Heading for the road that led out toward the highlands pass, she already could see the land rose toward a canyon, the grass and trees dwindling into stone and dirt. Nightfall was close, and already dark shadows were cast over the entrance to the canyon. The wind howled through the maw of the pass, so Ciana used Imbue on her sword to light her way.
She only took a few steps through the howling entrance until the wind settled, and her feet stopped as she nearly tripped on something. Drawing her glowing blade down, she saw the culprit. A thick, black vine with white thorns. Squinting, she ran her sword high, increasing the output of her spell only to pale... there were more vines along the walls, breaking through stone. All of them ran into two thick branches, both traversing the length of the canyon she couldn't see from her position. The vines had already made it this close to another village?
"These definitely look like the vines Izuku and I saw…" she bend down to get a closer look at them in wonder. "Sure are unlike any plant I seen… though how these things spread? A dragon couldn't really have caused this…"
Ciana stares at the entrance ahead as she still had her weapon raised. "It's almost like a disease spreading… could it be from an old tree that's spread them?" Ciana looked back for a moment then in front again. "I guess taking a closer look wouldn't hurt…"
"I wouldn't go at night-" A voice spoke up behind her on a boulder, sitting with their legs crossed. "-I've been keeping track of their movements and growth-rate, they're sprouting faster," It was Jiro as she pointed to Ciana's foot. "Watch it,"
She shuffled her foot back in surprise when the vine along the ground moved to run over her foot, but the thorns couldn't prick her.
"Jiro? What are you doing here?" Ciana was very surprised the punk girl came along as she thought she was still talking with the group at the tavern.
"Keeping you from getting yourself killed, what else?" She answered back, hopping down with her arms crossed. "Kiara was right about having a hunch you'd run off to try and tackle this alone, though I don't need her sense of curses to tell a person's withholding something important," Her aloof gaze remained but she appeared genuinely concerned. "It's worse at our hometown, but we'll reach that another way other than this pass, place is infested with leech vines,"
Ciana scowled in frustration at the girls insult. "Hey! Even if I did charge in I'm not as weak as she thinks!" The girl huffed, looking back toward the entrance. "And I wasn't trying to charge in, I wanted to see where the source was coming from. I thought I get a idea and then report back, this looks so unusual though…"
"Touchy subject..." Jiro noted, glancing at the vines. "Yeah, well, later tonight, we were going to tell you guys where the source was, actually getting there is the issue - these vines are considered a myth, but well, you can see that's not the case anymore," Her hand gestured to the dark plants. Then Jiro furrowed her brow at something else. "My sis is many things, but she doesn't out-right insult people - I tell her she's too open about how she speaks, 'cause stuff like this happens,"
"Well figured her devil traits explains her personality a little… but I know she's not heartless." The girl at least doesn't hate her especially if she makes Izuku happy.
Her hand on her chin in thought what she's seeing. "Could be some old tree that's causing the source of the vines… then again, could be anything. Could also be the work of a wizard or witch…" knowing the witch caused the thorn vines in the Sleeping beauty story, that's another theory she has.
"Yeah... never let a demon hear you say that about them," Jiro clicked her tongue, nudging Ciana's arm. "We can theorize what caused it later, but you don't want to linger around these things, especially you if you are part dragon or... whatever it is you are,"
"Judging from what I heard what these things do… I figured I shouldn't." Ciana at least complies as she turns away from the vines now. "But what do you mean about me being part dragon anyways? Is that like a worse thing in my position?" Ciana asks a bit confused with her brow raised.
"If these are leech vines like the old stories say, then things with high concentrations of spiritual energy are considered a threat to them, dunno why, but it said they won't ever spread near dragon nests because of it, and one story Kiara found talked about how they'll attack dragons to ward them away, but like your ideas, all just theory but I'd rather not take the risk yet," Jiro was being cautious for now.
"Huh… interesting…" she didn't except to hear that, funny how these vines have a dragon story tied to it. "I'm not completely a dragon so I'm not sure how that would work with me… but! I need to find one while I'm here."
Taking this conversation on a walk back to Blackrock, Jiro nodded slowly. "Yeah, Greenie mentioned you can shift into a partial dragon form, and you want to find a way to control it entirely, but to do that you want to find a dragon; a large, fire breathing, scale covered, territorial dragon... yay, fun," Her flat expression said it all.
"Yeah I'm aware they are big and dangerous but it's my only lead to stay in control of myself." The girl explains, she wanted to be back to normal soon to stop her aggressive side.
"Say… is your sister smitten with Izuku by any chance?" She ends up asking, curious how attached Kiara is of him…
"No," Jiro said outright flatly, then ruffled her hair with her jacks. "I swear, those two are seriously driving me nuts. It's obvious and yet neither will... grah, it's very grating..." Closing her eyes a moment, Jiro glanced to Ciana. "You like Mop Top then? Kiara seems to think so,"
She flinched, smiling sheepishly "Uh… sorta? I-I mean-!" She paused, looking down at her hands while fidgeting with them. "He just reminds me of someone I like myself… but even if I was interested he never go for me, rather not get in the way of anything special between them." She lifts her gaze back up and smiled shyly, Ciana never wants to ruin Izuku's happiness with someone close to his heart.
"Who would've thought that 'dork' as Kiara calls him would have more than one girl eyeing him up?" Jiro smirked. "It's taken me months to get her to admit it to me; but Kiara's complicated, she can wear her heart on her sleeve, but is scared... personal problems will keep them at arm's length, so she never does anything and kept in touch through letters," Now the bard frowned sadly for a moment. "...I don't want to get in the way of them either, I just hope my idiotic sister will be happy for once outside of our family..."
"Hm? Why wouldn't she? She looked pretty happy with you guys." The girl now confused while eying Jiro. "But if anyone can make a girl happy I know Izuku can, he really warms your heart when you get to know him more… she's more lucky than she thinks."
Ciana smiled sadly, she felt so unloved and almost alone again… she missed her Izuku more than she thought.
"It's that old saying, 'person who smiles the brightest hides the most sadness'; look, I'm not going to jump spill why she acts the way she does, or what's keeping her from actually doing anything with Izuku, just... Kiara has her reasons," Jiro bit her lip a bit, then as they entered through the gate, she looked to Ciana again. "The way you talk sounds a whole lot like you've already got your eye on someone, that guy you mentioned is similar to Green Bean?"
Ciana wasn't sure what Jiro meant, but any girl who captured Izuku's heart must be special. Knowing he likes her will always bother her but she wouldn't judge that easily even if she threw some insults at her at first, Kiara is easily liked and loved by all who watch her performance almost like she has a bewitching charm but wouldn't think in a bad way.
She straightens up at Jiro's mention of her own love life, confused but nods her head. "Uh, yes that's right." Ciana confirms but raises her hands to wave them in a possible misunderstanding. "B-but like I said I never do anything to come between them! Izuku's happiness is more important to me than my own after all." She explains, hoping Jiro won't see her as a love rival to her sister.
She made a small noise like a laugh, smiling a bit again. "Never a doubt, if some other girl was competing for Green's attention that's my sister's problem - but everyone deserves happiness I think, it's good not to ruin another's as you say, but sacrificing everything precious to you, even if you have to keep it at arm's length, isn't a life worth living - I'm not a preacher, that's just how I view things, everyone wants a small bit of happiness, and my way is through my music, just as it is for Kiara,"
That sounded a lot like that Jiro she knows, this caused her to smile and laugh a bit. "I'm actually a lover of music myself, singing has always been my passion. But I had to stop due to my power…" Ciana ends up sharing, smiling sadly. "I turn into a dragon when I sing and like I said… can't handle the sight of claws and scales growing…"
"Huh... that so?" Jiro looked up at the dark sky a bit, then forward again. "That's more a mind over matter - ain't your power that's the problem, you just need to tell yourself to separate the two, I'd say it's that simple, but from what I've seen, your head and heart aren't in sync; your clouded with doubt and fear, and your feelings are swamped in negativity; sorry... I'm not good at holding back," Jiro winced a bit, knowing how Ciana took seeing Kiara and Izuku hitting it off made it abundantly clear how insecure Ciana was.
"Force of habit…" she ends up saying, looking down with her fingers pressed together. "I had a lot going on before I met the gang… I'm usually more cheerful, I'm usually not always so negative… but I been trying to hold that back for my friends sake, especially Izuku." Ciana didn't like how her depressed state was getting everyone down.
That's when one of her jacks held Ciana back, tugging her down a different path that looped behind the Iron Glove. Ciana tried to ask but Jiro kept murmuring to herself until they were at a nice outdoor garden, no one else in sight as she put her hands on her hips. "Bottling it up won't help; neither will this but it can help you with relief, works wonders for me under stress. I want you to vent, and I mean vent. Scream out every frustrating thing, don't care what it is, hell, even yell if that's what you want," The bard winked. "Trust me,"
"Huh?" Ciana blinked in confusion, looking around before eyeing the girl again. "Wait… y-you want me to scream all my feelings out…?" That would help, but… would be embarrassing for Jiro to hear and the possibility of others who could be near by…
"Relax, I got you covered," Pulling out a new instrument for her pouch on her lower back, Jiro pressed her lips to a silver flute. Playing a sombre melody, her body then gave off a lilac tint, and the very music notes expelled from the end of the instrument, wrapping around them both with a muffled hum before she stopped casting, the faint glow at her lips dispelled. "A type of silence spell, you and I can hear what you say crystal clear but to anyone else it'll be a faint whisper, pretty handy for keeping a low profile,"
"Whoa… t-that's so cool!" Jiro back in UA would probably love to have that kind of ability, would definitely be handy. "I wish I could do something magical with my voice… though only thing I can count is having floating lights surrounding me when I sing… which is pretty cool I guess." She shrugs with an amused smile, recalling the orb like fireflies that happens now when she sings.
Jiro waved her hands down with a wary look. "I'm not a magic nerd like Sprout or Kiara but that's probably because your 'light' magic is being amplified, both yourself and the people around you, so those orbs are more than likely excess that has nowhere to go; again, mind over matter, but that's a lesson for someone else to teach," Taking a step back, Jiro held her aloof gaze. "Now go on, my spell won't last forever,"
This will be embarrassing… blushing red knowing what she's gonna do… looking around again, Ciana took a deep breath before she shouts. "I don't want to morph into a dragon anymore! I-I want to be a regular human again!" Ciana eyes closed tight as she lets everything out. "I want to be in control of myself! I want to see my friends again! I'm sick of running and hiding like I used to!"
Ciana formed some tears as she screams. "I want to make things right between Izuku and I after everything I done! I don't want to be remembered as a freak who scarred him for life!" After that… Ciana drops on her knees as she begin to pant, she never imagined she see herself shout all that out.
The girl next to her rubbed her right ear a bit. "That was some pair of lungs... well, feel a bit better?"
"I-I think so…" she answered while still panting, raising a thumbs up. "Never thought i see myself doing that… man that was almost as exhausting as the breathing techniques I do back home…" Ciana had her hand on her heart to catch her breath, she barley had any privacy to shout anything out.
"I'd expect you to go longer, my sister holds the record of one whole minute before she passed out, I'm forty-five seconds," Jiro smirked, helping Ciana stand. "Any time you need it, just ask, but for now, let's head inside, once me and Kiara are through our last performance, we'll talk more about those vines,"
"Thanks Jiro, I really appreciate it." The girl smiled thankfully, she would have shouted about Izuku liking Kiara too but rather Jiro didn't hear that… "I could go for something to drink now after that." She chuckles, needing water or juice to hydrate her vocals.
"You and me both, come on," Waving a jack, Jiro led the way back inside as the night went on.
[Transition]
"Alright... finally!" Kiara flopped onto her bed at the inn, sitting up again now that everyone had gathered in hers and Jiro's room. Iida and Shoto sat on chairs, Uraraka and Ciana on Jiro's bed next to said girl. And Izuku on a stool beside Kiara's bed with the table in the middle of them all. The ravenette put her legs over the bed, and then gave them all a firm look. "Time to bring up what we need your help with... as it involves a lot of people, our parents included,"
"I'm guessing this has to do with the vines everyone's been talking about?" The girl was in her nightgown again, legs crossed on the bed while getting ready to listen to what's been going on.
"Yeah - Leech or Leeching vines, they've come crawling out all over the mountain, the ecology's been severely hindered since then, and the worst is the people who are left bed-ridden because of them," Kiara explained, clasping her hands together. "I tried to go to the Capital for medical supplies, but 'soul energy stealing vines' got me at best an eye-roll," Her flat tone made that evident.
"It's reasonable, they are a mythical plant," Iida brought up but that made the girl's tail flick bitterly.
"...won't be once they spread to the capital, wouldn't be so bad," That's when a jack poked her arm from across the table, and Kiara sighed heavily. "Point is, only other solution is to take out the core; going off the myth, we break that core, the vines will wither and die,"
"Won't be easy, if these things are smart they'll stop us," Uraraka pointed out.
"Which is where we come in," Jiro elected to speak with her hand up. "Me and Kiara can cast a spell to muffle our sound; despite it being a plant, it can react to noise, sight, and touch - so that's one sense off the list,"
"Sounds creepy what they do…" the girl shivered at the thought. "I actually went to check out the vines up close, when I saw them I thought it could be an old tree that's causing the disease like plant. But if my hunch is right… could actually be the work of a wizard or witch." Ciana theories, thinking that's where the source is coming from.
"If I remember vaguely... Leeching vines are the result of a sentient plant life that devours spirit energy, they were pitch black with white thorns... but it was just a fairy tale so there wasn't much else to go off of," Izuku shook his head, looking up at Kiara. "What do you plan to do?"
"We'll take a different route to our village, enter the old mines up there where the vines first came from, and smash that core into mush," She clenched her fist, and her eyes burned brighter with fury. "Heh, maybe it'll scream, sure make me feel a lot better,"
"You have a vendetta against it?" Shoto noted and Jiro nodded slowly.
"Our... dad is one of those bed-ridden; I actually miss hearing him yell like an idiot, and that pisses me off too," She answered honestly. "But by now it's probably gotten stronger, all that spirit energy would've made it grow, if we let it, this whole mountain will become too dangerous to live on,"
"I admire your determination then to get this job done…" she giggles, she seems pretty fearless and a fighter to by the looks of it. "I'm sorry that he's going through the same fate… but I can promise we'll make sure the source is destroyed, you can count on us!" Ciana beamed with a proud smile, very confident in her friends to help. Of course wanting to lend a hand too.
"Ciana's right, we'll do our best!" Uraraka pumped her fists.
"We came this far to aid in Izuku's request, it's only natural," Iida nodded along.
"Agreed; it may not mean much, but I can't help but feel responsible too for innocent lives," The Prince agreed, already committed to this quest.
"You already have my answer," Izuku met with Kiara's burning eyes. "No matter what, we'll help you both purge this infestation for your home,"
Jiro rubbed the back of her neck, bashful and grateful for their words while Kiara's gaze widened a bit then a gentle smile appeared over her usual, spunky grin. "...thank you, Izuku - all of you,"
"Of course!" The girl replied with her bright smile, though seeing how Izuku and Kiara eyed each other again had her smile go down a bit, averting her gaze with a sad frown. Ciana still thought it was better to back off, she did promise Izuku she keep her distance when they meet again. Still… it really hurt.
Standing up, Kiara placed a hand on Izuku's head, ruffling his scruffy hair a bit much to his confused face. "With that load of emotions out of the way, go on and get some shut-eye, we'll leave... whenever I wake up, a bard's gotta have her beauty sleep," She snickered, sticking her tongue out. "Kidding, we'll leave just after dawn, more time we spend here, the longer those vines have time to grow,"
"Understood, we will see you at daybreak!" Iida stood sharply with a nod, ever the formal approach.
While the rest stood up to leave for their rooms, Kiara's tail swung out to wrap around Ciana's wrist. "Except you; stay, and Kyo?"
The purplette caught her sibling's gaze and nodded along. "I'll grab us something from the bar,"
"Oh, um, sure." Ciana blinked in confusion by the sudden grab of her wrist, well… probably best to make sure she doesn't bring the mood down with her friends again… still, she had a feeling this might not be a pleasant get together possibly… Ciana hopes she didn't catch on how she reacted with Izuku.
Once everyone left, with Jiro pushing Izuku out before he asked too many questions, the door was awfully silent between the two girls. Emerald met ember orbs, and Kiara unravelled her tail to let Ciana stand at a distance again. Kiara took a seat on the edge of the round table, staring off into space. She didn't say anything, she was in deep though, mulling over her choice words as the silence dragged on.
"Um… is everything okay?" She asks, sitting back down. Noticing her expression and became nervous what Kiara might want to discuss with her…
"I care about Kyoka a lot, despite us not being related by blood," She began strangely. "And I care about Izuku, heh, I've gotta be so damn obvious..." But that smile was forced as she held her hands tightly. "...but for all his strengths, he's dense to a fault, he doesn't see what me and Kyoka see; the way you look at us, that... envy, yeah, I can see it, bet your dragon side really hates me,"
"What?" Ciana was a bit surprised what she said, it's true she envy's Kiara but she wouldn't hate her especially if she's kind to others. "N-no you got the wrong idea!" Ciana waved her hands, shaking her head. "I mean I admit I'm kinda jealous of you… but I don't hate you, we just met so why would I think that way of you so quick?"
She let out a sigh, "Well, that's one pair of claws avoided. But be honest, what's your angle? That's the part I can't wrap my head around," She ran a hand through her hair as she asked this.
"My angle?" She didn't understand the question, tiling her head in confusion. "I don't have an angle, I'm just tagging along to seek help to control my dragon form from actual dragon. Like I said I'm having trouble controlling my instincts and just want to have a better impression of them." That is the truth, not like she has anything sinister up her sleeve.
Kiara's hellish eyes didn't let up, burrowing into Ciana's. "And have those instincts ever gotten out of hand around Izuku? Did you hurt him? Or did something else happen?" She wasn't moving, yet it felt like the girl's aura burned Ciana's skin.
"What?!" She leaned back from the sudden glare, she had no idea how to answer that without ruining anything between them. "No! Of course not! I never do anything to hurt him!" Ciana was honest about that, her expression shown seriousness of that. "Izuku has been helping me get used to my dragon form but I never done anything to hurt him, I swear!" She raised her in honesty of not laying a scratch on him.
"I believe that... but you're still hiding something - I asked Izuku and he clamped up, guess whatever it is you both probably think it best to spare my feelings, I respect that but at the same time... that really bothers me," Kiara frowned, bemused by the whole thing. "I've had enough crap shoved in my ears to last a lifetime, so either you cough up what's got him acting weird, as well as you,"
Cianas expression became worried and concern, she knew she should be honest but she didn't want her to hate Izuku over this. Maybe it's best she is a little honest… Ciana sighed, averting her gaze. "My instincts… make me kinda affectionate around Izuku when I'm in my dragon mode… but I don't do it on purpose!" She admits, raising her hands. "I done some embarrassing things around him but he was always uncomfortable whenever I was like that, I been keeping my distance to avoid being weird!" Ciana explains, she didn't want to make it sound like he cheated on the girl. She's fine if Kiara will end up hating her over this.
Kiara closed her eyes, sighing out her nose for a bit, yet those seconds felt like an eternity before Ciana met her ember eyes again. Standing up, Kiara bridged the gap between them. Ciana winced, expecting her to hit her or something, instead, she was pulled forward into the girl's shoulder, feeling a tight embrace around her. "...you've been beating yourself up over this, haven't you? Perks of being a performer, you pick up on the audience's mood, reading a person is no different - ever since you saw me, you've been closed off, from me, and from Izuku,"
She placed a hand on Ciana's head with a small smile. "I don't hate you,"
"I figured as much; I..." Leaning back, Kiara scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Izuku's always been different to me; out of everyone I've met on my travels with Kyoka, he has this strange way of making me feel I don't always have to hide how I feel, ironically, I can't seem to get my words together about him; Gods know how much I want to," Shaking her head, she sat beside Ciana now, looking at her knees. "It bothers me when he hides how he feels, same with anyone I meet; if we just bottled up our feelings then what's the point? It's why I wanted the truth, now I feel I can understand why Izuku wants to keep quiet; protecting people like always, heh,"
"I see…" Ciana stared at the girl again for a moment before smiling again. "I know what you mean, Izuku is the kind of guy that's there for you no matter what and doesn't judge how a person looks or act… that's what I like about him, but if it makes you feel any better… he actually really likes you." Ciana can understand how the girl feels, it's what she felt with her other Izuku.
"The way he talks and describes you, I can tell he has it hard for you… I see his heart is set on you and only you." Ciana ends up telling her, thinking knowing he likes her would make her feel more happy.
"Ha... you know, really doesn't make telling him any easier," Kiara jokingly shoves Ciana a little. "How'd you admit to your partner then? I'd ask Kyoka, but she's about as approachable as a burning house if someone hits on her,"
"Actually… he admitted to me how he felt first." She blushes happily at the memory, leaning her hands back while smiling more. "I think he confessed afterwards when we were in a life in death situation, he almost died and I broke down in tears when I thought I was gonna lose him…" Ciana can never forget that battle with Bakugo and how it went down.
"He told me how he felt once he was healed and that's when I admitted how I feel too…" Ciana plays with her hair shyly. "I think if you show him how much he means to you… that's what will give him the courage to admit his own feelings toward you, but if you ever tell him yourself then I'm sure he will be really happy either way."
"Right, yeah..." Kiara squeezed her tail between her hands, smiling anxiously. "Yep, I'm definitely sweating up a storm - right now, I just want to see to helping my hometown out, then I can dump all my feelings onto him... but thanks for being honest, and the advice," Using her tail to hug Ciana's side, the demon girl grinned a little bigger. "Promise, we'll get those instincts of yours under wraps,"
Ciana smiled more at the girl's kindness, she definitely is not like a devil at all. It would make more sense to her if she were an angel, she nodded happily and thankfully towards the girl. "Coming from you, that's very reassuring, thank you Kiara!" Ciana gave the girl a hug. Relieved she's not angry with her with her other side.
"I really do see why Izuku likes you so much, I can tell your the kind of girl who will make him happy. I bet he will even become your knight eventually from how hard he's improving on being an adventurer." Ciana giggles, knowing the other Izuku is her hero. "The way Izuku even describes you is like he sees you as a princess who captured his heart." Ciana playfully describes their relationship, thinking of those fairytale stories she always liked reading.
"Haha, I'd like to take care of myself, thanks," Kiara chuckled, patting Ciana's back before hopping to her feet. "But it's a nice thought... but a princess... yeah, I doubt that," She rolled her eyes playfully.
"I know the feeling, there are times I mostly prefer to take care of myself." Ciana giggled, she has been reading too many fairytales. "But we probably just get to sleep by now so we will be all set to go for tomorrow." She goes to stand up herself, stretching her arms.
"Yeah, bright and early," Kiara waved with her tail, then she ran a hand down her right horn in thought, the cross pupils in her eyes lowering. "...y'know, while it sounds great that us demonfolk aren't treated like monsters anymore... doesn't mean everyone will accept how we look or what we are, it's an inevitability," But her lips curled again. "It's why when we find people that do accept us, being a demon doesn't feel as lonely anymore - just a thought I've had, heh,"
"I get it… I'm afraid too how my dragon appearance will effect other people…" Ciana rubs her arm in a anxious manner. "I mean in stories knights set out to slay dragons… I been worried at the idea if anyone in town saw me like that then they be eager to take me down…" now placing her hand on her chin in though. "I mean slaying a dragon is usually what makes a person so honorable and a legend managing to slay something so powerful."
Kiara shook her head, her arms crossed. "In the old era, sure, but dragons are like my kind, misunderstood, placed under the same banner of 'monster' or 'beast', all cause one causes chaos," Tapping her chin with her tail she pointed it to Ciana. "Actually... where I'm from originally, we had a dragon around the kingdom, dunno if he moved on or not, but he nested nearby,"
"I heard!" Ciana beamed, seeming really eager about what she heard. "I been wanting to find a dragon as soon as possible to learn more about them and seek help! If I meet an actual dragon then I should get a better understanding of them."
"See... the issue is my... old home," She spat the word a bit. "Is on the other side of the continent, you'd be traveling for at least two weeks, not to mention he doesn't like visitors, only exceptions were a rare few, like me... he's the reason I got to find my real family,"
"Two weeks?!" Ciana was taken back by what she heard, that sounded like a very long way. "Well… he doesn't sound so bad, I want to go but I wish there was a faster way to get there…" she wasn't sure if her group will want to travel there if they are afraid of dragons.
"If I were there, maybe, but I have no intention on heading back to... that place," Kiara restrained before smiling. "We'll figure something out, now chop-chop, get some sleep, Ochaco should be waiting for you in your room, two to the left from this one."
"Alrighty then… night Kiara" she bids the devil girl a goodnight with a smile and a wave before now heading to her room, yawning on her way there as she was tired. Ciana was kinda frustrated at the idea of traveling for two weeks to reach her destination… wishing there was a faster way.
While Ciana contemplated her long-distance goal, she paused just before her door to see Izuku and Jiro heading their way. The purplette handed back his journal with a nod. "-Kiara would probably go overboard again if she saw them, but that's your funeral, well, night, both of you,"
"Goodnight, Kyoka," Izuku waved slightly.
Seeing Izuku come her way, she frowned a little and turned her gaze back to the doorknob. It was starting to be painful to see him now and she still promised to keep her distance when it comes to Kiara… she starts turning the knob without saying a word to him…
After Kyoka had gone inside her own room with Kiara clearly playing the lute, Izuku waved his hand in Ciana's view. "W-wait... Ciana, are... you okay?"
She paused and flinched at his voice, not to be rude she lifts her gaze and just smiled. "Of course I'm okay, just tired is all which is why I was heading to my room…" she responds with a shrug, not wanting to vent like she regretted before.
"...I-I know it hurts... seeing me around Kiara, I know that because you've always given me that painful look, because of who your Partner is," Izuku didn't want to keep beating around the bush, not anymore. "And before on the road, I... wanted to give you time to think alone, something you haven't been given since we met,"
"It's fine, don't worry about me…" she faced him now, keeping her warm sad smile intact. "Like i said, your happiness means more to me than my own. So don't worry about how I feel…" she waved it off, not wanting to be a problem anymore. "I already caused you enough trouble, and again I apologize for that… but once this is all over I'll keep my word to make this all up to you so you won't have nothing to worry about anymore…"
His brow furrowed a bit, "I already told you, I don't want my memories of you to be erased, what good will ever come from forgetting? Maybe for some, but not for me, that's my choice to make," He replied firmly. "I'm not asking you to tell me ever detail of how you feel about any of what's happened to you, but I want to try, little by little,"
Course he be smart enough to know what she had planned… she sighed. "Like I said… I caused you enough trouble and I don't want to make another mistake when Kiara is around…" she respond, straightening up to eye him a bit more seriously. "You already know everything that's bothering me, so theres nothing much to tell… So, just focus on our task and the girl you have your heart set. You don't need to look out for me anymore, I'll take care of myself."
"...I wasn't trying to protect you from everything... I just wanted you to stand on your own again, and to be able to stand with the people you care about; that's what I've always wanted before I met you," He answered, softening his face. "You're right, I do know about what you've been through, but you still harbor so much I can't see, the things no one ever wants to let others see,"
"You sound a lot like the other…" her gaze looks down now more sadly, Ciana still felt alone but she now was trying to be like she was before UA, handling herself and not get anyone dragged into her problems. "As soon as I can find a dragon then I'll be alright… I'll still keep my distance as promised so let's just focus on tomorrow and work hard." Her fist raised with a confident smile to try and turn this around to their task.
Izuku tensed his face up, closing his eyes before letting out a deep breath, meeting her gaze. "...right, tomorrow then, goodnight," With a small wave, he left for his room across from hers.
"Night…" she waved back before heading to her room, she felt like bursting her tears out again… shaking a little, Ciana just goes to her bed and lays down while pulling the covers up over her body and face. In a way she felt dumped… and more alone than ever, her heart felt so empty without the Izuku she knows. "I wish I could see him again… w-wonder if he even forgotten about me by now…?" She murmured, closing her eyes as she ended up having some tears slip…