Chapter 43: promise

"How are the investigations progressing?"

"We do have a suspect. Our focus lays on a small-time villain known as Coldhands. We can't tell for sure, but there might be a connection to Dragon, so we must ask the public to be extra cautious. We duplicated our forces in the affected areas..."

The cup fell from her hands. Inko flinched. The ceramic burst with a loud clatter, spilling the hot liquid all over the kitchen floor. She could feel the lingering sensation of cold fingers around her neck, the simple touch robbing her of her consciousness. The memory was still fresh. Coldhands was working for him, for Dragon, her husband. And he was attacking, in some case even murdering innocent people. Quirkless people.

She couldn't be happier her son wasn't as quirkless as he used to be.

His gaze was piercing her, but Hikari didn't back down. She bowed low, took a deep breath and requested, "Pl...ease train m… e ag...ain..."

It sounded rough and course as if she suffered from an extreme cold. But she spoke. Most of the teachers put their work down or at least looked up at her. Aizawa didn't react for what felt an eternally lasting moment.

"No."

Hikari clenched her fists and straightened up. She glared at her teacher.

"Eraserhead-" Ectoplasm began but was silenced by Aizawa lifting his hand. 1-A's homeroom teacher sighed. "I appreciate that you're talking again, but you're still not ready."

The girl gritted her teeth and took another deep breath. Getting angry wasn't going to help. It took her a whole week, and he still wasn't impressed with her progress. She was trying so hard, even though Recovery Girl's exercises were painful.

"My answer remains the same. But come by again after classes, there's something else you need to do."

"Aren't you a little hard on her?" Midnight assessed, leaning over to her colleague. Aizawa was having none of it.

"She's not fully in control of her emotions. You know what will happen if she loses control over her quirk."

"She did seem pretty in control to me."

The glare he sent the heroine got the woman to back up. "I'm just saying! Aren't you a little overprotective, Mr. I-usually-expel-all-my-students?"

"She narrowly escaped death under my watch twice. I'm not going to let that happen again," Aizawa rearranged the stacks of paper on his desk, "don't tell me how to handle my students."

"Jeez, I'm not-" Midnight was interrupted by the door opening, revealing the lanky figure of All Might. The retired hero's gaze lingered on the hallway for a conspicuously long second before he stepped in. As soon as he found the strange assembly in front of the desks, something seemed to click inside his brain.

"Did you turn down young Shikogane again?"

Aizawa groaned and began massaging his temples. Why couldn't they stay out of his business?

All Might approached. "I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"Not you too."

"Young Midoriya told me that she has been doing extensive in-depth analysis of her family's quirk, their abilities and their fighting style," he placed the jacket of his suit on the backrest of the free chair besides Aizawa, "I do not know her as well as you do, but you should be careful. Whatever she's planning to do with that, I think it would be better if you guide her, before she's taking matters into her own hands and does something stupid that could have been prevented."

Aizawa didn't answer. He studied his colleague's face for a moment before returning to his paperwork. Why did Nedzu dump all the problem children into his class?

The class had taken it… Better than expected. Well, one might even say. They weren't bothering her with the questions she knew lay on the tips of their tongues. Situations quickly became awkward as soon as anything remotely connected to her brother came up, but they always managed to handle it. Somehow.

Still, Hikari doubted it would have turned out the same if they hadn't known about Midoriya's father beforehand. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, Hikari waved her goodbyes at Momo and Kyouka after English. Whatever Aizawa-sensei wanted from her, she had to comply. If she wanted him to train her again, she could not speak up or do anything that didn't sit well with him. As much as it irritated her, it the only way to success.

Aizawa was already waiting for her in the hallway. He began walking as soon as the girl reached his side. He didn't voice a single word, but she was more than fine with that.

He abruptly came to halt in front of a door at the rear end of the hallway. It didn't t differ much from the rest of the school, and yet Hikari had never been to this part of the building.

"Wait here."

He knocked. The teacher waited for a few seconds, but no answer came. Nevertheless, he opened the door and stepped in. Curious, Hikari peeked inside. There was a couch, a low table with a plush cat laying on top, an array of coloured pencils lay scattered on the floor. Lastly, her eyes locked onto a little girl sitting in the middle of the mess.

"Hello, Eri, I'm bringing a guest."

Eri? The Eri?!

Big red eyes rose from a colouring book and stared at the U.A. student warily. Wavy silver hair framed her round face, a face with an expression not belonging to a child of such a young age. The girl turned back to Aizawa, silently questioning the situation.

"This is Shikogane Hikari, one of my students. She's a good friend of Deku. You two have a lot in common," after that brief explanation, he turned to Hikari, "I still have work to do, I'll be back in a few minutes. Look after her until I return."

Wait… What? How-

Before she could voice or show any signs of protest, the door fell shut behind the teacher's back. Hikari gulped. The teen never had had any contact to little kids before, she had no idea how to handle them, what was he expecting of her?

A few light taps alerted the U.A. student. Still unsure of what to do, Hikari took a deep breath and faced the little girl walking up to her.

Eri stopped in safe distance. Having no clue how to behave, Hikari knelt down, coming to Eri's eye level.

"H-he...llo Erri-cha...n." She wasn't surprised that Eri flinched. Her voice sounded horribly rough. Either way, the student mustered up a smile and pointed at herself, "Hi-Hikari."

Eri tilted her big head. She pursed her lips and knitted her eyebrows together, then pointed at Hikari before her eyes lit up the tiniest bit. She understood. The little one moved her index finger from the older girl to herself and said, "Eri."

One step at a time.

"S-sorry… I can't t-talk m… much." Clenching her teeth, Hikari forced the smile to remain while ignoring the burning sensation. But it was for naught. Eri's face fell. The little girl had seen right through her.

"You're hurt," she noted. Unable to lie, Hikari nodded. Immediately, concern took over Eri's features. Her eyes traced the scar on her nose, then moved down to the fresh one around her neck. "Why are you…?"

Hikari didn't answer right away. It took her a long time to contemplate her actions. On one hand, she didn't want to upset Eri. On the other… She herself had been in Eri's position. Remembering the time when she had first been taken into protective custody before being transferred to Seishin Academy, Hikari came to a decision. She had always wanted answers, but no one told her anything. Not the truth, not even a lie. She had been left in the dark for so long, and it didn't do her any good. She didn't want Eri to go through the same. Aizawa-sensei would probably kill her, but it was a risk she was willing to take.

Hikari unbuttoned her shirt cuffs and rolled up her sleeves. Horror flashed over Eri's face.

"M-my brother… Is li-like Over… haul," Hikari extended her hands towards the wide-eyed little girl.

For an eternally lasting moment, Eri stood there, frozen. Then, she extended her small hands. Their touch was light and gentle as a breeze.

"Did he… Did he hurt you, too?" The underlying dread in her voice could only come from someone who had experienced the exact same pain. Hikari patiently waited until Eri was done with her exploration of her scars.

"Y-yes… But th..the're keeping m-me safe… Just l.-like you. Midoriya, Mmomo a-and the… others a-are my f-family n-now," Hikari cleared her throat und refreshed her smile, "a-and we can b-be your f-family too. You're not alone, E-Eri-chan… I… I understand."

Izuku's leg spliced the air, figuratively. Even if he wasn't getting anywhere with his other – new – original – whatever – quirk, he could still train his body and with it, One for All. There was no use in wracking his brain. Instead, he focussed on what he could do. No time for moping. Wiping the sweat from his front, the teen tried to catch a breath.

Something touched his shoulder. Izuku yelped, almost lost balance and stumbled a few steps back. He had been so engulfed in his thoughts, he didn't notice someone had walked up to him.

"H-Hikari!"

She greeted him with a small wave. His friend wore a thick scarf over her uniform and held her school bag in her hand, which told him that she hadn't been back to the dorm yet. Aizawa still hadn't agreed to carry on with her training, so where had she been? Before he could ask, the girl pointed at his leg.

"Too… Wide," she whispered with her coarse voice. He still only stared at her dumbfoundedly.

"Mo-movement… Too big."

It finally clicked. She was trying to give him tips.

"Oh, you mean the kick?"

She nodded. Izuku honestly wasn't surprised. He had asked Iida and Ojiro to show him some moves a few days ago. He tried his best to mimic what they did, but it was hard telling whether he was doing it right or not.

"It's w-wasting… Energy..."

Izuku blinked at his legs.

"Smaller mov… ement… F-faster."

That… Made sense. He knew those moves in theory but that wasn't enough. To get them right, he needed someone to teach him. He though about asking Iida, but his friend seemed so preoccupied with perfecting his own moves, he didn't want to intrude. An idea came to his mind.

"Hey, you've been training hand to hand combat with Aizawa-sensei from the beginning, haven't you?"

Hikari blinked in surprise. Hesitantly, she returned a nod.

"If you could spare some time… Could you, just maybe, if you've got nothing better to do - could you look at some of my moves? I feel like they need so much improvement, but I can't tell what's wrong myself. I know you're still recovering and probably very busy, so you don't have to if you're not-"

She effectively shut him up by holding her hand into his face.

"G-give me a m-minute… Gonna change i-into-" Hikari's attempted sentence ended in a small coughing fit. It always caused Izuku to panic, he held up his hands, not sure whether she needed support.

"P-please don't talk! Don't overexert yourself!"

The girl took a few shallow breaths. Her face was flushed, eyebrows drawn together, but she furiously shook her head. "Need… Practice."

"I know, but please, take it slow! You've already talked much more than yesterday, I'm not a doctor, but I can see you're having trouble-"

She smiled at him. Izuku's words died, but his mouth remained open. This was not the reaction he expected. Hikari rose her hand once more and whispered, "Right… Back."

Izuku repeated the same motions as before. Make the movement smaller? He was trying, but was it working?

This time, the young hero was observant enough to see his friend closing in. Hikari had changed into her gym uniform, wearing an open winter jacket on top. She pointed towards the forest before reaching him, telling him to get somewhere more private. Izuku followed without hesitation.

He ended up guiding her to the same clearing he often used when training with All Might. It was even chillier and darker underneath all those trees, but quiet. He was silently asked to show her the kick from before. He complied, although it felt a bit embarrassing, knowing he was certainly doing something wrong. Izuku threw his leg up while twisting his torso at the same time. Only a very low swish was audible. If he had used One for All, surely a few of those trees across the clearing would have suffered.

"Again… Sl-ower," the girl commanded. He obeyed. It did feel weird moving at such a slow pace, not having any momentum at all. But he immediately noticed to large curve his sole drew, instead of pushing directly forward. It was a waste of movement.

"Again."

Izuku sighed and lifted his foot. Focus on your target, don't waste any move-

The teen yelped. He did not expect the girl to grab hold of his leg and move it into the right direction. Izuku could feel the heat rush into his face, because he was not used to being randomly touched by, like, anyone.

"Like... This," the Hikari explained completely focussed on correcting his posture before letting go. She didn't notice his sudden nervousness. Izuku gulped and forced his mind to remember what his muscles just did, not that he was being touched and moved around like a doll. He shook his head. Focus, Izuku, focus.

"O-okay… I'll, uhm, I'll try again." The freckled boy readied himself, before trying to move exactly as instructed. He threw a nervous glance at his friend.

"Better," Hikari noted. But better didn't mean great. She didn't even need to ask him to repeat the kick. He did so on his own accord, once, twice, five, maybe twenty times, sometimes being corrected by his friend, until his muscles started to memorize the motion. Lastly, she requested he'd repeat what he did in the beginning before showing the improved version.

The difference was enormous. Pride swelled in his chest. Finally, it felt like he was improving at something. Overjoyed by the sensation, he turned to his friend, "Could you maybe look at another one?"

Izuku was enjoying himself. While he did improve a lot since coming to U.A., he now realized he had always been working on his quirk, and his quirk alone. His control was getting better, but if he was being honest, he had no idea how to actually fight. They told him to punch and he did. Thanks to One for All, any punch or flick was strong enough to repel his opponent. But no one really showed him how to punch. When he couldn't punch anymore, they told him to kick, but not how to kick. He got a little bit of info here and there by analysing his friends and all the pro heroes, and tried to mimic what they did, but it wasn't the same as being taught face to face.

Izuku didn't show her any more moves. Instead, he locked eyes with her before he bowed and declared, "Please teach me how to fight without a quirk!"

No answer came. Izuku clenched his fists. He straightened up and stared Hikari dead in the eye. Hikari seemed irritated by his request.

"It's… It's embarrassing to admit… But I don't really know how to fight. I always depended on my quirk to win, but that doesn't seem enough anymore. And I'm asking you because I think you understand."

The girl squinted her eyes, musing over something. Had it been too much? It probably had, Izuku was asking a lot of his friend…

Hikari slipped out of her jacket. She went into a slow, steady fighting stance and waved at him to come at her.

"Wait, right now?!"

She shrugged and waved again. He blinked the confusion away and readied himself. Was that a good idea? What if he accidentally activated One for All and hurt her? What if...

… I actually manage to do anything at all, he thought sourly as his face was pressed into the wet but soft moss for what felt the hundred time. Izuku groaned. He should have known. He was used overwhelm his opponents with his strength. Without One for All at his disposal, he basically was… An ordinary human. His muscles were well trained, and he was rather strong for his age, but without the right technique, it didn't mean anything at all.

He knew Hikari had been trained by Aizawa-sensei for months, she had had years of self-defence at Seishin and probably learned a few tricks while being held by her family before that. He also was aware that she specifically asked their homeroom teacher to train her in quirkless combat. Heck, she had even beat a high ranked villain while escaping Dragon without her quirk, as his mother had told him. And yet, it was nothing but frustrating. If he was lucky, he landed a single hit on her before she yanked him off his feet, secured his arms behind his back and pressed her knee into his middle, entrapping him successfully. In a fair fight, she could probably overwhelm almost anyone in their class.

Hikari let go of his wrists. Izuku pushed himself up, groaning. He rolled onto his back, half sitting, half lying in the dirt. This was not how he imagined their sparing to go down.

"Break?" the girl suggested. He agreed. He didn't even have enough motivation left to stand up, so he stayed put. His uniform needed a wash and he needed a shower after this anyway. Hikari plopped down on the ground at his side.

It was quiet. They both turned to look at the sky. It was dark already, Dinner was probably being served right now. Izuku extended his left arm towards the sky. He stared at the burned skin.

"It's kind of ironic, you know?"

She didn't say anything. He didn't expect her to.

"My whole left side got burned like this… And only a few months later, I could literally hold my hand into blazing fire, and I don't feel anything aside from tickling and a bit of heat. I physically can't be burned, and yet I walk around looking like this."

There was the rustling of cloth. An arm was held beside his own, equally maltreated with a different type of scar.

"We almost match."

A hmp came from his side, but he could tell from the sound that she was smiling. Another thought crossed his mind. "You're… Really good at this. I don't mean to… Well… You had a few more months to improve, but… Why didn't you fight like this back at Onderon?"

It took his friends a good thirty seconds before she answered in a whisper, "I-I th-think… I was… S-scared."

Izuku pushed himself up to look at her. "Scared of what?"

"Every… thing…" She didn't look at him, her face still turned up towards the sky. "M-my quirk… Br-brother… My pas-st… Fe-feeling usel-less… Weak…"

Izuku understood. He knew those feelings. He would be lying if he said he didn't fear his new, his original quirk, or what could happen if he misused One for All. He was afraid of his father, of facing him again. He couldn't save Togata-senpai or Sir Nighteye. He couldn't have saved Eri if she didn't save him first. His mother had been kidnapped and he didn't even know until she was back. Yes, he knew what it meant to be afraid, to feel weak and useless. Those feelings had been his faithful companions ever since he discovered that he was nothing but a quirkless nerd with an impossible dream.

A cold hand was placed on his forearm. Izuku didn't notice how gloomy his expression had grown, or how he was clenching his fists. He did note though that Hikari was being awfully touchy lately, which might have to do with the loss of her voice. Not that he minded.

"I… I understand," Izuku took hold of the cold hand, "but… Let's not be scared anymore. We have to get stronger. And we will. We can get through this… Together."

Hikari's eyes widened. She bit her lip. Her expression turned from stunned to fully determined. "Pr-promis-se?"

"Yeah," Izuku nodded, "that's a promise."

"Uhm, Shinsou-kun? There's someone from the hero course waiting for you…"

The mind controller blinked at his classmate, dropping his phone onto his lap. Someone from the hero course? For him? What could they want? Who would want anything from him-

Oh.

Shinsou scratched the back of his head, not sure what to expect. Shikogane was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, a determined expression on her face. Under the curious looks of his classmates, the Gen Ed student descended and joined her, leaving a safe distance between them.

"I was wondering what you were up to," he stated after a few silent, awkward seconds. The girl didn't answer. Instead, she began furiously scribbling something into a notebook. Then, she held the page up for him to read.

Sorry, there was an incident.

He rose both his brows at her. Shikogane wrote some more and showed him again, while pointing at her neck.

Can't talk much at the moment.

After reading the words, Shinsou followed the direction her fingers pointed to. He had to squint his eyes, it was hard to recognize anything in the dark. But he believed to see a few weird lines on her skin, almost looking as if something tried to cut her throat. He shook the thought from his head and inquired, "What do you want?"

I need your help.

Shinsou was even more puzzled than before. His help? Why would she need his help of all people? Didn't she have enough friends in her own class?

Aizawa-sensei refuses to train me.

The teacher probably had a reason to. Shinsou knew him well enough to say that much.

"So?"

Please help me, and I'll owe you one. I have an idea.

A/N: I'm not trying to make Izuku look bad or anything… I just think that they're clearly missing an opportunity in the manga by not showing them actual fighting techniques.

OMG, people, you're making me cry. I wasn't happy at all with the last chapter, I never expected to receive that much feedback. Thank you, just thank you. You made my week!

I'm really hyped the last arc will start so soon! I began with chapter 46 today and the plot is progressing so fast, I hope it was worth all the build up you've suffered through the past 10 to 20 chapters.

PS: I have a freaking 132 pages of scenes that got cut from the actual fanfic alsdjflakjsdf

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Nixxon Mysterio: Ohmygod, I don't know what to say. You made me tear up, this is the greatest compliment I've ever received! Thank you so much and I hope the following chapters won't disappoint!

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Midnight Angels Say GoodNight: Thank you for the review! Yes, we're getting close to the end, so it's about time xD

DragonshadowRyukage: No worries! It takes me even longer to post new updates XD I'm glad you liked Tsuyu's line, I really wanted to place the emphasis on that line but I didn't know if it worked out.

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