Mist curled across the mountaintop, brushing over the smooth stone with every breeze. The world below was hidden by a sea of white, the clouds draped around the peaks like a veil separating heaven from earth. Ochaco Uraraka exhaled slowly, the breath leaving her lips in a faint puff of vapor, then stepped forward into the first move.
Her bare feet touched the ancient stone of the training platform, slick with dew and edged with moss. The carved circle at its center bore faded sigils of etched dragons chasing phoenixes in an eternal spiral. There was no railing, no barrier. Just the open air, the wind, and the rising sun barely piercing the mist through long golden rays.
And above her—watching in silence—sat Stella.
The girl's dark blue hair was bound high, but red strands still framed her sharp face like flares of fire. She was seated cross-legged on a raised stone, worn smooth by what seemed like generations of meditation. Her long monk's robes—black and red with gold trimming—billowed faintly around her despite the stillness of her posture. In one hand, she held a lacquered staff, its ends capped with iron rings that jingled softly whenever she shifted her grip. She hadn't moved in hours.
'She's probably sleeping again,' Ochaco thought with slight annoyance, though she didn't dare look up again to confirm it. The staff wasn't just for show, and Stella—despite all her cryptic nonsense—was a hardass of a teacher surpassing even Mr. Aizawa.
When she first arrived here she had thought she was dreaming or had been kidnaped. But once the initial flood of confusion had passed—the "Where am I?", "Am I dead?", and "What happened to my friends at USJ?"—she'd finally gotten a few answers from the only other person here on this mountain and her self-appointed teacher.
Those answers and her concerns did not stop Stella from putting her to work. It had been weeks since then. At least, as far as she could tell. Time felt strange in this place. The days blended together, and every attempt she made to get a concrete answer was met with some lofty, frustrating proverb.
"The tiger does not count the days it spends in the cave—only the strength of its roar when it leaves."
Or: "The fog does not part for questions, only for silence and fists."
But Ochaco no longer questioned it.
Not openly, anyway.
She trained, followed instructions, and kept her thoughts to herself—because arguing or calling Stella out wasn't worth it. That had been a lesson she learned on day one. A painful, unforgettable lesson.
| Flashback to Ochaco First Day In the System |
"Thanks for the save and all, but I need to get back to my school. I know my parents will be worried sick now that I'm in…china?" Ochaco asked while looking up at the girl who seemed not much older than herself. Stella didn't correct her so Ocahco continued. "I'm sure I can come back and train some other time or place that has a little less mystic fog and cryptic monk girls."
Stella didn't move from her stone perch. Eyes closed. Legs folded. "You are here and you are there. Needlessly rushing will bear you no good fruit. A plum does not rush to bloom in winter winds—only the one that waits through frost bears the sweetest fruit come spring."
"I'm not a plum," Ochaco snapped. "I'm a Japanese citizen and this is kidnapping. Now send me back."
No reply.
"Or else." she pressed as she took up a stance Izuku had shown her, ready to beat the answer out of this Stella girl if necessary."
Stella's fingers tapped once on the staff and Ochaco prepared to fight. "Hmm, very well. The hard way it is."
Before Ochaco could even think of rushing the annoyingly cryptic girl, a sudden gust of wind blew across the courtyard. Miss swirled and then the mountain trembled. The air shifted, heavy and electric. Somewhere above the cliffs, a sound like thunder rolled across the stones.
The hero student gulped and then looked up as the mist parted.
A massive serpentine shape cut through the sky, coiling through the clouds with fluid grace. Its body shimmered like wet bronze, long and scaled, glinting with streaks of jade and crimson. Whiskers fluttered from its snout, and its eyes glowed like twin lanterns—ancient, unblinking, and locked directly onto her.
The dragon descended with an earth shaking roar, trailing wind and mist like a natural disaster given form.
Ochaco's stomach dropped, the stance she had was quickly forgotten as she turned and ran.
Behind her, Stella's voice rang out, far too casual with a hint of amusement. "RUN."
"SCREW YOU!" Uraraka retorted while retreating.
The dragon crashed down behind her, stone and tile exploding in a wave of force. Ochaco nearly lost her footing but slammed her hand against her chest and activated her Quirk. She launched herself off the side of the cliff just as a wall of dragon tail whipped through where she'd just been. The wind force from the tail passing by her sent her spinning and tumbling through the air screaming. She couldn't control where she was going, she couldn't even tell where she was going, the world was too spinny and foggy for that.
After just seconds of this, Uraraka canceled her Quirk and started free falling. Her back hit solid ground almost immediately, momentum causing her to skip on its rocky surface a short painful distance before stopping. Thankfully her less than graceful landing hadn't seemed to break anything important, because despite the pain making her writhe on a pile of wet moss like a worm, she could still move her legs and turn her head.
That realization grounded her, allowing her to focus through the agony enough to search for the beast. She found the dragon's shadow slithering through the mist above her. Seemingly unaware of her position. She froze, staying still and trying to make as little noise as possible, hoping against hope it didn't know exactly where she was. She considered running again but didn't even know where to go. The mist made trying to find proper directions pointless.
'Is that girl trying to kill me?' Ochaco thought suddenly. The sudden idea terrified her and she didn't even want to acknowledge the possibility but…
The wind howled, interrupting her thoughts as the dragon once again burst through the mist and roared as it charged towards her. Ochaco, didn't think, just moved. Massive chunks of stone exploded behind her as she dived into a rolling tumble out of the dragon's way. A huge boulder sized piece of rock landed too close for comfort, but she used her quirk on it as the dragon flew off the cliff and looped around for another fly by.
Ochaco stood on her feet, gripping the weightless boulder as she twisted her body to toss it at the dragon. It saw what she was doing and didn't care, continuing to charge right at her. A heave and swing and the boulder was airborne. Faster than it had any right to be, it flew like a meteor and smashed into dust on impact with its snout.
For a brief infinitesimal second, Ochaco wonderd if she had killed it. Then her eyes widened in horror, her mouth opening to scream as the head of the monster burst through the dust cloud and snapped its jaws around her.
Then light came rushing back as she was unceremoniously spat out onto stone tile, coated in dragon slime and coughing like she'd just choked on an entire river. She lay in the middle of the training yard, somehow completely fine again as if nothing had happened.
Right in front of her, the dragon hovered. Its glowing eyes peered down at her, just inches from her face. She stared at it, eyes wide in terror as It snarled, flashing razor sharp fangs as big as her arm. Then it let out one last deafening roar, loud enough to rattle her teeth and make her hair flutter.
When it finally stopped, it huffed and with a twist of its enormous body, it turned and flew up and off into the fog. Ochaco just layed on the ground, drenched, trembling, and heart hammering in her chest.
The sound of footsteps came shortly after the dragon took off, Ochaco knew it was Stella even before the girl was standing over her smirking in satisfaction. "So is the student ready to learn or does the master need to enact a harsher lesson?"
| End of Flashback |
Needless to say, Uraraka was not interested in repeating the experience. So despite her worries and longing for home, she had chosen to do the training in hopes the psycho wouldn't sick her pet dragon on her again. Sure the training was hard in the beginning, and some days she wished for the dragon instead of kata's, but overall the experience wasn't bad.
The lodging was good, the food was good, the baths were good, and the sights were breathtakingly beautiful when you could see them through the fog. If it wasn't for her being here under duress, this would have been a vacation. A training one.
Now that she was thinking about it, Izuku would probably love this place. 'Having him with her, together, alone. Wait, didn't she promise him a…
Ochaco broke her kata mid-motion and side stepped on instinct, not even knowing why until an all too familiar staff smashed the ground where she was just standing. Dirt and tile flew all over her, staining the gi as her heart picked up a few paces.
"Hmmm, the pupil's mind wanders but it seems her instinct refuses to be dulled by her lacking attention span."
Ochaco looked up sharply toward Stella's "meditation" spot. Her teacher smirked down at her with wicked satisfaction, holding her now significantly longer bo-staff. It gleamed faintly in the mist, stretched out to at least twice its original length.
Just like Goku's, Stella could shrink or extend it at will—but unlike Goku, she refused to call it a Power Pole. Ochaco had made that mistake once.
A bonk to the forehead had made sure it never happened again.
"Thanks, Stella," Ochaco said dryly, rubbing the spot on her head where she still remembered the sting. The staff shrank back to its regular size with a faint shunk, and she turned to restart her katas—only to be stopped by Stella raising a hand, palm forward.
"Your thoughts drift more often these days," Stella said, her voice calm but direct. "Let me guess—the Izuku boy weighs on them."
Ochaco's face flushed, blooming cherry-red in an instant. "How did you—? Wait, don't tell me… can you read my mind with your ancient Chinese secret techniques?"
Stella burst into laughter, a rich and echoing sound that rolled across the mountaintop. "As I have said—it was a guess, pupil. Your heart gives you away far too easily. If not him, then your family would have been my next guess. Those two seem to consume your every waking moment."
Ochaco frowned, the sting of frustration creeping into her voice. "You know that. Yet you won't even tell me what day it is or how long I have to—"
She stopped herself.
Her eyes flicked upward to the sky, half expecting the mist to twist and part, revealing scales and teeth. But no dragon lunged from the clouds.
Just a hand on her shoulder.
Stella now stood in front of her, calm and composed, as if she'd simply walked there despite having been perched atop the meditation stone just moments ago. The sudden movement didn't shock Ochaco anymore. Not entirely. But she still flinched a little.
Her teacher peered into her eyes, gaze sharp and unreadable.
After a long, silent moment, Stella gave a single nod, then turned her back.
"Then your final lesson is at hand," she said, her voice dropping to something deeper—serious, but not unkind. "Complete it, and I will show you the truth of this world… and the path that leads home."
Ochaco blinked.
Her mouth opened slightly—not to question, but out of sheer disbelief. She'd expected a fight, a riddle, maybe a dragon chase part two… not this.
She caught herself. Straightened her spine. Brought her fist to palm in a crisp bow, the motion clean from practice.
"I'm ready," she said quietly. Then firmer, with steel behind it. "I want to go home."
The longing in her voice didn't need elaboration.
Stella nodded once, slowly.
Then she turned, facing Ochaco once more and gesturing to the swirling silver mist that clung to the world around them. It roiled across the stones and curled over the mountain's.
"This," Stella said, "is your final test. Disperse it."
Ochaco blinked. "Wait, you mean the mist? You want me to—what, blow it away? Punch it?"
Stella rolled her eyes. "No pupil, I want you to disperse it with your quirk."
Ochaco laughed awkwardly. "I—I can't touch air. My quirk doesn't work like that. I need physical objects. Something with noticeable mass or I can't—"
But her words slowed.
Stella hadn't moved. Hadn't even blinked. Just stared expectantly like she wasn't demanding the impossible but a simple chore.
And that alone told Ochaco everything.
In all the weeks she'd spent here, every lesson, every beating, every proverb delivered with theatrical flare and infuriating calm—Stella had never said anything that didn't mean something. She wasn't the kind of teacher who just threw ideas into the air and told you to figure it out yourself. Well she did do that but only after already giving the answer via a proverb.
Ochaco swallowed. Eyes narrowing with determination.
"…How?" she asked.
The faintest twitch of a smile on Stella's lips formed as she noticed the resolve. "Remember your training. Begin with controlling your breath."
So she did.
Ochaco closed her eyes and focused. Inhale. Exhale. The chill of the mountain air filled her lungs.
"Still your thoughts," Stella's voice said, barely more than a whisper on the breeze.
She let the tension bleed from her shoulders. The tightness in her chest eased. As she let go of her worries, her longing for home, for family, for friends, for Izuku.
"Feel the world. Feel your place in it. The rhythm of your body, the flow of the wind, the gravity that binds the stars and guides the tides."
She obeyed. Not thinking or acting. Just feeling the mountain beneath her feet, the mist, the wind but most importantly, her center of gravity.
"Good, now… flow."
And she did. Her eyes were closed but she never doubted her steps or her movements, each one perfect in her mind's eyes.
"Now feel your quirk… not as a tool. Not as a switch you flip. But as a part of you. The you that is always connected to a fundamental part of the universe."
Cool droplets gathered on her arms, her cheeks, her lashes as she moved. She felt them now—like a mass covering her skin but individually when they made contact with her finger tips. Tiny, weightless dancers caught in a current she'd always seen but never comprehended.
"The fog does not part for questions…"
Ochaco's mind flashed through every step of training.
The hours spent balancing in silence.
The days spent walking blindfolded on narrow beams while wind howled and that dragon roared.
The night Stella made her meditate through a thunderstorm, unmoving, while lightning painted the sky.
"…only for silence and fists."
But now she understood.
The mist was not air. It was not vapor. It was not some untouchable barrier.
It was water. Tiny droplets. Each with mass. Each with gravity.
The fog wasn't empty—it was full.
Full of water droplets. Suspended weight.
And she could feel them. Dozens. Hundreds. And that was just her fingertips alone.
She pushed part of herself into the water and opened her eyes.
The world was the same, drowned out and dull with mist but she would soon change that.
Ochaco stepped forward, breath low, fist drawn back.
And punched, sending innumerable droplets outward like shooting stars. Each one carried her influence, and as they collided with others, the field spread like a dance of falling petals caught in a storm.
It built outward in every direction.
And just like that, the mist scattered, broke apart like clearing clouds.
And then—light.
Sunlight.
Bright, golden, warm sunlight poured over the stone platform. The sky above was a deep, endless and cloudless blue. The valley below was revealed in full—a quilt of trees, rivers, and distant peaks. She could even make out the mountain she crashed into not that far away.
Ochaco stood in the center of the platform, bathed in light, arms at her sides.
Her chest rose and fell, slow and steady. And her stomach tingled with the aftershock of the effort but her eyes shimmered—not with tears, but awe.
Uraraka looked at Stella, smiling bright and happy but so full of joy she couldn't even form proper words. If she wasn't scared of that staff finding her head, she would have hugged the life out of the girl.
Seeing her teacher smiling fondly, with her staff resting across her shoulders, would have to do.
"Congratulations pupil." Stella said as she stabbed her staff into the ground and brought a fist to her palm before bowing. "You have completed your training."
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Another chapter down! Y'all ain't think Stella would still leave Ochaco alone? Of course not! Lol, anyways thank you genskot for dropping stones. I appreciate it as always. For those that havent yet! Check out my new fic. Warframe: Earth-Bet Protocol and my kofi: https://ko-fi.com/inhumanman if you want to do a little extra supporting.
That's all out of me for no folks! Author out!☮️