Haunting

Chapter Six: Trying

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.

Iida and her had stayed in contact after the Sports Festival. Granted, she hadn't exactly planned for them to get close, but she certainly wasn't complaining, after all he was good company, someone who happily lended her an ear and gave her ideas she wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

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.

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 - 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.