The noise of her classmates rings in her eyes around her as Ayame flips through the pages of Samui: Beyond Life. The pictures cannot register and the words in the speech box float in her mind. The sound of firecrackers can be heard from the lower floor.
Likely some overexcited student who just awakened their quirk, no doubt.
She tries pounding her head to shut off the noise. The words continue to swim in and out of her mind.
Never mind then.
Ayame decides to find a hiding spot for her book before the teacher comes in. Apparently, manga is contraband in elementary school. Some strands of hair extend from the back of her head and coil around her book. The strands place it in her bag and buckle it shut before anyone is the wiser.
Ayame grabs her hair and snaps off its excess length just as the teacher walks in. He is tall, but his face seems welcoming.
Today is Ayame's first day of fourth year at Shimetsu Elementary. Ayaka, now in her second year at UA academy, should be taking her license exams soon. Ayame thinks that's what Ayaka told her at least.
The teacher asks everyone to come up to the front and introduce themselves. Ayame yawns, resisting the urge to move her manga from her bag to her drawer for discrete reading.
Then again, if they were brave enough to talk, she had to be patient enough to listen. Even if she had seen all her classmates' faces before, the teacher is as new to them as they are to him.
A formality.
Ayame walks up to the front and gives her name and her love for reading. Technically speaking, her true love was manga, reading was the third wheel in that relationship.
Last year, she noticed the sideways glances and whispers from her peers when she announced her love for her favorite comic series. The whispers crawl like worms under her skin and the glances jab like needles into her face. The manga once proudly displayed to her classmates just a few moments ago quickly finds refuge behind her back.
Whatever they were thinking, Ayame knows it wasn't anything good. This year, hopefully she can make a better impression by talking about reading instead.
The last person to go up onto the podium is a young boy. Ayame doesn't recall seeing him last year. Then again, the school every year shuffles some of the students here and there.
The boy gives his name.
Tamaki Amajiki.
He tries talking about something, his voice barely above a whisper. He taps his index fingers together as he stutters out one word at a time.
The class is straining to hear him and the teacher places a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. Ayame, however, finds herself thinking about her favourite character from Samui: Beyond Life.
Her parents said she had to listen but not always pay attention.
Tamaki and young master Wein shared a lot of similar features. Dark purple hair and eyes, even down to the pixie-like ears. Ayame wonders if Tamaki can hang an apple from his ears like Wein. The only glaring difference seemed to be in personality. The Wein from the manga would have shouted everything that was to know about him without hesitation.
Although… Ayame starts to think that Tamaki might be cuter.