Shikigami Dance: Naruto/BNHA Crossover - Chapter 27

During the recreational games, the top sixteen participants didn’t allow themselves to relax. Some tried to come up with a strategy, some tried to rest their bodies, some tried to prepare for the fight, some tried to hype themselves up, some just tried to at least calm their nerves. It was a case of preparing for anything.

Haru’s time was put into meditation as it was one of the few methods of recovering chakra available to him. Yet another secret of Haru’s special sensory, Kagura Shingan was its massive chakra consumption when used at its full capacity. It was taxing on both mind and stamina. So, while Haru’s reserves were far from depleted, he wasn’t going to risk running dry in the middle of a match, not with the stakes at hand.

[HEY SPORTS FANS! ARE YOU READY?]

The sound of Present Mics Voice followed by the affirmative yells of the crowd caused the redhead to slowly open his eyes.

[OUR COMPETITORS ARE ON THEIR OWN NOW. SOMETIMES HEROES HAVE ONLY THEMSELVES TO RELY ON! HEART! SKILL! STRENGTH! WISDOM! COURAGE! THEY’LL HAVE TO USE ALL THESE THINGS TO RISE TO THE TOP!]

The students from Class 1A, minus Izuku because he was in the first match, were gathered in their personal seating area. Haru sat next to Katsuki while Jiro and Kaminari sat next to him.

His phone buzzed and he pulled it out to see he had received a text message from a familiar number under the name of Ito Sensei.[1]

‘Good luck.’

Haru smiled at the words and pocketed his phone.

***

[1] ‘Ito’ is Japanese for ‘thread’ so the name means ‘thread sensei’

***

[ALRIGHT, AUDIENCE! LET’S GET RIGHT TO THE GOOD STUFF AND GET TO THESE FINALS ALREADY!] the announcement screens placed all around the arena flickered into a vs. mode, [WELCOME OUR FIRST FIGHTERS! DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE NERVOUS LOOK ON HIS FACE, IT’S IZUKU MIDORIYA FROM THE HERO COURSE! VS, HITOSHI SHINSO FROM GENERAL STUDIES WHO REALLY HASN’T DONE ANYTHING TO STAND OUT YET! THE RULES ARE SIMPLE: IMOBILISE YOUR OPPONENT OR FORCE THEM OUT OF THE RING! YOU CAN ALSO WIN BY GETTING THE OTHER PERSON TO CRY UNCLE! BRING ON THE INJURIES BECAUSE WE’VE GOT OUR VERY OWN RECOVERY GIRL ON STANDBY! SO, PUT YOUR MORALS ASIDE AND DON’T BE AFRAID TO PLAY DIRTY. BUT OF COURSE, NO LIFE-THREATENING CRAP FOLKS. IT’S NOT ALLOWED. REAL HEROES USE THEIR POWERS TO THROW VILLAINS IN JAIL, NOT KILL THEM.]

Cementoss raised his hand from where he sat at the edge of the fighting arena he had created, [I’ll stop anyone who tries to get too rough.]

“So, you can just give up, huh?” Shinso said scornfully, gaining Izuku’s attention, “In a way, this is a test to see how strong your spirit is.” The purple-haired teen’s face darkened, “If you know what you want your future to hold for you, you can’t worry about what other people think.”

[READY?] Present Mic screamed.

“Your redheaded friend was talking about going all out earlier, but he’s just downplaying his power to make himself look better to the public.”

Izuku clenched his teeth in anger as he started moving towards his opponent, “Don’t you talk about him that way!”

Shinso gave a small smile. ‘That’s it, I win.’

Izuku’s eyes glazed over and he came to a complete stop.

***

Up in the stadium, Haru sighed from where he sat. ‘I tried to warn him. I wonder what Shinso said that made him so angry?’

***

[HUH? HEY, HEY, WHAT THE DEAL? THIS IS THE FIRST MATCH! IT SHOULD START OUT WITH A BANG! THE FINALS HAVE JUST BARELY BEGUN AND IZUKU MIDORIYA IS COMPLETELY FROZEN! HE’S NOT MOVING A MUSCLE AND WHAT’S WITH THAT LOOK ON HIS FACE? COULD THIS BE A QUIRK AT WORK? HITOSHI SHINSO SEEMS TO HAVE IZUKU MIDORIYA COMPLETELY STUNNED. HE DIDNT STAND OUT DURING THE PREVIOUS ROUNDS BUT IT’S POSSIBLE SHINSO’S CRAZY POWERFUL! WHO COULD HAVE IMAGINED THIS TURN OF EVENTS! THAT’S THE FESTIVAL FOR YOU!]

[A perfect example of why the entrance exam is irrational…] everyone stopped whatever they were doing as Erasure spoke, [Since we’re on to the individual matches, I had some information compiled about our final competitors. Shinso failed the practical exam to enter the hero course. Since he also applied for general studies, he probably figured that would happen. His Quirk is incredibly strong, but the practical exam was fighting robots. It gives a huge advantage to those with physical superpowers, but those with mental Quirks like Shinso had no chance of passing. As a matter of fact, one of my own students was unable to use an entire aspect of his Quirk involving the mind.]

Shinso kept his eye fixed on Izuku’s helpless form. “Just so you know, what I said about your friend was untrue. As a matter of fact, he’s one of the few people I have an inkling of respect for in your class, and it’s not because I teamed up with him either,” he narrowed his eyes, “You are lucky to have been so blessed, Izuku Midoriya. Possessing a powerful Quirk and friends. Now turn around and walk out of bounds like a good little hero. Even with Quirk like mine, I want to be a hero. So… lose for me.”

There a moment of silence.

Moving slowly but steadily, Izuku turned around and walked towards the boundary line.

[WHAT? AHHHHHHH! MIDORIYA’S OBEYING HIM!]

***

Up in the stadium, Uraraka stood up in a panic, “What? Deku! What are you doing?”

Iida’s arms flailed as he kept on making variations of timeout signs, “He can’t walk out of the ring! He’ll lose the match if he does!”

Jiro looked at Haru’s impassive features, “Anyway he can turn this around?”

Haru shook his head, “It was difficult, even for me, to break out of his control. Izuku doesn’t have the ability to break out of Genjutsu as I do, so the likelihood of him overcoming this is low.”

“That Shinso guy is super strong! Are we going to have to fight him in the upcoming rounds?” Kaminari said, starting to sweat.

Haru didn’t seem to hear the question, his focus completely on the fight. He felt a sudden surge of energy within Izuku and his eyes widened. ‘What is this? I’m sensing… All Might’s… no more… eight other chakra signatures inside Izuku!’

The surge of energy sent a shockwave across the arena, making everyone react with shock.

Izuku gasped for breath as he tried to ignore the pain in his broken index and middle fingers.

[WHAT’S THIS? MIDORIYA STOPPED JUST IN TIME!]

Haru’s face was stunned. ‘How?’

***

Shinso’s eye’s widened as Izuku turned around. “Impossible!” he growled in frustration, clenching his fist, “You’re not supposed to be able to fight back! What did you do?”

Izuku covered his mouth. ‘I get it now. Actions speak louder than words. If I answer, he’ll catch me again. I wonder though…’

Shinso gritted his teeth in anger. “How’d you do that?” he yelled.

Izuku refused to answer him, instead choosing to glare at Shinso from the other side of the circle.

Shinso narrowed his eyes. ‘He won’t answer. Did he figure it out? Haru told me he just gave him a small hint. He’s smarter than I gave him credit for. I have to get him to talk again.’

“Come on, say something,” he taunted. The only response he got was Izuku starting to run at him, his teeth clamped shut in silence. Shinso tried again, “I didn’t know you had so much power in just your fingers. I’m kind of jealous of you. Thanks to the way my Quirk works, I’ve been at a big disadvantage, but someone as blessed as you wouldn’t understand that!” the purple-haired teen’s feelings surfaced, revealing how desperate and alone he was, “YOU’RE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE A HEROIC QUIRK! IT’LL BE SO EASY TO REACH YOU GOAL!”

Izuku grabbed Shinso by the shoulders and started pushing him towards the edge of the ring.

Shinso tried to resist but was no match for Izuku’s muscles. “SAY SOMETHING DAMN IT!” he shot a right hook to Izuku’s jaw.

The insomniac was now completely awake and sent another punch towards Izuku’s broken fingers causing the injured teen to flinch and lose his grip. Shinso gripped Izuku’s face with one hand and used all his strength to push him out of the ring, “GET OUT OF THIS RING YOU LUCKY BRAT!”

Izuku grabbed Shinso shirt with one hand and his arm in the other a with a yell flipped the purple-haired teen over his shoulder.

Shinso landed heavily on his back, his legs just bȧrėly sprawled across the boundary line.

Midnight raised her hand, [Shinso is out of bounds! Midoriya advances to the next match!]

***

Uraraka and Iida sighed in relief.

Kaminari grinned at Katsuki, “He’s pulled that shoulder move on you before, huh?”

“Just shut your damn face, sparky.”

Haru mirrored Kaminari’s grin, “Looks like just about anyone will fall for that move.”

Katsuki popped a vein, “You wanna die?”

Haru chuckled good-naturedly, “I’m good, thanks.”

“Then shut up!”

***

Izuku held his injured hand carefully as he watched a downcast Shinso got to his feet, “Tell me, why do you want to be a hero?”

The purple-haired student was silent for a moment, “You can’t help what your heart longs for.”

Izuku didn’t answer. Despite him and Shinso being so similar in the past with having a dream but being unable to achieve it, he knew that nothing he’d say would make the other boy feel better.

“You were awesome out there Shinso!”

Shinso looked up in surprise as his classmates from 1C cheered at him from the stadium.

Several more cheers arose from the seating spaces of Classes 1A and 1B as Kaminari, Jiro, Shiozaki, and Tetsutetsu called out to him.

“You’re the man, Shinso!”

“Great job!”

“We’re proud of you!”

Shinso felt something brush his hand and saw a small paper buŧŧerfly sitting in his hand.

He smirked, speaking to Izuku, “Depending on the results, they might transfer people into the hero course, remember that. Even if it didn’t work out this time, I’m not giving up. I’ll get on to the hero track, get certified, and then I’ll become a better pro than any of you.”

Izuku felt relief swell in his ċhėst and grunted in agreement. An instant later, his eyes glazed over.

Shinso gave a short chuckle, “You know, most people tense up whenever they talk to me,” he looked over his shoulder smirking, “You know, you’re just like your friend in that respect. If you’re not on guard, someone is going to defeat you. So be careful.” He released his control on Izuku’s mind and let a small smile slip onto his face, “You better not lose and make me look bad.”

Izuku nodded, “I won’t!”

His eyes turned blank.

“…” Shinso was rendered speechless.

***

Shinso left the stadium, rolling his sore shoulder he had gotten when Izuku threw him. He noticed the buŧŧerfly was still clinging to him and picked it up. To his surprise, it unfolded, revealing a written note.

‘You did well in your match. Great job. If you need a place to train, try the address written below. If you arrive there and think I’m joking, you are in the right place but don’t worry. Ask for Raku Ichijo and tell them the Shikigami sent you. They’ll help train both your Quirk and your body.’

Shinso shook his head in bemusement, “You are one crazy person, Haru Bakugo.”

***

[NOW, LET’S ANNOUNCE OUR NEXT PLAYERS!] the screens flickered to show the next contestants, [HE’S GOT SKILLS BUT AT THE EXPENSE OF SOME REALLY CREEPY LOOKING ELBOWS. FROM THE HERO COURSE, IT’S HANTA SERO!]

The dark-haired teen loosened his wrists as he muttered under his breath, “That was uncalled for.”

[AND EARLY FRONT RUNNER IN THE COMPETITION WHO’S WAY TOO STRONG FOR HIS OWN GOOD. SHOTO TODOROKI!]

The crowd roared in anticipation as the bicolored-haired boy stood unresponsive, a dark look on his face. Haru sensed the intense anger and sadness radiating in clouds off of him and glanced at a certain fire-wreathed figure standing in a private booth above the crowd. ‘Endeavor… What’s really going on in your head?’

[BEGIN!]

Sero shot his tape towards Todoroki, binding his arms and swinging him toward the boundary line, “I don’t think I can win this, but man, I don’t feel like losing either!”

Todoroki raised his head, “Apologies.”

There was a rumble like that of an earthquake and a literal iceberg erupted inside the arena. Sero’s head was the only part of his body that wasn’t frozen.

Everyone in the stadium, even Present Mic, was rendered speechless.

Haru frowned as he lowered his hand, dispersing the paper wall he had used to deflect the ice that threatened his class, “Overkill much?”

In the arena, Todoroki let out an icy breath, breaking the frozen tape binding him as if it were nothing.

Midnight shivered from where she stood, half of her boy completely coated in ice, [Tell the truth, Sero. Can you move at all?]

Sero’s face was stricken with combined discomfort and fear, “A-are you k-kidding? Obviously not! M-my body i-is freezing!”

Midnight quickly called the match, [Sero has been immobilized. Todoroki proceeds to the second round!]

There was a murmur from the crowd as they all processed what had just happened. Someone suddenly called out ‘nice try’ at Sero and large numbers of people took up cry in an attempt to make the teen feel better for such an extreme loss.

Todoroki approached his now defeated opponent and placed a hand on the ice. “Sorry, it was a bit much,” the ice directly encasing Sero quickly melted under Todoroki’s heat as he spoke, “I was angry.”

***

Haru and Izuku frowned as they watched the heterochromatic-eyed boy free Sero from the ice prison.

“Haru,” the redhead blinked and looked at Jiro. The girl tilted her head slightly as if he had forgotten something, “We’re next.”

Haru stood up, “So we are… Let’s go.”

***

(Ninja Art: Flash Foreword Jutsu…)

[WELCOME BACK TO THE FINALS EVERYONE! SORRY FOR THAT LONG WAIT. THAT INSANE AMOUNT OF ICE FROM THE LAST MATCH HAS FINALLY BEEN CLEARED. NOW IT’S TIME TO WELCOME NEW COMPETITORS! FIRST, THE GIRL WITH A LOUD HEARTBEAT. A HEROINE IN THE MAKING, KYOKA JIRO! VS, THE BOY WHOSE SKILLS WITH ORIGAMI GAVE THE TITLE ‘SHIKIGAMI’, HARUKO BAKUGO!]

Jiro and Haru stepped into the area from opposite ends of the stadium, their faces showing no emotion.

***

Kirishima looked at Kaminari, “Do you think Haru will go easy on Jiro because she’s a girl?”

Kaminari rubbed his chin thoughtfully, frowning, “I highly doubt it.”

Mineta sulked, “I hope they finish this match quickly. Jiro isn’t that sėxy so the fight is a bust as well as- Ouch!” He yelped as Tsuyu smack him across the head with her tongue interrupting his ȧssessment, if you could even call it that.

Ashido gave a laugh, “I’m sure it’ll be fine! He won’t go too hard on her! Just enough to win!”

“Actually, Ashido is right,” Kaminari agreed, “Haru’s level of fighting changes with his opponent. He’s not going to underestimate her, but he won’t waste a move if he can help it and Jiro knows it. If it was just a single fight, Haru would win hands down, but he’s trying to measure out his chakra so he can keep fighting this whole time.”

Iida adjusted his glasses and looked at Izuku, “Midoriya, you’ve known Haruko the longest. What do you think will happen?”

Izuku thought for a moment, “I’m not sure. Haru-chan is not only powerful but a clever strategist, but from what I’ve seen, Jiro is almost as smart as he is, and her Quirk is hard to counter. Unless Haru-chan uses a move none of us knows about, this could go either way.”

***

Haru and Jiro locked eyes, amber meeting purple.

“I won’t hold back.”

“Neither will I.”

[AND BEGIN!]

Haru jumped back a distance, “Paper Shuriken!”

A dozen of the star-shaped weapons spun towards the Jiro who dodged them all expertly. Sending out her earphone jacks she hooked two of them and spinning around, sent them flying back. With another spin, she caught another pair and sent them after the first two in quick succession.

Haru skidded backward a little as he landed. With his hands moving in a blur, he caught the returned shuriken.

[NOW THIS IS A BATTLE WE CAN SINK OUR TEETH INTO! JIRO TRIED A COUNTER ATTACK TO BAKUGO’S INITIAL STRIKE BUT TO NO AVAIL! I’M FEELING THE HEAT OF BATTLE ALREADY!]

Haru place his hand into a seal of confrontation, “Shikigami Dance!” a pair of paper wings sprouted from his back, and he rose into the air, “Paper Shower!”

A tempest of blades hurled towards Jiro and she plugged her jacks into her specialized boots, “Counter Balance!”

There was a dull thumping as the air was distorted from the projected soundwaves that scattered Haru’s attack.

Haru smirked, “You figured out how to counter my Quirk. I’m impressed.”

Jiro returned the smirked, sinking into a fighting position, “You told me you used energy to control your origami. Sound is a form of pure energy so it makes sense it can counter it.”

Haru rose higher into the air, “Maybe so, but will it be enough?”

Jiro unplugged her jacks and sent them towards Haru, trying to stab him, “I’ve got more than counters up my sleeve!”

Haru’s body burst into several sheets of paper, revealing himself to be a substituted paper clone.

Sensing incoming danger, Jiro didn’t even bother turning and threw herself to the side. Even then, she was still grazed on the shoulder by Haru’s kick, knocking her down.

Not giving her time to recover, Haru charged forward, stomping down on her ċhėst and pinning her to the ground. This was received by several boos of disapproval from the crowd, but the two fighting students didn’t bother acknowledging them.

“I thought you said you wouldn’t hold back,” Jiro grunted.

Haru pressed harder as paper swirled around them, “I forgot to mention that I will refrain from sure kill moves in this festival. If I went full power with that kick, then the average person would have majorly cracked ribs.”

What he didn’t say that because of the suppression seal no longer unlocking most of his massive chakra reserves, his chakra control wasn’t as precise as it used to be. As a result, he had to lower the input of chakra into his Taijutsu until he had adapted.

Jiro suddenly stabbed Haru in the leg with one of her jacks and began pumping soundwaves through his body. With a cry of pain, Haru staggered back.

Jiro pushed herself to her feet, a little bruised, but still able to fight.

“Take this!”

A literal wall of sound pounded across the arena.

[WHOA! JIRO HAS FREED HERSELF AND IS NOW GOING ON THE OFFENSE!]

Haru crossed his arms and braced his legs tanking the attack.

Inwardly, Jiro cursed. ‘Damn it! he must be coating his entire body with chakra to counter the sound!’ She gritted her teeth. ‘Even when stabbed with my Quirk he’s able to recover so quickly. This is bad.’

Haru slammed his hand to the ground, “Kyo!”

A large, white Bengal tiger rose up with a roar.

[LOOKS LIKE BAKUGO IS GETTING A LOT MORE SERIOUS!]

[You idiot, they are both taking this seriously. They are both fighting strategically with the energy needed for the next round in mind.]

[MY, HOW SMART!]

Jiro frowned as she ȧssessed her situation. “Tch,” she plugged into her boots again, “Looks like I’m going to have to switch gears.”

Kyo roared at her and charged, his feline body moving swiftly towards her.

Jiro shifted so that both the tiger and Haru were in her field of fire, “Counter Balance: High Frequency!”

A piercing shriek split the air, causing everyone to flinch and cover their ears. Kyo whimpered and rolled around, pawing at his ears. Like a real tiger, he was just as sėnsɨtɨvė to sound. Haru was on his knees, his hand pressed to his ears.

‘She’s pierced my chakra cloak!’

A fire lit up in his eyes as he felt the inborn instinct of battle rise in his ċhėst and he smiled.

Jiro was forced to stop her own attack since her own ears were beginning to hurt and the strain of creating such a high frequency was draining her.

Haru slowly stood up, blood dripping from his damaged ears. He glanced at Kyo and let him disperse. Jiro braced herself as the younger Bakugo got into a fighting stance once again.

The arena trembled as Haru shot forward. Jiro crossed her arms in a block as Haru smashed his hand forward in an open palm strike. The blow sent her tumbling back, and she bȧrėly managed to keep herself from sliding out of bounds.

Discarding all caution, the dark hair girl dashed towards her opponent sending forth a series of strikes with both arms, legs, and earphone jacks. Haru easily fended them off, even putting in a few hits of his own.

Jiro stabbed at Haru’s eye with one of her jacks and he created an origami kunai to deflect it. In a swift movement, he stabbed at her in turn and Jiro used her recently refined knife fighting skills to push his arm to the side. With an expert twist, she loosened Haru’s grip and claimed ownership of the weapon, slashing back at him.

Haru leaped back, his hand in a seal of confrontation.

Jiro caught a glimpse of black ink on the handle of the kunai and quickly threw it away. There was an explosion as the paper tag wrapped around the kunai went off.

Haru began weaving hand signs, “Shikigami Dance!”

The ground on the arena began peeling away as a medium-sized tornado of paper rose in front of him and drift in Jiro’s direction.

Jiro crouched, plugging her jacks into her speakers once again.

A heavy blast of sound clashed against the tornado and the two attacks struggled for dominance before canceling each other out.

Jiro kept pumping sound, however, her frequency shot down to a level that it was bȧrėly audible.

Haru suddenly felt nauseous and started seeing black around the edges of his vision.

***

In the audience, Class 1A was watching in fascination and mixed shock.

“What’s happening?”

Yaoyorozu observed the scene calmly, “Jiro is using sound waves of such a low frequency that its attacking Class Rep’s inner organs causing, headaches, nausea, fatigue, and lack of concentration.”

Izuku looked on in wonder, “I can’t believe Jiro’s Quirk can counter Haru-chan’s Quirk so easily.”

Katsuki clicked his tongue but didn’t comment.

***

Jiro was exhausted, she was already past her limit and she didn’t have the strength to attack while Haru’s guard was down. She could only keep pumping her low frequencies sound, hoping Haru would black out before she did.

Midnight was on the verge of questioning both students if they wanted to continue when Haru forced a hand up, “Fueguchi One.”

The weapon shot forward, wrapping around Jiro’s body and pinning her arms down. With a jerk, he pulled her towards him.

In sudden desperation, Jiro unplugged one of her jacks and stabbed the whip-like weapon. The Fueguchi One imploded with the sudden burst of sound injected into it.

Haru creating a series of paper blades that shot towards Jiro. In his hazy state, he didn’t realize that they were humming with highly concentrated chakra.

For a short space, despite her tiredness, she was able to dodge them due to Haru’s thrown-off concentration.

Until one stray blade sliced through the middle of her right earphone cord.

Jiro’s scream of pain shook Haru from his stupor and his eyes widened at the blood dripping all over the girl uniform. The string connecting the jack to her earlobe was sliced through, bȧrėly hanging on by a strip of skin.

Remorse overtook the boy’s face and he ran forward, “Jiro!”

The pain-crazed girl raised her fist and threw a punch that was easily caught by Haru.

“Stop it. You’ll only make it worse.”

Jiro continued to struggle against him so Haru was left with no choice. With a flutter of paper, Jiro was encased in origami up to her neck while Haru continued to hold her hand, completely forgetting the match

“Calm down. I won’t hurt you anymore.”

Jiro panicked struggles calmed and her heartbeat slowed to a normal pace.

[Jiro, can you move?] Midnight asked, her face showing concern.

Both teens realized at that moment that in his attempt to help his injured friend, Haru had accidentally won the match.

Jiro bit her lip and shook her head.

Midnight nodded, [Haruko Bakugo has won the match!]

There were multiple cheers from the crowd, mixed with a few disapproving boos at the rough treatment Jiro had received, but these were quickly silenced by those who had seen the whole picture. Jiro had fought to her full ability and Haru had responded by treating the fight seriously. That was it.

Present Mic yelled out across the stadium, [ALL RIGHT! LET’S HEAR IT FOR OUR WINNER AND HIS FEARSOME OPPONENT! THEY GAVE US A GOOD FIGHT, GIVE THEM SOME APPRECIATION!]

Haru released Jiro from his restraints, “We best get that checked on.”

Jiro didn’t seem to hear him as she fainted from the pain. Haru caught her and hooked an arm under her back while also doing the same for her legs.

“You fought well, Jiro.”

He exited the stadium amidst the cheers of the spectators, ignoring the nurse robots that approached and headed directly towards Recovery Girl’s office.

***

“How is she doing, Granny Chiyo?” Haru asked nervously as Recovery Girl inspected an unconscious Jiro.

Recovery Girl frowned, “She has several bruises and cuts that will heal, but I really worried about that injury to her ear. The cord connecting her earlobe to her plug is almost completely severed. I may be able to partially heal it, but I’m not sure if I can fully reattach it.

Haru looked stunned, “Does that mean she…”

Recovery Girl gave the boy a sad look, “She may never be able to use her Quirk in that ear again.”

Haru gazed at Jiro’s still form with trembling eyes, “It’s all my fault…”

Recovery Girl placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. You didn’t mean to hurt her in that way, Haru. I’m sure she knows that. Things like this happen more than we like in this line of work. Sometimes there isn’t much we can do.”

Without realizing it, Haru’s seal had appeared on his forehead, “I won’t accept it.”

Recovery Girl frowned, noticing the dark symbol’s appearance.

Haru approached the bed, not listening, “I’ll heal her.”

Recovery Girl’s eyes softened, eyeing the distinctive bite marks that lingered on Haru’s arm, “You know the risk of using that.”

Haru gave the heroine a resolute look, “I can take it.”

The Youthful Heroine sighed knowing she wasn’t going to get anywhere with this, “Very well.”

***

(Later…)

Jiro’s eyes flickered open and she sat up. For a moment, she was confused, unable to remember what had happened. She heard a sound and pulled back the curtain to the bed.

There, she saw Kaminari, Shiozaki, Monoma, Haru, and Recovery Girl seated nearby. Recovery Girl was bandaging Haru’s arm.

“What’s going on?”

Everyone looked up at her, looks of relief lighting up their features.

“Your awake!” Shiozaki cried wrapping her arms around Jiro’s neck.

Jiro gently pushed her away and gingerly held her right earphone jack in her hand, holding up to her eyes.

“No need to worry. Your injury is completely healed. You will be able to use your Quirk without worry by tomorrow.

Jiro stroked the spot where the injury used to be, now there wasn’t even a trace of scarring, “Thank you.”

Recovery Girl stood up, tapping her cane on the ground. “We’ll leave you to rest for now,” she turned to the other students, “Please head back to your classes for now.”

“Yes ma’am,” the answer was a little subdued.

Jiro noticed Haru was avoiding her look as he turned to go, “Haru.”

The redhead flinched and looked back.

The girl gave him a monotone peace sign, “Win this.”

Haru’s eyes softened and he nodded.

After all the students left Recovery Girl gave Jiro a gentle pat, “It’s impressive you held out so well. The poor boy was scared to death when he carried you in here.”

Jiro felt the heat crawl up her neck. ‘He carried me?’

“Oh…”

The nurse chuckled then sobered, “I didn’t want to mention this while he was here, but your injury nearly maimed you for life.”

Jiro drew in a sharp breath.

“Don’t ponder about what was, child. As I said before, you are completely healed,” the heroine hopped off her seat sighing, “It was a close call. If Haru didn’t use that new technique of his, even I wouldn’t have been able to do anything.

Jiro’s eye widened, “What?”

Recovery Girl gave Jiro a sad look, “Listen carefully, dear. There is something you should know…”

***

Haru and Kaminari entered their class’s seating area. They were greeted with cries from multiple people.

“Haru-chan!” Izuku stood up, his eyes flitting to Haru’s bandaged arm, “Are you alright?”

Haru grinned ruefully, “I’m fine.”

Kaminari leaned on Haru’s shoulder, “Yeah, the only thing that’s hurt about him is his pride and his heart!”

The electric blonde was suddenly clutching his head in pain as Haru stood over him with his arm still raised, a vein popping on his forehead.

“You missed three matches while you were gone, ribbit,” Tsuyu informed them.

Haru sat down in his seat with a sigh, “Who won?”

Ashido whɨnėd, “It’s not fair! Kaminari learned a new move and my acid kept getting vaporized! He ended up zapping me and pushed me out!” she pouted.

Haru looked skeptical, “Kaminari did?” he looked at his friend, “This Kaminari?”

This time it was he who clutched his head in pain while Kaminari ignored him, a vein throbbing on his face.

Hagakure giggled, “Yeah, and Iida was used as a publicity prop.”

The secretary chopped his hands at her fiercely, “I was tricked!”

Yaoyorozu sighed dejectedly, “I lost my fight against Tokoyami.”

“You put up a good fight,” the bird-headed student said modestly, “If you had managed to counter me, I would more likely have lost.”

Haru hummed thoughtfully, “So now it’s Katsuki vs Uraraka.”

Kirishima frowned, “Seeing that you didn’t hold back against Jiro, I guess Bakubro won’t hold back either.”

Haru shook his head, “Katsuki has his own code that he follows. If he respects her, he will fight her using all his smarts and strength.”

Tsuyu followed his gaze to look at the arena, “Ribbit, this might be the most disturbing matchup.”

Iida and Izuku became pensive.

Present Mic began his next announcement, [THIS NEXT BATTLE IN THIS COMPETITION! HE WAS KINDA A HOTSHOT IN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND JUST LOOK AT THAT DETERMINED FACE. FROM THE HERO COURSE, KATSUKI BAKUGO! VS, AND WHO I’M PERSONALLY ROOTING FOR, ALSO FROM CLASS 1A, OCHACO URARAKA!]

The crowds cheered with high expectations, but with no small amount of worry for the small brunette remembering how the battle with the younger Bakugo had ended. If the elder Bakugo was in any way similar, this was going to be an intense fight.

***

Katsuki sent Uraraka a calculative glare, “You’re the one who screws around with gravity, right, pink cheeks?”

Uraraka stiffened, “Pink cheeks?”

“If you’re going to give up, do it now,” Katsuki told her, “Because I not going to hold back.”

The brunette’s eyes hardened as she sank into a fighting stance.

[LET THIS MATCH BEGIN!]

Uraraka instantly ran towards her opponent, her body bent low to the ground, “Giving up isn’t an option for me!”

Katsuki raised his hand, his expression stern and focused, “And now you die.”

Uraraka noted that it was his right hand, remembering Izuku’s comment on his always starting with a right hook.

‘If I can dodge it…’

An explosion lit up the arena, sending the girl flying back as her dodge failed.

Katsuki got into a defensive position, as he tried to find his opponent through the smoke. “You should have dropped out of the match,” he saw a flash of Uraraka’s uniform in the rising smoke and swung his arm down in another explosion, “There’s no way you can beat me!”

His eyes widened when he saw it was only her jacket she had floated as a decoy. On instinct, he spun, sweeping his arm around in another explosion, sending Uraraka tumbling back as her surprise attack failed.

She didn’t give up and ran towards him again.

Katsuki raked his hand in an upward dragging motion, breaking the ground in front of her with a larger explosion, “TOO SLOW!”

The smoke slowly cleared to reveal the girl charging at Katsuki’s exposed back, only to be met by another explosion. This process repeated itself over and over.

It was honestly hard to watch.

[Looks like she’s not resting between attacks although being exploded,] Present Mic wasn’t yelling, [The poor girl.]

Another booming explosion shook the arena as Katsuki fought off another charge from Uraraka.

“Shouldn’t one of the teachers step in?” someone in the audience cried out.

“Yeah, this is getting too rough,” someone agreed.

Uraraka and Katsuki ignored them as they kept up their one-sided battle.

Finally, a hero stood up, “This is shameful!” he pointed at Katsuki, “Listen, kid, you really want to be a hero? Stop acting like a bully! If you’re so good, just send her out of bounds! Stop toying with the girl and end this match! I’ve already seen enough of this with that other guy!”

A female hero stood up, “Yeah, you heard the man! ”

Several people took up the cry and yelled at Katuski to end the match and stop ‘playing’ around.

[THE CROWD IS NOW BOOING BAKUGO!] Present Mic yelled, [And honestly I kind of agree– Ouch!]

[Where is the man who started this uproar?] Erasure’s voice boomed over the speakers, [Are you a pro? Because if you are being serious, you can go home and hang up your cape. I’d suggest looking into another career,] the words were spoken calmly but held a tone of anger and disgust, [Bakugo’s fierceness is an acknowledgment of his opponent’s strength. He knows she deserves to have made it this far. So, he’s making sure to keep her at bay. You also mentioned an earlier match. I’m sure the majority of the people here don’t share your view. Both opponents were fighting to win, not for entertainment. Everyone’s move was a calculation on their part. If you couldn’t understand that you shouldn’t have even graduated from hero school.]

There was a silent shift in the position of the crowd as understanding dawned on those who never realized this before.

Down in the arena, a heaving Uraraka smirked, “I think… it’s about time,” she pressed her fingertips together, “Thank you, Bakugo, for keeping your eyes focused on me.”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes, “What?”

A shadow suddenly appeared overhead and everyone looked up in shock to see Uraraka’s master plan. All the blasted rocks and debris had slowly been collected and floated in the air by Uraraka’s Quirk under the cover of the smoke. Out of the hero classes, only Haru and Monoma seemed to have been aware of this the entire time.

Uraraka took a deep breath, “RELEASE!”

A rain of falling stones plummeted toward the ground, heading directly at Katsuki.

[A METEOR SHOWER!]

[Now you notice…]

Uraraka dashed forward once again. ‘With this much debris, whether he’s evading or counterattacking, there with definitely be an opening! At that moment, I will finally get close to him!’

Katsuki didn’t lose his cool. He raised his arm, supporting it with his other, and sent one massive blast towards the falling rocks.

The resulting explosion annihilated the debris, the shockwave of the combustive counter sent Uraraka flying backward.

“I figured you’d have some sort of stupid plan to beat me,” Katsuki stated, “You are friends with that damn nerd after all.”

Uraraka’s face was now fearful, “H-he took it all down in one shot…”

[WHOA! BAKUGO GIVES A HUGE DEMONSTRATION OF POWER! HE BLASTED APART URARAKA’S FINISHING MOVE AND REMAINS UNTOUCHED!]

Katsuki let out a low breath, the muscles on his arms cramping up from overusing his Quirk. ‘That was close.’

Uraraka was trembling, but she still stood up, not willing to give up.

Katsuki gave her e feral grin, a look of respect briefly flashing in his eyes, “Alright then. Time for us to get serious, Uraraka!”

In the crowd, Haru’s eyebrows shot up. ‘He called her by her name.’

Katsuki charged the weakened girl as she turned to face him.

And collapsed.

‘No.’

She struggled to push herself up as memories of how hard her parent had worked for her sake and her drive to make money so they could finally live comfortably. She had to get up, “I can do this… I can…”

Katsuki had paused a safe distance from her keeping himself on the defensive.

Uraraka felt her vision fade as her strength left her. ‘I’ll become… a hero…’

Her body went limp and Midnight walked over to see if she was okay. Seeing the girl’s exhausted state, the R-Rated Hero placed a comforting hand on her head, [Uraraka is KO’ed. Katsuki Bakugo advances to the second round.]

The crowd cheered Uraraka’s determination and Katsuki’s prowess, all previous misconceptions forgotten.

***

[AND THAT’S IT FOR THE MATCH!] Present Mic deflated, [Man, I was really rooting for her. Oh yeah, I guess Bakugo is moving on.]

[You’re supposed to be unbiased, you know. I even got a note signed by the class representatives of all the first year’s classes requesting me to place you under silence if you don’t reign back your commentary and introductions.]

[WHA-WHAT? WHAT’S WITH THESE FIRST YEARS? WHO EVEN THOUGHT UP THAT IDEA IN THE FIRST PLACE?]

From where he sat, Haru gave a tiny smirk.

***

The final match of the first round was between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu.

[THIS NEXT MATCH CONSISTS OF TWO COMPLETELY REDUNDANT QUIRKS! FIRST, A PASSIONATE, MANLY FIGHTER MADE OF STEEL. THE HERO COURSE’S TETSUTETSU TETSUTETSU! VS, A PASSIONATE, MANLY FIGHTER MADE OF ROCK! THE HERO COURSE’S EIJIRO KIRISHIMA!]

Haru sweatdropped. ‘Seriously, even their intros are the same? Present Mic really likes to heap the annoyance on today.’

[I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE HOW THIS ONE ENDS! BEGIN!”

The battle was long and drawn out. Both Kirishima and Tetsutetsu were impressive fighters in their own right, both capable of tanking just about any blow and dealing massive damage.

In the end, they both knocked each other out at the same time, leaving the winner in question.

[They’re both down!] Midnight announced, [It’s a draw! When the contestants recover from this battle, the result will be determined by a simple contest, perhaps arm wrestling.]

And thus, the first round of the final matches ended.