Chapter 2
12:40 hrs.
Kim: “Okay so… I think I’m quite late.”-The girl stated, talking to herself. She was at Musutafu train station, and it was pretty strange. The wind, the sunrays… Everything was quite different from what she expected. It was less cold, less… vivid. The air lacked the sharp bite she was used to, and the city’s colors seemed muted, less vivid than the stark contrasts of her home. Even so, it was pretty bright; a false sensation of comfort crossed Kim’s mind.-”Dude… Where the f*ck is U.A?”-Kim debated aloud. Should she text Clouds? Should she ask people here? It seemed like it, but… Kim had a bit of shame about asking those people. She was really not into Musutafu.
Then, a bright idea crossed Kim’s head. She took out her phone and just looked for it on Google Maps, like, for real.-”Haha… Here. Let’s go.”-She started to walk towards what seemed to be U.A. Then a train passed by, letting out a high burst of wind that caught Kim by surprise. Unsurprisingly, U.A. was in the other direction from where she was walking. Kim frowned and let out a big sigh, then closed her eyes as the sun’s rays covered her face. She then let out a laugh, which was only followed by, “I hate Musutafu.” It seemed quite serious, but at the same time, her voice expressed a playful and funny tone. A sound could be heard from the phone; it only baffled her.
Chat. Clouds: Hey, you should meet with Principal Nezu in the office at U.A. at 13:00 hrs. Don’t be late. [Attached Location]
Kim: K’.
Suddenly, a hand caught Kim’s attention, leading her to lift her gaze. She blinked twice, then looked at her phone again, only to lift her gaze once more. It was a blonde girl, a little smaller than Kim, but pretty astonishing and cute.
Kim: “Hi…?”-She blinked twice again, as if not really knowing what was happening. Next to her was this girl, wearing what seemed to… Wait, a U.A. uniform? It suited her quite perfectly, which only caused Kim to smirk.
???: “Hi!”-The blonde girl exclaimed quite excitedly; it only made Kim a little bit nervous. She then approached Kim, leaning forward. Kim’s eyes narrowed, becoming both intrigued and defensive.-”I, uhm… I perhaps thought…”-She extended her hand towards Kim, like trying to get along. Kim smoothly returned her hands to her pockets. The blonde girl pouted.-”I thought you could be lost. Are you going to U.A.?”-Kim didn’t know if it was okay to say, but didn’t really care.
Kim: “Oh… Yes, actually.”-She didn’t really know how to put this into words. The sun’s rays hit her emerald eyes, and she frowned. Kim was wearing a pretty common outfit, but her purple hair was quite bright on this sunny day.-”Mind coming together?”-Kim ended the exchange, her intention clear as she started walking towards U.A.. The blonde girl seemed left behind in the conversation, her flabbergasted expression and wide eyes clearly showed it. Kim just laughed at it.
???: “!!! Wait!”-The blonde girl ran towards Kim, almost falling on the road, but maintaining her balance and catching up to Kim.-”You’re not so talkative, aren’t you?”-She seemed to laugh. As for herself, Kim just ignored it and gave a smirk.-”Name’s Uraraka. And yours?”-The girl asked, as if trying to maintain the conversation with Kim. Kim looked both ways, then continued her walk towards U.A.-”Name’s Kim.”-Uraraka seemed quite relieved and just decided to follow Kim’s way. She couldn’t see it, but Kim was smiling; she didn’t have her mask nor her glasses, but it was a pretty soft smile.
Both girls arrived at U.A. at 12:55 hrs. It was a damn high building that seemed to appear as an “H.” The glass seemed to shine; it was a campus, and the sun’s rays had nothing to bounce off but the school itself, making it far shinier than the rest of Musutafu. Kim lifted her hand, watching it carefully; there were far more scars on it than could be imagined. The cold air wrapped around her hand and made Kim smile. She then remembered her tears falling and her town before departing. Her eyes darted up as her hand made a fist, then kept her hand in her pocket. Then she stood watching the whole area, a bit in fascination, and a bit in fear. It was the U.A. The most recognized school for heroes in the world, yet… yet Kim thought she was only here by recommendation. Was she really planning to become a hero? Was this… the only way to the clouds?
Kim: “Thanks for guiding me. Maybe we’ll see each other again later.”-The girl told her, as Uraraka waved her hand to Kim, smiling and far too bright for Kim to even wave back, or even look her in the eyes. Then, Kim touched a button that seemed to say “Principal Office.” Waiting for a response, she turned her back to the door behind her, watching with fascination the campus, the trees, the grass, everything green and shiny. She then tried to reach the world with a subtle voice.-”I’ll see you in the clouds, Kim.”-Kim’s soft voice reached out, pulling her from her trance. Then the voice from the communicator said, “Name?” To which Kim responded.-”Kim. Kim Doe. I’m here for recommendation.”-Then the door opened, leading the way to what seemed to be an even bigger campus, which only made Kim laugh. Next to the door, there was a Pro Hero Kim didn’t recognize, but he seemed to be in a formal suit, had white hair, and seemed… way too tall. Kim had to lift her head because she couldn’t see his face. Even so, he seemed muscled up, with some scars on his head.
???: “Come with me, young lady.”-The tall man said, catching Kim’s attention with his… quite rude, yet quite respectful voice? Either way, the man began to walk towards the complex, turning his back to Kim. Kim looked at him quite astonished, but began to run to the man, only to reach him and begin to walk by his side. The walk went silent, but not in an uncomfortable sense. It was just silence, a silence where Kim could breathe with pleasure, where she could smile towards the grass, which seemed to shine in a brighter green with every smile. Kim felt happy, but unsure at the same time, of course feeling the pressure of what seemed like a new life. A voice interrupted what seemed to be Kim’s pleasure.-”You seem happy. Aren’t you nervous?”-The tall man asked.
Kim: “Oh, I… I could be, yes…”-She sent a few glances towards the man, only to then look at the floor, at the path they were walking. A simple yet fairly similar path of labeled stones with little details in them. Kim clapped her hands and leaned forward, as if searching for the right words.-”I could. But I don’t really see why I should.”-The woman laughed, regaining her original posture after leaning another step, which made her stop in place. The man turned with some concern, but mostly curiosity.-”The day is pretty beautiful, so I think this day will be too.”-The woman commented, then dismissed the conversation, taking another step, then another, just to walk with the big man, who just scoffed in response. Was she really on the path of a hero? Even so, there were certain memories, even feelings that couldn’t help but land Kim into a circle of thoughts. Was Clouds okay? Is this what Kim really wanted? Or, is it even okay for Kim to cross this path? The silence covered the mood on the walk, but the man didn’t seem like he cared. It was only Kim who seemed to have a somewhat shattered smile. Even so, her beauty remained.
[Time skip]
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A gentle knock could be heard from the other side of the principal’s room. To Kim’s surprise, it happened to open at the exact same time the knock was heard. Her eyes darted to every corner of the room. Why would you need such a big room only for an office? It was Kim’s thought. There were a lot of books, most of them finely accommodated in the right places. The air seemed to be quite lighter, feeling somewhat cold but calm. There were two windows which were closed, but looked out onto what seemed like the campus and some U.A. buildings. Kim dared to look down, only to find a small rat-humanoid figure standing with his hand gripped around the doorknob, dressed in a… a formal rat-suit? Kim laughed a bit, covering her mouth and instinctively shutting herself up.
???: The rat-man laughed too, letting us come in, only to then rapidly, almost as if running with his legs, jumping onto the chair — a swivel chair — spinning his way to the right until facing us.-”Come, come!”-The rat laughed.-”We were waiting for you!”-The rat said with a gentle voice, making Kim somewhat more comfortable stepping into the office. When stepping in, there were another three students sitting in their respective chairs. There were two men: one with white hair, almost reaching his shoulders, and the other one had white and red hair, with a red burn mark on his left eye. Beside him was the woman, wearing a formal suit with long hair, almost reaching her hips; she didn’t have anything distinctive unlike the marked boy.
The marked boy sent a cold glance toward Kim, almost as if analyzing her. Kim didn’t even flinch, but felt somewhat looked down upon. Kim glanced at him again with an uninterested sigh, making the boy almost lose balance, and his eyes widened. Kim laughed a bit to herself and closed her eyes for a second.
???: “Okay, my future and beloved students!”-The rat-man said with enthusiasm, almost startling everyone in the room with his loud voice.-”I am pretty sure all four of you know why you are here, don’t you?”-Kim glanced at the other three students, seeing how they shook their heads in affirmation. She blinked twice, only to then feel the pressure and shake her head too.-”All four of you are here because you were recommended for our U.A. Hero Department!”-The rat-man clapped, as if it was something impressive. The four of us looked at each other with concern. Kim laughed a bit, as if it didn’t matter at all.-”I will interview every one of you, only to get to know you better.”-The rat-man bowed towards us; we bowed in response.-”My name is Nezu, so I’ll call you.”-Nezu then stood up, went to the door, opening it only for us to step outside. He then called a name to stay; it was “Juzo Honenuki.” While the other three of us stayed in our chairs outside the room. The girl tried to establish a conversation with the marked boy, but he didn’t really seem very talkative, which led Kim to talk with her. It wasn’t that much of a talk, though, being the girl the only one doing the talking, but it seemed that her name was Momo Yaoyorozu
[Time Skip]
Some time passed away. The sun’s rays were hitting me right in the eyes through the window, but then, I heard my name being called by the principal. I got up, and the marked boy, whom I thought was called Shoto Todoroki from what I heard from the principal, came out of the room, crossing the door and bumping his shoulder with mine. He then coldly glanced at me. Kim couldn’t help but give him an empty look in return, making him flinch a little bit, even if he was trying to hide it. Then, she crossed the door and went in, waving at the principal with her hand.
Nezu: “Hello Kim, how are you?”-He asked, with a chill voice and in a somewhat confident attitude. Kim only gave him a soft smile while closing her eyes and sitting in the chair in front of the office table, right next to Nezu. He then took out some papers from a drawer beneath the table.-”Right, so… Kim, you were recommended by the Pro Hero Clouds…”-He coughed a bit and drew a glass of water to drink from it. Kim was a bit nervous, but not in the normal manner; her fingers were playing and crossing them, hidden beneath the table.-”How do you happen to know him? What’s your relationship?”-Nezu asked, rapidly reading the papers, extremely fast, in fact. Was it his quirk? I don’t think so, he’s… a rat.
Kim: “He helped me train with my Quirk. Like a mentor.”-Kim answered with sincerity. She then closed her eyes and continued.-”He trained me in his department.”-Nezu then dropped the papers on the table, leaning forward to Kim.
Nezu: “Right, but…”-His eyes widened a little, almost as if curious but somewhat concerned.-”You aren’t even from here, neither is Clouds. Why would you want to come here?”-He asked. It seemed like a challenge. Kim’s fingers twitched a little, but her muscular gestures were calm and serene.
Kim: “I want to be a heroine.”-Kim answered, somewhat… cold? Or maybe not that decisive, but she was trying to convince the principal.-”Clouds thought I couldn’t make it in there.”-There was a small lie in it, but Kim thought that Nezu wouldn’t catch it.-”And he was pretty sure that I could be something like a golden egg in U.A.”-Kim laughed a bit at the thought; it was a somewhat genuine laughter. Nezu leaned back in his chair again.
Nezu: “I understand.”-Nezu said sharply.-”Even so, I’m a bit concerned about your records.”-He picked up the papers from the table again, only to pass them to her.-”I took the time to consult Kim’s records, leading me to this conclusion…”-There was a bit of strain in the air. He spun his chair around, turning his back on her.-”Who is really Kim?”-Kim felt a shiver growing from the back of her spine, tensing every muscle in her body. Her eyes felt sharp, but she needed to maintain her reputation. Her body tensed, but at the same time felt surprisingly relaxed, at least from outside.
Kim: “I am Kim.”-She answered, with a somewhat uninterested voice, but something seemed off about it. She then took the papers and read them.-”I had my things. Nothing of this matters now.”-She took a look out from the window, smiling at the feeling of the clouds passing by and the sun’s rays hitting the floor and the grass.-”I am searching for a new path. A hero path.”-She said, without looking away from the window.-”Could I continue this path, Mister Principal?”-Nezu laughed like a maniac, sending some shivers down Kim’s spine.
Nezu: “Of course! Kim!”-The rat-man got up from his chair, only to then grab her shoulders and shake her. Kim felt flabbergasted, literally like a ragdoll being shaken apart.-”That’s the spirit, Kim!”-He let her shoulders go, then he adjusted his suit, regaining his composure.-”Reaching for the way of the hero is a great path, Kim; of course we are good with it!”-The principal smiled, making Kim feel somewhat calmer and safer. Then, he leaned towards the door, opening it.-”You’re dismissed, Kim. That was the only thing I wanted to discuss with you.”-He then returned to his chair.-”I’ll tell you the details so you can prepare for tomorrow. The dorms are waiting for all the course.”-Kim flinched. Dorms? The whole course? Kim tried to hide her reaction from the principal, so she closed the door behind her. Was she going to stay with her classmates in a common dorm?
Kim: “…”-Kim let out a big sigh, slapping her hand into her face, hard enough for her to feel it.-”I guess it couldn’t be that bad?”-She told herself, only to hear some footsteps at the end of the path. The one making those sounds was Shoto, who seemed quite intrigued by her actions. He then turned his back on her.-”???”
Todoroki Shoto: “You’re weird.”-He told her directly, then he walked off down the path. Kim seemed flabbergasted or confused; Her face a mask of utter bewilderment.
Kim: “Weirdo.”-Kim laughed after looking through the window, which showed the sun sinking in the sky, the clouds disappearing in the upcoming night, leaving a beautiful yet cold orange-blue in their forms. It made Kim smile, only to then try and talk to the sky.-”Should I go and see you in the sky?”-The woman turned, walking its path away from U.A.-”Should I go talk to the clouds?”-She smiled, only for the wind to hit her whole body with its cold demeanor, making her purple hair guide a trace on the blowing air feelings and trail.
As if Kim continued its path to the clouds.
