Beast Speaker, Monster Tamer

6: What We Ever Were, A Product of Our Past

Elise cursed as the needle stabbed her finger, almost dropping the patch of fabric that was her latest project. While her brother was good at producing mechanical marvels, she was good at creating stuffed animals. Her bed was littered with all sorts of plushies, from small hand-made Pokémons to larger store-bought animals. The one in her hands right now was meant to be a little penguin, a simplistic design made out of navy blue fleece and a little white oval for a stomach. Pan, hearing the commotion, trotted into her bedroom and decided to make himself comfortable on her stuff. Elise sighed and tried to shove the dog off.

"Shoo, Pan."

"Arf."

"... Alright, it's obvious I'm not going to get anything done and you don't want me to. Let's go for a walk, I don't think Lucas took you out yet,"

At the mention of a walk, the dog leaped off and ran downstairs leaving Elise to chase after the dog to grab the scraps stuck to its fur. Scribbling down a note in case Lucas got home before her, the girl stuck it onto the fridge. Elise grabbed a quick snack from the fridge, noticing how it had more food than usual. Hm. I wonder what Lucas is cooking today. Gotta make sure he doesn't light the water on fire again. She shrugged and opened the door, to the bright surroundings, and let the dog drag her outside.

***

The park was where the pair headed to (well, one of them did, the other got dragged along). It was filled with children enjoying the sunny day so Elise decided to head away from the crowd. Elise strained to keep the dog in check as the sights and smells of the park reached the dog. With a final lunge, the dog's leash slipped out of her hands and went trailing after the canine.

"Pan! PAN!" Elise yelled, scrambling after the dog's quickly disappearing form.

She found the dog a few minutes later, eagerly greeting another person. Jogging up to said person Elise wheezed out an apology as she wrestled the husky off the person. Taking a closer look at the person, she saw that they appeared to have a peculiarly shaped head. They were tall, almost as tall as Shoji.

"I'm so-so sorryyyyyy... Pan usually doesn't do this but he must have caught wind of... something," she apologized, restraining the husky with both of her arms.

The person nodded and took a step back from the pair and gave Elise two thumbs up.

Pan lunged out of Elise's arms and the girl fell on her stomach. She groaned and got up from the ground. I don't grapple Pokémons on the daily to have a 60-pound husky beat me in a wrestling match. Grabbing his leash from the hands of the patient person, Elise profusely apologized, "I think this is my time to leave, I'm sorry about this. Good-goodbye!"

She hauled Pan away before the dog could do any more damage.

***

Elise numbly stared at the packet laying on the ground in front of the door. It was a nondescript white envelope. A little bulky from the contents. In front, simple black lettering said "U.A. Hero Academy", and in the back a red wax seal with the school symbol.

Pan panted happily beside her, pawing at the door. Picking up the envelope, she unlocked the door and let the dog bound in through the entrance. Idly pushing away the little trap, the girl closed the door and walked to her room. Lucas still wasn't back yet and distantly she wondered why he was taking so long.

Taking a seat on the floor, Elise broke the seal and shakily dumped the contents out. A letter and a round chip that was a little wider than her palm. Silently, Elise picked touched the little disk. It beeped and a holographic screen came out of it, displaying principal Nezu on Aizawa's shoulder. The mouse was bouncing in place and the pro-hero seemed to be a little bit less tired.

"You have shown quite a wide display of both physical and mental skills during the exam," Nezu began. "Scores from your written exam came back positive, and not to mention your heroic actions in the physical exam!"

Aizawa spoke up, "Not only are students given points based on the enemies they eliminate, but they also receive rescue points given by a panel of judges. You have managed to score outstandingly in both fields."

A green-tinted leaderboard displayed her name. "No. 5- Elise Wing, forty-eight villain points, and twenty-nine hero points!"

No way... that's not possible.

As if reading her mind, Nezu spoke, "You were one of the most outstanding examinees during the trials and the points are there to show!"

The pro-hero continued, "Getting to the point. Elise Wing, you have made it into the..."

A banner stretched across the screen and confetti sprinkled down

"HERO COURSE A"

Nezu clapped his hands happily, "Congratulations! You earned it, I hope that you will become a great hero. PLUS ULTRA!"

The projection turned off, leaving the girl with the news. She picked up the letter that said the same things the pair said, plus information on her classes.

Congratulations Elise!
You did wonderfully.

"How is this possible? I...I don't..." She started crying, a grin stretched across her face. "I didn't think I was enough." Dropping the letter, Elise covering her face as heaving sobs shook her body. "How about that mom, dad? Fuck your views, fuck your 'my quirk should be taken away'." She gave an incredulous laugh. "And especially fuck you 'I'm nerve going to amount to be anything'."

She felt a rough tongue licking her hands and uncovered her face to see Pan's concerned face in front of her. Elise opened her arms and buried her face in his fur. Releasing Mewtwo and Blaziken, she looked at them through teary vision. "I did it."

"You did."

"We are so proud of you Elise."

"I proved them wrong! All my childhood, they've told me that my quirk was horrific, unworthy, ugly. Now I will prove them wrong!"

Mewtwo and Blaziken did not say anything, but their silent support was all the comfort she needed. It was not long after that did she hear the door to the house being opened and Pan jumping out of her arms to greet the newcomer.

Elise stated the obvious, "Lucas's Home!" She grabbed the package and bounded down the stairs, leaving her Pokémon companions and skidded to a stop at the front door.

Behind Lucas was the figure of her uncle, a man that Elise knew and loved dearly. Lucas got many of his attributes from their uncle, from his black hair to his love for tinkering with mechanical things. Elise was the one to take after their parents in physical attributes, but nothing else.

Elise squealed and pushed past her brother, dropping the envelope in her hands and nearly tackling the older male. "OH MENTORMENTORMENTOR! I didn't know that you'll be home early from your job! Did Lucas meet with you?"

Mentor laughed. "Of course, how have you been? Lucas told me that you did the entrance exam some time ago, how did it go dear?"

Ah. She grabbed the enveloped that Mewtwo picked up from the floor. Turning around, she held up the envelope and gave them a shaky smile "I passed."