A/N: So I am really bad at remembering important dates and such. Last time I forgot it was Urayuli's birthday in August, and last month I forgot that it was The Skinwalker's one-year anniversary! Our regular reader wercrazybesties4lyf reminded me in her review of chapter 13, so thank you, friend!
In other news, my husband and I had been talking, and suddenly I realized I never thought of giving either Max or Urayuli a voice actor! So for Urayuli, I chose Stephanie Lemelin, the voice actress for one of the Corrin voices in Fire Emblem: Fates. She has the more... throaty voice. As for Max, it's a close call between Wolverine Hugh Jackman and Henry Cavill as Geralt in the Witcher. Those are just my personal takes of what they would sound like. Let me know what you imagine they sound like!
This is my longest chapter yet, a good 13000 words, as a Holiday gift from me to you! I hope you guys enjoy it!
Phantom Pain
There have been moments in her life where Urayuli felt true fear and each of them have shaped her in different ways. When she was trotting on the tundra as a tiny fox, and when she feverishly searched for her father during a blizzard, to name a few. There was a clear difference between those moments and this one. In her tussle with the owl she quickly turned back to herself, and during her search, she only ever thought of Kvichak's safety. Neither of those moments made Urayuli truly fear for her own life as seeing dozens upon dozens of villains step out of a giant purple haze, all with the intention to hurt or kill.
"Villains? No way... There's just no way they could get into a hero school!" Kirishima exclaimed in disbelief.
"Sensei, what about the trespasser sensors?" Yaoyorozu stepped in-between Midoriya and Iida. That's it! Surely somewhere an alarm must be going off, Urayuli thought as a flicker of hope went through her chest.
"We have them, of course, but..." Thirteen trailed off, body on edge. Next to Urayuli and Jiro, Todoroki spoke up.
"Did they only appear here, or around the whole school?" He asked while eyeing the villains on the lower level. "Either way, if the sensors aren't responding, that means they have someone with a Quirk that can do that." That made sense to Urayuli, but it made her stomach clench with dread. The purple fog already spoke about knowing All Might, Eraser Head, and Thirteen were going to be here. They also knew about the sensors. That meant someone was feeding them information, right? She felt the spit in her throat burn at the thought. "An isolated area separated from the main campus during a time when a class is supposed to be here. They might be fools, but they're not dumb. This surprise attack was carefully planned with some sort of goal in mind." Urayuli eyed the rest of her classmates, hesitance and fright evident on their faces.
"Thirteen," Aizawa-sensei spoke with authority. "Start the evacuation. Try calling the school. These villains even had something to counteract the sensors. Someone with radio-wave-type powers may be interfering." He turned his head to look at his students. "Kaminari," Everyone shifted their gaze to the boy in question. "You try contacting the school with your Quirk, too."
"What about you, sir?" Midoriya asked, his eyebrows set in a worried frown. "Will you fight by yourself? With that many, even if you can erase their Quirk... Eraser Head's fighting style is capturing after erasing the enemy's Quirk. A frontal battle is..." Urayuli frowned and pursed her lips, agreeing with Midoriya's statement. Besides, how reliable can he be, he sleeps through class most of the time anyway.
Aizawa-sensei turned to Midoriya, his eyes not visible through his goggles. "You can't be a hero with just one trick." His words caused Urayuli's brain to tingle, for reasons she could not explain or understand. "I'm leaving it to you, Thirteen."
Before Urayuli knew it, Aizawa-sensei had launched himself down the stairs and disappeared out of sight. She took a few steps forward to watch him, curious how he was going to handle himself. She watched in awe as he used the wrappings around his neck to incapacitate three villains at the same time, wrapping around them and using physics against them, as if they were a yo-yo. Alright, I stand corrected. The three villains got their heads slammed together by the downward pull Aizawa-sensei performed and their bodies slackened as they fell to the ground. As she watched, Midoriya moved to stand next to her, intently staring at Aizawa-sensei's movements and fighting techniques. I forget he's an actual Pro Hero.
"Everybody! Let's not waste any time, get to the exit!" Thirteen said, and class 1-A started running towards the doors.
"Wow..." Midoriya said in awe as he and Urayuli stayed behind to watch for a few more seconds. "Aizawa-sensei's actually really good at fighting by himself against a lot of people, huh?"
"Seems like," Urayuli muttered, pulling at the hem of her skirt as she turned around to run after her classmates. She saw Iida stop and turn towards the two of them with a stern look on his face.
"This is no time for analysis! Hurry up and take shelter!" He said, Urayuli and Midoriya nodded and ran after him. The exit was at least a hundred meters away from the stairs, but at the moment it felt as if it was at the other end of a football field. Suddenly, the purple haze from before appeared before them and Urayuli's heart leaped in her throat as she skidded to a stop, almost colliding with Asui. The haze stood tall as it watched them with its yellow glowing eyes.
"I won't let you." A deep voice stated. "Nice to meet you. We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves in to the home of the heroes, U.A. High School, in order to have All Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his last breath."
They came to kill All Might? It took Urayuli a moment to figure out what he was saying, as the haze's speech sounded very old-fashioned, but she understood enough. Despite the obvious danger they were in, Urayuli couldn't help but complain about one thing in particular. What kind of stupid name is that, 'League of Villains'? Are we in grade school?
"I believe All Might should have been here," The haze continued. "Has there been some kind of change?" Nobody said a word as they all warily eyed the entity. "Well, that is neither here nor there. This is the part I am to play." It spoke as it raised what Urayuli could only guess were arms. However, it and the rest of the class were caught off-guard as both Kirishima and Bakugo jumped forward to strike him, the latter setting off an explosion. Urayuli raised her arms with a grunt to repel the dust and debris it caused to fly around.
"Did you consider that you'd get beaten by us before you did?" Kirishima spoke confidently.
"Oh dear, that's dangerous." The deep voice chastised, and Urayuli felt the tingle of dread go down her spine again. "That's right. Even if you are students, you are excellent golden eggs."
"No!" Thirteen yelled with a hand towards the two boys. "Move away, you two!"
"My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!" The haze exclaimed as the purple cloud enveloped the entirety of class 1-A. Urayuli heard feminine yelps and male grunts around her as the haze roughly blew through everybody, blinding them. Her stomach dropped as she experienced an odd sensation as if she was falling. Opening her eyes, she saw she was rapidly moving towards a body of water. What the?! Urayuli angled her torso upward so her feet were pointing down toward the man-made lake, her elbows tucked in and one hand covering her nose and mouth.
"Holy fu-!" Urayuli screeched right before her feet cut through the surface tension of the water and plummeting into the depths below. Falling feet first made it so she would not damage her head or neck, and Urayuli silently thanked her father for teaching her that technique. "If you're ever on a boat and need to jump ship, this is how you do it without hurting yourself." Then proceeded to show her how coupled with a bunch of strange facial expressions. Time and a place, Urayuli, she chastised herself, looking around in the blue waters for enemies. How the hell did I even get here? Did the purple haze warp me here?
In the distance, she noticed a body slowly swimming towards the surface and from the U.A. gym uniform, Urayuli knew it was Midoriya. She started swimming over to him when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning her head, she came face to face with Asui's large green eyes.
"Quickly, Ura-chan, turn into an otter!" Asui demanded and while Urayuli was shocked she could speak normally underwater, she did as she asked. Within seconds, the shift was complete and Asui grabbed hold of Urayuli and tucked her under her arm, rapidly swimming toward a villain who seemed to be closing in on Midoriya. Asui swam as fast as she could and before the villain, who looked like a shark to Urayuli, could close its giant teeth on Midoriya, Asui kicked him square in the jaw. She wrapped her large tongue around Midoriya and kicked off, speeding to the surface.
As they got up for air, Urayuli saw a large ship in the middle of the lake and watched as Asui used her tongue to drop Midoriya somewhere on the ship. Shortly after, Asui wrapped her tongue around Urayuli and dropped her onto the deck as well. Midoriya quickly held out a hand to help Urayuli up after she shifted back.
"Are you okay?" Midoriya asked with a frown. Urayuli nodded as she grabbed onto his wrist, letting him pull her up. Midoriya leaned over the side of the ship. "Thanks, Asui-san."
Two large hands planted themselves on the railing and Asui's head appeared shortly after. "Call me Tsuyu-chan, okay?"
"T-T-T-T-Tsuyu-chan, thanks!" Midoriya stuttered and Urayuli held back a snort at the flustered boy.
"This has turned into a bad situation, though," Asui said, pointing a large finger to her chin as the three of them took a quick breather on the deck.
"Yeah. What the villain said earlier... They knew U.A.'s schedule!" Midoriya said, his brow set in a deep frown. "Looking at the big picture, those guys must've set up the media intrusion the other day to get information. They are waiting to pounce, just as Todoroki-kun said."
"That sounds like something villains would do," Urayuli voiced as she cupped her mouth with her hand deep in thought. "But it's not as if they could actually kill him, right? Once he learns we're in danger, he'll come to the rescue and kick their asses. Unless..."
"Unless the reason they're trying is hard is because they have a way to kill him." Asui finished for her. "I mean, guys that strong just told us they would torture us to death." Despite being on the same wavelength about the situation, it did not stop Urayuli's stomach from clenching in fear. "I wonder if we'll be able to hold out until All Might arrives... Even if All Might comes, I wonder if we will all make it out in one piece..." Urayuli grabbed onto the railing tightly, forcing herself not to vomit. Just the thought of any one of them not making it out alive... Until she saw movement in the water.
"Guys, I think we got company," Urayuli said in a low voice to Asui and Midoriya. Multiple bodies swam towards them, and while she couldn't see them, she guessed they weren't coming from just one side of the ship. Urayuli's breathing quickened and her mouth felt dryer than ever. This is not really what I had envisioned when coming here. Being in danger like this... She thought of her father and the fear she felt when she hadn't been able to find him in the murky waters of the river delta. This isn't at all comparable.
"If those guys have a way to defeat All Might," Midoriya began, making Urayuli and Asui turn to face him. "Then right now, we should be stopping whatever they're planning. By fighting and winning!" He looked up to the two girls, determination obvious from the down-turned corners of his mouth and the fire in his eyes. Despite her racing heart and faltering breath, her shaking muscles, and hands that wouldn't stop sweating in her gloves, Urayuli swallowed deeply and nodded.
"You have an idea of how we're going to do that?" She asked as she grabbed one of her hands with the other to make it stop trembling.
"Those guys down look like they're suited to aquatic combat, right?" Midoriya pointed out, making Urayuli eye the villains in the water and notice the diving gear most of them had on.
"Does that mean they knew what was in these facilities before they gathered people?" Asui asked.
"Right," Midoriya said. "For people who gathered that much intel so meticulously, there's something strange. They sent you, Asu – I mean, Tsuyu-chan – and Yaraqpik-san to the shipwreck zone." Midoriya got flustered mid-sentence and started trembling, not used to being familiar with Asui.
"Your own pace is fine," Asui assured him and Midoriya let out a relieved sigh, before turning to Urayuli.
"What point are you trying to make, Midoriya?" Urayuli asked, confused where he was going.
"This means, in other words, the villains probably don't know what our Quirks are." Midoriya finished, giving both girls a pointed look. It suddenly hit Urayuli.
"If they knew that I was a shapeshifter, they would have put me somewhere I wouldn't have any way to survive." Urayuli figured with a soft gasp.
"They probably would have thrown the both of us into that fire zone over there if they knew," Asui said with a grave voice. "I can't imagine doing all too well in there."
"They probably separated us because they didn't know our Quirks, so they planned to overpower us with numbers." Midoriya continued. "We have inferior numbers and less experience. Our only hope lies in the fact that our opponents don't know what our Quirks are! The enemy isn't trying to climb the boat. That supports my hypothesis. But that probably means they aren't underestimating us, either."
"Alright, so we don't have a plan. Let's brainstorm." Urayuli said curtly as the three of them crouched down so the villains couldn't see them. Asui nodded.
"I'll tell you more about my Quirk, then," Asui said. "I can jump high, stick to walls, and stick my tongue out up to about 20 meters. I can also spit out my stomach and wash it, and secrete toxic mucus that actually stings a little." Not gonna lie, that's kind of gross. "The last two are practically useless, so you can probably forget about them."
"I already kind of knew, but you're really strong." Midoriya praised softly. "I have super strength, but once I use it, I'm pretty much out of commission. It's like a double-edged sword."
"Well..." Urayuli began as she stared at her hand. "My Quirk is essentially turning into animals, but not just any animal I can think of. Until recently, the caveat was that it had to be an animal native to Alaska. I can turn into two aquatic animals, a Beluga Whale, and an otter, but they aren't really useful as they are neither strong or fast. Besides, it doesn't seem like I have any enhanced powers when I shift." She didn't like to admit it, but she felt like a nuisance. Everyone in her class seemed to have a useful and flashy Quirk, and hers was just 'oh yeah, lemme just turn into a dog for a bit'. It's nothing more than a glorified circus-act.
"What else can you turn into?" Midoriya asked.
"I can turn into a cat, an eagle, a spider-" Urayuli stopped herself when she noticed Midoriya started muttering to himself deep in thought. "Where are you going with this?" He was quiet for a moment.
"Would you be able to turn into a spider, but bigger?" Midoriya asked.
Bigger? Urayuli shifted her gaze away from his face back to her hand. "I don't think I can."
"Have you ever tried?" He asked. Urayuli was silent for a moment.
"Good point." Urayuli frowned as she gave it some more thought. It was true, she never actually tried doing that, but was such a thing even possible? And even if it was possible, could it have any adverse effects? Nothing about this sounded like a good idea. Either it doesn't work and they're dead, or it does work – but it backfires – killing them anyway. I need to decide soon, those dudes in the water won't wait forever. There must be something else I can do. Her eagle form could do the trick, but would that be enough to outrun the villains? I don't even know if I could carry both of them in my talons. What Aizawa-sensei said before leaping down the stairs suddenly resonated back to her. You can't be a hero with just one trick. She sighed deeply before she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Whatever you're thinking of, you can do it, ribbit," Asui said with a determined nod. Urayuli blew some air from her lungs.
"Alright, Midoriya," She locked eyes with him as she cracked her knuckles and slowly started doing stretches, readying herself for the inevitable. "If this works, what do you need me to do?" Midoriya's determined smile lit up his face.
"Are you able to make silk in your spider-form?" Midoriya waited for her to nod. "If you can make a lot of it, that would be perfect."
"I'll warn you, the only spider I can turn into is a Brown Recluse, and they're not exactly known for having strong webbing. They're hunters, so their webs are loose and sticky as they're not used for prey." Urayuli quickly explained as she got on all fours and stretched her legs.
"That's perfect." Urayuli looked at him in confusion as his eyes sparkled with something she could not place, his hands clenching into fists at his chest. "Just trust me on this." She shrugged at his words. I don't have any other ideas, or choices, really.
Urayuli closed her eyes and took a deep breath, wondering if this crapshoot of an idea was going to have a favorable outcome. Shifting into different animals was one thing, but an animal that cannot ever hope to reach outlandish sizes? The spider she had in her mind doesn't even exist, so how could she ever manage this? Urayuli shook her head, forcing herself to concentrate on the task at hand. Brown Recluse but bigger. About the size of a big dog. Waist height? Brown Recluse but bigger. I need to be bigger. I have to be bigger.
Midoriya and Asui watched with furrowed brows as their friend got enveloped in a bright golden light, a shining silhouette remaining. They squinted and with barely concealed abject horror watched as her form changed into an eight-legged monstrosity that stood at exactly three feet high. The giant Brown Recluse in front of them was longer than it was tall, its six eyes stared at them blankly as its pedipalps moved idly in anticipation. Midoriya had to remind himself that this was his classmate and friend and that he should not panic. Especially since this was a life-or-death situation for all of them.
"Alright, Yaraqpik-san, can you still hear me in that form?" He had to ask, for he wasn't sure spiders had ears or not. The large spider in front of him turned its body with the use of its many legs, the claws at the ends of them tapping on the wood. Its many eyes stared unblinkingly, and he assumed it must've heard him. He had to stop referring to her as an 'it', otherwise it felt as if she and all her forms were separate. "Make as much spider-silk as you can, please. It doesn't have to be one continuous piece, just make sure you make a lot of it."
She didn't speak or give him any indication she had heard him at first, but soon went to work. Midoriya watched with interest as he saw her pull small ropes and clumps of spider-silk from the lower part of her abdomen before Asui averted his gaze by turning him around by the shoulder.
"She might not appreciate you watching her so closely, Midoriya-chan," She said, making Midoriya red in the face. "Let's continue with your plan. What do we do with the silk?"
"I need to prove another hypothesis – if you can call it that," Midoriya said cryptically as he grabbed some of the silk by Urayuli's claws and threw it overboard to the villains. The pieces of spider-silk that floated too close to the villains got splashed away, being cautious enough not to trust the flimsy-looking webs. Just as I thought, they won't even touch them, Midoriya thought as an idea struck him.
"Let's finish this thing! I'm getting bored over here!" Suddenly, the ringleader of the water villains – a brutal looking person with overly exposed teeth and bald head – used his Quirk and cut the boat clean in half. Asui and Midoriya held on to the railings as they threw more spider-silk overboard, keeping a close eye on Urayuli as she tried to regain her balance.
"That boat'll go under in less than a minute," the shark-man who tried to eat Midoriya said with a glare. "Once you're in the water, you're chum."
"Yaraqpik-san, change back!" Midoriya spoke loudly to get her attention. She'd made enough spider-silk for them to throw overboard, and now he needed her to be small so they could escape. The bright light returned, enveloping the spider and out of it came Urayuli, still on her hands and knees.
"How'd I d-" Urayuli cut herself off with an ear-piercing scream as she clutched her sides, holding herself as she slammed to the floor. Alarmed, Asui and Midoriya sped over to her to see if she was hurt or not but did not find any injuries. Urayuli kept screaming and crying out in pain with her eyes wide open.
"What's happening, Yaraqpik-san?!" Midoriya asked as he looked over her body once more. Asui cupped Urayuli's face in her hands and angled it to her.
"I can't see! I can't see!" Despite her pain-induced crying in English, Midoriya understood perfectly what was going on and the cold hand of terror clutched his heart. Still, it did not explain why she was grabbing onto her sides and screaming in pain. Both Asui and Midoriya were very confused as to what was going on, but time was of the essence. They had to get on with the plan, or all of the pain Urayuli was in would've been for nothing.
Midoriya stood and jumped from the boat, screaming for the villains to go to hell as he got his hands in the right position; putting tension on his middle-finger with his thumb as if to flick something away, holding his left wrist with his right hand. Asui, in the meantime, softly shushed Urayuli as she grabbed hold of her and put her on her back with her arms slumped over Asui's shoulders. Asui made sure to hold onto Urayuli's crossed wrists with her large hand. With the other, she held onto the remaining spider-silk while getting ready to jump.
"Delaware..." The hum of his power surged through his arm as he flicked his finger. "SMASH!"
The force of Midoriya flicking his finger formed an enormous hole in the surface of the water, spreading out and catching the villains unawares. Through the pain in his middle-finger – broken and bleeding – he called out for his classmates.
"Tsuyu-chan! Now!"
With a leap, Asui jumped in the air with Urayuli on her back and threw all the remaining spider-silk into the water. After dumping the silk, she snatched up Midoriya with her tongue along the way. In the middle of where Midoriya unleashed his Delaware Smash, the water started sucking in the villains and the silk, the sticky webbing almost acting as a glue, binding the villains together. They yelled in surprise as they got sucked underwater.
"By delivering a strong shock to the water's surface..." Midoriya groaned. "It spreads, and once it rushes back into the center..."
The water exploded upward, causing the enormous splash to wash away the villains as well as the remains of the boat. Stuck together, the villains flew away from the force, totally incapacitated. They crashed back in the water in the middle of the lake, unable to get loose. Midoriya, Asui, and Urayuli landed in the waters closer to the shoreline. Thankfully, Midoriya and Asui were able to stand in the shallows. Midoriya painfully clutched his hand with a wince as his finger throbbed angrily.
"Lucky that we managed to get them all..." Midoriya muttered with a hiss. "Because honestly, that was a real gamble. If they'd been smart, a few of them would have hidden under the water's surface, but I guess they weren't thinking ahead... still... gotta be careful, here..."
"Stop it, Midoriya-chan. That's scary." Asui broke through his mutterings curtly as she adjusted Urayuli on her back.
"Right. For now, calling for help is our top priority," Midoriya said as he took off one of his elbow-pads. "If possible, we should follow the shoreline and make for the exit, avoiding the plaza altogether." Asui and Midoriya peeked over to the plaza, gulping loudly as they saw Aizawa-sensei fighting with a large, slowly dwindling group of villains.
"Right. Looks like Aizawa-sensei is drawing a large number of them to the plaza." Asui noticed. Midoriya grimaced, worried his teacher bit off more than he could chew.
"There's too many of them." Midoriya deduced. "Of course he's more than holding his own out there but... it's too much for him. He knew that but jumped in to protect us. We should watch for an opening, and do what we can to lighten his load."
"Midoriya-chan," Asui poked him softly in the arm. "While that might be what needs to be done, I'm worried about Ura-chan. There's something wrong."
"W-what?" The grave tone of Asui's voice made him turn around in confusion. Asui was eyeing their friend, who was sagged against her back with her eyes closed. Her brows were pinched together and her face had a sickly pallor to her normally brown skin. Somewhere along the way she must've lost consciousness, Midoriya thought as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Aside from her eyes, what else is wrong with her?"
"She's not breathing normally. It's shallow and irregular. She's cold and her body... it's not heavy enough." Asui's words caused him to cough nervously.
"W-what do you mean?"
"I mean, she's light. Way too light. She weighs next to nothing, ribbit."
When she opened her eyes, an overcast night sky greeted her like an old friend. The cries of seagulls in the distance carried over by the wind made her sit up to survey her surroundings. "Where even am I?" She asked herself. Looking around, a familiar island with familiar houses and structures stood in the distance in the middle of a frozen ocean. Inside the houses, lights were burning softly and smoke from fireplaces billowed from the chimneys. She stood up and shifted from one foot to another to alleviate the cold feeling in the soles of her feet.
"I've been here before." She stated as if she's talking about the weather, her words echoing across the frozen ocean. Sniffing, she turned her head up to the murky heavens. Where had she seen this scenery before? The sudden howling winds bit at her skin as the ice underneath her sang. The salty sea air filled her nostrils and she almost wept with nostalgia.
Before long, the smell changed to burning wood and earth. It made her shift her gaze back to the island, dancing orange flames absorbing the houses and other buildings. The off-white house with the red roof disappeared in the blaze, and a man's scream for help spurred her legs to move rapidly towards the burning island.
While she should have heard only her feet slapping against the ice, she heard multiple taps on it as she ran. She stopped and gazed down at the thick, dark ocean waters frozen in time. Below her, the steps of a large spider mirrored her own beneath the ice. And it saw her too. Her pale face, her feet and fingers so red from the cold she could almost feel it herself, eyes that lost their burnt-yellow gleam. The girl shifted her gaze back up and continued to walk towards the island in flames, the sudden movement a startling change as the spider scrambled to keep up.
Where am I going, she thought – the girl did not relent in her possessed stride to the inferno along the coast.
Urayuli's head hung limply over Asui's shoulders, her face getting paler by the minute and her breathing uneven. Midoriya got rid of his right glove and touched Urayuli's forehead with his hand, flinching when he felt how truly cold she was.
"We have to figure out how to get her to safety, Midoriya-chan," Asui said as she glanced at the unconscious girl on her back. "We don't know if she's sick or hurt anywhere else, and we won't if she doesn't get medical attention." A soft pained whine came from Urayuli as she shivered.
Midoriya gave a grim nod. "I know that," he said as he turned around to face the plaza. The two of them watched as the pale-haired man grabbed onto Aizawa-sensei's elbow, causing the skin to crumble. They had to come up with something and fast. "But we can't risk getting caught by those villains either. Worst case scenario, we put her down somewhere while we fight, and that's the absolute last resort." If they went with that, most villains would probably assume Urayuli was either injured or worse and ignore her. The thought left a sour taste in his mouth. Would I even be able to do that? He stared at Urayuli, who's eyebrows were still pushed together and eyes shut tightly.
"Meet the anti-symbol of peace. The bio-engineered Nomu." The blue-haired leader whispered maliciously.
A monstrous roar forced Midoriya and Asui's attention back to the plaza, and they were met with the horrifying image of Aizawa-sensei being pinned down by a giant behemoth made of nightmares; some sort of beak and still have sharp-looking teeth, its brain exposed to the air, and crazed, unblinking eyes. The unnatural position the beast held Aizawa-sensei's arm in as it kept his head face-first in the ground gave no doubts about whether it was broken or not. The creature tightened its hold on the arm he was holding, causing the bone inside to crack.
"Canceling out Quirks. Pretty cool, but nothing special." The man with the pale-blue hair spoke in his raspy voice. "Up against crazy strength, you might as well be totally quirkless."
Aizawa-sensei shouted in pain as the demon on top of him grabbed onto his other arm and snapped it like a twig, and tried to wrench himself out of its hold, only to have his head grabbed and smashed into the concrete. Midoriya stared wide-eyed with his mouth open at the terrifying scene in front of him and Asui let herself and Urayuli sink a little deeper into the water so only their heads were above the surface. The haze that warped the students reappeared next to the blue-haired man.
"Shigaraki Tomura." It spoke.
"Kurogiri," The man – Shigaraki – said in acknowledgment. "Is Thirteen dead?"
"Merely incapacitated, but... There were some students I couldn't warp away..." The haze waited for a moment. "And one of them escaped."
The man stood still for a moment as if contemplative. "Oh?" He started scratching the side of his neck. "Huh..." He started scratching harder. "Huhhh..." Scratching with both hands long his neck in long strides. "Kurogiri. You..." He glared at the haze through the hand on his face. "I'd turn you to dust if you weren't our ticket out of here." He let go of his neck. "We won't stand a chance against dozens of Pros. It's game over man... It's game over, for now. We're leaving."
"They said they're leaving, but I've got a bad feeling, Midoriya-chan," Asui confessed as she readjusted Urayuli again. Midoriya nodded.
"Yeah, to do all this... and then just leave on a whim..." Midoriya wondered silently what these guys were thinking. Didn't they want to kill All Might? So why are they leaving?
"Oh yeah. But before that. Let's leave a few dead kids..." In the blink of an eye, Shigaraki had somehow materialized in front of the trio and reached a rough hand toward Asui's face. "To wound the pride of the symbol of peace!" There was no time to react. Midoriya's heart stopped as time seemed to slow down and watched as the mangy fingertips pressed onto Asui's shocked face. However, nothing happened, and the man tsked and turned his head.
"You really are pretty cool." His voice suddenly dropped dangerously. "Eraser Head." The broken man had gathered all his strength to lift his head and cancel the villain's Quirk in a desperate attempt to give the trio enough time to escape. The Nomu on top of him promptly slammed his head back into the already broken concrete as a reward, knocking him out cold. Grasping the man's arm with feverish urgency, Midoriya reeled back his fist.
"Get off her!" his furious yell made his voice crack.
"Nomu."
Midoriya punched something, for once not breaking his arm. The dust settled and he slowly rolled his eyes up, meeting the giant horror eye-to-eye, freezing his blood.
"Quite a move you just pulled off..." Shigaraki droned, sounding neither impressed nor indifferent. "And with a 'smash' too... You a fan of All Might?" The Nomu circled its hand around Midoriya's wrist with severe pressure and pulled him out of the water. Asui made a grab for Midoriya with her tongue while Shigaraki reached for her with one hand and for the unconscious Urayuli on her back with the other. As his hand closed in on Urayuli's face, she slowly blinked her eyes open, not quite awake or aware of her surroundings.
Where... am I? A loud bang in the distance startled her in her sleep-like state. She shivered. I'm so cold. She was being held in water. A man's deep voice thundered that sounded oddly condensed and muffled. She stirred, blinking her eyes open for an instance. A massive blond man in the distance, his face set in a deep and intense snarl. Her eyes drooped again and she sighed, frustrated she couldn't keep her eyes open for longer. She at least knew she was leaning against a body if the combination of chlorinated water mixed with skin was anything to go off on.
Suddenly, her body was moving with break-neck speed, a warm and strong arm wrapping around her stomach, and the next moment she is carefully put down on her side. She willed her eyes to open fully, and the gigantic blond man from before was crouching down in front of her. From this angle, she could only see the side of his face from below and he did not look happy. She groaned as she tried to sit up.
"Yaraqpik-san?! How are you feeling?!" A voice next to her asked frantically. Forest green eyes stared into her cognac ones. A large pair of more subdued green appeared in her line of vision.
"Where am I? Who are you?" She asked dumbly and the boy's face turned ashen.
"What are you talking about, ribbit? We talk every day. Midoriya-chan and Tsuyu-chan, remember?"
Urayuli touched her head as she shook it, snapping out of her stupor as her friends quickly helped her up. The careful way they held her jogged her memory and she grimaced at how stupid she sounded. "Yeah, sorry, I don't know what happened." She shifted her gaze to the large man, realizing it was All Might in his civilian clothes.
"Throwing punches to save people... Ha ha ha. That's our state-sponsored violence." Urayuli gazed at the pale-haired man as he plucked one of the disembodied hands and stuck it to his face. Behind him stood a colossal... she didn't have words for it. It was a disgusting-looking mutant that turned her insides to liquid. "You're fast. Too fast to keep up with, but not as fast as expected. Could it be true?" He stopped to glare at All Might with a wide grin. "That you're getting weaker..?"
"It's no use, All Might! That brain villain!" Midoriya warned next to her. "One for – I mean, my attack wasn't strong enough to break my own arm, but... He didn't even flinch!" How long was I out for? "Up against you..."
"Midoriya. Kid." The symbol of peace turned to him as he gave a genuine smile and did a peace-sign. "Fear not!" And he lunged at the monster and its master, his arms crossed in an x-formation. It hit the Nomu, but it did not react to the attack and made a grab for All Might. He dodged at reared his arm back and punched the giant in the stomach.
"We have to get Aizawa-sensei to safety, ribbit. Ura-chan, you shouldn't carry him in your condition." Asui said as the trio made to hold onto their battered teacher. Urayuli felt her head throb warmly despite still getting chills throughout her body. I'm never this cold. Her sides ached suddenly and she whimpered, rubbing the painful spots along her waist and hips with her knuckles. Yeah, I definitely shouldn't be carrying anyone. Midoriya slung Aizawa-sensei over his back, with Asui holding onto his legs.
Urayuli chanced a look behind her and gasped at the sight of All Might grabbing the monster from under its armpits and suplexed it into the ground with an explosive slam. Seeing the man she admired all these years fight in the flesh like that... she stopped walking and fumbled a hand toward Midoriya to make him watch for a moment.
"He just suplexed that thing and the ground exploded..." Urayuli whispered in disbelief. "I've seen many videos of him fighting and doing hero work, but to see it up close..." she trailed off, not knowing the words to describe the feeling.
"It's funny that he's a total newbie as a teacher, with those cheat sheets and all," Asui added. "Guess we were worried for nothing... He's unreal..."
Urayuli weakly chuckled to herself. "Kick his ass, All Might." She mumbled, knowing he could not hear her, but hoping he could feel the sentiment. Her relief did not last long, the beast had somehow warped itself underneath All Might and dug its long jagged claws into his abdomen. Her eyes darted over the scene, realizing it was the purple mist that had warped it.
"So you hoped to drive him into the concrete and seal his movements?" The pale-haired leader spoke. "It wouldn't have worked. Nomu is as powerful as you." He turned his head at the haze. "Well done, Kurogiri. Perfect timing, really." The beast clenched its fingers into All Might's flesh, making him bleed through his white shirt. Urayuli took a tentative step forward but stopped when she felt her vision blur. Christ, I'm tired.
"Impressive, for first-time offenders... But prepare yourselves!" All Might rumbled confidently, but the edge to his voice made it clear to Urayuli he was in pain. Midoriya next to her trembled.
"I can't say I much like the idea of having blood and guts inside my gate, but... If they're yours, I'll happily oblige." Urayuli could not see Kurogiri's face, but she definitely heard the threatening sneer in his voice. "You see, it's Nomu's job to get around that blinding speed of yours and hold you down. And it's my job to close the warp gate on you while you're halfway through and immobilized. Thereby cutting you in two."
"Asu – Tsuyu-chan!" Midoriya said with a desperate edge in his voice, not looking at her or Urayuli.
"You finally got it right. Nice." Asui said with subdued satisfaction. "What is it, Midoriya-chan?" The boy adjusted the unconscious man on his back and handed him to Asui.
"Take Aizawa-sensei for me!" It was unusual for Midoriya to make such demands, but she complied nonetheless. Urayuli eyed Midoriya with a confused frown.
"What're you –" Urayuli never got to finish her sentence as Midoriya sprinted away from the girls when Asui had gotten a good grip on their teacher, in the direction of the carnage. "Midoriya, have you lost your mind?!" She managed to scream, her blood both boiling and cooling dangerously from her conflicting emotions. The boy hurt his throat yelling for his idol, not noticing the purple haze forming a warp gate right in front of him.
Before the fog could swallow him – in the corner of her eye – she watched with an open mouth as none other than Bakugo flew into the fray and used his grenade gauntlet to unleash an explosion into the side of Kurogiri's face.
"Holy shit." Urayuli exhaled the air from her lungs, her shoulders sagging.
"Get the hell outta here! Deku!" The crazy-eyed, widely grinning Bakugo hollered as he grabbed onto the metal band around Kurogiri's neck that Urayuli hadn't noticed before, and slammed the villain down on the ground. Ice started to travel to and up Nomu's body, freezing the beast.
"So I heard you people are here to kill All Might," Todoroki said, who stood about two dozen yards away from Urayuli, glared at the villains. Out of nowhere, Kirishima lunged at the skinny leader but barely missing as the older man moved out of the way to dodge the attack.
"Stupid boys, throwing themselves head-first into danger. No wonder women live longer." Urayuli let out a shuddering breath, wanting with all her being – despite her bitter comment – to go over and help. To defeat the villains and assist her fellow soon-to-be-heroes in battle. She stared at her shoes for a brief moment. But what can I really contribute? Urayuli turned back around, feeling utterly useless. She stopped Asui in her tracks by stopping in front of her.
"I'll turn into a bear so you don't have to carry him, Asui-san," Urayuli said as she got on all fours.
"Call me Tsuyu-chan." Asui reiterated at her in the same way she did to Midoriya. "Are you sure about that, Ura-chan? You didn't look so hot before."
Urayuli sniffed as she rolled her shoulders. "Yeah, I don't understand what happened either, but I should be fine." Was she trying to reassure her friend, or herself? Still, she got ready for her shift, imagining a Grizzly Bear in the same way as that morning. She opened her eyes.
Her vision was the same, and Asui was staring at her curiously. Urayuli glanced at her hands planted on the ground and was surprised when she saw they were still just hands. Alright, let's try something else. She took a deep breath, focusing as hard as she could – like she always did when shifting – into a Bison this time. Her eyes opened.
Nothing happened.
No bright light, her body remained unchanged, and Urayuli was slowly losing her patience. "Alright, what the fuck is this." She grumbled to herself.
"Everything okay, Ura-chan?" Asui asked with a worried frown.
"That's the thing, I don't know," Urayuli confessed as she decided to shift into something else as a test. Let's do something simple. Time for an otter. Eyes closed, deep breath, trying hard to focus on something that shouldn't take this many tries. She opened her eyes and nothing. Her hand flies into her hair in frustration. "Come the fuck on!"
"W-what's happening?" Urayuli forced herself to calm down for her friend that seemed just as frantic and worried as she was. Asui's wide eyes were trained on her, the corners of her mouth dipping lower. Tell her the truth. Lies are death.
"I – I think my Quirk isn't working," Urayuli said, hugging herself as she tried her hardest not to sob. She could not keep her voice even as it quivered just slightly. What the hell is different this time?! Why won't my body just work?! Shaking her head angrily, she walked over to Aizawa-sensei's legs and grabbed onto his ankles. "Screw it, let's just go."
"What?" Asui asked incredulously as she readjusted their teacher. "Ura-chan, are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Urayuli gritted her teeth as they evened out the weight distribution of their teacher's body. "I've never in my life had this happen before, and I don't know why it happened. But there is no point in dwelling on it, because there's nothing I can do about it now. I'll figure it out when I get home. My grandfather might know more."
"PLUS ULTRA!"
A loud crash resounded through the entire facility, glass and concrete shattering and falling. Urayuli and Asui stopped walking and turned just at the right moment to see All Might pummeling into the disgusting bird-beast with countless punches, his last punch sending the creature flying into the dome-roof. The force caused an explosion, burning debris and glass falling to the ground. All Might stood panting with his right hand over his left shoulder post-punch. He did it. He fucking did it. A disbelieving smile stretched over Urayuli's cheeks.
"Jesus, he really is in a league of his own, huh?" Urayuli grunted as they continued walking towards the stairs, her knees wobbling slightly. "You doin' alright? How much longer do you think, Tsuyu-chan?"
"I'm doing fine, ribbit. Just hang in there, Ura-chan," Asui reassured her. "You got it right." Asui's words made Urayuli give a pained smile and a small huff. Somehow, being allowed to call Asui 'Tsuyu-chan' made her very happy. She didn't completely understand the whole 'familiarity'-thing Japan had, but being considered a friend to the frog-girl warmed her chest. They got closer to the stairs and as she peeked behind Asui's head, Urayuli saw Uraraka approach them with a relieved smile on her face, Shoji trailing close behind her.
"Yaraqpik-san! Tsuyu-chan!" Uraraka exclaimed, and for some reason, Urayuli felt her smile waver when Uraraka called her by her last name and Asui by her chosen nickname. "I'm so glad you're oka- Oh my gosh! Aizawa-sensei!"
"He's out cold and needs medical attention, and – I'll be honest – I'm not in any condition to carry him up the stairs," Urayuli confessed with a grimace. "Could you use your Quirk so we can float him up, Uraraka?"
"Of course!" Uraraka put her fingertips on Aizawa-sensei's shoulder and he slowly began to float, Asui's tongue around his midsection preventing him from rising any further. Urayuli let go of his ankles, silently wondering what floating like that would feel like.
"Do you need any help, Yaraqpik-san?" Shoji asked when he noticed her wobbly legs. Her knees almost buckled from exhaustion, but the tall boy caught her arms before she hit the ground. "Whoa, take it easy!"
"Are you hurt, Yaraqpik-san?" Uraraka asked. "What happened?"
"I'll tell you about it later, now is not the time. I'm not in pain, just achin'," Urayuli said with a grimace on her lips.
"Mezo-chan, Ura-chan overdid it today, so she needs some help up the stairs," Asui said as she kept her hands on Aizawa-sensei's legs to keep him steady.
"That's really not –" Urayuli began but was cut off by her own yelp of surprise when Shoji scooped her up in his arms, giving in to Asui's request immediately with no questions asked. He held her to his chest and it made Urayuli feel a little embarrassed, despite her fatigue. "Shoji-san, you could've just let me hold onto one of your arms."
"This is a little faster, though." The masked boy countered, and Urayuli had no reason or want to argue with him. The group, except for Urayuli and Aizawa-sensei, moved up the stairs at a normal pace, as the girls were making sure not to move their teacher around too much. When they reached the top, a few loud gunshots rang out and the four of them were greeted by an amazing sight.
"Sorry, everyone." An upbeat male voice spoke. "We're a little late. We brought everyone we could."
"Iida-kun!" Uraraka breathed out with tears in her eyes and Urayuli felt similar relief wash over her as all of their teachers stood at the top step, accompanied by the fastest student in their class. Principal Nezu – is he a mouse or a small bear? – sat on Vlad-sensei's shoulders, the other teachers stood shoulder to shoulder, Snipe-sensei's gun still smoking.
"President of class 1-A, Iida Tenya! Reporting for duty!" Iida yelled in earnest.
"Oh, thank God." Urayuli panted, realizing how happy she was to see her class president. Shoji carefully set her down on her feet, making sure she was steady before grabbing hold of Aizawa-sensei. It was then when Urayuli noticed Sato and Sero holding onto Thirteen, whose suit was completely messed up and ripped apart in the back. Urayuli sighed in relief, knowing this whole debacle would be over soon.
"Sixteen... seventeen... eighteen... Besides the one with the messed-up legs, it looks like they're all unharmed."
Shortly after the teachers got to USJ, the pale-haired leader had escaped with the help of the purple mist, and not too long after that the police had arrived. Thirteen, All Might, Midoriya, and Aizawa-sensei had all been taken away, but Urayuli and her classmates were still uninformed of their current whereabouts. Urayuli let out a deep breath as she rubbed her sides roughly, the aching not entirely gone yet. They all stood waiting outside by the bus for more news but were growing more restless by the second.
"Ojiro-kun, looks like it was into the fire for you this time. And all alone? Nice going!" Hagakure said as she patted Ojiro's shoulder.
"I thought everyone was alone... I only survived with hit-and-run tactics... Where were you, Hagakure-san?"
"The landslide zone! That Todoroki's crazy strong!" The invisible girl said in awe. Urayuli snuck a curious glance at the boy in question, who didn't acknowledge Hagakure's claim of being in the landslide zone. Could... could it be he didn't know she was there?
"Are you okay?" Kirishima suddenly appeared next to her. Leave it to Kirishima to make sure I'm included.
"Honestly, I wish everyone would stop asking me that," Urayuli said with a wry smile. "I just want to go home and sleep."
"Yeah, I hear ya. Where did they drop you?"
"Oh, I was in the shipwreck area with Tsuyu-chan and Midoriya. Somewhere along the way, I passed the hell out, the next moment I was watching All Might beat the shit out of that... thing." Urayuli pondered over her next words. "Where did you end up?"
"I was in the ruins zone with Bakugo. We kicked some major ass in there! He was surprisingly manly and calm too, it surprised me!" Urayuli let out a hum in response. Are we talking about the Bakugo that almost blew up Midoriya's face because he couldn't keep his emotions in check? Well... Kirishima is saying it is, so it has to be true, right? Kirishima observed her face for a moment. "Did something happen? You look kinda pale."
Should I tell him? He hasn't given me any reason not to trust him. None of them have. People back in Alaska showed their true colors real quick, so can I have faith in them? Having made a decision, she nodded her head. Before saying anything, she grabbed onto Uraraka's wrist to catch her attention and add her to the conversation. I said I would tell her and I will. "I turned into a big spider, and usually when I shift I can feel myself being enveloped by warmth like I'm being guided. But this time, when I wanted to turn into anything else, it didn't happen. Shifts that are almost second nature suddenly wouldn't come out. There's something wrong with my Quirk," she confessed in a low voice and her friends looked at her in shock.
"Could it be that one of the villains had someone on their team like Aizawa-sensei? Someone who can turn off Quirks?" Kirishima said as he crossed his arms with a thoughtful look on his face.
"That is a possibility," Urayuli muttered. The dudes in the water had mostly water-based Quirks or something along those lines. When we were at the plaza, there wasn't anyone who could have that Quirk that I could observe. Were they hiding?
"Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital or Recovery Girl?" Uraraka asked, putting a hand on Urayuli's shoulder. Urayuli shook her head and glanced around her, making sure no one was eavesdropping.
"I don't want to make it an issue before I ask my grandfather about it. Chances are he knows way more about this than anyone else." Urayuli said. Can I trust them with information about my Quirk? She stayed quiet for a moment before she said anything more. "When I know more, I'll text you guys about it."
"Alright, I'll give you my phone number after class," Kirishima said. Uraraka gripped her shoulder a bit tighter as if to comfort Urayuli. It made her heart flutter and she managed a small smile for her friend.
"We're gonna get you kids back to the classroom for now. This is no time to take your statements." A detective wearing a trench-coat said to the students.
"Detective, what about Aizawa-sensei" Asui's eyes were drawn together with worry as she hopped over to him. The detective turned to the girl and his lips formed a tight line.
"Both of his arms were smashed to splinters. His face is also fractured," Urayuli cringed at the extent of her teacher's injuries. "Thankfully, he doesn't have any brain damage. But... his eye sockets have been pulverized. There's a chance he may suffer long-term loss of vision. That's what the doctor said." Jesus Christ, I can't even imagine the pain you must be in, Teach. "Thirteen has terrible lacerations across her back and upper arms, but her life isn't in danger. All Might's injuries aren't life-threatening either. It's possible that Recovery Girl's healing will be enough for him, so he's gone off to the Nurse's Office." Everyone's shoulders relaxed at the good news, relieved their teachers were on the mend.
"And Deku...?" Uraraka asked, her hands resting on her sternum.
"What of Midoriya?!" Iida demanded, not able to keep his worry under control.
"Midori – ah. It seems he also made it to the Nurse's Office in time." A wave of relief went through the students, as everyone let out a breath of air. The detective turned to a police officer, who was... a cat? Not a dog? "And I actually have business there myself. Sansa, I'll leave the rest to you." The tabby cat person gave the detective a salute in response.
Kirishima walked away from Urayuli and Uraraka, and Urayuli followed him with her eyes. He walked over to Bakugo and while she could only see his back, she could see his head was tilted up. Is he looking at the roof of the building? She shifted her gaze to where she thought he was looking at. There's nothing there?
"Bakugo! He said to go back to the classroom, dude!" Kirishima called out to the blond and it caught her off guard. When did they become friends? Bakugo turned around to glare at Kirishima.
"I know, bastard!" He growled before turning his body to approach them. Oh yeah, lookin' real calm over there. Urayuli blew out air from her nose in a mirthless laugh but otherwise said nothing.
"Class 1-A! Please get on the bus in an orderly fashion!" Iida announced loudly, whistle already in his hand and ready to blow it. Somehow finding the strength, Urayuli paced over to him and snatched the whistle from his neck and threw it somewhere in the bushes.
"I'll get you another one, but please man, I'm too tired to deal with shrill noises right now," Urayuli said when Iida had opened his mouth to reprimand her. To her surprise, he dropped the issue with a closed-mouth sigh. Regardless, everyone made their way onto the bus in a neat line, the adrenaline of the day having drained their bodies. Urayuli walked behind Kirishima, who was walking behind Bakugo. She didn't how it happened but suddenly she was overcome with a dizzy spell and stumbled forward, barely knocking into Kirishima and falling to the ground. However, she never hit the ground and was quickly pulled upright by her upper arms by a pair of hands that respectively had vastly different temperatures, the right being ice cold and the left warm.
"You okay?" Todoroki asked her and despite the concerned words, his low voice sounded apathetic and close to uncaring. Oh, he's the one with the ice Quirk, right?
"Yeah, I'm good. Just a dizzy spell." She looked into his face unabashedly, the red angry burn over his left eye a stark contrast with his otherwise pale skin, to not make him feel as if she was actively avoiding it. I mean, it is a part of his face, not looking at it would be even more of an insult, right? The only burn victims she knew were old men who mishandled equipment and disfigured their hands, but smack-dab in their face? Not a common sight in her town, or anytime she had ever been to Anchorage. "Did I startle you?" She asked him.
"Not really." Was his non-committal answer and he gave her a shrug, not looking her in the eye. Okay, that's a little annoying. She didn't know why, but Todoroki looked so goddamn familiar to her. She had noticed the moment she saw him but never had the chance to ask him about it.
"Say, I gotta ask," Urayuli started, and he finally looked at her. "Have I seen you somewhere before? I don't know why, but you look strangely familiar." His eyes suddenly got a cold edge to them and Urayuli knew immediately she should've kept her mouth shut. She knew that look very well. Cole would often have that same look in his eyes after an incident with his parents – either after they fought each other or... Her lips formed a thin line and she closed her eyes briefly. "You know what, forget I asked. Sorry." Urayuli shook her head and lifted a hand to wave away the question. She turned around to get into the bus, surprise filling her as both Kirishima and Bakugo had stopped walking to watch their interaction more closely. "Can I help you?"
"Who cares about your conversations anyway, fuzzball?" Bakugo sneered at her, squaring up to seem threatening. Fighting to suppress the nervous bark of laughter, she clasped her hands behind her back and pinched the soft flesh between her thumb and pointer finger.
"Then keep your eyes forward and get into the bus, firecracker," Urayuli said with a raised eyebrow and a grimace on her lips. Bakugo made to pass Kirishima, but the redhead grabbed onto his shoulders and turned him back around, pushing him inside the bus.
"Oi, what the fuck, shitty hair?!"
Kirishima didn't answer the blond, just grinned slightly in response and turning his back to smile back at her. Urayuli joined them and the others on the bus, taking her seat next to Aoyama with a deep sigh. Fucking finally, I sits. She glanced at the boy next to her. There wasn't a single scratch on his shining suit of armor, Urayuli noticed as she looked him over.
"Your costume is as shiny as ever." She complimented and Aoyama's eyes twinkled at her words. "Didn't get warped anywhere crazy, did you?" Aoyama turned to face... nothing in particular, but he definitely wasn't looking at her anymore.
"It's a secret." He said mysteriously as he seemed to sparkle even more and Urayuli snorted, finding his antics humorous.
"Gotta keep some things a mystery, right?" She gave him a tired grin, and his strange smile got a little wider.
"Oui, that's correct. You're the only one that gets it." He praised with a twinkle in his indigo eyes. Urayuli smiled at him – a genuine smile that reached her eyes – as her stomach fluttered for the umpteenth time that day. Hardships force people to grow closer, right? She took a gander at the rest of the bus, watching her classmates. Jiro and Yaoyorozu sat together in the back, tired and slightly dirty faces, sagging into their seats. Bakugo sat on the other side of the bus, his eyes closed, Kirishima and Kaminari in the seats in front of him. Wait, what's the matter with Kaminari? He had a weirdly dumb look on his face and kept saying "uwee uwee hee hee". Did he fry his brain or something? The other students were either taking a short catnap or sat with their faces buried in their hands from fatigue.
The sun was low in the sky when they got back to the school, and class 1-A strolled back to their classroom. Since classes were over they were in no hurry and they talked among themselves. Urayuli didn't do a lot of talking and was happy to just be listening to her classmates talk. Despite her fears and the anxiety she experienced that day, she felt strangely determined. They won't get away with this so easily next time, is what ran through her head. But first... she gazed at her closed fist, I need to make sure I can use my Quirk again.
They arrived at their classroom and everyone grabbed their respective suitcases, walking over to the locker-rooms to put their uniforms back on. Urayuli fished her phone out of her jacket's pocket and sent a quick text to her grandfather.
Hey, can you pick me up from school? I don't know if you heard, but there was an incident during class, and I'm not really in a state to go home by myself.
She also sent a text to her father.
Pops, can we have a skype call this weekend? I just really want to talk to you. Kisses.
Having arrived in the locker-room, Urayuli set her suitcase down and clicked it open, her folded uniform untouched and still neat. Her backpack was also still crammed inside. Idiot, why wouldn't they be? No one else knows you and would tamper with them. She took her hair out of its braid and carefully took the feathers out, shaking it out. I should've just put it in a ponytail and be done with it. Urayuli was glad she hadn't put on any warpaint that day – not for any reason except time management.
Changing was mostly done in silence, the only sound either slight grunts because of sore muscles or clothes rustling. Urayuli at some point asked Yaoyorozu for her brush, which the dark-haired girl gladly gave. Urayuli nodded in thanks before carefully brushing through her tangled locks. Mid-brushstroke her phone buzzed once and she let the brush sit in her hair as she opened the message, her friends giggling at the sight of it.
I heard. I'll be there as soon as I can. Calypso is coming too. Are you safe?
She scoffed as she read the message. Oh, she's coming too? Great...
Yeah, I'm safe. I'll see you later.
Urayuli finished changing quickly after and returned her suitcase in the classroom, together with the other girls. The seven girls made their way downstairs, eager to be going home.
"Which train do you take, Yaraqpik-chan?" Ashido asked her. While it felt better to be called -chan instead of -san, Urayuli still felt weird about being called by her last name by the girls for some reason. Can I just ask them to call me by my first name, or is that too forward? Too soon? When is it considered acceptable? Tsuyu-chan wants everyone to call her that, but is it different if you're a foreigner? She must've been deep in thought because Ashido gave her a tug on her jacket to get her attention. "Yaraqpik-chan?"
"Sorry, I was just thinking," Urayuli said, scratching her neck. "I'm not gonna take any train today, my grandfather is picking me up." They exited the gate and she took a quick look around, not seeing him anywhere. "He's not here yet. Guess I'll have to wait a bit."
"Would you like us to wait with you?" Jiro asked her. Urayuli smiled at her friends but shook her head in the negative as she set her backpack at her feet.
"Nah, I don't want to keep you guys," Urayuli assured them. Uraraka stepped a little closer.
"Are you sure? We wouldn't mind, you know that, right?" Uraraka's concern was touching but Urayuli didn't know how long her grandfather was going to take, and she wanted some alone time.
"Put those worried eyebrows away." Urayuli grinned as she put a comforting hand on the brunette's shoulder. "Go home and relax. I need some time to think anyway. I appreciate the concern, though." The girls seemed unsure still and Urayuli wiped her face with her hand. "Look, I'll just ask one of the guys to wait with me if that will put your minds at ease."
"Oh! You're gonna do the damsel-in-distress thing?" Hagakure asked with a small squeal. "How oddly romantic, Yaraqpik-chan!"
"Oh, absolutely not." Urayuli huffed, her grin growing wider. "I'm gonna tell them they don't have any manners if they don't wait with me. Which will be true, by the way."
Yaoyorozu hummed behind a dainty hand, Uraraka and Asui had similar wide grins on their faces, Jiro chuckled, while Ashido and Hagakure laughed out loud.
"Correct you are, Yaraqpik-san. Send us a text when your grandfather has picked you up, and when you've gotten home safely?" Yaoyorozu asked and Urayuli nodded in response.
"Alright! See you tomorrow!" The girls said to one another as they all went in the same direction to the train station. Urayuli sighed deeply; was she a big baby for not taking the train back home? If she had just sucked it up, she could hang out with the other girls. She shook her head. There's no way I can walk all the way home today. Leaning against the gate pillars, she waited until some of her male classmates came out of the school. Unfortunately for her, the first boy to make an appearance was Bakugo, stomping his way past her. She swallowed the excess saliva that had formed in her mouth.
"Yo, Bakugo." He turned to glare at her briefly before opening his mouth.
"You're not gone yet?" He grumbled. "So much for hoping you'd take the earlier train."
"Shut up." She scoffed good-naturedly, not taking his comments personal for once. "My grandpa is picking me up in his car, can you wait with me?" Whatever compelled her to ask him instead of waiting for anyone else to come along, she didn't know. She already had her answer whether or not he was just like those assholes back in her hometown – and he clearly wasn't – so why keep talking to him? It could have been her unachievable desire to get along with everybody in class, or maybe she was just more at ease with him because Kirishima said so. Who knows, she asked herself.
"Too frail and weak to go home by yourself?" He complained with narrowed eyes as he turned to walk away. "Hell no, fuzzball."
Time for my foolproof plan that may or may not work on him. "What, your mom never teach you any manners?" Urayuli quipped, hoping the accusation would get on his nerves enough to make him stay a bit longer. Now, the goal to make him wait had changed into making him stay and bicker until Max rolled up.
"Didn't yours?" His retort made her flinch internally.
"No." She answered simply, her gaze shifting to look straight ahead rather than in his face. He inclined his head as if he was asking what was the hell wrong with her. "She's dead."
Bakugo didn't say anything, and neither did she. It was the first time she ever openly said a word about her mother to anyone that wasn't family, it just wasn't a topic she was comfortable speaking about. Urayuli chanced a glance his direction and he seemed to be at a bit of a loss, if only for a moment. That's new. Still, he didn't walk away and stayed glued to the other gate pillar. Just far away enough so it wouldn't look like they were waiting together but doing so anyway. At least, that's what it seemed like to Urayuli. Their other classmates left the school one by one and she gave them all a 'good night' and a wave, which almost all of them returned – with the exception of Koda, who only waved nervously before scurrying off. Kirishima ran past them and yelled a quick explanation before he left; his mom had dinner prepared so he had to bounce.
"You looked pretty cool when you saved Midoriya from that purple mist guy," Urayuli told Bakugo after five minutes of silence and him trying to keep his teeth-grinding to a minimum – it didn't work, she heard him anyway.
"Ha? I didn't save him, he gave me a good opening to take down that misty son of a bitch." Bakugo said as he crossed his arms. Urayuli hummed at him.
"Still, if it weren't for you, he'd either be warped somewhere else or dead. Now he just has broken legs, but that's his own doing." She looked down at her shoes, her lips tightening. "I just wish I could've helped more." Urayuli was aware that she was rambling. It appeared to be something she often did when around Bakugo. He's not that scary anymore, but he's still unpredictable.
"Then get stronger instead of crying about it." He responded roughly. Urayuli's noise crinkled in irritation.
"Alright – first off – I'm not crying, I'm," she took a moment to think of the correct word, pointer finger suspended in the air. "Lamenting? I'm lamenting."
"Yeah, that's what I said," Bakugo reiterated with an annoyed grimace. "Crying."
"Second off," Urayuli ignored his comment, making the number two with her fingers. "I couldn't have done anything. My..." she was quiet, wondering if the next words on her lips were the right thing to say, or if she should say them at all. "I thought of going after Midoriya, but I had to make sure Aizawa-sensei was safe. Then I found out that for some reason, my Quirk stopped working." Going into detail about her self-doubts was a bad idea, so she threw that out of the window immediately. "That's why I'm having my grandpa pick me up – so we can figure out a way to... I don't even know, reverse it?"
"Haven't you tried using it after the villains got arrested?" Bakugo asked tersely. Damn, he really does not want to be here. His words did trigger something in Urayuli. Wait. I hadn't checked yet. Not wanting to get onto her hands and feet, she stayed upright and closed her eyes. Fox, fox, fox. Be a fox. The warmth never came, her body did not change. Still nothing.
"No dice." She said softly, her head hanging low as she was forcing herself not to tear up.
"Urayuli?" Max's voice rang out over the street. Urayuli's head raised as she looked for the source. "Kituuqta!" He shouted and that's when she noticed him leaning one arm over the roof of his baby-blue Kei car on the other side of the road. She watched with a crinkled nose as Calypso – who was wearing her Hero Costume again for some reason – moved out of the passenger seat to hold the door open, motioning for her to join them. Wiping away the tears that never fell, Urayuli locked eyes with Bakugo and gave him a small wave.
"Thank you for waiting with me. See you tomorrow." Urayuli said as she picked up her backpack and passed him to walk over to Max and Calypso. When she reached the passenger seat, she turned around to glance at Bakugo, but he had already turned to leave for the station. Calypso put a hand on her shoulder that Urayuli hastily shrugged off. Don't touch me, fucking gussak. My classmates touching me and comforting me I'm okay with. You don't get to do that. Already Urayuli's mood was far worse than it was when she was in actual danger and it was because of the older woman's mere presence. She didn't want to talk about what happened with Calypso in the car.
Max got into the vehicle with a little bit of difficulty, the tiny car proving a bit too cramped for his large stature. He grumbled as he wrestled with the seatbelt and waited for Urayuli to put hers on. "This isn't The Bay, put your seatbelt on or we're not going anywhere." Urayuli scoffed and chuckled at his words. "What are you laughing at?"
"It's just been a while since I've heard the words 'The Bay' come out of anyone's mouth," Urayuli said with a grin as she buckled herself in. Max let out a chuckle of his own before he wiped the smile off his face.
"Principal Nezu called me after the police had taken the villains into custody and I was about to fall asleep during his twenty-minute tangent when you texted me," Max said while grabbing a pair of aviator sunglasses out of the holder above the rear-view mirror. He adjusted the captain's hat to sit more firmly on his head before setting the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. "What happened exactly?"
Urayuli looked at her hands, clasped together and fidgeting slightly. She wasn't sure how to bring it up, or how to tell him what transpired inside the training facility. Hell, I hardly know myself what happened. I got warped, I turned into a big spider and... pain and darkness. Urayuli picked at her earlobe before answering.
"Can I tell you when we get home?" Urayuli stared at Calypso's reflection in the side-view mirror with narrowed eyes.
"Sure. Want me to put the radio on?" Max asked. It's sweet that he wants me to be comfortable.
"No, thank you."
The rest of the car ride was quiet as Urayuli gazed out the window at the passing buildings and lampposts. Even Calypso hadn't said anything during their drive, something Urayuli was grateful for. About twenty minutes later, they arrived at the square of parking spaces near their house where Max expertly moved the car like a Tetris-block in between two other cars. Showoff.
"I'm going to make some tea," Calypso said with a smile as they entered the Ivanov home. "What's your favorite kind, Urayuli?"
I don't want you to make tea, I want you to leave. Urayuli pouted with a furrowed brow, kicking off her shoes haphazardly before running up the stairs to get changed. She put on a long-sleeved shirt, her favorite blue zip-up hoodie, and a pair of soft sweatpants. Taking a moment to look at herself in the mirror, her face contorted in disapproval at the state of her hair. I thought I brushed it? She ran her hand through it, the strands feeling rough and coarse. Oh. No wonder it looks bad, I brushed it when it was wet and gross.
Promising herself she would take a shower after her talk with Max, she went downstairs and into the living room. The sweet smell of rooibos wafted through the room and Urayuli felt herself relax a little. Max sat forward in his recliner with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together in front of him. His thick white hair was tousled from his hat, which lay forgotten on the coffee table. Urayuli took a seat on the couch with an exhale of breath. Her cup was set in front of her by a pale hand, and another in front of Max. Guess she's not going anywhere, huh?
"You didn't hear me earlier, so I just guessed which tea you liked." Calypso hummed as she sat down on her knees on the carpet. Urayuli was not in the mood to tell her that she had heard her but just chose to ignore her instead. Still, she grabbed the warm cup and took a tentative sip. Too hot.
"Urayuli, tell me what happened," Max said curtly. "You have been avoiding the question and you never do that."
"It's..." she glanced at Calypso's face that was staring at her intently. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but is there a reason you're still here? This has nothing to do with you." Calypso blinked at her words, the smile that seemed to just be part of resting face fell.
"Urayuli!" Max exclaimed abruptly and Urayuli jumped at his loud voice. "Calypso is here to help you with your Quirk in ways that I can't. Now stop avoiding the question. What. Happened."
"I don't know what happened, okay!" Urayuli yelled as her patience with the entire day started to wear thin. "There was this guy who had a warping Quirk and he relocated everyone to different places. I got thrown into a big lake with two other classmates and we managed to get on a ship without getting hurt." Her voice lost its volume as she started to recount the events of the day. "There were villains in the water and they had us surrounded. We needed to come up with a plan, and one of my classmates suggested I shift into a giant spider to make spider-silk. When I went to change back" – Urayuli took a deep breath – "The world was dark and my sides hurt so much. It felt as if they were burning and they ached. I passed out after that. Or at least, I think I did, because the next moment I was in the plaza with my classmates and All Might. And... now my Quirk doesn't work. I was thinking it was a villain with a Quirk like Aizawa-sensei's but –"
"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. You're saying... you're saying you shifted into what? A giant spider?" Max let out a huff of laughter. "How big are we talking exactly?" Calypso said nothing, though she covered her mouth with her hand as she stared at Urayuli.
"I guess about the size of a big dog? I think I reached my classmate's waist in terms of height." Max's laughter was completely gone from his face, his eyes widening and his brow furrowing.
"...How did you do it." It wasn't as much of a question as it was a demand. He glanced at Calypso from the corner of his eye, who's breath deepened as she shrank under his stare.
"Same way I do any shift. I just imagined what I would look like in that form and let the warm light guide me. Instead of turning into a regular Brown Recluse, I just imagined myself... bigger." Urayuli explained lamely, putting her hands an inch away from each other before making the gap between them larger for emphasis. Still, something didn't sit well with her. Why doesn't he care about my Quirk not working? Isn't that kind of serious? Why does he keep asking about the stupid spider?
Max's jaw hung slack after her explanation but only for a moment before tightening harshly, the hands in his lap twitching. He fully turned his gaze to Calypso, his mouth twisted in a snarl. Calypso carefully held up her hands in front of her as she slowly got up from her knees and backed away from the man.
"Max, this isn't what it –" before she could finish her sentence, Max had moved towards her with frightening speed, knocking over the coffee table in the process and spilling the lukewarm teas all over the floor. Urayuli quickly shot up with a yelp of alarm at the sudden movement before Max grabbed Calypso by the front of her costume with both hands and harshly slammed her against the nearest wall, keeping them face to face as he held her almost a foot above the ground.
"You!" He thundered in Calypso's face, white-knuckling the fabric into his fists and eyes wild. "Grandpa, what the fuck?!" Urayuli cried, disturbed by her grandfather's out of character display of violence.
"Max, I swear, I didn't – " Calypso croaked but he interrupted the woman by knocking her body again into the wall.
"Do you honestly expect me to believe that?!" He barked at her, acid slowly seeping into his voice. "That you wouldn't teach her how to Mis-shift?!"
What the hell is Mis-shifting? Urayuli stood near the knocked-over coffee table, watching the scene in front of her with open mouth, afraid and confused as to what was happening. Her grandfather had never acted like this. Ornery, sure. Irritable and often grouchy, but never violent. Calypso gasped in his grasp as she held onto his wrists, the older man much stronger than her.
"Grandpa, stop!" Urayuli's words did nothing to change the situation, it was almost as if he hadn't heard her in the first place.
"It's not enough that you would forever taint the last memory I had of my wife's face, but now" – he took a deep and angry breath through his nose – "you've come to take my granddaughter away from me too!" His voice sounded tight at the end of his sentence and Urayuli felt tears well up in her eyes from the tone. His accusation gave Urayuli more questions than answers, she was even more confused than before, but she had to put an end to this. Whatever had happened between the both of them had nothing to do with this and Urayuli had to set the record straight.