The day following was a mess. Kotomi sat relaxed and upright in the hospital bed waiting to be discharged and listening to her phone vibrating ceaselessly in her work bag. It was either Hana, her mother, her father, Mina, or all four simultaneously. The nurses came and went as they filled paperwork out. Kotomi had tried to talk someone into letting her leaving the hospital the night prior, right after she had her arm healed by a sweet middle-aged lady with a healing quirk - just a few small fractures thankfully - but the medical professionals insisted that she should stay so bloodwork and tests could be done in the case that there was an underlying injury. She couldn't argue that further, so she opted to send the Alien Queen a raincheck and try to get cozy on the industrial bed instead. Mina, rightfully, freaked the fuck out and lit her phone up. Kotomi responded, of course, and assured her that she'd be okay, but Mina asserted that she would be meeting her at the hospital the next day to walk her home anyways. Kotomi let her mother know that she was alive and mostly all right, but that was really as far as she let on. She knew she would be in for many, many rants as soon as she got home. Sleeping in hospitals was never easy, but Kotomi hadn't really tried anyways. She used the time to nearly fill her tiny pocket notebook with information for her next article, which she hoped to get to work on soon.
"Hey, Tomi!" Kotomi looked up just in time to see a flash of pink rush into the room and take her into a deep but quick hug. "Oh my god, I was so worried about you! Are you okay?"
"Hey, Mina, yeah, I'm okay. Just a simple fracture. I got really lucky that my arm wasn't pinned for too long at all. There weren't any problems getting it mended up," she replied with a sense of faux cheer. Really, the depression was setting in. The office she'd busted her ass to afford on a regular basis was nothing but crumbs of the building it once was, she only had a limited amount of money for Hana's payroll, and her interview space no longer existed. She was fine physically, yes, but the utter disbelief of her luck in regard to her career was almost suffocating.
"That's so good, but I know you've got to be freaked out. I hope you know that I'm here for you, and that I'm so sorry this happened," Mina said with a sympathetic look. Kotomi gazed back at her and paused. She really did feel lucky to have her as a friend. "Once you feel up to it, I'm so taking you out. Drinks on me."
"It's okay. Thanks, Mina," she said, smiling, "It's just nice to have your company. Wanna get out of here?"
"Uh, yes! Let's get you home, girl!"
The steps leading up to the family home filled Kotomi with dread because she knew the conversation would lead to a place that she didn't want to visit. She hoped, though, that in bringing her friend along, the subject would be put off until another time. The sky was gloomy, and Kotomi felt like it was an extension of the storm of emotions that she was holding inside. Mina walked alongside her and talked about the criminal bust that she and her coworkers had made the night before. As much as she wanted to pay attention, Kotomi couldn't force herself to as she knocked on the door and announced their arrival. The two girls heard chairs scraping against the floor. Arms not much smaller than Kotomi's wrapped around her frame. Kari's face was smushed into her elder sister's chest and Kotomi noticed that she held tears back. She patted her sister's back lovingly and held her, too, reminding her that she was okay and didn't need to worry. A few feet behind Kari stood their mother, her hand blocking her frown from view.
"Hey, guys," Kotomi started, "Sorry I didn't come home. The doctor kept me for tests, but I'm okay. My friend Mina is here, she walked me home." The mother stepped forward to thank Mina and give her daughters a hug.
"Mina, I'm Amane. Thank you so much for looking out for Kotomi. She's told me a lot about you." Mina rubbed her neck and nodded once with a cheesy grin. "Sure thing, Miss Amane! Tomi's a goodd friend to me, it's the least I can do," she stated. Kari, finally prying herself away from her sister, punched her in the arm, yelled at her for getting hurt, and then stomped away her room. Nothing could rival the strength of an angry teenager's door slam.
"Seems like Kari's in goodd spirits..." Kotomi muttered, looking at her mom. "I'll try to talk to her in a little bit."
"I think you should," Amane replied gingerly. "You're dad is here - he wants to talk to you." A brief look of anxiety washed over Kotomi's expression. She reset her demeanor as soon as she felt it shifting. "Right now? I have a friend over..." Amane shot her a testy glare. As if on queue, the man himself stepped into view from the back room. Tall and overpowering, he quickly scaled the distance between them and himself.
"Kotomi! What were you thinking?" He yelled. He waved everyone from the door and shut it quickly. "If you're going to be out in the middle of danger like that, you have to protect yourself! Why didn't you do something?"
"Well, Dad, it's not like I planted a bomb and blew the building up myself, I was minding my own damn business. It's not my fault everything got dragged over to where my office was!"
"Damnit, Kotomi, you know that's not what I meant. You should ha-"
"Tomi, this is your dad?" Mina interjected. Both Kotomi and her father looked over at her somewhat confused. The dad immediately recognized her.
"Pinky! I didn't know you two were friends!" Kotomi stared at him, daring him to bring up what she thought he would.
"Yep. Dad, meet Mina. Mina, meet Dad. We're done with this conversation."
"No, I think this is a great opportunity, actually. Mina, you use your quirk everyday - it's not a bad thing. You can use it to protect yourself and others, right?" Mina cocked her head to the side, whole-heartedly considering it. With a finger pressed to her cheek, she replied, "Of course! I think the best thing about having a quirk is being able to protect people! Nice to meet you formally, mister Paralyzer!"
Kotomi couldn't help but huff and roll her eyes. Her dad, hero name Paralyzer, was just Kento, or Dad, at home. Not that he would correct the sweet rosy girl. Kento shot her a bright smile and returned pleasantries before turning back to his eldest. His face hardened as he placed a hand on her shoulder; she shook it off shortly after. "Kotomi... I know you're completely against the idea of using your quirk, but can't you think about it like an adult? If you could just go into the hero line of work, you'd learn to actually protect yourself and there would be other people there to protect you, too. What's so bad about that? You could actually use the talent you were blessed with!"
"I am thinking about it as an adult. I don't know how many times I've told you this, Dad, but let me reiterate. I can protect myself. I don't need anybody else to ensure my safety, and I don't need to use my quirk to get what I want out of life. I wasn't born with the duty to be a hero. I'm fine just the way that I am being a normal person," Kotomi explained lowly, her face nearly void of any emotion, "My mind hasn't changed. My quirk wouldn't have stopped the building from falling. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." From her peripherals, Kotomi could see Mina's absolute bewilderment plastered across her features. This would be fun to explain.
"Honestly, the fact that you would use one of my friends to throw this up in my face hurts. You know how I feel, and you should respect it. I don't have to be able to read minds to know that you don't," spat Kotomi, the venom in her voice increasing with the more that she spoke.
"You have a quirk that's so rare, Kotomi, we wish you'd just consider using it to your advantage," Amane piped up, "You might not feel it, but you're lucky to have your quirk. You could use it to make something of yourself!" The young woman turned away from her parents harshly to Mina, "I'll be back if you'll wait here for a minute." The blonde pushed past her parents upstairs to her room to gather a few essentials into a duffel bag, listening to their stout protests. Before descending the stairs again, she knocked on Kari's door and was quickly met with "go away!" Not having the energy to argue, she decided to abide by her sister's request: she'd try texting her later. After barreling down the stairs, she grabbed her friend's hand and tugged her along out the door, not bothering to assure that it shut. The two could hear the couple's pleas for a continuation of the discussion, but Mina could see in Kotomi's face that she was having absolutely none of it. Once Mina's wrist was released, she let it sway at her side. Worry bubbled inside her, but she wasn't sure if she should say anything, even though her heart screamed at her to do so. As if her thoughts were on display, though, Kotomi finally glanced back at her. The angry expression full of vitriol had softened into something more familiar.
"I know you're worried, but I'm okay," she declared, still walking forward with a purpose, "I'm sorry that I lied to you about being quirkless. I wasn't trying to be deceitful."
"Hey... it's okay, you obviously have your reasons. Do you want to talk about it though?"
"If you have questions, you can ask them. Outside of that, I don't really know what to say," Kotomi said quietly. Mina followed her, still unsure of where they were headed. She thought for a moment of what to ask first. "It's pretty clear that you don't like having a quirk... is there a reason why?"
"Yeah, I just really don't like my quirk."
"What is it?" Mina gently asked.
"It's called Mind Read. Pretty self explanatory but pretty rare, too," said Kotomi. "I just want to live a normal life. I want to be a boring journalist seething for a goodd story, and that's it. Being quirkless would be fine with me. I just try not to talk about it too much."
"I don't mean to come off cruelly, but is it really so bad?" Mina asked, trying her best to voice it in a considerate tone. Kotomi stopped walking and turned to catch her gaze. She still looked concerned. The blonde sighed lightly and crossed her arms, turning to watch the cars sputtering down the street, "I know it sounds cool, but it's more trouble than anything else. When I was younger, I honed Mind Read well enough that it doesn't take much effort to tap into it. Nowadays, I have to put more effort into stopping it than the reverse. It can be kinda difficult when I look at people... I have to actively concentrate on not hearing what they're thinking, and it gives me insane migraines on bad days. The radius doesn't stretch more than twenty feet or so, but hearing every single thought that others think about you is typically more bad than good." Mina's shoulders dropped a bit as she craned her neck to look at Kotomi and pursed her lips.
"I can see how that would be sucky, Tomi," she stated, "I know you hate it, but I think it's kinda cool. Have you ever used it for your job?" Kotomi's face shifted from one of sorrow to one that screamed "wow, I feel attacked." She snickered lightly and looked at her with a twinkle in her eye. "Only on rare occasion. For the real juicy stuff." The two giggled and resumed on their path.
"I generally do my best to block it all out. Anyways, I didn't want you to feel like I was hiding something from you. I just want to be treated normally," Kotomi said sheepishly. Mina shook her head, "No, it's okay. I see your perspective. Once more question though... where are we going?"
"Funny you ask. I have no clue." At this, Mina rolled her eyes and yanked her friend in a different direction. "You can stay with me, dummy."
Mina's home was likely what one would expect. Very pink and adorned with animal prints and fluffy furniture and stylish knickknacks.
"Weeeelcome home! You can stay as long as you'd like!" Mina sang, waving her friend into the lounge. The abode wasn't too big but definitely reflected the life of a bachelorette who loved to party and have fun. Kotomi's favorite part was likely the fancy cylindrical tank near the television in the room that held a few different bright fish which fluttered their fins and tails around as they swam. She turned from them to Mina and smiled in relief, "Thanks, Mina. You're probably the only person that hasn't thought badly of me. I know I said that I don't bring it up, but... I've always wanted to thank you for that. Even the first time we met when all we were was an exhausted hero and a stressed journalist having a conversation at three in the morning in that coffee house." Somehow, Mina's already pink complexion deepened as she laughed and covered her heart.
"Of course, Tomi," she gushed, "You've always been good - I could feel it! I'm happy to be your friend!" Mina bounded over to the couch and plopped onto it. She turned the tv on and offered the remote to her friend. Kotomi chuckled and held a resisting hand up. "That's okay, you pick. I need to call Hana and get a couple of things straightened out. I'll order us some food after, cool?"
"Ooooh, yes! Thanks so much!" Kotomi happily nodded and ducked into the bathroom to dial Hana, who was already on speed dial. The phone rang once and the line connected. That was very Hana - ready at any moment to talk work.
"Oh, Miss Tanaka! It's good to get a call from you? Are you okay? Is there anything I should do? Do you need my drafts?" Hana's questions felt like canon fire.
"Whoa, Hana, calm down... take a breath!" She laughed, "I'm okay, it was just a broken arm, but I got it taken care of. You can email your drafts to me when you're ready. Thanks for your concern. I actually have an idea to pitch to you, if you're up for it."
"O-of course! What is it?" Hana asked. From there, Kotomi recounted her experience in being pulled from the office's rubble and how her rescue unfolded. The two decided that Hana's existing drafts on Earphone Jack and Froppy were good as is, but that her piece on Uravity should be amended to speak on her part in saving Kotomi from danger. The article on Red Riot, however, would be up to Kotomi, and she already had a great outline for the post.
It didn't take long for Kotomi and Hana to figure out how they would persist in the loss of their workspace. Though not optimal, until a different space was acquired, they would work together online from their homes. Thankfully, Kotomi's laptop hadn't been too badly damaged, so the idea was as functional as functional could get. In ending the phone call, Kotomi had a preliminary game plan for how things would pan out over the next few weeks at least: the only worry still standing was financial, but that was nothing new. She tussled with the idea of potentially finding a side hussle. Regardless, Kotomi found solace on Mina's couch. They enjoyed each other's presence. The rosy girl's cheerful laugh was like a pleasant bell, save for when little snorts slipped out, which just further fueled the giggle fits between the two of them. With comedy movies playing in the background, pizza for them both, Mina's obnoxious side comments, and Kotomi's sadly dented laptop, the perfect environment was set for writing the article that felt more like a heartfelt thank you than an information piece. It was the quickest that Kotomi had been able to churn work out in a long time, but the small notebook she'd scrawled notes down in aided the endeavor all the more.
"So, what'cha writing about?" Mina randomly asked, glancing down at the computer and Kotomi's constant key tapping. As if reflex, the journalist shifted uncomfortably. She immediately regretted it, knowing that her friend would catch her action instantaneously, but she neglected to say anything extra.
"O-oh, uh... well, I decided to write about the heroes that worked to save me from the collapse. Uravity and Red Riot," Kotomi said. Mina's eyes lit up in excitement. "Oh, oh, I went to school with them - we're still friends to this day! That's so great!" Kotomi was startled but interested. She should have figured that Mina at least knew them in some capacity but hadn't given it much thought.
"They're really great people. I'm glad they could help you, Tomi," added Mina. A blush flared beneath the blonde's cheeks, but she didn't say anything. It wasn't like her to be overly fond of anyone with minimal interaction, yet here she was thinking about Red's alluring voice and shining smile. The growing silence thickened, and Kotomi felt it weigh down on her shoulders as she considered how to combat it. "Yeah, I'm glad, too. I got pretty lucky."
"Y'know, I think you'd be good friends with them. You and I get along and I get along with them, so it makes sense that you'd get along with them, too. We could all hang out!" Mina exclaimed, her grin nearly overtaking her face. "We should go rollerskating!" Kotomi's previously reddened face drained of its color. She wasn't sure what was most intimidating - skating, which she hadn't tried in nearly ten years, or seeing Red, which was benign objectively but subjectively suffocating. Nevertheless, Kotomi wordlessly nodded to herself, watching as Mina hastily turned to grab her phone and text the two with the proposition.
While the nerves set in as Mina waited for a text back, Kotomi decided to bite the bullet and post her article. She had read it fifteen times at least, relentlessly scanning it for errors or ways to improve its content. Each time she read it, though, Kotomi felt her heart skipping beats, and when she feared it would send her into a cardiac event, she clicked the submit button. As she did, Mina sang out in joy, causing her company to jump in place.
"They both said yes! Tomorrow at six, Tomi!" Mina yelled happily. She finally noticed her friend's worried expression and placed a soft hand on Kotomi's newly healed arm. "Don't worry. I'll lace your skates and put you in a bubble, you poor thing. It'll be fun!"