Tea with the women of my family wasn't as bad as it could have been. My mother had given up on having a stereotypical mother-daugther bond with me and, thus, focused most of her attention on my younger sister, Kaede. They spent most of our tea time gossipping about the cute boys in her class and if any of the girls were worth the trouble of befriending. Everything was superficial with my mother. Who has the status, the name, the money, the looks worthy of attention.
"Kana, was there anyone interesting in your class? Anyone you recognized?"
"Iida was there, but I didn't recognize anyone else."
My mother paused a moment before carefully placing her teacup in its saucer. I recognized that deliberate pause. I was about to be lectured on one of my many, many shortcomings.
"You really should try harder to become friends with him. I know you're not feminine enough to romantically attract someone of his caliber, but something more than a passing acquaintance should be attainable, even for you. Although after this many years, I suppose I'm wasting my breath. You need to pay close attention to the top students. Try being friendly with anyone with a strong quirk. UA produces the best of the best when it comes to heroes, so the more connections you make now, the better situated you'll be once you graduate."
"Yes, Mother, I'll do my best."
I'd been saying that exact phrase for at least five years. I don't know if she believed me or not, but it seemed to satisfy her.
"If I may be excused, I have several syllabi for my classes tomorrow that I need to look over before I start my evening training."
"Yes, yes." She waved me off and turned back to Kaede to talk about some new fashion label or something. That was a topic I had little interest in anymore since my mother insisted that no matter what new fashion she put me in, the clothes always looked terrible on me. I quickly left the terrace for the comfort of my own room.
I didn't exactly lie to my mother. I did have a syllabus or two to look over, but it took less than ten minutes for me to thoroughly examine them all. What I really wanted to do was immerse myself in my favorite pastime, video games. I scanned my shelves to see if anything piqued my interest before pulling my Switch from its dock.
After an hour of hunting down stars with Mario, I changed into my workout gear and headed down to the dojo. Every evening before dinner I would work with my father or, more often, a trainer sent by my father in either combat or quirk training. Today was a combat day, which I usually enjoyed, but I was more worn out than usual. I was prepared to get my butt kicked. And kicked it was. My judo instructor, Daisuke, was less than impressed with my performance and gave me a new list of strengthening exercises to incorporate into my routine.
But, whatever it takes to become a hero. That's the goal after all.
I walked from the dojo to the kitchens. I was not in the mood to eat a meal with other people. I was too tired to fake my way through a family dinner. I found one of my favorite people, our pastry chef, Marie, and asked if my dinner could be brought up to my room.
A smirk on her lips, she asked, "what's in it for me?"
"Hmm," I stroked my chin in fake contemplation, "I may have a fancy new bottle of lavender lotion. But you need to sneak me double desserts. Deal?"
She grinned and nodded as I turned on my heel and headed up to my room. Marie and I had an understanding. She knew I couldn't care less about the fancy beauty products or trendy accessories my mom forced on me. I straight up gave them to her in the beginning, but she insisted on repaying me by teaching me to bake and sneaking me extra desserts, which I loved.
These little deals we made were all in good fun. I knew she would bring me whatever I asked and she knew she could raid my closets and take whatever she wanted. We had a ten year age gap, but she was probably my closest friend next to Ken, my 40 year old driver. It's kind of pathetic for a teenage girl to admit most of her friends are "the help", but it's not like my parents ever let me make friends anyway.
I was never permitted to go anywhere on my own, with the exception of school. So no sleepovers or outings with friends. Not that I was ever invited to those kinds of things, but that's not the point. The point is that I wasn't really sure how to make friends. The only kids my age I ever socialized with were those who my mother deemed worthy of knowing, people who were like her, children of the rich and famous. And when I say socialized, I mean sat with at fancy dinner parties, charity events, and business functions. These were the kids my sister had no problem befriending, but I had nothing in common with them. I did manage to make two friends in middle school, due to a mutual love of video games, but we didn't really hang out in person, only online. It didn't help that I tend to dislike large groups of people and was pretty comfortable being on my own. So I stuck with the mantra of being kind, and not a nuisance, to my peers. I always had my online gamer friends if I felt the need for conversation.
My dinner was delivered and, as promised, two strawberry tarts sat on a plate next to my steamed fish, vegetables, and rice dinner. My mother was very strict about my diet and fish, vegetables, and rice was my standard meal to, "help maintain my weight." Heaven forbid I had a little meat on my bones. Truthfully, I was kind of average. I wasn't overweight, but I wasn't model-thin like my mother or sister either. My build was more athletic, mostly because of all the physical training my father put me through. The only flaw I saw in the mirror, besides my overall plainness, was I had a bit of a tummy. But there was no way I was giving up my precious desserts, not even for a flat stomach.
I savored every bite of my sweet dessert before setting my dishes in the hallway and getting ready for bed. I was too tired to do anything but sleep at this point and I had a bad feeling that tomorrow wasn't going to be any easier. Hooray for the hero course.
The next day began much like any other. I got ready for school and was dropped off at the gates by Ken. We jumped right into our subjects, with our teachers assessing our basic knowledge. Finally, it was time for lunch. I was starving and I couldn't wait to see what the cafeteria had to offer.
Walking into the cafeteria was madness. After ordering a large serving of beef stir-fry, I scanned the crowded room and immediately left. Too noisy. I had spotted a flower garden outside on my way to the cafeteria. I was banking on there being a bench of some sort where I could sit and eat my lunch in peace. Jackpot.
A decorative bench looked out on a small fountain with a variety of flowers strategically planted around it to create small walking paths. The whole thing was surrounded by a decorative hedge in a u-shape. Someone at UA had an eye for landscape architecture. The whole scene was beautiful, the perfect spot to enjoy my lunch in peace.
I quickly dug into my meal, being careful not to spill anything on my uniform. Eating on a bench wasn't the most convenient, but the scenery and quiet were worth the extra hassle. Once I finished, I still had some time before I needed to be back in the classroom so I decided to take a closer look at the little flower garden. I couldn't help but give a little jolt of life to a couple wilting flowers but, for the most part, all the plants were healthy and well cared for.
As much as I enjoyed this little garden, it was time to head back. I was glad to have found this little space for myself. It would be a nice spot to reset myself each day. I gathered my trash to take back to the cafeteria and made my way back inside. Once I reached the classroom, I realized I was the last student returning. Everyone else must have come back to class as soon as they were finished eating. There were quite a few engaged in lively conversation about one thing or another.
I quietly slipped to the back and took my seat. Hero training was to take up the rest of our day. Much like everyone else I was curious what we would be doing. If it was anything like our quirk assessment test, I was sure we'd be starting off with a bang and sure enough....
"I am here!"
YOU ARE READING
Savior (My Hero Academia: Todoroki x OC)
Fanfiction"I want to become someone who helps those who can't help themselves. A hero who saves and inspires," he said. I smiled and dared to share the thought that had just popped into my head. "Well if it helps you any...you've already reached that goal. Yo...
