Chapter 53: Cavalry Battle (Part 4)
It actually worked...
Yoshikage Kira's expression was calm, but inside, he was suppressing a wave of shock.
While he knew that Hamon could strengthen plants, allowing an ordinary vine to resist being easily torn, he could feel that the amplification effect was much greater when applied to Ibara's vines. It had made them grow to be as thick and strong as pythons.
"I can't believe it worked..." Ibara's face also showed surprise. She knew her own Quirk inside and out, and she had assumed that even if Kira's boost was useful, it would be a mere drop in the bucket...
"Nice work."
Kira smiled at her, then looked at the immobilized Pony Tsunotori trapped in the vines. "Time to collect our spoils."
Pony watched as Kira's team approached, instantly on guard. "What do you want!? Don't think you can bully me just because I can't move!"
"So you can speak Japanese..." Kira was a little surprised. Although her accent was a bit strange, he could still understand her.
"If I couldn't speak Japanese, how would I communicate in class? You expect everyone to pass the TOEFL?" When Pony spoke Japanese, she sounded less like a young girl and more like a jaded old man. She began to mock Kira. "Is your observation that weak? Didn't you notice my Japanese family name? You really thought I was born and raised in America?"
Although Pony looked like a beautiful young girl, the moment she started talking, it was easy to see her unfortunate personality. She was just like... Neito Monoma. She looked fine on the surface, but her words could easily provoke a person's anger.
She's just a kid. I shouldn't lower myself to her level... Kira comforted himself. He spoke to the invisible rider on his shoulders. "Hagakure, take her headband."
Although Kira's own hands were free, according to the rules, only the rider could take the headband.
Before Kira had even spoken, he could feel Hagakure rubbing her thighs against his hair, apparently stimulated.
"Oh! Okay!" At Kira's reminder, Hagakure snapped out of her daze. She bent down, her own headband dipping as her invisible face came within a meter of Pony's.
"Now's my chance!" Pony's eyes sharpened instantly. The two horns on her head launched like cannonballs, shooting straight for Hagakure's headband.
She couldn't see Hagakure's body, but the brightly colored headband dangling in front of her was an irresistible target. Could you imagine a bull seeing a red cloth waved in front of it and not charging?
If such a bull existed, it must have been raised on a diet of ancient philosophy. But she, Pony Tsunotori, was not that bull.
However, her horn-cannon attack, filled with all her hopes, was intercepted in mid-air by Ibara's vines, which wrapped around them tightly.
Pony's expression changed. She turned her head to the side and started whistling. "I don't know why, but my horns just flew off on their own..."
Kira's brow furrowed. He could ignore her words, but her horns had been aimed directly at Hagakure's head. If they hadn't been intercepted, Hagakure might have been injured...
"Shiozaki-san! Are you out there? We surrender! Please let us out!" At that moment, a weak voice came from inside the ball of vines.
Surprisingly, Pony shouted indignantly at her own teammates, "Shut up! We haven't even used all our strength yet! How can you talk about giving up!? Is that what students from Class 1-B are supposed to say!?"
"But we can barely breathe in here..." the voice from inside grew fainter. "And your butt is sitting on Komori's face! The poor girl already passed out..."
Pony's face instantly turned bright red. She looked at Ibara with pleading, teary eyes. "You see how pitiful we are? For the sake of being classmates, please let us out. We promise we won't target you for the rest of this match."
Ibara was the one controlling the vines. In Pony's mind, if she could just convince her, they would be set free. There was still half the time left; they still had a chance to steal other teams' headbands and qualify.
"Kira?" Ibara looked to Kira for a decision. In her heart, she was just doing a job for money. The real boss was her employer.
Ten thousand yen... how many new types of flowers could I buy with that? I should go check out the flower market after the Sports Festival...
By now, Hagakure had already taken the headband from Pony's head and tied it around her own neck, which at least gave a rough indication of where her head was. She said with a giggle, "Kira, let's go find someone else!"
Kira sighed. They were still in the middle of a competition; he couldn't afford to waste too much time on them. And it didn't seem like Hagakure had any intention of getting revenge on Pony, so it wouldn't be right for him to overstep.
"Ibara, let them out. But tie them up with vines first, just in case this one tries to ambush us again." Kira shot Pony a cool glance. She offered an awkward but polite smile in return.
Ibara silently nodded.
Kira shrugged his shoulders, letting Hagakure slide off his back and land neatly in Jiro's outstretched arms.
As they reformed their 'horse,' Hagakure complained, "Kira, can't you be a little more gentle? No girl is going to like you if you're like that!"
She didn't get angry when she was almost impaled, but she's mad about me being a little rough? Girls are so weird...
As he was thinking this, Kira directed their team and began to run towards the main crowd. They were now in the second half of the match. Kira glanced at the scoreboard on the large screen. His team was in fourth place, a very precarious position. There was no point in conserving their strength anymore; they had to get more points.
Watching their retreating backs, Pony Tsunotori, now tied up back-to-back with her three teammates, let out a sly laugh. You think tying us up is enough to stop us? Don't forget, I have my "Horn Cannon," which I can control at will! Cutting through these vines will be a piece of cake!
However, when Pony tried to control her horns, she froze.
Her horns were still bound tightly in Ibara's vines. And they were getting further and further away, almost out of her control range.
She's so unassuming in class, always just sitting by the window and staring outside. But as an enemy, she's absolutely terrifying!
Unbeknownst to Ibara, she had just become an unforgettable shadow in a certain young girl's heart.
Underneath the two floating headbands, a single vine now dangled in the air. Tied to the ends of the vine were two sharp horns.
At this moment, Hagakure was holding one end in each hand, swinging the vine around like a meteor hammer. She let out a loud laugh. "Kira! I just discovered this thing is really fun to use! Now our team has another long-range attack!"
Riding on Kira's back, Hagakure felt like a lone cowgirl hunting with a lasso. If only she had a hat, it would be perfect.
"Hey, hey, aren't those her Quirk? Is it really okay for us to just take them...?" Kyoka Jiro said with a helpless sigh.
"Pony Tsunotori... I have a feeling she was planning something. To keep her from interfering with us, this was the only way," Kira said nonchalantly. "We can just take her horns for now and give them back after the match is over, right?"
Actually, Kira had just forgotten to tell Ibara to give the horns back. But Ibara had silently kept them wrapped in her hair.
And so, Kira had had a flash of inspiration and decided to recycle the "waste." He'd had Ibara make a simple, handy weapon for Toru Hagakure. And from the looks of it, it was working out quite well.
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 400 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you!