The first round of the battle tournament between Todoroki and Koda kicked off…and ended in a flash.
Shoto didn't show any mercy at all. As soon as the battle began, he froze every part of the arena before him, which naturally included Koda's whole body.
The victory conditions for this event is to either immobilize, get the opponent out of bounds, or make them surrender. Koda, who was unable to move, was deemed defeated.
"Heh, Todoroki seems really pumped up."
Kirishima said, a drop of cold sweat on his forehead. If he was subjected to the same treatment, would he be strong enough to break through?
"I wouldn't say pumped up. Compared to usual, he seems more…chill."
"Pfft! That was lame!"
Mina chortled and slapped Hiro's arms. They were currently at the front row seats together with the other 1A students. They watched as Todoroki removed the ice on Koda, the Animal whisperer now shivering as the two of them went back.
"Koda-san is really unlucky. And he couldn't even use his Quirk to the fullest because of the tournament format. Hopefully, his previous performance had already made other heroes take note of him."
Momo said with a frown. As the class leader, she sincerely hopes that everyone in 1A will succeed to become pro heroes in the future.
"You should worry about yourself first. Your Creation Quirk isn't suitable for head-on confrontation either."
"That's only relatively speaking. Besides, our training already helped me shore up some of that weakness."
Momo replied to Hiro, her hands on her hips.
"Hmm, just be more cautious. Anyways, Uraraka and her opponent are already heading onstage- it's your turn next."
"I'll do my best!"
Momo clenched her fist as she stood up. Then, under everyone's well wishes, she and Tokoyami left for their respective preparation room.
Meanwhile, the match between Uraraka and her opponent, Yui Kodai, had just begun.
Uraraka's eyes narrowed. She entered the combat stance taught by Hiro and rushed forward. On the other hand, Kodai kept a blank expression as she slightly bent her knees and retreated.
Uraraka didn't know Kodai's Quirk, so she approached while being on constant alert about her opponent's action. It was a pity there were no items on the field she could use to probe from a long distance, so her only option was close combat.
What Uraraka didn't know was, Kodai faced a more severe problem than her. Her Quirk, Size, grants her the ability to alter the size of any inanimate object she touches. Whether for long range battle or as support, it was very useful.
But without any objects to use on, her ability was almost crippled.
Kodai could only grab the very few pieces of ice left from Todoroki's attack that were not melted and hurled them at Uraraka. Those fragments increased in size mid-air, but the alert Ochaco had been prepared and easily dodged them.
Now having identified her opponent's Quirk, Uraraka increased her speed. She easily dodged the few pieces of ice that Kodai threw at her, slowly closing the distance.
When she entered the striking range, she stepped sideways, dodging her opponent's desperate slap and then striking her at the back of the neck.
Yui Kodai's eyes rolled upwards. Her limp body was caught by Uraraka, who then breathed a sigh of relief.
"And the match is over! The winner is Ochaco Uraraka!"
"Wohhh!"
The crowd burst into applause. Although not as boisterous as when Todoroki froze half of the arena, it still made the gravity girl feel a surge of joy.
"That was awesome, Ochacho-chan!"
"Congrats on the win!"
Back at the arena seats, Uraraka beamed. She thanked everyone who greeted her, before she walked in front of Hiro.
"Hehehe, how was my form, Hiro-kun? Did I make any mistakes?"
Hiro noticed the look of anticipation on her face, and his smile became a bit doting.
"Well, the match was too short to fully show everything you've learned. Your footwork was solid though, and that last strike- it was fantastic. Considering you've only started learning last month, I'd say you did very well."
"Hehehe~"
Hiro patted her head. The silly smile on her face after being praised- it always reminded him of the younger children in the orphanage.
"U-Uraraka! I think you did great, too!"
Suddenly, a loud and somewhat panicky voice came from the side. Midoriya had stood behind their seat at some point, a stiff smile on his face.
"Thanks, Deku! Good luck in your fight, too!"
"Yeah! Midoriya, let's have a manly battle!"
Midoriya awkwardly nodded to Kirishima. Their match would be after Momo and Tokoyami's, so the two of them left together.
After a few minutes of commentary from Present Mic and Aizawa, the third match of the tournament commenced.
On the stage, Momo and Tokoyami vigilantly eyed each other. Momo came onstage barefoot, which aroused discussion among the audience members.
"Are the two of you ready?"
"Yes, Midnight-sensei!/Yes."
"Then let the battle…begin!"
Midnight cracked her whip, and the two contestants sprung into action.
Momo jumped backwards. And on her bare feet, a familiar pair of shoes with spring appeared.
With its importance for her mobility, along with its simplicity, Momo already familiarized herself with the creation of the spring shoes.
And on her opponent's side, a dark shadow in the shape of a bird emerged from behind Tokoyami. It flew through the air, its claws held in a menacing manner as it headed for Momo.
The both of them were very familiar with each other's Quirk, so there was no need for much probing. No.
It was precisely because they were familiar with their opponent's Quirk that Tokoyami immediately launched a fierce attack.
The dark shadow's speed was fast. Momo just barely dodged with the help of the spring shoes she just created. Even so, with its ability to fly, the dark shadow quickly stopped its own momentum mid-air and continued its chase.
They ran all over the arena for a few minutes- the constant pursuit forcing Momo to keep her full attention on the Dark Shadow.
Momo frowned as she once again dodged the shadow's attack, sweat seeping from her forehead. It couldn't go on like this.
Her plan before this battle was simple- take advantage of Tokoyami's Quirk being weak to light.
Her idea was to first create a flashbang. Then, while he was disoriented and his Quirk temporarily unusable, she'd make a 200,000 lumen flashlight that would guarantee her the win. But now, let alone a flashlight, she wasn't even given enough time to create a flashbang.
She needed to change her strategy.
As the dark shadow lunged towards her again, Momo's eyes narrowed. Instead of retreating to the side, she moved diagonally forward. In her hands, a wooden staff slowly materialized- an item she had also familiarized herself with creating.
Since she couldn't disable his Quirk, then she'd go directly for Tokoyami.
Seeing the approaching Momo, Tokoyami's eyes narrowed. He didn't immediately retract his Dark Shadow. Instead, he took on a familiar combat stance while commanding his Quirk to approach the black-haired girl from behind.
Momo, too focused on creating the wooden staff and looking out for attacks from behind, noticed everything too late.
With a thwack, wood met flesh. Tokoyami gritted his teeth and took a step back. However, his purpose had been achieved.
With Momo's momentum being stopped, his Dark Shadow finally caught up to her for the first time in this battle. Its right hand expanded and slapped her to the ground.
Momo grunted. She clenched her teeth and pressed her palms against the ground, with the intent to quickly stand up and gain distance. However, Tokoyami would not give her that chance.
Dark Shadow attacked once again and sent her flying outside the arena. Without any foothold, she could only despair as her body hit the green grass.
"Momo Yaoyorozu is out of bounds! The winner of the match is Fumikage Tokoyami!"
Momo grimaced. She fought to keep the disappointment from showing on her face as the audience burst into cheers.
She limped towards Tokoyami to shake hands. As they did, the bird-headed boy hissed in pain. Although no bones were broken, catching the wooden staff with his bare hands still made his palms swell.
Midnight, seeing this, sent the both of them into the infirmary.
A/N: You can access advanced chapters on patreon.com/Ked2002