some children are simply born
with tragedy in their blood.
(©Unknown)
Ambiance; Shōrai by mun.,
& Disruptive LoFi
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The room felt like it was spinning all throughout your basic classes the next day. You couldn't focus on the grammar question Present Mic asked in English. You had no appetite when it came to lunch. You were on autopilot. You were surprised you made it here in one piece and especially on time to school today. Mizuki not coming home last night threw you entirely out of orbit. You weren't sure where to go from here. You'd called her phone relentlessly. At first it would ring and she wouldn't pick up, sending you to voicemail. You lost track of how many times you tried to call her when it finally sent you straight to her voicemail.
"Hiiii, this is Hokama Mizuki. I'm so sorry I missed your call, please leave a message and I will call you back! Thanks!"
Her voicemail was all that echoed in your head by the time your basic hero class came around. You sit down robotically at your seat. You haven't said much of anything to anyone today, not that anyone seemed to notice or particularly care. You didn't mind. You preferred keeping your problems to yourself, anyway. Midoriya had asked you how you were at lunch time when he noticed that you didn't bring anything to eat. He offered to buy you lunch but you declined and told him that you ate a big breakfast that morning, is all. His freckled face frowned softly when you said that, but he didn't question you any further. You appreciated it.
"I am here, coming through the door like a hero!"
The class erupts into excitement with the Number One's arrival into the classroom startles you back into reality. Had you been in your normal mindset you would have probably had a better reaction to his arrival, but you could barely smile. You wanted to know where your sister was.
"Welcome to the most important class at U.A. University. Think of it as 'Heroing 101'. Here you will learn the basics of being a pro, and what it means to fight in the name of good." His theatrics are over the top. "Let's get into it!" You wonder how much he's getting paid to be here, or if he's here on his own accord. "Today's lesson we'll pull no punches!" He displays a card in his hand reading 'BATTLE'.
The adrenaline in the room skyrockets when he points to the wall and announces your costumes. "Get yourselves suited up, and meet me at Ground Beta!"
"Yes sir!" The class responds enthusiastically.
They rush from their seats to grab their designated briefcases. Each one is numbered by where they sit. You wait until most of them have begun leaving the classroom before grabbing your own. Uraraka grabs hers shortly after you and decides to walk alongside you. When you get out to the hall, Midoriya and Iida are there as well.
"Do you want to walk with us, Hokama?" Uraraka asks you after closing the classroom door.
You feel a bit put on the spot. It would be rude to say no. "Sure." You reply honestly.
It was good for you to distract yourself from your thoughts, anyway. You haven't seen Mizuki at all since after school yesterday. If she isn't home by dark tonight, you know you need to call your parents. You're dreading it. They'll have to come home early from their business trip, and it'll start a whole thing. Your heart simmers with guilt, like it's your fault she didn't come home. You know that you had nothing to do with her disappearance, but you still felt like maybe you could have done something to prevent it.
"So what do you think will happen during training?" Uraraka asked the group in general, swinging her case in her hand.
"That's a good question. We might be paired against one another or teams, perhaps." Iida guessed with a hand on his chin.
"Maybe we'll be put into a scenario?" Midoriya added on thoughtfully.
"If we were tested with a quirk apprehension test yesterday, my guess is that we'll be sparring today." You added in, doing your best to be a part of the group. You wouldn't be able to tolerate being around others if you didn't expose yourself to them first.
"That's probably closer to the truth than anything else." Iida surmised, marching onward dutifully like always.
When you get to the lockers with Uraraka, you set the briefcase down on a bench and open it up. It wasn't anything fancy: a solid black catsuit with flared sleeves and an oversized hood to shadow your face. You don't remember asking for the flared cuff links. Who would have added them at the last moment for you? You try to rack your brain for an answer. Your only guess is Aizawa. Nevertheless, when you put it on it fits just like you wanted it to. It felt like a second skin. You asked for basic black boots to go along with it. You figured you'd be able to modify it later as your schooling progressed.
Ground Beta was ginormous, much like the rest of the school grounds. It was set up to look like a city. You admired the detail they put into each building, wondering how long it took to set this place up and how quickly they could repair it. There was a large entryway guiding you into the arena, like a stadium entrance. Your class was suited up to the nines. Each of you looked like a professional.
All Might was fanboying and hyping you up from further up the street. "You guys look so cool! Now, are you ready, ya newbies?!"
The last one out of the dark tunnel was Midoriya. Uraraka spotted him before you did, causing your violet irises to follow her as she moved. You purse your lips at the sight of the green-haired boy. It was an off teal-green and had two large ears coming out of the hood. His mask had a wide, white smile across the mouthpiece as well. You wanted to facepalm. It was painstakingly obvious that he was a big fan of All Might.
"Now that you're ready, it's time for combat training." The top Pro Hero boasts in a loud tone.
A hand flies up. "Sir." Only by the voice do you realize the walking suit of armor is Iida. "This is the fake city from our entrance exam. Does that mean we'll be conducting urban battles again?"
"Not quite." All Might answers him. "I'm going to move you two steps ahead. Most of the villain fights you see on the news take place outside. However, statistically speaking endeavors with the most dastardly evildoers take place indoors. Think about it: backroom deals, home invasions, secret underground lairs. Truly intelligent criminals stay hidden in the shadows."
A small smile crosses your lips against your will and you drop your gaze to prevent anyone from seeing. That was where they'd never find you. You really don't look like much in the daylight, but get you into a dark room and you can become someone's walking nightmare.
"For this training exercise you'll be split into teams of good guys and bad guys. You'll fight two-on-two indoor battles."
"Isn't this a little advanced?" Asui asked.
"The best training is what you get on the battlefield!" He reassured her. "But remember you can't just punch a robot this time, you're dealing with actual people now."
The class breaks out into questions.
"Sir, will you be the one deciding who wins?" Yaoyorozu inquires.
"How much can we hurt the other team?" Bakugo's practically twitching with adrenaline.
"Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled like earlier?"
"Will you be splitting us up based on chance or comparative skill?"
Aoyama says something about his sparkly cape and your eye twitches at the overstimulation of noise.
All Might looks constipated. "I wasn't finished talking." He pulls a small booklet of folded paper out from his suit. "Listen up. The situation is this: the villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout. The heroes must try to foil their plans. To do that the good guys either have to catch the evildoers or recover the weapon. Likewise the villains succeed if they protect their payload or capture the heroes."
"Time is limited and we'll choose teams by drawing lots."
Midoriya and Iida converse shortly about the benefits and drawbacks of being randomly selected. You brush it off when All Might gestures for everyone to come up and draw a slip of paper. Your anxiety rises when you find out who you're paired up with on Team D.
Bakugo.
Everybody else draws their slips and is assigned to their respected team. Uraraka and Midoriya were paired together, Iida and Yaoyorozu, Todoroki and Shoji, Mina and Aoyama, and so on and so forth. All Might stands between two boxes, one black and one white. The black one is labeled 'villains' and the white is labeled 'heroes'.
"I declare the first teams to fight will be..." he sticks his hands into both boxes and draws out a ball from each. The black ball says D and the white ball says A, holding them into the air with as much theatrical gusto as he can manage. "These guys!"
——— Track 2; I Wanna Fight by Missio ———
The apprehension in the air is suffocating. You can barely breathe. The only benefit of the situation at hand is that it is a distraction from the fact that your sister is missing. Bakugo looks ready to murder Midoriya when All Might dismisses the rest of the class to the observation room. You and Uraraka exchange a glance. Neither of you knew how this was about to unfold, seeing who you were paired up with.
"Good luck." She whispers to you, brown eyes locking onto Midoriya.
"Same to you." You flip your hood up, already uncomfortable with how the tension is rising between the two testosterone-filled teenagers. "I'll try to stop him if he goes in for the kill."
Uraraka pales at your statement. She mentally wonders why you would say such a thing, but understands when she can feel the bloodlust radiating from Bakugo. To your surprise, Midoriya lifts his head and stares back at the blond; a challenge. All Might guides the four of you to the building. Once outside the front doors, he stops and turns to you.
"Bad guys, you can go on in and get set up. After five minutes the good guys will be let loose and the battle will start."
"Yes sir."
The door to the building opens and you head inside, Bakugo on your tail. The darkness inside the door is
welcoming. You can feel it rushing towards you upon a single pull. You stop it at the doorway when All Might speaks up.
"Young Bakugo, Hokama." The two of you turn to him expectantly. "The key to winning this challenge is to embody villainy. Think from the perspective of an evildoer. If things go too far, I'll step in."
"Sure." You confirm his advice. He hands you a map, two rolls of 'capture tape' and a set of Bluetooth earbuds.
Bakugo doesn't say anything, only shifting his gaze to Midoriya and gritting his teeth before finally following you in.
The first few floors of the building are nothing but pitch black. Your eyes adjust immediately to the lack of light, pupils fixating on the walls and turning pathways ahead of you. You place the Bluetooth in your right ear for when you're separated from your teammate. You allow yourself to draw in the shadows until you feel them beg to pour from your skin. It sends shivers down your spine, knowing that you would have to use these against your friends. Your shadows rise to the ceiling where they remain hidden, ebbing around corners to locate the fake missile.
"The missile is on the top floor." You comment, tilting your head back to look upwards. "Let's go check it out and figure out a plan from there."
Bakugo doesn't say anything in return, but allows you to lead the way. Had you not had perfectly normal vision in the dark you wouldn't have been able to see his face. He's scowling, but his eyebrows are furrowed in a way that projects confusion. His body language is cold and unreadable. He always looks angry, it's a good cover for whatever turmoil he may be feeling inside. You decide not to comment on it. It's obvious that he isn't the type to get all mushy about his feelings. You can't blame him at all, as you weren't the type either.
When you reach the top floor, you approach the missile. It's made out of shiny black metal with red accents, obviously fake. The horrid lights in the ceiling above make it difficult to hold onto the darkness, but your flared sleeves give you enough extra cover to maintain your current level of power.
"One of us should stay here with the missile, the other a distraction down below. I'm sure they'll try to split up upon entry to locate it easier." You stretch your arms above your head to loosen your shoulders. "I should go—"
"Do you really think Deku has a quirk?" His back is facing you when he speaks up.
Deku? Oh, right. That's what he called Midoriya yesterday during the apprehension test.
"He threw that softball yesterday, didn't he?" You shrug your shoulders. "I didn't see him during the entry exam, but it seems pretty obvious to me that he has a quirk."
He flinches at your words for some odd reason. You can't help but tilt your head in curiosity, your hood concealing half of your vision. "Why does he piss you off so much, anyway?" You question.
His shoulders rise, and his energy turns burning hot. It's almost like you're standing in the same room as the sun, and it's about to blow up. You take a step back, accidentally hip checking the fake missile. Fortunately it doesn't move. He doesn't say anything still, and you believe you're thankful when he remains silent.
"A-anyway, I think I should go back downstairs because my quirk is—"
"Alright!" All Might's voice disrupts the atmosphere over a loudspeaker. "Let's begin indoor combat training!"
"You stay up here. I'll go down and deal with that stupid idiot." He growls, storming down below.
"Hey, wait! We didn't even talk things over!" You call after him, but it's no use.
"Team A! Team D! Your time starts now!"
You grit your teeth. The least you can do for now is get rid of these lights so you have the advantage over whoever shows up first. You begin breaking them one by one when the building shakes violently. You catch your balance when there is static over the Bluetooth, and you can hear Bakugo speaking. You know he isn't using the button, a piece of rubble from his attack must have caused it to malfunction.
"What's wrong, Deku? Too afraid to stand up and fight me? I won't hurt you so badly they have to stop the fight, just close!"
Another bout of commotion occurs below, and you have half of the lights shattered at this point. You grit your teeth in frustration but remain at your post.
"Deku..." Bakugo's voice is louder than the ceiling panels hitting the floor around you. "You're shaking in your boots, you're so scared, but you wanna fight me anyway. That's why I hate you!"
His reasoning seemed off. There was more to the story that you could tell, but you knew you couldn't get the full story from up here. Now wasn't the time nor the place. Perhaps you'd be able to get more insight from Midoriya on your walk home tonight. You don't want to lose this faux battle. This would be your first chance to really shine. You won't let him screw this up for you.
"Bakugo!" You trigger the earpiece. "Where are you? Do you need backup?"
"Just shut up! I've got this handled! Defend the weapon!"
"You cannot be serious right now."
You mutter to yourself, looking around the room at your surroundings. There isn't much you can use here to build up a barrier around you and the weapon, so to speak. You come up with an idea and do your best to make it worth your time while Bakugo delays Midoriya and Urarakas' arrival.
"Ballsy move! Think you can take me alone?"
It sounds like Midoriya and Uraraka have separated. That means that she will be trying to find her way here shortly. The building rumbles again, another explosion. Your heart skips a beat. Is Bakugo going to bring this building down?
"Get back here, Deku!"
You try to ignore the sounds coming in through your Bluetooth. You were sure that his earpiece was broken or malfunctioning, because you shouldn't be able to hear what he's saying unless he's actually attempting to contact you. It's difficult to listen to the sounds of the hallway outside when all of this commotion is happening inside your ear.
"Dammit! You were tricking me for years acting weak! You've been laughing behind my back all this time, huh? Where's that flashy power of yours now, huh?"
Did that sound right? Bakugo was upset because Deku never fought back until now?
"Let's see how it compares to mine. Quirkless or not you'll never beat me, Deku!"
The shadows surge through the hallways. If Bakugo won't communicate his location with you, then you'll carry the team yourself. You're not going to lose again. You thought you were at risk of expulsion yesterday upon the results of the comprehension test. Knowing that your sister never came home last night was even more fuel to add to your fire. You wouldn't let yourself be a disappointment any longer.
"Stop hiding! Come out and face me you coward!"
You find Uraraka before you find Bakugo. She's wandering through the halls, nervous about being caught. You decide to leave her be for now. You'll worry about her when she gets closer. In order to delay her arrival, you thicken the darkness between your location and hers inside the building. That should make it a bit harder for her to see.
You're more concerned about where Bakugo is. He's gone rogue from the original mission at this point and it's discomforting more than anything else. You hated having to be the one to do all the work. He was caught up in his head about some personal issue he had with Midoriya. From your perspective it seemed one-sided. It's been quiet for some time now. You wonder how the battle between Bakugo and Midoriya is going.
Despite the shadows being nearly impenetrable, Uraraka is still fighting her way up to the top floor.
"I'm all loaded up..."
Bakugo's voice has dropped an octave, and it's scarily calm. Your heart lurches into your stomach. That didn't sound good at all.
"Why aren't you using your fancy quirk? Don't tell me you're underestimating me, Deku. Get over here and show me what you're really made of."
You can faintly hear Midoriya's voice echo off of the walls but cannot identify what he's actually saying. Uraraka is still moving. You have to stay focused. There's too much going on at once.
"Since you're such a stalker you should know by now how my quirk explosion works. I secrete nitroglycerin like sweat from my hands and make it blow up. Imagine what I could do if I had A LOT of it. I've been storing up my sweat for one monster blast."
Nitroglycerin was a chemical found in dynamite. If those grenades he had as wrist bracers were actually used to store the extensive amount he was able to secrete, the man was a walking time bomb. Immediately, you disperse the shadows slowing Uraraka down. You diverge them in half to do two separate things: push your friend closer to you and then send the rest to Midoriya in order to protect him. The darkness you can control wouldn't do much to stand up against an explosion from Bakugo, but it would at least lessen the damage your classmate took.
"Think rationally about what you're about to do!" You don't attempt to keep quiet during your try of communication. "You'll bring the whole building down!"
"Young Bakugo! Don't do it!" All Might being the voice of reason was no use, as the blond wasn't listening to anyone except his adrenaline and hunger for winning. "You'll kill him!"
"He'll be fine as long as he dodges!"
"Bakugo—" You're cut off from trying again when Uraraka steps into the doorway. "Shit."
It's too late, you and her are getting up from the ground when the dust settles from what felt like a nuclear explosion. You can hear his laughter cut through your Bluetooth. He sounds demented.
"These are awesome. The more nitrosweat I store up, the bigger the explosion. Go ahead, use your stupid quirk on me, Deku. Even if you give me everything you got, you'll never beat me."
"He's going crazy down there." You comment to yourself. You want to contact him again, but don't get the chance when Uraraka begins to run at you.
You widen your stance, black tendrils racing across the ground and walls to build a mass in front of you. Her face pales slightly, but she puts her hands together and begins to float. This increases her speed by quite a bit, but your shadows still move faster than her. In order to prevent her from being hurt too badly, you manipulate them to move as a large barricade between her and the missile. She releases her anti-gravity hold in order to aim for the missile.
"Sorry, Uraraka. You can't get too close to that." You apologize before swiping her out of the air.
She cries out when she tumbles across the floor and into the wall. Fortunately it doesn't take her long to get to her hands and knees. You can tell that Midoriya is checking in on her when she lifts a hand to her ear and turns her head so you can't hear her.
"Are you ignoring me again?" Bakugo almost sounds like he's talking to you until you remember that he's currently trying to kill the green-haired marshmallow you call a classmate. "I'll get your attention."
"Bakugo!" You call to him. "Uraraka's here at the weapon with me. Capture Midoriya already and come help me!"
"Figure it out yourself! I'm busy!" He snarls back at you venomously.
You can feel your blood begin to boil. You don't know if you're mad at him or mad at yourself for trying to reason with him. It was like arguing with a brick wall. You fixate on Uraraka again. If you're on your own, there's no way in hell you're letting her get close to this missile again. You pull more shadows to you; they wash across the floor like a black wave.
"Bakugo. Use that stored up power again and I'll stop this fight. Your team will lose." All Mights warning does not come lightly across the loudspeaker.
"Huh?!" You can tell that all that does is make Bakugo even more irritated.
"Deploying such a large attack indoors is inviting the destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting. That's a poor strategy whether you're a hero or a villain. The penalty will be a massive loss of points."
The string of curse words that flow through your head are not suitable for school property.
Bakugo screams in anger. "Fine! We'll fight hand to hand!"
Uraraka darts towards the pillar by the window. You're too slow to prevent it.
"Here it comes, nerd! The famous right hook you were talking about! Deku, don't you ever forget what you are, you're a weakling!"
The building shaking around you is only making it harder to focus on stopping Uraraka. She hasn't moved from the area by the window, even if she can't see in the darkness you've created. You aren't sure what she's planning with Midoriya. Without an idea of how to proceed, you decide that your best option is to distract her from the original plan.
"Why won't you use your damn quirk against me? Still think you can stop me without it? You've been hiding it from me for years. What's the deal, Deku? You think you're better than me?"
You're starting to get a headache from how loud he is. You distort the shadows and begin to reform them. One by one they appear; canid apparitions with no eyes, only four legs and a slack jaw. They begin to move in on Uraraka like a pack of wolves surrounding a sickly calf.
"Come at me!"
You do your best to ignore the war cries that deafen you through the headset. Your canids flicker and waver with the distraction. Your ears ring, and you feel yourself panic when Uraraka jumps onto the pillar. You urge the canids to rush, and they swarm quickly.
Suddenly, an explosion larger than any of the ones that Bakugo created ricochets through your bones. The windows shatter and destroy the dark wall you'd created to seal the room from the outside. You can feel the light chase every shadow back into its crevices, some returning to the sanctuary of your sleeves.
"Sorry, Hokama. I can't let Deku down! Improvised Special Move: Comet Home Run!"
All you can do is protect your face from debris when Uraraka lands on the missile.
The second she does, you rip the Bluetooth from your ear. They are ringing, and you drop your head to the floor. The coolness of it eases the pounding in the back of your skull. You'd put up the best fight you could even if all the odds were against you. Midoriya and Uraraka made a damn good team. They deserved the win. Perhaps had you had a different teammate, or Bakugo got his head out of his ass, the circumstances would have been different.
"The hero team wins!"
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