Chapter 22- Sero vs. Kaido

'I can't do this. I can't do this. Maybe I should just forfeit now. It'll be better than fighting him. He's too strong, I can't do it. I can't.'

"Sero? Why are you shaking?" Sero jumps at Kirishima's voice, throwing his hands up in a defensive position. His eyes are darting back and forth, wild with fear.

"Oh… Kirishima. It's you…." Sero chuckles nervously, trying to relax.

"Dude, are you okay?"

"Not really," Sero mutters, watching as Nendo starts actually fighting Kaminari.

"Your fight is next; you should get ready," Kirishima mentions only taking his eyes off of Sero when a gust of wind pushes him back. He looks to the arena, sighing at his electric friend, who is giving him a thumbs-up.

"KAMINARI IS OUT OF BOUNDS! NENDO WINS!"

"I don't… I don't think I can do this." Sero mumbles, ignoring the laughs that echo through the class as Kaminari stumbles around.

"Dude, it's just Kaido," Kirishima reminds, restraining himself from rolling his eyes.

"Just Kaido? JUST Kaido? He almost killed me in training!"

"But you ended up winning?" Kirishima tilts his head, confused at why Sero was so upset.

"Barely!" Sero yells, shaking more as he remembers that day.

"Just do your best and you'll be fine!" Kirishima reassures, patting Sero's back. Sero shakes his head, leaning forward and entangling his fingers in his hair.

"I don't think I can do this."

"Don't think about it too much and you'll be fine. You better get out there." Kirishima smiles, standing up. "I know you'll do great!"

"THE NEXT FIGHT IS SHUN KAIDO OF CLASS 1-A VS. HANTA SERO, ONCE AGAIN, FROM CLASS 1-A! WHAT AN INTENSE MATCHUP!"

The crowd yells in excitement, eagerly waiting as the boys make their way to the arena.

Kaminari squeezes past his class to his seat, stopping by Kirishima and Hairo.

"Good job out there!" Hairo yells, offering a high-five to the boy. Kaminari grumpily accepts it, slumping into a seat.

"I lost…"

"But you did your best, right?" Kirishima asks, smiling happily. "That's what matters!"

"I guess… I'm still upset though, I know I didn't fry my brain, I made sure I wouldn't…" Kaminari mutters, fiddling with his thumbs as the other two boys stare at him.

"You looked pretty brain dead to me," Asui speaks up from her seat in front of the boys, a finger on her chin. Uraraka nods, struggling to hold back a laugh. Kaminari sighs, slumping further down in his seat and returning his attention to the arena.

Nendo sits beside the boy, draping an arm around his shoulders.

"That was a good fight, buddy!" Kaminari shrugs Nendo off of him, not bothering to answer or even acknowledge his existence.

"Don't be a sore loser, Kaminari," Todoroki mutters, his arms crossed in uninterest.

"That's easy for you to say!" Kaminari complains, turning to face the boy. "Just you wait. You'll see." Todoroki tilts his head, confused, but Kaminari just turns back to the arena to watch Sero and Kaido enter.

"You guys wanna get some ramen?"

"Would you shut up about the ramen? You just had it for lunch!" Saiko yells, annoyed that he was forced to sit by these absolute peons.

"You can never have too much ramen," Nendo replies, clearly unaware of the affluent male's anger.

"Here. Now shut up." Mera says, handing a bowl of ramen to Nendo. He stares at the bowl, drool dripping down his chin and into the ramen. "Just eat it already!" Nendo slurps the ramen, successfully eating it in practically 30 seconds.

"Is there any more?" The class rolls their eyes, ignoring the boy.

"Hey, Mera?" Chiyo asks, curiosity dripping through her words.

"Hmm?" Mera glances at Chiyo, listening for a question.

"Can you make us all popcorn?" Mera shrugs, handing a bag to everyone.

"Thanks, Mera!" They all yell, happily settling in to watch the fight.

"DO I SMELL POPCORN?" A blonde appears over the wall separating classes, his mouth curled up in a smirk. "Did class 1-A steal popcorn?" He sneers, "The "Amazing Class 1-A", nothing but a bunch of thieves! Ha! Who would've thoug-" A fruit cake hits him in the face, causing him to fall backward.

"Sorry about him!" A sweet voice yells, clearly exhausted with dealing with the boy. The class glances at each other, shrugging and returning their attention to the arena once more.

Sero has managed to stop shaking, though his heart is still beating quickly in fear. He looks much better than Kaido, who seems to be trying to hide in his own skin.

"BEGIN!"

Neither of the boys move, both frozen in fear.

'Maybe if I can get his confidence down, I can take him by surprise…'

Sero nods to himself, looking back at Kaido.

"WHAT, YOU SCARED?" Kaido flinches, looking up at Sero, his eyes filled with innocence. "YOU'RE SO PATHETIC? I COULD TAKE YOU DOWN WITH MY EYES CLOSED! IN FACT, I HAVE BEFORE!" Kaido's eyes burn as tears start to build up. He blinks them away, wiping his nose with his arm. "WHAT, YOU GONNA CRY?" Sero mocks, starting to feel better as courage flows through him.

Kaido frowns, his lower lip wobbling and the tears rushing back to his eyes. He crouches down, pulling his knees to his chest and hiding his face in his arms. The crowd grows silent, unsure how to react to this unexpected development. Regret grips Sero's heart as he watches the boy break down in front of billions of people. He walks forward, reaching for the crying teen and attempting to comfort him.

"Hey, Kaido… I'm sorry I didn't mean-" Sero trails off as Kaido snaps his head to the boy, his eyes narrowed in anger. "Shit."

Kaido flips to his feet, diving at Sero. Sero blasts his tape toward Kaido, who easily dodges.

"That won't work this time, elbows!" Sero's eyes widen as Kaido's fist glows a familiar purple, speeding right for Sero's face. He yelps in fear, pulling himself out of the way with his tape. "You have nowhere to run, tapeface!" Kaido sings, smirking as he turns to face Sero. "Not if you want to win." He jumps forward, faster than Sero, or any mortal, can process. He does a flip, grabbing Sero's neck between his legs and pulling him to the ground. Sero grunts as he hits the floor, blood dripping from his temple. Kaido laughs at the boy, pressing his foot against Sero's chest so he can't get up. Sero struggles, his energy quickly draining. Kaido presses Sero's chest harder, making it difficult for the boy to breathe.

"Sero, can you move?" Midnight questions, worry growing in her as Sero grows blue. He shakes his head, gasping for breath.

"SERO IS IMMOBILIZED! KAIDO WINS!"

"Be glad I went easy on you." Kaido sneers, using his foot to push Sero on his side before walking away. Sero sucks in the precious air, tears brimming in his eyes.