[Jouma Joukou]

Ah, the crowd here today was something he could keep getting used to! The love, the attention...it was almost intoxicating. But none of that meant anything if he couldn't pull off grandiose feats of strength!

In a manner, he felt a little insulted. His opponent today was someone who didn't have any kind of quirk, which was sorely disappointing. He wanted this to be a flashy match, dammit! But, in lieu of Freja lacking any kind of pizazz, he'd have to make up for it. "It's almost unfair that they paired you up against someone with immaculate talent," he says, giving the crowd a show before things started. "Don't worry, though! I'll be sure to put on a dazzling display that'll garner you attention as well! Prepare yourself!"

The moment the match began Jouma punched downwards, in between two tiles. What Freja probably didn't see was him using his quirk; he couldn't make extensive or complex constructs, not like a certain carrot-haired upperclassman. But what he could do was loosen the bonds of items just enough to create new and exciting ways to fight. Like now! He flipped the tile up at amazing speed, sending the object end over end at Freja. A dark-red substance would begin to form around him, not much but it would be a start once things really got going!

Freja Helt

[Freja Helt]

Freja didn't look nearly as confident or comfortable being the center of attention as her opponent, but she didn't exactly feel like an underdog either. Maybe she was at the start of her year, but despite being quirkless she had fought, survived and even beaten some villains. She was set to move up to her second year soon too, so what did she really stand to gain from the Sports Festival? She had been asking herself that over and over again in the week leading up to the event. Spotlight? Fame? She didn't want any of that, she hardly knew who she even was.

Everything had changed after her visit to Denmark, it felt like her whole sense of self had shattered into a million pieces and she was still there putting herself back together. She held her bat tightly, was she really getting nervous heading into a match with another student? It wasn't like they were going to kill each other. Jouma speaking finally brought her back to her senses, giving him a confused look. ''...Who are you?'' She didn't mean to be rude, but if this man really possessed 'immaculate talent' she wasn't sure why she didn't at least recognize him. ''O-Okay um, good luck to you too!'' She lifted her bat up and got ready for whatever he could throw at her. Fireballs? Knives? She knew nothing about his power and didn't know how disadvantaged she was, but he kept going on about talent and display so she expected something flashy.

Of all the things, she didn't expect him to punch down, an action which made her hesitate to close the gap between them. Something she could count herself lucky for when the tile came flying up from the ground like it was made of paper. She let out a yelp as she dodged the frighteningly fast tile. They weren't supposed to kill each other right?? Spotting the dark-red substance she chose to keep her distance and instead take aim, aiming the end of her bat at Jouma before pressing fire, shooting a grappling hook towards him trying to land a blow on him and knock him backwards.

Jouma Joukou

[Jouma Joukou]

Jouma let out a laugh, striking a pose as he put to fingers against the ground. "Oh? Isn't it obvious!" Another tile on the ground would vanish, turning into that same energy as he held up his other hand, an axe beginning to form. "I am THE DEVIL!" With a might roar he swung down at the grappling hook, diverting it off course and forcing it to sail off to his right. A broad smile crossed his face, a few thoughts crossing through his head. A part of him didn't have any qualms disassembling her gear, but that still small voice told him that it was very ungentlemanly to take away a woman's only means of survival. As such he'd just have to overpower her with his overwhelming might!

He pushed off the ground, charging at her with weapon in hand. He was obviously going to hold back enough to not do serious harm to her (he did make an axe, so he might have to revisit that later), but he needed to probe her defenses. She was a second year, right? How exactly did that come to be? Was she manlier than he was, and just wasn't showing it? He needed to know! And so he would begin to swing wildly at her, attempting to force her back with all his might!

Freja Helt

[Freja Helt]

''D-Devil?!'' She had imagined the devil would be a lot more evil-looking. She winced when he diverted her grappling hook, quickly reeling it in as soon as she had missed. Still, the fact that he had time to laugh and strike poses while they were fighting was a bit intimidating. If he was fast enough to counter her grapple shots despite her having the element of surprise would she even be able to beat him? She couldn't help but be confused when he closed the gap, having expected that someone like him with a construct quirk would keep his distance rather than come up close. Maybe he was a formidable CQC fighter too? Or he simply didn't know anything about her.

Maybe that worked in her favor.

Still playing it carefully, she avoided a couple of his wild swings until she realized she had never fought a fighting style like this before, or he was simply swinging wildly. With a trained precision, she brought her bat up to deflect one of the swings and try to counterattack, swinging for his midsection in an attempt to knock him off balance. ''An axe?! Are you trying to kill me?'' Her voice trembled a bit, the fact that Jouma was holding back entirely lost on her in the heat of the moment due to his choice of weapon. Although maybe she had spoken too soon, her weapon wasn't exactly harmless either. ''Oop-'' Right after swinging her bat at him, hit or miss, she felt her foot slip from a small error, which didn't quite send her falling, but it did make her stagger.

Jouma Joukou

[Jouma Joukou]

The fight had barely begun, but Jouma was already having fun! He wasn't expecting his opponent to be this defensive, but all the better as he couldn't remember how much of an edge he gave this axe exactly. No matter!

Her counterattack did force him back, the edge of the bat clipping his finger (and boy did it hurt!), and as she staggered he raised his axe...but right. This would do irreparable harm to her. And he couldn't have that! This was a friendly bout between peers, and as a man it would break all kinds of codes to do that. So instead he reached out to take her by the shirt and hoist her up, bringing her around in an arc in order to slam her into the ground. "Your vigor, your energy! It is awe inspiring! Show me more!" Depending on how Freja cushioned her fall, Jouma would aim a kick while she was down in order to eject her from the ring. Despite his overwhelming strength, he was predictable, fallible, and seeing as he was trying to win the cheap way he was trying to goad some hidden demon lurking within Freja.

Freja Helt

[Freja Helt]

She knew she was in trouble the second he grabbed her shirt, but she'd be damned if she let this cocky bastard win without a fight! Doing something unexpected she chose to let go of her bat and as she was lifted up she raised her arms, slipping out of her shirt entirely leaving her in her undershirt and bra. ''I-I'm sorry!'' She scooped her bat back up and aimed a swing at his midsection, trying her best not to use her superhuman blunt weapon fighting technique to hurt him too badly.

''I barely know you.'' She panted, it felt weird to fight someone she barely knew when she had become such a social butterfly here at the school. She couldn't help but wonder if his dramatic act was just that, an act for the masses or if that was truly who he was. ''Why do you want to become a hero?'' Whatever his answer was, what would that say about him, the Jouma underneath the dramatic hero persona? In short, was he someone with good intentions like Farrin and Jun, or was he an asshole she wouldn't feel bad about potentially hitting out of the ring.

Wait.

He probably didn't know anything about her either. Wasn't it extremely rude of her to ask him first without giving information about herself? She was one person, but had essentially two sets of subconscious, Elias and old Freja and both were working overtime as the one mess of a mind that was current Freja's mind. The train of thought she arrived at was one that was horribly awkward without proper context, but she still blurted it out with a smile. ''I recently realized that I'm a woman!'' A significant moment in her own development and journey, blurted out tactlessly with absolutely zero context.

Jouma Joukou

[Jouma Joukou]

Something wasn't right. Jouma figured Freja was light, but not this light. Looking down at what was in his hand, found that he had hold of her shirt. The next thing he knew he felt a sharp pain in his belly, doubling over for a brief moment. Had he expected that attack he could have just flexed his abs to absorb the impact, but he didn't have the time for it. But what flabbergasted him even more was when he looked down at Freja.

It took him a moment to collect his breath, but once he did he let the axe crumble to dust as he waived the shirt at Freja. "I can plainly see that you are a woman!" he says, throwing the shirt in her direction. "Put that back on! Do you know how awful it looks for a man to disrobe a woman on television like this?! Just because I have an appreciation for the female form does not mean I am some wild animal or a common pervert!" Jouma was, for all intents and purposes, flustered. He was not expecting that kind of move from her, and while he had a level of respect for her quick thinking it still looked like he ripped her shirt off.

"And just so you know, I am the epitome of manliness! And what better to test myself, and show the world what I'm capable of, than to become a hero? That is what motivates me!"

Freja Helt

[Freja Helt]

''H-Huh?'' She glanced down at herself. ''Wait, that's not what I meant!'' She stopped herself as she realized explaining everything to him would probably take up an entire afternoon and that was time they simply didn't have. She would have to live with her embarrassing mistake. Her embarrassing televised mistake as he reminded her. ''B-But that's not what happened at all! It was strategy! I did it to avoid getting hurt!'' She desperately tried to save face, did she really make him look like a common pervert?

''I-It wasn't awkward until you made it awkward!'' She felt her face turn beet red as she shouted back at him, putting her bat down for a moment to slip her shirt back on. He could easily have attacked her while she was doing it, but given his character and their current shouting match she assumed he wouldn't be satisfied with a cheap win like that. ''What you're capable of?'' She had cooled her head a bit after she picked her bat back up. ''Do you have something to prove?'' She hoped her questions weren't annoying to him, but his response genuinely made her think. She was here, becoming a hero originally because it was someone else's dream, but now she did it to try and find herself. Could she prove herself too? Not in manliness, but as her, as the consciousness that called itself Freja?

''Or is it for fame.'' She held up a hand. ''I don't judge either way, we all do this for different reasons- I was just curious..''

Jouma Joukou

[Jouma Joukou]

Taking a breath to collect himself, Jouma set his feet shoulder width apart. "You're a tricky one, I will grant you that," he says, placing his hands on his hips. "And there is only one thing I have to prove: that I am the manliest man to ever man! Now prepare yourself!" He stomped on the ground, his quirk dismantling part of the tiles as the force sent them up. Taking one in either hand he'd throw them one at a time at Freja once she was ready to continue the fight. "You have much to prove yourself, yes? Then show me your spirit! I wish to know everything about my opponent before I beat them! Their drive, their morals, their very will to fight!"

Like before he'd begin to close the gap, though this time he wouldn't have a weapon. Instead, he's swing at Freja with his fists, opting to brute force his way through this fight.

Freja Helt