Beast Speaker, Monster Tamer

17: Now the Cat's Out of the Bag (and It's Not Going Back)

All eyes were on Elise when she opened the classroom door. Oh jeez.

This class really has a thing for stare downs.

"Wing!" Someone cried.

Questions began to pile up and overlap each other as many of the students tried to talk to her. Elise cowered and took a step back from the noises.

"I saw you—"

"Were you—"

"Ambulance—"

Thankfully Iida took charge. "Everybody calm down!" He yelled, standing up to make his voice heard. "I know we are all curious, but it is unbecoming of us to assault Wing so many questions at once. So please, let Wing settle down, and we can go about this in an orderly fashion!"

Elise gave him a grateful look as she meekly navigated to her seat, ducking her head to avoid making eye contact with many of the students staring at her. Kirishima was the first to speak from behind her, giving her a thumbs up and his signature grin. "You did great, Wing! Thank you for helping us during the attack!"

The girl blushed and ducked her head, curling into herself. "I-It was no problem really," she said.

The boy behind her piped up, "Wait so the funny-looking creatures that came... were they yours?"

Elise nodded. It was probably high time for her to tell the class what her quirk was, the secret was already out anyway. She glanced over to Bakugou and Shoji for support. The blonde gave her a nearly imperceptible nod and Shoji gave her two thumbs up. Taking a deep inhale, Elise began, "It's my quirk, called Pokémon, to put it simply."

Gasps and startled exclamations were heard. "Pokémon?" A pink girl exclaimed. "As in the ones you see roaming around?"

"Yeah. My quirk allows me to make these things called Pokéballs, a sort of container for them." Elise formed an empty Pokéball. "They catch and hold Pokémons for me. Along with that, I can also transform into Pokémons."

"Wait, aren't those Pokémons dangerous?? I've seen so many news articles about Pokémon attacks." The purple-haired boy wondered.

"Yeah I heard they were super aggressive and some of them have really strong powers," a girl chimed in.

"I think there was that one article a few years ago about a Pokémon going on a rampage and hurting people!" Iida exclaimed

With each comment, Elise slowly wilted on the inside. This is wrong, this is all wrong.

"Everyone," Shoji started, tilting his head to one side. "I believe you are not being the most... welcoming towards Elise."

A hush fell over the class and it was Iida who spoke again. "I'm so sorry, Wing!" He exclaimed, turning to her and bowing deeply. "I apologize on the behalf of the class for our inconsiderate words and for the fact that this might have made you feel unwelcome!"

"It's—It's fine Iida," Elise began. "Besides, I hear about this all the time." She forced a smile.

"Still, I assure you, it won't happen again! Not on my watch!"

Elise sighed. "Y-You don't have to be so sorry. I understand where everyone is coming from." She sat up straight to address the class. "While what you hear on the news is true most of the time, the facts have been greatly exaggerated. Due to common misconceptions and the general fear of Pokémons, I understand why you would react this way. However, much like how we were in the attack, many Pokémons attack only when provoked. I'm not saying that you should just go up to a random one without knowing what it is, but as long as you leave it alone, chances are it will leave you alone."