Chapter 52: Masked Thief

Recap:

As Momo approached her fallen opponent, she was shocked to find Ochaco not burdened by the shame of imminent defeat.

Instead, a triumphant smile graced her face, revealing her indomitable spirit.

Momo desperately attempted to jump away, but the platform she was standing on began to float erratically, destabilizing her footing. In a final act of defiance.

Ochaco summoned her last ounce of strength to make physical contact with Momo.

"Float!"

The unexpected turn of events unfolded rapidly. Momo ascended uncontrollably, soaring higher and higher into the sky.

Her initial shock gave way to a regretful realization that she had missed her opportunity to respond.

As Momo reached the skies above the UA stadium, her defeat was sealed, and Ochaco was declared the victor.

With a sense of pride and determination, Ochaco smiled at her victory, while immediately upon landing thanks to her teacher, Momo proceeded to the Class 1A waiting room, where she found the empty aftermath of her struggle…nothing.

 Ochaco was elated, however her celebration was subdued as she saw her friend Momo struggling to fight back tears disappearing from everyone's sight.

Tsu offered words of comfort and support to Ochaco, reminding her to be proud of her remarkable feat.

While Ochaco was preoccupied by her friend's emotional turmoil, she ascended to the stands to witness the final match of the first round of eight.

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"SO, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AFTER THAT FIGHT, THIS WILL BE THE FINAL OF THE FIRST ROUND OF THE 3RD EVENT IN THIS SPORTS FESTIVAL, MARKING THE BEGINNING OF THE END."

"SO, PLEASE WELCOME, ON THE LEFT, SON OF A PRO HERO, ITTTTSSSSS, MEZOU SHOJI! AND ON THE RIGHT, A BOY WHO NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION. BROTHER OF TENSEI IDA, SON OF THE IDA FRANCHISE TENYA IDA!!!!!"

The boys walked up the stands, standing in the corners, much quieter than their female counterparts had been.

For Shoji, this had been normal, as he was often the silent type, while for Ida, he had far too much on his mind, like how Momo had been defeated. It still felt weird for him to call her that.

He knew that Ochaco would prove to be a difficult opponent, given her first-place ranking in one of their initial class tests and her obvious quirk advantage.

Before their match, he felt like he'd be able to defeat her since he knew her quirk: simply stay away, find an opportunity, and get her out of bounds.

Easy.

That's what it was supposed to be, yet Momo, someone others considered to be on the same status level as him, still couldn't.

This shocking defeat put him on alert.

He didn't look down on her for her exit, as he himself didn't know if he'd fare better if he lost.

"No, I'll win," he told himself.

He had to for his brother, who, though he couldn't be here right now, promised to catch some part of the festival after his shift today.

He'd reach the final so his brother could see him in all his glory!

Ida sized up Shoji, hoping not to make the mistake of underestimating his opponent.

"START!"

The signal marked the beginning of their match.

Ida adopted a cautious approach, carefully assessing Shoji's movements.

Shoji, never one to shy away from action, initiated the engagement by charging toward Ida.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Ida activated his engines, propelling himself out of harm's way and dodging Shoji's attempts to catch him.

Ida's calculated tactics were countered by Shoji's quick thinking and defensive maneuvers.

The two exhibited exceptional speed and agility, making it a challenge for either of them to land a decisive blow.

Shoji attempted to grapple Ida, but the young speedster's agility allowed him to evade these attempts.

"So he wants to grapple me," 

Not letting Shoji have the initiative, Ida went on the offensive.

He sped into the danger zone, using his calculations to dodge any outstretched hands, and once within proximity, he dove down, using gravity to spin his body and send a powerful kick with his heel to Shoji's rib.

But the silver-haired man blocked it with his massive arms.

Ida sent a flurry of attacks in the next few minutes, all trying to deal with the immobile rock known as Shoji.

He pushed Shoji from behind but had to dodge after less than a second.

He went for Shoji's legs, yet the buff man was agile enough to jump away.

Shoji, with his numerous arms, proved to be a resilient and immovable force.

Ida's repeated efforts to overcome Shoji's defenses proved futile, and with each passing moment, Ida's stamina began to wane.

He couldn't help but question whether Shoji was an unbeatable opponent, a thought that began to plague his mind as he struggled to gain the upper hand.

The announcement of the 15-minute mark prompted Ida to take decisive action.

He couldn't hold back any longer; it was time to unleash his full potential!

"RECIPRO BURST!"

With a loud shout, his legs burst with new energy as he sped toward the behind of Shoji.

He once again spun, wanting to do a side kick, but he was thwarted.

Shoji not only managed to block it but he used his heavier weight to fling Ida into the sky.

"I'M NOT DONE YET!"

Spinning like a certain blue hedgehog, he swung his legs like an ax of death as he cleaved towards the Masked Mutant.

But it was all for nothing.

Shoji first caught the leg, then pulled him down to his level, making the man wearing glasses stare eye to eye.

That was before he sent out an elbow to Ida's stomach, and when the air was knocked out of him, he utilized the chance to throw him out of bounds.

The counterattack was swift, quick, precise, and one you wouldn't normally see from someone of Shoji's build.

Suijin in the crowd also naturally heard of Shoji's 'Amazing' moves and thought, "Of course they are; THEY'RE MINE!"

Suijin had developed a martial art route that considered a fast, counterattacking style using his body instead of his quirk.

The idea came long before he 'unlocked' his quirk but was only implemented recently, and naturally he used it in his spars with Shoji.

"Still, though."

Suijin sounded angry to anyone who could read his mind, he was mostly excited and surprised.

Excited as that meant that their fight would be even more interesting than before, and surprised as Shoji managed to replicate it so quickly.

Meanwhile, Ida, out of bounds, lay on his back while thinking about how he managed to react to his Turbo Charge.

"His quirk, he can use his ears, extra eyes, smell, everything. His senses are boosted and aren't bound by normal human limitations, making him react to my speed. He was also expecting such, as that was all I emphasized."

A profound wellspring of sadness, regret, and an overwhelming sense of despair surged through Ida as he lay sprawled on the unforgiving arena floor, his hopes of victory cruelly shattered.

"AND MEZOU SHOJI IS THE WINNER!"

Back up in the stands, Fumitake made his way to the duo as he explained the round he never got to.

"The forgotten round, it was Suijin Shimizu vs. TetsuTetsu TetsuTetsu. Another lackluster round. The metal head charged at the spray-bottled boy but was dodged easily."

"This kept happening before he went to the edge of the ring before charging once again, this time faster like a bull. Shimizu, using this incompetence, jumped to the sky again before using a jet of water to push the boy, who could barely stabilize himself, out of bounds."

"Oh," was all he could reply as the upset of the last two rounds and the fact that all of his betting money was gone made him speechless.

"Now, pay attention to the following matches as they'll be some of the best in UA history. I can feel it."

.

.

.

"Hey sis, what's-"

*Huff *

"-in the bag?"

The youngest, out of breath as they had just run away from a group of ruffians declaring that spot as their area.

"I don't know,"

Ale, the oldest, went through the plastic bag, unwrapping his crappy boy and opening it.

And what she saw was crackers, noodles, and... a phone?

Picking up and reading the note aloud, it said, "Hey, in case you guys have to move or something and can't watch the festival on the TV or if that radio conks out, here's my phone."

After a list of instructions on exactly what needs to be done to watch it.

Unlock his phone with his password he apparently set just for them, then open the web browser, click on the open tab, and boom.

The girls could see the area and hear commentary coming while Suijin stepped up to fight someone.

"Wow," they said in unison.

They got absorbed in watching it, so when a notification came, they ignored it as spam and swiped up, dismissing it.

Nobody noticed that it was a double notification, with both being spam and a text message.