A Second Life

Sumire's POV:

It was all black and void. And I knew I lost my consciousness the moment my vision blurred.

Sigh… there's no choice but to stare at nothingness until I regain my consciousness. It's not like I can do anything else either. Every time I sleep or be unconscious, I would be greeted with tragic emptiness like this. Hence, I avoided sleeping for years, maybe since my life screwed up, royally.

Huh, thinking about it, my life till now, it is definitely messed up. When did things go wrong? Maybe since the moment my quirk activated… on my third birthday. It was some of my, no it is my most cherished memory.

I remember it clearly. Like it was yesterday. Since the moment I have been born, the first three years of my life has been nothing but pure happiness. I… had a family. Me, mother and father. And then there was aunt and Yuzu. We all loved each other. Terry, Shinzo came along and fit perfectly fine, I never denied the fact that we were odd.

The three boys treated me like their little princess and boy I was pampered. Like a lot. Just the mere thought of it fills me with bliss. But sadly, every good thing would come to an end. That is life, and I understood. And I also realized that things wouldn't get better. They will become worse.

The day my quirk manifested; it was the start.

My quirk, I myself do not know what exactly it is… but I know for sure that it is not something I like. I hate it in fact, no matter how much strong it made me. Because the power came at a price. Rather overpriced, truth to be told, maybe.

It started out like a dream. Yes, a dream or a nightmare to be precise. Because living as Kurotsuchi Nemu's life remain not a pleasant experience. It is something no one should go through…

I felt it. Her entire life. I lived it through. Her pain, her guilt, her growth, her every wish and fears, I know them, may be better than her.

Nemu's life was a solitary woe, untold and unknown to many.

It took me some time, to realize that it was a dream. A simple nightmare which was merely too realistic. But it was not so simple.

Because everything Nemu knew, I knew. Not just the knowledge, her skills, comprehension, abilities, etc. I got the spiritual energy. Something that only Soul Reaper should possess. Did that mean I became a reaper too? I don't know. I thought I was insane.

With my sanity on risk, I tested. And much to my horror, I received the answer that nearly collapsed my spirit. I… was a Shinigami. Or more like I am the Shinigami Nemu. Yes. She became a part of me, but not entirely me.

Nemu, she… is a gentle being. She didn't try to take over, but assimilated into my soul, willingly. If anything, she felt sorry for me, to endure this.

I was three years old when I experienced true terror after all. Mayuri, that b…. I would butcher him in the first chance I can have.

When she, um, was incorporated in my soul, something changed within me. While I was still me, a part of my personality became Nemu.

As crazy as it sounds, I could become Nemu if I wish for it. A split personality I can have at will. With all her strengths and demons of course.

And no, I'm not delusional, absurd or having disassociation with reality. I just… have a loony and nutty quirk, that's all.

And that's why, I never used it. Ever. Heck, I even dread sleeping because of it. Waking up in someone else's body and possessing no control over it, is horrible.

It's like being a puppet, except you feel it.

Ah, looks like I'm going to wake up finally.

I tried to open my eyes. There was a bit of difficulty, but nothing I couldn't handle. My vision was a bit unclear at first, but soon it smoothened. I tried not to groan from pain. As sad it is, I am used to pain, as me and as Nemu. But sorry, I'm not a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t.

Well, I did expect the spasms. They are getting a little nasty, but hey, I have no right to complain. This is all because of the self-induced coma. Suitably, it was necessary if I had to stay clear of anyone's suspicion. Otherwise, why would I go down from doing a measly two kido spells? I could do a hundred and can nevertheless put up a nice fight after that. How could I do that? Simple, because my soul is strong. Very.

Maybe because Nemu was an artificial soul, she was unable to cast any kind of kido spell. But that's not the case with me. I'm a 'natural' soul (phew…), I can do kido quite well.

The only thing good about Kurotsuchi Mayuri was, he was pure in pursuit of knowledge and didn't mind sharing it with his 'daughter.' Thanks to that, I have the entire soul society stored in my head. A complete Sereitei wiki page.

Keeping my past aside, let's focus on the present. Since I'm sure as hell going to be bugged.

And it's true.

"Azumi-san. Can you hear me?" someone said.

"Yes." I sorely breathed out, like a true invalid. I've gotten quite well at acting.

"Good. How are you now?"

"I'm fine. May I know who you are?"

"Ah, sorry I didn't introduce myself. I'm Tsukauchi Naomasa, police." The man showed his badge too, for proof.

"Oh." I said while I arched a brow. Mm looks like the matter is indeed quite serious. The authorities sent a lie detector for questioning high school students. Too bad, there are many ways in which truth can be avoided without lies. All credit to the beauty of language and deceit.

"Once again, how are you feeling? Well?"

"Not bad." I replied honestly.

"If you don't mind, I would like to ask you some follow up questions. Can you answer them? It won't be long." he said with goodwill, but I know better than to trust him. Good thing I some safe cards with me. And one of my safe cards just came in.

"Not without the presence of her guardian, of course." I smiled inwardly at the optimal timing. My matron, Sakaki-san was and is always reliable.

"Sakaki-san… I didn't expect you here, ma'am. I'm a little confused, why are you here?"

"Of course, where else would I be? One of my children luckily walked out of a deadly mishap, and you want to interrogate her? On a hospital bed? Nope, no chance, young man. Go get an official warrant, and till then you stay away, understand?"

"…Y-Yes ma'am." The policeman replied, overwhelmed. Unmistakably, he didn't know that I was from Eichen House. Must've shocked the man silly. But I have to say, he's an excellent cop. He knows 'who' Sakaki-san is. The retired military officer had literally disappeared for quite a few decades now, and he knows her. Wow.

Once again, I'm glad that I was thorough in covering my tracks. Good for me.

The detective silently walked out of the nurse room, desperately trying to hide the stagger. When it was just the two of us now, Sakaki-san spoke to me.

"Sumire-chan are you alright dear?"

"Just a little sore, Sakaki-san. Other than that, I'm fine. Can you tell me what happened, exactly?"

"I want to know that as well, and I'll make sure I know." She said. And that's how I get to see All Might guiltily relay what happened after I 'passed' out.

To put it succinctly, everything went according to the plan. After my subterfuge of kido spells, soon came the teachers of UA High. And as each one of them happened to be a pro Hero, the villains' grand schemes were snuffed out before they barely managed to see the light. And the students were safe and sound.

The staff was efficient. No doubt, but arriving at the battle scene within short 5 minutes? And when they had no idea of what was happening inside USJ? Suspicious. Even more so when all the 1st year staff was scheduled to have a same class at the same time – class 1-A. It happened before, but only two or three teachers' timetables clashed. Not all.

But there's something even more baffling. The villains, though captured, managed to escape. Much to UA's chagrin.

But it was to be expected. I would be more surprised if they managed to really capture the villains. And this has indeed confirmed my assumptions. One for All definitely had a hand in this incident. So far, the extreme parts of the plan were not used. Good. All is said and done; I achieved my goal today. I managed to plant a bug on Kurogiri. Only Terry nii-san and I know about this. Terry, my partner in crime has no choice but to keep quiet, since he's in my ship even before it sailed.

And if anyone managed to find the bugs made by Terry and me, I'd be then for sure surprised. Because even UA failed to find them out till now, let alone trace them back to us.

"Alright. Since there's nothing that keeps us here, we'll be leaving now." Sakaki-san finally ceased her 'I'm very disappointed with you' speech. It was amusing to watch the #1 pro hero, All Might flinch and cower at my matron's lecture, despite the fact that she is super scary when she's infuriated.

The day was practically over and man, I have one frightening little nuke named Kiyoko-chan to deal with. Smart brats are hard to deal with. I'd rather tackle Shigaraki and a couple of Nomus than face an annoyed Kiyoko-chan. The day just gets better and better, I mused to myself sarcastically.

I know that gods of irony are always looking out for me. And I couldn't thank them enough for it.