall, but Sasuke punches him with a skeletal arm from the direction he was about to fall in; sending him flying to the edge of the arena where he lies unconscious.
Midnight glances at Tokoyami and states, "Fumikage Tokoyami is out of bounds. Uchiha Sasuke proceeds to the next round." Mina bit her lip.
Sasuke straightened up as the stretcher came to pick up Tokoyami. Sasuke turns to walk away, "Sorry about that, but I have no intention of losing."
Tokoyami looked up from the stretcher, "Don't apologize," he coughed. "I knew what to expect."
Sasuke sauntered back to the stands. Some of the students stared at him with tense brows. Yaoyorozo asked him, "Hey, Sasuke. If you don't mind me asking. Why didn't you knock him out of bounds? I think it would have been easier like you did with Mina."
Sasuke's eyes stayed forward as Kirishima and Bakugo faced off. "I was going to, but if I beat him just by getting him out of bounds... It's nothing to be concerned about."
Yaoyorozu paused with her mouth open; sighing before turning back to the fight. 'He's so closed off with everyone in the class, excluding Mina and Midoriya. I feel like Koda is more open, and he doesn't even speak. If he's ever going to become a hero, I hope he does something about that.'
Sero smiled, "Oh come on Momo, of course he's gonna be more gentle with his g—"
The other students around him covered his mouth faster than the human eye could see. Kaminari whispered, "Dude I had to run away from Ashido, imagine what Sasuke might do to you!"
Bakugo made quick work of Kirishima; overwhelming him with enough explosions until he couldn't take it anymore.
"BAKUGO ADVANCES TO THE THIRD ROUND THROUGH SOME DOWNRIGHT NASTY CARPET BOMBING! WITH THIS THE TOP 4 HAVE ASSEMBLED!"
The next match was between Iida and Todoroki. As expected Iida tried to end the fight in an instant; using Recipro Burst and wheel-kicking Todoroki. Which was blocked, but Iida kept the momentum up and spun the kick back around into an axe-kick. Slamming Todoroki's whole body into the ground. He picked up Todoroki and tried to carry him to the edge, but was frozen. Ending the fight.
Sasuke took a deep breath and rose. Looking to his side at Bakugo who glared back. No words were spoken; the other students near them looked on in silence. Their eye contact broke as they made their way to their respective entrances.
Sasuke thought, 'I'm here to prove my strength. I could have gotten Tokoyami out without knocking him out, but that would be cheap. I can't truly know if I could beat someone if I just got them out of bounds, it's cheap. I'm not gonna get any ring-outs in a real fight anyway.'
Sun rays shone on Sasuke as he walked out of the hallway, making his way up the steps of the arena. Memories of the last time he faced off with Bakugo came to his mind. His eyes met Bakugo's as the shadowy figure came out from the dark entrance.'--And this is the one guy I wanna prove I can beat the most!'
Bakugo had a contorted smirk, 'This asshat orphan thought that training with Deku would help him? Hm, I'll crush you then crush that half-and-half bastard!'