Monoma acted fast. Instead of trying to match whatever Todoroki was doing, he turned it into another close-quarters fight. He locked his eyes back onto Shoto, and Todoroki's dual elemental attack stopped almost instantly; the fire and ice dissipated into thin air.
Monoma let out a breath of relief, while Todoroki simply stared down at his hands for a brief moment.
Having had enough of playing defense, Shoto decided to go on the offense. He knew that if he just waited for Monoma to make every move, he would eventually lose the moment he let his guard down. As he sprinted toward his opponent, Todoroki kept his quirk mentally active at all times. That way, the moment Monoma blinked or stopped Erasure, his ice and fire would trigger instantly.
Seeing Todoroki dashing directly toward him, Monoma decided to unleash his other stored power. Letting go of Erasure for a mere half a second, he activated Twin Impact, triggering the delayed force from their very first exchange.
Boom!
Todoroki suddenly felt a massive, invisible hit slam violently into the side of his arms. The unexpected shockwave made him lose his balance, causing him to stumble back a few feet from Monoma. Shoto was confused about where the physical strike came from, but he didn't have time to process it. Looking up, he saw a massive wave of ice heading his way, accompanied by a roaring wave of fire right beside it. With nowhere left to dodge, Shoto slammed his hand down and raised a thick wall of ice to protect himself.
Monoma laughed like a maniac, intoxicated by his own cleverness. But Todoroki didn't let go of his only defense. Seeing the pillar of copied fire rapidly melting his ice shield, Todoroki used the cover to send a hidden ice attack curving in from the side. Because Shoto was completely hidden behind his own melting ice pillar, Monoma couldn't erase his quirk again. To make things worse, the clash of intense fire against ice created a blinding curtain of thick steam that instantly impeded his sight.
Halting his elemental attack, Monoma strained his eyes, waiting for any kind of movement so he could shut it down with Erasure. Seeing nothing through the white fog, Monoma began backing away step by step, trying to reach the edge for a better view of the stage.
Inside the thick wall of steam surrounding him, Todoroki noticed the lack of visibility and got a brilliant idea.
Less than ten seconds later, just as Monoma reached the edge of the elevated stage, he finally caught a flash of movement. It was incredibly hard to see through the mist, but the moment he spotted Todoroki's silhouette, Monoma confidently unleashed a combined blast of fire and ice directly at it. Seeing that he'd landed a direct hit, he cut off the elements to admire his victory.
But something was wrong. As the steam dissipated a little bit, Monoma got a clearer look and gasped. It wasn't Todoroki at all; it was a perfectly sculpted ice mannequin that looked exactly like Shoto, even wearing his uniform shirt to complete the illusion.
"Wha-" Monoma gasped.
Before he could even think about putting his guard back up, the real Todoroki emerged from the opposite side of the steam curtain. Shoto unleashed a devastating, synchronized attack using both his ice and fire at point-blank range.
BOOM!
The sudden elemental explosion erupted right in Monoma's face before he could even think of using Erasure to protect himself. The concussive blast sent Monoma flying through the air, skidding across the platform until he cleared the edge and landed hard on the grass outside the boundaries.
Midnight cracked her whip from her podium, pointing down at the lawn. "Monoma is out of bounds! Todoroki advances to the next round!"
After Todoroki and Monoma left the stage, Momo and Hatsume Mei made their way over. Mei carried several of her support items, while Momo wore only her normal sports uniform. Momo was at a disadvantage because she couldn't make any big items; doing so would shred her clothes, and since the sports festival was being broadcast to the entire country, it would look bad.
Up in the stands, Gray thought hard and eventually came up with the perfect answer: Unstable Molecules from Marvel. Making a mental note, he decided to buy and add a new teacher for Momo the next time the training dimension became available. He had already checked the upcoming school schedule and knew the kids still had to finish a full week of school before heading out to their hero internships, so the timing was perfect.
As for Todoroki, Gray had actually given Izuku a job before he left the clinic: tell all the other students about the energy replenishment if they wanted it. Because of this, Gray didn't even have to leave his spot to hunt the kids down anymore; if they took damage, they would come straight to him, and he could give them an energy boost right from his seat.
Gray came out of his thoughts when he heard Midnight yell, "BEGIN!"
Mei instantly activated a few of her flying support items, sending them buzzing around the arena. Momo stood her ground and calmly watched as Mei immediately began shouting to the spectators, introducing her "babies," explaining how they worked, and detailing what they were used for. Momo kept a calm facade, but deep down, her mind made a mental note of every gadget's function.
Using her creation quirk, Momo went on the attack. She materialized a long metal pole for range, but Mei dodged every swing while casually continuing her nonstop TV-ad introduction for baby after baby.
Momo, seeing Mei treat their match as nothing more than a marketing commercial, finally had enough. Thanks to her intense weekend training under the combined genius of Dr. Gero and Bulma, her scientific understanding was completely revolutionized. On the fly, she manufactured a specialized EMP grenade and a few other small electronic devices, all while secretly starting a much larger project behind her back. Within moments, she successfully constructed a massive shoulder-mounted cannon that looked like a gigantic speaker with a trigger attached.
While Mei was still laughing and bragging about her high-flying babies, Momo suddenly lobbed her EMP grenade straight into the sky.
Mei turned around just in time to see the pulse blast wave ripple out. Instantly, her flying gadgets deactivated and started plummeting to the stone floor. "MY BABIES!" she shrieked. Looking down toward the stage in a panic, her eyes finally locked onto the massive contraption resting on Momo's shoulder. "What is that?!" she asked, her eyes widening.
Momo smiled confidently. "Sorry about this."
The moment Momo pulled the trigger, concentrated, high-frequency sound waves traveled through the air at blinding speeds, hitting Mei directly. The agonizing noise instantly forced Mei to slap her hands over her ears, but it was too powerful; not even two seconds later, her eyes rolled back in her head, and her body went completely limp as she began to fall backward.
Before Mei's head could even touch the ground, Gray vanished from his VIP seat and appeared on stage, catching her mid-air. He lowered her gently onto the soft grass, then looked over at the referee podium. "She's knocked out. Send her to the infirmary just in case."
Midnight cracked her whip into the air, pointing toward the Class 1-A student. "Hatsume Mei is unconscious! Momo Yaoyorozu advances to the next round!"
The entire stadium crowd went ballistic. Up in the stands, several pro heroes stared down at the high-tech sonic cannon on Momo's shoulder with immense greed, amazed by a first-year's ability to build such an advanced weapon. Gray noticed their predatory stares immediately. Walking over to Momo, he asked her if she wanted him to keep it safe for later. Momo nodded gratefully and handed the heavy weapon over to him. With a swift flick of his wrist, Gray deposited the entire contraption into his system Inventory so he could return it to her later without risking anyone stealing it.
Before Gray could float back up to his seat, Momo called out to him. "Gray-sensei!"
"Hmm?" Gray turned back around to look at her.
Momo offered him a polite, respectful little bow. "Thanks to you, I know I can become stronger and become a better hero."
Gray smiled slightly at her growth. "Don't mention it, Momo. Keep working hard to achieve your goals," he said smoothly before lifting off the ground and floating back up to his VIP seat.
Mirko wore a small smile. Just a few weeks ago, those kids had barely any experience using their quirks, and in just a couple of training sessions with Gray, some of them already looked better than pros. She glanced to the side at Gray. She noticed he kept his eyes on the kids, but also kept glancing toward her and Eri every now and then. She simply leaned back and closed her eyes, waiting for the next match, but the smile never left her face.
Finally, after a few minutes, Tetsutetsu and Kirishima walked out.
Kirishima was visibly crying, waving his arms around dramatically. "Man, this is so unfair!" he whined loudly to the sky. "Why do we have the exact same quirk?! Out of all the people in this tournament, why do I have to fight my literal clone right at the start?!"
Tetsutetsu, on the other hand, grinned from ear to ear, getting hyped by the crowd and not minding Kirishima's complaining in the slightest.
Finally standing in the middle of the elevated arena, Midnight yelled, "BEGIN!"
Tetsutetsu and Kirishima both activated their quirks instantly and started duking it out right in the middle of the stage. Neither of them was giving the other an inch. If someone landed a hit, the other countered almost immediately.
Gray simply sighed. "Did they learn nothing from the masters I gave them?"
Mirko's smile widened. "Can't say that I'm surprised. They're kinda dumb, but they have guts," she continued, turning her head slightly. "Besides, I kinda like these kinds of fights. They're raw and exciting."
As if to make her point, the stadium reached the loudest it had been all day. Cheers and roars echoed from every side of the bleachers.
"See?" Mirko said, nudging him.
"I guess," Gray muttered, defeated, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Down on the platform, Tetsutetsu and Kirishima matched each other blow for blow for about five minutes. Their hardened skin and metal armor collided over and over like a sledgehammer hitting an anvil. Suddenly, Kirishima remembered what Midoriya had told them: Gray-sensei would replenish their energy after a battle. Thinking about his options, Kirishima hadn't wanted to use his new power so early since he planned on keeping it as a secret weapon, but they were just too equal.
Using the momentum from one of Tetsutetsu's heavy punches, Kirishima deliberately dashed backward to create some distance.
Concentrating deeply, Kirishima's body started morphing bit by bit. His jagged skin hardened to an impossible degree, growing sharper and covered in spikes until he looked like a demonic rock wall. "Red Riot: Unbreakable!" he roared.
Tetsutetsu was surprised by the sudden transformation. Not wanting to be outmatched, he dashed forward to try and stop him before the form could settle. He didn't have a specialized transformation like that yet, so he kept pushing ahead with the sheer durability and grit he already possessed.
Almost instantly, the match heavily favored Kirishima. Unbreakable made him far more durable, and its compact density gave him a significant boost in physical strength. Little by little, Kirishima started making space, connecting more heavy punches by the second.
Tetsutetsu was pushed back foot by foot, his heavy boots sliding across the stone until his heel was flying off the edge of the elevated stage. Seeing the perfect opening, Kirishima lunged forward and landed a powerful, rock-hard headbutt right to Tetsutetsu's chest.
The impact shattered Tetsutetsu's footing, sending him tumbling backward off the platform and into the grass below.
Midnight cracked her whip into the air, pointing her marker down. "Tetsutetsu is out of bounds! Kirishima advances to the next round!"
Kirishima took a deep breath and let his concentration drop. Slowly, the sharp spikes and rocky armor disappeared from his skin. He was back in his normal UA uniform, though his entire upper shirt had been shredded by the violent pressure of his Unbreakable form. He breathed hard, his muscles sore, but a huge smile spread across his face. He walked to the edge of the high stone stage and jumped down to the grass right next to Tetsutetsu.
Tetsutetsu was lying on his back, staring up at the sky. Kirishima looked down at him and held out his hand. "Nice fight, bro!" Kirishima said with a big laugh. Tetsutetsu scoffed a little and rubbed his head, but he wasn't truly mad. He grabbed Kirishima's hand and let himself be pulled up. "You got me this time," Tetsutetsu said with a wide grin. "But you better keep winning! Next time we fight, I will win!"
Standing at her podium, Midnight watched the two boys shake hands. Her face turned bright red, and she held her whip close to her chest. "Oh my goodness, the passion of youth!" she squealed into her microphone, bouncing on her feet. "The respect! The friendship! It is just so beautiful!"