Chapter Text
Life was never kind, because people take the reins and shape everything however they want it to go. Life could never be kind because there are bad people that just decide theirs isn’t good enough and decide to change that, even if it costs them more than they were willing to pay. At the cost of humanity, some people changed their lives into a void of different dark colored schemes, some murdered, some robbed, some did drugs to lose themselves in a fake sense of control, others walked on the thin line between legal and illegal. But it was because of people like that, that life couldn’t follow a natural flow and be kind to those that deserved or needed it. At least, that’s what Luz thinks.
After so many closed doors, broken windows and endgames, she believes there's no way life could ever be kind when people don’t allow it to flow naturally, instead acting like rabid animals seeking selfish things. Her parents she barely remembers, but still has nightmares with the day her mother was murdered in their kitchen while she watched as a one-year-old from inside a cabinet, she still dreams of her father’s figure running up to her eight-year-old self after the plane landed with a bag full of gifts but hands free “So I can lift you up as soon as I see you, princesita” only to wake up to find the same truth of the plane accident that did her father because of a bomb meant for a politician that didn’t even get on the plane. She still thinks sometimes that once she opens her eyes she will be in her pastel-colored, sky-themed room in her old house to smell her mother’s cooking while listening to her father’s radio playing soft music, crying out for him to come and take her “Because the monster under the bed is waiting for her to try to step out of the bed on her own, only to drag her into their monster world under the bed and take her away to be the monster’s family’s dinner” making the man laugh with her baby babbles while he walked them to the kitchen where she would see her mother swinging her hips to the music before turning around to blind the little babe with the sweetest smile she would see in her lifetime, the woman would then take her from her husband’s arms and coo at the baby before placing her in her little throne to eat, all of them laughing at some point.
Instead she wakes up to the cracked ceiling of the tiny apartment she lives in since she managed to escape her aunt’s claws, sits up to look around the small space to stare blankly at the dirt she swears is sentient because it only appears during the night yet disappears at the first rays of sun or when she grabs the broom, to step onto the hellishly cold tiles before stepping into the wrecked bathroom to air herself out before going to work. To work in a small restaurant at the end of the devil’s road where not even the devil himself steps near, to cook for the same three families and the occasional thug passing by hungry or seeing if a sexy waitress is working, those tend to recoil once they see a thirteen-years-old girl with plain looks working but some have at least ordered water when they saw her ruby eyes before leaving when she blatantly said she didn’t want either sex that must certainly would end up with her pregnant while the father runs away or a husband that wants her to be in the house to cook and raise the children and remain pretty like a doll. Fortunately for her, only two times one of those had gotten aggressive but for one she has a fearsome right hook, and for two it is very useful that one of the families that come by daily has a police officer as the head. Back in topic, what little the old owner could offer her was barely enough to pay the cracking roof over her head since she isn’t old to work without permission but that old lady always has leftovers to give Luz so she won’t starve to death. That woman is a saint in her eyes, already allowing her to work without an adult in her life.
But the main problem in her life wasn't that, no, in fact she actually likes her ugly apartment and low-pay job because it doesn’t give her full reins over her life but still keeps the ounce of control she managed to get back. No, the only problem in her life is a damn woman she regrettably has to call aunt that wants her to be back in her mansion-like house so she can be groomed for an old, pedophile man looking for a young girl to call wife and get round with more children than is necessary or morally acceptable, so she gets to enjoy the poor idiot’s fortune that she hunted down like a damn animal. It still amazes Luz that her Aunt Carmen hasn’t discovered it was her daughters, Ana and Sol, that gave her all the instructions and money she needed to run away and survive for a month before she made something up.
‘Perhaps she finally gave up on me after noticing I will never be a good wife doll for those sick old bastards… Nah, she's more stubborn than that. Perhaps she's planning something else, like taking legal actions to take me back… Ha, as if the laws work in this shit box of a country’
Luz, currently, was walking back from her job after a calm day of serving food for the amicable yet loud families that go into her workplace, tugging at her shirt where one of the babies had splashed some cola on it. The walk was always a calm one, little to no one passing these streets aside from those gang guys but they never messed with her after she practically saved their leader from a rival gang by giving them wrong directions while the man hid behind some trash bags near. Their presence reassured her since no one would dare mess with her as long as she remains under their protection, pros of doing something good for someone not so good; their protection doesn’t mean she doesn’t stand on edge at all times though, she's always wary of any sound that might give away someone sneaking up on her for something creepy.
‘Stupid Jairo saying that I'm overreacting, he’ll get his ass handed to him next time I see him’ She thought before freezing in place, a light clinking from the alleyway she's standing in front of giving away that something or someone is there. Perhaps it’s just a dog, but as fuck is she going to take a risk. With a lazy expression, she slowly walked into the alleyway, she had to pass through it anyway, her ears straining to hear another sound but catching nothing for most of the walk ‘Must’ve imagined it… Damn it, Jairo is not right, but it’s possible that I'm just nervous’
Luz was about to sped up to her normal pace but another sound stopped her, she lowered her gaze to an abandoned beer box where the shuffling came from, she expected a rat to be looking for something to eat or whatever the hell rats did, but she wasn't expecting to see a cat stumble from behind the box. Especially not a cat with a fucking blue skull on its back, with green eyes that looked eerily human-like, but that wasn't important when the poor thing seemed so well-kept and just as beat up, Luz isn’t even sure that’s possible but it is with this cat. The raven haired girl crouched down with a hand outstretched towards the feline who eyed it both warily and confused “Hey there lil’ one, are you lost? Do you need help?” She asked softly, refusing to baby talk anything despite its cuteness.
She expected the cat to keep looking at her, perhaps even run away, but she absolutely didn’t expect it to nod before bumping its head with her hand. For fuck’s sake, she talked in English in an alleyway where people barely manage their way through Spanish, to a cat nonetheless, and someone actually understood and replied to her.
Well, shit. She scratched behind a fluffy ear before taking in the cat, finally seeing the red marks around its body that went all the way up to its tail, it even seemed to be wearing a dark colored mask over its face. This cat is just too fucking cute for this world.
“Do you have a home to go back to?” A shake of the head was her answer and she made up her mind almost immediately “Would you like to come with me?” The answer took Luz by surprise but the cat seemed to only need a moment to think it before agreeing, nodding its head almost frantically, bringing a tiny smile to the girl’s face “I'm sure the bed is enough for both of us if you don’t want to sleep on the cold tiles. I wouldn’t if I were you, there are sentient dust clouds that appear only at night, they are planning to conquer the world someday after mastering the art of being under the sunlight” She joked more to herself than anything after scooping the animal up in her arms, unwilling to keep the silence now that she’s someone to listen to her ramblings. She swears the cat even laughed, if cats can laugh, but it huffed out sharper after a joke so that must count. So imbedded she was in her talking that the walk to her little place felt shorter than expected, but that’s what happens when you have someone to talk their ears off, she entered the house calmly before lifting the cat up like Simba “So… This is my place… I know, it’s shitty and all but it’s all I have. I'm so not going back with my bitch of an aunt anytime soon. But this place is enough for us, don’t you agree?”
She busied herself with reheating the leftovers Abuelita Maria gave her today, missing the way the cat watched her with a mix of pity and anger.
After a rather entertaining dinner with her new companion, Luz washed up quickly before trying to get off as many dust from the cat as she could. It surprised the girl that it allowed her to rub it off with a damp towel, making her believe more that this wasn't a stray cat.
“Oh, I almost forgot that I don’t know your name!” She exclaimed after tucking herself under the covers, the cat sitting at the other side of the bed languidly. The feline looked at her before sitting up on its rear paws, giving her a clear sight of the letters contrasting with white fur “Brilliant Escape? So, that’s your name?” A nod was her answer and she cracked a smile “Odd name for a cat but whatever. Nice to meet you, Brilliant. I'm Luz Ortega, would you like to be my friend?” She asked softly, almost afraid to receive some kind of negative or snarky remark from an animal that has been nothing but kind to her.
And perhaps she's afraid, scared that she will be alone once more by everyone with only bad people around her, some wanting something from her and some simply passing around. She doesn’t remember ever having friends, her parents had no friends with children her age when she was a baby so she had no playmates, and after her mother was murdered her father schooled her himself up until the day his plane made a swan dive into the open ocean, her aunt didn’t even let her out of the house to see civilization and the servants had been way too scared by her threats to do something more than civil talking. This cat, Brilliant Escape, was the only creature she’d met that asked for nothing and expected the same from her, merely staying for the company and comfort of another living creature.
Her worries were washed away when Brilliant scooted forward and bumped its fluffy head against her cheek, meowing lightly with a strange accent she distantly identified as ‘nya’. A Japanese cat all the way to the other side of the globe only to get lost, or worse, abandoned in a shitty alleyway? Yeah, whoever is Brilliant’s owner will not be getting their cat back “Thanks, Brilliant… Good night-” She was cut off suddenly, a loud round of knocking rattling her poor front door that resounded that much more since it’s made of iron. Luz shot up with a worried face, taking a hold of the broom near the stove to use it as a staff if it was someone from that damn rival gang again, before daring to step near the door to yell at whoever was out there at these hours “Who’s there?”
“Luz, open the door” A raspy, authoritative voice commanded from the other side of the metal, the coldness of the command somehow passing through the iron and reaching the girl, freezing her in place with a realization. Her damn aunt was at the other side of the door, rattling it so loud that people from the gang must be hearing and standing on edge for their boss’ savior’s safety. Luz was three steps from shaking like a leaf when a confused chipper brought her attention back to the bed, Brilliant standing at the edge with a confused and worried expression, she opened her mouth to answer when a louder round of banging made her flinch “Luz, abre la puerta ahora mismo!”
She braced herself before opening the metal door slightly, just enough to look at her aunt’s impassive face staring back at her. She swallowed down the nausea creeping at the back of her throat, shuffling one of her feet behind the door so she wouldn’t catch on it and order her to stop “T-Tia Carmen… What a surprise to see you around” She stuttered out, hating herself a second afterwards for not being able to be brave in front of this ass of an aunt of hers.
A glare breached past the seeming blankness of the older woman’s features, wrinkles appearing on her face that the countless surgeries had managed to hide until she did as much as frown, one of her hands clenching around the other were they rested over her lap as if she was a mocking image of a Victorian lady “Do not act like that, you petty child. Pack your things immediately, you are going back home” Said the woman, as icy as an icicle and as dry as the sand in the desert. For a second the girl blanched, lowered her head and prepared to obey without more questions, the tamed and scared girl living under Carmen’s roof with one of the woman’s hands on her scruff.
But then she remembered Brilliant sitting on the bed, watching with eyes filled with concern and confusion for his new friend. Her first friend, even if he’s only an animal, was worried for her while she cowered in front of this demon, no, that just wouldn’t do. A sudden rush of confidence went through her veins, the defiant spirit caged inside her fighting to get free from its chains and spread her wings, she steeled up and talked again, miraculously stuttering only once around the end “I will not be going back to y-your house, Tia Carmen. I will stay here, I'm not letting you control my-”
A loud sound deafened out the rest of the sounds from the night, leaving a void after its wake. A sharp sting blossomed on Luz’s cheek making her eye water, an angry red mark soon forming there as a statement of Carmen’s slap. The woman glared her niece down fiercely, schooling her features back into coldness while readjusting her hair back into its bun “I will allow this childish game of yours to go on for a little bit longer. Tomorrow morning I will be here again to retrieve you, you are going back to the house where your fiancé is expecting to see you in two days. The delivery has been slowed down far too much for your stupid revelry” The woman started walking away, not even looking over her shoulder before talking in a dismissing voice “This will be the last night you act like an unruly child, you will be marrying Mrs. Suarez even if you can’t stand the sight of him”
With that, Luz was left alone once more, alone with her self-loathing and hatred towards the woman that has taken the reins of her life just because she wanted more goddamned money. As if she didn’t have enough already, the old hag married three times with men that practically ruled the city with their money alone, and married her daughters off like they were nothing more than merchandise to be sold.
Sometimes, that’s what Luz believes that woman thinks they all are.
With a heavy heart, the raven girl went back to her bed and sat down, leaning her back against the wall and letting silent tears fall from her ruby red eyes, allowing the emotions welling up in her chest to flow out after so much time without feeling like this. So small and lost again. A wet raspy tongue licked her hand, Brilliant climbing unto her lap and wiping her tears away with his paws, making Luz crack a smile by the gentleness of his moves “Thanks Brilliant… I'm sorry you had to see all that…” She sniffled a little bit longer before breathing in deeply, willing herself to stop crying since that wouldn’t solve anything. She was so tired already, but the warm and heavy weight on her lap made her want to talk a while longer “I just… I don’t want to marry that man, he's even older than my father would be right now! It’s gross, I could be his damn granddaughter…! I don’t care about anything more in this shitty world, nothing ever goes like good people plan it! It everything sticks to the will of those with more money, with higher social status, with the most powerful weapons! It’s always shit like that and I… I can’t do anything to change it…” She sighed before sobering up from her outburst, fishing her phone from its hiding spot on a hole in the wall right under where the bed meets the wall, quickly going through her browser while thanking every god in the world that Sol managed to buy this phone for her and mix it with some gifts she sent years ago. She found what she was looking for, the only page she put a bookmark on, a translation page of her favorite manga and anime series. She lowered her phone towards Brilliant when the cat’s ears perked up curiously, showing him the loading pages of the manga “See, this is a manga I really love, it’s called Boku no Hero Academia but some call it My Hero Academia for the translation. It’s pretty cool, all those Quirks and the variety of personalities are amazing, also the drawing style is gorgeous! This, this is a masterpiece between masterpieces”
She must’ve been fangirling a bit too hard back there, because she totally missed the bewildered look the cat gave upon seeing the images and reading a tiny bit of what it said. Fortunately for him, she was on a chapter with a pretty much centered image of UA, which gave him all the answers he needed. Yet he tried to brush it off as if he was simply impressed by the shiny device between the girl’s hands, letting her pet his head in intermittent patterns while she read almost hypnotized, hiding his smirk when she cried out for a Shirakumo boy to “Just finally fucking snap, dude, they miss you!” and sighing out loud when she cheered up after that same boy seemed to say something that she approved of. He let his laughter go through one single huff of air when she muttered about downloading that chapter right the fucking hell now. All in all, he seemed to be having the time of his life while witnessing everything this girl did through her reading.
A couple of minutes later, with quite some more chapters read, and she was practically nodding off on the spot before taking a pillow to support her head, settling the phone down to hug the hard pillow close to her chest. When he thought she was finally sleeping for the day, he was proved wrong by the soft whispering “Ne, Brilliant…” He turned his head towards her, even thought a perked ear was more than enough for the raven to continue, but he wanted to see her face once more “You know, I wish a world like that existed… Like in My Hero Academia, I could have a Quirk and even if it was a weak or useless one, I would have more confidence about stepping up in front of my aunt… I wish I was a part of that world, it would be amazing, don’t you think…? I…” Her eyelids started dropping more often, head already nestled against the pillow even if it seemed more comfortable to let her head hang limply, voice growing softer yet enough for the feline to hear “I want to… Be a hero too… For Ana and Sol… I want to be your hero too, Brilliant…”
With that, sleep took her away, her eyes closed, and she was out like a small light yet still troubled with the intensity of a wild fire. Now, that wouldn’t do. This girl is much too cute for this shitty world and the horrible life that has been planned for her; no, not planned but stripped away from her by a demon in a woman’s skin. Such a sweet girl with only one wish, to become a hero for two girls that for what he heard are already trapped in a cage like she will be, for him that she just met and rescued from between those trash bags after he hid from those rabid dogs. A single wish with no godmother fairy to grant her wings to fly away with, to gift her a pair of shinny shoes to run off somewhere far away, to craft her a carriage to mount and disappear into the dawn.
Brilliant stood straight up, determination flaring up in his green eyes. His eyes began glowing a faint yellow, soon little sparkles surrounded him turning into multicolored snowflakes of light, he twirled his head to the side and the light enveloped the sleeping girl next to him, embracing her softly without nudging her in hopes of sleep keeping a hold of her. Perhaps Luz doesn’t have a godmother fairy like other children, but she found a cat that’s not an ordinary cat under any means. Hell, he isn’t even a cat to begin with!
‘Don’t worry, Luz-chan. I will grant you your wish’
People crowded the streets in Musutafu like any other day, adults going their own way towards work or another kind of arrangement, students walking in groups filling the streets with endless chatter. Between them all, a lonely guy was walking, someone would say he would stand out for walking against the crowd but the truth was that no one noticed him, and if they did they simply ignored him. The raven boy walked with his head low but eyes straight forward, trying to will himself to feel excitement over going to school again, but he couldn’t find it in himself to feel nothing more than slight annoyance. All because he will have to listen to the stupid mutterings of the students around him because his Quirk is different and they were spooked or whatever, he doesn’t care enough to try and discern what they felt towards his Quirk anymore. He was passing through a street eerily near to UA, never having noticed himself striving so close to the place until he saw the students with the same uniform flooding the streets around him. In his spacing out his legs must’ve taken him to the only place he felt safe near, after all it’s a heaven he dreams on joining someday, and he plans on making that dream become true even if it’s the last thing he does.
A scream startled him from his thoughts, his eyes landing on the source of the scream. A girl from UA was staring at something near the forest’s outline, he walked closer by instinct to examine it and froze on place upon seeing the slumped body between the bushes. He focused on the girl on the ground while more students from UA pushed him slightly, she was probably his age and seemed to be unharmed, breathing evenly as if she’s merely sleeping. Perhaps it was just another kid running away from home, he's seen enough of that to recognize it but this didn’t exactly seem like the case. His eyes widened when the girl’s arms and legs began spamming, at first soft and almost unnoticeable but as the seconds ticked by her limbs were reacting as if they’re being shocked repeatedly.
A student on the background yelled for someone to get a hero, he heard feet shuffling before the footsteps disappeared shortly afterwards between the muttering, he supposed that whoever ran away went into UA for a Pro Hero. Surely someone from there could help the girl now convulsing on the ground. So, she will be alright, he must keep going if he wants to be on time and avoid getting yelled at by his teacher then have to go to back to his house for another round of yelling or worse, yeah that would probably be for the best.
But he stopped again when yellow ribbons began seeping out of the girl’s fingers and enveloped her arms tightly to the elbow, too tight for it to be healthy, some more red ribbons appeared from her back before wrapping around her body like vices, the skin under them sizzling and smoking like they were in contact with fire. His mind muddled over that moment, zoning out on the screaming and shuffling around to approach the still convulsing body, only for them all to jerk back when a dark blue wavy-like ribbon whipped at them, sending everyone on that side stumbling back. Was this a villain attack? Is he just witnessing a murder happening right in front of his eyes, alongside a bunch of UA students? Were the hell are the Pro Heroes? The last straw was when purple claw-like stripes swirled out of the girl’s nose, mouth and eyes, drawing with them blood and ripping a breathy scream out from the poor girl; he felt a swirl of adrenaline and stepped forward, heart beating faster than he ever thought it was capable of.
Normally he wasn't anywhere near the entrance, usually locked up in his office until he was needed somewhere else. Today though he had wanted to stay out for a moment longer, an unusual feeling making him want to tag around for a little bit longer than necessary. It paid off when a Support student came in running and yelling for help from a hero, saying that there was a girl unconscious near the forest. Nezu wasn't just sending someone else when he was already at the entrance, he quickly sent the boy to retrieve Recovery Girl and walked out himself, perhaps at a much more leisured pace than was necessary.
But soon he was speeding up at the sound of screaming, multiple voices filled with anxiety and pure horror, soon seeing the crowd of students standing bundled up together near the forest. Taking full advantage of his size, Nezu hurried between legs and reached the center of the commotion, his heart making a leap upon seeing the multi-colored ribbons ripping a young girl from the inside out, the poor girl barely managing to get out a quiet scream. He realized this was the making of a Quirk, specifically the girl’s Quirk, and his mind rushed for a solution that could get him to the girl without endangering himself and the students around, yet he had no chance. As soon as that breath left her the ribbons disappeared into thin air like blown out candles, her body slumping against the grass in a limp tangle of limbs. A gasp brought Nezu’s attention back to the crowd and he immediately knew how it ended up so abruptly.
A boy was standing between the crowd, standing out merely for his different uniform, but that wasn't what brought attention.
No, what caught everyone’s attention were his floating ebony strands of hair, his red eyes glowing slightly fixated firmly upon the girl. The students around him stared in shock, much too surprised at the current turn of events to react in any way; Nezu, on his part, was internally vibrating with excitement upon seeing this “Well, it seems that a Pro Hero wasn't needed in the end” His comment brought the attention upon him, some of his students staggering back while some others merely exclaimed, the boy with the floating hair gave him a brief glance before resetting his eyes on the unconscious girl, a flicker of nervousness creeping into his face “You have this very much under control, young man, well done”
“Thanks” Was all the boy murmured to the principal for a while, focused on keeping his eyes on the other girl for as long as he could, quickly opening his eyes again once he blinked despite his drying eyes. He allowed himself to rest only when Recovery Girl entered the picture, the elderly woman going straight ahead towards the unconscious girl while the boy groaned in mild pain, his eyes burning more than ever for the unusually high strain he put on them. Then again, not all days he had to stare unblinkingly at someone less their Quirk kills them, that was new on his schedule.
Tugging on his jacket, the principal now had the boy’s inhibited attention, even if Nezu felt kind of bad after seeing how red the raven’s eyes were. But right now it was necessary and once Shūzenji was finished with healing the girl, he will make sure she looks at this boy’s eyes. First though, he needed to stop calling him boy or young man “Say, young man, may I know your name?”
Obsidian eyes blinked rapidly, trying to will tears to form and alleviate the pain in his eyes. He felt a nervous surge of energy in his chest, he wasn't supposed to use his Quirk outside of his room but this was an emergency, he surely wouldn’t get in trouble, it was just illogical but things in his house defied logic at times. And, taking aside the slightly manic vibes he’s getting from the animal standing in front of him, he seemed like someone to trust, like someone he could trust “My name is Aizawa Shōta, sir”
Soft, kinda fluffy, something’s tickling her cheeks. There's a low humming sound that she couldn’t recognize from her street or anything in her apartment. There's something soft around her arms, wrapping them but still somewhat loose. Even the bedding felt different under her, softer than her bed but still firm unlike the beds at her aunt’s mansion; it smells like a hospital, but she has no idea why she would be in one. There are two voices murmuring near, she can’t discern what they are saying but she doesn’t want to open her eyes to let them see she's awake; what if this is one of her aunt’s tricks? What if she brought her to a hospital or something, only to make her go back? She's a minor and can’t sign herself out of a place like that, and much less pay for it, it’s the perfect plan to make her go back and marry the old man. So she needs to keep playing the unconscious, she has to.
But the thing tickling her cheek just had to tickle her nose, and since she's the luckiest bastard in all the world, she just had to fucking sneeze only to end up coughing at the soreness of her throat. Oh fucking Christ, why is her throat so dry? Is this natural?
Someone helped her sit up and a glass was pushed into her hands, she gulped down the water greedily despite still coughing but the cold temperature eased the discomfort and cleared her still confused mind. She kept on breathing deeply to calm her racing heart, listening distantly to the kind voice talking her back into awareness; an elderly woman for the sounds of it, but it sounded like the voice came from lower than the person holding her up’s would. She choked some more before her mind began registering the rapid beating of a heart monitor, the cold cord of the IV connected to her wrist, the light weight of the hands still supporting her. Minutes passed before she finally dared to open her eyes and see just who is around her.
The first thing she noticed was how neat the place she's in seemed, only by looking at the pristine bed she's been sleeping on, so different from how the hospitals are in her country, even the most expensive hospitals had one or two stains on the tiled floor. Then she saw that the woman that had talked so sweetly to her was in fact lower than she expected, and no one can fault her for the way her heartbeat practically froze in shock upon recognizing her and the figure standing behind her. Figure, at the lack of a proper term to refer to… The Pro Hero, Mrs. Principal, better known as Nezu, the principal of UA. Yeah, she might as well be dreaming or somehow ended up in a coma, probably after having a stroke when her aunt told her she would marry a man that could very well be Carmen’s father. The two heroes were saying something and if memory doesn’t fail her, the intonation signifies they're making questions, but she barely knows phrases that won’t help her at all in a conversation. She knows English, not Japanese.
“Pro Hero Recovery Girl, Shūzenji Chiyo… Pro Hero Mrs. Principal, Nezu…” She murmured more to herself than nothing else, too lost on her own racing thoughts to notice the slightly surprised looks from both heroes. Her eyes kept traveling around the room, seeing how pristine the room was that it gave a true sense of comfort waking up in here instead of a sense of dread over catching something far worse than what made you end up here, straying over the multiple cabinets and machines until she reached the teen standing next to her. To say that she freaked out would be an understatement, if seeing Nezu and Recovery Girl in front of her all of a sudden wasn't enough of a surprise, this other occupant sure did the job of making her screech like a banshee “A-Aizawa Shōta?!”
Yes, it was her favorite Pro Hero ever, just as a rather scrawny teen that flinched half a feet off the ground at her outburst, she felt kinda bad for scaring him but god fucking shit it’s Eraserhead. As an unfairly cute teen!
The teen exclaimed something that she didn’t understand in the slightest, traces of discomfort on his face while he backed off slightly. She was about to say that she wasn't getting anything they're saying until Nezu talked first “Excuse me, do you understand me now?” Her head immediately snapped towards the white animal with minimal surprise, this was Nezu after all so how wouldn’t he know another language, more so English? The principal seemed delighted at having her attention if the glint on his eyes was anything to go by “So you understand English, that means you're not from around here, am I right?” She nodded, desperate to get some kind of answer because this doesn’t feel like a dream. Like at all “Then, would you be amenable to tell me your name?”
For a second, she hesitated. Why should she venture into this when she's not completely sure if it’s a dream? Should she allow herself to get played along by her own mind only to wake up and go back to that house, letting that woman shape her into a doll and then marrying an old man to have god knows how many children before the man dies? Perhaps she should just try to wake up, like pinching herself or staring at a clock, or whatever it was that people in dreams do to discern reality. But there was something… Something that told her to just go with the flow, to let live lead her how it sees fit for once, to take the reins in the end. So she took them with determination, willing to at least get herself a momentary sense of freedom “My name is Luz Ortega, it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir”
From then on, she will keep a tight hold on the reins and never let go. That’s her oath to life.