Chapter Text
From the kitchen teeming with soapy dishes and running water, Masuyo emerged with a warm smile and a damp towel rubbed against her hands. “Welcome home, honey. I missed you.” She greeted, and watched her husband slip off his work shoes off by the foyer.
With enthusiasm fueled by affection, Masuyo whirled back to the kitchen, and prepared a pot of water from the faucet. “Come sit down, I'll make you some tea.”
The soft sounds of her humming and clicking of ceramics filled the relative, peaceful silence, only broken by her inquisitive voice. “How was your work today?”
Once the water boiled, she delicately placed the fragile set onto the tray, then brought it to the floor table, where her husband was waiting. Masuyo kneeled down and distributed two cups, set the tray aside, then poured the steaming, aromatic green liquid from the spout of the pot with care.
With a wistful inhale, Masuyo basked in the fragrance of the tea, held by her hands and appreciated with a tender smile. After having a few sips, her attention was drawn to the door as it was opened. The tall form of her daughter entered the house, the young girl's eyes intently fixed on her shoes as she removed them.
“I’m home.” She greeted wearily, followed by a sigh as she hung her jacket onto the hook by the door.
“Welcome home, Naomi.” Masuyo greeted back warmly, which shifted to confusion and mild concern as she asked, “Where’s your brother? You two didn’t walk back home together?”
Naomi froze on the step of the entryway for a moment, and the fatigue on her face was then mixed with disdain, simmering slowly within her. “Not funny, mom.” She murmured, and didn't bat an eye to the table as she marched towards the kitchen.
Masuyo watched as Naomi retrieved a glass of water, emptied it with one gulp, then set the object down the sink. Her movements were sharp and curt, even as she turned for her room, which made Masuyo perk up from her seat. “Naomi, you didn’t answer my question...”
“Naomi!” Her voice rose when she was still ignored, her demands to meet her daughter's eyes answered with a snappy turn of her head. “Don’t be rude. Come and greet your father, at least.”
Naomi gritted her teeth in restraint that she could barely hold, her sharp gaze turning into a scorn as she watched her mother gesture across her. “No. Just stop it.” She uttered.
“Naomi, you're being disrespectful.” Alarmed and concerned by the young woman's tone, she stood from the floor, and took steps towards her. “Answer me if I'm asking you something, and greet your father when he's-”
“He’s what, mom?!” Naomi snapped, her hands clenching into trembling fists as she glared at her own mother. “Do you wanna know where my dear little brother is? He's. not. here.” She enunciated with a heavy step forward and a wave of her hand at the empty space beside her.
Masuyo’s concern and confusion was above her indignation, and she froze in place from the sudden bite in Naomi's words. “What are you talking about? Your father is-” Her sentence was cut by Naomi’s abrupt grip on her shoulders, and from the proximity, she could see her anger fully.
“He’s not here, ma! He's gone, Mitsuaki is gone!” Naomi’s voice rose, cracking as if she was desperate to be heard. The words she spurted stung her as well, making tears well up in her sunken eyes. When she saw Masuyo about to clarify, no, deny again, she shouted, “They’re dead! They're... they're dead, ma... Just stop it, please...”
Masuyo watched her daughter's head drop, and listened to the strained sobs and whimpers that fell from her lips. “No, they're... he's...” She whispered as she shifted her wide eyes towards the floor table, where her beloved was, where she was drinking tea with him just now. She hoped for a reality, a truth that her daughter was simply tired, out of her mind.
It was all for naught when she saw not even a wrinkle on the small futon.
. . . . . . . .
Two minutes have passed already!
Haruki cussed under her breath as her short, distended hair flailed over her face at each bounce of her quick and long steps. She should've thought to tie it to a tamed bundle before the exam, and it marginally nagged at her pride.
The young girl beelined between tall buildings in search for points. The muffled explosions, distant exclaims, and the crash of heavy metal were constant reminders of the competition and the possibility of failing even the very start of the journey.
At the first three minutes of the task, Haruki attempted to search for bots further from the center of the crowd of examinees by foot, which has been proven difficult from the amount of infrastructure that limited her view. Haruki broke her sprint for a moment to breathe and think beyond the suffocating pressure of the time constraint.
Her face twisted in irritation and unease, feelings that she tried to simmer down as she took deep breaths. Her hands moved from her lap to her hips as she stood upright, and hung her head back with her sweaty eyelids closing. For a quick but panic-inducing second, her mind drew a blank, far too distracted by the pounding in her ears.
Think...
With a flutter of her eyes, Haruki gazed at the sky above, pinched by the highest peak of the buildings around her. She surveyed the one beside her, and with her heart now more at ease, she realized a strategy.
“Time to change up.” Haruki marched towards the structure, fueled by her newfound determination. She resisted the urge to glance at her watch as she lifted her palms, the green pigment of her skin flashing with a soft light. Haruki's posture stiffened and her eyes narrowed in deep concentration, until she was able to manifest a ladder secured on the wall.
She didn't waste a second and climbed on, with her gaze intently locked on her creation to steadily maintain its structure. She refused to look elsewhere until she reached the edge of the rooftop, and pulled herself up with a huff. At the higher point was a breeze cool against her warm and sweaty skin, as well as a better view on the streets below.
Haruki stood at the precipice and gazed at the imposing height, and surveyed the knockoff city for anything to break that would grant points. Then, the sight of a nimble machine crawling around the highway curved a relieved grin on Haruki's lips, the bold ‘2P’ written in bright red catching her eye.
She drew in the 2-Pointer bot in with a pebble dropped on a dumpster's lid below, watched it react to the noise and quickly approach, then lifted a glowing palm to manifest the large and heavy boulder that dropped and crushed it to bits with a loud crash.
“2 points.”
A rush of thrill and adrenaline fueled Haruki's movements as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, closing in the threatening gaps in between using her Quirk to manifest wooden planes she stepped on. Haruki searched from the high points of the city, and used gravity to her advantage to crush the bots.
After a spontaneous burst, Haruki paused to sit down for a moment, clutching the wrist of her hand that was starting to sting. While recomposing herself with deep breaths, she pulled her sleeve up to glance at her watch.
“4 minutes left. I already have 36 points...” It was more than she expected in a short amount of time, but knowing how much she lagged behind and the number of examinees in one arena, it was possible that the number of bots were thinning out already. “I need to keep going if I wanna get more.”
Haruki allowed herself a few more seconds to lean back on her arms, feeling the breeze soothe her burning face. “Man, this is a far cry from what I was mostly training for.” She breathlessly commented to herself, as her mind wandered back to her gruesome times at the martial arts studio. Her teacher was a close relative, but it was never a pass from all of the bruises.
“Begin!”
With a burst of energy, Haruki charged towards her older opponent and delivered a kick fueled by a swing, which was blocked and pushed by Instructor Akira Kaida's forearm.
Haruki quickly stepped back, firmly planted her feet on the matted ground, then swung a left hook. Her attempt was thwarted by a strong hand to her wrist, and she could only yelp as she was pulled forward before her chin met Instructor Kaida's other palm. In the next second, Haruki's arm was twisted and her shoulder was then pushed on the ground to be pinned to her defeat.
“Ow, ow, ow! Auntie!” Haruki wailed as she tapped the floor in forfeit.
Haruki felt disappointed that she couldn't quite utilize those skills passed down yet.
. . . . . . . .
“Okay, so they look scarier up close...” Haruki chuckled nervously as she gaped at the 3-Pointer bot before her, a big bulk of metal on wheels, and with strong, heavy arms that could crush her. Haruki lept back as it swung at her, and gained enough distance to have a clear view of her opponent.
Before it could strike once more, Haruki manifested a blade, one sharp and big enough to cut through its metal arm, then manifested another to slice it in half. Its wires crackled and the metal groaned as it slowly collapsed on the street with a heavy thud, the shreds cracking and scattering everywhere.
“Yes! 42 points! Not so scary after all.” Haruki declared proudly with a grin and a pump of her fist, almost jumping from excitement and accomplishment. Her attention was quickly drawn back to the dire reality as she heard the sound of a wheel charging towards her.
She whirled her head towards the other side of the road, and found a 1-Pointer bot charging towards her at full speed, its single red lense locked intently on the teenager. Haruki braced herself for the attack with feet spread apart, leg muscles coiled as if ready to spring into an escape. But first, she raised a hand, and with a determined furrow of her brow, she manifested a wrecking ball swinging towards the bot. Its head was bashed off its thin body, and collapsed and slid forward with a loud metallic screech.
Haruki's moment of relief dissolved into alarm once a 2-Pointer bot suddenly emerged from the smoke, its spider-like legs making fast pursuit. Haruki’s first instinct was to take steps back, and the second was to quickly lift up her hand to get rid of it.
Instead, her jaw clenched and eyes widened as she felt a sharp shock of pain on the back of her head, which grew into a nauseating throb. Haruki's breath caught in her throat as her hand caught her head, momentarily stunned before realizing the opponent was closing in on her. Haruki leapt to the side and rolled away from where she stood as it rushed by, and scrambled on her feet to try again.
But the bot, despite being such a heavy thing, was nimble enough to turn and swing its tail towards her. Haruki gasped, then grunted in pain as the tail met her abdomen and tossed her back on the ground with a hard landing. She coughed and gritted her teeth through the pain, and just as she tried to lift herself up, the bot had hopped above her.
Upon that split second before landing, Haruki felt something firmly wrap around her arm then swiftly pulled her away, earning a yelp from her. The bot landed from where she was with a thud that could’ve been painful, and upon its next steps forward, its legs were bound with tape-like material, and fell forward from imbalance.
“Hey! Are you alright?” Someone called out as he rushed to her aid, his voice and expression filled with concern. “That was a close call.”
Wide eyed, Haruki looked up at the examinee, and the hand that he offered. Beyond the shock, she was able to take in his appearance; jet black hair, and a toothy grin. Haruki blinked back to reality, and accepted his hand with a smile decorated with gratitude. “I’m okay,” she stood up with a pained grunt, feeling her ribs twist and sting, “Thanks for the save.”
“Man, the adults really aren’t going easy on us, huh?” The boy commented, glancing at the twitching and smoking bot in the distance as he scratched his head. “Sorry for stealing your points.” He added with coupled palms.
“No, it’s alright. You saved me after-”
Their attention was instantly stolen by the heavy hum of tires and the bulky arm swinging towards them from behind. With huffs and grunts, one ducked and leapt away, while the other escaped in the distance with a quick shot of his tape towards a lamppost.
“I got it!” The boy shouted as he once again shot tape from his elbow, aimed towards the bot's wheel. It roughly screeched on the road and the bot's movements faltered, and he took this chance to pull the lamppost off the sidewalk, then slung and pierced it on the bot.
Another with one wheel arrived at the corner of Haruki's eye. She grunted through gritted teeth as she fought through the lingering pain on her head, and manifested a number of steel bars that pierced the bot from above.
“Whoa! How’d you do that?” The boy chimed with beaming curiosity and interest as he rushed towards Haruki. Before questions could be answered, the arrival of enemies didn’t stop, and each one seemed to be attracted by the smoke and the loud breakage of their allies.
“We might wanna handle those guys first.” Haruki suggested as she flexed her open palms, her critical gaze focused on the incoming bots in the distance.
“Right.” The boy nodded upon the realization, then cracked his knuckles with a wide grin. “Name’s Sero, by the way!” He called out before swinging onto another lamppost, then landed on top of a 3-Pointer. “Sero Hanta!” He wrapped his tape around its head, then with a grunt of effort, yanked it off.
Meanwhile, Haruki kept her distance from the bots, and either pierced with steel rebars or crushed with large metal cubes. “Haruki Yume.” She introduced herself as well, held her hand out towards a bot closing in on her, then watched as it ran into a rebar inclined from the road. The impact from its speed and sudden stop blew wind towards the girl, making strands of her bangs dance against her grinning face. “Nice to meet you, Sero!”
. . . . . . . .
“That 0-Pointer came out of nowhere, dude! I thought I was gonna get crushed.”
“I know. I didn't expect it to be that fricking huge!”
Chatter filled the locker rooms and the halls, filled with students changing to their middle school uniforms and gathering their belongings. The practical exam had just ended, and everyone was still hooked on their own experiences, possibly the most exciting and nerve-wracking ones they had all year.
Haruki on the other hand sighed in relief after a refreshing sip of water, and she could still feel her dried sweat sticking on her skin, and her uniform felt almost like loose skin compared to her previous outfit.
“Thank goodness someone came to save me though.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Wait... I think it’s her over there.”
Haruki’s movements briefly faltered while she was folding her damp, cropped hoodie. Despite not turning to the distant voice, she could still feel a few pairs of eyes in her direction. The hushed recognition tugged at her lips to a proud smile, and straightened her back. She zipped her duffle bag closed and slung it over her shoulder, before turning to the door to leave the school she hopes to grow in.
Haruki suddenly thought about jumping into training again, even what her first day at U.A might become. The thought filled her with fresh excitement and determination.
To be continued
cr: image/s are from Pinterest