"They want you to tell them about the Quirks in their bodies," Aizawa said. "It's unfortunate that Hood could not be captured but the police still have parts of its body. I cannot accompany you but you will be met up with police there, and possibly Hawks or Endeavor,"
Frowning to herself, Kimitsuki had agreed to head to Kyushu City on a moment's notice. There was no one who could accompany her at that moment but she felt like it was okay for her to go on her own as she now had some confidence in herself as well as a Hero's License.
Kimitsuki landed in Kyushu City, having travelled by air, and expected to be met by police officers. She felt like it would be awkward if she was taken by the police as soon as she arrived in the city but surprisingly, there was someone else waiting for her – Number Two Hero, Hawks.
By now, there had been so many times that Kimitsuki had met Pro-Heroes, and she had even trained with the former top two – All Might and Endeavour – but there was something strange about meeting a Pro-Hero who was so young, so close to their age and yet already Number Two in Japan.
Hawks was a handsome person in real life, just as all the girls in her class had said but Kimitsuki wasn't sure what to make of him. There was one way to describe him: casual and carefree.
And maybe it was due to that young, careless age but Hawks was doing nothing to hide his identity in the airport – he was dressed casual black clothing with his trademark yellow-tinted visor.
There was no way that Kimitsuki was going to catch any attention and she quickly pulled her bangs down, putting on her hat and mask as she hurried over, hoping to be unrecognisable to others.
"Excuse me," Kimitsuki mumbled as she reached Hawks, glancing around to see the coast clear.
"Want an autograph?" Hawks asked. Kimitsuki looked at him with bewilderment even though only her eyes were visible. "We've got to hurry though, I'm here to pick someone up,"
"I am the person you're here to pick up," Kimitsuki informed him almost as if she pitied him.
"You're a highschooler?" Hawks said, taken back and looking right at her feet to see if she was wearing heels, only to find simple shoes. "... they're making them too big these days,"
For a moment, Kimitsuki felt her eyes narrow, believing that he was being inappropriate with her but then realised that he was talking about their heights – Hawks was only about 5'7 while Kimitsuki had already passed the threshold of 5'9¾ a long time ago.
"Um, I suppose," Kimitsuki replied. "My name is Kuroyanagi Kimitsuki, the police had requested for me to come and have a look at the Nomu that were sent... shall we head out?"
"Endeavor-San said you were a quiet girl but you're quite assertive, huh?" Hawks commented and Kimitsuki felt her cheeks turn pink. "I think we should hurry if you've got school tomorrow..."
"I apologise, this is my first time having to travel in order to check on Nomu," Kimitsuki replied. "And seeing the fight live... I was taken aback by the prospect of an intelligent Nomu,"
"Right, you've got plenty of experience with Nomu," Hawks said as the two of them began to walk through the airport. "I heard that the League of Villains is after you as well?"
"Well, um... only one... some of them," Kimitsuki mumbled and it seemed like Hawks realised that she was not very keen on talking about it with him.
"But you're a really good Hero, aren't you?" Hawks said, changing the topic quickly. "There was all about your role in the efforts against the Shie Hassaikai,"
"... um, I was grateful to be worthy of helping the Pro-Heroes in the case," Kimitsuki replied and yet again, Hawks realised that he was picking up a sensitive topic, given Sir Nighteye's fate.
"Uh, well, you're a top student at UA, aren't you?" Hawks said, now deciding that he had no idea what to talk to the girl about after all his blunders and he wasn't as cool as he thought.
"Thank you," Kimitsuki responded, bowing her head gently. "Being a top Pro-Hero at a young age... you are inspirational as well. I hope to continue helping others right after graduating as well,"
"Heh, I suppose it means a bit more given that its coming from someone like you," Hawks replied. Kimitsuki smiled, though he couldn't see her lips. "You don't mind taxis, do you?"
"No, will we be taking a taxi to the station?" Kimitsuki inquired, watching him wave one down.
"They're keeping the Nomu at a special facility," Hawks informed her. "We'll take a taxi nearby and then walk there – I should've taken a ride from the police but I'm not really fond of driving,"
"I suppose it must feel a bit cramped," Kimitsuki said, glancing toward his red wings. She smiled. "You have a Quirk that I don't have to use mine to figure out,"
Hawks nodded but didn't say anything about her Quirk, a bit apprehensive of the 'mind-reading' aspect of it. He stepped forward to talk to the taxi that stopped in front of them, and when it was confirmed that he would take them along, Hawks opened the door for Kimitsuki.
"Thank you," Kimitsuki said, bowing her head again before getting into the taxi. She watched as Hawks walked around and entered from the other door.
"So, as we were talking," Hawks continued. "Well, the most interesting part if your Fire Quirk. You'll probably find more inspiration from the Number One Hero than myself,"
"There are many aspects of being Hero, no?" Kimitsuki asked, amused. "It could do with their Quirk, it could with their personality or the drive they have for helping others... right?"
At this, Hawks let out a chuckle and nodded, making them fall into silence. Kimitsuki looked outside the car window – it was only 4 in the afternoon but sun was descending already, the winter shortening the days as they went by. She hoped to be done quickly so she could catch her next flight to head home, which was already booked for ten o'clock that night.
While she had been observing Kyushu, a city she was visiting for the first time in her life, Kimitsuki felt eyes upon her. She looked around and noticed that it was the taxi driver, who seemed to be glancing between her and Hawks again and again through the rear-view mirror - until he saw her looking, then he looked away.
Not thinking much of it at that moment, Kimitsuki looked away. She was, instead, starting to feel a bit anxious about the work that was awaiting her at this supposedly 'special facility'.
"We're here," Hawks informed her, and he paid the taxi driver at once, surprising Kimitsuki but she didn't say anything as she got out of the taxi. "Let's go,"
"Yes," Kimitsuki replied, hurrying to follow him as the two of them began their way down the street.
All the way until they turned around the corner, there were eyes on their back and it was clearly the taxi driver. Kimitsuki did not understand why he was staring them down but she figured that it must have to do with the fact that Hawks was the Number Two Hero. Hawks had noticed it, too.
"That's one downside of being paraded around on a stage," Hawks commented, though his tone was clear. "It's hard to figure out what someone wants from you at times,"
"I suppose I can relate to you in that aspect," Kimitsuki said. "Although, I have been on television more for making blunders than doing any good... I have never done well with attention,"
It seemed to amuse Hawks because Kimitsuki noticed him to hide a smile. But before she could ask him about what had made him do that, they appeared to have reached the facility. They were greeted by a police officer, and almost at once, all lightness was gone from the two Heroes.
It is time to work now.
🤍
The dying day had turned into night by the time that Kimitsuki had finished going over everything with the police, including making a detail note of the Nomu that were captured and the one that was incinerated. It took her some time and plenty of concentration but she managed to disembark all of the Quirks in the Nomu to authorities. She couldn't, however, give everything about the Hood.
"You did your best," Hawks told her as they walked into the lobby. "Knowing that these Quirks were stolen, I'm sure it would answer many missing cases and figure out what exactly the League is planning with these Nomu. It's okay even if you can't see much of Hood,"
"I'm grateful to be of help," Kimitsuki replied, bowing deeply to him and the police officers. "I will work hard with my Quirk and become a more reliable person in the future,"
"That's the spirit," Hawks told her. "It was a good time seeing you in action – I'm sorry I can't accompany you back to the airport but these gentlemen have stepped up to the plate,"
"Thank you," Kimitsuki said, looking toward the two officers, who bowed to her and she did the same in response. She looked at Hawks. "Thank you for making it a bit easier for me,"
Although she had been smiling at Hawks and had bowed formally to him, Kimitsuki's expression turned serious as she pulled on her mask. It was true that she had an easy time with Hawks around but there were some things about his behaviour that made him peculiar even if they had just met.
But there was nothing that Kimitsuki could say to him about it as she could never explain to others how much her eyes had forced her to make quick assessments of others, especially recently.
In fact, there had been so many questions that Kimitsuki wanted answers for – how did Hood know where the top two Pro-Heroes were located to attack immediately at that building?
Night had fallen over Kyushu City and it was rather cold as the young girl followed the two officers into their vehicle. It would take them about fifteen minutes to the airport.
Several messages had appeared but she only had the strength to respond to Izuku, Aizawa and in the class's group chat to inform them that she was on her way back to Tokyo.
Everything seemed to have gone rather smoothly for how much anxiety she had felt but just as she was starting to truly relax herself, there was sudden break of the car and as Kimitsuki looked ahead, she noticed the havoc on the streets ahead by what seemed to be a Gigantification Villain.
As their car came to a stop, the officers had barely turned around when Kimitsuki had already left the car, her jacket, mask and hat on the backseat as she went ready to use her Fire if need be.
The Villain had picked up a car with civilians within, throwing it down toward another car but Kimitsuki swept in first, using her Shield to catch it before it could hit the ground.
It took some time for any of the other Pro-Heroes in the vicinity to arrive but by the time that they had done so, Kimitsuki had managed to reduce the Villian down, successfully captured.
Kimitsuki had landed quite a few ways away from the others by the end of the battle, and she had just turned to return to the police car when her eyes caught movement in an alleyway behind her.
Against her better judgement when she knew how dangerous it could be for her to be out of sight in this city, the white-haired girl stepped into the alley, activating her Quirk to survey the location when a sudden burst of Blue Flames came rushing toward her, making her duck to avoid it.
"You!" Kimitsuki exclaimed as her glowing eyes settled on the lanky figure in the dark. "... Dabi,"
"So, you are able to recognise me now," Dabi commented, smirking as he stepped forward. "That fire scars your memory just as much as it scars your skin, doesn't it?"
"Nothing about your fire can do anything to me," Kimitsuki told him. "My Fire burns hotter; I have already moved on from what happened that night. My body is not as weak as yours,"
"Do you think I'm not aware of it?" Dabi replied. His voice was hard but he seemed unbothered. "One way or another, our Fires shall combine, little princess,"
"Kuroyanagi-San!"
As the police officers came rushing to look for her, given that they were ordered to make sure that she reached the airport safely, Kimitsuki watched as Dabi left the vicinity. She wanted to follow him, to slam her hands against his smugness and demand him to stop playing riddles and tell her everything.
But Kimitsuki did not move – she wanted to believe that it was due to the fact that she was exhausted and knew it wasn't the place to follow after a Villain. Yet, there was the very conscious thought inside of her that told her the truth about her own feelings:
What if I can't handle the truth?
🤍
Kimitsuki arrived back in Tokyo and was picked up from the airport by Aizawa. She had been initially calm but as soon as they were in the car, she narrated everything that had happened to her teacher, including how Dabi had managed to find her. Aizawa did not seem very impressed to hear what had happened, and Kimitsuki was aware that he had already been not fond of this trip in the first place.
Aizawa had listened to her in silence and then told her that he would handle the rest of it. There was no way that Kimitsuki would be travelling to other cities to see any Nomu anymore, especially if they were still located in a city where the League was last witnessed in action. He had asserted that.
"Head inside, I told everyone to be in their beds on time," Aizawa told her as they arrived in front of the dormitory building. "If you're tired, I'll have you excused from tomorrow's classes,"
"I think I can take on the class tomorrow," Kimitsuki assured him. She noticed his look. "... although if I do feel tired, I will let you know about it in the morning..."
Everything was silent inside the dormitory building, and as she locked the door behind her, Kimitsuki wished that Katsuki had stayed up to wait for her even if Aizawa told him to sleep. She really felt like she could've done with talking to someone, and maybe even getting the chance to hug him.
"Inu-Chan?" Kimitsuki asked when she saw her dog hurrying over to her, wagging his tail at her and she smiled, reaching down to pick him up into her arms. "Good to see you, too,"
Kimitsuki took Inu-Chan out to the lawn behind their dormitory so that he could have a go before bed and even she felt like she could do some with fresh air by herself in the silence.
In silence – that was what Kimitsuki had hoped for but as soon as she had looked up at the moon, there was a loud shattering sound from behind her. She whipped around, her Quirk activating at once but her eyes only fell upon a broken balcony door belonging to the one and only...
"Izu-Chan?"
Taking Inu-Chan along, Kimitsuki went rushing inside and up to where Izuku's bedroom was located. Before she could even knock on the door, it swung open as a frazzled Izuku came outside, muttering to himself until he noticed the white-haired girl in front of him.
"Izu-Chan, there you are!" Kimitsuki breathed. "Are you feeling alright? I just arrived back home and I heard this loud noise – your balcony doors are shattered... what happened?"
"Tsuki-Chan!" Izuku said. "You're back!" He seemed to breathe for what seemed like the first time in a long time. "Tsuki-Chan, you won't believe what happened to me just now!"
"And neither will you, Izu-Chan," Kimitsuki admitted, looking toward him rather wearily.
There was no sleeping that night as Kimitsuki and Izuku cleaned up his room, which appeared as if it had been struck with a hurricane from within. And at the same time, Izuku had first asked Kimitsuki to explain how everything had gone for her while she had been in Kyushu City for work.
Izuku had been shocked to learn of Dabi's presence in Kyushu but before they could continue talking about him, Kimitsuki pressured him to explain exactly what he had been up to so late at night.
Kimitsuki listed as Izuku explained his dream: how he saw Shimura Nana and other One for All vestiges, how he was covered in a fog and witnessed the argument between the first users of One for All and All for One – and how Izuku himself communicated with the first user of One for All.
It seemed like the stress of the dream had made Izuku activate his Quirk involuntarily in his sleep.
"He wants to show me more of our shared past," Izuku told her worriedly. "But he said that I wasn't yet strong enough to handle it... he said that I shouldn't feel alone..."
"We need to talk to All Might about this, Izu-Chan," Kimitsuki responded urgently.
And that was the first thing that the two of them did the following morning before classes – they had contacted All Might and had him come down to the office so that they could discuss it.
"You saw the memories of the first One for All...?" asked All Might as Izuku finished narrating it.
"Yes," Izuku replied. "They were the memories of All for One, too,"
"All Might," Kimitsuki spoke up. "I remember you once mentioning that you saw them, too, the vestiges of One for All... right? When you were younger?"
"Yeah," All Might answered. "I saw it, and I learned from my master – my predecessor – about the existence of the shades. I was also able to tell you about its origin because I had seen them,"
"I only saw until when the power was given to him," Izuku admitted. "But after that, the first One for All said something about how I'm only at 20% and something about singularity... He talked to me directly,"
"This is what confuses me," Kimitsuki said, looking at All Might. "When it happened during the Sports Festival, you mentioned that there was no intent behind it but there must've been,"
"I didn't experience this, and I told you what my master told me," All Might confessed. "From what I know, this is a phenomenon that has only happened to Young Midoriya..."
With that, All Might fell into a deep thought, causing Kimitsuki and Izuku to share a look.
"All Might..." asked Izuku. "All Might...!"
"Are you okay?!" Kimitsuki asked when All Might returned to them, coughing out blood in surprise.
"You said you accidentally used One for All and woke up, right?" All Might asked. "Were you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine," Izuku replied.
"That's good to hear," All Might said. "All I know right now is that something happened that not even I understand... that's all... but what was that about 'singularity'..?"
"I wonder if it has something to do with the Quirk singularity doomsday theory...?" Kimitsuki asked. "From parent to child, Quirks mix and evolve as they're passed down through the generations," She felt her thoughts trail off to herself and Dabi. "The theory states that they will create more powerful, complex Quirks someday that no one will be able to control,"
"Right now, it's still unclear if Young Midoriya was the cause," All Might said. "Or if something external was the cause," He looked at Izuku. "Was there anything else?"
"Also..." Izuku continued. "There were two I couldn't see at all, and you were kind of blurry, too... I wonder if it's because you're still relatively new..."
"Sorry," All Might said suddenly. "I don't really understand, either. But that power is definitely your ally. Let's keep investigating this together,"
"About that..." Kimitsuki said as she looked at Izuku. "I was wondering if I should use my Quirk to look inside Izu-Chan... if you are okay with me doing that, of course, Izu-Chan,"
"That sounds like a good idea," All Might agreed when Izuku nodded, perking up.
"I'll do my best!" Izuku said. "Maybe you can see something that I missed," Kimitsuki nodded. "Oh, right, about your master, All Might – she was so pretty!"
"Right?" All Might asked, looking rather happy to hear that.
Soon, it was almost time for their first class of the day so Kimitsuki and Izuku got up to leave, and All Might decided that he would walk out with them, too.
"You've got practical training in the afternoon, right?" All Might asked, looking at the two teenagers. Kimitsuki nodded for them. "You should get going,"
"Yes, sir!" Izuku replied while Kimitsuki agreed with a smile.
"I'm going to go watch today, too," All Might informed her. "Since it sounds like it'll be fun,"
"It'll be fun...?" repeated Kimitsuki, who had not yet been briefed about their schedule for the day by Aizawa since she had gone to visit him in the staffroom.
Just as they were about to turn the corner, the door nearby opened and out came none other than the same person that Kimitsuki had been thinking about just now –
"Oh, you three," Aizawa said, looking at them weirdly. "You look like you're getting along, as usual,"
"Aizawa-Kun!" All Might exclaimed at once in a panic. "It's not like that... they forced me to –"
"Don't make it sound like you've been caught having an affair," Aizawa told him, and his expression made it pretty clear that he wasn't thrilled to have Kimitsuki meeting up with All Might and Izuku in the morning rather than coming to him about anything. "It's not funny,"
"You don't have to say it so directly..." All Might muttered, trailing off awkwardly before leaning to Kimitsuki to whisper, "Is he jealous about you being with Young Midoriya and I...?"
"What are you two whispering about?" Aizawa questioned, narrowing his eyes at them.
"Heh, nothing, Sensei," Kimitsuki said quickly, giving him an awkward smile.
Just then, another person appeared out of the room behind them and Kimitsuki perked up at once when she saw it was Hitoshi. He met eyes with her but Izuku cut into them first.
"Shinso-Kun!" Izuku said happily. "You were with Aizawa Sensei before, too, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess," Hitoshi replied, looking more toward Kimitsuki, rubbing the back of his head.
"Aizawa Sensei, you and Hitoshi-Kun were meeting up on your own?" Kimitsuki asked, pouting slightly – enough to make Hitoshi grin at her but Aizawa blanked out.
"Kuroyanagi, take Midoriya and head to class immediately," Aizawa ordered. "We've got homeroom! We've got a busy day today so be quick!"
"Yes, Sensei!"
"Hitoshi-Kun?" Izuku asked as he looked up at Kimitsuki as the two of them hurried down the hallway to their classroom. He watched her cheeks flood with warmth. "I suppose you found it easy to be close with Shinso-Kun... both of you struggled with your Quirks..."
"We got along well, training with Aizawa Sensei," Kimitsuki admitted with a smile. "But look at Aizawa... seems like he was expecting me to take today off after all the travelling yesterday,"
"... you didn't want to be by yourself after what happened in Kyushu, right?" Izuku pointed out, and he watched her smile fall. "It's okay, Tsuki-Chan, we're all here for you! You don't have to be alone,"
"Thank you, Izu-Chan," Kimitsuki replied, trying to give him another smile. "Um, I heard that Todoroki-Kun came back from his visit to his home... did you get to meet him?"
"No, but he must be in class right now," Izuku said. "He was going to come straight from home,"
Sliding the door open to their classroom, Kimitsuki and Izuku found that all of their classmates were already there. Kimitsuki smiled at once on the sight of them, feeling much better already.
"Good morning, everyone," Kimitsuki greeted. "Todoroki-Kun, how are you feeling?"
"Oh, Kuroyanagi," Shoto said as he turned to look at her. "I am feeling okay –"
Shoto was cut off when Kimitsuki was suddenly spun around and she found herself facing none other than Mina and Toru, and they seemed to be too excited too early in the morning.
"Kimitsuki-Chan, look at this!" Mina exclaimed. "Are you even aware of what's going all over th country right now? Look! It's you right here! Look!"
"I'm so jealous right now!" groaned Toru in addition to the pink-haired girl.
Before Kimitsuki could ask them what in the world was going on, especially since she was starting to feel nervous, Mina's phone was shoved in her face to show her a news article –
NUMBER TWO HERO HAWKS SPOTTED WITH A MYSTERY YOUNG WOMAN!
COULD THIS BE THE SECRETIVE HERO'S ROMANTIC FLAME?
Right beneath the title was a rather prominent picture of Hawks in his casual clothing, the same ones he had worn to the airport. And it was true that he was in the airport in the picture but then, with a shocking gasp, she realised that the 'young woman' in the picture was –
"YOU!" Mina shouted, absolutely losing it and Kimitsuki felt her colour leave her body. "You met up with the Hawks?! How was it? How was it, getting picked up by him?!"
"Is he even more handsome in person?" Toru demanded. "Did you lose your breath? Did you faint?"
"What are you all talking about?" Hanta asked, taken aback as Kimitsuki struggled to remain upright. "You do realise that it's all nonsense, right? It's just one of those tabloid fodders,"
"It's on the front page!" Toru told him haughtily. "That's not just some fodder!"
Kimitsuki took Mina's phone from her as she took a better look at the article, her fingers shaking as she scrolled down. There were several pictures of her and Hawks in the airport as they walked out and even of one getting into the taxi together. Her face, fortunately, was hidden in all.
Hawks, who has recently been named the Number Two Hero, was
supported in the Kyushu Airport in the company of a young woman
as she arrived through the Tokyo terminal and straight into his arms.
"That's a lie, I didn't go into Hawks' arms!" Kimitsuki gasped at the sheer lie. "They're lying about that – how can they lie about it? I just greeted him, we didn't even shake hands,"
It appears as if the woman had rushed right to Kyushu after
the thrilling battle over the city in which Hawks played a
major role, supporting Endeavor against the Nomu assault.
Showcasing young love, it seemed that the two of them were
worried about how the other doing, especially since Hawks is the
Number Two Hero!
"They seem more interested in writing about the Number Two Hero aspect than Hawks," Kimitsuki admitted, biting the inside of her cheek. "This is too bad... this is too bad... I'm ruined..."
We also caught up with their taxi driver, who was eager
to impart more about the lovey-dovey couple as they
travelled with him to a nearby restaurant together.
'They couldn't stop talking to each other!' said the man.
'She was totally worried about him after the battle, and
he couldn't keep his eyes off of her the entire ride!'
Kimitsuki was in shambles as Mina and Toru were slowly joined by Momo, Kyoka, Ochaco and Tsuyu as they all curiously asked more from about what was written in the article but the white-haired girl had nothing she could say in response.
"Tsuki-Chan..." trailed off Izuku as he looked at her worriedly.
"Don't talk about stupid things!" Katsuki burst at last as he finally jumped off of his desk and glared at the ruckus. "Why would a Pro-Hero even date a highschooler?! He's too old for her!"
"Ka-Chan..." Kimitsuki said, feeling the most embarrassed that Katsuki might have read this exact article and all the lies that were printed. "None of this is true..."
"I know!" Katsuki told her in disbelief over how bothered she was over rumours. "Ignore them all!"
Just then, the door slid open for homeroom and everyone quickly fell into their seats as Aizawa arrived. Kimitsuki tried to cool her cheeks as she tried to focus on what was going on.
Everything seemed to be going well but just before Kimitsuki could come to the conclusion that her mentor did not know about the media's portrayal of the things that she had been up to while in Kyushu, she felt his eyes on her at the end of homeroom.
"Kuroyanagi, stop by the staffroom during lunch," Aizawa told her as he picked his stuff up to leave. "All of you, stop making a ruckus, your teacher is on his way –
"HEY GUYS!"
🤍