The Burden of Time [Aizawa x OC]

- twenty four -

After such a pleasant day at the carnival, and promptly delivering July and Todoroki's soba noodles - much to Bakugo's irritation - Stand Still prepared for bed. She immediately fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, having dreams filled with memories from her childhood as much as she could remember. Before heroism, before her parents' deaths... before any tragedy... before America sank their talons into every fiber of her being. Before she became a weaponized puppet of the United States.

Within the dream, she was in her childhood home. Her mom had just made Belgian waffles, the smell forever ingrained into Stand Still's memory. There would be strawberries, whipped cream, and syrup. Her dad sat on his chair in the living room watching the morning news, even though he had the newspaper opened and sprawled across his lap. Stand Still was playing with her dolls in the middle of the living room floor, with no other concern outside of which car her doll would take to the mall. Later in the day, the family would be heading out to the local arcade. But right now, all that mattered was how her doll would show up to the mall. She couldn't take the limo, no, it would be too pretentious. But her doll could take the convertible, it would show she had money but not too much to seem -

Stand Still was awoken from her pleasant dream with one of the harshest knocks she's heard in a few months. It was a crisp knock. Not an urgent one... but one that meant business. One that usually meant nothing but half hearted smiles and inauthentic interactions. A business matter. No more, no less. Stand Still briefly wondered when she would ever get to have a conversation that didn't revolve around heroism, teaching, or something she could do for others.

Ripped from her dream, she staggered to the door, her sleepiness and residual emotions causing a delay in her awareness returning. "Can I help you?" Stand Still groggily bit out, her irritability and tiredness overtaking her sensibility for a moment.

"Stand Still, Hero of America, you are being summoned to a council meeting assembled by the heroes of Japan." The person she recognized as police officer Tsukauchi, stood before her. "The meeting will commence in an hour. Please see yourself to the academy auditorium within that time frame."

Stand Still rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "A council meeting? For what?"

Tsukauchi shifted in front of her. "I apologize, but I cannot disclose such information at this time."

In her haze, Stand Still nodded. There were no thoughts. A stupid council meeting, they had those in America all the time. They were probably going to debate long standing policies and procedures, with heroes bickering back and forth to represent their respective sides. They were always so long and boring. "Okay, I'll be there."

Tsukauchi took his leave and Stand Still shut the door. She took this opportunity to orient herself and to wake up as much as possible. She brought both of her hands to her cheeks and a yawn escaped her lips. A few moments later, Hanako was at her door to ready her.

Hanako was more forceful this morning. Hurrying to achieve the look she was hired to complete, she didn't give Stand Still the normal gentle tugs on her hair while brushing. Nor did she offer breaks in between hair and make up. This made it more obvious to Stand Still that something was amiss. This was an important meeting, and due to the current state of Japan and why they were originally called to assist there, the pit in her stomach grew substantially.

The only conclusion that Stand Still could deduce was this was an impending threat, one that needed the utmost attention. So, she sat in silence, not uttering a complaint or even offering a wince when Hanako tugged harshly through her hair with a brush. Stand Still sucked in a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come.

~

July, on the other hand, was as dead asleep as one could be. After falling asleep with a stomach full of soba, he couldn't have a care in the world. He was cuddled up with his owl squishmellow, spooning it close to his chest, when he heard a firm knock at his door. Groaning, he tore the covers off of his body and trudged toward the door.