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Chapter 28: Horns and Bombs
🕑 Added 2024-07-05 13:22:24 +0000 UTCWill be busy later(again) but hey, that just means I post this a couple hours early!
Been enjoying the latest season, especially the episode where Toga asks Izuku her question and doesn't receive an answer she likes; it made me sadder as, unlike with Uraraka last season, he had more context and spent a good chunk of the second half of the season 6 trying to understand villains as people. Though I laughed when Dabi called AFO's BS about the spies, as he was right, they got caught, and because they never liked him, they helped set up the villains. If only Dabi could have turned to AFO and said he was right, dome-head's ploy backfired on them.
Though there is a question that Shigaraki's body rises as he says his body is doing that to adapt to his quirk, and with both Monoma and Aizawa using Erasure, we know that Tomura's statement is at least partially true. So, in theory, could a quirkless person be put into a situation where their body is mutated to such a point they could have the power to pull off superhuman feats? I'm not saying we could make an army of near All Mights, but you'll be a menace even having a physical body like one-fifth as strong as Shiggy was at Jaku.
Chapter 28: Horns and Bombs
After Todoroki left the field covered in ice, it took a while to clear it up, even with Todoroki helping to free both Yaoyorozu and Midnight. At that time, people didn't know what to think about the fight, only that while Todoroki clearly showed the power he could bring to any battle, he still went well and truly overboard. Even among the students, they talked about it less like it had been a fight and more like they had watched a massacre.
In the time it took to clean up the stands, Yaoyorozu had sullenly returned. The girl had left with a purpose in her step, but even those in class B could tell her devastating loss was getting to her. Ashido and Jiro greeted her, but she remained silent as she sat near the back, folding in on herself. It was a sad sight that not even Monoma could find either a point or the will to insult her. Todoroki remained gone, though they were sure he had just made the practical choice to distance himself from his classmates, who might have taken him to task for his actions.
Eventually, the sour mood that had befallen the stadium cleared enough that when the arena was cleared of ice, the tens of thousands of spectators began to cry and cheer once more. "Sorry about that wait, but we've finally cleared the field!” Present Mic added some levity to the situation as the crowds cheered.
“It’s time for the first match of the quarter-finals!” The four bonfire pits lit up as confetti reigned onto the field as the two combatants walked up onto it.
“We have a guy that quite literally blasted his way through the competition! From the hero course, it’s Bakugo Katsuki!” Bakugo, in a rare moment, wasn't walking like a thug but with his back straight, hands out of his pockets, and eyes forward, watching his foe.
“Facing him, we have a sweet little filly that knows how to throw hands! From the hero course, it’s Tsunotori Pony!” Tsunotori met his gave with one as determined and heated as their classmates watched from the stands.
“Remember what I said, don’t go bitching about you tasting the dirt.” Bakugo reminded her, getting a smirk from the American.
"Same here; if you can only taste my hoof in your stupid face, don't cry." At her response, Bakugo also smirked as he hoped this would be a good warm-up for when he took on whoever won between Man Hands and Deku.
“Midoriya, Tokage, your thoughts?” Shishida asked.
"Bakugo is many things, but a weakling or idiot isn't one of them. He understands that he has the advantage in speed and power, but that doesn't mean he'll let her have many options to counter." Midoriya was the first to reply, analyzing the fight before it happened.
"Tsunotori isn't a fool either. Trying to close the distance and fight him like she did Jiro would be risky, so she'll probably keep him back with her horns." Tokage added that Tsunotori had already proven she could read a situation and react accordingly, so she threw Jiro off balance and fought her up close.
“That said, Bakugo might not give her a chance," Midoriya countered. Still, when he saw Tokage smiling his way, he started to piece together what his fellow greenhead was thinking. “But maybe she can use that to her advantage.”
"High risk, but high reward," Tokage stated but didn't explain, leaving the rest in the dark about what the two could be thinking.
“These two have already put on great performances and dominated their previous opponents; this will be a clash of two great forces, but which will come out on top?” Present Mic yelled, feeding the hype as the two combatants got ready, Tsunotori leaning her head forward. At the same time, Bakugo crouched, a hand facing towards his rear.
“I don't know, but I'm eager to fight out, aren't you, folks?” The crowds cheered. “Bakugo vs Tsunotori! Start!” Mic hadn't even finished starting things before Bakugo launched himself toward Tsunotori, ready to try and end this in a single blow, just like Deku had done to Edgelord.
Tsunotori wouldn't give him that satisfaction as two horns instantly launched towards Bakugo. He dodged the first and narrowly did the second, but Tsunotori was already on the move. As she jumped to the side, running like a horse on all fours, he fired another two horns at Bakugo, staggering their firing so one followed the other.
Recalling what she had pulled with ears, Bakugo opted to destroy the horns rather than leave them lying around for her to use; swinging his left hand, he landed an explosion on the forward horn, throwing up a slight smoke cloud which the second horn came barrelling out for his face, which he evaded by leaning his head to the side, and then blasting the horn as it passed. Landing, he was on the offensive again, launching himself towards Tsunotori.
Closing the gap, he was about on top of her, the girl turning her head to see him, but he didn't see shock or fear; he saw determination. Gritting her teeth, she fell but caught herself on her hands. Using her core strength, she did the oldest trick in any horse's bag and mule-kicked Bakugo right in the jaw, the boy biting his tongue as his head was knocked back, the change of momentum mixed with his loss of control as he crashed into the arena floor.
“And Tsunotori lands the first hit of the match!” Present Mic yelled as the crowd cheered, with the students watching with as much attention. Tetsutetsu was the loudest as he cheered for Tsunotori.
“How does my hoof taste?” Tsunotori asked him smugly as Bakugo glared at her, wiping the blood and spit from his lip.
"When I'm done with you, it's off the fucking glue factory!" Bakugo yelled as he launched forward yet again but added several more blasts to alter his speed and direction as he approached, making it incredibly hard to predict, so she launched two horns, keeping one to her front, the other to her rear to defend herself. Bakugo saw this but powered through as he went for her flank; she moved a horn to counter, only for him to rapidly change his direction and land an explosion right to her face, getting a cry of pain from her as she knocked back.
He wasn't going to let her off quickly as he went to follow up on that attack, but he had to pull back as the horn that would have countered him made a pass for him. Tsunotori, after taking that hit, rolled with the force and got up onto her feet remarkably fast. She would have to thank her brothers for all the horsing around they did with her growing up; because of that, more than the self-defense training her dad signed her up for, it meant that she could take a hit…or several.
She fired off several more horns, with Bakugo evading and destroying the ones he could. She kept the pressure as the two clashed in close quarters, with Bakugo landing most of the blows but Tsunotori getting a few hits in where she could before they were separated due to some act from the two and tried to fight each other with some distance.
As the two continued to battle, most people in class couldn't believe their eyes. Sure, Tetsutetsu hadn't gone down quickly. Still, he was built similarly to Kirishima, so unless Bakugo had used something compelling, he wouldn't have gone down that fast. Tsunotori didn't have that advantage; she wasn't even as built as Kendo, yet despite that, they watched as she took a blast to the side but rolled with it and was on her feet in seconds, her horns catching Bakugo off guard, tripping him up and giving her a chance to hand a mean right hoof.
“Holy shit, she’s keeping up with him!” Kaminari stared in awe.
"Keep up the pressure, Tsunotori; show that asshole what class B can do!" Tetsutetsu, in contrast, was her most prominent supporter of the two classes.
"She's taking a real beating," Shoji noted. Having the best sight among them, he could track how each blast, punch, and kick took a little more out of her.
"Keeping her down will take more than a few scratches." Tokage had complete faith in their horse girl, the faith she proved when she dodged an explosive swing from Bakugo and hit him twice in the gut and chest, robbing him of breath and following it horseshoe covered kick which sent him back. However, he recovered just as quick as Tsunotori would. “Meanwhile, it seems like Bakugo isn’t handling taking damage all that well.” She added as Bakugo looked like he was really going to kill her.
Midoriya hummed, chewing on something a bit before he replied. “With an ego as big as his, he must have thought he could replicate what Iida and I did in our matches.”
“No,” they stopped as Kendo spoke up. The girl's eyes trained on Bakugo, how his face twisted and his eyes shined. “It’s more like…he’s enjoying it?”
To put it mildly, such was a strange thing to say, but when Midoriya also focused on Bakugo's face, he blinked in surprise. “I’ll be damned, you’ll right.” He couldn't recall the last time he had seen him smile like that. Bakugo had always been cocky, aggressive, rude, and dismissive of others. Anytime he would get happy, it was either because he won something to prove his dominance or he got something he wanted.
No…Midoriya looked closer at him. This wasn't like those times; it was almost like…he was enjoying the fight.
Line Break
“And Bakugo lands a devastating blow to Tsunotori’s gut, but will that be enough to keep her down?” Tsunotori went flying, landing with a tumble as she rolled a couple of times. Bakugo stood ready to continue the fight.
“Ouchie…” Tsunotori moaned in pain, slower getting up than she had been all the other times, but she got up, and she did. However, this brief pause in the fighting let her see how she looked on the jumbo screens, and she saw she looked like a mess. The bruise around her left eye was already turning black, matching the slightly blurred vision. Her hair was singed and messed up, while almost every inch of exposed skin was cut up, bruised, burnt, or some combination of the three.
But there was a lot of exposed skin. While her pants were largely intact, her top had been extensively damaged by all those explosions, showing parts of her blue sports bra underneath. That realization brought a little redder to her cheeks and not from the cuts. "Hey, I hope you're not breaking my clothes to catch a peek, you perv.” She yelled at Bakugo, whose face contorted in confusion for a moment before he looked down, and the realization made his cheeks just as red.
“Like I give a shit about how your tits look!” He stuttered back, but she didn’t hear that, only hearing that he insulted how she looked.
Anger coursed through her, and she clapped back as she lifted her hands into a boxing stance. “Hey, fuck you, I’m gorgeous, Mr. Momma says I’m handsome!” Bakugo yelled back at her as the two got back into it, only they fought with more ferocity this time around.
As horns and explosions flew across the arena, and the two kept taking more damage, Present Mic whistled into the mic. “Wow, I’ve heard of cats and dogs, but these two get as well together as puppies and fire-ants!”
“It’s not logical to let petty insults have such an effect on you, but on the other hand, they’re being pushed to fight even harder," Eraser noted as Bakugo launched himself over Tsunotori, who tried to counter with a surprise move, firing 4 horns at him and controlling each to come at a different angle. She had hoped to save this, but this was taking too much out of her. Besides, if she was the one to take down this loudmouth, that would be major bragging rights!
Despite being caught by surprise, Bakugo still had fast enough reflexes to avoid 3 of the horns, with the last managing to grab onto his pant leg. He instantly reacted to this as she liked to try and trip him up, so he immediately fired a blast forward, overpowering the downward swing the horn would have put him through and destroying his pantleg in the same move, freeing himself in a single move.
Continuing with his flight, he landed at Tsunotori's rear. When she turned to counter whatever attack he could have planned, she found him holding his hands out, his palms facing each other, as he gave her a victorious grin. "Stun Grenade!" Creating as bright an explosion as he could between his eyes, he effectively blinded Tsunotori, who cried out in shock and pain.
He capitalized on this as he kicked her in the side, following that with a punch to her other side and finishing it with an explosive strike right to her chest, sending her flying back. She landed roughly on her back with a grunt and a moan, every part of her in pain as she tried to stand up, only for Midnight's to cut her efforts short.
“Tsunotori is out of bounds! Bakugo moves into the semi-finals!" Tsunotori's one good eye widened as she looked down and saw that her entire torso was over the line. Bakugo seemed surprised by that, as he wasn't aiming for a ring-out and lost track of where they were on the field, but a win was a win.
"Dammit..!" Tsunotori ground out as she picked herself up, scornfully looking at Bakugo, who seemed to be riding high on his victory, that smug look returning to his face.
“And after a brutal slugfest, Bakugo takes the win!” Present Mic called Tsunotori and Bakugo met in the middle of the ring; both looked as beat up as they felt. Tsunotori might have taken most of the hits, but she made sure that the hits she did land counted.
“They both gave it their all and showed that they could take a few punches if it means victory, a good trait for heroes.” With Eraser’s commentary, they turned without a word and left the field, heading for their own exits.
"She put up a good fight; I bet most didn't think she'd last that long." Honenuki sighed.
“Still, it would have been nice if we started this round with a win.” Tokage lamented, with Komori and Yanagi nodding along.
"And the next round isn't even one we have a horse in," Awase noted, saying that Uraraka was up against Shoji.
Getting up with a stretch, Midoriya decided that because of that fact, he didn’t need to watch it. “That’s fair, so I think I’ll think I’ll make my exit now.” He waved at them as he walked out to leave and got ready for his match against Iida.
"If you pass Tsunotori on the way, give her your best," Shishida told him as he laughed quickly.
"You know it," Midoriya replied as he left, with Ojiro looking towards the person who was meant to go up against Midoriya.
“Will you also leave, Iida?” The spectacled speedster shook his head, offering a smile towards Uraraka.
“I would like to watch your match first, Uraraka.” She blushed a little at the encouragement.
"Honestly, I'm a little nervous about this, but I'll try my best." She admitted, but also getting up to make it to the changing rooms in time.
"You got this! Just make him float, and you're golden!" Mina cheered for her, the girl still in high spirits despite losing in the first rounds. However, the same couldn't be said about Yaoyorozu as Jiro and Asui sat by her to help her out of her funk.
As they did that, the frog girl noticed that despite how intense that last match got, they didn't hear a peep about skin, legs, or breasts from a particular pervert. "It's strange that Mineta's been quiet for this long(Kero). I would have expected him to comment about Tsunotori's clothes being torn." Looking towards where Mineta was, she saw that he was wrapped up tight in Sero’s tape.
As the boy struggled to free himself, Sero shrugged his shoulders. "We made sure he couldn't. Else, he invokes the wrath of class B." After Midoriya all but threatened to feed Mineta to tigers, they thought it best to keep Mineta from embarrassing them further. Besides, Shiozaki had given them all a glare earlier, making Sero pray that she didn't decide he was worth her attention.
“Smart.” Mina nodded her head, talking over Mineta. “Are you going to let him out?”
"After this match, he'll probably say something about Uraraka, and that sets off Iida," Sero replied, taking offense to the implication there as he stood straight up and tuned to them.
Chopping his hand at them, he made that clear. "I would never turn violent against him, even for his shameful behavior!" They laughed at the response, as they didn't think Iida wouldn't…on a good day. Still, one could never be sure, and besides, this was the first time since their first day Mineta commented about Kendo. When she heard him the first time, she threatened to use his body as a stress ball. If Mineta had gotten over the fear of her wrath, who knew what he could say.
"Sorry, man, but we're not taking the chance," Sero replied as they turned to the field and awaited the second quarter-final match.
Line Break
“Man, what a way to start the quarter-finals, wouldn't you say, Eraser, old buddy?” Present Mic asked in the moments before the second match could start.
“I've already said my piece about that. Bakugo should now focus on developing a game plan for whoever wins this next match.” Eraser replied, the names and faces of the two set to fight next on screens all over the place.
“Chin up, you can’t always be down.” Present Mic laughed.
“You dragged me into this.”
The much more extroverted commentator ignored that reply. “But you're right; we move on to the next quarter-final match!" The bonfires came to life as the two entered the arena.
“She managed to win against a jack of all trades; maybe it's better to take one skill and run to the end? From the hero course, Uraraka Ochaco!” Present Mic yelled for Uraraka, the girl getting a lot of love from the spectators, others seeing her as an underdog.
“Versus someone that had a fight that was even as intense as the last match, can he overwhelm her like he did his last opponent? From the hero course, Shoji Mezo!” In contrast, Shoji got a notably lesser amount of support. Still, Uraraka wasn't sure if he was affected by it as he marched towards the center of the ring like it was nothing. Still, she felt it was unfair but couldn't determine why.
But while she couldn't think of a reason, people like Asui, Ojiro, Koda, and Tokoyami could. The latter's eyes narrowed as he looked towards the crowds and saw how some people looked uncomfortable with Shoji. Others seemed annoyed that he was even there. It wasn't just those in class A who picked up on this; Kamakiri, Kuroiro, and Shiozaki also had their suspicions, with Kamakiri looking the most irritated of them.
“Fucking pricks.” He swore under his breath.
Back on the field, if Midnight noticed the drop in support between the two, she didn’t say anything as she looked both over before stepping back. “Oh, I can't wait to see who comes out on top; remember, kids, give it your all and then some!” Present Mic tried to bring back some energy to things, which was somewhat successful as the two got ready to fight, Uraraka with both hands at the ready while Shoji watched her for any clues.
“Uraraka vs Shoji, start!” As soon as Present Mic made the call, Uraraka rushed Shoji; if she could just touch him, she could make him weightless and throw him out of bounds. That was her best play, as even if he didn't have his quirk, he was much larger than her and could overwhelm her.
Shoji reacted to her charge with what looked like a mistake. He also ran to meet her, keeping low to the ground as he pulled back three of his arms to attack her. She dodged out of the way and tried to touch one of the arms, but they split apart, with her just missing the webbing between them. One of those arms came around and managed to hit her in the back, tripping her as she fell forward.
Thinking fast, Uraraka threw her hands forward and bent her elbows, and with as much force as she could muster, sprung herself up where she flipped and had a rough landing on her feet. This put her closer to Shoji, and she capitalized on it as she lunged forward and touched him, her quirk activating as soon as she felt her chest.
“Yes!” Uraraka cheered as she was so close to victory that she could make it to the semi-finals! With more force than she'll need, she turns and pushes against Shoji to send him into the air, harmless. But instead of meeting no resistance, he didn't budge.
“Sorry about this,” she looked up to his face, and while his mask hid most of his face, his eyes remained as calm as ever, though they carried a hint of an apology. But I'm not going down that easy." As he spoke, she tried to push him repeatedly, but while he moved just a bit, he didn't go flying, but that didn't make sense; she knew her quirk worked; it always worked!
“Oh, Shoji has anchored himself into the ground!” Her eyes widened as she looked and realized that his other hand had remained on his back, out of her vision. Looking to the side where one of the jumbo screens was, she saw that he had used all hands to grip the ground, his fingers cracking and piercing into the concrete floor to find a hold that kept him grounded.
“A smart play when facing off against someone with a quirk like Uraraka’s, but one that few can use if they don’t have the extra arms or taloned feet," Eraser noted as she Uraraka tried to jump back and make a new plan, as she knew he didn’t have gravity, so he couldn’t move from his spot, or at least not as fast as he’ll need to hold into the floor itself.
But her luck ran out almost as fast as she tried to flee as his other hands, the one she avoided, grabbed her by the collar and both hands, holding it behind her back and suspending her off the ground. She tried to fight against his hold, but he was much stronger than her, even with just half his arms-not especially with harm to his arms as she knew what he could lift in the gym.
Keeping himself hooked to the arena, lest her struggle throw him off balance, Shoji made his ultimatum: "Do you surrender, or do I need to throw you out of bounds?"
“I…” Uraraka continued to struggle but made no headway and fell slack. “Surrender.” She lowered her head to mask her frustration at being so easily defeated.
“Uraraka has surrendered! Shoji moves into the semi-finals!” Midnight's declaration was meant to applause and cheers, but it felt like only a third of the stadium was cheering for Shoji's win as he let her down. Looking up again, she didn't see if this affected him, but it surely affected her. As Shoji turned to leave, she called out to him.
“Hey, Shoji!” Shoji turned to her. “That was a good match! But I’ll get you next time, you hear me?” She stated that she had a big smile, which made the situation a little more bearable for him.
He knew she couldn't tell, so he shifted one of his hands into a mouth so that he could smile back at her. “I’m looking forward to it.”
She nodded, and despite her loss, she jogged up to him so they could leave through the same passage. "Hey, do you have any exercise tips? As you're like crazy strong. Once you grabbed a hold of me, I couldn’t even wiggle out a little bit.” She asked him, and the two fell into a quiet conversation as they left the field. Uraraka's presence got Shoji more positive attention, but he didn't care for any of him.
"She's a pure spirit." Shiozaki smiled as she watched the entire thing, focusing on that rather than the fury from watching how the spectators reacted to Shoji taking the spotlight.
"Yeah, maybe that Mineta pervert and Bakugo asshole are the exceptions, not the rule," Kamakiri replied, as it had been the same during his match with his fellow heteromorph. It seems not even U.A. was immune from it.
"They are!" Hagakure peeked over the wall at that last part, but Mineta was only now released from Sero's tape.
"I can assure you we'll be happy for Shoji's win and will cheer for him all the same as we would anyone else." Kendo smiled as she spoke, proud that despite the lukewarm reception from the crowds, her class was living up to what she believed heroes should be.
"Is that because he's up against Bakugo next? It's pretty easy to cheer against him," Tokage asked. She wasn't against the idea put forth by Kendo, but she couldn't resist asking the question.
Before she could get a response, the man in question walked up to them, most likely having been released by Recovery Girl. “What was that about me?” As always, Bakugo seemed irritated, and even his latest win couldn't lift his mood.
"You're dogshit and easy to cheer against," Awase repeated the sentiments in his own words, which led to Bakugo needing to be held back from charging them.
Line Break
As the two classes continued to chat, i.e-giving Bakugo reasons to try and attack class B, Midoriya sat in the waiting room and continued playing with the seeds he kept in his mouth from all the fruits he had for lunch. Iida wasn't going to be a fight like Tokoyami was; he's not a ranged fighter who can blindside, but quite the opposite. Also, as a speedster with his quirk in his legs, he didn't doubt that Iida's kicks would be much stronger than they would be for others.
But perhaps he could use Iida's mindset against him. He didn't keep an eye on him during the prelims, but for a speedster, one from the Iida family, to have only 7th in what was a glorified race, that didn't paint a favorable image of him. or perhaps, it was because he wasn't imaginative enough. Thinking back to his meetings with Iida and Kendo as class reps, Iida wasn't what he would call dynamic. Instead, he was a tool that could be used for other things but tended to just be used for just one task.
He was also one who preferred non-violence as he could have gone for a single block knock-out like Midoriya had done prior. Still, instead, he pushed Shiozaki out of the arena with no harm to her. 'Fast on his feet, but not necessarily creative enough to make the best use of that speed…also doesn't take the violent approach.' He thought to himself.
'He might try and replicate what he did to us earlier during the chariot race; I could anchor myself to the ground, but depending on what he grabs, he could just tear my shirt or dislocate one or both our shoulders.' Midoriya was confident that he could reinforce his body to prevent that. Still, it felt like an unnecessary risk, especially when it could end with Iida injuring himself, which might give him an advantage, but that felt cheap.
No…he wanted to make it clear that he won through his skills and strength. He wanted the world to see what he could do, what people could do if someone was willing to extend a hand to someone in need.
“Will the competitors please make their way to the field." Midoriya got up at the announcement and reached for the door. He took a breath through his nose and let it out his mouth before opening it and walking out. Just like the first time, there was no one else down here; even when he listened for footsteps, all he heard was the roar of the audience. As he approached the exit, that roar was just as loud as ever, if not more so.
'Makes sense; both Iida and I easily won our matches. There is also the fact this is the last chance for class B to go any further in the tournament.' He thought to himself, though that put more pressure on him, as his class's last dog in this fight. A weight made all the more potent because he was class representative, but he wouldn't buckle-he refused to buckle.
"Don't worry, everyone, I'm not falling here." He promised as he walked out into the light of day, seeing the arena waiting for him with the four bonfires burning bright.
“And we start with the 3rd match of the quarter-finals, folks! And let me tell you, this will be a battle of speed!” The fanfare was electric as their faces came up on the screen, the two near the arena as they reached the steps that led up to it.
“In the one corner, we have a feline fighter that defeated his last opponent with a single kick! From the hero course, it’s Midoriya Izuku!” As Present Mic introduced him, Midoriya took another breath. When he released it, he felt calmer, allowing him to walk up onto the field with the same cool confidence he had when he faced Tokoyami.
“And in the other corner, we have a man built for all things speed, a fact he showed all of us with his speedy victory in the last round! From the hero course, it’s Iida Tenya!” Iida was the same as well, matching up to the arena like a soldier on parade, his eyes just as serious as he wasn't about to underestimate this fight or this opponent who had seemed to make it a habit to surprise.
"You think he'll try and pull off another single-strike victory?" Kaminari asked as both classes watched this fight with a close eye.
“I,” Yaoyorozu was slow in responding, but Jiro, being at her side, encouraged her to speak up for the first time since she had made it back from her match. "I don't think so. Tokoyami doesn't fight up close, so it was best against him." Even then, she sounded unsure of her statement.
"But Iida is all about fighting up close, and with his speed, it would be hard to catch him off guard like Tokoyami was," Asui spoke up to support Yaoyorozu's assessment of things.
"I would still be wary of him; Midoriya is a crafty and observant foe. He refrained from striking sooner because he was studying me. He could easily replicate that approach.” Tokoyami added to the conversation, feeling the phantom pain from that kick to his side. He had never been walloped in his life; it felt like Midoriya had wished it; he could have done far more than just break 2 ribs.
Bakugo grunted, his arms crossed. “Four-eyes is too fast for that; Deku is better off finishing him off quickly.”
“What about you, Monoma? Any wisdom to share?” Fukidashi asked as Monoma had been right on the money the first time.
He could tell it wasn't just his class listening; class A also gave him their eye. It was pretty powerful to know that he was their best bet at figuring things out, but he didn't have a straight answer for them. "Midoriya can go about this several ways. All of which depends on what Iida's opening move is."
Back on the field, Midoriya eyed up Iida. “Let’s hope you don’t plan on trying to end this like you did against Shiozaki.”
Iida frowned at the statement. “And why is that?”
“Because,” Midoriya smiled at him, his cat ears flicking in anticipation. “I won’t be so easily bested.”
Line Break
I must admit, this wasn't my best work, as it felt a little hard to write at times and slow at others. Though part of that was an error in planning as I had had Uraraka be the one that won her fight, when I thought about it, that would be incredibly unlikely, more so because she's not trained in Gunhead martial arts yet or has her support tools. Hopefully, I will pick up the next chapter.
