“i love you in the same way there’s a chapel in a hospital” i love you and i’m hopeless. my heart sits in your hands and you stare it, like you’re thinking about keeping it. i know you won’t. i love you and it’s desperate. i cling to everything you say. i love you like you’re the god i stopped believing in. i did have faith in you once. but now i’m desperate and i’m hopeless and i’m considering falling to my knees among the saints. a chapel in a hospital is full of beggars like me. keep whatever piece of my heart you can. i’ll take the rest and try to fit it back inside my chest despite the missing pieces. i love you and this is a last resort.
⚘. playlist: Creep by Radiohead (acoustic version)
"A wave of heat rose through her chest. It spread across her cheeks, burning her with the shame and disgust she felt. Heroes don't need to be controlled. Yet, here she was, stained by darkness."
cw | emotional and psychological distress, Thanatos being hell on Earth, Minori's inability to trust (even herself) | 2.6k
M.LIST | ᗢᘏᓚ | TAGLIST | ᓚᘏᗢ. III
Minori tugged at the hem of her blue U.A. gym uniform. Its fabric dimmed against the vibrant and elaborate hero costumes surrounding her. She shifted her weight from foot to foot. Her eyes darted to the ground as her classmates adjusted their gear. Their excited chatter and bursts of laughter felt distant, as if she was an intruder in this realm of heroes. She took a deep breath and glanced down at her sneakers. It was her first day, and she already wanted to run out of the door.
"All right, let the Battle Trials begin!" All Might appeared in his glory, towering over every single person in the room. Minori’s eyes widened at the number one hero. His hair was much brighter than it appeared on the TV they provided in the rec room at Thanatos. "Most of the time, fighting villains takes place outside. But if you look at the total numbers, atrocious villains appear indoors at a higher rate. Imprisonment and house arrest are common. There are also backroom deals. Heroes fill this society. But, truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows! For this class, you will be divided into villains and heroes and engage in 2-on-2 indoor battles.”
Minori scanned the room, her eyes flickering from one aspiring hero to another. Amidst the sea of faces, she finally found a familiar pair of deep blue eyes that belonged to Sora. She stood beside Aizawa across the room with a smile and sent Minori a double thumbs-up. They were close enough to keep an eye on her but far enough for All Might to lead the class.
“Now, listen here,” All Might announced. "The villains have hidden a nuclear weapon in their hideout. The heroes are trying to dispose of it. They need to catch the villains or get the nuclear weapon back within the allowed time. The villains need to protect the nuclear weapon for the whole time or catch the heroes."
Drawing lots determined all the teams. Minori's team included her and Koda Koji. He was a tall, peach-colored boy with an uneven, rock-shaped head. Their opponents were Aoyama Yuga, a blonde boy with a sparkly cape, and Ashido Mina, the pink alien girl.
"The first battle is between teams A and D. A will be the heroes, and D will be the villains. Everyone else heads into the monitoring room," All Might said.
Along with her class, Minori watched the battle unfold in front of her eyes from screens. Each fight had a fifteen-minute time limit. The spiky-haired, ash-blonde started with a surprise attack from the start. A collection of smoke had appeared from the blonde's preemptive strike. He clawed at the air to make himself visible. His sharp, crimson eyes glared ruthlessly down at the boy in the bunny-eared hero suit.
Even from where Minori stood, she could see the vein on the blonde's forehead. It was ready to burst from their yelling match. Although no one could hear what they were saying, the emotions between them were palpable. With bated breath, Minori watched as the blonde lunged toward the greenette. It felt almost intrusive to witness such an intense brawl between the two boys. It was clear to tell that the blonde's intention was to blow the other into dust. His talent and obvious distraught kept propelling his merciless attacks.
"This really doesn't feel manly, guys. It feels like Bakugou's gonna kill Midoriya!" someone whispered. Minori turned toward the redhead who spoke out with a quizzical look. So that's what their names are. Her mind still lingered on the scene of Bakugou's ferocity.
"Ribbit. He has a villainous expression."
"His personality is like the furthest thing from a hero I can think of..."
Minori frowned as her class criticized Bakugou’s actions. Her eyes never left the screen as she watched the battle. The blonde was a mystery to her, but he was definitely an intriguing character. She had never seen anyone fight with such ferocity. It didn't seem fair to dismiss him like the rest of the class did. Sure, his tactics were overzealous, but to label him as a villain struck a chord deep within her.
Their battle trial ended in the heroes' victory. The building smoldered from their fight, and a giant hole writhed with smoke billowing out of it. Midoriya's attack nearly ripped the building in half and shattered all the windows. He directed a full swing through the roof, allowing his teammate the opportunity to retrieve the weapon.
Bakugou walked with the rest of the group back into the observation room. Once back, he sat in the very back, not raising his head to look at anyone. His head slumped forward, his eyes trailing listlessly across the ground. Minori observed his shallow, uneven breaths. His crimson eyes were so subdued and vacant that they didn't look like his own. He looked so completely and utterly broken.
His haunted expression mirrored the way she had felt at Thanatos. After the Hecate Massacre, teachers, guards, and students all bullied her. She could never forget the way they looked at her—like she was a monster—the same look Bakugou was getting now.
Minori tore her gaze away. Her battle trial was up next, and she needed to focus. Forced out the door with Koda, Aoyama, and Ashido, Minori spared one last glance toward Bakugou. She tilted her head as a redhead offered Bakugou a curt nod and sat next to him.
A snicker broke out nearby. "Isn't it ironic that Ki is playing a villain," someone remarked. Minori huffed in annoyance. Her heart was racing from the nerves, and she tried to push the snarky comments out of her mind. She had never used her Quirk in front of others before—let alone in a fight. It was frightening enough. But the thought of hurting another human being was even more terrifying.
The objective was simple. The role of villains was assigned to Minori and Koda. The heroes, Aoyama and Mina, had to either defeat them or save the nuclear weapon. Koda was chewing at his fingernails and she wondered if he had similar fears. He didn't seem like the fighting type. His Quirk, Anivoice, allowed him to speak to animals, but that was hardly an offensive power.
The two entered Ground Beta. All Might announced the beginning of the battle trial. The two had five minutes to prepare before the heroes entered the building.
"We have to defend the bomb, right? Do you have a plan?" Minori asked.
Koda turned toward her with wide, frightened eyes. He looked like a deer in the headlights, and Minori almost pitied him.
"You're not the fighting type, are you?"
He shook his head, his face growing paler by the second.
"Okay," Minori nodded to herself. She didn't have the best understanding of her Quirk, especially since it was strictly prohibited to use in Thanatos. If authorities caught anyone using their Quirk, they would face severe consequences. Before Sora arrived in Thanatos as a troubled youth counselor, Minori never even considered using her Quirk. It was dangerous. She was dangerous. She could cause chaos and destruction as her mother did. That thought alone sent shivers down her spine. But Sora convinced her that there was a chance for her in society. A chance to rewrite her own story and be a hero, unlike her mother. She was in a reformation school after all; she was meant to have a second chance at life.
At Thanatos, she practiced her Quirk in secret. She did so in her cell at night or outside during recreation time. Fortunately, she could discreetly use her Quirk because air always surrounded her. She trained herself to feel the molecules in her environment, the movement of the wind, and the density of the air. Now, at 17, she had developed a heightened sensitivity within her Quirk, allowing her to perceive subtle shifts in her surroundings.
"Alright then, Koda, here's the plan: you cover the weapon while I cover you, okay? All we have to do is hold them off for fifteen minutes."
Koda gave her a nervous thumbs-up. They got into position as they waited for their enemies. They both covered the weapon and watched the door where the two would come in from.
Minori got low to the ground, feeling every particle around her lighten as she relaxed her limbs. The air around her started to shift, and the particles grew heavier. She felt the pressure in the room begin to fluctuate. Minori took a deep breath.
They're near.
Particles around her quivered; her hair stood on end. Footsteps thudded unevenly outside the door.
They were here.
"Here comes the sparkles!" Aoyama barged into the room with a shot from his large, blue, sparkly laser belt. It only lasted a second, though, before he stopped and grabbed his stomach. Ashido followed behind.
"We made it!" Ashido pumped her fists. Aoyama's cape swished behind him dramatically. He carefully avoided his partner's acidic trail. Minori's mouth hung open at the comic-like appearance. Then, she noticed Ashido's acid was slowly eating the floor.
That wasn't good. They'd have to finish this soon before the whole floor collapsed.
"Stop Villain! We've come to—" Minori's eyes widened, and moved her hands out of reflex. She waved her arms in a circular motion and threw a gust of wind toward Aoyama, cutting him off. Aoyama staggered and fell backward onto the acidic floor that Mina had created. "Oh no, my sparkles!" Aoyama whined as his cape disintegrated before them.
"Sorry!" Ashido apologized, rubbing her hands together.
Minori repeated her last motion and threw another gust of air in the direction of the distracted two heroes. The heroes lost their footing and fell into an acid-induced hole in the ground, ending the battle.
"Villain Team Wins!" All Might announced. Minori let her body relax, and the tension in the air dissipated. "Good work, everyone. We didn't have any major injuries, other than young Midoriya, either! You all did a good job for your first training."
All Might escorted everyone outside to the observation room. He congratulated the winning teams on their victories, but he also acknowledged the losers for their efforts.
"There is a lot of merit in each of your performances today," All Might praised. "You can't always expect a clear-cut win, especially when your opponents have skills or abilities that you didn't expect. That's why these training exercises are so important. They help you learn how to react to your opponent and use your strengths against them."
Minori's attention waned as the hero lectured her classmates about the importance of being prepared. She didn't mean to tune him out, but she couldn't stop thinking about her battle trial. When Aoyama shot his laser, her reaction was instantaneous. It was like her body had taken over her mind. She protected the weapon. She won. She was a successful villain.
Minori bit her lip. Her trembling fingers brushed the scar under her elbow. She had played the "villain" with such ease. Her actions gnawed at her conscience. They were like creeping vines in her soul. Was this her destiny, to become a mirror image of the darkness that enveloped her mother?
She peered down at her arm. The violet mark left by Sora's Quirk seemed larger. The ragged edges and sickly hue deepened, spreading like an ugly bruise across her skin. A wave of heat rose through her chest. It spread across her cheeks, burning her with the shame and disgust she felt. Heroes don't need to be controlled. Yet, here she was, stained by darkness. Minori scoffed to herself. How could she even think she was worthy of being a hero? She wasn't a hero. She was the villain everyone expected her to be. It was only a matter of time before Sora would have to stop her. Like mother like daughter.
"That was incredible, Ki!" Minori's heart leapt to her throat, and her shoulders jerked. She whipped around, and met the bright yellow eyes of the alien girl. The pink skin of her cheeks stretched to her earlobes as her toothy grin widened. Her smile was like a ray of sunshine beaming from a cloudless sky. "Your Quirk is so cool! I mean, we were so surprised when you made that gust of wind, and then you went all boom, pow!" Ashido's hands waved wildly in front of her as she attempted to describe her powers. "So awesome!"
Minori blinked and took a step back, her eyes wide with confusion. This didn't make sense. No one at Thanatos had ever praised her Quirk. Why was this girl—someone she had defeated as a villain—complimenting her monstrous Quirk? Minori frowned and furrowed her brows. It had to be a trick, a cruel prank.
She glared at Ashido. Yes, that was it. She should have seen through it sooner. This was a familiar tactic, one she had endured countless times at Thanatos. Lure her in with false kindness and so-called friendship, only to shatter her trust in the end.
Minori remembered the times when her fellow inmates at Thanatos had feigned friendship. They would invite her into secluded areas under the guise of friendship. But, then they would turn on her viciously. Locked rooms became traps. She found herself surrounded and cornered by mocking faces and cruel laughter. They mocked her Quirk, her heritage, and her dreams of redemption, and left her with bruises that would never fully heal.
Ashido's smile faltered. "Hey, did I say something wrong?"
"Are you playing a joke on me?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"My Quirk." Ashido’s brow wrinkled, and her face scrunched up. She snapped before she could stop herself. "What are you trying to say? That I'm just a freak with a dangerous Quirk?" She let out a dry laugh, "Or is it 'cause the world's shittiest fucking person ever is in the same class as you heroes?”
Ashido’s jaw dropped. "No! I wasn't, I just... I thought you were really strong—"
"Stop it," Minori spat. Her fingers dug into her arms, and she gritted her teeth. "You're lying! That's the way it is, isn't it? You're just like everyone else. That's why you're trying to mess with my head, right?"
"No, Ki..." Ashido reached out her hand.
"Don't touch me," Minori snarled. Ashido's lips quivered and pressed into a tight line. The image burned into Minori's mind. She squeezed her eyes shut. She was better off alone. No one would want her around. They all feared her. That was her fate. That was who she was. A monster.
“Just leave me alone. I don't need you speaking to me. I don't need any of you guys."
"Minori?" Sora asked, looking between the two girls with a slight frown. "What's going on here?"
"Nothing,” Minori bit out. “Everything’s fine.” Sora's shoulders slumped, and she exhaled a slow, heavy sigh. Minori spun on her heel and stalked away, her heart pounding against her ribcage. The weight of Sora’s disappointment and Ashido’s pained eyes bore down on her. Her steps quickened. She felt her classmates' stares. Their eyes dug into her back as she left the Beta Grounds and went toward the locker rooms. It was suffocating. She clenched her jaw and pressed her nails into her palm. The sharp sting a welcome distraction from the ache in her chest. She had to get out of there. She couldn't afford to let it in. Not now. Not ever. She couldn't trust anyone. Her mind replayed every betrayal, every false promise of friendship that had led to locked rooms and cruel ambushes. Her pulse raced. She forced herself to focus on the rhythm of her steps. Each one a mantra: don't trust them, you can't even trust yourself. She was better off alone. Safer.
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