Chapter 4: The Weightless Punch

Chapter 4: The Weightless Punch

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Three students loomed over Yahari Kyoujiro, their leader exuding an aura of arrogance and power. At the center stood Raizo, the most imposing of the trio. His spiky yellow hair and piercing green eyes made him stand out even more. With a sneer on his face, he glared down at Yahari.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from Hina?" Raizo demanded, his voice sharp and commanding.

Yahari, unflinching under the weight of Raizo's gaze and the attention of the entire class, responded calmly, "Is she your fiancée or something, Raizo?"

Raizo's hand slammed down on Yahari's desk with a loud bang, the impact echoing through the room. Green sparks flickered angrily around his eyes as his frustration mounted. "She would have been if you weren't in the way!" he spat.

Yahari let out a weary sigh, still composed. "I've told you before—I have nothing to do with Hina's personal life. She knows how we both feel. The only difference between us is that you've been rejected, and I'm still waiting for an answer."

Raizo's face twisted with rage, and he clenched his fist tightly. Without warning, he swung it toward Yahari, his voice dripping with venom. "That's right! I wouldn't have been rejected if it weren't for you!"

SMACK!

Raizo's fist connected with Yahari's face, but instead of the satisfying crunch of bone or the sight of Yahari crumpling under the blow, something strange happened. Raizo's fist seemed to sink into Yahari's cheek as if he had struck a rubber ball. His hand rebounded, feeling almost weightless.

Raizo and his lackeys stared in disbelief. Yahari, unfazed by the hit, touched his cheek, feeling the odd, elastic texture of his skin. "Since when does a punch from Raizo feel so... light?" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

Raizo's eyes widened in shock, his confidence faltering. He had fought Yahari numerous times before, and although Yahari had always held his own in hand-to-hand combat, he'd never come out unscathed. This time, though, there were no cuts, no bruises. Yahari's nose wasn't even bleeding.

"What the hell, Yahari?" Raizo growled, his voice wavering. "Is this some kind of trick?"

Yahari pressed his hand against his wrist, deep in thought. His mind was racing to understand what had just happened. "It's not a trick... I think," he murmured. "My body… it's like rubber."

Raizo's face darkened with fury as green sparks flared around him, crackling more violently than before. "Rubber body? You've been holding back all this time? Mocking me by not using your quirk? First, you steal Hina, and now you make a fool of me?!"

Fueled by rage, Raizo lunged at Yahari once more, his body surging with green electricity. This time, he aimed directly for Yahari's chest. The force of the blow sent Yahari flying backward across the classroom. The students gasped, expecting him to crash into the wall behind him. But instead of slamming into it, Yahari's body compressed like a spring the moment he hit the wall.

"If I'm right, my body should bounce back..." Yahari whispered just before launching off the wall with incredible speed.

WHOOSH!

The momentum from Raizo's punch rebounded, sending Yahari hurtling back across the room with even greater force. He collided with Raizo, knocking the boy off his feet. The impact sent both of them sprawling onto the floor, but it was Raizo who bore the brunt of it. The green sparks that had once crackled around him flickered out as he lay on the ground, groaning in pain, unable to move.

Yahari slowly stood up, brushing himself off. "So, my body absorbs the force like rubber, but it still packs a punch..." he mused aloud, his expression thoughtful. "I guess my punches aren't weightless after all."

Raizo, still lying on the floor, looked up in a daze, unable to comprehend what had just happened. His two friends rushed to his side, helping him to his feet, but they were just as bewildered as he was. They cast one last glance at Yahari before retreating, too shaken to continue the confrontation.

The classroom was silent, every student frozen in shock. Whispers began to spread like wildfire through the room.

"Did you see that? He just bounced off the wall!"

"I thought Yahari didn't have a quirk..."

"Fourteen years old, and he awakens a quirk now?"

The disbelief in the room was palpable. Yahari, aware of the stares and murmurs, sat back down at his desk. He could feel the weight of every eye on him, but his mind was elsewhere, processing the events that had just unfolded.

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The rest of the school day passed in a blur. Yahari barely registered the lessons or the chatter of his classmates. His thoughts were consumed by the discovery of his quirk. For years, he had believed he was quirkless, living in a world where almost everyone had a special ability, and he had always been the exception. But now, everything was different.

He replayed the moment over and over in his mind—the punch that should have sent him sprawling, the way his body had absorbed the impact, the spring-like rebound. It was surreal, yet undeniable.

As the final bell rang, Yahari stood up, still lost in thought. His world had changed in an instant, and the questions swirling in his mind were endless. What did this new ability mean for him? How would it change his life?

One thing was certain: Yahari Kyoujiro's world would never be the same again.

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