#roguearaidne

[rogueariadne]

To Have A Villain’s Quirk

SEVEN: NOT THAT CLOSE

Over the rest of February and all of March, their training didn't slow down, but with school not in the way too much, Kaida and Izuku found more time to hang out. It was usually them just walking around town, catching hero versus villain fights, or even going to the local mall, or shopping districts. They even hung out at each others houses once; Kaori loves him. But even after all that time spent together, they both still couldn't bring themselves to tell the other the truths behind their quirks. For all Kaida knew, Izuku was just a really late bloomer. And all that Midoriya knew was that Kaida's eyes changed and she gained tails when her quirk was activated. When April finally rolled around, Kaida couldn't keep her heart from feeling like it was going to burst from her chest. She looked at her new uniform, turning and twisted in the mirror. It felt strange still. She pulled her hair over her shoulder, fiddling with it before pulling it into a half-up-half-down-do. Satisfied, she nodded, nearly jumping out of her skin when her other yelled up to her.

    "Kaida, let's go! You don't want to keep Midoriya waiting, do you?" She rolled her eyes, stuffing her things into her bag, swiping up her shoes as she nearly tumbled down the stairs.

    "I'm coming! I still gotta grab my lun-" She was cut off by Kaori shoving a small lunchbox in her hands, pushing her to the door where Izuku was waiting. He just looked like he was trying not to laugh.

    "Already packed it, now go." Kaida nodded as she quickly slipped on her shoes, giving her mother a quick hug. "And Midoriya, please make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble."

    "Ah, of course, ma'am!"

    "Don't worry, mom, we look out for each other." With quick waves, they took off, weaving through the civilians on the sidewalk. They didn't have to take the train anymore so the quickest commute was for them to walk. Or run, in this case. They were a little behind. Not too long, they came upon the huge building that was UA High School. Continuing to run along the grounds, they sprinted through the building to find their class room, 1-A. From what they heard, they allowed one extra student this year, so one of the classes had an extra student. And they heard that it was their class.

    "Come on! Where is it?" She groaned, skidding to a stop after Midoriya quickly pointed it out. They stared up at the gigantic door, blinking in awe. "This thing is huge..."

    "Think there's giants here?" The boy asked before gulping. "Okay.. The most promising students in the country are waiting behind this door." She watched his little freak out before laughing a little bit. She knew what he was thinking of.

    "Hey, don't worry, maybe they're in a different class!" She grinned, watching him nod.

    "Yeah! Maybe everyone here is nice!" He carefully opened the door, only for them to be met with the same boy from the auditorium lecturing a certain human bomb. They stood in the door way, watching the scene, Kaida blinking as she looked around the class for an empty seat. There was one off to the side while the rest of them seemed to be in a better order. Looks like it was an uneven class after all. She decided she'd take one for the team and take the extra, leaving the green haired boy at the door to take the seat against the wall but closest to the front. She ignored their back and forth as she set her bag down beside her, sitting. She was glad that everyone was too busy watching the two fight for them to notice her walk in, only for them all to notice Midoriya at once. She was sure the poor boy was going into shock. She watched them with a small smile on her face, glancing to the side to see Bakugo catch her.

    "Of course, you'd be here, too. You'll follow that idiot anywhere." He growled at her. She sighed, giving a defeated smile.

    "Good to see you, too, Katsu-"

    "What have I said about calling me that?!"

    "Hey! I remember you!" A different voice called out, cutting off their conversation. A different blond jumped up from his seat with that same big grin on his face. "You're that girl that took down all those robots like it was nothin'! Kai...uh, Kaida, right?"

    "Hah.. uh, yeah.. That was me.." She said weakly, starting to sick into her chair with a pink face. Now, everyone else's eyes were on her. His dumb loud mouth. The class quieted down as they all heard a new voice.

    "If you're just here to make friends then you can pack up your stuff now." All eyes were on the yellow bag of a person outside the door, just lying there, but startling the three by him pretty badly. "Welcome to UA's hero course."

    Kaida stared at the man as he stood up and stepped out of the sleeping bag, confusing the hell out of her, but also feeling pretty grateful for the attention to be gone again. "It took eight seconds before you all shut up. That's not gonna work. Time is precious. Rational students would understand that." He sounded like a dick, but also looked super tired. She didn't blame him for not having patience, but maybe he shouldn't be teaching kids. "Hello, I'm Shouta Aizawa. Your Teacher." Everyone gasped at that, myself included. He just looked... homeless? Not cut out for teaching.. or superheroing?

    "Right, let's get to it. Put these on and head outside." He handed out the P.E. uniforms, Kaida feeling a little disgusted but nevertheless, it had to be done.

                                                                     *

    "What? A Quirk assessment test?" If she was right, that meant they were going to all have to use their quirks to the full extent. She was glad she had coffee this morning before she left, she might have to get some after this too.. She really needed to be careful using it.. She had extremely good control over her quirk but.. She felt like she looked like a monster. The black and red eyes, the scaled tails. Come on, they were called demon tails for a reason. Not to mention, she ate human flesh.  Before she could get too deep into her thoughts, Uraraka chimed in about orientation, which Aizawa immediately shot down. Well, he was right. She didn't care much about orientation anyways, they were here to become heroes, after all.

    "Here at UA, we're not tethered to traditions. That means I get to run my class however I see fit." The look he gave the glace sent shivers down a few of their spines, including Kaida. Just what was he going to do? "You've been taking standardized tests most of your lives. But you never got to use your Quirks in physical exams before." He was right, it's how she's kept her quirk hidden for so long.. "The country's still trying to pretend we're all created equal by not letting those with the most power excel. It's not rational. One day, the Ministry of Education will learn." This man was harsh. But they were high schoolers now, training to be heroes. They needed to learn how the real world worked.

    "Bakugo, you managed to get the most points on the entrance exam." Everyone's attention turned to the boy in question. Of course it was him. "What was your farthest distance throw with a softball when you were in Junior High?"

    "Sixty-seven meters, I think." That sounded about right. She remembered some of their classes together. He could still throw pretty far without using his quirk.

    "Right, try doing it with your Quirk." Bakugo nodded and stepped up, taking the softball from the teacher. "Anything goes, just stay in the circle. Go on. You're wasting our time." She had to hold back a snicker but crossed her arms as she peaked her head around everyone. She chose to keep her spot more towards the back. It was the most she could do to keep from being picked to go first with things. But it slowly became more clear that she would have to participate in every single one of the tests. In front of everyone.

    "Alright, man, you asked for it." Bakugo stretched, sounding cocky as he positioned himself. Her eyes widened as he threw the ball as hard as he could, his quirk causing a rocket like scene. And, did he scream 'die!'? Honestly, scary.

    "All of you need to know your maximum capabilities. It's the most rational way of figuring out your potential as a pro hero." He held up the device in his hand, showing the distance of Bakugo's throw. Kaida's eyes widened. There's no way she'd be able to reach that far. She could use one of her tails, maybe.. They had more strength than her arms did. She heard Kaminari speak up beside her, obviously very intimidated.

    "Whoa, seven hundred and five meters, are you kidding me?!" He leaned back a little to look at the maroonette. "I don't think most of us here would be able to get that far." Kaida shook her head in agreement, eyes wide as everyone started to at least get a little excited. She wasn't looking forward to it.

    "So, this looks fun, huh?" The class quieted down as Aizawa spoke. "You have three years here to become a hero. You think it's all gonna be games and play time? Idiots." Kaida flinched, standing up straighter. "Today you'll compete in eight physical tests to gauge your potential.  Whoever comes in last has none, and will be expelled immediately."

    "Huh?!" Even Kaida joined in, shocked as she took a step forward. He couldn't do that? Could he? They all rightful got in, he couldn't just expel them! She couldn't help but look at her friend near the front. Midoriya was going to be singled out by everyone. She knew how much trouble he had with his quirk, she just hoped he'd be okay.

    "Like I said, I get to decide how this class runs. Understand? If that's a problem, you can head home right now." Kaida clenched her teeth. No way! She made it this far, she wasn't going to let this knock her from the game. It was her time to shine.

    "You can't send one of us home! I mean, we just got here!" Uraraka called out, upset about what was said. "Even if it wasn't the first day, that isn't fair!"

    "Oh, and you think natural disasters are? Or power-hungry villains? Hm? Or catastrophic accidents that wipe out whole cities? No, the world is full of unfairness. It's a hero's job to try to combat that unfairness. If you wanna be a pro, you're gonna have to push yourself to the brink. For the next three years, UA will throw one terrible hardship after another at you. So, go beyond. Plus Ultra-style." He beckoned everyone, and Kaida felt her power flowing through her at his next words. "Show me it's no mistake that you're here."

    He was right. She had to show him, to go beyond, go further than she had before. She needed to be able to push her fears aside. She was going to push her fears aside. "Now then. We're just wasting time by talking. Let the games begin."

                                                                     *

Test 1: 50-meter dash

    Thanks to Kaida's natural speed, she reached: 4.52 seconds.

Test 2: Grip Strength

    Using her rinkaku, away from everyone, she reached: 254.0kg.

Test 3: Standing Long Jump

    Cleared sandbox.

Test 4: Repeated Side Steps

    Didn't trip once. Of course, the little grape boy had an advantage.

Test 5: Ball Throw

    Uraraka went first, throwing it all the way into the atmosphere, so Aizawa had to get a different ball. She did release it but they weren't sure where it landed. Next, was Kaida.

    Kaida didn't look forward to this one, since she was standing in front of everyone. She held the softball in her hands, closing her eyes. Did she really want to do this? Yes, she needed to. So, ignoring her trembling body, she released the one tail, tossing the softball up and catching it with the appendage. She took a small step back, ready to brace herself for the force that she was going to unleash. She let it lash out, throwing the ball a good distance. The tail dissolved as she watched it hit the ground.

    "Five hundred and sixteen point seven meters. Good." She nodded and walked away, being greeted by Kaminari and Midoriya.

    "Wow, that was amazing! I don't think I've really seen you use your quirk like that, Kai!" Izuku grinned at the girl while Denki slung his arm around her.

    "Really? You should've seen her during the exams. She was super fast, and strong!"

    "I would've loved to see you in action-"

    "Midoriya, it's your turn, come on." Midoriya swung his head around to look at their teacher, nodding quickly and running to the circle after taking the ball from Aizawa. He glanced at Kaida, who gave him a thumbs up. She watched him nod and turn away, her feeling like a proud big sister. Of course, there was still that unnatural weight on her shoulder. So, while Midoriya was figuring out what he was going to do, Kaida picked the boys hand off of her shoulder and dropped it back by his side, raising a brow at the blond.

    "What? I thought we were close?" Denki chuckled, raising his brows back as he rested a hand on his hip. He tilted his head closer to hers and she quickly, but gently, shoved him a few feet away.

    "Not that close." She could hear him pouting as she turned her attention back to Aizawa basically being an asshole to the poor boy up at the plate. Calling her best friend a liability and calling him out.

    "Sorry Midoriya. With your power, there's no way you can become a hero." Kaida rose her hands to her mouth. That was uncalled for.. He shouldn't have brought him down like that, he could've been a little easier about it. Aizawa didn't know what Midoriya had to go through to get here. "I've returned your impractical Quirk. Take your final throw. Hurry and get it over with."

    Kaida watched her best friend look so beaten down, her taking a small step forward. She wanted to comfort him, she wanted to tell Aizawa off, she was angry. And Bakugo wasn't helping. She could see the boys mouth moving, he was talking to himself. Probably trying to figure out the best course of action. She believed in him, she was just worried he was going to hurt himself. She could see the look on his face. He was going to do something. So, when he finally threw the ball, she realized what he was doing, a big smile coming to her face. He broke his finger, but it was enough to throw the ball. She clasped her hands in front of her chest, her grin never going away as he turned to look at their teacher.

    "Mr. Aizawa. You see? I'm still standing." He had the same grin on his face. The one he wore when he proved someone wrong, when he was doing his best.

    "Good job, Izu!" Kaida shouted, pumping her fist in the air. He had come such a long way from when they both started. He looked at the girl, smirking with tears in his eyes.