Velvet Steel Elegy (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure/My Hero Academia Fusion)
- Thread starter Iceblocks
- Start date
- Crossover
The Sports Festival Part 2
[X] Minoru Mineta.
-Team Mineta made it to the third round.
"We made it!" Cries Minoru as the victors of the Cavalry Battle are announced, completely uncaring that Shoji is keeping him from getting his hands on Tsuyu. The one armed hug is not ideal, but Tsuyu and Johan are right there and Minoru is just too elated to get upset over it.
After all, his plan to combine his, Tsuyu's and Shoji's Quirks worked perfectly! Not that Johan asking to join his team wasn't a welcome surprise or that Holy Diver wasn't a huge help both offensively and defensively or anything, but Minoru has a good feeling that they would have made it anyway.
Holy Diver had kept their headbands safe when a girl with vines for hair tried to sneakily steal them right off Minoru's head, and when a purple haired boy (who wasn't short, the lucky bastard)-
-tried to engage them (atop Ojiro, Aoyama and some other guy) Johan made his Stand slash the other team's rider across his forehead with its claws. The wound bled a lot, but the teachers didn't say anything, and with the rider blinded it was easy for Tsuyu to send out her tongue to snatch his headbands.
From there it was just a matter of going after the teams that were focusing on grabbing Midoriya's 10 million point headband. Only the top sixteen students would proceed to the next round, so as long as they at least reached fourth place it didn't matter how many points each individual headband was worth.
Shoji releases Minoru and their teammates, giving the young Spin User the chance to look around. His team had taken third place in the end, above Team Midoriya but below Team Todoroki (first place) and Team Bakugou (second place). Not bad for his genius plan to not go for the obvious target!
Johan looks off to the side and frowns, looking seriously at something past Shoji's shoulder. Minoru turns around to see what he is looking at, the other two following suit, and spots the purple-haired guy glaring at them while clutching the cut over his eyes. He almost gulps at the sheer venom in the unfamiliar student's glare, but he isn't looking at Minoru, but at Johansen.
His friend calmly meets the angry guy's glare until he turns around and storms off, leaving, an uneasy Ojiro and a confused-looking Aoyama (and that other guy) behind on the field.
"Tch."
Minoru glances up at his friend. "Johan-san?"
The Norwegian catboy looks down, features softening. "Hm? Sorry, Minoru-san. I was just thinking that the guy who just looked at us might be trouble later."
"He's probably just a sore loser." Minoru shrugs. "That 1-B guy who had Bakugou running around in circles isn't happy either."
Johan spares the 1-B student a moment of consideration before he starts walking toward Purple Guy's team. "Maybe, but I think I will talk to Ojiro san about it. Later."
**********
"Mind control, huh? Interesting." Mumbles Johan to himself in his native Norwegian as he wanders the staff/student corridors of the stadium. It is hard for him not to compare the Purple Guy's Quirk to Ojiro's own 「Couch Potato」, or to not appreciate the irony of someone with a mind control Stand being mind-controlled themselves.
But the fact that 「Couch Potato」broke Purple Guy's hold over Ojiro within seconds by automatically jostling him, forcing Purple Guy to use his Quirk again to make sure Ojiro joined his team did confirm a theory…
But would 「Holy Diver」react the same way as Ojiro's Stand? 「Couch Potato」 works on a infinitesimally higher level of sapience compared to 「Holy Diver」, who is entirely dependent on Johan and has been so since he first awakened his Stand…
Johan shrugs helplessly. Thoughts for another day. It would not do for him to face Momo with his head in the clouds.
「Holy Diver」 manifests beside him, floating up to a map so that he doesn't have to stop to look at it himself. Surely there was a bathroom somewhere around-
Why is Bakugou skulking about the outer ring?
With his need for the washroom forgotten, Johan changes course towards his explosive classmate. Bakugou notices him, of course: Even with Johan's literally catlike thread there is only so stealthy one can be in a well-lit hallway with no cover.
Oddly enough, the Japanese blonde only scowls at him before putting a finger to his lips and returning his attention to whatever is going on in the passage he is standing outside of.
Johan obeys out of curiosity, sneaking up to the other side of the entrance to the passage and peeking around the corner. With both pairs of ears sharpened to a bleeding edge, he can make out Midoriya and Todoroki talking.
He raises an eyebrow at Bakugou and-
[] Leans in to listen better.
+++Velvet.
[] Walks away.
+++Steel.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 90+10(Friendship)
Steel: 0+20(Friendship)
Despair: 20/100
-Team Mineta made it to the third round.
"We made it!" Cries Minoru as the victors of the Cavalry Battle are announced, completely uncaring that Shoji is keeping him from getting his hands on Tsuyu. The one armed hug is not ideal, but Tsuyu and Johan are right there and Minoru is just too elated to get upset over it.
After all, his plan to combine his, Tsuyu's and Shoji's Quirks worked perfectly! Not that Johan asking to join his team wasn't a welcome surprise or that Holy Diver wasn't a huge help both offensively and defensively or anything, but Minoru has a good feeling that they would have made it anyway.
Holy Diver had kept their headbands safe when a girl with vines for hair tried to sneakily steal them right off Minoru's head, and when a purple haired boy (who wasn't short, the lucky bastard)-
-tried to engage them (atop Ojiro, Aoyama and some other guy) Johan made his Stand slash the other team's rider across his forehead with its claws. The wound bled a lot, but the teachers didn't say anything, and with the rider blinded it was easy for Tsuyu to send out her tongue to snatch his headbands.
From there it was just a matter of going after the teams that were focusing on grabbing Midoriya's 10 million point headband. Only the top sixteen students would proceed to the next round, so as long as they at least reached fourth place it didn't matter how many points each individual headband was worth.
Shoji releases Minoru and their teammates, giving the young Spin User the chance to look around. His team had taken third place in the end, above Team Midoriya but below Team Todoroki (first place) and Team Bakugou (second place). Not bad for his genius plan to not go for the obvious target!
Johan looks off to the side and frowns, looking seriously at something past Shoji's shoulder. Minoru turns around to see what he is looking at, the other two following suit, and spots the purple-haired guy glaring at them while clutching the cut over his eyes. He almost gulps at the sheer venom in the unfamiliar student's glare, but he isn't looking at Minoru, but at Johansen.
His friend calmly meets the angry guy's glare until he turns around and storms off, leaving, an uneasy Ojiro and a confused-looking Aoyama (and that other guy) behind on the field.
"Tch."
Minoru glances up at his friend. "Johan-san?"
The Norwegian catboy looks down, features softening. "Hm? Sorry, Minoru-san. I was just thinking that the guy who just looked at us might be trouble later."
"He's probably just a sore loser." Minoru shrugs. "That 1-B guy who had Bakugou running around in circles isn't happy either."
Johan spares the 1-B student a moment of consideration before he starts walking toward Purple Guy's team. "Maybe, but I think I will talk to Ojiro san about it. Later."
**********
"Mind control, huh? Interesting." Mumbles Johan to himself in his native Norwegian as he wanders the staff/student corridors of the stadium. It is hard for him not to compare the Purple Guy's Quirk to Ojiro's own 「Couch Potato」, or to not appreciate the irony of someone with a mind control Stand being mind-controlled themselves.
But the fact that 「Couch Potato」broke Purple Guy's hold over Ojiro within seconds by automatically jostling him, forcing Purple Guy to use his Quirk again to make sure Ojiro joined his team did confirm a theory…
But would 「Holy Diver」react the same way as Ojiro's Stand? 「Couch Potato」 works on a infinitesimally higher level of sapience compared to 「Holy Diver」, who is entirely dependent on Johan and has been so since he first awakened his Stand…
Johan shrugs helplessly. Thoughts for another day. It would not do for him to face Momo with his head in the clouds.
「Holy Diver」 manifests beside him, floating up to a map so that he doesn't have to stop to look at it himself. Surely there was a bathroom somewhere around-
Why is Bakugou skulking about the outer ring?
With his need for the washroom forgotten, Johan changes course towards his explosive classmate. Bakugou notices him, of course: Even with Johan's literally catlike thread there is only so stealthy one can be in a well-lit hallway with no cover.
Oddly enough, the Japanese blonde only scowls at him before putting a finger to his lips and returning his attention to whatever is going on in the passage he is standing outside of.
Johan obeys out of curiosity, sneaking up to the other side of the entrance to the passage and peeking around the corner. With both pairs of ears sharpened to a bleeding edge, he can make out Midoriya and Todoroki talking.
He raises an eyebrow at Bakugou and-
[] Leans in to listen better.
+++Velvet.
[] Walks away.
+++Steel.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 90+10(Friendship)
Steel: 0+20(Friendship)
Despair: 20/100
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] Walks away.
The Sports Festival Part 3
[X] Walks away.
+++Steel.
Johan shrugs and walks on by. Whatever Midoriya and Todoroki are talking about, it sounds serious. And so it is not Johan's place to listen in. if they want him to know, they will tell him themselves.
He raises an eyebrow at an almost thoughtful-looking Bakugou when he passes his fellow blonde, but his normally noisy classmate does nothing but retaliate with a quick glare before he goes back to eavesdropping.
***
The third Event is a tournament where the sixteen remaining students are pitted against each other in one-on-one matches.
"The rules are simple, children!" Barks Midnight with a grin. "You fight until the other party is unconscious, out of bounds, completely restrained, or gives up. Cementoss and myself will be standing by to ensure that none of you go too far."
The R-Rated Heroine brandishes her cat o' nine tails like a scepter towards one of the massive screens that line the interior of the stadium. "And here are the matchups for the first round!"
Todoroki and Ashido are sent to the preparation rooms for some additional rest and, well, preparation for the match, leaving Johan to contemplate his own match.
The sixth match then, Johan muses as he settles into his seat. Todoroki and Ashido…
This should be interesting.
**********
Todoroki walks away from the first match with a bruised cheek. Ashido is nothing if not athletic, and she is running the instant Midnight gives them the signal to begin. Todoroki simply watches as she sprints across the concrete stage, waiting until she is halfway to him before he acts:
By throwing a veritable deluge of ice in her direction.
Ashido leaps over it, frost forming on the legs of her gym clothes as the stream passes by underneath her, avoiding the worst of it. She hits the ground running, just barely weaving around the pillars of ice that shoot up from the results of Todoroki's aborted attack.
The cold eruptions become more frequent the closer she gets, but the new surfaces give her the opportunity to use her Quirk: With slippery acid dripping from the soles of her special shoes, Ashido slides up and down the broken, changing terrain, quickly changing speed and direction to throw off Todoroki's aim.
It works well enough that she gets close enough to deliver a haymaker to Todoroki's face before a heavy blast of cold all but freezes her to the spot. She could get out, in theory, but Todoroki has her at his mercy.
Midnight decides the battle in his favor soon after, to a cheering audience.
And so ends the first match.
**********
Izuku Midoriya and Minoru Mineta. Green and purple. Stand and Spin.
It is annoying, in a mundane sort of way. Feeling like one should cheer for both sides in a conflict, even one as petty as a school sports arrangement, is a new feeling for the Norwegian catboy.
"This time we got something special for you, folks!" Comes Present Mic's voice over the speaker system. "Midoriya here has a Stand, a power that acts like a second Quirk! It won't show up for those of you looking at a screen, but if you look at him with your naked eyes you can see his Take On Me standing to his left!"
Their teacher turned announcer waits a few seconds before he focuses the crowd on Minoru. "As for young Mineta, he is a practitioner of an Italian martial art called the Spin that gives his Quirk a little extra oomph!"
Johan reflexively rolls his eyes at Present Mic's attempt at explaining the supernatural in two sentences to the Quirked public. The Hero isn't wrong, per se, just simplifying things to a massive degree.
Minoru is the first to move when Midnight commands them to begin, popping off two of his purple balls and hopping on top of them. He quickly throws a whole cluster of Spin-infused purple balls at the charging Midoriya, creating a field of projectiles that rest on the ground for a moment when they miss before they shoot off in an unpredictable direction.
Unpredictable to anyone except Minoru, of course. He would know where the balls are going, if the texts Johan read with him are any indication.
While none of the balls hit Midoriya, they do force him to focus on dodging. The green-haired boy even has to summon 「Take On Me」 to deflect those he cannot dodge, but using a Stand to deflect a Spin-infused object without the proper technique means getting into contact with Spin Energy through the sympathetic bond. And from the slight twisting of the exposed skin of Midoriya's arms, it is already starting to show.
Minoru's attack, however, is averted by his sudden need to give himself a cushion lest the fall crushes his legs, giving Midoriya a few seconds of reprieve.
Before a bouncing purple ball strikes another while in flight and violently rebounds straight into Midoriya's back.
The effect is immediate, Midoriya's body twisting as if caught in machinery. His limbs and torso do not twist very far, but it is enough to be painful and disturbing. Minoru gets closer to admire his handiwork-
And then Midoriya is fine and it is Minoru who is the one being scrunched up, for 「Take On Me's」 hands are on the shorter boy's shoulders. The Stand was sent traveling through the ground when the Spin Ball bypassed Midoriya's defenses, and was ordered to transfer the effects of Minoru's Spin to him when it made contact.
The (literally) sketchy humanoid picks up the quivering Minoru and deposits him out of the arena.
Midnight declares his opponent the winner, and Midoriya goes on to the next round.
And so ends the second match.
**********
The third match is between Denki Kaminari and Hanta Sero, neither of which has really interacted with Johan at all. It is not that they have been unfriendly, Johan just hasn't elected to spend time with them beyond Momo talking about Kaminari's performance at the USJ and Minoru asking the catboy if he wanted to hang with them after school once.
And Sero? After searching his memory Johan can only conclude that the two of them have never really spoken.
But Bakugou wanted Sero on his team, so there has to be something to him.
That something turns out to be a good head on his shoulders. Sero lashes out with his Quirk: tape dispensers mounted in his elbows. The tape forms a rope that entangles Kaminari before the blonde can close in with his Electrification Quirk, and a mighty heave sends his struggling opponent out of bounds.
And so ends the third match.
**********
Katsuki Bakugou and Mezo Shouji…
Johan knows Bakugou, though not to the point where he would call him a friend, but Shouji is barely an acquaintance. Looking back, the only time Johan has even talked to the guy is through Minoru when the smaller boy wanted to show them something.
As for the fight, it does not take long. Bakugou is one of the strongest students in 1-A, and that was before he received 「Africa」. With the match being effectively two against one, the outcome was determined from the beginning: Shouji does his best to dodge 「Africa's」 head-on charges and heavy kicks in order to reach Bakugou, a target he can actually touch.
Bruised and battered from his run-ins with 「Africa」, Shouji takes an explosion to the face for his trouble. The six-armed student is tough and strong, but Bakugou's power, mobility and Stand decide the match without Shouji managing to land a real hit.
And so ends the fourth match. Johan did not get a good look how he used his Stand during the Cavalry Battle, so this was informative.
**********
The match between Momo Yaoyorozu and Fumikage Tokoyami is over within a minute.
Tokoyami acts immediately upon Midnight starting the match, sending forth Dark Shadow to attack his opponent while 「Black Hole Sun」 hangs back for a clear shot. It is a strategy intended to keep Momo from getting the time she needs to create the tools to end the match in her favor, a wise choice.
It might even have worked if not for 「Technologic」.
The girl of light emerges from Momo and unleashes a blurry barrage of blows that keep the light-weakened Quirk from laying a hand on its master, freeing up Momo to create something.
Johan leans forward while accessing 「Holy Diver's」 senses. It is hard to tell just what Momo made, for she crouched down and sent it rolling below Dark Shadow's body.
Tokoyami and 「Black Hole Sun」 have no such problems from their angle, and Tokoyami wrangles Dark Shadow's body out of his Stand's line of fire so that it has a clear shot at… a windup car?
Momo pulls on a wire connecting her to the car, and the main body explodes into a shimmering cloud of dust. The explosive must have been shaped, for the cloud is propelled into a cone towards Tokoyami and his subordinates.
The bird-headed hero hopeful backs off a few meters to avoid the drifting cloud, but Momo quickly procures a small yet powerful floodlight to shine right at him. With Dark Shadow weakened, he pulls his Quirk back and directs 「Black Hole Sun」 to open fire.
That would be the mistake that cost him the match. 「Black Hole Sun's」 laser immediately detonates the cloud of aluminum dust that the windup car had released, the blast wave outright slamming Tokoyami back out of the arena.
Momo is declared winner by ring-out, and so she walks with her head held high back to the box reserved for Class 1-A.
So ends the fifth match, and Johan can hardly wait.
**********
And then it is Johan's turn. He leaves the Class 1-A box, nodding at the classmates wishing him good luck against the lone student in the third Event that is not part of Class 1-A. Or Class 1-B for that matter, Mei Hatsume is of the UA Support Course, the people who make and maintain the costumes and gear of the Hero Course and UA in general.
A respectable position, but here it has led her to a battle she cannot win.
Present Mic announces them when Johan and Hatsume exit their respective tunnels:
"From Class 1-A of the Hero Course, say hello to the foreign shadowcat and top Stand User JOHAN JOHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANSEN!"
Johan lets the cheers rush over him, a part of him delighting in it before he crushes it. It doesn't matter.
"From Class 1-H of the Support Course comes the only student that does not belong to the Hero Course: The genius inventor and fearless innovator MEI HATSUMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
He had caught glimpses of her when checking on Midoriya's team during the Cavalry Battle, but it is only now that he gets a good look at all the gear she is wearing.
She only smirks under his gaze and readies herself. Midnight, seeing that they both are ready, brings down her Cat o' nine tails.
"Begin!"
Hatsume hold position, waiting for Johan to engage and-
[] Toy with her.
+Velvet.
++Steel.
[] Crush her.
+++Steel.
[] Painfully humiliate her.
++++Steel
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 100+10(Izuku Victory)+30(Momo Victory)
Steel: 20+30(Decision)+10(Stand User Victories)
Despair: 20/100
+++Steel.
Johan shrugs and walks on by. Whatever Midoriya and Todoroki are talking about, it sounds serious. And so it is not Johan's place to listen in. if they want him to know, they will tell him themselves.
He raises an eyebrow at an almost thoughtful-looking Bakugou when he passes his fellow blonde, but his normally noisy classmate does nothing but retaliate with a quick glare before he goes back to eavesdropping.
***
The third Event is a tournament where the sixteen remaining students are pitted against each other in one-on-one matches.
"The rules are simple, children!" Barks Midnight with a grin. "You fight until the other party is unconscious, out of bounds, completely restrained, or gives up. Cementoss and myself will be standing by to ensure that none of you go too far."
The R-Rated Heroine brandishes her cat o' nine tails like a scepter towards one of the massive screens that line the interior of the stadium. "And here are the matchups for the first round!"
Todoroki and Ashido are sent to the preparation rooms for some additional rest and, well, preparation for the match, leaving Johan to contemplate his own match.
The sixth match then, Johan muses as he settles into his seat. Todoroki and Ashido…
This should be interesting.
**********
Todoroki walks away from the first match with a bruised cheek. Ashido is nothing if not athletic, and she is running the instant Midnight gives them the signal to begin. Todoroki simply watches as she sprints across the concrete stage, waiting until she is halfway to him before he acts:
By throwing a veritable deluge of ice in her direction.
Ashido leaps over it, frost forming on the legs of her gym clothes as the stream passes by underneath her, avoiding the worst of it. She hits the ground running, just barely weaving around the pillars of ice that shoot up from the results of Todoroki's aborted attack.
The cold eruptions become more frequent the closer she gets, but the new surfaces give her the opportunity to use her Quirk: With slippery acid dripping from the soles of her special shoes, Ashido slides up and down the broken, changing terrain, quickly changing speed and direction to throw off Todoroki's aim.
It works well enough that she gets close enough to deliver a haymaker to Todoroki's face before a heavy blast of cold all but freezes her to the spot. She could get out, in theory, but Todoroki has her at his mercy.
Midnight decides the battle in his favor soon after, to a cheering audience.
And so ends the first match.
**********
Izuku Midoriya and Minoru Mineta. Green and purple. Stand and Spin.
It is annoying, in a mundane sort of way. Feeling like one should cheer for both sides in a conflict, even one as petty as a school sports arrangement, is a new feeling for the Norwegian catboy.
"This time we got something special for you, folks!" Comes Present Mic's voice over the speaker system. "Midoriya here has a Stand, a power that acts like a second Quirk! It won't show up for those of you looking at a screen, but if you look at him with your naked eyes you can see his Take On Me standing to his left!"
Their teacher turned announcer waits a few seconds before he focuses the crowd on Minoru. "As for young Mineta, he is a practitioner of an Italian martial art called the Spin that gives his Quirk a little extra oomph!"
Johan reflexively rolls his eyes at Present Mic's attempt at explaining the supernatural in two sentences to the Quirked public. The Hero isn't wrong, per se, just simplifying things to a massive degree.
Minoru is the first to move when Midnight commands them to begin, popping off two of his purple balls and hopping on top of them. He quickly throws a whole cluster of Spin-infused purple balls at the charging Midoriya, creating a field of projectiles that rest on the ground for a moment when they miss before they shoot off in an unpredictable direction.
Unpredictable to anyone except Minoru, of course. He would know where the balls are going, if the texts Johan read with him are any indication.
While none of the balls hit Midoriya, they do force him to focus on dodging. The green-haired boy even has to summon 「Take On Me」 to deflect those he cannot dodge, but using a Stand to deflect a Spin-infused object without the proper technique means getting into contact with Spin Energy through the sympathetic bond. And from the slight twisting of the exposed skin of Midoriya's arms, it is already starting to show.
Minoru's attack, however, is averted by his sudden need to give himself a cushion lest the fall crushes his legs, giving Midoriya a few seconds of reprieve.
Before a bouncing purple ball strikes another while in flight and violently rebounds straight into Midoriya's back.
The effect is immediate, Midoriya's body twisting as if caught in machinery. His limbs and torso do not twist very far, but it is enough to be painful and disturbing. Minoru gets closer to admire his handiwork-
And then Midoriya is fine and it is Minoru who is the one being scrunched up, for 「Take On Me's」 hands are on the shorter boy's shoulders. The Stand was sent traveling through the ground when the Spin Ball bypassed Midoriya's defenses, and was ordered to transfer the effects of Minoru's Spin to him when it made contact.
The (literally) sketchy humanoid picks up the quivering Minoru and deposits him out of the arena.
Midnight declares his opponent the winner, and Midoriya goes on to the next round.
And so ends the second match.
**********
The third match is between Denki Kaminari and Hanta Sero, neither of which has really interacted with Johan at all. It is not that they have been unfriendly, Johan just hasn't elected to spend time with them beyond Momo talking about Kaminari's performance at the USJ and Minoru asking the catboy if he wanted to hang with them after school once.
And Sero? After searching his memory Johan can only conclude that the two of them have never really spoken.
But Bakugou wanted Sero on his team, so there has to be something to him.
That something turns out to be a good head on his shoulders. Sero lashes out with his Quirk: tape dispensers mounted in his elbows. The tape forms a rope that entangles Kaminari before the blonde can close in with his Electrification Quirk, and a mighty heave sends his struggling opponent out of bounds.
And so ends the third match.
**********
Katsuki Bakugou and Mezo Shouji…
Johan knows Bakugou, though not to the point where he would call him a friend, but Shouji is barely an acquaintance. Looking back, the only time Johan has even talked to the guy is through Minoru when the smaller boy wanted to show them something.
As for the fight, it does not take long. Bakugou is one of the strongest students in 1-A, and that was before he received 「Africa」. With the match being effectively two against one, the outcome was determined from the beginning: Shouji does his best to dodge 「Africa's」 head-on charges and heavy kicks in order to reach Bakugou, a target he can actually touch.
Bruised and battered from his run-ins with 「Africa」, Shouji takes an explosion to the face for his trouble. The six-armed student is tough and strong, but Bakugou's power, mobility and Stand decide the match without Shouji managing to land a real hit.
And so ends the fourth match. Johan did not get a good look how he used his Stand during the Cavalry Battle, so this was informative.
**********
The match between Momo Yaoyorozu and Fumikage Tokoyami is over within a minute.
Tokoyami acts immediately upon Midnight starting the match, sending forth Dark Shadow to attack his opponent while 「Black Hole Sun」 hangs back for a clear shot. It is a strategy intended to keep Momo from getting the time she needs to create the tools to end the match in her favor, a wise choice.
It might even have worked if not for 「Technologic」.
The girl of light emerges from Momo and unleashes a blurry barrage of blows that keep the light-weakened Quirk from laying a hand on its master, freeing up Momo to create something.
Johan leans forward while accessing 「Holy Diver's」 senses. It is hard to tell just what Momo made, for she crouched down and sent it rolling below Dark Shadow's body.
Tokoyami and 「Black Hole Sun」 have no such problems from their angle, and Tokoyami wrangles Dark Shadow's body out of his Stand's line of fire so that it has a clear shot at… a windup car?
Momo pulls on a wire connecting her to the car, and the main body explodes into a shimmering cloud of dust. The explosive must have been shaped, for the cloud is propelled into a cone towards Tokoyami and his subordinates.
The bird-headed hero hopeful backs off a few meters to avoid the drifting cloud, but Momo quickly procures a small yet powerful floodlight to shine right at him. With Dark Shadow weakened, he pulls his Quirk back and directs 「Black Hole Sun」 to open fire.
That would be the mistake that cost him the match. 「Black Hole Sun's」 laser immediately detonates the cloud of aluminum dust that the windup car had released, the blast wave outright slamming Tokoyami back out of the arena.
Momo is declared winner by ring-out, and so she walks with her head held high back to the box reserved for Class 1-A.
So ends the fifth match, and Johan can hardly wait.
**********
And then it is Johan's turn. He leaves the Class 1-A box, nodding at the classmates wishing him good luck against the lone student in the third Event that is not part of Class 1-A. Or Class 1-B for that matter, Mei Hatsume is of the UA Support Course, the people who make and maintain the costumes and gear of the Hero Course and UA in general.
A respectable position, but here it has led her to a battle she cannot win.
Present Mic announces them when Johan and Hatsume exit their respective tunnels:
"From Class 1-A of the Hero Course, say hello to the foreign shadowcat and top Stand User JOHAN JOHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANSEN!"
Johan lets the cheers rush over him, a part of him delighting in it before he crushes it. It doesn't matter.
"From Class 1-H of the Support Course comes the only student that does not belong to the Hero Course: The genius inventor and fearless innovator MEI HATSUMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
He had caught glimpses of her when checking on Midoriya's team during the Cavalry Battle, but it is only now that he gets a good look at all the gear she is wearing.
She only smirks under his gaze and readies herself. Midnight, seeing that they both are ready, brings down her Cat o' nine tails.
"Begin!"
Hatsume hold position, waiting for Johan to engage and-
[] Toy with her.
+Velvet.
++Steel.
[] Crush her.
+++Steel.
[] Painfully humiliate her.
++++Steel
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 100+10(Izuku Victory)+30(Momo Victory)
Steel: 20+30(Decision)+10(Stand User Victories)
Despair: 20/100
[X] Crush her.
The Sports Festival Part 4
[X] Crush her.
+++Steel.
It is over within seconds.
When Johan is close enough, 「Holy Diver」closes a hand around a metal wire and pulls Hatsume towards it. Said wire is an intricate system of joints that can stiffen to propel the wearer of Hatsume's special harness in response to attacks, but the harness' sensors cannot detect Stands and deploys far too late.
A black-plated fist is precisely applied to the pinkette's gut with enough force to reverse her downwards momentum, and a pair of follow-up punches crack her ribs and collarbone. Hatsume is sent tumbling to the concrete floor of the arena, and after a valiant attempt to get back on her feet results in something inside her noisily snapping she gives up.
The medics pick up a visibly deflated Hatsume, but Johan is already leaving the arena behind while accompanied by the audience's cheers. He ignores them for the most part, his attention focused on the tall girl in Class 1-A's seating box. Their eyes meet through the eyes of 「Holy Diver」 and 「Technologic」, and the unspoken message is clear:
「I cannot wait to fight you.」
And so ends the sixth match.
**********
Tenya Iida and Ochako Uraraka, Midoriya's friends the way Kaminari and Shouji are Minoru's friends. At least, that is how Johan knows them.
Midoriya is undoubtedly closer to them than Johan, something that bothers the catboy more than he likes to think about…
As for the match? Iida gets careless and Uraraka manages to touch him during one of his charges. With no experience with being weightless, Iida fails to do more than flail about in a desperate attempt to control his momentum as it sends him flying out of bounds.
Midoriya is obviously of two minds about this, if 「Holy Diver's」senses aren't lying to Johan, but he joins in on cheering Uraraka's victory.
And so ends the seventh match.
**********
Eijirou Kirishima, a boy that Johan struggles to remember even talking to, and Tsuyu Asui, an interesting girl that the Norwegian Stand User has spoken to all of once. With neither of them being Stand Users to boot, it is unclear just which one of them he should cheer for.
After thinking about it while the fighters get ready, he decides that he should cheer for Asui. The girl has a good head on her shoulders, and she was an important member of the same Cavalry Battle team as Johan.
Kirishima is the first to act when Midnight declares the match begun: Hardening up and charging the frog girl as fast as he can. Johan snorts at the display and moves Kirishima's name down the mental list of Stand User candidates.
No Stands for the careless, and Kirishima is careless enough to forget Rule Number One of having a powerful defensive ability: If you do not know what it is, dodge!
As such, he is an easy target when Asui spits a thick wad of greenish mucus right into his eyes. From the way the Hardening Quirk User is screaming, he feels as much pain as disgust over it.
Kirishima is a blunt instrument, and now that he is unable to direct himself he is easy prey for Asui, who jumps and delivers a devastating double kick to the back of his head after hopping behind him. It doesn't do much through the fake redhead's Quirk, but it does unbalance him enough that Asui's dexterous tongue can wrap around his leg and throw him out of the arena.
This time cheering comes easily to Johan, and he adds his voice to that of the crowd as Asui leaves the field.
And so ends the eight and last match of the first round.
**********
There is an intermission between the rounds so that the competitors can recover, and Johan knows just how he is going to spend it: Find something to eat and drink, then rest.
"Johan-san?"
Johan glances over to the side where Momo is sitting. "Yes, Momo-san?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat? I had some after my match with Tokoyami-san, but I think another portion could do me good." She fidgets.
"Sure." Johan shrugs as he gets out of his seat. "I was thinking of getting some food anyway"
[] "Do you want to check out the food stalls?"
++++Velvet.
++Steel.
[] "There should be food and water bottles in the competitor's rooms inside."
+Steel.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 140
Steel: 60+30(Decision)
Despair: 20/100
+++Steel.
It is over within seconds.
When Johan is close enough, 「Holy Diver」closes a hand around a metal wire and pulls Hatsume towards it. Said wire is an intricate system of joints that can stiffen to propel the wearer of Hatsume's special harness in response to attacks, but the harness' sensors cannot detect Stands and deploys far too late.
A black-plated fist is precisely applied to the pinkette's gut with enough force to reverse her downwards momentum, and a pair of follow-up punches crack her ribs and collarbone. Hatsume is sent tumbling to the concrete floor of the arena, and after a valiant attempt to get back on her feet results in something inside her noisily snapping she gives up.
The medics pick up a visibly deflated Hatsume, but Johan is already leaving the arena behind while accompanied by the audience's cheers. He ignores them for the most part, his attention focused on the tall girl in Class 1-A's seating box. Their eyes meet through the eyes of 「Holy Diver」 and 「Technologic」, and the unspoken message is clear:
「I cannot wait to fight you.」
And so ends the sixth match.
**********
Tenya Iida and Ochako Uraraka, Midoriya's friends the way Kaminari and Shouji are Minoru's friends. At least, that is how Johan knows them.
Midoriya is undoubtedly closer to them than Johan, something that bothers the catboy more than he likes to think about…
As for the match? Iida gets careless and Uraraka manages to touch him during one of his charges. With no experience with being weightless, Iida fails to do more than flail about in a desperate attempt to control his momentum as it sends him flying out of bounds.
Midoriya is obviously of two minds about this, if 「Holy Diver's」senses aren't lying to Johan, but he joins in on cheering Uraraka's victory.
And so ends the seventh match.
**********
Eijirou Kirishima, a boy that Johan struggles to remember even talking to, and Tsuyu Asui, an interesting girl that the Norwegian Stand User has spoken to all of once. With neither of them being Stand Users to boot, it is unclear just which one of them he should cheer for.
After thinking about it while the fighters get ready, he decides that he should cheer for Asui. The girl has a good head on her shoulders, and she was an important member of the same Cavalry Battle team as Johan.
Kirishima is the first to act when Midnight declares the match begun: Hardening up and charging the frog girl as fast as he can. Johan snorts at the display and moves Kirishima's name down the mental list of Stand User candidates.
No Stands for the careless, and Kirishima is careless enough to forget Rule Number One of having a powerful defensive ability: If you do not know what it is, dodge!
As such, he is an easy target when Asui spits a thick wad of greenish mucus right into his eyes. From the way the Hardening Quirk User is screaming, he feels as much pain as disgust over it.
Kirishima is a blunt instrument, and now that he is unable to direct himself he is easy prey for Asui, who jumps and delivers a devastating double kick to the back of his head after hopping behind him. It doesn't do much through the fake redhead's Quirk, but it does unbalance him enough that Asui's dexterous tongue can wrap around his leg and throw him out of the arena.
This time cheering comes easily to Johan, and he adds his voice to that of the crowd as Asui leaves the field.
And so ends the eight and last match of the first round.
**********
There is an intermission between the rounds so that the competitors can recover, and Johan knows just how he is going to spend it: Find something to eat and drink, then rest.
"Johan-san?"
Johan glances over to the side where Momo is sitting. "Yes, Momo-san?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat? I had some after my match with Tokoyami-san, but I think another portion could do me good." She fidgets.
"Sure." Johan shrugs as he gets out of his seat. "I was thinking of getting some food anyway"
[] "Do you want to check out the food stalls?"
++++Velvet.
++Steel.
[] "There should be food and water bottles in the competitor's rooms inside."
+Steel.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 140
Steel: 60+30(Decision)
Despair: 20/100
- Location
- USA
[X] "Do you want to check out the food stalls?"
ChildishChimera
A umbran summon
- Location
- New York
[X] "Do you want to check out the food stalls?"
The Sports Festival Part 5
[X] "Do you want to check out the food stalls?"
++++Velvet.
++Steel.
"Do you want to check out the food stalls?"
To Momo's eyes, Johan actually looks a little surprised at his own offer, but he quickly recovers and looks at her expectantly. Behind his back he is joined by an embarrassing amount of their classmates, some (like Ashido and Kaminari) who have wide knowing grins and a total lack of understanding of what this is about.
Even Tsuyu is smiling, a raised finger rubbing her chin in that considering way of hers.
She does her best to ignore them. It doesn't mean anything, necessarily. It is just him and her getting some food before their match, nothing more. The others are jumping to conclusions.
"I would love to." Says Momo as she stands up, pointedly ignoring the snickers.
Johan nods at her, and with a confused glance over his shoulder he gets up to go with her. Kaminari holds out a hand for him to high-five, which the Norwegian does with a confused tilt of the head as he walks past the electric boy. After that there is only the odd snicker that follows them to the concrete staircase.
A wail from the Class 1-A seats gives them pause when they reach the stairs, making Johan's cat ears swivel around and Momo summon 「Technologic」. Momo only catches the last of it with her Stand's incredible senses, but it definitively sounds like… Mineta?
"Minoru?" Mutters Johan before he looks at her. "Do you have any idea why he would be shouting about something being unfair?"
Momo narrows her eyes before closing them completely, sighing. Why is everyone assuming that something untoward is happening? "Maybe his match with Midoriya?" She suggests.
"Still?" Johan shakes his head. "You would think he would be over it by now." The catboy reaches a hand up to rub one of his cat ears. "He did not seem this torn up after the fight…"
"Johan?" She interrupts his train of thought without hesitation. When he looks up at her she gestures down the stairs. "Let's go while there is still time. Do you know what you'll be getting?"
Johan hesitates, letting go of his ear before slowly walking down the stairs with her. 「Holy Diver」 shows up to inspect a map of the stadium corridors when they pass it on the way down, the black and white Stand tracing a path with its claws.
"I do not." He admits after thinking about it the whole way down. "I do not know that many Japanese stall dishes or things like that. Do you mind guiding me?"
Momo can only smile at the stiff way he pronounces Japanese, but she nods nonetheless. "I would be happy to, Johan."
***
"Seriously? You have never been to a McDonald's before?"
Momo can do little but flush in the face of Johan's baffled gesticulation with a dango skewer, the half-eaten dango still hanging from it completely forgotten by the catboy. "No, never."
They have spent ten minutes among the stalls, both of them having picked up some snacks for themselves while engaging in idle conversation. A few people call out to them here and there, but the security staff (some of which are actual Pro Heroes working as security) always step in to keep them from bothering the two students as they walk around the food stalls.
Having found themselves some snacks, they settled on an empty bench to dig in.
Johan mulls over the revelation as he rediscovers and bites into the last dango. "Wow." He mumbles after swallowing, having apparently come to a conclusion. "We need to fix that."
Momo tilts her head, shooting him a questioning look as 「Technologic」 plucks grains of sweet rice left over from her riceball off her chin. "Fix? What do you mean by 'fix'?"
"I mean that we need to go to McDonald's." He says, reaching out with a finger to poke her in the shoulder so as to emphasize his point. "We have the rest of the week free starting tomorrow, and at least some of the others have to be okay with eating out sometime."
…was he browbeating her into eating at a cheap fast food restaurant with some of their classmates?
Could she get out of this? Did she want to get out of this?
"Give me some time to think about it." She answers, polite yet noncommitting, after a minute of finishing her riceball.
Johan simply shrugs in response. He stops licking the bare dango skewer to answer her. "Sure. We got the whole week to plan something."
Momo nods and leans back to enjoy the sun. She will have come to a decision after their battle, she is certain of it.
***
The first match of the second round is between Todoroki and Midoriya, and then it is Sero against Bakugou before it is her and Johan's turn.
And that it will be Tsuyu and Uraraka, of course, with their match ending the second round.
But for now it is Todoroki, the other recommended student beside herself, and Midoriya, her deputy, who will be fighting.
"Who do you think will win?"
Johan turns his head slightly to look at her from the seat to her left. "Hard to tell." He concedes. "Todoroki is powerful, but Midoriya is his equal even without the ability to control his Quirk. Besides, Midoriya has a Stand."
True, true. Even if 「Take On Me」isn't anything to write home about compared to 「Holy Diver」(or「Technologic」 for that matter), at least when it comes to hitting things, its speed, range, and ability makes it a huge threat to Todoroki. He seems more of a distance fighter, so even if Midoriya's Stand is only as strong as he is (when not assisted by his super-powerful Quirk) it remains a gamechanger.
Present Mic returns in his role as lead announcer and commentator, more out of Aizawa-sensei's wounds and taciturn nature than anything else, and presents the two boys to the audience. The massed throng lets out a cheer that thunders against Momo's eardrums, but the noise slowly fades as the audience sits in anticipation of the coming battle.
Even Momo leans forwards a little as Midnight raises her 'weapon' into the air-
"BEGIN!"
The reactions of the students in the arena are immediate: Todoroki conjures a growing glacier that rushes towards the charging Midoriya, only for the green-haired boy flicks a finger towards it. The sheer force of the Quirk-boosted finger flick creates a wave of air pressure that reduces the flowing mass of ice into powder snow, blasting it back into Todoroki's face and driving him back.
It breaks Midoriya's finger, but it only interrupts his charge forwards towards the unbalanced Todoroki. 「Take On Me」 rushes ahead, to attack Todoroki directly or transfer the damage of the broken finger to him. Or both, Momo concedes to herself.
Whatever the case, Todoroki redoubles his efforts to defeat Midoriya, sending out waves of ice more than a story tall and forming a wall of ice behind himself so as to not be blown out of bounds by Midoriya's blasts of air pressure.
And in the middle of this chaos they are shouting at each other, though in the midst of all this noise even Momo's 「Technologic」 is having trouble with making out what they are talking about.
Something about… Todoroki's power?
Maybe?
Her question is put to the wayside when Todoroki's left side ignites, covering it with fire.
So he can use fire.
Midoriya answers by erupting with crackles of green lightning, leaving both Momo and the rest of the audience in shock.
Wait.
Momo narrows her eyes. Is-isn't 「Take On Me」 also covered in that green-
"HVA FAEN ER DETTE?!"
It is a testament to the speed that Johan's Quirk affords him that Momo did not realize he had leapt from his seat until he has jumped over the box's first row before he started to scream. His knuckles whiten on the railing as he stares at the battle below.
The extreme reaction has Momo out of her own seat in seconds. "Johan?!" She asks, too worried to use the honorific.
His blue, slitted eyes lock onto hers, and there is something murderous in them that makes her flinch.
Her step back shakes him out of it, at least enough to slowly let go of the railing. Palms reddening from the force of his grip around the metal, he forces his way past her while muttering in Norwegian.
Johan almost looks like he is shambling as he stalks into the student/staff corridors.
Endlessly examining the events of the last minute inside her head, Momo-
[] Runs after him.
++++Velvet.
[] Studies the match.
+++++Steel.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 140+40(Decision)
Steel: 90+20(Decision)+200(Todoroki VS Midoriya)*
Despair: 20+20(Todoroki VS Midoriya)/100
*No, that 200 is not a typo.
This Arc will end in about 3-5 updates.
++++Velvet.
++Steel.
"Do you want to check out the food stalls?"
To Momo's eyes, Johan actually looks a little surprised at his own offer, but he quickly recovers and looks at her expectantly. Behind his back he is joined by an embarrassing amount of their classmates, some (like Ashido and Kaminari) who have wide knowing grins and a total lack of understanding of what this is about.
Even Tsuyu is smiling, a raised finger rubbing her chin in that considering way of hers.
She does her best to ignore them. It doesn't mean anything, necessarily. It is just him and her getting some food before their match, nothing more. The others are jumping to conclusions.
"I would love to." Says Momo as she stands up, pointedly ignoring the snickers.
Johan nods at her, and with a confused glance over his shoulder he gets up to go with her. Kaminari holds out a hand for him to high-five, which the Norwegian does with a confused tilt of the head as he walks past the electric boy. After that there is only the odd snicker that follows them to the concrete staircase.
A wail from the Class 1-A seats gives them pause when they reach the stairs, making Johan's cat ears swivel around and Momo summon 「Technologic」. Momo only catches the last of it with her Stand's incredible senses, but it definitively sounds like… Mineta?
"Minoru?" Mutters Johan before he looks at her. "Do you have any idea why he would be shouting about something being unfair?"
Momo narrows her eyes before closing them completely, sighing. Why is everyone assuming that something untoward is happening? "Maybe his match with Midoriya?" She suggests.
"Still?" Johan shakes his head. "You would think he would be over it by now." The catboy reaches a hand up to rub one of his cat ears. "He did not seem this torn up after the fight…"
"Johan?" She interrupts his train of thought without hesitation. When he looks up at her she gestures down the stairs. "Let's go while there is still time. Do you know what you'll be getting?"
Johan hesitates, letting go of his ear before slowly walking down the stairs with her. 「Holy Diver」 shows up to inspect a map of the stadium corridors when they pass it on the way down, the black and white Stand tracing a path with its claws.
"I do not." He admits after thinking about it the whole way down. "I do not know that many Japanese stall dishes or things like that. Do you mind guiding me?"
Momo can only smile at the stiff way he pronounces Japanese, but she nods nonetheless. "I would be happy to, Johan."
***
"Seriously? You have never been to a McDonald's before?"
Momo can do little but flush in the face of Johan's baffled gesticulation with a dango skewer, the half-eaten dango still hanging from it completely forgotten by the catboy. "No, never."
They have spent ten minutes among the stalls, both of them having picked up some snacks for themselves while engaging in idle conversation. A few people call out to them here and there, but the security staff (some of which are actual Pro Heroes working as security) always step in to keep them from bothering the two students as they walk around the food stalls.
Having found themselves some snacks, they settled on an empty bench to dig in.
Johan mulls over the revelation as he rediscovers and bites into the last dango. "Wow." He mumbles after swallowing, having apparently come to a conclusion. "We need to fix that."
Momo tilts her head, shooting him a questioning look as 「Technologic」 plucks grains of sweet rice left over from her riceball off her chin. "Fix? What do you mean by 'fix'?"
"I mean that we need to go to McDonald's." He says, reaching out with a finger to poke her in the shoulder so as to emphasize his point. "We have the rest of the week free starting tomorrow, and at least some of the others have to be okay with eating out sometime."
…was he browbeating her into eating at a cheap fast food restaurant with some of their classmates?
Could she get out of this? Did she want to get out of this?
"Give me some time to think about it." She answers, polite yet noncommitting, after a minute of finishing her riceball.
Johan simply shrugs in response. He stops licking the bare dango skewer to answer her. "Sure. We got the whole week to plan something."
Momo nods and leans back to enjoy the sun. She will have come to a decision after their battle, she is certain of it.
***
The first match of the second round is between Todoroki and Midoriya, and then it is Sero against Bakugou before it is her and Johan's turn.
And that it will be Tsuyu and Uraraka, of course, with their match ending the second round.
But for now it is Todoroki, the other recommended student beside herself, and Midoriya, her deputy, who will be fighting.
"Who do you think will win?"
Johan turns his head slightly to look at her from the seat to her left. "Hard to tell." He concedes. "Todoroki is powerful, but Midoriya is his equal even without the ability to control his Quirk. Besides, Midoriya has a Stand."
True, true. Even if 「Take On Me」isn't anything to write home about compared to 「Holy Diver」(or「Technologic」 for that matter), at least when it comes to hitting things, its speed, range, and ability makes it a huge threat to Todoroki. He seems more of a distance fighter, so even if Midoriya's Stand is only as strong as he is (when not assisted by his super-powerful Quirk) it remains a gamechanger.
Present Mic returns in his role as lead announcer and commentator, more out of Aizawa-sensei's wounds and taciturn nature than anything else, and presents the two boys to the audience. The massed throng lets out a cheer that thunders against Momo's eardrums, but the noise slowly fades as the audience sits in anticipation of the coming battle.
Even Momo leans forwards a little as Midnight raises her 'weapon' into the air-
"BEGIN!"
The reactions of the students in the arena are immediate: Todoroki conjures a growing glacier that rushes towards the charging Midoriya, only for the green-haired boy flicks a finger towards it. The sheer force of the Quirk-boosted finger flick creates a wave of air pressure that reduces the flowing mass of ice into powder snow, blasting it back into Todoroki's face and driving him back.
It breaks Midoriya's finger, but it only interrupts his charge forwards towards the unbalanced Todoroki. 「Take On Me」 rushes ahead, to attack Todoroki directly or transfer the damage of the broken finger to him. Or both, Momo concedes to herself.
Whatever the case, Todoroki redoubles his efforts to defeat Midoriya, sending out waves of ice more than a story tall and forming a wall of ice behind himself so as to not be blown out of bounds by Midoriya's blasts of air pressure.
And in the middle of this chaos they are shouting at each other, though in the midst of all this noise even Momo's 「Technologic」 is having trouble with making out what they are talking about.
Something about… Todoroki's power?
Maybe?
Her question is put to the wayside when Todoroki's left side ignites, covering it with fire.
So he can use fire.
Midoriya answers by erupting with crackles of green lightning, leaving both Momo and the rest of the audience in shock.
Wait.
Momo narrows her eyes. Is-isn't 「Take On Me」 also covered in that green-
"HVA FAEN ER DETTE?!"
It is a testament to the speed that Johan's Quirk affords him that Momo did not realize he had leapt from his seat until he has jumped over the box's first row before he started to scream. His knuckles whiten on the railing as he stares at the battle below.
The extreme reaction has Momo out of her own seat in seconds. "Johan?!" She asks, too worried to use the honorific.
His blue, slitted eyes lock onto hers, and there is something murderous in them that makes her flinch.
Her step back shakes him out of it, at least enough to slowly let go of the railing. Palms reddening from the force of his grip around the metal, he forces his way past her while muttering in Norwegian.
Johan almost looks like he is shambling as he stalks into the student/staff corridors.
Endlessly examining the events of the last minute inside her head, Momo-
[] Runs after him.
++++Velvet.
[] Studies the match.
+++++Steel.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 140+40(Decision)
Steel: 90+20(Decision)+200(Todoroki VS Midoriya)*
Despair: 20+20(Todoroki VS Midoriya)/100
*No, that 200 is not a typo.
This Arc will end in about 3-5 updates.
Hva faen er dette?! = What the fuck is this?! (Literally: What the Devil is this?!)
- Location
- USA
Hmm, how come he doesn't like Deku being able to use his quirk on his stand?
Is it because they are supposed to be incompatible or something?
[X] Runs after him.
++++Velvet.
Is it because they are supposed to be incompatible or something?
[X] Runs after him.
++++Velvet.
The Sports Festival Part 6
[X] Runs after him.
++++Velvet.
Momo gets up and runs after Johan, thoughts racing even as she ignores the stares of the others. Nobody in the Class 1-A box could have missed Johan's reaction, and out of the corner of her eye she can see that some of them (such as Mineta) are standing up. Whatever they are shouting is lost in the noise of the explosions below.
The noise of Todoroki and Midoriya's battle is dulled by the concrete walls, making it possible for her 「Technologic」 to make out which corridor the sound of Johan's footsteps are coming from. With a nervous intake of air, she-
Whirls around at the sound of another set of footsteps coming down the stairs behind her. Mineta freezes when she sees him.
"Er, I-I was just worried about Johan…" He says hesitatingly, casting worried looks down the corridors as if to decide which one to look for their mutual friend in.
Being alone with Mineta, even just for a few minutes, is hardly her idea of a good time, but he is Johan's friend and hopefully too worried about him to be inappropriate. "This way." She sighs, pointing down the corridor from where she heard Johan's footsteps. "I heard him with my Stand."
Momo starts to head down the corridor, Mineta following a meter behind and to her left.
"Stands are amazing, huh." He mutters to himself, a touch of bitterness entering his voice as he raises a hand to let his fingers slide against the wall. The corridor shakes as whatever is going on down in the arena reaches its climax
Momo doesn't answer him, pretending to read the words of a colorful informational poster as she thinks on what he said. Is he talking about his defeat at Midoriya's hands, or is it Johan's refusal to stab him with the 「Arrow」 that is bothering him?
They walk in silence, speeding up when Momo hears Johan stop walking and slump against the wall through 「Technologic」. The catboy is sitting with his head in his hands when they find him, whispering to himself in a language that neither of them understands.
"Ro deg ned." He softly hisses to nobody. "Det var bare en gang, du har fremdeles tid."
"Johan?" To Momo's chagrin she forgot the honorific again, but the annoyance is dispelled by renewed worry when her friend ignores her.
"B-" A blue, slitted eye swivels to look at her. "Momo?"
He sits up, rubbing at his face before he looks around, taking in the corridor. "Minoru too… how far did I…?"
Johan trails off, looking at her expectantly.
"The stairs are just around the corner." Explains Momo, too relived to think about the familiar way he speaks her and Mineta's names. "You gave us a bit of a scare, Johan-san."
"Y-Yeah!" Mineta agrees, furiously nodding. "You just suddenly freaked out when things were starting to get good down there!"
Johan grunts in a non-committing manner as he looks away. "Hm. Just give some time to calm down." He sighs. "I will be fine."
Mineta surprises Momo by letting out a loud, disbelieving snort before he plops down beside Johan. "I don't think so. You did not sound fine up there."
"He is right." Momo nods before she crosses her legs beneath her and sits down in front of Johan. "That was an… incredibly extreme reaction, and-"
"It is nothing you need to worry about." Johan interrupts. "It is just… something that I have been studying."
"What does that even mean?" Asks Momo, a little more forcefully than she intended, when Johan doesn't elaborate.
For a moment the catboy just looks at her, looking for all the world like it is a monumental struggle just to keep his head up.
"I… I do not know. I have not decided yet." His expression changes. "By the way, did you see who won between Midoriya and Todoroki? I left, so…"
The deflection is obvious, but with much reluctance Momo decides not to press him too hard. "No, we came down here right after you did. Right, Mineta?"
Mineta doesn't look happy about the change in subject, but he gives in quickly and agrees with her.
It is not ideal, but it might be for the best. Johan will tell them when he is ready, is all.
***
They missed the fight between Sero and Bakugou while waiting for Johan to regain his composure, returning to Class 1-A's box just as Bakugou is walking victorious out of the arena, and before long it is Johan and Momo's turn to fight.
Her Norwegian classmate shows no sign of his… episode beyond a slight tension in his face, but that fades as they both enter the concrete platform that serves as the arena.
The crowd cheers as they assume their positions opposite each other, and Momo turns her focus to planning out how to counter Johan's strengths and exploit his weaknesses.
On paper this is a simple issue: Use light sources and traps to keep him from closing the distance and target Johan himself when it is time to go on the offensive. In reality there is no chance in all under Heaven that Johan is not aware of his weaknesses, or Momo's own flaws and virtues for that matter.
With 「Technologic's」 power bubbling within her, Momo readies herself. "I hope you haven't forgotten what you promised me, 「Johan」." She says.
As skilled as she is, Johan has had his Stand for most of his life, and according to him he has attained complete mastery of 「Holy Diver」. On the other hand, the amazing synergy between Creation and 「Technologic」 is nothing to sneeze at.
He smiles in response.
[] "I have not forgotten my promise, I swear. You are going to experience the 「True Shape」of 「Holy Diver's」power."
+++Velvet.
++Steel.
--Despair.
[] "I remember, but you are going to have to force me to use it, 「Momo」!"
+++++Steel.
-Despair.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 180+40(Decision)
Steel: 310
Despair: 40/100
++++Velvet.
Momo gets up and runs after Johan, thoughts racing even as she ignores the stares of the others. Nobody in the Class 1-A box could have missed Johan's reaction, and out of the corner of her eye she can see that some of them (such as Mineta) are standing up. Whatever they are shouting is lost in the noise of the explosions below.
The noise of Todoroki and Midoriya's battle is dulled by the concrete walls, making it possible for her 「Technologic」 to make out which corridor the sound of Johan's footsteps are coming from. With a nervous intake of air, she-
Whirls around at the sound of another set of footsteps coming down the stairs behind her. Mineta freezes when she sees him.
"Er, I-I was just worried about Johan…" He says hesitatingly, casting worried looks down the corridors as if to decide which one to look for their mutual friend in.
Being alone with Mineta, even just for a few minutes, is hardly her idea of a good time, but he is Johan's friend and hopefully too worried about him to be inappropriate. "This way." She sighs, pointing down the corridor from where she heard Johan's footsteps. "I heard him with my Stand."
Momo starts to head down the corridor, Mineta following a meter behind and to her left.
"Stands are amazing, huh." He mutters to himself, a touch of bitterness entering his voice as he raises a hand to let his fingers slide against the wall. The corridor shakes as whatever is going on down in the arena reaches its climax
Momo doesn't answer him, pretending to read the words of a colorful informational poster as she thinks on what he said. Is he talking about his defeat at Midoriya's hands, or is it Johan's refusal to stab him with the 「Arrow」 that is bothering him?
They walk in silence, speeding up when Momo hears Johan stop walking and slump against the wall through 「Technologic」. The catboy is sitting with his head in his hands when they find him, whispering to himself in a language that neither of them understands.
"Ro deg ned." He softly hisses to nobody. "Det var bare en gang, du har fremdeles tid."
"Johan?" To Momo's chagrin she forgot the honorific again, but the annoyance is dispelled by renewed worry when her friend ignores her.
"B-" A blue, slitted eye swivels to look at her. "Momo?"
He sits up, rubbing at his face before he looks around, taking in the corridor. "Minoru too… how far did I…?"
Johan trails off, looking at her expectantly.
"The stairs are just around the corner." Explains Momo, too relived to think about the familiar way he speaks her and Mineta's names. "You gave us a bit of a scare, Johan-san."
"Y-Yeah!" Mineta agrees, furiously nodding. "You just suddenly freaked out when things were starting to get good down there!"
Johan grunts in a non-committing manner as he looks away. "Hm. Just give some time to calm down." He sighs. "I will be fine."
Mineta surprises Momo by letting out a loud, disbelieving snort before he plops down beside Johan. "I don't think so. You did not sound fine up there."
"He is right." Momo nods before she crosses her legs beneath her and sits down in front of Johan. "That was an… incredibly extreme reaction, and-"
"It is nothing you need to worry about." Johan interrupts. "It is just… something that I have been studying."
"What does that even mean?" Asks Momo, a little more forcefully than she intended, when Johan doesn't elaborate.
For a moment the catboy just looks at her, looking for all the world like it is a monumental struggle just to keep his head up.
"I… I do not know. I have not decided yet." His expression changes. "By the way, did you see who won between Midoriya and Todoroki? I left, so…"
The deflection is obvious, but with much reluctance Momo decides not to press him too hard. "No, we came down here right after you did. Right, Mineta?"
Mineta doesn't look happy about the change in subject, but he gives in quickly and agrees with her.
It is not ideal, but it might be for the best. Johan will tell them when he is ready, is all.
***
They missed the fight between Sero and Bakugou while waiting for Johan to regain his composure, returning to Class 1-A's box just as Bakugou is walking victorious out of the arena, and before long it is Johan and Momo's turn to fight.
Her Norwegian classmate shows no sign of his… episode beyond a slight tension in his face, but that fades as they both enter the concrete platform that serves as the arena.
The crowd cheers as they assume their positions opposite each other, and Momo turns her focus to planning out how to counter Johan's strengths and exploit his weaknesses.
On paper this is a simple issue: Use light sources and traps to keep him from closing the distance and target Johan himself when it is time to go on the offensive. In reality there is no chance in all under Heaven that Johan is not aware of his weaknesses, or Momo's own flaws and virtues for that matter.
With 「Technologic's」 power bubbling within her, Momo readies herself. "I hope you haven't forgotten what you promised me, 「Johan」." She says.
As skilled as she is, Johan has had his Stand for most of his life, and according to him he has attained complete mastery of 「Holy Diver」. On the other hand, the amazing synergy between Creation and 「Technologic」 is nothing to sneeze at.
He smiles in response.
[] "I have not forgotten my promise, I swear. You are going to experience the 「True Shape」of 「Holy Diver's」power."
+++Velvet.
++Steel.
--Despair.
[] "I remember, but you are going to have to force me to use it, 「Momo」!"
+++++Steel.
-Despair.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 180+40(Decision)
Steel: 310
Despair: 40/100
"Ro deg ned." = "Calm down."
"Det var bare en gang, du har fremdeles tid." = "It was just once, there is still time."
"Det var bare en gang, du har fremdeles tid." = "It was just once, there is still time."
[X]"I have not forgotten my promise, I swear. You are going to experience the 「True Shape」of 「Holy Diver's」power."
The Sports Festival Part 7
[X] "I have not forgotten my promise, I swear. You are going to experience the 「True Shape」of 「Holy Diver's」power."
+++Velvet.
++Steel.
--Despair.
"I have not forgotten my promise, I swear. You are going to experience the 「True Shape」of 「Holy Diver's」power."
Momo nods upon hearing Johan's words before she begins to get ready, leaning forward and mentally perusing the list she made of Anti-Johan tools. First a light to dim her shadow, then-
Johan suddenly takes off the jacket of his gym uniform, to Momo's mild confusion, before he too assumes a combat stance. Is he going to use it as a shield? Or maybe he intends to throw it into the air to create another shadow to warp to in case she manages to remove her own from the arena? She factors it into her planning, reassessing her approach even as her eyes never leave Johan's.
The sound of the crowd fades away, her senses completely focused on her opponent.
And then Midnight-sensei brings her inappropriate 'baton' down and declares the beginning of the match.
Momo and Johan act before their teacher's shout of "BEGIN!" can do as much as fade. Momo creates a flashlight with a hook that allows her to hang it from the waistband of her gym pants in addition to manifesting 「Technologic」.
Her Stand will serve as offense, defense and support depending on how Johan's charge turns out, for while she flash-created the flashlight the catboy made 「Holy Diver's」 foot momentarily overlap his own. Kicking down, the concrete splinters underfoot even as the power behind the kick propels Johan towards her at speeds he himself could never match. A reminder of his Stand's prodigious strength.
His charge is stopped a little more than three meters away from her, just outside the range of their Stands unless they send them out to meet in the middle. 「Holy Diver」 appears in front of him and brings his charge to an immediate stop, the sudden standstill slamming the air out of Johan's lungs. He recovers admirably and throws his jacket up into the air above them before 「Holy Diver」 drags him into his own shadow.
The jacket, bundled up as to be easier to throw, catches the air and spreads open, casting a shadow near Momo's feet. Time slows down, her brain going into overdrive with predictions and speculation as she realizes Johan's true plan:
The point wasn't to ensure that he would have a shadow to warp to, it was to confuse her as to which shadow he would warp to in order to get close to her!
Which shadow does he intend to use, the temporary one or Momo's own? Moves and countermoves are considered, discarded and revised while her hands move to fasten the created flashlight at the small of her back.
「Technologic's」 hands clench into fists beside her, ready to hold off Johan's Stand when he resurfaces out of the jacket's shadow. It has to be that one, it has to-
The second after Johan vanished passes, and a pull at the waistband of her gym pants is the only warning she gets before 「Holy Diver」 is right beside her. Time, already slowed, seems to freeze entirely, the sound of the flashlight being crushed in 「Holy Diver's」 armored fist echoing eternally within Momo's hyperfocus.
「Holy Diver」is here. Why is it here?! It didn't come out of a shadow, so why is it here?!
'Why' is repeated again and again as time restarts, 「Holy Diver's」 other fist making its way towards her head with agonizing slowness.
YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO!
But then「Technologic」is there, unleashing a desperate series of deflecting strikes that allow Momo to roll away with nothing more than a sympathetic bruise from where her Stand's arm came into contact with 「Holy Diver」.
She scrambles to her feet and withdraws 「Technologic」 back to her side, only for 「Holy Diver」 to impossibly follow her by disappearing and instantly reappearing right in front of her. Where was Johan?! All her plans relied on him acting as 「Holy Diver's」 weak point!
YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO!
NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!
Bruises blossom all over her arms, legs and shoulders as 「Technologic」tries to hold off 「Holy Diver」, sympathetic damage from her Stand deflecting the latter's attack rush. But what else can she do?
Retreating again only delays 「Holy Diver」 for an instant before it appears next to her once more, where it continues its unstoppable barrage of punches.
Hiding behind 「Technologic」 is useless, for her Stand just isn't strong or durable enough to trade blows with 「Holy Diver」.
「Technologic's」 ability is useless. Items without its Stand energy are useless as weapons against 「Holy Diver」, and Momo cannot think of anything with an inverted effect that would help either.
There. Is. Just. No. Time!
The situation is untenable, where is Johan?! Her bones are starting to creak under the onslaught, where is Johan?! This is the nightmare scenario, where is Johan?!
Where is Johan?!
Less than ten seconds after Johan disappeared into his own shadow the match ends: Momo feels 「Technologic's」 power flicker, just for an instant, and that is all it takes. A black, armored fist catches Momo under the ribs, the punch being pulled at the last second so as to send her flying rather than run her through.
The last she sees out of 「Technologic's」 eyes before she loses hold of her Stand is the line marking the boundary of the arena passing below her. As she does 「Holy Diver」 furiously punches the ground just within the boundary, creating a thick cloud of concrete dust.
To make a shadow, she realizes right before she is caught by Midnight-sensei, the older woman letting out a quiet 'oof' before checking Momo for injuries. Momo's prediction comes true when 「Holy Diver」 pulls Johan out of the shadow cast by the dust cloud.
Johan somehow looks more injured than she does, clutching at his chest and coughing as if being severely out of breath, and did 「Holy Diver」 have those cracks in its breastplate when it and 「Technologic」were fighting?
He has to be held upright by his Stand, but Johan still waves weakly to the cheering crowd.
"Er, Aizawa? What just happened?"
And the baffled announcers, Momo muses to distract herself from her defeat. Come to think of it, those watching this match at home must be incredibly confused right now.
***
They are taken to Recovery Girl, who immediately begins fussing over them. Momo's injuries consist of hairline fractures in the bones of her arms and blunt trauma to her stomach area, with the rest being bruises caused by sympathetic damage.
Like she thought, Johan's injuries are far more extensive, consisting of fractures all over his ribcage and bruised lungs. There is other damage that Recovery Girl diagnoses as having come from extremely high pressure, of all things. Related to how Johan was able to stay inside the shadow?
Wait…wouldn't he come out of her shadow if that was the case? Or did he initially target the shadow cast by the jacket and there is some convoluted rule to 「Holy Diver's」ability that Johan hasn't told anyone about?
Her thoughts are interrupted by Recovery Girl angrily ranting.
"I keep telling them to stop overstating how important the Sports Festival is!" Grumbles the old Pro Hero after kissing them both to bestow the effect of her healing Quirk. For emphasis, she points at the beds occupied by the heavily bandaged Midoriya and Todoroki. "It is bad enough that these two have gotten it into their heads that it is perfectly fine to break themselves and each other over a school sports festival, now the number of people who go too far have doubled!"
"I asked him to not hold anything back." Protests Momo from her bed.
In response Recovery Girl pokes her in the cheek with her cane. "Young lady, a medal and some attention are not worth you children inflicting possibly permanent damage onto each other." She scolds sternly before turning her attention to Johan.
"And what about you, young man?"
Johan opens a slitted eye. "My only regret-" A sharp intake of pained breath interrupts his sentence. "-is that I was not able to end the fight sooner. Might not have gotten this hurt then."
Recovery Girl throws her hands up before fetching them some colorful gummies. "Eat up you two. You will need this to heal right."
They accept the nutritious treats eagerly, but halfway through chewing on them Midoriya lets out one of his characteristic questioning noises.
"Johansen-san?"
Johan lifts his head a little to look at him. "Yeah?"
With both his arms in casts, Midoriya has to nod his head towards the phone in Todoroki's hands. "We saw your match on Todoroki-san's phone, but…" He squirms a little, a wounded 「Take On Me」 appearing over his shoulders to emphasize the motion. "Since Stands do not appear on electronics I couldn't get a good look and-"
"You want to know what I did." Johan finishes for him, and Momo cannot help but lean forward. Just what did he do?
Johan shrugs. "It is not that complicated: I counted on Momo guessing that I would come out of the shadow of my jacket while taking steps to eliminate her own, so I targeted her shadow instead. When she made that flashlight it destroyed my exit and I was pulled towards the jacket shadow, but I made my 「Holy Diver not open the exit for me」. While I was stuck in that shadow I manifested 「Holy Diver」 on the outside where it destroyed the flashlight, so when the jacket hit the ground I was pulled back into Momo's shadow. After that I was just getting pulled along in Momo's shadow while my 「Holy Diver」 was beating her up."
He shrugs again. "Like I said: Nothing complicated."
Nothing but disbelieving stares meet him. 'Nothing complicated', her ass!
"What about your injuries?"
It is Todoroki that spoke, the half-and-half boy casting a meaningful look at Johan's torso. "You didn't take any hits, so…" He trails off, looking at Johan expectantly.
Johan follows his gaze. "Ah. That. See, there is a reason that I do not use this trick more often, beyond the fact that it only works in conditions just like this one: Staying on the other side like I did subjects me to immense pressure, like I am diving a hundred meters below the surface of the ocean with no protection." He explains with a grimace, his cat ears laying themselves flat atop his head. "Since this is not something I can train, and trust me, I have tried, I only use this trick when I absolutely have to."
Momo's eyes widen as she realizes what he just said. "Like when I asked?"
"Like when you asked." He answers without hesitating.
Midoriya bombards Johan with questions while Momo ponders the fight. Everything happened so fast…
Eventually Todoroki is deemed fit to be released, and Midoriya runs out of questions and has his attention grabbed by the stream of the soon to begin match between Uraraka and Asui. The green-haired boy's arms have healed enough for him to use how own phone this time, a fact he must be thankful for.
"Psst."
Momo turns towards Johan's bed, where the catboy meets her eyes.
"Can you make a notebook and a pen?" He whispers. "I feel I need to tell you something. Just you."
She swallows and does as he asks. He manifests 「Holy Diver」 to take them from her, and then he pulls the bedsheet over his head. From underneath his white cover he scribbles something in the notebook before he reemerges and uses his Stand to pass it back to her.
A page is earmarked, so she opens it-
"While hidden, Momo."
Momo rolls her eyes. Just what is he afraid of?
Still, she obeys and pulls the sheet over her head before she opens the notebook on the earmarked page.
I was lying when I told you about what I did during our match. My 「Holy Diver's」 ability is something completely different than what I have told you.
Momo has to stop herself from giggling. He even writes with that odd emphasis that he shares with Class 1-A's Stand Users!
She continues reading:
If you promise to keep it a secret, I will tell you the truth.
-Johan.
Momo lifts the sheet and glances over to where Johan is looking at her. After a moment of consideration, she nods and goes back under.
I promise.
-Momo.
Summoning 「Technologic」, she used it to hand the notebook back to Johan. He goes under his sheet and the sound of a scratching pen begins. It continues for a while before he gives it back.
Alright. Just be aware that I will destroy this notebook when we are done here.
My 「Holy Diver's」ability is called 「The Midnight Sea」. It is 「A Dimension of Darkness」 that I can enter at will when my Stand transforms a shadow into a portal. While on the other side, shadows in the real world appear as 「Windows of Light」 that let me see into the real world.
I can manifest「Holy Diver」 from within the 「Midnight Sea」as long as it is not more than two meters from me, which allows me to use my Stand freely without risking myself. And since I the physical barriers in our world do not exist on the other side I can choose any 「Window of Light」 to be my exit point, granting me mobility and intelligence gathering ability beyond anything I have ever seen.
The only weakness of this ability is that a heavy pressure is constantly subjected to my body if I stray too far from a 「Window of Light」, exponentially increasing the further away I get. It was not what happened during our match, I just made my Stand punch me to break my ribs. Had to make it believable.
-Johan.
Momo reads what Johan wrote, and then she reads it again. After the second reread she closes the notebook and leans back.
That…is immensely more powerful than what Johan has been pretending his Stand ability is up until now. Removing 「Holy Diver's」 weak point (himself), undetectable spying, the ability to bypass any defenses as long as there is a shadow somewhere on the other side…
She goes back under the sheet and writes down a pair of questions.
But what about what you told Aizawa-sensei on the first day?
Also, does the size of the shadow matter?
-Momo.
Johan takes the notebook from her 「Technologic」 without a word, slipping back under the sheet to read it and write a response. When she gets the notebook back the response reads as such:
It was not a complete lie. That was all I could do when I first manifested my 「Holy Diver」. It took me years to fully realize its potential and gain full access to「The Midnight Sea」.
As for your other question, yes. My Stand can 'stretch' shadows to make them bigger when they turn into portals, but this is limited to how dark they are. The darker they are, the more they can be stretched.
-Johan.
Momo snaps the notebook shut after reading Johan's response. Emerging from under the sheet, she gives him a serious look. "I have no further questions." She whispers as she hands him the notebook. "But…"
Johan tilts his head. "Yes?"
"Johan," No honorific, she needs to remember to use those… "Will you keep going? In the tournament, I mean."
[] "I suppose I can, if I must."
++++Velvet.
+Steel.
[] "Maybe. I got what I wanted though, so I am going to half-ass it."
++Velvet.
+++Steel.
-Despair.
[] "Nah. I got what I wanted, so I'll just withdraw from the tournament. Medical reasons and shit."
+++++Steel.
--Despair
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 220+30(Decision)
Steel: 310+20(Decision)
Despair: 40-10(Decision)/100
NEW STAND DATA
Johan Johansen's Holy Diver.
+++Velvet.
++Steel.
--Despair.
"I have not forgotten my promise, I swear. You are going to experience the 「True Shape」of 「Holy Diver's」power."
Momo nods upon hearing Johan's words before she begins to get ready, leaning forward and mentally perusing the list she made of Anti-Johan tools. First a light to dim her shadow, then-
Johan suddenly takes off the jacket of his gym uniform, to Momo's mild confusion, before he too assumes a combat stance. Is he going to use it as a shield? Or maybe he intends to throw it into the air to create another shadow to warp to in case she manages to remove her own from the arena? She factors it into her planning, reassessing her approach even as her eyes never leave Johan's.
The sound of the crowd fades away, her senses completely focused on her opponent.
And then Midnight-sensei brings her inappropriate 'baton' down and declares the beginning of the match.
Momo and Johan act before their teacher's shout of "BEGIN!" can do as much as fade. Momo creates a flashlight with a hook that allows her to hang it from the waistband of her gym pants in addition to manifesting 「Technologic」.
Her Stand will serve as offense, defense and support depending on how Johan's charge turns out, for while she flash-created the flashlight the catboy made 「Holy Diver's」 foot momentarily overlap his own. Kicking down, the concrete splinters underfoot even as the power behind the kick propels Johan towards her at speeds he himself could never match. A reminder of his Stand's prodigious strength.
His charge is stopped a little more than three meters away from her, just outside the range of their Stands unless they send them out to meet in the middle. 「Holy Diver」 appears in front of him and brings his charge to an immediate stop, the sudden standstill slamming the air out of Johan's lungs. He recovers admirably and throws his jacket up into the air above them before 「Holy Diver」 drags him into his own shadow.
The jacket, bundled up as to be easier to throw, catches the air and spreads open, casting a shadow near Momo's feet. Time slows down, her brain going into overdrive with predictions and speculation as she realizes Johan's true plan:
The point wasn't to ensure that he would have a shadow to warp to, it was to confuse her as to which shadow he would warp to in order to get close to her!
Which shadow does he intend to use, the temporary one or Momo's own? Moves and countermoves are considered, discarded and revised while her hands move to fasten the created flashlight at the small of her back.
「Technologic's」 hands clench into fists beside her, ready to hold off Johan's Stand when he resurfaces out of the jacket's shadow. It has to be that one, it has to-
The second after Johan vanished passes, and a pull at the waistband of her gym pants is the only warning she gets before 「Holy Diver」 is right beside her. Time, already slowed, seems to freeze entirely, the sound of the flashlight being crushed in 「Holy Diver's」 armored fist echoing eternally within Momo's hyperfocus.
「Holy Diver」is here. Why is it here?! It didn't come out of a shadow, so why is it here?!
'Why' is repeated again and again as time restarts, 「Holy Diver's」 other fist making its way towards her head with agonizing slowness.
YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO!
But then「Technologic」is there, unleashing a desperate series of deflecting strikes that allow Momo to roll away with nothing more than a sympathetic bruise from where her Stand's arm came into contact with 「Holy Diver」.
She scrambles to her feet and withdraws 「Technologic」 back to her side, only for 「Holy Diver」 to impossibly follow her by disappearing and instantly reappearing right in front of her. Where was Johan?! All her plans relied on him acting as 「Holy Diver's」 weak point!
YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO-YAO!
NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!
Bruises blossom all over her arms, legs and shoulders as 「Technologic」tries to hold off 「Holy Diver」, sympathetic damage from her Stand deflecting the latter's attack rush. But what else can she do?
Retreating again only delays 「Holy Diver」 for an instant before it appears next to her once more, where it continues its unstoppable barrage of punches.
Hiding behind 「Technologic」 is useless, for her Stand just isn't strong or durable enough to trade blows with 「Holy Diver」.
「Technologic's」 ability is useless. Items without its Stand energy are useless as weapons against 「Holy Diver」, and Momo cannot think of anything with an inverted effect that would help either.
There. Is. Just. No. Time!
The situation is untenable, where is Johan?! Her bones are starting to creak under the onslaught, where is Johan?! This is the nightmare scenario, where is Johan?!
Where is Johan?!
Less than ten seconds after Johan disappeared into his own shadow the match ends: Momo feels 「Technologic's」 power flicker, just for an instant, and that is all it takes. A black, armored fist catches Momo under the ribs, the punch being pulled at the last second so as to send her flying rather than run her through.
The last she sees out of 「Technologic's」 eyes before she loses hold of her Stand is the line marking the boundary of the arena passing below her. As she does 「Holy Diver」 furiously punches the ground just within the boundary, creating a thick cloud of concrete dust.
To make a shadow, she realizes right before she is caught by Midnight-sensei, the older woman letting out a quiet 'oof' before checking Momo for injuries. Momo's prediction comes true when 「Holy Diver」 pulls Johan out of the shadow cast by the dust cloud.
Johan somehow looks more injured than she does, clutching at his chest and coughing as if being severely out of breath, and did 「Holy Diver」 have those cracks in its breastplate when it and 「Technologic」were fighting?
He has to be held upright by his Stand, but Johan still waves weakly to the cheering crowd.
"Er, Aizawa? What just happened?"
And the baffled announcers, Momo muses to distract herself from her defeat. Come to think of it, those watching this match at home must be incredibly confused right now.
***
They are taken to Recovery Girl, who immediately begins fussing over them. Momo's injuries consist of hairline fractures in the bones of her arms and blunt trauma to her stomach area, with the rest being bruises caused by sympathetic damage.
Like she thought, Johan's injuries are far more extensive, consisting of fractures all over his ribcage and bruised lungs. There is other damage that Recovery Girl diagnoses as having come from extremely high pressure, of all things. Related to how Johan was able to stay inside the shadow?
Wait…wouldn't he come out of her shadow if that was the case? Or did he initially target the shadow cast by the jacket and there is some convoluted rule to 「Holy Diver's」ability that Johan hasn't told anyone about?
Her thoughts are interrupted by Recovery Girl angrily ranting.
"I keep telling them to stop overstating how important the Sports Festival is!" Grumbles the old Pro Hero after kissing them both to bestow the effect of her healing Quirk. For emphasis, she points at the beds occupied by the heavily bandaged Midoriya and Todoroki. "It is bad enough that these two have gotten it into their heads that it is perfectly fine to break themselves and each other over a school sports festival, now the number of people who go too far have doubled!"
"I asked him to not hold anything back." Protests Momo from her bed.
In response Recovery Girl pokes her in the cheek with her cane. "Young lady, a medal and some attention are not worth you children inflicting possibly permanent damage onto each other." She scolds sternly before turning her attention to Johan.
"And what about you, young man?"
Johan opens a slitted eye. "My only regret-" A sharp intake of pained breath interrupts his sentence. "-is that I was not able to end the fight sooner. Might not have gotten this hurt then."
Recovery Girl throws her hands up before fetching them some colorful gummies. "Eat up you two. You will need this to heal right."
They accept the nutritious treats eagerly, but halfway through chewing on them Midoriya lets out one of his characteristic questioning noises.
"Johansen-san?"
Johan lifts his head a little to look at him. "Yeah?"
With both his arms in casts, Midoriya has to nod his head towards the phone in Todoroki's hands. "We saw your match on Todoroki-san's phone, but…" He squirms a little, a wounded 「Take On Me」 appearing over his shoulders to emphasize the motion. "Since Stands do not appear on electronics I couldn't get a good look and-"
"You want to know what I did." Johan finishes for him, and Momo cannot help but lean forward. Just what did he do?
Johan shrugs. "It is not that complicated: I counted on Momo guessing that I would come out of the shadow of my jacket while taking steps to eliminate her own, so I targeted her shadow instead. When she made that flashlight it destroyed my exit and I was pulled towards the jacket shadow, but I made my 「Holy Diver not open the exit for me」. While I was stuck in that shadow I manifested 「Holy Diver」 on the outside where it destroyed the flashlight, so when the jacket hit the ground I was pulled back into Momo's shadow. After that I was just getting pulled along in Momo's shadow while my 「Holy Diver」 was beating her up."
He shrugs again. "Like I said: Nothing complicated."
Nothing but disbelieving stares meet him. 'Nothing complicated', her ass!
"What about your injuries?"
It is Todoroki that spoke, the half-and-half boy casting a meaningful look at Johan's torso. "You didn't take any hits, so…" He trails off, looking at Johan expectantly.
Johan follows his gaze. "Ah. That. See, there is a reason that I do not use this trick more often, beyond the fact that it only works in conditions just like this one: Staying on the other side like I did subjects me to immense pressure, like I am diving a hundred meters below the surface of the ocean with no protection." He explains with a grimace, his cat ears laying themselves flat atop his head. "Since this is not something I can train, and trust me, I have tried, I only use this trick when I absolutely have to."
Momo's eyes widen as she realizes what he just said. "Like when I asked?"
"Like when you asked." He answers without hesitating.
Midoriya bombards Johan with questions while Momo ponders the fight. Everything happened so fast…
Eventually Todoroki is deemed fit to be released, and Midoriya runs out of questions and has his attention grabbed by the stream of the soon to begin match between Uraraka and Asui. The green-haired boy's arms have healed enough for him to use how own phone this time, a fact he must be thankful for.
"Psst."
Momo turns towards Johan's bed, where the catboy meets her eyes.
"Can you make a notebook and a pen?" He whispers. "I feel I need to tell you something. Just you."
She swallows and does as he asks. He manifests 「Holy Diver」 to take them from her, and then he pulls the bedsheet over his head. From underneath his white cover he scribbles something in the notebook before he reemerges and uses his Stand to pass it back to her.
A page is earmarked, so she opens it-
"While hidden, Momo."
Momo rolls her eyes. Just what is he afraid of?
Still, she obeys and pulls the sheet over her head before she opens the notebook on the earmarked page.
I was lying when I told you about what I did during our match. My 「Holy Diver's」 ability is something completely different than what I have told you.
Momo has to stop herself from giggling. He even writes with that odd emphasis that he shares with Class 1-A's Stand Users!
She continues reading:
If you promise to keep it a secret, I will tell you the truth.
-Johan.
Momo lifts the sheet and glances over to where Johan is looking at her. After a moment of consideration, she nods and goes back under.
I promise.
-Momo.
Summoning 「Technologic」, she used it to hand the notebook back to Johan. He goes under his sheet and the sound of a scratching pen begins. It continues for a while before he gives it back.
Alright. Just be aware that I will destroy this notebook when we are done here.
My 「Holy Diver's」ability is called 「The Midnight Sea」. It is 「A Dimension of Darkness」 that I can enter at will when my Stand transforms a shadow into a portal. While on the other side, shadows in the real world appear as 「Windows of Light」 that let me see into the real world.
I can manifest「Holy Diver」 from within the 「Midnight Sea」as long as it is not more than two meters from me, which allows me to use my Stand freely without risking myself. And since I the physical barriers in our world do not exist on the other side I can choose any 「Window of Light」 to be my exit point, granting me mobility and intelligence gathering ability beyond anything I have ever seen.
The only weakness of this ability is that a heavy pressure is constantly subjected to my body if I stray too far from a 「Window of Light」, exponentially increasing the further away I get. It was not what happened during our match, I just made my Stand punch me to break my ribs. Had to make it believable.
-Johan.
Momo reads what Johan wrote, and then she reads it again. After the second reread she closes the notebook and leans back.
That…is immensely more powerful than what Johan has been pretending his Stand ability is up until now. Removing 「Holy Diver's」 weak point (himself), undetectable spying, the ability to bypass any defenses as long as there is a shadow somewhere on the other side…
She goes back under the sheet and writes down a pair of questions.
But what about what you told Aizawa-sensei on the first day?
Also, does the size of the shadow matter?
-Momo.
Johan takes the notebook from her 「Technologic」 without a word, slipping back under the sheet to read it and write a response. When she gets the notebook back the response reads as such:
It was not a complete lie. That was all I could do when I first manifested my 「Holy Diver」. It took me years to fully realize its potential and gain full access to「The Midnight Sea」.
As for your other question, yes. My Stand can 'stretch' shadows to make them bigger when they turn into portals, but this is limited to how dark they are. The darker they are, the more they can be stretched.
-Johan.
Momo snaps the notebook shut after reading Johan's response. Emerging from under the sheet, she gives him a serious look. "I have no further questions." She whispers as she hands him the notebook. "But…"
Johan tilts his head. "Yes?"
"Johan," No honorific, she needs to remember to use those… "Will you keep going? In the tournament, I mean."
[] "I suppose I can, if I must."
++++Velvet.
+Steel.
[] "Maybe. I got what I wanted though, so I am going to half-ass it."
++Velvet.
+++Steel.
-Despair.
[] "Nah. I got what I wanted, so I'll just withdraw from the tournament. Medical reasons and shit."
+++++Steel.
--Despair
***************************************************************************************************************************
Johan Johansen Status
Velvet: 220+30(Decision)
Steel: 310+20(Decision)
Despair: 40-10(Decision)/100
NEW STAND DATA
Johan Johansen's Holy Diver.
Johan Johansen's Holy Diver
Stats:
Destructive Power = A
Speed = A
Range = E
Durability = A
Precision = B
Development Potential = E
Abilities:
-Claws: Much like Johan himself, Holy Diver's fingers can become sharp claws to increase cutting and penetrative power at the cost of Precision.
-The Midnight Sea: Holy Diver can touch shadows to turn them into portals that it and its User can enter. These portals lead to a dimension of darkness called the Midnight Sea. Shadows in the real world appear as windows of light that the User can look through and even use to manifest Holy Diver in the real world while staying in the Midnight Sea. The windows of light can be turned into portals back to the real world. If the User strays too far from a window of light they are subjected to immense pressure.
Appearance:
Except slimmer and more feline-looking
Stats:
Destructive Power = A
Speed = A
Range = E
Durability = A
Precision = B
Development Potential = E
Abilities:
-Claws: Much like Johan himself, Holy Diver's fingers can become sharp claws to increase cutting and penetrative power at the cost of Precision.
-The Midnight Sea: Holy Diver can touch shadows to turn them into portals that it and its User can enter. These portals lead to a dimension of darkness called the Midnight Sea. Shadows in the real world appear as windows of light that the User can look through and even use to manifest Holy Diver in the real world while staying in the Midnight Sea. The windows of light can be turned into portals back to the real world. If the User strays too far from a window of light they are subjected to immense pressure.
Appearance:
Except slimmer and more feline-looking
Last edited:
[x] "Maybe. I got what I wanted though, so I am going to half-ass it."
Holy Diver Stand Data [SPOILERS]
Contains spoilers for events up until the Threadmark The Sports Festival Part 7. If you have not read that far, please consult the Informational Threadmark Stand Data: Class 1-A.
Johan Johansen's Holy Diver.
Johan Johansen's Holy Diver.
Johan Johansen's Holy Diver
Stats:
Destructive Power = A
Speed = A
Range = E
Durability = A
Precision = B
Development Potential = E
Abilities:
-Claws: Much like Johan himself, Holy Diver's fingers can become sharp claws to increase cutting and penetrative power at the cost of Precision.
-The Midnight Sea: Holy Diver can touch shadows to turn them into portals that it and its User can enter. These portals lead to a dimension of darkness called the Midnight Sea. Shadows in the real world appear as windows of light that the User can look through and even use to manifest Holy Diver in the real world while staying in the Midnight Sea. The windows of light can be turned into portals back to the real world. If the User strays too far from a window of light they are subjected to immense pressure.
Appearance:
Except slimmer and more feline-looking
Stats:
Destructive Power = A
Speed = A
Range = E
Durability = A
Precision = B
Development Potential = E
Abilities:
-Claws: Much like Johan himself, Holy Diver's fingers can become sharp claws to increase cutting and penetrative power at the cost of Precision.
-The Midnight Sea: Holy Diver can touch shadows to turn them into portals that it and its User can enter. These portals lead to a dimension of darkness called the Midnight Sea. Shadows in the real world appear as windows of light that the User can look through and even use to manifest Holy Diver in the real world while staying in the Midnight Sea. The windows of light can be turned into portals back to the real world. If the User strays too far from a window of light they are subjected to immense pressure.
Appearance:
Except slimmer and more feline-looking
Last edited:
