40 Chapter 39

The first fight was kind of rough to watch. Shinsou didn't even have to goad Ilda to respond to him. Ilda responded without thinking allowing Shinsou to mind control him. I could have warned Ilda, but I don't have anything against Shinsou. The fight wasn't longer than a minute.

After their fight was mine. My opponent walks out ahead of me with Present Mic announcing her than me.

"EVEN BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS HAVE THORNS. IT'S THE ASSASSIN OF CLASS 1-B, SHIOZAKI IBARA FROM THE HERO COURSE. VERSUS wait hey Shota is this right? RRREALLY? ALRIGHT, THEN THE WINNER OF THE FIRST TWO EVENTS. UA'S FIRST QUIRKLESS STUDENT. HANO GIN OF THE HERO DEPARTMENT."

Well, I guess that's out for sure now. As I walk out I'm greeted by silence. Which very quickly shifts to Yelling, Boos, and Throwing stuff. It's somewhat liberating to know my actions have no consequences. No matter how well I do these people will hate me, so I might as well win. The crowd's jeers have me thinking though. When I told my class they were all really unexpectedly accepting. But I think me being quirkless has made them not take me seriously. They've been treating my wins in the first two rounds like they were participation medals they let me have. I think Momo joined my team because she thought I needed help. Oh, that's going to grate on my nerves.

"KEEP THOSE EYES ON THE FIELD. I WANT TO SEE A SUPER FLASHY BATTLE THIS TIME"

"Excuse me! Please pardon the interruption. I'm not sure why you called me an assassin. I've come to the festival in search of victory. Not to take my opponent's life that wouldn't be in line with the values of a hero at all"

"Right I'm SORRY"

"And you all" she points around her at the crowd "You should treat my opponent with respect. Your behavior is unbecoming for a competition of this caliber" That seems to quiet them down.

"Thanks, but you shouldn't let what they say get to you. I try not to."

"They shouldn't be saying things like that in the first place"

I just shrug as the count down begins

"3....2....1....GO"

I wasn't allowed any of my gear so I'm fighting barehanded. Normally I would go in close but then figured why not let her get close to me. I stand still while her hair vines begin shooting. I jump back at the last moment into a strong stance. I let the vines grab my arms. Her vines are constricting around my arms and quickly growing. I don't give them a chance as I reinforce my grapple with her hair. Then I pull them tight lifting Shiozaki off the ground slightly. Then I begin spinning. Now completely off the ground, Shiozaki is quickly going in circles around me. After a full rotation, I can feel her vines stop growing. After three the vines begin loosening their grip on me. By the fifth circle, I'm holding onto her hair.

"I surrender! Please just stop this!" I can't just let her go so after Midnight announces my win I alter my swing so Shiozaki gets launched up in the air before I then move to catch her. Looking at her, her face looks as green as her hair. I quickly let her down and hold her hair back as she begins vomiting.

"You alright?"

"I hate roller coasters"

After making our way off stage we're still in the arena to see the stage being mopped up in time for the next fight. In the next fight, Tetsutetsu coats himself in metal and Yaoyorozu makes a stun which is super effective. Kaminari launches a massive lighting attack at the start of the match which incapacitates Tokoyami before he can react. I'm not sure how long it takes for Kaminari to recover hopefully he'll be ready in time. The Bakugou and Todoroki fight was incredible. Just a super flashy fight of explosions vs ice. Todoroki tried repeatedly to freeze Bakugou with large ice attacks, but Bakugou was able to break free with his explosions. Todoroki was soon playing defensive as Bakugou got closer and closer, and as soon as Bakugou got within punching distance the fight was over. Man, it is not a good day for Todoroki's self-esteem. Didn't win either of the preliminaries then he challenged Midoriya only to lose in the first round before fighting him. Midoriya fought next. Hatsume played Midoriya as a fool. Hatsume prolonged the battle to show off her self made support gear until she accidentally went out of bounds. Kirishima vs Uraraka was unfair. The first time Kirishima got in close Uraraka erased his gravity and floated him out of bounds. Man Kirishima was super depressed after that loss. Ashido beat Sero. Her acid destroyed his tape and then she used her acid to slide tackle him out of bounds. The remaining competitors are given a short rest before we move on to the second round.

Fight 9: Me vs Shinsou

Fight 10:Yaoyorozu vs Kaminari

Fight 11: Bakugou vs Midoriya

Fight 12:Uraraka vs Ashido

Already knowing Shinsou's quirk's gimmick the fight was underwhelming. All the fight involved was me walking over and pushing him out of bounds. The next fight between Yaoyorozu and Kaminari goes in favor of Momo. She had replaced her clothes with rubber versions and rubber gloves. At the start of the match, she released a rubberized sheet that blocked Kaminari's lighting and gave her time to make a large net and trapping him in it. I guess after that first win she was really in the game. The 11th fight turns into a repeat of the battle exercise with Midoriya and Bakugoua just trying to slug it out. Midoriya breaks himself and Bakugou seems pretty tired himself but still wins. The twelfth fight is close but Uraraka sneaks out a victory despite some acid burns. By being able to ring people out, Uraraka could win just by touching people lightly. Ashido tried to stay at a range, but she couldn't win the fight like that. When Ashido eventually tried to get in close Uraraka got her.

Fight 13: Me vs Yaoyorozu

Fight 14: Bakugou vs Uraraka

Now in the semi-finals, my opponent is Momo. I quickly approach her, but she has time to try the net trick again. My first thought was to redirect it back at her. However, as I go to grab the net my danger sense goes off so instead I dodge out of the way. Now within grabbing distance, Momo pulls out and sets off a flashbang. I'm temporarily disoriented and dodge to the right causing something unseen to miss. That was her last chance for a trick as I grapple and restraint her stopping her from making any more items and forcing her to concede. In the last semi-final match, Uraraka does admirably, but Bakugou still wins the match. The trick she had used to win the first three rounds didn't work here as Bakugou could control himself in air. Which leads us to the final fight.

I consider just surrendering because I know Bakugou will start the match with a giant explosion that I can do nothing about. It won't really stop me, but I'll get some nasty burns and cuts. I would, but I also told Kawaguchi to bet on me, and quitting at the final fight is really bad for my hero debut. Even if it is strategically sound it would look terrible. So I go in accepting that I'm going to get hit with his opening move.

As I predicted Bakugou opened with a massive explosion covering the entire arena and giving me barely enough time to turn around. I took the explosion directly to my back. The attack causes my back to now be covered in 2nd-degree burns and my shirt to be destroyed to shreds. From there I charged him hoping to end the fight before he could launch another super move. When I first spot him I can see that he's already out of breath. I guess the previous fights are taking their toll on him. Bakugou sticks to his aggressive strategy unwilling to play run away while preparing a super move. He uses his explosions to maneuver himself and increase his speed. It's not enough though. At first, he comes in to attack then uses an explosion to change from attacking my front to attacking my side. I'm ready for that though and for the first time in the festival, I actually punch someone full strength. My punch to his stomach slams him to the ground he wrestles with himself just to stay conscious. He tries to get away with some explosions to propel himself, but I kick him with enough force to launch him just slightly over the out of bounds line. The match ends and I expect Bakugou to get up and yell, but he's out cold. I'm not disappointed by the lack of yelling though, because I have the crowd. UA's first quirkless student and first sports festival winner booed off stage.