plus ultra!

O-oh! Kind of surprised to see an ask in here, haha...!

Nice to meet you too!

Oh... hey there!

Sorry I haven't been very active! I'm currently in the midst of some rigorous training with my quirk and.. hero training in general.. it's taking a lot out of me!! Hahaha!

Also... the sports festival is gonna be starting soon! I won't be participating this year, but I'm really excited to watch! I'll especially be paying attention to the new first years that are partaking!

“Um… Sort of…”

Mimicking him, Kurushimi touches his cheek where he feels - well, it’s hard to describe. He feels something and he’s sure that something is where the pain should be, but it’s far off, distant and ineffective but still absolutely present. Like being under novocaine …

He gently rubs the area, frustrated again as he thinks. “I used to be able to feel others more… I wonder if I locked myself out somehow, and maybe I need to find a way to… unlock again…” His eyes close as he mulls that over, gently petting his own mark. “Mm… Either way…”

Opening his eyes again, he gives him a slow smile. “Thank you for this… if the connection holds for a long enough time, there’s really no telling what… either of us can do, really… Which is cool to think about… I’ve never had an opportunity like this before, so I’m really grateful…”

Deku blinks, in mild surprise. 

“Huh. That’s interesting. Maybe you need a way to help you feel those things again... I’m sure the connection will help!”

Deku nods, confidently. 

“While I’m sure not feeling pain has its perks, its still a crucial part of the human body! Pain is your body’s way of telling you something’s wrong! Without that natural response, you could be having something very bad going on inside of you, with no way of knowing...”

Deku’s brows furrow in slight worry, but then shakes his head and puts his hand on the other’s shoulder, nodding and smiling confidently.

“Oh…”

A vague expression appears, a mix of confusion and shock. “Oh, that’s good… some people just really didn’t like it, so I worried…”

He gives Deku’s mark one last little pet, tracing some of the branching lines a little before finally pulling away. Kurushimi takes a moment to glance at his own mark like he’s looking for any sort of difference, comparing the two briefly as he thinks. Now that that was over, he was actually starting to get a little excited about this… Feeling connected to someone always feels right, like it’s how he’s meant to live, rather than isolated and numbed away…

“… Right…” he murmurs. “This is the tricky part… I can’t remember if I’ve told you but I have a lot of problem feeling pain because of my quirk… but that’s the first sensation that usually gets shared. So, um…”

He lifts his hand, slowly, like he’s about to perform a demonstration, before he takes hold of his own cheek and gives himself a hard pinch.

“… Do you feel that…?”

Deku audibly gasps when he feels a ghost sensation at his cheek, less out of pain and more out of surprise. It was almost like a ghost was pinching his cheek!

“Whoa! That’s so cool! So, does being connected help you feel those physical sensations better, then?”

He can’t help a big cheesy grin as he touches the spot where he felt the sensation, before taking his finger and mimicking the action, giving a pinch to his opposite cheek.

Kurushimi blushes more, but he doesn’t do much more than that, trying to concentrate on what he’s doing. Pretty, though. The word sticks to him, warming his chest as his cheeks color themselves a darker pink. He’s never heard such a thing before. Maybe about his general appearance, or something like the rather striking image of his hair, but never about his scars…

… It’s nice…

“… Okay…”

He brings two fingers to the center of the mark, concentrating lightly. Under his touch, the mark starts to emit a soft blue glow, a gentle shimmer that grows stronger and stronger by the moment. As their faces start to get illuminated by periwinkle light, he takes one last deep breath, bracing himself.

“Okay… Three… two…”

He activates it. The light shifts into a scalding red for a second before suddenly punching into his skin, creating a fresh, intricate wound in the same shape. Kurushimi doesn’t react, shielded by his quirk’s effects, gaze shifting to carefully watch Deku as that very same bloody design appears on his wrist in a sudden flash of red light. The two cuts are exactly the same, practically welling with red drops at the same moment. Quietly, he gives Deku’s hand a few careful pets, like he’s hoping to sooth away any pain he may be experiencing.

“… Sorry…” he mumbles. “I hope it didn’t hurt too bad… I wanted to allow for a deep connection, that’s why it…” He gives him another gentle pat, looking miserable again. “… I have bandages… let me get some…”

Deku watches the other carefully while he demonstrates his quirk, as if trying to figure out exactly how he does it. It’s only when he notices the light start to shift to red does he finally focus down at his wrist.

It hurts, sure- but not nearly as bad as he was expecting. Maybe it was his high pain tolerance- but all he did when it happened was wince slightly, before centering his gaze back up on Kurushimi again. 

He furrows his brows at the other’s fretting, cracking a warm, comforting smile. 

“Hey...it’s okay! It really wasn’t as bad as you made it seem, haha.”

In a way, he already felt more connected to the boy- he couldn’t tell if it was the quirk, or the gentle urge to protect the gentle, fretting boy, or something- else. But he couldn’t help but blush lightly as he watched him, before shaking his head and looking down at his newfangled mark. 

Kurushimi stares at him blankly for a few long moments before huffing out a tiny laugh. “A VIP experience…” he repeats, quietly amused and smiling to himself. “That’s funny… I don’t know how you came up with something like that…”

His cheeks go a little pink as he continues to beam gently to himself, a little embarrassed at how much he’s enjoying Deku’s enthusiasm. Trying to distract away from the moment, he quickly types himself into his contacts before he hands the phone back as well, taking hold of Deku’s wrist as he does.

“… If you really don’t mind, then… I’d like to do it now, before I lose my nerve…” His fingers tighten just slightly around him, a firm but still careful, gentle grip. His thumb brushes along his skin like he’s trying to soothe him as Kurushimi worries at his own lip, reaching up to start to tug his sleeve up. “Please let me know when you’re ready…”

Once Deku’s arm is more exposed, he slowly starts to do the same to himself, rolling up his sleeve. There’s a rather large mark that stretches across his wrist in a bizarre pattern. He bites his lip harder at the sight of it, eyes flickering up to see his senior’s reaction.

Deku blinks as the boy takes his wrist, almost not realizing he was touching him at all. His touch is so gentle...like... a cloud. It’s almost soothing, in a way. Deku could tell that Kurushimi was going to make it very far as a hero in the aspect of helping victims. He’s almost tempted to close his eyes peacefully as he rubs a thumb over his wrist, as if he was a nurse about to give a shot to a child.

When Kurushimi lifts up his sleeve Deku gazes openly at the mark that stretches across his wrist, tilting his head so that he could get a better look at it.  

“It’s pretty.” Deku muses, his voice soft. Kurushimi seemed worried about the process that was about to take place- this was Deku’s way of reassuring him in his own way.

“It’s like you have your own special tattoo!” 

He chuckles and nods, taking a small breath as he flexes his hand for a moment before rolling his shoulders. He wasn’t really sure what to expect- but weirdly, Deku wasn’t afraid at all. Perhaps it was the soft hand on his wrist and the gentle, cloud-like boy attached to said wrist- Deku felt ready to face anything with him.

Kurushimi nods slowly, a vague expression of wonder on his face as he watches him think it all through. “It is very dependent on other people…” he continues slowly. “I don’t really know what other ways I could possibly use it but the longest I’ve ever used it for was, um… maybe a few weeks… that was a lot…”

Looking and feeling a little lost, he stares at Deku for a long moment, chewing nervously on his lip. Offering to use it had been easy, but… actually doing it was a little nervewracking. He just hopes Midoriya wouldn’t grow to regret it… He’d hate to drive him away…

“… I guess I don’t mind…” He pouts again. “But, um, please let me know the second you can’t take it anymore… I’ve been told it’s overwhelming and… uncomfortable…” He looks crestfallen for a moment. “I can’t release the connection unless we’re in the same room, so… maybe we should exchange numbers… make sure to keep in touch…”

Deku nods confidently, listening intently to the other’s words. 

“Of course, of course. I’m sure I’ll be fine, though. I handle pain pretty well, haha! Call it a uh...tolerance, of sorts.”

Nonetheless Deku pulls out his phone, looking over at the younger’s for a moment before gently taking it from him and putting in his number before giving Kurushimi his phone so that he can put his number in it. 

“But-- I don’t know- I have faith in you and your quirk! Something tells me I’m not going to want to break the connection over something as small as a little pain, haha.. I need the full experience!”

Kurushimi’s pout only grows, his nose wrinkling as he lets out a little whine of dismay. “I don’t want payoff, I just want to be better…” he mumbles, though he knows he’s being childish. He’s just frustrated…

He glances up as his quirk is mentioned, blinking a little. “Oh, yeah… I did say that once, didn’t I…” he says thoughtfully, mood already lifting. “It… depends… I’ve already used it in a lot of ways… Sensei says you have to push boundaries if you want to get stronger but I don’t really know what kind of things to push there… or even how to start…”

Kurushimi reminds Midoriya of like...a puppy. Or a kitten. Maybe even a bunny rabbit. Something small, innocent, and adorable. 

“Well....” Midoriya starts. 

“Maybe it’s the type of thing where the more you use it, the more experienced you’ll get! Or something like....you have to use it a certain way, or for a certain amount of time...”

Midoriya scratches his chin, deep in thought. 

“It’s definitely the type of quirk that seems dependent on other people...maybe you can use that! I feel like, maybe if I experience it firsthand, I can definitely help you a little more.”

Kurushimi nods a little. “I think so…” he mumbles, glancing down at his still trembling hand before he lifts it up to show Deku. 

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell… I just kind of think it’s all frustrating, really…” he continues with a litlte pout. “I want to be strong now…”

Deku laughs again, softly. “It’s not that easy...if it were that easy, there’d be no payoff. You gotta start somewhere. 

And besides- I’m sure you’re plenty strong now!I still want to know more about your quirk! Weren’t you saying you wanted to try it out on me?

Kurushimi blinks in a way that suggests that he’s trying to figure out if he’s imagining something or not. Then, he lifts his hand to take Deku’s, allowing him to help him to his feet. Once he’s up, he gives him a tiny little bow with his head in thanks, releasing his hand to immediately find a lock of his own hair and twirl it nervously.

“Um… thank you, senpai…” he mumbles out, eyes on the ground before flickering up to him. “I thought I’d be the only one here for a little while longer but it’s… good to see you…”

Midoriya can’t help but chuckle at the other’s disposition. It reminded him a lot of himself just a couple years ago.