Shinko's Pursuit

Chapter 31: Ojiro's Offer

Trying to get ahead again with drafts so I'm not writing anything quickly again. Hopefully I'll stop feeling like shit soon. :D Anyway I'm putting off the final battles because I'm trying to figure out the order in which I should take this and how. I've never really liked the Sports Festival arc and whenever I saw writers making it into one long huge chapter I always kinda got bored, but whenever they broke up the events I felt like they were dragging it out. Now here I am. A hypocrite.

By the way, I really hate Shinsou. And before all y'all come at me all offended or threaten to stop reading, I have a right to write about what makes me happy. I have multiple reasons for my views, not ones that I'll be sharing at the moment, but nonetheless they are reasons. So this is just a heads up that my writing in this chapter and the next are going to reflect that.
So if I see any bullshit comments I will delete them and block you.

Anyway, enjoy~
________________________________

Recovery Girl really was a saint. She healed his right hand, with a firm reminder to come straight to her after getting injured next time. His hand would scar from the burn, trailing the pads of his fingers to his palm and then slightly around his wrist. It looked sick.

In the end she gave him a piece of candy and sent him off to join his classmates.

The board listed the one vs one battles in order for everyone to see. Izuku looked up and saw his name. Well, his alias was up there. That was good, he didn't want the world to know he was still alive yet.

Apparently he was up against one of the general education students. He'd seen him in the obstacle race when he was observing his opponents. He had been being carried by other students to the finish line. He most likely had some kind body control Quirk or another that fell upon those lines.

He didn't know what activated it.

That meant he had to be cautious.

"So you're Akiro Esu, right? Man, when they said there was a Quirkless hero student I thought they were joking," A deep patronizing voice said behind him.

Turing around, with hair sticking up unnaturally in a light purple with cold violet eyes, stood Hitoshi Shinsou. He wore a mocking smile as he stuck his hand out to shake.

Izuku wasn't going to risk skin contact or a vocal response so he just nodded his head in acknowledgment before turning back up at the board. "Akiro-kun!" He heard one of his classmates call. He turned around and saw Ojiro heading in his direction.

Ojiro glared at Shinsou and turned to Izuku. "I need to talk to you," He said quietly. Shinsou scoffed and walked away.

Izuku watched him leave through narrowed eyes. "You gave up your spot. Is it because of him?" Izuku asked turning back at his classmate. The tailed boy nodded, face serious and not giving is usual smile.

"There's something you need to know about his Quirk before you fight him," He said. "Let's head to a waiting room."

"Yeah," Izuku agreed and lead the way to the waiting rooms where they sat down. Ojiro stuck his tail through the bottom to fit in the chair. Ojiro was really sticking his neck out for him, even if he forfeited the final matches. He was helping the Quirkless kid. That took guts. Izuku made a mental note to owe him a favor.

"That guy's Quirk. It's like a mind control Quirk," The boy started.

"I came to the same conclusion. I noticed people carrying him in the obstacle course. I don't know what activates it though," Izuku admitted.

"I bet it's vocal responsive," Ojiro voiced. "I remember before the cavelry battle he came up to me and introduced himself. Then he asked me if I wanted to be on a team with him and when I responded everything went fuzzy. The next thing I knew I was in the arena as a horse. Someone had bumped into me, that girl with the vines for hair, and then I could think again."

Izuku hummed thoughtfully with his hand on his chin and he pursed his lips in a frown. "So whatever he says, I can't respond. Judging from his stature and posture he doesn't have any formal training of any kind. If he was really smart he would've at least trained in hand to hand to make up for his lack of offense. I mean, thats what I did and I'm in the hero course. I don't even have a Quirk. He's not taking this seriously. This should be easy; I'm a pro at ignoring people." Ojiro looked a little dumbstruck.

"Whoa, that was kinda harsh dude," He said with an amused half smile as he sweat dropped.

"Am I wrong?" Izuku asked rhetorically.

"I mean, no, but it's still a powerful Quirk," Ojiro reasoned.

"I never said it wasn't. All I'm saying is that he's relying on it too much. Especially for someone with a mental Quirk. And now that I'm thinking about it, a lot of the hero course students rely too much on their Quirks. I don't mean you, because your Quirk is an added limb, but people like Bakugo-kun and Kaminari-kun. Because as heroes we never know when a situation will come up and you can't use your Quirk because the villain has a method of combating it. Like what if Bakugo-kun ran into a villain with a water based Quirk or a Quirk that halted his ability to sweat nitroglycerine? Without his explosions he would only have his hand to hand skills, and judging from what I've observed they aren't the best. He would be left helpless and powerless. So It's only logical to learn to fight without it," Izuku explained. "For Shinsou, he's now at a disadvantage against me because I know what his Quirk is, it's weakness, an how to counter it. Quirks are tools. Weapons. If you can't learn to survive without it, you'll have trouble."

Izuku took a much needed breath after his detailed lecture. Ojiro looked more understanding now that Izuku cleared it up for him. "I didn't think about that," The boy admitted. "You're obviously more skilled at that. Do you think you could teach me a few things sometime? I know hand to hand, but I could use some help with the whole improvise thing."

It was then Izuku's poker face broke into a look of confusion and suspicion. "You want me... to help train you?"

"Yeah, would that be a problem?" Ojiro asked.

"No! No! It wouldn't be a problem! I'm just surprised you would want help from me. I'm not sure if you're aware of this already but I'm not exactly a favorite amongst the class," Izuku said.

"That's not true," Ojiro consoled. "I'm sure there are a few of us, but I know that if you just tried to talk to us we'd make sure to include you. How about this: if you want you can come sit at my table at lunch. I won't force you, but if you ever feel lonely at lunch just come on over and we'll make room for you."

Izuku didn't know what to say. On one hand he had always wanted friends and to be accepted by his peers, but on the other hand he's practically lying to all of these people about his motivations, his skills, and his own identity. What if they find out the truth and don't want to speak to him anymore? What would he do then? It would probably hurt more than being ignored ever had.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad?

"I'll... keep that in mind. Thank you," Izuku said softly.

"No problem," Ojiro stood up, slithering his tail out of the chair. "If you ever need anything, you're classmates are here for you."

"Thanks. And thank you for the heads up about Shinsou. You didn't have to do that," Izuku stood up with him.

"Nonsense. It's what friends are for," The boy said. "We'll be cheering for you."

Friends.

Izuku had friends in his class.

The soft smile that used to make his mother happy returned slightly as he thought more about the implications.

His somber happiness radiated off him as he made his way to the arena.