As her dream takes her away from reality… Ciana found herself back in the dark alleyway the same place where she ended up in the new world, Ciana was confused why she found herself here again as she ended up wandering down with a scared expression. "W-what am I doing back here…?" Ciana asks herself, suddenly frightened to be back at the same area again that took her away from her world…
"The mindscape is a fickle thing," A disjointed voice called out from the alleyway, causing Ciana to jump and turn her head in every direction. The walls on either side of her stretched almost endlessly upward, making the sunlight distant. "I've often wondered what side effects could occur, it seems I found one,"
The sudden voice causes her to gasp, quickly turning around to find the source of the sound. "W-who's there!" Ciana shouted, already starting to shake in fear. "W-who are you?!" Ciana asks as her tone sounded clearly frightened and confused about what this person was saying to her.
"'Why I am here?', 'Is my father okay?', 'I'm a liability', 'A waste of space', you think far too loud," He continued to taunt from simply every dark corner of the alleyway, clicking his tongue as it echoed louder and louder until it felt right up against Ciana's ear. She yelped, twisting around sharply to find... nothing. No one was there. By now, she was pressed up against the nearest wall. "I can't hurt you here, you can be sure of that... or are you safe? Who can tell? Not even I know that answer,"
"You're still growing, still maturing," A voice like ice slithered around her head, whispers making her knees buckle at how close they became. "I wonder what you'll become - how exciting."
Ciana wasn't sure who and what this person was but even if she couldn't see him it was enough to leave her terrified as she began to tremble, but despite how scared she was Ciana didn't want to show any fear. "Stop it! W-what are you even talking about?! Come out and show yourself!"
Ciana yells, darting her head back and forth to try and spot where this mysterious person could be hiding, she didn't even know anything about what he meant but it almost sounded like it's a creep that will suddenly pop out and abuse her inappropriately.
"Oh, where are my manners, I'd hate to be misinterpreted as some perverted mongrel, let me assure you," His voice came from a single direction, down in the inky blackness of the alleyway. Something shifted, moving to stand nearly six feet tall. The black abyss shifted, and two, piercing scarlet eyes bore down on Ciana like the feral eyes of a monster stalking its prey. "But I want to savor the answers until the time is right, who doesn't like a little mystery?"
A vermillion shimmer trickled down from the darkness around the monster, like blood-stained snowfall that gave some light to his figure as he shifted closer, dragging the darkness with him. Silver scales stretched on wings with hints of bewitching gold, a thick appendage sweeping the scattered flakes of scarlet back into the air. The narrow snout of a skull jutting forward from the face, masking it in shadow as gold horns stretched backward from its scalp. A deep red mist expunged from his concealed jaw.
"You have no idea what you're ravelled in, little pawn," His voice was deceptively smooth with a sinister hitch to it. The eyes swayed like lanterns in the shadows, moving closer and closer with every heartbeat.
The moment Ciana finally laid eyes on the creepy figure she gasped and almost felt like her heart stopped beating, this man looked unlike any normal thug she came across. He looked like a demon to her. Trembling more at his appearance and his words, Ciana started to back away as she gets ready to run.
"I-I don't know who you are or what you want but I don't have anything that could be possibly useful to you! Y-you probably got the wrong person." Ciana tells him frighteningly, Ciana didn't think she could have anything a monster like this could want. This man can't be real…
Suddenly, laughter left its form, the head bowing slightly in its hysterics over her apparent misconception. "...you really are clueless, aren't you?" He replied mockingly, then, causing her to scream in fright was the fact one arm shot out from the darkness, latching around her neck to lift her body off the ground as if she weighed nothing more than a feather. His nails were sharpened like claws, and the black sleeve of a suit was rolled up to reveal the toned arm with a large patch of silver scales running across the forearm with a strange, red, feathery membrane attached halfway up the side of the arm to the elbow. "Maybe not yet but I'll coming to collect on what was owed to me, this is nothing personal, you're... just the unlucky one who stumbled into view,"
His grip didn't relent, holding her as the red accents started to dim, causing him to drop her to retract his hand, a thin layer of smoke lining his palm as he stared at his within the shadows. "...now isn't that strange..." He brought his gaze back to her coughing form.
Ciana was sure he was a demon now after the way he grabbed her and revealed more of his monstrous behavior, now she was completely terrified… the moment he let her go Ciana took the chance to run. Wanting to get as far away from this person as possible.
"Stay away from me!" She shouts as she runs, Ciana didn't understand anything he could want from her but she sure didn't want to stop and find out. Ciana wanted to get away safely as her eyes were starting to swell up with fearful tears.
"The funny thing is," Ciana felt her heart plummet as she brought her heels down into the ground, falling backward as the whole alleyway became a crumbling distortion. The streets were empty and twisted, broken apart and connected by those same, black vines from the photo she had seen in hospital days ago. Like a spider had woven its home to the crumbling islands in a murky void, like she was deep underwater with light filtering in from the surface above. But more worryingly, that voice was still right behind her. "Run all you want, you can't escape your own mind, and as I said-"
She turned only for something heavy to smack her from the alleyway onto the nearest island, leaving her to cough and groan from the shock as the darkness crept with the monster, dripping down from the edge and seeping across the walls either side as the eyes watched her, piercing into her soul. "-you're just the unlucky one," He stood there, seeing the land starting to crumble away like white glass. "Seems our time together is coming to a close, who knows when I'll feel a connect this strong again, I do wonder where you are, but I can wait, I've waited this long,"
Ciana panicked by everything that was happening to her even as the world was breaking down around her, Ciana didn't know where else to turn. Ciana felt so trapped and scared, her eyes shut tightly her tears continued to flow down her cheeks in much fear. "I-Izuku!" Ciana shouted his name for help helplessly… as the floor below her gave out Ciana screamed as she began to fall…
Ciana gasped awake and shot up upward, she was sweating and panting heavily after having such a scary dream… she placed her hand over her heart to try and ease herself. "I-it was just a dream… just a very bad dream…" Ciana looked around to see she was still in her new apartment, frowning when she remembered she was living alone. Thinking maybe she wasn't used to living anywhere without her family…
Ciana didn't realize she was crying as she felt her tears stream down her face, when she did notice she wiped them away with her hand… trying to calm herself after the dream, she felt so alone… Ciana never felt very alone before, but this was the first time she was completely on her own… Ciana really wished her dad was here with her right now… Especially her mom who would comfort her whenever she had a bad dream… But they weren't here and she was scared… Ciana started to wonder if she will really make it through in this world after all…
Since it was morning, Ciana stood up to finally take that shower. She had a lot on her mind when she was in the middle of getting clean… Especially about the terrifying man in her dream, being chased by those thugs before must have really left a big impact on her… After finishing getting ready for the day, Ciana took the time to step out onto the balcony as she overlooked the city, it looked nice and peaceful right now. Ciana was at least glad to know Izuku will be there with her, part of her actually wished he was here now… She really could use someone to talk to…
Having not slept since four in the morning, Ciana was somewhat sleep deprived as she walked to school, she wasn't faring well with the nightmare but at least she stopped jumping at shadows. Izuku would be meeting her at the school entrance so she had only her thoughts as entertainment. But all she could see was that horrid face and eyes watching her, the arm that belonged to a demon, and now that she remembered it, a tail had struck her, and ultimately gave her a good enough scare to wake up. Just what was it she saw?
To make matters worse, her awareness was still foggy as she walked with her head lowered, causing her to bump into someone's bag, the person letting out a grunt as she winced and recoiled, "S-sorry..." She murmured, lifting her head to...
"Watch where you're walking, Blank," Katsuki grunted, glaring over his shoulder at her.
Despite how tired and lost in thought she was, it at least wasn't enough to let Katuski walk all over her. Straightening up, Ciana gave him a scowl. "Watch how you shout your mouth off." Ciana bluntly says with a hmph, looking forward ahead of her to ignore him as she keeps walking her distance away from the guy.
Ciana didn't want to show any weakness to explody fists, but she wasn't scared of him no matter how tough and aggressive he acts.
"You look like shit," He remarked bluntly, and her irritated eyes met his, "And anyone can see through that half-assed attempt to hide the rings too," Katsuki was referring to her make-up, poorly too.
Ciana stopped her walk to look back at him with a glare after that insult, though weirdly… she wasn't sure if it's his way to show a tiny bit of concern for her well-being or he just wants to make her miserable, trying to start a fight? Maybe it was all the above. "Oh, what are you now, the fashion police? Why don't you just focus on learning the right way to be a hero rather than decide to mess with me now and act like a villain." Ciana tried to look forward again as she hoped he would just back off.
He let out a single laugh, his expression unchanged. "Funny hearing that from you right now," Katsuki was taller than her so she had to look up slightly to glare at him. "And a hero always wins, a hero doesn't give a crap what others think of them, a hero stomachs the shit thrown at them - something you pretend you can do," The blonde then walked past her, adjusting his bag on one shoulder. "I told you, Blank, you can fool Deku and everyone else, but I'm not stupid,"
And with that he walked in the same direction the school was.
Ciana narrowed her eyes at Katsuki in confusion at how he saw what being a hero was all about, she wasn't at all offended despite what he said. But Katuski just made her feel concerned for him, Ciana didn't even move as she continued to speak. Even when Bakugo started to walk a few distances she knew it was loud enough for him to hear.
"There's more to being a hero besides winning you know Kancchum." Ciana says so far. "I really don't know what your true motives are and why you just decided to treat your friend so harshly… but having something that makes you strong doesn't necessarily mean you're powerful. I hope one day you'll see there's more to that." Ciana tells him as she stayed where she was, strangely her eyes softening a little towards the aggressive jerk.
"And quit calling me that name! You're saying it wrong anyway, Blank!" He barked back, moving faster to widen the distance between them. "Tch, dumbass..." He didn't even know why he said all that, but who cares now. "'More to being a hero besides winning', what the hell is she talking about?"
Ciana rolled her eyes at his usual blunt nature, she can understand a little now why Izuku doesn't think too badly of him. Though right now she didn't want to focus on that as she wanted to focus on meeting up with the friend she has.
Ciana finally continued walking to get to the school, though she made a mental note not to call Bakugo by the name Izuku calls him… Though for some reason that reaction made her chuckle a little how funny that was.
Izuku was mindlessly staring at the newest page in his notebook with probably his best drawing yet, but only vague notes and speculations were written down, many rubbed out lines from his reworks and late night attempts to pinpoint an answer or solution. Just then, a familiar scowl walked by him. He didn't say anything to Katsuki, but their eyes met briefly before he walked on as if Izuku wasn't there. That was new, almost to an unnerving degree.
Not long after, he saw the familiar butterfly hairpin sway with raven hair, "Morning, Ciana," He greeted with a small wave to her. But something wasn't right with her image. Her eyes looked funny, like she wasn't entirely focused on just what was in front of her. "Ciana?"
"Hm?" As soon as she finally reached her destination and heard his familiar voice, Ciana looked up to meet Izuku's eyes. Ciana smiled a bit when she saw him. "Oh hey Izuku…" Ciana yawns after greeting him, eyes already getting droopy again.
"How've you been?" She asks as she tries to straighten up to look more focused.
"Fine, but... you look tired, did you not sleep right?" He was a little concerned since she looked full of energy yesterday, or was she just hiding that fact for his sake?
"Yeah… you can say that…" she was at least honest, thinking back to her dream had her look almost shaken up again. "Let's just say I had a scary dream… it didn't make my morning very pleasant." Ciana tells him with another yawn.
Right now Ciana felt like passing out… wishing she could take a nap in the nurse's office if she were allowed to.
A scary dream? Now his brow was furrowed, looking at her face a little closer. "Ciana... you look really drained, not just drowsy, here," Digging around his bag for a moment, he pulled out one of the energy bars he had for their afternoon training. "This should help a little, but let me know if anything feels wrong,"
Ciana was a bit flustered the way he was checking her face out, though watching as he took the energy bar out took her a little by surprise as she thought it was a candy bar at first. "Oh, you really don't need to worry about me, Izuku. But I really appreciate the concern."
Ciana says a little shyly but she does accept the energy bar as she felt she needed all the energy she could get. "I didn't know you like to eat these." Well it probably made sense he did if he took on so much training, but she was too tired to think further into it.
"I like to be prepared," He replied before the two made their way to the entrance. Izuku would watch her eyes drift as they did, hopefully, sitting down will help the drowsiness pass.
Ciana sure could see how organized he liked to be, Ciana walked inside the building soon enough with her friend by her side. Though the moment Ciana made it to her locker to put some of her stuff away… what woke her up for a moment was when she opened her little locker door, 10 or 20 letters suddenly fell out like a mailbox… really startling her.
"W-what the…?" Ciana says with a startle, not realizing at first they are love letters. Probably from how she stood up to Bakugo the other day or the rumor of the so-called powerful quirk they heard…
Izuku stared for a moment as something clicked in his head. "I did hear some people whispering about you..." He smiled slightly at the sight of her face properly waking up at the sudden attack. "I-it may not seem like much b-but Kacchan's more than m-made a reputation, he's the t-top of the class too s-so people heard about w-what you said to him, guess they took i-it to heart, hehe..."
Ciana blinked a few times at Izuku to process what he said, realizing what he meant her cheeks began to redden. "Oh… r-really?" This was incredibly strange for her as she had never been so popular before, staring down at the pile, she wasn't sure what to do with these letters.
"I-I didn't think they would take a shine to me this quick…" Ciana shyly says as she bent down to see what some of them said. "T-they don't even know me so I can't understand why they think they are in love with me." Ciana was still flustered by the whole thing as she picked up a few more letters to look them over, very embarrassed now.
"I-if it helps, I think most are just a show of appreciation, like fan letters heroes get," Izuku tried to help her rationalize. Though he wasn't a mind reader. "And in a way, it's their way of welcoming you s-since they probably could tell you were nervous," Granted, Izuku had never seen this sort of behaviour from his class, but they were very rowdy between lessons so what's to say they wouldn't welcome someone with a quirk that could potentially rival Katsuki's? "Here," He bent down to help stack them neatly to put back into her box locker again.
Ciana smiled thankfully at Izuku as the letters are now neatly stacked in her locker, once she closes it she sighs tiredly. "Already it's my second day and it just keeps getting exciting…" Ciana says in a playful manner despite being tired.
Now glancing back at her friend. "Thanks for helping me stack these. Say, one of these letters wouldn't happen to have one from you in there, is there?" Ciana asks in another playful manner with her brow raised, mostly joking about what she said.
But she got the reaction she expected as Izuku's face slowly changed hue as he put on an anxious smile, "N-n-no, I-I had no idea t-they were even d-doing this - aaah, n-n-not that I wouldn't - I haven't - I, uh..." His brain was fried trying to figure out his own words, his eyes spinning. "My whole world's been flipped on its head again..." He grabbed the sides of his head, trying to reason with himself.
Ciana ended up laughing after seeing that adorable shy reaction, really perking up so far. "R-relax! I was just kidding, you don't hang around with many girls often do you Izuku?" She asked teasingly as her smile still stayed on her face.
It still really surprises her that the quirky students would take so much interest in her, though she didn't really believe it's love they are feeling but more attraction. Ciana at least knew how love really worked.
"I-if that wasn't obvious b-before, n-no, y-you're the first," He stuttered as he grabbed his bag to head inside.
Ciana giggled again as she followed him into class now, Ciana wondered if he was even the romantic type… it was a little surprising he didn't have a female friend before, it would explain why he was so shy around her… Ciana sat at her desk now as she couldn't help but wonder more about that strangely.
Spacing out now as her hand holds her face up and her elbow supporting her weight on her desk, would Izuku ever want to date a girl? Would he find someone he likes in UA…? After thinking about it too much Ciana suddenly got startled with her own thoughts. "W-why am I suddenly wondering about that? N-not like it's any of my business…" Ciana blushes very red now as she stares at her lap confused and flustered, not understanding why she is interested in Izuku's love life…
Izuku fared no better as he mindlessly sorted through his supplies. It's not like he didn't admire what she said that day, or any other time since she decided to trust him. She was as he said before, determined and kind, two of her biggest traits, and even beautiful but just the thought of that made his heart rate increase. "No, stop thinking like that, she has too much to deal with anyhow," He sighed, staring at his notebook a while longer on the page he was working on before putting it away as the teacher entered. "...would she even like me that way to begin with?"
Ciana didn't really think Izuku might see the same way as her… despite being shy she thought he was uncomfortable with her at times, during the class lessons Ciana made sure to stay on track with the topic. But there are times she takes a few glances at Izuku, when she thinks he is noticing that she was staring, Ciana yelps quietly and quickly looks back onto her notes.
Ciana wasn't sure why she was suddenly getting all flustered and so focused on him today, but at least this way it made her forget about the nightmare for the time being… Ciana was becoming very confused with herself and wasn't sure what was coming over her, maybe she should take a quick nap when lunch rolls around…
The first half of the day rolled by without a hitch, the class broke out into conversations here and there as some got up to move around. Izuku stretched himself, this time, no Katsuki to bother him just like after he declared he was going to the UA Entrance Exam, it was strangely quiet without his yelling. Turning to look at Ciana, Izuku was surprised to see her simply cross her arms on her desk to rest her head on. "She must still be drowsy from last night, wonder what that nightmare was... and why did it seem like she was drained of energy entirely?" Sure, lack of sleep meant the body was forced to work during a resting period but it just didn't sit right with him.
When lunch came around it was the perfect chance to take a power nap… she wasted no time crossing her arms and laying her head down on her desk to get more comfortable. Originally she planned to tell Izuku about her nightmare during this time but Ciana was too tired to stay focused on her plan… Ciana will make sure to take another bite of that energy bar when the bell wakes her up, she just hopes she won't fall too deep asleep to not hear it.
Izuku opened his mouth to ask her about her nightmare, but he saw her back slowly relax as she within moments of closing her eyes was already starting to fall to sleep. "I shouldn't bother her now," He looked around, thankfully, no one seemed to come over to try and nudge her or anything. So with his own box lunch sat out, Izuku pulled out his hero notebook and fiddled away with his new page.
'Quirk: Unknown. I'm positive her quirk isn't a mutation quirk but in the last few days no signs of a quirk have appeared, of course, it's still too early to tell but with training the results should speak for themselves. I do have one theory, that her quirk could very well have already been in effect, Ciana suggested it may be a translation quirk, allowing her to understand Japanese but that conflicts with my theory that the knowledge was imprinted on her. Both are plausible in their own right - further analysis needed'
Ciana wasn't even aware that he took notes on her, if she knew then she probably felt a bit flustered that he's observing her. Ciana certainly thought that was the only superpower she got as it would explain why she understands the people here, Ciana still wasn't so sure if she was qualified enough for a superhero school… she didn't think she was very skillful and from what she noticed how the peoples powers worked here… she probably die trying to face one of them, even Bakugo….
Ciana groaned at the thought as her face scrunched up in her sleep, she felt helpless in her dream against that mysterious demon… it might even be possible she will get in the way of Izuku's dreams, Ciana couldn't help but feel so worried she might end up alone…
Izuku, having not realized he was muttering what he was writing continued. "'-but even a quirk capable of language translation would be extremely useful in international field work if she can learn to adjust what language her brain intercepted, though I'm unsure of how that would be possible. Quirk aside, her kind-hearted nature is fitting for any hero, and with the proper training and support equipment she can be a useful asset to a team or a potential sidekick but that all depends on what she's fundamentally strongest with. Perhaps hand-to-hand combat or weapons training',"
Ciana didn't even notice he was muttering while she was napping, though after a little while Ciana forced herself to wake up to avoid getting carried away. Ciana sat up in her chair as she let out a big yawn, blinking her eyes a few times to get herself more awake. Ciana was still tired but she can worry about catching up on sleep after school.
Glancing over at Izuku, she noticed he was focused on his notes and probably thinking out loud… as usual she finds that habit really cute… she might have decided to give him a surprise greeting as she stands up to walk behind him. Once she did she reached her hand out towards his shoulder and tapped it to get his attention. "Izuku…?"
"Hm? O-oh, Ciana, you're awake," He immediately closed his notebook before she realized what was written - more importantly - what he drew as he smiled pensively. "How-how are you feeling now?"
Ciana smiled at him for starters, happy to get his attention again. "Oh I'm doing a bit better, the power nap really helped give me some energy back." Ciana did notice though he was writing in his notebook, leaning in to the side as she wondered what he was so focused on.
"What were you just so focused on writing in that little book of yours?" Ciana asked as her curious gaze went back to Izuku.
"Uh, n-nothing, just random thoughts of quirks and stuff," He patted the burnt notebook gingerly under his arm to hide it. "I-it's how I keep track of Pros and their quirks and other useful tips f-for my own costume and practices - like that page about Eraserhead I showed y-you,"
Ciana couldn't help but be a little skeptical after hiding it on her like that, wondering if there was something he didn't want her to specifically see. Though mentioning a costume got her intrigued for the time being.
"A costume? Oh! Are you planning to put together your own Superhero look? That's so cool! Can I see what you worked on so far?" She asks as her eyes sparkled with interest.
Her big green eyes made it dangerously difficult to refuse her request. It shouldn't be problematic, right? Izuku was certain he wrote nothing about One For All into this book, or any of them, so... Slowly his arm wrenched itself free, and he held the book up for them to see only. He flipped a few pages until he landed on his updated one. Complete with a sketch of his costume inspired by All Might with the long fabric at the top of the mask to symbolize his tuffs of hair. "H-here, there's not much b-but it's what I've kept consistent f-from years ago,"
Ciana looked pretty interested in what he had put together so far as she eyed the picture… She thought the long fabric part looked a bit odd but it sure made it very unique, Ciana placed her hand on her chin as she took a little time to analyze the outfit. Looking impressed by the detail. "You came up with all that Izuku? Wow… it's so detailed and very unique. The long ends on the mask actually look similar to the hero All Might guys hair, I can tell you really poured your heart into this drawing… I'm so impressed!"
Ciana expressed her opinion to him with her eyes sparkling with more amazement, she didn't think she could come up with her own hero outfit like this. It really amazes her how detailed Izuku can even be, even if the picture wasn't professionally drawn it still showed it was put into a lot of thought.
He was pleasantly surprised by her critique, "R-really? Its been the design since I-I was younger I just modified it slightly..." He smiled while scratching his nape.
Ciana nodded to confirm her impression of his costume with a smile. "I can tell you work really hard on it, I'm sure your costume will look even better once you have the real thing." She says cheerfully, knowing how much his goals mean to him.
"The department that designs them usually take creative liberties since designs aren't always detailed," He motioned to his picture, then his head perked up. "Oh, do you have any ideas for your own costume? Even just concepts depending on your quirk?"
Ciana was quite surprised by the mention of her having a costume, sheepishly she smiles while scratching her cheek with her finger and looking away. "M-me? Having a hero costume? Um… no I haven't really thought about me actually having one, I mean I don't have any superpowers so I'm not really sure if I'll be qualified for one."
Ciana says shyly, still not very confident she has any powers to even need a hero costume.
"Hm... I'd say going with something simple, breathable and protective would be good, since changes tend to occur alot with quirks and time, you can ask for additional tweaks later down the line," Izuku suggested, brow furrowed in thought. "Even with more support-orientated quirks a number of heroes and their sidekicks run support gear for medical and tactical uses, so there's no real limitation on what you can and cannot do."
Ciana blushed at the whole idea of having a costume and fighting crime, it's never what she imagined for herself but the whole idea made her feel kinda flustered. "W-well maybe… t-that is if I even managed to get into your school, it would probably be weird if they heard I'm from a normal average world?"
Ciana says awkwardly as she now rubs the back of her neck at the whole idea of how they might judge that story.
Izuku nodded at understanding her worries on the matter. "For something like costume design and support companies, they won't look that far into a student's background, coming closer to the date for entrance exams across the country they would hardly notice. Even so, information like that wouldn't be given to anyone aside from the Principle and possibly the staff at UA, but with the investigation still underway they don't have any reason to disprove your claims,"
"Well it's still a story that's hard to believe, I admit I'm kinda surprised the detective believes my story of me coming from another world…" Ciana didn't think any detective would believe a story like that… might make sense he would since they have a crazy quirky world with many unusual powers.
"I mean I can guess he would due to what the people can do here but I thought that was something he would laugh at, I know the police would never believe my story if I told them back home?" Ciana definitely knew they would laugh if she told them or anyone from her world her experience.
"I think regardless of the matter of your story, he and All Might wanted to help you in whatever way possible, m-myself included. You were attacked, confused and afraid, so at the end the day, so long as you're safe that's what was important," Izuku reassured her. Even if many of their theories had holes in them, Ciana was safe.
Ciana blushed a little by their concern, she really wasn't used to getting any special treatment. "T-they sure were very nice to help me out like this…" she clears her throat now to try and straighten her speech.
"Anyways speaking of being attacked, I was meaning to tell you something that happened to me last night…" Her expression now looked a bit serious and a little frightened at the same time remembering back to her dream.
Gone was their cheery atmosphere, and in seconds, Izuku turned around with his chair fully as Ciana grabbed hers to sit in front of him. "About that nightmare?" She nodded. "Okay, just... explain from the beginning."
"Alright…" Ciana looks down at her lap kinda awkwardly as she begins her story. "Well… I… I dreamt I found myself back in the same creepy alleyway I appeared in when I first came to this world, then…" Ciana already felt shaken up about the scary man.
"This guy showed up… and started saying scary things, he basically looked like some kind of demon… he started to say things like I'll be useful for him soon and that he will be watching me… I wasn't sure if the attack had a huge impact on me or if I'm actually being watched in the shadows somewhere…" Ciana explains as she ended up hugging herself with her arms in a fearful manner…
Izuku listened to her brief summary of her nightmare, even then, his heart clenched as she visibly tensed up from the memory still vivid in her head. But worst of all, Izuku's analytical mind conjured a horrifying thought. "...could you describe what he looked like, you said 'demon' but..." He didn't want to make it worse but he had to know. "Please, I know it's scary to think about, but it could help,"
Ciana nods her head slowly as she tries to remember back what he looked like. "Well… he was tall with red eyes I think… I think he even had these strange wings with silver looking scales and a bit of… yellow or gold?" Ciana wasn't sure if she described that right but hopefully it was enough detail. "I know he had horns too, and I could be wrong but I think he was even wearing a skull mask…"
Ciana had her hand on her chin again as she kept trying to remember better details. "He… he also had very sharp claws, I know that much since he grabbed me for me to see close enough…" Ciana could remember how terrified she was the moment he grabbed her, feeling so helpless and alone…
"Red eyes, a skull-like face, silver and gold wings..." Izuku had seen it before, it was nearly four years ago so he had seen many heroes, villains, and vigilantes in his research of the topic. But this was one that made him stomach shiver. Just the thought of what had attempted to hurt Ciana made his own skin feel like ice. Quickly, Izuku pulled out his phone and turned it on, ignoring Ciana's strange look as his fingers typed in every conceivable combination of words and characteristics into the search bar.
No.
No.
No.
N - "...Meru Zena," The name felt like lead on his tongue. Staring at the image he understood why it gave him the shivers. There wasn't much in the way of a clear image, but one stood out as he stared at it for the longest time. It might be wrong, but... he looked to Ciana, and gulped. "I-Is this h-him?"
Ciana stared at the image with wide and clearly frightened eyes, almost falling out of her chair backwards when she actually saw a clear image of this man. "Y-yeah… t-that's him!" Ciana shockingly pointed at the picture on his phone.
"W-who is this guy…?" Ciana asks, already she can feel how she felt in the dream like he's actually here now but… he was real?!
The image wasn't great as it was taken at night by a bystander during some hero/villain skirmish. No one knew much about him, only that he did exist, like a boogieman. A large form of a monster with a human body propped itself atop a skyscraper, overlooking whatever was below, the moon was orange as it cast him in dark shadows, but in the moonlight sparks of red danced around his frame, illuminating his goat skull that covered the top half of his face, and two, scarlet eyes stared down as his wings draped themselves around his frame.
"Meru Zena, a-a name social media called him as he never really does anything to stand out, and there's very few pictures of him to begin with. Only that he shows w-when a big fight has occurred. Most c-concerning heroes in the top twenty chart," Izuku didn't know how or why this person would appear in her dream like that, but his thoughts of speculation were stifled as he without thinking reached over to grab her right hand as she was trembling with terror. "Sorry, I-I didn't mean to frighten you," He held her hand gently until she could calm herself down.
Ciana wasn't sure what to think now, she was convinced it was probably the thug attack that made her have that dream but actually seeing that he's real and dangerous… Ciana was now fearful of her life, it only took the comfort of Izuku's hand that she managed to calm down a little, squeezing it in the process.
"I-it's okay…" she says, though now Ciana was convinced she's being stalked. She's sure she won't be getting another goodnight sleep tonight knowing she's all alone in her new apartment…
"If it helps, t-this gives the police a vague lead though even I-I'm not sure..." He inwardly winced as this wasn't what he wanted to say. "B-but think about it, if he's a-as dangerous as h-he appears then why hasn't he c-come after you yet? You've been alone for long periods o-of time and he knew y-you were out there, so what's s-stopping him?" Izuku reinforced his point by adding. "I-I don't think he c-can track you t-through your dream, i-if that were possible he had several hours b-beforehand, or perhaps, h-he thinks there's heroes or the police watching o-over you so he won't engage,"
This was also to calm Izuku down for many reasons. One, Ciana could very well be in danger. Two, nothing was known about Meru Zena aside from the fact he existed. And three, if he wasn't following them, that meant he didn't know of All Might's secret either.
"I-I don't know…" she says, still shaken up as she hasn't let go of his hand yet. Looking down at her lap unsure of everything. "H-h said… I was still maturing… At first I thought he was some creep who stalks women but the way he said that…" Ciana turns her gaze out the window now, wondering if he's still watching her somehow.
"I'm not sure what he meant… I can't think of anything that would be useful to him, especially since I'm just a normal girl…" she tells Izuku, not believing that she's that special in any way for him.
There was only one thing Izuku could say here, and Ciana may not like it, but it was all he could think of, "Then we'll get stronger," He replied firmly. "If he's after you then hiding is only going to make it easier, and... I won't let that happen. We have less than five months before the entrance exam, so... we'll train, it doesn't matter if you don't have a quirk, we'll find a way, I promise," Maybe it was a little too optimistic but it was all Izuku could think would help. "I need to train harder so I can inherit One For All, it's not just my dream I want to protect anymore."
Ciana lifted her gaze back up to Izuku as she was kinda surprised by what he said, not only from the encouragement of getting strong but that he sounded like he wanted to protect her. The dedication made her blush but felt very comforting… Ciana never liked to show any fear or be weak in a situation like this, though it's not what she normally would face… Ciana did want to become stronger to defend herself, she perked up a little smile as a few tears started to leak out of her eyes, really appreciating his words.
"Y-yeah… you're right, I don't want this creep to get under my skin. I'll do my best to show him I won't let him get the better of me." Ciana says a bit more confidently, wiping her tears away with her free hand and smiling more confidentially. "Thank you Izuku… your words really meant a lot."
For once, he didn't feel embarrassed by what he said, instead, he smiled back. "Given all you've done to encourage me, it's the least I could do,"
Ciana once again blushes a bit shyly but with a smile as she looks away and plays with her long strands of her hair more shyly. "W-well y-you worked really hard and I saw a lot of potential in you, a-anyone would say the same thing."
Ciana says, looking almost red and not used to much encouragement from other people.
"Hah... not really," Izuku looked down at his desk with a pained smile. "Other than you, All Might... I guess my Mom, no one really thought I could do anything right, Kacchan was certain of that too, but I still want to try, because I have people now who do have faith in me,"
As he said this, that familiar chime of the bell echoed down the halls as the class filtered back into the class. They had run out of time to talk for now.
Ciana was at least happy Izuku had real heroes to encourage him like this, she could see he was already a hero. "Oh I guess it's back to doing the usual school work." Ciana says as she stands up. "Do you want to do something after school again?"
She asks before settling back to her desk, part of her really didn't want to be alone after the dream she had.
"Mm, we could work more on your handwriting while on our way to training?" He answered back in a hushed voice so no one stuck their nose in.
Ciana nods her head at that suggestion, knowing she needs to get the Japanese writing down. "That sounds like a good plan, we can practice that a little at my place, it'll be nice and quiet too to focus."
Ciana suggested with her own hush voice, not wanting to have another distraction from explody fists again.
When school was over, the pair wasted no time heading off for the beach to continue their training with All Might, or Mr Yagi, as he appeared. Since it was only the beginning of training for Ciana, she felt like crap afterward for obvious reasons, but Izuku, while working up a sweat himself, was more attune to the workout routine. Once the pair were allowed to leave with their limbs intact, Ciana was already exhausted by the time they reached her apartment.
"Ugh! Nothing in life is easy. I can tell that much…" Ciana complained tiredly as she tried to make way up the stairs as another workout routine.
"I'm surprised I haven't even passed out yet." Ciana moans, using the railings to pull herself up the steps.
Izuku held a hand to her lower back to support her up the steps as she whined in pain. "It's all about-"
"If you say, 'breathing' I will punch you," Not that she had any strength left.
He hid his smirk as best he could and just stuck to helping her make it up in one piece.
Ciana couldn't help but chuckle after that, grateful to still be helped up the stairs. Ciana could barely stand when they made it up to her apartment.
"I thought my morning was rough but this sure takes the cake." She playfully says as she now inserts her key to her door and opens it. "We might as well rest up a bit before continuing my Japanese lesson, I think we both deserve that much."
He nodded and stepped in after her, taking off his shoes before going further. It was quite a sight as the whole apartment looked as pristine as the day they first saw it. "She really cleans up well," Maybe she took the detective's word a little too seriously to heart but he wasn't about to make the fatigued girl angry. Instead, he made his way to the arm chair to sit and relax as his whole body felt stiff.
Ciana made sure to take her shoes off too before stepping in fully, closing the door and locking it as she now sits back on her couch with a sigh. Still not too used to the manner of not wearing shoes inside… but she can understand it's a cleanliness thing for them. "I still can't believe you can handle doing so many push-ups like that… it looked inhumanity impossible."
Ciana says as her gaze was back onto Izuku, she wondered how big his muscles will possibly get doing hard stuff like that.
Turning his head to her he shrugged as best he could. "After finding my limit I slowly worked up from that until I no longer think of it, most of the strain comes from lifting heavier objects from the trash," His back hated him. "You won't need to do such an extreme workout like mine but eventually you'll see your core muscles start to tone and those aches will lessen as your body adjusts."
"You almost make it sound easy." Ciana giggled. "I can guess that's how the big smiley guy ended up looking so big and buff, the sight is still a shocker to me." She says as she remembers back to him.
"Do you ever still talk or meet up with him? Or is it more like a secret friendly relationship?" Ciana knew in comics they keep their friendships secret to avoid villains using them as bait.
"F-from time-to-time but he's the Symbol of Peace so he's really busy, h-hence why Mr Yagi oversees my training," Izuku decided then to let something slip, either by his own accord or he was too tired to realize it. "A-All Might trained me near the very start actually, the training plan you have i-is partially his work,"
"Whoa really?" Ciana says kinda surprised, sitting up to listen more. "If Mr. Yagi uses the same training methods as him… then did that make him a past hero or a sidekick maybe?" Ciana asked, curious to know more about what their story is about.
Okay, Izuku needed to stop running his mouth when he's tired, it hurts his brain. "Ye-yes, i-it's part of why h-he's now an instructor, h-he has a serious injury involving his stomach and a lung," All Might losing his stomach and lung was probably not a good thing to add so he didn't say. "H-hence why he coughs up blood sometimes, b-but it's not life threatening, just a reaction,"
"I'm still not sure… but I hope you're right." She said a bit worryingly, Ciana knew that's not healthy for someone to do. Every time she sees him cough up blood it just adds more concern for him.
Though she goes to stand up now despite her legs still aching. "Well anyways, I'm going to take a quick shower, you can bring up the notes if you want while I get the smell of sweat washed off me." She suggests, taking the elastic out of her hair now as her long hair hangs back down.
Izuku nodded but his voice didn't operate, he had no idea why he was staring a little longer than he expected, Ciana wore her hair down when she wasn't training but just seeing it fall back into place was fascinating to his fatigued brain. He eventually found the ability to look down at his bag again quickly when she opened her eyes, "N-no problem,"
Ciana didn't even notice his flustered expression as she heads to her bathroom now, while Izuku was doing his own thing she took the time to get clean. Closing the door, stripping her clothes and walking into the shower sure gave her some relaxation. This was always the best thing to do whenever Ciana comes back from training, helps her sore muscles as well…
this was the first time she had any company over her new place, if her dad was here Ciana knew he question about her having a guy over… already she chuckled imagining his reaction, though she didn't think Izuku thought of that way towards her… she still wasn't sure if he was the romantic type but Ciana knew he was more focused on his dreams so that's probably his number one priority.
Hearing the shower running, Izuku leaned back into the chair as he pulled up the image he had shown Ciana of Meru Zena. He was an urban legend of Japan, some thought of him as a modern day myth brought to life. No hero has ever captured him, none even got close enough before he'd vanish without a trace. His wings must've carried him at such a high velocity, not to mention the initial burst at the beginning. There was no concrete proof of a quirk other than he had draconic aspects, even the Dragoon Hero Ryukyu had nothing to say on the matter.
And now, that same urban legend was out for Ciana. Izuku wasn't dumb, he had a pretty good gut feeling he was tied with her appearance in this world. But connecting via a dream? That was worrisome, "I hope she can sleep easy now..." He prayed that was a one time moment. But again, he was resolute as he flicked to that new page he had hid from Ciana. He may not be training but that didn't mean he couldn't do something to help her now. "Let's see... costume ideas..."
After taking her time to look more prim and proper again, Ciana stepped out of her shower finally. Brushing her hair and putting a clean t-shirt on as well as some short sweatpants, Ciana comes out with a towel wrapped around her neck. Noticing her friend was messing around in his notebook again.
"Still putting more details on your costume?" She asks him as she came into view, Ciana was glad he had something to occupy himself.
Izuku, however, was in his own little world, mulling over designs not for his own page, but for the newest addition to his book. The title in big bold letters, 'Ciana Finley'. There wasn't much in the way of solid information aside from speculative sticky notes, ideas, and theories, but on the page with her name was an image of her. The pencil lines neat and tidy, the shading properly defining her hair as if the sun caught it from above, the gradient for her eyes in black and white, and the small butterfly hairpin adoring her head.
Ciana could tell he didn't hear her, he must be pretty focused on his work not to have noticed her. Ciana walked in front of him as her face bent down to be in his view, smiling playfully as she put her arms behind her back. "Watcha doing…?" She playfully asks as her face was a tad bit close to his while asking.
"Eh?" He jumped slightly from his trance, the stencil of Ciana now stood directly in front of him, the very real version that is. Her hair was still slightly damp and her face was close enough that he could smell the aroma of her shampoo. From the neck up, red travelled to his cheeks until he pressed his back into the chair, yelping from how close they were. "C-C-Ciana! Y-you're done?"
Ciana giggled at his reaction, still as cute as always. She stands up straighter now to make it less awkward as she still kept her playful smile. "Yep! Though I can see you kept yourself busy while I was in there."
She bends her face down again but only a little to try and peek at his work. "What were you so focused on? Was it about your costume again?" She asked in a cheerful and curious manner about his work.
"N-not exactly," He managed to rewire his brain again, not bothering to hide the page he was on. "Here," Handing over his notebook, he allowed Ciana to view the page on herself while he tried to calm his rapid heartbeat down.
Ciana took hold of the book as she looked over the picture he was doing, she… was quite stunned to see it wasn't his own costume but a version for her, blushing a little herself that he was thinking of an outfit for her to wear. "Y-you drew a costume just for me?"
Ciana wasn't sure what to say, it was… pretty creative, she even noticed he added her own style to it. "I-I didn't know you were designing my own hero costume to wear… when did you come up with this?" Ciana asks as she was flattered he was thinking of her.
While pulling out his other supplies to work on her handwriting, Izuku kept his eyes averted from her own. "T-today, t-that's what I was doing w-when you woke up, s-sorry, I just t-though it could give you some p-pointers. As for the portrait o-of you, I do that for e-every hero I have in m-my notebooks," He answered bashfully.
Ciana stared at Izuku a bit as she processed what she's been told and seen, glancing back down on his drawing Ciana could tell he even poured his heart into this outfit for her… he really gave it a lot of thought. Ciana didn't think she would need a hero costume but seeing his own design really felt flattering.
"Wow… I-I don't know what to say, t-though I-I'm not even qualified as a hero yet…" Ciana says bashfully as she uses her free hand to rub her neck shyly. "I-I still haven't shown any real superpowers after all."
"Well, you might not like this, but... I think that might be part as to why Meru Zena said about you maturing," Izuku speculated. "It might be about your latent quirk, it's why I'm certain that when you find a way to release it, you'll be more than ready for him or whoever else did this to you, so while the circumstances aren't the best, I know that when that day comes, you'll need to look the part like everyone else," He smiled pleasantly. "The circumstances don't matter, in the end, it's your power."
Ciana was surprised to hear what he said as her eyes landed back on him in confusion. "What? B-but I don't recall ever doing anything super, are you saying you noticed something about me that I didn't?"
Ciana wondered if there was something she wasn't aware of… maybe starting to check herself over to see if she grew a mutated tail or something weird like she saw the students in school… looking nervous about the idea.
He couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her quick check over of herself for any changes, so he clarified. "I honestly have no idea what your quirk is, Ciana, all I've been doing is speculating but if I'm right about this then it does mean you have a quirk, a real one and I don't believe it's your ability to read, write, and speak Japanese," Though that alone was still pretty cool.
Ciana straightened up and blushed a bit embarrassingly when she noticed he was chuckling at her reaction, her eyes now turning back to him in more confusion. "I-I feel I would have noticed something by now, understanding your language is the only superpower I can think of."
Ciana tried to think back to anything that was strange about herself during training, but still nothing comes to mind.
"Let's just focus on improving your handwriting before we start theorizing into the night," Izuku offered, holding out a workbook from school.
Ciana sighs of the extra work idea, but she has to get somewhere if she's going to be staying here for the time being… Ciana cooperates as she sits down beside him to get started. "The writing here almost looks like scribbles to me… I swear this is so much more complicated compared to my language at home."
She complains with a pencil now in her hand, wishing she could write her own language she's most familiar with.
"A Lot of people who take Japanese as their second language struggle, it's complex since it combines several systems and different pronunciations can be really tricky to know how to write," Izuku tapped his pen to his book then to the blank page in front of Ciana. "But fortunately, you can read it so it's more just muscle memory you need to overcome. You've made improvements in just two days so I don't think it'll take you long at all if you keep at it."
"I sure hope you're right… I'm glad I at least kept up the best I could." She says, holding up her notes to check over her work. Most of the symbols all looked the same to Ciana… this is definitely a challenge for her, Japanese culture seems almost as hard as American culture. During her work Ciana shows Izuku any progress she made, whenever she didn't make it neat enough she sighs dramatically and starts over. Ciana was frustrated but having a good time with Izuku despite the frustrating language.
During all the lessons Ciana was starting to get droopy… yawning a few times as she was still tired from her rough morning, she didn't even realize her head drifted to lay onto Izuku's shoulder as she was checking the symbols over.
While flicking through his own book, Izuku felt the weight on his shoulder as his heart stopped, craning his head like a rusty joint to see black hair press to his shoulder and cheek, again, that nice scent flooded his nose, making his cheeks redden. He moved his hand to nudge her side but stopped, seeing that her eyes were half-lidded, giving her work a thousand-yard-stare. Finding the ability to move, he grabbed the sheet to set it down on the coffee table. "C-c-come on, we should c-call it a night," He kept his voice quiet, trying to move her to sit upright.
"Huh…?" Ciana blinked her eyes a few times tiredly, not even looking up to see her friend's flustered reaction. Though she was pretty tired and didn't argue with the suggestion as she let out a yawn, using her hand to cover her mouth.
"Yeah… I guess we have worked long enough…" she mumbles out tiredly, wiping the sleep out of her eyes the best she could. "You alright Izuku? You felt pretty warm…" She surprisingly asked as her tired gaze now met back to his face.
"Y-Y-Yep, n-never better, hahaha...!" He squeaked, unable to move away as his body locked up.
"Oh… okay…" Ciana tiredly replied with her eyes drooping still and yawning again. "I'm not even sure what time it is and yet I feel so drained…" she leans back into her seat, already feeling like she might pass out in two or three seconds.
"Thanks for taking the time to help me with the language… I hope I can remember some of it for school." She thanks him, at least able to perk up a little smile despite being tired.
"I-it's no problem, remember?" Packing his things away with a content sigh at their work, Izuku stood up only to stare at Ciana who still looked pretty wiped out. "Are you okay? Your head's swaying slightly."
"I'm not too sure… honestly I guess I've been trying to avoid falling into a deep sleep." She replied while rubbing her eye again. "Hey Izuku… this might come out pretty weird to ask, but… can I ask you one more favor before you take off?"
She suddenly asks as her tired eyes meet back up to his own to keep focused.
"I get it, she's still worried her dreams might mean confronting Meru Zena again," Not wanting to just leave without hearing her out, he smiled. "Sure, what is it?"
With another tired yawn coming out, Ciana asks her favor. "Do you think… you could stay a bit longer while I go to sleep?" She shyly asks as she scratches her cheek awkwardly.
"I'm honestly kinda afraid to go to sleep knowing I'm here all alone… could you just stay until I'm fully asleep before you head home? I-if that's not too much to ask I mean…" Ciana tried to word it carefully knowing how flustered Izuku gets, hoping she didn't sound creepy when asking, she at least trusted him enough to know he would never do anything to her.
Her request was unlike anything he expected to hear, staying a little longer wasn't an issue, but... she wanted him to wait until she was asleep? Not that he'd ever consider doing anything to her but it felt like he was moving beyond anything he understood. Izuku didn't know what to say, "I, w-well it's uh..." Truthfully, he felt his anxiety threatening to swallow him whole. He clenched his fists to get a grip, seeing her eyes watch him with that same, fearful reflection when they first met. "...she doesn't have anyone here..." That one fact made him speak. "...okay, I-I'll do t-that,"
Ciana was sure he would say no and possibly bolt out the door… but hearing him say yes actually perked her up, feeling some relief Izuku would watch over her a little as she smiled gratefully towards him. "R-really? Oh thank you Izuku… I really appreciate this a lot." It's not like she's asking him to sleep over after all, if she did Ciana was sure he would faint from the whole idea…
Ciana didn't want to make it more weird for him watching her from her bedroom so instead she lays onto the couch, glancing back at her friend before going to sleep. "Are you sure you're alright with this Izuku?" She double checks to make sure he wasn't too uncomfortable watching her sleep.
"I'll b-be honest, t-taking all my will to m-manage," He tried to make light of the fact his heart was seconds away from giving him a panic attack. "O-once you're asleep I-I'll push the key under the doormat. S-so don't worry about me."
Ciana was concerned if this was too much for him… but she really felt safe whenever he's around… Ciana nods her head in understanding, not wanting to keep him back any longer if it's going to be too weird for him. "Alright… thank you." Was the final words she said before Ciana began closing her eyes.
Ciana felt more relaxed feeling his presence in the room, she felt safe with him since the day he saved her from the thugs chasing her… Ciana still was afraid of the possibility that she's being stalked… the idea of him popping in while she slept terrified her, but was grateful Izuku is staying with her for a little bit longer.
First she's thrown into another world, forced to adapt to a new lifestyle, a possible quirk, and a dangerous figure after her. Izuku rubbed his temples at all this information as she finally appeared to be falling asleep. Izuku really wished they didn't live so far from one another but the fact she has a roof over her head is more than enough. He'd stay longer but his Mom would start to worry if he wasn't back soon. But for her sake, he sat there, watching her chest rise and fall as she relaxed into the sofa.
Standing up, Izuku walked down the hall toward the closet next to the bathroom. After a few seconds of poking around, he came back to carefully drape a thin light blue blanket over her. She stirred slightly but didn't wake as she dipped her head against the pillow, it was honestly cute to see. Izuku prolonged his packing just until he was certain Ciana was fast asleep, not wanting to startle her.
Grabbing the key he turned to her again with a small smile and gentle eyes. "Goodnight, Ciana," First thing tomorrow he'd come to check up on her before school. He only prayed she had a good dream this time.
Ciana might have smiled a little like she heard his voice while she was asleep, she looked a bit better when he was with her. As soon as he left, Ciana mumbled out something softly in her sleep. "Izuku…"