Blossoms of the Dark

CIII Selene: Manipulate

I'm standing in the ladies' restroom, coiling my unraveled hair into devil horns.

It's an intricate hairstyle, one that requires great attention, one in which a single mistake ruins the entire look, but having done it so many times, it's like second nature to me.

And because the process is so familiar, my thoughts wander.

Since the first event, I have been biding my time. Everyone underestimates the cripple. I used this fact to my advantage, so my opponents would be caught in surprise and become vulnerable when they saw me. Now the audience is going to see me. Half of Japan is going to see me. The students of U.A. are going to see me. Hanada-sama and the League of Villains are going to see me. I want to surprise them, too. I want them to underestimate me, devalue me, so that at the right moment I can make them regret ever thinking that of me. There is perverse pleasure in doing so.

I am combating Kaminari-san in the first round.

How should I manipulate his quirk to my advantage?

As I fix the last of the nasturtiums in my hair, I find the answer.

With only a few minutes left before my match, I have no more time to waste. I return to the arena. In the center of the stadium, we stand across from each other, ignoring the cacophony of the crowd, and sizing each other up. Rather, I'm sizing him up; his gaze seems to seek something else.

Perhaps that's why when the match starts, I'm not astounded that he flirts with me.

"When this is over, wanna grab a bite to eat?" he asks confidently. "I'll comfort you if you'll have me. Because this match will probably be over in a second!"

I raise an eyebrow in response and summon an elaborate throne of obsidian. Sitting down, I cross my legs at my knees, and rest my hand above my cane, much to the mixed astonishment and chagrin of the audience. Some blow whistles at my pride and confidence, others sneer and jeer at me for the same, most just brush me off, claiming I'm displaying false bravado to make up for my disability. Things are going as planned. To feed into this so-called facade, I open the lid of my thermos bottle, and take a long sip of milk.

That confident grin wavers. "Eh? Are you allowed to bring drinks to battle? I thought the rules were that students had to wear their training uniforms and use only their quirk to make things equal."

I take another sip before responding. "That is true, however, there's a policy that allows students to bring in 'resources' if their quirks require additional support. My quirk doesn't require additional support, but my physical body certainly does, so I thought there would be no harm filling out a few forms to let me bring a thermos and cane to the event. You'd be surprised what the school administration will allow."

He is upset now. "Dammit! If I'd known that, I could have been zapping lightning bolts while eating hamburgers!"

"Enough regretting," I interrupt, bringing him back to the original topic. "You have the audacity to invite me to a date, on the assumption that I would lose. Presumptuous, are you?" I lean back and tilt my head to the side, staring at him intently. I start closing the thermos with the lid. "In that case, let me return the favor. When this match is over, I would like you to be my date. I'll comfort you. You can eat as many hamburgers as you would like. Jumbo size, even. I'll pay." The final click of the lid resonates clearly.

This riles up the crowd even more. There are more whistles, louder whistles, more jeers, louder jeers. A few cheers as well. But all those sounds change into coughs and curses when a flower bed of carrion flowers bloom from the concrete ground. The concrete cracks, a few pieces come apart, and everyone rushes to cover their mouths and noses. I had already pulled a lace handkerchief from my uniform pocket and wrapped it around mine. Unfortunately, Kaminari-san had nothing like that. Apparently, none of the U.A. students had something like that. When I look at their disgusted and revolted faces, their hands frantically trying to cover their mouths and noses, I smirk. It's amusing.