Her Forgotten ~Tomura Shigaraki x OC AU~

Chapter 4: Sunshine and Hellos

Illika

The crickets are particularly loud today.

Their chirps are more like little shrieks that break through the early summer humidity, echoing in a tangent of a song as the hot sun beats down. I stand, facing the rumbling ocean as a warm breeze blows, whisking my short hair.

To believe, when I arrived here in Japan, the last of winter still crunched the grass and teetered in the wind. However, here I now stand, dressed in shorts and a tank top as the beginning of summer yawns, just barely stretching her legs. And it doesn't feel as if it has been that long.

But it has been.

Over the last four months, I have called Japan my home. Well, as much of a home as I can make it.

Even though I know that my being here is my contribution, I know at some point I will break away from this. Eventually, I will grow tired of this – of the landscape, of the food, of the smells, of the people. It will all wear on me at some point. And when that happens, I will have to make my – as Compress would say – grand exit and leave.

Vanishing from the PLF and everything they stand for.

I take a deep breath. I'm not going anywhere right now, though. Not yet. There's still too much to do and too much I want to see. The chaos and turbulences are just sputtering. Just barely rolling with the tides of change. I'm not done watching those changes. I'm not through with being surrounded by all this.

And besides, it's exciting and exhilarating. Being in a place where I'm watching someone try to do something to change the current system. Sure, they're villains, and people are afraid of them, but at least they're doing something. Everyone else is just standing by, watching numbly as the world spins, each day bleeding into the next.

And I know – I know – that they're acting out of self-interest and selfishness. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. However, regardless of their motive, their goal is a solid one, nonetheless.

But I suppose we're all a little selfish. We all have goals motivated by self-interest in one way or another. If there is something we have to gain or benefit from, then it is fueled by our own selfishness and greed. And yes, I am selfish. I have lived my life selfishly for years.

I have lied. I have stolen. I have run and cheated all for my own benefit. Everything I have ever wanted to do; I did for myself. And I did those things simply because I could – because I wanted to.

But now, hopefully, my selfishness will benefit someone else.

Another breeze blows, spraying sea salt on my face. It peppers my lips and fills my nose as the warmth of the sun swaddles me. It feels nice. Being here with my toes dug into the sunbathed sand as the ocean's lullaby settles in my soul.

No matter where I go. No matter what country I find myself in, I always end up finding my way back to the ocean. I always manage to return right back to this; with my toes buried in the sand and my eyes fixated on the watery horizon, watching the sea sway. That is where I always end up, no matter what.

Always.

"Ah, there you are."

A voice speaks, breaking through the crashing of the waves, causing me to turn. As I do, my eyes collide with a familiar hazel stare, though I don't recognize the face. Not at first.

A young man – about thirty or so – with dark curly hair and a tall frame is making his way toward me, smiling. And though he seems friendly, it takes a moment for me to realize who he is, but between his voice and how he carries himself, I manage.