𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐇 || ᵇ.ᵏᵃᵗˢᵘᵏⁱ

XXXIII

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Jinyoung was already there when she reached the middle of the field, staring at her with a straight face but fondness and worry shone in his golden eyes. The exam was called to an official start a few moments later but he didn't move—nor did she. They stood still, the cool summer breeze blowing through their hair, attempting to read what the other would do first.

Aeri didn't even want to blink, just in case he would pounce in the split second her eyes closed. He wasn't even in a fighting stance, he was standing as if he was having a casual conversation but Aeri knew how fast he was capable of moving and if her finger so much as twitched, he would be ready. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was scared.

Scared of not passing this exam, scared he would hurt her, scared of what he said in that hallway.

It felt like an eternity before Jinyoung grew tired of waiting—patience never was his strongest characteristic—he ran at her with the same move he used during her apprenticeship, daggers and shurikens flying at her from the front and back. Instead of dropping to the floor like she did back then, she teleported into the air and watched the weapons thud to the grass, scattered across the field whilst Jinyoung's head snapped over to the checkpoint gate, assuming she went straight for it.

Aeri used his momentary distraction to teleport behind him, attempting to land a sharp kick to the back of his knees so he would topple to the ground and she'd have the advantage. She should've known it wouldn't work and that Jinyoung would catch her leg at the last second, twisting it painfully. Aeri tried her best not to wince, not wanting to give a single reaction, but she couldn't help the hiss of pain that escaped her when he landed a swift uppercut to her chin. Her teeth clattered in her mouth from the force and her eyes threatened to water but she did not look away or let it affect her.

She drew her head back and forced her forehead into his chin, the loud 'thunk' reverberating in her head. Jinyoung let go of her leg in the midst of his shock and Aeri took the chance to jump and and pull her katanas free from the sheaths on her back, parrying the dagger he tried the slam into her.

She didn't expect the second one that plunged into her stomach.

The pain shot up through her body like white-hot flames. Small droplets of blood escaped from the wound but she didn't dare pull out the blade, leaving it lodged in the side of her stomach so she wouldn't bleed out.

Jinyoung froze, shocked as if he didn't comprehend what he was doing until it was done. "Aeri..." He whispered, his eyes wide as he glanced down to where his moonstone dagger remained embedded into her flesh.

Aeri remained rigid, holding her breath so she wouldn't scream out in pain. Jinyoung forgot about the exam and grabbed her shoulders to steady her as she let out a shaky breath. She could feel the wound throb as her muscles contracted with each breath. This was the first time she'd ever been stabbed and she felt even worse for Hyunjin now that she'd experienced it.

She snapped back to reality a minute later, remembering where she was and what she was doing. She lifted a leg and landed a hard kick to his waist, gasping at the pain that shot through her abdomen when she twisted her body. Jinyoung stumbled to the side and didn't retaliate, though his hands flew off her shoulders.

"Fight me. I don't want to fail this exam just because you're feeling too guilty to continue." She croaked, her voice shaky. She sheathed her swords and hovered one hand over the dagger stuck inside her to protect it, sliding into a fighting stance. Jinyoung took a moment to recover as if he was the one who'd been stabbed and readied himself, not touching any of his weapons.

Aeri charged first this time, feigning a right hook to his cheekbone and then catching him off guard with a sharp uppercut to his stomach with her left fist. He snapped back quickly, aiming a roundhouse kick to her shoulder.

Instead of dodging and risking tearing her injury or causing any more internal damage, she teleported a few feet away and watched as he almost tripped to the side with the force of his kick. She flung a shuriken towards him and it shallowly sliced his thigh, he didn't react and ran towards her instead. Aeri could tell he was going easy on her now, afraid to hurt her further.

She wanted to end this soon so she could go to bed.

She pulled a dagger from the holster on her thigh and span out of the way just as he was about to reach her, using the momentum of her spin to slam the hilt of her dagger into the back of his head. Jinyoung fell to his knees and Aeri worked fast before he could recover, ripping the quirk cuffs off her belt and clipping them over his wrists.

She teleported to the gate and stumbled across the line, the robotic voice of the speakerphone announcing her exam result rung in her ears as the adrenaline wore off and she was hit with waves of intense pain.

Aeri used the wall the support her as she made her her way back to the viewing room, using a dagger to rip through the fabric covering her stomach so she could easily access the wound. Her vision was starting to get patchy and she didn't want to pass out from the pain just yet. She wanted her dad.

Her hand felt heavy on the doorknob and everyone stared at her as if she was crazy when she tripped into the room, clutching the knife in her stomach with one hand whilst she leaned against the doorway with the other. A glance at the screen showed her that Jinyoung was still kneeling in the field, Hyoseop by his side, shouting at him with such anger that Aeri had never once seen on his face.

Jungwon and Bakugou were at her side in a second but she shook them off weakly, making eye contact with her dad who looked like he'd seen a ghost. She blinked at him and he snapped out of his stupor, understanding what she wanted. He rushed over and lifted her arm over his shoulder so he could support her before he carted her off to Recovery Girl down the hall, her feet dragging behind as she struggled to keep up with how fast he was going.

"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch," Her dad grumbled as he sat her on one of the beds in Recovery Girl's office. Deku was awake and staring at her with furrowed brows, his wounds all wrapped up.

"Take it out." She told him.

"What?" Her dad replied, dumbfounded.

"Take the goddamn dagger out of my stomach." She repeated, louder this time. Her dad took a deep breath before reaching a hand down, his fingers wrapping around the bloody hilt.

"Are you ready?" He asked, glancing at her scrunched-up face. She nodded and a bit down the scream that bubbled in her throat as the blade slid out of her body. Aizawa's hand pressed against the wound a second later, the blood leaking down her stomach and onto the sheets below her. The moonstone dagger clattered to the floor, forgotten.

Recovery Girl rushed into the room with a gasp, immediately jumping into action as she disinfected the area and began to stitch her up. A quick examination told her that Jinyoung had narrowly missed any vital organs and a kiss to Aeri's cheek stopped any bleeding though she was still in pain. Her dad stayed by her side the whole time as requested, letting her squeeze his hand as hard as she needed.

"How did a student end up getting stabbed in an exam?" Recovery girl hissed to Aizawa once she'd cleaned Aeri up and laid her down on the bed.

"I know, it's unacceptable and Geomtusa will be reprimanded," Aizawa replied angrily as if he was already planning a list of punishments in his head.

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