Chapter 54: Cavalry Battle (Part 5)
The situation on the field had changed dramatically. A corner of the arena was now completely covered in ice. Massive blocks of ice had been intentionally arranged to form a circular coliseum.
Outside this ice coliseum, several teams were trapped, their 'horse's legs' frozen to the ground, unable to move.
To create an environment that would corner Team Midoriya, Team Todoroki had executed a flawless plan. First, Kaminari had let out an indiscriminate electrical discharge, paralyzing all nearby opponents. Momo had then created an insulating sheet and a lightning rod to protect their own team from harm. Finally, Todoroki had unleashed a wave of ice that was impossible for the stunned teams to avoid. They had frozen several teams in place, cornered Team Midoriya, and snatched a few headbands in the process.
The crowd roared for Team Todoroki's brilliant coordination. Many of the Pro Heroes in attendance had already begun to inquire about the other members of Todoroki's team, hoping to recruit them for their agencies.
Momo Yaoyorozu, Denki Kaminari, Shoto Todoroki, and Tenya Iida had become the brightest stars on the field. Even Present Mic began to speculate on how many minutes Midoriya could last against Todoroki.
But in a place no one was paying attention to...
"Thank goodness we have Shiozaki-san. Otherwise, we would have been in real trouble..." Toru Hagakure said, still shaken. She ignored the pathetic looks from the frozen students and happily began to snatch up the headbands that Team Todoroki had left behind.
Kira had sensed something was wrong when Momo had started creating the insulating sheet. He had Ibara create a vine shield in front of them just in time to block Kaminari's lightning. With Kira's warning, the team had then easily dodged the ice that followed. Because Todoroki was so focused on Midoriya's ten million points, he had only bothered to take the points from the teams directly in his path. And so...
"Heehee, you there, the tin man from Class B! Remember what I said before?" Toru Hagakure said, looking mischievously at the frozen Team Tetsutetsu.
The two teams that had clashed at the beginning had finally run into each other again in the latter half of the match. One side had no room to run, and the other was taking the opportunity to plunder, with no intention of letting this juicy piece of meat escape.
"A true gentleman doesn't take advantage of others' predicament! What kind of manliness is this!?" Tetsutetsu's hands were free, but he couldn't jump off his 'horse' to attack Hagakure. He could only watch as she taunted him.
"You think a real man doesn't take a good opportunity and insists on a fistfight instead? What kind of twisted logic is that?" Kira rolled his eyes. "Besides, our team is all girls, except for me."
"You really think you've got us...?" Tetsutetsu said through gritted teeth. "Honenuki, it's up to you!" After saying this, he bent down and began to desperately hammer at the ice on his 'horse's legs' with his bare hands.
Although Juzo Honenuki didn't want to face Kira, the arrow was already on the bowstring. Steeling himself, he unleashed his "Softening" Quirk, turning the ground beneath Kira's team to mush.
The ground under them became like a swamp, and their legs began to sink. It was now a race against time: would Tetsutetsu break the ice first, or would Kira's team escape the swamp?
However, while Tetsutetsu's team was panicking, Team Kira seemed completely unconcerned about their sinking feet. Kira suddenly said to Hagakure, "The other teams didn't want you to hurt them, so you couldn't use your weapon. But this guy in front of you seems pretty tough. A few knocks here and there should be fine, right?"
"Hehe, Kira, that's exactly what I was thinking!" Hagakure took aim at Tetsutetsu, swinging the horn-flail with a mighty whoosh. "Eat this, tin man!" she yelled.
The horn at the end of the vine accurately struck Tetsutetsu on the neck. The sharp tip and the vine formed a perfect loop, locking tightly around his throat.
Hagakure pulled with all her might, but not only did she fail to move Tetsutetsu, she was almost pulled over herself.
"Be careful..." Kira said, exasperated, tightening his grip on her small, invisible foot.
"No good! This guy is too strong!" Hagakure's invisible face was beet red with effort, but she couldn't budge him.
Tetsutetsu stopped hammering the ice and stood up, annoyed, pulling on the vine. "Hey, invisible girl! Are you trying to commit suicide!?"
Tetsutetsu yanked on the vine with both hands. He couldn't move, but if he could just pull her over, he could snatch the multiple headbands from her head and guarantee his spot in the finals.
A slight curve appeared on Kira's lips. "That's enough, Hagakure. Let go."
Hagakure reflexively released her grip. The horn at the other end of the vine shot toward Tetsutetsu at high speed. He couldn't dodge in time, and one of the tips stabbed him right in the nose.
"Gah! That hurts! Invisible girl, why'd you let go!?" Tetsutetsu dropped the horn and clutched his nose, screaming. Although his body was metal, he could still feel pain, especially in a sensitive spot like his nose.
"Eh!? I'm so sorry...!" Hagakure was startled. She had let go, but she hadn't intended to hurt him. "It was Kira who told me to..."
"YOSHIKAGE KIRA, YOU BASTARD! YOU PLANNED THIS FROM THE START, DIDN'T YOU!?" Tears streamed from Tetsutetsu's eyes. Suddenly, he touched his forehead. His mind went blank.
His headband... at some point, it had disappeared.
In the air, a pair of earphone jacks, carrying a white headband, flew lazily through the air and dropped it in front of Toru Hagakure. She caught it reflexively.
On the ground, the sinking feet of Kira's team suddenly found solid purchase. Supported by a newly-risen platform of vines, they slowly rose up, took a step to the right, and were back on solid ground.
Tetsutetsu stared at this scene, dumbfounded. It suddenly dawned on him. "Yoshikage Kira, you set me up!" he roared in frustration. "You had this dumb invisible girl attack me as a feint, but you had a backup plan all along, didn't you!?"
"The one who calls others dumb is the real dummy, you big steel dummy!" Hagakure shot back, annoyed at being called dumb. She then turned a resentful gaze on Kira. "Kira-kun, were you just using me as bait...?"
"Ahem..." Although he couldn't see her, Kira could feel a ghostly, resentful glare stabbing him in the back. He tried to remain calm. "No, of course not. I always had a backup plan, but I truly had high hopes for you..."
"So that means I'm still not strong enough..." Hagakure muttered, but she quickly recovered, pumping her fist in the air. "I'm going to get stronger!"
Kira breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, that worked.
Hagakure, so easy to fool...
Jiro silently turned away, unable to bear watching Hagakure's excited face. Could she be the one to tell her that from the very beginning, Yoshikage Kira had never placed any hope in her at all?
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