Musume

Chapter 23

The last few days of classes were pretty relaxed, with them not having to worry about studying any longer. Well, for everyone but those who failed the final exam.

However, in the last minute, there was a change of plans and it was decided they would also be going to forest camp in a few days, much to their happiness until they heard about the extra lessons they would have.

And then someone had the bright idea to have them all go shopping together on the first day of rest.

“Will you come, Todoroki-kun?”

“I was going to visit my mother…” he said before looking at her and adding: “but we could go earlier and join them?”

Everyone looked between Todoroki and Yumi, confused.

“You’re bringing Yagi to see your mother?” asked Ashido with stars in her eyes.

“Are you a couple?” accused Mineta.

“Of course not, it’s not that!” protested Yumi with a fierce blush.

“No, it’s not… that’s not…” stammered Shoto looking rather lost at the same time.

“You must be very serious, if you’re already introducing her to your family, Todoroki-kun.” Said Tenya looking serious as he pushed his glasses up.

“That’s so romantic.” Sighed Hagakure.

“It’s not like that.” Protested weakly Yumi one last time. “Anyway, we’ll be joining you on the shopping.” She said definitely before turning around and finding Aizawa smirking at her.

Her slowly fading blush returned with a vengeance and Yumi buried her head in her hands. Her father knew about her going with Shoto to visit his mother, but if he heard anything about them being a couple even if it wasn’t true…

HPBNAHPBNAHPBNA

“Are you lost?”

He looked up and found himself looking at a tanned face, full of freckles and framed by long red hair that complimented the girl’s bright green eyes.

“No.” he answered with his usual hostility.

He had been planning on approaching his objective when he was alone. However, the girl had found him first.

“Are you sure? You looked kind of lost…”

He made up some kind of excuse that he didn’t even think about as he looked around for his target, but before he found him she reached a hand out and grabbed his hand faster than he could see. He couldn’t stop her and prepared to hear her scream.

For some reason, he didn’t want that.

But instead of screaming in pain as he’d expected, she simply pulled on his arm and guided him through the people in the mall.

Shigaraki looked down at their joined hands and felt his brain go blank for a second.

‘What is happening?’

“Where are we going?” he asked in what sounded to him as a far away voice.

“You said you needed a new hoodie, right? There’s a nice shop this way.”

He looked up at her bright face again and tore his hand out of her grip.

“What’s wrong?” she asked when he simply stared at his hand as if it had betrayed him.

For some reason, he explained.

“My quirk is… painful. People never touch me because of that. But you…”

“I didn’t feel anything.” Said the girl putting a pensive finger on top of her lips. “Maybe it doesn’t work the same on everyone?”

“No… it…”

He looked up and into those inquisitive innocent eyes and felt something strange. For some reason, when she looked at him, he felt like she could see him.

She was beautiful, he realized, and yet for the first time he didn’t feel a need to destroy that beauty.

He was glad his quirk hadn’t worked.

“It’s nothing.”

The girl smiled at him and offered her hand. After a slight hesitation, he accepted it, almost expecting it to have been a fluke and for the girl to start screaming any second.

But that never happened.

Instead, she gently squeezed his hand and led him to the shop she had promised him.

“My name’s Yumi, by the way.” She said looking a bit sheepish. “I should’ve probably told you that before I dragged you all the way here. I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s okay.” He said as he placed the money for the simple black hoodie on the counter.

“So what’s your name?”

He only hesitated a second.

“Tenko.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Tenko.”

He nodded, but said nothing, still staring transfixed at her.

“Do we know each other?” she asked then, making him nervous. “I feel like I should know you, but I can’t remember where I might’ve met you.”

“No, I don’t think so.” He replied evasively.

“Well, is there anything else you need, Tenko? I, for one, need a pair of glasses. That’s why I separated from my friends.” She revealed.

“I’ll go with you.” He said impulsively.

The girl, Yumi, smiled brightly at him and nodded before guiding him to another shop, where she tried on a lot of different glasses before settling on a pair of red transparent ones that covered most of her upper face. Her eyes appeared orange with them on.

“Oh, I can see some of my friends.” She said suddenly. “Would you like to meet them?”

She turned to him, but Shigaraki had already taken a step back and was looking around.

“Maybe another time, I… I have to go…”

And with that, he turned and left, hoping her confusing feelings could be left behind as easily as the girl that caused them.

HPBNAHPBNAHPBNA

When the shopping mall closed temporarily, with police surrounding it and civilians being evacuated, Yumi and her friends were confused.

Then they learnt what had happened and something clicked in Yumi’s mind.

The girl paled and looked at her hand.

Tenko… Tenko had been…

She needed to speak with her father.

HPBNAHPBNAHPBNA

Upon her asking, her father took her to the police station to visit Tsukauchi. They caught up with the man as he left the interrogation room with Izuku.

“Toshinori, Yumi, are you here for Midoriya?”

“I don’t know, Tsukauchi. Yumi refused to explain until we got here.” Replied Toshinori looking concerned and confused.

“Is it important? Right now, I’m very busy.” Apologized the man.

Yumi spoke up then.

“I saw Shigaraki too.”

The men’s faces paled almost as much as hers and they ushered her into the interrogation room, dismissing Midoriya. Once she was sitting next to her father, Tsukauchi started to ask the questions.

“When did you see Shigaraki?”

She explained what had happened. How she’d offered to help him and he’d told her about needing a hoodie, how he’d bought it and gone with her to buy some glasses before suddenly disappearing when she offered to introduce him to her friends.

“I… I didn’t recognize him. In the USJ, he wore a hand on his face, and I could barely see his whitish hair and a red eye. This time he wore nothing of the sort, he looked like a normal teen… When I asked if we knew each other he denied it and he even said his name was Tenko…” explained the girl hanging her head and looking ashamed of herself.

“Yumi-hime, it’s okay. You’re not in trouble.”

“I know but… he seemed so kind… a bit rude, but kind… I didn’t think…”

Her father wrapped an arm around her shoulders in comfort, but she still felt cold.

“And he was so surprised when I caught his hand, but of course… if his quirk is…”

“Maybe he has control over it.” Suggested Tsukauchi, looking worried that he’d even been so close to her they had touched. “Maybe he can activate it at will.”

“I don’t know. He said it always caused people pain and he sounded so lonely… I thought maybe it only worked on certain people…”

“Okay, Yumi, I need you to think on this: did he use cash or a credit card in the shop?”

“A credit card.”

“Good, I need the name of the shop. Maybe we can track him down that way.” Said Tsukauchi trying to sound optimistic but failing. “After this, you can go home and rest. I think you’ve had enough emotions for one day.”

HPBNAHPBNAHPBNA

When they got home and she collapsed on the sofa, her father sat next to her and brought her close, his weakened arms like steel bands around her.

“An unknown boy alone in the middle of the mall. Haven’t I taught you not to approach those people?”

“Yes, dad, but…”

“What is it, little princess?”

“Shigaraki looked… he looked like he was crying out for help.”

Toshinori could understand that, but it only made him even more worried. He could see where this was going.

“Yumi-hime, people like Shigaraki… people like him very rarely can be saved.”

Her face set on a stubborn frown.

“But heroes…”

“Heroes can’t always save everyone.” He said as gently as he could.

“But isn’t it a hero’s duty to at least try?”

“Of course,” he amended. “but you also have to take into account that, sometimes, people don’t want to be saved. And that is the hardest lesson for a hero.”