"Good luck," said Shinso.
"You too," said Kimi.
And then it all went downhill from there.
/~/
He tried to watch the match. Really, he did.
"What's she doing?!" cried Uraraka. "Why's she listening to him?"
It was Kimiko Midoriya against Hitoshi Shinso, and truth be told, it hadn't seemed like much of a match. The purple-haired boy wasn't exactly frail looking, but he was lanky, and the dark circles under his eyes didn't exactly give him a glow of power. And while it was never outwardly spoken, the General Studies class had a reputation for excelling more at theory then practical combat.
"God," said Ojiro. "I should've told her."
"Told her what?"
"His quirk brainwashes you; I think it activates if you respond to him."
"Well that seemed like an important thing to mention!" Uraraka said, almost in hysterics-
-for Midoriya was just a couple feet away from the arena boundary.
"Not now," Yaoyorozu muttered to herself. "Not before I can face you. This can't be how it ends, Kimiko."
The entire world held its breath, but Shoto was too busy burning.
/~/
A soft buzz had taken over her world. Perhaps it was the stillness within her, or perhaps it was the stillness of the crowd, but…
It was nice, the quiet.
She never used to like the quiet before.
Her steps sounded softly against the ground, but they echoed in her ears. That line approaching- that was the boundary, wasn't it? It drew closer, closer, closer.
Stop.
Her feet kept moving.
Stop.
It was just a breath away. Time slowed to a crawl.
Her quirk was dependent on wishing, but this peace that had overcome her made it difficult to draw out any real desire. She had never really realized how tired she was. From the moment she could crawl, she crawled with purpose. Ambition and want had laced every bit of her being- the want to be a hero.
Learning that she was quirkless had not been a reprieve. It did nothing to dissipate her ferociously burning dreams, merely removing the means that would see them accomplished. And all that energy, all that want; it had nowhere to go. Her very own fiery desire had turned against her, burning the hand that fed the flames.
A bastard quirk was born.
The want to be a hero, to fight villains, to make a difference- once they had been harmless wishes, but now… now they were backed up by power. She had wished, and the universe had granted her wish.
The villain hideout.
A gun, a knife, and guts on the floor. For the first time, that crazed, long-buried mantra made her smile. It wasn't a pleasant one.
The grimness began to seep back in; she hadn't realized how ingrained in her the feeling was until it had disappeared. It shifted the gears within her, realigned her vision. She was getting somewhere; maybe she was ready to want again, to go back to that furious, unrelenting chase for purpose.
Not. Yet.
Another two steps were taken, and she could feel Shinso's gaze burning into her back. She could feel him smile.
She was still oh-so-very tired.
Wait. There was another option. That power she'd felt while training for the Sports Festival. It had been a still pool of crystal-clarity underneath the raging currents of desire, but it had slipped right through her fingers in the next moment. She could find it, and she'd use it instead, and she could keep this peace.
Her feet took another step.
The power was nowhere to be found.
One for All began crooning within her veins, reminding her of the promises and sacrifices made. I know. I know, damnit! That time… that one time she'd collapsed exhausted on the beach, having pumped her body with One for All as much as she could just to see how far she could go- how much she could take.
It hadn't been enough.
Sacrifices were made.
And unease began to stir within her; she'd won her inner war, but what had it all been for?
Slowly, her hands curled around the hilt of a knife.
Slowly, her fingers slid against the blade. Slowly, a small bead of ruby blood squeezed through the cut.
And slowly, Kimi smiled.
She stopped. Turned. Met Shinso's indigo eyes.
Kimiko Midoriya walked away from the edge. Her feet still sounded softly, but no longer did they echo in her ears. Purpose and want raged through her tired, tired body once more, and the blade fell unnoticed from her hands into nothingness.
Panic flared in Shinso's eyes, but his tone was calm. "Did you like my little trick?"
"It was a very nice trick," Kimi agreed casually.
A note of excitement entered his voice. "Walk out of the arena," he ordered quickly.
"I'd really rather not," she returned.
She continued to smile. She continued to walk towards him.
"No," he breathed. "How are you doing that? Turn around- turn around now!"
"No thank you."
"Stop it!" he snapped, emotion breaking through the calm. "Stop mocking me! I've been behind from the start, thanks to my quirk. You, you who've been blessed with a quirk… you couldn't possibly understand…"
Blessed? Kimi kept moving forward; unceasing, unrelenting. Shinso began stumbling back. I never thought of it that way.
"A villain's quirk," he said lowly. "Not quite what the hero course is looking for, is it?" He laughed a bitter laugh. "I guess I should be thankful to be in U.A. at all, shouldn't I?"
She said nothing.
"Shouldn't I?!"
Kimi smiled sadly.
That rage within him was painfully familiar; that fury at the world which had unfairly damned him. Damned if you do, damned if you don't; but he'd damn himself if he didn't at least try. I get it. Really, I do.
Trying takes everything; anything and everything, until there's nothing left to give.
Kimiko flashed forwards, landing soundlessly before him, and jammed the pressure point on his neck.
Shinso crumpled to the ground.
/~/
Mina and Kirishima cheered in unison, and Uraraka sagged in relief. And Momo… she felt happy for her friend, of course, but the dominant emotion in her mind was nothing more than a grim determination.
Of course Kimiko wouldn't take anything less than a decisive victory- and neither would she. And their paths would cross at some point, and they would fight.
Even though Momo logically knew that she should be focusing on the fight ahead, her heart had her strategizing against Kimiko Midoriya instead. Her fighting style was hard to pinpoint- it had fluctuated wildly throughout the year, going from desperate and dangerously wild to something equally vicious but edged with cold precision.
But more confusing was her quirk; no one really knew what it was, or how exactly it worked. The rumor mill had speculated that it was creation, similar to Momo's own, but there wasn't really a source for where her creations came from. Momo's had scientific backing. Hers just… appeared out of nowhere.
And then what about the teleporting? That seemed like a really crucial thing to mention. It was just all a mess, making it hard to strategize around it.
Mei Hatsume, the pink monstrosity, leapt into the arena.
One thing at a time, Momo told herself. First I'll take down Hatsume, and then the other two.
With that in mind, she followed her opponent into the arena. Then other girl had the audacity to offer Momo one of her gadgets.
There had to be a trick; it was the only logical reason for the offer. "No thanks," Momo replied curtly.
Hatsume pouted. "You sure?"
And now the girl wasn't even trying to be subtle anymore. "Yes I'm sure," she snapped.
"Suit yourself."
The match began. Gripping her metal staff, Momo charged forward.
/~/
And Mei Hatsume sauntered out of bounds.
/~/
Kimi grimaced. That was quite a terrible way to win a fight, not to mention extraordinarily humiliating. As Momo trudged up the stairs, expression conflicted, she offered a sympathetic smile.
Momo made a small, high noise.
"Ah… in any case, it's Kaminari's turn. I'm sure this will be entertaining."
"Was mine not entertainment enough?" Momo said, a little bitterly.
Kimiko blinked, "Momo-"
She shook her head, exhaling. "Sorry, I'm just a little upset."
"Understandably so," she assured her friend, before a playful smile flickered across her face. "But I stand by what I said: Kaminari's match is gonna be fun."
Momo gave a small smile. "That is… a probable assumption."
"Oh look, he's shocked himself stupid again."
"Obviously."
/~/
It had gotten to the point where Shoto couldn't even walk up the stairs without his personal demons assaulting him.
He tried to brush past Endeavor without a word, but fate was never going to let that happen.
"Shoto," said his father. "I'm glad that you've finally come to your senses."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play the fool with me, boy; I was watching the cavalry battle." Endeavor loomed over him, a satisfied glint in his eye. "It is about time that you ceased your foolish rebellion."
The cavalry battle. And like a relentless pest, the memory of the battle brought with it the thought of Midoriya. The thought of her made his stomach twist, made the oppressive flames rise up in the back of his throat, choking off any protest before they could reach his tongue. His fingers twitched, nails digging into his palms.
"Now you can reach your full potential. I can make you great, Shoto. Remember the sole purpose with which you were placed on this earth. You must grow strong so that one day, you may eclipse All Might and watch as he stands in your shadow."
Shoto closed his eyes; frustration, hate, pain – they screamed in agony as his emotions were lit aflame. There was only ever one option; put out the fire.
Except it had taken root in him and roared stronger than ever. Shoto Todoroki was burning; he didn't dare speak, for fear of exactly what hateful words would slip out of his mouth.
But his father was watching, so he swallowed his bile and said, "I'm the last match of the first round. I better get going."
"Set the world on fire, son."
Except I'd be the one to burn.
/~/
"An outstanding effortless victory by Shoto Todoroki! But you can't expect anything less from the son of the world's second-best hero, Endeavor!"
Kimiko would face him soon enough, whether it be in her next match or the matches afterwards. She'd face him, and she'd take him down this time. She wouldn't lose – not again.
A tranquilizer gun blinked into existence, curled within her fingers. Kimiko wished again, thinking about broken dreams and collapsing empires, and the ice pillar before her came crashing down–
She flashed behind him, dangerously close. The gun in her hand jerked upwards, almost of its own volition, but it was Kimiko and Kimiko alone that pressed the trigger-
Todoroki snarled, a blast of ice crashing into her, and Kimiko fell.
She fell.
The taste of that defeat had long-since stopped being bitter on her tongue, but that didn't mean she wanted this win any less. She was never going to fall again.
"Ugh, I have to face him?"
Uraraka's dismayed cry snapped Kimi out of her musings. "The results are up," she realized.
"Yeah, and I'm against Bakugo!"
Silently wishing her luck, Kimi scanned the list, searching for her name. There! And I'm facing…
Momo Yaoyorozu.
That was… disheartening. It certainly threw a wrench in her plans to brutally take down whatever foe she faced right as the match started. But still… she'd find another way. She had to.
More importantly, if she won, she faced Todoroki next.
/~/
Kimiko Midoriya.
Yes. Finally. This was the moment Momo had been waiting for– it was exactly what she'd wanted. It was Kimiko first and Todoroki second and she was going to take it all. Her damned "match" with Hatsume was disastrous. Humiliating. Her strange contraptions had taken her by surprise, and she'd been used – used! – to advertise the girl's stupid products.
People like Todoroki and Bakugo got all the attention with the raw, flashy power of their quirks. Or you could be Kimiko Midoriya, with a sort of cold mystery surrounding her unknown power. But it took more than that to be a hero.
Gritting her teeth, Momo forced herself to relax and began to analyze and plan. She'd prepared well for the Sports Festival. Too well, maybe.
Too many sleepless nights. A fever. Waking up in a cold sweat.
Training. Bruising. Bleeding.
Thinking. Analyzing. Writing.
Momo was an elastic band pulled taut. The plan had been to snap back with five times the force, but it was all she could do to not snap entirely.
You're going down, Kimi.
/~/
"And once again, Shoto Todoroki takes an effortless win! Now for our next competitors, Kimiko Midoriya and Momo Yaoyorozu, both from U.A. Academy!"
It was time.
Kimiko breathed. In, out. In, out. Get yourself together! A painless defeat wasn't an option for Momo; even considering it would be disrespecting her friend. Neither of them would be going down without a serious fight, and Kimi was under no delusions that this would be easy.
Momo was scarily smart and ridiculously precise. She was a quick analyzer and a speedy adapter. But…
Calm. Careful. The world was watching.
The world is watching, so give them a show!
She met Momo's eyes from across the battlefield. Was this where she offered her a smile? Where she wished her luck? Where she said something witty about how she was going to win?
No. It's where I take her down.
The call to begin sounded faintly in her ears, distant and far off.
Neither of them moved.
She's gonna create her staff; there's always an opening when she does that. Focus on where you want to teleport to. Wait for the moment the staff materializes.
Momo's stomach began to glow with a soft light, her skin shimmering as a glint of metal peaked through. Her hand went to retrieve her weapon, and Kimi burst into motion. The world blurred as she flashed behind her opponent, a fist cocked back.
The breath was crushed from her body as a long metal pole slammed into her gut.
Kimiko wheezed. She changed the place the staff was going to materialize and made it shoot from her back. The girl's too damn talented.
By the time Momo had grabbed her weapon, Kimi was long gone, dancing lightly on her toes.
She disappeared again, and Momo turned around on instinct. As if I were stupid enough to try the same trick twice. With her Quirk-enhanced speed, she ravenously devoured the distance between them and rammed Momo head on, locking her arm around her neck and snaking her foot around her leg. With a sharp twist, Kimi brought them both crashing down.
Kimi had her pinned in a flash, her arm crushing the other girl's airways. Since training for One for All, her raw strength had increased tremendously. It was just a matter of time before Momo passed out.
But then Momo suddenly stopped thrashing and went limp, and there was a split second where Kimi's hand holding her down relaxed. Damn. She tightened her grip but was too late; needles spawned from the miniscule space left between Momo's arm and her palm, and she yanked her hand back.
With Kimi's balance off, Momo managed to throw their bodies into a roll and jerk her way out of the hold.
She's going back for her staff!
That was unacceptable; her entire victory centered around being able to get in close, and Momo's skill with the weapon would make that near impossible. Kimi gritted her teeth. I want it gone! I need it to disappear!
But the staff remained, taunting her with its existence. It's made of material from her own body, Kimi realized. And that makes it harder to control.
In her moment of inaction, Momo was able to scramble over and retrieve her weapon.
What do I do? What should I want?
With swift dexterity, Momo gave her massive staff a twirl and smiled. Kimiko gritted her teeth.
She wants me to attach. I don't know what she's planning but–
With a wisp of desire, Kimi blazed forward and ducked the first swipe of the staff. But Momo pulled it back with a startling speed and rammed it into her gut. Kimi collected herself and rolled away from another swipe, before catching an opening.
Kimi willed power to her fist and sent it ramming forwards, but then her eyes widened as the staff was there in the split-second before impact.
Her fist screamed in pain as they hit solid metal. She couldn't help the yelp as her knuckles were split open, the blood trickling its warmth down her hand. When did you get so good with it?
"Not so tough now, are you?" Momo teased, but there was a vicious bite to her words. Kimi glanced up in surprise, only to find her opponent readying another jab.
With a frantic wish, Kimi managed to summon a shield in midair and ducked to a side as the blow knocked it across the battlefield. Then her opponent gave a cry of triumph as she thrusted something into the air before throwing it to the ground.
What-
There was an explosion of smoke and debris that sent Kimi stumbling backwards. I need to see. A gust of wind cleared away the settling dust to reveal a beam of silver metal rocketing towards her. A panicked thought sent the world spinning as she flashed away, narrowly avoiding the collision. One hit from that to the head, and I'll be out like a light.
"Bakugo hits harder, you know!" Kimi sang, inwardly wishing for something to stop her in her tracks.
The ground underneath Momo turned to sludge. Now's my chance!
Kimi wished frantically for a pair of brass knuckles but winced at the thought of them impacting her friend. No! Don't think of that. How 'bout a sword- wait, no, that's worse. A tranquilizer. Yeah, that'll work.
Her hand remained empty.
It was that damn treacherous part of her again, flinching at the thought of hurting her friend. It was a small hesitation, but enough to disrupt the wishing process.
This is ridiculous. I don't have much time left- I have to do something!
She flashed away again and channeled her frustration into a blazing flame, drawing a line of fire before her. Momo pried herself from the mud and dragged something long and rod-like from her chest, discarding her staff.
A mace and chain. She did not want to get hit by that.
"Running away, Kimi?" called Momo. "You know a little fire isn't gonna stop me."
"Nah. I actually know the value of taking my time."
Which was a lie. Kimi was getting dangerously close to the end of her standard reserves, and she couldn't put herself out of commission with One for All just yet. It was in her favor to end this as quickly as possible.
"Don't get all smug on me, Kimi," said Momo, advancing slowly. "I've been training harder than you could imagine– you'll have to settle for being out of the spotlight this time!"
"The hell are you talking about?" With a wave of her arm, Kimi condensed her fire into a concentrated ball of burning gas then blew it up into an explosion of light. It blinded the both of it, but Kimi had been expecting it and moved before Momo managed to recover.
"We've all been training," she hissed out, landing a blow to her friend's head. Momo staggered but remained upright. That should've taken her out, even if just for a few moments. Damn, I'm still holding back.
And in that moment of frustration, she missed the fact that Momo had created a knife.
/~/
"We've all been training."
And then her head was on fire.
No! Momo screamed mentally. You can't fall– not here! The darkness called to her, tantalizing, but she clung desperately to consciousness. Her legs were jelly and her vision swirled, making any sort of defense impossible.
It can't end here. I refuse to accept that- I refuse!
Her breath coming in rapid spurts, Momo loosed a strangled cry and staggered sharply forward, drawing something out of her chest. Her own eyes barely registered the flash of sharp steel before she plunged on forward, sinking it into her friend's gut.
She'd stayed up so many hours, so many sleepless nights, just thinking. Thinking and remembering the way Kimi –and Todoroki– fought. Relived the sight of her and that knife so many times that of course, of course in her moment of panic, that very same blade was what her body instinctively created.
Momo wrenched it out and cast it a glance. Her mind had been able to approximate its chemical composition and molecular structure, even in the heat of battle. She'd done oh-so many exercises to develop that ability. She'd worked hard– harder than anyone else and oh god–
Realization dawned She'd stabbed her. The feverish frenzy drained from her at once. "Shit, Kimi are you…" No. She'd be fine. What was important was that Momo had an opening, a chance to turn the tides. She switched to a reverse grip, aiming with the hilt of the knife, and drew her arm back for a mighty swing.
Kimi was still dazed, reeling from her wound.
Yes.
And she swung.
/~/
All Might.
That was what finally cemented the sense of purpose within her.
He'd put his trust and faith in her, and she was honor-bound to live up to those expectations. She'd known that; it had been a constant weight on her from the moment she'd inherited this quirk.
A red haze had taken over her world, slowing time in that fraction of a second. The heat of the pain was an afterthought in her mind. She felt… light. Empty, almost. Was it her sacrifice? It was never supposed to get this bad. What happened?
It was the fact that Momo was her friend. She'd really hesitated a lot during this match, hadn't she? But that was probably a good sign, the fact that the innermost parts of her still cared.
They'd discovered something, she and Aizawa, whilst training for the Sports Festival.
About her quirk.
About what it did to her mind. About what it truly cost.
It really was a good thing, her hesitation, so it truly was a shame that... All good things must come to an end.
/~/
Momo swung, but an invisible force knocked the knife from her hands. Her furiously racing heart skipped a beat and she froze like a deer caught in headlights.
Eyes glazed over in pain, Kimiko pressed two fingers to the bleeding wound in her stomach and let out a long hiss. With a slight sizzle, the gash began to close. She straightened and removed her hand, and to Momo's eternal disbelief, her skin was nearly completely healed.
With a hardened look in her eye, Kimiko swept her hand in an arc.
She felt the heat before she saw it.
Jumping and scrambling backwards, Momo barely managed to avoid the wall of flame that burst to life between them. Without missing a beat, she backtracked further to retrieve her staff, gripping it tightly like a lifeline.
Kimiko began a slow walk forward, striding casually through the flames.
She's not in a fighting stance. This is still salvageable – take her down now!
Momo dashed forward and thrusted with her staff, but a flick of Kimi's wrist sent a rock crashing into it from out of nowhere, changing its trajectory. Momo missed and pulled away. Quickly abandoning her attack, Momo extracted another bomb and threw it to the ground.
Except a fierce wind came crashing through, sweeping away the dust meant to cover her escape.
Kimiko, on the other hand, was gone.
There was a hand on her shoulder.
Then the world was spinning and blurring and careening onto its side, and the ground reappeared under her feet only for an invisible force to blast her backwards into a wall. The impact knocked the breath from her body and she fell to the floor, staring at the white line of the arena border that lay before her.
"Momo Yaoyorozu is out of bounds!" cried Present Mic. Momo and glanced up sharply, a cold horror settling in. "And that means Kimiko Midoriya will be advancing to the semifinals!"
No… no! How… how could this have happened. I don't… I don't understand…
"Hey."
She looked up. Kimi stood over her with her hand extended.
"Good match Momo. Sorry I was a little rough."
"It's fine," she said. "I did stab you after all."
Kimi laughed lightly, and Momo grudgingly accepted her hand, saying, "So, it'll be you and Todoroki again, hm?"
A nod. "Yeah."
"We've all been training."
Momo lowered her eyes. It was true, wasn't it. Besides, there was no point complaining. There was no point thinking of how much you deserved to win because of your hard work.
Kimi was going to be the one facing Todoroki because Momo hadn't been good enough.
She'd have to work harder, work smarter. Be better and stronger, and maybe one day… maybe she'd finally be good enough again.
/~/
A/N. So yeah, I took Momo's character in a different direction. I feel it's only natural for someone as intelligent and competitive as her to have the other two members in your friend group always be in the spotlight.
Up next is Kimi and Todoroki, and there'll finally be some insight on the developments with Kimi's quirk.
Reviews are love 3