Chapter Text
Mezu Junior High. While it was a low-budget school in a sketchy area of Tokyo, it was usually filled with eager chatter and nice people. The teachers weren't the best, but the students were kind. Their field consisted of half-dead grass and a few large stone rocks, but you could always count on about 50 kids playing some sort of tag game, a game that even the outcasts could join.
By the beginning of Riemi's third year of school at this particular school, she was considered more outcast than most, but these people would always allow her to join in with their games.
And, for that, she was grateful for those people. Even if she rarely played with them.
Riemi wasn't a shy person, but she was quiet. She had always been quiet, but for most of the prior year and for the beginning of the current one, she was more quiet than usual.
Mezu Junior High didn't have difficult classes, so it wasn't a struggle for someone like her to get high grades in each of her subjects.
Well, it was a struggle sometimes, juggling her patrols and the work she had to do for her group, but she usually got everything done.
Her third year at Mezu had just begun. It was early March, and leaves were just returning to the trees. It was colder than all hell, made worse for Riemi, who was sensitive to temperatures. But she survived. She always did.
The school day wasn't horrible; her teachers were still going over the rules for the year, what they would be doing as in projects. And some pre-forecasting for high school, of course.
Everyone wanted to go to UA High. Riemi was no different, but she when she was given her forecasting sheet, she didn't fill it out at the moment.
Her grades were high, her fighting skills were impressive, and she promised her friends that she'd meet them there.
But it would involve talking to her aunt again, and fuck that.
When the final bell rang that day, Riemi blended in with her schoolmates, trying not to listen in on their conversations.
She knew a lot of them. Not personally, but she knew their names. Most of them knew her, too. The rumors that spread in their previous year made people remember her.
But none of them hated her, which was nice.
Well, there was two exceptions, but they had a reason to not like her.
As she started her treck back to her home, raindrops began to fall from the sky. She rolled her eyes, scanning the area for a familiar building where she could wait the storm out.
While going back to her home would be smarter, it was going to rain and she didn't have anything warm. A nice little hole in the wall could keep her warm.
Riemi was far from the richest person, but she enjoyed the simple pleasures in life. Like resting in holes formed by aged concrete and villains being villains.
The nearest building was one of her favorites to rest in.
Running inside, she stretched her hands forward and shot webs at the hole where she planned on sleeping. Swinging towards the spot, she crawled into her hole, tucking her worn messenger bag under her head.
She wasn't planning on sleeping. That was impossible. But closing her eyes and relaxing was something she needed to do more often.
The rain helped calm her down, and she drifted off, her mind edging on sleep.
Then, there was movement in the building.
Riemi didn't know how much time had passed, since it was still dark from the rain, but it was obviously darker. She sat up the best she could and dug in her bag for her knife, ready to defend herself if the newcomers were dangerous.
Creeping near the entrance of the hole, she tied her knotted blonde hair back and watched carefully.
Five people had entered the building. She couldn't see them, but with her enhanced hearing, she could hear them perfectly. Judging by the sound of their footsteps and their voices, they were members of a gang. She knew the gang, but couldn't remember the name.
She crawled forward, ready to deal with the gang herself. They weren't a very dangerous gang, but they were still doing very illegal stuff.
But there was another person coming into the building.
At first, she assumed it was the sixth member of the gang, but it didn't make sense. The gang had been running away from something, and this person must have been who they were running from.
Which meant that they were probably dangerous.
With her knife at the ready, she crept closer.
The next person to enter the building was obviously not a gang member or a normal villain. She could hear his outfit; leather, with combat boots hitting the concrete. No villain wore leather, and few wore combat boots.
"Seems like you guys're in a tight spot, yo." The leather-wearing man sounded vaguely familiar, but Riemi knew he wasn't a bad guy.
Maybe a pro hero? What would a pro hero be doing here? A vigilante, maybe? That seems a bit more accurate.
One of the gang members activated her quirk, allowing light to fill the area. With this light, Riemi was able to see the possible vigilante.
Her asumptions on his outfit were correct; a tight leather outfit with combat boots hidden under his pants. He also had a tight speaker-thing around his neck, and his hair was gelled into a long spike.
Definetly a pro hero.
Riemi didn't like pro heroes. Out of all of the shit she'd gone through, all of the times that she nearly died because of gangs and bad guys, only once did a hero save her, and that was when she was a little kid. She couldn't even remember who they were.
The gang tried to escape from the building through the back, but the pro used what Riemi assumed was his quirk to stop them.
A loud screetch, one of the loudest things she had ever heard, came from him, causing the second floor to crumble on top of the gang members. Riemi covered her ears, flintching and smacking her head on the wall above her.
The concrete around her shuttered with the shockwaves. She grabbed her messenger bag, ready to get out of her hole if it became dangerous.
Damnit, you stupid pro hero. Can't you control your voice better?
The pro climbed over the destroyed second floor, getting into a fight with the gang members. Since they were far away from the entrance of the building, Riemi took the chance and climbed out of her hole.
Knife in her hand, she watched and listened to the fight as best she could in the dark and with her now-damaged hearing, damaged by the pro's loud quirk.
One of the gang members noticed her, and shot a shock bolt at her. She heard it as it came, blocking the bolt with her knife.
She accidently aimed the bolt back at the man who shot it at her, and it knocked him out. Muttering a curse, she glanced at the pro hero.
Since the shock guy was the last guy to be left, it was just her and the pro that were consious. Riemi lowered her knife, dropping it in her bag.
"I don't remember their being a sixth person." The pro sighed, messing with his speaker. "Well, ya can't run from me."
Before he could use his quick, she shouted, "Wait, sir! I'm not with them!"
"Are you? Then why are you here?"
She glanced around, wanting to get out there as soon as she could. "I was taking a nap in here, and you woke me up."
One of the gang members was getting on their feet. It was the woman with the light quirk, and she lit up the room.
Now, seeing her face better, Riemi could remember her name. Aka Hiru, leader of whatever gang they were running.
Hiru recognized Riemi's face, and stumbled back, the light flickering in the building. "Wha...you're here?"
The pro glanced from Riemi to Hiru, eventually turning to face Hiru while blocking Riemi from her. He just make a little screech, and Hiru was knocked out again.
It hurt Riemi's ears even more, but she could still hear. A little bit.
"Alright, listener, what's the deal?" The pro looked back at her, the light in the building gone with Hiru's consiousness. "You know that woman?"
"I've never met her, but I know her name. Aka Hiru." Riemi flicked the space near her ear. Her hearing was low, but she could hear the pro hero decently. "Now, sir, if that's all, I should-"
"You know this gang?"
She rolled her eyes. Something told her that she wasn't going home for awhile. "I know of this gang. I can't remember their name, but I know of them. They're small, not all that dangerous, just a bunch of idiots."
"Well, if you know anything about them, then I'll need to take you to the station. The police have been searching for these guys for awhile, and any information'll help."
"You have them, why do you need more information?"
"So we can know just how dangerous they are. Mind comin' with me?"
Riemi sighed, looking down at her uniform. He clearly hadn't seen it yet, or realized how young she was.
She wasn't supposed to listen to strangers. That usually meant a lot of pain on her end.
But she didn't have anything better to do.
"Okay, I'll come with you."
"Alright!" His voice rose, and she covered her ears to try and protect them. "My agency's not too far, mind if we walk there, listener?"
"Sure, that works."
"Well, follow me! The police'll deal with these guys."
She followed him closely, keeping an eye on him and their surroundings. It was still pouring rain, and she could feel her uniform getting soaked.
So much for keeping it dry. It's not gonna help my image.
"What's your name, listener?" The pro asked after a bit.
"Mai Riemisho. Just call me Riemi." She pulled her arms out of her sleeves, hugging them to her chest. "What hero are you?"
"Present Mic! It's great to meet you, Riemi!"
He sounded too eager for her tired, muted state.
"So, what were you doin' in that building, Riemi? Seems like a bad place to take a nap."
"It's a great place to take a nap. Where I live...is pretty loud and busy all the time, so I don't really get any time to rest."
"Still, doesn't seem like it'd be comfortable. Not a good home life, or just a bunch of people?"
She shrugged, even though he couldn't see. "A bunch of people, I guess. I don't blame them, there's so many of us and we all have things we need to get done. They try, but some things can't be helped."
"How many people you living with?"
She thought about it for a second. "I don't live in a house. It's more of a shelter. So there's...about a hundred of us. A lot of kids, teens, not enough adults to handle them. So it gets pretty loud."
"Shelter? What kind?"
"Homeless shelter. Well, move of just a bunch of homeless people who banded together." Normally, she didn't like talking about her living situation, but she liked educating people about these things.
"Oh."
His reaction was about what she expected. Just silence and pity, but no action used to help.
What else would she expect?
It took a couple minutes until they got to what she assumed was Present Mic's agency was. He guided her inside, greeting the people in the main room.
"I'm going to ta-wait, you're a student?" He finally realized that she was a teen as they were walking down one of the hallways. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You never asked. And yes, I am. Third year of middle school."
Present Mic blinked under his sunglasses. "I guess I didn't. Well, my young listener, we'll deal with that after you talk to the detective! Let's go."
She just nodded, following him down the hallway. Her shoes, tight on her feet and rubbing blisters on the backs of them, barely made a noise on the metal floor.
It was freezing in the building. Her soaked uniform jacket did nothing to keep her warm, and hugging her arms to her chest did little to help. Her skirt stuck to her torn leggings, making her walking a bit awkward.
Thankfully, it didn't take them long to find the detective. Since Riemi didn't know much on the gang, she just gave him the names of everyone and roughly were they were (or, had been) located. And the fact that they were probably apart of some drug chain, but whether it was normal drugs or trigger drugs, she didn't know.
Once the detective wrote down what she knew, he asked her a few questions about herself.
"So, Miss Riemisho, how old are you?"
"Fourteen."
He nodded. "Do you live with your parents?"
She shook her head. "They're dead, sir."
"Oh, my apologies. When did they die?"
"When I was six. House fire."
"A horrible fate. Where do you live currently? With family?"
She shook her head again. "I don't live with anyone, sir."
"Well, where have you been living? Is it around here?"
"Yes. In an abandoned building. I can walk myself back." She assumed that's where the conversation was heading.
The detective tapped his pencil on the table, an annoying habit he seemed to have. "Well...is there someone you're supposed to be living with?"
"My aunt, but I can't."
"Why not?"
"She won't let me."
The detective nodded again. "Do you have any other family in Tokyo?"
"No."
"Any other family in Japan?"
"Yes, but I don't remember where they live."
The detective stood up from his chair. "Well, why don't we go figure it out, Miss Riemisho?"
"It's alright, sir. I don't want to waste your time, I'm fine living where I am."
"I'm afraid I can't let a minor leave the agency unacompanied. Why don't you give me your family's names, and while I search them up, you get something to eat from the cafeteria? You look like you could do with a good meal."
She nodded, standing up from her chair. While she really, really didn't want to do that, she knew when she lost a fight. Anyway, it was late, she doubted her other aunt and uncle would pick up.
The detective handed her a piece of paper and a pencil. "Write down any names you can remember."
Riemi scribbled down the two names she could recall. Almost all of the family on her mom's side lived in America, besides the aunt that she was supposed to be living with.
Her dad's side was a different story.
Most of the people that side of the family were dead. Her grandparents, her uncle, and her dad, of course. The only people alive were her aunt, her aunt's husband, and her cousin.
Just looking at her aunt's name was strange. They hadn't seen each other since her parent's funeral.
"Mitsuki Bakugo?" The detective said as he took the paper from her. "I'll see if I can't find her, Miss Riemisho. Hey, Mic?"
Present Mic was still nearby, talking to another pro that worked at the agency. "Yo, what's up?"
"Can you take Miss Riemisho to the cafeteria and get her something to eat? I need to see if I can get in contact with a relative of hers."
"Sure!"
Riemi bowed her head to the detective. "Thank you, sir."
"Thank you for the information on the gang."
They exited the interrigation room, and she followed Present Mic to the cafeteria. She didn't say anything, too lost in her mind to answer questions.
It's late, will Aunt Mitsuki answer? Will she care? What if they can't find her? What if she and Uncle Masaru died already? What if they left Japan? Would they let me go back to the group? Will I have to escape?
She didn't want to go to her aunt, even if she loved her dearly. Her home was with her group, and they needed her to protect them. She needed to protect them, and she couldn't do that while not in Tokyo.
"Yo, listener, you listening?"
She blinked, taking in her surroundings. They were in the cafeteria. She must have spaced out. "No, sorry."
"Anything in particular you want?"
She shook her head. "I don't care."
"Alright. Allergic to anything?"
"Peppermint. Mint, in general, maybe."
"Don't think that'll be a problem but I'll keep an eye out! Go sit down."
She nodded, still hugging her arms as she found a table to sit at. The cafeteria was small, but the heroes that were there polietly didn't watch her.
Now that some of her hearing had recovered from Present Mic's attack earlier, she could hear their conversations. All wondering who she was.
It was almost a surprise to her that they didn't already know, but they probably didn't interrigate villains for their information often. To them, she was probably just some scrawy kid with knotted hair, scarred skin, four extra legs and six extra eyes.
Which was fine. Better than fine. She didn't want anyone to bother her.
As she sat down, she tugged her drying jacket around her shoulders, trying to stay warm. It was still cold in the stupid building.
The cold wasn't unusuall, but it was annoying.
Eventually, Present Mic found the table she was at, holding a plate of food for her. It was a ramen bowl with slices of meat, eggs, and vegetables floating in the broth.
"Thank you, sir." She said, accepting the bowl and chopsticks from him.
"Just call me Mic, kid." He sat down across from her, checking his phone. "So, ya like the agency?"
"It's cold."
"Isn't it? Running the heater so high is expensive, so we're stuck with it. So, got a favorite hero, Riemi?"
She stirred through the bowl, picking up a small amount of noddles. "No."
"Aww, really? C'mon, can't think of one cool one?"
Swallowing the noddles on her chopsticks, she replied, "No. I haven't cared about that stuff since I was a kid."
"Tough sport." He sighed, typing something on his phone. "So, ya got any plans for high school? I know it's just the beginning of your last year of middle school, but it's never to early to start planning!"
She shrugged, biting into a piece of meat. As someone who only really ate school food, this food tasted amazing, but she didn't want to seem greedy and eat it super fast. "I want to go to UA High, but I doubt I could make it in."
"Well, what a coincidence!" His voice rose a bit, but he made an effort to lower it once he saw her flinch. "I happen to teach there! The best English teacher you'll ever find! What makes you think ya can't make it? You seem pretty brave, for fourteen."
"My school is poor, and we have a bad ciriculum. I don't think I'll learn enough to be able to pass the exams." She took another bite. "Bravery only gets you part of the way. You need to be smart."
"I'm sure you could figure something out, listener. That's an important part to being a hero; defeating the odds and coming out on top!"
She just shrugged again.
Present Mic tried to keep the coversation going, but she wasn't the best at small talk. She just wanted to finish her ramen and go home, make up some cool story that the kids would love about her encounter with a real pro hero.
They always loved her stories, even if they were mostly false.
When she was about half-way done with her ramen (it was a big bowl and she couldn't eat much), the detective from earlier appeared, a slightly distressed look on his face.
"I'm sorry, Miss Riemisho, but I couldn't get in contact with your aunt or your uncle. They must have changed their numbers but haven't registered them yet." He explained, sitting a seat away from her. "I looked at your profile, and it said you're supposed to be living with someone named Faith Saninu. Is she your other aunt?"
Riemi stared at her ramen bowl. Hearing the name filled her with disgust. "Yes. But you can't send me there, she won't let me stay."
"Do you know why?"
"I dunno. It's been...years since I saw her." Brushing some loose strands of hair back, she sighed. "I'm fine on my own, sir. Trust me, I've lived on my own for years. I know what I'm doing."
"I'm sorry, but I can't. Can you think of anyone else?"
She shook her head.
The detective glanced at Present Mic. "Mic, I know this is a lot to ask of you, but-"
"Nah, it's fine, 'Giri, already asked Shota and he's fine with it."
She glanced at them, raising her chopsticks to take another bite of noddles.
Present Mic grinned to her. "So, little listener, like I said before, I'm an English teacher at UA Hihg. My boyfriend's a teacher there, too. We keep the spare room in our apartment avaliable for students, in case a problem arises. I already asked him, and he's cool with it. So, whadda say about staying there until we can figure somethin' out?"
She blinked, lowering her head a bit. "Where do you live?"
"Nearby, in the same district, even. It shouldn't be too hard to get to school and back, if it takes that long."
"I..." she cursed herself for letting her facade crack, and took a deep breath, trying to regain her composer. "I don't want to be a bother."
"Trust me, listener, it's hard to be a bother for us. We deal with bratty teens yearly, and you're nowhere near as bratty as them."
"And it should just be for a day or two," the detective added, standing back up. "I'll see if I can't get in contact with Miss Bakugo another way."
She sighed. There wasn't any way to get out of this without just straight out escaping, which was tempting. But they knew her school, so it would be pointless. "Alright."
"Awesome! Once you finish eating, listener, we'll get going."
"Have a good night, Miss Riemisho." The detective told her. "I'll do my best to get in contact with someone. Thank you, Mic."
"Ya know us, 'Giri, Sho' and I are always pickin' up strays."
"Yes, but this isn't just another cat."
"Meaning it's much more important that we do this!"
Both men laughed, and the detective left the cafeteria. Riemi stood up, holding the bowl and chopsticks. "I'm not hungry, where can I take care of this?"
"There's a garbage can over there-" he pointed across the room. "-and I'll see ya at the entrance, alright?"
Nodding, she hurried over to the garbage, making sure to clean the bowl as much as she could before setting it with the other dishes.
Pushing her arms through her uniform's sleeves, she sped-walked back to Present Mic, who was typing on his phone again, probably texting his boyfriend.
Why was he being so nice? She's just a poor little teenager. To him, at least. There was more to her than just her social status, of course.
"We don't have to walk this time, I brought my car." He was still grinning, it was getting annoying.
She didn't respond, just messed with her bag strap. Her books were probably soaked, but they'd dry, right?
When they found Present Mic's car, in one of the freezing underground lots, she was told to sit in the front, so she did.
It was her first time in a car since...she was twelve. It hadn't been since the last time she went camping with her old friends since she had. Over two years.
Present Mic turned on the heater and the radio, keeping the volume relativily low. "You're sensitive to noise, right?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?" She cursed herself again; her voice was soft and sleepy, not the firm and dull she forced herself to use.
"Saw it in your eyes when I used my quirk. Sorry about that, I'm not great at controlling it."
"That's alright."
She leaned her head against the window. She hated being in cars, but it had been fun when she had her friends. Now, it was fading back into her hatred of them.
What she loved was running places. Swinging from building to building, jumping from trees, doing reckless jumps that always scared the shit out of people and then pulling herself up on a well-placed web.
Cars felt weird, and she usually had to be in them longer than she had to in trains, so that made them worse.
"Falling asleep?" Present Mic asked, his voice kept quiet, probably for her own comfort.
"No." She was tired, beyond tired, but she wouldn't be able to sleep. Not around strangers, especially ones that had already helped her a lot. No need to risk causing more problems.
"Shota - my boyfriend, he's finding you something warm that might fit you. I understand that we're just strangers to you, but we just want to help, promise."
"I know." Her breath was fogging up the glass. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I like helping kids out." The car stopped before a stoplight. "Are you allergic to cats, by any chance?"
"No."
"Good. We have three of them, they're the cutest things ever. So, you're just allergic to mint stuff?"
"Yes."
It was silent for awhile, and Riemi could feel herself drifting off, like she had in the building. She didn't want to sleep, but it had been...what, two days since she had? Maybe three? Maybe it was only one. She didn't pay attention. She did her patrol the night prior, and the night before that, so it was at least two days.
Her sleeping schedual was absolute shit. But that was fine.
She didn't realize that they had stopped until the car stopped. She had to blink to focus back on the world around her.
"Riemi?"
"I'm awake, just spaced out." She rubbed her eyes, clicking the buckle and grabbing her bag.
She followed Present Mic up into the apartment complex, following him silently. The rare person that was in the area stared at her, and it took a lot of willpower to not glare back.
They're not gang members or villains, they're just curious. Don't be a jackass.
When Present Mic stopped in front of a door, she paused, too, looking at the number on the door. It might be useful to remember it, so she did.
2-18.
Present Mic held the door open for her, and when she walked in, she saw the man who she assumed was his boyfriend.
A tall man, with pale skin and messy black hair. His eyes looked dry and tired, and she felt guilty for being there, probably keeping him awake.
"So, you're the kid Hizashi told me about?" The man held out his hand. "Shota Aizawa."
"Mai Riemisho. I go by Riemi." She shook it, hovering her fingers over his hand so it didn't stick.
"Bathroom's the first door on the right over there. There's a t-shirt and some sweatpants in there, but you might want to keep your uniform shirt on until I can fix up a better shirt for you." He stepped back, nodding towards the hallway. "Take a shower, brush your hair, whatever you need to do. You'll be staying in the room on the left, second door. While your here, you can eat whatever's here, just be causious of your allergy. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask."
She nodded. "Thank you, Aizawa-san."
"Just call me Aizawa, kid. Set your bag down by the door, your shoes too."
She complied, setting her damp bag near her shoes, which were a struggle to get off. For once, she was glad she was wearing socks; she normally didn't. Not because she couldn't afford to, she just didn't like to.
First door on the right. Riemi thought, walking into the hallway as the adults greeted each other. There were two normal doors and two slidey doors, one of each on each side. The normal door was probably the bathroom.
Carefully, she opened it, feeling for a lightswitch.
The bathroom was rather small; a sink, the largest mirror that could possibly fit over it, a toilet against one wall and the small tub/shower across from it.
A similar layout to the ones that her friends had.
Despite it being a strange place, she almost felt at home.
Shutting and locking the door behind her, she shook her head.
This wasn't home. Just a place to sleep at until the detective could realize that no one wanted her, so she could go back to the streets and go back to protecting and helping her group.
She took off her jacket, folding it and setting it on the toilet seat. Next came her school shirt, and as she took it off, she caught her reflextion in the mirror.
Scars across her shoulders, chest, and stomach, a scar on her crooked nose and a scar across the eyes on her right side. Hints of freckles across her tanned skin, eye bags almost as dark as her uniform. Tight skin, her bones easily visible just about everywhere.
Her hair was dirty. Knotted, dry, thin, horrible. She hated it, but couldn't find it in herself to cut it all off.
When it was clean and brushed, her hair was super soft and had slight waves to it. It nearly reached her waist, and she'd always been so proud of it.
Now it was just a stupid reminder of the past. Something she just couldn't let go of.
Untying it from it's ponytail, she let the mob of locks fall, smacking the back of her neck. She brushed it the best she could with her fingers, but not much could be helped.
She sighed softly, continuing to get undressed. There wasn't a good reason to delay doing anything. This day or two would be over soon, and she wouldn't get the chance to live even a part of a normal life for awhile, maybe forever, so she should enjoy it while she had the chance.