Souls Hero Academia (Rewrite)

Chapter 46: Sports Festival (8)

Izuku's eyes squinted as the light coming from the end of the tunnel proved too much to handle. His feet walked him over anyway, body tense as he psyched himself up for the fight he was going to participate in...

Oh, who was he kidding? He was very excited for the incoming match. It wasn't everyday they were given the go ahead to beat each other senseless without much reprimand from the teachers.

As he stepped out into the light, he was greeted by the loud cheering coming from the audience stands, the chants making him reel at the sudden attention he garnered from just going out from the tunnel. Maybe he was out of his depth here... Was it too late to back out now?

No, why would he say that? Much less think of it. Yes, he had little to no contact with people ever since he'd been chucked into Lordran. Yes, he sometimes had trouble adjusting to normal society after a while. And yes, he sometimes had to force himself to not gut with his bare hands whenever he was in a crowded place because he still wasn't used to crowds...

Damn... He forgot he actually had issues, but anyways, all he had to do was just remember that the crowds were nowhere near him, so he had no issue trying to suppress his instincts from lashing out. It was only possible to suppress while in school because he was mostly around those he deemed safe enough to not kill, such as his classmates.

Picking up speed, he ignored Present Mic throwing out hype by introducing him to the roaring crowds, focusing only on the pink-haired menace. Said menace looked at him with a feverish gaze, lips nearly ripping her face apart as she hopped on stage decked out in mechanical whirrings and steaming hydraulics.

"What are you wearing?" Izuku couldn't help but ask the girl, the pinkette only giving him a big, wide smirk as she showed off her mechanical genius. Not that he could appreciate it. He was mostly into the shining, metal armor that gleamed off light when it was polished.

"Tell you what, we fight for a few minutes, I show off my baby right here to the investors, and I give you the win." Hatsume's words floated around Izuku's head for a few moments, and he didn't like it.

"No." Izuku frowned, insulted at being denied a match. Hatsume blinked, clearly not expecting his vitriol at the simple fact of not getting a fight. "You will fight me here, and we will not hold back. The full potential of your suit, use it."

"But it hasn't even gone through extensive testing yet!" Hatsume tried to reason, but Izuku wasn't budging. "What would the investors think? A tiny flaw is enough to have them not look at my baby, and I can't have that as the future CEO of Hatsume Industries!"

"... So this is all about money?" Izuku glared at Hatsume, the pinkette's mouth gaping for a singular moment as she cycled the thought in her head.

"No! It's about getting people to fund my inventions so I can help Heroes!" Hatsume looked a bit manic. "Ugh, I'm just gonna show you the power of my babies!" Hatsume glared at Izuku as she revved up her suit. It hummed as it powered up, neon blue streaks of light coursing through its cables as the pack on her back went to life. "Might as well give my baby an extensive test run! Let's see you talk smack about my dreams now!"

Once Izuku saw Hatsume was serious about the fight, he smirked. He was going to have one hell of a fight now, and he wouldn't dare squander it. He readied himself, poised and ready to strike if ever the pinkette rushed at him with the power of a Taurus Demon. He still doubted she could do that, but sometimes, good equipment can help bridge the gap between foes.

He learnt that by using the Drake Sword he got from cutting off that stupid red drake's tail that was guarding the bridge. It was a funny story. He wanted revenge because he was burned by the asshole a bunch of times, and he thought that the tail looked like it could make a good weapon.