Chapter 16: Diamond is Unbreakable
"So, it looks like we gotta take on the son of Endeavor himself! That's sure to garner attention!" Tetsutetsu ground his fists together in excitement, barely able to stop his legs from fidgeting.
"He's got an ice quirk, and a powerful one at that. I saw him freeze an entire building in the blink of an eye during our first heroics class." Diamondhead didn't move his head as he spoke to his team. Losing sight of the team who had Ida as a horse could mean never finding them again. "Just remember that he can only fire it out of his right side. I've never seen him do anything with his left."
"Got it. Leave the headband snatching to me! Just get me close!"
"Pardon me, but before we go, could I trouble you with a request Tennyson?" Shiozaki spoke up, drawing Ben's attention. He paused, tilted his head back and gave a small nod.
"These spikes on your back were sufficient at first, but after your battle maneuver against Shishida, I fear they will not suffice in combat. I think I need to get into a different position."
"Oh, that's it? Not a problem. Give me a sec." In no time at all, the crystal spike Shiozaki sat upon grew in size. Its surface area widened, giving the girl plenty of space and comfort, well, as much as she could get while sitting on the back spike of a Petrosapian. Ben even tilted it upward so that she could rest against his back for further support.
"Amazing! So you have complete control over your entire body?" Shiozaki was awestruck as she watched and felt the crystal beneath her reform before her eyes.
"That, and so much more. I made a promise that we would qualify for the finals, right? So, let me show you what I can do." Diamondhead started moving forward. Feet thumping against the concrete beneath, heavy-set arms swinging by his side and eyes focused on his target, it was an intimidating sight. The teams in his way scattered, not wanting to be caught in the inevitable crossfire. All the while, Diamondhead never let his eyes stray from his foe.
"He's coming this way." Ida alerted his team. He crouched down, bending his knees and bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"What is your plan of defense Todoroki?" Yaoyorozu questioned from behind.
"..." Todoroki said nothing.
"Uhh, dude! Not a good time for brooding! He's picking up speed! Are we fighting or running?" Kaminari watched nervously as Diamondhead went from a walk to a jog. Yet still, Todoroki focused little on the incoming threat. He was more focused on the heap of a team that was still trying to pick themselves up.
'This form is similar to the red one from the assessment test and the USJ. A powerful close quarters combatant by the looks of it. I must not let him get close.' With a deep breath, the rider finally started to act. He closed his eyes, sucked in a deep breath, and let it loose.
"Ida, move a bit to the left. Everyone else, rotate with him." The triangle of horses moved on command, giving Todoroki a clear line of sight in the area between Ida and Yaoyorozu. Todoroki raised his right arm and braced it by holding his right wrist with his left hand.
'I will show you what I meant in the waiting room Tennyson!' Todoroki pooled all his power, as much as his quirk would give him into his right arm. The temperature drop was immediate, and drew gasps from his teammates. Small snowflakes gathered and dispersed. His arm started to shiver and tremble uncontrollably, but Todoroki forced it to stay. Just when the cold was starting to become unbearable, Todoroki suddenly drew back his lips, revealing his clenched jaw. His eyes widened. He flexed his fingers.
"Avalanche!" He roared, and finally let all that accumulated power release. All aimed at the rapidly approaching Tennyson.
A storm of ice and flurry flew forth from his right fingers, like a snowstorm unleashed. Ice rapidly formed and expanded over the ground below. Larger ice projectiles followed fast behind, like icy cannonballs. As the larger pieces of ice smashed against each other, they shaved off enough ice off each other to form a storm-like cloud of dangerous ice crystals at the back, hiding Team Todoroki from view. It was like a force of nature, released from the fingertips of a high school student.
"Holy shit, incoming!" Tetsutetsu cried out in alarm, his arm outstretched pointing at the incoming disaster.
"I see it." Diamondhead grunted. He continued forward, unflinching in the face of such an attack. However, it was only for a few more steps. Diamondhead then jumped up, pulling his right arm back for a punch. The punch was not for the Avalanche though. Landing early, Diamondhead punched the ground, and summoned a crystal through the ground, and had it emerge a good distance in front of him.
Shing!
A separate crystal pillar, separate from Diamondhead, broke through the ground at an angle. It jutted out, a single obstacle in the path of a snowstorm. And it broke the storm. As the attack hit the pillar, it became clear that Diamondhead's crystals were unimaginably durable. The ice shattered, the snow disintegrated and the icy boulder-like projectiles broke into harmless snow clumps on impact. Like parting a sea, the Avalanche attack was split in half, unable to break through the crystal Diamondhead summoned. Diamondhead stood back up, lifting his fist from the ground as the ice and snow passed by just inches away from his arms. The attack soon passed, with Diamondhead looking no worse for wear.
The crowd loved it. Seeing a massive attack from the child of the number 2 hero, and then seeing the dynamo wildcard from America easily push through it drew the attention of everyone in the stadium and watching at home. This was the fight to watch.
"He's still standing." Ida spotted the rising crystal titan, the almost midday sun's rays reflecting off his head.
"Damn, he dealt with that attack like it was nothing! You didn't gas out, right Todoroki?" Kaminari looked up worriedly at his rider. Todoroki was panting slightly, and the cold must have spread up his body. His breaths were visible in the cold air around his body, and some of the horses were involuntary shivering due to the cold temperature. But he seemed fine, as his eyes were furrowed with frustration, not paying any attention to his body.
"It was obvious Tennyson wouldn't fall to that attack, but I had to try nonetheless. However, we still have the 10 million headband and Ida is still free. Tennyson does not seem very fast in this form. As long as we stay out of this transformation's melee range, we will be safe."
"But we don't know that for certain, so planning as if we did will be detrimental..." Yaoyorozu whispered under her breath, worried about her team leader's choice in plan. She knew she should speak up. But would anyone listen to her? When Todoroki had taken the role of leader from the start?
"LOOKS LIKE A CLASH OF TITANS IN APPROACHING, WITH TEAM TODOROKI FIRING THE FIRST SHOT! TENNYSON WAS UNFAZED, DEMONSTRATING THIS NEW FORMS ABILITY TO CONTROL CRYSTALS BY BREAKING APART TODOROKI'S ICE ATTACK BEFORE IT EVEN REACHED HIM! IF THIS IS WHAT THEY USE AT THE START OF A FIGHT, THEN I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT THEY'LL USE WHEN THEY GET SERIOUS!"
8 minutes and 1 second remaining!
"Tennyson's coming!" Ida barked, startling Team Todoroki to their senses. Indeed, Tennyson had started a sprint towards them. Immediately, Todoroki started barking orders, causing any complaints Yaoyorozu had to die in her throat. Battle was no place to question leadership in her mind.
"We must keep out of his effective range of attack! Ida, fall back! Yaoyorozu and Kaminari, prepare to keep him at bay!"
Team Todoroki sprang into action. Ida pushed himself around, and started moving his team away from the incoming Tennyson in the most direct of routes possible. Kaminari flexed his quirk, sparks flying out of his hands, ready to be unleashed in a moment's notice. Yaoyorozu racked her mind to come up with something that she could reasonably create that could stand a chance at slowing down Tennyson's new form. As the team rotated, she caught a glimpse at the approaching Team Tetsutetsu. That's when she noticed something.
"Tennyson is going to collide with that crystal pillar he created earlier!" Her report caused Todoroki and Kaminari to also turn their heads in confusion.
'Is he not after us? Is this a part of some larger plan? He must know that a form that bulky could never contend with Ida's speed, so what is he doing not avoiding the most obvious and only obstacle in his way?'
"Huh? We saw that thing split Todoroki's attack! There is no way he could just charge through it, right?"
"This is Tennyson we are dealing with Kaminari. Never assume he can or can not do anything." Ida called from his position in the front, his head still firmly set looking ahead.
Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki had similar sentiments. "Are you going to dodge out of the way of that crystal Tennyson?"
"This form ain't blind, right Ben?"
"Hold on tight. Imma take you two on a ride." Ben's reply didn't answer anything, but the two class B teammates secured themselves to Diamonhead even more securely. Tetsutetsu tightened his legs around Diamondhead's neck and wrapped his arms around his head. Shiozaki threw multiple vines around Diamondhead's torso and pulled them tight.
Just in time too, as Ben had just reached the base of the crystal he had summoned less than a minute ago. He didn't push the crystal down, nor did he barrel through it like everyone predicted. Instead, he ran on it. His feet clinking as he sprinted up the crystal jutting up from the cracked concrete, Ben started jumping. He leapt once, then twice, and then he prepared for the third! The second jump landed Ben right at the tip of the crystal, where he crouched down as far as he could. He reached down, pouring all his energy into his legs. And then, he pushed up with all the might he could muster.
"What the- he's above us!" Team Todoroki was flabbergasted as Tennyson performed a superhuman leap that sent him flying through the sky. Every face in the stands and many of the student's who paused to watch the fight arced up to follow Ben, but then were forced to look away. For it was nearly noon, where the sun was bright and at its highest point in the sky. It's powerful rays, unimpeded on such a cloudless day, shone down and met with Diamondhead's crystalline skin. The Petrosapian's exposed arms, head and back spines caught the sun's rays, magnified them, and reflected them in every direction. Spectators and participants alike cried out in pain as they were forced to avert their eyes. Todoroki, Kaminari and Yaoyorozu were temporarily blinded, and Ida wasn't looking. Meaning they didn't see Diamondhead's hands morphing shape.
Pewpewpewpewpewpewpewpewpew!
Suddenly, it was raining crystal projectiles! An endless barrage of rectangular crystal bullets formed at Diamondhead's fingers, fired out, and reformed again. Ben made sure that he made these bullets dull instead of sharp, as he usually had them. But, that actually did little to help alleviate the damage they would do. While these crystal bullets wouldn't cut Team Todoroki, they inflicted nastly blunt force damage. Each individual one caused massive pain and would bruise. And Diamondhead was firing dozens upon dozens in just a few seconds.
"Gaaaaaah!" Ida's forward march was interrupted by pain all along his arms that were supporting Todoroki and his exposed head, back and shoulders. His legs slowed, stalling out and his knees started to buckle as the rain of crystal bullets hammered down. Kaminari was in no better shape, his body racked in pain as he had no way to protect himself. Yaoyorozu grit her teeth, trying to block out the pain while forming some sort of sheet out of her arm, exposed by her rolling up her sleeve. But, it was extremely difficult trying to concentrate on the building materials of the sheet while being peppered with bullets the size of baseballs, and as hard as diamonds to boot.
"Ung!" Todoroki flung his arm over his head, trying to use any ice he could to shelter his team from the barrage. It was no use; while his ice was quite strong it was nothing compared to these crystals. His ice would form for half a second, but had no chance to grow into anything large enough to use as a shield before being smashed to bits. A crystal bullet pierced his weak barrier and hit his left cheek. He dropped his arm with a flinch, bringing the hand to nurse his wound.
The barrage then ended. Caught off guard and wounded, Team Todoroki crawled to a stop. Small but nasty purple bruises already starting to form, the four could only catch their breaths in the brief reprieve. Briefness was key, as no sooner had they sucked in their first breath, Tennyson landed with a crash, a fair distance between him and Ida. Team Todoroki looked on as Diamondhead stood up, a small dust cloud obstructing the view below his waist. He looked just as he did before, as if covering the entire ground around Team Todoroki's feet in crystal bullets hadn't taken a lick of effort. The same could not be said for his teammates.
"Please... do not do that again Tennyson. If you must, anything, even the briefest of warnings would be appreciated." Shiozaki gasped as she clutched Diamondhead's back as if her life depended on it. Her face was pale with shock, and her mind was swimming in fear, dizziness and adrenaline.
Tetsutetsu, while just as dizzy and out of it, was not as scared. "Wooooooo! That was sick, my man!"
"We got in close, now we just got to grab our headband back." Ben saw how vulnerable Team Todoroki was. He didn't want to reveal Diamonhead's ranged abilities so quickly, but the sooner they got the headband, the better. And this was as good as it could get for them.
"We have to stop Ida from getting them moving again. Shiozaki, that move you showed us just before this event, now would be a good time to use it."
"Oh, and remember how that loud class A blonde guy's team reeled him back in when he blasted off to attack when we were circling around the edge? Why don't we take a page out of their book and copy that technique? Vine me!"
"Very well!" Shiozaki clutched her hands together and bowed her head, concentrating. She chose one of her strongest and longest vines and burrowed it into the ground. Another was whipped over her head and grabbed gently by Tetsutetsu who immediately got to work.
"I'll keep them busy while you're at it!" Noticing Ida wincing, but gathering his senses, Ben raised his arms again. Team Todoroki only had about thirty seconds of reprieve, as Diamondhead continued the barrage.
Pewpewpewpewpew!
Ida and Todoroki took the brunt of the second wave of bullets. Ida flung his head to the side, trying to preserve his glasses. Todoroki tried again to form an ice barrier, but the crystal bullets were too strong, too fast, too numerous. His right side was no help here. "Yaoyorozu, we need something to deflect these projectiles, and now!"
"Ahck! He-here!" Yaoyorozu finished a rectangle of a tarp-like material, which she balled up and thrusted at Todoroki. The boy took it, unveiled it and tried to use it to shield his team again. The bullets bounced off the tarp, but that victory was short lived. The constant barrage flung the tarp back, smacking Todoroki in the face. The unrelenting wave continued, and Todoroki knew the only rational course of action was a tactical retreat.
"Ida, we have to move! I don't care in which direction or where we end up, just get us out of here!" Todoroki's command spurred Ida into action. Ida crouched down and fired up his engines, feeling the familiar rumbling of power in his legs. Without the need to worry about the destination, Ida simply propelled his feet forward. His feet burst off the ground-! And then snapped right back down into where they were milliseconds ago.
"Ida!" Todoroki's pained scream called out again.
"I-I don't know what's going on!" Ida revved his engines again, and pushed off with even greater force. And again, his legs didn't move. In his frustration, he angrily looked down at his feet. And his eyes flew open in panic. "Ah!"
"Ida, what is going on?" Todoroki grit his teeth in frustration. He caught glimpses of Tennyson's teammates planning something and passing something between themselves, and his team was powerless to form anysort of countermeasure! He looked down, trying to see what's wrong. Then shock filled his system as well.
"Vines!" Kaminari voiced what they all had noticed. A thick, powerful vine had unburrowed itself by Ida's foot, and started wrapping around it. It had entangled both of Ida's feet in a spiderweb of green, and it was still twisting and turning, binding itself tighter still.
"I understand that Tennyson demands quite a bit of attention due to the visual impressiveness of his transformation quirk." Shiozaki's gentle voice finally reached the ears of Team Todoroki. From her position, safe behind Diamondhead's back, more vines joined the original to bind Ida. The bespectacled teen could only watch in horror as more vines joined in inhibiting his ability to move. "But I would appreciate it if you did not act and plan as if his teammates did not exist."
"Yeah! It's our time to shine!" Tetsutetsu finished fastening the vine he had been given earlier to his waist, forming a safety line. But a safety line for what? That was soon answered by the boy in question sliding off Diamonhead's neck and moving towards one of the arms, still firing shards like a gatling gun. "Throw me Ben!"
A quick glance at Team Todoroki told Ben all he needed to know. Ida was straining desperately against Shiozaki's vine trap, unable to move an inch. Yaoyorozu was trying to make more shielding, this time making a more permanent, but slower to create, metal shield. Kaminari was definitely not having a good time, as he had no way to protect himself nor fire back without risking his teammates. Todoroki himself was freezing the first tarp shield he was given to give it more structure. They weren't going anywhere.
"Alright!" Diamondhead stopped firing to reform his right hand. He made sure to place his fingers on the edges of his wrist, like a lego figure. Tetsutetsu slid in, and Diamondhead's fingers slid to cradle the teen in a firm grasp that was tight enough to throw without accidentally dropping him. Diamondhead pivoted back, his right arm holding Tetsutetsu reaching what felt like miles, before hurling his human payload forward like a star quarterback.
"Go long!"
"Geronimo!" Like a speeding gray missile, Tetsutetsu was hurled with incredible force, his legs locked in place and his arms held stiff against his sides. Tetsutetsu, who just a moment ago was atop Diamondhead was now en route and Team Todoroki had no way of stopping him or moving out of the way.
Todoroki caught a glimpse of the boy's face, his skin hardened into steel armor. His face oozed confidence; his lips curved into a fierce, toothy grin and his eyes alight with the fire of battle. This view abruptly ended when said face smashed into Todoroki, whose vision swam with the force of the impact. It was a miracle his nose didn't start bleeding. But the chaos had only just begun. Tetsutetsu had not touched the ground, and he wasn't going to leave without the headband tied around Todoroki's head!
"WITH SEVERAL INCREDIBLE MOVES, IT LOOKS LIKE TEAM TETSUTETSU HAS PUT TEAM TODOROKI INTO A PRECARIOUS POSITION! SHIOZAKI HAS IDA IMMOBILIZED, TENNYSON KEEPS THEM PINNED AND NOW TETSUTETSU IS GOING IN OLD-SCHOOL STYLE! JUST MINUTES AGO TEAM TODOROKI LOOKED UNSTOPPABLE, BUT YOU CAN NEVER TELL WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN EVENTS LIKE THESE! UNDER STRESS, UNDER PANIC, THIS IS WHERE TEAMS RISE AND FALL! HOW WILL TEAM TODOROKI GET OUT OF THIS?"
7 minutes and 11 seconds remaining!
"Hey man, get off of us!" Kaminari generated a charge in his hand and smacked Tetsutetsu in the thigh, but aside from a nasty spark, it was ineffective. Before the electrical user could prepare another attack, he was assaulted with a third wave of crystal bullets.
Pewpewpewpewpew!
"It never ends! We gotta do something about Tennyson!" Kaminari flailed back, his arms, legs, chest and face aching with pain as the tender skin was bombarded with more projectiles. Taking a deep breath, he tried to shut out the pain to fire off an electrical blast at Tetsutetsu. His aim was thrown off by the impact of a crystal shard hitting him right in the eye. Kaminari threw his head back, biting back a cry of pain as his vision darkened and even more pain throbbed.
"I need assistance now! Anyone!" Ida yelled through clenched teeth. As point, he was facing Tennyson and therefore bore the brunt of Team Tetsutetsu's attack. Shiozaki bound his legs, Tennyson peppered him with long range attacks and now Tetsutetsu was using the back of his head to push off against as he dueled Todoroki, all out of his sight. His frustration grew; their teamwork that allowed them to so easily snatch the 10 million headband in the earlier melee was falling apart. Kaminari and Yaoyorozu were using one hand each to try and ward away Tetsutetsu, leaving him to carry the bulk of Todoroki in his hands. His head was forced lower; Tetsutetsu dug his foot deep into his neck to deliver a solid punch into Todoroki's stomach..
Thwack!
"Hahahahahah!"
"No use!" Yaoyorozu swung her bo staff once more at the steel teen, but it had no effect. Yaoyorozu never saw anything wrong with her preferred choice in weapon before: a staff weapon gave her reach, it was easy to create with her quirk and her years of practice gave it a natural feel. Against someone like Tetsutetsu, however, it was proving to be quite useless. His quirk gave him practical immunity to traditional weapons, and she was quickly picking up on that fact. Ida's screams for help made her realize that Tennyson had once more resumed firing from a distance. A distance her team could not cross due to Shiozaki's vines. She racked her brain to think of something, anything, that could tilt the losing battle in her favor. But her mind, usually as quick as a whip, was overwhelmed with the sounds of battle.
"Omph!" Todoroki doubled over as a steel fist sunk into his body. The punch landed right below his ribs, knocking the air out of him. Tetsutetsu reached out, his fingers grazing Todoroki's forehead as he grasped at the 10 million headband. Todoroki jerked his head back, ignoring the ache in his belly.
Throwing out his right hand, he expelled a wave of icy wind to try and freeze Tetsutetsu, but he underestimated his enemy's endurance and agility. The moment his right arm moved, Tetsutetsu's eyes darted to his moving limb and he started maneuvering to the heterochromatic teen's left. He had been doing that since the battle started and Todoroki was already twisting his torso far to the left. The movement was intentional. Tennyson must have noticed the nature of his quirk and relayed that information to Tetsutetsu. What Tennyson did not know was that Todoroki's right side had a power, but it was a power he swore he'd never use. Oh, it was so tempting to use it now. It would solve all his problems now! But he could never... he swore he'd never...
"Gha- not the face!" Kaminari's voice broke through Todoroki's muddled thoughts. Tetsutetsu's constant repositioning had made him change his platform from Ida to Kaminari. A boot to the face caused Team Todoroki's left horse to stagger, his free hand smacking the intruding leg, but he couldn't use an electrical attack now. They had planned for Yaoyorozu to create a blanket of insulating material to shield the rest of the team when the time came, but there was no time for that! Kaminari's hand holding Todoroki's right foot shook as he was forced further away from his team, forcing Ida to take even more weight.
"I can't hold out much longer! You three need to do something NOW!" The normally prim and proper class president was now beside himself with frustration. He could feel Kaminari's hand sliding away, and the extra weight was now causing him shoulder pains. No one had done anything about the vines around his legs, Tetsutetsu was taking on three people at once,and it seemed like he was winning!
"I can't- I'll try to- ow!" Diamondhead, noticing Ida being tied up and Kaminari in trouble, switched his attention directly onto Yaoyorozu. The girl was about to use a flashbang, but a barrage of crystals forced her to change plans. The half-baked grenade fell to the ground out of her palm, where it fizzled and died. She created a small buckler to defend her head, but even that wasn't enough. The thin metal disk trembled under Diamondhead's attack, and those vibrations traveled up her arm, making it go numb.
"I can't move! I need help!"
"My arm!"
"I'm slipping!"
Todoroki started breathing rapidly. It was too much! He was going to lose- but he couldn't lose! Tetsutetsu's grinning face invaded his personal space once more, ramming into his forehead in a headbutt. His vision grew hazy. He could vaguely make out a hand reaching past his face, up to where he fastened the 10 million headband.
"You three need to help me!"
"Help!"
"HELP!"
That's enough! Todoroki screwed his eyes shut, his brow furrowing and his lips curled back. Something sparked within Todoroki, figuratively and literally. A sudden burst of heat burned Ida, Kaminari, Yaoyorozu and Tetsutetsu's eyes and throat. The contrast between the expected wave of cold silenced the combatants as they stared at Todoroki with widened eyes. The boy's left arm awakened, tendrils of fire swimming around his arm from the elbow down. The fire licked at his uniform's sleeves, the durable material singing at the edges. Todoroki's face bore a terrifying grimace, as if using this fire went against his very being. But that didn't stop him at the moment. The fire grew larger, traveling up his arm and igniting his face! The boy's eyes burned with a fire that overshadowed even Tetsutetsu's gutsy nature, and he flexed his left arm for the first time in years!
"HAAAAAAA!" An ignition of powerful pyrotechnic power overwhelmed friend and foe! Todoroki's teammates screwed their eyes shut and did their best to look away from the source of the heat. The heat was nearly unbearable, being so close, but their limited hero training let them maintain a cavalry formation. Team Tetsutetsu was not as fortunate.
Shiozaki let loose a terrified screech as she felt her vines wither in the flames, dying from the sweltering flames. She retracted all her vines, trying to save her burning hair. Diamondhead was unaffected by the heat, and managed to shield Shiozaki, but he quickly found that Tetsutetsu had it the worst of all. The sudden wave of heat sent him through the air, and put the safety vine under too much stress. It burned and snapped, sending Tetsutetsu into a free fall. Diamondhead quickly extended his right arm, and morphed it into a thin spear. Diamondhead pulled back the arm, and then thrusted it forward, willing his arm to extend. The pointy end pierced through Tetsutetsu's collar, and the boy hung there, just millimeters from the ground. Diamondhead raised his arm, slowly retracting the tip to bring their team's rider back in. Gasping and coughing, Tetsutetsu grasped Diamondhead tightly as he made his way back into his usual position.
"Is everyone all right?" Diamondhead called out.
"Cough, cough, yeah... cough, cough." Tetsutetsu croaked out, trying to get rid of the ash and dust in his throat. His eyes were red and watery, and his skin was smoldering from the heat. His uniform was burnt and his left hand was tightened into a fist that he did not let relax.
"I'm still functional I suppose." Shiozaki nursed the burnt ends of her vines.
"Urg, I guess I should be happy that we didn't just fall to that surprise attack." Tetsutetsu then glared down at Ben, who didn't see it, but very much felt it. "You know, it would have been helpful to know that he has both fire and ice! We're teammates Ben! You told me about ice, what about fire?"
"I didn't tell you because I had no idea." Diamondhead curtly replied, to the shock of his teammates. Diamondhead kept his guard up, now not knowing what to expect. Todoroki was downcast, his head hanging limp and his chest heaving with every breath. "He's never used fire before."
"What? Not during training? Not during the USJ attack?" Tetsutetsu gawked.
"No. Didn't you see how his teammates reacted? Not even they knew about it. He never told them. He never planned on using it. I guess we just backed him into a corner and he lashed out." Indeed, Team Todoroki was just as shocked at what happened as Team Tetsutetsu. They stared at Todoroki, eyes full of confusion and apprehension.
"So... fire and ice huh?" Kaminari was the first to break the silence.
"You all know that I am the son of Endeavor, surely a fire quirk is not all too surprising?" Todoroki spat. "My quirk is Half-Cold Half-Hot, with my right side controlling cold and left side hot."
Yaoyorozu was quick to try and soothe him. "Our view of you was not based on the fact that you are Endeavor's son! We never even expected you to have a fire quirk! It's just that in the recommended student evaluation, Aizawa-sensei's quirk assessment, our heroics lessons and during the USJ, you've never used fire."
"And I should not have used it here." Todoroki's voice was so quiet that his teammates had to strain to hear him. They noticed he had a forlorn look in his eyes, and he was gazing off into the stands. Was he looking at someone, or for someone?
Team Todoroki was temporarily vulnerable. Diamondhead noticed this, and prepared to take advantage of it.
"Look, I'm sorry about the fire thing, alright? But time is ticking and we still need those 10 million points!" Diamondhead bent his arms and shook his fists.
"Tennyson is right. Time is of the essence!" Shiozaki flicked out her vines, confirming that despite their weakness to fire, she was ready to go.
"Heh, well, about that actually." Tetsutetsu's chuckle made Diamondhead hesitate. Why would the boldest of the team have second thoughts?
"You know, I wasn't being completely honest with you either, Ben. I had doubts about you even when I said I didn't. But then you whipped this Diamondhead guy out, and completely bodied everyone in our way, and I asked myself: 'what the hell am I doing?'" Tetsutetsu slowly opened up his clenched left fist. "You're giving this your all. Then, it's only fair..."
Todoroki looked down from the stands, letting his head hang limp again, ignoring what his teammates were saying. He let the words bounce off him as he hung his head in shame. Sweat trickled down his face, the liquid warm from the use of his left side. How could he let it come to this? Using his fire during the Sports Festival of all places! In front of all these people and cameras! In front of his own father! Thankfully the stadium's open design let plenty of air flow through the combat arena, cooling Todoroki down. The lack of that annoying band around his head helps in relaxing his heated skin. Wait!
Gasp!
Todoroki's hand flew up to his forehead, scrambling to feel the 10 million point headband. But it was gone! His teammates picked this up quickly, and their heads swiveled around to look at Team Tetsutetsu. Tennyson was looking to his left and Shiozaki was peering around Diamonhead's bulky shoulder. Tetsutesu was once more around Tennyson's neck. He was unclenching his left fist, where a certain headband caught the sun's rays, illuminating the bolded text imprinted upon it.
"...that I'd give it my all and then some!" Tetsutetsu revealed the 10 million point headband safely in his hand. "What kind of man would I be if I flinched because of a little fire?"
"Well done Tetsutetsu!" Shiozaki praised.
"Righteous!" Diamondhead grinned.
"AND WE HAVE OURSELVES A NEW FIRST PLACE TEAM! TEAM TETSUTETSU'S COMBINED ASSAULT FORCED TODOROKI TO UNVEIL HIS FLAMES FOR A COUNTER-ATTACK! BUT IN THAT MOMENT HE FORGOT THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS EVENT AND A GUTSY MOVE BY TETSUTETSU CAPITALIZED ON THAT MISTAKE! THE ORIGINAL HOLDERS OF THE 10 MILLION, WHO VOLUNTARILY GAVE IT UP AT THE BEGINNING, ARE NOW IN POSSESSION ONCE MORE, PUTTING THEM IN THE LEAD!
5 minutes and 22 seconds left!
'How?' Todoroki's hand was still grasping at his forehead, as if trying to summon another 10 million point headband. He was replaying the fight, again and again, wondering when Tetsutetsu could have gotten his hands on the headband. Then he remembered. Right before he used his fire, the moment when everything was just too much, he closed his eyes. In that second of time, he let his guard down and paid the price. His hand fell to his side. They had gotten their headband back due to a mistake on his part.
"They have the headband! We should move to intercept!" Ida was panting, but he squared his shoulders and revved his engines. Kaminari and Yaoyorozu voiced their agreement, but Todoroki's voice cut through.
"No." Todoroki was not even looking at Team Tetsutetsu anymore. He was looking up at the large score screen.
"But why? We aimed for that bounty the moment the game started!" Kaminari protested.
"Because it is not as important as qualifying for the next round." The three other class A students looked up at the scoreboard, and sure enough, they had fallen from first all the way to sixth. They were on the brink of falling into the bottom half of the teams. There was a big divide between the teams; there were teams with points and multiple headbands and teams with no points due to their headbands being stolen. That was the reality of the Human Calvary Battle. Just because a large portion of the audience and commentators' attention had been focused on Team Todoroki fighting Team Tetsutetsu did not mean the other teams were battling each other, exchanging headbands all the while. Teams Bakugo, Midoriya, Kendo and surprisingly, the unknown Shinsou occupied the 2nd to 5th places while Team Tetsutetsu now had 1st with 10 million.
Todoroki averted his eyes, refusing to look at the scoreboard or his teammates directly. "We need to secure our spots in the final event before considering the 10 million. We will go after Team Kendo, and take their headbands."
There was no immediate response. Todoroki phrased it like they would come back to get the 10 million, there was only a third of the event left to go. 5 minutes was a small amount of time to get another team's headbands and take back the 10 million. Sensing the hesitation, Yaoyorozu decided to throw in her own thoughts.
"I agree. While the 10 million guarantees one team's qualification, there are 16 spots in the final event. We should make sure we have enough points to be safe before attempting another risky battle." That decided it. Ida nodded and Kaminari shrugged. Ida turned the team to the side and propelled them to intercept Team Kendo a ways away.
"Looks like we got them." Diamondhead observed, watching their opponents run off to fight a different team.
"How fortunate." Shiozaki sighed. "I did not relish the thought of having to go against such a powerful fire quirk again."
"Meh, kinda disappointed." Tetsutetsu frowned. He finished tying the headband around his head, pulling on it a couple times to test its strength. "I was ready for round 2."
Rumble rumble rumble
"Oh boy. Looks like we're the center of attention once again." Diamondhead looked behind him and spotted no less than four different teams closing in on them. "Hagakure coming in from the left, with Shoji just ahead."
"Kodai and Awase are on our right as well." Shiozaki raised her vines to guard their backs. "There are less than 5 minutes left in this event. We need only to hold out until then. I will defend the rear, Tennyson will take care of everything else. Tetsutetsu, guard our two headbands."
"On it!" Tetsutetsu held a hand out, protecting their recovered original headband and the one they had taken from Team Kamakiri, who smartly decided not to test their luck again.
"Not a problem." Diamondhead rolled his shoulders.
The four teams were running over for one last desperate attempt at the 10 million. No point in not trying, right? Team Kodai was the first to reach them, and the first to make a move. Tsunotori called out, a wild smile on her face as she enjoyed the event to its fullest.
"Sorry for interruption Ben!" She called out. Her Japanese had improved, but still held that signature Pony charm of poor grammar. "But we be taking that headband now!"
The girl bent her neck, lowering her head and prepared her quirk, Horn Cannon, to fire. Not before her rider, who Ben would come to know as Kodai Yui, reached over and touched her left horn. Using her quirk, Size, she enlarged the horn to almost comical proportions. Lifting her head slightly, Tsunotori shouted something out, and the two horns launched like guided missiles. Streaking through the air, the two horns twisted back and forth, weaving through the open stadium in intricate patterns, getting ever closer to Team Tetsutetsu. While Tetsutetsu jerked his head back and forth trying to keep tabs on both horns, Diamondhead just stayed still, calm and motionless. The horns were coming to him, and Tsunotori obviously had some sort of control over them. Sure enough, as the small horn veered off to the side, the big horn suddenly streaked towards him directly at breakneck speeds.
All Diamondhead did was hold out one hand. The horn, while very big, did not have nearly enough force to move a Petrosapian. Diamondhead raised one side of his face as if it were an eyebrow, noting how the horn didn't seem to weigh that much, or be that tough at all. Then the second horn whizzed through the air, aiming for the side of his head.
Tink
The small horn connected. And Diamondhead squeezed his hand.
Crssshhhhh
Both horns fractured and fell to the floor, broken into little pieces. The big horn from the force of Diamondhead's hand and the small horn from just hitting his skin. He looked at Team Kodai, looking at their faces of disbelief. It seemed that they expected to do more.
"Kodai! Let's get this guy together!" A boy's voice called out from the side. Shiozaki informed him that it was Awase Yosetsu riding Honenuki Juzo, the only team of two. Kodai nodded.
"Bondo, we need to immobilize him!" Juzo called out. Juzo slowed down on Diamondhead's left and placed his hand on the ground. Bondo of Team Kodai from Diaomondhead's right fired out streams of a mysterious substance that covered Diamondhead's feet and legs.
The effects were immediate. The ground beneath Team Tetsutetsu softened to near quicksand levels, causing them to sink. The substance Bondo expelled was his quirk, Cemedine, a white glue-like thick liquid that quickly hardened. This inhibited his legs and they were also below ground. It honestly was a good combination attack, and may have taken down some of Ben's other aliens. But not Diamondhead.
Rumble
"Huh? The ground's shaking!" Shoda called out as a small quake started, with the epicenter being Diamondhead. No sooner had the words left his mouth then a massive tower of crystal emerged through the softened ground, pushing the puddy-like cement out of the way. Diamondhead was crouching, his hands on the crystal pillar, obviously controlling it. He quickly stopped the pillar at around 10 feet in the air. Didn't want it too high, Shiozaki didn't like his aerial moves after all. Diamondhead morphed one of his hands into a sword and started shearing off the glue, much to the chagrin of the onlookers.
"This is honestly absurd." Juzo muttered. Team Awase and Kodai looked up at the tower, joined by Teams Hagakure and Shoji who didn't even bother firing off attacks of their own. "Even working with other teams we can't pin this guy down. It's like he's on a whole 'nother level." And that sentiment pissed off one team in particular.
Team Bakugo had just finished tussling with Team Monoma, a battle that Bakugo thoroughly enjoyed. Nothing fires him up like putting extras in their place, and the louder their mouths, the sweeter the victory. Clenching the newly acquired headband and wrapping it around his neck in a hurry, he looked up at the scoreboard. Yes! He was in second! Above shitty Deku and even above Todoroki who was in... sixth? Their score was so low now! That means they lost the 10 million!"
"Tennyson!" Bakugo muttered with murderous intent. So, the coward finally transformed! He had been so tunnel visioned on destroying Deku, and then those class B insects he had totally forgotten about the stepping stone. Well no problem, just got to look for the biggest crowd. That's when the blonde saw him.
Some sort of crystal-man, with a girl resting on the spikes growing out of his back and a guy around his neck. A one-man team in his eyes. Atop a crystal pillar many feet off the ground, and judging by the color scheme, Tennyson made it. He was casually scraping some gunk off his leg without a care in the world. His teammates were talking, the guy was even laughing! In the Sports Festival, where they were supposed to be pushing themselves to the brink to win! They were literally looking down at him! Well, that would not stand!
Boom!
"Mhh?" Diamondhead heard the familiar sounds of explosions in the distance and flicked the last of the glue off of his blade. Team Tetsutetsu watched as Bakugo fired explosion after explosion, rising in height as his team desperately tried to keep up with him. He flew up the edge of the pillar, a final explosion thrusting him to eye level with Diamondhead, dust billowing around them.
"Think you're too good for the ground ya bastard?" Bakugo's eyes were wide with adrenaline and he fired an explosion from an outstretched palm inches away Diamondhead's face. "Well, let me send you back down to Earth!"
Booooom!
The explosion streaked past Diamondhead, the brown dust intermixed with the burst light of a nitroglycerin-powered explosion. The air whipped past the Petrosapian in a rush, and he was lost in the dust cloud. Bakugo's trademark feral grin grew even wider. A near point-blank direct hit! Let's see wonder boy recover from that! He felt his body stagnate and gravity started pulling him down.
Then the dust cloud slowly started to dissipate. The sun shone off pale-green crystals. Bakugo's grin faded to a snarl as he realized Tennyson hadn't moved. He didn't even flinch. The bombardier positioned his arms for a second attack, but Diamondhead was faster.
Thwak!
Diamondhead swung his left fist in a swift left arc. The crystal reached further than Bakugo thought and it caught him in the shoulder. A flare of pain, and he was sent far off course. He managed to twist himself around and slow his descent with twin controlled explosions. His team finally caught up to him and Sero once more reeled him back. He nursed his shoulder, grimacing when he touched it. That was going to bruise.
Thooom!
A heavy impact made Bakugo realize Tennyson wasn't just content with staying on his perch. A crouched figure slowly rose from the point of impact, and walked out of the cloud. Team Tetsutetsu stood in front of Team Bakugo, ready to right. Many other teams were as well, as Diamondhead's descent made everyone realize the 10 million was back on the ground, within reach.
"IT'S THE FINAL STRETCH LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, AND IT LOOKS LIKE HALF THE TEAMS HAVE CHOSEN TO GO ALL-OUT FOR THE 10 MILLION POINT HEADBAND! TEAM TETSUTETSU FOUGHT OFF TEAM TODOROKI, BUT NOW THEY FACE FIVE TEAMS AT ONCE! THESE LAST FEW MINUTES DECIDE WHO MOVES ON! FIGHT TO THE BITTER END! PLUS ULTRA!"
2 minutes and 49 second remaining!
"Was it really necessary to descend from the crystal pillar? As far as I know, no student has a quirk that would contest us up there." Shiozaki flicked her vines, carefully surveying the teams surrounding them.
"Heroes don't wait Shiozaki!" Tetsutetsu pounded his chest. "Heroes have to take initiative! They don't sit around, waiting for opportunities! They go out and make their own! I don't know about you, but I don't want to win by just sitting on a lame-ass pillar for three minutes, no matter how cool its creator is."
"Very well." The girl laughed. "You are right. It wouldn't be in the spirit of UA to win in that fashion, now would it?"
"Alright guys." Diamondhead rolled his head. "Let's do this!"
"Charge!"
No one really knew who said that, but it really didn't matter. Team Tetsutetsu stood defiant, their faces set with grim determination as they were surrounded on all sides. They chose to be here, surrounded and outnumbered. But they fought with a ferocity that couldn't be matched.
Shiozaki blanketed the ground behind them in vines, daring anyone to approach. Teams tried, but their ankles were pulled from under then, their feet tripped and were subsequently tossed aside. More horn projectiles were fired, but vines swarmed up to meet them. The horns were intercepted, brought to the ground, and neutralized. Sticky purple spheres were being flung, but Shiozaki sacrificed several weaker vines specifically to make sure none of them reached Diamondhead. Ear jacks and a long powerful tongue followed, but were beaten back with equal ferocity.
Tetsutetsu steeled his arms and held them up like a boxer. He strained every sense, trying to pick up every sound, every flicker of movement, everything that might be a different team trying to steal their headband. Shiozaki did well defending against ranged attacks, but multiple attacks got close. Shoji extended multiple limbs overhead and tried to pluck the headband from above. Shielding his head behind his arms, Tetsutetsu let them get close before battering them with punches from fists of steel. Shoji had lots of arms but none of them could match steel arms. Tape whizzed by, but everytime they landed Tetsutetsu would twist his body and rip the tape apart before anything could be done.
Diamondhead was a juggernaut; plowing forward without pause no matter the team in front. Shoji moving in front of him with dozens of arms braced to stop him? Diamondhead aimed his right arm and fired a particularly large crystal bullet straight to his gut. Shoji staggered back, his other arms assaulting Tetsutetsu stopping as well. Shoda bashing into his side, smacked away, only to use his quirk to fling himself in a second, stronger time? A crystal fisted haymaker sent Team Kodai off-balance, and nearly knocked Shoda out of their formation entirely. Bakugo flying overhead, firing explosions from above? Both arms raised, and a torrent of crystal shards forced Bakugo back to the ground. Bondo firing more of his adhesive substance? Diamondhead swept his right hand in a wide arc, summoning a protective wave of crystals in a wall to take the attack.
"LESS THAN A MINUTE LEFT! ARE YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO BE?"
The teams surged for one last wave at Present Mic's call. Whipped into a desperate frenzy, wanting a place among the finalists of their first Sports Festival! They pushed themselves to their feet, and threw themselves in the melee. Leave no regrets, fight until the end!
"Too many!" Shiozaki tried to ward away the teams but the last few frantic minutes had taken their toll. She was tired, her vines strained, cut and severed. Many of her vines were glued by purple spheres and the ones that were not were being trampled over.
"Less than a minute, hang in there, Shiozaki!" Tetsutetsu grabbed a circling horn and tossed it aside. He was panting hard and maintaining his steel was getting more and more difficult. The force impact from explosions, the burning from acid and the added weight of the layers of tape were finally affecting his stamina.
"All around us." Diamondhead whispered. Where had Ben seen this situation before? Where two tired combatants were surrounded by enemies, with only a Petrosapian between them and defeat? Incarcecon: the prison planet, that's where. And Tetrax had freed up enough space for them to escape with one move.
"Tetsutetsu, Shiozaki, I'm going to do something! I need you two to hold tight and not move at all. If you do move, this attack will probably hit you." Diamondhead received two knocks on his body, a non-verbal confirmation.
Teams Bakugo, Shoji, Hagakure, Kodai and Awase closed in. Shiozaki retracted her vines and Tetsutetsu readopted his defensive stance. Diamondhead closed his eyes, bent his back slightly and started feeling out his entire body, every limb every inch. The opposing teams were pressed for time to consider what he was doing. They got closer and closer, arms outstretched from all sides. Above, the sides and below. Tetsutetsu brought his head down low and covered himself with his steeled arms. Diamondhead's eyes flew open.
"HA!"
SHINGSHINGSHINGSHINGSHING!
In less than a blink of an eye, dozens of massive crystal spikes shot out of Diamondhead in every direction! Resembling a hedgehog or a porcupine, Diamondhead's skin disappeared under a forest of dulled crystal spines, with only Ben's teammates being spared. The other teams had no time to react, some of them were in the air or in the middle of launching attacks of their own. Bodies were flung through the air, knocked to the ground or sent staggering back onto their asses. The students struggled to maintain their balance but several fell to their hands and knees, clutched the parts of their body that were numb with pain. Just as quickly as the spines appeared, they retracted back into Diamondhead's body, leaving only the normal four from his back.
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
"TIME IS UP!"
BEWW BEWW BEWW BEWW!
"Wah!"
"Ommp!"
The final buzzer for the second event of the Sports Festival blared out, bringing all action to a screeching halt. A second later, three fading warnings emitted from the Omnitrix and in a flash of red, Diamondhead reverted back to plain old Ben. Shiozaki fell only a foot before hitting the ground. A little uncomfortable, but she got up no problem. Tetsutetsu was riding on Diamondhead's neck, and when that support was gone he went straight down, collapsing on the smaller Ben. Team Tetsutetsu groaned, rolling their sore muscles and aching wounds as they pushed themselves up.
Ben rolled himself off his back and onto his stomach, pushing down with his right elbow. He was surprised at how tired he was; those last few minutes of the Human Calvary Battle took more out of him than he realized. A silvery hand, slowly fading back to normal human skin, pushed itself in front of Ben's face. He looked up the offered limb to see Tetsutetsu beaming at him, with a Shiozaki barely holding back her giddiness behind.
"NOW, LET US SEE WHO OUT TOP TEAMS ARE! IN FIRST PLACE, WE HAVE TEAM TETSUTETSU! DESPITE THROWING AWAY THEIR 10 MILLION AT THE START, THEY CAME ROARING BACK WITH A VENGEANCE AND TAKE HOME THE NUMBER 1 SPOT!"
"That's thanks to you Ben. I'll never doubt you again!"
"Heh, you guys didn't do too shabby yourselves!" Ben clasped his hand with Tetsutetsu, and the teen pulled him up with one pull of his arm. Tetsutetsu's smile could outshine the sun as he brought Ben into a tight side hug, shaking him around.
Shiozaki was much more reserved, walking in front of him, putting his hands together and giving him a tiny bow. "Thank you for your dedication, Tennyson. This truly was a one-of-a-kind experience."
"Aww, just call me Ben Shiozaki. We're friends, are we not?" Shiozaki's face finally broke into an ear-to-ear smile. She held a hand to her head as she laughed, this time at full volume.
"I suppose so. Very well, Ben."
"IN SECOND WE HAVE TEAM BAKUGO! A NON-STOP BARRAGE OF OFFENSIVE PLAYS EARNED THEM THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF HEADBANDS AND THE SECOND HIGHEST TOTAL OVERALL!"
"GRAAAAHHHHHH!" Bakugo was evidently not happy. He fell to the ground, cross-legged, back bent, fingers scraping the concrete. His team shook their heads and laughed amongst themselves at their rider's actions. Ashido, Kirishima and Sero seemed quite pleased with themselves.
"IN THIRD PLACE, TEAM MIDORIYA! IN STARK CONTRAST TO THE OFFENSIVE MACHINE THAT WAS TEAM BAKUGO, TEAM MIDORIYA PLAYED IT SAFE, CLEVERLY EVADING ATTACKS AND KEEPING DISTANCE BETWEEN THEMSELVES AND OTHER TEAMS!"
"We-we did it guys!" Midoriya held his head high, fists clenched at his sides and his mouth quivering. Tears of happiness were starting to leak from the corners of his eyes.
"Yeah!" Uraraka jumped in the air, waving her arms around, smiling and laughing.
"Please don't cry." Tokoyami shook his head at his team's antics, but his beak curved into a smile as well.
"Mhmm... the boosters could use recalibrating, and the vulnerability to caustic substances should be worked out before the next stage of development..." Hatsume was already in work mode, taking apart her inventions and prying them open, a finger at her chin. It took Dark Shadow pawing at her shoulder to finally get her to join the group hug.
"AND IN FOURTH PLACE WE HAVE A TIE! TEAM TODOROKI HELD ONTO THE 10 MILLION FOR A LONG TIME, BUT THE AMOUNT OF TIME DOESN'T MATTER, IT'S WHO HAS IT AT THE END. DESPITE THAT, TEAM TODOROKI FOUGHT TOOTH-AND-NAIL TO CLIMB BACK UP, AND ENDED UP VICTORIOUS IN A GREAT SCRIMMAGE AGAINST TEAM KENDO!"
"Tied for fourth." Whispered Yaoyorozu, her body sagging under the weight of her exhaustion and disappointment.
"Hey, we didn't do that bad. I mean, we got some points back, didn't we?" Kaminari tried to cheer his team up. As someone who didn't expect to make it this far, Kaminari seemed to be the only one happy about where his team ended up in the rankings.
"Let me take responsibility!" Ida fell to his knees and banged his fist on the ground. His chest was heaving with every breath he took.
"No." All heads turned to their rider. Todoroki was staring off, looking at the celebrating teams with an unreadable expression. "The fault is mine."
Then he walked away, ignoring the protests behind him.
"ALSO IN FOURTH PLACE IS TEAM SHINSOU! THEY TOOK THE MOST CALCULATED APPROACH TO THE EVENT AND PICKED THEIR FIGHTS CAREFULLY, ONLY TAKING ENGAGEMENTS THEY KNEW THEY COULD WIN!"
"What the fu-?" Sato put a hand on his head as he looked around at the scoreboard, unable to comprehend what happened.
Ojiro was looking around wildly, his body shaking. All around him were sweaty, exhausted students. So why did he feel fine? Why did he not remember anything?
"Sacré bleu!" Aoyama was in distress. "What happened?"
The chuckles of a purple-haired gen ed student caught their attention. They stared at this student's back, piecing together what happened. The three recalled that they were looking for teammates for the second event after Midnight cracked her whip, and this guy approached them separately, out of nowhere. He said something, they started replying, then everything went dark.
"Gentlemen, your hard work is greatly appreciated." Shinsou laughed as he stuck his hands in his pockets and walked towards the exit.
"THOSE ARE THE TOP FINISHERS FOR THE SECOND EVENT FOLKS! WHILE WE WORK OUT THE NECESSARY FORMAT TO ACCOMMODATE ALL THE TEAMS IN THE THIRD AND FINAL ROUND OF THIS YEARS SPORTS FESTIVAL, WE WILL HAVE AN HOUR BREAK FOR LUNCH! GET SOME FOOD, WATER, REST, WHATEVER YOU NEED CAUSE AFTERWARDS WE AIN'T STOPPING TILL WE CROWN THE CHAMPION! HEY, ERASERHEAD! LET'S GO GET SOME- hey, where ya goin'?"
"I've seen way too much already." Aizawa mumbled as he sank into his yellow sleeping bag. "First that Upgrade form, and now Diamondhead. I need to think, and I think best when asleep."
"Uhh, sure! You do you." Present Mic pressed a couple buttons and turned down a dial on his electronic board. Opening the door of the commentator booth to exit, he turned to his friend. "Want me to get something small for you?"
No response.
"Man, I wish I had that skill. Must be nice, being able to fall asleep on command." The hero heaved a big fake sigh before catching someone moving in the corner of his vision. "Yo, Nemuri, wait up!"
Mic's boots echoing off the metal floor slowly faded away, leaving Aizawa with the ambient sounds of stadium chatter and activity. He turned over, trying to simultaneously block out the sounds of the world around him and processing his thoughts.
Tennyson had revealed two new forms in less than half a day. That means Aizawa now knew a total of 6 of his transformations. However, this only added problems onto his plate. These two new forms were definitely problems, as they were incredibly powerful and versatile. Upgrade may not have great direct combat prowess, but he didn't need to have any. Being able to assimilate himself into any machine and improve whatever he takes over is something Aizawa honestly didn't know how to combat. And in this day and age, technology is everywhere. Humanity has never before relied on technology as much as they did now for communication, security and transportation.
Then there was the newest form, Diamondhead. It was easy to compare this form to Four Arms based on looks, but that really wasn't the case. Sure, Four Arms' strength was on a whole different level, but it was hard to compare endurance and durability in just 10 minutes. Then there was that crystallokinesis. It was a power Aizawa had never seen before, and he had seen a lot of quirks. It didn't even seem to take any effort on Tennyson's part. His ability to fire crystals as a ranged weapon, surprising mobility and the ability to create crystal constructs, this was a form with no easy answer. The only way Aizawa would defeat this form was to wait out the transformation time. The teacher groaned and curled in on himself. He didn't have the brain power anymore. He just needed to sleep.
1-A's teacher may have the luxury of sleeping, but not all UA staff were so lucky. Cementoss jogged down a flight of stairs and emerged for a stadium exit. He jogged over to the gathered students and told them to exit where he emerged from and enjoy the lunch break. They could take a school-prepared meal or go about the many vendors set up and eat what they wanted. UA students ate for free after all. Cementoss then picked out the student he needed to chat with and stood in front of him.
"Tennyson, a question if you would?" The boy in question looked up at his teacher.
"Sure Cementoss-sensei, what do you need?"
"You left a lot of debris." Cementoss pointed to the massive crystal structures and mounds of crystal shards that Diamondhead left behind. "I don't think I can move those pillars without construction equipment, so could you transform again to help dispose of them?"
"Oh, no need! Those crystals are directly linked to Diamondhead. They were made by him, so without him they will eventually decay." Ben explained. He bent over and picked up a nearby shard. He held it up to his teacher. "See?"
He was right! Cementoss got a closer look and saw the shard had lost it's shiny luster and it's edges were slowly forming dust. "Should only take half an hour before the biggest ones go away fully. Sorry about that."
"No worries. That still leaves me plenty of time to do my work. Now, go eat with the rest of your class." Cementoss gently patted his head and strode off, starting to fix the edges of the stadium that were damaged in the event.
"No need to tell me twice, I'm starving!" Ben started walking with his teammates.
"Heh, same here! You know, I've been low-key looking forward to the lunch break the most out of everything today." Tetsutetsu admitted shamelessly. "Not to bash on Lunch Rush, but I've always loved street food! My dad would take me to festivals over the summer and we would eat until we could barely move. Sometimes, it's the shadiest, greasiest vendors that serve the real gems, food that restaurants just can't mimic."
"Sounds like a health hazard. I think I'll just take their provided lunch, rather than risk a stomachache." Shiozaki remarked.
"You know, I'm kinda with Tetsutetsu in this. I've always preferred baseball game chili dogs than the plain franks you get at the store. You know-"
"Tennyson." Recognizing the voice of the interrupter, Ben let out a long, exaggerated sigh as he rolled his head to lazily stare at the opposing glare.
"What is it this time Todoroki? Here to give another declaration of war?" Todoroki's eye twitched at the insult.
"Come with me." He commanded, his voice leaving no room for arguments. A shame that Ben never really gave in to those sorts of orders.
"Yeah, no. I'm hungry, so I'm going to browse the vendors for lunch. Now, if you'll excuse me!" Ben tried to push his way past Todoroki, but the boy just moved to intercept, blocking Ben's path by hitting him with his shoulder. Ben looked up at the taller boy, whose eyes were radiating hostility.
"I need to talk to you. Alone." Todoroki kept his eyes on Ben as he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder to a different tunnel than the one Cementoss came out of. He didn't even give Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki any acknowledgement! Ben scowled, and opened his mouth to let loose a swarm of insults, but someone else beat him to it.
"That is enough!" Shiozaki's raised voice startled Ben and Tetsutetsu, as they looked over to see her serene expression muddied by anger. She stomped forward, with Tetsutetsu putting up his hands and stepping out of her way. She forced Todoroki to acknowledge her, and she crossed her arms and stared at him down.