Chapter 5: Simple Formalities
The car rolled to a stop in front of the hospital, the driver getting out to open the rear door for his passengers. First Principal Nezu stepped out, waddling up onto the sidewalk, soon to be followed by a flannel clad CJ Slade. Carter takes a second to take in his surroundings. He was still not used to being outside of a jail cell without a police escort.
"This is a hospital?", asks CJ.
He looked up at the cement building, its size intimidating to the Texan boy. Then again, he hadn't had the need to go to a hospital before, as the prisons he had previously resided in had their own medical wing.
"Come now, we mustn't dilly dally", stated the mouse eared man as he walked up the hospital's front steps.
The two walked up to the front desk to find out where the two students from the entrance exam were being held. Then the two proceeded to walk down twists and turns of hallways and elevators before reaching the first room.
"This is our first stop, Kyoka Jiro. She's the girl you pulled from the rubble. The nurse did say she had a concussion so she may be somewhat out of it", said Principal Nezu.
The mouse man was the first to enter the room. After giving a quiet knock, he entered slowly, telling CJ to wait out in the hall for a moment.
"Miss Jiro, I am Principal Nezu from U.A. High. I understand you are recovering well. My reason for the visit today is I was wondering if you would like to meet the young man who pulled you from the rubble."
A quiet voice was then heard from inside the room, followed by Principal Nezu motioning CJ into the room.
"Carter Slade, this is Kyoka Jiro. I'm glad the two of you are able to make each others acquaintance".
Carter, not being keen on social interaction, tips the front brim of his hat towards the girl. He wasn't quite sure what to say or do in this situation. Not only was this the first time he met someone who wasn't a prisoner, it was also the first time he had been around someone his own age, let alone a girl. He fixed his gaze on the bandages wrapped around the girl's head, deciding to start there.
"Head okay?", he asked.
The girl ran her fingers over the bandages. She didn't remember much as she had been knocked out when the building came down.
"Yeah, my memory is a blur though. One minute I'm on top of a robot, then I was thrown into the air. Next thing I remember I woke up here. I heard there was someone else buried with me, right?"
Principal Nezu nodded.
"Yes, the young man who went under with you is actually just a few rooms down. His name is Eijiro Kirishima. Come to think of it, all three of you are going to be in the same class together."
The bedridden girl sat up quickly.
"You mean I passed?!", she exclaimed.
"All three of you did, and with exceptional performances might I add."
A wide grin spread across the young lady's face. A sense of pride washing over her followed by a feeling of great accomplishment. Though for CJ, a sense of curiosity filled him with questions.
"If you don't mind my asking, what's your quirk?"
The girl dug her finger under the edge of her bandages, pulling out a tendril with an audio jack at the end of it. She began twirling it around in her fingers as she explained her abilities.
"My quirk is called Earphone Jack. These jacks hanging off my earlobes can plug into any solid surface, letting me hear vibrations, like a sort of sonar. I can also plug them into speakers to amplify and weaponize my heartbeat. The only downside is my hearing is super sensitive when I plug them into anything."
He took note of her quirk, admiring both the pros and cons of it.
"What about you? What's your quirk?", she asked.
CJ glanced at Principal Nezu, looking for a sign of approval. Noticing a nod from the mouse man, he holds his hand in front of him, as if he were holding an invisible ball. Then, from all corners of the room, dust particles started floating towards his outstretched hand, swirling around as if they were planets in orbit. Slowly a shape began to form, growing in size. Eventually the shape took form and became recognizable. A simple derringer handgun sat in the palm of his hand. He wished he could make something bigger, but being in a hospital meant there would hardly be any dust. He walked to the girls bedside and handed the small gun to her.
"Be careful, it's loaded.", he began.
"My quirk allows me to manipulate dust and dirt particles to create firearms. The bigger the gun, the longer it takes to create. I also can't create any extra ammunition, just whatever is in the clip. Once it's empty I just drop it, turning it back to dust, and I start again with a new gun."
He takes the pistol back from the girl, dropping it on the floor as a demonstration. Sure enough, it turned to dust as soon as it touched the floor, leaving a small pile of dirt in the middle of the floor. Principal Nezu walks over to the room's closet, opening the door and pulling out a small broom and dustpan.
"That is quite fascinating to see first hand. While I do enjoy conversing amongst my students, we really must get going. We do have one more person to visit anyhow."
He sweeps the pile of dirt into the dustpan, proceeding to dump it into a small garbage can in the corner.
"Now Miss Jiro, Recovery Girl should be making her rounds shortly to check on you, as well as Young Kirishima. Speaking of which, that would be our next stop Carter. Again, please take care and I hope to talk with you again. Ta-ta."
CJ grabs the door handle and opens it, allowing the mouse man to walk out first. Before leaving CJ turns back towards Jiro, tipping his hat once again and telling her to take care. The boy then proceeded to follow the mouse man down the hallway, only a few doors away from Jiro's room. Sure enough the nameplate had the name 'Eijiro Kirishima' inscribed on it. Principal Nezu gave the door a gentle knock, much like the previous room, before entering. The two entered the room at the same time.
"Hey it's you! Bro I owe you my life after that!", greeted an obnoxiously awake Kirishima.
CJ was somewhat relieved to see him in such high spirits, considering his injuries were the most severe out of the two. He looked the boy over, as he had not gotten a good look at him previously. At the time, he had been far more focused on getting him and Jiro to safety. The boy clearly used hair product, as his hair was both a bright red and spiked up in a jagged manner. His teeth were abnormally sharp, resembling that of a shark almost. CJ walked up to the bedside and extended his hand for the boy to shake. Kirishima grabbed it and shook it gratefully.
"Nice to meet you. I never caught your name by the way."
"Carter Slade, but you can call me CJ if you like."
"Oh yeah! You're the prisoner kid from the auditorium. Glad to see you're just as manly as your name!!"
CJ could clearly see that the boy valued strength and virtue above just about anything else. This somehow eased his feelings about the boy. From everything that happened a day ago, he was now able to tell that at any given time, he was focused on being a truly righteous hero and living up to a set reputation, as if he admired someone almost as if he worshiped him.
"I am glad the two of you could meet, but unfortunately our time is running short. We seem to have used up most of our time window speaking with young Miss Jiro. Young Kirishima, Recovery Girl should be in shortly after her visit with Miss Jiro. I hope to see you excel this year and I will see you in class in a couple weeks.", interrupted Principal Nezu.
CJ nodded towards Principal Nezu, who was glancing down at a brass pocket watch.
"It was nice meeting you Eijiro. I'll see you in class."
In leaving, CJ tipped his hat towards the boy, who nodded in return. Principal Nezu and CJ then made their way to the main elevator, going down to the lobby. Carter thought to himself. It had been so long since he had been in a public setting. He wouldn't know how to act in a school, so he decided just to keep his head down as much as possible.
"Principal Nezu?"
"Hm?"
"Does the school have a dress code?"
"Yes, it's a shirt and tie for the boys, as well as school issued pants. For the girls it's the same thing, except a school issued skirt instead of pants."
"Can I make one request?"
"I don't see why not."
"Can I wear the hat? It's just for personal reasons."
"That is a simple request. I don't see why not. I'll notify the school faculty later today."
As the two walked out of the hospital, CJ couldn't help but feel as if he were being watched. He glanced over to his left just in time to see a person, donning black jeans and a black hoodie, turn a corner and disappear from his sight. CJ wanted to follow him, but decided to brush it off as paranoia.
"Oh and you might find this news exciting. I'm personally putting you up in a hotel near the school. That way you don't have to stay in a cramped jail cell. And you can stay there during your enrollment at U.A."
Carter was shocked. It had been so long since he had the pleasantries of privacy. His own room with no bars. His own bathroom and shower. For the first time in a long time, he had something to look forward to. Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn't be a bad experience after all.