𝐊𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐀 ⟼ s. todoroki

008ˢ⁻¹

IT SEEMED LIKE the whole world had decided to text her that day.

Riya texted her demanding an answer as to why Kamiko didn't tell her that Azuma-san was going to the same high school as her.

Then she asked how Kamiko's day was. Soon, all the messages on Kamiko's phone were asking how her first day at U.A. was.

She couldn't find the courage to tell them just how pathetic she was compared to the other kids. So she lied, telling them that it went great and that she couldn't be more excited for the rest of the year.

Lies.

"Hi, honey," her mother greeted her as soon as Kamiko walked through the door. "How was your day?"

Kamiko tried to smile as tossed her crocs aside. "Oh, you know, just got my usual daily reminder!"

"Daily reminder?" her mother repeated. "Oh! Did it go well?"

"No, mom!" Kamiko frowned. "Today just reminded me that I'm weak!"

"What happened?" her mother asked, surprised to see Kamiko so discouraged.

"We had a Quirk apprehension test today," Kamiko explained. "And our homeroom teacher said whoever got last place among the 20 of us would be expelled-"

Her mother's eyes widened. "Can he do that-"

"It's U.A., mom! Anything is possible!" Kamiko cut off. "So, everyone wants to do well, right? And I do the best I can and...and..."

"And what?"

"And I got 19th place!" Kamiko wailed. "Mom! 19th! I was one place away from getting expelled! And I could only use this stupid katana for one of the events!"

She sunk to the ground, covering her face with her hands. "Everyone in that class is so strong and I'm so weak!"

"You're not weak," her mother said, patting her back. "You just think that way because you want to be better."

"Mom! You have no idea," Kamiko seethed. "One girl can make any non-living object from her body and another girl can nullify gravity and got infinity on the ball throw test."

"Yes, but-"

"And another guy can make explosions from his hands and another one can power up his limbs with a massive amount of strength," Kamiko continued. "Heck, Endeavor's kid is in my class!"

"Endeavor's kid?"

"Yeah, and you should've seen him," Kamiko said. "He got 2nd place, just behind the girl who can make anything."

"Well, he's the son of a Pro-Hero," her mother explained matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, and I'm the daughter of two of the most feared villains in Japan's history!" Kamiko said. "But I can't even use my damn Quirk! So what good is that for?"

With that, she got up and stomped up toward her room, ignoring her mother's protests. She locked the door so her mother wouldn't try to bother her.

She leaned against the door and slowly slid down as she let out a shaky exhale. She buried her face in her knees and her shoulders began to shake.

"If only that hadn't happened," she whispered bitterly, clawing at her legs so the pain would keep her in the present.

"If only my life hadn't been ruined by them."

Scratch.

"But they're also at fault."

Scratch.