Prologue II
Location: Musutafu Airport
"Don't look so serious all the time,"
Those words caused the young man with spiky black hair to turn to regard the woman who came over to him from the other end of the airport. The wide smile on her lips was enough to cause him a small smirk in return. She hadn't changed at all. As she finally caught up to him, she curled one arm around his shoulders. "You've gotten taller in just a few weeks, I bet Addison is proud," she told him. "Yeah, he's thrilled to know I'm not going to be a shrimp," he said with a laugh as they began to walk toward the entrance. "You know I could have made it to the school without a ride," he was quick to tell her as he shouldered his duffle bag further on his shoulder. If he got in, he'd worry about getting a few more things for his stay in Japan, but first, he had to pass their Exam.
"Don't be silly Kieran, besides your dad would kill me if I let you wander around in a new city all alone," Lexi was quick to refute as she raised her arms behind her head as they walked. She got looks wherever she went, her looks usually caused many to give her a little pause, but she was never too concerned about what anyone thought of her. "I can't give you any insider info, but I know you won't ask for it," she mentioned with a laugh. "I think you'll like it here, it's a nice change of pace," she admitted as they neared the entrance. A lone figure in black was waiting for them, his long hair tied back at the base of his neck.
Kieran regarded the man from a safe distance away, and as they went in his direction, he frowned. "Lex, who's that?" The question left his lips as he saw the man tracking their position, his posture relaxed, but his gaze watchful, he was watching them and the few scattered citizens around. As he pointed to the guy and watched as her gaze traveled to just who had caught his attention, she gave a nervous chuckle. "Oh him, that's uh Mister Aizawa," she told him. As he glanced at her, he was surprised to see that her gaze was averted. "Aizawa huh?" he muttered to himself. "Wasn't he like your teacher or something ages ago?"
"Yeah, he was actually. I attended UA high nine years ago...crazy to think how much time has passed though," she said casually, her earlier embarrassment forgotten. "You really are old," he teased as they continued to draw closer to the man with long black hair. "Hey! I'm not old!" she growled her arms crossing over her chest, she was only twenty-four, she definitely wasn't old. Kieran only grinned as they walked. "Seriously though why is he here with you, did you need a babysitter or something?"
Shaking her head she ran her fingers through her hair exposing the tattoo on her cheek as she regarded Shota from a safe distance, knowing he couldn't hear them just yet. "To be honest, I'm not sure, he seemed pretty insistent on going," The more she thought about it, the more she wondered why he pushed to go, she hadn't pressed at the time, but maybe she should have...but she hadn't wanted to know at the same time. Things were still a little on the awkward side as though they hadn't completely crossed the bridge to being colleagues just yet. "I think he feels guilty between you and me," she told him as her voice dropped in volume anyway as they walked. Violet eyes traveled to her in confusion, the question left unspoken as an eyebrow arched. The young man didn't get to ask anymore though as they came within earshot.
Shota had been watching them from where he waited at the entrance of the airport for a while. As Alexis had mentioned picking up Kieran from the airport, he knew he couldn't just let her go on her own. Perhaps he was hovering a little too much now that she was back in the country. He still remembered the incident that happened just before the graduation of her class, it had left a blackmark on UA and the agencies who had been represented, but the school and the agencies had all bounced back. The kids and those affected had not, it wasn't something to just bounce back from. He wasn't surprised after graduation that many of his students from that year had gone in a multitude of directions struggling to handle the losses. She had fled to America to get away from the memories.
His hands curled into fists inside his pockets where he was lounging as he waited for them to come over. He really shouldn't have let himself get so caught up in the past. He couldn't help it though as his mind wandered back to the incident just three days before their graduation, the news coverage, the debris at the site. The recovery effort, how the teachers wondered in hushed voices if there would be any survivors. The first student body found, followed by five others as the search wore on. The number of injuries, some so grave they wouldn't be heroes again. Finding her alive and not seriously hurt thanks to one of her fellow classmates had been a relief to him, and he'd felt guilty knowing the lives lost, the lives affected in ways they wouldn't recover from and they were only kids. They were supposed to protect them, their failure, his failure would haunt him till the end of his days.
That had been the worst for her. The survivor's guilt had eaten her alive. He agonized over other alternatives, struggled to think if there had been something he could have done differently. The coordinated attack was a test and a successful one at that. He watched his students struggle, he watched her struggle to handle the loss, the guilty, and the anger. He wasn't sure how to help, how to be there. He'd been so far out of his element.
Lexi frowned as they approached Eraser, aware that he should have noticed them by now. He was usually always the first to notice something was up. She touched Kieran's exposed forearm taking some of his energy from the physical contact. The energy she was taking was regenerated continuously when people eat, drink, and most prominently sleep; you could count it sort of like taking away someone's endurance, but it wasn't quite just that, it was their energy. Her powers allowed her to siphon energy from people with physical contact of any part of her body and use that energy to enhance certain parts of her body for a short period. If she wanted she could drain people dry of their energy leaving them too weak to stand and in some cases after that fall unconscious. Her quirk didn't allow her to give energy to others.
Her quirk wasn't flashy only giving off a faint pink shimmer of light around the part of her body siphoning energy and the sensation she'd been told feels like a faucet being on full blast as the energy is pulled away in such rapid fashion, it's hard to explain, but in just a few seconds she can have someone on the ground exhausted. It can be broken out of, but it isn't easy to do as people feel sluggish almost immediately.
"Kieran-" She started to say but was cut off. "Stay out of the way, I know," he cut in having noticed the change in her tone and the tension in her body language, something he'd noticed often when his father was out in public, he'd notice things that would make him reactive and ready for anything. "So rude," she teased lightly trying to lighten the mood even as she reached out to wave her hand in front of the dark haired man's eyes. She was prepared for the reaction most had when they lived the lives they did. He was right-handed, something she'd know as his student. She'd taken more of his right hooks then she cared to remember. "Earth to Aizawa," she called to him. Keeping her body light and relaxed ready to move if necessary, but this was always the tough part of predicting his movements.
As his fingers curled around her wrist, she didn't wince at the strength behind it, she wasn't that little girl anymore. Her light blue eyes were worried as she regarded him. "You've never been much of a space cadet," she commented as she casually twirled a strand of her long hair around her index finger. Her posture was loose and relaxed, not just to react to whatever he might have done, but to give the appearance of control to the people who were watching, everyone was always so nosy. As he muttered an apology and released her wrist as though he'd burned her. "It's nothing," he told her, he didn't miss the look of hurt that traveled across her features, but he ignored it. This wasn't the time or the place to discuss the past. His gaze turned to the young man whose attention was on him and who didn't look too happy with him. "Who's this?" He questioned more to change the subject, but his eyes were an unusual purple color, and it left him curious about who he was related to.
Lexi smirked and her grin only widened as she motioned to who stood next to her clearly excited to introduce him. "This is Kieran Walker, he's the son of the Phantom, a pro hero in America, I met them on my adventures overseas," she told him proudly. "I've no doubt he'll do well in the exam later today," she was full of confidence in him, so sure that he wouldn't have any trouble. Perhaps she was a little biased, but she'd known him since he was just a little kid, still struggling with his sister's abduction; it wasn't something that was just gotten over. She saw so much potential in him.
Kieran for a moment didn't say anything, but it wasn't surprising that his dad would be mentioned, there was much he needed to live up to. Expectations were high after all, high from everyone. It was stressful, being home was stressful. Things were hard between his parents after what happened with Jayden. He shook his head. He needed to push her to the wayside, he couldn't be distracted. Stepping forward he didn't hesitate to meet the eyes of the man before him and hold out his hand. "It's a pleasure Mr…" he let his words hang there, his father taught him to always look someone in the eyes and to shake hands like a man. For a heartbeat, the man stared at him as though he were staring into his soul. "Aizawa, we will see each other a lot, my class is the one you have to beat one of these days," he warned him, but his handshake was firm, but not crushing. This man had nothing to prove to him. "Alright, I'll manage to do just that," he promised with a small smile. He wasn't sure what to make of him, but so far things seemed to be getting off on the right foot.
"Let's get going," Eraser told them as he began to lead the way from the airport to where the car was waiting to take them back to the school. The conversation would have stalled, but Lexi was a natural at poking into every aspect of his life as though there was nothing-off-limits, sort of like that annoying older sister he never had. She even managed to get Aizawa to join in on the conversation and tell him a little about his students, and a few of the teachers at the school. It was certainly something he was interested in learning about. He'd seen some of it when it had aired on tv, but it was interesting to hear about it from him as he explained how it went. His soft spot was his students, maybe that was why he came today. He knew there was more of a history between Lexi and Mr. Aizawa. There seemed to be something, but he wasn't sure what it was just yet, it was their history obviously, but whatever it was it seemed heavier.
—-
Location: Musutafu League of Villains Headquarters
They were soon loaded into a closed van, the bench seats on either side allowing them to sit next to each other and all fit. There were no seatbelts, and no one said anything as they traveled to their next location. Kaiya absently out of habit counted the number of stops they made and the turns with which they took, but her attention was on the file in her hands that she combed over. Periodically she would glance at those in the car as though silently judging their quirks with their counterparts, who she would be putting them against. She bit her thumbnail in thought as she went over the information once more. She made small notes with numbers in the margins of the file, a form of shorthand that would be confusing to those who weren't familiar with their ranking system. No one questioned what she was doing and none of the others sitting close to her dared to peek at the file, curiosity got you in trouble, if you weren't told about it, you didn't ask. No one would anyway, not with Simmons leaning against the doors of the van as it drove along. Felix Simmons or Copycat was their material arts teacher, his quirk meta learn made him the best choice as he could copy any move only having to see it once.
'Is this a good idea?' she thought to herself her gaze going over the numbers once more and checking her information. She wasn't sure how this was going to go, but she was positive that victory was in the high seventy-five percent range. 'It's the only option with a higher chance of success than the others,' she added to herself. She rubbed at the bridge of her nose before closing the file, setting it on her lap and leaning her arm over it to keep it closed. Her calculations to give them the best chance at survival were as high as she could manage to make them. Still, it would fall on them to pull through, to impress them enough to survive.
Fingers curled together as her nails dug into her palms. Whether they lived or died today would rest on her shoulders, she took a breath, held it, and let it out. They were in too deep to get out, there would be no backing down. This was their only shot to keep moving forward, running away was nothing but a dream, something that would never become a reality, not in this life. Their only hope was to keep moving forward, to keep going one day at a time.
"Looks like we're here," as the words washed over them, none of the kids showed any of their nerves, features schooled of any emotion. Kaiya stood with the others and was the first to leave as she glanced at Copycat and saw the wink he passed their way. He was the most laid back of their instructors, he taught them what they needed to know, but he treated them as individuals, working to iron out the weaknesses before their next test. It was a strange relationship they had, it was the closest they had to someone caring. They weren't family, they weren't friends, just a group of kids thrust together and forced to survive in a darker world than they knew existed. It was a world many ignored, even as it festered below their feet.
She took the lead and they all flanked her in two single-file lines as they entered further into the warehouse. She threw a hand sign behind her with a subtle movement of her right hand as they advanced, the signal was just a warning to be on alert. They could never be sure what to trust in these situations, this could also be another training exercise. Just because when they were supposed to meet the League of Villains didn't mean it was going to happen that way.
The warehouse was shrouded in darkness, only a few lights were on above their heads. As they moved to one of the open rooms, she paused regarding the large group that was spread out over the space, some of them lounging, others regarding them as they entered.
"What's with all the rugrats?" The question came from Twice, who was slapped on the shoulder by a young girl.
"We'll know soon enough, aren't they cute?" she gushed from her position on the couch where she'd risen to get his attention, as she looked at them from over her shoulder where her hair was left to freely fall down her back, not up in its signature style that she usually wore it in.
Dabi rolled his eyes from where he was in the back of the room and muttered something under his breath at the display. He was regarding them with a bored expression, but there was no denying the way he sized them up, silently wondering just what they could do.
With a subtle tilt of her head, every one of the Blood Orphans changed their position to stand in one single line behind her, in the standard parade rest. Her gaze swept over the assorted group, easily putting names to the faces of those she had in her file. She knew nearly everything about them.
It was easy to find Shigaraki Tomura and Kurogiri, close together, Kurogiri was his guard after all. The sight of him was an involuntary reaction as she tried to quell the fear that rose up inside. As the memory from ten years ago when she was just a girl began to flash through her mind. She forced the memory away, that was so long ago, it didn't matter. She had handled all her fears, this was merely a small set back to see the real thing after so long. Her fingers curled more firmly over the file to hide the subtle tremor in her hand, she was still angry too. So she wasn't as perfect as they all believed. They all stood in silence as though waiting for the other side to speak first. It was clearly Shigaraki who was in charge.
"Who do you have here Shohei?" As the question was left to hang in the air. The white-haired older male bowed before raising his green eyes to meet his leader. "These are the children of All for One's Blood Orphan project. Each child has been taken from a young age and trained by our instructors for years, one as long as ten years." A feat he was quite proud of, this was All for One's plan and it has managed to be a success and stay under the radar for the last several years.
These children were obedient and could stand against some of the minor pro heroes if not some of the others, as successful as they were, they could still improve. "They will be an asset to the League as your soldiers," he added as he stood his ground, this was close to his life's work. "Should you wish for a demonstration, we can easily arrange it," he promised as he regarded his young leader.
"A demonstration sounds like fun, lets up the stakes though, if they lose they die, we don't have time to babysit after all," Shigaraki agreed with a wide grin as this prospect. He could use a little entertainment. Things had been getting boring. He turned his attention to the assembled group and let his gaze roam over each one before he stood and walked over to them. Sizing them up one by one as he regarded them. None of them moved, none made eye contact, their expressions held severe looks, but their gaze didn't waver from that point in front of them.
Finally, he stopped beside her. "So it's you, you're the one who's in charge," the smile was in his voice. When she didn't immediately respond, he pressed further. "You can speak," he told her, his voice surprisingly soft for a moment. "I am not in charge here Shigaraki-sama, but I am the current lead for today's mission," she explained with her eyes still looking in front. They were all trained to hold positions for hours on end if they had too. "We obey the orders of our instructors, but we are your soldiers, so we will listen to you above all others."
"How interesting," he commented as he raised a finger to caress her cheek, pleased to see that she didn't flinch or react to his touch. So many were afraid of what he could do. This lack of reaction was pleasing in a way he had not expected. "Let's have a demonstration…" he let the air hang between them curious to see if she would catch on to what he was wondering. "Kaiya Katagiri or Slipstream if you prefer," she offered, her features devoid of emotion as she made sure to keep them under tight control. "You don't have to hide here," he commented after a moment as he'd silently studied her, his head cocked to one side.
She digested this information for a moment before she went over the two most likely scenarios, the first being that it was a trap, a game and if she chose the wrong choice she would be punished or killed. She wasn't naive enough to just believe anyone at face value, but this also made things a rather gray area because she was conditioned to obey him, but it was a choice still whether to do so or not. The second choice was one where he was actually telling the truth, so it was a different scenario than she was used to dealing with. They never lied to them per say, they just omitted information in some cases. "I'll hold you to that," she told him, breaking her staring contest with the wall to look him in the eye as violet met red. The small smile she gave him was hesitant and felt awkward on her lips.
Kaiya didn't let on that the only reason she was keeping her eyes on him was to see what he was going to do. She was waiting for him to react in a way that would inflict pain, only she was lucky that at least at the moment, Kazushi was somewhere in the back, meaning he couldn't force her to stand still. She could react, she could stop and avoid any blow he wanted to throw, but she wasn't supposed to move, they were soldiers, they took their beatings and they got back up again. She hated the feeling that slithered inside making her skin crawl with anxiety when all he did was merely stare back at her. For a moment she was at a loss for how to handle the absence of violence.
The white haired young man seemed to read something in her eyes because he laid a hand on her shoulder, his voice surprisingly gentle. He was pulling something from All for One when he'd been just a child, who would have thought such a memory would come in handy. Break someone and then after that you leave them guessing, start showing them kindness, their loyalty to you will be nearly unbreakable. "The demonstration, the file who did you pick for the line ups?" he questioned, his grin only widening as she passed him the file and then began to give him explanations as to why she chose who she did. She didn't mention their abilities, but merely stated that they were the best likely to succeed against the adversaries she had chosen.
Tomura leaned back on his heels as he regarded her. "Everyone was expecting you and I spar, why did you decide to change the match?" he watched her dig the nail of her thumb under her index finger as she spoke, such a slight movement it could be almost hidden from view, but he was observant and silently wondering if these idiots had broken his soldiers to the point he wouldn't be able to use them. He would have to rectify this soon before he didn't have any soldiers who could improvise. "I would do well, but I felt it was best to showcase someone with better talents to impress and to also go with something unexpected," she told him honestly, her voice low in volume level as though she still not sure what to make of him. He didn't need skittish strays. So long as these demonstrations went well, he'd be fixing this and he had ideas already in mind.
Kurogiri noticed his look and gave a slight tilt of his head, well aware they would talk once things were all said and done. He stayed silent as he watched the situation unfold, to say he was impressed and proud was an understatement, he out of all the others aside from All for One had seen his growth. Had seen Tomura excel in areas others had failed. He had also seen Tomura grow as a leader and was pleased to see this development. Trust could be built here if this continued, a certain level of loyalty could go a long way.
"You could have used the opportunity to elevate yourself and you chose a different route," Shigaraki commented clearly surprised. He watched the way she frowned as she regarded him, before sweeping those in the League another look as she carefully rocked back on her heels for a moment. "We are trained to fight as a unit, to fight as a team. While we can fight separately and do well on our missions alone. The Orphans excel at a level of team exercises, alternating our strategies, our fighting styles with merely a word. There is no hesitation as we work together in the field," she explained it casually, but it wasn't exactly a compliment. It wasn't a secret that oftentimes personal interests influenced others and meant they lacked the cooperative level to work as a true team. The Orphan Project destroyed that boundary at least while on a mission. Once the mission was complete it was where the lines blurred, but that was particularly the fault of the handlers.
Shigaraki grinned as he held out the file to her and as she took it back, he was ready to get the show on the road. "Let's get started Kaiya, call the first fight," he ordered as he began to head over to another room of the warehouse which was a large and empty housing some work out equipment in the far corner, but it was mostly barren perfect for sparing or using quirks without the fear of harming the other areas. Kaiya appraised the room before the single snap of her fingers and the orphans moved from their positions to file into the room. They paid no one any mind but kept their attention on her. "At ease, relax and prepare for when you're called," she explained watching as they filtered through the room but kept mostly together, not intermingling with the rest of the League and their instructors as everyone filtered in or took to the upper balcony to watch from above in the rafters.
Shifting her attention to the group of Orphans who housed who she was looking for she called the name of the young boy who she felt could best show just what they had all been learning these years in captivity. "Kugutsu Ayatsuri, please advance." Those words were loud, clear and held an authority that she hadn't seemed to hold when speaking with Shigaraki earlier. Her gaze drifted and met his own for a moment and it was as though there happened to be someone else standing in her place as the grin she sported was wide and wild.
Shigaraki turned his attention to the young girl as she spoke out. At her words he was pleased, beaten but not broken. He knew there was hope for them, should they be enough to impress them. This change in demeanor made him curious though. Was he dealing with a split personality? It left him more than a little bewildered as he shot the instructors All for One had chosen, three men he was familiar with only in passing and the woman another that he wasn't. That would have to change after today. First he would see who she had placed against him.
A young boy approached him, standing below him in height, but that may have had to do more with his age. He had blonde hair that went down to cover his ears in a messy sweep and purple eyes. He didn't give anything away as he moved into the middle of the ring, his gaze was strangely on the floor as he walked into the middle of the room staring at his shoes and seeming to be counting on his fingers. 'Do all these kids have problems?' he wondered with a widening grin, you had to find the humor in this.
Kugutsu could remember lots of things, things that sometimes weren't relevant to what was going on, like right now. He remembered his father telling him be sure to hold still as the blow hit him with such force in the shoulder that his smaller, weaker frame crumpled at the blow with a sob having left his parted lip and then a ragged breath of air as the shoe landed into his chest and sent him into the small coffee table. His mother's hysteric voice begging him to stop, begging him to understand that he was in fact his son. The reason his father denied such a claim was because of what he could do, it was only part of mother's quirk and had nothing to do in relation to what his father could. He remembered being so angry in that moment, he was only six years old and he couldn't help what his quirk was. This wasn't his fault!
The file his father held in his hand was a DNA test, a test that labeled him not a match. Little did his dear old dad realize the lengths that would be gone to, behind his back to get what was wanted by another man, whom he'd never met.
As his attention snapped up from the floor the savage look on his youthful features was something to note, the anger that lit a fire behind his eyes. As he raised his arm to block the strike from a punch that was thrown by the white haired male. Bringing his knee up to slam into his stomach.
Shigaraki's grin only widened despite the blow as he leapt back to give them a little breathing room to better assess the situation. The blow had hurt because of the strength behind it. 'Impressive,' He cocked his head to the side as he regarded the boy who had fallen back into a loose fighting stance, his form sharp despite the fact that he still held that angry look on his face. He didn't have time to do much more than react as the boy rushed him. His speed was impressive as the blonde initiated a spinning roundhouse kick and even as he raised his arm to block the blow, it wasn't enough to keep him from sliding back a few feet in the makeshift ring.
This caused many to stand straighter as they regarded the boy in the middle of the ring with a more calculating stare. Only those that were surprised were from the League; this was nothing new to the Orphans; they practiced like this daily. Where others focused on just their quirks, they honed their bodies as well and their minds, if they weren't able to remember key information on their missions, they were discarded. Failure was not tolerated.
Kaiya was inwardly pleased as she looked on from the fight from her vantage point in the rafters. She'd retreated above as they had found their positions and Kurogiri had been oh so kind enough to referee the match. Her sharp eyes tracked the movements of those below her, it wasn't fair really as she slowed their movements down in front of her own eyes to look for any weaknesses, any mistakes in the form of her chosen participant. Ayatsuri was doing well as she pressed one palm against the railing and leaned a little further to watch as the blonde moved after him. Still his quirk wasn't active, there was no need, this fight had yet to get serious. Shigiraki was playing with him and Kugutsu had not risen to the bait, despite how his anger seemed to be fueling him.
"There was no need up the stakes with him, he would have been just fine," she commented as the hand that curled around the railing tightened and she didn't dare turn around to regard who was behind her. She wasn't afraid of what he could do to her, could do to any of them, all with a single touch. Kazushi approached the railing, his dark purple hair tied back in a ponytail and his crimson eyes regarded her as he leaned back his arms crossed over his chest.
"We have a lot riding on this as well, besides I didn't do much just made him remember his old man," he said casually, but she wasn't naive enough to believe it was just that. No, it was always more. His ability gave him access to their memories, nearly nothing was private with him and it didn't help that he could make you forget that he was even there in the first place. "How kind of you," the sarcasm wasn't lost to him and he let it go as he glanced over his shoulder to watch the fight below them continue. They were evenly matched, but she could see the tension as Tomura wanted to see his quirk and the younger boy was refusing to oblige him.
"You're playing with fire you know," he couldn't help but warn her as his attention didn't drift from the fight below them. "I can handle it, besides the more he trusts us the better. We are his soldiers after all," she repeated her earlier statement as though it were a fact, as though that reason alone explained everything. "This should end in a draw," she murmured more to herself as the fighters broke apart her fellow Orphan holding his right shoulder where the skin looked gray and was flaking away to reveal the inner muscles below. As he removed his hand it was hard to tell what was wrapped around the wound, to those not aware of what he could do, it looked like thin wire, that was giving off a purple glow, it was slow but the puppet strings had begun the healing process.
This turn of events caused Shigiarki to regard the boy in a new light, not enough to stop the match though as he went after him and Kugutsu was quick to continue to evade him and the chase seemed to ensue across the field.
As the wound healed the blonde snapped the strings binding the wound closed on his shoulder revealing the healthy new skin underneath. Kugutesu shifted his weight on his other foot before pivoting back in his opponents direction. The fingers on his left hand and right hand flexed in mid motion as he neared his enemy watching as Shigiarki tried to clamp his fingers around his wrist and seemed to frown as his neither hand moved from where he had them in mid range of his attack. "I think we are done with this demonstration don't you think Shigaraki-sama?" came the boy's hesitant question. His violet eyes were glowing faintly and it was no mistake that his quirk had been activated, but just how he had managed to stop him? It was a question that the surrounding audience didn't seem to grasp just yet.
"We're just getting started," he warned as he pulled harder on his arm forcing the movement. The thin wire snapped with the force applied and he continued his movement forward toward him.
The moment Kugutsu felt the wire begin to strain along his fingers he darted to the left out of the way of Shigaraki's strike. He dashed back a few more feet, zipping left and right and continuing to put the distance between them as he watched Shigaraki change his direction and rush toward him. The blonde flexed his fingers alternating between shedding his wires and reattaching to them which began to weave the wires together to make them more durable, very similar to how a rope would be threaded together. The more he did this the stronger the wire and more force it could stand against allowing him to control physically stronger targets. This was also how he could increase his wires length and allow him to not have to be in such close quarters with anyone.
"You're not so bad kid," the praise came as his hand slammed against his side, shredding along his side and exposing the skin underneath his shirt. He used the momentum to twist and keep his feet as he ignored the strike to his side. The decay quirk had only ate away at his clothes, but the blow had hit his ribs which were already bruising from the force, if not having broken one or two ribs.
"You haven't seen anything yet," he countered as he flexed one of his fingers and one of the near invisible wires shot out toward him, expanding the distance between them easily. Every evasive maneuver he tried to do, Kugutsu was easily able to counter. Shigaraki had to out maneuver ten wires after all. "Don't run now Shigaraki-Dono" he teased his lips pulling back in an easy smile that didn't meet the blonde's violet eyes. Shifting his stance he rushed him. His wires shortened as he raised his fist to strike at his exposed chest. Shigaraki raised his arm to block the wires that twisted together and buried into his arm and exploded out the other side and curled around the key points of his body effectively immobilizing his right arm.
"Have I passed yet, Sir?" He questioned not sure he wants to continue anymore. The fight would only continue to get more intense if it went on.
The Leader of the League of Villains gave an incline of his head in regard to his question. "I believe we've seen enough," he agreed. The fight was far from over if Shigaraki had managed to break his puppet strings, this stand still allowed both parties to save face and it was not as though this boy was out for his position after all. He was his little toy soldier after all. "The added bonus stat is your healing ability, you will come in handy," he told him quietly as they both walked from the ring each pleased with the way the match had ended. Kugutsu flushed at the unexpected praise and averted his eyes. "I won't let you down," he said softly as his puppet strings wrapped around the white haired man's wrist before they went their separate ways. He didn't need to stick around to heal him, as the wire strings began to glow with his healing abilities.
Breathing a small sigh of relief the dark haired girl had paid Kazushi no more mind with his parting shot to her as he'd hit the stairs. Her gaze traveled to the young boy who had followed her up the stairs to the rafters when she'd first left, but who'd been silent and not pressed her for any information as she'd watched the match and conversed with one of the men who had destroyed their lives. This match couldn't have gone any better, their point was proven that they deserved to stand on this stage with them. She could only hope that everyone else managed to prove themselves, if anyone failed here it would fall on her. She was their scapegoat.
"You're up next Galahad," she told him as her gaze swept over his features noticing the crossed arms and his wings that were tucked along his back. The easy smile he flashed her even as he showed his teeth as endearing. He'd proven his loyalty to her more times then she cared to have to need. He wouldn't let her down. "It's dark enough if you wanted to take to the sky," she offered him some valuable insight and as her gaze traveled to the sky light in the ceiling it wasn't much of a hint, but it allowed him the freedom to stretch his wings if he wanted. "Also, your opponent is similar in nature," she let those words hang between them clearly leaving the rest of what she wanted to say unsaid. Telling him not to lose wasn't fair of her to try and skew the results in such a way. Besides he knew anyway.
"You can count on me," he promised as he began his descent to the ring below.
~Meanwhile~
UA Transfer Exam
Location: Ground Beta
"Hey Deku!" Turning the young boy turned his attention to the girl waving her hand over her head from several stories below. "We need to hurry and get in position, the exam is going to start!" she called out as she brushed back a strand of her short light brown hair. "Ah, is it that time already!" he called down scrabbling to securely tie the banner in place from where he'd been securing it to the third story window. "I'll be right down!" he told her as he closed his eyes for just a moment focusing his quirk into his legs and leaping out the open window, easily landing without a scratch on him.
Ochaco grinned at him as he ran over to her. "You're getting good at that," she commented before she looked back over her shoulder to where they had to get too. "I've been practicing, but we better hurry! Mr. Aizawa isn't going to like it if we're late," he said gently. The look that fell along the girl's features had him giving a soft smile. "Don't remind me," she muttered before they both sprinted through the cityscape to their positions, the sun was starting to set, but that was part of the reason this exam was going to be different than what they had seen before.
Location: UA Main Gate
Kieran Walker raised his eyes to the building in front of him and the setting sun behind it, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little intimidated being here for the first time to the one school that he'd heard so little about now that he really thought about it. He'd tried to bring it up to Lexi when she'd started showing up at the house back in the states, but she'd clammed up about it and refused to be pushed on the subject. His father had walked in at his probing and had immediately put a stop to his pushing. He knew the story, but it wasn't exactly public, but tragedies were talked about in the hero community. Addison Walker and Markus Steel had collaborated together to help a vast number of younger heroes in their prime and even as the years continued to pass. He shouldn't have been surprised that Alexis would catch their attention. As the years passed she did branch out to explaining the school and her earlier years at UA, she never mentioned her Graduation and was careful to never bring up any names around him, as if they were off limits as well.
Glancing at the watch on his wrist, he frowned seeing that he really needed to get moving. Finding the auditorium wasn't hard to do, the signs were posted everywhere and he was pleased that Aizawa had taken Lexi with him to discuss the upcoming exam with her. He really hadn't wanted to have her walk him to the door like he was five years old. He appreciated being able to get lost on his own and make his own mistakes. He was a big boy and could handle this just fine.
Slipping into the open door way, he saw that the vast majority of the seats were empty and only about thirty students seemed to be in the room. Very few were intermingling together and most were visible sizing each other up, they were their competition after all. Clearly they had to beat those here to win and gain entry to the most prestigious school in the country of Japan. He slipped into the seat closest to the door and began his own studying of the students closest to him. Easily picking out the obvious quirks that he could note first. It wasn't fair to judge a book by it's cover, but this couldn't be helped. He wasn't sure what to expect from this exam and he was anticipating this exam to be pretty combat oriented if the robots he saw during the UA exam were any indication at all. Little did he realize what they all would have in store for them soon.
Curling his arms on the desk in front of him, he closed his eyes for a moment as the quiet hum of conversation around the room didn't raise in volume. The plane ride had worn him out more than he'd thought it would. He probably should have taken that nap Alexis had mentioned, but he wasn't a child and that had been highly embarrassing with Aizawa in the car too. She really did love to poke at him even in the most obscene ways.
A/N: Hey Everyone Thanks for sticking out so far! Please let me know what you think so far. Fight scenes are as you could probably tell not my forte, but I'm hoping to get better at them. I always tell myself I could animate the scene in my head, it would be amazing!
This chapter focused pretty heavily on the Orphans as I felt this was necessary to bring to light what is going on with them. You will see much more of both the Transfer Exam in Blood Bonds as well as the Orphans in the next couple chapters as they compete against the Leagues current members.
Check out my Profile, I've got the SYOC's open for Blood Lilies which dives into the history of Alexis Knight and the class that we hear hinted at in Blood Orphans so much as we dig into the beginnings of their past and the secrets buried there. Bloodlines is going to play in the US and touch on the American Heroes in all aspects of the hero world, but will begin to take us in the direction of the Investigations into the Missing children we see ten years later in Blood Orphans. I hope you all enjoy it!
Thanks for reading, drop a review and let me know how I'm doing and what you enjoy!
~AJ Aviary
