Chapter Thirty-Six
"That was a brutal fight sports fans, but Denki Kaminari has won the second match of the second round!" Present Mic announced, the crowds cheering as I walked out, having to stop in the hallway to read the map to track down Recovery Girl's office.
" Why'd you do that? " came a voice from behind me, and I turned to see Todoroki, staring at me. I looked at him in confusion, and he clarified, "You could have shocked him from the start. Why didn't you?"
My main reason, so that I could use my purchased Martial Talent to get better at fighting very quickly, was not one I could tell him, but I had others. "It's an exhibition match, not a real fight. If this was the USJ I would've dropped him and moved on. But I wanted to see if I could take him on my own, and wanted us both to show off what we could do."
Shoto's eyes narrowed. "Is this what this is to you? A game?"
"Um, Todoroki? It is," I told him. "It's the U.A. Sports Festival," I stressed. "Are you saying it's not to you?"
"Nothings a game when my father's involved," the boy stated with deep loathing, eyes trying to bore a hole through me.
Okay captain daddy-issues, I thought, but held my tongue as the boy was actually fucked up. Instead, I sighed, "Listen, Shoto, do you mind if I call you Shoto?"
"Yes."
Resisting the urge to call him Shoto, I nodded, "Okay, Todoroki, I know a thing or two about asshole parents. Not mine," this time, "thank god, but I've known people who've had them." Of course I know them, they're me. "Not to your level, but. . . I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you don't want Endeavor controlling your life, right?"
An icy glare was all I got in reply.
"So. . . why are you?" I asked.
That just confused him. "What? I'm not," he insisted. "I'll never use his Quirk, no matter how much he wants me to! Did he ask you to do this?"
"Did he ask me to get beaten, stand here reading this map, and make you talk to me?" I questioned incredulously in return. "Nah, Endeavor can go suck a bag of dicks. And I didn't say you were doing what he wanted, I said you were letting him control you. By doing the opposite of what he wants, you're still letting him dictate your life, even if it's just to spite him. If that's what you want to do, then fine, but you're still letting him do it." I shifted, wincing as healing joints still complained, having gotten hit again and again. "Now I need to go see Recovery Girl so I can get healed up in time to cheer Mina as she kicks your ass."
"She's going to lose," the boy declared, coldly, because of course he did.
I just shrugged, walking by him, even as the movement stung. "She might, she might not, but if you think you can beat her with one hand tied behind your back like you are, I'm gonna laugh when your ass gets melted."
Shoto just glared at me as I walked away, but I'd said my peace, and the rest was up to him. Thankfully it wasn't that far to the medical area, the tiny old woman crying out, "What happened to you young man!" as I walked in.
"Tried to fight fair instead of blowing away my opponent," I shrugged again, the motion hurting less. "If you could patch me up, I'd appreciate it."
The diminutive heroine just grumbled, "Heroes. Fighting fair is when you win without killing your opponent," she declared, and I remembered that, given her age, this was a woman who was a Pro before the current age of peace. Toddling over to me with her syringe shaped cane, she motioned for me to lean down. I did, and her lips deformed, shooting outward to press against my head, the slight bounce off my defenses reminding me to drop them as her power got to work.
A wave of tiredness rolled over me, along with a green glow, even as all the little pains I was trying to ignore faded, an almost cool sensation spreading down my body from her point of contact. "Thanks," I smiled, as the old woman hmmm'd annoyedly, moving over to a set of drawers, opening one and hurling a small packet of something at my head.
Catching them, it was a packet of gummi-bears, styled to look like little Nezu's, with a medical cross on the outside. "They've got vitamins, minerals, sugar, and a stimulants," Recovery girl informed me, throwing a bottle of what looked like Gatorade next, again with the medical cross, and the U.A. logo. "And this will take care of the rest. I can do that once more before you'll really start feeling it, even with those. Your injuries were mostly superficial, and your ability to heal was already starting to take care of it, or else you might not be ready for your next match. That was a foolish thing you did, boy. Noble, but foolish."
I couldn't help but smile, "It was, wasn't it. Well, thankfully I've only got two more fights left before I win."
The old lady hmmmf'd, though there was a note of humor in it. "Glad to see your confidence hasn't been bruised. Now get, and try not to come back today."
"No promises," I grinned, and laughed at her cross look, easily jogging back up to Class 1-A's box.
"-is he the second coming of Endeavor, Shoto Todoroki!" Present Mic yelled as I got there, and I had to wonder if that was intentional. Making my way back to my seat, I saw Mei had taken Mina's seat, and was waving me over.
"You're sitting here, right?" she asked, pointing to my old seat, and I nodded. "Good!"
The others in the box obviously didn't really seem to know what to make of her, so I just sat in my chair, Momo, on my other side, noting, "Mina's going to want her seat back when she's done."
"Then I'll just take yours!" Mei replied simply, looking me over. "You okay partner? That looked bad."
"Recovery girl put me back together," I reassured her, motioning to the field as Miss Midnight was asking both fighters if they were ready. "Let's watch this," I suggested, as the woman whipped her flog down.
Both fighters moved, Todoroki letting out a runner of ice to capture Mina as she started to slide forward on a cushion of acid, his disdainful expression matched by her excited smile.
The spikes of ice blasted forward trying to catch her, but she leapt, grinning, and landed behind the front wave of the ice as she sped towards Shoto along the frozen path, acid carrying her smoothly between the tips of the icy spikes. What is she doing? I thought, waiting for a geyser of ice to burst up and catch her, but her opponent frowned, stomping his right foot, sending out a second wave of ice atop the first.
What? I thought, as she leapt to the side, the second ice blast trying to turn to follow as Todoroki waved his left arm towards her, but it was sluggish, and Mina was anything but, clearing the attack with ease. However, as she closed, her space to dodge would shrink as well, and I held my breath as she neared her opponent.
Todoroki waved towards her again, when she was only a dozen feet away, spikes of ice rising to meet her, but she leapt once more, acid pushing her high. Shoto smirked, twisting and stomping his right foot, a second spike of ice rising to meet her on her set trajectory, ready to catch her.
Against Midoriya, that might've worked, but while Mina couldn't fly using her acid, she could twist herself, spinning to the side so that it didn't encase her, starting to catch one foot, but her acid spun, breaking up the ice. She seemed to ground herself on the frozen spike, acid sticking to it, yelling, "Missed!" as she suddenly shot down, fist raised, pulled back for an obvious strike.
Too obvious.
Todoroki, seeing it, moved to dodge the incoming blow, which is why when she suddenly accelerated, launching off the spike, and caught him right in the side of the head with a kick from her metal-toed boot, the boy never seeing the blow coming.
"Oh, he's gonne be feeling that one!" Present Mic cried as Shoto was sent flying, and I winced in sympathy, glad that, whatever gave people quirks also let them get tougher when they trained, and that boy had trained. He was still sent rolling, before a crest of ice spread up behind him, stopping the boy as it picked him up, letting him stumble to his feet.
Mina had hesitated, probably making sure he was okay, because as soon as he was upright again she sped forward once more. Shoto, however, was done holding back and, with a snarl, he slammed his foot down, an enormous wave of ice crashing forth, covering half the field.
Mina, seeing it coming, seemed to curl up before she was completely covered. There was a moment of silence from the crowd, as Todoroki, holding his head, slightly frosted, watched it.
"Um, are we gonna call it?" Present Mic asked, as we all watched.
Eraserhead, however, disagreed, stating calmly, " Wait."
The crowd held its breath, and I was right there with them. After several agonizing seconds, Cementoss finally standing up, the ice gave a thunderous crack, a thin wisp of what almost looked like steam rising from it. Then a sizzling sound, like oil on a hot pan, before a section on the front of the iceberg, two thirds of the way up exploded outwards. Mina, clad only in her leotard, in the center of an enormous wave of light grey acid, burst forth, sucking in a deep breath of air, looking pissed.
" You fucking asshole!" she cried, surging forward, bits of ice carried along her wave of acid as it flowed down hill, the jagged texture of the ice completely smooth after she'd passed over it. The other boy, eyes wide, shoved a hand to fire even more ice up at her, and it hit her, almost head on, but she flowed up over it.
Her acid started to freeze over, but a ripple ran through it, breaking free, leaving little frozen pellets behind but barely slowing her down. Shoving her hands out, spikes of ice were ripped out, buoyed up and carried along with her, the acid seeming to grip it.
Shoto, panicking, threw his hands up, freezing ice in shield to protect him, only for Mina to launch the ice spikes she was carrying forward, slamming into the shield with a ringing crash, sending cracks through it right before she slammed into it, acid squeezing into every crack before, with a roar, she pulled back, ripping it to pieces, only for Todoroki to send out another wave of ice for her.
Mina tried to dodge, but it grew, slamming into her and carrying her right out of her acid wave, which dropped without her to control it. Keeping her moving back, Shoto waved a hand and froze the unattended fluid solid, even as more burst from his opponent's body, breaking her free as she sped down the spike, skin starting to turn splotchy from overuse of her acid as she sped back down, yelling, "You almost suffocated me!"
Todoroki's eyes widened, and let out a quick, low, "Sorry," as he tried to blast her again, more and more ice forming on his limbs. This one moved slower, and she leapt up, carrying small bits of Ice with her, though they steamed in her fluids, Shoto forming another ice shield to hold her off.
Glaring, Mina held the arm her cannon was stuck to straight, aiming, even as the acid around her swirled up towards it. With enough force to cause her to reverse direction mid-flight, a long, spiraling spear of acid shooting forward, burning right through the shield and slamming into a surprised looking Todoroki, covering him in a harness of fluid before he was dragged forward, through his own shield.
Mina, teeth grit in effort, fell as her opponent rose, acid spreading beneath her as she landed and rooting her as she tried to hurl him up and out of the ring.
Holy shit, she's going to do it! I thought, tightly gripping my seat as I watched Shoto try to freeze her Quirk-created fluid, barely succeeding and only managing to make it easier for her to move him.
Then, there was a spark, which exploded out into a conflagration.
Mina's Acid was vaporized, slipping from her grip even as the long tongue of flame blasted the boy back over the arena. Todoroki landed like a meteor, an inferno spreading out for an instant, even as I heard someone in the stands yell "YES, SHOTO!".
The ice covering him evaporated in an instant and Mina, gritting her teeth, turned and blasted out another lance of acid to try to capture him. The boy lifted his hand up in the move that had before summoned a shield of ice, but with his other side a roaring pyre flashed up to block it, evaporating the attack in an instant.
Mina charged, undaunted, acid coming up to cover her, one hand grabbing a broken spear of Ice, acid covered fingers biting in deep. Shoto, the left half of face covered in fire, only his ice blue eye peeking out, turned to face her, shoving forward to send a column of flame roaring directly for her.
She whirled around it with a dancer's grace, skimming along the edges of the flames that roared over the field, yelling as she slammed the ice forward on his right side, even as it started to melt from the mere heat of the attack. She hit, ice shattering but giving her cover as she slammed into him with acid-covered palms, shoving the boy back towards the edge. Acid-covered feet let her push continuously, shoving him backwards, and I grit my teeth as the neared the edge, before he whipped his right hand back, a corona of ice appearing behind him, angled to push them both upwards as the didn't stop, carrying both fighter high over the grass as the ice was made beneath them.
Mina's acid melted the ground they were on, causing it to crack, and she grabbed the boy, grinning, twisting as the platform shattered, both of them headed for the floor, and out of bounds. Covering him with fluid, eating away at his jacket, she pulled him below her so that while they'd both land, he'd hit first.
However, Shoto wasn't done, and with one more peal of flame he broke free, jetting away even as Mina sent one last lash at acid at his leg.
She caught him, but too late, touching down on the grass even as she tried to pull him back, ending the fight.
"AND THAT'S THE MATCH!" yelled Present Mic, the crowd going wild. "And what a match it was!"
My girlfriend let the leash of acid go, dropping onto the ice-covered grass, even as Todoroki fell awkwardly not expecting to get dragged back down. The boy shakily stood, swaying, as he looked around in confusion, breath steaming with heat.
Mina balled her hands up, before dropping them, shoulders dropping in disappoint. " Dammnit," she swore, the words broadcast out to the rest of us. "And I was so close! And what about you Mr. 'I don't use my fire?" she demanded.
While she was let down by her loss, Todoroki looked shaken by his win. "I. . . that was a mistake, and not one I'm going to repeat," he declared, expression firming, before he turned away and strode off the field, hands shaking, looking like he wanted to run.
"Huh," she shrugged, letting a low breath, and starting to stretch before wincing and letting out a loud "Ouchie!"
"Do you need a stretcher?" Miss Midnight asked, only a few dozen feet away.
My girlfriend waved off the Pro. "Nah, just over-used my Quirk. Thanks though!" lifting up slightly, she skated off the field on twin trails of acid, having to duck a little under the iceberg Todoroki had created to get to her exit.
Standing, I looked over to Momo. "You mind if I go see if she's alri-"
"Go," smiled Yaoyorozu, and I leapt over the seats with legs of lightning, taking off at speed as I bolted down the halls towards Recovery Girl's office, barely noticing as I blasted past Endeavor, just sliding around him as he started to flare, looking at me, but I didn't care.
Getting there, I slammed the door open, finding both Shoto and Mina seated on hospital beds, Recovery Girl fussing over them both. "Are you okay?" I asked, the words bypassing my brain completely.
"They will be, and I'd ask you to be more careful with the furniture," the old Pro chided, and I blushed, realizing I'd put finger-marks in the door, accidentally main-lining One-for-All.
"Sorry, it's just, things looked bad," I apologized, blushing, trying to figure out a way to fix it before just letting go of it completely.
Mina laughed, "Come on Denki, you've seen me over-stress my Quirk before. And you looked way worse."
"Did I?" I asked, Todoroki, giving me a short nod. "Oh. Um, It's, well, that's me and this is you." I knew I wasn't being articulate, but my girlfriend gave me a sunny smile, seeming to understand me anyways.
Recovery Girl's lips shot out, kissing Mina's forehead, and a green glow enveloped the pink-skinned girl, acid-burned and bleached skin returning to its normal rosy shade. My girlfriend let out a breath, smiling, "Thanks a ton, teach. I'd've been good tomorrow, but it would've majorly blew until then."
Looking over to Shoto, I told him, "I think your dad's looking for you, but he was headed for our class' box, if you want to avoid him."
The boy stood, accepting the same bag of gummi's and drink that I'd been given, and nodded to me. "Thanks. But this doesn't mean you're right." I blinked, not understanding him. "About my father's Quirk."
"Dude, you do you, I was just making sure she was okay," I replied, motioning towards Mina, who blushed.
"I. . . see," he said slowly. He walked past me, deep in thought.
Looking to my girlfriend, she asked "You talked to him about his Quirk?"
"Kinda? Didn't expect him to actually use it, though," I shrugged, the original timeline requiring Naruto levels of 'let me punch you until your mental problems are fixed' from Midoriya before he'd pulled out his fire.
Only. . . that wasn't right. He had used his fire earlier in Canon, during the Cavalry Battle, when Izuku was reaching for him, at 100% of One-For-All. 'I'll never use my fire' seems a lot more like 'I'll never use my fire, unless I might actually lose,' I thought, shaking my head and refocusing on the people in front of me. "So, head back to see Momo's fight?"
"Definitely," she smiled, hesitating and looking to Recovery Girl. "Um, if that's okay with you."
"Young love," the old woman sighed, making shooing motions.
My girlfriend sprung up, telling the Pro "Thanks!" and bounding out, grabbing my hand and dragging me along with her. I didn't really say anything, just going along with her, though I was slightly confused when she dragged me into the girl's locker room.
"Um," was all I got before she slammed the door shut, grabbed me, slammed me against the locker, and was on me, kissing me with a desperate need. I went along with it, holding her, which she seemed to want, but not falling into the moment like I normally would, too concerned about her to do so. She pulled back slightly, before burying her head in my chest, gripping me tightly, shaking. "It's okay," I told her, not sure what else to do, but trying to comfort her.
We stayed that way for a long minute, before her shuddering stopped, and she let out a long breath. "I know this is gonna be a stupid question, but are you okay?"
That got a shaking laugh from her, but she nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I am. That was just super scary Denki. I was good until he got me, and then It was just dark, and I couldn't breathe. We'd talked about what we'd do if he got me, but we expected it to be like Sato, ya know? He'd freeze my body, but I could burn out with my Quirk, but. . . but I thought I was gonna die Denki!"
"The teachers were there," I reassured her. "You were in for just under a minute, and they were already getting ready to break you out. And if they hadn't, I would've."
"What would've you done, shock the ice?" she asked, teasing, but she relaxed into my embrace. "You're stronger, but you're not that much stronger."
I considered that, and nodded. "No, I just would've threatened Shoto until he melted it," I informed her. She pulled back slightly to look at me, incredulous, and I looked back at her, dead serious. That got another laugh from her, and she shook her head, before leaning up to kiss me again, this one soft, sweet, and caring.
Pulling back, she hugged me tightly for a moment, before stepping away, and I let her. "Never change," she smiled, turning and walking over to her locker, opening it and pulling out another pair of pants and a jacket. "I asked for extras, in case I, you know, melted the first set."
"Smart," I agreed, leaning back against the lockers to watch her, something she said niggling at the back of my mind. "Wait, you said 'we'd talked', is that what you and Momo were doing, during the recreational games?"
She winced. "Yeah. Doesn't really matter now, I guess. We were coming up with strategies to fight anyone we might end up against." She hesitated, looking at me. "Including you."
I cocked my head, "Then why not just say so?"
Now it was her turn to be confused, "'Cause it's rude?"
"No, what's rude would be-" I started to reply, but cut myself off, Denki's knowledge, the original Denki's knowledge, from a normal life, with normal friends, and not people that one day decided you were evil because of something someone who wasn't even their friend lied about. To Denki, openly admitting that you were planning to take him down would be kinda rude, even if it was obvious that of course you were doing that very thing, just as he'd be.
"Mina," I tried instead, keeping my tone level, "I've. . . not had the best history with friends." Which was one hell of an understatement. "And I. . . worry. Just tell me what you're doing, please? I won't be mad unless it's actually something bad, not 'rude' or 'not said' or whatever. Okay?"
My girlfriend, who had sat, and taken off her boots to slide on her pants, paused, looking at me. "That really messed with you, didn't it?" I winced, apparently not hiding my emotions as well as I'd meant to. "Sorry, Spar- Denki," she corrected. "I didn't know. You'd said you understood about my friends but. . ."
She paused, quickly pulling on her pants, before stepping over to me, her hands clasping my own. "I'm sorry," she repeated, mouth quirking a little. "I didn't know. It never came up, and we just kind of, you know, clicked."
Holding her hands, I squeezed them once. "Okay."
"Okay?" she echoed, unsure.
"You didn't know," I shrugged. "I'm not normal, so how would you know until it came up? You don't have a Mind Reading Quirk."
Mina found that funny, giggling as she dragged me down, kissing me again, before stepping back to slide on her boots and jacket, the two of us heading up to our class' box. When we entered, Momo was gone, Mei sitting in her spot, and the field mostly clear.
We took our seats, Mei giving me an inquisitive look, but I shook my head. Instead the Inventress turned to Mina. "Good test run of your Fluid Compression Cannon, but I think my version'll let you get a lot more force! And if we get you the armor Denki and I were designing, I think you could kick whatshisname's butt!"
"You mean Todoroki?" Kirishima asked, the boy in question not having returned.
"Whatshisname," Mei nodded, getting a giggle from Mina. "Unless he gets Support Items too, but yours will be better!"
I smiled at my partner, "Because we'll be making it?"
" Exactly!"
Shaking my head, I waved towards the field, where Miss midnight was climbing up onto her platform. Sure enough Present Mic's voice came over the speakers. " Okay everyone! Now that we've got that glacier cleared away, it's time for the last fight of the Second Round! You know them already, so let's make up for lost time. The girl who can make anything, Momo Yaoyorozu, versus the boy who makes you do as you're told, Hitoshi Shinso! Let's Goooooooooo!"
Again, it was Present Mic who started the match, and Momo started to walk forward, calmly, clapping her hands together and pulling them apart to reveal a quarterstaff seemingly made of glass. No, not glass, glassteel!
"So you're one of those students who got in on recommendation? How privileged can you get? I wonder, if you would've even gotten into the Hero course if you'd had to fight like the rest of us?" Shinso sneered.
Momo's step paused, just for a moment, before she continued to walk forward, expression perfectly flat.
"You know you wouldn't, just like I couldn't, don't you!" he stated with derision. "But then, you haven't had to work for anything, have you? I looked into you, Momo Yaoyorozu. Child of privilege, given whatever you asked for, even if it should've gone to someone more worthy, all because daddy's little girl wanted it."
Mina scowled, "That's not true, she works, like, super hard!"
I remained silent, watching, as Yaoyorozu continued her unhurried walk.
"Or maybe you didn't even need daddy to buy your way in. With your Quirk, you could make as much money as you wanted," Shinso declared, and, again, Yaoyorozu's step hesitated, before continuing, as even as it was before.
"Come on! Answer me!" the Mind Controller demanded, as his opponent walked forward, unhurried. "I don't want to hit a girl, but I will if you make me," he warned.
Momo moved forward, and Shinso lunged for her, only to have her, form smooth, turn and slam him right in the stomach with the end of her staff, weapon swung like an enormous bat, sending him sprawling backwards. She waited as he stood, and the boy spat out, "Not gonna hit me while I'm down? Think you can win no matter what, don't you!?"
The heroine's response consisted of her stepping forward, and slamming another blow forward, Shinso backing up as she did so, narrowly avoiding it. "Can't even hit me, can you?" he asked, but Momo just took another few steps as he backed up, and she herded him towards the edge of the arena. "Afraid of getting close?" he demanded. "Know you're going to lose, so you have to use weapons, when I can't even have anything? Figures, the rich never fight fair, when they can just cheat."
Again, her step twitched, just a little, while her face remained flat, and she took two slightly faster steps forward. Shinso, grinning, tried to rush her, only for her to shove the end of her staff directly into his chest, forcing him to stumble backwards. The boy glanced backwards, seeing he was getting close, only to run around her in a wide circle, stopping on the other side so he had most of the arena behind him. "What are you gonna do know? For someone who's supposed to be smart, you're pretty-what's that?" he asked, as she smoothly tossed a cylinder at him, still slightly glowing as it was revealed to be a flashbang, and a pair of earmuffs were created around her head.
There was loud explosion of sound, and a blinding light, which sent Shinso stumbling back. I blinked the spots from my eyes, even as Momo stepped forward, smoothly slamming her weapon into his knees, dropping him.
The boy cried out in pain, and Yaoyorozu calmly stepped over to him, using her weapon to flip him over, growing gloves over her hands as she grabbed his arm, pulling It behind him, creating a pair of handcuffs, capturing his other and making the other one, staff tucked underneath her armpit. Twisting around him, she did the same for his legs, leaning out of the way as Shinso tried to kick her.
The boy struggled, but she stood up, stepped away, and then calmly started to use the staff to roll him, over and over, headed for the edge of the arena.
"I won't forget this!" the boy cried, growing increasingly desperate. "You can't even face me, needing tools! Tools you're not allowed to have, but the teachers are willing to look the other way! They know you can't win against me normally, but you're in the Hero Course, and I'm just a General Studies student, so they don't care if you cheat!"
Momo didn't even hesitate, earmuffs likely making her deaf to the boy's cries, and I wondered why she hadn't started with that. It was almost embarrassing, how easy it was for her to push the boy out of bounds as he yelled threats, accusations, really anything he could to try to get her to respond.
Through it, Yaoyorozu continued, face placid, though not blank like she was controlled, more like she were doing nothing more interesting than taking out the trash.
Appropriate.
Soon enough, he was rolled over the line, Miss Midnight announcing, "Hitoshi Shinso is out of bounds! Momo Yaoyorozu wins the match!"
Sighing, my friend took off her earmuffs, looking to the Pro, who, understanding the girl didn't hear her, nodded and gave her a thumbs up. Looking up towards the crowd, Yaoyorozu stated, her words reaching everyone as they watched, unsure if they should cheer or not, "There is an exam for recommended students, as anyone that cared to know could easily look up. I would not use my Quirk for direct economic gain, as not only would it deflate the currency, it would be illegal. And lastly, this fight, given all we had were our Quirks, or those things we invented ourselves, is the definition of fair, if somewhat limited tactically by the flat area we compete in."
Shinso, still on the ground, smiled maliciously, only to look shocked. "How are you, why can't I, you're like him aren't you!?"
Not looking down at him, Momo's mouth quirked in a smug smile. "Furthermore, Psychic Quirks, like that of my opponent, are very specific. If you can determine the mechanism, in his case, responding to him, though I am not sure if there is a touch component, it is easy enough to work around, though doing so in the middle of a fight before victory has been achieved would be the height of folly. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to figure out a way to defeat Todoroki. That match will actually be difficult."
And with that, Shinso stunned into silence, she walked off the field.
AN: Next Three Chapters up on (link in Signature), where we've finally wrapped things up!