"Damn, Arthur is seriously way too strong," Izuku Midoriya said blankly as he watched the two leave the arena. "Even against someone as tough as Tokoyami, he still won that easily."
"Tch, useless. He couldn't even make the guy use his Quirk," Katsuki Bakugo scoffed.
"Kacchan, are you annoyed?" Izuku Midoriya was always paying attention to him. But he could also see why Bakugo was annoyed. According to the schedule, Arthur was going to face either Momo Yaoyorozu or Ochaco Uraraka. But no matter which of the two girls won, neither was likely to force Arthur to reveal his hidden Quirk. That meant Bakugo would have to figure it out while fighting him, always watching his back.
"It's our turn next. Go easy on me, Ochaco," Momo Yaoyorozu said as she stood up.
"I'll do my best," Ochaco Uraraka clenched her fists.
As Momo walked down the stairs toward the entrance, she ran into Arthur coming up.
"Arthur... Mmm!" Before Momo could finish, he kissed her. A few seconds later, Momo barely managed to pull away, hitting his shoulder. "What are you doing? Can't you see what's happening right now?"
"Heh," Arthur pinched her chin. "It's fine if you lose. I don't really want to fight you next round anyway."
If Momo won, her next opponent would be Arthur.
"Hmph! I've wanted to fight you for a while. Don't treat me like I'm useless," Momo said, quickly breaking free and jogging onto the stage.
"Eighth match! Momo Yaoyorozu vs. Ochaco Uraraka!"
Izuku Midoriya started analyzing again. "Her opponent is Momo Yaoyorozu, and Ochaco doesn't have anything to float on an open stage. So whether she can touch Yaoyorozu is the key."
"Start!!!"
The next second, Ochaco Uraraka touched her own feet, lightening her weight as much as possible, and charged toward Yaoyorozu. All she had to do was touch her to activate her Quirk.
"I knew you'd try to touch me, Ochaco!" Momo backed up fast, her palms glowing with colorful sparkles. "But you're not getting the chance."
"Hmph!"
A small dagger flew out. Ochaco was startled and dodged just in time.
"Could she not make something like a gun fast enough? Or was she holding back?" Arthur wondered from the top of the stands.
Momo then made a long pole and swung it at Ochaco.
"I'll take the hit, but this is the only way!" Ochaco braced herself, then ran her hands over the pole, making it weightless and float up. Her hands were red and swollen from the impact. But because the pole floated up, Momo's hands lifted too, leaving her open for a second.
"Hey!" Ochaco lunged forward, putting everything into her hands, trying to grab that one chance to touch Momo.
"Too naive, Ochaco!" Momo yelled, and before Ochaco could react, she raised her knee.
"Ow!" Ochaco yelped. Momo took the opening, grabbed her wrists, and colorful sparkles appeared in her palms again. Two seconds later, a pair of handcuffs clicked shut around Ochaco's wrists.
"You lose, Ochaco," Momo said. She tapped her below the elbow.
Ochaco pouted a little, looking annoyed. Just like Momo ten months ago. She knew she lost because she seriously lacked combat experience. With her hands cuffed, she couldn't use her Quirk. The match was over.
"Winner, Momo Yaoyorozu!" Midnight announced.
"She has a lot of combat experience, young Momo Yaoyorozu," All Might thought. "Did you also do that thing, just like young Arthur? I just hope things change now that she's at U.A."
"With that, the last match of the first round is over. But since Momo won, her next opponent will be..." Mina Ashido started but didn't finish.
Tsuyu Asui cut in, "Arthur." If Arthur were here and heard Tsuyu call him that, who knows how he'd react.
"A battle between lovers. Truly a twist of fate," Tokoyami said suddenly, his slightly dramatic tone making a bunch of people facepalm.
"Todoroki advanced straight to the third round because Kaminari and Kirishima tied. Next up is..." Kyoka Jiro looked at the big screen, frowning. "Mina vs. Yoarashi."
The outcome was pretty obvious. But Mina still smiled cheerfully, waved at everyone, and headed up. Luckily, even though her opponent was a bit simple, he understood the word "holding back." He blew Mina out of the ring without hurting her. A little boring, but at least it ended peacefully. Unlike Bakugo's fight against Itsuka Kendo earlier. That was just brutal.
Next match: Katsuki Bakugo vs. Tenya Iida. You could see the weight on Iida's face.
"Iida is pure close combat, and Bakugo's main attacks are also close range right now," Mezo Shoji said, pinching his chin through his mask. "It'll come down to attack power and speed."
Even though Bakugo acted like he didn't take Iida seriously, he was still careful. Iida really was faster, and Bakugo didn't want to trip up. Because of how rough he'd been with Kendo, the crowd was completely against him. Everyone wanted Iida to take him down. But a difference in strength isn't something words can change. Plus, Iida's attacks were too predictable. Without his hero costume, all he had was a flying kick. In terms of reaction time, Iida was slower too. Bakugo saw the opening, hit him with an explosion, and blasted him out of the ring.
"Winner, Katsuki Bakugo!" Midnight announced. The whole venue immediately erupted in boos.
Next match: Arthur vs. Momo Yaoyorozu!
...
[email protected] [email protected]. ch@pters on p@t
guilt_free_daoist
Jo!n d!sc0rd I!nk in synops!s.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.