Chapter 7
"Hm, I'd say," All Might started, with a fairly quiet voice that took Kazuki off guard. He was sure he hadn't heard the guy speak that low… ever, really. "THE BEST IN THIS MATCH WAS YOUNG ENDO!" he announced, much more loudly. 'That's more like it,' Kazuki thought with a grimace, before he blinked as he processed what their teacher had said. "WHO KNOWS WHY?!" All Might asked then, as he shuffled.
"Nervous?" Toru whispered next to him. Kaminari and Midoriya had been taken by robots of the school to the infirmary, so they stood by each other while everyone else stayed with their partners.
"All Might-sensei," a girl said, raising her arm. 'What was her name again?' Kazuki wondered, consciously having to keep his eyes above her neck. He didn't think he could be blamed for that, considering how revealing her costume was. "Midoriya's sacrificial move didn't really help Hagakure, since he didn't even take a full member of the other team with him. Not only that, but once Hagakure was captured, he caused a fair bit of destruction trying to get to the device."
Kazuki almost felt bad for Midoriya, not only had he gotten several bones broken but he was also getting roasted in front of the whole class. The guy couldn't even defend himself, considering that he was currently at the infirmary, or being taken there. Off to the side though, Kazuki heard… the angry guy, he didn't remember his name, barking out a laugh. It struck him at that moment that it was the first time he wasn't feeling anger coming from him.
"As for Hagakure, her attempt was good, but she really didn't have the tools to get far and she was countered by the closed space and Endo's creatures. Not really her fault but it did reduce what she could do," the girl continued and Kazuki felt Hagakure start to feel ashamed and self-conscious.
"It's like she said, it wasn't your fault, just a bad match up," he reassured with a whisper, only slightly reducing how bad the girl felt. It was something though, he supposed. At least he hadn't made things worse.
"Thank you," the invisible girl mumbled, her voice barely audible.
"Kaminari did fairly well too. He helped where he could and he took out Midoriya before he could barrel his way to the nuclear weapon, although I'm not sure how good an idea it was to do that with his Quirk so close to the weapon," the girl continued, and Kazuki was already placing the "she knows her stuff" label on her. It'd be good to know, in case there were group assignments or stuff like that. "Ultimately, Endo did the best of them all, however. He did the most to guard and watch over the building with his creatures, he stalled Midoriya, he took out Hagakure when she slipped past Kaminari and he captured Midoriya after he was subdued."
There was a moment of silence then, as the class and even All Might himself took in what she said.
"WELL… YOUNG ENDO COULD HAVE BEEN MORE ACTIVE HIMSELF WITHOUT RELYING SO MUCH ON HIS QUIRK… BUT CORRECT ANSWER!" their teacher told them, and Kazuki could feel the slight nervousness the man was feeling, even without picking up the slight tremble of his voice. 'Well, it's his first day teaching, isn't it? Nevermind the crazy fucking pain he's feel too,' Kazuki wondered, fairly sure that the hero didn't really have experience teaching. He could have done without reminding himself of the pain though. 'Would make sense for him to feel a little out of his depth, I guess, even for the Number One Hero.' "NOW, LET'S MOVE TO THE NEXT MATCH!"
And that's what they did.
Fumikage Tokoyami and Ochaco Uraraka would be the Villains.
Mashirao Ojiro and Momo Yaoyorozu – the now named (again) girl that had given the exercise rundown before – would be the heroes.
"So, living shadow, gravity negation, tail and fabrication of stuff?" Kazuki asked as they waited for everyone to get into position, trying to see if he was recalling their Quirks correctly. He was very curious about Tokoyami's specifically, if he was honest. Was that shadow creature anything like his Grimm?
"I mean, that about sums it up," Hagakure said, shrugging, which he was only able to tell because she was back to being clothed. She'd apparently asked All Might to let her change back into her uniform. Which Kazuki was grateful for, quite honestly. It was a bit of a distracting thought, to know that there was a girl standing next to him naked, even if he couldn't see her.
As soon as it officially started, Tokoyami's shadow creature started moving around. It was a little curious that the thing started gathering things around in the room they had to hide the nuclear weapon in, really. From pieces of furniture spread around to just generic rubble and trash.
"Wonder why he's doing that," Kazuki commented idly.
"For Uraraka?" Hagakure suggested, and it was as good a suggestion as any.
"Unless they are planning to throw stuff at them with their hands. The pile is put between the weapon and the door to the room," he noted, narrowing his eyes as he considered what that could mean. "Well, that's…" he mumbled then, seeing Tokoyami's shadow rip off one of the building pillars. "That's gotta take points from them. No way it's even remotely safe to do that in a building."
"I guess?" Hagakure asked, unsure. "I mean, they are villains? So, do they really have to care?"
"Even in the spirit of the exercise, we are all training to be heroes. Encouraging that can't be the way here, right?" Kazuki replied, frowning. Then he blinked, his eyes widening as he saw Uraraka take the pillar herself and give it a few test swings as if the thing weighed nothing. "Oh, I think I know where that is going now."
"Uraraka is a fan of baseball, who'd have thunk?" Hagakure joked with a little giggle. "You think it'll work?"
"I mean, one never knows what Yaoyorozu will make, but it should work on Ojiro well enough," Kazuki mused out loud as they watched the Hero Team approaching slowly making their way to the room. As they did, Yaoyorozu kept pulling things out of her own body. Unfortunately, they were small enough to be hard to tell what they were with the cameras, but they seemed to be roughly the size of an apple, from what Kazuki could see.
Then she made a much more recognizable object.
"Well, wonder how that'll hold up to the villains' idea," Kazuki commented, looking at the riot shield that Yaoyorozu passed to her partner before pulling another one for herself.
"How much stuff can she make?" Hagakure wondered, and Kazuki imagined her with wide eyes as she looked at all the stuff the other girl had made. It was a fair question, all things considered. "How does that even work?"
"Something to ask her, I guess, if we get the chance," Kazuki commented, pushing the issue aside for the moment. "They are getting there."
What followed was absolute chaos that lasted for a few moments but was very… impressive, Kazuki supposed. As soon as the Heroes made their way inside, they put their shields up and threw one of the smaller objects over them. Uraraka, for her part, swung her massive pillar, hitting the stuff Tokoyami had gathered and sending it flying towards the entrance.
A second later, everyone realized that the thing the Heroes had thrown was a flashbang. The attack had two effects on the Villains. First, Uraraka let go of the pillar as she started rubbing her eyes. Second, Tokoyami's shadow seemed to pull away, even becoming smaller. 'So, it's more darkness based than emotion based, for one,' Kazuki mused with a tilt of his head.
The flashbang wasn't a one time thing though. It was followed by another, even though this time it only affected Tokoyami's Quirk. After all, the two people in it were still dealing with the effects of the first one. Ojiro rushed in after that, capturing Tokoyami first, which was probably the best call. After all, he was the one that could be a danger even while blinded.
Yaoyorozu, in the meantime, simply made her way to the nuclear weapon and touched it.
"THE HERO TEAM WINS!" All Might announced.
After a quick talk, in which Yaoyorozu was declared the best in the match, since she was the one to come up with the strategy they used and the one that did the most work, they continued on to the next one. Eijiro Kirishima and Rikido Sato as villains against Shoto Todoroki and Yuga Aoyama as heroes. The call made Kazuki grimace.
"I wanna say that Pointy has this but…" he mumbled.
"But Todoroki is… Todoroki," Hagakure finished wryly.
"Yeah. I mean, it's not all done until it's done but, yeah. I don't like his chances."
And sure enough, the "match" – if it could be called that – was a massacre. Nobody could do much of anything, really. Not even Todoroki's own partner could do much, in all honesty. The guy just waltzed to the building, froze it in its entirety and then froze his opponents in place before touching the nuclear weapon. Kirishima could be said to have put up a fight, but it was negligible, really, considering all he did was harden and break out of his bindings only to be frozen even more thoroughly the second time.
"That was…"
"Brutal," Hagakure finished.
"Yeah, basically," Kazuki mumbled. It seemed the two members of the villain team would be going to the infirmary too, just in case the freezing did more damage than expected. All Might was sure it wouldn't be, but it was best to be sure. The man reassured those that hadn't fought yet that there'd be a more thorough review of the exercise later, so they didn't need to worry about possibly missing some of the fights.
There really wasn't even a point in talking about the best of the match, but after that token conversation in which not even Yaoyorozu had all that much to say, they moved on to the next match. Mezo Shoji and Kyoka Jiro vs Tsuyu Asui and Tenya Iida. He wasn't very sure what the villain's Quirks were in detail, but the Heroes had a lot of mobility, that was for sure.
"Well, this should be more even," he commented wryly, receiving a giggle from Hagakure.
"Not that it'd be difficult, huh? I do feel a little bad for Pointy though," she replied eventually and he nodded.
"Yeah, I could tell," he pointed out, grin still in place. "But it's how it is. Sometimes you are just unlucky and get an opponent that you can't do much about, for one reason or another. Like a certain someone," he added, giving her a smirk.
"Rub it on my face, why don't you?" she grumbled, but he couldn't feel any real anger there and only mild annoyance. He took that as a win. "I'll get you next time."
"I'm looking forward to it," he said with a shrug.
Then the match started and they focused on it. Sure enough, it was much more entertaining than the last one, that was for sure, with the Hero team splitting up and approaching the weapon from two angles. Asui made her way from the outside, jumping to the walls on the side of the building and sticking to them as she made her way up. Iida, for his part, ran all the way in like a bullet.
The Villains were expecting them though. As Iida rushed in, he was firmly grabbed by Shoji's many arms and held in place while two of those captured him. As for the girls, Jiro tried to hit Asui with her sound attack after plugging her jacks on her boots, which seemed to be some kind of support equipment, and blasting a sound based attack at her. Unfortunately, Asui got the better of her by hopping away from the attack before it could even be fired and around the girl, even around Shoji, and earning herself a victory as she landed on the nuclear weapon.
"Fast match, but still interesting," Kazuki mused.
The next one was Mineta and Ashido as villains against… Bakugo and Sero as heroes.
"It was good knowing you, Tiny," he mumbled as he watched the students make their way inside for the exercise. Mineta seemed to know that he was in trouble, if the resigned look on his face was anything to go by. Ashido wasn't of the same mind, however, because she seemed to be as upbeat as she usually was, even trying to cheer up her partner.
Ultimately…
The match started well enough for them, with Mineta spreading his sticky spheres all over the place, presumably to impair their opponent's advance. The Heroes, for their part, seemed to take a page out of the Asui book with both of them making their way up the building from the outside. Sero with his tape swinging all the way up, while Bakugo used his blasts in a similar way he'd done in the Quirk Assessment for the races, except that vertically instead of horizontally.
From there, the one with the explosive Quirk blew up the window to the room with the weapon before going in. Interestingly, he seemed to ignore the target completely, instead rushing the Villains, which had both teens scrambling to get themselves out of blasting radius. Sero, for his part, seemed to have his priorities straight, taking advantage of the mess his partner was doing to touch the nuclear weapon.
And that was about it.
"They'll have to thank Sero. That could have gone much worse," Kazuki commented with a grimace, feeling the damage that a few explosions had done to his friends. Maybe he could get himself in a fighting environment with Bakugo. To make things more even, of course, no other reason.
"That guy has some anger management issues," Hagakure said, and he could almost imagine the pout on her face. He could certainly feel her anger and annoyance, that was for sure.
"You don't know the half of it," Kazuki told her, very much knowing how bad the blonde's anger problems were. At least he seemed to have toned down after the first battle and definitely after his. Somehow, that didn't seem like a win to Kazuki though.
[}-o-{]
[Izuku Midoriya]
"Do not apologize, Young Midoriya," All Might told him, in his deflated form. Izuku still couldn't help but feel incredibly bad about his loss though. There he was, trying to prove he could be the next Symbol of Peace and instead he just… lost. He was useless. Again. "The fact that you were able to use One for All for some time without breaking your bones is the important part. That's great progress."
"Yeah," he mumbled, although he did feel pretty good about that. Not enough to come even close to the bad, but it was nice to have a positive to look for, a silver lining. "Endo's advice was really good."
"Oh?" All Might looked intrigued now and Izuku realized that he hadn't told his mentor about that particular encounter.
"We talked. He said he didn't appreciate me breaking my bones, because he could feel my pain," he explained, not noticing the way All Might tensed up at that moment. "He told me to, em, in his words, go less All Might and more someone with less strength."
"Well, that's good advice, yes, but you were already working on that, right?" his mentor asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, but it got me thinking, and I went through heroes with Quirks that had similar effects and I started making comparisons on the strength they gave. During the conversation, I thought of Dead Arms and that gave me the idea of dividing the power between two arms instead of just the one. It seemed to work for a bit, but it still hurt a lot and it seemed to be too close to too much because my arm broke with a little slip and that already made the whole thing spiral out of control. I might need more practice or I might need to take a different approach. Using both arms made my shoulders, back and chest hurt, so I might need to add that, maybe more to the whole… er, idea," Midoriya explained, half-mumbling his way through the whole speech and ending on a hesitantly note, hunching into a ball of insecurity.
He thought it was great progress from not being able to use One for All without breaking his body. However, would it be disappointing if he couldn't use his power completely? After all the work they'd both put into his body so it could use the power, to only be able to use a low percentage of One for All-
"I'm very proud of you, Young Midoriya," All Might told him, placing his skeletal hand on the young man's shoulder. "You had a big wall in front of you, but instead of being discouraged, you continued pressing on until you got past it. You're already doing spectacularly well. You have no reason to feel bad. If anything, I've failed as a teacher if you had to work all that out yourself."
"Not at all, All Might!" Izuku exclaimed, appalled that his favorite hero, his role model, would feel guilty for his own failures. "And it wasn't that impressive. If not for Endo's words, I wouldn't even have found the answer, really," he added, with a nervous look.
"Speaking of, what do you make of Young Endo, Young Midoriya?" All Might asked, and if he hadn't known better Izuku would have thought the man was as suspicious as his classmate had thought he would be when he found out. Fortunately, he did, and noticed that the man only looked curious.
"I… We haven't talked much, but he seems… Good, from what I've seen. He did go out of his way to try and get me to be more careful, even if it was just so he wouldn't feel my pain," Izuku mumbled, looking down as he tried to get a good report on that for his mentor. "He… I think he can be a good hero, if he can sense when others need help. And his Quirk's creatures seem to have a lot of potential."
"Indeed," All Might replied with a smile that held little joy behind it. "If only others could see what you see, Young Midoriya. But it'll fall on Young Endo's shoulders to prove that he can be a hero."
It struck Izuku at that moment that he and Endo weren't so different. Both of them had to prove themselves in the eyes of people. He had to show the world that he could be the Symbol of Peace to succeed All Might, and Endo had to show them all that he was more than the Black Rampage. Somehow, knowing he wasn't the only one in such a situation made him feel better.
Izuku wondered if that made him a bad person. After all, Endo's situation was nothing like his. However, maybe the saying was true, and misery did love company.
[}-o-{]
[Minoru Mineta]
"This just means I gotta train harder," Kirishima announced boisterously, which was already draining his energy, really. "I'll probably start using the school gym after classes starting tomorrow."
"Ah… Guess I could join in on that fun," Endo said with a grimace of a smile. "All Might did say that I should be ready to actually have to do stuff myself instead of just sending my Grimm over, and he's not wrong. I gotta train for that… And mostly for combat, I guess."
"We can train together, we'll both be real manly in no time," Kirishima replied, grinning widely.
"You are gonna make me feel bad if I don't join, can we just… say we do and don't?" Mineta grumbled, receiving a confused look from the red-headed teen and a commiserating one from Endo. "I guessed as much."
"Look at the bright side, man," the latter told him with a wry grin. "Chicks dig the muscles, or so I think." Now that sounded like a good reason to Mineta, really. Not that he had high hopes on that front but… Well…
"We do," Ashido agreed before sharing a giggle with Hagakure. Something that had a very interesting effect on their chest, quite honestly. Regrettably, he had to move his eyes away, else he get smacked or something.
Mineta did have to wonder if they were making fun of him. Wouldn't have been the first time and probably wouldn't be the last. At least Endo seemed to be serious about it though. It was why he stuck with the guy so far, really.
Endo might be a bit of an asshole, but he never really meant any of the "hurting" comments he made. Or, if he did, he worded them in a supportive way. Like with the costume, making it clear that it'd be a better idea to change designs, else he makes a fool of himself in public on top of just the class.
On top of that, he never went to the place where it'd actually hurt. His Quirk. Despite having a very clearly powerful and impressive power himself, Endo never lorded it over Mineta. No matter how obviously weak his Pop Off was in comparison.
"I guess I can join too," Mineta grumbled.
"We can't let them get ahead, Pinky, we gotta go too," Hagakure said, as if it were a matter of life or death. Which, all things considered… But that was a rather dark thought to have. He'd leave that to his edgy-looking friend.
"Of course, gotta stay in shape if we want to kick ass, Bubbly," Ashido replied with a grin.
"You think there'll be a space to practice Quirks? I really would like to train with mine. Haven't really gotten many opportunities for that," Endo commented idly, taking a gulp of his drink as he leaned back on his chair balancing on the back legs of it. "I want to see if I can make more types of Grimm, and train in how to fight with them… And without them too."
"There should be, which reminds me I have my own ideas to try out with my Quirk," Mineta replied, his mind briefly drifting off towards those aforementioned thoughts. "Gotta look for a way to make my power not seem completely useless," he added dejectedly. "Hey, what gives?!" he protested then, when Endo flicked his ear.
"Don't be an idiot, Tiny. Your Quirk is plenty useful. You'd make a great capture hero, I'm sure. From what you've told me, if you get stuck on one of those things, you are done. That sounds great to me," Endo told him, sounding 100% serious as he rolled his eyes. "So, stop with the pity party, yeah? It feels awful."
"Thanks… I think," Mineta said, unsure if that was a compliment or a reproach. It was probably both, he imagined. It was the summary of how dealing with Endo was though. Mineta would often end up more confused than anything else.
"Good, no bad feelings are allowed in my friend group," Endo grumbled, leaning forward. and resting his elbows on the table. "That'd really make things annoying for me and I-"
"Mum, he looks scary," they heard a child say from off to the side in another table. It was mumbled, but just loud enough that they could hear it.
"Come on, let's sit somewhere else, ok? It's fine," the woman with the child told her daughter as she picked her up and moved them somewhere else. Mineta saw it though, how the girl looked at his friend, how the woman did. 'Man, that's fucked up. It's not like he chooses to look like that,' he thought, frowning.
Sure, he'd been scared too, but only for a moment and that was mostly because he thought the guy would turn out to be another bully, considering the situation. Endo was studying to be a hero too, though, as it turned out. He seemed like a decent enough person after talking with him and even if one didn't talk with him. Just because he looked a little intimidating...
"I appreciate it, Tiny, Bubbly, but I said no bad feelings around me," Endo told him and Hagakure with a wry smile. When he turned to look at his friend, Mineta saw the way his red eyes would dart towards the child and parent pair. Could he feel the fear from the child? Disgust from the mother? Was that how it was for Endo to be outside or anywhere at all?
Mineta's eyes found themselves looking at his friend's grin. That was when he realized that he didn't remember ever seeing Endo truly smile. It was always somewhat twisted. A wry grin here, a bitter smile there and everything in between, but never one that was only happy, or anything like that.
Suddenly, his friend's Quirk didn't seem to be so good.
"Anyway," Mineta said, forcing his mind away from such thoughts and focusing on something else. "I've never actually gone to the gym, so you'll have to help me out, guys."
"Sure thing, Tiny. Leave it to me, I know all there is to know about that," Kirishima reassured him, all too happy to take that topic shift back to the previous conversation.
"I think I'll take that offer for help too. I've done some work outs and such, but I don't "know all there is to know about that" so… yeah," Endo commented, giving them all a sad smile that pissed Mineta off.
"There's something more important to talk about though," Ashido said with utmost seriousness and a determined look on her face. Mineta was almost afraid they'd bring the conversation back to the incident from just then but- "We gotta help Tiny with his costume."
"Oh yeah, that's definitely a must," Endo pointed out, his grin widening the smallest bit. Mineta wanted to be annoyed by that, but… Well, they weren't wrong, he supposed. And his friend was in a better mood so… He'd allow it, just this once.
Chapter 8
'The press is at the school's entrance because of All Might,'Kazuki read on the screen of his phone, which made his insides turn unpleasantly. 'I'd recommend you don't say anything at all and just get to class.'
That was the message he got from one of the UA teachers. If anything he appreciated the warning, and also the fact that they recommended he not talk. They could have just as easily demanded or ordered him not to, and he would have done it too. This way though, at least Kazuki felt like he had a choice, even if it wasn't much of one.
After all, he was certainly not eager to talk with the press.
Sadly, he still had to attend class, no matter how much he just wanted to stay at his apartment until there wasn't threat of the press. The last thing he wanted was to see his face plastered on the news or something. He could only imagine what they'd write about him, even if they didn't find out who he was.
'Oh, this is fun,' Kazuki thought when he eventually got close to the school. Not only was there a small army of reporters outside the gates, but there were also quite a bit of nervous people in there, likely the students, he guessed, or maybe even the reporters themselves. There were people that were afraid, desperate, sad and so on.
He narrowed his eyes. Those couldn't be the students, right? Why would there be something like that? Was that the reporters? Kazuki guessed that made some sense to an extent. They were people and they were doing their jobs. Just because everyone, including Kazuki himself, liked to generalize them to leeches and vultures didn't mean all of them were. Likely many of them were just doing what they needed to do. Everyone had jobs to do and most people didn't even like their jobs.
He would know, he could more often than not pick up on that.
'Focus, push the emotions away,' Kazuki thought, doing his best to keep his mind calm under the onslaught of negativity. It was nothing new to him. It was something he'd gotten good at. He just needed to keep his focus and ignore the emotions. Focus on his thoughts, focus on his current task at hand. 'One step at a time, all the way to class, come on,' he thought, clearing his expression and just walking.
Some microphones were thrust in front of his face, but he ignored them, doing his best to continue on his way. When someone stood in front of him, he just walked around them. What would they do? Hold him hostage? They were reporters, not villains. They were insistent though and some of them even clever. He was half tempted to answer some of the questions, if only to shut them up. Besides, a few even sounded pretty tame and innocent, all things considered.
He was no public speech expert though, so Kazuki just kept his mouth shut and continued walking.
Eventually, he crossed the gate, which was where the reporter sea finished and he could finally breathe. He could still feel their emotions, but at least he wasn't being physically bombarded with stuff. It made things simpler, more familiar. He was alone with his emotions and the emotions of others. 'Separate them, what am I feeling right now? What should I feel? That's what I feel, nothing else,'he chanted in his head, taking a deep breath in before continuing on his way inside the halls of the school.
'God, classes haven't even started and I'm already half dead,' Kazuki mused with a groan, running his fingers through his hair. 'Some hero I'm gonna make, huh? Overwhelmed by every bout of negativity around,' he thought with a grimace. 'I need to work on it. Stop complaining and start dealing with it. You'll likely be in worse situations.'
That wasn't a comforting thought, but it was the truth. If he wanted to be a hero, he'd have to deal with much more negativity than he was used to. More emotions than he'd like to feel too. It was how heroes worked, they jumped into the closest, biggest mess and that's where the bulk of negative emotions would be. Fear, desperation, grief. There would be lots and lots of those in Kazuki's future… if he graduated.
For his newfound resolution, he'd need to tackle that side of his Quirk too, not just his creatures.
'I don't have to like it,' he thought, finally reaching the door to his class. 'I just have to do it.'
Kazuki blinked as he took a step inside. He'd been pretty sure someone would have been there, nevermind the fact that this was his third day of class and he couldn't already be sure of much. Well, second day, really. He wasn't sure the first day, with the Quirk Apprehension Test counted, quite honestly. However, when he hadn't almost slept in because of Mineta's game, there'd been at least a few people inside.
Now, the classroom was empty.
'Thank God for that,' he thought, sighing with a weary smile on his face. Moving to his desk, he all but let himself fall on it. Resting his elbows on the wooden surface, he placed his face on his hands and gathered his thoughts. With his eyes closed, he followed the negativity around him, checking where it was, where it came from, differentiating it as best he could from his own emotions.
He was good at ignoring it, it was what he'd trained himself to do through the years to try and lead a semi-decent life whenever he got out of juvie. Now though, he wanted something completely different from it. He wanted to push it, he wanted to test it, he wanted to improve on it.
That meant, however, that he needed to focus on the negativity, that he needed to embrace it. That was far from a pleasant experience, obviously, but it was what he needed to do. With some luck, he'd get good enough fast, because he didn't like the thought of it taking him years to get used to it.
Frustratingly, he almost missed one of the people he could sense walking towards the classroom. There was weariness, but not physical. Someone hadn't enjoyed dealing with the press, it seemed. There was no annoyance though, which was interesting. They just seemed… drained by the experience, just that.
Before they reached the door, Kazuki checked to see if there was anyone else coming. It seemed that the start of classes might be delayed or something because of this, if everyone was going to be arriving later than usual. Unless the school did something about it. He wasn't sure if they could do something about it, of course but still… Well, he'd see, he supposed.
His mind was taken away from those idle thoughts as the door opened and the person he'd sensed entered through it. Unsurprisingly, it was Yaoyorozu, one of the few that had arrived before him on that first day when he hadn't arrived at the last minute. Leaning back against the chair, he sighed and gave the girl a nod.
"Yaoyorozu," he said as a way of greeting. It wasn't like he was curt or something, really. Nor did he want to. It was just that he already had a sort of friend group formed, by some miracle, and he didn't want to push things too much.
One day, everyone in the class would find out who he was and he didn't want to hope that they'd all take it as well as Midoriya seemed to have to. Surely at least some of them would take it badly, right? And when that day came… Kazuki didn't want to have too many friends turning against him. If he limited the amount of people that interacted with him then-
"Do you dislike me for some reason, Endo?" Yaoyorozu asked, making him blink. 'When did she come all the way over here?' he wondered, eyes widening a little as he saw the girl standing right in front of his desk, looking at him with a mixture of nervousness and something that wasn't quite picked by his empathy. "You seem friendly enough with others, but when it comes to me… You seem to close off."
"It's… Not that I have a problem with you," he replied, caught off guard. He didn't want to insult the girl, which was why he'd been quick to answer, but still… 'What am I supposed to say here? I just got out of juvie and I've killed people, so I don't want to be friendly with people because it'll hurt when they leave?' he thought before sighing. "It's really not that," he stressed when he noticed the disbelieving look he was getting. "I'm not a friendly person, honestly. The others are the ones that approach me to begin with."
"I… I see, then… I…" the girl started, clearly surprised by his answer. It wasn't even a lie, really. Just like he'd kept away from her, he likely would have the rest of the class. The only ones that he'd approached were Mineta and Hagakure, and the latter had been to help her during the Entrance Exam, which he wasn't sure counted, in all honesty. As for the former… Well, even Kazuki himself wasn't very sure how he'd ended up in that situation. "I apologize then. I'm sorry for assuming."
"Don't worry about it," he reassured, waving the whole thing off. "It's not like I'm the most unfriendly person in the classroom though. You gonna ask Bakugo what his problem is?"
"Ah, no, I just…" Yaoyorozu mumbled again, looking away as she rubbed her arm. Taking her in, Kazuki tried to make sense of her emotions. She seemed to be… unsure? Self-conscious, he thought it was. She was nervous too and… fearful? "You didn't seem like a bad person, despite… everything. But you seemed to actively try to avoid talking to me despite being just fine with our other classmates."
"Despite… everything?" he asked, frowning. There'd been a spike of emotion when she said that, but he hadn't known what it was about. As he spoke though, he felt the same spike more clearly this time. She was… afraid.
"I know… about you," she told him, making him tense up. "I thought your power looked familiar yesterday during the Battle Trial," she added, making him grin bitterly. She was afraid alright, nervous too. "I'm sure U.A. has a reason to have you here. I trust the staff, if nothing else. Besides… you seem… alright, from what I've seen."
Kazuki didn't know what to say to that. What were the odds that two of his classmates would find out about him and be… ok with it? Sure, Yaoyorozu seemed more wary of him than Midoriya had been, but she was still saying it was fine. Despite her concerns and fear, he knew, from her emotions, that she meant what she was saying.
"... Thank you," he said then, giving her an unsure smile. Gulping down his sudden nerves. "I really appreciate you saying that. I…" He ran his fingers through his white hair. "Just, thank you."
"Don't mention it," Yaoyorozu told him with a hesitant smile not unlike his. "As I said, no offense, but it's more that I'm trusting the staff instead of you."
"No offense taken," he replied. He was lying, of course. He was slightly hurt by the comment, but it was a valid and understandable opinion. It wasn't her fault that all she knew about him was what happened during that day. For all she knew, he was an unstable person at the edge of causing another massacre. "I appreciate the benefit of the doubt. It's honestly more than I expected," he admitted with a sad smile. Contrary to his previous statement, that one had held only the truth.
"It's the least I can do, Endo," Yaoyorozu told him, eyeing him curiously now, her previous nerves and fear mostly vanishing. Not entirely, but he'd take that as a win at that point. "I want to think what happened to you was… a tragedy, and an accident. I hope I'm right."
"I hope I can prove that you are right," Kazuki replied, turning slightly to look out of the window. That's when the door opened to let in Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu took that as her cue to go to her desk. There was mostly silence after that, but he was fine with that.
A slight smile formed on his face as he continued looking outside.
The day was turning out to not be so bad.
[}-o-{]
"Are you gonna vote for yourself, Creepy?" Kirishima asked from where he sat next to Kazuki.
It was a good question, he supposed. Aizawa had told them, as soon as everyone got to the classroom, that they needed to pick a Class President. It had been a bit chaotic after that but the gist of it was that everyone seemed to want the spot.
Kazuki himself didn't know why though. Sure, it sounded cool and it probably had its advantages either at school or after it, but it also probably had responsibilities. Those he could do without, quite honestly. He'd likely have enough to worry about keeping his grades up and training to be a hero. There was no need to add more pressure on top of that.
Regardless, Ida had made a little speech regarding the issue which ended on everyone agreeing to hold a vote. A bit useless, in Kazuki's opinion since everyone still seemed intent on getting them to spot themselves, but if nothing else Kazuki would vote for someone else. That should solve the issue, he guessed.
"I'll vote for Yaoyorozu," he answered simply, writing the name on a piece of paper so that he could give it to Ida whenever he got around that part of the classroom gathering the votes.
"Why so?" Hagakure asked, from the desk behind him to his right.
"Because she's smart, so she'll probably be able to deal with the extra work on top of studying. She also seems responsible enough and serious enough. She's also not as much of a weirdo as some others in here. I think she fits," he explained simply with a shrug. He blinked then, as he felt a wave of embarrassment from somewhere behind him. Turning slightly, he saw the girl in question blushing a bit.
Still, he stood by what he said.
"Hm, I see," Hagakure mused, turning to look at Yaoyorozu herself.
"You don't want the spot then?" Kirishima asked, seemingly surprised.
"I mean, I'm sure it's nice and all… But I don't know if I'm a good enough student to be able to afford the extra time the spot probably needs," he answered with a shrug. "Besides, I wouldn't want to make the class look bad," he added with a grin. It wasn't really a joke, but they didn't need to know that.
"Don't be silly, Cree-"
"Hagakure, if you would please give me your vote?" Ida asked, making the girl scramble to write down her choice before giving it to him.
"Wonder who's gonna win though," Kazuki commented, watching as Ida continued gathering the votes. "This should be interesting, I imagine."
And indeed it was, but not as he'd expected. Once all the votes were gathered, Ida started writing names and noting votes. It started as Kazuku had expected. A bunch of names with a single vote for the people that had voted for themselves. Then there was Midoriya, breaking the mold as he got to the grand number of two votes.
And then Kazuki got a vote.
It didn't make sense. Why did he have a vote when he hadn't even voted for himself? The next was Yaoyorozu with two votes too, which made all the sense in the world. Then Yaoyorozu got another, which was a little more surprising. Then Midoriya…
And then Kazuki got a second vote.
'What the fuck?' he thought, eyes wide as Ida continued working. By the end of it all, he was all but gaping at the blackboard.
There was Midoriya with three votes.
There was Yaoyorozu with four votes.
And then there was Kazuki with four votes.
"What the fuck?" he asked, out loud this time as he stared at the results. "Who the fuck voted for me?" he asked, looking around. The first culprit was evidently Kirishima, who was grinning widely at him.
"You're gonna represent our little group, Creepy, so do your best," Ashido said, the absolute bitch.
"What part of me not wanting the spot didn't you hear?" he asked, feeling increasingly nervous at the prospect. "I'm gonna-"
"Endo, Yaoyorozu, if you'd come to the front of the classroom," Aizawa asked, looking and feeling like he didn't have a fuck to give. Kazuki could relate. If only he hadn't been dragged into things by the assholes he called friends. "There was a tie, so we should decide who's president and who's vice-president."
"Yaoyorozu is president. I voted for her, after all," Kazuki said instantly. Because goddammit, the least he could get was to be vice-president. The worst part was that the other available option was Midoriya, since he was the only other with more than one vote, and the guy was more likely to die of a heart attack than to make a good vice-president. 'I'm gonna kill those four,' he thought, eye twitching.
"That works for me," Aizawa decided with a shrug.
[}-o-{]
"You all suck," he growled at his friends when they all sat at the lunch hall. "And no, Tiny, I'm not gonna make your stupid ass manifesto happen," he added, snarling and uncaring of the hurt he felt from his friend. They were all stupid.
"Maybe we should call you Grumpy instead of Creepy," Hagakure commented from next to him. "Why are you so angry? This is a good thing!"
"I already told you why I don't want this. I don't need more shit on my plate to deal with," Kazuki told him, barely holding onto his anger. It wasn't helped by Bakugo's, who he could literally feel glaring at him from across the hall. Nor was it helped by the bundle of other negative emotions he could feel around the place.
They didn't know that there was another, much more concerning reason why he didn't want to be anywhere near any of the two spots. What would they think once they realized who he was? What would they do? What would the reporters out there do if they found out a whole class of future heroes had made a criminal their vice-president?
The more he thought about it, the worse things looked. He was fine with everyone hating him whenever things were revealed. His luck would run out at some point and someone was gonna hate him. No way everyone would be like Midoriya and Yaoyorozu.
What Kazuki wasn't fine with was his pseudo-secret ruining the career of all his classmates. He drew the line there, because that not only would make things bad for him, but it'd also make things bad for others. He wanted to be a hero, and the least he could do as a hero in training was make sure he was the only one that got knocked down when shit hit the fan.
"I'm gonna talk with Aizawa later, Midoriya is going to be vice-president," he decided, stabbing at his food. The meal was glorious, honestly, but he couldn't really focus on that at the moment.
"Woah, woah, no need for that, Creepy," Ashido protested. "You got voted for a reason, you'll be fine. You seem like a good enough student from what you've said and what I've seen. I'd definitely fail something if I got more stuff to deal with, but you are not like me," she argued, quite passionately too, which caught him off guard momentarily. "You are going to do fine."
"Besides, you can always give Midoriya the spot later if you feel like it's too much. No need to rush it, right?" Hagakure asked then, drawing a grimace from him. That was a good argument, if one focused only on what he'd told them.
They didn't seem like they would let up, which made him feel the oddest mix of anxious and pleased. It was good to know that his friends cared, that they wanted good things for him. Now, if only it wasn't for who he was…
"I guess I can do that," he lied through his teeth. He was definitely going straight to Aizawa as soon as possible. How the man hadn't commented or spoken up against the decision was baffling. Didn't the man know how this could impact all of them? What kind of teacher risked the careers of all his students like that?
"You are lying," Mineta pointed out, making him pause.
"What are you talking about, Tiny. Bubbly here made a good point and I agreed," Kazuki replied, giving his friend a bored expression. "I'll try and then I'll see, simple. Don't know why I didn't think of that."
"He's definitely lying," Ashido pointed out and Kazuki could feel himself starting to sweat, even though there was no real risk. What were they going to do, tie him up so he wouldn't go to Aizawa?
"Fine, I'm lying," he admitted, dropping his expression into one of much more real annoyance. "I've made up my mind. I'm not gonna be vice-president and that's that. Don't know why you guys care so much. We can try and see if we can switch votes to one of you if you feel cheated or something. Could have just heard me when I said I didn't want it and be done with it though," he grumbled, finishing his meal as fast as he could.
"Come on, Creepy, you are exaggerating," Kirishima tried to reason. "There's no need to be so…"
"Dramatic," Ashido took over then when her red-haired friend started struggling for the right word, giving him an unimpressed expression. "This is a great opportunity! Why would you just give it up before even trying?"
"Because…" he started before holding himself back. The words were right there, at the tip of his tongue. Because he'd killed people. Because he'd just gotten out of juvie before his time so that he could attend U.A. He just had to say it and they'd understand and leave him alone…
They'd leave him alone…
He was an asshole, he knew. Lying by omission was still lying and he was thoroughly doing so to people that he considered friends. Or, maybe it was better to say that he wanted to consider them friends. He wasn't sure if they were, or if he could count them, with the whole lying thing he had going on.
His hand balled into a fist and he almost grimaced at the concerned looks they were sending his way. Why couldn't they just care less? Why did they have to push on that issue? Why was it so important a matter if he was vice-president or not?
They didn't understand, he knew, but he couldn't makethem understand either.
He couldn't explain…
'How long can I hide that though?' he wondered, deflating on his chair.
"Creepy?" Mineta asked, frowning at him. Kazuki almost flinched as his focus was pulled from his thoughts for a moment and he felt their concern. "Everything ok, man? We can let you be if you really don't want the spot, it's fine."
'They'll find out. Might as well clear the confusion, huh?' he thought, a bitter feeling welling in him. It was better to get it over with, he supposed. What was even the point of keeping up the facade? It'd just hurt more once things blew over. 'Better get it over with, right?'
"I just can't do it, ok? I can't," he told them, trying and failing to smile at them. As he mustered the courage to explain why, however, something happened.
A siren's sound filled the school.
Chapter 9
It hit him like a wrecking ball against his whole body. It washed over him like he'd been thrown into one of those pools in frozen lakes. His body started shaking immediately, his breathing becoming erratic and the world around him started swirling.
Panic.
Fear and nerves and desperation and anxiety and-
Panic.
Kazuki's stomach twisted and turned. He started sweating and breathing was a struggle. There were screams all around and people were moving really fast, but he could barely see them. Instead, he was too busy not throwing up and keeping himself sitting instead of just passing out. His vision was getting worse and the noises were getting distant.
'Panic attack,' Kazuki realized in a corner of his mind. It had been so long since his last one. 'Focus, focus,' he told himself, remembering how to deal with it and closing his eyes. He breathed in slowly, deeply and gently through his nose, counting in his mind. 'One, two, three, four, five.'Then he breathed out slowly, deeply and gently through his mouth, counting backwards. 'Five, four, three, two, one.'
"Creepy?... Endo, are you ok?!" a voice reached him as his mind came back to the present when he opened his eyes. Next to him was Mineta, looking at him like he'd die any second now. He took a few deep breaths after that, nodding slowly. "What was that, man?"
"Panic attack," he mumbled, his voice barely audible over the crowd of students that was rushing out of the hall and towards the corridors, screaming and panicking.
"Oh…" Mineta mumbled, looking towards the aforementioned group of people. "Can we help?" he asked, and it was then that Kazuki noticed that the rest of their little group was still around, looking at him.
"We should be leaving with everyone else, are you okay there, Creepy?" Hagakure asked, before he nodded again. He was still being hit by immense amounts of panic and many other things. It was then that he noticed there was a fair bit of pain too, and he could guess why, seeing the crowd so incredibly unhinged in its desperation to get out.
"Just… let me… do something…" he said, struggling to get the words out over the overwhelming emotions. However, he knew one last trick when dealing with strong feelings in such a way. One way that had always worked well, even if the results could have been better. At that moment though, he needed to do something or he'd go crazy and nobodywanted that to happen.
So, he pulled on those nerves, and that fear, and the pain, and the panic…
And he channeled it into something else.
Anger.
Slamming his hand on the table, Kazuki drew himself onto a standing position. There, his shadow extended over the now mostly empty lunch hall and a beowulf appeared then and there. He could feel the confusion coming from his friends, almost overshadowed by everyone else if not for their proximity. He didn't pay that much attention, however.
The beowolf howled, loud enough to be heard over the panicked screams and the shouts and the siren. Another beowolf joined the first a moment later, making the sound even louder. Then the third one came and there was little else that could be heard over them at all. That's when Kazuki saw, as he walked towards the corridor, that people close by seemed to have noticed what he was doing and had fallen silent.
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" he screamed, his voice distorting as he let the negativity flow through him like he hardly ever did. He could almost feel the pull of it on his mind, to give in, to let it run wild. It would be so easy too… "ARE YOU U.A. STUDENTS OR JUST TODDLERS, FOR FUCK'S SAKE?! ACT LIKE THE ELITE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE AND CALM THE HELL DOWN, WILL YOU?!"
'Get a grip of yourself,' he thought, doing his best to keep his emotions under control. The last thing he wanted was to lose control, again. 'Focus, calm, breathe, focus,' he chanted.
"Isn't that-" someone called in the silence that followed Kazuki's shouts. He was pretty sure that voice was familiar for some reason, but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. "-Just the press?!"
Judging by the wave of shame that Kazuki felt coming from closer to the outside walls, that person had been right. He almost felt like letting his Grimm run rampant, if only because of how fucking ridiculous it was that he had to put up with that positively massive amount of panic because of the press. 'Killing people isn't gonna make things better, Kazuki,' he reminded himself, closing his eyes for a moment.
"Let's all act like civilized people and calmly do as the protocols say, ok?!" Kazuki called then, still shouting to be heard but no longer tearing apart his throat while he was at it. He really hoped nobody would ask for what the protocols were in that scenario, because he had no idea. "The fucking press, honestly," he grumbled, moving back towards the lunch hall instead of following the other students through the corridor.
The room was mostly empty now, he noticed absently, but his mind wasn't focused on that. Instead, he took shaky breaths as he looked down at his trembling hands. The panic was mostly over, but the aftereffects were certainly still being felt, however.
"Creepy?" someone asked behind him but he was already taking a few steps forward before all but throwing himself to the ground and throwing up inside a trash can. "Endo!"
"Fucking hell… that was awful," he muttered, the bitter taste of stomach acid filling his mouth while the harsh smell did so with his nose. "Someone please kill me," he mumbled, still feeling his insides rebelling against him.
"Here, Endo, take this," someone said – 'Hagakure?' – while passing him a bottle of water a moment later. Looking away from the trash can, Kazuki took it with shaky hands that almost dropped the item. Struggling to open it, he eventually managed to take a gulp of it.
"Thank you," he whispered, staying on the ground as he leaned his back against the wall and looked at the ceiling. "I hate my Quirk," he mumbled, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths in as he continued drinking from the bottle. Washing away the taste of vomit was going to be hard, he already knew, and it wasn't really helping him calm down.
"Come on, man, we should go," Mineta commented, placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing. "We're here if you need a moment, but we could get in trouble, yeah?"
"You said before that talking helped, right? We just need to keep you distracted," Hagakure said, bouncing on her feet. "Come on, I'm sure we can talk about something on our way out of here."
"Come on, Creepy," Kirishima said, offering him a hand to stand up with a grin. Taking it with a groan, Kazuki started dragging his feet after his friends. "You were really manly for a bit there when you called everyone out."
"Honestly, I don't know why they panicked so hard. It's like this wasn't a normal school that trains heroes and has actual heroes for teachers," he grumbled, taking another gulp of water.
"Yeah, I guess… it took people off guard," Ashido suggested uncertainly. It really didn't make things look better in Kazuki's eyes, but oh well.
"I think I'll see if I can come up with a Grimm for a situation like that. Having to make three beowolves for that was a bit much," he muttered under his breath. Left unsaid was the fact that it stretched his control very thin when he was already feeling overwhelmed by emotions in such a situation. The less Grimm he needed to make for such eventualities, the better.
"What would it be like? Maybe you can make a siren or something like that?" Hagakure asked rather enthusiastically from next to him. Kazuki, however, could feel her concern and nerves, but he appreciated the effort she seemed to be putting in pushing that aside. She wasn't having much success but… Well, it was more than most people ever did in consideration for him.
"That'd be kind of water limited, wouldn't it?" he asked idly, wondering how he could go about that. He had several Grimm ideas, of course, but he needed time to develop them, really. 'Now, if shit could stop happening every fucking day, I might be able to get some time to train,' he grumbled in his mind.
"Maybe just a person-like one? Like, what's it called? Imp?" Mineta suggested, and Kazuki simply nodded in answer. "But one made for screaming."
"Yeah, I guess that would work… Now if only I could get some time to train and try my ideas, it'd be nice," he mumbled, drawing a laugh from Kirishima.
"I feel you, Creepy. I want to train too, not gonna lie," the red-haired teen commented as they moved.
"Well, I'm thinking that what you did there was very class president-ish, Creepy," Ashido said then, drawing a groan from Kazuki. "Really laying down the law on everyone, huh? 9/10, the cursing took the last point though."
"For real!" Hagakure exclaimed, perking up at that. "That was great!"
"Ugh, I think I preferred puking my insides out," he grumbled as he walked. That was the absolute last thing he wanted to talk about at the moment. Now that the moment of resolution had passed, all the will he'd managed to muster to tell them the truth had left him. "Why won't you shut up about that?"
"You gotta admit that it's kind of weird how against this you are, Creepy," Mineta pointed out, making him sigh.
"I just don't want to be vice-president or even president, why can't I just not want to?" he asked then, all but growling the question before taking a deep breath in and taking another gulp from his drink. 'Calm down, Kazuki. It's not their fault,' he told himself in his mind.
"I guess that's that, but it's kind of a shame," Hagakure mused from his side. "I think you'd do a good job."
"..." Kazuki remained silent then, as they walked by themselves. It seemed that the students had already emptied the building. The most they could see was some people a little further down the corridor, but they were basically by themselves.
Gulping down, his own saliva this time, Kazuki wondered… 'Should I? Should I not?...' his mind repeated again and again. His hands started shaking again and this time it wasn't from outside emotions. Could he gather the courage? He'd done it before but that was before he had time to chicken out. Now… Now it felt even harder than before.
'Better get it over with, wasn't it?' he mused to himself as he continued walking, unconsciously walking slower.
"Creepy?" Mineta asked, turning to look at him as he trailed behind the group. Kazuki didn't answer him, however. Instead, he took out his phone and started typing on it while walking. 'Do it, you coward,' he thought to himself.
Eventually, he found what he was looking for.
"Guys?" he called, making them stop. "Could you see this really quick?" he asked them, before passing his phone to Mineta and walking past the group. He was running away, he knew, but he didn't feel like staying to see their reactions. He really didn't want to be there when they read through the news article about him.
About the Black Rampage.
'Besides…' he thought as he got closer to the crowd that was moving out of the building. He could distantly hear Present Mic issuing directives. 'I'll know how it goes regardless,' he finished, a sad smile on his face as his heart broke.
After all, he could feel the apprehension coming from behind him.
'It was good while it lasted,' he thought, blinking to stop the tears from falling.
[}-o-{]
After the whole shitshow with the press and the school's siren, things calmed down and everyone was sent back to their classrooms. Things continued business as usual from there, really. Kazuki, however, couldn't focus too much on that. He was too busy resolutely not looking at any of his friends in the classroom.
He was almost positive that he wasn't feeling much from Mineta and Hagakure, but he was definitely feeling stuff from Ashido and Kirishima. Apprehension, nerves, uncertainty. It hurt, it hurt more than he thought it would, which was saying something. However, at least Kazuki had seen the blow coming, so he was prepared for it.
Thus, he pushed all his emotions to the side and focused on the classes. Even if classes had just gotten started, really, they were dull enough to help him in that endeavor. Better to be bored out of his mind than to be constantly reminded that his friends now knew who he was and what he'd done. His phone, that had been left on his desk at some point, almost weighed him down against the chair.
Eventually, however, classes were over, but he didn't move. He waited until everyone was out.
"Do you think it's a good idea for me to be vice-president?" he asked Aizawa, trying not to let the man's weariness and annoyance get to him. He needed a second opinion on the topic and… Well, there wasn't anyone else he could ask that question too, really.
"Do you?"
"Isn't it a terrible idea?" Kazuki replied instantly at his teacher's non-answer. "It'd look terrible, whenever people learn about me and that they've made me vice-president."
"I guess I can see that," Aizawa said, making him deflate. "Ultimately, it depends on you."
"What do you mean?"
"Simple," the teacher answered, raising an eyebrow as if Kazuki should have been able to figure the answer by himself. "If you are afraid that you being vice-president will make your classmates look bad, then make sure it doesn't. Be a model student, be a great hero-in-training, be so good that the reporters won't have anything to say about you but the one incident that was completely out of your control. U.A. gave you a place here, Endo, do you think we aren't prepared for the backlash that decision will inevitably bring?"
"You are, I know, but the rest of the class… they aren't. They don't even know… most of them, at least," Kazuki replied. He almost got angry at the still raised eyebrow his teacher kept on his face. "What?"
"Everyone has a story, Endo," Aizawa told him. "Just because yours is a little darker than the rest of your classmates' doesn't mean you'll be discriminated against. We offered you a chance to be a student here, to become a hero. That's what we are going to give you. As far as we are concerned, you are just another student. At least, outside of the rules you've been given and so long as you don't make that change with your own actions."
Honestly, Kazuki forgot about those rules himself more often than not. They were just that lax, really. It was basically that he had to keep them informed of where he was when and what he was doing. He just needed to keep them up to date so they knew he wasn't doing something he shouldn't. It was a little annoying at times, but… But it was basically nothing, in the grand scheme of things.
"I… Are you sure?"
"I'm starting to think this is less about your classmates and more about you, problem child," Aizawa told him, making him smile nervously. "If you don't think you are up to the task or if you have some other reason to not take the post, then just decline it. It's as simple as that. However, I won't make a decision for you."
That last sentence, more than anything else the man had said, struck Kazuki. He'd been afraid and frustrated before, that he wouldn't have any freedom. Now, it was a bit ironic that he wished he had a little less freedom. He wasn't used to making decisions for himself, as much as he had wished he could while growing up. Now that he could… He didn't know what to do.
"I'll think about it, I guess," he mumbled.
"For what it's worth," Aizawa started then, making him pause as he started turning around. "Considering your results during the Entrance Exam, the Quirk Apprehension Test and the Battle Trials, nevermind what happened today… I think you'll make a good vice-president, Endo."
"... Thank you," he replied, a slight smile on his face as he made his way to the door. "I'll stay here in the training facilities, just to let you guys know."
"Good idea," Aizawa praised and if Kazuki hadn't known any better, he'd have thought the man was smiling under that scarf of his. "And I'll note it down. You know the drill, keep us up to date."
"I will," Kazuki replied hesitating where he stood at the door. "See you later."
"Just go away already, will you? I wanna take a nap," his teacher grumbled, making him laugh. He wasn't even sure that was that funny, but he couldn't help it. It just seemed so… random.
"Sure thing. Rest well," he said, finally leaving the classroom.
As he walked through the school halls, Kazuki didn't feel so burdened by his past as he usually was. Sure, things were still likely to blow up at some point. What happened would come back to haunt him at some point. However… he could move past that. He could continue onwards to a new life with this chance he'd been given.
Maybe it wasn't the life he wanted or the life he expected, but it was a life nonetheless. It was more than he'd thought he would get, so he'd try and make the most of it. And, if he was lucky, maybe he'd find himself a happy ending down the line.
'That's so naive,' he thought to himself with a soft smile. 'And yet…'
[}-o-{]
Kazuki didn't know if it was because of the alarm incident or what, but nobody was in U.A.'s training facilities. So, he went straight to the open area for Quirk usage. He'd expected to have to leave that for the last part of his training, since he thought it'd be occupied for quite a bit. No way other people wouldn't want to train their Quirks, right? However, with the place being empty, he had all the space he could want to tinker with his powers.
There wasn't all that much negativity around with most if not all students leaving, but Kazuki's reserves were full, considering the shitshow that the day had been. It wouldn't allow him much experimentation, but who knew? Maybe he'd gather some more energy while he trained in other stuff after he emptied his reserves. For the moment, it'd have to do.
'What to try, I have mobility, I have utility and I have combat…' he mused, nodding to himself as he pulled his ideas regarding new Grimm. 'First idea is something more durable, because Midoriya was breezing through the beowolves… Then something with more… siren-like power? Something that screams? Something for crowd control, actually. Something to help against a group? The Nevermore can shoot feathers but those are kind of… dangerous…'
'Maybe I can sort of… combine the siren and the control one? Something that can get really loud?' Kazuki started deciding. That idea sounded about right to him. Maybe he could make that work. 'Do I try for another shape or try using one of the ones I already have? Something that screams or is loud… I think a person fits? Let's try with the Imp for now. Might need to look up ideas for that latter…' he mused.
He had some notes and already researched projects but most of them were mostly covered by stuff he already had. That made them less of a priority, but things with more varied uses, well, that was something he had hardly tried just yet. 'Actually, maybe I should try with something easier to get a feel of it, right? 1+1 instead of a whole equation, huh?' Kazuki thought to himself before nodding.
'Durable one and then the screamer some other time,' he decided.
Fortunately, he had several ideas for that. Ideas that he'd already researched for a better mental image of what he wanted to accomplish. So, if he was going for the least amount of changes from what he usually worked with, that closed his options quite a bit. From there, he narrowed his eyes.
The Battle Trials might have gone well for him, but he'd seen what his classmates were capable of now and he'd need better options if it came to fighting them again. He didn't know when that'd happen, but he thought it'd be better to cover that before it was a problem again. Beowolves were good for attack, but he needed some better for defense. Something that could withstand stronger attacks.
With that in mind, he started focusing.
The Beowolf was the closest thing he had, so he started twisting that as his shadow lengthened and the darkness kneaded itself into shapes as he worked. He saw the shape of the Beowolf try to form itself, but he kept pulling back when it was too much like what he usually did. He needed something different.
Something less humanoid, for once. Something with more muscle, even if it sacrificed agility. Something that could take hits. For that, he'd need more of the bone material the masks and spikes were made of. It needed to be more covered with that. Less mobility, more endurance. Muscle and plating, strength, but maybe not necessarily speed nor agility. 'Come on,' Kazuki thought to himself, the image of what he wanted was clear in his head if not so clear with his Quirk.
His negativity reserves were draining faster than he was used to. Evidently, trying for something new wasn't as efficient as a tried and tested design. Then again, he was having to pull back with the shaping to retry a whole lot, so that could be it too. Difficult to tell, but maybe he could test that whenever he had a better source of negativity than… Well, than basically nothing.
Eventually, however, his efforts gave results.
Deflating as he sighed, he looked at the creature in front of him.
"Boarbatusk," he decided for a name, with a slight smile on his face. A bit on the nose, considering the thing was basically a big black boar with white plates along its back and huge tusks that curved up all the way until they pointed back to its masked face and two smaller tusks pointing down in between the formers. He looked at the four eyes on its head as he walked forward and rubbed his hand on the mask. "The first of many, I hope. I'll need a lot of help if I want to go far," he mumbled, his grin turning sad then.
'After all, I might need to do everything on my own so… I better get all the bases covered with Grimm as soon as possible,' he mused.
"That's cool," a voice said, almost making him jump. "That's a new one, isn't it?" they said and Kazuki turned towards the new arrival, blinking. 'How did I miss him?' he wondered, because he could feel the nerves coming from them. 'I was more distracted making the Boarbatusk than I thought I'd be,' he mused, gulping down nerves that had nothing to do with those two.
"I hope we are not interrupting?" the second person to… stand there off to the side asked.
"We were waiting for-"
"We kind of wanted to train too!" the second person interrupted the first, seemingly placing their hand over the first's mouth. "So, uh, can we join you?"
"... Sure," Kazuki replied with the slightest of smiles. A smile that was quite the understatement, what with the amount of relief and happiness he was feeling at that moment. "What do you want to start with, Tiny, Bubbly?"