Hi, everyone! Welcome to Book II of the Mizuki series. I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I did while writing it. Please feel free to review, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia or any of its characters. Mizuki, however, is my own creation.

Let's start with the story, shall we?*

Chapter 20

"Damn it!"

Katsuki's hands twitched in pain as he let loose another large explosion. His arms were still stinging from the previous day's training but were already aching painfully as he continued to plunge his hands in hot water.

He continued to do this despite the resistance of his arms. He needed to get stronger. He couldn't let anyone surpass him. He was still aiming to be the number one hero. He wouldn't let Izuku or Shoto win him. Not now. Not ever.

He needed to prove himself. He needed to be worthy, not only as a hero but also for his sister. He already let her down once, he couldn't let her down again. He frowned deeply as he looked at himself in the reflection of the water, brows knitting together.

He could see her through his own reflection, their resemblance always something that bound them together. There was a faint, very weak trace of their connection. It was mostly torn apart by the force of his words and emotions. Even so, there was that small piece of hope inside him.

He scowled and roared as he let loose another large-scale explosion, gritting his teeth soon after. He dove his hands into the warm water once again, his face starting to work on his nerves and only adding to his anger.

He was angry at himself and all that he said. It hadn't changed over time and only added to his reluctance. She still scolded him after he blew the baths to kingdom come and he occasionally felt her gaze on him as if she wanted to make sure he was still alright.

Why? Why was she not angry at him?

He caught sight of the redhead taking a blow from Ojiro's tail, his eyes screaming his tiredness from the little sleep. He too was tired. After all, he only fell asleep when they all returned from their supplementary class, knowing that Mizuki was done.

He glanced at the forest, an explosion erupting with a cry. His eyes narrowed and he scowled at himself. He was going to fix this. He needed to talk to Mizuki and apologize for being an absolute asshole.

He wanted their bond back.

Mizuki spat blood to the side and wiped her mouth, crimson orbs glaring at the three creatures in front of her. She could feel the strain from her explosion. She was burning out faster than the day before probably because of the lack of sleep and stiff limbs.

She didn't know how Pixie Bob kept it up. Didn't she ever get tired? Speaking of which, the pro hero sat calmly on one of the branches with a big grin plastered on her features. Her tail snapped from side to side as she controlled her creations to attack her and didn't feel endangered at all.

It didn't look good for the youngster. She still hadn't shown any progress with her other Quirk. She slowly showed that she was getting faster and more creative in her fighting style but that was it. Nothing more. It would only be a matter of time until she reached a wall.

Think, Mizuki. Think! How the hell are you going to activate your Quirk? You did it before, right? You can do it again! Mizuki thought and then shot her hands out towards the creatures, Pixie Bob's tail briefly freezing up.

"Reject!" Mizuki yelled out towards the beasts, brows furrowed. She willed the Quirk to come forth, trying to activate it like she always did with her explosion. She would merely use her explosions as an extension of her being and clearly, the other Quirk couldn't be used the same way.

Mizuki blinked when nothing happened and looked at her extended hands. She cried out once more as she tried to activate it. A pulse. She just needed to feel the pulse. She knew it would be there if she felt it.

Nothing.

"You're shitting me! Why isn't it working?!" Mizuki snarled angrily, her attention interrupted when a mud fist made contact with her body. She gasped out and crashed into one of the nearby trees, her body aching at the sudden impact.

Ugh… That hurt… She's not going to give me a chance to use it, is she? Mizuki thought as she pushed herself out of the broken tree trunk, wincing at the splinters in her skin. She barely had time to think about it before she took to the skies when the beast crashed into the tree.

Damn it! Couldn't Ragdoll give me a heads up of how I can use this thing? Mizuki clicked her tongue in irritation and growled at the flying dragon-like beast that neared her. She heated up her legs and used a condensed explosion to dodge the attack. She twirled in the air, kicked away its tail and then kicked its body.

"White Explosion!" She exclaimed and it was sent crashing into the ground below. She brought her hands behind her and propelled herself forward at incredible speed. She burst straight through another beast's head and landed onto the ground, her feet feeling the roughness of the ground.

"Just fighting them all day won't help you become any stronger! You're not making any progress this way! You have to find another way to fight!" Pixie Bob called out towards Mizuki as her beasts reformed once more.

"I know that already! Can't you give me any better advice?!" Mizuki snapped at the female, veins palpitating out of her skin. She knew what she needed to do. She only didn't know how to do it and shouting nonsense wasn't going to help her.

She felt the stinging from her legs and instantly knew she was overheating. She was struggling to catch her breath and her body was heating up. She wouldn't be able to use her Flash Step or White Explosion for the rest of the fight and that put her in a tough spot.

She was in a pinch.

For some odd reason, she couldn't help but recall the USJ incident. It was there where it all began. She changed there. It was also there where she stood hopelessly against a creature. As she watched the creatures regenerate, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of hopelessness she felt that day.

The day she nearly died.

Mizuki's eyes widened at the thought. Wait a minute. When were the times that the Quirk activated? The fight against the Nomu, the brainwashing, the battle against principal Nezu. Those times were all connected by one thing. She was in trouble.

Was that it? Was that the trigger?

This Quirk, it was very unpredictable but it would seem that it was a defensive Quirk. It was strange. The thing that wanted to protect her also caused her damage.

Mizuki closed her eyes and let out a breath as she relaxed her body. She cut off everything around her, only her senses alerting her of the movement around her. She cleared her thoughts and pushed away the uneasiness.

It was inside her. It was deep inside her. It was a part of her.

She found herself standing in front of the black Nomu that she fought the day of USJ. It was her death. It lusted after her blood. Its beady eyes made a shiver run down her spine, its fist moving towards her.

Crimson eyes snapped open as a strong pulse came from her body. She let out a choked sound as another pulse followed. It felt like her body was being pulled from the inside out, forcing her onto her knees.

S-Shit… It's too strong…! She thought as another pulse rippled through her. She gritted her teeth, sparks appearing all over her body. She slammed her fist into the ground to try to keep herself from exploding.

C-Control! I-I n-need c-control!

She cried out in pain, Pixie Bob in high alert at the girl's sudden writhing body. "Oh no. Mizuki-Kitty, hang on! You can overcome this! You need to push through!" She called towards her as she jumped off the branch, approaching her slowly.

"D-Don't!" Mizuki shouted at the female, crimson eyes flashing in angst and pain. "I won't…hurt you…if you…stay away…!" She told the pro hero. Pixie Bob looked at the girl with panic. She knew she needed to overcome this but it was too much.

"Mizuki, hey, it's alright. You're safe... I'm right here…"

She heard Eijiro's voice in her thoughts and closed her eyes as she saw his kind smile. She was doing this for him. For them. She was naïve if she thought this would be easy. Didn't she say a challenge wouldn't be boring? Was she accepting her defeat too easily?

"It's okay. I accept all of you…"

Another strong pulse came from within her chest and Mizuki growled. "I…won't…lose!" Mizuki pushed against the pulse inside her body and forced herself up on her arms, legs nearly buckling beneath her.

"You're a part of me, you Son of a Bitch," she cursed and clenched her fist as she continued to fight against the Quirk inside her. A smirk came onto her lips, a trail of sweat cascading down the side of her face.

"Pixie Bob…" The blonde's eyes widened at Mizuki's expression. "Sorry, but can you let your beasts attack me?" She asked and the pro hero frowned. She watched as Mizuki's crimson eyes blazed and then nodded. She stood back when the mud beasts attacked the teenager and she grinned.

Mizuki pushed away the pulses and heated up her body. She took a step back into a stance, her legs heating up and steam coming from the whitened skin. The only way she was going to master this is if she trained it.

The beast attacked her with its claw and she exploded from her spot. She dodged the attack by using an explosion to somersault over the paw. She spun in the air and kicked it in the face. This time she didn't unleash a white explosion and merely bounced off to the next one as the previous one fell to the ground.

She compressed the heat in her legs to shoot towards the creature in the sky. She zigzagged through the air and then let out a cry as she shot right through the creature's stomach. Her speed soon directed towards the other creature.

Pixie Bob's eyes were wide in surprise. This time, MIzuki was only using her speed to fight off the beasts and not her explosions for offense. It almost seemed like… Realization dawned upon her, a smirk catching her eyes.

Mizuki was trying to get past them to get to her.

Pixie Bob barely had time to react before Mizuki was in front of her. She moved to the side to avoid the female, Mizuki's fingers brushing her shoulder. She watched as the teenager crashed into the ground with much force and heard a cough.

"Okay… Didn't think that through… That hurt…" She groaned as she got herself up on her knees, her legs aching. She waved away the puffs of dust that rose around her and then smirked at the dumbstruck pro hero.

"Thanks for the help, Pixie Bob, I needed to buy some time for myself and those beasts were the perfect distraction," Mizuki said and the pro hero felt a tingling sensation on her shoulder where the girl touched.

Don't tell me…

Mizuki slammed her hand palms onto the ground and inhaled deeply. She had zero control over the strength of the Quirk but if she directed most of its effects specifically on the beasts then it could work. She gritted her teeth and let the pulse awaken from inside her body.

"Reject!" She exclaimed and her body pulsed strongly, the backlash on her explosion Quirk causing her to hiss lightly. Pixie Bob felt the pulse that came from Mizuki and blinked in surprise at the weak effect.

She was about to say something before her eyes widened. She spun around and watched as her beasts instantly broke apart. They crumbled to the ground, her hands tingling as she tried to make them again, only to fail.

She was briefly speechless as she tried to activate her Quirk but nothing happened. She was astonished. It was as if her Quirk was erased by Eraser but she could feel the numbing tingling when she tried to use it.

"You did it, Kitty! You used it!" Pixie Bob exclaimed in amazement, blue eyes glistening as she watched Mizuki keep her hands on the ground. A trail of sweat fell down Mizuki's face and a shaky breath came out of her lips.

"Y-yeah…Thanks…" The lingering effects of the Quirk resided inside her. She thought she could control it by aiming at the created beasts but it still had a backlash against her other Quirk. It was a pain in the ass but…she did it.

"Let's go again! There's no resting for you!"

Mizuki let out a dry chuckle. "I-I thought so-" She cut herself off when a wave of nausea washed over her. It was followed by disorientation and in that moment, she was holding onto the ground for dear life.

"Okay, maybe a little rest for you. I'll get you some lemon water for that nausea," Pixie Bob said and received a grateful look from the teenager. "You did good, Kitty! If you're done drinking then we're going to try again!" She added and Mizuki smirked.

"Deal."

Later on…

She was nauseas. No, worse than that. Was there anything worse than that? She used Reject multiple times, one after the other time she used it, she was forced into a state of vertigo that only worsened. Unfortunately, her stomach was empty by the third time she used the Quirk.

This is terrible. Ugh, can't I just die already? Mizuki thought, a hand over her mouth, her skin much paler than usual. She was slightly blue beneath her eyes as she sat down on one of the benches, her head falling onto her arms.

"Mi-chan, are you alright?" Izuku asked his best friend as she sat in her own misery. He didn't receive a response from the girl and gave Eijiro a perplexed look. The male shook his head, also not knowing what was going on.

"Mizuki-kun, you mustn't let the hard training get you under! You must keep your head held high! We can make a great beef stew and be energized once more!" Iida exclaimed, crimson eyes weakly gazing at him.

"I will throw up on you and your enthusiasm and your beef stew," Mizuki threatened the male and they all paled at her words. She let her head fall back onto her arms and let out a groan as a wave of nausea came over her.

"Just…leave me…in my…misery…" Mizuki spoke weakly and muffled. Shoto blinked as he walked past them, divided coloured eyes blinking in surprise at the female's behaviour. Was the exhaustion already getting to her?

Iida, knowing better than to urge the female to do anything, walked off and left her with the trio looking at her in concern. He decided to fetch her a glass of water, knowing that it always helped with nausea.

Eijiro stared at Mizuki and then raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you're nauseous? Does that mean…?" Eijiro asked and received a weak smile. His eyes widened and lit up. She did it! She used her Quirk!

"Mizuki is nauseas? Wait, is she preg-" BOOM!

Mineta lay on the ground, smoke coming from his body and whimpering came from his mouth. She glared at the male through her pale face, steam coming from her mouth as her aura swirled dangerously around her.

"Ah, she's back to normal again."

"Hey, hey, Mineta, when are you going to learn to stop harassing Mizuki?" Sero asked, Kaminari in the background. Ojiro and Shoji merely looked at the scenery while the others snickered in amusement.

The ash blonde female let out a breath and turned her back towards the fallen male. Her eyes caught sight of horror, her entire body freezing up as she stared downwards. She could feel her mind reeling at the sight.

"Red, what are you wearing?"

Eijiro blinked in confusion at her reaction and looked down at the red monstrosity that encased his feet. He grinned brightly. "These are my favourite pair of outdoor crocs! I was a bit reluctant to bring them along but nothing feels better than wearing these!" He exclaimed.

"Take them off." His face fell at her low tone of voice and he found himself swallowing thickly. She dragged a step forward and a threatening atmosphere filled the air. "Take them off, Red," she repeated and he found himself taking a retreating step backwards.

"W-Wait! W-Why do I need to take them off? T-They're really comfortable, you know? And they're my favourite pair!" He pointed out, holding his arms out in front of him to stop the girl from advancing any further.

She let out a breath filled with steam, her hands crackling with sparks. "Take them off so I can blow them to hell!" She lunged at him soon after her exclamation. Eijiro yelped and managed to dodge the onslaught before running off, Mizuki short on her heels.

"For someone who felt terrible a moment ago, Mizuki-san is quite energetic," Ochaco said as she sweat dropped along with Mina and Tsuyu. Izuku closed his eyes and gave Eijiro a small piece of sympathy and good luck.

Sorry, Kirishima-kun, this time I won't be able to help you out. There are some things in fashion that Mi-chan refuses to accept and crocs, as footwear, are unfortunately one of them. Izuku thought as Miuzki chased Eijiro with an explosion erupting. He caught sight of Katsuki walking in the corner of his eyes and frowned.

"Get back here!"

"Wait, Mizuki! You don't have to do this! It's just a pair of crocs. You're still tired after training, right? You should spare your energy for tonight's supplementary classes, okay?" Eijiro tried to calm her down.

He was walking backwards slowly, hands outstretched in front of him in defense. He swallowed with much difficulty as Mizuki approached him using the same pace, her eyes glowing red and her aura menacing.

"I will rid the world of that disgraceful fashion… I will plunder and destroy all who dares to give birth to that!" Mizuki exclaimed and Eijiro's brows furrowed. He needed to stop her from coming any closer or it was over.

"Mizuki-chan! Long time no see!" A familiar male voice called, Eijiro panicking when Mizuki's eyes shot towards the grinning male. "Sorry for not greeting you earlier. Everything was all over the place! Haha!" Tetsutetsu said and blinked at the scene.

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu
Quirk: Steel

"Huh? Kirishima? Ah, sorry, did I interrupt something?!" Tetsutetsu exclaimed, face flushing deep crimson. Eijiro shook his head and tried to signal for the male to run away but he was too oblivious to understand.

"Steel Bastard…" The other boy felt a shiver run down his spine at her dark tone and a trail of sweat fell down the side of his face. What was going on? Why did it feel like Mizuki was going to eat him alive?

Crimson eyes travelled towards his feet before widening in horror. No. This couldn't be happening. She abruptly fell to her knees, the boys crying out at the sudden action. They watched as she slammed her fist into the ground.

"WHY?!" She cried out in angst, tears stinging her eyes and a sob escaping her lips. "Why are they taking over?! I don't understand!" She dramatically added and had both teenage boys turn completely white. Both were confused and dumbstruck at her behaviour.

"Mizuki-kun! I brought you a cool glass of water and some medicine-Mizuki-kun?! W-What's wrong? Why are you crying?!" Iida exclaimed, holding a small medicine bottle and a glass of lemon water in opposite hands.

Iida's body went rigid when her one hand clasped around his ankle and his face became blue at the dark expression she wore. She let out a wheezing breath, the sound terrifying the trio that stood near her.

"I will burn it all to ashes…"
"Mizuki-kun?!"

"Class A is so loud and filled with energy. Shouldn't they be helping out with making the stew?" A dark-haired male spoke as he carried a stack of wood towards the fires, his expression showing his agitation.

"Don't be like that. They helped out a lot yesterday. This is probably just their way to get rid of the tension of the training. Besides, I think it's kind of funny how dramatic Mizuki-san can be," Kendo said as she walked past with a small smile.

"Kacchan!" Izuku called after the spiky haired twin. Katsuki stopped in his tracks, hands pocketed as he glared back at the green haired boy. Izuku stopped a few feet away from him, a small frown on his features.

"What is it, Deku? You want to fight?"

"No, nothing like that!" Izuku said while waving his arms slightly in front of him and then stopping as a frown came onto his lips. "I just… I think you should go talk to Mi-chan about what happened." Katsuki growled at his words.

"Shut up. It has nothing to do with you, Deku! Stay out of our business!" Katsuki snapped at the male. Izuku wasn't fazed at the yelling, instead he could feel his agitation grow at the boy's stubbornness.

"Mi-chan is my best friend. I care for her." Katsuki scoffed, averting his eyes away from the boy. "If you take too long to sort things out with Mi-chan, it's only going to become worse," Izuku pointed out and received a scowl.

"Don't you think I know that, Deku? I'm not stupid! How the hell am I supposed to talk to her while she's acting like an idiot?" Katsuki pointed towards Mizuki who was making more than the trio start to panic while the others laughed.

"I'll talk to her when I want to. Stop pestering me about it," Katsuki snapped at the green haired boy. He turned away from Izuku, seeming to want to leave but stood still. Izuku's blank expression eyed the male with confusion.

"Her symptoms…" Izuku's eyes widened at his words. "Are they getting worse?" Katsuki asked in a calm and yet strained tone. That's right. He didn't know. Mizuki never told Katsuki about her other Quirk.

"U-Uh, no, actually, I think it's gotten better?" Katsuki gave him an intense look of disbelief. Izuku averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "It's not really my place to say that. You're going to have to ask her yourself," Izuku added.

He was hiding something.

Katsuki's eyes narrowed. He then scoffed and walked away without another word. Izuku was left on his own, his thoughts his only company. No further words were spoken and unanswered questions were left to linger in the air.

The Next Day…

Mizuki grunted as she burst through a mud beast, bouncing through the air before shooting through another one. She slid beneath one of the creature's body, hands shooting upwards as she let loose another explosion.

She jumped up to her feet, a hand coming up to her face and her breathing heavy. The tree beasts fell to the ground behind her and crumbled to pieces. She relaxed her shoulders, steam coming from her cooling legs and feet burning the ground beneath her slightly.

"Don't lose focus! All of you, move faster! No matter what you're doing, you should always be aware of where you came from. That's what it means to improve. "Always keep in mind why you're sweating and why you keep getting nagged," Aizawa's voice reached her ears and she smirked.

Where I came from…

"That reminds me, Aizawa Sensei, it's already the third day…" Izuku asked as he left Tiger's Bootcamp, his legs and arms able to throw at the stiff ache. Aizawa frowned at the boy and shook his head.

"What did I just say? Don't just walk over here like that," Aizawa scolded the male, jumping off the platform he stood on, hands still pocketed. This boy was stubborn and was reluctant to follow orders.

"Is All Might… I mean, are the other teachers coming?" Izuku asked, thinking of the number one pro hero. He hadn't seen him or any of the other teachers even if it was already the third day of training camp.

"Like I said before the training camp, in order to keep the villains from finding out where we were, we kept the number of people to the absolute minimum," Aizawa replied, Izuku watching as Ragdoll popped up from behind.

"That's why you got a training camp with the four of us!"

"And especially since we believe All Might is one of the villains' targets, we can't have him here. For better or for worse that's what happens, since he stands out so much… Tch…" Aizawa clicked his tongue in irritancy and walked off.

Seems like there's a lot more of the 'for worse' part… Izuku thought as he sweat dropped. He let out a breath and looked at his hand before making a fist. I see. All Might isn't coming, huh? There were actually quite a lot of things he wanted to talk to him about and wanted to ask his advice.

"Neko, neko, neko… More importantly, everyone, tonight we'll have a test of courage with the classes pitted against each other! After training hard, you can play hard! The carrot and the stick! So, do your best right now!" Pixie Bob laughed excitedly, a trio of boys wondering why she wasn't busy in the forest by Mizuki.

"Oh, I forgot."
"I hate scary stuff…"

"Revelry in the dark…" Tokoyami softly spoke as he stood in front of the cave where he would train Dark Shadow. Ochaco sweat dropped at his words, her attention quick to go back towards the piece of rubble she lifted.

"They're letting us do the typical training camp stuff, too, huh?" One of the boys from Class 1-B stated in surprise. They had been doing pure training exercises and cooking at night for two days straight. It was nice to hear that they were going to do something else for a change of pace.

"I like the part where we're pitted against each other…" Monoma said, the dark haired male sweat dropping, wondering if the male's mental state was alright. The extra classes were causing even more strain.

"Where I came from… All Might…" Izuku thought and couldn't help but think of Mizuki. It was still unclear of what she knew but she was part of the beginning. She had always been his support system and helped him along wherever he would struggle.

"Hey… Where's your 'Plus Ultra'?"

Izuku grimaced at Tiger's menacing aura and nodded. "R-Right! I'm coming!" He quickly exclaimed and rushed over where the boot camp was held. He found his face becoming serious and clenched his fists.

Plus Ultra…

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