A New World

~18~

His next two matches went pretty much exactly the same. He'd mess around a bit, taunting his opponent, then at the minute mark he'd hit them with his signature neck chop. The finals rolled around, as he'd suspected it was him against Bakugou. Killua made note to observe his opponent's fighting style during his matches, Bakugou was definitely the most formidable opponent he'd face the whole tournament. Still pretty weak compared to me, but he's had the whole tournament to watch me too.

Killua waited in his designated room, contemplating his course of action. Maybe I'll play nice for a bit. He decided, with a slight chuckle. I'll let it draw out more than just a minute, wouldn't want to disappoint the spectators. Killua thought. It'd probably be fun to play with his ego a little too. He thought, an amused grin stretching across his face. Heh. I can't wait.

~~~~~~Bakugou's PoV~~~~~~~~

Katsuki stood across from his opponent, a sneer etched across his face. I'm gonna beat this cocky bastard. He thought, eyeing Killua. He always had such a cool composure, almost like he was bored. But I've had all day to watch your little tricks. And had more than enough time to come up with a game plan. This match sure as hell wasn't going to be easy, but he'd make sure to wipe that smirk he knew was under the mask off his stupid face.

"GUESS IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS FOLKS!"

Present Mic announced loudly. Katsuki kept his eyes dead set on Killua, not looking away for a moment despite the roaring from the crowd. The bastard was dumb enough to leave visible patterns in all of his matches, so Katsuki somewhat knew what to expect. I won't let you make a fool of me, extra. As Present Mic shouted to begin the match, Katsuki immediately used one of his explosions to blast himself to the right. As he'd expected, Killua had gone for an attack on his left flank off the bat and just barely missed.

Probably won't be so lucky next time though, I only dodged that because I knew it was coming before he even moved. Damn it. As Katsuki went on the offensive, trying to catch even a small portion of him in one of his blasts, he found it impossible. Killua was just too fast. He felt anger boil in his veins, this wasn't even the speed he'd been showcasing during his earlier matches. He's going easy on me? "YOU BASTARD!" Katsuki shouted, gathering a large blast aimed directly at Killua's head. Killua ducked underneath, delivering a solid punch to his stomach.

Katsuki coughed, flying backwards a few feet. He quickly caught himself using a few explosions from his palms, managing to avoid stepping out of the line by a few inches. He dove forward closer to the middle of the arena, making sure he wasn't close enough to simply shove out of the ring anymore. As he did that, Katsuki noticed something. The strap on his mask, it's fraying. There was a point on the back of the left strap that had begun to seriously fray. And By the look of it, Killua hadn't noticed. It had probably happened in one of the previous matches, or perhaps it was simply from wear over time. Katsuki never saw him take the damn thing off.

Katsuki didn't know why he wore that mask, but he did know one thing. It definitely increased his ability somehow. It did something to help him in combat. He probably doesn't even get affected by the smoke. He realized, as he let out another flurry of attacks that were easily dodged. If I can just get it off his face, then I could hit him with a smoke screen. Katsuki grinned at this revelation, all he had to do was hit that point where his mask frayed. Even just a little would probably do it.

Katsuki took another hit, this time to his shoulder. He let out a snarl, turning and aiming a strong explosion directly at his face. To his frustration but not his surprise, Killua easily dodged. He'd definitely have to be discrete about where he was aiming, going right for his face wouldn't get him anywhere. Maybe if I... He let out a yell, blasting himself forward to target his arm. As Katsuki expected, Killua simply sidestepped him with a chuckle. However, Katsuki wasn't just aiming for his arm. I win.

~~~~~~Todoroki's PoV~~~~~~

Shoto watched the match, practically on the edge of his seat. However suddenly, a gasp tore its way out of his throat as he watched Killua's mask suddenly fly off his face. He quickly shot to his feet, eyes going wide. "STOP THE FIGHT!" Mr. Aizawa suddenly shouted over the speakers, causing his classmates and the audience in the stands alike to mutter to themselves in confusion. Cementoss was forced to create a barrier as Bakugou tried to launch another attack.

"Why is he stopping the fight?"

"It was just getting good!"

Shoto gritted his teeth. "That mask isn't just for show, he needs it to breathe." Shoto said, panic rising in his chest. With all that smoke... "What!?" Uraraka gasped, a horrified look sweeping over his classmates. Todoroki leapt off the stands, using his ice to create a path down for him. He saw Killua hacking and coughing, his eyes watering as he struggled. Shoto thought about grabbing the mask, but chances were it was broken. None of the staff seemed to know what was going on, nor did any of the audience.

He supposed it was probably kept a secret, so it wasn't exploited. Shoto grabbed Killua, since the staff was being useless. Damn, I don't know how long he can last without his mask. Recovery girl will know what to do. He quickly rushed off to the infirmary, shoving people out of his way as he went. His classmate's life was on the line here. Killua choked on the air, his grip on Shoto's shoulder starting to weaken. He burst into the nurse's office, startling recovery girl. "Oh dear!" She exclaimed, quickly getting to her feet.

Under her instructions he set Killua down on a bed in the room, rolling a large machine over and placing it on his face. By then, he'd already passed out. "Will he be-" Shoto was interrupted by an elbow in his ribcage. "Now shoo! You've done good, boy. Now go back to the rest of your class. I can handle this."

1075 words

To Be Continued...