Plus Minus One || BNHA OC Fanfiction

Extra #3: A Mirage

So this was a deleted scene from arc 4. I couldn't figure out where to put it, so I scrapped it altogether. I was pretty sad about it because I liked it, but it didn't fit anywhere. It's really just a bit more of an insight about Junri, but I believe I conveyed her well enough in her introduction. I guess just think of this as an extra tidbit?

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Although the amber-colored liquid swirled inside the ceramic cup, Junri could not help but just stare at her distorted reflection. Slowly, she began to lift it to her lips but halted her movement. A look of a grimace crossed over her face. She placed the cup down on the tiny white plate with a heavy sigh. However, her fingers still stayed hooked around the golden handle.

Even if drinking tea had become a common occurrence, she did not exactly enjoy drinking the liquid. In fact, she did not favor tea at all. The same goes for alcohol, such as sake. It may be strange for most people, but personally, the liquids that fell onto her tastebuds tasted like nothing. But despite this, she still chugged down the drink because she did not want to be questioned. She did not want others to stare at her like she was a freak.

She did not like being treated differently. People were cruel, and she did not want to be someone her peers avoided. So, she lied through her teeth. Her Quirk was not Euthymia's Sentience. It was not the ability to control others with a simple thought but a Quirk that eradicated your senses. It was easier to smile cheerfully and fib. A little white lie would not harm anyone. It was fine.

But it was difficult to don a mask all the time. Sometimes she would find a flaw in the way she spoke, or subconsciously, she would shift someone's perception. It was not done on purpose, but those students were being annoying! She could not help it if her Quirk activated when a tiny part of her wanted something changed! Besides, if someone was tweaked a bit, that meant that it was needed.

Other times, Junri would use Euthymia's Sentience to trick her own consciousness. It was easy. Just a small tug at an imaginary string and the liquid that slid down her esophagus would taste like something. Maybe it was a bit too sweet or too sour, but it was the only way she could taste it. Sure some would say that it was not an ideal thing to do, but anything that she ate and drank tasted so bland. So more often than not, she would experiment and warp her own perception.

The purin tasted like cardboard? No matter, she just needed to convince herself that it tasted sweet and smiled. The whispers of those ghosts roaming the hallways were too loud? She just needed to place an auditory hallucination of her favorite song in her ears, and she did not hear those voices anymore. The pale white fingers were reaching toward her? Simple, just erase them from her sight, and she could not see them.

It's not anything terrible, Junri thought to herself in reassurance. It's perfectly fine. It's only affecting me, and it's not my fault food doesn't taste like anything.

It was fine. It was totally fine. She only changed things about herself that she did not like. Just minor flaws that no one else had. Everyone else liked the flavors of different foods. They enjoyed savoring the sweetness, bitterness, everything about whatever they took a bite of or sipped. But she was not like that. She did not taste anything unless it was covered in sugar or extremely sour. Even now, the teacup in her hand carried the remains of fifteen sugar cubes.

But it is hard fooling yourself. Common sense always seemed to break through the illusions she forged with her own two hands. Deep down, she was aware that what she was doing was not healthy. She's isolated herself from anyone and everyone and only ventured out into the real world whenever it was necessary.