Chapter Text
The vents were alarmingly large for such a compact facility; they were big enough for a child to crawl through it undetected so long as they didn’t thrash about against the walls, but too small to fit the seventeen-year-old boy who peered through the cover of one of them. His keen eyes and face, sharpened from days of fighting, were the only thing that were illuminated in the dim lighting thanks to the old flashlight he held in his hand.
He sighed through his nose, irritation making his features twitch, “I thought I told you two to stop doing this?”
“You did.” Came a voice, small and pitched.
An eleven-year-old… one of the few nightmares he’s come to tolerate for the past two years.
“Is the other one here?” He asked.
“…Yeah.” Came the other recently turned eleven-year-old.
“Of course…” he sighed, sitting back against the wall as he coursed a hand through his hair, “I shouldn’t be surprised at this point, you two are basically attached at the hip.”
“Are you going to let us in or not?” Said the first kid, impatience making her fingers poke through the small openings.
“What I should do is tell your Watchers that you snuck out of your rooms again.”
“You’d be ratting yourself out too if you did that.” She said, splaying her hands over the covering, “Does your Watcher know that you’re out of your room too?”
He rolled his eyes, “That’s not something you should be worried about.”
“So, he doesn’t know…” she said, a sly grin in voice.
“ZK, we need to go back…” the other one spoke.
“We’ve never been caught before PF… why are you scared we’ll get caught now?”
“Because he’s going to tell…!” PF stressed, a hushed yell softly echoing out from the vent.
“No, he’s not.” ZK said, turning to her friend, confident in her words like they were facts. “If he wanted to tattle on us, he would have done it by now.”
She shifted behind the covering, her eyes peering back through him in the low light, a hidden world of adventure reflecting in them despite her placement, “But he’s not going to. Right?”
Even if everything in him wanted to deny it, he really couldn’t. The damn brat was smart and knew the ins and outs of this building better than any of the others that were here-including him, and he’d been here longer than the duo had known each other.
ZK played well enough by the Watcher’s rules to get by, but with the development of her mind came the upbringing of human introductions, hence PF’s presence by her side-as well as two others who, unlike her, actually followed the orders they were given.
Her spirit was getting more difficult to contain as the days went by-her personality shining through as she became more comfortable in this cage they lived in, and he was one of the unfortunate victims to be dragged into her restless adventures around the place.
Recently, she had been spending more time in the vents than normal, whether it be by herself, PF, or the others. He wouldn’t have thought too much of it until she had accidentally mentioned in passing conversation that she was working on a new blueprint.
When he had asked what blueprint it was, she fell silent, masking her words behind a silence that had been her greatest weapon since her adolescence.
Even now, she wielded it as she stared in down, a challenge lighting her gaze brighter than any child that managed to find joy in this place.
“…You’ve got five minutes.” He said quickly, working open the lock that kept the vent intact.
The lock made a small beeping sound after he pressed a few buttons, and fell silently into his hands, to which he lowered it quietly to the ground.
PF came out first, refusing his offer to help her down and blatantly ignoring him as she crawled out of the vent, all of which was normal on her part.
ZK, however, took his help without much resistance, her insistence on his being there remaining as she never let go of his wrist, and ended up trailing him alongside her to the glowing panel farther down the wall.
“Which one do you want?” He asked, letting her tap on the screen a bit before it was his turn to put in the password.
“Can you put it to the current time?” She asked, looking up at him, “Like how it is outside?”
“Again?” His brow twitched, switching the settings, “What if it’s cloudy?”
“I don’t care.” She said, dropping her hand from his arm, “I just want to see it.”
He didn’t have much choice but to oblige, this little exchange like a routine to him now.
Adjusting the proper modules according to her requirements, the single tap of a button transported the three into a space that steadily shifted and changed alongside the tiles on the walls and floor.
As the simulation began to craft itself, ZK took a step back away from him, her eyes trailing along the changing tiles that she followed with slow steps, looking to the ground at her feet.
“Is this the same building?” She asked absently.
“It should be.” He said, turning and glancing around at the space around them.
The room’s lighting averted itself from the darkened state of its previous setting, changing to a mellow toned atmosphere that reflected from the glaring ball of light just ahead of them.
ZK faced it head on, the lack of proper UV-rays allowing her to be able to stare at the sunset in its full glamour, the oranges and yellows complimenting the melancholy that she wore on her face the longer she looked at it.
With a flick of her hand, she brought up another panel, tapping on a button that created a platform for her to sit on, granting her a seat at the center of the building’s center. She sighed as she leaned forward, resting her face in her hands with her elbows on her knees.
He glanced to PF, who joined her side without taking up a platform, leaning against the one ZK had made instead. After a bit of quiet, he joined her on her other side, extending the platform for himself to sit next to her.
“…Is it always like this?” She asked, tilting her head up at him, “When you’re looking over Tokyo?”
He took in a breath, looking out over the skyline. “Usually there’s a bit more of a breeze, but… yeah. Pretty much.”
She hummed, letting her hands fall from her face as she straightened herself up. “…You’re so lucky.” She said quietly.
“I wouldn’t say that…” he retorted derisively, “half of the time I’m sent out at almost five in the morning.”
“…I meant that you get to go outside.”
He thinned his lips, “Ah…” he started, “I didn’t…” the words fell at the slightest shake of her head, her eyes trained on the setting sun that slowly breaking down the horizon.
“I want to grow up already.” She said wistfully, the words longing for more than just the pixels surrounding them.
“Don’t say that.” He nudged her gently, “The sooner that happens, you’ll get sick of being sent outside.”
“I doubt it…” she smiled ruefully, “I don’t think I’d ever want to go back inside.”
“You make it sound like you want to run away.” He joked halfheartedly, the concept of it all foreign to his mind.
“…She does.” PF said, her voice a lower pitch than she usually presumed.
Looking over with a subtle perplexity in his eyes, he came across a disdain in PF’s own darkened look, her brow knit gently in a tired frown-staring just as intently at the setting sun as her friend.
ZK remained stoic, her smile gone, replaced with a blanket of dullness that she had worn all her life.
He knew that this would be a bit of a dick move, but in the back of his mind, he kept hearing mention of those blueprints she had created of the facility-and even further back, he had a vague mental image of what would happen should those blueprints be discovered in her room.
She needed time. And so did he.
“…You’d be leaving everyone else behind if you did that.” He voiced, forcing his voice to sound nonchalant and refusing to meet the sudden turn of her head. “Glitch and Cloud would miss you y’know.”
He looked to her finally, her face trying to deflect the hurt that was plain to see in her eyes and the quickened breaths she took. “I never said I was going to do it.”
“Then why do you look upset?” He challenged, tilting his head.
Her eyes flickered a bit at the words, eventually turning back to the fading sun as she sniffed. “You’re being mean…”
“I’m aware.” He said, leaning on his elbows as he kept his gaze on her, “But I also know that you aren’t selfish.”
She blinked, looking back at PF, who leaned against the platform with her eyes closed, most likely treading off to sleep.
“You know better than anyone what goes on in this place. You know how it operates, what the Watcher’s rotations are, you, ZK, are someone who can trust deeply, and save all the more quickly.”
Her jaw clenched, her wavering determination taking the forefront of her expression. “…What if I can’t save them?” She whispered.
He began to smile, “Knowing you, I highly doubt you couldn’t.” He gestured to PF, “With how well you and your little friend there operate, it should be as easy as getting past your Watcher…” even if the words were more of sweetened fantasies, there was truth to them, “after all, you guys are-
“TEAM SHINSO?!” Hironaka gasped, the roaring applause of the stadium filling her ears as she caught her breath.
What the hell happened? She thought, her mind reeling, What was I doing…?
The Sports Festival. They had just finished the race, the purple-haired guy-Shinso-from way back when had asked her something, and then… nothing.
Did she black out? Why was she drawing a blank?
She looked around, finding Ojiro standing off to the side with a similar kind of expression, and then Yagi-who held her arms close to her body with her head tilted down.
She began walking over to her. “Hey.” She reached out, putting a hand on her arm, “Yagi, is every-?”
The girl flinched away, her breaths maintaining a steady inhale and exhale that wavered as much as her gaze. She was scared.
“What happened?” Hironaka asked immediately, unsure of whether to reach out again or stay put. “Talk to me.”
“I- I don’t-” her voice was small, choppy words alluding to her state of mind.
She had half the mind to pry it out of her further, but doing so would only make her sink more into herself. So, he waited, searching her eyes for any kind of response that would warrant her an answer.
The girl took in a breath, regaining a bit of composure as she stood still. “I uhm…” she cleared her throat, “I can’t… tell you what happened.”
“Why not?” She asked, more confused.
“…I don’t remember what happened…” the words were fragile, barely discernable over the clamoring cheers that erupted around them.
It took only a moment for the gravity of those words to sink in, setting her mind into a stupor that almost rendered her speechless. “What do you mean you don’t remember?” She asked, her voice tense.
She didn’t say anything, only fretting her eyes over a nearing figure. With each step he took closer to them, she mirrored it in the opposing direction, hiding behind Hironaka who faced the newcomer with a growing sternness at the implications of her sister’s actions.
“Just wanted to say thanks for your help.” Shinso said, loosing the headbands around his neck in a tired drawl. “No hard feelings about this whole thing, right? It’s a competition after all and we all have to get ahead somehow.”
Sarcasm practically poured from his voice at his thanks, the slightest scoff from Yagi’s spot reaching her ears that made her grow hostile to the student.
“What the f*ck did you do?”
His brow twitched upwards, looking between the two long enough to slowly draw himself back into that dreary-eyed look. He let his hand fall back to his side, taking the headbands with him as he began to turn. “…I did what was necessary.”
She set her face in a glare as he walked away, not taking his eyes off him even as she reached for Yagi, keeping her by her side as she guided her farther away from his line of sight.
Once the event reached its own underwhelming conclusion, the students were sent off to recuperate with a lunch break as they talked amongst themselves. Most sat at lunch tables with their friends and classmates to congratulate their wins or console their losses, but the girls did neither of those things.
They managed to find a more secluded spot out towards the back of the stadium, which was flourishing with trees and fresh air that had the quiet ambiance of the audience members in the background, blending into the rustling of green leaves above them.
Yagi’s food remained untouched by her side as she sat on the floor, curling her knees into her body as she just stared at the floor. Comparing how she was now to before, she looked more present rather than locked inside her own head.
Sitting beside her with her tray in hand, Hironaka dug into her lunch, looking out at the greenery, and trying to buy into the relaxing scenery before her.
“…Is this what it feels like?” Yagi suddenly spoke, making her pause, “To not remember anything?”
She didn’t say anything to that. She felt as if she couldn’t.
Saying yes would only make her feel more uneasy. Saying no would be lying to her.
Memory allowed Yagi to remember things in excessive detail. Hironaka had never once heard her say the words ‘I can’t remember,’ or ‘I forgot.’ Those phrases were never meant to be in her vocabulary, and yet she was faced with the dilemma of having to consider potential acts that may have occurred no thanks to the Shinso boy.
It wasn’t any better that Hironaka faced a similar issue on this, but hers didn’t constitute the same amount of stress. She never had to recall anything on her part mainly because Yagi was the alternative storage bank for stuff that she might have forgotten. It was an unspoken thing that they had agreed on sometime in the past, and both parties were glad enough to stick with it.
None of this was because she didn’t want to think for herself or anything along those lines-or to just have Yagi as a sort of trump card whenever she wanted. It was only because of things that were out of her control. Things that she had never spoken up about because… as it stands, it hadn’t caused any issues in the past, and didn’t bother her too much to bring it up.
Hironaka didn’t remember anything from her childhood past the age of thirteen; and during the year that she had supposedly recovered from her amnesia, she had relied on Yagi to tell her everything that had happened prior to that, and even then, she couldn’t remember what she had been told.
She never asked how it happened. She had never needed to as it didn’t seem important at the time.
What mattered was her being able to fill in the gaps of her story-and who else to aid her in that than the girl who remembered everything.
But regarding Yagi’s question, she didn’t know whether to provide a straight answer, or to oversimplify it in a way that correlated with her condition. What she had in mind for an answer wasn’t exemplary, but it was an answer, nonetheless.
“…Sometimes.” She said quietly, leaning against the wall.
Yagi closed her eyes, her brow forming a soft frown as she gently bumped her head against the wall.
“You need to eat.” Hironaka encouraged, reaching over her to drag her tray closer.
“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t care.” She said, grabbing the drink that she had brought, “We’re not going back out there until you’ve eaten at least half of everything on here.”
“Hiro-”
“I’m not debating this with you.” She said, meeting her gaze with an intent in them. “I’m not going to watch you half-ass yourself in the final event… you need your strength.”
The girl sighed, looking on the verge of rolling her eyes as she straightened her legs out, taking her tray. “You’re an asshole.”
“Eat.”
—
They arrived back a little later than they were supposed to, but they couldn’t have missed much, because they were greeted with the most unusual of sights when they walked back out to the center of the stadium.
Yagi’s eyes widened at the girls, with their new attire being some customized skirts and pom-poms with expressions that would have suggested that this wasn’t the most pleasant experience for them.
“What… the f*ck? Why is this happening?”
Hironaka shrugged, keeping pace beside her as they neared their classmates in odd attire, “Sub-plot, I dunno…”
“Where were you guys?!” Ashido shouted at them after being spotted, waving her arms with exaggerated motions to rattle the pom-poms. “Why aren’t you suffering with us?!”
“I would rather not wear that, thank you.” Yagi said, holding her hand up to her face to try and mask a smile that was beginning to show. “Why did you guys do this?”
“It was Mineta and Kaminari, they tricked us!” Yaoyorozu explained, her face flushed, “They told us that Mr. Aizawa had requested we wear these with the rest of the cheer squad members!”
“And you believed them…?” Hironaka couldn’t help the skepticism in her voice. She crossed her arms, “They’re basically the perverts of the class.”
“Honestly, Mineta’s worse…” Yagi reasoned.
“And that makes Kaminari guilty by association, so it changes nothing.”
She shrugged, “I guess.”
“At least Hagakure’s enjoying it… I’m gonna end those morons…!” Jiro sighed, holding her arms close to her stomach.
“If it means anything, I think you guys look pretty…!” Yagi tried to reassure them, her smile wavering, but present.
Uraraka shook her own pom-poms, stepping up to them both, “From you, I’d take the compliment but… I’d still want to change out of this as soon as possible.”
“If I had to wear that, I think I’d gag.” Hironaka said aloud.
“You mean you’d actually gag, or you’d gag up the cheer squad members?” Yagi prodded her with an elbow, a light smirk making her eyes glint.
“Shut up.”
“Guys don’t fight…” Uraraka pleaded. “They haven’t even announced the final event yet.”
The event in question was the very thing that her father had stressed over to her for the past two weeks: a one-on-one tournament between the remaining qualifiers who had survived the cavalry battle.
It was a simple explanation-much more like how All Might had conducted their first Battle Training exercise back at the very beginning of the school year. The matchups would be determined by lots and would be displayed up on the enlarged screen above them.
One of the few curveballs that was tossed their way was Ojiro’s wanting to be excluded from the event.
He claimed that it was because he didn’t remember anything that had transpired from the cavalry battle and had settled on the thought that being able to get this far because of external means rather than his own skill was something to not be commended over.
It was a good speech, she admitted. Perhaps it was a bit foolish to waste such a given opportunity such as this, but she also shared a similar disdain for the student who had used them for his own agenda.
Midnight allowed his withdrawal, and the rest was history.
What followed was the listing of names on the screen:
Midoriya vs. Shinso,
Todoroki vs. Sero,
Hironaka vs. Kaminari,
Iida vs. Hatsume,
Yagi vs. Ashido,
Tokoyami vs. Yaoyorozu,
Tetsutetsu vs. Kirishima,
and Uraraka vs. Bakugo.
“Midoriya’s fighting…” Yagi trailed off, introducing the slightest wave of apprehension to settle in her gut.
“Don’t worry about him,” she said, nudging her gently, trying to dispel it, “you need to focus on your fight with Ashido.”
She hummed a little, stuffing her hands into her pockets. “Hopefully her acid doesn’t do anything to my staff… I don’t want to bother Alternate with getting me a new one.”
“You didn’t look into what it’s made out of?”
“Some tongue stuff?”
She stared at her, unblinking. “…Tongue stuff?”
“I’m kidding…!” She droned, “It’s tungsten; and no, I didn’t look into it.”
“Why not?”
“The same reason you don’t look into your own Quirk.”
Hironaka pursed her lips. “Touche.”
Yagi snickered.
Seeing as how everyone was already pacing off to enjoy the interluding events of the Sports Festival, Hironaka and Yagi went ahead and walked back the way they came, deciding that the better place to focus would be away from the noise and commotion from the other students.
Besides, she wanted to practice her hand-to-hand a little bit to see what she could work on.
In the middle of one of their fights, they resorted to using their weapons in a sort of back-and-forth exchange of staffs and fists. Kicks weren’t as frequent, but they were monitored.
The two found themselves locked in an effort to immobilize their opponent, catching each other’s blows and redirecting them in a way that put them in a sort of standoff.
Yagi must have planned something in her head while reading her blows, because she managed to knock Hironaka’s own lance out of her grasp and snag her arm in a quick twist with the sharp end of her weapon poking into her back.
“You started repeating your movements.” She said, her voice close enough to her ear that she could hear the assured victory in her voice.
“And you don’t know how to apprehend people.” She retorted, using her other free arm to gently jab her elbow into Yagi’s abdomen, making her flinch and let go of her.
After going back to her position and taking a breather, she turned to Yagi, who was looking out at the fair number of trees around. “It’s peaceful out here.”
Hironaka glanced at the trees too, taking in a slow breath. “Did you want to walk around for a bit?”
“Can we?” She said, immediately taking to the idea.
“If you want.”
She took off. “I’m free…!”
“Don’t run off!”
Yagi had only turned a corner when she had caught up to her, it wasn’t too far.
She held her spear off to the side, peeking around the bend without saying a word.
“What are you doing?” Hironaka asked as she came up behind her.
“Spying.” She said quietly.
“On who?”
She didn’t respond, tilting her head a bit for a better view.
Treading quietly, she looked over Yagi’s shoulder, following her eyes to find the distant figure of one of their classmates.
“…Why is he just standing there…?”
“I dunno.” Yagi shrugged. “You’re guess is as good as mine.”
“There’s not an exit back here,” she said, “we shouldn’t have missed him if he came out the same hallway.”
“Maybe he came back out here while we weren’t looking?” Yagi glanced at her once, “It’s not like this place is heavily secluded. It’s like a giant backyard.”
“Somehow I doubt that.” She was suddenly pushed back, ushered against the wall for no reason.
“Shh!” Yagi held a finger to her mouth, “I think he saw us…!”
“If he did then why are hiding?”
Her eyes darted to the side, thinking. “…I don’t know, I just kind of panicked.”
“I know you’re over there asshat! Come out and face me!”
Hironaka stepped away from the wall, “Okay, well, you need to stop panicking for a second and make up your mind. He’s getting closer.”
Yagi groaned, “I don’t want to right now, he sounds pissed…!”
“That’s never stopped you before from what I’ve seen.”
“I know you hear me!”
The brunette took in a breath, holding it for a moment before she sidestepped out in the open.
“Hello… we’re friendly so,” she held up her hands, making room for Hiro who joined her side, “you can put your murder mitts away.”
Looking between them, Bakugo’s face relaxed from the twisted scowl he bore, and settled for an annoyed glower instead.
“The two of you can’t leave me alone for sh*t.”
“Hey, we coined this spot first!” Yagi countered, making him narrow his eyes. “We ate lunch in that little hallway back there-”
“I don’t give a f*ck.”
“Okay-”
“Is your personality always so unpleasant, or are you just generally an asshole?” Hironaka crossed her arms, already drawing close to dragging him if he cussed at Yagi again.
“I didn’t come in and bother you two while you were off doing your own thing-I was in a better mood before that, and now it’s ruined.”
Yagi held a hand to her chest, feigning shock at his words before deftly puckering her bottom lip. “Aw, that hurt my heart…” she said, “Is Mr. Grinch just nervous about being able to fight well?”
That got Hironaka to let out an amused huff, but she stayed silent.
“I’d be more worried about whether your little staff can withstand Raccoon Eye’s acid… even if that thing can handle an explosion, you shouldn’t rely on dumb luck to test out how durable it really is.”
“Wasn’t it our ‘dumb luck’ that helped us all pass the Entrance Exam? Or to be able to fight off the villains back at the U.S.J.?” She put her hands on her hips, “I’ve got this, we” she wrapped an arm around Hironaka’s shoulders, “got this.”
“And that’s your main problem,” he sneered, “you’re both so focused on all the ‘we this,’ ‘we that’ bullsh*t that you’ll never be able to do anything on your own.” He looked to Yagi first, “When you’re fighting and get caught up in whatever the hell she’s doing, you get sloppy. You don’t ever pay attention to what you’re doing.”
He met Hironaka’s leer, “And you underestimate yourself so much that it’s crippling you, but when you do fight, you end up only doing more damage to yourself. You’re reckless.”
That’s rich coming from you. She thought, biting her tongue.
“So… what I’m hearing is that you think we’re tough enough not only to survive the Sports Festival, but that you’ve considered our strengths and weaknesses if we were to ever fight?” Yagi’s voice took an uplifting turn, tilting her head into Hironaka’s shoulder, “I didn’t think you’d have done your homework on us Blasty.”
He scoffed, shifting his body to the side, “You can add this to the list:” he turned, “you don’t listen-neither of you.”
Bringing her arm back to her side, she took one step after him.
“By the way,” she began, making him pause and look over his shoulder, “maybe that luck will hold out for you too.” She shrugged, “Couldn’t hurt to count on it a little bit, right?”
He didn’t so much as crack a smile, “I’m not counting on anything but myself.” He moved forward, “And you should too if you don’t know what’s good for you.”
Yagi stepped back; her eyes trained on him as he walked away. They were thoughtful, a kind of look that only appeared when she was innately curious or focused on something.
She wasn’t sure how to decipher that look, but something told her that it was closely tethered to the person who had come to the fair on her behalf. The person who had helped her carry back the plates of food for everyone, who had watched the fireworks with her the night of it all.
Following her gaze, she knew well enough that whoever she had spoken to that night wasn’t at all present in the boy who was walking away.
She didn’t have the heart to feel a lot of pity for her, but it’s not like it wasn’t any fun seeing her so centered on an event that would never happen again.
“Let’s go.” She said finally, helping to break her from her thoughts, “We don’t want to miss the first match.”
Yagi nodded, her face taking back that lighthearted demeanor she always wore.
—
Uraraka was the first of the two to stand up from her seat and wave them over, “Over here!”
Yagi had nearly leaped down the steps to their row on their way down, pausing to look back at Hironaka, who walked down the stairs like a normal person.
“You’re going to bust your ass one day if you do that.”
The brunette rolled her eyes, moving down the isle of seats, “Okay Mom.” She quipped, slouching down next to Uraraka.
“How do you think Midoriya will handle this Shinso character?” Iida asked, leaning forward stiffly to look down at the trio.
“Deku’s going to be fine!” Uraraka assured him, “He’s managed to get this far in the Sports Festival, what’s the worst that could happen?”
A lot. He could get brainwashed and lose.
Maybe brainwash wasn’t the most accurate of terms, but it was certainly less terrifying accurate than the word comatose.
All in all, that’s what it was. Kind of.
The only correlation of that idea was that Yagi couldn’t remember a single thing from what took place in the middle of the Cavalry Battle, which tracked because Hironaka didn’t either. Another factor that lined up was that it only took them being able to verbally respond to whatever he was saying for it to have full effect.
The only problem was that her own comatose wasn’t that at all, it was something else entirely.
She remembered voices. Faded walls. A warning. A sunset-a beautiful one at that.
More specifically, she remembered that she had felt trapped.
That feeling still lingered, an ominous, ice-cold awareness that treaded its claws over her skin, seeping through her cloths, stabbing precariously through her ribcage to get to her heart.
Even with the blaring sun rising high above the stadium, the chill spread through her body faster than the poison that had afflicted her previously. Dare she say that this felt so much worse.
“Hey, Hiro.” She came out of it, turning to Yagi who was glancing off behind her, “Kaminari’s asking for you.”
She didn’t respond, turning to look behind her at her classmate who was leaning all too comfortably on the empty pairs of seats.
“Sorry to bother you,” he started, cheery and plainly friendly, “I just wanted to say that, even if we’re classmates, I don’t intend on holding back, got it?”
She leaned back in her chair, “Yeah. Me neither.”
“That being said…” he propped his chin on his palm, “I don’t want any hard feelings between us when I win in the end, ‘kay?”
The presumptuousness of such a request made everybody turn their heads in his direction-save for Iida, who respectfully only gave him a side-eye.
She wasn’t sure how to even respond to that, but if that’s how he was going to play, then she would oblige his remarks with keeping her cards close.
“…Sure, Kaminari.” She said calmly, “No problem.”
The bastard grinned, retreating to his seat with a wink that made her want to gag.
The group was silent after that exchange, and Hironaka was finally left to relax back down in her own seat with a sigh and shake of her head.
“…I cannot believe you let that man disrespect you like that.” Yagi commented.
“He’s just being dumb, don’t pay attention to it.”
“You better kick his ass when your turn comes up.”
Oh, she would… she already had an idea in mind for that.
For now, she turned her focus to the awaited fight between Midoriya and Shinso, which basically played out as she had thought.
He must have said something to agitate him enough to afford a direct charge, because although she didn’t catch what he had said, Midoriya shouted something at his opponent, and abruptly froze in place.
Ojiro started to panic, shooting up in his seat with his hands planted on his head with worry, he must have told Midoriya about what his Quirk was capable of.
“C’mon!! Snap out of it!!” Yagi shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth, “Don’t walk out of that ring Midoriya!”
She didn’t join their cheers, instead watching with a growing apprehensiveness that made the grip on her hands tighten.
As he got closer and closer to the border, she didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until Midoriya proved to her that, once again, he was one of the least average people in this school.
It was barely discernable from where they were, but just before he took one final step, he had used his Quirk to create enough of an impact to snap him out of his trance. He had broken his fingers again in the process, but it had acquired the desired effect.
From there, her attention was captured by the fight that resulted from it: Midoriya charged forward, colliding with Shinso to try an attempt to fully push him out of the ring. The other followed through with a quick punch and shifting of foot, aiming to trade places with him, but Midoriya was faster.
He grabbed his arm from underneath and did a quick turnaround, using the momentum to toss Shinso over his shoulder and slam him down to the ground. As he landed, his feet landed just a few inches away from the borderline… he had lost.
“Shinso is out of the ring!!” Midnight announced, “Midoriya moves on to the second round!!”
The celebration of his victory was shared amongst the group, with Uraraka and Yagi shouting their praises and Iida adding in his own stiff pitch as well-Hironaka remained seated, clapping alongside the audience, relieved to see that he didn’t need to break half his body to win that fight.
“Hey, aren’t Todoroki and Sero going up next?” Uraraka asked, looking livelier after witnessing the fight.
Yagi nodded, “Yeah, that’s what the leaderboard read.” She looked over at Hironaka, “Then it’ll be you and Kaminari.”
Iida looked over again, directing his arm towards her in a swift motion, “Have you thought of a countermeasure for his kind of ability? His electricity is no laughing matter.”
She glanced over, catching the back of Todoroki’s head as he disappeared into the building to prepare for his match. “He’s got a large range when it comes to how he disperses his Quirk, and he can’t direct it anywhere unless it’s in one direction.”
She looked back down at the arena, watching the two previous competitors make their way back to the stands, “It’s a fairly simple match, but I wouldn’t want to spoil it.”
“Aw… you’re holding out on us?” Yagi grinned, prodding her with an elbow. “Don’t tell me you’ve got an ace up your sleeve.”
Hironaka allowed herself a slight smile, “If I did, I wouldn’t use it on someone like him. That’s just cruel.”
“Damn…” Yagi raised a brow, “So you’re saying you know you’ll win your match?”
“I’m not going to give myself karma, so I’ll just stay quiet.”
“Fair.”
The grace period between matches went on for only a few more minutes, giving the past and present competitors enough time to rest and prepare for the next match.
Midoriya eventually joined the group, greeting them all in turn with a bandaged hand as he sat down by Iida. He peered from where he sat over to her, offering a small wave that she returned in kind with a nod.
“The wait is over!!” She looked back to the arena, “The cream of the crop!! Yet this guy’s somehow as plain as they come! Hanta Sero of the Hero Course!”
“That was rude…” Yagi commented, her shoulders shaking with a hidden laugh.
“At least he didn’t say anything about his elbows.”
“Yeah, but those are a part of his Quirk.”
Hironaka shrugged. “Do you think-?”
“Ooh! Look!”
The match had begun.
Sero started out first; lines of tape shot out from his arms, wrapping themselves around Todoroki’s frame, trapping him in place. The boy then pulled back and around with his left arm, dragging Todoroki across the ground while he stood in place. It seemed that he intended to fling him out of the ring.
The entire motion seemed easy enough to accomplish… but knowing full well who Sero was up against never really left much room for debate on who would win this match.
What she didn’t account for, however, was the frontal assault that Todoroki had in mind.
The bombardment of ice was almost instantaneous, rushing at Sero and extending towards them at such high speeds that she almost missed the growing points that were shooting out of the ice in their direction.
The moment she saw Yagi flinch into herself was the moment she lurched from her seat and raced forward with an extended hand, projecting a shield that expanded quick enough to chart the direction of the ice so that no one in their vicinity would be affected by it.
The cold that seized her lungs and dried her tongue were the first sensations she felt as she grounded herself. Her breathing remained steady, slighted by the barest tremor that wavered her breath.
She looked up at the effects of her Quirk and found that the ice had been tinted a brighter sheen, arching over the seats behind them with classmates that stared between her and the heightened mass with wide eyes.
Her vision landed on the group in front of her, who were beginning to relax more into their seats when the ice wasn’t any closer than it needed to be. Looking to each in turn, she met Midoriya’s worried appearance last-his eyes barely flitting from her face to look at the towering cold above them.
A sharp sting caused her to hiss through her teeth, shaking out her hand and bringing it close to finding that half of it was encased in a thin layer of ice, staining it a pale-blue frost that made it tremble.
“You’re hurt…” the boy said, the words coming out in a quick breath as he looked ready to jump from his seat.
“I’m fine.” She countered, holding her frozen fingers in one hand, the cold becoming manageable this way with the warmth of it. “It’s just ice, it melts.”
“Considering that we all know who won…” Yagi gestured with a single glance at the icy structure, “are you sure you’re going to be able to fight like that? What if it doesn’t melt?”
“I can still move them.” She said, flexing her fingers to prove it, “It barely hurts, it’s just cold.”
“…Can you at least check in with Recovery Girl on your way out?” Midoriya asked, his face knit with worry, “Just to be sure.”
She held the weight of his gaze with caution, casting glances at the rest in turn, who only offered similar looks… they were all infuriatingly caring over something so small.
“…Fine.” She agreed, keeping her voice calm, “If it will make you feel better.”
Uraraka reached out, putting a hand on her arm, “Good luck out there Shichirobi,” she squeezed, “and thank you.”
When the girl let go, she walked off with nothing more than a nod, making her way past the rest of the seats and up the steps back into the stadium.
—
The ambiance of the forest was always such a pleasant thing to listen to when on break. With how the leaves were starting to change from a rich tanned color to a vibrant green-they sometimes even hid a softened yellow tint amidst the foliage.
Even if they were something to be admired under normal circ*mstances, they were not here for leisure, and Enigma was sure to remind her of that.
“I have a concern.” They said, taking slow steps past her as they walked.
“About?” Hironaka prompted, already not liking where this was going.
“About you training with your classmates.” They looked to her as they came to a stop, standing just a single step in front of her, providing a visual for the mottled gray that was lined with thin wisps of blue iris-their eyes fierce and driving on minacious.
“Is that really such a bad thing?” She responded, her voice undermining the sarcasm behind it, “Any kind of training is good for anyone, isn’t it?”
“Not you.” They said, trapping her in her own navel-gaze, “You are not just anyone. You know this.”
Stifling an eyeroll, she inhaled deeply. “You keep saying that like it’s supposed to mean something.” She stepped back, “I don’t care if I’m some special little snowflake, you don’t get to dictate what I do with my own free time.”
“You’re ‘free time’ is not dictated by me. Madam President requires of you to remain here for the sole purpose of developing your Quirk. That school is only a mild extension of that.” They took a step to the side, starting them off with a familiar pattern of circling each other in smooth motions. “They lack conviction to truly test the parameters of you, Shigemasa, and your classmates. It is only through me, and the instructions I give you, that you will ever be able to succeed beyond just your classes.”
“Is that supposed to be a fact or are you just repeating what the President told you.” She didn’t ask it like a question, she didn’t have to. Her lack of an answer said it well enough for her own knowledge.
Enigma was the President’s lapdog. That had been obvious from the way they always referenced her in any given scenario… Madam President this, Madam President that… it was getting aggravating.
“The Sports Festival is only days away, Shichirobi.” They said, striving the conversation onward, “You have made considerable progress from the time you have started-but if you want to get the attention of the Heroes, you need to do better. You need to be better.”
She scoffed, “You sound like my father.”
“He is correct when he needs to be.”
“Are you saying that he’s not correct all the time?”
“I am saying that his reasons for wanting you to succeed, and be strong, correlate closely with you spending time with that boy.”
She stopped. Enigma stopped. Her breathing slowed.
“…What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Do not think that just because we cannot see you all the time means that we cannot see you at all.”
That wasn’t creepy. “I don’t like what you’re insinuating.”
“Then that means I am correct.”
Her hands slowly curled into fists, her Quirk beginning to scour beneath her skin the more this monotonous freak went on. “I had thought that you took care of that problem a long time ago.”
“I did.”
“Then why is he still meddling in your affairs?”
“I can’t help that he’s in my class.”
“But you can help how much time you spend around him.” She looked to Enigma’s hand, unfurling with a flickering prominence, “If this issue starts to become persistent, then I will have a reason to intervene-”
In a burst of movement, Hironaka left a vast array of cataclysmic residue behind as she barraged into Enigma, striking them through trees and landing the first solid hit of the day into their abdomen.
—
The roar of the audience was a blaring white noise that fell alarmingly short of the one that stood out the most.
The minute she walked out, she could already see Yagi shooting out her seat to shout and act like a fool. The display by far the most dramatic she’s ever been.
Still, she couldn’t help but to smile up at the stands, holding up her hand and waving back, aiming to show that the ice which layered it was gone, and treated by Recovery Girl.
In truth, the nurse had simply wrapped it in a towel and checked on it every few minutes or so during the time the ice was melting back out in the arena; she noted that-while it was admirable she wanted to protect her friends-it wasn’t so wise to act out on impulse and put herself at the forefront of the attack.
She didn’t say anything to the woman other than “Yes ma’am.” Arguing against her wouldn’t have proved anything, and it served no benefit.
She met Kaminari from across the way, reminded of his boisterous claims of victory, the subtlety he tried to say along with it only highlighting his underestimation of her. His little smirk wasn’t helping too much either.
“With the arena all thawed out, it’s time for the next match!!” Present Mic took over the intercom, “Of the Hero Course, a silent fighter who can pack a deadly punch, it’s Hironaka Shichirobi!”
Again, she heard Yagi shout from the stands, making her smile a little as she tried not to let out a laugh.
“Versus… the sparking, killing boy! Denki Kaminari!!”
“HIRONAKA!!” She looked back, a quiet laugh escaping her, “KICK HIS ASS!”
“Sit down…!” She gestured, feeling her cheeks warm a little.
“I forget that you and Shigemasa are close buds.” Kaminari cut in, drawing her back to the match, “Or sisters?” He tilted his head, “I heard her mention it once in class.”
She snuck a final glance to the stands, then faced him, “We’ve known each other since childhood.” She clarified.
“Ah, gotcha… sisters-from-another-mister kind of deal?”
She nodded.
“Look, while that’s sweet and all… I think she’ll be upset to see that this match is going to be over in an instant.” His body began to crackle with electricity, the little buzz that accompanied the sight made his hair rise slightly. “Sorry to disappoint-!”
Lightning crackled and sparked from the ground and expanded outward from him, spanning across a wide range that attacked the air viciously and left small clouds of dust in its wake.
By the end of the assault, he was left with nothing but only a few incoherent mutters and a face that didn’t even register what was going on.
When he had vaulted out all of that electricity, Hironaka had devised a small ploy that was easy enough to control: using the trick she had done to get her and Yagi out of that crowd in the race, she projected herself upwards, and then focused that same ability to maintain herself in the air, creating that platform she had used to get over The Fall.
It wasn’t technically flying, but she figured she would be able to do so if she actually tried.
Instead, she focused on lowering herself back down to the ground when the arena looked safe enough to walk on; moving forward, she tugged on the sleeve of Kaminari’s jacket, guiding him after her towards the borderline.
She recalled his words again as they got closer; she set him directly in front of it, putting her hands on either shoulder.
“…No hard feelings. Right?” She said finally, and pushed him back, causing him to land flat on his butt out of bounds. He could only offer up a wobbly thumbs up in response to the shove.
“Shichirobi advances to the second round!!”
“HELL YEAH!!” The grin that tugged at her lips was all that she was going to respond with as she reached forward, helping Kaminari back up to his feet.
The boy did a half-hearted “YaaAAaAaAyyyY…!” as he hobbled on his feet, eventually falling under the care of the helper robots that escorted him off the arena.
Turning back the way she came, she nearly stalled in place when she noticed a hidden figure hiding past the entryway into the stadium. Their stance made her body tense, her mood souring the closer she got to them.
She hastened her pace once she was out of eyeshot of the entire building, catching the visitor by the collar of their clothes and shoving them harshly against the wall, the impact echoing up the base of the stairs.
“What the hell are you doing here?” She grit.
“Observing.” Enigma said, barely restraining themselves against her hold, “Madam President told me to come here.”
Of course she did.
“If you are concerned about my presence being known here, I can assure you that I have not been seen by anyone but you.”
“Not even Yagi?” She asked, staring them down.
“No.”
“What about the others?” She pressed, firming her hold on them.
“They know nothing.”
It was hard enough to discern the honesty in their monotonous expressions, even more so when Enigma was taking such a stance against Hironaka under the guise of being the messenger.
Do not think that just because we cannot see you all the time means that we cannot see you at all.
Her glare hardened all the more at the reminder as she pushed off of them none too gently, “Keep it that way.” She warned, “Stay away from them.”
She moved to the staircase, beginning her way back up to the stands.
“…They will be your downfall.”
She paused, the sentence making her mind still the danger that she wanted to possess.
“Societal ties to others that are not of your position will only worsen your development in the long run.” They spoke louder, “You are better off keeping your distance.”
“…They’re important to her.” She responded, turning to look at the operative. “Compromising my relationship with them would only make her unhappy.” She began to step up again, leaving them behind in the fading noise of the stadium that continued to chatter of today’s events.
Following the staircase with a reeling mind, she squinted her eyes against the bright sunlight that greeted her when she finally walked back out. Moving past rows of seats, she was soon bombarded with an excited shout and a tight hug. It was Yagi.
“I’m so happy for you!” She said with a toothy grin, “You’re moving on to the next round!”
“It’s nothing to get excited over…” she said, patting her arm so that she could pass by to her seat, “I barely did anything.”
“Hey, you won, and that’s all that matters!” Yagi cleared her throat, “Also!” She pointed, “One: Iida’s already gone out to prepare for his fight, and this guy” she pointed to Midoriya, “wants to ask you some questions.”
He glanced up at the mention of his name, following Shigemasa as she passed by to steal her spot again, leaving an open seat to sit next to him.
He had his notebook in hand, already scribbling away along the lines… it wasn’t the old one that she had given back to him all that time ago.
It didn’t take rocket science to wonder what he was going to ask her about. She knew it had something to do with the fight, but her main concern relied on her ability to properly answer it.
She took to the seat beside him, hoping to get the questions out of the way, but she was only met with a friendly look and a greeting, not a question.
“You did awesome in the fight.” He said lightly. “I’m almost surprised that Kaminari went down so easily.”
She managed a small shrug, “It wasn’t so much of a fight as it was a throwaway match. If I really wanted to, I could have been more dramatic about it.”
He seemed to find that funny, which prompted a smile. “Between you and me, when he was talking about winning, I figured you would be the one to come out on top.”
“Thank you.”
They fell silent… wasn’t he supposed to ask her something? Yagi said that-
Wait…
Tilting her head, she looked down the row to find Yagi staring back. When their eyes met, she quickly turned her head away, an unmistakable smile on her face that she did a poor attempt at hiding.
Recognizing her ploy, she let out a sigh through her nose, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her chair. She wasn’t annoyed-but she wasn’t happy about being so easily tricked.
“Everything okay?”
She shook her head, “Yagi told me that you wanted to ask me something, but…” she looked over again, “I think she just wanted to mess with me.”
“Oh.” He tapped his pencil against his notebook, a fidget. “…I think she might have taken me talking to myself literally.” He kept his head down, looking awkward, “I was just wondering how you managed to make yourself float to avoid Kaminari’s attack. I couldn’t really see what you were doing from where we were.”
“I wasn’t floating.” She began to clarify, “I made a platform for myself to sit on.”
His eyes lit up at her words, “Really?” He was already flipping through pages, “Is the way you make the platform similar to how your shields work?”
At least Yagi wasn’t completely lying. “Not exactly…” she paused, smoothing out her palms on her pants, “my shields require a lot more focus to maintain versus the platform.”
“Is it because they’re better suited for defense, and taking heavy hits, rather than being a mode of transportation?”
“…Yes.” She had no clue, but the way he explained it made the most sense, so she just went with it.
He was nose-deep in his notebook again, muttering away with incoherent words that didn’t quite reach her ears-but he seemed focused.
As he went on, she fell back into silence, occasionally looking over at whatever he was writing despite not being able to see it.
“…I’ve been doing a bit of research after we had that talk back at our old school.” He said after a while, his voice a bit absent on account of him writing, “And I wanted to tell you that what you said is right.” He looked back at her, “Dark Matter really isn’t something that people can see.”
“You wanted to fact check it?” She asked.
“Not necessarily,” he began flipping through pages, “ever since the year started, I’ve been able to observe everyone’s Quirks and abilities with every fight and training assignment we do.” He stopped at a page that had Uraraka’s analysis on it, “It’s helped me learn a lot about what strategies, strengths, and weaknesses that our classmates have.”
“…So, you wanted to do research on my Quirk to find out what weaknesses I have?”
He blanched, “What- no! Nononono-! I, look-” he took in a breath, speaking a little slower. “When we talked about it, you didn’t seem that interested in wanting to know more than you already did, so I went and did a bit of research on my own to learn more about it.”
He flipped through pages again, “It’s like you said-it has a lot to do with space.” He put the spine of his notebook on the armrest, laying it out for her to see, “The reason for this is because dark matter is considered some kind of ‘glue’ for the stars, planets and-just overall-the galaxies that sort of holds it all together.”
She listened to his words, digesting them. “That sounds… very exaggerated.”
He shrugged, “It’s what the website said.” His voice still maintained a keen interest, “And based on what I’ve seen from you, you seem to be able to manifest it into a physical form.”
She would have to confirm this later. But still, thinking back, she wasn’t quite sure why she wasn’t as interested in the topic as she should have been. It’s her Quirk-it should technically be her responsibility to know the most about it.
As Hironaka looked at the notebook and skimmed over the words on the paper, she drummed her fingers on it once before she spoke. “I don’t exactly remember when I was told what my Quirk really was.” She held the bottom corner of the page between her fingers, “I always thought for the longest time that it was ‘Crystal Magnification’ or something, considering how it looks when I use it.”
Midoriya tapped his pencil against his own hand in a quick fidget, seeming to consider this as well. “…Maybe the way you make those structures is a reflection of yourself.”
The words clung to her faster than she expected, an ample curiosity sprouting in her brain as she waited for him to go on.
“You’re strong-powerful, even-when you put your all into it, and you leave a lasting effect on the people and environment around you.” He spoke kindly, and it made her wonder if this was just him being nice or if he was stuck in another one of his rambles.
“And just like you-crystals are strong too, even when put under a lot of pressure… and they’re full of surprises. They’re one of the toughest things in the world. But once you get past the weird structure of it all and take the time to understand how they work, you’ll find that they’re really…” he stopped, the words suspended between them that became lost among the echoing crowd that began to chatter excitedly at Present Mic’s voice over the speaker. He went unnoticed by them both.
Midoriya’s face began to bloom a reddened color, not an unfamiliar sight-but one that was a bit unexpected of him. “I think I got a bit off topic…” he said quickly, taking back his notebook, “sorry.”
She didn’t press him for the ending of that sentence, rerunning it over in her head, and noticed only the one peculiarity in his words.
“I’m not entirely sure on the being called weird part, but your analysis of it is interesting.”
He frowned slightly. “What? When did I call you that?”
“You just said something about getting past a ‘weird structure’ in reference to me as an individual.” She said, “Which means that you think I’m weird.”
She was twisting his arm-or words, technically-at this point, but she liked to think that this was payback for leaving her on a cliffhanger with that spiel of his.
The boy, however, didn’t seem to catch on, and started to panic, his blush ever present as he tried to explain himself. “I-I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything…! I was referring to those crazy structures that you make when you use your Quirk! I swear!” He was practically sweating buckets now, “I didn’t mean for it to come off as rude, I was just… talking my head off, if anything.”
“So now you’re saying that you were just talking out of your ass?”
He opened his mouth to rebuttal that question, but fell short, his eyes carefully darting across her face as if he were sorting a puzzle together.
“…Are you messing with me?”
Her mouth slowly curled into a small grin, barely breaking as she cleared her throat, her silence an answer on its own.
He sighed deeply, relief helping him relax more into his seat.
Almost as if the ordeal had exhausted him, he said, “I think you and Shigemasa need to adopt a new sense of humor…”
That got a snicker out of her, the sound making him begin to smile as well.
“In all seriousness,” she said, “I really do like your analysis of it all. It’s definitely one of the more interesting perspectives that I’ve heard so far.”
“I’m glad.” He grinned, holding his notebook close.
“IIDA!!” The two flinched in their seats, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING???”
Turning back to the arena below them, it was already a mess of opponents running and dodging every which way at uncontrollable speeds. Iida-as Yagi had yelled on about-was the one doing all the running whereas Hatsume was veering from side to side with some device of hers. Advertisem*nts spewed from her lips as she began presenting gadget after gadget, unwavering in her goal and uncaring in the allotted time she was spending.
At some point in the sales pitch, Midoriya felt the need to speak again.
“I didn’t think of this until now, but… if the both of us win our fights, then we’ll be going up against each other in the semi-finals.”
She swept a glance at him, noting how he kept his gaze on the arena bellow them.
“Is that supposed to be some sort of warning?” She asked, pitting her elbow on the armrest opposite of him.
“An observation.” He parried, earning a bit of an eyebrow raise from her end, “I can’t exactly promise that we’ll face each other when the time comes, but if it does, I’ll do my best to win.”
“I’ll hold you to it.” She said, her eyes catching the motion of another body moving up along the lane.
Yagi slouched down to tap on her shoulder, lingering to speak with a bright smile and cheerful gaze. “I’m going to go to the prep room, wish me luck!”
“Good luck in the prep room.” Hironaka said lightly, slanting her head in her friend’s direction.
Yagi frowned for a second, “Uh- I meant the fight.”
“No, you said prep room.”
The girl rolled her eyes, adding a derisive swat of her hand as she walked away, “You better hope that we don’t end up going against each other! I’ll kick your ass for that.”
“I’d like to see that happen.” She said back, waving her off.
—
The blaring ringing of alarms set off a chain reaction within the room, disrupting the simulation with hazardous warnings that flashed on every wall-including the control panel.
“sh*t…!” He cursed under his breath, nearly jumping from his spot to grab ZK and guide her back to the open vent; PF followed close behind with nothing but a frightened look.
“Go back to your rooms.” He said, urging them in, “If you’re lucky, they’ll be slow enough to-”
He turned his head at the sound of incoming footsteps, which ushered the two girls further into the vent, allowing him the opportunity to seal it shut.
“What about you?” ZK asked, her little eyes expressive enough to see the worry in them.
“I’ll be fine,” he reassured, working on the lock, “they won’t put a finger on me, I promise.”
“They won’t, but your Watcher will if he doesn’t already know where you are.” She crawled forward, sticking the tips of her fingers through the small openings. “He’s going to send you off again… and what if it’s longer than last time? We might not see you again.”
He couldn’t answer in time before the voices started chiming in.
He made a signal to move back as he stood, relaxing his shoulders, and turning on the charm as he was greeted by two men and a young woman-who was no older than him-in uniform. Their faces were sealed behind dark-rimmed glasses and individual marks along their skin that delved into a history all on their own.
“Where’s the fire guys?” He said with his chest, holding out his arms in a display of mild surrender. “It’s just me.”
“Search him.” The woman said, enacting the men to pat him down.
“Seems a bit excessive.” He commented, managing a slight incline of his head.
This was a routine for search everyone they found wandering these halls, he knew this. But the actual annoyance he felt was enough to give a genuine reaction to not draw suspicion to the minute movement he could still hear in the vent by the wall.
When the men backed off and returned to the woman’s side, it was enough of an indicator that they hadn’t paid the vent much notice.
“What are you doing out of your room?” The woman asked.
“I’m allowed to stretch my legs a bit, aren’t I?” He played the long game, “It gets stuffy in that old box of mine, and I just wanted to move around.”
“Let me rephrase:” she said, disregarding a potential interruption, “what are you doing here. In this room, specifically?”
It wasn’t often he got tongue tied, but this was one of the few instances where he couldn’t manage anything other than a thinned mouth and lazy lift of his arms in a shrug. “Just… wanted to see the sights I guess.”
She remained still, the sight eerie.
“We managed to break through a hack initiated by 83-DI and found that both 99-ZK and 29-PF were not in their rooms. Do you know anything about this?”
He put a hand to his chest, “Really…?” He sighed, “Honestly, I thought you would know me well enough to get that I actually follow orders and listen to you people. Don’t interact with the 9’s and all that, right?”
“We have reason to suspect you because every time that they get caught, you are always in the same vicinity as them.”
“Coincidence.”
“I think not.” She flicked her hand with the barest movement, granting the men a step back while she moved towards him slowly.
She reached for her glasses, meeting his eye as she held them in one hand. She spoke low, “And if I really know you as much as you say I do, I would hope that you’d have told them to stop doing this a long time ago.” The subtle glance to the vent didn’t go unnoticed, “Early exposure to Cityscape Simulations before they’re qualified will only hinder them in the long run. This,” she gestured around them, “is not what they need.”
“Is it?” He said, “Because somehow I feel like those two know about what they need more than you do.”
She held his gaze, the slightest narrow of her eyes enough of a response to grant him the slightest of smiles.
“One day, your luck’s going to run out,” she forewarned, “and I won’t be there to bail you out of it.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re still here, yeah?”
She took in a slow and steady breath, putting her glasses back on and maintaining her stance.
“Return to your room.” She pivoted on her heels, “I will file this incident in the morning.”
He watched as the trio walked away, leaning his body to the side as he followed their backs and fading sounds of footsteps until all fell to quiet, the sirens no more than a hollowed memory now.
Moving quickly, he went back to the vent, unlocking it and looking inside to find that the girls were still there; PF kept her legs close to her body while ZK moved forward until she was halfway out of the vent. They were okay.
“I told you nothing would happen to me.” He said, trying to bring up those faces from the gloomy state they exuded.
ZK didn’t seem so convinced, her eyes were distant. “…I’m sorry.” She said quietly, the slightest break in her voice.
“Don’t apologize-this is our thing, isn’t it?”
“I don’t want it to be.” She said, meeting his eyes with a painful determination set within them. “We shouldn’t have to live like we’re a bunch of stowaways, we…” she took a breath, the act alone making her body tremble, “we need to be out there, living freely with a loving family that wants us.”
“Are we not already one?” He asked, the question driving a dagger right through his chest as she looked back at him, her eyes lining with wetness.
Still, she remained strong, swallowing as she spoke. “A family shouldn’t have to leech off the downfall of the other just to go into the next room…” she looked to PF, “a family shouldn’t have to sneak around just to see each other.” The corners of her mouth quivered, “A family shouldn’t have to live in fear from the very people who said they would protect us. Make us better. Stronger”
“…People like us don’t get to have those kinds of things.” He said softly, “We’re just… different.”
Her face twisted gently, not really a frown, but not a glare. “…Not for long.” She clenched her fists, “I’ll make sure of it.”
PF hadn’t said a single thing between their interaction, but he found himself exchanging glances with her regardless. There was something knowing, almost ominous in her gaze, but it went away as soon as she sheltered herself back further into the vent.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” He relented, trying not to let it bother him too much.
It seemed to put her at ease enough to smile. She moved forward again, reaching towards him to pull him close into a tight hug, not the sort of hug someone would receive when saying goodbye or see you later, but…
He reciprocated, hesitantly, letting her know without words that he would still be there, like he always was.
ZK retreated into the vent afterwards, reaching for PF with an encouraging nod that told her it was time to go back.
He watched them go, waiting until they were completely out of sight before he sealed the entryway for the final time-leaving it behind without lingering or looking back at the console that continued its quiet warnings of an unknown system file being downloaded.
