Leave Your Mark | Various!BNHA x Reader

58: Something to Prove

"Alright, everyone, we're back!" Present Mic announces with his usual loud, boisterous flair. "Sorry for the delay! We had to repair the arena real quick. That last battle was crazy, huh? It went from 0 to 100, just like that! Anyway, we're gonna pick up right where we left off. On one side of the arena is the unfortunate simpleton who got taken for a wild ride by his opponent last round, Kaminari Denki! And on the other side, well... I already announced her before-and wow, you guys are cheering like crazy all of a sudden-but it's everyone's favorite rising social media star, [Name]!"

Hehe. Look at all my fans.

You happily wave towards the crowd of spectators, but you know you can't afford to let your guard down. Shouto won his battle against Izuku, which was expected. If you win, that means you'll be fighting Shouto in the next round. To be honest, your odds of winning against him really aren't great, but you want to see how it'll go. You may be best friends and all, however, you've always wondered what it would be like to fight him one-on-one. Plus, you promised you would both do your best and advance as far as possible. You refuse to drop out this early.

"I'm sorry, Kaminari," you say, furrowing your brows determinedly. "I'm going to do whatever it takes to win."

"Hey, no hard feelings," he reassures. "I feel the exact same way. I'm not going to hold back just because my opponent is a super cute girl."

"Thank you for specifying that I'm super cute, not just cute."

"Well... you are."

You giggle a few times, which makes a lopsided grin spread across Kaminari's face. Even if you lose, you know it's not the end of the world. You won't have a fit or get too torn up over it. Still, it'd be a waste to throw in the towel this soon when you have the potential to go even farther, to push past your limits even more.

Present Mic said that you're a rising social media star, and while he's definitely not wrong about that, you're more than just a Chubby Bunny prodigy, or even a future internet sensation.

Just like Shouto, just like Izuku, just like Katsuki and everyone else who's participating in the Sports Festival...

You want to be a hero, too.

"And... START!"

You figured as much, but Kaminari sure as hell doesn't waste any time. Iida was the exact same way. He went on the offensive the moment the starting signal rang out. Unlike your fight against Iida, however, it'd be pointless to float in this situation. Kaminari's electricity has a ton of range, and it attacks indiscriminately whenever he lets loose. Even if you float, it won't protect you from being caught up in its attacks. Besides, you barely even have the time to make yourself float.

Instead, you hurry to surround yourself with star fragments and construct a barrier, right before Kaminari's electricity can shock you. It worked, at least. Well... kind of. You weren't actually able to block everything out. Some of the electric waves slipped through the gaps in your armor. Within a few moments, you can feel your muscles spasming uncontrollably.

"O-Ouch," you wince, but you shake your head and take a deep breath, maintaining your barrier as firmly as you can.

That hurt more than I expected it to. Also, getting shocked feels really weird. I doubt I'll ever be able to get used to it.

At least the barrier helped mitigate some of the damage, though. You would've been much worse for wear otherwise. It may not be perfect insulation, but it's definitely better than nothing. As for now, well...

Looks like this is about to be a battle of attrition.

Kaminari doesn't let up, not even for a single moment. He keeps discharging as much electricity as he can, hoping it'll be enough to incapacitate you. All the while, you don't even bother advancing towards him. You hold your ground and focus on maintaining your barrier, for as long as humanly possible. Everyone has their limits. That includes you, of course, but your resilience is no joke. Not just physically-speaking, but mentally, too.