Hiro Rising

An even matchup! Kage vs megumi!

"Alright everyone don't get too comfortable!" Present Mic boomed over the tannoy. "We've got another crazy match lined up: Megumi Watanabe against Kageyasu Oota! Another 1-A vs 1-A fight? What's your secret, teach?"

"This has nothing to do with me," Mr. Aizawa grumbled. "Everyone should be doing their best today. Anything less would be irrational."

"Harsh words from my co-host up here. Did you not get your coffee this morning?"

"Just focus on the fight, Mic."

As Kage made his way to the ring, he looked up into the stands and waved at his friends. Hiroto smiled and flashed him a thumbs up, which Kage enthusiastically returned.

"Better watch out, Terra," Sachi teased. "Looks like you've got some competition in the best friend department."

"Oh stop it," Terra laughed. "Honestly, I welcome it. I've basically been Hiro-kun's only friend for as long as we've known each other. Seeing him getting along with others and vice versa . . ." Terra's eyes wandered back over to Hiroto's genuinely excited face. ". . . it makes me happy."

Down in the ring, Kage stood opposite Megumi, neither saying a word as the tension grew. Surprisingly, Megumi was the first to break the silence.

"Let's have a good match," she said matter-of-factly.

"Ya beat me to it!" Kage grinned as he got into a fighting stance. "You must be about as excited as I am!"

Mount Lady raised her arm. "And...begin!" Immediately, Megumi phased through the floor and out of sight, knowing that Kage would try to go for a quick victory. Seeing this, however, only excited Kage more.

"Alright! This is what I'm talking about!" He smiled as Megumi came up from behind him, trying to score a blow. Kage's reflexes allowed him to easily dodge the attack, activating his Quirk and sending her skidding backwards.

Up In the stands, Hiroto's concerns about Sabi had completely vanished, replaced by an excitement for the match as his mind began to analyse. "This is such an interesting matchup! Between Kage's ability to shift trajectory of anything he touches and Megumi's ability to phase through anything, there is no clear winner here. Both are able to perfectly counter each other. It's going to come down to their skills as individuals apart from their Quirks. Kage's quick thinking against Megumi's patient strategizing." As he continued to ramble, the four girls couldn't help but smile at him.

Shion in particular found herself enjoying this far more than she had in the past. "I used to think it was sort of annoying how much he paid attention to everyone else. Now that I've really taken a step back though, that smile . . . that overwhelming joy . . . it's a part of him. It's an entire side of him that I was choosing to ignore before. Why did I ever want him to suppress it? This is amazing. Hiro is amazing."

Down below, the match between Kage and Megumi was heating up. Both were going all out, but their ability to counter each other meant that neither had landed a significant blow on the other yet.

"You're better than I thought, Megumi." Kage grinned as he panted from mild exhaustion.

Megumi allowed a slight smile to spread over her face. "You're . . . not bad yourself. Looks like all that extra training is . . . really paying off," she replied, breathing heavily. Kage took another swipe at Megumi, sending her flying backwards while also losing his balance. While he regained his footing, Megumi saw an opening and took it, diving into the ground once more.

"Gotcha!" Kage smiled as he activated his Quirk on the ground, sending it running toward the outer ring in all directions like a treadmill. "I bet she can't see much when she's underground. She always seems to travel in a straight line and pops up behind me. I've also got a pretty good gauge of her speed while under there." Kage focussed more, speeding up the movement of the ground and frequently changing the direction.