The cold air stung her lungs and dried out her throat. Her nose was congested from her tears, so her breath huffed harshly from her open mouth, fogging visibly.
It wasn't supposed to snow again. It was late March. There wasn't supposed to be snow.
But there was, and she ran on the white covered ground, her black stockings growing damp and frigid. Her pumps slipped several times, not made with traction against sleet in mind. The black dress did nothing to shield her from the icy winds, the sleeves long, but sheer.
But Hitomi didn't feel the cold.
Her thoughts raced at a dizzying speed, words she overheard ringing painfully in her head, louder and louder.
"We know whose fault this is, Ayami!"
Hitomi whimpered, falling to her knees for the fifth time, unsteadily forcing herself up again.
She had to run. She had to get away. Nori and Ayami blamed her for what happened, and Hitomi did too. If she had just been selfish for once, and acted like the kid she was, then they would've stayed home, and still be alive.
Her hands felt funny, as did her ears and tail, like they were full of buzzing bees.
Hitomi kept running, until she came upon an empty park.
There was a phonebooth to her right, something that was exceptionally rare to see anymore, and the paved pathway was lined in tall iron lampposts. At the end of the path was a large playground, blocky and colorful, standing out against the white snow coating everything.
Hitomi swallowed thickly, the action oddly hard, and approached. Of course, in the weather it currently was, no one was around, with not a footprint in the snow giving away if there had been anyone there at all recently.
It was so… quiet.
Hitomi sniffled, the sound seeming loud in the silence she was surrounded by, and tiredly shuffled to the structure.
She climbed up the first level, then the second, and shimmied her way into the opening of the hard plastic shelter. Leaning against the wall, she curled into herself, her ears touching the ceiling even once she made herself smaller.
Her body was shaking now, trembling violently, making her teeth chatter until she shut her jaw tight.
What did she do now? She couldn't go back, not when she knew everyone thought it was her fault. But she was only eight, how could she live on her own?
Hitomi huffed, repeating the action when the warm breath felt nice on her numbed hands. Her eyes were heavy, drooping lower with every blink. She hadn't gotten a full night's sleep ever since her birthday.
Maybe she should just take a quick nap.
But the crunch of hurried footsteps brought her back to full awareness.
She curled tighter, but whoever was out there must have seen her, their shadow falling over the murky window of the fort.
"Kid?" Came a male voice she didn't recognize.
Hitomi bit her lip, scooting back.
There was a sigh, and in a much softer tone, he called again. "Come on out, Hitomi. Everyone panicked when we couldn't find you."
Her bottom lip wobbled, and she didn't even care how this man knew her name. "Can't go back. It's all my fault!"
He gave a sharp intake of breath, then his hand entered the fort, held out to her. "No one thinks that. And don't you ever go thinking it either. Now come on, last I saw, Nori was a mess."
Hitomi, tired physically and emotionally, felt something give. Tears filling her eyes, she started to sob as she took the hand.
He pulled her out, immediately draping his jacket over her quivering shoulders, hoisting her up into his arms. He turned and started walking, taking them back to the funeral service.
Hitom blinked slowly over his shoulder, resting her wet cheek there when her head grew too heavy to keep upright. She watched the playground shrink in the distance, before her eyes fell closed. She relaxed completely in the strong arms cradling her, relishing the warm hand rubbing up and down her back.
Her nose was filled with the strangely comforting mix of smells coming from the man.
Chamomile tea, exhaustion, the salt of tears, and a fierce protectiveness.
Waking up with a start, Hitomi laid in her bed, staring blankly up at her ceiling with a growing sense of shock. Remembrance giving way to realization.
The man had been dressed for the funeral, at the time, with his long dark hair tied back.
And his signature scarf missing.
Hitomi continued to lay silent, eyes wide. She was only ever broken from her reverie when Nori shouted for her, calling that breakfast was made, and that she would be late to school if she didn't hurry her ass up.
It was with much reluctance that she stood, and the task of dressing for school had never felt so daunting.
School meant class. Class meant seeing their homeroom teacher. Seeing their homeroom teacher, meant seeing Mr. Aizawa.
How was she supposed to deal with that, after what she just remembered? She knew her teacher from childhood, and just didn't happen to recall that fact until now.
Suddenly, a whole lot of things made sense.
…
"Bad memory association" my butt.
After her parents' deaths, the therapist Ayami made her see had gone on about how it would be perfectly normal for Hitomi to hate storms now, because of the role thunder played in waking her up that night.
Yeah, no.
While Hitomi definitely didn't like thunder— for a few reasons, actually —she adored rain.
Rain was wonderful. It looked nice. It added a needed chill on hot days. The dark overcast was beautiful in the sky. And not to mention her favorite aspect.
The smell.
Hitomi ran under her umbrella, wearing a bright yellow raincoat over her uniform, and sadly wished she didn't have to spend the perfect day indoors.
Rain had the nifty little tendency to mask every other smell, while also working together with plants to make one of the most wonderful smells in the world.
Petrichor. It was an oil produced by plants to help them retain moisture, and was the smell people often assumed was coming from the rain itself.
Hitomi was so busy thinking about how much she loved the smell, that she didn't see the tall figure in front of her until she bumped right into it.
She yelped, stumbling back.
The man she ran into turned, and promptly paled.
Hitomi stared at him in concern, checking over his appearance. He was incredibly tall, and lanky. He wore a baggy raincoat over what looked like an even baggier suit. He had blond hair, with two bangs framing his gaunt face, and what she could barely see of his eyes, was a familiar shade of crystal blue.
"Young Sai—" The man cut himself off with a bony hand slapped over his mouth.
Hitomi cocked her head, brows knitted together worriedly. "Are you alright, sir? I'm really sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."
The man waved her off, coughing weakly into his head. "It's fine Y— uh, Miss. no harm done."
"Well, if you're sure?" Hitomi glanced over him one last time, before nodding. "Okay. Sorry again, have a nice day!" She chirped over her shoulder, breaking into a run to avoid being late.
…
Toshinori watched Young Saito hurry off, reminding him that he too was running late. But he couldn't follow her to UA yet, the last thing he needed was for her to see him again like this.
He sighed, putting a hand to his racing chest. It was a miracle it was raining, otherwise he was positive she would've caught his scent and figured him out. He had to be much more careful around her, as she unknowingly had the likeliest chance of uncovering his secret.
Riku and Naomi's daughter sure was proving to be a handful.
…
"There she is, Miss Bloody Mary!" Kaminari called as Hitomi entered the classroom.
Hitomi sat her bag on her desk, absently wondering if Mr. Aizawa would let her open a window. "Bloody Mary?"
"He's been trying to think up a cool name for you all morning." Sero groaned, earning a jab from Kaminari.
"It's 'cause you messed yourself up and bled all over the field."
Hitomi flushed at the call-out. "I wasn't thinking clearly! I-I just really didn't wanna lose."
"Either way, I think Bloody Mary is a pretty feral nickname, eh?" The blonde winked conspicuously.
Hitomi blinked. "Huh?"
Kirishima gave his friend a flat look. "Dude, stop trying to make feral a thing."
"Oh come on! Saito's the one who started it!"
"Yeah, but she didn't say it as a new slang term! She literally just used it to describe Bakugou, that's all!"
"Whatever, you can't stop me from using it." Kaminari crossed his arms. "And in a few years from now, by the time we're all Heroes, you'll all be saying it too."
To heck with it. Hitomi cracked open the window beside her seat, and sat down. The light spritz of rain that made it through hit her face, making a wide smile stretch across her cheeks.
The door slid open, and Mr. Aizawa entered with a baritone "Morning."
"Good morning, Mr. Aizawa!" Most of the class chimed back.
"Ribbit? Mr. Aizawa, you don't have bandages anymore. That's good news." Tsuyu kindly noted.
Hitomi tried to not be obvious as she stared at his now uncovered face. A slightly older version of the one from her dream, now sporting a scar underneath his right eye as well.
"The old lady went a little overboard in her treatment. Anyway, we have a big class today on Hero Informatics."
Oh no. Hitomi pursed her lips, racking her brain for everything that could entail. If there was going to be some surprise test, she would undoubtedly fail, without the proper time to prepare. The smell of fresh panic filled the room, comforting her in an odd way.
At least if she was going down, it wouldn't be alone.
But with three simple words, Mr. Aizawa broke the tension.
"You need codenames."
Hitomi stared wide-eyed. They were making their names already?
"Time to pick your Hero identities."
The class bursted with excitement, reveling in the first laidback and downright fun job they had yet been tasked with.
Fun, assuming you didn't have expectations to live up to.
Hitomi glanced to her right, watching Iida's reaction to the news.
Mr. Aizawa's eyes flashed red, his hair billowing up for a moment. It worked in calming everyone down, and bringing the attention back to his unfinished explanation.
"This is related to the Pro Hero draft picks that I mentioned the last time we were in class together. Normally, students don't have to worry about the drafts yet. Not until their second or third year, actually. But your class is different. In fact, by extending offers to first-years like you, Pros are essentially investing in your potential. Any offers can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation, though."
Hitomi felt a spike of guilt, knowing full well that she was all set for her future, already guaranteed a steady job with Excel-lency. While most of her classmates didn't have that security.
"Now, here are the totals for those of you who got offers." Mr. Aizawa lifted a remote, clicking it. The chalkboard/monitor changed to display a chart with a beep.
Todoroki: 4123 offers.
Bakugou: 3556 offers.
Tokoyami: 360 offers.
Saito: 314 offers.
Iida: 301 offers.
Kaminari: 257 offers.
Yaoyorozu: 108 offers.
Kirishima: 68 offers.
Uraraka: 20 offers.
Sero: 14 offers.
"In past years it's been more spread out. But there's a pretty big gap this time." Mr. Aizawa needlessly pointed out.
Kaminari threw his head back with a groan. "Gah! That's no fair!"
Aoyama stewed, while still maintaining his usual smirk. "What about the real star? Moi."
"Todoroki got the most, ahead of Bakugou?" Jirou raised a brow.
"Yeah, it's the opposite of how they placed in the festival." Kirishima added.
"They probably weren't excited about working with the guy who had to be chained up at the end." Sero ribbed quietly, but not enough, as Bakugou heard him.
"If I scared a Pro, they're just weak!"
Hitomi craned her head over the back of her chair, shooting an upside down grin at the angered blonde. "Their loss!"
"Despite these results, you'll all be interning with Pros. Got it? Even those of you who didn't get any offers. Mr. Aizawa said.
"Oh, so we're all interning? Midoriya asked somewhat hesitantly.
"Yes. You already got to experience combat with real Villains during the attack on the USJ facility. But it'll still be helpful to see Pros at work. Up close and personal in the field. Firsthand."
"And for that, we need Hero names!" Sato summed up.
"Things are suddenly getting a lot more fun!" Ochako pumped a fist.
"These Hero names will likely be temporary, but take them seriously, or—"
The door opened with a slam.
"You'll have hell to pay!"
"Aunt Nemuri!" Hitomi exclaimed, then immediately slapped a hand over her mouth. Only to regret the action when her palm gave a pained throb. Plus, it really wasn't that big of a deal anymore, she supposed, if she slipped up when referring to certain Heroes familiarly.
Midnight gave a wink to her, not missing her excited gasp, and strutted into the room. "What you pick today could be your codename for life. You better be careful, or you'll be stuck with something utterly indecent." She stopped besides Mr. Aizawa, behind the teacher's podium.
"Yeah. She's got a good point. Midnight is going to have final approval over your names." Mr. Aizawa bent down, retrieving his yellow sleeping bag. "It's not really my forte. The name you give yourself is important. It helps reinforce your image and shows what kind of Hero you want to be in the future. A codename tells people exactly what you represent. Take All Might, for example."
Hitomi swallowed, that same claustrophobic feeling constricting her throat. It only got worse when Midnight handed her a stack of dry-erase boards and markers. She took one of each, then passed the rest to Bakugou, who repeated the process until everyone down their line had them.
Fidgeting with the thick black marker, Hitomi stared long at the white expanse. So long, that her vision started to warp slightly. She clenched her eyes tight, and shakily uncapped the marker.
"What's this?"
"I'm making my Hero name! I've got a whole list, wanna see?!"
Mama laughed softly, her silver eyes warm. "Of course."
Hitomi eagerly passed over the crayon scribbled paper. "What d'you think?"
Mama hummed thoughtfully, able to make out the messy handwriting in that way only mothers seemed capable of. "Tomi, love, are you trying to match your father and I?"
Hitomi nodded energetically, pointing emphatically at the name at the very top. "Yep! And that's the one I'm going with!"
Hitomi opened her eyes, wincing faintly as the marker tip squeaked against the plastic board.
Br—
Her bottom lip started to taste of blood, unable to weather the abuse of Hitomi anxiously gnawing on it.
On—
Her hand twitched, forcing her to rewrite one of the characters.
Ze—
"But, Tomi, are you sure?"
"Huh?"
Mama stroked her big ears so gently. "You're going to be your own Hero. So don't feel like you have to follow in our shadow. Okay?"
Hitomi stopped, staring at the shaky lines making up what she had written so far.
Bronze…
Bronze Beast. Bronze Barker. Bronze Baron. Bronze Berserker. She had come up with every version of the name possible. And once upon a time, she had fully intended to use one of them.
When did that change?
"Now, students. Who among you is ready to share?" Midnight coaxed.
The first to gather the guts to stand, was Aoyama of all people.
"Hold your breath…" He slowly raised his board. "The Shining Hero. My name is I Can Not Stop Twinkling! Mon amis, you can't deny my sparkle."
Hitomi took the distraction with appreciation, favoring anything else over the sudden identity crisis she was having.
"It'll be better this way." Midnight took the board, editing it slightly. "Take out the 'I', and shorten the 'can not' to 'can't'."
"It's stunning, madamoiselle."
Hitomi's tail wagged through the open back of her seat. She actually really liked it. It was unique, like Aoyama himself.
Mina hopped up, skipping to the podium. "Oki-doki, lemme go next!" She plopped the board down for them all to see. "My codename: Alien Queen!"
Midnight grimaced. "Hold on, like that horrible monster with the acidic blood? I don't think so!"
As much as it sucked for Mina, it was a fair veto. People would immediately associate her with a movie monster. It would be a PR nightmare. But Mina sulking back to her desk definitely pulled at the heartstrings.
After a slightly fearful pause, Tsuyu raised her hand.
"Ribbit, I think I've got one. Okay if I go next?"
"Come on up!"
"I've had this name in mind since grade school." She turned the board to them. "Rainy Season Hero. Froppy!"
"That's delightful! It makes you sound approachable! What a great example of a name everyone will love!"
The amphibian-like girl unknowingly just cleared the air, easing away some of the jitters lingering from the first two oddball names.
"Froppy! Froppy! Froppy!"
Hitomi looked back down at her board.
"Whatcha reading?"
Nori groaned, holding up the thick book as if he intended to chuck it across the room. "I've got this stupid essay coming up, and I've gotta pick a mythological creature to write about. How will I use this information in everyday life?! Huh?"
Hitomi snorted, taking the book without resistance. "Just find a movie about one of these things. There, problem solved."
"You're a bad influence on me."
"You're the one who taught me that trick!" Hitomi rebuffed, pausing when she spotted a detailed illustration while idly flipping through the pages. "Hey, what about this thing?"
Nori leaned in, glancing it over. "Eh, why not. Could be interesting."
Hitomi stared at the drawing, then skimmed the passage underneath it.
"You okay?"
"Hm?" She dully hummed, slowly reading it over more carefully.
Nori shook his head with a fond smile. "Jeez, shoulda known you'd hyper-fixate on it. Can't blame you I guess, it does bear a striking resemblance."
"The Sturdy Hero. Red Riot!"
Hitomi blinked, raising her head. Kirishima was revealing his, an homage to the Pro Hero, Crimson Riot.
Midnight warned him goodnaturedly of the responsibility of taking on such a mantle. To which Kirishima didn't falter.
Lowering her head, she was met once more with "Bronze" scrawled across her board.
"So don't feel like you have to follow in our shadow. Okay?"
Her jaw clicked, and with halting movements, Hitomi hovered her hand over the ink. Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she pressed down, and swiped. Ink stained her bandages, and the hem of her white button-up, but she didn't care. Clearing the board, while such a simple thing, felt empowering. That uncomfortably tight feeling faded away, leaving behind something light and airy.
The marker tip touched down, gliding cleanly across the board.
This. This felt right.
"The Hearing Hero. I'm Earphone Jack!" Jirou declared herself.
"Now that's a good one!"
Then Shoji chose, "The Tentacle Hero. Tentacole."
"The Taping Hero. Cellophane!"
"Martial Arts Hero. Tailman!"
"I'm The Sweets Hero. Sugarman!"
"Pinky!" Mina announced her second choice, which was shortly approved.
"Stun-Gun Hero. I am Charge-Bolt! Electric, don't you think?"
After the back-to-back name reveals, there was a lull, a few of them sharing probing looks. After no one stood, Hitomi took a measuring breath.
Acutely aware of the stares burning her back, she couldn't help the way her ears instinctively twitched around for any signs of oncoming danger.
Standing behind the podium, Hitomi held the board close to her chest.
"I-I… for a long time, I've had a codename picked out. For most of my life, really. B-but… it occurred to me recently, that if I used it, I would be putting myself into a box. And limiting the way even I see myself. So…" she slowly lifted her head, finding every pair of eyes in the classroom pinned on her. Even Bakugou was peering up through his bangs. "So, while I strive to stay faithful to their legacy, I've chosen a name that's my own."
The board clicked against the podium, set down firmly with confidence she never would have expected to be given by the meager choice of a name.
"I am The Loyal Hero. Ōkami!"
"Isn't that that scary wolf spirit in the mountains?" Kaminari questioned, though not unkindly.
Hitomi tensed, and began to worry that Midnight would dismiss it like she dismissed Mina's, for being too scary.
"Actually," Midnight started, smiling proudly at the pinkette, "the Ōkami is considered a messenger for the spirits, and would ward off animals who were notorious for destroying crops. The mountains were seen as a dangerous and sometimes even deadly place, and the Ōkami was fabled to be an escort for those who needed a guide, offering its service in keeping wanderers safe until they were home with their families. The Ōkami is a very protective and honorable spirit, and as such, I think the name is perfect."
Hitomi stared at her Aunt and teacher, eyes stinging with unshed tears. Her grin wobbled, and she scurried back to her seat with a warmed chest.
She clenched her hands atop her desk, unbothered by the sting in her palms, too busy beaming widely. She wanted to cheer, jump around, and just all-around celebrate that she had an actual Hero name, and it was entirely her own. But she couldn't, so she contained herself to shaking excitedly at her desk.
After the pinkette, Momo went next.
"I hope I can live up to this name. The Everything Hero. I'm Creati."
"Shouto." Todoroki softly revealed his board, bearing his first name alone.
"Just your name? Is that it?" Midnight asked, getting back a low hum and nod.
"Jet-Black Hero. Tsukuyomi."
"I'm The Fresh-Picked Hero. Grape Juice!"
Koda wordlessly held his board aloft, displaying his name. "Petting Hero. Anima." It read.
Now, on the complete flip-side of that—
"King Explosion Murder." Bakugou snarled, voice gravelly.
"I'm gonna say that one's a little too violent." Midnight calmly turned down.
"Huh?! Whaddaya mean?!"
"Why don't you be Explosion Boy?" Kirishima sassed from his desk.
"You shut up, Shitty Hair! Why don't we go outside and I'll show you exactly why murder should be in my name!"
Bakugou was ultimately sent trudging furiously back to his seat to think of a different name, and Ochako took his place at the podium.
"This is the name I thought of. Uravity!"
"I just love that!" Midnight approved, sending Ochako off back to her desk. "To be honest, choosing names is going faster than I thought it would. All we have left is young Bakugou, who needs to rethink his."
Hitomi noticed the spike in burnt caramel in the air.
"And Iida. Oh yes, and Midoriya, too."
Hitomi once again studied Iida, and his noticeably stiff posture. Which for him was normal, but not to this degree.
She could imagine what exactly he was feeling. She knew it intimately, actually. After hearing about Ingenium being attacked and nearly killed by Stain, the Hero Killer, Hitomi was taken back to that night all over again. It pained her to know that her classmate was dealing with something so horrible. And now he had to deal with the responsibility of deciding on a Hero name on top of it all.
When Iida went up, he set his board down with his head lowered.
"You're using your real name too?" Midnight raised a suspicious brow at the "Tenya" signed across, smudges left behind making it clear he had started to write something different.
One of the last two left, Midoriya stepped up, and presented his name.
There were scattered gasps, and Hitomi could understand why.
"Really, Midoriya?" Mineta hedged.
"You sure about that? Kaminari questioned.
"Yeah, man, remember, that could be your name forever." Kirishima warned.
Midoriya nodded slowly. "Right. I used to hate it. But, then something changed. I guess someone taught me it could have a different meaning. And that had a huge impact on how I felt." He broke into a smile. "So, now I really like it. Deku. That has to be my codename!"
As he passed by her on his way to his desk, Hitomi stopped him with a hand raised.
Midoriya smiled, lightly high-fiving her, minding the injuries on both their hands.
That just left—
"Lord Explosion Murder!"
"That's basically the same thing."
…
"Now that everyone's decided on their Hero names, we can go back to talking about your upcoming internships." Mr. Aizawa didn't mention Bakugou's lack of a suitable one. "They'll last for one week. As for who you'll be working with, those of you who were on the board will choose from among your offers, everyone else will have a different list. You have a lot to think about." He held up one of the sheets of agencies. "There are around forty agencies across the country who've agreed to take on interns from your class. Each agency has a different specialty that its Heroes focus on. Keep that in mind. Think carefully before you decide."
"Yes, sir!"
The stacks of paper were passed out, and Hitomi flushed when she saw just how thick hers was. It was nothing compared to Bakugou or Todoroki's, but it was still a lot. Despite knowing where she was going to go, she started leafing through, mainly to get an idea of who took note of her.
"I want to fight crime and bad guys in a big city." Kirishima shared his goal.
"I just hope I can intern someplace where there's a lot of flooding. Or maybe a lake." Tsuyu put a finger to her mouth.
"Turn in your choices by the end of the weekend." Mr. Aizawa walked with Midnight to the door.
"We've only got two days?!" Sero sputtered.
"Yeah, so you should start now. You're dismissed." The door slid shut behind them.
Instead of filing out of the classroom to head down to the cafeteria for lunch, the class stayed put, lounging around while reading through their options.
"Do you know where you're planning to go, Saito?" Shoji looked to his left at her, startling the girl with the unexpected question.
"Uh, well… I'll probably just intern at Excel-lency. I know my way around the place enough, and I have good rapport with the Heroes there." Hitomi leaned forward, absently twirling a lock of hair while flickering her eyes over the third sheet.
"That's your parents' agency, right?" Kirishima asked carefully.
"Mm." Hitomi nodded, waving the first paper from the stack, with Excel-lency's name printed right at the top. "It's been run by some of their Sidekicks for almost a decade now, but they've stayed true to our family all this time.
"Hey Deku, who's on your list?" Ochako turned to her friend, coming to find him mumbling intensely over his sheet.
Hitomi started to giggle, flipping to her last page. The laughter died in her throat, the fur on her ears and tail standing on end.
What the hell was his agency doing in her offers?
Closing her eyes, she pressed them tight, then opened them and checked again.
It was still there.
"Huh? Gunhead's a big brawler, though." Midoriya's tentative voice broke Hitomi from her shock. "Are you sure that's where you wanna intern, Uraraka?"
"Yep! He sent me an offer!" Ochako punched the air with a grin.
"Whoa, really? But, I thought you were trying to be a Hero kinda like Thirteen. More into rescuing than fighting."
"Ultimately that's the plan. But I've been thinking ever since the festival— well, at least since I faced off against Bakugou," she threw another punch, taking on a battle stance, "the stronger I am, the more possibilities I'll have! Plus, learning from a battle Hero will give me a different perspective, right?"
Hitomi turned in her seat, catching Bakugou's narrowed eyes over the sheet he was reading.
"You really lit a fire under her, huh?"
He scowled. "Do you ever shut up?"
Hitomi pouted, slumping down. All she wanted was a distraction from the anomaly that marked one of her papers.
And what its presence tempted her to do.
Once I post the next chapter, I'll be changing the cover image. It has Hitomi's Hero name, so that's why I'm holding off until next time, so less people risk being spoiled.
Now, as for the guesses (there was only one lol.) BethxAngel said either Hachiko, or Misao. And you know what, I actually was going to use Hachiko in my earliest drafts of TLH, but more recently I decided to go with Ōkami. But, yeah, Hitomi having an Akita Quirk is a result of my intention of naming her Hachiko, so the guess was pretty spot on.