A Ray of Hope for Tenya Iida

Young Padawan

(Disclaimer: I've never really watched star wars, but I know a few references, so I decided to do this lol.)

(TW: swearing, being laughed at [like, being singled out and being laughed at in "harmless fun" idk what to call it, but I know some people are triggered by it)

Mina's pov: I was dancing in the common area, trying to get a routine down, when I saw Iida walk in with a bit of a distanced look in his eyes. He seemed to have a goal in mind, somewhere to go, as always, but he didn't seem to even know what that goal was. He didn't have much to do today at all, so why was he rushing like that? Breakfast was made, we didn't make too big a mess, school was out, and Momo was keeping people in line, so it's not like he had much to be doing, right? Why was he even out anyways? He didn't even tell anyone he was leaving, which he would usually do, so why was he all of a sudden going out without warning and coming back looking as if he had a task even he didn't know he was supposed to be doing? Maybe I could talk to someone about this and see if they've noticed anything different about him. Anyways, since I wasn't paying attention, I messed up my routine and fell over. He looked over at me, even though he was about to leave before I fell over, and immediately looked concerned. 

"Are you alright?" He offered me a hand, classic Iida, looking out for all of us even when there was nothing to worry about.

"Yeah, I was just distracted during my routine, so I fell over. It's not the easiest thing to not fall over when you're doing a handstand, trying to spin, and not paying attention to what you're doing."

"You really should pay more attention, Mina, that could've been dangerous, you could've gotten hurt!" He lectured me, doing more hand signals than the traffic police in New York during rush hour. "You're not hurt, are you?" 

"I'm perfectly fine, Iida, don't worry so much! Loosen up a bit!" I laughed, trying not to go over and use my fingers to push his mouth into a smile. He doesn't smile often, but when he does, you can tell he's actually happy about something, which is something a lot more people should do. Now that I think about it, since his smiles are rare, does that mean it's rare for him to be happy? Or is it just when he's extremely happy? Most people smile a lot more, but then again, he's not one to follow the norm. 

"Right, I should 'loosen up', thank you," he said it as if I was criticizing him. Was I being critical?

"I mean, it couldn't hurt to do something for yourself every once in a while, it's easier to help others when you've taken care of yourself, right?" I walked over to him and dusted myself off to make sure nothing on the ground was on me. "You know, we girls would be happy to help you relax every once in a while, we're great at doing relaxing girls nights! You could bring in some stuff if it'd help any!"

"That's a very kind and generous offer, Mina, thank you." Was he really going to accept it? This was easier than I thou- "but I'm going to have to decline your offer. Night is for sleeping and day is for working. It's wonderful you have something to do when you feel stressed, but I don't really need that currently. I could help with these 'girl nights' if you need, but I myself don't need any help relaxing, I do that while sleeping."

"Sleeping and fully relaxing aren't the same thing, young padawan. You've much to learn."

"What is a 'padawan'? Is it a way to describe someone? And why are you calling me 'young'? We're about the same age." He didn't know what a padawan is?

"You've MUCH to learn. Now, you're gonna follow me to the TV and I'm going to educate you, young padawan."

"I don't think watching television is going to help with learning unless it's an educational video. What are you trying to teach me? I know you don't watch any non ficton."

"I'm trying to teach you culture, dear sir. I'm gonna get Bakusquad and we're gonna educate the HECK outta you!"

"Oh dear lord..." He pinched the bridge of his nose. And that, my friends, is how you know you're doing something right.

Iida's pov: Mina called the "Bakusquad" over to watch something on the television, and though I protested, Mina along with Sero, Denki, Kirishima, and Bakugou, though less of Bakugou for obvious reasons, set up with pillows, blankets, snacks, and stuffed animals and sat me down in the middle of it all. I sat there, not knowing what to do, as they handed me a stuffed bear and a bowl of popcorn while draping a blanket over my lap. 

"Really, Mina, I'm fine without knowing. I could easily look it up or ask a more reliable source." I protested, not wanting to watch anything they have planned for me to view. 

"Aww, come onnnnn! It's not even that bad! You're just gonna binge watch a series of movies that explain what a padawan is!" Mina sounded as if she'd been waiting for a moment like this for ages, and Kirishima, Denki, and Sero all gasped at the same time.

"Dude, you don't know what a padawan is?" Denki inquired, because of course he knew something like this and I didn't. Despite not having the best grades in school, he was definitely intelligent in other ways, no doubt. He understood social cues and behavior far better than I did, so there's likely to be some things that he knows that I don't.

"Iida-bro, you really just gotta see this to know. This is THE source we all know this from." Kirishima leaned in a bit close to my face to make his point while brightly smiling at me. 

Sero chimed in with, "And since when is mister knowledge archive alright with NOT knowing something? You don't wanna be ignorant, do you?"

"Well, no, but at the same time, I don't have time for binge watching anything, that's way too time consuming!" I protested. I didn't want to be here, surrounded by all of these people without a purpose. Sure, I like these people, they're good acquaintances, but I had something better to be doing with my time. 

"Of course four eyes hasn't seen Star Wars. You gonna chicken out of a fucking movie? What, does relaxing scare the shit outta you, you extra?!" Bakugou was sick of me, I could tell. He was irritated that I'd caused this much trouble. I had no way of getting out of this, did I?

"Fine, I'll watch the movie. Star Wars, was it? Is this a documentary on the cold war, when the United States and Russia were fighting to be the first to the moon?" I supposed that idea wouldn't be too bad, I could watch that for a while. It WOULD be educational, after all. They all burst into laughter except Bakugou, who just folded his arms and held onto the remote. 

"Dude, you're so far off!" Denki wheezed. It wasn't that funny, was it? "Star Wars, documentary!" Kirishima and Sero joined in on the intense laughter. It really wasn't that funny, why were they laughing like that at me? I wanted to leave even more. Mina popped a disk into the DVD player and started up the movie, which quickly got to a part with loud anthem music and quickly moving stars. I regretted getting up today.