The primary school wasn't much different from kindergarten.
The same boring classes. Same playing time. Same lunch time. Same nap time. Then classes again.
But Toru's own experience was different from her previous school.
There was one main reason.
Haru
"So, there's this cool thing called Quirk Singularity Theory. It basically says that with each generation, quirks would become stronger, until at a point, they won't be able to be controlled by human bodies. I even asked my dad about it, and he said that my kids would have quirks stronger than All Might.
That's so crazy..."
"Whoa, that's insane. If your dad said, it might be true."
Though Haru was difficult at times to handle, most of the time he was fun to be around.
He isn't the type of guy who would continue asking questions or giving you random facts if you don't like it. Moreover, he kind of goes along with whatever Toru suggests, so it was a pretty good relationship.
One day, she was invited to play a game.
Hide-and-seek.
She wanted to reject, but Haru wanted to play, so she agreed, hesitantly, and the game began.
As if the world were playing a cruel trick, she found a similar hiding spot to her previous time.
A closet, in a secluded corner.
'I forgot to remind Haru to find me if I amn't found by lunch. Well, I will just go out at lunch.'
Though the situation of what happened the first time didn't repeat, the main reason was that Toru rarely played the game. Moreover, when she played, she would remind her seatmate that she was playing too, so that she wouldn't be left alone to hide.
Over the years, Toru had realised that if she didn't speak, she would be easily forgotten by others. She didn't have a face, so she didn't actually leave much impression, other than being an 'invisible girl'.
Toru didn't know when, but she fell asleep in the closet. But she did remember waking up.
"WAKE UP"
Toru rubbed her eyes open and found Haru looking at her with his arms crossed.
"Haru...? Where am I?"
"School. It's almost the end of lunch time."
"End...? What happened to the game?" Toru stood up, exiting the closet.
"I found a good hiding spot, so I won. After they called for me, I realised that you weren't present. So, after asking the seeker, I realised he forgot about you. Pfft, I mean, you are invisible, but that was really stupid." Haru giggled as he put a hand on his mouth.
"Is that so...? How did you find me?" 'So, he remembered, huh.'
"Well, it was pretty difficult. I looked at the hiding places, which I think you could have hidden. I finally found you now."
Toru found her lips curving upwards without her knowing.
"Say, Haru, we are friends, right?"
"Yeah. Why are you asking, though?" Haru tilted his head.
"Nothing. Just wanted to."
Suddenly, Toru hugged him, causing Haru to stumble.
"Hey! What are you doing? Your drool is getting on my clothes!"
That was the day when Toru made her first true friend.
Over the years, their friendship only deepened.
However, not all things were good.
The first impression Haru gave to most of the kids wasn't friendly. That, along with having a 'cool' quirk, a lot of rumours spread due to people's jealousy.
Long story short, people have accused Haru looks down on people with his quirk or something along those lines. Toru hadn't even bothered to entertain that.
Though she was worried that Haru might be affected by these stupid rumours, his answer surprised her.
"Hmm, that? They probably don't like me. People like to feel good when others feel the same way, so they like to spread their 'word'. Something like that."
Toru blinked.
"So, you know that they don't like you? Doesn't that bother you?"
Haru shrugged. "Nope. It's unnatural for everyone to have the same opinion. In fact, isn't the differences of opinions what makes us all unique?" His mature answer surprised her.
Toru had learned the hard way about relationships firsthand through her experiences due to her quirk. Though nothing life-threatening had happened to her, all those experiences had slowly but surely changed her outlook on human relationships.
If she doesn't make her presence known, then she will be forgotten.
Of course, not everyone hated Haru. That was impossible. Moreover, his haters were actually in the minority.
With Haru's personality, it was hard to hate him. More importantly, he was cute.
Pretty cute in fact.
Periwinkle hair and blue-coloured sparkling eyes. He naturally attracted attention wherever he went. It was quite contrary to Toru, who was invisible.
She didn't know when, but one day Toru realised that the way she acted with Haru was different from others. It was more raw and more unfiltered.
She didn't need to act differently to make sure that she was existing in front of Haru.
Though this was kind of similar to how she acted with her parents, she didn't spend a lot of time with them, as they both had jobs.
Toru realised that one day, if Haru moved away, her real self would be buried again, and she would have to live a life of a facade.
The solution for this was simple. Just make more friends like Haru, who won't 'forget' her.
However, she didn't do that due to her selfish wish.
'I want to just show this side to him. He was the first one.'
"What do you want to become when you grow up?" One day, Haru suddenly asked her this.
"A hero." 'Heroes won't be forgotten after all.'
Haru hummed. "So, you will probably go to U.A, right?"
"Yeah. You will too, right?"
Haru's parents used to work in hero agencies. His dad still works while his mom retired when his sister was born.
"I guess. I want to try this hero thing."
Toru nodded. "Guess, we will be together then too."
Haru almost nodded, but he paused. "You do know that with your quirk, it would be difficult to get into U.A, right?"
"Are you saying that I won't be able to get in?"
"Don't twist my words. I said it would be difficult. Your quirk just gives invisibility; it doesn't have much combat power." Haru frowned.
"Wanna make a bet?"
"What bet?"
"If I get into U.A, you would have to be my sidekick when I become a hero."
Haru blinked. He considered the bet.
"And if I win?"
"Aren't you happy that you could go to high school with your best friend?" Toru smirked.
Haru deadpanned. "Whatever." He shrugged.
It didn't mean much to him.
It meant everything to her.
From that day on, Toru trained harder than she ever had. Harder than Haru. Harder than she thought she could.
And still, the doubt lingered.
If she failed, she wouldn't just lose U.A.She would lose him.
Her efforts were rewarded.
She won the bet.
Standing there, acceptance letter in hand, Toru felt something settle in her chest.
She had secured her place.
Not at U.A.
Beside him.
Life went smoothly for a while.
Until her biggest obstacle came.
Love.
Haru could fall in love with somebody. His priorities could shift. After all, isn't it natural to spend more time with your partner than friends?
If he chose someone, then she would be forgotten.
Toru didn't want to acknowledge this, but she soon was forced to.
She looked at Mina laughing beside Haru. The latter had a twitching expression.
She approached them.
"Hey Toru! Don't you think that Haru looks like Aizawa-sensei's secret love-child?" Ashido pointed at the eyebags under Haru's eyes.
"I don't. Stop saying nonsense." Haru rolled his eyes.
"He does."
Ashido got called by Kirishima for something, leaving both of them alone.
"You look like you have gone through a war. Does Bakugo snores loudly or something?" Toru started the conversation. In their childhood, Haru played this role, but over the years, he had become more reserved.
"No."
"Then, why do you look sleep-deprived?"
"Coz, I am," Haru said without looking at her.
"Then, why like this?"
"It's probably because of sleeping at a different place," Haru said with a straight face.
"Liar. You didn't seem like this when we hada sleepover at my place." Toru retorted.
"Coz, I was with you. Duh."
"..."
Toru didn't know what kind of expression she had on her face. Nobody ever did.
What she knew was the feelings she was feeling. Whatever doubts she had about going with this step finally vanished.
She looked at his back as he left to train his quirk.
'I can't afford to lose the only place I exist.'