Chapter 9

As soon as Kaori opened her eyes the next morning, the events from the previous day immediately filled her mind and she had to resist the urge to throw herself out the window in embarrassment. Somehow, after a night's rest, the entire thing felt even more mortifying than it did yesterday. Kaori couldn't believe how much of a fool she made herself look, in front of all the important characters in the show no less.

She didn't think she had it in her to look Aizawa in the eye anymore, and so she curled up back on her bed. At least if she was asleep, no one would bother her, or god forbid, force her to go outside again.

When she woke again, the sky had darkened considerably and when she pressed her ear against her bedroom door, she heard no noise from the living room. Emboldened, she decided to finally venture out for some feline interaction.

Creeping out on the tip of her toes and feeling very much like an idiot, she looked around until she was sure no one was in the living room before crouching down on the floor to look for Shiro.

"Psst, Shiro," Kaori called softly, gesturing for him to come over.

Shiro waved his tail high up in the air and padded over to where Kaori was.

"Good boy," Kaori praised, delighted. She had originally thought cats weren't affectionate toward humans, but Shiro was breaking all her preconceptions about cats one by one. Kaori patted Shiro's head. It was nice to have some company without needing to think about what to say or have to worry about being judged for once.

Amidst all the petting, she was suddenly reminded of her quirk, or lack of one. She had been so occupied for the past week that she hadn't given it much more thought, but now was the perfect time to test if she had her mom's quirk. Shiro was no lion, but was a good start at the very least.

While she didn't exactly want her mom's quirk — it wasn't the flashiest on the market — she thought it'd be nice to have something to remember her parents by, as proof of her parent's existence. Her appearance being so completely different from her parents was unfortunate enough, but if she could have her parents' quirk at least, it would be a small consolation.

Kaori turned her attention to Shiro, wondering how to go about "communicating" or however her mom had put it. Shiro was looking at her curiously, his green eyes bright and unblinking. Kaori stared right back, giving telepathic communication her best go.

Shiro, stand on your hind legs, Kaori thought with all her might, trying her best to send her mental message over to him. Shiro remained stationary, much to Kaori's dismay.

She frowned, feeling like an idiot. Maybe the command had to be verbal? She couldn't remember how her mom had done it at all.

"Shiro, shake." She held out her palm in front of Shiro, who immediately put his paw on top. Kaori was delighted for a millisecond before remembering it was a common trick to teach pets.

"Shiro, go scratch up that beanbag, I'll pay you in snacks," she said halfheartedly. Shiro merely licked his paws and gave her a weirdly judgmental stare. Kaori sighed. Seemed like she hadn't inherited her mom's quirk after all. She felt a stab of disappointment and swallowed hard. There was still hope that she would get her dad's quirk, but it was starting to look more and more unlikely as days passed.

"Um, Kaori-chan?" Yamada's voice rang out across the room. Kaori froze and slowly turned around to face him, her face coloring. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she squeaked, dropping her hands to her side. Where had he come from? She had been so sure there was no one else in the house. "How much did you hear?"

"All of it," he responded, plopping down next to Kaori on the floor. "I thought it was adorable how much Shiro liked you, but uh, did you have to tell him to destroy our stuff?"

Yamada didn't think she was insane for trying to talk to a cat! What a relief!

"Sorry," she said. "I was just messing around a little."

"Alright then," he said. Kaori was glad to see that he was smiling. "But please don't give Shiro any weird ideas, he's devious enough as it is." He laughed and scratched Shiro behind the ears.

"Sorry," she repeated.

"So, what do you want to do today? Movies? Video games? Or the park, but uh …" Had Aizawa told him all about the park event already? She didn't want Yamada to know how she had been destroyed by a kid. Granted she didn't have a quirk yet, but still. She'd rather erase it from everyone's, hers included, memory.

"Video games? What kind?" she quickly said, eager to change the subject.

"All kinds. You name it, we have it."

"Sure." It sounded like a decent way to pass time and get her mind off things. She hadn't touched any video games at all since coming here; her parents had been quite restrictive with that sort of stuff.

They sat in front of the TV with Kaori sitting on the floor with her back against the couch. Yamada handed her a controller, one that looked vaguely familiar, yet with slight differences; like those knockoff ones you might find in those small and shady stores, except higher quality.

"Any games you want to play specifically?" Yamada asked as he turned on the console. It beeped loudly as the light turned on. A small jingle played as an unfamiliar logo splashed onscreen.

Kaori shrugged. She had to assume none of the games back home were here, which was a shame. There were a few games she had been looking forward to playing, but will probably never get to now.

"How 'bout the new All Might game? The one that came out last month. I haven't tried it yet, but I heard it's got a decent co-op."

Kaori nodded. An All Might game did sound interesting. She wondered what percentage of games in this universe was about the heroes, she wouldn't be surprised if there was a huge market.

The main menu music begins to blare loudly. Yamada clicked co-op and they were off. Kaori had gotten to play as All Might while Yamada was stuck playing some random hero Kaori hadn't recognized; but judging from his delighted reaction, Kaori thought they may know each other.

Kaori died the instant the villains were spawned in — it had been so long she had forgotten how to use a controller. There was something very strange about watching All Might die, even though it was only animated. Though, she supposed she had really only seen him animated anyway.

"Want me to change the difficulty?" Yamada asked, sounding patronizing to Kaori's ears.

"No, I'm fine," she said. She had prided herself on never lowering the difficulty ever in games, although it had caused her to drop many when she got stuck.

It took them an embarrassing amount of time to clear the first level, mostly because Kaori kept dying. It was surprisingly difficult, considering how strong All Might was supposed to be.

After the last villain was punched into oblivion, a cutscene began to play. It was shockingly gory, for what Kaori thought was meant to be a game for kids. Kaori wasn't too fazed though, but it was probably the most violent thing she had seen in years. It was a nice change from sickeningly boring kids' shows.

"Oh god, don't look Kaori-chan! Avert your eyes!" Yamada yelled, dropping his controller to clamp his hands over her eyes.

Taken by surprise, Kaori dropped her own controller. "Hey, I was watching that!" she protested.

As if on cue, the doorbell sounded. Kaori heard the TV being turned off before her eyesight was returned.

"Best not let Shouta know I let you play this game, yeah?"

"Sure, but I'm really not that bothered."

"You're too young to understand, then. Kids like you really shouldn't be seeing stuff like that," he said. "In any case, I should get the door." He walked over to open the front door. Kaori frowned, a little slighted at yet another jab at her age. She could handle seeing fake gore.

For curiosity's sake, she crawled over to where the open game case was lying. Checking the back of the case, she spied a label that said 18+.

Perhaps Yamada had fucked up a little after all. Why were they making 18+ All Might video games anyway, wasn't the target audience like, five years old.

Closing the case and placing it back on the messy stack of games underneath the TV, she glanced over at the door to see who their unexpected guest was.

"Oh my!" a feminine voice cried, the speaker pushing Yamada out of the way and stepping through the doorway. "Kaori-chan! I've been wanting to meet you for so long. Give auntie a hug!"

Kaori's eyes widened in shock, and she scrambled backward in alarm. The speaker was a lady with dark hair and blue eyes who Kaori had never seen before. Kaori's first impression was that she was pretty.

"Nemuri! Don't scare the kid!" Yamada admonished, finally recovering from being shoved. Kaori resisted the urge to hide behind him.

"I'm not," she said. She crouched down beside Kaori, who looked back with slight fear. Then, before Kaori could even do as much as blink, she was engulfed in a hug. Panic at suffocation. She instinctively tried to push the weight off, her lungs protesting at the sudden blockage. After a while, she gave up and let it be, willing Yamada to come to her rescue.

"Nemuri!" Yamada yelled, and Kaori could see and breathe again. She gulped in as much air as she could, feeling lightheaded. Anxiously, she edged away from Midnight, who was still smiling cheerily.

Yamada hurried over and gave Kaori a few gentle pats on the back. "You alright?"

"Yep." She coughed, her lungs aching. "Thanks."

"Sorry, sorry, I got too excited. She's too cute!" Midnight cooed, though her expression remained almost predatory. "Look at her hair, it's completely white." Reaching out, she ran a hand through Kaori's hair excitedly. Kaori shot Yamada a helpless look, not knowing how to react.

"Well, Kaori-chan, this is Midnight. We went to UA together. She's a Pro Hero, like us. Sorry for not warning about her in advance. Totally slipped my mind." Kaori gave her a small wave. Another pro hero and canon character! She was disappointed in herself for not recognizing her sooner.

"You didn't tell her about me? I'm hurt," she said, placing a hand over her heart. "Kaori-chan, if Yamada and Aizawa ever mistreat you, feel free to come find auntie. I'll take good care of you."

"Um… thanks… I guess?"

"What? Mistreat her? How dare you. Besides, is your lifestyle really suited for kids?"

"What can I say, kids love me. And pretend like you guys are any better. I mean you two are practically living off takeout."

"Nothing wrong with takeout." Yamada crossed his arms defensively. "You like takeout, don't you Kaori-chan?"

Kaori shrugged, unwilling to get in the crossfire.

"When you eat it every day, there is. Kids need healthy homemade meals. No wonder she's so scrawny." She poked at Kaori's ribs, making her yelp and back up even more.

"We've only had her for a few days. She was like this before we took her in."

Kaori watched the two bicker with interest and some concern. She almost wished Aizawa was around to keep the two in check.

"Oh, right!" Midnight clasped her hands together excitedly, sending a bolt of fear through Kaori. "I brought clothes for you Kaori. They should be your size. Why don't you give them a go? Most of them are from my niece, but I also bought some clothes on my own."

Kaori looked down at the oversized t-shirt Aizawa had lent her that reached all the way down to her knees. Kaori's best set of clothes had been charred by Bakugo and they were unable to wash it out.

Midnight handed her a large garbage bag, which Kaori accepted after a moment's hesitation.

Glancing inside, she was relieved to find most of them to look like what sane people would wear. They weren't exactly her style — most of them looked too childish and brightly colored — but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Then something else hidden in the bottom of the bag caught her eye. Reaching her short arm into the mountain of clothes, she pulled it out with effort.

It took her a while to figure out what she was looking at, but eventually, it clicked. It was a miniature copy of Aizawa's costume, complete with a large scarf as the capture gear. Rendered completely speechless, she stared at Midnight, wondering if she was pulling her leg. She didn't expect her to actually wear it, right? They were smack-dab in the middle of June, nowhere near Halloween.

"Isn't that just adorable?" she said, looking way too proud of herself. "I made part of it by hand, and the other part was made by an actual costume company. The scarf is made out of really strong material."

"Nemuri. Just …why?" Yamada asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation. Kaori silently echoed his sentiments.

Curiously, she poked at the scarf. It was oddly stiff and felt almost hard to the touch. How much did it cost? And why did she go through all this effort?

"You're just unhappy I didn't make yours. Don't worry, that's in the works too."

"I'm not angry about that," Yamada said. "But that would be pretty great actually. Never mind."

Kaori glared at him. Traitor.

"Now go try it on." Midnight said, her eyes gleaming.

Kaori opened her mouth to protest, but then shut it. It would be rude to reject it when she had clearly put effort into this, even though it was completely unsolicited. She supposed it was the least she could do in return for all the free clothes.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Yamada said, sensing her hesitancy.

"N-no. It's fine," she said.

Reluctantly, she pulled the suit over her existing clothes — it looked a little too large for her anyway — then hung the surprisingly heavy knockoff capture gear over her neck.

"Aw," Midnight cooed, pulling out her phone to take a picture. "You look exactly like Shouta, down to the expression. Except for the hair, obviously."

Yamada gave her a sympathetic glance but looked like he was enjoying himself way too much at Kaori's expense.

Kaori didn't understand why Midnight was so excited. The long capture gear scarf trailed behind her limply, and most of the costume was just plain black; nothing too exciting, especially on a very small and unfit girl. Eraserhead wasn't the most garish, she supposed.

Midnight continued to snap pictures, and Kaori could feel sweat start sliding off her back. Heroes must've had it tough, having to wear such suffocating clothes every day. She couldn't imagine running in them, let alone engaging in any sort of fight.

"Kaori-chan, do a pose!" Midnight called, making a ridiculous pose herself as an example.

Kaori stared at her for a moment before cajoling herself into doing something. She might as well commit to the act at this point — she looked dumb enough already. Gripping the side of the fake capture gear tightly, she pulled her arm back and tossed it in the direction of the door with all her might.

At that very moment, the front door swung open. Kaori jumped back in surprise, almost tripping over the capture gear.

"I'm home." An exhausted-looking Aizawa stepped in. He glanced down at the capture that Kaori had just thrown, an unreadable expression on his face.

Kaori let out a squeak of embarrassment. Why had she agreed to this again? She felt the sudden need to explain herself to Aizawa and tell him that it was Midnight's idea, not hers.

"Hi Shouta!" Midnight chirped, as if there was nothing strange with what they were doing. "How was work?"

"Why…" he deadpanned, looking at Kaori as if she had grown another head. "Really?" He sighed and picked up the capture gear from the ground, looking it over with a look of disdain.

"Admit it, it's adorable," Midnight said, standing next to Kaori and putting a hand on her head. Kaori made a small noise of protest.

"I think you need to get your definition of adorable checked out," Yamada said with a grin. "Shouta's costume is super lame."

"It's practical," Aizawa responded, dropping the gear on the table before sitting down on the sofa. "Oh and Kaori-chan? The gear isn't supposed to be thrown like that. It should stay on your neck," he said, then promptly turned on the TV. Yamada let out a strangled noise as the previous cutscene continued playing, its gory details displayed for all to see.

A/N: Whoops, this took a little over a week haha. I swear I had this chapter done like last month, but my monkey brain refused to edit lol. I have chapter 10-23 done for the most part, but editinggg :( But ya I'll try to get the next chapter edited and up in a week.