Red Like Roses // BNHA × OC //

{7} Stone Cold

     There comes a time in a hero's journey where they feel outmatched, and doomed to fail, the only thought pushing them forward begging, "Please, don't let me screw up."

    Before that, though, I felt confident in my training. I had already put up with wacky lessons from Professor Q, the blaring lectures from Present Mic, and the merciless work-outs from Erasurehead. By then, I was certain I could handle anything. As my history repeats itself, I later learned that my confidence only led to downfall.

    "Alright, interns, listen in," Huntsman called us over. Mika, Venus, and I joined him on the ground floor. "I don't know what they've been teaching you at my alma mater, but I can assure you that training at my agency won't be easy." His steel blue eyes glinted with anticipation, as if Huntsman had been waiting to drag us through an afternoon of rigorous training.

    While I was sure he'd love to talk about his plans, Huntsman didn't say a word as he led the three of us outside. Pushing past the back gates, we were welcomed to the largest backyard I had ever seen. His layout of lush, green grass and fully grown trees was the size of a park, and something told me there was more than I was seeing. A creek ran through the center of the land, leaving a stone bridge to cross over to the other side, decorated with flowers, bushes, and willow trees. This man was a fan of nature, and I had to admit, there could have been worse places to be stuck at for a week.

    Huntsman didn't let us wander around the yard. No, he stayed close to the house where he stood in front of two enormous boulders. As he talked, Venus motioned his arms as the grass and vines began to curl around the rocks, pushing them further out into the yard.

    "Training today will start out simple," Huntsman explained. "It's helpful for me to have an idea of where you kids are at now. I have a pretty good grasp with Quartz, but you've yet to grab my interests, Biónica."

    Great, I think. He's going to judge me based on the first exercise. Let's hope it's as simple as he promised.

    Huntsman moved to stand behind us, pointing his hand out as Venus finished moving the giant, heavy rocks to sit in front of us.

    "Use your Quirks to move the rocks at least three feet. It's that easy."

    My fingers tightened up, curling into my palms. Easy, huh? Right, that boulder was twice my height and probably weighed far more than it looked. Even if I had a useful Quirk, I couldn't see a way to push that thing.

    As I nervously awaited my attempt, Mika remained deadpanned and serious. She stepped up to the rock furthest to the left and stretched her arms. Her eyes never left the rock as she took two breaths and clapped her hands. She carefully crouched down to the ground, keeping her eyes up and her lips a straight line of focused energy. When her palms made contact with the grass beneath us, she stopped.

    I almost began to wonder what her plan was, but having known her skills in the Festival, I watched out for her Quirk. Dark brown chained of dirt and rock sprouted up from the ground. The ends of the chains slithered up like intense snakes before they charged at the boulder, wrapping around it. As Mika dug her hands harder onto the ground, more chains rose from behind the rock and clamped onto it, pulling back. The rock inched in the direction of Mika's chains, but it was too heavy.

    She didn't give up. Pushing her right hand around until it sat against the dirt to her side, her emerald eyes narrowed in on the rock. Not a second past before more chains, darker in color, flew up from deeper in the Earth. The shackles of the chains drew open as they were thrown over the short distance from mika and the rock, soon slamming their sharp edges into the hard surface. The force was enough to knock the rock back, sliding back then falling over.