Toshinowa

6

"Wow. They are so cool." We were walking back to our dorm after eating. I couldn't argue with her.

"Yeah, they kind of are." We were approaching the dorm building. Most of our class were standing outside. "Oh no. Brace yourself." We were immediately bombarded with questions.

"What are they like?"

"Are they even hotter up close?"

"Did they show you their quirks?"

"Did you talk strategy?"

"Did they say anything about our class?"

"What did Yaoyorozu smell like?"

We pushed passed everyone and practically ran to Shokya's room since it was closer.

"Jeez, I didn't think our class was so weird."

"I wonder who wanted to know what Yao-momo smelled like?" We giggled for a moment, then she got serious. "So, why don't you want anyone to call you Toshi or To?" I sighed. I wouldn't have to lie, just not give the whole truth.

"Well, my mom called me Toshi. She was the only one who called me Toshi growing up, and she was pretty much all I had, so it just doesn't feel right to have everyone calling me that. As for To... Well, let's just say the only people in my life who called me To were awful people."

"Oh. That makes sense. Well, Ki, I promise to never call you either of those names."

"Shokya, you're such a great friend."

(-)

Scratching, on my window. I didn't dare look out the curtain. I grabbed my phone and ducked under my blanket to hide the light as I emailed Mr. Aizawa. We weren't allowed to have teachers' personal phone numbers, so we communicated any problems in the dorms through email. A few minutes later, there was a soft knock on the door. That was surprisingly fast. I ran to the door.

"Stay in the hallway." I stood in the hallway, watching through the door.

"It stopped." He threw the curtain open. Nothing was there. He looked around the balcony.

"I don't see anything. I put a security detail out on this side of the building to keep an extra watch. You should be alright." I nodded.

"If you need anything, just email me again. I'll be here just as fast. It was probably nothing, remember that."

"Right. Well, goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight, Itzuki."

I crawled back into bed, still a little startled. It took a while before I fell asleep

(-)

"Hey, are you ok?"

"Um, not really. But it's not something we should talk about here." It had been three days since I heard the scratching on my balcony window

"Oh. Well, on a better note, Christmas is coming up! And I figured out what I want!"

"Really?" I was kind of scared. I had no money, so I couldn't buy anything.

"Yup. I just want a sketch."

"A sketch?"

"Yeah! I'm not a very materialistic person, so money spent makes me feel bad. i prefer something with meaning and heart. And a sketch would be something I could take anywhere with me and think of you!"

"Oh, ok. What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing, really. I guess something that makes you think of me."

"Got it." I had the perfect picture in my head.

"What about you?"

"Um, I don't know. I guess I never thought about anything I want."

"That's ok. I'll just get you something that makes me think of you. But if you think of something, let me know." Mr. Aizawa walked in.

"Ok, class. Today, we have some guest speakers." Hm. He was a bit more cheerful than usual. "Last year's Class 1A." It was subtle, so I guessed no one else saw it. But he was beaming. Proudly.

"Hello, class!" Of course Deku was leading this class. They all took turns talking about fighting villains. How important it was to think fast, make decisions before your opponent can attack. Fight as yourself, not as someone else. Don't let the enemy get into your head, fighting with emotions impairs judgement. When they left, the class exploded.

"They're so cool!"

"I can't believe they gave us advice!"

"I wish they would shut up." Shokya's quirk. I was the only one who heard it. The lunch bell rang.

"I'm glad they were able to speech with our class. It gives a better perspective of what we should work on."

"Yeah. They want to see us succeed just as much as they want to succeed. They really are true heroes." She was right. They were everything my mom said a hero should be.

"Hey, Americans!" It was Kiroshima.

"Oh, um, hi." I still felt a little bashful when it came to other people, even this class.

"You guys wanna sit with us?"

"Um..."

"Sure! It'll beat sitting with the girls in our class."

"Um, yeah." I ended up sitting between Bakugo and Shokya. Todoroki was sitting across the table from me. Shokya was able to keep a light chatter with the others, allowing me to only interject occasionally. I glanced up every few moments, always catching Todoroki's eyes on me. Finally, the bell rang.

"Itzuki." It was him. The rest of the group continued on while we stopped. "You seem troubled with something. I didn't want to say anything with the others around. I figured you didn't want to talk about it in front of all the others. Even if you don't want to talk about it now, just know that I see you. Here." He handed me a piece of paper. "If you need anything, just let me know."

And just like that, he left.