41 - Heroes are made, not born.

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A long, narrow hallway echoes with screams. I pass the festering rooms with disgust, wincing at every name on the door.
Mina, Shouto, Iida, Katsuki.
Ejirou, Hanta, Denki and Tsu-
"I'll find you."
I press my lips tightly together to stifle the rising scream.
"I'll always find you." Dabi whispers, his fingers closing around my wrists painfully.
"You can only run from me."
Fingers close around my lips.
"But I'll find you."
Screams bubble painfully in my throat.
"I'll always find you."

The sound of my own screams wake me up again. I stretch my tight limbs, shrugging on Bakugou's large hoodie, the black fleece bring warmth to my shaking body. I open the door of my dorm silently, tiptoeing down the hall. Echo had taken to sleeping with Momo and Jirou.
They were a cute couple, but I still miss my cat.
I feel the kettle with the tips of my fingers, glad to feel the heat radiate off the steel. Good, I didn't need to wait for tea. I dig slowly through the cabinets above my head, trying my best not to wake my classmates. I pull out the box of tea bags, placing one in a mug. A shuffle  behind me alerts me that someone else is also awake.
"Can't sleep?" I turn to see Sero smiling behind me, rubbing his cracked elbows tiredly. I grab another mug and teabag before pouring the hot water in.
"Milk?" I ask, Sero nods.
"Almond." I pour some into both mugs before handing him the steaming cup. We sit up on the counter, sipping our drinks quietly.
"Did I wake you?" I ask softly, relived when he shakes his head.
"No, it's alright." Hanta replies, looking stressed.
"What's on your mind, Sero?" I take a long sip of my tea whilst he smiles forlornly.
"Denki is struggling." Sero starts, "And I can't help him. He tosses and turns all night, his new meds aren't any good and I'm so scared-" I holding his shaking hand, squeezing it for reassurance.
"I just want him to pass." He mumbles, tearing up. I understand immediately, as later today we are to sit the exams for our provisional licenses.
"You'll both be amazing." I smile, placing my empty mug beside me, "Does that need attention?" I point my gaze at Sero's cracked elbows, the peeling skin a bright red. He nods, grimacing when I hesitantly prod it.
"Antiseptic cream and some dressings should help." I momentarily leap of the island counter before climbing onto the one beside the fridge, opening the medical cabinet with ease. I pull the box down and carry it across to Sero, who chuckles quietly.
"You're good at this, Pandora."
"Lots of practice." I respond meekly, snapping on a pair of gloves before smearing the cool cream across his splitting skin. Once the plaster is on and the gloves disposed of, I'm sitting across from Sero on the counter again.
"Should we sleep?" Sero asks half-heartedly.
"Not together." I joke and he chuckles.
"I'm afraid the line might get bigger." Sero replies slyly. I blush.
"Goodnight Hanta." He smiles.
"Goodnight Panda." The nickname sits perfectly with my purple rimmed eyes. I sneak back upstairs and glance at my empty room.
I don't want to be alone tonight.
I count the doors down as I float, making sure I don't wake anyone. I tap lightly on the door, slightly surprised when the door opens almost immediately.
"Pandora?" Izuku asks and I just hug him, levitation leaving my body as he clicks the door closed with his foot and carries me to his bed. He crashes softly onto his bed whilst holding my tightly.
"Nightmare?" Izuku hums and I nod into his muscular chest. He pulls a blanket over the both of us, the warmth is so soothing I fall asleep immediately.

"Wake up Love." Izuku presses his warm lips against my forehead softly and I open my eyes to peer at his freckles cheeks and smiling eyes.
"Good Morning."
"Good Morning." I blush, climbing off his chest and stretching my stiff limbs.
"You better get ready, bus leaves in an hour..." Izuku says awkwardly.
"Can we cuddle once I'm done?" I ask quietly, secretly hoping he agrees and doesn't think I'm weird.
Although that would solve my 'line' problem.
"Of course." Izuku mocks outrage before smiling.
"Give me ten minutes." I promise, opening and closing his door quietly and quickly, not bothering to be quiet as I run quickly down the hall. I can hear my classmates bustling around in their rooms as I pack my bag and get dressed with a struggle, getting stuck on the bra clasps and shirt buttons. I pocket my tie, knowing I can do it later. I hold my bag and shoes (by the laces) in one hand, and opening my door and Izuku's with the other.
"Just a minute, Pandora." Izuku finishes the last knot on his shoelaces and scoops the tie hanging loosely from  my pocket with ease.
When did he get so smooth!?
"Can I?" He asks, hesitating before I nod.
"Are you nervous?" I ask curiously, "About today, I mean." Izuku blushes slightly before mumbling what I think is a 'yes'.
"Me too." I hum, smiling when he ties the final knot. We stare at each other awkwardly before the door slams open.
"OI DEKU HAVE YOU SEEN PANDORA?!" Katsuki barges in, looking perfectly normal apart from his eyes jerking crazily across the room.
"Ah." Izuku drops his hand from my hip, I almost whine from the lack of touch. Luckily for me, Katsuki practically throws me over his shoulder and storms off to his room.
That's exactly what he's doing.
"Katsuki," I groan and he chuckles darkly.
"Did you sleep with him!?" He demands quietly, his voice laced with deadly venom. I climb off his back and onto the floor, folding my arms in retaliation.
"Well I had a nightmare so I stayed with him until I fell asleep.." I begin, startled when Katsuki slams his fist on the table angrily.
"DAMN IT Y/N!" He shouts, "DID YOU FUCK HIM OR WHAT?"
What!?
I watch as his face dawns with realisation, Katsuki has never yelled at me like this before. He open and closes his mouth, struggling for words.
Of course I didn't!
I stand up shakily, and without a word I walk briskly out into the hallway, ignoring the panicked eyes and shocked mumbles. I keep walking until I'm outside, only stopping to sit beside the end of the gravel driveway. This is where the bus will pick us up to take us to our exams, so this is where I will wait.
Waiting very patiently and definitely not panicking.
Holy shit.
What the hell!
Work on breathing.
In and out...
HOLY SHIT.
He called you Y/N.
I'LL KILL HIM.
HE CALLED YOU Y/N!
The last thought shakes me from my stupor. Of course. Deep down, nobody respects your decision.
Or they're just used to knowing you as Y/N.
"Hey kiddo." I turn around to look at my Dad through teary eyes. He sighs, helping me onto me feet and into a hug.
"What's the matter?" Dad asks softly. I laugh, although it sounds disjointed and choked.
"It's not like it w-w-w-was quiet-t" I stammer, finding it hard to form words. Zawa rubs my back.
"Yeah we heard everything." I groan quietly. And then I groan louder, getting it from my system.
"You need to eat. And shower. And pack your bag properly." Zawa chuckles, "Forget your boy drama until you get your license. Don't let three teenage boys ruin your dream." I nod, wiping my eyes. We trudge back up the driveway, the gravel crunching beneath our feet. I take a quick but hot shower, the scorching water helping erase the pain from my muscles. I get dressed quickly yet efficiently to reserve time for a suitable breakfast, which ends up being cheese omelettes and a fruit salad, courtesy of Ejirou.
I buddy with Sero, Denki and Ejirou until we have arrived at the site. We talk about breakfast, class gossip (steering clear of my situation with Bakugou etc) and dorm decor ideas.
"I can't believe you didn't win." I complain, "Your room was so manly." Sero nods his head whilst Ejirou shrugs.
"If we think that's manly, what about your Hero Name?"
"Well I decided to go with Control Freak; Manipulation Hero." I say, "I like that it suggests a villainous side yet it will save countless lives." Denki buzzes slightly, bouncing in his seat beside Sero.
"That's damn cool Panda." I laugh.
"Panda? What about Dora?" Ejirou snickers and I shove him playfully.
"Atleast you're respecting my chosen name." I raise my volume slightly, knowing that Bitch Boy behind us is eavesdropping.
"I love your ultimate moves." Kaminari pipes up, Mina and Ochaco turning around to join our conversation.
"What's the disappearing act you do?" Uraraka beams, folding her hands together in a quick clapping motion.
"Space Jump but I like 'disappearing act' much better." I giggle, everyone laughing too. We continue to talk about our training, joking about all the times Kaminari short circuited.
"I'm not stupid." He whined as we climbed out of the bus. We all smile reassuringly, Kaminari is pleased with this answer.
As we are lingering around the back of the bus, another school approaches us and chants alongside our school verse. I ignore the idiot that introduces himself, immediately forgetting his name.
Surely he isn't relevant.
We enter the stadium and split to get changed into our hero costumes. Since my abduction (the second one) I had major changes to my hero costume. Because of my 'scary' appearance and 'intimidating' name (Which makes appropriate sense if I'm to fight villains, but Zashi said otherwise) I now have a brightly coloured costume that has thick boots to give me some more height. I may have grown since the beginning of the year, but I'm still the same height as Tsu.
And I will shoot Mineta if he ever grows taller than me.
Speaking of which, Kaminari laced his cereal with glue today for no particular reason.
Something along the lines of Homophobia and Heteronormative ideals...
I completely agree with Kaminari, although I would've used Mina's acid instead of glue.
"Panda!" Mina calls across the room, waving at me. I pick up my bag and hurry over, joining her in the bustling hallway to the auditorium.
The speaker goes over the task, but something else is bothering me.
The guy from the bus.
He looks over and grins at me, standing a few feet away between costume-clad bodies. I smile back, in which he frowns awkwardly. I wink at him before turning away to pay attention to the heroes talking.
"-Ten percent pass rate due to.." I gasp, quickly covering my mouth with my hand.
Ten percent passing rate!?
This is our fault.
I glance back at the bus boy, watching slyly as he smirks knowingly.
And he knows it's your fault.
I ignore him, to paraphrase Zawa. Forget the boy drama until I pass. Simple, if not impossible.
I'm given spots to attach to my 'weak areas' and I giggle thinking about it.
My whole body is a weak spot.
I press the spots on my chest, stomach and right shoulder. The room opens up to reveal this astonishing place with custom terrains. I spot Dad in the stands, and he nods approvingly. Obviously my choices of spots are correct. I manage a weak smile before putting on my game face, it's time to kick ass. The exam starts.
I teleport.
I appear in the air whilst targeting a slow Seijin High School student with a funny looking hat, using the wind to hit all three of their targets before they can even throw a single ball. I smile, landing on the earth with a soft crunch and watching the chaos unfold. I feel the earth rumble and I watch my class become targeted by....everyone?
I draw every ball towards me in a ten media radius quickly, pulling them towards me and then releasing quickly. Sixteen aspiring heroes are eliminated.
I've passed at 10th place.
I exit the stadium to the makeshift waiting room, getting a stamp on my wrist by an official and my targets taken away.  I collapse into a chair, watching the screen eagerly. A pounding in my head alerts that I did well but I'm not running on dead feet yet.
"UA? HAHAHAHAHAH." A tall, obnoxiously loud guy appears next to me, chortling.
"Excuse me?" I ask politely, folding my arms across my chest.
"You managed to escape The Crushing of UA!" He barks, "I'm Inasa Yoarashi." I shake his outstretched hand.
"Pandora Aizawa-Yamanda." I respond, "A whirlwind quirk?" Inasa looks miffed, frowning slightly.
"Yes," He says slowly, "Do I know you?"
"I wouldn't think so..? I don't really go anywhere. Too much like my Dad."
"Prison?" I choke on air, coughing as I answer his innocent question.
"No," I manage to breathe calmly, "Uhm its complicated." I as a gestures to the screen.
"We're not going anywhere, if you want to explain." He booms, puffing his chest.
"I'd like to hear your story too, Y/N." I cringe as bus boy struts around the corner and sits next to me.
"Who are you?" Inasa barks.
"Yo Shindo." Bus boy introduces himself.
"Wanna hear my sob story? Fine. Dad's dead, I was recently kidnapped and I'm adopted by a pro hero." I skim over the heavier topics, mainly addressing Inasa. He looks borderline impressed under his scowling exterior.
"Which pro hero?" Shindo asks, bored. I give him a dirty look.
"Eraserhead." I begrudgingly say. They nod, familiar with the name. It explains my lack of human interaction and manners, at the very least. Inasa snaps his fingers and lights up like a kid on Christmas.
"You're Y/N Aizawa from the missing posters!" Ah fuck.
"That would be correct. I go by Pandora now, if you don't mind." I snap, stalking to the entrance as Shouto joins the accepted. I'm vaguely aware of Inasa following behind me, but I hug Sho anyway.
"Took you long enough." I mumble and he chuckles.
"Sorry about that." He says sarcastically. I hand him a water bottle and he basically inhales it.
"Endeavour." Inasa looms over us both, not much over Shouto but a lot over me. Sho notices.
"Short." Shouto teases me quietly.

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