Chapter Text
There were times that Kurogiri regretted not being able to make many facial expressions.
This was not one of them. This was one of those times where he was better off as he was; standing behind the bar, polishing the glasses, letting him curse at the TV to his heart's content.
Aside from the low squeak of his cloth against glass, and the muted sound of the TV, the only other sound in the bar was a low tap-tap on the bartop.
The noise was coming from the lean, almost skeletal figure seated at the bar. Shigaraki Tomura, clad in his usual black shirt and trousers, his arms and shoulders covered with the disembodied hands that were his trademark.
"Tch. What a loser."
Kurogiri glanced at the TV. A young American kid with brown hair was capering around the arena, while a young pink-haired girl was yelling into a microphone.
He recognized the young man's name on the TV scroll. Peter Parker. He had been at the USJ not so long ago, being beaten to a pulp by the Noumu that the Master had provided; the one that subsequently got blown up. The fact that he was up on his feet after being crushed by the Anti-All Might beast was surprising, but then again, Recovery Girl was amongst U.A.'s faculty. They probably got him to the medics immediately after he took the broken Tomura to the Master's domicile.
"So annoying. The goddamn wannabe isn't fighting. Can't even see his goddamn face get kicked in like in that race or war game again."
Kurogiri looked again at Tomura. He knew the reason for the younger man's anger. The mere fact that he could see his face was proof enough of what was wrong. The hand that had once covered it was gone, destroyed in that same battle. His face, wrinkled, parched and with a noticeable tear on his lower lip. Tomura had never been the same since he came to from All for One's healing.
"Perhaps that stupid American isn't all he's cracked up to be. Media and their darlings. Building them up just to tear'em down." he mused, setting down the crystal-clear glass and selecting another. "Peter Parker, the next All Might… what a joke." His red eyes went back up to the screen. "I'll kill him, after Midoriya and Yaoyorozu that is..." Tomura hissed, bloodshot eyes fixed on the TV. Surrounded by wrinkled, yellow skin, his new gleaming white teeth were clenched hard.
"He's rather pathetic," Kurogiri went on, wondering why he was bothering to say anything. "You could always savour his humiliation, like you did before."
Parker was flying around the stadium, courtesy of a jetpack that was seemingly not under his control.
"Before I got my face nearly caved in by that green brat? I don't care about humiliation." Tomura began scratching at his neck with the forefinger of his other hand. "I don't care about laughs, or stupid comedy. I want him, no, I want them to suffer. I want them all to die, slowly, and painfully, and knowing all the while that as they perish, and how there wasn't a single stupid thing they could do about it." His ruby orbs burned with fury as he said those words. "No one to save the day. No one to give them hope."
"I understand, Tomura," replied Kurogiri, in as gentle a tone as he could manage. "I understand completely. You know I do." The Master had told him that Shigaraki would be in a tough spot after the USJ fiasco. The shame of losing a Mid-End Noumu crafted to kill All Might, slain by mere children, was hitting the youth hard.
A crack reverberated throughout the bar, so loud and sudden that Kurogiri almost dropped the glass he was polishing. Tomura had slammed his fist down on the bar, his nearest eye turning to regard him with inhuman malice as he breathed hard.
"Bullshit. You don't understand me Kurogiri. Don't pretend that you do."
Tomura turned away from the TV, regarding him with both of those eyes; the eyes that would have terrified him if he was capable of normal human emotional responses. Having a gaseous form had more than a few advantages. The TV showed highlights of the prior events in detail, one being footage of Midoriya Izuku fighting Bakugo Katsuki in the war along with that frog girl, Asui Tsuyu.
"Midoriya took Father from me." Tomura jabbed an accusing finger at his bare face, where that particular hand should have been. "He destroyed Father's hand. Where the hell am I supposed to get another Father's hand? He only had two to begin with. They don't grow on fucking trees." He pointed at the last hand, currently behind his head.
The finger scraping at his neck scratched harder and faster.
"I will never remember him again," Tomura went on, his eyes losing focus. "Without his hand on my face, I'll forget what he looked like, what he felt like. His hand on my face, squeezing my face...that has a lot of meaning for me, Kurogiri… My memories are in tatters, you know that."
Kurogiri knew about that, of course. Tomura may not know this, but All for One had filled the black mist villain in the moment that he took the youth into his care.
Tomura's father was a wealthy man, but an abusive fiend, hating all heroes and punishing his family if they so much as praised them; his young son especially considering he looked up to All Might as a young child. Kurogiri would normally have considered taking care of a manchild with severe daddy issues to be intellectually beneath him. Nevertheless, Tomura was his job. His duty given to him by All for One. To help his Master's protege grow.
"We'll get them, Tomura," he said mildly. "When the time is right."
"Oh, we'll get them alright..." Tomura turned back to the TV, muttering to himself as he glared. "That fucking bug...the slut...Midoriya... that blast psycho...that pesky frog… the noisy cunt...And Endeavor's brat..." He offered his hand, and Kurogiri reached down, pulling a glass and pouring some bourbon to slide over to the buzzed youth as he began to drink it down.
He began tittering to himself, groaning as he again began to scratch his neck.
'Let him wallow and fester in his defeat, Kurogiri. It will make him all the more stronger the next time we make our move'. All for One had told him.
"Every last one of'em… I'll kill'em all."
Kurogiri took Shigaraki's empty glasses and returned to his normal spot, cleaning the bar's surface as the teal-haired youth cursed under his breath when Parker's match came to an end.
(X)
Yu had no words as she walked through the grounds of the Festival with Kamui and Death Arms. Her mouth was ajar as Kamui waved a hand in front of her.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Shinji asked, turning towards his colleague.
"Considering how Parker looked and how much she was yelling… maybe she needs to take five." The more muscular hero murmured under his breath as he saw Yu stagger in front of him.
"I'm fine…" Yu uttered in monotone. "Just… fine… I-" Before her face split, and she began to crack, guffawing out loud. "Oh man! Peter's face was hysterical, hahaaaaa heheheheeh! Oh I need to find some screencaps to show him later!" Oh, that would be a sight to remember as he wailed. She had taken him on the big time roller coasters back in Universal Studios Japan and Peter didn't even so much as look flustered. He enjoyed it, but she did want to see some terror on his face, just to sate her satisfaction a little.
"Not so loud, you're causing a scene." Shinji sternly commanded. Yu's shoulders slumped.
"Still, this should also be an important lesson for him going forward. I need to tell him not to believe everything your friends say…" The blonde muttered under her breath before she looked up, before she grinned ear to ear. A-ha! Another cute college boy making taiyaki! She deserved some sweets for her hard work.
"Takeyama. No." Kamui commanded, before Yu looked back, grinning and giggling impishly before turning back towards the glasses-wearing taiyaki cashier.
"Oh yoohoooo~!" She jumped over, putting just enough skip to make her girls bounce. "Taiyaki-saaaaan~!" The boy perked up, eyebrows rising.
"Oh for crying out loud..." Kamui groaned, hand to his wooden mask.
Got him! Hook line and sinker! "Can I have two Ah-Bong's pleeeease~? One Milk and Strawberry and the other Macha and Chocolate pleaaaase~? With custard filling too?"
"Ummm, sure t-that would come to about fifteen hundred yen though, M-Mt. Lady-san." He was blushing as Yu had a hand grab her other arm, and her forearm pushed up against her veeery supple chest and she wiggled that moneymaker that has earned her all her hardcore fans. Seeing his eyesbrows light up made her giddy on the inside.
"Oh I'm so sorry," She cooed softly, batting her eyelashes. "I recognize your label right? Somi Somi~? Can I start a tab and pay you back later~?" She swayed a little side to side, seeing his eyes trail down to her hips, cheeks pink..
"I uhhh…"
Theeeere we go. Time to reel him in. "My costume doesn't leave much for me to carry a wallet. You won't let a Pro faint from lack of strength on the job now, won't youuuu~?""
"It's on the house!" He exclaimed loudly, grinning dumbly. Haha! Boys will be boys!
"Greatly appreciated!" The blonde's seductive tone was gone, impish grin back in full force.
"Stop extorting the sponsors here, Takayama!" Shinji shook his fist as Yu looked back, pulling her eyelid down and sticking her tongue out as the boy got to work in a jiffy.
Ahhh, it was great being a hero.
(X)
Peter groaned as he walked back to his suite. He had to deliver the gear Hatsume gave him back in a box in the locker room that was labeled "HATSUME'S BABIES" when he was done, as the pink haired girl stated, and one of the Support Teacher's Aides took the gear for her. The brown-haired boy could see the TVs in the hallways and the highlights of his match.
"I brought this on myself… Whelp, least one of us had fun." He uttered, shrugging as he climbed the stairs back to the Class 1-A suite. Peter had been hoping to have a nice fun match with Hatsume and help show off her babies. But no, she used him as a guinea pig while she played spokesperson for ten whole minutes, putting his body through the wringer.
It took longer than expected returning to his suite. Ah. Yeah. He was taking the long way and the stairs instead of the elevator.
All of the eyes of his fellow members of Class 1-A were upon him, their looks judging, shocked, and amused. Peter shrugged.
"Yeah yeah laugh it up. I walked into that one." Peter waved his hand, sighing as he heard Sero and Mina giggle up a storm.
"Gotta say Ace, that was really unmanly of that girl to use you like that!" Kirishima stated as Peter walked down his row, ignoring the burning glare from the blond bomber and the annoyed stare from Todoroki.
"Yeah, I-I was surprised you accepted her offer so easily. You gonna be okay though, Parker-kun?" Uraraka asked. "Your hair is a bit messy…" Peter looked up, hand patting his crown as he felt his brown hair all messy.
"Dang, should have brought a comb." He muttered, before he felt something in his hand, seeing Momo hand him said comb. "Oh, thanks." Peter laughed a little, taking his seat.
"Well, you did end up winning in the end! T-that's all that matters at the end of the day, right?" Izuku asked, trying his best to reassure the slumping American as he combed his hair.
"He is right, although your performance was…" Momo blushed, biting her lower lip as Peter winced. Oh god she laughed too! "Unique… you still wound up advancing and caught your opponent by surprise in the end. So, you still earned your victory!" She said with an awkward smile.
"Well, that's a positive way to put it." Peter uttered as he leaned forward in his seat. "I'm making sure her babies aren't life-threatening next time. Oy vey..." He groaned, stretching lightly.
"You going to be alright though? You look like you went through a washing machine." Kyoka asked with an amused smirk. "Gotta say… the way you were screaming…" She stifled a giggle, and Peter tilted his head and frowned. Et tu, Jirou Kyoka? "I'm sorry, but man it was so dorkish for you!"
"Finally, I'm not the only dork in this class!" Denki declared with relief. The punk-haired girl lazily looked back at the blonde.
"True, but you're the head dork." Kyoka stated flatly, causing Denki to gasp.
"How rude!"
"To be fair though, we have a lot of dorks in this class. It's kinda funny that way!" Mina giggled, hands behind her back as she grinned from ear to ear. "Like Midoriya, Iida, Kaminari, Kirishima, and now Parker can join them now!"
"Hey, I'm not a dork! I'm manly!" Kirishima objected, pointing at his chest. The pinkette giggled impishly while Peter sighed. Midoriya shrunk a little at the mention of his name.
"I cannot be a dork. I am too shiny to be considered a fool." Aoyama added with his constant grin. Mina craned her head back to look at the French-Japanese boy.
"I dunno, you can be considered, what's the french word… 'Le Matto'? With that silly pose and stuff!" Mino murmured before giggling, finger to her chin in thought. Aoyama blanched lightly.
"It is pronounced 'Le Mat' mon cherie..."
"Keep your head up, Peter-san." Momo murmured, offering a small smile of sympathy. "I mean, it was… amusing but in the end, you did win. That's what matters most. Although…" She bit her lip in anxiousness. "What is your history with that girl anyway? She seemed very close to your face and all…"
"Yeah! You seeing a girl on us, Parker!?" Denki accused with a pointing finger, and Peter blanched.
"Wait, you mean me and Hatsume?! It's not like that at all!" He waved his hands in denial as he felt many eyes on him. "She's… very enthusiastic about her babies and… doesn't know the concept of personal space. She is a friend though." He finished, uttering as he scratched his cheek a little.
"I did find it odd how she called her gadgets 'babies'." Momo mused, hand to her chin. "I heard rumors of a girl in the Support Course who was crazy but a very good inventor. Going by that, um..." she coughed, noticing Peter biting his lower lip. "...demonstration, she must have built quite a lot of Support Equipment. Odd to call her gadgets babies..."
"Still, the Sports Festival is a way for one to sell themselves to the Pros for internships." Izuku looked up from his notebook. "I guess for those in the Support Course, instead of Pro Heroes she was looking at companies. I heard her say such things during the Race."
"Same here, she went on and on about how the big companies should be looking at her babies when we fought together during the War." Uraraka waved her hand, eyes looking off in the distance. "Guess everyone has to be recognized in their own way." She let out a sigh. "Still, would have been nice to advance to the tournament… hopefully there's some firms out there for me."
"Yeah, I guess so. And don't worry about it, Uraraka-san. I'm sure you'll get invites." Peter continued to comb his hair, patting down the brown locks to make for easier combing.
"Says Mr. Popular over here?" Sero teased with a cheeky grin. "Going by how social media sites have been going bananas over you, good luck managing your inbox." Peter looked up, seeing the social media and he puckered his lips.
He saw his name there, with plenty of laugh emojis and 'www's, which was Japanese for 'lol' apparently in text speak.
"Don't remind me." Peter rolled his eyes. "Was just having fun is all…" He muttered under his breath in English as he could hear good-natured laughter behind him.
In some ways, hearing some of the class laugh at him felt… a bit familiar. Like being at home. He looked back, seeing his classmates go back to socializing or keeping to themselves, most of them that is. Yet when some of them turned, they just smiled back. Not in jest or annoyance as it was back home in his world, but it was something else. In some ways, seeing some of their eyes reminded him of Ned when he looked at him.
He smiled lightly, hands behind his head. Whelp, it was as Momo said. Sure he made a fool of himself, but this was a Festival after all! Mei had some fun, he was back on his feet at 100% and he had advanced to fight his next opponent. Just let it wash over him. Water under the bridge!
"Oh! Next match is about to start!" Peter perked up, as he saw the jumbotron.
"ALRIIIGHT BOYS AND GIRLS, FOR THIS NEXT MATCH IT COULDN'T GET ANY MORE DIFFERENT IN TERMS OF STYLES!" Present Mic declared as the two contestants walked into the ring. Peter noticed how Sato walked to the stadium, face stoic as he did his best to hide his nervousness from being in front of so many people. Beside him, hands in pockets, Shinso Hitoshi sauntered on in.
"FROM THE HERO COURSE, YOU CAN TELL THIS KID IS BONAFIDE HERO MATERIAL! WITH THOSE MUSCLES YOU WOULD BE SURPRISED TO HEAR HOW MUCH OF A SWEET TOOTH HE HAS WITH THAT ROCK-HARD PHYSIQUE! WHEN IT COMES TO OVERWHELMING FORCE, FEW CAN MATCH HIM WHEN HE'S ON A SUGAR HIGH! GIVE IT UP FOR SATO RIKIDO!" The tall boy waved, patting his belt as he took his side of the field.
"That's where he keeps his sugar, right?" Peter inquired. From what he remembered of the Battle Trials, Sato kept his Sugar cubes in a utility belt for him to munch on. His Quirk, Sugar Rush, allowed him to gain an incredible boost in power and speed when consuming sugar, at the cost of his intelligence depending on the amount.
"Looks like the same utility belt. Shinso's Quirk is unknown at this point, and it's something we didn't see during the War or Obstacle Race." Midoriya mumbled as he wrote in his notebook. "It has to be a Stealth-related Quirk of some kind, or maybe some quick strike one. Yet how did he end up in General Studies? I don't understand but it has to be something. Sato is fighting blind, but he has the edge in speed and power, but Shinso surely has to have the edge when it comes to…" He rattled off as Peter leaned away from his green-haired friend as he looked up to Uraraka and Kirishima. The mumbles coming out of him was like a broken dam... The redheaded brawler shrugged, glancing at an annoyed Bakugo.
"Hey, Bakugo." He got the blonde's attention by his angry red eyes turning his way. He said nothing, but he had his attention. Peter jerked a thumb at Midoriya, "Does he do this oft-"
"All the time. Now shut up and focus on the match." Bakugo growled, eyes focusing back on the field. Peter scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"AND THIS STUDENT CAME OUT OF NOWHERE! FROM GENERAL STUDIES, HE IS THE ULTIMATE ENIGMA! THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG WHILE THAT A GENERAL STUDIES STUDENT HAS MADE IT THIS FAR!" Present Mic hyped up. "WE WILL FINALLY GET TO SEE HIM IN ACTION! GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR SHINSO HITOSHIIII!"
"Sato!" Peter yelled. "Shinso! Break a leg out there!" He cheered, cupping his hands.
"Not rooting just for our class Ace?" Eijirou asked with a smirk.
"Shinso was a teammate of ours. Plus he's cool in his own way!" The American elaborated.
"Yeah well, he did something to me that made me go at max charge!" Denki wailed, waving his hand. "Like I talked to him and my mind went blank! Before I knew it, I had discharged all over the place and I lost my band!" The blonde electric user pouted.
Did he just say that? Peter looked back, eyebrow quirked.
There was silence at first. Then Kyoka snorted, as did Sero and Mina as they sniggered to themselves. Bakugo rolled his eyes before Denki realized his error. "I didn't mean to say it like that! I meant go-"
"Stupid?" Kyoka finished for him before the majority of the class all had a laugh. Koda patted the poor boy's shoulder in assurance as he slumped to the ground.
"Wait, so Shinso's quirk has to do with you talking to him? Weird." Peter murmured, turning his attention towards the match in particular.
"Are you sure it's related to sound?" Midoryia inquired, "For all we know, you could have locked eyes or something."
"Well, we are about to find out…" Momo added as Cementoss explained to them the rules and went back to his chair.
(X)
The stars were aligning, and Hitoshi was feeling blessed. He sauntered into the arena, staring at the big-lipped muscular brute of a boy standing across from him, hand on his utility belt as Cementoss walked back to his seat. He smirked, looking at the jumbotron.
All he had to do was have Sato reply once, and it'd be game over. Then his next opponent would be Parker, and from what he had seen the boy seemed like a chatterbox. Couldn't keep silent. That would put him into the Final Four of the Tournament.
He would finally get a spot in the Hero Course for sure! The faculty would be fools to not demote an undeserving student for one as worthy as he. This dumb muscular fool will be his first sacrifice towards that goal!
"Gotta say, did you inherit your lips from your mom? They can be seen from space." Hitoshi smirked as Midnight lifted her bullwhip.
"BEGIN!"
Now come on, talk bac-
Sato didn't, reaching into his belt, pulling out some sugar cubes and placing them in his mouth, swallowing them. His muscles bulged, eyes whiting out as he yelled in masculine fury.
"And that hair, good god and I thought I had bed hea-" He paused, as Sato was charging. Hitoshi's heart stopped, his blood chilling.
"Raaaaaaaaugh!" Sato roared, grabbing the purple haired boy and still running towards the other end of the arena! What the hell?!
"Put me down, you lumox! Let me go!" He hit and bashed the brown-haired hunk of muscle as Sato continued to roar like some dumb animal and he leapt up in the air, going spread eagle as Hitoshi was under him!
"Sato Slaaaaaam!" He yelled, wait, with his position! He was gonna touch the ground first, not this sugar-addicted buffoon!
"Shiiiiiiit!" Hitoshi wailed, and Sato came down hard, using Shinso as a buffer between him and the ground. He felt all the air exit his lungs as Hitoshi gasped and yelled in pain, his bones creaking as Sato leapt to his feet.
"Puny Gen Ed." Sato slurred, walking away. Hitoshi groaned as he did his best to get air back in his lungs.
"Um, that was fast." Midnight uttered. "Well, Shinso touched the ground first. The winner by ring-out is Sato Rikido!"
Sato walked back to the tunnel, and Hitoshi just tried to focus on breathing, even as Medical Bots came to place him on a stretcher.
Okay… maybe he wasn't ready for the Hero Course just yet…
(X)
"Well, that was quick." Peter uttered, blinking before smiling. "Way to go Sato! Woooo!" He waved.
"But how… How did Sato not go blank like I did?" Denki asked, face in utter bewilderment.
"Well, Sato just went Plus Ultra in his own way." Asui mused, looking back at the blonde who wanted answers for his latest humiliation. "He went straight to the point and just got down to business."
"First strike victories seem to be a recurring theme this year." Tokoyami muttered for the first time, arms crossed as his head hung low.
"You're not wrong." Todoroki replied, focusing back on the jumbotron as Sato's icon advanced to the Elite Eight. Peter turned back as well, seeing that his future opponent was Sato!
"Oh, I'll be facing him in the next round…" He saw Momo climb to her feet, face set in determination as the jumbotron screen pivoted to the next match.
Yaoyorozu Momo vs. Shiozaki Ibara
"I'm going to get ready. Wish me luck everyone." She said, face focused as Peter gave a thumbs-up.
"You can do it Momo-san!" He beamed, the girl's eyes softening a bit as she smiled.
"Do your best, Class Rep!" Asui waved giddily.
"Good luck down there." Kyoka added as she leaned back, seeing Momo walk out of the suite. As he turned back to face the stadium, he noticed Mina frowning lightly.
"Something up, Mina-san?" He inquired, and the pinkette focused on him with her dark and gold eyes.
"I worked with Shiozaki during the War of the Flags, and we didn't see her fight but her Quirk…" She bit her lip in concern, eyes looking to the side.
"What about it?" Izuku asked, reaching down to sip on his drink.
"Yaoyorozu's gonna lose. Simple as that." Bakugo broke in, and everyone's eyes were on him. Midoriya on the other hand spat out his drink, head whipping around as if his childhood friend had grown an extra head and was in a tutu.
"You don't know that." Peter replied, voice becoming sterner as his chocolate eyes were locked in by the blonde bomber's ruby-red ones.
"Just watch Parker. You'll see." The American narrowed his eyes, the two of them silent as Peter focused back on the arena.
"Kacchan called Yaoyorozu-san by her name... " Midoryia spoke to himself.
"And Parker as well." Tokoyami added, eyes closed as he continued to relax. Midoriya's eyes widened, going from the raven-headed boy to Peter. The American felt his gaze upon him.
"Something up Midori?" Peter asked, seeing those green eyes of his searching. For what, he didn't know.
"It's… it's nothing." Izuku slumped in his seat, grabbing his notebook and his pen as he began to write, looking down for whatever reason.
(X)
Options.
The one thing that her quirk excelled at was giving her options. The creation of whatever non-living object that she wished was near the most versatile quirk ever recorded. In her case, the one limit was that Momo needed to know the inner workings of whatever she wanted to create. Amazingly, that kind of barrier was almost effortless to climb over. All she needed was to conduct research, study, and memorize whatever item she needed to create.
From a young age, her parents and her peers praised her. Called her things like prodigy, genius, and a dozen other variations. It went so far as her father seemingly pulling a recommendation to U.A out of thin air. Though she had no doubt that the Yaoyoruzu name carried much weight with the staff of U.A, the fact that they allowed her in at all astounded her. After all, compared to her peers, despite all the versatility that her quirk allowed, didn't compare to those around her. No matter what she came up with, she couldn't dable in their worlds nearly as fast.
How many could break down walls? Stop falling buildings? Unleash elements or maneuver themselves at superhuman levels better than she could? A name and face appeared to answer each question, with a few notable ones filling up her own class roster. Yet, in the case of her opponent, Momo couldn't be sure.
From what she remembered, Shiozaki was capable of utilizing vines in some minor sort of chlorokinesis. She'd seen the vines completely cover the giant boulders Uraraka set up around the Blue King Ring of the enemy faction on the jumbotron which no doubt proved difficult to infiltrate for those that had to go up against it. Since Honenuki couldn't slink in from underneath, it meant that Shiozaki had also strengthened her vines to the point of piercing topsoil at the very least.
Fire seemed like the best and most immediate choice to combat the first volley. If Momo could burn the vines faster than her opponent could replace them, then she would have a chance to ring her out with a concussive shot or incapacitating her with Parker's web fluid.
Another option was producing a chainsaw, but again, an item like that would need time to create. At the most, ten seconds. Shiozaki wasn't stupid.
That being said, that was a rather large if. Momo wasn't allowed to make anything until the match started, leaving her without precious time to create anything with her quirk. Her opponent? She had no such limitations.
She needed to think, find the one thing that could give her time. Her mind raced with formulas and devices that she'd memorized years ago, trying to find something that would give her an advantage even as her legs brought her closer and closer to the arena.
"OH BOY! I HOPE YOU'RE READY LADIES AND GENTLEMEN BECAUSE WE'VE GOT OUR FIRST TASTE OF CLASS A VS CLASS B AMONGST THE FIRST YEARS COMING RIGHT UP! AND TRUST ME, THERE IS A BIG TIME RIVALRY HERE." Present Mic declared as Momo took her spot in her corner. Her opponent stared into the distance from the other side, not even looking at Momo before folding her hands in some sort of prayer.
"IN THE EAST, SHE'S THE BRAINS OF CLASS 1-A, THE REPRESENTATIVE WITH EVERYTHING AND THE KITCHEN SINK READY TO BE SHOT OUT OF HER FINGERTIPS, FROM THE HERO COURSE, YAOYOROZU MOMO!!!"
At the roar of the crowd, Momo couldn't help but feel a tiny bit embarrassed at the noise. Most of it was probably for courtesy, same as the rest of her classmates, but she did smile a bit. However, the second that the sound reached it's high points, her opponent stopped her silent prayer, opening her eyes.
"AND IN THE WEST! THE GUARDIAN ANGEL OF THE HERO COURSE'S CLASS 1-B, SHE'S THE GREEN THUMB THAT WILL RAISE YOU UP AND BRING YOU DOWN, FROM THE HERO COURSE, IT'S SHIOZAKI IBARA!!!"
Another wave of excitement, and Cementoss lowered himself from his self-made judge's chair to convey to the two girls the standard rules of engagement, nothing extreme or else they would risk dequalification. A rebellious part of her mind wondered if it was to support the atmosphere of the competition, play the crowd and create a greater show for the investing heroes. Momo silenced the thought, putting everything that she had in the few remaining seconds.
There had to be a limit on Shiozaki's vines, but what it was Momo could only guess. It could be enough to cover a house, or as large as filling the entire stadium with greenery. Quirks allowed for any level of power to be possible so Momo could only hope that she had a small limit. In that case, she would need something like a napalm charge, blanketing the area in enough flames to keep the vines at bay.
However, a defense like that was liable to be thrown back in her face. Even if she could get it out, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't get the burning liquid on her, or even if she would be able to function afterwards from the heat. Even in the best case scenario, napalm or a similar substance thrown around her would deter the vines easily enough, but again, the speed of her Creation versus the speed of Shiozaki's Quirk. How fast were the vines? She could make a machete for starting defence, that wouldn't take much more than a thought to conjure. The charge? Longer, but in the meantime she could cut what came close while trying to close the distance if all else failed.
No… the best and safest option would be a machete. Kamakiri and Kaibara were able to cause some damage against Shiozaki during the war with their bladed Quirks. Machete for defense, then web paintball rifle to finish her off the second she got close.
Momo tensed her legs, mentally running through the ratios for steel and picturing the design of a blade. Cementoss looked at her, and she nodded in confirmation and Shiozaki did the same from her end, arms still held together. Convinced, the proctor went back to his chair as Miss Midnight came forward. Momo took a deep breath, calming her nerves, watching every flick of Midnight's bullwhip as it went up, while doing everything she could to see her opponent. Shiozaki was staring right back at her, or more accurately, her feet. Momo would take off running first then, fight against whatever plan that Ibara might be concocting on her end to give herself a little more time.
The bullwhip was held at arm's length.
"Let the seventh match," then it came down, "BEGIN!"
Momo took off in a sprint, zigzagging and staying on the balls of her feet as the machete popped out of her arm in a multicolored aura. She took hold of the handle right before the first few vines surged at her. Momo swiped with the blade, cutting through the green tendrils with ease. But with each one that she cut, four more took their place. The Class Rep found herself all but flailing her arm at the oncoming horde as Shiozaki didn't even budge from her spot, face set in stone. During another precious second, Momo ran through the schematics to build another machete.
Then the vine-haired girl raised her hand, and the ground underneath Momo split open. It was too surreal to explain. One moment she was on solid ground, the next something pushed from underneath her like some unearthly seismic event, making her yell out. From the broken cement, vines, dozens more than what came at her originally shot out and wrapped around Momo. She was jerked into the air, her temporary weapon clattering to the ground, her arms bound against her and held there by thick green tendrils.
Not even a second later, the vines moved her to the side, throwing her how one would lazily toss a ball. Momo barely managed to catch herself when she hit the ground, rolling into a heap as she grunted.
The ground, a good two meters outside of the arena. In her corner, Ibara breathed a sigh of relief and Momo heard the words she was dreading as she hung her head.
"Yaoyorozu is out of bounds, Shiozaki advances to the second round!"
For what felt like the thousandth time today, the crowd explodes in a chorus of shouts. Momo felt a million times heavier picking herself back up. The outcome… It was…. Understandable, there were too many variables that had presented themselves and Shiozaki's Quirk was overwhelming. She would've needed more time to conjure up something more substantial. No matter the variable, it all came back to that.
(X)
"And there you have it," Katsuki drawled, leaning back against his seat as he saw Frog and Punk girl get up and head out of the suite.
Next to him, a few of the extras in his class were still in a state of disbelief. The blond bomber let out a scoff.
"Tch." Amateurs.
What did they think was going to happen? That Yaoyorozu was just going to pull out a bomb and force the vine chick to surrender? No, Katsuki never interacted with her during the War, but he had eyes like everyone else and used them. Vine Girl had Four Eyes surrounded in so many vines on top of the boulders Dollface moved around that the King Ring might as well have been a bunker. Yaoyorozu was good, one of the worst people to fight if she had time to prepare. He knew that firsthand.
But you don't pull out a swiss army knife against a bulldozer. From the highlights of the race, that was exactly what Vine Girl was too.
Yaoyorozu lasted longer than Katsuki expected, had to give her a little credit for that. The rich girl should've made some defensive item of sorts for her feet first instead of trying to rush in. Though she'd need time for that, something that the vine chick wouldn't give her. All and all, it was a lose-lose situation no matter what she did. In a way, Katsuki saw himself in the Vine Girl and Birdbrain in Yaoyorozu. Bad matchups, not much in the way of warmups.
Looking over, Parker caught his glare. Guy was wrestling with his hands. If he was trying to act like the guy that always believed in his friends for no other reason than they were friends or some other crap than he was being a dumbass about it. Anyone with eyes could tell that he had come to the same conclusion that Bakugo did, as much as he hated to admit.
"Man, kinda feel sorry for Yaoyoruzu, she didn't even get anything cool out," Edgehair said.
"It was going to be hard," Dollface said, "It was a bad matchup from the start, but I really thought she could pull it off. Guess even our Class Rep isn't infallible huh."
Parker looked down, even Icy-Hot sighed in admittance.
Two of them admitted it, but…
"Yaoyorozu-san is impressive but Shiozaki is a strong opponent who placed fourth in the entrance exam. But vines, huh, I wonder if it's like Kamui Wood's quirk." Oh, goddamnit Deku. "The range capability seemed to be larger than the arena, allowing for at least 30 meters of range. Binding types are really strong, and they would need impressive strength or tools to break out so I doubt many will be able to do it. Wait, but in order to do that, she would have to go for your head first. You'd need to get in close enough, fast enough that she couldn't bind you." Katsuki gritted his teeth. He didn't need Deku's mumblestorm coming down on him like hail when he had to think of a strategy to counter Horngirl! Fucking nerd!
"Oh wow, he's… passionate," Pink commented.
"Yeah that's cool, but how does he breathe?" Parker asked, "He talked nonstop for like half a minute."
"He's still muttering," Birdbrain corrected.
"Wow Deku, I didn't know you were so invested in quirks," Dollface stated.
Thankfully, cause Deku somehow had less self respect around girls than anything else that came his way, the comment knocked him out of it.
"O-Oh yeah, it's nothing but a hobby."
"Hey man, don't worry about it," Parker said, slapping that snake on the back and nearly causing the damn nerd to drop that stupid book of his. "Pretty sure no one is going to rag on you for geeking about superpowers."
"It sounds more like counter strategies to me," Dollface stated for the class. "Deku is smart that way, always planning ahead!"
Katsuki rolled his eyes.
"I-it's nothing, I've got a ton of notes on the rest of Class 1-A, I've even got-"
Aaand that's all that Katsuki was going to deal with. Deku and Dollface could go on and on about the useless crap while Bakugo got some shuteye. His next round was against Horngirl.
Had to focus on that, prepare counters. Remember her movements back during the race(which made Katsuki sick to his stomach) and the match against Orange. Hmmm…
(X)
The entire stadium sounded like a full on rock concert. Strange as it was for most people to think about, it actually helped Kyoka out. All of the sound, the roaring, it reminded her of all those music festivals that her parents took her to when she was a kid. Wasn't much, but anything to stop that annoying twitch of nerves was a godsend right now.
Though, given how easily Asui was climbing the stairs to the arena, the atmosphere wasn't really getting her down too much. Or it was. Kyoka could never read her classmate very well anyway. She was pretty neutral even at the worst of times. Girl went through the USJ without even blinking from what Kyoka could see or remember, most of the time.
However, Kyoka's thoughts were cut off as the static of her english teacher exploded through the speakers for the millionth time today.
She hoped that Mr. Aizawa had invested in some really good earplugs.
"ALRIGHT DEAR LISTENERS, WE'VE GOT ONE MORE MATCH FOR THE FIRST ROUND. ARE YOU READY!?!" Present Mic asked, and through the jumbo-tron, Jirou could see him beckon the crowd with a wave of his hands, doing his best to put that radio show DJ gig of his to good use.
And of course, like all successful DJ's the crowd ate it up, and Jirou had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. Yeah it was for the show, but the people knew what they were getting into. Across the arena, Asui rolled her eyes, sharing Kyoka's annoyance. That response made the violet-haired girl smirk a little, at least they thought alike, if only for something as mundane as this.
"IN THE RED CORNER WE'VE GOT THE ROCK AND ROLL JAMMING BASE-BRINGING GIRL THAT KNOWS THE POWER OF SOUND LIKE YOUR'S TRULY, FROM THE HERO COURSE IT'S JIROU KYOKA!!"
"You're not supposed to be biased," Mr. Aizawa grumbled, his voice somehow making it through the chorus of the crowd.
Jirou rolled her eyes. That hype was like, five out of ten at best. He did have to make those up on the spot, but come on man, her parents were watching.
"AND IN THE BLUE CORNER! A HOP SKIP AND A JUMP STRAIGHT TO VICTORY, THE WIDE-EYED STUDENT WITH THE FLIPPERS TO SWIM THROUGH IT ALL, FROM THE HERO COURSE, ASUI TSUYU!!!"
Across from her, Asui blinked once, accepted whatever the heck that was and loosened her arms with a quick shudder of his shoulders.
"Alright," Mr Cementoss started, "Standard tournament rules apply, are there any questions on the rules from either side?"
"Got one," Jirou said while raising her hands, "Are my boots still good to go?" she asked, tapping the thick soles with her jacks.
Cementoss didn't answer, referring to Midnight with a quick glance. The heroine snapped a pose with her whip, because of course she had to, and smiled a grin that probably got her plenty of modeling opportunities back in the day. Could've been yesterday for all Kyoka knew, but right now she was starting to see what Tokoyami was getting on about.
"Yes! You've filled out the required paperwork so anything you bring is yours to command! Do give a show~."
"Isn't that the point of this festival?" Kyoka asked, sarcasm dripping off every word.
"Oh, just play for the cameras," Midnight grumbled with a wave of her bullwhip.
"Like the one right there?" Asui asked, pointing at the jumbotron.
"You girls ready to fight or not?" Midnight asked, arms crossing over her bust in annoyance.
Kyoka's smirk fell off her face, the seriousness of the situation effortlessly taking over. She immediately put her jacks into her boots, prepping the bass drop. Asui dropped to all fours, wide eyes focused on her. Both of these actions were enough of a signal.
"The final match of the first round, begins!"
The air was filled with the sound of the cracking whip, only for every decibel of that sound to get drowned out by Kyoka's soundwaves. Ripping sound shook the air in front of her like a directional heat haze. Now, Asui was fast, but sound itself was a barrier that she would probably never be able to break no matter how much hopping power her quirk gave her. Having said that, she didn't need to do that, hopping to the right and away from the directional charge. Kyoka adjusted the shot, funneling all the bass she could at her classmate, but Asui was already jumping away.
Right at Kyoka.
"Ribbit!" The frog girl's tongue flew out of her mouth like a bullet, but one of Kyoka's jacks rose up to meet it, electricity sparking off the tips. Asui pulled her tongue back and the punk girl leapt to the side for all that she was worth, avoiding her opponent's tackle.
Plugging her jacks back into her boots, Kyoka turned and fired, but Asui was always the most nimble in their class outside of Parker, Midoriya as of today, Ashido, and Bakugo. The frog girl turned on a dime, whipping out her tongue, latching it onto a tile and pulling herself away so only a second of the blast hit her.
It was honestly amazing to see Asui zip over the field, bouncing off the arena the instant her tongue ran out of length. Kyoka snapped her head skyward just in time to see Asui's tongue hit a few feet behind her, just out of reach of her jacks.
With a pull that turned gravity into a weapon, Asui came down like a frog meteor. Kyoka dove to the right for all she was worth yet again, Asui's webbed feet passing an inch over her head. The punk girl hit the ground hard, but she grit her teeth and forced herself to watch her classmate. This close, Asui's leg reared back for a kick, but Jirou lashed out with her jacks.
Asui dodged back with her good leg, avoiding the swipe with plenty of room to spare. Damnit, if only she was closer. A good shock on Asui's tongue had to be enough to finish this. But the girl didn't even let Kyoka breathe.
Asui bent down on all fours and hopped, blurring across the top of the arena. Jirou blasted the arena with sound. It had to be doing something, just a long enough blast hitting her had to slow her down! Yet Asui didn't stop.
Jumping around, to the side, behind her, circling her with a speed that Kyoka didn't know she could reach. One second she was on Kyoka's left, then her right. The punk girl could only blast in the small area she could to dissuade the girl from trying to get close and wearing her down.
Then, suddenly, Asui launched herself straight at her. Kyoka went to the side, as far as she could, and her jacks tried to hit the girl's flank but only hit open air where she'd been.
There was a tug, and out of the corner of her eye, Kyoka saw Asui trailing her tongue behind her as she shot past. It had latched onto her leg! "Tch!" Kyoka threw both jacks at the appendage, but Asui pulled and the punk girl's legs went out from under her. She had maybe half a second before stars filled her vision, hitting her head against her arm in a vain attempt to minimize damage.
Her head beat like a snare drum, but nothing could disguise the feeling of surprise from something dragging her back. Kyoka launched her jacks into the ground, but that only carved two lines in the concrete as she was pulled along. A quick jerk pulled her off the ground, into the air, and the next thing Kyoka knew, she was sprawling through the grass on the outside of the ring.
"Owww..." She's gonna feel that for the rest of the day.
"Jirou is out of bounds! Asui Tsuyu is heading to the next round!" Midnight declared.
Again, the blast of noise came down, but it didn't help this time. Dragging herself up, Kyoka couldn't help but wince. Her jacks burned and her ears felt like they had nearly been torn off. Glancing back, the punk girl saw her classmate gaze at her jacks with concern. Putting on her best face, Kyoka gave her a thumbs-up and a congratulatory smile.
There was a little part of her that was bitter that she couldn't get further. But on the plus side, no possibility of fighting Shiozaki or Parker. Plus she did put on a good show in the War, hopefully.
She'd take a good show over that any day of the week.
(X)
"AND THERE WE HAVE IT, FOLKS! THE FIRST ROUND IS IN THE BOOKS!" Present Mic declared as the jumbotron displayed Tsuyu advancing. "HERE IS YOUR ELIIIIITE EIGHT!"
Bakugo Katsuki(8) vs. Pony Tsunotori(16)
Midoriya Izuku(5) vs. Todoroki Shoto(4)
Peter Parker(6) vs. Rikido Sato(14)
Asui Tsuyu(15)vs. Shiozaki Ibara(10)
"So… that is the next round." Midoriya stated, gazing at the brackets. "Todoroki… and possibly Kacchan in the Semi Final…"
Peter said nothing, taking a deep breath as he looked back, already seeing Bakugo walk off with his hands in his pockets. He saw his red eyes look down, and Peter stared back.
Bakugo glared, and Peter found himself returning the glare back as Bakugo left the aisle and entered the tunnel. Peter found himself exhaling and standing up, walking past Momo and Midoriya over to the wall Monoma leered over from. Gazing out over the ledge, he heard cheers and calls of support for Pony from the Class 1-B suite. He looked over, seeing Pony walk off, head turned as she marched out. He could see some of the students from Class 1-B like Kamakiri and Kuroiro turn back, with Kendo having not turned around her body at all, staring right at him. Peter went back down, taking his seat and inhaling a deep breath as he felt a knot form in his chest.
In the time he had known Bakugo, the impression he'd gained painted Midoriya's childhood bully as a jerk, at least until Bakugo's image evolved into a straight-up thug. All Might was a great hero, a good person… yet the fact remained that no one had brought up the Battle Trial's results from back then... irked him.
Mr. Stark would have stripped everything from him and never give it back to him if he pulled such a stunt and nothing short of helping against Mr. Toomes a thousand times over would change things. And Peter knew that Tony Stark wasn't a saint. Before he became Iron Man, he was…. He wasn't that good of a guy. Heck, the man even said it himself back on the rooftop on the day of the ferry.
But still, even he, at his lowest point, wouldn't let something like that happen.
Except, he wasn't here. All Might was here.
And Peter could only watch as his friend was hyped up by Present Mic before the next match as highlights of the two competitors were being shown on the jumbotron.
His nerves were on fire, he couldn't stop tapping his foot. Bakugo was good, there was no denying that, but Pony had come so far from the time he'd met her back in language classes a year ago. His first friend in this new world. "Win, Pony." He muttered, closing his eyes. "He doesn't deserve it. You do." He whispered in English.
"Peter-san?" Momo asked as Peter leaned back. He turned back, offering a smile.
"Hey, so… you excited for the big match?" Midoriya heard his question to Momo and turned towards Peter.
"Yeah, it will be an interesting fight." He exclaimed with a smile, grabbing his pen as he began another mumblestorm. "Tsunotori-san can fly and use her horns as projectiles, she also has good mobility on the ground too what with her horse or bull-like characteristics as we saw in her fight against Kendo. But the question is…" Peter tuned him out, trying to ignore the pit in his stomach as he looked around.
This was a Festival, meant for the students to have a good time and have fun while getting some recruitment offers from hero agencies in the process.
Bakugo didn't seem like the guy who would have a good time. Here's here to win. Take no prisoners. Hell, even Flash knew how to do that, and the times when he rubbed his assumed superiority in everyone's faces could be funny. Plus he tended to suffer from the effects of bad karma, like that time back when he and Ned were kids. Flash had boasted about his science project volcano that had the best materials money could buy. It had ended up exploding, smothering him and his butler in baking soda. He and Aunt May got second place that day.
Bakugo seems like...
Peter shook his head, pushing the image of that piss ant for the memory of his loved ones.
He let out a sigh. As much as this world has given him…
"I miss them." He muttered in English, ignoring the concerned look that Momo was giving him as he looked down at the arena, anxious for the upcoming fight and the void in his heart aching.