Stuck Between Realities-Remastered

Part 23~Quarter Finals

"Starting this round, we have the speed student always playing by the rules, Iida, against the vine queen Ibra. Start!"

Once Present Mic finished, Ibra sent out her vines, keeping Iida back. Iida kept dodging, trying to get around the vines, but it did little. Ibra kept making walls, keeping him far away.

Iida finally knew he had no other choice. "Repro-burst." Iida burst through the air faster than should be possible, grabbing Ibra and throwing her out of the ring.

"Iida moves onto the semis," Midnight announced as Iida stood proudly.

~~~

"On to the next round, we have the explosion loud mouth, Bakugo against the hardening castle, Kirishima. Start."

Katsuki and Kirishima both rushed forward, meeting in the middle. Katuski threw explosion after explosion as Kirishima hardened his skin, taking each hit with little fuss.

Kirishima ducked to the side of an explosion, throwing up his fist and cutting Katsuki's cheek, which hit back, explosion Kirishima's side.

"Nice try, but that's not gonna work on me, explosion boy," Kirishima joked as Present Mic whistled.

"Bakugo's having a hard time fighting back against Kirishima's fierce attacks."

Kirishima kept punching as Katsuki dodged, stepping further and further back before he saw his chance, landing a large explosion on Kirishima's chest.

"Bakugo counters again. What's this? Unlike before, it's working?!"

Kirishima gritted his teeth, trying hard to keep fighting as Katsuki shook his head. "You've been straining to keep your whole body rock-hard this time, right? If you attack quickly in that state, sooner or later, it'll start coming apart." Katsuki took a deep breath, a smile on his face. "The finishing blow. Die!"

The large blast pushed Kirishima away, and he collapsed.

"Kirishima's knocked out, Bakugo moves forward to the next round," Midnight announced as the crowds cheered.

~~~

Izuku hummed to himself as he walked toward the stadium, stopping as he spotted Endeavour walking at him.

"Oh, there you are."

Izuku raised his eyebrow. "Endeavour. What are you doing here?"

"I watched your fight. You have a wonderful Quirk. You've clearly trained hard. If we're talking about power alone, yours is comparable to All Might's."

"Why would that matter to you, Endeavour?" Izuku kept his eyes on the hero before he rolled his eyes. "Also, I have no connection to All Might. I would prefer people stopped comparing us. Now, I have shit to go." Izuku started walking past Endeavour as the man scoffed.

"It is my Shoto's duty to surpass All Might. If he fights you, it will be a very instructive test run. Don't disgrace yourself by losing before it can happen. That's all I wanted to say. I apologise for bothering you right before your match."

Izuku clicked his tongue, turning back to Endeavour. "I already told you. I'm not All Might, and the last time I checked, Todoroki isn't you."

"You think you can talk back to me?"

"You think you can beat me in a fight? You have no idea who am I, do you? I'm Izuku Midoriya, the problem kid of the city. I've fought villains stronger than you and taken down empires that would be the highlight of your career, but they're barely a note foot in mine. See you around, asshole."

Izuku walked away, heading to the stage as he tried to calm down.

"On to the next round, we have the creation student who hasn't backed down yet, Momo Yaoyorozu, against the boy who can do anything, Izuku Midoriya. Ready? Start!"

Once Present Mic finished, Izuku turned into a griffin, the wind storming around him and firing at Yaoyorozu. She couldn't hold on in the intense wind, easily being thrown out of bounds and crashing to the ground near the audience.

"Midoriya moves to the semi-finals," Midnight announced as Izuku winced.

"Ah, shit." He turned back to human, awkwardly walking over to Yaoyorozu. "Did I kill you?"

Yaoyorozu sat up slowly as Izuku hopped down next to her.

"Sorry. I was angry."

"It's fine." Yaoyorozu tried to smile as she stood up, walking off as Izuku huffed.

"That's two egos crushed."

~~~

"On to the last battle of the quarter-finals, we have the ice-cold boy, Todoroki, against the burning acid student, Ashido. Start!"

Mina didn't waste a second before using her acid to move. She slid forward as Todoroki created a wall of ice, blocking her path. She responded by using her acid to melt through it before charging at him and finally attacking.

The battle quickly became a battle of speed, with both contesters using their Quirk to get fast and get the next hit; each time one would try to hit the other, it would be stopped in the middle.

With the final clash of ice against acid, Todoroki slid under the attack and sent ice up Mina's legs and around her waist.

"This is over," Todoroki announced as Mina tried to escape. It did nothing as Todoroki pushed the ice out of the ring and threw Mina out of bounds.

"Todoroki moves to the semi-finals," Midnight announced as Todoroki walked towards Mina, melting the ice off her legs and freeing her.

Mina took the loss well, cheering Todoroki on and telling him that he better win the event. Todoroki didn't really know how to respond, so he walked away, his eyes catching the sight of his father staring at him. His resolve continued to set. He will win without his Quirk.

~~~

Izuku hummed to himself, his rest ending as Present Mci called people's attention back to the arena and the semi-finals. He stretched as he stood up, slowly walking toward his fight, waiting for the queue to go out.

When he heard it, he grinned, walking through the tunnels with a bounce in his step. The semi-finals were beginning, and he was just two fights from a medal. On the other side of the area, his opponent walked out, head down and dragging his feet.

Izuku scoffed, a wide grin stretching on his face. "Give me your worst," Izuku laughed as Katsuki finally smiled back.

"You really want that?"

"Hell yeah. Let's raise this fight up a level."

The two got into fighting stances as Present Mic screamed over them. "On to the semi-finals, we have a battle between childhood friends, Izuku Midoriya, against Katsuki Bakugo. Start!"