Chapter Thirteen: (Why You Got to Go and Make Things So) Complicated


The battle was long and hard. No pun was intended, of course, but things just happened the way they did. The signal started and the battle began at last.

Charging forward with a roar, Kirishima's face morphed into one of utter concentration as she tensed up and prepared to fight back.

Kirishima was a tough opponent, in every sense of the word. Morie had been aware that there was no way she could beat him in a fight in terms of pure combat ability- his own strength was already strong, though when combined with his quirk he was a monster to go up against with.

(In terms of his strength, of course. There was no way the enthusiastic red-haired could ever qualify to be a monster, not when his presence alone brought up the spirits of the class.)

Her plan was something she wasn't proud of- she had witnessed firsthand when his quirk nearly failed to function in the entrance exam. It was probably one of the most useful quirks around, like all quirks, Hardening had its own drawback- if used continuously and put under constant pressure, it couldn't hold.

One way or another, she was planning to strike when he was the weakest, and aim to knock him out- or at least send him out of bounds.

Kirishima was obviously aware of this limitation, and had come at her immediately, with the intention to win the match as swiftly as possible, before she had a chance to strike at his weaknesses. He fought with relentless swipes, which she dodged and struck back accordingly, increasing the pressure behind her blows. At one point, he managed to break past the pressure barrier that she had put up around herself, leaving a gash across her shoulder.

Hissing at the pain, Morie instinctively jumped back, hand grabbing at her injured arm. Kirishima's arms reared backwards into a ready position as the both of them panted, and it was at this moment that she was especially careful not to let her eyes drop below eye-level.

"Sorry about that!" He called out from across the battle field, rubbing off some dirt from his face with his sleeve. Grinning, she shrugged it off and sent him a thumbs-up.

Swallowing her hands lowered and brushed the ground almost insignificantly, as if she were brushing off a stray insect. But then as she picked up a dull humming in the particles below her, she straightened back up and ran towards him, and for a moment her classmates in the stand stilled- surely, this was the end?

As Kirishima raised his arms to block the oncoming blow, the girl suddenly skidded to a stop mere centimetres before him, bringing up her foot and stomping it on the ground at his feet. Almost instantly, the concrete below his feet exploded with a cloud of dust, blasting the boy backwards, and Morie's eyes widened as she saw the chance and closed in, swirling and kicking him backwards.

Instinctively, Kirishima brought his hands up in a block. The dust cleared, and for a moment her heart sank as he noted that he was still very much standing, with his face and limbs now hardened as a result. Yet as he moved to take a step forward, Midnight's voice rang out with a startling clarity.

"Kirishima Ejirou is out of bounds. Therefore, this match goes to Minamoto Morie!" She announced.

Morie couldn't believe it- wasn't the red-haired boy still very much in the battle field?

Straining her eyes, she was momentarily stunned at the sight of Kirishima's foot barely over the line, though as she dropped the pressure around her in a daze, she felt a migraine tear its way through her mind almost immediately.

Her heart ached as guilt gnawed away at her insides at the sight of Kirishima, who looked mildly upset.

What had she done? She knew that she couldn't have won against him with raw power. In all honesty, Kirishima deserved someone who was strong and willing to fight him on the stage in which he did best- someone who would fight him honourably, and not someone like her who was hardly strong and snuck by with life hacks and sneaky moves. It was a strange feeling, and she knew it was stupid for her to be feeling that way when she was just doing what she did best, and her energetic buddy just happened to be her opponent.

But to be very honest? In a real battle, Kirishima would be the one standing in the end. Not her.

Heading over to the opposite side of the arena, she felt a feeling reminiscent to that of shame as she suddenly found herself unable to meet his eyes.

A fluke. I won because of a fluke.

"Sorry, Kiri," she mumbled. "Surprise attacks aren't all that manly, aren't they?"

"Yeah," he clapped her over the shoulder, causing her to jump up briefly as a small smile crossed his features. "But being determined to win is."

Morie blinked up at him owlishly, almost feeling perplexed at his unwavering optimism. He caught her eye and grinned, looking so incredibly proud of her that she briefly wondered if this was what having an older sibling felt like.

"C'mon, Rie-san! Let's go get you patched up!" The red-haired boy exclaimed, positively dragging her out of the arena

Seriously, what the hell did I do to deserve to have this guy as a friend again?

"I don't deserve you," she muttered under her breath lowly.

.

Morie refused to go to Recovery Girl, (she didn't want to sacrifice her stamina just for a small scratch) instead just bandaging up the wound with the hope that she wouldn't bleed out before her next match.

Clambering to the seat next to Kirishima in the stands, she watched the currently ongoing match with wide, horrified eyes.

Uraraka- the utterly sweet, adorable, and strong-willed gravity manipulator was getting absolutely crushed. She had been struck down countless times, and had pushed herself back up even more times- or at least until the final blow. Even with her ultimate attack, Bakugou had brushed off her meteor shower without batting an eye.

The match ended on a solemn note as the bright-eyed girl ("Angelface," Bakugou had called her) struggled and quivered to get up in desperation. Alas, her arms gave out from underneath her and she collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness. And just like that, the end of the match ended, with the stadium sitting in unsure, conflicted silence.

Bakugou walked out of the arena without another word. Morie clapped once, twice, then ducked her head under the stares of those around her, her hands falling motionlessly to her sides. Instead, her dark eyes focused on the sight of the beaten-up and unconscious Uraraka being carried out on a stretcher. Her hesrt tighened.

A sense of dread pooled within her stomach as fleetingly, Bakugou's red eyes flickered towards the stands- and she was reminded of the fact that she was the one who would have to fight him next.

Watching Todoroki's match with Midoriya was an eye opener, though as Morie recalled his demeaning words from before, she swallowed the bitter feeling in her mouth. Clearly, some sort of heated discussion had occured between them- but Midoriya ended up being out-of-bounds, in any case. The curly-haired boy had been blasted against the arena wall, rendered unconscious from the impact. Morie winced at the sight of his bruised, broken and useless arms.

Some may have thought the match anticlimatic- but to her it had been intense and close. After all, Midoriya ended up being the one to force Todoroki into unleashing his true power. She wasn't fond of fire and never was, but somehow the sight of flames spilling forth almost rampantly from Todoroki's left side was almost awe-inspiring.

(Though admittedly, that was something she would never admit out loud.)

With the ending of one match meant that her own was getting closer and closer. Sighing, Morie stood up to seek refuge in the waiting rooms- but not before bumping fists with Kirishima, who stopped her as he wished her all the best, looking empathetic at her gloominess.

"Good luck, man," he stated sympathetically. "Against Blasty, you're gonna need it- though I'm not gonna take sides, of course. Go for it!"

"Thanks, Kiri." Morie replied, laughing as Kirishima messed up her hair with an enthusiastic vigour. Heading off down the stairs, she fell back into silent contemplation.

'One match nearer', she sighed, as a small panic seemed to grow from the root that was her heart. Almost desperately, she scrounged her mind as she tried to recall details of Bakugou's fighting style, or his quirk, or anything noteworthy in general. Nothing really came up.

(Distinctly, she recalled a few details, though it is barely enough- he apparently liked to swing his right fist first, he could make explosions by secreting sweat, his natural combative instincts were great, he was a prodigy, his style resembled that of out-boxing...)

Basically, she was pretty much screwed.

'Rest in peace, bro.' A voice sighed, causing her to be mildly ticked off at herself.

'Shuddap. You said that last time, too.' Morie grumbled, dragging herself into the waiting room as she began to pace around. The anxious feelings weren't ebbing away like they usually did, if anything, they seemed to be growing heavier.

For some reason, another memory hovered up to mind, that of the blonde-haired boy standing on the podium in the arena a mere few hours ago.

Morie distinctly remembered being surprised that of all people, Bakugou Katsuki had been the student representative. She remembered the way he had stood clearly- slouched but not lazy, hands tucked into pockets, eyes regarding his audience with a calm, cool gaze which sent shivers down her spine. That kind of focus was admirable, put it simply.

"I pledge that I'll be number one," he had proclaimed- but at the same time, she wasn't sure if 'proclaimed' would be the right word.

At the point in time, it hadn't felt like a proclamation at all- what with the morose way he had said it. It was a announcement, but yet it wasn't exactly a challenge- defiantly he stood out, without caring about negative sentiments of any sort; but that wasn't it. Something within her wondered if he was backing himself into a corner on purpose, making himself a target of all the resentment and negativity- to prove that he could win even with those glaring targets on his back.

Somehow, he was different than how she imagined him to be after exchanging spitfire with him in an Oridera Junior High classroom. Whether or not he had changed, he certainly didn't feel like a schoolyard bully anymore.

Morie vaguely remembered a feeling of admiration bubbling up within her towards what she formerly thought was the most uninspiring person ever. It was a confusing feeling, considering that she was still somewhat terrified of the abrasive boy (who happened to be her bloody neighbour), but nonetheless, there was no denying the fact that she respected the boy a lot more than she cared to admit.

("Once you look up from someone, you can't overtake them," she distinctly remembered that quote from somewhere, and faintly she hoped that it wouldn't hold true for the upcoming match between the Boy Who Placed First and the One Who Lived Next To Him.)

She reassured herself (jokingly) with the thought that in terms of what she liked to dub 'background character qualities', she certainly had him beat. Heck, she might even decide to throw her superb bullshitting qualities into the mix!

As she took to walking around the hallways, Morie's footsteps came to a halt as she turned a corner- only to catch sight of a towering figure walking past. She took in the sight of flaming red flames and recognition dawned upon her.

Eyes widening, she instinctively took a step back.

The large, towering figure caught sight of her, nonetheless. Originally he didn't seem to have noticed her, but then something made him stop and examine her.

('Nonono- ')

Morie stiffened, feeling thoroughly intimidated as she took in the man's jade green eyes- eyes the exact shade of Todoroki's.

("Please leave me alone I'm nothing you don't see me- ")

"You- stop." Endeavour spoke, and out of politeness she obliged and turned to face him, a blank look on her expression. She prayed, hoped that he would miss the trembling of her fingers.

He was inspecting her now- as if she was somehow familiar to him. In turn, she was terrified he would see what Todoroki did and recognise her as the daughter of his rival.

"The children of established Pro Heroes-the ones who feel the most pressure, are often the ones who are the most desperate to win," Endeavour stated, eyes boring into hers, and she couldn't move a muscle, not even at that unintentional pun. "Tell me, who are your parents?"

Morie froze, her throat going dry at that question. The memory of Todoroki's accusation flashed across her mind and in that split second, she decided that telling Endeavour the names of her parents was a terrible idea. His damned voice was ringing in her head, as if it was a warning bell.

("You're the daughter of Coriolis, the Wind Hero aren't you?")

Eyes flicking over to the towering man before her, she settled for a compromise.

"You're right, sir," Morie stated softly, allowing a shy smile to appear on her features- after all, it was better to give him an impression that she was meek at heart. Maybe he would see that she was a weakling and lose interest in her. "Dad doesn't work and Mom's a Hero, but I hope you may allow me to respect their privacy with regard to their identities."

With that said, there was no need for Endeavour to pursue the topic any further- unless he was suspicious, or already knew the answer.

And there was almost no doubt that he already knew, or was in the position to find out- he would have been able to find out her family surname from the matches alone.

(She didn't consider him above leaking the identities of their whole family to the press, or the news. So what if she was being ridiculously wary? She has a right to to protect her privacy.)

"I know all the heroes. Telling me wouldn't make a difference," he replied in response, his booming voice growing strained. It wouldn't take much longer before he lost his patience with her completely.

Morie swallowed- she had been afraid that he was going to say that.

Oh, but it would. I would become a target that you want Todoroki to defeat. I would be the way you crush my mother, by revealing me as her daughter; how you wreck the privacy she works so hard to protect.

She shifted around, lips remaining stubbornly pursed as she avoided the gaze of Endeavour.

Her match was going to start at any moment now. Should she just turn and bolt for it? Or maybe she should just-

- at that very moment, a figure with dual-coloured hair shuffled into view, before coming to a stop at the sight before him. His strangely-coloured eyes narrowed as they took in the scene, before they shifted over to her.

Then she remembered something: Endeavour wasn't on good terms with his son.

As he met her gaze, Morie abandoned all of her dignity, sending him a silent pleading look ('please please please get this man away from me') before her eyes slowly and deliberately shifted over to where Endeavour stood a few metres away.

Todoroki Shouto didn't miss the gesture. He remained impassive for a few moments, and for a few moments she wondered if he would just walk away from the scene out of spite- either towards her, or towards his father. But then his eyes flicked over to his father, and he opened his mouth.

"What are you doing?" He questioned, stepping forward as he did so. "My classmate needs to get to the arena now."

Endeavour's eyes narrowed, sending his son an impatient look. The orange flames that curled off his body flickered warningly, sending a lurch through her stomach as she realised how much it reminded her of the Conflagration Zone at the USJ. "Do not interfere, Shouto. I was asking the girl some questions."

"She doesn't have the time for that," Todoroki retorted curtly. Then his tone shifted as he addressed her, mismatched eyes boring into her own. "Go on to your match."

Nodding dumbly, Morie obliged as she turned and walked away towards the arena, barely able to stop herself from breaking out in a run as her fingers trembled.

That had been way too close for comfort.

But she couldn't relax yet- there was still the possibility that Todoroki could tell Endeavour the truth about her. Realistically speaking, Todoroki wasn't obliged to keep her secret at all, and he could very well find more use speaking of the truth to his father than protecting her identity.

Morie tugged and wrenched at her hands. As she neared the arena, she slowed down and let out a long sigh.

(Then of course, there was also the fact that her match with Bakugou Katsuki was less than five minutes away.

Cheers.)

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A/N: And I'm back!

I really dislike this chapter and the next, because I was originally planning for Morie to lose in the first round. Then I realised that it would cause my drafts for the later chapters to be unable to work at all, so I scrapped it.

I really am sorry about the long wait, but exams are over and I'm now free to write! I really missed Morie and her shenanigans; not to mention that a big thank you goes out to all you supporters as I would have definitely lost the motivation to continue if not for your kind words.

Follow my tumblr account: cyan-rubies to stay updated about the progress of my various OC fics! (including Selling Daylight) And with the overwhelming number of Kirie shippers, (is that a proper ship name?) I feel obliged to disclose that I have considered making them a couple before, though I now view them more of best bros.

Thank you for reading, and the next update will hopefully come soon!