Eri sat in the student cafeteria, happily eating her burger. She was sitting in between Momo and Chris. Aizawa walked up. "Thank you for watching over her for me, Momo. Has she been ok?" Momo smiled up at her former teacher. "Yes sir. I just got her a small lunch. Nothing too big." Eri held up her half eaten burger. "Best food ever!" Mina giggled. "Lunch Rush puts a lot of pride in his work." Chris nodded. "They don't call him the 'Cooking Hero' for nothing." Shoto looked down at her salad. Jason slightly nudged her. "You ok?" "A little nervous. I have no strategies for how to stop Denki's quirk." She looked up at him. " Do you have any tips?" Jason thought for a second, then he shook his head. "I can't help you. The Sports Festival is a battle between students, one on one. Helping you in any way would be immoral. Sorry Shoto, but this is a battle you must fight on your own." Shoto looked back down at her food, not knowing what to do.
The hour long break was over. Shoto entered the ring from her side. Denki entered from the opposite end. Midnight smiled. "Welcome back, folks! It is time for the first match of the semifinals!" The crowd once again went wild. Denki smiled. "You better not hold back, Shoto!" She smiled as she brushed some hair away from her eyes. "I don't intend to." Pres Mic looked over at Aizawa. "You spent a whole year with them last year! What do you think we should be looking out for?!" Aizawa glanced at his friend, clearly annoyed. Then he leaned closer to the mic to answer his question. "Shoto has had years of training under Endeavor, the current number one hero. On top of that, she has shown excellent control of both her fire and her ice, meaning she is a threat in open spaces and can maintain a war of attrition. However, Denki has shown rapid improvement in both quirk control and strategizing. His quirk is dangerous in open environments like the one they're in. It is honestly hard to tell who will win between the two." Midnight raised her hand into the air. "Shoto Todoroki vs Denki Kaminari! Ready?! Begin!"
Denki tried to finish things quickly by blasting Shoto with electricity. She responded by quickly creating an ice shield on her right arm. The electricity struck. Shoto screamed as she was hit by several thousand volts. Denki began running forward. Shoto managed to open her left hand and unleash a wall of fire. Denki was forced to call off his attack, jumping to the side. The fire seared his left sleeve. They backed away from each other so they could try to recover. This battle wouldn't be over quickly.
Chris visibly recoiled as he watched the opening minute of the fight. "Is it even possible that they're evenly matched?" Jason took a second to think before answering. "They both have advantages, but they have their own problems as well." Momo, who was now holding Eri on her lap, looked over. "Endurance?" Jason nodded. "The only limit to Shoto's quirk is that fire can overheat her body and her ice can freeze her inner organs. However, as long as she's able to switch between the two elements, there's no danger. Denki, however, doesn't have that kind of power. Once he uses enough electricity, he'll temporarily fry his brain." Kirishima looked down at the ring. "So Shoto has the advantage." Jason shook his head. Then Mina tensed up. "Ice conducts electricity." Kirishima caught on too. "Every time she uses her ice to defend herself, she will draw electricity to herself." Chris's eyes narrowed. "But only using her fire will overheat her, and she'll become a target for the electricity since they're on a flat surface." Momo looked at Chris. "But if she uses her full power, she'll melt the ice and the water on the ring will make Denki's electricity even more of a threat to her." Eri had been looking at the students as they talked. "...you all are very smart…" Momo smiled down at her. "Aw… thank you…" Jason smirked, still watching the fight. "Denki is the worst opponent for Shoto in open spaces. I wonder how she'll overcome this."
Shoto was desperately trying to think as she slammed her foot on the ground, creating an ice wall in between her and Denki. The young man simply shot electricity at the ice wall. The electricity began to pass through. Shoto had to jump away in order to avoid another jolt. The first one had nearly knocked her out of the fight. She couldn't afford another direct strike like that. She had to come up with a solution.
Denki took a slow, deep breath. He was feeling lightheaded as a result of using too many powerful electric attacks. He closed his eyes for a brief second. He had to end this before his brain fried. He looked up at the ice wall. There was a path up, meaning he could catch her off guard by attacking her from above. He had butterflies in his stomach, but he forced himself to smile. "Don't give up." He ran forward.
Shoto began to cool down her body, preparing her last ditch attempt for victory. It was a huge gamble, but she refused to just wait for Denki to eliminate her. She would go out fighting. She didn't even know if this would work. Denki jumped over the ice wall, electricity covering his entire body. "Let's end this!" Shoto glared upwards and, with all of her might, slammed her right foot on the ground.
Jason slowly stood up out of his seat. Chris, Kirishima, and Mina slowly followed suit. Momo was still holding Eri, but both girls were just as shocked. Aizawa and Pres Mic, who had been keeping the crowd entertained throughout the fight, couldn't speak at all. For the first time in hours, the entire arena was silent. Jason finally smiled. "...I didn't see that coming…" Chris nodded, still staring up at the multi-story tall ice pillar.
Denki landed on the ground, confused. Shoto's big attack was a giant ice pillar? He smiled back at her. "You missed!" He fired his electricity. Shoto looked up, waiting to see if her gamble paid off. The electricity turned away from her and struck the pillar. Shoto took a sigh of relief and activated her fire, warming her body up. Denki fired another powerful attack, but the result was the same. Shoto stood up straight. "Ice isn't the best conductor of electricity, but it is still a conductor. Now your long range attacks are being sent towards the biggest lightning rod in the arena." Denki swore. He was even dizzier now. He still had to win. He took the rest of his electricity into his hand. "Close range it is." Shoto prepared a close range attack of her own; an attack of ice.
They ran towards each other. Denki reached out, his hand only a foot away from Shoto's face. Shoto's ice disappeared. She opened her left hand, igniting her fire. She blasted Denki at point blank range. He got hit in the side, which turned off his electricity for a second. That second was all that was needed. Shoto was once again using her ice. She grabbed Denki's arm. "Flash Freeze!" Denki's body was entirely covered in ice now. Shoto jumped away to avoid any possible electric attacks. Denki struggled against his prison. The ice cracked a little bit, but then he stopped. He knew it was over. Midnight, who had taken a habit of ducking every time she saw Shoto's ice, looked up from behind her cover. "...Denki…? Can you move…?" He sadly shook his head. Midnight cleared her throat and smiled. "Shoto Todoroki is the winner!"
Denki kept his eyes closed as Shoto began to melt the ice around him. "You did a good job." Denki opened his eyes. "Hm?" Shoto was smiling. "That was one of the most difficult battles of my life." Denki smirked a little. "Thanks. That means a lot coming from you." The new friends walked out of the arena together.
Jason and Chris stood up out of their seats. They looked at each other. Neither of them were smiling. As far as anyone else was concerned, this would be their first official fight. However, they knew the truth, vividly remembering their fight in the testing area just a year prior. This was their rematch. It was once again time to see which one of them was the best.