Ch. 14

.o0o.

Princess was well, which was good. A bit moody and jumpy, but nothing new. The vet said that the kittens could come anywhere from now and the end of the month, depending on how things went. He said not to worry though. Cats are smart enough to take care of themselves.

Which I could agree with. Cats are superior. They can be completely alone during labor and they would be fine.

They can't count worth crap though, which is how we got Sleepy, but they are superior.

That was kind of a funny story, actually.

He was found at a mechanic shop, the day after a rainstorm. When the employees shook the water out of the piles of tires stacked outside, Sleepy and his siblings were found at the bottom of one of the piles. They dried off the kittens and let the mother (that lived there as well) come and pick them up, but she left Sleepy behind.

Dad and I were at that tire shop and someone came out with a black kitten, around three months old only, and it was going to go to the local shelter, but Dad volunteered to take it home. And that's how we got Sleepy. That explains how strange he is, I guess.

Princess was from one of my dad's first cat's litter that he kept. He says she looks just like her mom, so that's why she kept her.

Ironically, I am fairly certain that's why my mom kept me. I look just like my dad.

Hah.

Anyway, before I left, I grabbed my sports bra and some clothes I could move in easily. I figured that Dad wanted to test me today. I wanted to do my best.

I was making my way back to the classroom when I saw a very familiar figure standing in the hallway.

He was standing against the wall in the hallway, outside of the principal's office. His long, lanky form, tired face, and purple hair were an instant giveaway.

"Shinsou-San?"

He glared in my direction before his eyes squinted in recognition.

"You…" he started, "Do I know you?"

"I mean...technically, yes…" I said cautiously. "We were neighbors a few years back."

He eyeballed me, for a moment, trying to figure out who I was. I activated my quirk, just ever so slightly reading his mind. His mind was noisier, busier. There was more hurt and bitterness in his thoughts than there was the last time I saw him. He was more tired.

A lightbulb seemed to come up in his head and his eyes widened. "You're the...the Aizawa girl, right?"

"Yeah," I said, "You saved my life."

"Huh. How uh...how are things?"

This was awkward. "Uh...good."

He nodded. "You work here or something?"

I shook my head. "No. My dad does, and he keeps me close. I just...hang around."

"Oh."

There was a semi-comfortable silence before I asked what was pressing on my mind.

"So, what class are you in? I assume you go to school here," I said, referring to his uniform.

"Class 1-D."

"Class D…" I contemplated. "You mean the first-year general studies course?"

"That's it."

I stared at him. He was telling the truth.

I was appalled. I kind of zoned out in my disbelief. He started looking at me weirdly.

"Are…" he said, and it snapped me out of my trance. "Are you okay?"

"Why the hell aren't you in the hero course?" I demanded, somewhat rudely.

He blinked. "What?"

"You heard me."

"I didn't pass the practical entrance exams," he confessed, crossing his arms and shifting his weight.

The practical exams. The one where you had to kill a certain amount of robots to get points, or save people from robots to get points. If you have a certain amount of points, then you get in, given you pass the written exam as well. You pass both, you're in.

With that being the case, it was only if you had a physical quirk or a physical manifestation of one and be smart to get in.

I shook my head with a heavy sigh. "That's...that sucks."

"Hm."

"What's your quirk?" I asked.

He eyeballed me again before sighing. "You ask a lot of questions don't you?"

I merely shrugged, saying nothing.

He deadpanned at me.

"My quirk is mind control," he said stiffly. "I was trying to demonstrate it on you."

"Oh. Well, how?"

He sighed. "I might as well just tell you."

I shrugged. He was right. "I'd've found out somehow anyway."

"Hmph. It activates when I ask someone something and they respond. I have to want to activate my quirk before I ask the question, and bet they will respond at all in order to control them. It's kind of hard to do that with a robot."

I nodded. "No kidding. The system is botched."

He nodded silently, agreeing with me.

"Well," I said, "I'm sorry you didn't get in...I have to head out, but I hope to see you around, Shinsou-San."

I began to walk away with a polite bow.

He looked at me, kind of confused. "Sure. See ya, Squirt."

I froze.

Squirt.

Did...he just called me squirt, didn't he?

I turned around slowly. "Squirt?"

He shrugged. "Want me to call you something else?"

My name would do fine, thanks???

For the first time in a while, I was genuinely amused. I cracked a smile and huffed out a small chuckle. I shook my head. "You're funny."

With that, I walked off.

.o0o.

The rest of class time was kind of boring and Dad wasn't even there. It was Mic, then Midnight, then Ectoplasm teaching and talking about the internships for these students coming up. They didn't acknowledge my existence, which was fine for the most part, except Mic just kept making fun of me.

He meant no harm and I wasn't offended or anything, but it did get slightly annoying.

School ended and I waited for the students to file out before I left, excepting the and most of them ignored me.

I was just about to leave the classroom and head back to the weights room--where my dad told me to meet him--when I heard a gruff voice.

"Oi."

I ignored it at first, thinking it was for someone else, then I realized I was the only other person in the room.

So slowly, I turned around.

I saw the angry jock glaring at me. Actually, he was more 'eyeballing me suspiciously,' but it looked enough like a glare that it wasn't a lie.

"Hm?" I said.

He sauntered up to me, looming over me in a threatening way, but I wasn't intimidated in the slightest. I've seen scarier people in the past.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are acting like you're smarter than me," he growled, "...Walking in like you own the place, but just know that you're nothing to me. You're just a stepping stone."

I looked up at him, confused. I then proceeded to look him up and down, and I let out a huff of amusement.

"I don't recall ever asking for your opinion," I commented.

That set him off.

"Listen here, pipsqueak," he snarled, "You're never gonna beat me. You're never gonna be the top. Why? Because that's going to be me. And I won't let you get in my way. You'll regret it if you do."

"Hm.." I mused, "Threatening a twelve-year-old...That's quite the move for someone enrolled in the Hero Course, wouldn't you think?"

I had more things to say, but I was heading somewhere. If there was more time, then I would have said more.

Since I thought we were done, so I turned around to leave. I took one step and he yelled again.

"Oi! Don't turn your back on me, Pipsqueak!"

I sighed, not even turning my head to look at him. I was called short twice in a single hour.

"Whoever you think you are, Bakugo Katsuki," I grit out stubbornly, "I don't think you realize what kind of person I am. Keep your superiority complex, and your nose, out of my way and out of my business."

I could literally feel him fuming as I walked down to the weights room.

There was a group from the classroom gathered outside. I think that they heard Bakugo-San's and my conversation, because they were looking at me with shocked looks and some of them were laughing. I knew it wasn't at me, and even if it was, they were weird anyway, so I didn't really care.

"Oh-hohoho!" Kaminari-San exclaimed, "Looks like she's a spitfire!"

"She's brave too!" Kirishima-San said, "Showing up to Bakugo like that?! That takes guts!"

I blinked. "How hard can it be? Telling someone what you think, I mean."

They kinda stopped laughing and thought about what I said. It came with more weight than the average everyday conversation starter, and it seemed to quiet them all down. But I meant it that way.

I nodded to the group respectfully and said politely, "Have a good day, everyone."

"You too, Samiko."

"Have a great day, Aizawa-Chan!"

I gave them a small smile and walked off.

"Oh my gosh, she smiles! She's so cute!"

That was the pink one.

.o0o.

A/N: Another filler, I know. Things will start getting good within the next few chapters, don't worry. I also needed some more backstory for the sake of it and the interaction Samiko has with Bakugo and Shinsou...It will be important in later chapters!

Have a great day, and thank you all for reading!!

Stay Strong! ᕙ(＠＠)ᕗ