And here's part two! Maybe not on Christmas Eve but Christmas Day works too. XD. I only own the plot of this story and my OC Camilla Sharro.
All characters and locations in the MHA world are property of Kōhei Horikoshi. Star Wars is owned by Disney. Enjoy the new chapter!
Binding the Galaxy Together
Chapter 17: Secrets Revealed (Part 2)
"You all may want to sit down for this." The pro hero advised.
Concerned but invested now to know where this was going, Ochako, Camilla, Ryukyu, and Mirko all took a seat on the couches of the office. Ochako and Camilla were next to each other while Mirko and Ryukyu shared the other. Now only the three males in the room remained standing and All Might stepped forward to speak.
"I know what you're all thinking. I'm not who I say I am. Well…"
*POOF!*
A small puff of steam exploded out of the scrawny man's body before the giant muscled body of the famous All Might stood before them.
"Let me put those concerns to bed! I am in fact the one and only All Might! The symbol of peace!"
*POOF!*
That was all he was able to get out before imploding back to his weakened state and spraying blood from his mouth again. The excitement in seeing the familiar shape of the most famous hero drained away for all four of the females in the room like the flip of a coin, hero and teenager alike. Ryukyu wasn't sure if she should call a medic up here but Tsukauchi was looking at her as if to say, "Trust me. He's fine." She had no idea what the detective knew here but All Might looked anything but fine.
"But…nowadays I can't afford to spend much time as that guy." He grabbed the hem of his shirt and began to pull it up.
Ochako gasped and threw a hand over her mouth in shock as she gazed at what was under that shirt. Ryukyu's eyes went wide and her mouth fell a little bit open. Mirko cringed and looked away not wanting to see it anymore. Camilla…she couldn't see anything. All she could make out was All Might pulling up his shirt but didn't know exactly what this gesture did. The sense of shock, disgust, sympathy, and fear coming from the rest of the room opened up a lot of possibilities but she wasn't sure what was being shown to her. The others were probably thankful for that and wished they had her blindness right now. That horrible hole in the side of All Might's body was grotesque to say the least. Izuku just turned away not wanting to look at it again after the last time he saw it on that rooftop.
"This was an injury I got in a very tough fight over five years ago." All Might started.
Now Camilla understood. She was being shown a battle wound, and from the reactions of everyone else around her, it had to be a bad one.
"I did all I could to heal afterwards. But after all the surgeries needed to fix me up, I was left losing my entire stomach, and my respiratory system is damaged beyond repair."
As everyone seated took that in, All Might let go of his shirt and let it fall covering his disfigured torso again.
"From that moment on, my power has been in a constant state of decline. Right now, it's at the point where I can only afford to stay in my hero form and work as All Might about three hours per day. The rest of the time, this form you see before you, this is me."
They couldn't believe it. None of them could. The symbol of peace. The number one hero. Freakin All Might! He wasn't supposed to be…this! He was supposed to be the guy always smiling, facing villains with that smirk of his and always winning with that incredible strength of this. Now seeing that hole in his chest and hearing just how screwed up he is behind that smile, the image was shattered. Ryukyu remained silent as she took this in and tried to process it as logically as possible. All Might was the symbol of peace for a reason but she knew not everyone knew everything about him. He had to have secrets. This being one of them, she never saw it coming. Mirko was left wondering just what was strong enough to do that to freakin All Might of all people. Ochako was of course freaked out that a force out there was strong enough to render the most famous hero of all time to this scrawny man before her but more so, she just looked at All Might worried.
"Does it…does it hurt? Your wound." She asked.
It was the first question asked and All Might could only give off a gentle smile in response to the young girl.
"A little yes but it's nothing I can't handle. I promise you."
While Ochako sat back to process more, Camilla was sitting there looking up and down All Might trying to gauge his Force connection. He said his power was in decline and she was able to sense he was right. His Force connection was still immensely powerful, more so than anyone else in the room, but it was a little weaker than when she had first met All Might four and a half months ago.
Before she could say anything, she was interrupted when the droid behind her let out a series of bleeps that sounded like random noises to Ochako, Izuku, and All Might.
"Camilla, what is that?" Izuku pointed to the robot confused.
"We'll get to that when it's my turn." Camilla promised before turning to All Might. "But he asked what Izuku has to do with anything you just said, All Might."
Putting aside that the blind girl could understand the beeping of a weird looking robot, All Might continued on, knowing he was going to have to get to this part sooner or later. Only the number one hero wasn't going to be the one to explain it. Izuku stood out in front of him and opened his mouth to talk. He glanced between Camilla and Ochako, then Ryukyu and Mirko, then back again, and again.
"Sometime today, kid." Mirko urged getting impatient.
Taking one more moment to steel his nerves, Izuku spoke. This was gonna be a bit embarrassing for him. HE was going to do his best to leave Katsuki out of it.
"A while back ago, there was an incident. Do any of you remember anything on the news about a sludge villain almost killing a student around my age?"
Ryukyu, Mirko, Tsukauchi, and Ochako all tried to think on that. The term "sludge villain" did ring a bell in some of them. Why was it being brought up here?
"I think so." Ochako muttered. "I remember them saying something about a kid rushing past the heroes and…"
The brunette paused as she looked to Izuku now fully remembering what she saw on TV when she got back home that day. When that part of the story was mention, the three adults now knew what the young man was talking about. The only holdout was Camilla. She was the only one who didn't have a clue what was going on here.
"That kid was you?!" Mirko looked him up and down not believing it. "And you're quirkless?! I gotta give it to you, green bean. You got more balls than I originally gave you credit for."
Ryukyu just sighed at her friend's way of talking again and Izuku smiled at the…compliment? He wasn't sure how to take that so he just kept going.
"Yeah that was me. It was stupid yeah but…"
"He acted in a way that drew me towards him."
All Might took a step forward and placed a comforting hand on his successor. A soft smile was sent the Izuku's way and he in turn smiled back.
"He inspired me to act even though not too long ago on that same day, I wasn't really the nicest guy to him."
Both of them frowned as they remembered that particular incident. They didn't like looking back on it. Who in their right mind would?
"What happened?" Camilla wondered.
All Might sighed and just got it over with.
"He asked me if he could be a hero without a quirk and I told him he couldn't."
Silence. Nothing but silence in the whole room. Even Tsukauchi didn't know about that little tidbit. Heroes were supposed to be inspirations for others to follow their hopes and dreams. Ryukyu loved that aspect of her job. Whenever she came across a child who asked if they could be a hero or not, she would always smile and tell them if they worked hard enough they could do anything they wanted. Even Mirko understood that. Sure she wasn't one for kids but whenever one of them asked if it was hard to become a hero, she answered yes. But it was worth it. Then she would encourage them to give it their all.
To hear the number one hero of all people tell a quirkless child his dream was unattainable, it sounded so…wrong.
"You…you really told Deku he couldn't be a hero?" Ochako felt like her worldview as breaking. She sounded so angry. "That's so mean! Just because he doesn't have a power of his own doesn't mean anything! He can still devote himself to saving others just like me and Camilla are, right?"
She looked to Camilla who seemed to be lost on her own thought.
"Camilla?" Ochako nudged her to get her attention. "Am I right?"
Again, Camilla didn't answer her. Everything that was just revealed about Izuku's and All Might's meeting and what he said to him got her thinking. Izuku was very sensitive about him being quirkless. And obviously there was a sore spot still there about All Might telling him no. She could feel it. Izuku says he's alright now but there was s till some self doubt there whenever he would remember it.
Then her mind went to something else. Back to how she saw Izuku in her vision on the rooftop. Where his body had the same light show going on like All Might did just now. His big green light on his heart shining brighter than ever, then eight more lights spread out on his body. Camilla looked at All Might. One yellow light where the heart was, and then seven more. These two were student and mentor. All Might just said Izuku inspired him and was dedicated to training him up for U.A. She felt like such a fool for not putting the pieces together herself yet.
"There's a way for your power to be transferred to someone else, isn't there All Might?"
Suddenly all eyes in the room were on the ruby haired teen. Izuku, All Might, and Tsukauchi were stunned at the question while Ochako, Ryukyu, Mirko, and even R3 were looking at her as if she had just grown a second head. Camilla couldn't see them though, and she was ignoring all the feelings of surprise and utter confusion flowing out of everyone.
"That's why you took on Izuku to train. When it comes time for him to take the test for U.A., you're gonna give him your power."
The men in the room were speechless. None of them had any clue how she guessed that. It wasn't like All Might or Izuku hinted at it whenever they were talking. There wasn't any sort of lead up to it. The blind girl just said it seemingly out of nowhere. The other three females of the room however reacted very differently. Ochako was waiting with her breath held unintentionally for an answer. Ryukyu and Mirko were again looking at Camilla with confusion. They both knew she was new to this society and all that but there was no way that could be right.
"Camilla, quirks don't work that way." Ryukyu assured her. "It would be amazing if they did but sadly that's not-"
"Actually, Camilla is right."
On any other day, Izuku would never think of interrupting a top ten hero in the middle of talking. In this case however, he felt that the need for clarification made it alright. Once he said that, now all eyes in the room went from Camilla to him as the four females in front of him were clearly waiting for more.
"After the sludge villain, All Might came to me and apologized. Then he….he told me I could be a hero after all." He started to tear up. "It….it was the first time anyone actually believed in me."
Izuku wiped his eyes not wanting to hold up the story longer for a fit of crying. Ochako wanted to just go over and hug her friend but she would wait until this was over to do so.
"That's when he told me about his power." Finally Izuku was getting to the good part.
He looked once more to All Might as if asking for permission. The number one pro nodded and gestured for him to go on. They would handle this part together.
"He told me that he had made it look like his quirk was just some sort of mega strength. But whenever someone asked about it in an interview or something, he dodged the question."
Mirko thought back to some of the interviews she had seen All Might in trying to recall any questions about his quirk. A few came to mind but she didn't really pay much attention to it. She didn't think the specifics of his power were all that important so long as he used it for the right reasons. Today was apparently proving her wrong.
"So, if your quirk isn't just muscle or strength, All Might, then what is it?" Ryukyu asked.
All Might sighed. This was it. The whole reason he was here.
"Before I say anything, I must ask the four of you for your vows of silence. Tsukauchi already knows about this but I have to ensure that not a word of this leaves this room."
This was starting to feel very familiar. Izuku and All Might were expecting more of a fuss too. However, they didn't know just how big a secret Mirko and Ryukyu were already keeping themselves that was about to come out later. So not even a moment passed before they answered.
"I swear." Ryukyu promised.
"You got it." Mirko assured.
"I promise." Camilla nodded.
"You can count on me!" Ochako flashed an energetic thumbs up.
Izuku trusted his two friends and the two pros to keep their word. All Might was going out on a limb doing the same but he still went forward with this. Clenching his right hand into a fist, he was able to summon up enough power to buff up his arm and hold it forward, showing everyone listening.
"The name of my quirk, is One For All."
All four of the girls present mouthed the name to themselves just as Izuku did when he first heard it.
"This power goes back generations. One person makes it stronger then passes it on to another to repeat the process. With every new holder the quirk grows stronger and stronger. It's with this power that I became the symbol of peace. And now I have finally found a worthy successor to this quirk in young Midoriya. When I'm done building up his body for it, he will inherit One For All and learn to use this awesome power same as I once did."
There it was. Now everything about Izuku and All Might was out on the table. All the two of them and Tsukauchi could do now was stand in place and gauge everyone's reaction.
All Might first looked to the pros. Ryukyu was slowly rubbing a finger to her chin in thought. While she had never interacted much with All Might before this, the fact that this secret and this One For All existed were a testament to how much you don't really know a person until you do. So many thoughts swirled around her head. Ryukyu was always an admirer of All Might and his impact on the hero world. She was just now becoming aware of how much that impact had cost the hero in both his health and his psyche. Going through all those surgeries and having his days as a hero numbered, even with all that he still maintained a presence in the world as the hero because he knew people needed him to be the symbol of peace. If anything, Ryukyu could only admire All Might more for his efforts. Her biggest worry for was Izuku. Inheriting the power of One For All was obviously going to come with a hefty toll on him as well. Now that she and everyone else in the room was aware of it though, hopefully it wouldn't be as much of a strain now that he had a bigger support group besides just him and All Might.
The rabbit hero was sitting on her spot on the couch looking down at the metal boots on her feet. This couldn't be real. It just couldn't be. This was freakin All Might of all people. Yeah he was number one for a reason and of course she thought there had to be some skeletons in his closet. This was not a skeleton. This was a whole damn body with flies buzzing around it. All Might's power was older than old and could go from one person to another. Mirko was certain everything she knew about the universe she lived in was shattered when she met Camilla. Now in this moment, it felt like the strongest super glue couldn't fix it. On the outside she looked as calm as she could possibly look but inside her mind was just like her friend Ryukyu's with mixed emotions forming on big cocktail of confusion.
Ochako wasn't really focused on All Might. Her attention was locked on Izuku. From the day she met the boy his first impression of him was he was a nice guy. A little skittish maybe. It sure took some time for him to be comfortable just being near her. But Izuku was a genuinely nice guy. Maybe it had to do with him being quirkless and friendless for so long but Ochako was happy to have someone as dedicated to being a hero as he was as a friend. She even didn't mind his mumbling spells he would fall into whenever he started analyzing quirks. Now so much of him she didn't get at first fell into place like a hammer pounding in the pieces on a puzzle. Izuku always said he knew how he would get into U.A. but was very vague on the details of how he would do it without a power. It all made sense now. He was building himself up to literally get one by working himself to the bone to clean up that beach. Yeah she was working hard to make sure she was ready for the exam too. But Izuku, it became so much clearer now that Izuku was working so much harder than she could have ever imagined chasing after his dream. She wasn't upset about being kept in the dark about this. Not in the slightest. Ochako just looked to Izuku with even more admiration than she had for him before.
Finally there was Camilla. All Might, Izuku, and Tsukauchi looked at her with worry. At first glance, it looked like she was wincing. Then she rubbed a couple fingers to her head. They were at first worried she had a headache. Then the three of them remembered. Her power allowed her to sense emotions. Now she was easily sensing the very many many feelings coming off everyone in the room right now. It was so much to take in. The young Jedi was trying so hard to focus on her own and ignore the other ones but Ryukyu's, Mirko's, and Ochako's thoughts were running so fast and so loud it was literally hurting to try and push them out. She tried hard to do it but her facial expression changed without her even realizing it. Even a few hisses of pain escaped out of her.
"Camilla? Are you alright?" Izuku asked concerned.
Now she was aware. Her eyelids opened back up and she looked in Izuku's direction to respond.
"I'm fine it's just…so many feelings are screaming right now."
Immediately Ryukyu and Mirko slapped themselves for forgetting that little fact about their alien friend. Her empathic power with the Force. Immediately they tried to calm themselves down so they weren't overwhelming Camilla's head but it wasn't easy only moments after All Might and Izuku dropped a bomb on them. Ochako too felt the same way and tried to focus more on a single thought and feeling. A few moments later, the Padawan pulled her hand away from her head.
"Thank you. That's better." She sighed.
"I'm so sorry, Camilla." Ochako apologized. "I didn't mean to hurt your head."
"I feel like I should be taking most of the blame for that."
Both the girls looked to Izuku as his saddened tone grabbed them.
"I'm the one who chose to keep this a secret from the two of you for so long. Even though I wanted to tell you for a long time after meeting you both, I still kept it. I know I promised All Might that I would keep it to myself but I just…I couldn't anymore. The fact that I did lie for this long though...I feel like just the worst friend. I wouldn't blame the two of you if you were mad at me over this, or just decided to never see me again after."
The reaction Izuku was expecting the two girls to have was them agreeing with his last claim. He felt he deserved it after lying to them since literally the day they met. Camilla could feel that. His sense of guilt and shame were painfully obvious. Ochako could see it all over his face. Rather than give him the reaction he was expecting, the both the girls stood up and walked over to Izuku to embrace him in a tight hug.
"Deku, don't you dare think that for a second." Ochako was upset just knowing just how hurt Izuku was from keeping this secret. "You're not the worst friend, not even close. You're a great friend and an amazing person. I'm not mad at you or anything because you did nothing wrong. You just did what anyone in your position would do."
"She's right." Camilla quickly agreed. "Izuku, I'm sorry. Really….I never wanted you to feel like this."
"Neither did I." Ochako rested a hand on his shoulder while giving the green haired boy a gentle smile. "But I'm really happy that you trust as with this. And of course none of us will tell anyone. Right?"
"Absolutely." Ryukyu immediately agreed. "This secret must be guarded."
"Could you imagine if someone like Endeavor knew about this? The guy would probably go even more batshit crazy than he has trying to be better than you." Mirko added on. "So yeah I won't tell either."
They all looked to Camilla as she too nodded.
"Of course I'll keep this secret. You have my word." She promised.
As Izuku released his breath, he suddenly felt like a sack of bricks that he had been carrying around on his shoulders just floated away. Finally, he let his arms rise and pull the two girls back into another hug with him reciprocating this time.
As Camilla joined Ochako in hugging their friend, her own anxiety about her part in this whole meet up faded away a bit. Izuku had been keeping quite the big secret of his own and Ochako was genuine when she promised she wouldn't tell a soul about it. Her trust in them was cemented but she was still very nervous about how they would react to her news. There was only one way she could find that out.
Gently, she pulled away from the hug.
"Izuku…thank you for trusting us enough to tell us this." She warmly said. "And now…the time has come for me to return the favor."
This was it. Camilla's turn. Mirko looked to Ochako, All Might, and Izuku and chuckled.
"You might wanna sit down for this." She teased All Might with his own words.
The three of them stood there looking at each other wondering what else could possibly be revealed after One For All that could hold a candle to that. Slowly, They picked a spot on one of the couches and took a seat. Camilla remained seated as she walked over to R3 and placed a hand on his head.
"Here it goes." She murmured to her droid.
Those who couldn't understand what R3 was saying could only wonder what those chirps and beeps meant in his language. Camilla seemed to understand them no problem as she rolled her eyes and let her hand slide off the domed head.
"So," Ochako raised her hand. "Before you start would you mind answering me two things? Number one is; what's with the robot? And number two; what are you wearing?"
Camilla put a hand to her arm and tugged on the sleeve of her cloak. She had forgotten that up to this point, Ochako was the only one here who hadn't seen her robes just yet or even her lightsabers. But her questions could be answered. R3 tilted over and extended his third leg so he could roll over next to his master. The blind teen put her hand on the top of his head again and rubbed it affectionately and answered the first of Ochako's questions.
"This here is my droid, R3-F14. But you can just call him R3."
A few more beeps sounded out from the cylindrical droid as its eye looked to the three of them one at a time.
"He says 'hello'." Camilla said.
None of the three of them knew how she could make out the beeps that came from R3 as words, but they hoped that would be explained in a few minutes.
"Hello…R3." Ochako gave a small wave to the droid finding him to be kind of cute.
Izuku and All Might gave little waves of their own to R3 while Camilla and the others chuckled a bit at the gesture.
"As for your second question Ochako," The Jedi ran her hands over her clothes, her belt, and her sabers clipped to her sides. "These robes, they're the clothes of my people."
The trio on the couch took another look up and down Camilla's body looking closer at her robed attire. Ochako had the same impression Izuku and All Might had when they first saw it the day they met her. It looked like a hero costume mixed with the clothes you'd see a monk wear in a temple. The fabric was thick and it looked like something you shouldn't be wearing when it's hot out, like it is right now. Ochako also didn't know what the purpose of those two tube-shaped pieces of metal clipped to her belt was. They looked like a couple of flashlights. Was she some kind of search and rescue trainee?
"Izuku, All Might, Ochako, what I'm about to tell you is…um…oh wow how do I say this? Uh…"
She felt she was ready. She thought she would be able to explain it but she still couldn't form the right sentence to start it off.
"Camilla, you don't have to worry." Izuku assured her from his seat. "Whatever you have to say I'm sure we'll understand."
Ochako silently agreed. As did All Might. Camilla however, she felt very little relaxation come from those words. Again and again she tried to figure out the best way to start this explanation. Just blurt it out? No. They would probably just stand up and leave right then and there. She did this once before so…there it was. That was a good one.
She stepped away from them and raised her hand to the windows of the office. As she swept her arm outwards, the blinds on all the windows dropped and down and closed darkening the room. With little light coming in now, the blind girl looked to her droid once more.
"R3, star chart please."
R3 beeped a bit more and complied with his master's request and backed away on his three wheeled legs. With his body tilting up, the dome headed robot activated the projector on his head and brought up the same star chart Ryukyu recognized from the first time she heard Camilla tell this story. Once Izuku, All Might, and Ochako laid their eyes on the projection before them, they were of course confused by it. It looked like the robot was showing them the map of the galaxy. But it didn't look like theirs. There was far too many planets orbiting around what they assumed was the sun in the center. Mirko and Tsukauchi too were seeing this for the first time. Ryukyu merely relayed what Camilla told her when they heard the story for the first time. So seeing it be told like this from the Jedi herself was bound to be a lot more interesting and gripping.
"It's…beautiful." Ochako was stunned.
The brunette had been fascinated with everything space ever since her quirk was named. The moment this projection appeared she was leaning forward in her seat on the couch to get a better look. She didn't know how R3 was showing it, or why Camilla asked for it to be shown, but she was already hooked.
"That it is." All Might agreed with Ochako. "Young Sharro, what is this you're showing us?"
This was it. No turning back. Stepping into view through the projection of the map, Camilla answered All Might's question.
"All Might, Ochako, Izuku…this is the galaxy I come from."
There were a lot of ways that question could have been answered. The way Camilla went with, that was not one any of the three hearing this for the first time could have ever seen coming. They just looked at the blind girl thinking and hoping they misheard her.
"Um….what?" Izuku looked to his friend hoping for some clarity.
All Might and Ochako had similar expressions on their faces too.
"I'm sorry you must have misspoken." All Might insisted. "It sounded like you just said-"
"I'm very well aware of what I just said, All Might." Camilla sternly declared. "I wasn't born on Earth. I came here from another galaxy."
They heard it. All three of them heard it loud and clear. But none of them could process it in the slightest bit. This teenage girl standing in front of them was claiming that she was an alien. It made absolutely zero sense. Camilla was clearly a human being. How could she even think for a moment that she wasn't born on this planet? All Might was starting to think this poor girl was beyond confused and looked to Tsukauchi thinking he had the same thoughts. However, when he saw his friend's face, that idea went down the drain. Tsukauchi wasn't looking at Camilla with concern. He was instead looking at All Might as if…he knew about this. Desperately he looked to Mirko and Ryukyu hoping they had different reactions but no. They too were calm and collected as they stared back at the trio on the couch. All Might was floored, Ochako's eyes were wider than they had ever been, and Izuku…poor Izuku looked like smoke was about to come out of his ears.
"I know this must sound insane to you. Trust me. We all had trouble coming to terms with this too." Ryukyu gestured to herself, then to Mirko and Tsukauchi. "But we gave Midoriya and All Might the courtesy of letting them finish so please let Camilla do the same."
All Might, Izuku, and Ochako slowly turned their heads back to Camilla who seemed to be looking at them with a pleading look on her face. She was scared. That much they could tell. Seeing the fearful look on her face made them all soften up just a bit. Ryukyu was right. Just a minute ago Izuku was in the same spot Camilla was; scared out of his pants. Whatever his blind friend had to tell them, it couldn't be easy, especially if this was the opening line of it.
"Alright." Izuku took in a breath and let it out. "We can do that. Right?"
All Might and Ochako nodded in response. They could definitely listen and assured Camilla they would do just that. Once she heard their promise, she began once more.
"I've been told that this galaxy has only nine planets in the solar system. With this one, Earth, being the only one with life on it. Well where I come from, there are many more planets and nearly all of them can sustain life in one way or another. For thousands of years, these planets were brought together and governed by what I knew as the Galactic Republic."
That was where the whole explanation started. R3 changed his projection from the galaxy that was Camilla's home to the long toothed sprocket that was the symbol of the republic. Ryukyu knew it quite well. Tsukauchi and Mirko only remembered it from the wing of her fighter. From that point, the young Padawan went on to repeat the story she told Ryukyu and Mirko nearly word for word. She started with how the republic was formed of many planets in her galaxy and made up of so many different species and not just humans. Ochako, Izuku, and All Might were especially surprised to hear that Earth wasn't the only place in the universe where humans existed. As shocking as that was, that was a drop in the ocean compared to everything else that was coming. Camilla then went on to tell them about the order of warriors that were sworn to keep the peace in the galaxy and make sure darkness didn't fall upon it. That's when R3 changed the image he was projecting again to a symbol that the trio definitely recognized this time. Camilla wore it around her neck proudly on display and refused to take it off.
"That's your necklace." Ochako observed.
Camilla reached under the collar of her robes and pulled out the pendant that carried the same symbol. The silver charm on the chain around her neck glimmered only the slightest bit in the light of her droid's hologram projector.
"This symbol represents my kind." Camilla clarified with fondness. "Those people being known throughout the whole galaxy as the Jedi Order. That's what I am. A Jedi. Well a Padawan learner at least. That was the title I held."
The story went on. Camilla explained to the three of them, and in a way Mirko and Tsukauchi too, about how the Jedi grew to be known in the galaxy due to their power and fierceness in combat. They only ever fought with violence if it was ever truly needed. But their knowledge of the Force made them something to be reckoned with.
"The Force?" Izuku was the one who asked this time.
This was…another interesting subject. One Camilla wasn't quite sure how to bring up in the smoothest way.
"I guess now is as good a time as any to say it. All Might, Ochako…I uh...I don't have a quirk like the two of you do. Technically speaking, I'm quirkless like Izuku."
Their facial expressions were something Camilla couldn't see, but the feelings she could sense coming from them gave her the obvious impression that her saying that made all three of their minds just halt in place like a truck just hammered into them. They had all seen her power before. And she just declared to all three of them that she was quirkless. All three of them were quite certain at this point that she had hit her head quite hard.
"Young Sharro, you have a quirk. Your Forceful Mind. Remember?"
Camilla just sighed again and turned her head in All Might's direction.
"No, All Might. Forceful Mind was just a cover. It was made up so I could pass my power off as a quirk with no suspicion about it."
"She's telling the truth, All Might." Tsukauchi confirmed. "I was the one who came up with the name."
So he was in on this. Looking around, he saw Mirko and Ryukyu nod their heads in confirmation. They were in on this too. Ochako and Izuku looked as if their minds were on overload, the latter more than the former. If Camilla really was quirkless, then what the hell did they see her do?
"But…your power? I saw you use it. And your sight. Your emotion sensing. The mind moving." Izuku began to ramble.
"Deku, Deku calm down. I'm sure she can explain." Ochako placed a hand on her friend's shoulder before shooting a nervous look in Camilla's direction. "You can explain, right?"
Camilla nodded, knowing this was going to be hard for the three of them in front of her to understand how this worked but she hoped they would be as open as Ryukyu and Nejire were when she explained it to them.
"The power I use doesn't come from my genes like your Zero Gravity does, Ochako. No. The abilities I possess come from something else entirely. A field of energy that is created by all things living, non living, and dead. You can't see it. But trust me when I tell you it's there. This energy field is what gives me and every other Jedi their power. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together. Over the centuries it has always retained its one name. That name simply being; the Force."
As best she could, Camilla explained to the three how she understood the Force. All of them were on the edge of their seats as they listened. Izuku was especially listening to how a quirkless kid harnessed a power from energy that was apparently everywhere unseen like the air. She said how the Force could be used in many ways depending on the user and how skilled they were with it. All three of the new listeners were as silent as could be as they didn't dare interrupt her talking.
"Can anyone learn this power?" Izuku wondered.
That was a question All Might and Ochako wanted to know too. But it made sense the quirkless boy asked it first. Even though he was in line to inherit One For All he couldn't help but wonder if all this time he could have been learning something different. The soft shaking of Camilla's head put that thought to rest.
"No, Izuku. In order to use the Force, one has to be born sensitive to it like my brother and I were. Only those sensitive people can learn to become Jedi."
Oddly enough, Izuku felt a little relieved after hearing that. Sure a bit disappointed too but relieved that he wasn't missing out on something he could have had for all his life but didn't know about. Still though, he felt Ochako's hand and All Might's too rest on his shoulders as they looked at him with soft smiles.
"Power or not, you can become a hero, young Midoriya." All Might repeated to his protégé.
"Yeah, Deku. You're amazing on your own." Ochako assured the green haired boy.
Camilla silently agreed knowing well at this point the drive Izuku had to go after his dream surpassed any other she had met before on this planet or in the Jedi temple growing up. Power or not, he was going places even if he couldn't see it yet. After Izuku wiped his eyes on the verge of crying again, he looked back up to Camilla and urged her to go on.
After she explained the Force as best she could, even demonstrate more of her ability to lift things telekinetically, she went on to the part of her tale she did not like telling. Not about the Jedi or the Force, but about herself. It was going to have to come eventually. So she started with her brief time on Corellia.
"I don't even remember what my parents look like. When I was two they were killed."
As if knowledge of her being an alien and this impossible power of hers wasn't enough, now there was this to add to the pile. All Might, Izuku, and Ochako couldn't choose whether they should keep sitting, or stand up to give this girl a hug. However, she was just getting started.
She explained the gang fight that killed her mother and father and how her older brother carried her to hide. They were saved by two Jedi knights and brought to the temple upon learning they were both Force sensitive. That's why those two knights were there. Not by chance, but for the two of them specifically. They were brought to the temple and inducted into the Jedi order as younglings. They were taught the ways of the Force but Camilla was given extra lessons on the side because she needed to learn how to see. Through a lot of effort and quite a bit of childish frustration and fits of anger, she was able to do it. The Force granted her something biology decided to deny her. Though it still didn't stop the other younglings in her clan from teasing her every chance they got. Saying she would never be able to become a Jedi without the full use of her eyes. Always telling her to give up and things like that, even some of the masters wrote her off thinking of her as just a novelty a couple of the higher ups in the order took pity on. But the few who believed in her, including her brother and the man who would one day become her master, always threw those thoughts aside, truly believing that Camilla belonged there just as much as any other Force sensitive child.
Suddenly Izuku felt a much stronger connection to Camilla as she went into detail about her upbringing. He was aware that she had gone through something like he did because of her eyes. His quirklessness was the subject of ridicule for years. Granted though it may have been a bit harsher than what Camilla went through. At least she was able to prove herself by honing her power. Ochako and All Might also felt a sense of admiration for the blind girl's tenacity.
Camilla went on a bit more about her training but then she stopped when Ochako interrupted her again regarding a certain part of it.
"Wait. Those things on your belt, you made them?"
All Might too was interested in this as he looked to the two round metal pieces. Camilla fished for the saber hilt clipped to her right side and took it into her hand. She traced her fingers over it for a moment before her thumb hovered over the activation button and pressed it.
*PSSSSHHHHHEEEWWW!*
Ochako nearly jumped out of her seat when the green blade of Camilla's sword came erupting out of the top. All Might threw himself back into his seat in the couch out of surprise and Izuku just sat there looking at the thing again with awe having already seeing it. He never got tired of looking at it.
"What is that thing?" All Might asked almost dying to know.
"This is my lightsaber. This is the weapon all Jedi carry with them. This one belongs to me."
Her other hand went to her belt and claimed the second saber to turn it on.
*PSSSSHHHHHEEEWWW!*
Again Ochako jumped not expecting the loud sound again but stared at the two blades of green and blue unable to look away from them.
"And this one was my master's." She held up the blue blade. "The Jedi used these sabers combined with their knowledge of the Force to become formidable opponents in battle."
*Ssshhhhhhhhp!*
*Ssshhhhhhhhp!*
As the young Jedi returned the swords to her belt, Ochako just kept staring at the two things hanging from her friend's sides.
"So…you're some sort of…mystical powered swordswoman?" she asked.
"If you want to put it like that, then yes." Camilla replied.
It really did describe her. No one in the room could deny it. Even R3 couldn't deny it. He even voiced it out loud.
"Yeah I know she's right." Camilla replied to her droid.
From there Camilla went on. At the urging of her droid she told them about how R3 and she came to be together when she was very young to help her around until she could get a hold on her Force vision. Even when she had it down he was already assigned to her so R3 officially belongs to Camilla. That was a small tidbit but R3 was just happy to be included.
Then she had to get to another part she didn't like talking about. A little three letter word that started with the letter "w". Hearing it made the moods of the three new listeners and even those who already heard this before take a hard drop down.
"Did you say…war?" All Might was hoping against hope he heard it wrong.
Camilla only nodded and the number one hero just looked to everyone else hoping that one of them would deny it.
None of them did.
They just all said the same thing or looked at him the same way. All Might, Izuku, and Ochako now looked at her with so many different thoughts now. Then Camilla again went on with her story. She explained how a year after she was chosen by her Master Larek Morlev to be his Padawan apprentice, The Clone Wars broke out all throughout the galaxy between the separatists and the republic. When she was twelve, she was taken into battle for the first time and was given new training via experience in battle. She and her master fought hard across many planets and battlefields. The trio on the couch before the Jedi didn't want to hear about what she could have possibly done but the next thing she said confirmed it.
She had killed before.
Suddenly it felt like for a brief moment, time stood still. Fourteen. She was only fourteen. The exact age Izuku and Ochako both were and she had already seen combat in a warzone. To top it all off she had taken lives. All Might knew that being a pro hero included with it the chance that you would have to take a life in order to save another or your own. But that was not something anyone the kids' age should ever have to worry about until they are well out of school and out on the streets as pros themselves. His status as a U.A. teacher for next year was still a secret. He was looking forward to being a teacher for future heroes but…how was he supposed to teach this girl if she got into the hero course?
Ochako and Izuku weren't sure what to think. They were sure the story wasn't over but at this point, there probably wasn't anything else she could say that would weigh heavier than that. At least right now, that's what it felt like. This was…so much. They never even considered the possibility that one day they would have to take a life when they were heroes. They certainly were now.
Sensing their discomfort and extreme shock, Ryukyu urged the young Padawan to finish her tale. And she did. There wasn't much left to say but it didn't make it any less painful remembering that terrible day. The day when her clone troops turned on her, killed her master, and almost took her out too.
"So…what did you do?" Izuku was able to squeak out.
"I hopped into my fighter with R3 and started to run. But before I entered hyperspace a laser blast hit us and knocked us off course. Next thing I know, I'm crash landing here, and who should find me but those two?"
She gestured over to Ryukyu and Mirko. The two pros waved a bit as if to say, "Yeah. We were there." Her story was over. Finally. All the blind Padawan could do now was stand there and wait for one of them to say something. It was nerve wracking. She just laid the truth about herself bare for everyone she trusted to see and hoped and against hope it wouldn't be too much for them. Though as she got a small read on their current feelings, her fear that maybe she broke them had grown.
All three of them glanced between each other for a few moments before their turned their eyesight back to the girl who had no eyesight. They were trying so hard to process everything that had been dumped at their feet by this girl and they had no idea where to start. Her power? Her swords? The fact that she's an alien? What were they even supposed to do with this?
"No."
Suddenly everyone in the room looked to All Might as he finally talked again.
"All Might?" Tsukauchi grew concerned.
The number one pro just shook his head and crossed his arms.
"I'm sorry. But…this seems like…so much. Too much even. I just…I simply can't believe it. This can't be real. I…I….I….life beyond the stars? Power from a mystical energy field created by everything? Intergalactic war? I just can't. I'm sorry. Truly I am but I just…can't believe this is true."
A new fear suddenly crept its way into Camilla that she hadn't anticipated before. They didn't believe here and thought she was crazy.
As Izuku and Ochako heard All Might say all that suddenly they were starting to have the same feelings about this whole thing. What if Camilla was just making it up? They didn't by any means want to believe their friend was crazy but…everything about her right now screamed crazy. Right down to the robes she wore on her body.
"Do you have any other proof?" Ochako asked.
Camilla sighed and rubbed at her temple while R3 wheeled himself over and started to let loose a very loud and very angry sounding series of chirps and beeps directed to all three of them still seated on the couch. Ochako leaned back a bit nervous of what the droid could possibly be saying. The ruby haired girl he belonged to rushed over and started to pull him away.
"Hey hey hey! Don't you dare say things like that to them!"
Now none of them definitely didn't want to know what the droid just beeped at them. But he still kept going in protest of his master's protection of the ones who thought she was insane.
"R3, please. Just calm down. They didn't mean anything by it." She assured him.
Though inside, she didn't really feel confident about that herself.
"We have more proof, you morons."
Suddenly Mirko found herself to be the center of attention as she stood up and stretched her back.
"We just need to take a quick walk to a warehouse nearby."
Ryukyu, Tsukauchi, and Camilla all recalled there that Mirko was right. They did have one more thing they could show them that would hopefully put their doubts to bed. Eager to put this to an end themselves, everyone in the office stood up and started to make their way to the elevator. It was just big enough for all seven of them to fit in. R3 wanted to come too but the Jedi he belonged to told him to stay put. She wanted to handle this herself. R3 didn't like it and protested but the door closed on him before he could finish bleeping.
When they were all out of the building, Izuku, Ochako, and All Might all followed the others as they headed to an unfamiliar warehouse facility. Upon entry into the lobby, they were all greeted by Haru, the owner of the place and he welcomed them all graciously.
"Stay out here this time, Haru." Mirko demanded. "We gotta have a talk with these three."
She gestured over to All Might, Izuku, and Ochako as they looked around the lobby wondering what it was they were here to see and how it would help with their whole thought process.
"Ummm….yeah. Sure thing." Haru complied.
Nodding, the rabbit hero opened the door that led to what she wanted to show them and walked through it. Ryukyu followed, then Tsukauchi, and finally Camilla before turning back and beckoning the other three to follow her. Skeptically, they did so. Ochako came in first, followed by Izuku, and then All Might was last. When they were all in, the young Jedi used the Force to close the door.
"Now what is here that you want to…to…to…..show…..us?"
The number one hero of the world could barely finish his sentence as his eyes looked forward and saw what he assumed what he and the two other kids were brought her to see. Izuku and Ochako were frozen in place as well stunned as they saw in the middle of the warehouse floor, was a busted up one person aircraft with another ring shaped piece lying next to it in similar color and style. Ochako was looking the craft up and down, side to side, starting to feel her doubts about Camilla slip away as she tried and failed to recognize if she had seen this type of plane anywhere. She hadn't.
Izuku however was flashing back to that night he read that article about Ryukyu diverting a crashing aircraft to the beach. Mirko was there, only one person was hurt, and no images of what hit the beach were ever shown. The scrawny green haired boy whipped his head repeatedly back and forth between the Jedi, and the craft which he could now only assume was indeed her spaceship.
All Might's jaw was hanging so low even if it hit the ground he wouldn't feel it.
"What….I don't…"
"We had it looked at by every expert we could bring in, All Might. The night she crashed here." Tsukauchi clarified. "Every single one of them analyzed the different metals on the hull of the ship to find out exactly what it was made of. Every test came back with the same result. That ship is made up of materials that don't exist anywhere on Earth. I can even bring you the tests themselves if you want to see for yourself. I wanted to deny it just like you did when I first heard about it but this whole thing, but it's true. Every single word of it."
No materials that exist on Earth. That was it. That was all they needed to hear to finally realize that this was really happening. All at once, the three of them locked their eyesight onto the ruby haired girl and looked at her as she truly was now. She was blind, she was quirkless, she was an alien warrioress with a power that made One For All look like small potatoes in comparison.
"It's true…." Ochako murmured. "You're….you're an alien…from space."
Camilla sighed and nodded to the three of them. But it was to Ochako and Izuku she spoke to next. After all she was much closer to them then she was to All Might.
"I'm so sorry I kept this from the two of you. Please believe me when I say I wanted to tell you the moment we became friends. I just…I couldn't. I'm ashamed to admit…I was scared of your reactions."
She could still feel the emotions pouring out of them like busted fire hydrants. The confusion, the shock, for once Camilla was thankful she couldn't make out their facial features. She wasn't sure she wanted to know how Izuku and Ochako were looking at her right now. Once again, so many emotions were twisting in their minds at once she couldn't sort through them. With that, she started to wonder if this is how Izuku felt after he had gotten done spilling his secrets out for them all to hear. It also left her with similar thoughts about it all.
"I told you back there that I wasn't going to leave you as a friend because of One For All…but if you want to leave me because of this, I get it."
Hearing that finally brought about a different reaction to Izuku and Ochako other than just shocked speechlessness.
"I lied to you. I kept…so much from you for so long and I…I….I would completely understand if you wanted to distance yourselves from me. After everything I just put you through in a matter of minutes, I doubt anyone would fault you."
Mirko was about ready to step in and say she would definitely fault them for deciding to dump her as a friend over this. Ryukyu grabbed her by the shoulder and shook her head, telling her to stay put. The kids needed to sort this out themselves and they shouldn't get involved.
All Might took a bit of a step back as Camilla's words rang through his ears too. He may not have been able to sense emotions, but the pain on her face right now was obvious. She had to have been scared out of her mind from the moment she started telling her story to them. And she was even more afraid that the outcome she said she wouldn't blame them for was about to come true. The number one pro couldn't help but feel ashamed of himself for essentially calling Camilla a liar back at Ryukyu's building. This girl was anything but. She had been through a lot more than any kid her age should ever have to go through. He didn't care if she was an apprentice to a master. No true master would ever bring their student into a fully fledged war and teach them to kill. Even his old master, Nana Shimura, would never teach such an act to him. Of that he was sure of. Still though, if Camilla was going to be a student at U.A., then teaching her was going to be a challenge.
Space had always been a fascination of Ochako's since she got her quirk. She had always wondered what it would be like to travel among the stars in a ship and see new worlds and all sorts of new species that could exist out there. Now here stood Camilla, the first alien to ever land on Earth, and she was a human being. She wanted to just dump a whole slew of questions about space travel into the Jedi's lap but hearing her express her fear about the only two friends she has leaving her made her choke up. She in no way at all meant to make Camilla feel like she was going to lose her friends over this. Shamefully, Ochako did recall the thought passing through her head once or twice back at the office when she was in doubt about it all. Now that it was confirmed to be true, her shocked look fell away replaced with a sad frown. She wanted to step forward and give the blind girl a hug to let her know it was all going to be OK.
Izuku was the one who took the first step, then another, and then one more until he was right in front of the girl from another galaxy.
"Defects stick together, right?"
Her own words the first night she had dinner at his house. Camilla remembered them well. When she heard them spoken back to her in the way Izuku had just said, her fear felt like it was starting to evaporate like a puddle of water on Tatooine.
The moment the green haired boy heard Camilla express her worries in nearly the same fashion he himself did no more than an hour earlier at the Dragon's Lair building, he thought about what a real hero would do in this situation. Would they just turn and leave the girl alone in her misery? Especially after losing her home, her master, her brother, and her entire clan of Jedi? No way. That wouldn't be very heroic of him and all. It's definitely not what someone being taught by All Might himself would do. As he looked into the lifeless eyes of the first real friend in a long time, Izuku realized that maybe she needed him to be her friend as much as he needed her to be his.
With a warm smile, he raised his arm and held out an open hand.
"Hi. I'm Izuku Midoriya. All Might's successor to One For All, and future hero. It's nice to meet you."
All Might couldn't help but feel his heart swell with pride at the action young Midoriya was taking. Mirko, Tsukauchi, and Ryukyu started feeling a lot better about this the moment they saw the scrawny teen reach out his hand and offer it to Camilla. Eagerly, their attention all went back to the redheaded girl awaiting her response.
Now it was Camilla's turn to be shocked. Izuku was handling this far better than she was expecting him to. Was the Force really so kind as to lead her to someone who was this accepting of her right off the bat? Was that why her vision showed him and that hot and cold person with solid form first? Either way, she couldn't stop a smile from creeping onto her face. Slowly, she clasped her hand to his.
"Camilla Sharro. Jedi Padawan far from home and future hero. It's good to meet you too."
Izuku smiled back and shook her hand while Ochako walked over and put her own on top of theirs.
"Ochako Uraraka. Future hero. I have no world shattering secrets like this in my closet but I still like the both of you. And whatever secrets you may have are safe with me. I promise."
That was it. The smile growing on Camilla's face went so wide a bit of her teeth were showing through. She pulled on Izuku's hand and brought her arms around his back hugging him as tight as her muscles would allow with Ochako following suit.
"Thank you. Both of you."
Izuku was quick to put his own arms around the two girls while the onlookers all smiled at the scene. Mirko was rolling her eyes a few times but this was definitely a good turnout for this day. Hoping he wasn't interrupting, All Might stepped towards the three hugging kids with a soft smile of his own.
"Young Sharro."
Camilla poked her head up from Izuku's shoulder to look at the scrawny form of the symbol of peace.
"You said you would keep the secret of One For All to yourself. In turn I will keep your secrets as well. Besides, it's gonna be quite the sight to see a Jedi get into U.A. High."
Camilla's smile just kept getting bigger to the point where she could feel her cheeks start to hurt.
"Thank you, All Might. Just….thank you all so much."
"Sssssooooo…" Ochako pulled away from the hug just a bit. "Can I ask you about space now?"
The Jedi just chuckled. Of course that was going to be what Ochako wanted to know. And she was more than willing to answer anything they wanted to know now.
"Hold on a sec."
Before she could however, Mirko stepped forward with a question of her own.
"I'm glad your friends are taking this so well, Martian Girl. Really I am. But if you don't mind I have a question for them first."
Izuku and Ochako glanced at each other wondering what the rabbit hero could possibly want? They had already promised to keep Camilla's secrets and they were still her friend.
Mirko however had a thought in her head now that they were going to remain her friends. Something very specific about Camilla's training that required the assistance of another person. Or in this case, two people. With a smirk, she asked her question.
"Have the two of you ever wanted to learn how to sword fight?"
A/N
And that's it! Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all! Wow I have been waiting to write this one for awhile now! Finally I got through it! From here on out things are only going to get a lot more interesting! Thanks to all of you who are still riding along with this story! See ya next time!