Daisuke led the way down the hall, away from Tenya's room and toward that of the girls. Juzo followed along, looking unamused as he kept pace at the other boy's side.
"So… do you have a plan for how to approach this subject?" he asked through his mask, a mechanically filtered sigh following the question. "I'm out of ideas how to do this without causing trouble."
"I'm a 'wing it' kind of guy," Daisuke answered with a shrug. "It's a difficult situation, sure, but it's something we really need an answer to. I'm sure Jiro will understand, so long as we lay out why we need to talk to her about her time in the bathroom."
"Right," Juzo considered, his voice full of doubt. "Just… don't make it weird."
"I would never make anything weird," Daisuke reassured. The moment he reached the side of Kyoka and Amaya's door, he slid sideways, pointing inside of the open frame with finger guns and a wink. "Ladies."
"I'm leaving," Juzo announced as he continued to walk on past Daisuke without bothering to spare a look at him or their targets. Daisuke managed to seize his wrist before he could leave, though the tailed teen otherwise managed to hold his pose. "Hey!"
"Lady," Amaya corrected from atop her bed. She was wearing a set of black lounge pants and a matching bra, her wings tucked in as she reclined against the pillows with her phone. At the sound of the scuffle, she took her eyes off the screen and fixed them upon the boys. "And even that's a stretch, honestly. What's going on?"
"Looking for Jiro, actually," Daisuke explained as he finally let Juzo's wrist go. The other boy finally stopped batting at his shoulder, though Daisuke barely acknowledged it by brushing off the spot with one hand while keeping his focus upon Amaya. "Any idea where she's at?"
"Gym on the bottom floor, working out her nervous energy," Amaya answered. "We both woke up late, and she's in decision paralysis mode about what to do first to prepare for classes tomorrow. She chose to go work out to try to clear her head, I chose the warrior's path."
"…what's the warrior's path?" Juzo asked, seemingly forgetting his annoyance with Daisuke and intention to leave in his confusion.
"Scrolling the news on my phone and doing nothing important," Amaya replied with a shrug. "Whatever we do to try to prepare, it's not going to help and will probably stress us out. Room's organized, schedules are saved and printed, what else is there to do? Homegirl wouldn't listen to me and just chill, so now she's all worked up."
"Damn…" Daisuke considered. "Guess we'll head downstairs. I don't want to stress her out even more, but it's kinda important."
"Actually," Amaya interjected as Daisuke took a step backward. "Could I borrow Honenuki, or do you need him with you?"
"Me?" Juzo asked, pointing a finger to the center of his chest. "I… Aki, are you alright on your own?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Daisuke said. "Thanks for tagging along all the same. See you guys later tonight, probably."
"Later, Dai," Amaya said as the two exchanged a wave. She watched the boy exit into the hall once again before flicking her eyes to Juzo with a smirk. "Step into my office, and close the door while you're at it."
Juzo hesitated a moment before doing as he was told, feeling very much like he was walking into a trap.
"Yes…?" he asked as he shut the door and turned to face Amaya.
"I want to talk to you about something potentially serious," the girl warned as she set down her phone and sat on the side of the bed, her legs dangling over the side. "And I seriously think it'll make your life easier if you just go with it and trust me. Have a seat."
Juzo watched as Amaya patted the spot next to her on the mattress. For a moment, he considered sitting across from her atop Kyoka's bed instead, but he finally decided to play along and deposited himself next to Amaya.
"Why do I have a feeling that this is going to be incredibly awkward?"
"I mean, last time you were here I drooled on you and then headbutted your cock," Amaya reminded. "Can't really get more awkward than that."
Juzo blinked, having honestly forgotten the incident only a few days ago. Perhaps he had actively blocked it out of his mind.
"…alright, that's completely fair. I… we left on a… weird note, didn't we?"
"Did we?" Amaya asked with a raised brow. "Something on your mind, before I tell you what's on mine?"
"I…" Juzo shifted uncomfortably, putting his hands in his lap as he stared hard at the carpet. "…you… kissed my forehead and asked me to spend the night with you."
"Yeah, that sounds about right," Amaya confirmed. "And then you didn't. Did I cross a line?"
"N-no, I…" Juzo stammered. "Forget I said anything. I'm just… trying to figure you out, is all. What did you want to talk about?"
"I'm trying to figure you out," Amaya echoed as she turned to fully face Juzo, putting one leg up sideways on the bed and bent inward. Her tone changed completely from playful to rather serious and hushed, as though she was doing her best not to startle him. "Can we talk about your mask?"
Juzo straightened up, his shoulders tensing horribly as he continued to stare at the floor rather than Amaya.
"No, we can't."
"Juzo," Amaya said firmly. "I'm bringing it up because you've dodged eating with a group twice, and you have a very obvious mechanical support item covering most of your face. People are starting to wonder, and if you let the rumors just fester on their own, they're going to spiral out of control and get wilder over time. Whatever's going on, you're safe with us, a-"
"Am I?" Juzo asked, finally fixing Amaya with a glare. "Or is this another situation where I'll find a group of friends that wants to get closer, only to back away the moment they see what I'm really like? It happened twice back in high school, Amaya. I was branded as a monster for something I can't control, and the second time, it spread throughout the entire school! You have no idea what it's like t-"
"Don't I?" Amaya interrupted.
With a thrust of her arm, the girl held the limb out to the side just over Juzo's lap. The pale skin between her elbow and wrist split, dividing evenly and showing off bright red muscle and blood vessels. Just as quickly, one of her veins tore itself open and a small torrent of blood snaked up into the air, twisting into a complex, spiraling shape as its origin point sealed itself off once again. Over a period of a few seconds, Amaya's blood arranged itself into a sort of filigree orb, gently rotating and hovering six inches above her wrist. Juzo simply watched the spectacle in silence, caught totally off guard and unsure what to say.
"Do you really think that blood girl didn't get a ton of shit for having an 'evil-looking' Quirk?" Amaya asked. "That I didn't get questions even from friends about whether or not I could manipulate my fucking period? I know what it's like to be judged and ostracized for things I can't control, Juzo. A lot of us do, heteromorphic or not. I'm telling you that just about everyone here will have your back no matter what's under that mask. Do you really think Daisuke or I would turn on you over something like that? Or that Bakugo gives a shit what you look like?"
Juzo didn't answer immediately, instead watching the coagulated lattice as it turned and twisted in the air.
"It's… oddly beautiful…" Juzo said softly. "Intricate. Is it difficult to make a shape like that?"
"Ugh," Amaya replied as the hardened blood suddenly liquified, falling onto her arm and beginning to seep back into her wound. The slit on her arm closed as she fixed Juzo with a scowl. "Don't change the subject, Juzo. This is about you right now."
"And I wish that it wasn't," Juzo countered.
"But the longer this goes on, the more anxiety you're going to have about it, right?" Amaya probed as she overturned her hand and placed it atop his thigh. "The longer you're just going to be left wondering whether or not we're going to turn on you when the mask slips, literally. This isn't high school anymore. If someone says something fucked up, you go to Professor Aizawa, file a formal complaint, and they're probably gone on the grounds of discrimination. Heteromorphs are a protected class at U.A., and some of us want to help protect you ourselves. Can we please just be adults about this and move forward, so you don't have to feel on edge all the time around your friends?"
"…I'm not being childish by trying to protect myself," Juzo said, seething behind his mask. "And we've known each other for a matter of days. We're not friends."
Amaya slowly lifted her hand from her classmate's thigh, drawing it back like a wounded animal that had just mistakenly touched a thorn. Juzo's anger dissolved rather quickly at her expression of disappointment, though Amaya beat him to the punch by speaking once again.
"Ouch," the girl said with a scowl. "Though… maybe part of that was deserved. You're right, it's not childish to be cautious. I shouldn't have implied that."
"And I…" Juzo began, though he couldn't bring himself to apologize fully. After all, it was how he felt. "…I would like to be friends. I've just been hurt before. Badly. I don't want to experience that again the day before the start of my career as a hero. Or ever, but… you know what I mean."
"I do know what you mean, yeah, but like I said- the longer you let this go, the worse you're going to feel," Amaya tried. "Think about how good things could be if you could just be yourself."
"So what if I take off the mask and it goes well with you?" Juzo questioned as he shook his head. "That doesn't guarantee the others will be on board. And as far as eating goes… it isn't pleasant. Even if you saw, I'm not going to join you all, especially not in public."
"Then we'll get food in the cafeteria and bring it back to the dorms to eat with you," Amaya suggested. "If and when we get to the point you want to hang with us, that is. There are solutions, Juzo. Not even trying isn't one of them, and you know it. You don't have to out yourself to everyone all at once, either. If it makes it easier, I'm willing to swear secrecy. Wouldn't it be nice to know even one person is on your side?"
With a haggard sigh, Juzo closed his eyes. Thoroughly worn down by Amaya's persistence, he reached up and undid the clasp on the side of his mask before letting it slide forward into his hand. After a moment's hesitation, he pulled the device off entirely, showing off his face to her. Juzo's cheeks were completely absent, showing off a wide, permanent grin that extended almost up and around to his ears. All that could pass for lips were dry, uneven patches of flaky, discolored skin around the roots of his teeth fused to where his gum line should have been. The boy kept his mouth closed as he waited for some sort of unpleasant reaction from Amaya. All that he received instead was a slow nod of acceptance.
"…okay. It's nice to actually see you for once."
"Is it?" Juzo asked. His voice came out somewhat strained and raspy, as though merely speaking without the mask was a struggle and the words were coming from his throat. "Or would you have said that no matter what you saw?"
"Those two things aren't mutually exclusive," Amaya explained. "I wanted to see you, and now, I can. Yeah, I get why people would give you shit over this, but honestly, Juzo? Fuck them. You've been helpful, willing to share your time with Kyoka and I unpacking for basically nothing in return, and even without that- you're in training to become a hero. That means something, and no matter what those dipshit kids called you last year, it doesn't matter now."
Juzo looked down at the sheets and let out a breath through his nose.
"What does?"
"Whether or not you're hungry," Amaya said simply.
Juzo's eyes flicked upward, and he wrinkled his nose in annoyance.
"I know what you're trying to do here, but it is not pleasant. Please drop it."
"What do you want from me?" Amaya asked as she slipped off the bed and stood, stretching her wings out to either side. "You want the truth? Yes, your mouth is hideous… but it's also metal as fuck, makes you look unique, and I kinda like it. In fact, I'm pretty much already used to it, and anyone who gives a shit about you can get used to it, too. I don't care if watching you eat is unpleasant, I'm starving, and I'm bringing food back over to the bed. Let's just hang out, and you do whatever you're comfortable with."
Juzo turned to look at Amaya over his shoulder as she entered the kitchenette, and he shook his head.
"You're unbelievable…"
"Goddamned right," the girl agreed. "And you're not going anywhere until you feel better. Let's talk."
Author's Note:
He's trying. Ish?
-RD