After attending the Hand-to-Hand Combat Training under Dust Hero: Sand's guidance, Tenya had realized that he could assimilate Taekwondo moves into his Quirk, especially when it came to close combat.
Ever since then, he had been diligently learning it, practicing it for hours even after school.
Combined with his Recipro Burst move, Tenya could throw high-power kicks back to back, overwhelming someone who didn't have a physical, augmenting-type Quirk of his own, like Luke.
So, even if Luke somehow dodged the first kick, there was no way he could do it again, right?
Luke crouched, Tenya's kick going overhead, brushing his hair. In the very next moment, Tenya did a backflip, kicking again.
The tip of his feet was aimed at Luke's head.
If it landed, it would mean half the job was already done.
Suddenly, to Tenya's great shock, Luke, who was still bending his knees, slipped and rolled backward comically.
Boom!
Tenya's foot landed on the ground, the concrete floor gaining cracks.
"Oh, my, my," Luke acted, laughing. "Lucky slip, I guess."
How?! Tenya asked himself, shocked. Does he have a sense-based Quirk, too? Wait… Where's Nyx?!
With his heart jumping to his mouth, Tenya suddenly realized that Nyx was flying up, her red-colored pupils planted deep into him.
No! Tenya gritted his teeth, going after Luke.
Exchange Positions needed Nyx to be within 50 meters of the target.
However, if the target was moving or if she couldn't focus on the presence of the target concretely, then the Quirk wouldn't work.
Knowing this, from All Might's Combat Training Exercise, Tenya rushed toward Luke before Nyx could send him to the sky.
Barrages of kicks after kicks burned the air blue, Luke dodging all of them, falling, rolling, and laughing.
The sight was so comical that even the audience began laughing after a few moments.
Tenya ground his teeth, feeling humiliated. He eyed Luke, who was now running away from him, still laughing.
Is he… Tenya thought, bursting out into a chase… making fun of me?
Tenya's eyes suddenly gained a redness.
The blue flames of Recipro Burst became even bluer.
Within a fraction of a second, he appeared next to Luke and kicked. Oh, shit!
Tenya had kicked so fast and with so much strength that if it landed, it could mortally wound Luke, breaking many bones.
Even if he stopped using his Quirk now, Tenya couldn't stop the kick because of momentum.
On the other side, Luke was still laughing as if he hadn't registered the kick coming. Not only he, but even the audience was the same, excluding a few Pro Heroes with special Quirks.
Seating next to the stage, Cementoss suddenly moved, sensing the disaster coming.
Suddenly, something happened that shocked the Pro Hero, but Tenya the most.
Tenya felt like his superfast kick had entered a tub of super viscous mud.
Not only him, but even Luke's reaction felt slowed down.
It was as if someone had decided to pause the video and began playing it at half the normal speed.
With a heart-sinking feeling, Tenya realized something. The worst he'd thought that could happen on the stage had finally happened.
Nyx had used a Quirk different from the one he already knew.
"B… I… N… G… O!" Luke said, the corners of his lips arching up ever so slowly.
…
[
Quirk: Delay
Complexity: B
Consumption:
— Spirit 50
— Stamina 16
Contact Time: 5 seconds
Activation Time: 15 minutes
]
…
This was the fifth, and the last for the foreseeable future, Quirk Luke had decided to use as part of the Raven Quirk.
It didn't discriminate, had a low, effective time, and was AOE — perfect to be used as a Hero Course's student.
And, to his chagrin, Tenya realized why Luke used this at the cost of slowing himself down.
Tenya's leg was gaining speed by the moment…
Luke was bowing down toward Tenya slowly as well…
But Nyx? Not needed to keep looking at Luke and Tenya, flew out of the stage.
Then, the moment her eyes fell on Tenya, just before his kick could pulverize Luke's head, she used another Quirk.
With a blur, Tenya and Nyx exchanged positions.
BOOM!
…
Carried by his momentum, Tenya went rolling across the field, slamming against the large cushioning walls propped in front of the audience.
Silence.
Then the crowd broke out with a roar, Luke seemingly bowing to all of them.
"AMAZING!" Present Mic commented. "What a turn of events! I thought even Recovery Girl would have her hands full of healing Luke… but…"
"Another Quirk?" Erasure Head said, seeing Tenya getting up, shaking. "Still, it shouldn't have worked so easily. Tenya lost his cool and suffered for it."
"What a show!" Present Mic shouted, winking at the audience. "The kid's a box of treasures and… entertaining, too. Haha!
"First Battle Winner — Luke!"
…
Rubbing his head, Tenya stood up and found Luke standing right in front of him.
"You did say not to hold back," Luke said, giving him his hand. "You did not say you wanted to murder me…"
Going red, Tenya suddenly realized what he had almost ended up doing.
If Luke didn't have this new Quirk, then he would have needed to be hospitalized despite getting healed by Recovery Girl.
Tenya bent his back several times, apologizing. "I am sorry…"
"Haha!" Luke laughed, Nyx landing on Tenya's shoulder.
"He's just messing with you," Nyx cawed.
Tenya lifted his head and found Luke smiling at him.
Somehow, the heavy feeling he had been carrying about Luke since the start of the Sports Festival melted away as he saw that smile.
Tenya took Luke's hand and shook it, the crowd going wild around them.
"Alright, alright," Erasure Head commented, feeling sleepy. "Enough with the drama. Let's get on with the second battle."
"Oh, you all will like this one!" Present Mic replied. "It's first places back to back. Yes. You have guessed it correctly, audience!
"Next battle — Midoriya from Hero Course vs. Shinso from General Education!"
****************
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