USJ...the incident, Tsuki Himari had seen the news. Even with all of her current cases right now, she still found time to watch the news.
With the outstanding increase in technology, many patients had been reported more and more, but Himari knew things weren't getting worse. There was just a working system now.
She was expecting a call from Nezu: the principal of UA High. A very famous high school built on making Endeavor and All Might heroes. They had contacted her of all the consolers in the Center and decided on her for a interview for a counselor for the school.
Why her of all people?
Himari didn't understand such things. It drove her mind crazy. She wonders what exactly did Nezu need from her? So many questions that were running through her mind.
The wait for the call felt like hours and hours on end, but it had merely been twenty minutes since Himari had gotten into her apartment. Getting home from a long day at work, working with kids with special needs, working with parents that would sometimes give her a headache. There were good ones, and then there were the bad ones that were begging children to beat the gay out of them, to be like they had wanted their kid to be, not who they wanted. Some parents wanted her to tell their children it was a phase and to remind them of such things were evil in this world and that God was the only way.
Such words may Himari want to vomit. She had to argue with the results and the way her cases have to be worked. The arguing, was just exhausting. It reminded her just how much she hated conflict in this world.
She heard her phone buzzed, but it wasn't Nezu, it was a text message from her grandmother.
"Just checking on how you were doing, honey. Call me tonight and tell me how your talk with Nezu goes."
It made Himari's nerves relaxen from the text. She was happy she was checking up on her. It was so hard to see them these days. She was far too busy working. Working six days a week exhausted her, and she was cranking up overtime nearly every week.
She texted her Grandma back, sending the message to her.
"Ah, yes I will! Thank you, your words really help me."
Not even a moment after she sent the text, her phone went off, picking it up, she spoke, "Hello?"
"Himari, it's principal Nezu." The joyful voice at the end called, "How are you?"
"Tired from work, honestly." She replied, standing to her feet, "How are you doing?"
"Good, good, my apologies for keeping you waiting. I had a meeting with my staff." Nezu told her, "I was wondering if I could have you come into UA to work here. Despite your age and being out of college for a year now, your colleagues have told me you're a fantastic worker. Very passionate, I've heard."
The praising made Himari's face heat up in embarrassment, "A job at UA?" She breathed. Working with adolescents was her specialty in the mental health field, "Are you serious?"
"Completely." Came Nezu's voice from the other end of the phone, "The students certainly need someone that is skillful at your kind of field. We've been looking for a school counselor since before the school year started. You seem very skilled at combat as well despite hiding such a concept from your fellow coworkers."
"Umm...yeah let's hope I don't have to use my combat skills." Himari sighed. Combat really wasn't her thing. Her knowledge and skills that weren't for combat were much better. She really didn't like getting her hands dirty. It was why she was so good at certain things.
"Of course, but if you found yourself in a situation, I'm sure you wouldn't sit and watch any of your future students get hurt. Himari, it's your decision if you want to take such a position along." Nezu told her through the phone calmly as she nodded.
"Yes, I know." She would; it wasn't like her to just stand by and watch someone get hurt. It was the reason why she almost lost her job three months in. She swallowed her anxiety. Talking on the phone was never really easy for her, "My-My apologies, for my hesitation." It would be nice to work at a school. Nice and quiet, well as quiet as hero schools could get. The cases at her job now had a lot of likelihood of getting a bit crazy. Not that she minded at all, it was great to help people either through a fight or through a session.
"But, I-I would be glad to take the offer. I'll give my notice at the center tomorrow. I'll be honored to teach at UA." She had to make the decision now. Even if it was kind of nerve racking in the wake of the USJ incident that had happened a few days ago, she needed to make a decision.
"Glad to hear it." Nezu said happily, "I'll be happy to meet you when you start on Monday. I expect a lot of good things from you."
"Thank you." She smiled, trying to feign her confidence as she always tried to do, "I won't let you down. Have a good day, Principal Nezu."
"You too, bye!" And with that, Himari hanged up the phone. UA, huh? It wasn't too far from her, probably a ten minute walk, but she looked forward to it.
Her boss is gonna be sad though that she was leaving, but if Nezu had already talked to them, he was certain to know. She sighed, it was time to get some dinner, and some rest.
XXXX
She was eating some pasta she cooked up a twenty minutes later, watching the news. It had been about the USJ attack again.
"Reports say that the League of Villains' attack on the USJ had to be planned, but UA is not releasing any statements at this time."
Images showed a man with white hair with a hand on his head. Another one, like some kind of portal. That wasn't who Himari was curious about.
It was the man with the hand on his face. Something tore familiar with that man. Something Himari had no idea about, but she knew there was something up with him. It wasn't a coincidence...
She had no intention of finding that out anytime soon. However, if she needed another reason to go to UA, that was it. If this guy attacked the USJ, he'd be around there soon enough again, and maybe, Himari could get some answers about this guy.
About this League of Villains. According to what she knew from the media, they had to have it planned. It didn't make any sense to her. What was their goal? Why would they attack a high school? Did they have a personal grudge against one of the staff? Did they want the media getting deeper with this and hating heroes more and more? But then again, why would villains want that? It didn't make any sense to her…
She's treading on something she shouldn't be concern though. Whoever that hand guy was, even if he looked like someone she used to know, he was a villain nonetheless.
And if she had to meet him in battle to protect her future students, so be it. Himari had never been the one for violence, but she knows one thing, protecting the students was a part of her job as not only a hero, but as the school counselor as well.
She had to be ready for anything as a hero. What was she thinking? Chickening out on the phone like that? Principal Nezu probably found her weak now. He'd probably call her tomorrow and say he was going to look for someone else with a backbone. Did her nature of insecurity and her pacifistic nature just screw her over a job? Oh this was bad, bad, very bad. She couldn't get screwed over this new job. She just couldn't.
She was also eating very fast after she got those negative emotions.
After minutes and minutes of going through her mistake in her mind, she took a deep breath. She had finished her food a minute after she freaked out. Talk about embarrassing. She better not act like that on Monday, or she's really going to get worse.
Ah, she needed to stop doing that. She needed to stop going into that habit. It was a bad one, even into her childhood years she had done it. The struggle.
XXXX
The next day came, and Himari found herself sitting in her bosses' office, twiddling her thumbs in a circle. She was super nervous.
The man, Sato stared at her sternly before he smiled, "That little of a notice huh? I'll admit, that Nezu guy was a talker. He nagged me on for thirty minutes about you." He didn't know much about the famous Nezu, but the guy liked to talk a little too much.
"That's odd." Himari blinked, before putting a finger on her lips, "I wonder if he talked less to me because he disliked me. Could it have been in my stuttering last night? Maybe it was…"
"Himari, you're doing that thing again." Sato sighed before Himari jumped from her seat.
"Ahhh, sorry." She fidgeted, scrunching up her face in response before sitting back down. Ah, why does she keep holding onto her mistakes?
"I'm sure if he offered you the position that he finds you capable of it." He poured some tea into a cup on his desk, handing it to Himari, "Seriously, Himari, you should have some faith in yourself. You're a very capable person, very hard working, and kind. You'll do great at UA." He was happy she was getting something like this. It was hard to see the girl that arrived here a year ago with a fresh degree go.
"Uhhh, it's-it's not that…" She put her hand up in defense, "I just get too caught up in my mistakes, you know that." She took a sip of her tea.
"Regardless, Himari, I'm sure you'll be okay. Take as much time as you need to let your patients know that they will be getting a new caseworker after tomorrow. Tomorrow is your day off, after all so this will be your last day."
"Thank you." Himari smiled, getting out of her seat, bowing before turning to walk out of his office. She turned back to him, "It's been a pleasure working with you."
XXXX
Himari stood at the doorway of a rundown house. This was where one of her cases were at, with the youngest of kids, a five year old boy by the name of Daichi.
His mother opened the door, shooting Himari a slight smile, "Hello Himari." She closed her eyes. Her blond hair had been messed up and she was wearing a very long white t-shirt and slippers, "How's your day going?"
"Ah, pretty good." Himari smiled and nodded at the woman before she was suddenly jumped by a short brown haired boy, "Ah!" She was startled, stumbling forward.
"Hi, Himari-sensei." The boy squealed happily, latching onto her arm.
She ruffled the boy's hair and smiled, "Hi there, Daichi-san." She chuckled, lifting him up before turning to his mother, "So how is he doing this morning."
"Well, he took his medication that his psychiatrist prescribed to him." She replied, "He's been doing very well today. I think it's working. Since you started with us on his case, he's been doing a lot better. Slow progress but every day, he's working on it."
"I'm very proud of you, Daichi-san." Himari smiled, "Do you want to go get some ice cream? It's pretty hot today." She wanted him to enjoy himself and the progress he's made. Plus, she wanted to treat him on her last day.
"Yes, yes! I totally want some ice cream. Do you think I can play at the park soon?" Daichi asked excitedly.
"Of course." She smiled, ruffling his hair, "You gotta show me your progress on your work." She leaned to his level, booping him on the nose, putting him down, offering a hand for him to take.
"Yes ma'am." He grinned happily.
XXXX
After getting him ice cream, Himari watched him playing with the fellow kids, watching them play a game of hide and seek in the playground. She could see Daichi sliding down the slide. She decided to finally check her phone.
Three missed calls from Grandma.
Three messages.
Huh? What could be going on now? She wondered before opening her messages.
You're at Daichi's, right? Please be careful, there's been kidnappings going on around that area.
Kidnappings?
She looked down at the next message.
Himari, please be careful, there's been a lot of heroes getting murdered all around Japan.
Another message. Murders? What?
You're probably busy, but I wanted to let you know about that. Call me later, okay? Love you!
She didn't even tell her grandma that she had a new job in two days. Dang, talk about nuts. Murders and kidnappings? She should get her nose out of her phone then.
She put her phone back into her pocket before she noticed a male taking a seat next to her. Her eyes widened in surprise, not expecting someone to sit next to her. He had some weird markings on his face. It looks like burns almost but she could see that behind his black, torn hood.
"Strange, looking how those kids can live without a single gripe. I wish I had those days…" The man leaned back on the bench and glanced at the woman, "You didn't get days like that, did you."
Himari found her eyes going even wider at the man's words, "Ah, how did you…."
"It's because you got that same look in your eyes as me. You've had it rough, I can tell." The man sighed, "But I didn't come here to get lifey with a stranger. What's your name? You look a little young to be a mother to any of those kids." He watched them, running around. They were at an age where their quirks hadn't activated activated quite yet. They were probably less than a year away.
"My name is Tsuki Himari." The woman introduced herself, "And no, I'm not a mother to one of those kids. One of the kids is actually someone I'm working with due to some...incidents in his life."
The man sat upright, chuckling, "You didn't seem like you were, but I figured I ask." He snorted at her next words, smirking, "Classified information, I take it?"
She blinked, nodding at his words, "Yes, it's classified information."
A sigh fell from the man's lips, "This is the age before everything falls apart. Quirks are a great tool for anyone's motivation but it can also be a downfall. Like those shitty people in the Hero Society." He wasn't going to mention names but maybe he and this woman could come to an agreement on something.
"Yeah, I can admit, some of them don't deserve their fame." Himari nodded in agreement, "I don't like being flashy with my quirk. I prefer to help people psychologically."
"A psychologist huh? Interesting profession." The man retorted, "Now you got me a little curious, what is your quirk exactly?" He asked. This girl agreed huh? He wonders why that was but more conversation with them while the kids play could pass the time up.
"Why w-would you want…" She trailed off before she was about to go into one of her moping rants. Shaking it aside, she spoke once again to answer his question,"My quirk is Emotion. I can change the emotions of anyone so long as I've felt that emotion I'm trying to put on someone in the last twenty-four hours." She answered.
"I see, so tell me, Himari, what exactly makes you think there are some people that don't deserve the fame that they get?" He asked her, motioning her to go on with what she said before.
"What about your name?" She retorted while he laughed.
"Heh, not really a reason to tell you, but if you're curious, I guess I'll let you slide by." He did ask for something as well for his curiosity. Guess he'd have to give something in exchange, "My name's Dabi." He told her. His voice, dropping a bit.
"Dabi huh? Well to answer your question before." Her eyes averted to the ground, "I used to live in a quiet village. My parents didn't want me so they dumped me to some people I consider my grandparents." She watched Daichi throwing a ball to another kid, "I was a quiet kid, but I managed to befriend someone. That someone ended up dead though, and I couldn't save him." She was only a kid, sure, but her first friend died and she still felt like it was her fault. Old wounds were opening again.
"Ah, you blame the heroes for that now?" He asked her before Himari's eyes widened, waving her hands in protest.
"Ah, n-no, not like that! I wasn't meaning like that." She quickly regained her composure, "I don't know, it's not something I've really thought about before. I mean, I know there are some bad heroes, like I'm not a fan of Endeavor much. He gives me some corruption vibes, and he's kind of a jerk. I've never met him, but I know some of the horrible things he's done."
So this girl hates Endeavor, huh? Has to have some good taste in heroes if she hates him of all people, "You certainly not the only one. I'm not a fan of him either. It's people like him that I'm the way I am today. Hopefully, they'll be someone getting rid of those false heroes soon." He stood to his feet, clenching his fists tightly, turning to her, "Whatever your alignment is, I'm sure you will agree with that. We need more people like you that are willing to stand up against these screwed up heroes." He started to walk away before he turned back, a smirk falling on his lips, "I hope you have the guts to rise from that society." And with that said, he left, leaving Himari confused.
Why did he even ask her all of those questions? Was he trying to pass time? Did he just wanna talk?
"Himari-sensei!" She looked down to see Daichi clinging to her leg, "Who was that guy you were talking to?" He asked curiously while Himari sighed.
"I'm not sure, but…" There was something off with him. Something different. He'd ask constant questions about her but only acknowledge giving her a name. Dabi, huh? Interesting to say the least. Have the guts to rise from that society? What did he mean by that? How? How was she even supposed to? She didn't know how, but maybe she'll find the answer soon.
"Nothing, let's get you home and you can work on your homework." She grinned happily at him, trying to cheer him up.
"Okay, if you say so." Daichi blushed in embarrassment, "Those kids were talking about disappearances."
"Don't worry, the pros are investigating." She ruffled his hair, "They'll take care of that problem no sweat." She at least hoped so. Considering she was a pro hero herself, she might have to face down that guy who keeps cutting down heroes.
Just as she and Daichi were walking, she saw All Might, the number one hero on one of the TVs up on the building. Laughter boomed from the TV screen, "Remember it's always good to go beyond your limits. Push forward and you will see your progress and don't stop til you reach that goal. You will work your way towards that goal if you work hard. Have a nice evening, citizens and remember to go beyond plus ultra!"
The TV went off and Daichi tugged on Himari's arm, "Oi! Oi! Did you see that, Himari-sensei? That was the Symbol of Peace! All Might looks so amazing, I can't wait to end up like him one day." He tried to mimic All Might's voice, "I am here!"
Himari laughed, resting a hand on his shoulder, "Well, I could probably get an autograph for you." She would do it for him, that's for sure. All Might was one of the teachers at UA, so she'd probably would run into him.
"Really? You mean it?" Daichi was excited now. His own All Might autograph? That was crazy. How did Himari-sensei know him?
"Yeah, well, I have a new job, Daichi. I'll be working as UA's counselor which means I'll probably get to meet All Might." She grinned. It was now or never on telling the kid. Noticing he was sniffling, probably trying not to cry, she kneels to his level and wraps her arms around him, "It'll be okay. I'm gonna be around to visit you. I'll still be here even though I won't be handling your case anymore."
"But-But…" Daichi sniffled, crying into Himari's chest.
She patted his back, "It'll be alright, I'll still be here for you whenever you need me. You can always ask your mom to call me." She stuck her pinkie out, "Pinkie promise?"
Daichi wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded, smiling before wrapping small his pinkie around hers, "Okay, but have a lot of fun."
Himari was surprised by his words, but nodded, tucking a lock of her long brown hair behind her right ear, smiling once again, "Sure, I will, Daichi."
XXXX
And just like that, the day of her first day at UA came. She was excited. A new chapter of her life awaited, and she was excited. She hadn't been really familiar with it, but she remembered her grandfather had been working there back when she was growing up.
She walked to the school, yawning to herself. It was a little early for her to be out right now, but she'll have to get used to it. It would take some time before she would be able to, of course.
It was a pretty quiet walk there. She was enjoying the fresh air. Not to mention it was a lot cooler than what it was yesterday. Less humid. It was a great start to her first day.
The courtyard of the school was beyond beautiful. She was super happy she decided to come here now. She was supposed to meet with Principal Nezu in about fifteen minutes. It was before school, and many students weren't here. In fact, Himari had only saw a few of them around here.
She stepped into the grounds, walking by a few students that were sitting outside, looking at some of the notes she jotted down, "Ah, so I'll have to make sure I don't stutter, good, good." She pulled out her pencil from her purse, checking that off the list, "Be confident." She checked that off, "and then I'll have to make sure I don't drag on any mistakes I made. Yes, yes," Himari beamed, grinning happily, "I'll totally destroy this meeting today and my first day to boot!"
Suddenly, she bumped into someone, "Ah-Ah, I'm…" She trailed off, feeling a hand patting her on the head, looking at who was towering over her.
It was All Might, in the flesh. Like real life. Ah, this was super embarrassing.
"Ah, ah, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, "Please forgive me I didn't mean to run into you, sir. You see it's my first day, and I'm really nervous so I wrote down a whole bunch of notes and…" Her speech moved very quickly because she was nervous.
All Might ruffled her hair and gave her his signature smile, "Oh? Your first day, huh? You must be the woman I get to show around. I believe your name is." He pulled out a piece of paper himself, "Tsuki Himari! Yes, what a pleasure to meet you, Young Himari! Welcome to the wonderful staff of UA." He flexes his muscles, not even thinking about the apology for bumping into him. She seemed to mutter like Young Midoriya does from time to time.
Himari chuckled, "I didn't know you were going to be the one to escort me around the school." She smiled. All Might's energy was really bright. She could really see why he was the Symbol of Peace, "but I'm glad. I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long." She scratched the back of her head nervously. Great, she was already blowing this already.
"Nonsense, you were right on time." He patted her on the shoulder, "No need to get nervous. UA is a splendid place to work at!" He grinned happily, "We're starting a tour. What an honor to do such a deed for a new teacher at UA." Although, he noticed she was younger than what he had expected. She had to be at least in her twenties.
They had gone a lot of the school. All Might was a very filled with energy. It was inspirational, really. They were now walking to where Principal Nezu was at.
"So tell me a bit about yourself, Young Himari." All Might grinned, wanting to get to know UA's new counselor. She had been pretty quiet along the way, but she definitely looked a lot less nervous than earlier.
Himari blinked at his words, scratching the back of her head, "Ah, well there's not much about me, honestly. I'm a general education hero. I love helping people in my field, and my quirk is pretty handy for that too, but I tend to let my patients know that I can't always fix their mood." She fidget, "But I like reading." She smiled.
"Can't fix their mood?" All Might nearly forgot what Principal Nezu had told him about this girl. She had some emotion quirk if he remembered correctly, "Ah, yes, Principal Nezu told me a bit about your quirk. How does it work?" Reading? What a splendid hobby!
"I can manipulate emotions, but only anything I've felt in the last twenty-four hours." She explained while All Might nodded at her words, finally reaching the doors of Principal Nezu's office.
"Ah, so here's your stop, Young Himari. It was a pleasure showing you around. Now I must go to prepare teaching my class of the day." And with that said, he dashed away quickly, leaving Himari speechless.
Crap, she forgot she wanted to get Daichi an autograph! Well, she's certain she would see him around.
She looked at the golden doorknob, gulping, feeling a bit nervous at what awaited her on this new path. She was way more nervous earlier, but All Might had made her feel better with doing the tour and showing her around. It really lighten her mood.
She took a deep breath in and a deep breath out before opening the door, revealing a weird, mouse? She at least thought Nezu looked like a mouse of some kind. He had a scar on his eye as well.
Nezu looked up at her from the book he was reading a waved happily at her, "Hello, Himari-san." He grinned happily, motioning her to have a seat, "I hope your commute this morning ran smoothly." He poured some green tea into a two cups, sliding her one of the cups.
"It has, thank you." She smiled, taking a sip of the tea. UA seemed like a very good place from what she had seen so far, "Your staff is very welcoming."
"Thank you." Nezu smiled, "Now, since the USJ incident, I do want to talk to you about a few things. One of them is the students I've selected you to help with during the term." He showed two photos to her, "They've all had pretty rough childhoods and at first, I didn't want to do it without properly asking them. However, I feel like it's important that these students get help for what they've gone through before it gets worse so I've required these students to come and see you." He took a sip of his tea, "These are all students of Class 1-A." He pointed at the boy with messed up green hair, "This is Midoriya Izuku. He had a lot of bullying before he transferred to UA, and I feel that he needs some help on getting over some of the trauma." He pointed at the next photo. This time, it was a boy with white and red hair, and a scar on his face, "This is Todoroki Shouto. I don't know much of his history, but what I do know is that his father was neglectful and his mother is in a mental hospital. I want you to talk to him and see if he will open up about some things in his life. He got that scar from his mother."
Himari's eyes widened in shock at that. His mother...did what?
"Surely, you as someone who's worked in the mental health field can connect the dots." Nezu told her and she nodded, "I will also be giving you some students to work with in the future as well. Being a hero is no easy job, training to become one is just as rough as you already know."
Himari took a sip of her drink, thinking about what Dabi had talked to her about two days ago. That there were false heroes. Heroes that didn't deserve their position. It's no reason that Dabi hated Endeavor from what news she's gotten, but did he know about what he did to his family? It was hard for her to swallow such things. Family wasn't supposed to be like that, but from her cases, she knew that there were parents that simply ignored their kids or abused them. It's rough, and she feels how that could hurt someone.
With Midoriya's situation, Himari felt that personally. She wanted to help these two kids, help them get through their horrible things.
"I understand that it might be rough to see students going through the same thing you did, but I also am aware you've taken on quite a bit of cases before as well on this same topic. I trust you will not have a problem talking with these children, getting to know them, and coming up with skills to help them." He took another sip of his tea, "I do have one request and rule for this: You cannot use your quirk to calm them down. You're only allowed to do so every week. Only one time during the week. You of all people know that these kids will not keep moving without learning to handle it themselves." He told her and she nodded at his words.
"Yes, I understand." She nodded at his words, "Anything else?"
"Actually yes," Nezu pulled out a file, "I know you were in a incident when you were younger. A big one, at that. We have reason to believe that someone that was in the survivor list here might be one of the villians that attacked the USJ a while back. If you have any information on who he is from the pictures of these survivors, please let me know. I'll let you look over it for the night." He told her, "Get yourself settled today. Tomorrow, you will start on your counseling for these two students and see to the others whenever they need a talk."
Himari nodded, standing up from her seat, bowing politely at the man. She took the file he gave her, "Yes, sir. I take it this meeting is done?"
"Yes." Nezu nodded, smiling at her, "Adjust to your office, Miss Tsuki."
XXXX
Himari looked at the files that Nezu gave her. One of the villains from the USJ? Could it have been the hand guy from before that she saw on TV? She knew he was familiar, but she had no idea from where. She couldn't get a good look of him with that hand. Himari didn't really know a lot of people in that village either. She was a very shy girl back then, and didn't really talk to anyone but her old friend and he wasn't on this list of those alive. Just as she expected and knew, her old friend was dead.
She felt her heart twist at those words, sighing to herself. It was time for her to go home. Dabi's words were true. She could feel that. His statement from before though…
I hope you have the guts to rise from that society.
What did he mean by rise? Did he mean not let those 'false heroes' stay in their place? What did he mean…
She went over to look at her phone, seeing a headline from the news.
"Hero Killer Stain strikes Again, killing three proheroes overnight in Tokyo."
She remembers the text she got two days ago, something about being careful about some guy killing heroes. This guy must be the one her grandmother told her about.
What was this guy's goal. Why did he keep killing heroes?
This was confusing; she literally had no reason but to think he was a serial killer according to the headline.
She sighed, shutting her phone off and gathering her things to go home. She should just let those words go, but she couldn't. It was better to let it go, yes, but somehow, she couldn't. She needed some rest. Maybe she would stop overthinking this answer. Even without evidence, did Dabi and the Hero Killer's ideology possibly mesh?
She was going to go home and take a nice rest. She needed it. UA was nice, but all the conversations with Nezu and All Might made her exhausted.
Tomorrow, she would really start her new journey.