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

[Yui]

---

"Geez...you're just now gettin' into that part of who you are?"
 
Sayuri nodded, clearly paying more and more attention as Mako continued, starting with the story of how he also discovered those sorts of reactions as part of his Quirk.
 
"It happened to me when I was a kid...a lot of kids were scared of me. On the playground, they ran away...one tripped...scraped his knee...I attacked him. You can imagine how well that must'a gone over with the Quirkless and the parents of other kids around where I lived. But I still wanted to be a hero like my pops! Hearing that screaming...I never wanted to hear it again. I wanted to make things right. And my pops believed in me!" 

 

That sounds like a terrible way to discover that sort of trait. Even if "I saw my teacher lose his arm" is more gruesome. I'm glad his dad believed in him.

 

"I didn't interact with a lot of people after that...had to go to some Podunk High School because of my record. But there I met a teacher who told me I could tame that wild side of myself...the animalistic tendencies you and I share. Told me I could harness that bloodlust, and unleash it on my enemies. You just gotta train your brain to ignore the source of the blood, and place that target onto the thing causing that blood to pour."

 

The source of the blood isn't the problem, the cause of it is. Got it! By this point, Sayuri was visibly impressed by Mako's answer, leaning closer and closer in as if it would let her better absorb the information, tail wagging to and fro.

 

"And once I could do that...they saw me as a Hero who protected anyone with any kind of injury! The smell of blood just gets me riled up for a fight now! I get pumped up, and let loose. There's nothing wrong with that side of you...it's how you let it loose outside where the problems start to come in. So tame that...and you'll be all set for hero status."

 

Sayuri liked this guy. She could already imagine the kinds of answers her parents would give her. She could already hear her mom's broken accent telling her "Keep your eye on the prize; tempting as it may be, don't give in to those urges", or her dad reassuring her that it was something that'd pass with time while avoiding the problem entirely. But this teacher was giving her actually helpful advice. Even if she'd asked Suna, she could only imagine he'd either redirect her to 1-B's teacher, or not have any sort of answer. She gave the shark man an enthusiastic thumbs-up, before erasing her issues from the whiteboard, and began jotting down her response.

 

Thank you for the advice! I'll do my best to train my reactions to focus on the cause of the bloodshed instead of the source of the blood.

 

Sayuri showed him the whiteboard as she stood up, and left it up for a moment - both to let him read it and give him time to respond - before giving 1-B's teacher a thankful bow, then making for the door. That was the most immediate concern of hers set away. Everything else was a bridge that could be crossed when she got there... right?

 

More importantly, there were some things she had to ask to some other people. Though they probably wouldn't be easy to find... I should start with Suna then.

---

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

The hours between the fight were mighty exciting, mostly them enjoying the rides and games around them. It was all almost a bit too much for Isami, who took breaks between games and rides to simply stare at clouds, noting shapes as he did. He didn't do particularly good at any of the games, unfortunately, save for a lucky ring toss that won him a rather goofy, yet comfy, hat that resembled a bear. 

 

Eventually it was almost time for the finals. Asuka led the group to a food stand, the highlight being the ice cream stand. The boy got himself a strawberry ice cream on a chocolate cone, his bear hat still on his head. He sat next to Ino, ready for the fight.

 

"Let the Finals... BEGIN!"

 

"Who do you think will win?" Asuka asked the group, sitting next to her gigantic stuffed bear. "Both of them are very powerful in their own rights, so it's not like there's a clear winner. I'm rooting for Rosenfield." 

 

Isami thought about it as he watched the fight go on. Truth be told, he hadn't been keeping much track of their previous fights, nor was he too keenly aware about their quirks. Mike had managed to beat Akira though and, from what little Isami had gathered, he had by far the more terrifying quirk. "If I had to choose... I'd choose Mike." Isami answered after Ino. "I mean he managed to beat Akira, right? That on it's own right is pretty impressive..." He turned back to the fight, watching Terro move the earth. A thought struck him. "Terro's quirk is... kinda similar to Akira's... sort of?" He shrugged. "It's hard to say, and all this thinking is starting to give me a headache..." He said, taking another bite of his ice cream. One may note that it had gone from being rather full to nearly half done.

[King K. Azo]

 

---

 

Terro let himself take a quick breather since the distance between him and Mike was far enough that if Mike wanted to try something, Terro could react. "Okay, last match, I created a move that Mike absolutely has to be on the look out for," He inwardly strategized, "However, it only worked against Val because there was the element of surprise... Mike surely has came up with some sort of counterattack...," Like targeting Terro the moment he even tried to lift the stage. "That move is off the table... or... wait, I could...,"

 

 

"Sorry Mike!" He called out, raising his fist into the air, "But I can't risk dragging this out! I'm going to ring you out!" With that, he smashed his fist, creating the giant wall between himself and Mike, just like last time, and even focusing his quirk to shake the ground, to make it seem like he was really trying to lift the stage.

"Alright, this is it!" Mike called out as he got ready, looking as if he was going to try to sprint up the wall. That was perfect... if he went for a Verdant Javelin like he did against Akira, then Terro would be ready with his counterattack. Except... that was the exact opposite of what Mike did. Instead of charging straight forward in a bright streak of green, he used his quirk to launch himself in the air. Terro was caught off guard, and for a split second, could only watch as Mike began to spin in the air, attempting a new and unpracticed move.

However, Terro soon came back to his sense and used his quirk to break the wall, rocks of various sizes floating in the air. With a cry and a punch, he sent about half the wall flying at Mike, who, while managing to avoid most by simply spinning, was clipped by a bigger rock, knocking him out of the air, and sending him plummeting to the ground. The American watched the ground rush up to him, so he spun around so it looked like he was attempting to belly flop into the ground. As he neared the ground, he let a loud cry, firing a small, controlled burst that bounced him slightly up, allowing him to reposition himself so he could land on his feet. 

 

"Nice Mike! I was trying to fake you out, but you handled that better than I expected," Terro called out, placing his hands together. "Seems I'll need a new tactic," Remembering what he had been practicing, and remembering his inspiration, the rest of the rubble from the wall began to fly at Mike... but the earth also started to compress, taking a new form. About halfway to Terro and Mike, the rocks had made a vaguely human shape, floating towards Mike like a puppet on strings. "Say hello to my version of Jeff!" He called out, referencing what Double Dragon had called the thing his quirk, Stand-In, made. The rocky puppet got close to Mike, and when threw a punch, mimicking what Terro was going from his spot. 

 

Mike, however, was able to see such a telegraphed attack coming, and jumped back to avoid the punch. He then did his best to rush past the rock puppet and get to Terro. With a grin, Terro also rushed out to meet Mike, but not before having his puppet do a sweeping kick to Mike, causing the Force Hero to trip. However, using his Force, Mike managed to turn his trip into a tuck-and-roll, spinning like a neon green bowling ball, now known as the Neon Strike!!

 

Terro, not used to such an attack, was hit head on by the attack, sending him into the air and crashing into the ground on his back, gasping as the air was knocked out of him. Mike's momentum was greatly reduced by hitting Terro, and he stopped spinning, only to find that the world was spinning. The two took a moment to catch their breath before getting up, both still slightly affected from the last attack.

"You sure you're not a Drunken Fist practitioner? It really feels like I'm fighting against one right now," Terro admitted. Mike was so unorthodox, it was throwing the martial artist off. Still, he had an idea. The rock puppet quickly flew over to Terro, and encased him in its rocky form, forming into a suit of rock armor, complete with a dragon shaped helmet. "Alright, this should help me against your surprise attacks!" Terro called out, getting into his stance. He tried to ignore the fact his breathing was getting shorter and sharper. He just had to keep fighting Mike until he found his limits!

[~Faytl~]

Hadley wasn't paying much attention to the fight. She was still laughing heartily at Akira's misfortune when the man himself collided with her. She lost her footing, falling backwards, tagging the edge of a step, her hands falling back to catch her fall and failing due to the gauntlets, her wrists getting knocked at awkward angles. She hissed in a breath as pain stabbed through them, letting it out in a low "funk" under her breath.

 

"Ey, watch where 'yer... Oh, it's YOU." She wasn't nearly as excited to see Akira as she had been to laugh at his misfortune. "The hell you doin' actin' the maggot like tha'? Damn near banjanxed my wrists..." She trailed off as she actually looked up into Akira's face. His sunglasses were different, that was what had attracted her attention enough to look closer. The apology only made her observe him even harder. His face... It was hard to see, with the glasses, but it was an expression she knew very well. It was fear.

 

She stiffened, her face paling, eyes wide. "What?" she asked abruptly, standing up quickly, head rushing as she got up in his face, hyperventilating. "Why ye' lookin' at me like tha'? What's changed? The hell do ye KNOW?" she screamed this last word into his face, voice breaking. She knocked the gauntlets against his chest, knees feeling weak, the strike having barely any force behind it in the fear that washed over her, the iron vibrating against him. 

 

 

Gin's arrival stopped her from following up on that question. As he barged into Akira and started shouting Hadley recoiled from the both of them, standing on the steps just above them, staring at them with a shellshocked look on her face. From where she was she had a better angle of Akira's face, the glowing eyes now visible to her at the edges of the sunglasses lenses. His expression, the fear, it wasn't of her, it was just LIKE her-

 

"You PRICK!" The gauntlet slammed into Gin's chest, Hadley's strike haphazard and not at full power but enough to hurt, maybe even knock him over, she didn't care. She shouted at him at the top of her lungs, voice raw and rasping: "The fight's DOWN THERE, you jackass! STOP IT!" This attracted views of the audience around them, but Hadley was yelling at Gin over the cacophony of the arena below, too distracted to notice. "Who gives a damn if yeh' so strong if all your Quirk is good for is making people afraid of yeh', eh? WHAT USE IS IT? Cut yer' Max Omega CRAP for half a SECOND, HERO!" The last word was spat at Gin, pure sarcasm and derisive malice coating it like poison. 

 

She seemed to want to say more, but her throat had closed, Hadley's entire body shaking uncontrollably. She realized she had started crying somewhere in the middle of her tirade, and she started to feel very small. Her gauntlets were vibrating hard enough to be audible, punctuated by small dinging noises coming from within. She collapsed onto one of the steps, holding the iron fists between her legs, trying to muffle them, her entire body seemingly shrinking around them.

 

"Please, please, just fer' ONCE," she whispered fiercely, "Fuckin' STOP."

[scooterulez]

BGM

"Well, I don't think it has to do with the school wanting us to living the 'No Pain, No Gain' mentality, but it has to just better ourselves so we can pass our own limits. And I don't know what you are taking here, but-" Before he could finish his thought Hadley has gone off walking back to the stands. Aaron looked around the hall to find himself all alone with only the echoes of the tournament and the occasional passerby filling the void. Aaron sat for a few more minutes, just going through his conversation with Hadley and wondering how it could've gone better. Soon the noise from the audience mixed with the hard floor became irritating to him and walking around would be better than wallowing on the ground. After stretching for a second or so,  Aaron proceeded to make his way back to the stands with his classmates.

 

As he entered the noisy arena, it seemed that Mike and Terro's fight was just getting good. Mike was showing off new moves that Aaron hasn't seen yet while Terro was a rock-man of some sort. As he proceeded towards his class stands, a confrontation between Hadley, Akira, and Gin, who Aaron thought was still in his room recovering, was taking place where he was walking towards. Avoiding getting into their mess, he power walked and kept a good distance away from them and advanced down the stands.

 

Glancing about, he could see that, outside of the 2 mentioned and Sayuri, everyone was here but spread out. 1-B were still huddled together, while 1-A was separated into 2 groups, being Ino, Asuka, and Isami together and Ichiro with someone Aaron doesn't recognize. Also, Creed was still missing and has been missing since his match earlier today. Nevertheless, Aaron decided to make contact with Ichiro as he was one of the few classmates that Aaron hasn't really made any connections with. "Hey, Ichiro. How's it going? Haven't really seen you since your match. You been doing good since then?"

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

Of course he ran into her. It had to be her. All Akira could do was stare as she began interrogating him, as if he knew something special about her. What was there even to know? Everyone here had their own origin story, why would she expect him to have taken the time to figure her's out? She bashed her hands against his chest as some kind of challenge, doing her best to act intimidating. Akira had no reason to fear anyone here, they were all small fry.

 

Before things could escalate any further, Akira felt a heavy impact against him, stumbling back slightly and catching himself on the railing. In front of him stood Gin, and he seemed a few tones angrier than usual. He grabbed onto Akira's shirt, barely masking the fact that it took every bit of his effort to even move his arm. "If I wanted to have gone all out there...there wouldn't be a stadium left." His grip faltered, before the hand fell back to his side. It looked particularly painful.  "Get it through your head Jackass...you aren't the only one trying to figure out how to tame their quirk in this world!" Replacing his arm back in the sling, Gin turned away. "You got anything else to say...you better say it now.  I'll give you the courtesy that your parents must not have taught you. I guess you've earned my respect that much."

 

Akira felt anger rising inside him. Gin wanted a fight? Akira wasn't usually the type to rise to the occasion, but today was a particularly aggressive day for him. Shutting Gin up would just be another one on the list of people who underestimated him. But he wouldn't let himself lose control. He wouldn't need to let loose to win this fight. In the back of his mind, he remembered what Gin's fangirl had said, about how Akira could be the Number 1 hero, and making this kind of mistake would take him out of the running. That would take a lot of pressure off of him, and that arrogant sheet was making the prospect more and more tempting. After all, he was only here because the school insisted upon it...

 

Akira could feel his muscles twitch, as he prepared to act. It would just take a passing thought to knock Gin out, and kick Akira out of this school. Free him from that desire he felt in his fight against Mike, allow him to push the rushing river of a quirk further back into his head. As he became more and more sure of this plan, this escape, his face became more and more panicked. But then, before he could act, a steel fist hit his target. "You PRICK! The fight's DOWN THERE, you jackass! STOP IT!" The girl had punched Gin before Akira even had a chance. And, she was right. Looking down, Akira could see the two still going at it, a constant back-and-forth of Terro escalating his quirk further and further, and Mike pushing his physical limits, relying on his quick reaction time to keep up. It reminded him of their fight barely an hour ago.

 

"Who gives a damn if yeh' so strong if all your Quirk is good for is making people afraid of yeh', eh? WHAT USE IS IT? Cut yer' Max Omega CRAP for half a SECOND, HERO!" She barely made it through the last sentence before her voice was raw. There was a constant pounding sound from the inside of her gauntlets, seemingly outside of her control. What kind of quirk did she have that she had to encase her hands in metal just to contain it? As she shrunk down to sit on the steps, Akira found himself in a strange moment of clarity: all three of them were terrified of their quirks. "Please, please, just fer' ONCE, fuckin' STOP."

 

Akira paused for a moment. Even though the crowd was constantly cheering, it was almost as if the trio was surrounded by silence. Taking a deep breath, Akira collected his thoughts. He could hardly believe what he was about to say. "Gin. Let me know if you ever want to... train... together." Even the word 'train' felt distasteful for him to say. "I think we could get a better grasp of each other's quirks than most people here." Gross. "And..." Akira bit his cheek. Now was the wrong time to forget a name. "Hartly..? Tell me about your quirk some time."

 

Akira carefully made his way around Gin, walking back down the steps. The seats by Gin's fangirl were still open, so he sat down, smiling slightly as he looked down on the fight. He could hear her taking a deep breath to say something, but cut her off before she could start, "let's just watch the fight, okay?"

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

"Emerald Comet!"

"Kohryuuga!!"

"Neon Strike!!"

 

Needless to say, this match was even more intense to Ichiro than he originally had thought. He knew both Terro and Mike were strong, but this match was definitely showing that off even more now. What was more, Terro even showed off a move that resembled Double Dragon's Quirk, Stand-In. That alone was impressive!

 

Wow...Terro even was able to utilize someone else's fighting style and made it his own...and with only one fight against him. Ichiro thought, smiling some. Then again, when we saw Double Dragon, Terro was instantly drawn to the hero just from that fight.

 

"Ichi! You got a friend talkin' to ya!" Rei finally snapped his brother out from his thoughts, just as he heard the end of Aaron's sentence.

 

"...-seen you since your match. You been doing good since then?"

 

Ichiro felt a little bad that he didn't even notice Aaron talking to him until Rei said something. "Sorry bout that Aaron...guess I was a bit more engrossed in this match than I thought." he chuckled lightly. "Anyway, I'm doing pretty good. I mean, as much as I can be right now..." he said, pointing at the arm in the sling. "Over did it against my match against Mike...still, your matches were pretty good too, both against that girl from 1-B and Mike."

 

 

 

Class B Squad

 

"So she doesn't want any visitors?" Casey asked, nodding slightly at Shin who had just came back from speaking to Nurse Neko.

 

"That's what Nurse Neko told me...wait...don't tell me you're thinking of..."

 

Casey gave Shin the most smug smile he could give. "Damn right I am! I'm gonna Hyperjump into Val's room. We gotta cheer her up!"

 

"Case is right." Aina said with a firm nod. "He's Hyperjumping us into that room and we're gonna make Val feel 10x better!"

 

"YOU guys are...I'm staying out here." Shin rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. "I'm respecting Val's wishes for this. And if you guys were wanting to cheer her up, you'd do the sa-"

 

"Your just being a stick in the mud. CASE! Let's go!"

 

Casey cracked his knuckles with a wide smirk. He held out his hand for Aina, who took it quickly. "We'll be back quicker than you can say, Blink!" he said, preparing to point towards Valerie's room.

[VCR_CAT]

Mike vs. Terro

Part 4

 

Terro enveloped the concrete of the stage around his body and stood strong and at the ready, smirking at Mike who couldn't help but just laugh under his breath.

 

"Nope, didn't think you'd make it easy," Mike said to himself, and started to run in Terro's direction. Mike activated his quirk and the jets on his suits strongly at first, but as he looked at Terro's stone suit he came to a realization that Terro probably couldn't move so quickly in such a form, and with this thought Mike chose to throttle back the use of his quirk somewhat, approaching at a noticeably slower rate.

 

Sure enough, the way Terro raised his foot before bringing it down was much more sluggish and deliberate, giving Mike just enough time to prepare for what was coming next. In a long line that ran from Terro, sharp spires of stalagmites pierced from the stage floor and into the air. Mike let loose a small flash of green energy that launched him just high enough into the first, landing with his feet and repeating the same motion from spire to spire, rapidly closing the distance. By the third leap, the spire Mike was heading for crumbled to rubble just as he was about to land on it.

 

"Shoot!" Mike shouted, awkwardly landing in a rough tumble. It wasn't pretty, nor did it even feel that great, but he was at least able to land on his feet and keep running in Terro's direction. Soon enough, Mike was close enough to see the whites of Terro's eyes and in a blur of motion dropped to the ground as a bright jet on the back of one of his heels fired, making a clean and brilliant arc of green light as his feet swept for Terro's own legs.

 

However, this was something Terro saw coming. In that moment, more of the stage crept up his legs, adding to the armor on his body and anchoring him in place. As Mike's boot collided, the stone around Terro shattered in a cloud of dust, but Terro was still firmly secure in place. Looking up, Mike could see Terro lunge forward with a massive stone fist, giving him only seconds to react and throw his body out of the way as the fist struck the stage with a loud rumble. Mike did his best to push himself into a kneeling position, watching the stone recollect on Terro's feet and keeping him strong in position.

 

Terro then help up a hand and closed his fist. Mike looked at him quizzically, wondering if this was some kind of taunt. However, as he felt the stage around him rumble, he looked up and around him and could see the stone closing in around like a concrete bubble. As the hole in the top grew smaller and smaller, Mike let loose a strong explosion of energy, launching him high into the sky and clear of the dome as it closed around him.

 

As quickly as he could, small bursts of energy along the remains of his suit fired to change his position in mid-air, and soon enough there was another blast as he sent himself flying feet-first as a human missile in Terro's direction. Once again, at the last moment Terro broke the stone around his feet and moved backward, the stones around his already massive rock-fist collecting and growing before throwing a large punch.

"Kohryuu Shi Ren Kugi Panchi!!" Terro shouted, the stone fist slamming into Mike's stomach as he practically flew into it, and as his body left in the opposite direction, the fist shattered apart and the stones collected into three smaller-yet-still-large rocks that immediately flew forward and rammed into Mike one by one, sending him flying back towards the center of the ring.

 

Mike found himself reminded of his last match, coughing as he gasped for breath, his stomach threatening to upturn its contents after such a hit. Yet, with hardly a chance to regain his bearings, Mike looked up and could see Terro running towards him, more of the stage collecting around his fist and, eventually, his arm as well for gargantuan effect. It wasn't long until he was in range, raising the fist high in the air and giving Mike only seconds to roll out of the way towards Terro's un-armed side. There was a loud bang and the arena shook as the arm practically became one with the ground itself.

 

Just as he thought he could take a moment to breath, Terro swung with his other arm in a swift chop, bringing all his strength into one, normal hit right where Mike's shoulder met with the rest of his body, sending a sharp pain through his torso. Instinctively, Mike let out the rest of the energy still in his suit, firing himself in a rough tumble out of the way and clear of danger for the time being.

 

This is crazy, Mike thought to himself as he did his best to catch his breath. Sure he's slower than Akira, but I don't know how many more of these I can take! Mike watched Terro closely, and after a few seconds caught sight of his shoulders and chest were rapidly rising and falling, and how his stance began to waver even in the slightest. There was a brief moment of hope as Mike saw this, a small glimmer that gave him just enough to drive to solidify his own stance.

 

He just might be able to do this!

[Mr. Hyde]

 

Gin stood there for a while, waiting for Akira's response.  However, someone beat him to the punch, literally.

 

"You PRICK!"  That girl who he had ran into again slammed her giant metal gauntlets into Gin's sternum.  The impact missed his arms, but he swore he heard something crack.  Those things weren't just paper mache, were they?  Gin grunted, as he stumbled back a little.  He raised his head to meet the girl's glance, his eyes retinas visibly rattling around out of anger.  "The fight's DOWN THERE, you jackass! STOP IT!"  The statement was so ironic that Gin cracked a smile, laughing angrily. "Who gives a damn if yeh' so strong if all your Quirk is good for is making people afraid of yeh', eh? WHAT USE IS IT? Cut yer' Max Omega CRAP for half a SECOND, HERO!"  The rattling noise coming from those gauntlets was probably the result of her quirk.  Gin couldn't care less.  "Please, please, just fer' ONCE," she whispered fiercely, "Fuckin' STOP."

 

Gin could feel his arms burning, wanting to unleash on someone.  He was so angry with all this pain...all the humiliation he had had today.  His fingers trembled, as he almost started to hyperventilate.  Then, Akira's voice broke out again.  

 

"Gin. Let me know if you ever want to... train... together." Those words...that sentence...for some reason it made him angrier.  Made his disdain for Akira rise even more.  Was it because Terro had said the same damn thing? "I think we could get a better grasp of each other's quirks than most people here." Disgusting. "And...Hartly..? Tell me about your quirk some time."

 

With that, Akira walked back towards the stands close to where he sat before.  Now it was just Gin and Hartly.  His eyes still focused on her.  

 

"You better watch yourself, you whining little sheet."  Gin muttered in her direction.  "If I ever get the chance...you're toast."  He didn't know whether to go back towards the stands, or travel into the stadium.  Thinking about it, watching the finals would just get him more riled up.  He needed to calm down.  Deciding on it, he headed back into hallway, to see if he could find a bench to cool off on.  He eventually found one, and took a seat.  There was a monitor straight next to him showing the fight, but he looked away.  If his arms were working, he could mess up the signal with a shot of some microwaves...but he wasn't up to the task.

 

Those three.

 

Hartly, Akira, and Terro.

 

"I'll put you all in your place.  The Otoma name will be number one."

 

In the stands, Erika pouted next to Akira.  He might as well had just said shut up.  She guessed he liked to sugar coat things a lot more than Gin.  

 

 

 

 "If I had to choose... I'd choose Mike.  I mean he managed to beat Akira, right? That on it's own right is pretty impressive...Terro's quirk is... kinda similar to Akira's... sort of?" He shrugged. "It's hard to say, and all this thinking is starting to give me a headache..."

 

After watching Terro turn the tables, Ino laughed at Isami.  

 

"Geez!  It doesn't take a genius to see that Terro's got this in the bag!  Look at that!  He's totally negating anything that Mike can dish out with that suit of armor!"  Ino scanned the stands for Akira, and found him sitting down next to that one girl from 1-B.  "After all, it looked like the things Akira was making with his Quirk could be dealt with pretty easily with Mike's Quirk...but Terro's got the whole dang earth to work with!"  Ino flexed, and raised an eyebrow.  "After all, he did beat me!"  She tucked her arms in towards her stomach to laugh out loud.  "I can't go rooting for the boy that didn't knock me out of the ring can I?"  

"

[~Faytl~]

Hadley felt like she was shrinking inward, away from everything. That screaming voice had filtered back into her head again, distant but still pounding against the outside of her mind. Her eyes were staring out at nothing, a bleary mixture of fear and anger. Anger at what, she wasn't sure. She rarely felt anything but that these days, the source was always secondary. 

 

She didn't listen to Akira until she heard her name. Or thought she heard her name. She was shaken out of her thoughts by the incorrect name, looking up briefly in confusion, surprised out of the depressive glaze that had fallen over her.

 

"It... It's Hadley..." she said flatly, lost for what else to say. The single request... or at least she thought it was a request, it was hard to tell with Akira... It echoed in her mind, overlaying with the voice and eventually overtaking it. What did he MEAN by that? She was too taken aback to even present an angry or sarcastic comment. 

 

Gin was more simple. Hadley twisted her face as he spat his hateful words at her, and she returned some herself, resentfully leering up at the boy as he went up the steps. 

 

"Did the villains at Kashyyyk teach ye' tha'? Best heroes in the world teachin' ya and THIS is the best ye' can do? Threatenin' ME? Feck off, ya little strobe light." She leaned back on the steps, breathing in deeply. "Tha' SHITE'S even worse than Tomoaki. How's someone like him get into the Hero Course? Just cause he can nearly kill someone so easy? funk's sake."

 

She forced herself to breath in again, her body shaking. This wasn't working, ranting to herself about Gin was only riling her up more. She could practically feel the panic attack coming. She looked around wearily, pawing awkwardly at her jacket pocket, but the gauntlets were, as always, a barricade to easy access. She bit her lip, trying not to shout in frustration, before standing, striding down the stairs of the arena, trying not to clomp down, trying to keep it together.

 

"Hey." She was next to Akira. She didn't sit, crossing her arms on the wall in front of her to lean forward over it, seeing the fight below them better. Someone in the row behind rose to complain, but a single withering glare was enough to return him to his sear. As she stood there the fight whirled before her eyes, Mike and Terro tearing across the battleground. She had watched them both fight all day, and she still couldn't believe they were still going at each other this hard, after all they had been up against. Mike especially, she thought, as she realized he had to have beaten Akira to get here. 

 

It doesn't matter, any of this, she thought. But they're still fighting. They just keep going... How the hell can they? 

 

She turned her head away from Akira, pinching her face together, trying not to cry again, hoping he couldn't see her face. "Don't talk, just... These fuckin' things are..." She tapped a gauntlet on the wall, the metal still ringing lowly, vibrating ever so slightly. "Just shut up an' help me get somethin' outta me damn pocket." She reached down and pulled away the right side of her jacket. She made sure the left half of her jacket was well out of his reach, flapping the right half to make sure that was the one he went for. 

 

Akira kept his head turned away as well, actively making the same effort to keep eye contact out of the equation. A burst of light came from within the pocket, and a piece of his hard light lifted out, off the end of it dangling a large pair of headphones, black with red trim, a cord trailing into the pocket behind it.

 

Hadley guided it towards her head, slipping it over her ears, the music coming from them drowning out the fight. 

 

 

Hadley closed her eyes, breathing in again. She forced it through her body, like she was trying to restrain herself with pure thought and breath. The gauntlets slowly stopped their humming, the dinging slowly dwindling down until it halted, after about a minute. She started to bob her head, shutting out the fight below, shutting out the people around her, not thanking Akira. She was pretty sure he preferred it that way.

 

God, these Hero Coursers... They're insane. All of 'em insane.

[King K. Azo]

The Battle Continues

 
Terro noticed that Mike was waiting, letting him have the initiative... not the worst plan, as reacting from this distance wouldn't be too hard, but it did let Terro catch his breath for a few seconds. However, seeing how focused Mike was and how he was not attacking, Terro would have to be one to initiate the attack. Using his right arm, Terro fired off a Jiskenken, the wave of earth headed to Mike as Terro used his other arm to raise a large piece of rock and throw it at Mike's chest, the rock flying much faster than the Jiskenken.
 
Mike watched the rock fly at him before taking off, using a very small amount of Force to dodge the rock aimed at his chest, and then using another tiny burst to flip over the Jiskenken. Although he had used this opportunity to close the distance some, he wasn't actively rushing towards Terro, instead, still waiting. Terro grinned under his helmet, realization coming on his face. Mike was playing a defensive game, the exact thing Terro excelled at. Terro could try to turtle up and play this game, but Terro had determined he would be more aggressive. After all, the last two times he wasn't aggressive, he got an X-Caliber and a case of heat exhaustion. 

The rock covered fighter began to charge forward, holding his shoulder in front of him, like he was a football player about to ram his opponent. To help with this endeavor, he gathered a bunch of rocks into his shoulder, making it bulkier, like a battering ram. Mike watched Terro approach and took a deep breath, sliding into a stance he had seem many times in the past month. Terro recognized it instantly, even though it wasn't as well practiced... it was Terro's fighting stance.

"Trying my defensive style since reckless offense isn't a good choice, huh?" Terro called out. "Remind me to give you some pointers after the tournament!" The martial artist charged straight and true, like a bull rushing at a matador waving a cloth. However, like a matador, Mike wasn't playing on taking it head on.
 
Much like earlier against Akira... Mike let out the slightest puff of energy, letting him sidestep Terro, bringing his arm to blast Terro forward out of the stage. Unlike Akira, however, Terro was on the ground... and ready for this. Terro forced himself to stop, although his body was still skidding some from the momentum of his run. He then turned, using his arm to hit Mike's arm and redirect it away from him. His momentum, however, made him slide away too far from Mike to follow up. "That was close," Terro muttered. "Almost got me with that to,"
 
Mike was not expecting such a defensive move, and he nearly fired off his Force into the ground, although he managed to hold it back in order to not waste it. "You think so, huh?" Mike asked before using a strong burst to fling him forward at high speeds. The distance was too small for Terro to ready a counterattack, so he tried to raise his arms to block it. Normally, he'd be able block it... but the added weight made him too slow to do so.
 
Mike crashed into Terro, sending him skidding back and cracking the stomach of the armor, although it still stood. However, Mike then fired off his quirk again, and before Terro could react, the Green Hero collided with the Armored Hero a second time, destroying the armor around the stomach and sending Terro flying across the stage, rapidly approaching the edge. 

"No, no, not here! I'm not... finished yet!" Terro thought panicked, before reaching his left arm out. The earth responded, the stage rushing to the arm and creating a sort of clamp that bit down on the arm. It held firm enough to stop Terro's momentum, but a sharp, familiar pain was felt in his shoulder, which caused Terro to loudly cry out in pain. The martial artist fell to his knees, the armor falling apart as he gritted his teeth. Dislocated shoulders weren't fun, but he knew how to deal with one.Taking deep breaths, he slowly and carefully moved so his hand was behind his head, and reached for his good shoulder. The sudden relief told him he did it right, although the shoulder still ached a little.

Terro stood up slowly, grinning a little. "Well, you're giving it your all, fighting with all you have, so, I should do the same, right?" He called out to Mike, the grin only getting wider. "Let's see how far I can go!"
 

 

Terro crouched over, taking a huge breath before letting out a long yell, the stage beginning to shake and crack as he did. The earth from the stage and the earth from around the stage began to fly over to Terro, swirling around him like a maelstrom. Mike watched as the stage was rapidly eaten up, soon only leaving a square for him to stand on, the square being about five feet wide, the same being left for Terro. 

The martial artist kept yelling as he stood up, the earth he gathered converging on him, stacking on and around him, creating something... big. Terro could feel himself sweating and rapidly tiring from the screaming and this stunt he was pulling, but this was an all out attack. He either succeeded here, or he would lose trying. The rocks kept piling around him, forming a huge mound... until the screaming stopped... Mike clenched his fist, waiting to see what Terro was up to...
 

 

The ground rumbled as the mound began to move, rising higher and higher, until Mike realized what was happening. Terro had made a huge golem from all the earth he could control! The golem stood at its huge height of fifteen feet, the large arms attached to its side clenching into fists. It had no feet, instead the stage Terro had left underneath was serving as its support.
 
Terro was inside of the golem, a small area kept hollow for him, with a slot so he could see, and air could come in. "This is everything I have Mike!" He called out, although it was obvious it was taking all his strength to make this... and that this would be his last move. "It ends here, one way or another! Here we go!" He drew back  his right arm, the golem mimicking him with its oversized fist. "Finishing Move!" He called out before throwing a punch.
 

"COLOSSAL CRUSHER!!!"

[Yui]

---

"You know, I'm not totally sure! But do you see Mike zooming down there!? There's no way Terro can keep up!" Asuka nodded in agreement, taking down a bite of ice cream as she watched the finalists duke it out. The fight so far was proving one thing for certain. If the class had anyone that could keep up with Mike's mobility, it couldn't have been more than two or three students. "But Tewwo dib thawt reawwy coow stadioom fwip thing. Maybe it'll work again! But if I were anyone else, I'd probably have a plan for that! It all comes down to the plan, man!"

 

"If I had to choose... I'd choose Mike. I mean he managed to beat Akira, right? That on it's own right is pretty impressive... Terro's quirk is... kinda similar to Akira's... sort of? It's hard to say, and all this thinking is starting to give me a headache..."

 

"Terro's stage-flip move also really took it out of him. It might have just been heat exhaustion from Clark's Quirk, but he was out cold after flipping the stage. Risking the entire tournament on somebody not having a plan for it wouldn't be very smart after showing off a feat of strength like that."

 

Asuka watched the fight with escalating interest. Terro was pulling out a lot of moves with his Quirk that he hadn't shown before. Up until his last fight, he'd focused mostly on his raw martial skills, using his Quirk as backup to that. Now it felt like it was the other way around. Perhaps because of it, Asuka was finally getting a firm sense of just how powerful Terro's Quirk really was. The ability to bend the earth around him to his own will wasn't to be trifled with. If he trained hard enough, would be become able to form diamonds from the earth?

 

...probably not. The heat needed to create diamonds would be too much to get naturally, and even if he asked Clark for help, she'd likely kill herself and melt him in the process before reaching high enough temperatures. Besides, gemstones are MY thing. Kind of...

 

However, the fight suddenly began to escalate much more quickly. Asuka nearly dropped her ice cream at the sight before her. Terro had - using the earth within the arena - created what could only be described as a huge suit of armor. The shape was rough, and it didn't have a bottom half, but it seemed to be an attack that relied on the size of Terro's creation instead of the finer details.

 

"COLOSSAL CRUSHER!!!"

 

Asuka leaned forward in her seat. One way or another, this fight was about to end. Would Mike really be okay if he got hit by that, though? It looked pretty dangerous. His space to dodge was also very limited. And of course, Tero had a pretty good attack name. As the massive earthen fist closed in on Mike, Asuka couldn't help but feel this was the end.

 

"It looks like Terro's going to come out on top," she commented, taking another bite of ice cream. She had to hurry before it started melting.

---

Sayuri had already written everything down. Along her way to locate Suna - pretty easy task since he hadn't really moved since the start of the fight - Sayuri had a bit of time to think about and write down exactly what she wanted to tell her teacher. She'd gotten the answers she wanted from 1-B, and didn't want to impose and take up too much of his time, and besides, answering these types of questions and concerns was a teacher's job, right?

 

And so, once she'd gotten back to the spot Suna was watching from, briefly pausing in amazement at Terro's newest trick - something that impressive probably deserved some sort of award, right? - she tapped her teacher's shoulder with the trusty whiteboard, before holding it up to show him, looking at the end of the fight in front of her rather than the person she was "talking" to.

 

I got some very helpful answers from 1-B! I had other questions I wanted to ask today to other people, but since you're the easiest to find, I'm starting with you. Why did you want to be a hero in the first place?

 

Also, I'm sorry about not joining the tournament. I knew I would have probably lost in the first round in a straight and fair fight like these, so I opted out of it, but I'm regretting being the odd one out a bit when everyone else is trying so hard and learning new things about their Quirks.

---

[👀 REP 👀]

 

---

 

Isami watched on, starting to understand more so why Ino seemed to think Terro had it in the bag, although Mike nearly knocked Terro out at one point. Isami was no longer as sure as who would win this now, his attention drawn to the fight closer than he had ever been. Which is to say, slightly less distracted than before. However...
 
"COLOSSAL CRUSHER!!!"

The boy was now at the edge of his seat. Even he knew that when a move like that was announced that their cards were all on the table now. This battle was going to end soon, Isami could feel - one way or another.

"Well, if I've watched enough television, this would be the part where Mike uses his big special move." He said, before taking another nibble of his ice cream. "Either way, we'll find out soon enough who's going to win I think."

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

Akira's eyes darted back and forth, carefully tracking Mike as he used his quirk to enhance his own athleticism, pulling off acrobatic feats that would impress anyone. This is his strength. Mike was fast enough to outmaneuver most attacks, allowing him to land his own counters when his opponent least expected it. That was how he had won his previous fight. What he lacked in power, he more than made up for with agility. But unlike Akira, Terro was actually fighting in a way that could counter it. With a defensive focus that seemed to protect him from all directions, he prioritized his own safety. Considering the finite nature of Mike's quirk, it was the best tactic against him by a mile.

 

Their fight went back and forth, as they each closely incorporated their quirks into their body movements. It didn't look like a fight between students, instead showing a surprising level of mastery from each of them. With a burst of speed, Mike managed to break through Terro's armor, launching him back and injuring his arm, but then... he pushed it back into place. Ick. With a grin, Terro spoke his true intent: He wanted to see just how much he could do. Akira had to admit, he himself was curious as well. As he screamed, matching the roar of the crowd, chunks of the stage dislodged themselves from the ground, hurtling toward Terro, accumulating into a giant stone golem, with Terro sitting inside. It was hard to tell from this distance, but it looked like there was a tiny window so Terro could see his opponent.

 

The giant rose its right arm. "Finishing move," Terro called out from within, his voice holding a slight echo. He paused for a split second, bracing himself before he used the boulder of a fist to throw a haymaker worthy of its name: "Colossal Crusher!"

 

Go Beyond

 

Time felt as if it had slowed down, and before he knew it, Akira found himself leaning over the railing, looking down at Mike as the fist closed in. Was this how it ends? Was Terro going to succeed where Akira had failed, or... You already beat the strongest, so... Akira could feel it within him, the same feeling before he manifested the wing in his own fight against Mike, the desire to push the limits of what they all thought was possible, to Go Beyond. Without him even being completely aware of it, his thoughts materialized into speech, four simple words shouted out in the midst of all the cheering and the sounds of Terro's rumbling creation:

 

"Don't lose now, Mike!!!"

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

Unfortunately for Ichiro, it seemed that Aaron had turned silent for the remainder of the conversation. He shrugged it off, nonetheless, the guy was always quiet in class and didn't socialize too much with anyone else and kept to himself and the piano in the music room. Least that's what he was told anyway.

 

"Not much of a talker, is he?" Rei leaned in and whispered to Ichiro, only seeing him shake his head slightly.

 

"Let's see how far I can go!"

 

Ichiro now was staring intently at Terro as he did what could only be described as some anime scream and seemed to be pulling the earth from around the stage which was a feat in general to see. And now, what was before his sight?

 

"Finishing Move!"

"COLOSSAL CRUSHER!!!"

 

"A-A freakin' golem?!" Ichiro exclaimed, on the edge of his seat at seeing what Terro basically conjured up. Part of him was excited, but at the same time, he felt his undamaged fist clenching tightly. This guy was able to utilize his Quirk to another level...and this was just a level further beyond to that. To him, Ichiro felt a little jealous at this point. Someone who had this much control of their Quirk and could use it at such an amazing level.

 

...would I be just like Terro or anyone else...if I could just get this Quirk under control? Ichiro thought, sighing with a small smile on his face.

 

 

Class B Squad

 

"We'll be back quicker than you can say, Blink!" Casey said, pointing towards Valerie's door...more specifically, towards the small area underneath the door. "Hang on!" Within mere seconds, Casey and Aina Hyperjumped from their position in the hallway right into the room that Valerie was currently residing.

 

"VAL! We're here to make you feel better!" Aina declared with a happy voice.

 

The voice being heard from the hallway, to which Shin was just leaning against the wall, staring at the clock just waiting to see how long this will last until the two just get kicked out.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Valerie stared at the television screen. What was that? Her grip tightened on the blanket as she watched Terro tear the stage up like it was nothing. The golem wasn't what impressed her. Just the thought that he could have broken the very stage if he had wanted to...

 

And he hadn't when they fought. Yes, what he had done was incredible. But he had even more power and tricks up his sleeve that he didn't use? She thought she had gone all out and she had assumed it was the same for Terro.

 

But no...she hadn't even brought out his best. Damn it, damn it damn it all! She wanted to scream and toss things around. Only holding back out of respect for the nurse who would have to deal with the outburst.

 

She wasn't nearly strong enough. Her training would have to get more intense. More frequent. She couldn't let any distractions...

 

"VAL! We're here to make you feel better!"

 

A couple of distractions suddenly appeared into her room. Valerie stared straight at the television. She barely even seemed to notice their presence.

She looked as though she was intently focused on the match but in reality she was trying to figure out what to do. They had arrived and Aina's words confirmed exactly what she feared. They felt she needed to be cheered up.

What she needed was to be left alone.

What she needed was to distance from them to focus on training.

But they wouldn't let that happen.

And she wasn't allowed to ignore them like that.

Not if she intended to be a symbol. A hero. The hero. The top hero.

 

Valerie turned her head to the pair and gave them her signature wild grin. "You guys are in such trouble if the nurse catches you. You've got nothing to worry about. It's me we're talking about. Nothing's gonna keep Heat Wave down." She glanced back at the match. "You're gonna want to get back to the stands. This is gonna be something you'll want to see up close. Take notes both of you. I expect you to be at their level at least by next year."

 

Maybe being forced to taste the bitterness that the deceptively confident words left in her mouth was just another thing she had to do to make up for her loss.

[Yui]

---

Class 1-B

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap...

 

The sound of footsteps. One, two... four pairs of feet. Anyone who followed the sound to its source though, would find only one person behind it. Indeed, one girl, scuttling along the ceiling of the hallway. After Valerie's loss in the semifinals, she had fully intended to pay Valerie a very brief visit, then be on her way, but as she got near the door, she suddenly heard the voice of Aina calling out from what she assumed was Valerie's room.

 

"VAL! We're here to make you feel better!"

 

Ahwwww, I'm not the first one here? What a shame. The girl gave other classmate Shin a brief wave as she approached the door, leaning in and pressing her ear against it. Now that she wasn't first, she'd have to pick just the right moment to come in. If there was one thing Sayaka Hachimoto prided herself on, it was good timing. And strong webbing. Also her totally harmless shenanigans.

 

...point being, Sayaka was always rather proud of having good timing, and she wasn't going to mess it up today. As she listened in from across the door, one thing in particular stood out from Valerie's mouth.

 

"You guys are in such trouble if the nurse catches you."

 

Were they not supposed to be visiting? Well, if that's the case...

 

As if completely disregarding her own conclusion, Sayaka reached for the doorknob, turning then opening it... then unleashed a spray of webbing, aimed directly at the two unwelcome visitors. Once the two were sufficiently webbed and stuck to one another - definitely something that would make it hard for them to move around -  Sayaka crawled in through the doorway, before leaping down to the floor near Casey and Aina.

 

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Leave the unwelcome visits to the expert, okay?" With that, Sayaka grabbed her classmates by the webbing connecting them, and continued "C'mon, I'll un-web you once we're outta here. Sorry if these knuckleheads were botherin' ya, Val." Paying no mind to any protests that may have come from Casey and Aina, and spraying some extra webbing onto Casey's arms to keep him from Hyperjumping out conveniently, Sayaka started for the door, dragging her students along as she started "Seriously, Hyperjumping through the window? You're lucky I found you instead of Erika." More lecturing - though much of it boiled down to "if you're going to misbehave, do it better" - followed, as she led them out the door and closed it.

---

[scooterulez]

Just as Ichiro started talking back, Aaron’s mind went away from the conversation as he was distracted by the ongoing fight in front of him, but with a quick realization “Oh! Sorry. . .um. . . yeah, outside of that stupid technicality, I did do good in this tournament. And for the winner in the finals, it can go either way in my book, everyone's a winner as long as they take a loss.” Ichiro seemed to have gone back to the fight, so Aaron took a quick time looked back up at the stands where Gin was at only to see him and Akira sitting together, maybe they got over their differences, but Gin’s face says otherwise. "A-A freakin' golem?!" Aaron turned back to the fight to see Terro going all out and attacking Mike with a monstrous looking golem with his quirk. To think he had this much potential in his abilities to conjure up a monster and control it just like Double Dragon’s quirk. Just thinking about it, it must take an enormous amount energy, maybe more than Mike, to do this, Terro might even win.

 

My quirk can’t compare to the strength of that, he is on a completely different level than me, but maybe I might be better in other ways if I reevaluate my strengths tonight.

 

Reeling back from the fight, Aaron turned back to Ichiro, "Anyways, as I hope I'm not going into a personal thing but how many times have you gone into surgery to fix your body? Your bones and ligaments must be hurting from just the multiple breaks over that amount of time, especially your arms, even if your muscles are tearing and becoming stronger. If I remember correctly, you have been using your arms a lot from the times I have seen you fight, maybe a break for your arms might be well overdue. I have read that the muscles and bones in your legs are actually stronger than your arms as they support and carry the majority of your weight. I am one lacking in the physical side of things, maybe we could help each other on our lackings, even build up the techniques suited for our quirks." Aaron stopped talking to watch the rest of the fight play out, but still keeping an ear out for Ichiro's response.

[VCR_CAT]

Mike vs. Terro

Finale

 

Mike watched, jaw agape, as the entirety of the stage was sucked up and consumed to form one massive body that towered into the air, almost three times as tall as Mike himself.

"This is everything I have Mike!" Terro called, the strain in his voice clear but his speech unwavering. "It ends here, one way or another! Here we go!" The giant reared its arm back and a massive fist was formed, the largest yet to be seen. “Finishing move!”

 

“COLOSSAL CRUSHER!”

 

Mike felt frozen in place as the giant moved, a million different things to do running through his head as he watched its fist pull back, all of which only serving to further confuse and complicate the situation. By now, he wasn’t even afraid of losing, he was fully afraid of what was going to happen when the fist hit, and he wondered if he had pushed Terro too far without realizing what he was capable of. However, just as the fist began to move, four words resonated clearly from the crowd:

 

"Don't lose now, Mike!!!"

 

The air rumbled as the fist forced its way forward, and with those words all thoughts seemed to clear from Mike’s mind in an instant, and all that remained was pure instinct and reflex. He didn’t have his helmet, or the gauge it gave of how much energy was in his suit, but glancing at the brightness of the glow from its decoration he got a decent idea of what was left, and what he could do.

Once Terro was fully committed to the punch, Mike released a powerful blast of force, sending his body flying forward, into the air. His feet touched down on the arm of the giant, running along the joint up onto the shoulder. The arena shook as the fist collided with a deafening crash into the ground, and the vibrations that shook along the stone body could be felt to the bone. Sizeable stones began to break apart from the body, float in the air for a second, before flying in the general direction that Mike was in.

However, all precision seemed to be gone from Terro’s attacks, and as each was vaulted over the other, Mike ducked and wove between the projectiles until he reached the top of the torso. The giant shook once more as the other arm lifted, forming what looked like the rough form of a giant palm that moved to swat where Mike was. This was it, one last shot. No do-overs, no second chances.

“It’s do-or-die!” Mike shouted, expending the last of the energy in his suit to fire himself back into the air, high above the giant. All that was left was what energy he had in his body, after that he was finished. He had to make this count.

Mike remembered his match against Aaron, and closed his eyes, focusing on what he wanted his body to do and willed it to happen. Small, precise jets of force burst from his wrists and ankles, spinning his body like a figure skater performing a selchow. Then, he remembered his match against Akira, and focused the rest of his energy into his palms, raised above his head, drumming up as much force as he could without pushing himself too far, only as much as needed.

“Horizon series!” Mike shouted from the top of his lungs.

 

“HELIX DRILL BREAK!!”

 

The force exploded from Mike’s palms, the energy from his hands and feet glowing brighter and forming a spiraling trail in his wake, one that appeared in an instant as his body shot like bullet towards the stone giant. As he flew, he expelled what was left of his energy through his feet, blasting through the stone body in an explosion of dust that glowed a bright green.

A second explosion of dust resounded from the golem’s back, and flying out in a trail of grit and debris was Terro himself, slamming hard into the side of the arena wall. Terro’s body slid down the side and slumped at the bottom, a smile painted across his face.

"Does this.... Mean I lose...?” He began to chuckle weakly as he looked to the sky. “That was a great fight... I wish we could have... Fought more," Terro said, his voice faint as his eyes closed.

The stone giant began to crumble in an instant, stones falling to the ground and knocking against each other in a cacophony of noise. Mike had stopped right inside the giant’s body as his feet connected with Terro, and he found himself spun around, facing up-side down as the surface beneath him began to fall away. Pushing himself with his hands and with a wave of nausea flooding his body, he forced himself up and sprung with his legs towards the nearest source of daylight, clearing the golem’s body as it became nothing more than a pile of rubble.

Mike landed on his feet, but he had next to no strength left in his body, instantly crumbled to his hands and knees the moment his feet touched the ground. His breathing was hollow, uneven, and ragged, and as he tried to push himself to his knees his body swayed from side to side, his vision blurring and unconsciousness threatening to take over.

Yet, he pushed himself to his knees, and one shaking step at a time he pushed himself to his feet. Swaying on the spot and without the strength to raise his head or his body into a full, upright posture, he thrust his fist into the air.

 

 

WINNER: MICHAEL ROSENFELD!

[Mr. Hyde]

 

Suna watched the fights developments with a slight grin.  The two were going at it with there all.  It was much more nuanced than their first bout with their quirks on the first day of school.  They were all evolving at such a rapid pace, he couldn't help but be somewhat proud.  He then felt a tap on his shoulder.  He turned over to see Sayuri with her dry erase board.  

 

"How do you keep getting down here?  Now I have to look out for you while this fight goes on...sheesh."

 

I got some very helpful answers from 1-B! I had other questions I wanted to ask today to other people, but since you're the easiest to find, I'm starting with you. Why did you want to be a hero in the first place?

 

"So that Mako is good for somethin, huh?"  Suna dragged his hand across his mouth, trying to find the right answer for his student.  "I like money."  He said with the same grin he had been watching the fight with.  "I wanted a stable income, and hero business was booming.  Was that the answer you were looking for?" 

 

Also, I'm sorry about not joining the tournament. I knew I would have probably lost in the first round in a straight and fair fight like these, so I opted out of it, but I'm regretting being the odd one out a bit when everyone else is trying so hard and learning new things about their Quirks.

 

"Looks like you're already beating yourself up about it...so there's no sense in lecturing you about not giving up.  That's not what heroes do.  That's not what someone who joins U.A. does.  You have a bright future Sayuri.  You just gotta stop dogging on yourself.  You're stronger than you think."  He leaned in and whispered to her.  "Personally, I think you've got the upper hand on Isami.  But don't tell him I said that."  Sand started to form around Sayuri, as a big wall appeared in front of her body.  A little hole was then shaped out so she could watch the match.  "Just to be safe...I don't think you'll want to miss any of this."  

 

 

 

“HELIX DRILL BREAK!!”

 

The sheer willpower in the voice was enough to make Ino start to shake, causing her Ice Cream to fall to the side.  However, she was too enamored by the display to slightly care.  Mike had blasted through that Golem, only to have Terro pop out from the other side.  They were both so strong!  On the edge of her seat, she jumped out and started hopping around.  

 

"I told ya!  I told ya!  Mike had this in the bag!  Let's go 1-A!  YEAH!" 

 

A couple of rows down, Erika crossed her arms.  

 

"Well...I wouldn't say that wasn't impressive."  She turned to Akira, with a rather smug look.  "Looks like your words of encouragement helped him a little.  Way to go hero."  

 

 

 

Gin could only look at the screen out of the corner of his eye. 

 

"Pathetic."  

 

 

After a slight intermission, three contestants were brought out to center stage.  Akira, Mike, and Terro would all stand there, as the stadium applauded their efforts.  Mako and Suna now stood among a group of faculty that were waving towards the audience.  Madam Mic then made her way towards all the contestants, handing a bronze medal to Akira, a Silver to Terro, and the Gold to Mike.  She bowed towards each of them, before giving a flirtatious wink and some ear plugs.  She turned towards the crowd, and gave a cute pose for the camera, bringing her microphone closer to her mouth.  

 

"Now let's give our winners another round of applause!"  

 

There was another booming in the stadium from all of the simultaneous clapping.  Suna had hopped up towards all three of them and smiled.  

 

"See.  There you go doing something crazy Khikyu."  He gave him a thumbs up.  "But I think your actions inspire those around you to one up you.  Keep at it.  All the other students could use some encouragement like that."  He then went to Mike, and nodded.  "Well surprise me why don't you?  I thought I'd have to deal with Otoma or Tomoaki right here...but you're proving yourself to be a class A hero.  Although, can't say I'm entirely happy about a Canadian taking the whole thing, I'll respect your win here.  I'm expecting more from you."  And then lastly, he went to Akira.  "Yo.  Way to blow it."  He snickered a bit before giving him a thumbs up as well.  "Maybe these kids are rubbing off on you in a good way, huh?  Work at it.  You got more to deal with than just your Quirk."  

 

"But let's also give another shout out to all of our participants in today's events!  They did an excellent job showing their first year fighting spirit!"  

 

Another boom.  It almost felt as if the entire stadium was shaking.  Just then, the feed from the giant monitor began to static, changing the scene from the floor of the stadium, to some dark room.  A figure emerged and was shown, shrouded in a dimly lit room so no one could see their face.  The stadium went silent, as the figure started to laugh.

 

"So this is what the so called 'heroes' like to do in their spare time?  Make young children fight?  Despicable.  A tradition of violence for the sake of violence, and nothing more."  The noise sounded like it was coming from everywhere.  Half of the stadium had their phones out ready to record the situation, but saw that the live feed for the tournament had been taken over, broadcasting instead the dark figure.  "Making the future generation fight for your entertainment is not what those who prance around spewing silly ideals should do.  Think of the quirkless masses!  Will their children be used as fodder in upcoming events?  To show how powerless they truly are against the population that is going to wipe them out?!  Think of the poor citizens of Kashyyyk, who were wiped away in a mere instant thanks to the inaction of your heroes!"  The voice was now quivering, as if sadness had crept into their words.  "I cannot sit idly by, and watch the future be overrun by these  barbaric monsters!  We are the Quirkless Liberation Front!  We will make sure that history will forget this bleak turnout, and ensure the survival of all Quirkless people from here on out!  Everyone who is unsatisfied with the current system, rise with us!  Together, we shall take the future from those trying to seize it for themselves!  We can go back to the old ways...we only need to be rid of one thing.  Heroes."

 

"Cut the feed!" President Glory roared.  

 

"It's pointless."  Suna said.  "It's being broadcast everywhere.  We can't cut them all simultaneously."

 

"And we shall start...here!"  

 

A loud crash could be heard, as one side of the stadium was obliterated in an instant.  Dust and debris flew across the entire stadium.  The cries of the injured were drowned out by an incredible roar.  From the cloud of dust, a large shadow could be seen looming, until it marched further.  Its large foot crushed into the stands, and plowed straight through to the bottom.  It was revealed to be a Giant Lizard-like creature, whose muscles were pulsing and steaming.  It looked towards all the heroes, as it gave a snort that cleared the dust around it, revealing it's enormous size.  It head barely was able to peak over the stadium, but its sheer size was enough to make the heroes freeze for a moment.  Atop the monsters head was a small girl, a cloaked hulking person, and two sleek women.  One wore a mask, the other had crystals floating behind her back.

 

"Yahoo!  It's time for the Big Event!!!!"  The small girl said as she threw her hands up, prompting the beast to roar again.

[~Faytl~]

The fight in front of Hadley barely seemed real. She hadn't ever seen such destructive power channeled before, but Terro was doing one hell of a job of it. And yet there was Mike, shooting around with unreal speed, somehow escaping the brunt of it. Half in the moment, half in the music filtering into her ears, Hadley couldn't really process it.

 

Is this what it's like? She found herself idly thinking. A fight between two people who can use their Quirks correctly? The concept still seemed so foreign to her. She looked down at the gauntlets covering her hands, biting her lip, a lump forming in her throat. Any time she thought about this that scream started pounding in her head again. She slumped on her elbows, leaning on the wall in front of her, feeling tired.

 

What the hell use is it? 

 

"Don't lose now, Mike!"

 

Hadley was jolted out of her stupor, turning back as the headphones slipped off of her ears at AKIRA, of all people. She saw the rude, confident in his superiority Akira... cheering for someone else. Wanting him to win.

 

Aaron's words earlier rang in her head. Was this what they were proving themselves for? Not for UA... but each other?

 

The end of the fight didn't even register to Hadley. Her head was elsewhere. The logo of UA loomed inside her mind, overshadowing her, Ichiro, Akira, Gin, all of them. She had felt it for so long now, she could swear up and down that it's very existance dominated all of them. She was certain. Right?

 

She saw that Akira had left, that he was down in the center of the arena. For a brief second she wished she had said something before she left, said anything even if she didn't know what. Madam Mic stepped up, and Hadley suddenly felt a pang of guilt at seeing her. She averted her eyes for the remainder of the ceremony, turning and striding back up the steps.

 

And that was when it started.

 

The figure on the screen scornfully rejected everything the tournament stood for, resonating with every belief Hadley had held for the last several years. She grit her teeth, sinking down at the top of the stairs to her knees as the words drilled into her head.

 

Everyone who is unsatisfied with the current system, rise with us!  Together, we shall take the future from those trying to seize it for themselves!  We can go back to the old ways...we only need to be rid of one thing.  Heroes."

 

Hadley turned back, looking at the figure, trying not to panic. The words it said made so much sense to her... But Akira's cry of encouragement...

 

The arena shook as a portion of it was broken away. Hadley barely stayed upright, whirling around to look at the giant hulking beast that had destroyed the stadium like it was nothing. "Holy fuckin'..." she breathed, standing to look at the devastation before her. The beast had friends, a cadre of people on it's back. People who looked like thery had plans for the rest of the stadium.

 

In a snap decision, Hadley was running down the stairs, through the crush of people that were going the other way, looking around wildly as she forced her way through. Where are they, where are they, where-

 

She stopped short, almost getting swept away before she managed to force herself down to the seat where Ichiro was sitting. She jumped at him, wrapping her arms around one of his own and yanking.

 

"C'MON!" she shouted at him, already turning back towards the stairs. "We gotta get tha funk outta here, now! The funk is the wolf gal?" Sheer unadulterated panic was evident as she pulled at him, yanking at his upper arm as she tried to force him to follow her, her eyes wild, gauntlets dinging loudly.

[King K. Azo]

Terro woke up to the sun shining in his face, almost as if he was bathed in the light of his failure to win. However, it didn't feel like a loss to Terro. He only felt satisfaction... he got a few minutes to rest before he was taken to the stage, taking deep breaths to keep himself standing. He had the strength to stand and walk, but probably not too much else right now. It was a good thing nothing else was going to happen. 

They got medals, which were pretty nice. It would look nice next to the other trophies and prizes back at the dojo... and it would be the first of its kind to. That would be neat. All in all, today was a good day.

And then it wasn't.

 

The screens went dark, revealing a dark figure, who was spooky. He went on a villainous monologue that didn't make too much sense to Terro. They spoke of Kashyyyk, the area that was blown up, and how it was the heroes' fault, despite the fact that it wasn't the heroes that blew it up...? They were the Quirkless Liberation Front... that used quirks, as evident by the giant lizard that burst through the wall. 

It was horrific. Not only was the monster terrifying, but it had destroyed part of the stadium, and the roar it had was hardly a roar, but more like a bomb going off. Terro had to cover his ears, but when the roaring ended, Terro turned to his fellow winners, his mind racing. He was too tired, and there was no way Mike had the energy to go. That left only...

 

"Akira," Terro suddenly called. "Can you help the people?" He asked, a serious look on his face. "Mike and I are too tapped out, and the heroes more than likely will be facing the lizard. Can you help the people stuck among the rubble?" He had the perfect quirk for that after all, right?

[Yui]

---

Asuka expected any second now, to hear the announcement that Terro had won. However, as she soon realized, Asuka was in fact, quite wrong.

 

“HELIX DRILL BREAK!!”

 

In a fantastic display of green lights and Mike shooting himself into Terro's golem, the tide had been turned in what seemed like an instant. Asuka was surprised. So surprised that she forgot to hold on to her ice cream, causing the half a cone remaining to fall lazily to the floor next to her feet. He'd actually done it. Asuka didn't think it could happen, though she'd be lying if she said Mike wasn't the person she would have preferred to take the win.

 

"I told ya! I told ya! Mike had this in the bag! Let's go 1-A! YEAH!"

 

"He actually did it!" Asuka cheered, rising up to her feet purely on impulse. She joined the crowd in applause, only soon after realizing she'd dropped her ice cream. That was a bummer, but it was hard to let it get to her now of all times. After a brief intermission, the awards ceremony was underway. As the audience - prompted by Madam Mic - gave another round of applause, Asuka was sure she heard a distinctly other booming sound. It must be fireworks or something.

 

"But let's also give another shout out to all of our participants in today's events! They did an excellent job showing their first year fighting spirit!"

 

Another boom. It felt like something was shaking, and it clearly wasn't Ino. Then, without warning, the monitor feed cut off and went to static. What followed was the broadcast of a figure Asuka couldn't make out in the dimly-lit room, accompanied by the bursting into the scene by a large lizard. Asuka, however, found herself gravitating toward the broadcast.

 

"So this is what the so called 'heroes' like to do in their spare time? Make young children fight? Despicable. A tradition of violence for the sake of violence, and nothing more. Making the future generation fight for your entertainment is not what those who prance around spewing silly ideals should do. Think of the quirkless masses! Will their children be used as fodder in upcoming events? To show how powerless they truly are against the population that is going to wipe them out?! Think of the poor citizens of Kashyyyk, who were wiped away in a mere instant thanks to the inaction of your heroes!"

 

Kashyyyk wasn't our fault. It was because of the villains. The villains that were now here, riding atop a massive steaming lizard. Asuka turned her attention to them. She could see a girl atop the beast - she couldn't quite tell from here, but the girl looked awfully familiar - as well as a hulking figure and two women. Asuka's eyes locked onto one of the women specifically. Even more specifically, the crystals hovering behind her. Asuka would recognize those anywhere, even from this distance. They were the product of Crystal, but those weren't Asuka's crystals. That left a grand total of one person on the entire planet of earth who could have been right there, in her field of view.

 

In that moment, nothing else mattered. One emotion in particular filled Asuka. Fear.

 

Her legs felt weak. Asuka had to grab the railing in front of her to avoid her knees giving in entirely. Her stomach sank like a stone. She glanced at the happenings around her. The villains. The students and staff. The innocent spectators. Even if everyone directed their efforts purely to protecting the civilians, were there even enough heroes to save them all? The villains had to be stopped though. Asuka tried to move forward, to go and fight, but her legs simply refused to move. Come on. Move! We can't just sit here and do nothing! There was nothing we could do about Kashyyyk, but this? We can stop this attack! So move, damn you, Asuka!

 

...but can we stop them?

 

No. We can't. I can't. Me, specifically, there's nothing I can do to beat the villains. But doing nothing would be no better than helping them! I HAVE to! ...not alone though.

 

Glancing to Ino and Isami - still by her sides - Asuka opened her mouth to speak, but the words took a bit before finally coming out. "The two of you, come with me, we're going to..." Say it. We're going to fight them. But we can't. That's something we should leave to the pros. What else can we even do against those villains? Mama especially? Wait... if she's here...

 

Resigned to the fact that there was nothing she could do to stop Bloodstone today - and that her presence here would likely confirm that the two were indeed related - Asuka finished "We're going to get everyone out of here. We can't let Mam--" Asuka covered her hands with her mouth, very clearly surprised at what had nearly slipped out of her mouth. A deep breath, then she removed her hands, and finished "We can't let Bloodstone get her hands on them."

 

But where to even start? Asuka looked a few rows ahead of her. She knew Ichiro and some student she hadn't met before were sitting there, but in the ensuing panic, she had already lost track of them. However, there was one she could still see. He wasn't moving. He wouldn't... there's no way.

 

"Otoma!" she called out, leaning against the railing and only hoping he could hear her. "Don't fight them! There's no way we can beat the villains, but we can get the civilians out of here! I'm begging you, focus on that first!"

 

With that, Asuka hurriedly started in the general direction of where the lizard had broken in through. "Kobayashi, Ino, this way. Be careful not to get too close to the villains."

---

"How do you keep getting down here?"

 

Sayuri shrugged. Light security? I'm short so nobody paid attention to me passing by? There's all sorts of reasons I could have gotten here, really. After a brief comment about 1-B's teacher - apparently his name was Mako - Suna answered Sayuri's question. It was a bit less noble than she'd expected.

 

"I like money. I wanted a stable income, and hero business was booming. Was that the answer you were looking for?"

 

Not really, but it will have to work, she signed.

 

"Looks like you're already beating yourself up about it...so there's no sense in lecturing you about not giving up. That's not what heroes do. That's not what someone who joins U.A. does.  You have a bright future Sayuri. You just gotta stop dogging on yourself. You're stronger than you think."

 

Suna also mentioned that he believed Sayuri had the upper hand in a fight against Isami - she could believe that - before shaping a dome of sand around her, with a hole in the front for her to watch the fight. Suna was confident Sayuri wouldn't want to miss this. Which really, she wouldn't have minded missing. It looked pretty standard. In a display of overwhelming power, the student with the stronger Quirk wins, and the champion is--

 

“HELIX DRILL BREAK!!”

 

...not Terro? It was Mike?

 

Suddenly, the finals were much more interesting. From within her little dome of sand, Sayuri applauded the victor.

The intermission before the awards ceremony was short. However, it was long enough for Sayuri to return to the seats, and even find her classmates. Gin, Akira, Ichiro, Hadley, and even one of 1-B's. It was as interesting a gathering as one could hope for, and so Sayuri opted to join them, sitting in the row just in front of Gin, but making sure to make it clear that she'd noticed them, and that that was why she was taking this seat. Of course, Akira had to leave for the awards ceremony, so the group consisted now of herself, Ichiro, Hadley, and Gin. The ceremony itself wasn't interesting, just medals being handed out by Madam Mic and Suna saying some things that Sayuri couldn't quite hear from up here.

 

And then, it happened.

 

Sayuri wasn't all that interested in the broadcast, though she tried to keep an ear open to it to get the general idea. What caught her attention was the lizard, and the people on top of it. She recognized that masked woman perfectly well. One of the Kashyyyk villains. People were getting up and leaving - made sense - but more important to Sayuri near the end was the smell. That distinct coppery smell she was getting too acquainted with lately. Even from here, she could smell the blood of the dead and injured from the overgrown lizard's entrance. It filled her senses like a tidal wave of adrenaline. Even if she wanted to, there was no way she was just sitting her. She tried to cover her nose and mouth at first, but it did nothing.

 

Something had to be done, and she didn't trust the injured boys and Hadley to be of any use. And so, Sayuri grabbed her whiteboard, very much rushing herself and throwing legibility and precision out the window as she scribbled something down, then practically threw the whiteboard and marker at Gin befeore darting off on all fours, full speed ahead, in the direction opposite Hadley and Ichiro.

 

 

As she bolted away, as fast as her arms and legs could take her, Sayuri heard Hadley asking about her. You'll have to wait. I've got more important things to handle. Evacuations. NOT hurting people. That isn't the goal. Evacuate civilians, evacuate civilians, evacuate civilians... Sayuri played the two words over and over in her head, hoping the mantra would keep her from doing anything she'd regret later.

 

"You just gotta train your brain to ignore the source of the blood, and place that target onto the thing causing that blood to pour."

 

Sorry, Mako, but this time, I DO need to focus on the source. If I can sniff them out, maybe I can help some of the injured get out of here.

---

[Super Chaos Sonic]

 

 

-Before-

 

"Anyways, as I hope I'm not going into a personal thing but how many times have you gone into surgery to fix your body? Your bones and ligaments must be hurting from just the multiple breaks over that amount of time, especially your arms, even if your muscles are tearing and becoming stronger. If I remember correctly, you have been using your arms a lot from the times I have seen you fight, maybe a break for your arms might be well overdue. I have read that the muscles and bones in your legs are actually stronger than your arms as they support and carry the majority of your weight. I am one lacking in the physical side of things, maybe we could help each other on our lackings, even build up the techniques suited for our quirks."

 

Ichiro looked back over at Aaron, nodding slightly. It wasn't a bad idea he had, least in thinking. Trying to use his legs...he used them before, but was there another way to possibly use them aside from just kicking? "Yeah...actually Aaron, that doesn't sound bad." he nodded, smiling slightly. "I'm gonna have Terro help me out in regards to teaching me how to actually fight...cause he's like the best person to teach me."

Just then, Ichiro got his answer to his question regarding utilizing his legs, all from the movement Mike did. His eyes were glued as he watched the way he moved. The young man was able to move so fluidly with his Quirk like this...and if Ichiro did something similar with his own in using his legs...

But...who could teach me to jump and move better? he thought, before that being put to a stop when Mike roared out his attack name.
 

“Horizon series!”

“HELIX DRILL BREAK!!”

 

A literal green energy drill came crashing down through Terro's Colossal Crusher like a bullet being fired from a gun. It was amazing and it definitely seemed to beat out Terro's move in terms of the coolness factor. But then again, BOTH students had amazing moves and techniques that displayed their Quirks in such a manner. But nevertheless, Mike was crowned the victor of the tournament.

"Jeez Ichi...the kids in your class are pretty amazing." Rei laughed, ruffling Ichiro's hair some.

"Y-Yeah. Well...I guess everyone still had pent up aggression after that incident and needed to just let it all out." Ichiro smiled, chuckling lightly. "Still...this was amazing."

 

 

-Present-

 

"Now let's give our winners another round of applause!"

 

The final standings were Mike with first, Terro with second, and Akira with third. It surprised Ichiro that Akira was in third and not Valerie, but he assumed that it was due to Akira losing to Mike, who was now in first place. ...that's how tournament brackets went, right?
 

"But let's also give another shout out to all of our participants in today's events!  They did an excellent job showing their first year fighting spirit!"

 

Ichiro and Rei were just standing there, cheering for the three of them. This tournament...this festival that U.A. had put on was actually a pretty interesting one, least for Ichiro anyway. For someone that was apprehensive about this whole thing due to his Quirk, it was a fun time for him...and it definitely was something that had him think a bit more clearly about himself and the Quirk he had.

However...the fun-times and laughing ended...and all it took was a creepy voice.

"So this is what the so called 'heroes' like to do in their spare time? Make young children fight? Despicable. A tradition of violence for the sake of violence, and nothing more. Making the future generation fight for your entertainment is not what those who prance around spewing silly ideals should do.  Think of the Quirkless masses! Will their children be used as fodder in upcoming events? To show how powerless they truly are against the population that is going to wipe them out?! Think of the poor citizens of Kashyyyk, who were wiped away in a mere instant thanks to the inaction of your heroes! I cannot sit idly by, and watch the future be overrun by these barbaric monsters! We are the Quirkless Liberation Front! We will make sure that history will forget this bleak turnout, and ensure the survival of all Quirkless people from here on out! Everyone who is unsatisfied with the current system, rise with us! Together, we shall take the future from those trying to seize it for themselves! We can go back to the old ways...we only need to be rid of one thing. Heroes."

 

"A Quirkless Liberation Front? Jeez...stupid pranksters." Rei huffed, just thinking it was a publicity stunt that those who despised the Quirk bearing individuals to push their agenda. ...if only.

 

"And we shall start...here!"

 

-BGM-

 

A loud crash was heard and one side of the stadium was gone...just gone. And from where that side of the stadium was, was the cries of innocent people being injured and that were being silenced almost instantly by a deafening roar which came from a giant lizard like kaiju creature.

 

"R-Rei...I-I don't think...this is a prank."

 

"Yeah. I...I think you might be right, Ichi."

 

What was worse, Ichiro instantly recognized something...rather, someone. A woman with a mask on...no...no. Ichiro remembered the mask all too well, given the fact that she was with the gray guy and that beast in Kashyyyk. Then...that would mean... he began to think, his eyes slowly moving towards the cloaked hulking person. It wouldn't be coincidence at this point if that was him. He began to feel sick to his stomach and he even started to turn pale.

 

"Ichi?"

 

"Rei...Rei we need to go, now!" Ichiro said in a bit of a scared tone, as he was watching the audience starting to get into a mass panic and try to escape the area. He was about to go with Rei, but was suddenly stopped by a powerful yank.

 

"C'MON! We gotta get tha funk outta here, now! The funk is the wolf gal?"

 

"H-Hadley?!" Ichiro exclaimed, already seeing that there was a bit of a distance between him and his brother. "R-Rei!"

 

"Don't worry about me!" Rei shouted over the panic that was in the atmosphere. "I'll meet you out...I PROMISE!"

 

Ichiro felt sick to his stomach even more now, as he was being dragged off by Hadley to try and find Sayuri and the others. Rei...please...please be safe. he thought, before finally responding to Hadley. "I-I haven't seen her since...t-the ice cream run..."

 

 

Class B Squad

-Before-

 

"You guys are in such trouble if the nurse catches you. You've got nothing to worry about. It's me we're talking about. Nothing's gonna keep Heat Wave down. You're gonna want to get back to the stands. This is gonna be something you'll want to see up close. Take notes both of you. I expect you to be at their level at least by next year."

 

"Heh, no worries though, Val!" Casey chuckled, giving a thumbs up. "Not too many can catch me...even if it is Nurse Neko. And don't worry on us! We'll be on that level..."

 

"Hell no!" Aina quickly said, smacking Casey in the back of the head. "We're going to be on another level entirely! We'll surpass them!"

 

However, before anything else could be done, both Aina and Casey felt themselves being struck by webs and immediately yanked out of the room. They glanced and noticed that it was Sayaka Hachimoto, another 1-B classmate of them.

 

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Leave the unwelcome visits to the expert, okay? C'mon, I'll un-web you once we're outta here. Sorry if these knuckleheads were botherin' ya, Val."

 

"H-Hey! Saya! This webbing of yours is ruining my jacket!" Casey protested, but to no avail as they were pulled out by the spider-woman.

 

"Seriously, Hyperjumping through the window? You're lucky I found you instead of Erika."

 

"Okay...first of all...it wasn't a window." Casey grumbled, rolling his eyes slightly. "I entered the door with a Hyperjump via pointing under the door."

"Yeah, we weren't doing anything wrong there."

 

"But Nurse Neko requested that no one see her right now...yeesh. You both just don't listen." Shin grumbled, rubbing between his eyes.

 

-Present-

 

"Now let's give our winners another round of applause!"

 

The final standings were Mike with first, Terro with second, and Akira with third. Truthfully, all of 1-B swore up and down that Valerie should've gotten third place. It just ended up being a 1-A landslide win, and it just was not good. Downside to this...they pretty much knew Mako was going to have quite a bit of words to say to his class.

 

And OH would the discipline ensue...
 

"But let's also give another shout out to all of our participants in today's events!  They did an excellent job showing their first year fighting spirit!"

 

However...the fun-times and laughing ended...and all it took was a creepy voice.

"So this is what the so called 'heroes' like to do in their spare time? Make young children fight? Despicable. A tradition of violence for the sake of violence, and nothing more. Making the future generation fight for your entertainment is not what those who prance around spewing silly ideals should do.  Think of the Quirkless masses! Will their children be used as fodder in upcoming events? To show how powerless they truly are against the population that is going to wipe them out?! Think of the poor citizens of Kashyyyk, who were wiped away in a mere instant thanks to the inaction of your heroes! I cannot sit idly by, and watch the future be overrun by these barbaric monsters! We are the Quirkless Liberation Front! We will make sure that history will forget this bleak turnout, and ensure the survival of all Quirkless people from here on out! Everyone who is unsatisfied with the current system, rise with us! Together, we shall take the future from those trying to seize it for themselves! We can go back to the old ways...we only need to be rid of one thing. Heroes."

 

"Quirkless Liberation Front?" Shin muttered in a questioning manner, before watching the stadium get wrecked by the giant lizard kaiju and hearing the sounds of anguish and pain of the audience. "Tch...they call themselves that when they obviously are using Quirks?!"

 

"We need to get out of here...and I mean everyone does..." Aina gasped at the sight. "Wait...Valerie! We need to make sure she's alright!"

 

Casey moved up from the trio. "I'll do it. Me and my Hyperjump can do it." he said nodding firmly. "You guys get on out of here and try to help people evacuate."

 

"Casey...be careful, bro." Shin nodded, bumping fists with the young man.

 

"Hey! It's me we're talking about!" Casey smiled, before running off to see where Valerie was, it was either the medical wing or she was up and about.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

And just as soon as they came in those knucklehead classmates of her were swept away. Valerie couldn't help but crack a smile. It was good they were able to be just as goofy as ever. Which showed her even more that she had to be strong for them.

 

....Though she did have to question this place's ability to let their patients rest in peace what with all the drop ins she had. Which brought to mind that strange cloaked man who had asked for an autograph. Even though he was weird he DID seem to be invested in her winning which made the girl feel bad all over again for her performance.

 

To make matters worse...Terro lost. The one who beat her was taken down. The sinking feeling in her stomach grew even more as the realization hit her that there were at least two others in her grade stronger than her. The hill she had to climb was looking more like a mountain every second.

 

She wanted to be out there for the closing ceremony but she was told she couldn't just yet. Her injuries were for the most part fixed up by then but her body was still cool to the touch. She wasn't as bad off as before but she still couldn't produce any heat which was a clear sign her body wasn't doing so good. "Nya-t doing so hot." the nurse had said specifically.

 

So she was forced to sit in bed and watch as those three 1-A students took their places. Her eyes were glued on Akira. Frustrated that it was HIM up there instead of her. She didn't feel the despair at realizing another was better. Because there wasn't any proof of that. But it hurt to realize that to everyone else this meant that she was at best fourth best. Not acceptable.

 

Her thoughts came to a sudden halt as the broadcast were taken over. "Quirkless liberation." She muttered. Her parents had been Quirkless, as far as she knew, so she had some knowledge as to how they got treated. She could certainly understand being frustrated. But what they were saying....that was going too far.

 

And it only got worse.

 

Valerie stared at the screen as the monster burst into the stadium. People running around, scared for their lives, while this beast entered. There were people on top of the beast. People she didn't recognize, except....Could that have been...

She briefly thought back on the man who had visited him. A hulking man. Wearing a cloak. It might be a coincidence but....

 

Valerie's hand tightened into a fist. These monsters! They'd hurt, kill, so many people and claim they were in the right for it? Valerie's body was cold but she felt the heat of anger in the pit of her stomach.

 

She couldn't just sit here and do nothing. Even if her Quirk wasn't functioning. Even if she couldn't fight against something like that.

 

She wasn't just going to run and hide.

 

Valerie tossed the sheets off of her and got out of bed. Slipping on some footwear she charged out of the room. She didn't know what she'd do once she got to the stadium. All she knew was she couldn't live with herself if she didn't do something.