Chapter 30

Silence.

Izuku heard nothing. There was just silence. The abandoned warehouse he found himself in was dark, the only light being the stream of sunlight coming from multiple holes in the roof. He scanned the building, quietly. His hands found his pockets as he tilted his head to stare at the ceiling. Multiple birds were seated on the supporting beams, oddly enough they didn't move or make a sound. It was as if even they feared the deafening silence. A silence that didn't seem to belong in the abandoned building. The silence was accompanied with the feeling of being watched. Izuku subtly looked around, trying to uncover the person he felt was watching him. Someone had to be watching him. He took in the entire building, carefully observing. He was quick to detect any possible hiding spots and try to deduce whether there was actually someone there with him.

At some point he did a three sixty and did indeed locate someone. Upon spotting them he just stared unmoving . He wasn't tensed or worried. He didn't ready himself for a fight. He didn't make plans of escape. He didn't activate his quirk.

There was a chuckle and the person stepped out of the shadows. Their hood was pulled down to reveal a woman in her early twenties. She had an amused smile on her face as she eyed the calm Izuku.

"Kudos for finding me so quickly" her voice was cheerful and her stance indicated no harm. Black eyes scanned Izuku from head to toe with interested. "Did you come here for training, kid? "

Izuku nodded carefully eying the woman.

"Either you've got guts or you just don't care about your life" the woman said, still eyeing the boy. "You're the first to come here. I commend you"

As she spoke she was tying her dark hair into a pony tail. She never took her eyes off the quiet Izuku. She started circling, taking in his build. Izuku wasn't sure what she was looking for but he let her circle him.

"It seems you've got muscles in all the right places. Pretty lean. That allows flexibility and speed" she said as she came to stop in front of him. "That alone let's me know which style of fighting suits you best"

She stepped back, smiling. She tugged on the fingerless gloves she adorned and adjusted her stance.

"Trial run"

That is all she said before she was suddenly in front of the quiet Izuku. He was actually surprised and narrowly dodged her attack. The minute he did another was aimed at him out of nowhere and he got hit. The woman just repositioned her body for another attack within seconds. Izuku stumbled back but did not allow himself to fall. The woman was impossibly fast and surprisingly strong. With a deep breath Izuku took on a stance. One he wasn't too sure about, but it was better than nothing. He stood and tried to be prepared for her next move.

He was not. Within the blink of an eye the woman was behind him with a low kick. At least that's what he thought she was doing. When he jumped she jabbed him in the neck with quick succession. Where in the world did that even come from? It hurt like hell. Izuku could feel tears coming up, but pushed them away.

He felt seriously dizzy too.

She was coming at him again and he tried to use his quirk this time. He wasn't immediately aware of it. He didn't plan on using his quirk. When he tried, nothing happened. He was confused. He couldn't use his quirk. The woman only smiled brighter, her fist coming to stop just inches from Izuku's face.

"Trial is over" she took a step back, still smiling. "You don't know the first thing about fighting, but you're pretty quickly on your feet and you at least tried to fight back"

Izuku nodded but eyed his hands in question. He tried to use his quirk again and it worked. A nearby chair drifted into the air.

"What? "

"Oh yeah, you must have tried to use your quirk at some point" the woman said casually. "My quirk allows me to cancel the quirk of others within a 360 feet radius" she informed with that smile still intact.

"Is that your only quirk? "

"Why would you ask that? "An eyebrow was raised.

"Your reflexes are impressively fast. It was as if you were moving automatically rather than manually" Izuku said. He had observed this during their small and very unfair fight. Maybe her reflexes are just something she trained hard to achieve and does them automatically because of said training.

"Very observant, I like you" she chuckled. "Automatic reflexes and full control of my body that is what my second quirk allows"

Why was she so open?

"What's your name kid? "

"Izuku"

"Well it's nice to meet ya, Izuku. I go by Kioka" she saluted. "Now then, I will be your trusty instructor and turn you into a badass fighter in no time at all"

"Why do this for free? "

"Because I want to" She smiled and immediately changed the subject. "Kid, today was nothing but a trial. We officially start tomorrow. You get yourself here after school on weekdays. On weekend you arrive at eleven. "

Izuku nodded.

"Great, don't bother bringing food or water" she said,smiling innocently.

Izuku wanted to ask, but decided to leave it. This woman was odd enough as it is.

"Now that we've come to terms and all of that, it's time for you to go"

~~~~~~~~

Kioka was still smiling as she watched Izuku walk off. She was placed on a supporting beam, just watching him. Her smile was knowing and so were her yes. She sighed and looked at the sun that was soon to set. Izuku Midoriya, huh? She adjusted her position to be leaning back, staring at the ceiling. Interesting kid. She was curious. Why would this kid try to kill himself? The news report only said he committed suicide and nothing more. At least they have that much respect. Why would they have to display such a thing on the news in the first place? Another sigh and she jumped off the beam. She fished out her phone, which had been vibrating for some time now.

"Worried about me, big brother? "Her voice was teasing when she answered the phone. She grinned at the sigh she heard on the other end.

"Why must you be such a child. Get your ass back home. Don't tell me you're at the warehouse"

"What if I am? "

"You trying to bait kids is worrysome"

"I'm not trying to bait kids. There's just this one kid I would like to meet and such"

"Sure, but get your ass back home"

"You're not even going to ask if I met the kid of not? " she sounded very disappointed as she stepped out of the warehouse. Her brother hardly took interest in the things she did, so it was hardly a surprise.

"No, no I'm not"

"But I'm going to tell you" she chuckled with pure amusement. "I did meet the kid and I'm very happy today"

"I'm not going to ask" came the exhausted sigh of her brother. "I just got back from work and need to head out again in just three hours. I don't have time to scold my annoying sister"

"That's cold"

"Get your ass back home"

"Yes sir"

The call was ended and she pocketed her phone. Her brother had to go out again and he was obviously exhausted. Serves him right. Who the hell told him to be a hero of the night? Although it's understandable and really suits him. It helps that he doesn't get much recognition. He likes things that way. He chose his job and he still manages to complain about it. She wondered if he'll even get any sleep in the three hours of freedom he has.

She chuckled when she remembered what he'll be doing in a few months.

Him a teacher.

She almost burst out laughing.

His sleeping schedule is out the window. Although it's not his first year of being a teacher it's still so amusing whenever she thought about it. She wondered if he even taught anything. You can't teach anything if you have no class. The guy just expels entire classes so casually and then goes to sleep.

Being a teacher sounds like a lot of work. How was he convinced to take on such a job?

"The mysteries of life,I suppose"

~~~~~~~~

Natsumi sighed and rubbed her temples. Of course. She stared down at her documents, ignoring what was taking place in front of her. Of course. She already had a bad feeling but she ignored it. She should have listened to her gut. Today was not the best day for these two to be at her workplace. She should've left Kuriko home. But no. She had to take the kid out for ice cream and stop at work on the way. She felt as if she made the biggest mistake yet.

Just imagine the shock when she walked into her office to soon be joined by the hero number two.

Yeah, the hero no one really likes and the one Kuriko despises.

He was standing right in front of her desk and Kuriko had her ice cold gaze on him. She was in the corner of the office, sitting on the floor and just watching the man. Her expression was unreadable, but Natsumi didn't think she was very happy.

And suddenly the intensity of her gaze shifted tremendously. So much so that Natsumi saw Endeavor go rigid.

Not good.

She sighed but did nothing.

Its not like she liked the man enough to put a stop to Kuriko's gaze. And she didn't like him enough to stop Kuriko from doing him any form of harm.

She'll just watch for now and step in when or if Kuriko took things a tad too far.

~~~~~~~~

Endeavor felt a chill all over his body. He felt cold and was getting colder still. He knew someone was watching him . He had walked right past the girl who was seated in the corner. She was obviously the one watching him, but how is her gaze affecting him so? This cold he felt was like never before. He couldn't move. He wanted to. He wanted to face the child and demand to know why she was staring at him. Such disrespect she was showing. But he could not move.

He felt this sensation in the back of his head. As if something was trying to take hold of him. It was sickening. For some reason he knew that if that sensation fully consumed him he would be in for a terrible ride. The feeling could only be described as darkness. That was all he could think of. Pure darkness that was threatening to claim him .

He forced himself to turn around. To meet the eyes of the teenager who was eyeing. The minute he did the feelings got worse. Those eyes bore into him. Chilling him to the bone and making it very hard for him to breathe. He couldn't understand what was happening and how this child was doing it. How could a child make him feel like prey? Endeavor. The number two hero. The man who will be. Number one. The man with the power. How could she make him feel so small and brittle. How could she make him feel like he was cornered and could not escape?

She was but a child.

He took a shaking breath when the feeling suddenly disappeared. Not completely however. The girl was still eying him and he still felt a chill, but it wasn't as intense. It was now bareable and he could now aim an angered glare at the child.

How dare she?

"What have you done child? " he questioned. "Do you not know who you're staring at? "

She tilted her head. One would think she was inquisitive, but he knew she was mocking him. She wasn't taking him serious. It made him boil with anger. This child. Does she not know who stood before her? Things got even worse when she showed him the finger so very casually .

His glare increased in intensity, but was suddenly outclassed by a cold glare from the child he was so angry at.

The chill was almost painful now. A sense of danger crept up on him. He was in danger. This child was making him feel that. This child was causing his body to warn him of danger. What danger could this child possibly oppose him of all people?

Death to those unworthy.

Those words were in his head and he flinched. He somehow knew who had put those words in his head. It was the girl. Death to those unworthy and from the way she was looking at him she deemed him unworthy.

This child.

"Kuriko"

At her name she looked away from the hero. The chill was gone. The sense of danger went with it. The hero still eyed the girl cautiously. She pulled a book out of nowhere and began to read, ignoring him now.

This child was a hit to his pride.

~~~~~~~~

Natsumi couldn't really say she felt bad for what Endeavor must have went through. Whatever he felt and whatever thought Kuriko fed him was well deserved. But she had to stop the girl when she noticed the look she adopted. She would've harmed him had she not ended it. That cold look. The one she only spares for those she deemed as worthless scum. The look was lacking any actual emotion and could drown anyone in its intensity. The look was truly frightening, at least to her.

She had little interest in the number two's business. He clearly came to talk about the case with his sister. He wasn't helping his case. He could care less about his older children. The youngest must remain with him.

No.

That was not happening. Natsumi has never once disappointed a client. She's never once failed. Eren is her client and she shall not disappoint. She wants the kids. She has brought up enough evidence of Endeavor being a terrible and abusive father. The kids are clearly not happy. She will not allow them them suffer any longer.

Endeavor had left, clearly angered by what he was told. Once he was gone Natsumi looked to Kuriko who was now very interested in her book.

"About your friend Kuriko"

The girl spared her a glance.

Natsumi had met Toga and she had found out a lot. Everything actually. It's just how her quirk works. She found her discoveries to be interesting. She didn't know if she should be worried about Kuriko or proud. Toga was obviously an interesting character. Her mindset wasn't completely 100% but she wasn't totally unstable either. She was a very smart girl and seems to be very well mannered when she should be. It's everything else that's concerning.

Natsumi hardly cared about her quirk. A quirk is a quirk no matter what it actually is. If her quirk involved blood, so be it. She wasn't going to try to keep Kuriko away from her because of that. Nor was she going to say anything about the girl constantly being fed Kuriko's blood.

However.

There are some concerning factors.

One of them is the fact that she actually killed around four or five people and brutally stabbed another.

A fact that Kuriko didn't seem to care about.

That was very concerning.

"Kuriko where do I even start? "

Kuriko raised an eyebrow. She put her book away and made her gestures.

"I know you don't care, but still"

She made a couple more gestures.

"Yes I have all her info"

Another couple of gestures that was accompanied by an angered loom.

"Her parents" Natsumi remembered that. When she had come across that knowledge she was not very happy. She still isn't. What type of parents would treat their child like that just because of the nature of her quirk? "Yes, that is unacceptable"

Kuriko nodded.

"Is that why she comes over? "

Another nod.

"Is that why, despite your annoyance, you haven't kicked her out? "

Another nod, this one clearly annoyed.

"You want to help her, but a part of you won't accept this fact"

A reluctant nod this time.

Natsumi smiled. Oh well. Their relationship was clearly messed up on many levels, but they are the only friends they have.

"I'll figure something out"