"Welcome, students and spectators, to the final event of this year's Sports Festival," Chemex cheers. "Let's hear it for our amazing first years!"

The cheers that erupt from the audience shake the stands and electrify the air. Takara draws herself up to stand straight and tall, basking in the sound. For how many years has she watched the very same event, dreaming of becoming a hero? Maybe someone out there is watching for her. Maybe some little seven year old is looking at her with stars in their eyes. She decides at this very moment that she'll give it her all for them.

"Let's take a look at the bracket we'll be working with for the one-on-one battles." Kumarēza gestures to the scoreboard from the last round. Takara scans the rest of the teams, not having looked past her own name before.

Scoreboard:
1) Akihiko Hirose, Ivana Hernandez, Kaito Oba
2) Kaede Komatso, Sumi Ohara, Haru Ozaki
3) Kazumi Endo, Aiya Komatso, Takara Juba
4) Tatsuo Araya, Riku Ikeda, Kisho Sugita
5) Kaylane Morita, Aeyo Phoenix, Kita Yukimura
6) Hayate Ito, Maisie Martin, Zenshiro Zana

"All the members of the top five teams will participate in the finals," the math teacher continues. "And one student from the sixth place team will compete. They have selected Hayate Ito to advance." Takara looks over to where the tall feathery student in question seems to stand taller.

All the names disappear except for the sixteen that made it through to the next round. They begin shuffling around the screen before settling on the final lineup.

Aiya Komatso vs. Kisho Sugita
Kaede Komatso vs. Aeyo Phoenix
Ivana Hernandez vs. Takara Juba
Haru Ozaki vs. Kaito Oba
Sumi Ohara vs. Riku Ikeda
Kazumi Endo vs. Akihiko Hirose
Hayate Ito vs. Kita Yukimura
Tatsuo Araya vs Kaylane Morita

Atop the stage erected for the referees, Chemex snags the microphone. "We will have ten minutes for the students to head to the stands and our first competitors to prepare."

The roar of the crowd follows the sixteen students as they walk back to the tunnels. Takara turns to offer some words of encouragement to Aiya, who will be competing first, but the girl is no longer next to her.

•°•☆•°•

Far behind the rest of the competitors, the pixie is dragging her feet, eyes unfocused as she stares at the ground in front of her. A tall, lanky figure approaches, and some dark corner of Aiya's heart hopes it's her sister.

But when she looks up, her eyes focus on a shaggy mane of hair and golden eyes. "You've got ten minutes," Araya says, turning to walk beside her. "Let's at least get inside before you start strategizing."

Aiya tugs at the hem of her jacket, suddenly hyper-aware of everyone in the stands watching the two of them. She lowers her head, face hidden by her sweaty hair which, like everyone else's, is still streaked with color from the first event.

Takara meets the two at the entrance of the tunnel and escorts Aiya to her waiting room. "You'll do great," she cheers, patting her friend on the shoulder. "We'll be cheering you on from the stands! Good luck!"

With a final smile, Takara follows the other students to the block of seats reserved for first years. But Araya doesn't join her. He instead opens the door for Aiya and follows her in. The door closes behind them, and the two fall into anxious silence.

"Do you have a plan?"

One look from Aiya's reddened eyes answers the question for her. "It's not just this round," she states quietly, eyebrows furrowed. She clenches her uniform hem tightly. "If I win this, then I'll be up against either Kaede or someone strong enough to take her down. And if they beat her, then they'll have the advantage 'cause they already know how to fight us. And I'm..."

She covers her eyes with her hands and takes a large breath. When she lets it out, her words rush out with it. "I'm just not as strong as her." Araya opens his mouth, but she plows right on. "That's what she's always believed. And sure, maybe it's true. So what? I lose this no matter what I do?"

The boy chews on his lip, unsure if he's safe to speak now. When Aiya remains silent, he figures he must be in the clear. "You can focus on that after this match. I know," he says before she can interject. "I know that there doesn't seem to be a way. But it's only your first year. Anything you have to prove to anybody was already proven when you placed so high in all the events so far. And if you're worried about your sister..."

Araya shakes his head, coming up blank. "You're the first battle, so you have the most time to prepare for your next fight if you make it through. I can help strategize if you need. Yeah, your sister is strong, not to mention the guy she's up against. After my fight with him last round, Recovery Girl had to set my nose before she could heal it," he adds, rubbing the side of his bruised face with a wince. "So don't take him out of the running just yet. But you're strong too. And I know that if you go into either battle with a strategy, you can come out on top. So you should think about this first fight."

The pixie kicks a chair out from the table and slumps down in it. "Sugita surely has a plan already."

Araya hesitates but walks over and sits down across from her anyway. "And you'll have one too." His ears twitch from the rumbling of the stands above them. "You know, he can't use his quirk up close."

"What?"

"In the last event," he explains, sitting forward. "He wouldn't fire on anyone who was getting too close. His plasma hurts him regardless, but if it explodes near him, it's even worse."

Aiya blinks as she stares blankly at the table, gears beginning to turn in her head. She folds her hands in front of her. "Did he get hurt?"

"Enough that Recovery Girl had to have done some healing," Araya assures her. "He could barely move a finger. Either his hands still hurt or he's feeling the fatigue effects of her quirk. Whichever way it goes, that's an advantage for you."

The girl rests her elbows on the table, eyes staring at a fixed point in the distance. She doesn't say anything for a long while, so Araya takes that as his cue to leave. At the door, he pauses and looks back at her.

"Forget the scouts. Forget everyone else. Whatever happens out there, Aiya, I hope you'll try your hardest because you know you can win, not because you want to prove yourself to Kaede. Whether they choose to see your worth or not says more about them than it does about you."

•°•☆•°•

By the time Aiya and Sugita are called out to the arena, Araya has found Class 1-A in the first year section of the stands. Takara waves him down from her seat next to Endo, and he snags the aisle seat next to her.

"You got this, Aiya!" Takara cheers as the girl flits out to the raised platform. The roar of the crowd surely drowns her out, but Aiya looks their way anyway and gives a hopeful smile.

Sugita climbs the stairs, not having the ability to completely bypass them like Aiya, and nods to the referees. On either side of the rectangular arena, Chemex and Kumarēza stand on raised platforms to oversee the matches.

"Let's kick off this event with a bang!" Chemex cheers, inciting more applause from the crowd. "Begin!"

Sugita grows a purple ball of plasma in his hands and throws it at Aiya. Wings going faster than the eye can perceive, she flies out of the way. The grenade passes her by and detonates against the grass just outside of the arena. After veering aside, Aiya shifts course and flies straight for the boy.

He shoots off another couple plasma grenades, but the pixie dodges them easily in an aileron roll.

Takara expects her to slam into Sugita, but at the last moment, she hooks her arms under his and lifts him into the air. The boy struggles, legs thrashing, and ultimately decides he has to do something before they get too high up. With a wince, he reaches up and smacks Aiya across the face. His nails scratch her cheek, and a purple explosion rockets them apart.

The pixie flares out her wings to regain control, but Sugita isn't so lucky. He plummets to the ground with a thud. Still, he pushes himself up to stand on shaky legs. However, Aiya has already pulled her wings close, going into a sharp dive.

With one swift motion, she reaches into her side pouch and clouds Sugita's vision with pixie dust. The golden particles settle on him as she pulls up, evading the plasma ball he throws out blindly.

Sure enough, he begins to float, limbs waving wildly for any sense of control. He reaches out for the girl, but Aiya flutters just out of reach, and his fingers grasp only air.

The frustration grows within him, and he fires a plasma grenade at the pixie. Aiya braces for impact, but doesn't fly away. The audience draws in a collective breath.

The grenade detonates the moment it connects with her stomach, and both students are thrown backward. Aiya stabilizes herself mid-air with her wings; however, with the pixie dust still covering Sugita, the force is enough to carry him over the boundary line and into the arena wall.

"Sugita is out of bounds!" Chemex announces. "Komatso wins!"

Aiya flies over to help Sugita find his footing and walks out with him, brushing the dust from his uniform.

"What a strong performance from both students," Kumarēza observes. "Though sometimes, you're just up against a difficult quirk."

"For sure," the science teacher replies. Takara watches the large screens display both teachers as they converse. "Any opponent against Komatso in her hero work will surely have to reconsider their strategy. Especially if their quirk can change their direction like Sugita's did."

"Although, without the restrictions of the arena, Sugita's quirk provides an amazing source of power that lends itself well to his fighting style. We've already seen great things from him, and I'm sure we'll see even more in the future."

"Let's hear it for Sugita, folks!"

The stadium erupts into cheers, and Kumarēza has to motion for them to calm down. "And that brings us to the next round," he exclaims, motioning to the screens where the next match-up is displayed. "Aeyo Phoenix vs. Kaede Komatso!"

The two exit their respective tunnels, and Takara is sure Kaede and her sister passed in the hallway. She wonders if they even talked. The pixie flies up to the arena while the blindfolded boy from Class 1-B takes the stairs. Takara is still impressed he's made it so far, but it's no wonder, as she's seen first-hand how powerful he is.

"Welcome to the stage the player who made quick work of the first event, outsmarting the game with his unique senses! It's Aeyo Phoenix!" Kumarēza announces. "And we just saw her twin! Let's see how Kaede Komatso holds up against the competition!"

"Personally, I'm wondering if she'll use the same attack style as her sister," Chemex commentates, holding a conversation with her colleague from across the arena. "We can assume similar quirks will use a similar technique."

"I wouldn't lock that bet down just yet," the math teacher refutes. "Both are dynamic in their own right, not to mention their different approaches to problem solving. We've already observed different styles from the Komatso sisters in this festival. I'm personally looking forward to seeing how Phoenix strategizes."

"I suppose we should get down to it, then."

"Absolutely," Kumarēza affirms, giving a charming smile that sends the crowd into a tizzy. His blue eye glitters as he gazes down at the arena. "Let this match...begin!"

Aeyo takes off running for the center, but Kaede quickly closes the distance. The boy doesn't flinch as she swings her arm out, spattering a handful of pixie dust over him.

The glowing speckles settle into his red-tipped dreadlocks, but it doesn't cause him to hesitate in the slightest. He lunges forward and grabs her arm, getting in close to punch her in the face.

The pixie recoils, her yelp audible over the roar of the crowd. She glowers at the boy and begins flapping her wings. His feet scuff against the ground.

Kaede flies skyward, trying to pull away from him. Aeyo doesn't resist as Kaede tugs her arm free. The moment she does, though, Aeyo jolts upon realizing he hasn't landed back on the ground.

The boy puts his arms out, trying to orient himself. Kaede takes the opportunity to fly up and punch him with her full speed behind her. Aeyo takes the hit, locking his arm with Kaede's before she can fly away. He redirects the blow and hits her once again in the face.

Takara can't help but wince from the whiplash Kaede experiences as her body is held in place, but her head is flung back.

"Ooh," Kumarēza exclaims. "And that was Phoenix's quirk in play! The harder you hit him, the harder he hits back!"

The pixie grapples with Aeyo, but ends up resorting to a secondary plan. Even as Aeyo delivers another punch, Kaede takes off, flying in wild directions to disorient him. The boy holds on as best he can despite being repeatedly slammed into the arena floor. Kaede changes tact sharply until Aeyo flies off, inertia sending him into the wall.

"Phoenix is out of bounds!" Chemex announces. "Yet another Komatso has advanced to the next round!"

Up in the stands, a tense intake of breath catches Araya's ear and makes it twitch. He turns to see Aiya standing in the doorway, clenching the hem of her shirt with white knuckles. Araya gives her a gentle nod, reassuring her that they'll figure out a plan.

Kaede swipes at her bloody lip, then flies over to help Aeyo find his footing, much like her sister had done. She offers him her arm while she waves to the audience, sporting a large grin.

Aeyo still struggles to make it to the ground, so Kumarēza focuses on the boy, a deep blue laser shining from his icy blue eye. The crowd cheers upon seeing his quirk in action. The glow envelopes Aeyo and dissipates the golden particles.

The boy gives Kumarēza an appreciative nod and exits through the closest tunnel with Kaede.

Kumarēza runs a gloved hand through his hair and smiles encouragingly at his students, eliciting more screams and cheers from the stands.

"Yet another awesome match," Chemex cheers. "This batch of first years is super dedicated! Though, like you said, sometimes you're just not well suited to fighting a particular quirk."

"It's all about how you play it," Kumarēza responds, winking. "These hero students will all find their strengths and styles through the years at U.A. They will have a full grasp on how to turn the tide in their favor. Mr. Phoenix already did a fantastic job at dealing damage, even when the conditions weren't in his favor."

The teachers lead the audience in a cheer for the boy, and Kumarēza segues straight into his announcement, "Alright, let's get our next match-up out here!"

•°•☆•°•

Takara flexes her hands as she waits in the entrance tunnel.

"From Class 1-B, the silver-haired arachnid is ready to tango with her opponent! Welcome to the stage Ivana Hernandez!" Chemex cheers. "And from Class 1-A is someone who's stayed mostly in the middle of the pack until now. Let's see if she can push through these next rounds and secure a victory for herself. It's Takara Juba!"

The announcement reminds the girl she needs to give it her all. And she truly believes she's ready.

She climbs the staircase, watching her opponent from across the arena. Both girls remain cool under the thunderous roar of the crowd. Takara takes a deep breath and mentally reviews what she knows about the girl before her.

"Ready!" Kumarēza exclaims. "Begin!"

Takara runs forward, expecting Ivana to meet her in the middle, considering her mobility in the last event, but the girl remains rooted to the spot, getting ready for Takara's approach.

The brunette worries for a moment what plan Ivana must have to be so confident in standing still, but that won't stop her from pushing forward. Takara extends the jade on her arms, hoping to hit the silver-haired girl out of bounds with brute force.

Before Takara can get close, two spindly black spider legs tear through the back of Ivana's uniform jacket and flick Takara away. She barely has enough time to grow the jade on her back as she lands hard on the concrete.

She unfortunately wasn't fast enough to protect against the barbs on Ivana's legs. The muscles in Takara's abdomen scream as she pulls herself up to charge again. This time, she extends all her jade, preparing for a frontal assault. The audience cheers at the sight of her shaking off the first attack.

Ivana swipes at her with one leg, Takara rolling underneath. However, before she can stand back up, the second leg slams her down.

She can hear the plink against her jade as the point tries to find its hold. Takara turns to her side, causing the barbed leg to get caught in the forest of jade.

Immediately, two more legs spring from Ivana's back and launch her upward, freeing her leg from Takara's improvised trap. A couple pieces of jade break free with it, and Takara strains to grow more.

She's already running again by the time Ivana lands. Jade-coated arms meet dual swiping legs and deflect the attack. Takara catches the pair of barbed spider legs above her head, but can do nothing to protect against legs three and four which slam into her chest.

She stumbles back, realizing just how much awareness her opponent must have to be acting with so many limbs at all times. For the first time, she considers if her jade could be hurting Ivana's legs at all with the constant attacks. She hasn't had a moment to check.

The silver-haired girl remains where she is, crimson eyes flashing, and waits for Takara to advance so she can continue wearing her down.

But Takara feels more energized than ever. She recalls her lessons with Gila; Ivana wants her at a distance, so she'll have to power through to get close.

Once again, Takara rushes forward. She dives beneath two swiping legs, blocks an attack from the next two, and slams her arms down on the first pair as they come back around. With a tearing sound, four more legs sprout from Ivana's back.

Takara's smile is full of battle-lust as she keeps pushing onward. But Ivana won't let her close the distance so easily.

She propels herself once again out of Takara's path, positioning herself on the opposite end of the arena. Takara wipes her sweaty hair from her face as she continues chasing after the girl.

As her opponent nears, Ivana brings all eight barbed legs behind her. They bristle, at the ready, as Takara confidently brings her arms up.

Like a snapped rubber band, all eight legs descend on the brunette at the same time. They cut deep chinks into her jade armor and throw her back. Tumbling end-over-end, Takara only barely has the foresight to drive her hands into the ground to keep from being thrown out of bounds.

Her energy is waning. The brunette has expended so many nutrients already, so she can't risk growing any more jade, and her opponent is still going. Blood seeps from somewhere under her uniform, which she only just notices. Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, and the blood loss is taking its toll, she's beginning to realize how hard Ivana's first attack had hit, especially since the sharp barbs at the ends of her legs had cut straight through her uniform and into her skin. Takara's movements are sluggish as she prepares herself for one last struggle.

Ivana wipes the sweat from her own face, back muscles aching as she poises her spider legs for another onslaught. She throws every attack she can at Takara—swiping at her legs, pummeling her stomach, whacking her across the face—but the girl keeps stumbling forward.

When Ivana attempts to retreat again, Takara reaches out and grabs one of her legs. The barbs sink deep into the soft palms of Takara's hand where jade can't grow. Despite the screaming pain, she tightens her hold to keep the silver-haired girl in place.

It takes all of Takara's resolve to not let go as she tugs Ivana in to headbutt her. Both girls cry out, whether from pain, frustration, or exhaustion, one can't be certain. With Ivana dazed, Takara swipes her arm across the girl's face, jade scraping bloody tracks through her cheek.

Ivana stumbles back, and Takara adds her own momentum by tackling her opponent to the ground.

"Hernandez and Juba are out of bounds!" Chemex announces from her podium. "Both girls are out; however, Hernandez crossed the line first."

Congratulations, Juba, for continuing to the next round," Kumarēza cheers. "And amazing fight, you two."

Takara feels Ivana's shallow breath under her and barely has enough strength left to roll off the girl before losing consciousness.

Our next featured character is my friend sd1229's Ivana! Thank you so much Shelby for letting me use her! I am super happy with how evenly matched her and Takara were in that fight!

Featured Character: Ivana Hernandez
Quirk: Arachnid
Likes: Blonde Iced Doubleshot Espresso