Era

38

For the amount of time she was spending in these waiting rooms, they could have at least made them a little more interesting.

Era hummed into her hand as she stared up at the small television displaying the match between Iida and Todoroki. She'd barely been able to catch the tail-end of Asui vs. Uraraka, but apparently it had been an interesting one. Unfortunately for Uraraka, Asui's quirk made her particularly effective even while weightless; she'd removed her shoes at some point during the match, and even when Uraraka had managed to get a hand on her Asui was still able to keep herself stuck to the concrete ground by her hands and feet, all the while using her tongue to keep Uraraka on the defensive.

Uraraka's quirk had been effectively nullified, and from there it was a brawl that heavily advantaged Asui. Which meant it was Asui that Era would be facing in the next match.

The television had no sound, but still Era could hear the walls around her shudder with deafening noise as Iida landed a devastating kick onto Todoroki, knocking him into the ground. If he used the full extent of his quirk, he'd never have to take that hit... villains wouldn't hold back, wouldn't stop at knocking him over...

She leaned back with a sigh, feeling a headache swelling at her temples and wearily nudging those thoughts into a rapidly growing box. This wasn't the time to indulge that kind of spiral.

Instead she felt a scratchy sort of frustration as Iida grew too hasty, all caution abandoned the instant he closed the distance and had Todoroki on the ground. Did he forget that the boy posed a threat up close as well? He couldn't just try and drag him over the line like that, no matter how fast he moved.

A strangled noise stuck itself in her throat when Iida—quite literally—froze, ice creeping up along his leg until he was encased in a pillar of glimmering crystal. And just like that, the match was over.

Era groaned, letting her head fall against the table before forcing herself into some semblance of composure. Though she certainly respected Asui's strength, she also had a fair bit of confidence in her own; this match might be difficult, but if she were a betting woman—and, well, past events would indicate that she was, but that wasn't the point right now—she'd say that the odds leaned heavily in her favor.

Which meant, if things proceeded as planned... she would be facing Todoroki next. That was something that she could have very well done without, to be quite honest.

One thing at a fucking time. Era gave all of her gear one last once-over before heading out the door towards the all too familiar entrance to the stadium, keeping her chin high and her expression level as she stepped out onto the field and towards the freshly repaired stage.

"AAAAAALRIGHT! WHO'S READY FOR OUR SECOND MATCH OF THE SEMIFINALS?" Present Mic's voice rang out over the crowd in bursts of electric excitement. That strange nausea returned, nipping at the inside of Era's stomach before she dismissed it with a crack of her neck, focusing on her opponent.

"BE CAREFUL, WE'VE ALREADY SEEN THAT THIS CUTE LITTLE FROG PACKS QUITE A PUNCH! FROM THE HERO COURSE, ASUI TSUYU!"

Asui just blinked at the shuddering roar of the crowd, a hand reaching up to tap at the bottom of her chin. Did she not realize how much the audience must be invested in her at this point, now that she'd made it so far? With the skill she'd already displayed? Of course the cheers would be deafening.

"VERSUS! WHAT'S HER QUIRK? WILL WE EVER DISCOVER—"

There was a rustling over the microphone that sounded suspiciously like someone getting a sharp jab to the shoulder before Present Mic hastily picked up the commentary again.