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08. sincerity & friendships

❛❛ 𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑬, 𝑯𝑶𝑳𝑫 𝑴𝒀
𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑨𝑳𝑺.❜❜

VALENTINA STOOD IN THE MIDDLE of the cafeteria, arguing silently with herself. The majority of her class had somehow managed to fit onto one table—that meant Kiaria Zaveri was probably there as well. It wasn't as though she were scared of the cold brunette, she just knew that she'd rather sit by herself than constantly be attacked by her for the whole lunch hour.

She scanned the hall, looking for a place to sit when her eyes met with a friendly cerulean pair. A small smile slid onto her lips as she made her way over to the owner of the warm eyes.

Valentina felt as though she hadn't spoken to Amaya Hattori in aeons. The last time she saw the blonde—she'd been a hysterical mess, now she seemed to be back to her usual cheerful self.

Once Valentina took a seat at her table, she took note of the purple-haired boy sat opposite Amaya. His half-lidded indigo eyes bore into her amber ones, making Valentina feel slightly awkward. She sent him one of her infamous dimpled smiles before making herself comfortable.

"Hey." She began, "I'm Valentina Beauregard, it's nice to meet you."

The boy glanced between the two girls before replying monotonously, "Hitoshi Shinso and likewise."

Valentina peered over at her childhood friend cautiously. Amaya's eyes seemed to be distant as though she had a million thoughts rushing through her mind. At first, there was silence, something Valentina very much despised. She clapped her hands, startling the two teens and settled her lunch onto the table.

Hastily, she began to stuff her face, ignoring the wary glances she was receiving from the occupants of her table.

"I see you still eat like a pig." Amaya snorted, causing Valentina to glance up at her momentarily.

The strawberry blonde's eyes flickered down to Amaya's untouched plate. "I see you still don't eat at all."

Amaya glanced down at her rice and let out a soft sigh. She didn't feel so great. Ever since she was a kid, she'd always imagined going to UA with Valentina. But this was not how she visualised it would be. The two girls were meant to be partners and become the best hero duo in history. But she couldn't even pass the entrance exam.

Not only had she let herself down, but she'd also let Valentina down. The hours they spent planning out their future as heroes had all gone to waste because of her. Maybe she should've listened to the voice at the back of her head telling her that her dreams were merely dreams.

Nothing else.

After all, her Quirk—Illusion—wasn't a physical one like Valentina's and wouldn't do damage to the robots. But even after failing the exam she felt as though she couldn't just give up. Not after aspiring to become a hero for so long. Her mind was constantly at war with itself, refusing to let the girl live in peace.

Amaya was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Valentina's usual chirpy voice, interrogating her new friend. His usual tired eyes seemed to be wide as the girl began to ramble on.

"So, Hitoshi—can I call you Hitoshi?" Her eyes were swimming with curiosity, "You and Amaya are in the same class, right? What's your Quirk? Why do you look so tired? Are you going to eat that—"

"Val, " Amaya interrupted letting out a breathy laugh at the girl's enthusiasm, "Maybe you should let him speak."

"Oh, right." The girl sent him a lopsided grin before leaning forward with interest. "So, what's your Quirk?"

Shinso sent Amaya a thankful nod before analyzing the hyperactive girl sat before him. She looked as though she were ready to jump out of her seat any second.

"I can brainwash people," Shinso replied, his eyes flickering back down onto his plate, feeling slightly uncomfortable under Valentina's piercing gaze.

Her jaw slacked and excitement swept onto her face. "That's so cool!"

He snapped his head up in surprise at Valentina's enthusiastic tone, as Amaya sent apologetic smiles to nearby tables. "Wait, how does it work? How did you find out about your Quirk? Does it affect multiple people at once?"

Shinso scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. This was not the reaction he usually received. Most people would usually chuckle nervously or tense up, but Valentina seemed to be mesmerized by just the name of his Quirk. She looked as though she were about to explode from excitement any moment.

Amaya seemed to catch onto his discomfort because she intervened.

"Stop yelling, Valentina. We're all on the same table." Shinso noticed that she said it in a tone that made her sound like Valentina's mother and that she was used to her intense enthusiasm.

Valentina eased back into her seat and sent Shinso a sheepish look. "Sorry."

The strawberry blonde glanced around the cafeteria as though she had suddenly forgotten that she was in the middle of a conversation. Her eyes darted between people and the scenery as though she were trying to take a mental picture.

"UA is amazing." She took another mouthful of her rice.

Shinso nodded, his eyes flickering over the mass of incredible students filling the cafeteria. "Yeah, it is."

Amaya glanced at the energetic girl. "So how are you liking the hero course so far?"

Valentina rocked side-to-side on her seat. "It's a little intimidating, after all, everyone in my class is like super talented but other than that, it's sick."

"Really?" Amaya tried to hide her wistful tone as she urged Valentina to carry on.

"Yeah!" Valentina continued, "We have this teacher—Mr Aizawa. He's the pro-hero Eraser-Head. I can't lie, he's a little scary but his Quirk is freaking awesome. He made us do this Quirk assessment test thingy and was all like 'whoever comes last place is gonna get expelled'."

Amaya and Shinso exchanged a glance as the girl rambled on, doing weird voices to imitate her teacher. "I did pretty decent but then my friend—Izuku came last place and then guess what...Mr Aizawa tricked us! He was all like 'it's a rational deception to make sure we all do our best'. But all in all, apart from having a mini heart attack, I thought it was pretty fun."

Shinso played with his food suddenly feeling not-so-hungry anymore. "That sounds...nice."

"And after lunch, we're going to have Hero Basic Training." She explained animatedly, "And guess who's teaching us? All Might!"

Valentina exhaled as she finished her jabbering. She saw that Amaya's smile seemed to be wavering and Shinso's eyes seemed to be stuck to his plate.

She wasn't the most observant of people, but even Valentina could tell that they felt pained as she finished narrating her time so far at UA. She pinched wrist as she noticed the crestfallen look in their eyes. She was such an idiot. How oblivious could someone get?

They were both from the General Studies Department and she knew that Amaya hadn't got into the hero course. Chances were, Shinso had applied but wasn't accepted like Amaya.

Clearing her throat, Valentina tried to change the subject. "How are you guys liking your classes so far?"

Shinso shrugged, poking at his food. "It's just normal classes. Nothing special."

Valentina pinched her wrist harder and bit the inside of her cheek. Leave it up to her to ruin someone's day. There were a few moments of stifling silence. It was times like this when Valentina hated her ADHD. She was impulsive and tended do things without realising the consequences until too late.

It was because of this that she had regular visits to the headmistress' office in Junior High and lost so many friends. Valentina felt like such a dumbhead but decided to speak anyways.

"You both deserved to get into the hero course." She suddenly spoke.

Their heads snapped up. Amaya furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Val, what—"

"You guys have extraordinary Quirks and the entrance exam was totally unfair. If it wasn't a test intended for physical Quirks, you both would've totally aced the test." Valentina continued, "I'm sorry if I seemed insensitive. Sometimes I just talk and talk and talk and I don't even realise what I'm saying half the time. Like what I'm doing right now. I'm sorry."

An almost invisible smile tugged at Shinso's lips as Valentina peered between the two apologetically. It wasn't her energetic tendencies that made him smile. It was the fact that when she said that they could get in, she seemed sincere.

Not a lot of people were.

"Thank you, Beauregard." He sent her a thankful look which seemed to brighten her expression.

"Call me Val." She held her fist out for him to bump.

He returned the first-bump, shaking his head slightly. "So, tell us more about this Hero Basic Training, what do you think you'll be doing? Rescuing?"

Amaya pushed her plate away before resting her head on her palm, tilting it sideways, obviously intrigued. As the two teens listened intently, laughing at Valentina's silly theories, the strawberry blonde couldn't stay still. Her hands were flailing wildly as she explained her unrealistic conspiracies.

Glancing between her two friends, Valentina's heart erupted with joy. She could definitely get used to this.

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published: 19/01/20