MHA: Mizumi's Story

Enemies to Friends

1st Person
As expected, Monoma and I couldn't get along during our training session. We both go back to 3B's dorm building, soaking wet and still bickering. I pull my towel tighter around my shoulders as I notice Hitoshi waiting for us, and I know I'm in trouble when I see the look on his face. I hang my head and cautiously approach him, trying to make myself look cute to butter him up. If I'm cute, he won't be mad, right?
"Do I want to know what happened?" Hitoshi asks when I stop in front of him. He keeps his arms crossed as he looks down at me with the facial expression of a disappointed parent.
I sheepishly look up at him as I shake my head. "I don't think so..." I look over at Monoma nervously.
"No, don't look at him. Look at me, Kitten."
I look up at my boyfriend like a kicked puppy, still trying to be cute.
"Siren. Don't even try that." It's rare that he uses my name, so I know I'm really in for it later. He sighs. "Go home. I'll deal with you later."
I silently nod as I turn around and walk away. I glance back at Monoma to see his reaction, us both knowing he is also in for a serious talking to from my angry boyfriend.

The next hour or so is absolute torture as I wait for my boyfriend to come over. I jump at the slightest sounds, hiding behind my other boyfriend when the door opens.
"Denki, don't try to protect her." Hitoshi's voice is low, but I can hear the rage he's holding back. I don't think I've ever seen him so mad.
"Whatever you're about to do, don't. She's sorry, okay?" Denki stands in front of me, ready to fight our boyfriend if he tries to hurt me.
I take a deep breath and step out from behind Denki, knowing Hitoshi would never hurt me, even if I did something wrong.
"It's okay, Sparks. I was a bad Kitty today, and Toshi just needs to talk to me about it."
"That's right. I'm not going to touch you," Hitoshi reassures me. "I just want to talk. Come here."
Denki cautiously takes a step aside, wanting to keep a close eye on both of us just in case. Hitoshi waves him off then leads me outside, and we stand on the porch as we argue about Monoma.

"Kitty, what is your problem? Why do you keep doing this?"
"You think I plan for stuff like this to happen? He is always the one to pick a fight, and I don't think I should be punished for standing up for myself!"
"You're not standing up for yourself, you're making things worse. You give him the reaction he wants. You're just fueling the fire!"
"I'm trying to put out the fire! That's the whole point of having water powers!"
"Kitty..."
"Toshi..."
I suddenly notice the blood on my boyfriend's hands. It's not much, but the sight is enough to make me gasp and back away a little. "What the hell is that?!"
He looks at his hands and I see his expression change from angry to surprised, as if he didn't realize he had blood on his hands.
"Hitoshi...what did you do?"
He sighs, not knowing how to explain himself. I grab him by the wrist, leading him back inside.
"Go sit on the couch while I get some supplies. You're going to tell me everything..." I run off to get a first aid kit and a wet washcloth so I can clean him up. When I come back and start gently wiping the blood off of my boyfriend's hands, I see a slight cut and some bruises that have already started to form on Hitoshi's knuckles. I stay calm as I clean him up, listening to him as he explains how his classmate came home still upset after fighting with me all afternoon. Monoma had started ranting about how I am still a villain and I will never be a real hero. He even compared me to my mother, saying I am destined to be just like her for the rest of my life. Hitoshi was already not happy, but the way his friend insulted me and compared me to my villain mother made it so much worse. Bad enough to make my boyfriend punch his friend in the face. If the teachers find out about what he did, he would be in so much trouble. I promise to keep it a secret, but still scold Hitoshi for doing something physical.
As much as I hate Monoma, he and I have never been in a physical fight outside of training. The most we have ever done is insult and trash talk each other. I know better than to start any physical fights.

After what happened yesterday, Monoma and I are both walking on eggshells around Hitoshi. We come to a kind of truce, agreeing to try harder to get along during our mission, but we don't have much time to find any common ground. Hitoshi told Denki and the rest of my friends to stay away from me as much as possible today, just so I can focus on Monoma and trying to get along with him.
"So why do you hate me?" I ask my rival as we take a break from our training session.
"I don't hate you," Monoma says quietly.
"Then what's your problem?"
"I don't know...I just want to prove that I'm better than everyone."
"You have nothing to prove. For what it's worth, I think you are going to be a great hero someday."
"Thanks." Monoma smiles a little. "Most people can't stand me and my attitude. They just tune me out. Why do you fight back?"
I have to think about his question for a minute. "I guess it's because you remind me of my brother when he was our age. He used to do a lot of stupid stuff on purpose to get me in trouble."
"Yeah, like what?"
I hesitate to answer, not wanting him to know about my family drama any more than he already does. "Really stupid stuff, like getting into our mom's secret candy stash and then blaming it on me. I got in trouble a lot because of him. We hated each other when we were kids."
He laughs, making me smile a little. "Typical sibling stuff, huh?"
"Yeah, I'm surprised neither of us actually killed the other one. Especially with how much we would chase each other around the house with a knife..."
"Were you the sibling that got chased with a knife or were you the sibling that was holding the knife?"
"Both. I have been both."
Monoma and I both start laughing as we bond over our childhood war stories. I learn that he's been discriminated against his whole life because people think his Quirk is useless. Everyone told him there's no way he could be a superhero with a power like Copy. But I honestly have to disagree with that. "I see a lot of advantages to using a villain's Quirk against them, especially if they don't know who you are. Plus, your hero costume doesn't give anything away. Phantom Thief is going to be a super useful pro hero."

After our training session, we go back to the dorms still talking and laughing as if we've been best friends for years. Hitoshi is proud to see that we've put our differences aside and are getting along now. Our main common interest being insulting each other, but at least it's just playful banter now and not legitimate arguing. We tell each other "yo mama" jokes and playfully insult each other, smiling the whole time.
"You know what? I was wrong about you, Siren. You're actually kind of cool," Monoma admits.
"You better not catch feelings for me," I tease. "Not that I could blame you if you did, but I'm happily taken."
"Yeah, whatever. Like I would ever fall in love with a loser like you."
"Says the loser who's still single~"