I was wearing a pink, cotton dress that reached my knees. I had white buckled sandals on as I squealed with delight, running through the sand of Galveston beach. My grandfather was talking to us behind the video camera that was perched on his shoulder. He was always so insistent on wanting to record our best memories, he would make discs and give them to my mother so we had something to smile back on when we grew older.
He was always considerate, always selfless for his grandchildren. My mother loves him very much for that and saw him as her father, even after my parents got divorced.
"Florence! Smile for the camera, what's something you want to tell yourself in ten years?"
I giggled, sticking out my tongue before settling for a grin that had one of my teeth missing since I was a five year old who played around too much in the rocks.
"You need to eat more cookies and go to the beach with Grandpa again!" Satisfied with my answer, I hauled my small body to my older sister, who was perfecting a sand castle.
At ten, my grandfather, sisters, and I sat in a restaurant eating a simple burger and fries. I was content with spending time with him as I told him how I got better at dividing fractions and how I was beginning to memorize the different bones of the body. He listened with adoration and interest, talking about how he couldn't wait to see us graduate when we got older. How excited he was to see us grow into adults that carried themselves with kindness, that was his dream for us. I remembered how even after everything I experienced only a year ago, I didn't hesitate to jump into his arms as he reassured me that I would be okay, he would remain by our side no matter what.
It was a week before I was leaving for Japan, I kept a straight face even though my heart leapt for joy at my grandfather's small frame. He walked to me, hugging me and saying how he could live in peace knowing that one of his grandchildren is going to become a hero. "You'll save lives, my strong little flower." He cried, tears escaping down his slightly wrinkled cheeks as he bared a warm smile. He kissed my forehead, apologizing for the way he couldn't protect me. That angered me, he was never the one at fault for what happened in my past. "Grandpa, don't say sorry. You're the only man I love, you could never hurt me." I allowed myself to bask in the way I cared for him, I was always grateful to the universe for providing me the opportunity to have one good man in my corner, cheering me on as I tried to reassemble the broken pieces of my spirit.
I kissed his cheek, bidding him farewell as he stepped on the bus. He gave me a small heart-shaped locket, telling me to tap the center of the heart whenever I missed him or my family. When I arrived in Japan, I would tap it frequently when it was hidden underneath my school uniform or hero costume.
He gave me one last look as the bus took him away, I couldn't explain the way my lungs compressed, the way my brain flinched, as if it was preparing for something I was unaware of. My hand separated from my side, reaching out, I couldn't stop feeling like if I needed to tug him towards me one last time, say "I love you" one last time.
I was worried for nothing, though. He still called me the way he always did once or twice a week, depending on the busyness of his schedule working in a hospital. I would tell him of my friends, of Shota, and of my training while he laughed and spoke of his work and how he hoped his son would eventually reach out to him.
I was sitting upon the same black carpet I had been before the USJ attack, the same feminine voice spoke to me.
"My poor child, the worst is yet to come." A pressure stroked the tear that slid down my cheek.
"What do you mean?" I asked quietly, too consumed with reliving the memories of my time spent with my grandfather and family before living here.
"You'll suffer now, and then you will crumble further down the line. I can't control these things, I can only hope you still keep the same heart."
I said nothing, staring at the darkness in confusion.
-
It seemed that hospital beds and I would become quite acquainted with each other. I'm certain Izuku was beginning to feel the same way, both of us were sitting on his bed with Todoroki and Iida sitting nearby on their own comfortable mattresses.
When I woke up after our battle with Stain, I was met with an IV and the typical white gauze that I familiarized myself with. My bones didn't throb, but I felt stinging from where the vigilante had stabbed me. The dull ache of the aftermath of a battle had resonated through my body, but I dismissed it as I forced myself up and about to look for my friends.
They were in the room two doors down from mine; when I had entered, I noticed how they all slept in the beds peacefully. Their faces were that of serenity and I smiled, thankful to see that even Iida carried no unsettled rage or grief.
Awoken thirty minutes later, Izuku was fretting over me, scolding me for the way I relentlessly hurt myself to protect the others. Developing an irritation at his words, I tugged him to me by the lining of his hospital gown.
"You really have no place to get mad when you're the exact same way. Try and tell me off but it won't change the fact that I'll do it again if it means keeping you safe," I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him before loosening my grip. I cleared my expression, guilt seeping through as I quietly apologized.
"You're such a stubborn girl," he muttered, before pulling my arm and allowing me to be near him again as he fiddled with my bandages.
Iida called my name, "Reyna."
"Yes?" I stood, nearing him to see the tears that pooled in his eyes.
"I've apologized to Todoroki and Midoriya, but not to you. I'm so sorry, you got injured trying to protect me when I was so blinded by my hate. I caused my friends to get hurt and I hope you can forgive me, you knew and instead of stopping me, you let me deal with my emotions and aided me anyways. I don't deserve a friendship such as yours." He finished, removing his glasses to wipe at his eyes in a measly manner.
Oh, Tenya, if only you knew that it was I who didn't deserve the classmates I have.
I shook my head, saying, "Iida, no matter the situation I'll always look out for you, it's expected of me because," I hugged him, whispering in his ear. "We really are friends."
I pulled away and we both smiled at each other, but Todoroki pulled us from our bonding moment with his sentence. "Florence, my father is going to get really upset when we go back to the agency so if he tries to exhaust us with training, feel free to slander him online."
I bit my cheek to keep from laughing. "Sure, Todoroki, I'll see to it that Endeavor gets trolled by twelve year olds." He asked what I meant by that, but I just waved my hand to dismiss the question. We heard knocking at the door, and in entered Gran Torino, pro-hero Manual, and a large person who was a dog. Or is it a large dog who acts like a human? I was unsure, only briefly wishing them a good morning as I returned near Midoriya.
The person with dog features began introducing himself as the Chief of Police for Hosu City. My mind raced in panic as I wondered what he needed to see us for. He began explaining that we would face serious trouble for fighting without a provisional license, and in recognition, my eyes drifted to the hero that Midoriya was currently interning with.
He had a grumpy expression, frowning at the green-haired boy beside me while crossing his arms. His face was lined with wrinkles as we both patiently waited for the Chief of Police to finish castigating us.
He reminds me of my grandfather.
Despite the frustrated countenance, there was a gentle nature to the quick hero, as his eyes softened visibly when Iida's and Midoriya's faces grew ridden with guilt and fear over the consequences that we would face. He met my stare, eyes widening in surprise as I grew embarrassed and quickly looked away.
"I guess U.A and Endeavor haven't been teaching you enough. What a shame." The Chief of Police stated, eyes closed in a condescending manner as he faced my classmate to my right. It took me a while to realize that the half and half boy beside me was shaking with rage. Wait, why is he so mad? What did I miss when I was too busy associating Gran Torino to my grandfather? I watched him, eyebrows furrowed as he gritted his teeth, crying out, "You damn mutt!"
Why does that sound like a slur to the Chief of Police?
I winced internally, grabbing Todoroki's arm as he attempted to stomp his way to the tall dog and do God knows what. Iida cried out his name in warning, and the Chief of Police continued to speak. "If we give all the credit to Endeavor, you guys will not have any headlines on the news, resulting in no consequences but no recognition either."
I nodded, giving him a thumbs up to show that I would take that as a deal rather than getting scolded by Aizawa and possibly kicked out of U.A. "Sounds good to me, right, boys?" I asked, looking at my classmates as they all hurriedly nodded their heads in agreement.
"Spoken at the perfect moment, Ms. Reyna. But personally," The Chief bowed his head in a humble manner, "let me thank you all for risking your lives to protect civilians and pro-heroes alike in capturing Stain."
I repeated his gesture, expressing gratitude for the way that he let us alleviate ourselves from the situation with no burns to our names. Todoroki looked down in shame, "You should've began with that," he mumbled, scratching at the back of his head awkwardly.
When Manual left to quickly sign release forms to have Iida taken back to his agency, the spectacle-wearing boy turned to us.
"A nerve in my hand is severely injured, I won't ever have the same movement and ability because of it." He spoke sadly, before growing a stern expression. "There's a surgery to reverse it, but I'll keep it this way until I feel that I've deserved to have it fixed."
Midoriya and I both had upset expressions, understanding the situation as we both sighed his name. It was uncomfortably silent until Todoroki spoke up again, holding his hand out in front of him as he stared at his palm in anger.
"Whenever I'm involved, someone's hand gets all messed up. Is something wrong with me?" His question was so serious, that Iida, Izuku, and I simply stared at him, baffled.
"Am I cursed?" Todoroki's words were so serious, while his eyes and face remained passive, truly lost in the idea that he created the injuries in all of our hands.
Don't laugh. Please, he's going to think we're mocking him. I was certain I wouldn't release the noises threatening to escape me until I looked at Iida and Midoriya, realizing that they were holding it in as well.
Simultaneously, we all roared in laughter, clutching our stomachs as I fell to my knees, laughing so hard that the tears rolled from my eyes as I tried to cover my mouth to spare Todoroki from feeling awkward. Izuku sunk to the floor, giggles escaping him as he leaned his body on mine, heaving to catch his breath. Iida smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever, his eyes crinkling in happiness as Todoroki only stared at us, utterly confused.
"T-todoroki! I didn't know you had a sense of humor!" Izuku cried out in between laughs, as I tried to swallow down the giddy feeling of the situation.
The two-toned boy's eyes widened as he fretted over our rolling bodies. "This isn't a joke, I'm like the hand crusher or something!"
Izuku and I glanced at each other before immediately guffawing, Iida's laughter increased as we clutched our stomachs, doubling over in the good pain that derives from humor. I grabbed his arm, trying to cease the way I was chortling, as I pressed my eyes closed and basked in the randomly joyful moment.
My mother always warned me that if you laughed too hard, you'd end up crying harder eventually.
Endeavor dragged Todoroki and I from the hospital to continue training for the rest of the week. He lectured us for an hour about how we were setting a bad impression by irresponsibly abandoning him under his protocols. To purposely spite him, Todoroki began prodding his soba and slurping loudly while I apologized, I might've disliked Endeavor but I was raised to respect adults as much as possible. I didn't miss the glare that Todoroki sent my way when I said sorry, so I had to make it up to him by sneaking out of Endeavor's office into the nearest bakery to bring him three vanilla cupcakes.
We spent the rest of the internship enhancing our skills with Endeavor's sidekicks while he watched, throwing out different tactics for us to try. As much as I disliked the man, from a hero standpoint, interning with him was the best decision I could've made. I was filled with so much information about Endeavor's particular skills and how to properly handle my quirk's different aspects and harm villains without too much collateral damage.
The more the week went by, I would occasionally text my friends, checking on how they were doing. Mina and Jirou called me while Todoroki and I were eating dinner. Mina immediately teased us for spending the whole week alone together, but Todoroki and I only glanced at each other and shrugged, neither of us buying into her suggestive ideas. Todoroki, who now insisted I call him by his hero name, had mentioned how we weren't allowed to tell anyone about the events with Stain. I agreed, knowing that it would be for the best. With that, we worked together well, always communicating with brief signals or glances, as Endeavor even pointed out that I should return for future internships or work studies to stay by Todoroki's side as a partner and friend.
On the last day, Endeavor dropped us off at the train station, he had prepared us a hearty breakfast for our departure, so we sauntered casually into the train platform. I was talking to Todoroki about my sisters, explaining how my younger sibling called him attractive because she had witnessed our battle at the Sports Festival while he revealed a small smile with a blush.
My phone rang, and I lifted it to see that it was my mom, immediately swiping, I spoke. "Hey, Mom, what's-"
"Florence, I'm sorry."
"What is it?" I ignored the sinking feeling in my stomach, hoping that whatever she needed to tell me wouldn't be so painful.
"The QAP... they didn't let me call you right when it happened, they said I needed to let you focus and that they'd write me up if I called you."
"Mom, you shouldn't have, you need to worry about you and and the girls. I don't want you in trouble." Endeavor and Shoto were studying me, both of them carried expressions of concern.
My mother's voice was soft and crushed, only whispering the word "sorry" over and over, keeping me rooted to the cement as I waited for what she needed to tell me.
"Your grandfather... he died on Wednesday. He had an aneurysm. I could only call you right now to tell you, the QAP is banning you from returning to America, they're insisting that you focus on your studies, and that you can return once you've finished your first year." Her voice broke on the last line, before her sobs resonated from the phone, piercing the organ that thumped too fast in my chest.
No. My knees weakened, but I remained upright. The voice that had become so dull and quiet flooded my cerebellum, demanding that I shed no tears. You better pull yourself together. You left your family behind so you have no right to grieve.
My mother continued speaking, but the words sounded as if they had been spoken through a funnel, leaving me reeling as I tried to maintain a grip on reality.
Endeavor and Todoroki were now shaking my shoulders, they were asking me questions, too, but I had no grip on my sanity, I couldn't formulate a response.
My mother hung up, insisting that she'll call me when I'm ready, and I lowered the phone to stare at the blur that was the train passing by.
"Florence! What happened?" Todoroki was alarmed, hands gripping my face as he tried to study my expression.
In full velocity, the pain flowed through me, I stumbled and ended up gripping Todoroki's shirt with the only force I had left.
This is a dream. I'll wake up soon, and everything will be back to normal. This wouldn't happen, he promised me he'd see me become a hero, he promised he'd see me graduate. It's not real.
The voice in my head was controlling me, dictating my behavior and my mind. She left no room for reality to sink in as she insisted we calm down and shut up.
Endeavor approached me, putting a hand on my shoulder as he questioned what my mother said.
I couldn't deny it after that. The truth hit me like a bullet, making sure to fly in and out of my body so quickly that I was left unable to stop the flow of hurt that poured from my soul.
"The only man I love and trust, my grandfather," was all I could muster, tone empty and disgustingly calm.
Todoroki blinked, realization dawning on him as his face contorted in pity. Endeavor looked away and cleared his throat, releasing my shoulder and turning to walk away. He was attempting to be considerate enough to give me space. Shoto wrapped himself around me, saying nothing but his actions spoke so loudly.
I froze, not reciprocating the hug but simply leaning my head on his shoulder, whispering softly.
"He's gone, Shoto."