See Me

TWELVE: Echo

After I left Recovery Girl's office I texted Hatsume from the General Studies and Hero Support course about a gear upgrade, and asked her to meet me. I went to the support wing, and waited outside the lab doors. I felt her footsteps as she walked through the hall towards me.

"Heya Chica! I made a quick sketch for ya!"

Name: Mei Hatsume
Alias: None
Age: 16
Hair color: Pink
Eye color: Green-Yellow
Height: 5'2 ft
Quirk: Zoom; allows the user to zoom in their field of view. With concentration the user can zoom in up to 5 kilometers

Hatsume opened the door and pulled you inside, flicking on the lights.

"I know you can't see drawings, so I pressed really hard on the paper, that way you can feel it from the back." She handed me the paper, and I let my fingers feel the ridges of the sketch. It was a staff that I could use both in combat and as a walking cane.

"It would be collapsible so that it could stick into your holsters. I would add a wrist strap to one end, and the roller to the other. I'm thinking it could be titanium so it is still lightweight, but sturdy for combat." I heard her rummage around as she talked excitedly and explained all the ins and outs of the new gear. "I should be able to work on it tomorrow and have it finished by the end of the day. For now, here!" She handed me a wooden stick.

"Is this a broom handle?" I asked.

"Yep! But it will help you get used to using the staff." So you don't have to rely on your quirk was left unsaid, but hung in the air.

I thanked Mei and left her to lock up the room behind me. The air was humid and warm. I didn't want to go back to the dorms though so I headed for the beach. It must have been late since the streets were quiet. I turned my phone on to check the time and the automated voice read it out to me. "The time is: Ten. Seventeen. PM." it said.

I let the broom handle touch the ground and guide my path to the beach. Once I felt it hit the sand I took my shoes and socks off, letting my feet feel the coarse surface. The waves crashed against the shoreline, ebbing and flowing like a dance. I walked until I felt the water hit my ankles. Tide was low and the beach was empty as the sun had already set. I listened and let the sounds fill my mind, creating an image without my quirk. I imagined footprints from people walking here during the day. Pawprints from dogs that ran beside their owners in the early morning. Discarded crumbs of food that seagulls had yet to claim. Knocked over sandcastles that little children had decorated with shells, seaweed and sticks. The types of beaches described only in books and movies, with a sky full of stars overhead.

I opened my eyes and tipped my head upwards as if to see the constellations and when I looked back down I exhaled and allowed my quirk to activate as I scanned the shore. Someone was sitting on the sand. I walked a little closer with my head facing the water in front of them, using the broom stick more as a hiking stick, than a cane.

"What are you doing here?" The person said.

I turned my head in their direction, recognizing the voice and hedgehog-like hair.

"The same as you I guess." I looked back at the water, then to my feet. "I came out here to think." I walked over to the boy. "May I?" I pointed the stick to a spot next to him. He sighed in response, and I laid out my uniform jacket to sit on, and brought my knees to my chest. We sat in silence for a while and I had to admit it was nice, seeing this side of the brash, hero-in-training.

His voice was soft as it broke the silence. "What were you thinking about?"

I turned my head to him in awe. His head was tipped upwards as he spoke. I pointed my gaze to the sand in front of my feet.

"The stars." I paused, unsure of how to word what I wanted to say. Unsure if he would want to hear it. "And the little girl. She is safe at the moment, but I can't get past the feeling that something really sick is going on."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember the bust last year, with Eri?"

"Mhm."

"Worse."

The air was thick with the weight of what I had said.

"What about the stars?" Bakugo's voice was quiet.

"I've never seen them. They are like something out of a dream. So violently perfect, that you can't imagine them being real. There are billions, and yet to me there are none." A tear rolled down my cheek as I spoke into the night.

"Like death." He said.

I thought about it for a beat. "Exactly."

"That's what I was thinking about." My toes curled as he spoke. A heavy sigh left his lips. "It keeps me up more nights than I can count." A sob caught in my throat. His voice was steady as he continued. "Some part of me thought I was going to die that day."

With that final statement, my heart broke for the boy sitting beside me.