While Dido's body was slumped over on the floor, probably suffering from internal bleeding and a few fractured ribs…
Himiko was smiling cutely while tilting her head to the side. "Who is next, hmm?"
Kyle stifled a laugh.
'I thought they would actually be good practice for her, but it looks like these guys are all talk.' He mused as he sipped on his coffee.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" The second goon barked, his fingers clenched tightly on his bat.
"Don't you dare disrespect the Salamander gang!" He sprinted forward, swinging his bat at Himiko's head, but at the last moment, he let go of it, throwing it instead.
"Ha! Didn't expect that did you—"
Clang!
Himiko caught the bat midair, a metallic ring cutting through the area. Then with a bored look on her face, she flung it back at him.
She did not even apply too much force, and yet as the bat rammed into his head, the goon slumped to the floor.
"Huh? Why didn't he dodge?" Himiko asked, looking genuinely confused.
'How was he supposed to dodge a bat thrown by a vampire?' Kyle shook his head.
'At least she didn't blow up his skull.'
He began considering giving her a lecture on restraint…
Kalak glared at him from where he stood, his teeth grinding with rage and Kyle waved at him with a smile on his face, which only made him angrier.
Then Kalak's eyes moved to his people who were unconscious all around him. "I guess you're not going to be an easy one."
He grabbed his shirt and ripped it off, exposing his muscular frame.
A gigantic salamander tattoo was etched into his skin, starting from his abdomen right up to his neck.
And then he unleashed a violent wave of energy that blew past them, his skin beginning to glow a light blue colour.
"Do you think she'll be okay?" Solvane asked as she watched the fight.
Kyle shrugged. "Win or lose, it will be a good learning opportunity."
There were a lot of plans he was itching to begin now that his group had been assembled, but one problem his vampires had was that they lacked experience.
Even with strength, if you did not know how to use it, it could even be dangerous to yourself.
Having one-on-one, life-or-death battles were just the type of things she needed.
"Your quirk is very pretty, I like it!" Himiko chimed. "What does it do?"
"Like hell I'm going to tell you!" Kalak barked.
Kyle stared at the way the energy flowed around his body.
'It looks like a body enhancement quirk…' he thought, as Kalak suddenly sprinted towards Himiko, drawing his large fist back to deliver a hefty punch.
Whoosh!
The force of the blow sent her hair in spirals as Himiko fell back to avoid his fist.
She darted to the left as another blow nearly took her head off, then spun around to avoid another one, latching on to his arm in the process.
With a smile on her face, she used his own strength to boost herself into the air, and delivered two explosive kicks that sent him crashing into the other side of the room.
Then she landed and heaved a breath as Kalak stood up and shook his head… completely unharmed.
Kalak smirked and cracked his neck. "You hit like a girl."
She frowned slightly. "He's like a large rock."
"And you are like an ant—!" Kalak screamed, his voice strained as he charged, this time even faster.
Himiko lunged as well, both of them meeting with an explosive blow in the middle, wind rushing past them from the force of the impact.
'He's moving even faster now, that means Himiko's earlier attack did more damage than he let on.' Kyle mused.
If not, he wouldn't have been trying to end the fight so early.
The two of them exchanged a couple of blows, then Kalak drove his shoulder into Himiko's gut, sending her into the air.
Before she could even go far, he grabbed her hand, and then his muscles tensed as he launched her to the other side of the room, shattering a number of tables and chairs.
Whoosh!
He lunged, jumping into the air and bringing both fists down at Himiko, who was still rising from the debris.
Bang!
The blow crashed into her guard, the vibration traveling through her bones. There was a little blood from a small cut on her cheek dripping down, and her hair had become undone from the crash.
Kalak was physically trying to overpower her, the veins of his arm and neck popping as he applied more force.
But Himiko was able to match his strength, much to his astonishment.
She frowned as she stared at him, the blood dripping down her face.
"That's no way to treat a woman you know? No wonder you don't have any girls…"
"SHUT UP!" Kalak screamed.
Kyle smirked. "Is she trying to provoke him to make him make a mistake, or is she just being annoying?"
Solvane sighed. "Himiko is naturally annoying, I wonder why she's dragging this fight."
He shrugged. "Sometimes it is better to drag a fight, that way you will gain a lot of experience from the battle—"
Bang!
Kalak's fist cut through the air with a light whistling sound, brushing past Himiko as she darted to the side.
She immediately jumped into the air, using his forearm as a foothold to deliver an explosive kick to his neck.
He nearly fell, his consciousness swaying for a moment.
But Himiko was just getting started.
She snaked her way past his guard, and unleashed a hellish blow to his abdomen causing him to gasp, an uppercut that snapped his head up—and then she spun, using the momentum to swing her forearm, crashing it right into his lower jaw.
Kalak staggered back, creating distance between himself and her.
"Y-you bastard…" he muttered, his breaths heavy. "How are you so freakishly strong?!"
His body was still unharmed, but it was now obvious that tanking those blows affected him in another way.
"Have you maybe thought that you might just be too weak?" She said in a deadpan voice.
"…"
The café was silent, and then…
"Kek—!" Solvane tried to hold back her laughter, just before she gave up on even trying, her full-blown laugh only making the insult feel much worse.
"Solvane, don't laugh, you're going to hurt his feelings, you know?" Kyle said in a mocking tone, just loud enough to be heard by him.
Then he glanced at Kalak and smirked. "How does it feel to lose to a high school girl."
Kalak's face turned beet red from rage, and he tightened his fists at his sides. His energy raged until the point they grew turbulent, the green aura unsettling like fire.
"You fools have embarrassed me for the last time!"
Whoosh!
His energy cut past them as he gritted his teeth. "No one has seen this form and lived."
Himiko pointed at him, grinning wide as she turned to Kyle. "Can I cut him? I can cut him right??"
It would have been better to leave him mostly intact, but Kyle was also curious as to how much damage she could do to someone like him.
Kyle smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
"Yay!" Himiko jumped with glee.
Strips of razor-sharp metal suddenly exploded out of her arms, coiling around themselves to create a drill tip.
It was the same move she had used against him just yesterday. The question now was, his ultimate defence vs Himiko's strongest offensive skill.
Which would win?
Bang!
The two of them collided in a violent flash, the sound of grating metal cutting through the air as miniature sound waves exploded outwards.
Kalak let out a battle scream, his arms pushing back against the drill head.
And then Himiko smiled, multiplying the force of the strike.
Boom!
Crimson liquid spewed out of Kalak's arms, as the drill head penetrated, tearing into his arms and sending him crashing into the opposite wall.
Somehow, he remained standing for a few seconds, before collapsing flat on his face.
Himiko withdrew her metal and smiled, giving Kyle a thumbs up.
Kyle gave her a thumbs up as well, nodding in approval.
She had done an excellent job, her skills, technique and judgement were not as lacking as he expected them to be.
He stood up from the chair and stared at the unconscious men.
"Alright, let's wake them up, we need to make sure they can't remember what happened by the time the police arrive."
With Solvane's help, they managed to wake them up one by one and then Kyle planted false memories into their heads using compulsion.
"You can control people's minds now? Just how many quirks do you even have?" Himiko asked as he put the last man to sleep.
Kyle shrugged. "A lot…"
He pulled out his phone, already cooking up the perfect lie to tell the police, when his phone began to ring.
<
~ Sakura
He answered the phone and placed it on his ear, his eyes widening the moment he heard her broken voice.
"K-Kyle, it's Akiko…" she said in a panicked voice. "Akiko is dying…"
…
[A/N]
Merry Christmasuu!
It's been an amazing year with you guys, thank you for all the love and support so far!
I haven't been the best author, I've made a lot of mistakes I wish I could have fixed, but a special thanks goes out to you all for being with me throughout the journey :)
Thank you, I really appreciate you all.
Once again, merry Christmas to you all!
Check the comments for a Christmas Himiko!