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Chapter Seven
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Kazuya's father had fallen asleep in the basement for the past few nights. Usually, she would have to bang on the door to get him up so she wouldn't be late in the mornings, but today he was already waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.
"Good morning, Spitfire," he grinned, both hands occupied by cups of tea. Kazuya furrowed her brows.
"You're surprisingly alert," she looked him up and down, searching for any sign that he had his body swapped with an alien's or something. She'd seen The Thing and was fully prepared to test his blood. Taigen chuckled through his closed smile and offered a mug to her.
"Today's a big day! My new boss said that if I impress him with a presentation today, he'll let me start working on bigger projects," her father's chocolate-coloured eyes gleamed as she cautiously took the cup. Kazuya sighed, a small smile growing on her face. She understood that she didn't know as much about biomechanics as her sister or dad, but she was still happy nonetheless.
"That's great, Dad. I'm sure you're gonna do great," she said, straightening his lab coat and dusting off his shoulders. Taigen grinned like an enthusiastic child on their birthday until his eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh! That reminds me," he began to dig in his pocket, "I fixed this for you."
"Huh…I didn't know I broke it," Kazuya frowned down at her phone as she rolled it around in her hand. "Must have messed it up during training," she mumbled with a shrug before slipping it into her backpack.
"Shall we get going then, my dear?" Taigen held his hand out to her in a princely manner. She rolled her eyes at his pure dad energy and let him escort her to the car.
It was a pleasant ride to UA, although she instantly regretted not staying in bed when she saw the mob of reporters waiting outside the walls of the school.
After Kagami's disappearance, her family had been interviewed by nearly every news studio in Japan, including one where she was directly questioned for "emotional appeal". Kazuya found that she didn't care much for journalists after that.
"Hey, Kazuya!" called a chipper voice from somewhere behind her. She turned to find Ashido smiling up at her with Asui, or "Tsu" as she had asked to be called, at her side. The girl's yellow eyes glanced over the hoard of reporters, "What do you think of this? Pretty cool they wanna interview us, right?"
"No," Kazuya frowned, just now realising she was starting to sweat, "They're information-seeking leeches who jump at the chance to exploit men, women, and children so they can turn emotion into profit."
"You talk like you've dealt with them before," Asui put her index finger up to her cheek and tilted her head.
"Uh, yeah…I don't like them all that much," Kazuya's cheeks heated slightly, prompting her to quickly turn away.
"Well, I guess I'll just have to protect you then!" Ashido giggled while looping her arm through her cobalt-haired classmate's bent elbow.
"What does that — Woah!"
Before she could even blink, she was being pulled towards the front gates and right into the crowd she was trying to avoid. She tried to pry her arm away but was caught in Ashido's surprisingly strong grip. Asui followed closely behind them.
"Here come more students!" a cameraman shouted, pointing them out to the newswoman beside him.
"We've been spotted," Kazuya turned her head so her face couldn't be seen. Ashido laughed loudly at her sudden bashfulness.
"Don't worry. I got this."
Once they reached the centre of the crowd, microphones and lenses were shoved into the trio's faces, "You're students of All Might's, right? What's it like learning from the top hero in all of Japan?"
"It's awesome! I definitely pay more attention when I'm in his class," Ashido spoke first, drawing all the attention to herself. She had just chummed the water for the hungry sharks.
"Does he act the same in the classroom as he does while fighting villains or is there another side to him that the public doesn't see?" one man shouted while pushing his way to the front of the group.
"He's just as heroic in the classroom as he is out, ribbit," Asui answered, eyes darting from one camera to another as if she didn't know where to look. Kazuya was finally able to snake her arm out of Ashido's and slip away from her personal hell. Just as she stepped out from behind her human shield, she was put right back in the crosshairs.
"Is that Livewire's sister?"
"Shit."
"Imai Kazuya, right?" a woman in blue rushed forward with her microphone extended so far that it nearly whacked her in the back of the head, "Did you get into UA because of your relation to the Black Lightning Hero? Have you enrolled in UA to honour her legacy or get revenge on those who killed her?"
"Her legacy? Killed her? You say that like she's dead," Kazuya whipped around to glare at the woman. Much to her relief, the few reporters that had followed her fell silent at her harsh remarks. She saw Ashido and Asui glance at her from over their shoulders, still trying to get away from the previous group.
"Well, it's been six months and still no word. She's even been replaced as the number eleven hero," the journalist gave her a sympathetic look that bothered her to no end.
She still got those looks from the few people who knew who she was. She could be minding her own damn business and someone would stare at her like she was a stray puppy in need of help.
"Yeah, and you greedy bastards were the first to jump to conclusions when you ran out of stories to write," Kazuya snarled in a low, dangerous voice. Her earth-coloured eyes dared anyone to ask her another question, then she stormed off into the building.
"Kazuya, wait up!" Ashido sounded like she was hot on her heels.
"I don't want to talk about it," she snapped while keeping her head down. Wanting to be left alone, she ducked into the girl's bathroom and locked herself into a stall. Luckily, neither of her classmates followed and she was able to hide out until the bell rang.
"You're late," Aizawa glared down at her when she tried to sneak into the room unnoticed.
"Press wouldn't let me go," she shrugged and stepped inside anyway. She locked eyes with Ashido for a beat but quickly sat down before she could say anything.
Aizawa's lecture about yesterday's training exercise was mostly aimed at Bakugou and Midoriya, which left Kazuya feeling bad for them (mostly her green-haired buddy). With how obnoxious Bakugou was, it was hard to feel sympathetic for him.
"Let's get down to business. Our first task will decide your future," their teacher announced. Kazuya frowned at the thought of another quirk test. Surely UA couldn't need that much data on its students?
"You all need to pick a class representative."
Oh, thank the Gods.
"Pick me, guys! I wanna be Class Rep!" Kirishima shot up from his seat with both hands raised.
"I wanna run!" Kaminari's hand went up as well, followed by Jiro and Aoyama until almost everyone was trying to throw their name in the pot. The sound of the entire class trying to shout over one another grew so intense that Kazuya's head started to pound.
"Hijo de puta," she grumbled with her face buried in her hands. She was aware that no one in her class could understand her, but that was the point of learning curse words in her mother's original language. Hooray for uncensored profanity!
"Silence, everyone!" Iida shouted, instantly silencing the roaring masses. "The Class Representative must lead others. That's not something just anyone can do. You must first have the trust of every student in the classroom. I believe we should hold an election to choose."
"Your hand's raised higher than anyone else's, hypocrite," Kaminari snickered. Kazuya half smiled at his comment but couldn't help bring up a point that was eating away at her.
"Do we even know each other well enough to vote?" she raised a blue brow sceptically, unaware of the concerned look Asui was giving her.
"Everyone would just vote for themselves, anyway," shrugged Kirishima.
"Most people will but that means whoever does receive the most votes will be the most suitable person for the job," Iida continued before turning towards Aizawa, "Isn't that right, Sir?"
"Do what you want, just decide before my nap is over," grumbled the tired-looking man as he toppled onto the floor while tucked into his sleeping bag.
What else did we expect?
Per Iida's recommendation, the class voted on who they wanted to represent their class. As Kirishima guessed, most people voted on themselves; however, Midoriya came out on top with three votes and Yaoyorozu in a close second with two.
Kazuya was shocked to find a single vote next to her name. Considering that she voted for Yaoyorozu, she wondered who thought she was a good candidate.
When Aizawa woke up twenty minutes later, he declared Midoriya the Class Representative and Yaoyorozu his second in command. Kazuya followed the poor boy when he returned to his seat, hoping to placate his apparent anxiety.
"Nervous?" She took an unattended chair and turned it so she could sit in front of his desk.
"You….you can tell?" his voice cracked. Kazuya snorted in amusement, breaking the bubbly face she had tried to keep in front of her peers.
"You're sweating bullets," she pointed out. Midoriya quickly wiped his face with his uniform sleeve.
"It's just a lot of responsibility," he wheezed, body trembling. Kazuya looked around to make sure no one was watching, then leaned in closer with a hand covering her mouth from prying eyes.
"I'm going to be real with you, Midoriya, I know how heavy the weight of possible failure and disappointment is. I don't have much control over my quirk, either," she whispered. His face scrunched in confusion.
"But during your fight, you were — "
"Most of that was sheer luck," she shrugged, crossed her arms, and leaned back in her chair.
Midoriya's eyes grew wide at the information.
"Really?" He pulled out a notebook and a pencil from his backpack. Kazuya carefully watched him as he looked up at her with the eagerness of a child waiting for ice cream.
"Really. You break bones, I throw children through walls," she explained with a smile that didn't fit the violent nature of her words. Midoriya flipped to a blank page and scribbled down "Can throw people with enough force to break walls." She tapped her finger on the page and corrected him, "Not people. Just their clothes and other non-living objects."
He paused for a moment, brows furrowed in concentration, "How exactly does your quirk work?"
Kazuya spent the rest of their allotted class time going through the ins and outs of her quirk until her new friend had all the information he needed for his little character sheet. It felt easier to talk about her quirk with someone who understood and was genuinely interested. She liked this much more than being bullied for it.
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Kazuya sat by herself with her bowl of rice, waiting for Shinso to get back from the lunch line so they could catch up. The sudden slamming of a lunch tray onto her table didn't startle her, but she sighed when she realised Ashido and Asui had taken the seats in front of her.
"We want to talk, ribbit." the latter spoke up.
"Talk about what?" Kazuya forced a smile so sweet it could rot teeth. When the girls gave her an unamused glare, she shovelled rice into her mouth as a distraction.
"How you freaked out on that reporter!" Ashido snapped, yellow eyes wide in disbelief. She snatched up Kazuya's bowl of rice before she could eat and dodge the question again.
"Not fair," she whined while reaching across the table to snatch back her meal.
Once it was retrieved, Ashido pulled out her phone and scrolled through some online videos; "I heard them ask about Livewire, that hero that went missing a few months ago. I thought that's pretty weird to bring up unrelated, so I did some snooping."
"Oh, yeah?" Kazuya scoffed, "What exactly did you find, Detective?" The tension between her and the pinkette was so thick it hung above them like lightning clouds of animosity.
"This," Ashido's gaze suddenly softened as she turned the screen for Kazuya to see.
Umber eyes stared at the phone like a hawk waiting to capture a rabbit. Dozens of unregistered emotions began to bubble in her chest as she rewatched the only interview she was ever allowed to be in via the internet. Her mother would burst a blood vessel if she knew this leaked by some idiot at the news station who probably just wanted their fifteen seconds of fame.
"What would you want to say to your older sister if she saw this?" the recorded voice of the reporter asked.
"I know what I want to be now, so hurry up and get home so we can beat people up together," Kazuya answered, a small smile on her face. She had never seen the footage, so she was surprised to see how exhausted she looked. Then again, it had only been a few weeks after Kagami's disappearance.
"If Livewire comes home safely, do you think — "
"If? What does she mean by if?"
The cameras subtly tilted towards Imai Elena and Taigen, just barely catching the way they looked towards one another alarmingly. Past Kazuya's face went white as her quirk flared to life, a mix of violent red and blues lighting up the studio followed by the breaking of equipment.
Kazuya quickly turned the phone off and sat it down on her lap. She stayed eerily still before eating another mouthful of Gyūdon, chewing it slowly, and staring blankly into her bole. Ashido and Asui seemed worried, although they didn't dare move.
"You're the sister of pro hero Livewire," Asui finally spoke after an excruciatingly long minute of silence.
"Her name is Kagami," Kazuya's voice was only a low whisper.
"You still think she's alive." The cobalt-haired teen didn't bother looking up.
"I sure as hell do. She wouldn't let someone kill her that easily." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm the raging waters of her mind. I'll be her hero like she's mine. Shinso would kill someone if he came to the table and saw her crying, so she quickly wiped her eyes dry.
"Hey, if you need anything, don't be scared to ask," Ashido took one of her hands and squeezed it gently.
"We're here for you," Asui added with an adorable smile as she took the other. Just as she opened her mouth to thank them, a blaring alarm sounded throughout the cafeteria, scaring the shit out of everyone.
"What the fuck?!" Kazuya shouted over the incessant ringing. Her question was met with shrugs and looks of confusion.
"Warning. Level Three security breach. All students please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion."
Almost instantaneously, students rushed for every exit, shouting over one another and shoving to get out the doors. It looked like a nightmare.
The trio of girls made their way into the crowded hallway, holding hands so they wouldn't get separated. Kazuya tried not to make contact with anyone, but the constant stream of people pushing forward made it impossible. All the voices had just become a sea of noise that buzzed in her ears, inescapable and growing louder by the second. She tightened her grip on Ashido and Asui.
"I can't hold on!" the pinkette shouted when they began to drift apart.
"Mina, please don't let go!" Kazuya begged, chest growing heavy with fear. As the warning repeated over the speakers, her legs wobbled beneath her whispers of possible invasions and villain attacks filled her ears. They could be in danger and no one could get out because they were packed in like sardines!
"Imai!" Asui called when she began to slow down and slip out of reach.
"I can't…can't," she whispered.
There had been plenty of panic attacks before this, but this one was made worse by the crowd around her. It was so hard to breathe. Her mind was hyper-aware of every touch, scrape, and shove, lighting up her senses like a Christmas tree.
A thought sprung into her head just as an elbow hit her hard in the chest. With her eyes beginning to water, she shakily undid the strap of her glove. There were so many people…
If I can just get some space —
Her hand was jerked away from its pair, dragging her horizontally through the hectic crowd. Violet filled her vision as she felt something push her into a wall.
Shinso rested a hand on her ducked head, keeping her face buried in his chest and her back pressed safely against the wall. His body was the only thing shielding her from the rampaging wave of students on the other side.
"I'm not letting you get kicked out because you threw a dozen kids out a second-story window," he frowned, worry-filled eyes scanning her face as she clung to the lapels of his uniform with trembling hands. "Are you alright?" She nodded despite the tears streaming down her face.
Before she could open her mouth to speak, the crowd came to a sudden stop. A loud shout drew their attention toward the front of the hallway where a blue-haired boy was floating above them all.
"Everyone listen up! Everything is okay!"
"Iida?" Kazuya raised her brows while wiping away the wetness on her cheeks.
"It's just the media outside. There's absolutely nothing to worry about! Everything is fine!" her classmate roared from his perch on the ceiling, "We're UA students, we need to remain calm and prove that we're the best of the best!"
"You know him?" Shinso asked with an amused look. Kazuya nodded before dropping her head in defeat.
As things calmed down and the police arrived to get the trespassing reporters off of UA property, her heart rate returned to normal. Shinso stayed with her until the hallway emptied and they were left alone, hand rubbing soothing circles on her back.
"Are you hurt?" He checked her face and arms for bruises or cuts.
She dismissed his worry with a scoff, "Are you okay? You kept getting hit while trying to keep me out of the way."
"Quit dodging the question," Shinso narrowed his eyes sternly as Kazuya giggled and lightly punched him in the arm. She paused for a moment to embrace him tightly, her chin resting in the crook of his neck. The way he held her felt like the way someone would hold a baby for the first time: scared, gentle, and somewhat awkward.
"Thanks, dumbass."
"You're welcome, dumber ass."
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After returning to class and listening in on some gossip about the lunch incident, Midoriya made a short speech, during which he ultimately surrendered the Class Representative position to Iida. Kazuya had expected as much after talking to him about his feelings on the matter. She was glad that everyone was happy with the decision.
Today's hero training was taking place at an off-campus facility, according to Aizawa, and would be led by him, All Might (when he decides to show up), and another hero.
Kazuya managed to snag a seat between Kirishima and Asui on the bus, her relationships with the frog girl and Ashido finally stable again. Over halfway through the ride, she got tired of staring out of a window and tuned in to the conversation next to her.
"That power of yours. Isn't it a lot like All Might's?" Asui asked Midoriya, apparently catching him off guard.
"What?! R – Really? You think so, huh?" he began to sweat and ramble nervously. Kazuya made a mental note of it. When she complimented his costume, he did the same thing. Then again, being compared to All Might is intimidating.
"You're forgetting All Might doesn't hurt himself," Kirishima butted in with a chuckle, "Still, I bet it's cool to have a simple augmenting type of quirk. You can do a lot of flashy stuff with it. My Hardening's super strong and can destroy bad guys in a fight, but it doesn't look all that impressive."
"I think it's awesome! You're definitely pro material with a quirk like that," Midoriya watched the redhead's arm harden like stone.
"Looked plenty impressive when you were stuck to the ceiling," Kazuya snickered, oni mask sitting on the top of her head.
"Ouch," Kirishima winced but laughed it off. "Still, I feel it would be easier if I had something flashier," he sighed, arm returning to normal and resting on his knee.
"My Navel Laser's got the perfect combination of panache and strength," Aoyama chimed in, violet eyes twinkling like his cape. Much too flashy for Kazuya, but whatever floats his boat.
"It's way lame if it gives you a stomachache, Sweetie," Ashido chastised with a smile that didn't quite fit her sugared words.
"Well, if any of our classmates have pro quirks, it's Todoroki and Bakugouu," Kirishima nodded towards the back of the bus. Kazuya watched the peppermint-haired boy sit with his eyes closed and his head back, then eyed the explosive blonde as he scoffed.
"You can have all the power in the world and still be a raging asshole that no one likes," she smiled tauntingly. Oh, what fun to poke the bear.
"What did you say?! I'll kick your ass!" Bakugouu shot up to his feet and snarled at her. She threw one leg over the other and leaned back in her seat with her arms crossed.
"I'd like to see you try, Pomeranian." Her smug face must have pissed him off to no end, judging by the way his knuckles turned white from gripping the bar in front of him so tightly.
"Easy, girl," Kirishima laughed as a bead of nervous sweat glided down his temple.
"You know, your quirk is pretty cool too, Kazuya," Ashido spoke up while Bakugouu began arguing with Iida, who had told him to quiet down.
"She's super strong!" Midoriya agreed with an amazed look. Kazuya stared at him, eyes widening a fraction. A compliment from someone who knew everything about her quirk felt pretty damn good.
"Most people wouldn't agree, but thanks," Kazuya nodded, smile less dangerous than when aimed at Bakugou. "My dad's Metal Manipulation quirk, though," she chuckled to herself, "He's built like a noodle, but he can lift a whole Toyota Camry."
"Seriously?!" She was sure that Midoriya would have pulled out his quirk analysis notebook if he had it on his person.
"That's oddly specific," Ashido pointed out. Kazuya was going to snap back, but the conversation ended when Aizawa announced they had arrived at their destination.
All of the students piled out of the bus and were greeted by the third pro that would be helping them with rescue training, Space Hero; Thirteen. Class 1-A erupted into an excited murmur upon seeing the space-suit-clad hero.
Kazuya pulled her demon mask down to hide her excitement in the form of flushed cheeks. Her sister had worked with Thirteen before and they sounded fucking awesome.
Upon entering the dome-shaped building, she noticed the large space inside was filled with different disaster zones. It was like a theme park!
"A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, et cetera. I created this training facility to prepare you to deal with different types of disasters," Thirteen explained. "I call it the Unforeseen Simulations Joint, but you can call it USJ!"
Like Universal Studios Japan?
Judging by the faces of her classmates, most were riding the same train of thought as Kazuya.
"Clock's ticking. We should get started," Aizawa grumbled as he approached, hands shoved in the pockets of his costume.
"Excellent!" Thirteen cheered, "Before we begin, let me say one thing! Well, two things…possibly three or four…or five…"
"We get it," the class groaned.
The pro cleared their throat, "I'm sure you're aware that I have a powerful quirk. It's called Black Hole. I can use it to suck up anything and turn it into dust."
"You've used Black Hole to save people from all kinds of disasters, haven't you?" Midoriya spoke up with that familiar excited gleam in his evergreen irises.
"That's true, but my quirk could also very easily be used to kill," Thirteen clarified with a stern tone. "Some of you also have powers that can be dangerous. Please don't forget that if you lose focus or make the wrong move, your powers can be deadly. Even if you're trying to do something virtuous like rescue someone."
Kazuya tensed up. This wouldn't be the first time she's thought of intentionally hurting people with her quirk, but the societal implications and her family's expectations kept her from doing so. Even so, as a child, she accidentally threw things all the time until they found gloves kept her from having contact with pushable items. That didn't mean there weren't times she wondered what her true limits were.
"Thanks to Aizawa's fitness tests, you have a solid idea of your quirk's potential. Because of All Might's combat training, you likely experienced how dangerous your powers can be when used against other people."
"Today, you're going to learn how to use your quirks to save people's lives. You won't be using your powers to attack enemies or each other, only to help. After all, that's what being a hero's about, ensuring the safety of others," Thirteen bowed, earning cheers and claps from the students before them.
Their encouraging words washed away Kazuya's thoughts and bestowed her mind with renewed motivation. Her determined smile was visible to no one thanks to her mask, but her clenched fists were a clear sign of her eagerness to start training. She was ready to kick ass at not kicking ass.
"Alright, now that that's over — "
The overhead lights lining the dome flickered until they shut off completely. The class looked around confusedly, unsure of whether or not this was part of the training. Aizawa wasn't the kind to beat around the bush and put theatrics into his lessons, so Kazuya doubted it.
When a swirling purple mist appeared on the ground level of the USJ, she knew something was wrong. Her gut twisted and turned like it does when going down the hill of a steep roller coaster. The mist grew nearly three times its size, and in a fraction of a second, Aizawa went on the defensive.
"Stay together and don't move," he instructed his students before facing forward again, "Thirteen, protect the students."
"What is that thing?" Kirishima asked the same question in everyone's minds. No one had an answer, however, as they all stood there, just as uncertain. Aizawa seemed all too serious for this to be a test. The stress of the situation only grew as an army of strangers began to flood out of the dark matter. This was not good.
"This is real. Those are villains," Aizawa bit out, fixing his yellow goggles onto his face. Midoriya tried to take a step forward but Kazuya grabbed him by the upper arm and pulled him back.
"Don't," she snapped, glaring straight ahead through her mask.
"Imai…" Midoriya faced her with eyes widened from fear. Her mouth opened as if she were going to talk, but she froze when a familiar face stumbled through the portal. Tired eyes watched the students with the same indifference as a scientist to their lab rats.
Thankfully, her mask kept her shocked expression hidden, but the way his face lit up when he saw her was enough to make her want to throw heroics out the window and murder him brutally.
What the actual fuck?!