WARNING: blood, gore

_______________________

Kou still remembers the day she'd decided to become a hero.

It was at Daisuke's funeral, a couple weeks after he was killed. It was a pretty big service; he'd been a popular guy. Friends and family filled the room, and Kou could barely recognize anyone. Apparently Daisuke's sister-Kou's half sister-had been there too, but she hadn't noticed. She was too busy trying not to explode.

Her brother had just died - and it felt like she was the only one who really cared. Sure, people were grieving and mourning his loss, but it's like they ignored the fact that he was murdered in cold blood and no one was doing anything about it.

She'd clenched her fists so hard that day her nails dug into the flesh of her palm and cut the skin open. She hadn't cried- she couldn't. She was angry .

Daisuke had always told her to strive for more, to want more than what life had offered her. If there was one thing he taught her, it was that it was never too late to change. Daisuke had turned his life around after prison, wanting to do something he was proud of for once. He was finally getting on track before it had been torn away from him in only a matter of seconds.

Daisuke was dead . He was gone, forever. He wasn't coming back. The only person Kou had ever looked up to, ever trusted- was gone. And that made her so, so angry.

Why hadn't those heroes done anything? Why didn't they call for help sooner? Why couldn't they be bothered to find the people who did this? Why didn't they care?

Kou decided that day she was going to make Daisuke proud. She was going to become the hero he always wanted to be, the hero he deserved. She wasn't going to be cast aside anymore- she wanted to be seen.

But deciding to become a hero and actually being one were two very different things.

Kou had one flaw (among many others) that prevented her from being a true hero: she was a selfish coward.

When she saw people getting beat up or robbed on the street, she'd keep walking faster. When she saw someone getting bullied, she turned a blind eye. She didn't see a point in involving herself in other people's problems; that's how she'd been raised.

She could stand up for herself and the few people she cared about with no problem, but when it came to total strangers she found it hard to act heroically.

Kou honestly didn't know if she even believed in 'true' heroes: the good, pure, altruistic and courageous idols they portrayed themselves to be on TV- did they even really exist?

Kou didn't know the answer to that, but at this moment she wished more than anything that she could be one.

It was supposed to be a normal night: it was their third day at the training camp, and 1-A had been assigned to pairs to walk through the forest for a 'test of courage' at the hands of 1-B. It was supposed to be a dumb activity she'd breeze through so she could finally sleep after a long day of training.

Her and Izuku had been walking idly through the dark woodland, talking about nothing. Just as soon as she found herself relaxing, they'd come under attack by the League of Villains, who had somehow infiltrated their summer camp despite all the safety precautions taken.

They rushed back to the main site as soon as possible, meeting up with the Pussycats and some of their classmates. "Why are there villains here?!" Mineta screamed, "I thought they made doubly sure!"

Kou was looking around frantically for her friends, but the absence of a certain kid had both her and Midoriya panicking: " Kota! "

__

Shinobu and Midoriya ran as fast as they could towards Kota's secret hideout, the green haired hero leading the way since he'd been there earlier that day. They arrived just in time, Kou tackling the kid to the ground just as a villain was about to strike him. She landed on top of him, checking quickly to see if he had any injuries. Midoriya was standing in front of them, guarding them from the villain.

"Hm? You two were definitely on the list." His deep voice bellowed, and Kou felt a chill crawl down her spine. She'd only heard such a malicious tone before from her stepdad, but this was 10 times worse.

The scarred blond focused his gaze on Kou, smiling evilly. "Especially you."

Before she could ask what the hell he was talking about, Midoriya grabbed her wrist and gained her attention. "Kou-chan, do you have your phone with you?"

Shit. She'd left it charging back at the cabin thinking they'd be back later that night, but now she wanted to kick herself for her stupidity. How would anyone know where they were?

The villain was slowly approaching the three of them, a hungry look in his eyes. Kou snarled, forgetting her fear for a second. "Who gives a fuck? We're going to kill this guy ourselves!"

She charged head on towards the burly man, activating the Nen in her fist and sending a powerful punch straight to his jaw. The male flew back a few metres, but looked otherwise unharmed. He even had the nerve to smirk. "You think a puny little girl like you could do anything to me? You'll have to try harder than that!"

"Fuck you!" she growled, narrowly dodging one of his blows. "I'm not letting you touch the kid!" He was strong- stronger than anyone she'd ever fought before. She didn't want to admit it, but she didn't know if she could win this fight alone.

This sentence seemed to spring Midoriya into action, his quirk activating and irradiating his entire body. "We'll definitely save him!"

"You'll definitely save him?" he laughs at that, "That's exactly what someone who wants to be a hero would say. Your kind show up everywhere, talking about justice. Your names are Midoriya and Shinobu, right? Perfect. We were told to take initiative and kill you while taking the girl back with us."

Kou froze at that, realizing the gravity of the situation. Why the hell would they want her to come back with them?

"Kou-chan, you should take Kota and run. Let me fight him." Midoriya grounds out with more conviction than she'd even heard from him before, but this only serves to tick her off.

"Are you fucking stupid? Like hell I'm leaving you here alone with him!" she yells back, "You're going to fucking die!"

The villain removes his cape to reveal an even more muscular body underneath. His quirk seems to allow him to extend his muscle fibres outside of his body, wrapping him in a protective covering of tissue. "I'll make sure to torment you thoroughly, so show me your blood!"

He immediately launches a fist towards Midoriya, who didn't react quickly enough and was sent flying into the cave wall, breaking through the rock.

"Oh yeah, before I forget," he starts, ignoring the injured hero in the rubble, "Where's the kid called Bakugou?"

Bakugou? They were looking for him too? Kou barely had time to process that before Muscular launched another attack at Midoriya, getting ready to punch him through the rock again before Kou reached an arm out to touch him. She activated her Nen, sending him flying back and over the cliff with her bungee gum.

She rushed over to Izuku, looking at his clearly broken arm and messed up face. "Fuck," she mutters, knowing the dumbass would probably only get more injured as the fight went on.

"I'll take that as a no!" the villain lifts himself back up on the cliff, dusting himself off and smiling widely. "Guess it's time to play!"

Kou can barely see him through all the dust and rubble flying around, when suddenly she feels a hard kick to her stomach. She only has enough time to manifest enough Nen to lessen the blow, but she feels the distinct crack of her ribs. She's sent flying across the dirt, and she heaves over to cough up a bit of blood.

"Kou-chan!" Midoriya screams, tears clouding his vision. He runs towards the villain, One for All pulsating through his arms. "Get away from her!"

Muscular laughs again, "What happened to you saying you were going to beat me? Are you just now realizing how weak you are?"

They fight for a bit, Izuku trying his best to land a blow on the guy, but he's too strong. Even with his powerful quirk, nothing gets through his flesh armour. Kou is struggling to get up, holding her abdomen tightly and wincing in pain every time she moves.

Eventually she manages to stand on her legs again, seeing her classmate bleeding on the floor looking even more injured as she is. She activates her Nen again, focusing on her ribs to dull the pain and on her legs to kick the guy straight in the balls.

"Fuck!" he bellows, seeming to be in pain for the first time today. "You fucking bitch!"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!" she screams, her aura turning a deadly black with her emotions. She can't afford to hold back; she needs to give it her all if she wants to beat him.

She sends kick after kick, punch after punch. She doesn't stop hitting him, even if she feels like she's being torn apart on the inside. She's turned into something less than heroic, but right now she can't be bothered to think about something so trivial.

Muscular blocks her last kick, twisting her leg in a way that has her screaming in pain. He throws her back straight into the rock, her back taking the brunt of the fall. "You know, I just realized where I know your quirk from."

Kou stares at him through her half-lidded eyes, trying to get up but failing to. "Your brother is named Daisuke, isn't he? I'd recognize that quirk anywhere."

When he notices the look of dread on her face, he laughs sadistically. "He was a good kid. Shared a cell with him at some point. Always talking about his ideals and future plans like a goddamn idiot. I heard he died a couple years back, is that true?"

"Don't talk about my fucking brother!" she yelled, but failed to sound threatening with the amount of pain she was in.

Muscular continues to laugh at her pathetic state, "He wanted to become a hero, didn't he? Is that why you're here? To become a hero?"

He places a foot on top of her arm, pressing enough weight on it to crush her wrist. She yells in agony, trying to break free of his hold to no avail. "How funny. If you're anything like your brother, I know for a fact you're never going to become a hero. There isn't a heroic bone in your body, kid. So why not give up and join us before I kill you and your little friend over there?"

"Shut the fuck up," she grounds out, but she's panting heavily and close to crying at the feeling of her wrist being snapped like a twig.

"How sad," Muscular fake-sympathizes, "looks like the two of you are going to die before ever living up to your word. You'll be joining your brother in the dirt!"

Kou's eyes snap open, the aura around her glowing a murderous red. She summons the playing cards from her back pocket to float midair, sending them flying straight into the villains back. He yells in surprise, the cards digging deeper and deeper into his flesh with each twist and turn.

This only makes the man laugh harder, "You're really trying to kill me, kid! I knew you had it in you!"

Kou ignores his words and wills the cards to pierce each layer of muscle that rebuilds itself in his body, but his quirk is able to withstand the pressure. Muscular eventually gets tired of her pathetic attempts to hurt him, flexing and launching all the cards out of his body and kicking her again in her side.

"Stop it!" She can hear Kota screaming at the villain, and she tries her hardest to make her way to the kid, but she can't move. The black spots in her vision are taking over at this point, and even breathing is a struggle.

While the villain is distracted, Midoriya comes in and hits him with his "100% Detroit smash", and Kou can feel herself sliding off the hill from the impact of her classmate's hit, which destroyed the small cliff they were hanging on and caused her quick descent to the forest floor.

Kou gives up for a second, allowing her body to free fall and not caring for the consequences. For just a second, she stops fighting.

Just as she accepts her fate, she's pulled back from the air, Midoriya catching her and Kota before they actually die. "Kou-chan!"

She cracks open her eyes, greeted with the sight of the green haired hero completely covered in injuries,his arms purple and bruised from being broken and a black eye. "Kou-chan! Can you get up?!"

Does it fucking look like she can get up? Kou nods slowly, trying her best to prop herself up on her good arm. "Y-yes."

Midoriya looks like he's close to crying, probably just as scared and hurt as she is- if not more. He smiles reassuringly at Kota, "Kou-chan, take Kota with you and get some help. I'll handle Muscular."

Izuku quickly helps her to her feet, looking around for Muscular in case he had come back. Kou stumbles when he lets go, but manages to stay up.

And this is how Kou knows she's a coward.

Even though she refused to leave Midoriya's side earlier on, she now found herself tugging the kid with her as she ran off back into the forest.

Kou put up a brave front, but when the going got tough all she knew how to do was run.

She ran away from her friend, she ran away when she saw people in danger, she ran away from her stepdad and mom; she ran away from her brother when he needed her the most.

All Kou knew how to do was talk big and run away when things actually got dangerous. She talked all this crap about heroes, but she wasn't any better.

She was a coward, and that realization hurt more than all the broken bones in her body.

Just as the two got far enough from the site to consider themselves safe, she felt a harsh tug on her hand. It was Kota- who refused to move another inch.

"We need to go back!" He exclaimed, tears streaming down his face, "we need to go back and help him! He's going to die if we don't!"

Kou looks down at the kid, a pained look on her face. Was he fucking serious? Did he not just see what would happen if they'd stayed? Why was this kid more willing to face the villain than she was?

Before she could argue, he continued: "What kind of person are you? You're leaving your friend to die!"

Kou wants to listen to him, she does. But she can't move her legs. She can't bring herself to go back to an almost certain death; she can't bring herself to face it.

She remembers her brother, how needlessly selfless he was. How kind he was. Why wasn't he here, studying to become a hero? Why couldn't it have been her that was killed that day? She wasn't a good person- why did someone so kind have to die? Why couldn't it be her that was shot in the head?

Become more. Don't accept your reality . Do the right thing . Those words rang in her head, flooding her thoughts and giving her the strength to drag her feet back towards Midoriya and Muscular.

She sees the green haired hero fighting to his limit, ignoring his broken limbs in favour of sending punch after punch in between his muscle fibres, screaming at the villain. It's like it was playing in front of her in slow motion: she can see Muscular get ready to send a finishing blow to the boy in front of him, and Midoriya too tired to defend himself.

"It's okay, guys!" Midoriya yells, using all his strength to hold the villain back from attacking all of them, "I won't let him get past!"

Despite his heroic speech, she can see he's close to being defeated.

Kou wills her cards back in the air, using her bungee gum to launch them straight into Muscular's one good eye. This is enough of a distraction to allow Midoriya to gather enough power to use his "1000000% smash", completely taking over the villain and sending him flying back into the rocks.

Deku drops to the ground, head raised to the sky in victory. Kou only stares at him in awe, amazed at the power such a meek boy possessed.

Kou never understood why people went out of their way to help other people; it was a waste of time and effort on her part. Why put yourself in danger when there's nothing to gain from it?

Kou didn't know if true heroes existed, but she knows that if anybody were to fit that title it would be Midoriya. He just risked his entire life to save a kid he barely knew, he fought till he was close to passing out and sacrificed himself to spare her and the kid from danger. He just gave everything he had to defeat the villain, and for what? Kou couldn't understand him for the life of her, but she wanted to. She wanted to know what it was like to be a hero like him.

"You're a fucking idiot, Deku." Was the last thing she said before dropping to the ground with a loud thud.

___

A/N: Sorry for the long ass chapter; I also have no idea how to write action but I'm trying my best 😖. CAN I JUST SAY I always skip reading fight scenes but I have a newfound appreciation for anyone who writes them bc its fucking hard and time consuming and I never wanna do this again but we got 2 more chapters worth of this shit 😏🔫

Lmao anyways, thanks for reading- leave a like and comment if you want! ❤️