I only own my OC and the plot of this here story. All characters and locations in the MHA world are property of Kōhei Horikoshi. Star Wars is owned by Disney.*
Binding the Galaxy Together
Chapter 11 – Forming a Frienship
Nejire went to U.A. High School. Every student in the hero course there always worked their bodies to the breaking point every day in training. So smelling people's sweat and other odors were nothing she wasn't used to. Even her own at times could surprise her. But the stench that invaded her nose minutes ago coming off Camilla, she could have sworn her nostrils had been filled with runoff from the sewer. She was moments away from barfing all over the floor of Ryukyu's office. That would have been embarrassing to do in front of her and Mirko no less. Thankfully she was able to stomach it and drag Camilla down to the second floor. Down the hall from the rooms the two of them stayed in, there was a bathroom with a shower inside. Once Nejire had dragged the Jedi there, she practically threw her inside the thing and closed the door. Lucky for Nejire, showers were a thing in Camilla's galaxy too so the knowledge of how to work one was not lost on her.
She didn't really appreciate being dragged into this place by the blue haired girl, especially since the pain in her back was still throbbing thanks to Mirko's strong kicks earlier. But reluctantly, she relinquished this pointless fight and allowed herself to be put in. Maybe a shower would help some of the pain go away anyway. One piece at a time, the young Jedi removed her clothes and gear from her body, tossing them outside the door as she took them off. First her cloak. Then the boots followed. Followed by her belt with her lightsabers still on them. Then her pants and tunic were thrown onto the pile along with her under tunic. Nejire was about to try and move the pile of clothes but the door to the shower opened up one more time. In Camilla's hands was a wadded up wrappings that looked like gauze. She let it fall atop the rest of her clothes and the door to the shower closed. Inside the shower, the only Camilla still had left on her body was the necklace she refused to take off.
"Is that everything?" Nejire asked.
"Yeah that's all of it." Camilla replied.
The blue haired hero in training knelt down to pick her clothes up. Half way down she dry heaved when the scent lingering on them went up her nose again. It was especially intense from the boots. A hand went over her mouth immediately as her cheeks puffed.
"Yeah these things definitely need to go into the laundry. And your boots….disinfectant….and a ton of air freshener."
Camilla was in no place to argue. She was aware now how bad she had gotten in terms of smell for the past few days. In her weak defense though she didn't really think about it until Nejire pointed it out. She turned to the shower head in front of her and saw two knobs with her Force vision. With a soft turn of her hand and a gentle pull of the Force, the knob on the right side turned.
It was the wrong knob.
"HOOOOOOOOOOOLY CRAP! THAT WATER IS COLD!"
Just as soon as the water turned on, it turned off again and Nejire burst out laughing as she knelt on the floor.
"Ha! Hahahaa t-turn…turn them both! Hahahahaaa!"
The Padawan took Nejire's tip and stayed clear away from the shower head this time as she turned both knobs. As the water kept on running, she let a hand go under the flow of water and felt it out until it was warm enough. Only then did she finally set foot under the water and let it run through her hair and all the way down her legs. It felt nice actually to be getting clean. Yeah she took showers whenever she could back with her master but it was always rushed and she was back into training or a fight within hours. Now that she wasn't in a war anymore she could just relax and let herself get clean.
"Do you see the soap and stuff in there?"
Camilla looked over again and saw a tiny bar of a color she couldn't make out resting on a small shelf on the shower wall. Next to the bar were two large bottles that she didn't know what were for.
"I see the soap but what are the bottles next to it?"
Nejire turned around and looked at the door with an incredulous look. Wow this girl really was an alien.
"It's called shampoo." She answered. "You put it in your hair. Just pop the top off, squeeze a little bit into your hands, lather up your hair with it, and then rinse it out. Simple as that."
Cleaning hair? Such a thing seemed only for the Naboo royalty or the senators. At least that's what Camilla always believed. She couldn't see herself in the mirror so she mostly didn't care what her hair looked like. Master Morlev would just cut it to keep it at shoulder length whenever it started to grow. The only part of her hair she did make sure to keep track of was her Padawan braid. Which now was mostly for decoration than actual purpose. She thought about using her saber to cut it off, but the thought felt so wrong. So for now, the braid stayed.
After telling Nejire she could handle things from there, the blue haired girl nodded in a silent response then took in a deep breath through her mouth. Then she held her breath and gathered Camilla's clothes as fast as she could before running out of the bathroom leaving the young Jedi alone to clean herself. She returned a few minutes later with some of her own clothes that she left behind by mistake at the room she stayed in. She was so focused on what happened during her internship she forgot to pack everything before she left to go home. She had a couple inches in height on Camilla, but the clothes she had here should still be able to work until they get find something more her size.
"Hey Camilla, I'm leaving you some of my clothes here and a pair of slippers for you. Is that alright?"
"That's fine. Thank you, Miss Nejire." Came the girl's reply from the shower.
Nejire smiled, happy to know she was helping.
"Alright well I have to go now. My parents are expecting me. If you need anything just have Ryukyu call me. OK?"
While the water trickled down her body, Camilla smiled.
"You've already done more than enough for me, Miss Nejire. Thank you again."
Nejire in turn flashed a smile of her own.
"It's no problem, Camilla. Just you wait. Nine months will pass before you know it and you'll be in the U.A. hero course. See ya later!"
With nothing more to say, Nejire left Camilla alone as she continued to run her hands through her hair. The shampoo stuff she was told about had a nice scent to it. And as her fingers dug through her hair, she could feel dirt come out of her head that she didn't even know was there. She had to give props where they were due. She had never given her hair much thought before save for running a comb through it back on Coruscant. Cleaning it to her was just letting it get wait and drying on its own. Now here bubbled up in her hands is a product so anyone can have clean hair with a leftover smell she could only describe as citrusy. After she let the water rinse out the traces of shampoo from her hair, the water was shut off and Camilla opened up the door to the shower again. A towel floated off its place on the bar across the floor and over to Camilla's waiting hand. When she was dry enough, she stepped out of the shower and found the clothes Nejire had left behind for her on the counter next to the sink. Getting closer, she used the Force as best she could to make these clothes out.
"What….what kind of joke is this?"
Up one floor in Ryukyu's office, the dragoon hero was sitting at her desk scrolling down a web page on her computer with the wheel on her mouse. Mirko had gone back out into the field after Nejire dragged Camilla down to the showers leaving Ryukyu alone. Not much was built upon in terms of training the Jedi but that was expected. Today wasn't a training day. This was an intel day. And intel she got by the truckload with every fact about the Force Camilla told them. It was absurd just how much one blind girl could do with one power. She could only imagine if she wasn't blind. Or she was older and more experienced like her master. What would she be then?
Pushing those thoughts aside, she thought about the more important aspects. While she was still learning, she exhibited some amazing control with the powers she had during that sparring match with Mirko on the roof. Though if this was going to be a regular thing with her training, they were going to have to find a place that would be more suitable and not where the air conditioning for her whole building was. Ryukyu considered Mirko lucky that none of the units got damaged. She would have had her hand on the rabbit hero's wallet so fast her checking account would be empty in seconds to replace it. She looked to her computer and scrolled down more looking at the list of abandoned or condemned areas nearby.
"Worp! Chrreeep! Beeeop boop boob! Wooeweee!"
Those noises startled Ryukyu into remembering that R3 was still in her office with her too and standing right next to her chair. The diminutive droid seemed to have his eye focused on the computer screen same as the pro did.
"I'm sorry, R3. I don't understand you." She sympathized. "But if you're wondering what I'm doing, I'm looking through a list of areas nearby that's always empty. It has to be somewhere that would be perfect for Camilla to use her power out in the open."
All Might had the right idea with this Izuku kid. Training someone in a location no one else goes to or cares about would be perfect. Especially when it came to training someone who moves things around with her mind. Some of these areas looked pretty good. An old closed amusement park that's set to be demolished next year, that looked pretty good. But too much red tape to clear. Nope. Outside the city in the mountains? No. The Wild Wild Pussycats own a lot of the land out there and they wouldn't appreciate a bunch of trees suddenly falling down from the swing of Camilla's sword. The next thing she saw come up on screen made her stop. She knew this place and its story. And it if it was still in the state it was in now then it might be perfect. She just needed to get permission.
The ding of the elevator drew her out of her thoughts and out walked Camilla for the first time not seen in her Jedi outfit. The clothes Nejire left behind were a little big on her but it was subtle enough to not be fully noticed. A pair of black shorts with a one size fits all belt was on her legs and stopped right where her kneecaps were. A loose sleeveless pink top with thin straps adorned her torsi showing off a lot of her neck and upper chest without showing much of below. And over that was a white hoodie that wasn't zipped up. On her feet was just a pair of slippers. Ryukyu gave off a smile liking how the Jedi looked in normal Earth clothes, but Camilla herself seemed rather annoyed by it.
"Not that I'm ungrateful, but did she have to leave me something so revealing?" She commented.
From Ryukyu's point of view, an outfit like that was very conservative, especially for someone like Nejire who always drew the gaze of many boys who passed her by. The shorts weren't too short and long sleeves were being worn. Not too much of the chest area was shown either. But Camilla thought it was revealing? This? Maybe it made some sense. Her Jedi clothes were something she had been wearing her whole life and one could barely see any skin on her body other than her hands and head. So maybe showing off more skin than that was considered wrong in her culture? Or frowned upon?
"I wouldn't worry about it too much. You do look like any typical teenage girl in that outfit."
"Still I'd prefer my robes." The blind teen commented back. "Where are they anyway?"
"Your belt with all your gear is back in your room. Your robes and boots are getting thoroughly washed." Ryukyu was patting herself on the back for thinking to have a washer and dryer installed in the building. "I can't believe I didn't notice it before but Nejire was right. You and your clothes reeked to high heaven."
"So I've been told." Camilla sheepishly said.
"But don't worry. When the weekend comes, Nejire and I will get you some clothes of your own. You can't just wear your robes everywhere you go here."
The Padawan wanted to argue again that they were doing too much for her but she kept it down this time. She had accepted that they weren't going to take no for an answer from her. It warmed her heart again to know that these people she was lucky enough to find wanted to go so far to help her. She wasn't sure why she couldn't wear her robes whenever she went somewhere but she decided that was a question for later. For now, some new clothes of her own to blend in on this world was a good idea. So accept it she did.
"Just as long as it's not too much. I don't need anything fancy." Camilla relented.
Ryukyu nodded of course. She never planned to go overboard with this girl. Just getting her some basic clothes would be more than enough. A strong shine coming from the girl's neck reflected back into Ryukyu's face and disrupted her train of thought. She closed her eye that wasn't covered by her mask and turned away for a brief moment before looking back from another angle. The dragoon hero saw that Camilla had a necklace on. Did Nejire leave her some accessories too?
"What is that around your neck?" She wondered.
Her head tilted down and Camilla's fingers rose up and traced over the shining silver charm of the necklace she wore. Upon getting a closer look, Ryukyu saw the charm on the neck accessory was a small metal one carved in the same shape of the Jedi symbol she saw R3 project days earlier.
"My brother made it for me years ago. Before he went off with his master." Camilla remembered sadly.
Ryukyu grew curious about why she sounded so sad over remembering her brother but stopped herself for not coming to it sooner. The Jedi were most likely wiped out by some unknown reason and her brother was probably among them. Both of them obviously wanted to change the subject so the Padawan herself did first.
"So what's the plan for the rest of the day?"
Ryukyu pushed back from her desk and stood up to walk around R3 and over to the girl.
"Unless there's an emergency, there isn't a plan. I got some other pro heroes to cover my area for the day so I could focus on helping Tsukauchi. And I think that went over rather well."
"Up until Miss Mirko kicked me into those metal things on the roof."
The shower helped, but Camilla still felt a bit sore on her back from the impacts. And though she didn't mean to, Ryukyu let a small subtle chuckle out through her lips.
"Rumi means well. I promise. And with her power set I'm positive she will be a very ideal hero to help train you for the entrance exam."
True as that may be, the Jedi's back pain was a clear indicator that this training was not gonna be easy. She just essentially traded out the harsh Jedi training for harsh hero training. Which one was tougher? Only time would tell.
"Speaking of that, when do we start training in earnest?" Camilla asked.
"Not for at least a couple days." Ryukyu answered as she gestured back to her computer screen. "I was looking at places that would be an ideal training ground for you and don't have any people there to get hurt on accident."
"Kind of like how All Might is doing it with Izuku at that beach?"
"Exactly." Ryukyu liked how quickly she could catch on. "I think I may have found a place but I have to make a few calls to get clearance to take you there. And tomorrow I have to go back out into the field for the day. I won't be back until late so you can take the day to yourself. Go out into the city and explore. Get yourself familiar with your surroundings."
Camilla could definitely get on board for that. She could do her daily meditations and exercises in the morning and then head out for the day to take in a few sights. Well….as much as she could anyway.
"I think I can keep myself busy until you return." Camilla agreed. "I just hope no one will make a big deal about a blind girl wandering around by herself."
Ryukyu smiled as she thought of an idea to help prevent that. She went over to her desk and opened up a small drawer. She fished around for a bit before she found what she was looking for. A pair of sunglasses. She walked back over and held them out for the Padawan.
"These should help stop that." She said. "Just wear them and no one will even see your eyes."
When Camilla rose up her hand, the glasses hopped out of Ryukyu's own and floated over to the Jedi with a pull of the Force. They hovered and slowly rotated above her palm as she used her vision to inspect the shape of the object. The glasses opened then closed again before they fell into Camilla's waiting palm.
"Thank you." She said once again to the dragoon hero. "So what do we do now?"
From that point, the rest of the day passed by with nothing else really happening. Ryukyu wasn't called out anywhere by any other heroes and Camilla had kept to herself in her room, meditating some more with R3 by her side. The droid himself was worrying about Camilla going out into an unknown city all on her own but was quick to be reminded that he had to remain even more hidden than the girl he belonged to did. It sucked but it was the truth. The kind of tech R3 had within him was very much advanced in terms of robotics. Sure he couldn't speak human language like some at U.A. could but in terms of smarts and consciousness, the astro droid had them beat. Ryukyu had made a couple phone calls and left voicemails regarding her inquiry about taking someone out to this abandoned site she found to train her. All she could do now was wait for a response. That waiting would carry into the next day as light fell and night came. The number nine hero and the wayward Jedi bid each other goodnight before turning in and falling asleep again.
Morning came as quickly as it left. Camilla was the first to wake up and get dressed back into the clothes Nejire left for her again. Thankfully the blue haired girl thought ahead and left her some shoes. Her shoe size wasn't much bigger than the Padawan's so that was a lucky break. A pair of sneakers with some pink socks now adorned Camilla's feet as she began to walk out of her room. With her hand on the doorknob she stopped and put a hand to her waist. The familiar weight of her belt wasn't there. She forgot she wasn't wearing it. Turning back to the small table where it and her lightsabers rested, she wondered if she should even bother taking it with her. As much as she wanted to blend in like everyone said she was still a Jedi. Going somewhere without her weapon just felt wrong to her.
"Maybe as long as I don't take both of them." She reasoned with herself.
The belt jumped from the table and into her waiting hands. When she was finished putting it on, her own lightsaber was the next to fly into her grip before she clipped it to the side of her waist. Her master's remained on the table in front of a beeping R3.
"It'll be ok. I won't get into any trouble."
Another series of beeps and chirps made the young Jedi sigh.
"I remember what Miss Ryukyu said quite clear. If I see or sense trouble, call her or another hero. She made it quite clear."
Boy she did alright. One of the conditions to allowing her to explore the city was that Camilla was absolutely not to engage in a fight with any villains unless there was no other option but to defend herself. Camilla agreed and gave her other communicator to Ryukyu in case of emergencies.
"I'll be back later. Rest easy, R3."
The door closed and R3 switched off his systems going to "sleep" for a while. Once she was outside the doors, she felt the cool sensation of the morning air against her skin. A lot more skin than usual now. Feeling it against her shins and the upper part of her chest made her shiver. After zipping up the hoodie Nejire lent her, she walked down the sidewalk trying to think about what to do. The time was currently quarter past 7 AM according to R3 when she asked so nothing was really open. At least that's what Ryukyu said. Not a lot of things in this city open up for business until around 8 or 9. So that left her very little options for what to do or where to go. Not that she knew where to go anyway. The only place she knew the location of was the beach where Izuku trained.
Well hey. There was an idea.
Maybe he was still training but a quick visit to say hi never hurt right? As she reached into her pocket and put on the sunglasses Ryukyu gave her to cover her eyes, the young Jedi began to walk now with a direction in mind.
Over at Dagobah Beach with the green haired boy, it was another day through the personally designed wringer All Might set up for him. One piece of trash at a time Izuku picked from the pile and either carried, pushed, or dragged it up and off the beach and into the back of the number one hero's waiting truck bed. So far it had been pretty standard in terms of size and weight when it came to the items he hauled. It started out slowly with only the lighter items being picked. But over time, All Might was starting to notice Izuku could handle some heavier things with less trouble. His Aim to Pass program was working whether Izuku noticed or not. He only hoped that when it was all over and done with, gone would be the scrawny boy that clung to his legs that day when he jumped away, and in his place would be a worthy vessel for One For All to live inside of.
As All Might returned to the scene with a cup of coffee in his hand and a bottle of water in the other, he was in his shrunken body looking over the progress. The back of his truck was nearly full and in perfect timing. It was almost time for Izuku to call it for the morning and get to school. As he saw the boy in question make his way up the stairs with the bowl part of a broken toilet in his grip, he stood in place and watched as Izuku strained with a loud grunt and just barely got the toilet in with the rest of today's load. He backed away from the truck, panted, and fell back on his butt as he tried to catch his breath. He heard the sound of the tailgate closing before the voice of his idol came to him.
"You're doing good, young Midoriya."
Opening his eyes again, he looked up to see All Might's skeletal face smiling down at him and a water bottle being held out for him to take. He wasted no time in taking the bottle from him and downing its contents like he had never had a drink in his life. In seconds the plastic bottle was emptied and discarded into the back of All Might's truck with the rest of the trash there. Shakily he got back to his feet and took in a few more deep breaths to get himself reoriented.
"There's still….so much….left to…clean." Izuku reminded himself.
"That there is." All Might agreed as he looked to the beach. "And it may seem like it will take forever. But you've made a sizeable dent whether you can see it or not. When it's time for you to take the exam…"
The body of the number one hero let loose a puff of steam and where the skeleton man once stood, the buff figure of the true All Might took his place.
"…this beach being clean will not be the only fruits of your labor! But One For All and a seat in the hero course will be yours! That I am sure of!"
Izuku could feel his chest tighten as he was sure his heart swelled a bit after hearing that. He had heard praise like that before from All Might but it was still so surreal that he was saying it to him of all people. After so many people wrote him off as worthless and being a burden to society, Izuku being told he could become a hero by the hero of all heroes no less, it felt like a fantasy. He didn't know what more in life he could want. To ask for more than that would be greedy.
"Should I head back down and get some more?" Izuku wondered.
All Might shook his head. As admirable as Izuku's drive was, he needed to know when to stop.
"You've done quite enough for this morning. Besides, you have to be going. School will be starting soon."
Izuku reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Crap he was right. It was already half past seven. School started in half an hour. Good thing his uniform was stuffed into his backpack and no one was around. Good thing about training at a garbage dump, easy to change with no one seeing you.
"Do you want me to drive you?"
"No thanks!" Izuku scrambled to fish his uniform out. "I can jog there and make it on time!"
"Um….good morning?"
A third voice cutting through the air caused both the guys to stop and look in the direction it came from. They saw a girl with red hair standing there behind All Might wearing an outfit that most teenage girls don't wear on a weekday morning. If it weren't for the familiar braid on the side of the girl's head, they probably wouldn't have recognized her at all.
"Camilla? Is that you?" Izuku asked.
Camilla replied by lifting the sunglasses of her face and showing the two of them her worthless eyes, confirming her identity.
"Yeah it's me." She replied.
"Well good morning to you too, young Sharro." All Might warmly greeted. "How nice to see you again. And you're not wearing those robes this time."
"I was told they developed a smell." Camilla replied.
Izuku was looking up and down Camilla with this new look and his face began to flush with red. The thick robes from before pretty much covered everything on her body save for her hands and head. This new one she came with was showing off more of her legs and a tad more of her body's overall shape. He would have been a bit more flustered if it were something he hadn't grown used to seeing with most of his female classmates. Most sailor outfits showed that same amount. The only thing that was the same from before was that belt with the weird red pipe attached to her side.
"Am I interrupting?" Camilla asked.
"Oh no not at all!" Izuku answered back, though a bit louder than intended. "I just have to get dressed for school is all. So I'll be right back!"
Izuku then zipped back down the stairs and hid behind a wall of trash to change his clothes, leaving All Might alone with Camilla.
"Jumpy isn't he?" She commented.
"That's as good a word as any I suppose." The buff man agreed. "What are you doing out here anyway? Young Midoriya told me you asked him a couple days ago why he wanted to be a hero. Come to ask him another question?"
"I just thought I would come by and say hello. See how he's doing." The ruby haired girl said as he looked back to the beach. "I don't really have much else to do today."
"That's perfectly alright. Some days have slow starts." It was a painful truth All Might spoke.
"But there is something I wanna tell him. And you I suppose. You are his mentor after all."
Now All Might was curious as to what she had to say. He didn't have to wait long though as Izuku came rushing back up with his backpack strapped to him and his black school uniform on his body.
"Alright I'm all set." He declared.
"Before you head off, young Sharro says she has something to tell you. Right?"
The number one hero looked down to Camilla who nodded and then looked to Izuku with a smile on her face.
"Well I wanted to first say thank you again for what you said the other day. It really helped solidify the choice I made."
"Choice? What choice?" Izuku was confused. When did he help her and what did he say?
"I'm gonna take the entrance exam for U.A. High same as you."
Both guys in front of her now were looking at the blind girl with different expressions. First was surprise that a blind girl was gonna try for the hardest course in the hardest school to get into. Then it was followed by hope that she could actually do it. Then the next moment, they were both smiling at her.
"Camilla that's great!" Izuku beamed. "I really hope you get in!"
"As do I, young Sharro."
All Might in particular had a look of interest pointed at the girl. Her as a student in the hero course? A blind girl with the ability to see and move things with her mind? Power-wise she had a chance but the whole not being able to see things full aspect had to be a hindrance. But there was no way he was going to say that out loud. If she was in Ryukyu's care and she knew about this idea, then chances are they were going to get her as ready for this test as much as she could, just like was doing for Izuku. The dragoon hero always did have a soft spot for kids.
"Well then young Midoriya, you should be getting to school."
"Right. See ya!"
He was going to leave already?
"Wait!"
Camilla called out to him right as Izuku lifted his leg.
"Would it be OK if I walked with you? I wanna talk with you some more. If that's alright."
Outside, All Might was flashing his trademark smile to both of the kids. In his mind however, there was a big smirk aimed right for Izuku, hoping he wouldn't be stupid enough to say no. Though with the way he was blushing and fidgeting on one foot right now, it did seem like it could tilt that way.
"S-s-sure! You can walk with me!"
Again a little louder than necessary but he said yes. That's what All Might was rooting for. Still a smile on her face, Camilla let the glasses fall back over her eyes and joined Izuku at his side.
"Shall we then?"
"So close so close so close holy CRAP SHE'S SO CLOSE TO ME!"
Izuku was trying his damndest to not burst at the seams. It felt like an eternity passed before he finally set his foot down and began to take another step. Soon though, he started to walk fully with the blind girl beside him as they headed down the street away from the beach.
"Bye All Might!" Camilla waved.
"Oh! B-bye All Might! Thanks!" Izuku waved too.
"Do well you two!"
The number one waved back to the two kids as they got further away until he felt it was safe enough to revert back into his shrunken body. No need to waste more time in his hero form if he didn't need to. He got back into his truck and hoped beyond hope that his protégé would not make himself look foolish in front of a cute girl. Even if she was blind his voice did convey some pretty obvious emotions. But one step at a time he figured. First get him in shape to inherit One For All, then pass on some tips for talking to girls. If there was time that is. After all, he was going to be busy next year as U.A.'s newest heroics teacher. He only wished he could see the look on Izuku's face when he found that out.
Down the street Izuku and Camilla had turned the first corner of the walk. The green haired boy had both his hands tightly gripped to the straps of his backpack while he tried to process that a girl was in this close proximity to him and didn't seem to mind. Next to him, Camilla could once again sense his anxiety so loudly it felt like he was screaming about it while only a couple steps away from him.
"You can calm down, you know." She said to him. "It's like that first morning I met you. I'm not gonna bite you or anything."
Hearing that did ease Izuku's feelings a bit, but he was still plenty nervous about this.
"I know I know I….I'm sorry I'm just…I'm not used to this."
"Used to what? Having a friendly conversation?"
"….yes."
That one word and the way he said it caused both teenagers to stop in their tracks. Camilla turned to look at him again with her limited vision with a bit of concern growing within her. Why did he suddenly sound so sad? And why would he not be used to having normal talks with people?
"What do you mean?" She asked, hoping she wasn't prying into something.
Izuku just sighed at the start. She was gonna find out eventually he supposed. Might as well get it over with.
"I'm quirkless, Camilla."
It took a few moments for Camilla to register the word. Quirkless? Wait. People with powers on this world call those powers quirks. So quirkless means…suddenly she felt like a puzzle had just fallen together. She had wondered from the start why the little green light showing Izuku's Force connection was so dim. Now it made sense. He didn't have a power. And to be like that in a world that's populated by eighty percent of super powered people…suddenly Izuku's shy nature made a ton more sense.
"Oh…." She muttered.
She couldn't think of anything to say in the moment. Before she could, Izuku was heard sighing and he began to walk off by himself.
"Yeah. I get it. No one wants to be seen with the quirkless kid. I'll just leave you alone now."
He kept on going certain that Camilla would follow in the footsteps of every friend he once had and shun him because of his lack of a power. He had grown used to it by this point in his life. Before his foot hit the ground again he stopped. A hand came down on his shoulder and Izuku was surprised to see that Camilla was still there keeping him from leaving. Her other hand reached up to her sunglasses and she pulled them off her face showing him once more her lifeless gray eyes.
"You're not the only one born without something that everyone else around you has."
She took his hand off him and put the glasses back on as Izuku turned back to fully look at her stunned at her response to his reveal.
"You….you really don't care about that?"
"Am I supposed to?"
Izuku just felt like his entire world was flipped upside down for the second time since meeting All Might. No kid his age has ever had this reaction to him telling them he doesn't have a power. He honestly wasn't sure how to even process it. Words though. Using words from his mouth would probably be a good start. After fumbling a bit he was finally able to get another sentence out.
"I…I…thank you for not caring."
Camilla was only even more confused now. Why was he thanking her like that? Just what did Izuku go through to make him like this?
"You're welcome…I guess….but I really don't understand a lot of this."
Izuku was slightly baffled that Camilla didn't get why he was the way he was about his quirklessness. Well, he at least figured it would make some good talking material on the way to school. So as the two of them resumed walking, he explained to her about himself starting with the day he was born and how became a mega fan of All Might when he was just a kid. Then he explained that when he was four, the age most quirks manifest, he was diagnosed as quirkless by the doctors at the hospital. Camilla made another note in her head to remember to go see Doctor Aoki to apologize and resumed listening. He told her how the news that he was never going to get a power of his own crushed him. But despite all that, he never let it fully kill his dream of becoming a hero. Of course it still came with the drawbacks, which is what he told her about last.
"So your friends suddenly turned their backs on you and became bullies just because you were born powerless?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
The way Izuku sounded so….OK with all of that, it filled Camilla with frustration. She had been on the receiving end of similar treatment herself because of her eyes back on Coruscant and she never took it lying down. She would either push back or just go vent her frustrations out on a few training probes unlucky enough to be within range of her lightsaber. Either choice usually ended up with her master or another Jedi stepping in to stop things. But what did Izuku do with all of that torment? Just take it? Why? Well obviously with no power what choice did he have?
"I'm so sorry." She said almost in a whisper.
Sensing the subject was upsetting her, Izuku flashed a smile, not that she could see it anyway.
"Hey don't worry about it! I'm alright! I promise! It used to be a lot worse but now that All Might is teaching me I'm better!"
There was some clear joy when Izuku said that. Camilla could hear it let alone sense it. So that helped her calm down from her negative emotions. Still though, it did beg the question.
"Wait so…you're training to go to U.A. High. And All Might, the number one hero is helping you…even though you don't have a power of your own?"
Izuku almost tripped over himself when the question was asked. He had to think of something fast here. So he just did what he did best. Start rambling.
"Oh well you know All Might noticed some potential in me and he wants to see if he can train me to see the best hero I can be to take the test even though I don't have a quirk. It's really amazing of him you know? The number one hero takingtimeoffhisbusyscheduletofocusonakidlikemeissomethingyoudon'tnormallyhearabout…"
As Izuku began to spit out more words than Camilla's ears could handle at one time, the girl in question could most definitely feel a new sense of dread flowing out of the green haired teen like an open faucet. The way he was rambling, there was for certain something hidden underneath all that word vomit. Now however was probably not the best time to bring up such a delicate subject.
"Alright alright! Calm down!" Camilla grabbed his shoulders to see if that would get him to stop talking.
Thankfully it was enough to work but Izuku still kept his lips sealed tight, afraid he might say the wrong word.
"Look if you don't want me to bring it up then I won't bring it up and you don't have to either. What happens between you and All Might is yours and his business. Not mine."
Of all the traits this girl could have, Izuku was glad understanding seemed to be one of her most obvious ones. After taking a breath to recollect himself, the teen flashed another smile, again, forgetting she couldn't see it, and continued to walk to school. With the subject dropped, Izuku decided to bring up another one as he neared his school.
"So what's it like to live with Ryukyu?"
As Camilla went into as much detail as she could without revealing too much, Izuku had stars in his eyes and a notebook in his hands with a pen scribbling away at the pages. He didn't even notice that they were at the front entrance of the school by the time she had finished.
"Hehe. Sorry I can't say much more than that. It's just that simple. She's kind and she trusts me enough to go out on my own. Living at her building for now is something I'm immensely grateful for."
"Oh no no don't be sorry. This is already so great! I –URK!"
The green haired boy was interrupted when another kid his age pushed through both him and Camilla to continue walking forward.
"Watch where you're standing, Deku."
Izuku nervously began to look to where the voice came from and saw his ex childhood friend, Katsuki Bakugo standing there glaring at him with his trademark sneer on his face.
"G-good morning, Kacchan."
A new slew of emotions was currently being sensed by the Jedi in hiding. As she looked at the newly named "Kacchan" she saw him radiate anger and hatred almost as much as All Might radiated raw power. By the sound of Izuku's voice and his timid tone, she could tell that this was a person he was afraid of. But….there was another thing from him….admiration? For this jerk?
"Aren't you going to apologize for bumping into us?"
The question made both Izuku and Katsuki stare at her with shock and anger respectively. Izuku was shocked someone was actually trying to make Katsuki apologize, and Katsuki was angry that she thought there was something he had to apologize for. Especially when it came to freakin Deku. Camilla couldn't make out his facial details but she could hear a sound coming from him. Was this Kacchan…growling at her?
"Since you clearly have a shit taste in friends I'll give you this one warning." He snarled. "Stay the hell out of my way. And if you know what's good for you you'll drop this worthless Deku. Unless you wanna be someone I have to blast out of my path."
It was amazing how unlikeable this guy grew with every word that came out of his mouth. Camilla wanted to retort but she just stood there processing his words and what Izuku said earlier about bullies. This guy had to be one of the people who tormented him about his powerless state. It didn't sit well with her. Over with Izuku he was growing more upset and trying to not let it bother him. He was used to being talked to like this but he didn't want Camilla to be on the receiving end. Keeping her glasses on, The young Padawan only gazed at Katsuki with more annoyance than hurt at the words thrown at her.
"The friends I make are my choice alone. Not yours, Kacchan."
The growling grew louder and Katsuki shot a death glare over to a now sweating and surprised Izuku.
"If she calls me that one more time, Deku, I will kill you."
Not even bothering to waste another moment on them, Katsuki turned and stormed off into school where two of his "friends" were waiting for him at the door. When they were out of sight, Izuku breathed a sigh of relief while Camilla just remained more confused than ever.
"He got angry because I called him by his name?"
"A-actually, Kacchan's just what I call him." Izuku corrected. "His full name is Katsuki Bakugo. And he's….an old friend I guess."
OK. The name thing was cleared up. But Camilla now looked surprised at Izuku. He seriously considered this guy his friend?
"Izuku the way he was talking wasn't any sort of friendly." She stated. "Also he kept calling you, 'Deku'. What does that mean?"
Izuku sighed hoping he wouldn't have to explain that name. But here he was. Though maybe right now wasn't the best time to do it as his classmates kept funneling into the school.
"I'll have to explain that later. Right now I really should get to class." He said to her.
Camilla nodded understandingly to him.
"Learn well then." She said as she started to walk off.
"But do you want to meet me after school to talk more?"
She stopped right at the front gate and turned back to him.
"Sure." She answered. "How long will it be until you're done?"
Izuku smiled at the prospect of talking more with this girl.
"School gets out at 3:15. I'll meet you here by the gates?"
"I'll be here."
"Great! Bye!"
"Bye, Izuku."
With that set and done, Izuku and Camilla turned and walked away from each other. As Camilla rounded the corner of the gate and out of sight, Izuku walked through the doors to his school. It wasn't until he was five or six steps in until he froze again, realizing just what it was he had done. His face grew neon red again as he let it process through his brain.
"HOLY CRAP! DID I JUST AGREE TO MEET WITH A GIRL AFTER SCHOOL?!"
A/N
Honestly the toughest part of this chapter to write was whether or not to have Camilla wear underwear underneath her Jedi clothes. I looked into it and different people say different things. The wrap around the body like a samurai, or just straight up no. It took me a bit to decide which to go with.
And no. I'm not gonna ship Camilla with Izuku. I'm not gonna ship her with anyone….yet. I'm a dirty IzuOcha shipper right now and my body won't let me betray it. LOL. That whole aspect of the story will come up after Camilla reveals an important part of Jedi culture to everyone. But until then, see ya!
EDITED:
OH! I almost forgot! A friend of mine drew a picture of the OC starring on this fic. But unfortunately link posting or image sharing doesn't work here so if you want to see it, then head to the story's link over on archiveofourown.