Chapter 4

I stared down at the food in front of me as I thought about everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

I was going to U.A. I had actually made it into U.A. High. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. It felt as if I was cheating someone of their spot at the new hero school. Someone out there wasn't going to have their chance on doing what they actually wanted to do all because I was going to go there. There was no way out of it either.

How could I break my family's heart when it was my brother's favorite hero who broke the news to us? For my mom, she moved here to Japan just so I could get a better education for my Quirk. For Ollie, he looked up to me just like he did with heroes. If that wasn't enough, I could possibly be taught by his favorite hero, Mr. Elastic.

The odds of that happening though was pretty slim as I was certain there were other teachers teaching as well.

"Are you going to eat that or not?" my friend, Sakura, asked.

I looked up, seeing Sakura in her leather jacket and green shirt underneath. Her long black hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, showing off her emerald eyes. She looked concerned as she knitted her eyebrows together, staring at me as if something was wrong with me.

Sakura wasn't wrong about that. After she found out that I had made it into 1-A as well, she dragged me over to the mall to celebrate. I didn't tell her being a hero wasn't something I wanted. If I did, she would be crushed as she planned on working together as heroes. I wasn't sure how our Quirks would work well together, but I've learned not to question her a long time ago.

"No," I said, pushing my tray of chicken nuggets closer to her. "You can have them if you want."

My friend looked down. Her eyes went from her bowl of noodles, to my chicken, to me, back to her noodles again. Before she could get her words out, I knew exactly what she was going to say.

"It's not the same chicken Mom makes at home," I somewhat lied. "Besides, I'm not that hungry."

It wasn't like me to lie, not even a little bit, but I felt as if I didn't have a choice. I didn't want to disappoint Sakura. She had always been there for me, from the second I moved here to Japan, to now. If it wasn't for her, I probably would've had a harder time fitting in.

Then again, I still ate American food rather than Japanese food. Something about it was just too bland or too spicy. I'd eat it if I had to, but I'd rather choose something simple, like chicken nuggets.

"Okay," Sakura finally said, not sounding too convinced before pushing the conversation behind her. "In that case, let's get back to some shopping! We need to be the most stylish students at U.A!"

I hated to be the one to stop Sakura's excitement as she punched her fist into the air and smiled with excitement, but I didn't have much of a choice. Either I told her, or she found out the hard way. It was common knowledge anyways.

"You do realize that there's going to be a uniform, right?" I asked.

Her excitement disappeared within a second as her arms and smile dropped. That was Sakura for you. She could easily forget some of the simplest of things. We've been going to school for years that she should've realized. Her disappointment only lasted a moment as she shook her head and swung her fist down on the cafeteria table, nearly shaking the entire table. I jumped, almost feeling everyone's eyes snapping over towards us.

"No need to worry! We can still choose our accessories and shoes, can't we?" Sakura argued.

I shook my head. "Not really," I told her. "There's a strict policy in the handbook."

Before she could argue, I pushed my chair back and lifted my backpack that was lying on the ground to pull out my folder that I kept all my U.A. information. Opening it up, I found the thirty page handbook, explaining everything that was to be expected out of future U.A. students. Placing it on top of the folder, I handed it over to Sakura.

"What's this?" she asked.

"The student handbook. It might be best if you read it because even though U.A. is a new school, they won't be afraid to expel anyone," I told her, standing up. "I'll be back. I forgot I was going to make a phone call to my brother."

Sakura didn't need an explanation as she took the handbook and folder from my hands and started to read it as fast as she could. I smiled for a moment before grabbing my phone out of my pocket, seeing the five missed calls from my little brother. Each and every one of those phone calls had a voicemail that went with it. It was too loud inside the mall to call back or to listen to any of them.

Shopping was fun, but I could never understand why every Friday night, after everyone was out of school, this seemed like the designated meeting spot for so many people. Not just people in school, but adults as well. My hands pushed themselves inside the pockets of my school uniform I wouldn't be wearing much longer as I'd start going to U.A. in a couple of weeks.

Many of the people my age here seemed to be talking about that. I overheard so many conversations about the schools people were going to. Sometimes they were happy conversations; other times, it seemed as if people were about ready to break down as they weren't going to the school they wanted to or weren't going to the same school as their friends. I guess if anything, I'd know someone going into U.A. High. It would be weird if Sakura and I weren't going to the same school when we've been going to the same school ever since I moved here. It still didn't make my situation any better, especially when my brother was so excited to hear the news that night.

I didn't pay attention to my surroundings for a moment as I remembered his face. Ollie looked so proud that I made it in, and the fact that his sister was going to be a hero, it was almost as if he was going to be the next greatest hero, not me. There was no way I could tell him, or anyone in my family that I didn't want to be a hero. Now that I made it in, it just seemed like all I could do was go with it and play the part they all wanted for me.

If anything, I was doing this for him.

I was going to keep walking when I noticed an empty hallway sticking out to my right. No one was over there, but it was also kind of dark. There was a lightbulb not working towards the back of the hallway, meaning the only light came from the main part of the mall. That didn't seem to matter as I saw a janitors closet and a bench being the only things there, making it the perfect place to call my brother.

As I walked over towards the bench to sit there, I dialed Ollie's number, listening to it ring.

"Tami!" my brother eagerly answered after the third ring. "You won't believe what happened at school today. I got an A on my history test!"

"That's awesome," I told him, looking down the hallway and looking towards the crowd of people that were walking past the entrance of the hallway I was in. "See, I told you that you could do it."

"Yeah, and if that's not good enough, then you won't believe what also happened not long after that," Ollie exclaimed.

I chuckled. The image of my brother on the other side of this conversation came into my brain as he jumped up and down with the biggest smile on his face. It wouldn't surprise me if he was jumping up and down like a rabbit at this very moment.

"Here I thought you said that last time with your test score," I told him.

"Yeah, but this is really, really exciting news. I might still have a chance to get a Quirk! Because, you remember Goda? The other boy in my class without a Quirk? Today, during recess, a group of bullies were going to pick on Hada and her friends, and out of nowhere, he just disappears into this shadow and trips each of the bullies. It was amazing! You should've seen it!" my brother talked really fast.

My smile dropped. Ollie always talked highly of all his classmates that he ignored an important fact. It was nearly impossible for a Quirk to show up any later than the age of four. Ollie was seven, and he was one of the oldest in his class. While I couldn't remember all of his classmates, I was almost certain that Goda was one of the younger students in his class.

There was no use giving him false hope, but there was no need to shoot down his positivity either. I couldn't do that to Ollie. It was his dream to become a hero.

"That's great," was all that could come out of my mouth.

"Maybe we could be heroes together! Think about it. We could be the best hero, brother-sister fighting duo the world has ever seen!" Ollie beamed.

I sighed. "You just have to wait and see what happens. Tell Mom that I'll be home around eight. Sakura Sakai and I are planning on being here for a while, so don't worry about me for dinner."

"Okay, will do, but only if you do the dishes. It's your turn to do them anyways," Ollie reminded me.

"Alright alright, no need to worry," I told him. "Cya."

"Bye!" my brother said back before I heard the click of the phone go off.

Once again, I sighed, tucking the phone back in my pocket. At least Ollie seemed to be doing well. I told him to call the moment he got home, so I didn't have to worry about him. At least, not at this moment.

I leaned back into the bench, throwing my head back to look up at the ceiling. In just a few weeks, I'd start my training to become a hero. If anyone asks, I'd say I was becoming a hero for my little brother. I'd just keep telling myself that too. Maybe I could make classes more bearable if I did that, if I convinced myself.

No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't back out, not when everyone was expecting so much of me. I had already dug a hole so deep I couldn't get out of.

If only I failed that practical exam like I was supposed to, then I wouldn't be in this mess.

Laughter snapped me back into reality. I turned my head, finding a woman with long, pink hair and matching eyes dragging a man by his red tie, leading him into the hallway I was hiding in. She wore a form-fitting black shirt, that had a low neckline, showing off an expensive diamond necklace that wrapped around her neck. Neither one of them seemed to be the type to make a get-away in a vacant, not so well-lit hallway.

What happened next was something I wish I could unsee. The woman swung the man closer to the wall and started giggling, as if the man had said some sort of funny joke. She leaned closer to him, whispering something in his ear, and as she did, I realized it was time for me to get going. This wasn't something I should be intruding on. Whatever these two people did in their free time was up to them. While we were all in a less crowded place, I wish this was something the couple could've done in the privacy of their own homes.

The moment I stood up, the pink haired woman pressed her lips against the man, locking him into the wall. I was about to turn my head away when I noticed something very strange. His body went limp that the woman seemed to almost be holding him up to the wall with all her strength.

My eyes widened in horror as she pulled away and let go. The second she her fingers peeled off his shoulders, the man crashed into the ground.

"Awe, well dat went by a wittle too fast," the woman pouted as she brought her finger to her lips and tilted her head. "All I wanted was have a wittle bit of fun."

The woman turned her head and nearly jumped when she saw me. I took a step back, not sure what to do next. All she had to do was kiss that man, and he dropped unconscious right there. Did it...did it work on the same gender?

Instead of being horrified that there was a witness, the woman covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled. "Oh! Well, I wasn't expecting any guests today. Oh, dis will make things so much more interesting and fun." She said before she clapped her hands together.

I shook my head. "N-n-no, you—you don't have to worry about me. I-I promise I won't tell anyone. It'll be like—like I didn't see a thing. I swear! I'll just go, an-and pretend nothing happened, and you can, uh, go back to wha-whatever you two were doing?"

The woman giggled even more as she saw me struggle. "Awe, relax sweetie. No need to worry about that. I don't wanna hurt ya. If anything, I'll be doing ya a favor. It'll be real quick, promise. When we're done, it'll all be a wittle dream. Whadya say, sweetie?"

My head turned around, looking for some security cameras in this area. There were none. The only thing that could save me was the janitor's closet, but that wouldn't work. I could call the police, but it would be too late.

What if that man was dead? I looked over at him, noticing his chest moving slightly. He didn't look dead, but what if it was all slow and painful? Seeing him, it made me worry that she would do the same thing to me.

She wouldn't actually do that to me, would she? I mean, if she did, she would have to-to...

"Don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna to bite ya," she told me before giggling once again. "Besides, I wouldn't wanna make ya uncomfortable, so relax for me, will ya? It'll be over before ya know it."

She started to walk towards me, and as she did, I could feel my heart racing. Was this woman insane? It was as if she was talking to a little kid. I mean, compared to her, I was. She wasn't really thinking about doing that to me, was she? That was illegal! It was illegal on so many levels!

I needed out of here and fast, but how?

I wasn't sure exactly what happened, but as I backed up, I must've tripped over my own two feet, landing onto the ground. The floor was much sticker than I had remembered it to be, feeling like goo underneath my hands. My head snapped up, finding the woman standing over me. She couldn't contain her laughter, even as she tried hiding her smile behind her hands.

"Awe, is it time for ya to take a wittle nappy, wittle baby?" she cooed as she knelt down. Once she was down beside me, she started giggling once again. "Don't worry, if you relax a bit, things will be much easier for you. Plus, it'll be over before ya know it."

My eyes widened. Was she insane? I was a kid compared to her. She was an adult! This wasn't appropriate at all. Something needed to be done.

Before she could lean in, I swung my leg around, kicking her right into the stomach. The woman caved in a bit, not expecting me to put up much of a fight. With the crazy woman distracted, I stumbled up and started to run away.

I needed to get out of here. I needed to tell someone about that man that woman seduced here. Why wasn't anyone looking down this hall? Where were the heroes when you needed them? Someone should've been able to stop all this.

Moments before I could reach the end of the side hallway to where I could blend myself with many other people, a man twice the size of me blocked my view. I stopped, nearly stumbling over my own two feet. Unlike the woman who seemed dainty, this guy was very big. He wore an expensive looking coat, with fur lining it, and had a high neckline that covered the top of his mouth and dropped to the floor. The only thing exposed were his forearms as he rolled his sleeves up. The top part of his face was hidden behind a crimson mask, one that heroes would wear to cover their identities, and a dark fedora.

While he looked like a hero, I didn't recognize him.

"What seems to be the problem here?" he asked.

I shook my head, pointing my hand back to the crazy woman behind me. I didn't dare to look back, afraid of what I'd see. "T-t-that wo-woman t-t-tried kissing m-me. It-it's her Q-Q-Quirk!"

The tall man looked back at the woman. As he did, I saw his mouth peek from the top of his coat and curved into a disappointed frown. "Nightshade, what did I say earlier? Don't scare the chil—oh," his head was turned to see the body that had laid close beside me. "Looks like you did have a bit of trouble. Shame. I apologize for what you had to see, but you've seen too much."

My eyes widened as he extended his right arm out in front of him. His fingers morphed into his arm before a chunk of it was shot in my direction. I didn't think twice as I dove out of the way, sliding under his legs. Being tall had its disadvantages as I slid through and into the crowd.

"After her, Meaty!" I heard the woman squeal. "I wanna make sure the wittle baby gets a good nappy poo in!"

I pushed myself off the floor and ran into the crowd, closing my eyes. I needed to make sure I wasn't found. I needed to make sure I had a disguise, but who? Who could I turn to without causing much suspicion?

A picture of Sakura floated into my head. She was a bit shorter than me, but it would work. I didn't dare to look back as I felt by body shrinking a bit. When I opened my eyes and looked down at my shoulders, I realized that my blonde hair had lengthened and changed to the long black strands Sakura Sakai had.

If only my Quirk would allow me to use hers, I'd be golden, but that was one of my limitations. There was no way I could have vines shoot out of my arms to try and stop the man and woman who were following me. All I could do was hope that neither one of them saw me morph into someone else or was fast enough to find me.

While I ran, images of what happened were burning in my mind. All it took was a kiss, a simple kiss, and the poor guy was out in seconds. There was no Quirk I knew that had the power to do that. I had never seen anything like it! It was terrifying.

Then, there was that giant man. His hand had morphed into goo before it was shot at me. What if that thing would've hit me? Would it have killed me? Would it have wrapped around me, forcing me into a position that I couldn't escape? Would I have melted into some sort of substance?

Too many terrifying thoughts came into my brain that the second I made it into the food court, I started sprinting towards Sakura, whose nose was still stuck in the student handbook. I was almost there. Once I was with her, I should be safe. Her Quirk would be able to handle both of them, I'm sure of it. She could tie them both up if they got anywhere near us.

Before I could get to her, a hand wrapped around my wrist and yanked me away from the crowd.

Author's Note:

The last chapter of this "arc" will be released next week before the story goes on a short hiatus, so I can finish the next arc. How long this break will be is unknown as I have a couple of chapters to finished, but they are outlined. Just thought I'd give you all a heads up that after next week, there will be a short hiatus.

Question: Who's your favorite villain from the show?

Character Spotlight: Sakura SakaiQuirk: Common VineLikes: Shopping

Song: Various Quirks from BNHA