i walked up to the piano and played a note, F#, to be precise. i wiped off the bench and sat down, looking upon the ivory and ebony keys. i remember a song my mother taught me. it's called etude opening 25, no. 11, winter wind. it's a beautiful song, so i decided i would play it. i have no idea if this piano is tuned or even sounds good, but it's worth a shot. i close my eyes and start playing. i make it through the entire song not missing a note. i kept the tempo perfect and played through the feeling of the keys and the feeling alone. i never once opened my eyes, so i was blissfully unaware of kacchan's presence until he started clapping. i instantly snap my eyes open and look at him sitting by the door. "wow... i heard you played the piano, but not that well!! when was the last time you played??" he asks. i'm probably so red right now. "uhh... i last played when i was.... i think 7? thank you, by the way." i say. his jaw drops. "no way. there is no way you haven't played in 8 years with that performance. that... that's impossible!" he says. "well, i did it." i shrug. "we should go down and eat, i'm sure dinner is ready by now." i say. kacchan nods. "ok, lets go." the whole elevator ride was just kacchan trying to convince me that i'm lying. "all i'm saying is that was too good to just pull out of your ass like it's casual!" he says as we make our way into the kitchen. "well, just because i haven't played in years, doesn't mean i haven't practiced. i tapped on the table and stuff and built it into my muscle memory." i say, shrugging once more as i sit down next to sho. "what are you guys talking about?" he asks. "deku is really fucking good at playing piano and he hasn't played in years!" kacchan says. "it's not that big of a deal, kacchan!" i retort. "maybe you could play something for the class after dinner!" kacchan says with an excited look on his face. "with your talent, that'd be awesome!" he says, even more excited than before. "ok, that sounds fun." uraraka says, placing down a dish of food. by now, everyone has showed up to the table, so sho presents the idea to everyone. everybody seems to think it's a good idea and we all begin eating our dinner. after dinner, we all slowly make our way upstairs to the music room. "does anybody else know how to play any instruments?" i ask. everyone shook their head no and i nodded in understanding. i walk over to a sheet music book on the book shelf. i open to a random page and see 'moonlight sonata, 3rd movement'. i quickly scan through it and put it back on the shelf. i sit down at the piano and crack my knuckles. i begin to play and the room falls silent.
i once again had my eyes closed so i could pay attention to the music, and only the music. soon enough, i'm done the song. the room erupts with applause and i hear someone snicker. i get really red from embarrassment and bow my head. "thanks, guys." i say. uraraka comes up to me and sits down on the bench. "that was AMAZING izuku! where'd you learn to play like that?!" she asks. i was about to respond but get cut off by; "it wasn't that good." from mineta. everyone turns to him and he shrugs. "oh yeah?! let's see you do better, pip-squeak!" kacchan says. mineta looked a little shocked, but comes over to the piano anyways. me and ura move so he can sit down and play. he starts trying to play 'heart and soul' but it sounds horrendous. he was missing notes all over the place and his left hand was lazy. eventually, he gave up with a defeated look on his face. "it's ok, mineta. learning an instrument is really hard, and you did really well!" i say smiling, trying to encourage him. "thanks, midoriya. it was nothing compared to you though." he says in a still defeated tone of voice. "so what?" i retort. "what do you mean?" he asks in a confused tone of voice. "so what if i'm a bit better at playing piano than you? you're better at other things that i could never dream of being good at. don't compare yourself to others, because you are your harshest critic. you will never get an accurate comparison if it's to someone else. everyone has strengths and weaknesses, different to each other. if we all had the same skills, then we wouldn't be human." i say in an encouraging tone of voice. he smiles a genuine smile and walks out the door. people then turn back to me. "what?" i ask. kacchan walks up to me. "how long have you been able to play that one?" he asks. i shrug. "i just memorized the sheet music now. i didn't memorize the notes, just imagined the sheet music as i was playing." i say simply. "how. the. fuck?" he asks. "what do you mean? you just have to image it, and boom! you got a song!" i say, pushing my fists together. "y-yeah, but- oh whatever. i'm too tired for this shit." he says, defeated. soon, people start to file out of the door and i take a quick breath. "so, bed time?" i ask. kacchan and sho both nod and we head down to our dorm. when we get there, i immediately plop on the bed. "i need a shower but i don't wanna get up." i say. sho chuckles and picks me up. "well, you gotta shower anyways." he says. i nod and hop out of his arms. i grab some pyjamas and head into the bathroom.
i lock the door behind me and take off my clothes. i turn on the shower and make it as cold as can be. typically i turn the heat all the way up, but today, i'm feeling... broken... i don't know how to put it, but meeting with the detectives and seeing my parents... it made me feel like i can never be normal. it's gonna be a tough little while, but i'll end i out ok. i step in the shower and let out a sigh. i feel really tired. i rinse off my body and wet my hair, then grab some watermelon-scented shampoo and massage it into my hair. i rinse and repeat with the conditioner. i finish washing and i turn off the shower. i grab my towel and dry myself off, being careful not to press too hard on any of my wounds. i let out another sigh and put on my tiger onesie. i put up the hood and let out a yawn. man i'm tired. i walk out of the bathroom and see sho hugging kacchan. "hey" i say. i walk up to them and just before they let go of each other, i join in on the hug. "who's next for the shower?" i say, letting out another yawn. "we literally all showered this morning." kacchan says. "yeah, well, i needed another one. i needed to wash off the feeling of my parents." i shiver slightly at the thought. they both laugh. "alright, i'm gonna go to sleep, i'm really tired." i say, lying on the bed and yawning once more. i fall asleep almost instantly. i guess sho and kacchan cuddled up to me last night, because when i awoke i was practically straddled to the bed.
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