Erased (Complete)

Nedzu Lectures

"Just how did you get in here Ms. Leah?" The small voice came from in front of me, closer the ground than I expected. I'd been left in a seat for 30 minutes waiting for Principal Nedzu to see me.

"I--" I sighed, and steadied my voice. No use in groveling, I'd snuck onto the most secure property in the world. I was lucky to not be dead. "I took Present Mic's pass. It's in my pocket, sir."

He tsked. "Do you know what it means to be a hero?"

"Sir?"

"Just give me your best guess."

I huffed, "It's helping others, no matter the cost. I know my actions today we're less than--"

"You froze Present Mic, stole his pass, fr--"

"And his radio. So he couldn't report me..."

He sighed. "Then you froze a guard and an entire class. These actions aren't "less than heroic", Ms. Leah. They're borderline villainous. Now, you should explain yourself."

"I... I panicked, sir. That's it. In the classroom I just... I needed Aizawa to understand the lack of control I have over this quirk. I knew he'd cancel me out...I wanted to see people move... But the first time I panicked. I didn't plan on doing this."

"There is no perfect quirk. Even the most famous of heroes have to go home and live with inconveniences caused by the same quirks that make them famous."

"All due respect, sir, there isn't an upside to mine. If I were to try to be a hero I couldn't just freeze a villain until authorities show up. I'd freeze any spectators too. I could put them in more danger than the villain. My quirk certainly didn't help me get into a good school. I couldn't stop your robots; the only way my quirk would have helped me was by freezing my competition."

"And what you did six years ago was heroic."

My ears perked when the door clicked open.

"Your name, and your quirk, sounded familiar, Miss Leah. I pulled up your file from the tryouts  and went over it before I joined you. Do you remember what you did?"

He hadn't moved, so someone else must have joined us. "Well, yes, of course I remember."

"You tied your mask on, so you wouldn't hurt anyone else's chances."

"Aizawa?" I shrunk in my chair.

"And you still managed a few points. It was somewhat impressive. We even had to hold a meeting about your overall score."

I opened my mouth to speak but no words formed.. "What?"

"You can take your mask off while we talk. I'll erase your quirk."

"No, uh--no I'm okay. My eyes are really sensitive to light, and I already have a headache from earlier."

My breath caught in my throat as my mask was untied without my say. No one ever wanted me to take off my mask. It hurt already knowing this would never happen again. The mask fell to my lap as Aizawa moved away from me. The lights had been dimmed.

"There is more to the try outs than points." Aizawa stared at me from where he stood and I found it hard to look away as his hair did the most moving out of the three of us. "Your actions warranted a second look."

I nodded, "Can I ask why I didn't make it?"

"A few others were in similar situations, and we had to decide who would be the most likely to be a hero."

I nodded. "And what about the reason I'm here? Did your quirk act like this? Can you help me?"

He took a second too long.

"I see.." I looked at my hands.

"My quirk didn't pose the same problem."

I nodded. "I knew it was a long shot. Guess I had to know for sure. Thank you both." I replaced my mask once again, and stood. Don't cry here, just make it home. "Oh, um, Present Mic's things." I set the walkie and access card on the table.

"I'll have someone escort you out."