24 Because I care..

- Location: Japan, Inside the the hall of the Heinrich estate

[POV. THIRD-PERSON]

"W-what is this?! Why are you defending that girl, Ms. Henriette?" one of the other kids asked in confusion.

"That's right! She's nothing more than a pretty-faced harlot!" another kid said as he activated his quirk, turning his arm into a blade.

"CHILDREN!" Mr. Heinrich's voice echoed throughout the entire hall.

"You don't seem to realize, you're all just guests for today! The Kurosawas are a part of my family! Any disrespect towards them will be disrespect to me!" he said with a resolute voice as he tapped his cane on the floor, making a tiny crack.

"What?!" "Family?" "On what grounds?" The gossiping did not stop as the guests were all surprised.

"Kurosawa Jihye is my girlfriend!!" Henri suddenly exclaimed with a grin, making Jihye blush as she tried to look away.

"Girlfriend?! Why is Ms. Henriette going out with a girl?! Much less someone with no standing like her!!" the kid on the floor exclaimed in shock as he stood up.

The gossiping only got worse as they heard Henri's words.

"Things are getting interesting.. don't you think so, my dear?" Mrs. Yaoyorozu said as she looked at Momo.

"I don't quite get what makes you think this is entertaining, Mother.. We should have stepped up and helped the girl," Momo said with a reluctant tone.

"You don't understand, my dear. These rabble don't quite matter to us in the grand scheme of things.. I just wanna observe how this will end," Mrs. Yaoyorozu said as she smiled.

"Jihye challenges you all to a duel!!" Henri suddenly proclaimed, making everyone shocked.

"Hey! I never agreed to that!" Jihye said as she too was shocked by Henri's sudden proclamation.

"Don't worry, Jihye. These guys are pathetically weak! I doubt they even train at all, They're too busy being prideful losers!" Henri said out loud, intending for them to hear.

Hearing this, the kids got annoyed as the kid in front walked closer.

"We accept your challenge, you bitc—"

ZAP!

The kid fell on the floor again as he felt electrocuted for a moment. "Watch your words.." Henri said as her pointer finger wearing the glove smoked.

"I see this as an opportunity! The duel will be held thirty minutes from now, at our private arena!" Mr. Heinrich said with enthusiasm.

The kids' parents couldn't help but agree to it as well, because they did not want to look like cowards in front of the crowd...

....

As the guests gathered around the arena, Henri and Jihye were in the waiting room.

"Did you really have to make such a big deal out of this?" Jihye sighed as she changed her clothes into a black tracksuit.

"B-because I had to! I c-can't just let them look down on you like that!" Henri said with an odd tone as her face blushed, trying to look away from Jihye as she changed.

"You owe me a date at the cafe after this," Jihye said as she closed the locker.

"You know that I don't care about what others think of me.. so why would you still make me go through such unnecessary fights?" Jihye said as she tied her blue shoes.

"Because I care.." Henri said as she smiled, which made Jihye blush as she stood up after she finished tying her shoes.

"Good luck with the fight!" Henri said as she stood up to go to the audience seats, but Jihye stopped her by grabbing her hand.

"No good luck kiss?" Jihye's words felt like a bomb that exploded inside Henri's heart, making her face as red as a tomato.

"A-a k-kiss?!" Henri was waving her hands around, trying to hide her face, but Jihye just leaned forward as she pointed at her cheek.

Henri slowly relented as she shakily gave Jihye a kiss on her cheek.

"You're so adorable," Jihye chuckled as she hugged Henri.

"This will be quick, see you soon," Jihye spoke as she walked up the stairs towards the arena, leaving a stunned Henri in the waiting room.

"What just happened?" Henri said with a stunned expression...

....

"Ladies and gentlemen! Today we shall witness a battle of the future generation!" Mr. Heinrich said as he paused before continuing.

"I wish for a fair battle, with no cheating, and no lethal intentions," he said as he grinned.

"Let the battle begin!!"

Some of the audience looked at Jihye with pity, as they thought that Mr. Heinrich was crazy for letting one girl fight against four.

But some of them were also eager to see Jihye being put in her place.

"I don't think it's fair if all of us attack at once, and I really don't wanna hit a girl... so why don't you just give up?" the kid who fell on the floor earlier seemed to be their leader as he spoke for them.

"Let's get this over with," Jihye said as she tapped her foot on the floor.

"ARROGANT B*TCH!!" The kid said as his arm suddenly turned into a cannon.

BOOM!

His arm cannon suddenly exploded as a spiked cannonball shot towards Jihye.

But Jihye merely took a single step to the side as she started walking towards them.

BOOM!

BLAST!

He continuously shot cannonballs as Jihye dodged them with ease.

Ever since she found out that her body was mostly made out of quirk cells, she has been training herself every day, making her become faster and stronger.

It has been years since she started, and her efforts were finally shown.

"Damn it! What is her quirk?!" The kid said as sweat covered his face.

"Hey, do you think we should step in?" Another kid asked as he saw Jihye dodge all the cannonballs.

"SHUT UP!! I'VE GOT THIS!!" The kid exclaimed as his arm cannon grew bigger.

BLAST!

A gigantic molten cannonball shot at high-speed towards Jihye.

"Vanishing raven," Jihye grinned as she suddenly disappeared from everyone's gaze.

Henri's eyes widened as she knew about this new move.

Jihye's jet black wings were at full display as she appeared directly above the cannon ball.

"Guillotine," Jihye spoke as her leg suddenly performed an axe kick that perfectly cut the cannonball in half.

"Recoil.." immediately after Jihye did that move, she immediately kicked the now two halves of the cannon ball towards them.