Even as a claw the size of a human face hurtled toward him, Kirishima remained remarkably calm.
Instead, he laughed.
"Ha! Aren't you the genuine friend of children? Teddy Bear, let's have some fun!"
"You hit Wiseman. That's bad. Bad people die."
With a swift step backward, Kirishima knocked the creature’s forepaw inward.
At the same moment, he tapped the paw—now weighted forward—and pushed against its back.
The bear, its high center of gravity at odds with its stubby legs, toppled forward and rolled clumsily across the ground.
Of course, only someone with Kirishima’s immense strength could have made that possible.
"This is fun. You really are made to be a friend to children. Stay put—I'll come over to play in just a moment. But first, you should get some sleep."
"Ghk!"
Smiling, Kirishima addressed the bear whose head was jammed into a hole in the wall roughly the size of his own body.
Then he landed a solid blow to the dazed clown’s jaw.
The man went limp immediately.
"This place is too cramped for big fellas like you and me! Let's take it outside and really play!"
After casually tossing the fallen clown aside, Kirishima kicked the bear in the rear as it struggled to free its head.
The beast’s massive body burst through the wall and was flung outside.
Had they continued clashing here, the entire building might have collapsed.
Kirishima and the bear cared little for crumbling walls, but the clown was another matter.
Though he didn’t relish the thought of worrying over the life of a villain who toyed with people, as an aspiring hero he couldn’t allow the clown to die—so he forced the man out.
Because Kirishima had knocked the clown out cold, those emerging from their hallucination screamed in terror when the bear suddenly crashed out of the building.
In truth, unleashing the creature into a wider area could have been extremely dangerous.
Yet Kirishima trusted the vast difference in power between himself and the monster he had assessed.
The beast was formidable, but an insurmountable wall separated them.
With a wry grin, Kirishima looked at the bear as it shook its head, attempting to clear its senses.
"Now then, you foolish beast. It's party time—a festival of spilled blood and shattered bones has begun. Go wild."
Activating [Hardening] at its peak, his skin took on a layered, rock-like texture that exuded a demonic presence.
The onlookers, emerging from a cloud of dust and debris from the shattered wall, stared at Kirishima in bewilderment.
Though a fight was clearly underway, no one could tell which side was the villain.
Still, the more perceptive among them quickly called for a hero.
"Grrr! I'll kill you! You! I'll kill you!"
"Oh, I'm not going to kill you. But you're about to feel a world of pain."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Kirishima closed in on the bear, delivering a rapid one-two punch.
His attack, faster than sound, hammered into the beast’s hardened skull.
The clamor of colliding hard bodies echoed across the crowded open space.
Still, the bear managed to shake its head and swing its arms at Kirishima.
But Kirishima was already moving to its side.
With terrifying speed and relentless force, his blows rained down on the creature.
As he circled the bear, relentlessly landing strike after strike, Kirishima smirked to himself.
'It’s strong enough, but utterly lacking in technique. Pure brute force, like that of a wild animal.'
In the close-quarters melee—where his agile footwork enabled him to dodge swiftly while unleashing rapid combinations—the bear was simply outmatched.
Its clawed strikes, accompanied by a roar that resembled a scream, never managed to come close to Kirishima.
Desperate, the beast attempted to grab him and bite outright.
Yet Kirishima dodged to the side and delivered a fierce uppercut through the gap between the flailing arms, crashing into its jaw.
Even the bear, battered by blow after blow, finally reached its breaking point. Its eyes glazed over, and it collapsed forward.
As Kirishima scratched his chin while surveying his unexpectedly effortless victory, a frenzied shout rang out.
"Get up! Useless bear! Get up and finish them off! At least buy me some time!"
The clown—somehow managing to rise and emerge through the rubble—screamed hysterically.
Simultaneously, he activated his Quirk.
When the steam that had settled after his earlier defeat began to emanate from his entire body, Kirishima knew trouble was brewing.
He rushed to the clown and struck him so swiftly that the man barely registered the attack, then frowned at the sight of the clown laughing incoherently even as he choked.
"What’s so amusing? Is it funny to see your own face when you’re about to be hauled away?"
"Hk. Kheh. You fool. I can project hallucinations onto people, but I can’t choose exactly what they see—the effect is more thematic, like fear, joy, or sorrow. Still, I do know what that little guy is witnessing. He told me everything."
"So what? Does it really matter what our Teddy Bear sees? You’re finished anyway. Now, quietly contemplate what prison food might taste like."
"Is that so? I didn’t even know my Quirk could work like this until that creature showed up. You conceited, dimwitted brawler who knows nothing of art—learn what true power is. Heh-heh-heh."
At that moment, the bear—previously sprawled on the ground—rose to its feet with a savage roar.
The bellow reverberated through the air, sending chills down the spines of all who heard it.
Kirishima smirked as he observed the spectacle.
"Oh. So you’ve powered up, huh? Like a boss entering phase two? This should be interesting. Alright then—good job, clown. Now, go sleep."
After knocking the clown out with a sharp strike to the back of his head, Kirishima turned his attention to the bear, whose bloodshot eyes darted around in fury.
The beast had grown even larger.
Its primal rage now fully unleashed, it dropped to all fours and charged at Kirishima with its colossal bulk.
With nimble, springy footwork, Kirishima made a wide turn to evade the charge.
'Good thing I optimized my footwork to match my enhanced strength.'
Realizing that his ever-improving physical prowess rendered his old footwork obsolete, he had trained himself to widen his stance while maintaining perfect balance.
Now, his movements ranged seamlessly from a normal human stride to strides spanning over ten meters with delicate precision.
The wall, already battered by repeated heavy blows, finally crumbled completely as the bear slammed into it with its entire body.
The creature burst through the rising dust and lunged at Kirishima once again.
For a moment, as Kirishima prepared to dodge as before, he hesitated.
'This is bad. I can't evade it now.'
Earlier, when the bear had charged, a wall had been positioned behind him. But now, behind Kirishima stood people.
Stepping aside would mean the bear would trample them indiscriminately.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Kirishima resolved that he had to stop the beast.
"Ha! Well, this isn't so bad after all," he mused.
In that instant, it dawned on him that this was what a true hero’s fight was all about.
It wasn’t merely about killing or being killed—it was about fighting for something greater than efficiency.
There are battles where, even with the inevitable losses, one simply cannot back down.
Kirishima chuckled at the thought, experiencing for the first time a battle fought to protect others.
Though a heavy burden seemed to settle on his shoulders, it felt oddly invigorating.
A surge of fierce exhilaration coursed through his veins, electrifying his entire body.
Feeling the palpable warning of danger searing down his spine, he steeled himself to confront the beast head-on.
The massive disparity in weight, the gleaming sharp teeth, the berserk momentum—all of it was inconsequential.
He would trust only the strength, technique, and indomitable spirit honed through years of hard-fought training.
"Come on! Teddy Bear! Let's settle once and for all who is the true friend of children!"
"Grrraaa!"
His heart pounded furiously as he channeled all his strength through his body.
With a lowered stance, his legs drilled into the ground with tremendous force.
His rigid, steel-like back maintained his balance as he charged headlong at the beast.
He pulled his chin in, rounded his shoulders, and barreled straight toward the creature's front.
'Maybe I should have learned some proper close-combat techniques...'
Just before impact, Kirishima regretted never having trained specifically to absorb heavy blows.
But that regret was fleeting.
Soon, a massive shockwave swept over the gathering.
People filming and snapping photos collapsed under the force of the impact.
The sheer momentum of that colossal charge reverberated through every fiber of his being.
Gritting his teeth, Kirishima halted the beast and drove an uppercut into it with all his might.
"Gwooooh!"
The bear staggered backward several paces, visibly stunned by the blow.
Without hesitation, Kirishima surged after it.
He brought the speeding creature to a sudden halt, absorbing the recoil as he planted his foot into the shattered floor.
The rapid deceleration sent his body reeling backward, only to be redirected by a twist in his torso.
The power channeled through his shoulders cascaded down his punching arm and slammed into the bear’s head like a cannonball.
With a resounding boom, the bear's eyes rolled back and it crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
"Seems I'm truly the friend of children after all. Your training was lacking—keep at it, Teddy Bear. We may never meet again, but if we do, try to be cuter next time."
Surveying the fallen bear, now completely out cold, Kirishima muttered irreverent words before deactivating his [Hardening].
Before he knew it, a crowd had gathered in a wide circle around him and the beast, carefully keeping their distance.
Narrowing his eyes, he thought, 'Aren't these people being recklessly careless?'
If this had been All Might's doing, then the people of this world were far too blasé about villains—despite the fact that such beings could kill them at any moment, they assumed a hero would appear in the nick of time.
That naive complacency reminded him of a small, pampered animal born and raised in a zoo, never once hunted by a predator.
In any case, Kirishima left the bear where it lay and turned his attention to the unconscious clown, as well as Mio and Inoue.
Roughly hoisting the clown onto the bear’s inert form, he then slung the two girls over his shoulders when Yui rushed forward.
"Big brother! Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Do you really think guys like that can beat me? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No, you saved me, big brother. Thank you."
"Don't mention it. Of course I did."
Kirishima gently patted the tearful Yui to soothe her, while he pondered how best to handle the two who had yet to regain consciousness.
Just then, a hero along with police officers pushed through the crowd and stepped forward.
Reporters—clutching large cameras—also converged on the scene.
"Hey, are you all alright?"
"Ah, yes. I'm fine—but these two haven't come to yet. They were hit by a mental Quirk."
"I see. We'll need to get them to the hospital right away."
After a brief discussion with the officer in charge, Kirishima handed the two over to the arriving rescue team.
Soon after, a figure wearing a hero costume approached and addressed him.
The man sported a penguin mask, yet his voice carried an unexpected gravitas.
"Did you take down both of these villains by yourself?"
"Yes."
"I see. You're certainly strong—but you're not a hero, are you?"
"Ah, yes. I'm a student at Mustafu Middle School in Chiba."
"A middle schooler? Hah. Catching villains at that age is impressive. Still, even with such confidence, you should have called a hero and waited."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Look, I might sound like an old man arriving late and lecturing you, but social procedures exist for a reason. Power wielded without social consensus is dangerous in itself."
"Ah, um. I guess I got too worked up thinking my little sibling might be in danger. I'm sorry again."
"Yes. Still, good work. That was manly. Don't let today's events get you down. I'm not endorsing your methods, but you should stand tall and earn your hero license properly. You're still young, and the circumstances were somewhat unavoidable—so I doubt anyone will hold you accountable. But if something like this happens again, try to call a hero first. They may seem unreliable at times, but they're doing their best."
"Yes."
"Don't worry about your companions. They'll likely receive top-notch treatment. Mental Quirks that cause permanent damage haven't really been seen yet, so there's no need for panic."
"Understood. Thank you."
"Good. I hope next time we meet under better circumstances. Judging by your skills, you're aiming for U.A. too, right? Looks like you'll be a fine junior hero someday."
The man patted Kirishima on the shoulder and urged him to straighten up—after all, he had saved lives.
Watching him stroll off toward the police with a chuckle, Kirishima's expression shifted to one of keen interest.
'Hmm. Maybe it's because he's young? Not as rigid as I expected. If he keeps this up, things might change... He's surprisingly flexible, even mature for his age.'
Having weathered the worst of it, Kirishima glanced over at Mio and Inoue being loaded into an ambulance.
At that very moment, reporters—eager for a word with the hero—swarmed in.
With microphones thrust at him and flashes popping all around, Kirishima shielded Yui's face and did his best to keep a neutral expression.
From his previous encounters with the media, he knew better than to make enemies out of the press without reason.
Kirishima’s arduous day was far from over.
The ordeals following the fight would prove even more challenging than the battle itself.
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