I've never been so scared to post a chapter? AHHHHH! Enjoy, and as always, thanks for reading xo
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Koharu vs. Shinsou
Koharu and Shinsou locked eyes from across the field. Black clashed against violet, sending sparks into the air.
"Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course… and it seems they may also transfer people out."
"If you're such hot shit, then put your money where your mouth is before I fill it with my foot instead!"
Koharu bared her teeth in a snarling smile. Shinsou returned it with a blank-eyed smirk. He was first to break their gaze by turning to walk off the field.
"Eh? Uraraka?" Bakugou said, reminding Koharu that she was still standing next to the teenager.
"Good luck," she idly replied. Her mind was miles away from their conversation, and her eyes still followed Shinsou's back. "Uraraka's strong. There's a lot she can do with that Quirk."
They both ignored the sound of someone squeaking behind them.
"Whatever," huffed Bakugou. "I'm not planning to lose."
Present Mic's voice boomed through the stadium. "Alright! Let's leave this tournament for a momentary interlude! It's time for some recreation! First off will be a scavenger hunt!"
Koharu released a sigh. She wanted to participate in the recreation, but she couldn't forget Shouta's words. Supposedly, unlike the rest of her classmates, Koharu was supposed to be avoiding attention, for reasons her tiny, child-size brain couldn't possibly understand.
Such bullshit.
"You're not going to participate," Bakugou observed. Koharu jumped, having already forgotten his presence once again. He scowled at her twitchy behaviour with glinting red eyes, before he pointedly huffed and began stomping off. "Stop acting so fucking weird today, dumbass. Let's just go already."
Koharu blinked at his retreating back. If anyone was acting weird, she thought, it was Bakugou. While still a far cry from being kind, Bakugou was almost acting— dare she say it?
Nice?
A laugh bubbled from her chest at the thought, and Koharu stumbled to catch up to the blond. She guessed that even Bakugou wasn't soulless enough not to be moved by finding her mid-breakdown. Maybe she needed to cry around him more often, if all it took was a couple of tears to make him soften around the edges?
"Oi, oi!" a voice called after them before Kirishima launched himself into the scene. He threw an arm over Bakugou's shoulder with a wide grin on his face. "You'd better win your first match so that we can fight each other in the next round!"
Koharu felt her feet pause beneath her as she registered Kirishima's words. Her friends were already thinking ahead, and she hadn't even thought about looking at the other matches after spotting her opponent's name. Koharu let the two boys trail ahead as she looked back to the large tournament screen. Her eyes scanned the names listed, easily able to read them despite the distance. Her breath caught in her throat at what she saw.
If she beat Shinsou, then Koharu would have to fight Midoriya. There was no way that little badass would lose to Mina. Koharu puffed out her cheeks and swept her eyes across the field, searching for a familiar head of green hair.
Bookmarked on either side by Iida and Uraraka, Koharu was surprised to find that Midoriya was already looking her way. Catching sight of his shocking emerald eyes, Koharu remembered what she had told him only hours before:
"I can't wait to kick your ass too!"
The words settled poorly in her stomach. "Oh, geez," she muttered to herself. "You just keep digging yourself deeper and deeper, Koharu."
Without a smile, she walked away.
xox
"Are you ready?!"
Courtesy of Cementoss, a large cement platform had been constructed in the middle of the stadium. The crowd hollered and cheered in response to Present Mic's voice as it boomed through hundreds of surrounding speakers.
"We've been through a lot, but now we're finally here! Now, you can only depend on yourself! Even if you're not a hero, you'll face tons of situations like that, right? Heart, skill, body, wisdom, and knowledge! Use all of that to rise to the top!"
Koharu took a deep breath, and imagined that Hizashi was speaking only to her. It was time to take all that she had learned at U.A., and all that Shouta had taught her—
Shouta.
Koharu's heart hadn't stopped squeezing in her chest since their conversation. She honestly felt like she might burst into tears any moment, and fuck, wasn't this day supposed to be special? Wasn't a girl supposed to feel giddy the day of her first sports festival?
— or was that prom? Goddamnit, she couldn't think straight and she had never been one for adequately assessing her emotions—
Koharu wished desperately that her brother was there. She wished that Shouta was standing behind her, a hand on her shoulder and a proud smile on his face. Her big brother had always been there to pick her up, brush her off, and put her back onto her feet with a pat on the head and a snarky comment. Koharu never could have expected that he would be the one to tear her down, but still—
His absence haunted her.
Who was she without him believing in her? Even her dream of becoming a hero had stemmed from her desire to beat him, to be like him. If Eraserhead hadn't been there to guide her, would Koharu have wanted this at all? How strong was her conviction if he could knock her off her feet so easily?
Koharu ran a hand through her hair, the thick purple strands pulling between her fingers. Her lungs shook as she breathed deeply in, and she held it there tensely. She held it until she was red in the face and her eyes watered, her back bowing forwards and her ears ringing. Unwanted, a quiet thought swam to the top of her mind.
What would her parents think of her now?
Koharu wanted to think that they would be proud of her. She wanted to think that they would have been in the stands cheering for her, or even better, that they would have been there with her at that moment. They would put their arms around her, and they would tell her that she would be amazing, and that she could win the whole thing if she just put her mind to it—
What would her parents have told her then, if she could have talked to them instead of Shouta?
No one needed to tell her that she would never know. Koharu knew that her parents were long gone, and they couldn't give her any answers. She was standing alone in that hallway, and there was no one coming for her. Koharu was alone.
It was like Hizashi had said: it was time to stand by herself.
She breathed out, and stepped forward into the light.
"Audience! The finals that you've been waiting for are finally starting! Match number one— what terrible hair for such a cute girl! From the hero course, it's Koharu Aizawa!"
Koharu ruffled her hair even further at Present Mic's rude remark, and she stuck her tongue out towards the announcer's box.
"Versus! Sorry, he hasn't done anything remarkable yet… from general studies, it's Hitoshi Shinsou!"
She could see him clearly on the other side of the field, a bored look on his pale face. He looked as though it was a chore for him to be there at all. That, or he had so severely underestimated Koharu that he didn't expect the match to be a challenge for him.
Either way, Koharu planned to knock that look right off his face.
"The rules are simple. Either force your opponent out of bounds, or immobilize them! You can also win by making your opponent say 'I give up'! Bring on the injuries, because we've got U.A.'s very own Recovery Girl on standby! Of course, anything life-threatening is crap! Not allowed! Heroes should only use their fists to fight villains!"
Cementoss had constructed himself a small throne near the edge of the stage, where he now sat with his attention focused on the two of them. He raised his large hand into the air, showcasing his gigantic squared fingers. "I'll stop things if they go too far."
Koharu eyed the hero with vague unease. She imagined it would be more painful to get hit by his cement blocks than any "life-threatening" attack Shinsou might throw.
"'I give up', huh?"
Her eyes slid towards Shinsou. His bored expression had broken to reveal that same stupid smirk she hated so much. Silently, she let him continue.
"If you know what you want for your future, then you can't worry about appearances. That's something you already know, right?"
Koharu tilted her head to the side, allowing her hair to obstruct her eyes. For just a moment, her gaze moved upwards to the stands. Without focusing, she could just barely make out the faces of her classmates. They were too far away from her for their Quirks to be of any use to her during the fight.
"Ready?!"
She really would have to stand on her own. Koharu slid her feet shoulder-width apart and bent her knees.
Meanwhile, Shinsou's look darkened as he talked over Present Mic's call. "That monkey was going on about pride— "
"Start!"
"—but that's not a problem for you, is it? Do you think that you're better than him?"
Koharu couldn't wait any longer. Her fist longed to meet his face.
She darted forwards, eager to throw the first punch. Ready to disappoint her, Shinsou met her head-on with a raised fist, his arm outstretched like an invitation. Taking it as such, Koharu swiftly ducked her body beneath his arm, her hands reaching up to wrap around Shinsou's bicep. Using her momentum and Shinsou's arm as her anchor, Koharu jumped up and over Shinsou's shoulder. She was quick to maneuver her body, her ankle hooking beneath Shinsou's chin and her grip sliding to his wrist.
Got'cha.
As she twisted forward, Shinsou was pulled along for the ride. His feet were swept off the ground as Koharu flipped them, the boy letting out a startled grunt as his world tumbled around him. Koharu was already standing by the time Shinsou's back cracked loudly against the concrete.
It was obvious, Koharu thought, that Shinsou had been poorly trained. His stance had been sloppy, and his pitiful attempt at a punch even sloppier. It was like no one had shown him how to properly fight. As he slowly pulled himself off the ground, wincing in pain, Koharu almost felt sorry for the boy— though not sorry enough to keep the grin off her face as Shinsou's back cracked into alignment.
She had both fists raised by the time he was standing. "Still feeling like hot shit?" she taunted.
Shinsou openly scowled at her. "You don't talk like much of a hero," he observed. "I suppose your strength is supposed to make up for that bad personality?"
Koharu was almost certain that it was meant to be criticism, but Shinsou's words renewed the smile on her face. She widened her stance, lowering her centre of gravity, and gestured for Shinsou to come at her.
"You're toying with me," the general studies student muttered, refusing her bait to offer his own. Silently, Koharu conceded to his point. "You're looking down on me right now, aren't you? Someone with a Quirk like yours wouldn't understand."
Koharu's fighting stance faltered. She had expected Shinsou to keep talking like a jerk, and he was, but that was practically a compliment. It wasn't often that someone considered her Quirk valuable enough to be jealous over. What was Koharu's Quirk good for other than bringing out the Quirks of other people? What did someone like Shinsou see that her own brother didn't?
Pointedly, Koharu raised both of her fists before opening her hands to begin signing.
Scared to hit a girl? she asked with a grinning face. Let's fight already!
Shinsou's eyes showed no recognition of her hand movements. It was yet another way that her training had trumped his own, Koharu smugly considered.
"It must have been easy for you to get into the Hero Course," Shinsou continued as he observed her silence. "With a hero for a father."
"Shouta's not—" Koharu's instinctive words faltered on her tongue, and she immediately caught her huge, colossal, moronic mistake.
Koharu couldn't move her body.
Fighting to do as much as twitch her fingers, Koharu felt panic begin to curl up her throat. It felt like her heart was waiting for Shinsou's command to keep pumping. Even collecting her thoughts was like wading through swampy waters.
She watched Shinsou's lips curl into a slow, smug smile. "I win," he said. Shinsou walked towards her with a confident swagger, his gait lazy. Without her willing them, one of her arms began to raise into the air.
No! It can't happen like this!
Beyond Shinsou, Koharu could see the stands where her classmates were watching her. She focused in on the red of Kirishima's hair as he leaned over the railing, his shouting lost to her ears. Kaminari's grip on his jacket was all that kept him from tumbling into the stadium. She could see Uraraka, the girl still cheering for her with both her hands cupped around her mouth. Iida and Midoriya were beside her, Iida's arms waving high in the air while Midoriya chewed his fingers.
They were watching her. They were cheering for her. What would they think of her if she lost now? How could she ever face them again?
Her arm was in the air. Her friends were surging forward, pressing against the railing like Kirishima, and she swore she could almost hear them calling her—
"Haru-chan!"
...
Uraraka gave her a pleased smile. "I bet that you're really strong too, Koharu."
...
Kirishima's arm fell atop her head. "You guys don't get it because she hasn't used her Quirk on you before, but Koharu has to know about people's Quirks in order to switch them, right?"
...
A hand clamped around her wrist. Koharu was forced to look up as Bakugou hissed, "Don't even think about withdrawing, idiot."
...
"Your Quirk," answered Aoi. "You must have noticed it too. It was totally different than what you described."
...
"Midoriya," she heard herself say. "I can't wait to kick your ass too!"
...
Shouta looked over his shoulder. "You can't be a hero with just one trick."
...
"Lucky?" Aoi was scoffing. "That wasn't luck. Don't lie— you were using someone else's Quirk, weren't you?"
...
"After all, weren't you planning on beating me?"
...
Koharu suddenly wasn't sure what was more important: her brother, or her pride. "Shouta—"
...
"Of course I am! I'm gonna kick your ass!"
...
"I want to win!"
...
Red eyes met, and an explosion rocked the stadium.
Two large blasts had burst from the palms of her hands. She and Shinsou were both forced backwards by the force, and Koharu felt her mind clear as Shinsou's hold on her snapped.
The first thing she noticed may have been the stench of her own burning flesh, but the mind-shattering, world-ending pain was a very close second.
"—fuck!" Koharu cursed, her whole body quaking as she fought back both tears and a rapidly rising sense of nausea. She felt impossibly heavy. Her ruined arms hung limply at her sides, unable to do more than twitch uselessly. The ringing in her ears was even louder than when she had been deafened by Hizashi's Quirk, and the world around her was tilted and muted.
Everything hurt. The skin across her arms had already begun to peel away, and the palms of her hands were completely bloodied. She could feel blisters blooming over the entirety of her chest, stretching up her neck and even across her cheeks. It felt like her blood itself had become fire, and Koharu's knees buckled with the pain of it pumping through her veins.
While experiencing what was solidly the worst pain she had ever felt in her life, Koharu took some comfort in the knowledge she had been accurate in her predictions of using Bakugou's Quirk— Likely detonation of target. Ill-advised.
His passage would need immediate revision. Every page needed revision. All of her plans suddenly needed amending, so many possibilities she had never considered because since exactly when could she do anything nearly half as cool—
Koharu had just used someone else's Quirk. Bakugou's Quirk. Holy fuck.
"I… am never doing that again," she wheezed. Her voice sounded faint and warbled through the persistent, deafening ringing around her head.
She couldn't catch her breath through the pain, even the air burning in her lungs, but she wasn't ready to give up. Koharu took a shaky step forward and the cement cracked loudly beneath her heel, drawing Koharu's aching eyes downwards—
She was stepping on a solid white line.
"S-she's out of bounds! The winner is Hitoshi Shinsou!"
chapter end
Many months of foreshadowing later… boom :)
I'm SORRY that almost everyone predicted that Koharu would win, but I never planned for her to make it through. Koharu would be very flattered to know of everyone's faith in her abilities though!
MayNura — "defective" is a very good word to use for the Aizawa siblings... someone give these two some therapy already... I actually really like Shinsou too, even if that's not obvious right now haha!
thumbdash05 — I loved your review so much. Koharu would be so glad to hear someone thinks she could easily win the tournament :) and maybe she could have, had I been nicer to her. I also love your predictions as to what will happen next... I suppose only time will tell!
M — I loved your review, as always. Aizawa's decision definitely makes sense from his perspective, but since when do teenagers like to listen to their guardians?! I hope you're not too disappointed that Koharu didn't beat Shinsou! xo