"The seventh match will oppose the quirk clones! A man as hard as steel, from the heroic branch Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu! Versus! A man as hard as stone, heroic branch Kirishima Eijiro!" (Mic)
'I can't blame Mic for making the same comments here. And who in their right mind gives their family name as a first name to their son? That's horrible.'
Not that it matters much. It just makes his name a mouthful.
(Author notes: For those who didn't know, Tetsu (鉄) means iron and Tetsu (哲) means philosophy. The guy's name is literally Steel Philosophy (鉄哲). Since I can speak Japanese myself, I thought that Horikoshi smoked something funny when I read Tetsutetsu's name for the first time.)
"This match will be boring." (Akira)
"Why isn't this exiting? A match between two equals for once?"(Kaminari)
If you put it that way, it could be
"Sure, they are equals in strength. The problem is, their quirks are almost the same in addition to equal strength, speed, stamina. Heck, even their fighting style is the same: they just use brute force and throw punches without an ounce of strategy or tactic. Just a contest of pure strength." (Akira)
"Right, it seems less interesting if you say that." (Ojiro)
The others understood that there was nothing to learn from this except: don't use only brute force.
"START!" (Mic)
Kirishima and Tetsutetsu rush in each other's direction, throwing punches. It is a match of hit and block, nothing more.
"Will this go on for a while?" (Jiro)
"Not really… Their endurance is their greatest weakness, so it will be over in about a minute." (Akira)
After a minute to fight, the two knocked each other out
"They really managed to end this in a double KO." (Jiro)
"Double KO. This is a tie! To know the victor, we will proceed with a simple trial, an arm wrestling match!" (Midnight)
The crowd seems cheerful compared to us students from class 1-A
"They really are equal in everything." (Ojiro)
"For now, yes." (Akira)
"For now?" (Kaminari)
"Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's quirk may look the same, but they are fundamentally different. Steel is just transforming into steel, which gives Tetsutetsu increased strength and resistance to temperature variation to some extent, but more importantly, he is as hard as steel, and that's it. In addition, he needs to ingest iron to some extent for his quirk to work properly. Kirishima, on the other hand, is hardening, which means that while Tetsutetsu's hardness is fixed, Kirishima's can be improved to higher levels if he trains properly. In my opinion, hardening has much more potential than steel." (Akira)
"Is that so? I wondered why is Kirishima in class A and Tetsutetsu in class B, but it is the potential that made the difference. (Ojiro)
"I think so." (Akira)
After taking the two meatheads to the infirmary, the next match came.
"The eighth and last match of the first round! We have known him a little since middle school, the one with a suspect face, Heroic Branch Bakugo Katsuki! Versus! Personally, I cheer for her, heroic branch Uraraka Ochako!" (Mic)
The public cheers, but our class doesn't seem enthusiastic about his duel.
"I'm worried about this duel." (Tsuyu)
"I'm not sure if I want to see…" (Jiro)
While Uraraka and Bakugo walks on the stage, Ida and Izuku return to their seats
"You're back after all. Uraraka didn't accept your help, I suppose." (Akira)
"How did you… " (Izuku)
"She wants to prove to herself and to you that she can be relied on. Seeing your progress gave her a sense of urgency. I also heard your conversation the other day, so I know her motivations."
"I-if you say so…" (Izuku)
They took their seats
"Midoriya-kun, what is your strategy against Bakugo-kun?"
"Nothing exceptional, really. Katchan is strong. Once he is in action, you can't stop him; the more he moves, the more he sweats, and the more powerful his explosions are. He uses it to move in the air. If Uraraka-san manages to touch him…" (Izuku)
"You know very well that it won't be easy for her." (Akira)
"R-right…" (Izuku)
Izuku lowers his gaze, in deep thoughts.
"I said that it won't be easy, not that it is impossible." (Akira)
My classmates are surprised that I would say something like this.
"You mean that Uraraka-kun has a chance to win?" (Ida)
'How come you use kun for a female, you weirdo?'
"Don't get your hopes up too much. The difference in strength is still massive, but it is a possibility." (Akira)
"START!" (Mic)
Uraraka rush toward Bakugo. Her posture is low, nearly grazing the ground.
"Ho… Interesting."(Akira)
"That's good Uraraka-san." (Izuku)
BOOM
Uraraka takes the explosion head on
"Uraraka-san!" (Izuku&Ida)
"He is crazy." (Mineta)
"He doesn't hold back even against a woman Bakugo-chan" (Tsuyu)
Uraraka follows with her sneak attack using her jacket, but it doesn't work either. Bakugo reacted perfectly.
After a few more countered attempts
"Ochako-chan…"
"I don't want to see…"
"I doubted that Bakugo had that kind of tendency."
Seriously, it is obvious that something is hidden behind all of this. Izuku looks at Uraraka with worried eyes, and the same is true for everyone.
"You all don't understand a thing. Do you really think Bakugo likes this? Just look at his face; he doesn't do this out of sadism; he has his guard up against Uraraka. He knows that she earned her place here, and Uraraka's restless assaults only make him more tense." (Akira)
"I-is that really how it is?" (Jiro)
Jiro voiced the general feelings. I point toward the sky, the others look in that direction, and a look of surprises appears. Several rocks coming from the arena are floating above it.
"And Bakugo is right about not letting his guard down"(Akira)
The fight continues with Aizawa-sensei's argument with a pro-hero. After enough debris accumulated in the sky, she let them down on the ground, but Bakugo countered her plans with a huge explosion, which made the whole stadium rumble. Uraraka finally passes out from exhaustion.
"Uraraka-san is unconscious; Bakugo-kun is qualified for the second round!"
The entire stadium is silent.
"Ochako-chan…" (Tsuyu)
"He countered it with only one move, so easily." (Kaminari)
'Thanks for your dumb comment once again, Kaminari.'
"Easily? Once again, you're wrong. Bakugo had his guard up against Uraraka, but he didn't see that one coming at all. He owns his victory to his good combat sense. He completely improvised his last move to counter. So that you all can understand, it can be resumed in one sentence: That was a close call for Bakugo." (Akira)
…
'You all really are just amateurs. You should train your eyes and your brains a little.'
"The first round is now over; we will continue after a short break!" (Mic)
'A break… Finally'
after a minute
"Hey Bakugo! You really are the terror incarnated, you look like a villain." (Sero)
"You really passed for the bad guy there." (Tsuyu)
"Shut up!" (Bakugo)
"However, you have the guts to attack a defenseless woman. I held back for my part." (Kaminari)
"You were completely dominated, Kaminari-chan." (Tsuyu)
"You know Tsuyu-chan…" (Kaminari)
"Did you hear what I said earlier? Uraraka is defenseless, you Moron." (Akira)
"…" (Kaminari)
"Hey Bakugo, that was close, wasn't it?" (Akira)
"Shut up, Ninfreak! You better be ready when I take you down!" (Bakugo)
'Do you honestly think you're strong enough to do that?'
Even scratching me would be a miracle for the current Bakugo, let alone defeating me.
'Now is the time.'
I take out a storage scroll from who knows where and open it
POOOF…
What came out of it is an entire plate with different pastry that I made myself. The sight immediately caught the attention of the girls.
""Can we…?""
"No problem" (Akira)
The moment I answered, the girls took slices of cakes and ate them.
""Delicious""
It seems like a success.
"Where did you get these cakes, Akira-san?" (Yaoyorozu)
Legitimate question
"I made them." (Akira)
"This is incredible! You are better than our Family's Pastry chef!"
'What? I understand for the chef but a pastry chef too? '
Does their fortune rival Nezu's? Highly probable.
Before the second round begins, Kirishima and Tetsutetsu engage in arm wrestling. The match ended in Kirishima's victory thanks to Tetsutetsu's iron fatigue.