A Little Bit Of History
Estelle woke up to a warm embrace. Taking a few moments to get her bearings, she realised that she was currently being bear-hugged by Bakugo. Groaning slightly, she attempted to shuffle off him but was only greeted by a tighter grip. "Stop moving, brat."
Pouting slightly, Estelle peeked to her right and scowled at the fact that some of the class were awake lounging around the living room. She assumed half of them were still in the kitchen as most weren't there. "It's morning; the class is awake."
Cursing, Bakugo slowly released Estelle from his hold. Rubbing his eyes to remove the sleep from it, he grumbled, "Whatever, give me a sec."
Standing up and stretching, the pomeranian pulled Estelle away as he dragged her into the dining room. He let her go as he continued to walk towards the kitchen, and Estelle took a seat with a deep sigh.
"Hello, how are you?" Shoto asked calmly.
Nodding, Estelle answered, "I'm fine. Thank you."
"It's okay."
Chuckling at the two-toned male, Estelle thanked Bakugo, who returned with two cereal bowls. Eating the food, the class chatted between themselves.
"Eat your food, dammit!" Bakugo growled, his hand thumping against Estelle's head once he realised she was just staring at it.
"Yeah yeah, I'm just not hungry right now," she mumbled back.
"I don't care, finish it!"
"Hmpt."
Forcing the cereal down, Estelle headed upstairs to prepare for the day. Dawning her gear, Estelle travelled back down to get to work. The class seemed to be waiting for her as they sat around the common room as a collective. Silently groaning to herself, Estelle was at least thankful that they gave her time before diving into the deep end.
Mr Aizawa was with them, his brow raised as if he was asking if she wanted to talk separately. Hoping to avoid repeating the conversation, Estelle shook her head in refusal. The teacher leaned back in surprise, but internally he held some relief and satisfaction at the fact Estelle was willing to share in front of the class again. Progress.
Taking a seat, Estelle immediately started talking. "Multum magna occisio machina; it means my little killing machine."
The class stilled in shock, utterly bewildered at what Estelle had just revealed.
"Why would he call you that?" Shoto questioned.
"My guardian used to call me that when I was under his care. You all heard him say it before, in my memory."
"So, does that mean it's him?" Izuku queried in worry.
Sighing deeply, Estelle shook her head. "I don't think it's him. It doesn't make sense."
"Wait! I'm confused. How does it not make sense if he was the only one who called you that?!" Hagakure cried out.
"Yeah!" Kirishima added.
Estelle felt a bit of apprehension wash over her, and she wanted to avoid saying the words. Instead, she grunted, "Because I already dealt with him."
"But, if he's alive. Wouldnt it be him?!" Momo prodded.
Defeated, Estelle knew she would have to say it. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she didn't want to experience their reactions.
"Say it!" Bakugo barked. He could tell she was biting her tongue on the subject, and he wasn't having any of it. She couldn't keep being evasive forever.
"I killed him."
"What?!" The class cried out.
"Tch, I temporarily killed him. He shouldn't have reformed yet," Estelle finished explaining.
"Ohhhh."
"Still, you killed him?" Iida voiced out, horrified.
Uncomfortable from the judgment, Estelle snapped, "It was either that or actually being his killing machine! No, thank you!"
"Surely there could have been other options?"
"Oh, now you wanna play that game? Did you say that when I killed Ryah? No, because there weren't any other alternatives. Just like there's none in the spirit world. There are no prisons, schools or pretty houses. It's kill or be killed, and if you don't understand that, then you had me all wrong," Estelle snarled as she gazed at Iida fiercely.
Realising Estelle was riled up from the topic of the ethical side of her world, they knew that things were so drastically different that they wouldn't be able to get a good outcome out of this. Backing down, Iida nodded with a mutter of an apology.
"It's fine; I don't blame you." Estelle sighed back, a slump to her shoulders.
"What happened between the two of you?"
Pursing her lips, Estelle hated the fact they were finally getting to know her experiences, but at the same time, she knew they deserved it for sticking around.
"I grew up with him. His name was Nyx, but I called him boss. He was the leader of his group of ghouls, and he stole me from my mother when I was born. I spent most of my life training with his people, and he ingrained the battle instincts I have today.
He was a cruel man. There are not enough words to describe the awful things he did. He killed Kiko simply because he was my friend, and unfortunately, that's only the tip of the iceberg. It was only when I became more self-aware as I grew older that I realised the true depths of the cruelty, but I was too deep in his clutches to escape."
"How did you escape?"
"I met Emelia."
"Huh?"
"It's probably easier to just show you this part," She grunted. "Close your eyes."
Estelle looked to be around twelve years old. She trained in the garden as usual when she had noticed rustling behind the bushes and moved to investigate once the session was over. She was surprised to find a young ghoul behind the bushes, hiding as if she was unsure of what to do.
Grabbing the ghoul, Estelle lifted the young girl up to her face before spitting a menacing, "What the hell are you doing here, pigtails?"
The girl smiled sheepishly, "I was supposed to pass on, but I couldn't find the gate. Can you help me?"
Estelle scowled, annoyed that she had to explain. "That means that something is holding you back, figure it out and then get going. Now leave before someone kills you and you are stuck reforming. I've heard it hurts like hell."
The girl nodded quickly as Estelle dropped her and scrambled off into the wilderness. Estelle allowed herself one last look at the woods before walking inside.
The next day, Estelle found herself in the same position. She growled in anger as she beat up those around her in training; the girl didn't listen!
Once again, when training was over. Estelle made her way to the bushes, grabbed the girl, and brought her level to her face. "What did I tell you yesterday! If you stick around this area, someone will definitely kill you. Now scram!"
"Wait, wait, wait!" The young ghoul shrieked as she raised her hands defensively. "I'm just really lost! I don't know where to go or how to pass on!"
"Roam around till you find a spirit village! I don't care! Just get out of here before you get seriously hurt, kid. Anywhere is better than here!"
"Come with me then! You can protect me!" The young girl exclaimed.
Estelle immediately dropped the girl to the muddy ground, looking down at her darkly as she clenched her fists. The little girl flinched from the look before staring at the grass. "No, I have no reason to leave. This is your last chance, kid. Use it."
The child looked up at Estelle sadly before nodding, standing up and leaving. Estelle watched with a pit in her stomach as she disappeared into the trees. "She'll be fine", she muttered to herself reassuringly as she made her way inside.
It had been a few days since Estelle had seen the ghoul; she was okay with that. At least she managed to get out of there. As she was about to start her training, her boss interrupted her, who stood at the garden entrance. "Multum magna occisio machina, follow me. It's time for your first kill."
Estelle inwardly began to sweat but nodded and followed the man into the house. Making their way to the Nyx's office, Estelle halted in shock once her eyes laid on the same young girl kneeling in-between two goons. Walking up to the child with a hidden frown, Estelle looked up to her boss for orders.
"No way, you won't kill her, will you?" Hagakure voiced out in horror.
"There's no way she would do that!" Bakugo barked back.
"Shut up! Let's see what happens!"
"Yeah, guys, have a little faith," Kirishma responded back positively, his features betraying the concern from the scene in front of him.
Nyx handed Estelle a knife with a proud smile, "This is what we have been waiting for! Spill her blood and damn her to a longer stay within this tragic plane. Now is the time to pass this barrier of yours and truly accept who you are."
Estelle stared down at the knife before discreetly flickering her eyes towards the girl. Before anything could be done, a voice called for Nyx outside. Estelle's eyes scanned the room as her guardian retreated, slumping slightly in relief.
Estelle's eyes brightened before they were quickly shielded by the bored look she seemed to keep on her face. Eyeing the young girl, she pointedly looked towards the cabinet and nodded slightly.
The young ghoul brightened up and nodded back at Estelle, clearly showing she understood. A few moments of silence rung out in the room before Estelle shouted, "Now!"
The child scurried to the cabinet and slammed the door shut once she was safely inside. As she was moving, Estelle brought her knife through the heart of an older ghoul. The look of betrayal as he spilt a little blood and disintegrated hit Estelle's heart, but the decision was made. She couldn't stop now.
Hearing the ruckus, a plethora of ghouls came crashing through the door, and Estelle dived into battle, sliding under a few legs with her knife up to slash them all. Their shouts of pain could be heard before they faded away, the dust laying on the ground from the lack of wind. Moving onto the next, she used her water whip to drag men closer to her as she took them all down.
It was a big battle; it was clear Estelle was not only fighting for her life but the safety of the little girl. Crashing through the wall and into the kitchen, Estelle grabbed some pots and smashed them onto their heads, ducking their blows and stabbing them wherever she could.
"After all we have done for you, you repay us by slaughtering us all," One ghoul muttered just before he faded. Estelle refused to listen to any of their words, fearing that they would manage to halt her endeavour of breaking free from the chains shackled to her from birth. Now was the time. Estelle was ready now.
Using her earth abilities to make some kind of spear, Estelle threw it into a crowd running into the kitchen, causing them all to topple over and fade. The blood was minimal, but every hit and blow was evident and precise. Estelle was refusing to lose.
Finally, every ghoul within the clan was gone. Panting for breath, Estelle clutched onto her knife as she stared at the ground. There was only one person left.
The boss.
Estelle made her way outside to where Nyx stood. He was shuffling through an item Estelle did not recognise. Estelle walked up to the man and used her vines to bind him together, and stepped on him with one foot. Estelle could tell that he knew what she had just done, and he was not happy by the expression on his face.
"I own you Multum magna occisio machina, I demand you to let me go! You will pay for what you just did. They will take forever to reform!"
Estelle smirked down at him, "And why would I do that? I can overpower you; why would I follow such low life scum?"
Nyx screamed in a fury at her response and attempted to escape her hold, "You will come to regret this young lady; the prophecy shall be completed the right way!"
"Prophecy?" Estelle questioned as she dug her heel into his back. "Tell me more. Now."
"Born of two worlds, born to fight. The harbinger of dark or light will reign supreme with the result of war to come. The choice to make will bear from sin. The harbinger will decide to be the saviour of day or night."
"And you think that decision falls to me? Funny. I will not be your puppet any longer. You never had any choice in the matter."
"You impotent girl! The dragons deemed it so!"
Before Nyx could say another word, Estelle created another spear. Staring down at him, Estelle halted her movements before the weapon went right through him. "You were cruel to me; nevertheless, you raised me. I would let you go, but I know you will never let me go. So, goodbye."
"Hopefully, you'll reform after I'm gone", Estelle muttered after she watched her guardian fade away. The spear she had stabbed through him cluttered onto the grass whilst she walked away, heading back to the cabinet where the scared child lay hidden.
Opening the doors, she found the ghoul cowering in the corner with her hands covering her eyes. With a soft voice, Estelle assured, "It's me, keep your eyes closed, okay? Let's get out of here."
Grabbing the girl and placing her onto her side like a toddler. Estelle left her home. Never looking back.
Estelle was prepared to end the memory there, feeling like she had given them enough to see to understand the situation. As she was closing off her spirit bending, Estelle was surprised when a classmate spoke up.
"You can't end it there! Show us a little more!" Kaminari yowled, his curiosity going crazy at what happened next.
"I would also like to see you and Emelia. I remember when you told me a story about you two. From the sounds of it, you both had an amazing relationship." Shoto spoke, getting eyes of bewilderment from the other students. They didn't know much about the ghoul, and they wished they had gotten to hear it too.
Ignoring Bakugo's glare, Shoto kept his earnest eyes on Estelle in the hope of convincing her to keep going. Giving a large sigh, Estelle nodded before starting up a new memory.
Estelle walked for a few hours before placing the girl on the ground. She sighed softly when she realised the little girl still had her eyes closed. Getting down on her knees to reach her level, Estelle spoke, "You can open your eyes now."
The girl opened her eyes, blinking quickly to refocus her sight before looking at Estelle sadly. "I'm sorry you had to do that, but you saved me! You're my hero!"
Estelle shook her head with a scoff, "I'm no hero; I just put those ghouls six feet under until they reform. That's not hero-like."
"Then why did you save me?"
"You were my reason."
"Huh? Well, I don't care! You saved me! You are my hero!" The girl stated stubbornly with her hands on her hips.
Estelle shook her head once again before standing back up, "I told you twice to leave and what happened? You got caught. Idiot."
"Hey! I was about to leave, big sis, but then one of those big burly guys grabbed me and took me inside. I was terrified."
"Well, you're fine now. You can go."
"But, I thought..."
"Hmm?" Estelle questioned, wondering why the child was still there.
"I thought we could stay together."
"Sorry, kid, ain't happening."
"But why?!"
"I got someplace to be; you can't come. Now, here's a knife. Stab anything that tries it with you. If it's too big, get the knee and then the chest. If it's bigger than a house, run. Good luck."
The girl stared down at the knife like it was an alien, holding it at arm's length. "But, where do- hey!"
Cutting off her sentence when she realised Estelle was already leaving, the young ghoul chased after the older female as she continued to hold the knife as far away from her as possible. Estelle ignored her and kept walking through the woods, fully aware that the child was following her. "Stop following me; go away."
"I'm just heading this way as well, big sis, don't worry!"
Estelle let it slide and continued to walk. Halting mid-step, Estelle felt the child walk right into her back with a whine. Taking her katana out cautiously, Estelle could see a werewolf heading right towards the two of them. "Gods, I fucking hate werewolves," she muttered.
Estelle held onto her katana as she waited for the beast to reach her. The child behind her screamed in fear whilst she tried to prepare her knife within her hands. Her butterfingers allowed the blade to slip and fall to the ground, and Estelle scowled at the sound of her fearful cries behind her as she tried to pick it up again.
Once the beast arrived, it jumped over the two girls and made a U-turn to attack. Estelle simply raced forward in front of the young girl who was in the line of fire - still screaming in panic. The two beings clashed, and Estelle's katana shot straight through the werewolf's stomach, which gushed out blood and slumped over with a whine. Grunting when the ashen flakes hit her face, Estelle wiped her face furiously in disgust.
Brushing her katana quickly, Estelle moved around the shaken ghoul and continued walking. The small voice of the girl rang out shakingly when she spoke, "You saved me again.."
Estelle sighed, looking at the ground in slight frustration whilst her hand gripped around the katana tighter. "I didn't save you. I was just removing the disgusting beast from my sight."
"Oh..."
Estelle soughed, frustrated at her subsequent actions, which showed on her face. She looked to the sky as if she had asked the world for help before turning back to the lost child. "What's your name?"
"Emelia..."
"I prefer pigtails. Follow me. Don't be annoying."
The girl immediately brightened up, her joyful expression back on her face. "You mean I can come with you?! But I thought you said I couldn't?!"
Estelle scowled at the enthusiastic response and barked, "Why are you questioning me? Do you want to come or not, pigtails!?"
"I do! I do! Big sis!"
"I thought I told you not to be annoying."
"Sorry big sis! I am just so excited!"
"Shut up."
"Big sis and Lil sis! Gonna take this world by storm!"
"I am already regretting this."
"Woohoo!"
"Pirate ghouls?!"
"Uh Huh."
"How fun!"
"These spirit villages are so cool! Can we go splurge dancing?"
"No, shut up."
"Hey, your bracelet is gorgeous!"
"Thank you, a friend made it," Estelle answered back softly.
"You! Having friends! Pffft! You're joking!"
"Your right; I only have nuisances."
"Fuck my life..." Estelle groaned.
"Just do it!"
"Arrrrr! May we ride in your boat across the shore?"
"Yeah! Arrr! Can! Arrr! We! Arrr! Please! Arrr!"
"That's too many, pigtails."
"Sorry! Arrr!" Emelia responded enthusiastically.
"Where are we going exactly?"
"I'm surprised it's taken you this long to ask. We're heading towards the dragon's den."
"Dragons?! What for?"
"I need answers."
"Big sis! We are so close! I can almost taste it!"
"All I can taste is your shitty food."
"You can't expect me to make it perfect on my first go!"
"I wasn't, but you lit it on fire, and it turned into charcoal."
"Oops?"
"Ohmygod, what is this?!"
"Big sis?"
"Tell me what it is, piglet," Estelle demanded, her eyes gazing at the round see-through circles with fascination.
"They're called bubbles..."
"Bubbles! I like bubbles."
"I've never seen you this happy!" Emelia cried out with a beaming smile.
"Whatever. I'm trading for some."
"Here," Estelle monotoned as she handed the bow and pocket of arrows to the surprised girl.
"No way! I can't believe you got me one!"
"You can back me up from far away. It'll put some use to your existence."
"Great! When do we start training?!"
"Now."
"Ahhh! I'm so sorry!"
"Don't let it nock you down. You only shot me."
"Wahhh!"
"Why do you need answers?"
"Dark spirits are working together. Light spirits are panicking, it's evident in the towns, but they're hesitant to say anything. Somehow, I'm in the middle of it all."
"Give us all of your things!"
"Emelia..."
"Cough it up! Don't make me put an arrow up your ass!"
"Emelia!"
"Big sis gonna tear you up! You think we scared!"
"Emelia, you idiot! They're the good guys! Focus your arrows on the spirits actually attacking us!"
"Sorry, big sis!"
"Come on, big sis! We're so close to the dragon's den!"
"I'm coming, pigtails. I'm coming!"
Deciding that was defiantly enough for the day, Estelle ended her memories and gazed upon the class, who was still processing everything.
"You both seemed really close," Izuku murmured with a soft smile.
"She was annoying, but she was my little sister," Estelle answered back, her face clear despite the aching of her soul.
"So, the man in red. He isn't Nyx?"
"I estimated that Nyx would reform after I was dead. I don't believe it's him, but I have no idea who else it could be. It's a conundrum."
"Well, don't worry about that now! I know that whoever it is, you'll be able to handle it!"
"Thank you," Estelle murmured back softly. A strange feeling emanated from her, knowing that the class had so much faith in her that she couldn't see an ounce of doubt within their expressions. The beams of the student's faces stared back at her, and Estelle allowed the heartfelt smile to slip through. The moment was warm, and it made her feel like somehow, someway, that everything might turn out okay.