Aika age 12

Toya age 13

~Aika's POV~

After meeting Toya, I headed back to Giran's apartment to clean up. I slipped in through the fire escape landing in a spacious sitting room with lavish furniture. Giran was a tall man with somewhat greasy gray hair that was often partially slicked to one side with a few strands hanging in his face. He had pale pink eyes that were usually narrowed as he observed those around him. He was on the phone smooth talking someone into doing something they didn't want to do. He excelled at that. He turned mid conversation, took one look at me and hung up the phone.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asked in awe as he grabbed a cloth off the counter and rushed toward me. He moved my hand and the drenched handkerchief Toya had given me away from my face and pressed the cloth to my nose. It was still gushing.

"Just overused my quirk a bit." I shrugged.

"Yeah?" He asked skeptically as he looked me over with a discerning eye. "Your quirk side effect includes cuts, scrapes and rocks embedded in your skin?" He pondered and used his free hand to dust said pebbles off of me.

"I got in a fight." I admitted softly.

"Figured as much." He sighed. "Go wash up and I'll bandage anything that needs bandaged." He waved me away before going to find a first aid kit.

I hurriedly took a shower and scrubbed my new scrapes and cuts with soap and water. My nose finally stopped bleeding as I showered. Once I was finished I bundled up in a ducky print bathrobe, sloshing water everywhere and stepped out into the main sitting room.

Giran sighed as he realized I was still dripping wet and soaking every surface I touched. "Tell me about the fight." He dropped a dry towel on the floor in the bathroom to soak up some of the water and followed after me with another towel wiping up the mess I left in my wake.

"These stupid snobby rich boys were bullying someone. I didn't like it, I told them to stop." I grumbled as I hopped up to sit atop the counter.

"Then what happened?" Giran asked as he dabbed at my cuts and scrapes with some antiseptic wipes.

"I used my quirk and threw rocks at them." I winced as the antiseptic stung my cuts.

Giran chuckled softly, "none of this explains your present condition."

"They tackled me and I couldn't use my quirk."

Giran looked worriedly at the scrapes across my cheek and carefully cleaned them up waiting for me to continue.

"But he protected me." I murmured shyly.

"Who?" Giran asked curiously.

"The boy they were bullying." I swung my legs and looked away.

Giran chuckled softly. "Well that was nice of him, but how and why did you end up using your quirk within your time freeze field?"

I bit my lip, hesitant to say. Giran didn't like me using my quirk within my time freeze field because of the strain on my body. "He was injured...I turned back the clock on his wounds when I went to thank him for helping me."

Giran nodded, "you need to be careful with your quirk Aika, don't try to do too much until you've practiced with each element of it more."

"I know." I grumbled and swatted his hand away as he ruffled my hair affectionately.

He chuckled softly and finished his task of doctoring me up by placing a bandage over the largest scrape on my cheek, "alright, you're good to go."

I hopped off the counter. "Thanks, Giran."

"No problem, kiddo." He closed up the first aid kit and tossed the used wipes in the trash, "are you going to be able to help me on a job tonight?"

"Yep!" I grinned.

He smiled, "good, go get changed and I'll whip us up something to eat."

I skipped off happily to my room to change. I returned in a pair of black sweatpants and a loose tank top.

Giran was smoking a cigarette while cooking but was considerate enough to blow the smoke out the window over the sink. I grabbed an apron off one of the hooks on the wall next to the fridge and hopped in to help him.

"Do you remember a hero with flaming facial hair?" I asked him curiously.

"Endeavor?" Giran asked, flicking his ashes into the sink.

"Oh yeah, I think that's him." I nodded.

"What about him?" Giran pondered.

"Do you know much about him?" I asked.

"Not too much, haven't really run into him personally, thanks to you. He seems uptight and serious and honestly kind of like an asshole. He's not one of those heroes who cares about his public image, caters to fans or offers any kind of fan service." He shrugged.

"Why would people keep trying to have a kid for a specific quirk?" I pondered.

Giran threw me a confused look, "I don't think that happens too often anymore, when quirks first came about quirk marriages were a big thing and honestly really fucked up. Why do you ask?"

I thought about what the bullies had been saying to Toya and how his father talked to him and his mother. Is that what was going on? Did his father enter into a quirk marriage to get a kid with a specific quirk? Did he think Toya wasn't good enough? "No reason."

Giran frowned as I zoned out. He cleared his throat drawing my gaze to him and offered me a grin, "want me to put out a hit on the bullies?"

I couldn't help but giggle at this.