Neziul
Dane
Haha
Supermaxx
Hattori Himōri
It was just like any other day.
That was the lie that Himōri told herself as she stared back at the place she’d lived in, her home in a city without her father. It was probably the last time she’d see it for a while, her hands clenching around the singular strap of her over-the-shoulder bag as the building loomed over her. For the next few years, there would be no work, no more hiding, no more wondering.
No more Mom.
As if the thought of her summoned her presence, the woman in question slowly crept open the entrance of the household, clutching the frame with half of her face hidden from view. Her untidy, brunette locked spilled down her shoulders and framed her tear-stricken face, while her only visible hand displayed chipped, hastily bitten fingernails that still retain a few splotches of day-old nail polish. Remnants of the night before, when Himōri had broken the news of her acceptance into UA.
Despite her disheveled appearance, there was a fire behind her eyes that spoke of an authority only mothers could wield, staring down her daughter with a hopeless yet anticipatory gaze while the latter glared with faltered determination in response.
“Is there nothing I can do to change your mind, Mori-chan?”
“…No.”
A long silence. One that Himōri couldn’t help but hate as the flames that fueled her mother’s stare sputtered out to a dwindle.
This was a decision she made, herself. One that she thought she’d stick by no matter what. For once in her life, she felt like she had a chance to make a difference, to rewrite the wrongs that were written in the past.
So why did it feel like her heart is being ripped out of her chest?
“…Are you certain? We can always pull you out of this program, forget all of this ever happened. All you have to do is say ‘no’.”
“…”
Himōri stood silently, but her eyes said it all, her determination unwavering despite the escape offered to her.
For a moment, her mother seemed to harden, breathing in deep as her mouth curled with anger, opening to rebuke her child’s actions. Himōri snapped her eyes shut, expecting it, but it never came. Instead, a slow, drawn-out sigh released itself from the mother’s mouth as the tailor regretfully revealed herself entirely from behind the door, still wearing the clothes from the night before as she approached her daughter with a slip in hand. Every step caused Himōri to tense, sweat collecting at her temple to slide down her cheek like a teardrop.
When the tension came to a peak, the potential student couldn’t help but instinctively take a step back at a sudden movement, the slip thrust out towards her with her mother never breaking her gaze. As Himōri’s eyes focused on the paper, however, the girl of sixteen years couldn’t hold in her gasp when she realized what it was.
A ticket. A train ticket headed for Musutafu, to be exact.
“If you’re going to pay for your own tuition… You will need every yen you can save, right?”
Pain filled the mother’s voice, yet a weight in Himōri’s stomach was lifted, the mother allowing her begrudging acceptance of the matter to reveal itself through her actions. The daughter glanced between the ticket and the one holding it with wetted eyes, and she couldn’t help but unleash her tears as she allowed a dam on her emotions to be broken, clutching her mother tightly as she felt her shoulder become drenched in return.
• Present Day, UA Entrance •
Himōri’s eyes were still suspiciously red by the time the school came into view, a cute, frilly handkerchief with a happy little bear in the corner brushing at the leftovers of her melancholy while the owner of both stared out at UA’s buildings. This was her chance, her moment to change everything. If she could excel at this school, then everything she’d done up to now wouldn’t have been for nothing.
It scared her, really, to enroll at a new school for the second time in a row. Her last, while not a hellscape as it could’ve been, certainly wasn’t kind to her. What few friends she could’ve made were driven away when it was revealed that she had a quirk, and the others didn’t even give her a chance because of how she looked.
Not that she could help either of those issues. The pasty shop in that area was almost worth all the name-calling.
The faint murmurs and the large crowd she saw collecting at the front gate didn’t help her worries at all, and the presence of the police was more of a point of anxiety rather than a symbol of protection. She was only able to keep calm because she remembered the contents of the acceptance letter, that hero class students should take the side entrance.
Closing her brown coat over her pink sweater and holding it tight with her hands, Himōri kept her head low as she began to briskly make her way towards the designated entrance, eyes glancing about to look out for anyone that may attempt to accost her. Her gaze happened to catch sight of what appeared to be a gyaru student conversing with a government official, but she kept her head down, thinking that they must be talking about the security of the school or something.
Thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed her, too preoccupied with other matters as she scurried around to the side entrance for the hero class. A sigh of relief released itself as she passed through the gate and approached the small crowd of students, already sighting a few that appear to have been mutated by their quirks. Unlike what most would expect, their unnatural forms caused her to relax rather than mortify her, solidifying in her mind that this is the correct place to be. No one with such visible quirks would be in the normal classes… At least, she didn’t think they'd be at a school like this.
Though she had reached her destination, the brunette hadn’t had a clue as to what she should be doing now that she had arrived. Not wishing to draw attention to herself, she didn’t attempt to move further towards the group’s center. Instead, she tarried at the far edge where she had arrived from, clutching her ID tightly to her chest as she allowed herself a moment of excitement.
This was it! The start of her journey as a hero class student!
