As I walked towards my classroom, I felt a wave of nervousness hit me. There were three people in my class who now knew what I was capable of, the things I could do when using my quirk full-force against someone else. It was painful to think about, especially since someone I cared for greatly in the past had made the same discovery, starting to look at me in a different way. I didn't want a repeat of that, it was a difficult time and I had hoped never to experience anything like it again.
Sliding the classroom door open, I noticed that a majority of my classmates were already there. I wasn't surprised because the first bell had gone, warning students that class would start within another ten minutes. My eyes scanned the room, meeting those of my classmates as they noticed that I had arrived.
"Morning, (L/n)!" Ashido called out, waving her hand above her head as if her voice wasn't enough to give me her location. In response to her enthusiasm, I sent a nod. It wasn't much, but it appeased her and that was all that mattered now.
I let my eyes continuing their scanning, locking on to one of the people I needed to speak to. After another moment of looking, the second was found followed by the third. Now knowing their locations, I called to them.
"Tsu, Midoriya, Mineta." The three students turned their full attention to me, curious as to what I wanted with them. Tsu's head tilted to the side in wonder, Midoriya's cheeks tinted red and Mineta seemed excited that I wanted him for something. The three waited patiently for my next words.
"Can I speak to the three of you for a moment?" I asked. The three seemed intrigued, wanting to know what I wanted to talk to them about. Tsu looked more curious than the others, her being the first to get up and walk towards me. I took a step to the side and allowed her to walk past and wait behind me while I waited for the boys. Midoriya looked embarrassed, his freckled cheeks dusted with a light blush. He quickly stood from where he was sitting and rushed over to the door. Finally, Mineta got the idea and followed the others, walking over with a strange look on his face. I could tell his thoughts were not pure but that didn't matter right now, he was one of the people I needed to speak with. Both Mineta and Midoriya exited the classroom, having me close the door behind them.
I lead them a little ways down the corridor and into an empty classroom, urging them to take a seat while I stood in front of them. It was in that moment, where all of the attention was on me, that I froze. My throat became dry and my mind blank of all related thoughts, it was as if my body was trying to reject the situation I had willingly put myself in. But I wouldn't have that, talking to these three was important to me and I needed to do it urgently.
"What did you want to talk to us about, (L/n)-chan?" Tsu asked, pressing one of her long fingers to her chin. I met her gaze, pushing myself to get on with what this meet up was about.
"This is about the USJ," I stated. Midoriya opened his mouth to say something, stopping when I raised my hand for him to halt.
"Before you say anything, I want to explain myself. Only if that's fine with you." I looked up at them, watching as the three of them nodded. Mineta seemed to have settled, ridding all of his inappropriate thoughts and keeping his expression serious. Before I started, I took a deep breath and lent back against the teacher's desk behind me.
"I promised myself years ago that I wouldn't use my quirk full force against another person because of the damage it can cause. If I hit someone with that amount of strength, I could kill them. I was lucky that the Nomu could regenerate or else I don't know what else would've happened, bad things I can only guess. Personally, I don't want to be a hero and I'm here for reasons which I can't talk about, but that doesn't mean I want to hurt anybody. Please understand that what you saw back there wasn't okay and I understand that. I lost my cool when he started talking down on my family and I acted irresponsibly," I admitted, keeping my face turned towards the ground with eyes focusing on a lone scrap of paper which lay there. There was a moment of silence before I heard the voice of the grape-headed boy.
"That hand guy, he mentioned that your dad was a villain and that your family has Yakuza relations." I nodded my head, accepting the facts.
"As much as I'd like to hide that, yes, you're right. My grandfather was the boss of our group and my father was supposed to take over the position. But my father is mentally ill and doesn't care for the safety or feelings of others. With this, my grandfather decided that he would find another heir for a better future for the group. Eventually, my father married and had me. From my birth, I became the heir of our group, so that when I became mature enough I would take over the spot as boss. It was just over three years ago that I managed to get away from them all and was rescued by heroes, now for the safety of myself and others I have been placed under the care of the Hero Association."
"Is the Hero Association the reason why you're here at U.A?" Midoriya questioned. I hummed as I rested my palms on the desk behind me, lifting my head so I could look up at the ceiling.
"Yes, I would've wanted to go to a normal highschool and then a university to study, getting a job in the future where I could live as a normal citizen. For some reason, the Association doesn't believe I can do this. Basically, I'm under surveillance for the rest of life as a hero." It was a sad reality that you didn't like to think about. The Hero Association was supposed to protect people and make them feel safe. In my case, it was the opposite. They were the one thing I was genuinely afraid of, mainly because I would go into their headquarters fine and come out with pieces of my memory gone. They have no idea that I know what they're doing in there, they can read my memories, not my thoughts. It's my experiences that they can erase and since I can still feel the aura emotion of the parts they've taken, I know that they're gone.
Heaving a deep breath, I cleared by throat as I prepared to speak again. My head lightly pounded with the strain I had put on it, trying to fight my sub-conscious from stopping myself from speaking to them.
"Anyway, the reason I brought the three of you here was to ask a favor of you. Please don't tell anyone what you saw or heard back in the USJ, I beg of you." The three stared at me with wide eyes as I bowed to them, showing more vulnerability than they had ever seen from me. Not even when I had my stomach scar exposed did I feel this weak, it was something that could easily be passed off as an accident. There were many people at my old middle school that thought I had been in a fire and the scars were from that, that was what I had told them anyway. It worked too, no one questioned it after that.
"Please," I added, after not receiving a response from the three. I lifted my head a little and looked up at the three students who stared at me in shock, not being able to comprehend what happened.
"I understand if you want to report me but please think about this. I don't know what the Hero Association will do to me if they find out that villains know about me. They threatened to lock me up if I didn't get into the U.A heroics course, I don't want to be locked away." It was clear that I had been pushed to the edge and was now trying to keep up my composure. I was breaking and if something didn't happen now, who knows what emotions will spill.
But I was saved by the soft smile of Tsu, her body moving forward as her light footsteps tapped against the wooden floor. She walked towards me, one of her larger hands resting on my shoulder before she pulled me into a hug. It was nice, just like the hug I had received from Mei earlier. But this one was a lot different. Tsu was a lot gentler with her touch, as if I would break if wasn't careful enough. She held onto me until my body relaxed in her arms, physically giving in to her. That was when she started to pet my back gently.
"It's okay, (L/n)-chan. I promise I won't tell anyone, you're family doesn't define who you are and I think you're a good person." I couldn't help but smile into her shoulder, letting my arms wrap around her so I could fully enjoy her embrace. I hadn't realized it at the beginning but she was very warm, it made me lean into her touch even more.
We pulled away when Tsu loosened her hold on me, giving me the incentive to do the same. When she had created a small distance between us, I could see her cute smile again and it gave me urge to give one in return. Trying to keep my emotions in check, I let the smile slip and managed to keep everything else at bay. I was afraid. Sure, Tsu had said she accepted me but I wasn't sure how the other were thinking. I hoped that Midoriya would understand but he was very proactive on the hero side, I didn't want him to side with the Association just because the managed all of the heroes. And Mineta, I had no idea what was running through his little grape-mind.
Gathering the courage, I turned and looked at the purple and green haired boys. I met their gazes, trying to read how they felt but it was difficult. Midoriya looked concerned but I didn't know what for, I knew that he cared for me even though we weren't that close but was it enough to protect myself? His hand moved to the back of his neck where he rubbed, his green orbs focusing on the ground.
"I don't hate you for your family, (L/n). And I promise I won't report you, even if you had a past with them I don't believe that you're a threat like the Association thinks you are." I couldn't help but smiled again, bowing to the green-haired boy.
"Thank you, Midoriya. It means a lot to me."
Now there was only Mineta left. He seemed to be deep in though, the presence of my eyes on him catching his attention.
"You mentioned this being a favor, what do I get in return?" he asked, a light blush dusting his cheeks as his imagination ran wild. Tsu looked annoyed by this and attempted to approach the grape, stopping when I grabbed onto her wrist. She glanced back at me, receiving a look which begged her not to do anything. She immediately gave up and took a step back to be in line with me. I walked forward and towards the grape boy, giving him a flick on the forehead.
"I'll let you live." He looked shocked by what I had said, both Tsu and Midoriya getting that it was a joke. But it worked a threat anyway, it was better having him keep his mouth shut.
Mineta eventually caught on and surprised me by moving past his usual inappropriate self and acting a lot more mature than I would would have expected.
"I promise as well, I won't report you and I don't think you're a bad person. You're super strong but I know you wouldn't hurt someone that wasn't your enemy," he declared. It was hard not to let out a little giggle at his words. And he seemed determined to stand by them, I genuinely believed that he would keep his word. Once that was all over, I smiled to the three of them.
"Thank you for your time and believing in me, I promise that I'll do my best." In response, the three bowed back to me, smiling widely. I couldn't help but laugh and they joined me. We now had a shared secret and a lot more trust in each other. I just hoped that we could keep it and that this would bring us closer together so that we could all be friends.
That would be nice, to have more friends.
I know that a lot of people hate Mineta but I genuinely like him as a character. A lot of people only look at surface characteristics of him, only seeing him as a short, unappealing pervert. I love the way he fits into the story and it's fine if you dislike him as a character. Just cut back on the Mineta hate cause it's really unnecessary, thanks.