My Hero Academia: Next Gen

Chapter 42: Matsu and Eri

Eri clenched her hands together almost painfully as she watched the tail-end of Matsumoto's fight against Henka. The girl's bushy silver hair shone in the sunlight, gleaming like molten metal. Her fangs glistened as she bared her teeth at the 1-B student. Her claws swiped at Matsumoto, but somehow she barely missed her. She growled as she whipped around and delivered a swift kick to her opponent's thigh. Just as she grazed her leg, Matsumoto spun around and slammed her elbow into Henka's back.

Eri's first thought was that Matsumoto had far better reflexes than she had originally anticipated, but after watching the large screen that showed the close-up of her face, she wasn't so sure anymore. Matsumoto's eyes were half-lidded, as though she were falling asleep, her mouth starting to gape open. She almost looked like she wasn't paying attention to the fight at all.

Henka noticed this too, her teeth gritting in irritation. She jumped back, wincing at the pain in her back. This girl had put so much strength into that one attack, yet she barely seemed awake! "What, you're not going to fight me at full strength? Am I not worth your energy?!" she cried, landing a powerful kick on Matsumoto's torso.

Matsumoto grunted as she was thrown back a few feet, somehow still landing with grace. "En...ergy..." she mumbled as she looked up at Henka.

At first, Henka just wanted to throw this girl out of bounds and have the match over and done with as soon as possible, but now... Now, she didn't want Matsumoto to have such an easy out. Now, she wanted Matsumoto to concede the battle and acknowledge that she was weak compared to her. A drop of sweat dripped down Henka's temple. She wanted to be seen for her power by this girl who couldn't seem to care less.

Eri cringed as she watched the onslaught of attacks from Henka, the majority of them hitting Matsumoto and hitting her hard. It got to the point where she had to turn away, not wanting to watch her friend get beaten so badly.

She only looked back when Midnight declared Henka the winner, as Matsumoto had given up the fight. The crowd's cheers filled the tunnel, echoing all around Eri as though to remind her of how her friend had lost. She sighed and watched as Matsumoto stood up with Henka's help, and began to walk off towards the exit.

The closer Matsumoto got, the more Eri realized Henka had battered her. Bruises on her cheeks and arms, a cut on her forehead dripping blood down the side of her head, a slight limp... Matsumoto noticed Eri at the exit and her face immediately brightened up, though her smile didn't seem as peppy as usual. 

"Eri!" she said happily. "I didn't think you'd be waiting for me here!"

Eri gave her a tight smile back. "I figured you'd want someone to walk to Recovery Girl with."

Matsumoto laughed lightly. "So, you knew I'd lose too?" She looked down at the ground as she neared her friend. "It's fine, I knew it too. But, I sure gave it my all! Henka's really strong!"

"She is." Eri looked back and saw Henka leaving through the other exit, her silvery hair glinting as she left. "I wonder who's going to have to fight her next."

Matsumoto and Eri began walking down the tunnel to go to the nurse, their footsteps in sync. "It's Izumi and Hiku up next, right?" Matsumoto asked, pausing to massage her leg as it cramped. "Who do you think'll win?" In reality, she wanted to ask Eri more about what had happened before the tournament began, but she had to find a natural way to get there. If she just started off with "why were you sobbing in the lobby", she would either get no answer or a false one. She had to find the segway.

"I'm not sure," Eri said honestly. "My guess would probably be Kota, mostly because I'm not sure how many rocks there are for Hiku to pull up and use."