The landscape around Ciana had changed completely once more. Now, she sat beneath a large wisteria tree, the typical vibrant purple leaves and vines now a marigold pigment under a void lit with stars. The 'island' was covered in grass, as if a section of a hill was sliced from the earth. She blinked, staring around her new environment for a moment before her eyes settled on the last person she needed to invade her dreams.
Meru Zena sat with his legs crossed, back facing her as he stared off into the void, clearly contemplating something, almost as if he was unaware of her arrival. He was completely tranquil.
She raised her brow noticing this, not understanding why he isn't confronting her as usual… did he not know that she arrived? Ciana wondered if she should get his attention or not and ask what the villians up to now?
"This solid structure is spawned from your mind, an embodiment of yourself - elegant," Meru spoke, not turning to look at her as his hand gestured to the large tree dangling above. "But the edges crumble and are uneven, and the world around us is still a void, your control has grown, but not enough to completely stabilize your mindscape; even then, I do not know much of this concept myself,"
Ciana was surprised by what he said, okay so he was aware she's in the dream with him… glancing around to what he gestured, then Ciana looked back at him with confusion. Ciana hugged herself knowing he's referring to her quirk. "W-what do you mean? And… why did you come back to talk to me?" Ciana still wasn't comfortable being around the villain again, especially if he might threaten her.
"It's hard to explain; to be simple, your mental fortitude is creating a stable lucid dream, the void you see-" He motioned outward. "-is the rest of you that remains distorted by negative or unnecessary thoughts. While the ground we stand on-" His hand patted the grass. "-is the opposite, before, your mindscapes were crumbling and a mesh of debris and memories, but you've starting to learn discipline and control,"
Now, Meru turned to look her in the eyes, one piercing red orb behind a draconic skull. "And for why I am here? I simply wish to talk, you may not believe it, but my body is weaker, ever since I first opened that portal with Rift, I've suffered backlash that is irreparable, it is why I avoid conflict if possible, to reduce the strain on my body,"
Ciana was surprised to hear this, Zena didn't seem like the type to let anything stop him even if he became a bit weak. Her head tilted in wonder why he's even telling her this, villians usually never want to reveal to another they are growing weak. "I see… I'm not sure why your telling me this or do I have any idea what your talking about…" though recalling that she can replenish stamina made her guess that's what he wanted.
"Are you here to tell me you'll be needing me soon because of how I can replenish peoples stamina?" That had to be it, Ciana couldn't think of anything else why Zena tell her this.
"No; I failed the day at the USJ, that... was alot for me, you all put up a tremendous fight had Rift not pulled me out in time," He replied, his tail reaching up to brush through the golden leaves like a graceful wind. "Yet, I saw how you fought in the sports festival, your power... is so unlike mine, you grow stronger, enhancing yourself, and yet... not a trace of mutation. You have not once stolen strength from others..."
"And my objective remains the same, you and I will force Rift's quirk to evolve, thus, granting them the strength to open rifts anywhere, to any realm, that has always been my goal," Meru repeated calmly.
Ciana became annoyed as she glared at him a little while averting her gaze, arms now crossed. "Well… I didn't come off as easy as you thought… turns out I am mutating too be more like you…" her brows narrowed more in anger at this.
"Thanks to you, I'm becoming a monster myself and I'm starting to behave like an actual beast!" Now glaring at the villain, almost looking like she might cry. "I-I can't even use this dumb power anymore knowing what it's doing to me!"
"I am sorry," He kept his eyes on her tearful ones. "I had no choice, I had to find one beyond this world. Two sources of Life Force amplifying one, and the resonate energy of the person from another world would be passed onto Rift, that is as simple as I can make it. I chose you because you too lost someone, a preventable death, I understand your grief, your anger, and wish to apply yourself to abolish tragedies like that,"
"By now, you are beginning to develop animalistic instincts; my advice to you is to not reject it, the more to abstain from them, the stronger and more uncontrollable their pull will become; it will be hard to learn, but overtime those instincts become second nature, you would be no different from any other, aside from a few sensory changes and mental tweaks," Meru pointed to her to harden his warning. "If you fight Life Force... it will only hurt you further,"
Then he held his hand up a little to inspect it's scales and claws. "The more negativity I absorbed, the further I lost the ability to shift back into a human state, I became the embodiment of all my people's anguish and hatred. A monster forged from humanity's pain."
Ciana was… very surprised by the sudden apology, from sinister and scary he behaved in the beginning when Zena first invaded her dreams he looked like an actual dangerous predator, now he was apologizing and advising her to use her quirk more wisely? Ciana began to wonder if this is the same guy that tormented her.
"I-I don't understand why your being helpful but it's not something I can handle using when I look like that…" Ciana didn't like seeing her appearance change, especially when she behaves differently. "You say I shouldn't reject it but there's no other way for me to avoid growing scales unless I don't… I grew up liking myself for who I am, not something I'm not…"
"Often we don't get a choice," He said rather coldly, sitting upright again. "As I have said, I drained emotions from all those around me, both positive and negative, and that darker half turned me into this, a permanent reflection of their pain and suffering. But you have a chance to become as strong but have the choice to shift between drake and human," He held up both hands to either side of him. "And maybe you can learn the true balance between them both. You must control your heart, and fortify your mind, thus, your spirit shall grow, focus on one to improve the others, but do not reject Life Force forever, or this slim change will be pulled from your hands as it was for me,"
Ciana wasn't sure if she should trust the villians words… wondering if it's maybe a trick to get her to unleash the beast within, she wasn't sure to take his word for it. But Shoto has said something similar to what he's telling her… averting her gaze in silence as Ciana once again debated about this advice.
"I'm still not sure… I'll think about it but I'm not very set on using it just yet…" the sight causes her to panic so even if she does use it Ciana knew she have a melt down.
"And look," He nodding to the left. Ciana did so, and saw that a new wisteria tree had sprouted, it was smaller, and didn't have any leaves, but it certainly wasn't there before given it was taller than her now. "It appears you are considering my words carefully, good; your only purpose to me is to see to Rift's evolution, after that, you are of no concern, which is why I will again ask... will you help us?" He sat there, waiting as the mindscape started to darken, signalling their time was almost up.
She shook her head in response, it still didn't sound safe and didn't want to doom the world. "No, what your doing sounds like a huge risk to the worlds and rather not put any world in danger… I don't want to take part in something like that, your better off just accepting this world because there's hope still coming every where and people lighting up on their judgments of others."
Ciana still believed everything is turning out better and had no reason to assist in a plan he's doing to doom the world.
He shook his head, running a hand down his skull. "You make it sound as though I wish this world to die... well, if it did, I'd rather not be here when All For One acts. But all I want is a way out of this world for my followers, this world has taken too much from them, so I will save them all, but all I need is one more person to see that through," He couldn't do anything here, as the world started to fade. "I wish to resolve this without conflict without heroes attempting to 'stop my villainous plan', I'd rather you came to me of your own free will than by force, that method only spurred the heroes into investigating me, I grew impatient, but this time, I want to meet at a middle ground,"
"Well… if you really want to leave this world behind then there is another way." Recalling the Gatestones Chaser told her about, maybe this guy will change his direction if he knew about them. "There are these things called Gatestones that can help you to travel to another world, they can only be used once but they are scattered in places in the world if you try hard to find one."
This might be a better go tell him of those stones so Zena won't keep using her. "Also I'm aware of that villian and what he does… but the hero's I come to know will do everything they can to put him behind bars, it's never easy but there's always a way. If you ever heard the phrase All for One and One for All, we all work together to be unstoppable against him and his Allie's."
"I have heard of Gatestones, but long term, they won't help us, and in order to reach a world my followers can call home, the stones require a visual of what the user is warping to, your world wouldn't accept them anymore than this one," Zena shot down, then, as the connection started to fall apart, he left her one warning. "And 'behind bars'? Heh, no... that won't stop him, he is the primordial entity of evil, the demon king, the only way to stop him, is to put him in the ground,"
His eyes glowed a little as Ciana's vision began to fail her. "If we can't, he will kill us all,"
Like blinking, Ciana shot up from her bed, not in shock but just from the forceful ejection from her dream.
Ciana was surprised by the sudden ejection, using her hand to try and calm her heart. "I-I really wish he wouldn't do that!" Ciana did not like that she shoots out of her bed every time that guy invaded her dream, though after hearing everything he said to her… Ciana stared up at the ceiling in thought of the info he gave her. "I'm starting to wonder now if Zena is truly a bad person or not… he seems like he's lighting up a little…"
Ciana wasn't completely sure but maybe she should ask Izuku about that, reaching to her phone to look at the time. Seeing that it's 5:30. "Just when I had enough to worry about… though this All for One guy is becoming more scarier sounding…" Ciana had no idea what he's like in person but if All Mights afraid of him then he really sounds like a sinister villian…
Now getting up to stretch her arms. "Right, todays the day of the internship… wonder what I'll learn from all this?" Yawning, she gets her school uniform and packed her bag for things she will need. Ciana grabs her phone as she sent a quick text to Izuku.
[Ciana] if your up, can you come by my room? Another dream happened and I figured you should know what I been informed now…
Not long after sending that did another message appear.
[Izuku] Out for my morning jog, won't be long. Also, morning
"Right, I forgot that he goes out jogging in the morning… makes sense he want to prepare for that…" she giggled, Izuku is cute when he takes his goals seriously. Since he is outside then and her clothes are now on, Ciana decided to go outside to meet up with him.
Heading out the door, making her way downstairs and walking out the front door to wait by the entrance for him. Holding up her notebook she brought with her to write down her new dream. "Zena still wants me to help him achieve his goals… though I wonder if it's even dangerous or not, most movies I seen when it involves gaining access to other worlds it usually a end of the world goes wrong when that happens. But that's fictional movies so I'm not sure if that's even a safe approach to do…"
Her brows narrowed as her gaze turns up to the sky, Ciana wasn't sure what's right or wrong anymore. "Ugh, this is starting to get frustrating more! Not sure what's good or bad anymore…"
While having her existential crisis outside on the steps, Izuku soon rounded the corner wearing his school P.E clothes. He came to a halt before Ciana, looking slightly worried but also curious, "You had a dream? Was it a premonition or something else?" He asked, sitting down next to her.
Glancing up to see her hero now came into view, she smiled silently and shook her head. "It was actually Meru Zena again… as usual, he still wants me to assist him into achieving his goals." Ciana tells Izuku so far, it feels so weird still that guy invades her mind… hoping that won't cause her to lose her mind one day.
"I guess it's good to know he's not using the opportunity to mess with your head," Izuku shrugged, but was no less pleased about his girlfriend being invaded in her dreams. "Did he say anything useful?"
"Kinda… yeah." Ciana still found it so odd he was helping her a bit but still wasn't sure if he really wanted to help or make her become more beastly. "He told me I should stop rejecting my quirk… but also to be very careful about All for One still, the guy he pointed out sounds scarier than the guy invading my dreams… which is a bit confusing who the real bad guy is."
"Hrm... not to sound like I don't agree with you that he's still to be cautious of, but if anyone does understand Aura better, it's the one that gave you it too," Izuku reasoned a little, moving his hand over to squeeze her right. "But, best to slot it under what we talked about, when you feel ready to use it again, but I feel you're more focused on learning to handle your developing instincts and overall skills at our Internships, right?"
She squeezed his hand back, needing his comfort which helped calmed her nerves. "Yeah… I don't think I'm ready yet to consider using it… especially how I started acting weird yesterday." Her gaze goes down to her lap, looking a little conflicted again. "By the way Izuku… yesterday when you saw that I was acting different… why didn't you stop me when you noticed I wasn't being myself?" Ciana now asked, looking back at him with curious eyes.
The sudden topic change made him flinch but also blush harshly, "Ah, w-well I..." He quickly looked back at the dorm, then to her, and down to his lap with a tiny, shameful smile. "P-promise not to be m-mad, or-or creeped out?" He winced. "B-but to say first, it was m-my fault, I should've said something but I didn't, and I'm sorry I didn't," After her reaction, he felt guilty about it. "I d-didn't mean to scare you,"
Her brows narrowed again in suspicion now. "I know that… but why didn't you say anything…?" Ciana was very embarrassed talking about this as well, but she wanted to know if there's a reason Izuku didn't mention anything…
"Right, uh, right..." He was tripping over his words, so he opted to lean closer to whisper it just for his own sake, knowing well what her reaction would be. "I-It was... really hot," There, he admitted it, that seeing his often airheaded, positive, kind-hearted girlfriend getting extremely frisky and even purring the way she did turned him on. "I really have a problem," He thought to himself.
The moment she heard that her face became incredibly red and her eyes widen in surprise. But might of took it the wrong way as the girl glared at him a little. "So… you really do find my dragon side more attractive…?" As flattering as that might be, Ciana didn't like that Izuku still thought her dragon traits made her stand out more…
"Eh? N-no? I... okay, how to phrase this... I-I really like what we d-do in general, j-just that it took me by surprise a-and I kinda w-went with it, l-like I found something else a-about you to love as well," Izuku worded as best he could, it really wasn't to say he favoured her primal side over normal Ciana, but the unexpected shift in her attitude in the heat of the moment was a pleasant one. "I completely understand w-why you were upset about t-that discovery, s-so I'm not expecting you to just go with it because I liked it. The surprise was exciting for a moment, th-that's all,"
Ciana might have taken that worse… standing up in annoyance as she clutched her notebook in hand, now she had another reason to hate her quirk. "And here I thought you actually preferred who I am rather than that beast that excites you so much!" Ciana was mad now… turning around to stomp back into the dorm as she swing the door open forcefully…
"W-wait, that's not what I meant!" But she wasn't listening, great. He didn't try to pursue her, she'd probably yell louder and wake everyone else up, instead, he slumped in his spot, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Great, real stellar response there, Izuku, now you only have a week to deal with her hating your guts!" He threw his hands up in dismay and sat for a few minutes, biting his cheek and feeling his chest twist with too many emotions to dissect. "Maybe keeping my mouth shut would've done better..."
Ciana could not believe what she heard Izuku told her… she was erupting like a volanco mad, she didn't hate him but more disappointed Izuku thought her beast side really did make her more attractive in his eyes, he probably didn't even realize he really felt that way. "Of course he like the other side of me! He loves quirks so much and I just became more interesting from how it made me look and behave!"
Unknowing to her, her eyes turned back into a beastly shape. Groaning in a lot of frustration as she marched back up the stairs to get herself ready. "It's been like that since day one… especially how excited it made him whenever he saw me glow!" Ciana swung her dorm room door open and slammed it behind her… right now really wanting to focus on continuing packing, wanting to put aside the guy who loved her beastly side more…
While Ciana took out her anger on her packing, a soft knock chimed at her door, louder than she expected to hear with how much she was moving around. "Hey, Finley? You were yelling really loud, you okay?" It was Ashido, great, because that's what she needed right now.
Ciana thought it was Izuku first when she heard the knock, though was very surprised to hear Ashido be the one to check up on her. Sighing… she just continued putting stuff away in her bag. "Yeah I'm fine! Doors unlocked so you can come in if you want…" she called out, Ciana rather not cause anymore drama when it comes to her relationship.
Quickly, Ashido entered and shut the door, strolling over to hop onto the edge of Ciana's best still in a pair of sleeping shorts and a t-shirt as she crossed her legs to watch Ciana. "So... had a fight with Midoriya? Don't deflect, I heard you going on about 'him liking this side of me' and 'since day one', but I think I was the only one that heard," But Ashido wasn't making any teasing remarks, instead, she smiled gently. "What happened?"
She flinched when Ashido pointed out what she said, blushing embarrassingly. "Why couldn't I have kept my thoughts inside?! No doubt Jiro heard that too…" she sighed, looking down at her lap. "It's complicated… we talked, I asked him something related to my quirk and he made it out to sound like my quirk stands out more to him than the real me… I rather not talk about it…"
It is a very sensitive topic and really rather if Ashido didn't know the intimate moment they had in his bedroom.
Ashido nodded slowly, but patted the spot next to her. "Look, just sit for a sec," Ciana sighed, but sat down as Ashido shuffled back before snatching up Ciana's brush to try and straighten out her hair from her shower as it stuck up at odd angles. "If you don't wanna say what goes on behind closed doors, I won't ask, but from what you're saying, it sounds like you feel he likes you only for your quirk, and, well, to be blunt, that's really stupid,"
She giggled before adding to cut Ciana's retort off, brushing slowly. "Midoriya's like the nicest guy ever, and I swear, he always seems to look at you for just about anything, or compares lots of stuff to you. Be it about heroics, training, studying, you name it; so what if he likes your quirk a bit, it's just a part of you, one small part to probably a big ol' list he has about all the things he loves about you and can't stop thinking about," Ciana couldn't see it, but Ashido's face was wrapped with a tender feeling.
"I know it can feel like people only like you for one part of you; 'what about the rest of me?', 'is that the only reason they like me?', list goes on... but the people that like those pieces and every other piece? They're special - I know, really mushy but it's true - Midoriya finds everything about you worth praising. So ask him what he loves about you, then you'll see, girl's honor," She raised her hand in vow.
Glancing up at Ashido to to process her words, she sighed. Ciana knew she can be pretty stupid sometimes and might of jump to conclusions, but she just wanted to be liked for who she is. And how Izuku didn't stop her when he probably knew acting different would upset her is what made her feel this way, gazing down at her lap.
"I know… and I believe your right, just… I been going through a lot of other problems involving my quirk… I guess what he said just made me feel I'm not appreciated for who I am enough, my quirk is evolving into something scary and I don't get why that makes me look beautiful…" Ciana still hated her quirk, she didn't want that kind of behavior to have Izuku see her as more hot.
"Aaaah, I get it now," Ashido finished helping Ciana with her hair as the pair looked at one another, "You guys have gotten more intimate, am I right?" Again, she was asking genuinely.
"Eh?" That sudden question stunned her, hoping it's not what she thinks she's referring to. "I-if you mean like hugging or kissing t-then I guess so…" now rubbing her neck bashfully with an incredibly red face. "I-I mean my eyes glow when I'm happy around him so that's pretty much what I mean…"
Ashido's face fell into a mixture of a deadpan stare and a pout, "...since you're making me spell it out; have you two done it yet? Yes or no?"
"What?!" That really took her by surprise as she flinched and face turned even redder. "N-no of course not!" Her hands waved, it's true that they didn't do it. "I-Izuku wouldn't do that! E-especially in school!." She had no idea why they are talking about this, averting her gaze back to her lap. "I-I'm not even ready to take that kind of big step…"
"Alright, alright, so not that far yet, got it," Ashido eased up on the questioning but got what she needed. "Listen, Ciana, at the end of the day, Midoriya is still a guy, he's gonna have certain things about you that excite him, just like you probably have some similar interests about him, but this just makes my earlier point clearer, ask him what he likes about you, and... I bet he just wants you to feel normal with this quirk too since you've never had one, probably has dozens of ideas on helping you with that alone, haha..."
She smiled and knuckled Ciana's shoulder. "I can be pretty romance-crazed but I really want you two to work out, you're so cute together, but you can be a little airheaded which is why I'll be here to talk if you ever need it!" Ashido patted her chest proudly. "So yeah, before we leave for our Internships, ask him, brooding over it for a week really won't help,"
Was she really viewed as being stupid by everyone in the dorm? She couldn't help but frown at that, Ciana wasn't sure what to think right now since she has a lot to focus on. "Not like I hate him… I just hate the other side of me." Ashido might not understand since she lives in a superpowers world and she didn't… it's true though Ciana thought his One For All stage is really cool and amazing, but not like she liked him more for that.
"I'll talk to him eventually, I just need time to settle down first…" Ciana wasn't sure how to confront Izuku about what he said, it still kinda hurt her but will try to not to make a big deal about it.
Then, Ashido's knuckle tapped off her head, "Hey, I know it sounded mean, but I know you're pretty smart, 'kay?" The pink girl then hugged her friend tightly. "I can't begin to understand how you feel about all of this, but... I'll try to, even if I'm pretty airheaded myself," Ashido chuckled slightly.
She smiled at her friend at least, not taking what she said personally. "No it's okay your right, honestly I am pretty dumb for not understanding all your views especially when I'm not too familiar with quirks… which is why I'm trying to figure it all out." Ciana knows people will view her strangely since she's not from their world and doesn't know things as she probably supposed to, but that's why she wants to prove she's so much more.
Pulling back, Ashido gave her a big grin Ciana was accustomed to seeing, "Welp, I've gotta pack too, and don't worry, I'll just say you were having a bad morning so no one asks; but seriously, Midoriya's a great guy, but for all his muttering he really seems to gloss over how a girl feels," Ashido laughed, making her way to the door with a wave. "Seeya soon,"
She giggled from what Ashido said as she waved goodbye to her for now. "She really does watch a lot of soap operas." Ciana giggled again, then eyed her bag again. Glancing at the rabbit on her bed, Ciana sat on her bed as she took hold of it and stared down at it. "I probably did make him feel like an idiot… but I still can't help but feel he adored that side more."
She sighed, but smiled sadly down her green rabbit. "I am going to miss him this week…" Ciana went to pack her rabbit as well, knowing she will need something to make her feel like Izuku is still with her somehow…
Izuku kept running the scene through his head. Bottom line, he messed up badly. All that effort to help her and he took a hammer to it. So, after a morning of mulling it over, and some not-so-subtle glares from Ashido threatening to break his legs, Izuku found what shattered remains of his pride he could shovel up, and went straight to the second floor.
As the time to leave for the train station drew closer, another knock at Ciana's door drew her eyes away from her phone. Then came the timid voice. "C-ciana? Can... we talk for a second? Or uh, not if you're... well, you'd probably still be mad at me," Izuku muttered to himself with a small sigh.
Ciana actually was a bit surprised Izuku came by, she thought he try to prepare himself. Or too ashamed to come see her… she knew they had to talk about this soon… it would be bad if Izuku spend all his week worrying than focusing on his goals… Ciana was at her desk when she looked at her phone. "Sure… doors unlocked." Ciana called out, she was in the middle of looking information about All For One.
Okay, she didn't just tell him to get lost, good start. He stepped inside, but kept his distance. "...I uh..." Gulping, he forced himself to make eye contact with her piercing jade orbs. "What I said, I'm... sorry, it was rude, and hurtful considering what we were discussing, and... and I just want you to know that... that your quirk doesn't matter at all about how I feel about you. I... I just wanted you to know, before... we're separated for a week," He gripped the edges of his trousers, practically frozen in place.
"I don't hate you if that's what your worried about…" she sighed, Ciana was upset but she never had the heart to feel that much rage toward Izuku, unless he really did prefer her beastly side. "I really appreciate you saying that… I guess we both got caught up in the heat of the moment which is understandable… but honestly Izuku, when you didn't stop to think about how I feel about what I'm doing was pretty hurtful…" Ciana didn't mean to be so straightforward but it's what she honestly felt as her eyes turned sad.
"You say that you prefer the real me, but that sounded like you thought my other side was more attractive still… I may be clueless about all your views on quirks. But I figured you at least prefer I was in my right mind when we do those kinds of things…" Ciana wasn't comfortable about what she almost did, it really freaked her out too.
"I messed up, I know I did..." He stomached as best he could, staring at the floor slightly as he furrowed his brow. "I think when that did happen, it caught me off guard so I didn't do anything, so again, that was my fault... I... sorry," He rubbed his neck like his skin irritated him. "I really suck at this, at trying to put everything out correctly, I'm sorry I... keep messing everything up when you were slowly starting to feel better - my stupid fascination with quirks always screws everything up, s-sorry," He kept stuttering, his anxiety through the roof. "I-I-I'll g-go, i-i-if you still n-need time a-alone," It was a little difficult to breathe now, maybe he should go just encase.
"You don't have to leave." Ciana does feel bad about how she made him feel, she didn't want to let him go when Izuku is like this. "Izuku listen… not every relationship is perfect, it's natural if we have fights or disagreements still here and there… but that doesn't always mean I'll end up hating you, I could never feel that way towards you. In fact I was just mulling over how much I'm gonna miss you when we leave…"
"O-oh, I-I was afraid I'd... n-not be able to say a-anything beforehand so I-I came up before w-we left," Izuku replied, still keeping his distance. He wasn't sure how to react at all. "I-I'll miss you too, b-but you'll atleast have s-someone with you as c-company - a-and I'll call every n-night if that's okay?"
She nodded, at least managing to perk up a smile. "I still really like if you do… will be hard knowing I won't get to see you for a while." Ciana was at least grateful Izuku came to see her to show he still cares. "I'm sorry too for lashing out… but I just want you to be mindful of what I'm doing, I mean… when I'm in that kind of state, did you ever think I could… possibly…" she coughs, feeling very awkward what she's bringing up. "Do more? You know… like… rape you…?" She spoke in a low tone speaking that last part.
His blood went cold as ice for a moment, his eyes wide, "What? N-no, never!" Now he stepped closer, "The fact is I have no idea what can or cannot happen. But no matter what, I'd be sure you'd never do that, mainly because I know you'd never forgive yourself - this is why I want to help you control these new instincts as quickly and safely as possible; if I ever felt like you were coming to that point, I'll snap you out of it,"
Her gaze softened up by his usual dedicated words, Ciana was once again thankful Izuku wouldn't have her go that far without meaning to. "That all I wanted to know, will be embarrassing though…" now averting her gaze with a shy smile and a rub to the back of her neck. "I-I was pretty freaked seeing what I was doing… it made me scared to think how else my behavior might change…"
"We'll unfortunately have to wait to find out, but, hopefully some exposure will give you control, gradually," Izuku spoke a little normally now, but there was still some strain behind his voice.
"I hope so… I feel like I'm slowly becoming a different person…" Ciana didn't like how she is changing. "The sight of anything on my body that changes then I can't help but fall into a panic… I'm not sure if I'll ever accept this new part of me, but knowing this… I don't think I can go home anymore…" no one in her world will handle her appearance, Ciana is becoming too different…
That's when Izuku's face became completely honest and open, "...then I'd go with you," He answered in a low voice. "If only to use the two gatestones for a round trip, I'll go to your world to help you,"
"Huh?!" Her head and her eyes perked up in shock, blinking her eyes to process what he just said. "N-no you can't!" She waved her hands. "Izuku your needed here as All Mights successor, even if you did come there might be a chance you can't come back. I can't make you do that for me."
"Two stones, a round trip, even if during our summer break, if you wanted to head home, even if only to tie up loose ends if you're really sure about not going back, I'll support you the whole way," Izuku wasn't even hesitating, if she wanted to do so, he'd follow. "You may think differently, but from how you've described him, your dad will accept you, no matter how much you may change, and, I know he'd want you to be happy, either back with him or here, but that's not my place to say or judge, matter is, I'll be there with you,"
Ciana had no idea what to say, how taken back she is Izuku would go this far to support here. Once again Izukus words made her feel so warm and loved inside. "Izuku…" she smiled warmly, but still shook her head. "As much as I like the idea of you coming to visit me in my world, I still can't make you do that…" her gaze was serious herself but her smile was still warm. "As the symbols of peace your most needed here especially with All Might and your mom. For the time being I'll still be here to try and work everything out, but I'm not ever going to get in the way of your dreams of being the next top pro hero."
Shaking his head, he smiled, "You aren't getting in the way, you never have, it's why I want to support you in this important moment whenever that may be; keeping that smile I love most around is more than enough for me, I will become a hero like All Might, and I'll do everything in my power to excel, but if I can't see you smiling in the process, then I can't feel like I've accomplished anything, both as a hero and as your partner," He was absolute about this, she's put up with his mistakes even now, he had to be there to repay that tenfold.
Ciana has always believed in Izuku and never stopped feeling that way about him… she got up from her seat to throw her arms around him in a tight hug, her smile staying and her eyes closed as some tears began to leak out. "Your supporting me enough… your words are enough to keep making me smile. But I'm still not gonna let you do this… other people here are going to need you more than me, but also… where I live is rough so I rather you don't get mix up into any trouble what's there…" Ciana did mention she lived in a rough part of a city, she really doesn't want him to run into any gangs or thugs again.
"Given what we've been training to do, I think we could handle ourselves," He chuckled a bit, hugging her back tightly. "I'm sorry for what I said before... I mean it when I say the person you are is more than I could ever be thankful for getting to know, and, I'll do everything I can to keep it that way for you too," He whispered to her, burying his head on her shoulder.
She smiled more and hugged her hero tighter, keeping her own head buried in his shoulder. "I'm sorry too… Everyone keeps saying my quirk is a part of me but I'm just refusing to accept that still, it's not how I was born after all. I'm still afraid of it and especially what it could make me do to you." Ciana felt really safe in his hold, enjoying the warmth.
"But know you're not getting rid of me that easily, I'm not like Bakugo so you don't need to worry about me ever hating you, I love you too much for that." Her smile became warm after saying this. "As long as you really don't prefer the beast within me, but the last thing I ever want is to lose you." She buried her head in his chest and held him closer at that last part, though the memory of what Ciana almost did turned her cheeks red in embarrassment. "But in a way I am flattered you still find a light to my appearance when I look different, I just don't really get how it makes me look stunning to you, dragons are usually ferocious and scary looking… I thought maybe I was actually ugly…"
Ciana never got to view her full appearance when it comes to being a dragon as she mostly just saw scales and her nails grew so far.
Pulling back a bit to see her face, Izuku brushed a few locks behind her ear, inspecting her features. "But dragons are also powerful, proud creatures too. To me, your quirk represents your spirit, sorta like you have the heart of a dragon. Why would I ever find you ugly? Even if you never had a quirk, everything from your smile to your eyes and hair, the hairpin you always wear, how you dress, and how you look, you're beautiful. And if some aspects of a dragon appear, like your eyes, fangs, or scales, it's just another thing about you I get to adore,"
Izuku held his hands on her hips, cocking his head a bit, "I guess to sum up my rambling, no matter how you look, I'll love you all the same. And you certainly don't need a quirk to amaze me,"
Ciana blushed very red from his loving praises, becoming flustered again as her gaze looks down with another bashful smile. "I-I hope so… I-I still don't like how my body is changing…" Ciana still didn't view her other side as pretty even if they are usually cool creatures.
"I-I just want to remain as myself…" might take a while for her to ever accept her look, if she can…
"Then for now, focus your time on learning from Edgeshot with Yuuki - actually, she might be good to ask if any of your instincts crop up without you knowing, seeing as she has a feline quirk," Izuku suggested. "But yes, focus on training to help you through this week, and like I said, I'll call too,"
She nods, hugging him tighter. "I'll still miss you when I'm away… I mean, who else will make sure you don't do reckless acts with your power…?" She lifts her face to raise a brow at him, still very aware Izuku breaks his bones sometimes.
"Hey, I haven't broken any bones severely in a while, only two fingers but that was technically the... spirits of One For All? Yeah, that really doesn't help me case," He slumped a bit. "B-but my point stands, and plus, I'll be working with someone who trained All Might so he's bound to have a wealth of knowledge!"
"If I find out you broke another finger or any part of your body again then I'll be unleashing the beast on you…" she threaten with a little smirk. "And I don't mean the part that purrs…" Ciana was flustered recall she does an odd purr when happy… she didn't even think dragons could purr.
Izuku blushed a bit at that memory, "Ye-yeah, I think all the intimidating factor would b-be drained in favour of cuteness, s-so..." He chuckled nervously.
That just made her cheeks pink hearing. "I-I don't really find that cute what I do…" she scratches her cheek shyly, clearing her throat. "Anyways… I wanted to ask you your opinion about something that had to do with my dream last night."
Relaxing from that mention of her instincts, Izuku perked up. "Oh? What about?"
Her eyes started to look conflicted and in wonder now, knowing what Meru Zena wants from her. "Well Meru Zena said he still wants me to assist him in opening a rift to escape this world into somewhere better… he seems kinda genuine that he doesn't intend to do any harm to this world, but I'm not really sure…" How the guy made it sound like he didn't look like he wanted to end this world, maybe…
"I'm not sure… but… do you think it's a bad thing if I actually agreed to help him with what he wants to do?" Ciana still wasn't sure what's right or wrong anymore, thinking maybe asking Izuku would help her make the right decision.
The question left him speechless a moment. Izuku had thought about what Meru wanted, why he went through all this trouble for one girl, all to leave their world. "I think, from what you've told me, and what he said when I first saw him eye to eye, I genuinely believe he wants to do right by the people he wants to save, like any vigilante," But while Izuku could see he did mean well... "But stealing you from your world, attempting to kidnap you, hurting our friends and other Pros, his way of conducting himself gives me the impression that if push comes to shove, he would hurt others to maintain his plan; his lack of regard for this world, even if he has no intention of destroying it, he clearly hates it; for how long? I don't know, I can't honestly say I agree with his actions, maybe, like your quirk, you'll figure out what's right in time, I just hope it's the right choice,"
Squeezing her hips, Izuku shook his head, "I believe, if you genuinely want to help people when you cross that point, you do what you think is right, like any hero would - so no, I don't think it's a bad thing but more-so risky due to this feeling he hasn't told you everything." If Izuku was honest, he didn't trust Meru at all, but again, his will to help others was undeniable.
That is true… she might as well ask him his full intentions before deciding anything, last thing Ciana wants to do is screw up. "Alright… but when you first informed me about the guy in the past, did he do anything evil before? I mean… did he ever kill someone?" Ciana remembered he was viewed as a terrifying secret villian, wanting to know more about his image.
"Aside from being a vigilante, not much was known about him, he was basically an urban legend since the few images online were too vague to start with, he would just observe events unfolding between heroes and villains, only now I realize it may be due to the fact he was absorbing their emotions," Izuku replied, dwelling on that thought longer. "All those years... was he planning this for several years before breaching your world?"
Ciana had her head tilted in more confusion, not really sure why he was declared a villian then if he didn't commit much crime. "I guess so… he did sound like he really wanted to escape, though I don't get why he doesn't want to use the Gatestones if he want to leave so bad…" Ciana guessed he didn't come across very many possibly.
"Maybe because gatestones require you to have a visual of where you want to go? That, and from how Chaser used them, they only seem to last a few seconds, so getting both a large number of people and their belongings through would take several stones, and we only have two, one of which was thanks to Chaser and the other by dumb luck," Izuku reasoned, gesturing with his hand.
"I guess that makes sense…" she puts her hand on her chin, maybe she doesn't need to fear Meru Zena too much. Ciana hoped her hunch was right. "Maybe I don't need to fear him after all, though… he did warn that All For One is more dangerous and sinister and would be bad if he knew about me…" Ciana was in the middle of looking up info of All For One before Izuku came by, so far what she researched. He sounded worse…
He was an urban legend himself, All For One was as All Might described, a living legend in every wrong way. He held a grip over Japan that could be felt today with modern day villains, and apparently instigated a civil war between those who would be known as heroes and vigilantes to bring peace today. But that was it, no mention of All Might fighting him at all, and every other outlet made it sound like AFO didn't exist.
"You and me both; given I'm the successor of the man that beat him last time, guess we both need to be on our toes," Izuku reluctantly agreed, then he squeezed her sides gingerly. "In any case, we should grab our things before we're left behind,"
"I'm already packed, I'm even bringing the rabbit you won me." Her gaze eyed her rabbit in her bag with a smile on her face. "Have to have something that reminds me of you since I won't be in your arms for a week…" Ciana says playfully and giggles a bit. "But definitely be careful, like I said… last thing I want is to ever lose you… that's what I fear the very most." Ciana didn't want to lose another loved one… especially not Izuku, he meant a lot to her.
The gesture was touching, but he also leaned down to kiss her for a second, "Same here, but I'll be careful, and you too," He'd have faith in both her abilities and that of Edgeshot and Yuuki while he wasn't around.
She smiled and blushed a bit when he did. "You better, by the time this week is up I'll be catching up what I missed with you the moment I see you again…" she teases with a playful smile and a tap to his nose, giggling after what she said but it looked and sounded more flirty this time…
"O-oh? Well, I-I look forward to it," He replied back with a small smirk. "Always n-nice to have that e-extra motivation,"
Ciana was a bit surprised Izuku didn't look bashful this time, seeing he's still improving but still stuttering cutely… she giggled again. "It will give me something to look forward to more by then, but still try and stay focus on what you learn… don't want you daydreaming too much." Ciana once again teases.
"Yes ma'am," He jokingly saluted, then shared one last kiss with her. "Since we'll be in public until we part ways,"
She smiled and giggled, eyeing him lovingly as Ciana suddenly took hold of his face. "Might as well make the most of it…" Ciana pulled him back into a loving kiss, wanting to linger a little bit longer before they head out…
Unlike the last time, there was only a tender feeling between them as their soft kiss lasted for nearly a minute, Izuku having wrapped his arms around her waist with hers around his neck, enjoying the warmth spreading between them. Everything in their lives was a rocky path, there would be arguments and issues that can't be resolved overnight. But bit by bit, they'd find a way to keep going, this was just a reminder of that.
Ciana could never hate Izuku, she clearly loved him too much to stay mad at him. She didn't want to ever lose him, Ciana forgot her worries and what made her mad. Especially when Izuku had his arms around her which still always made her feel safe and loved, Ciana knew she is going to miss this… even if it's just only a week some tears leaked out of her eyes, she hated goodbyes.
Once they parted, he dried her tears with his palm, "I'll need to go grab my things, so I'll see you downstairs," He didn't want to leave yet but they couldn't tempt fate now, so he left her side to leave. "Love you,"
She smiled sadly at him but nodded in understanding. "Love you too…" her eyes glowed and sparkled again after the kiss, still holding a lot of love and happiness in her heart for her hero. "I'll see you soon, and later…"