This chapter was released alongside chapters 56 and 58.
CW: Panic attack
==========================VI==========================
Zariman Holo-Record 1-288Z-41:
[10 Minutes before Zariman 10-0 Incident]
"Haylee!" Jenva ran up and hugged the blue-haired girl tight.
"Heya Jenva." Haylee hugged her back. "What's up bestie?"
Jenva stepped back, a blush adorning her face. "Oh, uh, nothing." She fiddled with her hair, rolling the braid between her fingers, working up the courage to say something. "Listen, I was wondering… if you wanted to go and hang out in the gardens later?" She gulped nervously. "I wanted to uh, talk to you-"
Students, class will start in two minutes. Cephalon Melica interrupted, lavender holoform popping up on the sign next to them. Today we will be continuing our lesson on Temporal Axioms.
"Sure, I'm game," Haylee replied. "Now c'mon, let's get to class. You'll never get an Accolade like me if you keep getting tardies." She stuck her tongue out and giggled.
"Okay!" Jenva, replied happily, a relieved grin forming on her face.
"C'mon, let's go!" Haylee grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to class.
==========================VI==========================
[U.A., April 17th, 2243]
Lumine slid her back down the wall, lightly smacking the back of her skull against it repeatedly.
"Shit…" Tears filled her eyes as she wrapped her hands around her legs, curling up into a blonde-capped ball. "Shit…"
How could she be so stupid, so selfish? She should've known it wouldn't go over well, not right now. Her head thudded against the wall. "You goddamn idiot…" She sobbed. "Why did you have to say that to her now?!"
It would've been better if Haylee said nothing at all, or even a no. Even if Haylee had politely said she didn't feel the same way would've been fine.
Running away was worse than anything she would have dreamt up. It was like that old meme "The worst she/he could say is no" but they end up saying "eww", except far worse.
She'd done something to hurt Haylee's feelings judging by the way she reacted. There was no other reasonable theory she could come up with to explain it.
She'd fucked up, badly, and now it was probably going to cost them their friendship.
==VI==
"How have the third-years been enjoying your class, Tau?" Nemuri took a sip of her coffee.
"They seem to be. I was surprised that so few Hero Students took it, though," Natah replied. "Lots of the Gen-ed and support students, though."
"Well, Logistical Support isn't exactly a class that most would find helpful in hero work, and the third-years don't exactly have lots of time for extra classes with their work studies. We give them more freedom to pick their classes for their last year, usually to help round out what they want to specialize in." She swirled her drink with her spoon. "I imagine most of the students either found it interesting as a newly offered course, or are looking to go into police work, or perhaps the military."
Natah nodded. "That makes sense."
"Listen, it's your first year. Find out what works, and listen to your students' feedback to improve it next semester. When I started, my Media Relations and Trauma Response lessons were a bit rough around the edges. These are teenagers, after all, you can't just set a textbook down." Nemuri chided politely.
"That… that is what I have been doing…" Natah frowned. "Do you believe that more… interactive lessons would be beneficial? Like simulations of supply lines in a battlefield?"
"Oh Tau, this is heroics, not a warzone." Nemuri chuckled. "Maybe… long term disaster relief, or the aftermath of a huge villain attack? Or, for the hero students, how they can turn that around to disrupt a large villain organization's operations by taking out their supplies?"
"I see…" Perhaps her… experience as a mission commander was coming out a bit too much. Kayama was right, these were students, not her Tenno. Perhaps something more tailored to a disaster would be better. Japan was predisposed to earthquakes, and she'd read historical documents about the handling (or mishandling) of relief efforts in both villain attacks and natural disasters. "Thank you for the advice, Kayama."
"No problem."
Knock knock knock knock knock!
"Now who could that be?" Nemuri stood up. The only people who could get in here were teachers. A student? Probably a second or third-year most likely. She slid the door open to reveal Tenno, who was sobbing and trembling. She pushed past the R-rated heroine and rushed into Natah's arms.
"Haylee? What's wrong?" Natah clutched Haylee, slowly patting her on the back as she melted in her embrace. Something must be seriously wrong, Haylee rarely cried. The way she was trembling… reminded Natah of the footage from the Zariman children's archives when Margulis was comforting them.
She was fine this morning, more than fine. What could've possibly reduced her to this state?
Nemuri rushed back to Natah's side. "Oh dear… poor girl…" She knelt down. "Hey, Tenno? It's alright, we're here. Concentrate on my voice. Don't talk, just breathe, in and out. In… and out."
Natah gently ran her fingers through Haylee's hair. "That's right, listen to Ms. Kayama. We're both here for you."
Slowly but surely, Haylee's blubbering began to die down. Her speech was still indecipherable, drowned out by choked gasps and half-formed sentences. "I- what… Lumine…"
'Lumine? Did something happen with her?' Natah wondered. "Shhhh… just breathe."
==VI==
Over his long years on the battlefield, Ordan had developed an acute sense of hearing. The ability to sus out traps, the slightest sound of footsteps or even breathing were paramount to staying alive, be it the deserts of Mars or the overgrown forests of Earth. In the safety of U.A. he didn't tend to pay attention to those sounds, though he never truly dropped his guard.
That was why he was able to hear the ever-so-faint sound of someone crying. He paused, swallowing the rest of the rice cake he was eating. 'I should probably go check on that.' Rounding the corner, he spotted a student, a familiar student. Aside from her blonde hair, the flowers that adorned it were unmistakable. "Eikyō?" He asked.
Lumine was startled, not having heard Mr. Karris approach yet still recognizing his voice. Slowly, she lifted her head, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Mr. Karris?"
"Rice cake?" Ordan offered, pulling another warm bundle from its wrapping.
"What?" Lumine blinked, momentarily stunned. "Why would I want a rice cake?"
"Oh, I didn't think you would, but it distracted you from whatever it was you were crying about," Ordan smirked before pressing his back against the wall and sliding down to Lumine's level. "So, what's wrong?"
Lumine hesitated. Mr. Karris- Karris-sensei? He was kinda-sorta Haylee's dad/guardian. Would he be upset that he hurt her feelings? Oh gods, if she upset him, then maybe it would upset Tau-sensei as well and she was Lumine's teacher! "It's nothing…" She looked away, ashamed. "I just want to be left alone right now."
Ordan frowned. "Listen, I won't pry, but as a teacher, I can't just leave you unattended. Classes are about to start back up. Since I'm not required to be there until the end of the day, I can stay with you." He pulled out his phone, notifying Kan that Lumine would be absent from her next class. "I'm sorry, but if you aren't going to class I can't just leave you by yourself, especially with our new security measures. You don't have to tell me what's going on if you don't want to, but if you do, I'll be right here."
"Okay…" Lumine mumbled, suddenly developing an intense fascination with her kneecaps.
She wasn't sure how much time passed, each minute felt like it dragged on for at least half an hour. Every so often she would sneak a glance to Karris-sensei, who had continued to finish his snacks before moving on to fiddling with a quirk-created ball of bone, tossing it back and forth between his hands.
He really wasn't going to leave, was he?
"Uhm…" Lumine swallowed, trying to erase the dry, scratchy feeling in her throat. "Do you ever do something in the heat of the moment and then realize you made a horrible mistake?"
Ordan leaned back, staring at the ceiling and cringing. "Oh, more than you will ever know." The scar on his face felt like it was burning for a moment.
"I think… I think I messed up," She planted her face in her palms, dragging her hands across her cheeks. "Like, really bad."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Lumine hesitated. "You won't get mad, will you?"
"Eh," Ordan shrugged. "Trust me Eikyō, it takes a lot to make me mad. But if I uh, do yell at you, just ignore it."
A single eye peeked out from between Lumine's digits. "I told Haylee that I like her."
"Oh." Ordan froze. "Ohhhhhh." He realized what she meant. "Just so I'm not -WRONG- misunderstanding… like, romantically interested, right?"
"Mhm…" Lumine mumbled. "And me, being a huge stupid idiot blurted it out to her because… she just…" She let out an angry growl. "She treated her injuries like nothing! I was so worried about her, not being able to ever see her again, or tell her how I felt… and she just shrugged and said she was fine! Not in the 'oh, I'm fine way' but, like… she didn't care that she almost died?!"
"Ah…" Ordan pursed his lips. 'Shit, we should've talked to her about what Shuzenji said before her classes started.' "She's… she's kinda always been like that. Caring more about other people's well-being than her own. It doesn't help that she can't feel most things that hurt her. Recovery Girl also said her quirk gives her something called Regenerative Apathy Syndrome. Her brain isn't wired to register injury like ours. Paired with CIP…" And her years of battlefield experience numbing her to the trauma… "she doesn't see anything wrong with getting hurt, because the only thing of consequence is something she doesn't fear."
"She's not afraid of dying?" Lumine raised her head.
"No," Ordan shook his head. "She's more worried about the people she cares about dying."
"Oh…" Lumine stared down at her knees again. That made… a lot of sense actually. She remembered Setsuna mentioning something about how losing something like a finger hurt but didn't really bother her.
"So then what happened? Did she say something to you?" Ordan asked.
"No, uh…" Lumine's eyes began to tear up. "She uh…," She sniffled. "She ran away."
"She ran away?" Ordan blinked as if he were hearing those words for the first time. "You're sure? She ran away? That doesn't sound like her at all." Haylee didn't run. Strategically retreat, sure. But run? No. Never. It wasn't in her nature to flee.
"Yeah," Lumine replied despondently. "She acted like… I did something horrible to her. At least… that's what her face looked like. She was upset, or afraid, or…. I dunno."
Ordan raised a finger, then lowered it, thinking. "I don't… I honest to Sol don't know why she would react like that."
"Do you think she hates me?" Lumine wallowed in her despair. "I totally ruined our friendship, didn't I?"
"I wouldn't say that… she's not the kind of person to get angry or end a friendship over that. Probably. Well, 99% sure. You're one of her best friends." Ordan explained. "Though I'm not sure what kind of answer she would've given you. This is… unexplored territory for her. She's not great at expressing her emotions. Maybe she was overwhelmed?"
A glimmer of hope manifested in her eyes. "So she doesn't hate me?"
"Nah, she's like me. Wait, no. That's a lie. It's easy to make her mad, but she would tell you to your face, not… run away." Ordan corrected himself. "But again, I don't know if she would… reciprocate."
"Do you uh…" Lumine gulped. "Do you know if she likes… girls?" Probably a really awkward thing to ask someone who was basically the target of your affection's father.
"Bold of you to ask, but… I have absolutely no idea." Ordan shrugged. "She never brought it up, or asked me or Natah, or anything. If anything, I thought she might be into Midoriya because of how much she hangs around him, but…"
"Midoriya knows that I like her," Lumine revealed. "He was uh… trying to help me see if she… liked me, or just girls in general."
"And how did that go?" Ordan raised an eyebrow.
"Oh," Lumine laughed hollowly. "Awful. We're both idiots, I guess. He was too nervous to ask her any personal questions, and I was too scared to just flat out and ask her if she had a type. I just kinda… tried to flirt with her for the past few months but she never noticed."
"She didn't…" Ordan laughed out loud. "Oh Lua, Haylee is a lot of things, but socially adept is not one of those. That does not surprise me…" He wheezed. "One bit."
"It's not funny…" Lumine pouted.
"Oh not for you," Ordan cleared his throat. "Sorry, just caught me off guard is all. Yeah… Haylee is a very direct person. Asking her directly would've been the best bet. She probably wouldn't even consider why you were asking either."
Lumine groaned, double face-palming. "I'm an idiot."
"You're a teenager. Nobody said this stuff was supposed to be easy for you." Ordan snorted. "Don't give up, there's a simple solution to all of this."
"What?"
"You just need to -shut up and-," He frowned, lightly smacking his forehead. "Just… talk it out with her once she's calmed down. Don't complicate it with all the worries and doubts- people always assume the worst and go through all the motions of trying to fix things without actually communicating. Talk to her."
"Is it really that simple?" Lumine wondered.
"I mean, sometimes it is." Ordan rolled his shoulders with a soft pop. Lumine was a good kid. There wasn't any need to do the whole overprotective parent schtick. So she upset Haylee, it wasn't anything that wasn't immediately fixable. His phone buzzed, and a reply from Natah. 'Ah, so Haylee is with her now.'
==VI==
It had taken a few minutes, but they finally got Haylee to stop crying. Currently, she was curled up in Natah's lap, breathing slowly while Natah continued to run her hand through her messy hair.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Natah whispered. Haylee nodded in response. "Was it your injuries?"
"No," Haylee muttered quietly. "I don't know why I'm sad. It just… it just happened." She nuzzled her face further into Natah's shoulder.
"And what exactly happened? You mentioned something about Eikyō? Did something happen between you two?" Natah asked.
Haylee was silent, closing her eyes for a few seconds and taking a deep breath. "Lumine likes me. I mean, like, she uhm, dammit…" Her words tumbled over each other, breath caught in her throat. "... she has feelings for me."
"Oh…" Natah blinked. "I see." Given her experience with real romance was all fabrication or implanted memories, she had no idea what to make of that.
"She said that she was in love with me…" Haylee paraphrased, "And I just… I don't know. I ran away. I don't know why I did it, I just… couldn't deal with it." She bunched herself up into a tighter ball. "What do I do?" She whimpered.
Natah's eyes were frantic and wide, like a deer caught in headlights. Desperately, she glanced at Nemuri. The look in her eyes said one simple thing: "Help, I don't have any idea of what to tell her."
Nemuri sat down at Natah's side. "Hey, Haylee right? Is it okay if I call you that?"
"Mhm…" came her muffled reply.
"So your friend confessed to you, right?" Nemuri asked, voice soft and comforting like a silk sheet fresh out of the dryer. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Idunno…" Haylee grumbled. "I… I just feel upset and I don't know why."
"Did her saying that upset you?"
"Nuhuh." She lightly shook her head. "I don't think so. It's just… overwhelming? I think?" Haylee's head rose out from Natah's shoulder, tear-stained eyes peeking out from her mother's shirt.
"It's alright. Emotions are complicated things, especially at your age. We'll work through this together if you'll allow me to help." Nemuri replied softly, a reassuring smile on her face.
Haylee hesitated, looking like a turtle about to dart back into it's shell. Ms. Kayama was a bit weird. She'd only had her for like… two or three classes? Her in-class personality was totally different from what Haylee was seeing now, but in a good way that made her want to give the woman at least a chance. "Okay…"
"Let me know if I make you feel uncomfortable with what I'm asking. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, alright?" Nemuri said.
Haylee nodded.
"Now, what emotions do you feel right now?" She inquired.
Haylee chewed on the inside of her lip, an unsure frown on her face. "Embarrassed… angry, not at her though, at myself. I don't like running away from my problems." She huffed. "And my throat feels like there's a bunch of cotton in it."
"And how did it make you feel when she confessed to you?"
Haylee tensed, fingers digging into Natah's skin, which quickly became tougher as it adapted to the damage. "Confused… surprised, scared?" Her hands trembled. "I didn't… I didn't know she thought about me like that."
"Did you feel overwhelmed, in the moment?" Nemuri ventured.
"Mhm…" Haylee confirmed.
Natah gave her a soft pat on the head. "And now?"
"Better." Haylee relaxed, letting Natah pat her head more. "She likes me… do you think I made her upset by running away?" She realized how stupid that sounded. Of course, Lumine was upset. Running away after a heartfelt confession? She probably thought Haylee hated her. "What do I even say to her when I see her again?" She quickly added before either of the women could respond to her earlier question.
"Well, I guess that depends on how you feel. She likes you, do you like her?" Nemuri inquired. "In Japan, people tend to be more direct and formal when starting a relationship. Here, a confession, at least in most cases, comes first. If accepted, that's when the couple officially starts dating. In places like the U.S., people might casually date first—sometimes for weeks or months—before they ever have a conversation about exclusivity or deeper feelings."
Haylee hummed uncomfortably. "But… so… you accept or decline, right? If you feel the same way or not?"
Nemuri nodded. "That's right."
"How do I know if I do though…" Haylee whispered, barely audible. Her eyes darted between Nemuri and Natah. "I don't know… I don't know if I see her that way. I've never had those feelings before."
"Have you ever had a crush on someone before?" Natah asked, figuring Haylee would be more likely to answer her rather than Kayama.
"No…" She thought back to that one night with Uraraka. That was the first time she had even considered the prospect of dating, but she'd quickly discarded those thoughts. "I've never thought about being in a relationship with anyone. I had… other things to worry about." Some of the other Tenno had relationships with each other, but she'd never thought about it or attempted to get close to anyone else. After all, what was the point if everyone she ever cared about ended up dead sooner or later. It had been better to sever as many personal connections as she could to not feel that way again.
Not that it was easy to do, several people she helped still remained close. Darvo, the Solaris and Ostrons… the Entrati's had taken a shine to her as well.
And of course, Teshin. That one still stung.
She probably should've thought about it more. She was in high school now, surrounded by other teenagers. She at least had the self-awareness to know she was fairly good looking, the Orokin liked to keep their subjects pretty in case they had… use for them. It had been foolish to not assume someone might be interested in her.
'But why did it have to be one of my friends? It would be so much easier if it had been a stranger…' She exhaled sharply into Natah's shoulder, warming her shirt with a blast of hot air. "I just don't…"
"Don't what?" Nemuri prodded.
"I don't know if I'm…" Haylee's teeth clamped together, robotically forcing out the next part. "Emotionally capable of loving someone…"
'Oof.' That hit Nemuri right in the heart. Poor girl. She was in desperate need of a hug. Somehow, she sounded even more cynical about love than Shota did.
"Like…" Haylee continued an unsure look on her face. "I've never felt that way before. What's the difference between the way I love Natah and Ordan and Izuku and my… my parents… to this?" She huffed, frustrated.
"How does Midoriya make you feel?" Nemuri raised an eyebrow. He was the only outlier aside from Haylee's parents.
"Izuku is just… Izuku? When I think of him… I'm an only child… so he's like… the brother I never had. I can't imagine him being anything else." She shivered. Thinking of dating Izuku felt… squicky. She would protect that little dumbass with her life, but dating? She didn't feel anything special towards him. He was an honorary family, her best friend. "He's one of the only people I've ever been especially close to. I had a friend before then… but she isn't around anymore." She trailed off sadly. "But I treat Izuku the same way she treated me. Normal friend stuff like spending lots of time together, getting food, hanging out in our room, hugging…"
"Is that normal friend stuff from where you are from?" Nemuri asked skeptically.
"I mean, yeah? Jenva, that was her name, by the way, was my best friend before… well." She didn't want to elaborate on what happened after the Zariman Incident. "We did everything together. She was always waiting for me, asking if we could hang out after class, we shared food, and she would run over and hug me every time we greeted each other."
Oh boy. "Oh honey, I don't know how to put this, but that doesn't sound like something that normal friends do." Nemuri stifled a chuckle. The look she got in response could only be described as a 'surprised Pikachu face'.
"Wha… bu-" Haylee stammered. "That's… people do that, right?" Her head snapped back to Natah. "Right?"
Natah had very little experience with the intricacies of human courting, but from what she understood about Orokin-era culture… "Not to my knowledge, no."
And with that, Haylee's mind shut down and rebooted within the span of several seconds, jaw hanging open.
Wait.
Wait.
Waitwaitwait.
Jenva wouldn't… did she…
But that was what….
No! Seriously?
Did Jenva have a crush on her that entire time?
Oh.
She did, didn't she?
"Oh my fucking god." Haylee grabbed at her hair, teetering back and forth in Natah's lap. In that moment, a memory she'd long repressed due to the trauma that followed. The way Jenva blushed when they met, wanting to talk to her about something…
Her best friend had been in love with her. How was she supposed to feel about that?
"Oh my god…" She repeated. "Am I stupid? What else have I missed?" This recontextualized everything Lumine had tried to do in the past few months. Looking back, unless she was entirely wrong on the timetable, Lumine had been flirting with her.
Wait.
If what Jenva had been doing was because she was in love with Haylee… wasn't that how she was treating Izuku ever since they grew closer? Haylee's face turned as red as Kirishima's hair and shot out of Natah's lap, landing stomach-first on the floor with a loud mortified screech. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" She rolled around on the floor, hands covering her shame to hide it from whatever higher power still existed in this world.
"Is she?" Natah asked, concerned.
"Give it a moment." Nemuri cautioned.
After a minute of flailing Haylee rolled onto her back, groaning as she stared at the ceiling. How void-damned embarrassing was that? Fuck, did Izuku think she was just toying with him that whole time? That was going to haunt her thoughts for a while now. She needed to apologize to him asap because apparently, she was a colossal dumbass.
Okay, aside from that… apparently Jenva had feelings for her. Haylee really wished she hadn't realized that a thousand fucking years later though. That begged the question, what would her answer be if Jenva asked her all those years ago?
Did she even like girls? Did she even like people? How in the ever-loving hell was she supposed to know?
"Ms. Kayama?" Haylee groaned. "How do you know if you are attracted to someone?"
The R-Rated heroine clicked her tongue. "That is… not an easy question. It's not going to be the same for everyone. Sexual and romantic orientations are a spectrum, and that doesn't even cover personal preference. But, as an example, I'm attracted to both men and women in both ways, though I prefer men."
Haylee sat up and scooted back over to Natah, deep in thought. One good thing (a rare sentence) she could say about the Orokin is that they didn't discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It was easy when the nobles could swap bodies, it was as easy as changing clothes with the horrible power of Kuva. Granted, they found about a thousand other ways to discriminate and abuse people, but that was beside the point. She was getting off track and pissed off just thinking about the long-armed blue motherfuckers. Where was she? Oh, right.
Thanks to that, the idea of being well, potentially gay, or bi, or pan or… whatever. It had never been relevant to her identity to even consider the prospect until now. It just didn't bother her, more like…
Was she?
What did she like?
Izuku was a no-go, she didn't feel anything for him aside from familial love. Did she like boys? The other boys in their class didn't make her feel any way especially, she could at least tell from an aesthetic standpoint that they were probably attractive to most people.
Okay, girls. Did she like girls? She definitely wasn't interested in boys. Vaguely, she remembered thinking that Hagakure had looked pretty a few days ago, but like… girls called each other pretty as a compliment all the time, right? Ashido called Hagakure pretty after seeing her for the first time too.
Her heart felt kind of warm thinking about it. Okay, so she thought girls were pretty, but not like in a… romantic way. Was it just her imagination then? People could be pretty, and she was a girl, so she might just be biased.
But how did she feel about Lumine, the girl she was closest to? Haylee pictured the blonde in her mind, how she felt when she was around. What did that kind of love feel like?
"Your clothes look cute today."
That day, barely a memory in her mind, came back to her. At the time, it had been such a minor sensation that she barely paid it any mind, but her heart had skipped a beat. The image of Lumine in her mind turned toward her, hair blowing in the wind. Then, she waved at Haylee and smiled. Haylee felt a warm sensation spread over her chest, pleasant, like a breath of fresh air on a sunny day. 'Cute…'
Nemuri watched Haylee, the girl silently staring at her knees, deep in thought. The only movements Haylee made were the slow rise and fall of her chest and several microscopic twitches in her eyes.
Suddenly, Haylee's eyes widened and her cheeks turned the slightest bit pink.
"Oh." She whispered, just loud enough for Nemuri to hear.
Immediately Haylee wanted to sock herself in the face, because what kind of reaction was that? She felt like this should be like, a life-changing realization… but all she could muster was a pitiful "Oh"?
Shouldn't this like, be some sort of profound revelation? She might be a lesbian. Isn't discovering something about yourself like that supposed to be a huge, super-important moment? Was she overthinking this?
"Mom?" Haylee looked up at Natah, eyes wide. "I think I might be gay."
Natah nodded, extending a hand to pull Haylee up, wrapping her daughter in her arms. "No matter what, I'll support you."
Haylee's eyes teared up, and she embraced Natah hard enough to lightly trigger her adaptation quirk. "Thank you, mom."
"Aw…." Nemuri cooed.
Haylee wiped her eyes on her sleeve, turning to bow to Nemuri. "And, uh, thank you for helping me, Ms. Kayama. I'm sorry for dragging you into my problems."
"Oh Tenno, it's no trouble at all. If you ever need someone to talk to, my door is always open. If I'm not here, Hound Dog is always free to see any students as well." Nemuri smiled.
Haylee's lip trembled. "T-thank you!" She gulped, slightly overcome with emotion.
"What are you going to do now?" Natah asked.
"I think I need to… I need to go and find Lumine and apologize for how I acted, and then… figure out where to go from there?" Haylee replied nervously, hand by her heart. "I think… I might want to give it a shot, and make sure that it's really how I feel. I need… I need to make sure." She paused. "How do I know if I'm sure?"
"Oh honey," Nemuri sat down on the table. "We can't answer that for you. There are things we can help you with, but your emotions are your own. There isn't a magical way we can tell if you are gay or not. That is something you need to figure out by yourself."
Natah glanced at her, slightly confused but remained silent.
"But what if…" Haylee's shuffled her feet nervously. "What if I'm just mistaken about all of this?"
"You're young, if it doesn't work out it won't be the end of the world," Nemuri reassured her. "When I was around your age, I did a lot of self-discovery about who I was and who I wanted to be with." She sighed a far-off look of nostalgia in her eyes. "Some of it didn't work out, and of course, you're only in high school. You might have one person you stick with, or find someone else later… but if you do find the one… treasure them." For a moment, sadness flickered across her face.
"Okay…" Haylee took a deep breath. "Thank, you, again."
==VI==
"Ahhhh… youth!" Nemuri beamed after Haylee departed. "Blooming romance, a time for self-discovery and experimentation." She squealed like an excited schoolgirl.
"You seem happy," Natah noted.
"Well, I'll be happier if it all works out for her," Nemuri smiled warmly. "I hope I didn't overstep or anything, but you looked like you needed help."
"It's fine… I'm not- good at that sort of thing." Natah looked away, ashamed. "I've never… felt any sort of attraction to anyone, sexual or otherwise. I wasn't sure how to help her with something I don't understand. I'm not like her… I have no desire to engage in a relationship."
"Aroace?" Nemuri guessed.
"I believe that is the term." Natah nodded. "My father is the same way."
"Are you adopted?" Nemuri asked. Mr. Tau, from what she remembered, didn't look like Natah at all.
"No," Natah shook her head. "It's… my family is complicated and messy. I'd rather not get into it at all." She pursed her lips, looking like she wanted to say something. "Back then, you said there wasn't any way to tell if she was gay… you told me that your quirk works better on those attracted to women, wouldn't that help?"
"Ah…" Nemuri nodded curtly. "You aren't the first person to ask that. While it's true that Somnambulist works better on those attracted to women more effectively, usually men, it's not what I would call an… exact science." She drummed her fingers on the table for a moment as Natah sat down to take a drink. "Here's an example, and I'm phrasing this as a general question just so you know. Tau, do you find me attractive?" Nemuri asked, raising an eyebrow.
Natah, caught completely off guard by the question, choked on her tea and immediately shapeshifted her airway to re-direct it to her stomach. "Pardon?"
"Do you find my attractive?" She repeated.
Natah stared at Nemuri, wide-eyed. "I suppose that from a… erm, you are what I would consider to be... conventionally attractive?" She said hesitantly. "If my goal was to attract someone, then I assume that most of the population would find your body to be... aesthetically pleasing?"
"You sound like a robot when you say that." Nemuri giggled. "There's no need to be so formal."
Natah pursed her lips but said nothing.
"But anyway, you find me attractive but you aren't sexually or romantically attracted to me, correct?" Nemuri inquired.
"Indeed." She confirmed.
"Which means it's likely that my quirk would have increased effectiveness against you. My quirk technically works on everyone, but attractiveness is subjective. It just so happens that my quirk favors the statistically higher sample size." She shrugged. "Effectiveness may vary, I've had a gay guy get knocked out instantly, and people I know are straight taking up to a minute to pass out."
"I see."
"And if I used it as some sort of supposed 'gaydar'" she airquoted. "That is a line I don't want to tread. Like I said, I can't decide other people's feelings for them. Using my quirk like that would be incredibly irresponsible at best, manipulative at worst."
Natah looked uncomfortable now. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" She slumped over, voice wracked with guilt. "Does that make me a bad mother for suggesting it?"
"Oh Tau," Nemuri crouched down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "She's your daughter, and you just want to help her understand herself, right?"
"She hasn't had an easy life… so I thought, maybe that would help?" Natah nodded.
"Then if you only wanted to help, it's fine, you didn't know." Nemuri counseled. "It's not like you wanted to force her to change the way she thinks or feels."
"Mmmm…" Natah nodded slowly. "You're very good at this, Kayama."
"Well, I'm not just a pretty face." She joked. "I spend a lot of time helping with trauma victims. As an underground hero, I deal with some pretty nasty people sometimes. Victims of child abuse, sexual assault, witnesses to violent crimes, or people who have a mental breakdown and lose control of their quirk. Sometimes I just have to use my quirk to knock them out harmlessly, but other times… you need to talk to them, comfort them."
"Huh…"
"Yeah… most people don't know that about me, but then again… it's not really on brand for me." Nemuri smirked.
"Well, I think that what you do is very important, Ms. Kayama." Natah stated. "So, thank you." She hesitated. "Do you think Haylee will be alright now?"
"Well, you will just have to wait and see. This is unexplored territory for her, right?"
"Yes."
"I'm not a mother, but… I think that's just part of her growing up. Sure, she might stumble and mess up, but that's what we are here for, either as her teacher, or her parent. Just being there for her, even if you don't understand her feelings is enough."
"Ordan probably would've been the better person for her to talk to." Natah speculated. "But… I'll try my best."
"And if you need anything, all you have to do is ask." Nemuri patted her on the shoulder.
==VI==
The only thing Haylee could think to do was retrace her steps. It had been about an hour. The chances that Lumine was still in that hallway were low. Maybe she went back to class. Her heart raced as she rounded the corner, immediately spotting Lumine sitting on the floor with Ordan.
Lumine locked eyes with her, stopping mid-sentence. Her breath hitched, caught in her mouth.
"... hey." Haylee tugged at her hair awkwardly. "I'm suh… sorry for running off earlier."
Ordan stood up and glanced between the two girls. "I'm just going to head down a few halls, and give you some privacy." He stopped next to Haylee and ruffled her hair. "You alright?" He asked quickly.
"Mhm… Ms. Kayama and Natah helped me… work it out." Haylee gulped nervously. "I think… I think I've got it now."
"Alright, if you want to later, we can talk about it." Ordan poked her in the cheek. "Love you."
"Love you too." Haylee hugged him quickly.
Then, they were alone. The air was heavy, neither daring to approach the other.
"I'm sorry I-" "Lumine I-" they both attempted to break the silence simultaneously, blushing.
Haylee gulped, breath shaky and uneven. She stopped, giving Lumine a quiet nod to continue.
"Haylee… I'm sorry I sprung that on you. It… it wasn't fair to do that to you." She apologized. "I just… I hope this doesn't ruin what we had… our friendship."
"It won't…" Haylee said abruptly. "Uhm, I still want to be friends. I just… what you said back then, I didn't really know how to-" She bit her lip, struggling to find the words. "Fucking… it was a lot to process, and I kinda just… shut down."
A beat.
"And then I ran away and just left you here, so I'm sorry I did that." She scratched the back of her head, avoiding Lumine's gaze. "I just needed time to come to terms with what you said. I'm not… good with intense emotions, which is ironic considering my quirk requires me to keep them in line."
"I just… I hit you with that out of nowhere. I didn't want to tell you like that." Lumine's cheeks flushed.
They stared at each other.
"So what do we do from here?" Lumine questioned. "If you don't feel the same way, that's fine. I just… I still care about you."
Haylee swallowed the lump in her throat. "I… I don't know. I had time to think… I'd never put much thought into stuff like this before. I don't know if this is something I want out of life…" She had worries. If she did want a relationship with Lumine, eventually she would have to come clean about her past. "I've never… felt like that before, but… I'm not-" Her breath came out in stuttered gasps. "I'm not opposed to giving it a try?" She finished hesitantly.
"You mean…" Lumine held her breath. "Do you… feel the same way?"
"Well, I… I'm not sure. I've never felt…" She waved her hands around. "Like this before. We've been friends for a while now, and I care about you a lot. Plus uhm… I think that you are, erm, very pretty." Haylee blushed, tugging at one of her bangs bashfully. "So if that's okay with you, I'm not against giving whatever this is a shot."
Lumine's heart felt like it was about to burst with joy. It started awfully, and she was sure she'd completely fumbled her confession but it worked out in the end. "So… I guess we're dating now."
"Yeah." Haylee smacked her lips. "So uh… what now? I've never dated anyone before."
"Neither have I." Lumine seconded.
"Do you just want to like, play it by ear and see how it goes?" Haylee suggested.
"I mean, I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anything. We can take it slow if you'd like." Lumine proposed.
"Sounds good." Haylee nodded. "So, do we like, hug or some-" Lumine grabbed Haylee by the tie, pulling her towards her. She let out an adorable squeak of surprise.
"C'mere, you big dummy," Lumine smirked, wrapping her arms around Haylee in a quick hug. Haylee's body stiffened at the unexpected hug, straight as a pencil.
"Uhm, not that I didn't… like that, but can you ask next time?" Haylee fidgeted, pink tinting her cheeks.
Lumine turned beet red. "Ohmigod… I'm sorry! I just said we would take it at your pace and then I just-" She started to stammer just like Izuku when he got nervous.
Haylee flicked her on the forehead. "Oi, it's fine, I was just surprised."
"... we really are disasters, aren't we?" Lumine snorted after a brief moment of reflection.
"... no comment." Haylee blushed.
"We should probably get back to class now, shouldn't we?" Lumine coughed awkwardly. "I'll uh, see you after school?" She pressed her index fingers together, awkwardly fidgeting.
"Yeah, see you then." They parted ways, hearts beating rapidly.
It was only when Haylee was halfway to the classroom that her mind finally caught up to her body. She clutched at her heart. 'Holy crap… I have a girlfriend…'
==VI==
Now this wouldn't do at all. The Vestige of the Wall's fist balled up, punching the pulsating flesh it sat upon. "Love, what does she think she's doing?"
Ever since Haylee came to this world, she'd formed more and more attachments. Distractions. She didn't need them, she didn't need anyone! She was squandering her potential to play hero with ants. If only she would embrace her power, how much fun could have to toy with the mortals, turn them into puppets dancing to her tune, making them fight, laugh, and scream for her, like its original incarnation had with the adults on the Zariman.
The worst part was, it could feel her emotions seeping into the shared mental realm. It was suffocating, emotions being sucked into its hollow vessel like a sponge. It noticed that it had become more moody, temperamental even.
"What do you think, Umbra?" It flashed the Warframe a smile, hiding its unease under a mask of sinister delight. "How long will this 'love' of hers last?" It was only a matter of time before Haylee broke again, and when she did, it would be glorious.
Umbra growled from the hallway it was hiding behind, eyeing the intrusive fragment with seething contempt.
"Oh, always the downer, aren't you Mr. Killed-your-son." It taunted. "Go along, scurry off, and do whatever it is you do."
==========================VI==========================
LETS GOOOOOO! It only took 400k words lmao. Haylee may be immune to pain, but she isn't immune to **EMOTIONAL DAAAAAAAMAGE**
