Best of both worlds 13

Entering her room was definitely eye-opening.

He gaped at the shelves filled with Present Mic merchandise. As he looked through all the little figures, cards and plushes, she dragged a large backpack onto her bed and began filling it with various things she wanted to take with her. It was gold, though you could barely tell under the huge amount of buttons on it. They overlapped, looking for all the world like scales, and every single one had his face on it. There were acrylic keychains dangling from the zippers and a plush snapped to one strap as well.

"Holy shit," he gasped.

"Yeah. I would bring one that's plain, but I don't have one big enough. Just this. Oh, on the side of that shelf are the manga."

He picked one up. "Why are they all weird numbers? Like, they're not in order." Upon opening the book, however, he saw why. One of the first panels depicted him and when he flipped through, he noticed he featured prominently in the story.

"Yeah. There's a lot of books, so I only bothered buying ones that had you in them." She flatly admitted it, not caring anymore.

<i>It's too late to save face, so why bother.</i>

"I believed you, you know," he said, dazed as he sank onto her bed holding the book loosely in one hand. "I really did. 'Cause you were so sincere. But - but seein' this... whew."

"You probably shouldn't take that back. If I know anything about science fiction television shows, it's that -"

"You don't <i>want</i> to know the future," he finished alongside her. "Yeah. Me, too. It's too creepy, anyway. I can vouch for ya."

"Great." She rubbed a hand on her brow and sighed shakily. "You can see I want to leave here, right? I mean, I've got nothing, my family is - ahh, you know..." She made a face, "and, well. Look at me. Or don't. I'd rather you didn't."

"Hey..."

"That's everything. Did you need to see more?"

"Nah. I, uh, saw more stuff on your shelves than I wanna admit. Those books..." He shook his head. "We didn't tell people those things. There's no way that could be faked, 'specially since there aren't any quirks here." He raised his voice on the last word with no effect other than a normal volume change.

"All right, then!"

"It's about the right time, I think," he said as he checked a watch he had put on for that purpose.

Best of both worlds 12

There was a briefing for Mic, who had changed so he wouldn't stick out in her world, and then they were ready.

Ana recreated the portal in the same spot, and they were lowered carefully in from above. There was a sense of vertigo, and then they were in her bathroom, right back to where she had been at the original incident.

"Whoa. What a trip."

"Uh huh." Elly was seated at the edge of the bathtub with her face in her hands.

Hizashi stepped cautiously over, worried from how she was acting. Something was obviously very wrong. "You okay?"

She shook her bald head.

He noticed the lack of hair, and that her ears and tail were gone. There was, also, the factor of her size. The height seemed the same, but her weight was definitely not.

"Hey." He gently pried her hands away to find himself staring into her heartbroken, brown eyes. There was so much pain he almost recoiled, but knew she would have thought his action meant he was disgusted at her appearance. "It's okay."

"No, it's not," she said flatly. "But it's over." Standing up revealed how large she really was, and her defeated posture wasn't helping. Her back was slightly bowed, and she appeared to be taking the pressure off the left side of her body.

"Well. Same place. That was right, at least..." She frowned, listening to someone speaking outside.

"Hello? You've been a long time getting that coffee!"

"And apparently about the same time, too. Weird." She grimaced. "You're probably going to meet my mother. Be prepared."

"Hey, mom," she greeted her after they walked around a cirner. "Someone at the door, so we stopped to chat begore he came in."

"Who is this?" She peered closely at the tall man, dressed neatly in his casual clothes.

"Zashi, this is my mom, Karen. Mom, this is Hizashi."

He nodded and smiled. "Hi. I'm sorry to ah, drop in like this on you."

Elly gave him a weak smile and limped off into the kitchen to grab the coffee.

"How do you know my daughter? She doesn't get out a lot, so it's strange to see her bring a friend over." She stressed the word "friend" a bit much, he thought.

"Well, we've been together for awhile  now. I wanted to see her home and everything. Meet her family. You know."

The older woman blinked at him. "You're not dating, are you?" Her voice dropped a little. "She never mentioned you at all. And honestly, you don't seem the type to go out with her..?"

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows. In the distance he could see Elly coming back with two steaming cups and he wished that she would just say what she meant before she could overhear. He had a feeling it wasn't a compliment.

"We don't have a lot of money, you know," she told him darkly.

Hizashi's heart caught in his throat. He turned the widest, most pained look on the woman and shook his head. "I'm not with her for money," he said very quietly.

Elly came back and handed him a cup. "We're going to grab some stuff from my room and go out," she announced. "C'mon, Zashi."

He followed her off to the side of the house, trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened.

"Yeah, I know she said something stupid," she murmured. "Sorry about that."

"No, no, don't apologize! It's not your fault."

"She's tried to convince me that everything is, my whole life. It's hard to stop now." She waved her free hand. "Here we are. Brace yourself."

Best of both worlds 11

After such a great night, she could barely sleep. But eventually time passed and she was sitting at the long table again, the next morning, talking to the staff by proxy.

Mic sat close beside her, translating.

"All right. Did you figure out what you need to do?"

"We decided the best course of action involves sending Present Mic back in with you." Nezu took a sip from his cup of tea.

Her face fell. "Not Mic," Elly begged. "Please, pick someone else." Her ears lay all the way back and her tail lashed furiously behind her.

"Now, why would you not want him to accompany you?"

He looked hurt. "Yeah, why not me?"

"I don't want you to go."

"Why <i>not</i>?"

"You can't!" She miaowed in her extreme distress. Upon hearing herself, she clapped her hands to her mouth, her purple eyes wide. The rest of the staff stared at her but said nothing. Aizawa half-reached out when she mewed, then pulled his hand back with a small, embarrassed cough.

"Hey, I wanna know why you suddenly don't want me around. Huh?"

She swore under her breath. "Mic - Hizashi -- <i>please</i>. I don't want you to see me like that!"

"Whoa." His cheeks burned as she called him deliberately by his first name. "Why not?" He paused as he remembered how she acted upon first arriving here. "Wait... you were shitting yourself about how you looked different when you got here. Is that the reason?"

"I don't want you to see," she choked. "Please, I'm  - I'm normal here..."

"You're pretty," he corrected, then blushed harder. "Uh, shit. Well. I meant it."

Midnight's eyes widened, and she leaned forward eagerly. "Yamada's fallen for her? This has gotten even more interesting!"

Thirteen elbowed her gently in the side.

"I'm wh - what?" Elly blinked rapidly. <i>There was no way he had said that, right?</i>

He tilted his head to one side. "Yer upset 'cause you don't want me see you... but I can already see you?"

"You're not getting it." Her ears drooped farther. "I guess this really is a nightmare, after all." She sighed and rolled her shoulders back, straightened up and looked him right in the eyes. "There's no way of getting around this. Let's go."

Best of both worlds 10

He showed up at her door at seven and tapped a little rhyming beat on her door. Elly took a deep breath and opened it with a welcoming smile.

Her heart beat faster and she swooned, though he didn't notice. Hizashi was dressed casually, in a dark shirt over a red tank top, khakis and some jewelry. Two plain necklaces in gold and silver fell against his chest as he leaned in past the door and on his wrist holding it open there was a beaded red bracelet. The long, blond hair he had that was up during the day had been groomed and tamed down into a multi-bun, with some of it dangling down his neck.

<i>Dear god, he was adorable.</i>

"Hey hey, you ready?"

She nodded, then couldn't resist adding, "I didn't really have the hardest time picking out my clothes." The drawer behind her was filled with U.A pants and t-shirts. She had chosen a black shirt and the jeans she had been wearing when she fell into their world. They were at least a little fancier than the sweatpants the school provided and had been washed recently.

He chuckled at this. "Well, if you end up stayin' longer you'll hafta just shop for more stuff."

"That wouldn't be too bad. Except I, uh, am completely broke." She followed him and they walked out into the cool night air.

"Well. What d'ya do back home?"

"Honestly? Very little. My skills are all creative, and it's hard to break into those fields."

"Creative? That's cool. Like, what exactly?"

"Well..." She hesitated. "I draw, write and kind of sing."

He perked up, his green eyes brightening. "Sing? What kind of music?"

Elly laughed. "All kinds. I'm not into everything but I <i>appreciate</i> a lot. I guess... if I had to pick I like a lot of club mixes, dance music and pop. Catchy stuff." They were almost to the gates now, and she could see the bright lights of the city glowing in a welcoming fashion across the street.

He told her his favorite bands and music, and they chatted about mixing and various music-related topics until he raised an eyebrow. "Wait. You really-really know a lot about stuff. You sing a lot?"

"Yes," she blushed, suddenly shy. "I, uh. Was told I might have made a career out of it <i>but</i>," she added when his grin got bigger. "I mean, I never di - "

"Karaoke!"

She blinked. "Wha..?"

He was pointing to a building nearby. "Let's go in!"

Several beers, a plate of carefully chosen sushi and countless songs later he was fully infatuated. He sat, grinning like a fool as he listened to her sing. All he kept thinking was that he was <i>really</i> lucky that Ana had come to them for help.

Best of both worlds 9

Mic's last class of the day had heard the news, somehow, about her reality. They astonishingly accepted it after discussing it with her in some detail.

"So we're a television show?"

"Anime and manga series." Elly coughed lightly.

"It's your favorite?"

She nodded, looking even more embarrassed. "Yes..."

She broke out into a huge grin. "Then who's your favorite character? Which one of us?"

The rest of the teenagers leaned in curiously. Hearing your world was a fantasy in another reality was mind-boggling, but this was something they could understand.

Present Mic leaned in on his elbows beside her at the desk, his chin on his hands. "Heyyy, yeah. Who's your fave, baby?"

She flinched wildly at hearing him so close as well as the startling name he called her. "Um..."

"Don't girls usually get crushes on guys in those?"

Elly's face turned even redder.

"Oooh! She does! She does!"

"Who is it?"

One of the girls squinted at her. "Is it All Might? He speaks English, so, maybe?"

Mic pulled his glasses down, frowning. "Hel-<i>lo-o-o</i>?" He groaned, gesturing about himself wildly with both his hands in the air before pointing at his chest. "Yer in English class with the English freakin' teacher!"

"It's not All Might," Elly assured them hurriedly. "But, um, I don't think..."

She grew more and more embarrassed trying to think of a way out of this predicament and knew the kids would eventually guess. Realizing this caused her embarrassment to peak, and she suddenly and shockingly vanished.

"Oh, hey!"

"Invisibility?"

"Controlled invisibility? Has that manifested yet?"

Mic had groped about in the air until she grabbed his hand. "What's going on? Why is everybody so excited?!"

"You're invisible." He tried to remember what they got told as children when finding out their quirks, speaking in a low voice. Eventually she flickered back into sight.

"Well, we know what her quirk is now," one of the teens grinned smugly. "Before anyone else, too."

"Yeah, but I wanted to know who she liked. She must've had a crush on one of the teachers by the way she was acting."

"You think?"

"Could have been anyone if she knows like, everybody, right?"

"Well, I mean - not us. We're too young. But an adult, sure."

"I think I can guess." A girl in the front row with a small beak said rather drily. "You guys seeing this?"

Mic was still holding her hand as he spoke closely with her, and Elly's face had flushed an amazing shade of red.

Best of both worlds 8

She slept a little, but not very much due to the nervous excitement of her situation. Elly was up before the alarm, showered and ready to meet whoever they sent to get her the next day.

She didn't have to wait very long.

Aizawa knocked politely at her door. When it opened, Eri flew in from behind his legs to hug the cat lady inside.

He stared at the scene before him as Elly grinned and giggled along with the fair-haired child, scratching his chin slowly. "Eri?" He asked quietly.

"Hmm?"

"How do you know her already?"

"I met her last night. She couldn't sleep so I gave her my Mic plushie." She pointed at the neatly made bed, where the Voice Hero's stuffed form was laying on top of the pillow.

He raised an eyebrow. "Really? That was nice of you."

"She was crying," Eri added. "She said she was scared. I didn't like when I was scared."

"It's okay. We're going to go talk to the other teachers. Are you okay on your own for breakfast?"

"Uh huh."

Elly heard enough to know he was going to take her somewhere. Smiling at Eri, she followed the shuffling man as he led the way to the cafeteria. She grabbed a simple fruit salad and a cup of coffee before following the laconic man into another room.

The staff was there, lined up along a table with two empty chairs. Present Mic sat between them and nodded at his friend and the newcomer, who sat on either side.

"All right." Aizawa stifled a yawn and looked around. "Mic, you're translating."

"Sure." He shrugged.

"We're inclined to believe you at this moment," Nezu told her calmly. "The police sent over the data they gathered the other day and we have to agree most villains have their prints in the system."

She winced at the memory but nodded, picking at her fruit wedges. "It's still not good enough, though, right? I mean, you have to be certain."

Aizawa looked the slightest bit impressed. "Yes. I would be surprised if the truth was what you said; it sounds too far-fetched a notion."

"Yeah, honestly it sounds batshit crazy ... sorry," Mic murmured as an aside. He held what looked suspiciously like an egg mcmuffin in one hand, wrapper and all,  munching noisily.

"Yamada," Yagi groaned. "Diplomacy, remember?"

"Think before you speak," Midnight snorted.

"He did," Thirteen murmured. "In this case, he's right."

"Look," Elly said firmly, "The only way you're going to know the truth is if one of you goes into the portal I came out of. And it might be dangerous."

"Yes. Also, if it opens on your reality, as you said, you should be there as well."

She sat back in her chair, a strange expression crossing her pale features.

"If she's going, we should do it at the exact coordinates Ana opened the last one," Mic suggested.

"Good idea," Nezu nodded. "There's a greater chance it would be the same."

Ana looked miserable. He shook his head. "And what if it <i>is</i> true? What do we do then?"

"We can take things from there."

After they dispersed to get to their classes, the Voice Hero pulled her aside. "I asked if you could come sit in with me today. Ya know, you speak English and all. Otherwise you'd be bored as shit, stayin' in that dorm."

"Thanks."

"Listen, I feel bad about the other night. I got off after school for an indefinite period 'cause I'm like, your guard or something here. Let me take you out later."

Her eyes widened. "Wha - really? You don't have to..."

"Nah, I wanna. You good?"

She nodded with a huge grin on her face.

Best of both worlds 7

Mic did stay with her the first night until it was time for lights out. Yagi had left some time ago because he had an appointment so they were alone as he escorted her to the room she was to stay in.

"Okay. The alarm is set inside for before morning classes so someone can meet up with you from the staff. Probably be Aizawa - he checks in on Eri every morning to make sure she's showered an' dressed and stuff."

"Okay." The night loomed before her like a vast span of time she could barely hope to get through. She put on a brave face, however, and smiled at the tall, blond man.

"Goodnight, Mic."

"Sleep well."

But of course she didn't.

She lay in the pajamas provided by the school on the comfortable bed, tossing and turning until she gave up. Pulling the box of tissues that was on a nightstand on her lap, she cried quietly for some time.

After a few minutes of sobbing as silently as she could she heard a light tapping at her door. Elly got up and sniffed back any impending tears, took a deep breath and answered it. The door swung out and she stood blinking down at a young child with long, white hair and a horn on one side of her head.

"Oh!" She knew who this was, but she didn't want to startle her so she introduced herself. "Hi there. My name is Elly."

She wrinkled her nose, confused at the similarity between their names. "My name is Eri."

"Mine has l's in it. Yours has an r. We're very close, though!" She knew most of that didn't get through but she smiled and pointed at herself, enunciating the difference between them.

Eri saw that her smile was sad and wasn't sure how she could help. She pointed at her cheeks, which were stained with tears. "Why are you crying?"

Elly sighed. "I'm far from home and Present Mic thinks I'm a burden to him. I'm scared." She paused, then shrugged and said, "Scared," in Japanese.

Eri looked up at the sad lady and wanted to help. She knew what it was like to be all alone.

"Wait," she said in halting English. "Wait." She spun about and dashed off to her room. Elly was left surprised at the little one's determined face. She heard her rummaging around and then she came back out with a triumphant smile, holding something up.

It was one of those mascot stuffed toys the agencies produced of all the Pro Heroes. This one had a little fake leather jacket and ridiculous plume of hair she knew so well.

She held the plush out.

"Aww, cute." She giggled and repeated the word in Eri's own language, marveling at the fact that the first two words she used to communicate were very similar. When she would have given it back, however, Eri shook her head and pressed it back into her hands.

It was a gift.

Elly's eyes welled up with very different tears. She bent and hugged the little girl. "Thank you."

She slept better after that. Turned out she desperately craved a bit of simple human contact and comfort in the way that older people didn't always understand.