Illusion

The Beginning

Chapter 2

Amaryllis; Meaning: Pride

I stand up straight and tall, back aching. I stretch my arms up. It takes all my willpower and self-control not to lay down on the trunk of the car in front of me and fall asleep, to sleep so long all my wounds and scars faded with time. But he was right next to me.

Right next to me…

I hear his voice, deep and dripping with poison honey. Like venom. "Again."

I walk around the car, to the other side where it almost touches the wall. I align my feet to lean against the wall for a starting push. I push. The car moves forwards at a reluctant pace. I push. And push. And push. Across the abandoned warehouse, through the open garage, down a long, long path, probably over a kilometer, based on how long it feels the journey is. And back.

"Again."

"Again."

And, "Again."

When I get back to him after the 6th time I collapse on the floor, empty stomach spewing bile, tears streaming.

"Bad Etso. Up and do it one last time."

A sob bubbles up my throat. I cry harder but don't move. I think I can't move. I feel him pick up my shirt, dragging my limp figure. I feel my arms and legs snap. I yell.

"Again."

When All Might bursts into the room on the second day of class, I feel really bad for the door and its hinges.

"I AM HERE!" All Might's voice booms through the class. But the volume level was bypassed by everyone because, well, All Might.

"TODAY WE WILL BE DOING A BATTLE TRIAL!"

I feel myself grinning, because, well, battle.

All Might tells us that we have our hero costumes before we retreat into the locker rooms. I change with the rest of the girls, who all marvel at their costumes, and became a bit unsatisfied that they were skin tight.

I look over my costume. It's a skin-tight black spandex bodysuit, just as I asked. It had 3 simple, blue stripes that went across my abdomen from the middle of my left arm to my hip. It also had a utility belt of the same blue hue. There were buttons on the sides of it; in a plastic bag next to my costume in the locker, empty holsters for various weapons and clip on sat, waiting to be attached. In another bag, my cape and temperature regulator were sealed, not even out of their packaging yet.

I pick up and hold the soft material of my full spandex piece in my arms before stepping into it. I slip it up my legs and pull it up, pulling my arms into it. I stretch my arms back and zip it up, as if it were a dress. I snap on the belt - not putting anything on it, for the time being - and rip open the pack with the cape. It's soft, and instructions on how to work the trapping net mechanism built into the cape are folded inside.

The secret weapon will be handy.

Setting down the cape, I grab the temperature regulator. I look at the buttons on the back, right next to the part that closes it. One button was the 'Off' button, one for the 'On' button, and one for '+H' and another for +C. I read the instructions attached, confused. The 'On' button is for just maintaining a normal temperature, I read, the 'Off' button is to keep it off, and the '+H' button is to keep a higher temperature in colder environments than normal, and '+C' is for keeping a colder temperature in hotter environments. Below all the reading is a written note from the costume provider.

"When using your quirk, just keep it at the 'On' setting, but if you start getting really warm, and the regulator is going to have to work harder, it will vibrate, and tell you that you need to turn on the '+C' setting ASAP."

I put the regulator on backwards and snap it together from the front, grabbing the cape and putting it on at the buttons before pressing the 'Seal' button. Something clicks and I decide that means it's sealed. I twist the thing around my neck, the cape sliding to my back and the sleek front of the regulator shining silver.

I slip on the boots that sat in a small locker below, and they feel so good when I put them on. Perfect running shoes. I walk towards the full body mirrors.

Looking at my reflection, I can only think hell yeah.

Feeling and looking like a badass I marvel at how perfect the colors match my hair and eyes. I grab a ponytail holder and put my hair up in a tight hold.

I see Ochako walk up behind me through the reflection on the mirror. "Oh, my! Your costume is so awesome! It looks like the image you wanted was nailed! They made mine skin tight, and that wasn't what I really wanted…"

I look over her costume, liking the pink and black and how it matches well with her eyes and hair, along with her image as a whole. Although it looks like the boots must be annoying to walk in.

I put aside my analyzations and choose to talk to her, trying to act casual.

"Yours looks awesome too."

She smiles, and I guess the kindness is worth it, she is a sweet one.

She's definitely a sweetheart.

We went into a brief silence as we look at our own, and each other's, costumes. Momo, Jiro, Mina, Tsu, and probably Toru also coming up to the mirrors.

"Hey! Etso, you have abs!"

And then everyone was looking at the bumps on my abdomen. Well, I do have abs don't I… I guess I never really put thought to them. I've had them for so long...

"Awesome! I bet you could lift me!"

"That's cool."

"Respectable."

"I bet you're stronger than some of the boys!"

"No! Stronger than ALL of them."

"Yeah! Akaria is our war machine!"

"She's our mascot! Our defender!"

"The All Mighty Defender."

"Was that supposed to be a pun."

"Maybe.."

I smile lightly, feeling a bit giddy from the compliments, then I notice the time, and see we have to go down to 'Ground Beta' now.

"Hey guys, we have to go."

Everyone's chatting stops when they look at the clock.

We all sprint.

All Might explains the details to the trial, and I feel adrenaline pump into my veins, and I bounce on my toes a little bit.

"The villains will guard a nuclear weapon they intend on deploying and the heroes must stop their scheme; if the heroes capture the villains or reach the nuclear core before time runs out, they win; if the villains manage to keep the nuclear core for the whole time or they capture the heroes, they win." Simple enough. "Now the teams, chosen at random."

"Izuku Midoriya and Etso Akaria as the heroes, Versus Katsuki Bakugou and Denki Kaminari."

I sigh, wondering how this would go. Against some of the top students.

Good thing I'm more than prepared.

I glance over at the Blond Terror and the person he is calling 'Pikachu'. Bakugou is yelling at him, Kaminari is just facepalming. I feel bad for his luck.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around. Facing me is a green haired boy, innocent smile gracing his features. Based on his aura, and the way he hunches his shoulders in shy, reserved way, it is surprising he is 6 or 7 centimeters taller than me.

"I-" H stumbles over his words "I'm Izuku Midoriya."

I can't help but put on a small smile. He is also sweet, another cinnamon roll.

"Etso Akaria."

We are sent to our waiting area, the others students ushered by All Might into the camera room to watch.

We have five minutes to wait and plan, while the villains do the same on the other side.

"I can deal with Kacchan, He might get a little… Hostile" Midoriya states.

I nod. From the tone of his voice, it's personal. Whatever it is.

I bounce on my toes.

The buzzer goes off. Time to go.

We run, Midoriya is weary, but I'm ready. We walk down one hall, and I hear shouts.

"Come at me Deku! Fight ME!"

We both stand at a corner, silent. I hear Bakugou's footsteps slam at the end of the hall. I align my back up against the wall, and point for Midoriya to do the same. I move my hands in a gesture that tells him to go down that hall towards Bakugou. He nods, and when he starts to walk, I stick my arm out, he looks at me, I point down the other hall to show where I'm going. I move my arms and nod, hearing that Bakugou has left the area.

We separate and I walk the halls alone. I think about Kaminari. He has full range attacks, and I'll be fried if I screw up. Every time he's about to fire off, I'll speed out of the room.

Messy mind equals messy moves. Just shut the fuck up inside that pretty head of yours and fucking move.

I finish planning and clear my mind.

I exhale in a blow.

I tiptoe towards the corner of another hall. I can see a shining fluorescent light in small fragments on the ground. I walk up to the corner and wearily peek past the corner. I see a flash of a figure in the shadows. Spiky hair.

Found him.

I bounce soundlessly across the hall, pressing my back against the only wall separating me from Kaminari.

I know I can probably just speed in there and touch the bomb and the whole thing will be over.

But this entire thing, this entire class is all about improving. I'm going to start revising before everyone else.

At least you didn't take the easy way like usual.

Plus, I can help everyone here learn instead of skipping this opportunity as if I were apart of a video game.

I take a big breath and decide to look in the room. Hoping to everything in the universe that he is not looking right here.

Hyping myself up, I step gingerly, moving closer to the door. I crane my neck, trying to get a view of the room and Kaminari inside it.

There are a few pillars around the room, and Kaminari has moved the bomb into a corner on the adjacent and parallel walls from my position. It is as far away from me as it can be. I can see another doorway on the wall where the bomb is situated to which Kaminari is peeking through.

Move! This is the moment.

I finally listen to his comments, darting from my position at the doorway. I run to hide behind one of the pillars and out of his view if he were to turn around.

I sit for a moment before hearing the fizz of electricity.

"I know you're here."

I freeze. You've got to be kidding me.

"Your cape fluttered."

For fuck's sake.

I twist the regulator around my neck and quietly snap off my cape. The fizzing drowning out the small click. I drop it on the floor and make note to tell someone that this thing needs to be quieter. The plastic piece on the bottom probably hit the wall. Damn

Oh, my fuck. Get your fuckin' head in the game. You're scatterbrained. Focus on the task, and calm your shit. It's like you haven't even changed one bit since you were 7.

I'm tempted to tell him to shut the fuck up, but after doing it out loud at home on accident when he wouldn't shut the hell up once, I'm not taking the chance. I bite the inside of my cheek.

I focus, listening to his footsteps. They're getting closer. I've got to make a move. I can wait and attack him when he gets close. It would be semi-surprising. Or I could run away and wait.

All the sudden there was a large explosion. I notice the ridges in the pillars.

For climbing.

Not a moment to lose.

I dig my fingers into the highest ridge I can reach, find another for my other hand, Find some for my feet and go, hoping for the best. I pull myself up, all my strength in my fingers. I climb as fast as I can, stumbling, and at some points scaling it. My muscles ache.

I see a vent. Oh my luck.

I hear a rather loud fizz in electricity. I use it as my moment to shove the vent cap in.

Fucking go!

I slide my arms in and pull myself up, body scraping over the vent cap as I slide in.

I crawl as fast as I can.

I slam the vent cover down again.

"HALF POWER VOLT!"

The electricity explodes and scratch myself up, tingles going through my arms and legs.

I take a quiet breath in relief.

Looking around the vent system, I find that this was definitely meant to be used by people in battle who found it. It was super clean, and inside there was enough light to see, meaning there were a lot of openings. I hear Kaminari run with rather loud footsteps, heading towards the fight.

I slither the rest of the way by ear, following the sound of explosions and Kamniari's footsteps, sometimes passing through walls Kaminari can't go through.

Then I find it.

The rooms is so loud, so I guess my ears aren't so special for finding this. Midoriya and Bakugou are throwing each other around, Bakugou using his quirk and time he needed it. He was a good fighter. But not so kind. Midoriya was showing mercy, as if sparing a friend.

I sighed, waiting for the right moment as I looked through from the vent opening above the doorway. I open up the vent tensely, taking off the cap and pushing it forward silently, I sigh in relief when I put the cap down silently. I hear Kaminari's steps catch up. Bakugou looks over in a satisfactory death glare.

Bakugou makes a loud explosions that sends Midoriya stumbling and breathing on the floor, limp, and sends a hot gush of wind up the vents. All the sudden I want to kill this Baku-Bitch.

I feel my lips turn into a frown and I bite the inside of my cheek.

"What the HELL are you doing here!" Bakugou screams at Kaminari, who is bouncing on his toes.

"Well, Akaria came into the room, she left her cape, I heard her come in." He holds up my cape, which I've now dubbed 'Sound device', out to Bakugou, Bakugou leaves Kaminari standing there. "Oh, um, then she disappeared. I did a half volt that would be enough to make someone pass out. She didn't leave, but I couldn't find her body."

"YOU IDIOT!"

I almost cusp my hands over my ears.

Then I see it, Through the little opening on the next vent over, I see Midoriya getting up. I can see that he wants to take the chance, but knows it's a bad idea. He needs an opportunity.

Good thing I'm bringing one.

I take the moment where Bakugou is looking downwards, get myself in the hype.

I situate myself.

And I bullet straight out to the vent opening. I activate my slow vision, and Bakugou is just noticing me moving. I stretch my legs out, going to kick Bakugou right on the shoulder blades, with enough angle to knock him down. I decide now is the time for crazy moves, because Bakugou, while a good fighter, doesn't do fancy.

Good thing I have a dirty, yet fancy way for fighting.

I push my feet into his back, but I also grab his arms. I hold his arms and push down as hard as I can with my legs. I make sure everything is in check, taking a moment to move one of my legs to slide his feet off the ground, moving at such a slow pace. I turn my quirk off like a light. Then everything is moving so fast. Bakugou slams into the floor, chest first. His head bounces on the floor almost as if his head where a bouncy ball, and he coughs.

I without a moment to lose I stand and kick Kaminari in the stomach, to which Kaminari is still reacting to what just happened. I punch him in the face and knock his lights out.

But right before I can turn back around someone pulls my foot, and to prevent falling, I do a front handspring, kicking his hand off of my foot with my other foot.

Bakugou curves up, tenacious, and I hope I didn't break one of his ribs. He holds his hand up and sends out an explosive blast. But I'm too fast.

I run past him, to where Midoriya hides behind him. Midoriya is awestruck.

I help him stand against the wall easier before running back to the bomb room and touching the bomb, stopping to wave to the camera as the buzzer goes off.

'Heroes' win!

Work on your fucking form.

I run back to the room, to an angry Bakugou sitting against a wall, to Izuku, leaning there where I left him, in shock.

"T-Thanks for helping me. I had gotten my point across but Bakugou just wouldn't quit."

I smile at him.

I taste the heavenly strawberries, sitting in the high, soft chairs by the island of our grey, black and white kitchen. The strawberries are sweet in my mouth and I chew through the soft fruit, taste describable only by the words sweet, delicious, and heavenly. I scarf it down quickly.

"Do you want another bowl, Seiko," Mom asks from the sink.

I nod, mouth full with my last strawberry.

"Etso, do you want some more juice?"

I look over at my sister as I chew through the strawberry in my mouth. Her grey-blue hair was tied in a tight french braid, Mom and Etso's favorite hairstyle. Her baby blue eyes are bright and shine like the bathwater when Mom puts the bath salts in.

She quickly swallowed the last of her juice, "Yes please."

Mom retreated to the fridge, searching for her huge containers of assorted fruits that Etso and I would devour. She found and grabbed the container, resting it on her arm as she searched the side of the fridge where the juice was.

"Oh, I'm sorry Etso," She pauses, kneeling down to check the bottom shelves. "we're out of your apple juice."

I slid my untouched full glass over, not even hesitating.

"Here, have mine. I'm not thirsty."

Mom smiled her golden smile, "Do you want some other juice, Seiko?"

"No thanks."

Mom walked around the island to where we sat on the other side and sat on the chair beside us.

Akio, her full name, is pretty, she always had been. She's got a perfect complexion, and she had always been that way. She had beautiful flowing grey-blue curly hair that practically shimmered and blue shining eyes. Both of us twins had her facial structure and body overall. It's just that Etso got Mom's eyes and hair color while I got Dad's red eyes and hair, but with the grey tint of course, or at least that's what Mom said.

But regardless of looks, Mom was a really good mom. She was really loving and kind and had practically perfect morals. We were taught us what was right by her, she jackhammered it into our heads. Along with that, she taught us what was wrong, and she made sure we turned out kind kids. She never got mad, but still kept her rules in sternly and wouldn't let us get away with doing bad things. Her cooking was to die for and not to mention she always let us have all our fun. She gave us so much, and she taught us to be grateful and to care for others, always teaching us lessons and showing us all sorts of things to want to care for people in need, and she made us perfect molds for heroes.

She taught us love.

She also taught us tragedy.

Thanks for reading this chapter, and feel free to leave your thoughts, emotions, and predictions in the reviews, I might be giving some clues to those with ideas!

Next up,

Acanthus