No holds barred -- Honesty [Kagayaku]

Her glare was intense as ever. It wasn't fueled with hate like last time. No. She was ready to face him purely as a young adult, ready for whatever repercussions that came with it. Her family was toxic enough, he didn't need to contact them. To her understanding, at this point they only wanted to leech onto him for money. She already accepted his presence, but did she really? Did she really look at him as a grandfather or just a donor? While she was able to overcome the hump of hiding their relationship (even though it was relatively obvious), she still needed to properly speak with him. "We've both been hiding from this conversation long enough." A spark bounced off of her hair.


As scared as Kako was to do this, it only egged her on the liberate herself from these mixed emotions. Freedom, it's all she wanted. Freedom from family was gained by going to U.A., but being haunted by her father's obsession with her becoming a top hero gave birth to new shackles. She was to hate Kagayaku as they did, and train even harder... By luck, she came across friends to free her from loneliness, even finding the NJPD to free her from her father dreams, so that she could build her own dreams. She was feeling freer than ever. It was why getting free from these feelings was so important... to fully liberate herself. The Kako he met last year was a confused little girl. The young woman in front of him now was a powerful soul finding her purpose.


"So... get whatever it is you have off your chest, and I'll do the same." He HAD to have had words. He didn't contact her since their last meeting, but... she was the one making it hard for him. She cursed at herself internally. The whole situation was infuriating. She placed two hands on the ground and fell into a sprinter's ready position. Lightning bounced off of her hair as she primed her quirk to enter an interval. This wasn't just a conversation. As a weaker iteration of his quirk, she wanted to test her metal against him in earnest. Where he had amazing firepower, she had much more variety and speed. She wanted to prove to herself she wasn't just some iteration, but her own quirk and person as well.

"These bands will hinder my power, allowing us to go all out as we please. So come, Kako! Let's say what we have to say, while I see how far you've come as a Hero!"

Hero, huh?

If only he knew. She was planning to quit this year. The scary part of taking the leap of faith, meant she'd be running from everything she knew. Her father put her through years of training, building only toxicity and resentment. Her mother and grandmother painting this picture of Kagayaku to be some sort of demon. He was no demon. Only a man... A coward, but still a man. Kako's spark flared the more her emotions did. She'd run away from it all, even what she called home. Not to escape, but to find herself. Perhaps her friends had created a safe place, but the only true safety came in being able to trust her gut for once. Win or lose, she was going to call Ms. Hack after this bout. It was about time she started betting on herself. 

"Am I really not good enough...?" 

She grimaced as he placed weights on himself. He was holding back before even testing her? Of course, he would underestimate her. He didn't even know she existed until a year go. She gritted her teeth, as she dug her nails and toes deeper into the ground. Interestingly enough, the lightning would die down as she sped toward him in a frontal assault. She was ridiculously fast even when not using her lightning to jolt her places, but she had to have entered an interval for good reason. The lightning was built up somewhere. It was all about where and how she released it. He was much taller than the teen, so she'd enter a jump for a punch once she was in range but disappeared in a flickering spark. A feint by the speedster! The dust kicking up between his legs would be the only tell-tail sign of where she went. Low to the ground, she'd swing her leg out with all her might, to sweep the teacher off of his feet.   This was a smart play on her part. Such a short-distance flicker would still leave some lighting in the tank for her interval. It was the end of the interval that she feared. She was trying to use his own knowledge against him. He knew about her intervals, but not how much longer she could last! She also was doing some training with Shinja to up her firepower. Hopefully, that would surprise him too! He fully outclassed her in that department, so his granddaughter was going to have to get crafty. What was it going to take to beat him? More importantly, what was it going to take for him to actually acknowledge her? FOR REAL THIS TIME!

Regardless if he were quick enough to react to her, she roared.

"Am I REALLY NOT GOOD ENOUGH?!?"

She was surprised he could not only react, but catch himself from leg sweep. Maybe he was waiting for her to jolt....  She wasn't getting the full picture on her opening, but Kako wouldn't make the same mistake again with her grandfather. This wasn't some rando npc she was facing. Thunderclap was no slouch, he was a pro hero long before any of the other teachers. Age and wisdom.. that's right. He could almost instinctively move to certain scenarios at this point. She'd have to up the anty! But first, as she shoved herself up, he'd already aimed to shove his palm into her core. Her instinct was to fire off some lightning right back. In a blur her leg raised in defense along with a jolt of electricity. "Static!" The excess would fork off their exchange, as the teen slid quite a ways back. Damnit! She wanted to save that lightning for a proper attack. If she hadn't forged a charge at that moment, that palm thrust would have done some serious damage. 


"I abandoned your grandmother, and your mother, because I was terrified of not being good enough! I thought I could atone by focusing all my life into being a Hero... but then you appeared!"

The words made her flinch. As if it were her fault. She knew damn well it wasn't, but it always felt  like it was. For ever being born!

"Now... I am torn in half! Meeting you made me regret ever taking up the hero mantle, when I could have raised a family and known you properly!"

She was a burden since inception it felt like, whether he took care of them or not! He was just spouting a bunch of what-ifs anyway!!! Shaking her head, she ran in a more adjacent angle to build up speed. She had plenty of stamina for running, that was her bread and butter after all, but there was something unnaturally about this sprint. This was too fast for a normal run. She couldn't emit any real electricity, but she could show off fine controls with the tiny sparks she could emit. Every few steps, there would be a slide step increasing her momentum even further. The slide widened her encircling sprint, but it greatly increased her lap time. How'd he like this? A special move only someone who was truly weak could devise, her inertia break! A tiny charge was used to manipulate the magnetic plates in her shoes. This was all she could muster on an off interval.

"Your making me it my fault you became a renowned hero?!?! BooHOO, OLD MAN, WHAT A THING TO CRY ABOUT!" Unbelievable... He was a hero of legacy! And he was willing to throw all of that away? A kind gesture, but that placed far too much weight on Kako, more than she could handle. It meant he truly cared about someone who was a stranger just a short year ago. She'd spent so much time hating him, that even in trying to mend things, she could accept such an answer. Could they truly come to an understanding? It only seemed like they were growing further apart from the desolate thing they could call a relationship. Perhaps hating him WAS the answer. She broke her circling pattern and decided to race toward him again. She'd pummel him with or without lightning. Off sight alone, something was up. From what she gathered, he was a striker and yet... He was being a bit docile. Was this a part of his plan? Tire her out, and overwhelm her with supercharged strikes? Fat chance. She was mad, but not stupid. She entered a slide, pushing her speed up as she got closer. This time she'd remain low instead of jumping at him. 

"I would trade all of it, in a heartbeat! I threw my chance away long ago. Don't fall into the same trap that I did, young Kako!" She'd was going to forge her own path. He'd have to wait and see. 

Ch, sentimental old geezer- she thought. As much as she appreciated it, she couldn't let herself be pushed off balance be these heartfelt words. 

"I lost my chance to know you as my granddaughter. That was my biggest mistake of all." His chance was right here and right now. Crying about it wasn't going to save him from the wallop she was going to land on him.

His quirked seemed to be going wild... Of all the times to lose his control, why now? His lighting was so strong, the arena jostled and shook in response as bolts flared and forked in every which way. This unruly charge resembled her whenever she got worked up. They boasted just as many similarities as they did differences. Instinct was telling her to get out of the way, but she was already getting carried by so much forward momentum. She'd break out of her magnetic glide, shoving her hands at her sides as she skidded to a stop. He could use ranged attacks? Not with this clumsy level of channeling... She'd have to show him how it was done. 

"What... is this? Kako, move!" For both of their safety, she'd promptly switched tactics on the fly. 

With empty batteries loading up her fingers, she'd pulse her thumbs together with a tiny spark and take one of the bolts head-on. This quick thinking not only made a makeshift lightning rod, but netted her a full charge in all four batteries. Only stopping just before him, one of the lightning would pass through her thumb-spark and put a crater in the ground. As it forked through, her knuckles and batteries flickered in response to the excess juice. Not a good sign... They were gonna explode!  Kako herself was able to maintain her footwork to remain standing at the very least. With a gamble, there were still bolts flying off Thunderclaps body, but she'd use that to her advantage. If he was too inexperienced at his big age to shift the lightning in a proper direction, she'd do it for him. "BATTERY CANNON!" Launching all four batteries with some speed, they become their own lightning rods and yank the wild charge to follow their path. Luckily she didn't target the old man. They'd explode in the stands from being filled over capacity, along with the lightning-fast impact. They were eating up the arena slowly but surely, but that's what is was there for. 

She'd backpedal just in case, and assume a stance. For some reason, he was making her feel embarrassed. Part of it was relief. Because their quirks functioned so differently, it was nice to know her tactics weren't THAT alien. Did that mean there were parts of his powers he'd never explored? He never needed to learn how to channel because he was already successful in his settled fighting style. Perhaps having less voltage had its perks. With red cheeks and teary eyes, she- "How exactly were we gonna fight if we both were dead, dummy. Do it right... Like this!"  She'd line her sights with two fingers up, aiming for Kagayaku's gut. Looked like she was well within her interval. Leeching a bit of lightning off of Thunderclaps unfinished technique gifted her some extra raw power. Raw power that she'd lend to her Countershock! Pulling a spark back, she'd let it rip like a sling shot and fire a bolt of electricity at him. They both weren't completely immune to lighting, so chipping away at each other was the only way to go. Probably for the best. They'd never resolve anything if the fight ended too quickly. 

A bad feeling crept up as he removed his gloves. Kako bit her lip, stiffening up as the bolt blazed by her. Kako found herself a bit bitter than he figured it out relatively quickly. It was a super move that took her a full few days to learn with Shinja's help. She narrowed her eyes at him as he beckoned for them to continue. She... helped him? Without even thinking. She'd never even been on a UA mission before, or fought a villain like some of her classmates. She wasn't in any clubs, or even that involved in school Her, a nobody, helped the teacher Thunderclap. She helped him, and he saw her...truly. She felt seen and felt. As good as it felt, she was unsure how to place it since the feeling was coming from him. The same warmth her friends provided... had he always shown her this? The hatred was blinding her for so long that she couldn't recognize who she was looking at. Unintentionally, it wasn't Kagayaku who was totally at fault. She too, averted her eyes from the person right in front of her. 

"Let's continue... shall we, granddaughter?"

"So..." She stayed still, fists clenched tightly. " Come on then..." She'd spent almost the entire time yelling at him. She'd listen, also beckoning for him to make an opening move.

Lightning coursed through his body. Just what was going on?!? Kako was losing some of the glint in her eyes as he found his. She struggle to stay hot as he emitted so much pressure, but this wasn't even the actual cause. Somewhere deep inside she was losing her anger toward him. And what exactly was to happen when that well went dry? She'd been spending so much time trying to self-improve in so many aspects, she never truly what was to come after properly confronting him. This too would have to be something to overcome! His words replayed in her head as she watched him prepare a bolt. In a flash of her own flickering speed, she'd appear to the hero's far right. She couldn't unhear the sadness in his voice...

Her own eyes welled up in response, although she blinked hard to keep the tears in as she pulled a battery up to her lip and bit down hard. She couldn't afford to let this fight draw out. For a few moments, she could hopefully match or overlap his current power level and output. With hairs standing on end, she too would have lighting coursing throughout her body. "Max Battery; Circuit Break!" 

Again she'd lower into a sprinter's ready position. "Actually let's cut the chit chat..." Her heart couldn't bear to fathom she was the villain here... spewing hate at an old man who felt like he'd missed out on so much. Honestly. Finally coming to this realization, she was making herself sick to her stomach. He wasn't the victim here, and to a point neither was she. The only people she could truly hate now were her parents for setting this pit of a situation into motion. It was all the more reason to leave everything behind, or more accurately, run away from home. That painful pit in her stomach only got worse. She strained to remain focused, watery eyes making it hard to assess her sparking target. 

She'd jolt once more, appearing right before Kagayaku, aiming to kick him square in the chest, her physical prowess amplified by the quaking thunder arriving along with her movement. The clock to aim for a win in this bout was officially ticking. Kako couldn't figure out proper words, so talking with her fists would have to do.