It was easier to wake up the next morning.
Normally she dreaded the morning. It meant waking up early to go to her school — her boring, Quirkless school. It meant forcing herself out of bed at six, just to get to the train station before six forty-five so she could get to school on time. It meant sitting in class for an hour longer because they "needed to be caught up" because "they were in for much more competition in their lives," when it was really just to keep them isolated from the UA kids just down the street. It meant jealousy, envy, the suffocating fear of enternal emptiness, the endless wishes that everyone with Quirks would just disappear so the world could be equal again.
But today was different.
Valui was happy today.
Her first alarm was enough to motivate her to get up, when it normally took all seven she had set and one of her parents coming into her room to get onto her.
"We paid extra to get you into that school. Do you know how much it cost to get you into the school right next to UA?" they'd say, as if Valui had wanted to go there in the first place.
It was like a slap in the face — and the sting never went away, no matter how many times it happened. It was like her parents couldn't accept her fate; like putting her next to all the normal kids would, somehow, fix her.
Well, I'm not broken.
Just...normal. Genuinely normal.
It didn't take long for Valui to get dressed and gather up her belongs in her backpack. She left her room, exiting the house before her parents had time to notice her and borderline berate her about whatever they had decided on for that morning. It was an uneventful walk to the station — the only thing to look at were the people opening up their shops for the day. A few waved to her, but other than that, it was quiet, just like every other morning.
The train arrived at six fifty on the dot, as per usual. Valui had gotten to the station ten minutes earlier, and by now, a crowd had formed. When the doors opened, people started pushing and rushing to get inside and get a seat. Valui's small size came in very handy for once — it allowed her to slip around and under people's arms; she secured herself a seat next to a window and placed her backpack in the one next to her.
The train started moving. Valui laid her head on the window and shut her eyes.
"Is this seat taken?"
Why did that voice sound so familiar?
Valui opened her eyes slowly, tiredness having set back in and nearly overtaking her. She blinked drowsily, lifting her head up and turning to the person who was speaking to her. The first thing she saw was a lot of the color purple; then, her eyes started adjusting and facial features were made out.
Hitoshi?
He was holding onto one of the overhead rails, leaning forward slightly so it would be easier for Valui to hear him over the general commotion of the train. There was a faint smile on his otherwise bored face.
Valui smiled up at him, moving her bag to her lap. "It's not." She watched his smile grow just enough for her to notice as he sat himself down next to her. She shifted her body slightly so a small part of her back was against the window and she was partially facing him. "I didn't know you rode this train."
Hitoshi looked at her, an eyebrow twitching upwards at her statement. "I didn't know you rode this train, either."
Valui puffed out her cheeks slightly. "I guess that's true, too." For a moment, she thought it was odd that she had never noticed him before — his hair definitely made him stand out. But as the girl gazed around the train compartment, she realized that everyone stood out so much now, they all blended in. Everyone had their quirks — no pun intended — that made them look different from each other. Looking generic is what made one stand out now.
"This train goes to the station by UA, though." Hitoshi's voice drew her attention back to him. "You..." He trailed off, looking exceptionally uncomfortable. "...don't have a Quirk..." He said the words slowly, as if afraid she would lash out at him for stating a truth. "...so why...?" He met her eyes, a desperate and pleading look in them for Valui to just answer his question and end his awkwardness.
"My parents put me in a school near UA," she answered, looking down to her feet. They swung gently, not reaching the metal floor of the train. "I don't know why. There's a school not too far from my house, but they put me in that one."
Hitoshi seemed to release a breath he had been holding — was he that afraid of making her mad? "Oh, alright. To be honest, I didn't even know there was a school like that near UA."
"Probably because it starts earlier and ends later than UA." Valui only knew this because when she got to her school, there were hardly any UA students around, and while she was still in class at the end of the day, she saw UA classes getting dismissed. "The school's reasoning is to 'catch us up' to people with Quirks, but I'm pretty sure it's to keep the two schools separate."
"Well, that's stupid."
"I know."
Valui continued watching her feet gently swing, comfortable silence falling over them. It didn't last, though, as a question filled her own head. She lifted her head up and looked to Hitoshi, only to find him already looking at her. The surprise of it stunned her — and turned her face red, which made her quickly look out the window in attempts to hide it.
"S-sorry—"
"I-it's fine. U-UA doesn't start this early, does it?" she stammered quickly, asking as if she didn't already know. She got so angry once she calculated it — UA started an hour and a half later than her school did. "How come you're going right now?"
Her eyes nervously fell on Hitoshi's reflection in the window; he wasn't looking at her either. Somehow, that made her feel better.
"I couldn't sleep last night." Valui slowly turned her head back. She gazed up at Hitoshi, but he was still looking away from her. "And it was boring at home, so I left." He looked back at her, giving her a sheepish smile.
The bags under his eyes seemed darker after hearing that.
Before Valui could respond, the train slowed to a stop and the doors began opening. Hitoshi stood up, the small girl following suit. He looked down at her and held out his hand with a small tilt of his head.
"I don't want you getting lost."
Why did that weird feeling from last night come back?
Valui's mouth went dry. All she could muster out was a weak, "O-okay," as she took his hand. As he turned his head to lead the way off the train, she thought she saw a ghost of a smile flicker across his face.
Once they were outside the station, Hitoshi stopped on a sidewalk and looked down at Valui again. "Which way to your school?"
Valui blinked a little. "Oh!" She pointed with her free hand down a road in front of them — UA was to their left, visible from probably miles away as some kind of beacon of hope. "Down there."
Hitoshi nodded and they started walking again. He hadn't dropped her hand yet — both to Valui's confusion and her liking. It planted seeds of comfort in her body; she was beginning to equate safety with being with him, even if her stomach seemed to flip over sometimes when she looked at him. It brought a soft, content smile to her face. She couldn't remembered the last time she smiled so much because of her interactions with another human.
It was a short walk to Valui's school. There were a few students waiting outside for class to officially start, but most were walking inside, either by themselves or in small groups. The two stopped just a ways from the building.
"It's small," Hitoshi pointed out.
Valui shrugged. "It's big to me."
He chuckled softly. "That's just because you're small."
Valui huffed and turned quickly to look up at him, her eyes narrowed with no kind of malice in them. Hitoshi stopped whatever retort she had by smiling gently down at her. "When does your school start?"
"U-um..." Valui glanced up toward the sky, then back at him. "In a few minutes, I think."
"Hm. Do you mind if I wait with you, then?"
Valui held back a wide smile and shook her head. "I don't mind!" She held his hand a little tighter and led him over to a bench that was placed outside the school. They sat down at the same time, hands still together and arms touching.
The comfortable silence befell them again. Had Valui not been afraid of the consequences, she could have laid her head on his shoulder and fallen asleep.
But she didn't, and that disappointed and regretful feeling filled her stomach once again.
When the bell to her school rang, Valui didn't notice at first. It took Hitoshi lightly nudging her to get her attention. She blinked in confusion up at him.
"Huh?"
"Your school's starting." He nodded his head toward the front door, where students were picking up their paces to get into class on time.
"O-oh, right." There was a small level of frantic-ness to her voice. She popped up out of the seat, her hand breaking from Hitoshi's. One foot moved as if to take her into the building, but she stopped at the last second and spun around. "I-I'll, um..."
It was like she didn't know what to say.
"I'll see you later." Hitoshi smiled at her, to which Valui smiled widely back. Another bell rang in the background. "Now go to class. It'll take you a bit with your short legs."
Valui huffed again, but giggled right after. She waved, then turned and ran off into the building.
Luckily, her classroom was close to the front of the school, so Valui got to the door just before the late bell rang. She took a moment to adjust her clothes and her hair, take a deep breath, and walk inside the classroom.
Well, an inch inside the classroom.
A group of girls were waiting at the door, and when they saw Valui, they immediately started talking in some of the most energetic and excited voices she had ever heard -- it made her tired just listening. Questions were asked so quickly that Valui hardly had any time to answer them.
"Who was that you were with?"
"He's—"
"Is he your boyfriend?"
"W-w-what?! N-no!"
"He goes to UA, doesn't he?"
"U-um, yes—"
"How do you know him?"
"H-he saved me."
The girls stopped for a moment, their faces all holding unreadable expressions. Soon, they were smiling and giggling again. Insecurity and fear wormed its way into Valui's mind — were they making fun of her? Was something she had said funny? What were they—
"So he's your hero, then!"