"Calm down, Baka-gou. I agreed to follow you so there is absolutely no need for you to pull me along like this." The boy ignored her, keeping his vice-like grip on her wrist and dragging her through the student entrance tunnel.
"This is highly unnecessary. Not to mention you still have not informed me of your sudden ag—" "Raising me as a hero who could exceed All Might, just to fulfill his own ambitions. As I remember it, mom was always crying..." Todoroki's chilling voice stopped them both. In the large and nearly empty entrance tunnel, his words seemed to echo with their severity.
" 'I can't stand to see that left side of yours' she said, before throwing scalding water in my face." In his shock, Bakugou's grip on Ayano's wrist loosened. "Bakugou!" The girl whispered in warning, but he seemed intent on staying to listen.
Ayano shook her head, realizing it was too late for them to leave anyways. Bakugou didn't seem willing to turn back around and the only other exit would require going past Midoriya and Todoroki.
The half-hot, half-cold boy didn't have much more to say, stating his own ambitions and rebellion of his father. Bakugou listened quietly, tensing up at his grave revelations in addition to seeing some sort of connection between Midoriya and All Might. He grew a bit annoyed though at Midoriya's own declaration of war towards Todoroki.
"That half-and-half keeps on challenging the wrong guy!! I'll show him who the real threat is." He rounded on Ayano when she remained silent. "Aren't you going to say anyth—!?" He stopped mid-question as he turned around. Bakugou was met with a completely calm and impassive Ayano.
The odd part was that she had some sort of green gunk over her ears. He recognized it to be the slime from the pills that she used in the cavalry battle.
Noticing his confused stare, Ayano turned to him. She removed the goo cupping her ears. "Oh. Have they finished talking?" The green substance seemed to come off easily, otherwise the blond might have been a bit more disgusted. He was eerily reminded of the sludge incident, momentarily becoming very annoyed at having remembered that event.
"It is impolite to eavesdrop. You may not hold any inclination towards such propriety, but I for one hold myself to a much higher standard." "The hell is that supposed to mean?!?" She gave a breath of a laugh. "Surely you are smart enough to figure even that much out."
A couple of veins were beginning to show themselves on his temples, but he quickly reeled in his anger. This wasn't what he brought her here for. "You sure pulled some ballsy shit during the cavalry battle." He stated after calming down. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
Bakugou smirked, bearing his teeth and knowing full well that she was simply playing dumb. "You and I both know that the next event's gonna be a one-on-one competition." Ayano raised a single eyebrow at him, prompting to continue.
"You better not let anyone beat you, or I'll kill you!" She almost laughed at that. "A challenge then. Did you drag me here to question my sincerity in reaching the top? You sure have an odd way of doing it. I may have wavered during the obstacle course, but I can assure you that will not happen here." The girl turned around, ready to head to the waiting rooms so she could prepare for the next event.
Her arm was yanked back, her body falling back towards him and hitting his chest. Ayano tilted her head back to look up at Bakugou. "I'm serious." He did not glare. He did not frown. He did not hesitate.
He simply looked back at her with eyes full of resolve.
"...I never said you weren't." She pulled her arm away from his hold and slowly turned around to face him. She met his gaze with equal determination. "I will say the same to you. You better not make a fool of yourself after that ridiculous pledge you made."
"I won't."
"Then I will keep my side of the deal." Ayano began walking away from him.
Bakugou headed off in the opposite direction. Neither of them turned around, valiantly marching forward. Each of them holding a small smirk of their own, excitement glimmering in their eyes.
"I will fight my way to the top to reach you."
.
.
.
"Between the sixteen members of the four winning teams, we'll have a formal tournament! A series of one-on-one battles!!!"
After some withdrawals and lots being drawn, Ayano analyzed every matchup. She payed particularly close attention to her and Bakugou's name. "...Opposite brackets."
There was a small upwards tilt of her lips. "It is better that way, meeting at the finals..." Her eyes travelled to Todoroki, Midoriya, and Iida. "I should not get ahead of myself. I have to worry about them first."
Ayano quietly watched from the stands, surrounded by her classmates of 1-H. The first match was between Midoriya and Shinsou. Needless to say, the girl was most certainly rooting for her childhood friend. Since she would need to go to the waiting rooms soon, she opted to sit on one of the aisle seats towards the back.
She watched closely and intently, even going so far as to use her scouting lens and rapidly taking notes through her projection wristband. Everything was saved electronically. Every match, every person, every quirk was being recorded and saved into their own files. Ayano's eyes twinkled with excitement and anticipation, hundreds of ideas flying through her mind.
What items would enhance quirks. What items would counter quirks. What items would complement quirks.
The only thing she disliked were how quickly the matches were going. It gave her much less opportunities to fully analyze a contestant. All three of the matches were decided in nearly an instant and could barely be considered a 'fight.'
Her match came much too soon. Strapping on her air soles, utility belt, scouting lens, and bionic arm cover, Ayano took a deep breath. She opened her eyes as she stepped forward, facing the crowd.
"The first round's just about half over! Next up is Iida Tenya of the Hero Course! Versus! Covered head-to-toe in support items, Sasaki Ayano of the Support Course!"
Unconsciously, her two childhood friends shifted forward in their seats. Both of them were eager to see this fight. Midoriya, in particular, was fidgeting quite a bit. Uraraka noticed and misunderstood his concerns. "It must be hard to choose between two of your friends right, Deku-kun?"
The boy flinched, having been so engrossed in the fight that had yet to start. "Ah! Uh...well...yeah, I am a little torn on that, but I think I'm more concerned...about something else." His eyes shifted nervously, debating on whether he should reveal his thoughts. At Uraraka's supportive gaze, he continued slowly.
"I know that Iida-kun is plenty strong, and I admire him...but..." He bit his lip. "Even though Aya-chan doesn't have a quirk, I can't see her losing at all." Uraraka just stared him, curious as to how strong Ayano was that Midoriya had such confidence in her.
"START!!!"
The two immediately swiveled their heads forward to see the match. Iida wasted no time in activating his quirk, and he sprinted straight at Ayano. She matched his initiative and threw down a handful of pills, releasing a large puff of smoke to surround the arena. Both Ayano and Iida were completely concealed.
As the smoke continued to billow out, nobody could see any sign of movement inside. Taking this momentary stalemate as a chance, Uraraka questioned Midoriya. "Was Aya-chan in sports or something before? Is she a super strong athlete?" The green-haired boy shook his head, smiling as if he had remembered something.
"Aya-chan never cared for sports or other clubs since she thought that they were just a waste of time. She did do a lot of training though!" Uraraka tilted her head in confusion. "Training?"
"She didn't do any sports or clubs, but she always had her own training regimen. She exercised a lot to keep fit, saying that it was so she could test out her support items." He chuckled, remember her reasoning for the tough exercises that she did.
"I will make support items for heroes. There is no support item, or even machine, in this entire world that has never been tested before being finalized. As such, I must test out my own support items before allowing them to be used by heroes. How could I possibly test them if my body is not of the proper physical conditions? Of course, I could always hire beta testers, but that would be a waste of time and money. Highly inefficient. Beta testers would also be less useful. I know my items the best, their capabilities, their parameters. Only I can give the best feedback."
Midoriya sighed, concern etched on his face. "I don't want to say that Iida-kun will lose, but..." He trailed off, not really wanting to finish his sentence. "I'm just glad that I'm not fighting her right now." He shivered, knowing full well that Ayano would never hold back for anybody, not even for him.
Their attention was drawn back to the arena when they caught movement within the fog of smoke.
Ayano calmly stood on the outskirts of the smoke, but still just barely concealed herself. Iida, on the other hand, was running frantically back and forth around the arena in search of her. The girl tracked his movements, her scouting lens projecting his heat signature perfectly. For however long he wanted to run, she would analyze him. She had the advantage in every way.
She could keep analyzing and recording while he would continue to tire himself out.
Of course, she didn't expect Iida to be so simple. He came from a family of renowned heroes after all.
Realizing that Ayano had no intentions of revealing herself any time soon, he charged up his engines to prepare for a strong kick. "Engine boost!!" His leg made a hard and wide sweep, clearing the smoke, only to reveal an extremely close Ayano with her arm reeled back.
"It's a direct hit!!! What a surprise attack!"
Iida made a choked, surprised sound while getting punched in the stomach. Rolling backwards, he saw a blurry Ayano holding her right wrist and stretching it around. She stood her ground, calmly analyzing the situation once more.
"Normally, it would be foolish to impair one's own vision against a faster opponent but..." She clenched and unclenched her fist, the gears in the bionic arm cover whirring. "...you do not seem to have enough battle experience to take advantage of that. As a student of the Hero Course, you certainly get much more battle training than I, of the Support Course. However, I have run thousands, if not millions, of simulations both virtually and in my head. Most likely worth more than anything you have experienced thus far."
"Even so, you were wise enough to disperse the smoke. You conserved your energy while giving me minimal time to analyze your quirk and your fighting style." Her words gave Iida confidence, though he was unsure as to why she would reveal so much to him while they were still opponents.
Ayano smirked. "Come at me with everything you have, Iida-san. I would like to see how someone of the esteemed Iida family fights." The boy barely let her finish before bursting forward to kick her. She dodged by no more than a stray hair, her eyes following the path of his leg as if it were moving in slow motion.
They continued in that fashion like a dangerous tango for quite some time. Iida leading with fast, sweeping kicks and Ayano just barely dodging with her air soles.
"It looked like Sasaki had the upper hand in the beginning, but Iida looks like he has her on the run?!?"
"Ehhh! I was a little scared at the start, but she looks like she's having a tough time keeping up with Iida! With his speed, I think he's got this one in the bag!" Kaminari exclaimed. "Shut up, dunce-face." Bakugou commanded, disheartening the boy. "She's just toying with him..." He grumbled, narrowing his eyes. The rest of the class looked at him curiously.
"I didn't think Aya-chan was that kind of person..." Uraraka remarked. "Ah, I think Kacchan means something different when he says she's 'toying with him.'" Midoriya's face scrunched with unease.
"To be perfectly honest, I think Aya-chan could've won this a long time ago. When she landed that first punch after Iida-kun blew away the smoke." Many of his classmates widened their eyes. "Eh? Then, why didn't she?"
The unease on his face grew. "Remember when I said that I'm just glad I'm not fighting her yet?" Uraraka nodded, eager to hear his explanation. "It's not just because she's my friend or just because she's strong. Aya-chan...she thinks two, three...maybe even four or five steps ahead at all times. For as long as I've known her, I've never seen her get slumped on a problem. She always has a back-up plan, two back-up plans, a fail-safe, a contingency plan, anything!"
"Her mind works faster than anybody I know when it comes to strategizing. If you give her enough time, she could probably figure out what you'll do before you even know that you're going to do it! With her support items, it's even easier for her and that's just downright scary."
Uraraka tensed, remembering Ayano's straightforward words. "With your ten million points, all eyes will primarily be focused on you and therefore, on your teammates. There are countless support companies watching as we speak. Not to mention the pro heroes who have connections with those support companies."
The gravity girl gulped. From what little interactions she had with the support girl, she could tell that her brains were no joke. It seemed that Ayano wasn't only concerned about winning. She had far more plans than the average person.
Midoriya continued. "If I know Aya-chan, she definitely doesn't want to end the match so soon. Like before, she probably wants the most time possible to show the support companies her skills. Not only that, but I think she's testing Iida-kun. I'm sure she's done her research and knows that he's part of an impressive hero lineage. If anything, Aya-chan sees him more as a future client than an opponent!"
If what he said was true, then the match made perfect sense. Ayano wasn't dodging by the skin of her teeth because she couldn't keep up with Iida's speed. She was dodging like that on purpose! It was so she could see his quirk up close and personal.
Bakugou clicked his tongue. "She should just blow that stuck-up elitist to bits already." He mumbled.
Iida was becoming anxious. None of his kicks were hitting her. He thought that she would tire and slow down from fatigue, but he soon learned that was not the case. Ayano's stamina was nearly unaffected. She was merely taking the last possible second to dodge.
If this kept up, his engines wouldn't last.
Ayano knew that to be the case as well. "It's about time that he uses it..."
Clenching his teeth and strengthening his resolve, Iida revved up his engines. "Torque-over, Recipro Burst!!!" Using the same ultimate move from the cavalry battle, he sped across the arena towards Ayano.
The girl smiled deviously, neither flinching nor moving. "Iida-san, you are indeed fast..." He stopped abruptly and his upper body lunged forward, as if he were in a car that had hit the brakes. "...but entirely too predictable." He felt wires wrap around his entire body, but they seemed invisible to the human eye.
"UUUOOOHHH?!!?? Iida's super move was stopped in an instant!! What happened???"
"As soon as he got hit that first time, he fell into her trap." Aizawa piped in. "She must have her own reasons for extending the fight this long, but she wasn't just dodging his kicks for no reason. It's harder to see up close, but from the stands and up here, you can make out the thin wires she placed all around the arena."
Iida gasped, frantically looking around. He looked towards the edge of the arena. He couldn't see the wires itself but at certain angles, the sunlight reflected off them briefly. From up close and with his speedy movements, he would never have enough time to notice such fine detail. From a higher vantage point like where Aizawa and Present Mic were, one could easily see the reflections.
"Every time she dodged, she placed down another wire. She moved in a way that would direct Iida away from the wires with his next kick. It was a simple matter of waiting for him to cross them."
"Nice analysis, Eraserhead!! This is just like a spider waiting for its prey to get caught!!! How will Iida get out of this one?!"
Iida's mind raced. He had used his ultimate move, but he was stopped midway. His engines hadn't stalled completely yet and he may have been bound, but he could still move his legs slightly. Maybe enough to use his quirk to sweep himself out of the wires!
His hopes were soon crushed when Ayano clenched her fist. The wires around him tightened, his body becoming completely rigid and the little movement he had in his legs now gone. Iida grit his teeth, trying to bear the constricting pain.
"In your situation, speed means very little without the element of surprise. It was unfortunate for you that you had to use that move during the cavalry battle. Had you not, I most likely would have had no way to counter it." Ayano walked towards Iida with no caution.
"How...did you know...I wouldn't use it...in the beginning?" The boy ground out through the pain. "You are a sensible man, Iida-san. You would not gamble on something with so much significance, so much hanging on the balance. It was obvious that you could only perform this action once. Otherwise, you would have used it much sooner during the cavalry battle. Assuming that to be the case, I was certain you would not start the match with it since it would leave your quirk useless, should you fail to defeat me." Iida cursed, hanging his head in defeat.
"Iida is immobilized! Sasaki advances to the second round!!!"
Ayano unclenched her fist, the wires from the fingers of her arm cover loosening their hold on Iida. He breathed a sigh of relief as he fell to the ground, no longer having to feel the binding pain. "Iida-san, your quirk is very straightforward and it shows in your fighting. Against someone of higher or even similar speed or skill, you are much too predictable. I would suggest expanding your skill set."
She placed her chin between her thumb and index finger in thought. "With such a simple quirk, it would be hard to improve or enhance it..." Ayano gave a small smile of excitement, her eyes shimmering. "...but not impossible."
She held out a hand towards him. "If you should ever need adjustments, I would surely assist you. I have more than enough information about your quirk after this fight." Iida stared up at the girl in awe. Even though he had lost, he was amazed by her personality.
Victory was not her only ambition.
She had defeated him, yet her mind prioritized other things instead. Things to benefit her career.
Ayano was scary, indeed.
Iida gratefully accepted her outstretched hand, hoisting himself up. He thanked her for the battle as well as for her offer, fully intent on taking her up on it. As they left the arena together, he heard her mumbling ideas to herself about his quirk and costume.
She sounded eerily like Midoriya when he was writing down notes about everyone's quirks. He could see why the two were childhood friends.