The 2nd Sports Festival (Part 8)

Pres Mic was once again riling up the crowd. "We welcome you all back to the semifinals of the second year students' Sports Festival! We have cleaned up all the ice, so we can get this show rolling once again!" Aizawa looked over at his friend. "'We'? Cementoss cleaned it up and you sat up here eating a hot dog." "Although, folks, I hate to say it, I doubt this match will be as action packed and exciting as the previous match! This will likely be a straight up brawl!" Aizawa looked back at the arena. "You're wrong." Pres Mic pushed the microphone closer to Aizawa. He sighed and spoke into the microphone. "Both Chris and Jason have shown exceptional skills in both combat and battle sense. They also have a very long history as rivals, meaning that they know each other's combat styles inside and out." Aizawa let a slight smirk creep onto his face. "I have to say that Jason and Chris are the strongest." Pres Mic smiled. "Hear that, everyone?! The two strongest second year students are about to-" "No." Pres Mic looked back at Aizawa, who was still wearing his smirk. "They're easily the strongest in the entire school." Pres Mic was completely silent. Then he recovered. "Ladies and gentlemen, hold on to your hats, because this match is going to be one for the history books!"

Jason and Chris slowly entered the arena. They let the crowd's cheering wash over them, trying to hype themselves up. Chris was nervous. The night fight was still fresh in his mind. He was much stronger now, but so was Jason. He had gotten his ass kicked that night. Even if he lost, Chris promised himself that he would put up a real fight this time around. Jason didn't look like it, but he was just as nervous. He had watched the recording of Chris's fight. Chris's power had grown far beyond what he had expected. Jason smirked. For the first time, Jason had no idea if he could beat his best friend.

All Might turned his head. Endeavor entered the VIP stand that All Might was in. "Hello Endeavor. Is everything alright?" "Yes. I came up here to observe the fight." All Might was a little confused. "Why aren't you with your family?" "Shoto is with her mother, and I decided to leave the two alone." All Might looked back down at the arena, watching as Jason and Chris walked up the steps. "Why do I get the feeling that these two are going to end up in a hospital?" Endeavor smirked. "Wouldn't be entertaining if they didn't." "Endeavor, you don't like either of them. Why are you really here?" Endeavor lost his smile. "You speak very highly of Chris. My daughter speaks very highly of Jason. If what I am hearing is correct, those two have a very real chance at being in competition for the Number One Hero spot. I want to see how far along they are with their training." All Might nodded.

Chris stopped and took a deep breath. Jason smirked from across the stage. "Are you ready for this?" Chris smiled. "Ready as I'll ever be." Chris powered 28% of One for All through himself. He could comfortably use more than that now, but he wanted to pace himself until he could see what tricks Jason had. On the other side, Jason dropped into his signature combat stance. Green energy covered his arms. He was using his disgust to start off the match for the same reasons as Chris. The two smiled at each other. For the first time in a long time, they were excited. Midnight raised her hand. "Jason Miller vs Chris Harper! Begin!"

Jason sidestepped, narrowly dodging a punch from Chris. All Might's apprentice had closed the five meter gap in a second. Jason threw a left hook that Chris blocked. Jason rolled to avoid Chris's roundhouse kick. Using the momentum from the spin, Chris slammed his fist down on where Jason had been, cracking the platform. Jason had gotten out of the way, using his quirk to push himself off of the ground. He landed on his feet nearby. Chris was standing directly in front of Jason when he unleashed a volley of punches. His arms were a blur, but Jason dodged every single one of them, keeping his feet planted. Green energy covered his arms as he threw three punches. Chris blocked all three. They both smirked. This wouldn't be like last time.

All Might looked at Endeavor. "What do you think?" The current number one, still not taking his eyes off of the fight, spoke his mind. "They know their own limits and are taking advantage of their strengths." All Might was a skilled fighter, but he had never done an analysis like this. "Meaning?" "Chris is taking advantage of his superior stamina to keep a sustained offensive. He's not letting Jason recover, hoping he can overwhelm him. That being said, Jason clearly knows he can't keep up with Chris and is purposefully staying on the defensive, waiting for Chris to reveal an opening. Both strategies are viable and well thought out." All Might looked back at the fight with a slight smile. "I wonder how they plan on winning."

Chris leaped forward, channeling 30% of One for All. Jason's arm glowed purple, using his pride for the first time. He caught Chris's punch with a single hand. The resulting shockwave cracked the platform underneath them. They smiled at each other. "Impressive, Chris. From what I heard, your body was breaking apart the last time you used this much power." "I couldn't let you get strong without me, now could I?" Jason brought his foot up and hit Chris in the gut with a powerful pride filled kick, but Chris had blocked it. He still slid a few feet. Jason smirked. "I suppose you couldn't. That being said, I'm done with my warm up." Chris rolled his shoulders. "As am I. I think it's about time you show me this new technique of yours." "As you wish. However, I suspect that you'll recognize it." Jason crouched down as red energy covered his arms. Then, after a few seconds, Jason's entire body was covered in red energy. Chris smirked. "You son of a bitch." Jason stood up straight and smiled. "When using my rage, I call it Vengeful Full Cowling." Chris smiled as he powered up One for All within him; up to the maximum strength he could use without breaking himself. I think it's time we start fighting seriously." Jason smiled. "By all means."

The two combatants vanished for a brief moment. Then there was a shockwave that rocked the arena as Vengeful Full Cowling and 40% of One for All clashed in the middle. The entire arena shook. Then they vanished once again. The only thing signaling their presence was the shockwaves rocking the arena. Pres Mic stood up out of his chair. "What is going on?! Where are they?!" Aizawa spoke calmly. "They're moving at speeds faster than the untrained eye can see, making it look like they have disappeared." Pres Mic looked at his fellow teacher. "Is that even possible?!" "Yes, it is. However…" Aizawa's eye twitched, revealing the nervousness he was feeling. "...only All Might has ever shown that kind of speed…"

While the crowd couldn't see what was truly happening, Jason and Chris could see each other perfectly fine. Each punch they delivered created a shockwave that would rock the arena, and their punches were only getting stronger. Red and green energy flew around the arena as a result of their clashes. Their fists collided. The energy thrown around as a result could be seen from miles away.

Endeavor's eyes narrowed. "This is an interesting turn of events." All Might nodded. Both heroes could easily track the students as they fought. "They're really impressive." "I wouldn't say that. They've increased their speed by sacrificing power. I'm surprised to see that they're able to divert their power to their attacks and then go back to speed, but that won't be good enough in the long run." All Might slowly nodded. Endeavor smirked. "Still, if those two fought me together, I wouldn't stand a chance." A massive shockwave rocked the arena once more. Jason was nowhere to be found. Chris could be seen in the center, taking a deep breath before he disappeared as well. Endeavor smiled. "I can't believe it." All Might also smiled. "You did ask for entertainment."

Jason opened his eyes. Then he nearly had a heart attack. He was at least a mile up in the air and still rising. Chris had put everything into that kick, but what kind of advantage was there to this move? Then Jason realized why; Chris had more experience in the air. For the first time, Chris held every single advantage. Jason saw Chris speeding up, using high powered kicks to throw himself through the air. Jason raised his guard just fast enough to block what would've been a devastating punch. The pair were reaching speeds where it would be difficult to track their own personal movements. Jason tried punching back, but Chris was suddenly next to him. Jason tried turning, but got kicked in the side. As he was flying through the sky, Jason powered up a punch. "How the hell does he do it?! I think it's something like-" The punch rocketed him in the opposite direction. "Oh shit!" Jason now knew that he hated airborne battles and prayed that they wouldn't become a common occurrence in his career.

Chris raced around, looking for an opening. Jason had figured out how to move, but wasn't as experienced as Chris was. That being said, Chris was struggling to remain airborne. He was using 100% when he had fought Overhaul, but now he was only using 40%. He powered up to 42%. He had to end this quickly. Chris rocketed towards Jason. Jason suddenly flipped. Chris's body tensed up. Jason had found his opening. With a powerful kick, Jason sent Chris rocketing back down towards the ground.

Chris's landing created a crater on the concrete platform. He coughed as the dust settled. Chris tried to get up, but then saw a shockwave far above him. Jason was rocketing back down with red, blue, purple, and yellow energy consuming his right arm. Chris raised his arms up. The attack hit Chris head on. The result was a shockwave that tore through the surrounding concrete like coffee paper.

Momo slowly got back up. She had thrown herself onto Eri in order to protect her from the shockwave that never hit. Then she saw why; Kirishima had hardened himself and thrown himself in the way. Kirishima deactivated his quirk. "Jesus, guys…" Momo and Mina looked down at the arena and gasped. On the other side of the arena, Shoto had created an ice wall to protect her mother. She put her left hand on the wall and melted it. Then she smiled. The platform was gone: completely disintegrated by Jason's attack. Both guys were trying to catch their breath as Jason's quirk deactivated. Jason rose to his feet. He was standing on top of Chris.

Pres Mic was speechless. "...Neither of them are on the platform… because the platform doesn't exist…" Aizawa thought for a minute. "...Jason is on top of Chris, meaning he is technically not out of bounds." Pres Mic looked down at where Midnight should've been. The pro hero had actually been blown away from the very first attack and had run inside for shelter. She peaked her head back out. Then she cleared her throat, having heard Aizawa's explanation. "Jason Miller is the winner!" Pres Mic took a deep breath, still in awe at the damage. "...We need to start making our platforms out of stronger material…" Aizawa looked at him. "You didn't mute your microphone." "Oh son of a-" Aizawa muted the microphone.

Jason stepped off of Chris, offering him a hand. Chris's right arm was completely shattered, so he used his left arm to accept Jason's help. He smiled. "I guess I'm not quite there yet." Jason laughed a little. "I guess not, but you're getting there. I can't wait for our next match." Chris left to go see Recovery Girl. Jason walked out the other side.

Jason entered the hallway and stopped, leaning against the wall. He coughed as he held his side. He managed to smile. Chris's attack had done more damage than he had wanted to let on. If he had revealed that he was injured, Chris wouldn't try as hard to catch up. Jason laughed a little as he stopped coughing. "...I need to accelerate my training, or he's going to leave me in the dust…" Jason slowly made his way to Recovery Girl's office.