At the Core | Aizawa Misako

Seat Ablaze

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     "Wow, the beach does look good."  Yagi jumps half out of his skin, again whipping around.  Misako stood on the small stairway leading from the paved walkway down to the beach, her left arm resting gently on the railing.  The moonlight beamed down on her.  Against the night sky, her gray skin almost blended it.  He found it easier to see her by the hole in the stars rather than her form.  
     "Okay, first off, you gotta stop doing that," he chides as he swings a finger at her.  She dropped her head to the side like a creepy cat.  Her eyes certainly matched that, bright white slits shining in the night sky from within the black abysses she called her eyes.  "You're gonna give me a heart attack."  She smiles wide and laughs.  Yagi shivers at her stark white, pointy teeth glimmering in the light.  He was glad she was a hero like him because she would be a terrifying villain.  
     "I'm impressed he got all this done in time.  I was quite worried, considering your history of poor decisions."  Yagi pinches his lips and began towards her.  
     "Don't put yourself down so much.  I pride myself on my decision-making."  She closes her eyes and waves away the idea with her gray hand.  
     "Come now, Yagi-san," she plays.  Then, she sighs, looking behind her one way and then the other.  "The beach does look beautiful, but you've crowded the walkway.  Maybe consider getting a dump truck out here, get this shit in a landfill."  Yagi huffs, but she stops him before he can speak, telling him of needing to get home and encouraging the same of him.  He had no idea what she'd need to go home for, but he didn't protest as she shimmered away in the darkness.

     Finally, it was the first day of examinations to deter who was going to be accepted in U.A.  Midoriya was shaking in his proverbial boots at the idea.  In a world full of people gifted amazing powers called quirks, where some used their quirks for evil and some to fight that evil, where it was the third thing you'd tell someone after your name and age, Midoriya had been born quirkless.  
     It wasn't like quirkless people were particularly rare.  Actually, they made up about 20% of the population.  His parents had both had quirks, so there was no reason for him to think he wouldn't.  He'd idolized professional heroes, the people who went out and fought crime with the help of their quirks.  While the police force were highly discouraged from using their quirks and anyone could join, pro-heroes were where everyone looked, their flashy powers surpassing your expectations and taking down evil that handcuffs could never contain.  
     It had crushed Midoriya's heart when he'd learned he was quirkless.  He had nothing.  There was no way he could become pro-hero without a quirk.  It wasn't like it was unlikely, but the whole point of a pro-hero was to use and capitalize on their unique and powerful quirk to help the public in ways police never could.  Any agency would shrug him off and tell him to look at being a cop.  
     That was, until recently.  Midoriya had never really given up his dream.  He even applied to a couple of hero schools.  He knew he couldn't get it, as they immediately threw out applications with no listed quirk, but he did anyway.  Maybe someone would miss it.  But recently, running through the streets of Musutafu, Midoriya had seen a horrendous villain attacking a boy he knew.  His lifelong bully, Bakugo Katsuki, but yet, Midoriya had never really felt anger toward him.  In the moment, he had sprung forward and swung his schoolbag the villain, even though he knew it was going to kill him the moment sludge covered his face.  He'd woken up to the number one pro-hero, All Might, saving his life.  He'd always idolized the man, as evidenced by his room covered in All Might merch, his closet stuffed with All Might merch, and his notebooks filled with self encouragements to follow in his footsteps.  
     It wasn't very polite, but when All Might had tried to jump up, his quirk being that of such super strength he could near fly by jumping, Midoriya had acted on impulse and grabbed his leg.  Then he'd begged and pleaded and begged more for All Might to take pity on him and try to help him become a hero despite his being quirkless.  
     The night was a bit fuzzy.  All Might had offered to give Midoriya his power, an idea Midoriya rightfully laughed off.  Quirks couldn't be transferred between people, but All Might told him there was one exception, and it was All Might's quirk.  
     It was named One for All.  A quirk that could literally change who retains it by willingly succumbing DNA to the new recipient.  He'd taken the boy under his wing, forcing him to haul every piece of trash off of a closed off beach nearby to get his body ready.  Then, and only then, All Might had offered a strand of his blond hair, to eat.  Yeah.  But Midoriya had accepted to offer the night prior, and now in the morning, he was buzzing with excitement and anxiety.  Finally, he had a quirk.