A/N: Hi everyone, I'm back with chapter two! :-) First of all I wanted to thank you guys for reading and even if it has only been one chapter, I already got reviews, follows and favorites which made me really, really happy! Many, many thanks and lots of love from my side. I think I smiled like an idiot looking at my computer screen.^^ So we have part two of Masha's childhood / background story here, I hope you have fun with it.
Chapter Two: Byakko Restarting
Masha awakened in a sterile hospital room. Everything was white and clean, no other people were around and no other beds were in the room except hers. She sighed, relieved that this hero had obviously listened properly to her explanations and sniffed cautiously only to wrinkle her nose at the typical hospital smell. It reeked of medicine and disinfectant, but she could also sense different people who had entered the room previously.
As she looked around her room, Masha noticed it was almost empty except for her bed and a small side table, but on the windowsill there were placed some flowers, small plush toys and colorful cards with cute motifs. Fortunately for the young girl Izukyun was a very smart and concerned best friend who would always worry about her future and thus kept telling her that even if she lived on the streets, she would need some basic knowledge and started teaching her since he had entered elementary school. From the beginning the boy with the greenish dark hair had shared his teaching materials of his classes with her, so she could clearly read "Thank You!" and "Get Well Soon!" on the covers of the cards and wondered who put them there.
Masha slowly sat up in her bed and was glad she didn't feel any pain anymore. Her shoulder was bandaged, but it didn't hurt like before which was a great relief for her and the little tigress couldn't find any other wounds, scratches or bruises on her body so either someone had used a healing ability on her or she had been asleep for quite a long time. The scrubs she was wearing had small, cute animal prints on them and somehow her skin seemed much cleaner than she could remember. Had they washed her?
A drip had been attached to her arm and she eyed up the transparent liquid skeptically. Voices and footsteps from outside called Masha's attention to the door that opened in the next moment and a brunette young nurse entered the room. She was wearing a white lab coat and had her hair tied up in a messy bun. As she looked at her young patient and noticed that Masha was awake, she smiled warmly and stopped at the entrance. So the hospital staff had been warned, too.
"Oh, look who's awake. Our young future hero.", the nurse said friendly and gestured towards the windowsill. "You already have some fans. The two good looking guys you rescued were here to say thank you and asked how you were doing. They were very worried and also brought the plushies and the cards." Masha looked at her presents confusedly. "How long did I sleep?" The dark haired woman looked at her clipboard. "Three days.", she answered and flipped a page. "But your stamina is quite amazing, so we could have someone use a strong healing quirk on you. Your shoulder should be completely fine in one or two days without any permanent damages. May I come in and change your bandage?"
Masha closed her eyes and thought for a moment. She wasn't afraid or angry or in pain and the nurse seemed nice, so she nodded hesitantly. "But no injections, please." The young brunette woman giggled and came closer to the bed to check on Masha's shoulder. "No, I don't like them either.", she said while removing the old braces. Masha kept still while being treated. "We also washed you and did your hair a little. Wanna have a look?" The nurse winked at her like a little girl and showed her a small, round mirror she had brought with her along with the new dressing material.
The young tigress took the mirror and stared at herself. Her white hair with the black strands had obviously been washed, cut and combed. Usually Masha always cut it by herself with her sharp claws, so her hair used to look scrubby, but now it looked like a short cut, modern girl's hairstyle. She smiled happily. "Thank you!" The nurse smiled back at her. "You're very welcome. You like it?" The little girl nodded and gave the mirror back. "I'm glad. I really did my best, but I'm no pro hairdresser." The brunette woman opened the window to let in some fresh air and went back to the door. "There are some nice people waiting for you outside. The black dressed hero who carried you here and a friendly blond lady who brought the flowers yesterday. Can I let them in?"
Masha nodded again in big surprise and watched her two visitors come into the room. Ms. Shirogawa was holding a small, colorful shopping bag and beamed at her whereas the black haired hero still looked tired and bored to death. He had dark circles around his eyes and his hands were pushed into his pockets.
"Oh Masha, I'm so glad you're fine! I was worried to death!", the blond young woman said and her hazel eyes still seemed anxious as she approached the bed and put her arms around the little girl carefully. "Thank you so much for saving my life!" She kissed the girl's forehead and smiled with teary eyes. "And I'm sorry for letting you get hurt like this."
Before Masha could even find an answer and tell her that it was not her fault, Ms. Shirogawa showed her the brightly colored bag. "I've got some new clothes for you.", she explained proudly. "Yours were torn up and dirty so we had to throw them away. I didn't know what you like so I picked some that I thought would look good on you. I hope you're okay with that." The young tigress couldn't believe her eyes when the nice lady from the animal shelter started to take out the clothes of the shopping bag. There were two T-shirts, one in a light blue color and a dark purple one with pink flowers, one white pair of shorts, black leggings, some underwear and socks and even an orange pajama with a cartoon tiger head on the top.
Astonished and with her mouth wide agape the young girl gazed at the new outfits. She even got something to change! That was more than she ever had. Suddenly Masha felt tears filling up her amber eyes and flowing down her face. How long had it been since someone except Izuku had been nice to her or had cared for her wellbeing? She couldn't even remember. And here she was, sitting on a bed in a hospital receiving flowers, cards, plush animals and new clothes from strangers, being treated nicely and carefully since she woke up and hearing nothing but friendly words from people she hadn't even seen before. They had washed her, treated her, thanked her and worried about her, but she still felt like she didn't deserve so much kindness. She, Masha, the white tiger, the aggressive monster with the scary, uncontrollable quirk and the dangerously explosive temper.
Ms. Shirogawa sat down on the bed next to her to hug her again and Masha started sobbing loudly. The whole situation was just overwhelming for the small girl and she let out her piled up emotions, drenching the shirt of the nice lady with her tears. She remembered very well that the black haired dude had promised her to erase her quirk if she would lose control, so Masha didn't hold back at this moment, causing her to be very ashamed of herself later on when she faced the two adults who came to visit her. After she calmed down she let Ms. Shirogawa help her to put some of her new clothes on and Mr. Aizawa Shota or Eraserhead, how the male hero introduced himself, stepped forward to the bed for the first time since he had entered the room.
He explained Masha that the police wanted to question her about the incident with that blue hulk and also that the youth welfare office had been informed because the hospital staff and the heroes hadn't been able to find her parents. The ears of the young tigress drooped, but she agreed to talk to the police the next day if Mr. Aizawa would also be present, only in case she had to be calmed down quickly.
However the young man who visited Masha at the hospital the next day together with Mr. Aizawa didn't look like a typical police officer. He wasn't wearing an uniform, but a beige trench coat with matching hat and underneath a dark suit. His name was Tsukauchi Naomasa and he had dark, short hair and dark eyes in an angular but nevertheless friendly face. Detective Tsukauchi questioned Masha professionally, but not without showing her a smile occasionally or sometimes also knitting his brows while taking notes.
The young girl told the detective and the pro hero her whole life story, also admitting the five murders and her interfering in the case with the blue ogre villain and some other minor crime cases she had come across while living on the streets of this city for four years. She only left out Midoriya Izuku because she feared causing trouble for him and his mommy when the police would find out that he knew about her all along and especially about her killing five people. "Am I going to be punished?", Masha asked after the questioning was over. The detective sighed and shook his head. His eyes were looking somehow sad. "No, Masha. Nothing of what has happened up until now was your fault. Besides you're too young for jail." He grinned at her after the last comment and Masha noticed that the detective had made a joke to cheer her up. She smiled back at him thankfully and he and Mr. Aizawa took their leave.
In the evening Ms. Shirogawa came again and brought her some fruit. They talked about the interview and the blue villain incident and finally Masha also found the courage to tell the friendly woman about Izuku and that she had kept him a secret from detective Tsukauchi and Mr. Aizawa. "I haven't seen him in a while now. I miss him very much.", she admitted while blushing slightly. "I hope he doesn't worry too much. They won't let me go back to the stray cats anymore and I will have to go to a therapy and quirk training and all that stuff. I don't think that I'll have time to sneak out to meet him at the playground."
The blond grinned teasingly and poked the young girl with her finger. "Someone has a crush..." Masha's face grew dark red and she hid it behind her hands. "T-that's not true!", she complained and they both started laughing. "Leave your cat friends to me. I keep feeding them every morning. They all seem to be healthy and energetic as always.", Ms. Shirogawa said. "As for your little boyfriend, how about I go to the playground and talk to him? Of course I will have to visit his mother at home officially. As a stranger I can't just walk around approaching children on a playground that would be suspicious. Would you be okay with both of them hearing your story?"
Masha picked up another piece of rabbit shaped apples. "He's not my boyfriend!", she insisted huffily. "But it would be very nice of you if you could talk to him and his mommy, Ms. Shirogawa. I just hope she won't scold him too much for keeping me a secret from her." The kind woman smiled and ruffled the girl's short hair lovingly. "Call me Kahono. We're friends who share a secret now."
Only a few days later Kahono kept her promise and went to the park with the playground that Masha had described and searched for a little nine-years-old boy with greenish dark messy hair, big green eyes and freckles on his cheeks. Luckily she didn't have to wait very long because Izuku arrived shortly after her and looked around everywhere seeming a little disappointed. The blond smiled knowingly seeing the young boy's sad eyes and came closer to him slowly, introducing herself very politely. At first the small Midoriya was kind of reserved, but opened up a little bit after hearing Masha's name and seeing a picture of her on Kahono's smartphone. Finally the young boy agreed to invite the kind lady to his home and she followed him to the apartment.
As Mrs. Midoriya welcomed her friendly, Kahono apologized multiple times for intruding so rudely, but the other woman who had the same hair and eye color as her son wasn't offended at all and offered the blond some tea. Of course Midoriya Inko, Izuku's mother was very shocked when she learned about little Masha's background story and also had some serious words for her son, but he was already feeling guilty for what had happened to his friend and Inko was much more furious about the fact that parents could abandon their own child so easily, so she didn't end up scolding her son too much. Later in the evening when Kahono was about to leave, she exchanged phone numbers with Inko and promised her to keep her updated and to let her know as soon as it was allowed to visit Masha wherever she would be living in near future.
That was, so the public authorities had decided after Masha got released from hospital, an institute and therapy center for traumatized children and children who had uncontrollable or dangerous quirk abilities. Some of them had hurt or even killed people, sometimes their own siblings or parents accidentally and few of the children in the center had also been abandoned by their scared or overextended, exhausted parents.
For Masha it was a huge surprise that she wasn't an exception, but it made it easier for her to agree on moving there because Mr. Aizawa and detective Tsukauchi promised her that there would be people around who could prevent her from attacking other kids or staff. The young tigress got a new temporary home with likeminded children and specially chosen and skilled employees. She started to talk to a psychologist frequently and also participated in group sessions with the other children. They got school classes to catch up with the necessary education, did a lot of sports to get rid of excess energy and emotions and learned how to meditate, to do Yoga and Tai Chi to clear their minds, calm down and get a better self-control. But the best thing was the quirk based training monitored by volunteer pro heroes because once a week Eraserhead aka Mr. Aizawa aka uncle Shota how Masha started to call him at some point, had agreed to tutor the kids himself.
After three months of settling in, the young girl was finally allowed to have visitors for the first time and she was so happy to see Kahono again and even detective Tsukauchi came to check on her and gave his greetings. The five murder cases as well as the blue villain case had been closed by now. And then the day had come when Masha was reunited with her Izukyun. Together with his mommy, aunty Inko in Masha's case and with Kahono the green haired little boy entered the lobby of the therapy center where the young tigress spotted him right away and flung her arms around his neck with an impressive jump of pure joy. The two kids lost their balance and landed on the floor, giggling while Mrs. Midoriya was moved to tears and Kahono patted her shoulder sympathetically.
Of course there were also times when Masha suffered great setbacks and lost herself, but she was never scolded for it and she never had to be afraid of being abandoned by anyone anymore. On the contrary, her mistakes could be used to learn from them and they analyzed them closely in the therapy sessions.
Soon enough Masha celebrated her tenth birthday at the institute with some of the staff, the other children, aunty Inko, Izukyun, Kahono and Tsukauchi. Uncle Shota had an emergency and had to move out for some hero work, but he made up for it visiting her the next day with some very good news. Shirogawa Kahono had requested to be appointed as Masha's legal guardian and it had been granted as well as putting Aizawa Shota in charge of a kind of supervisor or godfather figure for the two of them. If the young girl's great progress would keep up, she could be released in very near future and live with the blond woman, which caused both of them to cry tears of joy.
Shortly before Masha reached the age of eleven years, all the paperwork was done, Kahono had already moved to a slightly bigger apartment near the animal shelter where she continued to work and the doctors and the administration had also given their approval to discharge the young tigress under the conditions that Eraserhead would have an eye on the newly formed little family and Masha's quirk development and that the young girl would attend ambulant therapy sessions.
As she turned twelve, Masha had the qualification and the official allowance to enter a public Middle School and the adoption proceeding was going smoothly, making her Shirogawa Masha and Kahono her official parent. Unfortunately she couldn't go to the same Middle School as Izuku, but the two friends never lost contact.
During her new life as Middle School student, Masha was getting along quite well with her classmates and although she couldn't build any very close friendships, she became more and more bright and cheerful. In her second year uncle Shota began pestering her to enroll in the hero course of U.A. High School after her graduation and her mother went along with his stupid suggestions puffing out her chest in pride. On top of that even Izukyun tried to convince her by telling her that he would be taking the entrance exams too, despite being quirk less and if they both passed, they could attend the same High School this time and with good luck maybe even the same class.
Masha sighed in disbelief looking at the display of her smartphone. She was glad that her best friend wasn't giving up on his dreams, but why the heck did he think she had to tag along? The young girl knew that bully Kacchan was in the same class as Izuku and he was giving him a very hard time and more than anything else she wanted to be a support for her childhood friend, but a hero? She never had thought about herself becoming a hero with her messed up past and her way of thinking which still didn't fit the hero policy. In a strange way killing a villain who had done terrible things to innocent, weak people and who could possibly do them again, wasn't such a big deal for her. Nothing wrong with a little bit of violence. The world would be better off without the bad guys anyways. Honestly not a very heroic attitude. Not that Masha cared much, but uncle Shota and her mom were going on her nerves like crazy.
Her third and last year was all about learning, learning and again learning. Masha hadn't seen Izukyun in ages, they hadn't even celebrated both of their fifteenth birthdays together as usual. The only thoughts were graduation, possible High Schools and entrance exams. Even the messages the two of them were texting each other had reached an absolute minimum.
Until one early evening when Masha's mom Kahono stormed into her room with a very shocked expression. "Masha, Izuku is in the news!" The young teenage girl jumped up and ran into the living room, staring at the TV with widened amber eyes. She saw an awful sludge villain holding a very light blond boy with spiky hair in about her own age as a hostage, his red eyes looked frightened, but also eager to fight. Several heroes were already present trying to rescue the guy, then something exploded and black smoke was rising into the sky, but the boy couldn't escape the grip of the muddy monster. Then suddenly another teenage boy with greenish dark hair came running at the scene. "Kacchan!", Izukyun cried desperately and Masha's jaw dropped as she watched her best friend throwing his backpack at the villain and attempting to pull out the blond of the mud with his bare hands.
Kacchan? Wasn't that the meanie who couldn't do anything but bully Izuku all the time? And there he was risking his life for this damn jerk! Masha narrowed her feline eyes. She would be sure to give Izukyun a piece of her mind! What the hell was he thinking in a situation like that? And without a quirk!
As if all of that hadn't been unbelievable enough, the number one hero All Might appeared out of nowhere! Masha hadn't even heard that he was in the city. Of course the blond and always brightly smiling man handled everything flawlessly on his own. The boy, Kacchan, was saved, the sludge villain captured and the crowd was cheering for him like for a rock star.
Masha's mom sighed in relief and sat herself down on the sofa where her two male pet cats were sleeping unimpressed. "Oh thank goodness!" Also the young tigress exhaled slowly. "I can't even scold him now!", she protested and pouted with her arms crossed over her chest. Kahono just raised her eyebrows. "He just met All Might. Knowing him he won't even listen to a word I say and switch into maniac-mode muttering about how freakin' awesome he was." Her mother started laughing at her daughter's comment about her childhood friend, very well aware that she did have a point. "But still, you should give him a call.", the blond woman noted. "I'm just glad he's safe and sound." Masha nodded along in agreement and grinned. She was too.
A/N: So this was my second chapter and hopefully you liked it. With chapter three we will actually begin with the anime story plot arcs, starting off with the U.A. entrance exams, of course and only a warning in advance so that you won't be confused: there will be a shift in the use of the time. Since chapter one and two are Masha's past, I used past tense and with chapter three we will enter the present, so I switched to present tense. Please look forward to it and I hope I won't let you wait for too long.
Have a great time, guys! Greetings :-)
Jacky