"Alright", Aizawa had gathered everyone right out front of the training area. "Bakugo, take this ball, and use your quirk to throw it as far as possible".
Bakugo took the ball eagerly and reared back, preparing to throw it. He launched a powerful blast into the ball as he threw it, propelling it at high speeds through the air. The ball was gone from sight.
After a few seconds, Aizawa turned his phone to show the distance. 712 yards, only 1 yard better than the first day of school. Everyone stared wide-eyed, except for Aizawa. "We have been training your physical prowess, but we haven't been training your quirks themselves, that is what this training will be for, so get to it".
Everyone had been given different training regimens to follow to strengthen their quirks. Mina had to constantly produce acid to build up a resistance to it as well as strengthening the acid. Trace was to spar against Tiger to not only better his reflexes, but also so he could better control his power output so as to not waste it all.
Tiger took his fighting stance, staring at Trace. "Are you ready, young one".
"Let's go", Trace was about to charge at Tiger when he spoke up.
"I want you to use your full power".
Trace froze for a second before replying, "I'm not sure it's a good idea to do that, I mean, what happens if I lose control".
"That's why I'm your sparring opponent, We're going to work on control, NOW, I want your full power", Tiger began charging at Trace, "Otherwise, you won't win".
Trace barely had time to duck, looking to his wristbands. He struggled internally. He rose back to his feet and looked around for Tiger, who was nowhere in sight. He began searching quickly but methodically.
"So", Tiger began, "You chose not to use your power, then game over". Tiger launched from the trees and pinned Trace down in one swift motion. Trace began struggling, but Tiger held strong. "We need to break this barrier, you are afraid of your own power, so we need to snap you out of that fear".
Trace sat there listening, but not really taking it in. Once Tiger released him, he rose to his feet and readied himself again.
Tiger sighed, "Look Trace, I know you have killed people, but that was a long time ago, you need to use your full power, otherwise you can't outspeed me".
Trace's eyes began glowing a faint yellow, "please, don't bring up those incidents… It hurts so much". Trace began shaking slightly.
Yet Tiger steeled himself for what was about to happen. "No one cares that you hurt them, because that's not who you are now".
Trace's eyes started glowing a much brighter yellow. "Stop mentioning my past, I won't be held back by it, so stop mentioning it".
Tiger was practically yelling, "If you don't face your past then you'll never be a hero".
Trace froze. Many emotions began flooding through him. Sorrow. Anger. Regret. Guilt. Trace stared Tiger down, anger flooding to his eyes. "TAKE IT BACK", Trace got into his fighting stance. "RELEASE INHIBITORS".
Blue lightning began erupting from Trace, but also yellow lightning. Trace disappeared for a split second, appearing in front of Tiger. Tiger had no chance. Trace was split. He swung with full force, planning to release his power. But for a second, Trace hesitated. He threw up a barrier and hit it with full force.
Tiger watched in awe and horror as Trace expended all of his energy in one big attack. A mix of blue and yellow lightning filled the air, for all to see.
The barrier dropped but so did Trace's fist. He fell to the ground on his hands and knees, sweat dripping from his face. His breathing was practically labored. Trace looked up to Tiger, "I… I… I lost… control…. I'm sorry".
Tiger looked down at the kid, "what was that kid".
Trace flinched slightly at how sternly he asked. "My quirk… negative buff".
Tiger stared at him with confusion. "I thought your quirks were Barrier and Djinn".
Trace laughed at this. "I actually have 4 quirks, one of them being Negative Buff, so the stronger my negative feelings, the stronger my physical prowess is".
Tiger stared at him in disbelief. That's why the kid was so hesitant. He truly couldn't control himself too well. Tiger rose to his feet and said. "I have an idea for you to control your quirk".
Trace quickly got to his feet. "How do I control my emotions when my anxiety levels are high".
Tiger looked at the kid with a smile. "What if we have you remove the wristbands, that way you're not being held back by the time limit put on your power, that way we can see what we have to work on".
Trace, though hesitant, removed the wristbands and handed them to Tiger who put them in a super durable pouch on his side.
"Now then", Tiger got into a stance, "I want you to come at me with full power".
Trace took a deep breath before nodding. He got into a fighting stance and charged at Tiger. Tiger raised a hand to defend but Trace wasn't aiming for Tiger, he jumped over him and kicked at his legs, hoping to trip him. Tiger jumped and planted an attack into Trace's back, sending him flying a few feet. Trace quickly turned to see Tiger launching at him with crazy speed. Trace raised a hand to defend, unintentionally calling Djinn out to defend. Tiger began launching a flurry of punches into the shadow, causing major damage.
Trace began to feel exhausted. Everything went black on him. He began looking around, no longer feeling anything. "Where am I".
"We're in your head Trace", Djinn grabbed his shoulder to turn him. "We can't beat him like this, he's too fast for us".
Trace put a hand to his chin, "are you able to act like an extension of my body Djinn?".
"The darkness can be manipulated into different forms but They need to stay connected to you", Djinn went wide-eyed, realizing what Trace was getting at.
"Then maybe we can make you appear in unexpected locations and catch him off guard". Trace began smiling.
Djinn put a hand on Trace's shoulder, "Let's do it".
Trace returned back to the real world, seeing Tiger hadn't relented with the punches, Trace took a deep breath, silently hoping this would work. He ducked under a punch, and released Djinn from his back, a human shaped silhouette of darkness emerged from Traces back and began attacking back, forcing Tiger to jump back. Trace charged at Tiger as the darkness returned to his body. He began launching a flurry of punches, each just as powerful as the last. Whenever Trace threw a punch, a shadow fist would appear from his shoulder and launch an attack over his fist. Individually, Trace nor Djinn could match his speed. But together, they were a well oiled machine, they even began to outspeed Tiger.
Tiger in a last ditch effort, jumped above Trace to try to pin him. Tiger shot to the ground, pinning Trace down while holding one of his arms. Tiger was about to compliment him when a shadow hand came from his back, knocking Tiger off of him.
"I ain't done yet", Trace launched at Tiger, clapping his hands together to form a dark bubble. Trace continued attacking Tiger while Djinn jumped into the shadows. Trace began to overwhelm Tiger who was struggling to think of a plan. Trace smirked, thinking he might have actually beaten Tiger. "DJINN, LET'S GO".
Djinn and Trace both jumped at Tiger simultaneously, putting as much power into their punch as possible. Tiger successfully blocked Trace, but Djinn connected with Tiger's back, causing him to fall forward enough for Trace to attack. Trace flipped in the air, kicking Tiger in the chin, sending him flying upwards. The dark bubble began dissipating, as Tiger caught himself in a tree, almost no damage visible on him.
Tiger got to the ground and began laughing. "That was a much better performance than earlier, you seem much more comfortable with your power".
Trace was taken aback by this. Why wasn't Tiger attacking him? Trace stayed in a fighting stance, expecting a sucker punch.
"Training is over, go get some lunch with your friends young man", Tiger had a smile from ear to ear.
Trace relaxed his stance before standing upright. "Thank you for helping me train Tiger, I hope I can repay the favor down the road".
Tiger began laughing before saying, "You are here to get stronger, you don't owe me anything".
Trace nodded before heading to the lunch area with his friends. They were all working on getting ingredients for a stew. Trace quietly slipped in and assisted with getting the ingredients together. It was like he was there from the start.
After about an hour, the stew was done, and everyone was given a bowl. Once everyone dispersed, he grabbed a second bowl and made his way into the forest, making sure his wolf ears were hidden under the cloth, and his fake ears stayed in place. He began making his way up the mountain, oblivious of the pink girl following him. He made his way up a slight hill, eventually stopping a few meters from a cave. He saw Kota standing at the cliff edge, looking out over the forest.
"Hey Kota", Trace held up one of the bowls. "I figured you were hungry so I got you a bowl of stew". Trace was about to walk toward Kota when he began yelling.
"I DON'T WANT ANYTHING FROM YOU HERO", Kota was clearly upset.
"Kota, I know you feel abandoned", Trace's head began falling slightly.
Kota went wide-eyed before saying, "You… you don't know what I went through".
Trace sighed. "You're right, I don't know what you went through", Trace rolled up his sleeves to show the many scars on his body, "but I went through something similar I think".
Kota stared at his arms in horror, but also with curiosity.
Trace began speaking in a calm demeanor, "when I was 4 years old, I was put in an orphanage, but I ran away a week into staying there, I was constantly bullied, had no friends, and I never got a chance to have a family, I was alone for most of my life".
Kota looked away, "There is no way you didn't have someone, because someone had to feed you or even provide supplies for you", Kota was upset.
Trace smiled at the kid, then looked back down at the ground. "Nope, I never had anyone to depend on. I grew up pretty fast.", Trace began to tear up. "I worked as a chef but the pay barely got me by. To spread money out, I purposely avoided eating for days on end", Trace was practically crying, but his voice held firm. "Kids hated me at school, I was a punching back for others, I was beaten, stabbed, shot, you name it, someone hurt me in that way," Trace raised his head, eyes filled with determination, "but through it all, I wanted to be a hero, I didn't want anyone else to go through what I went through, so I decided I would be a hero so others wouldn't have to suffer". Trace picked up one of the bowls of stew and began walking away. "I know I can't change your mind, but I can vent my reason to be one, if you don't like heroes, then that's your opinion, you're entitled to it".
Trace made his way down the mountain side. It wasn't till he got to the bottom when he noticed Mina hiding behind a tree. He smiled before yelling, "I can see you Mina". He removed his fake ears and cloth, putting them into his hoodie pocket.
Mina let out a small squeak, causing Trace to begin laughing. Mina came out of behind the tree, a slight shade of lilac. "It's not funny", Mina tried to put on false anger.
Trace simply smiled before asking, "so how long were you following me for anyway".
Mina looked away before saying, "I saw you take a second bowl and assumed you were looking for someone, so I wanted to see who it was you were looking for", her face became a purplish color.
Trace put on a sly smirk, "ohh, was my girlfriend jealous", Trace put a little emphasis into "Jealous", causing Mina to blush even harder.
"Sh- shut up", Mina was trying no to give in, but Trace knew how to get at her.
Trace walked up and put a hand on Mina's face and began rubbing her cheek with his thumb. "You know I wouldn't do that to you, I was searching for Kota to make sure he was alright", Trace spoke calmly and soothingly.
He pulled Mina to his chest, dropping his bowl to the ground. "Oh well", Trace thought. He began running a hand through her hair, feeling it's fluffiness. His other hand was running up and down her back. "I love you so much Mina, don't ever think otherwise".
Mina looked up at him, a small smile on her face. "You're too sweet for this world, you know that", she planted a kiss on his cheek, causing him to blush slightly.
Trace smiled nevertheless, "I've heard it before from a beautiful girl, you might know her, energetic, sweet, pink", Trace was doing his very best to not chuckle.
Mina however was on the verge of laughter, "You're a dork Trace".
Trace smiled before saying, "There's my energetic ball of fluff". He reached a hand to her chin and pulled her gaze to meet his. He could get lost in those eyes, those sweet golden eyes. Without warning, Trace leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips, enjoying every second of it. Mina, though initially shocked that he initiated the kiss, relaxed almost instantly, melting into the kiss.
Trace couldn't really help himself, this was one of the only times he could do this. He cherished this kiss, wanting every bit of her that he could get. They were there for each other when needed. He wanted to protect his girlfriend no matter what. She saved his life once. He held her even closer, inciting a sly smile from Mina.
"Wow, by me dinner first".
Trace began blushing heavily, causing Mina to laugh. "I'm joking Trace, some days it's too easy to get you riled up".
Trace began laughing with Mina. She knew how to get to him easily, he probably should've started building a defense to it, but he really couldn't, they were too unexpected. "We should probably get back to the cabins before anyone notices we're missing".
Mina nodded before they started walking back. Trace began thinking about the day she stayed over for the night.
