Present Mic: “Why are they just standing there?!”
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The match has started, but the two fighters refuse to budge an inch. Nearly everyone was confused and bored. Did these two not want to fight?
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But those with a keen eye could see what was really going on.
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Jiro: “What are they doing?”
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Kirishima: “Are they sizing each other up or something?”
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Bakugo: “Look at the stage, dumbass.”
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Surprisingly, Bakugo was the one to point out the truth of the match.
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Kirishima: “Oh.”
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Kiri: “Strong.”
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The ground beneath their feet was cracking as they tried to push the other out of the ring. At the moment, Sabrina was the one being pushed back. If only by a few inches.
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Izuku: “One of them has to give.”
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Correct. At this rate, Sabrina would lose. Yeah, it would take a few hours, but she would be pushed off the stage. The psychic arm wrestle was over; time to actually battle.
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Sacrificing a moment of focus, Sabrina commanded the ground beneath Kaoru to swallow her leg. This caused Sabrina to stumble back a few feet, but it also broke Kaoru’s focus.
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Sabrina: “Lock.”
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And just like that, Kaoru was frozen in place. Sabrina’s psychic hold was truly one of the strongest. Nearly impossible to break through with sheer will alone.
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But Kaoru was one of those that could break it, given time.
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Sabrina: “I will admit, you have grown stronger.”
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Kaoru: “I had to! If I want to surpass Tornado one day.”
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With a grunt, Kaoru focuses on the psychic shell trapping her and tears it apart. Free, she charged Sabrina while engulfed in pink light.
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Kaoru: “Have you gotten any better at close quarters?”
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Sabrina: “Unneeded.”
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Using the air itself as a hammer, she slammed two against Kaoru’s sides. She caught them with her own power, but that leaves her front open. Taking the chance, Sabrina grabs Kaoru’s shirt and tightens it around her body.
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Kaoru: “Ugh.”
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Sabrina: “If this was a real battle, I would have shrunk you down to doll-size by now.”
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Kaoru: “Like heck! That wouldn’t work on me again!”
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To prove it, Kaoru unleashed her psychic might in the form of a pink flash grenade.
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Blinded, Sabrina’s wind hammers collapsed and allowed for Kaoru to counter with-
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Kaoru: “Psychic Drill Crusher!”
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The rolling uppercut sends Sabrina high into the air. Kaoru follows Sabrina into the sky, prepared to knock her out of the ring. Sabrina righted herself in time to clash once more with Kaoru’s psychic might.
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Before the clash can last too long, Sabrina’s eyes glow red. A hand of earth erupts from the stage to grab Kaoru from behind.
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Caught off guard, Kaoru is dragged back to the ground, where Sabrina had more of a chance at victory. But Kaoru quickly broke out of it, but not fast enough to prevent Sabrina from returning to the ground and preparing her first trump card.
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Green energy crackles to life around her outstretched hands. A second later, the energy erupts into Psi-Whips.
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Present Mic: “Would you look at that, folks!? Kanto shows us another psychic ability, this one much more flashy!”
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Kaoru: “Finally deciding to take this a bit more seriously?”
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Sabrina: “You’re worthy of it.”
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The esper twirls around her electrified whips before cracking it at Kaoru. With little choice, the red esper dodged the assault, ducking and weaving out of the storm.
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But as this dance continued, something strange was happening. Sabrina was starting to laugh.
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Those in the know, knew why.
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Aoi: “Oh no.”
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Shiho: “She’s getting carried away again.”
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With each close dodge from Kaoru and each crack of the whip, Sabrina’s laugh increased. Before long, she snapped.
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Sabrina: “Hahahaha! Dance, Kaoru, dance for me! HAHAHA!”
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The audience was stunned. The usually cool and calm Sabrina was crackling like some madwoman.
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Present Mic: “Whoa, didn’t expect that! Is this still safe for the children in the audience?”
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Midnight, on the other hand.
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Midnight: “Nice!”
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She gives a thumbs-up in approval. She finally met a fellow dom, at least one in the making.
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It took a few seconds for Sabrina to collect herself and realize where she was. Stopping the assault, she coughed into her hand in embarrassment.
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Sabrina: “Ahem, sorry, that was… unprofessional of me.”
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Unguarded, Sabrina fell victim to a pebble being thrown at her forehead. The force was enough to snap her head back in a somewhat comical way.
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Kaoru: “Contain yourself! This is not the time or place for that!”
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‘Huh?! Doesn’t that imply there is a time and place for it?!’
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Many in the audience couldn’t help but imagine the implications of that statement. You didn’t need to be an esper to understand what everyone is thinking.
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Kaoru: “W-Wait! N-No! We’re not like that!”
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Wanting to pay her back, Sabrina returned her focus to the battle. This time Kaoru didn’t dodge but instinctively grabbed the whip with her hand.
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Kaoru: ‘Shoot!’
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Suddenly, the whip electrified and shocked Kaoru.
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Kaoru: “Gah!”
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Before Kaoru could let go, the other whip wrapped around her, increasing the voltage.
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The esper screamed in pain and was close to passing out. But Kaoru would not go out like that; she prepared to unleash another burst of power to break out.
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But Sabrina saw that coming. A second before Kaoru unleashed her energy, Sabrina broke apart the whip into wisps of energy.
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Kaoru’s burst was nothing but a waste of energy, something the young esper was running out of. Keeping up the pressure, Sabrina manipulated the energy wisps, turning them into three green lightning spears.
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Kaoru barely dodged the descending blades with a backflip. But she wasn’t safe yet. Sabrina gathered the blades back to her and reformed them into her whip. But instead of two, she formed it into one large one. This one was enough to cover nearly the whole stage, and so she swung the beast at Kaoru.
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Deciding to keep to the ground and conserve energy, Kaoru ran forward and slid beneath the whip. While doing that, she gathered the rubble created by Sabrina’s previous assault and sent it at her opponent.
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Sabrina had to dismiss the whip to properly block the storm of rubble. This gave Kaoru the chance to close the distance and punch Sabrina’s psychic shield. A shield that was cracking.
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Sabrina: “Heh, you fight more like All Might instead of Tornado. Are you sure you aren’t trying to impress him instead? You do like older men after all.”
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Kaoru blushed, and her attack lost some of its strength. Using that opening, Sabrina electrified her hands and tried to palm strike Kaoru. Not completely off guard, she was able to jump away.
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Kaoru: “You want a tornado? Fine! I was saving this for when I fought her brother, but you asked for it! Ruby Twister!!”
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The red esper quickly twirled around, dragging in wind and rubble to create a crimson tornado. One slowly taking up space and closing in on Sabrina.
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Present Mic: “What a fight so far, folks! A fast-paced psychic exchange! But it seems Sabrina is in trouble! What can she do against a move inspired by the Tornado of Terror!?”
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The other esper wasn’t worried.
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Sabrina: “It’s good, but it has a fatal weakness. As I expected.”
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Kaoru’s control over objects is not as precise as Tatsumaki’s, so she can’t just create a tornado on the spot. She has to spin and draw in the debris and air into her mini-cyclone. But she’s taking in everything, unable to tell what she is letting in while spinning like that. Perfect for a Trojan horse.
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Quickly, Sabrina creates her whips again. But this time, she lets them lie lifeless near the twister. Eventually, the twister took them into itself.
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But that won’t be enough. Sabrina fed more energy into the whips but didn’t move them so as to not tip Kaoru off. As she does this, the whips’ length increases, allowing it to continue circling around the twister.
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But it will take time to fully wrap around, time Sabrina may not have. She can already feel herself being drawn in.
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Present Mic: “It’s going to be close!”
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Sweat drips down Sabrina’s face as the twister closes in. But after a few seconds, she smiles. It’s ready.
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Sabrina: “Game over, Kaoru.”
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Instantly, the ruby twister became green and electrified. The resulting thunderous explosion was greater than even Kaminari’s.
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Many had to close their eyes due to how bright it was. But all things must come to an end; when the sound of a thousand birds stopped, the result was clear.
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Kaoru was on the ground, her body lightly smoking, but her life wasn’t in danger. As proven by her eyes being comical swirls, she was only knocked out.
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Midnight: “Kaoru is knocked out! Sabrina advances!”
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The crowd erupts in excitement; this tournament is turning out to be one of the best.
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Sabrina wipes the sweat off her head and takes a steadying breath before walking towards Kaoru. She picks her friend up in a bridal carry. Something that is sure to spread rumors. But she didn’t care.
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All that matters is taking care of one of the only friends she has ever had.
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Both Bakugo and Izuku looked at the fight with focused gazes. Izuku was quickly writing down all he could about his opponents while Bakugo took mental notes.
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It was a lucky break that they didn’t have to face both Kaoru and Sabrina. Thanks to this match, they also have a good idea of what Sabrina can do.
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But will their forming strategies be enough?
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However, they shouldn’t look so far ahead just yet. They both have matches before that.
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Fubuki: “So, big sis, what do you think of your number one fan?”
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Tatsumaki: “Hmph, she has to spin to do what we do. I’m not that impressed.”
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Fubuki: “Why am I not surprised?”
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Inko: “But Tatsu, maybe she would be a good pick for an intern?”
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Tatsumaki: “No way. That’s nothing but a waste of time, especially now. I could use that time spent on some intern hunting those villains.”
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Fubuki: “You wouldn’t say that if Izu or Tae wanted to intern.”
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Tatsumaki: “… That’s different. They’re family.”
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Inko: “Sweetie, part of the job of being a hero is nurturing the next generation. That Akashi girl could be a great hero if you helped her.”
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Tatsumaki: “… Hmph. I’m getting some water.”
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Fubuki: “And conversation over.”
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Proven by Tatsumaki floating out the door.
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Inko: “Haha. She’ll come around. Besides, those villains must have given up and left the city if Tatu hasn’t found them yet.”
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Fubuki: “… I hope you’re right.”
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After the stage was repaired again, it was time for the last match of round two. Due to the number of contestants, the one who started out the round has to fight again.
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So the last round was Izuku vs Shiho. Another psychic battle that people were excited to see after being hyped by the last one.
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The results, however, were anything but exciting.
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Shiho: “I surrender.”
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…
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…
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Everyone: “HUH!?”
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Izuku: “R-Really?”
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Shiho: “I know I won’t win. You’re similar to Kaoru, and I never beat her in a 1v1. It only makes sense.”
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Izuku: “But… you could still try.”
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Shiho: “I don’t think so. It’s the same in real hero work. If you face a villain that you’re not suited for, you wait for a hero who is, while protecting who you can.”
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The boy’s eyes twitch when her words bring back to mind the time when Kacchan almost died. Those ‘heroes’ did nothing, content watching a boy die until another hero comes in.
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It sickens him.
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Izuku: “No, even then you should fight. That’s what a real hero should do.”
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His words and glare were enough to make even Shiho’s eyes widen. Before his words can sink in, Midnight calls the match.
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Not sparing her another look, Izuku turned around and left. Shiho, however, thought about his words and wondered if she was in the wrong. But in the end, she shook her hand as she remembered events that prove the contrary.
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Shiho: ‘No, he’s wrong. What good would your death solve? Getting in the way when you can’t help will just make things worse.’
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And so time passed, and the third round was upon them. Due to Izuku having gone already, even if Shiho surrendered, Bakugo was selected to headline the third round.
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Bakugo vs Ida.
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A quick and explosive match that ended with Bakugo’s victory. If only barely. Ida’s speed was impressive, but Bakugo’s explosions and battle senses enable him to blast Ida out of the ring with a large explosion.
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Ida: “How shameful! To lose to him!”
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Izuku: “You did good though, Ida!”
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Kiri: “Bomb boy good fighter. Unfortunately.”
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Uraraka: “Yeah, he seemed even more focused than usual. No crazy smile.”
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Izuku: “Considering who his next match is, I understand.”
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Ida: “Kanto, a tough match indeed. I’m ashamed to say, but I think Bakugo may have a better chance of winning than if I faced her.”
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Uraraka: “Why?”
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Ida: “I can only use Recipro Burst for ten seconds, and that might be my only way to escape her lock. She could stall me until the ten seconds were-”
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Just then Ida’s body started vibrating.
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Izuku & Uraraka: “Uwah! What the heck is that?!”
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Ida: “It’s my phone.”
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Izuku: “Your phone? Phew.”
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Ida left to see who was calling him. Meanwhile, the three remaining sat in silence. Why? Because the next match was Izuku vs Kiri.
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Uraraka: “Um… I’m rooting for you both.”
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Izuku: “T-Thanks.”
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There was still a distance between him and Kiri. One he didn’t know how to fix. In fact, the distance was growing, and it… hurt.
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Like his other half was drifting away.
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Without a word, Kiri got up and headed for the stage.
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Uraraka: “Is something wrong with Tae?”
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Izuku: “… I don’t know. But I plan to find out.”
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