Jett struck the bag 1, 2, 3. He arched his leg back, tracing the delicately balanced path as he had practiced countless times before. He wheeled his leg behind him, and planted it; then kicked out with his other foot, striking the bag with three quick roundhouse shots. The sound struck the walls of the preparation room and echoed off the floors.

“Attention, please return to your seats for the next match.” The intercom sounded.

Jett wiped the sweat from his brow, and put on his school uniform jacket. Making his way down the halls, he contemplated once more how the day would go.

The route to the top seemed fairly certain. This Class B’er was his first obstacle, but he paid her no mind. The students from the other class didn't know the specifics of his quirk, and therefore would just be caught off guard and be countered into submission. He was more concerned with the threat his own classmates posed.

Just before the final corridor to the platform, he noticed a TV screen on the wall. The bracket was fully displayed there, with the current victories. Jett raised his eyebrows. Colbie’s victory was a 50/50 flip; it just depended on which of those two brutes was more clever. Switch won the second match, most likely by a cheap trick. Jett had contingencies for that if he had to face it. He grunted at Ken’s victory; despite Evan seeming capable, the power of Ken’s quirk was most likely overwhelming to him. Part of him wished he had watched the fight, simply to see how Ken had managed to go about beating him. And then the first Class B victory, the girl Veronika seemed to stare down Jett from the pixelated screen. Jett already felt that she was their leader; sadly, it seemed the rest of her class could not keep up with her. 

The next 2 in the bracket was himself, and the odd girl from class B - Andressa, apparently. Jett snorted, and kept on his walk. From what he saw, she just tagged behind the leader, probably in an attempt to make up for her own lack of strength. 

He would get it over with quickly. 

---

“Please folks, don't let that last explosive matchup think we're done! Next up, comes another Class A and Class B pairing!”

Jett broke into the sunlight, and walked to the top of the platform.

“Fighting out of the right corner, he's the blue bruiser from the Lapis district itself! In through recommendation, this fighter is renowned for his non-quirk based combat ability! Introducing, the one and only, Jett Joon-Ki!!”

“And now, strolling elegantly to the battle platform, here comes the fighter from Class B! She's sharp, folks, in more ways than one, and she's just about ready to show you what her quirk can really do! A warm welcome to Andressa Silva!”

Jett readied his hands. Andressa’s green eyes gave nothing away, but he still felt them trained on him with predatory intent. She smirked at him, and suddenly, Jett wondered if he was too quick to write this girl off. 

“Begin!”

In his thoughts, Jett missed some critical moments. If she was fast, she could be on him at any moment. He braced to charge forward, but; Andressa had not moved. In fact, she was calmly removing her UAI jacket, revealing thin insectoid arms with only 3 fingers each. 

“Don't mind me.” She started calmly, as if they were in the school hallway. She swung her hips to the side as she removed the jacket and held it out like holding a puppy by the scruff. 

“I was just getting a bit warm”. She was curvaceous but muscular, sporting a thin undershirt, but Jett could only focus on her arms, which were obviously the manifestation of her quirk. Each elbow had a notable spike protruding from it, but from this distance it was hard to make out what it was. 

“You know, we’ve been studying up on all of you from Class A.” She bent her knees and held her arms out, and the blades on her arms unfolded fully. Like mantis claws, they almost doubled the length of each arm, slotting into the space between her fingers. “But I’ve been watching you the most, Jett.” 

Jett stepped back slightly, trying to get a read on her. She wasn't threatening, or stalling. Was she... playing? The thought bubbled up in his head. 

“You see, Jett, you and I are alike.” she mouthed flirtatiously. “We both have secondary purposes for this tournament…”

In a flash, Andressa shot forward. Zigzagging towards Jett. He regained his composure just fast enough to avoid a wide uppercut slash to his head. White hairs fell from where she had clipped his bun. Using the momentum of his dodge, he spun on his leg, wheeling his body round into a fierce back-kick to Andressas jaw, halting her next attack.

She staggered back, and Jett deftly removed his arm bracer. He slung substance at her feet, gluing her to the spot, and circled behind her. Despite the crowd's cheer, Jett was wary. 

“Wow..” Andressa remarked, looking over her shoulder with flirty eyes. Her cheek was bruised from Jett’s kick, but if she was in pain, she didn't show it. “You're quite... messy.”

Jett cringed but took a step forward- choosing to give no other response- but Andressa’s razor sharp arms flashed. She somehow dove forwards, rolling into jetts corner, and turning to face him with catlike agility. Jett’s substance clung to scraps of what used to be shoes; his foe now faced him down once more, barefoot. Jett refocused himself; this thin Class B girl wasn't a lackey at all. She was an experienced fighter, and she could take a punch.

As if reading his mind, Andressa straightened. “Where I come from, life is not as easy as it is here. Anything you have can be taken, and anything you take - must be done with violence.” Her voice was sweet, as if she was telling a sad story, or commenting on the beauty of nature. “Of course, you and I know that this life is just the same, but in different clothes.”

“You talk a lot during fights.” Jett scowled. Her playful attitude annoyed him. 

“Didn't I say I had a secondary purpose to this fight, Luta?” She giggled. “I just wanted to talk to you, in the way people like us are most comfortable talking.”

Jett rushed forward. He removed his arm guard again, and volleyed two more shots at high velocity. She would have to dodge them, and whichever way she dived, he would close the distance with his kicking ability. Judging by the last hit, she didn't pay attention to his feet; and she was gonna pay for it. 

Instead, Andressa ran at him, slicing the two shots as if they were butter. Caught off guard, Jett blocked as she stabbed at his face with both of her blades. They sunk into his forearms, and remembering how effortlessly she had cut through even his hardened substance, quickly spun them out as the knife edges pierced them completely.

Now Andressa’s fingers curled around Jett’s forearms, holding them tightly. She stepped in, closing the distance between herself and Jett until their faces were mere centimeters away. 

“It's like we’re dancing.” she smiled.

Jett glared back at her - what was her deal? She was faster than him, and now she had moved in so close, even kicking would be difficult. “What the hell do you want from me?”

Andressa’s iridescent eyes sparkled. “Don't you realize we're the same?”

“You don’t fucking know me.”

“Oh no? Look at all them” Andressa nodded towards the crowds, and the cameras trying in vain to hear what the combatants were saying. “You and I know they’re not real fighters. Most of them, at least. They talk about their success and what they’ve “achieved”, but they can't even see that from birth their entire success was being spoon fed to them. They live in a temple atop a high mountain; then pride themselves for building a pile of dirt.” Andressa’s tone changed. “But not us. We started from square one, right? I can see it in your eyes.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” A few more seconds..

“You think we all can't see? You think we're all blind to that humming machine on you? Your quirk isn't strong, in fact, I bet it even holds you back.“ Jett reeled in silence.

“But you still deserve to be here. YOU are strong, despite the hand given to you. You’ve worked for years just to get to the point where others start, right? So have I. And so has Veronika. That's why I follow her. And that's why I'm interested in you. You know the single rule about life, the one true idea that only people like us could know; nothing is easy.”

Jett didn't speak. This girl was a bit crazy, but,,, she wasn't wrong- in some regards. In fact, she articulated almost exactly what Jett felt himself. But he would not admit it. 

Andressa moved in closer. “You're even more handsome from up close…. But anyways, I've said what I wanted to say. Too many words dampens the others, no? Listen, Luta, I think you’re gonna win this fight. But I'm not gonna stop trying, or make it easy, because that's what we are. Fighters. Plus, I dont think you’ve gotten what you came here for, right?” her insectoid eyes sparkled again. “You're only gonna get that by winning this tournament, no?”

Jett finally ripped his arms away. While Andressa talked, he was slowly pulling his arms from her blades, and now they were free. Seizing the opportunity, Jett ducked and spun, placing both arms on the ground behind him. He chambered his legs and donkey kicked, aiming for her center of mass to wind her. But as he fired the attack, he saw he was kicking air. She's so fast. His mind raced. If not there, then that means she’s ….

Jett quickly tucked in his legs, rolled backwards, jumped to his feet and…

Andressa rushed past Jett, faster than any of her previous lunges. Her claw struck him in the chest, and blasted clean through.

Jett found he couldn't breathe; but then he could. He glanced down, and noticed his UAI uniform - and the alitus suit underneath - had been completely cut through. A seam was closing on his skin, thin, foreboding.

Stunned, he glanced back at Andressa, who caught his eye.

“Ah” she smiled, winking. “I guessed that wouldn't kill you.” 

For a moment, nobody moved. It seemed as if the stadium was set on pause, leaving Jett to his own thoughts. She had cut through the suit, but did not strike any of the vibrating plates. She also must have missed his internal organs, as they too were caged in a vibrating steel mesh for ensuring their reliability. Did she miss those on purpose? Judging by her character, he honestly couldn't tell.

Why wasn't she moving? Perhaps they all were waiting to see if he was ok. The thought made his head boil. 

He jumped forward, cartwheeling off his hands and springing off his legs, putting distance between himself and Andressa. He fell into a deep martial stance, and the crowd finally cheered out, relieved. Jett grit his teeth and ignored them. 

Andressa snorted and turned, rushing back to him in her zig-zag pattern. Jett knew he wouldn't be able to keep track of her arms, but he knew where she would strike again. He feigned a punch, and as he saw the blur of a claw reach out to slice him through the midsection again, he tucked in his arms to his chest, plates out.

The claw collided, and bounced harmlessly off of the reinforced steel. Andressa’s eyes widened. Jett struck out with his fist, and Andressa raised her hands to defend her face. Perfect, Jett thought. He swung his fist downwards, spinning round again with a wheel kick. Deftly, he yanked at the wires connecting his stomach plates to his leg-plates; they disengaged halfway through his kick. Jett’s body rotated, but the substance trailed behind in the air, his kicking leg disintegrating into fluid. As he completed his motion, he plunged the magnetized wires back into their socket; his leg-panel’s reengaged, and his leg whipped round at incredible speed, catching both of Andressa’s hands in the substance. Jett slammed his foot to the ground, yanking Andressa’s hands with it, and she fell to her knees. He pulled back his leg just as the vibration plates reached full power, leaving him free, but Andressa pinned to the floor in the remaining substance. He quickly snapped off his arm plate and stabbed it into the substance, making the substance trapping her hands as hard as rock, while Jett’s own arm began to leak to the ground.

Andressa let out a surprised cry, and Jett circled around her, kicking out her legs. He planted his knee in her back, and held down her shoulders. “It's over” he snarled. “You're trapped.”

Andressa vainly tried to shift her arms, but they couldn't move. She turned her face to him, grinning. “Yes. I am.”

“Andressa has been pinned and is unable to fight!” The announcer boomed. “Jett Joon-Ki is the winner!”

----

Jett and Andressa didn't say much as they departed the Platform. As Jett breached into the hallway, glanced over his shoulder, staring at the camera that was watching him go. 

I dont think youve gotten what you came here for, right?

You're only gonna get that by winning this tournament, no?

Jett turned away, and made his way to the preparation room.