Chương 26: Like Clay
Fighting alongside Izuku had made Katsuki more distorted than the idea of fighting the number one hero. When the exams started, he was fuming and could barely hold his sanity never mind his combat faculties, including his sharp intellect and power. This was what happened when he had to face Izuku for their first training exercise. The logic was irrelevant when it came to Izuku.
He wasn't willing to pause when Izuku attempted to strategize with him. The notion was like constant flicks against his skin, painless but irritable and slowly fueling his fury. Katsuki was becoming convinced that the universe was against him. After junior high, he had been almost hopeful that Izuku would be out of his life from that point. The quirkless wannabe hero would fall to reality and Katsuki could continue to sore without him in sight.
Now things had just gotten worse, having to cope not only with Izuku's presence but surrounded by so many that were ahead of him. Shouto Todoroki had been his first prime example, after he saw Shouto's display of power along with losing the training exercise to Izuku's team he nearly buckled then and there.
Things only became worse when Sakura Haruno came into the picture and exceeded everyone in their class. Including him. Katsuki was observant, more than his classmates were of the girl and he eventually saw that she did not show her real strength. Or at least that's something she finally allowed them to see about her.
Even he couldn't believe the raw power she possessed and as if that wasn't enough she had healing and now has revealed even more abilities.
And she had to show it off on the day he needed to have complete focus on this practical. There was no way she was honest about her quirk. What pissed him off was that every time he thought he was getting closer to the goal, she proved to be another lap ahead.
The state all of this put him in did not bode well for his exam, but he was determined to fight against all odds, even if one of those odds was the number one hero.
He was determined to surpass Izuku and Sakura, but now he would be graded with his childhood friend of all people. If it was a way to expose their weakness, Katsuki would say (never out loud) that they had done a good job.
When the exams began, he charged forward to face Toshinori. He wanted to win without Izuku, or he refused to win at all. Either way, Katsuki was willing to wreck his body if it meant he could come out on top by himself. But even that wasn't enough, when he faced the strength of the hero he admired since a child, Katsuki already knew he wouldn't be able to defeat him in his current condition.
All Might had years on him, and strength he couldn't hope to reach, but with his quirk, Katsuki had been given confidence that he would always be able to reach his goals. Those beliefs and confidence built from years of vain compliments and his unusual talent of becoming good at everything he does were being shattered by barely a handful of classmates. Izuku, who he loathed. Shouto that overpowered him in firepower. And Sakura stood on top of everyone without breaking a sweat.
When Katsuki observed his classmates he could tell what they were lacking, their weaknesses easy to spot. But Sakura; as far as he could see she lacked in nothing. That was infuriating.
Before high school, Katsuki had encountered that sludge villain, and he almost lost his life. Yet Izuku, quirkless at the time rushed in to save him until All Might showed up to do the job. Katsuki was praised for his efforts and quirk, and the incident had stuck with him but he didn't see it as a positive. Then he learns about a girl who also encountered a villain and took him down. It had to be her.
Katsuki didn't want to admit that he was already behind Sakura before they were classmates. If he didn't go to this training camp, he might fall further behind her and he refused to let that happen.
So eventually Katsuki was able to barely stomach teaming up with Izuku to defeat Toshinori. They were jumping between fighting and running so that they had a chance to reach the escape gate. Of course, their teacher didn't make it easy. Even with the weights, in truth, they were barely anything for a man who could punch a storm into existence. His punches could still clear buildings from the ground and remove roads with mere wind pressure, his speed remained blinding and neither Izuku nor Katsuki could see him coming.
That was just a reminder of how powerful the man was.
Katsuki wasn't even sure if they had passed because while distracting Toshinori so Izuku could get to the escape gate, he fell unconscious.
'Shitty nerd better make it out,'
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Katsuki's throat was dry like he swallowed dust, his bones felt on the verge of snapping like bent twigs, and his vision was blurred for about two minutes after opening his eyes. But he could easily identify the blob of pink when it was coupled with his pain and injuries disappearing.
"The hell you doing Fivehead?"
It wasn't Sakura that responded to him though, but Chiyo. "I invited Haruno to take a look over your and Midoriya's injuries since All Might beat you two so bad I couldn't completely heal you with your remaining stamina."
After the internship, Chiyo was more comfortable with Sakura's healing ability that she allowed the girl to take over in this particular case since Izuku and Katsuki were hurt quite a bit and had run up a lot of stamina that could have been used to aid in their healing.
He grunted, turning to the empty hospital bed with ruffled sheets to show that Izuku had been here as well. But it looked like he was already up, figures since Katsuki had taken the brunt of All Might's force. Katsuki pushed on his elbows to sit up, but he was too fast and that made his head rush, his balance lost and his vision slipped.
Sakura caught his weight, his head fell on her shoulder and he felt just how small she was in comparison to him. Small but not weaker.
"Let go of me,"
"When you're back on the bed, I still need to finish healing you," She was firm, but this was a different tone to the uncaring or sarcastic one she usually took with him.
He scoffed, "Go play nurse with someone else,"
"I don't play when it comes to healing," Again she was firm, forcing him back to the bed.
Chiyo also interjected, "You won't be going anywhere until Haruno says you're healed enough. I'll be in the monitor room to watch the remaining matches in case someone else needs to come through, call if there are any issues,"
"Yes ma'am," Sakura replied as the door closed behind them.
"I don't care what the old lady says, I ain't sitting around here letting you-
"Whatever misgivings you have about me, isn't my concern," Sakura said firmly pushing on Katsuki's chest where she knew he would still be in pain, he clenched his teeth just to keep from groaning with pain. Her hand glowed light green, and the pain dissipated but he could feel his blood boiling.
He stayed still, letting her check over his injuries that were now gone, Katsuki watched as every blooming bruise withered away, every opening on his skin closed and all the pain with his movements vanished.
Flexing his fingers, Katsuki attempted to keep the awe out of his expression but Sakura could see it in his eyes. "Don't expect a damn thanks,"
"I don't expect anything for healing someone, other than their health."
"Fucking good for you,"
Sakura went to the basin to wash her hands though they were already clean, taking on her old habits from working at the hospital.
"Congratulations on passing,"
He passed. Katsuki let out a shallow breath, he would be going to the training camp, and he would be able to improve and continue to work to surpass everyone. The exams just reminded him of what he saw back in the monitoring room.
"How the hell are you able to control water, that doesn't have shit to do with healing or super strength," He was demanding his answers, but he knew by now Sakura couldn't be intimidated into giving them.
She doesn't want to agitate him, she doesn't want to interact with him, she doesn't care but that's exactly what pisses him off because while she is busy frazzling him, Sakura isn't the least bit fazed.
"You're half right about that. In my case, it doesn't and it does," Sakura dried off her hands and crossed them, leaning on the opposite side of the room.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Katsuki threw his legs over the bed and stood up firmly, his strength back.
She shrugged mockingly and went for the door when Katsuki rushed to her slamming it closed again. His arm leaning on top of her head as he attempted to tower over her, shadowing her form but not the light in her eyes. She had a slight scent of sanitizer, but no sweat or dampness, of course, not even facing a pro could exhaust her.
"Don't fucking ignore me." He seethed, "Just wait one day I'm gonna-
"Beat me? Let me give you some advice that might help you," Sakura raised her chin, "Stop obsessing over crushing everyone around you and focus more on improving your skills because from where I'm standing those haven't gone anywhere with your threats,"
"What you say?" Katsuki glowered, getting closer to her face.
"You're griping and constantly attacking with empty words when you should be focusing on beating your limits because I promise they aren't comparing to mine. Get over yourself and get stronger or get left behind,"
Katsuki wanted to deny that she was better right now, but he was going to get passed her soon. He wanted to make that declaration, spit it out in her face but he couldn't. His tongue was so slack he wanted to bite it just to feel if it was still there. Instead, he pushed away and walked out of the door quietly.
Sakura didn't glance at him.
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"Although Sero made it through the gate it was by Mineta's hand, so he's going to count as a fail for the practical," Shouta stated, lifting the page on his clipboard. Results had been finalized in the meeting room where the teachers collectively looked back on the examination videos to determine the scores for their students.
Only one student had failed in class B while class A had a total of five that hadn't managed to make it through the practical. Even so, they were all going to be in for a surprise when it came to the summer training camp.
"I think they did quite well, despite being so green," said Nemuri.
"I agree, they're growing fast," said Ectoplasm.
"Still not where we need them to be," Shouta said. Had it been any of his previous classes, Shouta would say that they've all exceeded his expectations in comparison to other first years, but they were going to have to be even better than what had been planned for them. The league of villains was still out there and this training camp was a matter of preparing them for the worst that wasn't meant to come in their school years.
He hoped they were going to rise to this challenge as they had to so many others.
"Isn't anyone going to talk about how I was almost waterboarded by a student?" Hizashi exclaimed. He was still feeling it from his encounter with Sakura. He hadn't taken any of her punches thankfully, because he knew he couldn't. Even so, this wasn't much of an improvement.
Toshinori coughed, swallowing back a bit of blood, "I don't think it was that dire, but Haruno did surprise me,"
Nezu folded his hands over each other, propping himself on his seat to look over the table. "I think it's clear that Haruno hasn't been forthcoming about her quirk but that's not a crime,"
Toshinori was doing the same thing regarding One for All. They could hardly fault her, even if it lead to a few surprises. Nezu thought he could deduce her ability from observation, but she was able to accomplish too much for it to be variations of a single quirk. But if it was multiple quirks, there was another concern, because the few who proved to have multiple quirks were not friends.
"She's a troublesome youth, that's all," Nemuri waved. "With what she's been through perhaps that's just how she prefers to behave,"
"It's not an excuse for her behavior," Shouta said curtly. While he would admit this was the best class he had in his line of teaching, it was also the worst and attracted so much mischief he was losing even more sleep trying to keep track.
"I don't believe she means to cause any harm," Nezu said "And her way of thinking is just different to most of the students,"
It seemed that Nezu was giving excuses for the girl, but no one refuted, "I've already called her in to explain what happened with her quirk, and she explained the truth behind her ability,"
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"Like clay?" Keigo stared dead-eyed at the pink-haired girl as she roamed around the kitchen taking out some soda cans to go with the takeout he brought.
Sakura wasn't even surprised when Keigo appeared at her doorstep, and she immediately told him before he could threaten her or bribe her with food. It had come to a point now where explanations were better than withholding the truth. She just didn't have to tell the whole truth.
"Yes,"
Keigo leaned along the counter, "Anything else I can put in for my report back to the commission, who has been giving me an earful about you again. I just want to silence the voices if you don't mind,"
"I don't mind," Sakura said with a smug glint in her eyes, and Keigo understood the silent add of, 'if the commission gives you an earful,'
"Fine, I'll just come by tomorrow night and see how you feel then, and the night after that, and the night after that-
"At some point this becomes harassment," Sakura hissed.
"Not when it's your charge," Whether Keigo told the truth or not, in this case, wasn't easy to realize, since he was assigned to observe her, on the other, he also had a job as a hero. That didn't leave a lot of time to make house calls.
Despite expressing her displeasure, Sakura decided to elaborate at her will. "What I did at the exam was just an extension of my quirk,"
"That's a wide stretch from healing and cloning,"
"Not as much as you think," Keigo was watching her carefully, checking her body language, the way her eyes moved, even seeing if her breathing had changed. And Sakura realized this, as she sat down next to him.
"So one quirk that allows different abilities. And are there any other abilities this quirk enables?"
Sakura threw her head back dramatically, "I wonder,"
When it came to prying information out of Sakura, it was like trying to open a bank vault with a paperclip. She had some come back to everything and hadn't given too many details he thought were noteworthy to return to the commission. He'd thought that with time, he'd be able to negotiate some cooperation with her but hadn't made as much headway as he had initially calculated.
"You don't make this guardian thing easy you know,"
"Your job description doesn't have anything to do with me," Sakura countered, and Keigo laughed.
"True, but after all this time I think I could get a little more trust,"
"I'm like this with everyone," Sakura promised instead of denying or agreeing to the notion that she didn't trust him.
"Well, you could be a little more forgoing with the guy that brings you dinner every week,"
He snapped the chopsticks in half, swirling them in the ramen bowl. The steam rose into the air quietly. It was only when Keigo had his mouth full of noodles, that Sakura decided to speak again.
"What's your name?"
He stopped chewing midway but went back to doing it when he knew the implication it would bring. Sakura had already noticed though.
"That's a strange question, you know my name,"
"I know your hero name," Well-known heroes were not granted a lot of privacy, or at least the glamor of the job shouldn't have allowed them to. But certain heroes, like All Might, Endeavor, and Hawks, were able to shroud their personal lives from the media.
It was ironic since one of the key messages U.A was giving its students was that ambiguity wasn't a privilege they would be granted if they took on the role of heroes. Seemed that many could obtain it though.
"Looking forward to the training camp?" Keigo slurped up a mouthful of noodles waiting for Sakura to respond, but she took a second longer. He was more consumed with changing the topic of conversation that he hadn't noticed that something in her eyes changed, but even Sakura realized this and kept her head down looking into the ramen bowl.
"Yeah," If he was paying attention he would have realized Sakura's slip in tone. He would have known that she was lying.
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Tokyo was a city of light, literally. Almost every inch was illuminated in the dark, yet it was a stark contrast to the inside of a dingy bar. The building was barely kept or furnished, only enough to support the charade of a drinking establishment. Made it easy for odd characters to appear generic and in plain sight.
Sakura grimaced behind her mask, as the smoke hit her nose, like a hand falling over and suffocating her. She maintained a neutral expression in her eyes, as the man took the cigarette from between his lips and offered it to her.
"I don't smoke,"
He chuckled, showing off his teeth, one front missing. His eyes were droopy but filled with greed. He swept a hand through his gray hair. "And a drink?" He gestured.
"I don't drink,"
"I wouldn't poison potential clients, that's just bad business,"
"Considering the clients you tend to take," She argued. "Giran,"
He sighed, leaning back into the leather seats, "I've heard a lot about you from certain circles, I wouldn't do anything to earn your ire. But I am curious what the great Nemesis could want from me?"
Sakura leaned towards him across the table, "Word is you are one of the best brokers, and you can get a hold of anything a client needs,"
"Well for a price. So what do you need?"
"Information,"
Giran pulled his thick lips together, "That's it? Rather disappointing,"
Digging into the pocket of her jacket, Sakura threw and enveloped heavily creased and heavy in weight. Giran wasted no time in checking the contents to ensure that she delivered well what he demanded his services. He slipped out a few of the bills, running his fingers along with them. "That's the deposit, you'll get the rest when you give me what I want,"
"What sort of information do you want?"
"Anyone with a quirk that allows teleportation,"
Giran put down the envelope, "It might take some time to gather the information, but I already know of certain individuals with this rare type of quirk, but what interest do you have in it?"
"I paid you extra to keep your curiosity to yourself,"
He raised his hands in submission, "Fine, fine. As for the individuals I already know, if you require their services, I'm afraid they'll be charging you separately."
Giran already figured she intended to use someone with a teleport quirk, but he didn't know the purpose.
"Would this individual be from the League of Villains?"
His grin stretched to a disturbing length, "Perhaps,"
Sakura knew that this group wasn't gone, the leader had escaped and they had unleashed more Nomu in Hosu city at the same time Stain was attacking. Some theorized that there was a correlation and that the hero killer might have been working with the league. But Sakura hadn't given it much of an opinion. Since fighting Stain had been a stark contrast to dealing with the League.
Stain expressed a desire to be defeated only by All Might, while the league sought to destroy the symbol of Peace.
'That's the reason they attacked the USJ, in the first place,' Sakura told herself. They weren't after the students, but the number one hero. And the attack at Hosu had resulted only in other heroes being taken on, not her classmates, although they were caught in the crossfire since internships were happening at the time.
Whatever the League's issue was, Sakura believed it lay with the heroes, not her classmates. Besides she hadn't thought Tomura much of a threat after his tantrum. Kurogiri would have been an ideal target, but if she took to trying to get help from him, she didn't know how she would go about it. Regardless of the title villain, she was more concerned with their demeanor that was heinous. Certain information needed to be kept, and Sakura had to find someone willing to play dumb while fulfilling her request.
"I need information first, including the distance and restrictions of each quirk. Besides this is the league, what fee would they want?" Sakura asked, leaning back against the seat. That mist villain Kurogiri had come to mind before, but finding a teleport quirk wasn't the hardest part of her agenda, it was using it to return to her dimension. That was a power so rare that barely a handful in her world could do it. She had one interpretation that might work, one idea but it would mean the revelation of more than she wanted.
"Well, they might be interested in your particular talents. You're undefeated in the underground fighting rings, and your strength is a marvel. One-Punch Nemesis,"
Her efforts to operate underground at least hadn't gone to waste, she was integrated into the outskirts of this circle and it had brought her information on the broker Giran. He was a man that could help his clients with almost any needs and through any means. Sakura realized that she needed this type of willingness.
"Why would the League want me?" She knew this was a risky question, but it occurred to her that Giran admitted they were on the move. Sakura would leave it to the heroes to deal with, but if it came to the students, to her classmates…..she didn't know.
"That purpose isn't relevant unless you're interested,"
"I'm not," Sakura answered too quickly. Her patience was lost on this world, that's why she turned to Giran for information. He was an option she was sitting on for a while but hadn't wanted to resort to just yet. "Just get what I asked for,"
Doing her information gathering in a world that was completely foreign to her, had caused too many delays, as had school. She realized that this was a world of fast information, but she was behind on the execution. So it was time to turn to a third party.
"Of course, Nemesis,"
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After the exams, normal classes resumed the next day but unfortunately, not everyone was energetic as usual. Especially anyone who had failed the practical. Mina, Denki, Eijirou, Rikido, and even Hanta were visibly dismal until Shouta came into the classroom and announced that in regards to the training camp, everyone was going.
The reason for putting the training camp on the line is as a means to encourage the students to push their limits. Although Tenya was less than pleased they were tricked once again by their homeroom teacher.
At the end of the day though everyone was looking at the training camp brochures and had forgotten all about the teacher's blatant deceit.
"The training camps are a week-long," Tenya said, Izuku glanced over him.
"We'll have to bring a lot with us,"
"I don't even have a bathing suit or anything," said Denki, and more of class A joined in listing everything they needed to get for a week in the woods.
"Doesn't sound like anyone does a lot of camping," Sakura said.
Ochaco looked at her, nodding, "What about you Sakura? Do you camp?" A chuckle left the pink-headed girl.
"A lot with friends,"
Toru jumped in, "Since we're off tomorrow and exams are finally over, why don't we all go shopping together!"
"That's a great idea! It'd be the first time we all hang out together after school!" Denki said excitedly. Although there were a few that immediately declined the offer, such as Katsuki who couldn't find the prospect more irritating, and Shouto, who visited his mother on his days off.
"Are you coming?" asked Izuku.
Sakura shook her head, "I've got plans, I don't need anything when it comes to camping,"
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"I don't know what I'm doing!"
"Don't swerve your body with the control and push the buttons! You're killing us out here!"
"NOOOOO" Sakura cried dramatically, as her avatar was killed and the screen flashed the ranking results. With Sakura's being right at the bottom and Hitoshi who had teamed up with her, joining. Licht gave a dramatic meow mimicking Sakura, digging his paws into her lap to get attention. She scratched behind his ear, listening to him purr.
"Well, I don't think I've ever lost that badly at a game," Hitoshi said but was smiling. "Have you ever played video games before?"
"My friends preferred to take everything outdoors, we didn't sit still together," Hitoshi shifted to lean back on the wall, and a few packets of chips and other junk foods moved with him. Sakura appeared with what looked like half a convenience store, asking to spend the day at his house. They started with a movie and ended up playing video games for almost three hours, well most of it was Hitoshi trying to explain to Sakura how to use a controller.
"That explains why you can barely work a controller or a phone,"
The closest Sakura and her friends came to using cellphones were radio communicators. And they had board games or cards, but it was something they rarely indulged in, especially with their occupations.
"I spent most of my time training. I didn't get this good just by twiddling my thumbs," Sakura countered.
"That explains how you're so good. I heard the heroics classes will have a training camp over break. Aizawa-sensei isn't looking forward to it apparently, but he's got a lot lined up,"
"I still can't believe he's training you now,"
"I can't believe he hasn't strangled you with his scarf, he's got a short fuse when it comes to you,"
Sakura exhaled, realizing Shouta must've been complaining to her even to Hitoshi. The two were often together at school, and she always opted for staying with him rather than with any classmates. "I think he just has low tolerance because he's sleep-deprived,"
"Tell that to him and let me know what happens,"
Licht cried for attention again, pawing at Hitoshi's leg so he'd get picked up and stroked. Sakura could tell Hitoshi spoiled the kitten. She even commented that he was fatter than when she last saw him.
"This little guy is so plumpy now," Sakura cooed, stroking the cat's stomach.
"He's not plump, he's perfectly healthy and I do not overfeed him,"
"Sure, tell that to the defensive tone,"
Hitoshi attempted to smack her with a pillow, but she caught it. "I'd say we owe our dysfunctional friendship to this little guy, so don't make fun of him,"
"We do don't we?"
"He's always a reminder of how we met," Hitoshi affirmed. He felt Sakura staring at him, and certainly with a feather-soft expression, her usually hard emerald eyes were like liquid, with her lips curved gently. It was breathtaking since Hitoshi hadn't seen her make this type of face before.
She looked more firm than most girls, her expressions could be exaggerated and she wasn't afraid to make them so no matter the degree of appeal or lack of. When she healed, she had a razor-sharp expression of focus, and when she fought she was vigilant.
But right now this expression on her face and vulnerability in her eyes made him worry.
"Sakura?"
"I'm glad we met Hitoshi," She said, closing her eyes. "Thank you for everything,"
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'This is enough,' The zipper slid shut on the neatly packed supplies, well-stocked in her camping bag with a sleeping sack tucked under. She went back to her bed where her weapons were laid out neatly, before rolling them up in the pouch. Her stockpile of poisons was carefully sorted in a different pouch with as many of the rarer herbs as she could hold in her bag.
'It wouldn't be good if someone started sifting through and accidentally poison themselves,' and she was certain that someone would start looking through what was left of her belongings once she was gone. The deal with the commission had been she could stay on her own if she attended U.A. but that deal was going to become null and void.
The summer break was the perfect chance to walk away from all of this. There was a short reprieve before the training camp was due, and she was taking that chance to cover as much ground and get out from under the radar. A few days was a lot for a ninja.
It was obvious that she wouldn't be learning any more useful information from the school or through legitimate links, and as long as Giran could provide her with a list of potential candidates to secure her passage home, then being a student was pointless.
In the mirror, she saw the headband reflect the symbol of her village. A symbol that didn't exist in this world, and one she could only embrace as a charade. She took off the headband and threw it to the side.
"It's not real,"
There was no future for her in this world. But she had been drawing closer to the people in it, and that intern was integrating her further, making it harder to pull away. She wanted to see Naruto and Sasuke once again, she wanted to see her village rebuilt, and she wanted to greet her teachers and go to the graves of her departed allies and friends.
She wanted her place returned.
With that in mind, Sakura tossed her phone on the bed and began gathering her luggage. She learned that cell phones could be traced, and she didn't want to have to fight off people if they decided to come looking for her. Whatever the commission was aiming they wouldn't achieve it, and Hawks was probably in a for a hard time but she could live with that.
Just as the weight of the bag had settled on her shoulders, the slightly piercing echo of the default ringtone of her phone set off.
Ignore it. She continued to move across the room, to gather the rest of her belongings, which wasn't much but enough for her to survive. But the phone hadn't stopped ringing.
"Urgh!" Sakura marched over, determined to hit ignore when she saw the screen number. She pressed the green button and held it to her ear.
"Sakura, are you okay?"
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