Chapter 4 - The Perfect Lie
"This is... really awkward... why did I do this?" Izuku deflated on his walk home from the most stressful day of his life, bar the ten months of hell All Might threw him through. Nervously, his gaze fell to his company with wide eyes on a mask that took in the surroundings of the suburban area. "Why did I invite her over?" He smiled warily, scratching his head. "I mean, yeah, I know why - To talk about her Quirk but this is still embarrassing having a girl over, even if it is Yuki."
'Is this your place?' The note before him startled Izuku out of his trance, seeing them stand before the apartment complex. With a brisk nod, he led her into the complex. 'Smaller than my place, but cozy from what I can see'
"Y-yeah - And anyway, you sure you want to talk about your Quirk now? It could wait until some other time if you want?" While he was trying to dodge the situation his fanboy side was overwhelming him with curiosity, even for the brief moments he saw Yuki's Quirk it had done nothing but enthrall him with fascination and wonder, trying to decipher both her Quirk and relation to All Might
She shook her head, and Izuku sighed. "Of course she would refuse... no point getting worked up about it, you know Yuki, you can do this!"
"Find a seat anywhere I'll get something to drink." Izuku motioned for Yuki to go inside, both leaving their stuff at the door while Izuku quickly sped off to the kitchen, leaving Yuki to wander into the living room, gazing upon everything that caught her eye. Again, it was cozier than her place but she liked it, kept everything in sight
Sitting down on a sofa, she bounced atop it for a moment to get comfy, and yet she was a bundle of nerves, feeling as though she was imposing, even if Izuku invited her over it was awkward being in another person's house. Shaking her head she decided to take her school blazer off, stretching her arms while undoing the black fabric that hugged her head tightly, feeling her hair finally come loose from under the fabric now on her lap.
"Here, I got - ..." Izuku froze with the two sodas trembling in his hands. His eyes gazed at Yuki, her hair uncovered as a beautiful shade of light blue, and locks reaching down the sides of her mask, the rest tied in a thin ponytail that sat down the middle of her back in a shiny blue ribbon. "H-h-here, I-I got c-cola." Izuku gulped. "Her hair's really pretty - Stop it, stop it, stop it!"
Yuki accepted it with her eyes curving to show her appreciation. 'That's right, you haven't actually seen my hair before, huh?'
Izuku immediately shook his head, patting his cheeks quickly. "N-No, sorry if I was staring..."
She shrugged, flicking the ponytail around to rest over her left shoulder. 'I keep it covered so it doesn't get tangled in my mask, but I'm not doing anything so it's fine, plus, it can be stuffy'
"You've been wearing that mask all day - Ah, wait, why did I give you a drink if you're wearing a mask?" It was a valid point, but Yuki simply cracked it open and tipped her head back, the can blocking any view of seeing her face, making him pout, all while her eyes leered with mirth. "Okay, that's fair."
'Nice try though, but... I'm not comfortable with people seeing my face... it's... personal, and... I...' Her hand stopped tapped the incomplete sentence, Izuku wondering how she can write so quickly without him noticing at all, did she have them prewritten or something? Again, another question for later, but the spaces between her words were clear, it was sensitive to bring up
"No-no, it's okay, I didn't mean to pry - I, ahem, just wanted to know more about your Quirk, that's all." That made her perk up, then her eyes curved sadly. He deserved to know, she knew of One for All and that Izuku was the ninth holder now, so should she keep withholding this secret? Even if just a bit?
He smiled, waving a hand. "It's okay if you don't want to answer today, we can talk about something else if you-"
'SIVA' Her finger tapped the page with a curious look. The green-haired boy's eyes suddenly bulged as red slowly constructed words across the page like rivers of red ink. 'SIVA is my Quirk... it's... apart of me, but more than a Quirk.'
He didn't quite follow. "So it's your Quirk but more than that? That's what a Quirk is?" She shook her head solemnly, and he could see it, much to his soft gasp, her hand was shaking, trying to force the words onto the page before them
'My Quirk - no... SIVA... it's not a Quirk - it is but I-I'm actually Quirkless, SIVA is a collection of nanomachines inside my body. I'm not...special, I never was... I was nobody'
"Y-You were Quirkless too!? Nanomachines are inside you? T-That's..." Even now, the eyes shut off, indicating that Yuki had shut her eyes in fear, not knowing what Izuku would say. He was Quirkless too but he had one now, he had a power that was his... Yuki merely used something else to make herself stronger, without it... she... would have been just like he was. There was no other way to spin it, in his eyes, they were both the same
Suddenly, Izuku grabbed her by the sides of her arms, smiling brightly with that same glow in his eyes that made her heart climb back down from a panic attack. "That's amazing! How do they work? Are they sentient or do you control them all at once? What other applications do they have besides simple enhancements of strength and speed? What - w-wha-!"
Yuki shifted her mask so it sat just above her mouth to fit a hand under, tears falling straight through while she whimpered slightly, a shaky smile on her face, the first, genuine smile Izuku had ever seen on Yuki, he never once saw her with even a fraction of the metal faceplate removed, but her smile was cute. With a shaky hand, a note slipped between them
'H-How can you sit there and still smile at me? I'm not powerful without SIVA, If the school found out I'd probably be expelleddue to the fact I don't have a Quirk and created the perfect lie, nothing more, a-and I... can't survive without it, SIVA is keeping me... me... I...'
"What...?" Izuku breathed, tears still falling from her face, so without thinking clearly at all his hand reached out to wipe some from her chin, seeing her smile falter with a gasp, even if his own face burned with embarrassment he couldn't stop from helping her. "Hey... don't cry, okay? Quirk or not you're amazing, and you're my friend so that won't change. I won't pretend like I understand, there's so much about you I want to know, but I'll wait until you tell me yourself, when you feel ready to talk."
Yuki's mouth quivered, instead, she mouthed something, Izuku struggled but managed to say it out loud. "'Why? Why are you so nice?'" He smiled, moving to pull his hand away, but her cheek softly pressed itself into his palm, surprising him a bit. "W-Well, It's natural right? To c-care about your friends?"
Her smile came back, silently chuckling a little, her cheek felt warm in his hand too. Another note sat between them. 'I guess it is... I know I'm a little tactile but... can you just keep your hand still for a moment longer? Please?'
His face lit up again, trying to avert his eyes while her mask's curled up with her smile. "S-S-Sure, I-I'm okay with t-that!" That reaction had her stick her tongue out jokingly, she knew he was a nervous wreck but didn't care, his hand was the first to actually touch her face in years, Yuki always kept her mask on unless otherwise, mainly because she didn't like not wearing it or people touching her face due to her injuries, but it didn't unnerve her at all
"...His hand is so soft too..."
After a while, the two went back to chatting, Yuki's mask fixed to her face properly again. "So you can't live without them inside you? Are you sure that's okay?"
Yuki nodded, twirling her hand around to summon forth a small collection of the red nanites in the air. 'They're harmless to me, I've bonded to them over years so I'm the only one that can control them, even if SIVA works completely independently at times, in a way, he is apart of me as I am of him'
Izuku was now writing down the information diligently, adding more toward Yuki's hero bio, all while she watched with amusement at his fanboy antics. "So you can enhance your body and they are self-replicating so you can create almost any kind of tool... but exceeding ten percent at the moment would harm you, at worst you... lose control. Yuki...?"
She flicked him on the nose, breaking his concentration, and yet he frowned, looking worried. "You shouldn't joke about this, what if something happens that causes you to lose control or tap into your power without regulation? Like me?"
Yuki put a hand on her heart, holding out a note. 'If that happens, I have All Might and other heroes to stop me, and there's you, I can rely on you to save me too'
"Really? Me?" He pointed to himself as though it were a stupid question. Yuki rolled her eyes, holding out a hand to him
'If I'm ever in trouble I know you'll come to dig me out of it, that's just who you are ;)' Her eyes curved again to display affection, and Izuku smiled, locking his hand with hers
"Then I'll do the same because I know you too!" If she could laugh she would, but that was an agreement she could get behind. The two didn't let go for a while after that promise
"Izuku! I'm home!" Immediately their hands parted, with Izuku flailing his arms around in an attempt to do anything else, all while Yuki blinked, turning her head toward the door curiously
"H-Hey Mom!" Izuku sounded anything but convincing, and yet upon turning around to see him she noticed Yuki sitting there, staring back curiously, then she held up a note
'You forgot to mention me, didn't you?' At that Izuku snatched the note from the deadpanned Yuki, who rubbed the top of her head, shaking it. Realizing Izuku's mom hadn't said a word she held up a new note
"How do you keep doing that?" Izuku murmured behind her
'Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Azuru Yuki, Izuku's friend from school. He invited me so we could look over some work from school' The last part was a lie but it was all Yuki could come up with on the spot, she couldn't overwork SIVA
She finally let out a heavy breath, smiling warmly. "It's okay, I was just a little alarmed by the mask, but I'm so happy my little Izuku has more friends!" Yuki couldn't help but smile, she was really nice, especially since it was a girl Izuku invited over. If Yuki has learned anything from stupid, cheesy romance anime it's that a boy having a girl over always led to problems guess she struck fortune. "So, Izuku, will your friend be staying for dinner?"
"I-" Yuki put her hand up, shaking once
'I have to go soon, my guardian wanted to talk to me about something, alongside my mentor too, sorry' A part of her wanted to stay and talk more, even get to know Izuku's mom more but another time would be best, after today she was mentally drained from all the stress. 'But thank you'
"Too bad, well, so long as I know for next time I'll be sure to prepare for three people." Izuku's mom smiled, and after a short time packing up Yuki was ready to leave, thanking his mom again for her hospitality.
Tapping the tips of her shoes to the floor, Yuki was ready to leave, and yet Izuku looked uncertain, wanting to ask her something that she neglected to tell him, and if he didn't get an answer now it might just kill him. "Yuki! I... uh, can I ask you something?"
She shrugged, motioning for him to go on. "You never told me... why do you want to become a hero?" Her head tilted, while Izuku stepped closer. "Remember what you said before, you'd tell me if we both made it into UA, so what is it?"
*Boop*
He blinked, her finger tapping his nose softly. She handed him a folded note, and with a silly salute, she left without any other sign, simply skipping along. "H-Hey, wait - She's not even listening anymore..."
With a mirthless frown, he unfolded the note, surprised to see a photo attached at the bottom, but his eyes widened at the text, reading it carefully while Yuki skipped down the steps at the end of the complex. Without thinking, he held onto the note tightly. "Mom, I'll be right back!"
Without another word he sprinted out of the door, dashing across the complex to peer over the edge, seeing Yuki scrolling through her phone. "Yuki!" She jumped, turning back around for him to smile brightly, waving his hand to her, his heart racing a mile a minute
'I want to be a hero because I never had one. I was alone for a long time and I had my life laid out before me... colorless and without love. I lost my family. I had no-one. But with SIVA I could become a person who would be there for others like me, who are wishing for a hand to reach out and pull them toward their dream, I will be there, no matter what. That's who I'm going to be.'
"I want to be a hero just like you! I promise I'll get stronger, I'll become the number one hero!" They locked eyes for a long time, with Yuki's thumb pressing a button that subsequently followed with a buzz in Izuku's pocket. He pulled it out, then was surprised to see Yuki walking away, waving once into the air
Yuki: Then let's be heroes, Deku ;)
The photo now framed in Izuku's room was that of himself smiling bashfully with All Might in his true form, arms linked around Izuku and Yuki, her eyes glowing brightly, but until now Izuku never realized that when the photo was taken, he could see her smile radiate with the sunset behind them.
To Be Continued...
A short but sweet chapter between the two BFFs, and alot of reveals for Yuki as a whole, but no time for talk next time it's action! I hope you enjoyed, seeya in the next chapter!
Next Chapter: Explosive Perfection
It was time to be like heroes, augmented with costumes, class 1-A prepares to duke it out with each other, but who is it that Yuki will partner with? And who will Izuku have to survive against?