As soon as Present Mic started the match, Mizuha aggressively stomped her foot on the ground to sprout ice walls that raced in Mokuen's direction. She had the option to throw her out of bounds or freeze her in place so that she could no longer move.
The maroon haired girl ran to the left as fast as she could while the ice followed her closely behind. Mizuha just stood there and only turned and shifted her eyes to keep track of Mokuen.
It doesn't matter where you go because my ice will catch you!
Mizuha then forced her ice walls to shoot up and expand. It rose up like a wave and then crashed down on her opponent, encasing a good part of the stage in ice.
She stood straight and blew her bangs away from her eye.
"OH?! Has Hyoumei won already?!"
Mizuha's eyes widened. No wait...
Suddenly, Mizuha became alarmed. Something was wrong.
With a swift hand movement, she shattered her ice, revealing nothing but Mokuen's absence. How did she escape? There was no way she could have avoided it.
Then she heard a rustle of movement behind her. Mizuha whirled around and side stepped just in time to avoid a fist aimed at her face. Mizuha gritted her teeth and jumped away from the other girl, keeping a good distance between them.
"Heeeh... pretty good reaction time." drawled Mokuen, smirking.
How did she…?
She disappeared.
She just disappeared right before her eyes.
Mizuha looked around her rapidly, whipping her head in different directions to try and find Mokuen. Then without any sign, a kick landed on her stomach, followed by a punch behind her shoulder. Mizuha kept getting pushed further towards the boundary line while getting hit.
She would stumble from a hit and Mokuen would shove her towards the boundary line with a kick. It was continuous. It was evident that she looked like a punching bag.
…
…
Eijin leaned forward in his seat, his hands were folded on his knees and in front of his face. His eyebrows were furrowed with worry.
Mizuha is strong but that doesn't mean anything if you can't see your opponent and can't even react. Mizuha, if you can't find a way to catch her, you're going to lose.
"Too fast! Way too fast! Mokuen is too fast for Hyoumei to see!"
"...Hyoumei can't even react." Kaminari stated with surprise.
Uraraka frowned worriedly at the edge of her seat, "How is she teleporting like that?"
From their seats, it looked like Hyoumei was getting hit from an invisible force in different directions. Every time she regained her footing, she was thrown off balance by another hit. Every time she aimed for Mokuen, she missed. Nothing was working.
By now, the whole stage practically glistened with Mizuha's ice.
"OOOH?! WHAT'S THIS? A CLASS 1-B STUDENT IS GETTING THE UPPER-HAND AGAINST A MIGHTY CLASS 1-A STUDENT?!" A certain Class 1-B exclaimed loudly from behind a wall.
Everyone looked at the side and spotted Monoma, peeking over their wall and laughing. They all sweat dropped at the his weird victorious laugh.
He gave a them a sly smile, "I GUESS CLASS 1-A ISN'T ALL THAT GOOD—"
All of a sudden, a ginger haired girl landed a hit behind Monoma's head, knocking him out. Monoma blacked out and sagged against the wall. Kendo grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him away from the wall dividing both classes just before he fell to the ground.
Kendo peeked over the wall and smiled apologetically, "Sorry."
Kendo turned away and literally threw Monoma back into his seat. His head dropped on one of his classmates' shoulders.
Kendo went back to her own seat with a sigh, "Leave them alone, Monoma."
Tetsutesu, who witnessed Monoma's little scene, returned his attention to the fight below, grinning proudly.
"But he's right. This is Mokuen's match! She's so fast that it literally looks like she's teleporting everywhere. She might not even need to attack with her Quirk! All she needs to do is push her out of bounds!"
…
…
Mizuha growled and sent another wave of ice in the direction she thought Mokuen was in. She was wrong. Mokuen appeared in front of Mizuha and kicked her in the gut, sending her flying closer to the boundary line.
Mizuha coughed a few times, she definitely felt that one. This was not going well, and it wasn't how she expected her match to start off. She got back on her feet and faced her opponent. Mokuen looked unscathed, and it annoyed her so much. As Mizuha moved away from boundary line, she kept her eyes on Mokuen figure.
Mizuha peered over her shoulder to look at the line behind her. She had to be careful. The boundary line was getting closer.
With how fast Mokuen was moving, she could have easily pushed Mizuha out of bounds by now, and yet here she was, still in the match.
I wonder why…
There was a few seconds of silence, during which was filled with tension. Mizuha was getting riled up, she needed to calm down a little.
It's not teleportation... I can hear her running. The sound of her steps was present... she's just too fast.
Mokuen stood afar from her and scoffed, she put her hand on her hip and pointed at the ground. "By setting water on the ground, you could have easily figured out where I was based on the splashes of water. With vapor, you could distance yourself to get a better view."
Mizuha blinked.
Wait… how…? How would she know that?
There was just no way Mokuen could have known about her Quirk. Mizuha had never shown it to anyone in the school. Aizawa and Recovery Girl were the only people who were aware of the true nature of her Quirk.
Mizuha tensed when she heard Mokuen fast foot steps running on the pavement. With hardened focus, Mizuha was able to predict where Mokuen was coming from so she side stepped just before she could touch her and used that opening to shove Mokuen with her foot, putting her off balance, and then launching herself to the center of the stage. She dragged her shoe back against the pavement and readied herself.
Thanks for giving your opponent advice, fool.
All the ice on the stage shattered away into tiny fragments. Mizuha lowered a knee on the ground and placed a palm on the floor. A thin sheet of ice spread from the center of her palm in a circular form around her that stretched six meters from where she was.
Mokuen narrowed her eyes at the ice.
Mizuha looked up and watched her.
Your move.
It was a test; one that gave a clearer idea of what kind of Quirk Mokuen possessed when she saw her vanish followed by beams of light shattering her ice in a straight path. It was a Quirk that allowed her to use the properties of light.
I feel like I've seen that Quirk before.
Thanks to her experience in maneuvering around on ice, Mizuha easily moved away to avoid a kick. In a split second, Mokuen gasped and made eye contact with her. Mizuha just apathetically stared at her before shooting her arm and wrapping her hand around her ankle. Mizuha dragged her foot back and tugged Mokuen along with her, making her yelp.
Mizuha swiveled around after she released her and punched her in the gut as payback for that one kick in her gut. Mokuen had stumbled back with a back leap. Mizuha smirked, she figured Mokuen was probably trying to escape in midair.
Mizuha encased her fist in ice and got closer to her just in time before she disappeared. Her fist landed in her gut, hard, and Mokuen gasped in pain. The impact was harsher because of the hard ice.
"Ouch! Two consecutive hits in the gut! That's gotta hurt!"
Mokuen landed meters away from Mizuha who still stood in the center of the stage with renewed confidence. The maroon haired girl coughed just like Mizuha had when she got kicked.
The Class A student noted how Mokuen was panting.
So all that disappearing is equivalent to running around… It would make sense if she's tired like this.
Mokuen growled and then forced herself to get up and run at her. Mizuha readied herself for her next attack.
The Class B disappeared but then appeared for split second before disappearing once more. She repeated this process and it made it seem like she had clones of herself coming at Mizuha who just narrowed her eyes and flickered them towards each figure of Mokuen that appeared in her sight.
That'll get you even tired. I'll freeze you in your tracks!
Mizuha raised her hand—
"Not a chance!" Mokuen grunted. She was behind her. Before Mizuha could turn around, she stumbled from a kick, she was beginning to think that Mokuen was fond of kicking people, and then was pushed away by a beam of light.
Suddenly, she felt Mokuen grab one of her wrists when she landed on her back. Mizuha felt her body getting pulled forward by the shorter girl, directly towards the boundary line. She was surprised by the amount of strength in that shorter girl's body.
"Oohh! Mokuen is literally dragging Hyoumei out of bounds!"
Mizuha pulled her wrist forward, tugging Mokuen towards her, and she shifted her position. The shorter girl stumbled forward only to receive a kick to her face. Mizuha glanced behind Mokuen and noticed that they were at the half way point between the center of the stage and the boundary line. She only needed to push her out and she would win. That was all it would take!
"Hyoumei is still going strong!"
Mizuha got back up at the same time as Mokuen and then they started exchanging physical blows. Mokuen had the upper hand when it came to a fight of Quirks since her speed didn't let her use her ice quick enough. And Mizuha thought she was confident in how fast he could make her ice.
Mokuen let out a noise of frustration, "You damn nuisance!"
Mizuha dodged one of Mokuen's attacks despite feeling mildly shocked. Why did she just say?
Soon, she found herself wrestling Mokuen who was on top of her (pleasing a certain grape fruit up in the stands).
Several blows to the face were exchanged between them, irritating Mizuha immensely. Seriously, why was Mokuen just wasting time exchanging blows to her face instead of using her Quirk or something. If the match dragged on longer, Mizuha would eventually get the upper hand once she placed some distance between them again.
"Get off of me!" Mizuha blocked her fist and shoved it away.
"Shu is sad for no reason and it's all your fault!" She cried angrily.
Mizuha froze.
...
...
...
Shu?
Mokuen?
Mokuen...
Mokuen... Shu?
Mokuen Shu.
Mizuha shook in her seat in the waiting room. Her eyes were fixated on the tiled floor just beneath her shoes. Her body was numbing due to the guilt, inside of her, practically eating her alive. The horrific scene that took place earlier played in her mind as if it was in a loop. It was like watching a play take place on the stage, and she could only watch from the audience's perspective. Seeing it play repeatedly in her mind, knowing the outcome, knowing how it ended. She could do nothing but watch it play out. It was all stuck in her head.
The sound of someone crying pulled her away from the stage play in her mind. The numbness also faded away.
She noticed that her head was leaning on someone's shoulder. They hand an arm wrapped around her shoulders with their hand rubbing her side in an attempt to comfort her and calm her down. They're cheek was resting against Mizuha's hair, and they were murmuring words of comfort.
She recognized their voice as Byakuren's.
She spotted the person crying not too far away from them. It was a girl that they didn't know who looked around their age. She had maroon coloured hair, strikingly similar to someone they knew.
They wailed in an adult woman's arms, probably their mother's.
"Is big brother Shu going to be okay, mom?" They hiccuped with tears cascading down their face.
"Shh... it's okay."
She didn't give her daughter an answer.
Byakuren lifted up his head from his friend's, curiously looking at the family, "Shu? That's probably Mokuen's little sister..." He muttered.
Mizuha felt sick. The guilt inside her grew bigger as this new information reeled into her mind.
She was ashamed. Her actions not only affect those directly involved, but also theirs families.
It broke her. She aggressively palmed her face and let out a broken cry, she was falling apart and falling deeper into her guilt.
"I did this... I hurt everyone... this is all my fault..." She said in between gasps, clutching onto her hair.
Byakuren immediately wrapped his arms around his friend, trying desperately to calm her down. He petted her hair, wiped away her tears, rubbed her back and continued whispering more comforting words.
"Mizuha... shhh... it's okay..."
It was never going to be okay.
How could it?
The audience didn't even have time to blink. A literal spiral of ice emitted from Mizuha's body, it shot forward in several different directions. It was like warning, telling Mokuen to stay away.
Mokuen was lucky enough to have felt this sudden incoming attack. She quickly moved away from Mizuha, ending up back in the center of the stage.
The memories of the aftermath were clawing back.
Mizuha slowly sat up and carefully got back on her feet.
For four years, Mizuha had successfully pushed away the painful memories. She wanted to forget because she knew it was ruining her. She didn't want to live a life that was almost constantly filled with regret. Staying away from anything that served as a painful reminder of the past was the best option she came up with. It would prevent it from happening again.
She cut off all contact with the victims involved.
She stayed away from her brother as much as she could.
She pushed away everything that had the potential to repeat the incident.
She stayed away from the idea of creating new friendships.
She changed herself.
And all that hard work was destroyed with the mention of the name Shu.
Everything was returning again.
Mizuha's body trembled as a mix of anger and fear violently swirled inside her. The necessary drive for whatever she was going to do next. Mizuha glared darkly at Mokuen but yet remained rooted in her spot.
As soon as Mokuen disappeared from her view once more, Mizuha formed an immense ice wall that stretched its width all the to boundary lines at her sides, blocking all of Mokuen's potential paths, and then it shoved forward all the way to the opposite side of Mizuha.
It happened just as fast as Mokuen disappeared.
Kyouran's eyes widened in shock. If he had blinked, he would have missed it. Mokuen had disappeared and was heading straight for Mizuha until the ice wall slammed into her, sending her flying out of the stage and tumbling down on the ground.
With a shaky sigh, Mizuha clenched her fists.
The ice wall shattered and fell apart. It revealed Mokuen, sitting on the floor, looking shocked and shaken up about what had just happened.
Midnight raised her hand, "Mokuen is out of bounds! Hyoumei advances to the second round!"
The stadium erupted in cheers for Mizuha's victory. As the cheering continued, Mizuha was making her way towards where Mokuen was with an unreadable expression on her face. The maroon haired girl was confounded when Mizuha stopped in front of her and held out a hand for her.
"Oh? What a good display of sportsmanship!"
Mokuen shakily lifted her hand and reached for Mizuha's, hestating. The moment their hands were about to touch, Mizuha moved her hand away and grabbed her wrist to harshly pull her slightly pull her up from the ground. Mizuha's foot was firmly planted on Mokuen's as she stared into her eyes.
The Class B student winced when Mizuha's grip tightened around her wrist.
With a dark look on her face, she stared down at Mokuen as if she was a pest.
"Keep your mouth shut." She said coldly before harshly dropping her back down on the floor.
Shocked, Mokuen could only stare at her with a mouth slightly agape.
"Hyoumei!" Midnight called her out for her rude behavior, she even threatened to disqualify her.
"... That's not nice, Hyoumei."
"The match is over. Stop it." Aizawa told her through the speaker, disapproval in his voice.
Mizuha stood up straight, removing her foot off of Mokuen's.
With that, Mizuha walked off the stage, but not without hearing the audience's disapproval for her lack of respect.
The moment she returned to her class in the stands, she was confronted by a certain Class 1-B student who looked ready to pick a fight.
"Rude girl! You have no respect for others, huh?!" Tetsutetsu shouted at her from behind the wall.
"Yeah, that wasn't necessary." added Kendo, disapproving of the way Mizuha treated her classmate. Mokuen had also returned to her class and everyone was defending her.
Class B was not the only class giving her looks but her own class as well. After all, after Bakugo's little declaration at the start of the event, a lot of students didn't like their class so they really didn't need Mizuha making things worse for them. Mizuha ignored the lecture of the class rep that was thrown at her even before she could take a seat.
Mizuha stopped next to the wall and boringly looked at the silver haired student behind it, "You should tell that classmate of yours to mind her own damn business instead of running her mouth. What, did she think talking was going to help her win?" she shook her head and sat down, crossing her legs as she laughed mockingly, "Not only that, but she let her personal feelings get involved! How stupid!"
Her own class didn't say a word from this out of character behaviour.
Tetsutsu shook angrily, "Why you!"
Mizuha held his glared with a smirk.
Mokuen bit her bottom lip and lowered her head, "Tetsutetsu... that's enough. She's right... I did let my personal feelings get involved…"
"But Mokuen, the way she treated you is unacceptable!"
"Please, just stop."
Upon hearing her insisting request, Tetsutetsu calmed down and sat back down in his seat, grumbling.
With a sigh, Kyouran stood up from his seat. His turn was coming up next and he didn't go to the waiting room yet like he was supposed to instead he stayed in his seat and watch the whole fight. He needed to hurry before they started his match.
Kirishima gave him a thumbs up, "Good luck, Kyouran!"
Kyouran smiled at the red head and waved before climbing up the steps. Just as he passed by Mizuha, he stopped for a moment and stared at her. Mizuha didn't look at him but she could feel the judging stare on her.
"Personal feelings, huh? Speak for yourself."
Mizuha stiffened in her seat.
"You're out of this tournament." He stated before running off to his match.
Mizuha pushed the inside of her cheek with her tongue, I'm out of this tournament? He clearly means he's going to win if we go up against each other. Jeez, be straight with me if you want to say something, don't hide it behind your words.
…
"Shu is sad for no reason and it's all your fault!" She cried angrily.
…
Mizuha flinched. As if the mentioning of his name wasn't enough, Mokuen's words were starting to get to her. With a growl, she uncrossed her legs and slammed her foot down, scaring her classmates that were seated near her. She got up from her seat and walked down the path she came from. She needed to walk around and clear her mind.
I can't let this get to me! Not now! I don't have time for that!
Kirishima, who was watching Byakuren leave, shifted his eyes towards Mizuha. He saw how her face twisted into an irritated expression before walking off in a hurried manner.
"Get away from me. Stop acting like we're friends because we're not. We never were. You're the one that's been forcing a friendship to exist. I never wanted that from you."
Mizuha groaned in frustration when her memories of the past slowly started to flood her mind. She was glad that she developed the ability to cope with the pain over the years. It didn't hurt as much as it did, but it still hurt. The guilt wasn't eating her alive, but it was still lurking.
She just needed to be alone for a while. It was easier to deal with things alone.
Mizuha found a deserted area just around a corner and decided to stay there for a while. She leaned back against a wall and allowed herself to fall on the floor with a soft thud.
She fished for her phone and brought it up to her face, noticing several missed calls from her mother and father once she opened it. Judging from the time they called, they most likely called her after her fight.
Mizuha groaned, They were probably watching it on TV.
With a sigh, she cleared her missed call notifications, "Sorry, mom, dad... I'm not really in the mood for a lecture."
Shinsui (」゜ロ゜)」
Mizuha blinked in surprise. Her thumb was hovering over her brother's contact name, waiting for her brain to command her thumb to press it. She didn't even realize that she searched for Shinsui's name after clearing her notifications.
Mizuha chuckled bitterly, The old habits are coming back too...
Her brother's phone was plugged in his room and it was still working. It was left charging there a few weeks after the incident. Mizuha was the one who charged it and she never touched it again.
She missed her brother dearly. He would always be there to talk to her whenever she had problems. But when he was no longer there, Mizuha found a way to simulate a conversation with him. She would call but he would never answer the phone. But that was alright because he would always be there to listen to her... kind of.
With a frown, Mizuha shakily pressed his name and called him.
It rang.
Then he answered.
"Heyo~! You've reached Hyoumei Shinsui's number! I'm not really available at the moment, but please leave a message! I promise I'll listen to it! Alright? Okay, bye! –BEEEP!"
Mizuha hesitated.
...
...
...
"I don't like it. It's hard. It's painful and it's making me feel bad again. I've tried so hard to stay away from everything to bury it all away, but I guess it wasn't enough? Why is it coming back with just a name? I thought I did everything I could… I-I know I've been living my life while hiding behind a mask. Everyday it's the same fakery."
She breathed out heavily.
"Because if I get too attached… I might repeat what I did, don't you remember?" Mizuha bit her lip. "You can't trust yourself to make the right choice. You try to do what's right but then you realize it was wrong when it's already too late. Instead, I just made everything worse! Shu... Akane, Naomi, Kousuke... Kyougyoku... and you... Everyone got hurt and all I did was hide and watch everything. I don't ever want others to get hurt because—"
"Hyoumei?"
Mizuha jolted and whipped her head up, pressing the 'end call' button immediately.
She found a familiar redhead staring down at her curiously.
She clicked her tongue and put away her phone, "... What do you want, Kirishima?" she asked, tired. She looked away and lolled her head in the opposite direction.
"... I was worried about you. You kinda left suddenly and looked irritated, so I followed after you. And uh, I'm sorry... I kinda overheard your phone call." said Kirishima.
… Seriously? Oh geez.
"... I would be angry because you eavesdropped but it's also my fault for making that call out in the open like an idiot." She said flatly, "And how can you be worried after what I said to you before the Sports Festival started? You don't make sense." She added.
Slowly, Kirishima approached her and slid down to the floor next to her while making sure not to sit too close just in case she was uncomfortable. He was relieved when she didn't recoil away from him.
"Yeah, well you weren't exactly wrong either."
Mizuha glanced at him.
Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck and fixed the floor, "I like to get along with people. I never thought I'd be unconsciously forcing a friendship with you… Sorry about that. I thought that you thought of me as a friend but I guess I was wrong. But, tell me, why did you play along? Why weren't you straight with me and tell me you didn't want anything to do with me?"
The girl frowned as she looked away to stare at the empty corridor to her left. "You're a nice guy… I'm not just going to tell you to leave me alone since that would have been rude. I guess, I didn't know how to say 'no'."
Kirishima, who was staring at her, slowly nodded his head and voiced out his thoughts, "I guess I really didn't know you."
"If you think that way that means I did a good job with keeping up my image."
He wasn't going to lie and say it didn't hurt. It did hurt to know that the person he respected was playing pretend right in front of his face ever since school started.
He could have gotten up and left her there and head back to the stands, but after hearing how hurt she sounded on that phone call just glued him on the floor. His heart was hurting for her. He had a hunch that something wasn't right. Mizuha was hiding something inside her that she didn't want others to know about. It was clear when Kyouran expressed himself before the event started, and it seemed like it was getting worse with ninth match that just passed.
Hyoumei wasn't okay.
And he wanted to somehow find a way to help her even just little.
"Hey… um, do you have some history with that girl from Class B? The way you spoke and that fight you had with her made it look like it was personal…"
Mizuha bit her lip, still refusing to look at him.
"Kirishima." She sighed. "Please, go away."
The redhead frowned. Stubborn. She refused to ask for help. That stubbornness to deal with things on her own was something he was sure he knew about her.
"Why are you always dealing with things on your own?"
"Because I'm used to it." She replied without missing a beat. "Now, please… just go back."
No.
The redhead twisted his body to look at her properly, "Please, Hyoumei. Give me a chance to understand you."
In an instant, Mizuha inhaled a sharp breath and turned so fast to look at her classmate. Out of reflex, Kirishima leaned away a little from the sudden movement and was taken back by the angry expression on her face. She was usually so calm and collected he never thought he'd see such an expression on her face directed towards him. She was expressing so many things today.
She was shaking and she couldn't control the outburst that was about to occur.
"Understand me?!"
I need to calm down! I need to calm the hell down!
"You could never understand what I went through!" She shouted at him; her emotions were out of her control.
…
…
…
Byakuren and Mizuha hid in the shadows behind two side-by-side dumpsters. Despite the small gap, they were able to witness everything. Byakuren suppressed her whimpers by keeping a hand over her mouth. Bystanders were screaming and yelling for Pro Heroes to help the only remaining Hero on the scene. Her four friends were laid down on the floor out cold with injuries. Just in front of them, was the sight of a young older woman with white hair similar to Byakuren's. She was unconscious and her face, that was facing them, had blood on it from the wound she suffered on her head.
She could feel his hand shaking on her mouth as the state of his older sister was right in front of him.
Mizuha's eyes darted upwards.
Through the small gap, she was just in time to see her brother get attacked by a villain from behind.
…
…
…
"Unless you know how it feels to let your emotions get the best of you and ruin everything during a villain attack… Unless you know how it feels to do nothing and just sit back as people get hurt because you're too scared to fucking move!—"
…
…
…
Mizuha hugged her knees while sitting on her bed in the dark. It was already two in the morning and she was supposed to be heading out to school in a few hours. She knew that but she just couldn't sleep at all.
School was difficult. Her four classmates, who were involved in the incident, had fully recovered and was attending school once again.
... But she never went to see them. It was too hard. She kept her distance from a lot of people.
She slowly wrapped herself in her bed covers and plopped her head down on her pillow. She needed to get some sleep somehow.
…
…
…
"Unless you know how it feels living with that guilt for four years then you'll never understand what I'm going through!" She ended, breathing heavily.
Her words and all her pent up emotions were breaking down the wall she built up. She seriously thought she could keep it up but the stinging in her eyes were telling another story.
Unable to stop them any longer, she started crying. She felt like a pathetic child crying in a corner. She clutched her bangs in frustration. "Damn it… fuck… I'm not supposed to cry!" her nails dragged down her forehead, "I-I'm over that!" she said in between gasps as she shook.
Kirishima shifted around and quickly brought her into his arms; it was the only thing he thought of. The sounds of her weeping were muffled into him as he rubbed her back, holding her tightly as she stiffened in his hold.
She snapped out of it and pushed against him, "S-Stop it! What are y-you doing?!"
"Don't be stubborn!" Mizuha flinched. "If you need to cry, then it's alright! You don't need to hide it if you need to let it out. Don't just bottle it up."
She was sure she cried a lot back then since the wounds were so fresh. But she never did cry about it during the past four years until those old wounds reopened.
"Damn it… what the hell…"
As the tears overflowed, Kirishima held her silently while patting and rubbing her back.
"But I feel stupid crying in front of you!" she said even though her body relaxed against him, and yet he could feel tears on his shoulder where she hid her face.
"Nope, I can't see you. So, you don't have to feel stupid." Kirishima smiled a little and continued to rub her back.
Ah, he thought, I'm glad I didn't just give up on her when she indirectly told me to.
If he somehow ever found out how she felt all this time after choosing to ignore it, he'd feel guilty for not trying to understand her better. He actually had an idea of how she felt, but her shaking form and her cries were enough to tell him that her emotions weighed even heavier.
…
…
"You're my fucking problem! You damn coward!"
"You're too scared and that just clouds everything!"
"Because if I get too attached… I might repeat what I did, don't you remember? You can't trust yourself to make the right choice. You try to do what's right but then you realize it was wrong when it's already too late. Instead, I just made everything worse! Shu... Akane, Naomi, Kousuke... Kyougyoku... and you... Everyone got hurt and all I did was hide and watch everything. I don't ever want others to get hurt because—"
…
…
Kirishima continued his comforting gestures, blocking out the audience's cheering and focused on his classmate's state. He didn't know how many minutes had passed but when he noticed her shaking and her cries had subdued, he slowly pulled away and looked at her face.
"Are you alright now?"
Mizuha sniffled and nodded. Kirishima took that as he cue to let go of her and scoot back a little.
With her sleeve, she wiped away the rest of her tears with her sleeve. When she lowered her arm, she instantly frowned at the sight in front of her.
She lowered her head in shame, "I got your shirt wet... sorry."
Kirishima blinked and looked at his shirt. There was a damp spot on his shoulder where her face was resting when he held her. It wasn't so bad.
The boy smiled at her, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it! I'll take it as proof that you let out your how you felt." he patted his shoulder as if he was sporting a new scar that he was proud of.
Mizuha furrowed her brows and couldn't help that her mouth was tugging up upwards a little. Kirishima didn't miss that.
"That's a weird way to look at it."
The girl moved away from him to sit back against the wall once again, he did the same. There was a moment of silence between the two, and whatever wall Mizuha had put up around her was now gone, she was comfortable with being a little more honest.
"Um, if you want to talk about it, I can listen?" he offered. "I mean, if it'll make you feel better I mean. If you don't want to that's fine!" he rubbed the back of his neck. "I really don't want you break down like that again."
He really is a nice guy, she thought before bringing her knees up to her chest, feeling a little better with Kirishima just being present and honest.
"… I think I'll talk about it. I mean, crying made me feel better."
Kirishima nodded, giving her all his attention.
"Um let's see… did you ever hear about an incident that happened four years ago, it was an incident where four kids and two Pro Heroes got injured by a group of villains."
Kirishima scrunched up his nose and looked up at the ceiling. "It sounds familiar… I think I saw it on the news once before my birthday. Is it the one where the Pro Heroes suffered a blow to the head which got them in a comatose state?"
Mizuha nodded.
"Those Pro Heroes were my brother and Kyouran's older sister. It was supposed to be a fun night with friends and family but it turned out to be the worst night when those villains came and attacked the area. A huge panic happened and we all got separated in the crowd. It sucked that Shinsui and Kyougyoku were the only Heroes present where the villains were."
She could recall the screaming of the people around her and the crowd running away.
"Because of my choice… I screwed things up. My brother specifically told me to go and find help since I knew where the closest Hero Agency was. I also knew where a Pro Hero was since we had passed by them. He trusted me to seek help… but I didn't listen. I completely ignored him and went searching for Byakuren because I was scared of what might've happened to him. I was able to find my four friends, except for Byakuren, and this villain was in front of them. They were scared. I was scared too but I was also angry that they were attacking my friends. So, I tried to save them by making him miss his attack when he tried to hurt them. And thanks to my Quirk, I was barely able to make him miss his attack."
Mizuha sighed and scratched the back of her head.
"I made two wrong choices that night. I didn't listen to my brother and I decided to protect my friends by flinging my Quirk's power at them like a reckless idiot. I was just desperate to help them. I guess my emotions and lack of thought got the best of me. I just wasn't able to realize that I caught the other villains' attention and I was immediately targeted along with my friends, who were standing behind me."
Mizuha sighed heavily and started tracing circles on the floor, "It happened so fast. Kyouran somehow got there in the nick of time and got me out the range of a Quirk attack with his own Quirk and made us hide behind these two dumpsters. Just the two of us because I was closer and he was only capable of carrying one person. A few seconds later, I was hearing my friends crying in pain and I was forced to sit back and watch helplessly while Kyouran kept us hidden. They got hurt because I didn't make the right decision to protect them. Our siblings got hurt because there were no other Pro Heroes that were there in time to help them because I didn't go seek out their help. I acted like wannabe hero and my actions hurt the people I care about... not just them... families of the victims too."
Mizuha sighed and froze her finger tips to place them around her eyes. She didn't want to look so puffy eyed when she went back outside.
"That's basically the reason why I don't want to make friends. I distanced myself from everyone because I'm scared. I'm scared of making the wrong choice, of letting my emotions run wild and making me think I'm protecting others while I'm just creating more problems. You saw me during the USJ incident, I was freaking out over Kyouran getting hurt. I think about the possible danger but yet I can't move or think because I don't even know what's the right thing to do anymore. I even thought that reaching out for you and Bakugo when we got warped was the wrong thing to do! I'm scared of screwing up."
The redhead, who had been silently listening to her, frowned a little. "... You did what you thought was right. How could anyone blame you for that? Plus, your friends could have died if you didn't help them."
Mizuha shook her head, denying what he thought, "It can't be right if other people got hurt for cleaning after me. If I can't do what is right to protect others... then I shouldn't have anyone to protect. Having friends is wrong if I'm only going to make a mistake and hurt them. I'm not confident enough to believe I can help them when they need it the most. I'd rather be alone and learn how to protect people like a professional, the right way."
By being obedient and listening to what others told her to do, it would free her of the burden of feeling guilty about her choices.
"You're contradicting yourself." pointed out Kirishima, "Kyouran was always your friend, wasn't he?"
She lowered her hands. Mizuha opened her mouth to speak to argue, but she found herself unable to because it was the truth. She bit her lip and suddenly felt conflicted.
"You want to protect him." Kirishima pointed out with a small smile. "It's obvious. How could you not?"
Mizuha blinked.
"You don't want to be alone." he concluded.
Mizuha didn't answer.
...
...
...
He had no problem making friends; he was fine socially. And then she was the complete opposite. If she were to be completely honest, she didn't want him to make any other friends. Was she too protective? Was she selfish? She didn't know.
Mizuha followed after Byakuren in silence.
It feels... a little lonely now that I think about it.
...
...
…
It suddenly became clear to as to why she felt the way she did about Kyouran making friends. It was the fear of truly being alone. The fear became even clearer when she realized that she truly was alone now that Kyouran gave up on their friendship. A forlorn feeling enveloped her.
... It's my fault, isn't it? He just got sick of me and tossed me aside because I was always relying on him... that's gotta be it. I guess he didn't want to have the burden of having a coward as a friend... I don't blame him...
It would get pretty annoying.
I stuck to him like glue.
I must be really annoying.
Mizuha hugged her knees and stared at the ground
Ah, Kirishima thought, Mizuha isn't really the most confident person. She's too scared to push herself.
Kirishima patted her head. "I think I understand you better now."
Like a child, Mizuha just tilted her head in confusion.
Kirishima then stood up abruptly, surprising her. He walked in front of her and grabbed her wrists in his hands. She gasped a little when she felt him pulled her up to her feet so fast. The gentle warmth of Kirishima's hands left her and she was faced with an encouraging smile on his face.
"You can't let that stop you! If you don't like seeing others get hurt then you have to get stronger and make sure they stay safe. That's one of the things a Hero needs to do! Accept it and open up, that's your first step!"
Mizuha's eyes widened in fear, she shook her head frantically, "No, no, no! I don't want that! I'm scared of screwing up again!"
Kirishima saw the fear in her eyes and quickly placed his hands on her shoulders, "Have faith in yourself. Don't let the past bring you down, let it push you forward. If you don't try to protect others then you won't ever be able to. You'll hesitate too much. You need to have courage."
Mzuha honestly didn't know how to respond to him, she could only stare at him as if he grew a third eye. The concept of trying seemed foreign to her.
"I believe you can do it." Kirishima grinned.
"… Yeah?"
"Totally." Kirishima threw an arm around her shoulders and walked back with her down the hallway where their class was sitting on the other side.
...
...
...
... How did I end up spilling everything to him? And how am I allowing him to act all buddy-buddy with me? Jeez.
Mizuha started to regret not being real friends with Kirishima.
"Aaand, the winner of the tenth match is Kyouran Byakuren!"
Finally, Mizuha opens up to someone else! But her fight with Byakuren is still going strong!
Thank you for the 100 followers!
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I look forward to your reviews!