Monochrome Maze [Alex][Semper Fi]

His thoughts were flying a hundred miles per hour after he heard the instructors mention the maze. He had theories about what his quirk could develop into in the long run, and with his mutation mainly changing his nerves, it was obvious his senses were different than that of others. But what exactly that meant, not even he knew. True enough, he had lived with his Aura for as long as he could remember, repressing it willingly still set his understanding of it further back than other mutations. He was hiding behind the farce of being an emitter or a transformation type, and that also hindered his development. It took half a year at U.A. for him to be comfortable enough to “wear” his real form outside during everyday activity, and he still decided to hide his quirk from time to time, like he was doing right now. Old habits die hard, but he was trying.

As he was still rather open to ideas as to which way to develop, he swore to try his luck with various things, even if he could see no use in specific trainings. But a maze with low visibility... That sent his mind flying, and he could already see it being used to fine-tune his Aura’s sensitivity.

He was just a tad bit too absorbed in his racing thoughts to notice a familiar face drawing near. He had his hand held against his chin, and he only looked up with a few seconds of lag upon hearing and registering his name, as if he was a glitch-y video game character. Like an NPC that was too slow to react to the call of a party member. When he found himself face-to-face with a classmate, not to mention his vice president, his brows shot up in surprise.

“Deraine-kun, it is nice to see you.” Alexander was casually elegant, discarding the school uniform for simple wear instead, but above all, he still had the proud and confident posture that Naoru lacked. He seemed obviously familiar with the area, and rather comfortable in his own skin as he stood there in front of the mutant boy. Naoru wasn’t even sure why his classmate decided to start a conversation with him. Naoru was never the one people went up to for small talk, he was actually rarely approached aside from assignments where his partner was usually forced to interact with him anyway. Whatever the reason was, Alexander was probably trying to be polite and fitting for the role he was given by the class, and decided to go out of his way and converse with Naoru.

He hoped Alexander wasn’t mad about what happened during the voting for vice president. It must have been a little irking to get the same amount of votes as someone as insignificant as him, but hopefully the boy was over that disappointment. Naoru wouldn’t want to take on the role anyway, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he was also a little suspicious it might have just been a big prank to see how he would react. No, he shouldn’t let his mind wander unnecessarily. His class was too nice to pull pranks like that anyway.

He really has to put a break on his thoughts and turn back to the present before his mind spirals out.

He glanced around toward the building where the military set up the so called maze as he heard Alexander’s words. “Probably.” He said, uncertain. “I am not sure what is new and what is not. I have not been able to come here before.” He hugged his left arm to his side with his right, grabbing his elbow lightly. He was still trying to appear small, even though he was now talked to. “But you do seem to be familiar with the area. Have you tried what the military had to offer? Do you recommend anything?” Naoru was still worried about what Alexander must be thinking after the voting, especially since none of them were seeking out the other to talk about it. Naoru was barely on school grounds the last few weeks anyway when he wasn’t in class, but still, now he was ashamed he hadn’t had the chance to talk to Alexander before. “I am contemplating trying the maze but... I am not yet sure.”

Naoru tilted his head to the side slightly as he listened to Alexander talk more about his experiences in the facilities. He wondered how much of his words were true, and how much were just humble misinformation. Quite honestly, Naoru couldn’t imagine Alexander to be a complete deadweight, or absolutely useless in the situations he mentioned. His confident aura must have had a base, instead of it being just for show, and he quickly assumed Alexander was just trying to be kind and shine spotlight on his classmates in favor of Kirk and Risaka instead of himself. Naoru was a little bit surprised by that revelation, and that must have been obvious from the way he was intently listening.

“I am sure you did great, even if you feel like you were weighing your teammates down.” He mentioned, and if he knew enough of Kirk, he was sure at least the boy wasn’t beating Alexander for not giving his hundred percent during a rescue training. The boy was great at Cian’s classes, and not all environments were fitting for everyone anyway. That is why the more aquatically developed quirkers were here too.

He frowned when he noticed the wince of pain and the sluggish movements of his classmate. When he arrived, Naoru could see no indication that he wasn’t entirely physically fit, but now it was becoming obvious. He chose to ignore the praise coming from Alexander in favor of the boy’s experience. Even though he tried to lighten the mood, Naoru saw through that to the pain. “Were you beat up? Should you not be resting then? I know you probably will not go near the combat area anytime soon, but it would be best to focus on getting your energy back.” Even if Alexander wasn’t near combat today, Naoru was still worried about lasting injuries. Not everyone could replace a limb like him, so he had increased worry when it came to everyone else, Alexander included. He still couldn’t help but smile though. “I mean. How will you get revenge if you tire yourself out again?” He added, mimicking Alexander’s way of lightening the mood with a joking tone.

Looking back toward the facility, doubt filled him yet again. “I do not know if it is fitting for me. And I do not want to waste their time in case the maze will not benefit me or them either.” Even he knew his reasoning was weak. The whole point of opening up the base was for quirkers to try out as many things as possible while being evaluated by the instructors. Naoru had his own opinion of that though. This whole thing felt like an experiment as well, non-quirkers watching them like hawks to gather information to use against quirker villains what they could find here. He had enough of that when he was a kid. He had enough of that when his father decided to push him to prove the worth of quirkers.

He shook his head, and looked up at Alexander. “I can not really explain my quirk, maybe that is why...” He had to do a double-take when he realized what Alexander implied with his last sentence. “Wait.” He almost panicked. “Wait a moment! You mean you would want to come and try the maze with me?” He had to take a step back, raising an arm, which must have been a rather comical sight. The last thing he expected was for Alexander to so casually offer to go with him, or rather, take it as an obvious fact that he will go with him into the facility. Naoru blanched. Was that how this worked? Will it really be alright? He had so many doubts that he wasn’t even sure how to voice them. “I do not want to weight you down with my inexperience.” He added, giving Alexander a way out in case he changed his mind, even though he was fairly sure that someone like Naoru wouldn’t be able to do that. Whatever Alexander decided to do, he would go through with it.

“But how do we start?” He almost stuttered. “Do we sign up, or just walk in, or...?” He glanced helplessly between the instructors, the signs and Alexander in hopes of getting an answer somewhere.

Naoru just smiled. Alexander certainly didn’t seem too bad, but he learned that in certain cases, people liked to enact sweet revenge upon others, even though he himself didn’t see the appeal in it. But then again, he just thought back about the accident from almost two years ago, and then decided that there are reasons that can validate vengeance. “Enthusiasm can always fill in the blank that smartness leaves.” Naoru commented as a matter of fact, not at all intending to be rude, but somewhat jab playfully at how Alexander mentioned he isn’t exactly smart. Naoru didn’t see him as stupid, if the things he said at the vice president voting was any indication. Rather than that, he was someone that liked to push his limits, it seemed.

As Naoru talked and nearly freaked out when help with the maze was offered so casually, Alexander remained suspiciously quiet. The white haired lad had no idea what his classmate might be thinking about him, but he was sure it was nothing pleasant. There was barely any answer given, and Naoru was surprised when Alexander immediately walked up to the inspectors and asked to run the maze in a pair.

Naoru nearly freaked out, though not only for the sudden action and the fact that there was no turning back now. He felt a little bit bad, as Alexander mentioned both of them having emitter type quirks when Naoru was anything but. A mutation in the disguise of an emitter, Naoru pulled his neck in and stared at the ground, as if afraid the military people would notice his quirk’s attribute just from a glance, even though he had not yet let it seep through his skin. Alexander’s casual tone was a wonder. Such confident and easy-going attitude made it seem like he must be a popular guy, completely in tune with himself, in peace with his own shortcomings and still living life brightly. Naoru was somewhat envious of that attitude, as Alexander made it seem like being confident was really easy. He wondered if he can pick up some of that trait while spending more time with the vice president.

The explanation concerning the maze was easy to follow and commit to memory. No destroying the walls. Got it. If there was no fighting going on, there also was no reason to break anything, so that was an easy enough rule to follow. He also saw no reason for him to go nervous or berserk inside a maze for any reason, so there was no danger of his Aura acting up either. This will be a nice and quiet little game. He nodded, working himself up for the challenge now that it was inevitable that they will have to complete it. The gate was opened for them and they headed inside, being left within the walls of low visibility.

It was dark and foggy, and Naoru automatically looked around as if he could gather anything of his surroundings by sight. He could only see so far as the wall on either of his sides with clear certainty, so the visibility was as low as two meters at maximum. That might prove to be a problem, especially if he got separated from Alexander. He glanced at the boy and saw the same confidence as before, his posture never waving despite the fact he was not in top form, as he previously mentioned.

He felt bad for roping the boy into this, after all. Also, he wasn’t sure if there was a point in telling Alexander he was not an emitter type, but maybe keeping quiet was a little worse... it would seem like he is a liar who doesn’t want to tell anything about himself to his friends, which was, in a certain way, true. Still, it was a bad habit he had to get rid of, so he had to start being honest. He pulled his shoulders in to appear as small as possible. “Um, Deraine-kun.” He called out. “Just to clear things up, I am not an emitter type. I thought it would be better if you know that. My apologies if it was not clear.” He explained quietly, and somewhat hoped that the soldiers couldn’t hear them anymore. He would hate himself if Alexander was assumed to be a liar just because Naoru wasn’t giving enough information to a teammate.

He glanced back toward the route they will be taking. He wasn’t worried about low visibility, as he could always have his Aura branch out and feel the area around effectively. That was the main reason he was interested in going through the maze, as it would help him develop his Aura’s sensitivity more. Because, really, nerves are best at feeling things, so he has to grab every opportunity to train them. He wasn’t sure about what Alexander’s standpoint on this situation was, though. He knew only a little about his quirk, just what he saw at the introduction class and at the rescue operations training. Manipulating shadows to make constructs. But Naoru was curious if he could feel the constructs after making them...?

“Okay then, let us go.” He took a deep breath and experimentally took a few steps ahead in a slow but steady pace to scout out the area. His white Aura, much sturdier and more solid than the fog, starter to manifest around his shoulders and arms as it seeped through his skin and clothes. Even his posture changed, his back straightened, his face appeared calmer. Now that he had a clearly set goal to reach, and could think about a plan to follow, his nervousness eased down. “Simply walking through a maze with low visibility would be too easy, so we can expect traps or a few tricks to the labyrinth.” Or he is just overcomplicating things, and it really is all about just walking through it. That would be a little anti-climactic. “But we do not know enough yet, so for a start, it is better to proceed with the left-hand rule of every labyrinth, until complications arise.” That meant, to hug the left wall while walking, that way they can eliminate the unpredictability of the labyrinth. He looked back over at Alexander to gauge his reaction. The white, tangible shroud already settled around him, and it looked more like cloth than a fluffy cloud now. Only his left hand deformed into claws along with the Aura’s appearance. “What do you think?”

It was at least reassuring that Alex didn’t mind him not being an emitter type. His logic was sound, but as soon as medical camp was mentioned, Naoru visibly tensed. He didn’t want anything to do with nurses, doctors and experiments, thank you! He had enough of that up until now, so he could do without seeing medical staff and a hospital for about the next thousand years, preferably. “I will consider it, thank you.” He said, voice tight. Of course he won’t consider it at all, but Alexander was nice enough to offer a possibility. The least he could do to be polite and thank him.

Within the darkness of the maze, Naoru reached forward with his Aura cautiously after it manifested. Forming it into rope-like durable and thin threads was easy. Five threads reached forward and toward the wall left of him to keep mental track of his surroundings and mapping the place in his imagination. With the left-hand rule, mapping the labyrinth will take long, but at least it will lower the possibility of them getting lost. Once Alexander agreed as well, the fifth thread would have closed around the other boy’s wrist so Naoru could navigate both of them easier. It would mean he had to keep prolonged physical contact, but if Alexander was completely sightless in this fog, it was better to tie them together in case one of them wandered further than two meters.

But just as his Aura would reach out, he heard Alexander’s voice crack and rise in volume when the ground opened under him. The Aura wasn’t quick enough to grab the boy when he fell, but Naoru was at the side of the hole in an instant, ropes of white substance feeling around after sight was failing. “Are you alright? Did you injure yourself?” He asked, because really, a fall like that could be pretty uncomfortable. A faint sloshing could be heard, and when he reached down with his Aura, he met with the coldness of water. Right. The whole rescue area was structured around water as a theme, so it made sense for the maze to have it be implemented in one way or another.

Alexander was able to climb out and regain his composure, so Naoru found no use in offering his hand to help him. As of yet, he wasn’t sure if the vice president was the kind to appreciate help, or prefer to deal with his own problems himself.

Carefully stepping around the hole, he walked past the other, Aura feeling the route ahead for any more traps. “Hopefully it will be. I will test the waters with my quirk as we continue forward.” In movement, one Aura rope was ready to snake itself around Alexander’s wrist in a loose grip, not at all intent in hindering the boy’s movement. “It is easy to get lost and lose each other. If you do not mind, is it alright if I tie my Aura to your wrist?” If given permission, Alex would feel the solidified substance around his skin, as if cotton-coated metal was forming around him. It was complicated to decide if it was soft or hard. “Most people rely on sight, so it is no wonder a challenge like this would get, well, challenging. That was mainly the reason why I wanted to try my luck.” He walked carefully, Aura touching and pushing the ground and the walls to feel out traps or activate them before they would reach it so they could maneuver around it. “I assume you are unable to feel what is around you then, right? This completing this maze might be more beneficial for you then.”

There was another trapdoor in front of them as indicated by its different surface, similar to the one Alexander fell through just before. It wasn’t as hard as the ground underneath, hastily covered up so it wouldn’t be noticed in the low visibility. The Aura ropes pushed at it but it wasn’t triggered – it probably needed a standard human weight to open. Naoru pulled Alexander to the side as he himself stepped close to the wall as well, walking around the trapdoor. For a while, Naoru was quiet, but mainly to gauge the setting they found themselves in. Navigating the maze didn’t require too much concentration, so he thought it would be best to get to know his vice president a little bit better. He was horrible at small talk, but he figured it was okay to try it once in a while anyway.

“Deraine-kun, can I ask you something?” A fork was in the road, and Naoru turned toward the left and continued that way. “I am sure you have heard this question countless times, but why did you enroll in U.A.? Why do you want to be a hero?” It was a curious question he liked to ask from fellow students while searching for his own reason, as he had yet to find his answer.

Naoru believed it and not at the same time when Alexander answered he was alright. He decided to trust his classmate’s judgment and didn’t press further, only nodded. With a smile, Naoru took the lead, Aura rope tied to Alexander’s wrist to help him navigate through the fog and darkness. “I must admit I am surprised. I always pegged you as one who dislikes following the lead of others. My apologies.” He cracked a smile that went unnoticeable in the fog. The boy seemed much more hard-headed, stubborn and confident for that, even though he was way too quick to give Naoru the initiative in the maze.

As the next question came, Naoru nodded, but then remembered that Alexander might not see his movement. “Yes. My Aura is a physical part of my body, and it has nerves running through it just like any other part.” He wasn’t actually sure how many nerves he was talking about, but he knew his Aura was much more sensitive than any other parts of his body unless he lessened its sensitivity willingly. “I always know where it is, or what it is touching even when I am not looking, or my sight is hindered. That is also why I tied my Aura to your wrist, so I know where you are, and can lead you safely. I... sometimes assume others can do the same, and get surprised when I am proven wrong.”

As they walked, they reached the previous fork where they turned left before, and Naoru continued forward on the right-side route this time. The left fork ended up being a dead end, but now they could walk closed to the maze’s end, hopefully. He didn’t like the unknown spreading before them, but if he concentrated on solving this problem, he wouldn’t be getting as nervous as he normally would.

“Freedom?” He echoed, pulling Alexander to the side from the way of another trapdoor. Hearing the word ‘orphanage’ was a surprise though, and even his Aura responded with a slight shudder at that. “It is understandable you chose the school instead. Actually, it doesn’t seem like there was a choice at all. I apologize if I brought up unpleasant memories with the question.” He didn’t feel particularly awkward by the conversation’s turn. Countless times, he had accidentally touched upon subjects that were too sensitive, and by now, he was more or less used to how different his schoolmates were. Everyone had their own reasons, and good ones at that. All he could do was accept them as they are, instead of being embarrassed if something unpleasant was mentioned. Not everyone had a family like he did. Alexander must be aware of how prejudiced this country was to those who grew up without parents, in orphanages or foster care, so he was brave for saying that out in the open so calmly. “Thank you for telling me.”

Another intersection came, but before that, Naoru noticed a sturdy, heavy rod right in front of them. It was painted dark, to make it even harder to notice. Whoever tried to run through the labyrinth instead of walking steadily, would probably have tripped on it easily, injuring themselves in the process. “There is a horizontally placed bar in front of us, about knee-high. Step over it.”

Naoru was looking at Alexander’s direction to gauge his facial expression that must be matching with his airy laugh and words. He barely saw much of the boy even though they were only meters apart, but it was still obvious he was speaking honestly. “Then we might be similar in that regard. Though... if I think an order is plain stupid, I will just do what I find fitting.” With that, Naoru himself was admitting that he could only take to authority if it had a clever and reasonable source. He wasn’t naïve enough to head into a trap just because a superior asked him to. Unless there is a good reason behind it, he would veto any lead. Alexander seemed to be a realist, who was willing to set his pride aside if the situation called for it. He was less hard-headed, and more intelligent than he seemed. Street-smart, if you please.

Naoru found it interesting that the first thing Alexander asked after hearing about his quirk was, if attacking anything was actually painful. Strangely enough, people usually didn’t connect “pain” to “feeling”, and considering Alexander did just that, he already proved his instincts were good. “It does not hurt more than you trying to hit someone else with your bare fists, normally.” Naoru nodded and hummed. “But I can control its sensitivity and hardness by will, so I won’t feel as much pain as I would with the nerves fully active. Does that make sense?” He paused for only a moment before continuing. “This Aura is a part of my body. I know where it is, just like how anyone else knows where their legs or arms are without looking at them. For me it is... unusual to hear that this is not the case with every other quirk.” He was born like this, so this is what was natural. He grew up with an extra generated “bodypart”, and it was always weird that others didn’t have it like him.

He wouldn’t press Alexander for answers on his past anymore. It was enough to know his reasons on top of all he knew about him to gauge at his personality. His past was only one thing, but the present was the most important part. Whether Alexander was an orphan or not, it meant little if he became a great hero, or the most despicable of villains. Naoru was trusted enough to be given this information, and he would keep it to himself, unless Alexander was openly admitting this information to others as well.

He only belatedly noticed that in exchange for the information, he failed to give something up as well. That was the usual back-and-forth nature of conversations, and Naoru always ditched it whenever it was possible. Rather than trying to appear mysterious, he disliked talking about himself, especially about things that involved feelings. Discussing his quirk was more or less normal by now, as people grew curious of that in school. It was natural, something he was used to. But he didn’t remember telling anyone about his familial situation or his reason for coming to U.A.

But considering Alexander shared something really personal, it was only fair for him to do the same, right? That was how conversations worked. Right?

“Me?” He asked back quietly, as if trying to buy some time. The Aura covering Alexander’s wrist trembled just slightly before settling again. His voice was soft, matching the gentle tone Alexander seemed to have gained in the darkness. “I... really have no idea where all these expectations came from.” He said, breathing a laugh when the vice president continued to make his views on Naoru’s personality public. He looked up toward the ceiling, toward the sky, as if he could see right through at the stars for answers. “The standard answer is that I want to save people, right? Actually, I was enrolled, because someone else wanted to set an example and silence a racist.” He rubbed the back of his head in slight embarrassment, but his voice stayed steady. There was a little shake to his Aura though. “Being at U.A. made me think I could achieve something, but of course, certain people were never satisfied, no matter what I did.” He didn’t go into detail, and purposefully left out who exactly he was talking about. This was enough, and already more than his closer friends knew about. It was also a hint at what caused him to have as low self-esteem as he did. He couldn’t feel satisfied in his own skin if others never praised him for achievements. And by now, every praise just made him angry, because he didn’t feel he deserved them. “I do want to help people, do not get me wrong. Helping others is fulfilling. There might even be a certain villain I would like to arrest.” He added with more strength to his voice, before softening back down. “But. Being pushed around is getting just a little bit annoying, and I want to do everything to gain might right of staying here.”