Chapter 29

Chapter 29

General Studies student Shinsou Hitoshi, a boy who dreams of becoming a hero but possesses a devilish Quirk.

—After all, getting brainwashed just by responding is something most people find hard to accept.

Since awakening his Quirk, he's been subtly rejected by many classmates. Shinsou has gotten used to it.

Because the entrance exam's opponents were robots, and his physical skills weren't great, Shinsou failed to get into the Hero Course.

—But there's still a chance.

The boy clenched his hands.

...It's okay if classmates are scared of me, or if my methods are called underhanded.

I want to be a hero.

With that resolve, he approached the seemingly airheaded girl from Class A.

In the first round, she was the most ideal target—she got second place but wasn't as showy as the other two in her class, didn't seem close to her classmates, high mobility, keen senses, and from the way her classmates kept messing with her, she didn't seem like a strategic type. Right now she was bummed about not getting first place and likely off guard.

He looked cocky, but this was actually his first time trying to trick someone in public, and a girl at that. The purple-haired boy was nervous but kept his expression steady.

...As expected, he couldn't quite bring himself to look at her.

"You're Kirisame from Class A, right?"

Did she respond?

She did!

...

—But why wasn't there any reaction yet?!

Five seconds without feedback was enough to panic the inexperienced Shinsou, who was already having trouble with his first attempt.

"Are you okay?" Kirisame tilted her head, equally puzzled by the silence.

As the girl's concerned golden eyes met his, the purple-haired boy stared at her in disbelief.

In her shimmering gaze, prayer beads and lotuses intertwined, and black fire burned quietly.

—Buddha Sword: Juzumaru Tsunetsugu. Ability:

Breaking Barriers.

Kirisame had been warned by her Buddhist sword from the moment Shinsou spoke. She brought her hand from behind her back, holding a slender tachi wrapped in darkness across her chest.

The girl grinned.

"What are you waiting for?"

[...I've been found out.]

The boy recovered quickly: "Nothing. You just did well, so I wanted to ask—"

"You used a mental-type ability just now, didn't you?" The seemingly airheaded Class A girl blinked. "From the way you called me and then didn't say anything for a while, does it activate if I respond?"

"...If you'd like to team up."

Awkward silence.

Shinsou's words got stuck in his throat. His mind went blank.

...Time for some crisis management.

"Sorry, I'm not great at working with others, so I'd rather find someone I know." Kirisame read his expression and figured it out without waiting for him to make an excuse. She said goodbye and turned to walk away.

"...You're not going to stop me?"

The boy's slightly hoarse voice came from behind.

"Huh? Isn't attacking teammates during the pairing phase invalid? Why would I stop you?" The girl looked confused. "Did you cheat?"

"No, of course not." Shinsou felt like he couldn't explain it to her. After hesitating a long time, he finally asked, "I mean..."

"Aren't you going to warn your classmates?"

As soon as he said it, he felt like an idiot.

Kirisame had never competed in something like this before, so she was even more confused. When Todoroki and the others teamed up on me, they didn't even warn me?

"...Is it necessary to warn them?"

"..."

[You're asking me???]

Shinsou observed her expression and saw she really didn't care about his ability. He let out a sigh of relief.

"Never mind."

It was a good thing she wasn't going to shout it out. He'd drop the issue of what she thought.

Even though this guy tried to trick her from the start, for some reason, Kirisame kind of liked him.

Seeing the complicated expression on the purple-haired boy's face, the girl waved her sword in front of him, trying to comfort him: "Don't feel bad. You just had rotten luck. There's still time. Why not go try someone else?"

"..." Shinsou sighed to himself. The Hero Course's got all kinds of people, huh.

"Kirisame—wanna team up!" A voice called from a distance—Kirishima!

"Yes!!!"

That shout was a lifesaver for Kirisame, who wanted to find someone she knew. She waved goodbye to Shinsou.

"Good luck!"

The boy stood there, still.

...Good luck? No. You don't get it at all.

People like you, born with everything—you have no idea.

Since she had fallen in the finish line tunnel, most people didn't get a clear look at what happened to Kirisame. From the first half, she looked really reliable, so she was pretty popular.

When they saw Kirisame wasn't teaming up with Shinsou, many classmates invited her as she ran over. Kirisame ran past them and stopped in front of Qie Dao.

"I knew if I called her, Little Kirisame would definitely come!" the pink-haired girl Luhu Sannai hugged Kirisame and rubbed her cheek against hers.

"You're so slow!"

"Ah, sorry, sorry. Hey, were you actually waiting for me?"

"Who was waiting for you!!"

"Yeah, Bao Hao made sure to save a spot!"

Qie Dao and Bao Hao's voices rang out at the same time.

"…"

Kirisame could probably guess why Bao Hao was waiting for her specifically. Their team needed someone fast, but her friend didn't actually know much about the Quirks of most of his classmates…

"Mm, thank you!" Kirisame smiled at him.

The girl, with a smile just like Uraraka's, seemed super good-natured. Bao Hao forced down the irritated words stuck in his throat: "Since you're joining, you'd better do your damn best!"

The boy's ruby-red eyes narrowed: "Don't think I don't know you still have other moves you haven't used."

"You still have more?!" Qie Dao was shocked.

"Yes." Kirisame raised a hand and pressed it on Qie Dao and Lu Hu's shoulders. A beautiful triple-petal spiral appeared in her eyes: "I can also boost everyone's speed."

—As a famous sword from Horikawa who always saw herself as the master's assistant, the ability born from black fire was also one of "helping."

"For up to five minutes, I can lend you any of my abilities."

"Wow! That's amazing!" The Lu Hu girl, who had been a little disappointed that Kirisame, as a small girl, couldn't carry the whole team like Iida, jumped up excitedly.

The team was formed, and the formation was set.

—"Come on!"

But despite her passionate words, Kirisame, in her fourteen years, was actually experiencing a "cavalry battle" for the first time.

…Back when she was with Zapp, it was just "riding."

The melee was harder than expected—especially since their team, with its high score, was a target for many teams besides Midoriya's. They were almost immediately surrounded. Kirisame's speed advantage and Lu Hu's acid helped them avoid most movement-restricting abilities, but the endless attacks kept them scrambling.

Accustomed to moving freely alone, Kirisame found it troublesome dragging a group of people along. Similarly unaccustomed to high speed, Qie Dao and Lu Hu weren't having an easy time either. Only Bao Hao, as the rider, seemed in his element, even improvising something like "arc-shaped chain explosions" in high-speed movement to block the opponents' vision, adapting quite well.

But coordination was a minor issue. The big problem now was—

This classmate called "Monoma" was really, really good at making Bao Hao angry.

The handsome blonde boy with gray eyes held Bao Hao's headband and, with a very composed attitude, unleashed a torrent of mockery. His rich vocabulary, annoying tone, and precision in hitting sore spots made Kirisame wonder if he had ever met her master, the Blood God…

"Yeah, my Quirk is Copy."

During another near miss, Bao Hao's team got hit by their own Quirks.

…?!

There's a Quirk like that?!

At this point, Kirisame didn't have time to worry about her teammates' feelings. If that Monoma's Quirk activation condition was touch…

The girl recalled with alarm the sensation of skin contact when they brushed past.

"Hey, did that bastard touch you too?"

Kirisame nodded.

The spiky-haired rider cursed under his breath and asked Kirisame: "Can that ability of yours be copied?"

Actually, the question was strange, but Kirisame, flustered at the time, didn't notice.

…Can it be copied? Having had her Quirk erased twice by Shota Aizawa, Kirisame was very uncertain about what would happen next.

"I don't know."

Thinking that she actually had quite a few bad-tempered swords, the girl's tone was tinged with an unusual hint of helplessness.

Bao Hao, thinking she was scared, patted her on the head from behind: "What's there to be scared of? I'm not even afraid to take you on myself. Come on, let's blast him away!"

Qie Dao looked ahead: "It's up to you, Bao Hao!"

Kirisame, who was indeed scared but not of Monoma, wanted to tell her teammates not to get too close, but they were already charging…

For a classmate with a Quirk like Monoma, collecting intel on others' Quirks was an important daily task. He knew the abilities of Class A students almost perfectly.

Except for Aizawa Kirisame.

This girl's abilities had never been very consistent. Besides her commonly used speed boost and jump, she'd also shown healing, temporary strength enhancement, and other abilities in the past. The control mechanism was still unclear. Monoma, who had just copied her Quirk but didn't feel as smooth and natural as usual, hesitated whether to use it.

But the grinning Bao Hao charging at him gave him no time. The spiky-haired idiot angled his hand upward, and the blast went directly to his side.

Shit! Hardened in the wrong place!

Monoma, who had only copied the Quirk but not the "experience," removed the hardening, but couldn't defend the other side of his body.

In a crisis, he felt his right hand touch something.

Go for it! The blonde boy gritted his teeth, grabbed that thing, and pulled hard—

Fate, wonderfully unpredictable.

As the sword hilt appeared, a blinding golden light burst from the blonde boy's hand. He was lifted uncontrollably into the air.

Kirisame stared dumbfounded as he floated up, hearing a familiar furious male voice.

"This… this ability to create counterfeits…"

It actually summoned Mr. Hasebe…

Kirisame stood still, for a moment not knowing who to sympathize with.

Almost the entire venue was stunned by the golden light.

"Hey, my god! With only two minutes left, audience! What's wrong with Monoma from Class B? He's stopped in midair!" Present Mic's passionate yet slightly confused voice echoed over the whole venue.

In panic, Monoma had completely lost control of the sword in his hand and couldn't even stop. He watched in horror as he flew straight up—and then his clothes disappeared!

Gone!

Just like the transformation sequences in those chuunibyou anime that every kid loves, golden armor began to envelop his body starting from his feet—golden shoulder guards, a golden belt, a golden cape. The slender, beautiful boy, enveloped in golden light, extended his hand, and golden armor covered his arms. A similarly ornate katana guided him through one cool, posed action after another, and he didn't forget to finish with a dramatic pose.

The beautiful boy wished he could just vanish on the spot.

...Hachisuga's voice was already trembling with anger. Forced to listen to over a minute of non-repetitive cursing, the girl closed her eyes, feeling that this time she had probably really angered him.

The golden light faded. The boy's originally ear-length short hair had grown to reach his waist. He held the sword and slowly descended.

...As a katana that generates defensive armor, Hachisuga Tora cannot fly.

...Monoma's teammates were still too stunned to react, so no one caught him.

The only one who reacted was Bakugo.

"GO!!"

The four-person team moved as fluidly as one person. Brushing past him, they grabbed Monoma's headband before he had even landed.

"TIME'S UP!!"

Midnight cracked her whip with a crisp snap.

The crowd fell into dead silence. Inside the ice wall, Midoriya and Todoroki's team were still fighting over headbands. The people in the venue, including the commentator Present Mic, couldn't say a word.

After a long while, Aoyama's ethereal voice drifted through:

"He's so sparkly..."