Ice Cold

A Familiar Face

He walked up to you, placing his hands on your face as if you were his own child, coming home after a long time. His fingers grazed under your eyes, gently poking at spots where he remembered there being a mole or a blemish.

"Dad." Aster signaled.

"Right... yes." He stepped away from you, the eye contact not breaking. "You're- Do you know anyone of that name?"

"'Himari'?" You nodded. "That's my mother." You lowered your hood, revealing the white head of hair, and his eyes softened. He finally saw a difference between you and your mother, a difference you hid for so long.

He opened the door a bit.

You stood outside, still, unsure if you were meant to follow him.

"Well? Are you planning on being trained by me or not?"

Aster jumped a bit in excitement and took your arm, raising it and slapping your palm in a high five. "Let's go!" You watched him rush inside with one of your suitcases dragging behind you and your hand was still stuck awkwardly in the air, still stinging a bit from his slap.

So that's...

You grabbed your remaining suitcase and followed him inside with a slight saunter.

Aster rushed into the foyer. "Sorry, left you out there. Do you want me to take your suitcase?" You didn't even get a chance to respond as he grabbed the handle of the suitcase and lugged it further into the house. "You want me to take your...?"

You held your backpack's strap, shaking your head.

"Alright then."

"Just follow me."

•••

Justin didn't take in students and it really showed in the guest room.

It looked more like a storage unit than a place that was meant to hold a human being. Well, a living one, at least.

"Sorry about the mess." Aster apologized, slowly beginning to move boxes of random nonsense outside of the room and into the hallway.

You felt a breath of nostalgia, remembering your first day in UA, how your room was a mere storage unit until you moved in.

"Can't you use your quirk for it?"

You and Aster turned to see Justin poking his head out of one of the nearby rooms.

"How far back was your quirk rewound?" He asked as he took a box from his son's hands and placed it on the floor.

"I'm not sure. But it feels... foreign."

"I see. We'll talk later." And with that, he went down the stairs and back onto the main floor. Your eyes didn't cease to follow him until you couldn't see him anymore from behind the railing of the second floor.

"I'll help you." You finally offered as you placed your backpack on the ground and assisted with clearing out the room so you could stay in it.

After about an hour, all the boxes were out in the hall. "I'll just bring these outside."

"I'll help."

"Nah, just settle in." Aster pushed your suitcases into the room and shut the door, leaving you inside the hollow space.

You already missed your old room: the mystical atmosphere with books, lanterns and a shelf resembling a tree, how you had over a decade to make it your own.

You sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, where the floor was cold and the light was right above you. It's not like you brought posters or anything.