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Monoma had never been someone who was easily embarrassed. He often made a fool out of himself as a means for distraction and throwing people off. Few people took him seriously if he cackled like a maniac or made ridiculous comments. It was a long con and terribly underhanded, but he’d learned early on that it would take everything in him to become a hero.
Maybe he wasn’t the strongest or fastest, but he was smart and surprisingly patient. Even more so, he was very observant. After his quirk manifested, he spent a lot of time getting in trouble for copying people’s quirks without their permission. Classmates would cry and accuse him of “stealing” their quirk, which often resulted in being disciplined by his teacher or parents.
When his parents started forcing him to wear gloves at school, he changed his tactics to observation. Sure, he would’ve preferred to learn other’s quirks by using them himself - experience was one of the great teachers - but if he watched closely and carefully, he could understand a person’s quirk. He’d know how to use it. Nearly every quirk was his as long as he was close enough to touch.
To be honest, he’d never understood the possessive nature many had with their quirks, but he supposed he couldn’t when his relied on other people. Some took his copying abilities so personally, which was why he had also figured out early on that teamwork was a very valuable skill. If he could work with people, they didn’t mind letting him borrow their quirk for a few minutes. The more he used, the more talented he became, and the longer he was at UA, the more he watched others to learn their tricks.
Uraraka’s quirk fascinated him. Zero Gravity didn’t seem like the right word for it, but that was what the quirk registry had labeled it. He wasn’t sure since it didn’t match the science that the name implied, but it was still a unique quirk. Explosions, ice, super strength - those were boring and typical to him, even if they came in handy. Give him brainwashing and gravity manipulation any day. Now those sounded like fun to play with.
He hadn’t really expected to get the chance unless they fought one another in a joint exercise again. She had so thoroughly beaten him the first time around that he hadn’t the chance. Her quirk was too good at incapacitating people. Monoma didn’t like the idea of underestimating people - after all, part of the reason why he acted so off the wall was so others would do the same to him - but he’d put too much focus on Midoriya in that fight. The next time around, he swore that he’d take her down first.
Except it turned out that their next joint training was literally a joint operation as they ended up paired on a team together. It could’ve been worse. While Monoma had a distinct distaste for Class A, he didn’t mind Uraraka that much. She was genuinely kind, fierce as hell, cooperative as could be, and had an intriguing quirk. He could’ve been paired up with Todoroki or Bakugou. That would’ve ended poorly.
Monoma swept his gaze to the wall in front of them. “You said Kaibara and Kirishima are just on the other side?”
Uraraka nodded silently. She had used her quirk on herself for recon, floating but pulling herself around using the pipes so she wouldn’t make any noise. He was surprised the other two had made it this far without alerting them to their whereabouts. Neither boys were quiet, and Kaibara’s quirk could get loud if he used multiple spirals.
“Okay, I’ll use your quirk to distract them. Kaibara will most likely strike first to attack since he can get higher in the air, which will leave Kirishima open for you. If anything, I can release it and drop down. They’ll have to be wary about letting me get close.”
“You really like coming up with plans, don’t you?” Uraraka said.
Monoma smiled. “I’ll admit this one might not be my best, but…”
The truth was that he had limited options. The only quirk he could use at the moment was hers. He’d always been curious about it, but he’d never had the chance to try it out for himself. It was now or never. If he was able to get close to Kaibara or Kirishima, he could add to his repertoire. He couldn’t be above using the enemy’s quirks against them.
“You’re putting a lot of trust in me,” Uraraka pointed out.
“It’s well-deserved,” Monoma said honestly. She widened her eyes and blinked. “I would much rather prefer to work with you over Bakugou or, well, anyone else in your class.”
Uraraka furrowed her brow. “But I’m not…”
“You’re incredibly strong. Don’t let those blowhards make you think otherwise.” Monoma held out a hand palm up. “May I?”
He didn’t always ask permission to copy someone’s quirk - in fact, he generally didn’t in combat - but they were partners in this. It was the polite thing to do. Uraraka eyed him for a second before she dropped her gaze to his hand and then brushed her fingers against his. When she pulled her hand away, the telltale pink fingerpads of her quirk were now on his. He lifted his hand and wiggled his fingers, but like usual when he copied someone’s quirk, he didn’t feel any different.
“Fair warning,” Uraraka told him. “Using my quirk on myself tends to make me nauseous. I’ve gotten a lot better about it, but since this is the first time you’re using it, you might not be so lucky.”
Ah, right. He had seen her throw up during the practical hero entrance exam, although he wasn’t sure if she knew they had been in the same group for that. It didn’t really matter. Honestly, he’d been too busy trying to get away from that zero point bot. Two years later, he felt rather foolish for being so afraid of a bot at school when he’d clashed with actual villains since then.
“How long do you think I’ll be able to last using it on myself?” Monoma asked.
“Well, you’re over a decade older than I was when I first tried it, so you should be able to handle it better than I did.” Uraraka shrugged. “Maybe two minutes at a time? It’ll last longer if you space it out.”
“Got it.” Monoma gave her the grin he reserved one that he saved for his friends, not the sharp or manic ones he typically directed at Class A. She seemed surprised by that too but didn’t say anything. As of now, she was his teammate, and he wouldn’t be rude to her no matter what. “See you on the other side.”
The moment he used her quirk on himself, his feet lifted from the ground. The quirk immediately tugged on his stomach, a faint sense of nausea sweeping over him. It was light enough for him to ignore, but he could see how this could become distracting. His mind first attributed to it as a symptom his sudden weightlessness, his body rebelling against it, but no, it was the quirk’s doing. It pulled and swayed inside of him, which made his awkward floating all the more difficult.
However, there was no time to reflect on his growing urge to vomit, not when Uraraka had vanished to do her half and he spotted Kaibara the same time his classmate saw him.
“You look like a balloon!” Kaibara laughed.
Monoma relaxed the breath he’d been holding in, but it only made things worse. Strange that even as the nausea grew stronger, the calmer he felt. He should’ve been stressing over taking out Kaibara, but an unusual sense of peace came over him as he floated higher in the air. If not for this being counted for a grade, he’d never felt so incredible. He breathed deeply as he turned upside, catching a glimpse of Uraraka darting behind Kirishima.
Maybe she wasn’t the quickest or brightest of her class, but she had great technique.
Grabbing hold a building’s ledge, he flipped himself around so that his feet planted on the wall, giving himself the appearance of crouching on the side. Right before Kaibara could attack him, he kicked off as hard as he could, sending himself flying right over him. Without any gravity holding him back, Monoma went much faster than he anticipated, and his stomach did a terrible flip. He didn’t have the little rockets in his shoes to adjust his angle or trajectory like Uraraka, so he had to grab onto a pole and swing around it to change his direction.
As soon as he neared the ground, Monoma pressed his fingers together and gasped, “Release!”
Gravity returned to him, sending him careening into the pavement. He’d tried to land on his feet, but he’d still been going too fast from whipping around the pole, and he stumbled and rolled a few times before popping back upright. Kaibara was on him in a flash, and Monoma jumped back to escape an attack, the spirals digging into the ground instead. Familiar with Kaibara’s moves after having watched him for over a year, Monoma could dodge him fairly well, but he was faster too, and one of his spiraling fingers caught the arm of his sleeve and drew blood.
When Monoma staggered backwards, Kaibara laughed. “What’s the matter? I’m not used to you being this quiet, not even when it’s just Class B!”
“I’m not being quiet,” Monoma insisted cockily. “I simply have nothing to say.”
“You? Have nothing to say? That’s impossible!”
Monoma shrugged and glanced at something behind Kaibara. “I figured I’d let her actions do all the talking.”
Kaibara spun about to defend himself and exclaimed, “Uraraka-” only to find no one there. Monoma darted forward and slapped him in the back, copying his quirk and then activating Uraraka’s on him in one fell swoop. Unprepared to lose his gravity, Kaibara went flying into the wall and then had to scramble to hold onto something in order to stop himself from floating away. Using one of his spirals caused too much movement and pushed him away into the open air instead.
“Hey, hey!” Kaibara called out frantically. A fall from that height could be deadly.
Taking a deep breath, Monoma glanced at one of his watches. “I’d find something to hold onto if I were you. You’ve got about a minute before I run my course with her quirk.” He dropped the watch and smiled sharply. “I’m not sure if your gravity will return to you or not since I didn’t technically release it. Either that or you could just fall.”
“Put me down then!” Kaibara shouted.
“Do you yield?” Monoma asked.
“Hell no!”
Uraraka appeared at his side, looking rougher than when he last saw her but uncaptured. Her hair was a mess, the side of her costume torn over her ribs, and what looked like the beginnings of a shiner over her left eye under her helmet, but she was also smiling.
Monoma gestured to Kaibara. “What do you think we should do?”
“Eh?” Uraraka peered at him. “Let him stew for a little longer.”
“You heard my partner!” Monoma called out. He winked at her, and she laughed.
There was no way he would’ve been able to manage this camaraderie with anyone else in Class A. She was so light though, much like her quirk. He could strangely sense when his time was up with a quirk, and he felt it slowly draining from him now. Just a few more seconds, and he’d only have Kaibara’s to use. He glanced at her hand and fought the urge to reach out for it again if only to float one more time. Maybe, if he could swallow his pride, he’d ask her if he could try it out again but not during class. The worst she could say was no, right?
For some reason, he didn’t think she would.