[14:CV-6]
Okay, let's start from the beginning.
My name is Eleanor R. Hayes. Recently, villains attacked the USJ, I sent out a communication for help, I killed some with my drones, gunned down and almost killed Tomura, saved and protected the lives of my classmates, and got it all done before the rest of the heroes could arrive.
The good news is that I don't have to pay for the damage I caused to the wall, so big win there, and the most stressful part is over with.
My grade? Very efficient, but I'd give myself a C-, because I didn't fully get Tomura. Yeah, I saw his arm barely hanging on, and that would normally mean amputation, but quirks and stuff. So, he'll be fine. The next time I see him, though, I'm going to unleash such terrific damage that not even a healing quirk would fully restore him.
Anyway, now, I'm here, in front of Nezu, and a few other teachers. Oh, and Hound Dog was here. You know, he's actually pretty good at this student counseling thing. I was being given a long lecture, but I was just putting one word in and out of my ears.
For some reason, I'm being treated like the bad guy here. What is their problem?
"How do you feel, Eleanor?" Nezu asked from his spot. I was in front of a big table with other teachers. They weren't surrounding me, but it was like sitting in front of a small jury stand. There was Nezu in the center, there was Aizawa, there was All Might in his big form, Midnight, Hound Dog, and then there was the detective, Naomasa. I'm more worried about him. He's the guy with the lie detector quirk, right? Or was it someone else?
Either way, I have to assume the worst-case scenario, which is him having the lie detector quirk.
"I feel fine, Nezu. Like always."
"Do you know what you did wrong?" Nezu asked me.
"I did nothing wrong. I protected myself, my classmates, and helped save Thirteen and Eraserhead."
"And your use of force?" Naomasa asked me.
"How is that a problem? Those villains were intent on killing everyone there, so I defended my classmates and me. My use of force was equal to theirs. 'Proportional,' I would say as well. And you know? Since when was it a bad thing to kill someone in self-defense when they're trying to kill you?"
Seriously, it's like I'm on trial here.
"Young lady, we understand, but we're concerned that your mindset will lead to unnecessary violence. However, I do understand; I've spent time in America and know how certain things function there."
Whoa, All Might is kind of backing me up? Oh yeah, he debuted in America or something, right? That's why his moves are named after cities and states. Does he have an Alaska smash? Or am I being biased?
"Listen, you're still young, and the purpose of this school is to teach you not only to be a hero, but to also teach you about how heroes present themselves and what is looked down upon." Aizawa said.
They want to get me while I'm developing. Unfortunately for them, I'm a bit of a special case. The only development I need is to become more creative with my drones and have more control over my railguns.
"I'd say, given the circumstances, we understand what you did, and we are thankful for your actions that will lead to Thirteen making a fast recovery. We can overlook such an event with respect to your individual actions. However, and I won't force you, I highly encourage you to schedule at least one session with Hound Dog." Nezu said.
"How do we explain it to the media?" Midnight said.
You know, I almost forgot Midnight has this kind of side, since the way she dresses and the persona she puts out there is a lot different. Although I won't complain.
And explaining things to the media? Hmm…I know a thing or two about that.
"Perhaps I can help?" I asked.
"Are you sure you can do this?" Aizawa asked.
"Let's hear her out; young minds can think of things adults sometimes overlook," Nezu said.
"Alright, so when selling this to the media, you want to focus on emotions over facts, or controlling emotional momentum before facts can stabilize. Don't talk about what I did, talk about who I saved. This way, the media and news will emphasize headlines with rescue and saving lives, even better since it's children. This is a goldmine for emotional framing. Another important thing is not to, under any circumstances, put my face on there as the one who did it. Without some kind of face, symbol, or something similar, the media will make their own labels, and by establishing the emotional framing first, the labels they make will be something positive. After all, someone who saves children from villains has to be a hero, right?"
I could see the glances they were giving each other and then some looks of concern towards me. Why, though? They're looking at me like I'm…bad—again.
"Eleanor, you may leave. There will be a small break form school because of the attack. Use this time to reflect." Nezu said.
I got up and left the room. I don't want to linger any longer. I just want to go to my dorm and hop into bed.
/\\//\\//\
After Eleanor left, everyone else looked at eachother, not knowing how to take in what Eleanor told them.
"The method she described can be…very effective." Nezu said.
"If she has that kind of knowledge, who knows what she could use it for." Naomasa said.
"What caused her to think the way she does? Even if she's from a different country, something must have happened to her, or the environment she grew up in influenced her deeply already. But she's still young." Midnight said.
"Something like this shouldn't happen again." Aizawa said.
/\\//\\//\
(A few days later)
A loud alarm clock sounded before it was violently destroyed by a hand trying to shut it off. "Damnit, of course school starts right when I reach max comfort during these off days." A voice grumbled as they slowly got up. "And I need to get a new alarm."
It was Eleanor. She'd been a bit lazy these days while there was no school, but alas, she had to go back. She would've trained, but she spent most of her time answering questions about the attack. "Let's see what the news says." She got her tablet and looked up the news.
"Student saves fellow classmates from villain attack."
"U.A. attacked by villains, hero student to the rescue."
"Looks like they took my advice a little bit. A mix of this kind of stuff and others." Eleanor said as she looked through various news headlines before she put it back down and decided to get ready for the day.
"I think I really did take a bit more from Enterprise; this room isn't exactly the cleanest. Just like in the anime, she needs a maid to help. Mhmm, a maid like Belfast taking care of me. Oh yeah. One can dream." Eleanor grumbled as she went through her morning routine and put on the school uniform, except for the shoes. They were too ugly for her. She put on something black instead.
"I really gotta try to convince Nezu to give me a uniform exception or something. If I remember right, the uniform for the other school is a lot cooler. Shiketsu High School? Yeah, those are a lot cooler. The hat is cool. All I would add are some epaulettes on the jacket and it'll be top tier. Well, I already have something similar, but rules and all that. Alright, enough yapping, time for class."
Eleanor headed to the morning classes. But as soon as she entered, Tenya started speaking..
"Class president, you shouldn't be here so late! You need to be here earlier to set an example for all of us to follow! We look to someone like you to guide us through such an event that happened the other day."
'It's way too early to be doing all this.' Eleanor thought to herself.
"Tenya, class hasn't even started; I'm on time. And it's only morning, we don't need to be doing things so seriously. We can do all this at noon, but not in the morning, unless I have to help organize some kind of event." Eleanor said.
She left it at that as she went to her seat, but then she remembered something as she passed Yuga.
She went to his desk and stared at him.
"Are you here to gaze upon—"
Smack! Eleanor's hand banged on his desk as she leaned forward to look down on him, quickly quieting down Yuga, and getting the attention of the class. Yuga didn't know what was happening or what made Eleanot suddenly get agitated.
Eleanor just kept staring for an uncomfortable amount of time before she whispered something only he would understand into his ear.
"Je te surveille, Aoyama. Je ne vous ai pas vu pendant l'attaque." She whispered before she calmly sat down at her seat. (A/N: No, I don't know French. I'm using the so-called "most accurate translator," DeepL, to help with this. Although if anyone here does know French, please correct anything or add context.)
"What did she say?"Mina asked Tsu as they were close.
"I don't know, but it sounded like French."
"She speaks French? We find out more about her all the time, but why does she even know French?"
"Just ask her." Tsu said.
"Later. Class is going to start soon."