~~~
As if Kira's inability to control her own Quirk wasn't enough, Midoriya revealed some surprising new powers of his own during his battle against Class B. Strange black tendrils unleashed from his arm, destroying the arena with vicious fashion. Midoriya looked like he was in pain as this new ability surged and Kira couldn't help but wonder where this new power came from. Does it have anything to do with where his Quirk originally came from? After all, All Might never possessed a power as scary as the one on the screen. It lashed out wildly, striking both Class A and Class B students, reducing the buildings around him to mere rubble.
The teachers left to put a stop to this madness and through all the chaos and confusion, Kira hadn't even noticed her eyes heal themselves. By the time Midoriya's new Quirk had disappeared, with the help of Shinso and Ochaco, Kira's vision had resumed to normality, granting her the ability to see in colour once again.
Shinso's brainwashing Quirk had the strength to stop an out of control power - it gave Kira an interesting thought. If his Quirk is capable of stopping Midoriya's bizarre new power, then maybe it can do the same for hers. Maybe... The last thing she wanted to do was involve Shinso in something as dangerous as her Quirk, where he could easily get hurt. Besides, he has his own goal in mind and she doesn't want to get in the way of his future with her selfish intentions.
Quitting was still the best option for her at this moment.
As crazy as Midoriya's new power was, it still arose a million more questions within Kira, questions she would probably never find the answers to and as much as that fact annoyed her, she didn't have the choice but to shove its mysteries aside and face her decision. Kira waited while Aizawa scolded Class A on their results for their battle against Class B, even though they won in the end. But, that wasn't the point. Not really.
As Mr Aizawa and Vlad King dismissed the students and they all gathered in their bubbles to head back to UA, bickering about their previous fights. Kira heard Monoma goading Class A behind her, as she waited until her classmates were out of earshot before approaching her homeroom teacher. Shinso had also decided to loiter behind the classes - maybe he feels as though he doesn't deserve to walk with them yet.
"Mr Aizawa?" Kira speaks up tentatively and he turns to her slightly.
"What is it?" He asks. He doesn't sound happy. Perhaps it has something to do with Midoriya's new ability. After all, it does bring up a whole new series of problems.
"I think... No - I've come to a decision," she tells him, forcing herself to stand a little straighter. "Shinso can take my spot in the Hero Course."
Aizawa turns to her fully, his eyes narrowed sceptically, as if he was expecting some sort of prank. "Come again?"
Kira nods slightly, trying to muster up some courage to face her stringent teacher. She notices Shinso turn slightly, observing her conversation at the mention of his name. "I'm not fit to become a hero," she adds. "My Quirk- it's too unstable. I'm hurting more than I'm helping."
Aizawa sighs heavily, as if he knew this would be coming. "I'm afraid that's not an option."
"What?"
"I can't just let you give up," he explains. "Becoming a hero isn't supposed to come easily. You have to overcome your limitations to become who you truly are."
"But... my Quirk-" she stammers. "It effected me again today. But, I kept it hidden."
"I know. I'm not an idiot."
Kira hesitates, frowning up at her teacher. "You didn't say anything."
Aizawa returns her gaze, before looking to the side. "I was waiting for you to come clean about it yourself," he says. "Accepting your mistakes isn't a bad thing." He then looks over Kira's shoulder and she turns her head, noticing Bakugou yelling at Kaminari and Sero as they start to head back. "Even if someone tells you otherwise."
Kira peels her eyes away from Bakugou, but refuses to return Mr Aizawa's stern look, her focus trained on the ground at her feet instead. "Even though my Atomic Power didn't reveal itself, I still screwed up. My Quirk overwhelmed me."
"And your other Quirk?" Aizawa wonders, his voice barely audible to avoid prying ears.
Kira looks up, shrugging half-heartedly. "It finally did its job."
"I see." He sighs again. "Whatever mistakes you made today, my answer remains the same."
"But-"
"My decision is final, Kiriya," he says harshly. "Yours is not. What about your goals?" He asks suddenly.
"My goals?"
Aizawa nods briefly. "I thought you wanted to become a pro hero like Light Bringer?"
"But, I'm not like Light Bringer," Kira argues. "My power is different."
"Exactly," Aizawa adds. "You are different. Your Quirk is stronger than Light Bringer and she may be relying on that strength."
"Relying..?" Kira trails off, slowly understanding the meaning behind Aizawa's words. "You still think that my mother is alive? Held captive by the League of Villains?"
"There's every possibility," he tells her. "But, I don't want to provide you with false hope."
"Still, she needs saving..."
Aizawa simply nods again.
Kira shakes her hopeful thoughts from her head. "Before I get too ahead of myself," she starts. "I can't keep going on like- like this." She gestures down to herself. "I need help." She then subtly looks over at Shinso, as he fiddles with his binding cloth, still eavesdropping on her conversation, though she didn't mind, considering where her idea was already going. "Would it be fair to ask for your help, Mr Aizawa?"
He sighs again for the thousandth time, following her gaze over to Shinso. "I am a teacher, after all." He looks back at her again, figuring out her proposal. "You want to control your Quirks, plural?"
This time Aizawa didn't try to hide the truth. If Kira had intended to work with Shinso to help control her Quirks, he needs to be in the know. Now, with Midoriya's surprising new ability, having two Quirks shouldn't be much of a shock.
"Yes," Kira says firmly. "But, I've always had the issue of not knowing what causes my Atomic Power. Whether it's an emotional trigger, or something else. But-" she hesitates, wondering if she should voice this opinion.
"But?" Aizawa urges.
"With Shinso's Brainwashing ability, maybe he can- he can force my body into that state? Or vice versa."
"Hm," he hums. "You wish to include Shinso in this?"
"I don't wish to," she declares. "I don't intend on anyone being close to my Quirk if they don't have to. That's why I wanted to quit, to be far away from my friends, so I'm no longer putting them in danger." Kira stares up at her teacher. "But, you already know all this." She scoffs lightly. "You already knew my intentions, didn't you?"
"I keep a close eye on my students," Aizawa admits. "This may give Shinso the chance to practice his own Quirk, as well. This seems like a practical decision to me."
"Besides, you'll be there to cancel my Quirk should something happen," Kira adds.
"Something had better not happen, Kiriya," he says coldly. "Make no mistake - I won't be teaching you lightly. With the way your Quirk has been acting out, I don't intend to be so forbearing."
"I understand." Kira nods. "I intend to push myself. I have a goal, after all."
Later in the evening, everyone had finally reached the dorms and nestled into comfier clothes for the remainder of the day. A few of the students were spread out on the sofas in the living room, discussing the battles from earlier, others were in the kitchen, helping Sato cook beef stew for dinner.
"Hey, where are you two going?" Iida speaks up and Kira spins around on the sofa, noticing Midoriya and Bakugou wearing their gym clothes, heading for the front doors.
"None of you damn business, four-eyes!" Bakugou retorts.
"Kacchan!" Midoriya scolds, before facing the concerned class president. "I'm going to the training grounds to see if I can control this new power," he says honestly. "Kacchan's going to help me."
"I'm not helping you, you damn nerd!"
Bakugou storms out of the dormitory before anyone can even think of a reply, the main doors slamming behind him. The class is silent for a moment, watching the front doors, as if Bakugou might change his mind, but there's no denying it - he's helping Midoriya figure out what this new power is. That furthers Kira's theory that the tendrils that appeared during Midoriya's fight have something to do with All Might's passed on Quirk, or at least related to it.
Like Kira, Midoriya is seeking help to master this new Quirk, but he's decided to take action immediately whereas Kira's taken several months to second-guess herself, to hesitate and doubt. Of course, a million other problems have decided to present themselves during the course of the year, but they shouldn't have had the power to dissuade her from her main goal. So, she shouldn't be relying on such an excuse.
Kira's mouth opens to blurt something, anything. Maybe if they knew what she knows, then they can all work together, help one another. But, she halts herself. Kira keeps reminding herself that there's a reason why Midoriya kept the truth about his Quirk in the dark. Maybe she should just keep her thoughts to herself.
"You're going with All Might?" Kira assumes, standing up from the sofa to approach her classmate. "That's why our sparring sessions came to an abrupt end a while ago now?"
"Oh, yeah!" Midoriya exclaims. "Sorry about that." He doesn't explain further like he normally would've done, but she doesn't blame him for hiding his reasonings.
"No, it's fine." She shakes her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean, considering everything about your Quirk, it makes sense to seek help from All Might."
"What do you mean by that?" He asks, uncertainty etched on his face.
"Just that he was the number one hero for a long time, so he obviously has far greater knowledge than I do."
Midoriya looks at her for a moment, as if reading her very thoughts.
"Will Mr Aizawa be going with you, too?" Toru speaks up from the sofa.
Midoriya tears his eyes away from Kira, leaning around her to glance at his classmates. "No, he's busy with something else apparently."
"So, what happens if your Quirk does go out of control again?" Ojiro wonders. "You got a plan to stop it?"
Midoriya's quiet and it's clear he doesn't have an honest response for that.
"I think everything will be fine," Kira interjects, turning to her friends, spreading her arms out to the side. "If there was a chance that he was in any real danger, then I doubt he'll be going." She then cranes her head back at Midoriya behind her. "Right?"
"Uh, right!" He stammers.
"You'd better get going," Kira adds, lowering her voice to address Midoriya. "You don't wanna leave Bakugou waiting too long."
Midoriya nods uncertainly in reply, dashing out the front doors. Kira sighs heavily as he leaves, wondering if he understood that she was covering for him slightly.
"Oh, I forgot to say," Mina announces, standing up from the sofa abruptly. "I-"
She's cut off by the main doors of the dormitory opening briskly again, followed by a cacophony of rowdy students - Class B students.
"I invited Class B over," Mina concludes, just a second too late.
Kira was maybe hoping for a quiet evening with her friends, maybe discuss their unique Quirk's again, maybe watch a movie. A gathering with Class B could be worthwhile too, though. Tetsutetsu instantly greets Kirishima, their Quirks springing to action for a vigorous clash of hardened skin against steel. Kendo and the other girls from Class B flock towards the Class A girls and a few others examine the dormitory tentatively. Who knows what Monoma told them when he came over for a game of Pirate Panic that one time.
Speaking of, he's already upset Sato about his cooking, boasting that they have an even better chef in Class B, resulting in Kendo having to storm over and drag him elsewhere. Not even five minutes into their get-together and he's already finding something to squabble over. Monoma really is something else.
"Kiriya!" Awase approaches her, waving her down. He looked absolutely ecstatic to be seeing her again.
"Awase," she returns his greeting.
"I've been meaning to talk to you again," he tells her.
"You- you have?"
He nods quickly. "Totally!" He beams. "I wanted to compliment you on our fight earlier. I thought I had you, but then you went and pulled that move!"
"Oh," Kira hesitates, realising she's grown flustered by his comments. "Well, I-I can't take all the credit," she tells him. "If it weren't for Bakugou's grenade, I probably wouldn't have been able to get past your shield. Which is an incredible design, by the way."
"Oh, thanks!" He grins. Kira wasn't aware how energetic his personality entailed. It was refreshing, while being a little overwhelming. She wasn't sure she should be complimented with such an unpredictable Quirk. "Still, even without Bakugou's grenade, you thought to use the pipes around you to your advantage!" He continues to gush. "Oh, I thought I had you. After seeing how you fought in the Sports Festival, I thought I would be your perfect opponent."
"Did you mean to lure me towards you?" Kira wonders.
"I did," he replies. "You have the same mentality as Bakugou, so I knew that once one of your teammates was under fire, then you'd try to attack."
"You figured that out, did you?" Kira scoffs. "I wasn't aware how similar I am to Bakugou. I mean, you don't even know me."
"Well, I know that Bakugou-"
"Kiriya!" Sero cuts Awase off and Kira was simply dying to know where this conversation was going. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"
"Sero," Kira says, gritting her teeth to hide her annoyance. "You found me."
"Finally." He sighs dramatically. "Tokage's been asking me questions about you that I can't answer, so here."
Sero reveals Tokage and vanishes before Kira can even argue.
"Hi," Tokage says awkwardly.
"Hi," Kira returns the welcome. "So, you were asking questions."
"I would have asked you personally, but I'm ashamed of myself."
"You are?"
"I thought I was able to lead my team to victory, but I didn't expect your team to figure us out so easily," she explains. "When I asked Sero about it, he told me you were responsible for that."
"So, you expect me to just spill all my secrets out, do you?" Kira tries a joke to rid the awkward tension between them.
"Well... if you wouldn't mind," Tokage picks up on the jibe. "It would definitely ease my troubles."
Kira sighs dramatically. "I guess I could boast a little," she jests still, before addressing Tokage fully. "When I close my eyes, I can piece together heat signatures."
"Like infrared?" Awase adds.
"Exactly like infrared," Kira replies. "But, it's not a clear image. And it's painful to use it."
"I had no idea you could do something like that!" Tokage blurts. "I was completely overconfident in that your team was lacking a scout. I was going to have Kamakiri and Awase ambush you guys."
"It is a new skill to me, too," Kira admits, bringing her hand up and turning it over. "My Quirk derives from light, mostly, and I always figured that locating an enemy is one of the hardest parts of being a hero, especially if they have a way to hide themselves." She lowers her hand to face the Class B students. "It can be pretty frustrating if you're running around like a headless chicken trying to find someone."
"Not only that," Awase adds. "When we're expected to battle each other in a training ground like Gamma, you always have to be perceptive so that your opponents don't sneak up on you from behind."
"Just like I had originally planned," Tokage says. "But, my whole strategy went out the window when I noticed that you guys were headed straight for us. Are you saying my Quirk had no advantage here?"
Kira shakes her head quickly. "Not at all," she responds. "Your Quirk is formidable, believe me. Like I said, this new skill of mine hasn't had any depth to it, so when I use it, all I can see are... fuzzy shapes. So, even though I knew you had split your body into several pieces, it was hard for me to determine which piece was your main body."
"Until, you did figure out."
"With time," Kira admits. "But, that's time I may not always have."
Tokage smiles at her honesty, at the civilised conversation. It's refreshing to experience a well-mannered discussion without constantly having to compete with one another. Whether it's about looks, strength or integrity.
"Stew?" Kira suggests to Awase and Tokage and they both nod in agreement.
However, she only manages one step before her plans are squandered.
"Kiriya," Aizawa's voice breaks the good mood. "Come with me."
Kira blinks at her teacher. "Now?"
"I'm sorry," Aizawa replies sarcastically, his hand holding the dorm room door open, so he can merely peek inside. "I didn't realise I was interrupting something important."
He doesn't allow her to reply, releasing the door and vanishing from sight. Kira's eyes widen at his presence, or lack thereof, and races after him.
She pauses, spinning on her heel to Awase and Tokage. "Rain check?"
Kira bolts out of the door, tangling her scarf around her neck and hopping into her shoes as she struggles to keep up with her teacher. She spots him waiting nearby, with Shinso. Seems like he's agreed to help her out. Kira feels a smile spread across her face at the possibility of being able to learn how to control her Quirk, looking down at her feet again, as she tries to pop her feet inside her shoes, tugging on the back in her effort.
Her foot finally manages to slide in with a satisfying pop and Kira skips ahead, stumbling over herself in her eagerness. She didn't even see Bakugou there, clad in black and looking especially grumpy. He's returning to the dorms already? Perhaps his session with Midoriya didn't go so well.
"Where the hell are you going?" Bakugou asks, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Kira pauses mid step, her smile faltering. Why did she assume she couldn't show enjoyment in front of him? "To get the hang of my Quirk," she decides to tell him, gesturing to Aizawa and Shinso as they wait for her nearby, out of earshot. No point in hiding the truth from him.
Bakugou simply glares back at Shinso, or at least she assumed. Kira doubted he'd even attempt to shoot daggers at Aizawa. With a mere scoff, Bakugou storms up the steps and disappears into the dorms without another word. Kira watches the doors rattle to a stop before facing Aizawa and Shinso again.
For some reason, it feels like all her joy and optimism just got sucked out of her.
~~~