The stadium had descended into absolute frenzy after the battle's conclusion.
"Dude, did you see that?!"
"That kid's a monster!"
"Since when can high schoolers do that?!"
"That was straight-up terrifying…"
Voices overlapped chaotically, excitement colliding with disbelief. Some spectators were still on their feet, others waving their arms wildly, desperately trying to explain what they had just witnessed—yet failing to find the right words.
In the Parr family's reserved section, Violet raised a hand to her mouth, her eyes sparkling with awe.
"Wow…" she whispered, still staring at the arena. "I mean… I knew this Takeda guy was strong… but this? This is madness."
"Well, that's what you expect from U.A. students," Tony remarked, folding his arms. "There's a reason All Might came from that school."
Bob stayed silent for several seconds, his gaze fixed on the arena below. He watched as Ryo calmly walked away from the center of the field, while on the opposite side, medical robots carefully placed an unconscious Todoroki onto a stretcher.
"So this is it…" he murmured to himself, his voice low, heavy with respect.
"The power of the new generation."
Below, the medical robots moved swiftly, their mechanical voices echoing in unison:
"Student Shoto Todoroki confirmed unconscious. Transporting to the infirmary. Please clear the way."
They disappeared into the tunnel beneath the arena—passing directly in front of Endeavor.
The Number Two Hero did not move.
His sharp, unforgiving gaze remained locked on his unconscious son. His face was rigid, carved from stone, betraying no clear emotion. Yet, for a fleeting moment, something flickered in his eyes—frustration, anger… perhaps even a twisted sense of pride—before vanishing entirely.
As the robots disappeared into the tunnel, Endeavor slowly turned his head toward the opening that led back to the arena.
The image of Ryo Takeda surfaced in his mind.
He clicked his tongue, fists tightening at his sides.
"…This isn't over."
The distant roar of the stadium continued unabated—but within that tunnel, the air felt unbearably heavy, as if the true conflict had only just begun.
----------------------------------------
As soon as Ryo returned to the stands, he barely had time to sit down before Class 1-A practically surrounded him.
Sero was the first to lean over, his eyes shining.
"Dude, that was insane! That stomp you did on the ground… it felt like the whole stadium was about to collapse from all the shaking!"
Sato crossed his arms, sizing him up from head to toe.
"You don't look like much physically, but the power behind that wasn't a joke."
"BRO, BRO, BRO— that green explosion looked a lot like Bakugo's!" Kaminari added, gesturing wildly. "Seriously, for a second I thought the stadium was gonna blow with the scale of that thing!"
Tsuyu blinked slowly, her usual calm expression unchanged.
"It was unexpected, ribbit. I thought Todoroki had won when he covered you with ice."
Ryo only made a subtle grimace in response. A half-smile appeared on his face, but a vein was visibly pulsing on his forehead. The voices blended together—questions coming from all sides, praise, exclamations—everything at once.
His mind was still far too heavy after all the chaos with Todoroki. The physical strain, the emotional tension… and now this. Multiple conversations. Noise. Too much stress.
Before Ryo could answer anything, a firmer voice cut through the confusion.
"You're exaggerating."
Momo had stepped forward, her brows furrowed in clear disapproval.
"What you and Todoroki did wasn't safe at all. That clash of attacks could've injured people in the stands… or caused something even worse."
Ryo averted his gaze for a moment, his smile twisting even further from the stress.
"S-Sorry…"
That was when a firm hand landed on his shoulder.
"Hey, hey! Give the guy a break!"
Kirishima appeared at his side, grinning broadly.
"The dude just came out of a crazy fight. Let him breathe a little!"
Without waiting for a response, Kirishima practically dragged Ryo out of the crowd, taking him to his seat beside Dash.
As soon as they sat down, Dash let out an excited laugh.
"Dude… that was totally wicked!"
He slapped Ryo on the shoulder—just a bit too hard.
But Ryo frowned when he noticed him there.
"Aren't you supposed to be down there in your match right now?"
Dash blinked, confused for a second.
"Huh? Oh, it's already over."
He looked upward, tapping his finger against his mouth as he pulled up the oddly distant memory.
"It was against someone called AirBag… I took her out of the arena pretty quick."
Ryo let out a low sigh.
"…It's Ibara, idiot."
His eyes then turned back to the arena, where Mina and Pony were taking their positions for the next match. He opened his mouth to comment—
"GOOOO PONYYYYY!"
Dash's shout echoed so loudly that Ryo felt like his right ear nearly died.
"I BELIEVE IN YOU!"
Down in the arena, Pony caught the familiar voice. She turned around, her eyes widening as she recognized him, then waved enthusiastically, breaking into a wide, genuine smile.
Class 1-A immediately looked toward Dash.
Jiro tilted her head, confused.
"…Is he cheering for the opposing team?"
"Yes," Momo replied simply, adjusting her posture. "It appears so."
Higher up, Class 1-B had noticed the scene as well.
Kendo leaned forward, surprised.
"He seems really fired up cheering for someone from the other class…"
"Tomorrow's enemy is today's friend!" Tetsutetsu shouted excitedly. "GO, PONY! REPRESENT CLASS B FOR US!"
Monoma, standing beside him, observed the unusual situation.
His gaze shifted from Dash… to Pony… and then a wide, sinister smile spread across his face.
"Oh?" he thought. "This could be very interesting to use to our advantage…"
As soon as Present Mic gave the signal, the duel began without any hesitation.
Pony was the first to act, firing two of her horns almost instantly, the projectiles slicing through the air toward Mina.
"Ah—!"
Mina reacted on instinct, sliding across the ground atop her own acid, her body nearly losing balance as the horns whizzed past where she had been a moment earlier.
"That was close~!" Mina laughed, regaining her footing.
Another pair of horns followed right after. Mina twisted her body, flinging acid at them with her right hand. The corrosive liquid wrapped around the projectiles, which began to sizzle before dissolving in midair.
"Alright… if that's all I have to deal with, I think I—"
She didn't even get to finish the thought.
Mina's eyes widened when a true barrage appeared behind the destroyed horns.
"Huh— WAIT—?!"
Horns came from every direction—some tearing through the air in straight lines, others changing trajectory mid-flight. Mina tried to slide again, but there was nowhere left to go.
In seconds, the horns pinned her against the out-of-bounds wall, fastening her clothes to the surface with perfect precision.
She let out a long sigh, her shoulders relaxing as she accepted defeat.
"…Heh. At least I made it pretty far."
In the arena, Pony kept her arms raised for a moment, focused, before finally relaxing. Her horns retracted, freeing Mina as soon as the duel was officially over.
"Eeeh… sorry for that…!" Pony said awkwardly to Mina.
Dash practically jumped out of his seat.
"YES! NICE ONE, PONY!"
Pony turned toward Dash in the stands, flashing a wide smile and waving enthusiastically at her friend.
On the other side of the stadium, Helen Parr watched the scene closely through her binoculars. She caught the shy wave from the horned girl… and Dash's immediately excited reaction.
"Hmm?"
A curious smile formed on her face.
"Well, well…" she murmured, bringing a hand to her chin. "Could that be my future daughter-in-law?"
Bob, far too distracted by the arena, didn't notice. Violet, on the other hand, let out a sigh, pretending she hadn't heard anything.
As soon as the duel between Mina and Pony ended, Present Mic barely had time to breathe before announcing the next match.
"AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE NEXT DUEL IS BETWEEN EIJIRO KIRISHIMA AND IZUKU MIDORIYA!"
In the arena, Kirishima clenched his fists, his entire body hardening. Across from him, Midoriya took a deep breath, activating Full Cowl—electric charges pulsing beneath his skin.
As soon as the signal was given, Kirishima charged forward without hesitation, his hardened fist coming down like a hammer.
Midoriya dodged the attack with ease.
Thanks to Full Cowling, his body seemed to glide across the field. He slipped past by mere centimeters, twisted his torso, and landed a clean punch to Kirishima's face.
CRACK!
The redhead was forced back a few steps—but Midoriya immediately felt a sharp pain shoot up his arm.
"GH—!"
He pulled his hand back, gritting his teeth.
"He's way too hard!"
Kirishima rubbed his chin, laughing broadly when he saw his friend's pained expression.
"Man, if you don't use that crazy punch you used against Bakugo, we could stay here all day!"
Kirishima attacked again.
Midoriya narrowly dodged and countered, landing a straight punch to the redhead's ribs—also hardened.
Pain exploded in his left hand.
Before he could react, a brutal punch from Kirishima slammed into his stomach.
"GUH—!"
Midoriya was sent flying backward, skidding across the arena floor. He dropped to his knees, clutching his abdomen as he struggled to breathe.
In front of him, Kirishima grinned from ear to ear, teeth bared.
"You're gonna lose if you keep holding back like that, man!"
Midoriya slowly lifted his head.
Then… he smiled.
"I see…" He took a deep breath. "If that's what you want…"
In the blink of an eye, Midoriya burst forward.
The acceleration was so sudden that Kirishima's eyes widened.
"W-What—?!"
Instinctively, he crossed his arms and hardened his body even further, bracing for the blow against his reinforced stomach.
Kirishima blinked… then let out a nervous laugh.
"HAHA… geez, man, you scared me for a sec—"
He stopped when he looked down.
"…Huh?"
There was a palm against his stomach instead of a fist.
Before he could react, Midoriya raised his right hand. Only his index finger was wrapped in One For All's energy—compressed, unstable, dangerous.
"Sorry, Kirishima."
Kirishima was launched like a projectile the very next second.
The redhead flew across the field and slammed into the stadium wall, literally embedded in it, arms spread, legs together—a perfect involuntary T-pose.
"KIRISHIMA IS OUT OF BOUNDS!" Present Mic shouted. "THE VICTORY GOES TO IZUKU MIDORIYA!"
Midoriya was breathing heavily, his arm trembling in pain from his broken finger.
Shortly after, Midnight approached the wall, examining the situation with a raised eyebrow.
"Kirishima… are you okay?"
"I am!" he replied immediately. "…But I think I'm stuck."
Midnight tilted her head, assessing him.
"Have you considered… turning off the hardening?"
Kirishima blinked.
"…Oh!" He laughed sheepishly. "Right."
He deactivated his quirk and immediately dropped from the wall, landing flat on his butt.
"Ow."
Midnight sighed, shaking her head.
"Boys…"
----------------------------------------
Midoriya walked through the tunnel after his duel against Kirishima, the echo of his footsteps blending with the distant roar of the stadium. His gaze was fixed on his injured finger, still throbbing with pain.
"…Damn it."
Even after learning Full Cowling, that fight had made one thing clear to him. There were still opponents who simply demanded 100% of One For All.
He carefully clenched his injured hand, taking a deep breath.
"That's why… I need to reach 100% as fast as possible." His expression hardened. "No matter the cost…"
Climbing the stairs, he rounded a bend in the tunnel—and almost bumped into someone.
"Takeda—?!" Midoriya's eyes widened in surprise.
Ryo simply turned his face toward him.
"Hey."
Ryo watched him for a moment before continuing in a neutral tone:
"You did well against Kirishima." He crossed his arms. "That way you use your quirk only in specific parts of your body… now that I think about it, it's pretty convenient."
Midoriya blinked a few times before reacting.
"Ah— uh… thanks."
Soon after, he let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping.
"Even so…"
He lowered his gaze.
"Even after learning how to use a bit of my power thanks to you… there are still people I can only beat by using 100% of my quirk." His voice came out low and frustrated. "That's… pretty discouraging."
Ryo raised an eyebrow.
"Then why don't you use, like… 50%?" He tilted his head slightly. "Or 30%."
Midoriya froze.
"W-what?"
"If 100% destroys your arm," Ryo continued bluntly, "then lower the percentage. Test it. Adjust it. Until it becomes something you can handle, at least to a certain extent."
He shrugged.
"You don't need to jump from 1 to 100."
Midoriya's eyes widened.
It was as if something had clicked inside his head.
A second epiphany—just as strong as the first, when Ryo had made him understand Full Cowling.
"And one more thing," Ryo said, already walking past him.
Before leaving, he gave Midoriya a friendly pat on the shoulder.
"Stop thinking everything has to end with a finishing blow." He said without looking back. "Not everything gets solved with a single punch."
And then he went down the stairs toward the arena.
Midoriya stood there, stunned.
His mind spinning, trying to reorganize everything he thought he knew about One For All.
"…30%… 50%…" he murmured to himself.
On the other side of the tunnel, Ryo emerged once more under the stadium lights.
The crowd reacted immediately, the sound rising like a wave.
"AND ATTENTION, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" Present Mic's voice echoed.
"LET'S BEGIN THE FIRST MATCH OF THE SEMIFINALS!"
Ryo and Dash faced each other from their respective corners of the arena.
The blond was the first to break the silence, flashing a wide grin—one that stretched from ear to ear.
"I've been waiting for this," Dash said excitedly, his eyes gleaming. "After watching all your duels… there was no way I wouldn't want to fight you. That match against Todoroki was just insane."
He took his stance, body slightly leaning forward, like a sprinter ready to launch.
"So make this fight worth it. Let's make it just as intense as that one!"
Present Mic opened his mouth to announce the start—
"STAR—"
The instant the signal rang out, Dash vanished forward like a yellow lightning bolt.
Time seemed to slow the moment he launched himself. The collective reaction from the stands became a single snap in the air: held breaths, cameras flashing in slow motion.
Dash came in full force—a sharp side kick that Ryo barely managed to block by raising his forearm in time; the impact felt like it split the air itself. As he defended, Ryo felt the kinetic heat of the blond's speed tear through his guard, and he answered with a dry, heavy punch.
Dash slipped past the blow with fluid grace.
The blond reappeared at his side, driving a knee into Ryo's stomach and forcing him back several steps. Before he could steady himself, another impact struck his back, followed by a straight right punch.
The entire arena became nothing but streaks and light as Dash pressured him relentlessly with punches. Kicks. Movements impossible to track.
Ryo could only defend.
Until he slammed his foot down into the concrete with absurd force.
The concrete shattered with a delayed thunderous crack.
Massive slabs of concrete burst from the floor, torn free by the impact, turning the arena into a sky of suspended debris. Dash skidded to a halt for a split second as the platforms began to move in slow motion, blocks of concrete spinning, dust rising slowly.
That was when Ryo emerged from among the fragments.
A karate kick tore through the air.
Dash narrowly dodged, leaning his back sharply backward.
Ryo landed precisely atop one of the floating concrete slabs and, without losing momentum, leapt back toward his friend, catching him off guard. Dash dodged again, laughing.
The two exchanged glances—Dash's wide grin and Ryo's icy expression.
Then they launched once more.
00:01.245…
Two points of light darted through the debris: the yellow one—Dash—zigzagging wildly; the green one—Ryo—a clean, solid streak. The audience could barely follow with their eyes as the lines carved through the air.
00:01.730…
The constellation of platforms became clear: suspended islands linked by trails of light, the yellow dominating most of the space.
00:02.405…
The yellow light began to gradually overtake the green, covering most of the constellation with its color.
00:03.167…
The green light was launched upward by the yellow. The yellow pursued it in a zigzag between the concrete platforms until it reached a higher one. From there, the yellow light dove low and intercepted the green, the two merging into a single collision that fell at high speed and exploded against the center of the arena.
Time returned to normal.
A blast of wind and dust swept across the arena, engulfing the entire stage.
"W-WHAT WAS THAT?!" Present Mic shouted. "I DIDN'T EVEN BLINK!"
Midnight waved the dust aside with her hand, eyes sharp.
A shadow began to take shape in the middle of the field.
The dust slowly settled, revealing Ryo standing, panting, his body tense. Beneath him, half-buried in shattered concrete, lay Dash—face turned to the side, breathing shallow, unconscious.
Ryo rested his palms on his thighs, his muscles screaming in pain and tension after pushing the Inert Transition to its limit. His breathing was heavy and rapid, veins pulsing at his temples with every heartbeat.
"You were a pain to deal with…" he said, trying to catch his breath. "Dodging and weaving through everything nonstop…"
He looked down at his unconscious friend and smirked.
"Good thing that in that last move, when you came from above… I managed to grab your arm and pull you down with me."
He paused briefly.
"But…" he murmured. "That was definitely the most intense duel I've had so far."
Present Mic grabbed the microphone in a rush.
"V-VICTORY FOR RITO TAKEDA!"
In the stands, Violet stayed silent for a few seconds. Her eyes were still locked on the arena before she finally let out a breath.
"…Wow." She runs a hand through her hair, clearly surprised. "For a second… I really thought Dash was going to win. Like, seriously."
Helen, who had been leaning forward since the start of the fight, widens her eyes as she sees Dash being taken away by the medical team. Her hand rises instinctively to her mouth, more in shock than despair.
"Sweetheart…" she murmurs, following the blond with her gaze until he disappears into the tunnel.
"He was incredible, but that boy…" her eyes return to Ryo, still standing at the center of the arena "…he's terrifyingly strong."
Tony swallows hard, watching Ryo steady himself amid the rubble.
"Yeah…" he says, still somewhat slack-jawed. "That guy keeps proving he's a monster. Every fight he raises the bar higher, like he's still holding back."
Bob remained seated, his thick arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the lone figure of Ryo as he began to walk with difficulty out of the destroyed arena.
Bob furrowed his brow slightly.
"…Strange," he murmurs, almost to himself.
Helen glances at him from the side.
"Strange how?"
Bob takes a moment to answer. His eyes narrow, as if trying to fit an old piece into a long-forgotten puzzle.
"Nothing, it's just that boy…" he says, his voice low and distant. "He gives me a sense of déjà vu."
Violet tilts her head, curious.
"You've seen someone like him before, Dad?"
Bob doesn't answer right away. The image of the green explosion overlaps with old, hazy, but heavy memories — raw, uncontrollable power, something that shouldn't be in the hands of someone so young.
He finally speaks, still staring at the arena.
"He reminds me a lot of… a friend from the past."