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A My Hero Academia Fanfiction: Age of Heroes Chapter 16 End of Top 16 by RVasil

His palms were sweaty.

Knees were a little weak and arms were heavy.

Kinus felt like he wanted to vomit as he sat quietly inside the waiting room. The waiting was unbearable. While the dragon wasn't a stranger to anxiety, this was something else entirely. He did his best to NOT think about what was on the line in this match. But instead, he focused on keeping his breathing in check, taking deep breaths to steady his racing heart and slightly quaking legs. The dragon walked up to the mirror at the side and glanced at his reflection. The face of a nervous, yet cautiously optimistic dragon looked back at him. He gently touched the scar that was on his face, a stark reminder of the ordeal he just went through.

Looking back on it, the Sports Fest seemed trivial compared to what he went through back at USJ. Here, he was fighting for his future, for the promise he wanted to keep, and for the personal pride and goal he set for himself. To succeed and make a mark, to tell the world that this was who he was, and this was who he wanted to be.

At USJ however, it was far more primal and far more simpler. It was the desire to survive and live. There was nothing more to it.

The dragon found himself smiling warily as the thought settled in his head. He had fought someone whose goal was to kill him, and lived to tell about it. Being worried over a simple competition made by a school for students seemed comical in comparison. The juxtaposition of the two things at least helped temper dragon's anxiety. If only a little. The cheers of the crowd from the outside clued Kinus in that break time was over.

There was gentle knock on the door. A UA Staff peered in, holding a clipboard. "Kinus Hazani?" he called out, looking at the dragon. "It's time for your match."

Kinus nodded.

0 = 0 = 0 = 0 = 0 = 0

"We're finally back folks!" Present Mic cried out over the speakers. "It's time to move on to the next half of our matches, and it looks like we'll have something to look forward to!" Up on the large screens that surrounded the stadium, Kinus's photo, alongside his opponent, Kamakiri flashed on screen.

"A capable heavy hitter! The dragon with his signature dragonic halberd. From the hero course, it's Kinus Hazani!"

Kinus smiled, feeling all eyes on him as he stood from one end of the cemented platform. He prepared himself for the combat he was about to face by jumping up and down slightly, stretching his arms and legs. Across from him, stood his opponent, looking bored and disinterested. This was probably the first time Kinus had a good long look at his opponent. Kamakiri stood proud and tall, with a distinctive green mohawk on his head. The two mandible like blades that jutted out from the sides of his face gave off an intimidating vibe. Kinus tried to read his opponent, to try and see how he fought. But so far, Kamakiri wasn't giving him any signs. Even worse, he didn't exactly see him at the Cavalry Battle to get a hint at what he could do.

"Versus! He's the kid with the razor sharp mandibles. The other student from Class 1B who made it in, it's Togaru Kamakiri!"

Kinus turned his head and looked towards the direction of Class 1A's seats. All of them were cheering for him, except for Tokoyami and Midoriya. The former was quiet as ever, and the latter was busy writing in his notes. Next to them however, was Class 1B, and the students there were cheering their heart out for Kamakiri.

TetsuTetsu's voice immediately stood out. "Show these Class 1A students what we're made of, Kamakiri!"

He then focused his attention back onto Kamakiri who had now gone into a fighting stance. His knees were bent, arms at the side. The dragon figured the boy was lowering his center of mass. A classic fighting stance to keep yourself perfectly balanced. The boy's fists were clenched. Kinus's brow rose. Was he a hand to hand fighter? His thoughts were derailed however when Kamakiri spoke. "Fair warning, just because this is a school event, doesn't mean I'm not going to go easy on you." His eyes narrowed. "I'm in it to win it."

The dragon's mind raced as he tried to prepare himself for whatever was to come. "Likewise."

Present Mic's voice blared over the speakers. "Now! Let's get started. Fifth match, begin!"

The dragon crossed his arms on his chest, and called forth the water from his pack. The liquid quickly solidified, forming into throwing knives. Gripping them tightly, he threw them at Kamakiri who opted to charge at him. The boy dodged, quickly rolling to the floor to evade the flying projectiles. Seeing an opening, Kinus ran to meet Kamakiri. He called forth his dragonic halberd, and spun around, swinging it to hit the rising boy.

A loud clang signalled Kinus's weapon colliding with something.

"Amazing! Kamakiri managed to block Hazani's combo attack with a weapon of his own!"

Kinus's eyes darted towards Kamakiri who had indeed blocked his attack, but with a weapon he wasn't expecting. Kamakiri chuckled in his look of disbelief. "Let's even the playing field a little." The boy retaliated back, grinding the blade protruding from his skin against Kinus's halberd and pushed the dragon back effectively.

Kinus took a few paces back to give himself some space, and recalculate his approach. But it seemed Kamakiri wasn't interested in giving the dragon some breathing room. "If you're just going to stand there," Kamakiri cried out, charging at Kinus. His hands were to the side, blades menacingly pointed at the dragon. "Then allow me to go first!"

The dragon quickly defended himself from Kamakiri's attempt to swipe at him. The boy came at him, slashing left, right, up and then down, before mixing it up one after the other. Kamakiri was using his lateral momentum perfectly to accentuate his swings, and not waste any kinetic energy. Kinus struggled to block, and evade, having trouble to break the boy's effortless flow.

"What's wrong?" Kamakiri asked in between strikes. "You seem distracted!"

Focus, Kinus! Focus!

Kamakiri went for a low right, and as Kinus went to block for it, the boy countered by quickly shifting his swing to a high left. The punch connected, and the dragon swore he saw stars as he took a blow to the side of his head. He stumbled slightly, vision blurring, and for a brief moment, he could see nothing. He heard Present Mic say something over the speakers, but the dragon was too disoriented to actually process what the commentary was. He opened his eyes and his vision was nothing but a hazy mess.

Damn it, I can't see well out of my right eye!

Kinus had to rely solely on his reflexes as the mass of green and white in front of him charged forward, entering another string of swings at his direction. Kinus backed up, one step after the other, focusing heavily on defense as he tried to fend off Kamakiri's voracious efforts. It was only a few seconds later did he realize how bad of a situation he was in.

"What an amazing display of weapon mastery we're seeing here folks! Hazani is putting on a great wall of defense, but at this rate, Kamakiri's going to push him out of bounds!" Present Mic commented.

Kinus managed to snap a quick look back and realize how fast he was approaching the border line. If he didn't do something, he was going to lose! The dragon began to panic as he was forced to move back by Kamakiri's wall of offense. He couldn't lose here! The dragon gritted his teeth. He still had a promise to keep. All he needed was an opening.

"Sorry, but I'm going to win this fight!" Kamakiri announced, rearing back to go for another swing.

Kinus raised his halberd to defend against the slash directed at him. The attack connected, and the dragon watched as his halberd get slashed in two, getting sliced cleanly at the shaft. A grin flashed across Kamakiri's face, realizing that this was great for him. But Kinus wasn't down for the count. The dragon decided to turn his disadvantage into an advantage. Acting quickly, Kinus gripped the two broken pieces of his weapon and rolled out of the way as Kamakiri went for a kick that would have surely tumbled him out of bounds. The dragon then got up quickly, continuing to block Kamakiri's aggressive attacks at him with his broken weapon. Blade clashed against the ice, the dull clang sounding around the stadium. The extra mobility Kinus had from now wielding two smaller weapons instead of his more heavy single one, allowed him to dodge and weave against Kamakiri, letting him keep up in pace.

"What a turn around folks! Hazani is staying strong, being able to still fight even when his own weapon got cut in half!"

"Well, aren't you a resilient bastard!" Kamakiri said through gritted teeth.

Kinus managed to let out a smile in between strikes. "I've been through worse."

The statement only served to anger Kamakiri, frustration showing on his face. "Don't get so cocky!" The two continued their deadly dance of blades, the tide of the battle seemingly stuck in equilibrium as neither side was willing to let up. It was Kamakiri however who eventually decided to go for broke. The boy spun around, mixing up his swings with a quick kick, and ended up punishing Kinus's who was overextending. The resulting scuffle disarmed the dragon, the broken weapons he had sent flying up high above.

The two locked eyes for a brief moment.

Kamakiri then went on the offensive, slashing wildly at the now defenseless Kinus. The dragon wasn't being given any space to form another weapon, and was forced to dodge and weave like his life depended on it. All he needed was just one opening. A glint at the sky told him that his window was coming up quickly. A dodge to the left, a sidestep to the right, and then the dragon ducked, Kamakiri's blade barely missing Kinus's head by inches. The resulting slash left the boy wide open, and Kinus capitalized on it.

The dragon countered with a rising uppercut, hitting Kamakiri squarely on the jaw.

The stadium itself seemingly turned head over heels as Kamakiri was launched by the momentum. Kinus propelled himself upward, and reached out, grabbing his falling weapons in perfect timing. He froze them together once more, and Kinus landed back down the floor, swinging his halberd with a stylish flourish. Kamakiri on the other hand, scrambled to stand, looking angry and slightly dazed. Without skipping a beat, the two were back at it once more, Kamakiri letting out a roar of anger as he threw himself at Kinus. This time however, he clearly was off his game, as the dragon noted he was slower than he used to be. The uppercut to the jaw must have done a number on him.

The entire crowd was enamored by the fight happening between them. They shouted, cheering for no one in particular. At this point, it seemed they were happy at the spectacle they were seeing rather than be excited to see who was winning. Even Present Mic was unable to say anything as the action and equal opposite reaction was happening too fast to even commentate. Instead Aizawa was the one to temporary fill in for color commentary. "What you're watching are two students who are showing the world what they are truly capable off."

Kamakiri made another attempt at Kinus, rearing back and jumping into the air. He then spun around, a circle of blades crashing down. The dragon responded back, morphing his halberd into a shield to protect himself from the falling heavy attack. The blade scratched the surface, the sheer force and weight threatening to crack it in half. Kamakiri's downward momentum staggered Kinus. This left him wide open, and Kamakiri made sure to capitalize on it. The boy aimed for a sweep, catching the dragon not watching his legs. He then slashed at the dragon, who immediately rolled away.

The crowd cheered loudly as Kinus scrambled to stand up, feeling his right side ache a little. His eyes flickered to see what the damage was. He was thankful that it was just a light cut, and not something serious. A light shade of red tainted the surgically torn edges of his PE uniform.

"After a solid time of pure action, it's Kamakiri who draws first blood!" Present Mic commentated, speaking once again after being so uncharacteristically quiet.

Kinus took a deep breath and assessed the situation. Kamakiri was a capable fighter, there was no doubt about that. He could even say that they were on par with each other in terms of skill and reflexes. Any attempt of getting a stray hit in would be a challenge, so Kinus's best bet was to catch the boy off guard to land a clean hit. But how? How was he going to do such a thing?

Kinus's eyes drifted to his weapon, and saw that it was dripping some small droplets onto the floor. It was probably because of the heat. It was hot out in the middle of the cemented fighting stage, without any roof over their heads. His eyes followed the dripping water, and then his eyes flicked towards Kamakiri who was standing guard. "Is that...all you got?!" Kamakiri shouted, exhaustion beginning to wear him down.

"What is Hazani going to do against this wall of defense?"

A plan began to formulate inside Kinus's head. This fight had been going on for far too long. He hoped that it was enough to score a knockout because this was going to be painful for his back.

"Hazani charges back into the fray! Let's hope he has a plan!"

Kinus ran back to attack Kamakiri who happily met him halfway. The two combatants clashed once more, except this time, Kinus knew what he wanted to do, and decided to lead Kamakiri on. He swung left, then right, and then left again, each attack having more power behind it than the last. Kinus was attempting to overwhelm Kamakiri's defense. But the boy was fighting back, defending with all his might.

"It seems desperation has taken over Hazani, and his throwing everything he's got into each of his swings!" Present Mic added in response to his actions.

The dragon waited patiently for the right moment to enact his plan.

Then he found it.

The boy reared back from the sheer power Kinus had behind each of his strikes. Realizing that his opponent staggered, Kinus jumped back, before spinning around, seemingly in an attempt to land another forceful, square hit against the boy.

Kamakiri reflexively raised his blades to block.

But the collision never came. All he was met with was a splash of water.

"What the?!" he blurted out, utterly baffled by what just occurred.

But it was already too late for him.

Kamakiri felt hands wrap around his waist tightly, and then the floor beneath him disappeared. Kinus was no longer in front of him, and it was like the entire world turned head over heels as he was swept off his feet. A loud, almost bone crushingly painful thud echoed across the entire stadium as Kamakiri's head collided squarely on the floor. The boy's body slumped in a heap as Kinus got up, clutching his back slightly.

"We're both going to feel this in the morning..." the dragon muttered to himself, amidst the crowd going wild from the epic display of spectacle they were subjected to.

"A SUPLEX! Hazani went for a suplex!" Present Mic shouted enthusiastically over the speakers. "This boy was aiming for the knockout! Did it pay off however? Midnight, how's Kamakiri doing?"

Kinus glanced at Midnight who was now kneeling over Kamakiri's fallen body, checking for the boy's condition. She then stood up and raised a hand towards Kinus. "Kamakiri is K.O. Hazani advances to the next round!"

The crowd cheered loudly, the screen displaying his picture with the clear title of 'winner' right next to it. Kinus would have been jumping in joy if his back wasn't in so much pain. The dragon smiled warily to himself. Next time, he'd be sure to do more stretches. He instead just smiled happily, giving the crowd a confident thumbs up before making his way back into the stadium. He was tired. His entire body ached, and once the adrenaline began wearing off, he felt completely exhausted. It was just the first fight of the day, and already, he felt like he wanted nothing more than to sleep at that very moment.

But the tournament was still in play. With a contented sigh, the dragon exited the stage. The first order of business was to have Recovery Girl treat the cut he received from Kamakiri.

0 = 0 = 0 = 0 = 0 = 0

One quick trip to the clinic, accompanied by a mix of praising and scolding from Recovery Girl, and Kinus was back on his feet. The dragon was slow in making his way back up the stairs however, as his stamina still needed to recover from being sapped. When he got back up to the stands, the sounds of his classmates chatting with one another filled his ears.

"Hey guys," he greeted them, appearing in their view.

Midoriya was the first person all over him. "Hazani, that was amazing!" he cried out. "I was on the edge of my seat. You were both so evenly matched. I couldn't tell who was going to win between the two of you."

"We all were!" Ojiro added, standing next to Midoriya. "You put up a good fight back there."

Kirishima stood up, and threw two mock punches against the air. "Those punches you two were throwing at each other is getting me pumped up. Why didn't you tell me you could put up a brawl when you wanted to, Hazani?" The boy clapped him on the back, and the dragon grunted in response. "Oh, sorry!" he added, looking apologetic. "But really, Hazani, you should have told me. I would have asked you to spar with me."

Kinus smiled. "Well if you win the next match then you'll get what you want."

The boy's eyes lit up. "Oh that's right!" It seemed like the prospect of getting to fight Kinus fired up Kirishima even further. "I'm going to win this guys!"

"Good luck out there, Kirishima," Tsuyu responded, waving at the boy. The red headed boy made his exit, and Kinus made a beeline back to his seat.

"For someone who finished at eleventh place back at the Quirk Assessment Test, I'm genuinely surprised at how athletic you are," Midoriya commented, going back to his seat.

"I'd like to think I've improved since then," Kinus responded.

"Congratulations," Tokoyami remarked as Kinus sat down next to him. "That was an impressive match."

Dark Shadow slinked out from Tokoyami's form and rested on the boy's shoulder. His yellow eyes looked at Kinus. "I would say the same, but I expected you to win in the first place," he said smugly.

"I'm glad that I didn't disappoint you," Kinus remarked. He grunted a little, earning a cautious look from his seatmate. Even Dark Shadow looked a bit concerned.

"You did go to Recovery Girl, right?" Tokoyami asked concernedly.

"I did," Kinus responded. "My back still hurts a bit though. I knew I should have done more stretches."

"Still, a suplex?" Tokoyami said, turning his attention back to the stage. "If I didn't know you, I would think you did that just to show off."

Kinus let out a light chuckle. "It was the first thing that came into my mind. Kamakiri had amazing defense. He kept blocking everything I was throwing at him. I had to give everything I had into that grab." The dragon sighed. "I'm glad that it knocked him out to win the round."

"Just try to be more careful next time," Tokoyami added.

"Straining your back this early in the matches aren't going to do you any favors," Dark Shadow commented, before disappearing into his owner's form.

The pang of pain the dragon felt on his back made him nod in agreement. "Hear, hear."

Everyone's attention was taken once more as Present Mic's voice echoed across the stadium. "The sixth matchup is between two completely redundant Quirks! A manly and passionate fighter made of steel, from the Hero course, TetsuTetus TetsuTetsu! Versus! A manly and passionate fighter made of rock! From the hero course, it's Eijiro Kirishima!"

Kinus cocked his head to the side. "Everything about them is so similar."

"It's like banging two pieces of rock against one another," Tokoyami noted.

His friend's bluntness wasn't lost on him. "Well, we should still cheer for Kirishima either way. He is our classmate." The dragon turned to Midoriya who was writing on his trusty notebook. "Who do you think is going to win, Midoriya?"

The boy stopped for a moment, eyes laser focused on the two fighters squaring off. "I can't say for certain. It's like Tokoyami said, it's like banging two rocks against one another."

As if to emphasize the dullness of the matchup happening in front of them, Kinus turned his head to see Mineta fast snoring away quietly at the back. He couldn't blame him. The two Quirks that were about to be displayed weren't exactly flashy. Jiro on the other hand sensed the lack of disinterest and was quick to prick Mineta back awake with her ear jack.

"Can't wait to see how this one ends," Present Mic announced. "BEGIN!!!"

The two fighters charged at each other, and Kinus immediately realized that they were both going for the same opening attack, a powerful right handed clothesline punch. Both Kirishima and TetsuTetsu met midway, their fists colliding perfectly against one another. The dragon winced in his seat. With the way both reeled back slightly, the impact behind the punch wasn't lost on the dragon. What soon followed was a fight that resembled a street brawl. Since both had similar Quirks, their fight styles were almost carbon copies of each other.

"After watching the fight you had with Kamakiri, I'll admit, I'm underwhelmed," Tokoyami remarked, leaning back on his chair, visibly disinterested at the two fighters ruthlessly wailing at each other.

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Kinus asked, wincing slightly in his seat as he saw TetsuTetsu land a solid hit against Kirishima who brushed it off like it was nothing. "They both have physical enhancement Quirks, so naturally, they'll rely on using their pure physical strength to win fights."

"True, but that doesn't mean that's all they should focus on," Tokoyami answered. "There's always room to improve. Not all fights can be won with brute strength, or the strength of one's Quirk alone. Strategy is key." He then glanced at Kinus. "You taught me that."

Kinus smiled.

"That said, who do you think is going to win?" Tokoyami curiously asked, less enthused about the fight and clearly more interested in conversing with his friend.

Kinus turned back to look at Kirishima and TetsuTetsu. Both looked a bit rugged, the long winded match between them clearly taking a toll on their bodies. They've been trading blows nonstop with one another ever since the fight started. The dragon scratched his chin. "It's a bit hard to say, really. It's like watching a boxing match between two evenly skilled fighters. I see two outcomes happening here." The dragon winced again upon seeing Kirishima take a full punch to the face. Kirishima shrugged it off, and the dragon was amazed at how durable the boy was. "Either one of them is going to land that hit that knocks the other out, which is a bit unlikely since they both can seem to shrug off head on body blows like its nothing, or," the dragon continued, crossing his arms across his chest, "one of them slips up because of exhaustion."

Midoriya, who was quietly thinking to himself, perked up upon hearing the dragon's analysis. "Oh that's right!" he exclaimed, scribbling something once more in his notes. "How did I miss that? That's the drawback to physical enhancement Quirks like Kirishima's." He finished writing and turned to look at Kinus who was smiling at him. "It's mostly tied to stamina. Fighting like this over a long period of time must put quite a strain on their bodies."

Kinus nodded, and sure enough, he noticed the signs of it. Although both fighters were explosive right off the bat, the dragon saw the tell tale signs of exhaustion beginning to show itself. Kirishima was moving more slowly, his punches were more sluggish and looked like it was lacking the power it had behind it compared to it was before. The same could have been said to TetsuTetsu who was also beginning to slow down himself.

It wasn't going to be long until one of them was going to fall down at this point.

"It looks like this match is going to be over any minute now," Tokoyami said, and then stood up. "I should best be off to prepare."

"Don't you dare lose now, you hear?" Kinus said, looking at the bird.

Tokoyami smiled confidently. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Good luck, Tokoyami!" Iida said, waving the boy goodbye.

Kinus watched as Tokoyami made his way out of the stand, and eventually disappearing out of sight. Not a few minutes after him, Yaoyorozu followed suit. "I think I'll go prepare for my match," she said smoothly.

"You're going to do great, Yaoyorozu," Jiro remarked, offering her a thumbs up.

"I'm sure Tokoyami would be no match for you!" Ashido commented.

"Thanks for the support guys," she said, smiling at all of them.

As Yaoyorozu left the stand, the climax of the brawl reached its conclusion in front of them. Kirishima and TetsuTetsu traded one final punch with one another, before collapsing onto the floor lifelessly.

"Is it over? The hardheads look like they've been KOed but who is the winner?!"

Midnight walked over to the two fighters and inspected their injuries. After one tense moment, she reached her decision. "Both contestants are down! It's a draw!" Stretchers began to wheel out and the robots placed both fighters on them carefully. "In the case of a draw, after they recover, the winner will be determined by a simple contest, perhaps arm wrestling."

The crowd gave the two unconscious fighters a round of applause as they both got carted off to meet with Recovery Girl. Kinus knew that although it looked like they were going to have bruises with the way their injuries looked, Recovery Girl was going to give them a speedy recovery.

"While we wait for Kirishima and TetsuTetsu to recover, we'll move on to the next battle!"

A picture of Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu appeared on screen.

"So the match hasn't started yet?"

Kinus, Iida, and Midoriya both looked towards the direction came from. It was from none other than Uraraka. Kinus was taken aback by Uraraka's appearance. There was a bandage on her face but what took the dragon off guard was that her eyes were swollen red and puffy. It was clear that she had been crying. The dragon ended up nodding in response to her question.

"Oh good," she responded.

"Something terrible has happened to your eyes! You need to go see Recovery Girl," Iida exclaimed.

Kinus spared the boy a glance, wondering if he was being serious, or if he was just being daft at the moment.

"I already did," Uraraka answered, making her way towards her seat. "This is from..." she rubbed her eyes lightly, "...something else."

"Ah I see...If I were you, I'd be frustrated too," Iida remarked.

Kinus realized he was probably reflecting at his somewhat humiliating victory against Mei. He opted to give the two some words to cheer them up. "It's no time to wallow," Kinus said, looking at the both of them. "Use this next fight as a source of encouragement."

"Will do," Uraraka said firmly.

"You're so wise," Iida added, seemingly at awe at the words of the dragon.

"Glad to see you're okay, Uraraka," Midoriya responded, offering a warm smile to his friend.

"You can't put me down that easily," she answered, offering Midoriya a confident thumbs up.

Present Mic's voice directed all of their attention to the center stage. "Let's not let this hot streak cool! Time to move onto the next match!" The crowd cheered as the two combatants entered the fray. "Offense and defense in one! The dark samurai and his darker shadow. From the hero course, Fumikage Tokoyami! Versus! The great creator. She was admitted because of recommendations and I think we can all see why. Also from Class 1A, it's Momo Yaoyorozu!"

Ojiro leaned in and then asked, "Midoriya, how do you think this one will end? Any clue?"

"Timing is going to be the key thing here," Midoriya answered.

"Oh, how so?" Ojiro asked.

"It's mainly because Yaoyorozu has to take time in creating the tools she needs to fight," Midoriya explained. "In contrast with Tokoyami, he can easily attack and overwhelm her during the downtime with the aid of Dark Shadow. If Yaoyorozu is unable to counter that, she's going to lose."

Ojiro nodded. "You're right." His eyes then flickered towards Kinus.

The dragon was quietly watching the two fighters, hands clasped together and placed underneath his chin, a clear sign of someone thinking very deeply. Kinus was using this chance to study his friend, and clear rival. He had been silently listening to Midoriya's explanation as well, and agreed with him wholeheartedly. If Yaoyorozu wasn't quick on her feet, she was going to lose.

"Hey Hazani," Ojiro called out, grabbing his attention.

"Yes?" he asked, not taking his eyes away from the stage.

"What do you think Yaoyorozu should do to stand a chance?" Even Midoriya stopped scribbling for a moment to glance at him, curious in his reply.

"Oh yeah," Ashido added. "Aren't you guys like, inseparable?" she asked, in an almost teasing tone. "You must know some secrets about him."

"I know a few things," Kinus answered, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "For one thing, I know that right now, Tokoyami isn't going to let anyone beat him."

"Oh? Why is that?" she asked curiously.

"Because he still has a promise to keep."

Ashido was intrigued. She was about to ask more into the topic, but was cut off when Present Mic announced the start of the match. "Sixth Match! Begin!"

In a startling display of speed, Dark Shadow surged forward, careening straight at Yaoyorozu who was caught off guard by the speed of the Quirk. She responded by creating a shield in an effort to block. The resulting impact caused her to stumble back slightly, clearly underestimating the force behind it.

"This is bad," he said grimly, watching Dark Shadow attack again. The shadow crashed back into Yaoyorozu who was clearly having trouble adapting to the situation. Kinus's eyes flickered towards Tokoyami and noted that compared to his opponent, the bird was calm, collected and obviously had a clear strategy in mind.

Dark Shadow charged once more, this time colliding with Yaoyorozu's shield with a such a force that it broke the girl's guard entirely. The shield she held in her hands was sent flying off to the side, landing on the floor with an audible metallic clang. Yaoyorozu created another shield just in the nick of time as Dark Shadow lunged once again, sending her skidding back by the sheer force behind it.

"Well, I suppose that's that," he remarked. "I can't believe how fast that match went."

Uraraka turned her head to face him, surprised at his comment. "How can you say that? The match has just started."

Kinus was going to answer why, but instead let Midnight answer for him, pointing to her figure at the stage.

"Yaoyorozu! You're out! This match goes to Tokoyami," Midnight announced, raising her whip.

Kinus smiled, watching as Tokoyami respectfully bowed and walked away, leaving a stunned Yaoyorozu behind. Even Uraraka was taken by surprise at the thing she missed.

"Yikes! Another fast overwhelming victory! Is it possible that Tokoyami's Dark Shadow is the greatest Quirk ever? I think so!" Present Mic's voice rang across the stadium alongside the cheers of the audience.

"Tokoyami's way too powerful," Midoriya said, breaking his silence. The boy had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the entire match. "I can't believe he forced her out of bounds just by focusing his attacks on her shield. He obviously had a strategy worked out.|

"Yeah, I guess so. Maybe he didn't want to hurt her," Ojiro suggested. "I bet she's really upset at how that went down. I feel bad for her. I can kind of understand how that would feel..." Ojiro commented.

"What's worse is that it only took four hits for her to go down," Kinus added. He glanced at his classmates who were now just realizing this. "Tokoyami didn't even take a single step from his position."

"Whoa..." Iida said, amazed at the dragon's statement.

Midoriya quickly turned back to his notes, scribbling furiously on the pages.

"Well I'll make sure to not go down without a fight like that!"

Everyone turned their heads to see Ashido stand up. The students of Class 1A all gave their support for the girl, who was then followed by Aoyama who was flamboyantly waving at them as he normally did.

A few moments later, a content Tokoyami and a somewhat dejected looking Yaoyorozu entered the fray. "You'll get it next time, Yaoyorozu," Jiro said, doing her best to cheer her friend up. Yaoyorozu nodded, sitting back down on her seat silently. It would seem her defeat was still sinking into her.

"Congratulations on winning," Kinus remarked as Tokoyami sat back down next to him.

"Thank you," he responded. "I'm glad that it all went according to plan."

"Look at you, strategizing," Kinus teased, gently jabbing the bird on the shoulder. "You're making me a bit nervous now."

The bird just chuckled in response. "I learned from the best."

"We're going to the final match we have for the Top 16!" Present Mic announced, earning cheers from the crowds. "Let's hope that gaudy belt he has serves some kind of purpose. Yuga Aoyama from the hero course! Versus! Is there some kind of purpose for those horns on her head? From the same class, Mina Ashido!"

"Come on, Mina! You can do it!" Tsuyu said, showing her support for her friend.

"DON'T SHOW ANY MERCY, AOYAMA!" Mineta exclaimed, seemingly coming from a place of contention. "Beat her like in those fighting games where their clothes get ripped off!"

"You pervert!" Jiro scolded.

Kinus just shook his head disapprovingly, turning his attention back to the match at hand.

"A match between Aoyama and Ashido," Midoriya said, mumbling to himself as he checked his notes, "Considering their Quirks, Aoyama will probably attack from a distance with his laser. This fight will hinge on whether or not Ashido can close the distance between them and use her Quirk against him in close combat. Problem is, there's no cover for her to use in this ring so she might be at a slight disadvantage."

"Now! Let's get started!" Present Mic said, directing everyone's attention back to the center stage. "Final match! Start!"

Kinus watched with curiosity as the match started, Aoyama starting things off by firing off his naval laser directly at Ashido. He was taken a bit off guard at how easily Ashido dodged the attack, before quickly skating off to the side. "It's like she's ice skating..." he commented, noting that the pink haired girl was scooting across the hard cement.

"Her acid Quirk is flowing through her shoes," Midoriya added, making a scribble on his notes. "There's no cover around, but being very mobile like this will make things harder for Aoyama."

Sure enough, the boy's analysis was on the mark. What soon followed was a session of Aoyama aiming, then taking a shot at Ashido who easily bobbed and weaved, ducking and jumping whenever needed.

"I think she's been stealing some of your skating flair, Hazani," Tokoyami added, a smirk across his face.

The dragon chuckled as they continued to watch the light show that Aoyama was subjecting them to. Inevitably, Aoyama's weakness made itself known as using his Quirk too much would make make his stomach hurt. Ashido quickly capitalized on this, closing the gap between them and knocking the poor boy out with a strong left uppercut.

"Aoyama has fainted! The winner of this match is Ashido!" Midnight proudly announced.

"Ashido's easy victory is indisputable, sports fans!" Present Mic happily added, as the crowd cheered for the pink haired girl who was celebrating her victory in the middle of the ring.

"Wow, Mina's amazing," Tsuyu commented, happy for her friend.

A loud thump made everyone turn their heads to see Mineta shaking frustratedly in his seat. "I got to see panties...but why were they his...?!"

"Oh for crying out loud," Jiro responded disapprovingly.

"The match unfolded like I thought it would," Midoriya said, continue to mumble to himself as he wrote more in his notebook, "but I definitely underestimated Ashido, although now that I think about it, she did place ninth in the Quirk Assessment Test. She has a great power, but she won because of her physical strength..."

Kinus tapped Midoriya on the shoulder, making the boy jump in surprise. "Hey, shouldn't you be preparing for your next match? Aren't you up next after this?"

"Oh that's right," Iida added, turning to face Midoriya. "You're fighting against Todoroki, correct?"

Midoriya nodded, and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I am." He then closed his notebook and placed it on his seat as he stood up. "Now that you guys brought it up, I'm kind of nervous."

"You'll do fine, Midoriya," Tokoyami said, giving the boy some support.

"Yeah, you did well against Shinso," Kinus added, and then realized that maybe that wasn't the best phrase to use, "well enough. The point is, I'm sure you've got this all figured out."

The boy lightly chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Thanks, Hazani. I'll be going now."

"Good luck, Deku!" Uraraka cheered. "You better win this one!"

The group watched Midoriya wave at them, before disappearing out of view. Urarka was the first to break the silence between them. "I'm nervous for him."

"I am too," Iida added, the supportive smile he had before gone and was now doubtful. "But we should trust, Midoriya."

Trying to lighten up the mood, Kinus then said, "Think of it this way, when the match starts, all Midoriya has to do is flick his finger, and literally blow Todoroki out of the ring! Plain and simple, right?"

"Easier said than done, Hazani," Tokoyami added. "Todoroki isn't going to let himself lose that easily."

"I know..." Kinus said, trying to remain positive. Even he himself was feeling a bit nervous for Midoriya. While Midoriya had a powerful Quirk, it wasn't exactly the most consistent, from he saw of him. If anything, it was like a double edged sword. Powerful, but it left the boy injured almost immediately after. That was a severe drawback. On the other hand, Todoroki was better in almost every aspect. Having fought against him back then, he knew first hand what the boy could do. He was formidable both up close and from afar. Midoriya had his work cut out for him.

The dragon could only wonder what was going to happen next.

---

Author's Notes: Please don't forget to comment you guys! Feedback is always greatly appreciated. HEY GUYS! I'M ALIVE XD Sorry about that. I apologize for the impromptu hiatus. I admit, it was mainly because I wanted to do Kamakiri justice and be as close in line to the manga as much as possible. Thankfully, he just debuted in the manga as of this posting, and oh boi, he's basically Wolverine. He got them blades in his hands, and he's not afraid to use them. That said, I already had this chapter written WAY BACK in September, but held back on it because of reasons mentioned above. I just had Kamakiri written with a placeholder Quirk that a friend of mine suggested, and it turns out, the OC Quirk I gave him wasn't that far off from the canon Quirk. So rewriting things weren't all that complicated. Though, I did make good use of my hiatus. I used it to write my thesis (yes, College, ugh) and so far it's going well. Chapter 1 and 2 of said educational papers are coming along nicely. Hopefully it stays that way. But yes! There you have it folks! The Top 16 matches are finally over! I hoped you like the fight scene I wrote with Kinus. It was admittedly challenging to write the fight scene, but ultimately enjoyable, as I just get to show how Kinus can stack up against other Quirk users who also utilize weapons as much as he does. This dragon boy still has a lot to learn after all. That fight scene between him and Kamakiri had numerous rewrites because I wasn't sure if I was making the fight "too anime" or even "too bare" compared to previous fights. I wanted it to be exciting, and at the same time, still easy to follow, and something you'd see in the show. I hope it was to your guys liking. :D I definitely had fun writing it, that's for sure. I personally wish we'd get characters in the show that are kind of like Kinus or Kamakiri, in the sense that they'd use weapons to fight. I just love a good well choreographed fight scene, something MHA admittedly lacks. Don't get me wrong, the fight scenes are great in their own right, but it's lacking that crazy punch, dodge, kick, evade, one two three snap you see in other shows. But that's just my take on it. Still love MHA to death. <3

Now for the Top 8! It's only going to get more exciting from here on out. Will Kinus get knocked out? Will Tokoyami get to fight his friend? Who will come out on top in the Sports Festival? I hope you guys are just as excited as I am to find out the conclusion to all of this.