Chapter Text
In my past life (which is no surprise that I keep on bringing it up at this point), I never really gave my family a reason to worry about me. I wasn't supposed to be the problem child. I wasn't supposed to cause any trouble. Getting beat as a kid embedded that mentality real quick! It's obvious from the way I react to situations, especially ones that'll for sure get my ass beat. And when I did worry my parents, it was always met with anger. Frustration. Annoyance. Though, that was their way of showing concern and their love for me. I mean, I don't blame them after all this time. They had the "perfect" daughter. A child that didn't fail classes. A child that didn't act out. A child that knew not to cry. A child that grew up fast and acted just how they wanted.
"You have your lunch, right? I don't trust those people to make you food—oh! And you have your phone? Wallet? Pepper spray? Knife-?"
"Papa, I'm not going to bring my pocket knife!" I groaned, spinning on my heel to face him. His shoulders drooped as I adjusted my school bag on my shoulder. I sighed and pointed accusingly at him: "You're worrying too much and then you'l get wrinkles. Mama'll leave you for a better looking guy and I'll have a new dad,"
"Eh?!" My dad turned to my mom, almost wailing. "Y-you wouldn't do that to me, would you, love of my life? Ruler of my heart [A/N: my baby Mizi T^T]? My Everything? The reason I live?"
"Who knows?" My mom shrugged my dad off, walking up to me. She bit her lip, seeming to hesitate before placing a hand on my shoulder. My heart tightened at her warm gaze before she smiled softly. "Your dad's just concerned, you know that...and well, I can't really disagree with him either. I would also feel more comfortable knowing that you did have the knife on you or at least something else to defend yourself with..."
...And it was moments like these, that made me...uncomfortable. Even after all this time in this world, I wasn't used to this kind of concern. One that clearly came from worry. One that wasn't veiled with threats or vivid images of what would happen. One that didn't feel like my body was going to be torn into with words that felt like hands ripping through my rib cage and gutting everything that made me not perfect. It was pure. It was warm. It was something that I still didn't think I deserved.
But if someone like Mocha thought I did, then I must be wrong.
"Sweetheart?" My mom's voice broke me out of my thoughts as I swallowed harshly. The softness of her voice. The sweetness laced in it. All of that just made me miss that girl even more. How could she have traded who she was for me? For me to live my life with these kinds of parents? God, I miss her...I...I really...
"I..." I trailed off, looking off to the side a bit as I picked at my bag strap. "I guess if I bring the smaller one, it's easier to hide..."
"Aww, (F/n)-chan~!" My dad cooed, pulling me into a hug again as he rubbed his cheek against mine. "You're absolutely the cutest-!"
"Get off, old man-!"
"Alright! Enough!" My mom announced, pulling my dad away from me. He had crocodile tears flowing down his cheeks as she grabbed her keys from the counter. Quickly, she slid on some sandals and looped my arm with hers. "C'mon, we'll drop you off at school today,"
I furrowed my brow and glanced at her. "But what about your jobs?"
"Ryouta will fill in for me...if he knows what's good for him,"
"And I don't need to go into the office if I don't want to," She then smiled a bit and squeezed my arm. "Besides...it's been three days since you've been away from school. We can't help but worry a little,"
Seriously...just how much more can I love my new parents?
"Eh?! (F/n)?! Why are you crying?!"
~One small cry and shoving Kouki into the car later~
If there was one thing I hated more than crying (which is actually a really short list), it was the aftermath of it all. More than the absolute emptiness and the void of having little to no emotion left, it was the number one thing that was guaranteed to make my day worse: the puffiness.
"Ughhhhhh," I groaned, pressing the icepacks harder on my eyes. I heard my mom sigh as the car jostled with the turn.
"You're gonna gouge out your eyes if you press any harder," She mentioned.
"Good. Then I won't have to worry about puffiness,"
My mom snorted as my dad made another hasty turn. I heard a loud slap and suddenly the car ride was smoother. She grumbled out: "Why are you driving like there's cops on your rear? Are you trynna get us pulled over?!"
"Wouldn't be the first time, right, darling-OW! Sachiko~!" He whined, sniffling as the car made a smooth turn. My mom huffed before my dad hummed and continued: "But your Mama's right, (F/n)-chan! You don't want those pretty eyes of yours out of that cute head! Not that you wouldn't be pretty either way! You're our adorable—OW!"
"Keep your eyes on the road, Kouki!"
"Ughhhh," I groaned as the car jerked again, causing me to lay in the back seat (with my seat belt of course. Safety first bitches). I sighed, pressing the ice pack harder against my eyes before shifting it slightly. "I just don't want my first day back to be plainly obvious that I cried. I'm sure they already think I'm crazy..."
They were both silent as I could tell the atmosphere of the car shifted. I mentally cursed and threw my mental self against the wall for saying that shit. To put into small context, my parents saw the video of me falling into the hole. They also heard the audio. So, putting two and two together, they sincerely thought I was...okay, I shouldn't lie—I was being suicidal. I mean, in my eyes, I was just crashing out because the more delusional I was about that incident, the better I feel about myself. Anyways, when I woke up after seeing...her...I restlessly explained to them that I was fine and it was just me being tired. Of course, on parents like them, it didn't work. I took three days off of school (under their careful watch which was also disguised as not being watched) and here I was, off to school again. They wanted to get me a therapist but I convinced them not too. Though I seriously think Ryouta's conversations with me were faux therapy sessions which weren't actually therapy sessions at all.
Anyways, the bottom line? They didn't feel comfortable with me talking like what happened was just a "crazy" incident.
"You're not crazy, (F/n)," My dad started as I could hear his voice becoming lower with each syllable with rage dripping in every word. "All of them are just low-lives who can't even overlook their own prejudices based on some stupid fucking-"
"Oh-kay! That's enough," Mama interrupted as I finally lifted the icepack from my eyes. I cringed at the light as I sat up with a sigh. I saw her glance at me through the rear view mirror as she continued: "We're not going to talk shit behind people's backs, especially some kids who can't clearly tell their mouth from their ass with all the shit they were talking-"
"We're not?"
"Who's the one cursing a lot now," I mumbled, crossing my arms as I leaned back into the seat.
My mom grumbled before continuing with a roll of her eyes: "Anyways! The point we're trynna make is that—"
"I know, I know! I'm not crazy! What I did wasn't because of that. Yada, yada, yada," I get that they were concerned but walking on eggshells with me wasn't good for me either. I know they meant the best but it still was..difficult. I couldn't really explain it but when you feel uncomfortable, it's kinda hard to not explain it that way. But hey! At least I get to be in a building full of people that saw my suicidal crash out so I probably won't be stared at! I'm just hoping that I missed the next event—
"What's with all these reporters?!" Papa screeched, slowing down near the school as he stopped about a block away. But even from here, you could see the desperation and predatory stares of the crowd.
Fuck...I really don't even know why I try to look at the bright side of things without my quirk active! Of course I couldn't get a fucking break and now I have to deal with reporters? Should I just activate it? But then again...I didn't trust it the last time...
"Just...I'll get out here, Mama, Papa," I mumbled, unbuckling my seatbelt. They tried to argue back but I leaned in between their seats and smiled up at them. "I'll be fine! I promise. Once I get past the crowd, I'll even text you, how about that?"
"...Still, we—"
"I'll be fine, Mama! You're gonna start sounding like this guy here if you keep on worrying," My lips curled up more as I gave them hugs from behind their seats, almost bursting out of the car before they could argue. Last thing I also needed was to be late to class too. "I'll see you guys after school, okay? Bye!"
"W-we'll come pick you up too! Okay?!" My dad exclaimed from the car. I nodded and waved as they drove off. Taking a deep breath, I marched towards the entrance before slowly coming to s stop, realizing what the hell was going to happen. See, when it comes to situations like this, it makes me really wish I had some foreseeing quirk or something 'cause then I'd know not to show up. Why the fuck did I decide to come on the day Shigaraki was gonna show up?! I mean, it wasn't a big deal what he was about to do but I wanted a peaceful day back...not like it was going to be anyways with the whole show I put on.
"Fuck...Okay! It's fine. Everything's fine! All I have to do is walk up and squeeze through the crowd and I'll be fine!" I mumbled, letting out a laugh. And so my legs carried me towards the reporter-filled entrance...only to somehow find myself across the street, hiding behind a tree. Crocodile tears ran down my face as I slammed my forehead against the tree before cursing. I hissed and squat down with a whine.
Okay, so trying to gaslight myself clearly didn't work but can you blame me?! I didn't want them asking how that damned American-wannabe was as a teacher because I already knew what my answer was! And honestly, I really didn't want any drama either. Should I just ditch? Would that be such a big deal? Actually...that'd just make my parents worry even more. Ugh, maybe if I activate my quirk I could just slip by? But then again, I also didn't want to. I hadn't activated it since my "crash out" and I...I still don't trust it. Fuck-!
"Fucking idiot. Stupid hero school. Stupid Number One. Fucking shithead. Hate his stupid Chad face. Mewing piece of shit. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid," With each word, I knocked my head lightly into the bark of the tree before freezing as I heard footsteps near me. There was a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach, tugging at me and urging me to run because I swore I knew who it exactly was. But hey! Let's for once just be delusional and ignore my base instincts because there's no way it could be him, right?! Right!
"So you hate All Might too?" His scratchy voice travelled into my bones as I forced myself to freeze and not slam my head into the tree so that the blow would kill me. Goddammit...do I have to continuously keep my fucking quirk on just so I don't run into other people?! Even then, my quirk literally got me choked out as a kid so I don't even fucking know at this point! Well...okay, fuck! Just...let's breathe. We're calm. And...fuck off...
I sighed as my mind seemed to ease before I decided to look up at Shigaraki. I gulped, putting on a sarcastic smile as his red eyes pierced into me. I honestly didn't know what to say but we all know I could never hide my dislike for the hero so I said the only thing that came to mind: "He's a piece of shit that's like one of those people that adopted a culture after they studied abroad for a couple years and always brings it up by dropping random phrases into conversations. In other words, he's a self-proclaimed cultured man that's actually just a giant prick,"
"Ha!" Shigaraki laughed, his lips seeming to be pulled upwards into an eerie grin. He came closer and knelt down to my height before raising his hand. I wanted to brace myself but my quirk gave me the feeling that I was going to be okay. I didn't even flinch as he pat the top of my head with his pinky raised. "I thought with that uniform on, you'd be another NPC. But turns out, you're your own character, huh?"
My stomach twisted as I forced on a grin. God, that was so cringe-y! NPC? Own character? Ugh! Why does he have to talk like a gamer? Should I just say—euck—'poggers' or something—heuck! That just makes me wanna throw up! That's still trendy, isn't it? Ugh, now I feel old.
He gave my head a couple more pats before standing up, pulling me with him as he made sure to keep his pinky raised. I met his gaze before he spoke again: "You. What's your name?"
"I...I'm not supposed to give my name out to strangers," I cleared my throat and used two fingers around his wrist to take his hand off of me. Smoothing out my uniform, I then smiled awkwardly and shuffled slowly across the street. "Uh, anyways, GG? Nice to meet you? I have to go before I'm late..."
Without giving him a chance to reply, I ran across the street towards the crowd of reporters as the bile in my stomach seemed to bubble. GG? Did I really just fucking say that?! What the fuck is wrong with me?! Fuck! Now, I have to try to weave through this crowd-! Okay, wait. My quirk's activated! So maybe if I just squeeze between these cameramen and ignore the pounding starting to develop in my head, I'll be fine—!
"Hey! There's another student!"
"What's All Might—"
"Can you tell us about All Might—"
"How do you like All Might's—"
The mantra of 'All Might' circled around me as the crowd of reporters seemed to push towards. Forcing a smile, I took a step back and tightened the grip on my bag. I opened my mouth to speak but I couldn't keep up with the questions and flashes of cameras. My eyes raced over the crowd but microphones and more faces were just pushed towards me, forcing me back and away from the entrance. Everything was just so chaotic and loud and I knew I should've just stayed home! With this and the Shigaraki thing from before, I didn't know which was worse: being in danger of turning to dust or being overwhelmed!
"I—" I gasped out as I was forced back even more. My eyes widened as they seemed to clamor over each other, desperate for a scoop.
"Hey! Move over—! There's more students!" I looked to where they were pointing and saw Mina with Kirishima. They froze as somehow they were cornered next to me. I was in-between them and could feel their gaze flitting between me, the reporters and themselves. I sighed as I thought about what I could do to get away from all of them.
But then, one of the reporters, grabbed onto Mina's wrist, causing her to yelp. Another reporter yanked on Kirishima's sleeve as he let out a 'Hey!' and moved towards me a bit. I didn't really know what moved me to act but one thing was for certain: I didn't think they deserved to be harassed. So, I grabbed onto the reporter's wrist, pressing on their pressure point to make them let go of Mina and smacked the other reporter's hand off of Kirishima.
I frowned and took a small step forward. "Hey, you can't just grab people—!"
"You quit shoving—oops!" The lady reporter cringed as her hand, which also held her surprisingly heavy microphone, slammed into my face. I shut my eyes and pursed my lips as I let out a heavy sigh. Y'know I seriously don't know what the hell my quirk considers "lucky" but at this point, I'm too pissed off to care. The crowd quickly quieted down as I slowly opened my eyes.
"Alright...you wanna know what I think?" I slowly asked, tilting my head before putting on a bright smile. I saw them all freeze as the lady reporter slowly backed away but I grabbed onto her wrist, jerking her forward. My cheeks started to hurt as I grinned wider but at this point, the pain in my nose hurt even more. And if this bitch was so eager to get the details, then I'd give it to her!
"I think that if you really wanna know, then try enrolling into the school. Not good enough? Oh, so sad. Too old? Too bad. Too young? Hope that he doesn't die of old age or a villain attack then. I don't care that everyone's so fucking nosy about All Might. So either get out of our way or I'll break your fucking arm,"
I tightened my grip on her wrist, still maintaining my smile. She gulped before stuttering out, trying to argue with me: "Th-that's so inconsiderate! Don't you think as one of the lucky students to have All Might as a teacher, you have the obligation to share with the public—"
"Bitch, are you fucking high?!"
"Bitch-?!"
"Gone senile already?" I let out a scoff before shoving her away from me. I rolled my eyes and brushed my hand on my blazer. I glanced at Mina and Kirishima behind me before tilting my head with an incredulous grin at the lady. "Luck had nothing to do with me getting here and I have no obligation to the public to share anything I don't want to. Neither of us do. That's the beauty of privacy which you are invading. And not only did you invade our privacy, you invaded our personal space, which is grounds for assault. And let's not forget the fact you hit me in the face, which is also battery of a minor. Plus, your colleagues there also touched these other two minors, which can be considered battery as well. You're lucky I don't curb stomp your ass right now,"
The crowd gasped at me before the woman pointed at me accusingly: "Y-you-! How can a Hero-in-Training speak like that—!"
"'Oh, how can a hero-in-training speak like that'—man, shut the fuck up!" I mocked as I took a step forward, causing the crowd to step back. If I wasn't so pissed off, I'd be mentally cheering at the fact I got a whole mob of people to step away from me. But I merely pointed at the reporter and scoffed: "Seriously, get off your high horse! There is absolutely no obligation that we have to say anything about All Might. It's not even a moral or ethics thing! I have a right to not say anything and even if I wanted to, you really think I'd say something to a bitch that hit me in the fucking face and didn't even say sorry? What the fuck is an 'oops' supposed to do? And if these two behind me wanna talk then they can but that doesn't mean you can just grab people like fucking rag dolls. So, like I said: get the fuck out of our way or I'll do so much worse than just breaking your arm,"
The woman (and really the rest of the reporters) stared at me with her jaw open. I crossed my arms and tilted my head, waiting to see what they'd say but slowly they parted. I could see the entrance of the school and huffed. Looking over my shoulder, my gaze met theirs as they flinched. I could tell they were nervous and even more-so, I could tell they were still wary of me. Whether it was from this outburst I just had or the "episode" from a couple days ago, I wasn't really sure. But it pissed me off even more. Though, something told me that it was neither or those things. Maybe it's 'cause my quirk was still activated that led me to that conclusion. Either way, I just jerked my head forward before walking towards the entrance. I could hear the duo scramble behind me but I didn't bother to look behind me. Once we were finally inside the gate, I let my quirk de-activate as light pounding pulsed in my head.
"Bitch," I mumbled, rubbing at my temples before I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around and rose a brow. "Huh?"
"Um...we just...well..." Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck as he seemed to hesitate.
Mina twiddled with her fingers before she spoke up for both of them: "W-we just wanted to thank you...for helping us out there. You...we...we didn't think that you'd ever do that for us..."
I blinked a bit as I stared at them. With every second that passed of my silence, they seemed to break into a cold sweat and curl in on themselves, almost like I was scolding them or something. I sighed and turned fully to face them as I crossed my arms. I mean, yeah, I was still upset at the way they isolated me with the rest of the class. But it's not like we were friends in the first place. And it was like Mocha said: I wasn't going to be able to friends with everyone. This was my reality. It wasn't gonna be just like the original series. But, hey, at least they thanked me.
"Well, normally I wouldn't. I probably would make you both fend for yourselves and slip away," I deadpanned as my words seemed to materialize as a stone of truth and slammed on the top of their heads. I stifled a laugh before I continued: "But it wasn't really my choice. I mean, it was but I had some help. I dunno know how to really explain it but my quirk was activated the entire time. Whatever I want to do, my quirk helps me get out of it unscathed...like 10% of the time. Anyways, I didn't like the idea of being harassed and it's not like you guys deserved that either. So, I just did what I usually do in a time of crisis: fuck shit up,"
"Engimono-san..." They both stated in unison, staring at me with stars in their eyes and—what the fuck?! Was Kirishima crying?! Did I say something entirely rude? I don't think I was actually mean this time! Or harsh! What the hell?!
"You're so manly!" He exclaimed with Mina nodding enthusiastically before she quickly reassured me that it was a good thing. I flinched, taking a step back as they stepped forward. A bead of cold sweat dripped down my cheek as they stared at me like I was their savior. Kirishima had crocodile tears streaming down his face as he continued: "I can't believe we had such bad ideas about you! We're so sorry, Enigmono-san!"
"Exactly! We're really sorry, Engimono-san!" Mina nodded, clasping her hands together.
To be honest, I didn't know what to say. I mean, I could be sarcastic, bitchy or be nice. There wasn't a middle ground truly. But more than anything, I was somewhat happy. Because the characters I grew to love actually saw me. They didn't just ignore what I did but apologized for their actions. I know it's basic human decency but still...it felt nice.
But of course, my emotionally constipated ass can't handle stuff like this.
"Uh...yeah...okay, bye!" I spun on my heel and made a run for the stairs that led to the floor of our classroom. By the time I reached the classroom, I was leaning against the wall by the door, panting for breath. My stomach twisted in on itself as I swallowed whatever spit was left. I was not going to hurl. But as I stood up straighter and looked at the giant door, dread loomed above me. Could you really blame me? It was already hard to interact with my classmates and now I had to deal with a different kind of stare. But, Mama didn't raise a bitch! I had to go for it!
With a deep breath, I slid the door open softly as the chatter slowly died in the room. I flickered my eyes over the crowd before narrowing in on my desk. I swallowed harshly as I gripped my bag strap tighter before forcing my legs to move. But as I started, I quickly froze as green filled my vision. A stew of emotions boiled in me as we locked eyes. Rage. Anger. Sadness. Fear (for some reason). It was like going through all 5 stages of grief at once and yet, I couldn't bring myself to do anything but stare.
Midoriya seemed to hesitate before softly calling out: "(F/n)-chan...I..."
When he trailed off, he looked down like he was ashamed before meeting my gaze again. My breath hitched as I clutched onto my straps tighter. I knew what he was trying to say. That he was trying to apologize but didn't know if I'd accept his apology. I could see the fear in his eyes but not like before. This time, it was...it was like he wasn't sure if I'd break. And I hated that. I hated how he saw me like I was that weak. I hated how he looked at me like a puppy. I...I didn't want him to look at me anymore. I...I just...do I...fuck—
"Huh?" My vision suddenly went dark as a hand covered my eyes. I went to grab onto the person before I let out a yelp as I was pulled backwards and into a body. At this point, I was ready to actually break someone's arm but I couldn't. Not when I heard that voice.
"The fuck are you staring at, Deku?" Bakugo hissed. I heard Midoriya try to speak but Bakugo scoffed and pulled me closer to him. He leaned to rest his chin on my shoulder as he continued: "Even a bitch like you can tell she doesn't wanna talk to you, so move,"
Midoriya paused before I heard him speak up with confidence and determination than earlier: "I think that's up to (F/n)-chan to decide,"
The class was silent as I only assumed the two were having a stare down. I rolled my eyes from under Bakugo's hand as I mentally drew a picture in my head of what just happened. It kinda felt like one of those stereotypical romance tropes, where the female lead was being confronted by one of the two male leads that did her dirty while the other male lead (who always treated the FL like crap), stepped in to "save" her. Yeah, it was that fucking cringe-y and the last thing I needed was to be trapped in a different rumor where I was being "fought" over by two guys. I'd rather actually deal with Mineta's rant about women's bodies and the way they look rather than deal with this. Though quite frankly, I think in either scenario, I'd kill myself. Should I activate my quirk now? Maybe it'll make things worse though...last time I wanted to run away from a situation at this school, I jumped out the window. I don't think doing that on my first day back would be ideal. Ugh...okay, I'll just deal with it myself and see what happens! Besides, my head was already hurting from earlier and this situation wasn't helping.
"It's not like bomb boy's wrong," I grumbled out, taking Bakugo's hand off of my face. I scrunched my nose at the sudden invasion of light before meeting Midoriya's steady gaze. But as his eyes met mine, he quickly looked away before peering back up at me like a kicked puppy. I let out a breathless incredulous laugh before shaking my head. "Seriously? You talked all this shit in front of him, yet one look from me and suddenly you're the victim?"
"I—! I'm not trying to act like the victim, I promise—!"
"Uh huh, sure," I rolled my eyes again before tilting my head at him.
Since he was the only friend I ever had in this world, of course I felt guilty for snapping at him. I mean, we visited each other's house every week! I never had a friend like him in this life who didn't mind the chaos I caused or who supported me. But it's also why his ghosting hurt so much. He doesn't just get to act like the victim and act like nothing happened! He ignored me. And yeah, we weren't super talkative the few weeks before school started but we still kept in touch. What he did hurt. And I couldn't forgive that. Not now.
So I just shrugged Bakugo's chin off my shoulder and tightened my grip on my bag. I took a deep breath as I walked past Midoriya without looking at him. As I passed, he went to reach for me but surprisingly, Bakugo stopped him. Blinking in surprise, I furrowed my brow at the blonde but he just threw away Midoriya's hand away from me. Before I could say anything, Bakugo stomped towards me, spun me around and pushed me forward to my desk.
"What the hell—?!"
"Hurry up and get to your desk! You're in the fucking way!" He shot back, again nudging me forward. I narrowed my eyes at him and grumbled but walked to my desk anyways. What the hell was his problem anyways?! He could've gone around too! And what's with him trynna—euck! Protect me or something? But knowing his ass, that definitely wasn't what was happening. He probably saw how I was ignoring Midoriya and wanted to torture him this way too.
I sighed and threw my bag onto my desk, plopping into my chair. I rested my head down in my arms as the conversations around me started flowing again. Being the nosy bitch I was, I tried listening in to see if there was anything important I missed out on but to no avail. I buried my head deeper into my arms, wanting this day to end. Like seriously, Shigaraki, can't you just disintegrate the door already?! But as I lifted my head up, I flinched back in my chair as Mina and Kirishima's faces appeared in front of me.
"The fu—"
"Ne, Engimono-san, are you friends with Bakugo-kun?" Mina asked with a small smile and a tilt of her head. I furrowed my brow and leaned back in my seat more. Why...why are they suddenly talking to me? Is it 'cause of what I did earlier? Which, I don't mind this change of attitude but I seriously didn't think me doing all that was gonna change them this much.
"Uh...complicated,"
"Complicated?" Mina tilted her head before grinning secretively. She giggled and leaned closer with a gleam in her eye that made me shiver. "Don't tell me you guys used to date?"
"Who used to date who?!" I exclaimed as Bakugo whipped his head around, shouting the same thing as me. We glared at each other as I scrunched my nose in disgust.
I rested my arm on my desk, pointing at him as I deadpanned: "There's not enough money in the universe to date this walking red flag. Have you seen his attitude? No amount of therapy would ever be enough to cope with dating that,"
"Fuck you too!" He growled, crossing his arms before adding on: "And if we're talkin' shrinks then you need one more than I do,"
"Low blow, Katsuki," At the use of his name, all his anger seemed to fade. He quickly jerked back out of his seat and pressed himself up against the wall, standing like a crab. I could've sworn I saw sweat bead down his face but they somehow got sucked back into his skin like a sponge. Which was really disgusting to picture but I swear it looked like that! But still...his reaction was weird so of course, I called him out: "What the hell are you doing?"
"Says you...you lookin' for a-a fight or somethin'?!"
"Did you just stutter—ugh, nevermind!" I shook my head, rubbing at my temples. I wasn't going to look too much into it and quite frankly, it wasn't worth my time. What took more precedence was the staring from the two in front of me that wasn't out of fear or contempt. Glancing at them for a quick second, I picked at my inner wrist before slowly addressing them: "So...what's up with you two? Why...why are you suddenly interested in my business?"
They shared a look before both sheepishly smiling. Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck before he met my gaze. I held myself back from flinching, not used to his warm stare. "Well...it's not that we're interested in your business so much but you,"
"Yeah! I mean, we don't know anything about you and we just wanted to get to know you—"
"And asking about my relationships is the first thing you ask about? Not even something plain like my favorite color?" They froze in response as they looked away from me. Mina had her lips pursed as she tapped her two index fingers together. Kirishima was just plain embarrassed. I could give them a hard time. I mean, I did that with everyone that pissed me off or just people that I met for the first time (like who the hell would tell murderers to fuck off or annoy them if they didn't care about dying). Honestly, it might be a secret talent of mine or it might've been the fact that I encountered death so much that it doesn't even phase me as much anymore.
Either way, I know it's the bare minimum but they're making an effort. And it's not like I made it super easy to be approached with my first introduction ...and well jumping into a pit knowing everyone was watching. More than anything I just wanted to move on. There was no point in being angry and bitter forever, plus it's not like I had a close relationship with any of them in the beginning. The only person I could really be mad at forever was Midoriya and maybe Bakugo but at least he gave me the decency to acknowledge I existed even when he sent me to the hospital all those years ago. And if anyone else in the class decided to isolate me then what was the point of even trying to become friends with them? They could stay mad.
Mocha was always right: the right people would come along; I just had to reach out even a little bit.
"Engimono (F/n). Age 15 but mentally, emotionally and physically I already feel decrepit. I don't really have a favorite color or food. I don't have a favorite hero. My parents work but I dunno what they do; they make hella money though just based on what house I live in I assume. I don't have siblings or pets. I went to Aldera Junior High. And I already kinda explained my quirk earlier so..." I trailed off and tilted my head in thought. "I think that covers everything?"
Kirishima and Mina blinked a bit, holding the same expressions before Mina laughed. She grinned and quickly responded: "I'm Ashido Mina! But you can call me by my first name. I'm also 15 and I like blue but also a lotta other colors. I really like breakdancing and my quirk is Acid! I can shoot acid from my hands like 'shoo'! Kirishima and I went to the same middle school: Mustafa Private,"
"I'm Kirishima Eijiro," He announced with a determined grin. "And I'm 15. I like anything manly and aspire to be just like the Pro-Hero: Red Riot. He's the most manly person ever! My quirk is Hardening where I can make my body as hard as a rock!"
Mina smiled brightly as she pointed out: "Y'know, with our introductions it's kinda like a dating profile! I don't think I've ever introduced myself like this,"
Kirishima nodded, entirely serious. These two really were...wow. I don't think I've ever really encountered such bright people before. I mean, when Uraraka smiled sometimes, she had the whole female protagonist flowers and sparkles around her but they're actually bright. Like seriously—hold on! Is that like a holy, Buddahvista-type of halo behind them?!
"Pft—!" I slapped my hand across my mouth before the sounds started bubbling over. I couldn't stop laughing. I mean, it was almost a ridiculous situation. Here I was properly introducing myself to classmates I'd had for the past week like nothing! And the halo behind them? It was priceless. My stomach started cramping as I heaved, wiping away the tears from my eyes. I grinned and shook my head. "Sorry for laughing but it's just too funny!"
"Funny?"
"Well, yeah. I mean you guys isolated me since the first day and suddenly we're talking like nothing happened," The truth seemed to explode behind them as they slumped over. I laughed again and shook my head. "Look, I'll be honest: I can't just be friends and all buddy-buddy right away but we can be friendly at least. I mean, you guys are like the only people that made an effort, even if it was after I saved your asses,"
"Aha..yeah," Kirishima sighed but smiled as Mina nodded.
"We're still really sorry about the whole thing. It's just...well, I've never encountered someone with a quirk like yours. It was..." Mina trailed off, averting her eyes to the side.
I shrugged. "Scary, I know. Unfortunately, if I get too stressed out then everything becomes chaotic. A couple times I was chased by the cops which isn't as scary as most people think until they start shooting,"
"Sh-Shooting-?!"
"Anyways," I quickly shrugged off their curious and shocked gazes and decided to actually seem like a good student. But at the same time, the canon plot really was off. Technically after the whole Battle Trial Arc, wasn't the Shigaraki incident supposed to happen straight after? I should've noticed it earlier but can you blame me for being worried about other things? I needed to at least get a grasp on what was going on. "What did I miss in lessons? Homework?"
They shared a look before leaning in as Mina whispered: "Actually, we were wondering the same thing. We haven't had another training lesson or real homework. Just pure lessons on basics in the books. Nothing new happened except ever since the training, we haven't seen All Might-sensei or Aizawa-sensei! They actually have been gone the same amount of time you were—"
"But that doesn't mean we're gonna ask this time!" Kirishima quickly cleared up, waving his hands. "Your business is your business. We should respect that,"
I smiled a bit gratefully but what the fuck did they mean nothing happened? And what the hell happened to Aizawa and All Might? They weren't supposed to just disappear like nothing! Aizawa was supposed to report the next day about the recordings he watched and reprimand Bakugo and Midoriya. I didn't even want to think about what he might say about me. Fuck, the school might intervene and make me go back to Hound Dog for "counseling". Why even call him a counselor in the first place when he's basically a preacher for heroism?! At least, that's the impression he gave me in my "remedial" lessons. But that was besides the point: I'll just tell them the truth.
"Thanks but I actually don't know anything either," I mumbled back, resting my chin on my hand. "I won't overshare what happened afterwards but I basically was under house arrest, if you wanna call it that. Not that I minded. Your guy's guesses are as good as mine,"
We all hummed in thought and Mina was about to speak again till the door slid open. Aizawa's raggedy appearance caused the class to go quiet before everyone started making their way to their seats. Mina and Kirishima gave me a wave, going towards the front of the class to their desks as Aizawa scanned his eyes over the crowd. When his eyes met mine, I flinched and looked the other way. I didn't wanna see what his gaze was like. I didn't wanna know. I may have called Midoriya a 'coward' here and there but when it comes to judgement and emotions? I think I might be worse.
"Morning class," He grumbled, running a hand through this hair before continuing: "I went over the recordings from a few days ago during the training—"
"Um, Sensei!" Kaminari's hand shot up. "Why were you gone for so long?"
"Business with the school about a matter," He muttered. Whispers and mumbles echoed in the class as I felt some gazes on me. I knew that they knew I was probably the cause of it all. But Aizawa didn't look my way at all. Instead, when I finally got the courage to glance at him, he looked at Midoriya. The broccoli-headed boy cowered under his gaze. I looked between the two, confused even more on the matter before he continued: "Anyways, I won't say anything about my thoughts as you all got your comments back the other day—"
Okay, so maybe I did fuck up the canon slightly but it should be fine...right?"
"And the next order of business is one of the most important: picking Class Rep and vice rep. Pick before homeroom is over,"
"Eh? Class Reps? But we don't know each other that well so how would we pick?" Asui croaked with a tilt of her head. The class all agreed and that's when I realized maybe I did fuck things up too much. Because weren't they supposed to be excited for this? I remember everyone wanted to do it! They literally were almost jumping each other to be it! Even Bakugo was subdued! Do...do I have to say something? Ugh...well...everything else was fucked.
"What about a vote?" I suggested as their gazes stabbed through me. I gulped and slowly stood, wishing that for once there was at least one other extra person in the class because I literally was the only one in the back. I wanted to activate my quirk but I also didn't wanna deal with the headache I know it was gonna cause. So I took a deep breath, exhaling softly before pointing in mid-air to explain: "Asui's right: we don't all know each other that well. And even if we put it to a vote, we all might just vote for ourselves. But some people know each other better than others so there's a higher chance of them voting for that person. At least that way we can see if anyone actually does get more than one vote. Then we can choose from the top people or if everyone gets one vote each, we at least have the names already written down for a draw. We can just put all the papers in a hat and have Aizawa pick at random then those two people will be our class reps,"
The class was still for a moment before Iida spoke up, seeming a bit hesitant: "I think...that's a good idea,"
I rose a brow, not expecting his support but gave him a small, awkward smile. That's what seemed right at least. The class nodded and agreed to my proposition as chatter started around the class. They started getting up and walking to the students they did actually talk to. I plopped back into my seat and lazily laid in my chair with a loud sigh. I guess it wasn't too bad. At least I can give my vote to someone. I mean, if I voted for myself, everyone would know it was me and my social life was already bad enough; I didn't want to look pathetic.
But as I opened my notebook to tear out a small piece, a shadow appeared over me. I slowly glanced up and tilted my head in confusion. Asui was in front of my desk, staring at me with her wide eyes. It was a little uncomfortable how much she seemed to look into my soul so I smiled shakily. She then spoke up: "You...You know my name?"
I blinked a bit before hesitantly nodding. "Um...yeah? I-I mean—! We've been classmates for a week already so..."
She looked confused and I couldn't help but hope she didn't ask anymore questions. Maybe I did fuck up more than I thought but I wasn't wrong; I literally have been in this class for like a week despite the fact that I missed most lectures because of the "remedial" lessons. Plus, how could I not know the names of all of them? They were the reason why My Hero was my favorite series. Not that I could just say that.
"Then do you know everyone's names?"
Dun. Dun. Dunnnn.
...So that's what an ominous feeling sounds like in my head now. Great! What do I even say? Do I lie? Do I just play stupid? Fuck...do I—? No. We're not activating our quirk. That's stupid. We're fine. We're okay. We're safe. No one's gonna hurt us. So calm down. Woo-saa. Woo-saa. Okay. Okay! I'll lean into it; I just have a good memory or something! Yeah...it should be fine! I mean, it might be kinda creepy now that I think about it but maybe that'll make her stop asking questions? That's good. Yeah, let's just go for it...again. Taking a deep breath, I started pointing at the other students in the class. I said their name with their general quirk description instead of the name of it. I continued it for everyone (except Mineta, which I just told her he was a pervert who needed to get his balls cut off and shoved into his throat). By the time I was done, I then pointed to her.
"And you're Asui Tsuyu with the frog-like quirk," She continued to stare at me before I smiled and cleared it up: "I paid attention during the first day and well, no one's name was super complicated so I kinda just memorized them,"
Asui continued to stare at me in silence before nodding a bit. She then turned around and walked to her desk as I let out a sigh of relief. Well, that was kinda creepy with the staring. I don't remember her doing all that during the show. Maybe she was just cautious? Or maybe I did freak her out a bit. Welp! Not my problem anymore. If anything I need to think about who to vote for. I definitely don't wanna vote for Midoriya 'cause fuck him. And I wasn't going to vote for Iida (though I know I should for canon's sake). I could vote for Yaoyorozu but she'd get two votes anyways and as much as I'd like her to be Class Rep, she hadn't gone through her whole self-affirming arc yet. Ugh...let's just vote for myself then. Not like anyone's gonna vote for me anyways.
I mean, who'd vote for me anyways?
~One vote and tallying later~
"Well, guess these are your Class President and Vice President," Aizawa gruffly announced before slurping on his jelly packet. But I didn't know what was more annoying: the loud slurping of jelly, the gawking stares or the coward shaking next to me. Because as much as I thought no one was going to vote for me, totaling my votes to just mine...
WHY THE FUCK DID I GET FIVE VOTES?!
"I-I look fo-forward to—uh, working with you—" Midoriya whispered before I dug my heel into his foot, causing him to wince.
"If you don't shut the fuck up—" I murmured with a tight smile on my face before leaning towards him a bit. "—I'll bury you with your mentor,"
He gulped as Aizawa threw his jelly packet away. He glanced at the two of us before groaning: "I think I'm gonna get an ulcer with you two leading the class,"
"Just be glad I didn't jump out the window this time,"