A Silent Kind of Strength

Chapter 3

Izuku gripped tight to the straps of his bright yellow bag as he booked it out of the school. He didn't have time for any more bruises and insults, he had dealt with the ones from lunch by taking a quick bathroom break in the last period. He had compared pricing and shipping times late Sunday afternoon and found that there was a large mechanics shop a few neighborhoods over from the dojo. He decided he would save the money he would otherwise spend on shipping by stopping there to get the parts so he could tinker with his hearing aids.

To have time for that he would have to skip out on stopping by his apartment. His change of work out clothes were in his nearly empty bag so he could load up on what parts he could afford, change, and rush to his class. He had contemplated skipping the lesson, but after Friday's debacle he didn't think his sensei and his kohai would appreciate that. So his jog would just have to be a bit more brisk than usual.

He was glad, in a sick sort of way, that Kachan was still recovering in the hospital, it meant the bullies were a bit more lenient today as they gossiped about what they had seen on the news. So running didn't hurt too bad even if his still kind of sore lungs protested a bit.

The run luckily wasn't too long and he followed the map on his phone right up to the front of the rather large shop. It looked more like a warehouse really, a warehouse with glass doors and a sign on the front that said Hatsume Parts and Repairs.

He took a minute to catch his breath and wipe the sweat off of his face before he went in. Immediately he was assaulted with the scent of oil and rubber. He ran his hand through his hair nervously as he looked around. It looked like a small part of the front of the building was sectioned off with large glass partitions. The area Izuku was in was some sort of lobby. There was a desk with a computer, a couple of lightly grease stained chairs, and some slightly dusty fake plants.

Beyond the partitions he could see what looked like a work space, and past that were rows and rows of shelving packed full of boxes. Some of them spilling out wires and bits of metal.

As he wandered further in he noticed a button on the desk with a little hand written note that said 'press for help'. With a shrug the teenager did just that. And nearly jumped out of his skin when what sounded like a fog horn went off somewhere deeper in the building. He then winced at the slight feedback from his hearing aids. He really needed to try and make better ones.

Before he could really think about the obnoxious sound too much there was a woman sweeping out from between the shelving further in the building. Red dreadlocks were pulled back into a ponytail and as she got closer she locked silver eyes with green. She waved a dirty hand as she got closer, a smile lighting up her face.

"Hello!" Her voice was cheerful as she opened the glass door that blended in so seamlessly with the rest of the partition he hadn't even noticed it. "Welcome to my shop! It's rare we get someone so young in here! Is there something I can help you with?! School project?! A repair job?!" Izuku smiled nervously as he realized this stranger was speaking to him in all exclamation points. "Uh-uhm no m-ma'am! I just n-need some parts?"

Her face seemed to light up even more if that was possible. And her pony tail bounced a bit and she shifted behind the desk. "Is that so?! Awesome! Do you know what you need?! If I don't have it on hand I should be able to order it in for you!" Izuku quickly dug his list out of his backpack. "I uhm I need two of each of these please!"

He flinched slightly as she snatched the paper out of his hands, throwing herself into the chair behind the computer she set to work quickly searching what he assumed was an inventory. "Wow! These are a lot of tiny and delicate pieces! What are you working on?! A mini noise bomb?!"