(Kata POV – Sports Festival Stadium, Tournant)
We all make our way back into the stadium, Mina walking beside as we chat. Our conversation seems to draw a few lingering stares, but I ignore them.
Present Mic’s voice booms through the speakers. “Before we start the final event, let’s have so fun with a few recreational activities!”
Then, his voice sharpens with excitent. “But first! Among the sixteen students who made it through the last round, we’ll be holding a formal tournant—a series of one-on-one battles!”
We gather in front of Midnight and Kirishima speaks up. “A tournant, huh? So we’ll be up in that ring I see on TV every year!” He sounds excited, but I can tell he’s a little nervous.
Mina tilts her head. “Was it a tournant last year too?”
“The format’s always different,” Sero answers. “But most years have so kind of head-to-head competition.”
Midnight cracks her whip, drawing our attention. “The matchups will be decided by drawing lots.” She holds up a small box. “After that, you’re free to participate in the festivities or rest before the tournant starts. I expect so of you would rather take a breather and save your strength.”
We step forward to draw lots, in order of team ranking, and the process moves quickly. When all is said and done, the matchups are:
Midoriya vs. Shinso
Todoroki vs. Sero
Okada vs. Kaminari
Ida vs. Hatsu
Ashido vs. Asui
Tokoyami vs. Yaoyorozu
Shoji vs. Kirishima
Uraraka vs. Bakugo
Imdiately, I feel two intense stares drilling into . Unsurprisingly, they belong to Bakugo and Todoroki. While Todoroki seems content with silently glaring, Bakugo strides up to , his expression a mix of determination and irritation.
“You talked big during your speech,” he says seriously. “Make sure you can back it up.”
Then, without another word, he turns and scowls toward the board, his usual irritation flaring up. “Who the hell’s Uraraka?!”
I glance at Uraraka, who looks like she can’t decide between being shocked that he doesn't know her and being terrified he's her opponent.
anwhile, everyone else also starts searching for their opponents. It’s easy to spot them since only two non-Class A students are in the bracket—Shinso and i.
“Are you Ida?!” I hear i’s energetic voice ask, followed by her amused laughter.
‘Yeah… I pity you, Ida.’ I shake my head and turn away.
Midnight clears her throat. “Now, let’s set aside the tournant for now... and get on with the festivities!”
I don't take part in the festivities. I simply go and grab so food and watch, taking this ti to just relax since I missed lunch earlier, having been caught up talking to Todoroki and Mina.
But before long, the real event arrives.
Centoss enters the stadium, activating his Quirk as concrete pours in through massive pipes. With practiced ease, he molds the stone into a large stage.
“Thanks, Centoss!” Present Mic’s voice echoes through the arena. “Alright, everyone! Are you ready?!”
The crowd erupts into cheers.
“You’ve been through hell to get here, but now it’s ti for the one-on-one tournant! Use everything you’ve got and show us your best!”
I take my seat in the stands with the rest of Class A as Izuku and Shinso step into the arena.
“The first match!” Present Mic announces. “Making a weird face despite his excellent performance, it’s Izuku Midoriya from the Hero Course!”
Izuku shifts awkwardly, clearly nervous.
“And facing off against him… Sorry, but this guy hasn’t really done much to stand out yet! It’s Hitoshi Shinso, from General Studies!”
The rules are laid out—knockout, immobilization, or making your opponent surrender are the only victory conditions. Anything is allowed except using lethal force, which results in instant disqualification.
"START!" Present Mic shouts, kicking off the match.
Izuku lunges forward, responding to Shinso's provocations without thinking—despite being warned about the brainwashing. Imdiately, his body stiffens as he falls under Shinso’s control.
A wave of murmurs spreads through the audience. Many don’t understand what’s happening, but I can’t help but sigh. ' Even after being told, he still fell for it.'
Shinso wastes no ti. "Walk out of bounds," he orders.
Izuku's feet shift, carrying him toward the edge. But before he can step out, his fingers twitch, and with a sudden burst of movent, he flicks them downward. A shockwave erupts as his finger breaks, pulling him out of Shinso’s control.
The fight resus. It’s hardly a battle, with Izuku tankinf Shinso’s strikes while steadily pushing him back. Shinso’s resistance is admirable, but in the end, a well-tid body slam sends him sprawling out of bounds.
"Shinso is out of the ring! Midoriya advances to the next round!" Midnight announces.
Despite his loss, Shinso gets a wave of support—from both his classmates and even so of the Pro-Heroes watching.
Izuku limps toward Recovery Girl as the next match begins: Todoroki vs Sero.
It’s over before it even starts. The mont Present Mic signals the match, an avalanche of ice erupts from Todoroki’s side, freezing nearly half the stadium and Sero is frozen in an instant.
Aizawa and Present Mic fall silent, the sheer display of power leaving even them stunned.
Midnight recovers first. "Todoroki advances!" she announces. Todoroki calmly approaches Sero, defrosting him with an apology. After the stage is cleared of ice, they announce the start of the next match.
I exhale, standing from my seat. 'My turn.'
I step onto the stage, facing Kaminari, who arrives from the opposite end. He flashes a nervous smile.
"It's Class A's President, the top candidate so far, Kata Okada! Versus... the sparking, killing boy, Denki Kaminari!" Present Mic announces.
I consider my approach. Todoroki just put on a show of overwhelming power. 'Should I do the sa?'
Kaminari interrupts my thoughts. "Class Pres, we're friends, right?" I nod. "Then... you'll go easy on ?" He laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
I return his smile, though mine is far less reassuring. "I expect you to do your best… and so will I."
For a mont, he looks defeated. Then, he straightens up, a fire lighting in his eyes. "Bring it on!"
"START!"
Electricity crackles around Kaminari as he charges up. Before he can fire, I release an ability—Telekinetic Pressure.
The air stills.
An invisible force slams down on the arena like a tidal wave. The ground groans under the strain as cracks spread across the stage and climb up the stadium walls. Loose chunks of concrete lift into the air—only to disintegrate into dust under the crushing weight.
The atmosphere shifts. Even though I make sure not to affect the audience directly, a suffocating aura spreads through the venue. I spot Pro Heroes in the stands stiffening, so even gulping nervously as their muscles tense.
At the center of it all, Kaminari collapses. I hold back a lot. Exerting just enough power to keep him from getting up.
He struggles against the force, electricity flickering along his body—but it sputters out before he can launch an attack. His arms shake as he tries to push himself up, but to no avail.
Nothing. Silence descends, the only sound is the slow, agonizing cracking of the arena floor beneath us, as if the very stadium is groaning in protest.
It lingers longer than necessary, until I finally turn to Midnight and calmly say, "He's immobilized."
That seems to snap everyone out of their trance. Midnight clears her throat, her voice steady. "Denki Kaminari is unable to continue... Kata Okada advances to the next round!"
And just like that, the pressure lifts. The weight vanishes as if it had never been there.
Kaminari gasps, pushing himself upright unsteadily. I step forward, offering a hand. "I might've gone a bit overboard. Sorry."
He stares at my hand for a second before grinning, taking it. "Yeah… no kidding. That was insane."
The tension in the arena eases, and murmurs break out among the spectators. The shock still lingers, but the tournant moves forward.
Returning to my seat, I’m imdiately bombarded with questions.
"What was that?!" Kirishima exclaims, eyes practically sparkling with excitent.
"Yeah, man, the whole place started cracking, and it felt like the air got heavier or sothing," Sero adds, rubbing his arms as if shaking off the phantom pressure.
I can feel more eyes on —so filled with curiosity, others more serious. Likely my future opponents.
I give a casual shrug. "I can't exactly reveal my abilities when we might be fighting soon, can I?"
They nod in understanding, though the curiosity practically radiates off them.
Nearby, Izuku is furiously scribbling in his notebook, muttering to himself. He’s analyzing every detail of my match, probably running counter-strategies in his head. I sigh and lean back, waiting as Centoss repairs the damage I left behind.
The Matches Continue.
The next match starts being Ida vs i.
It’s... entertaining, to say the least.
First, i tricks Ida into wearing support gear, grinning ear to ear as she plays an extended ga of tag across the arena. The entire match is just an elaborate sales pitch for her inventions, with Ida as her unwilling demo partner.
When she finally runs out of things to advertise, she casually resigns, still looking completely satisfied. anwhile, Ida stands frozen, a look of pure betrayal on his face.
He doesn’t get to dwell on it for long, though. i apologizes—sort of—before happily strutting off the stage.
Mina vs Tsuyu is a much more even fight. Tsuyu uses her agility and tongue attacks to keep Mina at bay, but Mina responds by spraying acid in her path to limit her movent. The fight is fast-paced, with Tsuyu nearly pulling off a win—until Mina finally corners her and forces her out of bounds.
Next is the match between Tokoyami and Momo.
Because of the Cavalry Battle, Momo already has a strategy. The second the match starts, she produces flashbangs, forcing Dark Shadow to retreat. Before Tokoyami can recover, she follows up with a stun baton, knocking him out before he can counterattack. A clean victory.
Shoji and Kirishima's fight is more of a slugfest. Kirishima tanks most of Shoji’s attacks, but Shoji’s superior, strength, reach and stamina eventually wear him down. With his hardening quirk constantly active, Kirishima is forced to exert more energy, until exhaustion finally catches up to him.
Finally, it was Uraraka vs Bakugo.
Now this—this was a fight worth watching.
Uraraka doesn’t hold back, throwing everything into her strategy. Despite the overwhelming disadvantage, she fights with sheer determination, trying to get close enough to make Bakugo weightless, which was a distraction.
She used Bakugo's attacks to destroy the arena, while secretly floating all the debris for one big attack, dropping them all on top of him together.
Of course, Bakugo wins, destroying all her hard work with one large explosion. But even he can’t ignore how hard she tried, and how close she got.
The way the crowd reacts, though, you’d think he was the villain here. They glare at him, murmuring about his brutality, completely missing the fact that Uraraka herself wouldn't have wanted anything less than his best effort.
I glance at Bakugo, and for the first ti, he isn’t scowling in his usual arrogant way. There’s sothing else in his eyes.
'Even he respects her now.'
With the first round finished, we get a short break before the quarterfinals.
The matchups appear on a large screen:
Midoriya vs. Todoroki
Okada vs. Ida
Mina vs. Yaoyorozu
Shoji vs. Bakugo
And the first fight is the one I’m most looking forward to.
Midoriya vs. Todoroki.
The match starts strong. Todoroki sends massive ice spikes at Izuku, who counters with a One For All smash, obliterating the attack at the cost of another broken finger. The shockwave pushes Todoroki back, so much so that he has to form an ice wall behind him.
For a mont, it seems like Izuku has a chance. But then I notice it.
'This... is just like the Battle Trial.'
Todoroki realizes it too. His expression tightens, and suddenly, he shifts tactics.
He stops trying to overpower Izuku directly and starts playing the long ga. He builds up massive ice walls, blocking Izuku’s vision, forcing him to attack blindly. Unlike , who could just tear them down, Izuku has limited atracks. Every hit he lands brings him closer to defeat.
It’s a slow, thodical takedown.
Izuku grows more desperate with every attack and then—just like that—Todoroki lands a clean hit from behind.
Izuku freezes in place as he's frozen in ice, completely trapped.
The match is over and Todoroki announced the winner.
Todoroki defrosts the ice, but Izuku's expression says everything. He had failed. The sheer disappointnt is written all over his face.
'He probably thinks be let All Might down. He actually did great, and at least his arm isn't as ssed up this ti,' I think, trying to find a silver lining as he’s taken to Recovery Girl once more.
With that, I stand and make my way toward the stadium.
My match is next.
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