𝑅𝐸𝐽𝐸𝐶𝑇 ┊ 𝐻𝐼𝑇𝑂𝑆𝐻𝐼 𝑆𝐻𝐼𝑁𝑆𝑂

𝗦𝗜𝗫𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡

Y/N stirred in her sleep before sitting up. Her head pounded with the memory of her friend's cries and the burning sensation that remained on her hands.
She was about to move before realizing there was a warm blanket wrapped around her. Her eyes squinted as she saw the ceiling lights, contrasted by the darkness still outside.
"You okay?"
She looked over at the voice that spoke to her. A boy was sitting beside her, his mismatched eyes like his hair which was split-colored.
"...yeah, uh, how long was I out?"
"Only about an hour. I thought you died."

Seeing Todoroki speak to the awakened stranger, those who held concern over her drew closer.
"Is that warmth coming from you?" She asked, feeling a cold only on the side without him.
"Yeah. You seemed to get weaker when it was cold."
"Yeah...thank you."
Jumping over the couch, Kirishima startled her. He sat beside her and smiled with his toothy grin.

"Glad you're all better!"
"Thank you."
"You have a lot of bruises still," he sighed, "also, those scars on your neck are still there."
"Scars on my-"
She quickly lifted her hand to the skin of her neck. She felt the crescent dips, remembering Tomo had been here. Tomo had helped her. Tomo knew she was somewhere she shouldn't be. Why had Tomo left the scars though?
"Those are...I—someone—"
"Did someone give those to you?"
Most of them wanted to listen in, seeing as it wasn't every night that an injured citizen shows up on their doorstep.

"My—friend, he got mad at me. He went too far."
"Well, I hope you aren't still friends with him!"
"I'm...not. He chose being a hero over me. Not that it actually means anything."
Midoriya sat on the floor with his legs crossed.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't really like heroes."
The group remained silent, nervously fidgeting.

"We're heroes," Todoroki told her, making the tense air in everyone's lungs escape.
"Damn, that's awkward," she mumbled, "I don't really mean to offend. I just don't believe in them."
"Why do you say that?" Midoriya asked.
"I've never met a real hero. I mean—I've met professional heroes, but not real ones."
"Which professionals have you met?" Uraraka asked, her fingers clasped together, excited to hear the answer.
"Uh..." Y/N struggled to watch her words. She needed to lie. She needed to remain a random stranger. "I've never met All Might or Endeavor..." she broke into a small bit of laughter, "my friends and I would joke about how I could beat him in a fight no problem. So I sorta wish we have met."

Y/N was being foolish, overwhelmed by the fantasy that was this school.
"I've met Midnight. She used to make my lunches because I was always making them for other people. I've met Snipe. He desperately wanted to teach me self-defense. I've...I've met Aizawa."
Y/N's eyes trailed to the floor, the warmth around her began to be captured by her hands.
"Every time we spoke, he always told me how much he believed in me. He told me how much he wished I was in his class. He promised that what he said was true. But I don't believe them anymore."

Y/N couldn't cry. Her tears wouldn't form.
"It was all a lie. Just a ruse. Just a phase."
Class 1A listened to the strain in her voice. The heat from the room was noticeably gone and Todoroki had felt himself become colder.
"I was just a kid," she whimpered, "I was just trying my best. I didn't—I didn't mean—no one listened to me."

Y/N shook her head.
"I told them I didn't want to be in the hero course. I said I wasn't cut out for that life. But everyone told me I was wasteful."
She looked up from the ground to meet Midoriya's bright green eyes.
"Suddenly, I didn't matter anymore."

The silence of the sincere moment was disrupted.
"You've got a pretty strong quirk, eh?" Kaminari asked, hanging down from behind her. "You absorb heat, right?"
She nodded, about to get a word in.
"People should've respected your decision!" Kaminari shouted, "Good quirks don't equal a heroic heart!"
People who agreed nodded. "I have to personally disagree when you say there are no real heroes. There's plenty that just want to help—like us!"
"I'm sorry for whatever happened in the past," Kirishima told her, resting his hand gently on her hot shoulder, "but there's a lot more good out there than you realize."