A/N:
I just powered right on through this chapter right after finishing the first. I am still LOVING writing this story and I can't wait to continue it. The next couple chapters will be a little more time-skippy, but I wanted to make sure I provided some good setup and history for our cast.
Anyway, enjoy!
Ch 2: Conflict Management
To Hatsume's credit, she managed to work through the night without waking up her guest. Tinkering and building the framework until nearly six in the morning when she hopped into the shower to get ready for the new school day.
When Dax awoke to the sound of the water running, she found herself neatly tucked in on the bed by a couple blankets she didn't remember covering herself with. "Hatsume must have tucked me in last night… That's sweet… More sweet than I expected from her." She looked over at the workbench where her phone lay charging off of Mei's charger. She smiled to herself, shaking her head. "I suppose I did forget to mention that I can usually recharge my phone by just leaving it interfaced for a while, again. Sweet…"
She stood and stretched, looking at the thin metal frame laying on top of the drafting paper. She picked it up and smiled. It wasn't dainty or refined… Hell it looked to be crafted from repurposed scrap metal and, guessing by the materials they had on hand, it probably was. She was drawn from her thoughts when she heard a noise in the direction of the small bathroom. She turned her head and her face flushed a deep crimson, eyes bugging out at the sight of Mei in only a towel walking toward her. Her long pink hair flattened down to her body as she cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"Something wrong?... Oh don't forget to shower! We have to leave soon or we'll be late!" Her crosshairs locked in on the frame in Dax's hand and she smiled proudly, pointing toward it. "Oh! Do you like it? I know it's rough, but that's just the prototype frame! We'll find something more flashy when we build the final product!"
Dax nodded dumbly, gently setting the frame down and walking clumsily past Mei. "Th-thanks for letting me s-stay here. I appreciate it. Gonna get in the shower… Don't wanna be late on the second day. Nice towel." She hurried inside and shut the door, locking it and leaning against it. "Nice towel? What the hell, Daxie…"
She shook her head and undressed, stepping into the shower and pulling the curtain closed as she turned on the steamy water. After a few minutes she started to slowly ease the temperature lower and lower, hoping to calm her nerves and her currently overactive mind.
The day progressed fairly smoothly. She got into the school network and added credit to her lunch account so she'd actually be able to eat that day. Ms Goto seemed nice and she was even willing to write an exemption to the tie rule for Dax, citing the difficulty in tying a tie one handed.
She still had nowhere to sit when lunch came about though, as she didn't see any sign of Hatsume in the cafeteria. She headed back out to the courtyard again, balancing her tray on her hand as she walked. She sat down on the same bench after brushing away a few stray petals from the nearby trees. She crossed her legs and cradled the noodle cup she'd purchased in her lap, using her chopsticks to bring the steamy noodles up to her lips and blowing gently over them.
She managed to get maybe halfway through her food when she heard footsteps approaching and looked up, quickly slurping up the bite of noodles she had just taken as a group of girls walked toward her. They looked like some of the girls from her homeroom, but she couldn't remember their names. Partly because they had not directly introduced themselves to her.
The trio of girls broke from their conversation when they noticed her. Sneering as they approached. One of them, the leader by the way she carried herself, stepped right up to her and put one foot up on the bench, reaching out and smacking Dax lightly on her remaining right limb, eliciting a wince and slight gasp from the seated student.
"Well well well! If it isn't the new girl! Adjusting well? I know it must be difficult being like, less than a full woman and all." She smirked, glaring daggers down at Dax as the girls behind her giggled. One of them, a tall girl with bright red hair and two tiny horns protruding from her forehead brought out her phone, getting ready to record what she was sure would be a good show.
Dax returned the glare, setting her food back on the tray. "It's not so bad. Made a new friend already." She tried to keep her tone calm. She could probably take these girls if they decided to get physical, but she still had never fought since losing her arm. She'd not even had time to practice her martial arts since being released from the hospital. "Hopefully, it doesn't come to that."
The girl's smirk turned to a frown as she scowled at Dax. She reached down, roughly grabbing Dax's remaining limb and yanking her up off the bench. Dax yelped in pain, the scar tissue still sensitive even after six months of healing. She yanked herself free, striking her best combat stance with her left arm forward and a death glare in her eyes.
Instead of the intimidation she had been hoping for, the girls seemed amused. The leader gave her a dismissive wave as she looked back at the other two, laughter in her voice. "Oh ho ho! We got a fighter girls… Let's see if this broken bitch can take the heat."
With that the leader's hands both erupted in flame. Her skin turning bright white with the heat as she slashed at Dax with her right hand. The brunette jumped backward, easily avoiding the attack. She'd had years of combat and athletics training and judging by that initial attack alone, this girl was inexperienced outside the realm of being the school bully. Dax found herself grinning as she pulled out her phone and slapped it to her thigh, the phone sinking into her and boosting her mental processing speed.
The girls gave her a confused look before going back to cheering on their leader.
"Come on, Reina! Show this bitch she doesn't belong at Futaba!"
"Yeah! Kick her crippled ass!"
Dax winced at the words, but didn't let them distract her. She was preparing for a one hit end to this fight. She wouldn't need to put in too much work to beat some school bully, not after what she had already been through in her life. When the girl, Reina apparently, lunged at her again, she hopped back further. Hopping back again and again to dodge attacks as she slowly worked her way back to the wall of the school. When she realized it was just a short distance behind her, Reina spoke up, laughing with a cocky smirk.
"Nowhere to run! It's time for some fried freak!"
As she lunged forward Dax bent her knees and jumped backwards with a spin, kicking the wall and flipping in the air over Reina's head.
"Fried freak huh? You think you're so big and bad because you're picking on a new girl? Worse yet a new girl with one arm? You think picking on someone weaker makes you seem strong?"
She landed on her feet, bracing herself with her hand in a crouch before rushing the still-stunned bully.
"Well I've got news for you! Only a weakling would need to pick on a one-armed girl to feel strong! So I think it's time you learned your place!"
She did an off-center cartwheel and tossed herself into the air again, swinging her left leg with all the power she could put behind it and slamming her foot into the girl's ribs.
Reina lost her balance, falling to the side into a bush and holding her ribs like she expected her organs to come flowing out if she didn't. She howled in pain, looking at her two friends for help. After a moment, they hurried over and picked her up, casting wary glances at Dax as they helped her inside.
"Come on, let's go see the nurse…"
"That bitch is gonna pay for this!"
Dax sighed, straightening her uniform and making her way back to her tray. Apparently while she was busy dealing with Reina, the other girls had decided to pick her remaining food dry, leaving her with nothing to eat. She shook her head and picked up the tray, heading back inside to drop it off before going back to the classroom early.
"Not much point in staying out here."
Dax entered the classroom and immediately regretted it. "Oh. So this is where he goes for lunch…" It was the boy from the previous day. The quiet one who seemed devoid of emotion. He was sitting by the windows overlooking the courtyard and currently his deer-like eyes were locked on her again. "I wonder if he saw all that…"
She approached cautiously, hoping to figure a little more out about the boy. He seemed like a loner, an outsider. Kinda like her. Maybe they could connect over that? She offered her hand, giving a slight smile. "We um… Never really got introduced… Malcor Dax. I just moved to Musutafu over the break."
He hesitated, cocking his head to the side for a moment before accepting her offered hand and shaking it briefly. "Kaldash Jason" he replied. Gesturing toward the window with a tilt of the head he added "You have training. Be careful though. Those three hold grudges. Watch your back." It was the same robotic tone he'd had the day before, but she could swear she sensed some level of compassion from him at the offered advice.
She nodded, noting to herself as she met his gaze that his eyes were a similar brown to her own, though she would have sworn they looked different the day before. She shrugged, waving her hand dismissively. "They're untrained jerks. If they come at me, I can handle them. Besides, I think I took that Reina girl out of the fight for a while."
She sat down on top of the desk in front of him, crossing her legs to keep her modesty as she looked down at Kaldash with a friendly smile. "So… why do you eat by yourself up here? Haven't you been in this school system for a long time? Or are you new like me?"
The boy had gone back to eating until she asked her question, drawing his attention again. She noticed him blush as she sat in front of him, bringing a slight tint to her own cheeks as well. She focused in on his eyes though. Seeing them shift from brown to black and to green. "Maybe part of his quirk?" she mused.
"Because I like being alone," he said dismissively. She went from feeling slightly awkward but still confident to feeling like she'd just crashed a funeral. She slipped off the desk, blushing a bit harder in embarrassment. "Oh um… sorry… I didn't um… I'll go. Sorry."
She paused on her way to the door when she heard him stand up, turning to see him staggering toward the other door to the classroom. "It's fine I... Sorry" he muttered, barely keeping on his feet. It was like he was trying to carry too much weight and he could topple at any moment.
She hurried to his side, lifting his right arm to put it over her shoulder so she could help him walk, bracing his waist with her left arm. "Hey what's up? You're pale and you are barely staying upright. Let's get you to the nurse, okay?" The concern was evident in her voice. Maybe she hadn't exactly made a friend just now, but she'd be damned if that was going to stop her from helping someone in need.
The boy shook his head, looking paler by the second. "Field," he said, like the effort of speaking was too much for him. "I'm fine. Let go. I just go to field." She shook her head, not releasing her grip on him as she started to lead him toward the infirmary. "You don't want the rumors" he added, still not convincing her.
"Screw the rumors. It's not like I'm popular around here to begin with, ya know. Now come on, Kaldash-san. It's not even that far." She marched them down the hall, her worry not abating in the slightest until she saw the little red cross on the door to the nurse's office. Then something else crept into her mind, anxiety. She had just sent the class bully to this same office with a flying kick, after all.
The boy cut into her thoughts as he spoke. "I'm here. Go. Won't they be here?" He had a point. And she'd really rather not directly deal with having sent classmates to the nurse on her second day. She propped him up against the wall, nodding. "If you're sure… Take care, Kaldash-san!"
She hurried off back to the classroom, letting out a sigh as she found her seat to wait out the rest of lunch. To her surprise Hatsume soon joined her and she smiled up at the inventor, turning in her seat to face her.
"Hey Hatsume-chan! Where were you? I looked for you at lunch and didn't see you anywhere so I eventually ended up in here with Kaldash-san until he had to go to the nurse."
Mei looked at her like bats were flying out of her ears. For a moment she didn't speak and Dax was glad she had left her phone interfaced with her thigh because, if the almost audible spinning of Mei's mental gears was a sign, she was about to have a word explosion to process.
And right she was.
"Wait Kaldash-san? As in Kaldash Jason? You actually talked to him? He never talks to anyone! Did he approach you? No, stupid question. You actually approached him? He didn't run away? Wow! Impressive! Either you're such an emotionless woman that he can easily stand to be near you or you're so emotional that you paralyze the guy! Probably emotional. I mean you did do a tomato impression for me this morning when I gave you the shower…"
Dax blushed at the memory as she nodded, clearing her throat and reaching up to toy with her braid only to remember she no longer had it. "First thing I'm doing when I get my new arm is growing my hair out again…"
"Y-yeah um… Well I came up here after I got in a fight with Reina-san and he was here and we talked for a minute until he got all pale and was stumbling toward the door so I took him to the infirmary... " She paused, looking back at Hatsume and meeting the woman's crosshairs with her own brown eyes. "Wait did you say I paralyzed him? What do you mean? Is it his quirk or something?"
Hatsume nodded, smirking a bit as her irises spun, zooming in on Dax's face yet again. "Oh yeah! He calls it feedie backsie or something. I don't really remember. Didn't help much with technology and making my babies so I didn't put too much thought into it when I found out. Apparently he sucks up other people's emotions and stores them like a big ol' battery or something. If it's too much he loses control. That's how I met Power Loader in Jr High!"
Dax blinked, cocking her head to the side. "W-wait what? What does his quirk have to do with you meeting Power Loader?" Confused was too light a word for what was happening in Dax's brain at the moment.
"OH! That's because of the incident! He lost control during gym class once and got like, the entire school overly emotional by manipulating us all into a giant anxious, screaming mob! It was absolutely horrible! The teachers couldn't even control things so a bunch of pro-heroes showed up! I got to hang out with Power Loader and show him designs for my babies! He even said he'd write me a recommendation letter when I graduate from Futaba to go to UA for the support course!"
Dax bit her lip, feeling terrible. "So it's my fault the poor guy needed to go to the infirmary… Great. Way to go, Daxie. You sent two to the nurse on the second day." She sighed, looking down at the floor and getting lost in thought before she was suddenly shaken by her good shoulder, a wide-eyed Mei staring her down.
"Also wait you fought Reina?!"
The rest of the week passed quickly. Reina and her goons giving Dax a wide berth, Kaldash did his best to avoid her, which no longer really offended her, considering his quirk and the lingering emotions she knew she harbored regarding her past. Hatsume had dragged her back to her shop a couple times, but no more nights were spent on that thin cot the pinkette called a bed.
Finally though, the weekend came and with it, to Dax's surprise, a trip to the beach of all places. She was confused as she read and re-read the text she'd received from Hatsume.
H. Mei: "Meet me at Dagobah Municipal Beach! We need some parts!"
M. Dax: "Sure when?"
H. Mei: "Now!"
She quickly got dressed in some casual clothing, sporting a T-Shirt with a depiction of Mt. Fuji she had picked up on her way from her home city to Musutafu and a pair of exercise shorts. It had been oddly warm the whole week and she wasn't interested in wearing a skirt for a sixth day in a row. Grabbing her purse and tossing it over her shoulder, she headed out, interfacing her phone into her leg to utilize it's GPS without having to hold it.
When she arrived at the beach, if you could even call this dump a beach, she double-checked the GPS to make sure she hadn't taken a wrong turn. Then she spotted the familiar mop of pink hair wading around some of the heaped up garbage, currently examining what appeared to be an old PC tower. When Mei spotted her, she gave a wave, beckoning Dax to come down.
"Guess it's a good thing I didn't wear sandals… This place is only a beach by technicality. More like Dagobah Municipal Scrapyard…"
She waded through the scrap and refuse, regretting her choice to wear shorts as she shuffled up next to Mei, raising an eyebrow. "So uh… This is where you get your parts from? And you want me to interface with something made out of this stuff?..." She gave the pinkette an incredulous look, hoping she was mistaken.
She was not.
Mei nodded excitedly, holding up the computer tower. "Exactly! It's great for getting free parts! Don't worry, we'll buy what we use for the final product, but you gotta do what you gotta do for the prototype, right? Hey can you interface with this and tell me how much of it is working? I need some parts from it, but I don't have the ability to test it out here."
Dax hesitated for a moment but eventually gave in, her fingers easily phasing into the input ports on the back of the tower. She tried to boot the computer and found it responsive. No operating system, nor SSD for that matter, but the thing was overall functional. She sighed as she felt herself grow a little tired, pulling her fingers out and plopping down on a discarded bench.
Mei gave her a curious look, seeing the tiredness that suddenly overtook her. "Well does it work? Also are you okay? Does your quirk tire you out? No you didn't have a problem with your phone before. Maybe it does work better on phones. No wait is it about power? Oh! I bet you can power things yourself but it's like really draining, right? So it's better if the device has its own power supply?"
Dax nodded, again surprised by Mei's ability to arrive at the correct answer through sheer brute force of rambling. "Y-yeah… like I could put on a watch with no battery and power it forever because my body produces energy quicker than the watch can consume it. With that computer though, it took like… 750 watts? I don't remember exactly, but it was draining my reserves quickly… I don't have a lot of practice with unpowered devices, so I haven't built up much electrical stamina yet…"
Mei nodded, tapping a screwdriver to her chin in thought. Where the screwdriver had come from, Dax had no idea, considering she hadn't noticed it before she interfaced with the PC. Eventually the pinkette spoke, her smile bright and obviously fueled by plots. "So, we'll be sure to include a battery or two in the arm! When it's idle it can soak up energy from your body to stay charged and if you need to use it excessively for long periods, it won't sap your strength! You might have to plug it in overnight if you really overdo it, though…"
Dax smiled "great idea, Hatsume-chan! Now uh… What else are we looking for in this garbage heap?"
The pair spent the better part of their saturday picking through the many mountains of garbage and scrap, coming out of it covered in scrapes, bruises, and filth, but not empty handed. They had gathered enough supplies, according to Mei's conservative estimates, to be able to build the first prototype! It wouldn't be anything fancy and, frankly, would look at home in an old pre-quirk era sci-fi action film about robots from the "future", but it would still be a new arm and that was enough for Dax.
They lugged their haul back to Mei's shop, offloading it all on either the workbench or the floor. Dax made a bee-line for Mei's bathroom, muttering about getting the layers of grime off of her as she stripped and got in the shower, leaving the young inventor to her work.
While Dax was occupied in the shower, Mei set about working on the prototype. She always loved starting a new project! It was so exciting building her babies from the ground up. So much to figure out, so many problems to solve… It was simply delightful!
She pulled out the frame she had built on the first night, looking it over with pride as she began ripping apart the various devices she'd brought home with her. She took batteries from a couple discarded cell-phones, a broken watch she found gave up it's chronometer, PCs gave up their wiring… All these noble sacrifices to bring her baby to life! She would make sure those devices did not die in vain!
She barely looked up when Dax exited the bathroom, her hair still damp as she stood clad in a borrowed jumpsuit. It didn't quite fit right, too much room up top, but it worked. "Perfect timing" she said, gesturing toward the wall of tools. "Grab me those vice grips please. Unless you want this thing to fall apart whenever you wave at someone."
Dax chuckled, searching for a moment before delivering the tool and examining Mei's work. She had only been in the shower for half an hour, but the progress was impressive. It was already starting to take shape. "Hatsume-chan, you're amazing… I don't know how you do this stuff so easily."
Mei looked up, her grin bright as ever as she gave an appreciative nod. "I just love it, I guess. Been taking things apart since I got ahold of my first screwdriver as a kid! Eventually I started putting them back together too, usually better than they were before. Then eventually I got to the point I'd just rip things apart for parts and now here I am! A couple hundred babies in! You should check out some of the ones in the pile back there!" She gestured over her shoulder to the large pile of past babies, she couldn't help but smile at the pile with maternal pride as she thought of how much love she'd devoted to each of them.
Dax shuffled over, occupying herself with trying and, sometime interfacing with, her various inventions. She was glad to have distracted the girl, it gave her more time to focus! She needed her newest baby to be perfect, just like all her others! "Plus this means I'll finally get to show off my beautiful babies at school! Let's see them ban this one! I'll even work extra hard to make sure she doesn't explode!"
As time passed and progress on the prototype arm became more steady, Dax started to get comfortable. She wasn't getting as many weird looks in class. She was settling into a routine of spending lunch in the courtyard with Hatsume. She'd even managed a three or four word exchange or two with Kaldash-san. Overall it felt like things were looking up…
Until the day she was heading to Hatsume's to test the arm.
On her way she got the distinct feeling she was being followed. Her stride quickened a bit as she glanced over her shoulder, trying to act casual. She didn't see anyone that struck her as suspicious. A few random passersby, a girl from her school walking with her boyfriend… Nothing out of the ordinary.
Then she felt a strong hand grip her left arm and yank her into an alleyway. She was pulled a couple meters into the alley and slammed against the brick wall of one of the buildings, another hand coming up to cover her mouth, the fingers turning to pointed knives right in front of her eyes.
"No screaming, you got it? Otherwise things will have to get a bit messy. Hate to have to screw up such a pretty face."
She gulped, giving a slight nod to convey her obedience as she looked at the man. He was a little older than her, maybe twenty. He had a goatee and wore a black band around his eyes, with holes cut to let him see. His body was well toned and he had the actual strength to back it up, judging by how hard he was pinning her to the wall. She felt his fingers slide down off her lips to her neck, gripping it tightly as the tiny knives threatened to break her skin. She struggled a little, frustrated that she had been so easily caught off guard. "W-what do you want?"
The attacker chuckled, his other hand now running down her side, fingers sharpening and cutting a slit in her uniform skirt. She felt her face turn bright red as she realized what he was going to do. "N-no please I... I'll give you money! I have money!"
He shook his head, soulless eyes locked on hers. "Not enough, doll. I got one thing on my mind. Now either you behave or I have to get rou-"
The sound of someone clearing their throat behind him cut him off as Dax saw a silhouette appear out of seemingly nowhere in the alley. "Please let it be a pro… please..."
The new arrival spoke in a voice that sounded oddly familiar and completely foreign at the same time. It was filled with anger, no… hatred. "Let her go. If you want a fight, come at me." The man's grip lessened on her throat, the knives no longer pressing into her skin. She felt strange though… almost guilty… "What the hell do I have to feel guilty about? It's not like I asked to be put in this position… And what the hell is this guy's problem? Who just grabs a girl off the sidewalk like this?!" Her own anger began to swell, fueled by some unknown fire, almost feeling foreign in its own right.
The stranger spoke again, striking a combat stance as he did "you coward!"
That was enough for her attacker. He dropped her and spun on his heel, ready to charge the new arrival. She didn't give him the opportunity. As soon as his back was turned, she was on him. Leading with a swift kick between the legs and rapidly followed with a well-practiced chop to the neck, intending to knock the bastard unconscious. When he slumped, but didn't fall she followed up with a roundhouse kick to the right side of his head, knocking him into a stacked pile of garbage bags near a dumpster.
Satisfied that he wouldn't be getting back up, she all but sprinted at her red-eyed saviour, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly. Overwhelmed with joy as she spoke. "Thank you! Oh god thank you so much for showing up when you did. I don't know how the hell I'd have gotten away from him… He was going to… Anyway, thank you! I owe you so much for what you did today!"
Her rescuer just sort of… stood there for a moment. Immobile. Like a statue in a park. Eventually he spoke, his voice full of compassion. "Malcor-san, Please let go."
"M-Malcor-san? You know my… wait… No way." She let go, backing up a step and looking into his eyes. They had changed color… now a beautiful lavender. Her jaw dropped as she put the pieces together, reaching out and tugging the ski mask off to reveal the normally expressionless face of her classmate. "Kaldash-san?! W-what? What are you? You weren't in class today were you doing… this all day?"
She felt a wave of shame hit her, was it from unmasking him? She had been fairly sure about her action but now… no wait… "His quirk… He is feeling shame… And it's washing off of him." He shuffled his feet a bit, studying the ground in depth. His hands were stuffed into his pockets. He had the look of a young kid who just got caught trying to steal a piece of candy from the store.
"There was an excess of energy that needed to be let out." he said, his robotic tone coming back as his expression drifted back toward neutrality. He reached out and took her hand, revealing bruised and bloodied knuckles, likely from other fights throughout the day, and began leading her along the alleyway, back toward the street. "We need to leave, he might get back up or someone might come here and report this. We should go."
She knew he was right, but she was still reeling for a bit. Eventually they returned to the busy street and she gripped his hand a little tighter, taking the lead and marching off toward a nearby park she always passed through on her way to Hatsume's shop. They found a secluded area under a tall tree and she sat down, leaning against the trunk and patting the grass beside her.
"I think we should talk, Kaldash-chan. Sit with me a minute?" She smiled up at him hopefully. She had let go of his hand as she sat, so whether or not he stayed at this point was entirely up to him, but she hoped he would.
"Ok" he muttered, sitting beside her immediately, his movements robotic like his body was on autopilot. His eyes had turned to the same yellow she had seen at the infirmary weeks ago. He looked around as if he were expecting some sort of trick. "I don't see why you want to talk to me… Nothing has changed…"
She saw him wince as he stuffed his bruised hands back in his pockets, causing her to flinch a bit. She reached over, resting her hand on his shoulder gently. "Like hell… You expect me to just walk away knowing that my friend is out here playing the vigilante and risking getting himself killed? No way." She paused, wishing she could twirl her braid for the hundredth time that week.
"Look, Kaldash-chan I… I really appreciate you saving me back there. I wouldn't have gotten out of there without you, which is not easy for me to say… Before…" She sighed, closing her eyes and lifting her remaining right limb enough for him to notice. "Before this happened, I was a proud martial artist. I studied many different techniques and forms and knew thirteen different ways to get out of that hold he had on me. They don't work so well when you're… Like me."
She leaned against him, clearly having trouble talking so openly about her injury. "But despite my appreciation, I can't let you keep doing this… Do you have any idea how dangerous it is? Not to mention illegal… You don't know what kind of horrible people lurk in the alleys of cities like this." "Or Tokyo, for that matter…" "So please just… Promise you won't go out like this again… If you need to burn steam from your quirk, tell me. We can… I don't know. Spar maybe? Go for a run? Anything just… No more of this…"
"Friend?" His voice carried the hint of hope as he looked at her. He was blinking rapidly, his eyes shifting colors every time they closed. He was having an emotional tornado in his mind and she was certain it was her fault. Eventually he spoke again "No we can't. We can't be friends."
He shook his head, "Malcor-san I can't have friends. I can never know if an emotion is my own and neither can my friends or family." His normally robotic tone was wavering, sorrow mixed into the speech. She felt her heart breaking for the boy. She didn't know what it would be like, being so uncertain of everything she felt all the time. It had to be hell.
"I am well aware of how dangerous it is. I have had accidents, luckily they can be explained by martial arts training and school activities. I am currently breaking five different laws and regulations to act as I am." He paused, seemingly trying to collect himself and failing miserably. "I do what I must to survive. Do not pretend to know me especially when you lie so easily to everyone."
That last remark bit into her. She could feel the spite behind it, and she could feel anger building within her, but she didn't know why. He was right. She had been lying to her entire class about her origin from the beginning, but he shouldn't have been able to know that. It didn't make her angry, it made her ashamed… This anger was foreign. "His quirk again…"
"I. Do. Not. Need. Your. Pity." He stated, voice shaky. She fought the anger that was boiling inside of her, determined to overcome the bleed-through of his quirk. She even used it to fuel her own actions, her gaze growing intense as she stared him down.
"Kaldash-chan… I- You need to find a new outlet. I gave you options. Take them or don't… As for calling me a liar…" She sighed, her head lowering as she studied her torn skirt. "You're right but… Please understand I have my reasons… Everyone has their secrets, Kaldash-chan. Sometimes they're small. Sometimes they're a matter of life and death… Please accept the explanation that mine are the latter."
She stood up, pausing a moment before offering her hand to help him up. "I have to get going… Hatsume-chan said our project is finally ready for testing and I need to get there before she blows a gasket… Please… Go home. Or if not home, then somewhere safe…" She looked down and saw the bulge of his phone in his sweatshirt pocket. She quickly swiped it, her fingers interfacing with it and taking an extra moment to bypass the lock as she added her contact information. Handing it back to him she smiled sadly, worry in her eyes. "If you need me, call me. Okay?"
He gave her a look as he accepted his phone, pocketing it again. "When people lie, their emotions fluctuate…" He paused, looking away for a moment at seemingly nothing. "I… i don't know. I have done this for so long it feels like the only way, but I'll take your words under advisement.
He finally looked back at her, his gaze meeting hers. "I will consider it, Malcor-san." He gave a formal bow, bending a full ninety degrees at the waist. "I am sorry for using my quirk on you."
She smiled, waving her hand dismissively. "It's alright, Kaldash-chan."
With that he straightened and headed off back the way they came with her turning in the direction of Hatsume's shop. She hurried along, not wanting to be any later than she already was.
A/N:
Tried a bit of combat this time around. I have to admit that it is what I have the least experience writing, but I like to think I didn't do too shabby.
See y'all next time when we finally get to try out that prototype arm!
Woot!
