Back to UA
Estelle was back home to her relief. After she showed the Hero Commission her memories, they had done a complete one-eighty. She understood why, of course, but it was odd to experience. Estelle still felt raw from the whole ordeal. For her, it was as if she was reliving the events all over again. It wasn't something she liked to think about - never mind live through again.
The hole in Estelle's heart recovered just by seeing Nona. The bright and happy woman greeted her outside the facility and dragged her to the car. Estelle smiled at the memory.
Soon after she had gotten back, she was startled to find Mr Aizawa and Principle Nezu sitting in the closed cafe. Greeting them, she had taken a seat across from them to hear what they were about to say.
"We understand that this is a difficult situation, and we can't turn back time to change how it panned out. Nevertheless, we would like to help you further and continue your growth as a UA Student, even with a hero license."
"Thank you."
"Mr Aizawa will be the one who you will report to about your findings. You can do as you please concerning hero/otherworldly work as long as it does not interfere with your class times. Due to recent events, we have invited all students to stay in our dorms. We request that you join them."
Estelle turned to Nona immediately with a concerned expression. Nona held a melancholy smile as she gazed down at the young girl she had taken in what seemed like a lifetime ago. "You have already compromised so much for me. It's time I do the same," Nona started as she patted Estelle's head. Estelle's brows furrowed in trouble.
"I can afford an extra hand now. As long as you visit me, I am fine with you staying in the dorms. You have a lot on your plate with everything going on."
"Are you sure? Nona, you aren't getting any younger."
"Oh, hush!" The elderly woman laughed. "I was surviving without you, but you have brightened up my days. You've helped my business flourish; you've kept me company when I was lonely. You should do this! You have such potential, and I refuse to hold you back."
Estelle gripped onto Nona's hand tightly, like a child afraid to let go. She reluctantly nodded to the teachers as they watched the exchange. They felt for her; they did. But she had a lot of work to do. Nona's cafe just wouldn't fit.
"Okay, Nona, but don't think you're getting rid of me that easily."
Nona guffawed whilst grabbing the girl into a hug. "I wouldn't dream of it! Now go! Get packing."
"Yes, Ma'am."
After a heartfelt goodbye, Estelle sat at the car's back while Mr Aizawa drove with Principle Nezu in the passenger seat.
"Now, everyone has a lot of questions. The Hero Commission announced that you were in the clear after they reviewed your memories. The fact that you are now a hero is on the down-low. The class is yet to be aware of that detail. You also approved the Commission to give us a brief report on what they saw. Thank you."
"I understand. And, of course, you deserve that at least."
"If you ever want to divulge further, or just talk to us. We are all happy to do so."
"Thank you."
Estelle arrived at the UA dorms to find it empty. She recognised it was due to the fact her classmates were still in school. She was relieved to get a moment of peace. Estelle turned towards Mr Aizawa and gave a bow. "Thank you."
"It's weird seeing you thankful. Enough of that. Get settled in for when the class sees you."
"Rodger."
Estelle found her dorm and began to set things up. It didn't take long since there weren't many belongings, but each and every item was appreciated. When Estelle started to get nightmares, she bought soundproof pads to prevent waking Nona up on rough nights. She didn't want the same to occur here, so Estelle spent time intricately placing them onto the wall to look aesthetically pleasing. Besides the computer from Nona and clothes, her room was straightforward.
By the time everything was done, Estelle finally took some time to fully process the last few days' events. She was dreading the reunion with the class; the questions had already begun stacking up. Estelle could expect them to be overflowing at this point. Frowning, Estelle's hand moved to play with her bracelet only to find it missing again.
Sighing in frustration, Estelle found it difficult to put her thoughts in order. Giving up, for now, Estelle laid on her bed to enjoy the silence.
The door slammed open with a bang. Estelle's body moved before she could stop it, and she jumped out of bed. Her body was in a ready stance to kick ass. Instead of seeing expected intruders, Estelle found the whole class 1A at her door with dropped jaws. Estelle scowled at them and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"You couldn't have just knocked? Rude."
"Estelle!" They all screeched as they clambered into the room. Estelle wished she was still sleeping.
"Sup."
"You're okay! When did you get here?" Izuku asked with a delighted smile.
"Around two, I think."
"Your room is so simple! What are these?" Ashido questioned whilst she poked at the sound pads.
"They're soundproof pads. Keeps the noise in and out."
"Cool!"
"Hey, we wanted to thank you for saving our asses when we were escaping. We would have been goners without you," Kirishima verbalised once he stepped forward.
Estelle softened slightly at his words and nodded. "It was the least I could do."
"Are we just ignoring what happened?" Momo stated bluntly; it was clear she was slightly uncomfortable. Estelle was just amazed that it wasn't the first thing they had brought up.
"What? About me being an alien?" She retorted. The class immediately went mute. Estelle sighed tiredly and took position on her bed. "From what I gathered when I got here, this world seemed similar to mine. Don't get me wrong, it's a lot more technologically advanced here. Cars and phones don't exist. Heroes and villains don't either."
"But that guy, he called you a hero?" Bakugo probed whilst he leaned against the wall.
Estelle scoffed. "It was a title imposed on me when I won the war. I'm no hero."
'War?'
That was when it clicked for her classmates. The words that had confused them so much at the beginning of the year.
"War? Hmm, I've seen war. This doesn't seem to come close."
"So, what now? Are you a villain? Are you a threat?" Yaoyorozu interrogated.
"Yaoyorozu!" Sero reprimanded.
"What!? You can't expect us to not worry about this? It's a lot!" Mineta yelled out with his typical fear.
Estelle cut in, "I'm neither hero nor villain. I'm just a girl who had to fight a lot of battles to survive. Right now, I need to deal with the breach between both worlds. And maybe, get back home. You can question me all you like; the hero commission viewed my memories and deemed me safe to leave. It's your prerogative if you want to trust that or not. Either way, nothing will change."
The class were speechless for a few moments before Yaoyorozu stepped forward to the girl sitting on the bed. She regarded the sitting girl thoughtfully before giving an accepting nod. "I understand. I will trust the Commission. I apologise for my words."
Estelle smirked up at the girl unexpectedly and reassured, "I understand why you would be concerned. I don't blame you."
"Can we see your memories?" Kaminari questioned only to be backhanded by Jiro "Ow! What was that for?"
Estelle's smirk dropped whilst the class waited to hear the answer "No. Not yet, at least."
"Why?"
"I would rather not relive those moments right now."
The class's breath ceased at those words as their hearts dropped to their bellies. How bad would Estelle's memories have to be for her to actively avoid it? The class fell back into silence before Tsu spoke up.
"Well, I'm glad to see you safe, Estelle. It's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow."
Realising that they could be overwhelming her, the class murmured their agreement. Suddenly, Sato shouted out, "Hey, even if you are an alien, You're still our classmate. That won't change!"
"Yeah, Sero's right!" Kirishima agreed.
"You don't have to tell us everything right now. But Class 1A stands by you." Izuku added softly whilst the class slowly trickled out of her room.
They all left.
Estelle's heart tensed.
It would have been easier if they all hated her.
But they don't
and Estelle felt strange.
"Alright, class. As you all know, Estelle is back with us. I must cover a few things about the situation before we continue with the class as usual. First, Estelle has been given a partial hero license for the heroism she has shown. This was given to her to manage the breach somewhere in Japan."
"How bad is it?"
"There will be beings that we are not trained to handle coming through. Estelle here is going to be dealing with that as well as locating it. The reason I am informing you of this is that she may be out after curfew or during class."
"How is that fair? She gets one as a first-year?!"
"Estelle had already shown you that she was miles ahead when she fought Endeavour, the now number one hero. Reviewing her memories have revealed that we need her to tackle what may come through. She is still with us, though, and she will gain permanent heroship once school has ended."
The class murmured their thoughts to each other. Estelle was distracted by Mr Aizawa's words. Did he think she would still be here?
"Right, now I believe I have mentioned this already, but your main focus this summer is obtaining provisional hero licenses."
"Yes, sir!
"Do not take this lightly. A hero license means that you're responsible for human lives. You can imagine that the exam to receive one is very difficult. Only fifty per cent of students pass the test required for these permits every year."
"It's that hard to get a provisional license?" Mineta worried.
"To prepare, today, you'll concentrate on creating something new. Two ultimate moves. We will have ten days to complete this."
"Ultimate moves!" Kaminari and Kirishima roared out excitedly.
Edgeshot, Midnight and Cementoss walked into the room, showing that they would be helping the students with the project.
"An ultimate move is a move that ensures your win against an opponent," Edgeshot explained further.
"It is so unique to your identity that no other hero could copy it," Cementless continued.
"This may sound abstract, but we'll explain it as the day goes on. For now, change into your hero costumes and meet in gym gamma," Mr Aizawa finished.
Getting ready in the changing rooms, Estelle headed down to gym gamma for training with the rest of class 1A.
Estelle couldn't lie; she pretty much ignored most of UA Faculty's words since she understood the point of the exercise. Most of the class went their separate ways to train when Estelle decided to speak to Mr Aizawa.
"Mr Aizawa, the ultimate moves are for the provisional, but I have my hero license. Am I going to participate?"
"Not in the exam, but your ultimate moves are good to have in your arsenal. So, train."
"Okay."
Moving to her separate slab of cement, Estelle eyed the rest of the class as they prepared. The improvement that they've had since the quirk tests at the beginning of the year just showed that they were making progress. To her surprise, a clone of Edgeshot morphed into view in front of the girl.
"What are you doing standing around for?"
"I already have two ultimate moves. Do I just make more?"
"Show me the first."
Estelle stood in front of the clone and re-created the move from Kamino ward. Collecting the water, air, fire and earth around her, Estelle created four rings containing each element, forming a sphere. The state she entered allowed her to become stronger than when used separately. Her skin glowed silver in her bubble, and Estelle flew around the room only to blast all four elements at the clone - destroying it.
"Next"
Estelle raised her hand to freeze the clone in its spot.
"What are you doing? I can't move."
Letting him go, Estelle finally explained, "I can control the water in people's bodies. I can freeze hundreds of people if needed. It can go further than that, but that's all I'll allow myself to do."
"That's a scary and powerful aspect Estelle, you best be careful with that."
"Of course, I have used it less than a handful of times. I have others I could use, but I think we understand that this is not necessary."
"I understand. Come with me - we will speak to Mr Aizawa."
The two walked down the steel plates to the homeroom teacher; he wasn't amused that Estelle was back already. She allowed Edge shot to speak for her. "She already has multiple ultimate moves; it doesn't seem useful for her to continue."
Mr Aizawa looked down at Estelle with a raised brow before shaking his head. "I should've expected that. What do you want to do?"
"I think it would be best for me to do some hero work; there could be some spirits that have passed the breach. Please allow me to go handle them if needed."
"Sounds reasonable. I'll let you go. Make sure to update me tonight."
"Of course, I'll see you then."
Estelle walked through the doors of the Heights Alliance dorms with a tired sigh. It was dinner time, and Estelle just wanted to sleep.
Thankfully, there weren't many breaches, but what had come through weren't easy to take down. Estelle had almost forgotten how tiring it was to deal with all of these creatures. Estelle envied the class for only dealing with human problems.
Shuffling into the dorm, the class were eating happily when they noticed her come in. To their wonder, Estelle was still in her hero costume. They stayed quiet as she made her way towards the teacher's dorms to speak to Mr Aizawa.
Turning to each other, the students murmured about the possibilities of Estelle's day. She was pretty much an official hero! Even if it was unknown, they were inquisitive about what she did when she left class early.
Estelle gave a short report to Mr Aizawa before shuffling into the kitchen for some food. To her surprise, her class left a plate out for her, which was wrapped in tinfoil. Estelle was touched slightly by the action and took her plate out to the table.
"Hey Estelle, how was hero work!?" Kirishima inquired excitedly.
Estelle shrugged and frowned, placing her plate on the table and unwrapping the foil. "As good as can be with assholes from my world wanting to kill me."
"Oh."
Estelle felt the need to backtrack a little.
"I saved a kid, though."
"Awesome!"
The class listened in to the conversation with apt attention. The students were really engrossed in what Estelle had to say, and she was actually answering. The dorms situation seemed like it helped her warm up to them - even just a little.
"Who did you fight?" Tsu asked.
Still feeling grateful about the warmed food, Estelle responded, "A few werewolves, a three-headed snake and a batsnout."
'What!?'
Sero laughed loudly and nervously added, "Your joking, right? You're kidding."
"No. My world has humans, but it also has spirits - light and dark. We kill dark spirits temporarily before they kill us."
The class quietened.
Estelle continued eating peacefully.
"Temporarily?" Ochako nervously questioned.
"They can't die."
The class simultaneously stood up in incredulity at the revelation. Their voices yelled over each other in an attempt to be heard. Estelle scowled from the racket that they had created. It only proved that she should keep her mouth shut as much as possible.
"What do you mean?"
"They just keep coming?"
"How are you here right now if they aren't dead!?"
"Quiet!" Estelle called out sternly. She took a deep sigh to calm herself before she explained.
"You take them down; they die and become reborn. The spirits come back; It's a never-ending cycle in the spirit world. The human side is a lot nicer. Never got to experience it much, though. Enough questions - my food is getting cold," Estelle snapped at the end.
The class stilled.
Estelle lamented once again.
"Sorry, it's been a tough day. I'll be going now," Estelle muttered out as she stood up with her plate. She walked out of the dining room and headed to her own bedroom.
The class gazed at each other whilst they thought about the words they had heard from Estelle. To them, it was a shock to realise how different her world was to them. Izuku had attempted to stop her from leaving but was halted by Shoto's arm. Looking at him in question, Shoto shook his head.
"It must be hard for her. Dealing with all of this. Estelle works differently, so we just need to be patient. The fact that she even told us this much means that we are on the right track. We can't force her."
"You're right. Remember when Midoriya was at the hospital? She said she believed in us - in her own words! " Kaminari spoke up in response.
The majority of the class sat back and remembered that moment and their determination to befriend Estelle. The memory relit the fire in their hearts as they had forgotten amid the new revelations.
Estelle sat in her room and finished off her meal, she had felt a little regretful at how she left, but she knew that the questions would keep accumulating. Even though the Commission knew, nobody else was fully aware of the situation. She was glad she allowed Mr Aizawa and Principle Nezu to see the general facts of her previous life. It made things a little easier.
Estelle turned towards her utility belt and pulled out a map that she bought on her way back. Taping the extensive and detailed map of Japan up on her wall. Estelle took a marker and placed crosses where she fought the dark spirits. Estelle could only hope she would see a pattern that would allow her to cross-reference a location, one that hopefully holds the bridge she was looking for.
There was still something bothering her.
When she had met Ryah again, he looked about ten years older. But that was impossible; Estelle had only been here for a few months. He was her age when she last saw him.
'Was time faster back home?'
Estelle's heart plummeted at the implication. Shaking the thought from her mind, Estelle didn't want to think about what that theory could mean, especially when it could be completely wrong.