Happy Friday everyone! I know I said I'd update Monday but I wanted to get this chapter out :D

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A few years had passed and Kula was now a third year in class B at Nabu Middle School. All around her the class was chatting animatedly about the most recent hero fights they saw on TV. Apparently a few of them had been stopped by some petty thief with a gigantification quirk on their way to school that morning. Apparently a new hero had made her debut during that fight, Mt. Lady. From what she could gather from her classmates she also had a gigantification quirk, and like many other female heroes she seemed to use her... attributes... to gain popularity.

There were only a few pros that Kula thought highly of, heroes that either work underground or uphold the values a hero should have, heroes like Ingenium, Fatgum, Best Jeanist, and her all time favorite hero Eraserhead.

"All right everyone, quiet down." A voice called out and Kula lifted her head from her desk and looked towards the front of the room where her teacher was standing. "We have a few things to cover in homeroom this morning." She waited at the front of the room as friend groups separated from each other and they went to their desks. Once everyone was quiet the teacher continued speaking. "Now, all of you are aware that high school entrance exams are coming up, and since you all are third years you should all have some kind of plan for your future."

"There's only one job we want to go into!" Someone in the class called out.

The teacher let out a sigh and a small smile appeared on her face. "Of course, you all are aiming to become Pro-heroes. Actually there are quite a few of you here who are aiming for some top tier schools." Her eyes scanned over the room, "Utashi, Tasukete, and Shinso you three are aiming for U.A's Hero Course, aren't you?"

"Hell yeah I am!" One of the students- Utashi- shouted out, the other two just nodded.

"Oh, and Kontorōru, I see that you're aiming for U.A's Support Course."

Kula didn't bother with a vocal response and just nodded.

Ever since she was ten she had developed an interest in Support Gear. When she wasn't at school or with her 'parents' she holed herself up in her room and researched all the different kinds of Support Gear. Just recently she had started to develop inventions of her own. It had become an escape for her, something she could throw her entire being into and create something. Something that she could be proud of.

The teacher smiled, "Well, good luck you four. I'm sure you'll make it in." For the rest of the homeroom period, she went over what the rest of the class was planning on doing for the future. Some kids were aiming to go to other hero schools- like Shiketsu High, Ketsubutsu Academy and Isamu Academy- while others were planning on going into professions that better fit their quirk. After homeroom the teacher for their next class walked into the room and started the lecture.

After school ended, Kula quickly gathered her things, placing her notebook into her bag and getting up from her seat.

"Where're you headed, quirkless?" Someone asked and Kula looked in front of her to see a girl with standing on front of her, a shorter boy standing next to her. "You didn't think you'd avoid us today, did you?"

Kula gritted her teeth, "Oh piss off. I don't have the energy to deal with you today, Heikin."

"How rude! If I were you I'd try to be a little nicer if you want to get into U.A! Then again I'd doubt they'd accept a quirkless loser like you."

Kula rolled her eyes- did they  have any better insults than 'quirkless'? "That's only for the Hero Course, not Support. And besides just because I follow school rules and don't use my quirk doesn't mean I don't have one." She narrowed her eyes, "Now, if you'd kindly step aside that'd be great."

Upset that her 'attempts' of bullying Kula didn't work she scoffed and moved away, heading towards another kid who often fell victim to her and her group. Not wasting any more time Kula hurried out of the room and out of the school building.

***

"Ah, Kula, good afternoon!" A voice exclaimed as Kula stepped into a dimly lit shop, various support items hanging on the walls and the owner of the voice standing behind a tall counter.

"Afternoon, Ms. Tatara." Kula said, nodding her head in greeting.

Tatara Etsuko, a plump elderly woman and owner of a small support item repair shop and currently Kula's mentor with anything that involves Support Gear. Kula had met her a year ago when she was shopping for supplies for her newest project and the two of them ended up talking. By the end of their conversation she had given Kula her business card and ended up becoming Kula's mentor and gave her a space to work on her own creations away from home and in turn Kula helped her out around the shop. And only after a year of knowing her the woman had become one of her biggest- and only- supporters. It wasn't until a week after helping her out that Kula learned of her quirk. Calming Effect. Her aura has a calming effect to it, just by being in her presence even the most angered person calms down. It was one of the reasons Kula loved helping out around the shop- all of her worries about her home life and the stresses of school just melted away throughout the few hours she spent at the shop.

"Before you head back and get lost in your work do you mind wiping down some of the shelves? I've been so busy recently that they've collected a little dust."

"Of course." With that Kula walked in behind the counter and placed her bag down before she grabbed a rag and some wood polish and started to wipe down the display shelves. It didn't take long for her to complete the task and once she was done she headed to the back room, where there were two separate work areas.

Turning to the work table that was pushed up against the left wall Kula sat down on the stool and looked down at the project that he had left laying there since the last time she had been working on the last time she was there.

At first glance it looked like a pair of coiled up bandages, though on closer inspection they looked very similar to the scarf that Eraserhead used. For the past two weeks Kula had been working on trying to replicate his scarf, though it was difficult getting any information on the said capture weapon. There was barely any information on Aizawa online and even less about his capture weapon. And looking at the two strips of cloth and wire Kula could tell that there was still something off about them.

The strips of cloth were actually her second attempt at replicating her scarf. Her first attempt ended up being way too stiff to be used as any type of capture weapon. A murder weapon probably but that wasn't what she was aiming for. And the gear on the desk was starting to look too loose, and as she pulled on the fabric it stretched instead of stiffened.

If only she could look at the scarf close-up and actually feel what it's been made out of. But no matter how long she waited out at night for him the most she had seen of him was watching him jump from rooftop to rooftop. Unless she got into U.A, she had almost no hope of figuring out a way to replicate the capture weapon.

There was a quiet chime at the front of the store, and it broke Kula out of her train of thought. She heard the shuffling footsteps of Ms. Tatara and glanced over he shoulder through the door to the front of the shop. Standing in the doorway was an unfamiliar skeletal looking man. She could see his shoulders shake as he let out a soft chuckle as Ms. Tatara reached up and placed her hand on his cheeks.

Leaning back in her stool and closer to the doorway, Kula started to listen in on their conversation.

"-really need to eat more. You're looking so thin!" Ms. Tatara said. "Goodness, Toshinori, you haven't been skipping meals have you?"

The man, Toshinori, let out another chuckle. "I promise I've been taking care of myself, Etsuko." Kula glanced over towards the two and could see Ms. Tatara'a eyebrows quirk upwards- a clear sign of her doubt. Though despite her doubt the woman continued on with the conversation. "How long have you been in the country? Last I heard from you, you were still off in America."

"I got back about a week ago."

Ms. Tatara placed her hands on her hips, "You've been here this long without telling me? I thought you knew better!"

Toshinori placed a hand on the back of his neck as a small look of shame came across his face. "Sorry. I've had a lot on my mind recently." He looked around, "The shop looks good."

"Changing the subject now, are we? I'll allow it this once. Actually I got myself an assistant to help out around here. Kula, dear, mind coming to the front? I want to introduce you to someone!"

Kula jumped slightly at the sound of her name before she stood up from the stool she was sitting on and walked to the doorway, bowing her head in greeting when she made eye contact with the man. "Hello, I'm Kontorōru Kula." She said simply. "Though I prefer Kula."

"Kula? That's a Hawaiian name isn't it?" Toshinori said.

She nodded, "My, uh, mom, was born there so she wanted to give me a Hawaiian name."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Kula. I'm Toshinori Yagi."

"Pleasure."

"Kula here has been a great help around the shop. I don't know how I managed without her." Ms. Tatara said, looking over at Kula and giving her a warm smile.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Kula. Thanks for helping Etsuko out. It's good to know she's had someone with her." Toshinori said, his mouth curving up into a smile.

"It's no bother, really. Besides being here helps me out as well."

Ms. Tatara clapped her hands together, "Yes, yes! She's not only my assistant but my apprentice! She's actually going to try to attend U.A's Support Course next year."

"Well with a mentor like Etsuko I'm sure you'll get in." Toshinori said, then he turned his attention to Ms. Tatara. "I hate to impose, but I need some advice. It's about the... thing... I talked to you about the last time I called."

"What thing...?" Ms. Tatara said, falling quiet for a second before a look of realization appeared on her face. "Oh! Have you found someone?"

"That's what I need advice on."

Ms. Tatara turned and looked over at Kula, "Toshinori and I need to have a private conversation, do you mind heading home a little earlier, do you?"

"Oh, uh, I don't mind. I'll go get my bag." She turned and walked over to her workspace, grabbing her Support Notebook and sliding it into her bag before draping the bag over her shoulder. When she stepped back into the front room, she headed to the door. Before she left she turned towards Ms. Tatara and Toshinori and bowed. "I'll see you on Wednesday, then. And it was nice meeting you Mr. Toshinori."

"Good luck with your studies." Toshinori said.

Kula nodded and stepped out of the door, hearing the soft sound of the chimes as she opened the door. She walked to the station and waited for a train to take her back home. It was only about 15 minutes until one arrived and took even less time for it to get to her stop. Though by the time she made it to her house the sun was already setting.

Reaching towards the handle of the front door she tried to turn it only to realize that it was locked. Internally groaning she realized her parents must of gone out for the night and locked up behind them. Normally it wouldn't be a problem. but recently there had been break-ins around the neighborhood and her parents thought it would be smart to remove the spare key they had hiding in the planter beside the door- like that would stop a villain from breaking into their house in modern times.

Though, luckily for her, this wasn't the first time she'd been locked out- or the first time she's had to sneak back into the house. Moving to the side of the house, she walked up to the vines that were growing up on the side of her house. Getting a solid footing on one of the branches she slowly started to climb up the vines until she got up onto a small ledge of roofing. Once she pulled herself up she crawled over to her window and pushed it inwards until she heard a small click then pulled it upwards, sliding it open with ease. She dropped her bag onto the floor before climbing through the window and into her room. Dusting off her hands she turned and closed the window.

Moving her bag to her desk she headed downstairs and to the kitchen, where she noticed a note up on the fridge.

Your father and I have gone out to dinner. There should be some food in the fridge for you to have.

-Love Mom

"Sure, go on ahead to dinner and leave your child at home, I don't mind. It's totally not like you're using the money you got from exploiting my quirk, definitely not." Kula said as she rolled her eyes. She opened the door to the fridge and saw a plate of day old scrambled eggs. Curling up her lip in disgust she closed the fridge door and just prepared some toast for dinner before heading back up to her room.

She had some homework to finish.