Chapter 72: The Flaw
Seeing Kira charging at him with a smile on his face, a strange chill ran down Shoto Todoroki's spine. But he paid it no mind. After all, he saw a certain villainous face roaring at Midoriya almost every day; he just assumed this was how Kira was when he got into a combat state.
Besides, compared to the detestable, flame-wreathed face of his father, Kira's was a far cry.
Yoshikage Kira casually pulled another shard of ice from the frozen arena, shaped it into a spear, and threw it at Todoroki without even aiming. But Todoroki's intuition screamed at him: This spear will definitely hit me.
Todoroki's first instinct was to block it with ice, but as his fingers twitched, he suddenly realized his right hand was covered in frost—
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IN THIS MATCH, WE'RE SEEING KIRA'S TRUE STRENGTH! AS EXPECTED OF THE HERO COURSE CLASS PRESIDENT, EVEN SOMEONE AS POWERFUL AS TODOROKI IS BEING DRIVEN ALL OVER THE ARENA!" Present Mic, seeing the displeased glare from Endeavor in the stands, quickly changed his tune. "BUT NOW, TODOROKI HAS ONCE AGAIN UNLEASHED THE FLAMES THAT SHATTERED THE STAGE IN HIS PREVIOUS MATCH! WILL THE FINAL VICTOR BE TODOROKI, WITH HIS DEXTEROUS USE OF ICE AND FIRE, OR KIRA, WHO CONTINUES TO BRING US SURPRISES!? LET'S WAIT AND SEE!"
At that moment, Bakugo was clenching his fists, his face a mask of excitement. "As I thought, that Kira bastard is strong! And that Todoroki bastard is even stronger!"
Kirishima was about to try and comfort him, but then he heard Bakugo continue with a maniacal laugh, "This is the only way! The only way you two are worthy of being killed by me!"
As expected, Kirishima thought, breaking into a cold sweat, this guy is a total battle junkie.
(Whether it was intentional or not, Yoshikage Kira was the only person in class for whom Bakugo had not come up with a nickname.)
Seeing the ice spear closing in, so close he could feel the cold tip pressing against his eyelid, Todoroki instinctively thrust out his left hand. A torrent of fire erupted, like an invincible little fire dragon, and instantly melted the spear Kira had thrown.
So he used his fire after all.
Todoroki wasn't sure what he was feeling right now. It was as if a barrier in his heart had been broken and could no longer be closed. Even the fire that he had resisted for so long now felt natural in his hands, as if it had never left him.
Yoshikage Kira's advance paused for a moment to avoid the brunt of the flames, and then he dashed in from the right to attack Todoroki.
However, Todoroki wasn't limited to shooting flames in front of him, nor was he limited to only using fire. He swung his right arm in an upward arc, and in an instant, a wall of ancient, unmelting ice shot up, stabbing toward Kira.
After forcing Kira back, Todoroki collected himself. "Kira," he said calmly, "you said before that I would be weaker if I used my fire. I don't think so. I accept your wager."
Although Todoroki didn't agree with Endeavor's philosophy, he couldn't deny the power of his own Quirk. It had no weaknesses and could perfectly adapt to any combat situation.
"You still don't get it, do you, Todoroki-kun?" Yoshikage Kira bit his tongue, forcing himself to stay calm. He licked a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth, a crimson tint now coloring his pupils. He smiled and charged at Todoroki again. "The weakness I was talking about... is you."
Todoroki instantly erected an ice wall in front of him, blocking Kira's line of sight. He then quickly created a high platform of ice beneath his feet, allowing him to look down on Kira as he held his left wrist with his right hand and unleashed a torrent of fire.
Kira's expression didn't change. He precisely calculated the timing of Todoroki's attack, rolled out of the way of the flames, and, with his body wreathed in Hamon, charged straight through the heatwave toward Todoroki's platform.
So fast!
Todoroki could clearly see Kira's every move, but whenever he raised his own hand to unleash fire or ice, he always felt a beat too slow. He not only failed to stop Kira's advance, but he also ended up obscuring his own vision.
What's the problem!? I shouldn't have any weaknesses now that I'm using my fire! Seeing that Kira was almost upon him, Todoroki grit his teeth and created a wall of fire in front of him. At the same time, a vertical ice wall shot up from his feet, slicing into the flames like a sharp knife.
Before Todoroki could even breathe a sigh of relief, a golden figure shot out from the flames. A hand, glowing with Hamon, grabbed him by the neck and slammed him onto the ground.
Kira keenly sensed that Todoroki's fingers were still trying to move. He spun the Hamon in his other palm, kneading it into a spiraling sphere, and slammed it into the stone right next to Todoroki's face.
"Hamon Rasengan!"
Stones flew. Several shallow cuts appeared on Todoroki's face. His face twitched as he understood Kira's warning. If he didn't surrender, the next fist would be aimed at his face.
"I surrender."
Present Mic's voice echoed through the stadium. "WHAT AN AMAZING DUEL! THE WINNER IS KIRA! HE IS THE FIRST TO ADVANCE TO THE FINAL ROUND!"
Hearing this, Todoroki, surprisingly, didn't feel much frustration. It was more like a sense of relief. After Kira let go, he rubbed his neck and said coolly, "I admit you won. But can you tell me what I did wrong? I don't think I'm that much weaker than you."
The moment he let go, Kira had turned his back to him. His voice was a little weak but still calm, as if this had just been another standard fight.
"I told you, didn't I? After you started using your fire, your biggest flaw... was yourself." Kira didn't elaborate. He dragged his body toward the exit. A tired voice drifted back to Todoroki. "And remember, you owe me ten thousand yen."
Todoroki stood there, stunned. He suddenly remembered the scene from the combat simulation when Kira had defeated him. He had been the same then, leaving him with just one sentence after his victory.
"The moment you are closest to victory is also the moment you are most vulnerable to defeat."
Suddenly, Todoroki felt the air around him grow hot. A pair of powerful legs appeared before him. He looked up and saw his father, Endeavor, the man he had once hated.
"Do you know why you lost?" Endeavor asked, not waiting for an answer. "Because your mastery of your fire is too crude. You may not have noticed it when you were alternating between ice and fire, but anyone with a bit of experience could see that your transitions were not smooth at all. Your opponent simply seized that opportunity."
"So if I had just used my fire from the beginning, I wouldn't have lost," Todoroki said, his eyes emotionless. "Is that what you're trying to tell me?"
Todoroki had expected an affirmative answer from his unfeeling father. But to his surprise, his father looked at Kira's retreating back and said with a grim expression, "If it were any other opponent, I might say that. But this classmate of yours... he seems to have been tainted by something he shouldn't have touched."
"Something he shouldn't have touched?" Todoroki repeated, surprised. He also turned his gaze toward Kira.
Although the stadium was filled with roaring cheers, when he looked at Kira's back, all he could see was a mess of chaotic black lines. Todoroki suddenly felt a chilling cold, as if he had been plunged into an icy cellar.
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