Camellya_Addams
patreon
Izumi Miyamura: Xover - Chapter 39 - Taylor Pov
🕑 Added 2024-12-14 01:27:44 +0000 UTCAuthor's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
2 and a half years before chapter 1 – Taylor PoV
I smiled widely as I bounced in my car seat while happily continuing to tell my mom everything that had happened at summer camp.
Gasp I gasped audibly "I forgot! I have new bugs!!" I exclaimed happily as I pulled a couple of nicely wrapped jars out of my backpack and showed her my new finds, my mom smiled and glanced at them out of the corner of her eye while keeping her gaze mostly on the lane, even so my mom whistled, impressed.
"More bugs? Do you need more shed space?" my mom asked with a smile, I smiled widely and shook my head.
"No! I think I have enough room!" I said happily before stopping. "Maybe a new terrarium? I don't want these little ones to be bullied by my old colonies." I said with a goofy grin as she looked at the bug in the jar, I felt the car come to a stop.
"Of course little owl, I'll deal with it later" My mom ruffled my hair happily, I stepped away suddenly "Mooooooom, I'm not a little girl anymore!" I said embarrassedly, my mom had the audacity to laugh.
"Of course not, in a few weeks you'll be starting high school, you're practically an adult." My mom scoffed and I growled in her direction causing my mom to burst out laughing. "Alright little owl, you're too old for your mom's cuddles, but for his?" Mom points out of the car, my eyes widened as I saw our house, especially my dad at the door.
I practically unbuckled my seatbelt, opened the door and ran towards my dad, who opened his arms to welcome me.
"Dad!" I shouted excitedly.
"Ugh Little Owl, you've grown bigger since I last saw you, I missed you so much." My dad laughed happily as he began kissing me on the head before pulling away.
"I missed you too, Dad," I said happily with a huge smile.
"And who am I?" I looked back at Dad.
"Hey Aunt Zoe, I missed you too" I said with a smile, she chuckled before ruffling my hair just like mom, I pulled away with a growl, I heard my mom snort behind me.
"Don't even try it Zoe, Taylor is practically an adult now, she doesn't like affectionate gestures," my mom mocked and I snorted while Aunt Zoe burst out laughing.
"I remember seeing her run into her daddy's arms almost two minutes ago," Aunt Zoe teased and I could feel my cheeks heat up.
"Aaww, she's a daddy's girl." My dad took the opportunity to join in on the teasing as he hugged me tightly.
"Daddyyyy." I moaned embarrassedly but didn't try to pull away, Dad just laughed one more time before pulling away.
"Well, enough, how did it go little owl?" Dad asked with a soft smile, I smiled widely and was about to open my mouth-
"Wait a minute." My mom interrupted me. "Let's go inside. Once she starts talking, nothing will stop her." my mom said playfully. I glared at her, but my dad laughed and nodded.
"Should we call Emma too?" Aunt Zoe asked with a strange look on her face, she seemed worried but I ignored it, smiling widely.
"Is Emma home?!" I asked excitedly, almost bouncing in my seat. The three adults exchanged glances for a few seconds before Dad nodded.
"Yeah, bu-" I ignored Dad as I ran into the house, up the stairs, and knocked on Emma's bedroom door.
"Emma! It's me! I'm back!" I shouted happily from behind the door, I could hear a loud noise from behind the door before it opened. I smiled widely at the sight of Emma, she had a new haircut, but she was still Emma, my dear sister. "Emma!" I shouted in happiness and almost rushed to hug her when she took a step back, and I froze. Emma had never dodged me before, I clumsily retracted my arms and stood in place, but I still smiled happily at her.
"Taylor, go away, I don't have time for you." Emma said coldly, I shuddered slightly and my smile lost several degrees of happiness.
"I-I, uh, what?" I asked stupidly, Emma had never rejected me like that, what... what's going on?
"So this is your... younger sister, isn't it Emma?" a voice asked from behind Emma, leaning her head over Emma's shoulder and seeing her, a girl about our age, with a sullen expression and a look of contempt, I shuddered once again.
"O-oh, you have a visitor Emma, why didn't you say so?" I laughed nervously, I could feel my smile trembling, "H-hi, I-I'm Taylor! Emma's sister!" I greeted the new girl, but Emma stepped aside, cutting the line between her and me.
"Go away Taylor, we're busy," Emma said again dryly.
"Yo... did you get a cut? It suits you!" I tried once more with a smile, but apparently it wasn't a nice thing to say, Emma's expression went through a dozen expressions before ending in one of fury and anger, before I knew it Emma had pushed me and I fell on my butt.
W-what? Emma pushed me, Emma had never attacked me, she had never pushed me, we were sisters, we were united since we were born, it was Emma and me, me and Emma, me… what's going on? I don't understand, I don't understand anything, I don't like it, I ignored the urge to cry.
"I told you to go away Taylor, I don't want or need your company, you're weak, useless, always following me around like a really pathetic duckling, stay away from me." I could hear something break inside me at her words, Emma looked at me with an angry grimace before slamming the door in my face, I shuddered once again and lay on the floor stupidly not knowing what to do for several minutes.
"Taylor? Where do I put your bugs?!" Mom's scream from under the stairs brought me out of my emptiness, I quickly wiped away the tears I didn't know had formed on my cheeks and tried to smile.
It had been a mistake, I'm sure, Emma must have had a bad day, or a bad week, that's it, that's probably it... Emma had a bad day, in a couple of hours, maybe tomorrow she'll be the same as always, my Emma, my best friend... my sister...
"Leave them there! I'll be right down to take them to the shed!" I shouted over the stairs.
…I’m sure… Emma will be her usual self again.
-------
1 and a half years before chapter 1 – Taylor PoV
She hadn't, Emma had completely changed that horrible day, she had stayed away from me and my attempts to talk for the rest of the break and everything had gotten worse once we started high school.
I had had a scholarship to study at Arcadia High, the best school in Brockton Bay, but I had rejected it in order to go to Winslow High, where Emma had been accepted; she did not have the grades necessary to attend Arcadia.
Winslow… was passable, or at least it seemed that way before you realized that it’s packed with cliques representing actual criminal gangs led by dangerous villains, like the ABB, Azn Bad Boys, the Asian gang, who was led by Lung, an S-rank hunter/villain capable of turning into a rage dragon capable of fighting the entire local hero group by himself. The Empire Eighty-Eight, the white supremacist, Nazi gang, had plenty of A- and B-rank hunters/villains and one or two S-ranks, and the Merchants, the drug addicts, were a joke but still dangerous with at least three B-rank villains.
But for me? it was my personal hell.
Emma and the one I now knew as Sophia became my tormentors, along with Madison who was added later.
Sophia was the most physical of the three, she loved to push me down the halls, hitting me when she knew she could get away with it without anyone noticing. Madison would ruin my assignments, steal my notes or completely destroy them, thanks to her my grades began to drop due to homework and incomplete work.
And Emma, my sister, the one who knew all my secrets, absolutely everything about me… used that information against me, made fun of my secrets with her friends, spread rumors, and basically turned the entire student population, if not against me, then to stay away from me.
Winslow High was an all-girls school, most of the boys attended Arcadia, the best public school available, and the rest attended Immaculata High, the Christian school south of town, so she couldn't find any shred of sympathy for the rest of the girls at the school, just looks of disdain.
I tried to complain to the teachers and the school administration, but it didn't result in anything other than Sophia getting angry and hitting me even more.
Today had been another shitty day, I could only be thankful that the school year was almost over.
"Taylor, we need to talk." Mom said to me with a serious expression as soon as I walked through the door of the house, I frowned but nodded, it was strange that she was home at the time I arrived, but I didn't argue and followed her to the living room where I saw Dad and Aunt Zoe sitting on the couch, Mom sat on the other side of Dad.
"What... is going on?" I asked carefully, Dad had a worried look, but he signaled me to sit in front of them, still worried she did what he asked while leaving my backpack aside.
"Taylor… is everything okay at school?" Dad asked first and I frowned.
"...Yes..." I bit my tongue so I would have to lie, apparently it was the wrong answer, mom quickly moved and grabbed my backpack "what?! Mom! Give me back my backpack!" I exclaimed in panic as she quickly opened the backpack and took out my report card.
"...Emma was right." My body froze, a horrible chill ran through my body.
"...Emma?" I muttered, Mom gave me a furious look.
"I didn't believe her when she said that your grades were falling, that you were getting into fights, that... that you were bullying your classmates... but she was right." No, no, no, no, no, no, no, what is this?!
"I didn't do anything!" I screamed in panic, almost with tears in my eyes. "Emma is the one who is stalking me! Her and Sophia, along with Madison!" I exclaimed loudly. "She's different, she's not Emma, she changed after the accident, she's stalking me-".
"That's enough Taylor!" Mom exclaimed interrupting me, I clenched my teeth together "That's enough." she said firmly "This proves I was right-" she held up the report cards "-We've also noticed your bruises that you're trying to hide, we thought it was because you were always clumsy, no... no that you were fighting! And Madison! I met the Taylor girl, she's a sweetheart! But I heard her crying in Emma's room because you were constantly bullying her! What happened to you Taylor!" No, no, no, no, they planned all of this, this... this is not happening, tears formed on my eyelids.
"I-it's a lie, that's all a lie, i-it's their fault." I tried once more but both mom and Aunt Zoe were glaring at me, "Dad?" I asked shakily as my voice broke and I looked at dad, he looked at me for a few seconds before looking away.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
"You're grounded Taylor, for the entire summer, you're not going to go to camp this year." I didn't hear her, her voice sounded distant, this wasn't real, it couldn't be possible, I looked towards the door when I saw a red beam of light, Emma's hair and I saw her, Emma standing at the edge of the door, with a huge smile, she planned it all... she turned our parents against me... I couldn't do anything...
------
4 months before chapter 1 – Taylor Pov.
It was winter break, today was Christmas Eve and I was sitting in my shed surrounded by my insects, terrariums filled all the walls and floors, I had a small comfy chair while I had a book with me.
This shed had become my escape place since the house was practically a second hell for me, I couldn't stand the looks my parents gave me, the looks Emma manipulated them to put in my direction, so I hid as long as I could in my shed.
Any free time I had was spent in my shed, surrounded by my insects, the huge terrariums I used to be able to domesticate and bond with my insects, my quirk took time to take effect, I needed a long, prolonged interaction with the colonies for them to accept me into their swarm.
It was fascinating to watch them create an entire nest from scratch, to see them build their home piece by piece and to be a part of that was strangely satisfying to me.
There was no Emma, no Sophia, no Madison, no Winslow, no mother, no father, no Zoe, no one to judge me falsely, to look at me as if I were a complete disappointment, as if I were just a nuisance.
I felt a little chill when I felt the link with the last swarm I had built, a smile of satisfaction and pleasure ran through me when I felt the insects with my quirk, now I was their queen, I could order them to do whatever I wanted or take full control of them, we were one, we were a swarm.
I was fascinated looking at my new and younger nest with pleasure until I heard my phone alarm, my happiness disappeared instantly, time to go back inside.
I let out a tired sigh, I had a Christmas Eve dinner to endure, as soon as I entered the room, I ignored everyone and quickly went up the stairs and into the shower to save time, the less I passed by the rest, the better.
I couldn't do anything, I had already given up.
As I expected, family dinner was completely awkward for me, for some reason Sophia was present so the adults focused on her and Emma. As for me, I remained silent throughout dinner, barely mumbling answers, retreating to my room as soon as I had the chance.
I wasn't expecting anything for Christmas morning, but I went to bed early, the faster the days go by, the better, just a little bit more.
---
I woke up in a cold sweat and a feeling of panic that invaded me, I grabbed my chest tightly, there was something wrong, something horribly wrong, I looked at the time, it was early, almost dawn, I looked out the window to see what was wrong.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Please no, please no.
I quickly got out of my bed, opened the door and slammed it hard, with heavy steps I went down the stairs, skipping steps, with difficulty I opened the back door of the house and ran across the yard to my shed, once I got there I stopped in front of it.
I was completely destroyed, completely unrecognizable, tears began to form in my eyes when I smelled the odor, I recognized it immediately, insecticides, in large quantities.
No, goddess, no, please no.
I ran to the shed, ignoring the strong smell of insect poison, ripped open the battered door, and my heart fell out and broke into pieces.
All the terrariums destroyed, all the insects dead, I tried to use my quirk to sense if any were alive, no, none, all the connections dead, all the nests dead, my entire swarm gone in one night.
I screamed.
-----
A few days later – Taylor PoV
It had been Emma, of course it was Emma, everyone in the house had heard my screams and ran out, my parents seemed worried, they were comforting me, but it only took a few words from Emma to make them believe that it was something I had done to get attention, even though I denied it.
They believed her, as always.
I was made to clean the shed completely by myself, not that I would have done it any other way, they were my insects, my swarm that had been massacred.
I was grounded for the rest of winter break, but I didn't care, I felt like a shell of my former self.
Almost catatonic, I returned to school, ignoring the looks from the other girls, I shouldn't have done it, but I couldn't care less, I was already used to it.
The surprise came when I got to my locker, it seemed like a crowd of people looking at me, or maybe it was my anxiety talking to me, I ignored it and approached it, I smelled insecticide, I wanted to vomit, I couldn't stand that smell, not now, not anymore.
I fearfully opened my locker and the smell of rotting garbage filled my nose and eyes, I suppressed the bile that had risen in my throat as I looked at the garbage pit that my locker had become, garbage, feminine hygiene products that looked like they had been left to rot for weeks, it was disgusting.
I was about to vomit when I felt a strong hand push me into the locker before it was closed with me inside, I hit my head against the back of my locker making a cut on my forehead.
I shuddered as the smell began to penetrate all my senses, as I felt all the garbage around me while I was locked in this metal box, I tried to open the locker door quickly as I felt my bile rise in my throat.
"LET ME OUT!! PLEASE!!" I begged through tears "E-EMMA, PLEASE, GET ME OUT OF HERE!!" it was pathetic, begging Emma after everything she did, but I couldn't do anything else, this was horrible, I froze when I felt something crawl up my legs.
Bugs, there were bugs in here, and I wasn't controlling them, I knew how dangerous bugs could be if left uncontrolled and they were definitely not under my control.
I knocked harder on the door, trying to get out.
"Have a nice day Hebert!" I heard Sophia shout, I could practically hear the winning smile she had on.
"NO, SOPHIA, GET ME OUT OF HERE, PLEASE, SOMEONE!!!" Obviously, no one responded to my plea, I was the school reject, no clique, no group wanted me, so it was not surprising that no one responded, I could only hear laughter.
This was not fun, this was a nightmare, another hell within my hell, I started crying loudly as I banged on the door while pleading through my tears.
….
No one came to me for hours… until I finally… broke… something gave… though… I didn’t care… I felt it… I felt my swarm again… I could feel my bugs… more… so much more than before… thousands… hundreds of thousands of them… all mine to control… part of me…
With that… I gave myself over to unconsciousness as the presence of my swarm comforted me, just… it would be nice if they attacked the 3 bitches responsible for this… just once… yes… just once…
…and everything went black.
