Chapter 57: Interlude
"Why... Why did you wake up!? I was so close...!" Hitoshi Shinso gripped Kira's collar, his expression twisted as he roared, "Do you have any idea how hard it is for someone like me to get a single chance!?"
"You..."
After a second's pause, clarity returned to Kira's eyes. He thought for a moment and said, "I see. Your Quirk requires the other person to respond to you before you can control them."
Shinso's pupils contracted. He let go of Kira's collar and took two steps back in disbelief. "That's right... So why were you able to wake up so quickly...?"
A moment ago, Shinso, unable to accept his defeat, had goaded Kira into responding, thinking he could control him. But Kira had broken free from his control in an instant, his eyes clear.
"You said you prepared a lot for this competition, but in reality, you were just comforting yourself, weren't you?" Yoshikage Kira brushed off the spot where Shinso had touched him and said slowly, "If you had really put in the effort, your physical stamina wouldn't be so weak that even a girl could easily defeat you. If you only rely on your Quirk, you're bound to slip up one day."
"You were never under my control at all, were you? You were just pretending to be brainwashed to trick me, right?" Shinso said coldly, his composure returning.
"Brainwashing..." Hearing him use that word, Kira looked at Hitoshi Shinso with some surprise. "I originally thought your Quirk was some form of hypnosis. I didn't expect it to be something as domineering as brainwashing..."
Yoshikage Kira took a deep breath. "You're not wrong. I was wary of your Quirk from the very beginning. When I noticed something was off with Hagakure, I realized your Quirk was activated through conversation. I deliberately responded to you to learn about your ability, then pretended to be under your control while waiting for the right moment."
"So I was tricked from the start..." Shinso gave a bitter laugh. "I have no complaints about my loss. But can you tell me why you're not affected by my control?"
Quirk files were all on record at the school. Even if he didn't say anything now, the commentators would give some kind of explanation during the later matches, so Kira saw no reason to hide it. He held out his arm.
"My Quirk is Hamon. It has a special effect that grants me immunity to negative status effects. In gaming terms, it's like I'm immune to petrification, slow, and stun. Your brainwashing Quirk falls into that category."
It was this very property of Hamon that had allowed Yoshikage Kira to block Tomura Shigaraki's Disintegration Quirk. Even though his hand had been on Kira's head, it had had no effect.
I see. It really is a powerful Quirk... Hitoshi Shinso silently watched the electric arcs flickering on Kira's hand, then turned and left without another word.
Shinso clenched his fists tightly. He had failed again, and this time, the loss was absolute...
Jiro, who had been watching from the sidelines, now walked over. "Class Rep, why did you tell him so much?"
Kira turned and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because I feel he's a bit like me?"
"AND NOW, WE'LL BE TAKING A ONE-HOUR LUNCH BREAK! EVERYONE IS FREE TO ENJOY THE DELICIOUS FOOD MADE BY OUR STUDENTS OR HEAD TO THE STUDENT CAFETERIA FOR LUNCH PREPARED BY THE LUNCH RUSH HERO HIMSELF! PLEASE TAKE A SHORT BREAK, AND WE'LL BE BACK THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FINAL ROUND! SEE YOU THEN!"
Hearing Present Mic's voice boom from the loudspeakers, the audience members rose from their seats and began to file out of the stadium in an orderly fashion.
"Class Rep, wait!"
Just as Kira was heading toward the tunnel for contestants and staff, he heard Jiro's voice from behind him.
She had made it to the final round. Jiro should have been happy, but she felt as if her contribution to the match had been far too small. She felt like a freeloader who had just been carried by her team. The entire match had basically been supported by Kira and that green-haired girl from Class 1-B.
And at the end, too... she had no memory of what had happened. One moment, everything was normal, and the next, she saw Hagakure taking off the headbands and Shinso's hand about to grab them. She had wanted to help him, but this time, she had really just been a burden...
"Is something wrong?"
Looking at Kira's warm smile, Jiro suddenly went full-Iida. Her flesh-colored earphone jacks turned a rosy pink. Her face flushed, she bowed deeply to Kira and shouted stiffly, "THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CARRYING A DEADWEIGHT LIKE ME INTO THE FINALS!"
So she just wanted to say thank you. Kira was almost startled...
"Well, there's no need to thank me. We're teammates, aren't we?" Kira, feeling a little uncomfortable with the curious stares from the other students still lingering in the area, scratched his head and tried to change the subject. "By the way, it's lunchtime now. There are a lot of people today. If we're late, we might not get a seat, right?"
Just as Kira was feeling awkward, a hand suddenly tugged on his sleeve. Ibara Shiozaki said earnestly, "I, Ibara Shiozaki, would like my payment."
This was the promise Kira had made before the match: if she teamed up with him, he would give her ten thousand yen.
Although Ibara had originally joined with the expectation of not making it to the finals, the fact that she had was just a pleasant surprise and didn't interfere with their transaction.
It was now time for Ibara to collect her fee.
"I'm wearing my gym uniform right now. I don't have any money on me. Can I pay you after the Sports Festival is over...?"
To this, Ibara decisively shook her head. "I want it now."
It wasn't that she was that obsessed with the money, demanding it from him when she knew he didn't have it on him. Rather, she was worried that in the afternoon matches, Kira might run into her and use the payment as leverage to threaten her into throwing the match.
Ibara had her principles. She wasn't like a typical corporate drone who would do several jobs for one paycheck. Of course, if he offered more money, it wasn't out of the question...
Money? Hearing that word, Kyoka Jiro was just as shocked as Class 1-A had been before. She couldn't help but look at Kira strangely. What kind of problem requires a solution involving money?
Yoshikage Kira noticed Jiro's gaze becoming increasingly odd, while Ibara was still holding out her hand, earnestly demanding payment. He felt a headache coming on.
Kira suddenly spun around, grabbed Ibara's outstretched hand, and started running toward the exit.
Forget it. If she wants the money, I'll just go get it for her.
"Where are you going?" Ibara was a little surprised, but she didn't pull her hand away, simply letting Kira pull her along.
"Since you insist on having the money now, I can only go back to the classroom to get it for you." Kira sounded helpless. He didn't have any money on him, but since he had promised to pay her, he had no choice but to run back to the classroom.
"Is that... the Class Rep?"
Uraraka watched in surprise as Kira ran across the grass, pulling a girl along by the hand. But she quickly dismissed it and turned to Iida excitedly. "Iida-kun, that super-speed move of yours was so cool! I can't believe you were hiding it from us!"
"Actually, it was a move I thought of when we went to rescue Midoriya, after I had separated from you all," Iida said, pushing up his glasses. "My Quirk allows me to freely control my direction and speed, but sometimes, when my target is in a straight line, I feel like I'm not fast enough, like when I was running to get help during the villain attack... That's why I developed a way to trade maneuverability for speed."
Uraraka smiled. "Don't be discouraged! I think your Quirk has a lot of potential, Iida-kun! I'm sure you can get even faster!"
"But I don't have much time, do I?" Iida suddenly clutched his chest, his expression grim. "My chest feels very tight today. It's like something bad is about to happen."
"It's just your imagination! It has to be..." Uraraka said, waving her hands with a smile. "It's like the daily horoscopes I read. It's all just in your head." After saying this, she finally got to the topic she really cared about. "Iida-kun, have you seen Midoriya anywhere?"
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