~~~
Each battle had a maximum time limit of twenty minutes, but of the three fights that occurred, only one actually ran out of time. Class A and Class B were tied on points with one win to each side and a draw. Kira's classmates were resilient and inspiring and headstrong, never giving up, never forfeiting the second the battle became more difficult than they realised. Her friends fought well, using tricks she never even knew they had, with unwavering determination and tactics that she never would have even been able to form herself.
One example was from Momo's battle - she was smart and calculated and resourceful, using her final moments in the fight to give her team mates an advantage. It actually gave Kira an idea when it finally came to her team's battle. Team Four are lacking a scout-type hero, someone to locate Class B so they don't get ambushed or snuck up on. But, Kira has an ability that allows her to pinpoint people using their body heat: her infrared vision when she closes her eyes. Tokoyami's goggles, created by Momo's Quirk, reminded her of that.
So, after their fight was over and it was Round Three, Kira closed her eyes and focused. Instead of relying on the cameras placed around Field Gamma to watch the fight commence, Kira focused on her ability, hoping to make herself useful if at all. Obviously, she couldn't strain herself, as the last time she used this ability, her eyes began to react to its overuse. Back in the hospital... when she ran with Bakugou... hand-in-hand... Kira shook her head and opened her eyes, her Quirk sizzling as she loses concentration.
"Hey, are you okay?" Sero asks, noticing her sudden movement.
"Yeah," she responds, a little breathless. "I'm just- I'm getting ready for our battle next."
"Oh yeah?" He says slowly. "Getting ready how?"
Kira looks up at him. "If I concentrate, I can find people with my Quirk."
"Find people?" Sato adds, leaning around Bakugou's frame, who seems to be listening, but not including himself. "How do you manage that?"
"It's sort of like Tokoyami's goggles that he used," Kira explains. "It's like infrared, but it's- it's hard to get the hang of."
"Well, make sure you don't wear yourself out before our match even begins," Sero says uncertainly.
Kira nods at that, but she closes her eyes again, calming her mind and focusing. She uses this unfamiliar ability to stare through the busy training grounds, pushing her skill to locate any kind of heat signature, until she sees one. In fact, this whole section of the training grounds is ablaze - it must be Todoroki's Quirk. It's almost blinding to look at, so Kira opens her eyes again and looks up at the screens. The whole area is filled with a burning inferno and Tetsutetsu is powering through it all, his steel Quirk being the only factor saving his life.
"That's insane," someone in the crowd comments.
"Todoroki is unbelievable," someone else adds.
"It's like I can feel the heat from here," someone towards her left says in awe.
Despite Todoroki's raging Quirk, it still wasn't enough. Tetsutetsu was stubborn and eager to take down Todoroki, but he wasn't the one. Honenuki was the one to disable Todoroki, turning the ground at his feet into a mud-like texture and in turn gets knocked unconscious by a falling pipe. Everyone in Class A and B fought valiantly, but it just wasn't enough for either side in the end. That fight ended with the draw.
"Team Four," Aizawa says, sounding tired even though he hasn't done much. "You're up."
Bakugou doesn't say anything as he leads the way to their starting place in this battle. They walk without saying a word to each other and Kira looks up and around at the piping and bland buildings towering around them. They had to set up their starting position elsewhere in the training grounds, as Todoroki and Honenuki's Quirk had reduced the area into an unusable space.
Kira notices the makeshift prison, where they have to try and capture the opposing team and trap them inside. Their team did try to formulate some kind of plan while the other team's fought, but per usual, Bakugou didn't want anything to do with them.
"Okay, listen up, you idiots," Bakugou unexpectedly speaks up, his hands on his hips as he turns to face his classmates. "Just follow me when this starts."
"That isn't what I'd call teamwork," Sero mumbles, his hand on the back of his neck as he examines the structure around them.
"I'll take the lead and head towards the fight," Bakugou adds, ignoring Sero's comment. "You three better support me." He then points at each of them. "Especially you!" He points directly at Kira. "I know all about your stupid Quirk, so you had better keep an eye on the enemy at all times."
"I'll give it my best shot, but I'm not exactly a scout-type Quirk user," Kira answers.
Sero steps forward, wanting to know more about Bakugou's plan. "Are you going to charge them? 'Cause... the other team look really good at counter attacks. If Kiriya is able to locate them" - he gestures to her slightly - "then we should just hang back. Play it safe and wait for an opening."
"Idiot," Bakugou says harshly. "That's exactly what they're expecting us to do."
"Is it?" This time, Kira steps closer. "No one knows about this skill of mine. They're probably thinking we're going into this fight blind."
"We're not waiting for the right moment," Bakugou argues. "We're making our own opening. If we get eyes on them, we've won. Got it?" He then tosses the three of them one of his grenades each. "Take those just in case. They don't pack much of a punch, but they can be useful. One more thing..." He looks away, pondering on what else to add it seems. When he looks back, his eyes burn into Kira's and they don't waver, not even to glance at Sero, or Sato. "Whenever you guys are in danger, I'll protect you." Bakugou pauses, before finally looking at Sero and Sato either side of her. "And when I'm in danger, you guys had better save me!"
Kira isn't given the chance to respond to that, before the timer starts with a loud shrill noise and Bakugou doesn't hesitate. All she can do is shake her head and keep her conflicting thoughts to herself. Hopefully, her rambling ideas won't cause her to become too distracted during this fight. Bakugou will never forgive her if she screws this all up. Kira, Sero and Sato chase after Bakugou as he soars onwards with his Quirk, uncaring of the noise he makes.
"Are you looking for them, or not?" Bakugou yells over his Quirk, looking back at Kira.
Kira nods and closes her eyes. Sero sticks right by her side, guiding her in her blinded state. Kira concentrates, like she was during the previous fight, her eyelids burning and her head pounding. This unusual skill definitely has some scary side effects, Kira can already tell by how painful it becomes to use it. But, she refuses to let a little bit of anguish deter her.
"Jump!" Sero tells her and she feels his arm on her elbow.
She does, sliding across a metal pipe blocking her way. Her eyes start to sting, but that's a sign that her Quirk is doing its job and shapes start to appear, fading into view. But... they're not clear. Well, they never have been, not really. But, this is different. Usually, her Quirk shows hazy shapes, either glowing red or orange, moving as if they're under water. Something's wrong. She needs more time to focus, to understand what she's even looking at.
"Well?" Bakugou's voice again. "What's taking so long? Are you even trying?"
Kira opens her eyes slowly, the natural light causing a bit of strain on her vision and she looks up at Bakugou, using her arm to shield her eyes from the meek sun. He's glaring down at her as he flies, his explosions rattling the pipes around him. Kira frowns up at him - he looks desperate, in a way. Why? To prove himself? To be the best? To win?
"You know that this is still new to me, Bakugou!" She retorts. "You said so earlier that you knew all about my Quirk. It's nearly impossible to keep up with you. Could you maybe slow down?"
"Not a chance!" He snaps, leaping onto a pipe and using it to gain a burst of extra momentum. "Just try harder!"
Kira mutters obscenities under her breath, as Sero and Sato keep up alongside her. Kira rubs her eyes as she jogs, trying to conserve her energy, but at the same time giving her all in this one task. She wants to be helpful in this exercise, as all she's done this year is cause problems. Mistakes that earn her every single blameful indication. She looks up at Bakugou again - she's such an idiot.
"Wait!" Bakugou blurts, crouching on another pipe in the air. "There's something there."
"Okay," Kira whispers to herself and squeezes her eyes shut tightly, before releasing the tension. She pushes her ability, feeling her head beg for mercy, but she ignores it. If anything, she deserves this torment. "I see something-" she tells her team mates. "But, I can't- Hold on. It's-" Kira's eyes open wide and she looks around, spinning on the spot. "They're everywhere," she says in quiet shock.
"Huh?" Bakugou tilts his head back to her.
Kira spins back to Bakugou. "It's a trap!"
As if her words were the cue, glue, or a similar substance surges from one of the upper structures, raining down on the Class A students. But, it seems that it wasn't aiming solely for them. As Kira was searching for the opponents, Sero had used his Quirk to string tape up everywhere, attaching it to as many spots as he could, creating some kind of makeshift spider web. It's the same move he did back during their very first training exercise. That was some time ago, now.
The glue that fell from above attaches to Sero's tapes - they used their own defences against them. Kira hears Bakugou curse elsewhere, followed by a few rapid explosions. He's distracted, perhaps being targeted by another student. Kira's heart jolts, realising the sudden danger they're in. That panic only increases as someone she recognised as Jack Mantis lunges across the pipes with ease, slicing through the pipes and metallic complexes, causing the now glued-up tape to fall with surprising speed. If that touches them, they'll be trapped for good.
Kira yells for her classmates to stick close, but they weren't exactly separated to begin with. They all duck down, as if that would save them, but Kira creates a large cocoon shaped shield, shimmering with green light. She stares up at the falling debris, waiting for it to collide with her Quirk, but instead, Bakugou appears out of nowhere, rocketing through the air and smashing the sticky tape and metal to pieces with one massive explosion. He didn't really need to exert himself to such extent, when Kira's Quirk could have easily deflected the attack. Kira slowly straightens, cancelling her shield as Bakugou flips and dives through the air with that impressive mobility. Kira can't help but feel a little infuriated by Bakugou's interruption - Kira could have saved herself and her classmates without his help. Doesn't he trust her to do so?
Jack Mantis takes advantage of the open clearing, the area now clear of any obstacles and he dives towards Kira. She notices him advancing in the corner of her eye and she frowns, suddenly annoyed yet also determined. Kira spins, without hesitating and aims both her palms out towards Jack Mantis, but before her Quirk can even start to heat up under her skin, Bakugou's there again, getting in her way. Why? She can take someone like Jack Mantis down and he knows it.
Bakugou zooms into view from somewhere to the right and grabs one of her extended arms, clutching her tightly, as his hand wraps around her gauntlet and her wrist. He uses his momentum to spin the both of them around, until Kira's facing the other way and he's facing Jack Mantis. Kira's about to voice her complaints at this absurdity, when she feels his back against hers, his body weight leaning on her on purpose, as if trusting her to support him as he fires another catastrophic explosion towards the sky, at Jack Mantis. She can feel the heat radiating off him through his clothes, his Quirk rumbling throughout his body. Kira's fully aware of how heavy his bracers truly are, but she never gave much thought to what sort of toll his Quirk puts on his body.
Bakugou leaps after Jack Mantis after firing a few more explosions and Kira instantly misses the feeling of his body against her own. She shakes her head and gawks up at Bakugou as he sends Jack Mantis flying back into the darkness.
"Find him!" He orders, never once faltering.
All Kira can do is nod and closes her eyes. Once again, she focuses, concentrates. "Like I said before, they seem to be everywhere." She pauses and stands extremely still. "Let me just..." She trails off. "There!" Kira shouts, her eyes still closed. "I can see the shapes properly if I really focus. They're heading away from us right now."
"They must be trying to regroup," Bakugou concludes. "Where?"
Kira locates what appears to be Plamo, the user of the glue-type Quirk, his shape fuzzy as he runs away. "That way." She points.
"Let's go!" Bakugou never hesitates.
Kira opens her eyes, only just making out her team mates dashing off to keep up with Bakugou. Kira takes a single stride but falters, stumbles, missing a step. She can't afford to reveal any weaknesses right now, but maybe she overdid it a bit. She still doesn't fully understand this skill and has never really used it to this extent before. She never assumed that this scouting ability of hers would come in handy so she hasn't taken the opportunity to improve it at all.
Another mistake to add to the pile. She's certain Bakugou will remind her of that in the near future.
Kira rubs her eyes, blinking rapidly to clear the dots from her vision. The afterimages stick around for longer than she would've liked, blocking her vision and causing dizzy spells. Kira grumbles in annoyance at her weakness and charges onwards regardless, relying on her hearing to pinpoint Bakugou's location. It's not like he's being stealthy with his Quirk.
Kira catches up in time to see Bakugou get trapped, his arms stuck into part of the wall by Awase. Class B know to get rid of Bakugou first, knowing that he's the strongest and scariest one out of them.
"And when I'm in danger, you guys had better save me!"
With her vision still semi blocked by the slowly fading afterimages, Kira uses her Quirk to boost herself towards Bakugou, but instead of freeing him, she zips past him, aiming straight for Awase. Freeing Bakugou isn't her job in this situation.
"Sato!" She calls out, as she gives chase.
"Already on it!" He replies from behind, his voice vanishing as she pursues Awase.
She's easily gaining on the Class B student, her light Quirk granting her admirable speed, though it does cause damage in her wake. Not only that, she's wanted to show her Quirk as little as possible in case something disastrous happens. But, with Bakugou temporarily trapped, she has to prove her worth somehow.
Just as Kira manages to catch up to Awase, she hears Bakugou's explosion's behind her. She steals a glance back, noticing that his bracers are now missing - they must have been destroyed when he was being freed. She doubted he would mind that at all, as most of his power comes from his sweat glands and not the bracers themselves. Kira faces Awase and she halts mid-air, her Quirk burning into the ground at her feet. While she's still holding some speed, Kira decides to flash Awase, testing the waters first. However, he owns a shield and uses it to block her attack and prevent himself from being blinded. With Bakugou steadily gaining, his Quirk roaring like an angry beast as he nears, Kira needs to act fast, or risk having her thunder stolen out from under her. He saved her earlier, sure, but she's fully capable of defending herself.
However, Bakugou doesn't stop, doesn't even hesitate as he soars past. For a second, time is fleeting, slowing down enough for their eyes to meet. His gaze is fierce with determination and trust... in her.
"Handle this," he says, his voice monotone, missing that usual fiery rage.
Time resumes to normality and Kira's hair whooshes in front of her face as Bakugou streaks past her in a flashy glow. She was one hundred percent positive that he would snake this takedown from her, but he's trusting her to deal with it herself. So, she will.
Kira whirls to Awase as he holds his shield firmly against his body. There's only a small window for him to see out of, but clearly he knows about her Quirk and what moves she may pull on him. That shield of his... it's quite concealing, hiding him from her attacks, sure, but how well can he see? It seems like a sturdy defensive motive, capable of blocking her light attacks - she's not even sure if her hottest light can break that material. Kira increases her power tenfold, regardless, her Quirk glowing and shimmering up her fingers, up her palms, her wrists, her arms and up to her shoulders. Thank God for Mei Hatsume.
Her power surges under her skin and Kira feels like she has a modicum of control over it. She's certain Aizawa is watching her closely, like he said he would, waiting for her to screw up somehow. Kira allows her arms to glow further, before sending out another burst of blinding light, causing her Quirk to bounce off the pipes around them, the daylight and sheen metal acting like mirrors for her power, enveloping not just herself, but the whole area in a dazzling white light. Kira spots Awase ducking down behind his shield, so he won't get blinded and she uses this to her advantage, her arms still aglow as she uses her Quirk to send her flying and flipping over the head of her opponent. Awase has his body locked on her, cowering behind his shield still to protect himself from her Quirk. He moves when she moves, always facing her, always blocking her. But, that's exactly what she was counting on. With his shield trained on her at all times, he's left his back open to attacks and that's exactly where she left Bakugou's grenade.
It explodes, not enough to knock Awase unconscious, but enough to send him flying forwards, the shield skidding across the ground. Kira doesn't hesitate and lunges towards her opponent before he can recover and encases him in a cocoon-like shield, preventing him from escaping.
Kira slowly straightens, standing triumphantly over Awase. She finally managed to do something. And it felt good. Kira sighs heavily, ready to join back up with Bakugou, when Sero's voice halts her as he comes jogging from where she came from.
"Sero?" She questions, frowning at him. "What are you doing back here still? You're alone?"
Sero looks down at the defeated Class B student. "Nice job," he compliments, before looking at her uncertainly. "Are you okay?"
Kira tilts her head and so he gestures to her arms - they're still alight with a white glow. "No, I'm good," she says. "Promise." She deactivates her Quirk and shakes her arms off slightly. "Now, what about you?"
"I was hanging back because I had an idea," Sero explains. "It's about Tokage."
"Go on." Kira nods.
"You said that they seem to be everywhere, right?" Sero wonders and Kira nods again. "That must be Tokage's Quirk. She's able to split her body into different pieces."
"So what?" Kira urges. "You have an idea to stop her?"
He nods. "Use that power of yours again. Focus on all of her parts. If I'm right about this, then the pieces of her that are further away or have been detached the longest might be losing some sense of mobility, or maybe they're just not as strong."
Kira turns away from Sero and closes her eyes, moving her head to scan the area. Fuzzy red shapes start to form, one brighter than the rest and Kira already knows that that's Bakugou. His image is moving quicker than the others too.
"Try and find Tokage," Sero says quietly, as if he's trying not to interrupt her. "I think she's able to either recall parts of her body back to her, or she can simply make new ones regenerate on her body."
"So, what exactly am I looking for?"
"Look for the hottest piece," he says. "If some of her parts that have been detached from her main body stop moving after a certain time, maybe, just maybe, the heat in those parts are different from the rest."
Kira opens her eyes and turns to Sero. "You want me to see if I can spot a slight difference in body temperature in all fifty pieces of her body floating around?"
Sero hesitates. "Yes?"
Kira narrows her eyes at her classmate, but ends up shaking her head with a chortle. "Guess I don't have a choice, huh?" Kira then crouches, closing her eyes again, her body fighting this bizarre ability of hers. "Just give me a second."
Kira scans the environment, noticing Bakugou zipping around from pipe to pipe, his body a bright red blur amongst all the carnage. She spots two heated shapes together and Kira can only assume them to be Sato and Plamo. Hopefully, Sato has the situation under control, but Kira isn't too concerned as Sato excels in hand-to-hand combat. Kira moves her eyes cautiously over the training ground and she spots one shape, eerily still, hiding amongst the dense piping. It must be Jack Mantis. Kira will alert Bakugou of his presence as soon as she's able. First things first...
Kira's able to pinpoint smaller hazy shapes. Now, for the harder part. Kira grabs her head in her hands, as if that would silence the drumming in her skull. It feels like her brain is melting. Who knows? Maybe it is. But, it's worth it, because she can see a very slight distinction between each of Tokage's body parts.
"I see it!" Kira gushes, using her finger to point from one part to another. Kira isn't even certain if they're visible to the naked eye, but Kira continues to drag her finger across the arena, drawing a line connecting each piece. "I found her," she tells her classmate, her eyes still closed, so she doesn't lose sight of Tokage's location. "What's your plan? You think you can take her?"
"With a little help from Bakugou," Sero responds and she hears him toss one of the grenades into the air and catch it.
Kira chuckles softly at that response. "In that case, she's all yours." Kira points up to the top of the tallest structure. "She's up there, but be careful. Jack Mantis is close by too."
"Got it."
Kira hears her classmate swing away using his Quirk and Kira stays crouched, her smile slowly dropping and her arm flopping back down by her side. The pain she feels from using this skill is exquisite. A searing, thumping, devastating pain beyond comprehension and every time she uses it, she feels a part of her vision slip away from her.
Now, Kira's too scared to open her eyes again in case the world before her is gone forever.
But, when she spots Jack Mantis' shape advancing on Bakugou, slipping slowly and carefully towards him, hoping to ambush him, Kira isn't left with a choice. She opens her eyes and she can see, but it's all different, like trying to see through a fog. Kira ignores the problem and uses her Quirk to soar towards Jack Mantis' location.
"Bakugou!" She calls, her voice echoing throughout the entire training grounds and Jack Mantis turns to her at the last second.
He dodges her attack, but now he has his back faced to Bakugou and that's the biggest mistake he could've made. He knows it too, as he curses but is unable to move quick enough. Jack Mantis is fast, but Bakugou's faster. Bakugou grabs him by the arm, swings him around and throws him into a nearby wall, denting the structure and collapsing to the ground.
"One more," Kira tells him, as she lands on solid ground, wobbling slightly with her lack of sight. "She's up there." She points up to the tall tower just behind her, as she keeps her head down. But, Kira doesn't hear an explosion and so she looks up sharply, frowning as Bakugou remains perched on one of the many pipes, watching her curiously. "What are you waiting for?" She barks. "Sero already went after her, so you need to be up there."
Bakugou curses harshly, but whether it was directed at her or not, she's unsure. He jumps off the pipe and uses his Quirk to gain some speed. A small explosion rattles the air, one of Bakugou's grenades. Did Sero manage to get her on his own? Another explosion, much, much larger than the previous one lights up the sky in yellows and oranges. Even with Kira's damaged vision, she can see it, clear as day. Bakugou didn't need to go that far on poor Tokage - something must be bothering him for him to take his anger out on her like that.
Kira takes in a shaky breath, pain rattling her bones, her eyes stinging, her head burning and makes her way back to where she left Awase. Sero helpfully bound him in tape while she was searching for Tokage, so it makes transporting him a bit easier. She meets back up with her team as she places Awase in the cell alongside his classmates.
The drill goes off, announcing Class A the winners of this round. Kira keeps her head down, just waiting for her healing Quirk to do its job, if it even fixes eyes, that is. She hears Sero and Sato high five, chortling at their success and she starts to follow them back to where the other teams wait, her eyes locked on the ground.
"Wait," Bakugou speaks up and Kira stops moving, but she doesn't move her head.
Sero and Sato keep walking, the sound of their footsteps slowly, but surely disappearing. Bakugou moves in front of her - she can see his legs in her vision now.
"Look up," he orders.
Kira just shakes her head.
"Look. Up," he repeats, his tone stern as he enunciates each word.
Kira hesitates, but eventually obeys, slowly meeting his eyes. But, she can't see him as clearly. That fog is still there.
"Goddammit," he mutters. "This was supposed to be four clean captures, with no injuries, you hear me?"
How does he know that she's hurting? How does he know that something's wrong?
"So, you just heal yourself, you idiot," Bakugou adds, taking a step closer.
"You can see it?" Kira asks curiously.
Bakugou hesitates, as if he wasn't expecting her to ask that question. "Not really," he says and she can just about make out a frown on his brows. "It's not that noticeable, but it- it sort of looks like faint cataracts."
"What?" So, it's not really a fog, not in terms of her description. It's blindness. Her own Quirk has the power to do this to her? "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Kira lightly smacks her palm against her temple and storms past Bakugou, keeping her head down again.
"Didn't you hear me?" Bakugou snaps, walking beside her as they make their way back to the others.
"I heard you fine," she retorts harshly, lashing out slightly. "I'll try, okay? But, this- this is different. I don't know if I can heal this."
"Not that," he replies. "I said: it's not that noticeable. I only saw it because I was looking for it."
Kira pauses mid-step. He was looking for it? "What the hell does that mean?" She whispers, not expecting him to hear.
"It means that you don't have to hide it," he says. "I doubt anyone will notice anyway. If anyone tries to talk to you about the battle, just tell them to-"
Kira looks at Bakugou, despite not being able to piece out his features correctly. It's not like blindness is going to make her forget what Katsuki Bakugou looks like though. She could never forget. "What are you doing?" Kira wonders, her voice still a whisper. "Why are even speaking to me?"
Bakugou looks stunned. Maybe. "Because..." He trails off and Kira wished she could see properly so she could figure out the true emotions on his face. "Because it was supposed to be an absolute win and I don't want anyone to find out that you ruined that for me."
Kira stares at him for a second longer, maybe hoping that her vision will clear up there and then, but when it doesn't, she doesn't say anything, not a word, nothing. She just walked away.
Bakugou eventually followed her back to the other students and teachers as the last two teams were preparing themselves for the next battle. The rest of Class 1A swamped Team Four as they returned, congratulating them and hugging them. The girls tried to approach Kira, but she brushed them aside, telling them how exhausted she is and that she'll celebrate later.
She instead joined the rest of her team as Mr Aizawa applauded them for this exercise. "You didn't do unnecessary damage and you neutralized your opponents efficiently. Bakugou may have taken the lead, but you three supported him. Particularly you, Kiriya." She tenses a little at her name and looks up slightly. "You showed a wide range of skills out there. Some I weren't even aware that you had." He pauses. "Are you hurt?"
Kira shakes her head. "No, sir. The new skill that I used - I'm just not used to it yet, that's all. It's tiring."
"I see," he murmurs, but doesn't sound entirely convinced. "In that case, solid win. Great job, today."
They're dismissed as Vlad King lectures his Class B team and All Might approaches Bakugou. Kira doesn't look at their conversation, but she overhears it, as Midoriya also greets Bakugou, congratulating him on his win.
Kira look up fully, staring up at what should be a blue, blue sky. But, right now, the world above is the colour of stone, a drab grey that perfectly mirrors her expectations and her future now. Kira wasn't certain what she expected when she decided to join the hero course, to follow in her mother's footsteps, but she knows it wasn't an endless struggle, constant pain and struggling. A panic to control her Quirk or risk endangering her friends, her home. And the secrets. So many secrets run wild in her mind, not just her own. She now possesses a secret so mind-blowing that Kira feels like she might explode. All Might and Midoriya. Midoriya has the previous number one hero's Quirk. It's ridiculous, but also makes so much more sense. Why they're always seen together, why their Quirks are so similar.
Kira faces the screens as the final fight is about to begin, staring up at Midoriya, the determination on his face. Determination Kira no longer has. Her passion for heroism may have drifted away long ago, maybe around the same time as when she and Kirishima ended things. Part of her died that day and she's not sure if she really wants to revive it. She's done trying to fight her Quirk, done trying to be someone she's not.
She's just had enough.
~~~