"I am the Horned Hermit, a simple hero. You noticed me before, didn't you? From quite the distance away." The woman said as she walked toward Maribel, her aura was far from as great as it appeared mere seconds before, and would've but Maribel at some ease.
But, she was a little bit wary after her dream scuffle with a youkai earlier that day. Maribel put both of her hands up, holding the arms out just above the waistline and tried to get Kasen to stop, which she did. Earning a patient and profound eyebrow from the pink haired woman. "I don't... really know that many heroes, but you're not some run-of-the-mill hero, that's for sure."
"So you did notice!" Kasen smiled genuinely, her eyebrows raised a little and puckered, showcasing that she was delighted. Standing out from the rest of the supernatural creatures she'd met in the past for how carefree and friendly she appeared. Compared to any of the dancers, she certainly came across as something less of an anomaly. "I am not human, as you may guess."
"...Then what are you?" Maribel asked, inquisitive as if she just heard about a new invention.
"Sennin."
Maribel stared blankly, she grasped what the word implied, a transcendent person or someone who came from the mountains. A hermit. But she had no idea what it actually was. The young girl felt uneasy in her presence. "...Okay? I haven't encountered something like you before... Are you a youkai? I sure hope not."
"Not quite." Kasen responded and shook her head from side to side. Maribel didn't know what to conclude, but she looked suspiciously at the hermit. Whatever was up with this person, it gave her mixed signals. The red-eyed hermit raised her head confidently and looked down at Hearn. Face-to-face, the hermit was about five centimeters taller than Maribel. "I was wondering how you survived that fatal injury you received."
"Exactly like the media said. I woke up after being unconscious, and it was just like that." Maribel feigned, hiding her nervousness as much as she could, and she knew that any normal person would be unable to catch it.
Kasen wasn't so easily fooled, however, she left her mouth hanging open just a little as she deadpanned. Maintaining an air of whimsicality along the serious demeanor of before. She knew it'd make her more approachable. Wanting to get to the point and dropping some hints that she already knew a bit. "Uhuh... Have there been any dreams, or visions you've had?"
Fixating her eyes on Kasen and focusing a little, her eyes turned purple. Done out of stress. She figured she could give up on the act for now. I don't want to end up fighting another one of these things, and how does she even know to ask that question?
Making up her mind, Hearn's lips moved to utter the truth to this strange woman. Remaining wary, but opening up like this really allowed her to feel free to speak more casually. "There was this... god that appeared in my mind when I was unconscious, and she saved my life. Earlier today, I saw her again, and I've been feeling almost tireless since. I'm not getting tired by doing anything. Standing up, running for long, fighting..."
"That would be Okina, wouldn't it?" Kasen asked. Blinking with a face devoid of reaction, hiding the surprise that this hermit knew Okina, Maribel couldn't do much other than nod. "Let me tell you to be wary of her. I've been an... acquaintance of hers once. I know how she acts and being close to her may yield you great misfortune in the future. Especially if you don't please her." The hermit explained, moving her right arm to her chest and holding a hand out as she offered advice. Quite a symbolic bodily expression. "Now, I don't have much more to say. I was merely looking to know if she's involved." She, somewhat abruptly, turned around and waved goodbye to the young girl. "I wish you luck with the tournament!"
The hermit lowered her arm and walked toward the door again. As she was about to open it, she felt a touch. Her right wrist was softly grasped by the girl she was conversing with just now, and she looked over her shoulder at the ribbon-decorated blonde. Displaying naught but a face shock full of confusion. "It really sounds like you care about Okina. So, I'll tell you everything I know... If you can give me some advice on controlling my power."
Thinking, the hermit looked down at the ground with wide eyes and froze for a moment. Next looking at her, befuddled.
"...Please~"
After a careful moment of consideration and being lost in thought. Kasen looked back at the Maribel and beamed brightly at her.
The door behind her closed, and the pink-haired hermit made her exit of the waiting room. Having been satisfied with the tips she'd offered that golden-haired girl. To be honest, she felt that she was in desperate need of guidance. She knew the lunch break would soon be over, and they would announce the matches. Until the matches, she didn't really think of doing much. Maybe keeping watch on the two dancers and engross in some fine conversation whilst enjoying herself.
So naturally, she was on her way to the spectator seats again.
About to go up one of the stairs, she walked past a flaming figure. Realizing it was the number two ranked hero, his presence was clear to her, even if it didn't compare to what came next. She avoided walking into him and started to walk up the subsequent flight of stairs. Her eyes were greeted by the sight of the number one hero, someone she'd worked with during an incident before. "...Ah." She froze, mouth wide open for a moment. With a glance, she could tell his power had waned. Although it was still considerably strong, even if it didn't make much of a difference to her.
"Oh-..." There was a pause between both of them. "I didn't expect you! It must've been eleven years ago! Hope you're as good as you were then, have you decided to be a little less wandering?" He recollected, smiling like he constantly did for the cameras and so forth. Currently, he was wearing a nice suit, so they were both very casual considering the kind of event they were attending.
"No... And do you at least remember my hero name?" She asked and put a hand on her hip whilst looking at him. Kasen had no concern for popularity, but she was more or less the opposite of him. No office, no merchandise, living on entirely through rarely acting. Encountering a celebrity always caused you to feel somewhat inferior.
"The Horned Hermit! I remember!" All Might raised one finger in the air as he realized. "Haha! You haven't aged a day, what kind of skin cream do you use?"
"If you joked like that with any other girl, I'm certain they'd completely abandon you on the spot." Kasen brushed his joke off and decided to lecture him a little. "Do you even have a partner?"
Toshinori shed a drop of sweat as she started low-key rambling against him.
"It might be innocent to say to an actual grandma, but you should be able to tell that my body isn't aging so much. You do know I'm a heteromorphic-type, yes? While I might look normal, I'm not really entirely like a normal person. I heal faster and I age slower, and..."
He decided to chime in to tease her a little. Purely in a comedic fashion. "-You have horns under those buns! ...Right?"
Kasen's face flushed.
"E-eh- My hero name is just metaphorical... Well, I have to get to the spectator seats, see you!" She waved at him quickly and dashed past him, fast enough that an average person would have trouble following her, but not All Might.
"A-All Might! I was looking for you!"
"It's fine, Midoriya-shounen. Something bothering you?" The giant of a man flashed his trademarked smile at the much shorter Izuku.
Midoriya waved his arms around as if he was startled. His words came out like they were in a stream. "Well, I need to talk about my quirk! We need some privacy!"
All Might wasn't in such a hurry, there was still time left. So he snickered a little at Izuku. It was a bit like watching a child doing antics to him. "You do know you place more emphasis on the importance of words by talking slower? Let me show you." He said and then adjusted his tie. Clearing his throat, he then began speaking as he put both of his arms on his hips. "Fear not! I... AM HERE!"
The freckled boy with the messy hair, who almost looked like he had just woken up from sleeping after a shower, looked blankly at All Might. His fingers tapped across his notebook for a moment as he removed an ink pen from the top and began scribbling down what his idol had just said. "Byslowingdownyourspeakingyoucanplacemoreimportanceonspecificwordsandthusgetyourpointacrossbetter..."
"You done?" The hero asked, still flashing his confident and welcoming smile.
"Yes!" Izuku bowed a little.
"Then let's go talk." All Might said and waved for him to come with him. It didn't take long until they ran into an empty waiting room. Luckily, All Might was employed at U.A., so he had every right and capability to lock the door behind him. Inside of this room was a set of chairs, two of which All Might positioned to face each other in the blink of an eye. Midoriya was a little awestruck at how fast he was moving, but he wasn't unused to it. "Please, sit down." His hero asked him and gently sat down unto the chair, crossing his arms.
Midoriya walked on up to the seat and took it. After that, he prepared himself, browsing through his hero notebook at a brisk pace until he found the classmate he'd been looking for. Maribel Hearn. Quirk: Boundary Manipulation.
The blond hero stretched himself a little and looked over. Narrowing his eyes as he vaguely recognized the shapes on the outfit, even if they were simply sketched in lines. "So this is about Hearn-shoujo."
"Hm." Izuku nodded. Speaking at a gentler pace, and more seriously. "I ran into her just now, and she apologized for some things during the fight... But she also told me something else. Hearn-san's quirk lets her feel quirks and other things by instinct, and she told me that we are likely related..."
All Might began to cough and erupted in a cloud of steam, revealing the scrawny figure behind all that bulk.
"H-hey are you alright?!" His inheritor reacted, reaching out as if he was about to go on over and help him sit straight.
Toshinori held out a palm, signifying him to stop. "Gah..." He spat, adjusting his posture and then spoke much more calmly and with less bass in his voice. "Well... I didn't think of this. While I have read up on her quirk, it never said that she could use it to identify people. It just gives her a certain vibe around people and things. It's very remarkable that she learnt to do this..."
"...Changing? Well, she has gotten stronger. I think she calls it quirk training"
He ran a hand through his hair to fix it a little and then looked Izuku directly in the eye as he spoke slowly. "As far as I understand it, that's Recovery Girl's guess. But considering the depth of her abilities and the strange circumstances which she survived those injuries, I'm beginning to doubt it's just that. It breaks my suspension of disbelief." Pausing, he coughed a little again. "Her quirk might be something special, but I'm getting carried away. If she knows there's something similar between us, then being around us more would only enforce that belief. What did she say, exactly?"
"That she didn't have difficulty seeing similarities, and thinking that I'm your... Ah... Son or something. I think she's reacted to One For All before, but only when I've activated it."
Toshinori humorously at the thought for a moment and snickered before returning to his serious demeanor. He recalled the training session where Maribel had surrounded herself in a violet energy and made a hole in a roof. He cursed that he'd spent so much time with her during the last two weeks. It meant they had two potential leaks in regards to the quirk.
Hearn-shoujo is a remarkably bad leak. I'm uncomfortable in giving her the secret. She's somewhat fickle, despite her sociability with many of the classmates. Being the only one in her class to end up in a confrontation with a classmates outside of an exercise, like Bakugo-shounen did. I haven't talked much to her about Midoriya-shounen or vice versa, but he feels she's trying to distance herself from him. If she doesn't like him and has the secret, then it may not be so good. She didn't seem to have any particular admiration for heroes beyond the normal, so she would likely never be as loyal as Midoriya-shounen.
While Bakugo-shounen seems to dislike Midoriya-shounen, they've known each other since childhood and have a bond, even if it's a strained one. They may be able to mend it. And they both admire me immensely, so I feel he would also keep the secret.
"You should avoid talking about One For All with her. And if she truly does want to know more or starts to know more, we'll have to make sure she keeps it secret. To do that... I think you'll have to get closer to her, and you think she doesn't like you that much, right?"
Midoriya nodded. "Right. And yes, she's just been awfully deflecting of me, and in the fight she got furious. Hearn-san told me it was because of the injury to her head and her quirk, but I don't feel I can be sure."
"Reflect on what you've said and done to her. You'll need to find a good approach."
"I might face her in the tournament if neither Todoroki-san nor Kacchan get in the way, I think I'll take the chance there."
Toshinori clapped his hands together and smiled. "Good! But don't go overboard, or else it might do more damage than harm."
Nodding, Izuku was just about to stand up and closed his notebook. But he recalled something. "By the way, I feel like I've started getting the hang of One For All. I can't use it at the same level of power as you, but I can control it to a degree... Still hurts me sometimes, since I can't keep the level of power consistent."
Despite his almost skeletal proportions and face, Toshinori Yagi managed to look proud and clenched his fist and held it up to his chest. "Great work, boy!"
"After Aizawa-sensei got all injured at U.A, he told me to improve on it. I guess that kind of spurred me, hehe..." Izuku stroked the back of his head.
"It's all good. But you should be going to the arena."
"Right. Have a nice day!"
The lunch break lasted forty minutes, a bit long, but there was a lot that got done in that time. After running into Izuku and this Horned Hermit, she had eaten her lunch pretty quickly so that she could get out into the field in time.
"Before we get to the final event, I've got good news for all of those out of the running!"
Maribel started to walk into the stadium. She'd spent a bit of time alone to ponder. The fair-haired girl didn't know what the others were up to until she saw the girls of her class dressed in cheerleader outfits. First giggling girlishly to herself and then laughing at them. She was met with embarrassment from her classmates. "Hahaha! Who tricked you into this?!"
Present Mic was quick to take notice. "Hm? What's this?"
"What are they doing?" Eraserhead followed up.
"Class A, why?!"
Yaoyorozu started waving one of her poms, as if shaking her fist angrily, at Mineta and Kaminari. "Hey! You tricked us!" She shouted, then slumping over a little. "How'd I let myself get fooled like that?"
"Look on the bright side, it's not like any of you look bad." Maribel admitted. Her class all consisted of generally very attractive girls, even if she'd value herself above the rest a bit. Having a bit more mature figure, blond hair and those golden eyes, not to speak of her face. Among her classmates she stood out, if mostly because of her foreign appearance. She felt that maybe she was being a little bit egotistical, but this was the opinion in her mind.
"Well, if there's still time before the main event. Why not just go with it?!" The invisible girl was bubbly as she usually was, even if Maribel didn't direct a lot of attention to her. Without having a face to identify her with, she usually faded into the background.
Whilst they were talking, Maribel moved over next to Yaoyorozu and looked at everyone. "I mean, it looks like you could enjoy yourselves. I'm not going back in and changing, though."
"I don't think the outfit matters that much, but you can join in if you want." Yaoyorozu's expression faded from solemn to accepting and held out one of her cheerleading poms.
Maribel provided her an innocent expression before holding both her hands up. "I think I'll pass, for now, at least."
"Well. We hope everyone enjoys this little recreational competition! Once that's over, we begin the final event! It will be a series of one-on-one battles between the sixteen members of the four winning teams. An actual grand tournament!" The fun settled, and the classes gathered before the little platform that Midnight stood on. Still, she wore the same inappropriate outfit that Maribel didn't like, but now she could care less.
"Every year, there's some kind of one-on-one battle. I'm going to be in that ring I've seen on TV!" Kirishima burst with excitement, clenching his fists and holding them out before him.
"Do they do this every year?" Mina asked, casually waving her poms around at waist-level.
"So I've heard." Maribel remarked. "At least, there's some kind of variation. They mix things up."
"The matchups will be decided by drawing lots. Once that's done, we'll move onto the festivities and then the tournament itself!" Midnight announced, her voice being easily picked up through a microphone so everyone could hear. In her hand was a box that held the lots, considering what was written on the box. "For the sixteen participants, it's up to them if they want to participate in these recreational activities. Now, let's start with the first-place team..."
Maribel walked out of the crowd along with her former teammates. Sato, Shinso and Jurota. Both of the muscle-bound members of the team gave Hitoshi some suspicious looks, Maribel recognized this, but she didn't care so much. The one with the unkempt hair looked tired as ever, and his expression was extremely calm. Perhaps a sign of utmost confidence. Compared to the rest, Hearn felt somewhat cheerful, that Hermit had given her a lot of valuable information and she'd finally blown off some steam when talking to Iida. What remained now was that her fights weren't the wrong ones. Nevertheless, she suspected she could handle everyone if she didn't hold back on her best options.
They all stepped up on stage, and the gargantuan screens that hung from the side of the arena changed to display the unformed bracket. Midnight strolled up to Maribel, and the blonde looked her in the eye. Hearn applied an innocent look as the teacher held out the box to her, and then put her hand into it. Pulling out a lot and taking a brief look at it.
1
This being the first lot was quite funny to her, but it didn't matter. "One!" Maribel said, her youthful voice echoing across the arena through the amplifiers. Next was Hitoshi Shinso, who calmly and delicately searched through the box before drawing something. After pulling it up before him, he stated his number very coldly. "...Six."
Then Jurota Shishida. "Six." He said, his eyes flying on over to look at Shinso with a frown, and their eyes met.
At last, Rikido Sato. He was a little bit more casual about all of this after reading it, but he still shed a drop of sweat. "Five."
And with that, all of them left the stage to join the crowd. Maribel crossed her arms under her bust and made a sigh of relief as she waited for the following team to pick their lots. Next was team Todoroki, and their upcoming placement both excited Maribel and worried her. She didn't really want to face Iida. They'd already fought, and if he didn't want her to be going easy, then she didn't think he'd be gaining anything from this. Simultaneously, she couldn't help but experience a rising excitement at the thought of fighting Todoroki. Maribel understood that her motivation to do so was somewhat irrational. The boundary girl really didn't like how he'd been trying to go about with her, so it was understandable.
There was an air about everyone. None of the people in the crowd wanted to end up against any of the extremely strong students, of which included Hearn. That is, except the strong ones themselves.
The team lined up, Todoroki, Iida, Yaoyorozu and Kaminari. Finally, Midnight moved on over to Todoroki, who slipped his hand into the lot. Focusing intensely at it. When he pulled it out, he said his number after a brief moment of consideration. "Three."
Maribel knew that if none of his opponents were able to outmatch him, she would run into him by the third round. That was based on how the screen portrayed it. How would she defeat him? The easily option always existed, but if she wanted to prove to the media that she wasn't some reckless student who got herself into trouble. She'd have to make it a little more intricate than whisking someone out of the arena.
Her thoughts had drifted, and her mind spaced out, returning just in time to hear Iida shout what she didn't want to hear. "One!"
Raising her head to look at him, he looked down at her bleak poker face. He looked a bit stressed. Midnight walked on over to Yaoyorozu.
"Eight!"
Then to Kaminari. "Four."
Everything started to just speed past Maribel's mind as she began to daydream a little about the upcoming fights. Iida ended up standing next to her, but she didn't pick up on anything he said. The only thing she really took notice of in this strange passage of time was each number announced and the spectral image of a baku. She was being watched by Doremy, that's what clouded her mind during the earlier fight.
"Two!"
"Seven."
"You'll get to match me in match four, big corps! Don't miss it!"
"...Two."
"EIGHT!"
"Five! Let's go, Sato-san!"
"Aha, seven!"
"Come on... Three?"
"Quite the entertaining ceremony, are you trying to fit in by participating? I suppose that's none of my business, I'm just keeping an eye on you." Came a voice in her head. Doremy.
Maribel's eyes turned indigo as she manipulated a boundary, the one between her and her dream self. Distancing herself, making the boundary stronger, and snapping herself out of her little episode. She'd get to that Baku eventually. After manipulating this particular boundary a couple of times, she thinks she's begun to understand, her dreams became more real the fainter the boundary was. Thus, by strengthening it. Something she'd rarely done before, she could make her dreams less lifelike. Hearn just hadn't tried it before, not to this extent, previously she'd only sensed the difference in the boundary.
She didn't really understand exactly how she did it, but it seemingly came to her naturally. It was like pulling a knot loose, or something like that.
"...If it's what you want, I won't play around, Iida-kun." She asked genuinely, closing her eyes as she turned her head, a deep breath forcing her eyes back to the golden color that you could easily get lost in. Flickering a little.
"...It's okay, do your best! We're all rivals in this fight!" He looked at her, flexing one of his arms and holding a determined expression on his face just behind it. The image burned into her mind for a moment.
"And here are the matchups!" Midnight pleasantly announced, swinging her whip into the air.
Hearn vs Iida
Midoriya vs Uraraka
Todoroki vs Sero
Mei vs Kaminari
Sato vs Kirishima
Jurota vs Shinso
Tokoyami vs Mina
Bakugo vs Yaoyorozu
[That fight was so stressful. Hope I didn't look too bad.]
- Maribel Hearn, 2/5/2146 at 12:12
[No. You did wonderfully! I didn't know you had gotten so strong. Frankly, it's almost jarring to see... But keep going! Your next opponent is Iida, right? The guy I met at the hospital.]
- Renko Usami, 2/5/2146 at 12:13
[Yeah. I kind of like him, so I'm not sure if I want to give it my all. He wants me to, though!]
- Maribel Hearn, 2/5/2146 at 12:13
[Don't hold yourself back. There's great potential in this tournament for you, speaking in a career-sense. But if you want, at least give him some moments to shine. What about the other matches, though?]
- Renko Usami, 2/5/2146 at 12:14
[Out of the two in the second round, I think I'm most likely to be facing Midoriya.]
- Maribel Hearn, 2/5/2146 at 12:14
[You know him? What's he like?]
- Renko Usami, 2/5/2146 at 12:14
[Well, he doesn't really mind his own business. And it feels like he wants to know what I'm hiding... Maybe I'm a bit paranoid? Anyway, he reminds me of the old me, and I don't like it.]
- Maribel Hearn, 2/5/2146 at 12:15
[Well, really? Just don't tell him anything, I know how much you want to keep that stuff to yourself.]
- Renko Usami, 2/5/2146 at 12:15
[I will. But I did tell Iida-kun about some of it... None of the most embarrassing stuff, though. I think he feels a bit more open now, even.]
- Maribel Hearn, 2/5/2146 at 12:15
[What? Really? Wow, I didn't expect you to do that. Is it because you're a bit lovey dovey?]
- Renko Usami, 2/5/2146 at 12:16
[Please don't tease me right now.]
- Maribel Hearn, 2/5/2146 at 12:16
[Well, I've got class stuff to return to. I'll be watching the fight on my phone, but I can't really talk. I feel a bit embarrassed you mentioned my name like that by the way, everyone just started looking at me...]
- Renko Usami, 2/5/2146 at 12:17
[I felt like I ran out of words after the first sentence. But anyway, that's how it feels to be famous, Renko. See you later!]
- Maribel Hearn, 2/5/2146 at 12:17
Maribel shut off her phone and put it in the locker, locking it right after. Then she walked out of the waiting room and into the hall. There was still a little bit of time before the event started. But she felt it was good to be there early and get some time to gather herself before she went down.
As she walked, she saw an unlikely figure around the corner.
"Eh, Iida-kun?!" She let out. He was still drinking orange juice, and he almost dropped it when she suddenly appeared. "Shouldn't you be moving over to your side of the arena?"
"I-I was about to!" He said, before slurping up another can and tossing it in the trash. Tenya was very energetic right now, as could be seen in the way he moved so restlessly. Like someone who'd been on a night out partying.
"Ah, me too! But I was just going to ask... What do you think of my hair?" She asked casually and gestured to the ribbons that tied up her hair on the side of her face. Maribel then made a girlish spin. Showing off the set of ribbons that were tied around bundles of her hair, going down her back and shoulders.
"R-really nice, actually! I haven't seen a girl with such a hairstyle before! Do you plan on keeping it like that?" Iida exclaimed. He made a gesture pointing to her hair, in a very upperclassman-like way.
"For now. It helps me keep my hair in check. I'll get rid of them if I do a haircut, though..." She spun the hair on her left side with a finger leisurely, then stopped to put her hands on her hips. She started looking more confident, as if presenting a friendly challenge. "But anyway, as I promised, I won't play around. You're fighting me for real, I promise."
He lowered his head, they both smiled at each other. "Hm. Same! Let's make it good, show the spectators what we're made of. Now, I have to hurry!" He said and tossed the cans in the nearby trash, turning around to run off with his quirk. He could get to the other side of the arena quite quickly doing so.
The girl waved with her left hand freely whilst keeping the right hand on her hip. Maribel would then make her journey in the same direction as he, toward her entrance to the arena.
...If I focus it like that, I can bend the aura into a kind of spear, or a bullet? I'm not sure what she means, but I guess it's like how Nishida-san did it. And to keep it from falling apart, I have to either get used to it or find a good state of mind... Then, to avoid hurting myself, course it through my body...
It's like a quirk on its own. If only she'd told me more, maybe shown me something, but that Horned Hermit's probably more concerned about Matara-sama... Should I call her that? I don't know. It feels appropriate. If she did something with me, I suppose it's best to be respectful...
Maribel had finally made it to the stairwell that would lead her down to level one. But here she finds another person waiting for her. Izuku Midoriya. "You? Do you want something?" She asked and raised both her eyebrows for an instant, before lowering them as the surprise left her.
He stepped forward, looking somewhat happy with the expression and spreading the demeanor to her, at least in part. She couldn't help it. "Iida-kun told me about you having some troubles, and it just reminded me..."
Maribel stared at him and exhaled, her heart skipped a beat and she felt either empty or ready to explode. One thing about the statement made her reluctant to indulge in her latter feeling, 'some', so he might just have told him about the quirk's current state.
"I-If it's about my quirk. It's okay, I have it under control." She calmly tried deflecting.
"...Merry-san, I want to help you!"
She shut her mouth and just looked a bit shocked. A couple of seconds went by. Gone was her facade of normalcy, substituted by irritation that laced her voice. "With what?"
Midoriya tossed the words out of his mouth, words that could've taken many minutes of thought before he said them. Despite that, they were still very raw, as he wore his heart on his sleeve. "What's so bothering you so much that you can't even tell your friends about it?! A-and what was that look earlier, anyway?! Just tell me if there's anything wrong!"
Without much interference from her quirk, Maribel couldn't bring herself to react in any way other than shame. She looked away, rubbing her wrist and angled her eyebrows upwards. It quickly transformed into chagrin the more she thought about it all.
"Merry-san! I- We just want to-..." He raised his head to look at her, looking almost ready to shed some tears. When the girl looked back at him, she couldn't bear herself to stand looking at him. He cried for her, even when she didn't want him around and used her behavior against her. Ironic or not, she absolutely despised it and grit her teeth. Looking right back at him and taking some slow steps.
"Mind your own business!" She shouted at him, sending out an arm to knock him back. He stumbled and made an antagonized grimace in her direction. "Stop acting like you can take a conversation anywhere you please! It pisses me off! Leave me alone!" Hearn continued, keeping a steeled and furious stare aimed right at his eyes. Walking right past him and giving him another push, lighter this time, beginning to slowly step down the staircase.
Midoriya was conflicted, but he couldn't help himself from trying to reach out again. "Listen! I don't-...!"
It got progressively darker further down the staircase. The lack of illumination served to let the lights of the upper level cast a shadow on the girl. Looking over her shoulder while standing at the second flight, she stared at Midoriya. Violet was her eyes, and shining, and he couldn't dare to look into them for long.
There was a little pause before she spoke, reverberating a little down the staircase.
"You just... I hate you, and your intrusiveness."
He shut up and looked down at her with a shocked expression. There was something in his throat that prevented him from speaking.
"Leave me alone." Maribel then proceeded to wander down the stairs to the arena entrance, breaking her eye contact with Midoriya.
A drop of sweat ran down Maribel's forehead.
I feel like I've stirred up too much trouble... But I can't help it. I swear my quirk is starting to drive me insane. Approaching him myself is fine, but I can't stand a second of him coming to me and trying to solve my problems! They're MINE! I'll deal with them MYSELF!
Stress, irritation and a sense of being wronged had filled Maribel's mind. But she couldn't be totally angry and maintained an optimistic outlook. What had Iida told him? She surely wondered. Maribel felt she would feel guilty for even asking the question to him. There was a vacant expression her face as she contemplated all of this.
Walking out onto the field, Maribel initially held a hand over her eyes as to block the sunlight. Unbearable at first, and then less so and prompting her to lower it back. Then she made her way to the rectangular ring.
"The first match of the first round in this finals tournament!"
The crowd cheered as she wandered toward the arena. Carrying herself as elegantly as she could without making it look forced. It looked to be a success. Maribel felt that her feet were light. She didn't exert any energy trying to stand up, as if her muscles could produce ordinary levels of strength without any strain.
"From the hero course, the girl who recovered miraculously, and a rising star- She changed her hairstyle between the rounds too?!"
"MARIBEL HEARN!"
Stepping up the brief flight of stairs and entering the arena. She laid violet eyes on her competitor. Stirring butterflies in her stomach for an instant. It seemed he could hold eye contact for a moment before gently wandering them to the crowds watching them. Both she and her eventual opponent wandered a couple of meters into the ring and then stopped with a distance of fifteen meters between them.
"Versus!"
"Hailing from the same class, a member of a renowned hero family!"
"TENYA IIDA!"
Maybe I'm just being paranoid about what he said, maybe he just said that I've had it really bad at nights or something like that.
As fast as a speeding bullet, her eyes haphazardly sought the most eminent of people in the arena. First, she found the crowd containing the Horned Hermit. From the distance, Maribel could only make out what she was wearing. Then gazing to the other end of the arena, she identified the familiar presence of the dancers. Looks like she was drawing a lot of eyes, not just from heroes and other people.
"The rules are simple. Force the opponent out of bounds, or immobilize them! You can also win by making the opponent cry surrender!"
Looking forward again, she took a look at Iida and wondered how he would fight. In the last spar they had, he had attempted a frontal charge. Her excellent perception allowed to counter it before it could really damage her. Recipro burst... That's going to be troublesome. I'll have to act faster than him and make it difficult for him to hit me, but as long as I can see him, I have the ability to counterattack.
"Let's go, Maribel!" He enthusiastically yelled out to her. The voice conveying nothing but encouragement in its tone. Tenya Iida clenched both his fists and looked over at her with confidence. Smiling at the same time. She couldn't help but return the same facial expression. Her legs felt ready to kick into motion, and her quirk was ready to work with her thoughts.
"Ready!"
Her heart beat faster and her thoughts raced.
Createagapandjumpthroughittoinstantlygetpasthimthenhe'llhavetoturnaroundifhe'schargingatmeandifheturnsaroundwhenhegetsitI'lltryandfighthimupcloseforamoment!
Maybe I'll give him a... Nevermind.
Present Mic yelled into the mic, and the crowd shouted. "START!"
ZUN - Immaterial and Missing Power - Night Falls ~ Evening Star
The man was quick on his feet, and they burst out flaming gas, massively accelerating Iida toward Maribel. His footwork looked different, far more balanced, that she could tell. Within the next instant, she created a gap in front of her and kicked away, jumping right into the air with enough force to send her through the gap.
On the other end of the arena, Maribel appeared just next to where Iida had been previously. No longer unused to the new view after going through a gap, Maribel took in the situation before her.
Tenya spun a half-circle as he shot his foot down into the ground and twisted his leg. His engines fired off at full gear and quickly created a grinding halt and then another, even faster charge. He hadn't even crossed two-thirds of the distance between them when this occurred. This meant that her maneuver had backfired in a sense, he had gotten even closer.
But alas, her best defense was her eyes. Naught but a blink created another gap in front of her, shaped like an oval and bending light like some sort of mirror. Discerning it from everything else, you'd be seeing would be hard on this kind of field, especially when she placed the other end on the opposite side of the arena.
To her surprise, there was once again the sound of grinding against the ground. Something that she could only hear from Iida when he was slowing down. The sound ended as abruptly as it came, and Iida made a half-spin around the gap in an elegant motion with a leg raised. Fire erupting from his exhaust pipes. The next split second, he burst forward at her and turned into a fuzzy image as he moved. That is, to the girl herself. Narrowing her eyes, Maribel was just fast enough to catch this little detail, his raised leg.
She bent a little to the side and put up her arms in the way of the attack, withstanding the heavy force still standing. But stumbling back a meter and a half. There was still a couple of meters between her and the dark colored edge of the arena. "Ngh..."
Whilst she recovered from the heavy impact, Iida stomped his foot down onto the ground and put an abrupt stop to himself. The leg then flared up again, but not before the blonde reared herself back and folded her arms in. Ready to punch. She destroyed the previous gap she had used to move with and created another one, leading right to Iida. It was large enough to fit her entire upper body. Maribel first shifted her footing, imitating what All Might had taught her step by step. Then she twisted her waist, then sent her upper body forward and then extended her fist. Two dozen centimeters away from the point of impact, Iida's chest, her fist loosened into an open palm and sprawled itself over Iida's chest.
Naturally, Maribel grunted as she attacked and the receiver of the action too.
With surprising strength, she pushed Iida tumbling backwards and off of his feet. However, she hadn't considered his flaring leg would have enough time to move. It caused Iida to spin and kick her right in the stomach.
She yelped.
It tossed her two meters into the air as a result and away from her own gap. The gap disappeared as swiftly as Hearn left it. The spectators all roared in excitement.
Present Mic chimed in through his microphone. "With that speed, they can't slowdown to dodge so easily, eh?"
"That's why you play it safe." Aizawa muttered over the speakers.
The strong impact of her push caused the man to tumble away four meters and laying on his back by the end of it. Whilst Hearn spun through the air and landed on her chest. It hurt, but she didn't have any trouble getting up, first onto all fours and then onto her two legs with a strong push. Her arms flew back a little from the equal and opposite reaction resulting from this, flowing into an immediate attack. Her arms easily snapped into place to punch again. Iida's legs exploded in thrust to get the man up as quick as possible, but the girl was already ready to strike at that point. With an angry grimace to go with it.
Attacking through a gap with a similar punch to before, there was little time to dodge with a gap only a couple of inches from his chest. But Iida reacted on time. Twisting his legs to the left and making his engines spout fire allowed him to dodge it by mere centimeters in a minimal slide. He wasn't expecting her followup however, as her fist disappeared back into the gap, another appeared just next to his throat. Maribel had imitated the motions of All Might's Detroit smash, focusing on overhead power. With a quirk like that hero in particular, the positioning wasn't incredibly relevant, but for her it allowed for marginally increased punching power. It struck Iida right in the cheek as he barely saw it coming out of the corner of his eye. Making a bit of a nasty sound as he was knocked over again.
There were some curious eyes drawn to her because of the particular attack. Those who could identify it, at least. A cheer erupted because of the successful blow.
"Argh!" He yelled out as he tumbled a second time, catching himself in the center of the ring with his right leg and left arm. Maribel stood and watched for a moment as Iida tried to pick himself up. Tenya stumbled a little as he got onto his two feet and quickly set his eyes back on his opponent. The girl was lovely to look at, even with a threatening visage on her face, ready for combat.
Given a few seconds of eye-contact, the blonde's demeanor couldn't hold fast and she started looking a lot more innocent. Lowering her arms to her sides and standing normally. "H-hey! Iida-kun, are you hurt? I'm sorry!" Maribel started to look a little concerned, her odd change of character felt almost comical in the situation.
The side of the guy's face was severely bruised by her attack, blood slowly surfacing but not dripping. With haste, he felt up his chin and groaned in pain. When he looked at his hand, it was a little stained with blood, thus the bleeding wasn't severe. Both of them shed drops of sweat, and Maribel sighed in relief. "Let's get back to it, Maribel-san!" He yelled at her abruptly and entered a running stance.
Speedily running her index and middle finger across her forehead, she wiped away the sweat and got back in position to strike. Furrowing her brows mildly.
If he insists...
His engines heated up and began to spew air, then fire. Fyuuu-
"Recipro..."
Her eyes widened and she became very attentive. Here it comes!
"BURST!"
-uuuush!
Iida's quirk went into overdrive, and his engines spewed a brilliant blue flame. There was a boom as he disappeared from his position. The violet eyes of the girl could definitely catch this blur in movement, but it was challenging. She saw a streak of light, fire, going in a half circle around her and then homing in. From her perspective, there was a split second where he shifted into position to kick and raised her arms in the rough position to absorb the impact. Despite this precaution, it landed in her gut and knocked the wind out of her. Even worse, it made her airborne and sent her spinning, hurling her toward the grassy field outside the arena.
Present Mic talked into the mic, outshining the noise of the crowd that had erupted as her competitor used his super move. "Iida breaks out his super speed again! I can't even see him!"
Her perception came to a halt as she focused.
What the hell? How do I match it? How do I defeat it? Landing gives him a free shot... I'll have to act before he moves within these few seconds.
If she didn't act, Maribel would be ringed out. And it was difficult to come up with anything while in mid-air. But she had experience, more experience than Iida in exactly this kind of situation. During her fight that long-fingered villain she acted during high velocities, spontaneously, just like this...
1:44
She swung her left arm forth and the right one back and her aura burst with energetically for a singular moment. It was subtle, and she had no idea how she did it, but it rotated her to face the arena whilst in mid-air. Iida stood still with his engines still flaring, clearly ready for a followup if she got close again, a confidence plastered on his face. Maribel was surrounded by a purple glow for a split second, a very simple and lacking dip into her technique. It didn't hurt to use for but one moment.
Without delay, she created a gap behind her and reached back, putting her hands on the other side and the edge of it. The edge folded in and became easier to grasp, and so she did and swung right through it. Curling up enough to easily pass through
The border space she had spontaneously created expanded on the inside, air floated in and suspended her in place for a moment, despite her momentum. She had positioned herself a little bit above and a little bit to the left of him, essentially hanging from the gap. She felt devilish for what she came up with, and while she was reluctant to anger or do anything bad to Iida. There was something that just made her lose restraint.
All he could do was turn around and look where she went to. Hearn couldn't help but malevolently grin as she had used his own attack to maneuver. A perfect setup, no escape!
Maribel let go from her gap and furled out with her left leg still curled up. Arms into the air. It let out all the air that it had very quickly sucked up, a long tube of fifteen meters with just below two meters diameter. Half of it would be ejected toward her and Iida and the rest into the air above them, but she would absorb most of that force to propel her for a focused melee attack.
"HIYAH!" She shouted, flying towards him with both surprise and enough speed that dodging wasn't possible. He managed to turn his head and light up enough fire at his feet to begin movement, but he couldn't escape. Silently cursing that he couldn't put up a good fight. Her iron-soled shoes hit him right in the chest. Evening him with the ground with a single powerful kick. Maribel fell forward at a great speed after they both landed, unable to keep her balance after such an impact. Carrying this velocity, she was forced into a mid-air somersault and landed on her back after flying over Iida's head. Both at the edge of the ring, parallel to each other.
Song: End
As his recipro burst died out and his engines were silenced, Iida cried lowly in pain as held his arm against his chest. "Grnh-argh..."
Meanwhile, her blonde opponent laid and panted as she looked up into the sky.
"...Hah... Ha... ...Can you stand?"
"...I think you broke something... Grh..." He grunted.
She didn't blink for a moment as she thought. This was allowed as per the rules, but I didn't want to go overboard...
I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to.
Pushing herself up onto a knee. She looked over her shoulder and back at Iida. "I'm sorry for hurting you that badly..."
"It's a battle after all... Ngh..." He said as he laid there, cringing in pain and slowly pushing himself onto his side to look at Midnight who stood off-stage. "...I give up!"
Midnight raised her whip. "Iida can't continue, and he surrenders... Hearn moves onto the second round!"
Maribel stood up and took a deep breath. There was no weight to her body, at least it didn't feel like it. After a moment, she didn't even feel tired. Turning around, she shot a guilty glance at Iida. "That was... intense. Again, sorry." She couldn't help but repeat herself, and walked on over to him to help him onto his two feet.
He didn't have any trouble standing. But the wound made it agonizing to move around too much. And at the same time, he had other things on his mind.
"The battle was quick, but they fought at breakneck speeds! Iida became too fast for the eyes to see and Hearn managed to use this against him! Let's give them all an applause for this exciting start!"
Although clearly not the most powerful cheer the spectators could muster, the clapping echoed all across the arena.
Hearn closed her eyes and took a deep breath, clearing her thoughts. When her eyelids opened, her eyes went back and forth between the focused state and the normal one. Settling on the golden color after ten seconds. She looked at Iida for a moment, and when he looked her in the eye with a pained yet relieved look, she couldn't help but tear her eyes away from him on instinct. Maribel felt unusually hot for an instant and shed a drop of sweat.
With some courage, she looked back at him and bowed politely. Making a somewhat vague statement as to keep the secret between them. "...I think it was my quirk. Apologizes."
"It's okay!" He blankly stated and robotically swayed one of his arms up and forth. Cringing in pain the second later and holding his chest. "Ouch, ouch!"
Maribel walked on over to him and would put her arm behind his back. "I'll help you to the nurse."
The guy leaned in on her, and she couldn't help but blush a little. Without having her quirk active, she still found the strength to support him, which was weird. But considering how her legs felt oddly without stress, that should've been obvious.
"...Cute. Just like back in High School." Midnight spoke into her microphone. Both of the contestants became red like tomatoes. And Maribel looked down at the ground, hurrying her pace to the arena's exit. There was a resounding "Aww~" from the crowd that spread through the arena very quickly.
Almost as if trying to protect his students, Eraserhead countered her embarrassing comment. "Was that a reference to how old you've gotten?"
Midnight deadpanned and shut up. The crowd turned to laughter as the contestants left the arena.
Iida wasn't quite satisfied, in truth. But he felt that it would be mean to become mad at her due to mere ambition, but at the same time he felt like he was disappointing someone.
As always, drop a review and feel free to ask me anything as long as it isn't entirely irrelevant to the fic or my writing. I do like criticism that helps me improve.
Not the best chapter I've ever written, and I do feel like I should've made the first battle somewhat longer. But I've far more plans for the upcoming round.
I was going to have Kasen call herself a hermit but in the English language there's no reason why Maribel would think it's in any way mystical. Literal hermits have existed and such. So instead I referred to her by the Japanese word in this specific instance. By the way, the first thing she says is a direct reference to her first proper introduction in WaHH.
Once again, I think I'm focusing a bit on build-up. Next chapter won't have as much, I believe.
As for the fight in this chapter, I felt like trying to give a start to a character arc for Maribel, mainly regarding her opinion of her own quirk. What's important about it is how it makes her act with other people. It will take her to dangerous places if my plan remains the same.