[Melissa Shield's POV]
Melissa Shield, the daughter of one of the greatest scientists of the modern era and the former sidekick of All Might, was a rather lonely teenager. Her mother had died early in her childhood, and her father's frequent business trips left her with a lot of free time. Meeting and communicating with Uncle Toshinori awakened in her the desire to become a hero.
The fact that she had no Quirk might have crushed her determination, if not for her father's example. Her natural curiosity and enormous intelligence quickly set her apart from her peers, as did the fame of a "young genius" who had inherited her father's brilliance. Despite her positive and kind hearted nature, her father's fame and the aura of "genius" put pressure on people her age and attracted those who were interested in David Shield, including villains and common kidnappers looking for money or information about new developments.
Entering I Island Academy, the island of scientists named after the island itself, did not improve the situation much, because her classmates were already interested in good positions at large companies. Advice on a scientific project or a recommendation for a job from her father carried considerable weight. Few people were interested in her as a person. So after finishing her exams for the semester early to get free attendance, she threw herself into science, occasionally asking her father to take her on his business trips.
This trip to North Carolina was not supposed to be any different from the previous ones. Her father had gone to negotiate with the board of directors about one of his projects. He had been quite depressed after one of his developments, which he had worked on for several years, was shut down. But lately, he seemed to be in better spirits. He promised that after four o'clock, he would be able to take a walk with his daughter around Raleigh.
So the girl had to think about how to spend those few hours waiting, while being at the exhibition of inventions at the local tech park.
Heading toward the exit, Melissa was unpleasantly surprised to see several familiar faces: Adrian Attwood and Eric Butler, the sons of her father's business partners. Their annoying persistence and desire to learn more about her father really irritated her.
She had no desire to ruin her mood before her walk with her father. Running away was certainly cowardly, but when else could she allow herself a small weakness?
Knocking someone off their feet, however, had not been part of the plan. She got to her feet and apologized in an embarrassed, flustered voice:
"Sorry."
The black haired boy with wide red eyes stared at her in shock. Looking back, she noticed Adrian and Eric coming around the corner. An idea popped into her head.
"Play along."
He nodded with a calmer, more interested look.
"Hello, Melissa. Long time no see. If you are free, maybe you could take a walk with me and Adrian?"
Butler said, approaching with Attwood.
Taking the tense teenager by the arm, she said with a regretful expression:
"Sorry, Eric, but I promised to show my friend around the city. And we really have to go."
She walked briskly toward the exit with her unwilling companion, who did not say a word and kept a stone faced expression. After five minutes, they left the building and walked far enough away that she let go of his arm. He relaxed noticeably and looked at her questioningly. His face looked more lively now. Maybe he was shy about physical contact?
"Thank you for playing along. My name is Melissa, as you already figured out. I really did not want to talk to those guys. You are probably not very happy about being pulled away from the exhibition, right?"
He nodded, lost in thought. Then he smiled, slightly narrowing his eyes, and answered:
"It is nothing. I was about to leave soon anyway. My name is Ken, and I recently arrived in town with my uncle's acquaintance. And since we are now acquainted, and you promised to show your friend around the city, how about you give me a tour of the local sights?"
He finished with a sly smile.
[End Pov Melissa Shield]
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Agreeing to play along, I watched with curiosity as the situation unfolded between the girl and the two guys she clearly did not want to talk to, judging by her previous expression. Not until she took my arm and dragged me toward the exit.
I could not help but recall a phrase spoken by that African arms dealer when the police started breaking down his door. Every instinct and fear reflex demanded that I push the girl away and run away, or in the extreme case, kill the source of the discomfort.
This damn claustrophobia (maybe some other phobia, who knows how many armchair psychologists have invented) was always irritating me. I tried to fight it in various ways. Even dragging Izuku along was not purely out of kindness. I am still embarrassed by my actions and thoughts. I fight my fears by touching another guy. Brilliant. I am practically a deviant. That African arms dealer swore way too much.
And yet it helped. I barely pay attention to the road now, keeping a stone face and controlling my body. Even though the touch was somewhat pleasant, if I ignored my quiet panic and desire to kill the obstacle.
When she finally let go of my arm, I managed to calm my emotions. Her explanation of her actions confirmed my assumption that she did not want to talk to those guys. So I suggested that she give me that impromptu tour.
Why not? I had nothing else to do, and besides, she owed me now.
The next few hours were quite interesting. It was clear that Melissa knew the city well, even though she did not live here permanently. As we visited various historical and cultural monuments, she told me in detail about the city's history. How it was named after Sir Walter Raleigh, the organizer of the mysteriously lost Roanoke Colony, and was founded in 1792 as the state capital and county seat.
In the first century after the appearance of Quirks, it lost its former growth rates due to the crisis and the collapse of the Research Triangle tech park. But the heir to the territory and industrial capacity of the former tech park managed to drastically change the situation. By the middle of the second century, it was home to one of the country's best scientific centers, along with some of the best technical universities.
And of course, there was All Might, who had been a hero alongside the then young David Shield. Although many fan videos of his battles with villains can be easily found on the internet, it was quite unusual to visit the places you recognize from those videos.
When the conversation turned to the research being done here, we got into a pretty heated discussion. I was very curious to hear about the scientists' achievements in biotechnology, and she, realizing that I knew the subject, began to tell me enthusiastically, bombarding me with various terms and derived theories. Listening to her, I grew more and more respectful of her intelligence and the efforts she had put into technical disciplines. In this regard, her knowledge was head and shoulders, if not an order of magnitude, above my own.
At the end of the tour, we exchanged contacts on social media. Having forgotten to give my last name, I only corrected that at that moment. She gave hers and watched my reaction with interest. At first not understanding what was going on, it only dawned on me a few seconds later that the Shield surname had another rather famous bearer.
I stared at her with wide eyes, my mouth opening and closing dumbly. She just laughed at this rather amusing sight and, said goodbye and left.