She only got a brief look at her notifications on her phone, but... seems time moves differently between worlds. A month. A whole month she's been gone from this world, it had been roughly two weeks in Crescent Shores, and yet that length of time has passed? Would they have moved on by now? Probably replaced with some other student...
"Stop that," She hissed at herself. She came this far, so she'll see it through to the end. Pushing the door wide, she gently shut it behind her, taking off her shoes. Everyone else seemed to be in too, which only made that feeling in her chest worse. Walking until she saw the common area, she froze in place, now her stomach twisted, anchoring her. Some of them were here, right in front of her.
Kyoka sat on the couch, Kiara nowhere to be seen as the musician of the class spoke with Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, and Ashido. The other seats near the kitchen bar were occupied by Sato, Sero, and Shoji. Taking a heavy breath, Ciana cleared her throat, knowing one of them would hear her loud and clear.
The purplette turned her head, that lazy gaze meeting Ciana's timid posture. A few seconds went by, and the aloof girl's expression shifted sharply, her eyes widened, and her jaw almost hit the floor. "...holy crap... y-you're..."
Ciana flinched and became very nervous, standing where she is as she averted her gaze a little. Gulping before looking up again and shows a nervous smile and a wave of greeting. "I… I-I'm back!" The girl first says, keeping her nervous smile intact as she glances at everyone. "Did I miss anything…?"
Then the room exploded. "CIANA!" Practically all of them dropped whatever they were doing to rush over to her, the first being Kyoka who grabbed the girl by the collar with a furious glare.
"A. Whole. Freakin'. Month!? The hell did you go!? You used that stupid coin thing we found, didn't you!?" But her anger was betrayed as she loosened her grip, and surprisingly, pulled Ciana into a tight embrace, quivering slightly. "Y-you actually came back...
"What happened to you!?" Ashido was next, looking misty eyed. "W-we heard that you just vanished, a-and that..." She too joined the hug.
"We were so worried Meru Zena had abducted you," Yaoyorozu sighed with relief, wiping away her own tears of relief. "Thank goodness..."
"All of us were scared you disappeared forever!" Kaminari looked genuinely relieved that wasn't the case. "You hurt at all?"
"Seriously, did you go back to your world or something?" Sero asked, anxiously curious to what happened.
"Don't leave out any details," Shoji asked.
"Do you want a drink? At least sit down too," Sato offered, rushing back to the kitchen to grab Ciana something.
Ciana was very taken back by everyone surrounding her especially the sudden embraces from some of her gal friends. But what shocked her the most is that she was gone a whole month?! It was nearly two weeks she was gone, Ciana never realized how missed she was… seeing this just had her tear up a bit and smile more. "I-I'm fine! I-I just… I-it's kinda a long story." Ciana ended up explaining first before sitting down.
"I'm so sorry I left so suddenly… I had a lot of problems going on before when I discovered my power was evolving more…" her gaze looks down to her lap, rubbing her arm pretty anxiously.
"I'll grab the others!" Kaminari spoke up quickly, running off towards the stairs with speed that would put Iida to shame.
"I bet, I knew you had problems with your quirk, but not to this extent," Kyoka shook her head. She never got this anxious in front of anyone, but Ciana wasn't just anyone.
"You could've talked to us, remember?" Ashido added, biting her cheek with a downcast face. "I'm sorry we didn't know..."
"I assume Izuku, Shoto and Iida told you all?" She guessed, looking up at everyone with a sad smile. "I… I was becoming a different person and becoming an annoying nuisance when I started freaking out about my new appearance…" Her gaze going back down to her hands as she fiddles with them with a frown. "I didn't think I was fit to be here anymore… but I mostly left because I had another dream when I was at the hospital, this time it was someone different…"
Ciana shivered remembering the new guy who is after her, but surly he gave up when he thought she disappeared for good by now…
"At first, yes, none of us could quite understand why you found your quirk so repulsive, that was until we came to know you more, and of course, this was not the place you grew up in," Yaoyorozu explained, placing her hands on Ciana's with a kind hearted smile. "We're so sorry if we ever made you feel that way,"
"You were never a nuisance though!" Ashido exclaimed, waving her arms. "You're my best friend, why would I ever think you were?"
"Everyone has their issues, but overtime, we learn to overcome them, be it of our own accord, or with support from others," Shoji spoke through one of his arms. "You don't have to share all your personal feelings, only that you trust in those close to you to be there,"
"Just... talk to us... tell us whatever you want," Kyoka asked her, worry still crept on her face. "Really, dude, we'll listen,"
"I know you all will…" Ciana tears up more, but her smile rose back when glancing at everyone. "B-but I didn't want to bring you all down with my problems, I care about you all a lot which is why I left… I wanted to protect you all from someone else that's coming after me…" Ciana wipes some of her tears away with her hand, knowing she has a lot to still explain.
"I don't think Meru Zena is someone we don't need to be afraid of anymore, at least I think we don't…" Ciana wasn't sure if he's truly good or bad, but from what she saw before he might be a villain who is misunderstood. "This new person who haunted my dreams seemed more threatening… after that dream I kinda just lost it at that point…" So much was going on with her and it's what driven her to the point of running away.
"So I left… I figured if they all see that I'm gone then maybe they wouldn't target me anymore by the time I ever came back." She explains, hating that she has to cower in fear still.
"Then let's hope it stays that way, for a while at least," Coming into the room, Ciana and everyone else turned to see the class Prince approach with a serious look on his face. "You pulled quite the stunt, only thing left was your hairpin, nothing else, and you expected anyone to be satisfied with that?" Now he was standing behind where Ciana stared up fearfully of what he might say next. His hard exterior softened a bit, blinking finally. "...you shouldn't assume your absence would put those around you at ease, it was Midoriya that gave us the logical assumption you used the gatestone, so at the very least, we weren't fearing the worst,"
"Ciana, you're okay!" Bolting out from behind Shoto, Kirishima grabbed her shoulders, looking her up and down with a teary but bright smile. "Y-you're okay, right? Man, I was so freakin' worried something bad happened!"
"You came b-back~!" Next from nowhere, Uraraka wrapped her arms around Ciana's neck, hugging her tightly as she wept a bit.
"...I'm glad you're okay as well," Shoto added after, giving Ciana the first genuine smile she's seen on this Shoto's face, even if it were very small.
Seeing her other close friends come into view, she was overjoyed to seem them again as well. Ciana returned the embrace as she teared up again before eying Shoto and Kirishima again, she fully expected Shoto lose all his respect for her… but seeing that little smile of his brought her some relief and even was more happy able to see him finally smile even if it just was small.
"Shoto… I-I'm so sorry, I know I cause you all to worry just vanishing like that… but while I was gone I managed to find help to control my new power better, at least a little so I didn't leave entirely for nothing…" Ciana perked up a little more sharing this. "Like you when you wanted to seek help to control your fire side, I went to seek help for my power from someone who was also a dragon shifter."
"'Dragon Shifter'?" Several of them echoed, unsure of what that meant outside of Ciana's quirk.
"We'd like to hear more, ribbit," Asui had arrived too, moving over quickly to give Ciana a brief hug, smiling herself. "But I think it's better if that waits until everything settles down, everyone's going to want to see you first, espeically the teachers,"
"Right, Mr Aizawa and All Might especially," Kirishima realized with a surprised look. "I should go find them, they'll want to know quickly,"
"I'll come with, the quicker the better," Ashido elected herself also, giving Ciana another quick hug. "And you better stay this time, I mean it!" She pouted then ran off with the redhead.
"Oh my gosh, Cianaaaaa~!" A floating pair of clothes suddenly smothered the raven-brunette also, shaking her side to side was Hagakure as she sobbed. "I-I missed y-you so muuuch~!"
Ciana chuckled at the warm embrace from the invisible girl, returning the embrace happily even if she still couldn't see her except for her clothes. "I missed you all too! There's never a day I haven't thought about you guys…"
Still had some tears staining her eyes, glancing around the group as Ciana noticed not everyone is here. "Where's Izuku and Katsuki? Are they still in their rooms?" Ciana ends up asking, wondering where they could be.
"YOU DUMBASS!" Ah, there he was. The ash-blonde blasted a few sparks after his entrance, his face contorted with rage as he stomped over to her. "The hell were you thinking running off to another world!? Not only did it have every one of these idiots worried every single damn day, but how can I best you if you're across dimensions, huh!?"
"Oh, bite us, explosion boy, you were moping around the most," Kyoka pointed with her jack.
"The hell I was!" He yelled back but no one bought it. Especially Ciana, his orange aura told her he was worried too, but also relieved much like the others. Nothing had changed about him, it seemed.
Ciana immediately yelped when he came into view with his familiar rant, staring and blinking her eyes a few times to process that he actually did care and missed her… this just brought a lot of joy in her heart, her smile perked up and what might surprise everyone is that she stood up and gave Bakugo a hug…
Not even afraid if he push her away or not as she embraced her aggressive friend with a wide smile. "I missed you too Katsuki… I'm so sorry to have left without saying anything…"
His face tensed up, clearly about to yell as everyone recoiled, expecting the same. But then his face fell again, retaining his glower but not much else. Sighing, he shoved her off lightly this time, narrowing his eyes down at her. "Run off again, and I'll bury you,"
"Think that's as close to a 'missed you' as we'll get," Sero shrugged with the group silently agreeing.
"His anger is not misplaced, you had caused quite the grief with your departure," Tokoyami had appeared as well with Aoyama, Koda, and Mineta. "But it also is a relief to know you have come under no such harm in that time,"
"We really missed you a bunch!" Dark Shadow squawked, rubbing his beak against Ciana's head with big, sad eyes.
"I-It really is great y-you're back," Koda... spoke? That was a first for Ciana, he had a soft, shy voice but it definitely came from him.
That came to be a big surprise to her, she always thought he was mute but hearing him actually speak… she brought her hands over her heart as she smiled happuly and warm to the big softy as well as the others around her still. "Aw Koda… hearing you say that makes me feel more happy to see you again, as well as all you guys as well…"
Ciana even eyed the little pervy guy with her smile still. "I'm even glad to see you again too, Mineta…" Ciana ends up greeting the little guy happily with a cute giggle in the end.
Koda blushed a bit from the response, nodding quickly and bashfully. That was when Aoyama spoke up too, "Indeed, you had us troubled, Mademoiselle," Aoyama sparkled a bit.
"Of course we were, one of our classmates up and vanished like a ghost!" Mineta jumped, throwing his fists high, but also seemed to be a little red in the face from Ciana's honest compliment toward him.
"He's right, but what matters is she's safe and sound, right?" Ojiro smiled to Ciana, nodding graciously to her. "It's great to know you're well,"
Just then, a marching man made a b-line for Ciana. "Oh boy, here he comes, ehehehe," Uraraka sweat dropped a bit.
"Ah, Iida, Ciana's back," Shoto replied quite casually like it was normal for people to just vanish for a whole month.
"Yes, that I was made aware of thanks to Kaminari! As for 'you', Finley!" Iida stood right in front of her as those on the sofa with her leaned back from his chopping arm as he seemed to vibrate on the spot. "The panic you caused, not just in your classmates, but the staff of UA is unprofessional of both a future hero and student of UA! You no doubt will be faced with consequences, as well as a whole month's worth of schoolwork to catch up on due to your lengthy absence! As your Class Rep, I cannot condone what you've done!"
Then his arm stopped moving, coming to rest on her shoulder gently as his tight façade of a Rep fell away. "But as your friend, I feel nothing but relief for your health and safety, and... apologetic for not realizing the severity of the strife you've endured with this quirk of yours, in that aspect, I have failed you and I can only promise to do better, to keep this mistake from repeating again,"
"Could've led with the last part there, Rep," Kyoka raised a brow at him.
"She only just got back, at least save it for tomorrow or something," Hagakure huffed.
"A-ah, well, it's only fair that I allow her to digest the consequences first before I give her my true response," Iida back peddled a bit.
"Damn, Four-Eyes..." Katsuki scoffed.
Ciana was well aware the stuff she has to catch on now… she will be spending a lot of time in her room doing left over homework… Ciana sighed dramatically at this but was fully prepared for the consequences, but still smiled and gave a nod of understanding to Iida. "It's okay I'm fully prepared to face the consequences and work to do as punishment for my sudden absence… I'm sorry to have scared you too Iida." Her smile turned apologetically.
"But I'm really glad to see you again as well…" this was when Ciana perked up as she recalled something. "Oh! That's reminds me, while I was gone I brought you all something back from my trip…" Ciana suddenly says as she pulls up her backpack on her lap…
"Gifts from another world?" Uraraka awed, inching closer with the other girls that could sit on the sofa.
"Hah... hah, wait for me, I wanna see!" Kaminari had finally finished running around, coming to squeeze into the large circle around the common area seats.
"I'm so excited and emotional, too many feelings to process!" Hagakure groaned, shaking her arms.
"Let's give her some space," Yaoyorozu pushed a few back as Ciana fiddled in her backpack.
Smiling at everyone's sudden interest, she opened her bag to reveal… a bunch of small colorful glowing crystals, after the sudden fight with those creepy vines… Ciana snagged a bunch from the mine cart to bring back. "These are called mana crystals, they help restore energy when you clutch them. I thought these would come in handy for you guys when you're in the middle of another battle with a villain, don't want to get tired out easily after all." Ciana happily and excitingly revealed.
"'Mana'?" Asui cocked her head.
"You mean like magic-magic!?" Uraraka beamed.
"Like the real deal, casting spells and stuff?" Sero blinked in disbelief. "No way..."
"Oh wow, the colour is so beautiful and rich, the cut too, it's... it's priceless jewel!" Yaoyorozu gushed, picking a purple one out as it felt warm to the touch. "Oooh, so pretty!"
"Strange..." Shoto held one that was red in texture, glowing on his palm for the boys to lean in and awe over. "It feels... warm? And cold?"
"Don't they? I came across them when I was camping out in a cave, they had so many big glowing crystals on the walls in the cavern that was just so stunning… people were even mining them to use for themselves." Ciana explains, sure was a exciting discovery with the other Izuku.
"Hah, it's strange how normal this actually is consider you're from another world," Kaminari chuckled as Ciana handed him an electric yellow one, his eyes sparked with life. "Woah, hey, you're right, I got this weird, tingling sensation with mine,"
"Perhaps they resonate based on your quirk's electric properties," Iida suggested, thanking Ciana for his navy blue gemstone as he too stood up straighter. "Very peculiar, like holding my hands to a breeze, how truly fascinating!"
"I'll say, mine sounds like a hum," Kyoka listened to her lilac one with her right ear, humming to its tune for a bit.
"Thank you so much for this, I truly don't feel I've earned this, but I'll treasure it," Yaoyorozu hugged Ciana in thanks, admiring her light blue crystal, looking like a little girl on Christmas. "It's so shiny and the colour is just perfect!"
Now, everyone but three had a mana crystal to their name, Kirishima and Ashido weren't back yet; this left only one possibly in the building, an emerald green crystal clutched tightly in Ciana's hand. Uraraka noticed this, giving Ciana a soft smile. "Midoriya's been so worked up, out of all of us, I think... he was the one that took it the worst, not knowing why you left,"
"I could guess… especially with all those messages and calls he tried to reach me from my phone…" Ciana felt guilty knowing he would take it the worse… knowing she has a lot to make up for. "Where… is he? Is he in his room or out jogging?" Ciana asks, surprised out of everyone he was the last to be here.
"I asked him, but... he didn't come out of his room," Kaminari spoke up over the silence, rubbing his neck while awkwardly looking around a bit before meeting her worried face. "He's in there, I guess... he might be asleep? Though..."
"Go to him," Kyoka nudged Ciana's arm. "He's awake, but I don't think he wants to talk around all of us right now, if you get me?" Translation, whatever had to be said, it was between him and Ciana.
Ciana flinched at this, so he was furious at her… this had her afraid, especially if he never wants to see her anymore… Ciana looked conflicted but she nods, obviously scared. "O-okay…" she says before standing up. "Maybe it was a bad idea for me to return…" She thought, giving everyone a wave before stepping up the stairs…
Ciana was shaken up, wondering if he will tell her off… in a way she does deserve it… gulping, Ciana soon made it to his door… trembling now but took a deep breath as the girl goes to knock…
No response. Probably believes it's someone else. With a brief flush of courage, she turned the handle and entered his room. The desk lamp was on, and it gave her the perfect view as sunlight poured in from the balcony sliding door in gold rays. Ciana stood there as the door shut, drawing Izuku's head up from his computer to look at her again. Finally, they were face to face as his eyes widened, clearly not believing what he saw.
"...you really are..." He muttered breathlessly, standing up to look at her. His head was swirling with thoughts, same for his emotions that it was impossible to tell how he felt. Only that he moved toward her. "...Ciana?"
"Hi Izuku…" Ciana had her arms behind her back, giving him her familiar warm smile… she was filled with so much happiness in her heart to see him again, but she wasn't sure if Izuku felt the same way… but she silently stared at him as she slowly begun to tear up, Ciana wasn't sure what else to say after just leaving without a word…
By the time he got close, he suddenly grabbed her shoulders, shaking her sharply with a fire burning in his eyes no longer shadowed by the light. "You idiot! I was worried sick!" She flinched, not at his grasp but his heated tone, his eyes digging into her own. "Don't ever do that to me again, Finley! I won't forgive you! You hear me!?" But that hardened front started to quiver, his grip was trembling as his tears broken through, his bottom lip shaking as he bowed his head, pressing it into her shoulder. "I won't f-forgive you, hic, I won't... hic..." His hands gripped her jacket tighter. "I-I won't..." He cried onto her, his tears dripping down his face with unparalleled relief flooding his aura burning against hers.
Ciana blinked seeing the rage and the pain Izuku was in, staring down at him on her shoulder as her eyes narrowed sadly seeing him like this… Ciana teared up more herself, she knew he probably hate her now especially the way he called her by last name… her hands hovered up to hug him but paused, thinking it wouldn't be enough… so she lowered them as Ciana just stood still staring down at Izuku as her tears spilled from her own eyes.
"I-I don't blame you for hating me now… I'm sorry…" Ciana ends up saying even if it's not enough, averting her gaze a little. "Izuku… I-I had a lot more going on after I passed out in your arms back at the hospital… it's probably not much an excuse for my sudden action but… y-you weren't there when I woke up after the dream I had…"
"...I really hic felt like the worst partner i-in the world, I-I thought that hic that I failed to help y-you," He managed, moving his arms to properly hug her. "I-I'm sorry, I s-said that, I... was terrified you hic were really g-gone," All he had was her hairpin, no message, only the indication she used the gatestone. But she left in such a distraught state that it frightened him she would blame herself constantly for everything. "Pl-please don't l-leave..."
Ciana never seen Izuku this distraught… it really stunned her to see how frightened he became that she might have disappeared forever. She felt so horrible knowing Izuku was filled with so much fear and pain… this is when her arms went around him and cried in his shoulder, trembling as she held him now. "I-I'm so sorry! I… I just…" she sniffled, griping her embrace around him tighter. "I-I had a dream that another person came to haunt me, h-he was horrible… worse than Meru Zena… h-he suddenly told me he was coming for me too, a-and…"
Her teeth clenched, hiding her face in his shoulder more. "H-he threaten to hurt you… probably even worse! I… I-I snapped when I realized I had more people coming after me, I… I left because I wanted to protect you…"
His eyes opened again, staring at her trembling shoulder as he held her tightly, this girl... she can be so frustrating with how reckless she tends to be, this was by far the worst, and yet... he was so happy she was here again. She was safe and it only made his heart beat harder. "It's okay... i-it'll be okay hic... because you're b-back," Rubbing her back in slow circles like he used to, Izuku felt the edges of his mouth curl up. "No matter w-what, sniff I'll never let t-them take you, I s-swear, I won't e-ever let you g-go through something t-this horrible hic again,"
Hearing his comforting words toward her made her feel warm again, Ciana knew he fight hard to protect her… this had her embrace Izuku more closely as she hiccups and cries, keeping her face buried in the crook of his neck. "I-I know… I-I don't ever expect less from my hero…" she replied, managing to smile a little while still crying.
"B-but I don't want to risk the idea of losing you over me…" Ciana didn't want to bring more danger to Izuku, if anything ever happened to him… she can't imagine how his own mother would be without him.
"Don't ever think that," Izuku replied quickly, "Please... d-don't," He didn't care. Be it Meru Zena, this new sinister force, or All For One, he wasn't ever going to let her go. Not this time. "I don't care what w-we have to do, I-I don't want to l-lose you either,"
"I-I just thought if I left then if they think I'm gone forever then they stop targeting me…" she pulled away a little wipe her tears away, but also look up to eye him again. "I know everyone was getting kinda fed up with me too when I started to become a wreck… no one really understood this power isn't something I'm used to and can accept me looking like!" She shook her head after saying that, now adverting her gaze down.
"In a way… I didn't think I was fitting in anymore, that you all didn't understand that a appearance I take on now scares me because I don't view it as myself…" Ciana knew the others thought she was being ridiculous, Yuuki got furious with her and Shoto was annoyed… she didn't want to be a burden anymore.
"That was never it!" He couldn't help but yell slightly, equally as teary. "No one ever said you were, no one thought you were; you're a part of this class, I... I was so lost but I know that everyone was suffering too, some of them felt it was their faults y-you left, I... certainly did," Wiping his tears as best he could, Izuku looked her dead in the eyes. "I don't care if you hate your power or not, but don't ever believe you were anything but our friend, stop hating yourself for something that never existed, please," He begged, he just... wanted her to be happy again. "Just be with us, m-me, that's a-all..."
"Izuku…" Ciana thought everyone would hate her but she didn't know that she meant a lot to them as well, Ciana tried to smile again for Izuku as she even went to wipe his own tears away from his eyes. "I'm sorry… like I said I-I snapped when I woke up after my dream, when you weren't with me then… I-I guess I ended up reverting back to how I acted as a kid, I just cry and run away in fear…" that was a trait she always wanted to avoid, yet her fear took over her again, causing Ciana to frown again realizing now.
"But I wanted to overcome that when I was away… I-I mean I'm still very scared of my appearance, b-but I started to deal with the change now when necessary, well not entirely… but enough to want to use it to protect all of you." She ends up sharing, wanting Izuku to know she tried to improve herself.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't there, I... should've been," He bowed his head in shame, then paused, looking up slightly. "You... have?" Holding up her right hand, Ciana flicked her hand, causing a brief glow as scales and claws formed, then in the same five seconds, she made it vanish, still unnerved but otherwise okay with it briefly. "I'm glad that you did improve, I... still feel awful I wasn't there, I can understand i-if you hate me b-because of it,"
She shook her head. "No… your dreams of being a hero is more important to me than my own fears, I wanted you to continue improving and pursuing your dreams." Ciana smiled a little more for him, showing no anger or resentment toward him. "If it makes you feel any better… I was actually there when you were still training with the old pro, you sure managed to see that guy coming from all the jumping around he was doing…" Ciana giggled a bit when she mentions this surprisingly.
"Another premonition, heh, figures..." He smiled a bit, then took her hands in his. "Ciana... yes, I want to be a hero just like All Might. That has always been my goal, or... it was my only goal," No more hesitating, not now, not ever. "But I want more than that, I will become a hero, but I also want to be with you, maybe it's selfish, but frankly, I don't care, I'm my best self with you," Emerald met with kindred green. "I may have had a path set before me, but you only improved it tenfold, otherwise, why would I have kept this?"
With his right, he pulled out the same, hand-crafted locket, and hanging next to it... was her hairpin, carefully secured to the necklace. Fiddling with the chain, he managed to slip the hairpin out, moving to tuck it back into her bangs above her left eye, fitting it perfectly.
Ciana gasped a little in surprise seeing Izuku was the one who kept her moms hairpin, watching how he slipped it back in her hair had her tear up again as she smiled touched by the gesture as well that he kept it safe. "Izuku…" Ciana sniffled but otherwise happy even as her tears streamed from her eyes. "Y-your the reason I can even manage to smile again… I-I do too want to stay with you… m-more than anything."
She tells him with all her beating heart, Izuku has always been someone she treasured greatly.
"Then from here on, let's stick together, no matter what happens, we'll confront it," He sniffed, still crying but now with a brighter smile now that his emotions felt in-check, or rather, better than a few minutes ago, then closed his eyes too. "I really do love you, my light,"
Not only was she relived Izuku doesn't hate her but that he still loved her, chuckling happily at this… feeling so warm and safe knowing she's together with him again. "I-I love you too… my hero." Ciana tells him with a bright and loving smile towards him, though after how distraught he clealry just expressed… maybe it was best to hold off about what had happened in the fantasy world for the time being… at least until shes sure Izuku was feeling more better.
Looking back at her, the sunlight pouring in around her face, Izuku felt his face crawl with heat a bit, coughing into his fist. "U-um, is it a-alright if we..." Given all that's happened, would now be a bad time to kiss her? He really wasn't so sure, today has been thrown through a rollercoaster, especially after finals yesterday.
Ciana grinned at this and blushed a bit pink, but placed her finger on his lips to pause the moment as much as she really wanted to kiss Izuku right now. "Hold that thought…" Ciana suddenly says, taking her finger off his lips as she then slips her hand in her pocket to take out the glowing green crystal Ciana held on for him, holding it up and revealing it to him.
"I… brought you something back from my trip, something that will help you better in battle when you have to face a villain again." Ciana cocked her head and grinned a bit wider, using her free hand to scratch her cheek shyly. "A-after that scary threat I received in my dream, I wanted to help you be more prepared besides helping you to overcome the levels of your power."
His eyes widened a bit, taking the offered crystal to inspect it. "Wow! The colour is a deep green, even the size of it would make this priceless! H-how did you get this?" Oddly enough, holding the mineral made his hand feel a surge of energy that trickled down his back.
Ciana giggled and still just smiled while putting her arms behind her back. "When I was camping out in a cave where I was, I stumbled upon a cavern full of glowing crystals! Turns out they are called mana crystals and they restore your energy when you clutch them, I got one for everyone so you all will be more prepared for another upcoming danger."
Ciana still has yet to give one to Kirishima and Ashido, well she has to go back downstairs soon to catch up from the long month… she still couldn't believe a months has passed. Ciana even pulled out a light yellow crystal to show Izuku. "I also got one for All Might too… since he's becoming weaker holding his form… I figured this will help him get back on his feet more so he won't have to worry about morphing back to his true sickly form much."
"That's a great idea... even a whole realm away you still looked out for us," He spoke softly, keeping the crystal tight in his hand. "Thank you, Ciana. And for coming back."
She nodded, her smile turning more warm toward him. "Anytime, I just hope those guys out there will stop targeting me now since I been gone a while…" Ciana sighs while rubbing her neck. "Though I probably won't get to see everyone much when I have to catch up on so much work I missed out in my room…"
Ciana sighed dramatically at this, knowing how exhausting that's going to be. "Mr Aizawa might be waiting to scold me so I better head down to be prepared for the upcoming punishment…"
"Yeah, b-but I'll come with you, I've... really need to socialize more too," Izuku hadn't talked with anyone as much since the Internships, and his exam yesterday only made matters worse between him and Katsuki, if they weren't already. But Ciana didn't need that now.
"Huh? Hey that reminds me… why didn't you come out when Kaminari called out to you? He said he told you I was back but you never came out… figured that meant you didn't want to see me." Ciana expression turned more sad at this, it didn't sound like him to avoid everyone.
"I... wanted to talk privately, a-and..." His head was stuck in a constant state of pessimism for a while now. He almost convinced himself she wouldn't ever come back. "Sorry, I j-just didn't want... a-all of what I said to be i-in front of everyone, a-again, sorry for that - I've been in a weird state," He ran his hand over his eyes, trying to hide his embarrassment from her.
"Izuku…" Ciana frowned at this, she goes to take his hands again. "I promise next time I won't take off without saying something first… I have an idea, this time if I ever leave my hairpin behind without saying anything… that's a message saying I'm in danger, if I ever get kidnapped then that will be a sign I been taken to reach out to you differently."
His brow furrowed, staring at their hands. "I honestly hope it won't come to that... but that does help, I suppose,"
"I mean I'm not sure if those guys out there will believe I'm completely gone… I left in hopes they stop targeting me, but if I ever get taken then I'll have to show someway to let you know I didn't leave intentionally this time without a goodbye." She explains, Ciana figured this be a better way than just saying goodbye forever.
'Without a goodbye'? Izuku really hated that phrase, it just made it transparent how fragile this relationship was. Ciana used her only two gatestones, and if by some miracle she obtains another, that's it, she can simply go back to her world if she gets cornered. That time, it really will be goodbye forever, and nothing would change that.
His shaky hands gripped hers harder, "...then if the time comes you... do leave forever, back to your world, then I don't want to part with any regrets," Lifting his head as best he could, he continued. "I'll cherish every memory possible, the positives and negatives, for as long as possible,"
"Izuku that's not what I meant…" she smiles sympathetically, squeezing his hands. "I meant if I ever do leave somewhere then Ill say something first, that doesn't mean I'll leave forever this time… I'm not going back home unless I find more than one gatestone, while I was away all I thought about was you and how much I wanted to be with you again… now that I'm back, I don't want to risk going through that again." Ciana tried to word it better, she didn't mean that she intends to wave goodbye and never see each other again.
"Ah, r-right..." He hung his head again, feeling a new wave of embarrassment wash over him. "Sorry... I've... really not been doing great after the Internships, and yesterday was... taxing, to say the least,"
"What do you mean? What exactly happened?" She now asks with a curious and confused tilt of her head.
"It's really not important; Finals for the semester were yesterday so we had a practical, two of us against one teacher, and with my unparalleled luck, I was against All Might," Izuku raised his head again, looking distant as he spoke on those events. "And take a wild guess who was stuck as my partner? ...oh God, I really am starting to sound like Jiro..." That made him pinch the bridge of his nose. The rocker was rubbing off on him too much.
"You were working with Bakugo this time?" She smiled a bit amusingly now with a raised brow. "I'm starting to think he's setting those tests on purpose for you two… sounds rough but did you both at least able to work together?" Though knowing him, it probably wasn't easy at all to try and band together…
"Is that before or after he slammed his gauntlet in my face?" Izuku deadpanned a bit. "Or the fact he's so incredibly full of himself it took him threatening my life to get him to shut up and..." Izuku took a deep breath to relax himself. "...we did, and I managed to pull us to the gate in time to pass, beating All Might was next to impossible, but Kacchan didn't see it that way, like always," The clear distain was starting to show more in Izuku's voice, even after calming down. "It's not important right now, we should focus on getting you back into the swing of things, I dunno if they'll let you take the exams given the month hiatus you've had,"
"Izuku…" Clearly Bakugo hasn't light up on his rage toward Izuku yet, he sounded like he was going through a lot himself judging how he behaved downstairs knowing she left… she will have to speak to him again soon, hoping maybe she can light him up a bit again. "Again, I'm sorry I left so suddenly… I wouldn't blame you if you didn't even want be with me anymore after that… I wasn't thinking straight after the dream I had, it just gave me so much more stress I probably was close to losing my mind…"
She sighed again, fiddling with her hands. "Do you recall what I wrote in your locket? 'No matter how hard your path might be, always remember your so much more'. Your relationship with each other is still a slow pace… but in a way through these experiences you both are understanding each other a little better each time, so like how I confronted both Bakugo and Shoto… don't ever give up no matter how harsh anyone might act towards you." Ciana tried to encourage him with a comforting smile and a hand to his shoulder.
"I'll try, yesterday, we did hold All Might back, it was the first time he's ever worked with me, even reluctantly, so there's that I guess," Shrugging, he placed his hand on hers. "...even if it's small, talk to me this time, if I'm not there then call me, I don't want you to ever have to go through that alone again; what kinda partner would I be if I didn't look after you too?"
She nodded as she stared into his eyes, squeezing his hand in hers. "Your making progress even if you don't realize it, but I promise I'll say something next time… but in a way it kinda was a good thing for me to take off to get you those crystals, All Mights going to need it after all to help him continue his heroic duties." Ciana tried to bring the mood back up as she now opens the door to be ready to head out.
"But also you make sure to reach out to the others as well still… everyone said they were worried about you after I left and I don't want you to go through distancing yourself from them as well." Ciana was pretty firm about that as her gaze narrowed more firmly.
He stiffened a bit at her look, "R-right, I'll do that; um... before we go, I-I was wondering," Scratching his neck, he looked around to avoid her gaze. "W-would it be alright t-to be a little m-more open, a-about us, I mean... j-just so it isn't so stressful having to b-be cautious a-all the time,"
"As long as the boys don't pester you about being in a relationship with a pretty girl like me…" Ciana chuckles after saying that, smiling playfully toward him as she stepped in the hall. "I only wanted to keep it on the down low to avoid you feeling so anxious of anyone teasing you about our relationship, plus I'm not sure how Mr Aizawa feels if he heard were in a romantic relationship since were living in the dorm together and all…" that parts had her scratch her cheek flusteredly.
"I always thought y-you didn't want the same t-to happen to you... a-and just for some more privacy f-for a while longer. As for Mr Aizawa, t-that... I might have a solution for," He smiled a little, then, offered her his hand. "But w-we can worry about that a-after, ready?"
"Well it's a bit embarrassing how the girls tease me about my relationship but also I'm not much of a public affection kind of girl…" Ciana admits shyly, playing with her hair bashfully. "But they sure get a kick out of seeing how cute we are together." She giggles, then goes to take his hand. "But yeah I'm ready, I don't know what you have in mind for Mr Aizawa but I'm kinda afraid to find out…" she jokes with another giggle.
"I-it'll help, I promise," He assured her, locking their fingers together. "Let's go face the music, o-or yours, I guess,"
Ciana groaned in dismay at this, allowing Izuku to lead her back to the common area where several voices were heard. Taking the final walk down the steps, the pair turned the corner to find all their friends conversing and several admiring their new mana crystals. Three stood out though, one, the hulking Symbol of Peace, their Homeroom teacher, and a distinct girl from Class 1B with a black bandana over her mouth and nose.
The three caught sight of Ciana, and their eyes widened a great deal, "Young Finley, you've finally returned!" All Might rushed to hers and Izuku's side, kneeling with his hands on her shoulders. "What were you thinking young lady? To disappear without so much as a message, and for a whole month no less!" He didn't sound furious, just extremely worried and surprised.
Ciana was very surprised by All Mights sudden worried behavior toward her, did Izuku tell him what was going on with her? He sounded a lot like her dad which made her feel warm again, Ciana smiled apologetically up toward the top hero. "I'm so sorry All Might… I-I kinda lost it after so much stress I was dealing with involving a new problem…" Ciana didn't expect Yuuki to be here, how was she even informed of her presence? Did one of her friends informed her? For now she kept her eyes on her teachers.
"I went away hoping to try and improve myself and to avoid bringing anymore danger to everyone… I'm so sorry for worrying you all and I'll accept any punishment you have for me…" Ciana looked down a little in shame, she never imagined they freak out this much over her disappearance.
"Well-" All Might flinched alongside half the class as Aizawa spoke up. "-I'm so glad you've gotten so much conviction, given the reckless stunt you pulled," His eyes were glowing red as his hair started to waft in the air with every step toward Ciana who shrank under his gaze. "If not for your unique situation, I'd have declared you a dropout on day one of your disappearance without a moment's notice,"
"A-Aizawa, you're being a little too harsh on the poor girl - eek!" All Might froze up when Aizawa barely batted an eye, burying his glare into the Symbol. "So scary...!"
Ciana squeezed her eyes shut, expecting more scolding only to now have a hand placed on her shoulder. Blinking, she looked to meet her teacher's normal, dull stare as his hair fell back down. "You'll spend a good portion of your time after school revising and catching up on what you've missed, not to mention a quick rescheduling for the exams if you're willing to put in the extra work atop your normal classes - to be blunt, the next two weeks will feel like hell,"
"But, I know you can handle it; you put not only the staff, but your class in a frantic state given your disappearing act, I understand the need to want to tackle your problems alone, but have faith in your teachers; this is why we're here, to help and nurture your growth," His hand squeezed slightly. "If you want us to trust you, prove you can trust us, follow the example of a model student, and you'll do fine. Understand?"
Ciana blinked before immediately nodding to his words and advice. "Y-yes sir! I'm so sorry…" Her eyes turned apologetically again. "I'll do my best to catch up on anything I missed out, I should of thought this through better… I thought leaving would of been better for everyone but I can see now clearly that's not the case." Ciana knew it was wrong to take off and should of said something, but was at least glad to be given new experiences to improve herself with her power more.
"I'm still not used to the idea of a power that changes how I look… but I learned to deal with it now when it's absolutely necessary, I just didn't want to bring everyone down with my personal problems." Ciana tries to explain even if it's not much of an excuse.
"Then may I recommend speaking with either Midnight or Hound Dog? They are excellent councillors, but we can worry about that tomorrow!" All Might declared with Aizawa sighing in agreement.
"Right, I'll need to run all this by the Principle first, for now, relax and socialize again, leave the rest to us," The Mood of a teacher then flicked her forehead. "No excuse can make up for what you did, however, I am glad you have learned to better yourself, problem child," His aura flickered with slight amusement but it faded pretty quickly.
"However, there is one other who wishes to speak with you," The muscly hero stepped aside, now allowing Izuku and Ciana direct view of Yuuki who was staring at the ground before meeting their stares.
Yuuki silently stepped forward, everyone kept their peace until the two girls were face to face. Taking a deep breath, Yuuki sharply bowed her head. "I... am ashamed of what I last told you... I felt conflicted... and my own ideals clashed when you were vulnerable... it was... disgraceful of me to say as much, as a warrior... and your comrade, I had failed myself," Her eye trembled with anger at her feet. "I do not expect your forgiveness, I don't..."
She felt awful. Io called her a failure more times than she could count. Meru Zena... her master, she was terrified of what he would do to her, but he said nothing, and that scared her far more. But strange enough, she was terrified more of how Ciana felt, why was that? Ever since she vanished, all Yuuki felt was ashamed of herself, only Kendo's advice gave her a true answer in which to place this feeling. It was guilt.
Ciana just smiled at the girl as she suddenly goes to give her a hug… her hug and her smile were both warm, showing no hard feelings toward the girl. "No Yuuki, you were right that I was being too ridiculous how I was acting… that's why I took off to improve myself better, I didn't want you to continue seeing me as an emotional unstable girl anymore…"
She pulled away but kept her hands on her shoulder, her smile still intact toward the cat girl. "It was really dumb of me to not say anything after I left… but I wanted to improve the most for you so when you see me now that I'm not breaking down anymore about my power."
Why was she forgiving her so easily? This doesn't make sense, if anything, Ciana should resent Yuuki, even if just a little, yet nothing? It confused the silverette more than if the girl screamed in her face. "I... you have nothing to prove, I was the one who was callous, who only saw her own ideals as fact... even then I-I've been second guessing everything I know; and I took that confusion out on you, if anyone was unstable, it was me,"
"I'm aware your going through a lot yourself… I don't know whose bugging you about failing but your never a failure in any of our eyes." Ciana remembered the vision she saw before of Yuuki and didn't want her to go through that again. "What you advice me is to stay true to myself and improve on coming to better terms with my appearance, that's not a talk of a failure but something both a hero and a friends would say."
Ciana eyed the girl seriously now. "Don't let anyone put you down because your so much more than you think! I don't want you to beat yourself over this, all you did was just encourage me to be strong."
Her visible eye stared a moment longer, then trailed around at 1A, seeing their equally approving expressions. But... Yuuki knew better, when they found out the truth, they would all be enemies of hers. To get chose now would only complicate things, she knew that from day one, she couldn't fail her master. And yet...
Reaching up for her bow, Yuuki glared and tore the damn thing off and put it back into her pocket as her tail unravelled from behind her belt, stretching freely. Looking up at her twitching ears, she hummed in thought. "...then I suppose I should follow that example; though I may need to remove the dye later..."
"You dye your hair?" Ashido blinked, cocking her head.
"Of course," Yuuki closed her eyes, feeling a little timid. "White didn't stand out as much as my natural hair colour, it was a logical choice, only now I believe it was my way of rejecting this... mutation of mine, as Finely once rejected her quirk, in a way, I truly was a coward," She still was, but this... was a start, a dangerous, thorny start but one none the less.
"I'm still scared of my own appearance too… but no matter what we'll keep facing this together." She offered encouragingly with a confident smile and a raise of her fist, glancing at Kirishima now with an amused smile toward him. "Say, didn't you say that you dyed your hair to red to match your hero Kirishima?"
"Sure did, so I can give you the stuff I have if I ever needed to remove it," The redhead offered a thumbs up.
"I... appreciate that," Yuuki bowed her head curtly. "Kirishima was the one to inform my class of your return, they too were relieved to hear of your safe arrival, though, they are not aware of your 'otherworldly' background," Her lilac-white tail then pointed toward Izuku. "Midoriya was the one to inform me of the truth, but that has remained a secret with me," A lie, but it would work for the sake of the conversation.
"We will take our leave, and also leave Young Finley in your capable hands!" All Might waved, quickly speeding toward the door before his timer ran out with Aizawa following him at a slower pace.
"All Might wait a moment please!" Ciana suddenly called out to the pro hero, running toward his direction to make sure she doesn't lose him since he's so fast and all.
"Hm? What is it you need, Young Finley?" He turned to her at the doorway, seeing her procure one of the mana crystals as both teachers took note of the strange, radiant object. "Oh, and what have we here? A collectable from your travels?"
"I'll go speak with the Principle, don't take long," Aizawa replied, walking past the two.
Once out of sight, Ciana shut the front door to speak with him privately. "Now, I assume this is to do with my declining power?"
"You can say that." The girl smiled as she now held up the crystal more for him to see. "While I was away… I came across a cavern full of these crystals that are called mana crystals that will help you restore your energy when you need it." The girl ends up revealing with her smile turning brighter. "I brought one of these back for you so you won't have to worry about your form giving out when your fighting so you can continue your heroic duties more."
All Might took the amber jewel to inspect between two fingers, and already he felt the jolt of power from within the fragment, like touching a plasma ball. "This feeling, it's similar to that of Recovery Girl - no, much like Young Finley's own quirk!" His thoughts realized, then pocketed the keepsake before patting her head. "Hahaha, your generosity is much appreciated, young lady! Truly, I thank you for this gift, but for now, focus on your classmates, I'm certain they'd love to hear of your grand adventures! I would too but on a later date!"
"Right! And your welcome! Figured I should do something to thank you after everything you done for me." Now opening the door but gave the hero a see a later smile. "Until then I'll be here!" Ciana waves before taking off back into the dorm, knowing she has a lot to tell.
"So! If anyone hasn't eaten yet, anyone in the mood for pizza?" Ciana now asks the group, knowing this be a good time to make her dads homemade pizza again.
"With all do respect - absolutely not!" Yaoyorozu spoke up sharply, pointing forward through the group to Ciana to keep her in place. "You just returned, so you will sit and relax while we prepare dinner, understood?" She was like a scary maid or something, even Yuuki took a few paces back from the rich girl.
"Wow, Yaomomo's gotten fierce since her exam..." Kyoka smiled sheepishly.
Ciana blinked at this, but could see they wouldn't take no for an answer… Ciana chuckled at this as she knew she should just give in. "Alright if you really insist, hope you can stay to join us Yuuki!" The girl smiled toward the girl as she goes to sit down now.
"Say, you said your class was worried about me too… did that also apply to your friend Monoma as well?" Ciana ends up asking with an amused smile, plopping her elbows up as she eyed the girl curiosity to that guys reaction.
While Yaoyorozu, Sato, Kirishima, Katsuki, and Uraraka went to prep for dinner, the others gathered around the dining table with extra chairs and the like. Izuku took the seat next to Ciana, keeping close to her again.
"Hm, surprised? Yes. Relieved? No." She stated bluntly. "But as Awase said, it's probably buried... very far down,"
"Sounds like him," Hagakure snorted a laugh. "But come on, I wanna here about this new world you went to, what was it like!?"
"Same here, almost hard to believe there's a near uncountable amount out there," Kaminari whistled with his arms crossed, leaning back on his chair.
"I figured that guy wouldn't show much concern for my well-being… he's certainly a strange character." She chuckles, then eyes her other friends around her. She had met some of the counterparts of all her friends of her class, but as much as she had wanted to reveal who she came across… Ciana wasn't sure if she should reveal them as it could be like spoiling their future. Not only that… but who knows how Izuku will react if she told him the things that had happened between them accidentally…
Ciana became wary at this, maybe it's for the best she keeps its secret for now for his sake until they are ready, especially if its possible they will get offended she sought help from them and not here. "Well, where I went is pretty much where magic exists. Knights, wizards, bards and even dragons!" Ciana shares so far, the whole thing was something out of a fairytale book. "It was amazing, it was like traveling back in time to those old days when electronics didn't exist yet."
The class made several bewildered expressions and noises, all wondering more of this strange world. Izuku, like a madman, was writing it all down quickly. "What was it called? And was it really like a fantasy novel? Were there any similarities to our world?" His eyes were practically bursting with life, stars dancing around his face.
"One step at a time, Green Bean," Kyoka chuckled, leaning on her hand. "Go from the start, let's hear it,"
"I'm grabbing drinks for this!" Hagakure waved her arm, dashing away as her seat spun in place on one leg.
"Don't run while I'm here, you dumbass!" Katsuki yelled as the invisible girl shot around at the fridge.
"This ought to be good, a freakin' world of magic, talk about an awesome stroke of luck!" Kaminari grinned ear to ear like a child.
"You can say that again!" Ciana giggled at Izukus excitement of fantasies, remembering he liked reading both action and fantasy mangas. Ciana can't imagine how he would react if she told him he was a knight in another life… Ciana is happy to see everyone perked up more as she continues her story and to answer Izuku's question.
Ciana places her hand on her chin as she tries to recall the name again of the land. "I think the big land capital is called Crescent shores because the island and land were shaped like a crescent moon." That sure was pretty interesting, she didn't get to see the mermaids… but hopeful next time.
"I fell into a lake when I first appeared… but after that I met an adventurer in training who offered to help me along the way, turns out everyone wore these dog tags that symbolizes your rank, bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Which was pretty cool." Ciana was having fun already just telling this story. "Everyone was actually similar to this world, their magic was a lot like quirks, but not as quirky as what everyone has here." Ciana explains their own powers now. "Most people I seen used weapons like swords, bows and arrows, claw like gloves and magical staffs, even spell books."
"Oh! They had old fashioned pretty big villages and even a castle to a royal family that was nested on a small landscape on the edge of a large lake, it was beautiful…" It was so exciting for her to relive her childhood fantasies of seeing that kind of place up close in person, Ciana wished she could have seen the inside. "When I was at the village I stayed at a tavern that was like a small hotel with a restaurant and bar."
Ciana recalled those places which were pretty cozy for an old fashioned kind of hotel. "Though there were some drunk stuck up teenage gangs that tried to put the moves on me there which was so disturbing… this gold tagged adventurer guy literally pulled me on his lap and tried to kiss me… I smacked his face when he wouldn't take no for an answer." Ciana smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head just recalling the sudden bar fight.
While the tale of her venture into a new world kept the class gripped, that last part had them all exclaim their shock and disgust. It was one to make rude comments and the like, but to publicly try to sexually harass someone was beyond criminal.
"They did what...?" Izuku asked in a shallow breath, feeling something stir in his chest.
"Tch, bunch of creeps!" Ashido spat.
"Good reaction from you though, I would've kicked him in the groin," Kyoka remarked.
"Such horrid actions from so-called adventurers," Iida wasn't pleased in the slightest.
"Did you get out of that okay?" Uraraka asked, worried for her friend's well-being now.
"I did, I had some help thanks to some more pleasant and heroic people in that place, also thanks to Bakugo's lessons though I got to fight him off with sneak attack… I even kick him pretty hard below and got him down for a bit!" Ciana expressed with a confident smirk and a playful punch. "But… I admit someone else had to step in to kick his butt, turns out it was someone Chaser knew too, they got arrested after that." Ciana explains with a sheepish smile and a scratch on to her cheek.
"Hmph!" They heard Katsuki huff in amusement in the background but the blonde said nothing more.
The resolved issue brought them relief again before Kirishima leaned forward on his chair in thought. "Huh, so someone that guy that uses gatestones knew? Guess he's pretty well-connected outside of our world too,"
"A true mastery over the abyss, any ally of his must be powerful," Tokoyami agreed with a curt nod.
Izuku visibly relaxed also, his hands loosening on his lap again. He knew he had nothing to worry about, but it wasn't like it couldn't not worry about her.
"He seems to travel everywhere, he did recommend the world to me. in a way I can see why his name is Chaser…" Ciana chuckles at that. "I think his name is Zorah, and they didn't seem like they had a pleasant relationship though… but he definitely was one of Chasers kind I could tell that much, he also had a companion named Echo who is called a nightmare, she hides as his shadow funny enough." Ciana explains to the two funny characters.
"She actually reminded me of Ms Midnight a bit, she was capable of magic and she seems to like to fool around with people all flirty like at times…" that part had her sweatdrop awkwardly.
"Hot..." Mineta's side comment earned a slap across the back of the head from Asui's tongue.
"I think I like this Zorah guy; he's got the right idea, Chaser isn't a bad person but he needs to learn to approach people normally," Kyoka shivered at the reminder of how the man appeared last time.
"A 'Nightmare'? An entirely different species too... wait, that's what Chaser called himself, wasn't it?" Izuku pointed out to Ciana.
"Um… I think so." Her attention now on Izuku and nodded. "Would explain how different their bodies are, he had a nice manor like home too and seems to have a lady companion where he lives… don't know what he does on his spare time but my guess is keeping world order." The girl shrugs amusingly.
"You'd think a guy that lives in a big house to have a better wardrobe," Ashido snickered.
"So what else happened in that other world? Crescent Shores, you called it?" Shoto drew the conversation back, infinitely curious to what this other world had to offer outside their own.
"Oh right!" Ciana perked up back on the topic of her adventure, happy to see Shoto was pretty interested in her story too. "Well during my journey I came across these weird vines with thorns that been spreading everywhere like an infection… they been causing people to be sick, I never even seen a plant that moves to more places rather than stick to one." She explains, actually… this is when she took out her phone to show the picture, Ciana snap shot of the plant to get a better understanding what they were.
"Look like they're rotting almost," Uraraka murmured as she leaned over for a closer look.
"The thorns are huge, easily cut through the skin," Izuku added, pointing at the canyon walls. "They've spread all up the walls like a web."
"Did you see those ones with the flytrap mouths? Creepy..." Kaminari gulped, rubbing his wrist a bit at the idea of being bit by one. "And they made people sick?"
"Perhaps a poison from the thorns?" Iida hazard a guess, looking to the raven-brunette for answers as she shook her head.
"Exactly right." The girl nodded as she kept her eye on the plant. "They had a mind of its own too cuz they been moving and attacking people, including me…" Ciana shivered at the scary incident. "They even created a creature called a Golem that has been terrorizing places, I think this vine infestation turned out to be a spell that gone wrong because this guy we found was a corpse who lost his life when we found the source of the vines deep below a cave…"
"You fought a zombie? Gross..." Mineta gagged as everyone agreed on the unpleasant nature of the vines.
"Sounds as though magic and quirks aren't so far apart, both under the wrong hands can lead to unimaginable damage, both to people and the environment," Shoto noted from her explanation and the photo.
"Hey, maybe you should ask Chaser next time if he knows what those vines are!" Hagakure pointed out. "Since he travels across worlds, right? He's bound to know!"
"But how could Ciana reach him? He's probably across thousands of worlds by now," Kaminari shot down with the logically conclusion that asking the otherworlder would be next to impossible now.
"Say, just to pull away for a moment-" Izuku raised his hand a bit, then glanced at Ciana's phone to view the image she had scrolled to. It was the same canyon but at day, and there was one person caught in the frame with the vines. A girl with raven hair tied into a high ponytail, and a distinct pair of red horns and a pointy tail. "-who's that? With the horns and tail?"
"Hm?" Glancing down at her phone, blinking when noticing Kiara ended up being shot in the picture. Surprised she never noticed before. "Oh! That's Kiara, she's a girl who is a traveling bard and has devil traits. This girl really knows how to put on a show I can tell ya that much." Ciana giggles, she seems to really know how to get a party going.
"Huh, a bard?" Kyoka perked up a bit, eyeing the photo a little longer.
"She looks cool, more like a bandit than a bard though," Sero pointed out from Kiara's get-up.
"Definitely like the demon traits, reminds me of a mutation quirk," Kirishima grinned. "She even has horns like you, Mina!"
"Yeah... but hers look so much cooler and a lot bigger than mine," The pink girl sighed.
Meanwhile, in the Crescent Shores realm, the group was making their way down a forest road as they used Shoto's horse to pull a cart with their supplies in it. Sat in the back, playing a soft tune to herself was Kiara as she suddenly missed several notes, letting out a sharp sneeze that startled half the forest.
"Uwah! Alright, who's talking about me without me there to enjoy the compliments!?" She groaned, rubbing her nose.
"Probably Ciana at this rate," Izuku pointed out to her with a small smile at the demon girl's annoyance that her song was cut short.
"Right sniff yeah, forgot about that." Kiara flopped back down onto their stuff as her makeshift seat to continue her melody.
"I have a feeling you and her would get along well Jiro…" Ciana smiled a bit wider and giggled, placing her phone down as she now wants to hear about everyone else. "So! Enough about me for now, how have all you been during the past month? Especially during the internship?" Ciana now asks them all, curious to know what they been up to more.
"Internships went well for most of us," Yaoyorozu approached from the kitchen as steam started to rise from where the others cooked. Then the rich girl slumped a bit. "If you count being used in commercials as 'experience',"
"You, Green Bean, Todoroki, Iida, and Yuuki all had it rougher, even before you went MIA the whole mess with the Hero Killer," Kyoka looked freaked by it, then gave her a firm look. "Heard you and Yuuki got banged up badly too,"
"Why am I the only one with the nickname...?" Izuku deflated a bit.
"Yeah… that sure was one crazy experience…" Ciana shivered recalling the pro killer, glad to have made it out alive. "That guy was so disgusting and terrifying… but I'm at least glad to have pulled through during the whole thing." Ciana now eyed Bakugo with a curious smile.
"Oh! I heard you actually got to work with Best Jeanist, Katsuki! I heard he's one of the top five hero's too, that's really cool! What was he like? Did you get to learn anything cool from him?" Ciana now asks, she had yet to hear about his own internship experience with the guy covered in jeans.
That comment alone made a few of the boys start to supress a snicker, the ash-blonde's body starting to twitch with rage as he glowered back at the rest. "It was a damn waste of time!"
"Oh, he got experience alright!" Sato wheezed.
"His hair came back stuck in this pretty combed state!" Kirishima burst out laughing. "B-Bakugo couldn't get it back the way it usually looks the whole time~!"
"That gel they used glued my hair down! Come over here and laugh at me, shitty hair!" Katsuki caused several small blasts with his free palm but the boys kept up the hysterics.
"Then he 'exploded' and his hair just 'poofed' back to normal!" Sero nearly fell off his seat.
Ciana blinked at the display, the guy made him jell his own hair? She was surprised he even managed to make him do that… Ciana sheepishly smiled and giggled but only a little. "Wow… I actually heard that guy was a perfectionist but didn't think he go that far…" Ciana can imagine he must have been scary for Bakugo.
"I'm sorry to hear it's not all what you expected out of him… but did you at least learn any cool fighting moves or new strategies?" Ciana tried to turn the topic around to avoid him beating up the boys, surprised they even had the guts to laugh around him…
"Nothing!" He spat back, returning to watching dinner with a scowl. "I sat around getting lectured while Deku only ever seemed to improve. Even Blank's gone and gotten more confident and outgoing compared to her depressed state before," It irritated him to no end as he stirred.
"Right, avoiding pulling the pin on that grenade," Kyoka spun her jacks clockwise to get the ball rolling. "Our finals for the semester were yesterday, most of us passed our practical. Except for Mina, Kaminari, Kirishima, Sato, and Sero,"
"It only made sense, Mineta basically carried me to the exit; who would've thought facing Miss Midnight would be so terrifying?" Sero shivered at the reminder of being knocked out so early on by her quirk.
"We tried to brute force it, didn't work..." Kirishima stated in disappointment.
"Cementoss overpowered our strength with invincible defence," Sato agreed in dismay.
"You think that was bad? Try going up against the freakin' Principle! That guy's a monster!" Kaminari shivered next to Ashido, the pinkette nodding her head out of fright. "I don't want to ever fight in that construction zone ever again for the rest of my school life!"
"Sounds intense… all we ever do is so many bazaar fighting routines, that reminds me…" Cianas expression now looked guilty as she pressed her fingers together. "I got to write to Edgeshot and tell him I'm sorry I couldn't complete my week with him… I'm worried how disappointed he probably was that I didn't stick around…" He at least had Yuuki to teach but for her it's like she bailed on a class lesson and assignment…
"No need for that, here," Yuuki, who had silently listened to all she heard of this other world, of Ciana's experiences and the like, she held out a small business card with a number. "He told me, and I quote, 'her spirit is in great turmoil, she is driven in several directions and is lost, she will return, and my hope is to nurture her talents as I have yours again someday', so take it, speak with him when you feel it is time, he also wished to give you something, it was to be a gift at the end of our internships,"
"A gift from one of the top Pros, what is it?" Izuku looked ready to burst with excitement but restrained himself.
"That is for Finley to know, unless you say otherwise," Yuuki replied simply, keeping her eye to the thoughtful girl.
Ciana eyed widen at this as she accepts his business card to look at, now relived as she smiled at the kind gesture. "I definitely have a lot to make up for, I don't feel like I deserve anything for leaving without saying anything… but I should definitely make sure I catch up on anything he wanted to teach me." Ciana goes to pull out her phone, already putting in the contact so she can call later.
"Oh god… I'll probably spend another month in my room with piles of homework…" Ciana slumped in her chair, but then eyed Todoroki with a curious smile. "How was your training with your dad by the way Shoto? Oh wait! Let me guess…" Ciana stuck her hand up to pause his words playfully. "You spend your time shooting at targets while using your flame side…?" Ciana did see him in her premonition.
"For basic training on my aim... how did you know that?" He wondered, not unless Izuku mentioned it to her, but even he didn't know the extent of Shoto's training. "Well, that and improving on my ice, since my father was more busy with heroics than to teach me anything important,"
"He's a real piece of work, huh?" Kyoka snorted.
"...yes, at the best of times," Shoto agreed with the rocker.
"Didn't expect that especially since he seemed so eager to train you…" that had Ciana confused, but smiled with relief as she was glad to know he didn't abuse him again. "But I'm relieved to know he didn't pressure you again… maybe the way Izuku and I talked him down finally put some sense into him not to mess with you." The girls chuckles with a proud look.
"I doubt it, though he seems to finally understand I'm not going to roll over anytime soon," Shoto remarked, looking over to Yuuki. "You said Edgeshot had something for Finley?"
"Ah, yes, before I forget," Yuuki stood up, moving back towards the main entrance, out of sight for a moment before she returned with a sizable box, big enough for her to hold it flat in both hands as she brought it to rest before Ciana. "He told me, if and when you return, to offer you this, and in the hopes we both can train under him again," The girl's tail swayed slightly with concealed joy. "If it's anything like mine, it will prove to be a valuable asset in the field,"
Ciana definitely didn't expect this, accepting the box and then placing it on the table in front of her. "He already given us a sword so I didn't think he have anything else he want to teach me…" opening the top, Ciana paused as her eyes went wide again and blinked seeing what's inside, pulling it out… it looked to be a fan, examining it a bit more with a raised curious brow. "A fan? He wants to teach me fan dancing?"
Ciana speculated, but opening the fan it not only had a lovely pattern of a butterfly wings… but it was sharp like a blade which took her back. "Whoa! Is… is it me or is this more sharp than a paper cut…?"
"Yes, however, the swords given were simply for training purposes, not combat; these, on the other hand, will provide a more direct method to deal with foes that may have exterior defense or weapons on their own, a means of defense," Yuuki explained as she procured a secondary fan blade, flicking her wrist for it to expand with a sleek slice of metal as the class marveled at the delicate yet vicious weapon.
The pattern was embroiled with golden flowers with both fans shaped like a pair of butterfly wings, the edges trimmed with a green tint akin to Ciana's hairpin. Yuuki swung her fan as it cut through the air, then snapped it shut before handing it to Ciana. "It will take practice but it is a tool that offers a balance of defense and offense, something that mirrors yourself,"
Ciana was star struck at the display, she never knew fans could also be used as a weapon. "Wow that's so cool!" Cianas sparkled with amazement and interest, looking over the fan more while trying not to cut herself. "It's like one of those throwing stars ninjas use… I had no idea that was another kind of weapon too, what a pretty fighting technique!"
Ciana eyed the fan more as she tried to wave it around like a sword, she didn't get how to properly use it but knew that's what training is for.
"Here," Yuuki offered her hand to help Ciana up. Once both were standing, everyone watched as Yuuki stood behind Ciana, holding her arms with the open fan blades. "Unlike with a sword, this style does involve dancing to a degree, your movements are more fluid, use the fans to block," She brought Ciana's arms up with the fans extended. "Angle them to divert the attack," Twisting her wrists, the blade split into a 'V' formation before swiping down. "You parry and deal a strike with both fans, they aren't best in a drawn out fight, but good for when you need a quick, decisive blow or defence."
Letting Ciana go, Yuuki stared at the weapons. "They are called War Fans or Tessen,"
"They're beautifully crafted," Yaoyorozu admired, taking one to study the craftsmanship. "This has to have been made by a skilled blacksmith, I haven't heard of many that still forge weapons of this make? Let alone War Fans,"
"Edgeshot is the Ninja Hero, I think anything ninja related is his thing," Kaminari pointed out.
"They do look custom made, perhaps a similar compound to Mr Aizawa's scarf?" Iida wondered.
"They look so cool!" Uraraka punched the air. "You're like a dragon ninja now!"
"Yeah, the Radiant Ninja, that's a new title if ya want it!" Hagakure clapped.
Ciana giggled at the new nicknames, rubbing her neck bashfully as she now eyed Bakugo with a playful smirk. "Guess you can't call me Blank anymore Katsuki… I upgraded to look more fierce and beautiful! Hey that's exactly like my hero name!" Ciana beamed, knowing this will go with the title Chrysalis perfectly.
"Whatever you say..." He rolled his eyes, turning his back to the food. "Oi! Get back over here, you idiots, I can't serve all this myself!" Those who were on dinner duty quickly rushed over to help while Ciana closed the fans to set them into the box to keep them safe. "And who chopped the vegetables!?"
"That was me!" Yaoyorozu stated.
"They're better than Dunce-Face's!" Katsuki referred to Kaminari as the electric blonde turned to complain. "Shut up!" But Katsuki was a step ahead.
"Let's get the table prepped everyone," Iida announced, looking to Ciana. "You can set them up in your room if you like? While I rather no weapons be kept in the dorms, it was a gift and I trust you to be responsible with them,"
"Of course! I wouldn't be reckless enough to wave them around people or inside the dorm, you can count on me to keep them safe." Ciana replied to Iida, knowing it's not safe to walk around with weapons on school ground. Her gaze goes to Izuku for a moment. "Hey Izuku, can we talk real? There's something I want to ask you about…"
"Hm, uh...?" He glanced over to Iida who smiled and gave a nod.
"Hurry back," He asked as Izuku stood up.
"Sure, lead the way," Izuku motioned for her to go.
With a smile and a nod, Ciana ended up leading Izuku outside the yard. Opening the door and closing it behind her as they now had some privacy… her eyes landed back on her hero. "Um… how do I ask this?" Ciana looked up at the night sky for a second before looking back at Izuku with a curious smile.
"Out of curiosity… does this school happen to have a pool somewhere for students to practice swim laps?" The girl now suddenly asks.
"Random question of the evening... yes? Why?" Izuku smiled a bit, not quite following. "And, sorry in advance if I make a lot more remarks like that, J-Jiro's been... really the only person aside from Iida and Uraraka to keep me... me, I guess, so I've adopted some of her dry remarks," He shrugged, wanting to clarify his change in mannerisms. "But yes, there's a pool for practical lessons,"
Ciana perked up at this. "Good, after dinner I want you to lead me there, and when we go you should bring your notebook…" Ciana rubs the back of head while averting her eyes a little with pink appearing on her cheeks. "There's… something I want to show you…"
He pondered on this, then his eyes lit up. "A new development of your quirk?" Now he was on board. "Right, no problem - ah, wait... erm, we can't really go there after curfew, if we were caught, well, y-you probably don't want to push what v-very little luck you have left right now..."
Ciana smile went down after that, sighing while face palming herself. "Right… I'm already in enough trouble…" Ciana thinks it back over then, crossing her arms while staring off into space. "Well I rather not wait cuz I might be pretty busy tomorrow with a lot of stuff I'll be catching up on, we could ether go to the beach instead or… I suppose the bathroom works too…?" Ciana shrugs, smiling awkwardly.
Slowly, a pink hue formed on his cheeks. "U-Um, yeah, I-I mean, that should be a big enough s-space, right?" He asked sheepishly, Izuku knew there was no reason to be this nervous since they've done some very intimate things, but that was within the safety of their rooms, not in a place anyone can enter. But at night it should be fine... hopefully.
Ciana rose her brow, he makes it sound like they be bathing together which had her chuckle. "What are you so nervous about? I'm not gonna strip down exposed in front of you if that's what your imagining…" Ciana teases, his cuteness never changed. "It's nothing that intimate so you don't have to worry."
He sighed a bit, chuckling at his own embarrassment, "I dunno if I should react relieved or disappointed," He teased.
She sure didn't expect that comment… blushing pretty red now. "Y-you…. Just what have you been imagining in that big head of yours…?" Ciana crosses her arms and leaned forward with a curious smirk and raise of her brow…
Not to be outdone now after a month hiatus on their relationship, Izuku smiled back coyly. "Nothing, nothing... why, what do you think I'm thinking about?"
"Exactly what you been disappointed about…" she retorts and then giggles, now turning towards the door. "Anyways I'll show you what I mean after we eat, we better head in before Ashido ends up spying on us." Now her eyes on the door as her hand takes the handle to slide it open.
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Izuku feigned a sigh, quickly pecking her cheek before holding the door open for her. Then he chuckled. "Sorry... I've... just really missed being around you, that's all,"
Izuku noticed she wasn't exactly over her issues, not entirely but had made a large leap. "Slow steps, Izuku..." He murmured under his breath, following after her to dinner.