Enemy Within

"I'm telling you. The kid was terrified. Whatever was in that bullet cancelled out his quirk. The moment he realised something set him off. He froze and panic set in" Mirko said as she explained the events that had transpired. She was currently talking to police officers who had arrived on the scene as well as other pros. So, to her they were annoyances.

"Yeah right. What's that Goku kid got to be scared of? He's so strong no one would dare threaten him. Besides a bullet that cancels quirks. If that was on the street we would have heard whispers of it by now" replied one of the lesser known pros sarcastically. Why was he lesser known? Mirko didn't recognise him as a challenge.

"You don't believe me? Figures that a weakling like you can't see the bigger picture. I know what I saw. A red dart-like bullet which hit the kid. As I gave chase he picked it up, per my request. Now here we are. He's been sent back to UA with no sign of his quirk. Hopefully it's temporary. He has way too much potential" Mirko defended as she crossed her arms and scowled at this particular pro. One of the officers was taking notes throughout.

"A drug that does the opposite of Trigger. This could have severe repercussions should more of it enter society" admitted the officer with a slight shudder. His comment annoyed the pro from before.

"You actually believe that? Not like it'll be hard to stop. Besides the effects are 'temporary' as Mirko here says. Why should we be worr…"? He never got the chance to finish. Mirko swept him off his feet and he collapsed onto the ground. As he groaned in pain he took note of Mirko towering over him, her red eyes burning bright.

"You idiot. We should worry because if whoever is manufacturing this drug perfects the formula, then anyone hit with it could lose their quirk. Permanently" she growled and the hero she was speaking to shuddered in fear. Knowing she had gotten her point across, Mirko turned around and walked off, "I'm done here. You got your info. As soon as you learn more about the drug and who manufactures it, notify me immediately. I want some payback." Then she took off. She didn't have any plans really. Though there was one person she wished to check up on. Though that could wait till tomorrow.

Goku sighed in relief. It had been nearly a whole day before his quirk re-emerged. Boy was he happy. Not having a quirk wasn't the problem. It was knowing who he wouldn't be able to stop without his quirk.

"So Kakarot. How did you like the little test run of that new drug?" Goku jumped off his bed and whipped around to see Raditz standing at his window. The body of the younger boy tensed as Raditz opened the window and climbed into the room.

"Get out. Now" warned Goku as entered his Ascended state. He wasn't taking any chances.

"What's the matter? I can't visit my little brother?" Raditz remarked with sarcastically, "Despite what happened you're going straight into that form. Aren't you worried you might lose control? After all it has been a whole day since your quirk was initially cancelled out. It may be back now, but bodies can adapt quickly to every situation." Goku had him pinned against the wall with his left arm before he knew what was happening. Raditz coughed and grinned. The two brothers were now eye level and Goku's glare was beginning to burn into Raditz's soul. Or that's how it felt.

"I said. Get. Out" growled Goku as he charged a ki blast in his free hand. The reaction that followed was entirely unexpected. Raditz started laughing.

"That's more like it! Show me the rage you're so famous for!" For a moment Goku faltered allowing Raditz to headbutt him and pin him to the wall on the other side of the room. It was Goku's turn to grunt now. On instinct he began to struggle but was at a loss for words when, even in Super Ascended, he was unable to break free from Raditz's grasp.

"Where's all your bravado Kakarot?" mocked Raditz before grabbing the back of Goku's head and slamming his face into the floor. He then locked Goku's arms behind his back and kept him on the ground with his knee, "You see now why you'll always be weak. You'll never enjoy the rush the way I enjoy it. The suffering, the death, the pain and pleasure. It's wonderful. Sure, you've killed but you never enjoyed doing it. One day I hope you will. That's when you'll see the world the way I see it. A world of weaklings where only the strong can rule."

"I'll never be like you!" shouted Goku in rage as his struggling increased. Chuckling to himself, Raditz leant down to Goku's ear and whispered in it.

"No. You'll be worse."

With that the older brother got off Goku and proceeded to make his way back to the window he had entered from. It was still open. Goku got to his feet quickly and held his right hand out to fire a ki blast. Raditz turned his head to the side and gave a sinister smile.

"Don't bother. Surely by now you've realised I'm not actually here. This is all in your head." With that he climbed out the window and vanished. Goku stared after him. Only when there was a knock on the door did he snap out of his daze. Immediately powering down and quickly closing the window, Goku opened the door to find Jiro outside.

"Goku what the hell happened?! There was shouting and banging. We thought you had been attacked" she said in panic. She entered the room and scanned the area. Something had definitely happened, and she knew it.

"Nothing happened Kyoka." Goku assured her with wavering confidence. She turned to face him and narrowed her eyes. He was lying. How did she know?

"I can hear your heartbeat. You're lying" she said catching Goku by surprise. It was here that he noticed one of her earphone jacks was plugged into the ground at his feet. He sighed. She could hear the vibrations of his heart.

"It's complicated. Not sure how to describe it," he finally relented and sat down on his bed. Jiro took her seat next to him and turned her head so she could see his expressions. She decided to trust him this time.

"I'm listening. You can tell me" she assured and Goku gave a sad smile. He breathed in heavily before breathing out again just as heavily. Then he began.

"I keep seeing my older brother. What you heard earlier was an encounter with him. I thought at first it was him using some sort of cloaking device that only I could see but it turns out it's all in my head. I think he's some sort of entity for my pain, loss and guilt. The reason I lost the fight this time, if it can even be called a fight, is because he wasn't there. Due to being a hallucination his power can be whatever he wants it to be. Ascended didn't stand a chance and I was too angry to use my new form. I think I'm losing it."

Jiro listened intensely. If what Goku said was true then something was eating away at him. His quirk worked based on emotions and feelings. Pain, loss and guilt fell under the latter. Three things he pushed to the side were rearing their head in the form of his older brother. After some pondering, Jiro finally spoke.

"Goku you're not alone. I'm here for you. I've told you this so many times now. Why are you still keeping things from me?" she asked. She was angry at him yet sympathetic at the same time. Alas she needed to get the frustration out of her system.

"Kyoka. You don't get it. You've got your parents to confide in. I literally have no one like that. My only sibling hated me and is either dead or wants nothing to do with me. Besides why should I bother anyone else with this? Your comfort will just slow me down." That set her off.

"I beg your pardon. We'll slow you down. I'm sorry we're suddenly a burden to you. Not everyone can be born as powerful as you. You just see us as weaklings don't you?!" she was raising her voice now and stood up in anger. This was something that Goku had never seen before.

"Well no. I never said that Kyoka. You're just not as strong as me. I mean I didn't reach Kaioken times twenty, my Super state or Super Ascended with the help of others did I? That was all me" Goku said naively. What happened next was unforeseen. Jiro slapped Goku straight across the face. His head whipped to the side and his eyes widened in pure shock. His face began to sting from how hard it was hit.

"How dare you?!" Jiro gritted her teeth in anger. She was livid. The only time Goku had seen anger to this degree was when he had watched the live footage of him turning Super for the first ever time. It wasn't a nice sight, "If I recall you pushed your body to its limits to fight the Nomu for our class. Bakugo, despite being a prick, essentially helped you access your Super state! And let's not forget what happened when you entered Super Ascended. Cell was torturing and was going to kill me! Also, I'm pretty sure I suggested what you should do with your new form! So how dare you declare that you got all this power by yourself!" She was shaking in rage and had tears forming in her eyes. Goku's own rage boiled and he unknowingly transformed into his Ascended form.

"You think I'm going to credit you weaklings for it! This is my power not yours! Stop pretending you're not jealous of me! Compared to my quirk yours is nothing and you know it! You've never had the drive to get stronger! Go lose everyone you've ever cared about and then you can call me out!" he roared in response with his aura blaring to life. The force of it flung Jiro across the room and against the wall. She gasped in pain as her eyes went wide and the tears fell. Goku's glare quickly vanished as he realised what he had done. He reverted to his base form and moved to help Jiro up.

"Get off me" she snarled as she batted his hand away.

"Kyoka listen to me I didn't mean to" Goku was lost for words. Nothing he could think of would truly show how he felt in that moment.

"Spikes? The hell's going on in here?" came the sudden voice of Mirko. She had shown up to visit him, yet upon hearing an argument and some sort of explosion, rushed up to Goku's room. After asking which one it was and which floor that is. Needless to say, she was expecting what she came across.

"He was right. I'm worse" was all Goku could whisper before grabbing his hero costume and bolting out of his room past Mirko who gave one last glimpse to Jiro before going after him. One thing she noticed was the tears streaming down his face. She needed to get to the bottom of this and fast.

Jiro was left alone in Goku's room with several members of her class peeking in to see if she was okay. All they saw was Jiro sitting with her knees up and her face against them. Her eyes were clenched shut and her crying could be heard. The friendship between her and Goku had been fractured. She had no idea what to do.

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait. Life got in the way. Anyway Chapter 3 is here.

Not much to say here really. Pretty self-explanatory. Hope you enjoyed.

See you next time,

Ethan