Darkest Before Dawn - 104

Chapter 104

“You didn’t need to do this, you know? I already had tickets,” Kazuki commented, leaning back against his seat and feeling way too comfortable. It was so much so that it went all the way back to being uncomfortable, somehow. “You know, from the Sports Festival.”

“I know,” Hina told him, taking a sip from the champagne glass that she held in her hand. He wasn’t sure if that was champagne or not, but he wasn’t curious enough to ask, really. He was too busy taking in the private jet that he was flying in. “But what’s the point of being rich, having resources and knowing people if you don’t use that to have a good time once in a while. Besides, I felt like going to I-Island after you said you would. Might as well bring you with me and you can bring another friend of yours with you.”

“You didn’t know if I’d be allowed to give that ticket away,” he pointed out before blinking when Hina gave him a condescending look. “What?”

“Nezu loves you. If you don’t ask for anything outrageous, I don’t think he’d be able to say no. Besides, he probably wants you to go with me,” she answered, which honestly just brought up more questions in his mind. She obviously realized that though, because she soon continued. “I-Island is where you can find a lot of the highest figures in the heroics world. Not all of them, but plenty gather there, especially during the I-Expo. There’s also the finest minds in the support equipment world there too, of course. So, you want to make a good impression on your visit.”

“You know, I almost thought I’d be able to have fun going here,” he commented dryly. He wasn’t even lying. Sure, I-Island was a huge thing for people in the hero business, but it was also kind of like an… Amusement park, in a way. Heroes and students were encouraged to go in their hero personas and show off to the public. There were displays and museums, sure, but there were also games and shows. It was a tourist spot just as much as it was a research one.

Kazuki had thought it might be a good moment to let go of heroics for a bit though. After all, everyone knew about the Black Rampage in Japan, but maybe out of it he’d be able to be a semi-normal person. Alas… No such luck, he supposed.

“You can,” Hina told him softly. “And if you want nothing to do with this, then I’ll let you be. But this is an opportunity, Kazuki. If you want to play, then play, if you want to look around, then do that. But if you want to try and catch some opportunities while you’re at it, then…”

“Fine,” he sighed, deflating where he sat. “Is there anything here I can drink?”

“Anything you want, just say the word,” Hina told him.

“A smoothie?”

“Sure,” she replied and he blinked. He’d said that mostly joking. He’d imagined his options were more of the mini-fridge kind not… literally whatever. There was his mentor though, tapping at a screen on the side of her seat and then settling back. “Now, are you sure you’re fine? It’s no issue if you don’t want to bother with this kind of thing, Kazuki, I promise you.”

He knew she meant that too, but he’d feel bad if he let a chance slip him by. The whole time since he got out of juvie, he’d been trying his best without overwhelming himself. It was a bit of a tightrope walk, but he was managing… not fine, but he was managing, at least. If he got lazy and let his progress slip through his fingers, he’d never forgive himself.

“I’m not happy about it. I’d rather have time to enjoy myself after the last few months,” he admitted, looking up and being just as surprised as he was before when a flight attendant came by and gave him a smoothie. He didn't even bother questioning it though, taking the straw between his lips. “I don’t want to lose an opportunity though, so I guess I’ll have to make do with a half-vacation instead,” he finished wryly in the end.

He tried not to pay attention to the pity Hina was feeling at that moment.

“Well, fortunately for you, there shouldn’t be all that much to do through your day that’ll get in the way of having fun,” Hina told him and he was… warily hopeful on the matter. Just because she said that and believed that didn’t mean it was actually the case, after all. “Don’t look at me like that. You know about the games, I’m sure. You can play them if you like, just have to wait for the right moment so you can show off to the right people. And you can go to the displays and museums, just gotta make sure you can make proper conversation with people if need be. How’s your English?”

“I think I could hold a conversation in English. I won’t be great or anything, but I should be able to survive that, so long as nothing complicated is said,” he said hesitantly. He was suddenly grateful for all the times Kyoka had wanted to discuss song lyrics, considering her tastes leaned heavily on songs that were in English.

There was also the fact that it was a subject he’d always done at least well in.

“Great. Beyond that, there’s a party every so often and as it turns out, there’s one tonight,” she informed him and he groaned. He had a feeling that this party was more along the lines of the ones Hina was likely to go to, the formal kind of party. “Yep,” she confirmed, not at all empathizing with his pain. “That’ll be where you’ll have to really put effort in, but other than that, you should be able to have a good time. Besides, I don’t want to ruin your time with your friends, so there’s that.”

“Ok… I guess it’s better than I thought it would be…”

“That’s the spirit! Now, first of all…”

[}-o-{]

[Hina Maeda]

“Why do you look so nervous?” she asked, looking at her… student? The word felt too formal, really, but calling Kazuki a friend certainly didn’t fit better. There was a word somewhere in her mind, but everytime she searched, she found one that had her feeling like shit.

Back to Kazuki though, he was picking at his costume here and there, as if trying to fix a non-existent wrinkle or something. She didn’t need his Quirk to notice that he was anxious, especially when he turned his unsure eyes towards her. Didn’t even need her Quirk, even if it wasn’t that effective in that area, but her snakes could smell the emotions rolling off of him all the same.

“I just… Do I look good?” he asked, checking himself on the mirror again and Hina rolled her eyes.

“Kazuki, if there’s not one girl or woman that shows interest in you through your stay here, I’ll eat my dress,” she told him and delighted in the fact that he let go of his nerves. Sure, his face was now flushed with embarrassment, but she’d rather take a shier Kazuki than one that was scared out of his mind. “You look great. I promise.”

He really did too, there was no lie there. Sure, his Quirk literally made him look uncanny, but the effect was subtle enough that Hina was confident he was good looking enough to counter that. It was just that, back home, people were aware of who he was and that kind of tipped the scales against him. Ever since he’d come to her for his internship though, Hina had worked to help him improve and it was paying off.

Her boy was growing into a wonderful man and the world was seeing it too.

“If you say so,” he replied in a mumble. He didn’t sound nearly as confident as she hoped, but it was still better than what she’d expected. He was growing more sure of himself too, evidently, and more positive. And he could really act the part when it came to that. That was great too, but she wished it didn’t take effort for him to feel good in his own skin. Truthfully, if Hina never saw a Kazuki consumed by negativity again, it’d be too soon.

She was sure if she ever saw the lows she’d been told he’d reached at certain points, her heart would break and never recover. So, she was determined to make sure that kind of situation never came to pass again. If she had to pull on every string she had and owe some favors, then so be it, but Kazuki would be happy.

Hina wasn’t sure when she’d grown that attached to him, when she’d grown that fond of him, but she had.

Now there was no going back, even if she had wanted to.

Which she didn’t, at all.

“I do. So, are we going or do you want to make some last second changes to your costume?” she asked, and it had been meant as a joke. Which is why she found herself so exasperated when Kazuki seemed to take a moment to consider that. “Yeah, no, we’re not doing that, Kazuki. You’re fine. The only thing you have time to change is your hair, and we’re not doing that either,” she said, not letting him get a word in or they’d be delayed even more, she was sure. “You look great. Everyone’s going to love you. And if they don’t, then they should get checked in the head.”

“You just say that because you like me.”

“And I like you because there’s a lot to like, Kazuki. Or are you saying I’m easy?!” she mock gasped, placing a hand over her chest and turning to give him a scandalized look. She was happy to see him chuckle at that; it meant that he was relaxing, finally. “Come on, we have places to be, games to play, things to see and people to impress.”

“One of those is less likely than the others, but I’m sold,” he said and there wasn’t even as much self-deprecation in his voice than the words would have had one think, so Hina counted that as a huge win. One that she was determined to turn into an even bigger one as the day went by.

She needn’t have worried so much though, it seemed, because as soon as they left the jet and the airport, Kazuki seemed to transform. Hina watched, equal parts amazed and fond, how the boy turned from a fidgety, nervous thing into the curious, excited child that he probably never had gotten to be. His eyes widened and his expression lit up as he got his first look at I-Island.

Hina almost thought that was a very dramatic reaction, but then she considered it. Had Kazuki ever been in a place that had a chance of welcoming him? When he was a child, he’d still been growing used to his Quirk. And then, when he finally did, everywhere he went he’d have been met with negative reactions because of the Black Rampage.

I-Island was a land of promises for him, Hina supposed. A place where he could be Kazuki Endo without all the baggage that came with that. People were unlikely to know him, at least by name and looks. Some might be aware of the Black Rampage existence, but few would connect that with Kazuki himself. Only those deeply aware of the international hero scene would know enough to recognize him, she imagined.

So, yeah, Hina guessed she could understand the excitement.

“Are you a hero?” a voice said and Kazuki turned away from the shop he’d been walking by and Hina raised an eyebrow where she stood, several steps behind him. Her other eyebrow joined the first and her lips pulled up when she saw a girl approach Kazuki about as excitedly as the boy himself had been a bit before. “Are you?” she added and Hina guessed it was time to test what Kazuki had said about his English skills before.

“In training,” he answered slowly, taking time to pick his words with a shy smile that probably did things to the girl if the slight pink dusting on her cheeks was any indication. “Hopefully in the future. You’re visiting?”

“Yes, finally convinced my parents to get tickets and-”

And off she went, giving Hina a great spectacle to witness right off the bat. I-Island certainly lived up to its reputation, she decided. Granted, this wasn’t what they really meant, but still. She’d always celebrate any chance she got to see Kazuki acting his age and being allowed to do so. Same went for witnessing people being nice to him.

[}-o-{]

“I thought you’d want to find your friends as soon as possible,” Hina commented as they walked through one of the I-Expo’s many support equipment displays. She was a little amused by the fact that Kazuki was taking pictures of everything and anything, the items, their description signs and anything else that might be remotely important. To hear him say it, he’d send it all to his tinker back home to see if it gave her any useful ideas.

The boy was really too much of an overachiever, but Hina loved that part of him too. It was hard not to admire the side of him that wanted to give everything his absolute best. Although, it was also a little sad, because he likely did that out of desperation, grabbing the chance he’d been given with both hands and like his life depended on it.

It was a little extra sad to realize that had likely become part of his personality at that point.

“I do want to, but…” Kazuki went to reply, trailing off as he looked at the last picture he’d taken. However, Hina could see that it was more that he was thinking his response over, picking his words carefully. “I love them all, I do. But… I feel like I’d like to enjoy some time to myself, you know? Which is funny, because I don’t like being alone, normally, too much like… Anyway, yeah, I hate being alone at home, for example, but now…”

“Nothing wrong with wanting some time to yourself, Kazuki,” Hina told him softly. It was just as endearing and sad to see him figuring out how to just… be sometimes. There was so much he needed to learn, and yet it was so easy to forget that no, he wasn’t anywhere close to a normal boy. “I doubt anyone can be around people all the time and not go crazy. We all need some time to ourselves once in a while.”

“I guess…” Kazuki mumbled, moving through the halls some more and finding another piece of equipment to take pictures of. “I just… Isn’t it weird, that I hate being alone, but then I feel like being alone at times?” he asked, his voice a barely audible mumble. Evidently, the contradictory nature of his own feelings was getting to him and his Quirk likely wasn’t helping matters.

Hina wasn’t going to ask but she imagined even a place as “happy” as I-Island contained its fair share of negativity anyway. Nowhere was empty of those, after all, unless Kazuki went so deep into the wilderness nobody would be in his range. She really hoped he would never decide becoming a hermit was a better option, but at the same time… It’d probably work for him, sadly.

“As I said, it’s fine to want to be alone from time to time, Kazuki. It’s not weird at all. People can be overwhelming,” Hina told him, meaning every word, even if she did so with different meanings. Opposites, even, considering people were overwhelming to her because there was always someone around, there was always someone that wanted something from her. Kazuki, on the other hand, probably found people overwhelming because he wasn’t used to them, on top of likely associating people with negative things, be them emotions or general attitude towards him.

“If you say so…” he mumbled, checking his new set of photos. Once more, however, his eyes seemed vacant as his mind worked.

“Speaking of, do you want me to leave you alone? I can let you have some alone time if you want,” she asked softly, as carefully as she could. If he wanted some time to recharge his probably exhausted beyond belief social battery, then she could make herself scarce. As she’d told him, it wasn’t necessary for him to play the game even in his vacation, even if it’d be helpful. She could and definitely would give him any time he might need to himself.

“It’s fine,” Kazuki commented, a shy, nervous smile appearing on his face as he glanced up from his phone and towards her. “I don’t… It’s different with you, I guess. I don’t feel like I have to act like I’m fine, like with my friends. Is that bad? I feel like I’m insulting them, but that’s not it. It’s just…”

“You want to put your best foot forward with them. You don’t want to worry them,” Hina said, trying to put into words what she imagined he meant and he nodded.

“You don’t… You pity me and you worry, but it’s not as bad as it is with them, does that make sense?” Kazuki commented, looking anywhere but at her. Hina, for her part, had an argument on the tip of her tongue, but she held it back. It wouldn’t do to lie to Kazuki’s face. Especially because he knew what he said was true. He could feel it.

“It’s not as bad because I’m more mature. I can handle my emotions better without all the teenager hormones and such,” she told him and he chuckled weakly. “That doesn’t mean I don’t care though-”

“I know,” he told her, turning to give her a slight, but very meaningful smile. “I know, Hina. And I really appreciate it, by the way.”

“Don’t mention it,” she replied, wondering if he could sense how he tugged at her heartstrings. If he did, he either ignored it, didn’t comment to spare her or didn’t understand what it was.

All in all though, she considered him thoroughly unfair all the same.

[}-o-{]

“We have a new participant, everyone!” the showman on the “game” Kazuki had joined called out and Hina grinned at her boy. “Everyone give a warm welcome to Beacon, please!” She was happy to hear that people actually did as he said, with a smattering of polite applause. The same that they had given the previous participants, so Hina knew that’d be enough to make Kazuki happy.

Not that he seemed to notice, really. He’d been reluctant to put himself out there on the stage in front of so many people, but once he got there? He was all business already. His eyes were fixed forward, to the building that was to be the “field” for his challenge.

They’d come across a rescue game for the heroes around the I-Expo to join and Kazuki had immediately stopped to check it out. After a few games, it hadn’t taken nearly as much effort as she’d expected to get him to join and show off. He’d given a token effort to protesting, but that had been it.

“Rules are simple!” the showman continued, but Kazuki likely was already planning what to do, considering the rules didn’t change. The man had to announce them every time though, just in case there was someone new in the audience. “Beacon will have to rescue the fake civilians from inside the building. There’s environmental hazards and other dangers in every room though, so he’ll have to be careful not to let our fake-victims suffer any damages… and not to get injured himself, of course.”

Hina almost laughed at that.

She was pretty sure Kazuki wouldn’t even need to move from the starting point.

“Now, are you ready, Beacon?” the showman asked and Hina grinned widely at the calm, but serious expression on her student. Yeah, he’d show off alright. Idly, she looked around to see who was there to see Kazuki’s first step into the spotlight of I-Expo. There were some heroes that she recognized, at least, so that was good, but those weren’t their only targets. Businessmen, politicians, anyone remotely important in the hero business, all of them could help Kazuki’s journey be smoother than it otherwise would. “Then start!”

And start Kazuki did, letting his shadow grow and his Grimm form. There were some exclamations around the spectators, but Hina hoped the reactions weren’t be too bad. If they were though, her student didn’t let it affect him at all. His expression remained calm as he commanded the first few creatures – Beowolves for the most part, but there were a few Imps and Nevermores – to go into the building. Those that could fly went to the top of the structure while the Beowolves charged in through the doors and windows on the lower floors. The Imps, for their part, went through the main door, reaching the place last.

The screens showing the inside of the building for the spectators to see let them know that the Beowolves had charged straight for those that were the furthest away, while the Imps looked for those closer by and those that needed a little more careful handling when a Grimm came across one of those. One of the humanoid creatures even got out and rode a Nevermore to get a fake victim out from under some rubble on the top floor.

It was beautiful work, honestly.

Granted, there was some improvement to be had, but considering Kazuki was doing about as much as an entire rescue party all by himself without even having to move, Hina couldn’t see how anyone would think less than the best of him. Well, someone might take offense to him not moving, but that helped him concentrate on his Grimm more. Better to stay still and be able to control two more creatures than to join in to look good, and the people that mattered would realize that.

Besides, doing all that he was doing without having to lift a finger was quite the statement to make. That was why Hina had told him to do that instead of going in. It’d make more of an impression. Somehow though, Kazuki was exceeding expectations though, considering how cool he looked standing there with the face of someone that knew exactly what they were doing and had complete confidence in himself.

It might have been a completely different picture from inside the boy’s head, but that didn’t really matter for their purposes.

“So that’s the kid you won’t shut up about?” a voice asked her in English and Hina grinned without looking away. As if she’d take her eyes off her boy while he was on a stage that big and important, doing his best. “Not what I’d expect from someone that went to you for an internship, I have to say.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, Katelyn?” she replied.

“He seems like the kind of kid that’d go for someone at the top. He’s strong,” her friend said, without a single concern for how bad that could be taken. “He’s impressive though, I have to admit. Top notch rescue work right there.”

“It’s what he likes the most.”

“Not combat?”

“Nope,” Hina answered and it was kind of funny. Kazuki had one of the strongest combat Quirks she’d ever seen, but he was determined to focus on rescue instead. He was too precious, honestly.

“And that’s it!” the showman announced when Kazuki took the last civilian out of the building. “No extra damage to any of the civilians and a time of three minutes and fourteen seconds, which puts Beacon in first place, everyone!”

Granted, that was first place in a scoreboard of heroes in training, but first place in I-Island, which was as close as an international spot as it came?

Yeah, having Kazuki show off was going to be so easy it wouldn't even be funny.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

I’ll be honest with you, guys. Until the last minute, I wasn’t sure if I was going to write Two Heroes as part of the story. For one, I completely forgot that it happened before the camp arc and all that stuff. Then I went to check the timeline post I’m following and… yeah.

There’s also the fact that I hadn’t actually seen the movie before this. However, I remember hearing that the movies are canon, so I guess avoiding them would be… I don’t know, bad somehow.

So, here we are. If something feels off about the inclusion of this arc, it’s because it was quite literally a last minute addition. I tried to make some little changes here and there when I came to the decision to make it less jarring, but I might not have succeeded all that much.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Have you seen Two Heroes? For that matter, have you seen original MHA? If I can read from fandoms I haven’t so much as watched the first chapter of, then I guess everyone can. I did, indeed, read the manga for MHA… up to a certain point, at least. I regularly go over it while writing though, just to check certain things. As I said before though, I’ve never watched a single one of the movies.

See you.