Disclaimer: I don't own My Hero Academia. I do own Megumi though.
Warning: Her potty mouth gets increasingly stronger the longer I write her.
- Chapter 2 -
Panic
He felt a tiny bit of guilt as he watched his student blubber uncontrollably, wiping at her face furiously as snot and tears ran down her face akin to a broken faucet.
He had unjustly presumed that she had approached him with the intention of announcing her resignation from the hero course- and he had ended up misjudging her. She had just gone through a traumatic experience and he had only made it harder for her by getting his emotions involved. To think his 5 years of teaching experience only amounted to this...
From the very beginning, he hadn't been fond of Airashi and her ridiculous personality. He had half a mind to expel her alongside Midoriya that day on their quirk apprehension test, for her half-assed efforts and rotten attitude. But she knew how to handle her quirk pretty well for someone who had never had the desire to become a hero. He had no excuse for expelling someone who could wield their quirk well enough to have passed the entrance exam for recommended students, not to mention rank in the top 10 for his quirk apprehension test.
Besides, there were quite a lot of other problematic kids in his batch of first years this time around. It was safe to say that he already had his hands full with holding back a certain hothead from murdering his childhood friend. Airashi had been the least of his concerns, but maybe he should have payed more attention to her if it had meant preventing her from reckless heroic endeavours. Speaking of Endeavour, that man was still breathing down the UA staff's necks, wanting updates on his son's progress.
The tired sigh that left him couldn't do his weariness any justice.
"I apologize for being too harsh. But I hope you understand that your actions were not okay and reflect on that experience." Aizawa hoped she wasn't imitating Midoriya and his 'break-a-limb-talk-later' habit because lord knows he couldn't handle two of them.
If anyone had told her that she would one day be sitting across from Aizawa Shouta, breaking down in tears and freaking him out as she did so, she would have laughed in their face.
Megumi had walked in with the intention of asking Aizawa when classes would be resuming. Maybe act a bit ditzy and confused so she could play at having gaps in her memories (which technically wasn't untrue) and effectively blame her change of personality on the concussion she had gotten.
However, now that she had ended up bawling like a baby in front of him, she didn't even give a shit anymore. She was just so tired.
Not to mention it felt weird. She was calling herself Megumi, because she technically was Megumi. But it still felt like she was talking about an entirely different entity whenever she gave it too much thought.
In the end Megumi ended up getting escorted back to her room at around midnight, since she had lost all control over her tear ducts and didn't know how to stop crying once she started. Perhaps this had been for the better? Now that he had seen how shaken up she was he would assume that she had a change of heart from a near death experience. Now she would be even more motivated to become a great hero! Or something.
...Who was she kidding? Near death experience? 'Bitch I literally DIED.'
No matter how much she wanted to go back and beg him to let her drop out, she was 100% sure she would get her ass kicked if she ever attempted it. The best she could do for now was get a good night's rest and figure everything out one at a time.
Spoiler: she didn't get a wink of sleep.
And long story short: her so-called parents were a pair of cold-hearted pricks.
As soon as she arrived home a bunch of maids started crowding her, pulling her into her room to doll her up for an afternoon brunch. Why did she need to dress up like a party whore for a simple brunch? Not only was she tired but she also had big ass bandages wrapped all around her. If they hadn't noticed already, she was kinda injured and should perhaps be getting some rest. But maybe that was just her plebeian common sense talking, pff.
She vaguely remembered Megumi sucking up to her parents like crazy, as if they were a pair of gods. What was so good about them that she had felt the need to worship them? From an outsider's perspective it made zero sense. Even though she was the eldest and the apparent heiress, they paid her no mind whatsoever. Her precious mommy preferred her younger brother and sister. Moreover, her daddy didn't give a flying fuck as long as she shut up. Tragic.
It wasn't hard to figure how the original Megumi had grown to be such an obnoxious superbrat.
The brunch was not only extremely silent but also extremely awkward.
They were acting like the last three days hadn't happened at all. Did they think ignoring the elephant in the room would make it go away? Not to mention her younger brother was glaring daggers at her as if she had personally killed his pet, among other atrocities. He was around 12 years old? The urge to smush his (very punchable) face into the cake he had in front of him was strong. 'Dude I just came from the hospital, wtf is your problem?'
Her younger sister had her head hung low, not daring to meet Megumi's eyes as if avoiding a barking dog. Even her 8 year old sister was avoiding her, and with such a terrified expression to boot.
An indifferent and borderline resentful family, an unrequited crush and to top it off, no friends...
Damn, sis had been living the life.
Her mother set down her fork as she cleared her throat. "You've been uncharacteristically silent. Is there something you would like to tell us Megumi?"
She did not like the way this woman was looking at her."Ah, no. I'm just tired. It's been... hectic."
The feeling of four distinct pairs of eyes judging her bandaged forehead made her appetite fly out of the metaphorical window. She had the urge to literally jump out of one too.
"...I see. Very well."
Megumi could deal with the little shit sitting in the corner glaring at her. She could handle the nervous fidgeting of her younger sister, how her father went out of his way to sit in the seat farthest away from her and the way her mother tried to establish awkward eye contact.
What she couldn't deal with was the absolute silence and lack of conversation that made her feel like she was in the court room standing trial for whatever the fuck she had done wrong.
After prodding at her meal without really eating anything, she excused herself to her room and bailed out of there.
She couldn't stand being in that suffocating atmosphere any longer. It wasn't like they had regular meals together, so what had brought on the sudden family get-together? That was an experience she would rather not repeat. It had taken all her willpower not to make snarky comments while they just ate in silence, totally ignoring her, when she had better things to do than idle around.
Besides, the memories invading her subconscious whenever she looked at her mother weren't pleasant ones. From what her memories suggested, the original Megumi was nothing but a pawn to that snake of a woman.
She had already sensed that something was wrong when the original Megumi's behavior seemed like a slew of contradictions and bipolar tantrums. Her brattiness was off the charts, similar to her lack of common sense and antisocial tendencies. Who had made her that way?
The feeling of wrongness clung to her with its nasty claws. Something had not been right with Megumi.
But she couldn't dwell on that yet. There were much more important things to take care of first.
As soon as she arrived at her bedroom, she dismissed the maids who had reluctantly gathered to assist her. The relief that flooded her entirety at finally being alone was comforting.
Flopping onto the giant bed in the middle of her room, she took a sweeping glance at her surroundings. Everything was so... pink. But that didn't change the fact that she was lying down on the softest, most comfortable material she had ever come across. It made her want to close her eyes and just...
No no. Focus. 'I have class tomorrow. What am I going to do?'
She straightened out her spine, took a deep breath and stood up. This is what she had come here for.
Megumi would have preferred staying in the hospital over having dreadful family dinners anytime. However, using quirks in public spaces was strictly prohibited. Of course heroes were permitted, because they had a hero license and renewed it every few years.
With a hospital crawling with doctors, nurses and security guards, she wouldn't have had a chance to acquaintance herself with her... superpowers.
She bit her lip. Wording it that way made her super excited.
The Original had been surprisingly proficient at using her quirk for someone who had only started training months before the entrance exam. Come to think of it, she wondered which poor bastard had been deprived of their place in UA since Megumi had made it into the programme. Both 1-A and 1-B seemed to have an even number of students. Feeling guilt wouldn't change a thing though.
Megumi's My Hero Academia was different from Colby's My Hero Academia. Even if the only difference was Megumi's sole existence.
Nevertheless, it did come across as pretty weird that they had put Megumi in 1-A considering that 1-B only had one recommended student compared to 1-A's three. The Original must have begged to be put in the same class as Todoroki. Christ, no wonder she had been so fucking selfish, had anybody even told her what 'No' meant?
How did they even manage to turn that egotistic girl into a depressed mess who had no qualms handing her body over to some random dead soul she came across?
'Jeez, here I am thinking in circles. I need to focus."
She walked in front of the huge vanity mirror decorating her wall and took a good look at herself.
Long, incredibly wavy blonde hair cascading down to her waist. Equally wavy bangs that she chose to part in the middle to make space for the bandages. Soft features, except for the high arched brows and sharp teal eyes. Teal eyes with... white, slit pupils? If she looked close enough, her eyes looked distinctly cat-like. They were pretty for sure, but became quite unnerving if she kept on looking into their depths.
Megumi took a deep breath and concentrated.
She had seen how her quirk looked in the Original's memories, yes. But seeing and doing were two different things. And what she needed right now was to get a grip on how she could even manifest her powers. Quirks were special for each individual- therefore, to 'Colby', Megumi's quirk was just as much of a stranger as Megumi herself.
She closed her eyes. Her arm reached out into empty air, towards the wall to her right.
'I am... technically not Megumi. But I am also the closest anyone is ever gonna get to being her as long as she wants to stay dead.'
Her fingers clasped around nothing in particular.
'I really liked being Colby. I didn't hate it. But I can't bring her back.'
Brows furrowed, she reached out with her other hand as if checking for something invisible. She could feel something thrumming, reaching back out to her. Whatever it was, it felt just as lost and confused as she had been on that day. As if it was seeing for the first time that it had lost something, but didn't know what or why.
'In the least, I can help set things straight here. This is not what I thought would happen when I died. Certainly didn't think I would end up somewhere fictional... well, I guess it isn't fictional anymore. What else is there to do? I really don't want to die again.'
She extended her hands towards the unfamiliar warmth. She didn't know how much time had passed, but she had lowered herself to the floor to sit a long time ago. She latched onto the unknown- until it squeezed her hand back.
'I can be Megumi. I can live in her stead. Until the day she comes back and tells me I'm not needed anymore.'
She opened her eyes.
Her heart beat was going crazy.
Wound tightly around her hands were chains. A complex web of glowing seafoam green lit up her entire room, and she found herself trapped in the maze of chains she had accidentally created.
Oh god she was going to school.
As she sat in the back of her limousine (why the actual fuck was she going to school in a limousine), Megumi wondered if dying would have been a better alternative after all.
The moment her alarm went off at around 7am, the realization that she was utterly emotionally and physically unprepared for what was to come hit her full force.
She had been so engrossed with trying to familiarize herself with the freaking chains coming out of her that she hadn't even eaten dinner last night. It had taken her forever to figure out how to make them disappear. Until then, she couldn't let anyone into her room. Nor had she gotten any sleep- for the second day in a row. To say she felt like shit would've been an understatement. Nausea and sleep deprivation were a terrible combo.
Dragging herself out of bed, Megumi hadn't even bothered trying to make herself presentable. Her hair would take forever to brush and makeup always made her itchy, so she skipped those altogether. After haphazardly throwing on her school uniform (maybe she should have been fangirling about that, but she was just so tired) and clumsily replacing the bandages on her head with new ones, she had speed-ran into the driveway. Her school bag had been completely forgotten and Megumi had to go back up to get it all the way up the stairs.
Who knew living in a mansion would have its downsides?
She couldn't even relax enough to get a bit more sleep during her ride to school, because jesus christ she was going to meet all these main characters in real life and they all fucking hated her. Her heart was racing so fast she feared it would leap out of her chest, onto the ground in a gory mess.
When they arrived at the gates, Megumi thought she was having a heart attack. She reigned in her desire to scream and swallowed the dying noises threatening to spill out of her throat.
And as she walked through UA's front gates, she suddenly felt ridiculously tired. What was the point of panicking? She had a headache, her joints hurt with every step she took and she just wanted to sleep. 'You died once and you're gonna let a bunch of high schoolers scare you? Heeell no.'
On her way to the classroom, she could hear the whispers and murmurs around her as students recognized her to be the one girl from 1-A who got her ass kicked by villains. Not that she could tell them to fuck off. Gossip was what high schoolers thrived on, she had no interest in those things whatsoever.
Megumi stood in front of the big door that separated her from the source of all her anxiety. She took deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. Her chaotic morning had caused her a bit of delay, so she would probably be the last one arriving to class. The bell was going to ring in 5 minutes. 'Damn I wanna throw up.'
Without further ado, she slid open the door.
Immediately, eyes of all shapes and sizes seemed to latch onto her. Megumi stood awkwardly in the doorway.
Well, fuck.
Was it just her or did her heart just stop functioning? She couldn't even bring herself to meet their stares.
'No no. Stand your ground. Go to your seat. They're just a bunch of kids, you're a grown ass woman, act like it!'
But before she could do so, a green blur literally came out of nowhere and threw itself in front of her. What followed next made her want to both laugh and cry hysterically.
Midoriya was bowing profusely, mumbling incoherent apologies as Uraraka and Iida stood to his sides, their hands outstretched in a futile attempt to calm him down. "I am so so so sorry Airashi-san! If I hadn't hesitated and payed more attention back there, you wouldn't have had to save me! You got hurt because of me, it's all my fault and I'm really so sorry, I wanted to visit you in the hospital to apologize in person a lot sooner but they placed us under supervised house arrest after that incident in USJ and I couldn't get a hold of your phone number and even called your family estate but they told me you were busy and I'm really-"
Megumi could only blink in bewilderment as he continued his deranged tirade, without even gasping for air. It was morbidly impressive.
From the corner of her eye she could see that Kirishima, Kaminari and Ashido were a snickering mess. When she made eye contact with Uraraka and Iida, they simply shrugged as if saying 'What can you do sometimes'.
Okay, out of all possible outcomes, she hadn't been expecting such an... enthusiastic greeting. She should have known that UA students weren't big on bullying, it was only natural that they wouldn't ignore an injured classmates in spite of how annoying they were. Firstly, she had to get the attention off of herself and Midoriya for the sake of her own sanity. Honestly he was kind of scaring her right now.
What was the best way to go about this? Sighing wearily, she lightly bumped her fist on Midoriya's bowed head. Wow his hair was really wild. "Uh... don't worry about it. Anybody would have done the same."
He went silent.
Then, he proceeded to look at her as if she had told him the strangest thing ever. Why did the classroom feel quieter than before? Uncomfortable, she removed her hand and trudged over to her seat.
What was that?
Conversations resumed a while later and her weird interaction with Midoriya seemed to have been forgotten. Megumi was thankful that most people were too preoccupied with their own small talk to really approach her.
As she sat down, she pointedly ignored the intense chill creeping up on her despite the light shining onto her seat through the window.
Right. Of course she was sitting next to Todoroki.
'Where the hell is Aizawa-sensei?'
A/N:
Heya! Thank you for reading. :)
Your reviews keep me going.
Also, I feel like this chapter turned out quite boring. It's certainly not my favorite so far, but I wracked my brain trying to imagine how 1A would react if Megumi suddenly stopped being an asshole. More of that in the next chapters I guess. Really, my biggest fear right now is making anyone OOC. Considering how most UA students can tolerate Bakugou's explosive personality, I think they wouldn't be affected much by the original Megumi's annoying antics. Megumi just assumed they all hated her, but I don't think future heroes would be that petty.
Someone suggested line breaks to separate different POVs to make it less confusing and I'm trying to implement that! I was originally going to write this story from a 3rd person POV, but Megumi's personality kind of mixed a bit too well into the writing and now I guess I'll be writing different POVs lol. I hope I'm not giving her too much crackhead energy. I hope I can make the next chapter more exciting.
See you all next week!