My Hero Academia: Lion of Courage
Chapter 25: Distrustful Minds
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. All rights go to Kohei Horikoshi.
Takeo had received a text from Satoshi, telling him to meet up at the Support Studio when he had a chance as he had recently made some upgrades for him. He planned to go after school after classes had been released…but when Class 1-A was dismissed for the day and they opened the door, they were greeted by the sight of a crowd of students, blocking their way.
"Huh?" Takeo gasped as he looked in confusion. "What are they all doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Zankoku chuckled as he looked at the crowd. "They're scouting the competition. You remember what Eraser Head said, don't you? The Sports Festival is their chance to get into the Hero Course, provided they make a good enough impression."
"And they're scouting us specifically because we were attacked by villains at the USJ," Bakugo brought up. "Not that it matters. If they couldn't get into the Hero Course the first time around, what makes them think they have a chance now?"
The stares of the student crowd turned angry after Bakugo's condescending comment. Many of them saw themselves as being worthy of entering the Hero Course, but they failed. As stated, the Sports Festival was their chance to get into the Hero Course and they wanted to know who they were up against, especially since the students of Class 1-A had survived the USJ Attack.
"Bakugo, I swear, you are so condescending," Takeo groaned as he shook his head.
At this point, Takeo felt Bakugo had no grounds to condescend to anyone. He acted like he was the best of the best, yet he had lost against Midoriya in the Combat Training, was beaten during the USJ Attack and had failed yesterday's rescue exercise. But no matter what, Bakugo was convinced that he was the greatest and refused to accept that he wasn't the legend he thought he was.
"Geez, you sound like a real asshole," a voice came from the crowd, belonging to a tall young man with messy purple hair and purple eyes with bags under them. "Is Class 1-A just full of egomaniacs?"
"That's not true," Takeo defended sternly. "My classmates are good people, so don't throw baseless accusations at them just because of this one asshole." Zankoku chuckled quietly at Raionhato; he was such a white knight…but he couldn't say it because of how literal-minded his classmate was. Yaoyorozu, Ojiro, Sato and Kiyama, on the other hand, admired his willingness to defend his classmates…though they wished he hadn't insulted Bakugo in the process.
"You know," the purple-haired man started. "When I came here, I expected to find students that'd make me shiver and think I had no chance. I mean, after all, the Hero Course is only for the 'best' students, right?" He put a lot of emphasis on the word 'best', as if he was speaking with contempt for Class 1-A. This didn't go ignored by the smarter and more mature members of the class.
"But instead, all I find is a bunch of assholes and jerks who think they're better than everyone else," he continued. "I applied for the Hero Course just like everyone else here, but because of how the Entrance Exam was made, I had to apply for General Studies instead."
"You're damn right!" one of the students barked angrily. "Only those who had flashy combat Quirks had any chance of succeeding in the Entrance Exam! If we didn't have a combat based Quirk, then there was no way in hell we could get in!"
"You're wrong," Takeo responded, greatly sympathizing with the student. "If your Quirk by itself isn't good for combat, then you find a way to compensate. Martial arts, weaponry…there are ways to compensate if your Quirk alone isn't good for combat."
Bakugo felt some measure of respect for Kitty Boy when he said those words. A Quirk without training was worthless in his eyes and if their Quirks weren't sufficient to fight, they'd need to compensate somehow. Even he wasn't exempt from this; if Bakugo hadn't trained for years to make his Quirk as powerful as it was, it'd be nothing more than a flash show with no combat prowess whatsoever.
"And what of those who did compensate?" another voice spoke. It belonged to another young man with feathery brown hair, green eyes and a well-muscled build. He was about an inch taller than Raionhato and had a very stoic expression on his face, very similar to Kaze Yonaka…except his face would've twisted with anger and contempt the moment he saw Takeo. In his left hand was a katana with a falcon-head pommel and a tsuba that was shaped like wings, a beautiful piece of craftsmanship Takeo had to acknowledge.
"What do you mean?" Midoriya asked.
"You know, traditionally four students are chosen through recommendation," the young man started. "This year, it was six. Do any of you know why?"
The rest of the class was confused and stumped, but Zankoku knew right away one of the reasons. It was undoubtedly to make room for him in an attempt for PR, someone who had been on the streets. By letting him in through recommendation, U.A. could now appease to the 'street people'. He never thought U.A. would break one of their own rules of the sake of PR, but then again, he wasn't surprised.
"It was to make room for that bastard!" one of the students growled, pointing at Zankoku. "Why the hell was that street rat allowed in through recommendation!?"
"Because someone noticed my talent, that's why," Zankoku replied. "I didn't make the rules; I didn't go up to the U.A. Board and make them accept me. I earned my place here."
"Maybe you just prostituted yourself to the right people," another student responded with spite. "Your mom would've done the same."
"That's enough!" Iida barked, running up to the crowd. "I understand that many of you wish to be here, but you will not degrade the integrity of my classmates by saying such things!" Zankoku walked up to Iida, put his hand on his shoulder and then stepped in front of the student who insulted him. He let out a few laughs before putting his hand on the student's shoulder.
"Slinging insults at us isn't going to get you into the Hero Course," Shin spoke with his chuckling smile. "You want our places in the Hero Course, come and take them. But I don't plan on just giving mine up." He then backed away, his chuckling subsided and his smile lowered.
"That was immature of you," the brown-haired young man told the student who insulted Zankoku. "He's right; none of them will give up their positions in this class without a fight. If they did just give them up, we can't say we've earned our places here, could we?" The class and crowd of students were silent after the young man's honest statement. After several moments of silence, the young man started again.
"My name is Hayata Furaya," he introduced himself. "And for those of you who don't know, I was 3rd Place in the Entrance Exam."
Raionhato and Midoriya remembered that name, having seen it on their holo projectors when they were accepted into U.A. He was 3rd Place in the Entrance Exam, having scored 51 Villain Points and 20 Rescue Points. Since they didn't see him in their class, they assumed he had been in Class 1-B. However, judging by his tone and actions, there was something else they didn't know.
"I thought you were in Class 1-B," Midoriya brought up. "If you were 3rd Place-"
"I was," Furaya responded, his tone sharper than before. "However, I received a notice saying that due to six students being allowed through recommendation rather than four, I was…'pulled out' of the Hero Course, courtesy of the U.A. Board."
"What?" Iida gasped. "But why would the Board have you removed from the Hero Course?"
"One reason," Furaya responded. "I'm Quirkless."
When he said those words, it was like a bomb went off in the vicinity…or one of Bakugo's explosions. Did they hear right? Did Furaya just say he was Quirkless? Was he rejected from the Hero Course simply because of his Quirklessness, despite being 3rd Place in the Entrance Exam?
"Hold on, that's illegal," Uraraka stated. "Anti-Quirkless discrimination laws should prevent that, shouldn't they?"
"Unfortunately, those laws only apply in terms of workplace safety, equal pay and general education," Yaoyorozu brought up. "Japanese Hero Schools retain the right to reject people from their courses with probable cause…" Her faces lowered. "And sadly, some Hero Schools consider Quirklessness a probable cause."
"But U.A. got rid of that rule years ago!" Midoriya stated. "They couldn't have denied Furaya entry into the Hero Course!"
Yukine was unnaturally quiet since Furaya revealed his Quirklessness and it being the reason why he was rejected from the Hero Course. The situation started to drag up old memories from her childhood…unpleasant memories that she never cared to dwell on. She remembered the voice of a little girl, her sister, Kori Kuraokami.
"Mommy! Daddy! I didn't do anything wrong!"
"You are Quirkless! You already did something wrong the day you were born!"
She tightened her fists in anger at Furaya's revelation. U.A. had repealed the rule that banned Quirkless from entering their school years ago, but that didn't stop them from throwing two people out to make room for two recommendation students. She felt great disgust at this revelation and hoped her classmates felt the same.
"Heh," Bakugo scoffed, a condescending smirk on his face. "Well, I'd say we dodged a bullet if you were kicked out."
"What the-?" Kirishima spoke. "Bakugo, there's no need for that!"
"You honestly think you can be a Hero?" Bakugo asked Furaya with the same condescending and arrogance he had treated Midoriya for years. "Look, Quirkless, I don't know what fantasy world you're living in, but here in the real world, only people with Quirks can become Heroes. These extras have a better chance of getting in than you."
"Don't call people 'extras' just because you don't know their names!" Iida scolded, but Bakugo paid him no heed. Furaya didn't react to Bakugo's condescension, not showing even the slightest bit of being intimidated like Deku would've before U.A.
"Do yourself a favor and stop living in your fantasy world," Bakugo insulted. "There's no way in hell you can become a Pro Hero." Suddenly, Bakugo heard the unsheathing of a sword and felt a sharp edge close to his neck. Before he knew it, Furaya was holding his katana near the Explosion user's throat.
Everyone was in shock of how quickly Furaya had unsheathed his sword and held it close to Bakugo's throat. One could almost mistake him for having a form of super speed, leaving a lot of people impressed at Furaya's sword skills. Even Bakugo himself was taken back by the Quirkless's speed of attack.
"Your insults only push me harder to succeed," Furaya spoke before sheathing his sword. "I WILL win the Sports Festival…even if it means having to take on all of you." Having said his piece, Furaya turned around and walked out of the crowd.
"Get back here!" Bakugo roared as he was about to chase after Furaya. "I'll kill you, you Quirkless bastard!" Furaya didn't see it, but Raionhato, Kirishima and Iida were holding Bakugo back as he thrashed and yelled like a feral animal struggling to break free from captivity.
Midoriya was in complete shock of what just happened. When Bakugo started condescending and threatening Furaya, he was certain that the swordsman would fold in response. Midoriya knew the feeling, considering Bakugo had made his life a living hell ever since he was revealed to be Quirkless. Whenever Bakugo bullied him, intimidated him, threatened him, he felt powerless to stand up to him. He knew that all Bakugo had to do was unleash a powerful explosion on him and no one would care.
But now, Hayata Furaya, a Quirkless just like he was, not only stood up to his childhood tormentor, but even straight up threatened him. He didn't cower in front of Bakugo, but instead unsheathed his sword with such skill and speed that if Furaya intended to kill him, he would've. He declared war against Bakugo by stating that he would win the Sports Festival and prove Bakugo wrong about the Quirkless. This act of defiance sent Bakugo into a frenzy, having to be held back by Kirishima, Iida and Raionhato.
While he did admire Furaya for standing up to Bakugo, he also felt shameful. Never once did Midoriya ever truly stand up to Bakugo growing up and when he tried, the Explosion user and his 'friends' beat him down. Even when Bakugo told him 'to take a swan dive off the roof of the building', Midoriya wanted to fight back, but Bakugo intimidated him into silence.
If Furaya beat Bakugo in the Sports Festival, if he did win against him…Bakugo's pride and ego would be damaged in a way that would never heal. Bakugo would never accept his defeat at the hands of a Quirkless.
"Pink Rose," Zankoku called out after finding Ashido in one of U.A.'s hallways. The pink-colored girl smirked quietly, suspecting what the Scorpion wanted to talk about. She quietly turned around to face him with that same smirk on her face.
"Oh, yes, handsome~?" she replied with a teasing tone. Zankoku's expression was different than it usually. He was often charming and had a smile on his face whenever he spoke to the beautiful Pink Rose, but now, it was more serious and sincere.
"I...I never got the chance to say thanks...for the food drive," Zankoku spoke. "That shelter's been much happier than it has in a long time." He then raised an eyebrow.
"Why did you do it? And how were you able to convince several of our classmates to get involved? I'm guessing they got paid-"
"I'm stopping you right there," Ashido interrupted. "I held the food drive to show you that you don't need to turn to stealing, that there are people out there who will help you. As for our classmates, they didn't ask for anything in return. They did it simply out of the good of their hearts. Is that really so hard for you to believe?"
Zankoku sighed quietly. After having grown up on the streets, it was often hard for him to believe when people did things solely out of kindness and altruism. Anytime anyone did something, there was always a cost, something that had to be given or done. Maybe her words were true and that everyone who helped her simply did it out of the good of their hearts, but that was something Zankoku had a hard time accepting.
"Pink Rose," he spoke, but his words fell flat. He didn't know what to say this time, not after having seen the shelter so happy after a while.
"I'm sorry about what that jerk said about your mother," Ashido apologized. "I'm sure she was a great woman." Zankoku let out a quiet sigh, remembering the student who claimed he had 'prostituted' himself to the right people to get into U.A.
"My mother was a prostitute," he admitted. "But I'm not ashamed of her. She was a good woman and she did what she could to take care of me, even when she was all on her own."
"Oh," Ashido gasped, surprised at this revelation. "I…I didn't know, but then again, you probably wouldn't have said anything."
"I said I'm not ashamed of her," Zankoku repeated. "But…yeah, I was a bit angry when he suggested I buttered up people to get in here. I'm here because I earned my place; I wouldn't be surprised if he just said that out of jealousy because a mere street rat got into the Hero Course."
The Poison Quirk user could easily sense the envy of the crowd from earlier. They desired a spot in the Hero Course, but because of circumstances, they had been denied their spot. Some accepted that they had failed for a multitude of reasons while others refused to accept this outcome and viewed themselves as persecuted victims. However, in case of the latter, it definitely applied rightly to Hayata Furaya.
Despite being 3rd Place in the Entrance Exam, the U.A. Board had denied him entry into the Hero Course along with another student to make way for two other students on recommendation: one from the streets to appease the unprivileged and another from a prestigious detective agency. The rejection of Furaya and the other student was done for the sake of a publicity stunt and Furaya was chosen clearly because of his Quirklessness.
Sadly, as Princess Yaomomo said, Anti-Quirkless discrimination laws didn't apply to Hero Schools. So U.A. couldn't be sued or legally charged with discrimination for choosing to put Furaya in General Studies rather than the Hero Course. It was a very scummy move on part of the U.A. Board, denying two students their earned place in the Hero Course for publicity.
"I need to go," Zankoku spoke as he started to leave, but stopped. "But…thanks, Pink Rose."
"You're welcome, handsome," Ashido replied with a flirty smile, one that Zankoku reciprocated.
"All right!" Takeo cheered as he tried out the new upgrades Satoshi made for him in Gym Gamma. The one he was currently trying was an upgrade to his Wire Gauntlets that had been outfitted with a device near the wrist that could send electricity through them. When used to entangle his opponents or in an aquatic area, the electric wires would serve him extremely well. For now, he flailed them around like whips while being careful not to get himself tangled by the wires.
"So, how does the second one work?" Takeo asked after storing his gauntlets away.
"Get Lion Saber out," Satoshi insisted. As Takeo brought out his amber-bladed sword, Satoshi placed a glove on his friend's left arm, reaching up to his elbow. Just like the ones in his Hero Costume, it was made of leather, but had a long clear container on top. It had several small tubes connecting to the fingertips excluding the thumb and what looked like a flint on the side of the hand near the pinky.
"What's this?" Takeo asked, examining the glove.
"I call it the Ignition Glove," Satoshi answered before moving Takeo's hand to show a button right on the palm right under the index finger. "Spread out your four fingers against the blade and then press that button, but only a small amount. Maybe half the blade."
Under Satoshi's instructions, Takeo spread his four fingers against Lion Saber's blade and then pressed the button near the index finger. The incendiary oil started to secrete from the fingertip tubes, coating the upper half of the blade. Once enough had been applied, Satoshi gestured to the flint on the side of the hand. Raionhato held it against the oil, used the flint to ignite it and then the blade burst into flames.
"Whoa!" Takeo gasped as he held the flaming sword. The two friends laughed together at the success of the Ignition Gauntlet and the Electric Wires. Now Raionhato had a bigger edge against his opponents in the upcoming Sports Festival, which was only a few days away.
"Satoshi, you are a genius," Takeo complimented as he watched the flames continue to burn on his sword. "Oh, this feels great after what happened earlier."
"What did happen earlier?" Satoshi asked.
"Well, there was this large crowd of students blocking the entrance to our classroom," Takeo started. "Some of them acted like we were a bunch of egomaniacs and Bakugo…well, this one Quirkless student, Hayata Furaya, stood up to him and Bakugo had to be restrained like the beast he is. Scared the crowd of students while he screamed that he was going to kill Furaya. It didn't help that he condescended to them and is adding to their beliefs that Class 1-A is a bunch of jerks."
Takeo had told Satoshi about his dreaded classmate, Bakugo. He never had a nice thing to say about him, only ever mentioning his temper, arrogance, rudeness and general unpleasantness. Satoshi hadn't met Bakugo personally, but from what he heard from Takeo and his Hero Course classmates, he really wasn't popular due to his aggression, pride and selfishness. But while Satoshi did think Takeo had some grounds to hate Bakugo, he felt that Takeo went a bit too far in his anger towards him.
"Do you really need to call him a beast?" Satoshi asked after Takeo's flames have finally started to die out. "That's a bit far, don't you think?"
"No," Takeo responded. "I've seen the way he acts: when he's not acting like a condescending, self-absorbed asshole, he's acting like a wild, feral animal with no form of self-control. He gets violent and angry over the slightest thing that pisses him off."
"Even if he has severe anger issues and is an arrogant jerk, that doesn't mean he should be degraded as an animal," Satoshi insisted. "I think him 'acting like an animal' is just your hate for him talking. I mean, is he really that bad?"
Takeo was tempted to bring up the Combat Training incident where Bakugo almost killed Midoriya. Takeo remembered the look on Bakugo's face when he pulled that grenade: spiteful, malicious, uncaring, heartless…evil. While he had come to accept that Midoriya deserved blame as well, Bakugo was the one who actively escalated the situation, especially when he was told not to. He didn't know what Bakugo said in response to All Might, but he knew Bakugo didn't listen. However, Aizawa had forbade Class 1-A from discussing the incident with anyone outside the class, threatening anyone with expulsion if they did so.
"Yes, Satoshi, he is," Takeo responded. "That beast is an insult to everything I was taught. He doesn't care about people, only himself, only his ego."
"Not everyone was raised to have a sense of morality, Raionhato," Satoshi stated. "I can't really say anything about Bakugo since I've never met him, but from what I've heard, he is pretty much an unpleasant person. But I do think-"
"AAAHHH!" Takeo and Satoshi's conversation stopped when they heard terrified screams outside the gym. The two students quickly ran out to look for the source of the screams; when they saw nothing in the immediate vicinity, they looked around more. However, by the time they found the source of the screams, Hound Dog and Ectoplasm had gotten to them first.
"What's going on?" Raionhato asked as he and Satoshi ran up.
"Stay back!" Ectoplasm instructed. He started using his Quirk to create clones and keep students from getting near. The screaming continued as Ectoplasm and Hound Dog helped get the terrified student to the infirmary, who kicked and punched Hound Dog as if trying to escape a monster. Takeo couldn't catch a glimpse of the student, but it was one of the students from the crowd earlier.
"A hallucinogenic," Recovery Girl informed Ectoplasm and Hound Dog after having put the student into medically-induced sleep. "Someone injected a hallucinogenic into this poor boy's bloodstream."
"Injection?" Hound Dog asked. "It wasn't consumed?"
"Some hallucinogenics don't work unless they're injected directly into the bloodstream," Recovery Girl answered. "I recognize this kind; it would only have an effect if it were injected."
"Recovery Girl, I think I found the injection site," Sunhealer brought up. Recovery Girl walked on over to the bed where the student was unconscious and her apprentice pointed to an area on his shoulder, where a needle-like wound was found
"This is undoubtedly the injection site," Recovery Girl confirmed and patted Sunhealer's hand for her work.
"So someone intentionally poisoned him?" Ectoplasm questioned. "But who would do that?"
"It'd have to be someone who has a knowledge of poisons," Hound Dog guessed.
"Let us report the incident to Principal Nezu, then proceed from there," Ectoplasm suggested. While Hound Dog and Ectoplasm went off to inform Nezu of what happened, Recovery Girl and Sunhealer made sure that the rest of the poison was out of his body. But this still left questions to be answered.
"I feel ridiculous," Kaze groaned. His jet black hair was now combed back and slicked, his attire consisting of a purple dress shirt, a black vest and tie with slacks and dress shoes. His mother had helped him pick out the clothes for his double date with Onkyo, Tokage and whoever Onkyo was bringing along.
"Oh, come now," Kurikari replied. "It's not going to hurt you to go on one date. Now please have some fun tonight and try to open up."
"I'll try, Mom," Kaze responded. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Kaze sighed deeply as he was forced to accept his fate and walked up to the main door of his home. Much to his surprise, instead of Tokage or Onkyo, it was Yosetsu Awase.
"Awase?" Yonaka greeted, pleasantly surprised by a familiar face as a small smile stretched across his face.
"Hey, Yonaka," Awase replied. "I was in the neighborhood and I thought you'd like to train. The Sports Festival is only a few days away and I'm really itching to get at Class 1-A. Those guys have been getting a lot of attention ever since the USJ Attack."
Yonaka himself was itching to get at Class 1-A, specifically Takeo Raionhato. Every day he had to see him made his stomach turn and make him want to retch. That coward had no right to be at a school like U.A., not after what his actions had cost him years ago. He hoped sooner or later, his class would see him as who Yonaka saw him as.
"I know the feeling," Yonaka agreed.
"You want to beat Raionhato," Awase assumed. "I know it's not my business, but if you don't mind…what happened between you two that was so bad?"
"Awase, I do mind," Kaze responded. "It…" He sighed.
"By the way, what are you wearing?" Awase asked, pointing out Yonaka's fancy attire. Kaze's smile died down and his normal stone-face expression returned.
"I lost a match against Onkyo and he's forcing me to go on a double date. It's a waste of my time, but unfortunately, I can't back out now. But I am open to training with you tomorrow if you'd like. You can just come on over and we can get started."
"Sounds good," Awase agreed. "Have fun on your date."
Kaze let out a deep sigh as he stood in front of Tokage's door, wearing purple and black attire and holding his phone in his hand. He had received a text from Onkyo, informing him that the four of them would be meeting up at the Blue Moon Sushi Bar, a popular sushi joint that was quite a distance from where Kaze lived. He had been there before and really enjoyed it, though it was rather expensive due to the quality of the Sushi Bar's ingredients.
In truth, Kaze was nervous about meeting Setsuna's father, the Komodo Dragon Hero: Sunda. After having done some research on him, it was clear that her father was not someone to be taken lightly. All it could take is one wrong move and Sunda could break him in half with his powerful jaws or tear him apart with his razor sharps claws.
"I will not train with Onkyo after this," he spoke quietly before knocking on the door. He waited several moments for an answer, waiting patiently yet nervously for an answer. Knowing Tokage and her Quirk, he wouldn't be surprised if she tried something to prank or scare him, so he was prepared to use his Quirk at any moment. Luckily, it was unnecessary when the door opened to Tokage with a bright smile.
Cracks developed in Kaze's stoic expression as he looked at how beautiful Setsuna Tokage was. She was wearing a glittering green one shoulder dress reaching her knees, black high heels, long gold-colored earrings that reached her shoulders and a black purse on her left arm. Her lips were painted with a light red lipstick, her fingernails and toenails painted in the same red color and topped it all off with her usual cocky smile.
"Hey there," she greeted. "You look sharp."
"And you look beautiful," Kaze responded.
"Thank you~" she flirted. "Now-"
"Hold on," a deep voice interrupted from inside. Heavy footsteps approached the front door where Kaze and Setsuna was. The Shadow Flash user was tempted to use his Quirk and teleport away from the tall figure that was approaching the door. As expected, it was a tall man with black hair and razor teeth who appeared half-human half-Komodo Dragon, similar to Takeo's mother, Lioness.
"You're Yonaka?" Sunda asked.
"I am, sir," Kaze responded, surprised that he wasn't acting very threatening towards him as he somewhat expected.
"You better treat my daughter well while she's with you," Sunda firmly stated. "Curfew is 10:00, no later. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Kaze assured. Sunda then smiled and pecked his daughter's head.
"Have a fun time, Setsuna," he told her before she walked out and he closed the door behind her. Before Kaze could say anything else, Setsuna gently grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the house.
"Just you wait," Setsuna told him with a flirty smile. "By the time this date is over, you'll be in love with me." Kaze doubted it, but for the sake of his mother, he was going to go along.
After arriving at the Blue Moon Sushi Bar, Kaze and Setsuna sat down at a booth since Onkyo and his own date hadn't arrived yet. She was determined to bring Kaze out of his shell, to get him talking since he had rarely interacted with anyone in Class 1-A other than his friend, Yosetsu Awase.
"So you're going for a ninja theme in your Hero Costume, huh?" Setsuna brought up. "Makes sense with your Quirk and choice of weapons. Is the rope dart your favorite?"
"It is my most trained weapon, yes," Kaze answered. "I do prefer other weapons like sai knives, yari spears and longbows. Do you train with any weapons?"
"No, my Quirk is multi-purpose," Setsuna explained. "When I split off my body parts, I can use them offensively, defensively or distraction. As of right now, I can split my body into 30 pieces, which is more than enough. My dad will be watching the Sports Festival, so…I'm going to do my best."
She uncharacteristically hesitated for a moment, a contrast to her usual confident self. Her confident smile dropped a bit into an expression of uncertainty and self-doubt. This was enough to make Kaze raise an eyebrow, wondering if there was something on her mind.
"Tokage?" he addressed. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Tokage gasped. "Uh, yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just thinking about how my mom and dad will be watching the Sports Festival. What about your parents? Will they be watching?"
Kaze didn't answer immediately. His parents would obviously be watching him in the Sports Festival when it occurred; it felt like Tokage was changing the topic away from her parents. He wondered why, but he suspected that it had to do with her hesitation from earlier. It was such an out-of-character moment for her, something that had caught his attention.
"Yes, I'm certain they'll be watching," Kaze replied. "I don't see why they wouldn't unless something happened. Speaking of watching, have you seen Onkyo anywhere? It's been thirty minutes and he's still not here."
Setsuna noticed that too. They were supposed to have met at Blue Moon at 6:00; it was currently 6:32 and he was nowhere to be seen, yet they had received no text or phone call from him. They wondered if he was doing okay, so Kaze decided to text him. He typed 'We're here at Blue Moon Sushi Bar. Where are you? We were supposed to meet here at 6:00.', then sent it.
"You think he's okay?" Setsuna asked.
"Well, I'm certain he is," Kaze answered. "He's a good fighter and an intelligent student…even though he's an intolerable pain to be around." Setsuna chuckled.
As time went on, Kaze was slowly starting to open up and be more talkative to Tokage, much to her pleasant surprise. He expected Setsuna to make the whole date about her, but to his own surprise, she was actually very pleasant to be around. She even started to make the Shadow Flash user laugh a few times.
"You actually did that to your dad?" Kaze chuckled.
"I was eight," Setsuna defended. "I was still trying to figure out my Quirk at the time." She then stopped for a moment and gazed at Kaze's smile.
"I like this face of yours more," she told him. "You're always so stoic and rather inexpressive, so it's really nice to see you smile and laugh."
"Well…I wasn't always so…stoic," Kaze admitted. As he thought one of the reasons why he became stone-faced, his mind revisited an old memory he dreaded, one that filled him with guilt and shame.
"ANZU!"
"If you're thinking of telling me, don't," Tokage assured, putting her hand on his. "I'd only want you to tell me when you feel comfortable doing so."
"What's up?" Onkyo's voice was heard from the entrance of the bar. Wearing a flashy white suit and sunglasses, he walked towards the table like he was a celebrity. Next to him was a girl, presumably from U.A., with blue hair, silver eyes and a white dress, contrasting with Setsuna's green, glittering dress.
"Where have you been, Onkyo?" Yonaka scolded. "It's 7:00. We were supposed to meet at 6:00, remember? You set up this date and yet you show up an hour after you said we'd meet?"
"Oh, relax," Onkyo dismissed. "I had to look my absolute best for this young beauty. Besides, I had a previous date before this."
"A previous date?" Tokage asked. "Hold on, hold on…you had ANOTHER date before this?"
"Yeah, I kind of forgot about it after Yonaka and I agreed to this double date," Onkyo responded. "I was able to get there in time, but she wasn't all that happy I forgot. I mean, it's not like I completely forgot; I remembered in the end…even if I was twenty minutes late."
"And you're an hour late for this one," Setsuna brought up.
"Well, I'm here now," Onkyo replied. "Now, let's get the fun started, shall we?"
Neither Kaze nor Setsuna were amused at Onkyo's disregard for his tardiness for the double date HE set up nor for his lackadaisical attitude towards his other date…and the fact that he not only forgot, but was late for that one as well. It was honestly amazing that the young woman with him hadn't slapped and left him.
"Unbelievable," Kaze groaned as he and Setsuna walked to her house after finishing dinner at Blue Moon. "Is Onkyo only interested in women and popularity?"
"Well, it's not like he doesn't have the means to back it up," Tokage replied. "I mean, all things considered, it's easy to see why people, especially girls, would be interested in him."
Kaze didn't share the sentiment after their double date tonight. In fact, he wished Onkyo had never shown up because he was enjoying his time with Setsuna by themselves. To his pleasant surprise, he actually found her very charming and easy to be around. He was happy that he was forced to go on this date with her by Onkyo.
What kept coming to mind was that sense of hesitation when Tokage mentioned her parents watching the Sports Festival. Never once had she had hesitated, never once had she taken pause; she was a very confident and self-assured young woman, so to see her show hesitance was something out of left field. He couldn't get it out of his mind because it was so unusual for her.
"But I did have a fun time," Kaze informed Setsuna. She smiled at him, but it was warm and friendly rather than flirtatious and cocky. When she turned away, she slowly reached out her hands to grab Kaze's arm and pulled herself to him like a lady under escort. The Shadow Flash user cracked a small smile and let Tokage stay close to him until they got to her house.
"So, are you happy that Onkyo made you go on this date?" she asked after she broke away from Yonaka upon approaching the door.
"I am," Kaze replied. "I had a fun time. Have a good night."
"You as well," Setsuna reciprocated. She opened the door, turned to look at Kaze one more time and winked at him before walking inside.
Just as Kaze was about to use his Quirk to get home, he received a text…from none other than Hinote Onkyo. He opened it to read 'Want to do it again?', to which Kaze replied 'No.' He wouldn't mind going on another date with Setsuna Tokage if she wanted…but he didn't want Hinote Onkyo anywhere near it.
Author's Note: Hayata Furaya is an OC created by NightShock99, so credit goes to him!