Chapter 91: Hard Choices and Harder Hits

"OW!" The unfamiliar expressions of the two were all they were constantly uttering as they ran away.

Kirishima and Sato, two of the biggest, tankiest, and strongest in the class, ran away.

'I can only imagine if anyone else saw this.'

The red-haired boy thought, not knowing of the cameras that were being broadcast to everyone who had already finished their exams.

Regardless, the boy continuously hardened his quirk, ducking his head and turning the corner with his sugary friend right on his back.

"OW!" Of course, with that deadly accuracy, they couldn't do so without a bullet; somehow, hitting their heads.

And it hurt.

"Stop thinking you are invincible; you're not, and that attitude will get you killed one day." Their proctor spoke somehow through the speakers located throughout the city.

"The first thing you should do in a battle is find out information on your enemy, yet instead of doing that, you two fools rushed out into the open, not knowing where I was, what I'm capable of, or anything else."

"You'll Die." Snipes' words kept playing out in Kirishima's mind.

"Because this is a test and we are in a school, I'll provide you with some information—"

CLANG 

A bullet knocked Sato's head back, and despite him having already taken his sugar, which due to his quirk enhanced his physical capabilities, including his durability, a bright red mark sat upon his forehead.

Kirishima shared a grave look with the boy, saying that if they didn't figure something out soon, they'd lose.

"I'm the Pro Hero Snipe, with a quirk that lets me automatically lock onto whatever I can see in my sight."

THWACK

Another hit.

"This allows me to easily deal with targets like you who are slow, easy to hit, and most of all, slow."

PIERCE

Eyes widened as Kirishima looked at his suddenly unhardened skin, watching as blood gushed from a wound—to be exact, a wound opened up by Snipes, Gun.

"Be careful, or you'll—"

'Die.'

The boy ran with Sato, ducking behind the inside of one of the buildings as he thought it over. He didn't understand!

He charges into things head first because when he didn't, he almost dies, yet now he'll die if he does that.

The boy's thoughts were trying to pierce together a concrete answer while figuring out how he'd be able to start dodging all of Snipe's bullets.

Sato's breath started getting ragged, a sign of fatigue from his own wounds, as he didn't have the defense Kirishima had.

'Wait…defense.'

Pain clung to the boy's very core, yet Kirishima ignored what he described as just another painful bruise on him and instead looked into himself.

Maybe he had been going at things all wrong?

Bakugo, one of the most reckless people he knows, goes into situations prepared, and when he does, he plans so that he can make the most of his best attribute, his attacks.

'When…' he asked himself.

And unfortunately, the answer came all too soon: the USJ incident.

He and Bakugo were beating up villains, and as he was doing so, the feeling of his fist brandishing against flesh was…new.

Addicting, not in the sense that he likes beating people up, but in the sense that he can actively do something; he wasn't passive or responsive as usual.

Yet…it's that exact thinking that got him out of the sports festival—that exact thinking that's going to get him to fail this test.

'Unless I fix it.'

He looked to his side, spotting Sato take another tablet of sugar as he shared a look with the boy.

'Play to your strengths.' He'd do so.

"I've got a plan."

.

.

"HEY, YOU UNMANLY PRO, COME AND FIGHT ME LIKE A REAL MAN!"

Standing in the middle of the street, out in the open, and completely exposed, Kirishima shouted at seemingly nobody.

Yet he did hear a response, "Idiodic."

Immediately, he prepared, hardening his body as they came.

Bullets pelted his skin, leaving numerous blisters, bumps, and the like littering across his body, giving it a reddish color.

Yet Kirishima was thinking, 'Not yet.'

Even as the boy felt his skin begin to crack, even as he felt his blood spill and his body send out waves of agony, he kept the same thoughts.

'Not Yet.'

He was waiting for something—waiting for a chance—for one singular opportunity that he was sure would come.

BANG

'There!'

The distinct shot and the distinct sound that particular bullet made when leaving the gun alarmed the boy.

Not just any bullet could pierce through his armor; not could any bullet just seep into his skin. Thus, he remembered back, looking for anything that had changed before the bullet was shot.

And luckily for him, he did remember something—a distinct sound from seconds before, announcing the bullet's arrival.

Kirishima spun, twisting on his heels while opening his maw, waiting for the exact moment before chomping down.

He opened his mouth, trapping the bullet in his teeth as he simultaneously traced where the bullet came from and saw a lone figure atop a building overseeing the entire city.

'A great vantage point.' He had to admit it, yet it was also why he would lose.

Snipe shot the bullets randomly, hazardly applying his quirk at various intervals that caused the bullets to have a weird, unpredictable path.

'Yet he couldn't do that with his precious, heavy round. Its weight means it has to hit me fast before I can read.'

That was the principle, anyway.

Thus, he waited for such a round and waited for it to come so he could track Snipe's position.

And he has.

'Gotcha.' He couldn't help but think.

.

.

.

STEP

STEP

STEP

Rushing down the stairs, Snipe couldn't help but internally smirk underneath his mask, ignoring the dreads flying in his face.

The pro carried his handy scope along with his usual pistols and a specially designed hand cannon on his waist as he rushed away from the building.

'First rule of being a sniper: whether you make it, and especially if you miss, you have to leave.' He was following that rule.

Yet even as he was doing so, the memory of the formerly dubbed meathead duo shocked him, with Kirishima displaying an exceptional use of his quirk and mind.

'They'll be great heroes one day.'

Of course, that was a thought after he escaped and went to the previously scoped-out building overseeing the exit area, a place he thinks Sato's gone by now.

"Ahem."

Yet it was the same decisive red figure in front of him that blocked his path, signaling to the Pro that Sato did indeed try to escape.

'Annoying.' He couldn't help but think.

Yet before his student could even get one quippy word in, Snipe placed a gun on the boy's chest, not hesitating to release the bullet.

HISSSS

Sucking in air Kirishima crumpled over, facing a direct shot from his hand cannon, yet due to his quirk he luckily didn't have any major injuries.

'Sorry, Kid, that's just business.' He walked past the boy, hoping he could catch up to the sugared boy.

Yet just before he made it to the door…

'Why is the world turning upside down?' Those were his last thoughts before he slumped out, cold.

Kirishima looked up, trying to ignore the pain in his gut and instead look at his savior.

"Are you sure he'll be fine?"

"I think so; besides, did he really think that I'd leave you and escape?"

Kirishima nodded. There wasn't even an idea in his head about it when he was coming up with the plan; clearly, they weren't the only ones who hadn't done enough research.

"Quick though, let's get these handcuffs on him before he wakes up."

-------------

If you want to read ahead join my Patreon, patre0n.com/DeityOfSlumber