a/n: sorry for the wait, i've been busy and had writer's block (that's also my excuse for this being a bad chapter lmao)
but thank you all for 800+ votes now! i'm irl crying <3
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It was mere moments after uttering those words — after voicing her new resolve — that Valui's body succumbed to its exhaustion; the weight of her grief; and, albeit minor, wounds.
The ground rushed up to meet her as her vision quickly faded to black.
"...every...ou're around kids, I have to come heal them! What did you do this time, All Might?"
All Might?
Despite still being foggy with sleep, Valui's mind managed to recognize the scolding woman's voice as that of Recovery Girl.
"I-I didn't do anything! She just came in here like that!"
Though it had been a while, Valui managed to recognize that voice as well — the man she met briefly at the sports festival. It made her eyebrows furrow; why was he responding to Recovery Girl saying "All Might"?
Unless...
No, that was silly.
Valui slowly opened her eyes, distantly taking note of how the stinging in her palms and knees were gone — Recovery Girl's doing, no doubt. She was laying on a couch, her head resting on a pillow that was propped up on one of the armrests. A suit jacket was laid across her body as a makeshift blanket. With a soft groan of pain — her body had become stiff; how long was she unconscious? — she sat herself up, gazing at the other three in the room.
Recovery Girl glanced back at the sound, the hard expression on her face softening at the sight of the girl being awake again. Though when she turned back to the blond man, the expression reversed. "You're lucky she woke up!"
"I'm telling you I didn't do anything!"
Valui watched, her eyes flickering between the two. They were bickering about something she saw as irrelevant — she even heard the name "Midoriya" a few times, though it took her a handful of moments to remember that that was Izuku's last name. Eventually, she bit the inside of her cheek and turned her body so her legs were dangling off the edge of it.
"You two can argue about that later," Nezu said from where he had chosen to sit — a chair off to the side of the couch. When the two stopped, he turned his attention to Valui. "Valui, was it? Why did you come here?"
It wasn't a harsh question; far from it, actually. It was surprisingly gentle despite Valui having barged into his private office, in the middle of a private conversation, without warning or invitation. Not to mention she then fainted. It was surprising she wasn't being scolded.
"I..." Any confidence she had earlier was gone the minute she realized she'd have to say what happened out loud — it was much different from saying inside her head. "Th-the guy— The one I told you about. Tomura." This was easier to say — easier to talk about. "He... H-he..."
Now, the tears came back to her eyes; as did the guilt and sorrow to her stomach, and the emptiness to her heart. Her head looked down to her lap, hands gripping the suit jacket tightly. Through tear-blurred eyes, she tried to focus on the color draining from her knuckles. "He...f-found me and...k-killed my dad..."
With each word, her voice grew softer; shakier.
Stillness fell over the room, as if everyone was afraid to move or speak or even breathe. Valui started to lose track of time — part of her even began to think everyone had left and she was alone now. A weight next to her made the couch sink in; a hand was placed gently on her shoulder. From the corners of her eyes, she saw Recovery Girl next to her, giving her a concerned look.
"Are you alright?" she asked, giving off the impression of a concerned mother — a look Valui didn't often see.
Valui forced out a small nod, though she doubted she was telling the truth. "I... Yeah. I'm fine." She would have to be; she couldn't let her emotions control her — not to the extent they had done before. She needed to get braver; she needed to get stronger, at least to the point where people wouldn't die protecting her.
"Valui," Nezu said from where he was sitting, drawing her attention away from her lap and over to him. "When you came in here... Did you say you wanted to become a hero?"
Her first instinct was to say yes — that she meant what she said to the fullest; every word, every syllable, every letter. She wanted to pretend that she hadn't already traded in her childhood dream for something more logical and achievable; simply gaining even an ounce of success in a world where she was at the bottom of the food chain was her goal now. As much as she tried to will herself to lie — both to herself and everyone around her — Valui couldn't. She shook her head slightly. "I... I didn't mean it exactly like that. I could never be a real hero."
"Why do you say that?"
Valui gave a sad smile — a smile of resignation; of something she'd been forced to become accustomed to. "I don't have a Quirk. I'd never be able to be a hero."
"But you can." The second voice made her turn her head, eyes meeting those of the man she had met at the sports festival. "I didn't tell you otherwise just to be nice."
Valui glanced to her feet — hovering just above the floor as she was too short to reach it with her back against the couch — and gave a small shrug. She didn't want to argue, nor admit out loud that she had already given up on that dream. "I...guess not," she said as she looked back up. Her head tilted off to one side, a questioning look filling her eyes. "Who are you, by the way? I never got your name."
His eyes flickered between Recovery Girl and Nezu before landing back on Valui. "Toshinori." He paused, then added on, "You're...Valui, right?"
She nodded, half forcing a small smile onto her face. The air around the small group fell quiet, as if waiting for Valui to continue talking — and she did, after a moment of figuring out what she wanted to say. "I... I mainly meant that I wanted to get stronger. S-so people don't have to risk getting hurt because...of m-me."
Her voice wavered at the end; images and recent memories she'd done her best to bury for the moment resurfaced and made themselves painfully vivid. A soft squeeze to her shoulder grounded her before she had the chance to go back into hysterics. As Valui's mind slipped back into the present, she became aware of how her ears had filled themselves with white noise — as it died down to an annoying ringing, she heard the end of Toshinori's and Nezu's conversation.
"...Midoriya could help."
"They would get along well, wouldn't they? It'd probably be good for both of them. Where is he right now?"
"Probably going to lunch right now."
"Are you talking about Izuku?" Valui asked, her question drawing the attention of both males toward her.
"That's even better; they already know each other," Nezu said, looking away from Valui and back to Toshinori.
That didn't really answer my question.
"I guess so." Toshinori glanced out one of the windows of the office, then looked at Valui. "You know Midoriya, don't you?" When she nodded, he glanced to Nezu and back again, then continued, "You should ask him your question. He'd be a better help than any of us."
While Valui wanted to ask why — was it because Izuku had said he didn't have a Quirk once? — she didn't get the chance. Nezu stood up from his seat and looked to Valui with a smile. "You're probably hungry, aren't you?" Just as she went to answer, her stomach growled as a sharp pain shot through it; Nezu chuckled, though. "You can go to lunch with everyone else if you want."
Valui nodded a little, if only just to make everything easier. She doubted they would listen if she refused — she had fainted right after walking in, after all. So she stood up and held the suit jacket in her hand, a confused expression on her face as to who to hand it to until Toshinori took it from her grip with a light smile. Valui managed one back, then mumbled something about going to get something to eat.
As she exited the room and shut the door, she faintly heard the group start talking again.
"So Tomura is still out there... Do you have any plans, All Might?"
All Might?
Just as Valui turned back to the door, pain flooded her stomach again. Shaking her head and telling herself it wasn't important, the girl spun on her heel and started walking away from Nezu's office and toward the elevator that would take her back down to the ground floor. That was where she assumed the cafeteria was — and even if it wasn't, she could just follow the general direction the other students were going in.
Or she could just leave.
The familiar anxiety of being surrounded by strangers and in an unfamiliar place seeped its way into Valui's stomach, taking root and diminishing any previous feelings of courage — and even her hunger. The feeling hit the moment the elevator doors closed and her finger pushed the lowest numbered button; it only got stronger with every beep that filled the room and with every decreasing number the overhead monitor displayed. By the time the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Valui was subtly shaking and nausea was creeping up her throat.
There wasn't much of a crowd when she stepped out of the elevator, but it was enough to make her discomfort grow. She wanted to leave; the door outside was right there, she could see it; she wanted to just go home, even if it meant acknowledging that her father was dead because of her and facing her mother with that fact; she just wanted to sleep — she felt as though she hadn't slept in a lifetime.
"Valui?"
A voice made her stop — and made her realize she had begun heading instinctively toward the door to leave. She turned, eyes meeting surprised green ones.
"Izuku?"
Izuku's face lit up in an instant, his hands grabbing hers as a smile plastered itself onto his face. "You're okay! I heard about what happened to you on the news and—"
"Midoriya, what have I told you?"
Confusion flooded Izuku's face. "What—?" Yet the moment the word left his mouth, his expression changed to a familiar blank one. He was pulled away from her, only to immediately be replaced by Hitoshi.
"Are you alright? Why are you here?" he asked, holding her chin in his hand and tilting her head up to look at her better. Despite the worry in his voice, there was a small glimmer of happiness in his eyes.
Valui managed a small nod, distantly noticing through the corners of her eyes that Izuku's face had gone back to normal. "I'm alright." Her answer seemed to relax him; Hitoshi let out a soft breath and his shoulders became noticeably less tense. "I, uh..." A small smile had appeared on his face, though it dissipated as she begun answering his second question. "S-something happened and I...figured coming here would be the best idea."
Hitoshi frowned, worry creasing his features. "What happened...?" The question was asked slowly, as if he were afraid to know the answer.
Valui shook her head, though — she didn't want to relive it again; not in a crowded UA hallway; not when she knew she'd break down again. "I-I— I'll...tell you later, o-okay?" She forced a shaky, unconvincing smile onto her face.
Something unreadable flashed momentarily across Hitoshi's face, but he sighed softly and nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Alright. Later." His hand dropped from her face to take one of her still-shaking hands in his own. "Are you...doing anything right now?" He seemed to do a complete 180; his expression had softened, turned into one more hesitant.
"I'm not." She laced their fingers together, a small question in her eyes. "Why?"
Hitoshi's free hand went up to the back of his neck, a light shade of pink dusting across his face. "I was about to go get something to eat and I was wondering if you wanted to come too?"
Valui smiled softly — genuinely, as opposed to all the previous ones before. That single question made it easy to pretend like everything was fine; like nothing earlier had happened at all. "I do."
Yet when they turned, hand-in-hand, to start walking and Valui caught sight of Izuku staring intently at his phone screen, it all came rushing back. She had to get stronger, and he could help — at least to give her some kind of push in the right direction. Valui's feet stopped, her hand tugging on Hitoshi's to get him to stop as well.
"Oh, Izuku?" Her saying his name made the green-haired boy look up while it made Hitoshi's grip on her hand tighten. "I have a question."
Something akin to shock filled Izuku's face, but he nodded regardless. "A-alright, what is it?"
"How do I get stronger?"
The question seemed to stun him for a moment. Izuku stood still, staring at the girl in confusion. His mouth opened once, then shut again; Valui began wondering if her question was really that difficult to answer. Eventually, he seemed to find something to say. "What kind of stronger do you mean?"
Valui bit the inside of her cheek in thought. "I... I guess just...not being scared of so many things."
Izuku's confused expression melted away as a wide smile returned to his face. "Oh, well that's easy! You just have to face your fears head on." His smile turned a tad sheepish. "Or...just pretend it doesn't scare you."
"That's it?" The question meant to stay inside her head, but Valui ended up blurting it out anyway.
Izuku nodded, his smile returning back to normal. "That's what works for me."
Relief washed over her; it wasn't some extensive, difficult process. It was something simple — common advice for getting over fears. Yet, for whatever reason, Valui took it much more to heart when it came from someone who understood what her life was like; what it was like to have no confidence in yourself because you were born without some power like everyone else.
Maybe that was why she was told to ask Izuku specifically?
"A-alright, thank you!" she said happily, smiling thankfully at him. A small portion of the grief in her eyes that had been dulling them faded away, being replaced by a new light.
After short goodbyes and waves, the two parted ways; Hitoshi and Valui began walking toward the cafeteria, though it was more of him leading her there. As they walked, the former glanced curiously down at her. "Was that related to whatever happened earlier?"
Valui nodded, absentmindedly stepping closer to him as they walked — a habit, now. "Uh-huh. A...lot happened earlier. Stuff that made me realize I need to get stronger to...t-to protect myself."
"You're worrying me, you know?" Hitoshi's tone made it sound like a joke, but Valui knew he wasn't. She could tell by the way his voice wavered at the end; by the way his fingers tightened around hers. "Why do you think you need to do all that?"
Valui didn't answer. She couldn't. Her mouth had run dry and her throat had closed up. Something ominous filled her stomach; something that made her fear whatever his next words would be.
"I told you I'd always protect you, didn't I?"