Lightning – My Hero Academia

Chapter 15: Mind Games - Cain vs. Chikashi

"We're down to the last round of the first leg of the tournament! Which of these students will make it on to round 2?! I think it's about time we pull them into the arena and find out, don't you?" Present Mic asked. The audience responded with a cheer.

"You sure love teasing the crowd, don't you?" All Might asked with a chuckle.

"I'm just getting them hyped up for our next students, Mr. Mighty Man! And here they come now! It's another class 1-A grudge match!

"In this corner, he's tough as nails because his body's made of the same material! His fighting style is electric, or it can conduct electricity, that is! It's Cain Fa!" Present Mic introduced him. Cain smiled and waved to the audience as he walked up the stairs and onto the arena.

"Hey, Cain! Is your hair naturally gray like that, or did you change it to fit your quirk?" Mt. Lady asked him curiously.

"It's natural!" He answered with a laugh.

"Oh, nice! Love the ponytail." She smiled and waved her hand.

"Thanks for breaking up the pacing with that brief interlude, Mt. Lady. And in this corner, he's a master of mimicry, clever and quick-witted. They call him 'The Copycat', but this kitty's got a few tricks of his own! It's Chikashi Sugawara!"

Chikashi gallantly hopped up the stairs, his white hair bouncing a little with each step. He grinned widely as he stepped onto the arena, fixing his shirt and jogging in place a little. Ako's eyes narrowed on him; the confidence Chikashi was radiating irritated him.

"Alright, boys! You know the rules, you've heard the explanation. You know what to do and what not to do. With that being said, we're gonna get started right away! Take your ready positions...set...fight!" Mt. Lady signaled the start of the fight.

However, the fight did not start right away.

"You're looking a little serious, Cain. You nervous?" Chikashi asked with a chuckle.

"You're not?" Cain asked, cocking an eyebrow as he raised his fists up.

"I'm a little worried I'm gonna hurt my hands punching you. That's about it." Chikashi answered with a chuckle, looking at his knuckles.

Cain started running towards him, ready to start the fight. Chikashi took in a breath before running towards Cain, holding his fists up against his body in the exact same way. The two met in the middle. Cain's fists turned to metal as he threw the first punch.

He threw a right hook. Chikashi ducked underneath it and tried to kick him in the leg. Cain's leg turned to metal, hurting Chikashi's foot as it bounced off. He hissed in pain. Cain raised up both fists and tried to club Chikashi in the head.

Chikashi moved to the side, just barely dodging the attack. He raised his fists up and clubbed Cain in the head, successfully hitting the same move he'd just dodged. Cain stumbled forward before turning and grabbing Chikashi. He picked Chikashi up and threw him across the arena.

"Wow, what a move! He's stronger than he looks." All Might commented.

"You never go down easy, do you?" Chikashi chuckled as he got to his feet, "Still, that quirk of yours makes you slow. You have to keep most of your body normal or it'll weigh you down, right?"

"Why don't you come here and test that out?" Cain taunted, raising his fists up again. Chikashi smirked and advanced again.

Chikashi stepped forward and jumped into the air sideways, spinning and throwing a kick down. Cain dodged this surprisingly athletic move and tried to knock Chikashi down with a forward kick. Chikashi bent awkwardly to the side and went for another sweep kick, but his foot bounced off of Cain's leg again.

"Ow! Agh!" Chikashi growled, getting up and stumbling back.

Cain advanced and threw another right hook. Chikashi ducked under it and hit Cain with a forward kick that made him slide back. Now people could see that Chikashi was serious.

"Where's that confidence, Chikashi?" Cain pointed out with a faint sideways smile.

"We both know how this ends. You can only keep this up for so long. I'll beat the metal off of you." Chikashi said before throwing his own right hook. Cain's face turned to metal on impact, but Chikashi's punch was still enough to make him flinch.

Chikashi's hand shook a little from the hit, but he threw a kick into Cain's right side. Cain stumbled a little before regaining his footing and hitting Chikashi with an uppercut to the jaw. Chikashi was completely stunned and landed on his back.

He regained his senses in time to see Cain flipping forward and extending a leg out to send his foot crashing down on Chikashi's chest. He rolled out of the way, and Cain's kick broke through the floor of the arena, leaving a small crater.

"My turn." Chikashi said before pushing himself to his feet and instantly doing the same move. His foot hit Cain in the back of his metal head. Cain took the full impact, but there was a loud, noticeable banging noise.

"Ahh...sometimes I can't stand that quirk of yours. Always relying on other people's moves to get you by." Cain growled as he slowly got to his feet. Chikashi did the same.

"Aw, are you upset that I can use your own moves against you? Your own strategy? Maybe we should switch quirks. Clearly I'm better suited for it." Chikashi sneered.

"You wish." Cain said in response, turning his whole body metal and charging at Chikashi again.

"Actually, I don't," Chikashi ran at him and jumped over his head, grabbing his jaw and slamming him down onto his back. "You're too simple." He stomped his foot down as hard as he could on Cain's face. It didn't have much effect because of the metal.

"You talk too much." Cain said as he grabbed his ankle. He turned his body suddenly and swung him around, throwing him towards the nearest edge of the arena. Chikashi rolled a little before landing flat on his back and stopping the momentum completely.

Chikashi kicked back up to his feet. Cain jumped at him and brought his fist up. Chikashi jumped to the side to dodge it. Cain's punch left another crater in the floor of the arena. Cain tried again. Chikashi dodged it again. When Cain landed, Chikashi punt-kicked him in the face.

"Come on, Cain, that all you got?!" Chikashi taunted, even though his kick only stunned Cain for a moment. Cain growled irritably.

"Shut up!" Cain yelled, getting to his feet and throwing more swinging punches at Chikashi.

Chikashi backed up to dodge each of them. He suddenly fell on his side, causing Cain to trip over him. Chikashi got to his feet and jumped into the air. Cain turned onto his back, but Chikashi still landed on him and slammed his fist down into Cain's chest.

"You're really gonna make me do this, huh? Fine!" Chikashi spat, raising his hands up and throwing swinging punches down into Cain's face.

Cain brought his arms up to block, but Chikashi's punches were hard enough to actually make the metal bend. Cain cried out in pain. Chikashi aimed his blows for Cain's face and head, each attack stunning him and denting the metal somewhere else. Chikashi reeled his right arm back and slammed it down into Cain's chest again.

Cain's metal form started to disappear. He tried to punch Chikashi back, but Chikashi was quick to punch Cain directly in the forearm. Cain yelled out in pain again. Chikashi brought his fist up to slam it down into Cain's chest again...

But he was quickly pulled away by Mt. Lady, who had changed into her bigger form, "That's enough from both of you. Anymore of this and you'll both break something." She said as she set Chikashi down away from Cain. She shrunk back down to her normal size.

"This battle isn't over yet. We still have the rules, remember?" Chikashi reminded her.

"Take a look at your hands and tell me if you're still good to fight." Mt. Lady commented as she started walking towards Cain.

Chikashi lifted his hands up. He realized that the skin on his knuckles and fingers had gotten ripped up. Blood was dripping from both of his hands. Chikashi's hands shook as the stinging pain started to set in.

"Cain, are you alright?" Mt. Lady asked, kneeling down by him.

Cain let out a shaky breath, turning to get up. He pressed his forearms on the ground, but immediately hissed in pain and retracted one; the arm that Chikashi had punched. Cain took in another breath and retched, holding back the urge to spit up whatever was in his mouth.

"The winner of this round is Chikashi Sugawara!" Mt. Lady declared, helping Cain get to his feet.

"Wow! What an amazing round! I'm starting to think that the kids in 1-A don't really like each other that much!" Present Mic exclaimed.

"Oh, they all get along fine. But this is competition. They're setting their friendships aside and putting it all on the line. Both of them gave it their best," All Might said. "The tide of the match really turned when Cain turned his full body metal.

"Chikashi's taunting and commentary got Cain fired up, and he started making decisions in the moment that weren't effective for the long-term strategy. That's probably what he wanted the whole time." All Might thought aloud.

"Yeah! Let's give a huge hand to our students as the first leg of the tournament comes to a close!" Present Mic said. The audience applauded.

"I don't understand," Ako spoke up. "How was Chikashi able to do any damage to Cain when his full body was made of metal? Is Cain weaker than he looks? Or is Chikashi that strong?" He asked Aya.

"It's neither, actually. Remember, Chikashi's quirk allows him to copy any movement he sees, right?" She reminded him. Ako nodded.

"Right, yeah."

"Mhmm. He was able to keep up with your speed, but that's not all. His quirk isn't just about movement, it's about speed and force. So when he got the upper hand on Cain, he was mimicking Cain's attacks, thereby hitting him with the same amount of force." Aya explained.

"Oh...whoa." Ako's eyes widened as he realized what she meant. Chikashi had literally used Cain's own strength against him.

"Yeah. His body can only take so much though. I'm honestly surprised he was willing to wreck his hands like that. He's never gone that far before." She said, folding her arms.

Ako's eyes lowered as he thought this over. He was going to have to keep a close eye on Chikashi. If it came down to a one-on-one fight with him, Ako was going to have his work cut out for him...