"I'm gonna shred you to pieces, Ink Blot!" Sabi roared as he leapt towards Mokawa in a blind rage.
By the time Hiroto and the others had made it back to the stands, the first match of the second round had already begun: Mokawa vs. Sabi. Initially, Mokawa had held the upper hand, his ranged attacks managing to keep Sabi at bay, but as Sabi's frustration grew, so too did his aggression. Now, as Hiroto analysed the fight, the matchup seemed far more evenly balanced.
"Mokawa's combat experience and training are some of his greatest assets, but he's not fighting a typical opponent right now."
"More like a rabid animal if you ask me," Shion said with a huff. She stole a quick glance at the others to make sure her comment wasn't out of line. Seeing no disapproving glares, she took a deep breath. "It's not going to happen overnight, but I need to keep trying."
"Is M-Mokawa going to be okay?" Osen asked, a look of concern in her eyes. "I kn-know I wasn't much of a ch-challenge, but he seems to be h-having a much harder t-time right now."
"Well, Sensei?" Kage asked. "What does the expert say?"
Hiroto stared down at the fight, watching Sabi dodge, weave, slice, and roar. Calling him a "rabid animal" was actually very apropos. "I don't know much about Mokawa, but I do know that Sabi is gunning for me in this tournament. He's not going to be easy to knock out."
"You think he might go overboard?" Sachi asked.
"He couldn't do that," Terra said quickly. "They've got rules in place."
"But if there's one thing Sabi is probably good at, it's pushing the limits of the rules," Hiroto said thoughtfully as he continued to watch the match unfold.
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"Come on, you arrogant bastard! Not so tough now, are ya!" Sabi snapped as he charged at Mokawa once again, narrowly dodging the watery whip from Mokawa's hair.
"You lack all sense of honour, Sabi Kizuato." Mokawa remained calm and continued his assault. "How you made it to the hero course is beyond me!"
"Don't talk like you know me!" Sabi launched at Mokawa only to be drenched by a jet of black water from his opponent. He tried to move forward, but found himself unable to do so. An intense pain flooded his system. "What . . . did . . . you . . ."
"I've used my Quirk to take control of your sweat, forcing it back into your pores and seizing you up," Mokawa explained. "It borders on underhanded, but straightforward tactics don't work against someone as unhinged as you."
Sabi grit his teeth at this, letting out a guttural roar as he fought against the pain.
"I'm ending this now," Mokawa prepared to launch another water jet at Sabi. "Go back to the locker rooms and cool off. You're done for today."
"Don't . . . tell me . . . what to do!" Sabi slowly took one step forward. Then another. Then another, picking up speed with each step.
Mokawa's eyes widened. "You shouldn't be able to . . . unless . . . your Quirk?"
"A blade for each bead of sweat you tried to cram back into me," Sabi growled, charging at Mokawa full steam now. "I'm not done until I face off against Aizawa, and nobody, not even you, can stop me!" Sabi was directly in front of Mokawa, who was still flabbergasted by the level of determination he was witnessing. With one swift, spiked punch to the gut, Sabi sent Mokawa flying backwards, where he landed out of bounds.
"And Sabi Kizuato takes the win!" Mic yelled as the crowd went wild.
"Like I said, you're just another roadblock," Sabi said as he turned his back to the defeated Mokawa.
YOU ARE READING
Hiro Rising
Fanfiction"A young boy sets out to prove that he has what it takes to be a hero on his own, but even in an era of peace, he's about to learn that, sometimes, having people by your side is the only way to succeed."
