Chapter Text
Akira jolted awake, head aching as she attempted to get a grasp on what had occurred the previous day and where she was. Her vision swam, and her stomach ached.
“Ugh… Where am I?” She finally realized that she was not in another random alleyway, or squatting in an abandoned building. The events of the previous day finally came to light, as she realized she was inside of a bar.
“Oh!” Akira hastily stood up, profusely bowing and spewing incoherent apologies and gratitudes. “Is there any way I could repay you for this, Kurogiri-san. You’ve just been so kind to me…”
“There’s no need to be so flustered, Akira-san. I have an offer for you actually, young child. Would you be willing to hear me out?” Kurogiri’s eyes turned upward, giving the impression that he was smiling despite not having a mouth to speak.
“I, yes, of course!” Akira sputtered, wide eyes blinking rapidly.
“Well then, would you like to join… us? Seeing as you have no place to go, we will take care of you and provide food for you.” Kurogiri stared hopefully at her. “And of course, this will be free of charge.”
Akira stared dumbfounded at him. It was a dream come true for her, she got to stay with people who took care of her and didn’t have to worry about surviving..? It was so good she almost thought it wasn’t real and began to pinch herself all over.
“Please stop that, Akira-san. Of course, you may have time to process this, and may decline, however, please know that we only want the best for you.” Akira’s skin began to redden from the pinching.
“I… It’s just all I ever wanted… But who’s ‘us’? And why would you do that for me? I don’t even have a quirk yet!” Tears welled up in her large eyes, sliding down her round face.
“Well, I’ll introduce you to my master if you agree. We’re doing this because you’re still a child, and in need of a place to stay and safety. It’s a large decision, and will change your life. Whether the change is good or bad is up to your own interpretation.” Kurogiri went back to wiping his glasses and cups, polishing the already shiny glass.
Akira began listing the pros and cons. Kurogiri scared away the big scary man. Kurogiri gave her food to eat and let her sleep without worry. Kurogiri was so kind, so his master must be kind too! Akira opened her mouth, about to announce the verdict, until someone barged in from a second door she hadn’t noticed before.
The door revealed a pale teen with wild and unruly baby blue hair. His eyes sharply contrasted the rest of his looks, however, being a vibrant, saturated ruby red. Those beautiful gemstone eyes looked right at Akira, staring directly into her own.
“Haah? Who’s this runt?” The tall yet lanky teen stared down at her. Akira instinctively shrank away from him, shaking slightly from his intimidating glare.
“Master Tomura, that is no way to speak to a guest.” Kurogiri reprimanded him, before turning to face the smaller child. “Akira, this is one of my masters. His name is Tomura Shigaraki.”
“Uhm… As before… I wanted to say that I would like to join you guys..? You don’t seem like bad people…” Akira muttered quietly, hair drooping over her face to cover her expression.
“That is wonderful. Welcome to the family, master Akira. You will live here from now on, and be taken care of by me. I shall introduce you to my master later, however, for now master Tomura shall show you around the place.” Kurogiri seemed joyful, but Akira just couldn’t put it off of her mind that there was a bit of pity in his gaze as well.
“Why do I have to show her around?! Where did the brat even come from anyways?” Tomura exclaimed indignantly, scowling slightly, but even he couldn’t hide the curiosity on his face.
“Uhm, Tomura, are you my onii-chan?” Akira looked up hopefully into Tomura’s gaze. He stared down at her.
What’s up with this little brat? Coming into my house and demanding absurd things… I’ll just tell her to go away… “You can call me whatever you want. Now hurry up or else you’ll have to figure out where to go in the hideout yourself.” Tomura contradicted his thoughts, berating himself for being so kind to her.
“O-okay! Let’s go, onii-san!” Akira beamed at him, running ahead and through the door he came through. Tomura begrudgingly followed after her, scowling as he muttered something along the lines of “why did I even agree to this…”
Akira explored the place, looking around excitedly and bouncing around the place. By the time the tour was finished, she flopped back onto the couch inside the bar exhausted and spent. Kurogiri looked inquiringly at Tomura, but didn’t question it further.
“Master Akira, would you like to wash up? I will get the proper clothing for you as you wash up, so there is no need to worry about that.” Kurogiri created a portal for himself, stepping through and disappearing.
Akira looked down at her ratty flour sack, which was a sorry excuse for a dress. She could feel the grime from sleeping in alleyways begin to build up, however, washing up was the least of her worries back then.
She stumbled to her feet, slowly walking towards the bathroom. She closed the door behind herself, and ran the water until it became warm. Her sack-dress was abandoned on the floor as she looked at the mirror.
Her hair was long, a dark teal that was nearly black. It reached to the back of her knees, with a couple strands falling onto her face before swooping to the side and getting swept off of her shoulder and onto her back.
Her eyes were a bright pink, heavily contrasting the darkness of her hair. The neon hue shone in the mirror, bright and vibrant despite everything she’d seen. Her face however, held a lot of baby fat, making her cheeks thick and chubby and the silhouette round and soft.
The reflection in the mirror was so her, a reflection of what she’d gone through and told her story. Despite the childish looks, her eyes were slightly narrowed, yet wide with the fears of things children shouldn’t fear. Her face was scraped up, illustrating the hardships she’d had, and despite having so much baby fat in her cheeks her face was slightly hollow and gaunt from starvation.
She tore her face away from the shiny surface, carefully stepping into the warm and steaming bath she’d prepared for herself. She soaked in it, allowing the temperature and comfort to overtake her as she sank until only the upper half of her face was above the surface.
Her worries drifted away as she relaxed into the bath’s alluring warmth.