>>4335With this post you've given me the little push to make the post I wanted, which has nothing to do with it, but it's a thorn in the side of the story I had built before I was brutally rejected by this hottie kekIt was in the middle of a winter like any other. Life's lottery is kind to almost everyone, but that day, the doctor shook his head, and it was understood that it wasn't kind to her.
"HUH?!"
It seemed like a joke, in a society where the quirkless were becoming less and less likely, that it would happen to someone who dreamed of being a hero was the cruelest joke.
School hurt like it did for everyone else. The direct taunts already hurt, but they also killed her with whispers and indifference, laughter, disdainful looks. Moments that made her wish she could go back in time and punch the girl who promised to be a great hero in the mouth. At least she had a friend! Another isolated kid, with a useless quirk, who seemed to pity her.
But still...
"SHUT UP!, I DON'T CARE!, I DON'T NEED A STUPID QUIRK!, I'LL BECOME A BETTER HERO THAN ALL OF YOU, YOU'LL SEE!, I SWEAR!"
She exploded once, and everyone laughed. Even that kid who was supposed to be her friend. Her eyes filled with tears. And that day, she ran away from school without even stopping to get her backpack.
She walked through the snow and wind. Sniffling and whimpering.
"Stupid... I-I was serious... Stupid Shun... Who needs him... Who needs anyone..."
A crunch was heard under her feet. She ignored it for a couple of steps, imagining a branch or something... but when she turned, she saw a small bird crushed. Probably fallen from its nest by the wind.
"AH!"
She runs and kneels to pick it up in her little hands.
"Oh no! No no..."
Stepping on a little bird is a traumatic event for any child. Rebecca felt on the verge of tears again, begging softly for it to please still be alive, when something happened that left her stunned.
>Canary"Uh... To the hospital, please."
Did it speak?
The girl took it to her house and bandaged it a little. Its body seemed almost moldable, like rubber. It would endure, but not without complaints.
>Canary"OW!"
>Rebecca"Hold still, damn it!"
>Canary"Better do it right, bird brain!"
>Rebecca"Huh?!, I'm doing the best I can, wait!" -finishes- "there, better, dummy?"
The canary looks at its bandaged wing. It nods its head. Then, it gives her a salute with its wing from its forehead.
>Canary"Thanks..." -Rebecca opens her mouth to swim- "You're welcome!" -Rebecca closes her mouth- "If you hadn't stepped on me, I wouldn't have needed you to heal me! Idiot."
>Rebecca"Sorry."
>Canary"I mean, how do you not look down? So careless, I'm not Jiminy Cricket."
>Rebecca"Sorry."
>Canary"And besides! Wait, did you say sorry?"
>Rebecca"YES, DAMMIT!"
>Canary"Hm... WELL, IF YOU'RE SO SORRY, YOU BETTER BRING ME DELICIOUS POTATOES TO MAKE UP FOR IT UNTIL I CAN FLY AGAIN AND GET OUT OF THIS CAGE, YOU LITTLE BRAT!, AND HURRY UP! -claps twice- "AND YOUR CLOTHES ARE UGLY!"
>Rebecca"YOU LITTLE DEMON-!"
>Canary"Aaack aaack-" -is choked-
The relationship wasn't good at first.
"Look, look how I juggle."
>Rebecca"MY COLLECTIBLE FIGURES!, YOU TOOK THEM OUT OF THEIR BOXES!"
>Canary"Well yeah, did you want me to juggle boxes?"
>Rebecca"I'm gonna-" -is stunned for a second-
The action figures the canary was juggling briefly took on a cel-shaded look. Rebecca blinked a couple of times, surprised.
>Canary"What? Toys are for playing, not for keeping in boxes! Kuaakuakua"
>Rebecca"Mr. Canary."
>Canary (Avery)"Avery!"
>Rebecca"Do you... have a gift?"
>Canary"Yeah, I was born for juggling." -stops playing, finishes with all the Dekus, All Mights, and etceteras stacked in one hand- "kuakuakua." -that's how he laughs-
>Rebecca"I mean a gift as in powers, idiot!"
>Canary"BUT HOW DO YOU CALL ME AN IDIOT, WHEN YOU JUST REALIZED IT?!"
...
And he taught her.
"Everything I touch..." -grabs one of the action figures- "turns into a 1920s cartoon!" -starts twisting and bending it, as if it were made of rubber- "I don't know what a 1920s cartoon is, I guess my gift came with a disclaimer." -badum tss-
>Rebecca"Ohh..."
She said, sitting next to him on the sofa. Knees pulled to her chest. Then she looked at the wall. Avery did too, not really knowing what else to add to the silence.
>Canary"...yep..."
And they stayed like that for a while, uncomfortably. Avery scratched his temple, looked here, looked there, found her very lost in thought. Distracted. With eyes almost melancholic. And he was a little surprised to see this girl, who had been so annoying and foul-mouthed these days, like this.
>Rebecca"...Does it feel nice?"
>Avery"What, the rubber? It feels like rubber kuakuakua."
>Rebecca"...to have a gift."
>Avery"Ha! You're one to talk, useless!"
>Rebecca"..."
>Avery"I called you useless. Idiot!" -he exclaims- "I'm being clever! Smelly, useless!" -no reaction-
Avery jumps, takes a breath.
"USELESS, YOU BUMBLING IDIOTAAAAA!" -he shouts in her ear before falling back on the sofa and looking away as if expecting a blow-
>Rebecca"..."
>Avery"..." -he opens an eye, looks at her- "Why don't you hit me?"
>Rebecca"...I am useless..."
>Avery"What are you talking about?"
>Rebecca"I don't have a gift..."
>Avery"Oh..." -he sits down again, and silence returns-
"..."
>Rebecca"..."
>Avery"It's not that groovy."
>Rebecca"..."?
>Avery"The other birds don't accept me, they're stupid bird-brains! Mommy had to take care of me a lot because they all wanted to peck me."
>Rebecca"Really...?"
>Avery"Yeah... And the things they sang! Oh mama. That's where I learned my insults kuaakuakua." -he laughs, then sighs-
>Rebecca"For me it's the opposite... they treat me badly because I don't have a gift..."
>Avery"Do you want to have one?"
>Rebecca"Yes... But the doctor said I never will..."
And Avery placed his hand on the girl's arm. Soon, giving much more color to her gray appearance. Her eyes turned into black dots, and her arms stretched out, becoming thin like hoses. Her whole body changed, like the cartoons Avery mentioned.
"Ah!"
The little bird climbed up into her hair, and stayed there, maintaining contact while the girl looked at her new body. Not fully understanding what this change meant. But feeling... Better than ever!
"What is this?"
>Avery"You'll see when you see it! Kuaakuakua. Giddy up horse, giddy up!" -he shakes Rebecca's hair and it sounds like a mare's hooves, the girl, affected by the cartoon logic, starts running outside-
>Rebecca"HEY, WAIT, THE DOOR IS CLOSED!"
She went through the wall next to the door, leaving the silhouette of her body in it like a hole.
...
The following days were about connection. They talked, Avery caricatured the girl more often. Soon they became friends, and the girl was able to show at her school that she was no longer a normal girl against all odds.
They joked together, watched movies, wrestling, played video games, or listened to songs. Avery loved trying out the vinyl records his parents forgot in the attic. He had a taste for MORE classics like Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream and Other Delights, but Rebecca wasn't really convinced by easy listening. She preferred metal! They strongly differed on that.
And one day, in the middle of a dance together, where Avery was teaching Rebecca that she could dance just by moving her index finger... her blindfold fell off.
"Oh..."
>Avery"Oh."
It was decided. The next day, Avery had packed his very small suitcase. Nobody knows where he got it. He also wore the Whipped Cream album on his head. He stood at the door. Ready to leave.
"..."
He hopped forward like a bird. Rebecca watched from the doorway.
"..."
>Rebecca"..."
>Avery"..." -turns around- "Hey, don't you think Mom won't recognize me? They say if birds stay with a human for too long, they pick up their scent and get abandoned!"
>Rebecca"That's... that's a myth..." -she had Googled it recently-
>Avery"Ah." -looks down a bit, then looks up again after a few seconds, seriously- "Aren't you going to say anything to me?!"
>Rebecca"...thanks..."
>Avery"Huh?!"
>Rebecca"For fulfilling my dream..."
>Avery"...but wasn't your dream...?"
>Rebecca"..." -starts to close the door-
>Avery"WAIT!" -runs back-
>Rebecca"?!" -looks down-
The little bird looked at her with shiny eyes.
>Avery"I thought I was being obvious... I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE, IDIOT!"
>Rebecca"Uh...?"
The bird dropped the little suitcase and fluttered up to her hair, nesting there, clinging to her hair.
>Avery"You're still too dumb for me to leave you alone! I think I'll have to be the one to fulfill your real dream."
>Rebeccawhimper>Avery"ACK!"
Rebecca grabbed him with her hand, pulling him off her head to bring him to her chest and hug him tightly.
>Rebecca"Averryyyy..." -she said with teary eyes-
>Avery"Coo... coo... You're going to break my wings again, idiot..." -a tear fell- "...I don't hate you anymore..."
And so, Avery decided to dedicate the rest of his life to seeing Rebecca's dream fulfilled... as long as she agreed to buy more stylish clothes.
>Rejected during the planning stages of the re-reboot kek