Work Text:
Mei was never one to back down from a challenge. It didn’t matter how tall of an order it was - if someone asked her to make something then she would do her damndest to get it done. At the very least, she would make sure they couldn’t say she didn’t try.
When the blonde kid from the Hero Course asked her - none too politely - if it was possible to build something that interacted with the dead, she brushed him off as a little insane. It was an odd question, to be sure, and she figured he was just humoring the rumors that spread across the school. Besides, it had nothing to do with Heroics and it wasn’t apart of her set of babies. Mei politely told him she had no idea and she wasn’t interested, and to her surprise he left it at that. But then a second kid from the Hero Course asked her, with red hair, sharp teeth and a hopeful smile.
Then a third. Then a fourth, until she was sure every student from class 1-A had visited her at least once. Then repeated visits from students who had asked her before, begging her to at least try.
It was Iida Tenya who ended up convincing her, in the end.
He was the last one to ask, reluctant and careful. He is a little kid, he would murmur to her, oddly subdued, staring at his hands settled in his lap. His name is Izuku, Mei, and he is stuck there. He tries talking to us all the time. Please, we just want to hear him.
Well, she wouldn’t let him say she didn’t try.
Mei did some digging, settling Iida and the blonde kid down to hound them with questions. She asked what they had been using up until this point to communicate and how well it was working, and when they told her, she asked for it.
The blonde kid looked downright offended at the idea, and Iida explained the EMF reader wasn’t either of theirs and they would ask for permission. They came back two days later with the object held in their palms like a forgotten treasure, and when she took it from them, she was gentle.
With Iida hovering nervously about her shoulder, she got to work taking it apart to see how it ticked, unscrewing the back and picking at wires, testing the material to figure out what it was made of. The blonde was tense throughout the whole process, grip tight on his forearms like he had to stop himself from taking it back. When she clicked it all back together and screwed in every bolt into place, she gave it back to him instead of Iida. His relief was palpable.
Mei told him it would still work right as rain. She also told them both that she would be coming after class tomorrow to test it out herself. Iida beamed at her, cheerfully saying she would like how sweet Izuku was while bowing and thanking her over and over. She got a grumbled thanks from the blonde before they both left.
She pushed the papers and scrap metal from her latest project away. There was something more important to focus on now.
She stayed at U.A late, as late as she could until Power Loader kicked her out. At home she researched late into the night of the people who came before her, the success and failures alike. She felt prepared the morning of.
When she walked into the doors of class 1-A, Iida loudly greeting an Izuku - with many chopping motions, as was his style - and Mei instantly understood where the rumors and quiet gossip stemmed from.
Indecipherable murmurs that talked over itself greeted them, tapping coming from Eraserhead’s desk, the man himself looking unbothered. A lingering cold spread through the air and stemmed from a location she hadn’t figured out quite yet.
A chill unwillingly climbed up her spine, her mouth going dry, and goosebumps formed on her arms and legs. Not a single one of the regular inhabitants seemed alarmed by the voice, laughing and talking amongst themselves as they excitedly hoped that she would be successful. So she grit her teeth and bared the awful feeling, cheerfully greeting the kid as well and settling down in the group of students currently lounging on the floor. The desks had all been pushed against a wall, the only one still in its proper position being Eraserhead’s, and the EMF reader was settled on the floor with them, turned on. I’m Mei, she said to thin air, feeling a bit silly but refusing to show it. I’m gonna need you to answer some questions, it’ll be easy as pie!
They waited a moment in silence. Iida paused the recording and played it back, a voice talking in the earlier silence, actually legible.
“Hi͟ ̡̕͞-̡ ̧͝ņ̴͡ic͜͞e̵ ̡̛-͞ ͝m̡e͝ę́t̨̨ ̛͢͡y͜o̢ư̸!”
Her heart squeezed at the young, kind voice that pushed its way through the static, and she had to swallow hard to clear her throat. Her brain - on autopilot - was already racing through the kinks and bugs. Glitchy, she thought to herself, unreliable. Small speaker doesn’t help either, and he’s so quiet.
Mei asked the kid all kinds of questions about how the EMF operated for him and what was easier to do. The insight was helpful and his answers were much clearer than she was expecting, and she jotted down his more important responses on the notepad she brought with her.
”Ę̴a̢s̨͘i͏e̷̷͜r̡ ̶́̀-̶̢̡ t̀a͏l̢̧̀k͏ìn͏g ̡̀͟-̧͡ ̨́͟p̷̢͝ư̢s͟͝h̵i̢n̕͢g͟͠ ͏̛st͘͠u̸̵͞f̢f́͘ ͡-̸̶́ ̷̵t͠o͟o͜ ̴̀͟h̡a̶̧͝r̴͢͞d!̀̕” His voice was exasperated, as if he had tried many times and had given up entirely. ̶̵”Ń͜o̷t͡ ̴͜͝-͘ ̨e͘no̡ug͞͝h̷́͠.͜”
She asked what wasn’t enough.
”Str͝en͘͠ǵt̛h̢! ̸T͡͠oò̴͞ ̷-́ we̶̶a̢k҉͏ ̸ça̵͘n̕’̡͜͡t̸ ̢͞-̶̢̛ h́́o͡ĺ̴d́͠.͝”
The Hero students cooed sadly, doing their best to soothe the upset twinge to his tone, but instead Mei jot that down. So physical things were out of the question then…although, maybe she should set aside the idea before giving up entirely.
When the session was over and they turned off the EMF, they asked her - with reluctance - if she wanted the machine to tinker with.
Creating an entirely new machine from scratch was a pain in the ass when there was one right there, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask for it. Not when the girl with black hair and a big bust hovered over it protectively, nervous, or how the blonde’s jaw clenched at the idea alone, or how the purple haired kid shot her a defensive glare. Mei told them to keep it and she would figure something out.
Even so, she left the classroom filled with hope and ideas. She took a detour to the cafeteria to get a cup of coffee, then hunkered down in her own classroom. Mei took a minute to get her breath back and process what she had been witness to, then got to work with no further delay, notes, references and scrap metal strewn about her workspace in her usual organized chaos. Power Loader took one look at her project and decided to stay later than normal that day and every day after that.
It took her three weeks. Three weeks to rebuild the EMF reader from scratch, as well as tweak the design for easier use on Izuku’s part. A softer, more flexible metal, just in case, a bigger - and better quality - speaker to counter balance as much glitching as she could, a better mic and larger range to pick up the voice with no sound to speak with, and antennas were placed at the top of it, following any kind of odd energy so they could not only hear the kid, but have a rough estimate of where he was at any given time.
The Hero Course students visited her regularly during the process, chatting with her as she worked and thanking her every visit or two. Mei was ecstatic to have so many people interested in her work for once and embraced the attention with open arms. Power Loader never complained about the distraction, and Mei happily explained her process to the first willing audience she’d had in a while. The Hero Course students did seem genuinely interested, nodding along and asking her further questions. Iida continued to hang out with her as well, sometimes with others, sometimes by himself, sitting and talking with her as she bent metal and connected wires.
When it was finally finished, Mei wiped the sweat from her brow and desperately hoped it worked. She knew how close the class was to the little kid, and she couldn’t imagine how disappointed they would be if this failed. Hell, she would be disappointed too at this point.
That evening, she walked into the classroom - heya Izu! missed me? - her bookbag on her back and grinning wide. The Hero Course as a whole stared back at her with hope.
She took out the new EMF and set it down on the ground, clicking the button to turn it on. It automatically began recording. Mei told Izuku he was free to mess with it, warned him to be careful, and quietly explained what the new features were to the rest of the class. The antenna shifted abruptly to Mei’s left during the explanation, then slowly wandered to the right. She felt a chill down her back. The class watched the antenna move as she explained with wide eyes, their gaze flickering about the room as if they would suddenly be able to see him.
She warned the kid that she was turning off the EMF, and she did so, playing it back.
Her own voice told Izuku to do what he wished. A voice replied, still fuzzy, but his sentences were no longer chopped up and his voice was clearer than before, speaking as if he was right next to her.
”O̶-̛Oh,҉ ͢um̡.͟.͡.Ok̕a̷y!”
She noticed the blonde’s eyes water, his breath stuck in his chest as he stared at the new EMF with nostalgia filled eyes. His body gravitated towards the little machine, protective, quiet.
The Mei from a couple minutes ago started her explanation, and she heard a sigh of frustration as she talked. His voice was a murmur, and she was pleased to know the mic was able to pick his voice up.
”I...̶I̶ st҉i͘ll c͢an͘’t ̨m͢ơv́é ͢i͢t.” There was a brief silence, followed by the soft creak of the antenna as they shifted. His voice spoke again. ”Is̷ t̛his.̀.̧.? O̸h, c͟l̀e̛ver!”
Mei was impressed he figured out the use so quickly - she had to explain it to everyone else. Earlier Mei finished her explanation, and he spoke one last time.
͟”C-̨c̛a̕n͡ ͠thèy̕ h͡e̡ar̴ ͡m̕e̶.͢..̸? ͠Pl̶ea̶se h͏e̷ar ̨m̀e̸.̸..p͢ļea̛s̢e̴...I҉ d͏o͞n’̀t̀ ͜w͘a̛nt͟ ̕to͏ ̕be̢ ̕by͝ ̧myse͏l͢f a͟ny̛m̛o̴r̀e.̨.It’҉s s̢cąry. ̕”
Mei’s tongue felt too thick to say anything, but before she could properly pull herself together, the lights flickered wildly. Cheerful, almost excited giggles and tapping of the windows echoed about the room. It felt warm.
Quickly, she clicked record once again, hoping to catch any of Izuku’s celebration. She recorded for the couple of seconds the lights fizzled and popped, then played it back, heart beating painfully in her chest.
”Y͞o̴u h̀e͝a̶r ͞me! ̢You͡ h̢ea̸r͟ m҉e̢!̀ ̕Heĺlo!̶ Y҉ou͝ ̵h́ea͢r me̵! ͘H͞ello͏! He͞l͟lo!”
His rambles and giggles flooded the EMF, and Mei couldn’t help but grin and laugh with him. His child-like excitement was contagious, not to mention the relief she felt herself.
Mei turned to the Hero Course students to gauge their reaction. Two girls were squealing to each other - the black haired girl with a big bust and a girl with round cheeks and brown hair - laughing and looking a little teary eyed. A rocker chick and a purple haired guy with tired eyes grinned to each other with excitement. The blonde looked to be trying his hardest not to explode, the redhead sitting next to him laughing and cheering with a second blonde, a black haired guy, and a pink, alien looking girl.
She risked a glance over at Eraserhead. He was smiling, but it was muted somehow. Sadder. Mei understood.
The Hero Course thanked her profusely, bowing and grinning and laughing. Some were already asking questions to thin air and waiting on pins and needles as Izuku gave his silent reply, the lights began to flicker all over again in the excitement.
Iida asked her if she would like compensation - smiling and chopping - and Mei reassured their reactions were compensation enough. The redhead cut in and told her if she ever needed anything to ask one of them, followed by a dozen whoops and hollers of agreement.
Mei walked back to the Support Course classroom, her bookbag significantly lighter. Her heart soared when she could still hear the Hero Course’s laughter from down the hall.
She would have to visit them again sometime. They were an interesting bunch, for sure.