The Atomic Hero || BNHA x Reader/OC ||

Truth with a Little t

You sit at the table in the waiting room for Class 1-A. You're really here, aren't you?

Maybe...maybe you should try your best. It'll be an insult to everyone else if you don't.

But then what? Do you actually want the whole world to see how powerful you are? And not like, "Whoa, that girl's really powerful!" But more like, "Whoa, that girl is too powerful to live in this society."

That's what they thought for a long time, your father included. You've tried so hard to get to a point where you're not considered a menace, a threat. You just want to do good. Be good.

Iida bursts through the door, scaring some of the other students. "Everyone get your game faces on! We're entering the arena soon!"

You pop another takoyaki in your mouth. It's nine forty-five in the morning and way too early for street food, but you've never had a nervous stomach in your life. You get nervous atoms, obviously, but it results in different side-effects that are, thankfully, absent today.

"How can you eat that?" Yaomomo regards the food with disdain. "I feel like I'm going to be sick. Just the smell..."

"Have you eaten anything?"

"Ah, just some toast this morning," she admits. "I'm too nervous."

"Girl, you gotta eat something! You'll run out of juice!"

Yaomomo covers her face. "I know, I know. But..."

"Here." You scoot the takoyaki over and adjust its chemical makeup a little bit. "I got rid of most of the taste. It'll just taste like...nothing. If you're still nauseous afterward, I might be able to help with that too."

She's dubious but smart. Yaomomo begins to eat, and once she gets used to the fact that the food in her mouth has no taste, she finishes off the box.

You go to say something to her, but the scrape of a chair interrupts you. "Midoriya."

Todoroki stalks forward. He's got down that icy calm. You'll likely never tell him that you can hear his heartbeat almost all the time because of how loud it constantly is. It's actually a bit worrying.

"Hey, Todoroki. What's up?"

A very dramatic conversation between the two ensues. It's all, "I'm going to beat you because I'm the best." And, "No, I'm going to be the best by beating you." Pretty tiring, really. But Todoroki's onto something between Midoriya and All Might. You'll keep an eye on it.

Right after Midoriya gets done speaking, you stand. You don't want to be late for the line-up.

"Don't worry, guys," you say, making sure to glance over Todoroki. A smile twirls at your lips, and you know you're being dumb, but there's way too much heaviness for a bunch of high schoolers going on. "I want to make sure all of you know that—I'm not going to be aiming for the top. I'm just here to make friends."

The tension eases into a more light-hearted atmosphere. Still nervous, but better. You stick your hands in both pockets and head out, ignoring Bakugou's mutterings about how fucking stupid you are, and smile at Iida.

"Ready to rock, Iida?"

"Y-yes. Of course!"

"Alright!"

You raise your hand up for him to slap. He doesn't leave you hanging, and you're met with a very crisp, strong, Iida-like high-five.

The Way's faint song changes, however, giving you reason to pause. You do a half-turn and look back at your classmates. They're all so wonderful, aren't they? You should say something to them, something powerful, impactful.