"Alright, here are some candidates for your one on one teacher for the next year." Aizawa laid out a few forms in front of you.
You moved a few to the side. "I'm not going to America."
"Why not?"
"I can't stand most of the people there." You skimmed through the forms for a moment before looking up at Aizawa once again. "So what makes these people so grand?"
You began fidgeting with the bandages around your forearms, most of the things Aizawa was saying going in one ear and out the other. Most of the time that meant that it wasn't intriguing to you, so you knew that you wouldn't choose any of those mentors.
Most of them were simply people with presumably similar quirks to yours. Others were simply good at teaching, but those who reside in UA are also perfectly capable of teaching.
"This one you might actually wanna listen." Aizawa emphasized on the 'actually' so you knew that he was aware of your disinterest in the other mentors listed.
"His quirk is called Info. He simply needs to touch his target and he can learn just about everything about the person, even things that they don't know about themselves."
You furrowed your brow. "Isn't that an invasion of privacy?"
"Not about their past or anything. Things like how many strands of hair they have or things like their vision out of 20. Nothing about your past that you don't want to say should be revealed."
"I see..."
"Maybe it'll make controlling your quirk easier." Aizawa straightened out the papers into a pile and slid it across the table. "I have a feeling that your quirk isn't what we think it is. He's in France but he can speak Japanese so you don't need to learn anything."
You nodded silently, taking the pile of papers and bowing. "Thank you."
•••
Thinking about it now, it would be easier if your mentor knew a lot of trivial things about you. Spending at least twelve years of your life not knowing anything about yourself.
You simply said your quirk was Elemental Control because All For One told you to call it that.
Maybe this mentor could tell you more about... well, you.
But the forms were due the next day. You had to decide.
You signed the form for the mentor in France. His name was Justin Reeves, a foreign name in Japan but perhaps a normal name in Europe.
His quirk has caused him to have an increased intelligence compared to others. You wondered if he could go against Yaoyorozu. It does take an intelligible brain to get every ounce of information about one person, let alone multiple.
You pushed out from your desk and picked up the form, bringing it to Principal Nezu's office. You knocked on the door and heard the affirmative 'come in' from inside.
"I've confirmed which mentor I wish to have for the next year." You stated, placing the form on Nezu's desk.
He smiled down at the paper. "Alright. Your flight will be booked as soon as possible so that you can return as soon as possible. I do hope that you won't miss us too much."
You cleared your throat. "Right. Thank you."
When you walked out of his office, you felt that heaviness in you chest begin to weigh you down. You would be gone for a year. You would leave UA, or Japan as a whole for a year. It's the first time you went out of the country and you were doing it alone.
You crossed your arms in an attempt to ease your rushing thoughts. It took so long to find a way to sort of make friends beyond colleagues in UA. How much longer would it take to do it in France?
"Are you okay?"
You turned, Iida standing there with a tilted head. Ah, right, Iida is always here first. "Yes, I'm alright. Are you already headed to class?"
"Yes, it is better to be an hour early than a moment late!"
You were almost positive that he had that quote somewhere on his wall. "Well, have fun in class. I have to complete some work."
"A shame you can't be an official student in our class." Iida bowed. "See you, Y/N."
Soon after, Midoriya and Shouto came by. "Hey Y/N!" Midoriya greeted with a wave. Shouto bowed his head and then began digging into his school bag.
You watched him for a moment and he pulled out a thick but small book. "Here."
"What is it?"
"It's to translate French." He let his hand fall to his side. "I saw some things written in French on your bed and I didn't think you could read it."
You stared down at the title and hid your face behind the book. "Thank you..."
"Todoroki-kun, Midoriya-kun!" Iida came speeding down the hall. "Make haste! It is fifteen minutes until class starts!"
As you watched his figure walking off in the strange way that he always does, his arms cartoonish and bent as his feet sped him down the hallway, your eyes softened and you sauntered back to your room. You were about to collapse onto your bed but you noticed the pile of postcards on your bed with the French messages to your mother.
When you picked up the top one, you finally noticed a significant detail in who it was signed from.
Reeves.
Your eyes widened a bit and you took the book that Shouto gave you. Now, you were intrigued.
Himari,
I wish you were back here in France. Do you ever miss running through the gardens of my home as our parents have lunch? Hopefully you're having fun in Japan, though! I went to a gift shop today and found this cool postcard with the Eiffel Tower. Hope to see you soon!
Reeves
You traced over the pencil indenting the postcard. No hesitation, no erase marks. This is exactly what he wanted to say. "Could it be the same Reeves...?"
Another postcard made it to your hand.
Himari,
I found one of the prettiest dresses at the shop today! It was all white and had a frilly skirt and collar with lace at the sleeves. It was so expensive though, but it reminded me of one of your dress designs. The owner of the shop had a quirk that can double items so I guess that's how they got so many dresses without going broke. Hope to see you soon!
Reeves
You took the last postcard, seeing that the postcard was a lot shorter. Only one sentence.
Himari,
I miss you.
Reeves
Himari was your mother's name, although you only knew it because of the name engraved in the leather of the book. You had thought that it was the title of the book at first.
Now that you thought about it, you don't remember your father calling her Himari. Simply 'dear'.
You twirled a lock of your hair on your finger, something you sometimes saw Jirou doing with her ear jacks. It did make your mind ease a bit as you tried to think. If it were the Reeves in the form you signed, then... how would you know? It's not really something that comes up in conversation.
You placed your headphones over your ears and walked out into the hall.
The noise was quickly cancelled out by the song playing in your ears. It was one of the sad songs because who has a playlist with only happy songs?
You looked at the time on your phone, noticing that time was ticking until the lunch bell rang. There was also a notification from Midoriya.
Wanna eat lunch with us?
You pressed the notification and answered.
Okay.
•••
"Y/N, over here!" Uraraka waved in your direction with a bright smile.
You sat down across from her and beside Midoriya. "Good afternoon."
"How have you been? You don't attend class so we don't know."
You shrugged. "I'm fine."
Iida and Shouto arrived soon after, each taking a seat on opposite sides of the table, one next to you and one next to Uraraka.
To your dismay, Shouto sat next to you.
He often had a knack of knowing what was on your mind despite you not showing it in any way at all.
You fidgeted with your hands under the table, hiding it between your legs so that Shouto wouldn't notice.
"Is something wrong?"
Dammit.
"Nothing." You tapped your finger on the edge of the table, trying not to fidget with your hands, whether it be twiddling with your thumbs or soundlessly hitting your hands together.
For some reason, lately, it's been difficult to stop yourself from displaying nervousness or distress of any kind.
"I need to go." You rose to your feet. "Thank you for inviting me."
You never realized how painful it would be to actually leave the school. It was your home for so long, and not only that, but it truly felt like home. It wasn't just a place where you resided.
•••
"Y/N." Aizawa opened the door to your room and saw you seated at your desk like always, headphones over your ears, quietly mumbling lyrics as you peacefully sewed a shirt that Kirishima had ripped and asked you to repair.
He leaned in the doorway for a while. You were relaxed. He finally saw you... not seeming like you were afraid.
"Y/N." He said a bit more gently this time, tapping at the floor with his foot.
You spun your chair and moved your right headphone off your ear. "Yes?"
"There's some people who would like to see you in the dormitories."
"I see. Thank you for informing me." You held up Kirishima's shirt in front of you and tied the thread. "I'm just about finished here anyways."
You followed him to the dormitories.
"Kirishima, I've finished your..." You paused. More like cut yourself off.
Kota and the Wild Pussycats stood at the entrance.
You hadn't seen them since that night. Since the night when...
"Ah, Y/N!" Midoriya waved.
You wanted to run away. They probably hated you. You began tugged at each individual finger, twisting them and scratching them with your nail. Get me out of here. I want to leave.
"I just remembered I had to... finish something, so I'll—"
"Y/N." Shouto appeared behind you, reaching around you and putting his hands on yours. "You're restless."
You took in a shaky breath, closing your eyes and melting into his touch.
"Sorry." You said as Shouto rubbed his thumb across your hand.
"Don't worry about it!" Ragdoll waved her hands in front of her. "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm sorry..." You repeated, quieter.
Mandalay frowned. "Y/N, we're not mad at you. No one is. You didn't have any control over any of it."
Shouto had never seen you like this. In such situations, you simply turn a heel and leave. Before, at least.
"I want to leave..." You whispered, only loud enough for Shouto to hear.
He saw your thumbs grazing over scars. Part of this was about guilt, another part of it was about memories. Ones you didn't want to remember.
"It wasn't all bad. Remember, you raced Class 1A and 1B. And cooked and prepared the table? And you were hanging out with Kota."
Your hands paused over your pulse.
Pixie-Bob grinned. "Don't be so tense about it! At least no one got killed. Besides, Kota's been missing you. Right?"
He hid his hands behind his back, averting his gaze. Then he held up a piece of cardboard with earrings attached. Silver ones, likely not real, with whales dangling.
"M-Mandalay said that you liked aquatic animals."
You stared at them for a moment as Shouto's hands fell from yours. You slowly reached out and took them from his hand. "Thank you..."
A pair of red shoes at the door caught your eye. "Are those yours?"
"Wha- No, you've got it all wrong!"
"Then is it the high heels?"
"No!"
Your body untensed against Shouto's hands and he let them fall to his sides.
"So why are you here at UA?" Sato asked while other students displayed the now free couch in the common room. Pixie-Bob waved her hand dismissively, "We're just here to announce that we're back."
"You're back? Congratulations!"
"You too, Ragdoll?" Midoriya wondered. "With your quirk stolen, I thought you had to quit."
"Well, not back in action, per se, but I'll be in the agency supporting the other three! Just call me the cat-ministrave assistant!"
You brought a hand to your chin. "I heard that they're pressing All For One to get an answer to which quirks he has and how many."
"Do you have any idea?" Mandalay asked.
"Hm... Around 21 to 28 or more, including yours, Ragdoll." You began rubbing your index finger and thumb in thought. "But, why are you returning now?"
"Because they're about to announce this year's second hero billboard chart. We're in 411th place."
You flinched and slapped your new earrings into Shouto's palm. "I need to go, nice to see you!" And you ran off.
"Looks like someone forgot about her schedule." Yaoyorozu giggled.
"She was nearly 10th place this time around." Tiger grinned. "It's her responsibility to be there."