When she'd learnt that both Katsuki and Shoto had both failed their exams, Emiko had nearly gone into shock. Two of the most qualified, talented students she knew had failed? While others, like Mineta, had passed? It didn't make any sense to her. As far as she was concerned, there was no reason for it.
Sure, she hadn't been there. Hadn't witnessed what caused their failures with her own two eyes, and no matter what any of her classmates said she refused to believe what they said about it. There was no way that either of them would have slipped up in such a way that it would cost them something they'd worked their entire short lives for - what Shoto had been created for. No matter what, she believed that.
"Are you coming, red?" Katsuki shouted, pausing his dramatic stomping to the front door of the looming building in front of them. Today was the first day of their remedial training, something Emiko had only been cleared for the day before. Eraserhead had fought for her right to participate and won, something she was more grateful for than she could ever say.
"Shut up, would ya?" She taunted, brushing past him quickly. The blonde haired boy scoffed, rolling his red eyes. "Stupid." She mumbled the last bit under her breath, fighting back laughter as he stopped dead in his tracks and held his hand out, preparing to challenge her to a fight.
She turned, watched him open his mouth before a burst of freezing air swirled around them, and the sound of beating wings forced her head to turn. Just off to their left stood a girl - one no older than them, with a sharp yellow gaze glaring at Katsuki, arms folded over her chest.
"What do you think your doing, Katsuki Bakugo?"
At the sound of his name, Katsuki swings his gaze over to the girl and lets out a low sound, almost like a snarl. The silence stretches between the pair, edging towards Emiko and a still silent Shoto, each taking in the girl in front of them. Her wingspan rivals that of even Hawks, no doubt at least 10 feet across and her hair shimmers in a stunning blue-white hue around her sharp features. White fabric clings to her chest and legs, cut outs on her chest and thighs framed in gilded gold fabric, matching the golden halo that frames her head like a crown.
She looks like an angel.
"Who are you?" Katsuki grumbles, small sparks erupting in the palm of his hands. "Just another extra who failed their exam?"
The girl almost looks like she wants to laugh, but she instead folds her delicate hands behind her back, just under the edge of her wings and Emiko sees for the first time the tiny icicles hanging off their ends - and realizes that she is more than just a pair of sharp eyes and daunting wings. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Her voice is soft, like falling snow. It settles around them, sends hair standing up on their arms and the back of their neck. She has a teasing tone to it, amusement evident in her gaze as she stares at the blonde boy who is nearly trembling with rage.
"I'll see you all inside. Don't be late!"
Mystery girl sends a soft smile in her direction and steps past she and Shoto, cold air following behind her as she does. Shoto barely glances in her direction, eyes still focused forwards towards Bakugo and his scowl. With a grimace, Emiko steps past him, careful to keep her gaze on the floor. They still haven't spoken - no matter how desperately she misses him and wants to make amends, she doesn't want to push it on him.
"Come on," she sighs, "Both of you."
Shoto falls into step beside Bakugo much to the blonde's chagrin, his face still lined with anger. He's grumbling under his breath, but Emiko doesn't have the time or the energy to care. They're running late - only a few minutes, sure, but still late. She may not have a quirk, but she still has her name and her pride.
"I'll see you in there," she smiles, stepping away from them and towards the changeroom marked for women, stepping through the heavy door into a heavily perfumed room. She can almost see the scent particles in the air, reflecting in the overhead lights scattered around the sparsely decorated room. For a building owned and operated by the Hero Commission, she'd expected something more luxurious, more eloquently decorated. Something with moody lighting and dark walls, something that oozed secrets and money. Instead, though, it felt as though she'd stepped backwards in time and was standing in the middle school dressing room she'd grown up in.
Shaking her head, she stepped into the tight fabric of her hero costume. The tight fabric still hugged her curves, applying pressure in key spots across her body. The belt still fastened around her waist, still sat filled with medical supplies and first aid. Her batons still slid into their holsters on her thighs just as they had before. Fingerless gloves still covered her hands and her boots still weighed the same as they did before, but something was different.
Something was different and she hated it. Hated how lonely and lost and empty she felt, wrapped in clothing that once outfitted a very different version of herself than she presented to the world now. She no longer had her hair to hide behind, to disguise the curves of her body and the scars that lingered on her arms and legs. She no longer had a security blanket, no way of hiding herself from the cruel gaze of those who would stare and gawk in wonder at her and her gruesome injury.
It wasn't fair, and she knew it. She knew it was unfair to herself to feel this way, but she couldn't help the creeping feeling of inadequacy that crept over her as she stood in silence, as she allowed her self doubt to weigh her down.
The door behind her opens and Emiko swings her gaze to meet the girl standing there - a girl no taller than 5', with long hair reaching to the middle of her back. Somehow her hair seems to refract light, sending rainbows glittering about the room in a cacophonous display. She is beautiful, mismatched eyes set in a curiously child-like face, the girls features small and delicate. She looks like a handcrafted porcelain doll, though the piercings lining her nose and ears are a harsh contrast to the delicacy of her features.
"Are you coming," she asks, her voice ringing out clear and true. "Everyone is waiting."
Emiko nods, embarrassed to have been caught wallowing. She steps towards the smaller girl, tucking her hands behind her back and marching dutifully forwards, grateful when she doesn't catch the girl staring at her scar nor the milky eye it mars.
"Ah, perfect!" A delicate voice calls as the pair steps through the double door, and Emiko sees the girl from before - her wings spread widely out in a welcoming gesture. "Thank you, Solitaire."
The smaller girl, Solitaire, steps away from Emiko as they draw closer to the crowd of students - settling into place beside the winged girl. Beside each other, they make a striking pair. Both sets of hair are striking and unique, glittering like ice and gems under the overhead lights. Solitaire has a rougher edge to her, though. Tight shorts cling to her thighs, the dark fabric almost shining like liquid as it just barely brushes the edges of her stockings. Her arms are bare, save for gloves that reach her elbows, each thumb the only digit exposed. For a hero costume, it's quite tame. Plain black and shiny, skin tight and leaving little to the imagination. Similar to her own costume, if one overlooked the utility compartments that Emiko's allotted her.
"My name," the winged girl spoke again. "Is Sayuri Hishikawa - better known by my hero name: Eos."
As she says her name, it suddenly clicks for Emiko. Eos, a second year student from Ketsu Butsu academy, working with the hero commission was rumored to be leading this term's remedial courses. Though, that still doesn't explain who the other girl is, with her arms folded across her chest and her foot tapping an irritated beat on the hard packed sand floor.
"And this," Eos gestures widely to the girl beside her, "is my number two. Solitaire, or Sumiko Hashibira as she is known to her friends."
Solitaire only grunts in acknowledgement, her eyes never leaving the floor in front of her.
"Now, I'm sure some of you-" Eos sends a pointed gaze to Bakugo, and Emiko notices for the first time that he seems to be nearly incandescent with rage, though she doesn't quite understand why. "Are wondering why fellow students are here instead of an instructor from the commission, right?"
A few nods and a few murmurs, but nothing concrete. That is, until Katsuki stepped forwards, eyes creased in a scowl.
"Yeah, I want to know what the hell the higher ups are thinking sending some useless extras like you to train us, when I know for a fact I could kick your ass in a one on one fight, wings."
He's goading her and everyone knows it, waiting for her to make the first move. Waiting for her to lash out, expecting her to become overwhelmed by the desire to protect her pride. There are few people who couldn't be coaxed into a sparring match with Katsuki if they felt he was insulting their quirk or their ability as heroes, but surprisingly…
"You really believe that, don't you?" Eos grins softly, moving towards Katsuki smoothly, as if she is gliding. Her wings flutter slightly, light flaps that send a cool breeze swirling around the room. She can see the moment shock takes over, Katsuki's face freezing in a startled 'o'. "But really, Katsuki. You don't stand a chance."
In an instant, Eos is no less than 10 feet in the air, her wings spread wide for all to see. She has a cocky grin on her face, one that reminds Emiko all too well of the smirk that Katsuki dons each time he wins a sparring match. "Can any of you guess my quirk?"
A roaring blast bursts from Katsuki's palms and in the blink of an eye he is face to face with Eos, palm raised to her eyeline. "Your shitty quirk isn't going to matter when I blow your face off!" He shouts, the sweat on his palms igniting and nearly deafening those around them.
Smoke fills the air, and Emiko scans the air above her, waiting for the dust to settle. She's expecting to see the winged girl crumpled on the floor.
Instead, she sees both she and Katsuki standing, the boys chest heaving and his fingers trembling, bright red as if he'd been caught in a freak snow storm. Startled, Emiko realizes the air around them is beginning to get colder and colder, the temperature rapidly dropping, until she swears she can see tiny crystals of snow clustering around the tips of Eos' wings.
"You really are so predictable, Katsuki." She taunts, taking a few steps towards the blonde boy whos eyes still flash with fire. "Anyone care to take a guess?"
Emiko scans her eyes over the girl, noting the crystals gathering around the edges of her wings and the way her skin doesn't seem flushed at all from the cold - despite the rest of the teenagers trembling and rubbing their hands over their arms again and again.
"Well, aside from the wings-" Emiko pauses, waiting for Eos to swing her sharp gaze to her. "I don't know the exact specifics, but if I had to hazard a guess, you're able to control the temperature of your wings, which rapidly cools the air around you?"
Eos smiles brightly, clapping her hands in excitement. "Oh! Very close, Empath. Very close indeed!"
Emiko can't help but light up at her hero name being used so casually, by someone with an obviously powerful quirk.
"My quirk is called Ice Angel. My wings are constantly creating liquid nitrogen, which-" she pauses, gazing over the group. "Does cool the temperature around me."
She doesn't even see Katsuki dart forwards, palm outstretched before Eos is in the air again, feet pointed like a ballet dancer. "I can also use it to slow the movements of others, by rapidly cooling the air around them and constricting their muscles!"
She's smiling, watching for any movement from Katsuki. The blonde boy is trembling, his hands shaking in anger. Emiko realizes why the longer she stares - it's too cold for him to produce any sweat. She's a direct counter for his quirk - something he's never come across.
"I can also," she pauses, outstretching her wings. Emiko and the others watch in awe as her wing span seems to grow exponentially, new feathers forming out of thin air. "Do that."
She floats to the ground, her feet landing without a sound. A bright grin lines her face and Emiko can't help the startled laughter that bursts from her chest - because of course the commission has taken someone like this under their wing. Of course they'd want someone who could freeze someone solid within seconds on their side - something they likely wanted control of with Shoto. Eos and Solitaire both exchanged a confused look with one another before turning their gaze to the crowd of awestruck students, a grin on one face and a grimace on the other.
"Any questions?"