Hero Academia: Rise Above Max Omega! [My Hero Academia RP/Co-Hosted by Chaos Sonic and Yui/pg-13/IC/NA]

[scooterulez]

The few seconds of the silence from 1-B was awkward, but someone was bound to move to meet or threaten him for who knows what. One student finally moved, but only his head moved as it stretched towards Aaron until he got uncomfortably close, causing Aaron to take a step back. "So...this is what Class 1-A has to offer huh?  I'm not entirely impressed.  Looks like we're a shoe-in to win this tournament." The rest of his body finally caught up to him to form a normal looking individual. "Yo.  My name's Hiroki Goto. You don't seem to be from around here...so I'll pardon your intrusion for now.  We like to obey the rules in this class. Well...most of us anyway." 

 

He must be referring to Valerie. “I’m sorry, I thought it was-” Aaron was immediately interrupted by another student as she proceeds to rush towards him to accuse him of “being evil” of spying and a few other things. She calmed down and promptly told Aaron to leave the class. “Uhh, okay?”

 

"Don't listen to her.  She's just pumped up is all. Isn’t that right, Erika?” Erika became horrifically offended that not only that her name was “revealed” but now Aaron had it in his possession. "I’m sorry if my presence made everyone go ballistic, and yes, Erika, I came in hopes of knowing everyone’s Quirks. But. . . I merely came just because I couldn’t stand the noise of my own peers, myself included. I thought coming over to you guys would be a good change of pace in making friends outside of 1-A, but I can see I was in the wrong."

 

"Yeah right!"  Erika chimed in with the same vigor as before. "You smell that Goto? You better ring the smoke alarm, cause someone's pants are on fire!  Isn't that right, liar?!"

 

"Don't mind her...she likes to talk, even though no one really listens. I feel the same way with Valerie...she's a bit...much.  I'd hate to see your class if you had to get yourself out of there."

 

“I guess there is one in every class then. I would prefer Valerie over my classmates Gin and Creed any day. Would it be okay if I stayed until the next bell? I mean, I broke rules just being here.” Goto just stared blankly at Aaron before responding to the question. "Look...Aaron, right?” Aaron nodded. “There are plenty of other places around the school for you to hang out.  A lot of the students here probably aren't too keen on a student from 1-A in here.  For much of them, you're the enemy.  Might I suggest the roof?  That place is really peaceful around this time.  And you won't get all of these crazy glares." Aaron looked past Goto to see the glares of everyone else in agreement. "Leave! Leave! Quickly leave!"  Shouted Erika as she proceeds to push Aaron out the room, completely catching him off guard. As she let go of Aaron past the entryway, Aaron noticed some of her nails had little rainbows on them. Gaining back some composure, he looked back at the entryway. “Well, it was very nice to meet you both, Goto and Erika." Erika stuck her tongue out in retaliation. "We'll try to hang out some other time when there isn't some huge stress-inducing tournament plaguing UA.”

 

Goto flashed a peace sign back. "Good luck kid. You're gonna need it."

 

“Same to you guys. Later.” Aaron turned back towards whence he came, hoping that Valerie has ended her rampage in the class and would start making her way back to hers. However, the image of Erika’s cute nail art plagued Aaron’s mind as he walked.

[Yui]

---

"Your quirk? I haven't seen it, but I am pretty sure based on context that it is a family heirloom. I recognized your face, and the name you chose reinforced it." 

 

...eh? Asuka's attention snapped away from the other students directly around her. Her head swiveled back toward Akira, who likewise was turning to face her as well. He seemed like a very low-energy type of person. Asuka moved closer to the desk as he continued. She wasn't really liking the words coming out of his mouth. Each one felt like somebody had dropped a dumbbell on her back, and the pressure of the situation - the pressure she perceived, anyway - was getting pretty rough pretty fast.

 

"I would be lying if I said I had plans, but if you want to take me out on a date just to throw me off of who you are, that sounds tiring beyond imagination. Besides, you should know that I really don't care. I just remember a person who was on the news about a decade ago. I'm not emotionally invested in your family tree."

 

That was... some weight off Asuka's chest. She was still pretty shaken by how effortlessly Akira had inferred and pointed out Asuka's lineage, but she didn't feel ready to just drop onto the floor like she had moments ago. She was still pale in the face, and absolutely taken aback by Akira's analytical abilities, but she took what little relief she could out of him not caring. She wasn't sure how she would have to respond at first, but now that she knew she wasn't going to have to fight this boy over having a villain for a mother at first, but eventually thought of something. The only thing that really mattered to her at the time. Asuka leaned in, so that the others wouldn't have to hear her, and said in a hushed tone, "Please don't tell anyone about this."

 

Following her request up with a tiny bow, Asuka went back to her desk, letting out a long exhale as she sat down, as if she'd been standing up and holding her breath for a year. Between Creed's interrogation last week, and now Akira, Asuka was starting to get why people didn't like Mondays. Meanwhile, Ino was returning to her own desk as well, and turned in her seat to face Asuka as she sat down. She seemed quite pleased with Asuka for some reason.

 

"You really think you could take Gin on?! You're so cool Asuka! Tell me how! Tell me how!"  

 

"Er, let's see..." Come to think of it, how did Asuka plan to take Gin on? Admittedly, she kind of just said all that good "I'll win it all" talk in the heat of the moment, but wasn't sure on how to follow up on it with actions. "I'll, um... figure it out some other time."

---

"Dunno what you mean, this is how I talk is all! Life's too short to waste time paying attention to things like volume, I always say!"

 

"I see." She's one of those people then. The over-energetic types. Aaron had taken off already. Best Sayuri do the same. She had no intentions of leaving the classroom though. Instead, she left with a quick wave goodbye in Valerie's direction, and started in the direction she'd come from, toward her desk. She hadn't gotten much time to work on her drawing over the last week, and was willing to take whatever break she could get to improve on that, to avoid getting rusty.

 

And so, once the girl had gotten to her desk, she unceremoniously seated herself, pulled forth the sketchpad from her bag, and got to work. I think a sci-fi sort of scenery might be good today. I haven't tried texturing metal in a while. An abandoned space station maybe... yeah, let's go with that. The pedigree hero got to work, applying pencil to paper as the image came to her mind.

---

[~*Winter*~]

---

Creed sat at his desk, watching as the other students wrote their code names up on the board. Of particular interest were Asuka and Akira’s chosen names. Asuka decided on “Hematite,” which, as he learned in middle school, was another name for “Blood Stone.” Creed watched her carefully as she returned to her seat, wondering if she realized what her code name meant. However, he opted not to say anything.

For Akira’s name, it wasn’t the name that was interesting, but how it was written. Akira avoided using the chalk to write, instead using what appeared to be his Quirk. His words looked as if they were purely light, glowing like the sun and easily overpowering the ambient light of the room. While Creed was fixated on this display, Akira walked by his desk and dropped a hoodie in front of Creed. “You are going to clean this mess you made.”

Creed shrugged. “Fair enough.” He was the one that doused him in a sugary drink, after all. Creed flattened out the hoodie and folded it somewhat nicely before placing it in a spare empty compartment of his bag. After Akira sat back down, the remaining students went up to present their names, while Suna finished off with his own Hero Name.

After Suna left the classroom with Madam Mic to register everyone’s names, the class experienced its next interruption for the day.

"Attention, Class 1-A! I am Valerie Clark of class 1-B! I have come here to make an announcement. I hope none of you plan on winning the up-coming tournament cause if so you'll be disappointed. There's only one person who has the skill to take first place and she's standing right here! But don't worry, coming in second place directly under me is still quite the achievement."

The girl was incredibly loud. Most of the other students in the class went up to introduce themselves to the stranger. Creed noticed that Aaron had decided to leave the classroom, for a second time, saying something about being “done with 1-A.” Creed zoned out a bit as he watched the commotion at the front of the class.

Creed came to as Valerie approached quickly. She placed a hand on his desk and leaned towards him. ”You look like you got something to say. What’re you waiting for, an invitation?”

Creed leaned in as well, their faces almost touching. ”Well, I was considering going up, but I don’t think you really need to know me.” As Creed spoke, he slowly stood up, until he was looking down on her. There was never more than a couple inches between their noses. “Either way, first place? Setting your goals a little high, aren’t we?” He placed his hand on top of Valerie’s head, and started speaking in full English. “Try to aim for something on your level, sweetie.”

---

[King K. Azo]

"Even if we don't fight in the tournament you can bet your ass I want to have a fight with you. I get the feeling it'd be a wild match. As for my quirk, heh, I think it's best to show not tell these things. And I don't think your teacher would appreciate if I caused his class to drop unconscious." She winked at him amicably as he walked away.
 
"I'll hold you to that then!" Terro stated, a wide grin on his face. Man, this tournament was going to be great!
 
"Kohryu, huh?" Ichiro said "That is pretty amazing...plus its very fitting for you." he said, smiling some. "Won't lie, I sort of wish that I could've thought of something up that was even close to being cool."
 
"What are you talking about?" Terro asked, tilting his head. "Atlas is awesome name!" He said. "A giant that held up the sky up on his shoulders? That's awesome!" He rubbed his chin. "You know, I could be considered the earth and you the sky. We'd just need someone to cover water and we could be the world," He turned his head as he heard Isami answer.
 
"It looks good!" Isami said, flashing him a thumbs up. "Suits you well." 
 
"Thanks!" Terro said with a smile. He looked over to Sayuri to see if she had written an answer on her board... but it seems she to have ignored him. She seemd to have done that a lot recently. Did he offend her at the beginning of the year? 
 
"EH!?!?" Terro looked over to Gin. Seems something set him off again. "How many losers do I gotta threaten up here before we get this straight?! This tournament...you really think you have a chance?!  PATHETIC!"  Gin pointed his finger at the girl, a wicked frown was all that rest on his face.  "You come here, and declare war on my class?  The class I'm in?!  Give me a break! This coming from the girl from the reject class!  Aw man, this is just too good."  Gin's demeanor turned back to it's normal status, calm but brooding, to stare the girl in the eyes. "Try all you want...but you can't win against me.  Hell, you might lose to half of this class.  But I'm gonna be the one at the top...I'm gonna prove that I'm the best.  YA HEAR ME?!"  Gin looked back to his class room, his eyes tracing to three of them in particular: Akira, Creed, and Terro.  "And don't think being in the same class is gonna save you either!  I haven't even begun to get serious yet..."

 

"You don't go to many tournaments, do ya Gin?" Terro mused out loud. However, he decided to answer his challenge. "The same goes for you. I'll be coming with everything I got!" He turned to the rest of his class, smiling. "Sorry, but I agree with Gin. Let's do our best! It won't be like our first day tests. I'll come at each and everyone one of you at full power!"

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

As Valerie watched this man lean in, she was reminded of the last time a boy did this. She doubted that this relative stranger was going to try and kiss her but she was fully prepared to break his jaw the moment he tried.

 

Thankfully he only wished to threaten her.

 

”Well, I was considering going up, but I don’t think you really need to know me. Either way, first place? Setting your goals a little high, aren’t we?”

 

As Creed put his hand on her head, he would feel more intensely the heat radiating off her body. It wasn't a burning heat at the moment, but it would be at very least uncomfortably warm. She didn't try and knock his hand away as she knew she'd win this particular endurance contest.

 

It was odd having someone only a few inches taller pointing to her height as an issue. She didn't really mind his touch, she wasn't one to be uncomfortable with physical contact, but something about his stance was kind of creepy.

 

He really was trying to intimidate her, wasn't he? She grinned and laughed at the boy, especially with the next words.

 

“Try to aim for something on your level, sweetie.”

 

"That's what I'm trying to do." Valerie said, looking directly into Creed's eyes. "The problem is I can't find anyone high enough level."

[VCR_CAT]

Mike

 

"You'll both have to get through me if you want to win," Asuka commented, her tone conveying confidence.. "I'm not about to let just anyone walk off doing better than me, so I hope you both bring your A-game! Ah, I'm Asuka."

 

Mike was taken aback at first, but his face slowly evolved into a smile. "Yeah! I hope we all bring our best out there!"

 

Valerie laughed. "Now THAT'S what I'm talking about! Glad to see my victory won't be TOO one-sided."

 

Of course, just as Mike was beginning to feel happy about the people around him, he realized that not all good things were to last. "EH!?!?" Gin stormed to the opening of the classroom. "How many losers do I gotta threaten up here before we get this straight?!" He yelled, almost spewing venom at Valerie. "This tournament...you really think you have a chance?!  PATHETIC!" Gin pointed his finger at the girl, a wicked frown was all that rest on his face. "You come here, and declare war on my class? The class I'm in?! Give me a break!" His angry facade was almost broken, as he held back every bit of himself that wanted to laugh at her face. "This coming from the girl from the reject class!  Aw man, this is just too good." Gin's demeanor turned back to it's normal status, calm but brooding, to stare the girl in the eyes. "Try all you want... but you can't win against me. Hell, you might lose to half of this class. But I'm gonna be the one at the top... I'm gonna prove that I'm the best. YA HEAR ME?!" Gin looked back to his class room, his eyes tracing to three of them in particular: Akira, Creed, and Terro. "And don't think being in the same class is gonna save you either! I haven't even begun to get serious yet!" His stomach growled abruptly, as he passed Valerie through the doorway.

 

Mike's fist clenched, and he ground it into the palm of his other hand, green sparks lighting off of where his fist met his hand. His expression had darkened considerable. "I hope we get matched first," Mike growled through gritted teeth under his breath, but coughed and did his best to compose himself once he remembered the people around him. He was at least thankful Gin had decided to leave the room so soon. Creed walked past Mike, probably towards Valerie, and as that happened Mike was suddenly reminded of his costume. Grabbing the case, he exited the classroom and made his way to the bathroom, locking himself in one of the stalls as he took quite a bit of time to figure out how to get the costume on. For a full-body suit with technology involved, there were quite a few steps, but after taking a few moments he was able to figure out what was going on quickly enough. At least he didn't need any help getting it on.

 

The suit felt heavy at first, with the gauntlets, boots, and backpack. The helmet also felt like it would need some getting used to before he was able to really make full use of his costume. Once he was done, he packed his clothes neatly into the costume case and checked himself out in the mirror, a wide grin spreading on his face before he grabbed his things and returned to the class. Entering in, Mike made a bit of an entrance pose, but noticed that everyone else was doing their own thing. Taking off his helmet, he looked around and turned to Asuka and anyone around her.

 

"Well? How does it look?" He asked as he continued to check out the gear himself.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

"What are you talking about? Atlas is awesome name! A giant that held up the sky up on his shoulders? That's awesome! You know, I could be considered the earth and you the sky. We'd just need someone to cover water and we could be the world."

 

Ichiro looked at Terro and was a bit happy that someone did think his name was actually a good one. He only nodded a bit before chuckling at Terro's thought. "Actually...that would be pretty amazing to see." he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "That would honestly be a pretty cool team to see put together."

 

He saw that most of the other students were already getting their costumes on, so he took his briefcase and clenched his hand around it. "I'll be back." he simply said, moving as quick as he could to the restroom, just so he could put his costume on and see how it looked on him.

 

 

-A Few Minutes Later-

 

Ichiro stood there at the restroom sinks, just staring at himself in the mirror while also staring at his helmet. He felt...strange for some reason. Wearing this outfit, this costume, made him feel...

 

I...I don't know what I'm feeling. he thought, looking at his helmet before finally sighing and walking out of the restroom.

 

Holding the helmet under his right arm, he felt his heart beating faster right now as he approached the classroom again. He assumed this was normal for a student who was wearing their first hero costume. The keyword was assume, mind you. Still, he continued towards the classroom and finally exhaled a bit and walked back into the classroom.

 

Making it back to his desk after passing a few of the other students, he put his helmet down on his desk and kept making fists, clenching them and unclenching them as he tried his best to get a feel for the suit in general.

[Mr. Hyde]

 

"That guy's boiling over ain't he? I can't wait to take him on."

 

The girl who had barged in here and declared war was pretty psyched at the idea of taking on one of the head generals.  Ino shivered at the thought of standing on the other side of Gin's warpath.  

 

"You sure have a death wish don't you Valerie?"  She chuckled lightly.  It was then Asuka perked up to answer how she was going to take on the devil himself.  Holy Water infused stones?!  A salt circle?!  Her speculations ran rampant!  

 

"Er, let's see...I'll win it all.  I'll, um... figure it out some other time."

 

"Eheheh...you don't seem very confident in yourself, do you Asuka?"  Ino let out a small sigh of disappointment.  She was hoping on gathering a little insight, just in case she were to fight Gin himself.  Surely, a battle-strategy thought up by the calm and collected Asuka was far superior to any 'plan' she could muster up herself.  

 

"Sorry, but I agree with Gin. Let's do our best! It won't be like our first day tests. I'll come at each and everyone one of you at full power!"

 

Now Terro had caught the battle-ready virus?!  Ino quivered at the fact that Terro wasn't going to hold back, even a little.  Was he going to throw the whole planet at her?!  SCARY!  Ino tossed and turned in her chair at the thought of it.  

 

"Well? How does it look?"

 

Ino stopped churning in her seat to look around, only to find Mike clad in a scarlet suit, with his helmet under his arm.  Ino's eyes grew wide, as she smiled.  

 

"Geez Mike!  You look like you just jumped straight out of a comic book!  It looks so cool!"  Ino looked to her suit, which sat on her text.  It looked so plain, but the rest of her class was going all out with their hero aesthetics.  Ino pouted, crossing her arms.  "It's not fair.  You've got a cool helmet!"  The only costume she could find that was lamer than her's was...her eyes narrowed as she scanned the rest of the class, her eyes focusing once they reached someone in particular.  She slid beside Terro, poking his admittedly hard arms.  "Hey Terro, you've got pretty plain tastes too, huh?"  She snickered a little before continuing to poke his other muscles.  Once she was done prodding, she slid up against Asuka and pinched her left cheek, vibrating her fingers as she did.  "I don't wanna think about this stuff anymore!  Let's just go shopping and get our minds off of it, okay?"    

 

It wasn't before long that everyone had returned to their assigned classes, and the bell dismissed them to return home.  Each and every one of them, ensured of their victory above all others.  

 

 

It seemed that time had passed in the blink in an eye, as two weeks had passed before anyone knew it.  The festivities before the tournament were going off without a hitch, as the school ground was filled with the roaring air of excitement, and fun.  Balloons, festive foods, and all sorts of U.A. merchandise could be seen at stands outside of the U.A.'s battledome, where the Tournament would take place.  The student's, meanwhile, would be gathered in a room.  In the front of the room, Principal Glory, Suna, and Mako Morano, the 1-B Teacher, looked on the participating student's with weary eyes.  Principal Glory cleared his throat, the noise reverberating off of the metal of his helmet.  

 

"So, Let us now brief you on the Tournament rules.  This should be evident, but killing your opponent is not advised.  Your teacher's will be the referees throughout the tournament, and will stop any needless violence, or will make sure things don't go too far.  That being said, minor injuries are allowed.  We advise you that should you feel like your opponent might overwhelm you, we plead that you surrender immediately.  Although...due to the past...we don't think that's very likely."  

 

"Geez...this sounds way scarier now."  Ino said with her hands shaking.  She looked to see Gin across the room with a devilish smile on his face.  Seeing that expression made her start to vibrate intensely.  His pupils were dancing around the room, as if tangoing with each participant in his brain, and seeing how far he could push this rule.  Once his eyes targeted her, she flinched away from his sight.  Hearing him snicker...this was a playground for people like him.  

 

"Be reminded that knocking your opponent unconscious is not the only way to go about victory.  You can push your opponent out of bounds of the arena, should you wish to not inflict such injury upon your fellow classmates.  Doing that will be called a knockout, and the last man standing in the ring will continue on."  Glory then took a remote that had been hidden from view, and tapped a button, causing a projector screen to fall from the ceiling.  "We will now be showing who you're up against.  This is a single elimination tournament, with no losers bracket.  Be wary that once you're knocked out, it's over.  Therefore, give this your all.  Hero Agencies from all over the world look to our school for some of the best gifted youth.  You might even land a contract if you're lucky."  Once the screen stopped, Glory flicked another button, and the bracket was shown for all to see.  

 

 

As soon as everyone could take in what the bracket read, there was a tense silence in the room.  Thinking back on it, some of them were friends.  Was it really alright to be going all out against someone in your own class?  The thought racked around Ino's mind.  

 

"The first round will begin soon.  But until then, you might as well take part in the festivities outside!"  Glory turned the projector off, and started walking out of the door with the other two teachers.  "Give it your best shot today!  And remember - 

 

RISE ABOVE MAX OMEGA!"

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

The two weeks leading up to the tournament were long and hard for Ichiro. So much to learn and so much to try and figure out through his training, but nevertheless, with Rei there every step of the way to encourage him, he did his best to keep up with the requests and commands that Omega Star had for him and his training.

 

And when the time of the tournament came around...

 

 

 

-BGM-

 

"Jeez...I haven't gotten into the arena yet and I'm already feeling my heart racing..." Ichiro said, putting his hand on his chest as he and Rei walked towards the arena. "Thanks again for being able to come to watch, Rei."

 

"You kiddin'? I get to cheer for my little bro as he goes off and shows his power off to the world!" Rei said, ruffling Ichiro's hair some. "I wouldn't miss it for anything!"

 

This both relieved Ichiro and also made him nervous as heck. He was just glad that Rei's new job was a bit more kinder to the fact that he had a brother who had a Quirk and was alright with him supporting this festival. As the two reached the arena, Rei gave Ichiro a quick thumbs up before telling him that he'd wait outside. After all, Ichiro received a message saying that the students would be meeting to talk about this tournament in more detail.

 

-A Few Moments Later-

 

"So, Let us now brief you on the Tournament rules.  This should be evident, but killing your opponent is not advised.  Your teacher's will be the referees throughout the tournament, and will stop any needless violence, or will make sure things don't go too far.  That being said, minor injuries are allowed.  We advise you that should you feel like your opponent might overwhelm you, we plead that you surrender immediately.  Although...due to the past...we don't think that's very likely."

 

These were the overall rules of the Tournament, as Principal Glory spoke explained. To Ichiro, these seemed very straight forward, especially about the part that one could even just push out an opponent if need be. Though what got to him, was the bracket list of the tournament fights that truly got him.

 

My match is the 4th one...and I'm up against...Mike. Ichiro thought, his eyes looking from the projection in the direction of Mike. He stared at the young man for a bit, remembering how much power and potential he had during "the incident"...so this definitely would be a hell of a bout between them. His fists began to clench as he thought of the match. And it looks like Terro's match is last and against Ino...

 

Things seemed to definitely be in an interesting set up. And as they were dismissed, Ichiro left the room and saw Rei outside waiting for him with a few sticks of teriyaki chicken. Always looking after him, Ichiro supposed...

 

"Hey Ichi! Brought you some teriyaki chicken." Rei said, handing him the sticks. "I thought you could some in preparation for your match."

 

Ichiro nodded, taking the sticks and chuckling lightly. "After seeing my opponent...yeah, these are definitely needed." he said, about to dig in and eat some of the teriyaki chicken, but stopped when he noticed Terro walking beside an elderly gentleman. "Terro! Hey Terro!" he said, waving at him to try and get him over.

 

"Friend of yours?"

 

"Yeah, guess you could say that. He's the guy that fell over..."

 

"Wait. He's THAT guy?!" Rei exclaimed, about ready to laugh.

 

"Rei! He already apologized for that...don't bring it back up!" Ichiro sighed, shaking his head some.

[scooterulez]

As Aaron got closer to the 1-A door, he noticed that the classroom sounded as if all, but a few classmates have gone somewhere else. Maybe Valerie left as well, but I didn’t see her on my way back. He turned the corner to see that everyone was getting their suits on and Valerie was getting along with everyone. Gin was missing from the room as well when Aaron entered the class getting a full view. “Hey, Val. Goto, Erika, and the rest of your peers are missing you a whole lot, they asked if you can come back to 1-B before the bell.”
 
"What would those guys do without me, guess I should hurry up." Valerie rushed past Aaron after saying goodbye to 1-A. The rest of school was just tournament hype and costume fitting, then the release of the bell ensured training for the week after for those who went to train with Pros.

~ Mid-Week of Training with Principal Glory (Currently taking a break) ~
 
"So, why did you pick me, Mr. Strom?"
 
"I had at least 2 main reasons why, but one of them is just a silly thought and maybe unrealistic at this point even if I did tell you."
 
"Well...I don't want to prod.  But as your mentor for the week, I'm slightly curious."
 
"Well. . . My initial reason was wanting to learn swordplay, never learned how to use one, let alone dual wielding. However, I also wanted to know everyone's quirks in preparation for the tournament next week, especially 1-B."
 
"And you thought I'd tell you? HOHOHOHOHO!" Glory smacked Aaron on the back, losing air from the impact that Glory made. Catching his breath, "Yeah, which is why it was silly for telling, but at least I got that off my chest."[/size]
 
"Well, I see you at least have a sense of integrity!  A very necessary quality for a hero!"
 
"I guess. However, I feel a lack of patience and confidence in myself and others. I feel everyone sees me as a joke than a hero. . ."
 
"What do you see yourself as?"
 
Aaron thought for a second. "I see myself as a coward and a hypocrite when it comes to being a social butterfly. . . but I'm willing to stand up for what's right, even if it scares me to do so. . . Doubt seems to overpower the latter in all ways, maybe because I'm not doing all that I can do. . . Back home, I always did things that I never liked doing, like camping, but I feel the most satisfied doing those unlikable things when others needed help or encouragement in doing such activities. I feel the opposite in UA maybe because I've become uncertain with myself since coming here or I'm blind to see the opportunities around me."
 
Glory stirred around in thought for a moment.  "Teenage angst...is it at an all-time high this year?"  He whispered to himself, his armor rattling at the sound.  "Why are you uncertain?  Your quirk is highly versatile in all aspects.  You wouldn't be able to get into U.A. otherwise, correct?"  Glory took a breath before drawing his sword.  "There is no doubt in a true heroes heart.  They are the most selfless people in this world.  It's not about what you don't like doing...it's about doing what needs to be done."
 
"Granted, it has nothing to do with my quirk, teenagers are still mentally growing up, though many adults want us to be mature adults right now. Doubt will still linger even when we think it's gone, but I need to be fully motivated and diligent for my future goals. I chose this discipline over other prospects because I want to be an example to my younger brother who is struggling mentally. I have no doubt that I can help him just by overcoming my shortcomings and press forward through the trails I will now and forever experience here in UA!"
 
"A good motivation as well.  Making sure our future generations have good role models as well!  That too is the duty of a true Hero!"  From Glory's armor, a short sword was created in its entirety and handed to Aaron.  "Now, let's work on how you can put those values to the test on the field!"
 
"Yes, Sir!"

~BGM!~

A week has gone like that and the day of the tournament has come. The school was crowded with festival merchandise and the smell of fried food filled the air. With only a week of training with Principal Glory and suit in hand, Aaron felt more confident in his combat ability for today’s event, more than last week, even he got encouragement from his family wishing him good luck in the tournament. He still had minor bruises on his person, but they were signs of hard work for the festival.
 
After the rules were explained and the roster was set, they were released to go prepare for their matches. Aaron noticed that not all 1-B’s students were participating, but Erika, Goto, and Valerie were among those who were participating. Aaron was placed in the 3^rd match with someone named Aina Hano, so there was time to focus and prepare for his match. Aaron passed through the open halls overlooking the field where he saw students participating in pre-show activities. Sudden jitters came upon Aaron but quickly shook them off and continued to a room to focus. 

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Valerie, positioned near the front of the crowd, listened intently as the principle explained the rules of the tournament. It was a lot of words but it boiled down to some simple things.

-No excessive and fatal force

-Winner is determined by either knock out or ring out

-Single elimination bracket

 

For Valerie is was even simpler. Beat the opponent, don't kill them. She could do that. She could SO totally do that.

She was hyped. And it showed. Even as she stood there watching Valerie was moving. Bouncing on her heels and jabbing the air like a boxer. She was getting herself pumped while also working up a bit of a sweat.

 

She nearly cheered when she saw the bracket. There were four people in particular she wanted to face from 1-A. Gin, Creed, Terro, and Mike. And, looking at this, she'd have a chance to face off against three of those four.

 

She looked at the bracket again and corrected herself. Two. She had a chance to face two of them. She didn't think Hiroki would lose. Valerie looked over to her classmate and gave him a thumbs up. "Seeya in the second round, eh?"

------

Valerie stood in the arena, wearing her Hero outfit. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her demeanor was different from in the classroom. Her smile was still there, wild and confident, but her eyes showed an intense determination. Valerie didn't just want to win. She was certain that she WOULD win, no matter what. She wouldn't allow for anything else.

 

And Asuka was the first step in the staircase to victory.

 

"Sorry you're against me right away. You seem like a nice gal but I'm heading for the top. I intend to show everyone what 'Rise Above, Max Omega' really means and you're right in the way of that goal. Prepare yourself, cause your first match is your last!"

 

Upon saying this, Valerie got into a sprinter's stance, prepared to take off into a run the moment the match started.

[Yui]

---

As if in the blink of an eye, two whole weeks had passed. Asuka - in response to Ino's prodding - had gone out shopping a couple times with her, but generally didn't go home with as much in tow as the vibrating girl. She'd be lying if she said she didn't have a good time, of course. Over the two weeks, she'd also been thinking up strategies to defeat each of her classmates in case she wound up fighting one of them. And then there were the lessons from Lady Law about how to better use her own Quirk...

Asuka arrived at the spot for her training. The school gym. Lady Law had said to meet her here, but between her phone ending up off its charger in her sleep, leading to its battery dying before she was supposed to wake up, and a brief encounter with Ino while she was en route to U.A., Asuka was admittedly a bit late. It left a sour feeling in her gut, being late to her first day of these training sessions when she was the one signing up to borrow time from Lady Law's day to teach her how to be a proper hero.

 

Lady Law didn't seem all that pleased with Asuka's mild tardiness either. When Asuka entered the gym, donning the costume she'd designed as Hematite (a name she ultimately forgot to ask about taking back, after some pleasant conversation with Ino), she was met with narrowed eyes and a finger tapping on Lady Law's crossed arms. "So....you're Asuka Kurosawa?"

 

Asuka flinched a bit. She really had to stop doing that. Kurosawa was a perfectly normal surname anyway, wasn't it? For all she knew, there was probably at least one more Asuka Kurosawa somewhere in Japan. And another Kokoro Kurosawa... No, let's not go there today. After a bit of hesitation, Asuka was finally able to offer up a simple "Yes," in response to Lady Law's question.

 

Lady Law's eyes narrowed even further. Was Asuka already in trouble? "Hmph. Your mom was a real handful back in the day, you know?" Asuka wasn't sure if she was in trouble. She tried consulting Lady Law's facial expression. For a moment, she could have sworn the hero was almost smiling, but only for a moment before being met with a frown. "She's even more so now."

 

What am I even supposed to say to that? I mean sure she's... more than a bit of an issue. But we haven't spoken ever since I was left with Hitomi. Last I heard from her was just the one text after the Kashyyyk incident. Unsure on how to respond to Lady Law's assessment of her mother, Asuka settled on simply agreeing. She figured nodding to show her agreement would suffice, and settled for doing that.

 

"She was the calm and collected type too...I guess it's only natural." Lady Law looked to the side. "Listen...I have reservations really teaching you anything. We've done intensive digging into your past...you're a liability in a sense. We don't need another student from U.A. going off the grid and becoming a genocidal maniac, you know." She sighed. She stopped tapping her fingers and started walking away from Asuka. "I feel happy that someone chose me as a mentor....But it just had to be her kid."

 

Asuka would be lying if she said that didn't sting more than a little. She understood Lady Law's concerns - Asuka was always wary of doing precisely that as well; she didn't want to be a second Bloodstone after all - but this type of thing was precisely why she was always concerned about people finding out just whose daughter she was. This is the part where I need to be strong most of all though. Show her that I'm not that type of person, and that I can and will be a good hero! Which meant it would be good to explain her intents. "I want to be a hero so I can stop her. I want to put a stop to my mother and clear the Kurosawa family name."

 

"Oh?" Lady Law stopped in her tracks. Seemed Asuka had caught her attention. "Is that your goal as a hero?"

 

"Yes." Asuka sounded much more confident this time. Not hesitating, stammering, or even second-guessing her goal. "Even if I accomplish nothing else as a hero, I want to stop her."

 

"NAIVE!" Lady Law abruptly answered, with a chopping motion in midair. "Your goal is too selfish! If you're using U.A. as some sort of stepping stone for some revenge plot...you're at the wrong school."

 

And with that, her confidence wavered a bit. She still knew what her goals were, but having a reputable hero and staff member of U.A. call it a revenge plot did cause her to question it for a brief moment. Asuka ultimately concluded that that may have been Lady Law's goal. She had to stand her ground with her end goal, if nothing else. Not that she sounded especially certain of her plan with the meek "It's not about revenge," she answered with. She paused for a bit to regain her composure, before continuing, just slightly more confidently, "It's about protecting all the Quirkless people in the world. If nobody stops her, she will come back someday, and she won't stop until they're all dead."

 

"Protecting the Quirkless?" Lady Law couldn't help but put a hand to her face, and look at Asuka with a strange look. Asuka wasn't really sure how to feel about that look. It made her uncomfortable. Did she say something to anger Lady Law? "What will you do once your mother is stopped? Will you stop becoming a hero after that? What will drive you, Asuka?"

 

"Once Bloodstone is handled..."

"RISE ABOVE MAX OMEGA!"

The sudden increase in volume from Glory snapped Asuka back to the present. She had come to the presentation already in the Hematite costume; she didn't see the point in coming in regular clothes just to have to change later. Better to get the middle step out of the way, and it let her get used to the weight of the tank over her back, now full. It was heavy. She probably wouldn't do so well in a close-ranged fight. Asuka looked over a screen that had the tournament bracket on it. Her first opponent was... that Valerie girl from 1-B. She didn't know her Quirk. She'd come up with general battle plans for everyone except 1-B's students, because she had no idea what they were capable of. The only form of planning ahead she'd done for this scenario was prepare a bunch of crystals before the tournament so that she could bring them, and use them instead of having to rapidly pump out new ones.

 

Guess I'm improvising this round.

Asuka stood in the arena, opposite her opponent from 1-B. A maximum fifty crystals hovered just behind her. It felt awkward, fighting like this with people cheering her on. She was probably just imagining it, but she was sure that right now, in the stands, at least one person was giving her funny looks and talking poorly about her Quirk. They didn't matter though. Valerie looked far more certain she'd win than Asuka did. Which wasn't to say Asuka didn't think she'd come out on top of course; just that she wasn't ruling out the possibility of losing to an unknown Quirk.

 

"Sorry you're against me right away. You seem like a nice gal but I'm heading for the top. I intend to show everyone what 'Rise Above, Max Omega' really means and you're right in the way of that goal. Prepare yourself, cause your first match is your last!"

 

"At least your first obstacle won't be an easy one," Asuka retorted. It may have been a bit more difficult to understand her through the mask, but she was sure Valerie got the point. "I hope you've been training. May the best girl win." Valerie looked ready to dash off the moment the fight started. That meant Asuka wouldn't have to go to her, not that her Quirk favored close-ranged combat.

 

Beating you probably doesn't mean I can stop her. Still, it'll be a start.

---

[VCR_CAT]

Mike

 

"Geez Mike!  You look like you just jumped straight out of a comic book!  It looks so cool!" Ino had gushed over Mike's costume, causing him to blush somewhat as he wasn't expecting quite this degree of enthusiasm, despite having been in the same class as Ino for well over a week by now. "It's not fair. You've got a cool helmet!"

 

"Well, you gotta submit the designs I guess," Mike laughed nervously, but as the nature of the class went, everyone's attention was soon diverted, until ultimately the bell rang, dismissing classes for the day. Mike let out a sigh of relief as he made his way to the exit.

 

 

Over the next two weeks, Mike found himself with a problem immediately for training: space. He wanted to practice with his suit, as well as continue work at strengthening his quirk, but with the laws forbidding public expression of quirks, he was forced to spend extra time at U.A. and ask permission to train either in the gym or in any of the practice fields outside the school. He didn't get access to any of the practice fields terribly often, so as such he had to spend a lot of his time in the gym. At first he was uncomfortable with the degree of freedom and efficiency that the suit offered, and as he got more used to the suit he found himself getting less used to using his quirk without the suit. To combat this, Mike ended up spending more time so he could train in and out of his suit equal amounts. While he made a lot of strides in his performance over those two weeks, his social life had suffered. As his homestay parents had suggested, he should make time for his friends as well.

 

But he was too focused on the upcoming tournament.

 

On the day of the tournament, the students gathered inside of a smaller room inside of the U.A.'s own battle-dome. There, Principal Glory presented the rules of the tournament, rules that Mike had more or less expected to see. However, what piqued his interest was the prospect of landing a contract. Mike's head spun as he considered if this meant that he would need to win the whole thing to land a contract, or if simply being an outstanding contestant would be enough to warrant this attention. Soon enough, the brackets presented themselves.

 

"Dang, if I'm going against Gin it's going to be the finals," Mike muttered under his breath, though this was at least a small amount of relief. His first opponent, instead, would be Ichiro. Mike glanced in his direction, and thought for a moment. The only means he saw Ichiro fight was with claps or other such movements to generate tremendous air pressure, at the cost of injuring himself. His quirk was probably super strength that he had some problems controlling. If he figured out how to control it, then that's some bad news for me, if not then it might be easier, but I should probably expect the worst case scenario...

 

Mike, instead, wasted no time in getting up and making his way to the stands to watch the first rounds.

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

Isami had spent the last two weeks mostly lazing around his home, although he did so with his costume so he was at least comfortable in it. It wasn't like he didn't train with Madam Mic over the timespan - just not as much as he probably should have. That was in the past, however; now was the present. And in the present was exciting, being the first day of the tournament and all. The students had gathered in a room going over the rules of the tournament. Isami didn't pay too much attention to what Glory was saying, although it seemed simple enough; killing was bad, Isami already knew that. Glory showed the brackets. It seemed like Isami was going to be first to enter the arena, against a Shin Lee.

 

Isami took the invitation to take part of the festival outside before his match started by doing what he knew best. Finding a nice patch of grass to lay on, he stared onto the sky, mentally preparing himself for his fight. Or at least that was his intent, as random thoughts came to his mind while he followed the clouds in the sky. He contemplated how clouds tasted as his mind wandered.

 

---

[King K. Azo]

 

Hero Training, Day 1

 

Terro was doing his best to restrain himself, to act like the hero-in-training he was supposed to be. However, he couldn't help it. They were flying in a large balloon like thing... sensei called it a 'blimp'. He didn't know there were ways outside of Quirks to even do that. It was amazing! He couldn't help but be filled with a child-like glee.

 

He tried to keep it under control, however, as he turned to face his mentor, Tempest. "What will we do first, sensei?" he asked, doing a few warm up stretches as he did.

 

"Sensei...I like the ring to it."  He said, scratching the underside of his helmet enthusiastically.  "Maybe I should become a teacher."  With that out of the way, he presented the entirety of the inside of the training Blimp to Terro. "You see, your teacher has told me a lot about you, and I think I've come up with something that will drastically improve your qualities as a hero! Suna told me that you're very hesitant when it comes to using your Quirk. Why is this?"

 

Terro scratched his cheek as he thought of the best way to answer this. "Well... You see... I'm the first generation of Quirk in my known family. No one else had one, so as I grew up basically home schooled... I learned how to use my quirk, but... Not how to control it. I... Don't even know the upper limits of my quirk. I just know if I used it wrong, my quirk can be very dangerous. I'm.. just afraid I'll hurt someone in a way I never would want to... And I don't have that fear with my martial arts, so I just rely more on those,"

 

Tempest nodded. "Hm Hm. I see I see. Well, today will not be the day we test your upper limits, nor your martial training. Instead, I'm going to loosen those tight bolts on your mentality. You're far too rigid!"

 

Terro tilted his head, confusion etched on his face. "Rigid? What do you mean sensei?"

 

A rush of air popped up from under Terro's feet, tripping him up.  "You're too tense, too serious! You need to relax. Fighting villains is a serious business, but getting too bunched up will cause you to make mistakes that you're actively trying to avoid." Tempest began to hover in the air. "That's why, for your lesson, you're going to have to hit me." A pile of small stones in the corner of the room started to rattle, as they hit some turbulence.

 

Terro did his best to stand back up, but the turbulence caused him to get on a knee to catch himself. "Hit you? With the stones?" He asked as he got back on to his feet slowly.

 

"What else are you going to hit me with up here?"

 

---

 

Present Day

 

Terro listened to the rules, and honestly, it sounded fine to him. Just your usual tournament standards. He could do this easily. He looked at the board, looking at the brackets. It looked as if he was the final match, and he was against Ino. Not who he expected, but he would be ready. He could do this. And if he won, he would go against either Gin, or the one he fought. This was shaping up to be one interesting tournament. Suddenly, he felt a large, warm hand on his shoulder.

"Well, well, it seems my grandson has an exciting tournament ahead of him!" Terro heard his grandfather say. Looking up to the giant of an old man, he smiled. 

"Grandpa! You came all the way here?" Terro asked, genuinely surprised. His grandfather smiled before he rubbed Terro's head.

"But of course! You don't think I'd missed something so big, do you?" He asked before he put his arm around his shoulder. "Now, come on, introduce me to some of your friends!" Terro rubbed his chin, thinking to himself. Should he find Gin? Was that a good idea...?

 

"Terro! Hey Terro!" The martial artist heard Ichiro call out. Looking over his shoulder, Terro saw that it was indeed Ichiro, and he had his... father? Brother? With him. 

"There's Ichiro," Terro said as he began to lead his grandpa over.

"You mean the one that you made fall down?" 

 

"G-grandpa! I apologized for that already...," Terro muttered, causing his grandfather to laugh heartily. They soon got to Ichiro and his brother, both bowing to them. "Hey Ichiro! This is my grandfather. Grandpa, this is Ichiro," Terro introduced. His grandpa nodded.

"It's nice to meet you," He said, hold out his massive hand for Ichiro to shake. "Thank you for taking care of my grandson. I'm sure he's been a handful,"

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

Ichiro and Rei watched as Terro and the elderly gentleman approached them. He assumed the elderly man was Terro's grandfather, and his first guess was the right one, apparently.

 

"Hey Ichiro! This is my grandfather. Grandpa, this is Ichiro."

"It's nice to meet you. Thank you for taking care of my grandson. I'm sure he's been a handful,"

 

Ichiro shook the grandfather's hand as he chuckled lightly. "I-It's really nothing. To be honest, Terro hasn't been too much of a handful." he said, before clearing his throat and looking at Terro and his grandfather. "Oh right, sorry. Uh, Rei, this is Terro and his grandfather."

 

Rei was smiling as he shook Terro's hand first, before chuckling. "Rei Adachi. And I finally get to meet the one guy that Ichi here has been talking highly of." he said, before shaking his head. "And of course the guy who fe-OW!!" Rei was quickly silenced as Ichiro stepped on his foot some. He grumbled some and cleared his throat before moving towards the grandfather, shaking his hand. "Pleasure to meet you. Seems like you have quite the grandson."

 

Ichiro sighed as he backed away from Rei and let him talk to Terro's grandfather, before glancing and sighing. "Sorry about that...but he's been really wanting to meet the guy who 'fell over' during the first day." he said, shaking his head. "Kept telling him not to bring it up. He almost did."

[Mr. Hyde]

 

 

The stadium was jam packed with a crowd of enthused heroes, some of them having been here many years before.  The roaring commotion was almost deafening, as the previous generation of heroes, and civilians alike, all awaited to see how this next generation stacked up.  Of course, there were the people who whispered and snickered, claiming this lot to be a bunch of losers and terrible heroes in training.  After all, the destruction of the Kashykkk district was still a little sour in the mouths of all who bore witness to it.  On the sidelines of the stone arena were Suna, and Mako.  They both stared at each other, waiting to see who's student's would come out on top.  Mako's face wore a huge, toothy grin.  He cupped his hands around his mouth to shout across.  

 

"HEY!  SANDMAN!  REMEMBER THE BET!"  

 

Across the way, Suna was digging into his ear. 

 

"Yeah yeah...but no all you can eat buffet's this time.  Last time it cost me an arm and a leg."  Suna shook himself, and looked at his arm.  He sighed, thinking that expression probably wasn't in good taste anymore.  

 

"I would've gladly taken your arm and leg, if they were on the menu!  YAHAHAHAHA!"

 

Suna shivered at his fellow teacher's attempt at humor.  But would it technically be considered cannibalism at that point?  In the middle of the ring, two combatants would stare each other down, ready to go above and beyond to beat their opponent.  

 

"Begin the match!"  

 

 

 

 

Ino looked across the way.  Her knees were shaking, as she looked at her fellow classmate, Terro.  It was a complete mismatch in her eyes.  Not to mention he looked so cool in his hero costume, even though it was just a plain ol' Gi.  Although...it sure did make his muscles pop out a bit...they were so big.  She looked at her arms, practically noodles in comparison.  She figured out a slight battle plan...just don't let him get in close!  Wait no!  Let him get in close!  Fighting and thinking at the same time was so confusing!  But surely, this would help her become an even greater hero in training!  

 

"Begin the match!"  

 

The yelling from the ref's snapped her out of her confusion.  She immediately started to vibrate, a lot harder than she would in class.  After all, this wasn't vibrating she wasn't aware of.  She could go all out now!  

 

"If you can move the ground, then I guess I'll have to make it a little harder for you, Terro!"  Ino said, planting both hands on the ground, causing the arena to shake with vigor.  She would hope to keep him off balance, and see where to take it from there!  

 

 

 

 

"Gee!  You eyes sure a scary!  That isn't a hero costume!  It's a villain disguise!  Does everyone in 1-A also look like some sort of villanous scum you'd find in a dark alleyway, lying in wait for someone just to jump on them and prove their superiority to an unsuspecting victim?!  Scary, scary!  Frighteningly scary!  I can't begin to fathom what was in the mindset of the faculty when they saw your photo ID show up on their screen, and they approved you!  This must be the fault of some sort of loophole, some sort of way you slipped through the security net!  I have no intention of believing or education system would be so flawed as to let someone who looks like you get through the cracks!  It just can't be true!  I hear there's an underground school where they teach you to be a villain!  Are you spying on us to give them intel!?  Well I'll make sure to stop you right here and now!  Your days as a 'hero in training' are over!"  

 

Gin looked at the girl, dumbfounded.  Her costume was giving off hints to him...was she able to fly?  

 

"Shut.  Up."  He said, raising his finger at the girl.  

 

"HOW DARE YO-"

 

"Begin the match!"  

 

As soon as the match began, Gin lowered his finger to shoot at the girls leg.  

 

"Low spectrum, Radio Bullet!"  A puff of air seemed to leave his finger, as the attack couldn't be seen travelling through the air.  If one were to inspect a little closer, they would see that the air in Gin's line of sight would become slightly distorted, like that of a mirage.  Being straight across from Gin, Erika could only see what appeared to be a blurrier opponent.  However, a couple of seconds later, she would feel her left leg sweep out from under her, causing her to take a knee.  It was quite the awkward looking position.  Gin hadn't lowered his finger, and kept another hand on his arm, just in case things got dicey.  The impact from the attack had caused Erika to start to tremble a bit, but she started to get up.  Seeing this, Gin fire off another shot.  This time, the girl took a deep breath, and shot it out, the force being enough to spring her away from Gin's direct line of sight.  Gin looked to the side to see the girl on both feet, having corrected her posture.  He brought his finger to her new location, but was now being forced off his feet by some unseen force.  Looking at her, Gin could see the girl's cheeks puffed out.  He didn't know, but the force of the wind was carrying him towards the end of the arena.  

 

Gin took both of his hands, and pointed them to the side.  

 

"Visible Spectrum, Red Death!"  Two beams of red energy shot from his finger tips, enough force to recoil him out of the air current.  

 

"Smart, are we?  ANOTHER TRAIT OF VILLAINY!"  The girl declared, taking the time to inhale once again.  

 

 

 

 

"So...You're Creed huh?"  Goto said, not very amused.  "You know...I'm expecting a lot from Class 1-A...but you aren't really what I envisioned.  You look kinda....pale."  Goto couldn't help but laugh a little.  "Are you some sort of Albino?  Is your quirk vampirism?  Or are all American's the same way."  Creed's opponent had opted to use the U.A. Gym Uniform, instead of his hero costume.  "Bet your wondering why I'm not using a costume huh?  Well...I'm pretty confident in my own abilities.  I actually think I can win this pretty easily."  

 

"Start the match!"

 

"Welp, here goes nothing!"  With a flash, Goto had cocked his arm, and fired out a punch that seemingly stretched out his arm as if it were some sort of sticky hand from a toy vending machine.  It was approaching Creed at a significant pace, whirring through the air like a rocket.  "This match is as good as mine!"  

[Yui]

---

Asuka stared her opponent down from across the arena. Any moment now, and...

 

"Begin the match!"

 

... and precisely that would happen. The fight was starting now, and already, Asuka could see that Valerie wanted to get in close as she started sprinting toward the crystal-wielding girl. Time to see if those lessons with Lady Law had paid off...

 

Here I Come!

 

Whatever Valerie's Quirk was, if it encouraged her to get in close against Asuka, that meant Asuka would want to play the keep-away game for this fight. Which was fine, as her Quirk was best-suited for ranged combat to begin with. And so, as Valerie started forward toward Asuka, the crystal-shooting girl did what she did best, and fired off a pair of crystals, bound for Valerie. She moved the other crystals forward just slightly, ready to use them defensively if Valerie closed the gap between the two.

 

Crystal Count: 50

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

As soon as the match started Valerie took off. She was confident in her athletic ability and the ring wasn't overly large so she didn't think it would take very long to reach the girl. Which was a good thing given that her Quirk at the moment didn't have the largest of ranges.

While part way to her opponent Valerie kept her eyes on those gems floating behind her. They were obviously part of her Quirk, and they felt somewhat familiar, but she couldn't be sure yet what they did. And, as a pair of them rushed at her, she knew she had to avoid getting hit. It might be interesting to see what they did upon contact but right now Valerie couldn't risk it if she could avoid.

 

And so she dove forward, under the pair of gems, and rolled as she hit the ground. With her momentum and just a bit of effort she popped right back up at the end of her roll and continued forward. The gems behind Asuka were moving forward so she tried to reach Asuka first, cocking her fist back for a punch when she got to the girl. "Don't think you're getting away that easily!"

 

Though before Valerie could throw her punch she was hit in the back by the gems she had dodged. It felt as though someone had chucked a pair of rocks at her and, given her mostly exposed body, it stung like hell. But Valerie wasn't deterred. "Not the first time I've had rocks thrown at me." Valerie said with a laugh. She continued where she left off. She wasn't running full speed anymore but there wasn't much distance to go

 

Upon getting within several feet, Asuka would suddenly feel it. As though she were in a sauna in the middle of the desert the air around her would become hot. Caught in the wave of heat, the girl would feel nauseous and disoriented.

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

Two weeks had passed since Akira's first day at U.A. Overall, he had considered his time so far at the school to have been boring, but that simply meant it was like most else he experienced. He had only used his quirk for menial tasks during this time: picking up dropped pencils, opening doors in front of him, catching the laces on Gin's shoes as he walked, simple stuff. His quirk, called 'Hard Light', was quite versatile for these kinds of things. Since he could form pretty much whatever shape he needed at the moment, it was well-suited for a person who sought to expend as little effort as possible throughout his daily life.

 

Over the course of the two weeks since the sports festival was announced, many of the students in his class (and presumably the class that the yelling girl came from) trained under various staff from the school. Some sort of nonsense about honing their skills before the tournament. Akira didn't really see the point in training for something like this. Even if he had some desire to win it all, he was all but certain he, at his current strength, could beat any of the students he had met without breaking a sweat. Instead of training, Akira Tomoaki spent his first two weeks at the school doing something far more important: as little as he could get away with.

 

That said, he did manage to learn an entire four names during this period. The daughter of the has-been villain was named Asuka. Admittedly, Akira had figured out her name on the first day, because she seemed slightly more interesting than the rest of the wall-flowers that made up his class. The angry one, with the messy hair, was named Gin. His quirk was some kind of emitter-type, allowing him to project beams from his fingertips. Seemed flashy, but weak overall, unless he was in a fight against a bottle of tea. That match-up was at least 50-50. Gin implied constantly that there was more to it, but Akira didn't care enough to pay closer attention. The class had a foreigner (presumably American) named Mike. Mike was the kind of person who seems nice, but not much else. He held doors open for Asuka quite a lot. The final person Akira bothered to remember in the class was... they were...

 

Akira managed to learn an entire three names.

This brought Akira to where he now sat, in a bothersomely crowded room. In it sat way too many students (himself instead electing to lean against the back wall) and some of the school faculty stood at the front. Glory, Suna, and what seemed to be a fish-man. Akira desperately hoped his name was Gil. Glory droned on through the rules, none of which were a surprise. Win is determined by incapacitation, ring-out, or concession. Excessive injury is to be avoided. Though Akira had never fought in a tournament, he assumed these rules were nothing beyond standard. Rather than dwell on it, Akira slowly scanned across the room. Though he couldn't see the faces of any of the students, their postures betrayed just how varied everyone's attitudes were going into this. Some were excited, some were already looking for prey, one girl Akira assumed to have been from the other class seemed to be shaking at an alarming rate.

 

As Akira looked back up at the front of the room, as the bracket was revealed to everyone. The first fight on the list was between two people Akira had never heard of, but he saw himself as the fourth name down. The name he was against looked foreign. Akira turned his gaze slightly up, staring at the ceiling to stretch his neck. The bracket was just a single-elimination setup, with 16 competitors. For Akira to come out on top, he would have to fight three times. Though he didn't expect anyone in this room to present a challenge to him, aside from maybe the staff, who weren't even a part of the festival, three fights sounded like an incredible hassle. After a few too many seconds of contemplation, Akira cracked a subtle smile, having put together a plan.

Akira stood opposite his opponent in the arena, wearing the sunglasses, jeans, and hoodie that he jokingly called a 'hero costume'. The battlefield was simple, being nothing more than flat pavement. It allowed full line of sight, giving the advantage to individuals with ranged quirks, or enhanced mobility. Akira supposed that a more varied terrain would be difficult for the school to set up for an event like this, and would make it more difficult for the large audience to see the battles. The audience. Akira looked up, glossing over his opponent completely, to see the crowds surrounding them, filling the stadium seating. This tournament meant a lot to people who dreamed of showing their strength, and was important in showing off to potential mentors or agencies. No wonder so many of his classmates were excited, it completely fulfilled the dreams of that kind of person.

 

Akira was not that kind of person.

 

"And, FIGHT!"

 

"I'd rather not."

 

Turning on his heel, Akira got a good look at just how many people were watching. How many people were excited to see him show just how strong he was. As his back faced his opponent, Akira's gaze met his teacher, Suna's, who seemed to be wearing a combination of confusion, frustration, and desperation. This lightly amused Akira, as he began walking straight forward. Though his pace was as languid as usual, he quickly approached the edge of the arena.

 

Though Akira had no intent to verbally concede, making an effort to win didn't seem too hot, either.
 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

After the talk with Terro and both Rei and Terro's grandfather, it was the time. Ichiro was suiting up and he could feel his nerves on edge at this point. His hand was trembling as he looked at it. He knew it was him being afraid...but at the same time, he could feel a small bit of excitement in it as he slowly clenched his hand and exhaled.

 

Turning back towards the locker, he grabbed his helmet and stared at it. All he could think about was the weeks leading up to this point.

 

 

Training with Omega Star

 

-BGM-

 

"You're early, Adachi!" Omega Star said, seeing Ichiro jogging up to the small training area he was assigned with Omega Star. "You're lucky. Creed hasn't even shown up yet."

 

"Well I...I guess I'm really wanting to learn how to better use this Quirk." Ichiro responded.

 

Omega Star nodded and slowly crossed her arms. "That unnamed Quirk of yours. I read the file." she said, seeing Ichiro's face slouch into a disappointed one. "Relax kid, Principal Glory wanted me to. He wanted me to be aware of your Quirk and it's little...er...large drawback. Plus the sandbag told me about you using it in the way you have been."

 

Ichiro nodded, understanding before rubbing the back of his neck. "Don't worry. I won't be using that type of attack again. I really don't want to break my wrists again like that."

 

"Improvement on your skills, I like it." Omega Star smiled, fixing the hair behind her left ear. "With that in mind, I know exactly how I want to train you. Before that, let's ask this. What does it feel like when you use your powers?"

 

 

Present Day

 

Ichiro, fully suited up, walked out towards the arena that he was designated and saw that Mike wasn't there yet. Taking it all in now, he saw the stands filled with quite a few people, some with Quirks, some without. It was almost nauseating to think about right now, seeing all these people watching him.

 

Taking a deep breath, he glanced over to his right and smiled a bit. Right now he saw Rei in the stands, cheering him on. This sight really filled him up with a determination now. Having his brother right there cheering for him...now he wanted to put the work of all the training to use.

 

Just wait for Mike now... he thought, taking another deep breath, exhaling as he tried his best to calm his breathing.

 

 

Aina Hano | One Girl Army - Fuze

 

 

Aina brushed the hair out of her face, waiting in the arena in her costume for her opponent, Aaron Strom. Finally she saw her opponent, looking quite strange in his costume, least in her opinion.

 

"So your my opponent huh?" she asked, putting her hand on her hip with a small smile. "Won't lie, there seem to be quite the interesting groups of students in 1-A this year. Hope your one of them!"

 

"Begin the match!"

 

After doing a small stretch once the match began, she watched Aaron get into a defensive position and seeming to reach down to what she could only assume was a baton. Aina smiled and let out a small giggle. "Oh you have weapons like that too? Same here!" she said in quite the upbeat manner, causing Aaron to be curious at what she meant.

 

In one of her pockets, she pulled out a small metal bearing and held it up. Aina noticed immediately that Aaron didn't know at all what to respond with this...it was the perfect moment. Her smile had a wicked turn when she flicked the bearing towards Aaron...which was flying down towards the student at quite an alarming speed. Aaron, miscalculating, blocked the metal bearing but succeeded in getting pelted by it. While it didn't immediately hurt, it did sting quite a bit.

 

"Yes! First hit is mine!" Aina smiled, pumping her fist into the air some. After the small fist pump, she slowly fished into her pocket and pulled out two more metal bearings, preparing to flick them towards Aaron. "Heh, let's see if you can try and block these."

 

This time, Aaron didn't wait. He was planning on making his move, and Aina immediately noticed that his hands were having quite a bit of static electricity sparking from them. Hmm...guess he deals with electricity then. she thought, before noticing him rushing towards her, leaving craters behind him.

 

 

Casey Russell | Warping Hero - Blink

 

 

"Begin the match!"

 

Casey flipped the hood on his hoodie up over his head and pointed at the man from 1-A that was walking away from him: Akira Tomoaki. A small smirk appeared on his face as he chuckled slightly.

 

"That's your opening move?" he asked, shaking his head. "Talk about lame! Now this...THIS..." Casey slowly moved his pointed finger from directing it at Akira to a small area of the arena. Like a quick blink, Casey was now no longer facing Akira's back...but to the left side in front of him.

 

"...is an opening move!" he shouted, running to sweep Akira's legs from under him.

 

 

 

Shin Lee | Multi Hero - Bushin

 

 

Standing in his hero costume, Shin Lee stood in the arena with his arms crossed. His eyes closed as he scoffed slightly to himself. His opponent was supposed to be 1-A's Isami Kobayashi. There wasn't too much known about this student and his Quirk, at least from what he was trying to find out about in the weeks before the festival.

 

However, as most of the other battles of Round 1 began...his opponent was not in the arena yet.

 

"Typical. Of all the students, give me one that is terrible on being punctual." he scoffed, shaking his head. "Whatever. If he doesn't start showing, then I guess victory is mine. One less stepping stone out of the way on my way to the top."

[VCR_CAT]

Mike

 

Mike spent a bit of time at the entrance to the arena and took a few deep breaths. It's alright, just a lot of people and sponsors that'll be watching you, no big, he attempted to comfort himself.

 

"Hey, bud, don't mean to pressure you but you gotta get out there," one of the arena staff muttered in Mike's direction.

 

"Oh! Yeah, uhh thanks," Mike jumped, gripping his helmet in his hands. Well, it was do-or-die.

 

The spotlights were the first thing to hit Mike's attention, then the noise of the audience came flooding in. Shielding his eyes, he looked across the stadium and spotted Ichiro already waiting, and felt a pang of embarrassment at how long he must have taken. It's no big, you'll do fine. A decent comfort was knowing that, at least from what he had seen, Ichiro was a fairly nice person. Whether Mike won or lost, he knew that it should still be a positive experience.

 

"Hey, good luck! Do your best!" Mike called out, as he put his helmet on.

 

"And, FIGHT!"

 

Mike opened as quickly as he could, determined not to give Ichiro any openings. He powered his suit with a few bursts of energy and saw a green meter at the bottom corner of his helmet's visor light up. Having practiced with the suit already, he felt comfortable with how it operated. Using very small bursts of force at his legs, activating his boots. Running around the perimeter of the arena to avoid the direct route. His running was fast, much faster than usual, using much less force as well. As he run, bright green trails followed him from emitters located on the backs of his boots, giving a colourful display for the audience.

 

As he would (hopefully) get closer, he would power the emitters on the palms of his gloves and give a strong burst of energy in Ichiro's direction, hoping to force him off the stage quickly, while also remaining out of arm's reach himself. The faster this is over, the better!

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

As he was dazing off at the clouds, he heard something in the distance that broke his attention away from the clouds. He had dozed off a bit while day dreaming. Checking his watch, he let out a gasp in horror at the realization that he was, in fact, late for his match. Getting up, he made his way towards the arena as quickly as possible. He made a quick stop to one of the restrooms to properly change into his hero costume before going to the arena.

 

He arrived at the arena in his half-snake form, panting from the mad dash he had made to get here. Luckily, it seemed like he wasn't so late that he was disqualified. "I-I'm... here!" He exclaimed, kneeling over a bit to catch his breath. "Sorry about... that..." He took a deep breath, turning to face his opponent. His opponent was a bit intimidating, although not as much as Gin. He smiled as his opponent. "Alright... I think I'm good now." He stood upward. "Good luck!" He said, before getting into a more battle-ready stance.

---

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

"Now this... THIS... is an opening move"

It all happened very suddenly, before Akira was even given a chance to react. His opponent, some blonde kid, was on his left side, landing a powerful kick to Akira's shins. As the impact hit him mid-stride, it didn't take much for his legs to have been swept out from under him completely. In less than a second, his perspective changed from Suna's alarm at his concession, to a flash of yellow as his opponent appeared before him, to a sudden blackness, as his face impacted the ground. Scraping his fingers against the pavement, he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, feeling his sunglasses fall off of his face, and hearing them impact the ground, before slowly opening his eyes.

5 weeks earlier

"As I was saying, you don't want to pick a fight with me."

Unfair Fight

The girl, who had introduced herself as Kiyohime, looked on with annoyance, then confusion as Akira lifted his face to look her in the eyes. While her eyes were red, a cosmetic side-effect of her quirk, his were... different. With his sunglasses now removed, it was clear to see for everyone in the hallway that Akira's eyes shone a bright gold, like a pair of suns affixed to marble. Electing not to think much more on it, the dragon girl shifted her posture, as if to prepare for another attack, but before she could make a move she was hit in the forehead by a pair of golden beams from Akira's eyes. They weren't truly lasers, or anything of the sort. Instead, Akira's quirk allowed him to create constructs of a brightly glowing, unknown material. Rather than being burnt, the sensation Kiyohime felt as she staggered back was probably closer to being pistol-whipped.

Akira lazily turned to leave before the girl regained her senses, but saw himself blocked by a startlingly large student, whose body seemed to be made out of boulders. "Ah. A mutation quirk. Does it come with strength?" As if to test for an answer to his question, a pillar of light suddenly appeared from the wall beside the two of them, pressing the stone barricade of a classmate out of the way, embedding him into the metal lockers that covered the walls. Unfortunately for Akira, or more accurately, for the rest of the students, Kiyohime had more than one lackey.

A pair of hands extended toward Akira, attached to their owner's wrists by some sort of metal cable. Akira couldn't help but wonder just how long that cable could extend. Before they could grasp onto him, Akira had used his quirk to create a pair of glowing hands, that tightly grasped onto the grapple hands flung at him. Tracing the lines back to their owner, he saw a tall, but thin boy, wearing a pair of glasses and a bowtie. Poor kid probably was forced to do Kiyohime's homework. "See you around, stretch." Akira flicked his eyes toward the left, as his pair of hard-light hands whipped in the same direction down the hallway. The nerdy boy, realizing what was about to happen, pointed his arms in the direction his hands were being pulled, as more and more cable unreeled from his wrist, until, with a sound like the crack of a whip, the cable stiffened and he was dragged a few dozen feet across the floor, before Akira was confident his point was proven and let him screech to a stop.

Suddenly, Akira felt everything around him go silent. Not just quiet, absolutely silent. As if he had completely lost his ability to hear. Seemingly forgetting that he was in the middle of a brawl, Akira scratched his chin, speaking aloud to himself, though no sound could be heard by anyone in the vicinity, himself included. Turning his glimmering eyes over his shoulder, he saw what he could only assume to be the source of the silence: a mostly-innocent appearing blonde girl. Part of Akira wanted to figure out exactly how her quirk worked, but mostly he was starting to get annoyed with not being able to hear himself breath. It's the kind of thing you don't realize you miss until you can't hear it. With a minute flick of two fingers on his right hand, a cube appeared directly beside her head, before slamming it against the lockers. As Akira felt his hearing fade back into existence, the girl crumpled to the floor with a silent yelp. "She must be fun at concerts."

"Now listen here, you little sheet!" It seemed the instigator of the situation had gotten over the initial shock of being hit in the forehead. In her defense, only a few seconds had passed since then, as Akira floored three of her followers. Her expression oozed rage, as she prepared to use her quirk to end the fight before Akira could attack her again. Just as before, she moved far too quickly for the eye to track, propelling herself forward in a straight line to go past the newbie, clotheslining him along the way. Unfortunately, Akira was a little bit more prepared this time. About two feet forward into her attack, her ankles collided with a barrier. Not a large one, in fact only about 8 inches tall, but by all means tall enough to trip her up, and with all the momentum she carried with her quirk, this caused her to tumble across the floor, landing near the grapple-handed nerd.

Akira scratched the back of his head, looking around at the results of his actions. By no means did he start it, but even he could admit that he went a little overboard. "Well, I guess detention beats dealing with more idiots like these."

Present Time

Tomoaki's Rage

Just as they had during his fight with the students at his previous school, Akira's eyes glowed brightly on the arena, their light clearly visible from the stands even as he stared down at the pavement. Not only did they flare up as he used his quirk, their light grew more intense as his emotions ramped up, and at this point Akira was pissed. This little punk was lucky to have this win given to him, and yet he decided to attack the generous donor? Hell no. Akira knew without a doubt that he had the strongest quirk in the class. He was reasonably certain that he had the strongest quirk on the entire school premises. And this idiot just gave him a motivation to win. "That was a stupid move."

As Casey leaned forward, as if to taunt Akira further, the Black Glasses Hero quickly swiped his left arm upward, looking Blink in the eye. His hand traced the shape of a large crescent of light, that hurtled toward Casey at high speeds, carving its path into the pavement they stood on. However, Casey was ready for the retaliation. Pointing toward the opposite end of the battlefield, he disappeared in a flash, appearing at the spot he pointed to, just as he did before his initial attack. "So you teleport? I give you one more use of your quirk before I win." Akira grinned, taking joy in the annoyed and angry expression on his opponent's face. This didn't look like someone who was terribly used to being spoken down to. He thought this was going to be his chance to show off, but Akira was going to make a fool out of him.

Akira rose an arm in Casey's direction, as five pillars emerged from the ground around Akira, a small glittering appearing on his back. They each took wide arcs before converging at the point where Casey stood, as the Warping Hero seemed to point directly at Akira. His taunt was successful. Casey seemed to wait until the very last possible moment, before disappearing, and...

"How's this??!" Casey was directly behind Akira, having pointed at the ground between his legs. He brought his fist back, preparing to punch from Akira's blind spot, but suddenly felt resistance as Akira turned around, the giant pillars disappearing into a shower of sparkles. Glancing back and forth, Casey saw that each of his hands were encased in light.

"Honestly, it's pretty much as expected. The activation condition on your quirk is pointing at a destination, so I just made it impossible for you to point." Akira's excitement had already faded, along with the light on his back, his gleaming eyes betraying an overwhelming aura of boredom as he stared Casey down. Struggling against the bindings, Casey snarled. To be beaten so quickly, so effortlessly, so mockingly. This wasn't how the tournament was supposed to go.

"So that's it? You skip the whole fight just for some cheap win? What the hell is this?"

"Well, in your terms, I think it would be the closing move." As he finished his sentence, the two restraints on Casey's hands quickly pulled him in closer to Akira, as a gauntlet appeared around his right hand. Bringing his arm up, Akira slammed his armored palm against his opponent's forehead, following through to bring Casey all the way down for a second impact against the pavement. The bindings and gauntlet each disappeared, as Akira dusted off his hands. Walking to the edge of the battlefield, a small pillar of light pitched his sunglasses up into the air, for Akira to catch them, returning them to their place on his face. "You should probably get help from that cat nurse lady. You shouldn't be unconscious for too long, it's super bad for you"

WINNER: AKIRA TOMOAKI

[Yui]

---

"Not the first time I've had rocks thrown at me."

 

That probably means I still need to improve on my Quirk. While it was true that Asuka's crystals had definitely gotten sturdier, she imagined they'd have a bit more of a punch to them by now. The brief moment she had to think about it though, told her that it made sense that they were a bit weaker than she expected. She'd only been working on improving their quality for a couple weeks now. While it felt like plenty of time, it really wasn't that much...

"Once Bloodstone is handled... I'll stop whoever the next major villain is. That's a hero's job: Identify the major villains, and stop them."

"So straight forward...but how are you going to do that young lady? I've seen your Quirk in action...and it's hardly as refined as Kokoro's back in the day. Your stones shatter easily upon impact, it's almost laughable!" As if to make her point, Lady Law followed her statement up with a laugh. It sounded somewhat fake to Asuka's ears. "Are you afraid of becoming just as strong as she is? Are you afraid that you'll overtake her throne?"

"A... a little."

"Fufufufufu. Yet you want to defeat her yourself? You seem to be at quite the impasse, young Asuka."

"It's an odd situation, yes, which is why I wanted to study under you this week. I figure if I can't beat her with just my Quirk, I'll have to do it the uh... the old-fashioned way."

"NAIVE!" Asuka was soon met with the hand of Lady Law, chopping her on the head. That hurt a bit. "You think you can just get in close on THE Bloodstone? Wouldn't it make a bigger statement if her daughter were to improve upon her own quirk, and use it to take her out? Wouldn't that make you feel superior to her ideology?"

"That does make more sense," Asuka agreed, rubbing the spot on her head where she'd been chopped. "How do I improve though? The crystals don't get tougher with experience, so it has to be something I'm doing different from her, right?" To make her point, Asuka created a single crystal from her left arm, before moving it into her hands. In a manner similar to her demonstration in class before, when explaining how frail her crystals were, Asuka pressed both her hands against the crystal, causing it to soon shatter under the pressure.

"I'll let you in on a little secret..."

Asuka was pulled from her thoughts by the sudden feeling that washed over her body. It was hot, like she'd just stepped into a sauna or was dropped into a desert out of nowhere. It was slightly nauseating, and a little disorienting. She definitely wasn't sick; Asuka had made sure to eat healthy and get some light exercise in ever since the tournament was announced. If anything, she'd felt healthier than usual before her fight had started. Valerie had to be the source... probably. Whatever the source is... urgh... I definitely can't make too many crystals while I feel like this. For now, let's try to get some distance from Valerie.

 

As much as she would have liked to just get some distance then and there, if she kept backing off from Valerie's attacks, Asuka would find herself cornered and disqualified by ring-out in no time flat. She'd have to get Valerie to be the one backing off. But getting Valerie to back off at that moment didn't seem too likely, as the girl's fist swung forward for a punch. She'd have to do something about the attack. Her first instinct was to try and block it with her arms, being used to having weaker crystals, but her mind changed as her arms went up to defend herself. Her crystals were tougher now. Surely they could take a hit or two. That moment of hesitation, however, didn't help Asuka at all. She almost blocked the attack, sure, but rather than stopping Valerie's attack entirely, it seemed Asuka only managed to get her fist to just graze a crystal, before ending up on a direct course for Asuka herself.

 

Getting punched hurt more than Asuka imagined. I definitely need to get some distance between us. Being near her is making me feel weird, and she's definitely got more experience in close-range combat. The mask hampering her breath wasn't helping at all, but like hell she could just take it off while Valerie was right there. The two crystals Asuka had fired off earlier started once again on a course for Valerie, while the ones closer to Asuka tightened up to form a makeshift wall - small though it may have been - between the girls, before starting forward in an attempt to push Valerie away. And if she goes around, I can do... that. Yeah, that should work.

---