Chapter 25: Interlude

In the middle of a dimly lit and silent room, Ricolo could be seen sitting on a chair, shirtless, with a massive hole in his right shoulder resting on a table directly in front of Ricolo, was a needle and a bundle of stringy silk. He stared at these materials before he let out a hefty sigh and grabbed onto the needle. 

The bullet that struck Ricolo's shoulder was special. It was purposely designed with special minerals that would negate any type of healing quirk, such as Recovery Girl's quirk. The only way to heal the bullet's wound would be naturally. Knowing this, Ricolo grabbed onto the needle before crudely stabbing it into his skin. Blood poured off his wound covering his fingers in blood. As he slowly began to stitch the wound together. 

Prior to Ricolo going into this room, he had a conversation with Midnight discussing several things, mainly that Ricolo could still compete, and that they shouldn't stop the sports festival and let it carry on. Midnight was entirely against this and had already warned several other pro heroes about the attack, but didn't tell the crowd not to cause panic. 

Ricolo once again told Mightnight not to cancel the festival and instead, to sweep it under the rug. Midnight looked at Ricolo confused not understanding why he would still want to compete. Until she sighed and asked Ricolo who shot him. Ricolo already knew the sniper's quirk so it was obvious to Midnight, that Ricolo knew the culprit.

When she asked this question, Ricolo grew silent, until he spoke. Saying that he would tell her after the sports festival. But they should keep the festival going for the sake of the crowd. Midnight let out a grunt but finally caved in and told Ricolo that they would make adjustments to the festival's safety, saying after the interlude, that more pro heroes would be stationed around the stadium and would be placed on the stadium's roof. 

Ricolo nodded but said don't make it obvious that they increased the protection, or the feeling of uneasiness would sweep through the crowd. Several minutes had passed since that conversation, and the interlude period of the festival was currently going on, slightly distracting the crowd from the increased security.

The sound of distant laughter and cheers entered Ricolo's ears, as he tightly pulled the needle closing the wound and finishing the stitching. He exhaled loudly before he leaned back in the chair exhausted. He stared up at the ceiling before Ricolo murmured. 

" Why is Kiro here? He's meant to be in the States. " 

Ricolo grew quiet after murmuring this, his mind racing, until he abruptly grabbed onto the wooden table in front of him, reaching over the table and grabbing onto his shirt, he quickly slipped it on while standing up and walking towards the exit of the room. He twisted the doorknob creaking the door open and walked into a hallway. 

He walked down this hallway, taking several turns before he walked towards a crowd of people, slipping through them, and finally going downstairs, which led him directly into the noisy crowd. He watched as students participated in a variety of games, such as rolling giant colorful balls. 

Ricolo watched the student until he felt a gaze on him and looked up, locking eyes with a pro hero standing on the dome. The two stared at each other until Ricolo began to glance around the dome seeing around fifteen pro heroes standing on the dome. Ricolo kept glancing around the dome before suddenly an elderly woman who was sitting down spoke.

" You noticed it too. I wonder why they increased the security so much. " 

" Yeah. I have no idea why. " Responded Ricolo who didn't look at the woman, keeping his eyes on the dome. Until he asked the woman a question. 

" How long until the intermission ends? " 

" It ends in five minutes. " Ricolo nodded at the woman before turning around and walking back into the stadium with a serious look covering his face...

~~~

Hey, the author here. Directly below this message, is the fights I will be focusing on, during the first round of the tournament. You might notice that they're * next to some of the matches. That is to show which fights will be merged with the main fight of the chapter. For example after the Todoroki and Tokoyami fight. I will cover Bakugo and Shoji. However, the fight won't be long and will be brief, basically being the side fight of the chapter. If you're still confused let me know. 

~~~~~~~~ 

Ricolo vs Mina 

Deku vs Mineta*

Todoroki vs Tokoyami

Bakugo vs Shoji*

Iida vs Momo*

~~~~~~~~~