Chapter 18 - Imperfect Scars
"Now, you both should be on your way, the finals have begun but you shouldn't have missed much," Recovery Girl answered their wary faces and both relaxed the second later, grateful to not have missed much while they rested. "You both have incredible power and have exerted yourselves alot today, be proud, you both have shown great promise to the world."
"Thanks ma'am." Izuku bowed while Yuki stood on the opposite end of the medical bay, having taken her jacket off to replace it with a less dirtied one, though she could no nothing about her sports bra given the audience.
However, upon doing a few stretches Izuku felt his eyes trace her back, and unlike a few times before his eyes were shaken by the sight of more scars crossing her peachy skin. Long or jagged, although he knew SIVA was working constantly to bring Yuki back to a healthy state, he again never realized the true extent of what she had gone through years ago, he knew she lost her family but... just how many scars did she have back then? What else had she been through compared to his ordinary life?
'You done checking me out? Not that I mind a little gawking, I do look like a badass with a few scars )' The note soon flailed in his hands while he blushed furiously, the mask staring back slyly while Yuki slipped a jacket on again, leaving it undone for now
"S-sorry! Just, em-" The door swung open, All Might standing there patiently
"Are you two ready, don't want to miss the finals do you?" He encouraged them to speed along as they threw themselves from the room, and strained silence falling on the trio as they walked, though All Might kept a hand to his chin, considering something that had plagued his mind since he watched his two pupils fight. "I was worried we'd have to look at your improvement from another angle but given your resolve, I don't think-"
"All Might?" They stopped, Izuku feeling his chest tighten as his mind taunted him with the memory that flash in his mind like pictures. The final attack, the last ounce of his power as it was overwhelmed by Todoroki, how... he failed, his body crumpled against the wall. "Remember when you told me why you came to UA in the first place? To find a worth successor to inherit One For All?"
"Yeah?" He and Yuki shared a look, but her eyes never changed, she expected this. The years of her life have taught her many things, and letting go of failure is one that no one can easily overlook, it will always dwindle, waiting for a moment of weakness when you least expect it. She wanted to stop him but that would only counteract any good her words would do
Izuku kept his head low, thinking back to his fights and hardships everyone put their heart and souls into, their ideals and struggles. In a way, it felt like he cheated. "I put everything I had into the Sports Festival, but still, there were other competitors that fought harder for the victory than I did." He kept his eyes forward, visually lost in thought. "So, maybe..."
"You're thinking of someone else to be my successor, yes?" All Might kept a calm, understanding voice, he had doubts too, there was no sugarcoating the burden of this power, what mattered was how Midoriya went about shouldering it
Izuku slumped his shoulders. "...Yes."
"You speak the truth," All Might wouldn't lie to him. "This place is full of incredible potential heroes," He turned his eyes to his pupil left to watch in forced silence, her eyes still locked to her friend's head. "One For All is a crystallization of power, it bolsters Quirks, for example, if Young Azuru here chose to inherit my Quirk I'd have no doubt her and SIVA's power would skyrocket to levels unlike any hero in history, they may very well be unstoppable."
"Or Young Todoroki, the power applied would to make him an unbeatable superhero," The hard truth made Izuku's face waver, maybe it was best he handed it over to another
"Then-"
"But you know, I was Quirkless too as a kid," All Might smiled with a thumb to himself, Yuki shaking her head as she saw the spark return to Izuku's eyes, wonder, amazement... a kindred spirit between them. These two meant the world to her, so seeing them like this reminded Yuki she could let them handle issues without her input just fine
"Qurikless? Seriously?" That only broadened the smile on the hero's face
"Back then it wasn't that rare of a thing but it was still out-of-the-ordinary," And while this touching moment between student and teacher was something Yuki wouldn't miss, she needed to excuse herself for a moment, patting Izuku's shoulder with her eyes curved before she darted behind the corner until she couldn't hear them, then, she lost her smile
"Ngh...!" She doubled over, clutching her stomach as her ears filled with subtle white noise, her right eye clouded with static as she felt her arms and legs burn and numb particularly around her left leg and right hand as she bit her lip to keep herself quiet, but the pain was like an immediate pull at her insides. "Hah... hah..." Sweat trickled down her neck while she sucked in a lungful of air carefully
Warning | Backlash Subsiding | Use Exceeded
"I... I'm fine, sorry, SIVA." She knew this would happen, her mind berated her not to but given the circumstances it was necessary. "Christ, that wasn't nice." Yuki forced herself to stand the moment All Might and Izuku rounded the corner, but neither noticed the strain in her muscles, thankfully
"Yuki, what's wrong?" Izuku's keen observation already saw through her faked innocence, the tense lock in her muscles as though she had been kicked or was bracing for another attack. But he was simply flicked on the nose as Yuki twirled in front of them
'Done having a heart-to-heart?' She avoided his question but clearly it wasn't something was would willingly bring up so he dropped the thought for now and smiled
"Sure, but we got to hurry, the matches are still going on." Taking her hand he pulled her along as his heart raced with anticipation, and feeling her hand grasp his tighter kept his spirits back on high. All Might chose him, even though so many like Yuki and Todoroki had such amazing powers. "I said I'd be worthy of this power, it's time I started believing in those words myself!"
The matchup between Kacchan and Kirishima was going off with spectacular fashion, and while Izuku himself remained enthralled to the action and suspense, Yuki could agree that the fact Dumb-Dumb was indeed on the defense was something she had never expected, at the same exact instance her mind had wandered down corridors of her memory, sound echoed and soon blurred while her body ran through the motions like a lucid dream.
The slight episode of hers dug up an old memory, tugging at her heart and tearing away her sense of self for a brief time when she was still... normal, Quirkless, and happy. Why did these memories come back? Was it Todoroki, the struggles of his own past he's trying so desperately to fight? Her conflicted emotions that clouded her mind's clarity for half the day? It was all swirling inside and Yuki couldn't help but fall into their frames.
The song played, and she lost herself in the words that vibrated from her throat, soft and gentle to the girl resting in her bed. The little girl was sick, bedridden for days as she winced under the sunlight, but the voice, angelic and full of love kept her spirit afloat as she sighed, closing her eyes.
Words are born into air
And quickly fade out in the wind
But they find their way inside you
Where they live on forevermore
When the skies are dark and full of rain
Look inside you heart
A light, so warm and all aglow
Shining just like the sun
You can see. just how much you've grown, how strong you are
A love will open up to you
And it starts from the day that you
First heard those words
Yuki hummed softly, turning off her phone as she cleared her throat, hearing the gentle clap under the sheets, two bright blue eyes staring back with a smile. "That was amazing... I told you you're already awesomely talented without a Quirk like mine." The younger girl croaked, making Yuki giggle
"I don't know, even sick I bet you'd still be awarded for best voice across Japan," Yuki wasn't lying, she'd bet her sister could do just that. Was she jealous? A bit, but mostly admiration took over and they were sisters, it came with the territory to rival one another. "Still, you can talk, which is honestly a tragedy," Yuki pouted mockingly. "Say goodbye to days of peace."
That earned her a flimsy punch to the arm, noting the hardened glare and red face behind the covers. "Jeeeerk..." Then Nana put up a peace sign over her right eye. "Admit it, you miss me in school."
I was true, sure, Jura was... Jura, but Yuki typically glued herself to her sister's side, despite being the eldest by two years, and an abundance of friends, both were almost never apart. Did that make them useless? No, just a little out of touch with themselves.
"Can you sing again?" Nana begged, big blue eyes expanding with a whine as Yuki tried to get up and leave, but she was furrowly convinced her little evil sibling had a mind-control Quirk or something.
"No, stop that," The whine got louder, and Yuki plugged her ears. "Lalalalala, sorry, call back, never!"
Then the arms started shaking her back and forth, and Yuki struggled to hold back a smile as her sister became distraught. "Come oooon, please-please-please-mmph!?" A hand was shoved against her face, giving Yuki time to rub her forehead
"Fine, one more!" The aggravated eight-year-old fell into defeat, clearing her throat once more. "You owe me."
"Love you~!" She sang as beautifully as ever, irking the older sibling
"Uh-huh, whatever, dumb-dumb."
"-ki? Yo," The slight shove brought Yuki's right hook across Kaminari's face, himself recoiling from the sharp reflex as the mute's eyes widened with shock, spinning right around with apologetic eyes. He clutched his nose, but held a thumb up. "All good - ow, damn that smarts."
"Sorry lightbulb, but I wasn't risking that," Jiro smirked knowingly while bringing her gaze back to the girl. "You were completely out of it, even Midoriya couldn't snap you out of it," To emphasize the point she poked an earphone jack to the worried eyes of her friend's best friend
'Sorry, I just... well, it was about my...' She shook her head, it wasn't the time for her to get sentimental, so with a pat to Izuku's worried little head she spun back around, then realized Kacchan had already won, and her entire body slumped. 'Seriously!? You let Dumb-Dumb win!?' The notes spilled out without her consent, and Jiro flopped her arms between the two
"Yep, got to admit, Bakugo's smarter than he looks, kinda why I'm glad it's none of us down there," She paled, and almost everyone hummed in agreement
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL SAYING ABOUT ME!?" Said sociopath caught wind of their background chatter from afar, Yuki shot up and just waved him off. "DON'T IGNORE ME YOU MUTE BASTARD!" She promptly ignored him, spinning around to rest on the edge of the railing
"Yuki, are you really okay?" That drew a few eyes to Izuku, but he wasn't convinced by it. He knew Yuki, and while it wasn't his place to pry, especially in front of others, he didn't want her bottling up everything again, he knew fine rightly the kind of discord it caused her prior to the Festival, and seeing her like that made his stomach twist. "You can trust us?"
Seeing many of their eyes solely on herself was, again, a very sentimental image. She did trust them, but even her tactile personality wouldn't allow such personal background to slip, however, it did offer her an idea, it was a bittersweet moment, and it would help her accept, without any remnants of doubt, that these people, a few in particular, were truly irreplaceable friends.
Her note was caught between her fingers. 'Alright. After the Festival, no more doom and gloom, after all, I've slogged through this tournament solely to see one conclusive end!' She flicked the note around, eyes narrowed with blue flames behind her back. 'I will see Dumb-Dumb lose in spectacular fashion!'
Jiro snickered while Kaminari brought up a... betting pool. "Guess it's the perfect time as any! Ta-da, me and Yuki planned this out a while ago!" It was literally a betting pool and Izuku could hardly believe his eyes as Yuki rubbed her hands together, the look in her mask green with greed. "Most bets were taken by the student body already but there's room for last-minute takers."
"Wow, I'm surprised you guys got that passed Iida?" Ochako pointed out as both froze mid bet as they leaned closer to the bubbly girl with serious eyes, Yuki bobbing her head
"If he found out we'd never hear the end of this, we're taking this to our graves." Kaminari spilled dangerously low, Yuki's eyes displaying skull and crossbones while Izuku remained froze given the fact she was using his lap as a stand to reach Ocha
Yuki sat back, seeing the passed out Izuku as she silently giggled, patting his head as she and Kaminari offered out the bets. "Any takers?"
"I can't believe you two..." Yaoyorozu shook her head in disbelief, hand on her forehead.
"Hey, nothing wrong with a little fun right?" Sero suggested calmly. "I got my money on Todoroki."
"Same here," Jiro clicked her fingers with a wink, Yuki scribbling down the names. They weren't actually betting as even Yuki knew that'd be impossible, this was more of a fun completion for the entirety of the first years to take part in that she believed would be a more... creative way to connect given Dumb-Dumb declaration of war
"Told ya it was some clean fun, and you doubted me?" Yuki smugly remarked to SIVA
Liar | Changed | All Might
Yuki pouted at that. "Traitor."
Bet | On | Bakugo
[? POV]
It was a frigid wasteland, mechanized and deteriorated by our hands, we carved its rusted ruins and amalgamations of the past into a seedling for a future clean of impurities, unified under the technomancy we had stolen, converted for our own. He led us, my master's vision that seemed out of our reach came to pass.
By his own will he tamed a sea of information and systematic logic, bent it onto us, harnessed and influenced the world and beyond. In our eyes he was a God, to me... he was my mentor, the one I could rely on. How did I repay him? With failure...!
That... creature! She took it from us, my power, the gifts I learned to control and strengthened of my own resolve was shattered, torn apart by flames that no amount of cold steel could smother. Each strike, every burn was more excruciating than the last.
I survived, saw my brothers and sisters torn apart. They claim it was of good intentions like these so-called 'Heroes', bending the word to suit their needs without considering the struggles, the sacrifices we've made to so much as survive! What right do they have to a God we once welcomed with open arms? These... corpses!?
Now... remnants, shattered remains I plucked and pieced together in this world, primitive but I too lack power, my heritage stripped from me like a crest. But I will not fail this time, I alone with be my kin's rage, their fury engraved in my bones, their desires my armor. My spirit a fire like that creature's to smother the thief.
"You stole our power... so I will steal the last of your hope, strip away the society you claim to aspire to protect... just like that creature, Thief," I snarled at the monitor, fingers snapping at the edges as her image blurred, her power clashed with that boy. "Both of you crave death? I will happily gift to you."
[No POV]
Stain watched as the cursed society rushed to aid his victim, left broken as his spirit. The so-called 'Heroes' were all fakes, they cared for fame and glory over the simplicity that was once a hero's only call to action, the necessity for good against evil. But it was warped, tainted by times and regulations, he'd be a hypocrite if he didn't once believe in those roles himself, but that was a time when he too was naive, almost caught in hypocrisy's web.
He then drew his jagged blade down, seeing it twist and snag on two metallic fingers, the figure unfazed. "Hold your blade, liberator, I mean no harm."
"Then you came to the wrong man," Stain sneered, but remained as he was, hunched by the building's edge. "What do you want?" The hooded man bowed his head, eyes cold and disconcerting
"I want to offer you a token of my... appreciation for your work," He replied crooked, procuring a small, blue, and grey cluster from his pocket. "I don't care for this world's way of life, the... regulatory lifestyle of Quirks, the limitations are chains, you are... different, I wish for your crusade to flourish, inspire, deconstruct the foundations like dominos."
Stain stood up, a knife drawn in a red contrail to Kovik's throat, but found it to cut mere metal, the same cluster between his fingers shimmered through the cut, pushing Stain's weapon away. "Whatever you are, while your actions are clearly unwavered, I don't work for anyone, I alone purge society of its false idols."
"I know, my master would not care, you would not either," Kovik held out the cluster. "I offer strength for your path, it is experimental but will offer us both what we want, all you do is continue quickly and silently, like Death," Then he held up his index. "But if you find another with powers like my own," Then Stain saw it, the true devotion and unshakable truth of Kovik's resolve. "CuT hEr DoWn."
For the longest time, as the wind pulled and flicked between Stain's bindings, the dark cloak that encompassed Kovik, an answer was given, and an agreement was made in blood and metal.
To Be Continued...
So many little things, with the end of the festival on the horizon, to the movements of Kovik and his plans with the Hero Killer. Much is planned for the end, but we still have alot left in store. I hope you enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter, Plus Ultra!
Next Chapter: A Perfect End
The finale of the Festival is up next, bets made, and dreams have been put to the test. Now, it all comes to a shocking finale.
