"So, m'lady, are you ready to do this?" Sachi asked as she walked out onto the gym floor. She glanced back at her opponent, who was still staring daggers at Osen. "Shion!"
"Yeah, yeah! Hold your horses, missy!" Shion shouted back. She turned toward Hiroto. "Darling, why don't you and Osen go first?"
Osen's eyes widened in terror. "W-why? Y-you and S-sachi are a-already t-to-"
"I know, I know," Shion interrupted, laying on as much sweetness as she could muster. "It's just that my Hiroto's looking a little restless, and I know how much he's looking forward to training again. I wouldn't want to disappoint him."
Hiroto looked at the nervous expression on Osen's face, then back to Shion. "Well, I'm actually okay with waiting. The matchups kinda got sprung on us at the last minute, so I want to make sure Osen is-"
"No! I'm fine," Osen said firmly. "Y-you need a chance to g-get w-warmed up . . . f-for the b-bigger challengers."
Hiroto raised a sceptical eyebrow, then sighed. "If you're sure, Osen . . ." The two walked out onto the gym floor as Sachi walked over to Shion.
"I must say, I wasn't expecting that," Sachi said. "It's unlike you to pass up an opportunity to be first or show off."
"Yeah, well, what can I say," Shion said, a smug grin spreading across her face as she watched Hiroto and Osen take their positions. "I didn't want to be catching my breath during this fight. I want to see the look on that mousy girl's face when my darling wipes the floor with her."
"And there it is," Sachi said, rolling her eyes with a huff. While she disagreed with Shion's motives, she was secretly glad that she would get to give her undivided attention to observing Hiroto's fight as well.
As Hiroto took his spot opposite of Osen, he could see her visibly shaking, not daring to look up from the floor. "Hey," he called out, causing her to slowly meet his gaze. "This is a friendly match to help us all with our training. Don't hold back, alright?" He smiled kindly at the girl.
"Y-yes, o-of course," Osen said, her cheeks growing red from the encouragement. "I h-hope I d-don't disappoint you."
"As long as you do your best, that's all I'm looking for."
Terra smiled from the sidelines. "I love seeing this side of him with others. It's the 'Hiro-kun' that everyone needs to get to know." She raised her hand and got the two combatants' attention. "Ready?" Hiroto and Osen nodded. Osen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Begin!"
The words had barely left Terra's mouth when Osen's eyes shot open, a fierce focus in them. She instantaneously turned her arms into water and whipped them directly towards Hiroto, swiping across his eyes and causing him to look away. She then began syphoning water out of the air, condensing it into a thick fog that surrounded Hiroto.
"Clever!" he said, clearing his eyes to the opaque vapour surrounding him. "I don't have my long-range gear, so you're focusing on taking out my Quirk cancellation."
"It seemed like the best course of action," she replied with no hint of hesitation in her voice. She then shot her arm-tendrils through the fog, hardening them into ice as she tried to land a hit on her target.
It was all Hiroto could do to dodge the icy spears as they appeared in front of him mere moments from impact. "I hate to admit it, but all that practice with dad is paying off. I need to get out of this fog if I want to turn the tables . . . unless . . ." He carefully activated his shock quirk, being sure not to let it run wild as he did at USJ. He felt the crackle in his hand as he waited for the right moment.
Suddenly, one of the icy tendrils shot through fog. In a fluid motion, he slid out of the way, turning at the last second to grab the tendril. The moisture carried the electric charge through the fog and back to Osen. Suddenly, the fog dissipated, and the watery tendrils fell to the ground. Hiroto looked to see Osen, on her knees, trying to recuperate from the pain of the shock. She looked at him approaching and tried to shoot out another tendril, but nothing happened. The shock had disabled her Quirk.
YOU ARE READING
Hiro Rising
Fanfiction"A young boy sets out to prove that he has what it takes to be a hero on his own, but even in an era of peace, he's about to learn that, sometimes, having people by your side is the only way to succeed."
