The Reve - Part 1

Chapter 18: Look

Hyori was mentally floating on a cloud after hearing the magical words. She would transfer into the hero course next semester and couldn't wait to share the news with Megumi. After cleaning herself in the infirmary bathroom, she hastily glanced at the pupils lying on the infirmary beds when she rushed out of the area. She had witnessed their fights and how they escalated to the point some of them needed medical aid.

She needed to work on a better strategy to prevent those escalations in real situations. She might have needed some medical assistance if the green-haired boy had been any rougher when he pinned her down. Her first match had been mitigated but the second went out of hand when Midoriya lost control of his quirk. Surprised by his friend's request to brainwash the agitated lad, Hyori secured the bubbling mind under her quirk's cover to soothe his nerves.

Feeling the effervescent state of mind, she remembered where she already felt a similar feeling. It was similar to how 'Professor's mind had been strained by the disturbances in his mind when he first visited her. She wondered if it was a common trait of people with multiple quirks or a mutation in itself. Again, Midoriya had woken up from her quirk and won the match.

Not being a heroic apprentice yet, she had to hand the artificial vocal cords and the binding cloth to the heroic teacher. She found the man in the teachers' lounge and put the equipment case beside the couch he was sitting on. She was about to leave when she felt the urge to receive an answer to a question that had haunted her for the past five months.

"I'm grateful for everything you did for me, but why?"

Black eyes met her lavender ones before the man answered. "I guess I saw myself in you during the sports festival."

Memories of her first match against Midoriya flashed before her eyes. It was the only moment she had been noticeable. Yet, that hadn't been her true self at the moment. She had impersonated her opponent even if she could somehow relate to him. She felt uneasy that the chance she had been handed was based on a misconception. It was a good thing the kid had been a heroic pupil from the start or she might have stolen someone else's opportunity.

"I know I look like a homeless man but you don't need to be gloomy at the thought that we might be alike."

Hyori sensed the man was trying to humour her and she adorned an easy smile to distract him from the awareness that his joke fell flat.

"I could never. Good evening, Mister Aizawa." Said the teen before exiting the room and taking the route to Tokyo.

On Saturday, Hyori celebrated her transfer with Megumi in a cat cafe. They had grown accustomed to the environment and so did the cats of the establishment. They planned to spend the winter break together as Megumi's training under the commission had started. Hyori wasn't privy to the sessions and hoped to get intel if she spent more time with Megumi.

~~~

Following the manager's arrest, Hyori assumed it was time to leave the pension. He pulled some strings and Orochimi's threat had been considered serious enough to get her imprisoned for grooming and blackmail. 

The violet wanted to move her studio to a bigger place where she would put the furniture she left in Kamakura. Having closed her studio for the winter break, Hyori spent the first Saturday of her break looking for a new place in Tokyo. 

The agency that assisted her with her first purchase proposed a three-bedroom apartment in the same neighbourhood. Feeling lucky, she took the offer without hesitation and hired professionals to move her furniture.

She had been energetic and a bit restless during the first days of the winter break. She took the apartment visit as an opportunity to take her mind off of her restlessness. The place was a rectangle partitioned into two areas with the same surface. In the night area, a master bedroom with a private bathroom and an office room occupied one side while two modest bedrooms and a shared shower occupied the other.