Outshine the Sun

Warmth spread all over his body as he witnessed Kaz’s response. Though fierce, he knew she meant well, and prompted the corner of the boy’s lips to curl upwards ever so slightly. He listened intently to her reasons, and it made sense, most of the heroes he knew had a similar one for why they fight, but things changed when it was revealed it’s not all there is to it. He raised his brows and pursed his lips to what she had to say.

And what a revelation it was. It wasn’t grand or anything as it seemed to him, but what Kaz just said somehow resonated with his own wish. They both just wanted their parents to notice them, to know that they both wanted to be with them even if they barely, or in Kaz’s case, completely aren’t present at all for their children. His heart skipped a beat, and seconds later, water welled up in his eyes, which Gin immediately wiped away.

“That’s… That’s really something, Kaz.” The boy stifled a sniffle, sighing in an attempt to mask it, “I don’t know if this will help, but I’ve got a strong feeling you will meet them when you’re more shown often on TV. Call it a hero’s hunch,” he chuckled softly, “Come to think of it, aren’t you and I sort of on the same boat? I really appreciate you telling this to me. Somehow, it makes me feel alright that I told you the real reason why I wanted to be a hero. That I’m not alone.”

Gin then drew his face closer toward hers. “I don’t think that’s silly at all. I think I would’ve done the same if I were in your shoes. For me, it’s a brave thing to do, and I’ll be rooting for you.”

☀  Kaz smiled, humming softly. It really was nice to hear someone else say that about her parents, even if it didn’t really change anything. His ‘hero’s hunch’ wasn’t going to make her parents notice her on TV, but she did appreciate the sentiment behind it. It felt good.

“Of course you’re not alone,” she answered, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder, “You know, I bet our classmates would also be understanding if you told them about why you want to be a hero. I bet some of them might even feel the same way you do. Children with heroes for parents have it pretty rough. Your parents are always so busy and so well known, you can’t live a normal childhood.”

And Kaz could understand that very well. She hadn’t ever had a normal childhood either, and even if their circumstances were very different, she could at least partially understand what he was feeling. Every child should get to have their childhood, and far too many get it robbed from them, for various reasons. 

  “Beggars can’t be choosers and nobody’s got a say in what they get when it comes to their quirks. But hey, you might be able to do more than you think. Just gotta screw around with it a bunch more, y’know?” 

  That was the case with most powers like theirs. It was all experimentation, all trial and error, all simply dicking about. You never knew your max potential until you’ve tried everything, and that was nigh impossible. As far as he cared, the sky was the limit. 

  “Oh, I’m not gonna worry about it. Stuff happens. But I am gonna save your behind if you almost eat the pavement. You’re not getting hurt on my watch  because of a dumb little race with me. So… you ready?”

☀  He was right about that. Kaz had been astounded to find out what kinds of things she could do with her quirk when she first started training for the entrance exam at UA. Before that, she hadn’t really been allowed to test her quirk. The orphanage didn’t like her accidentally catching things on fire or melting stuff, but they agreed to give her a practice space when she applied at UA. All she’d been doing at that time was trying things out, seeing what she could handle and what she couldn’t. And when she got into UA, she found that that was what most of the students at UA were doing too. 

“Well, I suppose that’s always the hope, isn’t it? That we can do more, can ‘go beyond’ and stuff.” Kaz stepped up onto her platform and sat down cross-legged on it. It felt a little silly, but she was probably better off if she didn’t have to focus on balancing while trying something new with her quirk.

Gin only managed to raise a brow after taking all of this in. She seemed very apprehensive, but she went through and answered his question anyway; something he really appreciated. Quietly, he thought not to point that out or he might embarrass her. That being said this was still a surprise, but it did explain everything she told him so far.

His heart wrenched hearing her speak out the realization that she didn’t know what her parents looked like. Somehow, he felt that this was a great load off her shoulders to tell him, but it was a sad thing to know nonetheless. Biting his lower lip, he was at a loss for words, until he finally settled on the first thing that came to his mind.

“I mean, it makes sense doesn’t it? I’m glad you got somewhere you can call home. No wonder I’ve never seen you late for class, ahaha…”

The boy rubbed his neck, hoping that would lighten the mood even if but just a little. Considering she had just told him a big piece of her private life, he felt it just right to do the same at the moment.

“You know, everybody knows who my parents are, publicly at least. Fighting there with the likes of Best Jeanist and Endeavor.” He began, “…but I barely have time with them privately. I don’t think we’d gone on a trip where they didn’t do some hero business and by then it’d turn to work. It’s well… kinda annoying, to be really honest…” he bit his lip again as he paused. Telling this to Kaz might just be offensive, but he was just being sincere. “Actually, the reason why I wanted to become a hero first and foremost, was to be with my parents, or work with them at least. That way we can have some family bonding time, even if it is after all, work. And save people in the process.”

Suddenly he shook his head and looked away, chuckling nervously. “Ahahaha, sorry about that, it must have seemed shallow and silly to you…”

☀  Kaz listened curiously as he spoke. Gin wasn’t the only one who was there because of their parents, but wanting to become a hero as a way to bond with your family was a new one to her. 

“No!” she responded shaking her head fiercely, “I don’t think that at all!”

All Kaz had wanted when she was younger was to find her parents and be a family again. She’d wanted to spend time with her parents just like he wanted to spend time with his. The only difference was that his parents were right there, but their work as heroes just got in their way. In some ways, that might be more painful than just not having parents at all like her. 

“You know, I decided that I was going to be a hero when I was really little. Partly it was because of what happened to me back then. I just...didn’t want anyone to have to go through what I did.” She lowered her gaze and squeezed her numb arm. “That’s the reason I usually give people when they ask me why I want to be a hero, but it’s not really the only reason.”

The boy hummed softly in agreement, pursing his lips. He was glad for her to have overcome the language barrier, as not all people where they lived in were able to speak English. Gin understood and could fairly speak the language, but had always struggled to maintain cohesive sentences; he’d stammer and eat his words when he had exhausted his vocabulary himself.

 He could only imagine the struggle Kaz went through. It was honestly admirable. If he was put in her place, he could only wonder how it would’ve gone. Despite her loss of control at times, Kaz seemed to be quite able and reliable.

Gin’s brows furrowed where Kaz mentioned her history. “You mean, you aren’t living with your parents?” He spoke as gently as he could, “I hope I’m not being too prying, but, if that’s the case, where do you live? And are you living alone?” He added, biting his lip. He honestly hoped she’d say otherwise.

☀  Kaz was silent for a moment. Part of her wanted to backpedal, pretend she hadn’t said anything or move on to a different topic without answering him. But she didn’t want to be disingenuous with him. Gin was her friend. Shouldn’t that mean she could trust him? 

“I...don’t actually remember living with my parents. I barely remember them at all, really. Sometimes I think I can recall their faces, but it’s been so long...” She sighed, raising her gaze skyward. “I think the faces I remember are probably face I made up over all these years anyway. They’re not real.”

  “Wait, you’re from an orphanage too?” And she made it into UA without a last name? Maybe that other girl was right. Maybe the last names didn’t matter. If she could make it… he could make it too! He was strong enough, fast enough, and eh… probably smart enough to make it in. A life of heroics would be right up his alley if there weren’t so many rules to deal with.

  “Hey, that’s still an awesome quirk to have though! I mean, I can do the same with light, but it’s still really really cool!” He grinned back, taking to a more ‘comfortable’ reclining position in the air. “No rules unless you’ve got any you want to put on the table, and we’ll end this at the park about a kilometer away. Sounds good?”

☀  Kaz smiled faintly at his reaction and nodded. “That’s right.” What were the odds that she would run into someone else like her? Another orphan who, by the looks of it, would end up on the hero track. 

She chuckled lightly. “Thanks. It can be really handy sometimes. Still, it would be amazing to be able to do more.” She sighed, then shrugged and stretched her arms for a moment. “But we all have to deal with what we’ve got. Beggars can’t be choosers, you know.” She reached a hand out and snapped her fingers (which was mostly just for show), and a glowing, red platform appeared in front of her. 

 “Hey, this is all in good fun, right? Fun should be fair!” The boy’s twin tails flowed through the air behind him like a pair of streamers as he moved into position beside her. It was always awesome to see a new quirk and how others use them.

  “The name’s Kouki! Don’t have a last name, but if I did, I’d give it to you too.” That was always something he thought about. Should he just make one up? It’s not like anyone was going to go out of their way looking for him by name, so having one wouldn’t matter all that much, would it?

  “And my quirk works like a glass prism, but with energy! I can take in any energy and either put it out as is or turn it into another form, like telekinesis or lightning!”

☀  “You know, you’re right about that. Fun should be fair.” She watched him curiously as he moved next to her, her eyebrows raising in slight surprise.

No last name, huh? That was something she could relate to. “That’s alright. Between you and me, I don’t have a last name either.” Kaz didn’t want to make any assumptions, but she wasn’t sure why anyone other than an orphan wouldn’t have a last name. As an orphan herself, she felt compelled to talk to him more, ask questions, but she didn’t want to push. She would have hated it if someone had done that to her.

Gin surmised she was calming down after taking the conversation elsewhere, which seemed to have worked, as far as he was concerned, which was good. Slowly, he surreptitiously breathed out a quiet sigh so as not to give away his relief. Looks like this could take things to a better note.

“Well, I mean, it certainly doesn’t sound Japanese… but don’t worry about it! I can pronounce it just fine anyway,” he replied with a sheepish grin, “Kaz is easier to say for me too.”

He nodded in agreement as she admitted she wasn’t born here, which made sense. “Yeah, it shows! I mean mastering the language. Not every foreigner bothered to learn the language here. I mean, I can speak English well enough to talk to them, I think… though I’d honestly prefer it if they did take time to learn our language. It’s easier to talk that way. Like what we’re doing now!” he chuckled.

“Say, if you weren’t born here, then where were you from, originally? Do they have schools like UA over there, too? I bet the reason you went here is that you know UA’s the best at what they do, huh?” he grinned, “kidding, kidding!” It seemed Kaz’s inconsistency was lost on him. He only really wanted to cheer her up by this point, and he was hoping he’d do a good job with it.

☀  “I guess that’s good then,” Kaz answered. At least her nickname was easy to pronounce. Most people she’d met didn’t seem to have any problems with it anyway. 

“Oh, I don’t think I could have gotten by without learning it,” she said, shaking her head, “I mean, I know some people do speak other languages and I distinctly remember being able to communicate with the hospital staff back before I’d really started to pick it up. It really wasn’t that difficult for me to learn, and it definitely made it easier to communicate what I needed to with the nurses. It’s really hard to describe certain things when you have a limited vocabulary.”

Kaz found it vaguely amusing to think back on now, but it had been endlessly frustrating for her whenever she tried to describe how she was doing and how her arm was feeling to the doctors. Without the proper words to convey what she wanted, it had often devolved into vague gesturing that probably did not really get her point across.

Gin smiled awkwardly, being genuinely confused. He really didn’t know how to react to Kaz saying it was alright, but he shrugged; at least it was safe to continue talking to her? He sighed through gritted teeth and scratched the back of his head.

“Ahh… A-Awesome! I mean, I’m just relieved I didn’t offend…” he spoke with a small voice.

He then gazed at her with a raised eyebrow and a slightly opened mouth. Gin seemed to have said something to set her off once again. After a few seconds had passed and she spoke, the boy pouted in thought. It looked like he had just made her realize something over all those years. He wouldn’t apologize this time, lest he makes it more awkward, but pursed his lips as he tried something to say.

“It’s not that,” the boy admitted, “I’m just hoping you’re finding it way better now at this moment than all those times last time. Heh, if only I knew you back then then I’d probably be visiting you that time too. I was just really bummed out on my own predicament back then, though.” Gin replied, hoping to dispel her momentary melancholy.

“Say, I hope it wouldn’t be too rude of me, but how did you end up in this country? I mean, your name’s obviously foreign, but you speak great Japanese! It’s amazing, honestly.” His face dusted pink as he admitted it, “Were you born here? Or lived here a long time?” the boy cocked his head, lips curving into a slight smile.

☀  Kaz was starting to get the impression that Gin was uncomfortable with the conversation. Or maybe he was just uncertain because she was telling him it was okay, and yet talking about it still made her kind of upset. She wanted to be able to talk to him about her past without him feeling awkward about it, but maybe that just wouldn’t happen. 

When he mentioned that he would have visited her in the hospital, Kaz smiled faintly. It was a nice thought. She wondered how things might have been different for her if she’d had a friend back then. Someone to talk to, someone to trust. “Thanks. I kinda wish you had known me back then. That would have been nice.”

“Oh. Ah...” Kaz paused, rubbing the back of her neck, “Is my name that obvious? I hadn’t really thought about it.” She hesitated for a moment, biting her lip. How did she want to broach his next question? It wouldn’t be that hard to just be vague about it, but that felt like lying and she didn’t want to lie to him. Of course, if she explained it fully, surely he’d realize that she’d already lied when the conversation began. Kaz remembered exactly when her quirk manifested. She just wished she didn’t.

  “Alright, Kaz it is then.”

  Looks like this little adventure’s taking a more fun turn. A test of speed against someone from UA, a bakery trip with hopefully free goods, and a friend to go with for all of it? Only way this could get better would be stumbling across a ten thousand yen note at some point during the travel. Then it’d be one of his best outings yet. 

  Kouki hung in the air idly beside her, the smile on his face as plain as day. “Hey, before we do this, what’s your quirk? Want this to at least be a little fair.”

☀  She smiled faintly when he said her name, nodding once. Kaz was glad that he seemed happy about her accompanying him, though now it seemed like it might end up as more of a chase than a walk. Not that she really minded that though.

“Fair?” Kaz repeated, chuckling softly, “Well, I’d like to think that, as a UA student, I should be the one worrying about if things are ‘fair,’ but...” She sighed. Her quirk wasn’t really built for speed. Of course, that didn’t mean if couldn’t be used for it --it was light after all-- but she hadn’t had much practice with that yet.

Kaz summoned a red disc of light a few feet wide, which hovered on the ground immediately in front of her. “I have a light manipulation quirk,” she explained, stepping up onto the disc, “It allows me to compress light into objects and control them.” 

“…Kaz…” The large, bestial hero said, holding his side as he hobbled his way to the nurse’s office.

 “I know I’m going to get through this…even so, I feel this needs to be said. Every school I go to, the first thing people do is label me as something I’m not…but you didn’t. You were kind enough to see past the first glance. You’re a friend to me. A dear one. I guess what I’m saying is, if it ever came down to you or me…I’d sacrifice myself a thousand times over before ever seeing you get hurt.”

☀  Kaz had been worriedly watching the needle piercing his skin, but her gaze snapped to his face when he spoke her name, and her eyes widened slightly as he spoke. 

“I’d sacrifice myself a thousand times over before ever seeing you get hurt.”

When had she managed to make a friend like him? As someone who grew up with no real friends at all, it shocked her to find someone so willing to protect her. 

Gin bit his lip. Perhaps his choice of words was wrong? He knew by instinct that that was no laughter by humor. He was pretty sure he wasn’t able to convey what he wanted to say, so maybe euphemism wasn’t really the best way to talk about stuff like these with her.

As far as he was concerned, he was trying to be polite, but his bleeding head and her numb arm were the result of going overboard and not some sort of strenuous exercise. Possibly her case was because she couldn’t control it, but it was just pure irresponsibility on his end. He did naught but scratch the back of his head and sigh.

“S-Sorry. I-I was just trying not to make a big deal out of it.” He was positive he messed up, but it wouldn’t do good if he’d just leave her hanging like that. “A-Anyway, I think I know what you mean. I know what happened to the both of us were serious… Sorry for my insensitivity.” On reflex, he bent forward and bowed his head.

Gin raised his brow in wonder; it was his first time hearing someone admitting they liked to be in the hospital. Back then when he was put out of commission for months, it was hell for him. Not being able to see his friends, play and having to put up with a lot of tests he cared little to count, worst of all not being able to practice his quirk until he was cleared, the whole ordeal of healing was his own punishment for trying too hard to break his limits.

“Really? I mean, wasn’t it lonely?” He blurted aloud. Something nagged in himself that it might be another mistake to say, but he just really wanted to understand why. If she was afraid of her quirk even back then, it would make sense, but he’d wait for her to confirm it. Maybe Kaz just really liked to keep to herself.

☀  Kaz winced and shook her head. “Oh! No, no. It’s alright, really.” She smiled, hoping to make him feel better. She really didn’t mind him talking so casually about it. In fact, Kaz thought she probably preferred it that way. She just wasn’t really used to it, and so it wasn’t an easy thing for her to do. “You weren’t being insensitive. Really, it’s fine.”

She blinked, confusion passing over her face for a moment. 

“...Lonely?”

She looked away for a moment, thinking back to those times. Sure, maybe the nurses and doctors didn’t really hang out with her, but at least they’d bothered to learn her name. At least she knew that they were looking out for her well-being, because, well, that’s their job. 

It wasn’t like being outside the hospital was any better for her. She didn’t have anyone out there. No friends. No family. And worst of all, when the accident happened, she didn’t know Japanese. She couldn’t even really talk to anyone, but luckily the hospital staff was required to know at least some English, so she could get by until she learned Japanese. 

But even then, no other kids ever really wanted to talk to her. Between the nasty scarring on her arm and the fits she used to have in the middle of the night, most of the kids she met in orphanages or foster homes either made fun or her or were afraid of her.

A bitter little smile sat on her face as she stared at the ground. “The hospital was lonely,” she admitted, “But so was everywhere else. At least when I was in the hospital, I could tell myself that no one was there with me because everyone was busy, but...”

  “Bakery, huh? I’m totally down to hit a bakery at some point. Who doesn’t love baked stuff every now and again?”

  Cakes, donuts, and other food like that weren’t his favorite thing to chow down on, that honor went to chocolate anything, but he did enjoy them enough to want to tag along with her. Maybe he’d even get some free goods, as unlikely as it was.

  The salt-haired boy floated himself off the ground with his quirk before taking the opportunity to do a quick circle or two around her, blowing bits of debris around from the drag winds produced. A bit of a test to see if she’d still try to keep up with him despite the show of his own speed.

  “You ready to hit it, lady?”

☀  Kaz smiled. Perfect! Now she didn’t have to skip out on her bakery trip, and it would be nice to have the company, even if it was a kid she didn’t really know. She’d have to treat him. The bakery was her idea, after all. And it’s not like she was hurting for cash. The stipend she got from UA for her “special circumstances” was way more than she needed anyway.

Her expression shifted to slight surprise for a moment as the boy rose up into the air and circled her. Ah. That made sense. No wonder he thought everyone else moved so slow. 

Well, it’d be good training, probably...

A sigh escaped from Gin’s lips. Thank God she was alright with continuing the topic when he lowkey expected her to stop talking. Still, it was apparent she was uncomfortable. “That’s true, I mean, like what happened to us, maybe you just did a little too far…” His gaze would then rest on the floor for quite a few seconds, breathing out another sigh.

He never really thought about it, but the way Kaz’s face contorted when he spoke out his mind made him realize it must be more serious than he initially thought. It never happened again after that, but to be sure he might ask Recovery Girl about it.

Okay maybe the incident wasn’t the same, but what he meant was that the concept was similar: overuse of quirks. He had to stay six months at the hospital after that incident, and it was fortunate he was still young when it happened: 13 to be exact. That taught him well how important it was to know one’s limits. He got an earful scolding from his father too, but he remembered it clear as day. His mother was sobbing quietly while tears cascaded down the corner of his father’s eyes while he was caught up in anger. Gin couldn’t really blame them for feeling that way.

The way she put it made him realize and thankful that he was at least able to control his quirk to a degree, whereas she was having a hard time maintaining that. Pursing his lips, he replied.

“Yeah, thank God…” he spoke, looking down at another spot on the floor, “I mean at least you’re still able to use it. I’ve heard people getting disabled by their own destructive quirks, and I guess that means you’re doing a good job.” His gaze would then rest on her face, smiling weakly. “Hey, about my injury, I just thought I should share because I didn’t think it was something to be hidden, now that you’ve revealed what the deal was with your arm. I guess what I’m trying to say is, we’ve been in the same boat, so maybe you don’t have to worry so much about it.”

☀  Kaz laughed. She hadn’t really found it funny, it just sort of happened when she heard him say that maybe she’d gone ‘a little too far.’ No, a little too far was what she did when she pushed her quirk in training. She was always doing that. This had been...worse than that. It was like... well, it was probably closest to the way Midoriya was constantly breaking his bones, though he hadn’t done as much of that recently.

“I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head, “It’s not funny, I just... It’s hard to hear you put it so mildly. What I remember... I could never call it just going ‘a little too far.’ What I did was... I don’t even know.” She waved her arm dismissively.

She hummed thoughtfully. Now that she’d started talking about it, continuing the conversation felt easier. Like, he already knew, so he might as well know more about it, right? “Yeah, I’ve definitely heard about heroes taking themselves out of commission with their own quirks. That did kind of happen to me, but just temporarily. I was in and out of the hospital for... I don’t know. Years, even after the injury healed. But I guess that was mostly because they kept looking for ways to fix it. Not that I really cared. I guess at some point you just get used to it. But being in the hospital pulled me out of the system, so that was almost kind of nice...”

 “No no, you’ve got a point. Landmarks mean nothing if you don’t know the area. Unless you’ve got a map. That’s when it means something since you can figure out exactly where you are with it. My case, don’t have one. Kinda just memorize stuff.”

 The boy nodded. “You have no idea. Not kidding about how slow they can be either. It takes them, like, ten minutes to walk a block.” Granted, they were old, but not that old. They liked to take their sweet time with things, and Kouki… well, he wasn’t a kid that sat still all that well. He was constantly on the move, doing whatever to keep himself entertained. The two didn’t mix too well.

 He smiled when she proposed to tag along with him, though for some of the wrong reasons. ‘Bet I could keep up with you’, in his mind, were basically synonymous. “Not at all! Don’t have anywhere in mind that I was going, but if you can keep up, you can tag along to wherever I end up.”

☀  Kaz nodded. “Fair enough.” Memorizing stuff would also work for learning the way around a place. Whatever worked for him.

She chuckled softly as he talked. There had definitely been adults in her past that seemed to move that slow. It was hard to tell if that was literally how things were, or if he was just exaggerating because that was how long it felt. Honestly, it could go either way.

When he agreed to let her tag along, she smiled. This could be nice. Granted, she knew how people his age could be (it wasn’t that long ago that she’d been one), but Kaz was confident in her ability to keep up with however fast he wanted to go. I mean, she was a hero in training, after all. She really should be able to do that much.

//Right, so I’m still getting back into rping, and I thought maybe a drabble would help really dust the cobwebs off. This is a continuation of the idea that Kaz and my other oc, Okashi (@okashi-candyman), know of each other, but don’t really know each other. The first one I wrote from Okashi’s perspective, and can be found here, so I figured it was Kaz’s turn:

“Kasandri is 75% adorable. Very unusual, definite boyfriend material”

“...”