I wasn't the type of person who felt self-conscious about anything or gave a shit about what others thought. But I suddenly found my heart thudding in my chest as I looked at Tenya. He was silently judging the area as we walked, taking in the run-down buildings and shady people all around us. I thought he was going to die when a scantily clad woman approached him and was practically hanging off his arm. I had to shove her away, threaten to call the cops and tell her he was a minor. She huffed but walked away, leaving us be.

"You live here?" Tenya asked, staring up at the dingy apartment complex.

"Yeah," I shrugged. "My mother doesn't make much money and the rent's pretty cheap here."

"Well, apartments can be quite expensive," Tenya said. "Anyway, it does not matter to me, as long as-"

"It's the bitch that scammed us!"

I whirled around, dread filling the pit of my stomach. I felt my knees wobble as my eyes darted between a man I had met on the street about a month ago and Tenya, one of my only friends.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, staring up at Tenya. "Run for it!"

I ran away, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw that Tenya was following. He looked confused, but thank God he was running away.

"Tora!" He exclaimed. "What's going on?!"

"I'll explain once we lose him!" I yelled.

I yelped in surprise when I suddenly felt myself being lifted off the ground.

"Hang on!" Tenya said, his engines roaring to life.

We sped through the streets, Tenya carrying me in his arms and ducking into alleys when we could. This went on for quite some time, until we stopped in another alley, Tenya gently putting me down while panting in exhaustion.

"Thanks, Tenya," I chuckled nervously. "That was a close one, I thought-"

"What the heck Tora!?" Tenya exclaimed, cutting me off. "What did you do to make him so angry?!"

"You won't like the answer..." I cringed.

"Please, just tell me..." He sighed.

"... I sold him a gun I made..."

There was a brief moment of silence, and then Tenya slammed his hands into the wall behind me, trapping me. I lowered my gaze, staring at my shoes.

"Tora..."

I flinched when he said my name. "Yes?"

"I'm not mad," He said. "But, why?"

"I had to make some money..." I mumbled, feeling my eyes begin to sting. "Kuse and I... We didn't have much food in the house and I... We needed money to buy food and I just- Oh God, I just don't know... I'm such a horrible human being..."

I choked on a sob, furiously wiping my eyes. 

Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop crying, I've cried enough, I'm so done crying.

"What about your mother?" Tenya asked quietly, his voice gentle. "Didn't she have money?"

"She... She didn't give us any..." I mumbled, covering my face with my hands. 

I flinched, large hands suddenly holding me securely. I tried to control myself, but I found even more tears coming out. I sniffled and I sobbed, knowing that I looked so ugly in that instant. But I couldn't find a single shit to give.

So I sat there, letting Tenya hug me as I sobbed like a toddler. I don't know how long we stayed like that, but after I stopped crying, Tenya spoke.

"Midoriya and I," He began. "We're your friends, right? You can tell us anything, and if you ever need some help, just call me and I'll be right over."

I managed a weak smile. "Thanks, Tenya, and sorry for getting snot on you."

"No proble- wait, you got snot on me?" Tenya gasped.

I shrugged. "That's the hardest I've cried in a while, sorry Tissue Man."

Tenya crossed his arms. "Let's take you home, I don't know how much more of your sass I can take today."

"Come on," I chuckled. "You love me, you know you do."

He rolled his eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~

Tenya was confused yet again when we returned to the apartment building because instead of heading inside, I began scaling the fire escape. I gave him the most serious look I could muster, acting as though this was all normal.

"What?" I asked him.

"Why don't we just go inside?" Tenya asked. "I'm just a little confused is all."

"We're going in through the window." I shrugged, climbing a flight of stairs.

"But why?!" Tenya spluttered.

"Because I don't have a key..." I grumbled.

Tenya went quiet, silently following behind me up the stairs. Then we finally arrived at my window, I gestured at it dramatically, prying the window open.

"Welcome to my humble dwelling," I said, opening the window and ducking inside. "Watch your head on the way in."

Despite my gracious warning, Tenya still proceeded to snack his head on the window frame. I sighed, shaking my head.

"Tora, is that you?" I heard a quiet voice ask.

I stepped further into the apartment, blinking my eyes as the lights were flicked on. Big blues eyes stared at us curiously, more interested in Tenya than myself.

"Who's that?" Kuse asked.

"This," I said, gesturing at Tenya. "Is my friend, Tenya."

"How do you do?" Tenya said stiffly, bowing his head a little.

Kuse tilted his head. "Uh, I'm fine."

"Well Tenya, since you're here, would you like to stay for dinner?" I asked.

"I would love to." He replied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenya's cup of instant ramen sat untouched on the table, Kuse loudly slurping down his noodle without a care next to him.

"You don't like ramen?" I asked, setting down my chopsticks for a moment. "Because I'll gladly eat yours."

"Ah, that's not it,"Tenya replied. "It's just that, this is not the type of dinner that I am accustomed to eating..."

"Oh," I said. "I almost forgot, isn't your family pretty well off?"

Tenya nodded.

I sighed. "Well sorry, but I can't make much of anything else. I'm useless in a kitchen."

"That's fine," Tenya chuckled. "This will be my first time trying instant ramen, that's all."

"Then eat up,"I insisted. "It never tastes as good as the first time."

Tenya chuckled, picking up his chopsticks.

And despite all the hellish shit that had gone on that day, he didn't bring any of it up again. I wouldn't say it out loud, but I really appreciated it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Did you finish designing your hero costume?" Midoriya asked from over the phone.

"Yeah," I sighed, taking a seat on the couch. "I sent it in just yesterday, although I wasn't very specific about what I wanted. I have no clue what I want it to look like, I just know what it should include."

"I sent mine in a few days ago," Midoriya chirped. "I already have part of it, but I can't wait to put it all on!"

I chuckled, leaning into the sofa.

"So, you excited for school?" I asked.

"Super excited!" He exclaimed. "What about you?"

"I guess," I shrugged. "I'm not as excited as you and Tenya though."

"Anyway, I have to go," Midoriya sighed. "I think I'm going to go on a run."

"Don't push yourself," I replied. "Remember what All Might said."

"I won't, All Might already scolded me for doing it once," Midoriya said, his voice quavering. "Talk to you later."

"Yeah," I nodded. "Catch you on the flip side, don't die."

My shitty phone beeped twice signaling the end of the call. I lowered my hand, allowing my phone to rest in my lap. I stuck my free hand into my pocket, digging around for any spare change. When I found none I sighed.

"Welp, they say boredom leads to stupidity," I shrugged. "And it probably does."

I pulled a few screws and bottle caps from my pockets and headed for the bathroom.

"Where to put it?" I hummed in thought. "Maybe another ear piercing, they don't hurt much..."

I entered the bathroom, locking the door behind me before reaching under the sink to pull out my supplies. I then laid everything out on the counter before me, checking that I had everything I needed.

Anti-septic solution, a needle, a lighter, a candle, cotton swabs, and some screws and bottle caps.

I lit the candle first, then getting to work on the jewelry for my newest piercing. I picked up a screw moulding it in my palm into a new shape. When I finished, it resembled a stud earring with a silver cross hanging from it.

I dropped the earring into the anti-septic solution, then picking up the needle and holding it above the candle. Once I could feel the heat spreading to my finger tips, I removed it from the flame, bringing it to my right ear as I watched my reflection.

And then I braced for pain.

A/N

Sorry if Tora is way too much of an edge lord for you. That's her character for you.

<|°^°|>

(Edited 2022.07.28)