He internally suppressed another muffled groan as the thorny whip crushed through his loosened back, leaving lashes depicting her ruthlessness.

His mind, more tired and less pristine than before, had long since lost track of time.

How long had they been fighting?

It seemed long enough for the crowd to gain motivation and enthusiasm for their fight.

As if a boy hadn't just been permanently wheeled off to the hospital fighting for his life, the sea of people's passion had been reignited by their battle.

Again, UA delivered one of the matches of the century.

Another match where it could go any way, where both sides had reasonable arguments that demanded the crowd's support.

The boy, the Son of a Hero, vs. the Daughter of a Priest, the Scion of Nature, who would surely become an influential figure in the future.

Or one who's shaken all misgivings and judgments onto him, prevailing to fight onto such a stage as his friend from before just had, vs. a girl who's had the support of numerous people from birth, pushing her to be what she had always been destined to.

Again, their battle divided the crowd, and that division was enough to ignite the spirit of competition in them, like a pack of hungry wolves with meat dangling before their eyes.

Shouts about who should win, cheers to encourage the two, motivations saying that they should win it for their friend, for their family, and for those behind them.

And at least one of them didn't disappoint.

As if their encouragement gave her power, Shiozaki grew more ruthless and more ingenious in her methods of attack.

Shoji had already laminated when she revealed that poison ability, but it was only now, in a situation where he couldn't steamroll' his opponent, that he understood what Suijin said.

'Damn, creative quirks are so OP.'

Shiozaki created different types of poison, some to slow him down and others to make him feel more pain.

Luckily, there was a limit to what she could create, and with his extra limbs and weight, she didn't have any potent enough to completely subdue him.

But over time, he was conscious of how his eye grew hazier, how he felt more tired, and how he became distracted by his new enhanced sensations.

So, like a hulking brute refusing to lose, he kept on trying while knowing of his body's repeated failure to support him.

Huff

Huff

With bated breaths, he went down on one knee, taking in a much-needed breather as one of her new poisons affected his lungs.

He looked up, his dark brown eyes shining through the strands of murky silver hair that acted as a preliminary shield, hiding his gaze from her sight.

There she stood, atop a throne of vines, after he tried what Uraraka did, looking down at him with that gaze while giving him the time to heal.

Shoji was miffed; if she looked at him with 'those' eyes, he'd be fine, happy even that he could predict her.

But instead of the arrogant eyes stating that they're 'above' you, hers spoke of indifference, as if this were a given result.

A dark feeling, one mixed with anger, resentment, and shame, filled him up.

'Is this, Embarrassment?'

Another feeling he'd long lost is now reunited.

Shoji had been feeling a myriad of emotions ever since this festival started, and he didn't know if he liked or hated it.

Regardless, he looked into her eyes and felt his body's condition.

'It's time to end this.'

He stood up, adjusting his breath, before staring back defiantly into her eyes.

Between these two individuals, no words of provocation or probation were spoken.

It'd be a stain on the honor they both fought for and the conviction they had to win.

He ran towards her side, jumping over one of her Mega Vines as he dodged them from whacking him away.

Like a certain Jack climbing a beanstalk, he scaled through the shrub of vines, using his resistance to pain to pick the most thorny and dangerous path, one she specifically laid out for him.

A headfirst idiot and a silent, calculative type, they felt each other's personalities after battling for so long.

He let one of the vines hit him this time, and instead of being swung like before, he ripped it from its step, using it like a hammer to swat at any new ones that appeared.

He was level with her, separated by a vast revenue, and taking a second to look at her.

Shoji saw her unimpressed figure, still holding its default face after so long, and seeing that the path ended with a sizable distance between her and him, he jumped.

Soaring through the air, the boy held a resolute look; he'd have her finished, now or never.

But, of course, things aren't always that easy.

With a preplanned confidence, another vine, this one sleeker, pointed, and more dangerous, came his way, vying for him who was stuck in the middle of the air.

Shoji looked at it, lamenting at having to reveal another card, but ultimately did it since it was better than losing.

He stretched his hand out as if to hold her, even at this impossibly large distance, before he multiplied.

'Special Move, Dupli ARM–ARM.'

With fervor, his arms grew, breaking off at the very tips before gripping onto the new stems, creating an impossibly large link leading from him to her.

With this, his new reach would mitigate her dominance in area combat and enhance his effectiveness at dealing with her.

With strength that could never be expected to originate from him, Shoji grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, happy that his quirk, which was once called monstrous, had now become a much-needed distraction.

With determination, he pulled on her clothes, thankful for the fabric keeping shape beneath his palms, and threw her.

Shiozaki, not to be outdone, started to conduct a large net extending from her head, hoping to reach the ground to pull her to safety.

But while both participants were mid-air, Shoji again used his new sling to his advantage, and using his bulging arm muscles, he swung back.

Before releasing.

Like a real whip, the monstrosity gathered the net of hair into one easily pick-up-able batch before pushing it off from the sides, disabling her from catching her grip.

Not willing to see anyone else hurt, the heroes acted faster than anyone could think, with her ending up in All Might's arms in less than a second after she passed out of bounds.

"MEZO SHOJI IS THE WINNER!!!!!!!"