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

"Did I just lose in a battle of strength?! Me?!"

The countdown to the final seconds of the bounty had been nothing but chaos, Maki was struggling to remember everything that had happened in the previous three days. It all happened so fast. One of the things she could remember clearly was the variety of methods the bounty hunters used to try and get their hands on Hawks. Soon after they'd wrapped up fighting the old man and the paper bag villain, they received an email that a villain had taken a hostage and if they didn't come or any other heroes tried to intervene, they'd kill them. She vaguely remembered the train ride to the location that was sent, Hawks had used his feathers to check all the passengers and they rescued the hostage so easily it wasn't even worth mentioning the whole process. Another time an entire gang came after them! Maki really couldn't recall everything that happened as she was completely lost in fighting her way through the sea of blades, projectiles, quirks and fists. They won but Maki received a cut lip and a knife wound in her right leg, Tokoyami received a few nicks on his arms and legs and Hawks clothes were the only things that were damaged on his person. As much as she hated to admit it, the winged hero lived up to his reputation. She couldn't recall any of the other attempts.

Time was finally declared up on the bounty the day before, it was now nine in the morning and the trio had been called to a situation in the outskirts of Kyushu. Apparently, a biker had fallen off his motorbike at high speed and was badly injured. Hawks flew using his wings while Tokoyami used his new Dark Fallen Angel ultimate move to carry Maki along with them. Flying was quite the experience, a strong current was pushing them to the right and the cold air was biting at her face and eyes. In front of them, the rays of sunlight were shining up through the clouds, giving off a warm shine and changing the colors around them to mark the morning in a beautiful transformation. Just as Maki managed to gain a sense of ease and control, the current changed, throwing them to the left and sending them tumbling into the clouds. It was moist and cold and everything was spinning. Neither of them could make sense of direction. With the wind howling in her ears, they eventually emerged just below the clouds and arrived of their destination. It was at a set of buildings near a cliff side at the edge of the city.

"That's weird." Hawks commented after sending his feathers out, a puzzled expression appearing on his face.
"What is?" Tokoyami asked.
"I found the motorbike but I can't find any sign of the driver, in fact, it looks the bike has just been dropped from the cliff." Hawks replied, his feathers returning to his wings.
"Huh?"
Silence hung over the area, the faces of Hawks, Maki and Tokoyami morphed into pure shock and disbelief. It happened before they even processed what had just happened. Hawks was starting dumbstruck down at his chest. A blade of a katana sticking out, blood dripping off the tip. Behind him in a crouching position was a tall, broad shouldered, muscular man with black hair, dark blue eyes and a scar on the right corner of his mouth. He was dressed in a tight fitting short-sleeved T-shirt, baggy training trousers and martial arts slippers.
"Ha-Have we met before?" Hawks asked, turning his head so he could get a proper look at the man who'd just stabbed him.
"Yes, we have but don't worry, I'm terrible at remembering names." He nonchalantly replied. Hawks then sent out a large amount of feathers sending his attacker flying backwards before a large shadowy hand slammed into him.
"Are you okay?!" The boy yelled at Hawks who was staggering at his injury, he held a hand up stopping the boy in his tracks.
"I'm fine!" He reassured, a small smile on his face, "I felt the katana coming at the last second and I used my feathers to move it away from a vital organ." Maki reached for the zip on her bag, only to feel the sharp tug. The attacker, Toji Fushiguro, was now in front of her grasping the other end of the straps with a force she previously didn't think was possible.

'This strength?!'

The short lived grip strength battle between the two was over in seconds when the younger girl lost her grip on her bag and was sent flying over Toji's shoulder.
'Di-Did I just lose in a battle of strength?! Me?!' Maki thought, absolutely flabbergasted. Till now, her strength had never failed her.
"Sorry missy but some of these quirk tools used to be mine." Toji said with a smirk, which soon disappeared as he turned his attention back to the pro hero.
"Man, I was certain I'd get you then. I've gotten rusty!" He commented mostly to himself to himself, pulling out a broadsword katana that was strapped to his back and resting it on his shoulder.
"Well I'm afraid you're not gonna get any reward. The bounty has already ended you idiot!" Hawks quipped. Toji's face didn't change, clearly unconcerned by that fact.
"Yeah, that's because I took it down Mr hotshot. When facing people with almost no openings like you, you have to first create ups and downs to create an illusion of achieving goals. It's a shame that none of your sidekicks or your work study students died but if I hadn't put a time limit on the bounty, then chances are you would never have let your guard down until the very end." He replied confidently.
"Is that so?" Hawks was now right behind him, a feather blade in hand. His swing missed and Toji landed on a nearby building, unzipping Maki's stolen bag and retrieving the Inverted Spear of Heaven. A look of nostalgia appeared on his features.