AN: Here is my thing. Please like my thing. Mhm. Thanks. Have a good day. Or night. Whatever.

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." - Mae West

Sakai Chikako was an odd child. Many would say she didn't act like a child at all.

She agreed.

Chikako had been a grown woman with a daughter and a husband. She had a family. She had everything. But - but not everything can last forever, can it?

(There was an empty, empty abyss inside her. It was hungry.)

There had been a freak storm. Her small town had flooded. She had drowned, choking and gurgling out water as she tried to save her baby, and then, and then - she died.

But she didn't stay dead.

Ha. Hahaha.

(The abyss inside her grinned. It was hungry. Hungry hungry hungry-)

Mhm. So was she.

UA was certainly big. Hmm. Chikako found a seat in the auditorium.

"Welcome to today's live performance!" shouted Present Mic.

Ah. That was... loud.

"Everybody said 'HEY'!"

She blinked. Well, if he said so.

"Hey."

Silence.

Wait. Why was no one else-

Her seat neighbor snickered. The rest of the little monsters shuffled in their seats to stare at her. Fuck. Um. It's not her fault that she doesn't know how to do social things. Not really. Urk.

("You, you... fucking shitty kid. I wish I had never given birth to you! Go fucking die with that heartless fucking face of yours! Damnit! I'll kill you!")

"YEAAAHHHHHH!"

Aah. Her ears. Could. Not.

"I'm here to present the guidelines of your practical! Are you readddyyyy?!"

(The abyss - her stomach, really - grinned with all of its non-existent teeth.)

She didn't grin back.

Sure, she was hungry - starving and so so empty - but being a hero? Fighting? Maybe not. It didn't sound too fun. Dangerous, really. But she was just doing this spite her fucking shitty 'mom', so, why the hell not.

Chikako grinned.

And then her heart skipped a beat. Fuck. There was a reason why her mother said she could never be a hero. Ah. Shit. Don't cry, don't do it, deep breaths, come on, don't do it!

"Chi-chan." a voice whispered in her ear.

She pressed her lips together in a thin line. It wasn't real. Breathe. Calm down.

Murderer.

She felt sick.

"YEAAHHHHHHHH!"

No. Her ears. Ow.

She opened her duffel bag and pulled out a brick.

Why a brick, you may ask? Hm. Good question. Well, when she had decided to pack for the exam, she had grabbed a bag, a stranger's wallet, and a trip to the construction store. She wanted to be prepared, of course. Nothing wrong with that, right?

She inhaled the brick.

Mhm. Tastes disgusting. Oh well. A kid next to her stared and wrinkled his nose. Fuck off. She gave him her special finger that she used for special situations in special times. No, not that. Geez. Gross.

Chikako shuddered. Her skin started to tingle, and then, well, her skin turned to brick. Hmm. She broke off a chunk of her finger a shoved it into her ears. Ah. She couldn't hear that horrible sound anymore. Finally.

She slumped into her chair.

Her finger began to grow back, because bricks are just magical like that. Ha. Just kidding. She had a decent healing factor, and a huge 'I don't really feel pain when I'm a brick because I'm a fucking brick' factor.

She sighed and put her now bricky hands on her now bricky face.

Fucking Kirby-ass superpowers.

(Except - except Kirby can spit it back out, right?)

Quirks. Superpowers.

That was new. Her parents each had a 'quirk'. She wondered if she would get one too.

(The abyss inside of her grumbled, hungry hungry hungry-)

She was a baby now, even when she was supposed the be the mother. Was her daughter dead?

Something deep inside her ached.

She was two years old and too smart, too much of everything, to be a normal kid. Her parents were... not the best. Sakai Aimi was a gambler. She could, if one was being generous, be considered good at her 'job'. But that did not mean she was a good mother.

Ha.

Her father, on the other hand, well. Sakai Kozume a drunk and certainly not a good father. He didn't even fucking try.

(Sometimes trying isn't even enough, anyways.)

Good thing this was her second set of parents.

She was supposed to feel guilty. She knew that - she had stolen the life of their baby. But she also knew that she was supposed to be dead. Things didn't really make much sense, these days.

Time passed, filled with learning and surviving and pain, and damn, did you know getting stabbed with a broken beer bottle hurt a fucking lot?

And then, just like that, she was four again. It was almost the same as last time.

Almost.

Chikako blinked at the robot. Aa.

She opened her mouth and inhaled. And kept inhaling.

This would be fun, she thought.

(The abyss purred in agreement.)

She heard a few explosions off in the distance. The robot flew into her mouth, which made no sense because it was way too big but it's fucking Kirby shit so why not. Her skin started to tingle. And then, well. She flexed her now metallic hand.

It's robot time, biittcchh.

"Happy Birthday, Chi-chan!" Kozume cooed.

He was drunk, but that was pretty normal in this shitty place. Fucking fuck. This really, really sucked. Her mother was on their front porch, taking a 'business' call. Probably ripping off some poor college kids. Haha. 'Mom' did love her credit card info.

"Blow out the candles, Chi-chan!" Kozume grinned, but his teeth were a little too sharp and the burns on her arms ached.

She looked at her father. He held a little cake in his hands, knuckles covered in bloody scabs. She stared at the four candles.

"Kozu-" She paused. Took a breath. "D-dad. Dad, you have to light the candles." She felt sick. Wrong.

Vile.

"Aa. Your right, Chi-chan!" He ran his fingertips across the wall and they quickly set on fire. He lit the damn candles with his hands. She tried not to tremble.

Then he lightly poked her cheek, fingertips still burning.

Fuck. Fuckity shit. FUCK. Tears filled her vision. It hurt. It hurt so bad. It hurt hurt hurt hurt-

"Blow out the candles, Chikako. Do it for daddy, hmm?" He smiled at her.

(The abyss was really starving tonight.)

She took a deep breath in. Her mouth trembled

Air flowed past her lips and into her mouth, and then she blew out the candles. Except - except she didn't, because she was still taking a deep breath in, and the cake was no longer in her father's hands but rather flying towards her mouth, flaming candles and all.

And. And so was her dad.

Ah. Shit.

A moment passed, and the cake flew into her mouth. And then her dad, followed by the table, and a few plates. Fuck. She slammed her mouth shut.

Well. She isn't quirkless.

She felt... tingly. Chikako looked at the skin on her hand, up her arms, down her legs, and, oh, wait a second, that definitely looked different than before. Wait. Her 'dad' - had she...

Had she...

She was a...

(The abyss purred in satisfaction, but the hunger remained, and, well...)

No. Nononono...

"Murderer," said a hoarse voice.

She flinched.

Her mother was staring at her in shock. And then the screaming started. Ah.

S-sorry, dad.

(Murderer.)

The cops came and dragged Chikako away, speaking about an abusive mother and foster care and powerful quirks. There was no evidence of a father, no matter how much her mother raved, because he hadn't lived with them. He had lived in bars and back alleys and nightmares. Sakai Kozume had been a ghost - no connections, no living family (other than her), and no money.

And he really was a ghost, now. Her mother was sent to a mental hospital. Her father, for all anyone knew, had never really existed.

She was so sorry.

She grabbed the envelope from the mailbox. Her hands shook. She ran into her apartment as fast as she could. Chikako tore open the envelope, heart pounding.

This was it. Please. Please please please-

"This is a PROJECTION!"

Ah. She blinked.

"-75 points-"

Her hands shook. On the screen, All Might smiled.

"-This will be-"

Tears welled up in her eyes. She-

"-your hero academia!"

-she did it.

Maybe her second life wouldn't end too badly, even with its rocky start.

(Murderer.)

No. Don't-

She wiped her eyes. Sakai Chikako was going to be a hero.

"Hi. Mom."

Chikako looked at the woman through the window.

"Aaa. You," she rasped. "...I'll kill you."

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"-Kill you-"

Aimi slammed her fists against the glass.

"Sorry."

"..die.."

"I'm gonna be a hero."

"...Murderer!"

Chikako wiped her eyes.

"I'm gonna be a hero. Goodbye, Mom."

"Haaaahhhaaahaahha. You? A... a hero? Aahhhaaaahaaahaa..."

She walked out of the room and gave a nod to one of the nurses. Her visit was over. Her hands trembled. Chikako walked out of the building and stared at the sky.

Goodbye.

AN: Thanks for finishing the first chapter of the thing. Come back someday for more. Maybe.