{Sparky has changed their name to Chargebolt.}
Chargebolt: {one new picture message}
Chargebolt: {Don't I look great? All the female sidekicks are gunna love me!}
{Shitty Hair has changed their name to Red Riot.}
Red Riot: {one new picture message}
Red Riot: {Yooo, I got Tetsutetsu here! Manliest team ever working for Fourth Kind! Let's rock these internships!}
{Short Stack has changed their name to Naimles.}
Naimles: {one new picture message}
Naimles: {Since everyone else is showing off their hero costumes, I figured I would too. Lets go beyond, Plus Ultra!}
Chargebolt: {oh my god, you're gorgeous! You're gonna have a boyfriend before you come back, I swear.}
Red Riot: {Super manly! Tetsutetsu says hi by the way!}
Lord Explosion Murder: {Fuck off! Stop blowing up the chat and do your shit!}
Chargebolt: {Someone's a grouch today...Best Jeanist got you down?}
Naimles: {He's just mad I kicked his butt sparring yesterday after you guys left.}
"Leinei, get off your phone," Reina yells, scaring her sister. She quickly shoves it in the back pocket of her suit pants, jogging to catch up with the pro. Her weighted combat boots thud against the ground with each step, practically pulling her forward each time she lifts her leg. She stays just behind Elementia, a stark contrast in the color schemes.
Elementia's costume was ruby red, basically a cat suit that she kept zipped up just to her chest. She had red and orange platform boots, and her visor, as well as her signature star hair ornament sitting around her bouncy curled ponytail. Leinei's hero suit was simple, black with purple accents, a pair of jeans with a three quarter sleeved crop top that showed her stomach and her arms below her elbows. She had weighted fingerless gloves to match her combat boots, and a sun visor sitting on her nose for reading emotional patterns and associative heat signatures. Her purple hair was pulled into twin ponytails at the back of her head, bouncing with each step just like her sister's.
"Good morning, Mrs. Kalvev," Elementia sings, waving at an elderly woman with a smile. "How's Mr. Kalvev?"
"Oh, he's just fine, thank you for asking," the lady says, stopping to talk as Leinei stops behind her. She could feel her phone buzzing in her back pocket, most likely more messages from the group chat. She smiles kindly at the woman. "Oh my, I don't think I've seen this one before. What's your name?"
"Naimles, I'm an intern from UA," she says, trying to keep the smile up. This lady was ridiculously happy, so happy it actually felt draining to poor Leinei. "It's very nice to meet you, Mrs. Kalvev."
"Naimles. Interesting choice for a name."
"She's still workshopping it," Elementia says, laughing as she rubs her neck. "Has Toda been by to help with your groceries yet?"
"Oh, that delivery was yesterday. You're such a dear for worrying about it."
"It's what we're here for. Do you need us to walk you home?"
"No, I'm fine. You two have a fun patrol!"
"Have a good day, Mrs. Kalvev!"
They continue walking down the sidewalk, greeting people and talking. Each interaction leaves Leinei more and more drained, as if she had a battery that drained with each new person she met. She didn't even feel this drained sitting in class with the others, but figured that it must be because she has to put on that hero persona, that personality everyone will come to know her as. Fake the happiness she's supposed to feel, that smile that hurts her face no matter what happens.
"Leinei!" a happy voice says as she and Elementia get back to the agency, her looking up to see the man running over in sneakers, coat, and just a skin colored shirt and pants. It was actually kinda weird to look at. His hazel eyes were bright, shining as he looked at Reina, who had taken her visor and hair piece out. "Elementia, this is your sister, right? Not some new pro?"
"I know, she looks all grown up in her hero suit," she gushes, laughing. Leinei rolls her eyes, taking her own visor off and fiddling with the arms that would hold it on her face. "Leinei, remember Toda?"
"We only met once," she mumbles, looking at the man as he pushes his short messy brown hair from his eyes. He's too happy, just like Mrs. Kalvev. "It's nice to see you again, I guess."
"You were so small a year ago!" he says, placing his hand on her head with a big smile. The touch made her skin crawl; there was something about him that made him seem too earnest, too eager. She glances at Reina to see if she picks up on it too, but her sister is just smiling and happy to see her number one sidekick and sister getting along. "How's the quirk coming along?"
"Good…"
"That's awesome! Elementia helped me a lot with my quirk," he says, pulling his hand away and holding it up. His skin separates, showing the bone and muscle, before coming back together and twisting into a corkscrew shape. The squishing and seeing the actual contortion of his skin made Leinei feel sick to her stomach, but Reina just nodded, proud of her sidekick. "I know, super gross right? No other agencies would hire me because of it, but Elementia did! She's amazing, I can't wait to see what you'll learn from her."
"Actually, Toda, are you going out on patrol right now?" she asks. He tilts his head as his skin reforms to its original state. Leinei resists the urge to throw up hearing the skin squish and slide back into place. The others would love to hear that. But I don't want to make them hurl with the thought.
"No, my patrol time isn't until later," he says. "Why? Did you need me for something?"
"Yeah! Naimles here has some ideas for her quirk, and we needed a guinea pig, if you're okay with that."
"Anything for you, Elementia!"
"Thanks, Toda. You're amazing."
"So what were you wanting to try?" Toda asks as they start to head to the training room Reina had specially ordered for the agency when it was first constructed. "You have an emitter type quirk, don't you?"
"Ah, yeah, I do," she replies. "I wanted to work on picking different emotions rather than just the negative ones. And numbing people."
"Smart," he agrees, rubbing the back of his neck. He seems to be thinking of ways to work with that, trying to figure out how they could use that. "Maybe we should start by focusing on the center of why you can only pick negative emotions."
"Well..um...I don't exactly know why."
"Well, how did your quirk manifest?"
"Um...I think it was after I found out that my best friend...um…" Her voice trails off, her chest starting to tighten again. The memories of the crash flash in front of her eyes, the distant sound of tires screeching and metal creaking echoing in her ears. She feels cold all of a sudden, and takes a shaky breath. "I think it was after I found out that my childhood friend was dead."
"So your quirk manifested out of your pain and sorrow," he clarifies. "That must be why you can only pick those emotions, since you're the most acquainted with them. So, let's try focusing on what makes you happy. Find five things that make you happy, and let's focus on them. I'll let you use your quirk on me as much as you need."
"Ar-are you sure?"
"Positive. Anything to help Elementia's baby sister."
Five things that make me happy. Well, Mr. Spokes makes me happy. I've had him ever since I could remember, and I'd be lost without him. Talking to Keigo makes me happy; he always finds ways to make me laugh and cheer me up. That's only two… The study group yesterday made me happy! Being with my friends made me happy. Being in the group chat with Kirishima, Kaminari and Bakugo makes me happy. Having friends makes me happy. Talking to Bakugo outside of the group chat makes me happy too-he's a lot nicer than he lets on…
So, Mr. Spokes, Keigo, the study group, my friends, and talking to Bakugo. My five things that make me happy. And I just have to focus on those. It can't be too hard can it? I can do this. I have to do this.
The next few days were spent working on picking those specific positive emotions out. In between practicing, Reina would take Leinei out on patrol, getting her acquainted with the neighborhood, with the citizens. Each day, it got easier for her to be around the new people. She found herself smiling more, helping Mrs. Kalvev with her grocery delivery, and climbing a tree to get a kid's frisbee down.
"And to think, just two weeks ago, you thought you weren't cut out for hero work," Reina says, nudging her sister as she dusts the bark and leaves off her hero suit. Leinei takes a breath, smiling at her sister. Reina's heart melts, seeing her sister's eyes sparkling.
"Yeah, I know," she replies, stretching her arms above her head and waving as the happy kids run off. She drops her arms and yawns. "Isn't our shift almost over?"
"Yep. And you've improved a lot these past few days. Your work with Toda is impressive. I haven't seen him this happy in a long time."
"He's always happy," Leinei tells her, confused as they walk down the sidewalk back to the agency. She shivers a bit as a breeze runs through, crossing her arms under her chest. "At least he seems that way."
"Toda is my number one for a reason," Reina replies, floating a few inches above the ground and smiling with her signature peace sign as some of the neighborhood kids wave and call her name. "His fiancee was in a bad accident a few years back. Her car hit a semi head on. Miraculously, she survived, but has been comatose ever since. Her insurance stopped covering the support she needs, so he works harder than anyone to make sure he can pay them off. As a result, he's amazing at his job. And everyone loves him."
"I had no clue," she mumbles. His past is like ours…
That night, Leinei curls up in her bed with Mr. Spokes, her fingers hovering over the digital keyboard on her phone. The group chat has been radio silent the past few days, minus a few picture messages from Kirishima of Tetsutetsu in some weird situations. Seeing them made her laugh, and miss her friends. Her phone vibrates in her hand, a new message alert from Bakugo sliding down in their private chat.
Katsu: {how's your internship going?}
Leinei: {Good. I picked up a few tricks with my quirk. How's yours?}
Katsu: {Shit! He keeps trying to fucking comb my hair and now it won't go back to normal! I seriously think I chose the wrong fucking agency.}
Leinei: {I bet you look good with your hair combed, but I do like the spiky look on you.}
Katsu: {Stop saying stupid shit. Ugh I can't wait for this crap to be over.}
Leinei: {What, do you miss us already?}
Katsu: {...someone's gotten confident.}
Leinei: {Is that a bad thing?}
Katsu: {Fuck if I know.}
Toda sighs softly, rubbing the back of his head as he looks either way getting off the train. His chest is tight, his stomach twisting as he heads towards the abandoned bar in Kamino. He held a manila file under his arm, his fingers leaving dark sweat marks on the cardstock. Leinei's name was written across the tab, filled with the reports from the Shiketsu Incident, the summaries of her daily therapy sessions at the mental hospital, and various other things that Reina had deemed necessary.
"I'll keep your lover alive, but you just have to do one simple task for me."
Those words echoed in his head as he did the knock he was taught on the door. His legs tremble, clenching his hands shut as the door opens. Calming elevator music played over the speakers, a blue haired man sitting on a stool at the bar. The purple mist fiddles with a rag and a glass, seemingly cleaning them as Toda closes the door behind him.
"Toda, it's been a while since you've come here," the mist says, looking up with those yellow eyes that freeze Toda to his bones. He clears his throat and walks over to the bar, setting the file down. A few of the papers fall out.
"This is that girl I told you about last year," he says, his chest heaving as he sits down on a stool. "Her quirk just leveled up, and she has decent combat capabilities."
"Interesting," Shigaraki grumbles, pulling the file over and flipping it open. Leinei's student ID picture from UA is on the first page, her eyes blank and the circles under her eyes darker than ever. He picks the page up with two fingers, handing it over to Kurogiri.
"I've heard of this girl," the blue haired man says, shifting through the papers. "The Shiketsu Slaughterer. Six people died after she used her quirk. Ninety more dropped during the UA Sports Festival."
"She would be a nice addition to our group, Tomura Shigaraki," Kurogiri agrees, setting the paper down. "However, her older siblings are pros and she attends UA."
"Which makes it even better when we get her to work with us. Her and that boy with the explosions. It'll tarnish that golden reputation they have, pumping out heroes, and two of their precious prized students switch teams."
Toda nods, looking down at the bar as he holds his head. He feels guilty for betraying Reina and Leinei this way, but...his fiancee's life matters more than them. He has to do what he can to save her. Even if it means sacrificing someone in the process.
