Hey guys! It's been a bit hard working on this chapter without having a guilty conscience, but here it is! Main reason I've been having issues is because I finally decided to go through with rewriting my first story on this platform. It's kinda been stressing me out but y'all deserve a new chapter! In any case, please sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!
DISCLAIMER: Yeah, I own nothing except for Ayame and maybe plot changes, sorry.
Warning(s): New main(ish) character! Guys, I've been dying to finally add her in, cause our favorite duo needs friends...
"Um... are you okay?"
A hand reached toward Ayame, and she instinctively flinched back, before forcibly relaxing.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't know if I should try and comfort you or not, you just kinda seem... sad. Then again, my social skills aren't the greatest so I don't know how much help I'd really be and I'm rambling again, aren't I..." Ayame carefully looked up to see a girl with what seemed to be small cables dangling from her ears.
"I-I'm Jirou Kyouka, nice to meet you..?"
"Ayame. Her name is Ayame."
Hitoshi! I was waiting for you!
"O-Oh, sorry but, who are you?" Jirou's eyes went blank, and she froze.
"Leave us alone."
She started walking in the direction she came, before Ayame began protesting on her behalf.
Hitoshi, no! She hasn't done anything wrong! She just wanted to make sure I was alright!
He glanced at her, before sighing and letting the brainwashing end.
She blinked once, twice, then narrowed her eyes.
"What just happened? All I did was respond to you," she pointed at Shinsou, "and then I was over here. Is that related to your Quirk?"
Ayame gave him an encouraging glance, and he nodded at the other purple-haired child.
"That's pretty cool! Do you wanna be a Hero, too? I've been thinking about it, but I might want to be in a band... Also, you haven't talked at all in the time I've been here, so again are you okay?"
Ayame grinned at Hitoshi.
He just sighed again with a small smile on his face before getting ready to explain why she wasn't speaking.
"Is she deaf? It doesn't really look like it but she might just be really good at reading lips... Mute, maybe? You're my age though... what happened to make you stop- actually, that's probably a bad question I'm sorry."
Hitoshi held up a hand as a sign to pause, and after looking to Ayame for permission, he continued. "Well, you're definitely right about that last part. It's a long story that has many bad memories attached to it. As for being mute, that's true too. She has been for as long as I've known her."
"So she uses sign language to communicate? I mean, that's my guess at least."
Ayame took the lead this time, waving cheerily.
We should be friends with her, Hitoshi! She signed not so subtly, gesturing excitedly towards Jirou.
"So a certain someone," Hitoshi started, looking intently at Ayame whilst she pretended to whistle innocently, "wanted me to ask you if you'd want to be... friends?" He scratched his neck nervously, internally wracking his brain trying to remember the last time somebody other than Ayame hadn't rejected his olive branch.
"R-Really? That's..." She smiled awkwardly, glancing between the both of them to check if they were joking, "I mean, if it's... if it's okay with you guys..."
The name's Naita Ayame, and you're our second friend!
"Oh and you'll probably want to learn sign language if you want to have effective conversations with this one over here. She always appreciates talking with people who speak the same way." Simultaneously, he was replying to the silent but excited child.
I'm not gonna say she's our second friend, that just sounds really sad.
But it's true!
"Y-You guys are my first friends, actually." Kyouka began, smiling slightly, "People normally think I'm weird because I tend to go on tangents and have a large vocabulary for someone my age so... thank you."
"My name is Hitoshi Shinsou, and I want to- will be a Hero. I want to help save others, but the vast majority of the people around me have always said my Quirk is going to make me a Villain. Ayame was the first person to easily accept that I'm going to be a Hero, along with you now as well. I don't trust you enough to immediately say what I can do but... eventually, I'll tell you. That is, if you still want to be around us 'outcasts' of society." He gestured wildly, attempting to emphasize how separated they were from regular civilians.
Ayame smiled, with slight bitterness leaking through.
Jirou Kyouka grinned.
"Just my kinda crowd then, huh?"
.
.
.
"Aya, we've been friends for over six years now and you're still in that kind of environment! It's not healthy for you physically or emotionally..."
She shrugged helplessly, dropping her hands in her lap while smiling uncomfortably.
I can't do anything, Hitoshi. They're still my parents, even if they aren't... the best for the job. Besides, where would I even go? I can't ask Kyou, I'd just be a huge burden on her family... She needs the extra room for all her music and instruments anyway, I wouldn't want to take that away from her...
I could ask my parents if we could take you in...
Toshi, you know I would never want you to brainwash your own family. I can handle myself, I promise. As you've said, I've dealt with it for years, I'll be... I'll survive it. I have to be strong if I want to be a Hero, right?
You know that's not what they meant by strong.
Either way, it'll be fine. We're in middle school now, and as soon as we hit high school we can get into U.A. so please. Stop worrying.
I'll always be there for you, you know that right?
She hesitated.
Yeah. I know.
So I'm absolutely horrible at doing reasonable timeskips so in that last part they're now eleven. They met at five, met Jirou at six, and yeah. I hope it's okay, writing younger children is just really hard for me, I'm sorry. In any case, thanks for reading!
~ TheAngelicPyro