Stuck In The Middle

Chapter 20: The Sport Festival Part 4

There was a lot of doubt running through Kyoka Jiro's mind. It was mainly because she was pinned against a pretty large dude, whose specialty was speed. First doubt; Jiro wasn't sure she could keep up with the boy, especially physically. Now with that information, as long as she could keep her eyes on him she might have a shot at winning this match.

Second doubt; She knew for a fact she didn't have what it took to take the boy down in a battle of physical strength. He was definitely stronger than her, but that didn't mean she couldn't dish out damage to the boy. She just had to be smarter than one of the top students about it.

Final doubt; Izuku Midoriya was watching her, and she didn't know if she could live up to the boy's expectations. Izuku had faith that she could win this, but Kyoka was doubting if she really could. This was going to be a really hard battle.

She stood before Tenya Iida in the arena, and felt herself shrink. Not only was he nearly a foot taller than her, (Though she is really short), but he also looked ripped as all hell. Was this even really fair?

'I've got to stop letting Izuku talk me into being confident like this...' She thought as she peered up to the stands. Izuku was staring directly at her with a smile on his face, and gave her a thumbs up. She could do this if she tried. Izuku was sure that she would have this in the bag.

"I hate you..." She muttered under her breath as she blushed softly at the boy's smile. Damn his encouragement! She took a deep breath and turned her attention back to Iida.

This was going to be rough.

The two future heroes stared each other down, and readied themselves for their match. Kyoka was feeling nothing but unease, and uncertainty as she knew in a battle of strength she had no chance against Iida. But she knew she had to try.

Present Mic then took a deep breath so that he could announce the beginning of the match. Izuku put down his notebook and watched on, and wished he could send Kyoka all the encouragement he could muster. She could do this.

"START!" The man announced, signaling the start of the match. Iida was swift in his approach, he was sure that he could send her flying in a single blow. He was behind her in a moment's notice, sending a kick straight for her side. Before the boy could strike her Kyoka ducked underneath the boy's leg and jacked her ear into his right calf.

Iida began to panic as he felt the surge of the girl's heartbeat in his leg, she was trying to disrupt the inner engine in the boy's leg with just her vibrations alone! However, it was a lot sturdier than she anticipated. Iida then blasted off to gain some distance, whilst also ripping Kyoka's earjack out of his leg.

"That was a smart move, Jiro!" Iida complimented, puffing smoke out of his exhaust pipes. The girl smirked as it appeared to have some effect on his speed; he's slowed down.

"Well, I try." She stated, staying in her battle stance. She needed to be ready for any sudden movements. Iida then rushed her, causing the girl to flinch and attempt to administer a spinning back heel kick to the boy. However, that was what Iida anticipated as he quickly pivoted and changed course to appear behind the girl.

He then swept her legs out from under her, but Kyoka quickly spun herself around and landed a kick directly onto the boy's right cheekbone, knocking his glasses clean off of his face. The boy stumbled to his knees as he regained his vision, and Kyoka took the opportunity to bring herself to her feet once more.

"Don't underestimate me, Iida!" She exclaimed, feeling the rush of adrenaline from the battle. She was starting to have fun with this, maybe she really could win this! Iida chuckled, and brought himself back to his feet. He smiled at the girl, she was going to be a valiant hero indeed! Iida could tell she had the makings of a hero in this fight, her quick adaptability must've been something she picked up from Midoriya!