Disclaimer: At no point have I, or will I, own the rights to this magnificence.

So you're all in luck! This weeks chapter focuses on... Mina Ashido! I know that you're thinking: what?! Why not Bakugou?!

Well, take rest, he'll be within the next two chapters. I'd like to get a bit more going before I focus on him. He's got a very, very important role to play upcoming. So rest easy friends, it'll be coming soon. Also, there's something I'd like to ask.

I'd like to set up a media place where I can communicate with people a bit more effectively than . Maybe be able to post updates, or something similar. I don't know if anyone is interested in that idea, because I'd love to talk to people, but I don't know what to use. If you're interested, and have any ideas, lemme know!

Otherwise... onto the chapter! This chapter focuses more on the emotional aspects of the students, and their reactions to everything.


It would be hard to miss the heavy atmosphere that hung over the classroom like a giant wrecking ball, just waiting to fall at a moment's notice. Tensions were high and the mood was somber; so much, that even students like Hagakure were hard-pressed to bring their typical enthusiasm. The lively girl was even less noticeable than normal, thanks to her lack of energy, and it worried some students.

Mina, especially.

The pink-skinned girl was by far one of the most observant people in all of class 1-A, despite what people might have thought. She was the very definition of attentive. Her eyes didn't just search for gossip-like material, contrary to popular belief. Just as she was a social butterfly, dancing from person to person, her eyes were darting from body to body, drinking in body language, expressions, and habitual tendencies like they were sweet, sweet nectar.

To her, reading a person's mood and mental state was her specialty, and she prided herself on her ability to catch onto things before anyone else could. It wasn't always the easiest job, but it was rather rewarding, and it had definite benefits.

Hell, it was almost like a second quirk with how much she did it.

Which brought her to the present moment and her current predicament. Everyone was out-of-sorts, and it was throwing her off, as well.

Midoriya's sudden kidnapping, accompanied by just as rapid rescue along with his mysterious condition caused a torrent of emotions similar to that of a roller coaster. The problem was, the ride wasn't halfway over, and people already seemed... so tired of it. Of course, nobody wanted to be in this situation... but Mina knew that they were signing up to her heroes, and that meant the rest of their life was going to be filled with twists and turns so sharp, not even a hero with limitless stretching would be able to turn with them.

But yet, Ashido didn't have even the foggiest idea of who to help first. Uraraka was a mess - she was hiding her feelings in a bottle that was practically cracking at the seems, ready to explode in a shower of rage and misery. Iida was a darkened mess of unhealthy brooding, and coupled with his overbearing nature made guilt seep from his mental state like water in a strainer. Mineta was a crying, blubbering mess, and when he wasn't crying, he was practically a hollow shell with no responsiveness.

Even Bakugou was a disaster. Nobody could pinpoint it, but the Mr. Explosive-disorder, as Mina would sometimes call him, was far too silent for his own good. He wasn't bubbling with guilt like Iida, nor was he storing away his feelings like Uraraka, but he wasn't coping perfectly well like he let on, either. Mina knew better. He was hiding something.

Problem was, nobody could talk to the kid. Not only was he nigh unapproachable, what, with his natural asshole-like tendencies, along with his violent outbursts, but he also made it a goal to stay clear of conversations that related to his feelings. Not even Kirishima could get him to open up, and the red-head was notorious for being able to get Bakugou to see his way.

And nobody could ignore Jirou and Kaminari's broken reactions. The two had been inseparable since they recovered Midoriya from the streets, and it was almost cute enough to cause Mina to squeal for joy... it the circumstances were different, of course. They were leaning on one another, that much was obvious. The looks they'd give one another when they thought no one was watching; a worried look. One that spoke volumes.

Don't break on me now; I can't do this without you.

It was impossible to miss... if you were looking.

"Ugh..." Mina said, running her hands rapidly through her pink, messy hair. "I have no idea where to start."

"Why not start with those most need it?"

Mina yelped, and jumped in place, not expecting to hear a calm, masculine voice. She turned to her left and saw Todoroki looking at her with a mostly blank expression minus - was that amusement?

He was putting folders into his backpack, but yet, his attention was solely on her. "Yaoyorozu certainly has been distracted, as of late. She missed two straight homework assignments, and she also barely performed above average on the test today," Todoroki commented. "Of course, no one can ignore Hagakure's lack of excitement, either."

Blinking slowly, Mina slowly pointed at Todoroki. "Y-you're noticing these things, too? Wait, how did you...?"

"I might be quiet, but I'm not immune to social interactions, you know. They're my classmates, too. And you've been muttering under your breath for much longer than you realize."

"I didn't mean it like that," Mina said quickly, smiling nervously. Her interactions with the half-hot, half-cold quirk-user were about as common as her days without coffee - that is, they never happened. "I'm just a little surprised, is all."

Todoroki hummed quietly, but looked toward the door, as if waiting for someone to come through. "Uraraka and Iida most definitely need help; but they're both far too naïve to admit it. Nobody here... has gone through this, and because of that, they don't know what to do. How to respond."

"I thought Iida's brother was attacked by Stain?" Mina put a finger to her chin and pondered. She was almost certain her classmate had gone through a close-and-personal family ordeal, to which the regional news had broadcasted someone from the Iida family being hurt.

Todoroki paled, and he seemed to have a sudden thought, but he turned away and averted his eyes, to Mina's surprise and overwhelming curiosity. However, bigger fish needed to be fried, so she decided to leave the topic for another day - and mind him, she would be grilling him for answers.

"Anyway... between everyone, it's up to you to judge who needs help first. My recommendation... figure out what you need, first. Information might be your number one tool." Todoroki's advice seemed to clear things up, and her mind - previously murky with all the thoughts running through her head - became far clearer with a goal in mind.

She gave the red/white haired teen a beaming smile - a rarity recently - and flashed him a quick thumbs up. "You're the bomb; I gotta jet!" Just before she darted off, however, a thought crossed her mind, and she paused in the doorway, delicately touching the doorframe with her hand. She turned back, and with a much softer smile, she looked at Todoroki. "Hey... if you need to, you can talk to me."

The boy seemed surprised, but after a few seconds, his shock wore off, and he closed his eyes.

"I appreciate the sentiment. I'll be alright, though."

Mina didn't reply; she didn't have to. She smiled and walked through the door, missing the small smile that fleetingly appeared on Todoroki's lips.

As she walked out the front gate, she whipped out her phone and shot a text to Jirou asking where she was. While she also had Kaminari's number - really, she had everyone's number - she also knew which of the two was more likely to reply. With Jirou's quirk, she'd hear her phone, even if it was on vibrate. Sure enough, a few seconds passed, and Mina had a reply.

'Kaminari and I stopped by a record store. What's up?'

Perfect.

She was able to knock out two birds with one stone if she did everything correct. Mina wouldn't lie though - she was nervous. Previously, she would assist her friends from primary school in matters that were much more trivial than this. She'd never had to deal with... well, she'd never had people witness something like their friend being all jacked up like they'd muttered.

This was profoundly more troublesome than she was used to.

'You two wanna come with me to grab some tea? I know a great place.'

She could practically feel the surprise from the other end. Mina rolled her eyes in amusement, remembering every time people were surprised she drank something like tea. Since it was associated with being mellow, it was the last drink anyone expected her to sip on in her free time. She just never told them she got a variant of the tea they expected.

Her phone made a ding, and she hastily read the reply, her smile growing as she read the message. 'Sure; but don't expect the idiot to drink any. He says he hates tea.'

'They have other stuff.' Mina quickly assured. She then shot them the location and began making her way there, all the while, thinking about how she was going to bring things up, and what she was going to say when the time came.

And furthermore... if she was even ready for the truth.


The shop was small, quiet, and it was rather empty on this particular day. The shop owners did fair amounts of business, and had contracts across the city, allowing their small business to thrive, even on a limited amount of customers. It helped that the rent was cheap - another useful tidbit that Mina had come across with her talkative nature.

The barista smiled as Mina walked in, and leaned on the counter she was previously cleaning. "Oi, Ashido, what'll it be?"

Mina rolled her eyes. "I said Mina is fiiiiine." She paused and glanced fleetingly at the menu board. Even though she'd practically memorized the flavors, she never hesitated to check if there was something new. "Tiger Milk for me."

The barista paused, her eyes glancing at the pink-haired girl. "That's usually what you get when something's up... you okay?"

Curse those habits, Mina thought.

"Y-yeah. Just... a classmate got hurt. So, we're all reeling a bit."

"I guess hero school is more than it appears..." The barista said slowly. She nodded however, and without another word, began whipping up Mina's drink order. Meanwhile, said girl selected a table with a lava lamp in the middle, and sat down, tossing her bookbag down next to her. She didn't want to think about the homework that was calling her name, nor did she was to think about the upcoming tests that were sure to put an anchor on her grade if she wasn't careful.

All she wanted to think about was -

"All I'm saying, is that it's not my fault my quirk makes me go stupid."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself."

"Why aren't you listening?!"

The door made a ding upon the duo's entry, and Mina didn't even need to look to know that her two classmates had arrived. Their bickering was a dead-giveaway. However, Mina felt a small measure of relief bubble in her chest. If they were able to squabble, that meant they weren't stuck within a crippling state of self-doubt... at least, that's what it probably meant.

The acid-user spun her chair and eagerly smiled at her two classmates, both giving her their own unique form of a greeting. Jirou caught her eye first, and smiled softly, her eyes brightening just barely, while Kaminari flashed her a thumbs up - coincidentally, he was the one who'd gotten her back into the habit. They turned their attention to the menu board and while it looked like Jirou was ready to order, Kaminari seemed stuck over a few choices, citing a light tap on the back of his head, curtesy of Jirou's ear jacks.

"C'mon, pick." Jirou bemoaned her indecisive companion, and he smiled sheepishly, but pointed to the board.

"There's so many choices! What if there's a better one than what I pick?!"

Mina giggled to herself, and for a brief moment, she forgot that her class was in a state of disarray. For just a minute, it seemed as if she was just casually hanging out with two friends, preparing to play matchmaker and drink one of her favorite teas.

She watched as the two finally ordered - a look of amusement clearly on the barista's face - and surprise overtook her as Kaminari used a diversion shock to cause Jirou to drop her money. Though the earjack-heroine was annoyed and scowled angrily at her companion, he took the moment to slide money over to the barista for both his drink, and Jirou's, without her knowledge... or likely, her consent.

Admittedly, Mina had to confess he was every bit as sly as he let on. It was no secret she'd thought him to be somewhat of a womanizer when she'd first met him, and he tried to play the moves on her. However, he wasn't by any means a bad guy. He didn't seek to sleep with her (something unfathomable at their current age, but not unheard of) nor did he try and flirt with multiple girls immediately after. He was genuine, too. His compliments had been from the heart, and he was actually taken by her appearance.

She'd later come to realize he found most girls attractive... and that was just his nature to fall quickly, but recover even quicker. Still, he hadn't been scummy about it (like a certain short, purple-haired little dwarf) and he was actually... sweet. Still, he didn't know her, and she didn't know him... so, she turned him down gently, citing she'd rather be classmates first.

He wasn't upset, either. He just groaned, but smiled, and accepted it for face value. Truly, he was a decent, if not hormonal, teenager.

But he did know how to play the sly guy, as well, as evidence by his ability to pay for something he probably had no need to pay for. Mina was willing to bet this wasn't the first time this had happened either, though he was probably changing the script each time, and finding new ways to pay without Jirou noticing.

And sure enough, when she picked up her money and went to pay, and the barista shrugged and told her it was already covered, she shot Kaminari a glare, but it was a weak one, and there was something akin to a very faint blush on her cheeks. Mina grinned; when everything blew over, she'd had plenty of things to pursue - and this was certainly one of them.

They made their way over, and Mina practically ushered them into their seats.

"So what was so important that you wanted to meet us here to talk about?" Jirou asked casually, slipping into her usual habit of twirling her ear jack around her finger. Kaminari also seemed interested, his eyes firmly settled on Mina, awaiting an explanation.

Mina paused; she needed to go about this delicately if she was going to have any success. It was like a video game that dealt with charisma... it was a toss-up whether or not it would work.

"Oh, nothing, really. I just hadn't hung out with anyone in awhile, and I figured you two could... y'know, use a bit of a break," Mina said casually. She watched, from the corner of her eye, as Kaminari twitched ever-so-slightly, and as Jirou's twirling slowed down for a half-second, before resuming.

She'd succeeded; they were on-edge, but not on-guard.

"Plus, I've been wanting to bring people here for awhile, but everyone's always 'too busy' or whatnot." Slipping in more casual statements could only help keep their eyes off the trail they were heading down. There was no doubt that they'd be aware eventually, but she didn't want it to seem like the only she'd called them was to gossip about sensitive subjects.

Kaminari took his eyes off the pink-skinned girl to look around the café. "It's kinda quiet, but... it's nice. Live music would really spruce it up, though."

Mina smiled. "They actually do live music on Saturday nights. I think they karaoke, too, but I've never been here for that. Nobody really likes that sort of thing." She glanced at Jirou, who was also looking around. Mina noticed the tremble in her jaw - likely a response from memories playing in her head at the current moment. It was hard to tell what she was thinking, but it wasn't hard to tell what she was feeling.

She was nervous.

And if even the prospect of music wasn't enough to distract her brain, then it was something serious.

Before Mina was given the chance to ask, the barista came out from behind the counter with a platter, and the three drinks on top. They were each inside a glass mug, delicately decorated depending on the type of drink ordered. The tiger milk tea came in a mug with a fierce painting of a forest tiger on it, the orange fur being colored by the contents on the drink inside, and the black stripes being thermally introduced, a result of the cold tea within.

Honestly, this place was so cool, she mused as she smiled at the barista. "Thanks, Mai."

She smiled. "My pleasure, Ashido."

"It's Mina! Say it with me. M-I-N-A."

Mai simply smiled again and bowed, before slipping back behind the bar without another word. She was so quiet, but like Mina, she was extremely skilled at reading people. It was something the two had bonded over during the first few of Mina's initial visits.

Mina turned back to Jirou and Kaminari, both of which were adamantly sipping on their drinks, taking in the quaint little shop. For Mina, the time was perfect to jump on her questions with their minds a bit distracted.

"So, is everything okay?"

One could almost miss the way Jirou paused mid-sip, her eyes darting to the boy sitting next to her, as if reassuring herself that he was still there. Kaminari's eyes flashed to Jirou, as well, and they locked eyes for less than a second, as if just making sure the person beside them was still in one piece. It was almost sweet, if it weren't so concerning.

"I know it's a bit intrusive, but... I just wanna make sure you guys are okay. It's been a..." Mina paused as she thought about the right word. "Hectic few days."

Jirou sighed as she placed her cup on the table, still keeping her hands wrapped around the outside of it. She'd opted for a hot drink, judging by the steam that softly arose from the top of the cup. Her eyes rested downward, and her face fell. "We're... i-it's been a process."

If Mina had been any less observant, she might have missed Kaminari's free hand start to reach out, before halting, and moving back to the cup he was holding with his other hand. His face, too, had become somber, but he looked upon her with worried eyes.

"Finding Midoriya was... rough." Mina would've snorted if the situation had been any different. Rough probably was downplaying it. "It was less him attacking us, but more of his state. He was just so busted up... it was like, kinda horrifying, honestly."

Kaminari took the opportunity to speak, seeing as how his friend had decided to be honest. "He's always been really innocent. Y'know, he's like a cinnamon roll with how timid and stuff he is. Even when he gets all... 'madman' and stuff, he's still an innocent guy doing innocent things... s-shit..." Kaminari's fist clenched and his clamped his eyes shut as he appeared to be in thought. "A-and now, he's all jacked up and we can't do anything..."

He whispered the last part, but it was probably the loudest thing he'd said thus far. Mina felt her heart aching as she looked at her two classmates. They were torn up bad, and there wasn't anything anyone could do to relieve that guilt they felt.

"Jirou. Kaminari." The duo looked up slowly as Mina asked a question she still wasn't sure if she wanted to hear the answer to. "W-what..." She froze, unable to come up with the proper way to ask the questions that accumulated in her mind. "How... how did he look? What... happened?"

The two exchanged a look, as if uncertain if they should answer. And partially, Mina knew exactly why that was. It was confidential information, and they were only privy to it because they'd be the ones who'd found him. If they'd been kept in the dark, it would've been a nightmare trying to fend off the constant barrage of questions the students would likely spring upon anyone who may have known.

Rumors would begin, and they'd burn the situation to the ground if left unaddressed.

"Mina... it's not that we don't want to tell you." Jirou began, and Mina knew exactly what came next. "It's just... we can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"It's classified... that's what Recovery Girl said, anyways," Kaminari replied.

It was clear the two didn't firmly believe in those words, because their expressions wavered, and with all her skills she'd accumulated over the years of being a social butterfly, she could see their desire to speak out.

Mina restrained her desire to hit something out of frustration - a unique emotion for her, because she so rarely became flustered. "We're his classmates. Hell, we're his friends! And it's eating you two alive!"

There was a silence.

And then...

"T-there's... a rumor..." Mina looked up slowly, Jirou keeping her eyes averted as pain flashed inside them. "Midoriya doesn't remember his mother."

"Y-yeah, I know..." Mina mumbled. She recalled Mr. Aizawa saying that Midoriya was experiencing symptoms similar to amnesia- his forgetting his mother was a bit surprising, and even more worrying, but it wasn't that unexpected, either. Mina was no doctor, so she didn't know the specifics to how amnesia worked, but if it was anything like the television shows made it out to be, it usually wiped a person's mind clear of most to all information.

So while it sucked Midoriya forgot his mom, it was seemed to make a tiny bit of sense.

"Dude, he thinks his mom is dead! It's a little more than not remembering someone!" Kaminari said suddenly, eliciting a scowl from Jirou.

She went to hit him with her ear jack, before growling angrily and retracting them before she made contact. "I was getting to that, idiot! Besides; we just said we weren't allowed to say anything!"

"It's going to get out eventually! Who cares?!"

"I care, you bucket of volts! They're gonna know who spilled!" Jirou argued back.

"M-Midoriya thinks... his mother was killed?" Mina asked quietly.

Both Jirou and Kaminari stopped their argument and looked at one another guiltily, although Jirou still had an ounce of annoyance in her eye. Hesitantly, she spoke up. "Look, y-you can't say anything. To anyone. We weren't supposed to say anything-"

"You were already revealing stuff!" Kaminari protested, but was ignored.

"- but it doesn't matter now," Jirou emphasized, looking at her yellow-haired friend with a fierce glare, causing him to clam up. "Because, he's right. It would get out. But just... keep this to yourself. For now, at least."

"Is he okay?!" Mina asked, unable to contain her worry any longer. "Please!"

"He... his arms are almost paralyzed." Mina froze in fear. Midoriya's... arms? Jirou sighed. "Something about, he tore his joints up way too much because of something that happened and... they're not paralyzed yet, but if he keeps going, then he'll lose use of them."

"Holy... shit..."

"Yeah, he's in bad shape," Jirou commented.

"And... you two?" Mina finally asked. She hadn't forgotten the reason she brought everything up in the first place. She got the information... now she needed to make sure that her friends were alright. "Are you two okay?"

"It's terrifying to see one of your classmates in such a shitty state..." Kaminari stated bluntly. Typically, he had a bit more style to his word choice, so a blunt statement from him was like a sledgehammer to glass. "He looked possessed. Like, the only thing he cared about... was getting to safety."

"More than that, his eyes were haunted. Broken. I could hear his heartbeat. It was so... fast. He was scared. He thought we were going to kill him. Imagine... being so lost that you think your classmates... y-your friends... are trying to murder you in cold-blood." Jirou set her cup down, her interest in the cooling drink now completely diminished.

She brought her feet up onto her chair and pulled her knees to her chest, ignoring how awkward it was with a school uniform on. "I think that'll haunt me... for awhile."

"His words, he just... wanted to get away. I think shocking him was the most difficult thing... I've ever done." Kaminari spoke as he stared at his hands. Stray bands of electricity danced along his finger tips, connecting his fingers in a thin line of brief yellow light, but for once, he looked... disgusted? "I don't think I can forget what I did. I've never felt the pain I've induced on someone before... but that time, I did."

"I told you," Jirou said firmly through the wavers in her voice. "You had to."

"There could've been another wa-"

"There wasn't." Jirou smacked the table. "It was either: you put him down, or I blasted him. And believe me, your version was far more merciful. All I would have done was ruptured his ear drums... maybe prolonged the fight. You at least limited the destruction he could do to himself, and everyone else."

"M-maybe..." Kaminari whispered.

"No." Mina said. "You did the right thing, Jirou's right. Midoriya is... powerful. We saw we he could do. We're all taking an oath to become heroes... and that means you have to things that aren't going to be easy. You were the only one who could've done something without hurting him more. I could've thrown acid - but how would that helped? Bakugou would've just blown him sky high. That doesn't help, either. You did what you could with what you had."

Jirou flashed Mina a brief, but appreciative smile, and delicately touched Kaminari's free hand. He nearly flinched away, but settled as he realized it was only the ear jack heroine. "You did good... Kaminari."

His smile was weak, in return, but it spoke volumes. It meant he believed them. And that was a step in the right direction for Mina. While she would have loved to help Jirou, she knew that the any helping advice would have paled in comparison to what time could offer. There were no words that could reverse the implementation of Midoriya's scared eyes in her brain, nor were there any words that could outright remove the image. All that could be done, was let time take its course, and hopefully, the image would fade.

And maybe, it'd fade when she saw Midoriya up and walking around without a problem, and the natural, energetic light in his eyes, returned.

Mina stole a glance at her phone; the time was hardly late enough for her to need to return home, but she could sense the duo needed time with one another, so Mina politely stood up and excused herself.

"I should get going home... I'm sorry for prying; but thank you for the information. I won't tell anyone. I hope... I helped a little?"

Jirou and Kaminari both offered worn, but appreciative smiles, and nodded simultaneously. Though, only Jirou spoke up. "Yeah... you did. Both of us feel better... talking about it. Thank you, Mina."

She bowed. "You're welcome."

She bid the duo a farewell, and she didn't stop walking until she arrived at the train station. She didn't start thinking until she was on the train. She didn't stop thinking until she was on her bed at home, her thoughts akin to that of a wild monsoon. She didn't stop crying until she was called for dinner, and her mother worriedly came in to comfort her.

Because as much as Mina told herself that she'd only gotten information for others, she knew she was lying. She, herself, wanted - no, needed - to know what was happening. She cared... so much, for her black and green haired friend. He was sweet. Innocent. Everything that was right with the world, and somehow, he was exposed to everything wrong with it.

She knew she wanted to help everyone in her class. They needed it.

But she had been ignoring the most obvious observation of all.

She needed it, too.