Chapter 24 : Plans
One week passed since the License Exam incident. Because of random knocks, nightmares or flashbacks from then, Kukeiko had trouble falling asleep. This was the reason why she would spend the night in the same room with Mei. Hatsume handled her sleep-deprived self much better than Kukeiko could, so whenever she would have nightmares or anything else, Mei was there to immediately calm her down. Thanks to Mei, she could finally work much more effectively and function normally.
Just like usual, she's been spending her time in the workshop, but now it was slightly different. She was working with more energy then she would. Of course, being able to help a student get back into hero training is amazing. Kukeiko was feeling like a hero herself.
Kukeiko's goal right now was to be able to alter a hero costume so much so it would help Amaya Hasegawa, the one who scored the highest at the License Exam and also the victim of the car accident, fight again at maximum power. The other day, as the two girls were talking over the phone, Kukeiko could hear her customer's voice to be cracking, even though she still had hope inside of her.
"Find a way to make her see again...", Kukeiko mumbled to herself.
"Make her see again..."
"Of course! I can include some sense motors to vibrate whenever an object is close. That's basic stuff!
Wait
It would be a bad idea to make it visible, wouldn't it? If she were on the battlefield, the villains shouldn't notice those sensors at all as her weakness would be exploited. I might have an idea, but we'll check with a manequin. Anyways, let's do some basic motion sensors for today. I don't think it would take very long to make these."
Kukeiko walked out of the workshop without saying anything.
"She seems very excited", said Akihiro to Mei as he was working on an item.
"Uh... Mei?
Oh wait, you're still wearing that ear thingy."
"Did you say something?"
"Nevermind"
Right then, Kukeiko came back with a manequin, and a big box that looked to weigh a lot. With a smile on her face and determination sparkling in her eyes, she went in her own corner and started tinkering while listening to music.
"I've got it now! This isn't hard at all! Thank goodness my client's hero costume has long sleeves!
Metalic bracelets.
•4 right arm
•4 left arm
•one waist
•one around stomach - this should have a more flexible texture.
•and other 4 on each leg
Metalic... that would be the ideal material to function at max power and precision, but not very comfortable. No... not comfortable...
The material must be somewhat elastic and comfortable so the hero can properly fight without any distractions.
Comfort and functionality. These two must be at full capacity. Wait! I can just use the material for the hand shield that I made for Izuku! Nice! I've got the plan set.
Soon, I shall meet my client, take her measures, buy some materials and clothing, which Bibimi Kenranzaki, the student from 3-G who one the beauty competition every year, can help me with.", mumbled Kukeiko to herself as she was pacing from one part to the other and preparing the main programmes on her laptop for the items.
"You and her are almost one and the same person.", said Shoto as he had acompanied Izuku to bringing some snacks.
"I can see why you'd say that", replied Izuku.
"Aren't you going to do anything?"
"Nah. She's in the middle of something. Better not intrerupt her thinking. She'll notice the bag when she's done."
"I see. It's good to see her up and working again."
"Kukeiko~"
"Kukeikoooo~"
"KUKEIKO!"
"YES!"
"IT'S LATE!"
"LATE FOR WHAT?"
"FOR YOUR SESSIONS!"
"ALREADY?! ONLY 15 MIN PAST!"
"Try two hours."
"TWO HOURS?! I'M LATE!"
"HEY! CAN'T YOU SPEAK ANY LOUDER?!", yelled Akihiro, stopping Kukeiko and Mei from quarelling.
"WE'RE SORRY!"
"Stop yelling..."
"Come on Kukeiko. You know how you always arrive late for your therapy sessions."
"I know. I know. I always end up carried away.", said Kukeiko as she was packing her things together.
"This is about your mental health! You ought to look after yourself!"
"Look. I'll try to do better."
"Promise yourself that, dum dum."
Later that night...
"Kukeiko seems to be doing better."
"Don't worry. Everything's going smoothly. She's starting to let her guard down."
"Don't you think that girl she's sleeping with won't be a problem?"
"Patience. If we stop doing anything, she'll return in her room."
"And the we play, yes?"
"This is pathetic. Why can't we just go for the boy and face him head on?"
"We will. That's what I'm planning. Kukeiko will only be helping us. It'll make things easier. You'll see."
And so came the next morning. Another day of work and excitement. Kukeiko was gone all day, and returned very late at night, still somewhat energetic. The bags from under her eyes were becoming visible even after all the concealer and foundation she was trying to cover up with. That night, Akihiro was hanging with some of the boys in the common room when he saw his classmate come back. She was tightly hugging two huge stuffed bears and behind her were bags and metal boxes levitating not too high above the ground.
"Kukeiko! You're back!", said Akihiro waving to her.
His greet went completely unnoticed as Kukeiko was mumbling to herself and ran to her dorm.
'How much is this girl working...?", thought he to himself.
The student went to her dorm and let out a faint scream of excitement.
"Oh my god! Would you look at that! Those teddy bears are so cute! I can't believe papa bought those for us! They're so cute and fluffy! Perfect to snuggle with during the night! I'm so happy!"
The plushie's left hand had a "Push me!" button.
"Kukeiko, I'm sorry for having to stay away for this long. As you know, my job requires me to work all day every day. I miss you, and I bet you miss me too. I've read the numerous emails and listened to the voice mails you had sent me. I am very happy to hear you are gaining success with your items. You're getting closer to your dream as days pass by. I'm so proud of you, Kukeiko! I'm so proud to have you and Izuku as my children. I will do my best to make some time to come over and see you. It's been years since we have seen each other, and I can't wait to see how the two of you have grown. I love you."
As the audio ended, Kukeiko, with a wide smile on her face, hugging the toy as she fell on her bed.
"I can't wait for papa to come! There's so much catching up to do!
Hmm
When shall I give him the toy? Izuku is very busy. Poor boy.
Well this is the only way he can become a strong hero!"
Kukeiko stood in her bed in silence thinking... she wasn't attacked nor tormented for a good week. Sleeping with Mei doesn't seem as much as a necessity anymore. Besides, there was nothing she couldn't handle!
"Yeah,
Better call her about it."
.
.
.
"Hello hello!"
"Hi Kukeiko"
"Yeah um I wanted to ask whether you'll be alright if I started sleeping in my room. I mean nothing bad has happened for a week and I can handle it now."
"I have no problems."
"That's a relief."
"But if you feel... scared or unsafe, just call me okay?"
"Of course I will, no need to worry about me."
People say to always listen to your guts. That won't work all the time.
