The Tournament Part Five: Quarter Final Showdowns!
“Hey! Look who’s back! Told you that beer would come back to haunt you!”
“Oh, shut it, Ryusei! More like, those sodas you bought were the cause! Why’d you have to buy those American-sized drinks?”
“I didn’t see you complaining when you kept on sneaking sips from mine!”
Ryusei leaned back in his seat, enjoying the banter, as Akagi scooted past the people next to them to get to her place. While her words seemed harsh, her face was far softer, showing that she was having fun with the back and forth as well. She sat down with a flump, sighing as she did so.
“Stupid stadium toilet lines! Why do they only have like five stalls for a seating of 100 thousand?!”
“Well, you could have gone to a different bathroom.”
“Oh, yeah, let me just walk even further, when I’m already bursting, only to find another stupid long line?” Akagi pouted.
Ryusei smiled at her facial expression. She may not have meant to, but she was incredibly cute when she puffed up her cheeks like that.
“Well, you look much better having gone, but I bet I can make you look even better!”
“…eh?”
The heroine known as Popsy blushed as she whipped her head around, seeing the hero known as Smoking Sexy lean forward and blow out a cloud of smoke. She let out a silent sigh of relief as she saw him mold the smoke; she had read a potentially perverted undertone into his words and was relieved that he was simply pulling his smoke out, rather than, well, something else.
Ryusei didn’t notice this, he was too busy performing a sleight of hand. He made a big show of sculpting the smoke before sitting back up and presenting his creation.
“Ta-DA!”
“What is that? Wait, is that-”
“Ha ha, yeah! You mentioned you found that little dragon cute? Well, Ta. DA!”
Akagi, now that the confusion had passed, simply rolled her eyes. Ryusei had been trying his best to get as many smiles out of her today as he could, so such messing around was expected. But she was a clown, dammit, and it’d take more than a crummy knock off balloon animal to get her to laugh! She wasn’t even aware that she had taken his well-meaning intentions as a challenge, but now that she had, the little pride she had wouldn’t allow her to surrender.
“Looks awful, like someone popped a balloon animal blown up by a heavy smoker. I’ll have to show you how it’s done sometime if that’s the best you can do.”
She had expected the cutting remark to knock Ryusei down at least a notch, but much to her annoyance, he simply closed his eyes, brought one hand to his chin, and nodded.
“Hmm, hmm. You’re right, Akagi, and I’ll definitely take you up on that offer!”
“URGH! Shut it, Ryusei!” Dammit, how does he turn everything into a chance to flirt? Akagi thought to herself in frustration, as she slapped down on the shadow dragon, intending to swat away the smoke. She was quite surprised, then, when her hand encountered something solid!
“Aah! It seems she has discovered the illusion! In that case; Voila!” cried Ryusei, as he commanded the smoke to fall down to the ground, revealing a Gigan plushie! But not just any Gigan plushie, this one had a painted white face, with red cheeks and a clown nose!
“I – I – what?” Akagi stammered, utterly taken aback. Ryusei gave a massive grin.
“Ha! Got you with this one!”
“I mean, what? Is, is this based on, on…”
“You noticed? Yep! Turns out, that kid is a big fan of yours, and apparently when he found out about this tournament and merch, he made a request for a Popsy-themed one!”
Akagi was stunned. She didn’t know what to say. She just stared into the clown themed Gigan’s button eyes. Without thinking about what she was doing, she reached down and squeezed its nose.
Squeak!
A single laugh left her lips. The sheer absurdity of what she was perceiving overwhelmed her depression, if only for a moment.
I didn’t think I had fans any more.
SNAP SNAP SNAP!
The shutter sounds (still mandated by the Japanese government after all these decades!) jumped Akagi out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Ryusei holding up his phone up, and judging by the sound, he was still taking photos!
“EHH?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”
“Oh, my dear Akagi, I couldn’t possibly let that smile be lost to time!” Ryusei laughed out, as he kept taking photos, even as Akagi flailed desperately in front of the camera. However, wanting to keep her mood light, Ryusei put his phone away as he sensed that Akagi was perhaps being pushed too far. Still laughing, he put his phone away, but not before taking one last shot of her pout.
“Hmmph! How’d you even buy this? I thought you said that, if we both leave our seats, then they’d be taken by someone else!”
This was true. Seating was at an absolute premium in the Shiketsu stadium, as Karaburan had been successful in her mission to make this tournament a major cultural event, one to rival that of U.A’s.
“Ahh, my dear Akagi, you ask me to reveal a trade secret! Much like the magicians, I am honor-bound not to-”
“Oh, shut it, Ryusei, just tell me!”
“…Alright, fine. Prepare for another Ta-Da!”
Ryusei reached back down, as he did when he pulled out the plushie. This time though, there was nothing in the smoke, as Ryusei shaped it according to his will. In a matter of moments, there stood replicas of both of them! They were perfect, aside from their coloration, being far more monochrome than the real-world equivalents.
“Impressive, huh? Just a little trick I’ve been working on!”
“Y-yeah, they’re impressive. But knowing you, you only learned how to do it so you could do lewd stuff!”
Akagi was accusatory in her tone, but not hostile. She didn’t want Ryusei to know that she found his quirk, and the work that he had done to improve his use of it, impressive. However, Ryusei saw an opportunity to live up to his Hero Name, and he took it.
“Oh? You mean like this?” He quipped, as much to Akagi’s horror, the smoke-duplicates started to kiss!
“WAAHHHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU IDIOT?!” She cried out as she flailed her hands in a desperate attempt to disperse the smoke. Ryusei laughed his head off at the display, finding it incredibly cute, while the other spectators to either of their side were simply glad for the small mercy that this loud pair kept these shenanigans to the interim between matches.
While the two lovebirds (though neither would admit it – at least not yet) had their lover's quarrel, a very special guest had joined The Narrator in the Announcer’s Box. The Announcer spritzed his throat with a soothing spray, did a couple of warm-up exercises to prevent any strain on his money-maker, and turned his microphone back on.
“AAAND WELCOME BACK EVERYONE! Can you believe it, we’re already at the Quarter-Finals of the 1st Shiketsu Battle Tournament! We’ve seen some incredible displays from these future heroes seeking to make a name for themselves as early as they can, and I have no doubt we’re going to see even more extraordinary spectacles as we approach the finale! Now, as we wait for the next round, we have a very special guest! The woman who Homerooms all the students still standing, and the Number 10 Hero, Aiko Ami: The Motivational Hero Rosethorn!”
As The Narrator introduced his esteemed guest, he clapped into the mic, making sure that the listeners around the world would understand that his guest was of esteemed importance.
“You must feel very proud! These students have all shown themselves to be quite adept!”
“Well, thank you for the kind words! I couldn’t possibly claim sole credit; all their teachers here at Shiketsu deserve praise for their hard work in educating the students of 1-D!”
“Oh, how humble! Now, the listeners and viewers around the world would yell at me if I failed to ask this, so; who do YOU think will take First Place?”
Rosethorn brought her hand to her cheek as she politely laughed as she answered. “Oh, I doubt any of them would forgive me for weighing in, what with how competitive they’ve all had to be to get this far! I won’t answer who I think will win, but I am certain that they will all try their best!”
“Aww, come on, Aiko-Sensei! Just a liiitlee hint?” The Narrator tried to egg her on.
“Ufufu” chuckled Rosethorn. “I’m sorry, Yori-san, but I simply cannot risk it! For you and the listeners it’s merely a few sentences on this day, but for me, it’s the next three years!”
“Ohhh, fine then, keep your secrets!” retorted The Narrator in a playful tone. “But am I correct in saying that you are staying with us to provide match commentary?”
“For the Quarter-Finals at least. After that, well, we’ll have to see!”
“Well, you’re more than welcome to stay! But speaking of the matches, I do believe that the next bout is A-BOUT to begin!” Rosethorn groaned at the atrocious pun, while The Narrator rattled off a quick advertisement as the first two combatants of the Quarterfinals prepared for their match.
Orochi V Inigo!
Orochi fed some meat to each of her tails, giving them motivation for the upcoming battle.
“Remember to modulate your venom! It was borderline with Noah; if he hadn’t had so much sunlight stored up, it could have been really bad, and I don’t need Sally OR Hoge using me as a target!”
Her tails chirped, almost catlike, in a manner that signified agreement.
“Good. Now, let’s go out there and show Inigo and Gigan who’s the real top dragon!”
“Chirp!”
“You ready, Gigan?” Inigo smiled at his permanent companion, who flitted through the air before coming in front of his face, chirping as it nodded in confirmation. His little paw claws came up in little fists to his little face, showing his great determination.
“Heck yeah!” Inigo outstretched a fist to Gigan, who reciprocated the fist bump. They had worked together and gotten this far; they weren’t going to give up until they couldn’t even stand!
The two students walked out at the same moment, as soon as the sign came. Their dragon-esque qualities writhed around them; Gigan flowing around Inigo’s shoulders, while Orochi’s tails took in their surroundings. One looked at the arena, seeming to focus on whatever plan their four brains were concocting. The middle tail locked eyes with GIgan, though it did not seem to return the glare. The third tail, meanwhile, was smiling and seeming to wave with its whole body at a certain family in the crowd. Needless to say, the waving was reciprocated.
“We’re getting closer to that all-elusive finale, everybody! But before we can get there, we will have to see who can pass these Quarter Final fights! We’ve got the Double dragons to start us off! Time for the Twenty-Fifth Round! Atsushi Orochi VERSUS Myoga Inigo!”
“TWENTY-FIFTH ROUND! HAJIME!” bellowed Majestic.
“GO! GIGAN TRANSFORMATION!” cried Inigo, raising his right hand, as Gigan began to stretch and expand, wrapping Inigo within itself. However, that was of no concern to Orochi. Inigo may be an addict of the Sentai genre and a slave to its tropes, but Orochi was not. Sprinting at her top speed, she closed the fifteen-meter distance in less than two seconds, launching herself into a flying side kick aimed straight for his stomach! Fortunately for Inigo, Gigan was not so distracted by media trends, and hastily manifested as armor over Orochi’s targeted area. This didn’t stop the conservation of energy transfer, as Inigo was sent flying backwards, but it stopped the blond boy from taking any serious damage. Before he could tumble out of bounds, Gigan formed large wings, and propelled the pair to the sky.
“Oh, boo! You can’t attack him while he’s transforming! It’s against the unspoken rules of superhero combat!” The Narrator protested, while Rosethorn giggled at the naivety.
Inigo mirrored The Narrator’s complaint. “No fair, Orochi! Attacking your opponent while they’re in the middle of powering up! It goes against all the rules of Shonen!”
Orochi laughed at the pronouncement. “Well, newsflash Inigo, but this is real life, not an anime! Villains aren’t going to wait for you to get dressed!”
“Oh, so she won’t follow the rule of non-interruption, but she’s all too happy to monologue?” The Narrator’s pouting was palpable.
Inigo didn’t let this little setback distract him from continuing to smile! “Maybe so, but a villain that cannot fly, is one that cannot interfere!” As he finished his sentence, Gigan finished the suiting up, culminating with his helmet.
“Now, let’s really begin!” Inigo declared, as he brought his hands into a strange position. One was horizontal in front of him, palm down, while the other came back to his waist. Pipes and plating formed, barrels were assembled, and in a matter of moments Inigo was holding a massive rotating gun!
“GO GIGAN GATLING GUN!”
With that, Inigo opened fire. Each “bullet” was a shard of Gigan being launched. An actual firing mechanism was beyond the control that Inigo and Gigan had, but the image of holding a great big gun, mowing down evil-doers, appealed to Inigo’s teenage brain. The “gun” was little more than a construct hiding Gigan simply throwing pieces of himself at the target. The barrels did nothing but spin, the belt feed was just for show, and the trigger did not do anything. HOWEVER, it did look cool.
Orochi saw the gun form and begin to spin, but she was not afraid, since she had already experienced ranged quirk combat. Noah’s sunlight-enhanced beams had been far more powerful than these Gigan shards; Orochi didn’t even need to go ball mode! She raised her arms in front of her face as to prevent being blinded, relying on the scales on her limbs to tank the projectiles.
Inigo frowned as Gigan bullets continued to pound Orochi. He could see that she was taking it with ease, her regeneration restoring what damage her scales failed to prevent. However, he wasn’t actually firing a gun, and wasn’t bound by their rules. Gigan was sapient and could make his ‘bullets’ do something that normal bullets couldn’t: turn.
As he let the last Gigan bullets loose, they deviated from what Orochi was expecting. They didn’t slam into her arms, as so many others had, but instead curved around and crashed into Orochi’s back!
Orochi stumbled forward, more from surprise than anything, stumbling, tripping, and falling to a knee.
“Yes!” exclaimed Inigo.
“It seems Inigo scored the first point of this match! But if my eyes don’t deceive me, it seems Orochi may have felt that attack, but isn’t injured!”
Orochi got back to her feet, smiled, and dusted herself off.
“Is that all you’ve got, Inigo? Noah hits harder than you, and he’s a pacifist!”
Inigo’s eye twitched at the barb, but no-one could see it thanks to the visor of his helmet. He gave a big smile, reminiscent of the one on his limited release First Edition Popsy poster that adorned his bedroom, and responded.
“Au contraire, my multi-headed friend! I have plenty more tricks up my sleeves!”
With a gesture, he summoned the scattered pieces of Gigan back to him. They flowed in between his hands, coalescing into a spear that was bigger than Inigo! Giving it a quick spin above his head, he proceeded to thrust it forward, straight at Orochi!
“HARPOON!” he yelled at the top of his voice, as the spear extended in length.
Of course, it wasn’t really a harpoon, nor was it a true spear; the tip was blunt, closer to a quarterstaff than anything else. His goal wasn’t to skewer her, but to shove her out of bounds. Noah had tried something similar, but he had no way to push without making contact. He knew that Orochi was a regenerator, but he didn’t want to risk causing actual injury to her! If nothing else, he would get a bad reputation if he caused a classmate to be in The Doctor’s office for long, both at school and in public! He briefly recognized the disparity with this thought and the fact that he had just opened fire on her with a Gatling gun, but that was with tiny pieces of Gigan, not a spearhead.
Orochi saw the spear shoot towards her, however she made no attempt to dodge. Instead, she braced herself, planting her feet and getting ready to get hit. As the business end of Inigo’s attack slammed into her, she momentarily felt the wind get knocked out of her, only for her regeneration to restore her vitality.
“NOW this match is getting going!” cheered The Narrator. “It seems Inigo’s got the hang of his quirk if he’s able to multitask it like this, having it be armor, flying, and an extending weapon to boot! But it does seem that Orochi is taking it like a champ!”
Orochi grunted with effort as she heaved against the weapon. Under her clothes, her skin exploded into blue and purple patches as blood vessels and muscles tore under the strain, only to heal an instant later. The effort paid off. Gigan was overwhelmed by her strength and Orochi took control of the struggle.
Inigo found himself lurching in the air. Orochi had overpowered Gigan, and since it was still Gigan that Inigo had to push against in order to use his own strength, he was unable to aid his quirk. Finally, Gigan could hold out no longer, and Inigo found the ground rising up to meet him.
SMASH!
“Ooh, that had to hurt! Will Inigo be able to recover after that?”
Inigo’s head was spinning. Gigan had drawn back from the weapon and even the wing constructs so that the structure of the armor could be maintained. The upside of this was that Inigo didn’t go splat when he hit the ground. The downside was that, without the upward momentum from the wings, he hit the ground like a sack of bricks. His spear, meanwhile, had gone flaccid as Gigan secured Inigo’s safety.
Orochi manically grinned as she saw Inigo crumple. Without skipping a beat, she sprinted towards her downed foe. All she needed was a single bite on him and she would have victory! She charged parallel to the limp construct, focusing only on Inigo, who was only just beginning to stagger to his feet.
Inigo could sense her approach through the connection he had with Gigan. While this fight hadn’t gone exactly to plan, this was still something that he had predicted. He raised a hand and clenched it into a fist. As he did so, the spear construct suddenly sprang to life, as Gigan flooded back into it. But Inigo’s plan was not to reuse it as a spear. No, instead it sprang up like a snake, wrapping around Orochi even as she ran forward. Inigo saw her eyes widen as she fell forward, before she vanished from sight, as Gigan engulfed her.
Now, Gigan!
With that mental command, all of Gigan – from the spear to the bullet shards to even the armor Inigo wore – flooded to reinforce the trap.
“Constrictor!”
Inigo declared the move’s name as he got to his feet. Gigan was forming layer after layer, sealing Orochi within what was swiftly becoming a massive sphere. He winced as he stood; his armor had protected him from the blunt force impact, but he had still had the wind knocked out of him. Hopefully this restraining technique would secure him the win! He commanded Gigan to roll out of bounds, along with the internal payload.
Orochi could barely see, only the faint glow that Gigan gave off illuminated her prison. She put two and two together; clearly this shapeshifting pest had trapped her, and if she didn’t act quickly, she’d lose! There was barely any room in here, but in an instant, she thought of how to turn that to her advantage. She braced against one side of the shell, and with all her force, double leg kicked the other. She had long trained in martial arts designed to take full advantage of her regenerative ability, learning how to overcome the mental limit that was there to prevent one from damaging themselves, allowing her to access incredible strength while easily recovering from the damage. She kicked so hard, she felt her tibia and fibula crack, causing her to wince, while a huge hole was blasted into Gigan’s construct! It wasn’t enough though; she could see sunlight through the wall, but there was still material trapping her.
Outside, Inigo doubled over from the impact, feeling it through the connection he shared with Gigan. It momentarily stunned both of them, stopping the giant orb in front of him. It wasn’t as though he had physically received the damage; he and Gigan did not have that drawback in their bond as some distant members of his family had with their constructs, but the sheer shock of how hard Orochi had hit Gigan had felt like a mental slap in the face.
Orochi could feel her prison stop and heaved herself forward, getting the shattered side within arm’s reach. She had no way of knowing how long her opponents would be reeling from her first strike, and if she didn’t want to be carried out, she’d need to push through the pain! She drew her left arm back and punched as hard as she could. Yet more of Gigan was blasted away under the force of her fist, as she felt her radius and ulna break under the force she subjected them to. She was so close! She could see Inigo’s outline through what little remained of the wall! Her legs had healed enough for her to stand, letting her get to her feet, and twist her whole body behind this last strike. With a kiai, she punched, and finally broke through!
It had only been a matter of seconds since Orochi’s kicks had struck; Inigo had barely shaken his head from the first strike, when he saw Orochi’s almost rabid face, as she broke through Gigan’s last layer. Before he could react, to summon Gigan back, she pounced on him. Her arms were still healing, but her legs were working again, allowing her to crash into Inigo, sending both of them tumbling to the floor.
If this was the start of the year, I’d have jumped at this happening…
The thought flashed across Inigo’s mind as the pair seemed to fall in slow motion.
Orochi had the advantage, both from her momentum as well as her extra three limbs, not to mention her martial arts experience. As they fell into a tangle of limbs, Gigan desperately tried to protect its master and friend, but there was little it could do now. Even as it flowed over Inigo, trying to restore the Knight’s Armor, but it was too late. Orochi’s extra heads sunk their teeth into Inigo’s flesh, injecting their venom into him. Gigan tried to help, forming into compressive bandages to try and stifle the flow, but it was too late. Inigo felt his consciousness slipping into the blackness.
Forgive me, Hoge, I didn’t mean… to… chea…
Orochi was satisfied once both Gigan and Inigo stopped moving, only then did she risk him playing possum, and stood up.
“ATSUSHI WINS!” Roared Majestic, as a second girl, on the other side of the stadium, stared daggers at Orochi. The two girls were hardly friends, but for now they were unified in the object of their hatred, for what she did to ‘their men’.
“And there we go everybody; the first match of the Quarter-finals comes to a close! Rosethorn, what did you think of it? What grade would you give them?” Inquired The Narrator.
Rosethorn lightly chuckled. “Young Inigo has an incredibly versatile quirk and has put in much work to improve both himself and Gigan, but Orochi has spent her whole life learning to handle her quirk and its effect on her biology. Today, it seemed that her force overcame his broadness, but who knows how their next sparring match will go? Neither of them is the type to rest on laurels.”
“Well, I’m sure that Inigo will bounce back from this! But now, let’s find out who Orochi will be facing in the Semi-Finals!”
Bobby V Yui!
Bobby bounded down the stairs, taking 3, 4, even 5 at a time, as he desperately raced back to the arena, scrabbling to put his t-shirt back on as he did so. He had been sunbathing since the end of his last match, building up as much stored solar energy as he could, in preparation for the upcoming matches. It was such a nice day, he was getting so much sunlight, and Chihiro had taken so much, that he just wanted to have a rest. But time had gotten away from him, and he had had to get redressed and race back in a hurry. If he hadn’t been so charged up from the sun, then he’d have had to surrender from all the times he had slipped and fallen down these steps! As it was, he just hoped that he wouldn’t be billed for all the dents and holes he had left in them. He made it with a moment to spare; as he sprinted down the final corridor, he saw the light turn green just as he raced across the threshold to the arena.
Yui was more punctual. She had gotten out of The Doctor’s office shortly before, and thanks to a little bit of technical rules-reading, she had a huge amount of thread already out and ready to use. She always had to be careful when expelling her threads, as it was all too easy to go too far and cause damage to herself from overexertion, but with The Doctor healing her and taking her time, she now had enough for her plan to hopefully work. Her threads were still connected to her, allowing her easy control over them, but it was a bit cumbersome moving with them. It would be much easier once the match actually started and she could get them moving about, and not wrapped around her limbs and torso. Finally, the light turned green, and she could proceed.
“Wow, Bobby looks keen!” exclaimed The Narrator, seeing Bobby continue his sprint into the area. “But I wonder if Yui is cold, what with all those extra layers she’s put on. Oh, wait, it seems she’s taking them off!” he followed up, as Yui’s threads began unraveling from her body and almost danced around. “Seems she’s stocked up on her quirk! But who will win? Twenty-Sixth Round! Samson Bobby VERSUS Sagara Yui!”
“TWENTY-SIXTH ROUND! HAJIME!” hollered Majestic.
“HAAAA!”
Bobby blasted off the starting line, intending on finishing the fight quickly. But while Yui’s quirk didn’t offer her any super-speed, she was naturally insanely fast. Before Bobby could reach her, she thrust her threads out, spreading across the arena, creating a spider’s web stemming from her feet.
“Well, it looks like Yui took inspiration from Inigo’s first round! Those threads should give her quite the level of control over the battlefield, a vital skill for any hero!”
Bobby smirked at the threads. He was a boxer at his core; this was just another day’s skipping! Tapping into his long-drilled footwork, he bounced and danced around Yui’s threads.
Just like the tire drills back in the gym! bobby thought to himself, as he advanced in on Yui. He was slowed down by these obstacles, but not impeded. He was closing in on his opponent, but before he could land a hit, she suddenly zipped away!
“Look at that! Yui’s certainly got skill with those threads! She’s using them like grappling ropes!” commented The Narrator, as Yui deftly avoided Bobby’s attempt to strike her.
Not one to be caught off-guard, Bobby turned and followed Yui’s trajectory, before swiftly giving chase. He still needed to be careful though; Yui’s threads were now even more dispersed across the arena, and if he were not aware of where he put his feet, then he could all too easily be ensnared. Just as that thought crossed his mind, the threads came to life, whipping out at him and trying to catch him!
“OOO! HAA! YAA!”
Bobby was now on the back foot. With enough distance to be out of range of his fists, Yui could now focus on going on the attack! As threads lashed out at him, he had to rely on his defensive techniques!
Ha, this is just padwork! He thought to himself, as he bobbed and weaved under some incoming attacks, before countering with some jabs and crosses.
Yui concentrated as hard as she could. Controlling this many threads at once was new to her, but she had spent her whole life, from the slums to Shiketsu, honing her abilities and skill. Bobby was a hard opponent to fight, no doubt. Every thread that she sent at him he managed to weave through; dodging, ducking, dipping, diving, and dodging. But he was a big guy, and while that gave him an advantage in his beloved boxing, here at range was a different matter. She just needed to keep up the assault until he slipped up and a thread got a grip!
But that didn’t mean that time was necessarily on her side either. Bobby was a beater par excellence, and every second that passed was another thread that he ripped apart. She may have more threads than ever before, but that didn’t mean an inexhaustible amount. She had to co-ordinate them, but that wasn’t so easy when she was also having to focus on her own movement as well as preventing Bobby from getting to her!
“What a stalemate these fighters find themselves in! Bobby is struggling to get to Yui, but Yui’s struggling to seal the deal! Who will blunder first?”
Bobby was one of the strongest members of his generation much less his class, as well as being descended from one of the greatest heroes of the previous generation, but he was still a teenager, and had an extreme proclivity to rash behavior.
Aw, screw this! I’m just gonna go for it!
Bobby tore the threads that impeded him from Yui, neglecting his spatial awareness, as he charged head on towards his opponent. As he broke toward Yui, threads snaked out, and caught his ankles! While Bobby’s legs were far stronger than Yui’s threads, anyone who has ever tripped over an unforeseen stick or stone can attest to their danger!
Yui knew this would only slow Bobby for a moment; she had to make the most of the opening! She commanded her remaining threads to converge on Bobby, stabbing into him, tearing through his shirt.
“Well, it looks like Bobby decided to break the stalemate, but let this be a lesson, future heroes! Those who act first, are not always those who win! And while I’m spitting out platitudes, here’s another! ‘Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can. It’s rarely in a woman, but never in a man!’”
Bobby was spared from The Narrator poking fun at him, but he had bigger problems on his hands. Yui may be new at controlling so many threads, but her skill with them still shone through. She had quickly and efficiently cocooned him, trapping him in the same technique that she had used against Shinkan, but to an even greater extent! For these threads had the same property as the one that won that match, but since this version had so many more threads, its effect was compounded!
Yui smiled to herself. She was pushing herself hard, but she now had Bobby right where she wanted! Bobby didn’t have the same weakness to heat that Shinkan had, meaning that she wouldn’t be able to do quite the same trick, but keeping Bobby from moving by using his strength to counter his movement? That she could do!
Damn it! thought Bobby. He had fallen foul of his rash nature, failed to keep his head on straight, and was now at risk of losing! He tried to rip off the threads, but each time he attempted to move his arms, he felt that same force pin his arm back down! as he applied pressure to the threads, their esoteric capability transferred it back to the arm, essentially keeping him static!
“It looks like we may be seeing Bobby’s string of close victories coming to an end! Unless he can cut the threads of fate, we’ll be seeing his sunset!” The Narrator spoke in an anticipating tone.
Yui smiled, showing her fanged teeth, as she prepared to hurl Bobby out of the arena. She tightened the threads, but as she prepared to swing her opponent out, he suddenly planted his feet and held his ground!
“What?! You shouldn’t be able to move, much less resist!” Yui exclaimed. Bobby looked up at her, his eyes emitting a golden light!
In the crowd, amongst the seats for family members, a rather unassuming gaijin woman sat and turned her head skyward. She smiled softly to herself as she did, reminiscing of her late husband, and his similarity to their son. The few clouds parted, letting the sunlight shine down unfiltered and bright.
It’s noon!
Bobby’s eyes shot open. He could feel the power growing inside him, as his minute of full power started. Bobby’s quirk gave him power depending upon the sun. As the sun reached its peak, so did Bobby. He could store the power for an hour, but that wouldn’t matter for this match.
He groaned as his strength grew, the sound turning into a deep baritone growl as he began to glow brighter and brighter. He lifted his hand, and unlike his previous attempt, the threads could not stop him! With one pull, he tore the threads from his body, his shirt falling to tatters as he did! His now-exposed upper body glowed with the same brightness as his eyes, his muscles swelling with the power of the sun!
“Woah, woah, woah! What’s going on?! Bobby has suddenly powered up!” exclaimed The Narrator. He looked about, noticed the time and the sunlight, and cried “Of course! Bobby’s quirk depends on sunlight, and it’s just gone 12! Let’s see what he makes of it!”
Bobby tore off the rest of the threads, keeping hold of them in one mighty hand, and pulled. Yui lurched forward, unable to resist, as she staggered before falling forward. As she fell, many of the threads snapped, and the rest she released, as she fell into a break roll to avoid face-planting. She looked up, only to see Bobby standing over her, shirt in tatters, glowing like sunlight. She recognized this at the same moment as she saw his fist barrelling toward her!
“SUNLIGHT SMASH!”
Those were the last words she processed from outside the arena. Bobby’s strike sent her flying straight out, faster than she could see, only stopping when she slammed into the arena wall! Bobby stood triumphant with his striking hand still outstretched, as he stopped glowing, the minute having passed.
“SAMSON WINS!” Declared Majestic.
“Wow! It seems he could make a lot of it!” concluded The Narrator. “Rosethorn-Sensei, what did you make of this?”
Rosethorn smiled. “Both students performed excellently. Were it not for the time and weather, Yui could well have won, with her marvellous control over her quirk. But such conditions will happen in the real world as well, and part of Hero Training is learning how to handle all occasions!”
“True words, Teach. Well everyone, we know one of the Semi-Finals, now let’s find out who will face whom in the next!”
Sandatsu V Minerva!
Sandatsu paced back and forth in the changing room, trying to calm himself, and utterly failing. He was burning inside, feeling betrayed by one who he considered a friend.
*Was this Hifumi’s plan? To get close, make me think that he was a friend, just so he could use his quirk better against me?!”
If he was thinking rationally, he would be able to see that this thought was ludicrous. Hifumi had never been anything but kind to him; why would he have gone through all that effort to get through Sandatsu’s introvertive personality, just to win in a tournament that he had no idea was even going to happen?
It’s.. he must know! Know about my government background! No, then mom would have killed him! But then…then it must be envy! Or a hidden future sight quirk! Or something like that!
Sandatsu’s insane internal monologue continued for some time, until he was interrupted with the notice that it was time for his next match. Still mumbling under his breath about various conspiracy theories, he went to fight. It would give him an outlet for this fury, if nothing else.
“Come on, girl, you’ve got this!”
“Yeah, Minnie! You’re the last one still in!”
“That means you’re the strongest!”
“Just shock him like a dog. He likes to live like one anyway.”
Minerva smiled at her friends as they encouraged her. She was nervous. Sandatsu had been on a warpath in this tournament; taking out Chris in that firestorm and even his buddy Hifumi!
“Thanks, everyone.” she said, as the clique hugged her. Hailey used her telekinesis to levitate their phones into the perfect selfie position. They took over a dozen photos, with all kinds of poses and angles, using their knowledge of photography from social media.
We’re all behind our remaining bestie! Everyone, cheer her on!
*#Shiketsu #ShiketsuTournament
The call came in, and escorted by her friends, Minerva walked to the arena.
“Looks like Minerva has a whole party with her! They can’t help her in the fight, but they can be good moral support! Sandatsu meanwhile looks like he means business! Let’s see how these two personalities clash! Twenty-Seventh Round! Owari Sandatsu VERSUS Kim Minerva!”
“TWENTY-SEVENTH ROUND! HAJIME!” bellowed Majestic.
Sandatsu felt like a dam burst in his head. He roared at the top of his lungs, but not out of rage this time. Memories came unbidden to his mind, spurred by the emotional trauma he was suffering…
Many years earlier
“Come on, pipsqueak, didn’t ya hear the ref? Time to start!”
The snide remark pierced Sandatsu’s pride, as the grunt’s fist smashed and broke his nose. The seven-year-old boy couldn’t cry; if he did, it would only intensify the beatings. He had also given up looking to his mother for support. All she ever did was stare impassively as he was tortured for reasons that he was far too young to understand.
The child raised his fists and charged – just to find himself slamming into the ground by way of an almost contemptible sweep. He looked up, saw the boot coming down, and –
Minerva had no clue why Sandatsu was screaming like someone had tased his testicles, but the why was much less important than the fact that he was now charging straight at her! She reacted before she even realized herself, training from family members from the time she could walk kicking in, as she raised her hands. On keen instinct, she released a pulse of power, the electricity arcing before her. Even if Sandatsu had been using his stolen power of Slowmo, it would not have been enough for him to see, for this attack traveled at the speed of light itself, or close enough to it for it to be irrelevant to mortal senses.
Sandatsu didn’t process the attack, nor even the pain. He did, however, notice that he was suddenly on the ground. His legs had given way beneath him, as the muscles were forced to contract under the electricity, resulting in him crashing to the ground face-first.
“Oof! Even with Owari’s regenerative abilities, he had to feel that! But it seems that this isn’t going to keep him down!” The Narrator exclaimed, as Sandatsu sprouted arm after arm, forming a shield around his main body.
Minerva kept the charge up. She knew how tough Sandatsu was, seeing his previous bouts, and that she didn’t need to hold back. Her quirk far stronger than most realized. But they were about to see for themselves. With a flourish, she called the lightning around her opponent.
Sandatsu was only just beginning to get to his feet when the power slammed into him. He could hear his own screams, the air spasming out of his contracting lungs, even as he felt Comeback healing the damage. He had to get to his feet. He had to get to Minerva, and crush her, to cease this barrage. Branching Grasp’s arms clenched and clawed at the arena floor as he pushed himself to stand.
Minerva saw Sandatsu try to get up. She was getting fatigued holding the storm on top of him, but if she wanted to win this, then she would need to keep him down. she clenched her teeth and doubled down, increasing the voltage as much as she could.
Sandatsu felt all of that energy course through his body, cooking his insides even as they healed. His extra arms clenched down on the arena, their strength crushing the tiles beneath them. He just couldn’t get up!
“ONE!”
Sandatsu’s eyes widened, knowing what that countdown was.
“TWO!”
“We may be seeing the end here, everyone! Minerva has Sandatsu pinned via her enormous electricity, and unless Sandatsu pulls out an incredible turn-around, then it will be this lightning lass who advances to the Semi-Finals!”
“THREE! Failure!”
Sandatsu was barely conscious, lying on his back, staring into the disgusted face of the grunt who had just beaten him to a pulp. The burly goon sneered down at him before walking out of his cone of vision.
The child managed to turn his head, looking up to the observer window, seeing the disappointed face of his mother staring back at him. Their eyes met for a moment, before she pressed a button to activate the microphone, and started admonishing him.
“Sandatsu. Do you understand what we are trying to do? We are doing all of this to protect the world, but if you continue to be so weak, then all of this will have been for nothing.”
Her hand raised a remote, one that Sandatsu recognized and dreaded.
“This hurts me more than it hurts you.”
They both knew that that was a lie. Sandatsu screamed as he felt the electricity from the collar course through him.
Minerva’s eyes widened upon hearing Sandatsu’s scream. It was high-pitched and raw; the scream of a tortured child. The next thing she knew, a wall of fists was descending upon her.
Sandatsu wasn’t present anymore; there was only a rageful and hurt animal lashing out with a lifetime of pent up feelings. He was still pinned by Minerva’s lightning, but in his current state, that was no longer holding him back. He activated Psyking’s quirk, hurling himself straight at his foe. To most observers, it appeared that he had done as he did against Christopher; using his quirk-summoned arms to propel himself. For those few watching who were skilled enough, this second display confirmed it in their minds; there was more to Sandatsu’s quirk than what was public knowledge.
As he shot toward Minerva, Sandatsu brought out as many arms as he could, each one tipped with a claw clenched into a fist. With malice fueled by rage, he slammed each and every one into Minerva. She didn’t go flying, as the laws of physics would demand, as he held her telekinetically and slammed her down onto the arena. It was clear that she was out cold; her eyes rolled in their sockets, her body was limp, and she was unresponsive to stimuli such as the beating that she had received.
“OWARI WINS!” declared Majestic.
But Sandatsu didn’t stop.
He kept hitting her.
Again and again, his fists slammed down on her. He felt her bones crack and break, as the vibrations ran up his arms. Muscles were torn apart, ligaments and tendons split from the bone, even teeth were smashed out of her jawbone. He relished in the damage he was doing. He felt in control for the first time. He drew his right arm back, intending to feel the sensation of punching her jaw off with his own hand, only to feel a sudden strong grip around his wrist. He spun his head around, eyes wide, looking to see who dared to interrupt – only to meet the glowing eyes of Majestic. The Number Six Hero was absolutely furious, his eyes glowed with barely restrained energy, his teeth exposed in a snarl.
“SANDATSU IS DISQUALIFIED!” He boomed into Sandatsu’s face, snapping him out of his blind rage. Sandatsu looked down, seeing the bloody and broken body of Minerva, blood splattering across her face as she coughed. He stuttered and stammered, trying to get words out, to explain what happened. Majestic grabbed him by the collar and pulled him so close that Sandatsu could smell the cheap cologne on his clothes and faint hints of expensive spirits on his breath.
“When I call a match, that means you stop. No ifs, ands, or buts. Get out of here, you little shit.” He growled into Sandatsu’s face, throwing him toward the exit as he moved to aid Minerva.
Sandatsu couldn’t breathe. The whole stadium was silent, with thousands of eyes boring into him. He stumbled away, barely keeping his balance as he dropped down from the arena. It was all he could do to get back into the safety of the darkness of the tunnel.
“Uhh, Rosethorn? Any explanation for…that?” The Narrator asked.
“No comment” was her only response, already out of the door.
The Narrator leaned back. He was simply thankful to the gods that production had cut away from the worst of it. But it was still his job to offer something to the multitudes watching this. He gave it a moment, collected his thoughts, and activated the microphone.
“I apologize everyone, it seems we had a… technical issue here. Rest assured; we are doing everything in our power to rectify this and be back with more pulse-pounding action! In the meantime, we’re going to take a quick commercial break! Don’t go anywhere!”
Kaylee V Jugo!
Kaylee paced back and forth, like a wild animal waiting to be uncaged. There had been an unexpected delay following the culmination of the previous match, leading to her current state of agitation. She enjoyed more than anyone else in 1-D, except for perhaps her next opponent.
Jugo was one of her closest friends here at Shiketsu. They had spent a great deal of time training together, as they had similar fighting styles, and training together netted them both better results than training alone. But that didn’t mean that they didn’t have an intense rivalry; indeed, it only flared it to greater heights!
But that just made it more exciting!
Ever since the tournament had been announced, they had seen the potential of this match, and both of them had anticipated how it would go. Kaylee was confident that she was the stronger of the two, but she also knew that Jugo was the faster. His training with Ki far exceeded hers, allowing him to conserve its usage while maximizing its output, producing far greater results than she currently could. However, she was so much stronger than him, it was like facing a child. Her inhuman physiology meant that she was not restricted in her access to her strength, allowing her to effectively train her quirk by training her body, and reach heights of strength that few could comprehend.
She ground her teeth together as her patience pushed against her breaking point. Having to stand around and wait was NOT her style! She had been anticipating this match for so long, where they both could go all out, that she didn’t want to wait anymore! Her Ki threatened to flare out of her control, she was about to scream in frustration, when the light finally went green! Without missing a beat, she blasted out into the stadium grounds, heading straight for the arena.
Jugo was much the same as Kaylee when it came to delays to fighting, but he had more than four years of martial arts training, compared to Kaylee’s approximate four months. He had been training since before he was even a teenager, and one of the core principals that had been drilled into him was self-control. Granted, he hadn’t exactly held to that tenet, but when he needed them, the lessons were still there.
He was floating in mid-air, with his body in a classic meditation pose, hands clasped together with his legs crossed. He wasn’t meditating simply to control his mind either; his quirk relied on him generating Ki to power up. Just as he had the first time that he had activated his quirk, he drew his energy into his stomach, feeling his body get stronger, faster, better. He would need to be at his best to keep up with his opponent. He had plenty of sparring practice against Kaylee, and knew that he could beat her, so long as he kept his Ki up. His speed and skills overcame her raw strength, but only when he had the power to actually do damage to her.
He smiled to himself in anticipation as he opened his eyes. He felt that he had charged his Ki to the max, and now that he was ‘full’, all he needed to do was top himself up until the match started. He could only hold his Ki for 10 minutes, and it took as long for him to reach this state of full power, so he had to be careful. Managing his output and timing his charging was the crux of his fighting style. Now, he just needed the match to start so as to not waste this power! He returned to the ground, not wanting to waste any energy prematurely, and tapped his foot to distract himself. As soon as the light turned green, he dashed to get to the arena, ready to fight.
“And we are back everybody! I hope you’re ready for the last Quarter-Final match! We’re about to see who will get the last spot in the Semi-Finals! Wow, both these competitors look eager to start! Look at their auras flaring up! I’ve no doubt that this will be a great fight! Twenty-Eighth Round! Suzuki Kaylee VERSUS Son Jugo!”
“TWENTY-EIGHTH ROUND! HAJIME!”
Both roared as they charged. Kaylee bore down on Jugo, the giant schoolgirl slamming her fist down in a massive arc. The tiles of the arena shattered under the blow, cratering under her fist, as it felt like the whole stadium shook!
“Woah! Sorry if the camera went shaky, viewers at home! That wasn’t a sudden earthquake, but a shockwave from young Kaylee’s attack! If that’s the kind of power that she’s going to use against young Jugo, then we may be looking at a quick match!” The Narrator said as he held onto his desk with one hand and the microphone with the other.
Kaylee snarled as she pulled her fist out of the rubble. She hadn’t expected the strike to hit, but that didn’t make a difference to her pride.
Jugo had somersaulted over her attack, getting behind her, and shot out his arm in a powerful cross punch. Kaylee spun around, her Ki flaring in a shield around her, casting her skin in an unearthly green glow. Jugo’s fist smashed into her face with enough force to knock her head back. Not relenting, he then sunk his other fist straight into her stomach, bringing her upright.
“And Jugo scores the first strike of the match! And what a punch! It looks like Jugo’s not going down so quickly, and if he keeps this up, then he can take this!”
Jugo grimaced. He knew how important it was to get the immediate upper hand in this fight, otherwise Kaylee would ground him down as he used his power, but as he felt her muscles under his knuckles tense, he knew that he’d have to use more than what he just used.
Kaylee smiled down at the far-shorter boy, her eyes beginning to widen with manic glee. Despite his trepidatious thoughts, he felt his excitement rise, just as she did.
The moment passed. Before Jugo could pull his arm back, Kaylee grabbed his wrist, pulling him into an embrace!
“What’s this?! They seem to be friends, but really, hugging in a tournament?!” The Narrator queried, seeing the strange sight of the hug.
Jugo was not so flippant. He had been on the receiving end of this attack before in their training sessions. His arms were pinned next to his body, and he was completely off the ground, preventing ease of escape from dropping his weight. He couldn’t headbutt her, at least not without causing quite the scene, since his head was level with her chest. He released a yelp of pain as she squeezed tighter. She wasn’t going to give him time to consider his options, she was going for a knockout by crushing him!
But Jugo was a skilled martial artist and could work under pressure. Further, he was not limited to the comparatively primitive martial arts of earlier centuries.
Jugo released a scream, not one of pain, but one suffused with Ki. The blast caught Kaylee off guard as it slammed into her face. Jugo did not let the opportunity slip by. He planted his feet on Kaylee’s abdomen and pushed with all his strength. With the additional leverage, Jugo was able to break out of Kaylee’s grip, and before she could reinstate the grapple, he took to the sky! Kaylee was not about to let him get away though, as she blasted off in pursuit!
“Looks like this fight is going to the sky! It might be harder to follow, but don’t worry, we’ll continue to provide instant updates on this battle!” The Narrator bragged.
Kaylee sped straight to Jugo, swinging a wild haymaker right at his head. Jugo managed to duck under the attack, before having to blast backwards to avoid the incoming uppercut, only to get smashed in the stomach, as Kaylee spun around to deliver a brutal kick to his gut! He grunted in pain, spittle flying from his mouth, as he was launched back from the sheer force of her attack. Kaylee grinned before taking after Jugo at top speed.
Jugo grinned to himself. This had been his plan! Now that he was high enough that he couldn’t be disqualified for injuring the audience, he could use a technique that his dad had taught him! He raised his hands to each side of his face, palms facing toward him, before closing his eyes and unleashing it!
“SOLAR FLARE!”
Jugo’s Ki flared at an incredible luminosity, as bright as the sun, right into Kaylee’s face. She screamed as she felt her eyes water and burn. Her hands instinctively shot up to try and stop the pain, but her eyes already felt like they were on fire! She thrashed about in mid-air, incoherently ranting, trying to ease the pain. The audience in the stadium were far enough away to not suffer the same pain. It looked like a second sun was in the sky, and simply squinting or shielding their eyes with a hand was sufficient to avoid the effect.
“Wow that’s bright! Jugo released his Ki in such a way to blind Kaylee! Will she be able to recover? Remember, the match isn’t over until one combatant is knocked out or knocked out of bounds!”
Kaylee couldn’t see a thing! Her eyes burned from the light as she rubbed them, trying to get tears flowing to soothe the heat. As she did so, Jugo kicked her straight in the stomach with a roundhouse kick!
“OOF!”
She swung out to try and retaliate, but he was already gone. But that kick was just the first of many. Jugo knew that the Solar Flare technique was excellent at incapacitating foes, but that its effects didn’t last long. Taking full advantage of his opponent’s temporary blindness, he launched a barrage of attacks. Kicks, punches, chops, elbow strikes. He struck as he passed, keeping himself moving to prevent her from keeping track of him.
“Looks like Jugo has Kaylee on the ropes! She still is suffering from his blindness attack, and without a way to block or counter him, she’s getting pummeled!”
Kaylee growled as she got hit again and again. The blows weren’t hurting much, but if she couldn’t see, then the damage was just going to keep piling on! She had to do something. Her eyes were still out. She guessed another minute until she would be able to see, and while she could emulate Orochi’s ball mode and go full defensive, that was no winning strategy!
Think Kaylee, think! There has to be something that you ca- wait! That’s it!
She took a deep breath and did her best to calm herself, even as Jugo continued his offensive. If she was going to counter, she’d have to use a skill that he taught her.
Some time ago, in the Shiketsu Gym
“So, this is another skill your dad taught you?”
“Yeah, he’s got a similar quirk to us, and this is something that he uses all the time in fighting.”
The two students were sitting in a side room, relatively small by the standards of this sprawling megaplex of physicality, but they did not require space for this training.
“OK, keep calm, keep control over your Ki, and focus. Remember, even though Ki is not that well understood, it’s basically life energy and behaves kinda like plasma. If you release just a quick pulse, it can be used like radar. You know how you can still sense and control your Ki blasts after launching ‘em? Let the pulse out, bounce off whatever, and sense your surroundings from that feeling.”
Jugo’s words were stumbling towards the end of his explanation, belying that he didn’t fully understand the intricacies of what he was saying either, but the point came across to Kaylee. It was all about Ki control to sense one’s surroundings, both faster and more accurately than could be done with sight.
Kaylee focused. She gathered her Ki, forming a wafer-thin shell around her, and released it. It was sloppy, far too thick for what was needed, but as it returned to her, she could get a feel on what was in the room. This was a room for aerobic classes that were offered to students and gym members alike; with chairs, yoga mats, steps, and even trampolines tidied against the walls. It was murky and ill-defined, but she could ‘see’ it!
Her eyes shot open in excitement. She grinned at Jugo, who smiled back.
“Remember, practice makes perfect!” He said, as the memory faded away.
Back to the Present
Kaylee focused, summoned her Ki, and released the pulse. At the speed of light, or very close to it, a wave of Ki shot out from her, pinged off of Jugo, and bounced back to Kaylee. She saw him!
As Jugo flew in for another attack, he was caught off-guard as Kaylee’s fist slammed into his cheek! He spun through the air, catching himself, only to turn back to Kaylee and seeing her fly toward him!
Guess she remembered that trick I taught her! Jugo thought, smiling to himself despite this development being bad for him. He couldn’t help it. As he thought when he first fought Kaylee, all those months ago, it was like fighting a natural disaster, one that would find a way around any obstacle in its path.
Fine then, no holding back!
He met her shout with his own, charging to meet her. He tapped into his reserves of power, strengthening himself to his maximum! They collided in the air with a deafening BOOM!
The shock-wave of the impact crashed over the spectators, the stadium, and the surrounding buildings! They were far enough away that it didn’t cause property damage – much to the relief of the ever-burdened Anzu Nishima – but it did cause windows to wobble in their panes, and teeth to shake in the spectator’s jaws!
The Narrator barely kept hold of his glasses with one hand, his beloved microphone with the other, just preventing either from flying off and breaking.
“I sure hope that the sound didn’t blow out, viewers at home, because that was one incredible clash! Neither of these two are holding anything back now! Yare yare, I can almost see the sonic booms!”
This fight had gone to the next level. Neither Kaylee nor Jugo had any restraint left, both knowing that the other could take the damage, and that there was only one slot left. They went faster and faster, burning through the air, as all that could be seen were the occasional binds they locked into!
Kaylee trying to smash Jugo’s block out of the way.
Jugo’s kick being checked by Kaylee’s hand.
Kaylee’s double-hand smash frustrated by Jugo’s cross block.
These snippets were all that most could see, as the two students blazed across the sky!
Dammit, can’t keep this up much longer!
Jugo was forcing air into his lungs, feeling the burn of carbon dioxide build up. He was getting tired. The match had lasted a good couple of minutes at this point, and he’d barely had time to catch his breath. His Ki reserves were depleting, and when they ran empty, he wouldn’t last one hit!
Got to think of something!
Kaylee was able to see now. Her vision was still fuzzy, but it was clear enough for her to see Jugo’s obvious exhaustion. Unlike him, she did not depend upon powering up to have strength; she was always strong. She had struggled at the start of this match, when Jugo had enough power to close the physical gap with his skill, but as he used more of his stockpile to be able to do damage, he got both weaker and slower. All she had to do was get an opening. She used a simple combination of attacks, relying on the power behind them to force Jugo to do what she wanted – jab, cross, hook. Jugo dodged them; slipping the two straight punches before rolling under the hook.
THERE!
Jugo had weaved under her hook, exactly as he had done so many times in their sparring. As soon as he had, Kaylee’s other hand shot out and grabbed him by the throat! As soon as her giant hand wrapped around his neck, she held on tight, and barrelled straight down at the ground!
“Crash landing incoming! What’s Kaylee doing? Is she thinking that she can withstand the impact, but Jugo won’t? Are we about to see the final Quarter Final come to an end?!”
Jugo struggled against Kaylee’s grip, but despite the severity of his situation, he had a plan. Kaylee’s Ki aura was flaring as she accelerated downward. This meant that Jugo could use his quirk in a way that he rarely had a reason to.
“UUUUOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!”
He drew Ki in, both his own and Kaylee’s!
Jugo’s quirk allowed him to absorb Ki on touch. Normally, this would only be his own, as few indeed were those whose quirks utilized this esoteric energy. But Kaylee was one of those few.
Kaylee felt her Ki being siphoned off as they hurtled toward the floor at intense speeds. Her eyes widened, as the battle drive that had been fuelling her slipped away. She had been planning to stop herself and throw Jugo, but with how he was drawing her power away, that would be far harder.
Kaylee face split into a feral grin. Fine then.
“You wanna end the match like this, Jugo? Fine by me!” She screamed.
Jugo’s eyes went as big as plates. She was serious!
Kaylee focused her Ki out through her legs and feet, away from Jugo’s draining touch. Jugo cursed that he had used so much Ki earlier in the fight, but that regret wasn’t going to get him out of this. In the few seconds he had before impact, he had to make a choice: focus his Ki on powering up, or using it to slow their descent?
He made his choice.
The pair crashed into the arena, utterly demolishing it in the process, leaving nothing but a massive dust cloud!
“I can’t see a thing! Both students are completely engulfed in the dust from that impact! Will one of them be standing when the dust clears?”
Mercifully, the dust cleared quickly, as the very shock-wave that stirred it up cast it away. The two were revealed. Kaylee was still on top of Jugo, but both were still conscious! Jugo had decided to boost himself, giving him just enough juice to not get knocked out or worse! Now he just needed to –
“YAME! FREEZE!”
The call to stop cut through the combatants. They both turned to face Majestic, limbs still tangled together.
“What’s this? Our beloved judge Majestic has called a stop to the match? Why would he do this?”
The Number Six Hero swaggered over to the two. Both had remained completely stationary since they landed, as per Majestic’s command. Had one moved, they would have been disqualified.
Majestic squinted at the two, crouching down to see where they had landed. He stood up, looked at the arena, or what was left. The force of their landing had obliterated the whole arena, leaving nothing but a crater. He thought for a moment, nodded to himself, and raised an arm.
“SUZUKI WINS!” he shouted.
“HUH?!” The cry of indignation came from both students at once. In response, Majestic pointed down at Jugo, on the ground.
“Out of bounds! The bounds of the battle was limited to the air, and the raised platform of the arena, which you two just smashed through! Son Jugo made contact with the ground first, therefore he loses!”
“But that’s not –!”
Kaylee made to protest, but a glare from Majestic shut her up. Jugo was much the same. The pair stood up, shook hands, and made their way out of the stadium grounds without another word. Both their heads were bowed, their shoulders slumped, their body language making their lack of satisfaction clear.
Majestic wasn’t comfortable stepping in to call a match like that, but after the previous match, as well as the events in his personal life a few days ago, he was not going to risk another public spectacle. Neither he nor Shiketsu could afford that. Besides, he was well within his remit as referee and judge to make the call, and if the gamblers didn’t like it, then they could go pound sand.
“What a twist! End by judge call! I don’t think any of us saw that coming! Miss Rosethorn has yet to return, so unfortunately, we cannot get her view on the decision, but we all know Majestic is an eminently skilled hero, so we should trust his decision! Well, with that, the Quarter-Final matches of the Shiketsu Tournament have concluded! We’ll need some time to repair the arena, but don’t go anywhere, we’ve got the Semi-Finals soon, and they look to be just as explosive!”
Backstage, in a side room in the VIP area.
“Absolutely not, Miss Suzuki! We cannot make an exception! Look at what happened with Miss Kim!”
“Please, Miss Principal-Sensei! I want to face him!”