"It means Xellos is alive! And he's loose on this world. Everyone in this world is in serious danger!"
A silence filled the air after the chimera's declaration, a heavy weight seeming to settle in the room as its inhabitants glanced at each other. As everyone else looked pensive or dumbstruck, Jun's features hardened as he began to replay Zelgadis' previous comments about the purple-haired mazuku in his head. Finally, the former rescue hero broke the silence, gravely asking "What do you mean, Greywards-san? Please elaborate."
Looking up to meet the lighters' mentor in the eye as his fist remained firmly planted on the ground shaking, Zelgadis answered "Xellos…He's a mazuku. Beings of pure magic. They don't have physical bodies as we think of them, their real bodies exist in the astral plain. What we saw, what we interacted with was just a projection. That bastard said when we got here to this world that something was wrong, that his astral form was gone and with everything else going on, I just took it at face value. DAMNIT!"
"But what does that mean?" Michiru implored, confusion and a bit of fear creeping into her voice.
"It means he is effectively immortal. No matter what anyone does to that body we see, Xellos will be unhurt. That's why he just let that hand-wearing nut-job turn him to dust, he needed a way out!" Zelgadis nearly yelled back at Michiru, causing the tanuki girl to flinch.
Seeing this, Jun narrowed his eyes as he asked again "Ok, that explains how he survived but how is he a threat? All he seemed to do was teleport away in fights."
Seeing the older man beginning to lose patience with the shaken sorcerer-swordsmen, Zelgadis looked away in frustration but answered all the same "You may think I'm pretty strong with all the magic I can perform but in all honesty, though I am strong, I'm nothing compared to the likes of Lina, who was our group's leader. And Xellos? With Ruby Eyes broken and sealed and two of his subordinates dead, its safe to say Xellos is the third strongest being in my world. He slaughtered hundreds of the strongest dragons in an instant and he could burn this city to the ground in an instant if he so chose. That answer your question, Sanada!"
"And yet, here we stand." Emeralda said, drawing the Chimera's gaze. The statement was as much a question as anything else and after the two locked eyes for a moment, Zelgadis turned away as he stood back up.
Taking a deep breath as the rest watched on, waiting for anything else to be said, the rock-encrusted man answered the question on everyone's mind "Among the mazuku, Xellos has always been an odd one. Always interested in humanity, that tricky bastard always seemed to prefer to watch and learn and let others do the dirty work for him. That's probably why he hasn't just started blowing things up, he's got a plan and his time with us was just the first part of it."
"Then…then why did he send those two to try and kill Terra! If he's so damn strong, why didn't he do it himself!" Shinra pointedly challenged the chimera.
"I don't know!" Zelgadis shot back, tensions in the room rising as the sorcerer continued "Weren't you listening? This is just like him to have someone else do his dirty work!"
"Yeah, but why?" Michiru quietly added, clearly unsettled by both the news and how upset Zelgadis was getting.
Frantically running his hands though his wire-like hair, Zelgadis shot a pointed glare over at target of the whole affair, his hair disheveled but serving to frame the almost desperate look in his eyes as he struggled to answer the simple question. Wilting under the intense gaze, Terra seemed to shrink in on herself and look away, as though ashamed. That act caused Zelgadis to break the glare as he asked "You…Terra. What is the source of your magic?"
Still unable to meet the chimera's intense look, the dark green-haired woman nonetheless began to look confused "My source? I'm not sure I understand?"
Rolling his head and sighing, the chimeric lighter's features began to soften as he began to explain "Where I and Xellos are from, there are three schools of magic, generally. There is white or holy magic employed by the shinzuku and their followers and draws from one's own spirit or inner light. Then there is shamanistic magic that I use, drawing from the elements and the astral plain where mazuku dwell. Finally, there is black magic, which draws from the mazuku themselves. The strongest spells draw from the strongest mazuku. So, I ask again, where do you draw your magic?"
Wishing desperately that Hitomi was here to support her, Terra summoned the courage to explain that which everyone else had already seen "Well, I'm a half esper. Where I come from, espers were also beings of pure magic, from a world where magic was part of the fabric of our world. I never really got to sit down and talk to my father or any of the other espers about the nature of our existence or anything like that before it all was gone so I can't say I draw magic from a source as you seem to be describing. My power is my own."
"And yet, it was Xellos' appearance that caused you to transform and lose control?" Jun gently asked.
Rubbing her arm nervously, Terra replied "Yes, well, I think it was kind of like a small flame suddenly having gas thrown on it. With the sudden serge of magic, it triggered my sudden return to my full original state of being and overwhelmed me. I'm so, so sorry…."
"Perhaps thats it." Zelgadis began, drawing the others attention to him again "You are different, and possibly very strong in magic. Its possible Xellos feared you. You might be the only one who can hurt him. My guess is he sent those goons to avoid tipping us off if they failed. He may not of known you could sense him on their bodies." The chimera offered.
Another silence settled in the room before Jun spoke up "Be that as it may, the fact is he is out there. I need to let the authorities know. You all stay here until everything is sorted out, ok?"
With everyone agreeing, Jun and Nemuri stepped out to give the bad news.
(X)
After some questioning of everyone involved and a review of the video from a camera in Terra's room, the half esper was cleared of any potential wrongdoing and was cleared to leave after further tests showed she was healthy. Jun had Zelgadis explain everything he knew about Xellos while Hitomi was also cleared to leave once the tranquiller had moved out of her system. The look of relieved happiness on the counselor's face as she stepped out of her room to be greeted by her dark green-haired friend was almost enough to make the others forget all that had transpired at the hospital that day.
Exhausted mentally, if not physically, the group made their way back to the UA campus, with one more than they had expected to have hours earlier. Hina and Mob were pleasantly surprised to see Terra return though their excitement was also tempered by the news of an attempt on her life and the likely implications that steamed from it. Hina had tried to lighten the mood with talk of the lighter party they could now have but no one was in the mood for such talk and after a muted dinner, most parted ways for the night, retiring to their rooms in the vein hope of getting some rest.
The next morning saw Jun once again in the office of the head of the Hero Public Safety Commission, his head bowed low as his face was held twisted into a hard frown. The former rescue hero held that pose as the president finally spoke, her voice barely holding back the disappointment and anger boiling within her "So…let me get this straight. Some sort of high-ranking demon general who can teleport anywhere he wants, can lay waste to whole cities with magical blasts from his hand and at best there are two people in this world who are may be capable of hurting him is now freely wandering about Japan?! Sanada-san, this is entirely unacceptable. We are charged with the public safely of the citizens of this nation and you just let such a powerful being drink coffee as he gathered intelligence!" That last bit was accompanied by a fist slam to the desk.
The impact caused the silver-haired man to cringe but despite the extreme shame he was feeling he straightened himself. Daring to look the president in the eye, he was meet with a pair of fierce, determined orbs that demanded answers. Answers Jun wished he had. Instead, all he could shield himself with were facts as Jun replied "With all due respect president…even if I had known, given his powers, I am unsure what we could have done differently. We certainly couldn't have restrained him."
"If this Xellos is as curious about humanity as reported, you could have appealed to that curiosity, instead of treating him like another one of your lost puppies." The president bit back. Jun was half inclined to point out there was no way of knowing if such a tact would have been any more effective at preventing the mazuku from going AWOL. Instead, the president spoke again "At this point, we only really have two options for resolving this. First is hope that Terra Branford is indeed strong enough to counter this Xellos, which is quite possible given the assassination attempt. Otherwise, our search to find the means by which these lighters were brought here takes on even more urgency. Assuming they can even be sent back home at all." Then, seemingly exhausted despite the mid-morning hour, the president slumped back in her chair, her previous fire and determination drained from her face as she rubbed her forehead.
Seeing the president's whole demeanor change, Jun relaxed a bit as well as he spoke again "Detective Naomasa pulled together some recent reports and sent some of his men out to follow-up after I called him after the attack. He thinks that Xellos is actually the serial robber who has been hitting convenience stores across the city the past couple of weeks."
Her hand still on her head, the president spared a tired look at the former hero in front of her "Oh? Was that how he could afford a couple of hitmen? Heh, seems even demons need money sometimes…" she finished with a mirthless laugh.
"Indeed." Jun replied. "However…if the eye-witness account is to be believed, Xellos has made contact with the yakuza group, the Shie Hassaikai."
The president's hand fell to her side, revealing two wide eyes as she looked up "You're joking? Please tell me your joking?"
"I…wish I were, president. This just happened yesterday morning but the detective said he plans to keep a close eye on them." Jun explained, his body tensing again.
To his surprise, the president seemed to regain her composure as she leaned forward in her chair once more "Thank you for your report, Sanada-san. I'll take it from here. See to it Terra is protected and trained. We may need her. I revoked her provisional license and I stand by that. I want you to make sure she's ready to get it back as soon as possible, understood?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Good. You are dismissed. I have work to do." The president finished, not sparing another moment as she grabbed her phone and spun her chair around to look out at the city below
Sparing a final glance at the chair, Jun couldn't help but wonder just how much longer he'd be allowed to keep mentoring the lighters. With an inward sigh, the former rescue hero offered a bow and left.
(X)
"So, did something happen last night?"
The question seemed to come out of the blue but Michiru quickly realized her mind had been elsewhere as she walked with her friends, tray in hand, to their usual table. "Uh, sorry Mina, I didn't mean to space out on you like that."
"Ribbit, it's not just you, Michiru-chan. The way Emeralda and Zelgadis were behaving during training, something definitely feels off." Tsu commented.
"Yes" added Momo "I couldn't help but feel both Greywards-san and Emeralda were being especially brutal today with Ectoplasm-sensei's clones."
"Plus, you seem really distracted yourself Michiru." Chimed Ochaco.
Glancing over at the stoic greenette and getting no reaction at all from Emeralda, Michiru sighed as the group began to seat themselves. Jun had told the three of them not to discuss Xellos with anyone outside of the house while the investigation was underway which meant there was only one thing the tanuki girl could share. "Yeah…it turns out the girl we went to see, right after we left, a couple of guys tried to kill her…"
A chorus of concerned questions at once flooded Michiru as the gathered girls wanted to know if the victim was alright as well as herself. Raising her hands in an attempt to get her temporary classmates to calm down a bit, Michiru nervously added "Guys, guys, its ok! Terra…she's fine. She actually managed to stop them herself. All we managed to do was watch Hitomi after she got attacked too."
"Kanzaki-san got attacked too?" the gravity defying girl asked with concern.
"None of this was on the news, anyone else find that strange?" Kyoka asked.
"Yeah, that totally is strange! I didn't see anything on social media either!" Mina said as she pulled out her phone to check to see if she had somehow missed it.
"I don't know what to tell you Mina but it did happen! Terra's even back at the house now." Michiru said.
"How is Terra holding up? For that matter, how are you doing Michiru? It sounds like a lot happened!" Ochaco inquired.
Trying to wave off her friends' concerns, Michiru tried to answer nonchalantly "I'm fine, nothing I haven't gone through before. And Terra…I don't really know her well enough to know. She at least seemed happy to be back around her friends at least."
While Michiru continued to try and assuage most of the other girls at the table, Tsu turned to address her fellow greenette, who had continued quietly eating during the whole exchange. "And how are you, Emeralda? You were there too, right, ribbit?"
The frog-like girl got her answer before a word of response could be uttered as Tsu noticed Emeralda's hand was shaking. A moment later, the tan girl's chopsticks snapped in her hands, causing everyone else to stop talking and look at her. The quiet girl looked over at everyone starring at her, her own eyes wide in surprise before she looked down at her own hand, with the splintered utensil resting in it still. After a moment, all Emeralda could think to say was "I'm…sorry. I didn't mean to stop the conversation."
With an embarrassed flush to her face, Emeralda rose to leave, sure she had angered her companions. She didn't get the chance to step away before a call of "Wait!" brought her up short. It was Mina and now that she had the amber-eyed girl's attention, added "Its ok, Emeralda! We were just worried for you is all. You don't have to go if you don't want to."
Angry at herself for having caused a scene at all, Emeralda couldn't bring herself to face to energic the pink girl as she responded "Thank you for worrying but I…think I'm best alone for now. I know we were supposed to talk about your girl's night today but perhaps tomorrow. Goodbye."
All at the table were left dumbfounded and more than a little worried.
(X)
Things were no better in Jun's afternoon lecture, with Emeralda being even more distant than normal and evasive every time Michiru tried to ask her what was going on. The tanuki girl's last attempt as the two parted for their bedrooms was again stonewalled as Emeralda said she had some drawings she wanted to focus on, shutting the door without so much as a good night.
Michiru stood outside the door, her head slightly downcast as a swirl of emotion engulfed her. Confusion, frustration and a touch of betrayal at not being trustworthy enough to be shared with. The fur-covered lighter had no idea how long she stood there, fists tightly clenched to her sides when Zelgadis found her. It had been his turn to clean up after dinner and he had struck up a conversation with Terra about their two worlds that had kept him longer than he planned. So when he found Michiru just standing in front of Emeralda's door, a cloud figurately hanging over the normally positive tanuki girl, Zelgadis couldn't help but ask "Michiru? What the hell are you doing in front of Emeralda's door?"
Despite her enhanced animal senses, Michiru jumped with a start, her fur briefly standing on end. Quickly trying to dispel the frown on her face, Michiru turned to face her rocky housemate. "Oh, me? I was just worried about Emmy is all!"
Michiru's attempt to hide her mood did not go unnoticed by the chimera, who had spent quite a bit of time with someone who was a master at hiding behind a very cheery façade. Crossing his arms, his expression making it clear he wasn't buying it, Zelgadis asked skeptically "So you what? Stood in front of her door? To what end? Were you going to bore your way into her room with lasers from your eyes?"
Hitting Zelgadis with an over-exaggerated slap on his back, an act she paid for with another sore hand, Michiru exclaimed "Look at you Zel! Knowing what lasers are! I'm so impressed!"
"Michiru." Zelgadis growled
The tanuki girl flinched, her ears pressing down as she looked away. With the sorcerer-swordsmen looking on expectedly, Michiru withered under the scrutiny "Fine. I've just been worried about her and she keeps shutting me down. She is clearly upset, and I thought we were friends, you know? Why can't she tell me what's going on?"
Sighing, Zelgadis moved his hands to rest on his hips "Michiru, Emeralda isn't as outgoing as you are. You know that. It's not as easy for her to tell other people what she's feeling. Besides, it's not hard to tell she's been very upset about Xellos."
"About Xellos?" Michiru questioned; an eyebrow raised. "That's weird, I never pegged Emmy for being one to be scared about the potential destruction of the world."
"She's not." The chimera explained "Remember, she watched Xellos 'die' to protect her, and she blamed herself for his loss. Now, that sacrifice turned out to be nothing more than a farce."
Realization dawned on the tanuki girl as both her eyebrows raised this time, along with her tail perking up "Wait, so she's angry? About being played? About feeling so bad about her perceived failure? Or about not realizing it?"
"Can't say for sure but its likely a least a couple of those. Just give her some time, let her work it out in her own head and it'll be fine." Zelgadis responded, a sagely air about him.
A genuine smile returning to her face, Michiru offered a playful (and much lighter) punch to the chimera's arm "You're pretty wise for someone so grumpy. Thanks Zel."
Zelgadis allowed himself a smirk but said nothing as he moved to head to his own room for the night. After a moment, a thought occurred to the tanuki girl, who turned back and called out "Hey Zel, it almost sounded like you were speaking from experience there."
The smirk slipping from his face, Zelgadis answered as he stepped though his door "I was."
As the chimera's door shut behind him, Michiru was left in the hallway, much more aware of her friend's feelings and yet, felt much worse for it.
(X)
The next day Michiru gave Emeralda a wide birth, even if it went against all of her instincts to step in and help when she saw someone suffering. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she may have taken some of her own frustrations out on her poor Ectoplasm clones. On the plus side, Michiru had to admit she was getting pretty good at attacking with her fists now that she could fly without using her arms, darting around the clones in mid-air.
In fact, Michiru was getting so wrapped up in the training that she lost track of time entirely, until the session's end was called, much to her surprise. As had become custom at this point, Class 1-B was arriving just as 1-A was wrapping up. What Michiru wasn't expecting was to see Terra among the second group of heroes-in-training. The young woman, more than a few years older than the first years that surrounded her, definitely stood out and she looked more than a little self-conscious when Neito Monoma began boasting "I see your surprised and jealous stares, 1-A! Yes, its true! We now have our own ringer for the license exam! And since she kicked all of your asses at the mall a few weeks back, I'd say having her alone more than makes up for the three you lowly 1-A fools have!"
"Wait…but wasn't he just telling us what an embarrassment it was that we needed help with extra students a few days ago?" Hanta observed over the obsessed blonde's cackling.
"I just try to ignore him." Denki replied as Neito was unceremoniously bonked on his head by his class rep's enlarged hand.
Still not used to the casual use of violence the class rep of 1-B employed, Izuku nervously asked to no one in particular "Didn't Branford-san already pass the license exam? What's she doing here?"
With things relatively quiet again, Michiru looked over at Zelgadis and asked, a hint of accusation in her voice "You knew she'd be here, didn't you?"
Raising an eyebrow, the chimera replied "She did mention it last night. I'm not sure what your problem is. What she does is her own business. If you hadn't of been so hung up on Emeralda, you could have just talked to her yourself."
Looking over, Michiru noticed several of her classmates had begun to gather around her fellow lighter and she became determined to follow Zelgadis' advice, leaving the rock-encrusted sorcerer behind. As the tanuki girl got closer, she could hear Terra already giving an explanation to Izuku, Momo and Tenya "…and because of my sudden, ahem, quirk evolution, I lost control of myself. So the commission stripped me of my provisional license until I can demonstrate control of my new form."
"And that's why you have joined 1-B as Kagemori-san, Greywards-san and Kasim-san have joined our class, to retake the exam?" Tenya clarified.
"That is most commendable of you to try again so soon after such an ordeal, Branford-san." Momo added.
Blushing at the praise, Terra shyly replied "Oh, you heard about that, did you? Well, I can't say it was a pleasant experience, but I didn't think just sitting around was going to fix anything and with Michiru here setting an example, I asked to do the same." Terra finished, acknowledging the tanuki girl.
Fidgeting with his fingers, Izuku had a hint of red himself as he nervously asked "Could…we see it? Your quirk I mean? If its ok?"
"Midoriya! Show some restraint!" Tenya scolded.
A hint of apprehension on her face, Terra nonetheless looked over at Vlad King "Would it be ok, sensei?"
Crossing his arms, a smug grin played on Vlad's face, showing off his prominent fanged teeth "Sure, why not?! You've got the principal's blessing so I'm fine with it!"
Releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding, Terra's eyes took on a determined glint as she turned back "OK, I'll show it to you all, but I'd advise you to stand back abit."
Hearing that, Michiru couldn't help but feel a little nervous herself. Even with witnessing Terra's esper state completely under control at the hospital, memories of the fight at the mall couldn't help but force themselves to the fore of her mind as she took several steps back along with everyone else.
With no further preamble, Terra closed her eyes and arched her neck as she faced the ceiling. As she did so, a sudden burst of pink light engulfed her for a moment. When the cloak of energy cleared, Terra floated just above the ground, her form seemingly completely changed. The body covering pink fur and wild, almost feral appearance, cloaked in a similar colored energy made for an intimidating sight for those of both classes that had yet to see Terra's esper form.
With a number of the gathered heroes-in-training outright gawking, Terra rose high above them as she faced toward Cementoss' pillars. As the energy around her surged, Terra took two sudden swipes with her clawed hands in the pillar's direction. At each slash, pink blades of energy surged forth, smashing into two of the taller pillars, toppling them instantly, the rubble crashed down in a dusty cloud.
As she floated back down, those that had turned to watch the attack slowly and comically turned their heads back in unison, eyes wide. The awed silence was broken, of course, by Minoru as he shouted "Dude, she's totally naked!"
As Mina and Kyoka proceeded to stomp on the tiny pervert, Terra somehow managed to blush despite already being covered in pink fur. Promptly returning to normal, Terra's clothes reappeared as she nervously said "Yes, well, Power Loader is still working on a work around for why my clothes disappear like that. Until then, I'll just put on some clothes once I've transformed since the principal didn't buy that my fur would be enough."
Shouta, who had been standing next to Vlad King, turned and drawled "I didn't take you for a pervert."
The hulking hero was unperturbed however, laughing the insult off "Ah, come on Eraser, she is covered up. Don't be jealous just because I bagged a strong one!"
"Hardly. Just don't come crying to me if she burns the whole testing site down." Shouta spat out before he turned back to face the students, yelling "Alright, 1-B has training! 1-A, hit the showers!"
As the students of 1-A made their way out of the gym, the talk of the class was of just how strong Terra had appeared. Tohru went so far as to exclaim "Now that was one hell of a quirk!" None disputed the claim, though the three lighters in the class did share glances, the look of those who knew all to well the truth behind the power 1-B's newest member wielded.
(X)
Talk at lunch continued to be about the young woman who had been cloaked in pink energy and fur. Though Emeralda was usually the quiet one at the table, Michiru too had little to say as the comments and questions about their fellow lighter swirled around the tanuki girl. Michiru only really started paying attention when discussion somehow landed on their girl's night.
"We should totally invite her!" Mina said excitedly before turning to her fellow heteromorph "You live with her, don't you Michiru? It'd be easy for you to ask her, right?"
Michiru was hesitant to answer, still not sure how to feel about the half esper. Luckily, she didn't have to as Momo chimed in with a hint of admonishment in her voice "Now Mina, if we invited Branford-san, then we would have to invite all the girls from 1-B and though I have nothing against them, I do feel that would be far too many."
Crestfallen, the pink-skinned hero-in-training turned when Tsu added "Besides, ribbit, we still have to settle on when and where, don't we?" the frog-like girl said as she looked toward the stoic tan girl to her side.
The attention of the entire table seemed to fall to the greenette, a feeling she didn't much enjoy. There was a pressure settling on her chest and the last thing she wanted to do was to disappoint them while at the same time unsure why she was in this position at all. After a few long seconds, the amber-eyed girl moved to answer by asking to cancel but was beat out when Michiru rose her voice and suggested "Well, we're getting a break in training for the weekend, right Momo? Hadn't you suggested that before?"
Momo's gaze held on Emeralda for another moment before her focus came to the tanuki girl as she hesitantly said "Yes…I had indeed made the suggestion but I was unsure if anyone else had plans. I didn't want to speak for everyone when we weren't all here. Is that ok with everyone?"
There were a chorus of yeses, leaving Emeralda to give her ascent. Instead, the tan morpher was still recovering from having her words taken out of her mouth by her own friend. The truth was, Emeralda felt more and more this whole endeavor was as much for her as anyone and that thought angered her. They should do what they want, what makes them happy, not try to help her. She wasn't deserving of such consideration. After all, she was just a thing, not a real person. Still, Emeralda had agreed to go and even if she wouldn't add anything to the proceedings, she felt she couldn't back out now. Realizing everyone at the table was again starring at her, several of them with that worried expression again, Emeralda looked away and almost whispered "It is fine. As long as I know when to cancel my engagement with Ojiro-san."
"Awww" Mina teased "your engagement, Emeralda? I didn't realize the two of you had grown so close!"
Either ignoring or missing the pink girl's meaning, the tan girl calmly replied "we are no closer than we were at the beginning of our training. It is only appropriate that I inform him."
"Then the dates settled for Friday night but where to have it?" Ochaco said, trying to keep the conversation focused.
"We could have it at our dorm but it feels rude to ask all of you to come over to our place" Michiru said.
"That's a fair point." Kyoka conceded.
"On the other hand, we have far more housemates." Momo pointed out. "If we were to hold the festivities at the 1-A dorm, we would need consent from our male classmates."
"You need not worry about that!" Came an enthusiastically stern Tenya, who had appeared behind the black-haired creator. "We have already discussed amongst ourselves and are fine with your get together, so long as it falls within the realm of decency and good order."
Looks of excitement spread among the girls at the table though several were left wondering what the bi-speckled class rep meant with the last part of his comment. Joining Tenya was Izuku, who added "Yeah, we all decided we could be out doing our own things and the like."
A questioning smile appearing on her face, Mina asked the freckled boy "What, the boys didn't want to have their own night hanging out?"
Flinching, the nervous green-haired boy answered "No. We did try but it kinda fell apart when Ka-chan told me to go to hell when I asked him."
There were looks of sympathy and of anger from the gathered classmates as Michiru voiced the collective feeling when she spat "Typical."
Everyone seemed to nod in response before Momo added "We'll handle food as well, Michiru. You and Emeralda need not worry about bringing anything besides yourselves and anything you might want to such as a game or the like."
The tanuki girl nervously rubbed the side of her fur covered face "Well, we don't exactly have a lot of possessions here after all and I doubt we'll be playing any basketball so I guess it'll just be the two of us."
The peppy floating set of clothes that was Tohru then turned to look over at the stoic greenette "If you don't have any board games, just think of a fun game from home and we can play that!"
Without hesitation, Emeralda replied flatly "I know of no games played from where I am from."
That brought the various 1-A student's attention back on the tan girl as Michiru cringed visibly, sure this could only lead to her fellow lighter having to poorly lie about her origin to their temporary classmates. A sympathetic Ochaco ventured "You don't know any games? What did you do with your friends, Emeralda?"
The amber-eyed girl moved to answer but was cut off by her furry friend again as she said "Emmy just means there aren't any games she knows that aren't played here already!" There was an odd pause as the table's occupants turned their collective attention to Michiru and then back to Emeralda for conformation.
When said lighter silently nodded after her eyes locked with Michiru's, Mina chimed in as if to break the tension "ALL RIGHT! It looks like its settled! I can't wait!" With a collective agreement from the girls, everyone began to drift into different conversations before moving on with their days.
(X)
"Are you sure you want to do this?" a concerned Zelgadis asked Michiru as she and Emeralda stood at the doorway about to leave for their girl's night over at the 1-A dorm a couple of nights later.
"Why Zel, are you jealous?" the tanuki girl teased as she reached for the door.
"Please. You've met our classmates. Half of them are annoying or should be locked up. One of them even makes Emeralda seem like an extrovert. I have no idea how these kids expect to not get themselves killed out there." The chimera countered, clearly not buying his friends ribbing.
"Always so serious. Well, I'd tell you to have fun but I know you're just going to read alone in your room." Michiru answered as she stepped out the door.
Bowing slightly, Emeralda felt the need to say as she too left "I see nothing wrong with reading. Enjoy your night Zelgadis." A statement that brought a small smile to the previously frowning chimera.
As the two walked the short distance over to the 1-A dorms, Michiru asked "What'd you say to Zel?"
"I simply affirmed his life choices..." came the greenette's somewhat cryptic response.
A knowing smile playing on her lips, Michiru spoke, as much to herself as to her companion "Bird's of a feather, huh…" When there was no response, the tanuki girl looked back to see a raised eyebrow but also noticed for the first time that Emeralda was carrying something. "Is that your sketch pad Emmy? Did one of the girls ask you to bring it?"
Glancing down at the pad under her arm, a hint of affection that Michiru had never seen on her friend's face graced Emeralda's features as the greenette answered "No, none of our classmates requested I draw anything for them."
Now it was Michiru's turn to raise a questioning eyebrow "Then…why did you bring it?"
"A hunch." Was all the quiet girl would reveal as the two approached the 1-A dorms. Izuku and Mashirao were in the middle of practicing, the former having asked to train with the tailed martial artist in Emeralda's place.
As the two lighters approached, the two boys saw them and stopped their spar, Izuku offering a friendly wave while Mashirao bowed respectfully to the girl he saw as his superior. The tailed boy's gesture caught Michiru off guard though and she nervously tried to wave him off while Emeralda responded with a light bow of her own. The whole exchange was witnessed by the 1-A girls watching from the window who giggled, unbeknownst to Michiru and Emeralda.
Mina was still giggling a bit when she answered the door before either of their guest's could knock. Puffing her cheeks a bit, Michiru demanded "What's so damn funny!"
The tanuki girl's indigent question only brought a fresh round of laughter as several girl's lost their composure anew. Emeralda, for her part, didn't really see what was so funny but was glad to see everyone already enjoying themselves. On top of that, the quiet greenette had also been worried that her choice of dress, a simple red tank-top and black athletic shorts, would be out of place but seeing the other girl's more or less in the same kind of casual attire put her at ease.
Momo was first to regain her composure and welcomed the two morphers into the dorm. Apparently, since getting food delivered was considered to high a security risk, all the girls had pitched in to cook various finger foods for everyone to enjoy. It was the dinning area that the group was headed when the dis-embodied set of cloths that was Tohru leaned in toward Emeralda and exclaimed "Is that a sketch pad! Are we going to get to see some of Emeralda's awesome art?!"
A finger pressed to her wide lips, Tsu added "Is that true, Emeralda-chan? Did you bring that to show us some of your work?"
"I can do so if you wish but I had a feeling it might come up so if anyone wants me to produce something, I can do so if you would like." Came the amber-eyed artist's response.
"Oh, is that what you had in mind Emmy? You guys are in for a treat, because Emmy here's work is top notch!" Michiru cheered.
"That's really cool Emeralda. Just don't let your drawing get in the way of having fun tonight, Ok?" Kyoka pointed out, making sure to look at Mina when she said it.
"Hey, don't look at me like that! I wasn't even going to ask for anything!" Mina whined.
As the chaos swirled around her, Emeralda couldn't help but smile herself, as her lingering worries about coming began to melt away. When they arrived at the dinning area there was quite the spread of food for everyone to enjoy. The group insisted that the guests get their food first, which they did, quickly followed by the rest. Once everyone was settled around the couches in the common area, their plates filled with food, everyone began chatting.
All except Emeralda, who quickly found herself quietly watching on, as though they were all back in the cafeteria, the only difference being she didn't have a table to set her food. Normally, the greenette would do her best to be attentive and listen to what was being said as much could be learned about her classmates and this new world. This time however, this time felt…hollow. Empty. She was here to "have fun" and she was beginning to feel very left out despite telling herself it was at least as much her own doing as theirs that she sat by, left out. Before long, Emeralda found herself entirely toned out of the various conversations around her. So much so she actually missed it when someone spoke to her directly.
"Hey, Emeralda, you ok?" came the sweet and concerned voice of the round-faced Ochaco.
It took a moment for the tan girl to register that the question was indeed directed at her. When she did speak, Emeralda did her best to mask her thoughts as she said "Yes, I am fine. Please do not worry about me."
With that, Emeralda went back to idly watching the others, trying to ignore the fact that the gravity defying girl that now beside her continued to look at her. After several long seconds, Ochaco spoke again "You know…I'm kinda jealous."
The tan-skinned girl furrowed her brow as she considered that statement for a moment, unable to discern its meaning. "I…do not understand, Urakaka-san. Who are you jealous of?"
After a light giggle, the brunette replied "You, silly!"
Turning her head slightly, almost like a confused puppy, Emeralda asked "Of me? That doesn't make any sense. I am hardly worth such attention."
"What are you talking about! Emeralda, your calm, and cool, you have an amazing quirk and are a top-notch martial artist on top of that! And Michiru keeps saying how great an artist you are!" Ochaco exclaimed before looking down and fidgeting with her fingers as she spoke again, notably softer "I wish I could be creative like you or Jiro or be super smart like Yaoyorozu, you know? Sometimes I feel like I'm just the average girl in the class…"
As Ochaco spoke, Emeralda's golden orbs widened at the other girl's admission and she felt compelled to say "No, you are wrong, Uraraka-san. It is you that I am jealous of. I have seen how open and friendly you are with the others in class. As I am sure you have noticed, that is something I…struggle with. You call me cool but really I am nothing more than a failure who is too afraid to say anything."
The brunette smiled, an expression that at first looked strained, as though she was struggling not to lose her composure. In a moment, it passed and a more genuine expression replaced it as Ochaco replied "Well, we can't be good at everything, right? I guess we each have things we're good at and all we can do is strive to improve ourselves!"
"Perhaps…" was all Emeralda could think to say as she looked away, silence falling between the two girls.
After a moment, Ochaco noted the sketch pad Emeralda had tucked beside her in between some cushions of the couch. A bit hesitantly, the gravity defying girl asked "Mind if I take a look at your work?"
Looking between Ochaco and the pad, Emeralda nodded, placing her now empty plate on the table in front of her before pulling out her pad. The moment Emeralda placed the sketch book on her lap, Mina noticed, calling out "Oh! Oh! Me too! I want to see!"
It didn't take long for everyone to gather around the greenette, save for Michiru, who was content to watch her friend be the center of attention from a few feet back, glad to see Emeralda get to open up a bit more. Opening the sketchbook to the back where more complete works were, the girls were impressed by how realistic Emeralda's work was. The first piece was of a landscape of the exterior of UA itself, followed by a beautiful mountain scene then a surprisingly detailed recreation of the mall that she had first appeared in. Then came portraits, first of some of their teachers like Aizawa and Cementoss and Midnight, for which Emeralda again received praise, something she tried to ignore or intentionally not acknowledge as she turned pages.
Then came the pages that had all of them, in their hero costumes, much to each subject's delight. Once they got past the 1-A students though, they came to a picture of a girl none of them had seen before though she looked very familiar. After a moment of starring, it was Tsu that said "Wait, ribbit. Is this Michiru-chan?"
All the gathered girls, as one starred hard at the drawing of the cute girl with the uneven bangs before turning to look at the tanuki girl. The furry girl in question had been spacing out at the moment but when she heard her name and everyone looked at her she realized her friend had done it again. Her eyes wide in surprise, Michiru called out "What? Don't tell me!" as she rushed over and muscled her way into the gathered girls to get a look. Sure enough, it was another portrait of her in her human form, similar to the one she had taken from Emeralda's room days earlier.
With everyone's expectant gaze upon her, Michiru dropped her hand and said, ashamed "Yes, that's me."
"Wait" said Mina "So does this mean you can look more human or that you were a late bloomer like Midoriya?"
Before the tanuki girl could answer though, Emeralda spoke "Michiru can shift into this form."
"It makes sense." Tsu speculated "Humans are animals too so if Michiru can take the form or characteristics of different animals, it would make sense that would include humans as well."
"We've never seen you like that, Michiru. There a reason why you never look human when you could?" Tohru asked.
Fuming that Emeralda would just answer for her and rob her of a way out, Michiru, a little too quickly, answered "Because! I-I feel more comfortable this way! This was the form I took when my quirk manifested! That's not who I am anymore!"
Despite what the tanuki girl just said, Mina couldn't help but ask "Could we see it? Your human form I mean?"
Seeing how uncomfortable Michiru was getting, Momo stepped in and offered a distraction, turning back to the tan girl "Emeralda, would it be too much trouble for me to ask you do a piece for me?"
Unsure exactly why Michiru was looking so flustered, Emeralda turned to face the raven-haired creator "I could try. What do you have in mind?"
Letting out an audible but soft pout, Mina said "Aww, but I wanted to see…" as she turned her attention back to the emerald-haired artist.
"When I saw your portrait of Kyoka before, I felt like it was missing something. Do you think you could draw her playing her guitar?" Momo explained.
Glancing at the girl with the ear jack-like ear-lobs, Emeralda answered "I will do my best. I do not, however, know what a guitar is."
Any other conversation died off and the room went silent as Emeralda glanced about the others around her, slightly confused. After a moment, Kyoka said flatly "Did you seriously say you don't know what a guitar is?"
"Yeah" Mina added "Its kinda hard to not at least know what they are. Have you been living under a rock, Emeralda!?" the pink girl playfully added.
The rhetorical and joking question threw Emeralda off and she found herself answering seriously "I did spend a great deal of time underground…" before catching herself about to reveal more than she ever intended, clamping her mouth shut. When the greenette started getting weird looks from those around her, she quickly added, truthfully "I was never exposed to such things where I am from, my apologies."
An empathic "Oh" escaped Kyoka's lips before her face brightened as she stood up "Well, lets fix that!" before she darted off for her room.
While the purple-haired musician/hero-in-training got her instrument the others set about cleaning up after themselves but it wasn't long before Kyoka returned with her purple guitar and presented it to the light green-haired artist "Here! This is my baby, my guitar!"
Emeralda regarded the instrument with curiosity, looking it over briefly before asking "So, it's a string instrument then?"
"Well" Kyoka began, her normally dour eyes lighting up "This girl's electric so to really get the best out of her, I'd need to plug it in. My dad got it for me when I got into UA. I'd lover to play you something if it weren't so late already. Maybe you could come listen some time?"
"I would be interested in listening. Thank you, Jiro-san." Emeralda answered sincerely.
"I think we'd all love to hear you play Jiro!" Tohru enthusiastically added.
"Yes, I completely agree." Momo agreed before turning to look at the furry member of the group "Right, Michiru?"
Appearing somewhat distant, the tanuki girl seemed to snap back to she surroundings before weakly agreeing "Yeah. Right. That'd be fun."
Momo's gaze lingered on the tailed lighter for another moment before Emeralda's voice brought her attention back to the upcoming sketching. "You may not be able to play your…guitar but if you could pose for a moment as if you were, Jiro-san, I could begin."
"What, in these cloths? Won't that look kinda weird?" Kyoka asked, concerned.
"I had intended to have you in your hero outfit, if that was acceptable?" Emeralda answered simply.
"You can remember her costume well enough to do that?" Tsu asked, sounding impressed.
"I have a photographic memory." Was all Emeralda said in response before looking again over at Kyoka and asking "Is that the pose you want, Jiro-san?"
Kyoka was slightly bent forward, her right hand held on the strings, the guitar's neck pointed up at an angle, her other hand held across it. The pose conveyed a sense of intensity that was reflected in the musician's look on her face as she nodded. Emeralda wasted no time in sketching out the basics of her subject, working quickly and efficiently as the others looked on with awe. It wasn't long before the greenette told Kyoka she could relax with Emeralda continuing for a bit longer before declaring she had all she needed for the rough sketch and would finish it later unless anyone else wanted something done.
And indeed Mina eager to jump at the chance despite what she said earlier, asked to be drawn in one of her break dancing poses. No one else really felt as strongly about the prospect so Ochaco suggested a group scene once Emeralda was done with Mina. So Emeralda had everyone pile together in silly poses for her to do her work. While waiting for the tan girl to finish, Tsu thought to ask where Emeralda was planning to place herself in the work. Blinking, Emeralda answered "I had not even considered including myself, honestly."
That didn't sit well with anyone and it apparently showed enough for even Emeralda to notice as she ventured "I am sorry for the oversight. Does anyone have any suggestions?"
"I have an idea!" the invisible Tohru called out. Breaking pose and running over to the amber-eyed artist, the floating set of clothes whispered into Emeralda's ear.
A small smile played on the greenette's face as she nodded and replied "Yes, I think I can do that."
"Great!" was Tohru's excited response as she rushed back to her spot.
"What did you tell her Hagakure?" Ochaco asked.
"It's a surprise!" came the reply, which brought a playful frown to the gravity defying girl's face.
Before long Emeralda was far enough along for everyone to relax and several came over to see where Tohru had suggested the artist place herself. "Oh, that's perfect! Great idea Hagakure!" Mina declared. Looking at the work, Mina saw that Emeralda had inserted herself just as she was, off to the side, sketching them, effectively having drawn herself drawing herself.
With the last sketch far enough along for Emeralda to complete later, Mina announced what they'd be doing next, a game of Truth or Quirk! The rules were simple, everyone would draw lots to assign a number. Each person would go in order and spin a wheel with their numbers on it and whichever it landed on, the first person would ask truth or quirk. If the second person choose truth, they'd have to answer a question of the first person's choosing truthfully. If the second person choose quirk then they would have to perform some feat that involved their quirk chosen by the first person. The second person could decide not to do the quirk but would then have to answer a question or vice versa.
Momo created a custom wheel with 1 through 8 on it so they wouldn't have to worry about extra numbers and once everyone drew a number out of a hat, it was time to play.
Tsu got to go first and the arrow settled on Momo. The frog-like girl took the opportunity to ask the raven-haired creator to make her an extra pillow for her bed when Momo choose quirk, much to the mischievous Mina's disappointment.
Next up was Tohru, who, after she spun the wheel, turned to her victim, Ochaco. Tohru turned to the brunette and not wanting to do the same as Momo before her, said truth. Glad no one could see her invisible smirk, Tohru proceeded to ask in a sing-song voice "So Uraraka, there anyone you crushing on?"
The question caught the round-faced girl completely off guard, and her eyes went wide as her face rapidly flushed red. Trying desperately to avoid eye contact with anyone, she directed her gaze out the large panel windows that lined the side of the room. Unfortunately for the poor girl, just then she caught a glimpse of the freckled hero-in-training that was the cause of her current predicament as he exchanged some kicks with Mashirao. With a high-pitched "Eep!" Ochaco looked back toward her friends, before she buried her face in the pillow she was holding before squeaking out "Quirk! I choose quirk!"
Tohru let out an "Aww" while Kyoka and Mina teased the poor brunette about just who had caught her eye, to no avail. Once it was clear no answer was forthcoming about who had been the cause of Ochaco's embarrassment, Tohru told her to roll into a ball and bounce herself of all four walls and the floor and ceiling of the room.
Ochaco complied and once she was done, it was Emeralda's turn and when she spun the arrow, it settled on Michiru. The tanuki girl had gone very quiet for the last stretch of the party, still thinking about how Emeralda had revealed her human form to everyone. The fact that the two of them had, in a way, switched places socially had gone un-noticed by the tanuki girl. So it was than Michiru wasn't really as aware as she should have been when she absentmindedly said "Quirk" thinking her friend would have her grow a shell and hide in it or something.
Instead, the tan girl, still unaware of just how uncomfortable the subject was for her friend said to Michiru "Please show us your human form if you could, Michiru."
"Yes! Finally!" Mina blurted out, earning her a glare from Momo.
Emeralda though, missed the anger that flashed across the tanuki girl's face as Michiru turned away. After a pause, Michiru said, her voice low and twinged with barely contained frustration "Truth."
With Mina again sounding disappointed in the background and still not aware of what was building under the surface of her friend, Emeralda answered "Then please tell me Michiru, why do you not wish to share your human form with anyone?"
Michiru turned her head back to stare back at her friend, her eyes wide, her face no longer surpressing anger but instead showing shock and a hint of betrayal. Not understanding the expression, Emeralda looked confused herself as the two starred at each other. Emeralda began to grow worried when this stretched out for a very awkward few moments. Finally, Michiru stood up, making sure to keep her gaze on her fellow lighter. There was a series of sparks and what had been a tanuki girl now stood a human girl with brown eyes and brown hair that was noticeably longer on the right side of her head. Sighing heavily, Michiru finally said bitterly "There, I hope your happy."
Unfortunately for the former tanuki girl, Mina had been sitting on the opposite side and missed Michiru expression and what she said as she bounded forward and excitedly embraced the transformed girl. "Look at you, your so cute, Michiru! You should totally do this more often!" \
When Michiru didn't respond, didn't even look at the pink girl, Mina knew something was wrong. Letting go and steeping away, Mina worriedly asked "Michiru? Michiru, are you ok?"
Now visibly shaking, the now human girl whirled around and angrily yelled "NO, I'M NOT ALRIGHT MINA! I'm not going to walk around like this either! I showed you for this stupid game! If I have any say in it, you'll never see me like this again!" Though she was still human, the rage in her eyes and the fervor that she spoke with made Michiru look more like an animal than she ever did while a tanuki.
Utterly shocked and more than a little hurt, Mina backed away and replied in a small voice "I'm…sorry. I just thought it was cool is all…"
Momo and Kyoka came to Mina's side, each offering a supporting embrace as the raven-haired creator shot back "Michiru! That was entirely uncalled for! What has come over you?"
Shifting back into her familiar tanuki form, Michiru met Momo questioning gaze with a steely one of her own as she pressed her hand to her chest and replied "THIS is who I am! What you just saw? She doesn't exist anymore and the last thing I wanted to do was to show you! But Emmy here couldn't take a hint!" Michiru's voice was starting to break now as her body trembled. She continued, everyone watching on now "And now…now I've ruined everything! I'm done. I just need to get out of here."
Pushing her way past Emeralda, Michiru ran downstairs and rushed out the door, slamming it hard behind her, leaving silence in her wake.
(X)
I know it's a common refrain for fanfiction writers, but life has definitely conspired to make getting this chapter ready in time a challenge. I have discovered weeklong family vacations are not conducive to writing, at least when a toddler is involved. I actually had one more scene planned for this chapter but time has run out so we'll leave here for now and pick up where we left off next month. I do have another large event coming up this month that will sap my brain for a portion of the month but I've managed to get chapters done before so I expect I'll do it again this coming time as well. As always, I hope you've enjoyed and that you look forward to the next one. Take care and see you next month!