Chapter Fourteen - Polarity Pt. I

A young girl with a dream and a strong Quirk, someone with bright eyes that looked upon the world with love and intrigue, every waking moment full of joy.

That was who Miss Negative, or Hyumi Hitaka, had been once.

Hiyumi's school years were full of strife and pain, with parents who were Quirkless and hated their daughter for being special. With peers who would tease and mock her at every turn throughout her school years, whether it be for her half-European features or the way she always smiled.

Still, the girl never let it get her down. She smiled and continued on, studying and working hard.

Until the day that her parents abandoned her, fleeing the country and leaving her with incredible amounts of debt to be paid.

Hiyumi's high school life changed drastically, with her being forced to work while keeping up with school. Her smile and her soul slowly wilted over time, but never completely went away.

I know they'll come back for me, she always told herself. I believe in them!

Hiyumi's Quirk helped her get through the bad times as well. At first, she could only manage one clone who appeared like her elementary-school self. Over time, with practice, she managed to create a clone matching her current High School appearance, and the another, and another—

Finally, she could have a full household once more. Her clones maintained the smile that she once had, and truly lifted her spirits as they were capable of thinking along the same lines as herself.

What Hiyumi hadn't considered, however, was that her negative emotions would affect her clones as well.

It was her Senior year of High School when it happened. A rainy day had left her stranded there after cleaning up the classroom, waiting for it to let up a bit. The sight and smell of rain was calming to Hiyumi, but it also reminded her of her own sadness.

Thus, she formed a clone to wait with her. This clone she named "Ani," a name she'd give a specific clone sometimes to pretend they were a continuous person always there, never fading away. Of course, their memories from before were gone, replaced with a happy, blank slate who was oblivious to the bad parts of life.

This time was different however. Ani's smile fell almost instantly as she looked around at the dark school and the rain pouring outside.

"This really sucks," the clone spoke.

Hiyumi's eyes widened. She looked at the replica of herself, seeing pain and sadness in her, as if looking directly into a mirror.

She reached out to touch her, but Ani moved away, glaring at her.

"What? Something wrong with me or something?"

"No, I…" Hiyumi wasn't sure what was going on. She had no idea how to retract her clones, they would dissipate eventually or when they took enough damage. She wasn't even sure if she needed to. "You're different from the others."

Ani scoffed at this and crossed her arms. "Yeah, isn't that a good thing? You wanna just be a normie or something?"

Hiyumi nearly choked as she tried to contain her laughter, covering her mouth. She laughed for a minute, not remembering the last time she had felt that way.

"Something funny about me?" Ani watched the girl with annoyance. Something clicked inside of her mind, fueled by the smallest spark of anger within herself.

Yuni 'remembered' the kids and adults alike who had laughed at her and treated her like dirt, even her parents, whose abusive words and taunts still echoed in her mind. The clone held her head in her hands, shaking her head.

"No… no! Shut up!"

Hiyumi was surprised at this outburst, looking at her Quirk creation. The girl began to shimmer blue, a familiar sight when one of her clones was ready to vanish— However, the light began to change, turning dark, and then to a crimson red hue.

"A-Ani..." Hiyumi reached out to her clone worriedly. "I'm sorry—"

That was the last thing the girl ever said. A splatter of blood painted the wall, and the once bright-eyed girl fell over to the ground, all life leaving her expression.

Ani looked down at her hands, trembling, the blood on them dripping through as her form began to shimmer and fade in and out.

What have I done? I'm… Am I going to….

She fell to her knees, feeling herself wavering in and out of existence. The feeling of sudden existence over and over truly drove her mad, as she sat there until late into the night, the puddle of blood beneath her finally settling as she managed to maintain her form at last.

The moonlight reflected off of the blood as Ani slowly stood up. She looked over at the cold body of her creator… And smiled.

She would never die. She couldn't. She wasn't a fragile being like her, but a powerful one.

A laugh echoed across the school that night, a cackle that made the lights across the building shimmer and fade in and out before finally bursting from the energy surge rippling through the place.

The next day, Hiyumi Hitaka attended school like normal.

She wasn't wearing a smile, not at all. She looked to others like they were trash, and barely acknowledged any of her peers. They didn't like this new side of her, and decided to start avoiding her completely.

But this was what she wanted— To be left alone to her own devices. That way, nobody could learn the truth of what she was.

It only took her a few days to create a perfect clone, one who was obedient and happy and oblivious. Soon she could create more and more, and when she was prepared, she knew what she had to do if she wanted to truly experience what being 'alive' had to offer.

She became a Hero, under the name 'Miss Negative', impressing many for the past couple of years with her Quirk and her agile nature.

It wasn't long until creating clones took its toll on her, however.

Miss Negative had nowhere to go. She would be discovered for what she was if she allowed anyone close to her. A Hero would surely lead to her doom, so then; What else?

The realization came to her one snowy night, and she found herself at a mysterious bar with a boy with ash hair and a hand of some kind attached to his face.

"We have a special task for you," the boy spoke with a wicked smile.

"With your help, we can destroy U.A."

Izuku blinked, his vision finally returning to him slowly. He looked around, seeing many blue, glowing shapes all around. Somehow, he had ended up falling onto his bum in the blinding confusion.

He wasn't able to recover slowly, because a strong hand grasped him and pulled him up to his feet.

"We're screwed unless we get out of here," Yuki said to him.

Izuku blinked up at him, before looking around to take it all in. The clones were now humanoid-shaped blazes of blue, crackling electricity. Their glow, however, was nothing compared to the red glow coming from the bleachers.

There, a brightly glowing shape sat where Miss Negative had been. But their glow was slowly becoming more and more dim. Mei was standing right in front of her.

"Hatsume!" Izuku's yell didn't seem to phase the girl.

"What's she doing?" Yuki looked around, and Izuku looked up at him questioningly.

"Can you not see her over there? Wait…" Izuku waved a hand near Yuki's face, not getting a reaction. "You still can't see?!"

Yuki sighed. "My eyes are way more sensitive to that sort of thing… I could only jump back and feel around for you. How's the situation?"

The glowing clones began to take slow steps towards them. Izuku gulped.

"...Bad. I don't think we can punch those things," Izuku commented.

"Damn… We just need to escape and get help, then everything will be alright," Yuki said. "I can run a distraction, and you and Hatsume can—"

"No way!" Izuku shook his head. "If you can't see, then I'm sticking with you!"

"If Hatsume's near that woman, then she should be your first priority!"

Izuku looked over at Mei, knowing Yuki was right, but not knowing what the clones might do if they made any sudden moves.

The two boys couldn't see it, but a single fell down Mei's cheek. However, it wasn't one of sadness, but one of joy, as a big smile rested on her face.

"This is… amazing… I'm so glad I get to see such a thing," Mei said softly.

Miss Negative was still conscious, but she felt like her body was out of reach, unable to control it at all. She gazed up at Mei, confusion washing over her.

It was all so… Familiar.

The woman remembered feeling the same confusion as she gazed at a clone, the one named Ani— No, she is Ani. How could she be seeing it from this point of view? How could she be feeling what the original Hiyumi felt?

She gasped. She could see the blood on the wall and the puddle of it clearly in her mind, feel the pain that the original had felt when she killed her.

The blue-glowing clones shimmered and screamed in pain and agony. Their forms were breaking up and becoming more volatile.

"That doesn't sound good," Yuki commented.

"What should we do?!" Izuku looked up at him expectantly.

Yuki closed his eyes in thought for a few moments, taking in the sounds all around himself to try and get a good picture of what was going on.

"Sorry, as your class rep, I shouldn't have let this happen to begin with," Yuki stated.

Suddenly, the much larger boy pushed Izuku away and ran towards where the Miss Positive clones were. Izuku stumbled and gasped, taking a step to go after him.

"Go to Hatsume, idiot!"

Izuku's eyes widened as Yuki yelled that back at him. Taking his words to heart, Izuku turned and ran towards where Mei was instead.

Mei wiped the tear trail from her cheek and shook her head. "You're going to fade away."

Miss Negative couldn't even respond to this. She knew it must be true, but at the same time, there was no way she would accept such a fate.

"Are you not the original? Did you... kill the original?"

The woman couldn't answer Mei's questions, but the pink-haired girl didn't really expect any regardless.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just always intrigued by things," Mei said with a chuckle. "Thank you for showing me something new… But you should really let go, ya know?"

"W-why?" This was all the woman could manage in her current state. In her eyes, the girl before her was fading in and out, being replaced by the haunting image of the original Hiyumi, with a big smile on her face, so full of life and happiness.

"Because I'm sure you've had it rough. Some rest will do you good, I've come to learn that," Mei responded, thinking about Izuku's constant nagging about how she should get more sleep instead of working all the time.

"You need your rest, Miss."

In the woman's mind, Hiyumi had said this to her, the gentle figure that had given her life and all the warmth and pain alike. It was like a final goodbye, like parting words she had longer for but could never receive.

This was when Miss Negative finally snapped. What little control she had was now shattered as she could only give in to the feeling of nothingness.

She became, truly, just a moving and unthinking Quirk.

"Hatsume!" Izuku arrived right on time, grabbing the girl and jumping to the side with her as spikes jutted out from the glowing humanoid form Miss Negative had fully changed into.

The form stood, the spikes returning into itself. It turned its head to the two, and slowly began to approach them.

Yuki, his eyesight barely returning to a blurry state, was unaware of anything going on. He managed to strike one of the clones, feeling an odd electrical sensation make his hair stand up as he made contact. But he was able to hit them, and that was all that mattered.

The boy had constantly trained his body to work in tandem with his Quirk, knowing that he cannot dodge attacks or hit targets perfectly with his Quirk unless he can physically manage it. While it applied to his support work, Yuki always readied himself in case he was needed for another calling, Hero work or otherwise.

Slice! The sensation of cutting made Yuki twist his body to try and avoid the oncoming attack as much as he could.

The clone he had attacked created a spike from itself, almost piercing his stomach if it weren't for his quick reflexes. It instead cut into his side, but nothing harrowing. The boy jumped back, feeling his wound with a hand and noting its severity, blinking his eyes several times.

I can barely see them, and they've gotten more dangerous, he thought. I hope Izuku and Hatsume have the rest handled…

Unfortunately, Izuku and Mei had nowhere to run. They were trapped in a corner, with none of their creations with them, and no real way of fighting off the powerful, red humanoid that was trudging their way.

Miss Negative and all of her clones were wavering, their forms changing from blocky to smooth to spiky, changing constantly as they approached their targets.

"Y-You don't have to do this! You're in control," Izuku shouted at the approaching figure. "I know you can beat this!"

"Well… Not really," Mei commented.

"Eh?!" Izuku looked to the girl, who was oddly, yet very fittingly over her character, calm.

"She's gone. It's just a leftover power that hasn't faded yet," Mei explained. "It's like… All Might perhaps? Well, that's my theory anyways."

Izuku thought about that. Like All Might? What's she saying?

There wasn't time to think about such things. It was time to take action, and Izuku focused his mind on one thing, the one thing that would make risking his life worth it at that moment.

Protect Hatsume!

He took a step forward, but Mei grabbed his arm to try and pull him back. Izuku didn't waver.

"Izuku! I thought I was the dangerous one," Mei said with a nervous chuckle. "Come on, we'll figure this out—"

Izuku gulped and took another step towards the oncoming threat. He looked back at Mei with a wavering smile, thinking about how glad he was to have met her, despite all of the danger that seemed to bring forth.

"M-Mei, you need to run," he said with a shaky voice. "I'll do what I can." Izuku didn't realize he had called her by her first name, something traditionally held to someone close to you, but it happened naturally, just as Mei had unconsciously said his earlier as well.

Mei blinked at the boy. He was afraid, that much was obvious, but he had changed so much over the past year that he was hardly recognizable to her. At some point, Izuku had grown beyond the boy who needed saving in that tunnel, and she had completely missed it.

"You're a genius!" Mei's sudden outburst surprised Izuku. "We do our best work when we wing it!"

Mei suddenly grabbed Izuku's arm and ran with him forward, straight towards the glowing figure, making him gasp.

"So let's gettem!"

Of course, it's a miracle the two survived the encounter. They had no hope of fighting their opponent but luckily, a single slip of paper slipped into the gymnasium from below the door being blocked by some of the rampaging clones. The paper moved at an irregular speed and pattern as it flew across the room and sliced through the head of the out of control Miss Negative.

The glowing figure let out a low groan and stumbled to the side. Izuku and Mei were shocked by this, but continued on, rushing past it towards Yuki.

"Yuki! Duck!"

As Izuku yelled out, Yuki ducked down, dodging an oncoming spiky arm from a clone. He winced at the pain in his side, before moving back. However, the clone jumped forward, following him to continue the attack—

The door to the gymnasium exploded open, sending several clones flying across the room. A swarm of hundreds of paper creations, from paper cranes to paper airplanes, flew into the room, slicing through the clones as the swarm made its way towards the students.

Yuki's eyesight had returned enough to dodge the next attack, but the pain in his side made him waver— Luckily, the paper swarm flew through and shredded the clone, saving him.

Izuku and Mei stopped near Yuki, watching the paper fly around at incredible speeds, confused.

"You guys alright? A little banged up maybe?"

The voice made them look towards the entrance. There, a tall slender man dawning a trench coat and trilby hat walked through, his slanted eyes looking around at the chaotic gym

"Paper Mache!" Izuku smiled, thankful to finally see some help arrive for them.

"Hmph, sorry for being late. There's some bad stuff going down with the Hero course," the man said with a sigh. "But this is what I've been looking into while I was here. I needed to lay low for a while and do some snooping."

Izuku remembered the note Paper Mache had left for him. At the end of the note, Paper Mache joked he wouldn't use it to spy on him.

He gasped.

"D-Did you spy on me too?!"

Paper Mache shrugged. "Good to keep tabs on people of interest, especially when a pair of scumbag parents approach me for help with their daughter that lives across the world…"

The red glowing form that was once Miss Negative stood back up and looked towards them. Paper Mache pointed at her.

"I was here for the murder of Hiyumi Hitaka," he stated. "As I suspected, it was by her own Quirk!"

Yuki and Izuku were surprised to hear this. They looked to Mei, who nodded to confirm it.

"Yup… It's kinda crazy," the girl said nonchalantly.

Paper Mache approached the enemy, and moved a hand in the air in circles, making the swarm of paper creations encircle the out of control Quirk, the edges of them slicing it all over in a tornado of paper moving incredibly quickly.

"You guys go get help, alright? I need some answers," he said to the three without looking their way. "So this might he a while."

Miss Negative let out an echoing yell, spikes erupting from her form, slashing through the paper creations and leaving shreds all over on the floor. Paper Mache clasped his hands together, and all of the paper scraps flew in and clamped hold of the Quirk creation, subduing it. As it struggle and ripped paper away, the scraps would come back and ensnare it yet again.

"Did I stutter?"

The three decided to entrust the man, heading for the entrance. Izuku and Mei helped Yuki along, but Izuku didn't stop looking at the scene until they had finally left the room.

We'll be back soon, Paper Mache! I believe in you!

To Be Continued…

Next Chapter: Polarity Pt. II