Chapter 31: Shiozaki Ibara I

A/N: And finally: the perspective that I'm sure that many of you have been waiting for! Let's go ahead and see how things are fairing on the other side of the spectrum, hmm?

Thwip.

"You're going to be a great hero, Ibara! I just know it!"

Thwip.

"Your vines are so versatile, and you've already got a great aesthetic and personality! Yuuei will surely take you in!"

Thwip.

"I just… wish that I could see you succeed and grow alongside you. Though, I guess that I'll have to settle for hearing everything from you secondhand, huh? I mean, it's not the end of the world. You'll still be following your dreams after all, right, Ib—"

A light tap falls upon her shoulder. "Shiozaki."

Ibara's vines falter at the sudden interruption, straying from their current straightforward course to instead crash to the floor. All the while, shaken from her thoughts, Ibara jumps a little in place. She quickly turns towards the noise, unexpectedly crashing into the orange-haired girl standing behind her.

"Whoa there!" Kendo exclaims. She swiftly stops the two of them from falling to the ground with the ample use of her quirk, her hands growing in size and catching the falling duo before they touch the floor.

Kendo gently pushes Ibara back up, placing the startled girl back onto her feet. "You good?" Kendou asks, her hand shrinking back to normal.

Ibara sighs. She doesn't immediately respond back. Her mind centers onto something else first.

She berates herself for mistakenly losing track of her surroundings, and for nearly causing her friend injury. She reprimands then fall to the fact that she had done nothing to aid Kendo in stopping their fall. She could have easily done the same with her extended hair, after all.

If only I wasn't so helpless. So powerless. If only I was able to...

She shakes away those thoughts and eventually nods, pulling her hair back to her scalp in the process. She fixes her face back to her normal calm demeanor. "Yes, Kendou-san. I seem to be well. I apologize for not paying attention to my surroundings."

"No, no! You're good!" Kendo says, waving her hand in front of her. "It's my fault entirely. I probably shouldn't be sneaking up behind people in the first place."

Ibara tilts her head at that. "Why were you so close to me, anyways, if I may ask?"

Kendou lets out a nervous chuckle. "I was just trying to get your attention with a light tap, is all. No harm done I hope?"

"None at all. But… You could've called out to me, no?" Ibara asks, genuine confusion in her eyes.

"That's the thing!" Kendou remarks. "I've been calling out to you for the past minute or so. But I guess you were just too focused on what you were doing to notice me." She looks around Ibara, an amused smile appearing on her face. "But dang, you must've really hated that test dummy, huh? You sure did a number to it, that's for sure."

Ibara blinks. She turns to see what Kendou is referring to.

What she sees is a test dummy destroyed beyond all recognition. It's metallic shell is ripped completely to shreds and a multitude of its limbs are strewn all over the floor. What's left of the dummy looks like the victim of a savage predator tearing into its prey.

"I… did that?"

"You sure did!" Kendo says, playfully punching Ibara in the arm. "Really makes you look at Present Mic's words back during the Sports Festival in a new way, hmm? I mean, you vines are elegant and versatile. You'd do great at tearing down doors and walls, or taking down villains with construct-reliant quirks where excessive force doesn't matter. Or even, well…"

Kendou looks over to Ibara, and notices her unchanging expression. Kendou shakes her head and sighs, her demeanor losing its signature cheerfulness and switching into a more dour state. "Yeah, it's not working, is it?"

Ibara turns to face her friend once more. "What is?"

"Doesn't matter. But you were thinking of your friend again, weren't you? That one that you've told me a little about?"

"I wasn't—"

"Don't pretend that you weren't," Kendou interjects. "You're terrible at hiding it. Before you fell onto me just a second ago you had the same look on your face. The one that you had the first time you told me about him."

Ibara gulps. "I don't… I mean…"

"Hey," Kendou soothes. She places a hand on Ibara's arm. "I've told you before, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I know that you haven't told me much, but from what little you have told me I can get the gist of it. You blame yourself for… whatever happened. But you shouldn't."

"You don't know that," Ibara says, a little ice attached to the words.

"Maybe I don't," Kendou admits. "But I do know you. The few months we've had together as classmates and friends has made sure of that. And I know that you aren't someone with bad intentions. You always try your best and see the good in everyone, so whatever it is that happened wasn't your fault."

Ibara presses her lips together. "If you… say so."

Kendou gestures her head off to the side, towards one of the Battle Center's many sparring arenas. "Come on. How about a little spar to get your mind off of things? I know that a good fight really cheers me up!"

"I'd rather not." Ibara sighs. She walks away towards a nearby wall. She ends up leaning against it, eventually sliding down to a seated position on the floor.

Kendou follows suit, placing herself beside Ibara. "You can talk to me, you know. It pains me to see a friend of mine with such a kind heart with a burdened ook on her face, let alone while I know that something is gnawing at you from the inside. If I could just..."

"It's nothing," Ibara counters. "It's something moronic of me, even."

"It can't be anything stupid if it's gotten you into such a funk. And it's clear that whatever's setting you off is something here at Yuuei, seeing as the last time I saw you like this was after the Sports Festival."

Ibara shakes her head. "I don't wish to burden you with the weight of my past mistakes and faults. You don't deserve such a—"

"Don't say that, Shiozaki. I'm your friend. I may not... fill the void that used to be filled by the one that you've lost, though I sure as hell am not trying to replace him — pardon my language. I just want to help; do whatever I can to set you at ease. I know you won't be able to relax without putting this matter to rest. It's clear now that that's the case."

Ibara looks to Kendou — her friend, because that's what she is — and sees the girl's pleading eyes in plain view. Kendou wants to know the cause of her pain, to rip open the wounds of her not-so-distant past.

And that's a big step.

Ibara had already been wary the first time she had stepped foot onto Yuuei grounds. Not only was the place a constant reminder of Izuku, but it also held the prospects of new friends. And that in itself was one of Ibara's greatest fears.

She had never really had many friends before Yuuei. Acquaintances, sure. But not friends. Not relationships like the one she had — has, because he's alive — with Izuku. And if her friendship with Izuku was anything to look at, Ibara knew that she was a horrible friend. Because she had failed him. So why wouldn't she be fated to do the same if she made more friends?

But then she met Kendou. Not even the first day of class, and the girl had gravitated to Ibara on the bus on the way to the practical entrance exams. And that's where it started. Ibara isn't sure how, but Kendou had caught on then. She had exhibited some miniscule facet of her anguish over Izuku's disappearance. She hadn't intended to let her emotions slip at the time, but Kendou knew that something was up. And she hasn't let up since.

It was constricting… and yet...

Ibara thinks over the past few months. Kendou has been there for her. Soothing her, telling her to relax and even doing things to divert her attention so her mind would wander elsewhere, somewhere less… guilt-ridden. Kendou does the same with the others in 1-B, sure. But she's paid special attention to her.

And it clicks. Just like Izuku and I. But… the roles are switched. This time… I'm...

Ibara looks again, spying Kendou's hopeful face. She sighs, and decides to let loose some of the truth. If only because she knows how she herself felt when Izuku wouldn't tell her things. She couldn't bestow that frustration and constant worry onto Kendou, not out of her own selfishness.

"It's just…" Ibara takes a breath. "I saw Bakugou a little while ago. During lunch."

Kendo blinks, somewhat taken aback. "Bakugou? As in Bakugou Katsuki? From 1-A? That Bakugou?"

Ibara nods. "Indeed… I told you it was noth—"

"Now hold on! What'd he do to ya?!" Kendou suddenly yells out as she smashes her suddenly enlarged fist into an equally enlarged open palm. "Come on, if he did something that's made you this distraught then I oughta—"

"No, no!" Ibara almost yells out. "It's nothing that he did to me. He hasn't done anything to me, let alone spare a glance my way. I doubt he even knows of my existence."

Kendou settles down. Just a little bit. Her fists are still enlarged, after all. "Then why?"

"You're right," Ibara admits, resigned. "It is all related to my friend. Izuku… Izuku, he..."

"Izuku, huh?" Kendou asks within the silence that follows. "First time you've actually told me his name."

Ibara nods. "Midoriya Izuku." She says, her voice lined with well-deserved reverence.

It's then that Ibara sees it, right as she finishes her sentence. Some form of revelation comes to Kendou's eyes. She doesn't quite know what it means, though.

"So, this… Midoriya. He was a close friend of yours?"

"He is," Ibara says, correcting Kendou. "The use of past tense implies of… his passing. But he isn't dead. I know he is alive. He's just... lost. Has been since we met as little kids, really. But now…"

"And what's Bakugou's role in this?"

Ibara looks at Kendou. And debates. And she decides to take the leap.

"I know Bakugo. I have since I was still in primary school. But not personally. We never once met in person face to face. But the words of Izuku were enough. And they didn't paint a pretty picture."

"What do you mean?"

"Just imagine Bakugou as you know him now: brash, loud, always wanting to get his way. Now imagine him as a child, one always told he was the best so often that he began to believe it. And began lording his status over his peers. Some more harshly than others."

Kendou frowns. "How… harshly?"

"Seeing him during the Sports Festival… it was the first time I'd actually seen his face," Ibara says, ignoring Kendou's question. "Izuku never bothered to show any pictures, and I never bothered to ask. But when his name rang out across the speakers… I held everything in. AndI handled it well, I think."

Kendo snaps her fingers. "Until you fought him, right? During the elimination battles?" Kendo blinks, clearing her throat. "Sorry. That was probably a bit insensitive."

"No. You're fine. Izuku reacted the same way sometimes when we had our conversations. I find it a bit endearing, really." She shakes her head, her slight smile fading. "That's besides the point though. That moment when I lost against Bakugou… I just felt like… like…"

"Like you lost your chance of redemption, right?" Kendou scrunches up her face. "Well, I'm sure that you'd phrase it like that or something. That's just the feel I'm getting here."

Ibara shrugs. "Something like that."

Kendou chuckles. Her cheerfulness is short-lived, though, and she readopts a solemn look. "It's not your fault that Bakugou's been an ass though. Whether he hurt Midoriya or not, you shouldn't blame yourself for your friend disappearing."

"It's… more complicated than that."

Kendou hums. "And I assume that you're not quite ready to share more yet?"

Ibara nods her head. "No. Not… not quite yet. The last few minutes have already been a lot."

Kendou adopts a small smile in return. "That's fine by me. You take your time, I know how hard it can be to divulge stuff like this, let alone to someone you've only known for half a school year. In the meantime, I'll make sure to keep some head chops reserved for Bakugou. We can't have Monoma hogging them all, right?"

Ibara lets out a light giggle. "Thanks, Kendou-san. Though, while I do appreciate the sentiment, I'm not sure that I approve of your sense of violence."

"It's all in lighthearted fun, of course!" She clears her throat. "Though, umm… Would you mind me asking one last thing?"

"Go on ahead."

"Well..." Kendou clears her throat. "I just want to make sure that the only problem here is Bakugou. Or is there something else?"

"Why would you think that?"

"It's just… Well, you were acting the same way you were just a second ago for a few days after that whole USJ fiasco with 1-A. And sure, Bakugou was involved, but surely…"

Ibara blinks. "Oh."

Ibara remembers that span of time rather vividly. And honestly, she's surprised that Kendou hadn't already connected the dots when she revealed Izuku's name — though she supposes that might have to do with Kendou's aversion to the gossip scene.

After all, while it was true that villains had successfully broken into Yuuei and had come close to causing casualties to students and staff alike, there was another thing — and it was a selfish and self-centered reaction — that had garnered her attention.

There were the rumors that somebody Bakugou had known had been killed by the villains. And it wasn't long before whispers of the name "Izuku" had accompanied said rumors.

Bakugou had been furious, the boy going off on a frenzy for the supposed info leak, seeing as how he should've been the only one in the know. Ibara was willing to believe that I wasn't an act and that the info was indeed somehow leaked; bullies don't often want their dirty laundry stinking up the air, after all.

The topic of whoever spilled the beans was never figured out at the time, and hasn't up to this point. But Ibara cared more for Izuku's fate than that.

Bakugou's anger was nothing compared to Ibara's reaction; distraught days spent in anguish over Izuku's supposed death, a shroud of gloom filling her mind and soul. She had blamed herself of course, blamed herself even though she knew how ridiculous of a notion it was to do so.

She wondered if this whole thing could've been avoided if she had never been injured that day long ago. She knows that that was the trigger; that last final step that led Izuku off his old path and onto a new one. Her friend could have been by her side now, learning heroics in some other school if not in Yuuei itself, if things had occurred differently.

The mere notions of 'what ifs' had Ibara resigned to carry the bear of her sin and guilt all her life. And she was prepared to, if only to ensure the memory of Izuku to live on with somebody.

However, one day, Todoroki Shoto decided to pay her a visit and impart a few choice words with her: "He's alive."

He walked up to her, said his part, and walked away. Very little showed on his face to betray his own emotions, and the encounter lasted just a few seconds.

But for Ibara? The moment stretched on for hours, and the spark of life came rushing back to her in raw force.

At the time she didn't know how she felt at the revelation.

There was the initial sense of relief of course, for confirmation of Izuku's well-being was all that she wanted. But her heart ached at the same time. She knew that whatever it was that Izuku was doing out there, it wasn't exactly anything good. Not if his ramblings were anything to go by, and especially when considering the grudges he held. The knowledge that he was alive enlightened her, but it also made her afraid of what he was becoming.

But Ibara knew that she couldn't do anything about that, not unless she went out as some sort of vigilante as she hunted her friend down. And she knew that Izuku wouldn't like that.

So instead she resigned herself to being happy knowing Izuku's alive, and decided to focus on the present and on what was in front of her.

For one, she had never thought that she'd find an acquaintance in the scion of the man that had killed Izuku's father.

Izuku's stories of the boy had been from a rare, insider's point of view, but they had done no justice for the real thing. The heterochromatic boy is aloof and reserved, and has a rather heated relationship with his father, as seen during the events of the sports festival.

Word for word Izuku's words came to life, and what Ibara to be a caricature of a boy turned out to be real. And for all of that, the boy really perplexes her. For one, she doesn't exactly know how she feels about him apparently knowing more about Izuku's whereabouts than her.

Sometimes Ibara would find herself sitting next to Todoroki during lunch, trying to see what shred of knowledge he'd share next. Sometimes Kendou would join, or others from either her own class or 1-A would do the same. These gatherings could be fun at times (even with Monoma's constant exclamations of traitors and betrayals) but she would never get more out of Todoroki. That doesn't mean that she won't keep trying, however. And if it means she gets to know the only other person in the world Izuku sees as a friend, then all the better.

"That… was still an Izuku thing," Ibara finally admits.

"Really?" Kendou questions. "In what way?"

"It's a rather long-winded—"

"Why hello there girls! Fancy meeting you two here!"

Both Ibara and Kendou nearly fall over in surprise, with Kendou letting out a small shriek.

Ibara doesn't blame the girl. The greeting was rather sudden and out of nowhere. And — though she wouldn't normally admit it because she knew it wasn't exactly the man's fault for being made the way he is — Principal Nezu could be on the uncanny and terrifying side of things from time to time.

"Principal Nezu," Kendou finally says after catching her breath. "What brings you here?"

"Visiting Power Loader; he's working on a little something near the back of the Battle Center," Nezu says cheerily. "But that's not important. I should be asking you what you asked me. While I do applaud your efforts to train in your free time, Shiozaki-san, Kendou-san; lunch is over. Class is about to begin in… exactly three minutes and twenty-three seconds."

"Oh shoot!" Kendou yelps, jumping to her feet. "Kan-sensei is going to get mad! We've got to get going!"

Nezu lets out a laugh. "You'll never make it in time, you know! Not with how far you two need to travel. Oh, the distress on your faces right now, it's priceless."

Kendou sweat drops. "Right…"

"So we should just resign ourselves to our fates?" Ibara asks. "I see. My apologies Kendou, seems that my troubles have gotten you into some trouble of your own."

"I didn't say that," Nezu interrupts. "You can still make it… if Kendou-san utilizes her newfound abilities to reach your classroom, that is."

Kendou sputters. "But quirk usage in the halls—"

"I'll excuse it this once. And I'll clear everything up with the faculty later," Nezu interjects.

"Wait," Kendou says, "so you'd excuse me for using my quirk to get to class, but not for us being late?"

"What can I say? I make my own entertainment when I see the opportunity to do so. Now shoo. You have two minutes and forty-three left."

"Alright… I guess! Thanks principal Nezu!" Kendou pumps a fist into the air. She then quickly points to her back, bending her knees down slightly as she does. "Quick, Shiozaki! Hop on!"

Ibara blinks. "Are you su—"

"No time! And yes I'm sure!"

She does get on immediately. She wouldn't, not when the situation makes Ibara think.

If Izuku's had any influences on Ibara, one of them she can admit freely to is a paranoid and faceted view of the world. And so, she looks at Nezu with narrowed eyes, trying to determine his angle at all this.

But his face is blank, emotionless — perks of a rodentia facial structure — and bares nothing to be seen but his beady eyes.

It's a little too much for Ibara to handle. So she concedes her loss and files the incident away for later; she could always find a revelation at a later date.

With that, she shrugs to herself, and steadily makes her way onto Kendou's back.

"Great!" Kendou cheers. "Now hold on!"

"Wait, what am I supposed to ho—AAAHHHHH!"

Kendou speeds off like a bullet, zooming out of the battle center in a second. From there is a whole lot of screaming, all while Kendou maneuvers her way through doorways and around corners.

(Ibara's sure that rumors of a restless lost soul wandering the halls will spring up after this. She'll try her best to dispel them before they get out of hand).

Thankfully, the trip is rather short die to Kendou's speed and skill. They arrive at the door to their homeroom with two minutes to spare, and Shiozaki lets go, releasing her arms around Kendou's neck, melting to the floor in relief. "Never again, please."

"I…" Kendou lets out a groan. "Phew. Yeah, sure." She rubs her side, her face twisting in displeasure. She hisses a bit as she stretches out her side.

Ibara sees this, of course, and calls Kendou out on it. "Are you okay?"

"Hmm?" Kendou perks up. "Oh yeah. It's nothing to worry about. Just a few aches and pains. They only happen when I use my… the newer applications of my quirk, weirdly enough. And they're more prominent when I use my quirk in short bursts. I'm sure that my body is still adjusting and stuff; probably why I get so tired after using it too. At least that's what All Might says… Because his quirk is somewhat similar to mine, you know! I've asked him for advice and all. So, uh, yeah… You know?"

Ibara blinks, somewhat caught off guard by Kendou's rambling. Though, she is coherent enough to notice Kendou the rubbing the back of her head and looking off to the side, avoiding her gaze.

Kendou isn't the only one who's honed her ability to tell when something is wrong with someone, And right now, Kendou's shining like a beacon.

Kendou, who's been there for her since even before the first day of school. The girl who reached out to her and comforted her when it mattered most…

Ibara could only do her best to take her turn to help. But she knows that it'll take a bit of coaxing and building of trust…

"Sure," Ibara says. Slow buildup. We'll get there, eventually. "I can see how the logic in that. Late bloomers do tell similar stories, as do people with quirk awakenings. So it isn't too far fetched."

Kendo collapes back across the door with a sigh. "Right…"

If only I had Izuku with me. He'd be able to figure out the full scope in less than a minute. If only...

"HEY! What are you two doing just lounging around out there! Class is about to begin!"

Ah, right. For later then… Maybe I'll do better this time. Maybe. Hopefully. Please…

[Arc Three: Escalation - End]

A/N: I'm not sure how I feel about this one honestly, but it's already a day late, so here ya all go. How'd you all like it? Nevertheless, back to more Izuku next time! See you all then!