Izumina Week 2020

Monster / Appearence

"Am I... Scary?"

When Quirks first evolved, those who possessed mutations were usually seen as some sort of monster. Like they were some kind of cryptic made real, or they were used as examples of those developing Quirks having gone feral, or having left their Humanity behind.

Back then, people didn't understand Quirks. No one really fully understood what they were, or the sheer extent of what they would become. No one could guess how they would affect mankind and the society Humanity had built for itself.

To fear the unknown was a natural response.

Not a good response. Not a moral response. Not a justifiable response. But a natural response.

Those times had passed centuries ago though. The abnormal was the new normal. In fact, it had become weirder and weirder to be whatever passed for normal in this new society.

To say those fears had been entirely, one-hundred percent, to the man been eradicated though.... Would be inaccurate. Unfortunately.

Though exceedingly rare, there were people who hated Mutants. Usually cultists of a sort. They were seen as so rare and so out there that most of society ignored them, appalled by their attitudes - most of mankind had mutations at this point. The only way they could achieve what they wanted was a culling of nearly ninety percent of the population. Even at its lowest point, much of humanity would have seen such a goal as utterly barbaric.

Some prejudices did exist though. That was again, natural, but not justifiable. Whenever someone saw a mutant like say, Shoji, it wouldn't be unusual for them to have an immediate fear response - He was a large person, an elongated skull, with multiple arms. Those who spoke to him understood he was in fact, one of the gentlest people that one could hope to meet. They were snap judgements, quickly wiped away. Izuku remembered once that Shoji said that his reason for wearing a mask was because he didn't like frightening children.

The comparison to this situation was.... Accurate, to say the least.

"Of course you aren't." He told her, gently and calmly. "You're the last person I'd ever call scary."

Mina looked like she wanted to accept that compliment - Like she was really trying to accept it. Eventually though, she just gave up and sighed. "I... Don't know if I can just... Take your work on that after... That."

Heroism had evolved somewhat over the last few years. There were many things wrong with society that needed to be either torn apart, or rebuilt. Doing that had been a... Painful process, for a lot of people. But it had been done. The alternative was allowing people who abused power to continue to abuse it, or allow worse people to seize it.

One of the changes had been a restructuring of Heroism. Individual agencies now no longer existed - Rather they were co-operative, and between teams, and in many cases, had international partnerships and alliances. Heroism now knew no borders.

That was how Izuku and Mina had ended up in Kazakhstan, about a hundred miles from the capital Nur-Sultan. Within their agency, they were known for being good at what they did, which was why they were chosen for it. Some.... To put it politely, unsavoury types from the United Kingdom had fled to the landlocked country. Izuku and Mina had flown into Tajikistan, met with an agency unit they were allied with, and made their way over the border. The culture of the region was a lot more different to the ones either of them were used to. It was a fascinating sight to see.

One of the oddities of the region was that mutations were a lot rarer here. No one really seemed to understand why. There wasn't a logical reason for it. It just didn't happen. Some theorized it was the culture, and some theorised there was some sort of environmental ethnic mutation, akin to sickle cell anemia, that made it harder for more dramatic mutations to take hold. No one knew, but that was the reality they had to work with.

The work had been done. The Villains had been arrested. The workers local to the region took the into custody to make preparations for the to face trial in the United Kingdom, where their crimes had been committed. So Izuku and Mina decided to make the most of their time in the region before they needed to head back to Japan, and explore the region.

A child had seen them. They couldn't be older than three - They hadn't even developed their Quirk yet by the looks of things. They saw Mina.

And they screamed, and called her a monster.

It was dumb. Mina was an adult. She knew at least a little about the region. And this was a kid. The parents of that kid had apologized to both of them profusely - They hadn't taught their kid anything. It was just a fear response to something the child hadn't been exposed to much.

But it stuck with her.

"Mina..." Izuku sighed, wishing he knew what she needed to hear, so he could say it to her.

"Don't... Don't be like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you think you need to apologize to me for something." Mina said, heavily. "It's not like you did anything. I'm being stupid. I know I'm being stupid. It's just..."

She made a vague gesture with her hands. They sort of shook, then she extended them outward, then pulled them so her palms faced her, and made a claw-grip. They then relaxed, and fell by her sides.

"...Y'know?"

Izuku blinked. "Uh... No?"

"I'm not.... Making sense. I know I'm not. It's more..." She paused for a second. Some locals passed by. They looked at Mina as they walked past - Not in a threatening way. More curiosity than anything. Once they passed, Mina spoke, "...That, I guess."

"People looking at you?"

"It's the way they're looking at me that's making me uncomfortable." Mina explained. "People look at me all the time back in Japan. But Mutations are common back there. People look at me cause... I guess they think I look unique? Here it's more... They don't know what to make of me. And some of them look like they're afraid of me. And that kid... Was afraid of me."

"It was just a kid, Mina..."

"I know it was, but it...I don't know." She sighed again. "...I... I've never been called anything like that before. Well I have but... Not like that. I don't... Know what to do with it."

"...I wish I knew what to say." Izuku sighed, finally admitting that he didn't know what he could do to help. What could he do?

"I don't know what I want you to say." Mina admitted. "I dunno. I just... It hit me was all."

"...We could go back to the hotel if you want. Try looking around tomorrow."

"...I think I'd like that."

Izuku put his arm around Mina's neck, and suddenly held his girlfriend close to him. His chin rested on top of her head, just between her horns. It felt like the only thing he could really do in this situation.

"...You're not a monster. Not even close. Not to me at least."

It was.... Small. It wasn't all that assuring. But it was all he could offer.

Mina responded by hugging him, and nodded into the crook of his neck.

"...Thanks."

I like seeing countries not represented all that much in the media being shown off a bit. I'm willing to bet most people reading this hadn't even heard of Kazakhstan. Hope I didn't imply anything negative from this, and if you have negative perceptions on the people in the country, kindly re-evaluate your principles. (Fuck all countries though, people are what matter, AnCom gang rise up)

Wasn't sure what I was doing with this one though. I just kinda made it up as I went along - I'm now two days behind Izumina week - It's Tuesday for fucks sake - So I'm just doing whatever at this point : D Wanted to be a little angsty, and this is what I got.

Hope ya'll enjoyed, and I'll see you for the next prompt!