The Difference Between Strength & Power ( MHA x Maki Zenin Reader)

Old stories

The bustling train station was alive with the sounds of people rushing to get their trains.  The hectic blur of people moving in every direction was as far as they eye could see as Maki and Tokoyami made their way to the platform where the train that would take them to Kyushu was located.  Their train was leaving in five minutes so both they and the other passengers were in a frantic rush to board, it left Maki with a sense of relief when the train finally pulled out of the station and away from the carnage of the rush hour.
"You seem to be quite serene today."  Commented Tokoyami, sat to her left while she was absentmindedly gazing out the window.
"Oh I'm just taking everything in before we get there." She replied, keeping her eyes on the scenery outside the glass.  "I don't know what it is.  There's just something about a tangle of strangers pressed together for hours on end with nothing in common but the need to get from one place to another and then never see each other again, accompanied only by the constant clanging sound and occasional gentle rocking."
Tokoyami was silent for a moment, taking in his female classmate's words before commenting, "You're sounding like me."
"CAN IT!" She hissed in annoyance.
"I was just surprised."  The raven headed boy added, "You don't seem like the type to get deep and insightful."
"I'm not.... Not usually, anyway.  I guess it's become a force of habit whenever I'm about to start a new chapter in my life." She said, more to herself than the boy beside her.  "I remember... when we were growing up, me and my sister used to share stories with each other whenever we found one we hadn't heard before.  Some we liked, some we didn't but shared them regardless.  It may sound boring... but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most from when I was living with my clan."
"Are there any you remember?"  Tokoyami asked, prompting her to continue now that she was talking.  He did want to know more about her since hadn't interacted with her that much before this.  Understanding her character would help him work with her during their work study.

"I think there's one called Dirty Money."  She said after a moment of reflecting, "A well-respected speaker began a seminar by showing an audience of 150 people a crisp $20 bill.  He asked, "Who wants this $20 bill?"  All 150 people nodded.  He said, "I am going to give this money to someone, but first...."  Then he proceeded to crumple the bill up.  He asked the crowd again if anyone wanted it.  All 150 hands went up in the air.  The speaker then dropped the money on the floor and stomped all over it.  He then raised it in the air to show the crowd. The money was filthy.  "Does anyone want it now?"  Every hand went up.  The speaker proceeded to tell the crowd that no matter what he did to ruin the money, people still wanted it because its value remained the same.  It was still worth $20."."
A comfortable silence hung over them as the story sank in.
"The moral of that tale is that life often beats us up to the point where we feel inadequate.  We deal with bad circumstances and make bad choices that we have to deal with later.  However, no matter what you go through, your value will remain the same.  You have something special to offer that no one can take away from you.  Whatever that means."
"You should tell me more when you have the chance." Tokoyami said.
They spent the rest of their trip in silence.

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"Hey, welcome back Tokoyami!"  They had been waiting for the winged hero to arrive for a few minutes since they arrived at his agency.  Everything seemed to be rather chaotic, they supposed it was a given since they hero was known for being 'too fast'.  When he did show up, he entered with his characteristic swagger.  Tokoyami and Maki just stared at him.
"H. A. G." The girl deadpanned, hazel eyes observing the young hero in front of her.  His expression portrayed amusement and curiosity, to an untrained eye it would seem he was laid-back and cocky but Maki knew he was probably anything but if worked for Safety Commission.  She had to be very careful around him.  He made a quip with his eyes, prompting Maki to continue, Tokoyami just stared at her, confusion evident on his face.
Maki relented, "Hi And Goodbye."
Hawks let out a chuckle, "I've gotta learn to do that more often."  He turned his attention back to Tokoyami, "So you brought you brought your friend with you?  Nice."
"I brought her along because she can compensate my weaknesses very well and I trust her to watch my back." The boy responded.

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'Tokoyami's certainly being enthusiastic.' The other heroes who worked at Hawks's agency seemed to notice it as well because they were making comments on how he'd improved since they last saw him.  He was using his Black Abyss ultimate move to keep up with Hawks as he flew overhead of their patrol route.  The hero had a pleasantly surprised look on his face at this development, apart from Maki, his other sidekicks were just lagging behind as usual except Tokoyami.  The complete opposite of the internship.

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"What kept you?" Tokoyami had arrived late to their training session and Maki was getting impatient.  It wasn't like him to turn up late.
"Hawks took me out for a flight." He replied.
"Really?  Anything happen?"
"He told me that he thought I was wasting my potential..." he replied, continuing when his classmate raised an eyebrow.  "He said that it even it's good I'm coming my close range combat weakness, I shouldn't forget about what I'm good at.  To quote him, "Those who can fly should fly.  There's no need to be stuck on the ground with everyone else.""
"So did that get you thinking?" Maki quipped,
"I'm thinking of creating a new ultimate move, but I'm gonna need help to come up with some ideas.  That's why I still came to your training session even though it's late."
"Okay then!" Maki said, starting immediately.  Initiating with a charge, Maki roughly grabbed onto the shocked Tokoyami's shoulders, wrapped one leg underneath his armpit and the other behind his neck.  Using her weight and the momentum of of her fall, she brought him down to the ground with her.  Once his legs were off the floor, she rolled onto her bottom and let go, sending him tumbling across the floor.  Before he could recover, Maki got to her feet and made her way towards him while he was still of the ground.  She got on top of him and positioned herself in the Triangle Armbar submission lock.

"Weren't ready for that, were you?" She taunted triumphantly, "You have to be ready for anything in a fight.  In fact, the thing I ever learned was that you never know when I fight could break out.  That's why it's important to stay sharp."
Eventually, after it was clear her opponent had conceded defeat, she let him got and helped him back to his feat.  Having learned his lesson, he kept his guard up and went for round two.