Chapter Six: Small Victories
Minami was surprised that there was already a new defense at the front gate when she arrived at U.A. Monday morning. Nonetheless, she entered and walked to her class as usual.
She remained mostly silent but did greet Koda when he came in with the sign language she had learnt so far. She didn't understand every sign, but he kept the greeting minimal when she signed 'learning' to him. Still, he seemed happy to communicate with someone which made her happy.
Aizawa's entrance made the class suddenly turn their attention to him. "Only one thing to announce. After Friday's incident I expect you all to re-read –" Aizawa probably had little faith that everyone read whatever he wants them to read now in the first place. "—the sections on safety and evacuations that are outlined in the student handbook." His eyes gazed across the class as if to say he was watching them.
"And Midoriya." Midoriya seemed frazzled as Aizawa called on him, nervously sweating. "Come see me at lunch."
"Yes, Sir!"
Aizawa left the room and several eyes turned to stare at Midoriya curious as to why Aizawa singled him out.
Oh. Was he following up and actually getting Midoriya help with his quirk? She shouldn't assume but a warmth spread through her chest.
…..
Midoriya gulped as he stood in front of Aizawa in the teacher's lounge.
"When did you get your quirk?"
That wasn't what he expected. He was worried about threats of expulsion. Belittlement from lack of leadership. His anxiety took over and went through various other scenarios that he may get scolded for.
"I'm a bit of a late bloomer…" He panicked. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone about One for All. Getting a quirk late was almost unheard of. Being quirkless was more common. Usually, it was just that the individual didn't know what their quirk was. That would be really hard to pass off when his quirk was strength based. The people he told so far either just accepted it, or in Kacchan's case exploded on him.
Aizawa's stare was really intimidating though!
"Just answer the question."
Would answering the day of the entrance exam seem too suspicious? It would totally seem suspicious. "Um… that is…" Aizawa really wasn't going to let this go. "…this year."
Somehow Aizawa looked even more tired when Midoriya replied. Impressive when he always looked tired.
"She was right." It was a low grumble but Midoriya heard. She? "Then am I to assume you never got quirk counseling."
Did All Might count? Or he was supposed to. They've been at a bit of a stand still which only got worse when the school year started.
Aizawa watched as one of his problem students went into that overthinking habit of his. He opened a folder and handed Midoriya a piece of paper. "Twice a week for the next month I expect you to attend."
Midoriya looked down and read the one-page document. Tuesdays and Thursdays during the first half of lunch. "Thank you but I'll be—"
"Don't finish that sentence. If you won't accept it for your own well-being then do it to follow the law. Introductory quirk counseling is a legal requirement. Unless you want to defame U.A. for not attending a couple workshops."
That snapped Midoriya into agreeing.
Midoriya walked out of the room in thought. He was both grateful for the support but incredibly nervous. He would have to get his story straight before tomorrow to share. They couldn't find out about him or All Might.
He went to walk around the corner when he walked into someone. "Sorry!"
"It's okay. I should have watched where I was going to."
"Hanajima?"
She sat next to Uraraka in the back and often kept to herself. He had seen her talk to a few people before but it was usually one-on-one and kept short. She had probably answered teachers' questions in class more than interact with people. He noted she had a piece of paper in her hand like him. "That's me."
"Aren't you going to eat lunch?"
"I will eventually. I actually need to speak to Aizawa. How'd your meeting with him go?"
"It went okay I'm not in trouble."
Minami found the phrasing odd. "…Did you do something to think you were in trouble?"
"No! I just didn't know what he would want to talk to me about, and—" Words spewed out of his mouth faster than she could keep track with. He blushed then panicked and then went into a string of apologies.
"Breathe Midoriya. You're fine." Midoriya believed her. Not a speck of annoyance or anger, or any negative emotion displayed on her face or body language that he had come to expect.
Actually, while he was talking to her… "Actually, would you mind answering some questions?" He didn't get to watch her battle because he was with Recovery Girl, but he had seen her use her quirk on the first day of classes. He had begun writing notes about his peers, but it was still early so he didn't have much.
"I can try?" Hanajima eagerly offered her response.
She's a lot more approachable than I thought! Midoriya thought.
Or he thought he thought.
"I'm not approachable?" Hanajima seemed genuinely heartbroken at the thought. Her face drooped, eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes glazed over.
"That's not what I meant!" He waved his hands in front of him. "I'm sorry!"
"If I'm not that's my problem to deal with." Minami thought she had improved too. It was disheartening to know that she didn't make the progress she thought she had and there was betterment she had to hear it at all, but if it was between knowing and not knowing she would rather know. "What did you want to ask?
Midoriya thought he could see Hanajima's soul leave her mouth but still replied, "Your quirk! It's really suited for hero work—"
Minami zoned out as the words 'really suited for hero work' repeated in her head. On a surface level there was nothing wrong with the statement. Quirks were best suited for different things. They didn't have to define what you pursued in life but it's applications could have some professions and activities better suited than others. Though, those same words were often used against people to discourage or prevent people from pursuing and achieving what they wanted to. In that sense it felt odd hearing those words from Midoriya. Was he not going to try and become a hero if he didn't get his quirk last minute? Was this what they meant by learnt behaviours? Did other people use those words against him? Were the words just friendly chatter? Was she reading too much into this?
"—is there a time limit? Can you—" Midoriya's questions continued one after another.
She could at least try to answer the questions she heard. "There's not a time limit per se. I need focus when using my quirk, but it also causes me to get itchy. I've never had an allergic reaction, but my sister has and her quirk has the same side effect, and she said it can be as irritable as that. And the insistent scratching can break my focus, so I guess the answer to that is until that breaks my mental focus." Midoriya nodded along enthusiastically. "I can will my quirk how I want, so I guess my biggest barrier is myself."
Midoriya excuses himself when he remembered she also needed to see Aizawa.
She entered the teacher's lounge. "Mr. Aizawa? Could you sign this? I'm trying to make a booking to work on my quirk, but as a first-year they want my homeroom teacher's signature." The person she had spoken too had muttered something about a past incident but she hadn't been able to make out the complaint in full.
"What's your plan?"
"Practicing imagining… well, anything. I need to get more comfortable finding other uses. Also, I need to work on details. Without a reference, actually even sometimes with one, my… projections?" Minami didn't actually have a word for it. Projecting made it sound non-solid. "—often form as 2-dimensional or it can look out of place like a child's drawing." She still remembered the objects that clearly looked out of place.
"Don't let your embarrassment hold you back." Was it that obvious? "Here." He handed back her form signed.
"Thank you!"
"Is there a reason you're still here?" Minami still stood in the same spot.
"About last week with the break in…"
"What about it?"
"Just… a lot of things don't make sense. If the reporters could break through, why wait until lunch time, and the debris… it was below the archway like it collapsed on itself, but there was still part of the right side. It also didn't look like enough volume so some of it just…vanished?"
"Let us teachers deal with it."
Little by little Minami found Aizawa's words reassuring. She probably needed to see more results from these assurances, but they were definitely off to a good start. She wanted to believe his words. He immediately left to deal with the issue when occurred, and he presumably was addressing her concerns about Midoriya's quirk usage. As always, she could feel a part of herself that wanted her to take more action and gain more knowledge to protect herself. But…maybe this time she could try trusting him.
Hope for the best. Expect the worst.
"Alright, then please excuse me."
Aizawa watched the door close when Nezu poured a cup of tea. He put it aside as he jumped up on the seat across from him.
"Your student is quite acute," said Nezu between sips of his steaming green tea.
"At times." Aizawa would admit that Hanajima had her moments. However, he had also witnessed her be oblivious at other times. It was too early to tell exactly where the line or the disconnect was.
"I asked Power Loader to help develop the new security measures. Until then we should stay on our toes."
"I guess that's your way of telling me that we still have no lead."
"I'm afraid not."
Aizawa frowned at the response. He'd do whatever he can to help. In the meanwhile, being a little more aggressive on the heroic side of the student's education might not be a bad thing.
.
Minami had her purchased taiyaki in a folded paper bag. She was taking her time walking in the welcomed spring weather when she noticed a familiar figure. The indigo hair was a dead giveaway. She couldn't remember his name unlike her classmates' names who she had written down and practiced.
She wasn't going to speak to him until she saw the cat. She loved animals and soft things, and the cat was both.
"How cute!"
"It's you." The black cat continued to look towards Shinso who temporarily stopped petting it. It purred when he resumed.
It would be rude to ignore him now. "You're from 1-C, right. Sorry, I know you introduced yourself before but I'm really bad at names."
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and back while her thumbs scratched the underside of her fingers as she worried he'd get angry that she forgot.
"Hitoshi Shinso. You never introduced yourself last time."
Minami felt her stomach drop. That was a pretty big social normality she forgot. Did she do that often? Were there other things she was supposed to do? Is this why others thought her unapproachable. "Minami Hanajima."
An awkward silence took its hold between them.
What was there to lose? She would probably see him at some point again, going to the same school and all, but it wasn't like she would be running into him daily. She remembered Aizawa's words of not letting embarrassment hold her back. It was in the context of quirks but it was another area she knew she needed improvement in.
"Am I unapproachable?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"Today someone told me that I don't come across as approachable. Is it because I don't smile enough?" She tried to smile when talking directly to them but outside conversations she often couldn't be bothered. It was exhausting. Smiling was supposed to require less muscle use, yet it always felt exhausting. "Is it some kind of body language?" She didn't understand why people put so much faith in body language. People misinterpreted all the time and there was a lot of pseudo-science in the 'field' which have even been negatively used to falsely accuse people. "Is it how I dress? -no we all wear the same uniform."
Shinso rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm probably not the best person to ask."
Did she overstep what was appropriate to ask? "Can I ask why? You don't need to be polite if that's your fear."
"Most people assume I'll become a villain because of my quirk." How did that relate to whether he could tell her what made her unapproachable?
"Okay? Sorry, I'm confused."
He frowned. Did he have to spell it out? "People don't want to be around villains."
For a moment Minami remembered a boy from her childhood – orange hair and brown eyes. Crying and yelling. Frustrated and aggressive.
Oh. In this kind of society, a lot of children wouldn't want to hang out with someone they thought would become a villain. It didn't matter if they learn their lessons later. Harm will have already effected the people they labelled.
"You want to become a hero, right? Sorry if it sounds condescending but good job holding out." She didn't want to say 'you're strong'. She thought he was but those words can often feel shallow when you feel anything but. She was probably just projecting. Another thing to add to her improvement list. Don't presume people want to be treated like you want to be treated.
Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Shinso wondered if this girl could talk without apologizing. Such a fake. Just as conceited and arrogant as the rest of the heroic department. "Keep your pity for yourself."
Is it because she couldn't read the room? Is that why she was unapproachable? Minami thought.
"Sorry." Shinso frowned. There was that stupid word again. "I just know how mean people can be. I'm lucky in that regard. It never affected me directly. Still, I've seen it destroy someone first hand. In that regard, I think you're really amazing Shinso. Despite the scrutiny you faced or what beliefs others tried to instill on you just because of a quirk, you're still marking your own path towards your goal. It can't be easy – with who knows how many told you couldn't be a hero – but even so you're striving to become the person you want to be. I admire that resiliency and agency."
"You say that but you don't even know my quirk." He shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Did you want to share what it is? It's okay if you prefer not to, but I'm happy to listen if you want to share."
"It's brainwashing." Now to watch her get scared like everyone else.
Interesting. She immediately thought of her dad who wouldn't be effected by it due to his 'Iron Will' quirk. She, on the other hand, was completely susceptible. In some sense it was kind of scary. She valued choice and consent so to have that taken from you was frightening, but she was also kind of curious as to what it felt like.
Fear versus curiosity. It was always a toss up as to which emotion won.
This time is was curiosity.
"Could you try it on me?"
"You want me to brainwash you? Are you trying to get me arrested?"
Oh, right. They were out in public.
"Maybe another time then." Shinso didn't understand why she looked dejected. "Do you want a taiyaki?"
"Sure." He took a taiyaki out of the paper bag. "I should be getting home now." He needed space away from her. At least the taiyaki was good.
"Have a good evening, Shinso!" She waved as he walked off.
That evening, Minami went home to tell her sister how she was making a friend.
Hitoshi went home confused, still trying to decipher Hanajima's suspicious behaviour.
