"BEGIN!"
Kaminari immediately went on the offensive, unleashing a stream of electricity toward Shiozaki. Arthur watched from the viewing platform, analyzing the matchup.
The electricity arced toward the 1-B student, but her vines erupted from her hair, forming a dense barrier. The lightning struck the vines and dispersed harmlessly.
"Huh?!" Kaminari's voice carried confusion. "That should have worked!"
"My vines are insulated," Shiozaki said calmly, her serene expression never changing. "I've trained specifically against electrical attacks. Your quirk is ineffective against me."
Interesting, Arthur thought. She prepared specifically for electrical matchups. Smart defensive planning.
Kaminari tried again, ramping up the voltage, but Shiozaki's vines formed an impenetrable wall. Then she counterattacked, vines shooting forward faster than Kaminari could dodge.
"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Kaminari backpedaled desperately. "Time out?!"
The vines wrapped around him, lifted him into the air, and slammed him down outside the boundary.
"SHIOZAKI WINS!"
"Damn," Kirishima winced. "That was brutal."
"She had a complete counter to his quirk," Yaoyorozu observed. "Kaminari never had a chance."
Kaminari trudged back to the viewing platform, looking dejected. "Well, that sucked."
"You fought well," Kirishima offered. "Just a bad matchup."
"Story of my life." Kaminari flopped into a seat. "At least I didn't fry my brain this time. Silver lining!"
The matches continued. Iida versus Hatsume turned into a support gear commercial rather than a fight, with Hatsume using the platform to showcase her inventions before stepping out of bounds voluntarily.
"WHAT A UNIQUE STRATEGY!" Present Mic sounded delighted. "USING THE SPORTS FESTIVAL AS AN ADVERTISEMENT PLATFORM! THAT'S THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX!"
"That's thinking about profit over competition," Bakugo muttered darkly.
Ashido versus Aoyama was entertaining, both students having flashy quirks that made for good television. Ashido won through superior mobility and acid control, melting through Aoyama's laser defenses.
Yaoyorozu versus Tokoyami was the tactical chess match Arthur expected. Yaoyorozu created flash grenades like he'd suggested, but Tokoyami adapted, using smaller manifestations of Dark Shadow and his own martial skills to compensate. It was close, but Tokoyami's experience with his quirk's weakness gave him the edge.
"TOKOYAMI ADVANCES!" Midnight announced.
Yaoyorozu returned to the platform, disappointed but not devastated. "I should have created more sustained light sources instead of flash grenades. The brief illumination wasn't enough."
"You adapted well," Arthur offered. "Tokoyami's just had more time to work around his weakness."
"Analyzing my loss already?" She smiled slightly. "I suppose that's fair. I'd do the same."
Kirishima versus Tetsutetsu was pure brawler comedy. Two hardening quirks, two students who solved every problem by punching it, resulting in a slugfest that eventually came down to who won an arm wrestle.
Kirishima won, barely.
"THAT WAS SO MANLY!" he announced, exhausted, as Tetsutetsu grudgingly congratulated him.
Then came the match everyone had been anticipating with dread.
"MATCH EIGHT!" Present Mic's voice boomed. "KATSUKI BAKUGO VERSUS OCHAKO URARAKA!"
The crowd's energy shifted. Everyone knew Bakugo's reputation, knew his power. Uraraka was outclassed on paper, and the audience expected a massacre.
"She should forfeit," someone from 1-B muttered. "No point getting hurt."
"Shut up," Arthur said quietly, but with enough edge that the student fell silent.
Because Arthur was watching Uraraka's face as she entered the arena, and he saw something the crowd didn't.
She has a plan.
"BEGIN!"
Uraraka charged immediately, which surprised everyone. Bakugo blasted her back with an explosion, but she rolled, came up running, charged again.
"STAY DOWN!" Bakugo roared, explosion after explosion forcing her back.
But she kept coming. Each time she got close, Bakugo would blast her away. Each time, she'd get up and try again. The crowd started murmuring, some calling it brave, others calling it stupid.
Arthur watched Bakugo's pattern, watched the debris flying through the air with each explosion, watched it floating upward instead of falling.
She's not trying to win through direct combat. She's using his explosions to launch debris she's touched with her quirk. Building a meteor shower.
"Oh no," Midoriya whispered beside Arthur, apparently seeing the same thing. "She's been planning this the whole time."
Above the arena, tons of concrete and metal floated, held aloft by Uraraka's zero gravity. When Bakugo finally noticed, looked up, his expression actually showed something other than rage.
Surprise.
"METEOR STORM!" Uraraka shouted, releasing her quirk.
Everything fell. Tons of debris, all aimed at Bakugo.
The blonde looked up at the attack, then grinned savagely. "FINALLY! A REAL FIGHT!"
His explosion was massive, concentrated upward, blasting through the debris like it was paper. The shockwave was visible, the heat palpable even from the viewing platform. Uraraka's meteor storm disintegrated.
But the effort had cost her. When the smoke cleared, she was on her hands and knees, clearly hitting her quirk's limit. Bakugo was still standing.
"Get up," Bakugo said, not taunting, just stating. "Get up and keep fighting."
Uraraka tried. She genuinely tried, pushing herself up on shaking arms. But her body gave out, and she collapsed.
"URARAKA IS UNABLE TO CONTINUE! BAKUGO WINS!"
The crowd booed Bakugo for beating a girl.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Bakugo screamed at the audience. "SHE HAD A STRATEGY! SHE FOUGHT WITH EVERYTHING SHE HAD! DON'T YOU DARE DISRESPECT HER EFFORT!"
Arthur found himself nodding. For once, he agreed with Bakugo completely.
"The crowd doesn't understand," Tokoyami said quietly. "They see a boy beating a girl, not two warriors testing themselves."
"Their ignorance doesn't change what happened," Arthur replied. "She fought brilliantly.
Uraraka was carried out on a stretcher, having pushed her quirk beyond safe limits. Bakugo stalked back to the platform, ignoring the continued boos, his expression dark.
"They don't get it," Kirishima said to him. "But we do, man. That was an incredible fight."
"Whatever," Bakugo muttered, but something in his posture relaxed slightly.
"NEXT MATCH!" Present Mic announced. "ARTHUR HIMURA VERSUS JUZO HONENUKI!"
Arthur stood, checked his energy levels, and his physical state. Everything was optimal.
"Good luck!" Ashido called out.
"Kick his ass," Bakugo added.
"Show him Class 1-A superiority!" Iida's hand chops were emphatic.
Arthur walked down to the arena entrance, focused, calm. His opponent was already there, a tall student with features that reminded Arthur of traditional pottery. Honenuki smiled pleasantly.
"Himura, right? Looking forward to this. Your performance in the cavalry battle was impressive."
"Likewise. Your quirk is softening, correct?"
"You did your homework. Yeah, I can soften anything I touch, turn it into a liquid-like state. Makes for interesting battlefield control."
They entered the arena, and the crowd's energy was different now. After Todoroki's overwhelming display and Bakugo's controversial victory, everyone was curious what Arthur would do.
"MATCH NINE!" Midnight announced. "BEGIN!"
Honenuki immediately touched the ground, and the entire arena floor started softening, becoming like quicksand. Arthur's Instinct screamed and he jumped, manifesting an energy platform beneath his feet.
But Arthur had fought in worse terrain. Mud, snow, marshland, battlefields where the ground itself was treacherous. This was just another variable.
He created a blade, threw it at Honenuki. The 1-B student softened a chunk of ground and pulled it up as a shield. The blade hit, dissipated.
He's good. Using his quirk creatively, controlling the battlefield.
Arthur manifested multiple blades, launched them from different angles. Honenuki was forced to defend, creating softened barriers, but Arthur was learning his patterns.
He needs to touch the material to soften it. There's a range limit. And maintaining the softening requires concentration.
Arthur created a larger platform, got closer to solid ground near the arena edge, and charged. Honenuki tried to soften the ground beneath him, but Arthur was already jumping, already in motion.
His blade came down, and Honenuki barely rolled aside. The 1-B student was fast, creative, but Arthur had centuries of experience fighting on disadvantageous terrain.
Arthur's next strike was precise, blade positioned to force Honenuki either out of bounds or into submission. The 1-B student tried to soften Arthur's platform, but it was pure energy, nothing physical to affect.
The blade touched Honenuki's chest, gentle but firm. "Yield or go out of bounds. Your choice."
Honenuki looked at the blade, at Arthur's expression, and smiled ruefully. "Yield. I can't counter that."
"HIMURA WINS!"
The crowd roared approval. Arthur dismissed his blade, offered Honenuki a hand up.
"Good fight," Arthur said. "Your quirk control is excellent."
"Not excellent enough." Honenuki accepted the hand. "You adapted faster than I expected. That was impressive."
They walked off together, and Arthur felt satisfied. Not because he'd won, that was expected, but because he'd fought smart, learned from his earlier mistake with Kaminari.
Research. Prepare. Adapt. The fundamentals never change.
"THAT CONCLUDES THE FIRST ROUND!" Present Mic announced. "We'll take a thirty-minute break to prepare the arena for ROUND TWO! These are your quarterfinalists!"
The bracket updated on the screen:
ROUND TWO MATCHES:Midoriya vs TodorokiShiozaki vs IidaAshido vs Tokoyami
Bakugo vs Himura
Arthur stared at his next matchup.
Bakugo. Of course.
"YES!" The blonde's roar echoed across the stadium. "FINALLY! HIMURA, YOU'RE DEAD!"
"Looking forward to it," Arthur replied calmly.
Back on the viewing platform, his classmates crowded around.
"That was so cool!" Ashido gushed. "You made it look easy!"
"It wasn't. Honenuki's quirk control is sophisticated. I just had the counter."
"Energy constructs," Yaoyorozu mused. "Nothing physical for him to soften. Did you know that going in?"
"Suspected. Confirmed during the fight."
"And now you have to fight Bakugo." Kirishima looked between them. "This is going to be intense."
"It's going to be a massacre," Bakugo corrected. "I've been waiting for this since the cavalry battle."
"Don't underestimate me," Arthur warned. "Your pride makes you predictable."
"AND YOUR FACE MAKES YOU PUNCHABLE!"
"Eloquent as always."
The banter continued, but Arthur's mind was already working through the matchup. Bakugo was aggressive, powerful, and motivated by revenge. Fighting him would require different tactics than Honenuki.
He'll come at me with everything from the start. Pure offense.
Good. Let's see how pure offense handles actual combat experience.
Thirty minutes until the quarterfinals. Thirty minutes until he fought someone who genuinely wanted to beat him, not just win, but prove superiority.
Arthur smiled slightly. This was what competition should be.
Not politics or posturing, but pure skill tested against skill.
He was ready.
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