Hiya! Just an fyi there is a small bit of gore in this chapter. If it makes you uncomfortable, just skip to the next paragraph or, if you don't think you're missing too much, you could skip the chapter.

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"Sniff sniff." I rubbed my snot and tears onto my already dirty sleeve. I had just stolen some food from a seller on the street. The fast-food ramen was good but I still felt guilty. I can't remember how long I had been on the streets at that point, but it was long enough that I was getting used to the stealing and the crying. Silent sobs were my only consolation.

Still, though, they weren't silent enough.

"Hello? Is someone there?" A feminine voice called out into the alley. I clapped my hand over my mouth, hoping to stay silent.

A head of green hair popped out in front of me. "Hey! What are you doing holed up in here?"

I ran. The only kind of people that came up to you in the streets were looking for something, looking for someone, or looking for something to do. And I wasn't about to stay for which one she was interested in. Suddenly, I huge fit of laughter came upon me. I stopped running and kept up my hysterical fit. I was very surprised. It had been a very long time since I had laughed. The feeling wasn't natural, though. Nothing was funny or at all calling for my laughter. It wasn't mine.

I looked back at the woman. A blue aura surrounded her and it became clear to me why exactly I was laughing. She was a hero and her quirk was the thing making me laugh. The blue aura faded away and I quit my fit. The lady began walking up to me. And I remembered the food I had stolen. This is it. She's taking me away. I put my hands over my head and prepared for whatever she would do.

"Hey there! I'm not going to hurt you. You can relax, okay?" She looked at me with large, dark-green eyes. She looked genuinely nice, but everyone did. I turned around and switched up to a roof and rid behind its slanted edge and kept an eye on her.

"Oh! Well, that's a cool quirk! Invisibility or teleportation?" She looked around for me at the roofs and I slid down the side of mine to try and hide. "I'm going to have to finish up my rounds but I'll be back here in about an hour with some good food for ya! So just wait for, okay?" I watched the lady leave the alley after she looked around for me once more.

I began to make my way to another alley, but something told me to stay there. I would've said it was curiosity, but it was also the fact that someone actually wanted to help me. Or maybe I just needed a friend.

Sure enough, in an hour, the green-haired lady came back with two bags in her hands. Her outfit was different as she was no longer in her hero clothes and in a casual skirt and buttoned-up shirt.

"Hey! I got food!" She held up one of the bags. "I have meat buns, sushi, and a bunch of other yummy stuff!" I could smell the food all the way from one of the roofs. My stomach growled loudly.

The woman looked over to where I was in response to my stomach. "I didn't know if you'd be here still! Well, if you don't want to come down, I guess I'll just have to enjoy these delicious meat buns all by myself!" She pulled a meat bun out of one of the bags and held it out for me to see.

I switched down to it, grabbed the bun, and switched a far way down the alley. The woman looked startled.

"Woah there! I didn't even see you grab it!" She chuckled a little and pulled the bag close to her chest and sat down. "If you want another, you'll have to come over here, though."

I nibbled on my meat bun until the small and delicious food was gone from my hands. I looked back up at the woman who was giving me a look that said: "you know you want another one." I knew she had purposefully gotten smaller meat buns so I would have to ask for more, but the hunger didn't subside by knowing that.

Slowly, I came over to her. At about three meters from her—way beyond my comfort zone—a sat down and held out my hand.

"Oh no no," The woman waved her finger. "You'll have to sit with me if you want some more."

I scooted further forward and the woman patted the ground beside her. It probably took over thirty minutes for me to finally be within a meter of her. When I scooted to about half a meter between us, she gave in.

"Here." She handed me another meat bun. "You deserve it." I snatched my second bun from her hands and took a large bite. I felt the sweat bread dissolve in my mouth and relished the taste. Good food was hard to come by and fresh food was practically obsolete.

Over an hour into our impasse, I made the observation that the woman was safe and decided to make a move. I slowly scooted over to the woman while watching her and her hands very carefully, being ready for her to attack at any moment.

I finally sat right beside the woman. It was the closest I had been to anyone in a very long time. I didn't relax and kept my view constantly on the woman.

She handed me a box that was full of sushi and white rice. I opened it and ate slowly. "So what's your name?" She asked.

I kept silent and ate my food. "Okay then… well, I'm Fukukado Emi. But you know I'm also a hero so you can call me Ms. Joke. Whichever you prefer."

I ate my food slowly and didn't respond. "Hmm. You know that I'd expect that most kids your age would wolf that food down."

"Sick." Was the only word I responded with.

"Oh? So you can talk!" She took a minute to process my answer. "So you don't want to get sick by eating fast."

I nodded my head. I didn't eat much in large quantities so I knew the feast I was given would upset my stomach if I didn't take it slow.

"Kirika Asuga." I said timidly and softly. Joke didn't seem to have any trouble hearing though.

"'Kirika Asuga'" She spoke my name carefully. "I like that name! Fukukado is a mouthful!"

I gave a small snicker. It was a funny name to say. "Hey! You can laugh too!" She gave me a small tap on the back.

"Ah!" I tensed my back in pain and hurried away from the woman.

"Woah there! Hey, what happened?" I looked down and away from her, ashamed to admit the truth. "Are you injured?"

I don't respond and keep away. "It's okay. I'm a hero so I have some medical training, right? I prepared for this!" She got out the other bag she had brought and pulled out a first aid kit.

"Let me see it and I'll see what I can do." She beckoned me over, but I didn't budge. Joke gave me a pouting face and put her hands on her hips. "I'm not moving from here but you're a smart girl—you know that your injury could get worse if you don't let me help you." I did know that, but I also knew that I was highly vulnerable with my back turned.

I debated it in my mind for a while until logic pulled through. Joke hadn't hurt me yet, but the infection would eventually.

I crawled back over and turned around. "Ummm…" Joke said hesitantly. "You'll have to take off some of your clothes so I can see the wound."

I turned back around and looked her straight in the eye. "Joke." I started. "I want you to be ready for what you're about to see."

Joke gave me a confused yet stern look before laughing a bit. "It can't be that bad! Come on! I told you I'm a hero; I've seen plenty! How bad can it be?" She motioned for me to continue on and I took off my long-sleeve sweater. There was a reason I kept it black so the stains wouldn't show.

Joke attempted to stifle a gasp. I already knew what she was looking at. My pink shirt was ripped up and stained with blood. The wound wasn't deep but it was a mess. Or perhaps "wounds" would be better. Scrapes, scratches, and deep cuts littered my back. Bits of concrete and metal were stuck in certain crevices of the wounds. Puss was filling the areas at a rate I was wary of.

"Step one! I am going to put on gloves so my grubby hands don't cause any unnecessary complications." She tried to keep a positive tone of voice but I could hear the sadness dangling from her sentences. "Okay, step two is to stop the bleeding… but it looks like that's already taken care of." I felt a hand touch my shoulder and I looked back. Joke's eye brimmed with hardly noticeable tears. "Wanna talk about it?"

I turned my head away from her again and shook it. "That's okay! The next step is to clean the wound. I have some water here that I'm going to pour on your back. It's nice and warm." She poured the water on my back and I winced a bit. "You okay?" I nodded. "I'm going to wash the skin around it with soap, but not in the wound, alright?" I nodded. The soap didn't hurt much and I could feel her being delicate on my back and careful when getting close to the wound. "Now, I see some debris stuck in here. I'm going to take what I can out so you tell me if it hurts." As she took the pieces of building from my back, I winced a few times but never told her that it hurt. She paused every time I did and continued when I didn't tell her to stop.

Joke tried to make conversation but it always got awkward when I didn't respond. "How's the sushi?" "Want some more rice?" "Want to hear about this other hero I knew? He's super funny."

Finally, when I didn't respond to her she went on about this hero that worked at an agency near hers. She told me about his horrible personality and how she could never seem to make him laugh. He could erase quirks and always caught her before she could use hers. He never socialized and tried to keep to himself. She told me that she knew one day he'd step out of his shell, it just had to take the right person.

"Okay!" She broke from her rant about the hero. "I'm going to put some antibiotic cream on here. It might hurt but bear with me." I nodded and she applied the cream. Pain struck me in my back and I bit my thumb to distract me. Joke didn't stop and continued. It took longer than I wished it would but I would rather her take her time than go fast and risk more of an infection possibility than necessary.

"Time for bandages. I know it's cold and kinda awkward but you have to take off your shirt for me to do this. I didn't retort and slipped off my shirt—Joke helped me keep the cloth away from my wound.

"Okay, I won't look so hold this." She handed me one side of the medical tape and I could feel her put gauze down as she wrapped my back.

"Alright! I knew you might need some clothes so put this on!" She handed me a yellow shirt with a sunflower pattern and a dark blue sweatshirt. I pulled on the shirt carefully than the sweatshirt.

I turned towards her and showed off the look. She frowned. "Here." She gave me a pair of thin underpants (not underwear) and dark jeans. I went behind a dumpster in the alley to change. The weather was changing and it was mid-fall. Warm clothes were hard to find, or not even warm at all.

I came back from the dumpster and showed her my outfit. "You look amazing! Now for the final touch!" She pulled out a pair of shoes. "They're some of my old ones so I don't know if they'll fit you but you can try them." I slipped on the shoes and tied them. They were only around a size larger than my feet. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Plenty of room for growth.

"Wow," Joke looked at how well the shoes fit, "You have really big feet for someone your age."

"Helps with running and climbing," I responded.

"Well, it's getting late," Joke checked her watch. "Why don't you come with me and we can get something figured out for you tonight? Maybe a place to stay or sleep? You could get that wound checked out by a professional."

I shook my head. "I'm not ready."

"Ready for what?"

"Starting my life again."

"Okay… so when will you be ready?"

"I don't know, but not right now. Perhaps one day I will find someone or something, but not now."

"Hmm. Well, I can't stop you." She got up and prepared to leave. "Meet me here… let's say maybe two o'clock tomorrow?"

I nodded my head. "Sure. I won't be late. Call out for me when you get here and I'll come out."

"Sounds like a plan!" Joke nodded to me. "Keep the food for breakfast and lunch tomorrow, I don't need it. I'll bring more next time we see each other."

Before she got too far away I called out to her. "Hey, Joke?" She turned and I caught her eye.

"Come alone. No visitors." I said sternly.

"Okee doke!" She waved and continued on. "Stay safe, Asuga!"

I leaped into the shadows and went to my night-time spot to sleep. When I woke up, I immediately headed towards our meeting place. I got there at around ten-thirty and waited. At ten fifty-five I heard voices coming around the corner. I looked up from my hiding place to see Joke walk into the alley. Only she wasn't alone like she had promised.

Joke had brought a young man with long, black hair who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He wore funky glasses on his forehead, an odd bandage-like scarf around his neck, and all-black clothes.

"Joke, this better not be one of your little pranks." The man said. His voice was gruff and dry.

"No! It isn't I swear! There's this little girl here and she needs someone to take care of her. She had a really bad injury and I want to make sure she is okay and find her a place to stay."

"Hmph. Whatever you say."

Joke pouted and looked around the alley in search of me. "Kirika?" She said in a whisper that was just loud enough for me to hear. "Are you there?" She paused for a response. "I know you said not to bring anyone but this is the guy I was telling you about! His name is Aizawa Shouta! He's a hero just like me!"

The man snorted. "You sure it wasn't just your imagination?"

"Yes, I am sure! She was here yesterday!"

I wasn't planning on going into the alley if she had brought someone else. I knew exactly who she had brought. Aizawa Shouta, otherwise known as the hero Eraserhead. He could erase any person's quirk with one look. and I was sure that Joke had intended to use that to her advantage. I pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote a note for Joke. I switched it above their heads so they couldn't track where I had thrown it from.

Joke picked it up and read it aloud. "'I know you have the best of intentions and I hope you spread them with others, but I cannot accept your kindness just yet. I need to figure out my life first then get going on my own path. Hopefully one day we will meet again and I will be able to give you my own sushi. I appreciate it, Kirika Asuga.'" Joke sighed. "I guess she's gone."

"'Kirika'? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere…" Aizawa shrugged off his thought and started to head out of the alley. "Come on, Joke. She doesn't want our help."

"Wait! I still brought stuff for her." Joke pulled a bag from off her back and put it on the ground. She pulled out a box and a first aid kit and set them on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Aizawa asked.

"I'm leaving these here for her!" Joke ran back over to Aizawa.

"See ya, Asuga!" Joke said as she and Aizawa left the alley.

Not going with them was one of the worst decisions I have made in my life.

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I have been waiting to write the chapter for sooo long! Asuga has an interesting history with Ms. Joke (who Asuga calls just "Joke" similar to Aizawa). This chapter is almost 3000 words... so I hoped you enjoyed this rarity!

Peace