Izuku is a Therapist for the Meta Liberation Army

Bathroom Meetings

*

The day after their second meeting was filled with tension so thick that he was sure when the therapist walked into the room, he was cutting through it as he walked past them to the kitchen.

During the entire day, Geten relaxed on a chair near Kizuki as she continued to watch her drama. Each episode for forty minutes with some weird editing that she would make comments on. And even though he doesn't understand the plot, it was still addicting to watch.

Maybe it was the fact that it took place in a snowy, mountainous area.

The time seemed slow as he watched Kizuki's drama while it played. He indulged in the food that the therapist made while keeping an eye on the other two men.

Hanabata kept his promise of trying to butter up the therapist. But Geten noticed how the therapist subtly withdrew from certain topics or gave quite normal answers to his questions. Geten watched as Hanabata tried and failed to get Midroiya to admit to any secret passages by bringing up a book with that certain plot point.

And watching him fail to continue a conversation about a mystery novel about a wall of mailboxes leading to different worlds. He almost felt bad for the therapist when Chikazoku tried to steer the conversation to talk about his stance on quirk use.

Geten watched as Midoriya kept his answers short while trying to appease them at the same time. If they asked anything about quirks, the therapist would just say something along the lines of "I always liked learning more about them."

"But what do you think about controlling quirks?" Chikazoku asked like he was the head of an interrogation with his hands planted on either side of the kitchen island as he faced down the therapist. "Do you think it should be more lax or more restrictive?"

"In my opinion, I like to stay in the middle of conversations like that," Midoriya turned his back on a very irritated looking Chikazoku to cut his sandwich in half. "I want to see both sides of the topic before leaning towards one side rather than the other."

"Hey, Geten. Do you want to join our conversation?" Hanabata asked out loud,drawing the attention to his spot. The therapist glanced over his shoulder to meet his gaze, but he turned away from his stare.

"I'm fine right here," Geten spoke up from his chair. Kizuki glanced over at him from her spot on the couch before shrugging her shoulders.

"Are you sure you don't have anything to say?" Chikazoku questioned, one of his eyes staring at him through his long hair.

"I'm fine," Geten replied back with a glare directly at him. "Didn't you hear me the first time?"

"Alright, fine," Hanabata waved his sour expression off with a calm smile across his face. "What about you, Midoriya? Care to talk about something on your mind?"

"There's nothing really on my mind at the moment," Midoriya shrugged as he placed his sandwich down on a plate with a side of honey chips. "I am reading a book right now."

Hanabata asked, leaning forward, "What's it about?"

"It's about the character suddenly traveling back in time to change their life. It's like a second chance at life where everything in their life is better," Midoriya admitted with a soft grin. "I got to the part where they saved their father from a car accident. It was so heartwarming.

"Oh! I love those types of stories!" Kizuki commented right as the episode started to hit the credits. She turned around on the couch to stare at the therapist. "I particularly like the ones where they get revenge while they better their own life."

Midoriya nodded, popping a chip into his mouth, "I admit. I do partake in those kinds of novels too."

"They are really addictive, aren't they?" Kizuki responded, pausing the new episode as it popped onto the screen. Geten pulled his attention to their conversation now that his source of entertainment was put on hold.

Hanabata blinked at their easy exchange which almost made Geten laugh from the sheer expression on his face, "Isn't that a trope in a lot of romance books? Do you like the romance genre?"

"Yeah. But I mostly like the ones that have more of a fantasy background along with it," Midroiya answered. He paused to take a bite of the sandwich before continuing, "My friend, Uraraka, recommended them to me one day. And now I'm reading one after another."

"And most of them have the same plot!" Kizuki stated loudly.

Midroiya pointed at her with an excited gleam in his eyes, "Yes! But even though you can tell what's going to happen, it's still satisfying."

"Hey, have you read the one about the girl being the demon lord's daughter?" Kizuki snapped her fingers while she started to frown. "I can't remember the name of it. It's the green eyed one?"

"Oh, yeah. I think I remember reading that one," Midoriya said before biting into his sandwich again.

"Who the hell does she end up with? There were like four love interests," Kizuki searched his face for an answer as Midoriya chewed. "And I never found it because of the whole Tartarus thing."

"She got with the older man in the novel," Midoriya answered back easily. "But the red haired guy that was around her same age was her love interest in the adapted comic."

"GOOD. I was rooting so hard for the red haired guy," Kizuki pumped her fist in the air with a grin. "He was so sweet to her since they were like childhood friends."

"Right!" Midoriya chuckled. "I liked him too even though he was a bit of a jerk to her at first. But he grew on me so quickly.

"Did—" Hanabata blinked as Midoriya picked up his plate to move closer to Kizuki and Geten to continue the conversation. "Is Kizuki stealing my job of buttering him up?"

"Possibly. I don't know," Chikazoku slowly turned to him, gesturing towards a laughing Kizuki while Midoriya looked like he was about to go on a rant. "Has he ever talked this much when you mentioned those stupid mystery novels?"

"I thought he would like mystery novels. Other people I knew read all the mystery and thriller books. I didn't know he was more of a romance type," Hanabata dragged his hands down his face as Midoriya started to ramble on about worldbuilding. "If anything, I thought he was about to say something about a self help book."

"You'll have more opportunities to gain his trust," Chikazoku whispered to him with a  serious tone. "Don't mess this up. Meta Liberation will have its rebirth when we get out of here."

"Right," Hanabata rolled his shoulders and let his calm smile grow on his face. He kept his voice low as he replied, "It will have its own renaissance. I have plenty of time to make a bond. And then I can get back to my people, they must be waiting for me."

"Yeah. Keep telling yourself that to motivate you," Chikazoku muttered under his breath as he walked away from him to the fridge.