Chapter 26

I think it was a given that one of my biggest fears would have to be crowded places. My anxieties would worsen as I felt everything shaking inside of me and the room heating up. All I would want was to get out, but sometimes, that was absolutely impossible. Being in huge crowds, well, I didn't think anything would be scarier, except for maybe what I had just gone through.

Having a gigantic shoe come speeding towards me, well, I think that just topped the cake. A scream escaped my lips as I felt my body react before I could blink. I was thankful for that as I hopped up onto my four legs and tried to scurry away. If anything, I had to get out of here. There wasn't any other way. There couldn't be! As much as it was best to stay hidden, I couldn't quite do that if I was dead.

No, I had just escaped death from the crazy woman with the pink hair and the man who claimed to be my father. That was the end of that story. I needed to stay alive otherwise escaping that place would have all been for nothing!

As I was about to leap behind a trash can, something caught onto my tail. Instead of going forward like I had planned, I was pulled back, hitting whatever had caught onto my tail.

It wasn't like the weight on my tail was painful. At least, it wasn't unless I tried to move. I needed to move. My head looked up to see a woman dressed in a blue and purple superhero costume. It was purple on the top until it reached her elbows, where a silver line slanted downwards towards her belly button. Under the line, the material turned into a dark blue.

There was only one hero who wore that costume. She was pretty well known too.

"It's Power Girl," I gasped in realization, surprised to hear my own voice being that I was, well, a rat.

While it could've been my imagination, it wasn't. The tall woman stumbled away. The fear in her expression widened that I could see it well past the small purple mask she wore.

"You can talk?" she gasped in response. "How can you talk?"

"It's a long story, but can you help me out? I-I need help. Big time," I told her. "I'm one of Yama—well, Raiden Yamamoto's classmates, an-and—"

"You're the shapeshifter girl that's in his class, aren't you?" Power Girl asked.

The hero bent down and looked at me. She was still quite far away from me, but I could tell it was the best she could do. She held out her hand for me to crawl on, and I nearly took a step onto. However, I hesitated. It wasn't because of my dislike of touch, but rather, the fact that I was a rat. If I shifted back to my human form, I would be in a very embarrassing situation.

Not sure that would matter being that I was covered in fur, but I had to do what I could right now to make things a lot less awkward. That was, if this situation wasn't odd enough.

"Yeah, but uh, before I get into that..." I stopped, trying to think things through. "I need clothes."

Powergirl tilted her head, confused.

"Clothes that can fit me," I explained.

Once again, Powergirl seemed confused as she blinked.

"Not like, me-rat-sized-me clothes, but like, clothes to fit human-sized-me," I tried digging myself out of the hole I was digging myself in. "I, uh, I don't have any clothes on."

Shock washed over Power Girl.

"That came out wrong! I'm sorry! Probably the last thing you wanted to hear someone, well a rat—I'll just shut up." I squeaked as I hung my head, trying to look away. I have always had a reputation of embarrassing myself, but this was by far the worst. I was embarrassing myself in front of a hero. Not just any hero, but one who was one of my classmate's siblings. There was no way I was going to hear the end of this.

Instead of more words of confusion and words that would make me feel anymore embarrassed, the hero just laughed. It would've made me feel more embarrassed, except, I felt her hands scoop me up.

"Don't worry. We'll keep this between us," she said. I looked up at her, seeing her dark brown eyes looking back at me. She looked exactly like her brother, even if she was in a mask. Looks were where the similarities stopped, especially when she smiled even more. "No wonder why he always talks about you."

Her words took me off guard. With Raiden Yamamoto being so serious, I didn't really think he'd tell any of his family members about the people at school. He hardly ever talked to anyone about his family.

If I wasn't caught off guard already, Power Girl kept talking. "You know, you're just as cute as he said you were, even if you are a stinky little rat. C'mon. Let's get you some clothes, so I can see that cute face of yours."

Of all things I could be, I was glad I was a rat because then my face wouldn't be red full of embarrassment.

~*~*~*~

Power Girl, or Hatsuko as she wanted me to call her, lead the way to her home. If it wasn't dark and late as it was, she would've walked me home, but I was glad she didn't. I don't know if I could face my mom and tell her what happened.

She has no idea what he did to her. For all I knew, she could've had a Quirk. It all made sense though. The day I got my Quirk, Mom was so shocked. It was one of the happiest days of her life, knowing I could live a better life. What if he took her chance of having a better life away? That would be cruel. I don't think there could be anything that could've been worse.

"Now, I'm just warning you, you could be walking into one of two situations. Either everyone will be sleeping, or complete and utter chaos will unravel," Hatsuko Yamamoto explained as she looked back at me. She had exchanged her costume for a simple brown button-up that she had knotted above her belly button and a pair of skinny jeans.

I nodded my head, silently telling Hatsuko that I had understood what she was talking about. She smiled as she turned her head away to watch where she was walking.

While we walked, my hands dug deeper in the large pocket of the hooded sweatshirt she had leant me. Despite being a foot taller than me, her clothing wasn't that much bigger. Yes, her sweatshirt ran to my knees, but it worked out nicely that I could wear it like a dress. Instead of having that dress-like feel, it was as if I had a warm blanket wrapped around me. It felt comforting.

It was nice that I had something to comfort me. As we walked further into the neighborhood, I could feel my body shake. The homes here seemed pretty nice, at least, the ones that were behind lit street lamps. There weren't many of those, making them loom over, casting shadows above me. If that wasn't bad enough, dogs would bark as loud as they could if we passed their homes, causing me to jump. I'd try to catch a glimpse of them, but I never could.

Eventually we came across a home made of brick that was two stories high. Most of the homes in this area looked as if it was one story, but this one stood a little taller, towering over the rest. Despite being one o'clock in the morning, the lights were on, showing off some white curtains. I could see outlines of people in some of the windows. In the one window on the top, I saw an outline of a girl reading a book while a dog sat next to her. Beside it, more towards the left, I saw a couple of people pacing back and forth, almost as if they were contemplating something. Whatever was going on in the first floor, I couldn't see.

Hatsuko motioned for me to follow her inside. As she did, I blinked, unable to process everything. Raiden lived here? This house was huge! Sure, Sakura lived in a big house, but this one stretched from one building to the next. You could have easily fit a ton of people inside. I would have never imagined Raiden living in a place like this.

Then again, Raiden was too scary for me to even fathom to ask questions about his personal life.

Not wanting to keep her waiting longer, I quickly ran up from behind her. Hatsuko chuckled a bit before she opened the door and stepped inside. She held the door for me, and as I walked in, she looked into the house.

"Má," she yelled. "¡Aquí estoy!"

Spanish, I thought to myself. I had no idea what she had said, but I could understand it was to her mother. If I had stayed in America, that would have probably been the second language I'd have to learn. At least, I think it would have been. I knew Japanese and English, but that was so I could communicate with everyone. If Mom and Peter didn't have to speak Japanese, then they wouldn't. They would if there were other people around, but if it was the four of us, then we'd speak English.

It wasn't something I realized until I heard another voice respond.

"Hatsuko, finalmente estás aquí!" Raiden's voice echoed from far away, slowly growing louder. "Nuestra hermana, Luz, necesita ayudar y Mamá hizo más tamales si tienes—"

Raiden stepped into the room, wearing a pair of green and orange plaid pants and a matching button-up pajama shirt. It looked a little worn, as if he had gotten good use out of it. The color started to fade while the ends of the pant legs were frayed and hung above the ankle.

"Hambre," Raiden finished as his eyes locked onto mine, completely shocked. "Tami?"

I looked down at the oversized sweatshirt, unsure what to say, afraid what he'd say. He was right when he warned me about that fortune teller. She wasn't a fortune teller at all. She was Nightshade in disguise. It was all just a trick to capture me. I fell right into her trap, even if Raiden warned me it wasn't a good idea. Sweat started to coat my forehead as I thought more about it as my hands grew clammy.

Being in his home, I had a horrible feeling he was going to scold me for going back and give me a huge lecture for how stupid I was. Honestly, I probably deserved it.

"Raiden, I'll take care of Luz. You make sure Tami here gets something to eat. Má's asleep, right?" Hatsuko asked.

I shifted over to one leg as I lowered my head even more. Because of how late it was getting, I thought Raiden Yamamoto would have been asleep. Actually, I thought all the Yamamotos would be asleep being how late it was, but it would be my luck that Raiden, of all people, would be up.

"She's asleep. Where's Dad?" Raiden asked, not paying attention to me at all. Honestly, I was grateful for that.

"Still at the crime scene. I would still be there, but I found Tami needed more help than they did. He should be home in an hour, and by then, I'll come up with an excuse for this," Hatsuko said.

There was a bit of silence, as if neither of the Yamamoto siblings knew what to say. Either that, or I couldn't hear a thing. All I could think about was what happened back at that place.

I had barely made it out of there alive. If it wasn't for that rat that crawled into my—into that room, I would probably still be trapped in there. Then what? Would I have been used for whatever plans they had? Would I have eventually forgotten my Quirk or important parts of me?

What if I did already forget something important, but I just couldn't remember?

"Tami?"

I snapped my head up to see Raiden standing in front of me as he held his phone out in front of him. His sister was nowhere to be found. Then again, they were talking about another sibling of theirs, Luz. Was it just the three of them, or were there more of them?

Either way, I wasn't going to ask.

"I said you can use my phone to call your family and the others. You can do that while I warm up the tamales if you want something to eat," Raiden said.

Nodding my head, I took the phone from his hand before looking up at him. He didn't move, just staring down at me with a different look than I've seen before. Raiden didn't look upset or angry. If anything, for the first time, he looked relieved.

As much as a part of me didn't want to, I wrapped my arms around him and laid my head against his chest. His heart was pounding a hundred beats per second, almost as if he had just got done with a run. Only, Raiden didn't seem sweaty. He didn't stink either, as an unusual smell came into my nose, almost smelling a bit like firewood.

Raiden hesitated for a moment, probably not expecting me to do this, but I didn't care. I was safe. That could change any moment. That man and his two henchmen could kidnap me again. I could be used in some way, but I wasn't. Not right now.

Right now, I was safe, and I just wanted to hold onto whatever that was while I still had it.

Arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer. "I thought you didn't like hugs, or any kind of physical touch," Raiden mumbled.

"I don't," I whispered, feeling the tears stinging my eyes. I refused to let them go, especially with how much I had cried these past few days. It was exhausting. "B-but I need something safe, or—or to know that I-I-I'm safe."

"Just don't do something stupid like that again," Raiden mumbled as I felt his one hand brush the back of my head as his head lowered on top of mine. He sighed before he said "But at least you're safe now."

While Raiden tried to pull away for a little bit, I pulled him closer. This time, it wasn't because I wanted to feel the comfort. This time, it was to muffle the cries I had been holding in since I had to force myself to calm down in order to turn into that rat. I couldn't let him see me breaking down like this. After everything that had happened, the last thing I would want was for him to think I was weaker than I was.

That was exactly why I wasn't meant to be a hero. I couldn't handle situations like that. I should have been able to get out of there sooner, or at least figure out more information as to what they were up to. Instead, I just froze, let them torture me, and then I ran.

What if they come back again? I knew they would. That was what scared me. Just because I left doesn't mean it was the end. They will come and find me again. I didn't want that. I just wanted things to go back to the way they were, before I got into U.A.

I should've ignored that fight between Raiden and Kaito back during our entrance exam. I should have just told someone I didn't want to be a hero. What's the point of having this Quirk if I couldn't use it right? I should've ran the moment I saw that pink haired woman like I did the first time I saw her. But I froze.

And—and I worried people.

"Just breathe, Tami," Raiden whispered. "You're going to waste more energy if you don't."

Raiden pulled away from me, lowering his head so he could look me in the eyes. His warm brown eyes met mine before I quickly looked away, sniffling and wiping away my tears. Just as my hands were about to rub away my tears, I felt Raiden grab both of them and pulled me closer to him. I had no choice but to look at him, showing my face full of tears that were flowing out of my eyes and the snot sniffling out of my nose. I was a total mess, and yet, Raiden just looked at me.

"Breathe," he said. "In your nose, out your mouth. The last thing I—I mean, the last thing you'd want is to get yourself worked up. Just breathe, so you can call your family, eat, and go to sleep."

I nodded my head, trying to listen to him. As I did, I started to see another side to Raiden I never noticed before. All those times he was being strict and serious, Raiden wasn't trying to come off as intimidating. He was just trying to help his friends.

Under the tough guy act Raiden was pulling, he was actually a very caring person, a caring person who was just trying to protect his friends.

Author's Note:

Isn't that just sweet, even if it does seem a bit out of character for Raiden...hmmm...wonder what's going on there?

Seems like Tami is going to be making a few phone calls to some of her loved ones. If you had the chance to call any character from the MHA universe (whether it's the anime/manga, or this little fanfic) and could talk to them for a few minutes, who would it be and why?

Character Spotlight: Hatsuko Yamamoto
Quirk: Ultra Strength
Likes: Fried Ice Cream

Song: Secret from Land of Lustrous

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