Blossoms of the Dark

XCIX Selene: Disavowal

The moment Midnight-sensei proclaims who the qualifiers are, I turn to Shinsou-san.

His mouth quirks to the side in victory.

I'm also smug that we won, but other emotions are prevailing over it.

I incline my head toward him. "We need to talk."

He glances briefly at me before returning his gaze to the sight in front of him. "About what?"

"Your quirk."

He stiffens and glares at me coldly. "What about my quirk?"

He's being defensive ... "Correct me if I'm wrong, but your quirk is a mind control one, right? You ask a question, and when someone responds verbally, you can grasp them under your control. Hence, why you were able to use my body to do your bidding. When you said that you would manipulate the other teams and use my cane to your advantage, was this what you meant? I had no control over my body, but I was fully aware of my thoughts. Because of your quirk, I was running as fast as everyone else. That caught the other teams off guard, and you took that opportunity to steal their headbands. Additionally, you knew that those teams would be focused on the ten million points, which added more to their surprise."

"Now that you know, what will you do? Tell me how it was wrong of me to strip you of your will and freedom?" he scoffs.

"On the contrary, no," I reply. He is taken aback by my answer. I have all his attention now. "We can't help with what quirks we're born with, how they work, and their consequences. I walk with a cane because of my quirk. Yes, you did take my will and freedom away. But at the same time, I felt what it was like to be like everyone else. Running unrestrained in dreams is one thing, running unrestrained in reality is another. If only for a brief time, I was not handicapped. That was a freedom of itself. If anything, I want to thank you, even if it was not your intention."

He stares at me, close-lipped, speechless. I smirk at the expression. "The only complaint I have is that I would have liked for you to warn me before you used your quirk. I understand why you kept it a secret, but still, a little word of caution would have been nice."

He snorts and quirks his lip again. "What's your name?"

"Hanada Selene."

"Pleasure to have made your acquaintance, Hanada," he says as he extends his hand toward me. "It was fun working with you. I hope it's just as fun combating you."

"Likewise." I return the gesture.

After a firm handshake, we separate and go on our respective ways.

Now that this matter is sorted out ...WHERE'S THE GODFORSAKEN INFIRMARY?!?!

This is the longest I've endured the backlash of my quirk. It doesn't feel like an achievement. On top of that, I absorbed another ridiculous number of quirks. Hearing that there's a one-hour gap between this event and the last, I leave the stadium to go to the infirmary. As I traverse the hallways, I internally criticize the school's thinking. Shouldn't there be a medic nearby at all times? Within reachable distance, available to help at any moment's notice? Or perhaps one of those med robots the school keeps? But just my luck! Here I am, a patient, scouring the entire structure for medical help. Has this school never had-

Hmmph!

A hand slaps over my mouth, and another hand snakes around my waist, pulling me back against someone's chest. I struggle in their grasp. I twist my head in all directions, looking for a good angle to bite the hand smothering me, and I change the grip on my cane, holding the base instead of the head, ready to swing it into the owner of the hand's head.