Chapter 21: Who You Are
Shoto got home. Her sister was waiting for her. Her sister Fuyumi couldn't help but to stare at her.
"I'm sorry." Said Fuyumi.
"It's fine… I was expecting it." Sighed Shoto.
"There's a couple things I have to show and tell you." Said Fuyumi.
"Okay…" said Shoto.
"I think it's best to start with how to put on a regular bra." Sighed Fuyumi.
"Is it different than a sports bra?" asked Shoto.
Fuyumi sighed and figured that what she was wearing.
After that bit of awkwardness.
Afterward Shoto sat at the table.
"There's something else I need to tell you." Sighed Fuyumi.
"What?" asked Shoto.
"It's about your new body…" sighed Fuyumi.
Hours later Shoto was staring at the ceiling.
She really didn't need to know about that…
Well she technically did… but would have really preferred not knowing.
"Shoto?" asked Izuku voice.
"Hey you okay?" asked Ochaco.
Shoto didn't answer.
"You learned about the crimson tide… didn't you?" asked Katsuki.
"Is that what Yaoyorozu talking about when I needed things?" asked Shoto in a daze.
"It is." Sighed Inko.
"Yaoyorozu provides the girls with supplies in case of emergency." Explained Tsuyu.
"She is a life saver." said Ochaco.
Shoto then heard something else but it was kind of muffled.
"What was that?" asked Shoto.
"If we speak out loud while the telepathy is open, we can barely hear it." Explained Izuku.
"It's kind of like talking with the phone away for your mouth." Explained Inko.
"Oh…" thought Shoto.
"But if you think you're dodging a bullet, too bad… it's going to happen to you." Said Katsuki.
"Seriously." Thought Shoto.
"Look if it happens to me it's going to happen to you." Explained Katsuki.
Shoto shuddered.
Then she realized something.
"Should we be talking about this in front of Izuku?" asked Shoto.
"I know all about this…" sighed Izuku.
"I realized with telepathy it would be hard to keep him in the dark about it so I decided to teach him when Katsuki got her first one." Explained Inko.
"Aunty…" grumbled Katsuki.
"Maybe we should change the subject." Thought Ochaco.
"Are you going shopping soon?" asked Katsuki.
"Maybe…" sighed Shoto.
"Look try on all your pants and if they fit okay keep them." Said Katsuki.
"Really?" asked Shoto, "You don't think I should buy dresses and skirts?"
"Look I do consider myself a girl, but I also consider myself a tomboy. I only have skirts and dresses for school, formal events and my costume." Muttered Katsuki, "And I don't expect you to go around wearing dresses unless they make you wear a skirt at school."
"Wouldn't it be a good idea to buy women's pants because they actually fit?" asked Shoto.
"Women's pants suck!" yelled Katsuki.
"What?" asked Shoto.
"It's the pockets they're either too tiny or are fake." Explained Katsuki.
"Fake?" asked Shoto.
"Yeah…" said Tsuyu, "Sometime the pocket are just sewn fabric that looks like pockets."
"Why?" asked Shoto.
"We don't know…" said Ochaco.
"My dad won't tell me!" mentally yelled Katsuki.
"Masaru, Katsuki's father works in the fashion industry." Explained Inko.
"Okay…" sighed Shoto.
"Seriously if they fit okay! Keep your old pants!" yelled Katsuki.
"This is a really weird conversation." Admitted Shoto.
"Our nightly conversation get weird sometimes." Explained Tsuyu.
"You better get used to it, because you're stuck with us for the rest of your life." Pointed out Katsuki.
Shoto seemed to sigh that.
"Are you okay?" asked Izuku.
"I'm fine…" replied Shoto.
They talked about a few more things before calling it a night.
When the conversation was over Shoto went to wash her face. When she was done she stared at her reflection and started to cry.
Once she was done crying she realized what she had to do.
The next day she was getting ready to leave.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Fuyumi.
"I'm sure." Said Shoto putting on a jacket that was too big for her to hide her… uh… assets.
"I'm sure…" said Shoto.
Fuyumi understood why now… after such huge changes she couldn't blame her now sister.
"Okay…" said Fuyumi.
"I don't know when I'll be home." Said Shoto.
Fuyumi nodded.
And so Shoto headed to the hospital.
The hospital where her mother was.
She went her mother's room, took a breath and opened the door.
When the door was opened, her mother Rei looked at her.
"Shoto?" she asked.
"Hey mom…" Shoto said somewhat awkwardly while putting on a fake deep voice.
Shoto sat down and they talked. They talked for a bit about various things… including the incident.
"I would have thought you would have a scar." Admitted Rei.
"About that…" sighed Shoto, "I got it accidentally healed yesterday…"
"Accidentally?" asked Rei.
"I was affected by a quirk…" she said no longer putting on the fake deep voice, "And that was one of the effects…"
"One of them?" asked Rei.
Shoto opened up the jacket revealed her (ahem) new talent.
"I'm a girl now…" said Shoto.
She wasn't sure how her mother would react but then she started to giggle. Shoto just stared at her mother.
"Sorry… it's just that a hero he used to work with back in the day once said that you're not really a hero until you're affected by a weird quirk." Said Rei.
Shoto looked at his mother.
"Wait… did…" said Shoto.
"Let's just say there's a reason why your father hates unicorns…" said Rei.
Shoto continued to stare at her mother.
"I should tell you another time." Said Rei knowing that telling such a story would distract Shoto.
Shoto nodded.
"So how long…" said Rei.
"It's permeant." Said Shoto.
"Are you sure?" asked Rei.
"One of my classmates was born a boy but when she 4 she got hit by the same quirk." Explained Shoto.
"How did it happen?" asked Rei.
Shoto told her about Izuku and the effects of his quirk. And of course everything that happened with the bonding with Izuku.
"Shoto…" said Rei.
"I haven't told any of them… either Izuku or any of his other partners… but… I… I don't know I who I am anymore…" cried Shoto.
Rei was surprised.
"It's not just the fact I'm now a girl…" cried Shoto, "It's also the fact I lost my scar…"
"Oh Shoto…" said Rei.
"I feel like I lost everything… I don't even know if I'm still me…" cried Shoto.
Rei walked over and hugged her now daughter.
"It's going to be okay." Assured Rei, "You're still my child… you still have your quirk…"
Shoto still cried.
"It sounds like you also have friends who will help you figure everything out." Said Rei.
Shoto sniffled a little.
"You're not your father either." Said Rei.
Shoto didn't say anything.
"It might take some figuring it out, but I know you got this." Said Rei.
"Thanks mom…" said Shoto.
"So tell me more about your new friends." Sid Rei," They are your friends… right?"
Shoto told her more about Izuku and the others in the group…
They also talked about other things…
Eventually Shoto had to leave, she promised she would visit again soon.
However as she left she wasn't ready to go home yet.
She took out her phone and found the address that Izuku gave her and decided to drop in for a visit.
She knocked on the door and Izuku in human form answered.
"Oh Shoto." Said Izuku surprised.
"Sorry for dropping in unannounced." Said Shoto.
"It's fine." Said Izuku.
He led her into the living room/ kitchen area.
Inko was just about to prepare dinner and Ochaco was sitting on the couch watching TV.
"Oh hey Shoto." Said Ochaco.
"You're here." Said Shoto surprised.
"Yeah… since I live alone, I often eat here for dinner." Admitted Ochaco.
"Don't worry I'll make extra." Said Inko.
"You don't have to." Said Shoto.
Inko gave Shoto a look.
Shoto sighed and relented…
It's kind of hard to say no to a woman who slapped her father.
"Did you got shopping today?" asked Ochaco.
"No…. I went to see my mom." Said Shoto joining Ochaco on the couch.
"Is she okay?" aside Inko.
"She's doing good…" said Shoto who then sighed.
And then she told them about she felt about her identity crisis.
"I'm sorry…" said Izuku.
"Don't blame yourself." Said Shoto, "It is my fault! You told me not touch the light… but I did it… just because it's your quirk doesn't mean it's your fault…"
Izuku weighed.
"Why did you bond anyways?" asked Ochaco who forgot thanks to the stress of the day (it was only mentioned once to her after all).
"I thought you were lying about the side effect…" said Shoto, "And I wanted to prove you were lying that there was one…"
"And it backfired horribly." Said Inko.
Shoto nodded.
"It's going to be fine…" said Ochaco.
"We'll help you figure it out." Said Izuku.
Shoto nodded.
"I do have an idea to help you figure it out." Said Inko.
"What?" asked Shoto.
"I know of a hair stylist with a hair growing quirk." Said Inko,.
"Why do you know of one?" asked Shoto.
"In case Katsuki ever wanted to grow out her hair." Said Inko.
"Kacchan looks a lot like her mom." Explained Izuku.
"If she wasn't born a boy and had different quirks, people would mistake Katsuki for her clone." Giggled Inko.
"It's true." Laughed Ochaco who had met Mitsuki a few times in the past couple months.
"Even short hair?" asked Shoto.
"Even short hair." Said Inko, "I think maybe growing out your hair might help you figure things out…"
"Maybe…" said Shoto.
Inko gave her the address of the hair stylist.
She ate dinner with them and did ask why Izuku ate in animal form as she never heard the answer.
After dinner she left with Ochaco.
"I was wondering something." Said Shoto.
"I was born a girl." Said Ochaco with a sweat drop.
Shoto sweat dropped.
"Iida and Aoyama both saw my bonding." Pointed out Ochaco.
"Wait… they did?" asked Shoto.
Ochaco nodded, "We shared the same test site... now that I think about Shoji was there too... he might have saw it..."
"I had a different exam." Pointed out Shoto.
"Oh yeah… you were a recommendation student." Said Ochaco.
"Yeah… yesterday was the first time I saw those robots." Said Shoto.
"One of those zero pointers nearly crushed me." Said Ochaco.
Shoto stared at her.
"I don't know if the teachers would have stopped it if Izuku hadn't bonded with me." Said Ochaco, "He also knew that my quirk would be helpful at the moment."
"Did he see you use your quirk during the test?" asked Shoto.
"Actually I stopped him from tripping before the exam." Explained Shoto.
"I see." Said Shoto.
"Yeah." Giggled Ochaco.
"Izuku said he wanted five partners right?" asked Shoto.
"Kind of… we're the ones who wanted him to have five partners since his time has a human depends on how many partners he has." Said Ochaco, "He's up to 10 hours now…"
Shoto nodded.
"Do you know if he was interested in bonding with someone else from class?" asked Shoto.
"Just any of the girls who were willing to." Said Ochaco.
Shoto nodded.
"Hey… he's more upset by the fact that he turned your life upside down than the fact he didn't bond with one of the girls." Said Ochaco.
"That makes sense…" said Shoto.
"Though Kacchan did insist on him bonding with Mineta so that he'd be hit with karma during the USJ." Said Ochaco.
"That sounded like a terrible idea." Said Shoto with a sweat drop.
"That's what I said…" said Ochaco.
Shoto nodded at that.
They soon parted ways with Shoto heading to the train station and Ochaco to her apartment.
The next day Shoto and Fuyumi went shopping. She didn't buy any pants or skirts (Fuyumi agreed with the fact that women's pants pockets are the worst) But she did buy a couple dresses for formal events for the time being. But she also bought some new underpants, bras, a coupe pairs of shoes and some new shirts.
Afterwards they headed to the hair salon with the hair stylist that can grow out hair.
"Are you sure you want this?" asked Fuyumi.
"I'm sure." Said Shoto.
Fuyumi nodded as they headed into hair salon.
And hopefully getting a new hair length would also help.
Also when they got home as it turned out Shoto had gotten a package explaining that it was determined for the time being that he would have to wear the girl's uniform with the new uniform inside.
But still… Shoto still wasn't sure who she was… but hopefully she would figure it out… and she had her new friends to help her.
Next Time: Internship week is coming up and many of the students who were in the tournament get draft pics. Izuku only got one however... and it's the hero he would rather not intern with. Who is it... and wild he intern with them. Find out next time!