Jin blankly stares down at her sandwich, dull eyes unfocused. She blinks back into reality when Bun-Bun presses his paw on her thigh.
"I saw you during the UA entrance exams. Trying to get into the Hero Course?" Jin asks before taking a small bite from her sandwich. Hitoshi looks up from his and frowns.
Jealousy, self-loathing, disappointment all surround him. "'m not getting in... a brainwashing Quirk doesn't really have any sway against robots." The blonde looks up from her sandwich and stares at him for a few moments.
"I'm sure you did well enough to get into the General Studies Course," Jin says, trying to be reassuring. She winces slightly at the anger swelling around Hitoshi and sighs.
"I mean, if you don't get into the Hero Course, but you get into the General Studies Course... you have the Sports Festival and many other opportunities to transfer later in the year... If you train, that is..." Jin corrects herself with a small shrug. She takes another bite of her sandwich.
"I hope you do, you know–get into the Hero Course. I want to get into the Support Course," The 15 year old adds quietly. Hitoshi smiles, making Jin blink in surprise. Surprise, shock, happiness, hope.
"A brainwashing Quirk... that's quite impressive. Perfect for an Underground Pro Hero–if that's what path you want to take." Jin sets down her sandwich and stands up. She walks over to where her phone was charging and picks it up, turning around.
"Really?" Jin visibly blanches at the amount of disbelief and self-loathing surrounding the purple haired teenager. "Perfect for a Villain too, right?"
Jin blinks back her foggy thoughts and grabs the counter behind her. "Deep breaths... Deep breaths."
"That's an illogical opinion. Why would it be perfect for a Villain?" Jin states, tone slightly dull. She shakes her head and blinks away her thoughts again.
"Hey, what's your favorite color?"
"Past–" Jin's heart starts hammering when she relaxes completely, eyes glazing over and face going blank.
"So he has to have an auditory response for his–"
"Does he have to ask que–"
"How many people can he brainwash?"
"What are the limits?"
"...at is your Quirk?"
"An audio device that can change his voice would be–"
"It's not a frontline combat Quirk, but if I–"
"Can he make it seem like people aren't–"
Jin feels her mouth open by itself as her thoughts race. "My first Quirk is Mind Palace. I have a near-perfect–possibly even perfect–memory and it's my own literal world inside my head. I remember everything that I experience, read, see, hear, taste, and touch. My second Quirk is Empathy. I can feel everyone's true emotions, feelings, and intentions. If I try hard enough, I can make people feel different emotions, feelings, or persuade them to do something. Doctors speculated I have Dual Quirks when I was younger, but no one believes me, so I don't tell people anymore."
She falls against the counter, instinctively gripping the ledge so she wouldn't collapse when Hitoshi releases his hold on her. A shaky breath leaves her and she places a hand over her racing heart. Jin blinks rapidly and takes a deep breath.
"Shit, sorry. I didn't think you would react that way..." Gut-gnawing guilt, self-loathing, and worry completely drenches the entire kitchen. The blonde takes another deep breath and gently shakes her head.
"Y-you didn't–you didn't know... it's okay. I'm–I'm fine... just–I'm not upset," Jin says, voice shaking slightly. Bun-Bun jumps onto the counter and rubs against his owner's face. Jin's mouth twitches upwards for a short moment before she quickly regains her bearings.
"I'm fine," Jin reassures calmly. "That is an incredibly useful Quirk, Shinsō-kun. I truly hope you get into the Hero Course."
Hitoshi scowls slightly, eyes glazed over. "You'll still say that, even after I just made you collapse?"
Jin forces herself not to gag outwardly at the absolutely horrid levels that Hitoshi's self-loathing and guilt start to reach. She stares at him and gives him a hard look.
"You didn't know how your Quirk would affect me. I didn't know and now we know. I do not blame you, or think you are not capable of becoming a good hero just because I am particularly sensitive to brainwashing. Did you honestly expect for your Quirk to work how it normally does on every person you use it on?" The blonde teenager says softly, making the purple haired teenager snort.
"With how dead you look, you're surprisingly good at comforting strangers," Hitoshi states dryly. Jin feels her mouth twitch into an actual smile. It quickly falters when her thoughts start to suffocate her again.
"I–um–it's..."
"–many people can he brainwash?"
"How long can he hold someone with his Quirk? An hour, two?"
"...s-sorry. I–uh, everyone deserves–deserves to be..." Jin rapidly blinks, trying to focus on Hitoshi.
"Akiho-san?" He asks worriedly. Jin takes a deep breath and gently shakes her head.
"Everyone–everyone deserves to be listened to and comforted. All those... all of those honest emotions can become–can do horrid things to–to people when they don't have an... an outlet," She finishes what she was trying to say, successfully pushing back her suffocating thoughts.
Jin takes a deep breath and scratches the back of her neck. "Let me see your phone."
"Why?" Hitoshi asks, still worried about her, but hands his phone to Jin. She grabs it and types in her phone number.
"I am going to assume you'll still think your Quirk is 'villainous', so I'll need to text you that you are wrong every so often," Jin hands him back his phone, "and I need a way to ask you completely random questions that you may or may not answer. Most likely the latter."
"Also, Bun-Bun likes you–which is rare–and will annoy me until he can see you again," She adds, giving her innocent looking cat a soft glare. Bun-Bun innocently licks his paw, giving his owner an almost smug expression.
"...okay... thanks for lunch, by the way," Hitoshi says eventually. Jin nods her head, forcing her mouth to morph into a smile.
"I'll see you at UA, or Bun-Bun will force you to come here again. Either or." Jin glances at her watch and frowns at the time.
"It was good meeting you. Bun-Bun, don't sneak into his bag. You can do that next time," She adds, not looking down at where her cat was frozen right next to Hitoshi's bag, a whole leg inside it. Hitoshi leans down and grabs his bag while petting Bun-Bun's head.
"See you at UA. Your cat's weird," He says with a small shrug. Jin nods her head in agreement as she looks down at Bun-Bun.
"He thinks he is a God among us mortals, so he does not fear anything," Jin says calmly.
Bun-Bun nods his head, jumping up onto the kitchen counter. "Yes, he's weird."
Hey! Hope you like the new chapter! Bye.
WhovianWhoudini