'Agh...'
I rolled over in my bed, a restless sigh escaping my lips, as I tried desperately to find a comfortable position to sleep in. But no matter how I shifted, how I adjusted the pillows, I simply felt profoundly uncomfortable in any posture, a growing frustration simmering beneath my skin. The mattress felt lumpy, the sheets too warm, and sleep seemed to be a distant, mocking promise.
I rolled over onto my back, my gaze fixed tiredly on the ceiling of my room. The white plaster seemed to mock my sleeplessness, its blandness amplifying my inner turmoil. 'I just can't sleep... no matter how hard I try, my mind won't shut off.'
BANG!
A violent shudder unexpectedly ran through my entire body, a jolt of raw fear, as I instinctively rolled to one side of the bed and closed my eyes tightly, pressing my eyelids shut with all my might. I wanted, more than anything, to forget about today, to erase its horrifying images from my mind.
But even with my eyes squeezed shut, the chilling image of Lena, lying motionless on the floor with half her head grotesquely sticking out at an unnatural angle, and blood pouring freely from the wound, remained terrifyingly fresh and vivid in my mind. It was a macabre painting, seared onto my memory, refusing to fade.
I took a shaky, desperate breath, attempting to calm my racing heart, to quiet the frantic thrumming in my ears. It didn't work. The terror persisted. But at least the horrifying image of Lena's injury finally disappeared from my head, only to be immediately replaced by another equally disturbing vision: Reaper's skeletal mask, unblinking, staring directly back at me, its hollow eyes filled with an unnerving, predatory stillness.
I stood up abruptly, my breathing suddenly quickening, becoming shallow and ragged gasps for air. I could hear the frantic pounding of my heart echoing loudly in my ears, a frantic drumbeat of pure panic, and my earphone Jacks twitched restlessly, a physical manifestation of my inner turmoil. My hands instinctively balled into fists, clenching hard enough to make me wince in pain, my nails digging into my palms.
My mind, relentless and unforgiving, simply couldn't escape the horrifying loop of those memories. It was constantly, cruelly, reminding me how utterly helpless I had felt in that moment, how useless and clumsy I truly was, utterly incapable of protecting my friend.
And the terrible price that was almost paid because of my perceived inadequacy, because of my weakness. Lena had nearly died.
It was so profoundly frustrating, so infuriating, that it made me burn with a fierce, self-directed anger, a bitter resentment aimed squarely at myself. The more I thought about it, the more unstable my emotions became, spiraling into a chaotic whirlwind of self-loathing. Rationally, I knew, with a detached part of my mind, that I couldn't have done anything to prevent it under those extreme circumstances, that I had no logical reason to feel this way, no reason to despise myself so intensely.
But the crushing feelings of helplessness and inadequacy just wouldn't go away. They clung to me, a persistent, suffocating weight.
Reminding me, with every agonizing breath, that even now, even after all my training, I'm still just a weak, insignificant person.
"I'm... crying?"
I blinked in genuine surprise, a profound confusion washing over me as I felt small, warm tears begin to fall freely down my face, tracing cold paths on my cheeks. I gritted my teeth in a fresh surge of anger, a silent fury at my own vulnerability, as I felt the small droplets of water cascade down my face. "I—"
I shook my head, desperately trying to dislodge the oppressive thoughts, as I staggered up from my bed and made my way to the bathroom. Turning on the faucet, I splashed some cold water onto my face, hoping its sharp sting would clear my mind, would wash away the lingering images and the self-loathing.
I let out a shaky sigh, a desperate attempt to regain my composure, before looking at my reflection in the mirror. My face looked profoundly tired, my usually bright black eyes were now bloodshot and red from the tears, my black hair was a complete, tangled mess, and my shirt was stained with the splashing drops from the faucet, clinging uncomfortably to my skin.
It was a pathetic, desolate sight, a reflection of my inner turmoil.
Shaking my head once more, I reluctantly tore my gaze away from the mirror and turned heavily towards my room—
Ping!
Just then, my phone buzzed with a text notification, a sudden, jarring interruption to the suffocating silence of my self-pity. As much as I desperately wanted to simply return to bed and get this horrific day over with, to escape into the oblivion of sleep, I knew, with a sinking feeling, that I wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon. My mind was too agitated, too haunted.
I reluctantly picked up my phone, its cold surface a stark contrast to my flushed skin, and opened the HeroNet application.
[Invisible Lady - 23:58] {Hey, are you awake?} [Rocker Girl - 23:59] {Yeah, I couldn't sleep no matter how hard I tried...} [Invisible Lady - 23:59] {We're in the same boat! Look, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out with me and Lena to the mall tomorrow, taking advantage of the days off that the Academy gave us. I already asked Momo but she said that her parents wouldn't let her go out after the incident at U.A.} [Invisible Lady - 24:00] {I'd like to relax with my friends in these free days, you know ( ~ ~ ▿ °)} [Rocker Girl - 24:02] {Don't worry, I'm free... I desperately need to relax a bit too, and I doubt playing my instruments will help much with this kind of stress.} [Invisible Lady - 24:03] {That's great! Now all that's left to do is talk to Lena, who for some reason isn't answering her phone.}
At the mention of Lena, my face involuntarily twisted in a bitter grimace. I was still profoundly in shock from everything that had happened, and I knew I had acted unnecessarily cold towards her after the USJ incident, pushing her away in my own fear and self-loathing. 'I should definitely apologize to her for that... and soon.'
"Uff... I don't want to do anything at all today..." I mumbled, my voice muffled, as I leaned back comfortably, almost sinking, into the plush cushions of the living room couch. My body felt like lead, a profound weariness seeping into every bone.
I felt utterly tired, both physically and mentally drained from the traumatic events of the USJ. I wished, with a fervent longing, that I could magically transform into a turtle, pull my head into my shell, and stay hidden in my house all day, protected from the world. But now that I was doing exactly that, engaging in this forced inaction, it felt... strangely monotonous. A suffocating boredom began to creep in, adding to my weariness.
I absentmindedly turned my gaze to the television, its flickering images providing a dull distraction. They were showing a movie about Heroes and Villains who traveled back in time to alter the timeline and eliminate the Heroes, or something equally convoluted and predictable.
I watched it for a moment, my mind drifting, before grabbing the remote control and, with a sigh, turning off the TV. Movies, series, shows, cartoons, interviews – it seemed that absolutely everything revolved around Heroes and Villains. Every now and then, something outside of the genre would fleetingly pop up on the channels, a rare anomaly, but the vast majority of programming inexorably focused on Heroism, its triumphs and its struggles.
Being honest, I think they probably ran out of creativity at some point, endlessly recycling similar plots. Although, in their defense, it's entirely understandable that they over-exploited everything Hero-related. After all, Heroes sold like hotcakes, immensely popular. And not including them in some show or movie was foolishly losing money and audience, something that doesn't benefit the production company's bottom line.
"Haa..." I sighed again, a sound of profound boredom, as I buried my face with a soft couch cushion, reveling in its comforting softness. At least tomorrow, we would finally go back to school, and we could get out of this stifling boredom... perhaps even face new, exciting challenges that would banish this monotony.
"...What's wrong, Lena?" Winston's voice, laced with mild amusement, pulled me out of my thoughts. He had just walked into the living room, and he simply raised an eyebrow, a slight smile playing on his lips, as he surveyed my rather dramatic state of repose on the couch.
"I'm bored..." I mumbled, my voice still muffled, my face still buried in the cushion. "More like tired... and bored is a strange, uncomfortable feeling for me."
"Why don't you go exercise to kill some time, then?" Winston asked, looking at me with a playful roll of his eyes, not that I could see it through the cushion. He knew my usual answer.
"I don't feel like working out right now, Papa. I want to do something else, something different, but I just can't decide what that 'something else' is," I replied, pushing the cushion away from my face to see my father give me the classic "Really, daughter?" look. Yes, that look. The one that conveys profound skepticism and gentle exasperation.
Thinking about exercise, I suddenly remembered that I still hadn't told Dad about Kairos and the strange, new state of my Energy. Yesterday, after talking a bit with my dad about what happened at the USJ, I had gone straight to bed, utterly exhausted, and my head was still spinning with residual dizziness and fragmented memories.
Today, after 'looking' at my Energy for a while, delving into its strange, liquid depths, I came to the profound conclusion that some of the 'leaks' within my temporal energy flow had subtly, unexpectedly, closed up a bit, almost as if they were healing themselves. It was still a mess, a chaotic, unorganized system, but definitely not as terrible as it had been before the Kairos encounter.
'I could mold my Energy to seal the leaks, couldn't I?' I thought absentmindedly, a new, intriguing idea forming in my mind as I closed my eyes again, allowing that strange, familiar feeling of being submerged in water to return. It was this sensation that allowed me to feel and manipulate my chaotic Energy. 'I think the exercise can wait a bit while I focus intently on this, on understanding and controlling this new aspect of my power... although I won't say anything to Daddy about it; I don't want him to analyze me all day and lose one of my two precious days off from school.'
"You know, you could always go for a walk around the neighborhood, Lena," Winston replied, his voice pulling me abruptly out of my deep concentration. "Maybe even go to the mall, if you're feeling adventurous."
"I could, but almost always some villain inevitably interrupts the peace at the malls, and the very last thing I want right now, after the USJ, is more villains or unexpected chaos," I said, stretching my legs out, my body still protesting from its recent ordeal.
The doorbell suddenly rang, a cheerful, insistent chime cutting through the quiet.
"I'll get it," Winston said, rising from the couch and walking towards the door to open it.
I, for my part, put the cushion back on my face, burying myself once more in its softness. For some reason, I found it incredibly comfortable, possibly because it smelled faintly of fresh laundry.
I vaguely heard a series of hurried footsteps stop abruptly outside, then heard an amused chuckle and a tired sigh before the cushion was gently but firmly pulled away from my face.
"Hey! Give back—"
"Wouldn't it be better to sleep in your actual bed, Lena?" Kyoka asked, her voice tinged with mild exasperation, as she looked at me like I was utterly insane. She was standing there, a familiar, welcome sight.
My brain momentarily shut down for a moment, short-circuiting as I meticulously analyzed Kyoka from head to toe, taking in every detail of her appearance. Kyoka was dressed in a sleek black jacket, which was worn over a simple white shirt. She was also wearing blue short jeans that accentuated her slender legs, and a pair of black Converse shoes that completed her casual yet stylish look.
Kyoka raised an eyebrow, squinting her eyes slightly, a silent prompt for a response. "Are you okay, Lena? You look a bit... spaced out."
"Oh, hey, Kyo, what's up?" I said, mustering as much nonchalance as I possibly could in my voice, desperately trying not to sound surprised by the sudden, unannounced appearance of the shorter girl in my living room. 'Why are you at my house?... No, rather, how do you even know where I live?!' The questions flashed through my mind.
"Muh, Kyoka's not the only one here, you know!" A familiar voice, distinctly annoyed, suddenly chimed in. Looking in the direction of the voice, I could see a dark green shirt along with a black skirt and long black stockings floating eerily in the air. "Are you purposefully ignoring me, Lena?"
"Sorry, Toru, I honestly didn't see you, my bad. By the way, what are you two doing here?" I asked curiously, genuinely perplexed. I hadn't been warned that they were coming to my house. 'Come to think of it, I completely forgot I haven't even touched my phone since yesterday's incident...'
"Well, we sent you several messages to your phone, but you didn't answer, so we decided to come straight over, since we were worried," Toru explained, her voice softening, as she sat next to me on the couch and ran an invisible hand over my shoulder, a comforting gesture. "We wanted to know if you wanted to go out to the mall for a walk and maybe buy some stuff, since we have the days off!"
"Oh," I exclaimed, a little puzzled, but also relieved by their presence. 'Literally less than two minutes ago, I said I didn't want to go out, but well, it looks like fate has other plans for me today.'
I smiled slightly. "Sure, I'd love to! Give me just a minute to change my clothes; I can't exactly go to the mall in my pajamas, can I?"
I was about to go downstairs to my room, but Kyoka was waiting for me, her eyes closed, as she leaned back from the couch. She looked a little tired, perhaps she had woken up on the wrong side of the bed or something.
"Alright! Let's go!" Toru exclaimed with an excited jump, practically leaping out of my house, her invisible form a blur of eager anticipation.
I quickly said goodbye to my father before catching up with both girls, a renewed sense of energy washing over me.
It took us a while to get to the mall, as my house was a bit far away from the city center, but we made it without too much of a hitch, the journey filled with light chatter and laughter. Toru quickly proposed that we go shopping for clothes and try on different outfits, to which Kyoka and I had no problem agreeing.
In fact, I even bought a few new pairs of clothes that I thought looked rather nice, a rare indulgence for me. We joked a bit about Kyoka's gothic taste in choosing clothes and how she seemed to love oversized sweaters more than anything else.
We then passed near a music store, its windows filled with various instruments that immediately caught Kyoka's keen attention. She didn't buy any, as they were prohibitively expensive, but according to her, they seemed to be of exceptionally good quality, impressing her discerning ear.
As we walked through the different stores, I saw a lady taking care of her two small children. She looked happy, content. And then, I saw us walking in a reflection on a shop window, and a thought, unbidden, popped into my head.
"Come to think of it..." I spoke out loud, without fully realizing it, my voice carrying in the quiet mall. "I look a bit like a mother walking with her two small children, don't I?"
Kyoka and Toru stopped abruptly, as if on command, and a visible vein appeared on their foreheads, throbbing with indignation.
I looked at them, confused for a moment, wondering what had just happened, what I had said wrong. And it was that precise, bewildered moment that allowed a single, well-aimed Jack to connect with my arm, grabbing me firmly, and shaking me like a human liquidator. When the shaking finally ended, a sudden, concussive blow landed on my head, leaving me seeing stars, my vision momentarily swimming with bright spots.
"Don't you ever call us midgets, you freaking giantess!" Toru exclaimed, her voice sounding oddly like a yakuza boss, filled with feigned menace.
"Next time, I won't be so nice..." Kyoka muttered, her eyes narrowed, emanating a chilling, murderous aura, her playful anger evident.
After a few more hours of walking, exploring, and enduring more playful "punishments," we headed to the food center, to eat, duh. We ordered three large pizzas, a small feast. While Kyoka and Toru, being of more modest appetites, couldn't eat all the food, I, on the other hand, had absolutely no problem with that much food, devouring my share with gusto.
"Hey, Toru, if you don't mind me asking, where were you during the USJ incident?" asked Kyoka, a sudden flicker of curiosity in her eyes, eager to know how Toru had dealt with the terrifying encounter.
"I was with Todoroki! It was a sight to see him defeat all the villains with a single wave of his hands, it was absolutely amazing!" Toru explained, her voice bubbling with enthusiasm, as she seemed to strike various dynamic poses, as if to simulate the confrontation. It was a bit hard to fully visualize, of course, because... well, she's invisible. "With his cool aptitude, I think I might actually fall in love with him! He's just so cool!"
"Well, Todoroki is very strong and adaptable almost anywhere due to the incredible versatility of his Quirk... although I guess it technically counts as two Quirks, don't you think?" I said, chuckling lightly. Someone with more than one Quirk would be truly terrifying, and Todoroki, even if he doesn't technically possess more than one Quirk, is still terrifyingly powerful with his masterful handling of his two elements. "Although, you should have seen Kyo's power at its absolute peak; Momo, with my help, created a guitar that unleashed Kyo's power to the max. She wiped out all the villains in the Landslide Zone in less than the blink of an eye!"
"Really?! You did that, Kyoka?!" Toru asked, almost jumping out of her seat, getting far too close to Kyoka's face for Kyoka's liking, her invisible face radiating profound astonishment.
"W-Well, it wasn't that impressive, honestly..." Kyoka replied, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson as she instinctively moved away from Toru, clearly embarrassed by the sudden attention. "It was mainly Momo and Lena's help that made it possible."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, nonsense," I smirked, slipping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her a little closer to me, a playful, yet affectionate, gesture. "You became a weapon of mass destruction, no matter what, Kyo. Own it!"
Toru just watched her friends' playful exchange with a big, invisible smile on her face. She was thoroughly enjoying this relaxing time together. They hadn't seemed too cheerful or relaxed after leaving the USJ, so it was a profound relief to see them laughing and seemingly okay again.
After that, we headed back to my place to hang out for a bit before it got too late. Toru had to go to a train stop since she lived a little further away than Kyoka or me, so she departed first.
Before knocking on the door to my house, Kyoka suddenly stopped me by wrapping one of my hands with her earphone Jacks, a gentle but firm hold.
I turned around, confused. "Kyo? Is something wrong?"
The shorter girl simply averted her gaze for a moment, a subtle sign of discomfort, as she retrieved her Jacks. "I... I wanted to apologize for yesterday, Lena."
I cocked my head, my brow furrowed slightly in puzzlement. "What do you mean, Kyo? What are you apologizing for?"
"I was a bit... an idiot when we left the USJ," Kyoka spoke softly, her voice filled with genuine regret, as she shifted uncomfortably, avoiding my direct gaze. "I didn't mean to act that way, I just... I had a lot on my mind, a lot of fear, and... well."
I blinked twice, surprised by her sincere apology, before smiling warmly. I then grabbed her gently and, with a quick motion, lifted her up into the air before giving her a tight, affectionate hug. "My God! You're so incredibly cute when you look guilty, Kyo!"
"E-Eh?! Careful!" Kyoka exclaimed, her voice muffled, as she struggled playfully to get out of my embrace. Finally, with a light giggle, I released her, which earned me a playful scowl from her.
"No need to apologize, Kyo! To tell you the truth, I was stupid to do what I did too, rushing in like that. But at the time, it seemed like a good idea, a necessary one. So, the one who should apologize is actually me," I said, smiling genuinely as I scratched my head nervously, acknowledging my own impulsive actions.
Kyoka looked at me for a moment, her eyes softening, before letting out a small giggle which quickly escalated into full-blown, joyful laughter.
At first, I looked at her, puzzled by her sudden mirth, before joining in her laughter as well, the sound echoing lightly between us.
And we stood there, in the quiet evening, laughing together for a while, the simple act of shared joy dispelling the lingering shadows of fear and trauma.
"So you want me to come to I-Island in three days, right, David?"
"Yes, Winston. We will meet there – you, myself, and Angela Ziegler – to formally begin with Project: ARCANGEL," David's voice replied on the other end of the phone, his tone serious and direct. "I also want you to help me with 'it,' my own personal project."
"Can't we delay it a bit, David?" I said bitterly, a profound reluctance in my voice. I truly didn't want to be separated from my daughter, especially after seeing her in that terrifying state yesterday, after the USJ incident. "It's a little sudden, don't you think?"
"It is, Winston, but we can't afford to delay any longer; the research is too critical, and the window of opportunity is narrow. Besides, don't worry too much about Lena; you can always come back to watch her performance at the U.A. Sports Festival, if that eases your mind," David said, his voice attempting to dispel my lingering doubts and anxieties.
"Haa... well, I trust you, my friend, I always have. Although, I genuinely don't like leaving Lena alone at all, not after what happened," I reluctantly replied, looking at the stairs tentatively, my gaze drawn to the quiet house. 'But it looks like her friends managed to get her spirits back up, at least... that's a small comfort.'
"She's a teenager now, Winston. Trust her more, have faith in her capabilities," the voice on the other end of the phone said calmly, its tone imbued with a gentle wisdom. "At some point, she'll have to leave the nest, to spread her own wings."
"I know, David, I know," I sighed audibly, the sound a mix of resignation and acceptance. "Well, I'll see you in three days at I-Island."
And with that, the communication between two renowned scientists was cut off, unbeknownst to them that two more people were listening intently to their entire conversation, every word, every nuance.