Era

22

That first breath of fresh air was always the sweetest. Nothing would compare to the night of her escape, the feeling of the wind in her hair and the blinding glimmer of stars in her eyes as she finally left that awful darkness behind her, but still as she left the hospital she couldn't help but feel a strange echo of that moment swell within her lungs.

Calling in as her own mother had been both easy and extremely difficult, the discomfort of that mask making itself known in an unusual tenseness of her voice. In a rare stroke of luck, unease and thinly veiled panic were exactly the sort of emotions a mother should be expressing upon hearing villains had put her child in the hospital so all in all it worked in her favor.

"Feel free to call if you notice any strange symptoms, or even if you just need a check up!" said the doctor cheerfully as she handed Era a set of clothes. Unfamiliar, just like everything in this fucking hospital. Clearly her own clothes had been ruined beyond repair. Era accepted them with a shy smile and a murmured thanks before quickly excusing herself to change. Fuck, it felt itchy on her skin, the sleeves far too short and the collar low-cut and exposed. It'd almost been a week since her last incident so most of her scars were barely visible, but still it left Era feeling open and vulnerable.

And then the freedom. A blissful escape from the chemical-scented halls of the hospital and the ever-watching eyes of her teachers.

Because they were watching. Era was sure that it wasn't just her usual brand of paranoia, especially after she'd caught Present Mic hovering outside of her room one night. Perhaps it was concern over an injured student? Seemed a little extreme, but she couldn't think of any other explanation; if they were truly suspicious of her, then she should have been arrested as soon as that detective got through with his questions.

Given the extent to which UA pampered its students she wouldn't be surprised. Era couldn't believe that the school had actually given them so many days off; most of those kids weren't even injured! And it was only one goddamn class out of what, 30? What, one real fight that most people weren't even involved in and suddenly everyone needed to stay home and rest up for a day? Pathetic.

Now, though, walking through the bustling halls and feeling everyone's eyes on her, she couldn't help but wish they'd decided to cancel for another day. Even sitting in her husk of an apartment had to be better than this, the constant whispers that quieted just as she passed, the pointed staring that never abated, the way the entirety of class 1-C fell into a sudden hush the moment she opened the door.

What ever happened to Step 3: Be Normal? Era resisted the urge to duck her head as she shuffled into class; making herself smaller would only draw more unwanted attention. Gradually, with great hesitance, the conversation started up again while Era slid into her seat. And still it was stilted, unnaturally stiff, dancing around the topic everyone obviously wanted to talk about.

The student sitting at the desk next to her kept glancing over when he thought she wasn't looking. Era sighed, settling her head in her arms in the vain hope of catching a few moments of sleep before homeroom started, if only to drift away from the skin-crawling scrutiny.

"Hey, it's Suzuki, right?" Oh, great. It appeared that her neighbor had worked up the courage after all. Era remained still; perhaps if she played dead he would just go away.

No such luck. A sharp prod to her arm had her lifting her head with a weary glare; the kid was lucky she didn't just snap his finger in two. The memory of blood, thick and sickly, filled her mouth, and Era resisted the urge to run her tongue over her teeth in order to rid herself of that awful taste. Instead she simply stared at the offending student, and waited.

"You were at the USJ, right?" The entire class, it seemed, had gone silent. Apparently this was of far more interest to them than whatever homework or weekend plans they had been pretending to be invested in before.