Puppetry

5

Kuroza makes it to the center of the USJ just as Midoriya punches at the leader of the villains, but the bird monster blocks it, not being phased at all. She runs over at her uncle while the villains are distracted, and notices that he's blocking someone's quirk, "Kid... you need to get out of here... his quirk can disintegrate you" "No. I won't leave you Uncle" "You're... talking" "Y-yeah... I am, aren't I? What is that thing?" "He called it 'Nomu' it obeys his every word, said it was made to defeat All Might" "Defeat... All Might?" "Yeah" "W-we need to get you to the entrance, can you walk?" "Not easily..." She gently helps him up and starts helping him to the entrance, making it to the foot of the stairs when they both hear the leader say something that makes their face pale, "NOMU! Kill Eraser Head and that brat!" The Nomu appears in front of them, and punches Kuroza, sending her into the stairs, and Aizawa tries erasing it's quirks again. "Azugo!" She shakily stands up, refusing to give up that fast, and sees Midoriya running over to her. 

"Midoriya! Get Sensei up to the others!" "You can talk?!" "NOT RIGHT NOW" "Okay! Are you okay Sensei?" "Not particularly, but let's get moving" "Right!" The two start making their way up the stairs, leaving Kuroza alone to deal with the Nomu, "Okay... I can do this" "You hero brat! Nomu kill her!" The Nomu punches at her, and she jumps up and tries taking control of the Nomu, who stops moving, but doesn't do anything else. "What now... KUROGIRI! WHY DID THE NOMU STOP?!" "I believe it's the girl's quirk, she made contact with it with her hand and it froze" Kuroza stares at them, trying to figure out their plan. "Tsk, I'll just kill her myself" Kuroza panics from hearing that, accidently releasing the Nomu from her control, which immediately punches her in the chest, "NO! Roza!" Through the pain she feels, she gets up, seeing Kirishima running to her, "Kiri... watch out...!" The Nomu runs past him, and both Kuroza's and Kirishima's eyes widen as the Nomu grabs her and slams her in to the ground, just as it did to Aizawa. "Get away from her!" Kirishima punches it with his quirk active, only for it to simply turn it's head to him, and smacks him away before going back to Kuroza, "Nomu. Break her arms. If her quirk has to do with her hands, why not break her arms" Her head feels like it's going to split in two from the pain, and can feel her arms getting crushed and footsteps getting near, just as the door slams open, and then nothing.

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"Kuroza sweetie, you need to get up" "No... What's the point? Dad's gone..." "I know sweetie... I miss him too. But you have to get up, his funeral is this morning" "Mm. Fine." "Thank you sweetie" 9 year old Kuroza gets out of her bed, and her mom helps her get ready for the funeral. "Remember what he always told you?" "To never give up..." "And?" Kuroza sighs, "To not let my own faults or mistakes drag me down..." "Mhm, but there's something he wanted to tell you before he died..." "T-there is?" "Yeah, you know how you've started to talk less during school? Or even around the house?" "Yeah, I just... I don't know, I just don't like talking lately" "Well... your father wanted to help, so he told me to pass on a message and a gift, the gift was supposed to be a birthday gift, but now is a better time in my opinion" Her mom hands her a recorder, "This recorder has a message from your father, he said to only listen to it when you feel at your lowest, and need to hear him again" Kuroza takes the recorder, and holds it in her hands staring at it, "I know what you're thinking, safe it for when you need it. I'm not sure what he recorded, he did it while you and I were out" "O-okay" "Let's go to the funeral Kuroza, you ready?" "Yeah"

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Pain, that's all Kuroza is able to feel right now. She slowly opens her eyes and sees that she's in Recovery Girl's office, with a curtain going around her bed, "Why... why did I remember that morning? I had completely forgot about that recorder..." She hears people walking around in the room, "Hey... I'm awake..." The curtain moves and she gets hugged by her mom, "Ow... still hurt..." "Sorry!" She lets go and backs up, "What happened Kuroza? I mean... I was told what happened, but still..." "We got attacked... a group of villains somehow learned about the USJ visit and attacked, hoping to kill All Might. And... Uncle nearly- Uncle! How is he?!" Kuroza sits up, looking past her mom to try and see him, "Calm down Azugo, don't press yourself" "S-sorry Recovery Girl" "It's fine. Aizawa is okay, he's injured yes, but up and moving. He's filling in your class about the Sports Festival" "Hold on, my daughters class just got attacked, the Sports Festival isn't canceled?" "Nezu wanted to, but was told to keep it going, he was told to up the security if he wanted" "Kuroza..." "I know that tone. Please no" "I can't risk losing you too" "Mom please..." Her mom sighs, "Fine... and before you say anything, I know that being a hero is a risky job" "Thank you..." She hugs her mom, "I just realized, you're talking without issues" "Y-yeah... I saw Uncle in danger... and something just kinda... I don't know, but I haven't had an issue with talking"