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

My nature - the one I was never aware of

The morning in the hospital had been a blur for Maki, not really thinking about much as her kept thinking back to their confrontation with Toji Zenin. She'd suspected, since he had had a heavenly restriction, he might have been a former member of the Zenin clan. But the way he fought, his speed, his strength... those were feats she didn't even think were possible for a quirkless person. Yet... all of it was due to him using the full potential of his nature.

All her life, her clan had taught her that she was of little to no value due to not having a quirk. Now that she thought about it, Toji Zenin had probably gone through similar if not worse treatment that she and Mai had... and yet he managed to defeat an extremely powerful pro hero by himself, even when he had help from two of the best hero course students of the best hero school in the country. In fact, the only reason they'd survived was because of Yuta healing them with his quirk.

What was the difference between them?  How could she reach his level?

Maki sat herself up in her hospital bed, drawing her knees that were hidden underneath the blanket up to her chest, resting her chin of them. A far away look appeared in her hazel eyes as she brushed her loose hair out of her face.
"Still thinking about what happened?" A voice asked her from the other end of the ward.
"Hmm?" Coming back to the real world, Maki looked up and met the gaze of Tokoyami who was propped up in the hospital bed opposite her. Even though Yuta had healed their wounds to the point where there was only faint scarring, the doctors still wanted to keep an eye on them for a few days before they could be discharged, afterwards they would be sent back to UA. When they'd woken up a few hours earlier, they were informed that UA was suspending the Hero Work Study programme due to what had happened to both of them and their other classmates who had also done work studies. Tsuyu, Midoriya, Uraraka and Kirishima with the Big Three and Aizawa, along with several other pro heroes, had participated in a raid of a Yakuza group called the Shie Hassaikai - the Eight Precepts of Death - led by the villain Overhall. They had wanted to take down the group and rescue a little girl - Eri she was called - they were experimenting and using her to create weapons that could permanently destroy quirks. It had given both of them a bit of comfort to know that they weren't the only ones getting involved in some action over the past few days. A few of their classmates and the other pro heroes had gotten injured but they weren't serious. Only one hero - Sir Nighteye - had been killed.

The news was now broadcasting that the League of Villains had attacked Overhall's escorts to jail and had taken the quirk destroying bullets for themselves. Unlike their friends, what happened between them and Toji Zenin was never made public; UA would at least be informed of what happened, though. Maki suspected that the Saftey Commission and the Three Big Families, especially the Zenin clan, wouldn't want the news of the number two hero almost getting killed by a person with no quirk to get out. Things were already chaotic due to the increase in villain activities due to All Might's retirement and the general public's faith in heroes had started to become shaky; they couldn't afford any news that would cause more unrest to become public knowledge.

"Sorry, what was that?" Maki asked, Tokoyami repeated his question.
"Yeah, how can you not?" She replied, a thoughtful look appearing on her face.
"To think that someone like that existed..." Tokoyami exclaimed to himself, "How come no one's heard of him before?"
"Because he was quirkless." Maki replied.  Tokoyami gave her a puzzled look, she let out a sight before elaborating further.  "The legal definition of a villain is someone who uses their quirk to break the law.  Pro heroes don't normally have the jurisdiction to deal with non-quirk criminals and have to refer them to the police, although, there are exceptions for extreme cases where heroes can arrest non-quirk criminals, albeit with restraint.  The same goes with quirkless vigilantes.  Anyway, since he didn't have a quirk, he would legally be under the pro hero's radar, although, I have no doubt that the commission was made aware of his existence due to the Zenin clan.  That's probably the reason Gojo showed up."
"I see..." Tokoyami studied his female peer opposite him for a moment before continuing.  "Yet, I suspect that's not the only thing that's on your mind."
Maki met his eyes for a moment before looking back down to blankets.
"That guy did things I previously never thought was even possible for a quirkless person, I had no idea someone like that could reach that level.  It's made me question everything I've done so far.  My way of thinking had always been to compensate for my nonexistent quirk with my powerful physical strength.  But after watching him, I've been thinking... what if it's not what I need to gain... but what I need to lose in order to get stronger?  Toji was even stronger than a pro hero who is practically equal strength with the man I want overcome.  Everyone else in our class is getting stronger by tapping into the nature of both themselves and their quirks.  I need to focus more on what I can do in order to reach their level when we become heroes!"  She said, looking back up at her raven headed peer, her hazel eyes alight with the fire of steely determination.