MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Musutafu.
"Date with Tatsuo-Kun... Date with Tatsuo-Kun... Date with Tatsuo-Kun..." Sakura continued to repeat as she stood across the ring from Tatsuo.
"Maybe this was a bad idea." Tatsuo said to himself while smiling awkwardly. "Oh well, let's get started."
*Swish!*
In the next instant, Tatsuo [Blinked] away from where he stood once again. Like last time, he threw a punch aimed at Sakura's abdomen. However, before his fist could get close, he was forced to [Blink] a second time to avoid a shadow tendril aimed at his head.
Appearing in the air above Sakura, Tatsuo reoriented himself, aiming his head downwards. He then spun into a summersault, whipping his right heel at the top of Sakura's head.
Yet, just like last time, Sakura used her [Shadow Space] to thwart Tatsuo's attempt. However, instead of lashing out with a tendril, she sank into her shadow, reappearing in another location. At the same time, tendrils rose from the ring from the spot where she once stood. Though, they did not lash at Tatsuo like whips. Rather, they seemed to be trying to bind him.
*Thud!*
Although [Blinking] away from the tendrils would have been the easy way to avoid Sakura's tendrils, Tatsuo decided to take a different approach.
Riding the momentum of his summersault and kick, Tatsuo allowed himself to flip forward by another ninety degrees. Then, he solidified the space near his feet before powerfully kicking off, sending himself hurdling towards Sakura's new position.
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
Reacting quickly, Sakura raised several more tendrils from her shadow. She then sent them whipping at Tatsuo, who was coming at her in a straight line. However, unlike most airborne targets, she also knew that he was able to change direction in midair with little issue. So, she directed them in a way that even if he tried dodging, he would run into even more of her tendrils.
On top of that, Sakura raised several more tendrils around her, not forgetting about Tatsuo's ability to [Blink]. And if all else failed, she was ready to sink into her [Shadow Space] to relocate as a last resort.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo, flying straight through the air towards Sakura, twisted his body as his fingertips lit up in a midnight purple hue., leaving spiral-patterned streaks of light in his wake.
"[Spatial Slash]." Tatsuo said, calling out the name of his technique.
As he passed each tendril, Tatsuo whipped his hands in their direction, the spatial energy on his fingertips tearing through them as if they were nothing more than wet paper. Meanwhile, Sakura raised more tendrils, doing her best to stop his forward momentum.
And her efforts did not go unrewarded.
"Damn… These things just don't stop." Tatsuo muttered as he cut through another set of shadow tendrils. "Maybe I went too far with at promise."
After saying that, Tatsuo kicked off another platform of solidified space in order to not land on Sakura's expanded shadow while avoiding even more shadow tendrils. He then took a moment to glance at Sakura, who had not moved since she teleported away from his earlier attack.
"Date with Tatsuo-Kun… Date with Tatsuo-Kun… Date with Tatsuo-Kun…" Sakura continued to repeat with her eyes wide open as she focused all of her attention on Tatsuo.
"Yeah, she's gonna be crushed when she actually loses." Tatsuo muttered to himself while slashing his arms at more incoming tendrils. "But since I put that thought in her head, I'll just take her out anyway."
Tatsuo made sure to speak the last sentence at a volume that only he could hear. Otherwise, if Sakura was able to hear him, she would more than likely start holding back. And Tatsuo would find fighting her like that rather boring.
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~!*
As the fight continued, the crowd was going wild while Hizashi and Shota gave the play by play. On top of that, many of the Heroes present were taking an interest in the two aspiring Heroes, as well.
"I think I'm gonna send that kid an invite." Rumi said while leaning over the railing of her seating area.
"He'll reject." Alfonzo said off-handedly. "We all know the only reason you would invite him to an internship is so you have someone to fight every day for a week."
"And what's wrong with that?" Rumi asked in a huff.
"How was Okinawa?" Alfonzo shot back with an eyebrow raised.
"You're an asshole." Rumi replied in an irritated tone.
"Besides, I'm surprised you would even want to invite someone who doesn't look like they're going to make it out of the quarter-finals, Mirko." Ryuko said while also watching the match.
"Nah, T's gonna win." Alfonzo said, answering before Rumi could. "If he wanted to, he could completely stop Sakura from even raising her shadows."
"Really?" Ryuko asked while turning away from the ring to look at Alfonzo.
"Yup." Alfonzo replied with a nod without even looking in Ryuko's direction. "Space manipulation is a really bullshit [Quirk], you know?"
"Then why hasn't he defeated her yet?" Ryuko asked with genuine curiosity.
"There are two reasons for that." Alfonzo replied. "First…"
"Because that would be too boring." Rumi cut in.
"Right." Alfonzo said with a nod, not even bothered that he was interrupted. "To be honest, Tatsuo is kind of on a different level than most of the students in this school. Even the supposed big three aren't really his match."
"That's a pretty bold claim." Ryuko said in a slightly skeptical tone.
"Believe what you want." Alfonzo replied in a flippant tone with a shrug. "Anyway, the second reason is that he wants to give Sakura a chance to show off what she can do. Plus, he must have said something to her to get her to actually try this hard against him. So, she's showing even more than she usually would."
"That makes sense." Ryuko said with a nod of her own. "It's obvious those two are close. So, if he really could end things as easily as you said, it stands to reason that he would give her a chance to show what she's capable of."
Like that, the trio continued to chat while the fight on the ring continued. And although the fight was exciting with the two competitors, Tatsuo and Sakura teleporting around, lashing shadow tendrils, and ripping apart said shadow tendrils, neither Tatsuo nor Sakura was able to take advantage of the other's openings, and the fight continued for nearly fifteen minutes before something changed.
At least, until Tatsuo decided to get serious.
"Alright, this is what I've been waiting for." Tatsuo said with a battle hungry grin on his face. "But I think it's time to end it, Sakura."
Hearing that, a hint of panic flashed through Sakura's eyes. However, with the promise of a date on the line, that panic quickly turned into burning determination.
"I won't lose." Sakura said quietly as her shadows began to roil violently. "[Shadow Colossus]."
'[Shadow Colossus], huh?' Tatsuo thought to himself while [Blinking] away from the range of Sakura's shadow. 'That's new. I guess she came up with something new during the month we spent training alone.'
Meanwhile, Sakura's expanded shadow began to coalesce around her. A moment later, with Sakura at the center, a large head rose from beneath her, passing through her as if she was not even there. A moment later, more of the large body rose, eventually stopping at the upper body of an armored warrior carrying a shield and spear.
{"O.M.G! What in the world is that?"} Hizashi asked loudly. {"Matou San has covered herself in her shadows. However, the shadows have taken on the form of a giant war god."}
{"It's quite the impressive show of her [Quirk]."} Shota replied, a hint of interest in his tone. {"But what can it do exactly?"}
"Seriously?" Tatsuo blurted out unintentionally when he saw the finished product. "That's just a damn Susanoo!"
Hearing that, Sakura could not help but smile, despite the fact that no one could see her face behind all the shadows making up the [Shadow Colossus]. She then took a step forward, the shadowy upper body moving forward with her. Next, she raised her right arm. At the same time, the [Shadow Colossus] also raised it's right arm, the one holding the spear.
"I guess she really wants that date, huh?" Tatsuo muttered to himself as he braced himself to dodge.
*Swoosh!*
In the next instant, Sakura thrust her right arm forward, the [Shadow Colossus] mimicking her movements. AS a result, the spear in the [Shadow Colossus'] hand shot forward, aimed at Tatsuo.
Unfortunately, as Sakura was raised as a Magus in her own universe, she had very little, if any, training with the spear. As a result, her thrust, though powerful, was not particularly skillful, making dodging easier than it would have been otherwise.
That's not to say that just anyone would find a giant spear hurdling in their direction easy to dodge. But Tatsuo, as someone who has experienced all sorts of fighting ever since he started taking [Missions] from the [Dimensional Chat], found it rather simple to evade Sakura's attack without taking damage.
However, before he could start moving to take advantage of his evasion, Tatsuo was forced to [Blink] away as more Shadow Tendrils extended from the spear shortly after he dodged.
"Stop with the damn tentacles!" Tatsuo shouted as he reappeared. "Get your senses of inspiration from something other than hentai, please!"
With Tatsuo's annoyed shout, the stadium fell into stunned silence.
"Ahahahahaha!" Akatsuki's laughter could be heard clearly, breaking the silence. A moment later, many other members of the audience began to laugh as well.
At the same time, Sakura froze in embarrassment. And because she froze, the [Shadow Colossus] froze, as well. And when Tatsuo saw that, he wasted no time blurring into action.
[Blinking] forward, Tatsuo reappeared in front of the [Shadow Colossus'] chest. Then, with his fingers glowing with the color of his [Energy], he jammed them into the [Shadow Colossus'] before pulling open a tear that would allow him to enter. And he did just that.
Unfortunately, with Tatsuo entering the [Shadow Colossus] the audience was unable to see what was going on inside. However, that did not last long, as only a few seconds later, the [Shadow Colossus] broke down, splashing onto the ring as if it were made of water before sinking back into Sakura's expanded shadow. Then, her shadow receded, taking the form of her normal shadow while she and Tatsuo stood at the center of where the [Shadow Colossus] once stood with Tatsuo's index finger pressed against Sakura's throat.
"You lose, Sakura." Tatsuo said with a smile.
Instead of responding, Sakura only glared at Tatsuo with a pout on her face. And Tatsuo knew exactly why she was looking at him like that, causing him to smile wryly. So, he leaned forward to whisper into her ear, which caused the skin on her cheeks to take on a red tint.
"Figure out where you wanna go either tomorrow or the day after." Tatsuo said quiet enough that only Sakura could hear. "Then, pick out something cute to wear and we'll spend the whole day together that day, okay?"
Immediately, Sakura's pout disappeared and her eyes lit up excitedly. Then, she turned towards the stage where Nemuri stood and raised her voice loud enough for everyone to hear.
"I surrender!" Sakura said, her tone a little too happy for someone who just lost in the quarter-finals.
"Well, I was about to announce that you were unable to continue… But this works too, I guess." Nemuri muttered under her breath. She then raised the microphone to her mouth and made the announcement. "The winner of the first match of the quarter-finals is Soramoto Tatsuo by way of surrender!"
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~!*
The crowd went crazy after Nemuri's announcement. Especially because the match was so visually stimulating. Yet, they could not help but wonder exactly what Tatsuo said to Sakura to make her so excited to give up, despite the fact that the winner was clear for everyone to see.
"You think they're finally gonna do it?" Mina leaned over and asked Akatsuki.
"Probably." Akatsuki replied. "That's'' the only way I could think of for Tatsuo-Kun to get Sakura-Chan to go all out in their fight."
"Do what?" Eijiro asked in a confused tone.
"Don't worry about it." Mina replied while waving Eijiro off dismissively. She then turned to look at Momo and continued. "But honestly, I wasn't sure if he would ask Sakura-Chan or Yaomomo."
"Wha-Wha-What are you talking about, Mina?" Momo asked in a fluster.
"Yeah, I thought he might ask her, too." Kyoka said with a shrug. "But that might have started a blood bath. I mean, you've seen how Sakura-Chan can get, right?"
"True." Mina replied with a sagely nod. "She has some real yandere vibes sometimes."
"*Sigh* It's too bad Soramoto-Kun is the only guy in our class who's interested in girls." Ochaco said while looking off in the direction of the waiting rooms.
"Hey! I'm definitely into girls!" Denki shouted.
"She's talking about the only one that's into girls who isn't a creep about it." Akatsuki shot back.
Denki couldn't help but wince at Akatsuki's sharp come back.
*Smack!*
A moment later, Denki flinched when a small container smacked into the side of his head.
"Huh? What's this?" Denki asked as he picked up the container that fell into his lap after hitting him in the head.
"It's the burn cream I use when I overdo it with my [Quirk]." Katsuki said in his usual, abrasive, tone. "I thought you'd need it after that."
Immediately, the whole class fell silent and turned to look at Katsuki.
"What are you extras looking at?" Katsuki asked in an irritated tone after the staring went on for longer than he liked. "Stop bothering me, Deku's match is coming up. I don't have time for this."
"Tsundere guys are gross." Mina said quietly.
*Bang!*
"Yeah, they are." Akatsuki said as she stood up from her seat. "But Bakugo-Kun is right. The next match is starting. So, I should get to the waiting room. "I'll see you guys after my next match."
"I should get ready, too." Ochaco said as she also stood up. She then turned to look at Akatsuki with a smile. "Let's do our best, Shizuka-Chan."
"Yeah, let's." Akatsuki replied with a nod and a smile.
"Good luck, both of you!" Mina cheered as she waved at Akatsuki and Ochaco.
With that, the two started moving towards the waiting rooms while the other members of their class wished them good luck. Then, everyone turned their attention to the upcoming match between Izuku and Fumikage.