Hello again, everyone. I'm once again glad to see so many people from all over are gravitating towards the story. I really do try my best with each chapter, even if they may end up coming out a bit long for some. Anyway, here's the new chapter, I hope you all like what I've put up here, and if you do, please be so kind as to leave a review, so I know what works best and even what elements or parts you like the most. Feedback is essential as long as it's productive.
I also want to give a huge shoutout to ASMR artist Aloe Vera. Her MHA roleplay videos served as a big inspiration and aid in writing a portion of this chapter. Go ahead and check her out and give her your support.
My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. The only things I own are my original characters, and the original events and alterations of established events that occur as a result of their existence in this universe. Of course, if they were to somehow be brought to Horikoshi-sensei's attention and he decided they were good enough to be canonized, that would be pretty damn cool, too.
A/N: [[]] denotes that characters are contextually speaking Russian.
Chapter 8
Bittersweet Memory
(Горько-Сладкое Воспоминание)
Saturday had finally come, and with it, the promise of the students' first official weekend of the school year. It was only one day of freedom out of the week, but the efforts and hard work they had all been putting in throughout the rest of the week made that one bit of respite taste all the sweeter. And no student in Class 1-A could appreciate that feeling more than Mina Ashido, as the school day had only just begun, and she was already just itching with anticipation for tomorrow.
She immediately spotted her favorite (and only) desk neighbor, Nikolay Bezpalov, sitting loyally at his spot as she did the same, and he was looking as thoughtful and pensive as he ever did every other day. Thankfully, in the four days that had passed since they had their Battle Tests, nothing out of the ordinary, for better or for worse, had happened. His wrist had gotten all better by the next day, just as the nurse had told him it would, and they were able to get through the majority of the school week without anything insane or dangerous or emotionally distressing occurring, for him or anybody else.
"Good morning, Kolya-kun! You ready to breeze through the day and take the weekend on?" she asked with all her excitement on full auditory display. However, Nikolay didn't seem to have heard or even processed anything she said, as his eyes looked to be a million miles away, and one of his hands was planted firmly over his mouth, in a way almost resembling the similar look of deep thoughtfulness their classmate, Tsuyu Asui, had. "Kolya-kun?"
This time, she managed to get his attention, as he momentarily stirred in his seat, looking as if he had momentarily forgotten where he was. "Oh, dobroe utro (good morning), Ashido-san. What was it you said?" he asked embarrassed, while she could only giggle in amusement that he could mentally fly so far away so regularly. "I was asking if you're ready for the weekend tomorrow. I've been talking with some of the others, and me, Kirishima, Urara-chan, Tooru-chan and maybe Midori-kun, were planning on hitting the town tomorrow. You know, go shopping, have lunch, just hang out and have fun together. Would you wanna come, too? I'll bet that wouldn't be a bad way to spend your very first day off with friends, right?"
Mina was half-expecting Nikolay to just jump at the opportunity. What would be a better way to help him loosen and open himself up to everyone, than spending all day with friends? It was practically her favorite thing to do, herself, and with how well they seemed to get along so far, it seemed the only realistic result.
"I'm sorry, but I can't. I have some…there's something really important that I have to do at home tomorrow, and it's going to take most if not all day. Sorry." After several instances where he had proven to be an utterly nervous mess when it came to apologizing, whether the circumstances were his fault or not; hearing Nikolay decline in such a blunt and straightforward manner took Mina by surprise. Nikolay had even already reverted back to his more contemplative default expression, staring off into nothing, thinking about god-only-knew what.
Frankly, after everything that had happened so far, Mina was starting to get used to the young Russian trying maintain a sense of emotional distance. It was obvious he wouldn't just turn into the kind of social butterfly she was, she knew it was going to take time. But there was something about him today especially; that she could feel differed greatly from how he had been the rest of the week. This wasn't like before, when Nikolays' distant attitude came with an overwhelming air of social anxiety and awkwardness.
No, this time he didn't look nervous or afraid of being embarrassed by something. This time it looked like he was mentally occupied by something much more personal, something much more serious, something she just knew from the little experience she now had, that he would not divulge to her if she just asked. Instances like this, when it came to her desk neighbor, now had a habit of leaving Mina feeling notably concerned about him.
The door to the classroom suddenly opened, reducing the class to silence, as the towering form of Tunguska stepped inside, a stack of papers tucked under his tree trunk of an arm, as he swiftly took his place behind his desk, looking over all his students with a hint of pride in his blue eyes.
"Good morning, class. I am happy to say that so far, most of you seem to be gravitating towards the lessons you are learning through this class quite well. Your written perspective papers on the first days' lesson of what Hero personalities are best suited for what situations, while mostly not written as eloquently as malenkaya Yaoyorozus', or as analytically and professionally as malenkii Iidas', were all still very much on the mark. I'm also happy to say that your respective thesis' on the best applications for both natural-based and industrial-based Quirks were quite insightful, and most importantly, lets me know you're actually reading the material given to you. So, for that, I want to once more say 'good job', everyone."
Tunguskas' praise left a feeling of joyful accomplishment among most of the class, before the teacher suddenly slammed a forceful hand upon the desk, drawing all attention once more. "I am sure many of your are feeling quite proud of yourselves right now, and that feeling of pride is exactly what todays' lesson is going to be about. We've discussed the duality between certain Quirks and their users' attitudes and personalities, and we've discussed the appropriate situations for certain classes of Quirks as opposed to others. Now, today, we're going to discuss one of the most important lessons you can all learn as future Pro Heroes: the Recognition of Limitation.
"To serve as an example, let us actually turn away from the Pro Hero spectrum of the world of Quirks and look to their application in the realm of science. In the early 2140's, a German marine biologist by the name of Ernst Kessler was put on record as one of the first possessors' of an animal-based Quirk, much like malenkaya Asui. His Quirk was that he possessed both a pair of human lungs, and a set of gills along his neck that thus allowed him to freely traverse both dry land and underwater. The fact that he also possessed an above-average endurance to water pressure, thus allowing him to traverse deeper below sea level than regular deep-sea divers could without sub-aquatic robots or vehicle aid, led him and many in the oceanography world to believe he could be able to provide a greater and more in-depth look at the biomes of some of the deepest sea levels that man could ever be able to access.
"However, when he finally made his attempt to reach the recorded lowest depth mankind had thus far been able to reach with said equipment, on his own, he ended up being crushed by the sheer oceanic pressure of those depths." Such a sudden and grisly end to the story left a foreboding chill in the classroom, but Tunguska's natural radiant glow contradicted the feeling as he simply cleared his throat and continued on.
"Now then, let us look to another example. In the late 2210's, an American Quirk-user named Steven-James Matheson was reported to possess a Quirk that allowed him to actually project his own personal field of oxygen in a protective sphere; a sphere that was even able to help him retain his own body temperature even in environments below freezing. This essentially allowed him to traverse into otherwise deadly environments, primarily underwater and in underground areas suffering toxic gas leaks. After proving the strength of this ability on several occasions, he decided to approach the U.S. government to see about testing his ability to see if he would be able to survive exposure to the vacuum of deep space.
"Unfortunately, even after depressurization on the International Space Station 3, Matheson was immediately subject to explosive decompression upon exposure. I apologize for having to share such unpleasant stories with you all, but they illustrate a point you all need to understand. Can any of you tell me just what major flaw both of these individuals had in common?"
Like a shot, a good number of hands shot up, about as much as Tunguska had hoped would be able to get the message from the start. Upon silently making his selection, Izuku nervously stood up above everyone else, the center of attention once more. "They…they didn't take into consideration the idea their Quirks actually had limits, sensei."
Tunguska clapped his large hands together with a resonating sound, causing everyone to flinch in surprise. "Exactly. In order for any Quirk-user to make it to the level of Pro Hero, they have to humble themselves and acknowledge that their Quirks will ultimately have limits, and they need to pace themselves when strengthening themselves towards that limit. As you have all heard, now; the arrogance to think you can only grow more and more powerful comes with a terrible cost."
"Oh, give me a damn break!" Bakugos' voice had become a regular interruption in Tunguskas' lectures, thus he didn't feel himself growing angry as he turned to acknowledge his loudmouthed student. "You said so yourself those two examples weren't even Heroes; just a couple of useless nerds who wouldn't add a damn thing when fighting against Villains. Of course their Quirks had limitations, and they were stupid enough to think they were actually worth shit to begin with.
"You wanna talk about what it takes to become a Pro Hero; hell, a Top Pro Hero? I can already tell you exactly what it takes: people who don't take crap from anybody, and who have the kind of personal strength, drive, and the powerful Quirks to match it, that can just keep making them stronger and stronger, no matter what! You're not going to find that in some pansy who makes air bubbles or some loser who can breathe underwater!"
Unlike before, Bakugos' attitude was brimming with sheer arrogance rather than total spite and disrespect. This, more than anything, was what got under Tunguskas' skin the way it did, as he felt his otherwise impenetrable sense of calm, rattle. The rest of the class watched in nervous anticipation as their teacher slowly stepped around his desk and firmly planted himself upon it, looking Bakugo squarely in the eyes.
"You seem to be quite confident in the growth potential of your own Quirk, don't you, malenkii Bakugo?" The tone, with which he spoke to his student, drew a visibly irked grimace from the boy, but as always, Tunguska refused to flinch, let alone back down. "Hopefully, you'll live long enough to realize what a mistake such an attitude is in the world of Pro Heroes. In fact…I have a story I would like to tell you all, about why such overconfidence is a hindrance, and not a strength." Everyone was visibly watching the larger man with rapt attention, and once he was sure even Bakugo wasn't going to spout any more arrogant nonsense, he took a deep, collecting breath.
"Many years ago, there was a Top Pro Hero, one whose name and origin had long been lost to the worlds' history books, who likewise felt that his own strength, coupled with his Quirk, had the potential for limitless growth, and would be enough to conquer any and all obstacles and challenges that rose to meet him. One day; that Hero and all of his allies, found themselves locked in a great and terrible battle; one that held far more at stake than any of them could have imagined. Despite everything they tried to do, the Hero found himself in a position where he had no choice but to go beyond what he thought had been the fullest extent of his power, because he felt certain in his heart that, despite the immediate cost that would have to be paid for going that far, his actions would ultimately prove worthwhile in the long run.
"When that Hero finally crossed that limit, he ended up defeating his enemies, but he ultimately caused far more damage and suffering than the plans the Villains had concocted. As a result, that Hero ended up losing every single one of his allies in the crossfire, and he ended up destroying everyone and everything he ever loved and held dear, all because of his own foolish arrogance.
"Instances, actual events like this, are precisely why we as Heroes must learn to acknowledge, and most importantly, accept that we have limitations to our capabilities, and we must never force ourselves to cross over them. The consequences of doing so could prove far worse than you could ever imagine."
Nobody in the class dared to say anything. Frankly, from where he sat, looking upon all of them in the wake of his most recent story, Tunguska knew nothing needed to be said. As he had hoped, many of them were taking his words to heart. It was simply the best result he could to achieve if they were going to grow to reach the Top level of Heroics.
Among them, Nikolay was clutching his hands together to the point his knuckles were once more turning white; unable to take his eyes off his father as he continued taking in the shocked looks on everyones' faces. He never made a peep to express it, but the young Russian simply could not believe his father would actually delve into that awful subject, just to try and make a point to one problem student. It left him with a now exacerbated feeling of uneasiness in the pit of his stomach, far worse than what he had already been silently dealing with today up until now. The expectation of what was coming tomorrow had already been bad enough, but with this historical hornets' nest now stirred, it had now become nigh suffocating as he continued to sit solemnly, silently, at his spot.
Todays' lesson in Foundational Heroics Studies had been revealed to be another extensive test; what All Might referred to as 'The Disaster Evacuation Test'. Class 1-A was to use their Quirks together in order to rescue all 100 of the labeled 'civilians' from the training ground that had been reduced to ruins to simulate the scene of a natural disaster, within the time frame of thirty-five minutes. All the students had been given wrist-bound radar devices to help them locate the civilians, and had been sent off to form their own teams to search different sections of the grounds.
All the while, as the test had now been ongoing for fifteen minutes already, All Might had since been joined by Aizawa, to observe how each of their students were not only handling themselves in a high stress situation, but also how they were utilizing their Quirks in tandem with each other. While his quieter counterpart said nothing, All Might himself had already been feeling quite satisfied with what he was observing on the screens.
In the southwestern sector, Minoru Mineta had laid out a trail of his adhesive hair spheres up the support column for a destroyed bridge; thus allowing Hanta Sero and Mezo Shouji to climb up, in order for Mezo to use his strength and expanding appendages to pull back a loaded bus that was teetering on the edge, and for Hanta to lay down a tape line from the edge of the bridge down to the ground, where Momo Yaoyorozu had already created a large emergency cushion for her teammates and the civilians to land in.
In the flooded eastern sector, Kouji Koda, Tokoyami Fumikage and Tsuyu Asui were using a combination of Koujis' ability to speak to animals (in this case, the fish), Tsuyu's incredible swimming skills and prehensile tongue, to locate and rescue the civilians trapped in submerged vehicles scattered throughout, while Tokoyami was using his Dark Shadow to pull out the heavier vehicles from the water Tsuyu wouldn't be able to get free on her own.
In the burning western sector, Shoto Todoroki was using his freezing abilities to extinguish all the fires he could find, so that Bakugo, Rikido Sato and Mashirao Ojiro could use their mutual strength to break through the smoldering wreckage in order to pull out the civilians trapped inside.
In the southeastern sector, Kyouka Jirou was using her earlobe jacks to listen for any of the recorded cries of distress some of the civilians had been said to have, in order to more easily locate them, while Denki Kaminari tried to use his electricity sparingly to reactive the emergency shutters to some of the buildings to allow easy access and exit, and Mina Ashido used her acid to melt through some of the walls to get past the rubble blocking the halls, and allowing a quicker exit path with the civilians.
In the northwestern sector, Izuku Midoriya, Eijirou Kirishima, Yuga Aoyama and Tenya Iida were using a combination of Aoyamas' laser, Eijirou's hardening, and Tenyas speed to break through the rubble and rescue the trapped civilians, while Izuku tried to keep up in grabbing the ones he could manage to reach, not wanting to cripple himself using his Quirk for the fourth time.
"They seem to be carrying on quite admirably out there. Wouldn't you agree, Aizawa-san?" All Might finally asked as he and the homeroom teacher kept observing their students in action. "Only six whole days of the school year so far, and already they have come to recognize the practicality of each others' Quirks, and have enough of an understanding and connection with each other in order to effectively pull off working together as one big team. That's certainly not a bad rate, as far as entire classes go."
Contrary to All Mights' all-too-clear enthusiasm for 1-A's progress, Aizawa's ice cold demeanor didn't thaw one bit. "For the worlds' most beloved Top Hero, you seem to forget the important things a little too easily. You know there's a huge difference between managing yourself and your teammates in what is ultimately a fully controlled and simulated environment; and having to continuously adapt to an always-evolving situation with civilians who are prone to panic and lash out in the heat of the moment. That alone can complicate even the most well thought-out plan immeasurably.
"Right now, all we're seeing is how they can calculate a strategy and use their Quirks together. We won't know if they truly have what it takes to effectively pull off a rescue like this until they're actually in the thick of the real thing." While All Might did find Aizawa's constant pessimism more than a little aggravating, he could not justify denying the truth behind his words, either. It was true; a plan could be as solid as a rock, but outside forces, more often than not, had a tendency to throw every plan off its rails, and only real Pro Heroes had the emotional and mental capacity to actively change their plans on the fly around those things, and not manage to get other people hurt in the process.
Truly, the one way to see just how ready and prepared Class 1-A was for this kind of task, would be to one day put them right in the middle of the real thing. He just hoped that would not be coming their way too soon.
Slowly but surely, everyone in Class 1-A had managed to gather up the respective mannequin civilians of their assigned portions of the grounds, and had gotten them to the emergency vehicles designated as the evacuation zone/finish line. Many were feeling quite proud of themselves and each other, but as time went by and more and more of their classmates returned with the last of their civilians, the more they each began to realize the clock was still ticking, and not everyone had been accounted for.
"By my count, we have five more civilians unaccounted for, but our sections have all been cleared, except for the northern sector." Tenya calculated, muttering pensively to himself, before everyone noticed three mannequins floating in midair and rushing toward them from the north, carried by a floating pair of gloves atop a running pair of boots.
"Hagakure-san, we're almost out of time. Where is the rest of your team?" Momo asked upon the invisible girls' return, who almost threw her cargo into the bed of the nearest truck while trying to catch her breath. "Uraraka-chan and Niko-kun told me to go ahead while they look for the last two. They should be coming back real soon, though."
While Hagakures' invisibility had sadly contributed nothing to their overall search during the course of the test, Nikolay and Ochako had thankfully found a way of utilizing their respective Quirks to clear away the majority of the rubble in their section of the grounds, thus allowing all three of them to get their civilians out. However, now that it was down to the last two, and they had sent Hagakure to take their previous three to the finish line, the two remaining students were beginning to feel the pressure.
"If your Quirk revolves around vibrations, do you think you would be able to find them by sending a pulse into the ground? You know, see if you can discern something that isn't supposed to be there?" Ochakos' question had been innocent enough, but right now Nikolay was too focused on the time limit to humor her.
"I absorb and expel the energy from vibrations, but I don't have sonar or long-range hearing like Jirou-san does. We just gotta hope these radar things are accurate enough." They could both feel the seconds ticking down, which while adding to the stress, also made their relief that much greater when they both stopped to hear the unmistakable sound of a recorded crying coming from nearby. The two soon zeroed in on the source: a half-destroyed building, where a collapsed concrete cylinder was resting atop what looked like a cellar door.
"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Uraraka-san? You've been using your Quirk a lot today." Nikolay couldn't help but ask concernedly when he saw Ochako beginning to wobble where she stood once she had removed the concrete obstructions' gravity. However, even in spite of that, she gave him a semi-reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just glad this is the last time I'll have to use it for today."
Once the door was uncovered, Nikolay rushed in and managed to pull it open despite it being warped. Once he could see inside, however, his entire body froze where he stood. Squatting right in the doorway to the cellar were two mannequins, one clearly supposed to resemble a female adult, and the much smaller one, the one where the crying recording was playing from, made to resemble its baby. The mother mannequin was kneeling over it as though it were using its own body as a shield from the falling debris.
Nikolay couldn't take his eyes off the scene, he couldn't even move. His ears didn't even hear Ochako calling for him to take them out. All he could hear was that increasingly loud crying in his head, bouncing around like the inside of an echo chamber.
He soon began to smell something in the air; something that he knew hadn't been there before: the sickening mixture of ashes, smoke…and blood. Even with his eyes open, soon all he could see was obscured with darkness; a darkness only broken by the sight of two empty eyes staring back at him, yet not seeing him; eyes that simply looked on into infinite nothingness.
"Niko-san?" Ochako's worried voice in his ear only came like a distant echo, as Nikolay could feel his entire body beginning to shake uncontrollably; not from his Quirk, but from sheer, instinctual horror. Even when he tried to open his mouth to scream, nothing came. Instead all he could do was collapse to the ground, trying to back away from the cellar door in blind panic, unable to see anything but those awful eyes.
Ochako herself couldn't help but feel her own sense of panic kick in when she saw her teammate collapse into this sudden freakout, so she hurriedly took the two civilian mannequins out of the cellar, set them somewhere safe, then brought her hands together to turn off her antigravity, thankfully helping her regain her steadiness. By now Nikolay had inadvertently backed himself up against a wall, but didn't seem to notice, as he just kept trying to get himself as far away from the cellar as possible.
Ochako hurried to his side, at a momentary loss of what to do. She'd never actually had to help someone with something like a panic attack before, but the more she thought, the more she came to remember something that had helped her a few times in the past. While the Russian in front of her looked to be running completely blind, she gently put her palms on his shoulders, careful not to accidentally take away his gravity.
"Niko-san, can you hear me? Hey, hey, Niko-san, listen to me, it's going to be okay, nothing's going to hurt you. You're fine; everything's going to be fine. Just try to take deep breaths, okay? Take deep breaths with me." Staying laser-focused, Ochako places one gentle hand against the center of Nikolays' hyperventilating chest and began to take deep, concentrated breaths, letting him feel the rise and release of the pressure as she took one after the other, which he soon thankfully began to mimic as his hyperventilating gradually slowed.
Soon, his breathing, while still clearly panicked, had slowed to a reasonable pace, as Ochako had to think of what the next step was. "Okay. You're doing well, Niko-san, you're doing so well. Now, I just want you to look at me. Look at me, and just listen to my voice, okay?" She miraculously managed to keep her voice as calm as could be as she tried to get Nikolay to turn his head so he could look in her eyes. While his eyes were looking in her direction, she had no idea if he was actually focusing on her, but she had to keep going along for his sake.
"All right. Now, there's a couple of things I want you to do for me, okay? Do you understand? Can you do something for me?" While his body was still trembling, Nikolay seemed to thankfully understand as he gave a very shaky nod in response. "Good. Okay, now…I want you to look around and tell me five things you see. It doesn't matter what they are, I just want you to name five things you can see."
Nikolay's goggled eyes seemed to be looking all around as he stuttered helplessly, trying to form the words between his desperate breaths. "I…I-I see…I see…b-buildings…windows…c-cars…cl-clouds…" The physical struggle in his speech was unmistakable, but Ochako continued to remain as patient as possible, slowly nodding with each thing he could name. "Okay, that's good. Just one more, okay?" Nikolay seemed to struggle more than before trying to think of anything else, until he ended up almost blinding himself inadvertently looking straight up into the sky. "I-I see…I see the sun?"
Ochako gave another supportive nod with a relieved smile, which thankfully seemed to ease Nikolays' trembling a little bit. It was a good enough sign of progress for her, though. "Okay, that's good. You're doing well, Niko-san. Now, uh…oh…name…name four things you can hear right now." This seemed to put Nikolay in a difficult spot, as he looked to be unsure if he could even name that many. "Uh…I-I…I can hear…I-I can hear your voice…a-and my voice…m-my heartbeat?"
"Good, that's all good, there's no wrong answers, Niko-san. Just one more. You can do it." The intense thinking gave Nikolay a splitting sensation in his brain on top of everything else, but finally his ears could pick up something so unnoticeable otherwise, he never would have even thought of it. "I…I hear the…I-I hear the wind…w-wind through the windows."
Like clockwork, his trembling was continuing to dissipate. "Okay. You're doing so well, Niko-san. Now I just want you to name…I want you to name three things you can smell." By now, Nikolays' senses had thankfully started returning, as he tried to focus on what Ochako was asking him to do, trying to put all his focus towards anything around them. "I…I can smell…t-the fresh air…chalk…and water."
With his struggled speech beginning to become less prominent, Ochako simply felt more and more relieved. "That's good. Okay, now…two things you can feel." Nikolay closed his eyes, once again putting all his focus towards the sensation of touch. "I feel…the sun on my face, and…and your hand on my chest." While such an answer would have normally left poor Ochako feeling more than a little embarrassed, her focus was unshakable as she couldn't help but give her teammate a reassuring and supportive smile again.
"Okay. One more. Name one thing you can taste." Like the flipping of a switch, Nikolays' mind immediately went to breakfast earlier that morning, to the point it was the only thing occupying his mind. If Ochako understood this process as well as she hoped she did, this would finally make him forget everything that had been driving him into this state, and he would hopefully be back to normal. "I taste…blackberries."
With this, Nikolay finally took a deep, calming breath, and upon release, the last semblance of his trembling had vanished, and his once panic-stricken face looked to be back to a sense of real calm again. Ochako let out a sigh of immense relief as she helped pull her teammate back to his feet. "Okay. You did so well, Niko-san. It's okay, now. Are you all right?"
For a moment he seemed hesitant to answer, but ultimately gave her a brief yet reassuring nod, one which earned him a grateful smile out of her. "I'm glad. You really had me scared there for a second. Do you…do you have any idea what that was all about?" Despite the sincerity in Ochakos' question, Nikolay could only give her an unknowing shrug. "I wish I could say. That's…that's never happened to me before. I-it wasn't like during the battle test. It felt…it felt so much worse."
Before she could think to ask him anything further, a warning siren suddenly echoed across the grounds, and her hair nearly stood on end as she remembered: they were running out of time and still had to cross the entire grounds to get to the finish line. "Okay, w-we gotta do something, we won't make it in time on foot." Nikolay likewise felt her unease as he hurriedly grabbed the two mannequins and tried to look for something, anything that could give them a shortcut.
However, before he could think, he suddenly felt his entire body become weightless, the ground literally lowering away from his feet. His sense of balance went entirely out of whack, and he almost began to roll uncontrollably in midair, before Ochako suddenly caught him, looped her arms underneath his with her back against his own, the two students now essentially chained together, and motioned for him to give her the mannequins to hold onto. "Alright, Niko-san. We just have to go straight south to get to the finish line, so please, use your blasts to propel us forward and up. I can bring our gravity back so we don't overshoot it."
Nikolay didn't even try to hide his skepticism at how likely a plan like that could backfire, but his teammate seemed to already sense his apprehension as she looked back over her shoulder to him, a serious look in her eyes. "I can handle pushing myself at least this much! We won't make it otherwise! Please, do it!"
Realizing how right she was, Nikolay took a deep breath, repeatedly hoping this would work, and aimed his hands to the ground ahead, focusing as much power as he could to his hands, and with one powerful blast, he and Ochako were soaring upwards over the ruins of the training ground, with the finish line and the rest of the class waiting loyally down below.
Upon spotting them, Ochako didn't even think to warn the Russian at her back, as she brought her fingertips together and brought back their gravity, sending them freefalling forward for the finish line. Nikolay, all the while, nearly felt like he was on the verge of blacking out from the freefall, before Ochako managed to maneuver her hands, even with the mannequins in her embrace, to touch both herself and Nikolay with all fingers, restoring their zero gravity effect, and breaking their downward momentum.
Thankfully, by now they had closed enough of the distance where Ochako was able to have them float just a few more feet until they were just enough above the ground that she could bring their gravity back without hurting themselves. Once their feet were back on the ground, the warning siren sounded again, and the two hurried with their last respective bursts of energy across the finish line, desperately getting their last two civilians into the nearest vehicle. The ending alarm sounded only seconds later. The two had literally just made a photo finish while the rest of their classmates all expressed a relief of their own.
Once Ochako had finished dry heaving from the excessive strain of using her Quirk so often, and after she and Nikolay had both regained some of their energy, the whole of Class 1-A had returned to the surveillance room, where All Might and Aizawa were both waiting intently.
"You have all performed exceptionally well out there today, class! Each team's sense of strategizing and working in tandem with each others' Quirks, especially in a variety of different environments, has managed to save the lives of every civilian trapped in the disaster area, and well within the time limit, as well. Thus, Class 1-A has earned an overall score of 1,500 points; well above a passing grade in the Disaster Evacuation Test!" All Mights' announcement left many of the class looking exceptionally proud of themselves and each other, just as proud as he felt of them.
However, Aizawa silently approached the controls for the monitors, and rewound to the footage of the northern sector, specifically of Nikolays' mental episode and Ochakos' subsequent therapy routine. Nikolay could feel a nervous twisting in his gut, especially when he saw the surprised and worried looks on his classmates' faces; this being the first they even knew of it now. As the footage continued to play, Aizawa looked apathetically to his students.
"In a disaster situation, time is key. You'll find yourselves in an environment, a situation, that is continuously changing, and you need to be able to plan ten steps ahead of that in order to avoid any potential mishaps or losses of life. An incident like this, where even one of you buckles for whatever reason, can unravel even the most well thought out of plans. You end up dragging the rest of your allies down with you, because you aren't able to handle things yourself, and you end up putting everyone around you in danger.
"Because of this, you ended up bringing Class 1-A's run of the test to a disastrous ruin, barely managing to finish in time. For that, I'm docking 300 points from Class 1-A's overall score. You still managed to pass, but much closer than you would have thought. A team where everyone isn't on the same level mentally and emotionally can barely be called a team at all."
With that, the homeroom teacher silently took his leave, leaving a visibly caught off-guard All Might on his own with the rest of the dumbfounded class. He could tell many of them were still trying to take in not only what they had just seen, but also their teachers' parting words. However, he could see Nikolay looked to be hit the hardest by it all.
"GODDAMMIT!" Bakugo suddenly roared in fury before shoving his way through his classmates and violently grabbing the Russian by the collar of his turtleneck. "What the hell good are you if you can't even do a damn test without one of us having to baby-sit your worthless ass?! You keep dragging the rest of us down into the gutter with you every time you have one of your little fits! You goddamn spastic!"
Nikolay couldn't even speak or express any kind of fear in the face of Bakugos' anger, which only served to piss him off even more. "Don't you look at me like that! Don't look at me like you're not even scared! Don't you lie to me, you piece of shit coward!" All Might (as well as Mina and Eijirou) were all about ready to jump in once they saw Bakugo was reeling his fist back to punch Nikolay in the face, before Izuku suddenly rushed in and hooked his arms around Bakugos'.
"Kacchan, please, stop! I know you're mad, but what's done is done, all right? He didn't do it on purpose!" "GET THE HELL OFF ME, DEKU!" Bakugo furiously wrenched his arm out of the curly-haired boys' grip, before just as violently shoving Nikolay back into the rest of their classmates, his teeth grinding with constant anger, as he couldn't take his red eyes off Izuku now.
"It's bad enough this school is letting in cowards and liars like you! But to have two worthless crybabies in the same class?! It's goddamn pathetic, is what it is! How the hell is anyone supposed to become Top Hero when this class is constantly being held back with such…DEAD WEIGHT?! That little worm will NEVER be a Hero worth anything if he keeps seizing up like that, and you all know it! The only thing he'll ever be good for is getting his own partners killed!"
By now, his hateful eyes were honed in on the prone Russian at his feet like a bloodthirsty hawk. Several of the others had instinctively backed away, none of them certain what Bakugo was going to do next, which was the scariest thing of all. When nobody there said anything further, Bakugo simply let out a spiteful 'tch' through his clenched teeth. "You're not even worth the energy it would take to spit in your face. You should've packed your shit and hit the road when you had the chance."
The rest of the school day had gone by very uncomfortably. Nobody could stop thinking about what they had seen in the surveillance room, or what Bakugo had said when it was all over, and many couldn't stop wondering just what the hell was going on with their foreign classmate that was having him act out in such a way twice in one week.
Nikolay never brought himself to say another word from then until the closing bell for the day rang. Bakugos' words just kept playing on repeat, over and over and over again, because he knew the volatile boy was right. Once more, Nikolay had inadvertently proved himself to be nothing more than a liability, even after all the effort he had chosen to put forward in doing his best on the grounds. What was he even still trying for, if these panic attacks were just going to keep coming at the worst possible times?
"Hey, Kolya-kun?" Nikolay mentally let out a weary sigh at the sound of Minas' concerned voice, as he slung his book bag over his shoulder. "I hope I'm not keeping you from anything, but…would you maybe…do you maybe want to talk about, you know…what happened today?" The worry on her pink face was clear as day, but right now, all Nikolay could think of was Bakugos' taunts, about how he needed his fellows baby-sitting him all the time to keep him in check. That only sparked a flame of resentment in his stomach. "No, because there's nothing to talk about. I panicked, but we still passed, and that's all there is to it."
He tried to make a quickened walk for the classroom door, but she was right on his tail, anxiously grabbing his book bag to make him look at her again. "That's not all there is to it, and you know that! Kolya-kun, I'm worried about you. Something is clearly bothering you, something a lot more serious than usual, and I want to help you. Please, you know you can talk to me about anything. If there's anything I can do to help you with whatever's going on, please tell me."
His heart felt grateful for the sincerity in her words reflected in her black-golden eyes, but that flame of resentment only grew more fierce the more his mind kept echoing everything he'd been lambasted with, and his otherwise docile face momentarily reflected that awful mix of sadness and anger. "There's nothing you can do, Ashido-san, because I don't know why things happened the way they did back there, okay? When I saw those last two civilians like that, I just…I just panicked, it set me off, and I don't know why! Now please, just drop it, all right? I get why you're doing what you're doing, but not everything that happens with other people has to be your business, all right?"
Mina, for once, couldn't think of what to say in the face of that, but she could see Nikolay looked genuinely regretful for his words as soon as they had come out. However, he instead forcefully turned around and hurriedly made his way out the class, leaving her and several others behind. When she finally turned back, she immediately realized that Eijirou and Ochako, as well as some of their other scattered classmates like Izuku, Tenya, Momo, Kyouka and Denki, were reflecting similar expressions of concern as she did, hence why she returned to the two formers' side.
"That's twice in the first week this has happened. I thought he was actually getting better, too, but this was way worse." Eijirou commented regretfully. "Yeah, it was scary when it happened today. I'd never tried that with anyone before, I wasn't sure it was going to work like it did on me." Ochako admitted, earning some curious looks from her peers. "I-I also, kinda…used to get overly scared by things when I was little. That thing I did on the grounds, it was something my parents would do to help me calm down."
"How is anyone supposed to help him if he doesn't even know what's wrong, himself?" Eijirou finally asked, before he realized that Mina wasn't reflecting the same look of defeat as he did. Instead, her eyes reflected that very same fire of determination that made her as inspiring to others as she was. "He might not know what's really wrong with himself. But there is someone who might."
And, as if just waiting for the cue, the classroom door opened, and all the students still inside looked to find the towering frame of Tunguska carefully looking inside, clearly looking for Nikolay, and realizing he had only now just missed the boy. Nevertheless, a sign had come, and they were quick to jump on it as they eagerly approached their teacher.
"Sensei, we're sorry to bother you, but we had a couple questions we thought you might answer." Ochako immediately apologized as the students all began to flock to the large man, who looked clearly confused by what any of them could have wanted with him after the last bell. "Did you perhaps hear about…well, what happened with Niko-san earlier today?" Izuku finally asked, himself; to which Tunguska gave a solemn nod. "All Might has been kind enough to keep me informed of any developments with my son, for better or for worse, since the year started. So yes, I heard, unfortunately."
"It feels like Bezpalov-san has been growing much more volatile, or perhaps emotionally fragile, over the course of this week. Obviously, it's been leaving many of the class feeling some justified concern as to his…capabilities under pressure. As his father, we thought perhaps you might be able to shed some light on a root cause for his unpredictable state." Tenyas' description still managed to sound so clinical and detached, but Tunguska still gave the proper boy a look of understanding as he pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a tired sigh, and motioned for his students to follow him out the class and onto the grounds.
"Your concerns are all understandable, but I'll tell you now that Kolyas' recent change in behavior and attitude is far from abnormal. The truth is that he's always gotten like this, specifically around this time of year. You see, tomorrow is his mothers' birthday." While the rest of the students clearly couldn't make the connection, with some only daring to think it went as far as family separation, Mina alone was the one to stop in her tracks, her face reflecting a shocked realization.
"Oh, God…the day we got our costumes for the battle trial, Kolya-kun told me that his mom…that she isn't around anymore." Her specific emphasis on the word 'around' seemed to make everything click in her classmates' heads, as their confusion likewise gave way to a saddened realization. Now his emotional distance today was beginning to make a lot more sense.
"That's right. It happened a long time ago, but every year since then, commemorating her birthday has only ever been between Kolya and I, and it's always been a much more somber occasion for us. More of an annual memorial than a birthday celebration, I suppose." Tunguska had to take a moment to swallow a fresh wave of sadness getting caught in his throat, so his students wouldn't see him start to waver. "To be honest, when we first came to this country, I had hoped that the change in scenery and overall atmosphere would have helped to lift his spirits, even on this occasion. But…clearly I was hoping for too much, too soon."
Many of the students looked uncertainly among themselves for some kind of solution. How on earth could any of them hope to lift their Russian classmates' spirit when none of them could relate to the loss he was carrying? When it seemed like none of them could find an answer, however, Mina closed her pink hands into fists and lifted her head with a whole new glow of confidence as she approached Tunguska. "Sensei, if it's alright with you, I want to suggest we all come to yours and Kolya-kuns' house tomorrow, and put together a party for his moms' birthday. We could make it an actual celebration for you guys. You know, something Kolya-kun can look back on with a smile, instead of something that just makes him sad all the time."
Tunguska found the confidence the pink girl spoke with as she illustrated her idea to be admirable, but the fact he knew his son as well as he did, left him feeling (and looking) more than a little skeptical as to how good an idea it was. And from the looks of it, some of her classmates (namely Tenya, Kyouka and Momo) were of a similar opinion. "As good as your intentions are, I don't know if that's really a good idea, malenkaya Ashido. Kolya…well, you've all seen it by now; he's never been the sociable type, for many a good reason you don't need to be bothered with right now."
However, Minas' enthusiasm seemed to only burn brighter as she continued to stand her ground and look Tunguska in his blue eyes. "But Sensei, you were just talking about how you hoped a change of scenery and atmosphere would help him. How do you know this couldn't be the way to finally help Kolya-kun get there? I've kept trying to tell him that he doesn't have to go through his problems alone, but maybe by actually showing and proving that he's not alone, it'll be just what he needs to finally start opening up and be happy again. I mean; it has to be worth a shot, doesn't it?"
It hurt Tunguska to have to meet her positive attitude with his doubts again, but as he began to speak, he noticed that, one by one, her classmates were all visibly beginning to see her point and nod in agreement to themselves and each other. Finally, Momo was the first to step forward and speak, an open hand over her heart to prove her sincerity: "Ashido-san is right. We didn't just come to Yuuei to learn how to be Pro Heroes, we're also here to learn how to all work together in any given situation. That's essential for anyone, not just Heroes. How can we learn to trust each other and work together, if we don't make the effort to understand each others' feelings and help each other through our hardships?" Tenya and Kyouka mutually nodded in agreement, knowing they couldn't have said so better themselves.
"And even more than that, we're all friends here. If one of us is hurting, no matter in what way, we've got to be there for each other and help each other get back on our feet. That's just part and parcel of the whole deal, isn't it?" Eijirou quickly chimed in, bolstered by everyone elses' mutual feelings, while Izuku and Ochako likewise gave an affirming nod, their hands closed in determined fists to do what they could.
Despite having kept quiet through the whole thing, even Denki Kaminari ultimately stepped in with a confident smirk, even with everyone looking at him in confusion why he would step in after having barely said a word to their classmate in question. "What? I'm never one to turn down the chance for a party. And besides, Niko-san seems like he could be a pretty cool guy once you get past the…well, you know what. So why wouldn't I join in to help?"
Despite his silent and stoic demeanor, Tunguska could feel his tired heart catching in his throat as he watched these young souls coming together for the sake of his son. He once never would have thought Nikolay would have been able to bring so many others together in such a short time, and to see it with his own eyes was truly one of the most inspiring things he had seen in years. With a sigh of resignation, the students saw their teachers' blue eyes light up with what they could only describe as hope.
"All right, I'll allow this. It really does warm my heart to know you all care for Kolya this much already. And even if he may not say it, I'm certain deep down, he feels the same way, likely even more so after tomorrow. Now, you all know Musutafu City much better than I do, so depending on where you all live, write down the train station that's nearest to all of you that you can converge at, and from there, I'll take you all to our home. I'll come up with something to tell Kolya before I leave. As much as it pains me to say it, I know that if I were to tell him the truth, he would turn this idea down without hesitation. So a surprise is the only way to get this idea of yours off the ground."
Sunday had begun with Nikolay finding a note from Oleg posted on their fridge, explaining that a meeting between all the Yuuei faculty members had been called to discuss future curriculum plans and last minute changes. Since his father had been taking his new job with a surprising show of dedication, the young Russian boy had no reason to doubt what was there. If anything, it was better this way. He had a lot to prepare and get together, and history had made him realize that having Oleg under the same roof made the overlying emptiness this day always brought, that much worse.
When he had come home later that afternoon from a quick run to the nearest grocery store, he found himself exceptionally focused. There was a great number of limitations he had to try and find a way to work around, both ingredients and cooking facilities-wise, but his minimal culinary experience over the years had proven him adaptable, if nothing else. Thankfully what he had in mind, once he had unloaded his recent stockpile in the kitchen, was both simple and appropriate.
Taking Olegs' considerable size and likewise appetite, Nikolay soon had a tall pot nearly as big as his torso set upon the stovetop, and was soon busily chopping away at the near mountains of different meats and vegetables he had been lucky enough to find. At one point he found himself hesitating, wondering if it would have been worthwhile to step away and see if, by some miracle, someone within the infinite depths of the internet had managed to recover any kind of archival footage from the Union depicting his mother.
However, he refused the idea as quickly as it had come. He felt bad enough as it was, and he didn't want to ruin what little semblance of a plan he had for the day by making himself even sadder, hearing her voice again.
Over an hour later, Nikolay was pleased to look upon the result of his work and initiative, gazing upon the massive pot now filled to the brim with his outlandish assortment and boiling water. The hardest part was over, and now all he had to do was wait, for it and his father. He could only hope the older man wouldn't be kept away for too much longer. As much as a day like today tended to hurt, he still wanted it to be as close to perfect as it possibly could be.
Deciding to while away the time, Nikolay found himself thinking back to some of the old folk songs he and Oleg liked to listen to over the years, the ones he actually made the effort to try and memorize. Once he had the jaunty tune in his head, he began slightly swaying his body in sync to the rhythm, slightly humming the tune to himself before the words came to mind. In this moment, he actually felt something akin to peace.
"Kak-to letom, na rassvete (One summer, at dawn)
Zaglianul v sosedniy sad. (I glanced into the neighboring garden.)
Tam smuglianka-moldavanka (There a dark woman, a Moldovan)
Sobirayet vinograd. (Was picking grapes.)
Ya krasneiu, Ya bledneyu, (I blushed, I grew pale)
Zakhotelos vdrug skazat: (I suddenly wanted to say
'Stanem nad rekoyu ('Let's go greet summer dawns)
Zorki letniye vstrechat!' (Over the river!')"
Anyone watching from the outside would have found it downright surreal to see Nikolay Bezpalov beginning to actively move in a manner akin to ballroom dancing as he became lost in his own little world, a mental sanctuary where the constant emotional weight had no place. It was a realm within himself where nothing else existed but this moment, and that was good enough for him.
"Raskudriavy klion zeliony, list reznoy, (The maple all curly and green, its leaves as if carved!)
La vliublionny i smushchenny pred toboy (I'm in love and abashed in front of you.)
Klion zeliony, da klion kudriavy (The maple is green and curly)
Da raskudriavy, reznoy! (And curly and carved!)" *
A momentary lapse in his focus allowed Nikolay to hear the sound of the front door opening, quickly followed by Olegs' booming voice announcing his return. [[Welcome home, Dad. Everything is all prepared, so now we just have to wait,]] he called back, paying no further mind to it. But that was when his ears suddenly picked up the also unmistakable sound of multiple other voices, speaking quietly among themselves; several very familiar voices.
Nikolay nearly tripped over himself in his rush for the doorway to the living room, feeling his previous sense of calm plummet to the pit of his stomach as he saw Mina, Eijirou, Izuku, Ochako, Tenya, Momo, Kyouka and Denki looking about the interior of the house with curiosity, while his father towered over them with the most pleased smile on his bearded face. Everyone else quickly noticed Nikolays' arrival as well, as they all eagerly gave greeting in return.
However, all Nikolay could do in response was look to his father like he was seeing things. "Dad…what is going on? What are my classmates doing here?" He made no attempt to hide his apprehensive tone, but neither did Oleg try to hide the truth now that their impromptu plan was coming to pass. "I'm sorry, Kolya. That letter I wrote this morning was a lie. I should have told you the truth from the beginning, but I know you would have said no if I did. The truth is that since this is the first time we will be honoring your mothers' birthday in our new home, your friends and I all thought that perhaps it would be nice for us all to celebrate the occasion together. You shouldn't have to keep forcing yourself to go through this occasion like you have been before; not anymore."
Nikolay looked at his father like the man had finally gone insane, but before he could even begin to protest, Mina was quick to step forward; a tiny plastic box in her hands that she set aside before finally proceeding to make her case to him. "He's telling the truth, Kolya-kun. And, honestly…it was kind of…my idea in the first place. I just…I saw how upset you really were yesterday, we all did; and after Sensei told us what today was, and what it meant for you both, we all thought it would be good for you to be with friends today."
She could see the hurt in his green eyes, and she could only imagine what had to be going through his head; but that was exactly what she had prepared herself for. "I know you said, yesterday, that not everything that happens with you or anyone else has to be my business, and I know you're right. But this isn't about making your personal troubles my business. This is about all of us, not wanting to leave someone we care about to feel bad all by themselves. We all wanted to come here and celebrate with you…because we care about you, Kolya-kun."
Nikolays' sense of indignation wanted him to tell them all to leave, but he recognized the complete sincerity in Minas' tone, in her words, and in her eyes. It was the same as always. It was just like Eijirou had said before: she never said anything she didn't mean, and how could he possibly turn her offer down when she was acting out of the goodness of her heart; when all of them were doing just that as well? He had no words, and they could all see just how speechless their Russian peer was in this moment. They all could only assume to take it as a relatively good sign.
"I-I didn't know what else to do, and I didn't want to come without having anything to give, so I-I made some mochi for us all to have." Ochako nervously chimed in, holding up a clear box filled with what looked like rice cakes. This brought another big smile to Minas' face as she quickly grabbed the box she herself had been carrying. "Yeah, and I actually made natto for today. I, uh…I might have taken a bite or two…or three, already, but there's still plenty left for everyone."
One by one, the others began to step forward with similar offerings for the proposed festivities: beef stew from Tenya (which got Oleg noticeably wide-eyed and anticipatory), procured caviar from Momo (in wanting to keep with their hosts' cultural background, to both their unspoken amusement), and even a bowl of katsudon from Izuku (or rather, his mother, when he had explained the occasion to her).
"Guys, I-I appreciate what you're all trying to do, but this is really all too much, even for both of us. I—"Thank you all so much. You really didn't have to go to all this trouble; we are supposed to be your hosts, after all." Oleg swiftly stepped in before his son could sabotage himself any further. "Really, Kolya; you've been carrying enough weight for both of us for long enough. You deserve to take that weight of responsibility off your shoulders, at least for one day. You should be able to at least try and enjoy today for what it could be, alongside your friends. Don't you think?"
Nikolay felt himself beginning to shrink under Olegs' expectant gaze. "B-but I've already put everything together, and I-I need to make sure it doesn't—"Hey, is that what I think it is?" Nikolays' muttered protest was swiftly interrupted by an especially excited-sounding Mina, as she suddenly caught wind of something in the direction of the kitchen; something that left her just short of salivating as she began to make her way in. "Are you actually cooking okra in here?"
Not wanting to risk her potentially ruining anything, Nikolay hurriedly made his way back into the kitchen. "Yes, actually. Normally I make this with cucumber, but they actually had sold out of it at the store by the time I got there, so I had to make do with okra. Why, do you like okra?" At just the question, his pink counterpart seemed to practically light up with eagerness, as she remembered to place her preparation of natto on the counter. "Are you kidding? Okra is one of my favorite foods! Okra and natto together is, like, the greatest thing ever!"
He couldn't even think of any words to answer with, only able to awkwardly nod with new understanding of just what made her tick. Before he could try to turn his attention back to his own concoction, he realized all his other unexpected guests had started coming in as well to take a look for themselves, some of them visibly surprised at the somewhat elaborate setup of it.
"I must admit, Bezpalov-san, I really did not take you for the culinary type." Tenya admitted in an attempt to sound casual (easier said than done with his naturally authoritative demeanor). Nikolay felt his face go warm with embarrassment now that as many people knew one of his less Hero-oriented secrets. "I'm not nearly that good, though. My…what's the word—repertoire? It's minuscule at best.
"In fact, for days like today, specifically, I've actually always wanted to try my hand at making something called khachapuri. It's a traditionally Georgian food, very popular across all of Eastern Europe, and even into parts of the Middle East. There are multiple different kinds that can be made, based on the region, and the kind I've wanted to make is called chakhrakina. It originates from the Kartli region of Georgia, which is where the capitol city of Tbilisi is…which is where my mother was from."
The mentioning of his mother left his guests visibly wary, unsure if it was going to bring him to a lower level emotionally, but Nikolay managed to stifle the sting that had started to come up, as he tried to keep his focus on the subject at hand. "According to my dad, khachapuri was one of her favorites, like many Georgians. Unfortunately, like many Slavic foods, there's a very specific means of making it, and this house doesn't have the right kind of cooking facilities for it. So instead I'm going with something simpler, but just as popular."
With that, he actually decided to take a step back and allowed everyone to get a little closer to the colossal pot on the fire, many of them looking nearly overwhelmed by the sheer volume of what they could make out was inside. "It's called solyanka. It's a very popular soup dish back in Russia. Just like khachapuri, there's numerous different ways you can make it, based on what part of the country you're in. There's almost literally no wrong way of making it, since you can throw any assortment of ingredients into it. It's also supposed to be really good for colds and hangovers, at least according to my dad on the latter. Apparently, this was another of moms' favorites."
While many were simply surprised that this, so far, had been the most they had heard their Russian host speak, and especially with as much care as he clearly had for the subject; Kyouka was the only one who seemed to have a trace of confusion on her otherwise stoic face. "Sorry if this a bit blunt, but for someone making a commemorative food for one of his parents, you don't sound entirely certain about any of this stuff being a favorite of theirs. That just seems a bit odd to me."
Nikolay didn't look to be offended, which she was grateful for, but he did look considerably deep in thought. "You're not wrong, Jirou-san. My mom, she…she passed away when I was really little. I…*ahem* I don't really remember a lot about her, personally. I only really have dads' stories and a bunch of keepsakes to remember her by."
Before anything else could be said, Olegs' large frame filled the doorway as he forced his way into the kitchen, hurriedly ushering Nikolay and his guests out. "Come now, everyone, this is supposed to be a happy occasion, remember? Kolya, let me take care of everything else here, I can at least handle that much. Spend time with your friends; get to know each other better. I insist. Nobody else is allowed in here until everything is all ready."
Nobody could even think to protest or anything of the sort, before Oleg had nearly forced them all back out into the living room, officially leaving them all on their own with a pronounced slamming of the kitchen door. Needless to say, now that there was essentially nothing to keep himself mentally occupied with, Nikolay could feel a whole new kind of pressure settling on his shoulders as he looked awkwardly between his classmates and guests. "Forgive me, I-I've never done something like this before. You know…having people besides dad in the house. I, uh…I'm not entirely sure what to do now."
"Well, I saw you had a stereo back there. We could at least see what music you guys have to play. Wouldn't hurt to breathe some energy into this place." Kyouka suggested, not even missing a beat as she made a beeline for the small stereo that had been set underneath the television. However, once she saw the downright pathetic number of CD's sitting at its side, her already unreadable expression became even more so. "What is this?"
"That's…some selections of the Alexandrov Ensemble and the Don Cossack Choir; a few hundred years old, each. Not exactly the kind of music for a…*ahem* party." Nikolay admitted; feeling even more embarrassed when he could hear the sheer lack of enthusiasm in Kyouka's question. "Yeah, tell me about it. How can anyone have such limited taste?"
Out of nowhere, Denki suddenly started laughing to himself as he began approaching the purple-haired girls' kneeling form. "What's all this, now? The recluse has a passion for music? It's a miracle; we actually get to learn something about you, today, Jirou-san. I was starting to think everything about you was a blank slate." At this, Kyouka unexpectedly shot an indignant glare to the blonde boy, making him momentarily flinch. "There's a very appropriate saying about making assumptions, Kaminari. You should look it up and keep it in mind. Just because I'm not the talkative type like you and everyone else, doesn't mean I'm some kind of robot."
"Well okay, I believe you now. What kind of music are you thinking of playing, anyway? This is supposed to be a party, it's gotta be something with a lot of energy and bounce to it, you know?" Denki began to clumsily move himself about to emphasize his point, but this only earned him an annoyed roll of the eyes from Kyouka. "You need to consider who you're picking music for, you know. That kind of stuff is not something you throw somebody into without letting them gradually get used to more popular music in general. We need to get some classic rock and roll playing in here."
As Kyouka and Denki continued arguing among themselves, Nikolay felt like the odd man out, exchanging awkward glances with everyone else, who clearly knew they had no place in this confrontation. However, the last thing he wanted was any of his classmates arguing, so he finally got their attention again with a pronounced clearing of his throat. "If it's all the same to you both, I honestly could go for what either of you want to pick. I've actually never heard music from outside the Union before, so it's all new to me."
Denki honestly looked sympathetic to such a plight, while Kyouka looked remotely pleased, as if the decision had already been made. "All right, then. I think I know just the thing to officially get you introduced to the world of rock. Take a listen to this and see what you think." With a considerably noticeable excitement in her step, Kyouka pulled out a tiny music player from her coat pocket, plugged it into the stereo and hit 'play'.
[Pink Floyd – Breathe]
The slowly building, nearly ethereal music that soon began to play across the room, was unlike anything Nikolay had ever heard before. He had heard terms like 'rock', 'EDM', 'metal', 'rap' and the like, but his ears had never actually heard what any of those things sounded like. This, however, carried something indescribable, something distinctly different from everything else had had grown up listening to and dedicating to memory. It brought a feeling of lightness into his chest, almost as if he was being carried away with it. Any words he could have come up with to describe what he was hearing, sadly fell flat. This was possibly the closest thing he could think of towards what some people referred to as 'a religious experience'. He was feeling himself fall in love with this strangely organic flow of sound, and he already knew he would want more.
"Hey, Kolya-kun, is this her?" Minas' curious voice suddenly broke through this veritable cocoon of sound, and Nikolay found himself back in his house, quick to discover Mina, Ochako, Momo, Tenya, Eijirou and Izuku were gathered around the keepsake cabinet on the wall; something which spurred an instinctive defensive reaction from the young Russian, as he hurried over to make sure none of them tried to touch anything. He was, however, pleasantly surprised to see the look of real attention reflected in many of their eyes as they looked upon the pictures, artwork and souvenirs on display, relics from a land they had never even considered when it came to Heroes and such.
"Is…that your mother, Niko-san?" Izuku asked, trying not to seem rude by pointing, as Nikolay followed everyones' gaze to see they were all especially captivated by the standout ceramic figurine that stood at the forefront; depicting a woman with flowing dark chocolate-brown hair, warm amber eyes, and a bodysuit of the darkest shimmering blue that almost seemed to resemble either feathers or scale mail, and extended arms that flowed with wings abound with the smoothest-looking dark blue feathers.
The sight brought the beginnings of a hitch in his throat, but he quickly swallowed it down. "Yes. Yes, that's…that's her. Lyudmila Ibrahimovna Bezpalova; Gamayun, the Songbird Hero of Tbilisi." They all couldn't help but develop a glimmer of admiration at the sight of a Hero who clearly had to be of considerable repute for such a title, but there was also a particularly different kind of light in Mina and Ochakos' eyes as they took in such a refined image.
"So pretty." Ochako mused to herself. "Yeah. That suit, those wings…she looks so cool." Mina said in agreement, in an equally admiring way as her brown-haired counterpart. All the while, Tenya and Momo looked to be taking it all in with a much more analytical look in their eyes.
"It's rather interesting, isn't it? We keep hearing that 80% of the population is born with Quirks, and yet we never actually stop to consider the possibility of there being the potential for identical Quirk types these days, especially between people who aren't biologically related." Tenya noted, to which Momo gave a strong nod of acknowledgment. "I agree. From the looks of her physical manifestation, her Quirk is virtually identical to a Pro Hero like Hawks. Yet, as you said, with so many people in the world today, and with as many of them possessing Quirks as there are, overlap is ultimately unavoidable."
"Niko-san, how did Tunguska-sensei describe your Quirk?" Izuku asked curiously, earning a confused yet likewise curious glance from their young host. "Well, from what Aizawa-sensei told him after the apprehension test, he described it as the absorption and subsequent release of kinetic energy; energy born from movement, whether it be vibrations from sound, friction or impact. The rotation of the earth beneath our feet, footsteps, my heartbeat, even the sound waves from our voices. No matter how small it is; my body is absorbing that energy as we speak. Why?"
The green-haired boy looked admittedly awkward, bringing this up on a day that was supposed to be for fun, but his inner Hero and Quirk fanboy was in full gear, as he couldn't resist the urge to learn what he could of Heroes he never even knew existed before. "Well, I've always been really interested in learning whatever I could about Heroes and their Quirks. It's always been kind of a lifelong fascination of mine; I guess you could say. I mean, you don't have to answer if it's too personal, but I'm just curious, what exactly were your parents' Quirks?"
Nikolay had to stop to think back on what little his father had been willing to say back then, while the rest of his classmates watched with expectation. "It's been a while since dad had said anything about her, but from what I remember, and from reading those old articles up there, her primary Quirk was, obviously, those wings of hers. Apparently, she could create gusts of wind with them that were so strong, they could put out some of the strongest fires in seconds; not to mention she could fly so fast with them, she reportedly could break the sound barrier. Although, he did mention that another ability of hers was that she could manipulate her vocal cords to the point she could produce ear-splitting cries that could incapacitate people for over a mile around. I think that's why some of her lesser-known titles among people were 'The Harpy Hero', or 'The Georgian Siren.'
"As for dad? Essentially, his Quirk allows him to absorb and store the energy from light, whether it be from the sun or any source of it in general. From there, he can either use that accumulated energy to provide himself with strength similar to All Might, or he could channel it into his hands to produce bursts of pure energy. Or he could also use it to produce blinding flashes of pure light from his eyes."
At this, Eijirou in the back couldn't resist letting out an instinctive sound betraying his visible excitement at the thought of it. "You mean Tunguska-sensei can shoot beams of light from his eyes? That is so old school! So manly!" His childlike enthusiasm earned some admittedly entertained giggles from Mina and Ochako, while Nikolay felt bad for having to dial it back. "Not exactly, it's more like a flash of pure light, not a beam. It's pretty similar to a flashbang. It's kind of been his signature move from way back. Honestly, I've been kind of nervous he would use it on Bakugo this past week, every time he's interrupted history class."
Amid all this, Tenya and Momo both looked to be seriously considering and thinking over everything Nikolay was telling them, before the bespectacled boy finally broke the conversation with a pronounced clearing of his throat, once more straightening his glasses, like it were his trademark. "It's rather interesting, considering what you say both your parents' Quirks are, and comparing it to what we've all witnessed from you on the training grounds thus far. Your Quirk is considerably unique from both of theirs. Normally the children of Quirk-users tend to manifest either exact copies, or slightly upgraded or downgraded versions of their parents' Quirk. My brother and I, for example; we both possess a nearly identical Engine Quirk, which we inherited from our father, and his version has little to no notable difference from ours."
Before anyone could even have the chance to process the fact that Tenya just admitted to having siblings, Momo similarly stepped forward, her eyes reflecting that she was still deep in thought, even as she spoke. "While that is very common, it has also been noted that quite a few times, children will also be born possessing a combination of traits of both parents' Quirks. You, for example, Bezpalov-san, seem to possess both the absorption and hand-channeling properties of Tunguska-senseis' Quirk, while also possessing the sound manipulation and potential flight capacity of your mothers'."
This deduction earned some very impressed looks from the likes of Eijirou, Ochako and Mina, while Nikolay himself looked especially anxious for the pony-tailed girl to clarify her last point, especially. "From what I've observed, your Quirk tends to result in a physical blowback effect, and you've clearly taken that into account, since you have a tendency to specifically aim your hands before discharging your collected energy. I remember specifically seeing this during the sustained sideways jump trial at the apprehension test. I believe that, with a fair amount of proper training, you could potentially find a means to fly, using your kinetic blasts in careful tandem with each other to propel yourself higher and higher, and most importantly, be able to maintain that form of mobility."
The very idea of what Momo was suggesting inspired some very excited looks from the others, but none more so than Nikolay himself. If her theory was correct, he had the potential to achieve one of the dreams mankind had always strived toward since the concept even came to mind. Who in their right mind didn't ever want to attempt to fly?
However, while many could not resist imagining the idea, Ochako was the one who looked to be curious of something else, as she quickly turned her attention to Izuku, who likewise had fallen deep in thought. "Deku-kun, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what exactly are your parents' Quirks? Are they just as powerful as you are?" This question immediately caught Izuku off guard, as he now found himself under the curious eyes of everyone else in the room, and at a loss of how to possibly divert the conversations' course.
Then the momentary panic subsided, and he realized the truth wouldn't actually place him in a spot he promised himself and All Might he wouldn't end up in. "Actually, no. My mom, it's not exactly magnetism, I guess you could call it a telekinetic Quirk. She can draw small objects to herself at will. And my dad, he can breathe fire, but it isn't really that much. Definitely not on the level of a Pro like Endeavor."
To his chagrin, however, his answer only seemed to draw even more curious gazes from Tenya and Momo. "Fascinating. It's exceptionally rare for a child to manifest a Quirk completely different from both their parents. Statistically speaking, a child manifesting a Quirk despite being born from two parents without one is more likely." Once again, like a perfectly matched partner to Tenyas' observant nature, Momo was in full agreement, from the sharp look in her cat-like eyes. "In fact, you could even argue that two Quirk-possessing parents giving birth to a Quirkless child is statistically more likely." On the outside, Izuku was somehow managing to stay calm. Internally, he was screaming bloody murder.
Thankfully, Mina and Ochako could both see the visible discomfort on both Izuku and Nikolays' faces, practically being forced into the analytical limelight like this, so both girls quickly stepped in between the lot, arms excitedly waving to try and regain everyones' attention. "Come on, guys, today's supposed to be about having fun, remember? We didn't come here to study each other like books, we've got class for that!"
"Hey, Kyouka-chan, Kaminari-kun, as nice as the music is, do you have anything with a little more energy to it; something we can really move to?" Mina asked excitedly, feeling fired up again as she turned to address their two resident music lovers…only to find Kyouka and Denki both had once again fallen into another heated argument over each others' tastes, at least as far as she could tell.
"Oh, come on, you guys, this is no reason to fight! We all came here to have fun together, remember? Can't we just settle on something and dance the day away?" Unfortunately, her impassioned plea fell on deaf ears, as Kyouka and Denki were far too consumed in their own little spat to even pay attention. Minas' hands formed into tightly clenched fists, her pink cheeks puffed into a frustrated pout as she began stretching out her back, shoulders and neck, feeling her whole body limber up in preparation.
Before everyone's' eyes, with one final passionate plea for the two to stop fighting, Mina flung herself to the floor, but managed to roll into the landing before managing to stop her momentum and hold her entire body up in the air on one hand. Like magic, Kyouka and Denki both fell utterly silent, and as if that were her cue, Mina proceeded to start turning her body before rolling into an incomprehensible, yet insanely impressive, series of perfectly balanced spins. Watching this utter spectacle, Nikolay himself had no words. He had to imagine this was what he had heard people on the internet refer to as 'break dancing', and even those words fell short to what he was witnessing right now.
As everyone watching felt entranced by Minas' inhumanly skillful display of movement, balance and form, Oleg had poked his head out from the kitchen, virtually unnoticed, about to speak up to his son, before likewise being stricken mute by what was going on in his living room.
Finally, Mina managed to stop her seemingly ongoing series of spinning dance moves, having somehow managed to get perfectly back on her feet, panting heavily from the sheer adrenaline rushing through her veins, and the incomparable excitement that dancing always gave her. For a beat, all was silent, before everyone, Nikolay included, began to applaud enthusiastically. Even Kyouka and Denki looked completely captivated, and visibly seemed to have forgotten their previous argument entirely.
Nikolay still could not find the adequate words, only instead turning to look at Eijirou when he remembered the stories the redheaded boy had told before. Once the two boys made eye contact, that same confident sharp-toothed grin spread across his face. "Yeah. I told you, didn't I? And you thought I was making that up."
A powerfully pronounced clapping soon filled the room, and everyone finally realized Oleg had joined in, visibly impressed with his pink students' display of athleticism and skill. "Ochen' vpechatlyaet (Very impressive), malenkaya Ashido; very impressive. Why, with those kinds of skills and proper ballet training, the Balshoy itself would pay any price to have you in their company." Hardly any of the youngsters really understood what he was referring to, but the praise in and of itself was enough to leave Mina smiling bashfully; an adorable blush on her already pink cheeks.
"You know, it's funny, considering I see the two of you together the most among the rest of your classmates. Kolya here actually used to be quite the dancer, also." In an instant, Mina had her eyes focused on Nikolay, and the most excited smile already on her face, and Nikolay could feel his skin rise with goose bumps at what his father had just brought out in front of everyone.
She was already eagerly making her way for him, clearly looking to have him join in, but his reaction came with the suddenness of a lightning bolt, and the desperation that only he could express: "No, no, no, it's not what you're thinking, Ashido-san! I haven't danced in years and years, I wouldn't even know how to start over. Besides, it was nothing like…like what you just did. I would just fall flat on my face, it's not worth embarrassing everyone here."
This thankfully seemed to be enough to make Mina back down, not wanting to embarrass him, either. However, the excitement in her eyes simply gave way to that very familiar light of determination, as she never took her eyes off of him. "I understand, Kolya-kun. However, make no mistake: no matter what, at some point, when you've decided to knock all that rust off and get back in top form, you are going to let us see you dance. I don't care what kind it is, but it is going to happen. I won't rest until it does."
The smile on her face indicated she was simply playing around, but there was definitely a certain edge to her tone that told Nikolay she was dead serious about seeing him dance one day. If the sheer passion she put on display just a minute ago was any indicator, she was definitely not going to let this go. Knowing that, Nikolay reflexively gave Oleg the fiercest glare he had ever given; enough to make even the towering man above them realize he was better served leaving them alone now.
"Hey, Niko-san, what've you got down here?" Eijirou suddenly called out, having stepped away without anyone noticing, and now standing at the doorway to the cellar. "That's the…that's me and dad's…training room." Eijirou, Izuku and Tenya immediately perked up at the mention, and soon, everyone was filing down the stairs to look upon the haphazard piling of weights and other standard training equipment in the farther corner. "It's not exactly the most respectable setup, I won't lie. Do you and Tunguska-sensei use all these things regularly, Bezpalov-san?" Tenya asked, not even trying to hide his initial distaste.
"It's mainly my dads', really. Most of my physical training has been in some standard Russian martial arts and basic brawling. All this stuff was provided by Yuuei when they found out we were coming here. Nowadays, we mainly use this room for helping me train with my Quirk." With a sense of timing that almost seemed as if he had been mentally rehearsing a scenario like this, Nikolay ultimately decided to step aside and show everyone the self-sized hole in the concrete wall, and the nearly destroyed umpire vest and helmet beside it. "You can pretty much see how well that's gone, so far."
"Wait, how can it be this bad, though? You seem like you actually have a halfway decent handle on your Quirk in the tests and training exercises so far," Izuku noted, which only helped to fuel the young Russians' sense of shame in his lack of experience. "Believe me, it's not as easy as it might look to you guys. I constantly have to put a ton of focus into using my Quirk, whether it's trying; trying being the operative word; to control just how much power I end up letting out, and controlling the direction I end up launching myself whenever I fire. Every single time I do, it pushes back, like the kick from a gun, so I'm always having to keep that in mind and making sure I don't launch myself anywhere I shouldn't be."
As he explained his most hated aspect of his Quirk, Nikolay soon noticed a just as sudden look of remembrance from Eijirou and Mina both. "Hey, that's right! Back at the entrance exam, you got thrown down that hall after you destroyed that robot that attacked us! I thought that was just an accident, man! You're telling me that happens every time you use it?" Nikolay wordlessly motioned to the hole in the wall and gave him a single confirming nod.
However, Mina simply looked confused. "Wait, at the end of the entrance exam, though, I saw you use your Quirk on that last robot that attacked us. You didn't get pushed back an inch when you used it, then. If it really does launch you back every time you use it…why didn't it, then?" To her disappointment, though, Nikolay gave her a defeated shrug, clearly having no answer. "Believe me, I've been trying to figure that out, too. It felt like my body was just acting on its own back then, but that still doesn't explain what I did differently. If I knew, I'd be doing it more often."
Not long after, those that had gone down into the cellar had come back, only to find Denki and Momo walking and searching about the house, looking visibly perturbed. "What are you two doing?" Nikolay instinctively asked, instinctively sounding more accusatory than he had intended, which got him an especially guilty-looking reaction from Momo.
"Forgive me, Bezpalov-san. I realize it's especially rude to go looking about another persons' home without permission, so for that, I apologize. Kaminari-san and I simply could not help but notice that you and Tunguska-sensei don't seem to have very much here, as far as things like books ("Or music!") or any other casual niceties would go.
"I know it's not any of our business, but we thought it very unusual. I had honestly figured that, due to Tunguska-sensei being a former Top Hero in your country, that reputation would have afforded you both enough money or belongings to match." Momo clearly looked like she felt terrible for overstepping her boundaries, but Nikolays' lack of anger gave her an inkling of reassurance.
"I understand why you would think so, Yaoyorozu-san; but the truth is that we never really had much back home to begin with, and we had to leave a lot of what little we did have when we made our way here. So…yeah, I realize there isn't a whole lot for us to provide you with as our…well, our guests, but I'm afraid what you've seen is all there really is so far."
While Nikolay himself looked completely satisfied with the extent of his own answer, everyone else silently exchanged equally confused looks with each other. From the way it had sounded, Tunguska was the Number One Top Hero back in their home country, and that kind of reputation had to come with its own bevy of benefits, no matter the country. And yet, Nikolay was making it sound like they were just above the poverty line to begin with. Somehow, these two major pieces of father-and-sons' history just were not adding up right.
However, despite how much they all clearly wanted to ask for more details, they had thankfully become familiar enough with the telltale signs in their young hosts' body language, to know that this was yet another one of the many sensitive subjects that today would have been better served not asking about.
It was with that in mind, that Momo ended up being the one to step forward and break this uncomfortable silence. "So, Bezpalov-san, I realize this is a bit unusual to ask, now of all times, but what exactly did you like to do for fun back in Russia? Personally?" The effort on her part clearly did not go unappreciated, either by Nikolay or her fellow guests, but the likes of Kyouka, Denki, Mina and Ochako couldn't help but snicker among themselves to see their normally so prim and proper classmate try to speak and act so casually, causing her to actually lightly blush in embarrassment, while Nikolay himself looked to be legitimately racking his brain for an answer.
"That's not really an easy answer. I mean, I'm sure when you all think of fun, you think of things you do with…well, with other people. I've never done that, I guess until now. Before, all I ever really did outside of school was read old books and watch old movies. If I'm being honest, that's probably one of the only things I miss about our old home back there, because we actually had a pretty good-sized collection of all kinds. That was actually one of the few things they didn't end up outlawing in the Bloc after the Union came back, was films made in the West."
While Nikolay progressively became more and more lost in the subject, Momo noticed the uplifting look in everyones' eyes as they looked to the black-haired girl, silently urging her to keep him going. Their whole reasoning behind this gathering had been for the sake of helping their classmate learn how to open up, and so far this was the closest they had come towards that end. "You sound rather passionate about such things, Bezpalov-san. Have you been so enthusiastic about films for long?"
To everyones' pleasant surprise, Nikolay didn't seem to be put off by such a direct question. In fact, if anything, he actually looked legitimately pleased to answer. "Yes, actually. For about as long as I can remember. I wish I knew how to explain it, I just always find myself so drawn in by old movies, no matter where they come from or how old they are. I mean, maybe you could just say I gravitate towards films in general. I just find the idea of artists from all different walks of life, of so many different generations, trying to immortalize these tiny portrayals of their views of the world, the environments they come from, the people that live there, trying to capture these little ideas within tiny specks of time and preserve them forever, whatever that idea might mean to anyone…everything about that whole concept, I just naturally found fascinating, and it's stuck with me ever since."
The crystal clear passion he had just put on display for his guests, left everyone feeling a sense of success, that they had somehow managed to inadvertently penetrate Nikolays' emotionally distant shell, and while many felt the need to capitalize on it while they could, Mina was naturally at the ready. "Hey, you know what we should all do some time, like when we have an extended weekend? What would you guys say to us all coming together for some kind of movie marathon slumber party? We all pick ones we like; we get to hang out all night, it'd be a blast!"
Ochako, Eijirou and Denki clearly found the idea to be just as fun as Mina did, while Izuku, Nikolay, Kyouka and Momo all clearly looked awkwardly among themselves at such a spontaneous and, frankly, unusual idea for socializing. But among them, it was Tenya who had the demeanor most closely resembling that of textbook disapproval, and everyone could practically feel it.
"I'm afraid I have to disagree, Ashido-san. As nice as it is to socialize like this every now and then, the fact remains that we are here to learn how to be Pro Heroes together first and foremost, and I cannot see how such an idea could serve as anything more than a detriment towards that goal, throwing two entire days away that could be spent bettering ourselves for the field."
Mina, Eijirou and Denki, surprisingly, didn't look to be discouraged by their peers' logical discounting of the concept of fun, and only seemed driven that much further, as they began to approach him. "Oh, come on, Iida-san, even you must know that constantly focusing on studying day in and day out isn't any better for you." "Yeah, sometimes you have to take the chance to unwind, relax, give your brain a chance to rest. You gotta know crashing from over-studying is a real thing, too." Eijirou and Denkis' attempts to draw Tenya to their side didn't look to be working on the stalwart boy before them, but that didn't stop Nikolay from actually stepping forward to add his own piece.
"If I may say something, too, Iida-san; in the time I've been here, I've come across numerous discussions around films online, all made up of people that have provided some fascinating viewpoints, perspectives and ideas around things I've seen numerous times that I otherwise never would have considered. If things like films can bring otherwise completely different people together to exchange ideas that can broaden each others' overall perspective, surely that must count for something, right?"
This seemed to strike a much more visible chord within Tenya, as one of his pronounced eyebrows barely twitched as he took Nikolays' stance into consideration. He had always been taught of the importance of perspective, especially those from the outside, both within and outside of Pro Hero work. It was essential for problem solving, and if the more of them could learn the value of such a thing from any kind of resource, then who was he to say if it wasn't truly worthwhile?
Nevertheless, Tenyas' constant professional mindset could not bring him to fully acquiesce to the idea, but neither was he going to outright say no anymore, as he simply crossed his arms and gave a conceding nod of understanding to the idea, leaving everyone visibly excited for the inevitable occasion again.
"Niko-san, were these all of Tunguska-senseis' old partners?" Izukus' curious voice suddenly asked from across the room. Turning back, Nikolay realized the freckled boy had now taken to looking at an assortment of small, framed photos Oleg had taken the time to hang on the wall since they had moved in. Everyone instinctively flocked over to get a better look, while Nikolay was trying to ward off the tingling of nostalgia in the back of his head.
As Izuku had pointed out, in each of the photos was what they had to assume was a much younger and more physically sculpted Tunguska, joined by numerous other Heroes none of them had ever seen or heard of before. Izukus' curiosity, especially, was beginning to become too much, as he could instinctively feel the need to grab his otherwise trusty notebook for taking down Hero notes. He could only think regretfully to himself why he had to pick today of all days to leave it at home.
"Yes, they were. Those were his old team back then, The New Bogatyrs. Bogatyrs were essentially the ancient Slavic equivalent of…say, the Knights of the Round Table. I guess with the onset of Quirks, Heroes and Villains and such, they thought the name seemed appropriate." Nikolays' nostalgic tone did nothing to dissuade Izukus' enthusiasm, as he couldn't stop thinking of how much this younger version of Tunguska both stood apart from, yet also considerably resembled, All Might.
"Do you think…do you think if I asked Tunguska-sensei, he would be willing to maybe talk about them? Just seeing so many Heroes from a country I never even considered, it's got me more than a little excited." Once he had actually said so, however, Izukus' eager nature quickly gave way to his typical awkwardness, once he saw the clearly amused smiles gracing most of his classmates' faces at just how charmingly nerdy he was coming across as.
"Uh, sorry. I-I guess you could say I've always been kind of a…well, a fanboy," he excused himself, rubbing the back of his head in awkward embarrassment. However, without another word, Nikolay actually stepped forward and began to point each individual Hero in the pictures out. "I can help, at least as much as I can. I only really met any of them when I was really little, so I mainly just have dads' stories to go off of.
"That man with the gills and the water-filled respirator, that's Volga, the River Hero. He could basically manipulate water and swim inhumanly well, kind of like Tsuyu-san. The huge one with the bear head, that's Volos, the Bear Hero. He was essentially like a…a Berserker, kind of like how Kaminari-san described Sato-san at the battle trial." With each Hero Nikolay pointed out and described, he found himself feeling more and more pleasantly nostalgic; especially when he saw that everyone was actually giving their full attention to every word. That pessimistic voice in his head wanted to tell him they were simply patronizing him, but he couldn't shake this strange feeling of actual kinship with his guests and classmates, for the first time.
"The man in that really shiny gold armor, that's Zolotoy Strazh, Golden Guardian, the Glamorous Hero. He could basically conjure up an impenetrable golden shield and golden armor that gave him strongly enhanced durability and strength. The woman in the military-esque looking suit, that's Gospozha Krepost', Madam Fortress, the Armament Hero. She could essentially fire projectiles out of her fingertips and joints. Dad said she always had something of a…well; let's just say she and Bakugo would have had a lot in common, attitude-wise. And then…there in the middle…mom and dad. The Songbird Hero, and the Sun of Justice."
A morose silence overcame the young Russian as everyone took in all these new faces; parts of a history in the lineage of Heroes they never even knew existed. It instilled in them a new awareness of just how truly big a world this was that they lived in, and the countless potential Heroes that lived in it. If anything, it only made them appreciate the part they all were able to play in it that much more (which was miraculous when considering they idolized the world of Heroes to begin with).
As they began to step away from the commemorative wall, Mina and Ochako quickly noticed another one of the portraits hung up depicted the now familiar younger face of Tunguska, the woman they now knew to be Nikolays' mother, and an immediately recognizable infant face snug right between the two smiling adults. Both girls' instinctively let out coos of adoration at such a precious moment caught on camera, while Nikolay could already feel his stomach twisting with embarrassment; to the point even some of his male counterparts couldn't help but feel it by proxy.
"Oh, just look at you, Kolya-kun! How is it your face manages to grow up, and yet still look as cute now as you did then?" Mina asked only semi-teasingly, once again spurring an instinctive mumbled protest from Nikolay in response, begging her to please stop with that same embarrassing excuse for a compliment. Sensing his discomfort, Eijirou quietly stepped up, unable to help but sympathize with their Slavic hosts' unenviable position. "Hey, maybe this is a bit out of my place to ask, but…if you're feeling kind of emasculated right now, would it help if one of us maybe smashed a flaming 2x4 over your back? Would that help you feel a little manlier again? I mean; I've seen your army guys do it online, that's an actual thing you guys do, right?"
It was hard to tell if he was being serious about that offer or not, but the humor behind it was still appreciated, as Nikolay actually felt a genuine chuckle of amusement emanate from his lips, bringing all the other chatter and noise to a halt, as everyone looked like they had just been hearing things. Paying them no mind, Nikolay didn't miss a beat as he answered: "No, that's okay. But if you ask my dad, he'll probably take you up on it."
Everyone was looking joyous, yet remained speechless. At a time they had begun to think it wouldn't be possible, they had not only heard Nikolay genuinely laugh, but even make a semi-competent attempt at something resembling a joke. That alone left everyones' hearts feeling lighter than they thought they would today. This was a milestone in their universal goal of getting the Russian boy to open up, the likes of which they didn't think was possible this soon. The thought of it all nearly made those like Mina, Ochako and Eijirou want to cheer and congratulate him, but before they could even think of it, the kitchen door suddenly swung open, as Oleg stepped out with an expectant smile on his face. "Everyone, food is officially ready."
Once everyones' contributions to the impromptu banquet had been set up and everyone had taken their respective places, and Oleg and Nikolay had proceeded through their respective Russian prayers and tributes at the foot of the makeshift altar that was Lyudmila Bezpalovas' cabinet of keepsakes, everyone was finally ready to partake.
"Alright, everyone feel free to help yourselves to as much as you like, there's plenty to go around. Keep in mind, Kolya put the main course together on his own, all I did was make sure the house didn't burn down." Oleg announced with a hearty laugh. Despite the overall pleasant air among them all, however, Nikolay once more felt a stirring of nervousness in his stomach. Not only was this the very first time anyone besides his father was about to eat anything the boy himself had made, but it was from an entirely different ethnic cuisine than any one of them were used to, and he still wasn't even that good, period. As much as he wanted to tell himself it would be fine, the all-too possible scenario of everyone hating it was too great for him to just ignore. Once he saw everyone had gotten their first spoonfuls at the ready, he felt his heart momentarily seize, just ready for the spit takes, the expressions of disgust, any of it.
"Delicious!" Momo was the first to express in unmistakable surprise, momentarily leaving Nikolay certain he had to be hearing things. "Slightly sour and a bit tangy…yet in a way that actually helps all the components compliment each other." Tenya stated in observation shortly after; the closest he could possibly come to expressing the same sentiment. Nikolay nearly wanted to pinch himself to prove this was all just some kind of fever dream, and yet the more he observed, the more he saw each of his guests, one by one, were all quickly showing the same expression of immense enjoyment of the food once they took it in, to the point even Mina, Ochako and Kyouka looked like their hair was about to stand on end from the flavorful sensation. And all the while, Oleg simply sat at the table with the single proudest smile behind his thick beard.
"Are you really sure you haven't been cooking for longer, Niko-san? Seriously, I'm not even messing with you right now, how did you make something this good?" Denki asked, looking like he was about ready to wolf his whole serving down and get more, only for a disapproving glare from Kyouka to stop him in his tracks.
"Practice, Kaminari-san. Dad can barely manage in the kitchen on his own, and if I didn't keep at it, we probably would have starved a long time ago." The near universally positive reception of his food from everyone instilled a surprising air of relaxed confidence in Nikolay like the flipping of a switch, as he found himself answering with nary a sign of a stutter or any further awkwardness. Just the sound of it nearly got Oleg choked up where he sat.
"Well, allow me to once again apologize for my previous assumptions, Bezpalov-san. It's not very often that teenagers who still live with either parent are able to be nearly this handy around the household, in any respect." Tenya spoke up; the sincerity of his compliment masked by the bluntness of his tone and choice of words. However, everyone, surprisingly, looked to be in agreement; with Izuku, Momo and Kyouka likewise agreeing that living with their parents alleviated a good amount of that pressure.
They all inadvertently came to learn shortly after that Ochako, Mina, Eijirou and Denki had essentially chosen to find places of their own to live with the help of their parents, since the distance from Yuuei to their families' homes was simply too far, and as a result, they had all essentially been forced to learn how to provide for themselves. Some had clearly taken to it far better than others, as everyone was in agreement as to how good Ochakos' mochi and Minas' natto was, and it became too clear exactly why Eijirou and Denki had opted out of bringing anything of their own.
"So, today we've learned that our host is a film enthusiast, and knows his way around the kitchen. I wonder, Bezpalov-san, are there any other surprise hobbies or talents you've been keeping from us so far?" Momo asked in a surprisingly cordial manner, exhibiting honest amusement from the pleasant atmosphere. Nikolay momentarily fidgeted, which told them he either hadn't expected more questions, or there was in fact something in mind, which of course got Mina, Eijirou and Ochako visibly interested.
However, Oleg was the one to let out a loud burst of amused laughter, forcing all attention upon himself. Nikolay let out a sigh of relief, until he heard the next words to come out his fathers' mouth: "Well, believe it or not, a long time ago, right around when he was in primary school, Kolya actually took to playing music, even singing. You know, everybody as children are looking for something to dedicate themselves to that can define them; like every one of you wanting to become Pro Heroes. For a time, this was the equivalent of that for him."
Everyones' expressions reflected fascination and surprise, but none more so than Kyouka and Denki, who simply looked at the young Russian like they physically could not picture him ever being the type to sing. Of course, Nikolay was very quick to put a pin in the subject right now. "It's like the dancing, I fell off that years ago. So don't start getting any clever ideas, all right?" At this, Oleg couldn't help but chuckle in grim amusement (grim in Nikolays' mind, as far as he was concerned). "Oh, come now, Kolya, you don't need to be so quick to deny it. I've heard you singing tunes to yourself whenever you think you're alone, you don't have to hide it."
Nikolay looked like he was either ready to put his own face, or his fathers', through the table to make this conversation die, but Oleg was already one step ahead, as he hurriedly rose from his seat, rushed into his room, and pulled out what his son had most feared he would: the old family photo album. Worst of all, many of his classmates were just as eager to see the proof to Olegs' claims, as all but Izuku, Momo and Tenya practically flocked to their teachers' side to see a worn photograph of a seven-year-old Nikolay Bezpalov with an oversized balalaika nearly overtaking his small body.
Without a word, and not wanting to hear any of the expectant coos and comments from the others, Nikolay hurriedly rose from his spot and made a rush for the front door, leaving Oleg and his classmates visibly surprised that the boy still wasn't able to get into the same mood with them.
The minutes seemed to come to a crawl, as Nikolay remained leaning on the railing to the front door entranceway. As nice as it felt to actually be able to just share that kind of casual time with everyone, it didn't change how uncomfortable he was consistently feeling, being the center of so much attention, and Olegs' constant dredging up of the past did not help.
The click of the front door opening broke his train of thought, but he didn't have it in him to face anyone after having just run out like an immature child, upon reflection. "Are you here to convince me to come back in so dad can keep telling everyone about my old dead hobbies?" his more cynical impulse compelled him to ask, only to be met with a momentary silence, before approaching footsteps drove him to find Mina standing patiently at his side with a reassuring smile.
"Well, I was thinking more along the lines of just making sure you aren't lonely out here until you decide for yourself to come back in, if that's alright," she humored him, which thankfully garnered an amused smirk out of him as he looked up at the colorful clouds in the early evening sky. "I hope you're not too upset, Kolya-kun. I mean, embarrassing their kids, that's kind of what parents just do. Hey, if the day eventually comes you get to meet my parents, I'll let them show you some of my embarrassing old pictures and not say a word, if it'll make you feel better. Word of warning, I used to wear my hair in pigtails in my first year of middle school. Well, at least as close to pigtails as…all this can get." Mina couldn't help but giggle in amusement at herself as she used her hands to emphasize her naturally messy-looking pink hair.
To her relief, Nikolay couldn't help but laugh along with her, before letting out a sigh of what sounded like honest contentment. "I'll be sure to remember that for later. In all seriousness, though, my dad talking about all this old stuff isn't even what's on my mind anymore. I'm just…I'm just still not used to all this. You know, parties, having people in my house that aren't me and my dad…and actually enjoying being around people. I've never done that before, and I'm not sure if I'll ever really be able to get used to that whole feeling."
Mina soon found herself resting against the railing right alongside Nikolay, looking up at the sky and the fluffiness of the clouds. "You know, at first I was actually really nervous that I had overstepped my boundaries with you two, just inviting myself and everyone over here; especially on a day this important to you." It was clearly taking quite a bit for the usually bright and cheery girl to admit this much; Nikolay could easily hear it in her voice. However, it still felt good to know she felt comfortable enough with him to trust him with that knowledge.
"If I'm being honest, Ashido-san; at one point after we had come to this country, you would have been overstepping. However, the thing is that I…there's something my dad told me that I've been thinking about a lot since we came here. Something I've been struggling to keep a hold on over everything we've been doing this past week. He said that one of the things my mother wanted, even more than to see me become a real Hero one day, was just for me to be happy. I know that's what any halfway-decent parent wants for their child, but just to hear him say that, remembering as little as I do about her, myself…it's really stuck with me since then.
"That doesn't make it any easier for me to get used to the way things are here, not after things back home had been the way they were for us for as long as they had been. It's hard for me to figure out what that would look like for me, to really be completely happy, and not be bogged down by the things that have been…well, making me act the way I had recently. I know it's only going to get harder before it gets any easier for me to really, really feel genuinely happy and…you know, at peace with everything else. But…for dads' sake and my own…for everyone's, really; I'm…I'm trying my best to get to that point."
As difficult as the ultimate goal for him was, it did still feel quite liberating for Nikolay to express these holdups out loud for someone who would listen and even try to understand. As much as Mina found it disheartening to hear Nikolay admit to the difficulty of trying to raise himself up emotionally, she likewise could feel just how much it helped her Russian companion to actually put such feelings to words. In her mind, that was just as much of a huge leap in the right direction for his life, as anything else. And in the end, that was enough.
The two friends remained in pleasant silence together as they continued taking in the vastness of the sky, silently enjoying each others' company. As far as Mina Ashido and Nikolay Bezpalov were concerned, today had proven to be a rather good one.
Back inside the house, upon realizing how much he had been potentially embarrassing Nikolay in front of his peers and friends, Oleg had decided to do away with the photo album, and instead treat his students to some of his fondest stories from the old days with The New Bogatyrs. Izuku, Ochako, Tenya, Momo and Eijirou gave the old Soviet Hero their rapt attention (with Izuku even having been given a spare notebook by Oleg to take what notes he wanted), while Denki had decided to relegate himself to playing competitively on his phone, and Kyouka could no longer resist her own curiosity at some of the Slavic music she had filed through before.
As he regaled his young audience with the story of his experience liberating and returning a hijacked stealth submarine just outside the mouth of Yenisei Gulf alongside his old partner Volga, Oleg felt a stirring of that same ancient pride he once felt back in those very same glory days, the feeling of being nothing short of respected by his juniors, of being a symbol of inspiration for others. It was more nostalgic than anything the older man could recall, and was without a doubt in his mind, the one thing of his old professional life he missed more than anything else, besides those same people he got to share those experiences with.
This being the fourth or fifth such story he had recounted, he was pleased to see his students were just as attentive and captivated as ever, but none more so, he noticed, than Eijirou, who looked like he was trying to work up the courage to say something. Of course, the red-haired boy found himself freezing up when he realized his anxious demeanor had gotten their teachers' attention. "Is there something you have on your mind you'd like to share with us, malenkii Kirishima? Remember, this isn't the classroom, so you don't have to be embarrassed."
Eijirou was visibly caught off guard by Olegs' open invitation, but when he saw the look in Izuku and Ochakos' eyes that were silently urging him to say what they had already guessed was on his mind, he felt a swelling of a never-before-felt confidence build up in his chest as he forced himself to stand as tall and bravely as he could before Olegs' towering frame, meeting his gaze head-on.
"Sensei, I'm sorry for how forward this is going to sound, but…b-but when you eventually get registered as a Pro Hero again, when the time in the year comes, would you be willing to take me on as an intern? Your stories are so exciting, and everything about you I see and hear is so manly; you're like everything I want to be like when I become a Pro! So please, would you at least consider it when the time comes?"
Eijirou capped off his sudden request with the most extreme of head bows, almost bending himself at a 45-degree angle before a visibly surprised Oleg. However, Tenya and Momo in particular, looked upon their enthusiastically masculine classmate incredulously. "You're jumping the gun far too much, Kirishima-san. It takes a great deal of time for even the most experienced Heroes to become registered as Pros. And even when Sensei does get registered, they aren't simply going to let him take an intern under his wing right off the bat." Momo declared, putting aside the smidgeon of guilt she felt for having to give Eijirou a much-needed reality check, while Tenya clearly concurred.
"That's right, Pro Heroes also need the time to properly prove themselves and garner some much needed experience on the field before they can be entrusted with an intern. The potential danger they face on the streets every day is no joke, and simply giving an intern over to a new hire is just plain irresponsible on any agencies' part."
Eijirou didn't visibly let his disappointment show, as he knew they were both absolutely correct, but that didn't make the truth hurt any less. However, Oleg intervened with a deeply amused chuckle as he laid a massive yet comforting hand on the eager boys' shoulder. "They're both correct in that regard, malenkii Kirishima, but that doesn't change the fact that your enthusiasm and dedication is downright admirable. To tell you the truth, I see a lot of my younger self in you, for I too was just as eager to meet the standards of the very Heroes I looked up to at your age. So I'm making you a solemn promise, man-to-man: when the time is right, no sooner and no later, I will personally take you on as my intern."
Eijirou Kirishima, in that moment, looked like he was about ready to die of sheer happiness where he stood. To hear someone who so perfectly physically encapsulated everything he aspired to be as a Hero, actually say they saw themselves within him, and even make a promise man-to-man to his face, he felt like his entire life had been fulfilled. Had it not been for his own self-imposed impression of what constituted being manly, he would've wanted to cry tears of joy right there, no matter who was watching.
"You know, as a matter of fact, malenkii Kirishima, your Quirk actually reminds me of one of my old allies in The New Bogatyrs. We had one Hero among us, who went by the name Svyatogor, after a mythical heroic figure in ancient Slavic folklore. He had a reinforcing Quirk much like yours, except in his case, he could actually turn his skin into stone in order to protect himself and have enhanced strength.
"It's funny, thinking back on it now. Back in the old days, in the few times we could actually collect ourselves between missions, Svyatogor and I actually used to pass the time arm wrestling. He and I were the physically strongest members of the team, and he and I both had quite the competitive streak, so we always did it to try and see who was getting stronger the quickest. Go ahead and call it barbaric if you like, but when it comes to things that can bond two souls together in the field of Heroics and battle, there are few things that can compare."
Oleg had clearly let himself get lost in his nostalgia again, but Eijirou simply felt his admiration flare up into an inferno in his chest, as he couldn't help but take in the image of the younger Tunguska arm wrestling a man of stone, as if it were the Sistine Chapel of masculinity, only able to barely mutter in astonishment: "So manly…"
"Dammit! Five times in a row now! This guy has gotta be cheating, I swear!" Denki suddenly exclaimed from his spot, waving his phone in frustration at having lost once again. "Screaming and complaining about it isn't gonna change anything, you know. It has to be your lack of skill that keeps making you lose, Kaminari-san." Kyouka commented apathetically, while covertly slipping her own phone back into her pocket.
Witnessing his blonde classmates' frustration, Eijirou suddenly felt a light bulb go off in his head. "Hey, Kaminari, forget the games for a second. What do you say we go for some good old-fashioned arm wrestling, huh? Come on, no fancy machines, no Quirks, just good old-fashioned man-to-man displays of strength." Denki was just about to laugh at how one-sided such a thing would be, comparing his skinny physique to Eijirous' clearly defined muscular frame, but then weighed that against the continuous frustration and humiliation of getting his ass kicked over the phone. "You know what? What the hell, why not?"
Overjoyed at his accepting the challenge, Eijirou and Denki quickly made their way to the dining room table, situating themselves opposite each other with their dominant elbows on the table. With hands clasped tightly, the two boys immediately went at it on the count of three, and Denki already found his hand being planted flat within seconds.
"Oh, that's crap, I didn't get my arm planted firmly enough," he protested with a confident smirk still gracing his face, while Eijirou simply grinned in amusement at what a sore loser the blonde boy was being.
'Lather, rinse, and repeat' was the phrase that came to mind when the boys went at it for a second round, and Eijirou once again managed to pin Denkis' hand in less than half a minute. "Come on, you two, this hardly seems like an affective use of your physical strength!" Tenya scolded his two classmates upon observing their respectively childish display.
"Hey, you look like a pretty tough guy, too, Iida-san. Why don't you join in once Kaminari calls it quits?" Eijirou invited, clearly ribbing his opponent in good nature. However, Denkis' competitive side came out in full force as he suddenly clasped both his hands around Eijirous' one, pushing against it with all his strength, putting as much of his body weight into it as he could manage. "Hey, what the hell, that's cheating!" Eijirou protested as he now found himself having to legitimately use all his strength to push back.
"You've already got an unfair advantage in muscles! I gotta have some kind of handicap on my side to win!" Denki boasted, as the fact Eijirous' arm was beginning to actually give was instilling him with an ill-founded sense of confidence. Eijirou, on the other hand, was beginning to feel himself burn with the desperation to push back with all the strength he could. Adrenaline was burning through his arm as he tried to push back inch-by-inch, gritting his sharp teeth with the strain.
The further he went, the more he found his inner manly voice pushing him to go even stronger, to prove himself and his strength beyond a shadow of a doubt. Unfortunately, it was a momentary lapse in his concentration and reason, which led to what happened next.
With every instinct telling him to go beyond and prove his true strength, Eijirou found his focus on simply using his own strength momentarily slip, in favor of showcasing his ability to push himself beyond. As such, his struggling arm immediately began to harden the further he pushed, and with it, a considerable increase in strength and decrease in give.
These factors together, led to Eijirou pushing with many times more than his maximum physical strength, and as a result, Denki was inadvertently sent reeling through the air with that victorious final push…directly into the keepsake cabinet on the wall.
CRAAASH!
The cacophony of the cabinet, and everything in it, being smashed to pieces upon impact with Denkis' body, was like the detonation of an atom bomb inside the house, as everyone who hadn't already been watching, was now looking to the source, and felt their hearts all simultaneously plummet. The house was as silent as the grave, and the air quickly grew just as cold and foreboding. Even Denki immediately looked horrified once he realized what had just happened, while Eijirou remained glued to where he sat, his once proud face now pale as a sheet.
"What the hell was that noise?! What-?!" Nikolays' shocked voice sent a spark of devastated realization through everyone, as he and Mina instantly came running back in to check, only for them both to freeze dead in their tracks and look in wide-eyed horror at the wreckage on the scene. Mina couldn't take her eyes off of it, but Nikolay looked as though he was gazing upon a scene of Hell itself, his hands just barely twitching as his mouth muttered silently, trying to conjure words. [[Oh…my God…]] he muttered mindlessly to himself over and over again as he plodded slowly towards the debris, before finally collapsing to his knees in disbelief, absentmindedly digging his hands into the numerous pieces, pulling out handfuls of shattered ceramic in his palms; the remnants of Lyudmilas' figurine.
"Oh my God, Niko-san, I'm sorry; I'm so, so, so sorry! I-I don't know what happened! W-we were arm wrestling, a-and I just—"It was an accident, we swear, we didn't mean to! God, I am so sorry, man! M-maybe we can…maybe we can try to put it back together, o-or…shit!"
Eijirou and Denkis' frantic apologies, however, never reached Nikolays' ears. Nothing did. Kneeling there, amid the strewn pieces of what once served as the only true reminder of a woman he barely remembered, Nikolay felt himself plummeting into an endless abyss; an abyss of emptiness, sadness…and remembrance.
Gazing upon the tragic pieces of his mothers' last remaining physical visage in his hands, Nikolay found himself experiencing sensations, remembering things that he never had before. While his body was still in that little corner of the living room, his mind was somewhere far different. His senses began to grow overwhelmed with feelings and scents both strange yet unsettlingly familiar. His heart was hammering at his ribs in an animalistic sense of panic, and his face was both burning with an unbearable heat of raw emotion cooking his brain from the inside out, yet also freezing with an awful frigid sweat of horror.
He still couldn't even make a sound as his nostrils began to burn with the awful stench of smoke, ashes and blood. His ears were ringing with the steadily growing cacophony of desperate and helpless cries. He could feel a terrible freezing cold spread across his skin, as if it were enveloping his entire body. What was worst of all, though, above everything else, was the pair of lifeless, distant eyes hanging in the darkness before him every time he instinctively closed his own; a pair of distant, lifeless eyes of amber upon a face of empty, peaceful resignation, like that of an ashen porcelain doll.
Outside of it all, as Nikolay remained deathly silent on his knees, Oleg felt the worst sense of anticipation in his gut; anticipation for something he knew he didn't want any of the others to be subjected to. With as much of a delicate approach as he could manage, he began carefully moving towards the nearest of them. "Everyone…start heading for the door, now. Let me…let me try and talk to him," he barely spoke above the faintest whisper, lest anything at all finally set Nikolay off. He began to move for the nearest of them, Izuku and Ochako, when the silence was suddenly broken by Kyouka letting out an especially pained-sounding groan where she was still sitting.
Everyone immediately turned to find the purple-haired girl clutching her hands over her ears like she was trying to block out a horrible noise. "Jirou-san? What's wrong? What's going on?" Momo asked concernedly as she immediately rushed to Kyoukas' side, while everyone else was visibly frightened and confused at the thought of what could've possibly triggered this reaction.
"Oh, God…that sound…I-I can't block it out! Oh, my god, how can you guys not hear that?" Kyouka groaned in pain, while everyone else could only give her reluctant and confused looks, not hearing anything, let alone anything bad enough to make her writhe on the floor like she was. It was like the most piercing and highest of pitches going right into her earlobe jacks and directly into her brain. She could only possibly describe this horrible sensation as the equivalent of what dog whistles sounded like to animals.
Worst of all, though, was that with each passing second, even though nobody but Kyouka could hear it, she could tell it was steadily getting more and more powerful.
Everyone was finally letting their worry, fear and confusion be known, as nobody could figure out whether to try and attend to Nikolay or Kyouka, but soon either worry was forgotten, when they all began to feel a pronounced vibration through the floor, or rather, through the entirety of the house itself.
"An earthquake?! But none of the emergency systems sounded!" Ochako asked while barely managing to keep from panicking as the vibration had now grown into a full-on rumbling that shook the entire house to its foundations. Oleg, however, was already on it as he hurried for his students, ushering them to the door as fast as they could go. Once he came in closer to his son, though, his sense of touch suddenly made him realize something, something he now feared more than anything in this moment: the growing vibrations that were shaking the entire house were emanating from Nikolay himself, and not just from his hands like normal. It was emanating from his entire body where he still knelt.
The ceramic pieces had long since fallen back to the floor, dancing helplessly as the house continued to shake with more and more intensity, while Nikolays' whole body had begun to curl into a ball, with his hands furiously clutching at his hair, nearly tearing handfuls of it from his scalp by the root. The devastated boys' teeth grinded against each other, nearly to the point of breaking, and his eyes were burning with tears of incomprehensible emotion, no matter how tightly he kept them shut.
His brain was a cacophony of awful noises, senses and sights, all coalescing into an indescribable, all-destroying flash of consciousness, as everything he had tried so hard to remember finally came back to him in all their forgotten, awful details, rendering his once shaking body stone still. In that moment, his heart, mind, body and soul all seized up with an all-unifying and agonizing pain, as the complete recollection of the source of all his years of anguish and pain imprinted itself upon his very being.
And that's when Nikolay Bezpalov felt his very mind, his sense of self, his very understanding of his own sanity…break.
Nobody had a chance to even react, before Nikolay suddenly threw his head back, his green eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his mouth wide open; releasing a subsonic blast from within the depths of his screaming throat and every inch of his body, of such devastating sound and power, that everyone gathered, even Oleg and his massive frame, were lifted right off their feet and thrown back through the air like helpless feathers, as the entire house was nearly blown out from the resultant shockwaves. Somehow, when the deafening wall of cacophonous devastation had finally died out, the house was miraculously able to stay standing, even after its entire façade had been blasted outwards like an explosion.
With silence finally returned, everyone was struggling to regain their senses and get back to their feet. Their ears were all ringing horribly, never before had they heard such a devastating and powerful sound so up close. It was frankly a miracle none of them had been rendered deaf from it. One by one, as they finally managed to get back up and take in, with shock, the sheer destruction that had fallen upon the house in a matter of seconds, they quickly noticed Nikolay had gotten back on his feet.
His hands were hanging limply at his sides, and he still had his gaze focused solely on the ceramic pieces at his feet. However, a disconcerting detail many quickly noticed was that, contrary to what seemed a natural reaction to something like what had just happened, Nikolays' shoulders weren't trembling with tears. In fact, they didn't even hear him gasping for breath or sniffling. The fact he was so still and so quiet, was frankly more unsettling than anything.
"Kolya…kun?" "Niko-san?" "Bezpalov-san?" Mina and everyone else instinctively asked with worry once they saw the boy like this, and Oleg felt his blood go cold as he likewise tried to approach his son. "Kolya?"
The sound of his fathers' voice forced Nikolay to finally look back to everyone, but what they saw froze them all dead where they stood. What they saw reflected in Nikolay Bezpalovs' face was not sadness. It was hatred and anger, immeasurable and pure in its venom, shown in the utter coldness in his green eyes. It was frightening enough for all the students gathered, but for Oleg, it felt so much worse. He could physically feel all of it directed specifically towards him. What made it even worse than that, however, was the acknowledging fact that he was looking upon the face of an anger he had long feared dwelt within his son for years; one he had silently hoped would never show itself one day. Now, he was finally witnessing one of his worst fears come to life.
Nikolays' head was awhirl with so much long-repressed anger, sadness and hate, it felt like his skull was going to split apart at the seams. Looking upon Oleg, upon everyone, filled every fiber of his being with so much disgust and rage, there was no possible way to physically contain what finally came out as he strained to open his mouth to speak.
[[Look…at what you've done. Look. Look! LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID TO HER! WHAT YOU PEOPLE HAVE DONE TO EVERYTHING!]] The animalistic fury in Nikolays' voice was more than enough to transcend the language barrier and make everyone understand just what he was screaming. However, Oleg knew, just from the fact that his sons' eyes were burning through him specifically, that the boy wasn't referring to the cabinet. He was referring to something much more precious.
Nikolays' burning gaze now passed over everyone, yet all he could see was red as the words just came out on complete and total unrestrained impulse. "This is what happens. All this time…all this time, they were right! Every single thing they said about people like us was absolutely right! This is what people with Quirks always inevitably do! All we ever do in the end is destroy lives; lay waste to everyone and everything that people love! And…and the whole goddamn world cheers them on, giving them the egos…the…t-the sheer arrogance that leads to so much death and destruction in the first place!
"Don't you see?! Don't you get it?! Heroes? Villains? There is no difference between the two! Quirks make them all the same! Make us all the same! We're MONSTERS! Every last one of us, nothing but god-forsaken, arrogant monsters; going around, treating these awful powers like toys to be played with! None of you…none of you even once stops to think about the sheer destructive capabilities of your Quirks, and that makes you no better than the so-called 'Heroes' that lay waste to cities and cause so much suffering, all in the name of some paltry, indefinable personal concept like 'justice' or 'hope'! Neither of those things exists anymore, and they won't so long as abominations like us continue to exist! Do any of you ever even stop to think of just how easily you could all destroy so many peoples' lives with your Quirks? Or does the fact that the world around you worships those egotistical animals out there, give you all the impression you don't even have to think about it?"
Nikolays' screaming had long since dimmed to something considerably worse. Now, all his tone could communicate was genuine hate for everything Quirks and the people that possessed them represented, himself included. His blind rage prevented him from seeing the looks of genuine heartbreak and shock on his classmates' faces as they listened to him unleash a sincere verbal tirade of agonizing anger and despair that they never once expected to come from someone so soft spoken.
Oleg, however, felt the barb of every single word dig deeper into his heart, for he knew the real object of his sons' long-overdue tirade of scorn, resentment and hate. That was why he was the one to finally step forward, acting as a proverbial shield between Nikolay and the rest of his speechless peers.
"Kolya, that's enough. That's enough for all of them. I know you don't really mean to let this out on them, they have done nothing to deserve it. If you want to lay into anyone for what's happened…for everything that's happened to us…then do it to me and me alone. God above knows I deserve it more than anyone." Oleg closed his eyes, just waiting for Nikolay to finally give voice to all the overdue emotional agony he had been forced to keep in for so, so long.
At the same time, Nikolay couldn't even bring himself to scream or even twist his now deeply reddened face with further anger. Instead, the only thing he could show within his eyes…was a much more scornful, silent resentment. It was the look of someone who had personally long since abandoned any sense of connection with the man before him.
"Of course you do. You're easily the worst among them. You let the praise and adoration from all those years go to your head, acting like you could do anything and everything and nothing would ever go wrong. Look at where we are! Look at what's happened to our home! Our lives were good, we were all happy! And you destroyed all of it! You destroyed everything that was good for everyone, because of your arrogance! You robbed us…everyone, of what little hope there still was to have, and you have the gall to stand there in front of anyone and act like you still have any right to call yourself a Hero?!
"Our home as we knew it is gone, because of you! Any other Heroes Russia had any hope of still having, are all gone now, because of you! Mom is dead, and it's all because of you!" That final declaration echoed across the ruins of the living room, as everyone could feel the physical shake from within Oleg, as those words hit him the hardest. Still rooted where he stood, Nikolays' painfully clenched fists began to shake, as uncontainable choking sobs began to emanate from his throat, and burning tears began to run down his red face.
"Mom is gone…and there's nothing anyone can do to bring her back. Not you, not me…not anyone. Heroes can't do anything…not anymore. People like us…people with Quirks…Quirks in general…we never should have existed to begin with. The world would have been better off." All the blinding anger from just minutes ago, had now extinguished into an inconsolable sadness, as Nikolay firmly turned his back on Oleg and his friends, bowing his head in shameful regret and grief.
"It should have been you that died back then…not her." Those final words stabbed at Olegs' already broken heart like a dagger of ice. And yet, he only wished Nikolay knew just why.
Nikolay finally fell back to his hands and knees amid the strewn cabinet pieces, his entire body now trembling and heaving with suffocating sobs and tears. "Please…all of you…just go. Go…and don't come back."
As everyone watched this awful scene, none of them could bring themselves to feel angry from what he had said, no matter how hateful it had sounded. They couldn't begin to imagine the emotional torment raging inside him that would have driven him to explode so violently, and for how long he had been forcing himself to keep it all in. If anything, all they could really feel was pity, sympathy for the sheer weight of loss that was bearing down on their Russian companion even now.
Mina, especially, could feel her heart almost literally breaking, seeing him in such a miserable state. Even knowing it went against her better logical judgment, every instinct she had was compelling her to actually approach the potentially still-volatile young boy before her, to try and reach out to him in his darkest hour. And yet, with the first step she took, Nikolays' whole body tensed up once more, causing everyone to flinch, in fear he was about to let out another auditory burst on them. "I said leave! Please…just leave, all of you."
At a loss for what else she could possibly do, Mina looked back sadly to Oleg and the others, silently begging for them to suggest something, anything they could possibly do for him. She couldn't justify to herself just leaving him all alone in a state like this. She wasn't sure he would emotionally be able to survive it, if not even mentally. And yet, to her despair, none of them had a clue as to what they could do now, any more than she did. Not even Oleg looked like he had any ideas.
Instead, there was a remorseful sense of resignation in everyones' eyes, as they realized that staying here in spite of Nikolays' wishes, would do no one any favors, if not simply make things worse. And so, it was with the heaviest and most weary of sighs, that Oleg silently ushered Mina and the rest of his young students out the door, giving one last sorrowful gaze to the still kneeling form of his heartbroken son, before finally forcing himself to do the single hardest thing he had ever done as a parent, and left Nikolay to himself, weeping uncontrollably in the ruins of their home.
The walk back to the train station the previous night had been one of the most morose moments Mina Ashido had ever experienced. It had honestly felt like something akin to a funeral march, as nobody could bring themselves to speak as to what could possibly have been done to remedy any of what they had just bore witness to. Instead, all anyone could express, with the exception of Oleg, who had simply preferred to remain silent, was express saddened curiosity as to just what on earth the whole story was, knowing what few pieces of information they now had, that had spawned so much volatility and genuine hate in their seemingly gentle classmate.
Alas, no amount of guesswork or sympathetic wonderings could bring them any answers, as they realized for the first time just how powerless they all were to give Nikolay the help he so clearly needed but wasn't willing to accept. That kind of admittance of defeat was possibly worst on Mina among all of them, as she never once had felt so helpless, so powerless when it came to giving her friends the help they needed, no matter what form it came in. That awful feeling was what drove her to crying herself to sleep that night.
However, when morning had come, Mina felt her heart had been filed with a whole new feeling of resolution and determination. She could not stop thinking of the sheer anguish she saw in Nikolays' eyes, the utter heartbreak amid the anger she made out in his voice. She had never once seen anyone, let alone one of her friends, in such an awful state, and through the night she had made a silent vow to herself that if she could help it, she was never going to just stand by and let anyone suffer in such a state without at least trying to help.
And it was with that vow echoing in her heart and in her mind, that she had set out from her home earlier that morning than she ever had before, taking the lengthy detour from the train station to Nikolays' house long before the first bell would even ring. She would never be able to forgive herself if she went to school without even trying to help mend her Russian friends' broken heart, whichever way she could. She knew it was a hell of a long shot that just being there to talk to him, or at least listen to him air his pain, would be enough to bring him to a state even close to normal, but it was better than no shot at all, and that was enough for her in that moment.
When she eventually reached the Bezpalov home, she felt a tingling of sadness go up and down her body to see its now ruined state, sharply contrasting against the pleasant light of the morning sky. However, she also quickly noticed the distant yet still imposing form of Oleg, sitting morosely on the front steps leading to the entrance, his weathered face resting tiredly in the palms of his hands.
"Sensei?" she called out, causing the large man to fidget sharply in response, clearly having long since fallen asleep where he sat, before realizing where he was and who was talking to him. "Oh. Good morning, malenkaya Ashido. It's long before the first bell even rings, why are you here so early?" His attempt at pleasantry, however, didn't deter Mina from her purpose, as she nervously looked from him to the front door above.
"Sensei, how long have you been out here?" Oleg gave a defeated sigh, realizing there was no point trying to make small talk after last night. "I've been out here since I dropped you kids off back at the train station. I've just been waiting; waiting for the right time to go back in there and…try to talk to him." The air around him grew heavier as he bowed his head with immeasurable guilt, Nikolays' harshest last words still echoing in his head.
"In all the years since his mother died, I've never seen Kolya lose it like that before. Yet, despite that, something in me knew that it was a very, very long time coming. There's so much that boy hasn't been able to let himself feel because of me, so I knew it would come out eventually. I just regret you all had to be there to be a part in it. The truth is that, for every ounce of hate in what he said, for all the awful things he was able to bring himself to even utter out loud…I really did deserve every last bit of it."
Seeing her teacher reflect just as much of a broken state as Nikolay had last night, only toughened Minas' resolve that much further, as she stood resolute before him, drawing the old Hero to meet her driven gaze. "Sensei, I'll admit I have no idea just what exactly it is that happened to you and Kolya-kun to cause so much of this emotional divide and…damage. But I'm sure that Kolya-kun might still be willing to talk to us if we both just go in there and prove to him just how much we really do care about him. Surely."
Even in the face of her admirable, if not childish, enthusiasm and confidence, Oleg wasn't near foolish enough to think the course of one night would be able to calm Nikolays' spirits from the place he had last seen him in. However, the sincere glimmer of empathy reflected in Minas' black-gold eyes managed to warm his tired old heart. "You really are something special, malenkaya Ashido. To think you would still be willing to go this far for Kolya, even after the horrible things he said to you all last night. Teenagers are often so prone to internalizing things, letting their emotions dominate their ability to reason. I had honestly feared he had severed himself from all of you forever after last night."
Minas' instinctive reaction to hearing her teacher say so, was to simply give him the most reassuring and confident smile she could. "I know what you mean, Sensei. I know people can say a lot of the most horrible things when they're hurting, but I also know that they rarely ever truly mean it to the extent they sound like they do. And I'm willing to bet that goes for Kolya-kun as much as anyone else. That's why I want to go in there and talk to him, at least let him know I'll still be there whenever he feels ready."
Oleg almost wanted to laugh cynically at himself, acting so childish and frightened in the wake of his own sons' emotions, while this pink teenage girl was displaying more bravery and hope than even some of the most experienced Heroes he knew. That was why he finally decided to meet her determination in kind and rose to his feet as well, silently expressing his decision to go in there with her, so they could help tackle Nikolays' anguish together.
Stepping inside, Oleg and Mina both felt a chill as they gazed upon the sheer destruction of the living room. It really did look like a cyclone had torn through it. However, the first thing they noticed was that there was no sign of Nikolay. Oleg, particularly, had half-expected to see his son hadn't moved from that spot all night.
"Kolya-kun?" Mina finally called out as she began to head for the hall she knew led to his room. At the same time, Oleg made his way for the cellar door. "Kolya? Are you down there, son?" he called out as softly as he could from atop the steps. After he was answered only with silence, he carefully treaded halfway down, only to find his son wasn't down there, either.
"Kolya-kun, are you in there? Is it okay if I come in?" Mina asked through the door to his room, listening carefully for anything resembling an answer. At first she had to assume he was still asleep, but had to resist the urge to knock. Finally, she decided to call his name again, but was again met with only silence. For a brief moment, the thought he was simply ignoring her occurred, but she was quick to put a pin in that train of thought as she brought her hand to the doorknob.
"Kolya-kun, I'm coming in, okay?" With that, she finally opened up, but felt her anticipation vanish once she saw Nikolays' bedroom was just as empty as the rest of the house. She was about halfway ready to rush back to Oleg before her eyes fell upon a single folded piece of paper carefully set upon his pillow.
"Kolya?" Olegs' noticeably worried voice echoed down the hall, spurring Mina to grab the paper and hurry back to see if he had found anything. Upon stepping back out into the living room, she found the large Russian kneeling where Nikolay had been last night, sifting through the scattered ceramic pieces on the floor to pull out what looked like an aged scroll of paper sitting amid the destruction, looking positively tiny griped in his large fingers.
When he finally unrolled it, they found what looked to be a writing made up of numerous circular cursive symbols Mina couldn't even begin to recognize. However, Oleg recognized it all too well. Lyudmila had made a point of seeing he memorized this among other essential things.
"It's a letter to Kolya. This writing…it's Georgian…and in his mothers' handwriting. I never got the hang of it enough to read more than our names," he barely managed to explain to his visibly lost student. However, she was quick on the uptake as she suddenly pulled out her cellphone before putting in a few button dials. "Everybody has a universal translator app on their phones, I could have it translated for you in no time," she explained before snapping a photo of the unrolled paper. That's when Oleg finally noticed the other paper in her free hand. "What is that?"
"I found it on Kolya-kuns' bed. I can't read it, but I'm sure you can, Sensei." With that, she reluctantly handed it over, and Oleg could feel his pulse rush when he realized the Cyrillic writing on the front was addressed to him specifically.
His chest was shaking as he took as steadying a breath as he could muster in these circumstances, finally unfolding the paper and having to force himself to remember to read it so that Mina could understand it as well.
"Dad, this night has helped me finally clear my head on so many things I had been uncertain of for so long. For the first time ever, I feel a sense of resolution in what I have to do. Unlike you, I'm not going to force you to come along. If you want to hold onto the new life you wanted to create for yourself here, then you can. For the last six months, I've been doing exactly what you asked of me: I've been trying. I tried every single step of the way to try and make everything here work for both of us. You had already done the very best you could to do the same thing for both of us back home, so I felt it was only fair I tried to do my part. But remembering what happened to mom, and exactly who caused it, finally gave me the clarity I had been lacking.
"I know now, that I simply cannot keep trying to act like things in the past didn't happen the way they did anymore. Unlike you, I cannot live in denial of that anymore. That's why I refuse to keep forcing myself to live this sham of a life, knowing the kind of repeated destruction it will inevitably lead to. I refuse to be responsible for the same kind of pain and suffering that you have inflicted on everyone back home. That's why I am officially going back to Russia, and turning myself in to the authorities upon my return. Whatever consequences may come my way afterwards, is out of my hands, and I've made the kind of peace with that fact, that you never could.
"I want you to tell everyone back at school of my decision. They deserve the truth about that, at the very least. Please, don't come looking for me. Goodbye."
And there is the newest chapter, everyone. Things have certainly come to an unexpected and unfortunate head, haven't they? Please be so kind as to leave a review sharing your thoughts and feelings on this chapter. Stay safe, take care of yourselves, have a great day, and I will see you all with the next chapter on 02/27!
* The song Kolya is singing is a popular Russian folk song called 'Smuglianka'. I recommend listening to the version sung by the Red Army Choir a.k.a. The Alexandrov Ensemble.