Chapter 9

Sitting around in the waiting room of a MRI facility in Shinjuku, I had found boredom to be a fatal disease. I had already raided the candy dish for more than my fair share of chocolates and had folded the wrappers into paper cranes, a habit of mine I had developed about three or four years ago. Now anytime I saw a perfect or near-perfect square piece of paper, I had the compulsive need to fold them into origami cranes. Only paper cranes though, as I had no knowledge of how to do anything else. The TV was playing some sort of daytime J-Drama involving a girl who was caught in a love triangle with a pro-hero who refused to give her the time of day and her childhood friend whom she barely noticed, but I could barely hear it above the whirring vibrations of the MRI scanner that would periodically go off from the other room, something that could be felt through the walls and drowned out all possibility of my listening to the show or my music. The melodramatic trope was unrealistic anyways.

Another cure for my disease was my indulgence for reading. Normally, I would peruse Fanfiction or Archive of Our Own if I had no ebooks to read, but my data coverage in the building barely had one internet bar on my phone to manage a page turn, and in Japan, free wi-fi was a myth, so I was extremely limited in browsing. As far as real books went, I was currently working my way through the first of the Outlander series, something I picked up anytime I was traveling or had large blocks of time that would be eaten up by little else as a last resort for when my phone battery was low. Learning how to kill a person by stabbing them in the kidneys or understanding how difficult it was to stab someone on the risk of hitting a rib, I found, was much more entertaining and informative for future storylines than making awkward small talk during long car rides. I wasn't sure exactly how I would incorporate it, but I was positive I could find something relevant to use and mentally filed it away with the rest of my interesting bits of trivia. The chunky paperback would have been perfect for today had I not forgotten to stick it in my purse, lacking the common sense to remind myself to bring a book despite having gone to a bookstore only days ago. My purse, my own personal universe that acted like Mary Poppins' carpet bag, provided few alternative solutions other than a sketchbook, a nail clipper, a cough drop, and a mini deck of playing cards. I wasn't sick, my hand hurt, and my nails were short. I played through and won my third game of Solitaire before eventually putting them away, listless and unsatisfied.

Even though there were tons of trashy tabloid magazines on the table in the waiting room, I hadn't quite reached that level of desperate to pick one up. Counting ceiling tiles or staring off into space while I planned the next part of my comic seemed like more viable options, especially since I couldn't draw the day after playing catch up to buffer pages, my hand only managing to do a few lazy umbreon sketches or costume upgrades for Warren White before my knuckles grew sore and cramped. However the latter kept snapping me back to the present, reminding me I didn't have internet to look up images for reference shots for my mystery hero.

It had been a mistake buying his figure because now I was obsessed with trying to find out everything about this guy. There was something visually appealing to me about his design that had me hyper-focused on it, like a tick or an itch I couldn't scratch. Perhaps it was the lapin design of his costume or the color, but it had driven me into a frenzy. It had been about three days since I had last text bombed Izuku with details and pictures of the hero- who I had dubbed as the flying Mint Bunny, since he was green, rabbit-like, and seemed to be imaginary as I couldn't seem to find any trace of him anywhere on the internet -yet there had been no answer. Meanwhile the hero's merchandise did appear to be everywhere now that I knew what to look for, though it was in short supplies, either sold out or just acting as promotional pictures. I could only manage to find a key-chain of him in a Gatchapon machine after spending about ¥1200 to feed my key-chain collecting habit; his had popped out as a welcome surprise along with a 'free' second capsule that unexpectedly rolled out right behind him, containing a miniature frog-girl figure. Maybe he wasn't a very popular hero or too new to really be making any headway.

I looked over my messages on my phone. Still no word from Izuku. Slumping on the designer couch that probably cost more than my laptop, I cursed the fact that the message app could only say a text had been delivered and not read. I repeated the same process by logging onto the LINE email service and after waiting five frustrating minutes for internet service, found the same result: no new messages. Fiddling with my new key-chain that I had clipped to the end of my Tile key-holder, I determined that I had effectively scared Izuku off forever after pestering him too much. Still, I was bored out of my mind and my usual contacts I would have talked with to pass the time, my sister and my best friend Gabby, had already gone into work or turned in for the night respectfully, so I saw no harm in trying to extend an olive branch to him again once more and see if the bridge between us had been officially burned to ash. I typed 'any word on the green bunny superhero?' thinking it would be the most effective bait in luring him out. A few moment later, to my delight, gray texting ellipses filled the bottom of the screen. It was quickly shattered by three words.

Who is this?

I felt a stab of pain going through me like a rusty, serrated knife. I could have sworn I had inputted my name into his contacts, which meant either Izuku Midoriya had thrown out my number or had completely forgotten about me. Was I so unmemorable that he would pretend not to know me? Flashes of emotions attached to memories being an unwanted straggler behind my group of friends hit me in waves as I tried to fight against the sudden torrent. Calm down. He probably has dozens of numbers on his phone. He probably doesn't have the time to memorize every person's phone number. I rested my head on my knuckles, pinching my cheek between my fingers. I had to be bothering him, texting him out of the blue in the middle of the day. Most people would have already been at work at 10am on a Monday morning. I decided I'd risk it anyways, well past the point of no return.

This is Alyssa
Alyssa Blake
We met earlier on Saturday and exchanged emails?

Little wait bubbles hovered briefly on the screen, causing my anxiety to skyrocket before I saw the text below and the tight coils in my chest expanded.

Oh my god, hi! I thought I'd never hear from you! I am so sorry. My phone got destroyed and I didn't have the chance to back up my contacts. I'm so sorry if you were waiting for me to reply. How are you?

A broken phone, huh? I scoffed. A likely story, but one I was willing to accept it, my reasoning being that if he really didn't want to talk, he could have just as easily blocked my number. I was also incredibly starved for entertainment as I let out another wide yawn behind my fist.

Fine, just- I paused, unsure how to respond. Did I really want to be honest and tell him from the get-go that I was waiting for my mother to come out of another MRI? Deciding it was still a bit too heavy a topic, I finished with -sitting around bored out of my mind. You?

Fine. Just doing some paperwork.

Ugh, Japanese paperwork is the WORST!
...No offense.

None taken. It's a slog to get through.

RIGHT?! I had to hand-write, like, thirty resumes when I first started applying for jobs when I moved here. Do you know what that does to a person's hand when you have to hand-write thirty resumes in INK when you're still struggling to write basic Japanese kanji? I could barely feel my hand the next day.

LOL sounds like you went through a lot.

Tell me about it. I couldn't even hold my chopsticks for dinner and had to use a spoon, which I could barely hold.

BTW to answer your earlier question, I still haven't found anything on your superhero yet.

Yeah I'm starting to think that he's a ghost or something. I can't find hardly anything on him.

Have you tried the Hero News Net? That's where I usually tried to find articles on heroes.
It ranges from headlines to tabloids, so you get a bit of a mixed bag.

You know, I'll give that a try, but I can't right now cuz the place I'm at doesn't have very good internet service. After the second or third uninterrupted notification chime, I switched my phone to vibrate. I couldn't really tell if the receptionist was really bothered by the noise, having to contend with hearing a MRI machine all hours of the day, but I flipped it off anyways. Not a moment later, my phone buzzed in my hand, sending pleasant tingles through my palm.

So how are your kids?

I stared long and hard at the text message. What. How the- how the- how did he-... WHAT?

...what?

You mentioned something about naming your kids after one of your figures? Oh that's what he meant. I thought back to the earlier conversation we had in the radio building and face-palmed. God, I had to stop saying everything that popped up inside my head. A self-deprecating laugh I saved for the residents anytime they asked about my home-life bubbled up inside my chest.

OH lol no I don't have kids. I'm not even dating, let alone married.

OH! Sorry!

Why? Was that your smooth way of asking if I am single?

NO! OMG NO! I had just assumed that you had kids since you mentioned naming them after your figurines and that you moved here with your family.

Lol don't worry about it dude. I'm just messing with you. I guess most people my age would have been married with kids at this point, but I've been so focused on my career lately, I don't know when I'd have the time. Before I had lost my golden bar of internet service, I had checked the Facebook notifications after posting a status update of taking my mother to her MRI, which received a good dozen Likes. Interspersed with that were stories of people I had gone to high school with showing pictures of their weddings or toddlers in some sort of cute, seasonal onesie. Rather than make me feel happy for them and emotionally connected to their experiences, it left me with a hollow feeling with embers of jealousy. Almost all of my cousins had kids now and some were on the way of popping out a second or third one while I was just trying to live paycheck-to-paycheck and build up my comic. By choosing the latter, it was like I had missed out on some sort of secret club by not knowing or having the right requirements to join and now was way behind everyone else. As if he was reading my mind, Izuku texted me back,

I understand. I've been so focused on my work lately, it's difficult to think of anything else beyond that.

Right!? It's so hard to find the time to try and date, let alone hang out with someone that you actually like.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up married to my pillow before I actually find a guy who's interesting enough to put up with me.

LOL
Everyone at the office has actually been trying to take a break, but when would I find the time?

Ugh me too. I keep getting questions from the residents on if I'm married and I always end up laughing it off and saying that I'm not even dating. It always comes out of left-field too, like when I'm in the middle of setting up for an event.

Oh? Where do you work?

I work as an activities director at an assisted living facility in Dantooin, though I also work part-time as a driver at Enterprise Car Rental on weekends.

Wow, you were not kidding about not having time to date.

I mean, it's not like I don't have any free time, but it's hard to find the energy for anything once I get home from work. Working with elderly people is emotionally and physically taxing.

So what made you decide to work there? Has it always been your dream to work in healthcare?

Not really. I just sort of ended up there after applying for so many jobs with a vague college degree. It's not at all what I thought I was going to do.

What did you think you were going to do?

Well, when I was six, I wanted to be a cowboy and eat grapes all day, but my parents never let me get a pony.
Then when I was eleven I had convinced myself I was going to turn into a mermaid when I turned thirteen after seeing a movie about a boy who did it, but that never panned out for a number of reasons lol.

LOL a mermaid? Really?

Yeah, I really liked the Little Mermaid growing up and loved to swim, plus my dad has a water Quirk, so it wasn't a complete stretch that it wouldn't happen.
After that,
I went through a bunch of different phases, though for the longest time I think my most realistic dream that I had the longest was to be a veterinarian.

That's an admirable profession. Why didn't you, if I'm allowed to ask?

I found that I didn't quite have the grades to make it. Becoming a vet is harder than becoming an actual doctor, and math and chemistry are such a struggle for me, I figured it was probably better to give up and find something else I could do well that would easier for me in the long run. Part of me hoped to gain an animal talk Quirk to make up for my faults and understand my patients like Dr. Doolittle to make it easier, but that was never going to happen with my family's history for Quirks.

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. I know how hard it is trying to follow a dream everyone tells you is unrealistic.
But you know I actually do know someone who does have the power to talk to animals.

You do?!

Yeah. His name is Koji Koda, though you might know him as the petting hero Anima. He's really nice, though he's kinda shy. I think he works somewhere in the Hosu mountain range as a rescue hero right now.

I get that. He probably connects more with animals than people. People can be scary.

You must really love animals to want to become a veterinarian. Do you have any pets?

I used to have a cat named Grace, but she passed away about five years ago from old age. After that, Mom said no more pets.

Awww I'm sorry to hear that.

Thanks. Although I miss her sometimes, I did make friends with some of the neighborhood cats when I go out for walks and I take care of the therapy rabbit at work, so that's at least something.
What about you? Do you have any pets?

No, though I did have a goldfish when I was a kid that I won from a summer festival.

Oh! I've always wanted to go to a Japanese festival! It always looked like so much fun when they showed it in anime, and I've always wanted to try the goldfish scooping game.

You should! It's a lot of fun.
Wait, s
o you mean to say that you've lived in Japan for a whole year and you haven't gone to any of the festivals?

There hasn't been any time. Plus, Japan has so many holidays and festivals, it's hard to keep track of them all. I want to tho, someday.

You should totally go. My friends and I try to go every year to the firefly festival. It's so much more fun to go as a group.

Sounds like fun. I'll definitely have to take you up on that. Is there a dress code? Like, do I have to break out a special kimono or can I show up in shorts and a t-shirt?

I mean, you can wear whatever you want. I'm probably not going to dress up.

Well, you're a guy. By definition, you automatically have way less to have to do in terms of clothing lol.

True LOL

I paused for a moment before writing back. Was he actually inviting me to go with him and his friends or was he just saying it conversationally? No, that couldn't be right. Izuku was probably just saying it as a general thing. Even if it was an invitation to hang out with him and his friends, it was most likely a pity invite, only doing it to be nice because I had never gone to a festival before. I was probably misinterpreting the whole thing and inviting myself again. Ignoring the feeling of self-loathing that came with it, I backtracked a bit and typed something I had been meaning to ask, eager to change the subject.

So no pets at all huh? Not even a pet rock or a houseplant?

Nope. I probably wouldn't have time to take care of one anyways. My job keeps me pretty busy that I would probably neglect most of my houseplants.

Wow, even pet rocks fear you. That takes some skill.
I'm actually growing some parsley on my windowsill right now.

Oh cool. Let me know if it turns out well.

I will.
So before I forget, what was your goldfish's name?

Oh uh...
Okay, you have to promise not to laugh.

Why?

Just promise.

Okay, okay. I promise.

...All Might Jr.

A warm bubble of laughter burst out of me, loud and boisterous enough that I had effectively startled the receptionist who was typing on the computer, an impressive feat all things considered.

LOL XD

You said you wouldn't laugh!

I'm sorry! I promise I'm not laughing at you. That's just so adorable. I could totally see you naming your goldfish All Might Jr.
You really like All Might, huh?

I admire him a lot. Ever since I was kid, I thought he was the coolest hero, always saving people no matter the cost with a huge smile on his face. He's one of the reasons why I wanted to become a hero.

I understand that. I feel the same way about-

"Alyssa, let's go." I looked up and saw my mother staggering out of the backroom, still a bit wobbly from the anti-anxiety medication she had taken before going into the MRI scanner. I jumped up and immediately went to her side, trying to use our equal heights as an equilibrium to steady her. Was she done already? That was quick.

Judging from how out of it she was, I could tell they had put her in a closed MRI and that the drugs weren't doing their job as effectively as they should have. The open one must have been broken again. Standing close by her while I managed to flag down a taxi, I asked her if she wanted to grab some Mos burgers on the way home. It was a long standing tradition that we grab food on the way from major appointments, since they were usually long and stress-inducing. She lazily closed her eyes and leaned back in the cab backseat instead. Had I not been paying attention, anyone could have missed the subtle, non-verbal head head tilt she used to answer.

"You just want to go home and take a nap?" I asked in clarification. She nodded slowly. "Okay. 564 Takodana Prefecture, please." The cabbie pulled forward and I turned the sound on my phone off completely before sitting it in my lap. Ever since her surgery, my mother had been especially sensitive to loud noises as of late, a condition I had long understood and suffered from since the tender age of four and in hearing therapy. However, I knew from experience that no amount of music therapy could beat an MRI machine, and with the rate Izuku and I had been texting, even the slightest vibration of my phone would have given her a migraine. Anxious of the thought of texting Izuku back at the risk of upsetting her, I resolved to setting the phone in my lap and began planning the rest of my day while blankly staring a hole through the driver's headrest, eager with anticipation to continue our conversation.