Canary

Chapter 45: The Waiting Game

That night, the school was on lockdown.

In an emergency meeting, Midoriya stood as far away from the rest of class A as he possibly could, his arms folded and gaze fixed forwards, unperturbed by the way his friends glanced at him with worried, unsure looks. Although, he'd let Siren perch on his shoulder, but he didn't really feel like talking to anyone – or the bird – whilst he stewed in his thoughts.

After a few hours, it was concluded that two members of the business course, second years, were missing. And then, following intense police activity, and Mr Aizawa having to use his Quirk on the entirety of the student body, it was concluded that no more clones of Himiko Toga remained in the premises. She – they – had snuck in using the missing students' IDs, as well as their likeness, and then transformed into Midoriya and Kacchan to enter Height Alliance without suspicion.

The two students were later found, although it took a lot longer than anyone felt comfortable with, and since UA didn't let their students return to the dorms until the entire place was thoroughly searched, Midoriya found himself sitting down on the grass as the sun set, his head in his hands with an anger that boiled skin deep, bringing tears to his eyes. But he only let one fall, when the news was broken, that Eri was gone.

"Hey, Canary? Can I ask you a question?" asked Mirio.

The older boy had found Midoriya wandering the grounds early that morning, kicking at the grass where the dew lay. He had been out for a jog, and they now walked together, in what had been a comfortable silence.

"You just did," Midoriya replied.

Mirio laughed, "I suppose so! But another one – after this one, that is?"

Midoriya shrugged, "Sure."

"Your Quirk has all sorts of capabilities; it's almost like having more than one!"

He shrugged again, "I suppose it can seem like that sometimes."

"Yeah – exactly. So... how do you manage that?"

Midoriya frowned, tearing his gaze away from the empty space before him to meet the eyes of Mirio, "What do you mean?"

He laughed again, rather unsurely this time, as he scratched his head, "How do I put this into words...? How do you... incorporate all those different powers and styles into one?"

"Hm..." Midoriya replied. "I don't know – it just comes naturally I guess..."

"I see..."

"Well – since I can only use one power at a time... and I'm so used to having none at all, it doesn't feel like much of a big deal," he explained, nodding to himself at the patchy answer to such a patchy question. "Why... do you ask? Have you got a secret extra Quirk you're not sure how to use or something?"

Mirio blinked at him for a second, stopping his tracks, until he burst into a laughter far more hysterical than earlier. "Well, kind of!"

Midoriya had meant that as a joke, but oh well. "Really? What kind of Quirk?"

"Well, um, it's... an extension to what I already know – something I've only been able to access recently, now that I'm strong enough."

"Oh, ok," Midoriya said, his brow still furrowed. "Like... something you've always had, but you can only use now that you've passed the threshold of a certain power level..."

"Err, yeah – I suppose that's the most obvious explanation," Mirio replied, seemingly choosing his words carefully.

"How... long have you had it?" Midoriya asked, slightly worried that he was pushing Mirio's limits, asking all these questions.