Shigaraki Tomura.
The leader of the quickly rising League of Villains.
A group of sinister criminals and misfits of society, all sharing the same cause. He sought to destroy the hero-saturated society—he desired carnage and destruction, elimination of everything he hated, the very people that turned away when he needed help most. Hypocrites, people not practicing what they preached. There many things he loathed within this current society. He hated it all. It physically made him sick to see people happy, living under the control of hypocrites. He wanted them all to disappear. He hated everything.
Until something curious happened.
Back in the morgue, when he tried to steal the supposedly dead Sukehiro Arisa's body. When he saw her in pain, covering her face, covering her eyes, he felt odd. Shigaraki had read briefly on the girl, he wasn't spared any of the horrifying, gory details that unfolded behind their closed doors. It made him hate the current society even more.
With this in mind, he without a thought, reached out when she was in pain and wrapped the white cloth he coincidentally had with him around her head before he left. It brought an odd feeling in his chest but it was just fleeting.
It meant nothing.
°°°°
"You're saying, we're gonna have an exam in two weeks? I literally just walked death off. I haven't even studied," Arisa was currently crouching over a rat, her test subject provided by her guardian for her ever-evolving quirk. This was her second week in the hospital and she had reunited with the entirety of class 1-A. She had properly befriended Todoroki who gave her a bouquet of roses. It was a sweet gesture. Just this once, she changed her mind about a person. They were all shocked, of course, to learn that she was alive and had visited her everyday ever since. Mostly Bakugou and Midoriya. Separately, of course. The two still despised each other. The girls would occasionally visit as well but mostly Momo and Ochako.
"Well, you walked death off, surely studying for an exam within a short amount of time won't be such a difficult thing to do," Aizawa responded, sitting hunched over on a stool behind her, watching her just in case her quirk acted out.
Arisa had went through a physical exam and the doctor assured that she was doing just fine. The reason she survived before was that her quirk regenerated her own cells at the moment of death. Now, all that was left was the memory of a knife sticking directly out of her heart. Ah, good times.
"Well, I have neuroelectric interfacing now. I can just cheat."
She had learned as well, with the aid of a quirk specialist that that was indeed what she was capable of now. After suffering migraines from being unable to control it just two weeks ago, hearing people's thoughts, sending people into hysterics, the quirk specialist managed to draw a conclusion that this was now a new burden she came to bear. It was useful but having so much power made her uncomfortable—it made her recall the 'mother's masterpiece' jabs she received from her siblings back then. Was this what they meant?
From now on, she'd have monthly appointments with the quirk specialist, Doctor Ujiko apparently was his name—to monitor the state of her quirk.
"Would've been a solid plan if you didn't just say it out loud."
Arisa chuckled, a mischievous one as she grinned, "What if I'm just trying to throw you off?"
He scoffed but didn't say anything. Arisa then turned her attention towards the squirming rat before her. It was placed within a box and she was trying to see if she could manipulate its rat mind to move forward towards the green panel instead of the red panel, something she had been failing to do for two weeks. She hovered her hand over the rat, her fingers dancing as blue slithered towards the small creature. It took a while but the rat's eyes glowed blue and it moved towards the green panel.
"It worked. Omg. It took two weeks but," she suddenly felt something ooze down her nose. She reached up and pulled away to see crimson which made her brows knit in the slightest. She was bleeding. She rarely bled when using her quirk. She quickly wiped it away and Aizawa called out, "But? Why'd you suddenly stop talking?"
"Nothing," she wiped her bloodied hands against her pants as she jumped up, "Just happy."
She was worried of what this could indicate.
"Hey, Aizawa-san?"
"Mmhmm?"
She had a feeling that she needed to turn to her mother once more. Her lips parted so she could say it but she stopped and only shook her head, "Nothing. I should clean up. Midoriya should be here soon with today's homework."
She put the rat away into its cage as Aizawa commented, "That boy really cares about you."
"Of course. It's what besties do."
Arisa took to her bed and jumped on it, landing softly on her abdomen before exhaling loudly into the cold pillow, "When can I leave this place?"
"When you can keep your quirk in check."
"Can I take a walk outside at least?"
"One sneeze from you and someone will lose their life."
"Ugh," she shoved her face into her pillow before making the bed float with her finger.
"Stop that."
"I wanna go out. I miss watching my fictional men."
"Right. We need to talk about that."
She halted the bed from floating and ripped her face off the pillow, her eyes greatly confused, "About fictional men?"
The male sighed loudly, exasperated, "No. We need to talk about how it'll be once you get discharged. You'll be watched over by certain agents. Don't worry. It'll be like they're not even there. They'll be able to alert the heroes if someone suspicious is seen trailing after you."
"Well, do whatever you must. I don't feel like being stabbed again. Wasn't pleasant."
Arisa thought it was slightly over the top, having agents watch over her just because she was attacked once. It wasn't as if she was anyone important.
... Right?
Aizawa frowned at her words, his eyes solemn, as if recalling that incident. He was about to say something when there was a knock on the door and it slid open to reveal Midoriya along with Todoroki. Arisa perked up at this and waved at them, "Hi, you two."
The two smiled at her and Midoriya walked in, shouldering his bag with a paper bag in hands. Todoroki had a bouquet of roses in hand and she looked at the flowers curiously, "Flowers again, Todoroki?"
He shyly smiled and pointed towards the wilted flowers by the window, "I figured they died by now so I got you new ones. Adds more colour to the room."
Arisa happily jumped up and accepted the flowers and set them by the window, "Thank you, Todoroki."
"... Shoto."
Arisa turned to look at the boy, confused, "Sorry?"
"Just call me Shoto."
Midoriya gaped at him and literally shoved him aside, pointing towards himself, eyes wide, "T—then, call me Izuku!"
Arisa was confused as to why these two boys were acting this way. Gaze moving over the two boys, she made eye contact with Aizawa who seemed to struggle to keep a smile off his face as he quickly left the room. She felt betrayed. She had never been the best at human interactions but she did try. She swore she was going to set fire to Aizawa's sleeping bag the moment they got home.
"Um," she chuckled with her best smile, "Well, call me Arisa then."
"Right," Izuku grinned before pulling out two books from his backpack and set it on her bed, "These are notes from today. We got homework for math, english and history," Arisa made a face of disgust and Izuku laughed, "Yeah. It's a lot. Was told math had only three questions but each question has ten sub questions. Anyway, let's finish it together. We brought food by the way."
He held up the brown paper bag, "It's hot soba. Todoroki-kun insisted."
She glanced at Shoto who quietly pulled out a container, a content smile on his lips.
"Well, food is food. Let's do this," the two boys pulled two stools from the corner and began pulling out their own books, laying it on her bed as she pressed herself against the wall, allowing more space between her and the two boys. Izuku shoved the soba towards her, "Eat up first before working."
And so she did.
"When are you getting discharged?"
Shoto was now curiously looking at her and she chewed a bit before answering, "I don't know yet. I guess until my quirk's stable."
She quietly recalled the nurse she accidentally slammed against the ceiling just yesterday. Arisa felt guilty since then and tried to apologize but the nurse was never seen again. She had so much fear in her eyes that Arisa felt so dirty just thinking about it. It made her hate her quirk even more. She never asked for such power. She was already satisfied with her telekinesis before. She was the best at it but she was forced to adapt to new changes every single time. It frustrated her. Arisa didn't want to be special. She wanted to be normal. She wanted to live a quiet life with her new family and friends, maybe even sell her paintings to get extra income. She wanted everything but be special.
Shoto smiled, "But I heard you've made great progress so I'm sure you'll be out in time for the exams."
Izuku agreed, "That's right. We'll suffer together during the exams, that's for sure," he laughed slightly and Arisa snorted.
"Yeah," she pursed her lips for a moment, "I don't wanna say that everything will be fine 'cause I feel like I'd jinx myself or something," she set the container down, "Well, anyway, let's get to work now, yeah?"
°°°°
"What? Hawks is here?"
The sun had just set and her friends had long left. Arisa was just reading a book Aizawa got her called Song of Achilles. It was wonderfully written, Arisa momentarily abandoned her current complicated reality. Each paragraph, each sentence was perfectly written, each texture was beautifully described, easily allowing a person to visualize them. As she delved further into the book, Aizawa informed her that she had a visitor which was none other than the man that watched her die that day, the pro hero Hawks.
"I could tell him to go away," Aizawa offered and she quickly shut her book, shaking her head, "No. Let him in."
Aizawa opened the door to reveal Hawks, dressed in casual clothing, hands in his pockets. He smiled lazily and Aizawa glanced at her, gesturing that he'd be outside. Hawks walked in and slid the door shut behind him, "Hey, kid."
The girl shifted slightly on the bed, "How'd you know I was here?"
He shrugged, "I have eyes and ears everywhere," her eyes narrowed slightly and he smiled, "I'm kidding. The news of your resurrection spread faster than a forest fire."
"Oh, I wasn't aware."
"Yeah. It's been all over the news," he grinned before he fell silent. The two looked at each other for a moment before he looked like he remembered something and dug into his pockets, "Look, I know I failed you last time. I was supposed to keep the both of you safe," he pulled something out from his pocket. A chain with a red feather attached at the end, "I made this for you. If you wear it, I'll know when you're in trouble."
She watched as the chain dangled from his outstretched hand, "Why?"
He looked confused for a moment at her question before he lowered his hand, "Because I couldn't get there in time last time. I hope I can be, this time."
Arisa remembered. How devastated he looked as he sat by her. How desperate he looked as he tried to stop the bleeding but at the same time not wanting to remove the blade from her chest at the fear of risking the smallest chance there could be that she could somehow be saved. He looked guilty, he looked pained, he looked sad. It saddened her as she breathed her last breaths that a person was devastated by the state she was in. Despite having a hunch that he has killed before, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides, she was sure that everyone had a few skeletons hidden in their closets anyway.
She reached out and he handed the chain to her. Arisa slipped it over her head, letting it hang around her neck, "So, what can your feathers do actually? I know that you can manipulate each of them at will."
"I can sense life. Heartbeats, rustles of clothing, things like that so if you're danger, I'll know."
"But how would you know where I'll be?"
He moved closer, and sat down on the edge of her bed, "Whenever you're in danger, switch your GPS on. I'll find you."
There was a strange look on her face.
Is it just me or am I attracting men left and right?
Hawks looked at her strangely, "What's wrong?"
Arisa smiled and shook her head, "It's nothing. Anyway, thank you for coming all the way here. You really didn't have to."
"No, no, I wanted to. For my own peace of mind," he smacked his hands on his thighs as he stood up, a sigh leaving his lips, "Well, that's all I came here for. I'm glad to see you alive, kid. Really. Try not to die again, alright?"
She chuckled, "Never again."
He left after giving her a small wave. She had a smile on her lips she watched him go, her fingers playing with the feather that hung around her neck. Aizawa entered moments later and noticed the feather, "He gave you that?"
"He did."
"I see. He does realize you're a minor, right?"
There was silence.
More silence.
The two stared at each other.
"You're kidding, right?"
Without a ripple in his expression, he sat down and grabbed a newspaper, "Of course."