2 Humble Begginings

The world of MHA was unsurprisingly... weird. Kia had to get used to seeing all the mutants around her but all in all, it was tolerable. Quirk laws had a good grip on the daily life of a citizen, so it wouldn't be obvious that a large majority of the population had superpowers. 

Actually, now that she thought about it, Japan was better than living in the US. There weren't any random fish falling from the sky, gators randomly crossing the street, and wild Florida men asking you for the nearest gas station, only then to hear a news story about a man who robbed that same station with a banana sharpied to look like a gun. 

Yeah, she could get used to this.

A shiver crawled throughout her body. "Jeez, even my inner thoughts are already adjusting to being a mythical female. It's probably the hormones and all changing it. Or I'm just crazy. I hope it's me being crazy." 

Some noteworthy landmarks were there to help Kia guide her back to her apartment. Noticeably was a bank that had a number of people inside it. 

It took a few minutes to properly find a convenience store that was hiring a cashier. 7-Eleven was a familiar place and it was a simple job, although the bad part was being in the service industry. Yet, this was Japan, so fewer stupid people came in asking about the price of half a bag of chips. Maybe.

Kia entered and it was filled with people in suits or school uniforms going in and out. The employee behind the cash register was struggling to keep up, figuring that it was the reason for needing a hire. 

'Probably not a good time to ask, I'll just browse for a bit. It'll be a good way to learn where specifically in Japan I am.' Kia thought to herself. 'I didn't see any kind of ID, wallet, or phone back in my apartment. I wonder what this girl did before I inhabited her body. Unless it was created or forged, the work of G O D, undoubtedly.' 

There were already a few boys looking at the magazine stand near the entrance. A few mangas were there too, which made sense for the country. The newspaper container was filled to the brim, a result of not many people using newspapers in the digital age. For once, Kia was thankful that people still made those. 

'Let's see here… oh… Musutafu Shimbun.' Kia wasn't even phased seeing that name. Kia was at the epicenter of the plot and it was bad for her. 'Rumours of All-Might being in UA. So this should be before the USJ attack.' 

Kia looked over at the counter, noticing there wasn't much change in the amount of people quickly buying their breakfast and or lunch. She sighed, "It's going to be a long day."

There's where she learned an actual date; April 9th, 2128 — quite a far way into the future.

Reading through the newspaper was relaxing. For someone accustomed to the internet and scrolling through feeds, some of the news in a bit was boring. It was the first time Kia had traveled to another country… well she was living there now, so there's that.

There was a section about a cafe operating every month with different themes. Another about the local gaming championship and the results of the competition. Horse racing is still popular in the future and the winning horse will be announced in the papers. 

After reading for a short few minutes, it was cool to explore the mundane. I mean, it's Kia we're talking about, she's a pigeon feeder. 

An hour passed and the long line was nonexistent. Kia switched from newspapers to magazines and manga after reading through the day's news. Nothing unusual happened so it was a good omen for someone like Kia who was deeply suspicious of G O D's involvement. 

Walking to the counter, she quickly asks, "Hey, are you hiring?"

The employee had a few seconds of silence before answering. "Ah, yes! Do you have any experience as a cashier?"

"I do, although, it's not exactly from here."

"That would be fine, all employees go through training. The help is much needed. We usually need a few weeks to process a request and schedule an interview but considering a worker got attacked by a villain and we were quite shorthanded late last month, we could try speeding it up."

That was not ideal, even if they were going to speed up the process. "Is it possible to get hired now?"

"Now? I don't think the manager would allow that. There are procedures that we need to follow and–"

"Hold on." Another voice entered the conversation, interrupting the employee. "I'll take it from here, Matsuura. Come inside, we can discuss your employment."

'That was… fast.' Kia followed the balding old man to the back of the store, towards an office that was right next to the storage area. When inside, the first thing she noticed was the posters of anime around the room. Old people were now apparently also weebs.

"We can start the interview now." The man suddenly says.

"Oh, okay."

"Let me be blunt, we need people to work the cash register and there aren't that many applying here. No, it's not because of the terrible working conditions."

Kia raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit sus if you ask me."

"Excuse me?" he responds. 

Ah, she spoke in English again. To be fair, this was starting to be a shady interview. Hopefully, there wasn't going to be a hidden camera stuck in the walls or something like that— 

There was a lens to her right. 

Oh no.

Oh no no no no no.

"Uhm! I have to go water my… uh… bed! Goodbye!" It was DEFCON 1, Kia stood up and bowed before turning around and speed-walking to the door. The manager saw the lens and quickly stood up to stop her with a shout.

"Wait, it's not what it looks like! That's my projector to watch on!"

Kia turned around with narrowed eyes. "In a wall?! Hell no, I'm not going to do this!" 

"It's a drawer actually… wait that's not the point! This is part of the reason we haven't been getting any hires! Please, we really need help!" 

"...Okay but I'll be in the doorway." Kia gave the man a chance, seeing the groveling he was doing on the floor, she forgot what it was called but she remembered it vaguely from the shows she watched on her phone while traveling around.

"We can hire you right now! We just need an ID… are you doing part-time or full-time?"

"I can work the entire week, how much is the pay?"

"2,370 Yen per hour and you'll be working 8 hours, there's overtime pay and you can take two breaks at any time. Considering we are understaffed, you can expect a lot of work into the night." 

Kia winced at the hours, reminding her why she lived off welfare in the first place. 'I… need to work off this debt. There's not much of a choice, is there?' She deliberated more in silence before giving an answer. "When do I start?"

The old man's eyes brighten. "Thank you! You can start now if you want! I just need an ID and a description of your Quirk."

Biting her lips, Kia reluctantly admitted, "I don't have an ID."

"That's not good…" The manager trailed off.

"I need the job." 

Giving it a thought, the manager relents. "Alright, we can ignore the ID. Do you have a quirk?"

"I actually don't—" Kia stopped herself from saying further, pausing for less than a second to rephrase. "I'm an emitter type, I can… modify the wavelength of an object, although it's too small to notice."

The manager nods. "Alright, you're hired. I won't question why you don't have an ID on you while you're finding a job so just come back to me with one after a few days at most. Otherwise, I'll be accused of preferential hiring... haha..."

A sigh of relief left Kia. "That's fine. Are you going to train me?"

"Yes, we can start during the night. So technically you'll be working tomorrow rather than now. I'll be busy handling customers during the day, so come back around… say midnight?"

"Good enough for me."

Kia started to leave and head back home but was stopped by a question from the manager. "Oh wait! What's your full name?"

"Kia… uh… Rorinsanda."

"Your last name is Ka Yei?"

Oh, she almost forgot about that. "Er, sorry. Rorinsanda is my last name. Also, it's spelled Kia. What can I call you?"

"Well then, Rorinsanda, you can call me Tanaka. Can I ask you something a bit personal?" 

"Uh, shoot."

"Do you wear make-up?"

"...Why do you ask? I don't."

"You should! It'll be much better for customer service."

Kia deadpanned at the manager. "You… So that's why you hired me." then she shrugged. "The parameters you hire me for are not my problem. Though, makeup is too hard and annoying to do."

With that, she left the store with a satisfied smirk. 

Within a week of constant working, she could pay off the entire debt within a month. If she actually starts doing overtime, it'd be even faster to pay off. Then all she has to do is be unemployed and claim benefits! 

"This world isn't so bad after all!" 

"VILLAIN ATTACK!"

Screams echo from a few blocks away and plumes of black smoke expand into the area as coughs start to fill the streets. Kia stares at the group of villains robbing a bank, the same one she passed by earlier.

"No, why?! DAMN YOU, G O D!"