Chapter 2: …To Restart the Fire
A/N: Alright so, there's a bit of a time skip to when Ochaco first manifests her Quirk. For reference, Ochaco's 5, Tenko's 10, and Hana's 13. Most of this chapter will be dedicated to fleshing out Hana and Nao, as well as Ochaco's parents, since they're gonna be pretty important this time around.
After Nao had left with her two children, she'd gone to live with her brother and his wife out in Mie. The two welcomed her with open arms, and after a fairly messy few years of legal battles over the divorce, Nao was entitled to about 60% of the Shimura household's assets, full custody of both Hana and Tenko, and Kotaro Shimura was ordered to pay 25,000 yen per month in child support fees for both Tenko and Hana until they turned 18. The fees, and the massive increase in Nao's personal assets, allowed her to bring the Uraraka Construction Company partially out of their debt, and given the connections she still had via Kotaro, she had helped the Urarakas hook themselves up with repair work for All Might's agency. As one would expect, this paid a lot.
With all this, both Hana and Tenko had grown up in a secure environment, with Tenko frequently heading outside to play heroes with his school friends, and Hana had continued her harmless prankster streak she'd had since childhood, even as she got through junior high school and was on track to attend some of the better non-hero schools in Japan.
And so it was that one Thursday afternoon, and Hana Shimura had been tasked with watching her 5-year-old cousin Ochaco while her aunt and uncle were out managing their construction company's latest job and her mom had taken Tenko to a doctor's appointment. As Ochaco was in the middle of a nap, Hana smirked, being 13 and already having a pranking streak nearly a mile wide. Grinning mischievously, she walked up to the bed, and tapped Ochaco on the nose.
Ochaco, who at that point had been sleeping, suddenly woke up, staring blankly at the finger placed in front of her. Confused, she attempted to grab it, but as Hana pulled it away, she got up to grab it. Hana dropped her hand back in, and this time decided to poke Ochaco in the stomach. This got a laugh, considering Ochaco was ludicrously ticklish, so Hana poked and prodded some more, until finally she accidentally placed her two thumbs and pinkies on Ochaco. She gulped as she realized just what she'd done to her little cousin.
Ochaco, of course, being 5 and stuck in a laughing fit, was completely unphased by this sudden tap, until she noticed she was starting to bounce around a little bit. Of course, she found it great fun, and so she began to hop around on her bd, bouncing more and more. Hana, for her part, was starting to panic, but she immediately made the gesture to release (both thumbs to opposite pinky) and Ochaco stopped bouncing, allowing Hana to very gently reset the bed. Ochaco, now tuckered out from bouncing a bit, fell back asleep, and Hana figured it was now a good time to do her homework. That is, until she realized she couldn't move. Looking down, she gasped. A-am I floating!? Turning to look at her cousin, she poked her awake again, and told her to look at her.
"Hey, why are you floating?" she asked.
"I-I don't know!" Hana said. "Wait, what's that on your fingers?"
Ochaco looked down at her fingers, noticing the odd pads on them. "Eh? Are these-"
"I think your Quirk just came in, Occhan." Hana said.
"O-OK… but how do you get down?" Ochaco asked.
"If it's anything like mine… just bring your fingers together maybe?" Hana said. Ochaco did so, and Hana dropped to the floor with a thud.
"OK, so, what do we tell my mama and papa?" Ochaco asked.
"Uh… the truth I guess…" Hana groaned. She had homework to do.
About an hour later, Hana heard a knock on the door, and she opened it up. "Hi Aunt Mishiro! Hey Uncle Chiso!" she said as her uncle and aunt walked in.
"Ah, how's our favorite niece?" Chiso asked. "Ochaco was good, I hope?"
"She slept basically the whole time; everything was fine." Hana said quickly.
"Really?" Mishiro asked. "So why does her bed look a little… wonky?"
Hana turned around to realize her cousin's bed was slightly off. "Uh… no reason!"
Chiso took a closer look. "Seems like something might've bent it out of shape! Hana, did you do this?"
"What? No…" she said, trailing off. "Ochaco bumped it, that's all!"
"I don't think she's that heavy, Hana," Mishiro said. "You made her bouncy, didn't you?"
"N-no I didn't!" Hana shouted.
"Pretty sure you did, Hana," Chiso said. "But we'll let it slide if you tell us how it happened."
"Alright, fine, I did…" Hana moaned. "But I was only trying to tickle Ochaco! Honest!"
"…And then you tapped her with your pinkies and thumbs." Chiso noted.
"Yeah, pretty much." Hana said.
"Well, at least I can work that back into shape with a few hammer knocks…" Chiso muttered. "But if something like this happens again, we're paying for it from your allowance!"
"Got it, Uncle Chiso! Won't happen again!" Hana said, standing perfectly straight.
"There's a good girl." Mishiro said. "Anyway, your mother and Tenko should be back soon, so make sure you finish your homework! I don't want to have to tell her you forgot about it!"
"I did, Aunt Mishiro! Honest!" Hana said, before grabbing the sheets.
"Did you check the back?" Mishiro asked.
Hana gulped. "Uh…"
"Better get on it or you're washing dishes for a week!" Mishiro said as Hana raced to the table and grabbed a pencil.
As she ran off, she called out, "Ochaco's Quirk just came in!"
With that, Mishiro and Chiso went to check on their daughter, who demonstrated her Quirk. Chiso laughed. "She'll be able to help out at our construction sites, y'know!"
"She's five, Chiso." Mishiro rolled her eyes. "What if she wants to do something else?"
"I know, I know," Chiso laughed. "Still, it's on the table."
Soon enough, Nao and Tenko had come home, and Nao asked, "Hana, are you done with homework? Tenko needs the table to do his!"
"I'm done, mom!" Hana said. "Anything come up?"
"Tenko's gloves are starting to be a bit tight for him, so we'll need to get new ones," Nao said. Turning to her son, she added, "Keep your pinkies out, OK?"
"I'll do it!" Tenko said with a hand raised up. "Can I watch TV now?"
"Not until you finish your homework, sweetie." Nao said, pushing him to the table. "Every hero has to study, y'know?"
"And if I want to be the best hero…" Tenko thought out loud.
"You'll need to study hard! Good thinking!" Nao said. "Now get to it!"
With that, Tenko hopped into the chair and started his work. Hana chuckled. "It is really easy to get him to do stuff. Almost too easy, really."
"Now, Hana, don't insult your brother," Nao scolded. "He's just got a very distinct goal in mind. I can't exactly say the same for you, and you're nearly in high school!"
"Well, my Quirk's too weird for heroics," Hana said, "And everything else is boring! What can I do, mom? GAH!"
"You'll have to find that out on your own, blossom," Nao replied. "If you don't, you'll wilt, and you know we can't have that."
"OK…" Hana grumbled. But what do I wanna do? She thought.
That girl is going to leave me grey… Nao thought. Hopefully she figures herself out.
That night at dinner Nao decided to ask what high schools Hana wanted to go to. "Now, I know you don't think you're cut out for heroics, but you must've put at least some thought into where you want to go for high school, yes?"
"Not… really…" Hana mumbled, looking down at her plate. "I was just thinking of going to one of the local high schools here in Mie…"
"Oh, come now, Hana!" Nao said. "Do you seriously have no ambition? Your grades are almost the best in the class, and with all the money your aunt and uncle are getting from their construction work we could afford to send you basically anywhere!"
"Alright, fine, I'll take a look," Hana groaned. "It's just that, well, I don't wanna be stuck at some boring old desk job! But I'm not brave enough for heroics! Gah!"
"Have you thought about going into engineering? Support items, maybe?" her mother asked.
"Uh, now that you mention it…" she thought. "Hm, maybe I will!"
"I knew all those old sketches you kept were meant for something," Nao said knowingly. "So, get out there, and make sure you put your name on the map, just like your grandmother did all those years ago! Let the whole world know that Hana Shimura is a force to be reckoned with!"
"You got it, mom! I'm gonna get out there and wow those corporate big wigs' socks right off!" Hana shouted with a wide grin on her face. "But… can't do that on an empty stomach, can I?"
Nao couldn't help but laugh. "No, you certainly can't."
So, with that, Hana went back to eating, and within the next hour she was sketching up a storm in her room. Nao smiled, knowing that even if Hana couldn't be a hero, she could be the best backup a hero could ever ask for. Or, well, she could make said backup. Same difference, really.
A/N: The Support companies don't get much attention at all except Detnerat, and in any case not everyone wants to be a hero. Also, Hana's spent more time around Kotaro, meaning while she doesn't despise heroes, she knows they sometimes don't live up to the hype. Tenko's all-in though.
Quirk Profile! (These may well become a regular thing)
Hana Shimura, Quirk: Bounce!
When her thumbs and pinkies touch something, it becomes significantly bouncier, rapidly gaining more and more speed with each contact with a surface. Bringing opposite thumb to pinky will remove said bounciness.