My Hero Automata

Chapter 38: Don't Call Me a Bunny!

Summary: That's no Ordinary Rabbit!

Chapter 38: Don't Call Me a Bunny!

As much as learning investigation was interesting, and Nedzu seemed to genuinely delight in teaching it to them...the chimera didn't have unlimited free time at the moment. He'd helped show them the way through tracking down a cross selection of the cameras, recommended some reading to them, then assigned them to try and track the lower priority cameras on their own time. This meant that, so long as they did that in a timely manner and reported back to him every few days, they were free to sign up for some of the other practical workshops. Both Izumi and Momo picked out a couple of such, despite how busy they were. And today's lesson was the one they'd looked forward to the most. They were joined in one of the more basic gyms for their session by Katsuki, which as zero surprise, as well as Ojiro and Mineta, who were much more unexpected.

"I can't wait! We get to meet the Battle Bunny! Maybe even get crushed by those thighs!"

The words, of course, came from Mineta. For all that they had come to grudgingly respect him, he was still Mineta. On this point though, Izumi would privately admit that she couldn't blame him. Miruko's thighs were something worth fantasizing about. She was about to warn him about something in that sentence, though...when her eyes blew wide open as she realized it was too late. Between one moment and the next, Mineta went from energetically waving his arms...to embedded in a nearby wall. The attack had come so fast that only Izumi and Momo had seen more than a flash of white and purple before it happened, and it left the leotard-clad and growling Number 6 hero standing where Mineta had previously been standing.

"Don't call me a bunny, damn it! I'm a rabbit!"

Izumi winced. Miruko was well known to despise the 'Battle Bunny' moniker that the media often used for her. No one was entirely certain why, but her violent reaction was well enough known that only an idiot said it in her hearing. Which, given just how sensitive her ears were, really meant Mineta shouldn't have said it anywhere near a location Miruko was planning to be at soon. Speaking of Mineta, he was surprisingly durable, only whimpering a little as he fell out of the wall. He did look sufficiently scared of Miruko for her to stop growling and take a deep breath, thankfully.

"Alright you five. I'm not a fucking teacher. But the rat let me see all of your year's fights, and you were the students in Group A that I accepted. Pity the Frog Girl is too passive, she'd have benefited from this too, but she clearly hasn't overcome her prey instinct and fights defensively. You five, on the other hand, show both the power and aggressive styles to benefit from what I have to show you."

She grimaced and glared at Mineta again.

"Even the irritating grape midget, though his aggression is more about movement than power."

The Rabbit hero jabbed a finger roughly at Izumi.

"Robogirl! You've got the best combination of form and power. You and I are going to spar so I can show why you're all here."

Izumi blinked but nodded. It did make sense. And she couldn't help but be interested in fighting a Top 10 hero. She grinned and bounced forward, thinking for a moment before shifting into Striker Mode. Doing so got a firm nod of approval from Miruko.

"Striker Mode, right? That's the right choice against me. Not perfect, but you're going to need the speed. Stick to unarmed for now. Now, come at me with everything you've got!"

Izumi blinked, made a 'what, now?' sort of gesture. When she only got an impatient gesture from the Heroine, she shrugged and narrowed her eyes. She quickly analyzed Miruko's stance, immediately realized it wasn't nearly as casual as the heroine was making it look...and launched forward into a straight jab with all the power and speed her striker form allowed. She wasn't particularly surprised when she missed, Miruko pivoting to one side to avoid the blow before continuing her spin to aim a blistering-fast kick at Izumi. The following exchange lasted only a dozen seconds...before Izumi abruptly found herself slammed face-first into the ground hard enough to bounce. Miruko landed on her, a moment later, causing the air to woof out of her lungs. A kick to the ground right next to Izumi's head to prove her victory followed, before the heroine jumped off.