'Why am I here...? Why do I exist?' I ponder, rolling my shoulders around to work out some of the stiffness. After I woke up, I hadn't found the strength to move. I wanted to stay where I was now and just die here, but something in me stopped myself from flying up high and shifting to human form. Maybe it was determination. Maybe it was stubbornness. Maybe it was the thought that, if I died, Izuku would be alone. Or maybe it was just the fact that I couldn't do it.

I sigh angrily, wishing I could just decide already. Crawling to my feet, I shift to bird form and take off, heading towards Izuku's house. I didn't really have anywhere else to go. On my way, I passed over my old house and saw my aunt dragging garbage bags filled to the brim with my possessions. From the sky, I recognised the large stuffed toy my mother left me at the top of the overflowing bag.

I tuck my wings in beside me, hurtling towards the earth, and snatch the toy from the bag. My aunt yells in surprise as I spread my wings again and rise skywards, clutching the toy in one of my talons. She waves her fist at me, yelling words that were lost to the wind. I stop climbing and gently glide to Izuku's, losing myself in thought along the way.

I almost skipped over his house, but he was outside and I recognised his puff of dark green hair from the back of my mind. I descend slowly, barely making a light breeze as I land, keeping the foot that held my toy off the ground. He runs up to me and throws his arms around my shoulders, asking where I went yesterday.

"I wasn't ready to make new friends, so I left for a while. Can you hold this while I shift back?" I ask, holding out my toy. He nods, taking it from me and holding it carefully while I turn back into a human. Once I'm done, I take it back and hug it to my chest.

"That's the toy your mother left you, right? Why did you bring it here?" he asks, leading the way inside. I suddenly realise I had dirt covering my clothes and leaves in my hair.

"I was kicked out of my old home... Don't look at me like that. We both knew this was going to happen some day," I mutter, trying to brush out the worst of the leaves with my fingers. I didn't want to leave a mess all over the floor for Inko to clean up. Izuku sighs and steps forwards, picking out the bits I missed. I could've sworn his face turned a bit pink, too.

"You can stay here. I'm sure mum won't mind," he says, taking my hand and pulling me to the bathroom straight away so I leave the least amount of dirt. He gives me some spare clothes and leaves the room, presumably to tell his mother what happened. I look at the clothes he gave me and recognise the UA school uniform.

"Right, it's Monday again..." I mutter, stripping and turning on the shower. As I scrub at my skin, I think about the events of the previous day.

"It's not so bad, now that I think about it."

After I finish showering, I walk out of the room just in time to have breakfast with the Midoriya family. Inko smiles at me as I sit down, grabbing a plate.

"Izuku told me what happened. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need, dear," she says. I feel my eyes clear and smile at her. Truth be told, I was a bit nervous about her saying I couldn't stay here. I don't know why I thought that, I just did.

After breakfast, Izuku and I grab our bags and begin the walk to UA. It had been a while since I'd walked and I didn't know the way by foot, so I hung behind Izuku a bit and let him lead the way. While we were walking, he was ranting about All Might. I smile and nod along to everything he says, used to this behaviour by now. Doesn't mean I'm any less interested.

After we arrive at UA he stops talking about All Might. I could tell he was a bit sensitive about expressing his feelings when others could hear him. I pat his back once and speed up, finally able to find my way around. We take our seats when we reach the classroom and I stare out the window. Someone taps their hand on my desk.

"Hey, Erin...? I'm sorry about yesterday. I kept asking questions and I upset you and I don't want it to be that way, so I'm sorry for bothering you so much. Can you forgive me...?" Kirishima asks bashfully, averting his eyes when I look at him. I give a small smile.

"Yeah, of course. Sorry for being so prickly, I just take a while to warm up to people."

His face transforms into a smile, his eyes sparkling, and I felt my heart skip a beat. He nods at me and walks back to his desk, sliding into his seat. I couldn't take my eyes off him for a few more seconds, like I was transfixed. When I do snap out of it, I whip my gaze to my desk and don't move until I hear the door open again.

"I AM... COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A HERO!!" All Might yells. I could feel the barely contained excitement radiating from Izuku, and somehow it infected me. I felt elated at the presence of the number one hero, ready for the day. As All Might explains what we'll be doing, metallic boxes slide out of the wall with numbers painted on the fronts.

"Do you remember the hero costume applications you filled out before you joined? Grab yours and change into them, then meet down near Ground B!" All Might says, then dashes out of the room. I cock my head at his behaviour but quickly turn my attention back to the boxes, finding the one with my number on it and grabbing the case inside.

I walk to the changing rooms with Kirishima. He hadn't really given me a choice, just kind of... fell into step beside me.

"What's your costume like?" he asks.

"You'll see," I tease, smiling.

"Aww, come on! Please? Just tell me one thing about it?" he pleads. I laugh.

"Keep begging and maybe," I reply, skipping ahead of him. He groans, speeding up and drawing level with me again. We walk in a comfortable silence the rest of the way. He waves at me as he goes into the boys locker room, grinning and showing off his sharp teeth. I smile back and walk into the girls room, holding the door open for pink girl. She thanks me as she walks past and I smile again.

'I'm being strangely happy today. Why is that, brain?' I ask myself, walking to my secluded spot. I must have bumped into someone, but I didn't see them. I just felt a resistance of some kind and a girl's startled cry, then a bump, like someone fell over.

"Sorry! Are you okay? I didn't see you- eh?" I ask, my hand outstretched to thin air. Was there even someone there to begin with?

"No, it's fine. I'm used to it," a cheery voice replies, taking my hand. Many, many question marks appeared in my head, but I pulled the invisible girl to her feet anyway. Something in the back of my head clicks and I suddenly realise that it was the girl that had the invisibility Quirk.

"Sorry again. I'll be more careful next time," I say, rubbing the back of my head. She laughs and says it's okay again, then walks away. I sigh, beating myself up in my head for not being careful. So much for being strangely happy. I pay close attention to my costume as I put it on, making sure everything is how I wanted.

The gloves fit perfectly, loose enough to allow unrestricted movement but also hugging my hands closely enough to make sure they don't slip off. The steel claws protruding from the knuckles - shaped like scythes - were sharpened enough to cut through bone. The material the gloves were made from looked like scales, and were about as tough as them.

My boots were basically the same, shaped like bird feet. When I clenched my toes, the claws would close in on themselves, gripping whatever I was standing on or slicing through flesh. Springs placed in the soles would also give me a bit of an extra boost when jumping.

My pants fit perfectly. I made sure the waistband would fit tight so that they don't slip off. The rest of it was strengthened fiber, flecks of metal fused into the material, giving it a strange glimmer. There wasn't enough to make it obvious, but enough to make it strong. It wouldn't rip unless a blade had a lot of force behind it, protecting my skin from harm, but also not restricting my movement.

My shirt had long sleeves and was the same as the pants, metal fused with cloth to provide protection. It wasn't anything special other than that.

My vest, which hung open, was made of grey leather. It would help protect me from a fall if I had to shift to human form and roll along the ground. It had a print of white wings of the back, starting at my shoulder blades. I was specifically proud of that detail because I had drawn it perfectly on the design paper.

The last detail was the radio that clipped onto my ears, shaped like large feathers. I could use the radio to communicate with anyone registered in the device, from any distance. I was impressed that the people who made my costume were able to create such high tech for me.

I walk outside and see Kirishima and Izuku waiting for me. Kirishima was shirtless and had dark red gears on his shoulders, black pants with some sort of skirt or something draped over the top, the letter "R" printed on the front, and dark red boots. His costume was shockingly simple compared to mine and I wondered if I went overboard with designing.

Izuku was wearing a green jumpsuit with a hood and mask, twin spikes on his head that looked like a certain number one hero's hair style. I smirk at his costume but quickly cover it. I knew how sensitive he was about his obsession. All three of us walk down to the grounds, through a long dark tunnel.

"This is pretty dramatic..." I mutter quietly, a trait I picked up from Izuku.

"What was that?" Kirishima asks.

"Nothing."