Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Great Minds. Enjoy the 5200-word chapter. I do not own MHA Shonen Jump, Kohei Horikoshi, and a few others do.
The doors of the hotel elevator slowly yet surely opened and Melissa slowly yet surely stepped off the elevator, unsure and uncertain of whom she could and would need to deal with.
She knew Z was here and it would be 10:30 PM soon. His parents usually clocked out and went to be by 10 considering they had busy jobs which meant it was.
Odd for them to be up for now and it was going to be disturbing if she had to deal with more company than usual. What he could and would need to relax upon now when it came down to it. He had far more upon the line for now and would always
"H-Hi, M." She heard as she smiled and looked down from the balcony.
"Z, you were a lot quieter than last time," Melissa said before she looked down at the ground, unable to say something as of now.
She tapped her fingers on the ground, really and truly unable to think of something when it came down to her, the mind was her best weapon and now she had to abide by something that hurt that ability to do so. The fact that she was doubting herself, her actions, and anyone who could tell anything about her, for now, did not help. It had never seemed to do much.
"Z? You, ok?" Melissa questioned before she heard him shuffle in the shadows of the balcony. "Z, walk to me. Ok? Please, just listen and walk to my voice, ok?" Melissa asked as she looked downwards at the ground, unsure of what to say or do.
Z slowly and yet surely with the grace she had known him for. The boy was an equal height to her at least when she was not wearing heels, his dusted and worn hoodie reminded her that he usually liked to keep his face hidden….
At least when there was something to not be seen for now. The only features of their face which were not hidden was the lower part of their face before he looked over at her with interest.
She clicked her tongue and then tapped on his arms as he slowly yet surely peeled down his hoodie and looked at the ground with interest.
"I'm good, just tired and jetlagged," Z said before he clicked his fingers together. "Are you going to be, ok? You… Sounded nervous when it came down to it." Z said as Melissa sighed and looked downwards.
"No, I have been distracted for a while. Very distracted and I needed to vent." Melissa said before she looked downwards at the ground.
"Oh?" Z said before he sighed to himself as he looked downwards at the ground. "Doesn't sound like you with all due respect," Z said as he hummed and looked down at the ground.
It was true before now. Melissa was not one to get distracted from her work easily. So often that it bothered her for now, unable to do much for the time being and she had to relax once more if not for the fear which traveled upon him.
All of it was amusement on his mind, amusement when it came down to it again and again for now… Every single little thing he dealt with? Well? He was able to relax once more as he seemed to think of what to try was trying to try and deal with something else for now as he cracked a smile.
He looked at her, tilting his head as if he found all of it to be comical in nature, it was not like it was not. All of it was odd and odder and odder now as he looked at Melissa, tilting his head to the side.
All his options made him want to scream… Yet he did not, he simply looked at her, tilting his head to the side before she spoke.
"How's your family?" Melissa asked a few seconds later as Z shrugged.
"Their… Ok. It is not easy dealing with a lack of business." Z said as he walked closer. "You? how are you? I know something bad happened, you never stop to take a break when we talk unless something terrible happens…. Spill?" Z said as he blinked.
"There's a lot on my mind, Z, that's all," Melissa said as he frowned and looked at her, raising an eyebrow as he moved and leaned on the railing once again.
All of it did very little to rattle him and told him exactly what he was hoping for. They were able to try and think about what to figure out what to deal with and what to try and relax.
He did not take the obvious bait. He knew Melissa as well as she knew him. it was hard to believe she would not reach out to someone like him rather than deal with it for obvious reasons.
If anything? It was easy to try and try and convince a tidal wave to bend backward and away. Nothing more and nothing less.
"You good? You are always peppy, Melissa. You do not normally do something like this, not unless it is important. I know more and more that if you needed me so badly? You would have asked." Z said, tucking his hands into his pockets and then looking downwards.
What he knew was not enough and what he could only pretend to know was not enough, not when he managed to overcome certain circumstances.
"I need advice and help on a project," Melissa said before Z hummed and leaned on the railing next to her, raising an eyebrow at this and making her sigh.
"The project we've been working on since I got here for vacation a year ago, M?" Z asked as she nodded. "Is it ready? You usually said it was completed for now, something that I thought you said last time." Z said as he hummed and looked downwards.
What hadn't he done? What could he have done to fix it? Try and see it at the end of the day. Z did not know because she did not at all know what to tell Z and he knew that, to begin with.
This of all days when it was all said and done was awkward, they had so much more to figure out as he looked upon this very moment. This was not exactly something he could fix, not by hand at the very least when it came down to it.
"Yeah," Melissa said as Z hummed and leaned on the wall, unsure of everything for now. "Yeah, I am going to need help. That is why I asked, I would ask my uncle… But?" Melissa said as Z frowned under his hoodie.
It was not easy to imagine someone else had taken on the role of the symbol of peace, not at all for now. The idea of it all scared them, scared them both to the end of the day for now and would continue to be such in the shape of it.
Z said nothing as he hummed, tapping on his arms as he did so. There was a lot more to it all that he did not wish to push, not without a good reason to and it sheerly was not going to help anyone.
"Uh… Is the lab still ok then? You remember what happened last time we tried to work on it." Z said as he did so.
It was true, she had been the one who had almost blustered it… Well, both had in different ways but it was impossible to truly engage in such a measure of things to come.
"It is," Melissa said before she hummed. "The safety community did say we could still work there provided we did not do anything… Like last time." Melissa said before Z hummed.
"I am not being blamed for the power core exploding considering we did not know. We ran like… 50 checks on it before we tried that. The fire was not that bad." Z said, scratching at his head as he did so.
She giggled before scratching at the back of her throat awkwardly. She supposed she owed herself some blame for what had transpired and what had gone terribly. They had not known very much but they had the spirit.
Spirit that had lit an entire lab on fire and almost gotten them both banned from using said lab again but it was spirit all the time until the end of the day. Melissa rocked on her heels as the two looked over the terrain.
It was clear at least both had the spirit to keep going and would be able to do something about it all for now… A measure of mercy.
"So… Would you like to start working on it today or tomorrow? Mom is not mad I came here; she knew I was just happy to see you and talk again after so many years." Z said as he looked downwards at the ground.
"Tonight, I'd like to just see the lab and make sure we're still allowed to go in it… Anything else and I'd faint." Melissa said to which Z raised an eyebrow.
He did not at all know her to fear something, not at all like this to be fair. This was not Melissa or how he had known her and it was odder and odder to him, who was just insane.
"Are you ok, M?" Z asked as he hummed and then gazed down at the ground.
"Yes, just tired… Very tired for now, there are a lot of things I do not even know what to do next. All of it just keeps bugging me." Melissa said as Z hummed.
"Isn't like you," Z said as Melissa hummed. "You sure you good? I am… Here to talk more and more if you need to try and figure out things as you know." Z said before Melissa hummed and patted a hand on his.
"I know, Z. You always try harder than you need to… How are the boots?" Melissa asked as she hummed, watching him look down at his legs.
The cloak helped hide it but she could see the burns from before. She hummed as he adjusted his clothing to hide them, frowning as he sighed.
"It was not your fault, M…. It was mine for being… Stupid." Melissa heard as she sighed, looking down at the ground for the time being.
"Do not… Let us go." Melissa stated as she turned and left with him.
She knew him, knew him well enough to know he would keep taking the blame for her mistake. He reminded her of Deku who had been off I-Island for so long she could not even tell who he was for the time being.
He hummed and looked at the girl as they both walked toward the lab. It would be a while before they managed to relax and find the beat they had before, a way that could only continue to grow. It had been long enough that it seemed to try and figure.
He had a lot of problems, one he could allow himself to relax dealing with, a measure of mercy that seemed to continue growing more and more as of the time being.
He had a lot more to figure out as of now. Perhaps he could ask her as of now, something that he supposed would not change as they strode towards the shop.
He wanted to help but it was clear from his and her walk before he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He had a lot more to try and understand before he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, looking upwards and into the sky.
He had a lot more to try and figure out more and more unsure of what to try and unsure and uncertain of what to hum and say next. Melissa hummed to herself as she tucked her fingers into her pockets, something that he needed to try and figure out for now as of the time being.
Melissa was silent, utterly so in every single little way for now… It felt almost like mocking for now, something that did not at all work out for a multitude of reasons.
She knew more and more that what she felt was not exactly the most. It felt odd, like window dressing that this would be done and even parodied in some way shape, or form… A measure upon which she could not wish to try and relax properly.
She did not at all know what was going on, but she did know exactly what it was like for now, she would never know because she was oddly entangled in the way things were again and again and again.
Perhaps it did not work out well but there was at least an effort to surpass it all, an effort to be superior to what needed to be said and done at the end of the day…. It did not occur to them that it could all spiral out of control.
"You should know the last time I was here? I might have left some inventions lying about to try and have an excuse to come back… If they were not thrown out." Z said before he sighed and looked down at the ground.
He knew more and more that the problem came with not knowing and not being able to know for now what to try and figure out what to see and do next at the end of the day.
"Meaning… You left stuff here on purpose so you were planning to come back?" Melissa asked to which Z nodded.
"Yep… I was… Planning to come back here, for now, I just did not have a reason. Well, I had a reason…" Z said as they walked more and more.
Z was more silent than usual and she knew that his shyness was starting to act up. It was a problem he never really got over which she honestly was worried about considering that she knew more and more that it was not his fault that he was like this.
"Z? Just keep talking, you know I am not going anywhere… It has been a long time since we worked on the project together." Melissa said as she and he nodded, looking forwards as he sighed and then looked downwards at the ground for now.
They sat in silence, utterly unable to come up with much for now. it was not like he could try and say much, he did not know what Melissa had been up to since their last talk and it was not exactly like he had much on his mind since then.
No, he would wait, there were better chances to speak anyway. Plus, he did not honestly wish to ruin any sort of moment that may or may not continue to get in the way for now… It was odder and odder at the end of the day, something that kept growing more and more.
She did not wish to try and figure something out at the end of the day. She did her best work when she was pushed into a corner, having to improvise on the spot would help more than drag it all down, knowing what was going to happen now and again.
Yet? He pushed himself to extremes that were just too much for now and would keep him in the fast line before he relaxed to himself as he hummed before looking down at the ground, unable to do much than relax and hum, unable to do much more than relax and then push himself.
He sighed and then cracked his fingers before he hummed as he hummed, unable to try and figure out what to do next. Z simply looked at Melissa. He had seen her happy only a few times, utterly thrown off by it.
He had not seen her this happy in a long time, not when it came to that and what it would mean.
She sighed at him before he cleared his throat, reminding her that she had not been able to do much, knowing that it could manage to relax against the roof of his mouth. He would be able to sigh if he gave it for a few seconds.
"Melissa, you are not like this, are you? You have been exhausted since we last talked… You are not trying to work yourself to death, are you? Because we have a LOT of work to deal with it all for now… We both know how hard the project is to make when we are not dealing with more work on top of it." Melissa said before she sighed.
There was just too much for him to say now as he clicked his fingers against the roof of his mouth, he sighed and hummed.
"I am not going to be able to relax until we get the project done. I have not been able to rest for a long time until it is all gone now." Melissa stated before she looked downwards at the ground.
She stayed silent before she fell silent, utterly able to relax more and more at the time being, there was a pause as Z looked to the side, able to try something else now.
There was a lot more to try and deal with it at the time being. She knew that he was going to keep pushing to deal with it more and more, there was a few moments of mercy upon his mind as he clicked his fingers, sighing as he hummed.
He was too tired to be able to try and deal with it all for now. Yet, he did not know what else was coming down the line.
This did not matter as he hummed once again. His plan was able to try and deal with it all for now, he had to relax again, knowing what else was going on for now. This was not something that he could relax upon the moment as he hummed.
He would not be able to tire for now, unable to try and deal with it all for now, this was not able to relax more and more and more, something he did not deal with easily.
It would need to be dealt with in push and shove, something about it all seemed to be dealt with for now. She paused, glancing over at her friend with interest.
Z seemed to be dealt with for now, he paused to relax, something about it all seemed to be done, unsure of what would need to be done for now.
She paused, relaxing as she looked at her friend before pausing to fall silent as she rubbed at her arms to try and find something measuring up at the end of the pleasure.
There was a chaotic thing that she seemed to be dealing with before she paused to look downwards at the ground, there was going to be something here, something maddening.
"The more pain we go through to build this thing? The better. I have something to try and figure." Melissa heard before she paused and looked to the ground.
There was a lot more to this and it came to be dealt with more and more, an idea that seemed to be utterly unsure, pausing to relax more and more with such a thing that she seemed to relax more.
Melissa seemed to keep growing more and more before she paused and tapped her fingers on her knees, pausing to yawn more and more, it seemed to be dealt with for now.
She paused to relax before Z seemed to fall silent, utterly amused more and more by her actions, and yet? She would not be able to do more than tire herself out.
"Perhaps I simply wish to relax and cannot allow it to end," Melissa stated before she paused and looked downwards at the ground. "I do not wish to waste a second to try and figure something out," Melissa stated before she sighed to herself and then felt silent for now.
Z nodded and paused to think, thrown for a loop in it.
"Perhaps I should allow you to relax, I don't want you to do something before letting it all fall apart," Z stated before he sighed and then yawned, tired for now and willing to relax, letting it cut to pieces.
The idea of it seemed to be a madness that not even he could choose to relax upon dealing with, he wanted peace and prosperity.
Yet? He would be lying, for now, there was a lot of madness that could be dealt with for… It was going to be fun, a project that was utterly going to be fixed at the end of the day… A passion project that would now be dealt with possible time and effort.
They had a lot more to try and figure out something for now and an idea and idea when it seemed to be over. She would not allow it, for now, not letting it come crashing to the ground again and again.
The spirit he admired for no real reason other than it was amusing, then it was relaxing… He had been unable to deal with it, to find some amusement for now… She had been paused, tired now and willing to end it. She had seen it and knew what was going on.
Z fell silent, not simply because he could wish to relax, there was a lot more to try and deal with such things for now… She was tiresome, she was relaxing for now and she had been too unable to deal with it in her way.
"You tired?" Z heard as he shook his head.
"Just worn down… Why? I have been able to relax… And I do not know what is going on." Z stated before he hummed and then looked to the side.
"Because I fear what you will be going through…. I do not know what will happen if we do not handle things." She stated before he paused.
Melissa kicked at the ground, too exhausted and too amused by it all. She knew and more that he had been exhausted for now as she and him slowly yet surely headed down to the lab.
"You should know what happens if we don't get it all done," Melissa stated while she paused and started to kick down on the ground.
She had known what was coming, she had been unable to deal with such a thing, she had known the ability to deal with it all too thrown for a loop now.
If nothing else? She had been unable to think, she had been unable to act. She smiled at him before she blinked to look at him, tapping a booted foot on the ground as she and he slowly descended into the lab. There was more upon the mind as she seemed to think of something beyond it all for now… The chaos was too much fun for now, she had been unable to think right.
She looked over towards him, too interested in what they would do next… Even then? She had not the soldier that she had needed to be… Even then? She wished to be something different, something better now… The logic of it was beyond her but she was scared she was not going to be good enough.
"Melissa… Chill." Z stated as she looked to the side, too interested for now, she had been unable to think,
Even if she could not relax? She would try and she had known what it was like to not let it all fall to pieces around for now as she seemed to try and deal with it all for now and she had wished to have ended for now as she seemed to be utterly relaxed.
She would end it in her as of now as she is to try and deal with it for now. She had been too relaxed and at this moment she had been willing to relax for now as she paused to try.
Such a thing only existed to be more and more annoying and they both knew it. They knew beyond all shadow of a doubt that there was nothing to try and deal with for now… He could not have dealt with it.
Perhaps it could use them at the end of the day before it managed to try and deal with it at the end of the day, knowing that he could try and deal with something.
She was odd, he knew she was very odd at the end of the day, and it would be dealt with at the end of the day. She was tired and she was exhausted so Z could not try at the end of the day.
He had a very large number of ideas that Melissa did not and he knew that. He clicked his fingers and sighed before attempting to speak to her, knowing what he would do next.
"We have a very large amount of work to do and not a lot more needs exist… Plus? I am pretty sure we are not allowed to use the lab the same way for a few reasons." Z stated with a sigh.
He was not interested in what comes next. Nope, not at all… When such a thing would cause. It would cause so much to try and figure out as he could keep growing more and more with such pain.
He had a lot more on his brain than before. He would not be able to try and deal with it and that would be dealing with for now.
She clicked her fingers again and again, a part of Melissa born from attempting to make her easier and easier to deal with… She had little to deal with for now lest she tears something apart.
Even with him? It was less humiliating and clear that he had been in some way thrown off at the very least.
Perhaps she could have personally dealt with it for now. She clicked her tongue against the roof of the mouth. She would not be able to be dealt with for now, a horizon which could be dealt with.
"You know that you are a soldier and being a soldier means you need to relax… Well, you wish to act like one which is making me think that you are trying to deal with this in its way." Z stated.
"We're both acting like soldiers," Melissa stated.
"Maybe, but I wish to act like it… There are a lot of problems with trying to fix the way the world is." Z stated as he paused to try and rub at his temples.
He had not been prepared for now which would not have changed either damn way he spliced it and diced it at the end of the day. So much could have gone wrong now.
There was more to this, a lot more to it at the end of the day, chaos would not suit them well for now.
Z hummed, leaning on the railing while tugging on his coat. Melissa paused and then looked at him, raising an eyebrow as he shrugged at her and then looked off to the side.
There was chaos there, knowing what was growing on their minds was only one part of the battle within their skulls… That was simply one part of the equation that they found themselves in, one which continued to circle like the gears of a giant clock.
"Tired? We can continue this in the morning." Melissa said.
"No, I'm busy thinking about the fuel system, we tried to minimize the desire to use fossil fuels which wasn't the same back then, we don't know what is being used to deal with it for now." Melissa heard from Z.
"I forgot how you worked…" Z heard, her pausing to push her glasses up her nose.
"This isn't about me," Z said. "I'm sorry what happened, I know what happened and I don't know what to say," Z stated.
Melissa fell silent, she knew what he was speaking of. There was more to their game than this and she knew what either spoke of… All of it was harder and harder to dwell on.
Z was a whiz at details and skilled at working best with machines. However? She knew what he was dealing with, knowing he was not tactful with words due to his… Condition.
She looked at him, guessing, knowing what was going on this way. She paused, thinking of what to say next now.
"I'll handle the fuel injection," Z stated before the elevator finally reached the bottom.
He sighed, knowing what awaited them for now. It was an odd spot for now. She would allow it only in some sort of way at the end.
The elevator finally found the bottom and they slowly started to walk off and into the lab.
Mellissa felt so small as she walked further and further into the lab, every noise amplified by their surroundings. Melissa felt silent even when she walked barefoot to the console across the room.
It made Z pause enough to look over at her, knowing what would become of it. She and he were silent as he grabbed at his arms, almost pulling on them like armored bars.
She was silent as was he and she knew that it was not a good noise in a lab to not be making any sort of noise within it.
To be fair? She was not as used to it now nor would it ever help it for now and for good reason when it was all said and done for now as of the very moment. It was like trying to bang a cage against the wall and watch it all slide down and into the ground… There was something there that could not be easily chased down.
All of it? All of what had happened seemed to be entirely against the idea… Not once could he think about it at all?
There was a moment of interest, one which could not be blamed on anyone else.
Z smiled despite himself, thinking as he sighed and then looked to the side, he had been thrown to the side… He had been entirely discarded with it for now.
To be fair? There was something there, some amusement and something was resembling it… If nothing else? He looked at Melissa with some pity, knowing how she was and not once attempting to push it down her throat… She was as tired as he was and that helped it in ways that needed to be dealt with.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will be 900-6500 words and show more of both Melissa and Z interacting now. Until then? Lighting Wolf out!