Beast Speaker, Monster Tamer

28: Name For a Hero!

The house was empty, except for Pan, by the time Elise made her way down the stairs. There was a bowl of tofu-filled miso soup next to a serving of daikon and carrot salad, reserved for her. She made sure that Pan had food in his bowl before scarfing down her own. It was probably good, her uncle's cooking was always good, and Lucas's only kept improving, but she was too tired and rushed to enjoy it. An umbrella was hanging on the doorknob, with a note resting on top that had Lucas's familiar handwriting on it.

'It looked like it was gonna rain, so here's your umbrella. Can't have you complaining about the noise level and a headache if you get sick :) Go rock the world, Shortstack!' -Lucas

Flipping it over, she saw her uncle's neat handwriting. 'Monstrum', I will always love you, dear.

Underneath it was the definition of the word. Elise smiled somberly and tucked the note into the breast pocket of her uniform. A token, to give her strength for the day. She said goodbye to Pan and set out with the umbrella, nervously eyeing the overcast sky as she hurried to the train. Rain... made her uneasy and skittish, and it got worse if thunderstorms came. After all, unresolved childhood trauma does a number on the person.

The sky was even darker when she emerged back out of the station. Deciding to not be selfish, Elise sent a text to her friends to tell them to not wait for her, in case it rained. It was a back and forth banter between the three before they finally caved. The first drops of rain hit her screen and Elise looked up at the sky in trepidation and opened her umbrella with a 'phwump' and quickened her step. Five more minutes and she'll be at school, nothing to worry about.

Three sneezes ripped out of her and Elise wince, shaking her head.

Move!

Mewtwo's warning came too late as a hand clamped down upon her shoulder. "Hey U.A. girl!"

Elise jumped and twisted away, glancing back to see a group of older kids. They looked like upperclassmen, wearing the uniform of another high school. They sneered at her and Elise eyed them warily, backing away.

One, two, three, four

"You're the kid with the Pokémon quirk who came in second!" The one in front said. The hair on the back of her neck prickled. Something told her that they weren't there to get her signature nor to congratulate her.

"Y-Yes..." Elise began slowly. "Can I help you?"

They grinned. "Good."

The kids lunged at her and Elise yelped, dancing away from the tangle of limbs. Her poor heart really couldn't take all this stress.

"Come on girl, let's fight!"

"Where's all your bravado now?"

She shuddered as the sky rumbled overhead and the umbrella was yanked from her hand.

OW, FUCK!

A gash from the fight had opened up again after the handle had been ripped from her hand, bleeding sluggishly. Elise glanced at the umbrella in the older kid's hands. It squeaked and snapped and then the broken umbrella clattered to the ground.

The group sneered at her. Glancing around showed one or two people discreetly watching while the other adults gave her a wide berth. She was outmatched, and she was going to be late if she entertained them any longer. So with a final forlorn glance at her useless umbrella, Elise turned tail and ran. Dark spots bloomed on her uniform and cold droplets slapped at her face. She skidded around the corner and saw the entrance to U.A. in sight.