CHAPTER 23
A/N:
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Walking along the carpet beneath him with Toga behind him following, he eventually reached the conference table that held multiple microphones.
He was about to hold a conference about the World's Martial Arts Tournament that was being held in a week's time, and Asics asked him to hold it to increase publicity.
There were a lot of reporters in the room, he counts at least 70. There were multiple cameras stationed too, so the pressure was on. Sitting down in the middle of the table, he taps the mic to check before leaning in.
"Ah, good morning, everyone. I'll not be taking questions after my announcement, so I'm sorry if you have readied any questions to ask."
And with a cough to clear his throat, he grins at the camera before revealing his announcement.
"I vow... That I'll win the World's Martial Arts Tournament as first place."
Utter silence.
"I know, I know... I'm just 12 right? How can I compete with 30-year-olds who are more experienced than me... The answer was, I don't care. I'll just do what I do and crush anyone who stands in my way. I will get first, that I promise."
And at that, he walked away with Toga in tow, ignoring the cries of reporters begging to interview him.
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"Sigh... I knew something like this would happen..."
Kenichi facepalms at his best friend's pledge. He knew that something would happen upon seeing the boy's face this morning, but who knew that he would do such a thing?
No, that's a stupid question. This was Jin Gohru he was talking about, he thrives in this.
"Who cares? The drama is worth it." Dabi grins at the shell-shook face of the reporters upon the announcement as Buba was dancing behind the couch.
"Woooo! You go, Boss man! | Yeah! Fuck them up, Boss man!"
"Ugh... More paperwork..." Groaned Lisa who was watching the news with the trio while holding a can of Asahi beer. She was introduced to the gang once they were all collected — I mean, hired by Gohru almost 3 years ago, and now she was quite close to them.
"But still, nice work with Toga's disguise, Liz. Looks really natural."
"Thanks, Ken. It took a lot out of me too, I think I lost almost 5 pounds from that." She grinned as she patted her stomach, happy that she doesn't have to exercise to lose so much fat.
Toga looked incredibly different. Gone were her cat-like eyes, and what replaced them were sky-blue eyes with normal pupils. Her hair color had changed too, from light blond hair to chocolate brown. Even her facial features were changed slightly. It was like Toga was a totally different person altogether.
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The moment the two came back home, they immediately switched to more comfortable clothing before hitting the couch.
"Tough day?"
"No shit. Tashiro was livid at my performance. Said too much, he said. Too cocky he said."
He said with a grin, to which Kenichi just shook his head in disbelief.
"Are you guys ready for the flight tomorrow?"
Toga asks, leaning on his lap with a satisfied sigh while playing with his right hand's fingers as Buba saluted her.
"Madam, yes, madam! I have! | Hell no! I haven't packed a single thing —"
He said before stopping midway.
"We did, you idiot! | No we didn't! The luggage isn't packed at all!"
"And... They're fighting again."
Said Dabi who watched Buba argue with Twice (That's the name we gave his counterpart) while drinking a glass of water, something he always did to regulate his body and Quirk's temperatures.
"Yep, just have to double check and we're ready to go!" Said Kenichi with a lot of enthusiasm, he sure was excited about the tournament.
Yes, he is joining the tournament. Ever since his defeat by Omori, he had been training like crazy with his Quirk and new Martial Arts, increasing the potency of his Quirk up to the point that his Quirk boosts his physical parameters by 50% now.
Not only that, Gohru gave him a little something too during the time skip, but he won't spoil anything yet until he reveals it himself.
"Isn't Takeo and Isamu joining the tournament too?"
Omori Takeo, now one of his closer friends along with Asuka Isamu, who he recalled was in America the last time they met. They still spar though, and it was quite interesting cause they'd always show new martial arts and techniques for his ability to absorb.
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Jin Gohru! Ability: Eye of the Lord! With this ability that he bought with his Karma Points, he is able to copy any movement or physical technique that he sees! The drawback is that he cannot copy movements that his body could not do! The Sharingan of Taijutsu, scary!
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"Nah, he's busy training in China. He said that he'll come to the next one though. And she's busy with family stuff too. I heard that her mother cheated again, so she had to handle the situation with her dad."
"Damn, unfortunate. Wanted to try fighting them seriously again."
Too bad, they were going to miss a lot since he already pledge to be number one, meaning that he would have to use many cards to win the tournament.
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"Remind me to get first-class seats whenever we go back, Toga."
"I'll book the tickets later!"
"My back... My back! | Somebody kill whoever invented that chair!"
"Shut up, Buba! You're embarrassing us!"
"Sigh... Why am I even in this friend group?"-
They chattered and joked around while exiting the airport. Thankfully, Gohru and Toga already planned their route and business already, booking a first-class suit with Asics' money for a whole month.
Oh, and he bought a car, more specifically a black Buggati Chiron the moment the gang decided to stay for a month here in the US.
Yep, the event was being held in the US, Atlanta. It was like the football World Cup back in his previous world, the leaders of all major countries come together to vote on where the next World Martial Arts Tournament was going to be, and this time it was the US' turn.
The tournament was a day away, in about 21 hours, so once the tournament was done, they were so gonna enjoy US.
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"... Sigh..."
He sighed heavily once he saw his hotel mate for the whole month.
"Gohru! So do you want anything? A massage? A bath? Or maybe..."
She gasps, finishing her sentence before blinking with a grin.
"Wa... Ta... Shi? (Me?)"
Just thinking about it gives him the chills. They were twelve, anything they do now would land him in jail. Not somewhere that he'd like to be in at the moment. With a shake of his head, he asked.
"I thought you were bunking with Buba, Toga. I was planning to let Ken be my hotelmate."
"Well..."
"I'm gonna bunk with Ken and Dabs! Best! Sleepover! Ever! | Party night!!! Games, food, beer, women! WOOOO!!!"
"Oh, for the love of — "
"For fuck's sake, Buba — !"
"Buba said to bunk here instead. He, Dabi, and Ken were going to sleep together."
"... Fine. But don't come to my bed. I need to image train tonight for tomorrow."
He reluctantly agreed, ignoring the feels in his stomach as Toga was hopping on her bed up and down in joy before asking for blood.
'This is gonna be a rough month... I can already tell...'
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