Stronger Together

Twenty-six: Right in the Face

 "Alright, ladies and gentlemen! Onto the next battle!" Present Mic says. "On one side we have the guy that just can't stop sparkling! Yuga Aoyama!"
'Oh my god...who told him to say that?' "On our other side, we have a scaly heroine who's all bite! Taya Hanzo!" Cheers are heard throughout the stadium for us both, but I hear a few distinct ones coming from one section. "Alright you two, here we go!"

   "You know Aoyama, I've never told anyone this, but I've always wanted to just punch you, right in the face." His face pales yet he keeps his usual smile. I smirk at his reaction and he begins to tremble slightly.

   "Go!" I dash toward Aoyama at super-fast speed with my nails sharpened. With a yelp, Aoyama jumps out of my way and fired his naval laser at me. I jump over the beam, just barely dodging it. I run at him again, but before he can dodge, I stick my leg out and trip him. Once she's on the ground, I jump on him and scratch him before he can fire his laser again, paralyzing him instantly. "Ladies and gentlemen, I think this may be our fastest fight yet. Hanzo seems to have paralyzed him right out of the gate!"

"Aoyama, are you able to move?" Midnight asks standing over the two of us. I stand up and back away from him, but I don't let my guard down just in case my paralysis failed.

"Oui Mademoiselle, I..." Aoyama struggles to move, but he can't even wriggle his little finger. He sighs, but still somehow keeps his usual smile. 'Maybe it's the paralysis...'

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!! Taya Hanzo can now go on to the next round!" I throw my fist into the air and laugh while the crowd cheers. 'Man! It feels really good to win!'

"Way to go, Taya!" I hear Hakai yell. 'Oh, she made it?'

"Great job, Taya! You crushed it!" Eijirou calls. I smile up at them and wave before walking out.

"THAT'S MY GIRL!" I hear next. I freeze in my place and go pale. 'Mom...I swear.' I don't even turn toward the voice before I walk out. I take a deep breath and make my way back up to the stands. 'Eijirou is next. I'd better catch him before he goes out.'

   When I make it back up, Eijirou is leaving. When he sees me, he breaks into a smile and jogs up to me. He puts his hand on my arm gently and rubs it. "Great job, Taya. I knew you could do it."

   "Thanks, Eijirou. I figured I'd be able to get him. It's Aoyama for Might's sake," I say with a giggle. "Are you ready for your fight?"

   "Hell yeah. I can totally win against him. I'll make sure to beat him for you, okay?"

   "You've totally got this. I'll be cheering for you, remember? Now go. You don't want to be late for your own fight. Good luck!" I say before running up to the stands, leaving him no room to complain about me leaving.

   "Taya, that was awesome!"

   "Yeah, you were hella fast!"

   I'm greeted with a few praises when I make it back over to my friends. "Thanks, guys, but I hardly even did anything," I say waving my hand at them.

   "Sure you did! You paralyzed him!" Denki says.

   "Well yeah, but that's about it," I say with a shrug.

   "Well you still did well, but now it's your boyfriend's turn to show off to you," Hakai says nudging my arm. I roll my eyes playfully and take a seat next to her.

   "Yeah yeah," I say. "You're looking better. How do you feel? Your nose looks pretty messed up." Hakai covers her nose with her fingers.

   "I know...I do feel better though. I'll probably go see Recovery Girl in a bit though," She says.

   "I mean, I would with that injury. It looks blue." I wince slightly. "That must really hurt."

   "I'll be fine. How do you think Kirishima will do?" She asks. I smile at her question.

   "I think he'll do his best. I mean, both him and Tetsutetsu have super similar quirks, so I guess it'll come down to who's the better fighter," I explain.

   "How do you know that their quirks are similar?" Denki asks. I roll my eyes at the thought.

   "Let's just say he told me himself," I say.

   "Who, Tetsutetsu?" I nod. "Did he try and flirt with you or something?"

   "I think that's what he was trying to do." I shrug. "Whatever, look. They're about to fight." I say crossing my legs and leaning back.

   "Alright, everyone! It's time for our next match!" Present Mic says over the announcements. "We have, from Heroics Class A, Eijirou Kirishima! And from Heroics Class B, Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu! Alright boys, are you ready? Then here we go! Fight!"