feel the earth shudder when she's around

WITH HER ARMS CROSSED over her chest, Ivette leant against the cement wall, the rest of her classmates seated in their viewing balcony. In the arena was Bakugo and Kirishima, the two soulmates battling it out for their advancement in the sports festival. A frown settled upon her lips; discomfort churned in her stomach. Something didn't sit well with Ivette as she watched the two fight.

"̶̩͔̻̝̰́̀͆́̿̉̌̃͌̈̈́͠T̸̳̖̩̬̤̫̑̉͒̃̑̈́̚h̶̨̡͇̮̗̺͔͈̿̄ͅe̵̢̠̙͚̘͕͉̫͇͂̀͗̕̕͜͝͠y̵̘͎͐͑͗̎̇̓͊͐̄̈́̕̚'̶̠̣̘͉̱̯̝͇̈́͜ŗ̷̧̠̦̳͖̘̗̱̯͙̦͕̜̠͛̆e̵̜͍̞̅̈́̆̀̀̾̏̑̾̈́͌̚ ̷̢̞̖̓̍̒̎n̵̛̲̻̲̫̳̻͇̍̚̕ơ̵̡̯̳̜̼͉̜̼͑̆̑̽̀t̸̨̛̥̺̰̖̗͐͐̿̎̐́̏́̈́̕̕͜ ̶̠̻̳̤̼͎͎͇̠̈́̀͐̈̉͂͂̈́͋̒̚͝͝͝͝h̶̡͎̱͈̼͙͛̅́͑̅̽̽̊̓͜ơ̴͚̫͖̍͋̓͋̅́̽̋́̉͌̚ḷ̷̪̳͉̽̂̑͗̊̊̉̎͆̅͐ḓ̸̢̨̢̨̝̺̹͕̮͚̬̍̾̓̊͒͆̾̈́́͌̐͘̕͜ͅi̴̡̺͉͍̫͔̙̻͇̝͖̟̦̞̩͋ń̷͉̝͎̫͎̟͙̆͌͑̀̽̋͊͆͝͠ͅg̴̨̧̝̣̖̰̜̮͚̫̣̲̭͉̾̀̾̄̔̕ ̶̡̛̬̪͓̺̻̙̣̃́̇̾̽͌̂͌̃͂́͠͝ͅͅb̵̢̼̗̹̲͖̳̟͛̌̀͛̇͊̏͝a̸̰̣̫͗̓̎͘c̶̘̫͎̬̘̓̎̌̈͋͘͘͜k̸̡̧͓̫̯͙̼͈̣̭̀̍̿̈́̏́͜.̵̧̖͓͓̥̫͉̃͆́̍͗͌̑̑͌̈ͅ"̵̨̢̛̱̯̩̲̯̝͔̝͘͜͠

I can see that.

"̴̡̳̲̱͉̈́̏̏̅̊ͅT̵̢̧̖̘͈͍̹͚̖̤̥̤̙͊̌̀̀̏͒͝h̷̛̼̦͙͙̘͔̞̞̳͙̓̓̑̄̾̏̉̽̀͗͐̔̚͝e̷̛̮̻̗͓̤͋̾͒͒̋͌̋́͑̒̃͆͘̚y̸̧̡̘̻̜͈͑͑̒͂̈́͗͑̋̏ ̶̢̛͈̳̘͈̰̞̹͇͔̫̖̂̽͑̃̑̓̓̕͜͠t̵̯͖̹͍͓̉ͅḁ̴̧̩̻̦̬͕͉͈͔̮͆͆̈k̴̙̺̜̇̈́̇̍̑͐̄͗͝ȩ̷̧͍͖̻̭̟̖͔̫͉͕̒̈̃ͅ ̸͚̼̜͖̲̎̍̂ͅṕ̴̨̢̛͎͇̙̗͇̘̘̙͌͒̆͂́̀͋̐̔͂̐͋̽͜ļ̵̣̘̞̳̙͈̼̝͒̔͛͊̓͑̂̓̇͆͊̈̕͘͜͠e̷̡̥͙̱̼̺̺͓̜̻̾̌͑͒͋̀͑͋́͘̚͝͠ͅͅͅͅͅa̷̳̱̬͇̱͓̔s̵̭̗̖͕͈̻̈́͋̽͒̎̈́̂ͅư̶̧̭̼̭͍̦̙̜̞̩̦͕̍͛̂̿̉̃̄́̒̀͗̚͜͠͝ṛ̴̼̤̤͆́̀͂́̍̈̑̈́ę̴̛̱̻̣̻̯͆̈́͆̈́͛̉̎́͗̆̚̕ ̸͍͉͓̘̆̑̿i̵̛̥̫͓̼̋̋̃͆͝͠ͅn̸̨̡͎̮͚̖͎̫̻͌̄͛̃͌̐̏̒̆͌͝ ̵͎̺̣͕̞̘̎̈̉̒͒͌̍̈́t̵̫̘͚̬̙̊̏̊̊̐̔̕͘h̸̝̗̃̀͗͑̐̂̉̀͊̈́̒̀͐̕̚i̷̢̢͕̭̮̣̟̳̯̰̼͈̟̿s̸̡̬̣̮̥̻̩̖̖͙̈͊̀̇̑̈́̾̓͛̿̈́̃͜͝.̴̲̗͙͕̓͗̉͂̾̐͊͒͘̕"̵̡̛͔̣̹̣̱̮̰̤̼̹̣̖͎̃̅̌͛̏͐́̂͌̒̆̈̑̚

Emerald eyes sharpened. They darted over to the crowd, watching as the audience cheered for the teenagers. Ivette scanned their appearances; most of them were so called heroes, dressed in silly spandex.

"̵̧͕͇̆͘͝Ţ̴̛̪̱̰͔̦̼͇͎̠̥̦̑́͛͒̈́͑͋̿̐h̷̼̗͇͎̺͈̪͉͖̳͍̠̱̫͗i̷̛̪̻̫̫̯͙͑̾̓̈̎̀͛͑͂͒̚͝ŝ̵̡̛̛̳̾̍̌̉̕ ̷̡͖̙̄̍̓̅͑́͆̀͌̅̄̎̒̅i̷̼͈̹͑̍̈́͐̇̿́͊̈̔̄̈͝͝ș̸̦͔̠̩͇̹̼͇̣͓̥͎̫̍̓͠ͅn̶̙̰̱̖̍̈́̉̂̓̍͌͂̆̄̈́'̶̛͖͚͍͍̭͇̘͎̘̯̥͙͓̟́͂̌̐̎͋̎̐̑͌̅͗͠͠ͅt̷͐̀̀͗̌̆͋͑͂͜ͅ ̸̪̥͇̭̪̘̝͔̳̤̉̈́͂́̄͛̄̈́̎͠r̸͉͔͉̆͗̋̈̅̿̑͆i̸̧͈̳̭̼͕̯̘̬̣̝̳̦̍́̒͒̑̂̀̀͋͘͠͝͝g̵̣̘͇̅̒̏̇̎̍͂̓̉̒̒̕ͅḩ̸̣͈̣̰̋̍̊̓̈́̕ţ̶̡̛̟̤̹̦̙͓̟̰̪̩̂́̋̆́́͐͘̚͘͘.̷̙̜̯͓̽̈́̎̀̔̊͂̈̔̒̂̚"̶͍̩͚̝̗̆̆͒̑̓́́͂̚

Her grip on her arms were bruising, nails digging into her skin. Fury burned bright.

I agree.

Bakugo ended up winning, knocking out Kirishima, who they knew had no hard feelings towards him. The blond extended an arm out to the fallen boy, cheeks tinting a pure rose colour at the bright grin he received. They'd work together to grow stronger. That was the soulmates' general consensus.

Well, three out of the four anyway.

Time passed, and soon Ivette found herself standing before her other soulmate. The frown on her face had not disappeared. Rather, it deepened. She shifted her feet, leaning her weight on her right leg, arms still folded over each other as she pursued her lips, wondering what to do now.

"̴͕̫͙͚͊͊͂̑̂̕͠D̴̫͇͕̯̞̩̯̭̯̼̱͊̇̌͛̆͐̅͘̚͠͝ǫ̶̨̰̩͙̯͙̝̍̌͊̒͐̒̌͊̽́n̴͉̠̈́̈́̔'̸̧̨͎͇͔̞̠̤͖̻͎̰͕̾̉̈́̉̾̊͛̚͜t̸̡̛͈̭͎͇͔͇͍͔͈͎̩̒̍̽̃̾̆̈́͛͒̾̚͜͝ ̵̢̭͔̞̿̈́͘s̸̗̜̻̊̾̓͋̎͝ä̵̧̘̺̠̱̤̭́͋̀͂͑̐̐̈́̚͝t̷̬͙̫͎̱́i̷͓͖̼͎͍̻̪̟̠͛̒͂̅̇͒͗͌͊͆̿͗̍͜͜͝͝s̴̨̻͈̥͎̻͚̦̞͙̀̆̃͗̃͠ͅf̴̢̨̭̱̦̦̩̬͙̺̫͙͈̋̊̈́̔y̷̱̙̙̝̦͍͉͎̜̠̔͆ ̴̛̖̯̜̲̦̠̠̞̭̭̺̇̈́̅̿͐̀̈̀̚̚ͅť̶̼͎͖͖̯̣͚̘̻̺̉̉́͊̐h̵͇͈̞͖̣̹̟̘̠̝͔͑̅̃̈́͋̄ę̴̬̜̃̏̂͑̅̽͛̓̀͆͘͠i̷̦͚͔͍̲̮̿̽̽̄̒̽̀̈́͆̑͆̏̂͜͝͝r̷͍̭̗͖̦̮̘͈͔̬͙͈̮̋͊̌̏͂̊͋ ̵̡̲͈̜͎̞͓͓͚̜͎͍̪͕̈͑͜i̵̡̢̱͇̜͆̈̔̈́̈̀̈́̋̑͝ṋ̷͙̞̯͚̤̟̀̏̏͆̌͑͐̋̐̃͒̉̎͠ͅh̴͎̒̌͋̅̽͑͌̋̾́̿͠ǘ̴̮͍̯̼͕̼̪͆͂̽̈́͒͋́̀̊̎̄̚͜͜͠͝ṁ̵̖̟̪̺̭̙̙̦̗͌̎͊́͂̿͆́̃͑͂̐̕̚a̷̡̗̞͍̞̣͓̱̞̰̬̺̓͐́̓̕͝ͅņ̸̟̀́͆́̅͋͗̔͐̅̓ĕ̴̘̭̪̣̺̥͈͚͉̓͂̅̓͑̆̓͑͋̔͋̕͝͝ ̶̮͓̝̓̈́́̎̊̊̌̕͝d̸͈̅̔͝e̴̦̯̲̹̘̻̼͒ş̴̡̯̳̦̼̯̹͈̺̤̟̍̌͂̒̇̀̈́͘͘į̵̛̰͍͓̲̫͈̫͔̺͎͓̌͋r̷̛̞̫̜̥͈̹̬̣̜͊̏̈́̃̉̄͐̿͊ȩ̷̙̲͈͈͕͖̼̺͎̾̈́̃̈́̈́̓̕ͅs̵̳̒͑̃̾͆̚.̵̞͕̫̋̒̎͗̅͒̀̽̃͌́̕̕"̸̼͔̟̬͖̮̤͙͉̺̹̩̅̕ ̴̡̡̛̪͖̞̓͊̊̀̏̓̈́̄́́͗͝͝

What should I do?

The entity in her head grinned.

Good. She was seeking his advice.

From the stands, Izuku, who had come out of the infirmary, and her other soulmates, noticed her distant, closed-off attitude. The rest of her classmates? Well, they didn't think anything different. That was how Ivette acted with them — nothing different. But those closest to her weren't fooled.

"The first match of the semifinals!" Present Mic announced, sat buzzing with neverending energy in his booth. "With both of them possessing crazy strong quirks, it's the battle of might and vigour! From the hero course, it's Shoto Todoroki. Also from the hero course, it's Ivette Midoriya!"

Green and multi-coloured eyes met. One readied their stance, and the other continued to stare, a blank expression plastered across her face.

"̶̧̧̬̅̉̆͌̐̄̔̓̋̈͂͐̕ͅĎ̵̡̖̭̈̇͊̆͛̀ͅe̵̢̛̛̥̻̞̻̯͙̱͓͙͉̜̽̈́͋͌́̇̐͗̚͝ń̵̢̤̖̭̘̭̦̯͎͚̹̥̉͆̓̂̉͘ͅÿ̴̢̙̣̗̘̹́̽̓͗͑͐͂̓̈̆͒͘͜͠͝ͅ ̴̡̝̤̜̮͍̭̝̀̈́͗̍́̏̈́̐̆̿̆́̓̔ͅt̶̢̯̲̝̪̼̫͉̱̻̳̳̀̐̿̀́̎̄̍̊̀͘͘h̶͙̞̮̱͉̤͓̥͍̘͈̣̪̅̔͐̂͜͜ȩ̷̟̌̓͐͆m̵̡̱͓͕̳͙͔̲̜̼̋̍͑̀̐͐͘͝͝.̸͔̜̰̙̹͓̠̜̮̜͍͕̰͑̑̂̕"̶̨̳̊̍͊ͅ

"Start!"

Todoroki tensed upon seeing Ivette shift, her hands falling to her side.

"No," came her reply.

"H-Huh?"

The crowd was stunned, everyone else, as well.

Ivette relaxed her shoulders, gaze drifting over to her teacher. "I refuse to fight."

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING, GREENIE?!" yelled Bakugo from the stands, hands gripped around the cement protecting them from falling. He was leaning over, only stabilised by Kirishima's arm wrapped around his waist.

Ivette rolled her eyes.

"I apologise, Shoto." She turned to her soulmate, offering him a somewhat kind smile. "But fighting my soulmate doesn't sit right with me."

"S-SOULMATE?!"

"Sugoi! That's why they have awesome chemistry!"

"Oh my!"

"They're so cute!"

"A perfect match!"

The media and audience went crazy, finally noticing the three brands wrapped around the duo's wrists. Was it rare to have a poly bond? No. But it certainly was uncommon. Those with multiple bonds connecting their souls together often found themselves falling apart with the vast amount of responsibility placed upon their shoulders.

"Midoriya-san," Aizawa called from the announcing booth. She turned to look at him. "You may want to reconsider. This is the perfect time to know of your strengths against your soulmates if there's ever a chance you'd have to face off against them in the future."

"̸͖͈͇͒̓̎̇̀̏͗̓̿̃͆̈́̿̕͜͠H̵̫͛͠ó̶͇̭͕̿̎̇̋͋̈͜w̸̠̱̣̙̱̍̅̄̉̀ ̶̨̧̬̯̟̖͇̥͋̔́̐̏̽̕ŝ̴̢̨̛͖̥̦̲̼̮̖̗͉̗̟̐͊͐t̶͕̿͛͗͒͌̉͝ǘ̵̘̰̻̺͎̥͖̪̂̏̎̅̆́p̴͍̪̪̖̠͓̩̝̣͓̜͖̜͈̿̽̌͐͋̈́̉͋̒̏̊͛͝ͅį̵̛̻̥͉̬͖̫̖̭͇̦̰̟͔̈́̀̑̿͐͂̎̕̕͝d̶̡̜̻̩̭̩͖̻̱̜͙͉͔̥̮̀́͑̿̾̊̓͛͌̈̊͆̕͝.̸̮̘̝͇̺̫̫̒̃͐̈́ ̶̡̜̦̘͐̿H̶̨̼́e̷͚̱̯̗̱̝͆̅ ̸̧͇̯͚̥̞̳̖͖̌͂̄̏s̸̜̋́ḥ̴̼͚̟͍̼̠̄ơ̴̯̝͕̜̔́̄̑̈̽̋̓̽͘͝͝͝u̸͍̳̠͑͒̃̀͛̈́́͘l̵͓̳̮̲̂̎d̸̫̣͖̻̻̏̋̑̓͐̋͌̊͌̆̈͝͝͠͝ ̷̱̾̄̿̓̓̾͆́̓̈́͂k̴̺͔͕͚͈̙̘̉͆̓͐̓̉̓͆ͅņ̵̨̛̣̰̣̠̭̭̣̞͍̒̓̅͂̒͘͜ȯ̵̱̺̳͜͝͝ẉ̵̦̘̺̐̅̈́́́́̅̓͂̈́̾̈̚ ̵̺̦̩̘̲̤̠́́̎̆͒͗͂̀̚͠ͅb̵̢̥̬̦̰͔͚͓̰̗͓̖̃̀̉͛͊͛̿̔̒̈́̓́͗͝͝e̵̛̲̼̖̙̝͐̾͂̍̍͂̀̅̚͜͝ṭ̸̨̺̦̦̯͕̟̜̣̯͔̘̽͂̓̓̈́͌́͛͐͝ṫ̴̪̳̺̋͑̋̇̐̄̎͝e̴̥̝̠͇̲̔̕r̸̢̡̙̦̺̜̜̞̞̬̣͎͕̭̐͒̆͌̈͗̓̀̚͘͠͝.̵̺̦̤͉̹̖̅͆́̂̀̉̓̑́̚"̶͎̙͎̱̳͇͎͑̈̿́

Irritation swirled among her cells. Her lips morphed into a scowl, and she scoffed.

"Whatever path my soulmates choose, I will follow," Ivette declared, aware of the rampage of shock palpitating through everyone. "Be it good or bad. I was made for them, and, in turn, they were made for me. I will follow them to the ends of the earth if I have to." Bakugo, Kirishima and Todoroki all blushed heavily at her proclamation. "In a world where heroes are seen as the faces of justice, pitting us against each other, soulmates especially, well, I find it quite questionable. We're meant to work together, not fight against each other." She stared dead into Aizawa's eyes, green clashing with half-open black.

Ivette proceeded to turn on her heel, heading to the edge. She stepped over the white line, marking her disqualification from the sports festival. Everyone was left dumbfounded. Some were struck with a sense of awe at her speech, some with confusion and some with annoyance at the childish ideals. Ivette ignored the various thoughts filtering through her mind. She looked towards the stand beside the arena, motioning for her teacher to do something. Midnight, who slowly shook out of her surprise, announced Todoroki as the winner of the match.

And with that, Ivette left. Walking down the hallway, she heard the multiple footsteps approaching her from behind and from in front. She came to a stop upon seeing a seething Bakugo storming home to her with a worried Kirishima hot on his tail.

"What the fuck was that, Ivette?" he all but growled, crimson eyes narrowed dangerously on the girl. He knew better than anyone that she could've taken out Todoroki with one simple move. Her quirk gave her that much strength. But he also knew Todoroki knew of her limits. Their soulmate bond gave them enough insight into each other.

Ivette arched a brow. "I already said I wouldn't fight my mates, didn't I? I'm not going to hurt the ones made for me, nor am I going to try." The very idea was preposterous to her. "The sports festival was fun, I'll admit. It was nice to finally use my quirk. But I shall not use it to harm my soulmates."

Bakugo clenched his fists, gritting his teeth in an effort to remain calm. He didn't want to snap at the only one who knew him inside out. He knew her inside out. That's why he understood what she meant. Yet Bakugo couldn't help but feel like she was looking down on them. "D'ya think your better than us, huh?!"

Ivette rolled her eyes, flicking his forehead with her index finger. "I think you guys are amazing. We don't need to fight it out for that." She turned to look at all of them, sincerity shining from within the depths of her emerald eyes. "We're made for one another, and we're all special in our own way. You don't need affirmation from me to know."

Her words struck a chord through Kirishima and Todoroki especially. The latter had begun questioning everything in his life, wondering whether what he was doing was right or not. The two of them were lost in society's judgement, trying their best to live up to the standards of being a hero that they forgot their own self-worth mattered. What they thought of themselves mattered more than what others thought of them. And since they all shared a bond, they had come to the idea that their soulmates were them, opinions and minds interlinked to become one.

That was not the case.

Not at all.

Even if they were destined to be together, they were not the same. Shoto Todoroki was Shoto Todoroki. Eijiro Kirishima was Eijiro Kirishima. Katsuki Bakugo was Katsuki Bakugo. And Ivette Midoriya was Ivette Midoriya. They were all exceptional individuals with their own thoughts and beliefs.

As always, Ivette knew what they were thinking. She always did. Was it because of the ability to read minds? Partly. Was it because she could feel their emotions? Again, partly. What was the main cause, you ask? Well, Ivette happened to understand her soulmates in the short span of time they bonded together. She had always been good at reading people. That would never change.

And would she use that to her advantage?

One day.

"I'll see you later." She bid them a goodbye, wishing them good luck on their next matches. Ivette wasn't in the mood to interact with anyone; that's why she chose to stay away from everyone, standing in the corner and watching as the matches unfold. Bakugo won against Tokoyami, using the brightness of his explosions to his advantage.

And when it came to Todoroki and Bakugo's battle, Ivette spotted the daunting memories resurfacing to the front of Todoroki's mind just as he was about to use his quirk. She frowned. Bakugo, as a result of being denied a chance to fight against his soulmate's immense power, reacted angrily. He felt like he was looking down on him, and Bakugo hated that.

Shoto's voice echoed in her head. I don't want to use my quirk to hurt others. I don't want to hurt him.

His mother had been burnt; he had been burnt, his older brother, too. Todoroki was sick and tired of people getting hurt by his father's flames. He vowed to not be like him. He wasn't going to break that vow.

So, with that conclusion, Todoroki extinguished his flames and allowed Bakugo's quirk to hit him full impact, colliding into his ice and passing out. Bakugo followed shortly after, just below him as a result of Midnight's sleep-enticing quirk.

A deep sigh left Ivette's lips. She knew precisely how both her soulmates were feeling.

It was both a blessing and a curse.

"Whatever," she said, pushing herself off the wall, hands wedged into her pocket.

"Where are you going, Ivette?" Kirishima asked, glancing over at his nonchalant soulmate.

"I'm dipping." This gained the attention of her classmates and caused them to stare at her in surprise. "Just tell them there was an emergency or something." She turned towards Izuku. "I'll see you at home." With a nod to everyone else (and a disregard for any protests), she left the stadium, sneaking out.

Striding through the hallways, Ivette internally groaned once she caught sight of the number two hero waiting for her, fire flaring off his body to assert his dominance over everyone.

Dog attitude much.

"Why?"

"Why what?" she questioned, coming to a stop a few meters ahead of him.

"Why did you not fight against Shoto?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business," she mused, eyes flicking up and down, silently (and very obviously) judging him. Endeavour captured the look, the emerald dauntingly sharp, holding fathoms of knowledge that he could only dream of knowing.

"Don't let your emotions dictate you. You won't grow strong that way."

Ivette restrained the urge to roll her eyes. It's always the same speech with these heroes, she thought. She tuned out the rest of his words, focusing on her breathing. Deep breaths, Ivette. Deep breaths. No need to lash out at the old man.

"There will come a day where your soulmates may even be your enemy." That caught her attention, as well as his following words, "Of course, Shoto would never. He'll be my greatest prize, the number one hero. He'll surpass All Might just like I raised him to."

Anger blazed through her body.

"Shoto is not a tool for you to use," she spat, feeling the increasing rise of her quirk, bubbling away under the surface of her skin, ready to wreck havoc and teach the man to respect her soulmate. "He is his own person, and he will better you. He won't be the father you were, nor will he ever be the person you are. You may be a hero who has saved many to the public, but you're a villain in your family's eyes."

His eyes widen in shock.

He had never been spoken to like that.

Ivette stared him down, emerald orbs lasering into the depths of his soul. She knows all, his mind told him, his instinct warning him of the danger emitting off the tiny girl. "You'll never be the number one hero if you continue to act like that. All Might is number one because people love him — they feel safe and protected by him. Heroes aren't meant to be downright arrogant and cruel. That's why you'll always be number two." She continued, "It doesn't matter if you have a world record of the most captures or whatnot; if you don't show the least bit of compassion, nobody will come to like you. And that–" Endeavour couldn't help the feeling of inferiority crawling through his veins as she spoke–"is a guarantee."

All ended with her eyes— Hell, Purgatory, Paradise.

"You treat being a hero as a job. But it's not. Being a hero is a lifestyle, something that comes instinctively to you. You welcome every day as it comes and help everyone. Doesn't matter if it's from a falling building or from themselves. You help them and you always do it with a smile." Memories of All Might's video from his time in America, the trigger of his successful career, flooded through her mind. She recalled her thought process, and now, older, wiser, Ivette acknowledged that All Might was a worthy hero for the sole reason that he could reassure those around him with a smile worth a million yen. "If you ever want to become number one, you're going to have to change. And you can start here. At home. With your family."

She didn't wait for a reply, brushing past him with her head held high. She could hear his thought process, eyes flashing a dark emerald to listen in. She saw how his thoughts raced through his mind, applying her revelation to his actions.

Have I really been so cruel?

Ivette scoffed. Have you not seen how much they fear you?

She refused to think of it anymore, choosing to push away all her thoughts. You see, Ivette knew of the past. She knew of the present. She knew many things. Both with her consent and without. She heard the voices of many, her quirk allowing her to feel people's emotions, listen to their thoughts, acknowledge their beliefs. Her mind worked around the clock, sometimes moving faster than time. Was it possible? Apparently so.

So, walking away from the hero, exiting the stadium, Ivette pulled out the vape from her pocket. She placed it between her lips, inhaling deeply, vapours of nicotine flowing into her body.

She scrolled through her phone, sighing in relief when she found what she was looking for. Following the directions from a total stranger, Ivette made her way to the house holding a rather large party in one of the darker parts of the city. She entered, drifting through the crowd of drunk, wasted and high people, all dancing and moving as one, ignorant to the world around them.

She reached the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of liquor, ignoring that it had already been opened. Parting her lips, she tilted the bottle back, gulping down the translucent liquid, relishing in the burn at the back of her throat.

She ignored everything around her, succumbing to her own pleasure and dancing in the crowd of strangers. She moved with them, absorbing their vibe (their energy, too. but shh) and dancing to let out the tension of her day.

The people around her accommodated her presence. Nobody cared who she was, and she didn't care about who they were. She danced. They danced. She drank her problems away. They did, too. In a room full of people drinking away the reality of the world, nobody cared about anything.

And that was what made them so happy.

Yet, as alcohol filled her system, the voice in her head fell silent. His grasp of her mind weathered as the searing buzz took over.

Alcohol rendered him weak.

One day, Ivette would connect the dots. One day she'd realise that she needed poison to drain the poison already settled within.