Am I Too Evil? [MHA Isekai]

"The Quantum Commander?" Rimi stifles a chuckle upon hearing the name of the hero.

Chiyo looks at Rimi, answering, "Yes, names back then were so simple. Of course, as time progresses, so does everyone's sense of fashion. A few simple phrases back then would've been enough to put on a statue. Now, everyone's got something a bit too flashy." Rimi can see the simplicity in the older generation's names by the account of Chiyo Shuzenji proudly being named Recovery Girl. 

"You sound like an old lady reliving the past." Bluntly, Rimi addresses the woman's recollection of the past. By now, most of the people from that generation were too old to go onto the field, or buried by their families and grandchildren. 

"That's because I am an old lady, you gloomy child," pinching Rimi's cheeks with her fragile hands, the elderly woman pulls at the child's face.

Rimi's face was beet red by the time the old woman finished her pinching and turned her attention to Izumi, who'd been staring up at the statue of Quantum Commander in silence. The woman holds her tongue, realizing that she'd have made a comedic or endearing remark to the child who didn't need such a thing on this day, not from her.

Izumi's face was not twisted with sorrow or curiosity, but longing. Before her is the father of her father, the reason behind much of her misfortunes. Pinnley spoke of her grandfather like a guardian angel, someone who could've done no wrong. Here she finds the statue of this same man whose blood she carried, posing in a gallery of other heroes who probably did more or much less than him. All of them are equal.

Her hand inches out toward the statue like the man was right in front of her, in the flesh. The man spoken of as a direct contrast to her father was before her eyes, and she could do nothing but try to touch the stone texture of his being. It was not him, the real Kazuhiro Kiyabu could never be restored or brought back to life, as he was dead. There were no second chances for the living unless they'd grown to overcome even death. None have succeeded in doing this, certainly not her power-obsessed father.

Surprisingly, it is Rimi's hand that pushes her hand down, away from the stone statue. "You're going to get in trouble if you touch it," her cold voice doesn't match her expression. Izumi looks at the black-and-red-haired child with a bemused character, puzzled by the concerned look in the vector-bender's eyes. Rimi has never looked at Izumi this way

'I didn't even realize I moved, what's happening? What's gotten into me?' Rimi's thinking is frenzied as she moves her hand away from Izumi, who looks back at her in confused silence. "S-Sorry for touching you," to ease out of the awkwardness, Rimi apologized, something that'd puzzle Izumi further. 

Only a few moments of silence are graced to the group. "Ah, my dearest Rimi, you don't need to apologize!" Both Chiyo and Rimi are taken aback when Izumi's behavior shifts from the confused, almost distraught showcasing, to the familiar bubbly mess that the girl usually acted as.

The dynamic smile spreading on the white-haired girl's face distracts Rimi long enough for her hand to be cupped by both of hers. When she attempts to pull away, Rimi finds her body struggling to move, and an alarmed glance is directed at Chiyo, though it only lasts for a second.

Shortly, the two are moving in a blur. Izumi pulls Rimi with her at speeds fast enough to split a cloud of gas if they run through it. The world around her was distorted — a display that Rimi had gotten used to seeing after their training together.

The world isn't blurred enough to prevent her from making out the things they're passing. Stop signs, cars, and buildings can be made out occasionally, as Rimi's mind grows familiar to the fast rate of motion. 

Counting the seconds in her head, the two stop right when Rimi reaches the fifteen-second mark. As she's brought to a halt, Rimi struggles to find her footing. The momentum, or lack thereof, bothered her constantly. With her ability, Rimi can move fast but still feel the force of accelerating herself. Contrary to Rimi's ability, the rapid speed at which they moved left someone unbothered once they were out of it. The worst anyone had to concern themselves with was motion sickness.

"You can't just use—" Rimi quickly scolds the girl once they come to a halt on some platform, but she is immediately hushed by the sight of Izumi collapsing to her knees. Uncontrolled breaths escape Izumi's mouth as she hyperventilates, alarming her otherwise spiteful companion. 

'I can practically hear her heart pounding from her chest, what's she so worked up over? Did her grandpa abuse her or something?' The scene made Rimi uncomfortable, uncertain how to calm the panicking child down.

"Hey, calm your breathing down before you pass out." While Rimi is reaching to shake Izumi's shoulder, the white-haired girl grabs her wrist, pulling her in. Rimi doesn't feel that she's fallen under the effect of a quirk, but for some reason, she doesn't resist being pulled by the surprisingly frail girl

Brought to her knees, with arms wrapped around her in a firm hold, Rimi awkwardly looks down. The top of Izumi's white-colored head stares back at her, as a face is buried into her torso. Rimi could feel Izumi's sporadic breathing sinking through the fabric of her shirt, warming her skin. Grimacing as she looks away, the uncomfortable feeling draws an involuntary cringe.

It isn't until the vibrations of sobbing are sent through her that Rimi looks back at the girl. "..." Silent, uncertain how to soothe the girl's distress, Rimi rubs her hand through Izumi's hair. "You're so weird," she mumbles under her breath.

Minutes ago, Izumi was staring at the statue of her grandfather, someone Rimi thought she'd have met before. Now that she has time to consider the scene, she understands that it's more likely that it was Izumi's first time seeing the man. 

The scene was identical to the one portrayed years ago when Rimi released her emotions to her mother. To unwind her accumulating emotions at the time, she released all her thoughts and feelings to her mother at the lake. She cried for hours, and her mother stayed with her all that time.

'This situation is different, though. I shouldn't be holding or comforting this girl, who's practically a stranger to me. We lived in the same home for a bit, but our only interactions were negative. No, maybe I just hated the setting — rightfully so. Pinnley made me train with her, and besides her obnoxiously obsessive personality, fighting her was more painstaking than having to handle the old man.' 

In her mind, Rimi's acrimony toward Izumi was justified by the pattern of annoyance from the privileged child. 

Yet, even considering all of the things that annoyed her about Izumi, she couldn't muster the willpower to push the crying girl away. Rimi did not know what was bothering her, or why she'd feel the need to rush away in such a hurry. It didn't matter either. The early years of her short life have been spent following her instincts and intuition, and right now her instincts forbid her from abandoning the girl.

No matter how annoying the child may be, she is still a child in need. It'd be a jab to the face of all of her past victims if Rimi didn't attempt to make a slight change to someone in need. Although she is practically a stranger, Izumi has risked more than just her time and patience helping other strangers for less.

"You can cry for hours if you want," continuing to stroke the child's hair, Rimi speaks with a surprisingly soft tone. "We've got a lot of time now."

* * * *

Izumi's sniffling and sobs died down after an hour. Rimi figured they'd moved too fast to track based on how long it'd been since they'd left. No one has arrived for the two. She's convinced that no one will for a while.

Sitting across from her, after confirming that they'd been transported onto a high rooftop of a building, Izumi hugged her knees as if they could protect her from the passing breeze of the chilling air.

Breaking the silence that'd befallen them for a while after Izumi composed herself, Rimi initiated an exchange.

"So, why did you drag us up onto the roof?"

Izumi twitches, "...I'm sorry..." Her bubbly personality's fallen short. "I... lost focus, and just went wherever. I made a scene out of nothing."

Lifting a brow and looking to the side, Rimi's almost surprised. "You can't call that 'out of nothing', you were having a panic attack."

Nipping her thumb with her fingertips, Izumi looks away from the expansive sight of the city below. Rimi notices this and sighs in frustration. She doesn't understand girls well, despite being one. Maybe the lingering boyism in her soul has hollowed her feminine consideration. Maybe sometimes, girls can't understand each other.

'Nah, I don't think this is a girl-related issue. This is... her. After she finished crying, she curled up on this edge, and I've just been making sure she doesn't jump off the roof or something. What else can I do? I'm not her mom or dad.'

Beating to life, Rimi's observation spawns awareness of something distinct. She'd been at the estate with this child for many days but had never seen Izumi's parents. Neither her mother or her father, nor her uncles or aunts, or anyone else. The closest to these figures she'd seen were the maids and butlers, most of whom presumably were employed to work the halls of the mansion. 

She considers bringing it up but is hesitant. If Izumi reacted this way to seeing her grandfather, there's no telling the horrors that she might bring to reality when mentioning her family members who are still living. 'Is it okay for me to ask this? Yeah, even if she cries again, it's better to get to the bottom of this before she freaks out and hurts somebody. Even though she annoys me a lot, I'm probably the only person who can stop her if she goes off the walls. Well, she isn't me, so that shouldn't happen.' She laughs at her mental instability before focusing on the more pressing issue: Izumi's mental state.

"You don't get along with your parents, do you?" This isn't the first time Rimi's brought up another person's parents. In the past, she degraded children and even their parents for terrible decisions, which her mother promptly scolded her for. This is the first time she is asking someone about their parents, besides Yuudai, out of concern. "I haven't seen them at all since I arrived at the mansion."

Twitching again, Izumi's eyes lower, then move to Rimi beside her. Silently, the white-haired girl stares without responding. 'It's a start,' thought Rimi.

"My parents have been nice to me, so I couldn't imagine living without them until I came here. It was under strange circumstances, but your butler saved my life. Right now, I might be going through harsh training, but I'd be somewhere further from home if he hadn't been there to protect me." Recalling the day Pinnley opted to save her from being taken by Katsuko Yoshiyuki, her mysterious aunt, the child can't combat the urge to smile.

Izumi barely lifts her face from behind her knees, but Rimi sees the signs. She is gaining indirect responses from the girl.

"Technically, it's thanks to you that I'm still here, I guess." The final nail that brought life back to Izumi's disheartened eyes. "If you hadn't been at the zoo that day, Pinnley would've never known about me. He'd have never been there to fight Yuuichi, and he'd have never been able to swoop in quick enough to stop me from being stolen away by relatives I don't know."

Her words bring a feeling of ease to the panicking child. Rimi brings an unseen smile to Izumi's face. 

"What I'm meaning to say by all of this, is thank you. I don't know how to make you feel better, but I know that I owe you something. It might be something small, but meeting you at that zoo made a positive change." 

Originally, she intended to take an approach by talking to Izumi about her parents and the positives that'd come from them not being around. However, Rimi is admittedly ignorant of Izumi's familial situation, nor does she have the right to dig into the girl's personal life. Instead, she took a more authentic approach, coming from her heart.

Without meeting Izumi on the day of her field trip, she'd have been kidnapped by her aunt and would've gone through an experience far worse than anything she'd tolerated training with Pinnley.

Before she can continue, Rimi sees Izumi shake her head, softly chuckling at her words. "No, thank you..." 

"I've been awkward and nervous, I didn't know how to properly introduce myself to you... To top it off, I dragged you onto this stinkin' roof without saying a word just because of some bad thoughts." Her fingers push and lap strands of her hair around her hand, frustratingly gripping at her scalp. "...I'm so stupid..."

Rimi stands and walks over to Izumi, a dissatisfied look glaring down at Izumi. "Cut it out." Rimi's hand lands on Izumi's head in a soft pat. "Quit talking down on yourself like that, you're supposed to be older than me." A mixture of seriousness and comedy blends with Rimi's words.

"We all do dopey things sometimes, I've probably done the dumbest things. I'd probably hate you for real if you end up as a depressed, emo-loner girl." A perfect string of phrases that entice a loud laugh from her white-haired acquaintance. 

"Aha! I never even took the time to ask about your age, did I...? We never even had a proper introduction," Izumi thinks back on the past. Rimi had probably learned a few things about her from Pinnley during their training, but she'd never actually taken the time to learn much about Rimi, whom she'd obsessed over since the first time they'd met. "Could we start our introduction over, please?" 

"Yeah, how about we start our introductions on better times." Grinning, Rimi answers. Their first time meeting each other, Rimi saved Izumi's life from an incoming spike from one of Yuuichi Yokota's amalgamations. The next time they met, Rimi was forced to spar with the girl who was clearly more passionate about the activity than she was.

 'I won't ask her about her personal life. I'll just distract her from it since that's always worked for me. Distracting myself from the past, that's how I can keep living.'

Removing the hand from Izumi's head, and offering it to the sitting child, Rimi introduces herself first. "Rimi Yonamine, 7-years-old. I like to study and race, sometimes."

A tender hand takes Rimi's. "Izumi Kiyabu, 8-years-old. I like sweet things."

Rimi gets the feeling that there's something more to this comment but is none the wiser.

Izumi rose to her feet, locking eyes with Rimi, who'd been much taller than the average girl her age. 'She's grown a lot since the zoo, ooh! My dearest, you're amazing!' Smiling at her, as her thoughts surf away from the grim reality of her familial struggles — Izumi's worries are clouded by the newfound friendship with the Yonamine Child. 

"I hope we'll get along." They say in unison.

* * * *

A moment of complimentary silence passes by long enough for Rimi to address the severity of their situation. "Well, now that we've gotten that settled... How about I get us off this roof?" 

Izumi had been thinking about this, but didn't want to ruin the moment by addressing the rooftop she'd dragged them to. 

"I don't even know how you managed to get us up here. I thought your ability was only you making yourself and others move fast, or something." The white-haired girl looks surprised at first. It's troublesome reading her expression, however, the vector-bending girl can deduce why her companion is speechless. She'd presumably guessed one of the major factors of Izumi's quirk, who likely didn't have her abilities evaluated too often.

"Regardless, I can get us down. It'll just be a bit uncomfortable," cautioning the noble girl, Rimi stretches her arms and legs in preparation for their descent.

"It's fine, I don't mind it. I got us up here, so I think I can manage the outcome of my actions." The way Izumi spoke reminded Rimi that this child, although a bit psychotic in her eyes, was still from a noble family. During the incident at the zoo, Izumi displayed a keen intellect, not unseen in most girls her age. She's smart, but can hardly portray it.

"Alright, then let's go!" Wasting no time, Rimi, who'd long since grown exhausted of the same display, sweeps Izumi from her feet. 

Izumi is held in a bridal carry, and before the redness can slip its colors upon her face, the feeling of gentle winds meets her face.

Fixating her attention on the world around her, a brilliant blue color contrasts with Izumi's emerald-shaded eyes. Suspended at an elevation higher than the roof, Izumi looked up, finding clouds so close that she believed she could capture them in her grasp.

Birds fly over their heads, but never high enough to appear out of reach. Their chirping sounds closer than ever.

The scenery is witnessed only in movies or those with the mystical power to fly. "Beautiful..." Mumbling under her breath, Izumi could barely fathom what it'd be like to witness this sight whenever she wished. 

Rimi held them there for a while on purpose. The first time they'd met, Izumi couldn't bask in the sight of the sky for long thanks to the carnage happening beneath them. This time, it is vastly different. There is no chaos or noise to distract her from the fantastical picture. There is peace and all the time in the world.

A much-needed tranquility washes over Izumi and Rimi alike, the comforting wind pushing strands of hair away from their faces.

"I... wish things could stay like this forever," Izumi admits.

Breaking her silence, Rimi responds, "If you keep that sad look off of your face, I'll bring you up here whenever you ask." 

Despite all that she'd done, and all of the people she'd hurt, and all of the mistakes she'd made in her past and present lifetime — Rimi Yonamine couldn't stomach the sight of a sad person in need. If she has the power to make one person's day better, that's enough to dampen the weight of the guilt in her heart, at least for a brief while. 

'Helping others feels so much better than hurting them.'

Izumi immediately nods her head, gleaming at the girl carrying her. "I won't show you such sad things anymore. But, in return, you can't keep looking at me with that disgusting face anymore!"

The color drains from Rimi's face as she comprehends Izumi's words. 'Ah... So, she really wasn't clueless...'

They exchange words for a bit more while enjoying the scenery. By the time they reached the ground, Ms. Shuzenji was more than angered by the two vanishing suddenly during their outing.