Chapter 6: Winds of Change 1
[A/N:
First off, I apologize for the lack of chapters. I was wanting to do three chapters a week or a minimum two but unsurprisingly, I got really sick.
It was Covid too, and despite having like a million vaccine shots for it, I still got sick and could barely function.
I usually stay only one chapter ahead because I like implementing what commenters say or when they give good ideas but I have now come to realize it was not the best idea because of stuff like this.
So, I will release this chapter for this week, and will be back next Thursday. During that time I will stockpile 5-10 chapters so if this happens again or something pops up you guys get a steady stream of chapters anyways.
I apologize greatly, and understand I am somewhat new to this so I make rookie mistakes sometimes.
Alright, story time!
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Five months passed in a blink of an eye, winter silently taking a backseat as spring gleefully entered the limelight with sunnier days and soft rain.
Spring also brought the familiar sights of Mastufa that usually appeared this time of year, cherry blossoms blooming, pedestrians swapping out over coats for umbrellas, children playing in parks while their parents watched, ice cream vendors parked on street corners, Heroes and villains becoming more active, and smiles aplenty as many looked forward to the soon to come summer days.
Although, for Kenshi, his spring was vastly different than most.
Especially as he sidestepped a right jab, sprung forward off his back foot, and delivered a right hook to his best friend's chin.
Izuku, they had moved to being on a first name basis, collapsed like a falling jenga tower. His back hit the grass, his chest rose in quick bursts to gather as much air as possible, his legs sprawled out as they gave in to his exhaustion, and a seemingly out of place smile appeared between his freckled cheeks.
"I lost." The green haired boy exhaled through his short breaths, not a single ounce of resentment within them.
Kenshi glanced down at Izuku, his blue diamond-like eyes scanning him up and down as he talked, "Good fight, but next time you need to remember I have a longer reach than you, but you are shorter so you can shift your center of gravity faster, it's why you lost, I got lower. Use your advantages at every chance you get, morally right or not."
"Noted." Izuku said, sitting up and running a hand through his sweaty mess of green curls. "I won't lose next time."
Kenshi, with a rare ear to ear grin, chuckled softly.
"You said that for the last five months Izuku, you need a new catchphrase."
Izuku sputtered, "Ah, t-that's not funny Kenshi, I-I am trying my best!"
Kenshi rolled his eyes, noticing that the infamous stutter was back, and it seemed the term baby steps was all he could hope for on that front. They had tried to change his lack of confidence and doubting himself for most everything, but it seemed only more time could completely remedy his anxiety filled personality.
Dropping the previous chain of thought, Kenshi bent down and offered a hand, his green haired friend taking it and rising to stand on unsteady legs.
Silently, the two trudged back into Kenshi's house, a tacit understanding that they needed to get water and some type of food inside them was more important than conversing. With a quick downed three cups of water, a scarfed down banana each, they finally plopped down on the couch to relax.
Izuku broke the silence first, head resting on the back of a couch pillow as he stared up at the ceiling, "Five months passed, just like that huh?"
Kenshi nodded slowly, "Yeah, just like that."
The two fell into their own thoughts, only now truly soaking in the changes of the last few months. Kenshi was still unsure why he could suddenly show much more emotion than he ever had in his life, while Izuku was a bit more shallow and focused on how pronounced his muscles were and how he could go most of the day without stuttering or tripping over himself.
Suddenly though, the two were pulled from their thoughts as an aging white haired woman spoke,"Hurry now children, you will be late for school."
"Right." Kenshi gestured to Izuku. "You can take a shower first, just make sure to hurry."
With a quick nod, Izuku practically sprinted to the bathroom, leaving the last two members of the Kuraka family to stare at one another with narrowed eyes.
"I don't like it." Kenshi's grandma started. "I don't like how much you are pushing him Ke-chan. He is quirkless, he will n-"
"Enough." Kenshi rarely cut off his grandma out of respect, but his current workout had left him a little exhausted and lessened his restraints. "He can be whatever he wants."
His grandma sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before she gathered her thoughts and spoke again, "He is your first friend Ke-chan, and I am so glad that you are finally realizing that you can live a life outside of your goal to be a hero, but you are also smart enough to see the writing on the wall, for both of you. Your quirk… it is strong, but what if it's not enough? What if someone as strong as All Might stands before you? What can you do Kenshi?"
Kenshi marinated on those questions, eyes filled with sadness as he simply shrugged, "My best."
His grandma let her shock show, but soon her familiar heart warming smile appeared as she shook her head, "I always forgot how stubborn you are, just like my little Maya was. I won't keep pestering you about your choices anymore, you are fifteen and I know all too well the ambition of the young. Just… make sure to stay safe Ke-chan, I cannot lose you."
He slowly nodded, but he reminisced on her words a little longer. A frown formed at the mention of his dead Mother's name, but he swallowed it for later, "I will not die grandma, and if I do, I'm sure you will drag me back from the afterlife so I can water your plants and do the dishes."
The two shared a long minute of laughter, only stopping when Izuku appeared in his Aldera uniform, a yellow backpack placed beside the couch as he sat down.
"All done."
"Two minutes and twenty seven seconds, a new record. Good, but watch me beat it." Kenshi arrogantly said before he hopped over the couch and entered the bathroom, the door shutting just as soon as it opened.
"Children." Kenshi's grandma whispered in amusement before she got up and went to brew tea for herself, not wanting to have a conversation with the topic from the previous talk with her grandson. Although, as she began to boil the water, she did spare him glances. Izuku was aimlessly scrolling on his phone, fully unaware of her gaze filled with countless emotions.
Kenhsi's grandma could almost see the rays of sunshine emitting off the boy, the pure joy radiating off him almost sickening. It was just that, compared to how gloomy and anxious he was before, he now sat straighter and seemed confident about his every action.
He was improving, but in a world where people can level city blocks, summon tornadoes without much effort, and banish said tornadoes with a simple fist; he would need to do much more than improve.
However, Kenshi's grandma was not a woman who liked to change others, only hoping to give them advice on how to proceed with their own goals. Her grandson was an expectation though, but she knew ever since the day he discovered he was the reason for the death of his parents, all other doors that were not heroism had simultaneously closed.
She would always remember how much he had changed after that, and how could she not?
The way he grew quiet, vibrant emotions gone as they no longer graced his face no matter what happened. Bandages that he used to cover his eyes as a form of training and self punishment, bruising and cutting himself as he bumped into everything trying to adjust to not using his vision. Exercising in his room till the dead of night despite her constant pleas for him to rest, and his knuckles that had long scarred over from repeatedly hitting the heavy bag in the garage.
Hours had passed during the day with such a sound, the rhythmic thud of Kenshi's fist impacting the cloth a backdrop to most of her days. She had grow accustomed to it at one point, so much so when she did not hear it for more than a hour she would worry about him, wondering how else he decided to torture himself today.
She hated it, truly, but once upon a time she had loved the idea of heroism.
Her daughter, Kenshi's mother, had been one after all. Although, the way she went about dishing out justice for the Hero Commission had always been shrouded in mystery and was never disclosed, but nonetheless her little Maya would come home smiling.
Kenshi never smiled, he never seemed satisfied with his results, and would push himself to the brink of exhaustion for just a mere inch of progress.
She was losing him, it hurt to realize but it was the truth, she was going to lose her only family because of heroes.
Although recently, and thanks to the green haired boy that currently sat on her couch, she had seen the glimpse of the past Kenshi.
However, no matter how much he had helped her grandson, he was still quirkless.
A hero, someone like him? Maybe she was getting old but most quirkless people found other avenues to assist society. They would never even bat an eye at the idea of being a hero, always thankful that they could at least make some change by joining the police force or public services.
Times were changing it seemed, and she had to pray it did not sweep Kenshi away, she would never forgive hero society if it took him.
Suddenly, she was pulled from her stupor as the bathroom door opened, Kenshi's rare grin still on his face as he appeared wearing his uniform.
"One minute and twenty nine seconds, I win"
Izuku chuckled, "Yeah y-yeah, I won't lose next t-"
He stopped, seeing as he almost said his supposed 'catchphrase' again. The apparent blunder did not escape Kenshi's notice, but he decided not to patronize his only friend for today.
"Bye Grandma, see you after school."
Kenshi looked at the aging woman standing before the counter, teapot steaming on a hot plot as she met his gaze.
"Be safe."
Izuku had already taken the initiative and opened the door to leave while waving at Kenshi's grandma. Kenshi, following closely behind, whispered just loud enough where only his grandma would hear it.
"Always."
The door shut, and Kenshi along with a green haired boy took their usual route, conversing in small talk as it was clear their minds were in other places. The trip was not long, and the duo joined the cluster of Aldera Junior High students that funneled through the entrance.
With no trouble, they entered the classroom, took their seats toward the back, and spoke only a few times before homeroom officially started. The teacher stepped in, a stack of papers in his wrinkly hands as he sported a grin.
"Well, you all are third years now, so it's about time you started thinking about your futures." The teacher swept his gaze across his classroom, a myriad of emotions appearing on his face like a slideshow. He settled for one of excitement. "I would hand out these future career forms, but who am I kidding, I assume you all want to be heroes!"
With no regard for professionalism, the stack of papers were thrown in the air, causing everyone in class to suddenly react with obnoxiously loud cheers and claps. Kenshi grimaced in annoyance as he pulled on his bandage to expose an eye, reaching out and grabbing two of the forms that floated in the air and setting one on his desk while handing the other to Izuku who sat in front of him.
"Thanks."
"Sensei!" A loud voice cut through the noise. "Don't lump me in with these losers."
The frown of Kenshi's face deepened, taking the chance while he had an eye revealed to look toward the number one irritant of his three years in junior high.
Katsuki Bakugou.
A brass, annoying, self absorbed, hate filled, annoying- had he thought that already?-, narcissistic, and rude existence with a quirk to match it all.
Kenshi enjoyed silence, so when Bakugou would scream his head off and use his quirk to emphasize it even more, it did wonders to make him want to act out. However, he knew that once he stepped into his radar, he would never be let out of it.
He wanted to get into UA, so no matter what he could not squander the possibility no matter how slim it could be. Maybe one right hook would be good, or possible knocking a tooth out or breaking an arm? Kenshi could not decide, so like always, he settled for not interfering.
Even as the teacher spoke about Izuku wanting to attend UA and the aforementioned explosion boy suddenly rushed toward Izuku, slamming his hand down and setting off an explosion. Izuku had been quick enough to move his papers and push his chair back not to tip over.
In his green eyes, defiance was seen, but when Bakugou grinned and held his hand up threateningly, it slipped away rather quickly.
Kenshi shook his head, wondering how he could repeatedly take beatings from him and even fight back, but Bakugou was not something he even dared to cross.
It pissed him off, but once again he settled for peace. He let his bandage go to return to being blind and face forward as he wanted to daydream for a little bit before classes actually started.
Well, until his teacher spoke the words that would have been better left unsaid.
"Kuraka also already applied for the entrance exam."
The classroom went deadly silent, most having to take a moment to remember who exactly that was, realizing it only after a few seconds later. All the eyes drifted to him, the object of their confusion not reacting much as he looked down at the book on his desk, seemingly not caring about what was just announced.
However, in an instant his head quickly moved to the left, a hand crackling with smoke passing by mere inches away from his cheek.
Bakugou grunted in surprise, especially as he tried to take his hand back, but failed as Kenshi's iron grip held him tight.
"Let me go you fucking freak."
Kenshi did not flinch at the insult, he had heard it before after all, and as not to escalate it too much he let Bakugou pull his arm away.
Then, he moved his head again to dodge the next attack, opting to not grab the hand and keep his bandage indents fully focused on the book in his hands.
"Hey freakshow, I'm talking to your blind ass." Bakugou trudged to the front of Kenshi's desk, a death glare smeared on his face as he gritted his teeth. "I don't care what you think you can do, but with a shitty quirk like yours you won't ever amount to anything. I'm the only one who is going to UA, you hear me?"
Kenshi, slow as ever, raised his head.
Soulless indents met Bakugou's gaze, "Then, I must apologize in advance because I will make it into UA. Also, try me again and see what happens."
"Huh?" A vein appeared on the explosion boy's forehead, red eyes thining. "The fuck you s-"
"Bakugou-shonen!" The teacher nervously spoke from the front of the class. "Please refrain from using your quirk, it-"
Bakugou blurred forward, hand outstretched and setting off an explosion big enough to shroud Kenshi's entire desk in smoke.
Everyone collectively sucked in a breath, and Izuku yelled in fright, "Kenshi!"
However, as the smoke cleared, Kenshi seemed completely unaffected despite the marks on his uniform that sizzled with heat. His eyebrows narrowed in obvious rage.
"Hey Bakugou." His voice was eerily calm and steady. "You are manually breathing now."
The blonde haired boy blinked in confusion, then he naturally focused on his breathing, which like any other time took away the subconscious' control and put him in charge. Problem was, he suddenly realized it, the fact he couldn't actually feel the air entering his mouth and lungs. He tried to suck in harder, but without feedback it seemed like he was choking, loud gasps all that left his lips as his eyes widened in shock.
His hands came up to grab his throat as if to try and scrape any air into his lungs, but without the sense to feel, he collapsed and started to hyperventilate. Gurgling was the only sound that came out from his mouth, and Kenshi much preferred it to his constant yelling.
Yet, he was a hero, and maybe Izuku was rubbing off on him because he cut his fun short and let go of his quirk.
Bakugou's eyes were already filled with tears, his body was shaking in spasms, and his chest rose in sporadic expansions as he gasped for air despite having plenty of it.
The placebo effect was quite powerful afterall.
Kenshi, knowing he would be punished and did not want it to go any farther after Bakugou got his bearings, took the initiative to pack his things. The breathing patterns of all his classmates were slow and shaking, one he had long remembered as a sign of fear.
He could hear the desk and chair legs that scrape the tiles as they moved away from him as he walked toward the front of the class, the heartbeat of those around him beating rapidly like a drum roll, pencils and erasers undeterred as they fell to the ground, and the sound of people swallowing their spit a nice bow to wrap it all together.
They were afraid, just like his old elementary school students.
Kenshi suddenly stopped at the door, biting his lip and glancing over his shoulder.
"Sorry, teach."
He walked out, closing the door and calmly walking down the empty hallways, mind quiet as he made his way out of the school. All he could hear was the patter of his footsteps, the gentle wind that made his hair waver, and the few bugs that buzzed around.
He exhaled in frustration, decided to just go home and be done for today.
Although, halfway through his trip, he could not help but click his tongue in annoyance.
"Damnit, my perfect attendance."
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