hold your breath//Shota Aizawa

Chapter 5; Olympics, but with... explosions?

Loud cheers echoed throughout the stadium, making even Azumi, who was used to loud noises, cringe. The water hero was one of the many on standby in the arena, given the task of keeping the students' quirks inside and not allowing anyone in the stands to get hurt. He shared this duty with Cementos, who he nodded at as the first couple of students entered after being put into pairs for the 1v1 fight.

"The first match! Making a weird face despite his excellent performance, it's Izuku Midoriya, from the hero course! Versus... sorry, but this guy hasn't really done anything to stand out yet! It's Hitoshi Shinso, from general studies! The rules are simple! Win by knocking your opponent out of the ring, immobilizing them or getting them to say 'I give up'! Bring the pain! We've got our good old Recovery Girl on standby! And fight dirty if you must! 'Ethiscs' have no meaning here!" Present Mic announced through the stadium, making the spectators cheer even louder. "Well, of course, going for a kill is a no-no! You'll be disqualified! Because a true hero's fists fly only when in pursuit of villains!" Shinso started speaking to Midoriya, obviously trying to stir him up. "READY!" Mic shouted and Azumi's eyes narrowed in concentration. "START!" Midoriya bolted at the other student but before he could get very far his body froze mid-step. It only took Azumi a second to realize that Shinso possibly had some kind of body or mind control quirk.

"Turn around and walk out of the ring." Shinso ordered and Midoriya followed. As the green haired boy neared the line the tension in the stadium grew so the crack that suddenly pierced the silence sounded like a whip. Azumi cringed as he saw Midoriya's fingers swell and color purple.

"Midoriya! He stopped!" Hizashi yelled out and Midoriya started running towards Shinso. Azumi prepared to move, just in case the kid decided to use that stupidly powerful quirk of his against the mind-controller. But he didn't. They just used their fists. Shinso's stance was too stationary and Midoriya took that opportunity to flip him over his shoulder, slamming his body to the ground. Shinso's heel was just barely out of bounds.

"Shinso is out of the ring!" Midnight announced.

"Midoriya moves on to the second round!"

"Damn..."

***

"The wait is over! Moving on, the cream of the crop! Yet this guy's somehow still as plain as they come! Hanta Sero of the hero course! Versus the best of the best! The strongest of the strong! Shoto Todoroki, also of the hero course! Start!" Sero immediately shot out the tape out of his elbows, successfully taping Todoroki's arms to his body, but the look in Todoroki's eyes made Azumi tense. A huge amount of ice grew from Todoroki's feet, the sharp spikes shining in the sun. Azumi moved fast and altered the movement of the molecules of water present in the ice to stop it from harming the spectators.

"God that was fast." Sighed Azumi.

"Shoto Todoroki moves to the second round!"

The next couple of rounds went by fast and without any major interventions from the standby heroes. But the next match, that was what Azumi was afraid of.

"A celebrity since his middle school days, with a face only a mother could love. It's Katsuki Bakugou of the hero course. Versus my personal pick! Ochaco Uraraka, also of the hero course! Start!" Uraraka charged forward with an admirable determination in her eyes. Her attack was met with an explosion that left Azumi's ears ringing. Gah...that had to be unhealthy for Bakugou. Maybe he could try and come up with an improvement to Bakugou's costume that would ease the strain on his eardrums. The dust floated in the air, giving Uraraka the perfect cover as she slipped off her jacket, making Bakugou shift his focus, and she moved behind him. "She threw her jacket over and sent it floating, all on the fly!" Mic commented enthusiastically, but groaned after she was blasted away anyway. Azumi watched the rubble caused by Bakugou's explosions slowly float in the air with a smirk. "Uraraka wastes no time. She's charging again!" And she flew back again. And again. And again. People on the stands behind Aquamarine and Cementos started shouting at them to stop the fight, but the two just exchanged irritated glances.