The classroom belonging to class 1-A was never empty. It was always bustling, with excitement of some kind. Somedays, it would be Bakugo's fuse going off. Other days, it would be the remarks and chides from his friends. Regardless, something was always going on in 1-A. Today it was the outrage of the paired system coming up.
"Settle down," Aizawa growled. The class immediately sat upright in their seats, eyes on their teacher. He cleared his throat. " As you all know, U.A has a system where they assign pairs for one month." He started, he turned away from his students and motioned to the board. There was a diagram depicting schedules, statistics of the program, and more. "For the next month, you and your designated classmate will work together in training, group projects, and even studying." Aizawa turned back to look at his students, hoping to see a change in their attitude. His students were all pretty bummed out, some more than others.
He sighed, and fixed his scarf around his neck."Look, guys, I've been doing this program at U.A for as long as I can remember. Everyone grew to end up loving the project. Not to mention how each student has come out a better hero because of this,"
The promise of the students becoming another step closer to becoming a hero sparked interest in some of the students. He smiled.
"It doesn't sound that bad," Kaminari stretched his hands. "If it's beneficial to the both of us, then I don't see the problem."
"That's all fine and dandy until I'm paired up with you and your bird for brains," Jirou muttered. She rolled her eyes, earning a shocked look from her classmate.
"What's wrong with working with me?" He tapped her shoulder frantically. She huffed and turned her head to face the other spiky blonde classmate.
The teacher sighed, tieing his matted locks back with a hair tie, "That's all for homeroom," He let himself flop onto the floor and nestle into his sleeping bag.
---
Lunch came, and Mina found herself sitting with Bakugo and his gang, per Kirishima's request. They usually found themselves at a table at the back of the lunchroom, either laughing at Bakugo's antics or trying to get him to calm down. Her spiky redheaded classmate walked beside her to the table, carrying both of their lunches. She always offered to get lunch for the both of them, but it's always been a Kirishima thing.
"Y'know, Mina," Sero started taking a bite out of his sandwich." Since you hang around us so much, you might as well sit over here." Sero offered.
"You guys are seriously too kind," She giggled. "But If I don't sit with Hagakure, she'll be all alone. I'm only sitting here because she's not here today. Thanks for allowing me to sit with you guys." She pulled apart her wooden chopsticks and started to dig into the school food.
"No problem!" That's what friends are for, right? Besides, I owe you one for saving my ass in training," He gave her a laugh that she found her cheeks tinting purple too.
After a few minutes of mindless banter, the King of Explosion Murder himself sat down. He didn't say anything at all. Bakugou didn't pay any mind to the girl sitting with them either.
"I brought Mina today. I hope that's fine," Kirishima gestured. The pink hair girl waved awkwardly. Bakugo shrugged, so she continued eating.
She decided that she didn't have an opinion on Bakugou. Mina didn't know him enough as Midoriya or Kirishima did. While she always did hang around him, surprisingly enough, they never actually talked much. She didn't mind too much, he was always yelling at someone, so she was saving herself stress.
"Soooooo," Her hands rubbed together before coming to a final stop. "Who's excited about the pairing program!" Her jazz hands enthused on cue.
"I am for one!" Denki shot up. "I don't know why Jirou isn't."
"It's probably because she really doesn't want to be paired up with someone she doesn't like, namely you," Sero chuckled while his eyes stayed glued to his manga. Kaminari decided to sink down into his seat after hearing that.
"You guys really think that?" He mumbled. The group gave each other unwavering looks before all nodding.
"I could care less as long as it's not with that shitty Deku or that half and half jerk! Staring at the two of them pisses me off!" Bakugou squeezed the Caprisun he was holding after uttering those names. Mina winced at the nicknames coming from the explosion boy.
"Well, look at it this way, it's an opportunity to make new friends! Also, the way they assign partners will help us academically and with our quirks! We can work out the kinks if we don't like our partner at first!" The group more or less mumbled in agreement with her response. Mina smiled. The boys looked a little less sad from the beginning of lunch! She cheered them up! The rest of the lunch period consisted of the squad ganging up on Bakugo for his spiky hair. He would always chastise them about how he would blow their brains off, but noone took him seriously.
---
Ashido found herself in her bedroom after school, studying with Jirou over English for their quiz tomorrow. Free from the confines of their uniform, the pink hair girl dressed in her black sports bra and some grey joggers. Jirou dressed head to toe in some black silk pajamas. Mina had a low purple table and some cushions, so they converted it into a study session. The desk was covered with papers, pencils, and homework.
'"These English checks are going to be the death of me!" Mina slumped down and hit the table with a thump. Jirou's eyebrows raised. "English is such a stupid subject! Why are they making us study it? It's not like I'm going to America or something! Who even speaks English anyways!"
"Who knows, you could land yourself a fancy internship in America studying with some renowned pro hero," Jirou yawned. "Some bullshit like that."
"I doubt it. It's impossible with my grades or this stupid quirk of mine." Mina mumbled, low enough so Jirou couldn't hear her.
"Let's hope your partner is some academic genius, for your sake," she bore a sly grin. Mina rolled her eyes in response, gaining a chuckle from the raven-haired girl. Mina's eyes danced over Jirou. From her hair to the markings on her face, her ear jacks, to her pajamas. Her friend always dressed in dark garments and kept to herself and Momo. Mina and Jirou only became friends due to Mina pestering her every day. Jirou got used to it.
"Y'know Jirou," Mina started, fixing herself to turn to her friend. "I've never seen you wear those pajamas before."
Jirou's eyes widened before clearing her throat. "They are new." She hesitated.
"A gift, perhaps?" The horned girl teased.
Jirou nodded. Her face slowly turned the same shade of crimson as her markings.
"They are a bit lacy, I might add. A bit scandalous. It's a massive stretch from what I've seen you in.
Her pajamas were of silk material and black, having lace hems. In all actuality, it wasn't that scandalous, but Jirou was so fun to tease!
"Enough!" Her hands landed on the table with a thud. She sighed and reshifted in her seat. "I don't know what you're getting at Ashido, but it really is nothing like that." She focused back on translating.
"Mina!" She corrected her. "I told you to call me Mina!" she playfully tapped her shoulder.
"Anyways, I have another question," she let herself fall back onto Jirou's shoulder. "Why do you dislike Kaminari?" Her eyes drifted up to see the hesitance in her eyes. Jirou stopped writing.
"I never said I didn't like him," She trailed off. It's just complicated." As if on cue, her phone started to ring. "Gotta go. My parents and I are having dinner tonight with Momo and her parents." She lightly patted Ashido's cheek to wake her up. She sat up with a groan.
"Leave some leftovers for me! She waved while Jirou slipped out the door. Once she was gone, she let herself fall to the floor.
"I didn't even finish my English homework," she mumbled. Regardless, she sat herself up and made her way to her dresser. "I can get the answers from Momo when she comes back, no worries!"
Her dresser was stacked with creams, moisturizers, oils, hair scarves, bonnets, and more. She grabbed her trusty oil and moisturizer and began to tackle the monster that is her hair.
She used a come to divide it into sections, then applied a generous amount of moisturizer. She then combed through it with another comb. All the while her hands were tackling her hair, her mind traveled back to Jirou. She's going to see her family.
Family, she thought.
Throughout the school year, she's seen glimpses of her classmate's family. They had the privilege of being able to go and see them for the weekends. Even before they lived in dorms, going home to them every day. It's hard when your family lives on the other side of the continent. She couldn't eat out with them, see them on the weekends, or go home to them every day. Sometimes on breaks, she found herself crashing at Toru's place.
To cure her loneliness, she decided to call up her sister. She was always happy to see Mina.
Her hands traveled back to her head while she waited for her sister to pick up the video chat. After what felt like hours, a brown figure appeared on the screen.
"Mina!" She said with joy. "I haven't seen you in forever!"
"I know, Misha!" She beamed. "It's been ages, sorry, I have just been busy with studies and training," Misha cut her off.
"It doesn't matter, I'm just happy we can talk. Mina was born to a quirkless family. To make matters worse, she didn't look like them at all. Acid had the power to change her skin, her hair, and her eyes. When people saw Misha and Mina side by side, they would designate them as strangers. Misha had dark glowing skin, brown eyes, and black hair. Her entire family shared it.
On the other hand, Mina had pink hair and skin, yellow eyes, and black sclera. While racial and quirk discrimination has gone down over the years in Japan, it was still prevalent. The stares she would get while walking with her family only intensified as her quirk changed more parts of her. The gazes, the whispers, the comments she got were unbearable. They broke through the while she built around herself, her indestructible confidence, and made her hurl.
At times like this, Mina would envy her family.
She knew it was wrong, and they didn't have it easy either being part of the minority of black, quirkless people in Japan. However, having a quirk that puts you in the face of quirk discrimination wasn't easy either. Her power wasn't all that great.
She hasn't totally accepted her quirk and let go of the envy she had in her heart, but she was getting there.
A lot of things have happened since then, middle school, meeting Kirishima, getting into 1-A. Time has passed. Still, sometimes, when she allows it, she views herself like the rest of the world views her.
As much as she doesn't want to admit it, this feeling will likely never leave.
"Mina? Are you dozing off on me? C'mon wake up! You gotta finish your hair." She giggled at her sister's clumsiness.
"Yeah, it's been a long day, but anyways," The pink-skinned girl finished twisting her hair and put her white bonnet on. "Are mom and dad home?" The hyperness in her voice died down when she asked her question.
"No, sorry, they've been taking late shifts for a while now. I'll let them know you called, though!" She called, offering reassurance. The barely noticeable lump in her throat grew ever so large at Misha's words. She smiled and nodded.
"Thank you," Mina said at once. "I mean it. I really do miss you guys."
"And we really miss you as well!" Misha cooed. "I gotta go finish my homework, Mina. I'll call you later?"
Mina nodded and waved. Just like that, her sister was gone, and she was alone in the room again.
---
She ended up not waiting for Yayarozu to come back and copy work. Instead, she cuddled up on her bed and watched Saiki K. She could never admit she watched anime. It was not something she was proud of. She only found herself watching this show when she was down, stressed, or procrastinating. It was a combination of all three today, so she binged the entirety of season 1. Her face stayed in the same blank slate the entire time. It was weird. Watching Saiki and his friends get up to their antics always put a smile on her face. Why was today different?
Her stomach made a low, shaky sound, and she groaned. She grabbed her homework and phone and made her way down to the dorm's kitchen.
The living room was dark and empty. Ashido's classmates would have likely gone to bed by now. After all, it was 2 am, and they had a test tomorrow. Noone in their right mind would be up. She threw her homework on the couch and made her way to the kitchen. She turned on the light and stood on her tippy toes to reach the highest cabinet. Just hidden behind Momo's vitamins was her stash of hot chocolate. Not just any hot chocolate. The brand her mom would make for her that could only be bought at the convenience store just down the street from her house. She grabbed the jar and held it close to her chest, taking in the scents of cacao and bay leaves.
She started to boil some milk in a pot when a chime went off, a message. She leaned on the counter and opened her phone to a text.
"Mom," She whispered. Her mom's contact was at the top of her screen. Inside the text was a video.
She almost tapped it. Why not? She wanted to see her parents, right? Her finger hung over the contact before falling.
It was a short video. Mina's mom, dad, and sister were in the frame. All happy and bustling with joy, despite being frozen in time. She pressed the video. It was 10 seconds, just each family member professing how much they love and miss Mina, then saying we miss you at the end.
Just your average run-of-the-mill video. So why did it hurt? What was this aching feeling in her stomach that continued to swell as she saw her family?
Tears started to roll off her cheek, onto the phone and they didn't stop. She left the lump in her throat out and wailed. The video stuck on repeat, and the jar fell to the floor, most of the mix gone.
---
Mina Ashido was not a crybaby.
It was a surprising fact to a lot of people because of her emotional, whiny nature, but Mina never cried. She liked being stronger for other people, cheering others up. It was her thing.
She was rarely this vulnerable. When Ashido did weep, it was always within the confines of her room into a pillow so Ashido could muffle out the sound. She never allowed herself to be this vulnerable, this sad. So naturally, it came as a surprise when she heard someone make their way down the steps, slowly. She took some deep breaths and rushed to dry her face. No matter what, noone could see her cry. That's final.
Unfortunately, the person was faster.
"Ashido? Are you awake?" They called out. It was lighter in the room now, thanks to the kitchen light.
She froze.
Midoriya?
That had to be Midoriya's voice, but why was he up? She quickly wiped her eyes before turning around and flashing an apologetic smile.
"Yeah," she clasped her hands together. "What are you doing up at this hour?"
"O-oh, nothing. I-I just thought I h-heard someone down here, so I went to check w-what was going on. That's all," He stared at his feet and scratched his arm. Great. The person who caught her crying was typical Midoriya.
"Great great," She smiled. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to bed. Catch you later, Midoriya!" She started to make her way past her classmate when he turned around and called, "Ashido, wait!"
She winced but smiled again when she turned toward him. "Are you alright?" He walked a little closer to her. "Were you crying?"
Of course, he had to say it. Of course, he had to bring it up! She thought. The waterworks were back, and her hands found her face.
"Can we sit down?" She said at once. Midoriya nodded and took her hand to lead her. His hands were large and warm, swallowing her pink one whole. She could feel the scratches and scars on them when she nestled her hand into his. They finally sat down, where Mina was a whimpering, sobbing mess.
"Take your time. You can talk to me when you're ready. W-we also d-don't have to speak at all if you don't want to," Midoriya offered. He turned to get a better look at his classmate, but she still covered her face.
"Thank you," She said between sniffles. Midoriya nodded. They stayed like that for a while.
This was the last place Mina would like to be right now.
"I was um, homesick," She sighed, her face still puffy and wet from her tears.
"Homesick?"
"Mhmm," She sighed. "I haven't visited home since the year started. They live too far away."
"I'm sorry to hear that,"
"Don't be," She said at once. It isn't all this often that I get like this. I'll be back to normal by tomorrow!" She managed to flash him a smile.
"Ashido, you don't have to be like this all the time, y'know?" She turned to look at the green-haired boy. He was wearing a white t-shirt and some boxers. His green eyes were wide and full of Ashido. His hair, similar to hers, had black highlights and was tangled. His freckles seemed to be covered by a red tint the longer she stared at him. She laughed at that.
"Can I really?" She let herself fall back onto the couch. Her hand felt a little squeeze.
"Okay," She started. "I have an idea." She stood up and made her way to the kitchen. The jar of spices was mostly empty, but there should be enough left for 2 cups. The milk was already heated up.
"Do you drink hot cocoa?" She asked from the kitchen, grabbing two cups.
"Yeah," She heard back. She felt Midoriya brush beside her. She didn't notice before, but the boy was a little taller than she liked him to be. She huffed. He crouched down and opened the cabinet below them. He started shuffling things around until he pulled a box up.
"Do you like candy canes?" She nodded back. " I had some saved, and I usually drink my hot cocoa with candy canes so,"
She offered him his cup, and he gave her a candy cane. They rested on the counter as they drank silently. The hot cocoa warmed them as they downed it. The chocolate was rich and hot, while the candy cane offered a minty refreshing aftertaste. They said nothing more, just relished in each other's company and enjoyed their drinks.