𝑨𝑬𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑰𝑼𝑺 𝑴𝑬𝑳𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑯𝑶𝑳𝑰𝑨 •𝒃𝒙𝒃•

rings of gold, heart so cold

AN: HI, here's a random chapter I pulled out of my ass bcs jesus christ it's been so long since i updated like what???

He still needed one—an ultimate move. There wasn't much time left for him to think of one, let alone perfect it. He barely had any idea where to start in the first place. Remembering the last few days made him all the less willing to continue trying. But he had to, didn't he?

He...had to.
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Using it had never felt like this. He stared at the blue lines running down his forearm and tightened his fist, one deep breath following another. Slowly, he relaxed his hand, the sparks of his quirk lighting up his skin. Control it—that's what he had to do. Control it and not...hurt anyone.

Easier said than done.

Bit by bit, his quirk got brighter, got louder, crackling and chirping, it made him think of birds, hundreds of them. He had to hold it still, keep it calm, restrain it. Not think of anything, not feel anything, all he had to do was-

But it wasn't enough.

It burst, his quirk, and the pressure of it sent him reeling backwards, the too bright explosion coating everything with blinding white. Fortunately, he had moved back just in time, just as it blew up, and the crackling snap of it didn't reach his ears as loudly as it did at the training camp.

He breathed in and stared at his trembling palms, at the quickly fading blue lines strewn across his skin.

Nothing he did was ever enough, it seemed.

_

He needed...help with this.

And where did he find it?

Hatsume Mei, in all her glory.

He kept their conversation as short as possible, alas she was too eccentric for his taste, and the conversation went on way past his comfort zone. But, in the end, he got what he needed.

A support item.

As chatty as she was, she knew what he needed the moment he explained his situation. She did warn him, though, that the support item, for its intended purpose, can become unstable if he wasn't careful. It would help him, yes, but it would not do the entire job for him. That's what support items were for.

All he had to do now was test it, and see if it served its purpose.
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The next time he tried concentrating his quirk, he marvelled at the beauty of it all.

_

The last few remaining days before the Provisional Hero License Exam were spent in ceaseless training on everyone's side.

And when the day finally arrived, Arashi didn't expect he'd see an old face.
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The bus ride was long, and he, like every other time a bus was involved, sat next to Bakugou.

Before they boarded, Kirishima had pulled him aside, worry written over his face. "Are you fine with sitting next to Bakugou...?"

Arashi just nodded. "Nothing I can't handle."

Kirishima didn't look convinced. "We can trade, if you want."

He shook his head. "No need."

And it was left at that.
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For the first ten minutes, the silence between them was stifling, until Bakugou broke it, "What'd Kirishima want with you?"

Arashi stared out the window. "Nothing much."

As much as Bakugou claimed he didn't care, he certainly wanted to know everything Arashi did, and with whom. It was kind of amusing at this point, not that Arashi would admit.