"You're from America?"
"Yup! The Home of Heros."
"Hmm. I suppose that'd explain why you're so brash."
Henna laughed. "It probably has more to do with my quirk, but I could say the same about you. I don't even have to read your thoughts half the time because you're so direct."
"It's because I know you'd know my thoughts regardless." He offered.
She smirked . "No, something tells me you're this blunt with everyone."
Hitoshi scoffed, leaning back in his patio chair as a waiter refilled his fizzing drink. "I think you've got me beat." He thought back to earlier that day, when he'd arrived at Yenna's building.
~Wow. You look nice! We kind of dressed alike. Want to pretend we're already a couple?
He looked down at his normal v-neck and black jeans. It wasn't anything extravagant, especially considering she'd claimed they sported the same outfit. There were major differences in their clothes, most noticeably being the pair of large furry earmuffs that contrasted against her dark hair. She wore a yellow v-neck with an ankle length black skirt covered in sunflowers. A sunflower choker sat woven around her neck and she wore a small one tucked into her hair.
"I take it the ear muffs have something to do with your quirk?" He questioned. It was a warm and overtly sun filled day and they sat under a large umbrella at a small open-air yogurt stand.
"Yeah. They're pretty neat. They muffle far off thoughts, so it's easier for me to focus in public. They're not good enough to mute anyone close to me though." She shrugged. "They're perfect for people with a weaker version of my quirk, but it's gooder than nothing."
"Better than nothing." He corrected, leaning back. He hadn't considered how things could be inconvenient for her, outside of people's persecution of her quirk. Hearing dozens of thoughts at the same time sounded like a headache, but was it really any different than standing in a normal noisy crowd?
"It's chaotic." Yenna answered, poking at her yogurt with a skinny, awkward looking spoon. "A crowd of people just sounds like background noise, but to me, it's like each individual person is speaking clearly and directly at me. Their thoughts are broadcasted directly into my head. It feels like a hoard of children all fighting for your attention with pots and pans. My brain tries to focus on each one, even if I don't want it to."
She shook her head as she spoke, brows knitting together. He had the feeling she was recalling a particular moment in her life.
"Sounds like it could overwhelming."
"It's painful." She confided. "I can get sick if I'm dealing with it for too long. I had to be homeschooled for a while."
"Until you found the muffs?"
"Until they were invented." She laughed. "Quirk gear and support items are mainly focused on people with physical or flashy quirks. Mental quirks are kind of overlooked, but I'm sure I don't need to tell you that."
He flashed her a bittersweet smirk and sipped his soda. She seemed to be speaking with much more accuracy than the day before.
"I was upset yesterday." She responded to his thoughts. "It's harder to speak when I'm flustered, and that's even in my first language."
"Upset over Doggo?" He remembered their chase for her cat.
"No...something else." She answered vaguely and focused her attention on her yogurt.
"...You must really like yellow." He tried to lighten the conversation a bit. He hadn't asked her out to upset her...not that he really knew what he was doing.
She smiled at the attempt. "I'd go as far as to call it the only color I love."
He nodded, figuring it was her favorite. It popped prettily against her skin, but she had dulled the contrast a bit by having a lot of black in her outfit.
"Liked me better in bright clothes?" She teased.
He blushed, picturing her yesterday in her puffed yellow dress that bounced around her. She'd looked like a flower. "Not particularly."
She smirked at the lie.
"Usually people just don't have such a variety of looks." He reasoned.
"I suppose." She played along.
A glob of yogurt fell from her spoon onto the table and she frowned at it as if it'd deliberately disobeyed her.
He chuckled to himself and handed her a napkin.
"No. It can sit there and think about what it's done." She frowned.
He shook his head, smirking at the weird girl. It was surprising how easily he found himself wanting to smile around someone who could relate to him. It was something he rarely felt at school.
"So what's U.A like?" She asked, leaning into her hands, following the direction of his thoughts. "I've always daydreamed about high school."
"It's a lot tougher on you than most normal schools." He admitted. "Their criteria to stay enrolled is pretty demanding."
"To stay enrolled?" She questioned.
"Yeah. They'll expel you if you fall to far behind and even if you excell, there's no guarantee you'll move up any further."
"Well, either way, I'm jealous of you being able to go to school at all though. It must be nice being able to be around other students, making friends and learning together." Yenna sighed, shutting her eyes as if she could daydream about it on the spot.
"Hm." Was all he replied but his thoughts went on a tangent. He didn't have friends at U.A, by his own choice. He didn't want friends who were wary or skeptical toward him, and even if they weren't, he didn't have time. He wasn't where he wanted to be, in school or in life. He wasn't doing things he felt like he needed to dojo reach his goal.
Being placed in General studies had been a major setback in his plans to become a hero. The gap between him and the students in the Hero course was growing everyday. He couldn't waste time with the students of his class who were content where they were. Everyone who shared his ambition fought for rare available spots in the hero course.
He had obstacles and rivals. He didn't have friends.
Yenna pursed her plump lips together and Shinso could see her mind mulling over his lack of a verbal response. She prodded at her snack and narrowed her eyes a bit.
Hitoshi sighed, leaning back into his seat. He wasn't depressed or spiteful toward his schoolmates. It's wasn't necessarily their fault he wasn't in the hero course, but his thoughts toward them weren't exactly impassive either. They took their spots for granted while he had to work 3x as hard to even be considered. It wasn't fair and he'd be lying if he claimed it didn't leave a bitter taste in his mouth. "Look, I'm not-"
"Why hang out with me?" Yenna questioned suddenly, folding her hands into her lap. Her large brown eyes watched him curiously and for a moment he felt exposed.
"You're not a student." He answered simply. "Distancing myself from common citizens wouldn't benefit or distract me one way or another."
"And if I were a student?" She asked.
He didn't answer, but he didn't need to. He knew she'd hear.
You'd be a stepping stone like everyone else.
A forced smile clouded her sunny features. "I suppose it's a good thing we met when we did then. I failed the transfer exam yesterday."
His eyes widened. "Transfer? You're trying to transfer to U.A?" Had that been why she was upset?
"I was." She answered with a sad shrug. "I figured if there was anywhere that could figure out how to control a quirk like mine, it'd be U.A. But I suppose I didn't really have what it takes."
Shinso frowned. He knew how it felt to fall short of your goal because your fate was being decided by others. "Just because someone said you didn't make it, doesn't mean you don't have what it takes. It means they just didn't see it."
"I didn't do a good job showing what I had to offer in that case." She berated herself.
"Or maybe they just weren't looking for what you had to offer." He asserted, thinking of how his own entrance exam had catered more to other quirks.
She seemed to consider his words. "Encouraging words from a would-be rival...If I had passed that is." Her smile seemed a bit less strained.
He shrugged. "We're in the same boat. A teacher at my school told me something similar and started training me on his own. He thinks I could be a powerful hero. He's trying to put me in a position where others can see that too."
"Oh wow. That's pretty fortunate." She rose her brows, feeling a bit jealous. "Arnt all the teachers at U.A famous pros?"
"Famous? Hm. I suppose. Have you ever hear of EraserHead?"
"Oh wow he's your teacher? My parents researched him a bit, trying to find out about quirk nullification. He has a nice list of accomplishments under his belt." She mused.
"He's not my teacher; he teaches the Hero Course, but chose mentor me." Shinso explained. He was grateful for the individual attention Aizawa had chosen to invest in him since the sports festival. Training beneath him wasn't as in depth as being enrolled in the Hero Course, but it wasn't easy and he definitely didn't take it for granted.
"He must look at things differently if he sees something in you that others didn't." She spoke as she ate the last bites of her yogurt. "He seems like the type to go against the status-quo."
"He's pretty open minded, I'll give him that, even though he's a bit tough to figure out. I-oh. Wait…" Shinso cut himself off as an idea started to form in his head. "He's not just an expert when it comes to nullification. He's really knowledgeable with quirk control...maybe I could ask him for advice for you. I don't know if he can tell us anything substantial that isn't already common knowledge but-"
"You would do that?!" Yenna's eyes lit up and for a moment she looked as if she wanted to jump up from her seat.
"Ah- it's really not a lot, I can't get you into the school to meet him but-"
"No, it doesn't matter! You don't get it, U.A was my last hope." Her voice rose as she spoke and excitement danced in her small body. "I've tried so many things; my family moved so far trying to help me. Any hope is still hope."
"You moved for U.A?" Hitoshi asked surprise.
Yenna nodded "Yes, mainly, but that's not the only reason. Japan is ahead in support items and research regarding quirk control...My dad had to stay overseas to work so we can afford to live here and find a way to cope with my powers. It's been tough without him but he wants to do what's best for me. I've struggled with my quirk for so long, so we poured our all into relocating... just for me to fail at my transfer exam."
Shinzo recognized the familiar tone of desperation under her words.
"I haven't even had the heart to tell my mother yet. " she added.
He blinked, feeling like the brown girl in front of him had just vomited information onto him. She seemed to go on a small spiral downward without noticing as she spoke. It wasn't something you'd expect from someone you just met.
She had warned him before however, that she had troubles figuring out what was appropriate and what was TMI. She was constantly hearing waterfalls of other people's thoughts (including his own), so he wouldn't complain as she dumped her own.
It did make him feel wary though, as if she could be easily taken advantage of... If confiding in strangers was a normal thing for her, she was as vulnerable as the people who's thoughts she could hear.
He frowned.
She needed help in more areas than she probably realized. He felt the urge to assist her building inside him. It was a hero's job to help those in needed it. If he wanted to be a hero despite not having a physical quirk, he wouldn't ignore troubles just because there was no physical danger.
"I've made you feel pressured." She said in an apologetic tone.
"Yeah." He admitted. "But it's fine. I know how it feels to be desperate for the things you want. I'll help you where I can...if that's alright."
Yenna looked for a moment as if she'd wanted to hug him, but then her face scrunched into suspicion.
"Why?"
"Why???" He repeated. She'd seemed so grateful a moment ago.
"You've only known me a day. The more I hear you think...the more I realize you're closed off to others." She summarized. "But you're willing to invest time in me? I don't have a simple quick-fix Hero scenario. You aren't even obligated to help anyone without your license."
He remembered the words she'd used yesterday that had resonated with him.
It's lonely.
"You got me, without me ever explaining." He shrugged. "I guess I'm just doing what I want."
"You didn't have to explain because I used my quirk." She stated, finding no major feat in anything she'd said to him.
"No, I didn't have to explain because you've walked in my shoes." He corrected. "Understanding is one thing; relating is something more entirely."
She nodded, seeming to understand. A somber look ran across her face as she leaned on one elbow, but it was gone quickly. "Misery loves company. I suppose that's why I'm enjoying myself so much today." She smiled brightly at him and the sun shone in patternless rays through her curly hair.
The lavender haired boy felt a stir in his stomach. It was a quick fleeting feeling but noticeable nonetheless. Yenna was a beautiful girl, and he couldn't figure if he was noticing more things about her face or liking her more and more as they talked. Either way he was glad he was able to see her again.
She blushed visibly beneath her dark skin but made a face as if she were amused. "You just think I'm pretty." She accused.
"Yeah, you're right. That's all." Shinso confirmed with a straight face.
She laughed and it was an uplifting sound. He'd almost been convincing. "Who knows. Maybe it'll end up being a good thing that I didn't get into U.A. I've never had a real friend before."
"Same." He thought aloud.
