Chapter 12

Yamada booked an appointment to register her quirk the very next day, just as he said he would. Aizawa was the one who took her to register her quirk, however, as Yamada had to go to work, much to his chagrin.

Aizawa was as silent as ever on the car ride over, and for the first time, Kaori was the one to break it. She had been wondering more about the more in-depth details about hero work, specifically from the lens of an actual hero instead of the show. There must be some notable differences.

"Aizawa-san?" she asked tentatively. She received a small grunt of affirmation from him, which she took as an invitation to continue. "What's it like being a hero?" It was a broad question, but she figured it would be a good start.

Aizawa didn't answer right away. "Why do you ask? Did Hizashi get in your head about it? Because it really isn't as glamorous as it seems." His tone was a little cold, and Kaori wavered. Does he not like being a hero? She couldn't have ever imagined that to be the case.

"I'm just curious," she said with a nonchalant shrug. "You know, for future career considerations and stuff."

"I think you're a little too young for that," he replied. "You're still a long way from needing to find a job."

Kaori shrugged again. "All kids talk about at my school is wanting to be a hero when they grow up. So I wouldn't say I'm too young."

Aizawa scowled. "Well, they should find something else to talk about."

There was a small lapse of silence before Kaori asked another question. "Do you … feel bad for the people you can't save?"

"You can't save anyone, not even All Might can," he said, turning around to look at Kaori when they stopped at a red light. "If you're thinking about what happened with your parents again, there was nothing that could have been done."

"That's not what I was…" she grumbled. "So you don't feel bad at all? Is that it?" She tried to keep her tone neutral instead of accusatory.

"No, you're twisting my words. Not being able to save everyone is a part of the job, and the ones that can't deal with that would just have to quit. Not even having a strong quirk will change that."

Kaori frowned. That sounded awfully pessimistic. "Do you think I could do it then?"

"I won't sugar coat it like my colleagues probably would, but hero work isn't for most people. There are a few who can make it, and the rest are just wasting their time and endangering themselves. I'd advise you in thinking about other options unless you're certain you have what it takes. You're too young for me to tell, anyway."

Kaori stopped to think about that. "How would you even be certain, though?"

"Would you like me to list all the qualities I look for in a potential hero?" he asked dryly.

"Sheesh, never mind," Kaori said, wondering why he was being so defensive on the subject. The Aizawa from the show was kind of like that too, if she remembered correctly; trying to expel the class before school had even begun.

The rest of the car ride was silent as she pondered his words. She was overthinking everything again, as always. She should just live this life like a normal person, go to college, get a cushy office job and all. She probably didn't have what it took anyway. It was the direction her previous life was heading toward, so why was she thinking so hard on this?

After talking to the nice lady at the reception desk, they were directed to a waiting room. Soft lobby music played through the crackly speakers, and the two of them sat side by side on the creaky plastic chairs.

Kaori tapped her foot impatiently, only to stop quickly at Aizawa's annoyed glare. He had his arms crossed, looking like he wanted to be anywhere other than here. Kaori didn't blame him. The room looked like a unicorn had barfed all over it, with splotches of vibrant colors covering every inch of the walls. Posters encouraging reading were plastered all over the room, along with some anti-drugs ones, oddly enough.

Growing bored of the decor quickly, she looked around the room for something entertaining to do. There were a few scattered toys in the corner, mostly stuff Kaori wouldn't be caught dead playing with. She might look like a little kid, but she still had some dignity left. If only she had a phone.

Eventually, her eyes landed on the stack of brochures on the small table next to her. Figuring that it was a good time to test her reading skills, she leaned over to grab one.

Unfortunately, the brochure seemed to be targeted toward the parents instead, and she couldn't understand a single word; they might as well be hieroglyphics. She narrowed her eyes in concentration, trying to at least decipher some of the drawings and pictures. She wanted to learn more about quirks — the show hadn't gone in-depth enough for her liking — and since she was living in the world, she needed more information on them, down to even the smallest of details.

"What does that say Kaori-chan?" Aizawa said suddenly, leaning over to point at the large words printed on the cover.

"Huh?" Kaori looked up at Aizawa in confusion, her focus shattering.

"You've missed enough school. You'll have difficulties catching up when you go back at this rate. So, tell me what that says," he responded, as if it was obvious.

Kaori stared blankly at the words, feeling frustration bubble up. With the advantage of her past life, she thought she would at least have basic reading skills by now, but she could still barely read children's books without help. She didn't think she was behind her peers either — most of them could only recognize the characters in their names anyway.

"No clue," she admitted reluctantly, feeling embarrassed. She might as well be illiterate at this point. "Something about quirks?"

Aizawa sighed. "Of course it's about quirks," he said. "I'll just read it out for you, follow along." He grabbed the brochure out of her hands, reading slowly while tracing the characters with his index finger. "Understanding quirks for your four-year-old child. Strong quirks might be difficult to handle, and parents of kids with destructive quirks need to be vigilant and should be kept in close contact with the local departments… Hey, are you following?"

"I am," she said. "I don't get what I'm supposed to be learning from this though. I still can't recognize any of the characters."

"What are they teaching in schools these days?" he asked, putting the brochure down.

"I'm in preschool!" she protested. "This is not preschool level. You are so out of touch."

"What are you learning then?"

Kaori scratched her head, struggling to remember her last Japanese class. "Nothing really? The teacher just reads us stuff from those dumb picture books."

"Seems like I got my work cut out for me," he grumbled. "We're improving your reading skills as soon as we get back."

Kaori stared at him in alarm. "Um … I'm not sure you want to waste your time doing something so trivial. I'm a slow learner, you know." She most certainly did not want to learn Japanese from Aizawa. The pressure would be greater than studying for the SATs.

"Kaori-chan, you may come in now, the doctor is ready for you," a nurse with a clipboard called before Aizawa could respond. Kaori jumped up with relief. Aizawa pocketed the brochure, then stood as well. Kaori hoped he wasn't going to make her read it later. It sounded like a dry read.

The nurse led them to a small office where a doctor with a lab coat sat.

"Hey there, my name is Suzuki Sakai," he greeted, his tone flat and bored. "Have a seat please."

Kaori anxiously sat down on the small stool, looking around the room. She couldn't help but worry about the session. Was the doctor going to tell her that her quirk was a menace to society? Or call it weak? She could still vaguely recall Izuku's visit to the clinic, one of which ended in tears. It didn't inspire much confidence in Kaori.

"Let's see," the doctor muttered to himself, leafing through some papers on a clipboard. "Kurotobi… It says here that your quirk manifested yesterday … when you … choked someone?"

"Yeah, but It was an accident," she told him, feeling guilt surge up once more despite the assurances she had received from Yamada yesterday.

"Yes, yes, of course, we get those all the time, no worries," he said, ignorant or uncaring toward her inner turmoil. "Aizawa-san, is it? Would you mind stepping out for a second? We're going to run a couple of tests to better define her quirk for our records now. We usually find it to be easier to do without the guardian present. It won't take too long."

Kaori shot a panicked glance toward Aizawa. She needed him, or his quirk rather. She felt like she had enough control over her quirk that she wouldn't accidentally choke someone again, but she'd still like the option for an emergency stop, just in case.

Aizawa looked back at Kaori, understanding her silent plea. "I'll stay here to spectate. I won't get in your way," he said politely, yet with a firm tone. Kaori held in a sigh of relief.

The doctor looked vaguely annoyed but didn't argue. "Right then," he said. "Could you tell me in detail how your quirk manifested? I'd like a little more info than what was filled here." He pointed at his clipboard as he spoke.

Kaori blushed. "Well, yesterday I got angry at someone and he started choking out of nowhere. Aizawa-san cut of my quirk so nothing bad happened. I didn't know how to stop it at all by myself," she said.

"It isn't that uncommon for the first usage to stem from a moment of anger. Now, is it possible for you to focus your quirk on something else instead of a person?"

"Yeah, it's not limited to people," she said quickly, before realizing her mistake a second later.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "How would you know that? I thought I told you not to go experimenting on your own."

Kaori smiled sheepishly. Whoops.

"Nothing wrong with a bit of experimentation," the doctor said, sounding impatient. "Now, would you mind demonstrating your quirk a bit for us to see?"

"Sure, I guess. But I don't know my quirk that well though. I can't do much with it."

"That's fine. We only need to see the basics of your quirk."

Kaori nodded. Concentrating, she used her quirk, trying her best to recreate what she had done in her bedroom last night. With a flourish, she sent all the papers in the room flying upward in a smooth arc.

"Ah, whoops," she said. "I only meant for them to move a little bit." She watched sheepishly as the messy papers floated back down slowly, making the small room look even messier than before.

"Oho," the doctor said, adjusting his glasses. He didn't seem to mind all that much about the mess she created. "Why don't we move to another room? Let's test how far you can take your quirk without holding out."

He led them out the room and into a larger one down the hall.

"Here, stand here until I give you further directions," he told her before entering another door with Aizawa. It looked to be a small observatory, and Kaori could see both of them through the glass. She couldn't help but be surprised at the funding they had for quirk tests. It wasn't anything close to UA levels, but it was still expensive-looking.

"Do you see a target at the end of the room? Please try and hit it as hard as you can. This is just to measure how much force your quirk can exert, so don't hold back, it won't break," the doctor said through the intercom. There was a single archery range-looking target with a digital display on the top that said 0.00 N in red letters at the very end of the room. It was large, which would make it all the more embarrassing if she missed it.

Kaori nodded and took a deep breath. Like she had done earlier, she tugged at the air in that general direction, as if she were sucking out the air there and pushing the air behind it in the empty space.

A strong gush of wind was released, however, it dissipated before it could reach the target.

Frowning, she tried again. This time, instead of sucking the air out, she tried to increase the amount of air in that general area. A small-scale omnidirectional blast went off, sending shock waves through the air, but still not hitting the target. Kaori's hair was blown weakly from where she stood.

"Damn," she said, staring at her hands frustratedly. "Why isn't it doing what I want?"

"Could you try doing a focused blast?" the doctor asked. "We can't measure the strength of your quirk if you're hitting it indirectly."

Kaori focused harder. Forgetting her technique from before, she tried to force air through a smaller channel this time, as if there was an invisible pipe that led directly toward the target. The blast was a lot stronger than earlier, so much so that it even pushed herself backward. The aim wasn't great, but it did hit the edge of the target.

She glanced back at the glass where Aizawa and the doctor were and saw them leave the observatory and come toward her.

"That was amazing! Even if your control is lacking. " The doctor was smiling now, looking way more interested than he had before. "Quite strong for your first go."

She nodded uncertainly, following the doctor back to his office. She was glad the test was finally over. She didn't know if she had enough energy for any more quirk usage. Still, she was happy about her new discoveries. Her quirk was starting to feel fun now that she wasn't so worried about choking someone again.

"I believe we have all the basic details of your quirk down now. It's only a preliminary test, so you can add more of the details later once you discover more aspects of your quirk," the doctor told her once they were back in his cramped room.

Kaori nodded. "Is that all then?"

"That's all. I've classified your quirk as emitter-type and under the category of air manipulation. Do you have a name for it?"

Kaori thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Can I register it later?"

"Of course, you can get a form at City Hall for that. Any other questions before we finish up?"

"Yep," she said. "I've been wondering, my quirk is completely different from my parents', is there a reason for that? I thought most people inherit their parents' quirk in one way or another."

"Well, these things can work in odd ways. It could be a matter of skipped generation, for example. Do you know what quirks your grandparents have?"

Kaori shook her head. She didn't know anything about her extended family at all.

"That's fine. You have a versatile quirk. I wouldn't worry too much about where it came from."

"So there's no way I'll ever get my parent's quirk? Or … that it's part of mine, somehow?"

"Sorry, but not really. Unless there's some kind of miracle, no one's ever had multiple quirks at once." Kaori looked down, feeling the burn of disappointment. She knew what he was saying to be false anyway, considering One for All and Todoroki, to an extent. The doctor looked down at his clipboard for a second. "Communication with cats and quirklessness from your dad? Why do you even want that?"

Kaori's eyes widened, too surprised to feel any offense. "My dad wasn't quirkless. What are you talking about?"

The doctor looked at her oddly. "It's what it says on the records."

"That's not true. I've seen him use his quirk before," she insisted, leaning forward.

"The records don't lie." The doctor frowned. "It's never been wrong before."

Kaori paused. "Never mind then. Ignore everything I just said." Inside she was reeling. Had her dad defrauded the government? What was even the point given how weak his quirk was? As far as she could remember, it was a simple levitation quirk without any bells and whistles.

The doctor didn't seem that interested in the topic anymore and placed his clipboard down at his desk. "Then I look forward to seeing you in UA a few years from now. With a flashy quirk like that, I have no doubt that's where you'll be heading." He laughed jovially, reaching over his desk for yet another pamphlet. "Here, we give these to the parents of kids with more destructive quirks. There'll be quirk counseling starting at your school, but if you need more there are resources for it. It can be hard to control, as you no doubt know by now."

"Thank you," Aizawa said, taking the pamphlet.

Kaori swallowed hard, was hero work what was expected of her already just from her quirk? It was odd, to have career paths decided on something that was completely out of the control of the individual, one so dangerous, at that. She glanced over at Aizawa to gauge his reaction, but he merely sat stoically with not even an ounce of emotion leaking through.

"You're pretty lucky kid, not everyone has cool quirks like you. Man, I wish I could've had a heroic quirk too. There's nothing quite like being a hero, is there?" the doctor continued merrily, completely missing the look of anguish on Kaori's face. "The country needs more kids like you."

"That's enough doctor," Aizawa said, finally cutting through. "I'll take it from here, thanks for your help today."

"Oh." The doctor put the clipboard down, looking surprised. "Well, it was nice seeing your quirk in action. Even though I've been working here for a long time, I rarely see quirks as powerful as yours. I'll be seeing you on TV." He laughed, waving them goodbye.

Kaori stiffened, her heart beating faster. Aizawa placed an arm on her shoulder and steered her out of the room. So much for professionalism.

They stopped at the mall for lunch before returning home to celebrate her newly registered quirk. It was filled to the brim with people due to it being a weekend, and they struggled to even find a parking lot.

Aizawa took her directly to the food court without stopping — he didn't even glance at any of the brightly colored stores on their way there. Kaori would've begged to check some of them out if she hadn't been so distracted by what happened at the clinic. She had never gotten to shop at a Japanese mall yet.

Upon arrival at the food court, Kaori's disappointment at not being able to shop was swiftly vanquished. The food court was enormous, much bigger than Kaori remembered them being. Food stalls and small restaurants filled the place with a pleasant aroma, making Kaori's stomach rumble. Everything looked terrific.

They walked around in a circle, browsing the fake displays of delicious-looking food as they went, looking for their preferred meals. Kaori ended up opting for KFC while Aizawa went for Ramen. Kaori felt like she should be eating more Japanese food while she was here, when in Rome and all, but she couldn't help it. She desperately missed burgers.

"I see your appetite is back," he said, raising an eyebrow as she wolfed her food down.

"I like burgers," she said after swallowing a particularly large bite. Testing her quirk today had taken a lot out of her, and she was finally starving for the first time in a while. The burger wasn't the best she's ever had, but it was a reminder of her old life and she hung on to that whenever she could.

Once she was finished with her burger, she eyed Aizawa's ramen hungrily. It smelled divine.

"Go buy yourself something else," he said, handing Kaori a crisp bill.

Kaori stared at the one-thousand-yen bill blankly, slowly realizing that she hadn't yet bought anything by herself since coming to Japan. What was the conversion rate between yen and USD, exactly? How did people order things in Japan?

"You don't know how to order things on your own, do you?" Aizawa asked, looking defeated.

"I'm four," she said, trying her best to copy his deadpan tone.

"Fine, what do you want? I'll go get it for you."

She thought for a second. "Mochi!" she decided. "A strawberry one." Her dad used to bring back boxes of those from his work and it was always Kaori's favorite.

"Alright, I'll be back, watch my food," he said, disappearing in the crowd of people.

Kaori cheered when he came back with a paper bag. It was tough waiting; she almost couldn't resist eating his ramen.

"Thank you," she said fervently.

"Next time, you're getting it yourself," he told her.

She nodded distractedly as she excitedly took her mochi out. Aizawa continued eating his ramen as she dug in happily.

"About what the doctor said today," she mused, taking a bite. "Is it true? That I have to be a hero?" His words had been weighing heavily on her, dragging down her mood despite the good food.

Aizawa scoffed lightly, a look of derision on his face. "Ignore him. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"He is a doctor." She clenched her fists slightly, staring at it intently. "And he sounded so sure, like … that's the only path I'll take. Is that what other people will be expecting of me? Like… a civic duty of sorts?"

Aizawa studied her, looking puzzled. "Where'd you hear that term from? You can't read the words on the pamphlet, but you know what civic duty means? Or are you just parroting the phrase?"

Kaori glared at him, annoyed at being reminded of her illiteracy. "I know what it means."

"You really are strange," he said. "But to answer your question, yes, there will be people who will expect that of you. But that doesn't matter. You don't have to become a hero to perform your civic duty, as you put it. There are other professions that will help the country. Heroes are just flashier than the rest."

"But you're a hero," she said, wiping her hands on her shirt. The mochi was too sticky.

"I am. An underground hero, if you remember. There is a difference." He handed her a napkin, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Don't wipe your hands on your shirt."

She grumbled as she took the napkin. "Then shouldn't you be, I don't know, endorsing it? It's what everyone seems to be doing anyway."

"No. We talked about this in the morning. I'm not going to repeat myself."

Kaori hesitated, remembering his words from canon. Seemed like he was quite sure of his ideals. "I don't want to let people down. If my quirk is good enough, then I have to go for it right? Or people would think I'm weird."

"Then be a hero. Or don't. But don't let other people's opinions weigh into it. We have enough hero wannabes as it is. The ones that don't have what it takes get disappointed too late, after they've wasted their time. Or worse." His expression darkened.

"I don't know what I want," she fretted. "Like your quirk, for example, it's suited for hero work right? Didn't you feel pressured to pick hero work because of it?"

"Not at all. It was my choice. I did it for myself."

"Did you have to listen to people like that doctor today a lot? Was it annoying?"

Aizawa scratched his head. "Maybe. I didn't really pay attention to them though. You shouldn't care too much about other people's opinions. The only one that matters is your own."

Kaori set her mochi down on the table. For some reason, the sweetness of it suddenly became sickening. "I see…"

Even though she might not have the answers she was looking for, she appreciated his candor. She wondered what her parent's reaction to her quirk would be. Would they want her to be a hero or something else entirely? She wished she could still ask them for guidance. She just wanted someone to tell her what to do.

Aizawa set down his chopsticks. "Let's go home. Hizashi's probably waiting already."

Kaori nodded. She can think more about this another day.

A/N: Heyo. Sorry for the late update. I was busy with moving and now my uni has started again so yeahhh. I think I might be able to eek out an update before Christmas, but if we're lucky, I might be able to do it next week since it's my reading week :D Though I got a midterm and an annoying lab to work out so we'll see. I really want to make a Christmas related chapter come out on, ya know, Christmas, but at the pace we're going it doesn't seem like it'll fit. RIP. Next chapter features Izuku once again! It's coming along slowly cuz I'm struggling with kid Izuku's dialogue.

Oh yeah, and I hope you guys liked the development on her quirk. I have fluids 2 right now and every class I'm like woah, I can implement that in her.

Anyway. Thanks for reading. I hope this chapter didn't drag on for too long. It kinda felt that way when I was editing but I was too lazy to redo it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

This was a long note lol. I wonder if anyone ever read up to this point. Take care y'all.