I am here... with a new chapter after suffering enough of writer's block! That and exploring new ideas here and there to give me some inspiration to help. I hope you all love it!
Note to self, buy the principal lunch tomorrow and get him a thank you card.
Ez a legkevesebb, amit tehetek érte.
Despite not seeming like it, he's really good at comforting someone when the situation calls for it, putting his own sensitivities aside to aid those in need.
After my relieved yet uncertainty induced meltdown, I was able to calm down, no longer feeling one of the weights that was on my head as he gave me a handkerchief to dry my eyes.
After that he began to do some small talk, how my day was so far, how classes were going, what I plan to do after, stuff like that to distract me from earlier which I appreciated.
After a while, one of the staff members (a hero who I cannot for the life of me recognize due to my lack of knowledge) came in with a big bag of beef buns, chow mein and rice which the principal apparently ordered a while ago from the same restaurant I've gone to a few times in my neighborhood.
Upon smelling the food I felt like I was going to drool, but just as I covered my mouth so to not be rude my stomach chose that time to make it's hunger very much known.
It sounded like a chainsaw.
Falar sobre embaraçoso.
I blushed as I hung my head in shame.
To add that I didn't eat lunch due to not bringing one and, in all honesty, the sandwich I made for breakfast this morning wasn't entirely satisfying, made this more embarrassing.
But I was stunned to hear the principal chuckle in understanding as he offered to share his food with him.
At first I declined because I didn't want to seem like a burden nor feel like I was depriving him of a full meal, but soon changed my mind when he told me, to my surprise, that he ordered this food for us when he found out that I didn't bring a lunch with me and that I, apparently, forgot to pay for my lunch money this month.
The latter he must've found out from his computer and the former he probably found out from snooping in my backpack this morning when he hitched a ride on it.
Though surely I would've noticed that even if I was in my thoughts right?
I made a note to check it later as he told me that he didn't want me to go hungry the rest of the day and he enjoyed having lunch with his students on an occasion as they made it more interesting.
Needless to say the food, as always, was so good that I had to hold myself back from inhaling my share.
After that and getting a pass back to class I made it back to my home room without an issue and the rest of my day went well.
I explained to the others that the meeting went well and that I was having lunch with the principal as he offered to share his food with me hence why I didn't come back earlier (Which surprised Shota, Made Oboro stare in awe and Hizashi be hyped and sorta jealous about it).
Mostly true with the part about my break down and the true reason for being there were excluded from the explanation.
Thankfully they bought it and were otherwise relieved to see that I've managed to calm down from before and that all was well.
The rest of the day went on without a hitch.
Thankfully we didn't have a hero class today or I'd be busted. According to our teacher we were going to have that in a few days, hopefully that'll be enough time for the new costume to be made and tested.
Once school got out the boys went to the gym for their training, for me I went to one of the patch of forests on campus so to not accidentally put anyone to sleep in a shared space (plus this will ensure that if I mess up, no one will witness it).
It didn't take much to get the approval from our teacher to do special training after classes got out.
Once I was sure that I was alone I got started.
Turns out quirk training, in terms of me doing it, was rather easy all things considered (Not only doing the tests myself and trying out new angles but also using what I remembered from the canon).
Examining how much I can produce at once and the range of this mist and if I could direct it somehow, seeing if I could release it from any part of my body !excluding my head as I found out), if the quirk released itself without anything to conceal the skin and after a while waiting (Thankfully no, only I could make it work when I need to), if I could actually expell it from my hands (Answer: I could but only in small hand sized bursts) and my foot (Again yes but it stays on the ground and acts like a fog coating a stage at a rock concerts only it stayed around my feet yet it could come in handy actually if I had a cloak to conceal myself I could probably look like a scary phantom or If I was around opponents that were already on the ground and they would stay asleep from the somnambulist), and most importantly how long I can keep the quirk running before I hit my drawback besides knowing that the quirk itself does better around men than women and that the user was immune to this quirk (I know that in itself is risky but that's why I wanted to do that last so that I wouldn't exhaust myself early on), turns out I can make it last for a solid hour and a half before I actually started feeling the weakness, confirming that the quirk itself did have another drawback.
If I over used it I would feel my body Giving into exhaustion, acting like I just ran a marathon, and feel a bit of dehydration to the point that I actually needed to sit down and take a breather (Thank you Sensei for insisting on me and the boys grabbing a water bottle from one of the vending machines before getting started cause I was parched).
Avere una sete terribile non è divertente.
It was only then I noticed how late it was getting upon seeing the sky was orange as it was getting close to sunset, Knowing it was time to pack it up.
With plans to work on this new body and see how flexible it was compared to my original, I got up and went to go change back into my school wear (I'm thankful that I changed into my PE uniform so that I wouldn't get my school uniform all sweaty or dirty), I met up with the guys as we went and found our teacher to let him know that we were done and we were heading home.
Even before we boarded the train I could easily tell that they were quite beat, meaning that they must have worked very diligently and hard in their training to the point of exhaustion, so much so that the boys (Not just Shota) looked ready to fall asleep any second now.
Worried for them, I chose to go with the boys to ensure they'd be alright, even if it means getting back home very late.
And I was right to do so as all of them fell asleep when we got seated on the train, leaving me as the only one who despite being exhausted wasn't that tired enough to fall asleep too and thus left me in charge of keeping an eye on them and keeping an eye on our stops.
Were not for the knowledge in the diaries about where they lived I would have been totally lost in trying to deduce where they lived, My stop was the last so I would have time to think to myself on how to train in this new body and be able to see the boys off one by one before heading home.
At each stop I woke the boys one by one at each of their stops, bidding them a good night, each of them being kind of startled when I woke them And at the fact that they realize that I had gone with them on train but were grateful that I stuck by them and made sure they got to their stops safely despite delaying my own return home.
When we were coming closer to Musutafu, I chose to disembark there and wait for the next train heading to UA to come just so I wouldn't be stuck on the loop for long hours. Thankfully there were others at the station so I wasn't totally alone after getting off as some left after getting off the train while some who had waited for it got on the train to head for their stops while still some were probably waiting for the same train as me or waiting for one going in the same direction as me.
Upon sitting down on a bench, sitting next to an old lady no older than 70 with a sloth quirk (thanks to her physical characteristics allowing me to spot that) wearing a simple lavender dress, white flats and white purse on her left side, I felt my phone buzzing with a notification. Pulling out the phone I looked to see what it was.
Upon seeing the notification I felt my heart drop like a sack of dumbbells.
It was a text message from... Nemuri's mother. ... My mom, who isn't my mom...
Mom...
I honestly don't know how to feel about this, on the one hand it really brings me back to my own thoughts about my real mother, knowing that she must be awfully worried sick along with my father and brother, not knowing where I am or possibly, if it turns out that my body's in a coma, wondering why I'm not waking up or..., try as I might my heartache towards missing my family and being homesick grows, more so than I could ever comprehend as don't get me wrong I have been away from home for a long periods of time before if it wasn't a shopping trip then it was for a field trip that would spam for days or a week, but there's a difference between being away from home on the same planet and being away from home on a different planet similar to my own... I don't want to think about the possibilities of never returning home again... the shred of hope that I have of somehow returning home someday soon is the only thing that's keeping me from completely collapsing (Even though it's only been a few short days to me it feels like it's been longer).
On the other hand, as much as I don't want to get tangled up in a web of lies just to ensure that Nem's mom won't worry and most importantly keep things stable between us, I knew I had to reply or else she was going to worry more.
Opening the text messenger I read what she wrote.
Mom: Hello sweet heart, I'm just checking in on you cuz you know I worry so don't even think about being smart with me, how are things going at your apartment?
So I texted back saying (trying also to at the very least keep it as close to the truth as possible):
Me: Been better, there's been a bit of undue stress for the last few days but I'm managing well, the stress is more towards school however. Other than that everything's been going well.
Mom: That's good to hear. I'm also texting you because your principal called me and told me that your lunch money for the month hadn't been renewed yet, but don't worry I already paid for it while you were still at school so it's one less thing to worry about until next month, I was a high schooler myself so I understand that all that stress can lead to one forgetting small things here and there.
Me: Agreed.
Mom:...
There was no reply for 30 seconds until one finally came up and this one really started to stir my own anxieties.
Mom: Honey... I know about the attack with that villain, And how that whole situation left you terrified, while I'm glad that you're not hurt it still broke my heart seeing you break down like that on the news, although I'm thankful that the number one hero was there to help comfort you the fact that you didn't even call me after the incident left me wrought with concern... I wanted to give you space before calling but the more that time passed the more that my worry grew... so please, be honest with me, are you okay?
In my mind I wasn't really thinking about Mrs. Kayama seeing the news about the incident, nor did I take into account that the whole thing would be filmed as I was too engulfed in my own fear and tears to really notice at the time. It didn't even occur to me either to check back with her to tell her that everything was all right.
There have been too many things that have been on my mind that have led me to being negligent of these facts, if I'm really going to be posing as Nemuri Kayama then that means I need to also take the time to at least interact with her mom even if part of me selfishly hopes that I don't interact with her physically in person as I'm not even sure if I can handle it as I have my own worries about my own family to deal with.
I Hope that chatting with her via text will help soothe my own anxieties as much as her's just thinking about the situation, and hopefully offer monthly advice to me. At least I can be honest with her about how I felt from the whole situation, will mostly anyway.
Me: In actuality? No. None of us saw those two coming, I was too immersed in my own thoughts to comprehend until it was too late, too startled to take action, just being close to an early grave, It was very scary, I couldn't use my quirk because I was pinned. Were not for All Might I would be dead... I really thought I was going to die right then and there... being so paralyzed by fear and being so helpless to stop it was mortifying say the least... which is why I'm grateful to All Might For taking time to comfort me after saving me and knocking out the villains, Just being in his arms felt so warm and comforting as I was able to let go of my fears and just cry in relief that I was alive and that I wasn't alone at that moment cuz I know that being left alone after dealing with such a traumatic experience would only do more harm on the mental psyche than good depending on the case. I'm just thankful that me and everyone who was caught in that situation came out of it alive and thankfully on my end that I didn't end up having a nightmare later that night.
Kinda long but I was satisfied with my reply and sent it, I patiently waited until my phone chimed as I got a reply from her.
Mom: Oh Honey :'(
I'm so sorry you went through all that, If only I could have been there at your apartment that evening to give you some bit of comfort too.
Me: I appreciate the thoughts, but like I said I'm doing okay now, also All Might offered me some words of wisdom which was also a big factor in helping me to destress.
Mom: I'm glad to hear :)
Me: That just goes to show you that All Might not only saves people's lives, He also saves their hearts however he can even just offering a smile and words of wisdom can really help a person in their lowest times, And he inspires other heroes to achieve that too.
Mom: Since when did you have such a philosophy on that??
Oh! Whoopsies, I got a little carried away there.
Me: I read there in the book somewhere.
I know, lousy excuse ever, and the old classic one that people tend to use when trying to conceal the truth, but can you fault me?
Mom: If you say so.
Phew, She bought it.
Mom: Anyways, How has the week been treating you?
The Rest of the conversation consists of me telling her all that went out about the week, according to the diaries, that all was well that there were no problems, that school was going fine aside from some tests that were coming up and had been needing to do some extra studying at home to be prepared for them. I even got to telling her about the restaurant I went to a few times And how great the food was.
At least that part I got to tell her with my own words rather than having to tell her from what happened from Nem's point of view.
Mom: I'm Glad to hear that you're doing well... work has been rather stressful but it's Been good and very productive, And I'm thankful that my job pays really well so I'm able to not only pay for the house mortgage but also pay for your apartment at least until you graduate or make that apartment your home and thus leading to you having to pay for it yourself when time comes.
Me: Yeah.
Mom: Oh! Before I forget. I took a really funny photo that I know you're going to love, I'll text it to you now.
A few seconds later, the pic came through and... needless to say it took everything within me to keep myself from falling off the bench in pure hilarity as I was laughing so hard that I actually started to cry.
The pic was of a Man, who must have been one of her co-workers, got face planted by what looks like a sugar glider and the reaction caused him to spill coffee on himself while hopping on one leg from the force of getting slammed in the face by the little critter while his other hand was in the air weirdly with lots of papers flying about around him as it appeared that the reaction caused him to fling his office papers in the air without meaning to.
I was laughing so hard that my stomach was also starting to cramp up and my face was starting to hurt, this was too much!
It took me a while to actually calm down and get a hold of my breathing so that I could respond back.
Me: HAHAHA! Sorry for not responding right away I was laughing so hard as soon as I saw the pic, this is too hilarious, this is comic gold!
Mom: I thought you might say that, feeling better?
At first I was confused about why she asked me that but then it struck me as I looked back at what happened a minute ago and realized that I didn't feel as anxious as I was before, in fact I felt like some burdens had been lifted from my shoulders in the fit of laughter...
She knew I needed something to relieve myself after telling her about what went on yesterday and all that transpired up until now (Even if she didn't need to know about the meeting that I have with the principal and the boys), so She sent the pic to me to cheer me up.
Mama knows best indeed.
For the first time since receiving her first text message I was able to smile.
Me: Yeah, much better in fact. I didn't even realize that I needed a good laugh until now, thank you.
Mom: That's what I'm here for.
Well I better let you go since it is starting to get late and I know you need to sleep so you can get ready for school in the morning.
But one more thing before I do... you weren't being... Fresh lately since you got the apartment were you?
Even if that was a polite way of putting it I couldn't help but blush but mainly from a bit of horror. If she knew about the delivery she would kill me, even if I did convince the mailman to send the package back so I can get a refund, that won't change the fact that mischievous Little Nem ordered them from the beginning before I ended up in her body.
And so I told her both the truth and a little lie:
Me: No! I absolutely have not been! I promise you I haven't!
A lot has changed recently and let's Just say that somebody gave me a huge reality check, so I promise you I'm not going to indulge in that subject anytime soon, or ever for that matter.
And I did mean that last part, That subject is one I do not ever want to get indulged in.
Again That's a story for another time, But to put it simply what I went through was very traumatic years ago and leave it at that.
Mom: Oh that's good to hear, If you ever meet that person again tell them I said thanks.
Me: Will do.
Mom: With that out of the way, I'll let you go, but please text me again if something happens, okay?
Me: Promise.
Mom: All right Nem, have a good night, love you!
Me: Same here.
It took everything in me to write that last part out, The moment I saw those words that she texted I felt some in me die, as I put the phone back where I pulled it out from before gripping my skirt with tight fists.
I love you.
I know those words were not meant for me, they were meant for Nemuri, yet It felt like I was being stabbed in the heart.
Because more than anything... I want to hear my own mother tell me that.
I want to see my own family again, I want them to know I'm ok, I want to embrace my mom, I want to laugh with my dad, I wanna play with my baby brother, I want to go for a walk with Crystal...
But I can't.
Because I don't know when I'll be able to, I'm stuck here until I figure out how to go home. I'm stuck here.
But still!
While I'm here I'll do what I can to try and help ensure that the future will be better for everyone to the best of my abilities using whatever knowledge that I have from the show and the manga, I have to!
I can't let Oboro die or be near dead and be turned into a villain! I can't let Hawks and Chizomi suffer again! I can't let the Todoroki's suffer anymore abuse! I can't let Tenko become a villain vessel nor let his family die again! I can't let All Might be crippled! I can't let Crawler and Pop Suffer! I can't let Izuku get bullied again!
So many "I can't's" and yet I still have so much more to worry about.
Qu'est ce que je vais faire?
If I don't do something then-!
SMACK!
"OW!" I yelped as I felt the stinging pain from the back of my head as I rubbed it like somebody had smacked me.
"Calm yourself dear child, All You're going to do is stress yourself out again. Believe me when I say that flip-flopping from relief to stress out repeatedly is not good for one's health, Especially one as young as yourself." Came the voice of the old woman who I turned to face.
Her voice didn't sound demanding or harsh, it sounded calm and reassuring, kind of like a wise ninja master who has seen much in life or a very nurturing grandmother. Even with her eyes squinted shut I could tell that she was looking at me as she gave me a look of reassurance.
"Though I may not know what the cause of your plight is to make you start stressing again after being calmed down by your mother by the looks of it, but I do know that letting all those thoughts run in your head all at once will only bring about more burdens than it's worth." She told me.
"Tell me about it." I replied in defeat as I cast my head down, if I was that obvious to this old lady due to my emotions running higher than normal and that by her gaze I could tell that she was not going to be fooled if I lied, then what was the point in trying to hide it?
Me sentí más expuesta que un jarrón roto.
"Even if You choose not to tell anyone, I can tell that there are great matters that weigh heavily on you, so much so that you worry that if you were to act too quickly or hastily then all be lost, am I not correct?" She asked To which I can only nod.
How was she able to see that? Feels rather upsetting feeling this vulnerable.
"But You mustn't be despaired, child," She then told me which made me look up to meet her gaze, "Even if you feel like It's you against the world, believe me when I say it isn't. By focusing on one matter at a time in the present now you'll do yourself more good than you might even believe yourself. So long as there is time to get each thing done, so long as you work diligently to get one thing done at a time rather than trying to get them all done at once or even think about it all at the same time, so long as you keep a calm head, and most importantly, so long as you never lose hope and never give in to sorrow and anguish or even fear no matter how great or difficult the task may appear to be, all will be right. The journey it seems will be strenuous and may even be scary, but as long as you keep your eyes on the price, so long as you have others who can support you who you can turn to for help in times of need Just a stay count on you, Not letting any doubt or half-heartedness make room in your life, clinging to that hope and let it be a beacon to shine through the darkness around you, then everything will fall into place." She then placed her right hand on my left shoulder and concluded with this, "Work hard child, in time you too will be a shining light for others to count on, where your strength within your heart will be the thing that will help them to stay strong and cling to that same hope that you have, In time, no matter the odds, I know you can be the hero that you want to be and persevere. Do you understand?"
Is leathcheann mé.
With widened eyes and tears welling up in my eyes as I felt her word reach me, piercing through my heart, I knew she was right.
I need to focus on what's going on now, one thing at a time And plan my next step carefully, even though I didn't believe it at first I believe that she was right about despair, in a part of my mind I was giving into despair without knowing it, I thought that I wasn't but my doubts and my insecurities and fears were consuming me more than I knew, blinding me to that fact.
Even though I knew the consequences of what will happen if I fail, I shouldn't let that Rome in my mind too heavily, And letting go of hope is like letting go of a light for without it I am completely blind in the darkness and can't find my way out.
And ... I'm not really alone, even if I'm not Nemuri Kayama, I do have people by my side.
Shota, Hizashi, Oboro, and even the principle... All Might... Nemuri's mom too... Even this wise old woman before me...
Even though I'm scared to reveal my true self to any of them, even though I'm scared of failure, knowing that I have people by my side to help and support me should be the thing that lifts me up, not bring me down. Hope should be the thing that shines the path ahead of me, not fade out and leave me to die.
And ... recalling All Might's words, both at the time when I was in his arms and in the letter he wrote to me then... I felt like slapping myself in the face for my own tomfoolery.
I can't lose Hope! Nor Give up! I can't be That helpless little girl in high school anymore!
Even If the odds seem stacked against me...
I will save them!
I will be brave!
I will fight!
I will be a Hero!!
With a determined tearful face, and a firm nod I told her, "Yes."
She smile grew as she nodded back before pulling me into her arms, and I didn't fight back as I returned the hug, letting my head be buried into her chest and my own tears fall from my face as I said, "Thank you."
I felt her nod as she said nothing more as we sat there in silence for a while.
Any negative emotions I had faded away as, for the first time in What felt like so long even though it wasn't, I felt that all will be right.
Wǒ huì quèbǎo tā huì.
And... Until the day I can return home... I'll focus on what I can do now.
'Mom, Dad, Little brother, crystal, please wait for me, I have things I need to do here but I promise... I will get back home someday... and give Nemuri her life back... and Nem... if you can hear me... please know that I'm sorry... for unwillingly stealing your life from you...'
Translation:
Ez a legkevesebb, amit tehetek érte (Hungarian) - It's the least I can do for him.
Falar sobre embaraçoso (Portuguese) - Talk about embarrassing.
Avere una sete terribile non è divertente (Italian) - Being terribly thirsty ain't fun.
Qu'est ce que je vais faire? (French) - What am I going to do?
Me sentí más expuesta que un jarrón roto (Spanish) - I felt more exposed then a broken vase.
Is leathcheann mé (Irish) - I'm an idiot.
Wǒ huì quèbǎo tā huì (Chinese) - I will make sure that it will.
