A/N: I was having a major writer's block with this story... hopefully this chapter didn't come out as forced. I find it a bit hard going back to writing after being on hiatus for a few months. The first half of the chapter was written three months ago, and well... let's say it's a bit hard to continue lol I hope this chapter covered the plot points!
I apologize for the wait, here's the next chapter!
Chapter 18
a familiar face
-x-x-x-x-
"I know this may seem sudden, but starting next Friday, U.A. will officially become a boarding school.
The idea has been ruminated for quite some time and now with the amount of recent villain activity, we have decided to take measures and action.
We kindly appreciate if your parents or guardians are able to attend the parent teacher conference this coming Saturday."
-x-x-x-x-x-
Hikari stared at the paper in her hands intently. She read the letter numerous times, but she still couldn't believe it.
After Principal Nezu announced U.A. will become a boarding school, everyone went wild. Their reaction was expected—even after being told by Hadou, she was still shocked to hear the news.
"Man, this is awesome!" Kaminari exclaimed, holding the letter with excitement written on his face. The grin was there—most of them have it. Everyone was excited to move into the dorms. "Just think, living and hanging out together. How fun is that?!" he glanced down to the short boy.
Mineta nodded his head in agreement. "I know, right?! And it's going to be a shared dorm! We'll be living with the girls too!" he sighed dreamily, his mind going to dreamland.
Hikari gave him a dirty look. "Hey, c'mon, no funny business." she tweaked his ear, snapping him back to reality. She huffed when the short boy began to complain. "It's fun and all, but it's so sudden, right?" she sighed a little.
Living in the dorm means less freedom.
Less freedom means less time visiting her family and friends.
Which also means less time for investigating the Heartless and looking for Xehanort's reports.
The blond blinked, staring at the brunette confusedly. "Huh? I never knew you would be the one who's against it, Leonhart... You seemed to be the type to like this sort of things." he rubbed the back of his neck as he exchanged looks with Mineta.
Hikari's nose scrunched up in realization. "I do like it. We get to hang out more often and all that, but what if they won't let us go to the convenience store or the mall?!" she quickly covered it up, hoping neither Kaminari or Mineta would notice. Both her classmates seem to buy it from the reaction she received. She decided to continue her little act. "Would they build one in U.A? I kinda want to hang out around the city after school or on weekends!" she cried out dramatically.
"That's true!" Kaminari gasped, cupping his face.
"Perhaps, if we ask Mr. Aizawa, we would be allowed to leave the school grounds temporarily." Tokoyami said, deciding to join in on the conversation.
"You're right! Maybe if we ask Mr. Aizawa, he would let us out to buy snacks!" Kaminari repeated, giving a thumbs up to the brunette.
"Other than that, it's going to be super fun! We can have sleepovers and movie nights too!" Ashido jumped into the group, hooking her arm with Hikari's.
"Yeah! Girls' night!" Hagakure cheered, appearing on the brunette's left.
'Not exactly the point, but I guess...' Hikari smiled. She averted her attention to the group walking in front of them, deciding to ask another person. Todoroki was walking in front of them, along with Yaoyorozu and Jirou. "What about you guys? What do you think?" she asked.
"I personally don't mind the dorms." Todoroki commented as he continued to walk. His eyes stared at the piece of paper in his hands. It was the announcement letter that has been passed around during the assembly. They were to take it home and give it to their parents or guardians. He doubts his father would agree to go and sign the letter. "If it means seeing less of my old man, I'll take it." he said.
Hikari spluttered while the others stared at him. "Uh... okay? As long as you're okay with it..." she was honestly surprised to hear Todoroki's reason.
Yaoyorozu cleared her throat, deciding to break the awkward atmosphere. "I thought of the same. We can properly get to know each other and tighten our bonds!" her eyes were showing her excitement. It was clear she was looking forward to living together with her classmates.
Jirou grinned. "Yaoyorozu's just excited to experience life in a dorm." she laughed when the black-haired girl was a little flustered from showing her excitement. "But yeah, I'm looking forward to it. I'm pretty sure with how close we're living to the school, there would be no more tardy students." she teased, poking fun at Hikari's habit to come late to the class.
Said brunette felt that it was aimed for her. "Oh c'mon, Jirou..." Hikari groaned, face palming as her friends laughed. Out of all the students in class A, the one who either makes it in the nick of time or was just late was always her. "All of you know I live the furthest from school. It's gonna take me like thirty plus minutes by train to reach school—not to mention I have to walk up the hill. That takes time, a lot of time." she defended.
Jirou snorted. "You live like 4 stations away from Uraraka and she's never late."
"That is right! Now with the dorms, there shall be no more excuses for tardiness!" Iida shouted, moving his arm up and down. "I shall give a morning call so everyone will make it on time!"
"Haha... Thanks..."
"I think the dorm's a great idea! It'll save me a lot from rent money!" Uraraka piped in, a happy look across her face.
"Oh! True!" Satou agreed, snapping his fingers.
Hikari hummed in reply. It reminded her of what to do with the apartment she was renting. If she moved to the dorms, then no one would be living there anymore. Both her parents weren't living there from the start and the main reason why they 'moved' was because of Leon's 'job'.
"Mr. Aizawa!"
Iida's voice broke her trail of thoughts. The whole class stopped by the door, staring inside the classroom to find their homeroom teacher standing by the podium. One by one, they enter the classroom to their assigned seats.
"Go home and don't forget to give the notice to your parents." Aizawa instructed and all of his students nodded. A chorus of 'yes, sir' was heard from his students. His eyes glanced over to the back of the class, looking at the two students he wanted to talk. "Tokoyami. Leonhart. After the two of you finish packing your belongings, follow me." he said.
"Hey, is this about the mission you guys did with Hawks?" Kaminari whispered as he shoved all of his things inside his bag carelessly.
"It is a possibility." Tokoyami answered before he walked to the front.
"Anytime now, Leonhart."
Hikari blinked and quickly packed her books inside her bag. "Sorry!" The fact Aizawa was inside the room looking and waiting for them to finish, pressured her to pack things faster. She said her goodbyes to her classmates on her way to the front.
Both Tokoyami and Hikari followed Aizawa out of the classroom in silence. The keyblade wielder has to admit, she was rather nervous to talk about the things that happened in the mission. Tsukauchi and possibly everyone in the mission knew about her expertise dealing the Heartless. No one should've have known the right timing to block a Flame Core's attack unless they were familiar with the creature's attack pattern.
The only one who knew the truth was All Might, 80% of it of course.
Aizawa didn't say anything when he took them to the principal's office.
With two knocks, a cheerful voice was heard from the other side of the door.
"Welcome, welcome!" Principal's cheery voice greeted all of them. Unexpectedly, the people Hikari thought were inside the room weren't present. Only Principal Nezu along with Aizawa and Tsukauchi were the adults in the room, plus their senior—Togata. Hawks and Sir Nighteye were excluded from the meeting. "Please take a seat!" he directed his hand to the vacant seat beside Togata.
"Hey, guys!" Togata waved his hand and pointed to the seat beside him. "Come sit over here!"
Both Tokoyami and Hikari sat on the sofa, with Tokoyami sitting in the middle.
"Would you like some tea, Tokoyami, Leonhart?" Principal Nezu offered, leaning forward from where he sat to the coffee table between them. He pressed the button to the hot water dispenser and prepared the tea himself without waiting for a reply. He passed the ceramic glass to the middle where the two students could reach it.
"Thank you, sir."
Hikari placed the glass in front of her. The air around them was tense, she could feel it despite the radiant smile her senior was giving.
Principal Nezu smiled. "First of all, before we start—there's a few things I wanted to say to you, Tokoyami, Leonhart." the two students averted their gaze when they realize where it was headed. The smile on his face disappeared and was replaced with a serious look. It was rare to see the usually happy and cheerful principal to act serious and stern. "I would like to reprimand your actions."
"Despite the rules Sir Nighteye and Hawks have set, you disobeyed them and bounded headfirst into unknown territory without a measure of care for your own safety." The white mouse scolded. Hikari averted her gaze to look at Tokoyami as the boy did the same. "You could've gotten seriously injured. You both are exceptionally talented, but you need to remember that there are certain limits you can't cross."
"Yes, sir..."
Hikari felt a little guilty. She was a year older than her classmates. She was a newly appointed keyblade master, yet she was still being scolded like a child. The committee did it a thousand times, but it was different this time. It reminded of her time at Destiny Island. Despite her and Tidus' habit of pranking each other, she was rarely called into the Principal's office for trouble.
"However," Principal Nezu closed his eyes for a brief moment, a soft sigh came out his nostrils. "Despite your actions, as your mentors have explained to me, I would also like to praise you for your courage to aid your mentors and team in their time of need." he opened his eyes and gave the two teens a smile.
Their homeroom teacher heaved out a heavy sigh. "You might not receive a punishment, but don't even think about repeating the same thing again." he warned, his eyes flashing red for a brief moment. "You know the consequences."
Hikari gave a tight smile as Tokoyami nodded. "Yes, sir."
"That's a relief, eh?" Togata laughed as he patted Tokoyami's shoulder a few times.
The brunette laughed dryly as her eyes glanced to look at her senior who escaped the scolding. Of course, Togata has already received his license, but she can't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. The rules set in this world was far stricter than the other worlds she has visited. She just wished she could receive her license early and be free to use her powers without limits or getting reprimanded for saving the day.
Principal Nezu cleared his throat. "Now that that's out of the way, it's time to continue."
The detective pulled out a piece of paper, placing them on the table. It was the picture of two out of the three villains they've encountered. "The two villains we managed to detain, Moriyama Orochi and Hayashi Noboru—better known as Viper and Rat, didn't know where the research facility is located."
Hikari stared at each of their picture, wondering who gave them the power to control Heartless. She didn't know if it was just pure luck when the villains took control over the beings. She hoped they didn't receive their power through a Xehanort Copy.
"For the third member—Bushida Kenta or Rhino's status is still unknown after he turned to one of the Shadows."
'If Rhino doesn't have a Nobody, his heart would've returned and he should reappear within Gunkanjima. I guess the heroes there would find him soon...' The brunette tried her best to keep a straight face and be calm about the discussion. She knew how keen these men are when it came to reading expressions, especially Tsukauchi since he was the detective in the group.
The existence of Heartless and the research facility worried her. She just hoped the one in Gunkanjima was the first and final one.
"Is there something wrong, Leonhart?" Principal Nezu asked, looking at the brunette who was spacing out.
Hikari blinked, a sheepish smile across her lips. "Ah, nothing, nothing!" her eyes glanced down to look at the pictures of the villains once more. She couldn't help but narrowed her eyes when she spotted something familiar in the portrait. On Viper's neck, there was a tattoo—she didn't know if it was just pure coincidence or not, but it looked so similar to the numeral number 6 from the old language.
Six points.
Tsukauchi followed her gaze. She was staring at Viper's portrait. "Did you find something you're familiar with?"
Hikari hesitated for a moment before pointing at the neck. She didn't see his tattoo the first time they met since he was wearing a turtleneck. "This tattoo..."
"Tattoo? Do you know what it means, Hikari?" Togata leaned forward, examining the tattoo she was pointing at. The villain's body was covered in many tattoos, but the one that stood out the most to her was the one on his neck.
The brunette turned to examine both Rat's and Rhino's portrait, but she didn't find the same type of tattoo on their neck. She couldn't find the numerals.
"It means number 6." Hikari finally explained. She was honestly confused why the villains knew numerals from the old language keyblade wielders used. She was taught by Yen Sid, but she had quite a difficult time trying to remember the alphabets. The numerals were easier to remember. "Oh! Rat's number 1!" she pointed to the tattoo between his collarbones.
"If you see it like that... it does have points accordingly." Togata hummed.
"I suppose it follows the Chinese zodiac, though I don't think the animal rhino was in the zodiac." Tokoyami suggested.
"These two photos were taken just recently." Tsukauchi took note of the new information, separating Rhino's picture from his two colleagues. "Rhino's picture was from a few years ago, back when the Motomura Family's underground business was discovered."
The person they're dealing with might be as old as Xehanort or older. Not just anyone knew the old language from the age of fairytales. The new generation of keyblade wielders have to learn it—despite Sora and Hikari protesting about it. It was hard enough to memorize, but at least it paid off.
Hikari frowned.
Could it be? The person they're dealing with is the man All Might spoke of...
All For One.
Principal Nezu hummed. "Perhaps the tattoos weren't from the Motomura Family, but from their current leader?"
"The one who produce the quirk erasing drug, I suppose." Aizawa added with his arms crossed.
'No... they just confirmed these guys don't have anything to do with the League of Villains. That means we're dealing with some other ancient guy.' Hikari held the urge to sigh. She just hoped he or she wasn't a Xehanort double or twin. She had enough of that man for one lifetime.
"How did you know it was numerals?" Aizawa asked in his usual gruff voice, but his tone wasn't demanding.
"Oh... To be honest... I don't actually know myself. I think I remember seeing it from somewhere..." Hikari lied, giving a reason as believable as she can. She pretended to think long and hard, trying to be as convincing as possible.
Tsukauchi stopped her, a smile on his face. "It's alright. This is a very useful information. Thank you, Ms. Leonhart."
Togata flashed her a grin. "Way the go, Hikari!"
Principal Nezu nodded his head. "Indeed! Now, I understand this is a new discovery, but I would like to ask for the three of you to not speak a word of this to anyone—not even your friends or family." he said and the three students nodded. "I would like to request the three of you to contact a teacher immediately if you find something suspicious."
"Yes, sir."
"I believe that is all that we want to discuss for today." Principal Nezu smiled at the students, dismissing them all. "Do remember to give the letter to your parents or guardian."
Togata gave a salute. "We will, sir!"
"Careful on your way home!"
"Please excuse us." the three of them left the room, leaving the three adults to discuss further things.
Hikari sighed deeply as they walked down the hallway. She should feel at easy because they didn't question her, but rather she was feeling uneasy since they didn't question her knowledge and abilities. It seemed like they wanted to ask, but something was holding them back from asking her directly.
"What's the matter, Hikari? Why the long face?" Togata asked, the same smile still plastered on his face.
"It's nothing! It's just... the mission sorta gave me a bad feeling." Hikari admitted. She might actually return to Gunkanjima, but without the pro heroes of course. She would try to locate the research facility and destroy any information it has. It sounded barbarian, but it was the right thing to do. If other villains got their hands on Heartless, history will repeat itself.
Togata placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry! The pros will handle it!" he reassured.
She smiled. "I know."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Shinsou! Sorry! Did you wait long?"
The purple haired boy turned to see his friend running down the hallway.
The boy shoved his phone inside his pocket. "I did." he answered sarcastically.
Hikari gave him a look. "You were supposed to say 'not long'." she huffed childishly at him. After talking to Principal Nezu, Aizawa and Tsukauchi, she went directly to change to her gym uniform to meet up with Shinsou. Togata offered a treat to a café after all their hard work, but she politely declined since she promised to help Shinsou train.
Shinsou scoffed. "What? You wanted me to lie?" he smirked.
"Well, duh. It's common curtsy."
"You wanted me to lie after you made me wait twenty minutes?"
The brunette gave him the stink eye. "Fine, fine," she pushed the door to the gym open. The gym was really a workout gym for students to use and keep in top shape. Every equipment was the same as what they would find in a local workout gym. Other than them both, the gym was completely empty. "Let's do some stretches to start!" she exclaimed, going straight to their program.
"You're the boss..."
"What are you? Made of sticks? You're so stiff!" Hikari laughed as she watched his attempts to touch his toes. She remembered the days when Phil was her trainer. She could only laugh about it now since she finished the harsh training program.
Shinsou grunted, glaring at her from the corner of his eyes. "Shut...up."
Hikari held his feet in place as he did sit ups. "My trainer told me to do 50 sit ups, 50 push-ups, 50 pull-ups and 50 laps around the field during the first hour of training me and we just met that day!" she said, feeling rather nostalgic about the whole hero training from Phil. She was rather pissed when Phil pushed her to the very end, but at the end the training was worth it. She just doesn't want to go through it again. "Good times... good times."
"Is he trying to kill you?" Shinsou asked as he pulled himself up before laying back down.
"Don't worry! I'm not using his training method!" Hikari laughed with a reassuring look across her face. "C'mon, Shinsou! One more to go!"
Shinsou breathed heavily as he finished the warm up exercise. Push-ups and sit ups—each twenty, along with another set of stretching. He could already feel his muscles being ripped apart; he was going to feel it in the morning. "Tch, why aren't you doing it?" he glared up at the brunette.
Hikari gave him the most obvious look. "Duh, I'm your trainer. I'll give you the motivation you needed!" she mimicked the grin from All Might and positioned her fingers to form a heart.
"You're irking me out with that face."
"As long as it gives you motivation!"
They worked mostly on stamina and power. Hikari couldn't help much on weight lifting since she was sure if she could properly instruct Shinsou. She mostly encouraged him to work on the treadmill and teaching him what she knew of hand to hand. Leon and Cloud never trained her using equipment, they taught her mainly about hand to hand and swordsmanship. The other reason was because the committee didn't have that sort of equipment.
Jab
"What do you think about the dorms?"
Jab
Cross
"The—dorms?" Shinsou wheezed out, sweat dripping down his chin. The brunette standing behind the punching bag who was holding it still gave a nod. He finished with another punch before taking a break. "...honestly not a bad idea." he took a few deep breaths to control his breathing.
Hikari stepped out from behind the punching bag, offering him a bottle of water she prepared beforehand.
"Thanks," Shinsou took the bottle gratefully. He took a sip before continuing his answer. "I don't have to wake up so early and ride my bicycle up the hill."
Hikari snorted. "Lazy bum."
Shinsou raised an eyebrow. "Rich coming from a tardy student like you."
"Funny." The brunette deadpanned. "But then we could train more often!" she said rather cheerfully.
"Damn..."
"What?! Don't you want to become like All Might, muscle and stuff? You have to endure it, Shinsou! Do it for the muscles! The muscles!" Hikari said dramatically to which Shinsou gave her a scoff. She straightened up and placed her hands on her hips. "No complaints! Who was the one who said he was going to knock me out of my throne?" she smirked playfully when Shinsou almost spitted out his water.
"I thought we agreed to put our past behind." Shinsou wiped the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand, glaring at the brunette with his cheeks flushed bright red at the memory. He still couldn't believe himself that he threatened a girl—a girl. His mother was going to kill him if she heard about it.
Hikari grinned. "Well, you need a little motivation!" she pointed finger guns at him before positioning herself behind the punching bag once more. "So? Are you going to take my place or not?" she peeked her head out from the bag, waiting for his reply.
"How about that purple pervert's spot instead?" Shinsou placed the bottle beside him and crouched down to position.
The brunette laughed nervously. Honestly, she didn't want anyone to get kicked out of class A—despite Mineta being a total pervert. The boy will learn—she'll make him learn.
"Whatever floats your boat."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Both Shinsou and Hikari decided to call it a day when Midnight came to check up on them around six o'clock, four hours after school ended. The pro hero even gave them some tips to relax the muscles after a hard training session. By the time they finished, there weren't any more students inside the building—though the teachers were still present in the teacher's office.
They left the school grounds when the sun sets.
"My arms hurt." Shinsou complained as he pushed his bicycle.
"You complain too much." Hikari retorted, nudging the boy on his sides. The boy in return grunted in pain. "Just remember what Ms. Midnight said! A well-balanced meal, a nice hot bath and a good night sleep!" she reminded.
Shinsou rolled his shoulder, sighing. "Sounds like my type of plan."
"Now let's get some bubble tea to celebrate!" Hikari grinned, throwing her fist up into the air.
"How is that a well-balanced meal?"
Hikari pursed her lips. "It's a drink, Shinsou. A drink before the well-balanced meal."
"Your logic is flawed."
The brunette frowned at him.
"But let's buy some anyway."
Her expression instantly brightened when Shinsou agreed with her flawed logic.
Just before the station, there was a shopping district. They bought their drinks and hang out around the station to finish their bubble tea before parting ways.
"You sure you're ok going back home alone?" Shinsou asked.
Hikari raised an eyebrow. "Duh, why ask?"
Shinsou gave her the most obvious look her could muster and she returned it. "Fine, careful on your way home. See you tomorrow, Ms. Foreigner." he got on his bicycle and raised his hand.
"Aye, Cap!" Hikari replied before going inside the station.
The brunette checked her phone, scrolling through the notifications. Most of them were from Sora—who was updating her about his day. Apparently, he decided to stay at Twilight Town for a while to help Scrooge and Remy with their bistro. A part time job, he said. He told her in his texts he was glad he developed cooking skills through Remy's guidance—without the rat pulling at his hair.
Hikari replied to him, telling him about her day as well.
Shimizu—Shimizu. We'll be soon arriving at Shimizu station.
The announcement made her stand from her seat to wait by the door.
During the months she stayed at the City of Heroes, she got used to the normal life—as normal as it can be with villains attacking left and right. Aside from the villains and quirks, it was similar to the life she had in Destiny Islands. Being in the City of Heroes reminded her of the life she could have if she didn't choose to be a keyblade wielder.
But she never regretted her choice.
She promised to continue her role as a keyblade wielder to protect everyone from the dangers and darkness that lurks.
"...hm?" Hikari raised an eyebrow when she spotted a new pair of shoes she never seen before at the genkan. The lights and TV were turned on as well. She wondered if it was Ienzo paying a visit. She locked the door first before taking her shoes off and proceeding to walk inside her own apartment.
Her eyes widened when she saw a young man with silver hair sitting on her couch.
"RIKU?!"
Riku turned in his seat, raising his hand in greeting.
"Welcome home."