Azaria laid on his bed as he dropped his phone, tired from mindless scrolling. He had been at home for a week resting, courtesy of Recovery Girl and his Mother, who had chewed him up after getting the notification that he was injured.
For some reason too, Ruki was also scolded by Yumi, as she claimed that 'He's the reason' that Azaria is reckless, coupled with a lot of 'Like father, like son'. Recovery Girl had explained to them that while Azaria had healed physically, he would still need to rest due to the mental strain he had.
His injury fortunately didn't leave a scar even though he feared that it would have happened, he still felt an ache for two more days. His parents had been told he would be fully recovered in time for the UA Sports Festival, which meant he was now stuck at home, bored out of his mind.
His mind drifted back to last week's events. He stared at his hand, recalling the strange dream. A mysterious figure telling him something about controlling darkness and shadows, he still hadn't understood what it meant.
Azaria shot up from bed and left his room, wandering through the empty house. He roamed aimlessly before eventually turning into the kitchen. 'If I remember correctly, the first person to have a quirk was from China. From there, quirks began to spread until they became a worldwide phenomenon, leading to the three main types: Emitter, Transformation, and Mutant.'
He poured water into an electric kettle, watching as it heated up. His gaze remained fixed on it as his thoughts continued. 'Although those three categories exist, there's another type of quirk that doesn't quite fit into any of them. It never had an official name… or maybe it did, and I just don't remember. For example, One For All isn't really classified under any of those categories, and Eri's Rewind doesn't fit either.'
The sharp whistle of the kettle snapped him out of his thoughts. He grabbed a mug, tore open a sachet of milk and chocolate, then poured in the hot water. 'I'd say my quirk is an Emitter type… but is there a chance it doesn't fully fit into that category—'
"Fuck, that's hot!" he hissed, nearly dropping the mug as the liquid nearly burned his tongue. He grabbed some slices of bread as he made his way to the dining table. 'Apart from Todoroki, Midoriya and AFO, I can't remember anyone else that housed at least two quirks. But it's strange, how am I able to emit it as a coating for my arms and legs then also use it to create a sword? What kind of quirk is this?'
He took a bite out of the bread, his mind racing. 'A quirk like this was never mentioned in the story. Was the figure talking about AFO? But if he was, how would that make sense when OFA already exists?' He blew on the tea before taking a cautious sip "Hopefully I can see that figure again and talk to him and what does it even mean to control the darkness and shadows?"
A sudden realization hit him. His eyes widened as he nearly dropped the mug. "If I remember clearly, he said something about helping me with the voices. How did he know about the voices?" His curiosity surged, every question in his head demanding an answer. He stretched out his hand, exhaling deeply. Darkness swirled in his palm, slowly taking the shape of a katana, only to shatter into nothing.
He braced himself, expecting the usual repercussions. But… nothing. No whispers. No voices clawing at his mind..
'When I used it at USJ against those villains, it worked for that long probably because of how angry I was. The voices only came after I calmed down. But now… I don't feel anything at all.'
Excitement bubbled up in his chest as he tried again. The darkness formed in his palm, shaping into a katana once more before shattering. He waited.
Silence.
It was true.
The figure didn't lie.
A bright smile spread across Azaria's face as he resumed eating. For the first time in days, he actually felt good. By the time he finished and was rinsing out his mug, a sharp knock echoed through the house, snapping him out of his thoughts.
'Who could that be?'
"Coming!" he called out, stepping out of the kitchen. His eyes flicked to the clock—it was late afternoon. He had spent most of the day bed rotting. The knock came again, more insistent this time.
"I said I'm coming, I'm com—huh?"
As he swung the door open, he was met with a familiar sight. Denki, Iida, Uraraka, Kirishima, and Mina stood on his doorstep, all still in their school uniforms. Mina, grinning from ear to ear, held up a plastic bag. "Hey! How are you feeling?" she asked, her voice warm.
***
Mina sat cross-legged on the couch, absentmindedly toying with the bag of chips in her hands as Azaria rinsed his mug in the kitchen. She wasn't nervous. Nope. Not at all. It was just… visiting a guy alone felt kind of weird, okay?
She had wanted to check on him earlier, just her. But Denki, being Denki, had to open his big mouth, which led to Kirishima and Iida overhearing. And once they got involved, there was no way she was showing up here as the only girl. So, naturally, she dragged Uraraka into it.
Now here they were, all hanging out in Azaria's house like this was some totally normal, casual group visit. Yeah. Totally normal. Absolutely fine.
"Yo, Azaria, your house is way too quiet," Denki groaned, stretching his arms over his head. "How do you not go insane?"
Azaria walked back into the living room, drying his hands with a small towel. "Yeah, they're all at work. Not sure if my dad's coming home today."
Mina glanced up from her snack, eyes flicking over him as he moved. He was just wearing a black top and shorts, nothing fancy, the fabric clung in all the right places, showing off the lean definition of his arms. His hair was messy from spending all day in bed, a little disheveled, but instead of looking rough, it just made him seem… effortlessly attractive.
Her eyes lingered a little too long, and just as she thought about looking away, his gaze met hers. For a second, neither of them moved. Mina quickly focused back on her chips, popping one into her mouth like she hadn't just been staring. "Well, good thing we came, huh? Brought some life into this place."
"More like noise," Azaria muttered, but there was the tiniest smirk tugging at his lips.
Mina felt an odd flicker of satisfaction at that and scolded herself internally. 'Relax Mina. It's just a normal visit. Totally not a big deal.'
"Anyway," Kirishima leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "How're you feeling? You really freaked everyone out, man. You and Midoriya."
Azaria shrugged. "I'm fine now. Recovery Girl made sure of that."
Iida adjusted his glasses, looking serious as ever. "Still, it was irresponsible to push yourself to that extent! Injuries like yours require proper rest."
Azaria sighed, already over it. "I am resting. Don't chew me out, my mom did that already."
Denki snorted. "Yeah, looks like you've been doing a lot of that. Dude, were you just bed-rotting all day?"
Mina smirked. "Oh, definitely."
Uraraka giggled. "Honestly, I would too if I had a whole week off. Classes are exhausting."
Iida gasped, his hands slicing the air. "I can't believe you said that, Uraraka! You just insulted the great education of UA!"
Azaria sighed again, rubbing his temple. "Did you guys come all the way here just to roast me, or were you actually checking up on me?"
"Well, duh," Mina grinned. "But also—" she held up a plastic bag. "We brought snacks."
"Yeah, we brought snacks," Denki added, nudging Kirishima before pointing at her. "Mina here wanted to get you food."
Mina froze for half a second. "W-wait, it's not like that!" she shot Denki a glare before turning to Azaria. "I just wanted to cook like, have you guys taste my food, but someone said it wasn't necessary, so… snacks it is."
Denki rolled his eyes, then switched topics. "Hey, you heard about the sports festival coming up?"
Mina arched a brow as Azaria's expression changed ever so slightly. For the first time, a hint of color touched his cheeks. It was subtle barely there but she noticed.
'Huh.'
"Yeah, I heard about that actually," Azaria muttered. "It's happening after next week, right?"
Mina leaned forward slightly, her interest piqued. He almost looked… flustered? That was new. She'd never seen him react like that before. "Oh?" She tilted her head, voice laced with amusement. "And how'd you hear about it?"
His gaze snapped to hers. "Huh? Why do you wanna know that?"
Mina smirked but didn't answer.
Azaria sighed, running a hand through his hair before sinking onto the couch right beside her. Their thighs barely brushed, and she had to fight the sudden urge to shift even closer. "I heard it from some seniors," he said, popping a chip into his mouth. "They called it Japan's Olympics or something."
Their eyes met again, and for a second, neither of them said anything.
It was a simple moment, nothing overly intense, but something about the way he looked at her made her stomach feel a little too warm. Then he glanced away, nodding toward the snacks. "Thanks, by the way."
Mina rolled her eyes, but a tiny smirk tugged at her lips. "No big deal."
"Wait, so you know about the freshers' party happening the night of the festival?" Uraraka chimed in suddenly.
Azaria's head whipped around so fast, Mina almost laughed.
"What?"
——
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