Shiho watched as the entire crowd of people fell to the ground. They weren't screaming but rather groaning, as if they were in pain. Their eyes screamed for mercy. They were all afraid. This was Athena's hidden quirk: Fear. Athena, Shiho, and Denila gathered their flags.
"Athena! We really shouldn't use-"
"They'll be fine," Athena said with a wicked smile. "They were trying to kill us anyways,"
"Athena…" Denila muttered. "You're making me scared,"
BANG!
"What the-" Shiho said looking down at Denila, a bullet wound had pierced her stomach.
"NILA!" Athena yelled.
Shiho caught Denila, the use of words leaving her. She was angry. A girl had her gun pointed at her, her arm shaking violently.
"People like you… shouldn't be heroes,"
Kill them, Shiho.
"Shiho! We need to get back now! The barrier's down!" Athena opened a portal and pushed Shiho through.
All Might stood on his feet. "She… she shot Denila!"
Endeavor scowled. "It must be the girl's gut reaction… she looks afraid. Damn… all of them do. I wonder what that girl Athena did to them,"
All Might walked out. "I need to see how she is doing. The fact that we couldn't see anything till the last second disturbs me…"
Arata scowled. Someone shot Denila. Shiho's having a mental breakdown. And right now I'm stuck in this situation. Arata took a deep breath. The girl's finger was on the trigger of her gun.
"You don't have to worry about him. The effects only last from ten to fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, you're in my way right now, so if you'll just excuse me, I'll need to paralyze you just for a little bit,"
Arata voice deepened. "You all can come out now,"
The girl gasped as black ghosts crept out of Arata's cloak. Arata put a hood over his face, shielding his eyes. Soon there were enough ghosts for Arata to hide behind.
"Wha-What are you?" she asked pointing her gun at the ghosts who surrounded her. She shot, and shot till sweat dripped down her face.
"A curse," he said quietly. She turned shooting again, but making no contact. Arata came from behind, twisting her arm and locking her neck in his arm. He took her gun and threw it out the window. "Don't worry. These ghosts are harmless,"
He dragged her through them as he pushed her up to Hinata's outstretched hand. She squealed as his hand touched her face. Her face turned green as she instantly threw up.
"Disgusting," Arata said as all the ghosts escaped back into his cloak.
Shoto was standing the whole time he watched their fights. The power they held was unexplainable, maybe even impossible in the world of quirks. Worst of all, they were being treated like villains because of their quirks. Even poor Denila. From what Shoto heard, she was stable, but wouldn't be able to participate in the next stage. The blue-haired girl, paralyzing her victims had apparently created some experimental paralyzing bullets from Stain's blood. The hero licensing exam had been her lab. Thankfully, Hinata was alright and was still able to participate in the next stage.
Shiho sat next to Denila. Her eyes were filled with tears.
"I'm sorry I let you get hurt," she said quietly. "I promised…"
Denila's bunny ears twitched.
A small child cried. Her ears were scarred, and a large man held her face in his hand.
"You couldn't do one simple task, huh?!" he asked angrily, throwing her to the ground. "Stop that crying!"
"I-I- I'm sorry,"
He slapped her face. "You couldn't do one job! I suppose we'll have to settle this the hard way then,"
Denila cringed grabbing her legs and rocking back and forth. She whimpered as he raised a whip. She closed her eyes, bracing for the pain. His hand was about to swing down, when another hand stopped it.
"What are you doing to her?" it asked. Denila opened her eyes. It was a girl in her teens with black hair.
"Eh? HAHA! I can't believe I've found myself another pretty girl to sell!"
The girl threw him to the ground over her shoulder. She bent down to the ground putting a finger in his back. Ice seeped through his skin. "You will never be able to walk again,". The man groaned as he tried to move his body, but his back seemed to be frozen in place.
Denila watched from behind. The girl turned. Her eyes were the color of scarlet. She picked up Denila. Her smile was brighter than any sun Denila had ever seen.
"No one will ever hurt you again," she said.
Tears slipped down Shiho's cheek.
"... smile…" Denila muttered.
Denila smiled as she put two fingers at the corners of her mouth. "Remember? Save people… with a smile,"
Shiho held back tears and smiled back. Her right eye glowed scarlet.
I will smile for you.
