Chapter 36

Shino stumbled as she narrowly dodged a strike from Momo's iron pole. Things took a serious turn once Momo stripped Shino of all her physical abilities and messed up her spinneret. She couldn't shoot any webs. When she tried her wrists actually bled. That was only because she continuously tried to shoot webs even though she knew nothing would leave the slit in her wrist.

It sucked. But she was excited by the turn of events.

She was putting effort into her match. A lot of effort. It's not something she's used to. She always holds herself back in fight to make it harder and interesting. And there's the fact that she wasn't allowed to reveal her real quirk. She was never at full capacity. Not when she sparred with her father the boys or Momo. Not even when she fought the Nomu. She only increased her strength by five. If she had gone higher people would start to get suspicious.

Now she could barely defend herself. Her strength was so low it was probably in hell. The same could be said for all her physical attributes. Her speed went out the window. Her reflexes decided it was time to snack on fatty foods. Her endurance felt it was the time to take a nice long nap.

Yeah she was practically as strong as a seven year old. A normal quirkless seven year old.

The only way to stop the effects of the device dug into her shoulder is to remove it. Too bad its dug into her skin and holding her in a deadly grip. Pulling it out was the only way Shino could do it herself currently. Momo could easily do by pressing a button.

Another attack was aimed her way and this time Shino actually lost her balance and fell. She didn't stay on the ground for too long and quickly rolled away from incoming attacks.

"You know I was not expecting you to pull this one off" Shino came dangerously close to a concussion. "Pretty genius "

"You did tell me that all's fair against you"

Shino chuckled and side stepped another hit. "That I did. And now I can barely stay on my feet"

Another near miss.

Shino could feel herself rapidly losing stamina. She needed to end the match before she was too weak or exhausted to do anything. She really had to give Momo major points for what she pulled off. She didn't even hesitate. She's actually starting to believe in herself.

Shino wouldn't have it any other way.

With a determined huff Shino set off to defy all odds. She charged at Momo, fist at the ready. Momo moved quick and blocked the attack. It wouldn't have done much damage either way. Shino moved as fast as she could to line up another attack. Again it was blocked. She did it again. She was evaded. Again. She was countered. The counter really hurt. Again. And again and again. She kept going at Momo in a certain order. She kept attacking in the same fashion long enough for Momo to get used to it. Her attacks were always straight on. Just determined punches and kicks. They didn't have much strength behind them and her movements were slow.

And then she did something else. She looked as if she was going for a blow to the stomach. Her fist was set and ready. Her movements obvious. Momo got ready for the attack.

At the last moment Shino twisted very suddenly and very oddly. She moved in such a slurred fashion that Momo was actually puzzled. Shino stumbled and put on a show of falling, but she didn't. She caught herself and swung her arm.

Momo didn't see that coming and raised an arm to block the hit. Instead she was swept off her feet.

Shino smiled as she stumbled back. She swayed on the spot.

It appeared as if she was drunk.

She jumped on her spot as she eyed the curious Momo.

"What are you up to? " Momo asked suspiciously.

"Come find out"

The smile on Shino's lips never left as she moved around unpredictable ways. First she was charging at Momo, then she was trying to keep herself upright. Momo couldn't predict her moves and was quickly put on the defensive. Despite lacking in everything Shino was actually pushing Momo back. When Momo thought she had Shino's style figured out she did something totally unexpected. It was the first time Momo was unable to adapt to Shino's style.

The crowd was going wild with the turn of events. Shino ignored them and the urge to adjust her headphones. She pushed on.

"What a match folks! Yaoyorozu had Kiddo at her mercy and now with a sudden turn of events Kiddo is pushing her back. Her fighting style took a complete change. Although I'm not sure if what she's doing could be considered a fighting style "

Another unexpected move and Momo was standing at the edge of the arena. She needed to get away from there as soon as possible. She narrowly dodged one of Shino's odd attacks and stepped away from the edge only to get pulled into a barrage of slurred movements.

And then she stumbled and fell when she was pushed to the edge.

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

"And there you have it folks! The winner of this match Kiddo Shino of class 1A! "

The cheers that she received was deafening. This time she did adjust her headphone as she jumped out of the arena. She stood in front of Momo with a shining smile.

"Nice going Momo , you actually had me there"

Momo sighed but returned her smile. "I'm glad you think so. I was sure I could beat you by using that device"

Shino touched her shoulder and winced as the object dug deeper into her skin.

"Yeah, I thought so too. Now that the match is over, would you be so kind as to take it off? "

Momo nodded and retrieved a small square object with a red button. She pressed it and Shino felt the device release it's grip on her. She sighed in relief and handed the machine back to Momo.

"Despite the struggle that thing put me through I'm proud it actually worked" Shino admitted as the two started to move away from the arena. Most of her experiments weren't tested. They weren't dangerous though so even if they weren't perfected no one would be harmed. Besides they were created solely to disrupt Shino's quirks. For now.

"Why is it that you create devices to bring your own downfal? " it was a question Momo was asking herself ever since she found out Shino was experimenting with quirk canceling technology. What more Shino was making them to work against her own quirk. It didn't really make sense to her. Why create the very objects that could be a danger to you?

In reply Shino shrugged. As she did often times. A shrug from Shino meant she actually didn't know, which was rare. She didn't want to tell you, which is very common or that she didn't find her answer to be very important or special.

"Just because. I want to learn more about my quirk. I've had it for years and still don't know much about it. All I know is that I can create, take, give or break any quirk if I want to. And although that sounds like a lot its not a lot. I know that I can do these things. I just don't know exacty how I can do these things"

Momo raised a confused eyebrow. Shino told her that it had to do with the cells in her body. Wasn't that how she could do everything?

"I don't understand. I thought that it was the cells your body kept making that allows you to do these things"

"Yes, but I doubt that's all. I still have no logical explanation for the silver flames. I don't know why I can't create any quirks that would eliminate my drawbacks. I have no idea how my body can contain so many different types of cells"Shino groaned and messed up her hair. "There's a lot I don't know. I don't like not knowing. It makes it hard for me to plan things. Predict outcomes. Calculate. It's frustrating"Shino sighed at the end of her ramble and clicked her to tongue in annoyance. There is just one thing that runs on Shino's nerve and that is not knowing. Knowledge is power and Shino takes that very seriously.

"You created technology that could harm you for the sake of knowledge? " Momo tilted her head.

"Yes, exactly. Learning what disrupts my quirk is a good way to understand it. It teaches me how my body works and hence how my quirk works. Break it down and study"

"You could hurt yourself "

"I'm aware" Shino answered. "I know all the risks. My tech isn't all that dangerous though. Just the ones not tested and even they arent that dangerous. The only time dangers occur is if the tech is used on me for too long"

"Even so" Momo sighed. She was clearly worried. Shino could hear it in her voice. See it on her face. Hell she could even feel it. She doesn't like to worry her friend, but she tends to do it a lot.

Definitely due to her casual attitude when it comes to her own health.

Definitely.

Without a word Shino slipped her hand into Momo's , interlacing their fingers. She gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"I'll make sure not to hurt myself "

Momo squeezed back and cast a look at Shino.

"Promise? "

Shino looked away at that.

"Shino"

The tone of Momo's voice made her sigh. She grumbled to herself in defeat. She never broke a promise. She could never bring herself to do so. Momo knew this. It's exactly why she wanted Shino to promise her. It's exactly why Shino didn't want to make the promise.

"I-" she hesitated. If she promised she would have to be extra careful with her experiments. Even then there was no assurance she would be completely safe. But if she didn't promise Momo would be disappointed and worry even more.

"I promise "