Chapter Text
ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Someday - Nickelback
0:44 ──ㅇ────── 3:27
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
Mirai Junior High was always bubbling with energy. Especially now, with the end of the year fast approaching.
The winter air was crisp, filtering through the open windows and casting a refreshing chill throughout the bustling hallways. Students pushed and pulled, like each one was a magnet getting directed to its own path, hurrying to their extracurricular clubs and after school plans.
But Nozomi Moriyama couldn't leave yet. Not like this! Not when her cheeks were pink and she was breathless. She stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. She looked like a hopeless idiot!
"Oh my, oh my! Did you see the way Asahina looked at you after class?!" Her best friend, Sumire Kurono, squealed in delight from beside her, grabbing her by the arm and shaking her. "He is so into you, Mori!"
Moriyama slapped her hands over her cheeks, wishing the pink dusting her skin would fade. Did Asahina even like brown hair like hers? She didn't look all that special. She didn't have Aoki's pink hair or Yukimura's soft smile. What did she have that he would ever like? She was just a shy girl who spent all her free time in the art room.
"You think so?" She asked, turning to glance at Kurono's excited blue eyes.
Kurono nodded enthusiastically, tucking hair behind her ears to better show her wide smile. "I am so serious, Mori! I overheard him say he wants to take you out!"
Moriyama's heart thudded in her chest. No. Did it stop beating for a minute? Probably. "R... Really? That means--"
"He wants to manipulate you."
The two girls whipped around, backing up against the counter, and stared at the Vice President of the Student Council, and the one girl at Mirai Junior High that was never the topic of gossip. If anyone was dumb enough to say something about her in a dark corner, no shadow would ever be safe for them again.
Saeko Kaiyo. She walked out of the bathroom stall, letting it click shut quietly behind her. She towered over the two girls, pushing past them to the sink, and turned on the faucet. She was a fierce, stubborn student-- one feared by almost everyone in the entire school. She glanced at herself in the mirror, frowning. She dried her hands quickly and reached up to fix a strand of her wine red hair.
She cursed internally. Why is that piece shorter than the others...
Kurono gathered Moriyama close in her arms, taking a few steps back from the "Iron VP." People called her that for a reason. Saeko was ruthless, in charge, and never sugarcoated anything. Kurono tried to put on a brave face. "What are you talking about? Asahina is the nicest boy in our class! He'd never--"
Saeko wanted to list every single time she'd witnessed Asahina being a dick... but that would take way too long, and she was already late.
"Asahina has only ever been nice to those he needs favors from," Saeko muttered, leaning forward to study her eyeliner in the mirror. It outlined her gold eyes and made them look even sharper-- even more intense. She glanced at the two girls out of the corner of her eye. She'd been eavesdropping on their conversation for a while now. "He wants to ask you out to coax you into doing his end-of-year art project for him."
Saeko was, by nature, observant. She was constantly aware of her surroundings. As the Vice President, people usually straightened up around her, but if she managed to keep her presence under wraps, she caught a lot of sour behavior in the chipper hallways of Mirai Junior High. Asahina in particular, a popular boy in their year, had been buttering Moriyama up-- like a steak he was ready to cut up and throw away after it was in ruins-- for months.
"You're lying!" Moriyama cried out, tears gathering in her green eyes. She waved her finger out at the girl. "You-- You like him, don't you? And you're just saying all of that to get me out of the picture--"
This is why Saeko avoided talking to people beyond what was necessary. Here she was, trying to save this poor girl from heartbreak, and she was being painted as the villain. It made her want to tear her hair out. Just because she was a little too independent and faced problems head on... doesn't automatically make her mean.
"Whatever."
Saeko left the two girls in the bathroom, spilling out into the crowded hallway.
She didn't love the reputation she'd garnered throughout her years here. Sure, having people move out of her way and give her a path through the school was a big bonus of being scary, but... that's all she'd ever ended up being. Her academics were unmatched, her physical prowess in gym classes unchallenged, and her authority unquestioned. She didn't know when or how it started, but at some point-- kids started getting scared of her. Doing whatever she asked. Maybe it was when she'd gotten the third ear piercings. Or was it the way the scar on the right side of her lips made her smile look more like grimace?
Only one person in all of Mirai Junior High wasn't afraid of her-- the Student Council President, and the only student in this entire building Saeko had ever considered calling a friend.
"Kaiyo! Headed home?" Yo Shindo was a charismatic, kind sort of guy. Never really had any beef with anyone. In fact-- on more than one occasion, he'd interjected in arguments between Saeko and other students, reminding her that sometimes it was okay to not blatantly tell students they were failing classes.
Saeko glanced over at Shindo as he crossed the hallway to walk beside her. She never found herself being comfortable around many people, but he was someone with whom she relaxed her shoulders. He had this undeniable habit of being incredible easy to talk to. He was friendly and never talked bad about people.
"Train station," Saeko corrected him as they reached the lockers. She moved quickly and methodically to hers, unlocking it to grab her red converse out of the compartment, and shoving her neat brown shoes inside.
As Shindo retrieved his own shoes from his locker on the other side of the row, he shot her a confused look, his eyebrow raised. "The station? But it's Wednesday."
"Exam day is tomorrow," she huffed, sitting on the bench to slip her converse onto her foot. If it wasn't done at a specific angle, the insole would roll up under her arch and bother her all day. She harshly laced up the worn-down cords and tied a neat knot. She absently brushed a finger along the line of sharpied stars on the sole. "I told you yesterday that I'm missing the rest of the week."
Shindo snapped his fingers. "Oh! That's right! Man, I totally spaced that." He grinned at her, wiggling his fingers in a taunting manner. "You nervous, Iron VP?"
The nickname always made her want to groan, but she held it in this time. "Not at all."
"Not for yourself, you mean?"
Saeko tensed at those words.
She glared at Shindo, shoving her other shoe on more roughly. "Do you want me to kill you? Watch your mouth." Her golden gaze flickered back down to her converse, staring at the sharpie lines decorating the sides white soles. "He'll do fine."
Shindo sighed, an affectionate smile on his face as he realized he'd really touched a nerve. He stuck his hands on his hips, waiting a few steps away for her to finish. "What's his name again?"
"Izuku," Saeko replied shortly, standing abruptly and throwing her bag over her shoulder. She didn't look at Shindo as she made a beeline for the door. She knew he'd be right on her heels.
"That's right! I knew it was something like that." He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair as they exited the building and into the sun. Students were still milling about in the courtyard, chattering amongst themselves. "You said he's been training for it, right?"
"That's what he tells me," Saeko shrugged a little. She pulls her phone out of her pocket, scrolling through her contacts until she found her text thread with him. No new messages yet. She frowned. Clearing her throat and shoving her phone away, she glared at the ground in front of her. "Regardless-- I'm staying at my dad's place earlier this week so I'm already there for the exam."
Shindo whistled a little. "I bet you're super excited for that."
She felt her shoulders tense, a feeling she absolutely despised, but always happened when she thought about her family. Her dad was an... enigma. She couldn't quite figure him out. They were too similar: stubborn, hard-headed, and closed off. Her mom? Absent mentally and emotionally... present physically. Sometimes. It was an odd balance.
"It's alright," Saeko grumbled as they exited the front gates of the school. "My dad's apartment is a lot cozier than my mom's place... so it's not too bad."
Shindo stepped the opposite direction, giving her a sheepish smile. "Well, I hope it all goes well. Text me how the exam goes!" He waved as he continued down the sidewalk in the direction of his neighborhood.
Now this is what Saeko liked.
Walking down the street, wired earbuds tucked in her ears, blasting rock music. The world felt better like this. No pestering teachers, no students scurrying out of the way... no problems. Just her, the breeze, and her music.
But the walk was so short.
She was going through another rendition of the usual internal complaints as she hiked up the stairs of her mom's apartment building, up to the fifth floor. Sixth door on the left, and she was home.
Could she really call this home? Or... anywhere, for that matter?
"I'm back," Saeko called out into the likely-empty apartment, shucking off her converse in the genkan. The tiny main area was barren of any sign of life. A blanket from her nap yesterday was folded neatly on the sofa, and the TV remote was in a different spot than this morning.
Sighing, Saeko turned down the small hallway. She found her mother's door opened, and when she peeked inside... no one was there.
Her shoulders relaxed. That made this much easier.
Within fifteen minutes, her bag was packed. This was a routine that felt almost like instinct now. Her bathroom supplies stuffed into a zipped makeup pouch, her chargers and laptop shoved in her backpack, and a sandwich for the road in her hand. This was usually a Friday ritual, paired with finding a seat on the train and heading to Musutafu. But this time, it was on a Wednesday.
With her mother gone who-knows-where, there was no tearful goodbye, just a backpack on her shoulder and Friday Pilots Club blasting in her headphones as she made her way back down those stairs and to the street.
Mirai was a small but nice town. It didn't see much action in terms of hero and villain activity, thanks to its population consisting of primarily newly-weds or nearly-deads, but that wasn't to say that nothing exciting ever happened.
Saeko took a deep breath to calm herself when a rising hero was hanging around the train station, asking people waiting if they wanted autographs. Luckily enough for that guy, he didn't ask Saeko. She would have laughed in his face and told him off.
Real heroes didn't ask for anything.
From an early age, Saeko had a good grasp on what it meant to be a hero. Growing up with Izuku, it was only natural that she had adopted his fascination with the pros... but perhaps not to the extent he loved them. She admired people like All Might for their courage in the face of danger-- when they smile, even if they may be scared deep down. She thought highly of people like Mirko-- barreling headfirst into battle with no other goal other than stopping the villain. She could even find things in Endeavor, someone many considered a controversial hero, that she aspired to have (although there were not many).
But there was one person who she aspired to be like more than anyone.
As a kid, she was insecure about her quirk. A power that turned objects from solid matter into yellow sparks? How could that ever be useful? She couldn't even manipulate the sparks into material like her father could-- all she could do was make them disappear. She had always believed that no one could be a hero with a power like that.
Until a hero with a similar power rose up the ranks.
Vanish.
Even as a fifteen year-old, Saeko still got giddy when she thought of her. Isn't that crazy? Saeko Kaiyo. Giddy. But it's exactly what she felt when she pulled up articles or saw advertisements around town. Thinking--
She's like me.
A quirk that made objects disappear-- something that could be viewed as destructive... was helpful. It was used to save people.
Saeko toyed with the Vanish keychain on her backpack as she stood in the train, holding onto the handle above her with ease. She'd never been considered vertically challenged, so she usually took this spot right away, to let others who couldn't reach as effortlessly sit down.
She was accustomed to this specific train ride. With her parents divorced and having split custody, she traveled every Friday to spend the weekend with her dad. Tomorrow was the UA Entrance Exam-- and she was coming a few days early to be in Musutafu for the event.
She honestly couldn't be more ready.
It was a certain someone else who she was really worried about.
Her phone chimed.
She picked it up off her lap and opened the message. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
Izu
•---------•
< 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙮?!
4:32 pm
Saeko smiled to herself.
𝘼𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙩 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙩𝙖𝙛𝙪 :) >
4:33 pm
↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ