Playing the Hero

Chapter 11

TW for this chapter -- Fighting, suffocation.

Enjoy!

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One hour before their fight, Maho could barely contain themselves. She hadn't actually sparred with anyone since the beginning of the school year, and she was getting very bored, very quickly. She had tried to get her brother to fight her, and even her father! She tried Mina, she tried Sero, she even tried Kendo! Everyone was busy with their own training, and Maho was left to kick that punching bag down in the gym. But that would change today. Maho spent the morning mentally preparing themselves, trying to decide how she would face her opponent. Unfortunately, there was little water for her to work with in gym gamma, so she would have to rely on her other abilities.

She asked Mina beforehand if she saw Vasiliev fight in the U.S.J, to get insight into what she was up against, and here is what they had so far. Number one, Vasiliev could summon bows and arrows, and possibly other weapons. Number two, they could also make shields, and from what she heard from Mina, they were pretty strong. Number three, they were very very fast, and could disappear and reappear, where they went Maho did not know. Number four, this was what Mina had gotten from another classmate who was in a training battle with Vasiliev, they could knock people out cold by just touching them. Number five, they had vines that could throw and lift a lot. The last thing Maho knew, number six, was also from the other class member and Mina, Vallerie did not hesitate, and struck quickly and quietly. Honestly, they seemed really fun to fight. I wonder how she was trained. But that was something Maho could ask them later.

The minutes passed by in seconds, and soon Maho was in the car, on their way to the gym. As soon as the car parked outside U.A, Maho grabbed their bag, said goodbye to her brother, who had grudgingly agreed to drive them, and started their walk towards the gym.

When she got there, the gym was empty, save for a pink and white gym bag, and a pair of headphones on a bench. Those must be Vasiliev's . But as Maho looked around, there was no sight of them. She double checked, and called out for the other girl, only to be met with silence. They frowned, and checked the time. It was 1:35, she was a little late, but not by much. She had learned that Vasiliev hated being late, always the one to get up and leave for class first, it didn't make sense for them to not be there. Maho set down her own bag on the bench, and tied their hair up in a ponytail. The moment they stepped up onto the arena floor, they felt it. An overwhelming presence, like they had broken a barrier.

A blur of pink and black came at them from the ceiling, a kick aimed towards their face. Maho caught it at the last second, Vasiliev's shoe only centimetres from their face. The pale girl had the same flat expression as they always did, but there was a weird intensity in her stare. Her foot twisted in their grip, disappearing for a second and returning to the ground.

"Hello to you too, Vasiliev."

She tilted her head, a frosty expression melting into a small smile. "Hello. While I was waiting for you, I decided on the rules of this fight. I had Adeline look up the previous rules of one on one battles in the Sports Festival. This fight will end when one of us is either immobilised, pushed out of the arena, or unconscious." Vasiliev turned and walked to the other side of the arena, braided hair swishing behind them. "I will not negotiate these rules, as you wanted to test your strength for the Sports Festival, so we will go with the Sports Festival rules."

Maho was unsure of how to react. She wanted Vasiliev to assess her strength, yes, but this felt really intense. Green eyes bore into her own, "Are you ready to start, Teruhashi?"

"Absolutely not."

"What."

Maho sighed, "Vasiliev, I just got here. I thought maybe we could talk a bit before we start beating the shit out of each other."