Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
The next fight began, Herbert vs. Bakugou. Suddenly, the ring seed to darken before the cara pointed up at the sky, specifically at the black clouds that were forming. No… the cara began to zoom in. It wasn't a cloud. It was insects. Millions and millions of insects covering the sky. I paled slightly. That amount of insects was unnatural; it was a walking biblical plague.
"What the fuck!? Are those just a few bugs, Emma?! A weak quirk, my ovaries! It's a freaking bug apocalypse! " Denise exclaid in complete disbelief as she stared at the screen with her mouth open.
"D-D-DON'T WORRY MY LISTENERS! ALL THE INSECTS ARE UNDER STUDENT HEBERT'S CONTROL! THIS IS ANOTHER LEVEL, I TELL YOU!! AS EXPECTED FROM AN S RANK, THEY WORK AT ANOTHER LEVEL! MILLIONS! BILLIONS OF INSECTS UNDER HER TOTAL CONTROL."
I was utterly shaken.
" Did I -did I hear wrong, or did the host just say that Emma's sister… is an S-rank?" Christina asked, completely incredulous.
"No… you heard right. We all did." Dean said, also surprised.
"Since when does the PRT send S-ranks as exchange students?" Vicky asked incredulously.
"I... we don't." Hanna said, confused, without looking away from the screen. "But surely Principal Piggot must know. She chose Hebert directly." Hannah added quickly, and we nodded.
"At least we know how she beca her year's representative." I pointed out the obvious. I looked at Emma and Sophia. Emma's face was blank as if she didn't know what she saw or heard. She appreciates having those monts of in-body shock where her consciousness leaves her body. anwhile, Sophia paled considerably.
Neither of them knew Taylor was an S-rank. Emma, not knowing her sister was an S-rank, was odd and even more so was their reaction. There was sothing very off about this.
I looked at the screen, and just as I expected, the other contestant was quickly overwheld by the apocalyptic number of insects attacking her repeatedly. She did her best but faced with millions of insects continuing to attack her relentlessly, she quickly reached her limit. Taylor ultimately won, still without drawing her sword.
" Why didn't you tell us your sister is an S-rank?!" Denise asked excitedly. Emma seed to co back to her body as she shook herself out of her thoughts. "And why did you say she could only control 'so insects'?!" she asked quickly. Emma continued staring at the screen as she began to pale.
"W- wha? I-I don't m-an-" Emma stuttered quickly as her eyes glazed over. I could almost sll the panic attack coming from her. I'd seen plenty in my short life from all the ti I'd spent in the hospital, and I knew what a panic attack looked like coming on.
Sophia placed a hand on Emma's shoulder and squeezed tightly. Emma flinched and looked at her imdiately. To my surprise, this seed to calm and bring her out of her incoming panic attack. Sophia snorted loudly.
"Because of a stupid secret, we can't talk about it," Sophia snapped. Denise humd and shrugged before she began speaking excitedly. I glanced at the pair.
The next fight was between Todoroki and Miyamura. Once again, it was quite an incredible fight. Miyamura's swordsmanship was incredible; he was fast, strong, and seed to dance through the arena. He could practically stop anything thrown at him with just his sword.
Then Hebert entered once more against Azula. Hebert attacked again with her biblical plague that she called a quirk. This ti, it didn't work as well; Azula had a powerful fire quirk that kept Hebert's insects at bay.
Herbert had to change her tactics, use her insects to hide from Azula's sight, and begin sneak attacks. Neither could use their Quirk fast enough to defeat their opponent, so the two engaged in close combat.
Hebert hadn't used her sword yet, but she was quite skilled in hand-to-hand combat. More than enough to easily repel all of Azula's attacks. Azula was also managing to do the sa.
Azula threw a lightning bolt at Hebert, electrocuting her severely. Hebert used her bugs to free herself. She seized the mont and moved faster than the screens could capture, appearing next to Azula and knocking her out of the ring. Hebert had reached the finals.
"Co on Taylor!" Denise cheered happily. "A little Brockton girl made it to the finals at Japan's biggest festival! It's a proud mont! " Denise exclaid happily. I rolled my eyes but smiled slightly.
Finally, the final duel arrived. Miyamura was Hebert's competitor. Miyamura had so far easily swept away all his competitors. Truly, his mastery of fighting seed unsurpassable. How hard must he have trained to reach such a level of skill?
"Oh, he's handso," Missy murmured, blushing slightly as she looked at the screen. Miyamura had lost his glasses, so his blue eyes were completely exposed, and he also had his hair tied up, revealing all his ear piercings and showing his face completely. He was handso, she had to admit. Even with his cocky smile as he strutted like he owned the place.
"AND NOT ONLY THAT MY LISTENERS! IT IS NOT JUST A FIGHT BETWEEN CLASSMATES, BETWEEN COUNTRYN!!! AMONG FRIENDS!!! BUT THEY ARE COMMITTED!! THAT'S RIGHT, PEOPLE!! A LOVERS' QUARREL!! HOW EXCITING!! "
"Wow, that's a surprise," Hannah said. I thought the sa; I didn't expect that.
"It's kind of romantic," Dean said with a smile.
"Wait! So all those previous encounters and confrontations were them flirting?" Vicky asked in surprise. I raised my eyebrows at that and chuckled.
"I guess that's one way to light the fire," Christina said amusedly.
"Hey Emma, how does it feel to know your sister has such a handso man as a fiancée, and all you have is Sophia?" Denise mocked. I let out a loud snort of amusent. Emma didn't say a word; she just stared at the screen with her mouth open. Another... shock? What was -
"WILL CONTESTANT HEBERT FINALLY USE HER SWORD?! WILL WE FINALLY SEE WHAT SHE CAN DO?! THIS FIGHT PROMISES TO BE INCREDIBLE!! AND IT'S A BLACK SWORD! IS THIS INC-A BLACK SWORD?! EE-IT'S A BLACK SWORD! W-WITH A WAVY PATTERN, NN-I NEED A MINUTE!!"
"I HAVE NO WORDS, PEOPLE! THE SWORD IN THE HANDS OF CONTESTANT HEBERT IS IDENTICAL TO SHUSUI HERSELF!! LEGENDARY SWORD OF THE SWORD GOD RYUMA!! WILL IT BE THE REAL SHUSUI?! THAT SWORD WAS CONSIDERED A NATIONAL TREASURE THAT WAS THOUGHT TO BE LOST WHEN RYUMA RETIRED!? IS HEBERT RYUMA'S HEIR!?!?!"
My head whipped around so fast I heard it crack as I stared at the screen in disbelief. The sword in Hebert's hand was being displayed on the screen in full. In bold words. Shusui, Ryuma's sword.
"She's Ryuma's heir!?" Christina shrieked, nearly fainting. And she could understand her shock; the entire United States recognized Ryuma's na; after Kamish, it was impossible not to know. The sword Hebert wielded was a legend in itself.
"I don't think it works like that?" Carla said, almost incredulous.
"That's... incredible," Rory muttered, staring at the screen. I also looked at it once until the presenter shouted another surprising announcent.
Enma, I didn't know the na, but according to the presenter, it was a sword on the sa level as Shusui, which was saying sothing. But more importantly, Miyamura was an S-rank, just like Taylor. Two S-ranks engaged with high-level weapons; it is truly a match made in heaven. Terribly different from the couple Emma and Sophia made, I couldn't help but compare.
Speaking of them, I glanced at them. Sophia and Emma were pale, looking like they were about to faint.
Ultimately, All Might decided to preside over the fight to avoid collateral damage. How strong did they have to be for a national-level hero to act as a shield? The answer... too strong.
I couldn't tear my eyes away from the screen, even though I could barely keep up. They both moved quickly, and their swords were even faster. Both were extrely skilled. They weren't just waving their weapons around like city gang mbers. They both seed to have a truly high level of skill.
Was that UA's standard for the strongest students? It was incredible. On top of that, they were both using Haki, which Hannah had ntioned. I finally understand what Hannah ant. The destruction and the shocking force occurring on the stage were completely on another level from what had been shown so far. It was indescribable.
It quickly beca clear that Miyamura was stronger in a direct confrontation. His Haki blasts were much more potent than Hebert's. That was until Hebert used her insects.
I thought she was being stupid in using her quirk, cutting her own insects? It seed like a bad idea until she proved it wasn't. It was all part of her plan to poison Miyamura. To my surprise, Miyamura started laughing almost madly. He had a wild grin on his face, and the second half of the fight began.
The fight was now even more intense, perhaps in Hebert's favor. It seed like her attacks were getting stronger the more she fought Miyamura. Finally, the two collided with a devastating blow that shook and cut the entire ring in half.
Miyamura stood proudly with his sword. Hebert had lost her braid, which was falling over and covering her face. Then, they began to fight once more. Curiously, they both perford the sa movents as their swords clashed in the shattered sand until they stood still.
"What?! What happened?! They can't stop halfway! " Denise exclaid, almost desperately clutching the edge of her seat.
We finally figured out what was going on. Taylor had passed out a while ago. My eyes widened. Had she been fighting at that level while unconscious?! Monster. She was a fucking monster.
" aaaaaahhhh, that's not fair!! We were so close to getting first place!! " Denise moaned in disappointnt. "Still! A Brocktonite, born and bred, ca in second place! That's amazing!!" she exclaid. She was about to speak again, but Emma shot up from her seat.
She was incredibly pale as if she'd just seen a dead person, her eyes were bulging, and she seed about to vomit. Sophia imdiately stood up and began dragging Emma toward her room.
"She's probably worried about her sister. They're probably about to call her," Hannah said softly. I looked at her in disbelief. To my surprise, the others nodded in agreent. What the hell?! How could they not see her obvious manipulation and discomfort? The only one who seed to view the scene differently was Dean. But hell, he wouldn't want to be in the sa group as them.
"It was quite a fight to watch. I could barely keep up," Dean said with a shaky smile, trying to change the subject. Pathetic, weak as ever. What did Vicky see in him? It was truly frustrating.
" Don't worry, I'll protect you from anything! " Vicky said gallantly. Dean laughed lightly.
"My heroine," Dean laughed as he leaned down to kiss Vicky. I looked away imdiately. I heard Denise snort.
" Yes, I'm sure either of those two can beat you," Denise replied amusedly. Vicky looked at her, almost offended.
"Excuse ?! I'm invulnerable! They couldn't hurt even if they tried." Vicky said, offended. Yeah, no, she would lose. I loved my sister, but her weakness was pretty obvious. Miyamura, in particular, made so of his moves so fast that he could surely take advantage of the gap in her shield regeneration to hurt her.
" And yet, you're an A-rank while they're solid S-ranks." Denise mocked.
"That doesn't matter! I'm sure I can handle them!" Vicky growled.
"That doesn't matter! What matters is that they're stronger than ! " Missy exclaid, complaining before looking at Hannah. "See! That's why I need to learn how to use a gun! I'm an A-rank, I have S-rank potential, and I'm much weaker than them, weaker than most of the contestants!!" Missy said indignantly. Hannah gave her an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry, but those are the rules of the Youth Guard," Hannah said apologetically.
"You should have gone to a hero school and not joined the Wards," Denise mocked. Missy growled.
"And wait another four years while I graduate? No thanks," Missy said with a grimace. We all laughed lightly. I looked over to the spot where Sophia and Emma had disappeared. Sothing was fishy there, but… it wasn't any of my business. I had enough problems of my own without trying to figure out what the hell was going on there.
I looked at Vicky longingly before ntally kicking myself. No, I wouldn't relapse again. I tried to ignore Vicky and focused on the lively conversation about the festival.
---------------------------
Sophia Pov .
I stood up and dragged Emma into our bedroom, ignoring everyone else. I closed the door tightly and grabbed Emma by the shoulders.
"Emma! Calm down already! " I shook Emma to make her see reason. Emma was almost catatonic. Emma freed herself from my grasp, grabbed the nearest trash can, and started gagging. I think she threw up.
"...Taylor is stronger than us," Emma murmured in disbelief after composing herself. I gritted my teeth. I couldn't accept it! I couldn't accept that this waste of space was the sa Taylor! Taylor was weak, and her Quirk was weak! She'd never amount to anything! There was no way she was the sa Taylor we just saw at the Japanese festival.
"Taylor isn't stronger than us," I said through gritted teeth. "She may have new tricks, but she's still a sheep, prey, taking what's given to her, soone who hides in the shadows, avoiding attention! She's not like us! " I said quickly.
"B-but, you saw her! Fighting head-on with her insects against that boy! That black thing on his arms! She could kill us in a matter of seconds! " I could see Emma on the verge of another panic attack. Damn. I walked over, ignored the vomit, and grabbed her shoulders tightly. That always got Emma's attention.
"Emma, calm down! She may be stronger in a fight now. But she's probably still the sa stupid, pathetic girl she always was. We're stronger, and she never will be! " I said firmly.
"Yes…" Emma said weakly.
"Besides, that idiot Taylor probably had a Reawakening," I said quickly as I thought. Emma frowned.
"...that thing we learned about in class that can increase a person's Quirk?" Emma asked uncertainly. I nodded quickly.
"Yeah, think about it. It takes an intensely stressful environnt, like the worst day of your life or a life-or-death situation. Surely Taylor was weak enough to break because of the Locker prank." I scoffed if that made sense. Taylor was a nobody. "In fact, she should be thanking us. She's strong because we made her that way."
"Yeah… Taylor is nothing without us," Emma said, her eyes shining slightly as she composed herself. I let out a sigh.
" That idiot surely doesn't have what it takes to be soone like us," I said petulantly.
"It's possible Japan wanted to groom her to show off. To look good to us. They probably handed her everything on a silver platter to help her," Emma said more forcefully, grimacing. I stopped to think about it. It's possible.
"Besides, she used that fancy Haki thing, but Militia said soone would teach us too. We just have to learn it, and we'll be stronger than her. Much stronger than she could ever dream of being." I said confidently. Emma's eyes finally brightened, and her countenance recovered.
"Yes, you're right, as always. We'll surpass her in no ti. If she could learn it during her ti in Japan, then we can do it too." Emma said determinedly. I nodded. I saw Emma lean in to kiss and imdiately pulled away.
"I love you, but my love reaches as far as your vomit," I said with a grimace. Emma did too, and stood up.
We quickly started complaining about Hebert while Emma cleaned herself up. However, I couldn't shake the bad feeling running through my body for so reason.
----------
Danny Hebert POV .
"Danny! Annette!" Zoé's screams made slam the knife down on the board. Still, I dropped it imdiately and ran to the door where Zoé was rushing in, almost frantically.
"Zoé, honey, is everything okay?!" I asked almost imdiately as I began searching for any injuries on her body. I heard Annette's heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Zoé!? What happened!? " Annette asked forcefully as she walked out the door and looked outside the house, looking for anything.
" I- I'm fine, it's not that! I-it's Taylor! " Zoé gasped. My hands stopped, and my eyes widened. I could see Annette stumble over her feet.
"Taylor?! Is Taylor okay?!" Annette asked, slamming the door shut and regaining her composure.
"I- yeah, it's all right! Taylor is fine! I an, Taylor participated in the Japanese festival! It was broadcast on international television! " Zoé said as she walked into the house and headed for the living room. Annette and I looked at each other in confusion but followed her imdiately.
"I was at work when Carol congratulated on Taylor's performance at the festival. Apparently, her daughter, Victoria, was saying that Taylor was one of the winners. I... didn't know she was participating in a festival! " Zoe said frustratedly as she manipulated the television and rewound several hours in the programming.
"… neither." I muttered in disbelief, looking at Annette, who shook her head.
"Okay, okay, it's ti for the athlete pledge!! Your student representative is, from Class 1- A, Taylor Hebert!! " My eyes widened at the sound of Taylor's na on the television. Our attention was fixed entirely on the screen, neither of us blinking as Taylor began to step up for her speech.
"It's Taylor," I murmured. There she was. She looked completely flustered. She was taller, she seed to have gained more weight, and her skin and hair looked much healthier than before she left, but her eyes were the sa. No, now they seed brighter and more full of life than ever. My daughter had grown so much, I couldn't rember the last ti I saw her directly. Video calls with her were rare. In fact... when was the last ti we spoke to Taylor?
Emma was the one in charge of communicating with Taylor. She said they talked constantly, that they'd resolved their differences talking all the ti, and that she sent us greetings and everything. But seeing her again, in front of a crowd, on international television as her year's representative, was sothing else.
The three of us finally ca to terms with it and sat on the couch, watching the entire festival. The way Taylor stuttered at the beginning of her speech made want to be there for her, but then her declaration of war confused . When had Taylor changed so much? Had I missed so much of her life? And let's not even get started on her obscene gesture in front of millions of people.
We continued watching the cavalry battle. Taylor looked different, and the look on her face was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I didn't know she wielded a sword. I didn't know what my daughter had beco. That made my stomach clench.
We watched her battle that guy with glasses with everything she had and erge in second place thanks to her strategy and her bugs. Finally, the tournant and the individual duels arrived. We were shocked by the magnitude of bugs she could use; it was incredible.
It was on a whole other level than she rembered her being able to do. She could rember Taylor happily feeding the bugs in her terrarium and lovingly watching them for hours when she was just 5 years old. The most she'd ever had was a few thousand under her Quirk's control, but now she could control millions. She'd truly blossod in Japan. They'd helped her with everything they could.
We watched as Taylor won every match while overwhelming her opponents. Until the final duel against the boy with glasses. Izumi Miyamura… Taylor's fiancé.
Taylor had gotten engaged, engaged to a guy, and we didn't know about it?! I felt my stomach drop once again. The fight was the most impressive thing I'd ever seen. I constantly saw heroes fighting villains or hunters defeating monsters on the news, but seeing Taylor so strong, wielding a legendary sword, and displaying so much power. It was truly breathtaking.
Eventually, Taylor fainted, but she stayed on her feet and kept fighting. As a father, I was filled with pride. She'd won second place at a prestigious Hero University festival in Japan. It was incredible, but... sothing was wrong. So much was wrong. We didn't know anything about Taylor's life.
"Did any of you... did any of you know about any of that?" Zoé asked slowly as she paused the screen, the image of Taylor receiving her second-place dal with a huge smile. Annette and I shook our heads.
"E-Emma's the one who usually communicates with Taylor; she... she told us that Taylor's really busy training, and all that," Annette said while biting her lip.
"Emma… Did Emma forget to tell us all about any of that?" I tried weakly.
"I know Emma's busy with Sophia being a hero and all... but... forgetting sothing as important as that... I..." Zoe tried to say, and I nodded. Sothing was wrong. I could feel a knot in my stomach, but I didn't know what. Taylor... Had Taylor distanced herself so much from us? Did she hate us? Was there anything we could do?
"I'm calling her," Annette said determinedly. She took out her phone, dialed Taylor's number, and put it on speakerphone.
"This is Taylor Hebert's voicemail. Please leave your ssage after the tone." The three of us fell silent.
"She must be busy. W-what ti is it in Japan? " Zoé tried with a nervous smile. I bit my lip.
"Yeah… that must be it. We'll try again later." I said with a shaky, fake smile.
"She... deleted her social dia?" Annette said, staring disconsolately at her phone.
"What?" Zoé and I asked.
"Her social dia accounts are gone!" Annette said. We quickly huddled around the phone. "Wait, I think I found her!" Annette quickly opened a page and found... a Japanese page? The automatic translator started working. Oh, it was a Japanese social dia page.
"Is that Taylor?" Zoé asked. And indeed, she was right. The social network belonged to Taylor. Taylor had deleted all her social networks and created a new one in Japan. What... why?
Annette started scrolling through the pictures. The first few were of Taylor in her UA uniform. Most of the photos were of Taylor with two other girls, but there were an especially vast amount of images with her smiling broadly alongside her fiancé… and it still sounded weird. My daughter is engaged… but looking at the pictures… when was the last ti I saw her smile so happily like that? I… couldn't rember.
Annette continued scrolling down the page as she read the captions. When she'd scrolled far enough, her hand shook slightly, and she almost dropped her phone.
The image showed Taylor holding a box of what looked like pastries, along with a woman in her 30s or 40s holding the sa box. They were both smiling slightly at each other as if they were having fun together. Below was the damning caption.
"Workday with Mom! @IoriMiyamura"
The three of us recoiled back as if we had been struck.
Oh…
…
Author's Notes: Sorry for those waiting for PRT's reaction, it's the next chapter!
Editor's comnt: I'm editing this and see the ending only to see Taylor in my mind screaming Vengeance Is Mine!
A/N: If you liked the story, join my patreon, patreon/Callya_Addams, there are up to 10 chapters in advance, thank you. Or you can also visit my Ko-Fi, ko-fi/callya_addams.
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