Majority of the first round matches went as Izumi and Shinso had predicted.
Between their own fight Izumi had completely overpowered Shinso in a matter of moments and thrown the coffee addict out of the arena as gently as she could. Shinso felt a bit of shame at his lost however Izumi had assured him that a single loss meant nothing and that he was still stronger and more skilled than most heroes in training.
The entire stadium felt pity for Sero who had to be painstakingly removed from a glacier after his match with Todoroki. Overall it was an overwhelming display of power from the dual element holder. However Izumi's own curiosity and research habits had already led her to the reason why her classmate would do such a thing. She could only hope that her trip that morning would be what Todoroki needed to escape the chains of his past. Izumi tried not to but she often found herself projecting her own image onto him. It left a bad taste in her mouth that she was eager to wash away for both his sake and her own.
However the next match was one both Izumi and Shinso were eager to witness. In order for the tournament to continue properly some of the team that would have been 4th place made it to the tournament bracket. In this case it was Neito Momona: The Phantom Thief. His opponent was none other than Himiko Toga: The Vampire.
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Himiko Toga knew that she was at a disadvantage the moment she looked at the tournament bracket. Her opponent was the Bakugo of 1B: Neito Momona.
However unlike the explosive blond this one who stood before her with a smirk was much more difficult to grasp. Bakugo was the pinnacle of the idea that power can defeat anything that stands against it. Momona was akin to a hunter or a fox. A person who used meticulous planning and strategy to win. The entire competition was practically a feast for the young hero. Dozens of options and combinations to choose from which made him an unpredictable variable. Even worse for Toga because they were in their p.e. uniforms Momona was without his usual stop watches so she was unsure of how many quirks he had and their time limit.
Toga herself on the other hand had filled up on Aizawa's donated blood the night before. She was rather glad that Izumi came up with the idea of having the teachers donate blood regularly if they were comfortable with it. It made training and developing her quirk much easier. However in a situation where she had no access to blood vials, weapons, and was facing an opponent she couldn't read Toga was most certainly nervous. Unlike Izumi she wasn't particularly strong and domineering to the point of being a threat without much effort. Unlike Shinso she wasn't as adept at analyzing and coming up with counter strategies at a moment's notice. She was, however, confident in her combat ability thanks to hellish training Aizawa had put the trio through.
"You know, you scared me quite a bit that day. You hulimated me and made me feel weak. But you made me realize something."
Momona's usual smirk was gone and in its place was a calm expression that sent alarm bells through Toga's mind.
"You and the rest of 1A, especially that Aizawa girl, you are truly strong. I want to apologize for belittling you and provoking you before. But I also want to thank you. Because of you, I have to become stronger. I can't let 1A take all the glory after all."
Toga's instincts were proven right as Momona suddenly unleashed a barrage of compressed wind tore through air where Toga once stood.
To the audience it looked as if Momona had simply waved his hand and destruction followed.
However instead of his usual gloating Momona began to relentlessly keep throwing out compressed wind to slowly push Toga out of the arena. Toga on the other hand was desperately searching for a solution while taking any opportunity she could to close the gap. Bit by bit Toga began to close the gap as Momona's attacks became weaker and more sparse. Suddenly he waved his hands and nothing followed.
"Now!"
Toga wasted no time in rushing forward towards Momona but realized her mistake when she saw his anxious frown turn into a confident smirk.
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Momona had been truthful when he told Toga about his epiphany. The overwhelming sense of weakness he had felt upon their first meeting had stuck with him. It even made him respect the two to a degree. However it made his desire to stand out burn even stronger. The need to be the best and outperform everyone had been rekindled. He spent the entire break training his quirk to its absolute limit. Forget ten minutes he could keep a quirk active for almost 20 now. Even the way he could collect quirks had changed, before he needed to touch the target with his palm. Now all he had to do was stand within a certain distance from a person to borrow their quirk. He truly meant it when he said thank you to Izumi and Toga.
Momona's plan was simple: steal as many quirks as he could, test them out discreetly, and then retake the ones he found useful when their time limits ran out. Right now he had four quirks and they each had roughly another three to four minutes left. Explosion, Wind Manipulation, Landmine, and Sense Deprivation. His best option was to use Wind Manipulation in order to force Toga out of the arena. If she managed to get close then using Explosion and Sense Deprivation would give him the best chance at lasting against someone vastly more experienced then he. Then finally Landmine, if she managed to get past the wind barrage then it would serve as a trap to prevent her from getting close and hopefully end the match.
The moment Toga had entered the range he set his landmines Momona could not help but smile as he watched the confusion on his opponent's face. The blast itself was rather weak but it had enough force to toss her upwards and backwards into the air. Without wasting a single moment Momona reactivated Wind Manipulation to pull her towards him at an incredible speed. He could just throw her out of the arena however he wasn't someone to accept an easy win, no, he wanted a complete and total victory.
"EXPLOSION!"