Her Arrival

EraserHead stared down at the unconscious girl before him with a perplexed expression. He was completing his regular patrols when he came across a figure on the stone ground. When he investigated the strange item, he was surprised when he realised that the lump was actually a girl laid utterly passed out. He leaned down, raised his hand and bonked her on the head. The girl jerked to the side and groaned out in pain as her eyes slowly fluttered open. He could see that she was confused and allowed the girl a minute to collect herself.

She blinked to clear her vision, gained her bearings and took in her surroundings. She then looked up at the man staring down at her in confusion. He looked strange to her, with black goggles and a thick white scarf-like material around his neck.

The man raised his hands to lift his support gear off his eyes before looking down and meeting the girl's confused eyes with his tired ones. "What are you doing passed out in an alleyway, girl?" He asked.

From the moment she awoke, the girl gathered as much intel as she could with the information around her. There was enough to summarise that she is nowhere near the village, so she decided to play it safe. "I was walking home, and I think I slipped and fell, must have bumped my head or something because ow!" She groaned out, holding her head in a slight wince.

EraserHead sighed before nodding and asked, "What's your name? And are you feeling any better, or do you need a doctor? You might have a concussion."

"I'm fine, it doesn't hurt too bad, so I'll just make my way home. My name is Estelle."

He noticed that the girl gave her first name rather than her full name but brushed it off. He was too tired to play babysitter since he had been patrolling all night, so he took her acceptance and turned to leave. "You'll be okay getting home?" He asked with obligated politeness.

The girl, now known as Estelle, nodded again in confirmation. "Yeah, it's not far."

EraserHead took that as an okay to leave and walked away. He was stopped by Estelle's voice when he was at a distance. "Thank you, by the way; I appreciate it."

EraserHead continued walking from his brief halt while responding, "That's what heroes do", and disappeared into the night.

Estelle looked down at the stone ground in thought and turned around to walk out of the alleyway. She stopped in surprise at the area ahead of her. It was surrounded by metal moving carriers and tall buildings that looked like they had reached the sky.

Estelle was well and truly.

Lost.

Estelle continued walking down the pathway, lost in her train of thought. She didn't recognise anything since she was woken up in the alleyway by that strange man.

When she continued walking, she noticed a park ahead to the right and decided to stop there. Quickly passing the entrance, Estelle sat on one of the benches provided next to the swings. She allowed herself to look up at the stars to give her mind a break.

When she pulled herself out of her stupor, some time had passed, but Estelle was glad she had given herself that space. Too much worrying would have made her lost in her own head, and it was time to go back to figuring things out.

Before Estelle went into a slumber, she was in the village fighting enemies. When she had turned around to converse with her team, she had realised that her teammate was acting rather odd. In hindsight, Estelle should have reacted sooner, but she ignored it in the face of battle. Estelle was shocked to find the same teammate morphing into the leader of the enemy. Before anything could be said, she woke up here.

'Strange carriages, tall buildings, similar language when reading the signs and these people dress weird.

Could it be that I'm on the other side of the planet? No, it seems like I'm in a completely different world. The man talked about himself being a hero as if that holds a lot of significance.'

Estelle quickly decided on her game plan.

'Integrate into society, find a place to stay and then I can figure out my next steps.'

Now that it was decided, Estelle turned her body to lay across the bench to stare back up at the starry night. Lost in the idea of the memories that the stars hold and jealous of the secrets it knows. Estelle fell into a slumber.

Estelle awoke with a jerk. The sun beamed down into her eyes when they opened, causing her to turn her head to the side to shield herself. After giving herself a moment to wake up, she sat up and stretched her limbs to shake off the cramped feeling that came with laying on a bench. The park was quiet, with a few people loitering the area as the sun hadn't been out for long.

Estelle immediately got to work and headed towards the exit. While she walked down the roads, her eyes scanned for information.

Estelle turned to a teenage boy walking in the opposite direction. "Excuse me? By any chance, do you know where the closest library is?" She enquired.

The teen's face turned a bright red shade as he tried to open his mouth to speak, "Yea-yeah."

Estelle raised her eyebrow; he seemed a little shy. His navy hair drooped over his eyes, elvish ears peeking out from the sides of his head and a red blush covering his features. It was endearing.

The boy's body shook with evident anxiety, and Estelle immediately jumped to action. "Hey, it's alright. I'm the idiot who can't find it. Don't beat yourself up. Come on, take a breath."

Estelle gave him a moment to regain his bearings before he spoke once again, "It's, it's down th-the st-street."

Estelle smiled slightly in gratitude. To make him feel better, she stated, "Thank you. I like your shirt."

He nodded in thanks, and Estelle waved goodbye. She headed towards the library with anticipation in her bones. It was a horrible situation, but Estelle couldn't help but be excited to research this place and see how it differed from home.

Once she finally reached the library, the clerk gave a number slip and directed Estelle to a box with a screen. Looking down at the keys, she huffed in frustration. How did this thing work!? Estelle tried to key in a question.

History of this world?

'Bingo'

Estelle scanned the screen reading through the information it was giving her.

'So, this world is full of people with abnormal abilities called quirks. Due to an uprising, the occupation of heroes and villains were born. Good fighting bad and protecting the new society. They rank heroes. How absurd! It isn't about being the best. It's about protecting others. It looks like cracks are showing within the hero's side, but nothing is ever unfixable. Hmm.'

How to be a hero?

'You have to attend schooling? I guess that makes sense. It is a job here. I wish I got paid when I saved people. Then again, I didn't do it for money.

'UA high school. The entrance exams are two weeks away. That might work.'

Jobs in the area

'A strip club? No way kill me now. A bartender? I'm too young here. What about a waitress? That might work, and it's not too far from here.'

Estelle broke away from the metal tin can and left the library after handing the numbered slip to the clerk on her way out. There was still a lot to learn, but she had been there all morning, and there were more important things to worry about right now, like food. Estelle was hungry. She shivered in her clothes and looked around for a reason but could not find one. Estelle couldn't help but feel like she was being watched.

She visited three restaurants, and two cafes before Estelle started to lose hope. When she turned the corner, she saw a slightly run-down cafe with rusting sign named 'The Beanery' that many people passed by. Deciding that there was no harm in trying, Estelle pushed the door open, causing a loud chime to let the owners know someone has arrived, only to be met by an older lady with a kind smile on her face. "Hello dear, how may I help you?" She asked.

Estelle couldn't help but feel welcomed by her. The woman was warm, and Estelle unconsciously smiled back at the woman. "Hello, I was wondering if you had any available jobs at the moment?"

The woman frowned in thought, and Estelle couldn't help but feel her hope plummet even more. The gentle smile landed back on the lady as she gazed back up at Estelle. "I have needed the help recently since I'm not getting any younger, though the unfortunate thing is - my business allows me to get by, but I can't afford to pay another. I'm sorry, dearie." She stated with a downtrodden gaze.

Estelle nodded in understanding with a forced tilt to her mouth and turned to leave. She was stopped by the old lady resting a hand on her shoulder. "Though that means I won't be able to pay you, I can offer you a floor in my home and food in your belly for the help instead?"

Estelle was over the moon; the god of luck was shining a four-leaf clover over her as the coincidence was almost too good to be true.

'Damn right, I deserve some luck on my side after all this mayhem. It's the least the world could do.'

Estelle agreed gratefully with a shy smile and with thanks leaving her lips. The old woman waved her words away. "I should be thanking you; I have been working alone for so long, and it seems luck was on my side today. I'm happy."

Estelle and the old woman who revealed herself to be called Nona spent the rest of the day getting to know one another.

"So, is there anything you need to pack before you arrive?" Nona asked.

Estelle frowned since she hadn't decided on the story that she would inform people. She decided on some form of the truth. "To be honest, I don't have any belongings. I have never had the best home situation, so I have spent my time jumping from one place to another. I've never kept anything."

Nona smiled sadly in understanding. "Well, not to worry about that. You have a home here now. You'll have things to call your own in no time."

Estelle's heart warmed as Nona was indeed a kind-hearted person. Estelle decided to help her the best she could with her business and keep her from loneliness. She could tell that Nona felt isolated from others, and it was the least she could do for all the support Nona had provided her so quickly of knowing her.

Nona turned back to Estelle with her caring beam that Estelle was beginning to associate with her and all things warm. "Let's show you around my home and get a uniform for you. I'll cook something up, and we'll rest for a full day tomorrow!" She said excitedly.

Estelle smiled; her cheeks were beginning to hurt from the abnormal action, but for Nona, she'll smile through that pain to keep her happy.

They both left with warmth brewing in their hearts.