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THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE HOSPITAL ROOM WASN'T THE BEST AS THE TENSION ROSE IN THE FAMILY DISCUSSION. F/n was laying on the bed, dressed in hospital clothes with a bowl of porridge on her lap.
The cries and tears from two of the three had disappeared as it was just now sniffled to be heard.
"I know you want to be a hero," her father started gently, tone different from the one he used previously, "But you have to be careful with yourself."
"If I am careful, I won't become a hero," F/n stated, voice threatening to crack from all the cries, "I can't be a hero."
"You can be a hero, you just-"
"I can't be a hero," she said, a little more firmly, "I was too careful back in USJ and I can't even save- I can't even help my teacher. The least I did was regret, like every single one of my classmates. At least they helped in something."
It was, again, silent. All that could be heard were the beeping noises of the machine F/n was attached to. The footsteps of the rushing nurses and doctors were not to be heard from inside the room.
Outside of the hospital, the wind blew by, causing the leaves on the plants to rustle and dance along. The birds tweeted melodically and the wings of butterflies fluttered delicately.
One butterfly with beautiful blue wings splattered with the colour black landed on the window of the room. Inside was where Aizawa was, wrapped in bandages and unable to move.
"You can be a hero," her father's voice brought her back to reality, "You've got potential. You've got the spirit. You've got everything that is needed to be a hero. All there's left to do is training."
"What else is there left to train? My quirk?" she queried stubbornly yet hopelessly, "There's nothing else to do. And the worst thing is that I don't know what I want to be in the future, if not a hero."
F/n inhaled a sharp breath before saying the words her parents dreaded to un-hear.
"And that's why grandmother hates me."
"F/n," her father said sternly which made her glance up at him, "You can be a hero. Not everything is about your quirk. Did you see your teacher? He has a quirk to erase other quirks, with limits at that!"
"And you know what?" her father continued, pausing for a moment despite knowing she wouldn't respond, "He did not only train his quirk. He relies on it, yes. But not fully."
F/n's eyes drifted away from her father, landing themselves on her mother who had been sitting quietly on the hospital's plastic chair.
"'When there's a will, there's a way'," her father quoted, "You know what's wrong with the quote? Sometimes... there isn't only one way so you'll have to expect failure. What happened in USJ was one of them. To become a hero, to achieve a goal, any goal at all, you have to expect failure before success. That's how life works."
"Things don't always go the way they do and everyone experiences that," her mother finally spoke up, looking at her daughter fondly, "But you have to always try again. Just because you made one mistake, encountered one failure, doesn't mean that you can't be a hero."
F/n stayed silent before turning to look at both her parents. Blinking once before looking back at the blank, white wall.
Her mother gave her husband a concerned look and despite him knowing that she was not convinced, he gestured for her to leave the girl alone with her thoughts.
But the orange sun came down and there rose the moon, shining brightly in the dark sky and F/n was still on the bed, thinking of the words that left her father's mouth.
Hope had left her body, unable to re-enter her mind, just like the steam that had left the disregarded porridge on the table.
𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁
"Good morning, F/n!" Ashido greeted her with a bright smile.
"Good morning, Mina," she greeted back.
"I saw you the day in USJ, you were so brave!" she gushed before turning slightly concerned, "How do you feel? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," F/n nodded her head, sitting on her seat as she listened to her friend talk.
"That's good!" Ashido nodded back, glancing at her bandaged arm, "I actually expect you to stay home or even still be in the hospital."
"I did too," Yaoyorozu chimed in, "You heal rather quickly, I must say."
"Thank you for treating my wounds, Yaoyorozu," she said with a small smile.
The girl in a ponytail smiled back at her, "That's what friends do."
Out of nowhere, Ashido squealed, hands in fists on each side of her cheeks. Both Yaoyorozu and F/n glanced at her with a confused look.
"You two are so wholesome!" she exclaimed, causing a slight smile to grow on F/n lips.
F/n settled her gaze on her desk, her smile slowly fading away as did the conversation between her two friends. She hadn't been sleeping well these past few days as she had a lot to think about.
One of which was her teacher.
Emotions bubbled inside of her, a few of which she was unable to control. Iida's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and the girl released a shaky breath
"The morning homeroom is about to start. Quiet down and take your seats," Iida instructed, standing in front of the class as he attempted to be the diligent class rep he was.
"We're already sitting down."
"You're the only one who's not."
F/n gulped nervously as she watched Iida slump defeatedly in his seat. She shifted uncomfortably on her own, waiting on the anticipated sliding door opening.
Her breath hitched as the sounds of the door sliding open reached her ears, her back brace restricting her from breathing properly as it felt tighter around her body.
"Morning."
"Aizawa-sensei, you're back so soon!" the class chanted while F/n just watched with hands clenched into fists.
"What a pro!" Kaminari commented.
"Sensei! Are you okay?" Iida asked, raising his hand as the teacher trudged towards the podium.
He had his arms and face wrapped in bandages, the gap only for his eyes to be seen. He looked tired, she noted and was clearly in no condition to actually teach.
So what was he doing here?
"My welfare is of no concern," he flatly stated, facing the class, "More importantly, our battle isn't over."
"Battle?" Bakugou repeated.
"Could it be..." Midoriya trailed off, a train of thoughts following after.
"The villains again?" Mineta shrieked.
'Villains?'
"UA sports festival is around the corner," the teacher announced, immediately making the class exclaim in excitement.
"Finally a normal school event!" Kirishima exclaimed before being shoved in the face by Kaminari.
"Wait, wait!" the blonde boy interjected.
"Is it okay to have a sports festival when we just had a villain attack?" Jiro asked.
"What if they attack us again?" Ojiro added.
"By going through with this event, we want to prove that UA's crisis management system is outstanding. Security will be five times stronger this year," Aizawa explained, scanning the students before landing his eyes on F/n and lifting them off, "Above all, our sports festival is a big chance. It shouldn't be cancelled because of some villains."
"No, let's cancel. It's only a festival of sports," Mineta frantically said, not wanting to risk encountering more villains.
No one did but the Sports Festival was one of the biggest things in all of Japan.
"Our sports festival is one of Japan's big events," Aizawa said, "The Olympics used to be called the festival of sports and it excited the entire country. Now it's reduced in scale and population and it's just a mere formality. Currently, the UA sports festival has taken the place of the Olympics."
"All the top heroes in the country will be watching for scouting purposes," Yaoyorozu added.
"Of course, being in a popular hero agency will provide more experience and popularity," Aizawa narrowed his eyes on the students but unlike usual, all F/n could feel was regret, "Time is limited. If you're chosen by a pro, it instantly opens your future. Once a year, there's only a total of three chances. No aspiring hero can let this chance pass by. If you have the will, be sure to prepare."
"Yes!"
Aizawa gave them a single nod, ending the Homeroom period in a flash. F/n released a breath she did not know she had been holding before inhaling deeply.
Thinking about the Sports Festival made her recall the talk she had with her parents. The typical inspiring talk that she would always get when these things happen to her.
She had to train, they said. She had to train to become the hero she had always wanted to become. She had the potential and everything else needed to be a hero, she just needed to train.
But then again, what was there to train? Nothing.
Blinking back to reality, she released a breath while leaning her back against the chair, half-heartedly listening to the Japanese lecture in class. Japanese History, Health Class and World History were the subjects that followed the lecture.
The day went by quickly, the four periods ended and it was soon lunch. Ashido practically dragged her out of the classroom. She was clearly still excited from the announcement during Homeroom.
With their trays already in their hands, they went to the table where four boys sat, eating their lunch with a conversation amongst them. Kirishima's back straightened at the sight of his friend before grinning and waving at her.
"Ashido!" he called and the pink alien skipped there with a hand wrapped around her friend's forearm.
"Hey!" she greeted back, "I brought F/n with me!"
At that, Bakugou just rolled his eyes while the other three gave her welcoming smiles.
"Hey," Kirishima said, his grin never faltering in the slightest.
"Hello," she greeted him.
"I'm Kaminari Denki. I saved you from the false alarm thing, remember?" the blonde with a lightning streak asked, wanting to find something to boost his ego.
"I do," she nodded.
"Sero Hanta," the black-haired male introduced himself, "Your quirk is Telekinesis, right?"
She nodded her head before glancing at the ash-blonde who ignored everyone and just continued eating. Upon seeing his attitude in class, she thought that he wouldn't be introducing himself and she thought right.
"That's Bakugou," Kirishima introduced his friend instead.
"She knew everyone, weird hair," he grunted, shoving another spoon of his food in his mouth.
"You did?" Kirishima turned to the newcomer and she nodded, leaving the other two boys awkwardly glancing away.
The pink alien laughed out loud, throwing her head back simultaneously, "You idiots!"
"Hey!" Kaminari whined, embarrassed at his own actions.
"It's- It's okay," she tightened her lips as they all glanced at her, "You didn't know."
The boys, except Bakugou, stared at her with mouths agape, causing her to glance away uncomfortably.
"Ignore them, they're always like this," Ashido slung an arm around her shoulders, "So! About the Sports Festival, wanna train together?"
F/n glanced at her before sticking her gaze on the food in front of her. Should she? Should she train with her?
"I..." she trailed off before continuing, "I don't know."
"Aw! Come on! It'll be fun," Ashido pouted, "Just one day, please!"
F/n inhaled a breath before nodding her head, "Okay."
"Yes! Promise it'll be fun," the girl giggled, hugging her friend's arm as she had the other holding a pair of chopsticks.
"Can we join in?" Sero asked hopefully with a toothy grin.
"No," Ashido straight off answered, "It's girls only."
"Wait! We'll treat you with food," Kaminari placed a hand on the table, harsh enough to cause a sound as he thought of the idea.
"Deal!"
"Dude!" Sero scolded, nudging the boy's elbow which resulted in him whining.
"What?"
"Okay, you know what- You're paying."
"What? Why?!"
"I'm broke!"
"So am I!"
F/n quietly watched as they both went back and forth arguing, deciding to get around eating her food and listening to Ashido and Kirishima's conversation instead.
"Hey!"
The girl blinked in surprise upon seeing Kaminari's juice box spilt all over his food. Laughter erupted on the table, which earned a few weird glances from other students.
She glanced away, embarrassment rising within her. One question appeared in her mind, eyes shutting and appetite gone in a second.
What did she just agree to?
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