*really long chapter ahead
Previously on...The Secrets
. . .
" Prepare yourself. There is a dangerous change in the atmosphere,"
Darkness towered over them, Monoma's face falling in confusion.
" I cannot tell, however, if it is meant for you, All Might's successor, or Tomura,"
Kaori's hands stopped twitching, her mouth hanging open in horror.
" But then again, " "maybe it is a change in the person."
. . .
It all happened so quick, but everybody could feel the same emotions upon seeing the catastrophe. Nobody knew exactly what happened other than Midoriya and All Might. Not even Kaori could decipher what might've happened. Midoriya had jumped into the air, holding onto the silence as to not fail, ready to aim straight for Monoma. Maybe that boy knew something like this would happen, or maybe he expected Midoriya to snap at him, then he could brainwash the boy. Whatever so, Monoma did not move, not until that thing appeared. Dark, ebony tentacles with strange hues of green. They were unpredictable, catastrophic; they didn't belong to Midoriya. Darkness spread over the area considering the size it grew. Every moment Midoriya spent trying to control it, it only became more ravenous with a thirst to grow it's power. Monoma ran, but with no control over his body, Midoriya fell in his direction. His arm swung limply with the power controlling his movement. All of sudden, it grew three times it's size and began shooting toward Monoma. He was lucky enough to dodge before one of the tentacles tripped him and sent him hurtling in the other direction. Kaori slapped herself, forcing her feet to move. She appeared out of the darkness, taking the sky-view and following Midoriya's path. He'd reached his leg up to try and redirect his arm, but it only did so much as to aggravate the unknown power. It threw itself, as well as Midoriya, into a building, crashing right through. Kaori slid down the pipes and walls, making her way closer to where he'd crashed.
Before she could go in to even see if he was still there, the tentacles shot straight for her, throwing her body out of the building. She landed on the ground beneath with a harsh thud, the breath in her lungs evaporating. She shot up, wheezing for air, holding her shoulder lightly. The ebony substance grew another size too big, nearly spreading over the majority of the ground. She watched as Midoriya flew over her, straight into another building. She stood up, racing off towards where he'd flown, trying to conceal her thoughts. What's happening? What Quirk is this, is this apart of One For All? All For One, did you know about this? Was this the new atmosphere? Kaori flew over a few pipes, a worried expression breaking out onto her face. Midoriya's not fine. It's the new atmosphere! He didn't know who it was meant for, what if it's all three of us? This tentacle thing. What's going to happen to my Brother? What's going to happen to me?! Kaori finally came to a clear spot, close enough to where she could see Midoriya and was just able to dodge the ebony substance.
She moved forward, scrunching up her face into a scowl, dodging what she could. A tentacle shot right for her and on instinct, she took hold of it. With all five fingers. The substance writhed and twitched in her grasp before vanishing into thin air. She gaped at the result before moving forward, taking hold of the tentacles and using them to propel herself forward. Midoriya's body was still being tossed around in the air, and in his mind, it was all pain. All he could think of was that his body would explode or that his arm was so numbed, it'd fall right off.
" MIDORIYA!!" At the mention of his name, he let out a short gasp. Tears blurred his vision but as the wind whipped at his face, he could see Kaori, moving forward and doing everything she could to reach him. He tried not to cry, but in that moment, he was desperate for help. At the same time, however, he was too worried of what the substance would do to her.
" K-KAORI!! STAY..B-BACK!!" He screamed, his body flying one way before crashing into another building, the force knocking it to the ground, Midoriya's body flying high into the air. Kaori watched as the tentacles all focused on a center point, above Midoriya, and for some reason, without a plan or knowing what would happen, her feet moved. She had no time to hesitate or plan, but her feet moved before she could argue. She shot forward, using the tentacles that sought to destroy her to get closer to her friend. She came to a faux water-tower, on the verge of falling over and crashing. She looked up at Midoriya, seeing his tears evolve into pools of fear. She placed each finger-tip on finger-tip, there in a moment and gone within the next. Although nobody could see her flying towards the center of the substance, Kaori passed Midoriya and for a moment, all she could see, was her Brother's face.
. . .
Little Kaori peered into her Brother's room, calling for him softly. He didn't answer, but instead, she heard the soft whimpers and cries of her Brother. She walked further into the room, calling out his name again. Through the light of the door, she could see her Brother's crying and exhausted face.
" Koko! What wrong, why Koko crying?" She gasped, rushing towards him. He sniffled, wiping at his eyes as he spoke angrily at her.
" Go away, Ori-chan. I-i don't wanna talk.." He said, his voice cracking as he scratched at his eye with a small glare. Kaori didn't listen and continued moving towards him, hugging his side while kissing his forehead. Tenko glared at her softly.
" I said go aw-away..!" He argued, trying to push her off him, but she had a grip like steel and a heart too stubborn for her own good. She stomped her foot lightly, pouting.
" No! Haha says when a per-..person is sad, you never-ever-ever leave them, even if they scream and shout! So, no! Kaori not leaving Koko." She argued, hugging him tighter, planting more soft kisses on his head. At first, he was upset. All he wanted was to be alone, but Kaori was resilient and only kept kissing his head. He laughed at some point, shooing her away. He looked up at his younger sister, giving a smile with a tear still next to his eye.
. . .
Kaori was finally visible to the rest as she wrestled with the ball of ebony and green, holding onto it with her dear life. A light shown from under her finger-tips, the ebony tentacles know shooting straight towards the center of it's power, willing to take the girl down in order to be free. Kaori continued to dig her nails into the force, the light shining brighter. Haha used to say...never leave the ones who are hurting, even if they just look sad...because, Her fingers began to cramp as the claws and strings swarmed around her, slowly starting to close in. She could hear their voices just from outside the folds.
" KAORI!! GET AWAY!!"
" SHE'S GONNA GET HERSELF KILLED!!"
THEY MEAN TOO MUCH TO EVER LET THEM FALL THAT LOW!! Kaori hugged the power beneath her, the light beginning to shine from the inside out, the folds coming to a pause. Outside of the layers of circular fold, Midoriya dangled from it, crying out Kaori's name in fear he'd hurt her. The rest of the 1A team gasped in horror and watched as nothing happened. Slowly, the circular ball began to rotate before expanding suddenly, Kaori's figure falling from it. Midoriya was back to being thrown in every direction, crying out as his other arm reached for Kaori. Kaori, who'd only been slightly roughed up, put her cramped fingers together, wincing slightly as she suddenly took hold of Midoriya, her hair being thrown back by the impact of the wind.
" I'M SORRY! I-I CAN'T CONTROL IT!! I'M SOR-" Before Midoriya could finish, Kaori placed her fingertips at his temples, his eyes going blank and falling back into his skull. They fell towards the ground, landing with a thud as Midoriya was whipped into unconsciousness. Kaori crawled toward Midoriya's body, taking his hand lightly. She tugged on it, squinting one eye shut from the pain that numbed her body.
" M-midoriya...you awake..?" She asked. There was no response from him, only the soft whispers from his sleep. She gave a relieved smile, forcing her legs to help her stand. She stood from her position on the ground, watching as her fingers shook from the energy drained from them. A few moments later, the rest of 1A's team appearing. Mina immediately rushed over to her, hugging her tightly with a ferocity like no other. Uraraka took off her helmet, rushing to Midoriya's side with Mineta. She smiled weakly before putting on a stern face.
" We still have a match to finish." She instructed. All three looked back at her in astonishment.
" What about Midoriya?! He won't be safe anywhere, they'll take advantage of him like this!!" Mineta cried, pointing to his friend on the ground. Kaori looked down at Midoriya, seeing the substance finally retreat back into his body, disappearing for what she hoped would be a long time. Uraraka looked at her with an expression ready to follow orders.
" Then we'll put him in the prison, where they can't do anything. We will finish this round and win so Midoriya doesn't have to feel guilty later. Can we all agree on that? This match is for Deku." She proclaimed, throwing her hand in. Uraraka reached her hand up, placing it atop of the girl's, just two inches apart. Mina placed a hand on Uraraka's as Mineta could only reach a finger up. In the next few minutes, they'd managed to escape 1B and place Midoriya in the prison, where he could sleep easily. Kaori turned back to the rest, putting on a stern face.
" Alright, listen up. Mina, I want you in the skies. Melt anything you can and let it fall on them. If that doesn't work, use 0.5% acidity, it'll sting them, but won't severely injure them. Get in close so they have no where to go. I'd suggest going for Twin Impact or Size-Enhancer. Mineta, do your best to coat the place in balls. Use them to your advantage, go after Poltergeist. Uraraka, stay in the shadows and use your combat skills. Go after Monoma." She instructed, pointing to each of them with their own tasks. Uraraka froze a little at the mention of Monoma.
" Monoma? But I..he-" Before Uraraka could argue, Kaori placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, giving a confident smile.
" Monoma might have a lot of Quirks, but he can also be so caught up in himself, he doesn't watch his surroundings. Use what you can to your advantage, think outside the box. As for me, I'll deal with Shinsou. I have a feeling he'll be after me now that Midoriya is out of the game. Deal?" Everybody nodded in agreement to her plan, following Kaori back into the heat-of-the-fight. It didn't take long to draw them out. Poltergeist came out of the shadows with Size-Enhancer, Twin Impact following along. Mina and Mineta were put on duty immediately as Kaori and Uraraka separated from them. A few moments passed before Monoma appeared from behind, hand outstretched towards Kaori. In a time close to light-speed, Uraraka took hold of his wrist flying off with him in her grasp. That gave Kaori the opportunity to come face to face with Shinsou. His capture scarf had flown toward Uraraka's back, but with quick-thinking, Kaori took hold of it carefully. She pulled him forward, his body reacting strangely to the jerk before becoming accustomed to it and landing with ease. She let go of his scarf, pointing two fingers from each hand defensively. With his mask off, she could see his excited smirk.
" You know, I was hoping to have a rematch with Midoriya, but this has gotta be better." He spoke truthfully, the folds of the scarf intricately woven between his fingers. He held them up, tightening his grip before shooting the cloth at her, her body instinctively moving to the side before bending back as it changed direction. Shinsou moved forward, knowing he had a chance against Kaori. While he might not have known every aspect of her Quirk, he knew her personal drawbacks. Blood, Limp Body Parts, and her biggest weakness was using her Quirk against her family or loved ones. While she used her hands most of the time, she didn't always think fast to aid herself with her legs. He moved like he'd trained, down, up, side-to-side before moving down again. Kaori blocked another hit, feet sliding across the ground. Her eyes twitched slightly out of annoyance as the capture weapon secured her arms together, rendering her practically immobile. She did the one thing she could think; using her body as a weapon. She charged forward, the distance between her and Shinsou closing as she slammed her body into his, knocking him off of the platform they stood on. She breathed in heavily, reaching her fingers up best she could to remove the capture scarf. It broke instantly, freeing her from it's grasp. Feeling a strange presence behind her, she turned her head, coming face to face with Monoma, seeing his hand outstretched towards it. Whatever he had, it radiated an energy she didn't like. It radiated...her Quirk. She gasped harshly, moving back on instinct.
" MONOMA, DON'T!! REVERSE-" She began to scream, but Uraraka came from behind, tackling him to the ground easily. From behind, Shinsou shot up to the building above the platform, looking down at what'd happen.
" Don't worry, he doesn't have your Quirk! You're right, he does blab too much! I'll take care of him!!" Uraraka assured, standing over him as she looked back at the girl. Kaori let out a relieved breath. Reverse wasn't for the faint of heart and if Monoma used it to overpower her, it'd most likely end up in the annihilation of Ground Gamma.
" Monoma-" Before Shinsou could act against either of them, Kaori shot in the air, slamming her body right into the brainwashing-mess-of-a-brother. His persona-chords mask fell to the ground, sliding away. He smiled, wrestling Kaori with bare strength.
" You sure you want to fight me, Time-Stone?" He taunted, smirking mischievously. She smirked herself, but gave no response. She pushed against his shoulder blades before raising her leg and shooting him across the ground. He stopped himself from crashing into the wall, the scarf around his shoulders beginning to float like Aizawa's. She stared at him with a stern scowl.
" FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME, KAORI?!" And just as he wished, she respected his decision. I'll fight you any day, Dr. Strange. She got in a proper stance, hands at the ready. He shot forward, weaving the cloth between his finger-tips and shooting above her. She watched as the pipes broke and slowly fell, inches close to giving her serious brain-damage. She jumped back, falling over the edge slowly. Shinsou's steps stayed planted, unsure if he should check. Kaori propelled herself back up, heading straight for him. He blocked majority of her punches, but he made the mistake of continuously stepping back towards the other end. She took the fight to the edge until Shinsou was on his heels, nearly falling back. His hand shot out from behind, capture scarf tightening around an over-head pipe. He flew into the air, another end of the capture scarf shooting out towards Kaori as she followed him into the air. I know how much effort you put into this, Kaori took hold of the scarf, twisting it around herself and pulling on Shinsou's other end. He landed on the pipe above, nearly slipping. I remember, back when we first met, how much you wanted this chance,
. . .
" The one thing I really want is to be outstanding. Like Eraserhead," At the mention of her Father, 12-year-old Kaori turned curiously toward the boy she'd met not too long ago. After standing up for him that day in class, he asked to be her friend. Not having many, she complied, and found that the two had many things in common. " His Quirk used to be simple and he's not known everywhere, but he's still one of the coolest people ever because he worked hard to prove everybody wrong. He made his Quirk strong. I wanna be somebody like that."
Kaori gave a soft smile as she turned to the purple-haired boy, " I believe you can do it." Surprised by her sudden response, he turned toward her in intrigue.
" You do?" He asked.
" Definitely! You've got the guts of a Hero, Hitoshi! Besides, you do kinda remind me of my Dad." She said, surprising him that the Hero he'd looked up to had a child and he just so happened to be friends with that child.
" Wait, Eraserhead's your dad?! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be weird!" He exclaimed, bowing his head to her. Kaori was surprised for a moment before breaking out in a fit of laughter, holding her heart lightly. And, slowly, Shinsou began to laugh as well.
. . .
So, I'll give you the chance to fight at your very hardest! Kaori slipped under the pipe, reemerging from the other side as the scarf that was once wrapped around her waist began to fall off. She took the scarf, pulling him forward before maneuvering her body, watching as he grabbed onto her forearms and took her to ground with him. They took quite a tumble before standing again, fending off against each other. Shinsou wrapped one end of the scarf around her forearm as he leg was suddenly captured. She jumped off the ground, twisting her left arm across her body as her right leg reached up. She came down on Shinsou, pinning him to the ground for the final time. That's when Hitoshi Shinsou knew he was beat. He was wrapped up in his own weapon before being led off in the direction of the prison. As she neared closer to the prison, she was lucky to see her other teammates throwing in Yanaki, Kodai, and Shoda. The sign clicked and Nezu's voice announced the complete capture of 1B's team.
" Things looked awfully dangerous for a moment there, but the fifth match has now concluded. Today's training is done, but you all have learned of your enemies and yourselves. You've all fought bravely and shone your true potential. Without further ado, the results!" Midnight's voice echoed over the loud-speaker. Kaori set Shinsou down, taking Midoriya's unconsious body and dragging him out of the prison. She tapped his cheek a few times, unsure if it was safe to wake him. Turns out, he'd truly fallen asleep during his forced unconsciousness.
" Match 1, A. Match 2, B. Match 3, a draw. Match 4, A. Match 5, A! The winners of the Hero-Course Battle are Class 1A!!" Her teammates cheered excitedly, jumping and congratulating one-another. Kaori smiled lightly, but took a seat on the ground, starring down at her hands. Still fidgeting and cramped, they felt numb and she knew it was best to see Recovery Girl. She felt a hand place itself on her shoulder, looking up at the person above her. Shinsou stood there, a worried look on his face. He took a seat beside her.
" Are you ok? I'm not gonna lie, I almost teared up when your were trapped inside Midoriya's energy thing." Shinsou said, giving a small smile as he ruffled her hair. She gave a smile back before staring at her hands.
" Yeah, I'm okay. They just...won't stop fidgeting. Like I still need to use it." She said, watching as her finger's twitched back and forth. He pat her back softly, standing once again and offering a hand. She starred up at him, unamused. He chuckled at his own joke.
. . .
" Alright, time for the rundown," Vlad announced, face stern as always as the two teachers faced the two groups. Midoriya was awake now, somehow still energized from the exhausting fight he'd encountered with his Quirk.
" Let's start with Midoriya; what was going on?" Aizawa wanted that immediate answer out of his problem child. Midoriya began to sweat as he tried to formulate an answer. In the time he'd been knocked unconsious, he'd met a previous user of One For All, someone who'd once harnessed the unruly Quirk, Black-whip, as his own.
" Well-..uh, I'm trying to figure it out myself. I was overflowing with power, I didn't know how to hold it back. It was when Kaori knocked me unconsious that it had time to settle and somewhat understand what was going on. But I didn't know what was going on, it's what made me so terrified. But, when I had time to understand it, thanks to Kaori, I knew it wasn't something I should fear. So, thank you," Midoriya explained, remaining calm as he looked at his hand warily before turning towards Kaori. She looked at him in somewhat of surprise. " Kaori. You really helped me back there, I owe you one." Kaori gave him a small smile, patting his shoulder encouragingly.
" I'll be honest, I didn't know what I was doing. My feet moved before I could think of a plan." She explained, letting her hand fall back at her side. Midoriya was a bit surprised by her answer, remembering something All Might had once said to him.
" True Heroes claim that their feet move before they had a chance to think."
After reviewing a few more analysis', they came to a point where it was Shinsou's turn. Kaori watched as Shinsou's feet shuffled from side to side.
" I'll be honest, I tried to stop Midoriya with Brainwashing, but I wanted to do it selfishly. When I saw the others on my team getting hurt, including Kaori, because of that black-thing, all I could think of doing was stopping Midoriya and proving to him I could take him on in a real fight. But I knew our team was going to lose if someone didn't take Kaori afterward, so I did, because I've wanted to fight her for as long as Midoriya, but never had the strength," Shinsou announced, his gaze turned toward the ground. Kaori peaked over a him, an expression of confusion masking her. Should I feel honored or threatened by this statement? " Everything else that might've happened was just coincidence. It was all I could do to take care of mySE-" Before Shinsou could finish, Aizawa pulled at the ends of the capture scarf, shutting him up easily. Midoriya and Uraraka gasped harshly as Kaori gave a lazy smirk. Classic Chichi.
" Nobody asked any more than that of you, Shinsou," Aizawa spoke calmly to the boy, letting him loose. He turned to the students behind him, " Everybody here has been training for months to become Heroes who will save the people of this world. No one can, or ever will, master being a Hero right away. Except All Might, but he doesn't count." All Might felt a small twinge of pride touch him, but told himself to let it slide and act cool. Aizawa paced slowly, still looking at his students as he gave him one of his pessimist-encouraging-pep-talks.
" Before becoming a Hero, you have to make sure you take care of yourself. Otherwise, you will fail. If you don't have the power to stand your ground, then you can't protect anyone else. With that in mind," Kaori felt chills run down her spine as her heart thumped faster, eager to hear her brother's results. " You showed us enough to earn a passing grade. It's probable you'll join the Hero Course in your second year. " Kaori's face beamed with a smile as she looked towards her Brother excitedly, hands twitching faster.
" After fighting everyone today, I finally understand. I experienced first-hand how amazing everybody is, I won't be satisfied by merely passing. I'll work harder so that I can aim higher and surpass what those expect of me." Shinsou guaranteed, looking up into the sky as to force the forming tears back into his eyes. As soon as they'd finished with the grading, Kaori pounced on her Brother, hugging him tightly. She looked at him again, small tears sprouting out of her eyes, shaking his shoulders lightly. She gave a small sniff.
" Hitoshi, I'm so proud of you! I can't-...I can't believe it, you've done it! You're outstanding!" She exclaimed, wiping at her eyes as she began to choke up. She hugged him again, and this time, Shinsou hugged back, letting a small tear slip.
Here they were, becoming Heroes.