Rebirth | BNHA |

Chapter 2: Alexithymia

Playlist: Creep by Radiohead (acoustic version)

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.