You had started when Miyo, Hanako and Sumika were combing gently through your hair, "Say... How did you all end up... here?"
All three girls froze in shock.
For a moment, you were worried that they might lose it and try to attack you, but after a small while of silence, they returned to combing your hair silently without saying a word.
"Why do you wanna know?" Miyo was the first one who answered, and you decided that you need to carefully tread through this, "Well... I was just wondering, if you all got hurt like me too?"
Sumika sighed as she sorted through the many assortment of hair clips that she had, "All of us here have been hurt. Not necessarily physically, but definitely mentally... We've been hurt and betrayed by those stupid heroes, people that were meant to save us but they never did."
"Heroes, huh?" It's good that the girls are opening up to you, you just need a little bit more information about what happened, "What do you mean?" You tried to ask for some sort of elaboration, but Hanako decided to answer, "You're too young to understand, so let's just leave it at that. All you need to know is that everyone here has been wronged by the world."
"But-"
"That's enough, [Name]. You shouldn't force people to talk about things they don't want to." Miyo finally concluded and you bit back an annoyed huff, "I'm not... forcing them." Instead, you decided to take this on calmly and like a responsible adult.
"I'm just asking... how the entire world wronged all of you when it was the heroes that failed? Did the world really do you any wrong, Miyo-nee?" The said girl stopped combing your hair and looked at you with a cold look. The other two girls sensed the sudden change in the tension and could feel their fight and flight response kick in.
Miyo really was scary.
"Wrong? Did they wrong me...?" She seemed as if she was almost fixed in a trance, "You tell me... Was I not wronged when my own uncle... touched me? When I told my mother, and she blamed me instead?! When... When I tried to get the police but no one fucking believed me?! Or-Or when I had finally stabbed that son of a whore, I was the one my own mother called a monster?!"
Miyo looked close to hyperventilating and you honestly didn't know how to answer. But she wasn't done, "I lived on the streets for a whole month! Yet no one helped! I ran from the police, but no hero ever tried asking why I did what I did!! None of those heroes everyone praises so fucking much!!"
You could only watch in horror as the blonde girl has tears pooling in her widened eyes. Wronged? That was understatement... No child should ever have to go through this-no, not even an adult should have to go through this. No one should have to go through this.
And yet, the child in front of you went through all this horror. And as much as you had planned on changing their ideals, everything was starting to make sense as to why they hated the world and were willing to follow the Master to his every will.
He had saved them when no one else had.
But this just solidifies your resolve. You can't let them wallow in the misery of their past, for the rest of their lives. It must be hard, and it must be painful. But you want them to have a good life, not spend the rest of their lives cursing the whole world and die hating it.
And so, just as Miyo began to cry softly, you immediately wrapped your arms around her figure, surprising the blonde. For a moment, she stopped breathing as soon as your arms touched her, "Yes... You were wronged, Miyo-nee... I'm sure all of you were hurt and wronged..." You start, softly rubbing your hand up and down her back in a comforting manner.
"But that's exactly why I want you all to be happy. I want you all to live better and happier lives, and not suffer because of your past." Tilting your head slightly, you let your eyes shine with the sorrow you felt for them, "It must have been hard, it must have been so painful... But that doesn't mean that you have to let that hatred consume you for the rest of your life. I know... that the world is not kind, nor is it nice. But there are good people, people who are genuinely kind and do not use their kindness to have the hero label attached to them."
You knew that it would take a lot more than a pep talk to convince these girls, but you really did mean everything you said. You don't want them to suffer anymore. They're good kids and they deserve a happier, more brighter life.
"Then why? Why didn't those kind people help me? Why didn't they help any of us? Why didn't those heroes do anything?!"
"Because... heroes are human too. Not every hero is nice, not all of them are doing this hero work out of the kindness of their heart." You looked up to peer at all three of the girls, who were attentively listening to you, "-you need to understand that heroes today are no longer the heroes out of those comics or fairytales, centuries ago. The heroes today are nothing more than another profession, that anyone with skill can pursue. Some might become heroes because they genuinely want to help others, while some might do it just because they can."
Maybe they might not take you seriously because you were in the body of a literal 7-year old but it never hurt anyone to try.
"You should have been helped, you should have been saved. Everyone had wronged you... But hating the whole world for your sorrow will only bring you more pain. Because... there are still so many people out there that would understand you, and that would love and care for you. But if you continue to hate everyone and try to hurt them, then there's no way to get out of your pit of misery. You'll be stuck in your past forever, stuck in that grief and stuck asking why no one did anything for you."
They were all quiet for a moment before you sniffled slightly, feeling yourself getting emotional. Or perhaps that was just you trying to make them believe that you were genuinely pained by their sorrows. It had been a while since you had been in tune with your own emotions so you weren't too sure what you were feeling yourself.
"I... I don't know."
That answer took you by surprise.
It was something you weren't expecting. You were genuinely expecting that she would just tell you that you wouldn't understand because you were just a child, but hearing her answer gave you some hope. Looking back up, your eyes further widened when you saw the conflicted look on all three girls. It was as if they were questioning their own ambitions, and if they were true to them in the first place.
"I don't know what I want right now..." Miyo began softly and you decided to give her a kind, gentle smile, "That's fine. You don't have to make a decision immediately. Just know that... hurting others won't make you happier."
That was the last thing you said before you all fell in an awkward silence. At first, you could see Sumika trying to start up a conversation, but no one seemed like they wanted to make small talk. Seeing the sudden mood shift, you decided to step in.
"Did you all... have dreams of your own? Before... everything went awry?" You questioned, as Miyo looked at you in conflict, "I guess? Well, I... wanted to be a fashion designer..."
Hanako scrunched up her face at her side, "I think I wanted to be... a hero. I can't believe I was so foolish." They all turned to Sumika, and the pinkette just grinned softly, "I... wanted to be a bride. I wanted to look pretty and get married to a handsome man who'd love me."
All four of you softly chuckled, but there was a certain underlying pain in all your small laughs. It was evident to all of you, but no one uttered a word about it. Instead, the girls just turned to you, "What about you? What would you have been if you had a normal life?"
You pondered over that question a lot more than they had expected. Of course, they were unaware of how much this meant to you. If you had a normal life... what would you have wanted to do?
"I..." You started, half unsure about what you wanted to say, but hearing Sumika's words gave you some courage, "I wanted to live a simple life, and spend time with my siblings. I wanted to get married, and have a family of my own..."
-with Nozomi, but you left out that last part.
The three girls watched with a small sad smile, but no one said a word.
By the time they had finished doing your hair, you had realized that while their ideals hadn't changed, they were still open to the idea of living a simple, quiet and peaceful life that was free of crime.
And for now, that was enough for you to work with.
Days had gone by in the blink of an eye, and as more days had passed, the girls had begun to trust you more and more. Perhaps they had realized that you were smarter than your age, but this sudden change certainly helped you.
And it helped them too.
Because while you wanted to help, you didn't know enough about their sorrows to help them. But because of this new change, you got to know more and more about them.
You found out about Hanako's abusive parents and the murder of Sumika's family. All of them had gone through great grief, but with them opening up to you, you began to help them see that there was still hope for them.
You didn't immediately jump on the 'Mr. Sun is bad, and so is the Master' bandwagon. Instead, you slowly coaxed them that while they were right on their own, the life that the girls wanted was only possible if they were willing to go back to society as non-villains.
You know that this will be hard, but since when have you ever stopped because something was hard? You're Phlegethon, the one who can destroy an entire brigade in mere seconds. If you can win a war against a literally unstoppable and centuries old being, then you're sure you can convince a bunch of teenage girls and kids that killing others is bad.
Right?
Mr. Sun wasn't that suspicious of you anymore, maybe because the girls were starting to trust you more and he knew that the girls were one of the oldest kids in the orphanage. If they trusted you then that meant that you were starting to adhere to their wicked ideals.
Jokes on him, you're pulling a literal UNO reverse on him (you should blame Natsuo for teaching you those new kids' slang.)
Slowly but surely, you had realized that the girls were beginning to accept that maybe, just maybe... hurting others because of what happened to them wasn't an appropriate solution. Instead, they were beginning to focus more on their pervious hobbies that they had before their lives were turned upside down.
For example, Miyo began to focus on sketching out different designs, like she used to do back as a kid, and Sumika even began telling the former that if she ever got married, she wanted Miyo to make her dress.
Hanako, being the eldest and having a dream that was a complete 180 of her current thinking, was still a bit hesitant but you could tell that she was also beginning to see things for what they were and began using her critical thinking skills to not just accept whatever Mr. Sun told her, but to question his motives.
You, yourself were slowly starting to regain your previous control over your quirk. Since you didn't exactly start training at this age in your previous life, it was a bit hard at the beginning, but you persevered and it resulted in you slowly but surely growing your quirk.
Things were looking bright for you all, because you knew that if you managed to convince the girls, convincing the rest of the kids would be just a piece of cake.
Sometimes when you joined the girls in the evening, you just sat near them and listened to them banter or joke around. It reminded you of your own friends that you had lost from back when you were [Last Name][Name].
————
It had been a rather hectic week for you, filled with nothing but ambushes by the enemy and you destroying their squads. It had become a normal routine for you to demolish the enemy in the front lines, almost on a regular basis.
But it didn't change the fact that this much destruction was tiring for you to keep up with.
Fortunately for you, you could finally relax a bit thanks to the news you had received a few days prior. You're pretty sure that the person themselves must have informed by now too.
"Captain!!" A loud voice echoed through out the hallways, making you turn as you heard a number of footsteps slowly pattering towards you.
There they were, your squad. And leading them up front was the one who had just recently been promoted, not even three days had passed since his promotion; Matsui Araya.
You smiled softly as you caught sight of the younger boy. While he was around two years younger than your age when you had received the exact same promotion but you were still proud of him. He had been a member of your squad before he had been informed of his promotion.
The said ravenette looked at you with an uneasy look, as if just staring at you head on was making him queasy. Then again, it's not like he was used to seeing you as a comrade and not as a superior so you kind of understood his queasiness.
"C-Captain..." The ravenette drawed out, making the smile grow on your face, "Yes, Araya-kun?" You could hear the rest of your squad whisper-yelling at him as to why he was still referring you as captain when you both were now of equal rank, but you let them have their fun without interrupting them.
"U-Uh..." He looked close to passing out, "Just say it to her face, Araya!" One of your squad members, Shuta whispered and the said male gulped nervously, "R-Right... Capt-I mean! [N-Name]-san!!" You smiled encouragingly at him and the man looked dangerously close to fainting, "Yeah, that's me." That just made the redness on his pale cheeks flare up even more.
"Well... I just wanted to tell you that... Uh, I'm sure you heard about... my promotion! And that... I want you to lean on me now!! I-I really hope... you'll rely on me, please!"
"Of course I do. I relied on you back when you were one of my men, and I will still trust you." Gifting him a kind smile, you continued, "-I hope you don't mind how much I rely on you." He looked absolutely elated as he nodded, "Yes!! I mean... I don't mind!" He tried to play suave but your ex-squad members could only sigh in exasperation.
Your squad had been assigned to Araya. And you were handed some newbies to train because there's no way the higher-ups would trust Araya to train the new soldiers.
Of course... you didn't know that this was the last time you would see them all together and happy.
Because it hadn't even been less than a month since Araya's promotion that he and your previous squad–which was now Araya's squad–were sent to the front lines. You were worried, yes. But you wouldn't want to express your worry and lower their morale, so you just acted like you knew they would win.
When you were called in for backup, that was when you realized that things had wrong. The battle had gone completely awry, and the only one who survived out of your previous squad... was Araya. The moment you caught sight of the male, you saw the look in his eyes.
It was a look you were all too familiar with. And it pained you to see the usual peppy and chattering Araya looking so traumatized. Ever since he had joined the army, he had been under your care. And you tried your best to shield your whole squad from death itself. For a moment, you were sure you had succeeded when Araya was promoted right in front of you.
But then, he was assigned responsible for the lives of the people that he was friends with, his comrades. And the moment he failed to protect them, only then did he realize the horror you had been shielding them all from.
"C-Captain..." The poor ravenette whispered as you stared right ahead at the bodies of your ex-squad mates being piled right in front of you. Many of them lacked several body parts, but the fact that their bodies were still retrieved was enough of a victory for you all.
"It's okay, Araya.... It's not your fault, don't blame yourself." You answered as you covered Shuta's bloody face with a cloth. You could feel your own eyes getting wet from tears but you held yourself back from sobbing. You need to be stronger, for Araya's sake. It's the first time he had experienced the loss of a squad, you need to be the shoulder to cry on for him.
"Captain... They're dead. They're dead and I couldn't do anything... Tell me, when will this stop?! When will we stop losing our people, our friends?!" His eyes shined with pain and you found yourself unable to answer. You didn't know, you didn't know when all this would end.
You wanted to know too. When will you stop losing your friends and your comrades?
But you struggled to say, "I don't know." So you said something that you will always regret. Sometimes when you look back, you wonder if things would have been different if only you had said something to ease him. But all you answered him with was, "You'll get used to it..."
Those words of yours were the catalyst to his spiral in madness.
The once bright Araya that you knew was gone. Yet, you still acted like everything would be okay. He just needs time, that's what you told yourself. If only you hadn't been so emotionally negligent towards him, then maybe you could have done something.
Because when you did realize just how bad of a mental state he was in, it was too late.
You had come to visit him, to check up on him. But all you saw when you entered his office was his back facing you.
"Araya-kun?" You called out but the man didn't flinch, instead, you heard a chilling clicking voice, and then... he tilted his head back, his hollow eyes fixed on you when you saw it.
The gun in his hands and a sweet smile on his face, "Goodbye, [Name]-san. I hope you'll be able to rely on me in another life..."
You tried to save him.
But he had already pulled the trigger.
Bang.
And he dropped dead, just like the rest of your friends.
————
You genuinely hope that this time, you'll be able to save them all.
But... you didn't expect this to happen...
You really didn't expect this, under all costs.
It was a normal day when you woke up. You did your usual morning routine, helped the girls in making breakfast and after eating your share, you made your way to Touya's room to exercise his limbs.
After that, you met up with Miyo and Sumika and let them chatter away, chiming in every other minute when they asked for your opinion on what the ideal husband should be like (you just subtly described Nozomi) while Sumika shyly admitted that she had a small crush on Kurohiko, one of the older boys in the orphanage.
You knew that guy, he was a year older than Sumika, but he was a total idiot.
Granted, even Mr. Sun didn't really have much expectations from him, but the only redeeming quality he seemed to have in terms of a potential villain was that he had a strong quirk.
You genuinely thought that they looked cute together, so you gave her some pointers on how to confess to him and the girl erupted in several shades of red as she sputtered around.
Then, you decided to help Hanako with lunch before making your way to train your quirk a bit.
Your range had now expanded to around 30 meters. Not a lot compared to your previous range of 120 kilometres in diameter, that was around the size of a relatively normal sized city.
But it was still an acceptable range. Especially since you were still only 7. Your quirk grew exponentially when you had turned 13 probably because you joined the army at that time, but still, you'd like it if your range grew to at least 1-2 km.
As you sat down at the dining table after training, you were accompanied by Hanako and Miyo. The two were talking about random things that you were just snoozing through when you heard the pitter patter of footsteps behind you.
When you turned your head around, you were met with a figure rushing out of the colorful hallway. The moment your eyes fell on the figure, your breathing hitched but both Hanako and Miyo seemed elated.
"Ah!! He's awake!"
"Mr. Sleepyhead woke up!"
Both the girls exclaimed as your eyes were kept trained on the boy standing in front of you.
"Touya...?"