("Underlined text" is supposed to be read as Sign Language. "Italicized text" is used only for Misaki's Dad's quirk. "Bold Text" is used for messages Misaki types out.)
Chapter Ten
Take Cover
It was like she had been in a dream or a stupor. Misaki couldn't remember what the hell had just happened but suddenly it was the end of the second round and she had passed. What had happened? She inspected her surroundings and noted that she wasn't the only person that had been in a daze. Oijiro was here as well, and it was likely that both of them had just been affected by someone's quirk. It hit her that it was that boy from general studies, he had caught her off-guard and used his quirk against her.
Why did he just use his quirk on me? She thought. What even was his quirk?
It was obvious that they had been used for the benefit of the competition. That was when it hit Misaki that not only had it been that boy from general studies, Mari had been working with him the entire time. Her friend was looking very guilty, and trying to avoid her gaze but Misaki wasn't about to let that happen. She didn't understand why Mari hadn't just asked her to help, she hadn't even known that Mari was going to U.A, but had she had come to her and wanted help, she would have offered it immediately.
She approached Mari without hesitation.
"Mari?"
Mari lifted her head. "Misaki. I. I'm sorry. There was no choice."
No choice?
What did she mean?
"I am happy to see you. It's been a long time. But. Why? Why did you do that? I would have helped if you just asked me for it. Why would you go to a length like this? We're supposed to be best friends. That means we do everything for each other!" She asked, taking a few steps forwards towards her friend.
Mari knew that. However, with downcast eyes, she looked like a kicked puppy. "I'm not as good as you Misa. I have never been."
Misaki wasn't angry. It was far to easy to get angry and hurt; Well, she was a little hurt, and a little confused, and most of all, a little more worried than anything. She wanted to know why and what made her friend think that she had to go about things like this to get to her dreams.
They had once promised that they would become heroes together, and that was on good faith. There was never supposed to be any underhanded means, and it seemed as though Mari knew that very well. However, something seemed to be eating at Mari, and that monster was daring to swallow her whole. She wouldn't have done this unless somebody had pushed her very far. She knew that Misaki would have done anything without being asked.
Misaki shook her head. "We have talked about this. You are just as strong as anyone else."
"You and Mei are the only ones that think that," Mari said.
"You have always been strong. I can't think of a time when you weren't. You have always been capable of doing great things, so what's changed?"
Mari just stood there as if she were bewildered. She seemed as though shocked that Misaki wasn't yelling at her or as angry as she should have rightly been. With shaking shoulders, she swallowed hard and tried to make a reply. "It... I... If I don't prove myself now then I can kiss my dreams goodbye. Forever. I have a clock on my future and it's counting down as we speak. I have to do whatever it takes to win. No matter how that makes me look. Otherwise, I will not be able to prove myself to them."
Her dreams were numbered?
There was only one person in the world who didn't believe in Mari.
Misaki paused. "Mari, is this about your Mother? Did she make you promise something that you have to keep? Please, if it is about that, then I can try to help you."
It seemed like that was the hammer to the nail, after all. If her mother had been yelling at her and making things generally horrible as of late in a way that was a hundred times worse then what it had been in the past, then that was why Mari would choose to do something like this to get to where she wanted to be. As long as Misaki had known her friend's family, she had known very what the woman's stance on hero work was. She thought it was chaotic, and that it was a waste of money and resources that could be have allocated to other places.
Any time that Mari brought up her dreams... her mother would shatter them. It was hard to watch, and no matter how you tried to reason with the woman, she would just get stricter and stricter until she wouldn't budge at all. There had been countless nights where Mari would come to her apartment with tears in her eyes because of something that her mom did.
Mari didn't answer the question. She tensed up, looked frightened, and ran away.
Misaki stared at the spot where Mari once was. Her outstretched hand fell flat at her side. Should she chase after her and get the real story? Or would Mari try to stay far away from her? She likely needed some space. But what kind of person would Misaki be if she didn't try to get the bottom of what was hurting her friends?
Her attention turned back to the boy from general studies. He had at the very least offered an apology for using them as a means to get to the next wrong, he hadn't meant anything cruel by it. It was simply an ends to a means. It was a winner take all situation, she wouldn't hold it against the guy for doing what he had to do. He had just wished the two of them had asked first. It might have been hard to have faith in the world when it could be so cruel to the people living in it, but it was better to act with a good conscience.
It hurt more thinking that these two had been hurt so much that they had lost their believeth in others. If it was the last thing that she did, she was going to snap that idea out of them.
This wasn't the end of it.
Far from it.
"Watch where you're fucking going, plum."
They had a break before the finals so everyone could catch their breath and get something to eat if they needed it. She wasn't angry but she did feel very frustrated that she couldn't do anything for her friends. Here she had two friends that were struggling but at the same time, they were trying to push her away. Misaki decided that she would step out of the stadium so she wasn't feeling entombed by all of her own perplexing feelings. However, on her way out of the building, she walked straight into Bakugou and was promptly knocked onto her butt.
Her head felt heavy and her eyes felt wet.
It just seemed like her luck today to run straight into Bakugou before she could escape the hallway. She put up her front and rubbed her eyes. She hadn't been crying but she had damn near been on the brink of it; Now that she was in front of this guy, she refused to crack. Misaki got off of the floor and rubbed some of the dirt from her uniform off. Whipping her phone out of her pocket, she hurriedly typed out a message to him: Why don't you? You shouldn't be standing in the middle of the hallway in the first place!
"None of your business," he hissed. "You're the one that sticks out like a sore plum. Did someone hurt your feelings on the playground during the second round?"
Misaki narrowed her eyes at him. It wasn't like he could relate to what had happened. He didn't really have any friends... san maybe Kirishima, as that guy had really started to worm his way into hanging around with him for some strange reason. She just set out to typing: I have no idea what the hell happened during the second round, you angry pomeranian. Somebody used their quirk on me to get to the finals. So don't even get petty about what may or may not have happened out there because I have no clue.
Now, he seemed surprised to read that for some reason. Bakugou blanched but his expression quickly turned back to normal after that. "Heh. Should have known that was why you didn't react earlier."
Clearly she had stepped on his toes without even remembering that she had done it. Well, that was a point to her even if she didn't know what she had done this time. She sighed, adding onto that: Whatever. I'm not in the mood to bicker with you right now, Bakugou. What are you even doing out here, anyway? I thought you would have been psyching yourself up for the finals by taking it out on one of the practice areas.
He didn't say anything which she didn't expect. He was always so quick to debate her over the smallest things by shouting despite the fact that she couldn't hear whatever he was insinuating. Something was definitely up. His eyes flickered in the direction of the corridor to the left that was just ahead of them... as if he had been following something or waiting for something to appear. It seemed out of character for him.
Why was he even out this far?
Surprisingly, he gestured to where he was staring and Misaki walked beside him to get a peek at what he was looking at. She was surprised to see that it was Todoroki and Midoriya having a conversation at the end of the hall. She pursed her lips. What the heck were they talking about? Misaki turned her head to look at Bakugou but he had such a fiercely furious look on his face that she decided that now wasn't the time to bicker with him over something stupid like they always did.
From her spot, she could only make out every other word that the two of them said. She pieced it together best she could in her head, noting that Todoroki was still suspecting something about Midoriya. He hadn't given up on his theories on there was some kind of connection between Midoriya and All Might, and now he seemed to think that All Might was related to him.
Midoriya denied it. It was strange for him to do that. If he just said that he was learning from All Might directly, then Todoroki could have moved on from his assumptions and taken that at face value. Whatever he had against Midoriya now could be dealt with in a different way, then.
She knew that there was something between Midoriya and All Might. However, her assumption hadn't been to jump the shark and think that All Might was his Dad; She thought it was easier to say that since their quirks were both... strength related, it was possible that All Might was simply teaching him as a young protege. It wasn't uncommon for heroes to take students under their wing if they thought they could be as great as they were. All Might hadn't really ever taken a student before, but it wasn't like that couldn't happen.
It was the easiest option.
If they seemed similar... it had to be because All Might was teaching him his moves. At the very least, it was that or Midoriya was truly such a big fanboy that he learned everything he had by watching the number one hero fight throughout the years.
Todoroki turned from Midoriya and looked in the direction of the empty hallway. He hadn't seen or noticed Bakugou and her standing nearby, which was a bit of a surprise. "You're hiding something," he said pointedly. "My father is the number two hero, and if you're connected to the number one guy, then that's all the more reason for me to crush you. All Might has always been a roadblock to the old bastard, but he couldn't ever beat him. So, he came up with another plan to do it."
Todoroki began to tell the story of his childhood. How his parents had come together, not because they loved each other or anything, but because Endeavor wanted to have children that would have strong quirks to defeat All Might. Quirk marriages weren't common but they had existed for nearly as long as quirks had been around. He had taken it upon himself to sweep up Todoroki's mother to get his hands on her quirk. He pushed that woman to the brink of madness, and she had been so gone one evening that she took a kettle of boiling water and throwing it on the left side of his face.
Her hands covered her mouth to stifle any noise that might have tried to come out.
Misaki tensed up. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him get this way before. But today, the way that he phrased himself was... vicious... there was something in expression that just glowered and screamed anger, frustration, and rage. She could see it plainly now. Todoroki was doing all of this to get back at his father for years of abuse.
This admission was outright jarring. It was awful, and horrific to think there was someone out there who would use their own children to justify their means. There was no wonder left as to why he refused to use his fire quirk. She felt bad for even asking him about it. For the second time that day, she found herself frozen in her tracks and unable to chase after someone. She turned her back to the two boys and decided that she had seen enough of their conversation and that it was better kept private.
Satisfaction wasn't bringing this cat back to life.
Both she and Bakugou silently made eye contact. Neither of them was going to breathe a word of what they just saw to anyone. However, the reasons for that were different.
It was a lot to take in all at once but that was the way that it had to be.
Twice that day she had been stumped by means that were out of her hands. Both Todoroki and Mari were dealing with a lot in their personal lives and the idea that she couldn't do anything about that left her forgetting all about her other worries as far as the competition went. She sucked in a breath and watched as the bracket for the finals showed up on the screen, skimming the screen to see where her name was.
She noted that Midoriya would be facing off against that boy from general studies, who she now knew to be Shinso Hitoshi. A mysterious guy that Mari had found herself in league with. Was she friends with him or... had he... no, no. She knew Mari, and she chose to hang out with someone then they had to be a good person.
Uraraka had the pleasure of facing off against Bakugou first, that was going to be a sight to see. She had no worries about her friend but she knew that her nerves would be on edge. Anyone who had to go toe to toe with had a lot to handle. Mei was going to face Iida, in a surprising chain of events. It was likely that she would spend most of her round toying with him and showing off her babies.
Then, she finally noticed where her name was written.
[SHIMIZU MARI VERSUS HISAKAWA MISAKI]
Time stood still without her use of her quirk.
Chills ran down her spine and her head snapped to the side to catch a glimpse of the worried look that crossed Mari's face. Never had she thought that she would be facing against her friend like this, but it seemed that fate had other plans in store. They wouldn't even have a chance to talk about what had happened and what needed to be taken care of. They would instead have to hash it out with their quirks in front of Japan... and whoever won their match would have to fight...
Bakugou.
Man, the universe really had it out for Misaki.
Most of the games were a blur to her the moment she took her seat in the viewing area. Midoriya faced off against Shinso first, and while the guy had him on the ropes and nearly knocked him out of the ring, Midoriya used his quirk to break his finger to snap himself out of the quirk's effect. It was rather impressive that he could manage to do so! All and all, Midoriya won his match once Shinso realized there was no other option left, but as he left the ring defeated, it seemed as though his expression had changed.
Sero and Todoroki were next.
She sank down in her seat at the end of the row as she watched the two of them with a nervous dread filling her gut. The stadium had a chill to it that couldn't be ignored, and she had to wrap her arms around herself. The instant the match started, Todoroki used his ice quirk to encase half of the entire stadium in ice. It was so tall and imposing that it nearly touched the student boxes; There was ice seemingly a fraction of an inch from the front row of her classmates.
Misaki was staring down at Todoroki with her heart beating out of her chest.
He walked across the field after being declared the winner and said something to Sero that she couldn't read from her distance. However, she could see the heat enveloping his side for the first time since their first meeting and melting down the ice that he had created to nothing. He was clearly still distraught from what had taken place during the break and the fact that he overused his quirk proved it. Yet, there was nothing that anyone could seemingly do to help him.
That thought weighed heavy on her mind as she watched the next set of students get ready for their fight. When Hatsume entered the ring, she sat up at attention and leaned over to see what her friend would do. She might have been struggling with what was on her mind but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to cheer for her friend. Mei had lent Iida some of her support tools, and Midnight had okayed it because as long as both parties were alright with it then there was no need to stop it.
Midoriya and Uraraka were flabbergasted by the antics down below.
Misaki shook her head at those two. She tapped Uraraka on the shoulders and flashed her phone at the girl: Hatsume is one of my best friends. This is what she does. She makes gadgets in her sleep and that's her goal. She wants to show off everything that she has, so of course, she would lend out anything. This isn't about a match to her, this more of an advertisement campaign.
She smiled at her friend, shaking her head at the way her wicked grin ate up most of her face before continuing the other half of her message: She loves what she does and she's very passionate about it. She wants to be the kind of person that makes the tools that make hero work even easier for people like us. She's going to take at least a half-hour to explain what her tools do and the benefits. There are not just heroes looking for interns here, there's a lot of groups who want to take on students like Hatsume.
"She does have a lot of them," Midoriya mused. "That makes a lot of sense."
Misaki nodded her head. For good reason, she turned to the side and tapped her silver headset that hooked around her ears, and then typed out something else: She made this headset for me, too. I hadn't even asked her for any help. She just knew that I needed help with training my quirk, and then one day she hands me this and tells me to test it out. Hatsume really is an amazing person but a lot of people don't take her serious because she's so different from everyone else.
Their attention snapped back to the field below.
Just as Misaki had explained, Mei was whirling around the field with her own microphone that she had just probably hooked up by hacking into the system and cleverly dodging every attack that Iida tried without breaking a sweat. She using him for her own gadget means but there wasn't anything mean about that. She just really needed a goofy faced guinea pig that would do whatever she asked without even thinking about it.
Iida was, unfortunately, an ideal target.
It reminded her of that day when they first met. She had been trying to pick up her books and papers that had been knocked out of her hands by some of the students in her class, and Misaki had shown up and they scattered to the wind when she warned them about the teacher being nearby. She picked up half of Mei's books for her and smiled. Hatsume had been unsure of what to make of Misaki, but when she returned her property to her, it seemed as though she felt better about it.
Misaki whipped out her phone, and started to talk: You're from Class B, right? I've heard the teachers talking about you a lot. They say that you're some kind of genius and you spend a lot of your time making stuff. That's really cool. I can't believe that we have someone like you in our school!
A wide grin appeared on Hatsume's face. It was like whatever she had been feeling was gone in an instant when she was praised. "My reputation proceeds me!" she had said, "Yes, that is me! The one and only Hatsume Mei, the next big support tech!"
It turned out that Hatsume had been on her way to test a few of her gadgets out in the field but she had forgotten some of her papers back in the classroom and that was when she got jumped by some of the other girls. That happened every now and again, it was something that she had grown used to and it didn't seem to bother her as much as it did Misaki upon learning it. Misaki offered to come and help her with testing because she was genuinely interested in seeing what she could create, and because she knew nobody would mess with Hatsume if she tagged along.
"I have to test out some of my babies today. I always test them outside. It's easier when the school is abandoned at night."
Misaki's eyes lit up: Can I watch?
The rest was history. Mei had been so jazzed that anyone wanted to help her because that had never happened before in her life. Sure, that afternoon had been the first one that something blew up in Misaki's face, but it was worth it to see how happy it made Mei. It had been a lot like this, and how she was treating Iida. She wanted to show how great what she could make was, and it wasn't great if it wasn't a big display of grander and big bangs. Not a lot of people ever got to appreciate the true Hatsume brand, but they really needed to.
She was just the kind of person that you needed in your life. Her friendship with Mei was something that she cherished, and watching her friend out there made her heart ease up just a bit. The instant that Mei ran out of gadgets to use out in the ring, she stepped out of the way and took a bow. Midnight declared her as the loser and really, she was the real winner as far as the market and big hats were concerned.
Everyone was flabbergasted by her antics but not Misaki, or Mari, they knew what to expect out of her and what would happen.
The next round was Uraraka and Bakugou. It was obvious that she was nervous about facing off against someone like him because she left rather quickly right after that match to psych herself up. Midoriya had been worried about her so he walked after her to make sure that she was alright before the match started.
The fight began not long after. It was a quick match. Bakugou went headfirst into the fray, his quirk firing off round after round towards Uraraka. Smoke and ash surrounded the field, allowing Uraraka to use her quirk and throw the blond off track by throwing her uniform to the wayside and going for a fake-out from behind. Bakugou thought he had her on the ropes but-
She had been using her quirk to build up a minefield over the stadium. She unleashed her quirk and sent down a torrent of earth and rock. Her final plan had been last-ditch and had all of her cards on the table; Bakugou lifted his hand into the air and blasted the rocks away from him. She tried to push herself harder after that but her quirk just couldn't take it. With her quirk overused, she fell to the ground. Uraraka had put up a good fight but her body just wasn't ready for this.
Bakugou was declared the winner.
The field was cleared up after the mess the two of them made and Todoroki and Midoriya took their places at either side of the ring. Uraraka plopped down into the seat next to Misaki right as Midnight was getting ready to start the match. She had been patched up by Recovery Girl but looked as though she had been crying about something. Misaki rested her hand against the girl's shoulder and smiled reassuringly. She had done her best, and that proved a lot to the world.
Uraraka was also nervous about Midoriya.
She typed out her message and flashed it to the girl: You're worried about him, aren't you?
Uraraka's cheeks turned even pinker than they already were. She tried to shake her head and deny but both of them knew the truth about that. She couldn't play this off to Misaki: Guess it's obvious, huh? I bet you're just as worried about Todoroki since the two of you are friends... er, were friends before this mess? I'm not sure how Deku's going to deal with all that ice.
Misaki frowned. She still wanted to think that the two of them were still friends in spite of what had happened. I just hope he doesn't break his arms again to beat Todoroki.
Todoroki's first move was to cover the field in ice all around. Midoriya didn't make a move at first because it seemed as though he was going to take the loss at face value, but then, he lifted his hand up and did as he had done in the earlier rounds. He broke one of his fingers with his quirk, and by doing that, it shattered the ice that covered the field. It was set whirling across and out of the stadium. Misaki didn't want to believe that he was about to do the same thing again, but he steadied his hand and the minute that Todoroki used his quirk again, he activated his and destroyed the ice.
He was going to shatter all ten of his fingers to win if he had to do it.
Neither of them could last that long. Midoriya only had so many fingers and Todoroki could only his quirk so much better he would wind up hitting a wall and having to stop. Physical quirks had limits that many of the emotional or mental quirks didn't. You could only fight for so long before your body called it quits and copped out.
So they danced along the boundary lines like that for a while.
Smoke would repeatedly cover the battleground and when it cleared the both of them would be looking more worse for wear then they had prior, only to do it once again... and again... and again.
Midoriya's right arm was looking bruised and purple. It was nearly torn to shreds. He knew that he wouldn't be able to keep fighting for much longer, and Todoroki knew very well that this was reaching the end. "Sorry for all this. I appreciate it, though, Midoriya. Thanks to you... He doesn't look too happy. With both hands destroyed, you can't fight anymore. Let's end this."
Midoriya lifted his hand up against the torrential ice wall and a blast covered the field. It was enough to blow Todoroki back to the other side of the field with the ice stopping him from leaving the safety of the ring. What Midoriya had lifted was his already broken hand. He hurt himself even further than he had already done, and for what?
"You're shivering... Todoroki." Midoriya breathed, noting the ice that had begun to encase him. He leaned forward despite the burning pain in his arms. He was giving it his everything and Todoroki still was denying his true power. This ice couldn't last forever and ever. He wasn't truly being him. He was suffering by only using half of his power. "You must have a limit to how much of that cold you can bear! Quirks are just physical abilities! You could always use that left side of yours to thaw yourself out, couldn't you?"
Midoriya shook with feeling. Midoriya shouted with all the determination in his body. "Everyone's... giving it their all! To win... To achieve their goals to make it to the top! And you're going to win with half your power?! I still... haven't put a scratch on you! Give me everything you got! Come at me!"
Just like that, they were both heading for each other, running to face the other with fists held high.
Midoriya was faster, he landed a hard blow before Todoroki could and was sent flying once again. Todoroki stumbled but he caught his footing before it was too late and he got knocked out. There was ice beginning to encase his skin and that was clear to everyone in the audience now. He was breathing hard and going much slower than he had before. It was because he was only using his ice ability now.
His determination to only use half of his quirk was his Achilles; Without his heat to balance out his fire, he was slowly freezing himself. Midoriya was shaking, trembling as he stood there and looked at Todoroki. He was feeling something so strongly about his classmate and he knew very well the words that this guy needed to hear.
Todoroki didn't see the big picture. Midoriya shook his head, staring right at his classmate as he held up his fist as he stumbled forwards. "Your power... is your own! It's your quirk, not his! Your quirk! You want to be a hero, right? That's fine, you're not bound by his blood! You decide! You choose who you want to be, Todoroki! So, use your quirk!"
Unbenounced to both of those boys, Misaki had left her seat and was gripping hard on to the fence in front of the student section as she watched both of them with bated breath. Those feelings that were burning through Midoriya were the same that had filled her chest. She could see it all from the monitors overhead, all of the words that fired back between the boy of them as they struggled on the battlefield for dominance.
Misaki sucked in a breath and ignored the shaking in her chest.
"You can do it, Todoroki!"
Everyone seemed surprised to hear the sound of her voice, but whatever feelings about that were quickly forgotten and pushed to the wayside as something sparked in Todoroki. It started with a bang and then everything changed. A swirling tornado of fire erupted from Todoroki out of nowhere. It was the kind of heat that couldn't be ignored by anyone. He had all of his power underneath him but he had pushed it away for so long. For so long he dodged her questions, her accusations, and thoughts about it like it was a shameful power that he didn't want to address.
Here was standing in all of his glory and power.
Todoroki was radiating power and Midoriya had drawn out his own power.
Energy encased the stage and the two of them went flying for each other with the intent to attack. The blast sent everyone back against their seats and holding on for dear life from the impact of those two quirks smashing together. Nobody moved and nobody said a damn word. When the dust had finally settled Todoroki was standing in the middle of the stage on his both of his feet and Midoriya was...
His body was slumped against the stadium wall and out of bounds.
"Todoroki moves onto the third round."
Misaki found herself headed straight for one of the waiting rooms after that match. Hers was up next, and while it was going to take a few minutes to put everything back together, she couldn't help herself but check some of the vacant rooms to see if Todoroki was in any of them. She had really wanted to talk to him about... well, everything that happened. Most of all, she really just wanted to make sure that they were still friends. She rather liked his company, and if she knew that she still had one of her friends, it would have made going into her match with Mari a lot easier.
She couldn't find him though, so she gave that up knowing that she only had a little bit to mentally prepare herself.
On her way to the entrance, she had passed one of the waiting rooms that Recovery Girl had set up, and Uraraka stepped out of there looking a little bit relieved. Midoriya must have been patched up as best as he could be, but she had to see him to just know for sure that things would be alright. Typical, but hey, it was good that people were worried about Midoriya after he did stuff like that.
"Misa! There you are!" She said.
Misaki nodded her head in response, tugging out her phone: Is Midoriya alright, then?
Yes. Though he's going to need to stay overnight. Uraraka looked a bit sad about that, but she quickly changed the beat of her drum by changing the subject: Are you alright? As soon as the match ended you ran off before anyone could say anything.
Misaki didn't think that anyone had noticed. After she had gotten riled up by all of those feelings, she just had to get out of there for a minute. It just felt like she was getting swallowed up: I'm sorry if I worried anyone. That was just really intense. I just... wanted to make sure that Todoroki was okay after that. But I guess he needs a minute to cool off after all that heat. I haven't been able to find him.
Uraraka watched as Misaki shifted from one leg to the other. It didn't make sense. Todoroki had hardly interacted with most of the others in class thus far but Misaki had somehow weaseled her way into his circle these days: Well, you are closer to him than most everyone in the class. I'm sure he'll come around later after your match.
Misaki's face sank at the mention.
It was funny that everyone thought that they were close. She didn't really feel like she knew him at all. He was just like a brick wall, he didn't talk about a lot of things but he was there. It would be a lie to say that she really knew him. But, she wanted to get to know him better so they could be actual friends this time around. Having friends was a lot harder then it seemed as Misaki had already failed to see Todoroki's pain clearly. She really needed to work better at noticing when something was up.
Knowing that she was going to have face Mari soon... She couldn't allow herself to fail her best friend any longer, either.
Uraraka rested a hand against her shoulder to get her attention once again: Are you... worried about your match? That girl is from General Studies like the boy Deku was up against... She might have an intense quirk like that guy but I'm not sure... You should be able to take her, though, with your quirk!
Misaki already knew what her quirk was and how hard it could be to fight. This kind of fight was actually something that Mari could be good at, if she used her quirk faster then Misaki could react, then she would knock her out of bounds in a minute: Her quirk is torrential tears, She can create huge torrents of water from her eye sockets and knock you down in an instant. It's a highly strenuous quirk that dehydrates her within minutes if she's not careful about how she applies it.
Uraraka blinked, once, twice, then a third time. It was a look that seemed to say: How do you know so much about her?
Misaki was quick to fill in those blanks and explain what she knew: She's my best friend. I've known her since we were kids, but I didn't know that she was attending U.A. this whole time. I thought she failed the entrance exam and didn't want to tell me when she heard that I had passed it. We both wanted to get into the hero class, but only I did. We had a little... spat earlier during the second round and things are a little rocky right now. I never thought that I would have to fight her so I'm a little torn up about it. I also don't understand why she's been so distant.
Uraraka was surprised to learn that. She pursed her lips and thought about it for a moment before responding: She's your best friend. I'm sure she has a good reason why she's been avoiding you, Misa. There's probably something else going on and you can't help that, you know?
Misaki's shoulders were tight. There was no denying the fact that she still felt like she had messed up. She felt like she should have known something was wrong and done something to help out: I feel like I should have tried harder to see her... like I've failed her as a friend. I didn't realize something was wrong and I just didn't pursue it hard enough. I failed her as a friend just like Todoroki. I didn't know he was having a hard time and he had to have some sense beat into him instead of what should have been done.
"Misaki!" Uraraka placed her hands on her friend's shoulders firmly. It was so strong and unlike the usual bubbly touch that she had. It snapped Misaki's attention back to Uraraka with wide eyes: You're not a bad friend. You've been trying your best and that's what matters! I haven't known you very long but you always go out of your way send me a positive text every morning! Heck, even the other girls. Sometimes people hide things and it can't be helped. You're not a bad friend because of those things, okay? You're doing the best that you can.
Misaki stared, then fumbled to type a response: Do you really think that?
Uraraka nodded her head with a big smile: Of course! We're friends and comrades, I would never tell you a lie!
She flipped through her phone to show her something else. It the chat room for all of the girls was open with different happy emojis and encouragement that had been posted in by the girls throughout the morning. She then flipped back to her text window: Think of our girl chat if you think you're unsure, we've all gotten closer over the last few weeks and lifted each other up! There's nothing here that tells me that you've been a bad friend to anyone. Everyone is working hard to be friends and you're a part of that.
Thank you, Ochako. That means a lot. Misaki bowed her head. She felt her eyes brimming with tears again but she held them back.
Uraraka shook head as if to say, it wasn't a problem: No problem, what are friends for, you know? You should get going. They just called for your match.
I'm going to do my best out there. Misaki affirmed as she raised her fist into the air. A sudden flow of confidence invaded her body. She could handle this now. Uraraka had really set her heart at ease. She stashed her phone away and headed in the direction of the field. She had never intended to fight Mari, but if that was what she had to do to make things better then she was going to do it. If it worked with Todoroki and Midoriya, then it would surely be able to work with Mari.
Uraraka stood there with her hand against the wall as she watched Misaki disappear. Today was proving to be a very difficult day for everyone so far, but it was also turning out to be a good thing as well; With the way, everyone was discovering new parts of themselves and different things they didn't know about their own powers. She had even learned something about herself. Uraraka took in a breath of air and turned around to head back to the student section.
Her eyes flickered in the direction of the hall to her right.
"You should really try to talk to her after her match, okay, Todoroki? She seemed upset about you."
REVIEWER RESPONSE.
akagami hime chan: Mari could have just asked. It would have been the smartest thing to do, wouldn't it? Teenagers tend to do the opposite of what might be the best thing for themselves when they're upset. The thing about Mari is that she struggles with her feelings and when she's scared of losing something, she'll try to cut people out and run. It doesn't happen often because Misaki is always on top of things, but she couldn't be this time around. Next chapter, we'll be learning more about what's happened.
InternetJunkie: SOMETIMES WE MAKE MISTAKES! Mari messed up, but that doesn't mean that she'll get off scotfree.
Mekutakito: Yeah. I've had friends do something similar to this when I was younger. The act itself isn't done intentionally to hurt someone, but it's based on a misunderstanding and heavily influenced emotionally. Mari messed up, and she knows that. Misaki is also a very forgiving person and understands that not everything is intentionally bad. You'll have to keep reading to see where it leads though!
Also, in regards to your question, that will be answered in the future of the fic in one of the upcoming chapters! Misaki still has a lot to learn about her quirk because she hasn't quite yet learned where her limitations are. She hasn't pushed herself to the brink but she's very close to learning what those limitations are, as well as where she can grow.
