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Eiko knows the hero-school sports festivals are all coming up weeks before they happen. Not because she keeps track; because it seems everyone else is keeping track.
And why wouldn't they? Watching real heroes on the TV was exciting, but also had the uncomfortable knowledge of how real everything was. The heroes fought villains, and they looked so cool doing it, but the villains had hurt real people. At the sports festivals, everything was pretend. Everything was good and happy, and you could watch at how cool everybody was without the background fear that if something went just a little wrong, the bad guys would win.
Eiko's teacher used the upcoming sports festivals to talk about history, where quirks came from, and what the world was like before there were heroes (again. Her teacher last year did it too). Her friends were talking about what school and what student-heroes they'd most like to see. Akari wouldn't stop talking about Lemillion, who'd won the 2nd year competition at UA last year. She couldn't pronounce the name Lemillion right, and made it sound different every time.
It's Youta that tells Eiko about Shoto Todoroko - about Endeavour's son. Endeavour is probably Youta's favourite hero, outside of All Might of course, so it isn't a surprise that he knows;
"- and Endeavour's been training him personally to become his successor! So, he's going to be really strong already. Way stronger than even the second years, I bet. Maybe stronger than the third years! You need to watch the UA festival, so that you can see him. He'll go pow-pow-foosh and he'll win and its going to be so cool!" Rambles Youta as they go home from school the day before. Youta is the same height as Eiko, but he feels taller, because he's always moving. That's especially true now as he spins his arms and kicks the air and pretends to shoot firewalls all around them.
"We have school tomorrow." Eiko reminds Youta. As soon as she's said the words, she feels bad for having ruined his fun. Why is so always so -
But Youta just grins, and puts his arms behind his head carelessly; open and happy and so unbothered by Eiko's words that her self-disappointment melts in an instance, "My dad bought tickets for us all for the UA Stadium. Mum already told the teacher I wouldn't be in school tomorrow." His grin grows even wider, somehow, crinkling his eyes into little crescents, "I'll tell you all about it when I get back!"
It makes Eiko feel warm inside, that Youta would tell her that not to brag but so that she could be involved too. Eiko and Youta have been friends for as long as they can remember - their mum's being part of the same mothers group. So far, that's only been eight years. Eiko hopes it stays that way forever.
The next morning, Eiko gets up like normal, and checks the kitchen. Her mum isn't there. She checks the fridge - not school lunch. Just in case, she checks the oven, and finds her entire school bag (lunch box and all) stuffed inside.
Very carefully, Eiko tip-toes to the living room, and peers around the couch arm. Her mum is sleeping on the couch. But she's wearing pyjamas, and her cup of special fruit juice is still cold enough to have water on the outside.
Okay. So it was a sleepy mummy today.
Eiko knew that she should make herself cereal, brush her teeth, and take herself to school. But then she thought about Youta and Akari, who have been talking about the UA Sports Festival for days and days now. About how Youta was going to go watch it in person, and how Akari had told her at recess yesterday that her parents said she could stay home today just to watch it. About how much more fun it would be, if she could talk with them about the festival, instead of just listening. And, mum was sleepy today.
Eiko goes back to her room, and changes from her school clothes to her weekend clothes. Thinking about doing this, about being bad, makes her feel a bit sick in her tummy. She does it anyway.
And then she stays home.
Her mum wakes up and stumbles into the kitchen much later, when Eiko is making herself toast for brunch. Squints at her with all four eyes. Murmurs, slowly and carefully, "Eiko-sweetie, what are you doing here?"
Eiko looks up at her mum, and makes sure not to look away or widen her eyes further, "There's no school today." She says, and tries to not let her voice tremble. Under the table, she squeezes her hands into fists to tightly they hurt.
Her mum stares at her for a long time - she knows, she knows, she knows that Eiko's lying and she's such a bad, ungrateful kid who can't even - and then smiles; a little hesitantly, but without any doubt about Eiko's honesty, "Oh, I'd forgot. Alright. But mummy doesn't feel well today, so I need you to be good and quiet. Okay sweetie?"
"Yes mummy." Agrees Eiko.
And, that's that. Eiko gets away with it.
If they still lived with Eiko's father, it wouldn't have worked, Eiko knows. Her dad had known everything, always. He insisted on it. On who was in her class, on who their parents were, on who her mum saw during the day, who they talked to, what they talked about, what they did - and if they did something wrong then -
But now, it's just Eiko and her mum. And Eiko has gotten away with lying about school, which feels like the biggest thing of all. She has to make sure she never does it again, or she might turn into a villain. But, maybe once is okay.
In the end, Eiko doesn't get to watch the start of the sports festival. At the time it starts, her mum's programs are still on. Eiko thinks about asking, but decides to wait. It's still only the first year classes right now, right? Youta says everyone knows that the third year classes are the best and most important ones.
When she gets a turn with the TV, it's still the first years competition. But only the last part; the fighting competition part. Youta would tell her that's the best part. It's also then, when they're showing all the remaining competitors, that Eiko sees Endeavour's son for the first time. Youta's been talking about him for weeks now, but Eiko's never seen a picture before.
He has a scar on his face.
It's a big burn scar, that even goes over one eye. But, it's a scar all the same. It's right there, on his face and in their faces. He doesn't hide it or act as though it's something he should be ashamed of. Eiko immediately loves him. She wishes that she was brave enough to show the scar on her face the same way, that the idea of not covering her eye with her hair didn't make her feel so sick. She wishes that she was as pretty as Torodoki was handsome, even with their scars. No wonder Youta talks about him; Shoto Todoroki is cooler than she'll ever be.
Eiko watches all the fights. The student heroes are all so good. But she's already decided that Shoto Todoroki's fights are the best, because he's the coolest.
(Except. All of them are really cool. The girl Uraraka is amazing; even if she loses in the end. Because the boy she fights is also incredible. She knows Youta told her that Torodoki is the best, but she thinks she might be happy no matter who wins.)
By the time Shoto Torodoki and Izuku Midoriya are fighting, Eiko can barely remember to not shout. Her mum will be so angry if she makes her headache worse, but it's so exciting. Eiko ends up jumping up and running around the couch as she watches the fight, trying to shout with her body instead of her words. Especially when Torodoki uses his fire for the first time.
(When Torodoki does win, Eiko can't restrain herself, and shouts "Yes!" At the top of her lungs. It rings through the house like a sin, and Eiko immediately covers her mouth in guilt. Hopes her mum didn't hear. Hopes that she didn't hurt her mum's head. Hopes that she's not going into The Room.
Nothing happens.)
Eiko had forgotten that Torodoki and Midoriya weren't the final round of the competition. It feels disappointing to have to watch another fight. Shoto's fights are so exciting, and so are Katsuki Bakugou's - but it feels like there's nothing left to show off.
Torodoki doesn't use his fire against Bakugou. Eiko doesn't know why. Bakugou is really, really good. Bakugou doesn't seem to know why Torodoki isn't using his fire either. Eiko thinks she sort of understands why it makes Bakugou so angry, because the fight doesn't seem nearly as interesting as the last one, or Bakugou's fight against Uraraka. But at the same time - it means he won. Shouldn't a hero be happy when a bad guy gives up easily?
Eiko thinks, maybe Torodoki isn't as cool as she thought. He could be cool, but he's not yet. Bakugou's cool. Bakugou wants to always do everything he can, and no one can stop him. Eiko wishes she was half as brave as Bakugou.
Then comes the award ceremony. For the first years at least. They hold that while the arena is being repaired again.
Eiko looks forward to this part the most. Everything else was the effort, but this is the payoff. This is the part where they tell you 'We see how hard you worked, and we're all so proud of you'. She remembers once, being very little, and getting a first place certificate in a swimming competition. Her mum and dad were both so proud of her; they were happy and cheering for her and no one was arguing or upset or angry at anything, because of her.
Then the winners come in. And Bakugou is chained up.
He looks angry. He looks upset. Eiko thinks, maybe he looks scared.
No one else does.
The other students on the podium don't even turn their heads to look at Bakugou as he thrashes. The heroes around them all look - fine. Happy. Proud. All the things that her mum and dad were when she one that one award all those years ago. And Bakugou is chained up in front of them. There's a muzzle in his mouth.
Is this. Is this okay?
This is right?
This is good. It must be. All the heroes of Japan are there, it seems. She bets. All those grownups and all those people, and no one is angry. If no one is angry, then there's nothing wrong. Bakugou won. Bakugou did the best. Bakugou is the best, and he's chained up and that's good.
Look. Here's All Might. The best hero of them all, of ever. And even he's okay with it. He takes the muzzle off, just to give Bakugou his medal, but he doesn't take the chains off. Because it's okay they chained him up.
This is good.
This is normal.
Eiko turns off the TV. She doesn't want to watch the rest of the festival anymore.
The night, Eiko can't sleep. She always has her bedroom door open when she sleeps nowadays. When they lived with dad, she didn't, because she was scared of his storming in angry and with his belt. But now, she doesn't like closed spaces much.
Normally just having the door open is enough. But tonight, she can see the door to The Room, just the corner of it, just in the edge of her own open doorway. It feels bigger and heavier than normal. Like it's a living thing. Like it's a monster hunting her. Like it's going to eat her, swallow her up and never let her out again; and when that happens, no one will ever save her.
The next day, Eiko goes to school. She lies, and says she didn't watch the UA Sports Festival.
The Youta and Akari tell her all about it. Eiko just makes noises and deliberately tries hard not to listen.
Her teacher doesn't say anything about her missing school. Apparently a lot of kids did. Everyone talks about it, in excited tones. About Bakugou's explosions, and Torodoki's fire, and Midoriya's punch, and Uraraka's cleverness, and -
No one talks about the award ceremony. Why would they?
After school, Eiko walks home with Youta, says goodbye, and goes inside. When she checks, her mum is sleeping in her bedroom, not feeling well again. So Eiko acts like a big girl, and takes care of everything. She does her homework on her own. She quietly cleans. She takes the curry out of the fridge and puts it on the stove to heat.
When her mum stumbles out, the curry smell is everywhere. It smells tasty. Her mum is pleased, "Oh, sweetie! Did you start dinner for me? Oh, you're such a good girl. Mummy's good little helper." She says, and reaches out to pull Eiko towards her and kiss Eiko on the head.
The tug on her arm is harder than Eiko expected. The glass of milk she was pouring gets knocked off the counter, onto the ground, and shatters. Tiny pieces of glass explode everywhere, like Bakugou's explosions in TV the day before. Milk splatters on both her and her mum's feet.
Eiko barely has time to feel dread before her mum's expression changes. The love disappearing as quickly as it arrived, and being replaced with utter fury.
"Did you just try to throw that at me?" Mum demands. She grips both Eiko's shoulders so tight that Eiko can feel her fingernails even with the clothes between them.
Eiko shakes her head frantically, "No mummy. It was an accident, I promise!" Hoping that the cutesy form of address with turn her back from angry-mother to happy-mum, even though it never does.
But mum isn't listening anymore.
She's staring at Eiko's face. The side of Eiko's face, where the thin scar runs down her face parallel to her eye. Eiko had shaken her head so hard that her hair had fallen wayside so it could be seen.
Eiko knows that everything has gone wrong when her mother stares at the scar completely unmoving. Then mother's face contorts; from rage to something even more so, so angry that Eiko doesn't have the words to describe it. The hands on Eiko's shoulders begin to shake her roughly, "It's because of that, isn't it? You're still angry at me? You won't forgive your mother for not protecting you against him? How dare you! I did! I did! I protected you so many times, you ungrateful brat - I took so many hits and kept smiling just so you'd have a happy, normal life! I took you away from him to protect you. I faced all the gossip and the judgement. I have to work so hard just to put food on your plate, and you're still not satisfied? You think you can judge me?"
All at once, her mother let's go of Eiko, spinning around to kick the table that Eiko had worked so hard to set. It crashes onto its side. Cutlery and plates scatter across the kitchen floor. One of the chairs falls as well, knocking Eiko's school bag and spreading her homework across the ground; she can see the paper turning pale as milk soaks into it already.
"You - " Her mother spins back around to face Eiko. Spitter flies from her mouth. She raises a hand, not to hit her - never to hit her, because her mother was good and not at all like father - but to shake a finger in Eiko's face, "You need to learn to behave. To be grateful for everything I've done for you. To be good."
Eiko's mother grabbed her by one arm, fingers digging tightly around her little forearm, and began to drag her forward.
Eiko dug her heels in, leaning her whole body back. Her heart pounded in her ears, her throat suddenly so filled with a lump she could barely speak, "No! Please mum, I wasn't trying to I promise. I'll be a good girl, I'm sorry-"
A single heave by her mother sent Eiko tumbling off her feet. By the time she got them under her again, they were at the end of the hall, door to The Room wide open. Eiko changed tactics, and grabbed her mother's arm with both hands. But her mother just yanked her away. Didn't seem to notice the bloody scratches left on her own arm. Threw her daughter forward. Eiko's head slammed against the far wall of the closet, but the space was so small that it was impossible for her to fall to the ground. She slumped against the wall, stars flashing in her vision.
The screech-scratch of a door closing. And then utter darkness.
There was a sharp, metal rustle-click of the locks and chains being put in place.
Chained door. Chained podium.
And then Eiko was alone. In the dark; the door such a close fit it didn't let even a sliver of light through. The walls so close that, if she leaned over even slightly in any direction her shoulder would bump straight into them. For what could easily be close to forever; certainly long enough that she'd get so hungry and thirsty she couldn't stand. Long enough that, no matter how she tried to hold it, she was bound to wet herself like a little baby and then wait longer. That humiliation was by far the worst part. Already Eiko found herself welling up with tears thinking about it - she tried to push those away. Crying would only make her tired and thirsty for longer.
A week ago, Eiko had fantasised about being rescued. Of heroes - maybe All Might himself! - tearing the door open and bringing back the light. Of the most respected grownups of all telling her mum that she was being mean and making her nice again. Then her mum would forgive Eiko and promise they'd be happy from now on, to never put her into The Room again, and then everything would be better. There were secret, half-written letters under her mattress, asking the heroes to come and save her.
Eiko knew better now. Even if she wrote a letter, the heroes wouldn't come. Her mum hadn't done anything bad at all. It was punishment because Eiko had been bad, and it was the right punishment. Even heroes did it. They'd all chained up Bakugou at the festival. All the heroes ever had been there, including All Might. Everyone had known that it was the right thing to do (except Eiko. Because she was bad and her daddy had broken her and she still hadn't learned her lesson-).
Everyone said Bakugou was going to turn into a villain. Did her mum put her in here because she thought Eiko might become a villain, if she didn't learn to be good? If Eiko told anyone, even the heroes, they'd just put her in The Room themselves, because she must deserve it.
Before, Eiko would bang on the door until her hands were bruised and wet and wouldn't stop shaking. Would scream until her voice cracked apart. She knew she'd be stuck here for so long. Until the hunger was too much. Until she was so thirsty she was dizzy and couldn't stand anymore. Until her mum finally opened the door and looked so surprised to see her in there. Until they both forgot what she did wrong in the first place.
That was before. When Eiko thought, somewhere inside, that it was The Room that was bad, not her. She knew better now. It was a just punishment. A normal punishment. They'd locked Bakugou to a podium, and her in The Room. It was normal to punish bad kids this way. And if this was okay and normal, and if the only one upset with it was Eiko, then it must have been Eiko that was the problem. Her fault.
And so Eiko sunk down, arms wrapped around her legs and her face in her knees. In the dark. And waited. At some point, she started to weep softly. She didn't know how long it would be before the door was unchained, but Eiko told herself that when it was, she would do much better. Better enough to not have to go back into The Room again.
Better enough that, if something did happen that wasn't a good and normal, she'd deserve for the heroes to save her.