Chapter Text
The air was tense. In the dull UA gym colored in grey, two students stood at each end of it, facing each other with enthusiasm rolling off their bodies. Two other students stood by the side, with excitement and anxiousness about what was about to happen. The friend group was currently dressed in their hero costume as they felt a sense of confidence and power running through their veins.
The four students decided to only use the base of their hero costume as it was only training and they didn't want to damage their outfit that could be used in the future.
Mirio was wearing his hero costume without his cape where colors of white, yellow, blue, and green painted his body. His red gloves and yellow visors were absent as well.
On the other hand, Aiko was dressed in a white-sleeve corset that covered to her palm with white boots that reach her thigh. Her outfit was outlined with light blue and the strings of her corset were of the same color. Though her full outfit included a white cape with the same color theme, she decided to rid of it due to her wings. Luckily, Aizawa had asked the support team in her school to change the material of her hero outfit to allow her wings to fit in.
"I won't be going easy on you, Mirio," stated Aiko as she stretched her palm. The sound of bone popping and cracking followed. Her opponent laughed before pointing to her with a reply.
"Same thing here! Don't go crying when I win, Natsume!"
Hado brought her fists by her chest before moving them in an upwards and downwards motion. Her eyes were shimmering and her smile was similar to when little kids were rewarded with candy. Meanwhile, her close friend, Tamaki was sweating in nervousness. He was scared about the outcome of this training and his friends.
"A-are you sure we shouldn't stop them? I have a bad feeling about this, Hado," Tamaki thought out loud, glancing at the excited bluenette.
"Of course I'm sure! We haven't seen Aiko and Togata fought each other and they're both strong in their own ways! I wanna know who's gonna win!!" She cheered. Although Hado had brought the mood upon the audience's side, Mirio and Aiko's side was tense.
"I also...wanna know who's gonna win. Natsume is a jack of all trades from our classes since she excels in both long-distance with her and close combat physically. She's agile too but not very powerful in physical strength. Mirio, on the other hand, is the best in close combat and physical strength. Plus, his speed is faster with his quirk. It's like their flaws are the other's strengths." Tamaki rambled. Hado agreed and nodded her head before counting down the match before them.
"Ready!"
The two students got into their own fighting stance. Aiko had her knees bend and her palms outwards towards Mirio. While Mirio was in a lunging position, ready to run and strike Aiko head-on.
"1!"
Aiko squinted her eyes as Mirio tensed his muscles.
"2!"
A bright blue circle started forming by Aiko's palm as ancient words were seen in it.
"3!"
Mirio permeated into the floor, rushing to strike Aiko to prevent any long-distance fights but Aiko was a step ahead. Since she knew Mirio would fight better in close combat, she jumped into the air and shot the ground where she had stood a few seconds ago. As she was in mid-air, she could feel a pump behind her back like a heartbeat before landing a few meters from her initial position. She looked towards her target where he stood beside the impact of her quirk which left an equator - half the size of an average classroom.
No words were exchanged as Mirio continued rushing towards Aiko while she tries to gain distance, jumping into the air once in a while to prevent giving her opponent a chance to attack. The fight continued for a few minutes with the same repeated step; Aiko evading and shooting her previous position and Mirio narrowly avoiding her quirk.
After a while, Mirio had predicted where Aiko would land from her next attack and attempted to flank her blindside with a powerful punch but Aiko blocked his punch using the palm of her hands. She landed on the ground before sliding meters away from Mirio.
"Wait, what happened?! Did Togata really punched her?!" Hado shouted.
"No. I think Natsume used her quirk to block his punch so it wouldn't make contact with her physically. Her runes can help to defend herself from opponents than just attacking them. I think her rune is like a hard shield that she can conjure by default and attack, she simply has to shoot out from that rune. It's a good quirk," Tamaki explained.
"OH! So Aiko can make big and small runes as her quirk? Small runes from each of her palm and big runes when she combines her palm!" Hado exclaimed. Tamaki nodded.
"It's so sad, she doesn't really tell us much about her life even though we hang out everyday...she doesn't even explain to us her quirk," Hado said.
"I think that's just who she is...she's always thinking of others so I think she wouldn't wanna tell us anything so it won't be troublesome for us,"
It's a scary quirk. I don't even know the limitations since she can even materialize her runes from anywhere in her sight.
Tamaki thought. The two focused their attention back on the fight where the other two students were now breathing heavily. On the other hand, the winged girl was having trouble strategist against the top student.
I want to end this fight but I can't get too close to him or shoot him from afar. Damn it! His quirk and fighting skills are like a Pro Hero, probably better than Aizawa sensei. Think, Aiko, think! How can I end this fight?
Aiko jumped once again to avoid Mirio's surprise attack. She clicked her tongue when she realized that she was slowing down from her constant jumping. Not to mention, her wings were like dead weight.
If only I can fly with these wings then I won't be wasting much energy. It's like they're a decoration. I can't avoid him anymore or I'll give him a free hit. I need to confront him!
"Natsume! Stop running away and fight me like you said you would!" Mirio shouted before giving a stern stare. Aiko clicked her tongue in annoyance before nodding.
I can't do long-distance because he will expect the attack so I will have to do a lot of feints for him to use his quirk at the wrong timing. Then, once he's solid, I'll give him a piece of my mind.
Aiko closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. In a second, numerous blue large circles grew and appeared around the two students like a dome, surrounding the fight and completely blocking the outside. Mirio raised his eyebrows in confusion before letting out a huff.
Her runes are all over us so she could shoot me in any direction at any time. But it seems like she's coming for close combat as well...crap. Then I can't attack consistently since her own quirk won't affect her. If we're both shot, she'll be the only one standing. I'll just power through her with my fist but permeate the rest of my body if she shoots.
Mirio lunged towards her with his fists outwards as he tried to punch Aiko but she blocked his attack with the runes on her palm once again. Aiko feinted punches and kicks towards Mirio whilst he used his quirk on different body parts. At the same time, his attention was also on the blue runes surrounding them as the ancient words in it were rotating.
"It's hard to focus on how your opponent is going to attack once they've got you surrounded right?" Aiko taunted. They were now a meter away from each other, breathing heavily and taking a break.
"When you're confined in enemy space, your breathing shallows, your vision is limited and your thinking is disrupted. Come at me now as usual Mirio, I dare you,"
Mirio grunted.
"Don't think I haven't noticed you slowing down a lot while we're fighting Natsume!"
"Tch, it's because of these wings. I'm not that slow!"
Mirio smirked. "Oh, you're blaming your wings now? Then I think I should be asking you to come at me."
Aiko's face scrunched at his reply. Immediately, she was speeding towards Mirio with no control. Her back was pumping like a wild heartbeat. The wind around the two was aggressive and Aiko blocked her face with her arms as she collided with Mirio onto the floor.
On instinct, Mirio flipped the both of them, causing Aiko to be laying on the floor with him hovering above her. Aiko panicked before her eyes glow to a bright neon blue, her ancient runes that were surrounding the two students glowed to a neon blue as well. As the runes were increasing in brightness, Mirio pulled his arm back and shouted the following word.
"POWEEERRRRR!"
At the same time, Aiko used her quirk to shoot both her and Mirio, from all of the runes that were surrounding them. The force of the two attacks caused a greater crater than before - now, almost as big as two classrooms.
Hado and Tamaki gasped in horror as they watched from afar. The runes shaped like a dome, slowly disappeared into thin air as Hado and Tamaki ran towards their best friends. Dust was surrounding the whole gym and small crumbles of cement fell back to the ground dangerously.
Hado covered her mouth in surprise at the results of the attack. Located right at the center of the crater was Aiko shielding her face from Mirio's punch with her blue runes from her palm. The two were struggling but anyone could tell that Mirio was at an advantage.
Just as Mirio was about to break through Aiko's defense, a stern voice cut through the tense air.
"What are you idiots doing?"
Tamaki jumped from his spot and shivered when he heard the deep voice. He slowly looked behind his back to see his teacher, Aizawa sensei, standing at the entrance of the gym. Although his face was covered in bandages, the four students could tell that he was pissed.
Mirio stopped putting strength into his punch and stood up, dusting off any dirt or cement from his costume. Meanwhile, Aiko simply sat cross-legged, glaring at her teacher for disrupting the climatic part of the fight.
"W-we're just t-training, sir!" Tamaki yelped. Aizawa grumbled a few words before walking towards the gang.
"You made a huge mess and too much noise! You even scared off my first years since they booked this gym to train as well. Now go home or train elsewhere."
"First years? They didn't even approach us or anything! You can't blame us," Aiko replied. Aizawa turned to look at her.
"How can they approach you when you look like you're about to kill someone with your quirk. No more excuses. Go." He pointed to the entrance of the gym where a few students were peeking in with fear. They quickly hid when the four students slowly walked towards them, following their teacher's orders.
— ❦ —
As they were walking to the locker rooms, they four discussed their fight.
"That was so COOL! I wish we could've seen the winner though. I thought Aiko was gonna win!" Hado pouted.
Tamaki shook his head. "I don't think so, Mirio looks like he had the upper hand. No offense, Natsume, you were strong as well. I'm surprised you could keep up with Mirio's speed,"
Aiko shrugged. "I couldn't tell what was happening though. I'm sorry if I hurt you Mirio, I didn't know why I was suddenly pushed towards you at the end,"
"Wait, you didn't know?!" Mirio exclaimed. The four stopped in the middle of the hallway, confused at each other.
"Huh? Yeah...I just felt like my back was pumping super wild and it felt like someone was pushing me to you very fast," Aiko explained. The big three looked at each other in awe.
"Natsume! You were using your wings! How could you not notice? Your wings were so fast that I didn't even know you were coming at me until we both fell!" Mirio explained excitedly. Aiko raised her eyebrows in surprise.
Did I use my wings? But..how? I didn't even do anything?! And it was too fast! I was across the area in a blink of an eye!
"Isn't that good, Aiko?! You can use your wings now! They actually work and they're super fast!" Hado said excitedly, bringing her hands up. Aiko nodded slowly while her wings followed her friend's enthusiasm by lifting up on their own.
Yeah at least they work but it was without my knowledge...it's like it has a mind of its own and just does whatever it wants. I can't even control it...I have to get Hawks to teach me or I'll just be stuck like this forever
Aiko was thinking hard about her situation before she was interrupted by Mirio.
"Natsume, how are you so skilled in fighting? If I recall, you were also quite strong when you first transferred. You excelled in our combat class the whole year," Mirio asked. The four continued to walk towards their destination.
"Huh? Oh...my grandma used to train me when I was young. My mom wasn't home a lot so when my grandma took me in as a child, she would make me do a lot of exercises and practice fights with her. She even taught me how I should strategize and finish a fight," Aiko explained.
"Woah your grandma sounds like a badass. Was she a Pro Hero?" Hado asked as Mirio nodded to encourage her question.
"I'm not really sure..? I was young and didn't question my grandma a lot about hero stuff."
"Was her quirk similar to yours?" Tamaki asked, fiddling with his fingers.
"Uhm I think it was? My memories are foggy but I know that she's really knowledgeable about my quirk. She'll tell me all the different things I could do with my runes. That's why some of my moves just come to me naturally, like that dome of runes I did just now,"
The big three awed at her answer. It was the first time Aiko had talked about her grandmother and childhood. Most of the time, she would talk about current events or news to them.
(Tamaki thinks that Aiko could be a news reporter with how much news she knew)
"You're so cool, Aiko! The fact that you have wings too makes you look like an angel!" Hado exclaimed. Her statement caused the dark-haired girl to blush a scarlet red.
"Enough! You're embarrassing me, Hado!" Aiko held both her cheeks with her palm to calm herself down but her feathers betrayed her as they started to flutter rapidly from the compliment. Hado giggled before continuing her teasing to gain more reaction The two girls made a ruckus as the boys watched from the sidelines.
"Your grandmother must be proud of you," Tamaki muttered softly but Aiko heard it loud and clear. Throughout the rest of the day, Aiko thought to herself.
I don't think she will be proud of me. I hated these wings in the beginning and even Mom hates them. I think grandma would've been disappointed instead because I wasn't strong or accepting enough of them.
— ❦ —
Her fingers were slightly shaking as she typed the message. She bit her lips in nervousness as she stared at the screen and text before her.
You are specially invited by the participant, NATSUME AIKO to watch them at the upcoming Sports Festival! If you accept this invitation, click the link below to fill in particulars for your entry.
Invited audiences will receive free food vouchers before the Sports Festival, two photos from our memorable photo booth section, a goodie bag, and a signed poster of All Might!
Sent 21:16
The girl let out a deep breath before tossing her phone beside her on her futon. She was still staying with her teacher and as much as she appreciated the peace and quiet, she really missed her family. She missed hugging her mom whenever she could or the small technical gifts Ryo would always give her.
Aiko stared at her phone once more. The Sports Festival was next week - in 5 days actually. Training with the big three was tiring but she still had some energy left. Hado had suggested for each of them to train individually so that when they're up against each other, it would be "fair and square".
So now, she would be training by herself.
The festival would've been exciting if I didn't worry much about my wings. I'll see if Hawks is available after the festival for him to teach me...
She glanced back at the feathers resting on her back. They were still large and full of life like the first day it appeared. Every time she looks at her back, she's reminded of the story Principal Nezu had told her and how white-winged people like her had met their end.
I wonder...what else these wings can do?