I do not own BNHA.
Of Heroes, Blood, and Boba
Chapter Thirty Two:
Black Tea Lemonade
Black tea lemonade; black tea infused with lemonade, usually made stronger to blend with the sour tartness of lemonade. Can be bitter or too sour if not prepared properly. (It's a risky tea if you're not careful)
The televised broadcast illuminated the dark city street.
A few people gathered in crowds, lingering beside the wide television screen across the sidewalk beside the outlying cafes and electronic shops. Across the street cars moved down the line, people crossing the heavy whited lines to make it to their next late-night destination. Workers coming home, hopefuls prowling the streets, others hitting the bars and establishments to escape a little of the day-to-day…
It was like a little play box. The ones he'd seen through windows into toy shops. Big little mini cityscapes with people you could move around and rearrange however you wanted. They fit perfectly into this little boxed mold, sliding into their designated spots without complaint.
Where do you fit in?
He paused by the screen as well, watching the dark suits color the pixelated inches. The stern, reassuring faces.
Is that what you want to return to?
"Of course, moving forward, we intend to implement whatever means necessary," the head chairwoman of the Heroes Committee folded her hands together, head held high."Evil does not prevail. Justice does. With the help of our fellow citizens, our workers, and most importantly, our heroes, we intend to see to it that we keep our peace."
"I don't know about that," a man said beside him. "What are we even supposed to do? Start shouting good job or you got this? What does that do?"
"Don't talk like that man," someone said beside him. "Think about how hard All Might fought. What would you have done if he wasn't there?"
"That's what I'm saying though! We don't have anyone like All Might left."
"There are plenty of heroes working hard to fill his spot," a woman chimed in. "We shouldn't be so quick to cast them aside."
"But maybe after all that they'll be stretched thin," someone else said. "They won't be able to help everyone."
"…maybe we should start thinking about how to protect ourselves," someone murmured. "What we can do…"
"What, be our own heroes or something like that?"
"Maybe! We have Quirks for a reason, don't we?"
Do we?
"These are not easy times," the woman continued on screen, trying to look to every one of them. "We seek to help and protect everyone— "
Everyone.
Who fit in that?
"Dai-kun, Dai-kun," Toga waved him over, giggling as she quickly pointed to the next underground bar. "Should we try here next?"
Daiki eyed the handful of groceries he was already toting around. Shigaraki wasn't necessarily the type to cook his own meals unless they were instant, let alone know what they needed to shop for. He and Toga had the easiest time blending into the crowd, so they were charged with a supply run again this week.
Toga's finger followed into the dark shadows and a set of stairs descending deeper into the concrete. Daiki hated those kinds of places, but he hated higher places more. Her eyes flickered in passing brightness at the opportunity, but she wouldn't put up a fight either if he said no. Raiding the bar in a set of quick actions for cash and supplies would be in their favor, the only gamble was taking on a bit more than they could chew.
"We should do the best that we can do right now," a young man said. Daiki stopped, just faintly looking over his shoulder. "They're all doing their best. Anything we can do, even if it isn't much, we should do."
"Yeah? And how is that supposed to help?"
For a second Daiki saw Fuyu standing across the busy street, past the line of cars about to zip past as they waited for the light to flash. The little girl in ornate kimonos gazed back at him, eyes faded and quiet. Her fingers gripped the front fabric, creasing it.
"What can we do Daiki?"
Daiki tilted his head a bit. The little girl bit her lip, staring at the floor. He saw blood dripping down her fingers, rolling down her chin. "It hurts."
"I'm not giving up on you either. This is what I'm going to do."
He blinked and the small little girl was replaced. Her black hair became dark gray and those bright red eyes, threatening to pierce through and see that tiny, frayed bit of himself no one else but her could see. The brightest part of himself.
The Kouki Fuyu that place had made.
"I'm going to stop him."
She pointed right at him from across the street. Blood dripped down the side of her face, almost painting the corners of her eyes. They burned right at him.
"I'm going to save you too."
"Let's go," Daiki said. Toga's lips slowly curled upwards and she pressed her fingertips up to her mouth, stifling an excited giggle. Holing up in that shitty place was pressing on all their nerves but they needed to make something work. "We might find something good."
"I'll lead the way~" Toga sang, already turning to the dark steps.
She should already know though. Daiki pulled his hood back up, burrowing deeper into his trench coat as he and Toga made their way down the winding steps. Toga unsheathed her knives, humming all the while for the unsuspecting mobsters waiting on the other side of the door. Your path is harder than mine. Those rules they preach will only get in your way.
Toga slowly pressed her fingers to the door, listening for a moment to the number of voices on the other side of the wood. Daiki turned his fingers upwards, letting thorny vines start to wrap tighter and tighter around his arms. They extended like armor, matching Toga's knives.
That man wouldn't go down to those fantastical ideals. He'd survived this long, like some kind of parasitic tic, living off the dredges of what this shitty world had to offer and thriving from it. They already failed to stop him once.
Who said they wouldn't fail again?
Toga kicked the door open with her foot, skipping inside as a clamor of protest and confusion started. Daiki followed her into the shadowy bar, closing the door after him with a vine.
If you want to end him for good, you're going to need to be more than a hero.
"Are you… studyin'?"
"What does it look like, old man?" She dodged the hand about to smack her silly and lowered herself back to the table, folding her legs underneath her as she tried to focus again on the words and equations Aizawa had been dropping off for her. "I need to pass this shitty test, don't I?"
Yagi didn't say anything, staring at Fuyu with his mouth half open. In the kitchen Naomi hummed, sounding far too pleased with herself as she chopped some more vegetables for dinner.
"But ain't ya stupid?"
"My grades at school aren't bad, you crazy old fart!" Fuyu snapped back, nearly chucking her eraser at him. Yagi threatened to hit her again. "What do ya want me to do? Not study?"
"I'm just sayin' it doesn't match your look, you bully!"
"Bully? I ain't no bully!" Fuyu heaved out an aggravated sigh, slumping more against her desk. "I already get it, ya jerk. I know I don't look the part and I probably ain't even gonna match the way I should look compared to all the kids who're gonna be there…"
Fuyu ran a rough hand over her head, tugging her hair back. Yeah, she definitely was going to have a hard time looking or acting the part. Maybe she should consider trying to turn over a new leaf, act a little different from how she normally did so she could fit the mold better… something brighter? That ought to work for a hero school, right? Or maybe bubblier? Something to fit the image…
A rough hand rubbed her shoulder, giving it a quick, tight squeeze. Fuyu stopped, looking up over her shoulder. Her heart fluttered a bit in her chest, warm and spreading as her eyes brightened, a little ring of red.
The color of that home, warm and familiar became faded, smeared as though water had been poured over the gentle colors.
Yagi's brow creased, his hand tightening on her shoulder.
"Who are you again?"
Fuyu felt her mouth twitch downwards. Her brows creased in disbelief. Something started to crawl up her throat, panic choking back her words. "C'mon, old man, you know me. You raised me."
Yagi's face twisted. Fuyu tried to stand, reaching out and grabbing the edge of his shirt. She tried to understand why her fingers were shaking so hard, smile a bit desperate. "I'm Fuyu. I'm your idiot. Your fool of a granddaughter."
Yagi took a step back. She couldn't hear Naomi's humming anymore.
"I'm Fuyu. I'm Fuyu. I'm—"
The room warped. One long shadow stretching out behind Fuyu. The path soaked itself in blood, dripping down into a void that stretched long. She felt a familiar sensation, one known only to her and she quickly whipped her head around, eyes wide as her string stretched taut, pulling far from her chest and connecting to something in the shadows, warbling behind her and Yagi.
A clean, shiny sole stepped into the light. Fuyu felt her heart stop. The color drained from her face, turning everything crisp and silent.
His face appeared from the other side, half in the shadows. The bloody path connecting the two of them began to bleed and her string touched his—a color she would never forget—
Their two strings touched.
Fuyu felt bile rise in her throat. A different sensation replaced the fear. The usual cowardice, the unending hauntings—those fell to nothing in the face of the larger monster starting to open its jaws inside her.
The dark void began to open.
Fuyu dug her fingers into their strings. She threatened to rip them in half. Blood began to drip with more fervor, spotting underneath her fingertips. The fine little threads started to tear. She stood up and Yagi disappeared behind her. The warm little apartment replaced with black and red and just the two of them.
He looked almost painfully bored.
"That's right," he said, staring back at her. He touched the spot where their strings connected, dripping blood onto the floor, thick and disgusting like an entrail tying the two of them together. "You're Fuyu. You're my—"
"I'M NOT—"
"Fuyu-chan? Are you awake? Fuyu-chan, you're going to be late!"
Thump! Thud!
Fuyu blinked once at her toes sticking up into the air. Sweat made the back of her neck sticky, soaking through the front of her shirt. Her legs were kicked up, half bent on her small futon mattress while the rest of her was sprawled across the floor.
In an instant the sound came rushing back to her. Gone was anything else. She could almost comically hear birds chirping outside, amiably getting the day started. There was a distant sound of chatter, faint and somewhere out in the courtyard. Sun spilled past her curtains and into her room, hitting her across her eyes and warming her face.
"I hear her inside," Jirou said from outside her door. "I think she just fell. You alright, Fuyu?"
"Hehe, won't this be kind of fun?" Ochako said teasingly. "I think we're going to have to get used to this!"
"Right? I took Fuyu for more of an early riser. Rough night?"
"…something like that," Fuyu said back to them. Ochako cheered from the other side, glad to hear she was awake. "What… time is it?"
"Time to get ready and get some breakfast!" Ochako said cheerfully. "We're meeting with the class today since we've got some summer assignments to work on! Oh, good morning by the way!"
"Aizawa-sensei won't have us being late," Jirou added. "Don't take too long, we'll wait by the elevator for you."
"Don't forget your toothbrush!"
Fuyu laid have sprawled across the floor, listening to the dull sound of the footsteps and giggles disappearing.
She blinked again when she realized her string was there, floating up into the ceiling above her. Fuyu reached for her eyes, rubbing the corner when she paused. Something wet touched the corner of her cheek and she pulled her hand away, staring at where dried and still wet blood spilled from her palms. She'd split the skin in her sleep.
Fuyu watched the cut skin close, leaving nothing but the blood behind. She pressed her knuckles to her mouth in silence, slowly stilling her thundering heart and quieting the rumble in the back of her mind.
A crumpled cardboard box, no bigger than her palm had toppled off the bed beside her. Fuyu exhaled through her nose.
"This is going to take some getting used to."
"Now, we don't have much time today since that boy Shouta has already gone ahead and informed me that your class has some much-needed training today."
Shuzenji wobbled over to the desk, hopping onto her chair and dumping an entire stack of books and compiled files. She started to sift through the candy color coded pages, tossing them into neat piles for Fuyu to start going through. "You have some work to catch up on, so do it diligently! The lot of you youngsters will be taking your provisional license exam tests sooner than you think, and I intend to have you excel in the spot you were intended to excel at with flying colors and no exceptions!"
Shuzenji turned sharply over her shoulder, grimly looking at Fuyu. "Did you hear all of that?"
"I missed this place," Fuyu sighed, leaning back and giving the human model of the cardiovascular system a fond pat. "It's been awhile."
Shuzenji's cane smacked the side of her head. Fuyu spluttered, rubbing it in disbelief. "What? That was a compliment!"
"Listen up, girlie!" Shuzenji said, waving her syringe cane with fervor. "This test is no joke, but we're going to study your butt off so hard it's going to seem like one! Being able to fight is only one part of being a hero, being able to be a hero is the other, and in my opinion, the most important one! What are you again?"
"A hero?" Fuyu asked.
"Are you asking or answering?"
"A hero," Fuyu reaffirmed. "Are you saying part of this license thing is going to be healing? I think I can do that."
"How they'll test the first half is beyond me," Shuzenji said, plopping down into her chair and folded her gloved hands over her lap. "But the second, I'm very familiar with. The old coots who help out there too. Too much time on their hands if you ask me."
Fuyu turned the cardiovascular model over, rearranging the insides so it matched the diagram properly. The poor thing's pulmonary artery was in the wrong place.
"You're going to brush up on all the steps a hero is lawfully supposed to take when confronted with a wide-scale emergency," Shuzenji said, tapping the hard-coded files. "I want you to know the rules of what you're allowed to do as someone who possess a quirk that falls under the Humanity Aid Sanction Act like the back of your hand."
"What's that?"
Shuzenji smacked her again. Fuyu decided she was only letting her get the hits in because she missed old people smacking her around, just a bit. Only a bit. She'd get sick of it in the next hour.
"It's the act people like you, me, and our old friend fall under," Shuzenji said, tapping her cane. "The one that details strict but rather interestingly mendable rules for people with Quirks like ours. Who doesn't fall under this category?"
"People with strictly regenerative type quirks," Fuyu said. Shuzenji nodded in approval. "Ya basically want me to know what rules I can't break when I try to heal someone?"
"I want you to know what rules you can break when it comes to healing someone," Shuzenji said. Fuyu perked up, looking at the old hero in interest. "A provisional license is going to give you the freedom you need to act out as a hero within certain regulations. Given the current circumstances, they're being quite lenient with what they let youngsters get away with these days."
Shuzenji tapped the book. "But heroes still work by strict codes. Can't have someone thinking they're helping when they're actually doing more harm and getting sued for liabilities, right?" Fuyu rolled her eyes at the mechanics. "Since we fall under a rather interesting category and you're not medically licensed for practice like our hardworking doctors are, there are a funny set of rules that might overlap… and some we just might be able to slip through too. They'll be grading you with this in mind since you will be Yuuei's first provisional license examinee going in under our newly minted Health and Heroics Department."
Fuyu started to leaf through the pages, skimming briefly over the contents but keeping in mind to soak it up with reasonable interest. She leaned forward, glancing to the hefty pile. I'll be busy.
Good.
"And speaking of medical licenses," Shuzenji said, tossing another book onto the stack. "I want you to start taking the practice tests in here as well, understood? We're going to start training you on the side so by next year when you start as a second year, you'll be ready to officially test for a medical practitioner's license."
"I'm doing to test for a medical license?" Fuyu looked up with round eyes. "Is that legal?"
"If you know your stuff it is!" Shuzenji said, turning around in her swivel chair. "And maybe if you've got a healing Quirk working for you too, we get to play with those exceptions I was talking about. You still have a long way to go so that's why we're going to aim for the end of your second year."
Fuyu took a second, letting Shuzenji's words stew over in her mind before she blinked, looking up over the top of the books.
The end of your second year.
"This isn't easy material, you're going to need to study as hard as any other medical student," Shuzenji said. "We'll get you the first part and then you'll test for the next one in your third and have you professionally licensed by the time you graduate. Won't that be a treat to help you out once you break into the industry?"
Your second year and then your third.
It didn't come clearly to her at first that things like that were a possibility—talking about next year and the year after that. These things seemed so natural to everyone else. She'd spent so long feeling like each day itself dragged out, unable to know where it began or where it ended and then all of a sudden, people were seeing here beyond tomorrow, beyond next week or next month—
Aizawa was crouched down beside her, looking up at her with his hair pulled back. They were in that hallway back in her first year of middle school.
"Where do you see yourself from now on?"
She had a future beyond all of this.
A plan.
A goal.
So, don't let anything destroy that.
Nothing.
No matter what.
Fuyu curled one hand into a tight fist, holding the textbooks close to her chest.
"You're going to have your work cut out for you," Shuzenji warned. "This won't be a walk in the park, especially with the provisional license test coming up as well. You'll have to study extra hard and do even more work than your peers might be doing—"
"Okay."
Shuzenji raised a brow, turning her chair over. Fuyu's lips pulled up into a smile, stretching wide across her face. Her eyes shone in earnest, fingers clutching tightly to the candy colored folders. "I'll work real hard. I promise. I won't let you down, Zenji-sensei."
"Well," Shuzenji huffed through her nose, turning around and hiding her smile. "I hope you're not all talk!"
She wouldn't let anything take this future away from her.
Anything.
"It's finally time to do some hero school stuff!" Kaminari cheered, an arm thrown around Sero's shoulder as they alternated between jumping up and down, getting the class pumped up. "Hero stuff, here we come!"
"If you underestimate the difficulty of what we're preparing for, you're going to be in trouble," Aizawa said. Kaminari and Sero slumped into each other. "This is the Gamma Gym, also what we like to call the Training Dining Land, or TDL."
They'd all gathered bright and early for what felt like the first time in a long time in class just a few moments ago, receiving instruction on their next move. After Midnight's motivational lecture in class, and handful of the teachers alongside Aizawa had accompanied the rest of them back to the designated training gym to begin their current line of focus.
She ran a hand over her hero costume, refamiliarizing herself with the pieces. It'd felt like a while since she'd worn it. We were all in normal clothes when we were attacked and back when we went to go get Bakugou… Wearing her uniform was reminding her more and more of where she was and what she needed to do.
Here at Yuuei, she couldn't afford to waste this opportunity given to her. The one Naomi and so many others helped her fight for.
"Work hard."
Provisional License Exams. Aizawa had touched on it in passing at the summer camp and back when they just moved into the dorms, but Shuzenji had guided her through the more informative understandings when they'd debriefed in her office. Fuyu and her classmates would be off in a short bit of time to go and test at official centers run by the Public Safety Committee to see if they were worthy of getting licenses that would allow them to take the next step to being fully fledged heroes…
"Have that," Shuzenji said, "and people will know you've got what it takes to be a hero."
"You'll allowed to act and help others, more than you could when you lot were attacked by Stain or at the training camp."
Allowed to act, even if it was within certain bounds or laws.
Fuyu tightened her ribbon behind her head, making sure her mask was placed firmly over her eyes. She rolled the ring over her finger.
"TDL…" Ochako trailed off, Midoriya looking concerned beside her. "Doesn't that sound like a certain place…"
"I suggested training areas like this where we'd be able to manipulate the environment for students to receive the optimal training," Cementoss lowered his hands to the floor and immediately it rumbled.
High rising pillars and slated mountains sprung up from the concrete floor as they all took a step back. Arching areas and hollowed out caves—an entire variety of locations for them to work and train for whatever it was they'd need.
Fuyu's eyes automatically sought out the highest one, staring at the top.
"Did you sleep well?"
Fuyu almost choked on her own spit, whipping her head sideways to where Todoroki was standing just at her elbow. Mina's eyes bulged from her head a few feet away, grabbing Hagakure's invisible elbow with frantic fingers.
He looked down at her, expression settled and quiet, the way it usually was. Fuyu smoothed down her unnecessarily ruffled nerves and shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck. "Slept fine—just 'bout as well as anyone. How about you?"
"I was a bit restless," Todoroki said. Fuyu looked at him in sharp surprise. "I'm not used to falling asleep somewhere else. It'll take some getting used to."
Ah… "I guess I know what ya mean," Fuyu mumbled, the hand on her neck turning sheepish. "I didn't… fall asleep that easily either."
"I thought you said you were fine?"
"For the most part, alright?" Fuyu huffed, dropping her hand and half turning to Todoroki with a bit of a grin. "I put your pretty little flowers somewhere nice, so don't worry too much about them either."
"They gave me a booklet on taking care of them," Todoroki said. "Let me know if you need it."
"Stop saying that. I can take care of a couple of flowers," Fuyu said, shoving his side. Todoroki hardly moved, but he turned himself toward Fuyu, closing the conversation in on themselves. "Gram had a few orchids herself."
Her eyes softened a bit, "But speaking of flowers… maybe I should return the favor. What does your mom like?"
Todoroki stilled for a moment, looking down at Fuyu in faint surprise. She frowned. "What? 's only right. You have enough manners for that at least."
"…focus on training first," Todoroki said, turning away from her. "You'll need it."
Fuyu's jaw dropped in disbelief. Her hands went up and Ochako quickly grabbed them, making Fuyu float in her grip. "Roki you son of a bitch, ya got some nerve—"
"Ultimate moves!" Kaminari said. "Doesn't this really sound like the good stuff? How cool is this?"
"I'm getting pumped up!" Kirishima agreed. "We're finally getting back into it!"
"Please allow me to ask a quick question!" Iida shouted, thrusting his hand up into the air. "Why must we have ultimate moves for our provisional licensing exam? Please tell me your reasoning!"
"I'll tell you everything in order," Aizawa said flatly. "Calm down. The job of a hero is to save people, whether it be incidents, accidents, disasters or human casualties..." Fuyu paused, looking up at his words. "It is the job of a hero to rescue people from all types of trouble. Naturally, the exam is designed to measure that aptitude."
Just like what Zenji-sensei said. Fuyu stared at the highest point. For people like us with Quirks inherently born to help, this core part of being a hero is like something… something we really were born with.
Cold fingers ghosted over the back of her head.
"Even a Quirk like ours?"
Fuyu whirled around, heart lunging into her throat.
"Fuyu?" Kaminari asked beside her. "Was it a fly?"
"'s nothing," Fuyu said, shaking her head. She roughly scratched her fingers against the back of her scalp, lowering her hand back to her side and grinning at him. "Probably."
"Information gathering, judgement, mobility, fighting ability, and in addition communication, charm and leadership… every year the exam content changes to test these different aptitudes," Aizawa said. Fuyu tried to tick them off in her head and frowned, disgruntled when her own characteristics didn't quite match up.
"But among them, fighting ability is a heavily weighted consideration for heroes,"
Midnight said. Fuyu did listen more closely at that. "They say that being well-prepared means no worries. Having such techniques in your arsenal will greatly affect your chances of success."
"Guess that's true," Ojiro said. "We need to be able to defend ourselves and feel confident."
"Not just defending," Fuyu said. "We gotta be able to fight back and fight good when we're dealing with villains."
Bakugou snorted derisively a few feet away. Fuyu shot him a look but he ignored her. Is everyone lookin' for a fight today?
"If instead of being controlled by the situation, you are able to bring stability to the issue instead. "That is a mark of a hero's true fighting ability," Cementoss said.
"Not all special moves are for offensives purposes either," Ectoplasm said. "For example, Iida's Recipro Burst. To be able to move at blisteringly fast speeds for short bursts of time… that in itself is an impressive ability worthy of being called a special move."
"You'd… really call it a special… move?" Iida said, getting worked up behind his mask.
"So it's about drawing your strength out from your natural strengths to give you that boost up," Satou said.
"Exactly!" Midnight praised. "The Lacquered Chains Prison used by Kamui Woods the other day… is a perfect example. It's easy to understand too."
"Before it was abruptly brought to an end, the final goal for the training camp was to originally lead up to the development of these special moves," Aizawa said. "In other words, between now and the start of the next school term… in the remaining ten days we have of summer break, we're going to strengthen your Quirks and work out your special moves."
Midnight clapped her hands together as Cementoss created a staggering cascade of new mountains. Ectoplasm's clones erupted forth, scattering across the entire training ground and surrounding all of them. Their teacher grinned, putting a hand on her hip, "In other words—a bootcamp!"
"In addition, with the development of your Quirks and the nature of your abilities in mind, consider the ways in which your costumes can also be improved," Aizawa said. "Let the spirit of plus ultra take you to new heights. Are you all ready?"
"I'm pumped up!"
"That's what I like to hear!" Midnight said, shivering in anticipation. Mineta's eyes bulged and Tsuyu swatted him over the back of the head. "Now, everyone should find a position in a spot they think will help them the most. One of Ectoplasm's clones will be there to assist you with any kind of training or advice you might need…"
Without wasting another second, Bakugou launched himself away from the rest of them with a series of blasts, rocketing up onto one of the pillars. Todoroki gave her a last look before calmly walking off to another side of the gym. Kirishima let out a hoot, running along the floor and hardening his skin as he shot off to his own spot and Sero grinned, launching his tape out and swinging over to another area in the gym. The rest of her classmates took up the same energy, following one of the clones or finding a little place for themselves to begin considering where they should begin.
"Want to work together, Fuyu-chan?" Ochako offered, standing beside a smiling Tsuyu. "We're going to try to see if we can work on a combo move while I float! I have to build up my resistance even more!"
"I'll be good on that one, thanks though guys," Fuyu said warmly. Ochako and Tsuyu nodded. "Gonna mull over a bit where I might want to start myself."
"Of course! Let us know if you need help!"
Fuyu waved them off, watching their backs disperse. All around her the crowd of classmates quickly thinned, getting to work. Tokoyami began to speak with Midnight and over the top of their heads, Aizawa's eyes briefly met hers. Fuyu offered him a fierce grin, raising a fist up and he simply shook his head, turning away in what she'd like to think was fond exasperation.
Fuyu's smile slipped a touch. She lowered her fist.
Special Moves or Ultimate Moves… Fuyu played with the words in her head, trying to wrap a proper idea around it. Midnight's explanation had been self-explanatory and informative—she essentially was supposed to figure out something on the caliber of All Might's cries and powerful shouts when he finished off his moves…something straight out of the comic books…
I've never been good with that part of being a hero. Fuyu flexed her fingers in front of her, clicking her ring and quickly slicing a sharp cut up along her palm. Crimson beaded up against her skin, dripping down and pausing as she willed it to wrap around her fingers instead. So I won't worry too much about that stuff. That can come later. This is a good chance to really work on what I need to do and smooth out any kinks.
It wasn't too hard to get back into the same mentality she'd been able to share with the rest of her classmates at the beginning of the training camp. It was time to start working hard toward their goals and move toward the next step. What had already happened was in the past, and they could only shoulder that moving forward to sharpen themselves even further.
You know now what you need to do.
Fuyu's eyes hardened.
"But then no, no, it already makes sense that as kids we all started to come up with our own names and catchphrases…yes, that's right. Even I have a whole notebook on the whole thing, and I should start thinking about where I should start too since everyone already has such a good idea in mind… I can't just get stronger by punching a few rocks and—"
Fuyu nearly screamed, jumping up into the air and whipping around at Midoriya's crouched form against the floor, on his hands and knees as he started to scribble into another notebook. A dark aura surrounded the top of his head like a cloud, words spewing from his lips like some kind of incantation—
"Shit, Midoriya!" Fuyu said, pounding her heart to still it as she crouched down beside her classmate. "I thought ya left with everyone? What are you doing on the floor?"
"K-Kouki!" Midoriya jumped, looking just as surprised. Fuyu stared at him in disbelief. "Sorry! I didn't mean to surprise you, I was just… trying to figure out where I should start."
Midoriya ruffled the back of his head. Fuyu turned sideways, squinting and trying to make sense of his notes. "In terms of special moves, I have a few ideas… but it doesn't seem to be sitting right with me what I should be looking for…"
He turned to look at his hand, curling his fists within his glove. "Thanks to you and Merlin, the damage to my arms wasn't as bad as it should've been, but there still has to be a way to prevent that kind of damage from happening again."
You're useless on the field if you're dead weight yourself. Fuyu recalled, turning to follow Midoriya's gaze to their classmates. A torrent of ice shot outwards, licking with flames while several explosions rocked the other side of the gym. Light erupted, followed by a series of canons firing off.
"If your arms give you any problems, let me know," Fuyu said. Midoriya looked ready to protest. "I mean it." She placed a hand against her stomach. "But if you're worried about wrecking a certain part of your body, you should think of how you can compensate with another part or do something to provide it with more protection."
Midoriya looked surprised at her words. Fuyu offered him a half-smile, tapping the corner of her eyes. "I'm in a bit of a similar boat. I have to be careful moving forward 'cause I can't afford to lose over a few reckless decisions."
Things you need to do.
"Akaito," one of Ectoplasm's clones called, motioning for her to join him on top of one of the pillars. "Let's get to work."
Fuyu gave Midoriya's head a fond ruffle and he blinked, grabbing his head with a flush. She waved, jogging after Ectoplasm and gathering blood at her heels to form steps as she ran up to the make-shift mountain.
"Good luck, Deku. You've got this."
Midoriya stared after Fuyu's back, blinking slowly as he lowered his hands.
Kouki, you seem a bit…
"How did I handle fighting?" Shuzenji rolled her head to the side in thought. "Well, I put myself in positions where I didn't necessarily need to fight. I had to come to terms with the fact that my Quirk wasn't the kind suited for outright battle unless I got clever. I learned as much self-defense as I could and armed myself with a few tricks and weapons."
Fuyu took two steps back, switching her feet and steadying her stance. Ectoplasm's clone across from her readied himself, lowering close and creating more force for himself.
"If you're worried about being on the offensive, you should keep in mind that your bigger focus should be defending and helping when paired up with teams. Say, that nice young man Midoriya. He would be the offensive while you focused on helping others."
Her blood couldn't do outright bodily damage. She couldn't take the sharpened tendrils and actually pierce through skin and cause harm—the healing properties floating through them with her Quirk wouldn't allow for it. Fuyu knew this. She'd tested it out enough over and over again.
But her enemy wouldn't know that.
It didn't mean though that they couldn't be destructive. That there wasn't power behind them. Fuyu remembered the logs she'd lifted with Sora and the walls she'd managed to smash—the tree trunks that had split under the force of her bloody strikes. There was power in her blood if she learned how to use it.
"Well, of course, knowing you, I most certainly understand you've got a bit of a mean streak. You're quite the fighter yourself at heart. Wouldn't this change be a nice new challenge for you?"
Fuyu knew her most crucial role in a team would be to provide the defensive support that would ultimately help in overwhelming their enemies. There was nothing villains could do in the face of a powerful front that would never go down—not so long as Fuyu kept healing them and could protect while they pushed forward. She was the difference between life and death for those who couldn't be saved prior to the calamity.
But alone—what was her focus? If she was up against a villain all on her own, her outright instinct had always been to attack, to go on the defensive offense. If there was no one to save, no one to heal and just the enemy in front of her, she needed to be able to take them down.
"Sora? Well, his Quirk was more suited for defense and offense. There's not much… Hpmh, well, if you're so adamant about it."
The typical qualities of a healer weren't the same ones she shared, even if it would've been nicer. She wasn't gentle, not the way Naomi was. She didn't have the open warmth and kindness her mother did. Fuyu was rough. Too rough sometimes to match the kind of energy she felt she should be giving off with a Quirk like hers. But that's okay. She'd make it work. She'd create a style that matched the kind of person she was.
The kind of person I need to be.
"You've learned a fair amount with Shouta and Vlad, right? It's important to apply those teachings… what? What do you mean they only taught you defense? Well, of course defense is important! It's the greatest offense, you know. Goodness, so stubborn today…"
Blood wound up her wrists, hovering in bigger globs by her palms and snaking around her heels. Fuyu inhaled, keeping her gaze focused on Ectoplasm atop their little plateau. She slid her foot along the floor, bringing her hands forward into a fighting stance the way Aizawa showed her.
A cropping of rocks protected Ectoplasm's back and her own, almost boxing them in except for the sole gaping opening directly behind her. Fuyu felt the wind stir up behind her from the different forces colliding below and around them from all her classmates.
"If you want to go in, gun's blazing, then you need to think about techniques that work the best for you aside from just punching people a bit. No, I'm not saying that's all you do, but you're quite the rough houser. Yes, you know it."
"Try to envision the kind of image you want this move to make," Ectoplasm said. "Consider it carefully. What is the first impression people will have when they see it?"
Fuyu's blood hardened around her hands, forming misshapen gauntlets that left gaps to reveal parts of her hand. Longer tendrils extended up her arm, circling behind her neck and down the other side of her arm, hovering in the air. The blood around her ankles started to move in a constant circle, blurring together.
"Why are you so focused on all of this anyway? Get back to those books!"
I want them to be afraid.
Fuyu launched herself forward with a snarl, twisting in the air and bringing her foot down in a swift strike. Ectoplasm deftly dodged the blow, forcing himself to jump a step higher when the earth beneath him shattered under the impact, blood splattering outwards before it quickly resurged around Fuyu's leg. It shot outwards as she turned, ducking Ectoplasm's own kick and swinging her elbow out.
The blood around Fuyu's hand extended, grabbing the broken rock and swinging into Ectoplasm. The blast knocked him sideways, the rock cropping behind them trembling and Fuyu quickly rushed forward, blood tagging at her heels as she tossed herself into the air. She jerked her hands down, blood forming twin, massive picks and smashing into the spot just above Ectoplasm's head.
An entire ledge of the rock cropping broke, threatening to crash to the ground. Fuyu reached out, grabbing it with her blood and groaning with effort as she launched the weighty material toward Ectoplasm.
He ran, just ducking the projectile and quickly turning on his heel when Fuyu appeared right under the debris, eyes gleaming as she reached out with her blood like claws, snagging the corners of his coat. Her blood extended, dripping between her fingers and the bloody grip around Ectoplasm as she easily lifted him, swinging him through the air and smashing the clone up against the remaining rock cropping.
The clone crumpled, hurrying to stand. Fuyu's fist shot out, blood following the motion and smashing into the rock. A shatter lined the side and it split, raining down like an avalanche.
Fuyu waited a second, breathing close and even. She brought her blood back and it gathered around her, circling.
The rocks shuddered before they blasted outwards. Ectoplasm quickly ran toward her, kicking the boulders her way.
Fuyu brought her palms up and her blood formed a wall, catching the boulders and crushing them together as though folding them up. She wrapped her blood around the boulder, connecting it to her fingers like a tether as she swung it over her head, catching Ectoplasm in the side.
He managed to split the rock down the middle, running quickly toward her. Fuyu grinned, running to meet him. He ducked, coming close to catch her in the jaw and Fuyu turned, palm hitting the floor as she twisted and her blood licked out like a snake, catching his middle and hauling him away from her.
Fuyu twisted, jumping back onto her feet. Ectoplasm struggled against her blood and she wound another tendril around his middle, holding him in place as she guided him to the cliff of the cropping, suspending him in the air.
Ectoplasm surveyed the drop below him, turning back to her.
He nodded.
Fuyu twitched her fingers and her blood brought the clone back, lowering him onto the floor.
"That was quite the amount of enthusiasm," Ectoplasm commented dryly. Fuyu winced.
"Sorry, sensei. I didn't mean to seem like I had a vendetta or something," she moved her blood, letting it circle back up her arms and stay there. The time limit was good like this if she struck quick and fast and dirty. I waste more blood on the splatters. I have to refine the movement and hold it together better. "Sorry for getting blood on your… clone too."
"That's of no matter," Ectoplasm considered the murderous amount of blood splattered over the front of him. "Your form leaves openings for attack, but you move well. There isn't any hesitation in your strikes, good. It was smart to get the blood low and immobilize your opponent the way you did."
Ectoplasm turned his head, cracking his neck before he surveyed the destructive damage they'd just left behind. "I didn't realize the amount of destruction was possible with your Quirk. That's good to know."
Fuyu felt a small smile touch her lips and she nodded, taking his words. Ectoplasm readjusted his stance, urging her to mimic him and showing her how she could lower herself to find more center without losing her footing. Her blood wound up around her fists, circling over her head in an arch and waiting there.
"You should consider a name for this move as well," Ectoplasm said. Fuyu looked up in confusion. "When you work with your Quirk in this manner. It's different from the rest. You have it circling about. Naming the strikes will be useful as well. Like the one where you grabbed the boulder."
"Oh, got it," Fuyu said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'll think about those later?"
Ectoplasm nodded, glancing down to where Aizawa waved him down. "I'll be back. Keep practicing the movements."
His clone disappeared and Fuyu surveyed the broken rocks around her, using her blood to shift aside another heavy slab and examine the destruction.
"Jeez! What the heck was going on up there?" Fuyu blinked, peeking over the ledge and grinning when Kaminari and Kirishima waved up to her. "You almost crushed us!"
"I had it all under control!" Kirishima said, hardening his fists for emphasis. "That's pretty intense though!" Kirishima shouted up to her. "Very manly!"
"Manly? More like terrifying!" Kaminari exclaimed. "Cuter, warmer—you're supposed to be our moral support and cute nurse!"
"I'm just looking for something with a little more... destructive power," Fuyu said, watching her fingers curl into a fist. "I'll still heal ya up, don't worry."
"I worry if you're the one causing me damage in the first place!"
Fuyu grinned back down at them. "Don't worry, don't worry, I've got ya!"
"She says that with such a cute smile," Kaminari whimpered. "But can I trust it?"
"Alright, Akaito," Fuyu eagerly turned back to Ectoplasm's clone, her blood arching around her in a defensive position. "Let's start again."
Fuyu's blood hardened, striking out to form long thorns in the stretches circling around her like a series of brambles.
"You know now what you need to do."
"This training is going to be rough!" Hagakure complained, flinging what seemed to be her body into one of the dining room chairs. Tsuyu took a more polite seat beside her, rubbing out a sore spot along her neck. "I've got an idea of where to start, but how are we supposed to get ready in ten days?"
"Tell me about it!" Kaminari whined, kicking back onto the sofa. Mina lowered his head into her lap, leaning back on the couch as Sero slumped down beside them. Mineta tried to join and Mina held his forehead back with one foot. "It's exciting but it's tough!"
"That pretty much sums up most of our time here," Kirishima said. "But don't you feel pumped? This is pretty awesome!"
The first day of training had been long, Aizawa making sure they used up every last minute of their allotted time in Gym Gamma. A few of her classmates had already headed back to their rooms, the rest of them slumping around the common room and lingering for a bit before dinner was put into work.
"I say we all order take-out!" Kaminari proposed. "Are we allowed to do that?"
"I think Lunch Rush let's us place orders if we want," Ochako said thoughtfully. "But we shouldn't make a habit of it."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"I just want a nice hot bath," Jirou said, slumping against an equally exhausted Yaoyorozu. "I feel gross."
"The fruits of our labor will soon be revealed to us," Tokoyami said sagely, no longer able to move his head from the recliner.
"Deku-kun, you were having a bit of trouble out there, weren't you?" Ochako said, turning over to Midoriya. He flinched, paling at her words. "You spent a lot of time writing in your notes today!"
"Just doing some brainstorming," Midoriya said sheepishly. Todoroki was silent beside him, lingering before heading back to his own room. "I need to visit the Support Department tomorrow too and ask about upgrades for my costume…"
"Me too!" Kaminari flailed. "Ugh, I forgot about that! I want a cute third year senpai to help me out!"
"Where'd Bakugou go?" Kirishima asked Iida, turning in his seat by the table. Iida paused just before grabbing another can of orange juice, quickly swinging around to Kirishima.
"I believe Bakugou has retreated to his room for the night for a well-deserved rest before curfew—"
"If ya say it like that when he's around we'll all be in for a new roof," Fuyu mumbled in amusement, sitting by the genkan as she tugged her shoes on. "What an old man."
"Fuyu-chan, where are you going?" Ochako questioned, eyes round. "Did you forget something?"
"No," Fuyu said, standing up and checking the tightness of her shoes before she turned back to her classmates. "Just wanted to go for a quick run before I call it a night."
"A run?" Hagakure cried. "Are you crazy? Aren't you tired? Your muscles are going to get back at you!"
"Perks of the Quirk," Fuyu said. "And yeah—the weather's good right now. I'll be back in a bit."
"Nuts," Mineta said. "All of them. Nuts!"
"Don't push yourself too hard, Kouki," Midoriya said, standing up. Fuyu waved him away, grinning absently. "Make sure you get rest. I know ten days isn't a lot of time—"
"You're one to talk about working hard," Fuyu said. Midoriya urked and she grinned wider. "Don't worry, it's just a light lap. I'll be back before you know it—"
She paused at the ghost of cool air beside her, soothing out the warmth still humming on her skin from their earlier workout. Fuyu half turned, gaze even and unreadable as Todoroki stood beside her. He dropped his running shoes into the genkan, sleek white with teal accents and quietly slipped them on.
"I'll come," Todoroki said.
For a moment Fuyu bristled, some funny, instinctual thing. Todoroki's expression was complacent, calm as he watched her through the thin shifts of his bangs. The rest of their classmates watched with almost owlish expressions, Mina and Hagakure holding hands.
Her shoulders relaxed. Fuyu eyed Todoroki instead, up and down and narrowed her eyes in slight suspicion. Todoroki said nothing, standing up and waiting beside her as he moved toward the door, holding the latch.
"Is that fine?"
"…yeah," Fuyu grunted. She kept her head high, slipping out the door past Todoroki. "If ya can keep up, Roki."
Fuyu threw a wave over her shoulder and Todoroki closed the doors behind them, nodding once to their classmates.
Silence fell over the common room.
"This is it!" Hagakure cried, almost standing up on the table. Tsuyu tried to hold her down. "Moving in is finally doing it! This is it!"
"What's it?"
"At least Todoroki-kun will make sure she doesn't get into any trouble!"
"Should I put some tea on for when they get back?"
"Man, I'm hitting the showers."
"You know, you didn't have to come with me," Fuyu said offhandedly, stretching her arms over her head. Todoroki calmly pulled his arm across his chest, leaning forward and bowing his head as the two of them stood at the entrance to their dorms. "I ain't gonna get in any trouble. It's just a jog."
"I wanted to come," Todoroki said. Fuyu made a face. "Did you not want me to?"
"…no," Fuyu mumbled. "Just makin' sure you're not up to anything funny, I guess."
Todoroki calmly raised himself back to his full height. He turned, staring back at Fuyu.
"I'm not."
Fuyu blew air through her lips, rolling her eyes. She tightened her ponytail, drawing Todoroki's eyes to the soft clink of her bells before she finally took off, a light, easy run. Todoroki watched her back for a second before falling into step just behind and then running along right beside her.
Yuuei had designed the dorms so that they would all circle in a half arch, pointing right up toward the main campus. A massive garden was erected in the midst of it, decorated with benches and small spots of students to relax at their leisure. Fuyu had been thinking of doing the full lap all the way toward the school gates, but with Todoroki at her side, she decided to cool it off to just the lap around the trees on the guided path.
The air was still a bit sweltering, not yet cooling off for autumn right around the corner.
Fuyu idly matched her pace to Todoroki's, moving her arms in tandem with his. Hmph. Maybe running with someone else wasn't so bad, after all.
"What are you tryna do for your fancy moves?" Fuyu asked through puffs of breath. Todoroki turned his gaze sideways at her. "Gonna make… an ice sword?"
"…I can't make too complicated shapes," Todoroki said. "I want to master being able to regulate both sides at the same time."
"Oh, yeah?" Fuyu nudged his right side. "How's that workin' out for you?"
"…it's difficult," Todoroki said. "But I can do it."
Fuyu grinned a bit at that. She waved when they noticed Hound Dog patrolling the other side of the trees. Todoroki nodded toward him. They received a gruff set of snarls back. "You were fighting."
Fuyu raised a brow, racking her brain before she soured. "Listen, if you're talking about this morning at the elevator, it's not my fault that I forgot the other one goes to the boys' side and Hotshot got all hissy—"
"At training," Todoroki said. "Not the way you normally do. You used your fists more. When you fight all bloody like that, you look like a demon."
"Well, I dunno if you ever saw me in middle school," Fuyu said haughtily. "But I used my fists plenty. So it's nothing new to me. I just figured I need to train a little harder to make sure I can cover all my bases."
Fuyu grinned wolfishly, raising a fist while they ran. "Why? Did it scare ya?"
Todoroki's eyes flickered to her and then back forward onto the paved road ahead of them. "What else are you looking to do?"
"…what else?" Fuyu said, dropping her hands to her sides. Todoroki nodded. "I mean, that's not a bad move already. I got the steps I can make… For me, it's more of an in the moment kind of creativity I think instead of having these go-to power moves…"
"I thought the same," Todoroki said. "About myself. I could use fire and ice. But there's more to it than that. Don't limit yourself."
"Guess the ever wise Roki makes his come back," Fuyu said, aggressively rubbing the back of her neck and trying to shove the warmth crawling up her throat down. "You tryna butter me up for a favor, Roki?"
"I am."
Fuyu almost tripped over her sneakers. Todoroki grabbed her elbow. She quickly righted herself, shaking her head and pretending it didn't happen. "O-Oh, yeah?...well, like what?"
"I'll ask when it's right," Todoroki said. Fuyu made a disgruntled face. "It's not important right now."
"Now you've got me feelin' worried," Fuyu muttered. "But if you say so…" Always so damn hard to read, this guy. What am I supposed to do with information like that, huh? What's he cooking up anyway?
Fuyu blinked in realization, slowing down and turning. Todoroki had stopped just short a few feet from her, looking through the heavy tree trunks to a small patch of grass allocated for leisure, maybe for a small picnic space or stretching spot. Nestled in the crooks between the trees were dark colored flowers, maybe purple in shade, but she couldn't quite tell with the evening glow and the shadow of the trees.
"…you've got a thing for flowers lately, don't you?" Fuyu said absently, coming to stand beside Todoroki and watch the wind bob the buds. "Do you like those ones? I'm not familiar with their name."
"I don't know what they're called either," Todoroki said. His eyes were a little distant. Fuyu waited beside him, patient until he came back. "My… my mother likes them. I've seen them in her room from time to time."
"Oh," Fuyu smiled a bit at the thought. "They're pretty. She's got good taste. Probably better than yours."
Todoroki's lip quirked up briefly at the corner. Fuyu's eyes softened at the sight of the flowers, fingers twitching at her sides at the thought of them before she shoved her hands into her pockets instead, deciding not to think about bamboo screens and two children watching weeds grow between the cracks of rocks.
"I wanted to ask her more about her Quirk," Todoroki said, voice cool, a little quiet. Fuyu turned to look up at him. "How she used it. What she thought… but every time I think about saying something, it feels like I shouldn't."
His fingers reached up for the side of his face. They touched the scarred skin, drifting up to his hairline. "I feel like I shouldn't talk about Quirks with her."
"…if it's you, I don't really think she'd mind."
Todoroki looked at her.
"Just you though, you know?" Fuyu shrugged. "Cause she's your mom… I think she'd be happy if you came to her, asking for help. She'd probably like it cause you don't come to her for help often, right? Mom's just seem like they're into that kind of thing from time to time, especially with kids who are too grown up for their own good."
Fuyu squatted down beside the bars the outlined the grass area. She picked up a twig, running it back and forth across the slots. "But if you're really worried about talking to her, you should ask one of the teacher's if they can get you in touch with an upperclassman with a similar Quirk. I haven't really seen any or know anyone, but elementals always seem to pop up when ya least expect and cause a ruckus, so maybe you'll get lucky."
"That's good advice," Todoroki said.
"Try sayin' it like that again and I'll sock ya," Fuyu threatened, waving her twig at him. "Don't pretend I can't hear the surprise in your voice! You're asking me for help so I'm giving you some good bits, okay?"
"I know," Todoroki said earnestly, staring her down. "I'm thankful."
"Gah!" Fuyu tossed her twig aside, starting to run again. Todoroki followed right behind her. "I just know what it's like to wanna ask someone about your Quirk and getting stumped, alright? It sucks when you don't have help, but you just have to get creative with it."
Sora and Shuzenji are more help than that piece of shit would ever be anyway. Fuyu thought darkly. More help for sure. Leagues. I don't need his bullshit.
She only wished she could've asked her mother more about theirs.
"But it just seems like a good opportunity," Fuyu said roughly. "So you should take it."
They rounded a corner together. Fuyu did a little hop over one of the benches, running over the top and jumping off the other side. She almost floundered in surprise when a small ice ramp appeared beneath her feet, gliding her off with a gentle skid. Fuyu turned to a complacent Todoroki.
"Thank you, Kouki."
Fuyu made a disgruntled face, rocking back on her heels a bit before a small grin curled over her lips, easing up. Todoroki watched her. "Should we make a habit of this?"
Todoroki wordlessly nodded. Fuyu laughed, shaking her head.
"Hey, what a coincidence."
Smoke started to pile up in the ceiling from the miniature explosion that rocketed off his palms. Bakugou's lips curled back into a disgusted sneer, head pulling back as though to look down on him while he bared his teeth.
"It's not a fucking coincidence, First Aid. You losers are crowding the stupid hallway!"
Todoroki was impassive beside her. "Isn't that a coincidence?"
"Shut up, Icy Hot! It's already a bitch that Apples is here, but now you are too?"
"Yeah," Fuyu said, knowing full well what she was getting into. "That's a coincidence."
Bakugou let out a burst of cackling explosions across his fingertips. Fuyu grinned, coming to stand beside him regardless with Todoroki in tow. The two of them had been just about the visit the Support Department when she'd spotted Bakugou's tell-tale hair right in front of the work bay doors.
"I only came at this fucking time because no one else was here!" Bakugou snarled, jostling shoulders with her. Fuyu paid him no mind, sandwiched between her two classmates as they waited for the doors to open. "Go back and wait your turn!"
"We can all visit together," Fuyu said. "There's plenty of room."
"That's not what I said, Apples!"
"What are you looking to do to your costume, Bakugou?" Todoroki asked. "I didn't realize there was more you could do to it."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Half-n-half?"
"He means he thought your costume was one-note."
"I don't want to hear that from the walking first aid kit! And Half-n-half's costume is the fucking one note one, not mine!"
"Yeah, Roki, what are you gonna do to your costume?"
"Install thermal regulators to help aid the temperature distribution between my sides," Todoroki nodded to his feet. "And adjust the grip on the soles of my boots for sturdier picks in the ice."
"Oh… well, huh, I guess that makes sense."
"Of course, it makes fucking sense, he should've thought of it in the first place so he wouldn't have to fucking change it again!"
"My first design was meant to leave me without a need to use the other half of my Quirk," Todoroki said. "I've remedied that."
"We fucking know, you dipshit!"
"I kind of wanted to avoid this part, but Shuzenji-sensei's been really on me about getting it done," Fuyu said. "Guess it can't be helped. Hopefully they ain't too weird."
"Don't fucking procrastinate—"
"If the three of you are going to keep arguing outside our door, we're going to have to ask you to leave," an older student from the Support Course made a face, looking at them from the now opened door—one they hadn't noticed in the midst of their back and forth conversation. "It's a bit distracting."
"Then why didn't you just tell us to shut up?" Bakugou snapped.
"We won't be long," Todoroki said.
"Thanks for having us," Fuyu added.
The third year didn't look convinced, opening the door wider and ushering them in. "You guys are part of the early crew getting a start on upgrading their costumes. Congrats."
"Because we know what we need to do to stay ahead," Bakugou snarled. "Now who the fuck do I need to go to to get shit done?"
"That would be—me!"
The massive metal door leading to who-knew-where burst open to their right. Fuyu squinted against the smoke that came piling out, little sparks and fizzes coming from somewhere deep inside the mess. Bakugou scowled, waving aggressively at the smoke while Todoroki calmly wafted it aside, the three of them watching as a familiar head of pink came creeping out from the mess, covered in soot and oil and… something.
Fuyu and Todoroki took one step back. Bakugou clamped his teeth at the smoke.
"Mei, you're hogging all the first years!" someone shouted from inside. "Split the work!"
"I have special dibs on these ones!" Hatsume Mei shouted back, waving her hands through the smoke before she pulled out a small steel box and hit a switch. A powerful fan whirred to life, pushing the smoke out towards the hallways. Someone shouted for someone else to open one of the windows before they got in trouble. "They're going to make big money; you have to start early!"
"This freak," Bakugou muttered.
Fuyu's eyes flickered to life, glancing back and forth between Todoroki and Hatsume. "Hey, wait, you two are pretty acquainted with each other, ain't ya?"
Todoroki's brows creased. Bakugou looked skeptical while Hatsume simply continued to beam. "Back when we were moving in and you went to the forest—"
"Oh, yes, that!" Hatsume said loudly. "He was a big help! What a fine specimen indeed! His Quirk isn't very special because it's simple at the end of the day, but he's got a good pedigree and that helps plenty when I plan to work more with building materials that will—"
Todoroki narrowed his eyes. Bakugou looked ready to bust a gut.
"But no more about that—you're all here today to sample some of my fine babies, aren't you?" Hatsume said eagerly, eyes shining as she scrutinized all three of them. "You can't hide from that! What can I do for you? Where can I start? Would you like to try on this new suit I built that will allow you fly and—"
"Everything in this fucking thing," Bakugou said flatly, tossing a semi-charred file onto a worktable. One of the students opened it up, skimming through the contents. "It's already been approved. That's it."
"Hotshot you… already had plans for your upgrades?" Fuyu said in disbelief, jaw going a bit slack. Bakugou snorted. "What the hell is up with you?"
"You don't?" Bakugou sneered. "I've already been thinking about what I need to approve from day one."
Bakugou sat back onto a bench, tossing one leg over the other and baring his teeth in a snarl at the world. "I don't have room for weaknesses."
I know what you mean.
"As expected of Bakugou."
"What was that, Half-n-half?"
"Well, that's an easy client to work with!" Hatsume said, whirling around on the remaining two. "Now what about you? What can I do for you, hmm? I've been dying to get my hands on you since I saw you at the sports festival."
"Me?" Fuyu said, pointing to herself. "Well, I've got a few requests Recovery Girl helped me go over… wait, what did you just say?"
"Here, come with me!" Hatsume grabbed Fuyu's hand, hauling her into the room she'd just crawled out of. Fuyu made a face, balking by the door until Hatsume hauled her through the rest of the way and shut the metal door behind them. "A little privacy never hurt anyone! Now, go on, tell me what your heart desires!"
"Uh, give me a second," Fuyu said, briefly scanning the room as she steadied herself on one of the tables. Mountains of gadgets and gears cluttered the entire space, piling high to the top. It was impressive in its own right. These guys really live in their own world. "You live here?"
"Basically!" Hatsume said, eagerly pressing her gloved fingertips together as she eyed Fuyu up and down. "I wanted to make sure I got special dibs on working with you. There's a booming market for Quirks of your caliber, and it's the peerrrrfect chance to break into the medical engineering industry."
That doesn't sound whack at all. Fuyu pushed her hair over the top of her head. "I don't know how much I'll be able to help you with that, but I'll do my best."
"We'll both do our best!" Hatsume said, almost panting eagerly. "Now what can I do for you? The more specific, the better! I can tailor to any and all clientele and if you promise to promote my babies then—"
"I just got a few things," Fuyu said flatly, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. Hatsume pressed a button and a chair shot out from her belt, unfolding and rapidly expanding until it settled. A hissing sound filled the room and Fuyu stared at it until Hatsume kicked it away with a grin, pulling a stool over instead.
"…The first thing I need is convenient containers for my blood," Fuyu said, ticking off what she Shuzenji talked about and the advice Sora had given her. "In proper storage units, it can last longer and when I know I'm going on missions ahead of time, I can have a supply readied for when I leave or on backup in case of emergency I regularly replenish on a daily basis."
"I see!" Hatsume said. "I've built a fridge once; I'll see what I can do! I'll make it sleek and compatible with your design—are you adverse to carrying something on your back like a mini fridge?"
"…preferably not," Fuyu said. "I'd like to keep my back free for more equipment or space for my blood. I'd like to reinforce the sturdiness of my first aid cases too and what's inside them. I have a list of supplies… I want them to be able to survive almost any kind of fall or fire…"
Fuyu turned her head back to the steel metal door locking them inside, thinking of the two waiting out there.
Fuyu's eyes brightened. "And speaking of fire—you think there's a way you could a kind of flame-retardant fabric for my clothes? It might be a lot to ask, but if it could be good for clotting, that'd be perfect too."
"Flame proof and capable of first aid…" Hatsume's head tilted back and forth before she snapped her fingers. "Sounds like a challenge! I like it! That kind of material will sell for big bucks!"
"I tend to be around people who are a little flammable," Fuyu said. "So that'll help. I'd prefer to keep my design as similar as you can, but if the adjustments you need to make call for anything else, let me know."
"Your costume right now is predominantly white, right?" Hatsume said. "Did you want to do a color change?"
Fuyu opened her mouth to refuse. The words couldn't come out.
White, huh?
"…no," Fuyu managed. "No… I'll keep white for now. Thanks though."
"No problem! Dully noted," Hatsume started to scribble a storm of notes onto a pad of paper. "What's next?"
"That's mostly it," Fuyu said conversationally. Hatsume looked horrified. "Oh, something similar to how this ring functions, actually." She showed Hatsume the one on her finger. "I normally use it to access my blood or one of the short knives I keep on my costume, but something that could cut on a bigger scale would be good—something I could keep on my arms to kind of reinforce armor too."
"I'll pull of Vlad King's design and get some notes on that!" Hatsume said fervently. "I like the way this sounds—do you want something that will gush blood more or are we looking for a spray like a hose?"
"…neither of those, preferably."
"Got it! Keep it going! We're just cracking the surface, baby!"
Fuyu leaned back in her chair, shaking her head. "I really think that's just about it. I know we've got some hurdles to go through to get some of this approved, so it should be fine."
"That's it?" Hatsume cried, shaking her notepad. "These are great projects—I love them! But there has to be more! Anything your heart desires! I could build you a suit to help you fly or something that turn into armor or we could create a portable hose that will spread your blood faster or—"
"I think I'll have to pass."
"But this can't be it!" Hatsume wailed.
I've always been a little curious… Fuyu's eyes flickered briefly, glancing down to Hatsume's chest before they glowed red. Yeah, that makes sense.
Hatsume's string was thick—like a tightly braided cord. It was dark red in color, thin strands curling out from wear and tear, but it didn't look frayed—it was one of the most solid strings Fuyu'd seen in a little while. You've got a strong personality and a strong heart, huh?
"That!" Fuyu shouted in surprise, stumbling out of her chair when Hatsume almost went tumbling right for her. Hatsume grunted, landing flat on the floor and looking up at her with shining eyes. "That! What about that! Don't you want to do something with that?"
"My eyes?" Fuyu shouted, stepping onto a table to keep away from Hatsume's grabbing hands. "The hell do you want with my eyes?"
"The eyes!" Hatsume said feverishly. "We could build goggles or shades—would you like to project them on a screen? Make them bigger? Adjust the glow to work like a flashlight? Does it even work like that?"
Fuyu lowered her guard a bit, starting to understand what Hatsume was trying to get at. Her expression turned pensive, eyes flickering to the side. Fuyu's fingers touched the corners, pressing there.
"…no," Fuyu said. "We should…leave 'em alone. My eyes are a bit sensitive to damage because of my Quirk, so I've got to train them a bit."
Fuyu offered her a wry smile. "They're the best thing about me, ya know?"
I wouldn't be anything special without them.
"I HAVEN'T THOUGHT OF A NAME YET!"
Fuyu whirled around, nearly spilling the black tea lemonade out of her bottle. Kaminari was agonizing on the floor with his head in his hands. She made a face at him, looking bewildered while Mineta rubbed his back, nose in the air. Tokoyami stood beside her, raising a brow.
"For what?" Fuyu asked suspiciously. "You get a new pet or something?"
"No!" Kaminari cried, looking up at her, hands dragging his face down further. "For my special move! My ultimate powered, super special move! It doesn't have a name yet and it's just getting so good—what am I supposed to do now?"
"Oh, Kaminari," Mineta sighed, tutting with his finger. "You should've thought this through. I have a whole arsenal of names waiting to be used for my moves… I want for nothing."
"I get it, okay?" Kaminari wailed. "You've got a bunch of weird names for your weird moves, leave me alone!"
"Weird?"
"The name doesn't even matter that much," Fuyu said, walking over to Kaminari and helping him up. His lip wobbled at her in a whimper. "Who cares what you say when you're kicking someone's ass? Just say—eat shit! Or somethin'."
"You sound like Bakugou!" Kaminari cried. Fuyu made a face, pressing her knuckles to her lips. That did sound like Bakugou. "The move needs to have a name! It's the best part of having a move!"
"I can see where this is a dilemma," Tokoyami said. "What have you tried?"
"Zap Zap Zoom, uh… Spark Guns… and… Electro Disc?"
Tokoyami made a face.
"It's not like we're gonna be graded on them," Fuyu said. "Just call it whatever you want."
"Actually," Midnight called over. "You are! It's a small part of a grade, obviously, but you have to take it just as seriously! The way someone feels when they hear that familiar cry of justice—it's very important."
Fuyu turned ashen.
"Hah!" Kaminari said. "You don't have a name for your move yet either, do you? You're in the same boat as me! Underachievers have to stick together!"
"W-Who the hell cares about shit like that?" Fuyu snapped, stomping over to her usual training spot. "Just call it whatever ya want!"
"One second, Akaito."
Fuyu planted her feet, immediately halting in her steps. Tokoyami pressed the edge of his cloak to his beak, stifling his laughter. She shot him a dirty look and he went on ahead of her, Dark Shadow waving to her from behind. Fuyu creakily turned her body, offering Aizawa a quaint grin. "What is it, Zawa-sensei?"
"Ectoplasm won't be helping you today," Aizawa said. "Pick a spot. You'll be doing some self-training."
"…. alright," Fuyu said, blinking in faint surprise. "'s no problem. If you need anything—"
"I don't want you performing your punching and kicking barrage," Aizawa added. Fuyu froze. "You've been doing that non-stop for the past few days. It's time to change it up."
"Change it up?" Fuyu said. "I've hardly improved. I still need to—"
"Today I want you to focus on strengthening the other aspects of your Quirk," Aizawa said. Fuyu opened her mouth to protest. "I don't want to hear it. That's an order. You've been homing in on your physical fighting style, but Ectoplasm says you've already improved. You can't slack out on this."
No fighting? Fuyu rubbed her head. No fighting? What the heck is that all about? I thought my training was going well, so why would I stop? He wants me to do something other than healing people? That's all I do! Heal and punch! What else does he expect from me?
"I'm not slacking off," Fuyu mumbled. "I'm just trying to get good at more than one thing… besides, what do you want me to do? Heal everyone? I already do that at the end of my sessions for added practice—"
"Think about it," Aizawa said flatly, turning away from her. Fuyu's jaw dropped in disbelief. "No fighting. Now go."
Fuyu held back a groan, slapping her hands over her face.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, sir!"
He said do this alone, but where the hell am I even supposed to start?
Fuyu sat down cross-legged atop her Cementoss-made rock cliff, watching her fellow classmates down below.
To her right, a massive explosion bounced off into the ceiling. She briefly glanced up, picking through the debris and smoke until she spotted Bakugou charging through his destruction. His eyes snapped over to her through the dark gray clouds and she offered him a wave.
Bakugou scoffed, blasting off and skidded to a stop onto the rock beside her. Fuyu blinked in surprise, idly waving the dust and smoke away. "The fuck you lounging around for, Apples?"
"I'm not lounging, trying to think," Fuyu said. Bakugou snorted. She ignored him. "Zawa-sensei says I've got to switch it up today. Guess he thinks I've been focusing too much on one thing, but isn't that the point of this whole training?"
"Guess he's gotten sick of all your shitty punching and kicking," Bakugou said. Was it that obvious? "Probably on your way to becoming a one-trick pony."
"Not true," Fuyu muttered. Bakugou raised a defiant brow at her. "I still do all the other stuff. Just trying to broaden my horizons… I can't heal my opponents to death."
"But you fucking can," Bakugou said. Fuyu looked up at him. "Can't you? You could turn that shit backwards on them."
Oh.
"No, I don't do that," Fuyu said, turning away. Bakugou watched the side of her face, lips set in that ever present scowl. "It's… a personal choice kind of thing. It gets dangerous anyways, so it's better not too."
Fuyu sighed, flopping down onto her side. Bakugou scoffed, unimpressed. "Does he want me to use my blood more? Get more creative maybe? Should I lift some rocks like Sora and just…"
"Good luck figuring it out, dumbass," Bakugou said. Fuyu grunted back at him. "Keep taking your time and you won't see what it looks like from the top."
Fuyu turned around, but Bakugou was already shooting off, lunging toward the next alcove with a war cry as he came for Ectoplasm's next clone. Fuyu watched his back, idly assessing the mild strain he was carrying off his arms. When he pushes himself too much, I'll step in.
See it from the top, huh? Fuyu sighed, sitting back up and surveying everything from her spot above everyone else. Throwing metaphors at me now?
Everyone was stretched out into reasonably far distances aside from those who were testing moves off each other. Todoroki being on his own to push the extent of his ice and fire made about as much sense as Mina in the corner shooting her acid. Fuyu turned over the heads and spotted Aoyama's flowing cape as he shot off into a wall, nearly falling onto his knees.
They're a good distance but they're not too far. Fuyu leaned over the edge of the rock alcove, trying to gauge the distance between herself and her furthest classmate. Iida at the far corner running that lap right now?
"You can't put too much strain on your eyes without properly exercising them," Shuzenji said, Sora beside her as they watched a doctor shine a light into Fuyu's eyes, her body laid out on the hospital bed. "Since they have a direct correlation with your Quirk. You should practice having it on without actively using it. That should help the adjustment."
Ochako was already starting to look nauseous from where she was floating herself and multiple projectiles up into the air. Tsuyu was a few feet from her, helping guide rocks to another spot. From here I can go and find each of them one at a time and help heal injuries. Should I stop and try to manually do this from time to time to keep my training going while I use my blood on a more physical level too? Trying to dually use my Quirks and get my eyes used to the strain so what happened at the camp doesn't happen again…
All their strings started to float up into the air, Fuyu turned behind her, noticing everyone else's come into view as well. She took little time, picking out all the individual traits that had started to become so apparent to each of their strings. Midoriya's working it over there. Ah, I found Hagakure and…
Fuyu sat up straighter. She turned in a full circle, picking out everyone's string.
She could see it all from here.
Fuyu froze, blinking rapidly. She rubbed her eyes.
Oh. That's it.
Huh. Maybe punching and healing wasn't all she could do.
Next Chapter:
The choices we make are not ones that define us in a moment. Though they can be ones to define us for a lifetime. What is strength? For him, for her, for them—
"Alright, it's time for some fucking school spirit. Let's kick some ass!"
WE FINALLLYYYY HAVE AN UPDATEEE YAHOOOOOO. Thank you all as always for waiting, I hope the chapter was a nice one! I'm excited to finally get into Fuyu's moves and her skillsets a bit, we've got some stuff cooking up I don't intend to reveal just yet, but I think you've all got your own brains cooking about what we're looking for ;)
I hope all of you are still safe and well during the entire year of madness 2020 has been. Please take care of yourselves and stay healthy. For my fellow Californians, I sincerely and deeply hope you're all safe and alright during all these fires, stay hydrated and be careful! I've been lucky enough not get stuck in the heat of anything but we've definitely felt it in the air quality, oof. Hope you're all doing great or even better than that.
I think I might've answered it here before but just to do it again, we'll have special chapters for the movies! I'm not sure when, but I know I at least wanted to get to Two Heroes soon since it's been out for some time now and I had ideas for it, just didn't finish writing XD those will be coming soon under popular request, as long with some other goods.
Don't forget to check out my tumblr at alkhale for more OHBAB goods! I answers asks and throw tidbits in about the story here and there or write snippets for AUs, and there's also SO. MUCH. GOOD. FANART. PLEASE. CHECK OUT ALL THE GOOD FANART. Thank you all so much for reading and for all your support and love!
AND COSTUME UPGRADES. What will the names for Fuyu's new move/moves be? Will she ever think of good ones? Stay tuned to find out!
Thanks for reading!
Marshmellow-
-OUT!
