It had been determined that it will take some time to clear up the arena so Izuku and Yoshiki had more time to talk to each other.
"Did you know he could do that?" asked Yoshiki.
Izuku hesitated at first but then answered, "I... I thought it was a dream..."
Yoshiki looked at him as if he was an ape. "A dream?"
Izuku lowered his head in shame, "Yeah... One time we were sparring and he knocked me out... I saw him hovering above ground with small explosions on his feet... and then he axe kicked me."
"Oh."
"Yeah.. next time I asked about it, he said I must've been dreaming or something.. hehe.."
"Izuku... you are the smartest idiot I know." Yoshiki said while patting his back.
"I uh... Thank you..?" Izuku was confused... he doesn't know if that was a compliment or not.
"Well, whatever, let's go. We can't let him hog all the attention now can we?"
"Yeah, let's!"
They ascended and went to their respective places. On one side is Yoshiki, he was hopping in place, getting his blood pumping. He knew it's not gonna be easy.
On the other side is Izuku, his eyes were full of determination, his fists were clenched tightly, ready to blast into action at any time.
The atmosphere was very different, everybody could feel it.
Watching this scene were two girls inside the infirmary, of course they wished for two different person to win.
Midnight didn't waste any time, she struck with her whip and started the battle right away.
"Fight!"
Yoshiki burst into movement, one moment he was there, the second he was half-way across Izuku.
His smile was feral.
Everything he does, every single thing was to make sure he gets the upper hand. Izuku knows his fighting style through and through though so this type of thing will not work, still, there's this wishful thinking it might work.
Right?
Wrong.
Izuku's Black Whips surged out of his body and started encompassing the spaces. They moved like tendrils piercing Yoshiki from every place.
"Haha! Izuku, you are like that vine-haired girl! You really are..." Yoshiki was laughing as he vaulted over the whips, dodging everything without looking even as it snapped back with force.
"A pussy!!!" he jumped upwards to avoid the rest, he was now above Izuku. He started spinning vertically in the air as he dropped straight down the towards Izuku. His strike destroyed the rest of the whips that were trying to pierce him below.
Izuku leaped back and avoided the blow.
CRACK!!!
Yoshiki's strike broke off the ground. He grabbed bits of pieces of debris and hurled it straight towards Izuku.
Izuku couldn't dodge this time so he tried absorbing attacks with the whips yet some still hit him.
One grazed his arm while some hit his shoulder.
"Guh!"
He wasn't given time to breathe before Yoshiki was already pouncing on him.
As Yoshiki was in range once again, a smile played out in Izuku's face.
In normal circumstances, Yoshiki would know danger coming and would dodge but along the time they've spent together, Izuku found out the weakness of it.
It will recognize danger, yes. But which one?
If Yoshiki was in constant barrage of danger, which danger would be picked?
What if the hit only comes while Yoshiki was already on the move?
The answer was:
SSSSMAAAAAASSHHHHH!!!
Yoshiki crossed his arms, his feet already trying to jump back to absorb some of the force yet this was still "SMASH" after all.
Once the fist came in contact with his arms, he already felt it digging in, soon came the rushing of air as he dug his feet across the arena to break the momentum.
The audience roared along the hype of seeing somebody gets absolutely smashed.
The force dragged Yoshiki towards the edge of the bounds but thankfully he stopped.
Already sensing danger, he trusted his senses and dodged out of the way.
He was dodging before the attacks even came, another thing that hyped up the audience. This is what they came for, a fight like this. This one might not be as flashy as the one before this but this is still really cool to see.
Yoshiki dodged with the grace of a cat while he hits back with the power of a bull, forcing Izuku into a stalemate.
"Tsk, I almost had you." says Izuku in a taunt.
"Almost." Yoshiki answered with a flicker jab to Izuku's face, making his nose bleed.
"Heh."
"I hate you." Izuku answered with more barrage. He seemed to have an inspiration from Katsuki and was using his finger flicks to boost his striking power and speed. However, the difference was that one: too obvious and two: it's Yoshiki he was using it against.
I mean, come on.
As the fight prolonged, Yoshiki's adaptabilty finally showed it's brilliance. He was already doing better with the vines, compared to the amount of dodging he had to do, this whips were nothing.
In fact, he was now putting Izuku on the pedestal, he was feinting him left and right, weaving through his attacks and taunting the hell out of him.
"Come on, use Full Cowling. Are you afraid you'd lose stamina and can't fight Katsuki properly?" Yoshiki asked while doing windmills on the ground then transitioning to a launching kick that caught Izuku on the guts.
Madness can be seen on Yoshiki's face. "WHO SAID YOU'D WIN?!"
He was laughing and transitioning from one move to another and delivering unexpected hits to Izuku who still planned to wait for an opening.
Suddenly he thrusted out a palm strike towards Izuku's face. Izuku moved to dodge but was then blown back by an unexpected strike.
"uh??"
Confused, he tried to gather himself only to see Yoshiki doing it again.
He dodged. Yet he was till punched in the face by something unseen once again.
Then it happened again.
And again.
He spat a mouthful of blood on the pavement and looked around.
Yoshiki was smirking.
"What, Toru isn't here you know?"
"Then how..?"
"It's a s-e-c-r-e-t~" Yoshiki covered his mouth as he laughed.
Of course some audience were confused as to what's happening. To them it just seemed like Izuku was accepting hits on purpose.
Aizawa explained it on the microphone for the audience to know what's happening.
"He is disguising his attack by covering Midoriya's field of vision. The strike was fast enough that by the time Izuku regained his field of view, the hit was already there."
"It is a move that I've only seen in Martial Arts movies..." says Present Mic on the other side of the microphone.
The crowd finally understood what's happening and can't help but look at it in another way.
Back to the two, Izuku finally decided to use his trump card.
"Fine."
Green electricity covered his body from head to toe. Black Whip coiled around his side, ready to snap into action if ever the need arises.
Yoshiki finally dropped his playful act and turned serious in an instant. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Slowly his veins started showing itself all over his body, his body temperature rose dramatically and produced a steam that radiated off of his body. His muscles seemed to bulge. Yes, including that muscle.
The moment he opened his eyes, it had already turned red, his optical nerves showed themselves as well. He breathed out and smoke seeped out of it.
OVERHEAT...
Now, you got to put into consideration that Izuku stood there watching all of this play out without even intervening... I mean, seriously?
Bro could've ran and knocked him out. Whatever.
[Cue the fighting music, nerds!]
They moved at the same time.
The collision was immediate.
Izuku shot forward strength bursting through his legs in a single explosive step. Hayashi met him halfway, reading the trajectory before it completed. Fist to fist, they collided in the center of the arena.
The shockwave cracked the ground beneath them.
Neither backed away.
Izuku twisted first, throwing a second punch from the collision itself, using recoil like momentum. Yoshiki shifted his shoulder and took it partially, absorbing the rest through reinforced stance, then answered with a straight counter that forced Midoriya's head to snap sideways.
The crowd erupted.
Izuku recovered mid-step.
He did not retreat.
He came back in.
Elbow.
Blocked.
Knee.
Intercepted.
Yoshiki tried to pivot.
Izuku's Black Whip snapped around his ankle for half a second, just enough to disrupt footing.
That was all Izuku needed.
He drove a punch into Hayashi's ribs.
Solid impact.
Hayashi slid half a step back.
He immediately answered with a hook that connected cleanly with Izuku's guard, sending vibration through his arms and into his shoulders.
Neither paused.
Izuku surged again.
Full Cowling flared harder.
Yoshiki met him again.
This time their exchanges blurred.
Punch.
Block.
Counter.
Dodge.
Strike.
Impact after impact echoed through the stadium like detonations without fire.
Izuku took a clean hit to the shoulder and answered with a body blow that forced Yoshiki to exhale sharply for the first time.
Yoshiki responded with a knee strike that caught Izuku in the abdomen and lifted him half a step off the ground.
Izuku used the air time.
Black Whip snapped him sideways mid-fall.
He landed behind Yoshiki.
Punch.
Yoshiki turned and blocked, but Midoriya was already rotating into a spinning kick enhanced by Full Cowling acceleration.
It hit.
Yoshiki skidded.
The crowd roared louder.
Yoshiki steadied himself and rushed forward again, now abandoning subtle prediction for direct confrontation. His senses still tracked Izuku, but he started relying more on force this time.
They collided again.
This time neither yielded even an inch.
Forearm against forearm.
Pressure against pressure.
The ground beneath them cracked wider.
Izuku gritted his teeth.
'He is matching me head-on now... What is this state of his?'
He pushed harder.
He started pushing Full Cowling by mere percentage.
Yoshiki started getting pushed back before he got hit by a kick on his stomach.
He stumbled back a few steps.
And instantly reengaged before Izuku could capitalize
Izuku fired a straight punch.
Yoshiki slipped it.
WEAVE!
Then answered with a counter that grazed Izuku's jaw.
COUNTER!
Izuku did not stop.
He headbutted forward into Yoshiki's guard.
Impact rang out.
Yoshiki staggered half a step.
Izuku followed with a hook.
Blocked.
Yoshiki responded with a straight punch that landed clean on Izuku's chest.
COUNTER!!
Izuku slid back but immediately planted his foot and returned with a burst of speed.
They met again in the center.
The stadium could no longer follow every exchange cleanly. All that remained was rhythm.
Bam!
Bam!
Impact after impact rang out.
Izuku's breathing grew heavier, but his movements stayed precise. He had already forgot the pain needed to maintain Full Cowling. Every hit he took shoved that pain away on his subconsciousness.
Yoshiki's eyes sharpened further.
He was adapting.
His body was trying it's best to catch up to his current state. It seemed he was seconds away from bursting his heart out.
Yoshiki stepped forward into Izuku's strike instead of away from it.
The punch hit his shoulder.
He did not break stance.
He answered immediately with a strike to Izuku's side.
COUNTER!!!
Izuku absorbed it and countered with a rising elbow.
It connected.
Yoshiki's head turned slightly.
For a fraction of a second, both of them paused mid-motion.
Not hesitation.
Recognition.
Then they accelerated again.
The final exchange began without announcement.
Izuku surged forward with Black Whip, coiling around Yoshiki pulling him into a direct line.
Yoshiki met him with everything he had.
Their fists collided midair.
Once.
Twice.
Then again.
Each impact louder than the last.
Yoshiki twisted mid-exchange and drove a punch into Yoshiki's guard, forcing it open just enough.
(Tell me you don't know how to end a fight without telling me you don't know.)
[Shut the hell up, it's the only thing I get to enjoy stuff!]
Yoshiki immediately responded with a counter that caught Izuku in the ribs.
Izuku exhaled sharply but did not stop moving.
He grabbed the moment with Black Whip, pulling himself inside Yoshiki's guard again.
SMASH!
One punch.
Not wide.
Not fast.
Perfect.
It landed cleanly in Hayashi's center mass.
The impact exploded outward through the arena floor.
Yoshiki got blown back rolling on the ground before stopping.
Izuku landed at the same time, chest rising and falling, arms trembling slightly under strain.
Silence held for half a second.
Then Yoshiki rose again.
Slowly.
He looked at Izuku across the shattered battlefield.
Then he moved again.
Midoriya did too.
And the arena understood something it had not fully grasped before.
This was no longer a match of competition.
It was a duel of who could keep standing after every answer had already been given.
And neither of them was done answering.
Yoshiki was already out of 'Overheat' but Izuku was still on Full Cowling yet on a lower percentage.
Yoshiki dragged his battered body across the floor step by step.
Once he was inside Izuku's range, he got blown away again before getting a proper hit.
He stood back up again, his steps are faster this time.
Yet he got punched away again. Then he stood up.
Again and again, and again.
The crowd was already out of it and was shouting for Midnight to stop the fight but neither her nor any school staff intervened on the fight.
Even Class 1B who was laughing at first started feeling sorry for Yoshiki, and a little bit of respect?
Yoshiki got blasted back again this time.
He didn't stand right away but took his time to look up into the sky and appreciate it.
"Hoooo..." after, he stood back up while fixing his hair.
He looked across him, Izuku was on the brink of losing it. He seemed so worried and infuriated at the same time.
'How cute.'
This was his last thought before he passed out. Standing.
Midnight seeing this struck her whip and announced the winner.
The crowd erupted in cheers but the name that had been called the most wasn't Izuku's but rather Yoshiki's.
Izuku slumped down on the ground, not having the strength to go help Yoshiki.
"That's one way to show off..."