Rejected Stones

Enter the Arena

Beta'd by kylekatarn77 and Poliamida

36. Enter the Arena

'If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight!' Sun Tzu said that, and I'd say he knows a little more about fighting than you do, pal, because he invented it, and then he perfected it so that no living man could best him in the ring of honor.

-RED Soldier, Meet the Soldier

"Ten..." The announcer's voice echoed through the arena as Izuku took off, heading towards the swamp.

He looked around as he jetted through the air, his radar in active mode as it scanned the area. He was nearly over the large morass ahead of them, which was full of waterways choked by reeds, decaying logs, and stunted trees on small islands.

"Izuku, I can see two large groups of students headed your way! There's at least forty of them!" Mei said over the radio.

There was the sound of smacking lips, and the announcer said "Yawn...Oh, sorry, seven."

"Hagakure, you move ahead and secure those points for us!" Izuku ordered. "Tsu, get into the water quickly! Your mobility there is going to give us a big advantage."

"You got it, ribbit," Tsu replied, leaping into the nearest stream and vanishing beneath the surface with nary a ripple.

"I've got water breathing gear for us made!" Yaoyorozu called, tossing fins, goggles, and snorkels to Ashido. "Do you need some Hagakure?"

"Nope! They'd just give me away!" the invisible girl answered. "I'm on the points!"

"...That's enough, just get started already," the announcer called.

Immediately Izuku turned in the air, activating one of his missile pods. He let fly with a stream of eight missiles, a mixture of capture foam and smoke bombs, then detached the module and let it drop. It had a built-in transceiver that would flag it for pick up later. The large group of other testees let out a cry of alarm as the missiles raced towards them. Some of them let loose with quirks of their own, flying spines, razor sharp leaves, and flying tendril like hair. That just made the missiles detonate early, and the momentum still let the foam bind them as the smoke blinded them all. Izuku's hover boots deactivated, and he dropped down into the water, diving in with Ashido and Yaoyorozu.

"Tsu, how are we doing?" Izuku called as he sank down into the muck.

"That group you fired on is lost and confused, they won't be bothering us for a while," Tsu answered. "But the other one is still headed right for us, one of them is way out in front. He looks like he's got a speed quirk of some kind."

"Can you snag him with your tongue?" Izuku asked.

In reply, Izuku faintly heard a scream, then a loud splash nearby.

"She got him!" Ashido said eagerly. There was a short scuffle, then Ashido called, "He's down! Sprayed him with some mild acid in his eyes, he'll be blinded for a few hours at least!"

"Ok, just toss him onto the bank," Izuku said. "Get down into the water before they see you."

"Got it," the two girls called, and Izuku watched them on his radar, diving down and retreating into the swamp.

"Izuku, the rest of that group is keeping their distance! They look worried," Mei informed him. "But they're forming up to rush you."

"We won't even be here," Izuku said with a grin. "Come on, let's catch up to Hagakure and make sure she gets those points."