Akiara-- 2nd Gen BNHA

ZERO-LEVEL

Above is the scoreboard that the heroes in training would see after their battles, the winning team highlighted.

That was insane Komako signed, peeling her gloves off to place them back in her suitcase. Her gloves made it mildly difficult to understand her signing. 

Yeah. But hey, our group all succeeded I grinned, a feeling of relief as I removed my stolen mask. I hadn't realized how much it had made me sweat. No wonder Bakugou liked his masks. 

You did really well in your battle though. Toru and Shiozaki were great sports about it too. They won't stop talking about how amazing you were So that was their names. I would have to talk to them again once they learned some sign language. 

I can't believe you are still talking about that. I figured it would be old news after the other fights I chuckled, working on getting my jumpsuit off, keeping my eyes off Komako the best I could. I wasn't going to stare while she was changing, but I needed to be able to read her hands. 

"Well I want to talk about it forever" Komako thought over to me, pinging my migraine. I winced as I got the rest of the suit off, tugging my slacks on before turning back to Komako. She held her skirt in her hands, tugging it on. 

We should talk about your fight. Shinsou was surprised that you broke her control. We all were I turned my eyes to my t-shirt, grabbing it once I finished signing, pulling it over my head. Komako was focused on something behind me as she pulled her blouse on, working on the buttons. I glanced in the direction of her eyes to land on Hizuru. She was laughing, looking in my direction. Todoroki and Mineta stood near her, both girls chuckling themselves as they changed. Shinsou and Tetsutetsu kept their eyes down, throwing sympathetic looks my way. 

"What is she saying" I tossed in Komako's mind, a pain in my chest as the locker room got even more silent to me. 

"Ignore her, Aki" She murmured back, not meeting my eyes.

"Komako. Why are they laughing?" I felt my breath hitching as I wildly glanced around me, no one willing to meet my eyes.

"You are not a true hero. You can't ever hear when people in trouble. Adopted by an angry mess of a hero and his babysitter husband. When your bio parents are C-level villains, its no wonder you make a zero-level hero" Pressure hit my forehead, physically taking a step back as I was yanked out of the girl's mind, my vision blurring as I caught Hizuru's smirk before she flipped her speckled hair, leaving the locker room.

Don't worry about it, Aki. She's just jealous Komako signed, her face not matching her hands. Hizuru had definitely said something worse out loud for everyone to be avoiding me. My chest felt like I had been punched as my eyes stung, the room almost red. I felt myself gasp for breath as I grabbed my button down and blazer. My feet found their way into my shoes, my bag shouldered as I brushed past Komako who was trying to sign something to me. My mind was focused on escaping the locker room as Hizuru's thoughts spun around my head. She took my fears and made them worse. She forced me out of her mind and had complete control of whether or not I was in her head. No one could do that before. My face felt wet as I rounded the corner, all but diving into the 1-A classroom once I realized it was empty, the lights were off too.

I collapsed in my seat, sobbing into my bare arms, the remaining pieces of my uniform now on the ground. My entire body felt hot as it shook, my chest on fire.

Zero-Level

Who was I kidding? There had never been a deaf pro-hero before.

You can't even hear people in trouble.

Unless I knew how to scan for more than a couple minds at a time, how would I know?

Bio parents are C-level villains.

How had she know that? No one knew that. Except those who were attacked.

Zero-level hero.
Can't even hear.
Bio parents are villains.

I felt dizzy as the words spiraled around me. They may have been physically barriers this time. I couldn't breathe and genuinely felt alone. The pain hurt. My whole body hurt, holes punched in various spots.

Pulling myself back to a sitting position rather than a ball, I took shaky breaths as my fingers rubbed against my necklace. I snickered at the idea that Bakugou would kill the girl if he had heard her. He didn't play around when it came to his family. But I could handle it. Kiri and Bakugou didn't need to know about this. Hizuru was a bully and I wasn't going to truly run from a bully. Not the next time anyway. I knew who she was now. 

With numb hands, I made my body go through the motions of grabbing my journal from my bag. I took a moment to pull the remainder of my uniform on, buttoning all but the top two buttons and leaving everything untucked. My journal was almost filled, mostly with sketches this time. I would need to start a new one soon. I flipped to a fresh page, letting myself draw Toru and Shiozaki in their hero costumes, notes about their quirks. I hoped analyzing other quirks would help me master mine. Plus I enjoyed drawing my classmates.

A shadow crept onto my desk, the lights blinding me a moment later. Panic set it again as I jerked my head up to see who joined me. Present Mic stood awkwardly in the doorway, his expression softened as he noticed how red my eyes were, the blur around my vision from the pressure of them being swollen.

Are you okay? He surprised me by signing

Not really. I just needed to escape from everyone. Hope its okay I am here and not at lunch I set my pencil down, his eyes glancing around the room, scratching the back of his neck. My eyes lit up through my headache, relief coating the man's face. "I've had a rough day, Sensei"

"Thank you. And you are welcome to talk about it. I was at UA once upon a time" he set his books down on his podium, sitting to my right so we could talk. 

"But you aren't deaf" I pointed out, his thoughts louder than most.

"That is true. But I understand a bit about bullies. I once believed them. That I wouldn't be a pro hero if I screamed all the time. Now look at me!"

"How do the screams not hurt you? My throat goes raw no matter the level I use" I mused, trying to swallow the knot in my throat.

"Speakers. Directional ones. If they are on, it doesn't matter how loud I am speaking, the speakers will direct it into variations of the powerful quirk I use daily"

"That makes sense. At the entry exam, I could almost hear you through the vibrations you caused" I chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Your quirk is similar to mine. I could help you design a speaker like mine if you like?" The blond man grinned as he offered.

"Thank you, but no thanks. I don't want a whole bunch of equipment to lug around. I'm not physically strong like most of the others, despite Bakugou's training." I found myself glancing back at my hands, which were picking at the dead skin peeling from my nails.

"Well I could always work with you on your quirk. Training your new voice can only make it stronger. Do you verbally speak ever?" He mused, playing with a corner of his mustache as he thought of how to help me.

"No. Well, I have tried. But it hurts and I can't feel the vibrations very well. I can scream entirely mentally and get the same effect. Verbal is just more potent" I shrugged, watching his yellow-green eyes shift through thought.

"Try humming exercises everyday when you are getting ready for school or bed. Should help strengthen your vocal cords." He stood up from his seat, the door sliding open behind him to my classmates coming back from lunch. "If you ever want some extra training, let me know" He grinned, turning around to begin writing on the board. 

"Thank you Present Mic-Sensei" I thought over to him, a glance over his shoulder the only response I got. I continued my drawing as the rest of my classmates showed up for English.