The Tournament Begins!

The day had finally arrived. The day all the students in class 1-D, and several in class 1-E, had been dreading, anticipating, and definitely training for. The day of the first ever Shiketsu Battle Tournament! Karaburan had certainly done her work well. The Shiketsu High School campus stadium was packed to the rafters! There was not a single empty seat in the whole building! Not one to let much needed revenue left on the table, Karaburan had even set up viewing areas outside the stadium itself, complete with massive screens broadcasting views of the arena and live commentary. Crowding around outside the stadium, dozens of booths selling all manner of snacks and merchandise were being manned by Shiketsu students in the Business and Management Course. The students were exploiting every gimmick they could think of to make their products and sell the 32 stars of the tournament. They not only got a small cut of each sale, after all, they were proving themselves in their future careers just as much as the prospective heroes waiting for their matches!

The teeming mass of spectators that had bought tickets were taken in by the atmosphere and by everything on display. Within the booths were t-shirts, mugs, bags, hats, knick-knacks, kitsch, memorabilia, snowglobes, figurines, chocolate heroes, and so much more. Competing designs featured students, teachers, locations around the campus, the event itself, and a few items that didn't seem to have any reason to be there. All of it was catering to any of the off-the-wall desires that the thousands of people coming to watch could have. It was a scorcher of a day; the sun was blazing, the clouds were non-present, and the weather report said it would hold until the sun went down! Naturally, there were many ice-cream and beverage sellers to take advantage of the climate, bringing yet more yen into the Academy’s coffers.

Some of the less scrupulous students had even set up a gambler’s booth, under the same laws that allowed betting on horse racing and motor sports. This let the many gamblers across the country (and, of course, among the audience) test their luck and judgement. The students' quirks and skill sets were in the promotional material. Of course, none of it was too revealing. Each entry was only the chosen hero name, the legal name of the student, and an explainer blurb of their abilities. Of course, some students had more hidden than others, but that was only to be expected. You wouldn’t go to a casino and demand to see the dealer’s cards, right?

“Come on Akagi, you of all people should be able to crack at least a smirk here!”
“Oh, shut it Ryusei,” the much-shorter woman grumbled, in between swigs from a can in a sleeve. “I’m only here because you dragged me here.”
Ryusei laughed this off. “You couldn’t expect me to waste those two tickets I won, could you? You could use some sunlight anyway!”
The down-on-her-luck heroine didn’t respond, she just hid away her flask again and flipped the Smoking Hero the bird. He merely grinned, seeing this as a sign of affection.
“Alright, hurry up! Let’s get to our seats. We don’t want to miss the action!”

The B&M students had been busy online as well. Multiple hashtags were prepared and co-ordinated for maximum trending, not just in Japanese, but also in English, Spanish, and Mandarin! They had dedicated the most multilingual of their number to keep posting, to keep pushing the event to the global audience. They also had several streams set up, with online stores linked in pinned comments, to bring in more eyes and more money.

It wasn’t all on the students, however. Shiketsu’s famous principle had been reaching out to many international broadcasters, getting them to come and platform the event yet further. Somehow, there were sports news agencies from around the world here, lured by her fervent promise of world class quirk combat, rights to interviews, access for behind the scenes footage, and more. They had their own commentators, but the only star of the commentator’s mic in the arena itself was the special alumni that Karaburan had specially bought in.

“HEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOO LADIES AND GENTLEMENN!”

“What a B-E-A-utiful day, here at the fantasti-dabby-dozy Shiketsu Stadium! What a day is ahead of us! For today marks the FIRST - but hopefully not the last! – Shiketsu Battle Tournament! That’s right everyone, we’ve got a brand-new quirk extravaganza-bonanza-showdown! The students may be young, but if anything, that’s just increasing the power level, as they’re overflowing with youthful energy! There’s a big day ahead of us, but before the show begins, we have a special interview with the woman behind it all, the brains behind the battles, the Principal of Shiketsu herself, the Hero Karaburan, Nishima Anzu!"
“Thank you for such a warm introduction, Yori.”

The two were in a dedicated area, a commentator’s box adjacent to the stands. In the background, there was a platform, built to be above the grounds holding the central arena.

“AHHH, first names with my old Principal! It’s been almost seven years since I graduated, and I have to say, this Tournament is just the latest in a long line of strength-to-strength actions that you’ve taken as Principal!”
“You are too kind, Yori. It seems like only yesterday when you–”
“LET’S NOT GET CAUGHT IN THE PAST, PRINCIPAL!" The Narrator cut her off with a nervous laugh. "So, this tournament! What inspired it, what motivated you to undertake such a momentous task as getting all this organized?”

Spite.

“Well Yori, Shiketsu has long had a well-deserved record as the School where many of the absolute best Heroes got their start. The results of this have been seen in the public eye only in the end result of the graduates, but with the world ever more connected, I thought: our students are so excellent, they deserve the opportunity to display their skills in front of the world! Not only for their future careers, but to show the villainous and wicked everywhere that they shall have no reprieve from justice!”
“AHHHHH, WHAT INSPIRING WORDS! I HOPE YOU ALL HEARD THAT, BOTH SIDES OF THE LAW! Now, onto the tournament itself! What’s the setup, how does this work?”
“I’m glad you asked, Yori. The tournament itself is a 32-participant, single-elimination, bracket tournament. The students face each other in a best-of-one match, battling until one student surrenders, is unable to continue fighting, or steps foot outside the arena.”
“Let’s talk about the arena. What’s the layout?”
“It is a set area, measuring 20 meters by 20 meters, with one-meter elevation above the ground. Each student enters and takes the starting position 2.5 meters from their respective edges. As I alluded to before, the goal of the participants is to either incapacitate their opponent or force them to step out of the area.”
“Step out? Not simply knocked out of the stage?”
Karaburan smiled. “Many of our students have means to save themselves from a simple airborne knock-out. If we were to simply say going out of bounds, then we’d be devastatingly reducing their efficacy. So, in order for them to count as being out, they must actually make contact with the ground.”
“YOU HEAR THAT FOLKS?! LOOKS LIKE WE’RE IN FOR SOME AIRTIME! Next question, and it’s one that we’ve heard asked a LOT: what’s the rules on weapons and gadgets? Yay or nay?”
“This is something we thought long and hard about. The conclusion we came to was quite straightforward; if we wish to show off our students at their absolute best, how could we deny them their tools? When they become professional heroes, they shall have access to their arsenals, so why would they not have them here?”
“OOOOOH BOY! DID YA HEAR THAT AT HOME? I HOPE SO! How are you avoiding serious injuries taking place?”
“Well first of all, we have the finest medical staff here at Shiketsu. Rest assured, no matter how severe the injuries, our staff are more than capable of completely restoring full health. Secondly, our Support Course students have been hard at work, designing and building, shall we say, ‘safe for work’ versions of all weapons to avoid excessive bloodshed. I can say that we are proud of their efforts. These versions pack just as much of a hit, but thanks to the ingenuity of our Support Course students, it won’t look like a horror movie!”
“Well, I’m sure the sponsors are pleased to hear that! Speaking of our sponsors, let’s take a quick commercial break! When we come back, it will be time to begin!”

Outside, in the viewing area, the screens all cut to prepared video.

Nishima Anzu walked through the large doors that led to the VIP box, though that was a poor description of the Executive Persons Area. This section was, by far, the costliest per square foot of anywhere in the stadium, but it was worth it. The seats here started at one million yen and could go up from there. Many of the wealthy found it worthwhile though, as the amenities were of the highest quality. From world-class catering that custom made each dish to order, to a fully stocked bar with rare and reputable drinks, to seats that gave unique views only possible through Quirks built into the construction.

While it was at capacity, not all of these seats were technically sold. Many had been gifted to certain prominent individuals that were either funding this event, or were highly ranked Heroes themselves.

“Ahh, Endeavor-san! So pleased you could make it! And you brought the whole family!”
“Mr. Chang! How good to see you. Here to cheer on your sister?”
“Hello, Shōji-san, marvellous to see the representative of Endless Horizons! We are happy to have your partnership in this event.”

Anzu spilled forth with mindless chatter, but not without purpose. Anyone who knew anything about business knew that networking was of major importance. There was an almost unfathomable quantity of wealth in this room, and the closer ties she could form with those who controlled it, the more she could bring into Shiketsu’s coffers.

The clock struck 9 AM, the advertising break ended, and Narrator took back up the microphone.

“AAAND WE ARE BACK! PRINCIPAL NISHIMA HAS LEFT TO THE VIP BOX, BUT NOT BEFORE GIVING ME A VERY SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT! WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT IS? IT’S TO WATCH AND REPORT ON THESE INCREDIBLE MATCHES THAT WE ARE ABOUT TO SEE! THAT’S RIGHT, THE WAIT IS OVVVVEEEEEEEEEERR!"
"NOW!"
"LET’S"
"START!”

Two girls entered the stadium from either side. One was a tall, elegant girl with styled white hair, and with three serpentine dragon heads emerging from the base of her spine. The dragons were active, excited. They stretched their jaws and snapped their fangs at the air. The other was a pink-haired girl with a baton that she was swirling around her. Both were in identical school-issued sport uniforms. They walked up the steps, taking their marked starting positions.

On one side of the stands there sat a large number of extremely well-dressed individuals, except that each one had also dressed in Yamata merchandise purchased from the many stands outside. This was the extended Atsushi family, or at least the branch of it from which dragon-tailed Orochi stemmed. Among them was her cousin, the Spring Dragon Hero: Seiryu. He was very pleased with himself, as he had managed to convince his uncle to wear a Yamata cap, complete with three dragon tails coming off the back. Every time he moved, they jiggled just a bit. The giant of a man grumbled to his wife.

“We should have simply gotten seats in the VIP section, rather than these ones for family. I can hardly hear myself think.”
“But dear,” she responded with a smile, “this is part of the fun! If you got in there, you would be far too distracted having all your silly important conversations, and you’d miss the action! Besides, the view is much better here, isn’t it? SWEETY! OROCHI! OVER HERE!” The woman frantically waved to the tall white-haired girl as she walked up the steps. The man simply groaned and rolled his eyes; his wife was caught in the mania of the event, it seemed.

From another walkway, a third figure walked onto the stadium ground, up some stairs to a viewing platform level with the arena. This was the man to referee the bouts. The current No. 6 Hero, the man who took down a member of the Night Parade and had so recently even defeated its leader in their cowardly assault….

“MA-JES-TIC! MA-JES-TIC!”

The Pro Hero reveled in the adoration of the crowd. Sure, they weren’t here to see him today, but it was hardly his fault that his loving fans were so passionate, was it? He laughed and raised his hands, ushering in another cheer. His name had been all over the place recently, particularly because of his trip to the hospital, and he was not one to ignore such attention.

The two girls met each other’s gaze. Atsushi's was full of fire, and the dragon heads locked onto her opponent with venom in their glare. Legosi was smiling brightly, but her broad, black eyes seemed hollow and humorless in their expression.

The Narrator geared up his Motormouth and began racing his words above the noise of the crowd. “And here we have today’s first match! We have the latest of the Atsushi Family, the Many-Headed Hydra, Atsushi Orochi! ALSO! We have the Summoner of Spirits, Legosi Valerie!"

Majestic was familiar with both, as he was the combat teacher for everyone in the Hero Course. He put on a professional face as he addressed them as their referee. “OK girls, you know the rules. The fight lasts until one of you gives up, until I judge that you can no longer fight, or if one of you touches the ground while out of bounds. Are you ready?”
Both answered in unison. “Yes!”
“OK then. HAJIME!”

Both girls exploded into action with a roared kiai!, and the stadium roared with them.

Legosi slammed her baton onto the ground, and in an instant, dozens of thin white spirits rose from the ground before her. They looked like empty bedsheets with groaning faces and stretched black gaps for eyes, but they surged together like an evil wind. The self-named Necromancer thrust her baton forward, and the ghoulies rushed toward Orochi.

Orochi knew this was her opponent’s quirk. She had read the promotional material, just like everyone else. It was no matter. She had to close in to do anything. Orochi charged forward while dodging the wraiths as best she could. Legosi snapped her fingers. She knew she couldn’t win in melee. So instead, she cried out, and the ethereal white swarm faded away as suddenly as it appeared. In an instant, several far more realistic ghosts – each a dozen feet tall – came out from all around Orochi. They were like pale humans with lank, oily hair and hideous, stretched out faces. Their elongated fingers swept out like they were desperate to drag the dragon-tailed girl away with them to lands unknown. Orochi couldn’t help but gasp at their appearance, which was all the opening the Necromancer needed.

In his excitement, the Narrator leapt to his feet. He was clutching onto the table mic with both hands to keep it right in front of his mouth, blurring in its rapid movement. “What an opening strike! I hope none of you are spooked by the spirits! If Orochi can’t power through this barrage, she will be in trouble!”

Orochi covered her head from the ethereal blows. The broken yellow nails of the lanky giants swept right through her body, leaving cold shocks of pure pain in their wake. By instinct, she flexed out her arms and tries to claw back, but found her attacks simply passed right through them!
Stupid! Of course you can’t hit ghosts! Orochi chastised herself. They were hitting her hard, but she didn’t choose 'Hard-to-Destroy Lizard Hero' as her moniker for nothing! The blows were literally lighter than a feather, and it would take more than pain to lock her up. She’d been through worse while sparring with her classmates. Orochi gritted her teeth and tensed her body. Then she exploded forward, charging directly at her opponent. The phantoms grasped, and tackled, and flew right through her, creating agony through her body. But Orochi wasn't just a girl, or a fighter, or even a hero. She was a living hydra! Pain? What's pain? Only the precursor to healing! Orochi could take it all on!

She raced forward, passing ghosts, then choosing to pass through them! She took their shocks to her system right on and kept racing through! She was 10 meters from Legosi, then 5, 3, 1! Orochi reached out to lunge at the black-eyed summoner before her, when a sharper and greater pain than all the others slammed into the side of her head!

"Viewers at home, what you are seeing is really here in the stadium with us tonight! Fans in the stands, do not be alarmed! You are perfectly safe! But can the same be said of Legosi's opponent Atsushi?!?"

The habit of a hundred battles took over to save her from what her instincts called a terrible fate. Orochi twisted to the side, her tails spinning, and she rolled with the phantom blow. She clasped at the side of her head. Dazed, she winced back at her foe. Legosi was standing between the feet of a giant! The demonic looking skeleton with flaming eyes and rotten cracks in its bones was easily 50 meters tall! Pale ghostfire steamed off it as it reached its titanic hand back up and into a swatting position. Its other arm was curled protectively around the front of Legosi like the curve of a battlement. The abomination hunched in the stadium and still managed to dwarf the arena itself. Valerie, its illusionary summoner, smiled a creepy smile that didn't reach her staring, wide opened eyes. The pink-haired Necromancer raised a hand mockingly in front of her lips. “What shall you do against this, I wonder?”

Orochi got to her feet. The pain in her head was already cleared. She was smirking.
“I don’t have to do anything. You see,” she pointed at something on Legosi. “You’ve already lost.”
“What?” As soon as the word left Legosi’s lips, her vision suddenly blurred. The smile was wiped from her face. She looked down at her arm and tried to make the double-vision in her eyes focus into a coherent picture. Then she saw it. Two small puncture holes on her arm. She looked up at Orochi, and the last sight she saw before passing out, was a very satisfied looking dragon tail.

Majestic raised his left hand high into the air. “ATSUSHI WINS!”
The crowd roared, but none roared as loudly as a barrel-chested man with a silly hat near the front of the stands.

"Between you and me," fired out the motormouth Narrator, even as the rate of his words began to slow while between matches, "I think I may have the most incredible assignment in the world! The event has only just begun and we've seen live, in-person, the kind of event that only would have happened in heroic and terrifying movies about kaiju battle! Where else would you have seen a multi-headed dragon face off an army of the dead, except in a cinema, or right here today at the first ever Shiketsu Battle Extravabonanza! Ah, and before anyone gets the wrong idea, please put away your complaint letter paper and still your offended thumbs from their typing, because I can assure everyone that what we have seen here today is not the abuse of the passed-on but instead a useful and inventive application of illusion from a talented young student. If anyone in the heroing business, or in certain special effects departments, wants to know more, then keep an eye on the development of one Legosi Valerie, the Necromancer. As for Atsushi Orochi, codename Yamata, I expect there will be plenty more to see from her today as she passes on to the next stage."

The Narrator was not just trying to fill airtime or show off his unique abilities. All of his talking gave plenty of time for everything to be reset and the combatants in the next match to be verified and readied. Once again, the two freshmen Hero classes, unofficial rivals within the grading system of the school, would be thrown head to head. Except for the random chance of class rosters before the start of the school year, the two could have been classmates, maybe even friends. But here and now they meet in battle.

“We have the next two students! All the way from America, a true Titan, Johnny Walker! And here, an Archangel from above, Noah Abrams!"
Johnny approached from the left side of the arena to take his place on that starting line. Noah calmly walked up the stairs on the right side and took his spot, too. Johnny looked at his opponent like he meant business. Noah returned the look with a beatific smile and raised one of the wings on his head in greeting.

“SECOND ROUND! HAJIME!” yelled Majestic.

No sooner than the start was declared, but not a moment after, Johnny brought his right foot back then kicked it into the floor of the arena. His inhuman strength instantly crushed the ground and dug a trench beneath, shattering off bits of tile. At the same time, his foot had started expanding to a giant size the moment before impact. By the time it swung out of the earth again, the now-giant foot sent a huge amount of debris and tile careening toward Noah. With not a moment to spare, Noah flung himself backward with a mighty flap of all of his wings. He launched himself directly backward, seeming to throw himself into an instant ring-out. Yet, his powerful flying muscles and great expertise in the air lifted him up right before he could make contact with the ground. With a ring cloud of dust kicked up by the wind he pushed beneath him, Noah took to the air.

His flight was just enough to avoid the barrage, but he had been driven backward and off the ground. Johnny ran forward, his body evening out and growing in size with every elongated step.

The Bible teaches about giants, but I never thought I would be facing one! Noah thought to himself. He folded his wings for a moment to corkscrew in the sky and swoop into a better position to keep an eye on his opponent below - who was rapidly becoming an opponent at eye level!

“Take this!” yelled Johnny, his voice like a booming church bell. Johnny reached down and scooped a giant handful of the arena up. Hardly any of it was left after being treated like a sand castle at the beach. Noah scarcely had a moment before the rubble, itself also supernaturally expanded, was right in front of him.

But did he back off? No!

Noah scissored his wings in the air and launched himself like a speeding dart toward his giant opponent. He aimed himself with rigidly held tips of his powerful wings, white feathers shining brilliantly in the sunlight. Deftly weaving between the rocks, Noah was unshaken by the danger. He had faith in himself and in his gifts. Johnny was large, and definitely stronger than Noah was even at normal size, but Noah had the grace of a dove in flight.

It took him but a few moments to get in front of Johnny, who now stood as large as the last of Legosi's ghasts, but without the stooping and the fragility. At this size, Noah’s whole body was barely the size of the giant’s face! Noah flared out every limb to their fullest stretch, halting himself mid-air with an audible whomph of air. Every one of his feathers was angled at Johnny's giant head.

“Apologies for this,” Noah said, bringing his hands to the halo of light framing his own face. It was a gloriously sunny day, and Noah was empowered greatly by this. When Noah called out next, it had a quality like an unbreakable command. Like a warning. Something stirred in countless members of the audience, and they shielded their eyes from the inevitable. But not Johnny. “EMPYREAN BURST!”

Noah released half of his light in a grenade-like explosion, right in front of Johnny’s face. Noah's white feathers surged with fluorescence that left the giant boy blinded, eyes scorched red from the luminosity of Noah’s light. Johnny grabbed at his face, with Noah effortlessly diving through his fingers, and he held on to his burning eyes. He was staggering back. He was still in the arena, only barely, but Noah had his next move planned. He tumbled beautifully through the sky and up to the back of Johnny’s head, grabbing as much of the massive hairs as he could. He spoke again, intoning his words with unbreakable confidence belied by his cherubic face. “GLORY AND VICTORY!”

Noah grabbed the giant hairs over his shoulder like he was hauling rope. He didn't just dive at the ground, he pushed his wings with all his might to fly directly at the ground. He was pulling Johnny’s head backward! Johnny was off-balance as is, but this little bit more was all it took. Johnny felt hairs yank free and his heels slipped out from under him. He fell backward and his head just barely missed the stands.

“ABRAMS WINS!” roared Majestic. This time, his right arm was raised high into the air.

Johnny reduced himself back to his original size. He was far out of bounds here. He sat up, rubbing the back of his head. The impact had been dissipated over a larger surface area, but that hadn’t prevented it from hurting. Before he could stand, the light-drenched Noah floated over to him. The androgynous boy bowed his head, hands clasped in prayer.

“You fought well, Johnny. Noah thanks you for the experience.”

With that, he reached out a hand. Johnny blinked his eyes back into focus. He had a completely different expression on his face when he looked at Noah now: disbelief. Tentatively, Johnny took the offered hand, and was helped to his feet. Noah made sure to personally escort him to The Doctor sheltered just at the arena's edge, refusing to leave until he had ensured Johnny's care.

The Narrator, a true professional, wrapped up his running description of all the action. “WOWSA, what a match!! Two scary and incredible combats right in a row! And yet, didn't you feel that no matter what happened, the power of good was going to triumph in the end? This is the kind of thrill you can only get from world class talent giving it their all. Folks, we’re going to need a moment to fix up the arena after that one! We’ll be right back after this quick message!”

On one part of the grounds, people were talking excitedly with each other about everything they'd seen so far. Some people were gloating about their payouts, or their chances for better ones, around the betting booths; others were cursing their luck or their judgement as they ripped betting tickets apart to relieve their disappointment. Business students were rushing out orders for sweets and fried snack foods as lines of people hurried by their booths during this short break. Some people were even lounging in the viewing areas and dutifully watching the commercial on air that was advertising the deals at a chain of electronic stores.

On a very different part of the grounds, five young friends from class 1-D were huddled together. A top of the line, very recently released phone with the very best embedded camera floated in mid-air in front of the five. It was snapping photos from various angles while they struck various poses, and applied various filters as needed. It floated back into its owner's hands, then she ID-tagged her friends’ accounts, and wrote a quick caption:

Hailey stood with her clique, utterly relaxed and ready for the match. She got the one-minute call, stood up, and turned to deliver one last line to her friends.
“Remember girls, our goal isn’t to win, it’s to look good.”
Hailey walked out of the waiting room and made her way down the corridor to the arena.
“I overheard that, Hay. Who says you can’t do both?”
She knew that voice. She spun around. There was Hifumi, eyes closed, leaning against the wall.
“Babo! What are you doing over here, you’re supposed to be waiting on the other side!”
“Oh gee, if only your boyfriend –” he vanished mid-sentence, reappearing behind her, before continuing without missing a beat “– could somehow, I don’t know, teleport around!”
“Look Babo, my match is in less than a minute –”
“I know, I’m just here for this.” Hifumi blindly leaned in, Hailey reciprocated, and they kissed.
“Now get out there and show them how amazing I know you are!” Hifumi said, and opening his eyes, he vanished.
Bolstered by her boyfriend, Hailey turned and ran to the arena’s entrance to make up for the (welcome) delay.

“Ah! There she is! We can now begin the Third Round! Hailey Chang VERSUS Xiaohei Naza!”

“MATCH THREE! HAJIME!”
Just as the kids in 1-D had a chance to learn about the other class's mysterious quirks from the event's promotional materials, the kids in 1-E had the same opportunity. Neither one of the girls was going to be totally caught off guard by the other. “Hiiiyaa!” With a shout, Naza kicked spinning wheels of heatless flame from her feet as she leapt directly backwards. Just like Noah before her, she was someone more comfortable off the ground than on it. Hailey, for her part, thrust her hands out in front of her. It wasn't necessary for her to do this to work her quirk, but it helped her focus and let the audience know she wasn't just standing still. If it was the old me, thought Hailey in a moment of distraction, I definitely would have cheated. Her lips seemed to tingle.

Naza skated through the air on a burning trail of orange light, going from 0 to 100 kmph in an instant. She juked about in a bewildering serpentine pattern, somehow keeping an expert balance in the dizzying display. Hailey tried to reach out and catch Naza with her mind but it was exactly like trying to catch a speeding car with the agility of a fly. Soon enough, another pair of spinning firewheels were launched from Naza's hands, spun like chakram through the air. They buzzed at high speed as they cut the wind apart, and yawned open as they approached Hailey still on the ground below.

"And to think, we could have missed out on a great show like this just from using simple ring-outs! Xiaohei is going from strength to strength as she shows off the versatility of her Quirk. But if it's versatility, then can anything beat out Chang's TK? By the way! This match features two exchange students! Xiaohei from mainland China, and Chang from Korea! So when we say Shiketsu is world class, we don't mean it lightly!" Narrator squints and wrenches his head all around to try to keep both of the students in sight, his words somehow going as quickly as Naza skates through the open sky.

Hailey may be defrosting thanks to Hifumi, but she was still far from thawed. If she couldn't catch the airborne tomgirl, she'd just have to punish Naza from here! Hailey intentionally let the chakram slice near, then she flicked her hands apart and both of the wheels of flame spun in wide arcs around her and slammed into the tiles behind her. She started to run forward to get into the middle of the arena when she heard a sound from behind.

With all of Hifumi's shenanigans using his Quirk, Hailey has gotten a lot of practice with those times when what she hears has to make up for what she can't see. She spins and catches sight of the chakram dislodging themselves from the ground and firing back at her from a dead stop. She gives the nearest wheel a withering glare, and an arena tile wrenches itself free and flies up to catch the wheel as a floating shield. The flaming chakram shrank itself down and spun faster, starting to cut through, sending ceramic dust spraying off to either side. The other chakram buzzed past, but Hailey simply swayed out of the way like a dancer and it flung itself into the distance, headed towards Naza's flightpath.

That's when Hailey noticed that Naza is flying on just one wheel. She swats a surge of psychic force at the almost-split arena tile behind her, and it snapped cleanly in half. In doing so, the tile also bashed the chakram into a wobbling new arc, which lets Hailey hijack its path and steal it from Naza's distant control. The stolen wheel accelerated and orbited in a blisteringly fast, rising spiral around her, and caught the hidden chakram somewhere just behind Hailey's shoulder. It saved her just in time from being bludgeoned by a hidden wheel.

Naza attacked from her blind spot. Again. Hailey's done with this game. She pointed firmly to her left and her right, rocketing the two speeding flame wheel chakram away as fast as she can before Naza can dip closer into range and regain control of them. While Naza is busy catching the returning wheel from earlier back under her free-floating foot, not to mention getting full speed and balance back after the failed gambit, Hailey got busy by pushing her telekinesis to the limit.

Her hair lifted from her neck and began whipping energetically above her head. Her heels rose from the ground, then her toes lifted from the earth. Hailey floated herself off the ground, rising ever higher, like she's surfacing in the ocean. Around her, tiles began to crack and pop, then tear themselves from their mortar and rise with her as a cloud of shards, projectiles, debris. The wheels return and Naza dives forward. Hailey raises a hand like a commander ordering a charge.

"Incredistupifyingly awesome maneuver! Chang came so highly recommended to the Hero Course program that she was able to bypass the normal selection process as an immediate unconditional acceptance, and it's easy to see why! I feel terrible for the Quirk-assisted construction crew that has to clean up this mess, but after all, it's good for the economy! And what a show!"

A legion of missiles sped off, bashing themselves apart to continuously divert flame wheels and to harry the approaching Naza. This forced Naza to lean on her martial arts training and juggle the wheels so she can stay airborne on one foot, attack openings in Hailey's obstacle cloud, and also smash and slice apart the chunks of cement and ceramic tile that are ceaselessly flung gatling-style into her flight path. A bewildering exchange of high-flying blows darted between the two girls, near misses and clutch saves again and again dragging out the blink-and-you'll-miss-it conflict. Hailey rises. Naza dives.

It's over in an instant. Naza pulled all of her chakram to her, leg swung back for a kick, hands spread like the talons of a striking eagle. With one final all-encompassing attack, she knows she is going to blitz Hailey to force her on the defense, then remind the cocky girl that Naza's still got fists. In the next moment, the hoop-throwing girl halted dead still in air, only a few meters away from free-floating Hailey. Hailey, whose look was deepest winter ice. Now useless, bits of debris rained down from all around her. All of Hailey's telekinetic power had Naza and her wheels pinned to the sky.

The rich Korean smirked, her hair floating around her head, before levitating toward her opponent. “Really, girl, you should have seen this coming. What can you do when frozen?” Naza tried to respond, but even her mouth was stuck. “Aw, poor thing. Did you forget you had to dodge me?” Hailey flicked her hair with a wave of her head, and her power beautifully waterfalled it down one side of her face to curl around Hailey's throat. She reached out a hand and, like a conductor directing the end of a symphony, dipped her fingers towards the ground.

With an agonizing and mocking slowness, a rigidly held Naza drifted towards the ground outside the torn-up arena platform. Naza's chakram hummed soothingly even as Naza herself fruitlessly struggled against the invisible psychic bonds that held her. Millions in person and abroad watched as, inevitably, Naza's face was pressed into the dirt.

“CHANG WINS!” declared Majestic. He raised up his left hand, indicating a ring out judgement in Hailey's favor.

Hailey blew a kiss to the crowd before flying her way back to the waiting room, waving to the people as she did so. Once she was back, she got out her phone and checked her socials. Even now, her follower count was surging up with every passing moment. She smiled and bounced happily on her toes. That performance had done wonders for her analytics!

Elsewhere, a blond boy nervously paced while a little green dragon trailed behind him, softly mewing. Inigo had been dreading this moment. The reality of what he was about to do had fully set in. The humor of the initial reveal had dissipated. It wasn’t simply that he was about to fight the girl that had cut through him and gave him new feelings. It wasn’t even that he was going to be dueling her in front of a potentially global audience. The spotlight loved him, after all. It was the fundamental unease of doing something that reminded him of Luccione. But he had promised Hoge, and Gigan wouldn’t let him break a promise. And his memory wouldn't let him forget what it was.

---

“But HooooooGeeeeeeeee…!”
“No buts, Myoga! We are going to fight, and you are going to fight like you mean it!”
“Ahh, my manly heart! How can I possibly fight such a beautiful maiden!”
Hoge clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Didn’t we already discuss this?! Don’t you realize what is going to take place? The Principal wants this to rival U.A’S tournament! That means a crowd of thousands, with potentially MILLIONS of watchers! If you hold back, then you are besmirching the Shiketsu name to every single one of them!”

Inigo knew this tone and body language. This wasn’t ‘tease and flirt’ Maru, this was ‘Class Rep, Perfect Score’ Maru. He loved her too, but she was something else! Hoge put her hands on her hips, her eyes drilling into Inigo’s. He momentarily wilted under the intensity, and Hoge took the chance to say her last piece. Having become an expert on her body language, he could see that even though she was steeling herself all over, it was to hide the softness around her eyes. Still, her voice come out sharp.

“I’m not naïve, Inigo. I know in a straight battle, I can’t beat Gigan. As soon as he does any of the transformations that I’ve seen him do, I’ve as good as lost. But if you don't give it your all then you're as good as saying there's no hope for me. And if you dare to look down at me that much then I’ll never talk to you again! Never! Not ever!”

She closed her door in Inigo’s face. He and Gigan stood there for a moment, before she re-opened the door a crack. Her glasses were askew when she peeked out.
“A-and g-good night!”

With that, the door closed again, and locked with a decisive click. The linked pair stood there in the silence, before-
“Hey, how come she only said she couldn’t beat YOU?” Inigo said accusingly to his dragon. Gigan merely closed his eyes and flexed a green arm.

On the other side of the door, Hoge’s heart was pounding in her ears. She couldn't blink or the tears welling up in her eyes would spill out. What had she done? Dared the boy she lo, wa, liked, into beating her up? In front of who knows how many people? She tried to busy herself with getting ready for bed while her thoughts buzzed in her head. You are Class Representative! You have a duty to the school, and a duty to your classmates! You have to ensure they do their best! Even him…

---

“Fourth Round! Myoga Inigo VERSUS Nyoro Hoge!”
The voice of The Narrator brought Inigo out of his flashback. Showtime. With a fist-bump to Gigan, the pair walked out into the bright light of the Stadium.

He walked to the arena, up the stairs, seeing his lovely Maru on the other side. Or at least her blur. She must be nervous, but she was doing her best to control it, flickering like an old-timey television.

The pair both tried to bury their nerves as they looked into each others' eyes from the starting lines.
“MATCH FOUR! HAJIME!”
As if she was no longer trying to control her emotions, Hoge turned red, before almost completely disappearing into thin air!
All these people! How many are there? What’s the seating capacity of Shiketsu Stadium?? How many are watching right now, on TV, on the internet???
The thoughts, verbal and mathematical, were like a tsunami. The mental noise slammed against her conscious mind, threatening to knock her out without a blow. But on the plus side, her quirk Wasuremono was running on full power; she was nothing but a blur! She made a mad dash toward her opponent, the boy she…refused to finish that sentence.

Had Inigo - or anyone else for that matter - been able to discern Hoge with their senses, they would see her weaving forward, or hear her draw her replacement sword for this tournament, but none could. Yet, Inigo didn’t need to see her! His heart would guide his way!

For the first time, the Narrator stumbled over his words. But he quickly righted himself. “O! Et-! If- If you can see where she’s gone, you have better eyesight than me! Is that a shadow flickering around, or maybe a bit of fog? Is there something on my glasses? Ah! Nevermind! I don't wear glasses! How is Inigo supposed to fight an opponent he can’t see? Let’s find out!”

Hoge felt ridiculous! Here she was, in front of the whole world, not even with her helmet on, doing leaps and rolls! Sure, it had a purpose – making sure that she wasn’t simply approaching along a set trajectory and breaking up what little footfalls she was making – but she still felt silly! All of this would have been so much easier with her gear. It was a struggle to stay in the right headspace when she felt every eye was pointed at normal old unremarkable Hoge. But her Ini had promised to go all out, so she had to as well!

Inigo, on the other hand, looked cool and collected. He raised a hand into the air, and with a snap of his fingers, dozens of green tendrils exploded from around him! Each one had a little Gigan at the tip. Some had binoculars, some were sniffing the air, but all were marketable and trying to locate Hoge!

“20-meter radius – Gigan Splash!”

It wasn’t 20 meters, nor did it involve water, but it seemed to make a splash with the crowd! Relieved from their confusion at the strangest match yet, many were cheering, and some were even going aww! In this 'area splash attack,' Gigan and Inigo were able to sense far more of their surroundings, even if it was a pretty obvious maneuver.

“I don’t know if I should be awed or go aww," the Narrator almost laughed into his mic. He was taken in by Inigo's style, perhaps sensing they were on a similar wavelength. "Those little dragon heads are adorable! If anyone out there is hurrying to make up a plushie, I would like to buy one. For my niece, of course! Not for me! I wonder if those binoculars work? Will all this be enough?”

Had Hoge faced this when she first arrived at Shiketsu, she would have panicked, not knowing what to do. But this Hoge had learned a lot so far! Facing a concrete problem to work on, her head was starting to cool. In spite of herself, she was slipping into Marumaru.

Dodge, duck, dip, dive, and…what was the last one? Hoge put the missing D out of her mind, as she evaded the Gigans as best she could. There were a lot, but she had to have faith in herself! She dodged a Gigan that was coming for her. She ducked underneath another that swept by so she could get closer. She dipped her head down just in time to avoid a Gigan that nearly clipped her with the binoculars. And with a final diving roll she was right next to Ini! Now all she had to do was-

Inigo spun around.

The Narrator plucked up his mic so he could safely slap the table with his other hand. He grinned in excitement and started waving illustratively at the arena. “See that one Gigan? It looks like it’s found something, judging by all those danger signs!”

No going back now! She had to go for the win! Maru was only half into a proper grounded stance when she swung her faux wakizashi down in a very basic overhead slice. Inigo went to grab it.

“Nice kni–” was all he got out, before his palm made contact with the dull replacement for the blade. It surged with painful electricity, doing no real damage but really locking his muscles in place. With so much of Gigan out, he had foolishly intercepted the blow with his bare hand, and gotten his just deserts! The Gigan-tendrils shot back and swirled around the blade. Gigan formed into a green dragon claw around Inigo's hand, forcing the blade away from his skin. It continued to discharge against Gigan's emerald scales and ivory talons, but with no effect.

Inigo whipped his hand with the Crash Claw on it behind himself and the sword went spiraling through the air and out of the arena platform. His other arm started to sweep in front of him to quickly feel where in the dark blur in front of him the real Maru was.

The Narrator was still fixated on every moment of the match, his eyes watering from the strain. Tears traced lines down his cheeks even while he grinned. “Oh ho! We may not be able to see all the action right now, but we CAN see that weapon that’s just flown out! Look at it glitter in the sun! Is this the beginning of the end?”

“Now with that gone, Hoge, why don’t you –” Inigo was cut off yet again, this time by a thud to his solar plexus! Naturally, Maru used weapons that always left at least one hand free.

The action was automatic. Maru's instinct was always first to get away, and her gut tactic was to go for a weak point. With the target open right in front of her, why wouldn't she take this chance to create some distance? This close to Inigo, Gigan could simply intertwine them or bubble her and secure the win. She had to avoid that. She put all her weight into hitting him right below that chest of his he's definitely taller now isn't he FOCUS! The breathlessness wouldn’t last more than a few seconds! She hopped back, juked, and darted about, going for the blind spots that he had drilled into her (F O C U S !) during their practices leading up to this day.

But it was not to be.
"What's this? What's happening? If only I could give myself eyedrops as fast as I could talk! Are my eyes deceiving me or is Myoga pupating? And just how many Nyoros are there now? One, two, seven, four, eighteen? The shapes form and fade faster than I can count! Viewers at home, somebody, record a slow motion capture and tell me later what's going on!"

Gigan warped again and ballooned from his arm to wrap around Inigo, securing him in a green dome. Within the temporary bunker, the blond boy coughed a few times, before straightening up. She made him promise (although never actually uttering the words) to go all out, and after she had so clearly done so, he had no choice but to match her passion! Even with his eyebrows furrowed, he couldn't help but grin.

“Now, Gigan!"

Gigan swirled around Inigo, the dome closing in, crystallizing into a new, hitherto unseen, suit of armor. It bulked. It glistened. It clanked when he moved. It bulged in every direction with heavy plates and curves of armor, interlocking and covering every part of him. A solid, reinforced dome sat over his head and against the broad extension over his shoulders. Inside it he stood a full two feet taller, thanks to the careful extensions to his torso and legs. It was more like piloting a mech than it was like wearing real armor. Counting on Gigan to help him move, Inigo struck a henshin pose and boomed out in as deep a voice as he could:

“Gigan Form: Bulldozer!”

The crowd bellowed with approval, both for the transformation, and the posing! Every moment had been one surprise after another. Even the commentator approved of the spectacle. “Wow, what a defense! Well, if you can’t see them, make sure they can’t see you!”

Maru tripped upon seeing the hulking armor, but caught herself before falling. By habit she checked where her pouches and pockets would be, but only felt empty gym clothes. What she wouldn't do for a few good knives. Or a crowbar. Still, even though she was flailing, and definitely overwhelmed, there was a small but growing part of her that was... proud. If he was going to make up surprises that they hadn't planned for like this, then it meant he really was trying. She hadn't... he wouldn't...

Hoge slapped both of her cheeks and crouched into a wide-legged stance. It’ll take more than that, you playboy! I'm not giving up! Her edges flickered and sharpened for a few moments, causing the commentator and scattered members of the crowd to reflexively point and mark her out. Hoge blushed and hazed. Her tummy hurt as Wasuremono surged into new heights that the girl had never experienced before. She boldly raced forward, going for the shadow of the armor.

All she had to do was find an opening, a chance!

“Psst! Gigan, open some holes, I can’t see a thing!” Inigo whispered. He could hear the support of the crowd, but they hadn’t practiced this form much, and Inigo could hardly see out! If he wanted Plan 42 to work, he would need to see where to hit, but more importantly, where to not. Gigan expanded the eye holes.

Inigo was skilled in spotting his darling Hoge, but Wasuremono was working overtime. He looked back and forth, and as soon as he caught sight of a blur darting around, he slammed down a gauntlet far away from it.

The Narrator was closing his eyes tight and opening them wide to find some relief during this relatively slower part of the battle. His voice was almost... normal. "Mm. More arena damage. We might run out of commercials at this rate."

This was Inigo's brilliant Plan 42! 'Showboat Shoveoff'! Bulldozer gave the appearance of brute strength, but Gigan was a shapeshifter, not a bodybuilder. He could only conjure so much force with his forms, but this had nothing to do with how a form could be perceived! Much like an actor wearing a muscle-suit, Bulldozer was definitely form over function. This would allow him to make a big show of how much effort it took to take Hoge down, while doing it in as safe a manner as possible. At this size, Gigan was relatively slow; easily slow enough to limit the chance of accidentally hurting her. He knew that for all her pride, Hoge wasn't physically any tougher than a normal teenage girl. He had to be careful. So as soon as he could safely grab her, only then would he end this properly.

I am so smart! Inigo thought, just before a nukite – spear hand – thrust through the newly widened eye holes. It was only by chance and the limited angles that Maru's nails just barely missed jabbing Inigo in the face!

Maru did what she loved to do best. She had climbed up the back of this brutish armor, noticed the openings, and taken a pot shot. It was her only chance to get another hit in, and maybe force him to turn Gigan into a different shape. But in the end, all she struck was her wrist on the edge of the head-dome's eye gap, and then she felt something warm and soft and a little damp press against her palm. Her mind filled with static.

BBAAAKKKKAAAAA!

Before she could pull back from Inigo's lips, the eye hole closed up, trapping her hand! To make matters worse, she felt one of those giant gauntlets push behind her, as he was covering his face with them!

The Narrator was excited to finally be sure of what was going on. “Woah! Looks like she got up to his face! Guess an armor is only as good as its weakest point!”

Inigo kept Hoge pinned to his face but couldn’t help himself.
“Hey, what do you think of Plan 42?”
Hoge tried to yell at him but all that came across was a faint buzzing.
“Don’t worry, I’m taking it seriously. I’m taking it so seriously, I’m about to end this fight.”
All of Hoge's scattered thoughts instantly crystalized into one clear word. Nani?

The massive armor began stomping forwards, marching toward the edge, ceaseless as a bulldozer. As it got a couple of feet away, the armor slowly dissolved, unraveling from Inigo, until it was just a giant flying gauntlet holding a pulsing humanoid blur over the edge. Inigo dropped to the floor, hamming up his fatigue and chewing the scenery as hard as he could, and Gigan opened up his gauntlet and dropped Hoge out of bounds.

“MYOGA WINS” shouted Majestic. As the crowd cheered, Inigo ‘wearily’ gave a big thumbs up as he lay on his back. Out of bounds, Gigan winked at Hoge, prompting a red-faced and crooked smile. Already looking more distinct, Hoge averted her eyes. She mouthed a quiet “gomen.” Then she let herself fall back and stared up at the warm, blue sky, trying to let herself settle out of the exertion of the last few minutes. She held the kissed hand close to her chest.

During the resulting break, Chihiro was in the waiting/changing room of the opposite side. She was practicing, as she always did, but with an unfamiliar blade. Was it even a blade, actually? Did it count as one? She wasn’t sure what she thought about it yet. It had been bequeathed to her only the day before. It was for “minimizing the possibility of cheating” they had said. She didn’t much care; she was simply pleased she was permitted a weapon at all. She had been under the impression that the tournament was operating under a ‘no-weapons’ clause, so when it turned out that it was not, she was quite relieved.

The Support Course students had done their homework with this one. It had a familiar balance that could let it take a place among her practice blades. It was so close to the weight and balance to her true blade, in fact, that only someone like her could tell the difference. Yet, instead of an edge, there was an electrical current that ran through it, calibrated to cause an effect akin to the pain of a slash. She had no clue how they had managed to create such a fundamentally different weapon that had such similar properties, but she supposed that that was why they were on the Support Course of one of the most prestigious schools in the world. She performed a finisher and a flourish, before sheathing the blade. The one-minute call came through, and Chihiro took her leave.

Faith checked her hair, touched up her makeup, adopted a delicate pose, and took a quick selfie.

Because I’m not. But just look at those likes! She refreshed the post just to watch the number rise each time. She didn’t have much hope against Chihiro, her being an actual martial artist with a physical enhancing quirk, but she was planning to at least put up a fight. She ran her hand along the metal bo staff she had requested, felt it shudder under her touch, and smiled to herself. She was going to make Chihiro work for a victory. With a last check on the likes, she left to answer the one-minute call.

The two girls walked into the arena, both wielding their respective weapons. Chihiro raised an eyebrow; she didn’t know that Faith used a staff. This may prove easier than she thought. After all, in a weapon duel, she was absolutely certain in her martial superiority, and a saber had a decisive advantage over a staff once inside the circle of the staff's tip.

They both took starting stances at their marked positions. Chihiro’s was conventional, prepared to dash forward and draw her blade, while Faith’s was peculiar: the staff was out horizontally in front of her. What was she planning?

“Fifth Round! Mitsurugi Chihiro VERSUS Faith Kang!”
“MATCH FIVE! HAJIME!”

Faith’s plan was instantly revealed; she had never intended to use the staff as a weapon, but as material. The staff broke into half a dozen pieces, each one turned into a drone that took off at the red-eyed girl on the other side of the arena. Chihiro, meanwhile, had dashed off the start, running with her body leaned all the way forward. If she stopped or slowed, she would surely fall. Chihiro saw the drones fly at her, but no matter. Their reflective eyes and metal pincers meant nothing to her. She had practically had a sword in her hand before she could walk, so flying targets were nothing. In a move that was nothing short of poetry in motion, she performed her ballet. The sword didn't sing properly when it flew from its sheathe, but it did its best.

One, two, three.
A spinning leap took the vanguard drones out, the blade moving like water.
Four, five six.
One slash per step, one kill per step. The electric slices spun away drones like falling leaves.
Three steps away.
She was so close to Faith.
Two steps.
Faith sighed with a sad smile.
One.
Her blade arced toward Faith’s neck, going for the kill strike. As the blade made contact, it delivered an electrical current into Faith, knocking her out in an instant.
“Spring Blossom Slash.”
Chihiro regained her balance as she continued for a couple of steps. She sheathed the blade, clicking it down as Faith fell to the floor.
“MITSURUGI WINS!” Applause fell from the stands like mountain thunder. And Chihiro shut her eyes.

Bobby shadowboxed while waiting for the call of the next match. He didn’t have gloves on, just his Sports uniform like everyone else. Jab, cross, hook body, uppercut. Switch stance, slip, bob & weave. He was confident in his skills and power, and from what he read of his opponent, he was not going to pose a challenge.

He’s a Canadian thought Bobby. He’ll likely apologize to me after I punch him in the face.
The one-minute call came through. He checked himself in the mirror, did an Ali Shuffle, and made his way out.

The Narrator was getting into the rhythm of the event. “Sixth Round! The American exchange student Bobby Samson VERSUS the Canadian exchange student Liam McDichael!”
The motormouthed announcer covered the mic and checked his sheet again. Some of the sound still got through. "Eh? McDichael? Is that real?"

Bobby walked out into the almost-blinding sunlight. He was bathing in it with his arms out wide. The crowd was cheering, cheering for him! He couldn’t help but showboat, bouncing around, throwing out combos, playing for the audience. As he almost hopped up the stairs, he saw the guy he was here to beat. Liam looked like the kind of guy that, just last year, he would have badgered for a quick buck. Now, Bobby was here. He still going to pummel the Canadian, but for much better causes. He was a stereotypical looking Canadian; a friendly face, jolly demeanor, pudgy. Bobby noted that the kid's sleeves were rolled up.

“MATCH SIX! HAJIME!”

If the audience was expecting one of them to dash forward, then their expectations were subverted. Bobby didn’t charge, but instead raised his hands in a guard, before bobbing and weaving across the arena, eyes locked on the other boy. Liam, meanwhile, stood still with his hands behind his back. Bobby continued to advance, until he was a boxing ring’s distance away.

Bobby may have been a delinquent, but he wasn’t an idiot. If this boy was just standing still as he approached, then he clearly wanted him to get closer. He made up his mind. He simply didn’t have a means of attacking without getting in Liam's face, and since his opponent was a Canadian, he could wait all day and the Canuck wouldn’t attack first. If Bobby wanted to win, then he had to get closer. And also if he wanted to win, then he would need to attack too fast for whatever Liam was planning. He got within a couple of meters, did another Ali Shuffle, and jumped into a leaping punch.

As soon as Bobby leapt, Liam threw his hands in front of him, his quirk-effected sweat spraying out in large globs. He had been building it up as Bobby approached, rubbing his hands together and along his arms to build up as much sweat as he could. As Bobby was in mid-air, the globs hit him.

If Liam had been against someone lighter, then the globs would have had more effect. If there wasn’t as much sunlight today, then the globs would have had more effect. But Bobby was 191cm of pure American Beef, and that amount of mass takes a lot to stop, way more than the globs could do in mid-air. He collided with the Canadian, and they both hit the ground together.

“What a crash!," yelled out the Narrator. "This is going to be the most straight-forward battle yet! The drama of two young men, trained sport combatants, matching their muscles and their wits mano-e-mano! Looks like this match is going to the ground!”

Bobby was stuck! This goop was all over him, sticking him to himself and to the floor. Liam was grappling him, seemingly immune to the adhesion effect of his own quirk.

Struggling against Bobby's sun-boosted strength as well as to get out the words, Liam spoke. “Sorry, eh. But this tournament is all aboot winning, you know? Got to do what ya gotta do.”
“I – am – not – losing – to – a – Canadian!”

Bobby paradoxically fought to hold onto the portly boy, realizing that if he let Liam stand up, then he would lose due to not being able to continue to fight. Losing to someone from Class 1-E would make him the laughingstock of the class, not to mention the international angle! This was being watched in the States, and he was the son of the former No.1 Hero!

The Narrator summed up the conflict for the nosebleeds high in the Stadium. “All Liam has to do is get out of Bobby’s grip, and he wins by default from his opponent not being able to fight! Will Bobby let him?!”

Bobby kept the Canadian in his sunlight-enhanced grip. He was simply not in position to get a good hit on his opponent, with his upper body stuck to the floor, while Liam was working his way into getting him into a rear naked choke. There was only one thing for it. With a roar, Bobby heaved himself up, snapping syrup apart and ripping his shirt off.
“Wha–” was all Liam got out, before Bobby decked him in the face. Hard. With that one hit, broken-nosed Liam was out of commission.

“SAMSON WINS!”

“I’m gonna need a shower after this,” mumbled Bobby to himself. The goop was loosening with the unconsciousness of the quirk user, but it was still all sticky and goopy – like being covered in maple syrup. Bobby pushed himself to his feet and left the two torn halves of gym shirt stuck to the ground. And, well, the crowd was still here, weren't they? He pumped his arms up and flexed for the cheers.

Meanwhile, a fang-toothed girl sat alone in a changing room. Yui was uncharacteristically nervous; it wasn’t that she was an introvert, but who wouldn’t be nervous with an audience of this size? She tried to distract herself by planning for her opponent, Sora.

He was a gravity master, able to increase, decrease, reverse, and direct gravity to his will. She brought her threads in front of her. How was she going to pull this off? She was going to be about 15 meters away, which was within her range, but also in his. If she just went straight on the offense, then she had no doubt his gravity would be enough to rip her threads, and then just levitate her off the arena. She had a plan, but she was going to need to be sneaky.

Sora floated about, not too concerned about the results of the upcoming match. He wasn’t in this to become some big and famous hero. He wanted to be able to use his quirk without others bothering him! With that in mind, his only real aim was to show off a bit. As the one-minute call came in, he simply floated out toward the arena.

“Seventh Round! Sagara Yui VERSUS Tanaka Sora!”
Yui walked up the steps. She was shaking the anxiety out of her arms. Sora floated up with his hands behind his head like he was tubing downriver. When the two got into position, Sora stood there without a care in the world. His eyes were half-lidded and he scratched his cheek. On the other side, Yui had a firm glare on her face. She looked like a tiger that had spotted prey.

“MATCH SEVEN! HAJIME!”

Yui dramatically thrust her hands forward, threads shooting forth. Sora casually lifted a hand up, creating a gravitational tunnel to push them back. Yui, undeterred, dashed in an arc to the forward-left, shooting more thread as she did so.

“You’re wasting your thread, Yui! That’s not going to work!”

Sora tracked her movements with his arm, which moved his gravity tunnel to chase Yui. She ran as fast as she could. The tunnel was invisible, save for the effect it had on the thread, pushing it backward while it was affected. Yui could feel her thread running out. If she made the strand much longer then she would not be able to control it. She let it fall slack from her hand and immediately started launching another. As soon as it reached out in front of her, Sora's gravity tunnel whipped the threads toward the edge. Yui skidded to a halt, realizing the predicament.

The Narrator sped along to catch up the audience. “If you guys at home can’t see what’s happening, here’s a rundown. Tanaka’s manipulating gravity, trying to push his foe out of bounds! He has a repelling field of some kind that could sweep Sagara away like dust in the wind! Sagara’s doing her best to avoid it, but it looks like she’s out of room!”

Sora had been approaching her the whole time, getting closer so that his gravity tunnel could expand in diameter. Now that she had gotten herself to the corner, he had split the force, one tunnel extended out from each of his two hands. He was pinning her on both sides with a gravitational force that would propel her straight off the arena.

Sora spoke. It was with no malice, but also no mercy. “Sorry Yui, but the match is mine. You should have planned more.”

He slid his two hands closer together and the two tunnels began to converge. As he did so, Yui grinned with her eyebrows furrowed. All her fangs shined as in her mind, she pounced! Yui threw her threads, not in front of her, but behind. Like nets tangled in a slipstream, the threads whipped together further along the tunnels. The threads rapidly shot backward, and suddenly, Sora found himself completely entangled!

Sora finally showed a spark of life as red threads wrapped him up from behind and pulled him straight off his feet. “W-What??," he shouted, "What just happened?!”
Yui braced herself with her arms out to grab on to him. Sora was being dragged right into her grasp! “Ako’s Cradle! Maybe you should have planned at all!”

The Narrator went into an overdrive trying to keep up with the turnabout. Syllables rattled off at an impossible speed; he was really showing off what made him a world record rapid speaker. And thanks to his unique Quirk, it still made perfect sense to everyone listening in! "Tanaka, unbeknownst to him, has made two crucial mistakes. One: his tunnels were rounded, not cornered, and as such Sagara’s threads could sneak through the gaps. Two: he had focused on his opponent, not the ever-so-thin strings that she had laid out. All that thread was still under her control, and now she proves just how proficient she is with using them in combat! I almost can't believe what I'm watching! All those cords of red string had been laid out in a very specific manner before she let them drop. It was like a net but woven in such a manner that if something or someone were to be pulled into it, that it would wrap them, trap them, and blind them! The two threads that were still attached to Yui, the two that she had thrown behind her, had pulled that deadly cat's cradle right into Sora and wrapped him up like a fly in a spider’s web!"

He took in a huge breath with his face turning red. “UNBELIEVABLE! By the looks of it, as soon as the threads she shot behind her pulled tight, it led to the previous threads she had laid out to shoot up and cocoon her opponent! Now all that's left is to see who is the one to fall into the dust and who is the one that flies high into the next round of the fantastigalactic first ever Shiketsu Battle Tournament!!” With that he collapsed back in his chair, breathing hard.

Sora was off guard, but his gravity tunnel was still in effect. The now wrapped boy hurtled toward Yui, as her threads were under the gravitational pull and were pulling him along for the ride. Yui took back control of the threads, pulling him ever closer and into her malicious embrace. Both of them fell off the edge, the momentum carrying them even as Sora desperately attempted to stop himself. And yet, because of the strange properties of Yui's red threads, their masses were now superphysically bound, and Sora was no longer strong enough. They collided into each other and bounced onto the out of bounds area. Yui, skilled in the use of her threads in martial contexts and with control over the threads themselves, spun midair and slammed Sora down to make sure that he hit the ground first!

“SAGARA WINS!” Majestic called out the winner of the match even before the classmates were done sliding in the dirt. Yui scrambled to her feet and left Sora tangled and dusty on the ground. The crowd applauded and cheered for the dramatic match. Yui was in her own private world. She pumped both fists in victory. She'd won! Sora, for his part, blew a puff of air up at his forehead to get his bangs out of his face. He was scraped up from the ring-out. He was ejected from the tournament in the first round. He was still awkwardly bound. He felt... weird. Oh well. That was something to think about another time.

He lifted himself up with his quirk and bobbed in the air towards The Doctor's station.

Train-faced Sen was taking his turn in a waiting room before making his entrance. He chomped down on a hard lump of coal the way that most would an apple. He was a bit apprehensive; his opponent Victor had an amazing Quirk. The applications were next to limitless! He would need every bit of Train-Fu that he knew in order to win. He swallowed the last of the coal, knowing that he would also need all the energy he could get, too. The one-minute call came out from the ceiling, and Sen clapped his hands together to get his head in the game. No Shinkan train was ever late! With a check of his pocket for his secret weapon, he met the call.

Victor was feeling confident. His quirk should do well against any opponent. After all, what couldn’t he do with such a versatile power?

It was well understood just how practical this power was, allowing him to control, well, even the inertia of water! Surely victory was already his! The one-minute call came in, and so he made his way to the arena.

N. “Eighth Round! Two physical powerhouses will meet head to head! Shinkan Sen VERSUS Victor Sigurd!”

They both took their places. Sen was twitchy, hopped up on coal, while Victor was cocky, arms crossed.
“MATCH EIGHT! HAJIME!”

“Sen, do you know what control over water inertia means? It means that–”
Before Victor could finish the sentence, Shinkan had steamed ahead, punching him as hard as he could! Few could even remain standing after such a blow, but Victor was unaffected! Not even a drop of the veil of water all around Victor had been sprayed free. Sen's full-body punches like that could crack concrete even before the momentum truly got going. Even still, Victor's water barrier didn't so much as ripple.

The Narrator spoke up with a gesture towards the action. He needed to explain such a stupendous display for everyone who hadn't gotten acquainted with their abilities. “Amazing exchange! You see, Victor’s quirk allows him t–”

The Narrator cut himself off to avoid talking over Victor, who with a wag of his finger, had started monologuing in a booming voice:
“Foolishness, Sen, foolishness. My quirk allows me to completely nullify your strikes! You see, by controlling the inertia of water, I can–”

Shinkan cocked back another fist in a fraction of a second. It steamed forward, perfectly level, like it was on a flat rail straight into the tunnel of Victor's mouth. Sen's locomotive strike crushed against the surface of Victor's immovable water veil - then plunged straight through in a gout of white water! Sen's fist punched through the brine so hard that when it caught Victor below the nose, the shark-featured teenager was blasted backwards out of the rear of his own bubble of water. He flew straight off the arena and out of bounds beyond it! Suddenly out of Victor's total control, the column of water lost all cohesion and splashed messily into the tiles, running off in sheets in every direction.

The Narrator danced in an excited circle with the microphone held up in front of his face. “What a punch! How did this scion of the Shinkan family overcome the immense power of controlling the inertia of water?!”

Shinkan Sen went to the edge of the arena platform and looked down at the collapsed (and now inappropriately named) Victor. Victor had pulled some of the spilled-over water from the ground and had it around his jaw so it could start healing from the blow, but he was clearly dazed and confused. As soon as it could move properly, Victor because talking again.

“I-Impossible! How could you overcome the inertia of water? My quirk allows me to–”

Sen raised his hands, buzzing from Momentum. He shot through several dramatic victory poses while cutting him off.

“CAN’T STOP AND TALK! YOUR WORDS CAME DOWN THE TRACK, SO I PUNCHED RIGHT BACK!” The rest of what Sen and Victor could have said was cut off by Sen's own funnel, a plume of steam and ash rising into the air.

The Narrator clapped his free hand into his hair with his mouth wide open. “OF COURSE! Inertia goes both ways! For Victor to talk, he had to let his water vibrate! By waiting until Victor was talking, Sen was able to ensure his blow would pierce the water veil!”

Victor’s healed jaw went slack. How had he overseen such a weakness? He began to laugh, shark teeth glittering in the bright sunlight. He got up and leapt back onto the arena. Before Majestic could scold him, he reached out a hand. Shinkan, who had enough experience in the gym to recognise the gesture, took it and pulled his fellow student into a shoulder hug.

“Fair do’s, Sen, fair do’s! I’ll get you next time!”
“I’LL BE WAITING, VICTOR!” yelled Sen, as he once again blew his whistle for the amped up crowd.

“SHINKAN WINS!,” roared Majestic.

The Narrator applauded along with the crowd as he settled back into his seat again. “WOW! What a closer to the first half of today’s preliminary matches! We’ve had all kinds of twists and turns, and we haven’t even gotten to the last 16! What is going to happen in the second half of these opening matches? We’re just going to have to wait and see! The First Shiketsu Battle Tournament will be right back after these important messages! So DON'T! YOU! GO! ANYWHEEERRRRE!”

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Don't believe the trolls. This will continue.