Chapter 122: Himiko's QuirkAuthor: Geraint
The second match of the first round kicked off with Shoto Todoroki against Hanta Sero. As Sero wrapped his tape around Shoto, hoping to ensnare him and throw him out of bounds, Shoto responded with a massive pillar of ice, completely immobilizing Sero.
"Not even close," Shoto muttered as he freed himself from Sero's entangling tape. Hanta, unable to move, was declared the loser, and Shoto advanced to the second round.
The third match was over in the blink of an eye. Yagi Roboco blasted Kaminari Denki with a repulsor blast from her palm while he was distracted by her cuteness. Ichika, watching from the sideline, clapped rapidly with tears in his eyes, celebrating his "daughter's" victory.
The fourth match pitted Tenya Ida, equipped with Mei Hatsume's support gear, against Mei herself. During the match, Mei took every opportunity to advertise her inventions, causing Tenya to become increasingly frustrated. After ten minutes of cat and mouse, Mei, feeling she'd showcased enough of her gear, walked out of bounds voluntarily, causing Tenya to win the match by default. Ichika watched with a laugh, amused by Mei's antics, and joked to himself that he'd love to try that with his own inventions.
Ichika, now back in his normal form, took his place for the fifth match, which would be against Ashido Mina from Class 1-A. Mina was a striking sight with her light pink skin and bold, black eyes. Ichika sized her up with a focused look.
"As expected, the girl's got a super athletic body," Ichika mumbled to himself, his eyes focusing on her legs.
Mina didn't hear him, but the crowd in the stadium was beginning to boo Ichika, especially the pro heroes in the stands. Mina was nervous, facing someone with actual pro hero experience.
When the match began, Mina immediately released her acidic substance in all directions. Ichika easily dodged the splashes, quickly closing the distance and appearing in front of her.
Before Mina could react, Ichika grinned mischievously and flicked her on the forehead, causing her to stumble backward and fall out of the ring, losing the match.
"Winner, Yagi Ichika!" announced the referee.
BOOOOOOO!!
The crowd continued to boo, but Ichika just shrugged it off. His focus shifted to the next match.
The sixth match was between Yaoyorozu Momo and Fumikage Tokoyami. Ichika couldn't help but smile confidently as he watched the match from the sideline.
"Sorry, Fumikage," Ichika said quietly to himself, "But Momo's a different person now. The result's going to be different."
The match began with Momo charging toward Tokoyami.
"Dark Shadow!" Tokoyami shouted, launching his powerful quirk at Momo.
Momo reacted quickly, sidestepping the shadowy tendrils and creating a round shield on her right wrist. As Dark Shadow's attack collided with the shield, Momo noticed something strange: her shield was absorbing the impact.
That shield is strange! Dark Shadow muttered in surprise.
Momo ducked under another strike, spinning around and throwing the shield toward Tokoyami. He barely managed to avoid it, but the shield bounced back and hit him in the back.
"Ugh!" Tokoyami grunted, falling to his knees.
Momo, using the momentum of her spin, created a bow and arrow in her hand. She aimed carefully, taking advantage of Tokoyami's momentary weakness.
As Tokoyami attempted to protect himself with Dark Shadow, Momo didn't hesitate—she shot the arrow. The arrow struck Dark Shadow, causing a blinding light to burst from the impact.
The audience gasped as they shielded their eyes. The light from the arrow weakened Dark Shadow, and Tokoyami groaned in pain.
Midnight declared the match over, and Momo was crowned the winner.
Ichika beamed with pride. "Precision beats power. Timing beats speed. You've improved a lot, Momo."
The seventh match of the first round was between Toga Himiko and Kirishima Eijiro.
"Fighting a girl is really unmanly, but I have no choice," Kirishima muttered, walking into the ring, unsure of what to expect.
Himiko, meanwhile, was smiling the whole time, seemingly unfazed. As the match began, Kirishima, trying to hold back, noticed something strange about Himiko.
"Huh?" he muttered, his eyes widening.
To the shock of everyone in the stadium, Himiko slowly began to transform, taking on the exact appearance of Ichika.
Kirishima froze, seeing the face of the man who had easily defeated him in their previous hero battle. His instinct kicked in, and he quickly assumed a defensive stance, unsure of what to expect next.
Himiko, now fully in Ichika's form, assumed a boxing stance and launched a high-speed left jab. Kirishima blocked the jab with his hardened arm, but the force behind it still made him stagger.
"She's not as strong as the original Ichika. I can do this!" Kirishima thought, trying to maintain his composure.
He moved in quickly, dodging several jabs from Himiko, and countered with a heavy punch. But Himiko leapt backward, avoiding the punch, and then—she launched herself at him with a fiery right fist.
"Falcon Punch—!"
Her body was engulfed in flames as she aimed for Kirishima, but Ichika was already jumping into the ring with a fire extinguisher in hand.
"Himiko! I told you not to use that move!" Ichika yelled, quickly spraying her with foam to put out the flames.
The fire extinguished, Himiko's disguise melted away into a gray, viscous liquid, revealing her true form.
"Uuuuuu… I'm hungry, Ichika-kun," Himiko whined, her eyes gleaming innocently.
Ichika sighed, picking her up and placing her on his back. "Alright, alright. Let's get you some food in the waiting room."
Meanwhile, Kirishima was declared the winner of the match, though he was left confused by the entire ordeal.
The final match of the first round was between Bakugou Katsuki and Uraraka Ochaco.
Ochaco made the first move, attempting to reach Katsuki, but he quickly responded with an explosion that sent her flying backward. She got up, only to find her jacket lying on the ground—Katsuki had already moved behind her. With his reflexes, he attacked again, blasting her with another explosion.
As the battle raged on, the crowd grew increasingly uncomfortable, with many rebuking Katsuki's harsh tactics. However, Shota Aizawa defended him, explaining that Katsuki's on guard because of his opponent's strength.
Despite the brutal explosions, Ochaco pressed on. She thanked Katsuki for not holding back, as it allowed her to carry out her plan. Using her quirk, she turned the rubble from the explosions into a meteor shower and fired it at Katsuki, hoping to create a distraction.
But Katsuki, ever the expert fighter, unleashed an enormous explosion that obliterated the meteor shower and sent Ochaco crashing to the ground. She tried to rise again, but her wounds took their toll, and she collapsed. Midnight rushed over to check on her and declared her unable to continue, making Katsuki the winner.
With the first round of the battle tournament now complete, the competition moved to the second round.
(To be continued.)(A/N: I'll fix my mistakes later.)