***
Jiro panted, running through the forest with gritted teeth. Oh…God! She thought. Oh God! Her heart pounded thunderously in her chest, sweat basically pouring down her face. Legs burned as there felt like lead.
She had been running constantly for over an hour. Anytime it seemed she wanted to take a break, Eleanor appeared, pole arm crashing towards her as she had to scramble and run.
Jiro stumbled, tripping over a stray root as she immediately collapsed to the floor. She greedily sucked in air, her body shaking.
"Hmm, I commend you for running for so long without rest."
Jiro's head snapped up. Eyes unfocused became pin dots as he quickly scrambled up, but her legs stumbled beneath her as she fell back.
The blade slashed down.
Jiro peered an eye open, seeing as she was still alive. "W…what?"
Eleanor glanced at her, an eyebrow raised. "Did you think I would actually kill you?" She chuckled. "You get five minutes before we continue on to the next." She walked away, sitting on the ground as she leaned against a tree, closing her eyes in meditation.
T…thank God. Jiro thought in relief as she collapsed on the floor. I…I thought I saw lights.
The place remained silent bar Jiro's heavy breaths.
Five minutes soon passed as Eleanor stood up. "Okay Jiro, up."
Jiro tiredly opened her eyes as she glanced up at her. She was still so tired. The thought of even moving her body felt like a Herculean task.
"So this is it?" Eleanor's voice turned cold, similar to the previous night, "If this is all that you have to give, then you don't deserve strength. So I'll ask again, is this all you have to offer Jiro."
Jiro took deep breaths. Fuck! She gritted her teeth as she forced her body up. She stumbled, threatening to fall, but she locked her legs to not fall. She forced it to stand. She smiled with gritted teeth, sweet dripping down her face. "I'm…still standing."
Eleanor observed her before a small smile made way to her face. "Hmm, well then, I guess you're more resilient than you thought.
"Now," she clasped her hand behind her back. "I'll ask you once again, what do you think makes a Hero?"
A hero? Jiro thought, really thinking about it. She remembered how the woman said her view on what a hero is weak. So now, she really wanted to think about her answer.
"Someone who saves," Jiro replied, thinking of her ideal definition of what a Hero is. "Someone who is always there, may not be the strongest, or the best, but is always there for the weak, no matter what. That's who a Hero is." She smiled.
"Hmm," Eleanor raised an eyebrow. "An interesting view of what a hero is. Now I want you to keep that…" she pointed to her chest. "In here. If that's your idea of a Hero. Never let that ideal go from you, even as the world would want to crush that ideal. Never let that ideal go from you."
Jiro nodded.
"Good." Eleanor nodded. "Now, since we've trained your body, we train your soul—your quirk."
"My soul?" Jiro questioned.
"Yes, your soul." Eleanor repeated. "A quirk, unlike conventional definition, isn't just an ability that you gain but an extension of who you are, everything that makes up you—that is your quirk." She explained.
"Now, there aren't any weak quirks in this world. Yes, I mean that. Each quirk has its own utility and use, as everyone has their own use. If somebody calls his quirk weak, then he calls himself weak."
"So based on how your quirk is, I'll assume it's sound based?" Eleanor asked.
Jiro nodded, "It's earphone jack. It's…like an earphone jack and I can produce sounds from it depending on how fast my heartbeat is." She explained, cringing inside a bit. She wasn't very confident in her quirk. No, my quirk isn't weak. She thought.
"A versatile quirk." The woman said. "Infiltration, reconnaissance, stealth. The options for you aren't limited, but to maximize it you'll need a weapon to go with." she turned.
"A weapon?!" Jiro questioned. The idea of her using a weapon felt weird to her, but if it meant for her to get stronger, she would.
Jiro noticed a small box that Eleanor placed on the ground. She then tapped the top, a glow accompanied it as it expanded to a ridiculous size. Easily over 20 feet in length
"H…how?" Jiro asked. First was the spear, then this. It was like the woman was using multiple quirks which Jiro knew wasn't possible. But in the first place, she didn't know the woman's quirk so this may just be an extension of it. But she doubted that.
"Hmm, I was wondering when you were going to ask." The woman said, "This is called an echo. It is simply when a quirk imbued into a physical object.
"What!!!" Jiro's eyes widened. She heard of objects that helped control quirks, or ones that made them stronger. But, one that held a quirk. That seemed like…
"Magic right." The woman interrupted her thoughts. "But it's not. Jiro, there's a lot you nor Max do not know about this world.
"But that is not today's lesson, in time you'll know more about it." She grabbed the top of the box as she opened it, lines of weapons riddled the inside, but all were wooden. "Pick a practice weapon, then you're real weapon will be made from it."
Jiro stared at the collection of arms. From swords to shield, even wooden guns—though, Jiro wondered how that would work in the first place. She hesitated, glancing over the batch. "I…I don't really know how to decide." She admitted
The woman simply offered a smile. "You really remind me of my younger self." She stood up, going around as she stood beside Jiro. She placed a hand on her shoulder. "I want you to close your eyes."
Jiro hesitated for a second before doing so.
"Now, relax your body. Deep, calming breaths only."
Jiro did so, the woman's hand not allowing her to wobble.
"Now, I want you to remember that vow. Your idea of who a hero is. A hero you want to be. Let that guide you, it may not be fitting, or the most suitable, but it doesn't matter. Let that idea guide you to what it chooses that can actualize that goal."
My vow. A memory trickled into her head. The day Max had saved her from those bullies when they were kids. His toy sword and shield in hand as he had that his stupid grin on his face. I don't want anything breaking that smile or anyone else's. I'll keep evil away from anyone and…strike them down.
"Honestly at this point, I'm wondering if you're my copy at this point." Eleanor chuckled behind her. "Open your eyes."
Jiro slowly peeled her eyes open. She gazed down at what she clenched in her right hand. Her eyes widened a bit. It was a long wooden spear, the width not as thick as Eleanor's pole arm, this focused more on speed than crushing force. On both ends, there were two wooden blades, facing opposite directions.
She spun the weapon, it hit her straight in the face. It dropped to the floor as she clenched her face in pain. "Owww!"
Eleanor chuckled from beside her. "Well, seems the weapon has chosen you…certainly." She coughed, looking in the other direction as she laughed.
"It's not funny." Jiro held her head, poking a bump at the forehead. She cried more. "Ahhh,"
"Hahah." Eleanor just laughed.
***
Max sat on the floor, head down, hair shielding his eyes.
No! This isn't me. I'm…I'm happy they're getting along. I'm happy.
I don't know if you're telling me or yourself Max. You know that answer. Hahahaha. The voice echoed in his head.
Max held his head with his bloodied hands, lightly rocking himself.