Chapter 11- And into the Rain
"Light and darkness co-exist. Two sides of the same coin. You can't just get rid of one side."
"What if we could, though?"
Vanitas was sick and tired of light screwing him up. When was a normal-ish life with the opportunity to gain needed strength again going to be on the cards? Soon, since light gave him one more blasted chance.
Sora broke so many laws of nature to bring his friends back together. As such, he was shoved into a different world with no way to get back home. Friends out of reach, but new ones in grasping reach. And by Kingdom Hearts he was going to help out a familiar face.
UA seemed like the perfect cover for them, solving all their problems. Until it didn't.
After all, light hates darkness, and darkness hates light. Destiny was inevitable.
"What now?" Shigaraki spun around to see a running kid. Shigaraki narrowed his eyes but continued on his way.
Only to stop in his tracks again.
A black portal formed in front of him, similar to Kurogiri's. For a second, Shigaraki thought it was Kurogiri's, but there were a few subtleties he quickly noted. One, the portal swirled inwards; two, it was more of a solid matter, and not mist like Kurogiri's were; and three, the most important one, an unknown figure came out of the portal, body language relaxed. The figure wore only a black coat that hid their gender from Shigaraki, and they had their hood up concealing their face. It was a strange coat, one that Shigaraki had never seen any villain wear before but was appealing to him.
The passer-by's immediately stopped smiling and began to huddle in scared groups. Shigaraki paid no further thought to them as he tried to get a read on the figure before him.
"Hey, how you doing? Just checking in. Looks like you finally know what direction to head now, eh Hands?" A cocky male voice asked Shigaraki.
"What do you want." Shigaraki hissed back.
"Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to see you, that's all. Really, it's what I can do for you! You have potential, lots of it," The male put one hand on his hip as his tone became sharper. "And I want to help that potential blossom into the undeniable events of the future."
"And why should I let you join us? Why gain all this attention here?" Shigaraki narrowed his eyes.
"Woopsie-daisy. This was the only time you were alone, and I just grasped the opportunity to meet you!" The figure glanced over Shigaraki's shoulder and sighed.
Shigaraki spun around to see what they saw, and the only thing that caught his eye was the same brat running towards him. Now that Shigaraki thought about it, that brat looked awfully similar to the one who interrupted his and Midoriya's meeting…
"Of course he's here. He's just an itch that won't go away, no matter what. Oh well. I guess I should be off." The figure turned away from Shigaraki.
"You're just gonna leave me here at the centre of attention? You moron."
"As if. Here," And with a flick of the hand, a portal reappeared, "This leads back to your base. I gotta say, you have nice taste in drink there."
"Hmph." Was all Shigaraki said before walking into the portal. True to his word, the figure brought him right outside the hidden entrance to the bar. He turned back around, only to find the portal had vanished. Shigaraki walked up the steps to the bar, preparing his explanation to the newest members of the League of Villains.
Sora stopped in his tracks and got ready to summon his keyblade. His mind went many different places at once, from wondering how an Organization member got to this world, to questioning if it even was an Organization member.
"Hello little squirt. Fancy seeing you here."
"Xigbar?! That makes no sense! I watched you die!" Sora exclaimed, confused.
Xigbar removed his hood and shook his ponytail out. He looked exactly the same as he did previously, still with the eyepatch and bad scar. But there was something off about him, something that Sora could not point out.
"If you think about it, everything we do makes no sense. Light, darkness, keyblades…It all just boils down to conflict. Yet you are the ones who always say we need balance in the world, but then? You try to eliminate the darkness." Xigbar waved his hand about.
"It's not our fault if you keep on trying to wreck all the worlds!" Sora retaliated.
"True, true. I'm not saying the old coot's methods were right. Far from it! He was just the best way to gain information at the time, and you can say I was then swept up in his plans, just like that," Xigbar seemingly realised something in that moment, and created a Corridor of Darkness behind him. "I would love to chat more, but I'm afraid I better be off. Keep on trying to find Vanitas and blend in. I'll be watching closely."
Xigbar turned around and disappeared into the Corridor. "Wait!" Sora tried in vain to reach him but failed. It was in that moment that the police had arrived at the area and began to cordon off the mall.
Sora followed the police's directions but had a lot on his mind. First, Vanitas, and now Xigbar? I didn't think much of Vanitas' return, I was more concerned with his wellbeing. But now that's two people who faded away during the War who have appeared here…
As his mind tried to make sense of the situation, Sora was reminded of the most recent meeting he had with Vanitas.
"Vanitas, I just want to talk."
"Don't you see, that's the problem! Why can't I dusking be left alone?"
"I want to help you! I can see how much hurt you're carrying."
"Leave. Me. Alone."
"I am the darkness! Why can't you accept that?"
"You know nothing about me. NOTHING."
"At least let me try."
"Too slow."
Sora was brought out of his thoughts by a beep. He reached into his jacket pocket to pull out his gummiphone. He had only found it the other day when he was transferring his items into his new outfit, and honestly had forgotten it existed until Ashido (Sora thinks that's the name, everyone here had long names) wanted to trade numbers. Sora clicked open the messaging app for Class 1A and began to backread the messages.
Girlboss: hey where you guyys at?
PhoneCharger: At a shop
Jamming away: That's obvious idiot. Which shop
PhoneCharger: Uhh
Tail: is anyone being guided by the police out of the mall?
Yaomomo: I am
Invisible Girl :): me too
Manlyman: That's not manly at all!
Class Representative: We are being led out of the mall for our own safety. It is indeed a hindrance, but we must bear with the police! There may have been a villain attack or something of the like!
Girlboss: well how about we meet back up someplace else? Like at a café on the streets or smthn
Yaomomo: That would be wise. We should make sure all our classmates are safe
Manlyman: Any suggestions where
Revelry in the dark: I believe there is a shop just opposite the mall selling tarot cards
Girlboss: Let's meet up there!
Class Representative: Broccoli nerd I'm levitating Heart hotel at ur service are you safe?
Heart hotel at ur service: Midoriya was threatnd by villain Uraraka is w him
PhoneCharger: Bro what
ArtsAndcrafts: that's horrible
*ribbit*: Broccoli Nerd I'm levitating Are you ok? *ribbit*
Yaomomo: Are you ok Sora?
Heart hotel at ur service: yea got split up tho
Girlboss: Broccoli nerd I'm levitating hope you guys are doing ok
Class Representative: For now, we should head to the meeting spot. Those two will be busy with the police. Once we see them or they come online, then we can support them.
Yaomomo: We don't want to burden them with pings either
Boobs :): Why do the villains always target us?!
PhoneCharger: i know this is serious and all but why is Sora called heart hotel?
Heart hotel at ur service: don't worry abt it
Sora began to head to the class meeting spot, but before that, he sent off two identical texts both to Uraraka and Midoriya.
Heart hotel at ur service: srry for running off hope u r ok
The rest of the day crawled by. Once everyone that went to the mall (bar Midoriya and Uraraka) went to the meeting spot, they sat around anxiously waiting for news. Eventually, Midoriya texted back thanking for the concern and explaining that Shigaraki spotted him and wanted a chat. Midoriya was escorted to the police station, and Uraraka joined the rest of the class. After idle (and slightly nervous) chatter and finding one or two more shops to get the items they needed for the summer camp, they bid each other farewell and each headed home. Sora had not bought anything but enjoyed the chatter and getting to know the members of the class. He headed home the 'legal' way, buying a train ticket and heading back to UA. Except for the overwhelming number of people on the train, nothing else was new for Sora.
Nezu gave him several different tests once he returned to UA. Apparently, those tests were to gauge his learning in different areas, something which made sense but also made Sora struggle. He was not the best with written tasks, he was more of a practical learner, but he tried his best to answer each question. One test, World History, Sora struggled on the most, but it was largely educational for Sora. The tests lasted for the rest of the day, and after a quick bite to eat, Sora went to bed exhausted.
The next day, he wandered into the Teacher's Lounge to find all of the teachers working hard. Some were on their computers, while others were refilling their large cups with coffee. Aizawa turned to Sora once he came in.
"How did you find the problem children?"
"Problem children? Oh, do you mean 1A? They're lively, but fun." Sora smiled.
"That's one way of describing them. Annoying would be another." Aizawa sighed deeply.
"You secretly like them!" Present Mic shouted across the room.
"Hrgh. At least they're on summer break now. Vlad, we should go over each of our class's quirks."
"Indeed." Vlad King began to get sheets out but was interrupted by knocking on the door.
"Come in." Aizawa looked up.
At the door was a boy with spiky yellow hair, Mineta and Midoriya. The spiky haired boy addressed Aizawa.
"Hi sir, we're just checking that our request to use the pool went through?"
Aizawa somehow sighed even more tiredly. "Yes, but you can only use it until 5pm. You said it was for endurance training?"
"Yes." The spiky haired boy looked to Mineta subtly.
"Very well. You can go."
They began to leave, but Midoriya noticed Sora sitting on one of the sofas. "Sora? What are you doing here?"
Sora chuckled. "Well… I may or may not have had no home to stay until Aizawa found me on the streets. So, I'm staying in UA for the meantime."
The three boys were shocked at that. "You were homeless!?"
"So, when I saw you at the beach…" Midoriya began.
"Yeah, no biggie. Hey, Aizawa," Sora said light-heartedly, "Is it ok if I join these guys? There's nothing else I need to do today, right?"
"If it's ok with them, sure." Aizawa responded.
"You just brushed that off?!" Midoriya looked shocked before answering Sora. "Of course, you can join us! If you ever need any help with training, I would love to help." Midoriya said all at once.
Sora grinned as he ran out the room. Midnight shivered with joy. "The youthful energy Sora has is oh so enthralling."
Cementoss just so happened to walk past at that moment, and just so happened to bump into Midnight, making Midnight fall. "So sorry, did not see you there."
"Urgh, I need more coffee." Aizawa muttered.
Sora went through the school to an area he had yet to explore. When exiting the building, strangely the blonde kid (who he remembered was called Kaminari) and Mineta ran ahead of him. They were disappointed with the outcome though, if their responses from Iida were anything to go by.
"Since we were doing endurance training, I invited all the boys to join us." Midoriya explained to the boys.
"And the girls are all wearing the school swimsuit too…" Kaminari sighed.
"That's good enough for me!" Mineta settled down beside the water to watch the girls.
"Have some limits dude."
"Ah, Sora! Are you joining us too?" Iida walked over to Sora, and Sora noticed that he had been working out. Actually, the whole class looked like they had, even the girls.
"Uh huh. Hope you don't mind."
"Of course! We will be starting in five minutes, so if you need to change, I advise you do that now." Iida moved his arms like a robot.
"I just need to take my hoodie off, that's all." Sora explained. He did not have any swimming trunks so he would just have to do with his normal clothes. He was used to swimming with his clothes on anyway by now, especially because of the Caribbean.
"If you are sure."
"Oh, hey Sora! Wanna join us stretching?" Sero asked.
"Sure!"
And with that began the intense training session. Iida had made an efficient plan which balanced being in the water and resting. It went in a rota format, meaning four people were in the water at one time. Sora was placed in the last group with Midoriya, Iida and a person with a tail, meaning he got to watch how others preformed. Iida had begun the session by testing how long people could breathe underwater, and after the first group went, Sora was impressed.
"All of you guys are seriously impressive. I mean, nearly a minute underwater? Woah." Sora looked with stars in his eyes.
"Each one of us train everyday so we can try and become the best hero we can be. It is not just our quirks, UA trains our minds and bodies too. It is hard work, but we will succeed." Iida responded to Sora, smiling.
"You'll do great too. After all, you made it to UA." Midoriya reassured Sora.
"Hm, I guess. I'm just happy to see you guys being so cool. Don't worry about me," Sora leaned forward. "Oh, the second group is up! Who's participating again?"
"Mineta, Kaminari, Tokoyami and Koda I think," The tail boy responded. "I don't think we've talked much. I'm Ojiro."
"Thanks. Who do you think will last the longest?"
"Hm, I'm not sure. Eachhavetheirownstrengthsandweaknesses, butnoneofthemaresuitedforthewaterthatwell. ItwouldmakesensebecauseofhisquirkthatKaminariwouldnotdotoowellinwaterbutwehaven'tseenhiminwaterenvironmentsmuch. Tokoyamiispartbirdafterallsoheprobablyisnotthestrongestinwatereither. SothatcomesdowntoMinetaandKoda, andbetweenthemtheyareprettyequal. Oh, butKoda'squirkreliesonhisvoicesohemayhaveabetterlungcapacitybecauseofthat. Ithinkitreallyreliesonhowmuchtrainingeachpersonhas." Midoriya muttered.
"I didn't catch most of that but thanks anyway." Sora smiled as he turned his attention to the exercise.
Koda lasted the longest in the end, but Mineta came in a close second. The rota shifted along, and Sora made more chit chat with the class. Time flew by until it came to Sora's turn, and as he got into the water, he was instantly comforted. Being in the water was almost second nature to any islander, since most jobs were associated with the ocean. Sora bobbed happily as he looked at his friends. Iida was rigid, but floating, which at this point Sora pretty much expected. Midoriya was similar to Sora, except a little more nervous with all the class watching him. Ojiro was creative and used his tail to propel him in the water and get used to the temperature. One of the girls had decided to be the referee for this round, since Iida was participating, and she stood ready as Sora tried to remember her name. It began with a Y, Yao…
"Everyone ready? Three, two, one, dive!" She blew a whistle and Sora shook that thought away as he took a deep breath.
Everything became muted as Sora went underwater. It was surprisingly light, but Sora figured it was because the pool was not as deep as the ocean. Midoriya noticed something but when Sora tried to ask how Midoriya did not elaborate.
Time crawled by and gradually more and more air bubbles populated the water. After a while, Iida went up for air with an annoyed expression on his face. More time passed, and soon Ojiro went up for air too, leaving just Midoriya and Sora together. Midoriya was starting to struggle a little but he persevered. Sora was still perfectly fine though.
I wonder, is there some affects of being turned into a merman? I thought I could hold my breath for the same amount of time as anyone else.
Midoriya at this point was closing his eyes to try and beat Sora, but the want of fresh air eventually broke his will. Midoriya headed up to the surface for air, and Sora followed shortly after. He was met with compliments as he began to get out of the water, feeling the usual sensation of gravity on his body again.
"Man that was awesome! You held your breath for so long!"
"So cool."
"You almost beat him Midoriya!"
"Thanks, you guys," Sora rubbed the back of his head, unused to compliments. "The others were great too."
"You looked so chill, you must've had a lot of experience in the water." Sero commented.
"Well, yeah. I'm an islander." Sora commented absentmindedly.
"Ooh, what island are you from? Give me the scoop!" Ashido came over as well as the rest of the girls.
"Oh, are you girls taking a break from the water too?" Sato asked.
"Yeah ribbit."
"Um, it's small and I don't think it's on any of the maps?" Sora answered Mina.
"Aw." Mina pouted.
"Living on a small island must have been like you were on holiday everyday." Kaminari looked wistful.
"I was used to it. Actually, I wanted to visit new places like cities and stuff. That's how I'm here." Sora said.
"Did you run away from home? Is that why you are homeless?" Midoriya asked quietly.
"Huh?"
It was then that Bakugo and Kirishima walked in. "Hey guys, sorry for being late. It took a while to convince Bakubro."
"Hey I'm gonna beat all of you! The damn nerd and Icyhot especially!" Bakugo exploded and Sora frowned at Bakugo's behaviour.
"A competition does sound like fun." Ojiro noted.
"It would certainly boost morale as well as helping with training…let's do it!" Iida decided.
"Sora, I got to ask though, how is your hair still spiky even underwater? Is it to do with your quirk?" Midoriya whipped out a notebook and pencil from who knows where.
Sora tugged at one of his spikes. "It's just naturally like this I guess."
"Huh."
"Ok! The girls will be referees for this. I have split everyone up into three groups of five! The first group is Mineta, Tokoyami, Koda, Bakugo and Kaminari. Second group is Sero, Aoyama, Todoroki, Sato and Kirishima. Finally, it is me, Midoriya, Ojiro, Shoji and Sora. Whoever wins each group will then proceed to the final!" Iida organised.
"Can we use quirks?"
"We are on UA property, so as long as you do not cause any damage, I think it is ok to use them. First group you are up."
The races then began. In the first round, Bakugo won by using his quirk to propel himself over the water. Many people disagreed, but Iida and all the girls said it counted and that was that. The second round was slightly tighter, but Todoroki won by using his ice to slide across the water. Finally it was Sora's turn, and that race was the closest. Iida balanced on the rope dividing the lanes and used his engines to 'drive' over the water. Sora then activated his flowmotion, making him in the lead, but he was not fast enough. Midoriya came in using his quirk and just touched the end wall before Sora and Iida, making Midoriya the winner of the round.
"Well done Midoriya. It seems I have still a way to go to beat you," Iida congratulated. "And Sora, you too were far faster than I thought."
"Eh, I wasn't expecting Midoriya. He was super cool."
"T-thanks guys," Midoriya stuttered, embarrassed, "I should probably go do this final."
"Good luck!" Sora cheered.
Todoroki, Midoriya and Bakugo all lined up. Todoroki's breath began to grow colder, Midoriya's body began to glow and green lightning sprung up, and Bakugo did some mini explosions. Everyone was enthralled in this line up, wondering who would win.
"Three, two, one, go!"
The three splashed into the water ungracefully, looking confused.
"Huh, what happened?"
"It's past five. You should have already left." Aizawa entered tiredly, his eyes glowing red and his hair standing up.
"Sorry sir!" Everyone quickly began to pack up and the three in the pool got out. Sora shook out the droplets in his hair and grabbed his hoodie.
As people began to leave, Sora hovered around Aizawa until the pool area was empty. Then he headed inside with Aizawa.
Everyone here has so much personality. Riku and Kairi would like it here…
Xerayn's Notes 11:
Wow, a long one today. From here on out, there may be a few scenes where they'll be texting in the group chat, because I find reading and writing texting is fun.
The past month has been busy, what with khocweek, burnout from writing, recording my piano exam and then attending a code camp for a week. This was the first few days I've had which I could actually write this. The tail end of this chapter may be a little bad, but I was pushing myself to finish it off before I go on holiday tomorrow. And just so you know, writing the scenes underwater reminded me of unpleasant memories, so y'know. There isn't a lot of detail at that part.
Hope you enjoyed! Here's a bonus part which did not fit into the chapter but still pretty funny to me.
Shigaraki walked back into the bar, opening the door to absolute chaos. He was welcomed by a laughing Toga trying to put black cat ears on an enraged Dabi, who was running away from Toga. Seeker had drunk several glasses and was busy playing poker with a tired looking Kurogiri, a small Pointed Heart sitting beside him. By the looks of it, Seeker had won a few rounds.
Toga reached Dabi and went on her tippy toes to reach Dabi's black hair. Instead, Dabi spun around and threw Toga onto a table, flipping it. Toga squirmed out of Dabi's grip and tripped over some chairs.
"They've been like that for a few hours, if you're wondering. We tried to stop them, but honestly I don't give a dusk." Seeker answered without looking around.
Shigaraki sighed as he went to the back to grab his hand collection.
