Rise up

~18~

The matches before mine all end rather quickly. Before I know it, I'm sitting in the waiting room, strategizing for the fight after my match with Iida. I already have my game plan for how to beat Iida, and if it goes as planned, I'm guaranteed victory.

Midoriya ending up breaking out of Shinso's brainwashing. After that, Shinso was outmatched in combat and ultimately was thrown out of the ring. I could face off against Midoriya, but that's if he gets past Todoroki, I won't be counting him out just yet.

Poor Sero. The man was encased in ice, not even a minute into his fight with Todoroki. The dual-haired boy went overboard and encased half of the stadium in ice too. He's determined to win the whole festival and will more than likely be who I face off with after Ibara.

Ibara, who is incredibly too kind and serious for my liking, is also surprisingly forceful. Her vines can detach and grow instantly. Denki was overconfident and used his full strength early on in the battle, believing he would undoubtedly win. I will not be underestimating her in our match, although I still plan to win either way.

Suddenly the door burst open, revealing a panting pink girl. "Y/N, your match is about to start. I ran down her so I could walk you to the tunnel."

"Jeez, Mina, Running from our seating area to here has you out of breath. I might just have to change my bets to Aoyama winning." I chuckle as the girl slaps me in the shoulder for my comment. "Well, you are pretty violent, so you may just win despite stamina problems." The girl chuckles along with me as we exit the room and head down the hall.

"Shut up. You would be worse off than me if you ran that far. You are terrible when it comes to cardio."

"Oh, come on. I have wings. You're lucky I even walk on the ground next to you." The entrance to the arena comes into view as we get further down the long hallway. "Welp, wish me luck, pinkie pie."

Mina stares at me blankly and crosses her arms over her chest, "What happened to 'I'm winning this no matter what?' Now you are asking for my luck?" I just smile like an idiot at her, and she shakes her head, "Don't lose, idiot."

I keep the grin plastered on my face as I backpedal towards the entrance of the stadium waving my arm wildly through the air. "I will win just for you, my love, don't you worry. Then I will be worthy of your love, my sweet Mina."

"Ugh, quit flirting, Takami! I've already told you my crush is gonna start thinking we are actually dating."

I turn, walking forward, and shout out one last response before entering the arena, "You know you love me!"

I tone-done my smile a bit as I exit the tunnel and reveal myself to the crowded stadium. Present Mic gives both Iida and I flamboyant introductions as expected. My opponent and I take our places at opposite ends of the ring as our intros are finished.

As I stretch, waiting for the commencement of the fight, I decide to chat with Iida, "Sorry, Iida, but this is as far as you will be going in the tournament."

The class rep is taken aback and begins chopping his hand through the air, scolding me, "Takami, you know very well it is foolish to underestimate your opponent."

"Yeah yeah, I know that Iida and I am not discrediting your skills in battle," I stand fully up after stretching down towards my toes and lock eyes with the boy, "but I will be walking out of this ring the winner."

Once I have the last word out, Present Mic screams for the match to begin. Without a second to spare, Iida runs full speed towards me, hoping to push me over the line and finish the match in no time. 'Not to worry, it will be over in no time.' I flutter my wings, helping me back up faster as he approaches. I peer over my shoulder to check my distance from the line. I smirk to myself. 'Going just as planned. Let's just hope I'm quick enough.'