Chapter Text
Izumi slowly closed the notebook that Cementoss had given her, her mind reeling. Although the teacher had been very kind, going probably slower than he normally would as he went over a handful of basic Common words as well as the first ten letters of the Common alphabet, she still felt overwhelmed.
There were thirty-seven consonants and seven vowels in the basic Common alphabet. And that didn't even begin to cover the complexity of the Trade language that Common apparently borrowed several use words from. Cementoss had mentioned it only in passing, but it sounded like the Trade language was a worse mashup and conglomeration of words and languages from different solar systems than the English language was.
She had never felt so incompetent in her life. Usually, if there was something that she didn't know, she would scour the libraries and the internet to find the knowledge. But if she was already struggling this badly with stuff that even space kindergartners could do, what hope did she have of keeping up with a high school schedule? Yes, she had scored high on the entrance test, but now she was wondering if it was some kind of epic mistake.
A gentle tap on her hand drew her from her spiraling thoughts and she looked up to find Kouda standing nervously by her desk. She tilted her head inquiringly and he signed shyly, 'Lunch?'
Relief filled her and she immediately nodded yes. She had had no clue how she was even going to begin to find the cafeteria in U.A. and the thought of trying to navigate through the halls by herself was too intimidating to even contemplate. She probably would've just ended up staying in the empty classroom until Sho'ta or Z'shi hunted her down.
Standing slowly, she'd realized after only a few minutes that Kouda was easily startled by quick movements, she gathered up all of her notes and papers into a neat pile and tucked them in the crook of her arm, offering Kouda a brief upturn of her lips. Another thing she had learned that'd shocked her this morning was that showing one's teeth was often considered a threat display to many sentients in the universe. Although some predator species may not mind it, it was better to keep her teeth firmly concealed until she knew what type of sentient she was dealing with.
Her consideration was greeted with a shy smile in return from Kouda before he turned and headed toward the door. He opened and started to step out before pausing and looking back at her as if to assess if she would be able to deal with a crowded hallway. She could hear the chatter and noise that was typical of a school hallway. The noise in and of itself didn't bother her and since she didn't have any bullies here, she wouldn't have to find alternate routes or an abandoned classroom to eat whatever meager lunch she had managed to scrounge.
She would be fine. Probably.
Taking a deep breath to steady her suddenly nervous stomach, she gave him a small nod. He looked uncertain before going ahead and stepping out. Izumi stayed right behind him, close enough that she wouldn't lose him in the crowded hallway but not so close that he would feel crowded.
Since she would have language class two to three times a week, she would need to make her way to the cafeteria from this particular classroom, she worked on fixing the path in her mind, only absorbing the other students in a peripheral way. Although she wanted to look and study all of them, it was better right now to not see if they were staring at her in horror or open curiosity. However, the noise volume didn't drop when they passed and there was no sudden silence, so she figured that her appearance must pass at least a casual glance of fitting it.
Although it seemed like an eternity, it was only a couple of minutes' walk until they reached the cafeteria. Relief filled her when she saw Z'shi leaning against the wall outside the cafeteria, his expression relaxed as he watched the students entering. With a hushed goodbye to Kouda, she slid through the crowd easier than she anticipated, the other students easily moving around her.
She was only a few feet away when Z'shi finally spotted her, his whole face lighting up in a smile as he straightened. "Izumi, there you are."
She moved over and stood in front of him, feeling awkward and unsure even as she smiled back at him. He tilted his head slightly before reaching out and carefully tugging her closer, bringing his wings up and around them, the noise from the hallway suddenly dampening with the barrier.
He looked her over as if checking for an injury, his expression concerned. "You okay, chick? You seem, stressed."
Hearing the genuine concern in his voice, she found herself opening up a little bit. "Just a little overwhelmed. It seems like there's so much to learn to have even the basics. I mean, the alphabet alone seems impossible, how am I supposed to keep up?"
He let out a sympathetic chirr, opening his arms, and she surprised herself by walking right into them, accepting his hug and burying her face in his shirt for a long moment. After a minute, she pulled back and mumbled, "How am I supposed to fit in at U.A. when I can't even read? I'll never be able to keep up with everyone. Am I just being delusional by trying to go here?"
He gently carded his fingers through her hair, his expression soft. "Oh Izumi, this is perfectly normal. In fact, Sho'ta and I expected this to happen. You've been adjusting so well, Little One. But your entire world has changed, in a very shocking and abrupt way."
She protested softly, "Things are much better now. There have been a bunch of good changes. I'm happy now, honest."
He smiled down at her. "And I'm really glad to hear that, nestling. But even good changes can be big and tiring. Anyone would be overwhelmed going through even half as much as you have. So, it's okay to be overwhelmed, to be struggling and have doubts. It's okay to need to take a break and process things. So, how about this? You can either go on to the cafeteria and have lunch or we can head back home and just spend the rest of the day chilling. How's that sound?"
She resisted the urge to smile when she noticed what he was doing. After that first breakfast, he had noticed that she was easily overwhelmed by choices. Since then, he had taken to offering her two choices that were equal, neither better nor worse than the other one. There was also no pressure to choose one over the other and he'd never expressed disappointment when she made her choice, like only one was a true choice and the other was just for the appearance of fairness. She had found that this had helped to calm her and would keep her mind from spiraling from overload.
She chewed on her lip, thinking over her options. "But won't you get in trouble for skipping work?"
He shrugged. "Nah. Nezu knows that we're in the family bonding and adjustment period. There are allowances made for that, so it's no problem if we just head home."
Instead of panicking, she gave both choices equal consideration. However, the tipping point was the fact that if they went home now, she wouldn't get to see Toshi and Sho'ta. They both were probably nervous about how her first few classes by herself had gone and she did want to see them as well, to reassure herself that they were okay.
She hadn't realized with how they were always with her, how anxious she would get when they were out of her sight. She knew that she was developing a dangerous co-dependency and that she should nip it in the bud. After all, it wasn't surprising that she had pretty much imprinted on them where they had been the only safe people in a world of peril. But if she continued to be attached and clingy in this way, it could quickly turn unhealthy and dangerous.
Wrinkling her nose in sudden irritation, why did she always have to go to the worst possible conclusion, she pushed those depressing thoughts aside for now. "I wanna go have lunch with Toshi and Sho'ta and you. There's a million and one things that I want to share with you."
And she was also starving as well, even though it seemed like all she did was eat anymore. As if her thoughts had manifested it, her stomach rumbled noisily and she flushed. "Uh, can you pretend that you didn't hear that?"
He gave a soft coo, running his hand through her hair one final time before reluctantly pulling his wings back and tucking them neatly along his spine. "I could but I won't. I guess we're going to have to start filling your pockets with snacks as well, to tide you over between meals."
She grumbled as he gently guided her into the cafeteria and into the line, standing behind her to create a barrier. "But I ate breakfast and all I've been doing is sitting. There's no reason that I should be hungry."
He corrected gently, "You picked at breakfast because you were nervous, don't think that we didn't notice. However, since it's normal to be nervous when learning what your test scores are, we didn't think much of it. Sorry, chick, Sho and I will be more mindful going forward."
She frowned at him over her shoulder for a brief moment before focusing back on the unfamiliar food. "Don't even think about blaming yourself. Both of you have been so amazing and it's not your fault that I'm causing trouble. I won't mess up again."
He tugged her hair gently. "None of that bad self-talk, Zuzu. You did not cause trouble nor did you mess up. We're all learning together here. I know that this is probably irritating, but you need to be patient with yourself while we all adjust."
He was right, it was irritating, but for some reason, that fact alone helped her good humor to resurface. She turned to face him, suddenly feeling a little shy. "Um, I don't know what any of this is? Could you pick something for me?"
He positively lit up like she had given him a gift. "Of course, Zuzu. Leave it to me, I'll find something delicious for you."
They carefully shuffled so that he was in the lead but so she could see what he was picking. He made his way through the line quickly, snagging a plate here and a bowl there. Many of them were very colorful or oddly shaped considering what she was used to, but she trusted Zashi to know what she would like. And it would be interesting to try new dishes. Hopefully, her luck would hold and she wouldn't develop any allergies. But that was a worry for another day.
They reached the end of the line, the tray positively loaded, and Izumi suddenly realized, "Hey, you didn't get food for yourself."
He gave an amused chirr, "Don't worry, Sho grabbed food for me while I waited for you. Didn't know if you would be able to find the cafeteria on your first day or not."
Relief filling her, she mumbled, "Kouda helped me, I probably wouldn't have without him."
Zashi nodded, guiding her through the tables until she spotted Sho'ta and Toshi waiting for them along with a few others. "Kouda is a good kiddo. I'm glad he was able to help you out."
When they were only a few feet away, Sho'ta rose to his feet and joined them, looking her over carefully before scent-marking her. He rumbled, "How did your class go, kit?"
Zashi nudged them both toward the table, still holding the full tray, "Let the chick eat before bombarding her with questions."
Her stomach chose that moment to rumble noisily again and she sighed, feeling her face warm. Denki and Min'a were also sitting at the table and they stared at her, wide-eyed, when her stomach rumbled again. Min'a asked, her voice concerned, "Is something wrong? Do you need to go to see the nurse?"
Toshi scooted over to make room for her to sit, smiling up at Izumi. "No, her stomach makes that noise to indicate that she's hungry. She just needs to eat and she'll be fine."
Izumi slunk into her seat, wishing she could disappear as the others stared at her like she was the most interesting thing in the universe. Zashi carefully set the tray in front of her and ruffled her hair before going and sitting next to Sho'ta. "Eat up and then we can talk about how your morning went."
Izumi shrugged, "I don't mind eating and talking. I'd also like to hear what the class was up to while I was in Common lessons."
Both Min'a and Denki made faces. "We just had a double math lesson. It only happens once every half lunar cycle but it's horrible. We'll have a test on it next week, so that means studying too," Min'a practically wailed.
Half a lunar cycle meant two weeks, so that wasn't bad. Still, she didn't have to worry about it since math had been removed from her lessons until next semester at the earliest. However, she offered Min'a a sympathetic grimace. "No fun. However, if Toshi lets me borrow his book, I can probably help you study, if you need it?"
Her eyes lit up at that, "You would help us study?"
Izumi tilted her head, glancing over at Toshi who looked amused, for some reason. "Uh, yeah? Since we're all in the same class, you could probably come over to our place after school a couple of days and we can all study together. I'm sure that I'll need lots of help as well." She hesitated, "That is, if that's okay with Sho'ta and Zashi."
Sho'ta grumbled, his tail flicking for a moment, but Izumi could tell that it was all bluster. "That's fine. Better to have all of you gremlins where I can monitor you than out wreaking havoc, who knows where."
Toshi cautioned, "We can figure it out later. We need to eat before lunch ends."
Izumi dug eagerly into her food, listening as the others chatted lightly about different things. She would have to ask Toshi a few questions later but for the most part, she was able to follow the conversation easily enough.
It was when lunch was about halfway over that Denki's patience finally wore thin. Practically bouncing in his seat, he blurted, "I know that it's rude to be so blunt, but I'm dying of curiosity."
Izumi looked over at him, her mind whirling. She said cautiously, "I don't mind bluntness but I reserve the right to not answer the question."
Denki didn't seem fazed by her answer, his hair tips crackling for a moment before he managed to throttle down his energy. "Are all Terrans electricity proof or are you special? I've never seen anyone other than other sparkets who aren't affected by my sparks. They're stronger than other sparkets, which is why I'm training to be a hero."
Izumi relaxed at that, offering him a smile before his words finally sunk in. "Your sparks are stronger than most average sparkets?"
He nodded, a hint of wariness in his open expression that was painful to see. "Um, yeah. But it doesn't matter, cause it will help me protect others better."
She hesitated, trying to figure out how to answer so that it wouldn't be insulting. But as her silence lasted, his nerves grew greater, so she decided to just go with it. "All Terrans have a measure of electrical resistance. I wouldn't say that we're electricity proof, tasers work after all, but to me, your sparks are very mild like a static shock. They barely even tingle."
Denki stared at her, wide-eyed, and she wondered if she had just offended him by calling him weak.
However, his and Toshi's voices overlapped the next moment. "Static Shock??" "Taser?"
She glanced over at Sho'ta but he seemed interested in the answer as well, so she tried to figure out how to break it down. "Well, human systems are made up of electrical signals, so it's kinda natural to be around electricity? And sometimes, in the winter, when it's cold and the air is dry, when you touch something, there is a small spark from static discharge, that's a lot like Denki's sparks. It doesn't leave a mark and only tingles for a brief tick. So, we're all used to small shocks like that? They're only four thousand volts roughly, which is small enough to barely register."
She paused, deciding that she probably shouldn't mention that she'd studied tasers in the hopes of building one for either self-defense or vigilante use. "As for tasers, they're used as a self-defense tool or by police and heroes. Basically, it's a strong shock of electricity that makes the Terrans muscles look up for about thirty ticks so that they can either contain the person or so the person who's being attacked can get away."
They all looked both intrigued and horrified by that. Toshi asked, "And how many volts is a taser? Five thousand volts? Maybe six on the outside? Do they kill the one who it's used on?"
Izumi shook her head. "No, most people are perfectly fine, unless they have a heart condition. It's a non-lethal form of self-defense. There's a range and if people take the limiter off or hold it for a long time, it can be fatal, but mostly it's not." She frowned as she tried to dig up the numbers, suddenly smiling when she remembered. "Oh yeah, that's it. The common taser uses about fifty thousand volts."
Dead silence met her answer and she looked around to find them all staring at her in absolute shock.
Then utter chaos ensued.