Nejire spun around in the air, looking down at the now distant ship with how high her opponent had made Nejire chase her up into the sky. She used her right arm and leg to speed through the air, dodging her opponent's attacks while knives littered the sky around her. Nejire's eyes shot everywhere as her opponent flashed between the multiple knives in the air. She couldn't pin down her opponent's movement patterns, they seemed random and spontaneous, not adapting to Nejire's movements at all, but instead just trying to throw Nejire off with confusion. With this lady's quirk and fighting style, she almost completely countered Nejire. Hand-to-hand had never been her strong suit outside of a very few times she hadn't been able to fight villains at range.
"Aww, are you slowing down? But we're just getting warmed up!" She felt a blade cut her cheek as the woman warped to a knife that Nejire hadn't seen still flying in the air. Shooting out a spiral shockwave towards the woman, Nejire let out a sigh as the woman tossed a knife at her head. She'd figured out that the redhead had to keep her eyes on whatever she threw, but it didn't seem to really be slowing her down in their fight. Not that she expected a trained killer like this woman to be inexperienced, but still. She held a hand behind herself and let a shockwave loose, grinning as she heard the woman squeal as her shockwave connected.
"Aww, are you slowing down now? I thought you were having fun!" Nejire taunted, flying down and chasing the woman towards the ground. The redhead shook her head and groaned as she got over Nejire's shockwave. Reaching the woman quickly as they plummeted towards the deck of the ship, she hoped she'd be able to keep the woman stunned till they hit the ground. She'd live. It would hurt like hell for her, but she'd live through this fall.
"I am having fun, sweetheart! You're the one who took her eye off the ball!" Her eyes shot wide as the woman disappeared and a foot suddenly connected with her cheek, knocking her off balance and sending her spinning. The redhead's leg suddenly locked around her neck and the woman pulled another knife out of her hip pouch. The woman let out a chilling howl of laughter as she grabbed the bottom of the blade with her free hand and brought it down slowly towards Nejire. Nejire gasped as she felt the woman's thigh squeeze her neck even harder, cutting off her airflow as she watched that knife speed down towards her face. Another leg wrapped around her arm and bent it towards Nejire's hip.
'Huh, this is really bad, like for really real bad. This lady's going to stab me in the face. That's a weird place to stab me though. Can't breathe, she's got me pretty much pinned, can't move either of my arms, really. C'mon Shockwave, think of something!' She gasped and felt her vision start to fade as the woman's leg lock apparently cut off blood flow to her head. Ryukyu flashed through her mind as her vision went in and out of focus.
"You hear that the airhead got in even though she failed the entrance practical exam? That's bullshit. She failed the test that she applied for. She doesn't even belong in the general course, they should have kicked her out." Nejire lowered her head and slid down in her seat, hoping her hair hid her disheartened expression. Reaching up and twirling a finger in her hair, she let out a sigh. She'd passed out during the entrance exam, and she hadn't been able to destroy nearly enough robots to make up for the time she lost by passing out.
"Hey, I'm not complaining, at least she's good eye candy. Her quirk might suck, but she's gorgeous, dude." She took in a deep breath and sat back up, staring at her fingers as little swirls of energy flowed off of them. She hadn't done badly on the actual written exam after she'd gone over her own answers after she went home. In fact, she was pretty sure she'd gotten ninety eight percent on the written portion of the entrance exam, hence why she was in general studies.
She looked out the window and saw the Hero course students running laps at the track a short distance from her classroom. She heard the teacher talking about what was expected of them in this course. She took in a deep breath as she stared outside, her eyes lingering on a blond boy and dark-haired boy running ahead of the pack. She leaned back and groaned, unaware of the classmates that were staring at her.
'Guess mom was right. She did tell me that being a Hero just wasn't in the cards for people with quirks like ours, especially with how fast Wave Motion drains our stamina. Still… I'm glad I tried. At least now I'll temper my expectations.' She felt her eyes burn before she shook her head and leaned forward, laying her head down on her desk while her arms hid her face.
'Don't cry, not here. You knew how impossible the odds were. You knew your whole life, and you just tricked yourself into thinking it was possible to be a Hero.' She shook and shuddered as she forced eyes to dry before a tear shed. She sat up and opened her notebook, writing down the reading assignment on the board. She tapped on her notebook as the professor, Midnight, started walking between desks, handing out thick books to each student. She started doodling again, not being able to help herself from doodling another hero costume in her journal.
'Still, it would've been nice for mom to at least tell me that it couldn't hurt to try. She didn't have to just hug me and tell me it was going to be okay.' She blinked as her phone vibrated. Sliding it out discreetly, she felt a smile creep onto her face as she looked down at it. Ryukyu had an interview tonight! She'd been Nejire's number one favorite Hero to watch ever since her debut a few years ago. At least she'd have something interesting to listen to tonight while she did her homework.
Nejire saved her homework and put it into a folder so she could find it in the morning. Opening a browser, she quickly turned on Ryukyu's interview. The homework had actually required all of her attention, and she hadn't wanted to start off with a poor grade in her classes. Pulling a leg up to her chest, she leaned back in the chair, ignoring her dorm mates as she pulled out a pair of headphones to listen to the dragoness talk.
"As always, it's an honor to be speaking with you Ryukyu. You and Miruko are both flying up the rankings! Have you two perhaps been collaborating with each other?" Ryukyu smiled at the interviewer before shaking her head and letting out a sigh. Crossing her legs, she leaned back on the chair she was in.
"Of course not. While I consider Miruko a friend, and I'm sure she considers me one as well, she's not exactly a team player. While I would be glad to work with her on a case against villains, I know that she would rather just go handle such things by herself, so I'm afraid I'm usually a solo act. My quirk is rather powerful as you know, and while I appreciate my sidekicks, they don't mesh with my quirk, unfortunately." Nejire twirled a finger through her hair, smiling as she listened to Ryukyu. She couldn't explain it, but whenever she saw Ryukyu, it made her happy. She wasn't in the top ten yet, and she'd just opened her agency, but Nejire always smiled whenever she saw Ryukyu in Hero news.
"Well I'm afraid it's a short interview for us tonight. All Might is scheduled for an interview in a few minutes; it's an impromptu interview after his capture of seventeen villains at once! But we got a question pulled in for you that I'm sure our viewers are dying to know. How was it being born with a quirk like yours?" Nejire smiled even wider, her eyes growing big as Ryukyu thought to herself for a moment, running a hand across her hair before letting out a sigh. Leaning forward, her smile dropped for a moment and Nejire followed suit.
"It was actually terrible. My quirk was awful at first! I nearly didn't make it into a hero course at all. Once I did, I felt like I was always a step behind everyone because I never thought about using all of my quirk at once. I was always worried that I would hurt someone if I transformed completely!" She leaned back in her seat and a smile replaced her frown as she did so. Nejire stared at the computer screen as the interviewer leaned forward in his chair, his head tilted questioningly.
"Well, what changed? I mean, if you thought that using your quirk in its entirety would hurt a lot of people, what revelation caused you to realize that you needed to use it the way you do now?" Ryukyu stared into the camera, making it look like she was talking to Nejire directly. She took in a deep breath before nodding.
"I let someone down. Someone was hurt during my first internship because I was only transforming partially, which at the time was the only way I knew how to fight. The civilians that were injured during that incident were what inspired me to train myself harder, to learn how to properly utilize all of my quirk at once instead of using it partially." Nejire let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Swallowing as she did so, closing her eyes and shaking her head, she smiled to herself. She didn't know what she'd been expecting. Of course Ryukyu had to train just like everyone else did to use their quirk properly.
"I say that to say something to everyone out there with aspirations to be a Hero. You have to work at it. No matter how amazing your quirk is, you're going to have to practice, and practice a lot at that. There are people with quirks that require nearly no effort, but those people will never stand at the pinnacle of the Hero rankings. Look at Miruko, she's shot up in the rankings but I assure everyone that she's put in more time in one day of working out and Hero work than many pros do in a week! So even if you're struggling with your quirk, don't lose heart! Practice with it, and I promise you'll eventually see results!" Nejire sat back and muted the interview as she heard the telltale laughter of the number one Hero All Might dominate her earphones. Heroes had to work with their quirk! Of course they did! She leaned forward and opened a new word document and titled it "Stamina Boosting Exercises", before searching for exercises she could do to just increase her overall stamina. Of course, building muscles would be necessary as well, and she'd need to get permission from the school to practice with her quirk after she was done with her classes, but she could do this!
'I'll turn that frown I've been seeing in the mirror into a smile to brighten everyone's day. No matter how bad I feel about a situation, I'll always smile just like… well that's like All Might, but it's still a good lesson to teach myself! I'll get into the Hero Course through the sports festival and eventually, somehow, I'll work with Ryukyu so I can thank her!' She felt tension in her shoulders leave as she finally figured out what she needed to do. It seemed so simple in hindsight, but Nejire had only ever thought of her quirk as something she had to use to strengthen it and make it stronger. Her quirk was already powerful; she just needed a body that could handle the drawback!
Nejire shot a massive shockwave at a demonic-looking boy from the Hero course. He let out a scream of pain as Nejire blew him clear out of the ring into one of the walls at the edge of the stadium. Leaning forward and panting as she stared at the destroyed part of the arena her shockwave had hit, she blinked in surprise. She'd known that she could push herself pretty far now—her training hadn't been for nothing, after all—but she'd had no idea that she could do that much damage!
"Hey um, Midnight, is that boy gonna be okay? I didn't think my quirk was that strong!" Midnight looked over at the boy as his dark red skin faded back to a bright red hue, and he stood up shakily. Giving Nejire a wink before spinning around and pointing her flogger at Nejire, she shouted into her microphone.
"I give you your uncontested victor of the first year's sports festival, Nejire Hadou from general studies! Without a doubt, she will be given the option to transfer into the Hero course if she so desires!" Nejire felt her eyes burn as she heard those words from Midnight. She swallowed and floated up unsteadily into the air. She needed to work on her flying skills; Being in the air would let her more directly target her opponents and not worry about damaging property while she fought villains. Nejire looked around at the cheering crowd, her eyes watering as she saw the general studies course shouting and applauding louder than the rest of the stadium put together.
'Mom, are you watching? I did it! I'm going to be a Hero!' She let out a shout of joy as tears stained her cheeks. Hopping up and down even after she landed, her heart felt a hundred times lighter than it had for months. She could follow her dream and inspire others like Ryukyu had inspired her!
"Shockwave, huh? That's a really nice Hero name! I'm sure you're going to shock the Hero ranks!" Nejire smiled brightly as Ryukyu praised her choice of what she'd be called as a Hero. She had a blush on her cheeks as she pulled on her Hero costume, adjusting her thigh pouches as she stood in front of the draconic Hero. She hadn't expected to be offered an internship just based off of her performance in the sports festival, but here she was, with her own inspiration in front of her.
"U-um, thank you for offering me an internship, Ryukyu. I'm a huge fan and I'm eternally grateful for that interview you did a few months ago." Nejire felt her eyes burn with tears of gratitude as Ryukyu tilted her head at Nejire. Leaning forward, she pulled a tissue out of a box on her desk and wiped the edges of Nejire's eyes. The blond woman leaned forward, staring up into Nejire's eyes with a soft smile.
"Dear, you're welcome, but which interview are you talking about? I get asked to interview more often than most Heroes cause, well you know, Dragon lady. Also, try to work on those waterworks. Your smile was inspiring during your fight at the sports festival!" She giggled a bit, making Nejire nod while hiccuping.
"Your interview about your quirk. It was your shortest interview I've ever watched, but it's what showed me what I needed to do with my quirk so I could use it! I don't think I could've made it through the sports festival without those words!" Revelation dawned on Ryukyu's face as she stood up and threw the tissue away. A smile was forming on her own lips as she looked out of her offices' windows, muttering to herself before spinning around on a heel and pointing at Nejire. Nejire looked down at the slender finger pointed at her before the draconic Hero grinned widely, reminding Nejire more of Miruko than the stoic Ryukyu standing in front of her.
"Well you know what that means! You need to do the same thing for someone else out there! Just like you needed to hear me talk about working your quirk until you understood it, I'm sure that one day there'll be a kid out there who needs to hear those same words from you! So push for the top even when you feel like you can't reach any higher!" Nejire felt her heart soar as Ryukyu entrusted her to do what Ryukyu had done for her. A smile so wide it started to hurt spread across Nejire's lips as she nodded.
"Yes ma'am!" Nejire smiled brightly as Ryukyu started telling her what their patrol route was going to be for the evening. Her excitement began bubbling over as she started bouncing on her heels. In the back of her mind, she swore to herself that she'd do the same for another person struggling as Ryukyu had done for her!
Nejire's eyes shot open, and she turned her quirk off, messing up the momentum that the woman had grown used to while they were flying towards the ground. The redhead shook and dropped her knife which Nejire caught with her free hand before stabbing it into the woman's costume, cutting off her belt and letting the knife belt fly off her. Tossing the knife behind the woman above her, Nejire shoved the woman's loosened thigh off her and spun around with her quirk, getting the woman into a headlock while covering her eyes.
"You have to be able to see something you throw to teleport, right?!" Nejire heard the lady scream and claw at Nejire's costume-covered arm, trying to pull her arm off the redhead's neck.
"I'm sorry, but there's too many promises I have to keep! I'm not dying here!" Nejire kicked her feet back in the air and launched the two of them towards the ground at top speed. The woman she was choking started flailing her legs shortly before Nejire let go of her, right before they would have hit the deck. She pulled herself up, stopping her momentum right as she touched down lightly on the deck.
Her opponent hadn't been so lucky. The wood around the woman was cracked from the impact, and Nejire could see she was barely moving. Walking over to her and checking her pulse, Nejire let out a sigh of relief as the woman's breathing was fine and her pulse was only slightly quicker than normal.
"Welp, you're not dead, and I disarmed you while we were falling! It's a good day to be Shockwave!" She cheered herself on a little while she reached into one of her thigh pouches and pulled out some restraining rope, tying the woman's hands and feet together so she wouldn't be able to make a run for it. It was a little tight, and would probably make her back hurt with the way Nejire made her bend, but to be fair, the lady had tried to kill her.
"Okay, time to go help my team and that weird untrustworthy detective guy! I'll be back for you when we're done down there crazy lady! I hope the concussion isn't too bad. I might've gone too plus ultra on someone like you." She floated over to the hole she'd seen her team drop down and floated down it. She needed to make sure they were all alright. She had promises to keep after all.