10. The Tournement

                                    

                                          
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Edited 14.MARCH.2022
Edited 13.OCT.2024
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"And so, Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki have moved up to make sixteen contestants for our tournament!" Midnight declared, "This here is the bracket based on the results of the lots!"
Niwa grinned and turned to her friend, leaning into Kaminari's space. "Let's give it our all, Sparky~" she purred, her tone playful yet laced with a predatory edge. Kaminari stiffened, beads of sweat forming at his temple.
"R-Right! I mean... it'll be a close match... right?" he stammered, already looking like he wanted to bolt.
Kirishima clasped a hand on Kaminari and Sero's shoulder, "Do your best!" he cried, like he was already mourning their impending defeat. Sero and Kaminari exchanged glances, then burst into lighthearted shoves, grumbling good-naturedly. Meanwhile, Bakugou's eyes stayed glued to the screen, a crease of genuine confusion forming on his brow.
"Uraraka?" He voiced, obviously trying to put a face to the name of his opponent.
Niwa strolled over with a smirk. "See? This is why you should learn people's actual names instead of calling us all weird nicknames." She threw a glance at Bakugou, then turned to the others with an exaggerated shrug.
Kirishima froze mid-shove. "Yeah! Stop calling us mean stuff!" he echoed before Kaminari jabbed two fingers into his ribs.
Bakugou's scowl deepened, his eyes narrowing at Niwa, but he stayed silent, his irritation building.
While the recreation activities unfolded around her, her classmates who were in the finals disappeared in various directions. Her first battle was against Kaminari, and despite her usual confidence, a tight knot formed in her stomach. She forced herself to breathe slowly, trying to push away the feeling that threatened to overwhelm her. Aside from frying her crispy, Kaminari was predictable.
But, what if he caught her off guard? Niwa kicked at the dirt in frustration, her foot making contact with a small stone. 
She didn't exactly want to dive headfirst at the fucking Pikachu, but it was looking like she didn't have much of a choice. She kicked a small stone with the tip of her shoe, sending the thing flying a few meters as she walked through the forest.
She started pacing back and forward while lost in her thoughts.
Really, this tournament was full of annoying guys. Her heart was pounding with excitement. She tried to keep her cool before the tournament, but she was getting giddier and giddier with every minute passing.
She decided to go for a light jog back towards the stadium and took a seat up in the stands reserved for her class to watch the fights. Her class joined her as the time neared.
Her classmates were mostly silent as Present Mic psyched up the crowd.
"First up we have, Midoriya Izuku from the hero course vs Shinso Hitoshi from the General Studies!" Present Mic announced as both competitors finally walked on over to the stage. As Niwa watched, she really didn't know what she wanted to happen or who she wanted to win...
"The rules are simple! Force your opponent out of bounds or immobilize them!" Niwa slumped against her seat on the end next to Kirishima. "You can also win by making your opponent say, 'I give up!"
Shinso was already chatting away to Midoriya, insulting Ojiro's decision to drop out of the tournament.
"Ready!?" Present Mic screamed through the microphones, "Start!"
Midoriya charged forward yelling, "What did you say!?"
Suddenly, Midoriya slowed to a stop and Niwa groaned. Ojiro stood up in a panic, "Ah, even after if went to the trouble of warning him, too!"