A Flicker of a Flame

by My Hero XIII (orphan_account)

Summary:

Renaru has a dream to become a hero. But what gets in the way is his body and a dormant quirk. With all he can muster he will attempt to become a hero. Even if his mother and others get in his way his relentless drive to become one will either carry him or burn him down with the ship.

Chapter 1: Wayward Son.

I promised her not to get into any fights anymore. This one's for her though. My body jolts under me and my eyes snap open. I scramble back onto my butt. My lip is bleeding from the punch I took. My shaky hands dart up and shield me from slamming into the hard and unforgiving blacktop. Heat leaves my lip and blood drips down on my uniform. My bully hovers over me. "Get on your feet and take it like a man Kaenshita!" He growls. I just barely get to my feet and all the sudden my hands are holding back the incoming blow. My jaw sets hard and I rise fully.

"There…! I took it!" I snarl, "Now leave me alone!" I try to shove him off but my bully always lets me block one blow. He reverses and I just barely dodge an incoming elbow. I lash back out and my fist is shaky and it glances off his smooth marble jaw. My bully is a tall kid and his quirk makes him have patches of marble on his body. Natural body armor. He's got at least seven inches on me height wise. His marble knuckles blitz across my face, getting me in the eye. I skid back but fall to one knee. My eye can only open a little. But I still got one good one! This is the chance to turn things around!

My bully laughs as I rise once more "What? You gonna flail at me again?"

I clench my hands into fists. Words are cheap and dumb. All I want is for him to leave me alone! I shoot low and go for the legs. Trying to bring him down but of course the teachers decide now is the right time to break it up. I don't resist. I'm sure he learned something from this. I'm dragging my feet before the principal's office. Mostly because I know what's coming. Another reprimand and another punishment not for the guy who bullies others but for the victims.

The feeling in my chest is warbling and scared. My heart beats like a constant drum as I open the door. Sitting there isn't my bully at all. The feeling turns from fear to shame. My mother sits in the chair across from the principal. Her flaming hair shines way brighter than mine. She looks over her shoulder at me with her bright red-orange eyes. She turns back to face the principal. I scuttle over to the other chair next to her and sit down.

The principal is a tubby guy with a bad toupee. He wrings his hands and dabs at his brow with a handkerchief. The heat in the room is from her. Normally when Mom is this heated up it's bad.

"Uhm… thank you for coming at such short notice, Mrs. Kaenshita." He mumbles "I trust you know what occurred earlier with your son? This is the third time in a row and as such we have to remove him from the school."

Mom sighs and I sink lower in my seat. I know she's mad at me. She looks the man in the eye and then looks at me. Her sharp eyes piercing me.

"Tell me what happened, Renaru." She says. I gulp down my fear and Mom gently grabs my shoulder to steady me. "I'm not mad." Mom's voice is calm and deep. I guess it was just the way her hair was in general.

I take a deep breath. "It's not my fault Mom. I didn't want to take it anymore." I confess, "Of course I had to fight back! He said something horrible about you!"

Mom nods. "What did they say about me?" she asks.

"Well… he called… he called you…" I mumble the next bit. "A whore."

Mom blinks "Pfft! Hahahaha! Really! That's the best they could think of?! I mean- uh… It's understandable you fought back baby but Mama can handle her own battles!" She ruffles my hair and I sigh heavily.

"Violence is never the right answer Kaenshita." The principal chimes in.

"Yeah. I know. This time he talked shit about my mom! I can't let that slide!" I exclaim. The principal raises his hands with sweat raining off him and almost drowning his side of the room with it. Mom and I get really hot so I don't really blame him.

"I-I get it. Just uh… !" he squeaks as he wipes his face clean of sweat.

I get to my feet "Just look at me sir! My eye! My lip! Oh and don't even get me started on the other two times! Get him in here!" I demand. The principal's toupee quivers and he gets on the intercom. Mom calmly crosses her arms and clears her throat.

"Renaru. I'll handle things from here. You sit down and watch". Mom demands and I sit down. Her tone is serious and flat. Uncompromising. I shiver and wait for him to come in. Even with Mom here my body is in flight mode.

My foot taps rapidly on the floor and notice that Mom has something in the crook of her arm. That's when I really want to just take the punishment and go on my merry way with crushed dreams.

See. Mom has this book. A big book. Kinda like an album full of pictures and charts and written things like how I like certain things or if any bad things occurred with school or my disability. Stuff like that.

What she took to doing was documenting every fight I got into at this school. The other two were more like shakedowns. She sets the book down and smiles. The door slides open behind us and I tear my eyes away from my marble covered bully.

"Uhh… you wanted to see me sir?" he asks the principal. He shuffles in and sits in the chair close to the edge of the wide desk that almost looks wavy in the hot room. Mom just opens the book and flicks over to the first fight.

"March 15th." She reads, "My son came home with a black eye and a bloody nose. His cheek was bruised for three or so weeks after. Also he suffered scrapes to his hands from the concrete outside. Not only that but it seems he pulled his muscles in his legs quite severely trying to and I quote, 'Run and get a teacher.' Anything you wanna say about that?" her gaze locks onto my bully's cobalt blue eyes and her hair slightly heats up even more.

He smirks and says, "Well… maybe I should get a- Eek!"

Suddenly Mom is looming over him with the book poised over his head. "Answer. Now." she growls.

"I didn't do anything! He yells, "All that happened was that Renaru fell!"

"Oh really?" Mom asks, "Then how do you explain that the blow to the nose was clearly from your fist Even if my son was woozy, he was conscious enough to remember the sound of the thwack!"

My bully begins to sweat as Mom does her best Ace Prosecutor impression. She pints at him with a vengeful smile on her face.

She flicks to the second fight. Or rather beatdown. "On the last day of school!" She declares, "My son arrived home with a terrible bruise on his side! Not only that but he was wedgied! Even worse was the smell of urine on him!"

My bully takes a deep breath and I gotta give him this… his resolve and fearlessness in front of my mother acting like a video game character is stunning. I have to remind myself that Mom can be kinda goofy. But then it shatters like glass and the boy I became scared of is a total quivering mess.

He immediately gets on his hands and knees. "OKAY! OKAY! I did it! I beat him up! Just…"

Mom smirks. "I rest my case sir!" She exclaims "But if I hear one more thing about my baby boy getting bullied or see him come home with another bruise or pulled muscle, I swear to you I will make this school a glass floor." she's glaring at the principal and I can't believe what I witnessed. His hairpiece fluttered to the floor with his shiny bald head slick with sweat.

"Uhhh… y-yes! S-see you tomorrow, Kaenshita!" the principal yells as he bows. Mom smiles and grabs my hand.

"Let's go home Renaru." She says as she takes the book with her.

---

Mom starts the car and we pull out. The thrumming of the heavy metal through the speakers isn't far from ordinary. She glances at me and my bruises.

"Renaru-"

"Before you start, I understood the risks."

Mom chuckles, "No. No. I didn't mean that. I meant about high school! You sure you wanna be in the hero course? It's really tough." the traffic picks up and she speeds forward.

I nod, "I do! Mostly because I wanna prove that a guy like me can make it! I declare A hero that understands what rock bottom feels like! A hero that came from nothing! A hero that overcame so many obstacles!"

She sighs, "Baby, there's more than being a hero out there. You know you COULD become a policeman or a psychologist." Mom reaches over and squeezes my arm. "Besides… it wouldn't give me a heart attack everytime my phone goes off."

I look down at myself, "Is it because my quirk doesn't work right Mom?" I ask. My hands shivering a little and my knees knocking against the glove box.

"What? No! There's nothing stopping you from anything else! Just… just don't be a hero okay?" her voice sounds heavy and full of pain. I know why.

"It's about Dad right?" I wonder. Mom flinches a little and nods. "Well! That's why I wanna be a hero! Or part of it anyway! That way, Dad can come back and we can all be a family again!"

Mom chuckles and lightly ruffles my dormant hair, "Haha… your dad would be saying that kinda stuff all the time. A real dreamer…" she swerves out of the way of a guy about to cut us off.

"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING YOU GODDAMN MANIAC!" She screeches out the window, "IF I CRASH YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR IT WITH YOUR FUCKING SOUL!"

I huff and cross my arms, "Fucking maniacs don't know who the hell we are!" I snarl and Mom and I both yell, "WE'RE THE MOST BADASS FAMILY THIS SIDE OF MUSTAFU! THE KAENSHITAS!"

We both hoot and holler our way back to the house and I get out with Mom making sure everything was steady at the front stoop. Making sure everything was in order. She guides me to the front stoop and I soldier my way up.

"How about we getcha patched up?" She guides me over to the counter and hoists me up. I sit there and flinch a little as she bandages the scrapes and puts a cold compress on my eye. Mom seems really tense.

"You got lucky. Mostly cause your mama keeps track of all this shit they do to you." she says "Just promise me you'll keep your head down."

"Okay!" I agree, "Mostly because I'm sure they won't bother me anymore after that kooky thing you did!"

Mom wilts a little "Awww… I thought it'd be cool…" I giggle and she just wryly smirks at me.

"You little dork!" She laughs and hoists me into her arms swinging me around and landing me right on the couch.

"So… What's next kiddo?" she asks. "I know you're gonna be all over the hero game but if it gets too much for you just know there's other things." Mom gently pulls me against her chest and I lay there listening to her heartbeat and her breathing.

"Are you scared Mom?" I wonder.

"Mm-hm. I am. I'm always a little scared." She calmly runs her hand through my hair. "You're all I got Ren." I feel a little conflicted deep in my gut. Mom always seemed like the strong one. She always was. Always had the answers to all my questions.

But hearing her be so vulnerable feels weird. She normally just takes everything on the chin and doesn't give up on anything. So the way her voice sounds is strange.

"Mom. If you don't want me to become a hero-"

"No. No. You should give it a shot. You never know until you try." She says.

I get to my feet, "I should get started then!" I say and Mom grabs my hand.

"Hold it! Wait till you heal up first!" She exclaims pulling me back onto the couch. I let her and she turns on the TV. The news is on and they're talking about what heroes did today and she changes the channel to something else. A drama.

I slowly get to my feet and go to my room just outside of the living room and to the right hallway. Mom's room is to the left and near the end. Both of us have a bathroom. Mom had to really work hard for it too.

I push open my room door and almost get assaulted by the mess I got in there. Dirty clothes all over and maybe some manga I forgot to store in the shelves lining my front wall by the door. I sigh and laugh a little to myself.

"I guess I forgot to clean!" I say to myself, "Seriously… what's gotten into me lately?" I bend over and toss the clothes in the hamper and organize my manga. I've been flaky lately when it comes to general care.

Mostly because I find it hard to care when I have other things to deal with. Now that Mom handled the bully and now I got- wait a minute…

One of Dad's old mangas he let me read when I was little had fluttered to the floor. It's about a young man trying to become a boxer. I always loved it and Dad would read it to me before the flaming guy came to arrest him.

"That's it! I could learn boxing! That's perfect training! The only issue is…" I look toward my door. "Mom…" I huff a little and try to think of how I could sneak out without her noticing tomorrow since she wouldn't enjoy the idea of me getting hurt.

Then it hits me. Mom is at work late sometimes and maybe I could go when she's running late and get back just in time for her to not miss me! There's my window! I take the manga and place it right back where it should be on my side table.

I take off my shirt and pants and tackle my bed. Sliding off my bands and chucking them to the floor. I'll figure it all out tomorrow. All I can do for now is rest.

Chapter 2: The Ballad of the Ember King.

After school the next day I get home. Mom rushes about in her uniform to work her desk job at some support company that's in town. Or a branch of it. There's so many of them that I lost count. Mom halts and straightens her blouse and suit coat. She wears slacks instead of a skirt. Mostly because it makes her comfortable.

"Okaaay Tekka!" She mumbles, "Total focus! Your boss's boss's boss is coming in today!" She pats out her hair just to make sure no embers set anything flammable alight. She breezes by me.

"Kiss the son goodbye." She says kissing me on the forehead. "Food's in the fridge. Be back late. Better be here." She opens the door and slams it shut behind her. I freeze for a moment waiting for the car to pull out of the driveway.

Once the engine fades into the distance I rush to my room and grab my best hoodie. I yank it on and make sure I had my key and phone with me. I take some food with me so I can chow down during a break. Because today I'm gonna take the first step towards my project to become a hero! I have a lot of ideas to do it but if I can find someone willing to teach me how to box or even fight it would be a godsend!

I shimmy up the wall our neighbor put between us. Mostly out of some petty thing Mom and him got into. I cut across his side because it's faster but I misjudge the distance and almost faceplant into a flower bed. I say almost because I feel something around my waist. I'm hanging just inches from a Lily of the Valley. I squirm and the length of something whirls me back around. I don't see who did that until she emerges from the underbrush nearby.

What I first noticed about her is her hair. It's vines. Like… vines you grow and not just like grabby things. One or two of them are secured around my waist. She's taller than me. That much I know for sure. Her eyes are mossy green and even her eyebrows match her hair.

She sets me down on a brick path near the way out "Are you alright?" she asks "If you were to fall from that height you would injure yourself quite severely."

"Eh… been through worse." I huff, "Just using this as a shortcut. Won't be long!" I bounce to my feet and the girl cocks her head to the side.

"But you could've just left your house and gone down the sidewalk? Why would you want to climb my father's wall?"

"Uhh… training! Yeah. Training to be a hero." I sputter. "So uhhh… don't tell your old man you saw me and I won't climb your wall again."

"Hm." she grunts, "I will consider it. As long as you tell me your motivation for being a hero." I run my hand through my hair.

"To help out my mom." I say. It's true. I just say the other stuff so I don't make it so personal but just from seeing her leave for the night shift I knew that I should really strive for it. The girl smiles and lets me go.

"Oh! And another thing, nice garden!" I hurried out of there before something bad was gonna happen. Next thing I need to do is find a way to get stronger. So I head out of our little slice of neighborhood and towards the station.

I didn't even know what to look for so I just followed the sidewalk to wherever I needed to go. Eventually I would come across what I needed. Still I noticed a rather big crowd gathering at an old warehouse. It's not odd to come across some sorta thing like villains gathering for their own black market sales but this is definitely something different.

I muscle or try to muscle through the crowd of onlookers circled around the center of the warehouse. I came close enough to see and what I saw was amazing! Two fighters stand there with their stances up. This is exactly like Hajime No Ippo! One of them is really tall and muscular. Like she was cut right from the ages of some kinda Greek statue book. Her hair is blond and brown tied back into a big ponytail. She's really looking worse for wear but she's smiling.

The other guy looks just as bad but he's just as big as her. The two seem to be at a deadlock.

"Go Valkyrie!"

"Come on Blast Core!"

The crowd begins to roar and holler as they go at each other trading blows and trying to conquer the other. But the woman is still calm and measured with her strikes. The man is really trying to outlast her but it seems like she's got a lot more in the tank than she looks.

Then the strike came. Faster than I could blink the man was driven into the boxes far over our heads. The woman lands from her mighty uppercut and the crowd goes crazy. In that split second I saw something odd about her. It seemed a crimson light emanated from her and her muscles became more solid. Then the strike was faster than I could follow with my eyes. The referee raised the woman's hand above her head or tried to.

"Match over! The winner is the Kraus Conglomerate's Valkyrie!" He yells. The crowd hoots and hollers as she leaves. I slip out in the celebration and see her standing under an old overpass. She doesn't look ticked but she looks sad.

I hear a heavy cracking sound and see that she cracked one of the support beams.

"God dammit!" She yells, "The one time I get to let loose and he can barely take a hit! Way to go Maryanna! Now big sis is gonna be mad at you! Oh! Maryanna why did you knock that guy out Oh! Maryanna, I totally didn't want that dingy warehouse anyway!" she whirls around and I barely dodge a strike.

"Whaa! Whoa! Whoa!" I yell stumbling back "Watch it!"

"Eh?" she blinks before losing her stance, "Oh! Uh… sorry kid." She mumbles looking rather surprised before awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck "So uh… whaddya want?"

I bow so hard my face almost knocks into the pavement, "My name is Renaru Kaenshita! I want you to train me how to box Miss Valkyrie!" I look up and see her grinning like a little kid in a candy store.

"Really?!" She gasps, "I mean- uh… hit me with your best shot Kaen-whatever!"

"Wait… why?" I ask her.

"Because I need to see what I'm working with! So come on!" She exclaims beckoning me forward. I get down into my best imitation of a boxing stance and shuffle lightly. Something in my mind makes me hesitate so I lightly hit her.

She huffs, "You're holding back cause I'm a lady aren't you?" she lightly shoves me back and I dodge the motion. For a split second I see a small stream of embers come from my fist as it makes contact with her stomach. There's no give or anything like that. Embers fly from my fists as I continue pummeling on and on. She just blocks one of them and socks me away. I skid back and fall on my ass. Feeling a slight heat around me.

She holds out her hand "Not bad. Kaenshita." She says, "Could be better but still you have a good idea on how it works. Maybe do some training to get your quirk up to par."

"R-right." I mumble as she hoists me to my feet. 'What was that coming out of my fists just now?' I think. 'Some kinda fire quirk I guess, judging by how Mom and Dad both have them.'

"Hey. Your hair is glowing!" she exclaims, "Just a little though! With boxing nowadays you gotta marry your quirk and your body." she gently grabs my wrist studying it closely.

"Hmm… yeah. You were born with a lot of bad stuff weren't you? Short. Slender frame. Shaky hands and feet. Tight muscles you need to stretch out." She's circling me and looking at me closely.

"Oh… I'm that bad huh?" I wilt and mumble.

"No. Not at all." Miss Valkyrie says "I saw it. I saw that determination. You're the definition of an underdog aren't you? You pummeled me without hesitation after the first strike."

She smiles and gets in front of me. "I think… you really don't fit boxing at all." she says, "You could use it as a base but the thing is you're one of those hero types of kids."

"Huh? How do you know?" I wonder as I roll my shoulder a bit. My hand looks a little singed.

"Every kid wants to be a hero nowadays." She answers. "But here's the thing Kaenshita… if you really wanna be a hero then prove it by entering this! Train hard until then!"

She gives me a flyer and I take it. On it are the words Junior Underground Tournament with an address and time. The time is just a few months away from the UA Entrance Exam. And the address is an old arena where fights still go on.

I smile and fold it. "I'll be there!" I exclaim, "See ya Miss Valkyrie!" I dash off.

"Hey! Hang on!" She calls after me. I halt and look over my shoulder.

"If ya see my brother tell him I say hi!"

"Will do!" I answer and I begin my way back to the house with the flyer in my pocket.

---

On my way back to the house I see the girl from earlier calmly reading something outside on her porch. She looks up at me with a slight smile.

"Hello. Lovely evening isn't it?" she asks. I nod quickly. Vaguely recognizing her. Of course we're neighbors but I remember when the wall wasn't between our yards. When me and her were friends.

"Uhh… what are you reading?" I say not exactly coming close to the yard or even the curb. Mostly in the road but nobody really drives down this way other than Mom and our neighbor. The girl raises it.

"My bible." She answers. "My father requires that I read it every day. Of course the good word would be quite fine for life."

I cock my head at that. "You read anything else like manga or…"

"Oh no. No. My father banned those." She denies. I blink and suddenly almost fall over.

"Wait! Your father doesn't let you read MANGA?! I mean yeah if you read stuff like Berserk or some really crazy horror then I can see why but ALL OF IT?!" I yell. The girl just listens without a care in the world.

"Well I've had a passing fascination with it." She says. I nod and lay my hands on the back of my head with my arms tenting my head a little. I turn and begin my way back to my house. It was already late enough and she most likely needed to move on.

So I just head home without another word. But she calls after me. "Wait! Can you at least tell me your name?"

I turn with a slight smile on my face. "It's Renaru. I live next door. Have a good evening." I turn back around and walk away toward my house with my head full of ideas on how to train myself. How to condition myself into a better version of me.

I get into the garage and look around in the storage shed. Finding an old set of weights and a barely held together heavy bag with a rusted chain. I don't know what else to find. Somehow Mom had these since years ago and she never told me about them.

I still beat out the cobwebs and started my search for a new chain for the bag. I find it in a large bin on a shelf along with boxing wraps that look rather new. I unfold the flyer and hang it up to keep me going. Every time I look at it, I should be reminded of my goal. My journey begins after today. No more will I ever be weak again after this. All it will be is hard work and challenges I have to clear out of my way.

So what if I lose? I'll be stronger for it! I fasten the heavy bag to the ceiling of the garage and get to it. My fists sailed into it but it was barely moving. I hammer at it again with more force. No luck. I grit my teeth and breathe deep. Trying to pull out the embers I had earlier. Trying to feel the heat from earlier. Trying to stoke the flames and light my body up with them. Until then I continue to chip away at it.

'Breathe in, breathe out. Keep it balanced 50-50.' I think to myself as I pummel the bag like no one's business. My arms and legs ache and my body is slick with sweat. I shed my jacket and shirt. Soon enough, I feel it again. It's small and barely flickering. Like a candle. I continue to breathe and suddenly my hair lightens up and all the sudden my right fist rockets into the bag. A sharp pain tears up my arm and I go flying backward.

"Owww!" I hissed, "Shit!" I slowly take off the band and I see a pretty solid burn there. So I dash inside to take care of it. Running it under cold water and bandaging it. At least I know how to take care of burns.

I begin using my other hand more. Mostly because I didn't expect my arm to burst into flames. I head back out and see a sizable burn on the surface of the heavy bag. It seems like I have some strength in it but the recoil could be bad.

So I decided to stop for now. It's a good start but I can't risk injuring myself further. I fix myself some dinner and turn on the TV. Just as background noise until my food was done. Listening to the news is odd because normally I don't listen to it. Hero stuff. The weather. Something about a big company. Stuff I don't care about. My food gets done and I sit alone at the dinner table. Normally, Mom would be home and we would be talking and carrying on but when she works nights it sucks.

It's not that she ignores me or doesn't spend time with me but when I'm alone, it just feels weird. I huff and slowly eat my instant noodles, not much in the mood for cooking. Mulling over what I have to do or thinking about that girl.

Something about her seems so familiar. I can't place it. Something that bugs me even now. The feud between Mom and our neighbor had to start somewhere and at sometime. I did remember a friend of mine when I was little.

Then it clicks. My neighbor is my friend from years ago! How did I ever forget her? It makes sense when I realize she was reading a bible and bringing up her dad so… yeah. I haven't seen her for years either. So now I have a means to train and maybe a good friend. I just hope she's doing okay. I look down at my weakly shaking hand and clench it into a fist. All I need to do is hold on and keep training and maybe I'll get to be friends with her again.

I throw away the cup and get to my room with me changing out the bandage and taking off my clothes to get into the bath full of warm and sudsy water. The water doesn't sting but I just lay there in the bath staring at the ceiling. I still had a lot of work to do.

But at least it was a start. I wash the sweat and grime off and it all sheds off. I dry off and find my hair still glowing just a little. I smile in the mirror and head off into my room hearing the front door open.

"Renaru! I'm home!" Mom yells, "Man… what a day." She sighs as I tuck myself in and she stands in the doorway. Her hair was shining softly. She takes one look at me and marches over to my bed.

"You… you ignited." She starts sitting down on the edge of my bed and reaching out to touch my glowing hair. Her eyes are full of odd nostalgia.

"Guess you're like me. I didn't do such a bad job." She says. "You look like me." I blush and she chuckles a little.

"Is that a bad thing?" I ask.

"No. No honey. It's fine. Just…" she looks at my burn and sighs. Gently grabbing me and pulling me against her chest. She's holding me. It seems like it's sad.

"Be careful." She mutters. "If it gets too tough you can always of it."

"Mom. I'll be fine!" I exclaim "I'll become a hero and… and you…" I get a little embarrassed and she pushes me back to look me in the eyes.

"Don't do it because of me." she says.

"Do it because you're you. That's the only way to do it. I've seen someone close to me drive himself crazy being a hero for someone else." she sighs. "And idiots who do one heroic thing that lands them in trouble."

Mom just stands and tucks me in. Kissing me on the forehead. "Goodnight Renaru." She moves towards the door and closes it shut behind her. I smile and snuggle down into my blankets. Something about tomorrow sounds even better than today considering I took my first step quirk wise.

Chapter 3: Curiosity.

The short boy with a slight shake to his limbs with slightly glowing orange and red hair turns with his arms tenting his head. He almost fell into fathers garden earlier but he seems to be following my advice right now.

"Hello. Lovely evening isn't it?" I greet him. My porch swing is rocking slowly. He looks at my bible rather strangely. His bright orange eyes glimmer softly. He seems rather unsteady but I don't mind.

"Uhhh, what are you reading?" he asks. I smile and lift up my bible.

"My bible. My father requires that I read it every day. Of course the good word would be quite fine for life." I answer with a fond smile. "Normally I read about the Judges and maybe a proverb or two."

He nods at that. I notice he's not exactly listening to the second bit but I cannot blame him. Sometimes I get too into my faith. Not that it's a bad thing. He brightens a little as he asks me another question.

"You read anything else like manga or…" he started.

"Oh no. No. My father banned those." I answer with him freezing a little and blinking he almost falls over and my vines rustle a little almost ready to catch him again.

"Wait! Your father doesn't let you read MANGA?! I mean yeah if you read stuff like Berserk or some really crazy horror then I can see why but ALL OF IT?!" he squeaks. I chuckle a little at that and close my bible a little. "Well I've had a passing fascination with it." It's true, deep down inside and seeing him do that strange deep nod and turn away about to go towards his house.

"Wait! Can you at least tell me your name?" I blurt out. He turns and looks over his shoulder at me with his glowing hair dancing in the sunset's amber light. His half smile and bright orange eyes were shining too.

Something about him is familiar. Something about him reminds me of fire. A kind of nostalgia fills me and then he tells me his name and it all falls into lace.

"It's Renaru. I live next door. Have a good evening." He then turns away and walks back towards his house with his light so small and so new. I rise to my feet and close my bible. It's getting close to the time Father is to return home.

So I entered inside. Our house is rather large for two people but he had built it for my mother to live in as well as for my aunts to stay if need be. I walk over to the small ledger marked with my name and fill out that little checklist of things I need to do. After that, I head into the kitchen and get on my apron. Passing by a picture of me and him when I was little. I smile and just move on to make Father some tea. The kettle boils as I wait for him to arrive.

Getting out a cup and saucer I set it on the table taking the ot with me and pouring it for him. Soon enough I hear the tell tale sound of his boots clunking on the front stoop outside. The door opens and he comes in. My father is tall and muscular. His face is covered in scars and the rest of his neck and his green eyes look harsh and his blonde hair is long and ends at his shoulders. His long gray coat billows around him. He wears a small silver cross around his neck.

It jingles softly with every step. He mostly keeps me out of his affairs. He pauses near the door and opens my ledger. He looks at it calmly almost sedately but his movements creak a little.

"Good evening Father." I say.

"Aye." His voice creaks but it sounds warm enough. It is a good evening. He embraces me and squeezes me in his arms.

"I see you had a good day." He says. "That's good. Nothing like a productive day to make one happy right?"

I nod, "Yes! I had a good day! I also made some tea for you."

Father's smile is warm but still a little tired. "Thank you darlin." He sighs as he sinks into the chair in front of the fireplace with the tea in his hands. His glasses are set on the side table. He watches the fire dance and crackle every night. Like clockwork. Father stares at the flames with an almost mesmerized look to his face. His wrinkles and scars stretching and bending along with what he was remembering. His congregation never questions why he trails off.

But I know why. He's still wrestling with his inner demons. His expressions and posture tell me that more than his words could ever know. Father looks at me and smiles a little.

"Ibara." He says.

"Yes father?" I ask.

"Did someone speak to you today?" his voice rumbles a little but I clear my throat.

"Just the neighbor." I answer.

"Ah. I see." Father said, "Now what did you speak with him about?" His tone shifts to something a little darker. His voice is more akin to a Scottish accent. Although there's a small note of German.

"Oh. He was just curious about what I was reading. Then we talked about those… father?" I notice small thorns coming out of his coat shoulders. His brow furrows and his lips downturn into a scowl.

"Ibara. What have I told you about fire?"

"Fire consumes and takes all the beauty… f-for itself. But- But father? Renaru is harmless!"

"Is he now?" Father drawls "Oh aye. Become friends with the thing that can destroy you!" His body creaks and groans as he draws himself to his full height. The light in the room did not reach his eyes.

"I will not argue this with you Ibara. It is already bad enough that I allowed you to go to UA." he growls softly, laying his hand on my shoulder. "Do you understand? You're going there to be a hero and nothing more."

I see his eyes change color. A deep carmine glowing in the darker reaches of the room with the firelight flickering off the walls. The slight smell of dogwood flowers fills the space but I stare back up at him.

"Yes father. I do." I say softly. He gently squeezes my shoulder.

"There's a good lass." He chuckles as the thorns fade back into his body. He moves into the kitchen to get dinner ready. I watch his lurching gait leave for the kitchen. So goes life with my father. As ever-changing as the wind. I sit down facing the window where his house should've been but instead of that was an ugly concrete wall. I just feel empty. A hollow feeling like a slight ache in my chest. Just knowing that my friend was just over that wall and knowing that he was well is enough for me to be at ease.

"I heard yer aunt Maryanna is in town." Father chimed in. "Seems like there's a big tournament in the underground coming up. She said something about finding a student."

"I see." I sigh a little. The wall is far too large for us. It's an eyesore and not even a single bit of ivy crawls up it. So how did Renaru do it?

Father just works on dinner oblivious to how I am feeling. Maybe he found a weaker section of the wall to scale and made his way up that way. Soon enough dinner is ready and I sit across from him. He calmly eats with his green eyes focused on his leather bound journal jotting down notes for sermons. Always working and always silent. More of a man of God than a man of family. Not that it was a horrible thing.

But I couldn't help but wonder why he would build a wall to keep me in. Why would he give me a ledger to fill out every day? Why would he require me to not form any friendships? I try to gather my courage but the second I form the words he's already done. Dishes in the dishwasher and already heading to his room. Father always moves quickly despite his history. I sigh and do my dishes.

I grab my watering bottle and go to my room and open the door. My room is small and all my plants are lined on the windowsill. I spray them and smile.

"Don't worry. I'm here." I say. "It's alright. That horrid wall blocks out some of the sunlight, I know." I find myself warbling a little. "It's not fair. Why does father want to stifle me? He knows sunlight is good for me but…" I mumble and think about my hiding spot. Where I keep things Father deems as inappropriate. Stuff that my aunties had gotten me. Also an unopened manga from my birthday all those years ago when Renaru got me a volume of a manga that looked like a girl with a sentient garden.

I cracked it open and began to read.

---

The itching machines whirred and threw balls at me. I try to dodge through them but some of them still hit me. I jab a few balls out of my way and bob through the rest. Sweat pools in my shoes and socks. The pain from the balls hitting me pushes me further. The old batting cage had not been used in years and the owner let me have a go at using his machines for another reason. The old man watched me with his mouth agape.

"Kid! Yer crazy!" He laughs, "If ya told me you were gonna use em for that, I woulda said no!"

I smirk as I dodge a ball and bat one away. The man twirls his bat in the air and hammers a ball right at me. In a quick burst of flame the ball drives through the wall and thunks dully on the floor charred black.

"Ya know kid. I letcha borrow my batting cages cause yer mom used em in a similar way for her own training when she was young." The old man's eyes glimmered wildly, "Yer kinda like her."

I cock my head at that, "Really?" I ask.

"Yeah." he nods and turns off the machines, "Now get a move on. You've gotten hit by enough balls already."

I smile and bow, "Thank you for letting me use your facility to train in!" I rise and hustle out as fast as I can with a grin ever present on my face no matter how much it hurts to move. Mom always worries over me but I smile to let her know that I'm okay. Especially now since those baseballs hurt. I get out of the batting cages and undo the weights on my arms and legs. Neither of them are burnt but I didn't realize I could already move so quickly with them on.

I sit down in the park between the ramen shop and the train station out to the bigger portion of the city. Seeing all these people hanging out and laying kickball and janken and a lot of other things like ultimate frisbee. This wasn't a bad area at all. Just old and quiet. Mom used to be in a big famous family with her mother and father. She never told me what they did. I feel my phone ring under my pocket and I yank it out.

It's Mom so I answer, "Hi mom!" I greet her.

"Hi honey! I gotta work late again. The boss is really steamed about something with our department so I'm staying overtime to iron some things out."

"Aww… really?" I sigh, "I was gonna show you my progress with my training so far!"

"I know. I know. Hey! How about you record it and send it to me?" she asks. I grin and I think it's a great idea.

"Mom… It's a good idea but…"

"I know I know." She says, "Get some rest." I smile and begin my march home. Knowing I made some progress at least. Everything is gonna be worth it in the end.

Chapter 4: Under Star

Flames flash out of my fists as I send them hurtling into the heavy bag. Just relentlessly slamming my fists into it with tails of flame bursting out and lashing the bag with tongues of heat and light. My arms bandaged from all the burns so far. My hair still has embers falling from it but not much progress when it comes to my quirk. Just the embers and the tails of flame. Just things that I think about when I train whirl and waft through the air on the heat I generate around me.

Just things about Mom and I or things a ways off. Like if I'll ever have a girlfriend or kids or even a house. If I'll be a hero or if I'll just change my mind and go into something else. Just thinking about how the maybes will come and the never weres will follow. I look up towards the neighbor's house. The old facade cracked and worn from all the years standing in an empty field without our house here. It's taken care of but at the same time the shabbiness never really goes away.

Still, slugging away at this never gets old. Walloping the bag always feels good. A kind of cathartic release. It's really hard to move it too. My fists slam into it over and over with my body aching and bones creaking. Relentlessly slamming my fists and moving around it. Trying to stay light and fast. My embers stoke and I blitz the bag. Keeping up the momentum and drive. Slamming myself back into a really hard road.

I always wondered why I kept on thinking of Ibara. How boring her life at home has to be because of all the regulations. How she seems so peaceful but at the same time not really. I kinda didn't want it to end up like a Pyramus and Thisbe situation where the minute we get to see each other again a random lion comes to kill me. Or I get choked out by her roided out dad. Either way she's really cool. Her quirk is really cool and pretty as well! I might as well just continue training or go say hi.

I huff and wipe the sweat away from my face. Grabbing my water bottle and drinking from it liberally. Just trying to cool off. I rub the frayed ends of my bands in concern. The huge walls next door didn't help with my mood at all. I get out to the edge of the driveway with my shirt bunched around my waist like a kilt in a way. Going on a walk always calms me down. So I did just that. My overheated body is enjoying the soft chill of fall.

In terms of the tournament. It's only a few more weeks off. Then after that is the entrance exam to UA. My skin cools and my body drinks it all in. Since I started training I've begun getting much more muscular. I flex gently and feel my shaking begin to start. I break into a run with my music thumping through my earphones. I just run with my jabs coming naturally to me. Throwing crosses and jabs and all that. Trying to train a little better.

Mostly because I wanted to win that tournament. I continue my run with a smirk on my face. Just going at the running with gusto. I put my shirt back on and continue to train. My eyes on the way ahead. Just a little ways down the road I notice something strange. A person was being held at knifepoint. I don't know how to disarm someone but they need someone's help! But suddenly I see the blade go flying and the person binding them in vines.

"Ibara?" I ask. She whirls around and blushes as the mugger hangs from the streetlight. He groans a little as she gently lowers him and sets him against the wall. He's definitely out but did I just see her throw a right hook with a lot of power behind it or was it just the light?

"Oh. Renaru. Did you… see that?" she looks at me with an odd crimson light in her eyes.

"Yeah! It was so cool how you just went… BLAMMO!" I yell with a jab. Flames cheerily flare out of my fist and fade away as fast as they got here. Ibara chuckles and falls into step with me. I notice and keep up with her.

"So what're you doing out so late?" I ask.

"Well… I always walk home around this time." she reasons as she hides the real reason behind her back. I smile and just turn back around.

"You wanna walk back to your place together?" I ask. She shyly looked away and began to walk next to me. I suddenly feel something warm and dainty but still strong wrap around my own hand. I feel her grip on it tighten a little. She's nervous. I squeeze back gently.

"Renaru?" she asks, "Are… are you ever scared?"

I snicker. "Yeah. I do get scared. Why?"

Ibara tucks some of her vines behind her ear with her fingers twirling them around. Her cheeks are crimson and she clears her throat.

"I'm… frightened…" she mumbles, "Frightened of the feelings I have." I cock my head at that.

"Lemme guess. It's some kinda sinful thing because your dad never taught you how to mete out those feelings so you bottle them up? Kinda the same thing my mom used to do." I said. She shrugs.

"I am unsure. But I'm sure I'll find the answer." she answers as we walk. Her hand still holding onto mine. She rubs my knuckles a little. Her eyes full of concern as I jolt and wobble.

"I can walk you to your door." She says. I shake my head no just before I stumble. I feel her vines around me quickly hoisting me to my feet.

She giggles, "Such a silly boy…" she sighs. I blush as she pulls me closer to her. She's so close and holding onto my waist with a few of her vines. It's sorta comforting. Her smile is small and gentle. With our houses coming closer she stops and unwinds her vines.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"My father would see us." she answers. Her expression looks scared. Eyebrows furrowed and her eyes on the way ahead.

"So? I don't really care. Let him see us." I shrug but she grabs my arm to yank me next to her. She looks terrified but I just lead the way. Mostly because Ibara is trying to get me away from her.

She sighs and accepts that I won't leave her until I get her home safely. She smiles a little.

"So stubborn…" she huffs. "Just like when we were little."

I smirk fondly, "I kinda remember when we were friends before." I say. "You always looked after me. Almost like a guardian angel." I feel a smile on my face. "I'm just really glad we got to do this kinda thing again!" Ibara turns beet red. Her eyes widen a little. Her vines billow about and I notice for the first time that being around her calms me down. How she seems to be serene and even. She smiles.

We walk to her house and I notice the big gate already being open and waiting for her to come back inside to her father's world. A world full of prayer and incense. But I also see a small bit of doubt in her eyes.

Suddenly, I hear a door open. Work boots clunk on the stone walkway. The soft but noxious smell of dogwood blossoms fill the air. A billowing gray coat and a swinging silver cross are the first things I see of him. The facial scar is the next thing I see. Cruel and jagged. In any other circumstance, I would've found it cool. It slices his strong face right on the left jaw. There's another on his neck. His golden hair billows around behind him. Long and flowing like leaves in the wind.

His eyes are nothing less than intimidating. A bright green and blazing into us from all the way on the porch. Now in front of us and glaring down towards me.

"Ibara. This wasn't outlined in the ledger. Ye said ye'd be back sometime round seven." he says. His voice is deep and rumbling deep from within his chest. Heavy and with something Mom called the Pirate Accent.

Was Ibara's dad a pirate?

Ibara bows her head. "Forgive my lateness father!" She squeals softly.

He strides forward and lays his hand on her head. "Ibara. I want you to go straight up to yer room. Say yer prayers." She nods and runs right by him. Ibara closes the door and in seconds I'm face to face with her father.

His eyes slowly turn from bright green to a blazing crimson. He glares down at me and the eyes burn into my soul.

"Boy. What are yer intentions with my daughter?" his voice growls. The rumbling sounding like an old tree. Creaking and bending in the wind. His eyes narrow and his arms begin to grow some kinda wood-like thorns.

I gulp down my fear. "I was just escorting her home, sir!" I exclaim. Trying to move away from him but he strides a little closer.

"Aye… so you say. Are ye aware of what she is?" He asks with his hand hovering over something in his coat. I suddenly feel my legs stall. I can't move. Whatever is holding me here is purely fear. The night sky cloaks him in darkness with his eyes being the only light other than his cross.

"N-no… s-s-s-s!" I stutter.

"I know what yer gonna do! Yer gonna take her away from me! You have no idea what it's like to lose, do ye boy?" he snarls. His eyes widen and his pupils become smaller.

He reaches into his coat and at that moment I lash out my fist bathing the way in front of me in fire. I break into a dead run hearing him roaring.

"YOU GET BACK HERE YE FLAMING BASTARD!"

---

I run right for my house. My feet smacking the pavement and my arms flailing at my sides. Trying my best to run the fuck away. My breath hissing out painfully from my lungs as I run in and bang the door shut with my hands shakily trying to lock it.

Mom comes rushing over, "Renaru! What's the matter baby? Are… you… oh my god you look like you saw a ghost!" She kneels and yanks me into her arms. I curl into her warm embrace feeling the stinging of tears fall from my eyes.

"Shhh…. Shhh… it's okay. Mommy's here… she's gotcha…" she sighs. Her hand ran gently through my hair. Her hair is ablaze and her eyes are closed. I can tell she's been wound up about something.

"M… Monster…" I mumble, "The neighbor… he's… he's a monster!"

Mom just carries me into the living room sitting down in the old cushy rocking chair. She rocks gently and wipes my tears away.

"I know." She says. "That's why I didn't want you near him."

"But… I like Ibara…" I mumble.

"Oh. I see." Mom says. "Well. Can't be helped. When you first saw her you tugged on my skirt and asked me if she was an angel."

But that just makes me think of if she has that same side to her. Mom just rocks softly in her chair with her arms protecting me. Just the feeling of fear in me turns to rage. How dare that blowhard think I would hurt Ibara!

"Mom. Do you wanna help me out with something?" I ask. "It's something to do with my training."

"What would that be?" she wonders.

"Just help me out." I say. "I'm gonna do an all nighter!"

Mom blinks before chuckling and shaking her head. "Just like me, huh?" She stands and lets me go. I stand in front of her as she beckons me to follow her to the garage. She digs around in one of the side cabinets and reveals an old pair of gloves.

They're threadbare and beaten to hell and back but she fondly dons them. "I guess it's just inevitable that you follow me down that way too." She beats them together and smiles. Her hair flaring as she takes her stance and does a few practice strikes. It's almost like she never left the ring. Mom takes her stance and faces me.

She suddenly closes the distance with her fist breaking right through my guard and nailing me in the chin. I skid back with most of it glancing off my fists. Mom is crazy strong! I dance around her and she takes a stance that I never saw before. One arm hanging loosely and the other back near her stomach. She hits me with a jab but I dodge out of the way at the right time.

Mom just rains jabs on me as I try to close the gap between us. With her reach and height being more than me I was more of an inboxer. She's trying to block me out. Mom then switches on me and smashes into me with her full body. I went flying and hit the wall. Mom looms over me with concern on her face.

"Renaru? You okay?" she asks.

I hop onto my feet and grin widely, "Oh my god! You're so cool! Teach me m- Mom?" She comes out of her stance and sobers. Her eyes flicking back to the box.

Mom took off her gloves and put them away. Digging through the box and pulling out an old photo. She looks at it with sadness in her eyes. Her shoulders slumping. I sit beside her and see it. It's Mom with shorter hair. Still glowing and she's smiling. To her right is a big guy with tattoos peeking through his shirt with smile lines and other small wrinkles with longish dark hair with streaks of molten fire. He's got his massive arm wound around her shoulders. He's grinning like he just won the lottery.

Her left belongs to a woman who looks almost exactly like her but meaner and with bright glowing azure eyes with flaming hair. She glares at the camera like she wanted to burn it. Even a picture of her made me feel a little unnerved. But then leaning into the shot with a big smile on his face is a boy with wisps of facial hair on his face looking kind of gawky with short red hair and brilliant blue eyes. Mom sighs and looks over at me.

She points at herself in the middle. "That's me." She says. Her voice sounded hollow and flat. Something that made her so happy one second made her really sad the next.

Her finger shifts to the man with dark hair and bright molten streaks. "That's your Granddad." I nod. She smiles fondly and lingers there for a second.

"He was the one always in my corner." She said. "My coach and my trainer."

"Cool!" I exclaimed before tapping the woman, "What about her?" Mom stiffens. Her eyes glare down at her with such hatred. Almost like she was willing it to burst into flames. Her hair crackles and flares.

"My spawn point." She snarls. Then she just leaves it at that. I don't know why Mom hates her mom so much but she's gotta be bad if Mom gets ticked about her.

Then she smirks at the boy in the picture. "That's your uncle. He was always a jokester. Well… when I knew him." she sighs, "I just don't know what I did wrong."

I look up at her and she's got tears in her eyes. It's confusing and wrong. Mom never cries. Mom never shows a bit of weakness but here she is crying. I find myself hugging her. I squeeze her and she squeezes me back.

"I'm just so glad I didn't mess you up," she mumbles. "Renaru… you're a good kid." she squeezes me harder.

"Don't you dare lose that. Don't you dare lose that blazing heart of yours. It's warm and kind and feisty. You just keep going and going and fighting. You scratch and claw and you make no apologies." she says.

"Mom…" I sniffle. "I-"

She smiles and dries my tears. "I know it's hard. I know this hero thing is important to you and this tourney is gonna help you with that. Mind your head and you'll get where you want to go." she then yawns and hoists me into her arms.

"Bedtime kiddo!" she exclaims before she kisses me on the forehead. I grin and settle into her arms. Everything kinda felt better after that scare. I just hope Ibara is okay…

Chapter 5: Doubt and Fear.

My blade cuts through the air with a satisfying drive into the target. Thinking about Renaru and how we might have parted on bad terms. He seemed so happy to be around me that I knew that would never end.

I toss my other blade into the target just mere centimeters from the first. My eyes are trained on the target. Something about Father is different. His eyes keep trying to turn crimson. His thorns show themselves more and more often yet the memory of Renaru holding my hand often surfaces in my mind. The way his smile dazzles and shines so brightly in my mind is also occupied by the muscles and the confidence oozing from every pore. The thought of his hand ghosts through my mind as I mark my blade throwing practice in the ledger.

Father is spending quite a lot of time in his prayer room. All I hear is anger and his mother tongue lashing the air with a phlegmy vengeance. I set the ledger in its usual spot and make my way to my room with some water for my plants. Passing the same old pictures of myself and Father. Never a single one with my aunties. Me when I was younger at my baptism. A little bit after that was me at our first church where Father first met my mother. He almost never talks about her now.

All I know is that she died soon after giving birth to me. Other than that she was deemed a taboo subject. He always seems guarded about talking about her. I do know where a picture of her is. When I get to my room I go straight to my plants and water them well enough. I go over to my shelves full of approved books. Most of them inoffensive children's books and some of them novels like Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia.

I pulled a few books off the shelves and gently took out my hidden stash of manga and other such things like my underwear and tampons. Feeling how I feel about Renaru. Feeling that he makes me happy when he smiles. Or the fact my heart beat quicker when he squeezed my hand.

Is it a sin to feel the way I do? To constantly think of him and want to be by his side Renaru is a determined and strong-willed boy. A calming and serene presence is what he needs to get him under control.

His hot-blooded self is too… unwieldy. I dig through the box and find the one picture of my mother. She's smiling. Her belly was swollen from me being there. Her hair is much softer looking than my own.

I wonder what she did when she found out she fell in love with Father. Maybe she went a little wild thinking about it like I am now. Still I wish I had that guidance. I wish Mother had been around just a little longer.

At least I dont have vines constantly rubbing against my sensitive areas because Auntie gave me a bra and panties just because. But that's not the issue right now. The issue is…

I hear the door close to the outside and I suddenly throw the picture into the box. My haste only makes more noise considering Father's abilities… I would never stand a chance. I hear his footsteps quicker than ever. Not even letting me get ready to receive him he just slams aside the door with narrow eyes and thorns twisting into branches. His hands hovering over his coat with the blade hilts inside ready for him to grab.

I've only seen him like this once before. His eyes fall onto the small box on the floor. My box contains all my essentials and other things inside. He immediately darts over and grabs me, lifting me up and setting me down before sifting through the items.

"Devilry…" he snarls. "Manga… sinful materials…" his voice is edges away from breaking into that frantic screaming. Warbling and angry.

"And… all in a box with yer MOTHER." His voice quiets down a little. "You… you little… I didn't raise you like this. To blatantly sin against me and her. Ta sin against God." he looms above me and I back away slightly.

He gently lays his hand on my shoulder, "Don't think about running." he says.

It's not even holding me. All of a sudden I feel so small as his body becomes more wooden and his eyes glow a bright crimson. He smiles and I hear slight creaking noises. My knees shake and my eyes shut tightly. I feel the hand touch my cheek rough and wooden. Creaking slightly with the motion. I shake and quiver like I was when I was little. It retracts its hand and then grabs my arm roughly, almost yanking me along behind it.

I dare not to scream or open my eyes. Being tossed into a small space. I open my eyes and come face to face with a torn up room full of what was once rosaries and bibles and other such things. All shreds of old paper and cracked leather. The only light is a flickering old bulb barely hanging on the ceiling. All I hear from outside is that frantic and harsh voice screaming something. The thorns binding the door and holding it closed. I rush to the door and bang on it mercilessly. The thorns snarl out and almost cut into my fists but I shirk back before they can truly stab into me.

I slowly sink to the floor with my skirt pooling around my legs. My eyes staring at the torn pages and the rosary beads scattered across the floor. Slowly going numb from all the noise and the dimness of the room. I feel tears threaten to spill from my eyes. I will myself not to cry. But then I hear it. I hear my pots getting smashed. Hearing my books both approved and ones I got because I read that special manga Renaru got me torn to ribbons. A staccato of constant destruction. A storm of pure fury and malice just swirling outside.

I curl into a little ball and begin to sob. Soft at first but then drowning into a rain of loud gut-wrenching cries. The minutes stretch to hours but I don't move. My hair shields me from anything that might hurt me.

I suddenly hear the vines retract from the door and all I hear is silence. Just some slight creaking. Seeing the damage extend from the kitchen all the way upstairs and over towards my room. I'm not even taking my chances and just going. I could just imagine my sweet little children all squashed underfoot and my books and manga all torn. My clothes all turned back into scraps. I swallow down more tears and move on.

I go out of the house without even staring a glance at the couch where my father slumbers. Or whatever he was. Leaving everything behind. All except for one thing. My mother's picture. Of course I wouldn't leave it.

Facing the city out before me. The lights are shining in the distance just by Renaru's house. If I went there the monster would easily find me. I move silently and through the underbrush. The monster wouldn't get me.

I know it wouldn't. My father always beats it. He will this time…

Right? I still need to get moving. Mostly because I don't want to spend the night out somewhere else. I walk alone with my gaze straight ahead of me. Heading to a place where I know it would never go. My auntie lives near the red light district. I walk up to the door seeing her name written next to the door. The light above it flickers a little. I knock and hear on the other side.

"Ow! Damn! Hang on a sec!" she yells. Her steps draw closer and the door opens, spilling warm electric light on my face. Her blue eyes widen as she realizes I'm here. She immediately grabs me and yanks me inside.

"Ibara! Are you okay? Did my brother do anything dumb? Listen, just sit down and you can tell me all about it!"

She sits me down. Her apartment is too small for how big she is. She's taller than my father with her ponytail included. I shakily nod and she sits herself down across from me.

"Auntie Maryanna… was my father always a monster?"

"A monster?" Auntie asks, "Not that I know of. You'd probably have to go to Yue for that info. But… as they say mi casa is su casa. I'll keep ya safe if he comes a calling.'' She reaches over and grabs my hand.

"You got nothing to worry-" I lunge towards her chest squeezing her tight.

"Thank you Auntie… Thank you so much!" She hugs me back.

"You're welcome. Now I got a tourney to get ready for. I got one hell of a student. Kinda reminds me of the Tyrant Queen. Real happy go lucky that one…" she sighs. "Got glowing hair. Bright and happy. Underdog."

I blink. "Renaru's your student?" I ask.

"Well more like ameteur choice for the Junior Tourney." Auntie reasons. "Why? You like him or something?" she brightens at that.

"Well… I… I don't know." I mumble. "He IS quite admirable…" I smile and close my eyes remembering how carefree he is.

"Although he can be a bit of a ditz. And… and so hot-blooded… he makes everything sound so easy." I sigh.

"He's relentless. But that's from talent. That or sheer will." Auntie says. "Seems to be the real hero type. Like that fire swordsman from years ago. What was his name…"

I get to my feet. "I'm going to bed Auntie. I'm sure we'll find the answers to our questions tomorrow." I bow my head. "Thank you so much for letting me stay over."

"Not an issue kiddo. I knew it was a matter of time." Auntie waved her hand a little.

---

My hands fly into the heavy bag. My eyes are burning into it like a true enemy. All day I've been focusing on my training. No breaks and nothing but training. I begin to see red whenever I look at the old bag. 'It's an eyesore!' I think, 'A goddamn EYESORE!'

I stumble and fall down on my back. My body is aching. My muscles burn and my eyes burn with tears, "Damn it! Damn it! Only one more day and I can't get it! I got the physical stuff down but… I'm still shit with my quirk!" I yell. Then… a memory comes back into my mind. An old man standing before me with a sword in his hands. His eyes behind a pair of sunglasses. His bright orange hair billows. He's shirtless showing off old tattoos of a flaming tiger. He looks like a Yakuza.

"The trick is to breathe. Keep it flowing like a bellows. That'll getcha the airflow ya need."

He turns away from me and concentrates, "Khhhhhh… HRAH!" He yells as a slash of blazing orange cuts the air and stays there for a bit before winking out. He turns back and kneels down. Setting his hand on my head.

"You got it. Ren. Just breathe." He smiles warmly and I see his memory fade away. Something about that filled me with resolve. I get onto my shaking feet and my rollicking legs. Just one more shot and it's over. One more blow and I can go to bed.

"One more blow and my future is busted open!" I clench my hands into fists going into my stance again. Taking a deep and slow breath bringing it in and out.

"Hhhhhh… Hhhhhh… Hhhhhh… hhhhhh…" my hair bursts to life and my fists glow under their bands. I smile and charge at the bag with my body feeling lighter and faster. Like fire! I bash my fists into the bag and… The chain shatters and it bursts from the flames and my punch hitting it. Bathing the garage in sandy oblivion. Suddenly the door flies open and it's Mom with flaming hair holding a bamboo sword.

"WHERE! WHAT! WHY! WHO!" She screams before realizing I just made a huge mess. She sighs and lowers the sword.

"Sheesh baby… just about gave me a heart attack." She smiles. "Ya figured out your quirk huh. Look at your hair! It's all cheery and blazing now!" She walks over and runs her hand through it with embers dancing off it.

"What about the garage?" I ask.

"Eh. I'll clean it in the morning. I got your gear to give you when you get up on the day." She says. "Off to bed for you buster!"

"Right right…" I yawn. "Hey mom. Why do you think Mister Shiozaki was so sad today? I lent Ibara some of my manga and went to go get them back. All I got was them badly taped and stapled together."

Mom sighs. "You always worry about others more than yourself… I'm sure that old man is fine."

"I can't shake the feeling something went horribly wrong… You know how you always tend to sense when I'm in danger I… I gotta see if she's okay!"

Mom smirks. "Aww… you like her!" She coos.

"Of course I do!" I exclaim, "She's… she's really important to me!" I turn around and head towards my room "But I gotta rest for the day after tomorrow! Dammit!" I huff softly and open my door. I slam it shut and tackle my bed.

Soon enough I fall asleep. Imagining Ibara right next to me sleeping softly. Holding my hand close to her heart. I smile and drift further into sleep but not without saying…

"I… love you Ibara…"

Chapter 6: Grit Those Teeth, Renaru!

The venue of the tournament is an old arena on the outside of town. So many people were here you'd think the circus was in town instead. But seeing as all of this was for either hopeful heroes to show their stuff or just fighters bringing their students with them.

Maryanna leads the way with me almost running to catch up with her stride. It's not hard to do but she's tall as hell. She seems to be in her element as I hide near her. Just taking in all the sights and the sounds of hawking vendors and eole all going around to the sign in desks. Maryanna reaches down and grabs my hand.

"Come on. I don't wanna lose you." She says as she signs us in. The guys at the desk took one look at me and then back at the sheet. All three of them looking at me like I just signed my death warrant.

The arena is old but still functional enough to have enough for everyone. We make it to my locker room and get my stuff unloaded as the opening ceremony goes on for this big ol tournament. It's more of an exhibition so there isn't much to lose.

Either way I'm excited as all get out. My body is shaking in anticipation for my first match. I can't wait!

---

Earlier the day of the tournament Mom had gone out and gotten me a set of real boxing trunks. They're white with orange on the end with red flame designs. Almost like a swordsman from a show I watched growing up.

I smile and get on my gloves. My eyes are on the ring ahead as the first fight of the first round is about to begin. There's this really tough guy even among the other fighters here. Miss Maryanna stands next to me with her eyes on how I look with my red and white and orange gear.

"Listen kid… you sure you don't wanna turn back Piston Jones really chose a wicked boxer to sponsor this year…" she sighs. I shake my head with a bright smile.

"I've trained for this! Don't worry. I'll bring it home. You just get ready to gush about me!" I exclaim throwing out a few shots in the air. "After all… how bad could it be?!"

Maryanna sighs and ruffles my hair. "Sheesh… you really don't know how to quit."

I laugh and hear the music start. I feel the adrenaline and my flames burning in me. Whatever music they got going for my foe… it's really foreboding. I see him. Longish blue hair tied back from his face. Cruel looking eyes glaring at me from the ring.

"That's Hitori Kama. He's got a really bad quirk." Maryanna says. "Think you can take him?"

I nod and march out to my music that sounds like an old song I used to listen to during training. The announcer comes out with this speil.

"Facing the Magus of the Ring is this shining example of an underdog! The rising flaming spirit of a soul that wants to make it to the top of the charts! RENARU…KAENSHITAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Instead of a warm welcome… I got jeering and booing.

"Break him down, Magus!"

"Don't you dare let up!"

The yelling doesn't get to me. I just crack my neck with a smile. "Wow… what a real warm welcome huh? Wonder what their damage is?"

Magus uncrosses his arms and smirks, "Well… let us begin." I get into my stance and the bell dings. With that I suddenly feel hits on all sides. Something about him is odd. He's striking, sure but what's hitting me?

I dodge a swipe aimed for my gut and see a shadowy figure advancing on me. I take a few shots on the chin moving backward to limit the range of whatever is hitting me. He's barely moving and I notice that the ring is darker than usual.

All he's doing is using some shadows with him directing them with his boxing. If I bust through them with my flames, then I can take him down! The bell rings and we go back to our corners. Miss Maryanna sits me down and smiles down at me.

"Nice stand there Renaru! You got a strategy?"

"Yeah. Just watch me next round. I'll smoke this guy… he's just using shadowboxing." I growl as I swish water in my mouth and Miss Maryanna ices my bruises. I stare across at Hitori as he glares at me with his smile wide.

I don't even smirk or react to it. That'd show weakness. I shuffle forward with my fists when the bell rings again. More shadows crash into me. More blows taken and just barely blocked. I breathe in deeply trying to light myself up enough to banish the shadows.

Once I get him without them it's all over! I feel my hair heating up as I bounce on my feet suddenly darting forward too close for his shadows to dogpile me. I smile.

'Inner Flame…' I think, 'First Strike… Embers of Wildfire!' Small flames lash out at Magus taking the shots with his shadows breaking down faster than light. 'Yes! He's through! I can take him down!'

Those thoughts were rudely interrupted by his fist smashing right in my face. I skid backward with blood coming from my lip. I don't have time to wipe it away as he chases me down. I weave and bob through his assault and block the best I can.

I'm not built to take strikes like this! He lulled me in with his shadows but this guy is insane! I think Come on Renaru! You always think outside the box! How do you think you survived fights at school! How do you think you lived this long

I feel myself growing smaller as the vastness grows between me and this guy. He's built better. Taller. Stronger. Everything I'm not. In fact most of the guys here are. But there has to be an advantage. Has to be something I've got!

My small size might work to my advantage! I get through his guard and smash my fists into his gut. He stumbles back onto the roes and I breathe in quickly. My flames stoked mightily.

"Khhhhhhh…" I breathe in with my feet heating up. In seconds I'm right on top of him with my fists flying. "Second Strike… Flashfire!" Two lightning quick jabs with bursts of flame blitzes his jaws. He's down right after the second with the referee starting the count.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Four!"

Magus tries to get up. His body shaking and his face burnt a little from the intensity of my flames. I don't ever let down my stance. His legs wobble before finally giving out. But before he can hit the ring I grab him by the wrist.

"Hey. Fall easier." I say. Letting him down gently. Once he lands everyone cheers with my eyes on the lights of the ring. 'I… I won… I fucking won!' I thought with a smile. After my fight in the first round I went back to my locker room. Mostly to take a breather. It's a small tournament. Only about a few fighters between me and the title. Well.. just about four of us.

I came back out of the ring to watch the next match. Turns out it's just starting. The announcer comes back in with a big smile on his sweaty face. He's big and tough looking.

"In this corner he's the Steel Beast from Saitama… TETSUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTETSUUUUUUUUUUUUU! TETSUTETSU!" Another boy with silver hair and odd eyelashes with iron arms.

"Alright! Nice job there!" Maryanna calls. "Now keep a close eye on this next fight!"

I turn towards the ring and see the iron arms boy's foe. A bigger kid with a weird metal quirk took a huge gauntlet on his right arm with bright red skin and horns. Kinda looking like Hellboy. Still the fight was on.

The steel and gauntlet ring out Clangs and grunts sound as I see the kid go flying and the gauntlet is steaming from some kind of force. The kid suddenly blasts forward and nails the Hellboy look-alike dead on.

He goes flying out of the arena and the crowd roars in approval. I yell along with them. This means our fight was gonna be next! I'm so pumped! I'm so excited! All I gotta do is win all this!

Chapter 7: Break Me Down.

Fighting comes second nature to me. It's almost as easy as breathing. The thing is there were only four participants. Me. Hellboy Jr. Magus. And this Tetsutetsu guy. So when it came time for me to fight again. I gritted my teeth and sucked down the pain. My arms are a little burnt. My chest aches a little from the Second Strike. The announcer from earlier practically jives up to the ring with a hush falling over the crowd. He takes the mic and taps it to make sure it's still on.

"Alright! Our final fight of the evening is here! Sponsored by Ido Tetsutetsu is her son! The Steel Beast TETSUTETSUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" In a burst of blue here he comes to the tune of The Metal. He rushes right to the ring with a huge shining smile on his face. He takes a few shots and the crowd cheers. I tighten my hands into fists. My eyes blazing into the ring ahead. The thrumming of Some Kind of Monster pulses through me. I walk out to more cheering than earlier and the announcer yelling.

"In a stunning victory this fighter has gotten to the finals! Sponsored by Maryanna Kraus it's the Flashing Flame… RENARUUUUUUUUU KAENSHITAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

I get into the ring and march to the middle with Tetsutetsu. He smiles and holds out his hand.

"Yo! Glad you could make it!" He exclaims. "Not every day I get to duke it out with the son of a legend!"

"Issat right? My mom never really talks about it." I answer before we were ushered back into our corners. I'm ready to go when he is. The bell rings and we rush each other. The lights make me sweat and everything kind of fades away leaving me and Tetsutetsu to attack each other. The uphill battle begins now!

---

We clash steel to flames. Tetsutetsu forcing me backward with the crowd cheering for him. I dodge quickly away with my flames stoking in my chest. I breathe deeply and I close in with flames shooting from my legs.

"Khhhhhhh!" I breathe out with flames bursting to life through my fists. My bands keep the flames in control but they're fraying. Tetsu can outlast me and his steel turns a bright red whenever I hit him with my flames. All I got on him is my agility. He closes in with a heavy wide right hook and I duck under it just as the bell rings for the round being over. I go back to my corner and Maryanna kneels to check me out.

I'm covered in sweat and my arms and fists ache from the metal hitting me. I've kept my face and jaw safe for now but it's really getting tough.

"Sheesh kid… they really have the odds stacked against ya…" she sighs. "But hey! At least you're really good with dodging! And look in the crowd!"

I look over my shoulder to see a familiar face in the crowd. She's towards the back but I know those vines from nowhere else. I smile at her and wave my gloved hand. Ibara smiles and waves back shyly.

Maryanna giggles. "She snuck out here to see ya fight. She really cares about cha! Now watch out for Tetsu's hooks! They're game enders. Try to dodge for as long as ya can and move in when you see an opening."

"Outbox. Got it." I say. "Then a harsh barrage of body blows."

Maryanna nods with a smile. "You can do it. I've never seen a kid as determined as you. As long as you fight smarter, not harder."

The bell dings and I get back to my feet with my fists raised. Tetsu still has his wild no-guard strategy. I bounce from foot to foot staying light as the bell rings again for round two. Tetsu smiles and I smirk right back. Underground boxing has looser rules. Grabs and submissions as well as kicks can and will occur. If two fighters have a basis in boxing it's more common to just stick to blows. I bounce on my feet and quickly whirl around with a heavy kick.

Catching Tetsutetsu off guard, I was able to hit him on the jaw. He goes skidding as I close the distance. His steel barely having time to come out before I got him hard in the gut. I feel my hand crack a little as he struggles back into his all metal form. Suddenly he slams into me. Sending me rolling to the ring floor. My entire body hurts as I lay under the bright lights. Sweat mixing with blood and my body one big bruise. My head swims and I hear the referee going.

"One! Two!"

I hear Tetsutetsu above me, "Come on! You're a fighter right?" he yells, "It's not manly to die on your back!" I look above me and see the ropes. I grab one.

"I… I…" I groan. "I won't… go out like this!" Dragging myself to my feet despite my wounds and bruises. Despite my muscles begging me to stay down. My eyes are just on my foe. No. Not a foe. A fellow fighter like me. But my mind is cast to a different time. A time where I was on the ground just like then. A young boy not understanding why others hated him. Why did they hurt him? Why was he always cast out of things?

But he always got up. I get into my stance again. Tears running down my cheeks. Arms in total agony. My legs are not much better. My body is shaking. My hair is shedding embers. My fists quivering in their gloves. I bite down the pain.

Suddenly… heat bursts from my body. My hair bursts into a roaring life. My trunks billow from the force and the ring below creaks and groans from all the pressure. My eyes are full of the same flames. I don't scream but I do breathe in as Tetsutetsu charges right on in. My body shakes much worse but I stay on my feet. This time just drawing my fist in. Concentrating my flames into it. Everything seems to slow down and all I see is him closing in.

"Third Strike. Rising Dragon." I say. An intense wave of flame and force tears out of my uppercut. The lights burst and sparks rain down like molten rain. Tetsu is still on his feet but his steel is gone. I stumble to the floor.

A total knockout. He won. I close my eyes with the biggest smile on my face. I didn't need to win. All I needed was to show that I could make it as far as I could.

"Hehehe… awesome…" I laugh as I go out.

---

There were no words to describe what I just saw. The happy go lucky neighbor of mine letting loose his quirk in all its glory. But the crowd was all cheering anyway but louder for him than for Tetsutetsu. Of course Aunt Maryanna is right by his side carrying him out. With her massive six foot seven frame and muscular build muscling through the crowds. I tag along with her worriedly looking at Renaru's tiny and beaten black and blue body.

She almost looks sad. We both hurry along towards her home. A small apartment she rented out to stay here.

"Ibara. Get me a lotta cold water. Also some ice and bandages." She demands as I rush into the bathroom grabbing a bucket and filling it up with cold water. She laid him down on her sagging couch and I noticed steam curling off his body.

I quickly move into the room with the bucket and soak a bunch of towels in the water to lay on him. His skin hisses a little at the cool towels but still stays on. His eyes squint open as he looks at me.

"Oh… hey…" he groans. "I messed up… I was gonna look all cool in front of you…"

I gently touch his cheek. Just a comforting gesture. "Just rest." I say. I look into his eyes. Seeing genuine sadness in them. I gently grab his good hand. The other was just a minefield of bruises and maybe a break.

I lean down and kiss him on the forehead. "You did well. I thought it was rather… uhm… amazing."

"Ha! So I should get my ass kicked more often!" He exclaims with a smile. Making my cheeks heat up.

"No!" I squeak, "Certainly not! Of course I thought you were amazing but-" my eyes drift down to his muscular arms and rock hard chest. My cheeks turn crimson. His body is… much more mature than I remember.

Seeing how fast he moved in the fights makes me wonder if he truly mastered his quirk in such a short time. But knowing how quirks work like I do I can tell Renaru was improvising the whole time.

"Hey." he states. "My eyes are up here." I blink and realize I was ogling his bare chest and my cheeks turn fire engine red.

"S-sorry!" I stammer. "I didn't mean to! I…"

Renaru stops me with a hand on my shoulder. "By all means stare away! I don't get that kinda attention from girls often. Most of the time they kinda just do it out of sheer disgust or pity but I mean who really checks for those things am I right?" He rambles and his cheeks turn just as red as mine. We avoid each other's gazes with his hand gently moving from my shoulder. His other hand bandaged and I reach for a towel. He takes it and wraps it around his waist. Just for a moment I see some odd scarring on his arms and legs. His hands shake just a little.

My vines gently embrace him as they lift him out of the tub. His clothes are nearby. I reluctantly left his side so he would get dressed. I have so many questions about him. How can he still fight knowing it ruins his body even more? How can he still be a hero when his body burns and bruises and breaks when I just… I just want to protect him?! He's so small and his flames burn so brightly… I don't want to lose him. He comes out of the bathroom with his clothes on from earlier. His bands slightly frayed.

"Hey Ibara! How about you walk Renaru back to the station?" Auntie Maryanna wonders. I nod and he heads out with me. We walk down the streets together with my hand holding his in an effort to keep him steady.

He walks unevenly with one foot in front of the other but with slight deviations to his path. I go ahead of him with my vines gently clearing any rubble or trash that might make him fall. He follows me with a smile on his face.

"Ibara. You know I can still walk, right?" he asks.

"Well… yes." I mumble softly as I find myself squeezing his hand. "But… Can you walk with me?"

Renaru cocks his head to the side. "You know you don't have to ask me that, right?" his sunset eyes glimmer in the warm streetlights. I feel his hand gently squeeze mine back. Something about how he didn't need a reason for me to help him contradicted what I was taught. Everyone needed a reason for something. Not just that but I was only walking him to the platform leading back home. So why was I so… flustered? Why did I stare at him like that? Why is… why is it so hard to look him in the eyes?

I can't bear to see him get hurt. I can't even go a second without wondering if he was okay. What is wrong with me? Why do I want to embrace him and protect him from this horrid world? Such a bright light cannot go out. I mustn't let him go out. He's too… too… frustrating. Too pure. I must not let him be tainted. His smile. His laugh. How he's so carefree…

How he called me his guardian angel. How he looks so happily my way and never really cares about what occurred to me in the past. The platform was coming up and I didnt want this all to end. Just before he went through the turnstiles, I grabbed his hand.

"Wait!" I squeak. He turns.

"Yeah? What is it?" he asks "I don't wanna miss the last train." I hesitate for a moment. Maybe it's best to let him go home. Making his mother happy with news on how much he's improved. It's foolish of me to keep him for longer than needed.

But something makes me hesitate. Something that makes me want to keep him forever. Just so I can keep him safe. A feeling… not dissimilar to anger.

I let go. "I… I hope you have a good evening." I say.

"Yeah. I think I will." He answers. "Just… be careful going home." I watch him disappear into the crowd of late leaving patrons to the red light district. I turn and begin the long walk back. Thinking of him. Suddenly I'm back at my aunt's. I see her carrying some takeout.

"Oh! Hey! Look at what I got! Wash up and come dig in!"

I smile. "Forgive me but I don't feel very hungry. So I will be going to bed."

"Alright…" she says, "I'll save ya some."

I went to my room and went over to my bed. My eyes are stinging lightly with tears. Reflecting on my father and what occurred earlier. Setting up the picture of my mother. Seeing her so happy made my heart ache. What would she think of father's rampaging like he did?

What if I was just like him? Just bottling it up until it explodes into an unending fury at everything he never understood? Or the kind of fury that ruined the hero society of an entire country. Razing it to the ground and salting the earth because of it. I had questions and only one person could answer them fully…

My other aunt. I roll over in bed facing the wall. The glint of streetlights shining off the ceiling. Softly breathing and closing my eyes. Just thinking of the day I had. The thoughts of Renaru softly drifted through my mind like the sun through the sky. I smile and allow myself to cry. Mostly to release it all. Just to have it leave me like the morning dew. I just need to get some answers.

Chapter 8: Wisdom of the Prideful Woman.

Auntie Yue would know what to do. She's the oldest of my family on my father's side. How I feel about seeing Renaru so beaten down but still rising to his feet awakened something in me. So of course I sneak out towards the mansion. I need to talk to someone quite well versed on the subject. So I get on the train into town and ride the line all the way to the villa district. It's a little on the bigger side of things. Regardless of that I see the old European style mansion sticking out like a sore thumb.

I get to the gate and don't notice something in the bushes before.

"GWAAAAAAHHHHHH!" My younger cousin slams into me "Raptor attack!" Her hair tickles my face as she squeezes me in her arms tightly.

"Wahahaha! It's been so long, Ibara! How's Unk?" she asks. Her dark green eyes shining a little with me squirming out of her arms. She still smirks at me.

"Well… he's fine." I say softly. She sighs and shakes her head.

"Does he still not letcha get pads?" she asks.

"WHAT?! N-no!" I squeak, making my cousin double over in laughter. Her fangs shining in the sun. She's so confident and assured. She's even recommended to UA. Setsuna is so… perfect in a genuine way.

"So whaddya here for?" she wonders.

"I'm here to ask your mother for advice."

"Oh yeah! Race ya!"

"No! You always beat me!" I begin to chase her and we do that for a bit before she slows down.

"Then you shoulda not kept me waiting in those bushes! Been waiting to do that almost daily!" she huffs and I cannot tell if she's joking or not. Setsuna leads me up the steps to the door and almost gets tackled by one of her little brothers.

"Oof! Where do you think you're going, Kaneo?" she asks.

Kaneo rubs his horns a little, "Out! Cause ya know… I wanna go outside!"

Setsuna ruffles his lighter green hair and he doesn't even acknowledge me. He just forges out without sparing a glance my way. Setsuna just goes on in and almost gets bowled over by a little white haired boy with dark green eyes.

"Big sis!" He exclaims with tears in his eyes. He only has minty green streaks in his hair. Setsuna squeezes him.

"Nawww… what's the matter Ira?" she asks.

"I thought you goed away!" He sniffles as she scoops him up. From what I heard he's only three. She cradles him and leads me towards the office. It's up a spiral staircase past the study. Oddly enough making it be in the attic. I ascend the steps and arrive to see her sitting in her high backed office chair. Her crimson eyes flick up from her paperwork. In seconds she stands to her full height. Face looking seconds away from bursting into tears.

"Ibara?" she asks softly. Her voice is somewhat husky with her smile showing on her face. "Well. Let's get a look at you.'' She walks closer with her body cloaked in a white dress that shows plenty of skin. Her white hair flaring around with a few strands hanging between her eyes. It falls to her waist in a cloudlike rain of white locks. Regal didn't even begin to describe Aunt Yue. Her hand reaches out from a fur stole she always wore about her shoulders or arms. Her well manicured hand gently took my chin. She studies my face for a moment and tilts it around.

"Hm… more like your mother. Such a shame her beauty is no longer with us." She muses. "To what do I owe this visit?"

I swallow the lump in my throat. "W-well… I have questions." I mumble. She never loses that smile and sinks back into her chair. I sat across the wide desk from her. Her eyes are burning into my soul.

"Ask away." she says. "I promise I won't bite." I smooth my dress out and try my best to stay level. "I was wondering… why does my father turn into such a monster?"

Aunt Yue blinks. "I see. So… already wondering about something a little lamb like you has known nothing of."

"Yes. That's right." I say. She purses her lips with something odd in her eyes. Is it nostalgia or something else? She leans forward and the serious expression fades.

"So. He changed, did he?" She continues. "Into a tree monster."

I nod and she sighs. "Of course he did… Eugen cannot for the life of him go more than a few years without an episode."

"He's done it before?" I ask.

"Yes. Many times actually. I assume he got violent towards you?" she gets concerned and suddenly she's embracing me.

"Oh you poor thing!" Her arms are stronger than I thought. She lets me go.

"I'm sure it must've been quite frightening. Feel free to come talk to me when you have time. Is there anything else?

I nod and she sits back down with me sitting back down as well. I nervously twiddle my thumbs.

"Auntie… is it normal to have feelings for someone?"

"In what way?" she wonders.

"In the way of wanting to protect someone. Or… or you love them so much that you can't stand to see them get hurt or-"

"You're in love." She says. "What's his name and his quirk?"

"His name is Renaru and his quirk is hard to explain…" I say.

Aunt Yue smirks, "It's because of some attachment to him, I'm sure." she continues. "Our family tends to fall in love very intensely. At least your father did. Due to his Sin."

"Sin?" I echo.

"Oh. Well… it's better if I show you." She stands and gently grabs my hand leading me outside towards a low building near the mobile lab Uncle Alan uses on digs. Of course Aunt Yue would sometimes join him. I didn't notice the fact that there were subtle changes in how Aunt Yue looked. A straighter posture and a brighter shine to her eyes. Her hair seems to flare upward. Billowing in an unseen wind.

The building looks like a training gym on the inside. She turns towards a high quality training dummy and it powers on to face her. She smirks and it lunges for a strike right for her stomach. In only a blink, my aunt is exchanging blows with it. Her long white hair billowing around her face. She looks almost angry as she blasts the bot back with a heavy roundhouse kick to the head. It sputters and sparks as it dies. Her hair settles down and her eyes lose their glow. She looks at me and smiles.

"The answer to your intense devoted love for your precious Renaru is…" she grins and marches up to me with her finger poking my chest. "Right in here!"

"Eh? Well… I know that." I mumble.

"No. Not figuratively! Literally!" she exclaims. "Your heart is the core of your sin! Such is my brain and Maryanna's body!"

"I feel so confused." I say and Aunt Yue laughs.

"Oh darling. Don't be! Your father and us were made to be stronger than average. Even among this superpowered society!" She gently grabs my shoulders. "You've kept your beautiful little self hidden from blooming for so long. This is just the next step. I'm sure that little boy will love what you'll become."

There was a sinking feeling in my chest. An almost danger sense takes over and I jerk myself away from her.

"Excuse me but… I… I uhm… have to go." I mumble. I back off and go towards the door. My aunt watches me go and I make it all the way to the gate but I don't notice Setsuna until I'm about to head back home.

"Hey. Bara." She calls. I walk over and she gives me something. "I already got my number in here." I open the box and it's a dark green cased smartphone. She grins and hugs me tightly.

"Don't trust my Mama." she hisses into my ear.

"Why not?" I ask.

"She's been waiting for one of my bros to show the… weird billowy fast strong thing." she wiggles her hand a little. "If you show something similar, she's gonna notice."

I smile and push away from her, "I'll keep that in mind." I say.

"Take care of yourself. I don't wanna see ya keel over." she states as I turn to walk out of the gate. Something about this doesn't seem right. Nothing about it does.

---

Heading back to the apartment, I see Auntie Maryanna carrying something. She looks over her shoulder and breaks into a sudden run. I follow after her curiously. Of course she beats me to the door and gets inside before me. I see her sigh the minute I get in.

"Aw man! I was gonna have a big surprise! Ah well…" she puts a big pot on the table with a plant inside. "Ta-da! Consider this a housewarming gift!"

I look at it with a sort of happy nostalgia. Auntie Maryanna grins and sets her hand on my shoulder.

"I know you lost your plants when your dad went crazy. So I got you a new one! It's a Swedish Ivy. It reminds me of being back home sometimes." I suddenly hug her with tears running down my face.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" I sob. "Oh goodness I…" Auntie just shushes me a little.

"Hey. Hey. No need to cry!" She exclaims. "Oh wait who am I kidding go ahead and let it out!" I just bury my face into her shoulder and cry as she hoists me onto the couch.

"Alright… there we go. Let it out." She continues. I just sat there in the arms of my aunt. Crying out my feelings. I just need time. My shoulders hitch and she rubs my back softly. My vines wind gently around her.

"You wanna know what I do to make myself feel better?" She pulls out a DVD with a boxer on the front cover. He looks serious but his eyes look sort of droopy. Stance up with big white letters saying ROCKY.

"I watch this movie. It's a good one!" she jives over to the TV and the DVD player. Soon enough the TV is on and I watch the underdog story of Rocky Balboa. It makes so much sense why my auntie loves it so much.

After the movie I got up to take my plant to my room. "Come on Ren. Let's get you watered." I mutter at it and set it near the windowsill so it could get a little sun. Since they need medium sunlight. I smile and settle down on my bed. It was still odd how Setsuna had told me not to trust my Aunt Yue. It's rather strange to me that Aunt Yue was monologuing about how we were above other humans.

Am I another tree monster like my father? I guess it remains to be seen.

Chapter 9: The Brand New World!

The morning after the exams dawns and all I feel is like one big bruise. I try to get up and all that does is force me back down. My eyes droop and my arms are heavy. Almost like lead. My bands are sitting on the nightstand nearby. I hear a soft knock on my door.

"Honey? Are you okay?" Mom asks.

"Yeah mom. I'm good. It's just that I can barely move." I answered. She opens the door and just scoops me into her arms.

"Alright then. Lemme help." She says. She carries me out of my room taking my bands with me. Her arms wrapped around me and carried me towards the bathroom. Mom and I have done this before. Sometimes my muscles just quit.

She starts the bath and the warm water pours into the large tub. She takes off my shirt and bottoms and lowers me in. The water soaks into my sore muscles making them feel way better. Mom gently rubs my muscles a little.

"Thanks mom…" I sigh.

"No problem Renaru." she replies and smiles. "My tough little guy." I watch her work. She always works hard no matter what she does. She has to be both Mom and Dad. Even though Dad isn't around I always wanted him back.

It isn't fair but we got by. Mom just needs a rest. Maybe more appreciation than she usually gets. I reach up and gently grab her wrist. She stops and grins a little at what I want to do. Gently rubbing the soap on myself.

She watches with the same interested glee as she did when I was little. Always mesmerized. Always watching with interest even when I didn't do things right. Tough when she needed to be and gentle. My mom never once tried to hurt me. Never once let me get hurt. Always there to protect me. Always shining so brightly. Always fighting. Her rough and calloused hands gently rub my back.

"Hey Renaru, promise me this." She says. "No matter what. Never lose that kind heart you got. There are too many assholes in this world."

I nod and she grins. Getting out of the tub was easier because my muscles decide to work again. I get on a shirt and my underwear and pants with my bands coming on last. Mom kisses me on the forehead.

"That's my boy." she says. I look out towards the neighbors house. Mister Shiozaki would leave on Sundays of course but… where was Ibara? Worry settles in my chest thinking that something bad happened to her.

I grab a manga and shimmy up the wall. My effort was not wasted because I didn't see Mister Shiozaki anywhere. I find my way to Ibara's room and all I see is all glass floored. The door off its hinges. Flowers crushed on the floor. The bed was massacred. The walls have heavy gouges in them. Almost like a tornado tore through it. Stabbed on the wall were a bra and panties barely hanging there like gaunt remnants of war. Books scattered like broken birds and beads dotting the floor.

I back off and scramble for the wall, getting over it almost like I'm crazy. I land on the other side and make myself scarce. Going off toward the station and through the turnstile. Boarding the train towards the city. I need to transfer lines but still. I need to find Ibara. I'm worried about her. So I might just sideswipe to Miss Maryanna's apartment. I get off the train and hustle towards the exit. Being a man on a mission. I ran like hell just to see her.

My worry grows and my legs go from a trot to a full on run. I need to see her. I need to know what happened. She's my friend. She's more than that. I stumble and lurch forward. Still moving forward. Moving with my eyes on the horizon. A memory flashes through my mind. Ibara and I when we were little. Holding hands watching the stars go by. Memories of her and I laying together. Memories of me…

"Hey Ibara! When I'm older I wanna marry you!"

That promise. How did I forget that? Why did I ever forget that? I'm such a dumbass! I skid into the complex harshly. My eyes on the apartment Miss Maryanna lives in. I surge up the stairs and the rickety metal creaks and groans under my movements. I stop in front of the door and I double over and huff. My body is screaming in pain and tiredness again. Suddenly there's a length of something around my waist. Slender arms lifting me into someone's arms.

"Renaru, what-" Ibara began. All I did was grab her shoulders.

"Tell me what happened with your dad! I forgot you lived here and I was gonna bring you a manga and-" I fell into a coughing fit.

Ibara gently brings me inside and I sit down on one of the couches. She moves towards the kitchen and I hear water softly boiling. I wait as she works on the tea without much of a ripple in her movements.

Deft and smooth. Kind of making me jealous. She was blessed with a perfect body with steady everything. She's still in the kitchen.

"I assume you want some answers." She says.

"Nah. I don't care. I just came here to see you." I say plainly enough with Ibara blushing.

"Oh. I see." she mutters. I take the cup from her and nod. She settles next to me and the silence is deafening between us. Which one of us is going to start? We sit oddly next to each other with steaming cups of tea in our hands. Just sitting next to each other is strange now. I take a swig of tea and Ibara takes a dainty sip of hers. All I want is to be with her. She always looks so sad. Her green eyes look over at me and I turn back with a slight smile.

"Ibara. It's okay to be alone sometimes. I just want to be with you." I blurt. "I just want to know what's wrong so I can help because you're… you are my only friend and if anything was gonna happen to you I would- I dunno what I'd do!"

I ball my fists into my jeans and look down at my legs. Ibara doesn't say anything much about it but I look back up at her and she's almost hesitant to grab me or do anything.

She takes a deep breath. "Of course. I made you worry and I apologize for it." her hand grabs one of mine and squeezes. "But… but you're more than a friend to me." In seconds my little friendship with Ibara turned into a nightmare. Because I felt the same way. Ibara was always there for me. Always helping me. I couldn't even imagine surviving the Entrance Exam without some kinda help from her.

---

I'm fucked. I'm so fucked. The robot looms over me with its shell gleaming in the sunlight with my flames barely staying alight. Of course with death staring me in the face I had to face it with my usual bravado. Then I see a green blur of something closing in fast. A rush of air blew me backward and I saw Ibara holding the robot's arm back with her hands putting dents in the metal.

"Don't you dare harm my Renaru, you sinful piece of scrap metal!" she snarls as she crushes its arm and shoves it back with a heavy kick. She turns with her eyes closing until she realizes what exactly she said.

"Did I just call you mine?" she asks me. I nod.

"Oh goodness!" She squeaks, "I didn't mean to, it just came out!" Her cheeks are beet red.

"Nah. It's okay. It's actually kinda cute." I responded. She turns away and marches away.

---

Now we're sitting next to each other. Our tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. She finishes drinking her cup of tea and I did finish mine too. We sit there as I mull things over.

"Renaru… I'm sorry." she sighs. "I'm sure I made you uncomfortable. So please forgive me." I sigh and wrap my arm around her shoulders. She doesn't flinch but leans into it. She seems absolutely at ease. Resting her head near my chest. My heart thudding in my chest and my hair heating up gently.

Silence took over everything else. Just sitting together with her draing herself around me. So much stronger and so much better than me. A vision of grace and compassion and beauty. A girl I never deserved. Not because I feel as though I don't deserve someone to love. It's just the fact I would have to walk alongside them. Have others look at me and her and wonder what the hell possessed her to be with a boy so gawky and small. A boy with such a slender and almost grossly muscular frame.

A boy with flaming hair that barely stays alight. A boy that teeters and totters and mumbles. A boy so odd and a boy so strange as to think he could ever match up to the titans of heroes like All Might and Endeavor. A boy so foolish to fall in love with her. I'm not good enough and I never will be. But…

Ibara moves just for a moment to look me in the eyes. Her hands drift to my cheeks. Holding them gently and seeing the turmoil. Seeing the want and hurt and all the doubt. She leans forward and I feel her lips on mine.

I close my eyes and feel her vines gently winding around me. She pulls away with a soft giggle. She's smiling again. Then she begins to hug me. Her arms loose around my waist.

"I missed this…" she sighs. "Feeling like this. Feeling wanted." I hum softly in agreement.

"Well… now you'll get a lot more." I say. I thread my hand through her hair. The shorter and younger vines winding gently around it. I feel all my stress and worries melt away. The pain settled as Ibara gently muttered prayers. My eyes close and I drift off into slumber. My sleep is easy. Dreamless. All I ever want it to be sometimes. Just to get my dumb head to shut up. I wonder if we will work out. I guess when I wake up then.

Ibara and I woke up and she slowly stretches with a yawn. She's so cute. My body feels better. Who knew her vines knew how to find pressure points? Ibara rubs her eyes.

"Oh… you're still here." She says. "Did you sleep well?"

I nod and get on my feet. "Ibara… how about we go out together sometime? Maybe see a movie or go for a walk or… well go out for food?"

She smiles and kisses me on the cheek. "I would like that very much."

I grin and head towards the door. Going out and feeling like I'm walking on clouds. Getting to the station and getting through the turnstile. On the way back home I saw something odd. Jets of flame flash around one of the biggest buildings in the city.

I didn't pay much attention because it had to be a hero. At the same time there was something odd about it. The flames aren't exactly flames at all. In fact it was almost like lava. In the inferno I didn't know who was doing it but the second I saw the jets and bursts of lava and magma.

It hit me like a truck. That's Mom. I don't know why or who she's fighting but I run off the train platform as soon as I could and book it over there. Suddenly feeling the heat growing even hotter than normal. I skid to a halt seeing an entire crowd watching the battle. Villains flying everywhere as a blac armored thing cloaks itself in a red orb of heat to slam into the biggest one who was giving her trouble.

The crowd cheers as the final villain goes down and Mom straightens. Heavy ash and smoke billow from the vents on the black and orange suit. The flames and lava fissures all fade and close back up. She surveys the crowd and I can barely contain my excitement. Mom is a hero! I knew it! There's no way she was just an assistant! She turns and blasts off into the air. We all watch and just barely after a bolt of something almost nails her in the legs.

Looming over us all is the number two hero… Endeavor. Flames wreathing around him and azure eyes blazing into where Mom stopped. His hand clenches into a fist. Just before he could fire off another blast Mom manages to fly out of range.

He snarls and clears his throat. "You. Me. Talk. Now." he moves off toward a normal enough sideroad and Mom lands to follow him. I wait until she's out of sight for me to move in. I stay at the mouth of the alley to eavesdrop.

"Enji. Listen. This is part of my job. My boss wants me to test out new gear." Mom says. Her voice even. Whoever Endeavor was… this Enji guy…

"Can it, Tekka. You had your chance to become a hero and you squandered it. Hand over the armor and I won't throw you into Tartarus."

Mom's tone darkens. "Do it and I swear to you that you're gonna regret it." Endeavor begins to chuckle and I freeze. That doesn't sound good at all!

"Oh? What if I just reveal all your past. No peaceful civilian life for you."

Mom's voice grows with a bit of a growl. "Do it. I don't care. But don't you dare involve my son in your petty little issues."

I listen as he laughs all the sudden. "As if your shaking travesty of a son will ever compare to my masterwork!" He bellows with laughter and anger makes my hair flare to life. What an asshole! I feel my heat growing as I storm out of my hiding spot.

Mom and Endeavor turn towards me. Mom looked absolutely terrified. I clench my hands into fists. My nails are digging into my palms and I glare at my uncle.

"Take that back!" I yell. "I'm not a travesty!" I watch as he strides towards me with a grin on his face.

"Well well well… if it isn't my mutt of a nephew. Go ahead and start flailing angrily." he snarls. He's inches away from me now and I tense. His smile widens and his azure eyes blaze into my soul but I stay strong.

"I want you to hit me as hard as you can…" he says.

"Oh. Okay." I say.

"Now hold on a minute. Your slow brain might've misheard me. I don't mean half as hard or just some dumb percentage of your accident of a quirk… I want you. To hit me. As hard as you can." he stops and his amused smile just makes me angrier. I breathe in quickly and close in with a heavy strike to the face. He barely flinches.

"Huh. I felt that." He says. "Not bad. But-" He swats me into the wall, the wind getting knocked out of me. I crumble into a ball and gasp choking on my air.

"You're going to fail. So sit down and stay out of my way." he growls as he turns and walks out of the alleyway. Mom blasts by me and grabs Endeavor's shoulder.

"You best apologize to my son… Enji." she snarls.

Endeavor just laughs and looks down at me. "He's surprisingly durable. If by some miracle he gets into UA, maybe he can surpass my masterwork." he turns back around and forces his arm out of my Mom's grip. Mom gently hoists me into her arms and I just glare after my uncle. My eyes staring daggers into his back. Never before have I felt more rage. How could he just call me that and get away with it?

I raise my voice, "You coward! Beating me up! Calling me a mutt! You're no hero! You're nothing but a bully! I'll beat your masterwork! I'll beat it black and blue and black again! You'll see!" I stagger to my feet and Mom tries to stop me. But all I do is glare after him. So I have a goal now. That is to become a hero and surpass this mysterious masterwork!

 

Chapter 10: The Beginning of the Road.

Summary:

In which Renaru has his first day of school at UA.

A warm bed and warm room. That's all I needed after a long weekend of- Shattering it is my alarm squawking and squealing. I grumpily reach out and turn it off. Rolling back over to sleep in because I didn't feel like moving.

Then moments later I feel arms around me. Mom hoists me off my bed and onto the floor. I flop uselessly out.

"Get up hon! Time to go!" she orders.

"Nuuuh… I'm spaghetti…" I moan. "Moooom…" I raise my head and moan out again. Mom just sighs.

"Listen. You don't wanna be late right? That's a bad look." She gently stands me up and I notice that she's been crying. "Arms. Now."

I raise my right arm and she fastens my band to it. Then the same was done with my left. She also fastens my leg ones. She grabs my undershirt and has me raise my arms again. Her focus is mostly on getting me dressed.

After breakfast Mom helps me with my tie and smiles, "Don't forget Renaru. No fighting and make me proud. I don't want to start a high school album." she says. She kisses me on the forehead and I smile. She seems really happy but at the same time she's reluctant. Considering how long the commute is from here to UA. I grab my backpack and grin at her.

"I'm off! Have a good day Mom!" I exclaim. Heading out the door and on my way towards the train station and through the turnstile. Getting on the train and going off towards the future. Joining yet another train where I found Ibara already sitting down with her uniform on.

She looks up at me with a big smile. "Oh! Good morning Renaru!" She greeted me. I smile and sit down next to her. Feeling her lips brush on my cheek. My cheeks heat up as she grabs my hand.

"Renaru. I… I love you." She says. Her cheeks are cherry red. "O-oh goodness… I'm still not used to that."

"Then say it until you are!" I say. We just hold hands like it's normal. Even though we might need to hide it. I still hold her hand. Mostly because I want to. Ibara's hand is dainty but full of strength. She hums softly next to me. Looking at her new phone with a somewhat dazzled gaze. She seems so happy now. Not because of something I did. But because of something that happened to her. Guess she's an inner city girl now.

Ibara looks over at me. "So… how's my father?" she asks.

"I dunno. Haven't seen him." I answer. "He seems really quiet nowadays and I don't wanna go check because… well ya know…"

"Oh right." She says. "Because he doesn't like you or your mother."

I nod and the train slows down coming to a halt at the station before UA. Ibara stands and tugs me behind her so she could take the brunt of the crowds. She and I muscle through them with her leading the way.

---

Some of her vines wound securely around my waist. We carefully strolled through the crowd without separating each other as we arrived at our lockers. Everything is hectic around us. Mostly with people settling their things into their lockers. I get my stuff in my locker and keep my bag with me. Ibara sticks by my side. Mostly worried I might tip over. Which she wouldn't be wrong for assuming. We both head towards a large sized door labeled '1-B', which is where we attend our classes. We get into the classroom and it seems our classmates are already waiting to get seated.

From out of nowhere comes Tetsutetsu. "BRO! YOU MADE IT I-" he makes his way over to hug me at a breakneck speed. Suddenly, Ibara single-handedly floors him with her vines. Hugging me tightly.

"Whoa! Ibara lemme go!" I squeak.

"Absolutely not!" She exclaims. "He could hurt you!"

Tetsu stands back up with a grin. "Oookaaay. No hugging my friend. Got it." he says. "Name's Tetsutetsu! What about you?"

Ibara glares at him. "Ibara." She answers.

He nods and even more suddenly comes a girl with dusky green eyes and wavy dark green hair. Well… mostly. A few tiny streaks of pure white stick out. She grins with her sharp looking teeth similar to Tetsu''s. She leans down and she says.

"So this is the boyfriend?" she asks.

Ibara blushes and gently sets me down. "Well… yes. Uh…" she mumbles something.

"Well! He's really cute! Short though." the girl comments. "Nice and muscly!" I go beet red as Ibara glares at her and almost yanks me into her chest. I resist the yanking of her vines and she finally gets the message.

She lets me go and I hear a few snickers. A few minutes pass and I just storm over to a desk and sit down. Not because I was angry. Just because I didn't wanna get coddled and babied. Especially in front of potential friends or even rivals… or bullies. I can't take any chances. Everyone tended to their seats. Ibara tried to sit next to me but Tetsu zoomed to my right and another boy parked himself on my left. Ibara looks visibly frustrated as the blond boy smirks and looks at me. He winks.

"I owe you one." I hissed.

"Yeah. You're welcome." He says. "But you don't owe me a single thing. If it was 1-A, then yes." I notice Ibara sitting behind me though with the strange green-haired shark-toothed girl near Tetsu. There was also a tallish orange haired girl with teal eyes. The other class members sat down and I got out my stuff feeling a slight poke on my shoulder. I turn and Ibara is right there.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asks.

"Yes. I am. You're sitting right there." I say. "No one will bother me unless they wanna get knocked out."

Ibara still keeps a little vine tied around my arm. But the main event comes when our teacher arrives. Wearing an orange visor and red spandex with a lot of tubing. He has spiky white hair and red eyes with an underbite fit for a dog. He walked inside and stood front and center of the classroom. He oversaw us almost like a drill sergeant.

"Good morning class. I'm Sekijiro Kan. Or Mr. Kan to you all." he says. "Now you all have been selected to be in the heroics course. And it's no cakewalk. For some of you it will be harder." his eyes fall onto me but break away for just a second.

I just sit there feeling the eyes of the others on me. My hands shake a little harder than usual and my pencil breaks in two. Shame fills me like it does every time I screw up. But then he says something interesting.

"You all have issues. You all are the leftovers Aizawa in 1-A couldn't take. In all your files some of you were ostracized cause of differences in your quirks or your bodies. Those called villainous. Those who don't belong. Those who teeter and totter around like they're on a seesaw with the world." I find a laugh bubbling up from my chest because I came up with that. The others all look at a few of the others. A mantis looking guy growls and looks towards the window. A short girl with brown hair curls into a hunch.

The blond kid laughs along with me. "Hahaha! Good one Mr. Kan! Glad to see you're a drill sergeant!"

Mr. Kan blinks. "Uh… I'm not finished." He says flatly but clears his throat. "Anyway. Some of you have latent potential that Aizawa's instruction can't hope to tap into. You all should have fun with this course as well as learn a lot." he smiles and continues. "I want you to go Plus Ultra in your own ways!"

He gets back to the podium. "Since today is the first day and it's gonna be mostly orientation I figured we can do something they do in America. Introduce each other and choosing our class representatives!"

Everyone sort of falls silent and I don't know why. Some of them look shy and the blond haired boy struts up dramatically enough. Almost as if everything was some big dramatic thing. He clears his throat and bows.

"I'm Neito Monoma. I have a quirk that can copy others for a limited time." he says with a lax smile. Almost a smirk. "I'm sure over time we'll surpass 1-A."

And just like that Monoma had his goal. After him came the teal eyed and orange haired girl with the sidetail. She was tall and confident. Almost as if she was born to be a hero. She grins and turns on her heel to face us.

"Hey! The name's Itsuka Kendo! I'm really good at martial arts and other things like that!" Her hands enlarge and she grins. "I can make my hands bigger and it gives em an extra bit of oomph!" She seems really calm and dependable. Then I find myself getting up there myself.

Clattering and clomping on to the front with me muttering. "Shit. Oh fuck." That's when my legs decided to rebel and almost have me slam face first into the podium. My hands smack into the wood and set it on fire. I want to die. I want the ground to swallow me. Everyone bursts out laughing and I close my eyes trying to hold back tears. It's not my fault. Involuntary jolts happen and so do involuntary imbalances!

I stand and hold onto the barely charred wood. "Uhm… Uhhh… uhh…" I mumble. My cheeks are heating up along with my hair. "That's… that's my quirk. I uh… I breathe and flames come out of my limbs. Paranoia fills my head and I twiddle my thumbs. "My… My name is… R-Renaru…" I stammer. My bands gently pressing against my arms as I air out the tops of the ones on my legs. Suddenly I hear a question.

"Are you related to Endeavor?" A big fluffy guy with glasses asks.

"He's my uncle. Before you ask. No. We aren't on good terms." I answer. "My last name is Kaenshita and not Todoroki and if you call me that I will smack a burn on you. Other than that my condition makes me quiver and shake and have balance issues. Even though that has never stopped me in any sense of the word from kicking lots of ass."

"Does that mean you've smacked ass before?" The girl with dark green hair hoots. Making Ibara glare at her and she just shrugged.

"Hey! It's a genuine question!" She exclaims. "Well fine, me and Ibara will go up together." the girl grabs Ibara's hand and yanks her along. I shuffle back to my seat. She bounds to the front with Ibara in tow.

Ibara seethes a little and the girl decides to take the lead. I notice a slight red glow in Ibara's eyes. It's not normal. But everyone seems to ignore it.

"I'm Setsuna Tokage and this is my cousin Ibara Shiozaki!" she exclaims. "My quirk is a really cool Velociraptor mutation!" She whirls her head towards Ibara and she just stands there silently.

Disturbingly enough… Ibara looks rather angry. Her face taut like a bowstring. She stiffly bows and straightens.

"My quirk is my hair. I can move my vines freely." she states with burning red. "Other than that however…" She searches for something and pulls out a hard chair from the closet. It looks old and almost halfway to the scrapheap. Her eyes widen and veins grow on her forehead. With a sound like a soda can being crushed it becomes a ball of plastic and metal.

Everyone gawks at the blatant show of force and she walks back to her seat with a serene smile on her face. Everyone else goes and all I can think of is Ibara. What the hell was that? What shocked me the most is that it came from Ibara of all people. She usually never is this clingy or has any issues with anger. Once the intros were done we went around the school getting familiar with things. Ibara stuck close to me. Even growling a little at the others. Especially Setsuna.

Itsuka seems to be the only one that Ibara lets anywhere near me. Maybe because in some way Ibara respects her or has no reason to go all Alpha Female on her. Come lunchtime and Ibara cheerily walks beside me. Vines binding my arm. She acts as though I didn't see her giving death stares to literally anyone within five feet of me.

"Listen. I don't need a bodyguard." I say.

"Bodyguard, dear?" she asks. "Oh no. I was just protecting you from the sinful ones!" I sigh and shake my head.

"Is this something your dad drilled into you?" I sigh. "Because that's not what our classmates are. You're starting to scare me."

She stops and I look at her. Her eyes glistening and tears threatening to fall. Her lips tremble and her hands squeeze together. One of the worst feelings in the world shoots me in the chest. Guilt flows in me and she suddenly hugs me. Her soft breath hitches and I just feel shitty. She's gotta feel just as bad as I do about it. Especially when I got scared of her. Ibara and I head towards a place where we can talk things out alone. Because I don't want to cause a scene where she loses her shit and I get pretzeled.

We walk up to the roof. The sun shining down on one of the H stems. Ibara and I sit down near the entrance to the roof and she immediately sits me in her lap. Her face buried in my warm hair. Mostly because I'm not alight all the time. Her arms wind around me and I close my eyes.

"Shh…" I mumble into her chest. "Shhh…"

Ibara is sobbing like I shot her dog and I shift to look her in the eyes. She's all teary eyed and remorseful but I notice that she's slowly relaxing. She looks at me with her hand pressing against my cheek. It's soft and warm. Dainty but still strong. Maybe a little rough from whatever crazy stuff her dad had her do. I feel her lips on my forehead. Softly muttering something that sounded like "Something Something Lord forgive me." Then I feel her kiss my cheek. Her arms around my waist. Her kisses are light and they kinda tickle.

"Please forgive me…" she mutters. "Punish me however you want." When she says that I feel my cheeks heat up and I move back so my hair could flare without hurting her.

"Punish you?" I blurt out.

"Yes! I've sinned! I deserve it!" she exclaims.

"No you don't." I say. "I'm your boyfriend, not your father. Whatever he did to you is messed up." I see her settle down a little.

"You didn't do anything wrong." I sigh. "You just were nervous and scared and I guess a weird second quirk took things from there. But in the future just let me fall and make mistakes. If I dont then I won't learn." I knock against my chest.

"You've seen me take a lot more hits. What's got you so clingy now?" I asked. She just sets me down next to her and gets out her lunch.

"I've never had a boyfriend before. What do couples do together?" she admits.

"Well… there's dates and holding hands. Kissing… cuddling… stuff my Mom told me never to look up and if I did she would be very disappointed in me." I explained. "Stuff like that."

"I see." Ibara says. "And the things your mother told you never to look up must be… lustful things." she shudders a little but not in fear. She's… excited. She opens her lunch and I do too. The rooftop is really peaceful. Seeing Ibara's vines gently billow in the wind and the sun shining on her face makes her look really beautiful.

She smiles and her hand squeezes mine. Her beautiful smile shines and I just kind of… stay stuck. Ibara is really beautiful. I wouldn't say prettier than my mom but Ibara is… well… cute. She picks up some food and turns to me.

"Uhm… would you like to share with me?" she asks.

I smile at her and nod. She lifts the sandwich half towards me and I try not to eat the whole thing. It tastes normal enough and Ibara giggles.

"Like it?" she asks.

"Yeah. Tastes good." I replied, "Hey… uh… since we're on the subject of dates, how about we go out somewhere on Saturday?"

"Oh!" Ibara exclaims, "That would be lovely!"

I almost thought she would say no. But if it was Ibara back with Mister Shiozaki she would say no. I almost hugged her out of joy. I feel so light and she kisses me again. That only makes me feel even happier. Even though she got a rocky start, I was proud of her. We eat our lunches without much fuss or trouble. We head back to class and I'm too distracted by the thought of the date coming up. Just thinking about it has me all happy and excited to see what comes next. My first day at UA became something special.

The beginning of my road to become a hero was bright. I just hope to keep it that way.

Chapter 11: Moonflowers and Scars.

Summary:

Ibara and Renaru's first date!

I stare at myself in the mirror. I barely recognize myself. Aunt Yue looming behind me with a serene smile. Her crimson eyes shine as she takes in how good I look to her. While to me… I don't look like myself at all.

"Oh darling… What's the matter? You look like an angel!" she exclaims.

"It doesn't feel like me at all." I mumble. "Feeling rather… naked." My arms close over my chest being exposed by a wide chest window. Mostly styled after her own dress. With it all hugging my curves. A white and gold nightmare. Because Renaru loves me with the beautiful handmade dresses.

"Ibara. Your father made you not embrace your femininity the right way. You're supposed to embrace it to get the man of your dreams! Then when you finally have him… well…"

She makes an odd hand motion like she's strangling something. She glares at it with such hatred in her eyes. Setsuna coughs from behind us.

"Mama. The hell you got Ibara in?" she asks. "Cause that's not what she likes and definitely not what Renaru likes. I saw him blush just by holding hands with her."

Aunt Yue grins. An unsettling sickle of amusement. She deftly walks over to Setsuna and leans down to stare her in the eyes.

"I see… what do you suggest then, Dear?" It sounds condescending. Aloofness driving from her lips like venom.

Setsuna grins and holds up a dress that is much more modest. "I found THIS baby in an old closet! It's just her size too! Weirdly enough it had a kinda… I dunno… angelic quality to it?" her grin widens as I see it. Something about it is familiar. But Aunt Yue's expression grows taut. She glares at it like she wanted to shred it. She turns.

"Fine then. Try that one on. In fact forget I was even trying to help!" she hisses. Storming off and maybe throwing a tantrum. Sometimes Aunt Yue is quite the child. Setsuna smirks and helps me take off the bad dress and she studies my face.

"Hmmm… How wouldja like some makeup? He won't be here for a while." she wonders. "Aw who am I fooling he loves you without it!" She slides the dress on me. It looks almost like a beautiful angel's robe. A long white dress with gold weaved throughout. Much more comfortable and less revealing. But… It truly makes me feel beautiful. With a billowing skirt and with a twirl it flares around me as I do it.

"How do ya feel now?" she asks.

"Well… I feel just fine…" I say. "It's just very nerve wracking!" I feel my cheeks flare.

"Get going then! My mama is gonna go postal any minute!" she exclaims as I leave the room through the door. "Good luck on your date!" she concluded.

---

Mom looks at what I was doing with disbelief. "I can't believe my baby is going on a date already!" She squeals. Her hair shining and her eyes twinkling. I smile and show off my nice white suit with red flame designs.

"Is it too flashy?" I ask.

"Well! If I was your dad, I would be really proud of you. But in my humble words I don't care as long as it makes you happy." she answered. She grins and hugs me.

"So… what's the deal with tonight?" she wonders.

"Oh! Ibara told me that her aunt got really fancy reservations for a fancy joint downtown. So I gotta wear a suit. Funny right?"

"Er… right." Mom says. "Just be careful around ladies like her aunt."

"What's wrong with Miss Maryanna?" I ask.

Mom just waves her hand. "Ah nothing. Just get going. I'm sure she's coming to get you."

I uneasily move towards the door with nothing much more to do. Mom is acting really weird and I don't think that's a good sign. I head outside and suddenly I see just the strangest thing. Not only is it a big limo but it's the kind that glitzy idols might own.

I walk towards it and coming out is Ibara. She looks rather pretty with not a lot of makeup on. Her dress is gorgeous. Reminding me of angel robes and her hair looks just as beautiful as it normally does. I kiss her on the cheek and she returns it. She guides me to the car and I don't exactly pay attention to who is in there with her. Just the fact that it's big in here. Ibara sidles in next to me and almost presses herself into me.

Mostly because I notice that she seems scared. I look in front of me and see the tallest lady I've ever seen staring down at me with what I can only say is amusement. Her eyes are the same shade of red as my flames on my suit. Her hair is long and silvery-white along with her skin. I feel like a deer caught in headlights. Staring at her as Ibara just holds one of my hands.

"Uhm…" I mumble. "H-hi…"

The woman gives me a wide smile and even more fear sets into me. She speaks and her voice is almost husky but clean and crisp almost as though she has an almost seamless switch between her other languages.

"So. You must be this Renaru boy my little sister and my niece have taken a shine to." she says.

"Right. It's… it's an honor to meet you." I greeted. She grins and I can't look her in the eyes. This was definitely Mom's boss. She fits the bill perfectly. Ego radiating off her. Dress exposing enough skin to make even a monk go mad with desire. Yet something didn't feel right. Her gaze is cold but everything else about her is warm. Power seems to be coming from every motion as if she wants to chokehold the entire conversation. Ibara gently squeezes my hand as her aunt clears her throat.

"Your mother talks about you quite a lot." she says.

"Does she?" I ask.

"Why yes. And I see why. A boy sweet enough to gain the love of my niece has to be rare indeed." she nods and Ibara looks down at her lap.

"Wait… what's wrong with that? Ibara is completely awesome!" I exclaim. Her aunt seems to get that odd fear back into her gaze somehow. Ibara seems to brighten. The car goes towards the restaurant and she seems to be in a better mood. Her aunt seems to stare at me almost… bored.

When the car came to a halt she said. "Have fun you two." Ibara opens the door and gets out but just before I could get out her aunt suddenly slams it shut behind her.

"Listen here boy. You don't know what she is." she snarls. "You'd best quit while you're ahead."

"Oh yeah? I think I won't. If you say that, then that only makes me wanna date her more! Thanks for the ride!" I open the door and get out. Almost falling on my butt. Yet I get yanked into Ibara's arms as the limo pulls out of the way.

She clings to me as she leads me inside. Needless to say it's way too fancy even for her. She looks around at the fancy dining room and all the waiters are pretty much wearing overly clean suits and aprons. She grabs my hand and turns back around without a single word. Leading me back outside and away from the restaurant. She looks rather angry. Yet when we were finally out of there she relaxed.

We walked along quietly with her still holding my hand. She's going towards a nearby park. The glitzy city around us giving way to a quieter area. Ibara smiles once we get somewhere quieter and she sits down in a field overlooking it all. I sit next to her and she scooches closer to me. Her head resting on my shoulder. She's so close… and smells so nice. I sit holding her hand and she just stays close. Her weight is somewhat comforting on my shoulder with some of her vines winding around me.

"That was close…" she sighs.

"Wait. Didn't your aunt get that reservation?" I ask.

"I didn't want to take you somewhere uncomfortable." She answers. "And that place was too fancy even for me." her eyes close and she takes a deep breath.

"Something wrong?" I notice that she seems tense. She nods.

"Well… seems like you and her don't get along." I comment.

"We don't unfortunately. It seems my Aunt Maryanna is the only one in my corner at the moment." She sighs.

"Hey! I'm in your corner too!" I feign betrayal and she giggles.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry!" She exclaims. "Would you rather be in the ring with me?"

"You know it!" I laugh. "Of course I do. You're my girlfriend after all!" Ibara suddenly hugs me with her chin resting on my head. My hair isn't burning too brightly but she lifts me a little into her lap.

"Hmm…" she sighs. I feel her relax a little. I just let her hold me. Something about it is so comforting and it makes me feel stable. Her embrace is warm and I just hug her back. Her vines wind around me.

There's nothing wrong with her. Nothing that might make me run away. I still don't know everything about her. Ever since I met her she's never hurt a fly. I've been around her since I was five. There's no tail or horns or forked tongue. Everything about her was normal. So if any big brained, mouth agape, Cheesing, and overly sexy demons wanna tell Ibara they're kinsmen then they'll have me to answer to! Of course that's just me making a cheeky reference to my mom's favorite series of all time.

But then I remembered the fact that she twisted a chair into scrap metal. Still. She wouldn't hurt me! Right? Ibara then does something strange. She moves me back and then… she kisses me. Her lips pressed against mine. I hesitate a little before pushing in, our tongues gently meeting in the middle. Her arms squeeze me tighter and her vines cocoon around us. She pulls back a little and touches foreheads with mine.

"Darling…" she mutters. "I love you…"

"I love you too, Ibara." I say. She still has the vines wound around us and she still holds me. I didn't notice the slight shift in her mood.

"Uhh… Ibara are you okay?" then she kisses me on the forehead. Then the cheeks. Then my jaw. Just kissing me over and over.

"Haha! Hey! That tickles! Alright, you asked for it! C'mere!" I laugh and grab her. I kiss her all over. Her forehead. Her cheeks and her jaw too. Feeling her joy at each and every one of them. Her vines were rustling and billowing at every single one. She and I do that for a bit. Kissing each other in our own little world. She holds me close. Her arms around me and her vines softly closing in to cloak the two of us.

"Renaru…" she sighs dreamily. "I don't want to leave…"

"Me neither…" I huff.

She lays us back and we both stare up at the stars. Tangled in her vines and holding each other. The quiet night drifting by.

"Renaru… if… if I were to… uhm…" she stumbles over her words. It's actually really cute.

"Yes?" I ask.

"Well! I was… going to ask you if… I were to… to uh… se… sed… ah lord forgive me…" she mumbles and then screws her eyes shut.

"Listen. Ibara…" I sigh. "I would. I would like so much to be with you."

Ibara sighs in relief. "Then you wouldn't be against it!" She exclaims… her skirt moving aside.

"OKAY!" I yell. Getting on my feet and turning away from her. "No no no! Slow your roll! We are WAY too new to do that! Kissing and handholding is fine but not… that. Not right now." Then I turn and see her shyly blushing and showing me her legs.

"Does this… ahem… t-turn you on?" she asks.

"No…" I answer.

"Oh! Then…" she moves her sleeve down to show her shoulder. "Then you must be a shoulder man." she looks over her shoulder with what I can assume is an attempt at an enticing wink.

I smile. "Really? Oh my god… I cant believe your dad and Aunt really believe that is really scandalous. But… lemme try!" I slide off my suit jacket and Ibara immediately turns her back on me with a crimson blush.

"Oh lord, please forgive my boyfriend! He knows not what he does!" she squeaks as I put it back on. Seeing her hand ball into her skirt. She turns but it's almost in shame. Almost like she wanted to see me show her my bands and my arms and my legs.

Ibara's vines wind around me again as she sits down on a stump and sits me in her lap. I sit there and she rests my head against her chest.

"Forgive me…" she mutters. "My love please forgive me…" she runs her hand through my hair and I hug her neck a little.

"I do forgive you. There's nothing wrong with feeling the way you do."

"But I've looked at you with lust! I… I've sinned!" She sniffles. I close my eyes and shake my head.

"All I've seen is the only girl I've ever loved." I say. "I… I love you. I've loved you for a long time, Ibara Shiozaki." I smile and touch her cheek. "I've always wanted to see you in bloom." Then I see them. Moonflowers suddenly blossom in her hair.

She smiles and leans close. Only for you… she whispers before kissing me and deepening it. She groans a little as she pulls me back up with her. Her lips taste so good. Like she was an angel herself.

"Darling…" she says. "I want… I want to kiss you more and more… I can't stop! You're warm and… I want to feel it!" She hugs me.

"I belong with you…" she mumbles. "Please… please let me go home with you. Let me stay…" she begs as I look at the time.

I want to help her but Mom would freak out. Not to mention her dad lives right next door to us. Not only that but Maryanna is way better at handling all the girl stuff than I am. As much as I would love to have Ibara as a houseguest-

---

"Hey Maryanna…" I sigh. Seeing my trainer washing dishes and she looks at me with a grin.

"Ibara got you, huh?" she asks.

"Yeah…" I yawn. "She dragged me here and now she's going to cuddle me to death."

Miss Maryanna laughs and ruffles my hair. "Well! Have fun you two~!" she teases as Ibara leads me to our room for the night. Mom would be okay with this. I hope so. I wish. I think. Her room is small but cozy. Candles and a small shrine. A few plants in the window. A bed. Dresser and vanity. Stuff like that.

Ibara breezes in and stands in front of her mirror. Undoing the two vines on her forehead. The two vines hang down as the vines lengthen to just above her thighs. She glances at me as I undo my hair. With the ponytail free my hair cools down. The rest is just normal length. Ibara then grabs something from her dresser and I turn away. Closing my eyes and hearing the soft rustling of clothing. Then she giggles.

"Renaru. You can gaze upon me now." I turn and open my eyes seeing her in a white nightgown with moonflower patterns on it. It falls to her ankles and she smiles. I steadily take off my suit jacket and shirt. She doesn't blush really. Only a little… Until she sees them. My scars. Her expression falls into sadness. Her vines gently pull me into her arms. I'm only in my boxers with my arms and legs uselessly dangling. She lays down on the bed.

Then… I feel a soft tingling on my left arm. She lifted it to kiss it. Every scar there. Then the same for my right. She gently lays kisses on my chest and back. Then says the words that make me want to get a ring and shove it onto her finger.

"Renaru… you're beautiful. Every bit of you is." she says. "No matter how scarred you are… never forget that."

I sniffle and she immediately cuddles me. "Shh… shhh… it's true. I love you… I think you're beautiful." she kisses me goodnight and turns out the light. My hair softly glowing patterns onto the ceiling.

She's so soft and warm… so nice… and her hair is so gentle too. I smile and curl into her embrace even more. Falling into slumber. Waking up with Ibara cuddling up with me is just oddly comforting. Her softly rising and falling chest lulling me back to sleep. Her vines gently running against my body.

I rest my head right against her heart and hear it's steadily beating. I just don't get why she's so worried about sinning. It's not really something I would worry about. She's so cute sleeping like this. Her arms wrapped around me and her nightgown spread below her. Just being with her feels right. Her hair lightly brushes my arms and legs. Her hands met in the small of my back.

I wish I could look into ten years from now to see if we're married. Because I don't know if things will stay this way. I smile and bury my face into her chest, tears stinging my eyes. Because I love her a lot. Remembering us when we were little. How she would bandage my scrapes and kiss them better. Mom would joke that Ibara was a good little nurse.

Ibara shifts a little bit and her vines squeeze me a tiny bit. Her beautiful dark green eyes open and she looks up at me.

"Mm?" She groans a little, "So it really wasn't a dream?"

I launch up and yawn nice and loud, "Huahhh! Nope! But that's the first sleep I've had where I don't have an episode."

Ibara gets a worried look on her face, "Episode?"

"Oho yeah. An episode is when my arms and legs get all jittery and I end up kicking whoever or whatever is in bed with me out of it." I answer. Ibara nods and kisses my forehead.

"Then I'm blessed to not be one of the forsaken." She says and I get her back with one on the lips. She blushes and holds me near her chest softly running her hand through my warm hair.

"Dear, please don't worry about if you're not worthy of me. I'm sure my aunt Yue wanted to scare you off." She says.

"Oh believe me. She did the whole door closed 'listen here' routine." I scoff, "I said that only makes me wanna date you harder!"

Ibara smiles, "Then I am one blessed woman to have such a loyal man's love."

I feel heat on my cheeks as she says that, "W-well! I also wanted to do it outta spite!" I squeak, "I mean you're really the only girl I had eyes for and no creepy moon lady is gonna make me stop!"

Ibara grins and squeezes me, "Oh Renaru! You're my hero!" She exclaims and I burst into tears. I just don't get why I cry so much.

"Don't cry…" she sighs, "I truly believe that you can be one. Be it a professional hero or just a good man standing against the darkness of the world!" Her earnest words wash over me as I dry my eyes.

"I guess so…" I sigh. "Guess we'll see at the Battle Training today,"

"Oh. It's today?" I ask, "Didn't know that."

Ibara just laughs a little and hugs me, "You'll do fine, my love." She says, "I think you just talked to yourself."

"I did? Oh boy…" I huff, "I guess I will."

"Don't guess. That leads to doubt." She says. I smile and gently kiss her cheek.

"Right, babe." I agree and we both leave her room. The future looks brighter than ever.

Chapter 12: First Sword.

Ibara and I hold hands as we walk together to school after swinging by my house to get my uniform and bookbag. Just to change out of my suit. Mom and Ibara were talking about something but I didn't get what. I take off my suit from our date and put on my school uniform. Trying to tie the tie like my OT wants me to do. My fingers fumble and struggle to tie it but I stay stalwart. Mostly because I wanted to prove I could do it. I steadily figure it out and it's done in no time flat. I smooth it out and come out of my room with Ibara and Mom not really glaring at each other.

In fact Mom is relaxed. Even being friendly with her. Seems like Mom can get along with her after all. Although I can't exactly tell with her. Mom always seems to hide herself behind masks of all kinds of things.

"I'm ready to go." I say. Ibara immediately darts to my side. Her green eyes were shining happily.

"It was nice to meet you Mrs. Kaenshita!" she chirps. Mom nods and we get going. She looked tense. Almost as though she was refusing to believe what she just saw. I shrug it off but Ibara seems happy enough.

---

The morning after Renaru and I shared a bed was heavenly. But this is entirely different from that. I gently fiddle with my uniform as his mother stares across the room from me. Red orange eyes like his and hair softly burning like his too. However her general countenance is very cold.

She clears her throat. "So. You're dating my son." She says. Her warm crackling voice almost sounding more like an inferno. Her very body is extremely well built even though she works for my aunt. Sleek and tanned. A vision of what fire is embodied in a woman. The same body that was pressed against mine but switched to a small frame almost twig in comparison. I feel the guilt creeping into my head. Why would I ever sacrifice and rebel against my father for something so dangerous? He fed me and clothed me and sacrificed all he could for me.

My father wanted me to stay with him. My father always said to choose those who would protect me. Yet… why do I feel as though Renaru couldn't?

"Why yes I am." I say. His mother sits closer. Her eyes staring into my own. The heat grows around us. Sweat runs down my neck. She chuffs a little and leans back.

"Hm. I can see why he likes you." she rumbles. Her eyes were more focused on how I was sitting.

"You're tense." She states. "What? Never been around a fire before? My son is kinda like that."

"Yes but-"

"Not like me. Right? Well… lemme tell you something Miss Shiozaki. I don't like what you're doing. I know what you are." she growls. "I've seen what your family is able to do."

"But my aunts and my father aren't all like that!" I object. "I… I'm not like that." Flashes of the tree monster that Father became go through my mind. The whirlwind of destruction. The shouts in German. The creaking and groaning of old wood. All of it crashing through my mind. The sheer agility and strength of Auntie Yue as she tore through that training robot's defenses. The odd red aura and the billowing hair.

Renaru's mother sighs and leans back as she stares at me. "Ah hell…" she huffs. "You've been through a lot. I can tell. You're hiding it so you don't have to show my son." I can't find anything wrong with that. She's right. The feelings I feel and the guilt boiling gently under the surface. As well as the… forbidden feeling. I gently touch my own shoulder. Feeling the old… sin. There.

"Your dad is getting what was coming to him. It's been quiet and the house's gate has been open for a while now." she says. I sigh and it's almost in relief.

"Good…" I sigh. "I trust he is well?"

"Far from it. I haven't seen him for a long time. He just… disappeared." She says. "I'm sure he's a tough dude. Never seen him outta his mind."

"You shouldn't see it like that." I say. "My father… he's… a force of nature like you are Miss Kaenshita. The worst rage of anyone I've ever seen." She blinks and doesn't shiver but nods.

"Yeah. I can see why." she replied. "Listen kiddo. I don't wanna assume stuff about him but maybe you should start taking things easy."

I grin. "Oh don't worry! I have a lot of people in my corner… like your son!" I see her raise an eyebrow at that. She huffs a little.

"Watch it. You're getting a little assuming there." she says with a slight smirk. We both hear Renaru's voice come drifting.

"I'm ready to go," he announced as he left his room, all prepared with his UA uniform and bookbag.

"Well. It was nice to meet you, Miss Kaenshita." I say. Darting immediately to his side. I grab his hand and we head off.

---

Ibara and I leave for school. Her hand is holding mine and we walk side by side. With my thoughts on nothing but last night. Not actually staying in the restaurant but actually cuddling in bed together. It felt nice and warm and I didn't want to wake up. Even when I was supposed to get up she wouldn't let me go. It was the best sleep ever because sometimes my muscles hurt badly and I couldn't sleep. But last night I slept like a baby.

I notice that Ibara looks at her house with a bit of a worried expression. The wide open gate really was creepy. Because where did her dad even go? What is he doing? It's really scary to think that maybe he's out hunting her down.

"Something bothering you, Ibara?" I find myself blurting out. Ibara jumps a little and turns. She's embarrassed.

"Oh, it's nothing, dear. It's been a while since I've seen my home, that's all!" she grabs my hand and pulls me along gently behind her.

"Are you scared of him?" I ask her. She shakes her head.

"Oh no. Of course not." she denies. "Honor thy father and thy mother and all that." I raise an eyebrow at that.

"Oh yeah? You know you can just tell me your real thoughts about him." I nudge her a little and she huffs.

"Darling. I don't… have issues with my father." she says, avoiding my gaze. "I just have disagreements! Yes."

"Uh huh." I flatly answer that.

"Well I do!" She squeaks "He's so… so… uh…" It's honestly cute how hard she's thinking of an insult. She tenses and squeezes her eyes shut. "He's such a- An overbearing father!" She opens her eyes and smiles.

"Is that acceptable?" she wonders.

I nod. "Close. Just take your time with it. Maybe get into something you like?"

"Oh! Then…" she grabs my hand, "Yes I would like that!" she exclaims as she slows down to walk close to me. Walking towards the station mostly quietly. Holding each other's hands. I feel as though she's still holding something in but I don't want to get further into it. As the train ride goes on we just hold hands and sit next to each other. She and I are quietly busying ourselves with our own things. Mostly me just trying to adjust my bands to be a little tighter.

I know I will never be on the same level as everyone else. It's an easy pill to swallow now. Just a little boy trying to lay with the other kids. Even though I wanna be a hero more than anything right now. Just knowing that my dream is so far away from me right now just makes me feel sad. Mom's whole money situation with the debt from my surgeries is still wreaking a ton of havoc. A flare of rage lights in my chest.

If Miss Yue is so rich, why can't she help my mom out? Is she really that selfish? My mom works her ass off and she looks more and more tired and it worries me. My thoughts wander as I totter and teeter behind Ibara. But then I feel someone slam into my back, almost ramming the wind out of me. It's Tetsutetsu!

"Yo! How you doing bro?" he seems cheery enough. "You ready for the Battle Training?" Ibara looks right behind her to see him hoisting me almost if I'm choking on something and he's doing the Heimlich Maneuver.

"Dude! Lemme down!" I squeak. "Seriously!"

"Yes. That's quite enough. Renaru doesn't need to be carried." Ibara flatly remarks with her green eyes oddly enough changing a slight crimson. She yanks me back to be close to her. I blush when I make contact with her again.

I'm still not used to her being as clingy as she is. But the strange thing is how much more solid she feels. She gently hoists me to my feet and gently plants a kiss on my lips. I go beet red and the three of us make it into class.

Kendo waves to us. "Hey guys! How are things?" she asks as we come in.

"Well the thing is…" I begin before Ibara just shoos me off to sit at my seat. That didn't stop Tetsu from yelling.

"SHIOZAKI AND KAENSHITA ARE TOGETHER!" The news crackles through the classroom and something like a boiling teapot comes from Kinoko. Monoma howls with laughter and the others all sort of look at those two like they're from another planet.

"OH MY GOD! HURRY AND TELL US!" She squeaks. "Oh wait! Don't tell me! You're soulmates! Fire and Life, a forbidden love that could never fully bloom because Renaru's too hot and would burn your sweet angelic body to cinders if he were to- Oho… if he were~!" she squeaks again and closes her eyes with her cheeks red.

Ibara fidgets a little. "Well… we did… uhm… sle-"

"What she's saying is that I was invited to sleep over! Mostly because we got cuddly and I didn't exactly wanna turn down good old fashioned hospitality! I totally didn't sleep in the same bed as her haha!" I blurt out as my hair lights up and my cheeks extend their blush to my neck. I'm bombing so hard right now that my dad can hear it from Tartarus!

"Now now, everyone!" Monoma exclaims. "We must all remember that Renaru isn't very stable. Any strong force can knock him off his feet." I look away and I know he's right. At least now. Although it does tick me off a little. He smiles and gently lays a hand on my shoulder.

"So please be gentle with him, Shiozaki. He's trying really hard not to act broken." He winks at me and I don't know if he's being nice in the most backhanded way or if he's being serious. I see one of the guys glaring at me with mandibles on his face.

He crosses his arms. "Why would a guy like you get into this school huh? This isn't a participation award class Charity Case!" He snarls. His voice was grating on my ears and my nerves.

"Well that's not very nice of you to say that. He worked hard to get into this school, just like the rest of us. How is he any different?" Kendo says.

The mantis kid snarls and begins to cackle. "Look at him!" he gestures to my entire body, "He's wearing those bands yet he can barely stand without Shiozaki!" I grit my teeth and he clashes his mandibles together.

"What. You got something to say?" he snarls. I get up from my chair and walk over. My steps oddly enough are steady. I glare at him.

Mr. Kan comes in. "Alright… what's going on guys?"

"Mr. Kan, I call dibs on Togaru today in Battle Training!" I declare. "My honor is being tested!"

"Ohh boy…" he sighs. "If that's what you want." He turns to the others. "Meet me in Ground Gamma. The topmost building. Yesterday the one we usually use had been destroyed by 1-A."

Either way I'm psyched for this battle training. Mostly to show off my skills! We all go to the lockerroom to open up our metal suitcase holding our hero costumes. I take off my uniform jacket and shirt. The guys all look at my scars and burns as I slide on my costume. I fumble with the buttons a little and Tetsu tries to come forward but I ward him off with a look.

"You sure you still wanna fight?" Togaru asks "I don't wanna shred you worse than you already are!"

I ignore him and get on my gloves. They're fingerless and similar to MMA gloves. I fix my socks and shoes back on and take up my final piece… a white haori with orange and red flame designs on the end sort of like flames themselves. Togaru basically has a long cloak that's torn on the ends almost looing like a pirate uniform and Tetsu has a weird armor looking suit.

There's also Manga who looks like he is in an inkwell. The other guys have all kinds of prototype suits made by actual suit designers. Mine looks nice enough and when we all leave the locker room we run into the girls.

"Hey!" Kendo exclaims. "You guys look cool!" She almost reminds me of Chun Li. She wears a headband like a mask and it's all teal and yellow. Yellow on the borders at least. I smile and she notices my gloves.

"Oh! You got MMA experience Kaenshita?" she asks. I rock my hand back and forth a little.

"Eh… sorta. My mom used to fight so I figured gloves like these would sort of honor her."

She smiles and nods. "Cool! I hope we can spar some time!" I fist bump with her and I suddenly see something. Ibara shyly hides behind Setsuna who is wearing a green scaly costume that looks like real velociraptor skin.

"Come on cuz! Show him!" She exclaims ribbing her gently. Ibara shakes her head. Then Setsuna just tosses her away and there she is in what I could only describe as a REALLY impractical robe and heeled boot combination that had me questioning what the hell she was thinking.

It was pretty but combat wise it sucks. What was she gonna do just stand there and let whoever was attacking her hurt her? But I also notice that her shoulder is exposed. She blushes and tries to scramble back for Setsuna's safety.

"Hold on." I say. "Ibara, it's fine and all that. Don't worry." She looks up from her hands and smiles a little. She grabs my hand and leads me out towards Ground Gamma. Mr. Kan is out there getting a few things ready. He turns and looks at us.

"Alright you guys!" He declares, "Welcome to the Battle Training! For now I'll run the first fight by having Kaenshita and Kamakiri going! Your Partners are Tetsutetsu and Kendo! Heroes vs. Villains. One team attacks and the other defends with the Heroes needing to tag the bomb!"

---

I just barely wrench myself to my feet. Tetsu is off somewhere fighting Kendo and here I am stuck fighting Togaru! He looms over me with his blades outstretched. Mandibles clashing together.

"Come on… what's so special about you?" he snarls. "Other than the fact yer a sympathy case!" I take up the shred of rebar I used as a sword. My hero costume is torn and burnt into tatters. The haori around my shoulders billows gently. My bands exposed and my eyes staring into his. The dull throb of my muscles and the constant ache of every movement almost forcing me back down.

"Nothing. Just a guy who wants to become a hero." I say. Whirling my sword through the air and getting into a stance. I blast forward with my shoes and socks burning away. Clashing hard against his blades and pushing against him. He stands stalwart before breaking the clash and swinging his large blades right for my unguarded body but I whirl around blocking it at the last second. My aching blasts right into agonizing pain. With the two of us chasing each other with flames and blades clashing and breaking apart again and again.

"YAAAASHHAAAAAAA!" I scream with my hair bursting into flames. My haori tearing off my shoulders and my shirt and coat blasting away too. My bands have two ragged tassels whipping through the air as I force him back. Togaru's blades crack and we just go insane. My piece of rebar still holds strong enough to last this long. I decide to finish this. Flames burst out of the sides of my mouth. My eyes staring dead at him.

"What's so wrong with being weak?!" I yell as I bring my sword out into a wide arc. 'Inferno Style… First Form… Determination Flare!' I think. My flames burst from the rebar and cut through his like butter. He falls from exhaustion and my rebar clatters uselessly to the floor. My body gives out and I fall to the hard floor. My eyes staring at the bomb. 'Move!' I think. 'Come on! You're right there! Come on! You got this! One hand! One arm!'

Tears rain from my eyes. My body is screaming in agony at every movement. I gently grab onto the floor and remember the time I laid on the arena floor. My body gave up on me then. My arm dragging me along as I remember the exam and all the hardships I had to go through. 'Days gone by reading Hajime no Ippo, my mother crying at the dinner table when I was finally home, if I give up now, that's all worthless! That just shows my weakness! My father is counting on me to take care of her! I reach a shaking hand out to the cold metal surface. The rest of my body gave out but not my one arm. I stare at it with fury in my eyes. 'No! No… I won't… I won't let my body beat me! I won't! Not ever!' I feel it in my hand.

And then I yell. "I DID IT! I TOUCHED IT! I GOT IT!" I dissolve into a blubbering and coughing mess. I just feel the waves of relief and the feeling of accomplishment overrides everything else. Tears course down my face as Tetsu and Kendo come out of nowhere.

"BRO! That was SO cool!" Tetsu exclaims. "That was some real swordsman stuff! You gotta teach me!"

Itsuka looks down at me. "You did good Renaru. So did you Togaru!"

"Tch…" Togaru growls, "He got lucky! I was gonna slice him in two!" I couldn't help but laugh at that and jokingly nudge his shoulder. Or trying to but I'm still on the floor. Itsuka gently hoists me onto her back and we leave the training ground but I don't remember much after that because I passed out. The last thing I remember is laying on something soft to the touch and humming a hymn. Regardless it feels good to sleep things off. Just let the aching and the pain go away.

Chapter 13: A Lovely Sin

I close my eyes. laying in bed after today's training. Seeing my boyfriend fighting so hard against Togaru. His hair afire and his eyes afire too. With his shred of rebar bathed in flames. It... set something off in me. My vines gently rustle. Thinking of Renaru's shirtless body and the muscles there. I feel my hands and vines slide through my nightgown.

A soft gasp escapes from my lips. My heart racing, my face flushing red as my hand slowly makes its way up to my chest.

"You're not doing anything wrong..." I whisper to myself, looking at the floor. Looking around me. My room is clean and tidy. Everything is normal.

"It's not a sin…" I mumble. "Not a sin to lust after your future husband. To stare at him whenever you want. To dream about him when he leaves. What if I'm wrong? What if I'm just seeing what I want to see? That this feeling isn't real." A warm sensation fills me, but it wasn't a physical sensation. No, no it was... It was…

Lust. The want. The need. I want Renaru to play with me once more. But not to hold and cuddle... but to make him mine. To trace his scars and kiss them and tell him he's beautifully made as all of God's creations are. I want to show him just how beautiful he truly is.

He would love that. He would love my affection. And I can imagine those soft cheeks, full of emotion as he stands on tiptoe and kisses my lips. I could feel his smile on my skin. But that wouldn't be right either. He should be a man of honor.

My hair. My precious vines winding around him. Embracing him with all that I am. I want his warm love leaking from between my thighs. I want him. I need him. I want to be his one and only love. His wife. Now and forever Amen.

My hand continues to roam down to my breasts. A moan leaving my lips. I want Renaru to touch me like this. I want his hands holding me while we fuck. I want his mouth on me as he pleases me. His name falling from my lips.

Thinking about his shaking limbs clinging to me so desperately. He deserves a wife that can satisfy him for the rest of his life. That will be the woman who gives him all the pleasure he wants. A woman who will bring joy to his soul. A woman who won't mind taking care of him. Who will love him as much as he loves me.

I am that woman. I grind myself back onto my mattress, my legs spread wide open. I close my eyes and let out another moan. Releasing all of the tension inside of me. All the pain, the desire and all of my frustrations. All of it has been pent up since the battle training.

No. Since the moment I saw him bobbing at the front gate asking me about manga. God I wanted his warm crackling voice to call my name. I want his small frame around me. His arms locked around my neck as I grind sweetly into him. Taking his love... and making children.

"Oh lord yes…" I find myself moaning. Thinking of him giving me a baby. A little one as a sign of our love. I continue to use my vines and my hands to sin. To think about my lovely boyfriend being my husband. My lover. My everything.

His fingers running through my hair. His hands sliding up and down my bare body. His lips on mine and his hips grinding against my own. I'm ready. I'm always ready for him... to come home, to take care of me. To make me happy.

Blissful euphoria sweetly comes over me. Wanting him. Nothing but him. I must make an effort to seduce him. To give myself over in holy matrimony. To open my white wedding gown to his warm... loving heat. To bathe in his hellfire. To be burned by his love and reborn into his wife.

Lust is such a lovely sin. Such an innocent sin. One that makes you feel good. Making you feel loved. Lovemaking is such a wonderful act. One that will leave you breathless with ecstasy. Making you forget yourself, your worries. Making you want more and more. So much more.

Renaru's strong body. His broken and shaking body. His strong convictions. His lovely smile. I moan into the sheets.

"Renaru~! You... you will... be mine!" I moan in a hoarse voice. Pleasure seeping through every vein in my body as I picture it. Imagining him wrapped around me... touching me everywhere. Stroking my breasts. Kissing my belly button. Feeling my slick pussy pulsating under his fingers.

"Yes. Yes. YES!" I cum in my soft sheets and nightgown. Staining it with my love. My breathing is growing shallow and ragged. "Oh god... see to it that you bring Renaru into my loving arms... Amen."

Breathless, I roll over. Wrapping my arm around my waist, I try to calm my rapid heart beat. Lips pursed tightly together. Sweaty palms resting against my abdomen.

"God," I whisper, closing my eyes. "Please help me get past this lust I have for Renaru. Help me keep my feelings hidden. Help me keep my desires hidden."

I pray quietly as a mouse. Hoping that God hears me. Hoping that he will hear me. Guilt marring my true feelings for him. Tears fill my eyes as I hug the sheets to my chest. My thoughts of Renaru run so vividly. Even when they're innocent this same sin comes and makes it a perversion.

His blushing face. His smile. His cheerful outlook on life. Everything. I love him so much but now… now I can't think of him for fear of getting attached and acting on those desires. Will he love me as lustful and sinful?

Or will he turn away and find another girl? A girl who is free. A girl who can make love to him and make him forget me. I lay staring at the moon hoping that he's having a restful sleep. I clasp my hands and pray once more for the angels to send him sweet dreams.

Yet, I know one day I will have to reveal it all. I will have to let them spill from my lips. Reveal my true feelings. I will have to let them out. Let them free. For they are my truth, my truth of love and my truth of desire. And as I allow these truths to run their course, so shall I also.

---

The next day comes with a feeling of guilt in my heart. I've never felt such intense emotions before. It felt… good. Almost freeing in a way. I throw the soiled things into the washer. Auntie Maryanna drifting in all bruised and beaten up.

"Whew!" She huffs. "Got a little hairy last night…" She notices my restraint and almost 'don't break the glass' sort of thing. She sighs.

"What's the matter? she asked, "Did you sleep okay? I heard a little bit of noise." My cheeks heat up and I avoid her gaze.

"I just… fell." I say.

"Fell, huh?" she starts. "Yeah I can see that." She then realized something. "Wait a sec… you…"

"I'm not listening!" I squeal. "I only-" Suddenly she hugs me.

"Yeah yeah. Sinful this and sinful that. You're a growing girl learning about feelings your father skipped out on telling you about." she says.

"You're not angry?" I ask.

"Why would I be?" she wonders, "Because you like a boy?"

I nod but I don't exactly believe her. Normally Father would be absolutely belligerent. She just grins and hoists me into a tighter hug.

"Awww! My little niece likes a boy!" She coos, "I'm sure it's Renaru right? What triggered the action?"

"Uhh… he burned his costume to a crisp? I didn't really get to see his muscles… well until yesterday. I said. "He looks so handsome…"

Auntie Maryanna nods. "Musta felt good to release all that tension." I nod and smile a little.

"Is it alright to do that?" I ask.

"Ibby. Not all the time but sometimes you gotta release that. It's a natural thing." she explains. "Besides. You should let that all out."

I blush and she smiles, "See? It's not all bad." she reasons, "Just be careful because something something sin something about letting it take over." she rolls her hand a little trying to explain it in a cohesive manner.

My phone peacefully rings with the chimes of a church bell. I wander over and take it into my hand, "Ibara Shiozaki's Phone, Ibara speaking." I say.

"Hey!" Kendo greets, "The girls and I were thinking that we should go out together! Of course it was Setsuna's idea to invite you too!"

"Was it now?" I ask, "Well, I will consider it." I hear on the outside of the call something about already being here and how it was such a 'damn waste of time.' I seethe. Of course my dear cousin would have a sort of idea about this.

"Hold a moment, I will go." I say, "Please permit me a few minutes." I hang up my phone and put it in my pocket. My dress does have pockets and I head outside to see them waiting. Setsuna grins and I glower at her.

"There she is!" she exclaims and I nod. The others all gather around and Kinoko takes the lead.

"Okay! Let's go do some karaoke!" she exclaims, "I know a place nearby!" I think to myself what exactly is her, Kendo, and Setsuna's game with all of this. But realizing that maybe that this is an odd thing.

Maybe this… 'Karaoke' is fun. I haven't done it but seemingly Kinoko's recommendation seems sound enough. We walk together with Kendo mostly leading the way.

"So, what's up?" Setsuna asks, "You settled in with Aunt Maryanna?"

"Yes. It's been peaceful for the most part." I confirm, "Quite peaceful."

Kendo pipes up, "So your aunt is really strong, right? Like a boxer?"

"Well, that's cause she is." Setsuna answers, "She was in the Olympics the year they disorganized, rocked the boat so hard that she got the last Gold in Women's Boxing!"

"Which country?" Kendo wondered, "She doesn't look like she's from here." Setsuna and I both answer at the same time, voices overlapping.

"Sweden."

Kendo nods and Kinoko falls into step with us, "So I asked Pony to come along, and she's going to be late. Other than that I planned out a whole bunch of stuff for us to do!" she declares, "I wanna show you and Pony what exactly you're missing!"

A slight cloud of denial covers my head, "But I'm not missing anything." I state matter-of-fact, "What are you implying?"

Kinoko balks a little, "W-well! I mean, Setsuna told us about your dad…"

"My father." I bite down on the word father, "He was only protecting me."

"From what, a pad?" Kendo asks, "Honestly, from what Setsuna told us I think he earns a Worst Father of the Year award."

Setsuna looks at me and lifts my arm a little, "Look at your arm, Ibara. It's thin! What, are you fasting or something?"

I look away, "L-Lent is important, Setsuna!" I squeak.

"Lent is before Easter." she answers, "And ya only give up one thing when you're Lutheran."

Kinoko and Kendo both look rather uncomfortable so I decide to drop it, seeing the concern in my cousin's dark eyes as well. That's when we hear clopping behind us.

"Guys! Good evening!" Pony calls, her blond hair flapping behind her as she waves and trots up to us, blue eyes shining and excitedly grinning, "It's good to be seeing you!" Pony is one of the transfer students and she's slowly but surely adapting.

"It's morning though, actually, noon." Kendo corrects, "You're getting it though." Pony nods and cheerily joins us. She seems nice enough, but of course I never exactly talked to anyone other than Setsuna and Kendo out of genuine courtesy.

I stare impassively at Pony and the others chatting with each other. Still feeling the dregs of superiority I had when I used to look at the girls at my middle school, all of them wanting nothing more than to wear immodest things and listen to doctrines truly wicked. All I knew was that the only truth was in a book and from my father. Now I am here at a bad crossroads. Either lose my faith or lose my potential friends. Even my potential lover. But I'm happy with them. I don't want to change anything. Not even a little.

We move on to the karaoke place with Kinoko mainly leading. It's a beautiful day and I smile a little as we get into a booth. Our group sits down and Setsuna orders some drinks.

"Hey Ibara, what would you wanna drink?" she asks, "I'm getting cola."

"I would like some water." I say, earning an odd look from her and Kinoko. I close my eyes and clasp my hands.

"I will have my water." I say again.

"Okay!" Kinoko exclaims, taking a pad from the table and whirling through the colors on it. She takes up the mic and sings a very poppy kind of song. Doing it with flair and gusto. Setsuna and Kendo clap along and I just gently sway along with it.

Kinoko lands and passes it off to Kendo. She chooses a song from an anime I never watched, singing energetically with the rhythm no matter how much she laughed and was off key. I laugh along with the others. Then the pad gets passed to me. I cycle through before finding a very familiar song. While My Guitar Gently Weeps plays through the speakers and I sing, closing my eyes and remembering listening to it with my father on my mother's birthdays.

My voice sounds airy and gentle, warm as a summer's breeze. Soft and crooning it out like a dream. The girls all clap once the song is over and I blush, sitting back down with my eyes focused on my knees.

"Wow! You have such a good voice!" Pony exclaims, "Where'd you learn?"

"I learned singing hymns in my father's church." I said, "It comes to me easily enough." Next up was Setsuna and she chooses a song that I've never heard before full of heavy guitars and screaming of Useewa or something like that. After her was Pony, who sings a song called When Doves Cry.

---

After having fun with my newfound friends, we all decide to go towards a park to wander around in and talk. With my thoughts all sunshine and rainbows. Walking with my new friends and cousin isn't all that bad… Until I see it. My father's church. Big, white, and in a nicely gardened and landscaped plot of land just before the park. Father loved to walk through the park after services and I check my phone just in case.

It's Sunday. Just realizing that fact made me want to walk faster past it. I speed up and suddenly see him out of the corner of my eye. I rush by him with the others running with me. He turns and watches after us before turning back to his flowerbeds.

"Sheesh… that was close!" Setsuna hisses.

"What's the matter with that guy?" Pony asks.

"Yeah, I'm not too sure about it either." Kendo says.

"Well, my father wrecked my room causing me to go over to my Aunts." I say.

"Wait a sec-"

We see Kinoko growing a mushroom and I rush back out of our hiding spot to grab her and Father looks over at us.

"Ibara." he says, "Uhh… nice to see you."

"Father." I greet.

An awkward silence pervades the area as Kinoko ends up trying to spread it towards the plants but Father yanks them out before she can, "Ye got friends." he comments.

"Why yes, I do." I say.

"Yet ye weren't at church? Ye know how important it is." he reasons, looming over us. Kinoko tugs at my hand. She's trying to get us out now? Delayed reaction much? But dread fills me as I realize what he wants me to do.

"Ye remember the price ye pay fer missing church?" he asks.

"Yes…" I sigh, "I'll do it." he backs off and glares at my friends and cousin.

"And to all of you, stay away from my daughter. Lest ye incur my wrath." he warns. The others all gulp but Setsuna just glares at him as we hustle off to our next thing. My mind sent reeling from all the thoughts of what I have to do.

---

I close my closet door behind me and lock it, thinking about what I must do to purge this sin from me. I hook my fingers into my shawl and remove it from my shoulders, my eyes focused on the mirror and the candlelight. Hesitantly I finger the tie of my dress, remembering what I must do. A gathering of vines becomes sharper, just enough to draw blood. I grab the duller lengths, a gathering of them in my hand.

Slowly my dress rolls off my shoulders, a shuddering breath as the warmth of the candles touch my now bare skin. I gently bite my lip, trying to keep from crying out in pain. Just thinking about doing this makes me weak in the knees. But it's because I've sinned, right? I missed service, haven't prayed for a while, and broke a Commandment. And for what? Just so I could fool around with those who are not like me. I bring the clutch of vines down on my upper back, hearing the air rush and the heavy, dull pain welling up.

Just feeling it makes my eyes sting with tears. The warmth of the candles slowly turning colder as I continue to whip my back, closing them and grunting through it. Feeling the guilt and pain at the same time. I should never let the feelings I have for others take away my divine duty. Even the ones I have for Renaru. I should let them die, let them go. I have to focus on not letting my ways be overtaken by the wiles of sin.

Yet… I hesitate. Just for a moment, was I really living? Trapped in my father's influence? Being the perfect daughter of the local priest? I let go of my vines and let them return back to their normal state.

I don't know what to do. I don't know what I feel or why I feel the way I do. I just feel like I should love Renaru freely, right? Maybe I should speak to Aunt Maryanna about this. Or maybe Kendo? I pull the sheets over me, vines covering up my wounds as I just want to drift off and dream. I just hope Renaru is doing well. I grow concerned and call him, the phone rings once or twice. Answering is the voice of my boyfriend.

"Hello?" he asks.

"Good evening, my love!" I giggle, "I have a request…"

"Shoot." I hear him say.

"Can you stay up with me until I fall asleep?" I ask.

"What's wrong?" he asks, his warm crackling voice becoming quite serious.

I think back to when he spent the night with me, how small and how warm he was. How he slept so soundly in my arms and how I wanted him to stay. I wanted him to love me. To give me meaning. A reason to break away from all of this.

"I miss you." I say, "I wish you could come over and be in my arms again."

"Okay." Renaru answers, "Me too! But I gotta get up early to go visit my Dad." I smile and lay there on my side, my bandaged back stinging a little.

"Then stay up with me." I say.

"Alright!" Renaru agrees. We both stay on the phone with Renaru rambling about his training and helping his mother with cooking. I smile and find my eyes growing heavy. I drift off having sweet dreams of him.

I just hope those dreams continue.

Chapter 14: The Paper Tiger Runs Til He Collapses.

The day comes with a sense of tension and uncertainty about what happened about 1-A and the Unforeseen Scenario Joint was all anyone would talk about. Everyone seems tense too. I walk along the wall, hand resting on it to balance me. I really wore myself out this morning. I mean, I DID wake up at one so I could see my dad and get back in time for school.

I can barely keep my eyes open when I feel an arm grab my free side and gently drag me towards the door, "Dude, you okay?" Tetsu asks, "You look like you're gonna die."

"I… haah… Had to get up early." I yawn, "My one day a month… is today."

"One day a month?" he continues.

"Yeaah, my Dad is in a prison offshore. I had to get up early to go see him." I moan, "I just wish I could sleep in a little more…" He leads me into class and Kendo with Ibara are standing at the front, seeing us both come in.

"Morning, guys!" Kendo greets us with a cheery wave as Ibara whisks over and gently presses a kiss to my forehead.

"Good morning, dear." she says before noticing my messy uniform and haggard appearance, with wisps of smoke drifting from my barely lit hair. She gets a concerned look on her face.

"Renaru. Have you been sleeping well?" she asks, "I know I asked you to fall asleep with me through our cellular devices, but…"

"I had to go see my dad." I yawn, hugging her and she stiffens just a bit, squaring her shoulders and gently lifting me away from her.

"Nooo…" I groan, resisting just a little but letting her move me back because I didn't want to keep fighting her. I sit down and lay my head on my desk, my eyes closing. Just listening to the others talking amongst themselves, hearing Mr. Kan come in and that got my attention pretty fast.

"Kaenshita, are you alright?" the teacher asked. His voice sounded concerned and I nod.

"Yeah, m'fine. Just tired." I say, "Had to get up early, y'know?"

Mr. Kan nods, "Got it, just try not to push yourself too hard, okay?"

I sigh and lay my head on my hands, knowing that he was only looking out for me. I just sort of lay my head between them because I'm more tired than anything. In the haze of tiredness I can only make out a few conversations.

"Since we can't go to the USJ…"

"The school has decided to…"

"Push the Sports Festival up."

And that snaps me awake. The Sports Festival. The biggest sports event in the world after the Olympics? The single most important thing for a hero to do? Internships?! Mom is gonna hate me for the next two weeks!

"WOOOOO! SPORTS FEST!" I whoop.

"Whoa! Somebody is excited!" Sen exclaims, "Why's that, buddy?"

"Because I finally get to kick my cousin's ass!" I cheer, "And rub it in my uncle's big dumb face!" I stand on my desk, "AND I'LL KICK IT SO HARD HE'LL REGRET NOT HELPING MY MOM!"

Mr. Kan laughs, "Okay, okay, Kaenshita. We know you're excited." I grin and pump my fists excitedly, falling off the desk but feeling Ibara catch me and sit me back down. But it turns out she reeled me towards her and now I'm sitting in her lap.

"Renaru, if you were tired, you could've asked me to take notes for you while you rested." she insists, "Besides, I quite enjoy it."

I sigh and rest my head on her chest. My eyes closing to her hand softly petting my hair. I wake up around lunchtime and everyone seems excited about the Sports Festival. But Monoma seems to go towards 1-A, in fact, I'm following him with Ibara and Tetsu flanking us with Kendo trailing full of concern. There's 1-C and the general studies kids too. In fact it's like the entire 1st year class is here to see what 1-A is made of. We all crowd around the door like sardines, Ibara grabbing my hand tighter and Tetsu sort of taking a wide stance.

"Oh wow. Looks like 1-B brought their cripple along!" a rough, nails against a chalkboard mixed with a buzzsaw voice fills the air as an ash blond haired boy muscles his way through the crowd. His reddish brown eyes meeting mine.

"What? This is it?! I heard Icy Hot had a cousin and he's hiding behind Jesus Freak and Leadboy!" he smiles and looms over me, "What? You gonna call your mom?"

I see a green-haired boy try to speak up, but this kid gets in the way, "Hey, Cripple, eyes up here!" he continues, my eyes shifting to his. My hands clenching into fists, Ibara squeezing the one she's holding.

"Wow. Looks like you gotta chain your attack dog, 1-A!" Monoma interjects.

"Can it, Dehaan!" the boy snarls, "I'm not done with this shaky bastard!"

I stand straight, letting go of Ibara's hand. I immediately post up. My eyes deadly focused on him. I can't stand bastards like him. He's just like my uncle, just like those villains on TV making things harder for everyone.

He spreads his hands out, "Oh wow… look at you! Coming at me like Balboa?"

"No. I'm coming at you like Aragaki…" I snarl, "Who let you into the hero course?"

He smiles, "The heroes who saw talent in me! Not like you! You're just trash they decided to let in for the diversity points!" he says, "Lesseee… Leadboy felt bad about knocking you on your ass, Jesus Freak wants to bang you and have more trashy babies, and right on the top is your Mama, the Tyrant Queen of the ring all the sudden having a weakass kid like you! I did my homework, Kaenshita!"

"Yer nobody." he says, "Everyone here knows it! You're more useless than Deku! You're trash!"

I grit my teeth, my hair heating up. My eyes flaring into light too. My uniform jacket is beginning to burn. My body is exuding all kinds of heat. I didn't know who the fuck Deku was but I wasn't trash!

"One wrong move and you're gone. That's what I got from a very reliable source! How about I beat you here and now? Save you the pain of it being televised?"

Ibara suddenly gets in the way, "Please stop." she says, "You've proved enough of your point."

"Oh? So now you're gonna preach at me?" he continues, "You serious?" Tetsu grabs me.

"Renaru, calm down!" he exclaims, "You're gonna explode!"

The kid laughs, "Him?! I'm the only exploding one here! Bakugo Katsuki!"

I seethe, my flames growing in my chest, "Good to know." I say, smiling, "That way I can wipe that page of the history book with my ass."

We glare at each other and he looks at Ibara again, "Ditch this dead end." he says, turning and walking away. I get out of my stance and walk away with my friends. My rage is bubbling. But I remember earlier today. I wouldn't do anything to shine on my own if I punched him. I also notice the small difference in Ibara's hair, a few of the thorns around her head curved a bit and pointed upward like devil's horns. Her body tensing. It was odd for sure and I didn't think much of it at the time. But there was a second where I wanted to hit him. Bakugo laughs and I glare at him. Still thinking about my dad sitting in that cell earlier.

---

The wide cell holds only one person. I know it does. Nervous energy pulses through my body because this is my first time seeing Dad in years. Mom never talks about him but it's not everyday I get to see him. The prison is on its own island. Called Tartarus by the inmates. Dad is on one of the higher levels. Mostly because of good behavior. The guards lead me to the visiting room. I see him just sitting there with cuffs on and his maroon hair in his eyes. He looks up at me and his bright magenta eyes widen. His smile is a confident smirk.

"Whoa! If it isn't my son!" he exclaims. "Looking flashy as hell!" I sit down and I grin right back at him, he's tall and well-muscled even in this hell of a prison. He almost looks eager to leap out of his chair and hug me.

"Well… I came to let you know how I'm doing!" I said. "I mean… I did go on a date so…"

Dad immediately brightens with small fireworks threatening to come out of his shoulders. "Really?! Tell me all about it!" he exclaims.

"Well… my girlfriend is amazing." I start, "Really amazing. She's awesome, and her quirk is awesome too!" Dad nods.

"Yeah, I bet! So, how's trying to be a hero, buddy?" he asks, leaning forward with his smile wide.

I sigh and look down at my hands, "Harder than I thought." He grins.

"I see. So you're pushing yourself every day?" he wonders, "That's not very flashy. Not flashy at all." he looks down at me with a sympathetic smile, "You're at your flashiest when you shine in your own way!"

"My own way?" I ask.

"Yeah! The same bright way I know you can do it! How else have you gotten this far?" he asks.

I shrug, "I guess I got lucky?" I reason with my voice softening, "I mean, yeah I got a girlfriend and a few friends now, but later…"

Dad gently flicks my forehead, "Ehh! Wrong." he denies, "You got this far because you shined so brightly! Your own way! With your own ambitions!"

I look down at my hands, seeing them shake lightly, "I'm not doing it for me." I say.

"Huh?" Dad blinks, "Then why are you-"

"Because you're not there! Mom paid for everything! The house, the food, my surgeries, my bands, everything!" I spill out all ten years of issues I had with him, "Why did you have to get locked up?!"

Dad sighs, "Listen, buddy, I never wanted to get locked up. But I did a lot of bad stuff. Like… offing people for money levels of bad." he admits, "Until I met your mother and had you."

I close my eyes, my anger bubbling softly, "Then why? Why didn't you just give up?"

"Because I wanted to clean my record. I wanted to get myself right. Because if I was still going out and hurting people, how could I call myself your father?" he reasons, "It'd make me a massive hypocrite."

"So… you willingly got arrested just so you can have a clear conscience?" I warble, "You left Mom and I so you could just… sit in here and waste away?" my eyes sting hard with tears.

"Renaru, I-" he reaches out his hand and I stand up, my eyes finally letting go of my tears. I turn around and face the door.

"Dad. When you get out, you better stay that way." I look over my shoulder, "Otherwise I'm gonna kick your ass!" I dry my eyes and leave the room, heading out to the boat back to the mainland. Dad better come back.

---

"Khhh… HAH!" I yell, swinging my old Kendo stick, seeing the flames shoot out of the fireproof shaft, my feet moving with it and making me fall. I hit the dirt but still get up. My arms burn and my legs too. They shake like leaves but I still try to stay standing.

'Keep going…' I think, shakily getting back into my stance, 'I'm not strong enough.' I stagger forward and think of what Dad said, 'Shine in my own way? How can I shine when there's bigger lights out there?'

'He wasn't there. I got Shoto, that Midoriya kid I heard about that one time from Monoma, and that Bakugo kid that screamed at Kendo.' I continued my mad dance, shaking still from the exercise, 'Besides, 1-A had that incident at the USJ!'

I continue my training, my body nearing its limits. I'd never be strong enough. That's something I have to reconcile. Dad and Mom were born with normal, powerful quirks. Yet here I am. Always here trying to get that way. Trying to be the strongest I can be, but I never seem to get there. Only a year ago I never dreamed of getting into UA. Hell, I should've done General Studies. It hurts, realizing that you're nothing special. You're just some dumb kid that got lucky. That's all I am.

Even further back, in my middle school daze and elementary school starting line I knew I was different. People would stare and whisper as I toddled and shuffled around. Not only that but they would always push me down. Mostly because of how hard it was to live with this condition. Always so close yet so far from what I wanted. Just knowing that the minute I don't measure up, everything and everyone is gonna leave me.

Mom and Dad wouldn't, but I knew that maybe Ibara was going to leave too. Not because of her feelings, but because of her dad and weird aunt. I stumble and my body refuses to catch itself. Eating the backyard turf with a heavy fall on my side. Kendo stick fluttering out of my hands and clacking on the stone patio. I just wanted to be surrounded by friends. Staying friends. The type to never leave. To always be there. I wanted to help my mom, and at least find someone that makes me happy. I'm just scared that I won't be strong enough to keep it that way.

My eyes fill with tears as I lay on my back. Not crying out of pity or anger. But just the sheer weight of the Sports Festival weighing on my mind. I dry my eyes with my sleeve and force myself to my feet. I had two weeks. Two weeks to get stronger. I won't stop. I'll never stop. No matter what. Embers and flames shoot out of my fists as I shadowbox, my arms flaring in pain and my legs too. But I won't give in.

Frustration and anger fuels me. Just the fact I made it this far and Bakugo blatantly shits on my effort?! Fuck him! Fuck that! I jab and cross, hook and counter. All I do is that for an hour. Flames dancing and flaring through the air roughly. I think of Mom, I think of all those nights where she didn't eat. Where she'd give her food to me. Of Dad rotting in his cell because of some 'redemption' he needed. He gave up long ago. I could tell. I think of Ibara, how much I loved her. I see Mom's car pull into the driveway.

I slug the heavy bag harder, the jab bag too. My anger makes my hair light up brightly. I frustratedly kick at it too. Mom walks into the garage, watching me take out my frustrations. She looks tired of course but she gently touches my shoulder.

"Sweetie?" she asks. I whirl and almost get her on the cheek. She grabs my wrist.

"Whoa there, killer. Slow down!" she exclaims, "You're angry."

I sigh and my hair abates, "Mom, welcome home." I say, slowly lowering my arms and loping back to the heavy bag before she picks me up like a sack of potatoes.

"Hell no. You're tired and running on fumes. Also," she leans in to sniff me, "Yeesh! You reek!" She hoists me inside, "Let's get you cleaned up."

"Mommm! I can do it myself!" I whine, "Uggh…"

Mom sighs and shakes her head, "Honey, I can't afford a shower chair. What if you fall in there and hurt yourself?"

"Then I'll get back up like I always do." I replied.

Mom just stares at me, her expression tense, "Renaru, did you get into a fight again?"

"No. Just… the Sports Festival is coming up and some jackass in Class A riled me up. I didn't knock the teeth outta his head." I said, "I wish I did though."

Mom laughs a little, "Oh really? How bad was it?"

"Well, he insulted my best friend and girlfriend so…" I explain, "He would've deserved a jab." Mom nods her head and I reluctantly put my arms up so she could take off my shirt. I feel her undo my bands and she tosses them aside, letting me hang onto her.

"I guess so." Mom says, starting the water but instead of it being a shower like usual she made it a bath, settling me down into it. She helps me wash myself and I let her do it because she usually does.

"Are you gonna come see it?" I ask. Mom looks at me with a sad smile.

"Tickets cost an arm and a leg even for the nosebleeds. And like hell am I gonna ask Enji for one." she answers, "I'm sure I'll work something out." I really wanted her to see me though. Still, I get why.

"Hey mom?" I ask, "Do you still love Dad?"

She gets a little defensive, "O-of course I do, Renaru! What gave you that idea?"

I look at her grabbing her ring, nervously glancing away from me, "We've been fine without him though?" I continue.

"Well, yeah! I still want him back though!" she blurts.

I sigh and remember the photo in the box, "Mom. You had Dad marry you because you were scared, right?" I hazard that guess and Mom sighs.

"Renaru, don't be stupid like me and knock a girl up. Or in my case get knocked up by the hot mercenary that flirted with me." she huffs, "Not that I regret it, but baby, please understand that being reckless isn't helpful. I know you go off the handle like I do."

I look back down at the water, "Yeah…" I sigh.

Mom gently smooths my wet hair down, "I get what you're saying. Your dad has been gone a long time and you don't know how to feel about it. Or why I even keep my ring on and my last name the same one as his." She makes me look at her, "That's because of you. You're my son and you have his last name. If I changed it then people would crowd crush me just to get autographs and photos with Endeavor's sister when I didn't want that life for myself or you."

"Then why are you okay with me being in the Hero Course?" I wonder.

"Because that's up to you. Not me. If I were to have my way you'd be in General Studies far away from the action and getting a degree somewhere nice with a nice girl and a stable job." she says, "Unlike that neighbor of ours, I believe that you're your own person. If that makes you happy then I'll be happy too."

I watch her steadily get back to being normal, her eyes still full of that distant regret. Maybe she's worried about something else in her past that happened to her before? Maybe she wanted to be a hero just like I do.

"Mom?"

I see her refocus, "Yes?" she asks.

"Why do you not like Ibara? I mean, she's sweet and adorable and she smells nice and gives good hugs and-" she cuts me off.

"Renaru, honey. I'm just worried that she's more than she looks. Considering how batshit insane her Dad and at least one or two of her aunts are." she answers, "I don't want you to get hurt."

"But I like Ibara! A lot! I mean… she helped me in class today because I got up early to catch the boat to see Dad. A lot of the time she's been there and…" I object but Mom firmly grabs my shoulders.

"Renaru. Listen to me. Her and her family are wild cards. Even among the rest of the world. There is nothing behind Yue's eyes, and there's just something dark behind Eugen's. I get that you like her and that her cousin is in your class too but I wouldn't let my guard down." she hugs me and lifts me into her arms to carry me back to my room.

I don't resist and she lays me down in my bed, my pajamas on and everything. She tucks me in and I stare up at her.

"Goodnight, kiddo." she says, kissing me on the forehead. I snuggle in and she gets up, walking towards the door and opening it to go out somewhere else in the house. I watch her leave and shut my door behind her.

I close my eyes, trying my best to fall asleep, but I hear my closet door creak a little. I open my eyes and almost see movement near it in the dark. I try to move my hand towards the lamp but something gentle grabs my wrist. A warmth and the almost motherly motion of gently setting my hand back down, the weight on my bed wrapping affectionately around me. A soft sigh of satisfaction and longing all coming together.

"I'm home, darling." Ibara's voice says in the dark gloom of my room. My heart beats way faster than normal as Ibara pulls me closer gently, her vines creeping around me like snakes. The soft fabric of her nightgown whispering against the sheets as she lays around me.

"Ibara, wha-" I squeak, her hand lands on my mouth.

"Shhhhh…" she mutters, "Don't fight this, darling." her voice sounds strange. Low and almost a chilling kind of serene. Like the first breeze of winter. I can't move. I can't speak. My girlfriend is in my bed acting weird and Mom isn't bursting in with a baseball bat.

'I hope this is just a dream.' I think, Ibara brushes her free hand underneath the covers, pulling them back and moving alongside me. Her vines rippling and shifting together to adjust to the new position.

She embraces me to her chest, head resting on top of mine, "Oh my darling… I wish I could hold you forever~!" she whispers with pure joy, "I wish I could protect you and love you always." I groan as I see something that chills my soul down to its core. Her eyes. They're red, shining in the darkness. I fight the urge to scream as she moves her hand from my lips, meeting me in the dark and the sensation is different from her usual happy gentle kisses. This is heavy, full of need.

It's actually… kinda hot? Her kiss leaves me breathless. The stings of thorns hit me like blows from a tiny set of gloves. I let out a hiss but Ibara shushes me again with another kiss. This is the single most weirdest dream, no, nightmare I've ever had.

She moves back, "Renaru. I have one thing to ask of you." she cups my cheeks, her crimson eyes half lidded and I just knew her smile was wide and almost sultry.

"Uhh… sure?" I answer, thinking that she was just asking me to love her.

"I had a wonderful and most blessed revelation, what if I stay?" she asks, batting her eyes at me, "Would you like that, my love?"

My breath catches in my throat, "I mean… not really?" I ask, "Because my mom wouldn't like it."

Ibara sighs, "I'm asking what you want." she corrects. I move back a little further. As much as I could but she coils around me like the serpent in the Garden. I reach up and kiss her back. As scared as I was, I knew my answer.

"Just every once in a while, okay?" She nuzzles me closer and I close my eyes. Dream, Nightmare, whatever… she was still Ibara.

Chapter 15: A Million Miles Away.

I woke up, sweating profusely as I recalled the weird dream I had about my girlfriend living with me. We hadn't even gone to second base so it's gotta be a wet dream, right? I mean, I'm at the age where I start having those. So why was it so real? I mean, the red eyes and the cold crooning, the fact that she emerged from my closet like a slasher villain, and the odd-

"Morning honey," someone called out.

I muttered back in reply, "Morning-" I stop and look as I see my girlfriend standing at the door frame, her white nightgown hangs lazily on her body, big enough to display her legs and shoulder blades but tight around the waist to show her curvy body. Her long green vines sprawl in waves across her back as she looks at me lovingly.

"H… HUH?!" I yell, trying to jerk myself back up but shooting, stabbing pain flashes through my body, forcing me back down against the pillows, "Oww…"

Ibara rushes to my side, "Darling! Don't push yourself!" she squeals, her nightgown billowing as she comes closer to sit on the bed, "Easy…" she soothes, pulling me into her arms.

"I just… thought that you being here was a wet dream or somethin'..." I mumble. Hearing her sweet, honeyed laugh ringing through the air.

"Aww! It wasn't a dream, my love." she giggles, "It was real. Your mother was going to go out on business and I heard of it from my Aunt, so I arranged myself to watch over you!"

I glare at her a little, "Yue or Maryanna?" I see her blink, her cheeks slowly flushing from embarrassment.

"Well, it was my aunt Maryanna, yes." she says, "She suggested I look after you." she looks down at my shaking hands, then at my slightly spasming legs. Then at the connected bathroom. A heavy growl rumbles through my stomach.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" she exclaims, "I'll be right back!" I see her go back through my door, grabbing something from the kitchen. I lay there with confusion running with my brain like a rabid dog through a maze.

She comes back with a bright smile, holding the bed tray I used for Mother's Day and Mom's birthday. The one she'd use when I was sick and couldn't get out of bed. Breakfast steams from it and I try to reach my bands, my hand's slack attempts at grabbing it giving Ibara pause.

"Renaru, if you just wanted to wear your arm bands you should've told me," she sighs with a resigned sigh, 'What am I going to do with you?' being the clear meaning. She sets the tray down and I notice that her hair is bound around something. The same leatherbound album Mom would write in and include all kinds of things is in the folds of her hair. She smiles trying to hide it.

"Ibara. You're using my mom's guidebook aren't you?" I ask her as she's grabbing it and tossing it to the side. A thick and meaty whack cuts the morning peacefulness.

"No! No, I'm not!" she objects, "I am surprised at the insinuation!" I also take in the fact that this wasn't her usual nightgown. Normally it'd have a floral pattern. Was she trying to seduce me again? Because that looked really familiar.

"Ibby?" I ask, "Is that one of my mom's nightgowns?" She just pops a sizable slice of omelette into my mouth and watches me eat, smiling as I chew on it. It's good, the flavor and the sausage and everything just kinda mixes together and I lean back on the pillows absolutely in bliss.

"Hehe, looks like I got it right! Protein helps your muscles recover, right?" she wonders, "Also, yes. I found this as I was hidden in your closet, does it suit me?" she stands and does a twirl, the skirt swirling as she giggles and keeps spinning.

"Whoa! Whoa! I need you to not be dizzy!" I squeak.

She slows down, "Hoho… hehe… that was fun. Sorry! I'm just so happy to be with you… alone," Ibara sits back down woozily, her eyes focused on me. They're full of affection as she slides up onto the bed, snatching the sticks back up and feeding me more. I sit there eating as she watches, it feels nice I guess. She leans in and kisses me mid chew, taking some for herself and leaning back with a happy giggle, chewing and swallowing.

"Mm! It's even better eating from your mouth, dear~!" she picks up the last of the food and lifts it into her mouth, kissing me to pass it again. It's strange but with her I just think it's a quirk of her strange upbringing.

She gently picks me up, carrying me over to the bathroom. Her nightgown, or rather my mom's borrowed nightgown, billowing about almost like a dress on her. She sits me down on the toilet and starts the water. See, our house is more western styled so the toilet and bath are in the same room. She takes off my pajamas, ignoring my nakedness and lowering me into the cool water, it works better than warm water for Mom and I, something that she'd only know from the book. If I was ever in warm or hot water, I'd overheat.

If that happens I'd pass out. I hear rustling and see her get into the surprisingly spacious tub. She smiles at me and scooches forward, her vines grabbing a cup and dumping some water on my hair, my hair hisses a little and steam comes out as she gets the shampoo and getting it in there, laying me against her chest.

"There we go." she says, "Comfortable, dear?"

"Yeah." I say, looking down at myself, "Just… what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to be with you," she answers, "So you wouldn't ever be alone, I love you," she wets down my body and kisses me on the neck, making my face go completely crimson. She washes me and I just hang onto her. Ibara humming a sweet little hymn and rinsing me off.

After that she dries me off and picks me up from the tub. Mostly preoccupied with me rather than herself. It feels weird but I rolled with it because I was worried that she'd get red eyed again. Ibara helps me get dressed and get my bands on, of course with my body being in a rather vulnerable state she doesn't let me out of her sight for long. Shooing me out of my own room and grabbing something from a bag I didn't see.

I turn away and amble back into the living room, my head swimming and arms and legs still aching. I lay down and Ibara comes back out, dressed almost like a housewife. Her long green dress even had an apron around it.

"You look cute." I say. She nods and smiles.

"That's certainly high praise coming from my future husband!" she exclaims, causing me to be taken aback by it. I sit up suddenly and Ibara sweeps in front of me, laying a gentle hand on my chest.

"H-husband?!" I yelp, "You uh, you like thinking that far ahead?" The heat fills my cheeks as she gently pushes me down so that she could lay against me. Her eyes close and she lets out a soft coo.

"Of course, I am your girlfriend after all!" she says as she cuddles further into my embrace, "I love everything about you, and of course I'll be yours,"

"Ah. I see." I shift a little uneasily, shoulders slumping, "You know you're your own person, right?" she looks at me with a serene smile. Her blissfully unaware gaze locking with mine and I sigh.

"You don't get it, do you?" I huff.

"Hm? What don't I get, Renaru?" she asks. I sigh and shake my head.

"It's nothing. Just… you're really gonna let my word be the final say?" I ask.

"Of course, the Bible does map out the exact-" I cut her off.

"Lemme stop you right there, you're gonna let some book govern your thinking?" I ask, seeing her get dead serious, her eyes slowly reddening and her lips downturning into a scowl.

"The Gospel should not be taken so lightly, love. It's very real and very serious." she answers, moving to her feet, clasping her hands together, "You must understand that what you said is very sinful,"

I tense and my hair flares, resisting the ache in my body. I sit up and glare at her, "See, that's what I can't stand. You're letting an ancient book control what you do with your life, what's right and wrong, following the rules that are way too out of whack. You're not... this Ibby. You're gentle, caring, and way too good for this," I lay my hand on her back and she flinches hard, jerking herself away.

I see her regain her composure, "We all stumble, Renaru, we're imperfect. You should know that better than anyone," she settles herself down and I amble my way away from her.

"If you can't see what I see, then get outta here. I'm not broken or lost, just me," I growl, opening the front door and turning to show her out, "If you're gonna treat me as another lost soul,"

Ibara pauses. Her eyes closing as she walks towards the door, closing it and looming over me. I don't know what she's planning until she embraces me.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know you had such a bad history with the faith!" she blubbers, "I didn't mean to make you upset! Oh, please forgive me, darling! It's so horrid how others used you for salvation!" That's when I drop it on her.

"It was your dad." I admit, seeing her push off me, staring me in the eyes.

"What?" she asks, tears still pouring down her cheeks.

"Look, I haven't asked my Mom about it, but she seems really sore about something with him that's kinda gonna color our relationship red if you know what I mean," I explain as she suddenly buries my face into her chest.

"Oh darling, don't worry about that! It's alright and I will never cause my faith to interfere with our love again!" she's rubbing her cheek on the top of my head, "Oh Renaru, I hope we never part again,"

"Uhh… yeah. Me too, me too," I say, then she backs off and I think she let me go. No, that's a huge blunder on my part because she's kissing me now. Like, lifting me up and kissing me. It's nice, and a little- Whoa!

She and I fall onto the couch, with her straddling me and again looming above me, "So uh… maybe calm down?" I ask.

"Of course," she purrs, "But let me slip into something more… comforta-" she looks up from me and I feel the heat coming from the other side of the couch.

"Uhh… Mom? Is that you?" I ask, peeking over the side as Ibara shifts off me. Mom stands there gawking at her and I. Her purse and phone dived into the floor. She looks at her, then at me. Then back at Ibara.

"Ibara." She says, "Go home."

"Oh, but, Miss Kaen-" Ibara gets cut off by her rage-filled scream.

"GO THE FUCK HOME!"

"I'll uh… see you at school, get off me, bye!" I yelp, wiggling under her. Ibara reluctantly gets off me and walks to the door, going through it without much of a word. Mom ignores the fact that she was angry and saunters over with a cheesy grin on her face.

"Close your eyes real quick, okay?" she asks.

"Mom, I-" she cuts me off.

"Nah, close them," I do as she says and I hear her digging around a little in her purse. I feel something like cardboard in my hand and I look down to see a ticket to the Sports Festival.

"Ta-da!" she exclaims, "I got it outta your uncle! I get to see you compete and kick ass!" I look down at the ticket with an awed smile. Of course I didn't need to ask much but Mom decided to continue anyway.

"There's no way I'd miss it. Not even for work." she says, "You and I are in this together. No matter what, you're gonna do your best," She hugs me tightly.

"So, you hungry?" She asks. I perk up.

"Oh boy, am I?! I had the weirdest day!" I exclaim. She laughs and helps me to my feet.

"Tell me while we make dinner, honey," she says, and we go into the kitchen together. I can't wait to compete in the Sports Festival!

Chapter 16: Go the Distance

I stand in front of the arena, the area around it filled with vendors all hawking merch, heroes all around us and everyone kinda warming up. Most of my energy was being put towards the whole not being unsteady thing. Because the thing is that… I'm nervous. Really nervous. I gulp down my spit and try to focus. But most of my thoughts are focused on the thought of me losing. I walk through the entrance and see all kinds of different people, my eyes searching for Mom. She dropped me off early this morning.

Of course I can't find her but I almost ram into Juzo. He catches me.

"Whoa, Kaenshita! You okay?" he asks.

"No. No I'm not." I answer, "This is really nerve wracking!" I grab my head, "Okay… okay… breathe, breathe…" I breathe gently, my embers falling from my hair as Honenuki stays with me.

"Hey, it's going to be alright." he says, "Just take it easy."

"I know…" I answer, "Just… kinda worried…"

He gets me back to my feet again and I walk ahead of him towards the main field, mostly focused on what I have to do. I feel the heat from above me and turn to glare at my uncle. My hands clench into even harder fists, my nails cutting into my palms.

"ALLLLLRRRRRIIIIIGHHHT! THAT'S MY BOY!" I hear from the entire other side of the arena, seeing Mom all smiles and waving her arms in the air, "Renaru! Hey!" Her hair is sputtery but she looks really excited. I wave and she sits down all fired up, shaking her arms and basically being how she usually is. The announcer comes on and he's 1-A's English Teacher, Mr. Mic. Of course I've never really come across him but from what I heard he was nice.

"OKAY! WELCOME TO THE YEARLY SPORTS FESTIVAL, EVERYONE! WE GOT A LOT OF COOL STUDENTS THIS YEAR!" he yells, and I just sorta tune him out. I just sort of focus on what the first event could be, maybe it's some kinda Tug of War? Maybe Baseball? I dunno but judging by everyone's expressions they all seem just as nervous. I take a deep breath, focusing all I can on my goal.

Little me dreamed of standing here, little me wanted me to get here, I'm not gonna give up. Even if I embarrass myself, or even cry! I'm gonna do it when I win! No matter what, no matter if I end up hurt at the end of the day. I'm gonna win. I'm gonna rub it in my uncle's smug face.

---

Heavy work boots clunk on the concrete of the arena floor. The same long gray coat billowing in the backdraft of the wind. A tired, haggard faced Eugen marches towards All Might and Endeavor. Face set into a smile.

All Might turns towards him, "Eugen?! It's been a while, how've you been?!" he greets, shaking the old hero's hand.

"Aye. It's been a while, Toshinori." Eugen agrees, watching the opening ceremony, "So, ye both have children out there?"

Endeavor glares at him, "What do you want, Hatchetation?" he snarls.

Eugen glances at the flaming hero with a nostalgic humor in his eyes, "Oho. That's a name I haven't heard tell of in years. I just want tae see mah daughter." he smiles serenely, "That, and see if that boy of her's is worthy."

Endeavor chuffs, "Hm. And my sister's brat? How would he be worthy of her?" Eugen looks at Renaru stretching on the field, Tetsutetsu and Monoma both watching over him.

"I… Don't know." Eugen says, a little pensive, "Oh, All Might, what about yer boy? The green haired one?" he sees the Number One jolt and turn, smiling sheepishly.

"Well, Young Midoriya isn't MINE per se, just my student." he chuckles, rubbing the back of his head before a blast of hot air hits all three men from behind. Rumbling towards them is Tekka, her hair bright and her eyes blazing into all three of them.

"My son's gonna wipe the floor with all three of your kids!" she snarls, "I'm gonna bet on it!"

Eugen gawks at her audacity, "Kaenshita, this isn't much of a place to bet." he says, seeing All Might and Endeavor sort of agree with him. Although he can't tell much. But then Endeavor pipes up.

"If your son wins, I'll consider us even from years ago, and pay off my debt to you." he takes out a heavy briefcase, making Tekka pause. Her teeth gritting and a vein popping out of her forehead.

"You think you can buy me off?! Cause if you think I'd take it…" she growls, "You'd…"

"Tekka, this is enough to pay for everything you need." Endeavor says, a grin coming to his face, "Besides, isn't your son doing this for you?"

"Endeavor…" All Might warns, "Listen, I'm sure your sister won't take the-"

He was cut off by Tekka yelling, "I'LL DO IT! If I lose…" she looks down at her hands, clenching them into fists, shoulders shaking and hair crackling, "I… I'll…" tears come to her eyes. Eugen looms over Endeavor, still looking right into his eyes, "What sort of devilry is this? That boy, even if he's temptin' mah girl away from God's light, worked hard. I see your sins clear as day, and I will not let this pass."

He glares at the man trying to force his neighbor's hand. He may dislike her, but he can't let this go.

"Butt out, Shiozaki!" Tekka objects, "Take your Bible Thumping ass somewhere else!" her eyes leak out their tears, "Fuck… khhh…" she wipes them away, "Fine. I'll do it."

Endeavor and Tekka shake on it as she looks at her son getting ready for the race, 'I'm so sorry honey…' she thinks, 'You better win.'

Not far off, Ibara stands off to the side, hiding and listening. Seeing that it was time to go she hurried down the steps towards the field.

---

Monoma and Tetsu both watch me stretch and they both sort of look at me stretching. I pop up and they both kind of smile at me.

"Ready to kick ass, bro?" Tetsu asks.

"You bet," I answer, "I've got a score to settle." I make sure my uniform is all in order before we begin but Monoma pats my shoulder.

"Thanks for letting me borrow this, Kaenshita." he says.

"Uh, I don't think it'll help you as much as you think it will." I say, "I mean, yeah, it's useful enough with me, but I could just use embers at first."

Monoma nods, "That's the plan. Just watch."

Tetsu looks around, "Uhh, guys, you seen Shiozaki anywhere?"

I see her talking with Kendo, looking concerned at what she was talking about. I walk over and Ibara meets me in the middle, leaning in towards my ear.

"There's something I want to tell you," she whispers, "I overheard something about your mother and Endeavor making a bet. I heard the stakes and everything." I feel my body heat up and my hair flares to life.

"What about 'em?" I ask, "Did my Mom do something weird?"

"Apparently Endeavor has some money he owes your mother and to get it she has to have you win against this boy named Shoto." she says, "I don't know if that's important to you at all but if you need my help, just ask."

"I'll keep that in mind, Ibara." I say, calming down, "I'll win, you'll see." Everyone gathered up in front of a small stage, the referee, Miss Midnight, standing atop it. She's wearing her hero costume, blue eyes scanning over all of us. She's very pretty, her long dark hair flaring everywhere except downward.

I just wish that I would stop imagining Ibara in that. Ibara looks at me as I shake my head.

"Don't even think about it, Ibara," I say.

"What? No, I wouldn't even dream of seducing you in that kind of attire," she answers, "I would most likely use a rather… revealing set of lingerie."

"What?" I gasp, "Did… did you really say that? Since when? Ibara, are you okay?" I grab her cheeks and tilt her head around, trying to check for anything different. Her eyes are normal, her hair is normal, I think her hair would be different?

She blushes and nods, "I am quite well, thank you." I stand shocked but a whip crack interrupts the moment.

"Lovebirds! Pay attention!" Miss Midnight exclaims, "I won't explain it again!"

"Yes, Ma'am." we both say at the same time, making her continue.

"Basically, my sweet first years, this first event is a race around the arena dodging obstacles, of course your placement affects the rest of the events!" she exclaims, "But before any of that, a little message from the top scorer of the practical exams, Katsuki Bakugou!"

The ashen blond haired boy from earlier stomps up to the stage and stood in front of the mic. He clears his throat and growls out the single most enraging speech ever, "All I'm gonna say is... that all of these losers right here don't stand a chance against me as I'll be the one coming out on top with the gold! You fuckers don't matter!" He yells, earning jeering and booing, "Oho! There's the guts from you extras! I said what I see!"

"What a fragile ego…" Ibara sighs, "How shameful."

"Oh yeah?!" Tetsutetsu exclaims, "Come on and prove it then!" he storms close, but not close enough to be reached because Midnight wards him off with a glare.

"We'll settle this later." he relents. I sigh and take a deep breath. Just focusing on the big door in front of all of us. The gate grinds open and thus begins the first part of the Sports Festival. A whip cracks and I break into a run, dead focused on the end.

My shoes are gone and my bands are all that's between me and the ground. Flames blast out of them and spiral behind me, smoke drifting from my lips. Just running on and on, suddenly getting a metal plated fist put in my way.

The Exam Bots all are in our way. Massive and green, a veritable army of them all. Smoke pours out of my mouth as I exhale from the initial run. Breathing in deeply and pulling out more flames than before. My fists lash out and flames melt down a bot's arm, I grab a piece of it and slash right through another one.

"Kaenshita's clearing the bots outta the way!" Togaru yells, "Get going!" He launches right next to me, blades cutting through quite a few.

"Why're you helping me, Kamakiri?!" I ask.

"Cause I wanna beat that tryhard!" He snaps, "Now get moving! I'll handle these tin cans!"

I remember how he used to be. Calling me a charity case and all that. I just run onward, coming towards what I can only describe as platforms, skidding to a halt and seeing a line between platforms. The robot part heats up and I slash the line, swinging down and coming up out of the arc.

I wasn't gonna make it, but I had to try. I punch downward as hard as I can, my flames blasting me up over it, landing on my stomach, smoke flowing out of my mouth, my body tremoring and my grip shaking like a leaf.

"WHAT?! KAENSHITA'S JUST FLOWN!" Mic screams, "Poor kid doesn't look too good though!" I glare at the sky, my body shaking and my breath gasping. I take another deep breath, my hair and body warming up again.

I take a moment to think, if I can slash the platform itself, maybe I can ride it to victory? Or can I use my flames to lift me like before? I focus, breathing in even more. Loosening up and getting into my boxing stance. I close my eyes and I feel my body leave the pillar, gouging out dents in each one I passed, feeling like lightning. I open my eyes and I'm on the other side, the rest of the track and a few stragglers like Togaru and Tetsu who were held up.

I dash further on, not noticing the heavy damage to my leg bands. I feel my muscles ache and my sides begin to cramp. I slow down and fall to the ground, spread out. My breath wheezing and chest jolting, trying to feed me more oxygen.

"Khhhaah… Haah…" I gasp, dragging myself further, 'Come on! Come on! You can't fail! Not now!' I drag myself to my feet and breathe in, my body's aching soothing and my body recovering as much as it could.

I know my quirk might start really hurting me if I pull off fancier movies like the Heat Lightning before. So I cut out the bullshit, running onward towards the final obstacle. Seeing that it was a minefield mostly cleared by the others that came through before me, I blast right through it all, my flames triggering them and causing blasts to thunder out.

I'm almost through but my foot steps on one, causing it to blast me into the air and slam down on the other side, my band scraps falling to the track as I lope my way through the final stretch. I finally crossed over the line.

I fall down and my leg jolts, pain rocketing through me as I lay there miserably. I sniffle and then I feel someone pull me into their arms, Ibara holds me and she's smiling.

"Renaru, you lost a band." she says, "Please hold on a moment." Her vines gently wind around my leg, and she takes my hand and puts it on the vine length.

"Breathe out." she says. I do it and my flame shoots out gently and burns it free from the others. Suddenly I can stand again, a band made of her own vines wrapped snugly around it. It feels way better than the other three.

Ibara and I begin to make our way towards the others, with me not noticing a certain someone nearby until his shadow falls down on me.

---

Bakugou looms in front of me, his reddish-brown eyes pinpricks as his hands spark. He stalks around me, his voice grating out a laugh. I feel Ibara's hand grip mine harder. I tense as he cackles his head silly.

"Wow! Tenth place! How amazing!" he chortles, my eyes tracking him as much as I could. I turn as he laughs harder, "What? Are those fancy flames all ya got?" He looms over me, seeing the vine band.

"And ya need HER help? I dunno what yer thinking but that's weak ass shit!" he yells, "How about you let go of him, Ave Maria? Let's see if he can do things on his own." Ibara doesn't let me go.

"What? You're scared he'll break? Come on, Maria!" he urges, "I should take this weak little crip out, just like his mo-" suddenly I thrust my fist into his gut, sending him backward, with my other fist lashing out too, catching him on the cheek, making him fall to the dirt.

"Grrgh… what the-" I grab him by the shirt, dragging him to eye contact.

"Bakugou. You don't deserve to be here. Always acting like you run the goddamn show. Well guess what?" I feel my hair light on fire, my eyes blazing into his, "I'm gonna turn you into paste."

Bakugou laughs, "S-see?! There's that bite!" he exclaims. I roll my eyes and casually drop him.

"Go terrorize that Midoriya kid you hate so much, you're not even worth my time." I grab Ibara's hand and I walk off, seeing him holding his stomach and glaring at me.

"What?! You're just gonna let that happen?!" he screams at Midnight, "He punched me!"

"Who insulted him first?" she asks, I see him open his mouth, then shut it.

"Exactly." she says, "I'll allow it this once. Just because you started it."

Ibara gently hugs my arm and I flex my arm a little, "Whew…" I sigh, looking up at the stands and seeing my Mom there. She looks tense but finally lets it break back down into being more relaxed. I decided to give her a visit. Ibara and I make it to the student box and she worriedly looks at my serious expression.

"Renaru, you don't have to speak with your mother, you already-" I cut her off.

"Yeah, I will. This is important. It means more than just winning an internship, it means my entire future! An' I'm not speaking to my mother on that. I'm going right to the bastard who abandoned her!" I exclaim, marching towards the box Mom and my 'uncle' shared.

As I passed by the other boxes, I noticed a lot of people saying things.

"That Midoriya kid is lucky!"

"Really though? I thought that the Kaenshita kid was luckier! Getting hit with a mine and still getting up? I'd just pack up any chance of winning and go home!"

"Poor kid's gonna get himself killed out there."

I shake those people's words down my throat and finally get to my goal, knocking on the door. Of course nobody answers but I open the door anyway to see my Mom sitting down and nervously drinking a soda. Or… At least I hope it's one. Her hair nervously sputters and shines as I look towards my uncle, brooding with his arms crossed and blue eyes flicking over to me. He doesn't even acknowledge me but I come in anyway.

"Hey, mom!" I declare, "How's the money treating ya?" I throw my arms around her shoulders and kiss her on the cheek. She grabs my hands with her own and sighs.

"I don't have it yet, baby…" she looks at me with a sad smile, "But I gotta deal with this shitty bet until then."

I look at my uncle, "Why'd ya wait til I was older, Uncle En?" I ask, grabbing a soda myself and opening it with my teeth, spitting the cap out into the trash. He glares at me like I personally insulted him.

"Enji." he corrects, "And your mother had to earn it first."

"So ya basically punished her for havin' me? Pretty jackass of you, En." He whirls and marches over, causing my soda to warm up, "Blegh! You made my soda warm!"

"You're just like your mother, annoying and fighting everything like a rabid dog," he growls, "I thought putting that mutt of a man you call your father in jail was enough to cow her,"

"Oh great, so now you hate my entire family? If Granddad was here I think he'd have more than a reason to beat the shit outta you," I huff, "Cause those are fighting words that-"

Mom suddenly interjects, "Renaru, that's enough."

"But Mo-" she cuts me off again.

"Enough, Renaru." she hisses, "I'll talk to you outside, okay?" I huff and ditch my warm soda over the side and go outside to wait. Soon enough Mom comes out and she looks down at me with a quiet kind of anger.

"Renaru, that was risky…" she sighs.

"So?! He's pushing you around!" I yell, tears brimming, "I can't take that!" I sit down and angrily glare at her through my arms.

"Renaru… I've had to make sacrifices I don't like…" she sighs, making me cry even harder.

"So what? Was Dad a sacrifice? Was… was I one too?" I look at her ring finger with the lighter line, where her ring used to be. I couldn't be more angry.

"Renaru, this deal is gonna change every-"

"I DON'T WANT IT TO CHANGE!" I scream, "I wanna stay! I don't wanna give up on us! I fought so hard and the minute you see money you wanna throw it all away?!" I get on my feet and Mom tries to grab my shoulder.

I grab her wrist gently, "No. Not this time. I won't let you stop me…" I sniffle, "I'm gonna win cause that's what I always do. I fight as hard as I damn well can because that's what my Mom taught me. The mom I always saw never gives up, the mom I looked up to because she was my hero, not this…" I trail off…

"Doormat. You let this big pale lady shove you into the corner and start beating on you, you let your own brother shove you into another and whale on you without a damn care, you gave up on Dad and you gave up on me. But I won't give up on you!" I exclaim, my voice shaking.

"But, Renaru, your body can't-" I feel a flash of rage, pure rage, course through me.

"SHUT UP ABOUT MY BODY! I'M BECOMING A HERO FOR YOU! WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT, MOM?!" I roar, my hair bursting into pure flames but my body staying the same, "I… I just…" my hair dwindles.

"I just want to… to…" I clench my hands into fists, "I want you to be happy! To get the ending you always wanted! Me and you, stinking rich, in a big house! Me with my kids and you spoiling the crap outta them…"

I turn, "But it's clear now. Clear as day. The woman I knew as my Mom is becoming a memory." I turn and see Mom looking so small, her hair dimmed, her eyes brimming with tears too.

"I never take the easy way out." I say, "Just like you did."

I turn and feel something in my pocket, something I slipped in for good luck earlier that I forgot was even there. I just leave it be and return to the student box, seeing everyone tense and gathered up around the door.

"Oookay, I was gone for a little bit, what's with the crowding?" I ask.

"Strats." Kendo answers, "Now we all know you pissed off Bakugou,"

I sigh and Ibara squeezes me in her arms, "I will be his first teammate, our defenses will be like the faith I have in our Lord and Savior." she says, smiling and pressing a kiss to my forehead, "Or his luck with the Devil,"

"Hey, I don't know what half that means but I'm in!" Tetsu exclaims, "You too, Kendo!" Kendo sighs and shrugs.

"Well, we are going in on a suicide mission…" she follows us out, "Besides, the others can try to attack us."

But then our other classmates stop us, well, Monoma in particular.

"Hold it!" he exclaims, "You're shaken up, Kaenshita!" he grabs my shoulders, "This is Class A we're talking about, that means we gotta push as hard as we can to get our voices heard. So scream, rage, do what you do and we'll do ours."

"Right!" I exclaim, "I'm gonna win! I'm gonna win so hard someone's face is gonna burn off!" Ibara tugs on my sleeve.

"Dear, let's not do that, murder is not godly." she says.

"Sodom and Gomorrah would like to differ." I counter, "But it's a figure of speech, Ibby." She sighs and brushes the ash off my shoulders, staring into my eyes.

"I know. But Renaru…" she leans down and looks at me closer, "Please, promise me. Promise me you won't do this all alone."

I close my eyes, "You know I hate promises…" I huff, "But okay. I, Renaru Kaenshita, promise not to finish out my hero education alone…"

Ibara kisses me on the lips, gently holding the back of my head, our moment shattered by…

"OI! KAENSHITA! YE BETTER STOP THAT!" Mr. Shiozaki thunders, "AN' YOU, IBARA! I RAISED YE BETTER THAN THAT!"

'Oh fuck me…' I think, 'Of course this asshole shows up…'

Chapter 17: Knights of Cydonia.

I kneel on the backs of my classmates. Kendo nervously holds onto me, Ibara behind me and so is Tetsutetsu on the front. He steels himself and I feel Ibara's vines secure around us. It's an easy enough thought to have but I have to trust in my classmates.

Kendo is my main carrier but all I think about is how angry I am. My hair hasn't cooled down ever since my Mom told me about the deal. How Dad was a sacrifice or something like that. Even worse was the fact that Ibara's trash dad was here too.

We're almost shaped like an arrow, with me and Kendo being the shaft, Tetsu being the head, and Ibara being the fletching. I stand on Kendo, with her hands spread out to the sides, she's really sturdy.

As our team makes it to the big circle, I see the others all around us, all getting ready. I make eye contact with Bakugou and he glares at me murderously. I draw my thumb across my throat. He looks pissed as Midnight ascends the viewing block.

"Alright! Now it's time for the Cavalry Battle! The rules are simple, my wet-behind-the-ears first years! One! No riders can touch the ground, and others who use their quirks must only take the headbands on the rider's person! No targeted attacks, my students! Now…"

Her whip lashes the air and we're off, suddenly darting away from the other teams, staying out, seeing the crash and the bedlam, but forging through it all like a bat outta hell was Bakugou riding off the back of his own hardening guy, a girl with acid and a guy with tape.

I grin and spread my hand out, "Full bore straight ahead!" I yell, "Bring me close enough to grab his band!"

"What?! That wasn't part of the plan!" Kendo yells.

"Uh… bro? I don't think that's a good idea!" Tetsu yells too. But I look down at Ibara. She's the only one tensing up, I kneel down behind Tetsu, ready to ambush them on our reckless pass. Kendo reluctantly enlarges her hands, putting them behind Tetsu and around me, palms out.

Tetsu steels up and I take a deep breath, my flames stoking as suddenly the world blurs, the arena floor busting out a crater as I lash out some flames to cover our advance, my hand snatching Bakugou's band from around his neck.

"Grrgh! TURN THE FUCK AROUND!" he yells as we dart away. But before he could Togaru rides in on Pony as Bondo comes in with Yui and the others, Pony's horns and Togaru's blades take the extra bands and Bondo glues everyone down while Bakugou recklessly tries to blast his way out of the problem.

The plan was to lure him out and ambush him. While his one track mind and anger at me would keep him focused on yours truly. Tetsu looks up at me with the girls looking up at me too.

"That was insane!" Kendo screams, "Ibara, back me up on this!"

"One must be daring if they are to make history." she says, the red in her eyes fading as we notice nobody is paying attention to us anymore.

I look at a certain team and smile widely, "There's our ticket, we get that band, we win!" I exclaim, "Full steam to Midoriya! HYAH!" I feel the others move and I breathe in as deep as I can, my flames coursing through my bands trying to make it to a vantage where I could get the band.

"Alright, switch positions!" I order, "We're gonna hit this like Luke hit the Death Star!" Tetsu metals up and the girls take a sort of triangular position with Kendo's hand underneath me. I notice Ibara's hair winding around her arms, her vines securing all of us.

I knew this part would be risky, but switching the bands wouldn't be so hard.

"So wait, yer gonna make us a target?!" Tetsu yells.

"Yeah! That's the plan! Now take us on a trench run, Red Leader!" I snap, "Once we get close enough I want you to hit me as hard as you can at them, Kendo!"

"Then what?!" Ibara yells.

"I don't know! Never thought that far ahead!" I yell, "But if I get this… it'll get Endeavor to shut his face!" We ready our attack run and charge right for Midoriya to take his billion point headband.

Of course Todoroki has the same idea but vines lash at the ice, breaking it up as Ibara growls a little. She's really pushing her wrath hard. I blast out my flames at the rest of the ice, sending them backward as I notice that Mineta kid stuck a girl named Hatsume down on the ground.

They suddenly take to the sky, a jetpack on the techie girl pushing them but the quirk that the round faced girl had also helped them gain height.

I grin and we approach them, their other teammate sending out a bird shaped thing but I get smacked towards them, Ibara's vine around me snug around my waist with the vine on my leg moving up and exposing my foot, my other band bursts into flames, tearing the bottom half up as I blast towards the other group to swoop in and take it.

Yet all I can do is try to get myself close, and I lash my hand out to grab for the band, my other hand more focused on making me fly. I feel the edge of it in my hand, holding it tight I yank it off and land hard on Kendo's hand, leaving one of our own with them.

An eye for an eye. Just to make things easier. Despite the burning pain and stiffness in my lungs, I laid on her hand kinda triumphant. But I get back on my feet and the Cavalry Battle ends. But…

There's almost no cheering, no applause. Not a sound. I mean, Mom is yelling and clapping but everyone else? Crickets. Ibara stands there, hands clasped and staring up at the rest of the arena.

"How shameful…" she says, "Not applauding your victory."

"Well uh… yeah." Tetsu supplies, "I uh… think we weren't supposed to do that."

"Ain't that just peachy?" Kendo asks, "We snag the win and suddenly we're the bad guys?" that's when it starts. A tidal wave of jeering and heckling crashes into us and I take the brunt of it, hearing yells of…

"Cheater!"

"Faker!"

I force a smile on my face, eyes threatening tears but I turn my back on them, looking towards my uncle and my mother, she's angrily blazing, yelling at those nearby to shut the hell up. I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Renaru, let's go." Ibara says, I turn and grab her hand. I don't know what to do or how to feel. I'm angry and hurt and I just can't let this slide. But I let it slide just because I needed to get through this.

Ibara sits down and lowers me onto her lap, her arms winding around my waist. We're in private so she gets a little friskier than usual, kissing my cheek and then going down my jaw, ending at my chin.

I giggle softly at the feather light kisses she'd give me, she moves from my jaw to my nose, forehead, and lips, I hear my giggle turn into a laugh as she lingers on a sweet spot on my neck.

"Whoa! Whoa! Stop!" I laugh, "T-take it easy, Ibara!"

She chuckles and touches foreheads with me, "Darling, you're troubled. Your hair hasn't settled down and your sheer recklessness is showing again!" she has tears in her eyes, "I'm just concerned about you, Renaru."

I shirk away, mostly trying to hide it behind my smile again, "I… I don't know what you're talking about."

"Please take note of the event earlier today." she says, "You endangered us all just to get revenge on Bakugou!"

"So? He deserved it!" I snap, "Life's not fair, Ibara. And I know you like things to be fair, but life was never that way."

"Renaru, what's the matter with you?" she asks as I get to my feet, my rage building to a fever pitch as I turn towards the wall, punching it over and over with pain flaring from my knuckles leaving burnt dents there.

Frustration causes my hair to whip out embers and heat up intensely. My anger forcing me to scream, falling to my knees and crying, my knuckles bloody and my eyes stinging harshly, tears pouring out like a heavy rain.

The anger is a pit of fire in my gut, burning away the cooling of a victory, my frustration, the devil on my back and the sadness coming to patch that up and kiss my wounds. Expectations were high and no one clapped, no one cheered. Only my mother, only my class, and only the tiny piece of me that still believed in me.

The soft weight of Ibara on me jolts me out of the tears and frustration, the soft muttering of a hopeful prayer calls me out of the darkness, and the biting cold sets in. I never knew how cold somewhere was. My hair is dwindled down to only a scant baking kindling pile.

The soft scent of moonflowers drifts through my mind, the scent making me grab onto Ibara tighter, her arms anchoring me to reality, clinging to it like the last boat in a storm, her words sounded different, another language.

Maybe it was Latin? I let out a shaky breath when she finally switched back to Japanese. Ibara holds me, her vines darkening the area, my hair still too dim to really see. But then I notice that her hair has tiny moonflowers in it. Shining alone, tiny and silvery white.

My girlfriend cradles me, her arms are strong, her bones solid enough to ground me as I lay on the ground of the private breakroom, her hair shades everything in darkness and makes the moonflowers be the only tiny lights.

My sobs make my body jolt, shaking and rollicking like a shotgun kept on getting pumped into me. Shell after shell of emotion almost makes my chest burst apart. The shellshocked remains of what I feel sort of settles in.

Ibara unwinds her vines and kisses me, her light, soft kiss presses deeper. I don't let go of her, still crying and still feeling the numbness of the apathy running through me. But Ibara doesn't let go of me.

She pulls back, "Renaru. Even if you can't get your family back the way it was before. That doesn't mean you have to let the past drag you down. Or let these feelings control you. You're still the one at the helm of your life,"

"I just… I can't accept that the bet even happened." I admit, "I… I have to win, I don't want this year to be over!"

She hugs me, "Shh… Renaru, then we won't let that happen," she sighs, "Come on, let's see the others and handle your wounds," she grabs my hand and leads me back to the student box but I stop.

"Dear?" she asks, "What's wrong?"

"I don't want them to see me like this, okay?" I mumble, "Can… can I just be with you again?"

Ibara sighs, "Renaru, darling…" she pulls me into her arms, her emerald eyes half lidded and her lips stretched into a soft smile, "It's fine. You'll be well and all will be well." she closes her eyes and gently nuzzles my mostly extinguished hair.

"You're so warm…" she moves back, kissing me firmly on the lips. She wraps her arms gently around my neck and leans me closer, moving down to my neck and kissing it, biting it a little. I let out a moan, she starts to pull up my shirt but then the door knocks.

In seconds she gets off me and I yank my shirt back down. Coming in was surprisingly enough Mr. Kan, looking concerned at my knuckles.

"What happened?" he asks, "You're bleeding and there's charred dents in the wall."

"I was frustrated sir, that's all." I say, he gently grabs my hand, getting out antiseptic cream and bandaids. I hiss out as he applies them with Ibara helping him.

"Kaenshita, I worry about you sometimes." he admits, "You know you can be a little reckless, you know that?"

I nod, "So you just carry those around?"

"Yeah." he says, "I gotta look out for you guys, plus everybody's been looking for you two," I sigh and follow him out with Ibara grabbing my hand letting me pull her along. We walk through the hall, with Mr. Kan continuing.

"Must be hard, right?" he asks, "Being the way you are."

"Nah, not really. Just the fact everyone looks down on me and the constant need to prove myself." I answer with my tone as dry as the Gobi Desert. He looks back at me in shock.

"Kid? Holy shit." I shrug it off.

"What? It's the truth." I say, "Just… I gotta be okay with it for now." Ibara and I take the turn off towards the student box. The others all gather around us with Monoma leading.

"Well well well, looks like the lovebirds are back!" he exclaims, "So, how was the break for you guys?"

"It was fine, they got the brackets in yet?" I ask, seeing Tetsutetsu nod. Ibara looks a little closer at the brackets.

"Yeah, they got two vs. two battles this time." Setsuna pipes up, her dusky green eyes shifting to Ibara, flashing red a little.

"Besides, I think Ibara should watch out." she says, "She's been using it too much so far." Ibara whirls and glares at her.

"It was necessary to achieve our victory." she growls a little as Bondo taps me on the shoulder. I turn and he hands me a container of something.

"I uh… I heard you liked this." he says, "Got it from outside," It was a container full of shrimp tempura that I almost dumped on my face trying to eat. I shove in bit after bit, my hair heating up again. I never realized how hungry I was.

I guess that's why my hair went out, Hoenenuki comes up to me too, checking my arms and legs.

"Are they stiff?" he asks, "Sometimes it might cause your muscles to hurt more."

I nod and he grabs an elastic band from a drawstring bag, "Here. My dad's a physical therapist, he has a lot of these at his job and I wanna give it to you." I take it and smile.

"Thanks, dude." I say, beginning to stretch a little. Just to loosen up. Kinoko suddenly peals out.

"The brackets! They're coming up!" she points at the screen, I see me and Ibara paired together and then I also see our Opponents being Midoriya and Iida. My hands clench into shaky fists and I look at my friends.

"I'll win." I say, "I'll win."

Chapter 18: Brothers in Past Pains.

The entrance tunnel echoes with the crowd cheering and roaring as Ibara and I grab each other's hands. She looks at me with a smile.

"Dear, we'll win." Ibara gently nudges me, "I'll make sure of it." I smile and Mic fires up the crowd with a huge blast of the song Falling Down. The two of us walk out as Mic begins his opening spiel.

"This power couple really needs no introduction, folks! Standing at five foot two and rather fiery for a kid his age, it's the rising flame of 1-B… their very own, RENARU KAENSHITA!" he calls, causing a good amount of the crowd to cheer and roar, with a few of them raising up mobility aids and support items needed to live.

"And his beautiful partner, his thorny rose of a girlfriend, standing at five foot four, Iba-"

"OI! AMEND THAT RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" Mr. Shiozaki screams, "Mah daughter isn't his gaelfriend! Please amend that!"

Mic pauses, "Sorry man, I was just trying to-"

"AND STOP CALLIN' ME MAN! IT'S SIR!"

After a beat, Mic continues.

"Ibara Shiozaki!" he calls, "These two will be facing…"

Suddenly, Future blasts out of nowhere, revealing our opponents in an almost opposite light to ours, stepping out are a green haired and green eyed boy, freckles spattering his face. He looks pretty nervous but I can't blame him at all.

The boy next to him is taller and much more confident looking. Wearing rectangular glasses and he's quite muscular, he smiles at Midoriya, "Don't worry, this will be over quickly!"

"Now then! The deal is that each team has two members!" Midnight fills in, "If one member falls, then the other member can take out their targets alone! But if two of them get knocked out, and two are left standing, then they fight! If both are knocked out they're out of the running!"

I lean over to Ibara, "I'll take Midoriya. You take Iida."

"Understood." she says, "I will do my best, my love!"

I blush a little as I see Iida take a running stance and Izuku puts his fists up in a weird stance. He's shaky, but when Midnight raises her whip I tense and at the crack I focus on Midoriya.

I rush him with my fists flying, flames bursting forth, "ATTATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA… ATAAAHHHHHHHH!" I scream, just narrowly getting a hit in before getting blown backward by a heavy gust of wind slamming into me.

It pummels me in the side, being hammered backward. I skid back on my feet, 'Damn! I was reckless!' A throbbing ache overtakes me, my breath wheezing out. I loosen myself and take a new stance. Somewhat resembling something I saw in a movie once.

I notice that the hand he used to flick me with has a broken finger, I take a deep breath and shoot myself into the air on the wings of my flames. He tries to block by throwing his arms up to catch it, but I grab his wrists and twist midair, sending him into a spin.

He landed right on his back, getting on his feet as fast as he could. I watch him think. Something about him changes. He's getting more aware of my patterns. Of course at the beginning of the fight we just stayed posted in our stances.

But now? This is just trying to push ourselves. I bunch myself into my arms. He was just an overthinker. All I need to do is weave in and hit him with a bunch of good blows. It's not like he's untrained but he's smart.

Midoriya suddenly blasts towards me but I weave right and get him in his exposed side, but he was waiting and he got me in the jaw. I go spinning and I land on my back, laying there with a big smile on my face.

"That's it. I understand now!" I exclaim, bouncing to my feet shakily, "You got a dream similar to mine!" Midoriya pauses, his head cocking to the side.

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asks.

"Come on, don'tcha see it? Two nobodies who kept pushing? Two kids with dreams far beyond what anyone told them?" I see his eyes light up and he smiles.

"I guess so!" he exclaims.

"Now you see why I gotta beat you! Can't let you go soft on me now, Midoriya!" I breathe in deep and flames dance on my fists, seeing him slowly get back into his stance, noticing his bruised leg from advancing on me.

"Whoa! Looks like Kaenshita's really turning up the heat! Seems like 1-B's spirited underdog's got a lot more than what he let on in the previous rounds!" Mic yells, "We're watching a Rocky story unfold in front of our eyes here, folks!"

"What surprises me is how far this kid's made it. His condition should have made him a jittery mess on the arena floor by now." Eraser says, causing me to glare at him and blast towards Izuku with a vengeance, dodging the incoming blast of flicked air.

I slam my fist into his cheek, seeing him spin and get blasted back by my flames. I breathe in and press my attack, aiming at his weak spots, and weaving through the counters. Crossing things up and going into a Dempsey Roll, he dodges and nails me in the face, I take it on by closing the distance and grabbing him by the waist. Breathing in deeply and forcing all the strength into my body. I think to myself.

'Thank you, Izuku Midoriya, for showing me I'm not alone! Now-'

I lift him over my head, slamming him down backward behind me, 'FORM 4: GRAND FLARE SUPLEX!' My flames guided my slam, flames blasting up and causing smoke to billow up into the air, Izuku's body limp in my arms as I lay him down.

"You fought bravely, Izuku." I say, "Maybe a rematch down the line will be fun!" My bands flop down on my arms as I look towards Ibara's fight, running towards her to help as much as I can. Yet I get body checked backward by Iida, hitting the ground and rolling, the wind knocked right out of me.

I still stay in the bounds, gasping and hearing Mic wince in sympathy, "Ooogh! Poor Kaenshita got body checked by Iida! Turns out it's not long until he's down!"

"Ghhh.. haah! Ghhh! Haaah!" I gasp, trying to get air into my lungs, but my drawback kicked in. My muscles scream in agony, my hands scrabbling for purchase on the arena floor. I feel the rush of wind towards me but my breath kicks in, my flames blasting me away from the main fight but I can't move further.

---

I turn to look at my beloved, his bands ruined, his body quaking and his eyes barely open. He's kneeling but he's not looking too good. I feel my heart beating, my eyes focusing on him. My vines unwind from my forehead, I try to control the red hot feeling in my chest but it begins to spread, feeling my body change and my eyes burn red.

All I see is Iida blitzing toward me, getting behind me as I send out more vines at him with him weaving aside to close in, seizing my shoulders, he tries to push me but my vines dug deep into the arena floor, I slam my head backward into his face, the glasses skittering off and my vines binding around him and lifting him with my own hands.

"You worm…" I growl, "Laying hands upon my beloved? Leaving him broken and gasping on the ground?!" I hiss, "What I do is for the salvation of others, but this?!" My vines wind tighter, my eyes burning into his.

"This is a sin I cannot forgive."

I slam my knee into his gut, throwing him backward and he skids on his feet.

"I shall make this more equal for you…" I growl, "Come at me," Iida kneels into a racing stance, getting up close by running at me and sending a kick drilling towards me. I dodge and counter with a heavy blow to the face, he curves suddenly and snaps me into the arena floor.

"Whoa! What a transformation!" Present Mic yells, "Where was this?!"

"She used it in the previous round to move Kaenshita's team around," Ereaserhead comments as I shove against Iida's push. No matter what… I'd see Renaru become a hero, his dream is so earnest and pure hearted.

I am too unclean to be in his world. I understand why Father wanted me to stay away yet for now I have but one goal. To help my beloved win. His dream shall be my own. I break the push and my body goes on autopilot.

My fists fly into his chest, knocking him away as my vines press him into the arena floor. Of course I don't see him tapping out but my vines follow my will. Until…

"Stop it!" I hear from behind me, feeling the warm arms of my beloved lock around my chest, "No more, okay?!" Renaru yells.

I turn and see him, his eyes wide, tears spilling down his cheeks. His body trembles as he clings on as tight as he can. His hair sputtering out embers and his legs dangling down uselessly. His breath shakes and hitches.

"You won! It's over!" he yells, "Just… just stop, okay?" he begs as he holds me. My anger abates, my thorns dull, and my muscles go back to normal.

"Ibara…" he sighs, "Don't… don't do that again…" I feel him try to pull me away. Iida and Midoriya lay there knocked out, with me leading us back out. I carry him on my back with no problems, only really caring about him.

I lay him down and he leans against the wall, his bands almost burnt to shreds with my own still holding on as much as it can.

"What's your deal?" he asks, "The minute I take a breather you decide to go mental?"

His tone is tense and simultaneously scathing me with heat. I look down at my feet.

"I was only protecting you…" I sigh.

"Oh yeah. Protecting me," he snarls, "I… I hate that." his voice shakes, tears springing from his eyes all over again.

"I wish… I wish…" he sniffles, "I wish I was stronger, I wish I wasn't born in that stupid family. I wish I could just be normal and quirkless. It'd be hard, sure, but my quirk fucking melts my body!" he curls into a little ball.

"Just… just leave me alone, okay? Tell… tell everyone…" he breaks down into heartbreaking sobs, "I'm so tired." he sighs. I sit down next to him and grab his small, shaking hand. He suddenly rams into my chest and I hold onto him as he sobs.

He's so small and hurt, warm and alone. My poor little boyfriend… My poor little Renaru… I carry him back to the others yet I see a shadow fall over me. My father looms at the end of the hallway.

"Ibara." He says.

"Father." I said, "Please move." He moves closer.

"Listen tae me, y'can't keep usin' your Wrath." he says, "It's a dangerous slope to fall down."

"You must be mistaken, Father. I was using it for a righteous cause." I explain.

"Oh aye, using it to help your boyfriend?" Eugen asks.

"Why yes, something so important to him that he's putting his body on the line to help win his mother's bet from his unholy uncle."

"You don't understand how I feel about him, you never understood me, so stay away from us!" I hiss, my eyes narrow and he backs off.

"Beware the Wrath ye still have within you," he says, "Even when it comes to th' boy ye have." I carry him into our break room, Renaru had fallen asleep in the meantime. I sit him down and he refuses to move.

"Let go…" I croon, "Come on…"

"Nooo…" he groans, forcing me to sit down with him, I settle into his lap and he leans against my chest, I lay my chin on his head. He wraps his arms around me and I feel his soft, warm hair tickling my chin.

"You're frustrating, you know that?" I sigh, "So frustrating and I love you." he smiles up at me and I kiss him on the cheek. He settles back into my embrace and I just hold him, letting him rest comfortably.

Our next match will come but I am not afraid. As long as Renaru is by my side, nothing can stop me. No matter what we shall prevail.

Chapter 19: The Cub At Rock Bottom.

“You asshole…!” I squeak, clenching my tiny hands into fists, shaking like leaves and the other kid is so big that he looms over me.

“What? You gonna run back to your loser Mama?” he asks, “Or are ya gonna fight?”

“My mama isn’t a loser! An’ ya better apologize to her once I beat your ass!” I yell, charging into the fray, getting hit by a fist straight to my face, eating the pavement but getting back up. I rush in and still get clobbered down. Again and again I run at the bully that first took me down, taking hits over and over.

“Bwahah!” I gasp, spitting up my lunch. I give him my best smile as he sees me get up again.

“I… I won’t… let you… beat me…” I growl, “Come on…” I clench my hands into fists.

“YOU DON’T HAVE THE BALLS!” My fist lashes out…

Now my fist blitzes off Tetsu’s cheek, dodging an incoming punch. His stance is wide and mine is tight in, taking as much as I can, weaving through what I can’t. Tanking as many hits as my shaking body can allow. He charges in and I get blasted backward, slamming into the smooth turf and gouging out a path in it. My body refuses to budge, my breath coming out in shocked puffs of smoke. I can barely hear or see, but all I hang on to is the hope I’m not out of bounds.

 

“Ooh! Seems like Renaru’s outta the running for now!” Mic screams out, “Can Shiozaki hold back the fearsome martial arts of her classmates?!”

 

That’s when I hear a small, but very loud chant fill my ears, “Let’s go! Renaru! Come on!”

 

I lay there, thinking back to the times I was on the ground before. Thinking back to that time… Mom was sitting at the kitchen table, bills scattered in front of her, eyes filled with tears as I watched from the steps.

 

I was five years old then. But now? I can’t let it end. I can’t let this go. I can’t. I don’t want to be a hero, I wanna take care of my family. I wanna make sure they won’t struggle anymore. There’s a heavy jolt in my chest, suddenly I’m back on my feet.

 

My arms and legs are quaking but all I feel is just the heat. I get back into my stance and the small part of the crowd roars as I dart forward to fight again and Tetsu clashes with me in the middle.

 

I just feel my arms and legs burning, my chest warmer than usual. His steel breaks away more and more as I press my attack, trying my best to dodge and weave but my muscles resist. His hits are fast and strong, my blocking isn’t doing much, but I have to endure as much as I can.

 

‘His stance is too wide, his strikes too long. He’s wild! He’s… WIDE… OPEN!’ I think, dashing with the last of my strength before my quirk becomes dangerous, ‘Form 5: ERUPTION FIST!’ My fist lashes out at his gut, hitting home and an intense gout of flames blasts him through the air, slamming him down on the other side of the boundary line.

 

My bands are only wrecked strands, Ibara’s vine burnt almost completely through. I stare at Tetsu, walking over, or trying to. I flash him a thumbs up. He gives me one right back, and I see Ibara just standing there, Kendo tangled in her vines. She smiles and gives me a friendly wave.

 

After the fight comes a little bit of a break so I could rest up. They weren’t too cruel of course but I needed another set of bands. Ibara could make new ones but I can’t let her waste her hair on me.

 

That’s when I got an idea. I ambled my way up to Mom’s seat. Seeing that she was already getting out my spares. She looks at me with concern.

 

“Look, baby, it’s gonna get harder from here.” she warns, “Shoto’s your next opponent, and after that… we’ll celebrate the big-” then I notice that two people were nearby. A man in a silver suit and another in a blue one.

 

“Oi. Sorry we’re late, Tekka. Shin had to slick back his hair…” Granddad growls, stepping into the box we were in. His grizzled face and tough guy demeanor hid a warm interior that loved to tell stories of his Yakuza days.

 

Uncle Shin, well… he’s a mystery. The total opposite of my dad with the same condition as me, leaning on his sword that doubles as a cane. He used to be a hero, but after the public found out he was kicked out.

 

Uncle Shin walks up to me and plunks his hand into my hair, “You’ve done well, Renaru.” he says softly, “I’m sure you have more planned for the next round.”

 

“Well, yeah! Thanks, Uncle Shin!” I exclaim with a big grin, “Did you really have to bring your sword?”

 

“Never leaves home without it, kiddo…” Granddad states, opening his arms, his bionic fingers clicking a little, “Get over here.” I run into his arms and hug him tightly. Mom getting to her feet.

 

“Sheesh, no matter what I do he always has a ton of energy…” she huffs.

 

“Well, from my experiences, children and teens quite often are.” Uncle Shin says, “Although…” his magenta eyes narrow at my other Uncle.

 

“How dare he show himself…” he growls, “I should cut him down where he stands…”

Granddad noogies me and looks up at Uncle Shin, “Slow your roll, killer, and siddown.” he drawls, “We’re aboutta see some real fireworks.”

 

Uncle Shin sighs and sits, “Renaru, best not keep them waiting.” he says, smirking a little, “My brother would be all over you, cheering you on.”

 

“I know.” I say, “Just… I think there’s someone I’d like you to meet…” I blush a little as I hear Ibara’s telltale footsteps coming up the way. Once she arrives, Granddad takes off his glasses, rubs them, then puts them back on.

 

“Uhm, Renaru? We need to…” she begins, “Talk.” she finishes as she sees my Uncle and Granddad.

 

“Hot damn, Renaru.” Granddad says, “Makin’ moves already?”

 

“Granddad~!” I whine, shaking my fists, “Don’t be mean~!”

 

“I’m not, I’m not. Just…” he bows, “Nice ta meetcha, Name’s Daisaku Kaenshita,” he smiles and straightens as Ibara bows in kind.

 

“I’m Ibara Shiozaki. I… I don’t believe Renaru’s spoken about you all that much.” she giggles nervously as Uncle Shin rises and limps over, his eyes closing and bowing as much as he could.

 

“And I’m Shin Kaenshita, his uncle.” he says.

 

Ibara nods, “I see. Well, Renaru and I must be going, you know… strategy.” she wilts a little.

 

That’s when Granddad does the one thing we all hate him sometimes for. He opens his mouth and before Uncle Shin can stop him, and before Mom can, he utters one question that’s like a knockout blow in and of itself.

 

“Are you two fuckin’?” he asks.

 

Ibara and I take a few seconds to register that. That’s when I see her turn completely crimson and I close my eyes and sigh.

 

“No, we’re not.” I deny, with Ibara sputtering.

“N-no! Of course not, sir! Not yet, anyway!” she covers her face with her hands and tries not to have her quirk act up, “Agh, how vulgar…” she mumbles.

 

“Granddad! Cool it!” I snap.

“What? The way she acts around ya is like you two are already married and shit like that!” he snarls, “You wanna go, brat?!”

 

“YEAH!” I roar, shooting towards him with a right hook. He dodges and grabs my wrist, swirling me onto his shoulders. For a man pushing eighty he’s as strong as an ox and as nimble as a falcon.

 

“Gotcha!” he yells, wrapping his arms around my legs and running out of the box with me on top of his shoulders.

“Waaaaahhh! Mom! Ibara!” I yell. Granddad continues to run with a big smile on his face. Something I loved even when I was little was Granddad being awesome. He doesn’t slow down as he runs away from Ibara and Mom who decide to play along.

 

“Wait for me, Renaruuu!” Ibara whines.

 

“Oh no you don’t, Daisaku!” Mom roars, raging after the two of us. Granddad and I dash through the halls like rebels without a cause, dodging the others and doing our best to avoid them. Despite his age, Granddad still has a lot of strength.

 

That is until we accidentally slam into someone I never thought I’d meet ever in my life. I go over Granddad’s shoulders, he takes a fall, and I go flying into a wall. But the woman we slammed into…

 

“GRRRGH! YOU BASTARD! WATCH WHERE YER GOIN’!” Her red eyes are wide and pinpricked, her ears on alert. Her white hair spreading out in sheer rage. Her tail fluffing up as well. Her fists also clenched ready to punch him out.

 

“Oh. My. God.” I say, “OH MY GOD, IT’S… IT’S…” I start hyperventilating. She turns and calms down.

 

“Uhh…” she starts.

“You’re Miruko!” I squeal, shooting to my feet and pumping my fists, “No way! That means you’re here for Internship offering!” I dash up to her and bow as deeply as my body would let me.

“I’m Renaru Kaenshita! I’m Fifteen years old, First Year at UA High! My quirk is an emitter type called Inner Inferno! I hope you consider me for an internship!” I scream, “ALSO! I’m proficient at boxing, despite my physical disability!”

 

At that moment Mom and Ibara catch up as I feel a hand on my head. I look up and see her smirking.

 

“Well, if it means ya win this next round, and I don’t gotta fill out paperwork, I’ll consider it.” she says.

 

“Wow…” I breathe as she turns around and leaves. Granddad pops up and he’s checking on his nose.

 

“Gahdamn I almost broke it…” he sighs, crossing his arms, “So that’s a hero? Kinda dumb she was standin’ in our way.” he huffs, seeing my starry eyes. He shakes his head and I notice that Mom is kinda standing there in shock.

 

“I’ve never seen you react like that to any hero at all.” she says.

 

“Well, she’s cool!” I exclaim, “And I can’t wait to slug Shoto some of my flaming fisticuffs!” I clench my fists tightly with a huge smile. Granddad and Mom look at each other and he kneels.

 

“Look kid, while I get your enthusiasm… You’re gonna get torn up out there.” he states, “Keep those bands on tight, yer gonna get through it fine.”

 

I look down at my arms and legs, seeing the bands bound there, “I’m not so sure, Granddad…”

 

“Well, you better keep them on, honey.” Mom pipes up, “Cause it’s not gonna be pretty when you’re gonna be knocked out.”

 

“Miss Kaenshita, permit me to say have a little faith in him.” Ibara says, Mom glares at her.

 

“It’s not a matter of faith, Shiozaki. It’s a matter of if my son is even gonna be able to stand after this!” she exclaims, “Because if he gets hurt then he might STAY hurt.”

I sigh and look up at her, “Mom, listen. It’s my choice. Oh wait, no it isn’t because you took a deal that’ll probably screw us both over so there!” I stand taller.

 

“But either way… I won’t lose! I can’t lose!” I exclaim, “This is the greatest day of my life!” I pump my fist into the air and grin. There’s no way I can lose, not this time. All of my hard work would be for nothing.

 

All of this was gonna get going. Whether they like it or not.

Chapter 20: Paper Tiger and Glass Dragon.

Before the fight I consider my options, either I use the temporary bands and prove nothing, or I take them off and win that way? I stand in the tunnel, undoing my arm bands and leg bands. Seeing Ibara’s eyes widen.

 

“Darling! What are you-” she squeaks.

 

“I’m winnin’ as me. No help, no bands. Just me.” I say, “I’ve never been more sure, if he’s gonna hide, I’mma force him right back outta his shell.”

 

“You can’t do it alone, Renaru!” she exclaims, grabbing my hand, “Where you go, I go,”

 

“I’ve got this,” I say, “But if you wanna help, sure.”

 

“Oh bless you!” she exclaims, kissing me on the forehead. I sit there and undo my bands, they flop to the floor and I stand tall, breathing in as deeply as I could, the burning feeling in my chest returns but I don’t pay it much attention.

 

All I wanna do is win. No matter what happens. A hush falls over the crowd as the final round graphic shows up on the screen, Shoto’s name shows up with his picture with our pictures on the other side.

“After a match between Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, and Todoroki, it turns out the prodigy of Endeavor has proven victorious!” Mic screams, “But can he defeat the fated lovers of 1-B?! Well, time to find out!!!”

“Kaenshita can barely stand, he’s gonna have a hard time.” Aizawa says, “Besides, I don’t think Shiozaki’s second quirk can take much more use.” Ibara and I walk out, with her supporting me and me dropping my final band on the floor of the arena.

 

“Whoa! Renaru’s taken off all his bands!” Mic yells, “Is he seriously thinking straight?!”

 

Shoto walks out of the other side, seriously glaring at me, “Renaru…” he starts.

 

“Shoto.” I say, “I ain’t holdin’ back and you shouldn’t either.”

 

“You don’t understand.” he growls, “I hate using that.”

 

“So what? You gonna cry about it or come punch the shit outta us?” I guffaw, “Either way I’m gonna be the one who wins.”

 

“Careful that your confidence doesn’t betray your weakness.” he warned, but I don’t care. His dad, my uncle, is threatening my mom. At the crack of the whip Ibara and I advance on Shoto, his crude ice sword cutting aside her vines and deftly catching my fist.

 

“Weak.” Shoto says, shoving me off and blocking a strike from Ibara, “Foolish.” he continues. Both of us synchronize our attacks and he blocks and dodges as much as he can. Even taunting me with one hand behind his back.

 

Ibara goes to the right, I go to the left, flames and vines, fists and ice, all of it going at full tilt just to keep him pressured. Of course Ibara’s hair looks lopsided. The more vines that get cut the less she can use.

 

I can’t get close enough without burning through his ice to get to him, my arms and legs going completely numb. Ibara using her vines to yank me out of the way of a few of them but something I forgot about was the fact that he glaciered Hanta and Mineta earlier in the fights. My flames heat me up and we skid to a stop, the crowd around us cheering and roaring.

 

Shoto and I stand across from each other, Ibara next to me and the crowd around us roaring. I suddenly feel the backdraft of Ibara moving at me, shoving me out of the way of his ice attack. The tide of ice floes crashes into her.

 

In seconds, I’m blown back but I find myself still standing, feeling the vines on my leg grabbing onto the arena. I see the glacier that sealed Ibara within it. I see her eyes burning bright red but she’s unmoving.

 

My eyes widen, my breath hitches a little, “I… Ibara?” I mumble, my gaze shifting to Shoto as he breathes out steam, regripping his blade.

 

“Now that there’s no more distractions…” Shoto begins, “Come on.” my chest flares, smoke coming out of my mouth with my teeth gritting. My PE Uniform top bursts into flames and burns away, burning my chest and arms, back too with flames as I breathe out a torrent of them, lighting my hair on fire and my eyes burn into his. I hunch over, the pain causing my heart to seize.

 

“I… won’t… let you…” I growl, “MAKE ME STOP!” My body shoots forward, catching him dead on the face, dodging through the field of ice, just the heat and flames around me in a blazing corona of power.

 

Shoto stumbles backward and I push forward, grabbing his hand and tossing him back into the arena.

 

“No chance…” I growl, drawing my thumb across my throat, “All you got’s ice?” I grin widely and get into a stance, “It’s your quirk, ya know.” I tense and his eyes widen.

 

“What do you know about me?” he growls, “Nothing! Not a bit of what I went through!” he throws more ice at me but I just easily melt it before it hits me. I launch into the air.

 

“THEN FUCK THAT!” I scream, “Your dad shouldn’t matter! He’s a jackass!” My foot nailing him in the side, “YOU DON’T KNOW SHIT ABOUT WHAT I WENT THROUGH EITHER!” he flies off to the side and I land on my ass.

 

“Just… just… haah… hoooo…” I breathe, my flames still going, “That doesn’t… mean… you have to… stop… gettin’ stronger…” I get back to my feet, “Your dad’s a jackass, my mom’s greedy, but that… that doesn’t mean we have to be them.” 

 

Shoto pauses, “If you can’t see that… then there’s no point in bein’ a hero… every day we gotta be a little better, a little stronger, and I pushed so hard to get here…” I lurch out a breath, my flames dwindling.

 

“Just go ahead…” I sigh, “I wasn’t meant to be here. I see that now.” I get into my stance, readying my final attack, just to try. Just to at least try to knock him out, “But… I’mma finish this my way.”

 

Shoto sparks, my chest and new burn scars light up. I take a shaky step forward, with him all the sudden fully igniting on his left side. Even if I wasn’t meant to face him, I could hear my Mom up top.

“HIT HIM WITH ALL YA GOT, KIDDO!” she yells. In the bedlam I feel four tiny vines wind around my arms and legs. My hair blazes to life, flames swirling around the two of us as I charge in.

“HUUUUUUAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” My flames roar like a raging inferno, fierce and angry like a tiger, forcing my way through the concrete and the wall of flames, my own fist holding them back.

 

In fact, my flames make his burst upward, twisting into the sky, bathing the entire arena in a storm of heat. My fist hits home and I extinguish, my body finally quitting and falling down to the arena floor, Shoto’s body nowhere near my fist.

 

‘Did…? Did I…?’ I think, ‘Win?’

Holding him for the first time changed everything. That's what becoming a mom does. Of course it would. But seeing the sports festival. Seeing my baby boy playing all those games with his friends and classmates. Seeing my boy finally have friends makes my eyes sting.

 

I refuse to fucking cry. Not over this. My baby boy is growing up and it's time I let him. They sting more once I think of his father. How maybe things wouldve been different if my blowhard brother didn’t fuck it up.

 

But… seeing my baby boy so happy with what he chose. Seeing him really go at it with his one-hundred percent… only makes me worry so much more. Just ten or so years ago I was holding him in my arms and rocking him to sleep. Just ten or so years ago it was us against the world. No daddy. Just Mommy and Renaru.

The doctor whisked him away from me. My drugged mind barely registering why. Only that he was too small and they were gonna take him to the NICU.  His pudgy little hands balled into fists. His eyes screwed shut. His eyes were all gooey because they weren't tears yet. And they were gonna leave me here without him.

 

Not my baby. Not the kid I waited so damn long to see. I feel tears sting my eyes.

“Shut up! My son is gonna make it! Lemme take him dammit!” I yell. “You’re being shady! Where’s the real doc huh?!”

 

I remember that the doctor looked really different from the other one. Like some Eggman looking motherfucker. One second he’s trying to calm me down and the next I’m holding my sobbing baby boy with my right fist bright orange from the right hook I gave that fake fuck.

All that mattered was my baby. And… and now…

He’s sitting on the floor of the arena, passed out. All I hear is silence. Pins could drop and we could hear them. Enji grabs the railing tightly, his eyes wide, his jaw dropped. I resist the urge to run down there and get him because the smoke is just too much to really…

 

The mic crackles, it’s Midnight, “I can’t really see it… hang on, the smoke is…” she drifts off, with Mic and Eraserhead both waiting too.

 

“Wait…” Mic starts, “The smoke is clearing and…”

 

“OH COME ON ALREADY!” I find myself yelling, “TELL ME IF I-” I get cut off by my brother.

“Tekka.” he says, “Quiet down.”

 

“Tch.” I growl, “Just… gimme the money or not gimme the money already.”

 

That’s when Midnight starts yelling, “KAENSHITA IS THE WINNER! SHOTO TODOROKI IS OUT OF BOUNDS!” I blink, seeing my boy still sitting on the arena floor, still passed out.

 

But then I look over at the wall, seeing my brother’s brat leaning against an ice wall. I stand up, take the case, and vault over the railing. Landing on the field myself I book it over to my son, ignoring the fact that I basically violated a rule but I didn’t care.

 

I look at his right arm, burns covering it, the scraps of his bands around him as his eyes slowly open, his hair barely even lit. His eyes meet mine and I hug him tightly.

 

“Whoa… Mom… I…” he mumbles.

 

“Shut it.” I say, “Let’s get you outta here, okay?”

 

“But… Ibara… is… is she?”

 

“She’s gonna be fine, let’s get you patched up.”

 

“But… Todo… roki?” he asks.

 

“Care about yourself, sweetie.” I say, “Mama’s richer now.” I carry him out with Eugen dashing down from on high to pry Ibara out of the ice. His eyes are wide and his vines start chipping away at the ice.

 

I stop to watch him, seeing the desperation in his eyes, hearing him grunting and tearing off pieces of ice until she’s finally out. He picks her up and wraps his coat around her, marching over to us quietly, considering something.

 

“Oi.” he starts, his voice heavy and tired, “Might need yer boy for somethin’”

 

“What?” I ask with a flat tone. He glares at me.

 

“Confound it, woman! I’m tryin’ to-” he gets cut off by Ibara suddenly opening her eyes.

 

“Hm…?” she groans, “I… I was…” she mumbles, “Having a wonderful dream that… haah…” she yawns, looking over at me and Renaru.

 

“Did… did we…” she mumbles, closing her eyes again. I sigh and gesture for Eugen to follow me to the infirmary. When we got there, there was an old friend of mine waiting. Recovery Girl and I’s eyes met and in an instant she’s on her feet.

 

“Well well well, if it isn’t Miss Tekka Todoroki, now Kaenshita. How are you, dear?” she asks. I smile and bow my head.

 

“It’s been a while, I got a kid now. This boy’s been giving me quite the headache…” I sigh, kissing Renaru on his temple. She nods and gestures to one of the beds.

 

“Come in and lay him down,” she says, “I’ve never seen this kind of thing before.”

 

I lay Renaru down gently and he shuffles under the covers, his eyes closing. Eugen slowly edges in and lays Ibara down next to him.

 

“Uhh… Excuse me, Ma’am.” he says, “But my daughter might need Renaru’s body heat.” She looks at him with a slight confused look.

 

“Tekka, who is this?”

 

“Agh, just my even more of a headache neighbor…” I huff, with her laughing a bit.

 

“Hohoho… seems like wherever you go, trouble follows!” she fondly pats my hand as she takes a look at the burns.

 

“Hm… how odd. It seems like these burns are entirely benign.” she says, “They seem to have been an awakening of sorts, you had told me once of your mother being able to do something similar?”

 

I flinch at the mention of that woman. Eugen notices and places a hand on my shoulder. I smack his hand off and sit down next to the bed, holding my son’s gently quivering hand. I just want this day to be over. I don’t want a stupid medal, they can shove it up their asses.

 

My son’s dead asleep, I’m tired from worrying about him, his girlfriend is cuddling him to warm up. I just thought this day couldn’t get any worse. As Recovery Girl checks on other patients on the other side of the arena, I sit and wait for my son to wake up.

 

That’s when I feel it. The heat is pitching up. Not from me, not from him. Not from Enji. It’s an old memory. I get to my feet and turn back to look at my son, he’s hugging his girlfriend. Safe. I open the door and step out into the hallway. 

 

When I’m out there, I walk towards the heat, it’s not Shin or Daisaku, Daisaku got drunk so Shin had to take him home so he wouldn’t make a huge scene. But when I round the corner I see Enji fully extinguished and his brat looking super uncomfortable right next to the one woman I never wanted to see again.

 

My mother is tall, around the same height as Enji, hair long and tapering down to the floor, all lava, although she did tie it back in a high ponytail with special hair ties. Her blazing azure eyes cut into their souls. I turn right back around and start to wander away.

 

‘Not dealing with her. Not right now, you might murder her.’ I think, ‘Just make it back to your baby boy and it’ll all be…’

 

“Tekka? Is that you?” Mom’s voice asks, “I knew I saw those eyes of yours, come here and be pleasant.” she demands. I shuffle over, walking as though the world was weighing me down.

 

Mom sighs and I stand in front of her, “How are you?” she asks.

 

“What part of ‘stay the hell away from me’ did you not get?” I snarl, “What? Do you just show up unannounced?”

 

“Oh please, if I was here for you… I’d need a shovel.” she says, her sarcastic tone doing WONDERS for my stress, “Just kidding, dear, loosen up.”

 

“Answer the question, Mom.” I growl.

 

“Well, I came because Enji wanted me to see his son win the Sports Festival, traffic was a nightmare because my flight was delayed.” she smiles, “But imagine my surprise when I find out that he didn’t win at all. It was your son that did!”

 

She looks at me with what I can only assume in her black little heart meant, ‘I only tolerate you because you made a successful offspring’ smile.

 

“Now then, where is he?” she asks.

 

“Asleep.” I say, “Because he pulled out what you do, when you get all glowy.”

 

“Did he now? Now that is interesting…” she purrs, “Now I really want to see him. He’s probably awake by now, right?”

 

“Mom, no.” I squeak, “No, no he isn’t.”

 

“Oh please, Tekka, I’m not going to hurt him.” she scoffs, “What kind of monster do you think I am?”

 

I seethe and breathe in deeply, “I don’t want you around my son.”

 

Mom tenses and glares down at me, “Tekka, I’ll do no such thing. I haven’t even met the poor dear.”

 

“And you never will…” I growl, “So shove off and go home,”

 

Mom shoves past me, “Nonsense, I came to see your son and I’ll get to see him.” I try to stop her but she’s moving at a fast pace, even outrunning me. Enji follows close behind, his silence speaking volumes.

 

“Just so you know, this wasn’t my idea.” he says.

 

“Right…” I huff, “So she just came here on her own?”

 

“I don’t want to see her either,” Enji snarls, “Now she’s going to see Shiozaki, and if she doesn’t like her she’ll let Hatchetation know it!”

“Hatcha-what?”

 

“Your neighbor!” he exclaims, “He’s known worldwide as the man who ended the German Hero League all on his own with a single hatchet! I’d prefer Mother’s head to stay on her blasted shoulders!”

 

I run alongside him, getting there just in time to see Mom already there.

“Mmr… rrggh…” I groan, opening my eyes, my arms are so heavy and my legs too, but I also notice Ibara sleeping soundly cuddled up to me, her short hair trying to wind around me but not even having enough length to do it.

 

She shifts just a little at the difference of heat in the room and I shift my floppy arms around her, trying to hug her. But as I do, I see someone who looks oddly similar to Mom. She’s got glowing blue eyes and long lava-like hair.

 

She’s watching me silently, a smile on her face but one that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. I don’t like the looks of her, but Ibara stirs next to me, groaning a little.

 

“Too… warm in here…” she mumbles, opening her eyes and seeing whoever this woman was, “Please… vacate the room…” she groans, burying her face into my chest, “Mm…”

 

I glare at her, “What the lady said, Ma’am.” I say, “I dunno you, I don’t wanna know you, I saw you in that picture my Mom has of you, and from what she said aboutcha it’s that you’re not a good person at all.”

 

The woman guffaws, “You sound just like her.”

 

“Well yeah, now either shove off or I’ll get up and show you the door.” I snarl, “I’m tired and my girlfriend is getting too hot.”

 

“Well, aren’t you grumpy, Renaru?” she snidely chuckles, “I came all the way from my house in Morocco to see you…” she tries to lay her hand on mine, to try to have a moment, but I don’t let her.

“Maybe they’ll send you back with free shipping.” I snark, feeling a snarky smile spread on my face. More like a smirk really. But she just laughs and stands up.

 

“Well, that just shows me that Tekka raised you well!” she exclaims, “Have fun, sweetie!”

 

“Gross.” I state, “Get your fake ass outta here.”

 

“Get bent, you dumbass!” Gramma counters. I roll my eyes as she leaves and Mom and Uncle Enji arrive somewhat alarmed but I’m okay. Ibara groans and wiggles.

 

“Darling…” she whines, “Make them leave…” her eyes seem drowsy and she squeezes me again. I sigh and look at my Mom and Uncle.

 

“Listen, just… tell ‘em I won’t make it to the ceremony, okay?” I sigh, “I can barely move. All I can do is get dragged up there, given the damn thing, and then carried out,”

 

I see Shoto sit up, his chest bandaged where I hit him, he strains to look at me, “Renaru… I… I’ll do it.” he says.

 

“No, you stay down, son.” Uncle Enji orders, “If he cannot take the medal then he forfeits his victory,”

 

“Listen, If I have to carry him outta here then fine, I’ll do it.” Mom seethes, gently plucking me from Ibara’s arms. But Ibara holds on tighter.

 

“No…” she mumbles, “No…”

 

“Shit, what are her arms made of, metal?” Mom asks, prying Ibara off me. Ibara finally snaps awake and grabs me back.

“Mrs. Kaenshita, I cannot allow you to carry him out there! It was a team effort, therefore I should be the one.” Ibara bustles out with me loosely on her back, my arms around her shoulders as much as they could be. She carries me out onto the stage, ascending onto one of the three pedestals, the crowd roaring as we see Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami, and on the other side I see Tetsu and Kendo.

 

They wave and Midnight begins the closer, “Well! What a stunning finale to our Sports Festival this year! Hell of a fireworks show, too!” she exclaims, “The time for fighting is over, however! Time to hand out awards like Mardi Gras!”

 

Rising from the lip of the arena was the comic bookian hero, the strongest one in the entire world, the goal to aspire to like Superman. But… not everyone was perfect. He launches into the air with a great big laugh peeling out of him like a bell, landing in front of all of us with a bit of a flair.

 

His grin doesn’t seem plastered on, but his body. It’s like the real one is stuffed deep down inside. Something dark lit up in my chest, the constant softly glowing ember of anger. He’s hiding his real self. Not showing his weakness.

And that pisses me off. I lean against Ibara as he passes out Bronze to Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami, giving them kind words for making it into third for taking out Ojiro and Shinsou, then he gives our friends the Silver. 

 

Then when he grabs the gold. The shining, burning bright in the sunlight gold, I tense. My eyes glaring at the medal hanging around my neck. All Might begins his heroic speech.

“Great job, Shiozaki, Kaenshita! You both worked very hard to get the gold!” he exclaims, and before I could tell him how I felt I suddenly get grabbed by my girlfriend, dipped down, and…

She kisses me, full on the lips, leaning into it, five alarm level of kissing. She pulls me up and bows her head to All Might.

“Thank you for the medal, now if you’ll excuse me. My lover requires my attention.” she carries me out bridal style and I lay my head near her heart. I guess it wasn’t so bad being weaker after all.

Now all I gotta do is figure out what to do with the others. I’m sure they got something planned.