Chapter 2. Hey Dad
Sofia stood in shock, and judging by the girl who was now no longer vomiting also looking at the green haired boy, who lay on the ground with his legs broken and arm not only broken but also bleeding quite a bit, with confusion. She took the correct guess that they were thinking the same thing.
'He got zero points!?' Sofia's mind was going a mile a minute, she couldn't understand, 'With that kind of power he should've been miles ahead of all of us. Was that attack all his strength? It would make sense why his bones are broken. Why did he go for the 0 pointer when he had no points himself? He knows he forfeited his chance by doing that.' Sofia looked back at the destroyed 0 pointer, and then back to the girl he had saved from it.
Two theories came to her mind, 'well there's always the chance that he believed destroying the behemoth would give him some sort of extra points. But Present Mic only described them as an obstacle and seeing his reaction to how he hadn't gotten any points, It almost sounded like he wasn't planning on fighting that thing.'
Her dark blue eyes drifted over the broken boy and the exhausted girl. Her second theory she had more confidence in, 'Was he really just trying to save this girl?' Looking at his broken body again, the empathy within her welled up, causing a small tear to almost drop from her face, 'that... that's so admirable. If anyone deserves to be a Hero here, it's this guy.'
Sofia quickly pulled herself away from her mind and looked to see a small, yet old, woman with a cane that resembled a needle in her hand going around the testing site. It seemed she was healing other students up by kissing them. Sofia, seeing this teachers healing prowess, ran up to her instantly. Even though she was in the middle of healing another student.
"Excuse me ma'am. I'm sorry for interrupting. It's just that there are two students over there that are hurt pretty badly. Could you please take a look at them?" The old woman looked at Sofia curiously, but smiled nonetheless and planted a small kiss on the top of her forehead.
"Of course dear. Lead the way." Sofia smiled and tried to quickly make it over to the two hurt students, but found that though her mind wanted to run to them, her body felt exhausted. So she instead walked. Making it over to the two, she went over to the conscious, yet tired, girl.
"I brought someone to help you guys. You'll be better in no time at all!" Sofia's enthusiasm would've been appreciated, but the girl was extremely out of it and could only nod. The nurse planted a kiss onto the girls forehead and she instantly passed out, "Wah!? Oh no! Hey, wake up! What happened!?" She cried out to the nurse.
"Don't worry sweetheart. It's just my Quirk. I can heal, however it leaves the patient exhausted and since these two were already out of it, well..." She kissed the boy on the head and his bones began to heal and return to their proper place, "they'll both probably be unconscious for a while."
Sofia heaved a sigh of relief knowing they were going to be okay. She then turned her attention to the nurse, "Is there anything I can do to help? Like, do they need to go to some kind of nurses office to treat their wounds more?" The nurse looked at her with a smile but shook her head.
"They'll be perfectly fine here. I suspect that they'll wake up in a matter of minutes, this one definitely before the other." She said, lightly tapping the girl with her cane, "But, could you please get this girl off the rubble? It's not the best thing to rest on." She quickly nodded and took the girl's arm over her shoulder as she helped the unconscious girl onto the ground. Laying her next to the boy, she turned to the nurse and bowed.
"Thank you for helping them." Sofia then realized something her father would berate her for, "I'm sorry ma'am I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Sofia, it's nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand and was met with the small nurses in return.
"It's nice to meet you Sofia. I'm Recovery Girl, the schools nurse." She released her hand and then handed Sofia a gummy bear, "Congratulations on finishing your exam. And thank you for bringing these two to my attention. Now I need to treat other students." She began going around and checking on the other participants. All Sofia could do was smile.
She found herself outside of the UA campus. Staring up at the now clear blue sky with her own blue eyes. She was slowly walking to the station. She had wanted to stay with the two students who had saved each other to make sure they were both okay, but Recovery Girl and the other proctors told her they'd be fine and almost ordered her to leave.
She sighed but grabbed her phone from her back pocket. She had forgotten to check it this morning in her excitement and found a message from her father.
Dad: Hey sweetheart! Good luck on your entrance exam today. I know you're gonna wash the competition away!Call me once you finish up, ok?
Sofia chuckled at her fathers joke. Unfunny and corny, just how he, and she but she'd never tell him, liked it. She knew her father was a busy man. But he still always made sure to check up on her and give her little pieces of encouragement on important days. She clicked on his name and hit the call button as she made her way onto her train.
"Hey dad."
The phone rang for about three clicks before he picked up, "hey sweetie! How'd your exam go?" She smiled as she heard what she could only assume were papers flying across the room and the click of his assistant's shoes trying to catch all of them.
"It went mostly well. I think I lagged behind a bit on points, but I was able to save a few people! It felt great helping other students!" She looked out the window and thought about not only the two students who took on the 0 pointer, but also the girl with the headphone jacks.
"That's awesome honey. And don't worry about if you didn't make the cut for the Hero exam though. I'm sure you passed the written exam with flying colors so you can always make it into the business division like I did. And who knows, maybe you'll find another way into the hero program through that course. It's been done before."
She just nodded, "I know. I just hope I make the cut the first time around." Her tone was one of disappointment. She looked to the floor. As the words came out of her mouth, she realized what her father would say. And she knew it was serious when he told his assistants to quiet down.
"Honey? What's the our moto?" Sofia's eyes looked downtrodden but with a bit more hope glazed upon them.
"Keep moving forward." She said it instantly, being permanently imbedded into her since she was young. A small smile imprinting itself on her face, remembering the old movie her father and herself had found the saying from.
"Exactly. So no matter what the outcome is, we will always keep moving forward towards our dreams..."
"...Even if we don't have the guidance to do so." She finished his sentence for him and lost that self doubt plaguing her mind at the moment. She wouldn't give up. Not with him in her corner.
"That's the spirit." She smiled, knowing he was most likely pumping his fist into the air, "Really? Can't it wait? I'm trying to talk to Sofi here... Alright alright I'll get my stuff ready and head over there." Sofia chuckled as he fought with his assistants, "Sorry Sofi, looks like I have a meeting I need to prepare for. I'll call you later tonight and you can tell me all about the exam."
"No problem dad. Good luck with your meeting. I'll send you a quick text once I make it back to my apartment."
As they exchanged "goodbyes" and both saying "I love you," Sofia stepped off her train into the Shizuoka district and made her way closer to her apartment. She didn't really need to take the train, but she always loved how it felt. It reminded her of the times her and her father would go on vacation and take monorails to the theme parks. He was always so busy back then but he still made time to be with her.
Sofia was very grateful to her father. Though not by blood, her father cared for her more than anyone and always made sure to be there for her. Even when her Quirk manifested and he had no clue how to help, he was still there. And for her, that was enough.
He was the reason she wanted to be a Heroine after all. He had done his very best to help her understand her powers and she appreciated all the effort he put in for her, even though a lot of his teachings weren't ideal. She of course couldn't and didn't blame him for that. Their Quirks were nothing alike. But she wanted to show him his efforts weren't for nothing. And that she could be the kind of guide he had wanted to be for her.
She missed him greatly. She had lived in America all her life with him. But when she told him she wanted to be a Heroine, he was so excited he said she should study abroad at his alma-matter. She was a bit uncomfortable with the idea at first, but he reassured her he'd always be a call away and he'd provide all the necessities for her living in Japan while studying to become a Heroine.
She turned the key to enter her apartment. She had insisted that she didn't need a huge place to live. She honestly wouldn't know what to do with all of it. They were extremely well off with how her father made his money, however she always was more of a minimalist. The apartment had one bedroom and bathroom, a small living room and a kitchen. She loved the place. It reminded her of the old, and small, log cabin in the woods her father owned that they would go to every summer for about a week.
Sending her father a quick text letting him know she made it back, she looked around her new home. Not much adorned the walls of her apartment. In fact it was mostly barren, aside from a singular poster above the oven. It was an All Might poster with said man in a kitchen apron that read, 'I AM HERE TO COOK A DELICIOUS MEAL!!!' Sofia didn't know why, but the sight of All Might in that apron always made her smile. Maybe because seeing the symbol of peace in such a mundane situation was something weird.
The rest of the apartment was pretty dull as well, the way she liked it. The kitchen table having the only piece of color, aside from the poster, with a singular rose in a vase that absolutely needed more flowers. However she kind of liked that it was the only flower in the room. Her father had gotten it for her as a farewell present. She thought of the day they said goodbye.
Sofia entered the apartment and quickly took a look around. She ran around the small space, checking every nook and cranny. The smile that adorned her face as she went around made her father smile just as bright.
The tall man, around six feet tall, that was her dad had a briefcase in his right hand with Sofia's suitcase in his left. He wore a nice black suit with a dark blue tie that was loose around his neck. His wrists freed from the confines of his dress shirt, finally not having to look so formal. His dress shoes clicking against the hardwood floor as he approached his ever excited daughter. His bright red hair only comparable to his red eyes that were filled with pride, but also a tinge of sadness. Behind him was one of his assistants who had her hair in a bun and wore a suit much like her bosses.
"I hope this is good Sofia. I know you said small but if you want we can go look around for somewhere else." He already knew her answer to his inquiry, but still asked.
"No way! This place is great! It's exactly what I wanted!" She flung herself onto the black couch in front of the medium sized TV that had one of her game systems already plugged in. Her father had gotten some of her stuff already transported over to make the trip easier on both of them.
"You may think so, but I think this place needs a bit more color." He chuckled and his assistant handed him the rose from inside her suit. It had surprisingly remained fine from being inside the assistant's suit, attesting to the woman's ability to carefully hold the flower, "I know you like things to not take up much space. But I hope you don't mind one flower. Just think of it as a going away present."
He handed his daughter the rose and she took it with both hands. She looked at the flower and gently put it into the vase on the kitchen table. She looked down at her feet. Not letting her eyes be seen by either of the adults in the room. Nothing was said until Mr. Striker heard a tear drop from his daughters cheek and onto the hardwood floor. And with that the dam broke and she began to sob.
"I-I don't want t-to leave you dad." She stuttered through her words as she closed the distance between the two and hugged him tight, her head barely reaching his chest. Her tears staining his tie and dress shirt. She knew she was ruining his outfit, but at the moment she didn't care. She wanted to be selfish. Her father simply stroked her hair and returned her embrace.
"I know Sofi. I want to stay with you too. But we both need to keep moving forward right? To achieve our dreams. And this place," he gestured to the apartment and to the world outside it, "is the best place for you to learn how to become the Heroine you wish to be." He felt her nod against his chest and he chuckled at his daughters antics. He looked to his assistant and with pleading eyes he tried to convey asking for privacy. The woman nodded and left the apartment to stand outside the door, "Come on sweetie, bring those tears back. You're becoming a bit translucent." He had let her go as her body had lost enough water to, not lose its form, but to become see through. She nodded and pulled the tears back to her body. She solidified and sniffled, making sure not to let anymore tears spill out. She finally looked up from the ground.
"Do you think I can become a Hero dad?" She looked towards the Hero in her life with questioning, and red puffy, eyes. He only smiled and kissed her forehead, wiping away the small tear in her eye at the same time.
"Of course you can. You'll become that guiding light you want to become. You're already a Hero to me after all."
After lightly watering the prized rose with her Quirk and stopping herself from crying again at the memory, she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and chugged it before heading to her room. Crashing on her bed, forgetting to even change out of her sweaty clothes or even get under her dark blue and stitched together comforter, she grabbed the one object on her bedside table. A small black box with a crank on the bottom.
She looked at the music box with tired eyes. Remembering the song it played. A song from an old video game her father had loved growing up. She had found the game in her fathers storage unit one day and played through it. She was in love with the song from the game and for her 15th birthday, her father found this old relic from when the game was originally released.
Cranking the knob on the bottom, she opened the box and let the song fill the room. "Return To The Sky." And as the song slowly began to echo in her mind, her brain shut off and Sofia took a much needed nap after her eventful day, dreaming of seeing her father again. But this time, without those tears in her eyes. And instead, as a Heroine in training.