"How do you know my name?" the man asked.
"Uh..."
Quite frankly, you had no clue. The name had just come to you all of a sudden. It just felt right for some reason, which further confirmed your suspicions that you knew these familiar-looking people, even though they clearly didn't know you.
Had their memories been erased somehow? Was your entire existence something that had been wiped clean off the face of the planet? But that just wouldn't make sense. You didn't understand how such a thing could be possible.
Either way, Aizawa looked incredibly suspicious of you, and considering some random stranger had just said his name unprompted, you couldn't blame him.
Shit. I have to play this off. He probably already thinks I'm a total weirdo.
"I-I was right?" you stammered. "My bad. I just kind of felt that you looked like an Aizawa, you know what I mean? It's kind of cool that I guessed it right on the first try... haha."
Goddammit. You really needed to get a better hang on this whole lying thing.
Aizawa clearly wasn't convinced. "Uh-huh," he said, further narrowing his eyes at you. "Well, I guess you really did get lucky. I know for a fact I've never seen you in my life, and I don't give out my personal information that easily. Unless there's something you're not telling me?"
That's what you wanted to know. Everything was just so fucking confusing. It was making your head hurt.
"Sorry," you said sheepishly. "I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable."
Aizawa sighed. "I never said that. Anyways, it's not good to be sitting so close to the road like that. You could get hit by a car." He leaned forward and offered you his hand, which you gratefully accepted-although not before wiping your tears away and sniffling a few times.
Once you were back on your feet, Aizawa spent a few more moments studying you. He looked like he was searching for words of comfort, but wasn't exactly sure what to say, or how. Something told you that despite his weary-looking eyes and overall aloof demeanor, he was a lot more compassionate than he let on.
"Are you going to be okay?" he finally asked. "It's important to be aware of your surroundings. I'm not sure what you're dealing with, but safety comes first. Don't wander too close to the road again. You could get seriously hurt."
It wasn't much. Just a few simple words of encouragement from a well-intentioned stranger. But the fact that you'd been pushed around so much already-by people like Katsuki and also the system itself-made Aizawa's words infinitely more meaningful.
Seeing that someone actually cared about you was like a breath of fresh air.
"Thank you. I really appreciate that," you said, with a grin that stretched out wide.
Aizawa frowned. "Weird kid. I didn't say much. Make sure to stay out of trouble. And whatever's going on... it'll get better soon. Just don't give up."
Right. Don't give up.
You could do that. There was nothing you could gain from wallowing in self-pity and giving in to your anxiety. If you didn't put in the effort, it went without saying that nothing would ever change.
Although you wished you hadn't had a breakdown and cried in the first place, you were grateful to have spoken to someone as kind as Aizawa.
He gave you a curt nod then continued on his way, occasionally sipping at his own coffee. You assumed he must have just come out of the same shop as you. Perhaps there was a silver lining to having accidentally burned your tongue after all.
"All these people I keep running into look awfully familiar," you mumbled. "Do you happen to know why that is?"
["Not sure. You might be imagining things."]
That sounded like bullshit if you'd ever heard it. As expected, there was a ton of information they were withholding from you. Fine, then. If this was the game they wanted to play, you would just have to uncover your memories piece by piece. Not like they were much help to begin with.
["Huh? Where are you going?"]
"To get another cup of coffee," you gritted out. "I'm gonna need it."
*****
Slowly but surely, your house was coming together. Granted, your furniture left a lot to be desired at the moment, and you doubted your interior design skills were going to be featured in a magazine or anything like that, but it was still progress. With your current abilities, you could craft no more than one object per day. It had taken several days of consistent effort, but your home was finally starting to look like, well... an actual home.
"It finally looks livable," you remarked. "And I guess it's nice to be able to say that I made this all by hand. Well, technically speaking."
["It's definitely the best you can do for the moment, but there's nothing wrong with being proud of yourself. You're a teen living all on your own and fending for yourself. Not many can say the same thing."]
You strained a smile. It was ironic, because most teenagers often went on and on about how their parents were so annoying and they couldn't wait to be able to live on their own. To you, there was almost nothing worse than complete solitude. Humans were social creatures, after all. It wasn't good for anyone's mental stability to be all alone for extended periods of time.
You really wished you had a family to come home to.
Thankfully, you managed to reel in your thoughts before they became too depressing. Instead of dwelling on the negatives, you busied yourself with cleaning up around the house, sorting through and organizing things, and watching funny videos on your phone.
Then, you heard a familiar notification.
STATUS UPDATE:
[Midoriya Izuku is thinking of you.]
[+10 love points.]
[Current progress: 60/200]
Your brows lifted. Huh. It looked like it was even possible for love points to go up or down regardless of any direct interactions. Since Izuku's points had increased, you imagined he had to be thinking positive things, especially since you were already friends.
As if echoing your thoughts, your phone suddenly buzzed.
[Izuku]
Hello!
I hope I'm not bothering you or anything
I was just wondering what you were up to
Hope you're having a nice day so far :)
Aw.
It was cute that he'd messaged you immediately after you'd popped into his mind. You liked Izuku, so hearing from him was always a treat. Especially now that he was striking up a conversation himself.
As far as having a nice day, well... you decided not to mention the fact that you'd had a meltdown right outside a coffee shop.
[Name]
Hi, Izuku!
It's been pretty good
Better now that you're texting me :D
[Midoriya Izuku is happy that his excitement is reciprocated.]
[+10 love points.]
[Izuku]
Um
I was just wondering
Are you busy right now?
Would you maybe want to meet up again...?
[Name]
Yes, of course!
I'm not up to much
Spending time with you would definitely be more fun
Should we meet at the same park as last time?
[Izuku]
If that works for you, then yes!
[Name]
Cool!
I'll head out right now
See you soon :)
Since you lived in the neighborhood, it didn't take long to get there. A part of you was worried about running into Katsuki and his goons again, but thankfully, it didn't look like they were around today.
"[Name]!" Izuku beamed, waving at you from afar. "Hey! Over here!"
Goodness. He really was a cinnamon roll. Shame on Katsuki for bullying such a kind spirit.
You returned his smile with one of your own, promptly walking over to his side. "Hi, Izuku. It's nice to see you again. I hope you don't mind meeting here. We could do something different next time, but I didn't really have any other ideas off the top of my head. I'll make sure to plan things better in the future."
"O-Oh." His cheeks flushed a deep crimson. "Next time, as in... you want to meet with me more from now on?"
"Of course. We're friends, aren't we? That's what friends do."
He suddenly looked a bit sheepish. "Right. That's true. I guess a part of me was just worried you might have changed your mind. But I guess you wouldn't have even come here if that was the case. I'm sorry for asking a silly question."
"It's not silly at all," you reassured. You gently patted his shoulder, softening your gaze as you smiled. "I know there's probably still a lot we don't know about each other, but I really enjoy spending time with you. It's kind of hard to explain properly, but... you make me feel safe. Comfortable. It's a good feeling."
And that was the whole, unfiltered truth. Despite the mystery and heartache surrounding your troubling situation, if nothing else, you were thankful that the system wanted you to get close to Izuku. He was a good person. The kind of person you would've willingly befriended regardless of the system's demands.
Perhaps what you were saying sounded a touch cheesy, based on the violent flush that erupted across Izuku's freckled cheeks. He looked even more embarrassed than usual, and that was saying something.
"T-Thank you," he said, shyly avoiding making eye contact with you. "I feel the same way. I can't remember the last time I spoke to someone so comfortably and honestly. H-Hopefully that doesn't make me sound too lame, but... yeah. Thanks again."
STATUS UPDATE:
[Midoriya Izuku is really glad to have met you.]
[+20 love points.]
[Current progress: 90/200]
While it was comforting to know that Izuku thought so highly of you, it was annoying constantly having to see all the little pop-ups. You knew it was the system's way of gauging your progress, but you wanted to enjoy your time with Izuku without knowing his innermost thoughts and just focusing on what you saw in front of your eyes.
If only there was a way to turn off these notifications for a while... that would be so nice.
Ah. Actually, what's that button over there? I never noticed it before, but it almost looks like-
A mute function. The system actually had something like this? It was exactly what you'd been hoping for. Granted, you wouldn't be able to track your progress while you chatted with Izuku, but you felt confident enough in your friendship at this point that things wouldn't go awry.
Most importantly, you wanted to treat him with as much respect as possible. You could only imagine how shitty he would feel if he ever found out you had nearly constant access to his thoughts and feelings.
Before you could tap on the projection, you heard a ping.
["Hey. Why's your finger hovering over that button? Is that really what you want to do? I'll have you know that there's a limit to how long you can mute me for. You only get a maximum of about an hour per day-"]
Too late. You'd already muted them, and you had to admit that it felt really, really good.
So much so, in fact, that you could hardly contain your smile.
"[Name]?" Izuku blinked. "Um... did I say something funny?"
You shook your head. "Nope. I'm just happy to be here. Don't mind me. By the way, what's that notebook you have there? Are those the hero analysis notes you mentioned last time?"
"Yeah! I was hoping I could show some of them to you today. I-If you don't mind, that is."
"Of course not," you grinned, resting your chin on the back of your hand. "Go right ahead. I'm ready to learn."
Izuku nodded enthusiastically, and for a while, it was just the two of you. Even though you knew the system was watching, you allowed yourself to pretend like they didn't exist.
*****
["So, we're just going to gloss over the fact that you muted me earlier?"]
You exhaled tiredly. It was so nice when they weren't spamming you with impatient notifications. Thanks to that, you'd managed to fully enjoy the time you'd spent with Izuku. When you checked at the end, it didn't look like the total love points had gone up or down anyways, so it wouldn't have made much of a difference in the moment, but the simple fact that you'd intentionally shut them out was already plenty empowering.
"If you hate it so much, I'm surprised you even implemented a mute function," you remarked, hands buried into your pockets while you walked home.
There was a noticeable pause before the system replied.
["It can't be helped. I can't remove that feature. It's out of my control. Trust me, I've tried."]
Well, now that was surprising. So, there were certain things that even the system couldn't control. That could only mean that the system hadn't created itself. But if they hadn't just manifested on their own and they didn't have a hundred percent autonomy, then that begged the question:
What exactly was the system, and who had granted them their abilities?
Naturally, you couldn't solve this mystery just quite yet, but it made you feel a bit hopeful. Perhaps there were other things that the system couldn't do. They weren't without their weaknesses, and that alone was enough of a reason for you to keep trying to break free of their control.
You did worry that they might punish you for having muted them, but considering you'd just been using a feature that was provided for you, it seemed rather unfair.
Then again, when had they ever been fair?
"Please don't put me back in there," you said. It was barely a whisper, but you knew they heard you all the same. "I just wanted to focus on my conversation with Izuku. The constant notifications get distracting after a while. I promise I won't use the mute function often, but sometimes I just need to be fully present in the moment."
["Relax. I'm not going to get mad at you over something so minor. It's technically a feature, so you're free to use it for the allotted amount every day. As long as you're making steady progress with your targets, I'm satisfied. The only reason I'll intervene is if you mess up one of your relationships big-time or refuse to cooperate."]
Alright. So, they weren't completely unreasonable. Just mostly.
["Anyways, I have some exciting news for you. I recently finished forging your documentation, and thanks to the money I wired to some people who were willing to help out, you're all set to start attending school in a few days."]
You arched your brows. "People? What people?"
["They're no one important, really. Just two odd-jobs workers that were willing to create fake identities and assume the role of your parents, thanks to the money I sent them."]
What the fuck?!
"That sounds highly illegal!" you protested. "What if-what happens when we get caught?"
["Don't be so quick to panic. The documentation is perfectly believable. I made sure that it was foolproof. On paper, you have two kind and loving parents. They're even willing to occasionally play the part if they ever need to come to parent-teacher conferences and stuff like that. They obviously won't be living with you, but it's not like anyone will care enough to show up to your house at random and spy on you."]
All of this was incredibly concerning, but you knew that whatever protests you offered up would be immediately brushed off. It wasn't as if you had any other means of getting into a school. Not until you uncovered some of your memories and figured out what had happened to your real family, at the very least.
You swallowed the lump in your throat. "Okay. I'll trust that you did a thorough job and that we won't get in trouble. So, which school am I going to?"
["You're lucky. I managed to get you into the same school as your beloved friend, Izuku. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun."]
Somehow, you doubted that.
*****
You had to admit that you were pretty nervous. Today would mark the debut of your middle school career. Well, as far as you could remember, at least. You knew that it was bound to take a bit of time adjusting to the new environment, but the fact that Izuku would be with you was comforting. Since you were the same age, the system had made sure that you were placed in the same class as him. Even though everyone else would be a stranger, you took solace in the fact that there would at least be one friendly face.
Currently, you were waiting outside the classroom, anxious to step inside and introduce yourself. You hadn't really thought things through. What if they asked you what your hobbies were? What sort of places you liked to frequent, or what your favorite food was? All of those questions may as well have been unsolvable riddles to you, because as incredibly sad as it was, you knew next to nothing about yourself.
["What are you getting cold feet for? Come on. The door's not going to open itself."]
As much as it pained you to admit, they were right. Compared to everything you'd endured so far, introducing yourself to a class of middle schoolers was a piece of cake. There was really no need to get so agitated.
"Okay," you huffed, patting down your uniform one last time. "I'm ready."
You slid the door open, plastered on the friendliest smile you were capable of, then walked to the front of the class.
"Ah, there she is," the teacher hummed. "Everyone, please say hello to your newest classmate. Give her a warm welcome and make her feel comfortable."
You bowed your head, then straightened up. "Hello! I'm [Name]. It's very nice to meet all of you, and I hope that we can-"
The words you'd planned out in your head didn't all make it past your lips. You suddenly froze up mid-sentence, eyes landing fearfully on one of the students.
You'd been wrong in thinking Izuku would be the only person you recognized, and this one certainly wasn't a friendly face either.
"The fuck?" you heard Katsuki mutter. He was staring at you in utter disbelief, and honestly, you were just as shocked as he was. You hadn't expected him to be here.
The system had conveniently failed to mention that.
"I hope that we can, uh-" Crap. All of a sudden, your voice sounded hoarse, and your head was starting to spin. "What I meant to say was that-"
STATUS UPDATE:
[Bakugou Katsuki is ready to make your school life hell.]
[-10 love points.]
[Current progress: -110/100]
You let out a weary sigh.
Ah, shit. Here we go again.