Momo Yaoyorozu's expression immediately dropped.
Yeah… the gap in strength was just too big. And if the difference was that huge, then the difficulty of training wouldn't even be on the same level.
So… was there really no way for her to make up for it on her own?
At that moment, Yaoyorozu's father spoke up, "Arthur-kun, isn't it a bit early to decide that? Why not let her see your training methods first before making a conclusion?"
Her mother quickly followed, "Exactly. Momo told me you're the strongest among her peers she's ever seen. Auntie is asking you, please help her."
So troublesome…
Arthur rested his chin on his hand, thinking for a while. After about half a minute, he finally sighed. "Fine. As long as she's got the guts to show up."
"Really? Thank you!"
Yaoyorozu's mother immediately pulled her daughter forward. "Come on, Momo, say thank you properly."
"Thank you, Arthur-kun."
Momo bowed repeatedly, clearly relieved and excited.
"Oh, come on. You two are going to be classmates anyway, just call each other by your names," her mother said with a smile. Then she winked at Arthur. "Arthur-kun, you don't need to be so formal either. Just call her Momo."
Momo's face instantly turned bright red.
—
Later, in the western part of Tokyo.
Momo followed closely behind Arthur. After hesitating for a while, she finally spoke up, her voice a little shy, "Um… Arthur-kun… about what my mother said earlier… you don't have to take it seriously. You can just call me like before."
"It's fine. Calling you Momo works."
Arthur didn't even turn around as he answered.
"Eh!?"
Momo froze, her face heating up again. "Th-this…"
Then Arthur added casually, "Your last name is just way too long to say."
It felt like someone had dumped cold water over her head.
Whatever weird flutter she felt earlier vanished instantly.
In its place was just… mild annoyance.
As they kept walking, Momo started to feel more and more uneasy. She stepped a bit closer to Arthur, her voice lowering nervously. "Um… Arthur-kun… this place is…"
They had already passed the busy shopping district. The streets were getting quieter, emptier.
There were barely any normal pedestrians left.
Every now and then, shady figures lurking in alleys would glance at them with bad intentions.
It instantly reminded Momo of last night… of almost being killed by Himiko Toga.
"The slums. Or, well, a high-risk area," Arthur said casually. "Someone like you has probably never been here before, right?"
"It's full of lowlifes, thugs, and sometimes even gangs dealing drugs."
He paused for a second before continuing.
"Most of them have weak Quirks and bad attitudes, but they fight all the time over territory and scraps. So yeah, they've got decent combat experience. And every now and then, you'll run into someone actually strong."
The more Momo listened, the more nervous she got.
A bad feeling started creeping in.
"D-don't tell me your training method is…"
"Yo yo yo, look at that. What a fine lady."
"Damn, boss, those curves? Way better than anything around here."
"And those are definitely real. Not like the fake stuff we usually see."
"Boss, you go first. Just leave us something after."
Before she could finish, five scruffy-looking guys stepped out from the corner, blocking their path while running their mouths.
Arthur didn't even look bothered. He gave a small smile and said, "See? Guys like these aren't that strong. If they were, they'd already be robbing people in the shopping district or attacking us directly."
"These ones? Bottom-tier."
From how casually he explained it, it was obvious he'd been here plenty of times before.
Arthur stepped aside, grabbed Momo by the arm, and pushed her forward slightly. "Normally, these trash mobs aren't even worth my time. I wouldn't even bother using my Quirk."
"But for you right now? Perfect practice."
These guys really showed up at the perfect time.
For Arthur, they weren't even worth warming up against.
But for Momo… they were exactly what she needed.
"Bastard! What did you just say!?"
"Boss, grab his girl! Let's do it right in front of him!"
"Yeah! Show him what the Black Tiger Five-Man Group can do!"
The five of them started shouting.
Two of them rushed Arthur first.
One's fingernails suddenly extended into sharp blades. The other pulled out a pair of nunchaku, which instantly grew larger in his hand.
So those are their Quirks.
Just as they got within two meters of him…
Thwack!
Boom!
Two heavy impacts rang out.
No one saw what happened.
All they saw was both attackers getting launched backward, sliding across the ground for over twenty meters.
The result looked exactly like what happened to Katsuki Bakugo before.
No… actually, if Izuku Midoriya were here, he'd realize something.
That was even faster than when Arthur beat Bakugo last month.
The remaining three froze, staring at Arthur like they'd just seen a ghost.
"I already told you," Arthur said, raising a hand impatiently. "Your opponent is her."
"Now attack seriously."
He glanced at them, his tone suddenly sharp.
"Think of it like this. Someone just stole your girl, and you're pissed enough to kill."
"Fight with that energy."
Listening to Arthur's weird analogy, Momo Yaoyorozu was mortified and totally exasperated.
Did this guy seriously not see her as a woman?
"Attack, or I'll take you out first."
Arthur spoke again, his tone even more threatening this time. "Otherwise, I'll make sure you three never get up again."
The sheer presence he gave off made it clear to the three thugs that he was on a completely different level from them.
Even though they'd never heard a request this bizarre, Arthur's repeated threats left them with no choice but to face Momo and start activating their Quirks.
The leader tilted his head slightly, and his shoulder-length hair instantly doubled in length, falling to the ground.
"Haah!"
With a grunt, his hair shot out over five meters, whipping toward Momo like octopus tentacles.
"A Quirk that controls hair?!"
Momo gasped and tried to dodge by stepping sideways.
But to her surprise, even when the hair brushed past her, it immediately changed direction and kept coming.
The short, stocky guy beside the leader explained, "The boss's hair is like an extension of his body! He can control it as easy as his own hands! Changing direction is nothing!"
The explanation didn't take long.
The constantly extending hair wrapped around Momo's right ankle like a bunch of ropes, making it hard for her to escape.
After tying her up, the leader hesitated and glanced at Arthur.
"For real, don't hold back, or you know what happens."
Arthur threatened.
The leader gritted his teeth and snapped his head forward.
At the same time, his hair whipped Momo into the air.
She was about to slam into the abandoned building.
At the last second, Momo used her Creation Quirk to make a Japanese katana, swinging it to cut the hair around her ankle.
But when she landed, she stumbled, rolling a couple of times on the ground.
Her expensive custom outfit was covered in dust.
"Keep going. Both of you join in."
Arthur then ordered the other two thugs.
"Uh… Y-yes!"
The two shorter guys had no choice but to steel themselves and charge in.
If Arthur weren't standing there, they might've still tried to take advantage while attacking.
But now they didn't dare, not even wanting to touch Momo with their bare hands.
What if that freak got annoyed and killed them?
One of the two short guys had a Quirk that increased the weight of objects.
He cranked up the weight of a rock on the ground and hurled it at Momo.
The other guy seemed to be able to harden things, making stuff like paper and feathers as tough as weapons.
They weren't completely useless, but compared to Quirks like Shoto Todoroki or Inasa Yoarashi, it wasn't even close.
Honestly, a lot of people got bitter about their Quirks being weak and ended up on the wrong path, becoming the messes they were now.
Almost 40 minutes passed.
By the time noon rolled around, Momo had been fighting and training against the three small-time thugs, and she looked completely wrecked.
Even though Arthur had said not to hold back, the three were still terrified he'd snap and finish them off.
They were already pulling their punches, avoiding any lethal hits, and not daring to touch Momo directly.
Even so, taking on three Quirk users with more combat experience than her at once was enough to run the young heiress ragged.
Right now, she could barely stay standing, wobbling like she was about to collapse any second.
Whether it was his imagination or not, Arthur could've sworn her chest had shrunk.
From what was probably an E, or even bigger, down to a B or less.
Momo's vision was getting blurry, and her eyelids felt heavy.
Her steps faltered, and she was about to hit the ground.
Just as she started to fall, a hand caught her by the waist.
The next second, she got hoisted onto his shoulder.
"Good work."
It was unclear if he was talking to Momo or the three thugs.
After leaving that one sentence, Arthur carried Momo over his shoulder and walked off.
The three guys had barely let out a sigh of relief when Arthur's voice, sounding like a death sentence from hell, made them almost jump out of their skin:
"I'll be bringing her back later."
When Momo finally came to, she was lying on a bench in a family restaurant.
Arthur sat across from her, sipping a drink and watching people pass by outside.
"Did… did I pass out?"
Momo shot up from the chair, staring at herself in disbelief.
"You were out for about half an hour."
Arthur set his cup down.
He'd been carrying an unconscious girl through the streets, getting stared at like some kind of kidnapper.
Even a few nosy heroes had tried to step in.
Ignoring the soreness all over her body, Momo couldn't help asking, "Um… Arthur, how many times have you been to a place like that?"
"You remember how many times you've masturbated?"
Momo: "…"
...
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