I just wanna apologize again if the pacing of this story is too slow for some of you. I promise things are gonna heat up with the U.A. action in two or so chapters. I just really had a lot in my head for how I wanted this to start off and I guess I had a lot more than I thought at the start. Either way if you're still sticking around with me, thank you. I promise I'll make it worth your while. For now let's get to it. And this one may be a little longer than normal so brace yourselves.
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. Enjoy the new chapter!
Binding the Galaxy Together
Chapter 15 – New Friends as Time Passes
The next few days passed with very little new developments. Until the weekend came, Mirko and Ryukyu switched off days they trained Camilla on Mandalore Island. And thankfully for the Jedi, it wasn't just more brawls with the rabbit hero or the dragoon hero. Now that they had a close up idea of how Camilla fought, Ryukyu started drilling her on what could be improved upon. First off were the powers that Camilla didn't use as much as others such as her Force speed or her jumping. She could use it yes but since she didn't use it as frequently as her telekinesis or vision, both the pro heroes wanted to make sure they were as sharp as anything else in her arsenal. The only exception to this list was the Jedi mind tricks. Hypnotism was a very closely and monitored type of quirk in hero society. Same with illusion type quirks. Overuse of them is prohibited for a reason.
On the first day of real training, Ryukyu decided to put the Padawan's speed to the test. Camilla could work with that. It had been something she herself had wanted to do for a while. Sadly the beach of the island didn't go all the way around it which would have been preferable. The entire other side of it was just a big wall that the waves crashed against. A makeshift track for Camilla to run around the island was made up with the beach being just a part of it. The Jedi used her Force speed to push herself faster as she ran for as long as she could but unfortunately her stamina keeping it up drained quite quickly. She didn't even make it one full lap around the island before she had to stop. As she caught her breath, she explained that she had only really used Force speed in small bursts to make quick getaways. Never before had she used it for a long distance sprint. Ryukyu nodded afraid that this might be the case and realizing she and Mirko definitely had their work cut out for them.
While lessons progressed over the next couple of days, eventually the weekend came. Saturday morning once again, a time for the streets to bustle not with busy workers, but with kids trying to have fun and tourists trying to snag a few photos of notable landmarks and famous heroes. The dragoon hero intended to make good on her promise to take Camilla to see her ship. Mirko wasn't going to come today saying she wasn't needed. Which in truth she really wasn't. Nejire however fully intended to come with. Not so much to hear about the repairs even though she was interested to hear how much could be salvaged, but more so because once they were done there, the Jedi was hers for the rest of the day to take shopping for a new wardrobe of her own. Camilla tried and tried to make that go away saying she didn't want new clothes but she had no choice but to relent. Her Jedi robes made her look like a hero in training too much. Sad to say but Tsukauchi and Mirko both agreed with Ryukyu when she said she couldn't be seen in public with it on again until she was a student in full. Other than that, only when she was on Mandalore Island and out of sight.
When it came time to head to the warehouse, Camilla was once again dressed in the clothes Nejire had lent her a couple days ago. This time, at the insistence of her caretakers, she didn't take her belt or her lightsabers with her this time. She didn't like the idea of going out unarmed but again, she relented. With her sunglasses on, she, Nejire, and Ryukyu all exited the agency this time with R3 rolling next to them. Both Nejire and the number nine hero were in civilian clothes today as they didn't really want to be noticed or pulled away by random pedestrians. The only thing odd about the female trio here was R3 but he was a necessity for this. His scanners along with the blueprints for the fighter and ring he had in his internal memory banks were the best idea for figuring out what could be repaired and what was FUBAR'd. A few people in passing eyed the droid with curiosity but thankfully no one really cared much to ask about it. They just figured the droid was some sort of support company experiment. That didn't last very long thanks to the short distance that was between them and the warehouse. When they were inside, Haru, the boss of the company bowed to the hero and the two teenagers. And of course to the droid.
"So are you here to look it over?" Haru asked.
"Yup. So the ship and the ring are in there?" Camilla asked back to him.
Haru nodded and opened the door to the storage space from the lobby up with his key.
"It took a while for most of the seawater to drip out. Some of it may still be in there so I don't know what all can be saved."
"That's why R3 is with us, Haru." Ryukyu explained.
When the door was opened and they all went inside, Nejire took her first look ever at the new addition to the scrapheap that was what carried Camilla to this planet. Next to the broken fighter craft which she had already seen, the blue haired girl took a much closer look now at a contraption of matching blue and silver color and wide diameter. This ring shaped piece of the ship was missing a giant chunk of it from the top part making the circle incomplete. Scorch marks had thoroughly covered what appeared to be the engines on one side. The pieces in the middle which Ryukyu assumed were where the fighter locked into place when functioning, most of it looked to be frayed and ripped off by force. Throw in the seaweed that wasn't yet removed from its retrieval and that completed the overall look that was this wreck of a spacecraft.
Even despite it's less than stellar appearance, Nejire still found herself enthralled with just what it was she was standing in front of. She didn't really have a chance to process it the first time because she was so focused on Camilla herself.
"This thing really flew through space?" She wondered aloud. "Just how fast can it go? How good of a pilot are you with your eyes? Did R3 help you out?"
"How about we focus on one thing at a time?" Camilla answered her before she looked to her droid and patted his head. "You're up, R3. Show me how bad it is."
The astro droid bleeped back to her and rolled over to the ship on his three legs and began to use his scanners to get a closer look at the fighter and then did the same with the ring. It was going to take a while for him to fully complete. So while he was doing that, Nejire decided to talk some more.
"So. Shopping later. I had some ideas and hear me out here. I think we should maybe try looking into some cute short sleeves rather than long sleeves because it is gonna be summer soon. It's already warming up and I do not how you can stand to be inside those thick robes of yours while you're out there training on that island. Not to mention, that necklace of yours. Cute! I mean I know it's the symbol of the Jedi and all that but we can work around it with some adorable tops that I saw online! Also! Swimsuits! Now I don't know what the Jedi rule is about that but just go with me here…"
Suddenly Camilla found that Izuku had a rival for who could keep talking on and on without even realizing how fast they're going. Slowly, she leaned to the right to look past Nejire and over to Ryukyu who was looking at her with a sympathetic smile. Camilla couldn't see it but at least she could feel the sympathy from her. Though the little bit of amusement she sensed with it did concern her.
"…and I'm sure you'll turn tons of boys' heads! What do you think, Camilla?!"
Snapping back to Nejire, the young Padawan just nodded, not really having a clue about what the spiral shooting girl was talking about, and not really thrilled at the prospect of finding out.
"It uh…it sounds good, Nejire. Just promise me you won't take things too overboard. I agreed to new clothes but I really don't want anything too extravagant or head turning. You, Ryukyu, Mirko, and the detective have already done so much for me. I feel like I'm just taking advantage of your hospitality sometimes. Yours and Izuku's."
To this, Ryukyu and Nejire both looked at her in surprise.
"Taking advantage of…Camilla don't even think such a thing!" Ryukyu approached the girl and put both her hands to her shoulders. "We aren't helping you because we feel obligated to. We're helping you because we legitimately want to. So don't you dare feel like you're taking advantage of us."
Nejire was quick to agree with her mentor.
"Yeah! You don't ever have to worry about that! We're glad to help you out and we know you would never dream of taking advantage of us! You're awesome, Camilla!"
Just like that Camilla was once again floored by the flowing generosity from these two in front of her. The Force truly had blessed her to be found by them. Even Mirko she was thankful for, even if her side was still a bit sore from that spar a few days ago. Even though affirmations were being beaten into her right now, she still couldn't shake the feeling that gnawed in the back of her mind.
"Thank you both for saying that. But…it doesn't change the fact that…I am sort of sponging off you. More you Ryukyu than anyone else right now. Staying at your building has been comfortable but we both know I can't stay there forever."
That was indeed a thing Ryukyu was aware of. Getting Camilla full instilled into Earth's systems meant she would need a home address linked to her. Having that address be the Dragon's Lair agency building would raise quite a few questions. Tsukauchi had brought this up with her before and she was already thinking of what she could do about it. It could be put off for a few months at the most and that was it.
"You let me and the detective figure that out." She said to Camilla with a soft smile. "I told you you're welcome to live at my building for as long as you need, and I meant it. We'll get you a more permanent place soon enough."
It was gonna be easier said than done but the number nine hero had confidence. Nejire, while listening, couldn't help but feel even more that she made the right choice for her internship mentor.
Before the conversation could carry on, the familiar chirping of R3 could be heard coming up to them as he rolled and came to a stop a few feet in front of the trio.
"His analysis his is complete." Camilla translated his language.
"Already? That was barely a few minutes." Nejire commented in surprise.
"Yeah he works fast." The Jedi replied to her before looking back to the dome headed robot. "Alright, lay it on us."
And thus began quite the long chain of different sounding beeps, chirps, whistles, and just about every noise that reminded Nejire and Ryukyu of a common pinball machine. They both stared more at Camilla and her face as she reacted to her droid talking in various facial expressions. Neither of them could even fathom as to how this girl could understand a single bleep of it. Sure it was probably learned over the decade or so they've been together, but still it just baffled them that a language of computer noises could be so easily understood by the blind girl.
When R3 finally finished "talking" Camilla's hand rubbed her chin as she thought over the new information. Some of it was good, some of it was bad, and some of it she already knew.
"What did he say?" Nejire was eager to know.
"Well, the long and short of it is, I'm still not going anywhere in the foreseeable future." The redhead answered as she looked in the direction of her broken fighter. "The hyperdrive ring has too much missing to be repaired and even if it could be, the engines on one side are completely shot. The fire from the crash caused too much damage both internally and externally. The other side is still in decent shape but with only one side working it's useless. As for the fighter, it's a lot of the same. I told you it was a laser shot to one of the engines that caused me to go off course well that engine is completely out. Add in the big crack on the left side and we have ourselves quite the outstanding wreck before us."
Neither the pro nor the student liked hearing just how much damage both parts of her craft sustained. As much as they liked having Camilla and wanted to see her go to U.A., they did hold hope that one day she would be able to return home to her galaxy. Now it was looking like that was less of a possibility. Nejire however raised her hand as she thought of something.
"Can't we just repair it with materials we have available here?"
"Do you have anything on Earth that can withstand the intensity of lightspeed?"
Camilla's answer caused the peppy girl to deflate back down as she realized that answer was probably a no. Sure she wasn't much of a scientist or an engineer. But she knew at least that space travel for Earth was limited. The vacuum of space could be withstood, but probably nothing NASA or JAXA had built so far could probably take what hypserspace had to throw at them.
"There is at least some good news here." Camilla said to them.
Both of them perked up now wondering what that good news could be. R3's hologram projector activated and he showed Ryukyu and Nejire an image of the hyperdrive ring in its full and non-damaged state. Next to that was another image of the fighter, also in perfect condition. Small sections of the ring were highlighted in brighter white light on the ring and then the same happened to the fighter in the same areas where the real one was damaged.
"The ring may be beyond repair but R3 tells me we can take parts from it and transfer them to the fighter to restore it back to complete working order. However…there's still two problem's with that. One is…well…."
"You have no idea how to do it, do you?"
Camilla sighed as she nodded to Nejire in utter defeat.
"I was never that mechanical. The most repairs I've ever done to anything are field repairs on my lightsaber and that's it. Anakin or someone else always fixed the ships. So…yeah. I got nothing."
"And what's the second problem?" Ryukyu wondered.
"The fuel." Camilla quickly answered. "Even if by some miracle there was a mechanic on this planet that could learn how to do such a thing, most of the fuel I had was burned up in hyperspace. So flight time would be severely limited."
After Camilla said that was all R3 had told her, Ryukyu and Nejire realized that this was going to be something to be taken care of far in the future. For now they just had to make sure the ship and the ring were kept out of sight and they already had done so with Haru. So that matter was already closed.
"Well then I guess there's no more for us to do here." Ryukyu surmised.
"Pretty much." Camilla agreed.
"Then let's get out of here. Come on, R3!" Nejire waved to the droid to follow her.
Which he did immediately with Ryukyu and Camilla following them. They all bid goodbye to Haru and walked out the front door of the warehouse. A short walk later, they were back at the door to the Dragon's Lair. Nejire had a firm grip on Camilla's shoulder to make sure she didn't attempt to flee, and R3 stood next to Ryukyu.
"Well I guess this is where we leave you for the day." Ryukyu said to the two girls. "I trust you'll keep her out of trouble, Nejire?"
"You can count on me!" Nejire flashed her mentor a thumbs up with her other hand.
While Camilla resigned herself to her fate with the very excited blue haired girl, her droid across from her let out one last slew of mechanical words that only she picked up on. When she did pick up on them, she looked at R3 with a scowl.
"Laugh it up now, R3. If the mood catches me right I just might let Nejire accessorize you too."
That seemed to make the astromech droid finally feel something akin to fear as the last bleep Camilla heard before R3 scrambled inside made her chuckle just a bit. Ryukyu waved to the two girls one more time before following the robot in. Now that Nejire had Camilla all to herself, it was time to take her shopping. There was a credit card attached to an expense account in Ryukyu's name, and she had every intention to use it. Although now that last joke the Jedi told her droid did get her thinking about how cute R3 would look if he had a little scarf around him, or maybe a big sunhat.
It was a trek but after a while, Nejire and Camilla had arrived at their destination. The first two things the Padawan noticed about this place; it was very crowded and very loud. Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall on a Saturday afternoon was indeed a loud and crowded place this time of the week. Hundreds if not thousands of people had to be here crowding in and out of the tiny stores lined up next to each other like building blocks.
"Welcome to Kiyashi Mall, Camilla!" Nejire said excitedly.
The new word made the young Jedi learner tilt her head confused.
"A mall?"
Her tone made it quite obvious to Nejire that this was a new thing for her. So she kept the smile on her face as bright as the sun in the sky and kept on talking.
"Yup! A shopping mall! It's a wide open space with so many stores packed together for different needs! You can find all sorts of things here! Clothes, shoes, toys, collectibles if you like those kinds of things, hair products, and so much more!"
"This is where you're taking me to buy clothes?" Camilla wondered. "Can't we go somewhere less crowded?"
Nejire turned to assure here it would be ok and saw the young alien fiddle with the sunglasses hiding her eyes. So that's what it was. Camilla was nervous people would find out she was blind and she didn't want the extra attention. Even though the girl couldn't see it, Nejire smiled and took hold of one of the Jedi's hands.
"I promise you it's gonna be just fine here. Plus with so many stores packed into one place, this makes it perfect to find a good luck for you. Now come on! There are so many stores and so little time!"
As Nejire pulled her further into the mall, Camilla just let it happen as she figured it was better to just get it over with and make sure no one saw her eyes.
"You do promise you're not gonna go overboard right?"
"I can't make that promise!"
Suddenly a feeling of dread filled Camilla's stomach.
*TWO HOURS LATER*
"Alright! That's one more store down and a couple more outfits bought!"
Nejire brought out a small notepad from the back pocket of her shorts and flipped it open. On the front page of it was a small list of stores she intended to bring Camilla to and a good number of them now were crossed off. As she drew a line through the one she just exited, she turned back to her alien friend eager to get moving.
"Let's get going! We still got a few left!"
"Can we please slow down?!"
Camilla exited the store two seconds later looking more than annoyed at Nejire underneath those sunglasses she wore. As she walked she had one of her arms raised and pointed behind her. Reaching out with the Force, Camilla wasn't just grabbing an extra large bag full of clothes from the store she was just in, but also five others of similar size each from a different store in the mall she and Nejire went into earlier. The bags at this point were following Camilla around like she was a sun and they were the planets orbiting her. The girl was thankful she was able to use the Force so openly to hold the bags otherwise she might have just ditched Nejire after store number two. They weren't exactly light in terms of weight.
"We've already been into six stores and you've gotten me enough clothes to fill at least two closet spaces now. Can't we at least take a break?"
A bead of sweat dropped down Nejire's back as she looked behind Camilla and finally saw just how much the girl was carrying with her telekinetic grip. OK she may have gone a little too fast. But it was just so much fun. Despite being so attached to her Jedi style which she had worn her entire life, Camilla had such a cute look that went with so many of the outfits she saw in stores. The poor Jedi was practically thrown inside the fitting rooms with piles of clothes tossed in after her. That again caused her to freeze up and grow nervous again. They actually got undressed in public places like this just to try on clothes they hadn't even bought yet?! In the first store it took twenty minutes for Nejire to finally convince her to do it with the promise that no one would see her but that didn't stop Camilla from stripping herself down and putting different clothes on as fast as possible. From there on she just did it without question wanting to just get it over with. When they finally exited the first store, the Padawan was hoping that was it but no. Nejire was clearly nowhere near done. Now here she was carrying enough outfits to clothe an entire classroom.
While Nejire looked over the bags again, she fished her phone out from the pocket of her jeans and checked the time. It was a little past noon now. She had been so focused on getting Camilla her new clothes she had lost track of time.
"I guess we have been going for a while. How does lunch sound to you?"
That was something the blind teen was on board for. If there was anything to look forward to for her today it was a chance to try more of Earth's food. She flashed her first smile to Nejire since the moment they entered the mall and nodded in agreement. When they got to the food court, there was already a line for a few places and Nejire wasn't sure what she should try to introduce Camilla to next. From what Ryukyu told her about her new friend, Midoriya, his mother had cooked a few nice meals for her. Her favorite so far she commented was the katsudon. The shortest line she could fine was the one for a curry place. That would be new for her. Grabbing her hand, Nejire led her to the back of the line. Both of them ordered a plate of the black pork curry at the insistence of the hero in training.
When they got their plates and sat down to eat, Nejire slapped herself when she saw Camilla take a pair of chopsticks into her hands. She was about to go up and ask for a fork but a moment later she saw that she didn't have to. The chopstick's floated above the Jedi's hand and she used her wrist and hand to mimic as if she were holding them. When she took her first bite of the curry without problem, Nejire was left surprised at the sight.
"When did you learn how do use chopsticks?" She asked.
"First night I had dinner at Izuku's. I call it Force chopsticks."
Nejire laughed a bit at that as she sat back down and began to eat with the human alien. When they were done, the plates were set aside and the blue haired girl looked out at all the bags of clothes she had collected so far with a smile.
"So what do you think, Camilla? How do you like this place so far?"
Camilla turned her head to Nejire and tilted it a bit confused by the wording.
"When you say 'this place', you mean…"
"Earth."
"Ah. Good cause I'm not a fan of this mall place. Earth as a whole though, it's growing on me."
Nejire had to concede that. It had only been a week since she crashed here after all. And in that time a lot happened to her. The fact that she was processing it was well as she appeared to be was a testament to how disciplined she was mentally. She could tell that much. Still though, she wanted to break a few of those obvious walls she still had up and get her to be a little bit more open about her feelings.
"Well I'm glad your opinion of my planet is a good one so far." She said to her as she took one of the bag handles into her hand to look inside. "Just think, when nine months pass and you get into U.A. it's like this will officially be your home. You'll be one of us. An Earthling."
Of course Nejire meant well when she said that. She knew it and the girl she was saying it to knew it. But bearing that did not ease Camilla. If anything, she felt a pressure in her chest that she couldn't get rid of grow tighter. She had felt it start to tingle since she started shopping today and somehow that sentence from Nejire only made it intensify tenfold. Was she…was she about to have another panic attack?
"What's wrong?"
Camilla's heavy breathing could be heard by Nejire despite all the chatter nearby.
"I just uh….um…."
The young Jedi tried her best to try and form words in her mouth but she just couldn't do it. So many thoughts about all of this were swirling in her head again forming an unstable concoction and she had to get clear of Nejire before it exploded all over her.
"Excuse me."
She shot up and dashed off leaving Nejire alone with two empty food plates and six big bags full of clothes. The U.A. student stood up and reached out an arm to call out to her but the words died in her throat before she could call Camilla's name. She just stood there confused and now worried about the girl. What happened that made her react like that and run away?
"Was it something I said?" She murmured to herself.
Camilla kept on panting as she walked away from Nejire. She had no idea where she was going and she didn't care. She didn't know anything right now. All she barely knew right now was that she needed to process what she thought she had already processed. Apparently she didn't do a very good job or the burial process of these thoughts was not a good one and the wind that was the words Nejire just spoke did the job of unearthing them again. Whatever it was, she panicking again and she didn't want Nejire to see her like this. Not again. She already had to suffer the indignity of being practically carried to Ryukyu's agency building the first time it happened.
"Oh no…oh no oh no oh no…stop it. Just stop it! You already had this panic attack already, Camilla. Don't have another one. You made peace…you made peace…you made peace….you're gonna be OK…it will all be OK…just keep it in…keep it all inside. Remember your training. You're a Jedi. Don't let your emotions overpower you. You'll be OK. You'll be-GAH! OOPH!"
Trying to talk herself down was a short lived attempt as she bumped into someone by accident and fell to the ground as a result. What caused her to panic even more now was that in her panicked state, she couldn't focus and therefore couldn't see. She couldn't concentrate enough to call on the Force to give her vision like normal. Add in the fact that fall caused her sunglasses to fall off her face, Camilla was now starting to work overtime to try and get her emotions under control just so she can get her bearings.
"Watch where you're going!" The passerby she ran into said.
"Sorry! I'm sorry!" Camilla called, not even knowing who she was talking to.
A few meters away from her, someone had noticed a pair of sunglasses when they slid on the ground and right into her foot only clad in a flip flop sandal. Bending down, a brown haired girl picked them up and inspected them for damage before she heard an apology come from not far away from her. This girl saw another girl on her knees and looking like she could use a helping hand. With the glasses in her grasp, the girl walked over and held them out to the redhead.
"Are these yours?" She asked.
Camilla started to look up but stopped herself in fear of letting another see her eyes. She tried to talk, but again her overwhelming emotions were preventing her from speaking clearly to another person.
"I…y-yes. If those are sunglasses then yes they are."
The almost panicked state that this redheaded girl was talking in made the other girl very concerned. She didn't know what was happening, but what was obvious was this; this girl needed help. The brown haired girl crouched down with the glasses still in her hand showed one of the gentlest smiles she could.
"Hey are you alright? Because I'm more than happy to help if you need it."
As if to show her she told the truth, the brown haired girl placed one of her hands atop one of the redhead's that was currently planted into the ground.
The moment their skin made contact, Camilla went away.
Upon feeling the touch of this unknown person, the young Jedi suddenly found herself no longer in the Kiyashi Mall. All of the noise, voices, and background music vanished and she could sense none of it. Not Nejire, not anyone or anything. Then her Force vision started to come back. It showed her the same image she had seen days ago of a group of people holding out their hands to her, beckoning her to join them. Again, only Izuku and that other hot and cold person she didn't know held a solid shape. Then one of the cloudy figures next to Izuku started to take a shape of their own. The pink light in her heart grew brighter and brighter until it dimmed a bit and the cloud that made up her shape took on a more human shaped form.
The moment that form took shape, the Force sent Camilla back to the real world where she was still on her knees.
"Hello? Should I call you an ambulance?"
A few deep breaths from the redhead were the girl's immediate answer. Once a few more seconds passed after that, Camilla took the glasses back and placed them over her eyes.
"No. No that's alright. I...I just tripped."
Finally with her eyes covered, and her power giving her a form of sight again, Camilla turned up her head and looked at the person in front of her. Her shape and the pink light matched the one that her vision just showed her. And now here she was in front of her helping her out. The Force was definitely trying to tell her something here but the Padawan still couldn't put her finger on what it was.
Slowly, Camilla took the girl's hand into her own and the brown haired girl happily helped her back up to her feet. When she was standing again, Camilla brushed herself off but didn't want to leave just yet. The Force showed her this girl for a reason and now she wanted to get some clue as to why.
"Thank you." Was all she could think to say as a start.
The girl flashed a smile in response along with a thumbs up.
"Hey it's no problem. I like helping people. Hopefully I can turn that into my full time job if I become a hero."
A clue. This girl desired to become a hero just like she and Izuku did. So was that it? The connection between them and the rest of the people she saw in that vision was they were all trying to be heroes? There had to be something more to it than just that. She needed more information but she couldn't just start interrogating her.
"A hero?" Then Camilla remembered what the first step was to making that dream a reality. "So…does that mean you wanna go to U.A.?"
The other girl kept that smile on her and nodded.
"That's right! It's gonna be hard work to get in but I'm gonna do my best!"
There was such cheer and optimism flowing out of this girl it was ridiculous. Camilla couldn't help but feel infected by it as a smile grew on her face too.
"Well then let's both do that and maybe we can get in together."
The brown haired girl looked to the redhead again with a smile now big enough to split her head in two. She was looking at another potential hero? So cool! She didn't know too many others in her class or neighborhood with the same dream as her.
"Oh wow! I sure hope you get in too!"
She extended her hand to the girl she helped up and offered her name.
"I'm Ochako Uraraka! It's nice to meet you!"
The young Jedi kept that smile on her face while she took hold of the now named Ochako's hand and shook it.
"Camilla Sharro. Likewise."
While she shook her hand, Camilla only noticed the feeling of four fingers out of Ochako's five pressing against the back of her hand. It made her curious as to why.
"Camilla!"
The sound of another voice familiar to only one of them rang into both girls' ears. Turning their heads, the form of Nejire could be seen making her way through the crowd carrying six large bags of clothes on her arms and looking like she was struggling to do so. The redhead stood in her place watching her blue haired friend get closer while Ochako looked at the girl wondering just how much money was spent today on the clothes in those bags. When Nejire was finally close, she put the bags down and let out a relieving breath as the strain in her arms went away.
"I think….you're right." Nejire conceded. "We've gotten enough clothes to last a while for now. We can come back another….oh. Hello there."
Finally she took notice of the other girl Camilla was with and stood back up straight. Ochako was looking up and down the blue haired girl knowing she had seen her somewhere. She just couldn't put her finger one where. Big blue hair, looked fit, blue eyes, Ochako recognized her that was definite. Maybe they passed by each other one time or she was on TV. Wait! She was on TV! That was it!
"Holy wow! You're Nejire Hado!" Ochako pointed a finger at her while trying to keep her voice down. "You took second place in the second years' sports festival!"
And just like that Nejire's cheery demeanor returned as she realized she was looking at a fan.
"Wow. Heehee. It feels really weird being recognized like this but it's really cool you know who I am. And yeah coming in second was really cool. But you can bet I'm gunning for first place next year." Nejire clenched her fists to show her determination.
Ochako clenched her own in response.
"Man I hope when I get to U.A. I'll be able to do that too!" Ochako said excited.
Before Ochako could blink, Nejire had moved past Camilla and closed the gap between her and the brown haired girl looking her over.
"Oh wow! You wanna go to U.A. too huh? Well that's great! What's your quirk? Is it useful in combat and rescue? It's important to have a variety of uses for it."
A little put off by the lock of personal space she now had, Ochako took a step backwards and gave off a few nervous chuckles. Before she could answer, Camilla stepped in between the two of them.
"Nejire, this is Ochako Uraraka. Ochako, you apparently already know this is Nejire. She likes asking questions."
Nejire stood back up straight and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.
"Sorry about that. I get curious a lot." She admitted.
Ochako just waved it off.
"It's no problem. I don't mind. As for my quirk, well…"
Smirking, Ochako walked over to the bags of clothes and pressed her right hand onto the surface of one of them. Nejire saw a little pink glow come from the tips of her fingers and then the bag just floated off the ground. Then she went to the other bags and did the same. All six bags were floating effortlessly as if gravity no longer mattered.
"I think you'll find carrying these won't be a problem now."
As if to test that, Nejire walked over and grabbed the handle on one of the bags. Ochako was right. As she pulled it, she felt no weight whatsoever.
"You can make things weightless? That's an amazing quirk!"
"Thanks! It's called Zero Gravity!"
As Camilla watched the interaction between Ochako and Nejire take place, it was easy to deduce that this peppy girl with the power to make things float was very easy to get along with. She didn't have any negative emotions coming off her, no ill intent, just a sense of wanting to do the right thing. The reasons behind it she wasn't sure of but Camilla did seem to like the energy this girl gave off. And if the Force was telling her to trust her, then maybe she should listen. She needed to be the one to make the first move though.
"Say, Ochako?" She called. "Are you doing anything important right now?"
Nejire already had an idea of where this was going but Ochako did not as it clearly showed on her face.
"No, not really. Why?" She wondered.
"Would you like to walk and talk a little more with us?" Camilla offered. "If we're both shooting for U.A., then maybe getting to know each other wouldn't be so bad, right?"
It was a decent, truthful reason and a lot easier to say then telling Ochako she had a vision about her and needed to know what was up with that. When both the girls in front of her heard it, they both liked the idea of getting to know each other better too. But Nejire had a better idea.
"That sounds really nice actually." Ochako agreed.
"I'm all for it." Nejire was smiling bright. "Buuuuut, I actually just remembered I have some other things to do. So why don't I just take these."
One by one Nejire took hold of the other bags of clothes currently floating in the air by the handles until she had all six of them in her grasp.
"And you two can you can keep going on your own."
Both of the other girls looked at her surprised at the idea.
"What? Nejire are you sure?"
"Yeah I mean I can turn my quirk off but carrying all that on your own will be pretty heavy won't it?"
Nejire just waved both of them off with her hand.
"It's fine. Lifting some heavy stuff is nothing for someone in the hero course. And you two should get to know each other more. After all if you're both shooting for the same course you could end up being classmates."
Classmates. That was something new that crossed both their minds. Ochako figured at that maybe it could indeed be beneficial to get to know this girl.
"You sure you won't need help?" Camilla asked one more time to be sure.
"Positive. You two go. Walk. Talk. Have fun. Make friends."
Well if she was insisting Camilla definitely wasn't going to push it. She looked to Ochako and gestured away from the mall.
"Shall we then?"
"Sure. It was nice meeting you, Hado!"
"You too, Uraraka!"
And so Camilla and Ochako started to head one way from Kiyashi Mall while Nejire headed the other to take the clothes back to Ryukyu's building. The latter only wished she could be there to see the look on Ochako's face when she found out that's where Camilla was currently living. It was sure to be one to remember for a long time. Before they got far, Camilla had a question.
"So how long is it until your quirk wears off and those bags get their weight back?"
Ochako stumbled a bit before remembering that was something she had to do herself. She brought up both hands and held them close together.
"My quirk doesn't have a time limit. It's all me." She tapped the pads on her fingertips together. "Release!"
The small pressure Ochako could feel on her stomach suddenly vanished signifying her quirk was now turned off while she and Camilla kept on walking. Meanwhile behind her, everyone surrounding Nejire was suddenly concerned by how fast she went from walking so easily to straining like crazy to hold the bags she had with her.
"Yup! I totally got this. I definitely shouldn't have asked Camilla to come with me to the agency first."
While they made their way down the sidewalk, Camilla wanted to know a bit more about Ochako. So she told her the basics about herself. She'd wanted to be a hero ever since she had first seen one on the street with her parents one day and saw how much they made people feel safe. She wanted to bring about that same feeling to other people as well. So growing up she always helped out whoever she could wherever she could and however she could. Whether it be just helping an old lady stand back up or getting a pet cat out of a tree, she always loved the feeling knowing she was making someone else feel better. There was another much bigger reason for her endeavor to become a hero but that was way too personal for someone she had just met. She didn't want her to think she was being selfish or greedy or anything like that. That would be a conversation for another day.
Camilla couldn't help but be moved by the reasoning she was told. Ryukyu's, Izuku's, and now Ochako's added on made her even more confident that she made the right call to try out for U.A. She only hoped that the rest of her class, and the rest of the people in that vision of hers, were just as great. First she had to meet them. And who know when that could happen?
As the two kept conversing, they found themselves walking through the cheery blossom decorated path of a nearby park. Now it was Camilla's turn to share a few things about herself. So she started with what Ochako told and reciprocated. She gave the reason why she wanted to be a hero now and what her training so far was doing to help her with making that a reality.
"It's cool that you're already getting started on training." Ochako complimented. "That's why I was at the mall today. I was looking to see if I could find some affordable gear to help me start training my own quirk to be ready for the entrance exam. But everything I found was too expensive."
Camilla took note of that last sentence and how disappointed Ochako sounded when she said it.
"It looked to me back there you had pretty good control of it." She said remembering the bags floating.
"Well sure I can make things float and release them whenever but my quirk has drawbacks right now." Ochako explained. "I can only lift so much before my stomach starts getting bothered by it. If I lift too much then I start get sick and I end up throwing up all over the ground."
The mental image of that scenario made Camilla hiss and cringe. That was never fun for anyone.
"Yikes. That big a drawback just for making things weightless? What exactly is happening when you use your quirk to cause that?"
"Well like I said my quirk's name is Zero Gravity." She held up her right hand to show off her fingers. "When I touch an object or even a person with the pads on my fingertips then that object's or person's gravity is basically removed. The more I do this at once or the heavier the person or object, then the more strain it causes me. That strain goes to my stomach because, that's just how it's always been since I got my power."
Gently, Camilla put her hand to Ochako's and rubbed her thumb up the girl's palm and over her fingers. There were definitely bumps there on her fingertips that she referred to as pads. Quite the interesting activation method for such a power. The quirks of this world were indeed fascinating to the young Jedi. Different powers with different ways of using them, there were too many possibilities. Ryukyu, Mirko, Detective Tsukauchi, Nejire, and now Ochako's Zero Gravity. She still did wonder what kind of power All Might had. All that power she felt coming off the number one hero, it had to be something incredible no doubt.
"What about you? What's your quirk, Sharro?"
Letting go of Ochako's hand, Camilla smiled back again to the girl and began to tell the lie of her nonexistent quirk.
"My quirk is called Forceful Mind. It allows me to do quite a few things but the one I do commonly is…uhh let's see. Oh."
She looked around for a bit looking for something she could use to demonstrate. Over in front of them next to a trash can was a discarded bottle that someone threw apparently threw at the can and missed. Holding out her arm, the empty bottle effortlessly lifted off the ground and Camilla turned her hand to direct it over the hole and into the can, letting it drop. All the while Ochako was just watching the display in amazement.
"You can move things with your mind?! That's so awesome! With a quirk like that you're definitely gonna get into U.A.!"
"Hehe. Thanks for the vote of confidence. Your power is amazing too. But anything can happen. I'm still not sure what the entrance exam is gonna be after all."
"That's true." Ochako rubbed a finger to her chin. "The students who take the test usually don't talk about what it is they had to do. So it could be anything."
That was another factor both girls thought hard about. What did the exam entail other than the writing portion and how would they overcome it? Neither of them didn't want to wait nine whole months before they finally did find out but they just hoped it passed by quickly.
"So what else can you do with your quirk other than telekinesis?" Ochako wondered what Camilla meant by "quite a few things".
Camilla turned her head left and right while putting some extra effort into the Force to make sure that it was only her and Ochako around. The brown haired girl took immediate notice of the action and realized she was about to be let in on a secret of some sort.
"Promise you won't freak out?"
Ochako didn't have a clue as to why she was being asked that. What was there about this girl that could possibly freak her out? Even if Camilla didn't look like a normal human, which she did, people with animal characteristics or something like that were commonplace now. So it confused her quite a bit. But it still didn't stop her from flashing a warm smile and nodding to the redhead in affirmation.
"I promise."
Sensing her genuine feelings, Camilla let loose a breath she had been holding in for a few seconds and reached her hand up to her head. Grabbing her sunglasses by the right temple, she lifted them up showing Ochako what was being hidden behind them. Then she heard the gasp come from the gravity girl. Of all things that could possibly be revealed to her, this was definitely not on the list of things Ochako was expecting. Heterochromia or a scar? Those were pretty common and could cause some self consciousness. Looking dead into the lifeless gray eyes of the ruby haired girl before her caused every thought in her head to come to a grinding halt as she tried to make some sort of sense of this.
"You're blind?!"
*SMACK!*
The young Jedi didn't mean to be so fast when she slapped her hand over Ochako's mouth and pushed her against a nearby tree.
"You said you wouldn't freak out!" She whispered loudly.
"Sorry!" Came the muffled response on Camilla's palm.
The redhead put her hand down while Ochako continued to look at her completely shocked and beyond confused by all of this.
"But….but how? The way you're walking, the way you're looking at me, you can see! So how are you doing that if your eyes don't work?!"
In response, Camilla lifted up her hand and tapped two fingers to the side of her head.
"I see up here."
She then went on to explain to Ochako the details of her sight and what it is she sees compared to everyone else around her. By the end of it, Ochako stood there staring at the ruby haired Jedi with nothing but a stunned look. It hardly mattered what face she had now, she realized. It wasn't like Camilla would even see if she stuck her tongue out.
"So just to recap, you were born blind, developed a quirk that allowed you to not only use telekinesis, but also see without really seeing. And you can make out most things and people but you can't make out distinct features."
"That's right. Blind but with vision."
Confusion, amazement, confusion again, sympathy, those were all the feelings Camilla could sense from Ochako right now as she looked at her trying to make sense of it all in her head. Ochako at first just wanted to give the other girl a tight hug and tell her that it's all gonna be OK. She had probably already gotten plenty of that throughout her entire life though. Being a disabled kid in a superhuman society, even if you did have a quirk, was still something people looked down on. Petty as it was that was the reality of the world they lived in. Ochako didn't like it one bit. But as she stood there looking at this blind girl who just said she was determined to become a hero despite her eyes, she had only one response.
"That's….that's so amazing, Sharro!" She flashed a smile. "To be born with a quirk that lets you fight without eyes, that's a stroke of luck of you ask me."
A smile. That's what Camilla gave in earnest when she felt the relief wash over her from Ochako's reaction to her little secret.
"If you ask me there's no such thing as luck." She remembered Master Kenobi did like saying that. "But either way I do feel blessed to have this power. I just know I'm meant to use it for good things."
Ochako could agree with that. She too felt she could do amazing things with her quirk if she got it trained up enough. Maybe she could use it without ever having to suffer through nausea again. That would be the day. All float and no vomit. It wouldn't be very appealing to be a hero who constantly splatters puke all over the pavement.
"I'm glad I met you, Ochako." Camilla told the girl next to her. "You're actually the second person I've met now who wants to go to U.A. and doesn't seem to underestimate me because of my eyes."
Ochako had a "thank you" ready to go but she stopped that when she heard the rest of what Camilla said.
"Wait. Second? Who's the first?"
"Excuse me!"
As Camilla heard that familiar voice call past them as he ran by in a light blue tracksuit, she smiled and turned to see the dimly lit silhouette of Izuku jog past them and apparently not even notice who he just passed by.
"Funny timing. That's the first right there." She pointed to Izuku before she waved her arms. "Izuku!"
After hearing his name shouted to him, the green haired boy turned around and came to a halt when he saw the form of his redheaded friend standing there waving at him.
"Oh! Hey, Camilla!"
He jogged back to meet her with a smile on his face.
"Sorry I didn't notice it was you back there."
"It's alright. What are you doing out here? Just running?"
"Well that and this together."
Izuku held up his hands and showed that he had in each hand a grip to improve the strength of his hands. Only Ochako could make them out perfectly though.
"Whoa you're running and working out your hands at the same time? Great idea!" She told the boy she just met.
"Well yeah. It's all part of my….um…"
The gears in Izuku's head finally started to turn again as he realized he was talking to another girl he had never met before. About his same height, age, and….and very very close to him as she looked at the grips in his hands wondering just how much strain it was to work out different parts of the body at one time and if she should try it too. She didn't notice though that Izuku's face was beginning to turn red at an alarming rate.
"So close! So close! Why is she so close to me?!"
"Are you alright? You're really sweaty."
"Uhh….yeah! Just fine! Just uh...been running a lot. Yeah. I'm sweating because I was running."
Izuku considered himself more than lucky that he was able to figure out a convenient excuse for that.
"Yeah I can see that."
And a little luckier now since this new girl seemed to buy it.
"So what's your name?" She asked with a peppy tone.
A little calmer now, Izuku looked at her and began to answer.
"R-right. My name is-"
"OUTTA MY WAY, DEKU!"
Both Izuku and Ochako jumped out of the way startled when a loud voiced Katsuki ran by them on a run of his own. As the blonde teen passed them by and growled, he looked again and saw the familiar blind gaze of Camilla. She didn't know it, but had a guess based off the anger she was feeling flaring up, that he was glaring at her. She glared back in response silently vowing to show him just what it really meant to be someone heroic when they were in U.A. together.
No other words were said. Katsuki just kept running through the park until he was out of sight. When he was gone, Izuku let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding in.
"Wow that guy was kind of a jerk wasn't he?" Ochako stated.
"Oh that's just Kacchan." Izuku defended his ex-friend. "He's always been like that."
"Still he didn't have to yell at you like that, Deku."
Izuku had started to respond back to her saying it was alright, but stopped when he heard the name this new girl had used for him.
"Uh….Deku…isn't my name."
Ochako just tilted her head like a cat in confusion.
"It isn't? That's what that guy called you though."
That just made Izuku let off a nervous chuckle.
"Deku is just what he calls me when he's insulting me."
Ochako took a step back, feeling guilty now about calling the boy an insulting name by accident. Camilla just scowled at the name vowing even more to do Katsuki's ego in.
"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean anything by it." Ochako swore to Izuku.
But then she had a thought that made her smile. And maybe if she shared it then this boy would smile too.
"But you know, 'Deku' kinda sounds like the word that means 'You can do it!' Don't you think that would make a great hero name?! Plus if you ask me, it does sound cute."
Izuku's face was red again quicker than a heartbeat.
"Deku it is!"
"Wow that took no effort at all." Camilla laughed.
Ochako laughed right along with her as Izuku shook his head to try and snap himself out of the current state of embarrassment and nervousness he was in.
"So uhh…who exactly are you? Camilla didn't say."
The Jedi in hiding slapped herself mentally as she remembered that too.
"Oh! Right! Introductions!" She stood between the two of them. "Izuku, this is Ochako Uraraka. Ochako, this is Izuku Midoriya."
"You can still call me Deku if you want." He insisted.
Ochako smiled knowing that he was alright with the nickname. It was really cute to her.
"She's gonna try out for U.A. same as us, Izuku."
Just like the flip of a switch, Izuku was out of his embarrassment and starting right into Ochako's eyes wanting to know more.
"Really? You too?"
"Yup! I'm gonna become a pro!"
Ochako stood in a proud pose at the declaration while Izuku looked back and forth between the two girls in front of him.
"So when did you two meet?" He asked.
"Just today actually." Camilla answered. "We walked here and got to know each other a bit more."
"I do enjoy making new friends." Ochako agreed with Camilla. "So are you two like, together or something?"
One out of two of the people she asked that question to turned red in an instant. The other one just kept the redness on her hair where it had always been. Izuku was beyond shocked that someone insinuated that he of all people had a girlfriend. The idea that he ever would felt even more distant than his chances of being a hero if he had never met All Might. While he began to stutter and try to form a coherent sentence, Camilla remained looking at Ochako with a straight face, just genuinely confused by the question.
"No we're not. What makes you think that?" She wondered.
"Well you two are calling each other by your first names. That's usually something couples do."
"It is?"
Ochako's attention was now fully taken off Izuku's babbling form as she looked to Camilla with a bit more surprise.
"You didn't know that?"
The blind girl shook her head and rubbed the back of it.
"I'm not from anywhere near here. Where I come from, it's normal to call most people by their first name."
"Ooooohhhh. So that's why you've been calling me by mine." Ochako correctly stated.
"Yeah. If you don't want me to then I won't."
"Oh Ochako is fine if that's what you want."
That made another small smile come to the Jedi's face.
"Just so long as you call me Camilla."
The gravity girl was quick to agree to those terms. She was about to say something but Izuku beat her to it.
"Hey I'd love to stick around and talk some more but I really should get back to my jog. I'll talk to you later, Camilla. Uraraka, maybe I'll see you around?"
"Oh definitely, Deku! I'd like to get to know you more."
Izuku nodded back feeling the same way.
"Alright. See ya!"
"Bye, Izuku."
"Later, Deku."
With that, Izuku turned around and kept on running in the direction he originally was going before Camilla stopped him. Neither of the girls could tell but the green haired boy was putting some extra effort into making sure he got as far away from them as fast as he could hoping they wouldn't see his blush return. The implication Ochako had just thrown out that he was in a relationship with Camilla was just too much for his mind to process. He had only met her days ago. Of course Ochako didn't know that but she didn't need to either.
"You're alright! You're alright! Just keep it together! You just met another new girl who wants to be friends with you and apparently thinks the nickname that was used to bully you through your whole life makes a cute hero name! That's all it is! That's totally a normal thing that happens! Oh who am I kidding? Ever since meeting All Might my life has been anything but normal! What else could happen at this point to make it crazier than it is now?!"
When Izuku was out of sight, Camilla and Ochako took off the other way to continue their walk. For a few steps, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of Ochako's flip flops slapping against the soles of her feet with every step she took.
"So, Deku certainly is interesting." She noted.
Camilla put her sunglasses back on sensing other people nearby as she responded.
"I haven't known him for very long myself but once he gets used to you, that shyness you saw back there will vanish." She assured Ochako. "And once he gets into U.A. with us, then I'm sure that will be the confidence boost he needs to fully break out of his shell. At least I hope."
Ochako nodded agreeing with that. It was true a lot of people who applied for U.A. went in with high expectations of themselves but came out more than humbled and humiliated sometimes. And other times it was the other way around. People who went in with low expectations ended up surprising not just themselves but everyone around them. Both Ochako and Camilla hoped Izuku would be the latter. The two continued their walk together getting to know a bit more about each other, such as Ochako's love for mochi and the knowledge that Camilla didn't know what mochi was. Ochako nearly fainted upon hearing such a travesty. A moment later she vowed that the next time she and Camilla met up that she would introduce the blind girl to her favorite food. The Jedi accepted the offer with a smile before she and Ochako parted ways when they came to the end of the park.
On her way back to Ryukyu's building, the young Jedi thought a bit more about her situation here and the friends she had made. First she had met Izuku, a quirkless boy under the tutelage of the number one hero and the world's symbol of peace. Then there was Ochako now. She seemed nice and she did want to get to know her better since she too was aiming for the same school as she and Izuku. She just wondered how long she would have to go with keeping them in the dark about her real self. She hated the idea of lying to friends but she knew that it was the best option for now until she could gauge their real feelings.
From that day on the months went by. Day after day Camilla trained with Mirko and Ryukyu on Mandalore Island to increase a certain part of her power one a time before moving onto something else. And every day she would be sure to meet up with Izuku after school and talk more to him about hero society and whatnot. Ochako was now part of that little group too and when she was brought up to speed on what Camilla told her about her situation, she was more than happy to help Izuku out with getting her new friend familiar with the current world they lived in. It made them happy to help her. But it made Camilla feel guilty. These two people who she had barely known accepted her as a friend so fast and she felt so bad that she was keeping such a secret from them. Ryukyu, Mirko, and even Tsukauchi had reassured her that keeping that secret was the best thing she could do for herself for the time being.
Four and a half months into training, she couldn't take it anymore.
A/N
So again yeah I'm not really happy with how this chapter turned out and I'm sorry again it's so long. I swear we're getting to the U.A. stuff soon just bear with me for two more chapters than it is on to the entrance exam. So there we are. Until next time. See ya.