A/N: Since Yoshiho has finally been formally introduced, here are her voices:
JP: Yoko Hikasa (Emi Yusa from The Devil is A Part-Timer)
EN: Erica Lindbeck (Anaru from AnoHana)
Art -
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[Ch. 44] Add /222um1js23vc to the DeviantArt Stash URL.
"Oh. It's you."
She's from Shiketsu…!
Mera's voice crackled over the loudspeaker. "Things're now moving right along! At present we have 52… no, 53 passing examinees. One after another…"
Hitomi's face morphed into one of worry. "Less than half slots left to pass…"
She glanced at the Shiketsu girl, who was the only other person in the area.
This is my only option right now.
She grabbed a ball from her pack, holding it in her hand as the Shiketsu girl adjusted her hat.
"...What's with that expression on your face?"
Hitomi only looked at her in confusion before she felt herself suddenly get pushed back by an invisible force, crashing through the waterfall and down into the river. Luckily, she didn't lose her ball, her grip tightening on it as her head poked out of the surface, gasping for air.
The Shiketsu girl jumped from her place on the ground towards Hitomi, the bluenette abruptly moving out of the way and climbing out of the water, her hero costume sopping wet.
I don't even know what her quirk is…! And no doubt, she'd definitely know from mine from the sports festival.
Hitomi began to panic, making force fields around herself in an attempt to dry off from the heat.
The Shiketsu girl didn't even touch the water, her body just above it as if she were levitating. The water was rippling beneath her feet, concaving into itself as if it was being pushed down by air.
"You know, I can see it on your face. And it really pisses me off."
"What are you even talking about?!"
"Hitomi Kanetsukabe… semi-finalist of the sports festival. But…
It looked like you didn't even want to be there."
"Huh?"
"That worried expression on your face; I saw it there, too. Why do you always look like that?"
"I don't see how this matters…"
The Shiketsu girl scoffed, her glare hardening. "What, are you stupid too?!"
The girl aimed her fist at Hitomi, the gauntlets around her wrist lighting up before a pulse seemed to emanate from her hand, her short auburn hair fluttering behind her.
Hitomi jumped out of the way, diving behind a rock with the weight of her damp hero costume slowing her down.
"You seriously rub me the wrong way."
Hitomi glanced over the rock, seeing the Shiketsu girl launch herself away from the river towards her. Hitomi dashed out of the way, the rock breaking apart from the girl's quirk as Hitomi rolled to the side.
What the hell?! She could've seriously hurt me!
The girl landed on her feet, holding on to her hat as she turned to Hitomi, the glare on her face making Hitomi freeze.
"Wh… What have I ever done to you?!" she asked the Shiketsu student. "Why are you so angry with me?"
"I read your interview," the girl replied. "From the sports festival. You said you lived in America, so tell me, do you know who the Koatsu family is?"
"...No?"
The girl scoffed, grabbing a ball from her pack. "Of course you wouldn't. I've just been wondering...
Why are you still here?"
"...what?"
"Talking about how you're always unsure of yourself, about how you don't think you deserved to be there and all that crap…
Why did you get to be praised by the world when even you believed you didn't deserve it?"
They both heard Mera's voice over the loudspeaker again. "Woah, looks like we're at 60 passing examinees now! Slots sure are filling up…"
Hitomi shook her head, focusing on the girl in front of her.
This is no time for chatting. I need to tag people, now.
The Shiketsu girl tightened her grip on her ball, leering at Hitomi. "I suppose I'll settle for you as my second target."
The girl aimed her fist at Hitomi again, the air pulsating as Hitomi haphazardly dodged her attack, trying to throw some force fields at the girl as she dove for cover.
She mentioned the Koatsu family…
Is she the Yoshiho Koatsu everyone was talking about?
"Quit hiding already!"
The rock Hitomi was hiding behind suddenly broke apart, Hitomi feeling her body get launched by some invisible force again. She continued flying through the air before she felt herself hit a rough rock wall, feeling as if the air had been knocked out of her lungs.
I can't move...
Her body felt as if it was glued to the surface, like the weight of a planet was being pushed down on her. The auburn-haired girl still had her arm outstretched towards Hitomi as she slowly approached her.
"I've noticed that even with your force fields, you're still bound by gravity. Trying anything will be useless against my quirk, so don't bother."
Hitomi struggled to move, trying to get her arms, her legs, anything out from being pinned to the wall. It was futile, and all Hitomi could do was panic as the Yoshiho drew closer.
"It seems like your performance at the sports festival wasn't a good gauge of your abilities. Back there, you knew the quirks of your classmates. But here?
It looks like you're completely out of your element.
Are you really sure you can be a hero? With a quirk like that?"
Yoshiho scoffed. "What a disappointment."
Hitomi faltered from her struggling, only staring at Yoshiho as the girl continued to walk towards her.
"You always seem doubtful, as if you're not sure you can do anything. Even now, it doesn't seem like there's anything you can do to stop me from tapping your targets."
"You're wrong!" Hitomi snapped, staring down at the ground. "You're wrong… I promised her I'd be able to…"
"To what?"
In a way, she's right, a small voice chimed in the back of Hitomi's head. You haven't really done anything to protect people like you said you would. Not at USJ, not when Midoriya and the others dealt with Stain…
…not even when Bakugou was kidnapped right in front of you.
Hitomi shook her head, trying to rid those thoughts from her mind.
Focus on what I can do now.
"Even if I can't do anything now…" Hitomi muttered, staring back at Yoshiho, "there are people who believe that I can. Nari… my parents… they believe I can become a hero, and I can't disappoint them..."
But can you really become a hero?
The gravity pushing down on Hitomi from Yoshiho's quirk seemed to strengthen tenfold, the pressure practically suffocating as Yoshiho scowled at her.
"Oh, how sweet. How lucky of you that your parents support and believe in you, even though you can't really do anything. Isn't that just lovely?!"
Yoshiho seemed angrier than ever before, dashing towards Hitomi with the intent to tag one of her targets.
Hitomi was surprised for only a moment before she suddenly remembered one of her super moves, calling out its name moments before Yoshiho could touch her.
"Supernova!"
There was a blinding flash as Yoshiho was launched backwards from Hitomi's force field, finally letting go of the hold she kept on the bluenette.
Hitomi fell back to the ground, panting from anxiety that Yoshiho nearly disqualified her.
She stared at Yoshiho with a determined look on her face, while the auburn-haired girl glared back.
A/N: I hope Yoshiho is turning out to be everything I've built her up to be ^^;