Plus Ultra Plus You (My Hero Academia x Reader)

Big Softy (Kirishima x Reader) - Part 2

"Have you seen Momo around anywhere? It's crazy important," Kirishima said, coming closer to a whisper than he ever had.

And just like that, I was shattered. Despite my hope, I knew all along that it couldn't be me he wanted. It was with her he was going to eat ice cream, or go to the movies, or dine at a fancy restaurant. And who could blame him?

Come on, it's Yaoyorozu. She's rich, she's gorgeous, she's kind, and she can make all the hair gel in the world.

His eyes shined with sincerity, and there was no way I could tell him how I felt now. He was always so determined.

I forced a sentence past my tightening throat. "Uh, I think I saw her in the common room somewhere."

Without hesitation, Kirishima snatched up that information and bounded down the stairs with it, taking a half-second to shout, "Thanks, (Y/n). You're the best!"

"Apparently not," I mumbled before retreating to my room. My bag was tossed to the floor, and the door was shut was quietly, as softly as my quaking hands could manage. A gloom weighed on every step I took towards my bed, my new best friend.

Ordinarily, I would have assumed that now was the time to cry, and my gnawing thoughts were certainly dark enough, but the tears refused to spill. None of this felt real anyway; Eijiro Kirishima was just too good to be true.

Curling up under a blanket of emotional exhaustion, I snuggled close to my old memories of Eijiro.

The recommendation to the hero course came as a surprise. My quirk has its own uses, but controlling plant life isn't necessarily as flashy as you'd expect. For every painted, dainty flower I can bend, there are a dozen far more useful roots and weeds waiting for my call.

Unlike Kamui Woods, I don't necessarily create the plants. I just give encouragement to my little green buddies, telling them how they can help me, and they do the rest. In the woods, I have an army, but in a concrete desert, like the UA High testing grounds, I'm a goner. So, I never applied. I knew I wouldn't get in.

I'd like to think that one of my teachers recommended me, but I don't think I'll ever find out. What I did learn was that being a recommended student meant I would be on everyone's radar, for better or worse.

As soon as I stepped foot into class 1-A, all the eyes in the room were trained on me. Many stared, others squinted, and I'm pretty sure an angry blonde guy growled.

There was one who stuck out more than the rest though. A boy was laughing at something the pink-skinned girl beside him was saying. His shoots of bright, red hair greeted me, perched on his head like a spiky tomato. The image of ketchup sprang into my mind, and I instantly felt a bit less intimidated.

The boy must have noticed me staring because he waved at me and patted the empty desk next to him. I hesitated, noting how that desk was within punching distance of the aggressive blonde. Class was about to begin however, and I realized that maybe the others would ignore me if I was next to the friendly fire hydrant. In the end, the bell rang, and I claimed my new desk.

The boy turned to me with a grin and said: "Hey, what's up, I'm Eijiro Kirishima. I don't remember seeing you an the entrance exam, but I didn't really have time to look around while I was smashing up robots."

"Yeah, I wasn't there, but I heard it was really exciting this year," I said, eager to dodge whole recommendation part.

He nodded excitedly and was about to launch into the details when the door to the room reopened. We all knew who it was, and the room fell silent.

Expecting our teacher to be the prim and proper stereotype of top school professors, I was surprised to see a burrito come shuffling into the room.

Well, Mr. Aizawa (as he introduced himself) was actually in a sleeping bag, but with the images of tomatoes already swirling around, I must have had food on my mind.

I lost my appetite though when he began to explain how there was going to be a physical exam today, the first day!

The class filed outside and stood waiting for Aizawa's instructions. Everyone is the class looked uneasy. Even the most outgoing had a nervous twitch to their smiles. I looked to Kirishima who gave me a cheery thumbs up despite appearing worried himself. Again, I felt somewhat better.

Then it was time to begin. I was one of the last people to compete in the challenges so I was given an advantage in witnessing just how powerful the other students could be, including Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, the other recommendeds. The problem was that that advantage only pressured me more. I was going to be compared to them.

When my turn came, I summoned all the will I had to win, to be a true hero. I stepped up to the starting line, tingles of anticipation running up and down my body, and waited for the signal.

Three. Two. One. Go!

I had imagined I was going to fly across the ground. I would win, show that I deserved to be here. Instead, my quirk backfired.

The grass that I begged to help me must have taken my fear as need for protection because it locked onto my feet and began forming a dense layer of interwoven blades that creeped up my legs. I was helplessly rooted to the ground and the well-meaning plant just ignored my other orders.

I clawed at the slithering grasses blades, but it was no use. The only thing that prevented me from being swallowed up by my own quirk was Mr. Aizawa erasing it. The panic soon vanished, but shame and dread rushed into to fill the gap.

I received a stern glare from my teacher and knew that things were not going to be easy. The only thing that kept me from being expelled was Midoriya, whose quirk, despite being freaking amazing, was even more self-destructive than mine. Still, my quirk in all its craziness, was the key to becoming a hero, and that was the only thing that kept me from quitting.

Almost the only thing, anyway...

A buzzing snapped me up from my reminiscing, and I realized my phone was humming away in my book bag. Groggily, I dragged myself off the bed and tramped over to the noisy device. I picked it up to check the caller.

If this is a telemarketer, I will literally throw you out the window, phone.

Luckily for my cellphone, a familiar name appeared, a too familiar name.

"What could Yaoyorozu want?" I wasn't exactly mad at her. It wouldn't have been fair for me to be, but I still wasn't in the mood to chit chat. Still, my curiosity won out, and I answered it.

"Oh, (Y/n)! I'd hate to bother you, but could you please assist Mina and I with a small task. It would be greatly appreciated."

I tried to strain some of the tiredness and dejection out of my response. "Yeah, sure thing, Momo. What's the problem?"

"No problem. Ashido and I would prefer that we got your opinion on something. If you could meet us in Mina's room that would be wonderful."

"Okay, I'll be over in a moment." Boop.

I sighed and took one more longing look at my bed.

I guess I do feel just a little bit better.

I slipped into the hall and shut the door, making sure to take my memory of that day with me.