"So a bunch of people from her agency were supposed to go on this really nice vacation together, right? But the guy who was supposed to book the hotel didn't reserve enough rooms, so they ended up making a couple of the guys sleep in the bathtub! And they nearly got scammed a bunch of times while they were out in the city! And the shipping company lost literally all of their luggage on the way back!" Mina exclaimed through fits of giggles, trying unsuccessfully to control her laughter, "I guess they could have sued, but I'm pretty sure they would have lost the case! HA! Get it?!"
Uraraka, Midoriya, and Tsuyu laughed amusedly at the terrible joke, grinning brightly as they watched the girl struggle to contain herself, her wheezing and bursts of laughter far more entertaining than the bad pun she was trying so hard to retell. Her cheeks were hot pink as she gripped the soft fabric of her pyjama shorts, half doubled-over from the laughing cramps.
Unknown couldn't remember how she got here. She couldn't recall what exactly she had done to invite this situation, or any of the four students, into her room. And yet here she was, on the floor, sitting amongst the circle of friends that certainly didn't belong there, listening to the illustrious story Mina swore had actually happened to a friend of a friend.
It had all happened so suddenly. Unknown had simply been preparing for bed when she heard a knock on her door, and though she thought it was rather unusual for anyone to be looking for her at this hour, she opened it anyway, only to be jarringly greeted by the enthusiastic shouts of four up-and-coming heroes. Next thing she knew, she found herself sitting in a circle of pillows and blankets they had brought with them, the four diving headfirst into excited chatter and eager conversations as she sat there, utterly puzzled. It was a "sleepover," apparently, though Midoriya would only be staying for a bit to chat, Mina shamelessly declaring they would have to kick him out eventually so they could talk about "girl stuff," whatever that was supposed to mean.
She watched how Tsuyu hugged a pillow to her lap, how Uraraka munched enthusiastically on the bowl of popcorn in front of her, how Midoriya nodded attentively along with each and every word of the story, and how Mina's eyes sparkled as she tried to recall all the funny bits her friend had told her, hands gesturing wildly to emphasize her tale. Unknown had yet to say a word since they invaded her room, merely staring at them as if they were alien life forms she could never hope to comprehend. Was this some sort of... prank? Did they have the wrong room? Were they ok? Questions abound in her poor, baffled mind.
"I still can't believe they did that with the screwdriver..." Midoriya gaped, eyes wide with awe as Uraraka and Tsuyu nodded sympathetically.
"I know! It's crazy, right?" Mina cackled, wiping a tear from her eye before turning to Unknown with the biggest grin.
The girl could only stare back for a moment.
"Uh... yea," she agreed awkwardly, not knowing what they could possibly be talking about.
Mina nodded fervently at her response, beaming in excitement before eagerly diving back into her story. Unknown didn't miss the way the others' eyes flicked to her, smiling encouragingly for a moment before returning their attention to Mina.
By the time curfew rolled around, after Midoriya said his goodbyes to all of them, including Unknown, there were only the girls left, and they showed no sign of tiring. They were now spread out comfortably on the ground, Unknown finding herself peer-pressured into doing the same. Some of them lay bundled snugly in layers of blankets while others remained splayed out carelessly, the now-empty snack bowls forgotten on the sidelines as they huddled close, almost as if they were about to discuss some unspeakable secret.
Turns out, that was exactly what Mina had in mind.
Well, sort of.
"Let's play truth or dare!" the pinkette exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air as her feet kicked up behind her.
"Isn't that a little stereotypical, ribbit?" Tsuyu asked from within her cocoon of blankets.
"It's stereotypical but it's fun!"
"I'm in!" Uraraka raised her hand excitedly.
"Yay! You'll play too, right?" Mina grinned, quickly tugging at Unknown's hand.
"...sure."
"Majority rules! Ok, ok, I'll go first! Truth or dare?" she smiled at Unknown expectantly, swinging their connected hands between them.
"...do I pick one?"
"Yea! Pick one!"
"...truth?"
"Ok! Hm, let's see..." she paused for a brief moment before a light bulb seemingly went off in her mind, "Oh! Ok, what name should we call you?"
For some reason, Unknown was expecting something much worse.
"Well, anything is fine, I think."
"Hm... do you want us to call you Unknown? Maybe that brings up bad memories... should we keep calling you Naoko? Or we could come up with something else?"
"Um, Naoko's fine, if it's easier."
"Ok, Naoko it is!" she cheered. "Now it's your turn! Ask someone!"
"Then... Uraraka, I guess."
"Truth!"
"Boring!" Mina jeered.
"Hey, this is only my first turn! And let Naoko ask her question!"
Unknown blinked as their gazes turned to her, suddenly realizing she was supposed to have a question ready. Her eyes lowered as she quickly racked her mind for something to ask.
"...why are you in my room?"
The three girls exchanged glances for second before giggling lightheartedly.
"To cheer you up, of course!" Uraraka grinned. "Ok, my turn!"
"Wait, no, it's Tsuyu's turn! We're going counterclockwise!"
"Aw, really? Ok, then go ahead, Tsu!"
"Naoko-chan, truth or dare, ribbit?"
"...again?"
"Yep!"
"Then, truth."
"How do you like it here, ribbit?"
"Here? It's fine."
"But do you like it here?"
"I... suppose?"
"We're glad! We like having you here too!" Uraraka grinned, shifting to rest on her elbows. "My turn! Mina-"
"Dare!"
"Ok, ok! Hm... show us your search history."
"What?! No way!"
"You chose dare!"
"But-!"
"She's right, Mina-chan. We won't judge, ribbit."
"Hmph! Well I'll have you know, I have absolutely nothing to hide!" she declared, pulling out her phone and setting it down at the center of the group, her browser history pulled up.
"Why did you look up 'how to build a shelter without tools?'"
"So I would be able to survive if I ever got stranded on an island somewhere, obviously!"
"But why were you thinking about that, ribbit?"
"Hey! Just you wait- when we inevitably find ourselves lost in the middle of the woods someday, I'm going to have the most impressive house and then you'll see!"
"You'll let us come visit, right?"
"Of course! You're all invited to my handmade hut!"
By now, Unknown was completely lost. Their words went didn't seem to mean anything, and she no longer had any idea what they were talking about. Maybe it was a hero thing she just didn't understand? That must be it. A lot must have happened since she'd been gone; even as they continued to chat and giggle carelessly, half of their conversations seemed completely nonsensical to her, as if they were speaking a language of their own. From what she could understand, however, their lives seemed to have indeed been eventful. They would mention missions, training, schoolwork, friends, and other usual, everyday happenings as they cheerfully recalled them. It was strange to think her life had been like that too, once upon a time, when that had been her routine, simply carrying out mundane little things she never thought much about. How things have changed. Even so, she tried to understand the three as best she could, playing along with their odd little game, listening when they would get distracted and go off on long-winded tangents about something or another, watching how easily they interacted, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She always knew she was out of place here, in this building, in this school, but she could see it much clearer now. A strange sense of loneliness sunk heavily in her chest, though perhaps it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Unknown knew why they were here. Uraraka had said it earlier, in a way: they were here to cheer her up. Or perhaps more accurately, they were here to extend an olive branch, to break the unspoken tension between herself and the class of young heroes. She had been close with all three of them during her time at UA, and with Midoriya as well; she knew they were good people, so she supposed it made some level of sense they would do something like this. She appreciated their efforts, although she doubted she would have done the same in their position- maybe she just wasn't hero material. Nevertheless, she found it was a bit nice to have them around, even if she didn't understand most of what they were saying.
"Naoko! Truth or dare?" Uraraka asked, bringing the conversation back to the game after Mina spun away with a long story about something she had seen on TV.
"Truth."
"So I've been wondering, have you spoken to Todoroki lately?" she asked curiously, leaning forward on her elbows.
At the sudden mention of Todoroki, the all-too-clear memory of what had happened at the hospital- what she had done at the hospital- came to mind, and an intense wave of embarrassment quickly washed over her.
"...no."
"Really? That's weird; he used to visit you all the time while you were at the h- ow!" Mina squeaked as an elbow hit her side.
"What she means is we thought you were close! That's all!" Uraraka laughed, waving a hand dismissively. "Anyway! Your turn, Mina!"
"Ok, ok, I get it... Naoko! Truth or dare?"
"Me again?"
"Yes, you again! We have a lot of lost time to make up for!"
"Alright, then truth."
"If you could date any of the guys in our class, who would it be?"
Unknown paused, blinking slowly.
"I knew she would ask that, ribbit."
"I'm just surprised it took this long."
"So who would it be?!" the pinkette snatched up Unknown's hand excitedly, her eyes shining with anticipation. "And you have to be honest!"
"...um... no one?"
"That doesn't count! You have to pick one!"
Unknown shifted awkwardly in place, eyes lowering briefly before flicking back to the others for help. Fortunately, Uraraka seemed to notice as she quickly piped up.
"What about... Iida?"
"No."
"Ojiro?" Tsuyu offered.
"No."
"Midoriya?"
"No."
"Aoyama?"
"Are you just going to list the entire class?"
"If we need to! What about Shoji? You got along well at the sports festival."
"No."
"Tokoyami?"
"No."
"I'm just going to skip Mineta. Kaminari?"
"No."
"Kirishima?"
"No."
"Bakugo?"
"Do I have to answer that?"
"Aha! That wasn't a no!"
"It wasn't a yes either."
Mina narrowed her eyes suspiciously, leaning forward as the gears visibly turned in her head. If she didn't know any better, Unknown might have thought the pinkette had some ulterior motive.
"Hm... fine, but I'm not convinced, young lady! Sero?"
"No."
"Sato?"
"No."
"Koda?"
"No."
"Todoroki?"
"Sure."
"Then what about- wait, really?! Todoroki?!"
"I mean, he is the last one, so..."
"But you would date him?!"
"Sure?"
"I've cracked it!" Mina declared loudly as she leapt to her feet, only to be quickly shushed by the other two.
"Don't be so loud! It's way past curfew!"
"There is no curfew on love!"
"We don't want to wake the others, ribbit."
"You guys are boring!" Mina huffed as she dropped back down. The gleam in her eye hadn't faded, however, as she quickly scooted closer to Unknown and grabbed her arm urgently. "So what are you gonna do?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you gonna make a move?"
"...why would I?"
"Because we just helped you connect with your feelings!"
Before Unknown could open her mouth to argue, however, Mina continued enthusiastically.
"Besides, he's way too dense to realize anything by himself- you just gotta give him a little push!"
"I don't think-"
"Mina, don't make her uncomfortable!" Uraraka whispered hurriedly, backed up by a nod of agreement from Tsuyu.
"Oh! Sorry!" Mina quickly apologized, retracting her hands and shifting away a bit. "But anyway! What were we talking about before?"
"The game?"
"Oh, right!"
It didn't take long for them to return to more on-topic, if you could call it that, conversation, though it only lasted a bit. Their minds began to wane as the hours drew on; before they knew it, it was already well into the early hours of the morning, and although it was the start of the weekend, it seemed they couldn't fight off the weight of drowsiness luring them down. Their words began to drag and slant just noticeably, punctuated by a few more drowsy giggles than usual, and their focus had long spiraled somewhere far away.
"...what time is it? I'm tired..."
"Almost three... good thing we don't have class tomorrow."
"...sleepy... ribbit..."
"Oh, I almost forgot," the fumble of blankets around her shifted as Mina rolled over slowly, only coming to a rest as her hand gripped Unknown's, "truth or dare?"
"Hm? I thought we were done with that?" she blinked hazily.
"One last one, promise."
"...then, truth."
"No, you gotta pick dare."
"What? I thought I got to pick?"
"Just pick dare- just this once. Please?"
With a suspicious glance, Unknown paused. Somehow, she felt Mina was planning something she decidedly wanted no part in. Had she been thinking properly, perhaps she wouldn't have taken the bait, but her drowsy mind wanted nothing more than sleep at the moment, even if it meant going along with the other girl's antics.
"Then... dare."
As soon as the words left her mouth, the pinkette's smile doubled. "I dare you to eat dinner with us tomorrow."
Unknown frowned, her brows drawing instinctively. "...that's... not a good idea."
"It'll be fun! Think about it- we've all been busy these days, people go in and out all the time, but everyone's gonna be here tomorrow night!"
"Mina, it'll only cause problems."
"It won't! Lots of the others miss you too, or at least they don't hate you like you think they do! They won't mind if you eat with us! We just wanna be able to talk to you, and they probably do too. Just give it a chance?"
"I get it, really, but I'm not-"
"You can't hide forever, you know," a voice interjected plainly, drawing both girls' attentions. Uraraka lay with her chin atop her arms, and her eyes, though tired, held a clear vividness to them. "You never leave this room, you never speak to anyone, you never do anything anymore- it's like you're afraid of the whole world. What's the point in locking yourself away like this? It's like you never left the hospital. We know what happened to you, your childhood, but you don't have to live as if he's still controlling you. He's gone and you're here. This can't be the life you fought so hard for, can it? We're still your friends, you know, whether you believe it or not. We just want you to be happy, and we're not the only ones either. Not everyone is out to get you, so can't you just give us a chance?"
A long silence fell as the three girls stared at Uraraka wide-eyed, the sleep momentarily knocked from their minds. The brunette could only blink back in confusion before she suddenly seemed to register what she had said.
"Oh! I didn't mean to say you have to do anything! It's your choice, of course! Was that too harsh? Sorry! And I didn't mean to bring up your childhood or any bad memories or anything, I just-!"
"It's ok," Unknown stated, quickly silencing the girl's embarrassed rambling.
"R-right! Um... sorry."
"So," Mina turned back to Unknown hopefully, "will you come?"
It was a moment before the girl found a reply.
"I'll think about it."
If the others meant to hide their disappointment, they didn't do so well, their expressions faltering at her response. Tsuyu, however, quickly spoke up, warding off the uncomfortable silence. "That's good, just take your time, ribbit. It's getting late. We should try and get some sleep before tomorrow."
"Right! Staying up too long is bad for you," Uraraka seconded.
"Goodnight, ribbit."
"Night!"
"Sleep tight!"
"...goodnight."