The Burden of Time [Aizawa x OC]

-five-

I threw open the door to my quarters, ready for some time alone. July had also retreated to his quarters, located directly across from mine. We were housed in the teacher's wing. Nezu explained earlier during the tour that both students and teachers had moved into dorms following the kidnapping of Bakugo Katsuki. I had to admit, it was convenient and a good move on UA's part. July and I would be able to protect everyone better under these conditions. Given the threat level of the League of Villains, proximity would be our friend.

I slithered out of my hero suit. After the events that unfolded on the training grounds, I was in need of a shower. It was then that I realized I had full access to the shower. This would be the first time in 20 years that I had unrestricted access to a bathroom. The thought seemed so foreign.

-

10 full minutes under the piping hot water, having tried all of the amenities provided - vanilla scented scrubs and body wash, silky shampoos and conditioners, a separate wash for just my face... I realize this is what everyday life could have been like. Had I not been taken away from my family. Had my family not been murdered at the hands of the government. Had the United States never attempted to alter someone's genetics for the sake of a superquirk. Had the United States not been so selfish. Had my humanity not been stripped as a test subject.

I rinse the last of the conditioner out of my hair before turning the water off and stepping out of the shower. I wrap a plush towel around me, a luxury I never thought I'd have access to before. The towel soaked up the lingering water droplets on my body. Much more efficient than the air dryer I was used to that seemed to only push the water droplets around my body, never to be fully dried.

As soon as I was fully dried and ready to change into a new pair of clothes did I realize I still had to unpack. I sighed audibly into the empty room, holding the towel up on my chest with one hand as I unzipped the suitcase with the other.

I chose a matching spandex set of black shorts and a long sleeved cropped top, a typical training outfit back in America. The outfits they put me in unusually walk the fine line of barely modest, questionably functional. My hero suit is no exception - a bodysuit with thigh high boots, a series of straps resembling something out of a BDSM fantasy.

Just then, a knock sounded at my door. I quickly pulled the long sleeve crop top over my head and opened the door. There stood a small group of people with several trunks on wheels. "Oh my gosh," the woman in front gushed, bowing immediately. "It's such an honor to meet you, Stand Still!"

"Oh- thank you?" I gave a halfhearted bow in response, keeping my eyes on the group of people at all times. She seemed to catch on to my apprehension.

"I apologize," she took a step back, bowing once again. "I am Hanako. My team and I were contracted by the United States to be your beauty team."

I felt a fire hot within my chest. Seriously? Even outside of the United States, I was still their clay to mold. I shouldn't have been surprised.

The anger gripped me like a vice, pushing me past the group of beauticians and straight to July's door. Not a thought was in my mind as I raised my fist to knock on his door. My foot was tapping furiously waiting for him to open the door. A few seconds later the door swung open, revealing a stoic July.

"Are you serious?" I seethed. "What the fuck is with the hair and makeup team?"

A pause. "Just get pretty, put on your dress, and smile big, Princess." He smiled a venomous smile. "They're all here for you."

I clenched my jaw so hard I thought I cracked teeth. I could feel a dull ache in my mouth as I met July's eyes. "Forgive me," I paused. Each word came out as a low whisper. I desperately wished that I sounded more confident. "For just this once, I thought I could be myself."