Nat: The Beginning

Blast Into the Past (Pun Intended)

Nat

Man they really screwed us over with these lineups. I knew we'd have to fight our friends eventually, but round one? Come on. 

AJ would be up against Serena (which admittedly would be a really cool fight to watch) and I was up against Tsu. 

Our match was relatively close to the beginning of the lineup. I didn't have much time to prepare, but I still felt pretty confident. Guilty for having to fight my friend, but confident. 

We got into place and I raised my fists in fighting position. 

"AND HERE WE GOOOOOOO!!" Mic yelled to start the match. 

Tsu immediately went on the offensive, leaping toward me with her outstretched tongue. I figured that would be her first move, so I dodged to the side. She landed and quickly side-jumped to get a better angle. That girl was fast. 

I tried to use my quirk to throw her off balance, but she moved too fast for me to concentrate enough to really do any damage. 

There's two weaknesses about my quirk (besides physical side effects). One is that I'm not very at gaining control over moving objects yet. The other is that it's harder for me to get control when I can't see the object/person in front of me. 

 Tsu used both of these things to her advantage. She hopped over and around me as much as possible, always moving and never quite within my line of sight for very long. It was a good tactic, sure, but I could also use her weakness to my advantage. 

I was getting pretty tired having to dodge her attacks, but I was willing to bet that she was much more exhausted with her constant movement. In other words, sooner or later she was going to run out of energy to keep up this fast pace and she'd be forced to fight me close range/hand-to-hand combat--something I'm great at. 

Sure enough she stopped a few minutes later, breathing heavily. I seized my opportunity and ran towards her with my attack. Soon, I was able to push her back toward the line.

Then I tried to push her over with my quirk, but she latched onto my arm with her frog tongue. 

Shoot. I need to get her off of me. 

I could tell she was getting ready to throw me, so I resisted as much as I could. We stood dangerously close to the line. 

"THIS IS GONNA BE A CLOSE ONE FOLKS." 

We struggled for another moment before Tsu finally caved and let her guard down for a second. I used my quirk to give her one final push and her tongue lost its grip as she slid across the line. 

"AND THE WINNER IS NATALIE SMITH FROM CLASS 1-A!!!! THAT WAS QUITE A FIGHT." 

____________________________

I returned to the stands where my friends were sitting and watched a few matches. Tsu and I shook hands before she went to see Recovery Girl, and I mentally prepared for my next fight. 

I did pretty well in the next few rounds, and watched my classmates advance too. AJ decided to throw her fight with Bakugo for some reason, but she just shrugged and smirked suspiciously when I asked her why. 

"WE'LL TAKE A SHORT BREAK, BUT WHEN WE COME BACK WE'LL HAVE A LEGENDARY FIGHT: NATALIE SMITH VS. KATSUKI BAKUGO!!" 

Oh joy. I decided to get up and stretch before the match. 

"Go beat him for me, Smith," said AJ. 

I laughed and walked down to the tunnel. I was feeling pretty good. I didn't think anything could bring me down. (Plot twist: I was wrong). 

As I neared the door I saw a girl with long, gray hair from behind. My heartbeat quickened. Could it really be...

"Yumeko? Yumeko is that you? It's--" 

The girl turned around, giving me a confused look. I stepped back, my excitement gone as quickly as it came. Stupid. Of course this random girl wasn't her. 

"Oh I'm sorry...I thought you were someone else." I said. 

She walked away, but I stood there for a long time as memories started creeping back. 

"Ms. Smith?"  I looked up suddenly to see All Might standing before me. "It's almost time for your match."

"Oh right, sorry." 

I tried to snap out of the trance I was in and walked out into the stadium. 

I could see the smug look on Bakugo's face when we stepped onto the platform. 

"AWWWW YEAAAH. GUYS, GALS, AND NONBINARY PALS, GET YOUR POPCORN BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE AN EPIC SHOWDOWN. NATALIE SMITH HAS ALREADY ASSUMED HER ICONIC FIGHTING STANCE." 

It was true. I had already raised my fists to get ready. Bakugo smirked. 

"Don't think this is going to be anything like last time you extra. You can't lay a finger on me. What are you going to do? Use your little mind tricks like a little witch?" 

I faltered. His words stabbed me in the gut. I tried to focus, but I caught a glimpse of the girl from earlier, sitting in the crowd. 

"You don't scare me! I'll have you running to mommy!" he yelled. 

That was it. The match was as good as over before it even truly began. I don't know what happened, but I couldn't get out of my head so I just...froze. 

The last thing I remember was the confused look on Bakugo's face right before a huge explosion, inches from my face. Then the world went dark. 

____________

Nat (5 years ago)

"Now remember what I told you, Natasha." 

"But mom, it feels wrong." 

"Now is not the time for morals, Natasha. Do as you're told."

We stepped into a small, dimly lit room. There was a man inside who looked like he had seen better days. He glared at us. 

"I already told you," he said. "I'm not telling you anything." 

My mother looked at me and I hesitantly began to carry out our plan. I raised up a knife with my quirk, slowly bringing it closer every time he refused to answer. 

"If this is your idea of interrogation, it ain't working. I'm not afraid of you little girl," he laughed.

"Mom maybe I should just let you handle it you know I--" 

"Stop his heart, Natasha." 

My jaw dropped. I faltered for a moment, nearly dropping the knife. 

"Mom no I can't. I-I mean how can I--" 

"Just do it Natasha," she said, glaring at me. 

I hesitated, trying desperately to think of a way out of the situation. Noticing my moment of weakness, the man lunged at me. I dropped the knife instinctively and squeezed my eyes shut, preparing for the worst. 

"Yes! Oh my God it worked." I head my mother say.  

I peeled opened my eyes to see the man before me, clutching his chest. His face started turning red before I realized what was happening. I screamed in horror and immediately let go of the hold I subconsciously had over him. 

"Stay away from me," he gasped, backing away. "Stay away from me you witch!!" 

I ran out of the room, clutching my stomach, horrified at what I had done. I could still hear my mother laughing as I bolted down the hallway, and the voice of the man ringing in my ears.  

"Witch..."