-7-
That night I earn a black eye and a sprained wrist, but I get my flashlight back. I consider Yui-san's words and I flinch as they whisper in my ear.
If you see someone about to get hurt, and you have the power to stop it, but you do nothing. What do you think it makes you?
That night I dream of Ryu, fourteen and angry. He glares at me and gestures down the hill, to Mama in handcuffs and held by the gray suits, to Daddy with his broken jaw, to Sora and Kaito being sent away.
Why the hell do you get to have powers when you won't even use them!?
He'd be seventeen now.
I wake drenched in water, uncertain if its Akari's quirk or my own sweat. I stare at my clammy hands in shame.
I clench them in determination.
Those with power have two choices, Rin-chan. You either use it and be a hero or abuse it and be a villain.
"I'm gonna be a hero," I tell Yui-san the next day. The words taste like acid on my tongue. They ache in my chest and squirm in my belly. I swallow down the feeling, face set. She raises an eyebrow, smirking.
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
I deflate.
"I-I-I dunno…"
She snorts and lights a cigarette, rolling her eyes and sitting on the front steps of the Last One. The outside is dirty, with peeling paint and a dirty porch. One of the flowerpots, full of cigarette butts and rainwater, is tipped sideways on the ground, the matching one on the right is smashed in chunks. Across the nearly empty road, the pawnshop light flickers and a stray cat wanders by. Down the street, Kagura, fifteen and boy crazy, hangs out near the corner talking to some friends. It's a special privilege she's earned for staying out of fights this week.
"My old man was a hero," she tells me after a long pause, eyes never leaving Kagura in her skintight pants and bright pink hair. "Was killed by a villain when I was six. He went to UA. If you want to be something, you'll need to go there."
I sit beside her, the thick smoke curling in the air between us. It reminds me of home.
"How?" I ask quietly.
"You've got a strong quirk," she says, voice gruff. "But you ain't go no control. Master it and then talk to me."
I nod, biting my lip.
She watches Kagura for a long minute, eyes narrowed as the teen leans forward to hug her friend. When it continues for a minute too long, she lets out a sharp, piercing whistle. The girl pulls away instantly, spinning on her feet and throwing us the finger. I stare, eyes wide, as they shout obscenities as each other.
"Fuck you, you old hag!"
"Get your ass back here now, you little shit!"
"Fucking bitch! Go die already!"
"Shut the hell up and move."
"Make me, you old biddy!"
Kagura huffs as she walks back past us, kicking the broken flowerpot, Yui-san turns to me with a lazy smirk.
"What the hell are you still doing out here?" she asks, humor coating her gravelly voice. "You gonna go train or what? Don't tell me you're a bullshitter too…"
I jump to my feet, face burning, and hurriedly mumble out an apology, bowing, and race back inside to my shared room. I begin to train.