Up in the box, the students of Class A watched Namikaze and Shiozaki walk toward each other in the ring. The match was about to begin.
"Man, didn't that girl get fourth in the obstacle race?" Sero asked, stretching. "I certainly hope Namikaze's got this, but… I don't know."
Mina and Aoyama had just left to prepare for their match, but Yaomomo and Tokoyami had just returned. "Has it begun yet?" the creation girl asked, sitting down.
"About to," Jiro reported. Midnight was walking out to ask the combatants if they were ready.
"Midoriya-chan," Tsu suddenly asked. "What do you think Haru's chances are?"
Ochaco watched as Deku leaned forward, a focused look in his green eyes. He'd been muttering a lot before, but now he spoke up to Tsu. "I don't know enough about Shiozaki's Quirk, but it seems that she can create vines from her hair. Depending on how fast she can grow them, she might be able to restrain her opponent… the only problem is that her opponent is Namikaze. Other than maybe Iida, he's probably the hardest person to catch in the entire festival. Knocking him out of bounds isn't really an option. You have to try and knock him out or tire him out, without getting tired yourself. A disadvantage Namikaze might have, though, is that his strength is unenhanced. If he truly can't teleport other people, then… HIS only options are to try and push them out of bounds or knock them out, physically."
"And that won't happen," a smug voice said, "because Shiozaki's Quirk protects her quite handily. Your little warper will never get in close."
They all looked up in confusion to the boy peering over the wall, from Class B's box. He was blonde, named Monoma if Ochaco recalled correctly.
"Is that all you have to say?" Jiro asked him, earplugs flicking in annoyance.
"This is where we'll show you you're not better than us!" The other boy, Tetsutetsu, had joined Monoma at the wall. "Shiozaki came fourth in the entrance exam! He can't beat her!"
"Oi!" Kirishima shouted back at him. "Have a little respect!"
"What, you wanna fight early? I was looking forward to smashing you into the ground in front of the crowd!"
Monoma laughed. "It's okay, Tetsutetsu. These Class A freaks aren't worth it. All they have is their pride. And Shiozaki is about to pull that out from under them."
"You," snarled Bakugo, and all of Class A froze. Ochaco especially. Ah, I have to fight him soon!
"Listen, extra. We have pride because we earned it in events, unlike you. You did poorly in both events and were eliminated. Unless I'm misremembering?" He gave Monoma a sadistic grin, lifting up a threatening palm.
Ochaco was stiff with shock. It was a side of Bakugo she hadn't seen, much more cold and calculating. And he said we, including the other students in the class. Does that mean he acknowledges our accomplishments?
"Fifth match." Present Mic's voice cut through them like a knife, turning all previously distracted heads back to the ring below.
"Here we go," Monoma whispered in giddy excitement.
"STAAAAAART!"
Clearly the best option is…
Haru flashed toward Shiozaki in three quick warps, his legs striding widely in what he called a "warp-sprint", stretching his distance limit as far as it would go.
To attack quickly!
The girl's pretty eyes widened in surprise, as if she'd forgotten what his Quirk was, and she turned her back on him as he arrived. Haru's s vision was suddenly filled with swarming green, like writhing snakes, and he felt his arms get cut up by thorns. Panicking, he warped backward. So that's what her Quirk does.
"SHIOZAKI'S HAIR COMES ALIVE! IT'S LIKE A MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY DARK SHADOW!"
"Is that the best you could come up with?" Aizawa complained.
Haru warped sideways, keeping his eye out for the borders of the ring as he bobbed and weaved. The vines followed him whichever way he went, pursuing him across the platform at high speed. Isn't this her hair? The next time the vines swooped at him, he tried to block them with his forearms, which turned out to be a mistake. They were much stronger than he'd anticipated, and they tore through him like little daggers, cutting up his face and arms.
"EEEEK! YIKES! Shiozaki draws blood! That's… gruesome!"
"Are you afraid of seeing blood?" Aizawa asked, genuinely curious.
"NO! Well, it's just… my Quirk generally allows me to stop fights bloodlessly…"
"Oh, please. I've been practically bleeding from my ears this whole time I've sat next to you."
Shiozaki seemed to suck her teeth in and turned around to look atHaru, a shocked expression on her face. She'd been turned away for her entire attack, as if the hair had just been using a mind of its own. "I… cut you…"
Haru's s eyes twitched, and he held a defensive position as the vines retreated back to the girl's head. The purple energy sputtered erratically within him. He felt a wetness dripping down his cheeks, and some of it spilled a bit into his mouth. He tasted the red iron of his blood.
Shiozaki was appalled. "I didn't realize…"
"Yeah? Well, you should have,"Haruinterrupted her. All his exposed skin was stinging. "Did you make the conscious choice to include thorns?"
The crowd seemed confused at the halt in their fight, just as the action had been picking up.
"What's the holdup?"
"The kid's bleeding kind of a lot…"
"She did that to him?"
"Normally I would root for the girl in this situation, but…"
"Root? Was that a plant pun?"
"Literally shut up."
In the Class A and B boxes, Monoma was laughing maniacally. "All the flashy powers of Class A can't stand up to Shiozaki's all-encompassing defense and offense! Your warper is toast!"
"He's not manly at all for this!" added Tetsutetsu.
Shoji stood.
All of Class A went into complete hushed silence as the massive, multi-armed boy walked over to the wall. A grim mouth formed on one of his arms.
"The powers of the girl down there do not belong to either of you, so stop taking ownership of them. And Namikaze is stronger than you know. Insult him again and you'll wish you hadn't."
Monoma and Tetsutetsu both trembled with fear as Shoji quietly returned to his seat. Ochaco was practically trembling herself. When she turned back to the arena, she found herself thinking… Namikaze-kun, I don't know you very well, but you've got to prove those jerks wrong!
"He doesn't look good," Yaomomo whispered. Sure enough, Namikaze was bleeding from a lot of places.
"Hey," he called to Shiozaki, loud enough for most of the arena to hear as well. "I get the feeling that you don't want to hurt me. You're just nice like that. I can respect that. I like to be nice too. However… it's okay with me. Don't worry about the blood." Ochaco saw his fist clench. "Let's finish the fight properly."
The crowd erupted.
"YEAAAAH!"
"What an honorable child!"
"Both of them, honourable children!"
"I feel like this is the realest match so far, I'm getting pumped!"
"THAT'S MY BOY!" Kirishima roared from the back row of the box, standing up and pumping his fist. He looked across the wall to Tetsutetsu. "How's THAT for manly, huh?"
"He still has to live up to those words with his actions!" the steel user shot back.