Unanswered Questions

Estelle was late to class today due to working an early shift. The students had begun to get used to the fact that she would arrive sporadically throughout the day. This time through, Estelle entered the school during break. Shuffling to her locker, Estelle elevated an eyebrow at the inside of the locker space. Within it held the same vandalised picture that she previously encountered on her desk.

It finally clicked for her. This wasn't a coincidence; this was targeted.

Estelle thoroughly examined the drawing once again, and her eyes grew at the implication. The raven atop the hourglass was not a good sign. This type of message was cryptic, but it was commonly done within her old world to hide a message in a seemingly harmless piece of art.

Estelle slammed the locker door shut, causing those around her to startle. Walking towards her class, she let the frown show on her face. Who in the world would send a message like that? Was she not alone like she thought?

Estelle walked into the class, ignoring the others who greeted her while making her way to her seat. Class 1A looked on with furrowed brows at the strange and thoughtful expression the girl held. It seemed as if she was pondering deeply about something. Few wished they could read her mind right now; the curiosity was unbearable.

Aizawa followed his class's actions and observed as she took her seat and stared down at her table. Clearly, something was bothering her; he reminded himself to ask her once class was over.

Turning to face the board. Aizawa lifted the screen to introduce the topic of today's lesson, the words supposed to be written on the blackboard.

Once the screen was lifted, his eyebrows raised in surprise since the words he had previously written was no longer there. Instead, it showed a drawing done in chalk.

The drawing was a raven sitting on an hourglass.

Estelle seethed at the piece of art, annoyed that whoever playing this game wanted to shove this in her face to piss her off. The class heard the mysterious girl and turned back to face her in question. Estelle just swayed her head in response.

"Estelle." Aizawa voiced to call her attention.

"Yes?"

"Do you know who drew this?"

"No, sir."

"Hmm."

The class continued studying Estelle with intrigue. It clearly held some significance for her to react like that. Aizawa sighed dramatically before taking the eraser and wiping the board clean, choosing to change the topic back.

"Today, we are looking at Hero history; these are things you may need to be aware of when you are a hero. We never want to repeat history when we can learn from it," He asserted, writing up 'hero history' on the board.

Estelle fell into the trap of tuning Aizawa out entirely in favour of mentally viewing her memories for anything else that held cause for concern. She couldn't think of anything besides an increase of paranoia. She felt it was in her head, but this symbol clearly shows a valid reason for her to be jumpy.

The students continuously eyed her throughout the class, looking away when Estelle sensed their gaze. She knew they all had questions, but it wouldn't benefit them to know.

Finally, the class was over, and Estelle rushed out of her seat in hopes of leaving class unnoticed. Her mission was a success when Aizawa called out for her after she was already gone. He sighed to himself as it just made her look more guilty. The class viewed the exchange since they had barely moved when she rushed out the door, proving she effectively made a run for it. They all shared eye contact with various classmates, worried and questioning the strange actions of Estelle today. More unique than usual, at least.

It was lunchtime, and Estelle eased by her usual tree in silence to pass the time. To her surprise, she felt the vibrating footsteps of someone approaching her. Peeking an eye open, she found Shinsou blocking the sun from view while he gazed down at her with a slight smirk.

"Oh, so you sit here every lunch. Anyway, you won't believe what just happened," Shinsou began.

"Hmm, let me guess. Aizawa?" Estelle challenged.

"Yeah! Uh, wait. How did you know?"

"He knew I was training you. He asked me a few days ago about my thoughts about him training you as well," Estelle explained whilst she watched the tired male take a seat next to her.

"You're kidding. What did you say?"

"I said it was a great idea."

"Wow. I can't believe it. I thought it was too good to be true. I had no support before the festival, and suddenly, you guys helped me. It's surreal."

"You deserve it. You've put your heart and soul into becoming a hero. It's because you never gave up that made others want to help. I'm happy for you."

"Thank you, Estelle. Words can't describe the appreciation I have for you."

"Oh hush, just be the best hero you can be. That's enough," Estelle waved dismissively. Heat crawled up her neck from his kind words.

The two teens fell into a peaceful silence. Sitting side by side, Estelle found comfort in the company.

"You hadn't eaten", Shinsou blurted out randomly when some time had passed. He sat up and raked into his bag. Estelle watched on with a raised brow and shook her head when he took out an energy bar. "Here, eat."

"My appetite is low. It's okay."

"It's not healthy, plus it's just a bar. Take it, or I'll shove it down your throat."

Estelle scoffed but took the energy bar out of Shinsou's hand.

"Thanks."

"What are friends for?"

"We aren't friends."

"Hmpt, sure."

Shinsou had left a little while before lunch ended. Estelle had decided to check what schoolwork she had missed when she was working the last few days. She opened her textbook and snarled in frustration at one specific page. Estelle ripped out the paper from her book and set it on fire in her hand. She noted that the picture had changed slightly again, showing that the sand at the bottom had increased like ticking time.

Aizawa decided to hunt for the girl since he wasn't teaching their class for the remainder of the day. He found her by a tree that he recognised Estelle sat by frequently. He watched the scene with her quirk in surprise before saying, "You know, that's school property. You shouldn't burn it."

"Apologies, Aizawa."

She turned to Aizawa when he inquired again, "So, do you have any idea who drew on my board?"

"As I said earlier, I have no clue."

"Your reaction shows otherwise. If there is something that you aren't telling me-"

"I know, I understand. I don't know who drew it, but I've seen it before."

"You have?"

"It was drawn onto the desk at the start of the year. I thought someone cleaned it since it disappeared. I just recognised it is all."

"Estelle, I feel as if there is something you aren't telling me here."

"I get that a lot."

"Why is that? You seem to hold yourself at arm's length with everyone you meet."

"I don't know. I've always been that way. I don't need anybody else when I have myself."

"That sounds lonely."

"I guess so."

"You know that UA can help you? Whatever it is that's holding you back. We can work this out."

"What do you think is holding me back?"

"I'm not sure. It could be your past, the League of Villains or something entirely different. That's why I'm asking you, Estelle."

"I understand; I can assure you the League has nothing to do with this. I appreciate the concern and that you're looking out for me. The truth is that UA can't help me. I can only help myself," Estelle finished while standing up to leave.

"Estelle- wait."

"Yeah?"

"I can't force you to talk about it. However, I will keep reminding you that you can talk to us. You aren't alone. Not anymore."

"Thank you."

"I'll see you in class."

Estelle nodded and watched Aizawa wander away from her. Her heart clenched at the fact he cared enough to check in with her. When was the last time someone showed any care besides Nona? Too long. He felt...Like a father figure, in some uncanny way. She could only guess since she never had one.

Estelle felt guilt grip her soul since it felt like a betrayal to Aizawa in a sense. She wondered once again if she was doing the right thing by keeping everything a secret. Estelle stared down at the grass glumly, her weary mind showing on her face in her solace. Estelle remained there until she calmed down and travelled home to skip the rest of the day. She had a lot to reflect on.

She was too preoccupied to notice a group of her classmates lurking within the trees. They had followed Aizawa when he was searching for the girl and followed in hopes of finding an answer. Their hearts throbbed at the sight of the girl trying to hold herself together emotionally. When she was alone, she looked exhausted. It seemed that whatever was weighing on her was heavy enough to slip by her facade.

Bakugo, Kirishima, Todoroki, Ashido, Midoriya and Ochako were those within the class that had seen the conversation between the student and teacher. They stepped up to Estelle's usual spot by the tree when she was gone. Kirishima picked up the burnt piece of paper. The group's eyes broadened at the picture, half showing through the crumpled black soot. It was the same one on the board and her desk earlier in the year.

"Why the hell is this picture so important?!" Bakugo growled. His scowl deepened the longer he looked at the paper.

"Must be something that we don't know", Todoroki theorised with pursed lips.

"Maybe she just likes to draw!" Ashido sounded out confidently.

Bakugo jeered in answer. "Then she would have said so, nitwit. Obviously, it wasn't."

Kirishima held the paper, looking down at it with concern before pulling up the internet on his phone. Midoriya watched him with interest and asked, "What are you doing, Kirishima?"

"Shhh, I think I've found something. Give me a sec!" Kirishima yelled out, staring at his phone with apt attention. The group silenced in anticipation and waited for Kirishima to speak up once more. The redhead turned wide-eyed at the screen and bit his lip before turning to those watching him in question.

"I could be wrong, first of all. But I thought it was weird that a raven would be in the picture since it symbolises death," He started. Everyone widened their eyes in response.

"Yeah! And?!" Bakugo harshly challenged, causing Kirishima to flinch before continuing.

"An hourglass also symbolises time, right? According to the internet, it can also mean the time of man being limited and how it comes to an end eventually. So, a raven and an hourglass-"

"Get to the point", Todoroki deadpanned.

"I'm saying that the picture literally says that death will come in time. It's like a bad omen. Again, I could be wrong, but..."

"By her reaction, it seems like she's been getting them frequent enough for her to hiss at it", Ochako murmured in concern.

"Not like she would tell us anything anyway," Todoroki grunted back.

"Yeah, that's true. Estelle's a closed book," Midoriya jumped in.

"Hah! The book would be under lock and key and fifty feet under. That's how much she doesn't open up," Bakugo added with a snort.

"Why won't she tell Aizawa?" Midoriya questioned.

"Did you not hear her? She said she relies on herself. She probably even knows who's sending them," Todoroki continued thoughtfully.

"Tch, whatever. I'm leaving."

"Hold on, Bakugo! Ugh, I'll see you guys later." Kirishima shouted out while he chased after his blonde friend. The group departed from each other, querying about all the unanswered puzzles that surrounded their closed-off classmate.