Toshinowa

13

"Look at you! All big and bad, with your costume and everything!" I rolled my eyes.

"I hate this thing."

"Oh, come on. You look tough."

"I look ridiculous. No twelve-year-old should have to wear something like this. There's barely enough room for my cloths to come out."

"Well, once you become independent, you can get your own costume built just the way you want it."

"But I don't want to be a villain!"

"Look, Toshi. I know you want to be a hero. But right now, you have to play the villain part. It can be really helpful in the future. You've trained with villains your whole life, so you know how to fight them."

"So, this is a good thing?"

"Kind of. Obviously, it could be better. But if you make it good, then it is."

I looked at myself in the mirror. The costume was exactly like the drawing I had turned in with my application. A cropped tank with a fishnet covering over it. It wrapped around my thumbs like arm warmers, loose enough my silks could easily slip out. A plaid skirt with combat boots. What no one else knew was that the material was supposed to be able to withstand multiple different quirks.

"Wow!" Shokya's eyes practically made hearts. "Your costume is so cute!"

"Thanks! I didn't want anything too extra. It's easier to not be noticed in something simple like this."

"Yeah, I get that. Wait, aren't you supposed to cover more skin to avoid silk burn?"

"Yeah, but I'm used to it by now. What about yours?"

"Well, it has some support items to help direction of my voice. And the headpiece has a hearing aid-type thing so I can hear lower frequencies, so my quirk can work both ways."

"That's so cool!"

"Alright, everyone! Time to hit Ground Beta!"

(-)

"Ugh, I'm so tired." Training seemed so long today. "By the way, do you know when they'll have your room finished?"

"No. They're saying there's more damage than they thought there was."

"That sucks. You still coming over for dinner?"

"Of course! None of the teachers eat dinner at the same time so I'd just end up eating by myself." She giggled.

"Alright. See you then."

The teacher's dorm was quiet when I arrived. No surprise. I quickly showered and changed into some casual clothes. As I was getting ready to leave, I heard whimpering from down the hall. I quickly rushed toward the sound. I knocked on the door. No one answered, and the whimpering continued, so I opened the door.

It was Eri's room. Befitted for a child. She was laying on her bed.

"Eri?"

"Stay back!" I stayed by the door.

"What's wrong?"

"W-where's Eraser Head?" Hm, why did she use his hero name?"

"I don't know, I think he's taking care of some teacher things." She started crying again and put her hand on her horn. "What's wrong? Maybe I can help." I took another step into the room.

"No!" She said it with so much force that it kind of worried me. "I-I don't want to hurt you."

"What do you mean?"

"I can tell when my powers are going to act up. I can feel it in my horn."

"Oh." I couldn't help her. Her face was hidden in her arms. Suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder. It was Mr. Aizawa. He looked at Eri. She stopped whimpering.

"It's ok, Eri." When she saw him, she immediately ran to him. He held her while she cried.

"I'm scared."

"It's ok. I'm here, and I'm not going to let anything happen." He let her cry for a few more minutes. "Why don't we go find you something to eat?" She nodded and wiped her face. I closed the door behind them.

"Can Ki come with us?" He looked back at me and I nodded.

"Sure." She turned around and grabbed my hand, walking between us. I looked up at Mr. Aizawa. He gave me a look that said he would explain later.

(-)

"She fell asleep fast."

"She usually does." We walked back toward my room. "She's... troubled. Her mom left after she was born. She accidentally killed her father. She was raised in captivity and used to make quirk-removing bullets. Never learned how to control her quirk."

"That's awful. Why does she live here?"

"We're trying to teach her how to use her quirk safely. This is the best place. We have all the tools to teach her. And I'm the only one who can help if her quirk goes out of whack."

"So you're basically her caretaker?"

"Something like that. By the way, sorry we kept you from your dinner plans."

"No, it's fine. Really. It made her happy."

"Yeah. I'm glad the students that have met her have that same mindset."

"Well, she deserves it. I should get to bed."

"Of course. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I really wanted to get back to my room because I was struck with inspiration. I grabbed my sketchbook and sat on my bed and started drawing.