Affinity

Chapter 34 - What's Old is New

A/N: Hey everyone! Hemza here with this week's update! At the time of writing, Darian is about to board a flight for a lovely and well-deserved vacation, so manifesting a safe and relaxing trip for her! Even if she is the worst. Sorry, couldn't help it. You all know by now how we do this. Anyways, please enjoy our latest glimpse into the life of Emiko :)

The car ride to the school was deadly quiet. Sakura hadn't bothered saying a single thing after Emiko had been discharged and shepherded into the vehicle idling at the entrance of the hospital. The only sound surrounding them was the roar of the engine as they tore down the highway. Sakura hadn't even touched the radio which normally blared all their favorite songs. Their silence was punctuated only by the roar of the wind as Sakura sped up, and the momentary whir of engines as they sped past other vehicles.

Pulling up to UA should have been a joyous experience as it had been nearly every other time she set foot on campus, but this time Emiko only felt dread. It pooled in her stomach and left her feeling waterlogged. The campus called to her, seemingly welcoming her with open arms. Other students shuffled by her, heads tucked into their own books, caught up in their own conversations.

Emiko climbed out at the front gates despite the prospect of moving into her dorm, feeling awkwardly empty-handed considering all of her clothes and belongings had been moved to the dorm, situated for her while she was recovering. She didn't spare a glance backwards, though she felt Sakura staring at her back. She knew if she turned around, she'd crumble and break into a million pieces.

Despite her anger, Emiko missed her aunt. She missed the easy way the pair spoke with each other, the way they always knew what one another was thinking. She missed the late nights spent chatting over warm tea and cold ice cream, and she longed for Sakura to grin and give her terrible advice on how to admit her feelings aloud.

As it was, she shuffled forward without so much as a backward glance, missing the heartbreak on Sakura's face at the snub from the girl that had for all intents and purposes become her daughter. Emiko reached up and adjusted her bangs to hang over her injured eye, not wanting to subject herself to the gawking of her fellow students. She knew they'd likely heard about her encounter with the villains and she dreaded knowing what they thought of her. Her class was supposed to be the best of the best, given everything they'd gone through so far. She was the weakest link and she knew it, knew that the students she was walking past were looking at her as a pity student - someone who'd been allowed in on a technicality.

Any other day that would've lit a fire under her, would've left her nearly bubbling over with anger... but today Emiko was exhausted. She hadn't even set foot in the building she'd call home for the rest of this year, but her feet moved as if she was walking through wet concrete.

Between the updated signage littered around the campus and the seemingly endless pamphlets that Aizawa had dropped off about the new dorm, Emiko was able to find her way to the building where she'd be spending most of her free time outside of classes. It was a tall brick building, one that seemed somewhat out of place given UA's typically modern facilities.

Aizawa was standing outside, her homeroom teacher giving a curt nod to the girl as she approached. He smiled only a little, attempting to hide the brief glimpses of joy at seeing her back and walking again. He looked exhausted, Emiko noticed. More so than usual, and she knew that he'd been facing the brunt of the criticism as her homeroom teacher.

She owed him an apology, she knew. As soon as she was ready to open the dam of regret and guilt, she would apologize to him. Apologize for failing the school, her classmates, and him. She wasn't the hero he and the faculty seemed convinced she was. Once again she wondered what it was exactly that they saw in a pathetic failure such as herself. Was she just the class simpleton that made the others' lights shine that much more brightly when comparing her to them?