Darkest Before Dawn - 128

Chapter 128

“I’d really like to explore this place,” he commented looking at the small lake – or was it called a pond at that point? – in front of him. He’d been led there through the forest for him to be able to create his new Grimm. It truly only made him want to see more of the woods and the area in general. Sadly, he hadn’t had much of a chance to sightsee, but maybe afterwards. “Any chance I can just fly around overhead one of these days? Or at least send out a Grimm?”

He tried and probably failed to not sound too hopeful.

“We’ll see,” Aizawa said, but Kazuki noticed a hesitant, unsure tinge to his words and his feelings. His teacher – and to a lesser extent Vlad King, but Kazuki didn’t interact with the man much – had been walking on eggshells the smallest bit ever since the Neito fiasco, he noticed. He didn’t want to take advantage of that, but it wasn’t like he could do much on the matter. “If you do well, maybe,” the man caved after a moment.

Kazuki tried and probably failed to not look too happy.

He did feel a bit bad about how affected their teachers were. He wasn’t even that angry anymore. His initial reaction might have been a bit too strong, he’d admit. Neito seemed to have recovered though, for the most part. It had just been… an ugly experience for him. It wasn’t something he’d liked at all, but that was on him, really.

“Neat,” he said with a nod and a smile before turning towards the lake – pond? Seriously, what was it? – and preparing himself. “I’ll just get to it then,” he announced, taking a moment to center himself. Beside him, Pixie-Bob looked intently, being there to check out his creation process out of curiosity. Aizawa was there just in case, like every time he made a new Grimm, even though he’d proven that there was no real risk.

And then there was Kota, who looked like he couldn’t wait to see the shark come to life.

Kazuki grinned at the sight before letting his shadow extend from under him and into the water. The whole thing worked as a test too, because he didn’t remember ever trying to summon something under water. The plan actually involved starting off with his regular Grimm first, really, just to see how it went with things in that environment. After that, if things went well, then he’d try with the shark.

As it turned out, it was… odd to summon Grimm underwater. It wasn’t precisely more difficult, but there was a difference all the same. About the same difference that one felt between walking normally and walking under water. The process felt sluggish, slowed down and heavy, but it happened all the same, with almost no issue beyond the weirdness of the new set of circumstances.

So, with that tested, it was time to tackle part two, the actually good part.

With his shadow still extended underneath the water, he started manually shaping the new Grimm. A process that, while he was used to it already, never really got any easier. Every new Grimm was different, after all, even those that were “similar” to others. There was just something intrinsically different in the core of it all, Kazuki guessed.

Quirk theory aside, he had other things to focus on at that moment, like actually going through the process of making the new Grimm. So, he did just that, recalling all the little details he’d studied about sharks and the plans Kota and him had made. He went through everything in his head, from the skin to the plate positioning, passing through all the necessary insides. Slowly, he weaved together the creature. Some things he had to rework on the fly a little bit, some required a lot more changes, but that was par for the course with new Grimm. None of them ever went exactly as planned, he’d learned.

All things considered though, this one wasn’t particularly difficult all the same, regardless of the new stuff Kazuki had to work into it for its aquatic properties. He’d kind of worried about that, but evidently he shouldn’t have. Then again, he wasn’t like Momo, where she had to know exactly what she was making. While knowing stuff helped, a good chunk of his process was just… gut feelings, really. Following the random whims of his Quirk worked just as well, even if it made things more complicated.

Kazuki certainly hadn’t known shit when he first created Grimm.

He guessed that made some sense, since his Quirk was heavily based on emotions. Hell, it used emotional “energy” or whatever to function at all. So, it was no surprise that it was more chaotic than logical. Didn’t help him more easily do what he wanted, not really, but he’d take it. Maybe he’d grow better at reading the random paths his power wanted him to take at some point.

All the same, he slowly worked up through the process. Body, fins, organs, jaw, teeth, eyes, plates and so on, he made and remade all of them several times. Sometimes one part would click and the rest wouldn’t, so he’d have to start over from the one he’d thought done already, like trying out different puzzle pieces that all fit, but didn’t work with the rest of the pieces he could work into the surrounding spots.

Following that analogy, Kazuki found himself slowly putting it all together, piece by piece, until the creature was circling in the water. There wasn’t much space for it, what with the pond – lake? Fuck, he was definitely looking that up later – not being too big, but it could move around alright, all things considered. Certainly could circle and the dorsal fin was visible over the water, which was all that was needed for-

“So cool,” he heard Kota mumble by his side and Kazuki grinned.

“I’m gonna call it Jaws,” he decided  to himself.

“I like that,” Kota said, turning towards him and all but beaming. It was adorable for all the three seconds it took the kid to remember that he was supposed to be a broody, angry lil’ shit. Kazuki was happy to see that he was getting through to him though.

[}-o-{]

[Toru Hagakure]

She felt like the entire camp was of the same mind as her when she said she was exhausted and frustrated.

From what she’d heard, everyone was dealing with the same issues. The training they were put through was to push their limits, and that usually involved something very uncomfortable, very annoying or very difficult for them. In her case, for example, it was both annoying and difficult. Well, it was annoying because it was difficult, but still.

She could barely get a sense of what she needed to do to control her apparent light manipulation capabilities. She’d barely started with that that very year, so it was no surprise, but… Toru still wanted to make progress. Not only because it’d help in her hero career, but because… Because she wanted to be visible.

Ever since she learned that her training could help her achieve what she’d always wanted since her Quirk manifested, Toru had worked for it tirelessly. Maybe if she pushed enough, she might even be able to be seen constantly, be normal. She could only hope, and it was part of the reason why she welcomed the grueling training camp, the chance to further push herself.

Admittedly, she’d have been happier with more progress though.

“How does that make any sense?” a voice that could only be Mandalay’s adorable – if a little moody – nephew asked and just going by how… not moody he sounded, Toru already knew what would follow. It made her try and strengthen her composure because-

“I mean, how does anything about my Quirk make any sense?” Kazuki asked and she turned to watch the two walk side by side, followed by Aizawa and Pixie-Bob, the latter of which sporting a very fond smile. Not that Toru blamed her. Although, maybe saying Kazuki and Kota were walking side by side was a bit of stretch, since the younger boy was riding on one of Kazuki’s beowolves.

Watching the two of them, Toru realized that her efforts were futile when her insides turned into mush and she barely contained an “Aw~” at the sight of the two. How was she to resist the sight of them? If their appearance were in any way similar, they’d have looked like brothers, especially with how common such sights were since shortly after they arrived. It also helped that Kazuki always looked a little more relaxed, more at ease, when he interacted with the angry child, for whatever reason. Furthermore, Kota only seemed to care about interacting with Kazuki. Toru was pretty sure the boy hadn’t said two words to anyone else, at least on the students’ side.

The Punching Incident didn’t count as talking, she was pretty sure.

“Still, a jellyfish? What’s that got to do with anything that you want to do?” Kota asked, looking simultaneously confused and annoyed.

“I mean, I was thinking of having the bell act like an eye of sorts,” Kazuki explained, before pausing when the kid looked even more lost than before. “The bell is the “head” part of the jellyfish,” he explained, making quotation marks at the word head. “I don’t know, I feel like it’d work and feelings like that are usually right when it comes to my Quirk.”

“That sounds weird, and gross,” Kota replied bluntly. “When are you gonna try to make it?” he asked then, looking interested despite his previous words.

“Eh, probably not in this camp. I have other things to work on,” Kazuki said, before quickly following the statement with something else. Maybe he’d sensed something? Toru had seen that happen several times. “Say, I still have things to work on for that. You wanna help?”

“Sure,” Kota replied, but he seemed a little down. Maybe he’d realized that they would be gone in a few days, that Kazuki would be gone in a few days? That was even more adorable, if a little sad.

It was also an opening that Toru saw and decided to take.

“Hey there,” she greeted, finding energy where there was none and bouncing up to the two. Instantly, she saw the kid’s expression become guarded and annoyed, which… ouch. “Talking about a new Grimm already? How did the shark one go?”

“Success,” Kazuki answered with a grin that Toru did her best not to pay too much attention to. She’d made that mistake before. “And yeah, talking about a jellyfish idea I’ve been working on for a while. Never really clicked well enough to try it out so far though,” he explained with a shrug before rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, maybe you’ll figure it out in the future,” Toru commented, moving to stand on the other side of Kota instead of beside Kazuki. “Then maybe he can show you whenever you meet again, Kota,” she added, beaming even if they couldn’t see it.

“Will we though?” Kota asked, apparently growing more upset by the second.

“Sure thing,” Kazuki replied immediately, and Toru was sure that he made the beowolf carrying the kid bounce on purpose. “This place is awesome, so I might come for a visit. I might also need help with other aquatic Grimm. I’ll need help from my aquatic expert, won’t I?”

“... I guess,” Kota said hesitantly, visibly struggling to keep his frown on. “We can make cooler sharks.”

“Of course,” Kazuki said, but he rolled his eyes when the boy wasn’t looking. Toru just giggled at the two of them, covering her mouth even though they couldn’t see her. They would, eventually, maybe… she hoped.

She couldn’t wait for people to be able to see her, she really couldn’t.

She couldn’t wait for Kazuki to see her. Maybe then she’d be able to gather enough courage. Because she’d realized that waiting wouldn’t get her anywhere. Nor would subtlety for that matter, even normal direct approaches might not work.

“I know nothing about girls.”

“Girls always thought I was creepy.”

That’d been a bit of a wake up call. Kazuki made it way too easy to forget that he wasn’t normal. Toru remembered now though and she had a plan. She just needed to prepare a few things and then… Then she could risk it, no matter how scary it might be.

[}-o-{]

[Minoru Mineta]

So far, the training camp sucked.

Majorly.

Minoru would be the first to say that getting stronger and generally better was good and something they should do… Ok, maybe not the first… or the second, but he would say it. However, there was no denying that he felt… out of place in the woods with everyone else. They were all pushing their Quirks to their limits, using them non-stop until they broke through and did stuff they’d never done before, or they improved what they could already do.

And then there was him.

He couldn’t really use his Quirk much, if at all, unless it was really necessary. It wasn’t just because of his height either. It could impact his health in general. He wasn’t brave enough to just burn his life like that for some strength. He wasn’t that kind of character. He wasn’t the protagonist of a story, pushing through adversity, beating down villains and getting harems. He wasn’t, for as much as he’d want to be.

One just needed to take a look at his lame ass Quirk, really.

What kind of shit protagonist threw around sticky balls?

No, the protagonist was probably Kazuki, if there was one, but then again, he was a little biased. Bakugo was more of a rival, so maybe Midoriya? Maybe Shoto, although he was a little too emotionless.

The point was that it wouldn’t really make sense for Minoru to be stubborn and push himself. He wanted to grow tall and, slightly more importantly, he wanted to grow old. He didn’t want to die a hero, he wanted to live as one. Maybe that made him a coward, but he’d long since accepted that. If that made him selfish, he could live with that so long as he, you know, lived.

Then and there though, he felt kind of… lame though. Not a new feeling, to be sure, but he felt it particularly strongly. It wasn’t a case of his Quirk being weak, or him being disappointing. No, it was a case of him not even being able to participate at all. He was probably there because the school didn’t want to leave him alone out there. There was a reason why even failing students had been dragged into the camp.

All that made Minoru feel like he was an outsider, someone that shouldn’t be there, but was anyway. He already felt like that most days, but at least then he could at least fool himself into thinking he belonged. His friends helped a lot in that regard, admittedly. At the camp though, what similarities did he have with anyone?

Every meal, he had to sit there and hear how everyone was working on something while he was… working out, training in Quirkless fighting. That was all well and good until one realized that the camp was supposed to be for Quirks. It wasn’t for general training, no, it was for Quirk training. 

Yet there he was all the same.

‘I didn’t think I could get more lame,’ he thought to himself with a sigh. He then took one of the breaks he was allowed and went for some water. Tiger was surprisingly stern with him, considering he wasn’t even doing what everyone else was. In a way though, it made him feel a tiny bit more similar to the rest of the hero course though, so he appreciated it. ‘Something’s better than nothing, I guess,’ he mused idly.

“Hi!”

“Ah!” he exclaimed, fumbling with his water bottle before it ultimately found its way to the ground. He was more preoccupied with the person that had decided giving him a heart attack was a good idea though. He turned sharply and he was a little proud of himself for not immediately folding when he noticed it was a girl. “What the hell?!”

“Sorry!” the girl exclaimed, waving her hands in front of her in a way that was way too cute to be fair. At least the fringe covered her eyes, so he imagined most of her feminine powers were locked away. A shame, but also fortunate for him. Else, he might make a fool of himself and he didn’t know this girl like he did the ones in his friend group. Which also meant that she probably didn’t know him… hopefully. “I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you, I swear!”

‘Ah, maybe I was sulking too hard…’

“Nevermind,” he grumbled, patting his chest as if to calm his still a little panicked heart. “Did you need something?” he asked, looking around to make sure training time was still on and all that. Sure enough, it was.

“As a matter of fact, I did!” she exclaimed, perking up and beaming at him. “I need a training partner and I saw that you weren’t as busy as everyone else so,” she explained and Minoru felt his expression fall into an annoyed frown.

“Of course,” he grumbled. ‘Go ask the guy that’s not training his Quirk. He’s got nothing to do here anyway,’ he thought, eye twitching.

“Do you need to get back to training?” the girl asked, her own expression turning into something a little sad, maybe worried? He wasn’t sure what to call it. “I thought you might have some time, since you were here,” she added and he grimaced.

“Sorry, I misunderstood,” he mumbled, suddenly embarrassed instead of angry. Not a great improvement, admittedly. “You needed a partner, you said?” he added, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can check with Tiger, but there shouldn’t be a problem,” he said, hoping the smile on his face wasn’t too bitter.

What issue could Tiger have with him going off to help someone else. At least the girl was actually working with her Quirk, as they were supposed to be. Minoru might as well help others, he supposed, since he wasn’t participating in the actual goal of the trip.

“You’re a life saver, thank you,” the girl told him, beaming once more and Minoru wondered when had been the last time a girl had been that positive towards him without someone else to help him along, like Kazuki. “I’m Komori Kinoko, by the way. I don’t think we’ve met properly.”

“Minoru Mineta, pleased to meet you,” he replied, and his smile felt a little less forced then.

[}-o-{]

[Kazuki Endo]

“Kota,” Shino started, with that voice that said she was serious and would not be ignored. Kazuki’s mother used to make him flinch with it, but Kota only… sort of pouted. Bold guy, although maybe that was just his perspective being skewed once more. “Get down from that. Kazuki has to train,” the woman said and the look on the kid got even worse.

“I mean-”

“The point is to push yourself,” Aizawa pointed out mercilessly before Kazuki could crumble like a house of cards. It was fair, maybe even the reasonable thing to do… But Kazuki felt the kid’s disappointment all the more though, and that sucked. “You can’t do that with a kid on the Grimm. Surely you realize.”

Both Kota and Kazuki deflated at that.

“Later, kid,” he said and it was telling that the boy didn’t argue the “kid” part. For that matter, it was also telling that he just nodded, not even trying to act like he wasn’t disappointed. It was a victory, or a sign of one, Kazuki knew, but it still left him with a bad taste in his mouth.

Shino gave him a grateful look at that that made him smile the smallest bit, but still.

“Ok, so, what are we doing now?”

“We’re back to the beginning, more Grimm,” Aizawa told him and he nodded. That was his strong suit, after all. Numbers were what set him aside from someone normal, he supposed. Every extra Grimm he could make increased his capabilities a great deal.

So, it was back to the grind with him.

As he worked though, he felt… better, he noticed. Maybe it was the fact that he was taking it easy those days. Maybe Kota was having a positive influence on him just like he was with the kid, or like he hoped he was with the kid. Maybe it was the forest and the reduced amount of people in his range. Sure, the fact that almost everyone was working on something, with varying degrees of exhaustion and frustration, meant that he felt quite a bit, but there was still a world of difference between two classes worth of people and what he could pick up in the middle of the city.

‘Almost wish I could have waited my time and gone off to live in the middle of nowhere,’ he noted to himself, making the last Grimm before hitting his limit. Yet, he didn’t feel that pressure in his chest, the instincts whispering at the back of his mind. They weren’t pressing him, pressuring him into giving up, murmuring sweet nothings about surrendering and letting loose.

“Something the matter?” Aizawa asked and Kazuki took a moment to look around and ponder his answer. His Grimm were doing what they did during practice, fighting each other as he ordered, all of them moving, all of them thinking as much as their metaphorical leashes would allow. He noticed their presences in his mind, but they weren’t pushing him like usual and he tried to pinpoint the reason why that might be.

“I don’t feel like I hit my limit,” he answered slowly, as if just saying that was a lie, even though it wasn’t. It was odd, very odd. Especially the fact that the reprieve didn’t vanish into thin air immediately. It lingered, even if Kazuki could feel it slipping away from him.

Before that could happen though, he tried. He went and made another Grimm. He waited for the backlash, for his control to slip, for the claws in his mind to win against his focus. Yet… they increased, yes, but they didn’t slash through his mental walls.

Kazuki took a deep breath in pondering that almost absently, which would never have been a thing normally, not with that many Grimm. He considered that and shrugged at Aizawa’s questioning look, confused and helpless. He really didn’t know what was up, but sure enough, some five minutes later, his strangely firm control returned to normal, with him struggling against the limit he knew was there before.

The question was in his mind now though.

Why was he suddenly more capable then and there? Why were the Grimm’s struggles not affecting him as much? Or was it that they were weaker? The questions remained all the same and he had no answers. He didn’t think he’d done anything different from usual. Not even making the new Grimm could be the reason. He’d done it before and it had never affected his control like that.

‘If not something I did, then what though?’ he wondered idly. Where did that strange calm come from? He didn’t know, but he wanted to find out. Not only had it given him more control, but he was only then realizing that it had also helped with his Quirk, soothing the emotions coming in.

‘I have to find out,’ he thought, determination solidifying as he continued his exercise as normal, pushing his limits as he was supposed to. Aizawa didn’t bring the matter up after they were done either, but Kazuki didn’t need to be told. Maybe that was why his teacher didn’t tell him anything about it. Maybe he’d realized.

One way or another, Kazuki had something to focus on for his training camp, he supposed. Because no way he wasn’t going to look for that. No way could he try something else when the offer of some reprieve was right there, being dangled in front of him. It’d make even normal or low numbers of Grimm less taxing, even, and for that alone Kazuki would have to try.

Peace of mind was something he’d known little of in his life.

If he could find some more of it, then he had to try.

It was that simple.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

New Grimm and some PoVs thrown into the mix to change things up a little. Also, as I write this arc, I realize how ridiculously short the forest training arc was in canon. Like, holy shit. What was that? Four chapters?

Crazy.

Also, on the Shark Grimm. It’s actually a thing. I’m trying to stick with canon Grimm and I’m managing, but I’ll probably put one or two that are “original” (read, inspired in some other creature from another fandom). This one I found in the wiki, doing a bit of a dive. It apparently appears on a poster in the show, once. But hey, there’s a picture and it’s in the show. I’ll take it.

The name is original though, but the poster kind of reminds me of the Jaws one – not that much really – and it fits, so… yeah.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Go to Google dice roller and roll a d20. What did you get? I got a… 3… ouch. No wonder I’ve gotten so little written today.

See you.