Kai POV
"I believe you." I say quietly, "I would be able to tell if you were lying."
"How?"
"I suppose I owe you a quirk explanation anyways." I turn off the music playing through my earbuds, "I can sense, manipulate, and transform energy. I can see auras and chakras, which is why I can understand what colors look like. Auras fluctuate based on a person's mood, and when someone's lying, their aura tends to take on a slight brownish-yellow tone that shows an intent for deception. I can transform one form of energy into another, as long as the total amount of energy stays constant in some way. In other words, I can't just create more energy. I can, however, draw energy from my own chakra to create a physical manifestation of it—it's dangerous and draining for me, though. That's why I passed out at the USJ, I'd exhausted my internal energy too much for my body to work properly. So by using energy from my body to fuel energy for my quirk, I risk harming my body. That's why I try to only use my chakra in bad situations." I fold my hands in my lap. Talking about my quirk makes me more aware of all the energy around me. Especially the combustion reactions happening that run this vehicle.
"Can you control the internal energy of others?" Bakugou asks.
"If I touch them, yes. I have to be close enough to sense the exact chakra flow in their body. From a distance, I sense chakra as more of a cloud surrounding a person. When I get close, I can sense the flow within their body and in individual parts of the body. That's why I stopped your quirk that one time." I scratch the back of my neck, "Chakra is what helps fuel strength and especially quirks like yours. So, by disrupting your chakra flow, I can temporarily stop your quirk from working. I can also use chakra flow manipulation to heal, though I'm not as well-practiced in that. By theory, if I can focus chakra flow towards a single injury, I can significantly heal said wound. I don't like to mess with chakra in other people. It's dangerous, one wrong move can cause me to drain the literal life energy from a person, resulting in a horrifying death."
"Shit." Bakugou leans back in his seat, "I need to rethink how I'm going to beat you."
I nod thoughtfully, "From a working-together standpoint, our quirks are a good pairing. But it's an unfortunate match up for you from a one-on-one standpoint. You rely on energy for your quirk, and I can control that. I've got a huge advantage." I smirk, "It'll be interesting to see how you plan to beat me, sparky."
"Shut up. I'll figure it out." We sit in silence, Bakugou seeming deep in thought. It's amusing and honestly, somewhat impressive. He truly is determined to be the best. For that, I can't help but have the utmost respect. He clears his throat, "Who in our class would be the hardest quirk match up for you? Whose quirk would you not want to go against?"
I pause to think about it. Anyone who doesn't use tangible energy is a little harder.
I tap my fingers against the armrest of my seat, "People with mutation quirks are a little harder to deal with, but I've trained martial arts so long I can hold my own against them." I hum, "I guess I would say Todoroki. His fire is something my quirk can control, but his ice...it could spell disaster for me."
"Ugh. Stupid IcyHot." Bakugou scoffs, "What about his quirk is so special?"
"Did you notice when I overused my quirk yesterday, I was feverish?"
The boy pauses, "I did. It wasn't a small fever either. You were burning up. Shit was unnatural."
"When I overuse my quirk, I lose the ability to regulate my body temperature. Because temperature also correlates with energy, draining my energy can cause me to lose control of that automatic regulation. I either overheat or freeze, depending on the energy I'm using and my surroundings. Using my chakra to create external heat energy causes my body temperature to decrease. But manipulating a heat energy source can cause my body temperature to rise." I laugh to myself, "I don't really understand it myself. But I know that the contrast of Todoroki's quirk would disorient my quirk and quickly raise the danger of my body temperature falling out of balance. On top of that, sensing an ice attack is harder for me to sense without sight." I shrug, "Todoroki would be a tough opponent, I don't know if I could beat him."
"Tch. You have almost as many downsides to your quirk as shitty Deku's quirk."
I sigh, "I'm quite grateful my quirk doesn't break my bones. But every quirk has its downsides." I grab Bakugou's arm. He's wearing long sleeves. If I had to guess, he probably has a decent number of bruises on his forearms and wrists.
"What the hell are you—"
I course my thumb along his wrist, sensing an energy imbalance, "Your quirk hurts you. You've exercised to strengthen your shoulders and arms to make the recoil easier to handle, but you start to feel it after continuous big blasts. That's why you have those gauntlets with your hero costume to store your sweat. Saving up a big blast without having to do all the painful work exhausts you a lot less, though I'm sure the recoil is still a bitch."
"Yeah. But unlike you, I can handle that shit just fine." Bakugou tries to pull his hand back, but I keep a firm hold. I steady the energy imbalance, increasing chakra flow to his wrists. Almost instantly, the boy's tense muscles relax. He lets out an audible gasp, "Shit. I didn't even realize they were so sore."
"You ignore your body's limits to get stronger. It's impressive for self-improvement, but it's dangerous if you can't understand your body's warning signs. You can't overwork it too much." I remove my hands from his wrist, "Do you want me to do your other arm or...?"
"Tch. Whatever." The boy twists in his seat to offer me his left arm. I repeat the process. Bakugou sighs in relief. I release his arm and he inspects his wrists and forearms, "That's some witch-craft shit. But...I guess it helped."
"You're welcome, blasty." I turn away, suddenly feeling awkward.
We sit in silence, Sora resting his head against my knee while I scratch him behind the ears.
Bakugou POV
I nudge her arm, "It's our stop. Let's go." She stands slowly, grabbing hold of Sora's harness and encouraging him to lead her off the bus. As we walk past, the shitty bus driver gives her a dirty look but keeps his mouth shut.
She cautiously steps onto the ground and takes a deep breath, "What a pleasant scent."
"Well, yeah. We are along the edge of the mountains." I cast a look along the looming peaks, colored with deep green foliage. It's a good day for hiking. The sky is vibrant and cloudless, sunlight already heating up the early afternoon.
"Lead the way, blasty."
"Don't call me that." I adjust my backpack strap and start towards Mount Sahoro. It's not too steep and it's one of the first mountains I ever hiked with my parents. Once we get to the trailhead, it's about a two hour hike up to the lookout point. Easy.
I glance back at Kai, "Will your injuries from yesterday be okay? I'm not carrying your ass down a mountain."
She scoffs, "I'll be fine."
She looks much healthier in the sun. The heat of the sun gives her face a healthier color and makes the dark circles around her eyes less noticeable. Her hair gives off a healthy gleam, and her eyes turn into pools of melted gold. Not that I see them long, she puts on a pair of sunglasses. As if she can feel my gaze, she turns to me, "My eyes can still burn and get damaged by the sun. Since I can't perceive sunlight super well unless it's directly shining in my eyes, it's just safer to cover my eyes."
"Tch. Whatever. As long as you're being careful." We arrive at the trailhead and I look at the path winding up to the lookout, suddenly having second thoughts, "You're not going to trip and fall like an idiot, are you? It's kind of a rocky trail."
She gives a dry laugh, "I'll manage. I think if I can navigate a battlefield, I can navigate a trail."
I shrug, "Don't blame me if you fall on your face."
Starting up the trail, I hear Sora's pawsteps behind me.
I fall into the calming lull of my own footsteps crunching on the dirt path. The world is so quiet. The sun is warm and the air is filled with a rich, earthy scent. It brings back memories of my childhood, hiking with my parents. My parents used to swing me between them while we walked, which would always make me laugh hysterically.
When was the last time we went hiking as a family?
Ever since middle school, it's always been just me. I got into trail running and some low-level bouldering. There's something comforting about nature. I have nothing to prove to nature. I can just exist here.
It's almost jarring, remembering I'm hiking with another person. I hear her footsteps behind me and Sora's panting, and I'm reminded that I'm not by myself this time. She walks quietly, and she doesn't speak at all. When I glance back, there's a pleasant expression on her face and she hums quietly under her breath. In front of her, Sora trots happily, panting and occasionally sniffing the air.
Cute...
the dog...I mean.