Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Dear Mr. Klaus:

How have you been recently?

I originally wanted to record a video for you, but I've been learning calligraphy with a brush under a teacher. Even though my writing isn't very good yet, I still wanted to show you my progress.

(PS: He is a very elegant and knowledgeable gentleman, a bit strict, but if you ever have the chance to meet him, I believe you would like him too.)

It's been almost a month since I last wrote to you. I've been doing very well this past month, gradually getting used to my new school life and making many friends. Everyone is very kind, so please don't worry.

I have a new sword companion named Tsurumaru Kuninaga. He's a white tachi, very lively in personality. There was a small accident during the summoning, but it's all resolved now. His ability is to fly, and he said he wants me to be free to go anywhere I wish. Although I can't control it well yet, I'm looking forward to that day, when I can occasionally take over some of Mr. Gilbert's work and bring a little convenience to your daily travels.

Yesterday, during rescue training, we encountered a strange man whose whole body was covered in hands. Even though he led a group to attack the school and injured Mr. Aizawa, I always felt he didn't really know what he wanted to do and seemed to be suffering, a bit like me. That bothered me. Yesterday, because Mr. Aizawa stopped me, I didn't kill him. I wonder if I can talk to him the next time we meet.

(PS: Mr. Aizawa said we don't have the right to casually take others' lives. You've said that to me before too, and now I think I'm starting to understand what it means.)

The legendary All Might is incredibly impressive.

Also, our school is about to hold an event called the Sports Festival. I heard it's a super large sports event (is that the word?) that many students participate in, and it looks like everyone's parents will come to watch. Do you have time next month? If you can come, I'll try my best to get first place!

I wonder if Leo and Zhenzhen liked the regional-flavor instant ramen I sent back last time?

Please say hello to everyone at Libra for me. I miss them very much.

Love, Kirisame

"I messed up another sheet..."

Kirisame sat at her desk, crumpling up the paper where the ink had bled and tossing it aside.

Her movement was too fast for Kasetsu to stop it.

The girl had been sitting at the desk writing letters since dinner, struggling from seven to ten, filling the trash can with discarded paper without producing one she was satisfied with.

It was almost eleven now.

The elegant literary sword, his face troubled, tugged at the little bow on his head.

As strict as he was, how could he tell his young lord that writing with a brush isn't like fighting—rushing to finish—but requires gradual progress?

Especially since, for a beginner, the girl had already written decently.

Kasetsu Jianding, still in his field uniform and having hurried over, sighed inwardly and swiftly stopped Kirisame's hand before she could ball up another sheet.

...Why did this feel like his rivalry with Yamabukikiri?

"What's wrong this time?" The purple-haired tsukumogami took a deep breath, trying to sound gentler and more patient.

Kirisame couldn't see him, but knew he could see her. She pointed at a blob of ink that had dripped onto the edge of the paper, looking a bit sulky.

...Ah?

Oh, as long as it wasn't a mistake in writing, it was a small issue. Kasetsu exhaled in relief.

"It's fine, nothing serious—look, I'll show you."

Following his guidance, Kirisame dipped her brush again and dotted irregularly around the black circle, turning it into a small black flower pattern. She felt satisfied.

She folded the letter paper carefully into three, tucked it into a paper airplane, and gave it a symbolic puff of air. The bright yellow plane flew straight into the air and vanished.

Hearing the girl's cheerful voice saying, "Thank you, Mr. Kasetsu! You're truly amazing. I'll practice calligraphy with you more from now on," Kasetsu felt both happy and anxious.

...It was almost eleven! You need to go to sleep now!!

Being a teacher was a huge test of patience, especially when the child misbehaved but you couldn't rap her knuckles because you couldn't reach her.

Thinking this, the tsukumogami smiled anyway. Even knowing he couldn't touch her, he still reached out and patted the girl's fluffy head.

Maybe he shouldn't sleep yet. He'd go steal Yamabukikiri's bedsheets and wash them twice to relieve some stress first.

Kirisame covered her head.

"..."

"...Eh?"

The incident had passed several days. Honestly, Mr. Aizawa was a model professional—he was back on his feet just as Kirisame and the others had a day off, and within a few days he was already fulfilling his teaching duties normally.

And now he was in the principal's office.

The animal-like principal sat in his chair, a teacup in his little paws, his expression serious.

"...That concludes the report on Kirisame Aizawa's actions during this incident."

Nezu sighed. "Coming from an alternate world with lax rules and laws, using a blade is already dangerous. It seems her ability is still unstable..."

Should they consider isolating her from the students? The worried principal was about to speak when his subordinate teacher cut him off with a bow.

"Even if some of her actions are extreme and her quirk has the potential to go berserk, this child is not unteachable." The black-haired guardian, his face covered in bandages so his expression was hard to read, spoke with utmost seriousness. "So far, whether intentionally or not, Kirisame Aizawa has harmed none of her classmates. She's also trying to understand the rules that are different from what she originally knew."

...To be honest, the cooperation she's shown in this process is surprising.

"She is not without potential."

All Might, sitting nearby, also stood up. "We will educate her and take responsibility for her actions."

"So please allow her to continue studying in Class 1-A."

The assurance from the two teachers successfully changed the principal's mind. As they left the office, All Might let out a sigh of relief.

Aizawa was still injured, so All Might decided to talk to the Kirisame girl himself.

Kirisame girl was crouched on the rooftop.

It wasn't that she had nothing better to do and was enjoying the view, but rather there was something she absolutely had to do on the roof.

...Like checking if she could actually fly.

Spread out in front of her was a thick, illustrated book.

It was a gift from the Fallen King, who said it was a reward for Kirisame being a diligent lab worker.

When she opened the first page, Kirisame froze.

—It was an illustrated guide to famous Japanese swords. The first page looked very familiar. On many sleepless nights before, Kirisame had stared at the inscription on the sword's hilt, lost in thought.

Izuminokami Kanesada.

Most of the time when Kirisame holds a sword, black flames wrap around it, so almost no one has recognized her blade, and Kirisame herself doesn't know where her sword comes from.

Until she received that gentleman's gift.

The last incomplete Great Collapse was the first meeting between the two in Kirisame's memory, but that eccentric man known throughout HL showed astonishing familiarity with Kirisame's habits. During the two months she followed him, aside from her SAN value plummeting, Kirisame sometimes even felt a little bit of being "taken care of."

It must be said that it was strange.

However, ever since Kirisame could hear the swords speak, she rarely felt like reading books.

Kirisame looked at the page that read "Tsurumaru Kuninaga."

The sword in the illustration looked almost exactly like the real one, but only when held in hand could one feel the beauty and sharpness of this blade.

As expected of a former imperial treasure.

...Though it was a bit too lively.

After taking the sword out and hearing no sound for a long time, Kirisame thought something was wrong with her again, then suddenly a loud shout startled her into letting out an "Oh!" She wiped her face and thought to herself calmly.

The culprit was even quite pleased with himself.

"Were you startled? You were startled, weren't you!"

After having her cheek poked three times, Kirisame silently raised her hand in a gesture to put the sword away, successfully getting him to behave.

"Speaking of which, seeing one's own life story in an illustrated book feels so strange..." A young male voice sounded in her ear.

Having had several owners due to being too popular, even being dug out of a grave?

"Then I won't look anymore," Kirisame said, closing the book. "Let's try to see if I can fly."

Thinking the child was too subdued and about to suggest that Little Kirisame visit a museum when she had time, Tsurumaru was cut off. He dropped the topic, stepped forward, took the little girl's hand, and as she looked bewildered, pulled her and jumped off the roof.

Kirisame had chosen the location carefully. This building near UA's back mountain usually stored teaching supplies and scrapped equipment from the Support Course. Apart from the work robots responsible for regular cleaning, hardly anyone came here. Moreover, the area had many trees and the building wasn't very tall, so even if she failed, she wouldn't get hurt.

But now the only useful part was that "no one was around"...

Kirisame, suddenly pulled off the roof, experienced a brief moment of weightlessness before soaring upward. Unlike the first time, this time it was under control, with speed and smoothness guaranteed.

—And she could feel someone holding her hand.

Perhaps afraid that last time had traumatized her, the slightly larger hand completely enveloped hers, giving a sense of reliability that was completely opposite to the lively and unreliable personality of its owner.

The white-haired tsukumogami leaned his head close to her, seeing her brilliant golden eyes (the same as his) wide with fright, and found it utterly amusing.

Having recovered from the shock of sudden weightlessness, Kirisame opened her mouth to say something to criticize Tsurumaru's recent behavior.

"Hey hey, surprise is necessary in life. If you can foresee everything, the heart will die before the body."

The old tachi sword seemed to read her mind and seriously lectured the little girl.

"So Little Kirisame should try more things."

Wow, cunning!

Before Kirisame could say anything, she was tugged and her attention was redirected.

"Look, look! The clouds are super close!"

"Don't they look like real cranes?!"

Amidst the cheerful laughter ringing in her ear, Kirisame looked down at the shrunken buildings and trees below, then looked up at the clouds rushing toward her.

—The wind passed by her, and she flew through the sky like a bird.

It seemed... pretty great.

"They do!"

Tsurumaru turned his head to look at the young lady's seemingly carefree expression. His smile didn't change, but in his mind were all the emotions from that night: the momentary realization and shock in Mikazuki's eyes, and the silence that refused to break no matter how much he pressed.

That was the first time he had seen the emotion of "guilt" in the eyes of this colleague, who was always known for his calm and inscrutability.

"Forgetting is a good thing." He said it once more.

Hey hey, finally meeting her again, this kind of surprise is a bit too much...

The tsukumogami suppressed the unease in his heart, and quietly clenched his other hand that was not holding Kirisame.

—Little Kirisame and the colleagues of the citadel, he would protect them all.

Kirisame's hand that was not being held by Tsurumaru was also clenching.

She was enduring pain.

The aftermath of her power rampage was probably still there. A persistent burning pain had gradually enveloped her entire body since she summoned Tsurumaru, far less severe than that day, but still not to be ignored.

Kirisame tried to keep her expression nonchalant.

—Tsurumaru was probably watching, better not to scare him.

Seeing a doctor for this kind of thing seems useless, maybe it will get better after a while...

...Will it really get better?

In her mind, the strange doctor's emerald eyes intertwined with All Might's azure gaze from that day on the rooftop. Kirisame took a breath and told herself.

[I can handle it.]

Her life was tied to the happiness and joy of many people, so she could not take a single step back in the face of danger.

This was the resolve Kirisame had since she took the hand that was extended to her.