Finished - November 30, 2022

Word Count - 4054

Music - Heart of Courage - Two - Invincible

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It was the last day of the winter break. The first day of a new semester started in the morning.

Even without students running amuck in the halls, the school was busy with activity. Teachers, professors and other faculty scrambled to get things ready for the new semester.

Amongst the ruckus, a secret meeting took place in one of the more important offices. The principal Nezu was in the midst of a discussion with several of his most trusted advisors and teachers.

Nezu, All Might and Aizawa sat in contemplation as a very anxious Yuu Takari paced the floor. His teeth picked nervously at his fingernails as his feet weaved divot's into the principal's office.

"Mr. Takari, please sit down." Nezu attempted to ease the agitated man.

"No no no." Yuu shook his head. "The letters keep coming, they are getting more frequent. This is bad."

The man was practically pulling his hair out and the bags under his eyes proved that he had not gotten sleep in days.

"Trust that we are doing everything we can." Aizawa pressed.

"We've lived here for over six months now, thats too long." Yuu wasn't listening to a word they were saying, his thoughts too overwhelming. "We've never stayed anywhere this long, something is going to happen."

All Might folded his hands together and examined the photos Yuu Takari had brought in as evidence. Dozends, if not a hundred printed photos of the student Allira. Paparazzi style, from a distance and all taken without her knowledge. Some of the photos had harsh words written upon them, one even with a large "X" scribbled out her face. This was definitely concerning.

Though, All Might couldn't help but notice a common thread in the more recent photos. One of his more beloved students, Bakugo Katsuki was in almost every one. Not always his face, but cropped out pieces of his uniform, hair or other details All Might recognized as Bakugo.

This fact eased him slightly. All Might knew how dedicated and passionate the young Bakugo was. If he had taken a liking to Allira, then she was in good hands.

"We should leave, it's not safe to stay any longer." Yuu was completely panicking.

"That would only be worse for Allira." Nezu explained.

"The principle is correct." Aizawa agreed. "She is finally comfortable here, making friends. You want to pull her away from that again?"

"Her safety is more important than her friendships." Yuu spat.

"Yuu, please." Nezu tried to deescalate the situation. "Your daughter is safer here, in our care than anywhere you could flee."

'Besides." All Might joined. "They obviously have no trouble tracking you down and finding you. Stay Takari. The time of running is over. Now you must stand your ground and be brave."

Yuu was never a fighter, he was a doctor. His wife Hisano, she was the brave one. Running was the only thing he knew how to do and over time it proved pointless. If he gave into their offer and gave them the keys, it meant that he had failed. He was unable to protect his own daughter and all his hard work was inconsequential.

In addition, it meant the situation was out of his hands. Yuu would be forced to put his faith in others, to trust that they would make the correct decisions and hope for the best. Yuu was never good at letting go either.

"Yuu." Nezu reached out gently. "May I ask a question?"

Yuu nodded, finally starting to calm down a bit.

"Why haven't you ever told Allira about this?" The principal asked.

Yuu debated whether he should be truthful or not. But realized this was over his head and he needed to bring in the professionals. He could no longer contain the danger by himself.

"She would think the worst of me, that I am being a coward. Allira is all I have and I can not lose her." Yuu paused. "But more importantly, she would know."

"She?" Aizawa asked, intrigued.

"She has a connection to Allira, through her quirk. If Allira knew, then she would undoubtedly take her."

"Takari, who are you talking about?" All Might pressed.

"She would take Allira away from me, just like she took Hisano." Tears formed in Yuu's eyes.

"Who is she?"

Yuu looked up, his eyes terror striken and whispered two words. The person responsible for all his trials, the name he promised never to cross his lips. Swore to never mention it in all his days. The villain that single handedly tore his family apart.

"Allira's grandmother."

A sudden hush washed over the room, no other explanation was needed. Every person in the room now understood the severity of this threat.

With the mention of this person, it struck fear into their hearts. It brought back painful memories of those they had lost and the awful events caused by this dreaded person.

The direct relative of Allira and Villain known as; the Blood Auror.

************

Allira was glad to start classes again, after the break she felt refreshed. Ready to start fresh and focus on her future. She was actually excited to begin training!

During the break she spent a lot of time creating her hero image. What her costume could look like, what gadgets would be helpful and other practical aspects of becoming a Hero.

She hadn't thought about this type of thing since she was a child, because she never thought this dream would come true. But now at U.A. it was a reality! She could actually be a Hero and live her childhood dream.

Thankfully, Allira had picked out her Hero name years ago. Even as a child, she knew what she wanted to be called.

Violet Ghost.

Which was an armada to her mothers Hero title, UltraViolet.

Countless hours were spent sketching, brainstorming and gathering information for her Hero image. She was able to send in a copy of her sketch for her costume to the professional taylors and her outfit should be ready in a few weeks.

More excitingly, she put in a work order for new equipment and they had already arrived. A pair of special combat boots with tiger's eye crystal laced into the soles, which allowed her to create more efficient platforms when walking on them.

Plus a set of effective sleeves that connected in the back, over her shoulders. The simple, long tubes slid over her arms and hooked over her middle finger. The fabric placed a tiger's eye perfectly into the palm of her hand. Which helped her focus attacks or shields with precise accuracy.

Lastly, a special visor made of labradorite. This would replace her daily glasses and allowed her to use her quirk to see clearly, regardless of her terrible eyesight. In addition, she could control its transparency at will, which worked as the perfect mask to hide her identity if needed.

With some ideas from her friends, she came up with new battle tactics and strategies too. For instance, Not only could her tiger's eye be used as a shield or platforms, but also weapons! Her current favorite being a large "shark-like" fin that protruded from the side of her forearms. A perfect defensive weapon for close combat, something she needed to work on.

The second idea came to her from Aizawa, he hinted at the idea of using her labradorite crystal to extend not only her senses, but also her mind. The idea of telekinesis was abstract and new to Allira, but she pocketed the idea to try another day.

All these and more did Allira bring to her first training session back to school. Each student was asked to wear their complete uniform and gadgets. Allira was forced to wear her gym clothes since her costume was still in the making, but all her new toys caught people's attention.

"You think fancy boots and shiny glasses are enough to beat me? Think again Squintz." Bakugo noticed her new items and complimented them in the only way he knew how. Plus, it was an effective way to start a conversation with his favorite person.

This wasn't the first time Allira had seen Bakugo's Hero costume, but the image never got old. She couldn't control where her eyes drifted, from his large gauntlets, to the pointy spikes attached to his ears.

The suit flattered him extremely well, which made sense because his parents worked in apparel. The cloth fabric covered almost every inch of his skin, to converse and collect the sweat from his body. The little exhaust holes provided oxygen and kept him from overheating.

Since it was just after the new year, he wore his winter uniform and Allira enjoyed every bit of his almost girlish figure.

"Hey, you wear your Hero boots almost everyday. Maybe I drew some inspiration." Allira greeted her friends as they arrived.

"How dare you copy me!" Bakugo yelled at her.

"Says the one with matching nail polish." Kaminari bravely teased from beside Bakugo.

At that moment Allira feared for Kaminari's safety, Bakugo looked about ready to pop in anger.

"I'd run if I were you." Midoriya advised.

Kanimari knew full well what he got himself into, he was one of the only people that could push Bakugo's buttons and live to tell the story. Needless to say, it became a game of cat and mouse. Bakugo chased the boy around the training room, shouting and screaming in rage. But Kaminari just laughed his way around the large open space.

Together the students waited for their teacher to arrive, ready for further instructions.  Thankfully they didn't have to wait long for Aizawa to enter the station. He also wore his Hero suit, which was a bit surprising to see. The extremely long, dangerous scarf hung over his shoulders. Almost as a warning to behave.

"Alright." The man grained their attention. "Welcome back, it's the first training session back from break."

Aizawa's eyes drifted over his students. "I see some of you have some new equipment, therefore I expect to see you use it. Improve with it, don't just rely on it. Use it  just enough that you can still survive without it."

The class nodded in agreement.

"Even though we've had a few weeks off, I expect you all to be better than when you left. Heroes don't take vacations and we need to be improving everyday, no matter what else is going on. Now, you'll be working with partners today. I have chosen the pairs, so I don't want to hear any complaints."

To her surprise, Allira was partnered with Kirishima. Aizawa recommended that Kirishima attempt to break through Allira's barriers. Which would improve his strength and Allira's shields.

Therefore this was exactly what they did. Kirishima and Allira found their designated area and went straight to work.

Palms out, Allira used her new gloves to create the strongest shield she could manage. Meanwhile, Kirishima hardened his shell and prepared to attack.

"You ready Takari?" Kirishima asked.

"Yeah, let's do this." Allira pushed her energy through the matching tigers eye and activated her purple shield.

"Here I come!" The boy raised his arms.

Kirishima crashed against the glowing wall, slashing his arms against the solid energy field. Allira felt the collision immediately and forced herself to stay strong. This was just the beginning.

Allira was able to keep the shield up for several minutes straight as Kirishima pounded and attacked vigorously. Though Allira was growing weary from maintaining the shield's strength for so long.

In addition, Kirishima had gotten frustrated with his lack of progress and took a new course. In an attempt to change things up, he ceased his direct advance. The boy spun his body around and attacked from the side.

This caught Allira off guard and she didn't have time to switch directions before he struck. Before, Allir had concentrated the majority of her energy into the exact spot where Kirishima had been attacking, which caused the remaining sides to weaken.

Without enough time to move her magic, Kirishima easily shattered her shield. Pain surged through as the purple shield broke into tiny pieces, leaving her vulnerable. Allira stifled her scream, forcing herself to swallow the discomfort without vocalizing.

She was able to jump away from Kirishima's attack before he made contact, but he had still broken through her first line of defense. She needed to rethink her approach.

From the corner of the training area, Bakugo recognized the familiar sound of Takari's shield breaking. The distinct noise brought panic into his heart. He knew exactly that it meant and exactly how painful it was for her.

Bakugo could tell that she was hiding it, for the sake of her partner and not to seem weak. Even if she wasn't letting it show, the pain was still there.

The thought worried him, that she was able to hide her pain so well. To go on fighting even when she was physically breaking inside.

He didn't have the same sense of anxiety for anyone else, only for Takari. Because he cared so much for her. The thought of her in pain was almost crippling. He couldn't imagine his reaction to her fighting an actual villain. His nerves would spike through the roof.

Nonetheless, he carried on and used the collar of his suit to hide the bottom part of his face, an easy way to conceal his bothersome emotions. He trusted in her strength that she would pull through. Takari was brave and could handle herself. He trusted that.

Allira learned quickly that her strategy needed to change.

The entire purpose of this training was to strengthen her shield and test her endurance. She was not meant to attack, but to simply stop Kirishima's advances.

She tried using multiple shields, layer by layer. But found that it took up the same amount of energy as one thick barrier. Allira explored different angles and techniques to see which one held Kirishima back the longest.

Yet the solid boy shattered every shield she created. She was completely exhausted and out of breath. Her legs could barely carry her weight as she gasped for air.

"I think you need a break." Kirishima offered, his face full of worry.

"No." Allira didn't want his pity, she needed to catch up! "Again!"

"Okay..." Kirishima obviously didn't want to continue, but he did as told.

The boy hardened his arms for the hundredth time and charged. They collided with sparks as Allira stood her ground, willing herself to stay strong. However, she could feel her energy leaving. Could sense the shield breaking.

At that moment, she had an idea. Just before the shield cracked, she sucked her magic back. The force field disappeared without warning and this gave Allira the upper hand.

In Kirishima's state of confusion Allira created another large shield and used it to push him back. Which caused Kirishima to stumble and fall backwards.

He looked up at her in shock, a massive smile upon his face. "Hey, you did it!"

Allira caught her breath as a sense of pride flooded her system, filling her with new energy.

"Now we're getting somewhere." She smirked.

The two students ran right back into battle, with a better understanding of what to do.

It was tricky, but Allira practiced this new technique. To sense exactly when her shield was weakening and deactivate it the moment before it would break. To retrieve her energy from the shield, thus saving her the pain from feeling it shatter.

They jumped around their designated area with ease, moving from platform to platform, predicting each other's movements. Spurts of light flying from the collisions of their quirks.

Until Aizawa grabbed his students' attention by speaking through a megaphone. "Alright, wrap it up."

Allira created one last platform to land upon as she and Kirishima ceased their midair movements. Catching them before they fell to the ground many feet below them.

It surprised Allira how well Kirishima performed in the air. He was able to use the tiles she created for her own mobility, jumping between them before they disappeared. She thought Kirishima would feel more comfortable upon the ground, but he didn't really have a fear of falling since he could harden himself as a rock. To turn into a literal cannonball.

"Nice work, that was awesome!" Kirishima pumped his fist.

"Thanks." Allira agreed. "Not too bad yourself."

"Come on, I'm in serious need of a shower." He lifted his arm to smell himself better, his nose wrinkling at the stench.

The action caused Allira to laugh as she slowly lowered her platform back to the floor.

One by one, the students gathered back to the locker rooms. They changed out of their Hero uniforms and back into their school clothes. Thankfully the school gave them enough time to shower and clean themselves properly after the grueling training period. Otherwise they would be forced to sit next to each other for the rest of the day, smelling like hot fish.

When Allira exited the locker room she saw Midoriya and Kaminari just leaving the boys area. They waved to her and smiled.

"Hey Takari, how did your training with Kirishima go?" Midoriya asked.

"Really good, I think I am finally getting a hang of shields." She answered.

"I wish I could figure out my own quirk." Kaminari sighed.

"You've gotten a lot better though." Midoriya laughed.

"Yeah, but I still short circuit too much." The boy dropped his head in defeat.

"You'll get there." Allira pat him on the back.

"Well, I could help but notice that Kacchan was watching your entire fight." Midoriya bumped Allira gently on her shoulder.

"Yeah?" Allira wasn't actually that surprised.

"He looked almost worried about you. As if he wanted to step in and stop your battle." His eyebrow lifted, most likely hinting at something.

"He was just probably jealous that I was fighting Kirishima, since they work together so much." Allira played dumb.

"Uh huh..." Midoriya was not buying any of her excuses. "Not as much as they used to, not nearly."

"Come on, he trains with you all the time too." She tried to keep her cheeks down from showing their blush.

Mirodiya shook his head. "Kacchan hardly trains with anyone besides you anymore."

"What are you guys talking about?" As usual, Kaminari was clueless about the situation.

"Well, in general; I've never seen Kacchan so relaxed." Midoriya looked forward with a soft smile. "Even when we were kids, he always seemed irritated with the world. He holds himself to an unreachable standard and pushes himself too far in attempts to reach that goal. But recently, he seems content with his situation. Almost happy. Real happy."

Allira debated on whether or not to reveal her secret, that she and Bakugo were together. She hadn't talked to him about the secrecy of their relationship and didn't know what to do. They were such a new couple, she wasn't sure if she was allowed to tell people or not.

"I-I..." She stuttered.

"You don't have to say anything." Mirodiya held up his hand, his expression soft. "I just wanted to thank you. I'm just happy that Kacchan has found someone he can feel comfortable with, a safe space where he can be himself. So thank you."

Allira held back the tears brimming in her eyes, but her lips trembled unwillingly.

"Take care of him for me." The boy asked almost sadly.

"I'll do my best." Allira nodded, understanding what he meant.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?" Kanimari had observed the entire conversation, but absorbed nothing. 

Allira and Midoriya laughed at Kanimari's ignorance and finished their conversation.

"Nothing?" Kaminari begged. "Come one guys, don't leave me out of the loop."

On their way back to the classroom, Allira thought more about what to say if people asked about her relationship with Bakugo.

Allira hadn't exactly told Midoriya about it, he simply figured it out. But should she have denied it? She didn't really want to, because she was happy with Bakugo. After months of self doubt and second guessing, she was finally able to accept her feelings for him. She didn't want to have to hide their relationship now.

But this wasn't something she could decide on her own, she wanted to make sure bakugo was comfortable with being public too. They were a couple and couples should make decisions together, at least that's what she was always taught.

When Kaminari opened the classroom door, Allira made eye contact with Bakugo immediately. He must have cleaned up quickly after training, because his hair was still wet from his shower. His usual spiky hair dropped slightly from dampness.

Before their class started Allira walked directly up to him. "Hey, can we talk for a second?"

Bakugo's expression turned curious and almost scared. She hardly ever approached him so directly. Therefore he obliged and they found the quietest corner of the room, before the rest of the class arrived.

"What's up, Squintz?" Bakugo asked, hands in his pockets.

"I'm sorry." Takari apologized. "I think Midoriya knows about us. I didn't tell him, but he figured it out."

Bakugo understood the situation, a bit frustrated that Deku of all people figured it out. But he wasn't mad, not at all. But it seemed like Takari thought he might be. She looked like she was confessing to a crime, that she deserved to be punished.

"What did you say?" Bakugo asked calmly, not wanting to scare her.

"Nothing, I didn't know how to answer." Takari reached for her necklace, the crystal glowing slightly from her quirk.

"Are you embarrassed about dating me?" Bakugo teased her, knowing this would lighten her spirits.

"No!" She lifted her head, her cheeks puffing up slightly.

"Then why didn't you tell him?" Bakugo chuckled at her adorable reaction.

"I wanted to talk to you about it first." Takari confessed. "I didn't know if you were ready to be public, since this is so new for both of us."

"Well, do you want to keep it a secret?" He asked, genuinely curious, because this topic hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Honestly? No." She spoke softly. "I've been hiding my whole life, I don't want to keep any more secrets. I'm happy with you Bakugo, I want people to know that."

Her answer shocked Bakugo, caught off guard by her forwardness.

"I mean...unless you want to keep it secret..." Takari started to backtrack, hoping she didn't offend him.

Bakugo took one look at the classroom, noting that everyone had come back and were scattered randomly around the room. Many were already looking in their direction, watching the two close students share a serious conversation from afar.

Without words, Bakugo answered her question and appeased her nerves all in one. He made sure that they were seen and lifted his hands to Takari's cheek. Gently and quickly he tilted her chin up and took her into a kiss.

The action was completely unexpected for Takari and her eyes widened, surprised by his sudden advance. But after a moment she relaxed and slid into his touch. Embracing the warmth that he provided in the cold winter month.

After a moment they parted, Bakugo's hand was still on the side of her face as he beckoned with his eyes to the rest of the class. "I think they figured it out."

Allira turned and saw every single pair of eyes glued to their little scene. Some people clapped, some looked disgusted by the pda, others cried and one looked shocked.

"Figure it out?" Mina rested a hand on her curved hip with attitude. "We knew before either of you."

"I totally called it!" Kirishima fist bumped Sero, who looked equally as excited.

"It was pretty obvious." Asui noted plainly.

"Even I saw it." Todoroki shook his head.

"What?" Kaminai, the only person oblivious, was in complete shock. "Since when?"

"Since practically day one, idiot." Jiro slapped him on the back of the head.

Allira felt embarrassed about this sudden reveal, clung to Bakugo's uniform jacket. She was used to being the center of attention and felt uncomfortable with so many eyes upon her. But these were not strangers, they were friends, and they were happy for her.

She couldn't deny it, Allira was happy. A positive emotion that she hadn't truly experienced in years. To feel comfortable in her own skin and in her lot in life.