We all have dark times, some longer than others. Somewhere down the line, we always find that bit of positivity, even if it is fleeting.
Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or any of the characters.
Over the next few days, Mina would not fare so well in terms of keeping cool.
While she wasn't usually the best student among her peers, she still had obvious practical skills.
However, her performance in her classes had clearly diminished to the point that she had to sit them out after an incident with her acid quirk.
"I'm really sorry about what happened earlier, Tsu." Mina apologized.
"It's okay, you only got my costume, ribbit." Tsuyu said.
"Still, now you have to wait and get it repaired." Mina pointed out.
Mina stood there, awkwardly shifting around out of guilt.
"I don't really mind it." Tsuyu tried to assure her.
"What happened out there with you today?" Jiro asked.
"Yeah, you usually have way more control over your quirk." Hagakure pointed out.
Mina didn't have an excuse and as they awaited her answer, she suddenly felt anxious.
It was as if their presence was looming over her, intimidating her.
"I'm just having an off day, I have to go." Mina quickly blurted out.
Mina ran off, hanging her head down low to avoid anyone seeing her like this.
"I just have to get back to my room." Mina thought.
With her goal clear in her mind, she ran as fast as she could to the dorms and made her way to her room.
She sat in front of her mirror, trying desperately to avoid breaking down, forcing herself not to cry.
"You can't do this now, you can't act like this." Mina mentally tried to convince herself.
Mina always wanted to be a source of positivity, it was one of the reasons that she wanted to become a hero.
So when the emotional strain had started to become worse than ever, she resorted to putting on a brave face.
"We've all been through the same things ever since we got here, Izuku says it's human to question this, but what right do I have to complain, just because I can barely handle it?" Mina questioned.
Mina's thoughts soon drifted to hearing the voices of her friends, clearly unamused by her feelings.
"We've all had to endure this, Mina." Mina pictured Momo saying.
"If you can't handle the pressure then why don't you just leave?" Mina imagined Kirishima telling her.
Her next thought finally caused her to let a few tears fall.
"I'm tired of wasting my time on you, you're not worth saving." Mina pictured Midoriya saying those words.
She knew they would never treat her this way or even remotely think this way either.
But her doubt was clearly growing and getting worse by the minute.
Clutching her chest, she could feel that her heartbeat was normal, but for some reason in her mind it like it was racing.
She wanted so desperately to scream or cry out but nothing came.
"I need to get out of here." Mina uttered.
Mina changed out of her uniform and into her regular clothes.
As she made her way out, the rest of her classmates were returning.
"Mina, what's up?" Kirishima asked.
Mina didn't answer, passing them by at a quick pace.
"Mina, where are you going?" Midoriya questioned.
Still no answer.
Sensing that something was wrong, Midoriya ran towards her, only to be stopped as acid splashed down to the ground, a mere foot away from him.
"Just leave me alone." Mina said.
As Mina ran off, Midoriya cringed at the mention of that word.
"Alone." Midoriya thought.
Later.
It was early in the afternoon as Mina walked through the city, not sure on where to go or what to do, but at the same time, not really caring about either.
Despite the heavy rain that had been pouring lately, the sun was surprisingly out that day, save for some clouds blocking it every now and again.
Mina headed down to Kiyashi Ward, not really having much to spend but still wanting to look around.
As she entered, most people glanced over at her.
"They must still remember me from the sports festival." Mina thought.
Some people smiled at her, others just kept a blank expression on their faces, causing Mina to question whether not they were thinking positively of her.
She could see people looking at her, feeling that they were judging her despite not even knowing her.
"It's alright, just keep walking and try not to make eye contact." Mina tried to reassure herself.
Mina walked to the food court first, grabbing a soda to try and calm her nerves.
Mina glanced at the people around her, thankful that most of them were distracted by something or were just on their phones.
"Alright, I'll just spend a couple of hours here, hopefully nothing happens and then I'll just head back to the dorms." Mina thought.
Unknown to her, time would get away from her.
Meanwhile.
Ashido had left school grounds without permission or at least someone to watch over her, resulting in Aizawa and Midnight debating on what to do.
"The girl is clearly traumatized, she needs guidance from us." Midnight said.
"Our instructions were clear and to be followed, not be an option." Aizawa stated.
"Maybe, but you said yourself that everyone in your class had potential, she doesn't want to squander that away, we both know that, otherwise you wouldn't have let her stay." Midnight reminded him.
Aizawa didn't speak, letting her continue on.
"True, it is unprofessional, but so were we, some of us still are, Mr. sleeping bag." Midnight pointed out.
Aizawa glared at her remark but Midnight didn't flinch.
"The point is, she's only human, even though we're training them to be more, when you get down to it, that's all we are." Midnight said.
"So, what do you suggest we do?" Aizawa asked.
"Let me handle it, she needs someone who can understand and right now, I'm one of the only two people who can do that." Midnight told him.
"Two?" Aizawa asked.
"The other would be me." Midoriya spoke up.
Midnight and Aizawa looked over in surprise, shocked that they hadn't detected him.
"I came to tell you about Mina, but I see you already know." Midoriya said.
"Yes, we were just discussing what to do." Aizawa said.
"Midnight." Midoriya said.
Midnight looked into his eyes, seeing determination and devotion.
"What did you have in mind?" Midoriya asked.