Stronger Together

Twenty-seven: Two of the Same

    All that could be heard from the arena was shouts, grunts, and sometimes loud crashes indicating an impact. Their quirks were so identical, neither one was getting the upper hand. Eijirou would swing and miss. Tetsutetsu would land one in Eijirou's jaw, but both of their entire bodies were hardened, so it didn't make a difference.

   "Come on, Eijirou! You've got this!" I shout to encourage him. When I finish my cheer, Eijirou manages to land one on Tetsutetsu's cheekbone, earning a loud grunt from him. Tetsutetsu stumbles, but come running right back to hit him. This banter continues to go on for a while. Hit. Miss. Miss. Hit. Block. Dodge. Hit. Finally, they both connect hits on each other's jaws and fall to the ground.

   "The matchup of nearly identical quirks, Tetsutetsu versus Kirishima!! It was a full-on, close-quarters punch up! But who is the victor?!" Present Mic asks. Both Eijirou and Tetsutetsu seemed to be out cold. "They're both down! It's a draw!"

   "Hanzo, you alright?" I turn toward Denki and raise an eyebrow. "Your face makes you seem worried.

   "Nah, I'm good, but I'm gonna go check on him to see if he's okay," I say standing up and running down to Recovery Girl's office. When I make it there, out of breath, I might add, both boys had already been taken down here and layer out on the beds. "Are they alright?" I ask softly. Recovery Girl looks at me and shows me a soft smile.

   "Yes Dear, they're fine. They're just a little bruised up is all," She says. "They'll wake up soon." She bends down to each of them and kisses their foreheads. "There. Now they're all fixed up. Feel free to wait here a bit if you'd like."

   "Thank you, ma'am. I will." I take a seat and sit in between the two beds and take turns looking at each of them. I sit silently for a few minutes. 'They're so similar, it's kind of creepy. Eijirou definitely has the better looks though.' I lean close and slowly trace his jawline. He still has slight after shadow of a black eye. "Dang. You two really fought hard, didn't you?"

   Suddenly, they both shot up at the same time and glared at each other. "DID I WIN?!" They both shout. With a sigh, I pinch the bridge of my nose.

   "Why are you the way that you are? Why are you both so similar?" I ask with a groan.

   "Hanzo?"
   "Taya?"

   Again, they speak at the same time. "You guys are hurting my head."

   "Why are you here and not watching the fights?" Eijirou asks rubbing his head.

   "Cause you're here and you'd do the same for me," I say as if there wasn't another answer. "Why else?"

   "Aren't you missing Ochaco's fight with Bakugou?"

   "Well yeah, but I can just ask Hakai what happens. You and I both know she's going to be watching super closely. But you two need to hurry up and get ready, 'cause you're both going to have to arm wrestle to see who advances. You both passed out at the same time, so right now it's considered a draw," I explain standing up from the stool.

   "So, neither one of us won?" Tetsutetsu asked. I shook my head.

   "You both got knocked cold," I say again.

   "I've been curious," Tetsutetsu says. Eijirou and I look at him. "Are you two dating or something?"

   "Yeah, she's mine," Eijirou says curtly.

   "Damn. Okay." Tetsutetsu replies.

   "Okay? What does that mean?" I ask sitting on Eijirou's bed.

   "Just okay. Don't mean nothin' else. I'm not gonna stop trying to impress you though." I snort loudly.

   "Good luck," I say putting my hand on Eijirou's. "Go ahead and get up so you can walk down. I'm pretty sure the fight going on is almost over, then you guys are next." I'll be watching." I stand up to go to the door. "Good luck."

   I make it back upstairs to see Bakugou standing over Ochako who is unable to get up. 'I guess he won. I'll ask for a play by play later.' I notice everyone around me with upset looks on their faces. 'I wonder what happened.' I watch Bakugou walk down to where our class was sitting with a scowl. The only one who seems happy with his presence is Hakai, as expected.

   "All right everyone! It's finally time to determine who out of the nearly identical quirked boys moves onto the second round!" Present Mic says. "Alright boys, get ready." Both guys sit at a table and grab each other's hands. "Go!" Both their arms harden but neither one moves. Eijirou grabs the side of the table and digs his fingers into it. They both are grunting and trying their hardest, but then Eijirou manages to slam Tetsutetsu's hand down and claims the win. He jumps up with a happy yell before looking down at his opponent and offering him his hand.

   "Way to go, Babe!" I shout clapping my hands.

   "And so the tie is decided, and the winner is Kirishima! And with this, we have our contestants for round two! Speaking of which...we shall begin shortly?!"