xiii. i will leave my mark
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After the little ruckus we'd made over my scholarship, I'd hurried to Principal Nezu. As expected, his tests are worthy of Einstein himself. They might be few in numbers, but they're very tricky and required advanced analysis skill. You know, the type of questions that have many answers, and none at the same time?
Yeah, that one.
It explained why scholarships here in Yuuei are harder to get in than even the recommendation program. Not only you had to pass the entrance test—both required brain and physic—but you also need to meet the demanded score and went through a test each two months given by the super genius principal.
But it's all worth it. Yuuei's scholarship only offers a 100% free, you can't get in with only 50% or something. Either you get the 100% or you don't. And it was a full scholarship, starting from the entrance money to monthly payments so long you continued to prove yourself worthy. There was just no option of slacking off.
It was hard, ridiculously so, but I did it anyway. The thought of my mom working hard everyday kept me going.
And going I did, having just finished another relatively hard test. While it was always the same kind, the questions always managed to surprised me.
"Young Shizuka!"
Having been lost in my train of thoughts, I nearly jumped out of my skin when a bolsterious voice called out from behind me.
I turned and found the no. 1 hero waving a bit shyly at me, two bentos at hand with his trademark grin. I glanced around, making sure no one was here. "All Might-sensei?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Can we eat together?" He asked sheepishly. "I've got a bento for you too."
I agreed, and we went quietly with him leading. All the way there, my mind was asking questions I didn't uttered outloud. Why did he wanted to meet me now? What did he wanted to talk about? The answer was so simple I nearly face-palmed: the Sports Festival.
Of course.
We arrived to an empty office room, where he deflated the second the door close. There was a desk and a chair and pretty much everything else an office needs. There were even cozy sofas and a stove that was clearly used to boil water. I could already spied chamomile tea packs and antioxidant green tea packs on a corner. Clearly, this is All Might's office room.
"I thought your room is with the other teachers." I curiously said.
"I have one there, but you can say this is my little solace. The principal knows about my condition, so he gave me this room for me to relax when I'm not in this form." He said, before breaking apart his chopsticks.
Nodding in understanding, I did the same and opened the black-colored bento box, stomach growling hungrily in anticipation of some delicious food—
"Oh." My eyes widened.
If foods could sparkle, this one would certainly did so. The inside of the bento was soft deep red, but they were far outshined by the food themselves. There were tempuras fried to perfect shiny gold, stir-fried pork meat with onions and spicy barbeque sauce, thick golden tamagoyaki, salad with creamy looking white sauce, and even a desert of fresh cut bananas and oranges. The rice itself looked like it was glowing.
I turned the black top, and soon enough, there was a shiny gold symbols of sakuras in the corner, overlooked at first by me.
"This is... a Sakuro bento box." I gulped, trying to hold back the monster called hunger inside me. "Isn't this too expensive, Yagi-san?"
He swallowed and chuckled. "It's nothing, Young Shizuka! I know the owner—he's the one who made the food I needed for my condition. And I figured you'll appreciate this treat once in a while."
"I..." Tears embarrassingly started to gather in my eyes. And hey, don't judge me, I love food, alright?! "Thanks, Yagi-san. You know me so well."
Yagi made a non-committal noise that I didn't pay attention to as all of it was directed to the heaven in front of me.
Five Star food... Here I come.
The first bite was surprising (in a good way) and soon I found myself couldn't stop. In the span of eight minutes, I'd finished everything except for desert, and decided not to be embarrassed by this. It was one of the best thing I've ever eaten.
Yagi, after finishing his bottle of water, observed me for a few seconds with an expression I couldn't exactly named. There were seriousness, fondness, and other things glinting from his eyes.
"Young Shizuka, how far along are you with One for All?"
I swirled an orange with a plastic fork. "I... managed to do a 49%, last time. I knew I have done a 50% before, but I'm not brave enough to take risks, I guess. I'm scared my arm might get broken again—especially in an important situation."
"So you haven't progressed since Yuuei started." He stated.
It sounded like the fact it was from his mouth, and I couldn't hold back a flinch. I might be bold and forward, but I was well-aware how cowardly I could become sometimes. There were just things that made me cautious, and overly so. Inflicting pain was one of them.
Yagi sighed, and I resisted the urge to flinch again. "Maybe this is the best you can do. But... it's far from enough."
"I know, I'm sorry, Yagi-san. I'll try harder, I swear." I whispered.
After all, he'd used this power in far past the 100% capability it offered. I had to be able to do at least 100.
"No, no, you misunderstand." He shook his head. "What I mean is, you're currently limited by your own fear, and that drew the line as the best you could do in your own. I haven't been much help because I'm busier now, but I reckon another teacher will serve your training well."
"You mean...?" I trailed, hoping.
"Yes, I'm going to arrange you a teacher soon." He nodded. "But beware, the two weeks you have before the sports festival isn't going to be easy. Yuuei won't offer you the luxury of time so you're going to have training after, and possibly even before. So prepare yourself."
"Yes, sir!" I saluted like a soldier.
"I have someone in mind, but I need to contact him first. But whoever ends up teaching you, you have to grow. Like a weed, grow faster than anyone wants you to, Young Shizuka. You are my successor, I chose you for a reason. So you need to shout it to the world, as the fledging symbol of peace, the next All Might..." His blue eyes burned with fire inside.
I waited at the edge of the seat.
"I need you to tell them that 'I Am Here'!"
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"...What's going on here?" Shoto murmured, eyes sweeping in alert at the mass of students that'd suddenly appeared in front of our class's door, effectively blocking the only way out. Understandably, it irritated a few people as right now was the time to go home.
Likewise, I felt quite antsy to go home. Two weeks weren't a lot of time and, frankly, I needed to up my training so I could at least made the job slightly easier to my upcoming teacher.
"Why are they blocking the door so suddenly?!" Mineta protested, bag slung on his shoulders.
"Scooping the competition, duh. Small fry." Kacchan answered, and kept walking toward the unmoving humans wall. "Because we're the kids who survived a villain attack. Makes sense that they'd want to take a look."
He's in a good mood, I noted. Probably at the chance of letting loose and proving himself at the festival.
"No point, though. Move aside, Cannon Fodders."
Next to Shoto, Iida was instantly riled up. "Can we please resort not to call strangers 'cannon fodders'?!"
He was ignored, as suddenly a tall boy stepped forward. His purple hair was as wild as his eyebags were, and the sleepy look he got reminded me of Aizawa-sensei.
Huh. If you look at him this close, he's really similar to him. Maybe the fans were up to something about the Shinso-Aizawa thing...
"It's true, we came to get a look, but you sure are modest. Are all the kids in the hero course like this one?"
"Hah?!"
"Gotta say, I'm a little disillusioned if this is what you're offering." Shinso continued. "Those of us who didn't make it into the hero course got stuck with the general course and other tracks. There are quite a few of us, do you know that?"
"I didn't know that." Uraraka murmured, looking quite shocked at the revelation.
"Depending on the results of the festival, they might consider transfering us." He said. "Of course—"
His eyes swiped through us slowly, and I felt a shiver when they landed on mine.
"—the reverse is also very possible for you."
He never smirked, his expression never changed, and his body didn't show the tension I felt. And yet, there was some kind of heavy atmosphere he brought here.
Maybe it was the result of his Quirk, maybe it was because of himself. I didn't know.
"'Scooping out the competition'? For a General Studies kid like me, this is the prefect chance to knock you off your pedestal."
But I know he's determined. More so than me.
"What I think you're truly lacking... is determination." Yagi said. "You're comfortable with your current state—you shouldn't."
"Determination?" I murmured to myself.
"Young Shizuka, in this world, determination could change everything. The determination to win, to be on top... They're dangerous." He stated seriously.
But I still didn't get it. "What do you mean?"
"You'll see, just—"
"Consider this a declaration of war."
My classmates started to grow uneasy at that sentence, meanwhile Kacchan was surprisingly silent. The leave of Shinso, however, was made up with an appearance of another boy—albeit a more disheveled and uncool one.
"Hey, hey, I'm from class 1-B, next door!!" A guy with silver hair, silver skin, and noticable marks around his eyes popped up between the crowd. "Heard you guys fought some villains, wanted to find out more—but all I'm seeing is this arrogant bastard! You better not make fools of the hero course at the festival!"
"Tetsutetsu...?" I frowned confusedly.
"You know him?!" Kirishima asked loudly.
"Eh?!"
Somehow, my voice'd drafted through the whole room that everyone heard.
Even said boy himself turned his attention on me, to which I gave him an awkward smile and a wave in return. Gawking, he was silent for a moment before grinning hugely back at me. The whole unfriendly demeanor was gone in an instant.
"Midoriya! It's good to see you again! Let's have a good and fair fight at the festival!" He gave a thumbs up.
Sweat-dropping at the judging look directed at my back, I let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah, of course. See you at the festival, Tetsutetsu."
And then he was gone like the wind.
Behind me, Mina giggled. "It's like he has a crush on Midoriya-chan. He practically lit up when he saw her!"
I turned, wide-eyed. "No, it's not like that! He's just a friend!"
"Wait, jerk, where are you going?!" Kirishima called out. "Thanks to you we've got a whole mob of haters now!"
"I don't give a crap." Kacchan stated, his tone uncaring.
"WHAA—"
"I'm heading for the top. Why should I care?" He continued, his voice as resolute and clear as if he was stating that grasses are green. He left, the crowd parting for him, half-forced.
"—never forget the determination you had when you wanted to clean the beach."
The determination... huh?
.
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"We're here! Ahahahaha..."
"...Yagi-san, you're trembling."
"Ahaha! I-It's just been so long since I saw him! He was a great hero, but he retired early—not long after he quit teaching at Yuuei."
"That sounds familiar somehow..."
"Did you say something?"
"Nothing."
"Anyway, h-h-he w-was my homeroom t-teacher for a year!"
"Hmm? Yagi-san, your trembling got worse."
"A-ahaha! H—"
"What's your zygotes doing outside?! Come quickly!"
"G-good e-evening, sensei... This is my young successor, Midoriya Shizuka."
"It's nice to meet you—"
"Gran Torino's the name—"
"—though, I've never seen someone as short as you. You seemed to be shorter than even Mineta by an inch."
"Y-young S-s-shizuka!"
"Please take care of me."
"...This kid... ZERO POINT! What have you been teaching her, Toshinori?!!"
"S-s-sensei, I didn't—! S-sensei!"
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"Hey, hey, why's the sky blue? Do you know, nee-chan?" The brunette boy ran in circle, hands spread wide like a butterfly.
"Hmm, maybe because the sky likes that colour soooo much that he chose it."
"Eh? Then why does it changes, to orange and red and black?"
"It doesn't actually change." I smiled. "It's just almost the sun's bedtime so his light dimmed down from really bright yellow to orange and red and even purple."
"Waaahhhh, nee-chan really knows everything!"
"Well, I do know a bit. But the sky's never black, you know. It's just a really, really dark blue."
"Eh? Are you sure, nee-chan?"
"Mmhmm."
The boy smiled.
"Then why is it so dark now?" He asked innocently.
Brows furrowed, I looked away from the boy. The beautiful meadow we were in were no longer beautiful, the flowers had melted away and nothing seemed alive anymore—not even the grasses. The sky wasn't bright, it was pitch black and the sun looked as if it was a bout to cry tears of blood.
"What...?" I whispered, breath hitching up.
What happened?
How—
My hand brushed against a layered thing—it was a dead butterfly, and I flinched away.
"Nee-chan... Hey, tell me, Nee-chan..."
The boy smiled, even as his form started to coloured red and black and it even looked as if he was melting.
This isn't real, I froze up in horror, this can't be real!
"J-Jace—" That's right. That's the little boy's name. He was a new neighbor that got attached to me because I'd save him when he fell from a tree. A sweet, innocent little boy.
"You know everything, nee-chan~" He smiled larger. "So... tell me, why did you let him do this?"
The pool of red and black started to widen from his feet. A short sword stabbed through his heart, the handle dark with blood it was hard to see the silver.
Drip. drip. drip.
"Why, nee-san?"
Drip. drip. drip.
The worst part was... I recognized that sword.
(drip. drip. drip.)
.
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Drip. drip. drip. The water from last night's rain dripped down in a rhythmic way from the roof outside the building, but the sound was clear to me even through the closed window. It was the sound that'd haunt me since morning came.
"You look hauntingly terrible." Enji commented, his blunt nature coming forward whenever he was around family—the person taking over the hero persona.
I pursed my lips slightly. I was well too aware of the eyebags decorating my face, but I was hoping it'll heal a few hours later. That was usually the case about anything that appeared on my face, even pimples. Except, the eight stubborn freckles situated on my cheeks. I'd long given up that as permanent.
"Thanks." I sassed.
"Aren't you supposed to be patrolling right now, father?" Shoto intervened. He knew we were stubborn enough to take it into a full fight.
Definitely won't be a first.
"My sidekicks will be enough until this festival ends." Enji replied.
And the implication was enough to alerted us. It left me with a strange feeling. I thought he would be watching the recording later, not watching it live from spot. That only made me more excited and nervous at the same time.
Enji... at first, we didn't get along. We fought every chance we got—still was, in fact. But we got closer sometime on the decade we spent together, and as memories were made, he became precious to me soon enough. It felt like he was an uncle, the closest thing I had for a father after my own died.
He wasn't the type that spoiled me like my father did, nor he liked to show his love. But on the rare occasion he did, he did with genuineness.
And I love him for that.
Because it felt real.
And I'd long decided that, screw the future. I didn't care about Canon, about how he was in it and what'll happen to him. I didn't care, because none of it will happen.
I'd make a promise to myself that I can't break.
"I'm glad you can watch us." Shoto quietly said, practically glowing in happiness at the thought of his whole family (except his brothers—the busy buddies) watching him on the stand.
"Yeah, so don't disappoint me kids." He said gruffly. "Give your best, push yourself past the limit and don't get restricted by imaginary lines. The whole Japan's going to watch you today."
Don't get restricted by imaginary lines; what he meant was to be careful not to let rules and fears and whatever our brain conjured to restrict us, restrict us. It was basically his favorite line to say.
"So you two are going to go out there, fight smart, and make a reputation for yourselves. Make the pro heroes, the world, notice you. Go beyond their expectation."
His lips curled up.
"We're rooting on you two pipsqueaks."
.
.
"Nightmare?"
I knew it, the eyebags were too horrible.
"Mhmm, just a tiny one."
Shoto frowned icily. We were just simply too close that it was hard to lie to each other. And usually, I wouldn't even try; but today was the big day—I didn't want him to worry on me instead of focusing on the event.
I smiled teasingly. "Don't scowl too often, Prince Charming—I might fall in love."
He smirked, the tension loosening. "Speak to yourself, Ariel."
"What—" I gasped, outraged. "From which side, do I resemble her?! If anything, I should be Mulan! Or Pocahontas, or Moana—"
"Or Aurora." He said.
I deadpanned. "Now that's just ridiculous. If anything, you're the one who loves to sleep so you should be her. Who knows, maybe a wandering prince might find you in your fancy mansion and kissed you up."
Shoto lifted an eyebrow, his flawless poker face coming to play. "At least I don't obsess on a princess whose got a stockholm syndrome."
My eyebrow twitched. Alright, he asked for it.
"That's different. Belle loves Beast despite everything and that's beautiful unlike your stupid face—"
"Todoroki-kun! Midoriya-kun!" Iida suddenly rushed between us, putting his body like a shield. The engines on his legs smoked slightly after the sudden usage. "Please do not fight! I do not understand what you are fighting about, but friends shouldn't fight! Especially not on a time like this—"
"Shizuka or Midoriya is better, honestly." I murmured to Shoto. "But at least he has stop with the 'san's."
"—USJ Sports Festival is about to start! It is our chance to prove ourselves to the pros and the world—"
"What is he lecturing us about?" Shoto asked.
"Who knows." I shrugged.
"—so please, reconcile! I do not like seeing you fight!" Iida finished and drew a huge breath.
My lips quirked up. Iida was a truely unique person. He was genuine, honest to a fault, and innocent in a way. His way of expressing himself might be too much and seemed obnoxious at first, but everyone could tell he didn't mean that negatively. And those slicing air thing he did was awesomely entertaining.
"We weren't really fighting, Iida. We're just playing around." I explained with a smile.
Iida's face looked so confused I could saw the question mark above his head.
"You are precious." Shoto said with a serious face.
I couldn't help it anymore. I cracked up into a full blown laughter and hit my head on the table a few times as I tried to fold my body. People probably stared at me, but I couldn't care less. I was having too much fun!
Shoto's—he's such a comedy gold. I exhaled, and snickered again. He's a pure cutie pie hehehe...
Iida shook his head and an excited grin entered his eyes. Was it my imagination, or did his glasses just glinted in a typical villain way?
"Anyway, Iida." I cleared my throat. "Why weren't you with the others on our class' waiting room?"
"I was given a briefing by Aizawa-sensei as the president of 1-A. It is my duty to make sure everyone stick together during the event!" He said.
"Oh, alright then. I'll help you too as I'm the vice president, so don't put everything on your shoulders." I told him.
"Of course, thank you Midoriya-kun! I'm very glad to have you. But... may I ask, what were you doing with Todoroki-kun? Everyone was supposed to wait inside." Iida asked.
Shoto and I shared a subtle glance. How did we explain that we just snuck out because the no. 2 hero—who's actually Shoto's father and my kinda-uncle—wanted to have a word with us?
We didn't.
"Um, well, you know what, Iida?" I made sure to glance at the clock in an obvious way. "Isn't the festival starts at 8?"
Iida stared, shocked. "But—it's 7.49! We must tell everyone to get ready now! Todoroki-kun, Midoriya-kun, I apologize, but I must head off first. I will see you soon in the waiting room!"
And he was off, leaving us in literal dust that got stirred up by his engine. Shoto gave me a small smile, and I grinned cheekily.
Strategy: Distraction is a success.
We arrived a few minutes later, and found our classmates already walking out of the waiting room, with Iida on the front to lead everyone to the open sports field where we would be doing the festival. Yaoyorozu gave Shoto and I a quizzical glance, and I smiled and mouthed 'toilet'.
I didn't see her answer, as a blonde stepped determinedly toward me.
I froze, as red eyes stared straight to me as if he could see my soul. There were resentment, dislike, and something else I couldn't decipher. Nevertheless, I felt like a prey for a growling tiger.
"Oi, shitty nerd." He growled lowly. "I'm gonna crush you today, so prepare yourself, Deku. All Might and everyone else might favor you, but that's nothing against my will to win."
He smirked with his teeths. "And I will win. I won't lose to anyone, not even you. Remember that, Deku."
"I'll win next time, I'll win with my own power!"
Don't make that face, I wanted to say. I wanted to reach out to him. You looked like you're desperately trying to prove yourself.
There's nothing to prove.
"You... I don't need you, Deku."
My smile faded, and it was a slow thing.
"I know, Bakugo. But I will never back down. You're not the only one that need to win." I replied. "So I'm going to give it my all."
If anyone needs to prove themself, it's me.
To Yagi-san, to Enji, to you, to the world.
He bared his teeth and passed by me, his shoulder hitting mine in a not quite hard way. I couldn't decide if it was a threat or a promise.
"This is my starting line, do you hear me?!"
I didn't say it, because I knew Kacchan wouldn't want me to. The old me would've said it without thinking. She ran her mouth on daily basis, and hurt people along the way.
We've changed, huh, Kacchan? We used to be so different, back then...
But that was a decade ago, and a decade too long.
Maybe it's time to end the feud between us.
.
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Walking through the tunnel and into the open field was like seeing light for the first time in a long while. Everything was blinding, but none of us paid any attention to it. Nor to the cheers and roars of the audience.
"The first years... of the hero course. IT'S CLASS 1-A!" I distinctly heard Present Mic shouted.
My eyes were focused to the front, to the small podium waiting for us.
"I need you to tell them that 'I Am Here'!"
"Amazing..." Uraraka looked around breathlessly at the sight of the uncountable people staring at us. "They're really making me nervous, though."
"Now for the pledge!" Midnight-sensei yelled from atop the podium with a flirty smile.
"It's Midnight-sensei!" Mina cheered excitedly.
"But she's a R-rated hero. Should she really be teaching in high school?" Tokoyami thought out loud.
"The others are kinda happy, though." I glanced around at the sight of my fellow first graders, most of the boys were drooling at the sight of Midnight. "Especially Mineta."
"Yeah, no wonder there." Jiro grimaced.
"The students' representative... FROM CLASS 1-A: BAKUGO KATSUKI!"
I glanced at the blonde boy that walked pass me, his red eyes showing seriousness and quiet determination in equal measure. It was the first time I'd ever saw him like that.
"I pledge... that I'll be number one."
Then he continued with saying he'll 'step on us like stepping stones when he's on top', but his expression never deterred—even through the insults and dislikes the other classes expressed.
That face... he's definitely forcing himself to be on top.
Instead of being unnerved of his personality switch, all I felt was excitement blooming in my heart.
"NOW, LET THIS SPORTS FESTIVAL... BEGIN!"
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word count: 4496
whoaaaa, it's starting guys! it's really starting! anyway, i'm still pretty unsure about the challenges, so tell me your ideas!
anyway, sorry if you guys are bothered with some mistakes i've made, and i really appreciate you telling me that—but the first few chapters' files were deleted cause i redownload the app once so i can't really fix them even tho i want to. so sorry for that :(
love y'all, see ya soon! xx
p.s. if you like the vampire diaries, go check out my new story: DEATH'S WINGS.