My Hero Automata

Chapter 21: Heroics Tournament Day 3 (Continued)

Summary: Some additional matches and an aside with a bit of foreshadowing...

Chapter 21: Heroics Tournament Day 3 (Continued)

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The surprises in the next two matches weren't quite as dramatic as the first had been. But that didn't mean they'd been absent. Tsuburaba and Mineta had put on a surprisingly engaging display, showcasing just how important maneuverability actually was to any engagement. With the various 'terrain' pieces to break up the otherwise flat plane of the match platform, Mineta was able to use his bouncing form of acceleration to great effect. The only thing that kept Tsuburaba in the match for long was that, with his solid air walls and ability to make air platforms to walk on, he was able to respond by both limiting Mineta's own movement and increasing his own. In the end, Mineta had surprised quite a few people by coming out the victor, having laid one too many traps for his opponent to avoid. The entire battle had shown off a calculating, strategic mind that few had expected from him...and which Tsuburaba hadn't been able to match. Even then, it had been close, as Tsuburaba was clearly in better physical shape than his opponent and had nearly outlasted the now-exhausted Mineta.

Bakugo and Momo's match, meanwhile...had been violent. Katsuki had enough of a reputation for aggression already that no one, not even those of Group B, had been surprised to see him go hard. But Izumi had seen quite a few of her fellow students, even a few people from Group A, go goggle-eyed at seeing Momo matching his aggression. Even if Momo could be accidently terrifying at times, most people that hadn't seen her in 'competitive mode' had a few mental gears slip as they watched the match turn into a high-speed, high-violence engagement. Bakugo wasn't stupid enough to give Momo time to plan or create much, forcing her into close engagement right from the start. The result had been a lot of destruction to the environment as Katsuki couldn't put her down...and Momo had trouble dealing with his ability to redirect radically at high speeds.

Her girlfriend certainly had the experience against Izumi to keep up with whatever speed Katsuki could manage...but Izumi normally flowed through combat. Bakugo's much more jarring, abrupt changes in direction had thrown Momo at first, causing both of them to wreck large portions of the combat area as they both combined power and mobility to weave in and out of obstacles while remaining at melee distances. The entire fight had at least seemed to be knife edge the whole way, with only Izumi aware that Momo could likely tank anything short of a fully-powered gauntlet explosion from Bakugo. That was a new thing, relatively, for Momo, so she didn't instinctively fight with the knowledge of her durability. And the difference in familiarity with their power at melee range kept Katsuki in the fight long after Momo should have been able to flatten him.

It was something that Izumi noted they needed to work on, even as Momo finally managed to land a hit that punched Bakugo through a pillar and out of bounds. He was essentially unhurt, his Quirk giving him a stupid amount of resistance to concussive force as protection against his own explosions. But the ring-out gave Momo the win. It had still been a hell of a showing for him, despite his scowl, and Izumi could already see ways to learn from it. She didn't use her telekinesis nearly as much as you'd think, due to the difficulty in controlling it finely enough for more than just brute attacks. But, if she could start using it to force more rapid direction shifts, like Katsuki had been doing with his explosions...

Izumi shook the thought off as the pair rejoined the group. She gave Momo her best hug and a peck on the lips...then squeaked in surprise as Momo picked her up and gave Izumi a much less publicly-appropriate kiss. She nonchalantly set Izumi back down, ignoring her steaming-red face...and simply smirked at the wolf-whistle someone in Group B directed their way.