Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

She paused for a moment to take her fingers off her guitar. Could she have sworn she’d heard someone calling her name...? She waited a few seconds, without taking off her headphones, to see if she’d hear that voice calling her name again, and to make sure it wasn’t just her imagination.

"...irou! Jir...!"

Now she was sure; she cupped both ears and took off her headphones without a second thought. Little by little, the voice was becoming clearer, accompanied by the sound of rapid footsteps, of someone running. At any other time, she wouldn’t have paid it any mind. She would simply have thought it was one of her friends looking for her to go out, or to take part in some activity they’d just thought of. But today was different. Different because of what had happened, and as the footsteps drew nearer, she could also feel her heart rate quickening. By the time Toru Hagakure opened the door, her heart was beating so fast that she even had to open her mouth to let out a breath of air from the anxiety.

"Jirou…! She’s woken up…!" the girl exclaimed, barely able to catch her breath. "Mina’s awake!" She leaned against the door to rest for a moment, but made sure to leave a gap so that Jirou could get out.

In just a couple of seconds, Kyoka set her guitar aside on the bed, dropped to the floor to grab her trainers, slipped them on quickly, and leapt to her feet to dash out of her room towards the infirmary. Hagakure let her pass while she rested a bit, but within seconds of exiting her room, she could hear above the sound of her own footsteps, the exhausted panting of her friend, who had surely rushed up the stairs at full speed to find her, running behind her. She felt a little sorry for her, but there was only one thing on her mind right now... Mina Ashido. She still remembered it perfectly, what had happened a couple of hours ago. She had been busy, far from the scene when it happened, so she hadn’t been there at the moment of the explosion. She’d only arrived afterwards. To see the tables strewn across the floor, those smoke-belching speakers, the screams, the chaos... And Mina on the floor, unconscious. Her palms were slightly burnt, and when she reached her, she noticed the trickles of blood coming from her ears. What had happened? She was so worried she didn’t even stop to ask; she just started shouting at the others to get medical help.

‘She asked me if I’d go with her to finish setting up the stall and I said no...’ She thought as she quickened her pace. ‘If only I’d said yes... If I’d gone with her... Maybe I could... Perhaps...’

She grabbed hold of the banister as she ran to stop herself from falling when she lost her balance on the stairs; she steadied herself and finished the last stretch by sprinting as fast as she could until she reached the infirmary door.

"Mina!" She shouted, throwing the door wide open.

Her eyes scanned the infirmary, and there she was. Sitting on the bed. Rubbing her eyes with her bandaged hands.

"Mina…" Hagakure arrived a few seconds later, leaning against the door again to catch her breath. "We’re so glad to see you awake…"

Jirou smiled and gave Hagakure a couple of pats on the back to help her calm down, and they both let out a somewhat nervous laugh, which at the same time eased the distress they’d felt over the last few hours whilst Mina had been unconscious. She let her friend take a few well-deserved seconds to catch her breath. That was when Jirou realised that the girl in pink hadn’t said a word since they’d come in. She hadn’t even greeted them. She turned her head again to see Mina staring at the rain through the window, her head resting in her hands.

"Mina…?" she asked, somewhat puzzled, and once again, she received no reply. It was as if she hadn’t noticed the two of them at all.

Jirou frowned, looking somewhat puzzled; she glanced at Hagakure and made her way into the infirmary. She walked rather slowly, as a precaution. Once she was close enough to Mina’s bed, the girl turned her head in her direction and, upon seeing her, her face lit up.

"Jirou!" she exclaimed cheerfully, clasping her hands together, but her expression immediately fell into confusion. "This... Um..."

"Mina...?" Kyoka finished approaching and sat down beside her on the bed. "Are you all right...?"

Mina looked at her, her expression changing slightly more, shifting from confusion to what appeared to be fear.

"U-um… What…?" asked the girl with the pink hair.

"What do you mean, what? What’s wrong with you?" Jirou continued speaking, and Mina just opened her eyes a little wider. "Why do you look so scared? Are you in pain? Do you want me to call...?"

"Have you lost your voice?" Mina interrupted.

"What are you saying...?"

"No! Of course not!" Hagakure hastened to reply. "Jirou’s perfectly fine, Mina! She could give you a concert right here in this room!" she exclaimed, spreading her arms out to the sides.

Mina just looked at her with the same expression she’d had up until that moment, Jirou noticing how her chest was beginning to rise and fall more rapidly.

"What...? Oh, come on, girls! Are you playing a joke on me? This isn’t the time for charades! Although, let me tell you, you’re absolute professionals!"

"What on earth…?" Jirou blinked a couple of times to take in what she was hearing. "Mina, no. I’m talking to you. Can’t you hear me?" she asked, taking her by the shoulders to force her to look her in the face.

"Eh?! Jirou?! Are you talking?! Speak louder! I can’t hear you at all! Did you swallow smoke or…?" Mina opened her eyes a little wider. "W-w-wait! Is it me...?! What’s wrong with me?!" She started screaming, clutching her head. "I can’t hear a thing! It’s all silent!"

"Mina, Mina, calm down!" Jirou exclaimed, gently shaking her in an attempt to calm her down, as she saw Mina was starting to hyperventilate, whilst Hagakure ran towards the door to go out and get help.

(◇)

"Miss Chiyo...! Miss Chiyo!" Hagakure ran through the corridors, opening door after door, in her desperate search to find her as soon as possible.

Or why did she have to leave just now? She probably needed a break, but... It wasn’t fair! It was when they really needed her! It was the worst possible moment!

"Miss-..!" Hagakure paused upon reaching the common area, leaning against the wall to catch her breath, glancing around the room to see if any of her classmates were present, to ask them if they’d seen the nurse.

Unfortunately, apart from Toga’s head peeking out from behind one of the sofas, there was no one else there. And she wasn’t exactly the best person to ask about anyone’s whereabouts. The rest were probably busy with the festival. That’s what they’d been told when they’d taken Mina to the infirmary earlier, hadn’t they? That instead of sitting there anxiously waiting for her to wake up, they should carry on with the preparations. That they should take their minds off things with what they’d been preparing for that week, however cold it might seem. And who could blame them? That was supposed to be what they’d all have been doing together, both before and now. They’d been waiting all month for these days to arrive; there was so little left to do to finish the preparations. The stall, the music, everything was almost ready... If only that loudspeaker hadn’t blown up...

"Hagakure!" Izuku’s voice caught her attention and the girl turned her head to see him running towards her from the end of the corridor, and Hagakure stepped away from the wall to meet him. He reached her side and tried to support her, seeing how tired she clearly was; his hands searching for a way to hold her, but not quite knowing where to place them, until he decided to simply offer his shoulder for her to lean on. "What’s wrong? You’re shaking... Now, breathe with me..." he said gently, gesturing with his hand for her to match his breathing rhythm.

"I-it’s Mina..." She replied once she’d caught her breath a little.

"She’s woken up?!" Izuku exclaimed, opening his eyes wide.

"Yes, but...! There’s something strange about her...!"

"What do you mean? Something strange?"

"Y-yes! When we came in, she wasn’t speaking to us!" She explained, pointing in the direction she’d come from. "And then she couldn’t follow our conversation…! She was saying something about charades, and not hearing, and..." Hagakure paused to calm herself. "Have you seen Miss Chiyo? I need to find her urgently!"

"She was in the cafeteria" replied Toga, who had just reached them with her hands behind her back.

"In the cafeteria?" Izuku wanted to be sure, and Toga nodded.

"In the cafeteria, yes. Normal people take breaks to eat. Otherwise, their stomachs shrink and start digesting themselves... just like that!" She explained as she brought her hands together, interlacing her fingers and clenching them while making strange sounds with her mouth. Apart from the wet sounds coming from her mouth, Hagakure could have sworn she’d also heard her knuckles cracking.

"I’ve got to let her know. Mina was really nervous; the sooner I tell her, the bet-..."

"Hop on." Izuku crouched down to offer her his back. "You’ve been running, haven’t you? You’ve done more than enough; let me carry you this last bit so you can regain your strength."

Hagakure looked at him, hesitating slightly as to whether she should, but she also knew that Izuku wouldn’t take no for an answer, so she nodded, thanked him, and leapt onto his back. The boy made sure his friend was securely held and wouldn’t fall off, and began to run towards the café. Hagakure heard footsteps behind them and looked back to see Toga, with her arms stretched out to the sides like a plane about to take off, running after them. She knew Izuku was in good shape, but she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t surprised at how quickly they reached their destination, despite him carrying her. And he didn’t even look tired. But there was no time to be distracted; she had to help Mina as soon as possible. Just as Toga had said, the academy nurse was in the cafeteria, sitting at a table, enjoying what looked like a hot drink and a sandwich made of something Hagakure couldn’t quite make out. At the far end, Bakugou was chatting with Kirishima, and at another table were Uraraka, Shoji and Sero, who were laughing and seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation. A few seconds later, Uraraka nodded towards the entrance, her eyes widening more than usual when she saw them, and her two companions were quick to follow suit. All three were equally surprised to see them appear like that.

"Miss Chiyo!" exclaimed Izuku, and that finally caught the attention of everyone present.

"Oh, dear..." she replied, setting her cup down on the table and standing up. "Has something happened?"

"Mina’s woken up!" explained Hagakure as Izuku closed the gap between them. Immediately, she heard a collective gasp behind her, followed by several footsteps running towards them, someone tripping over a chair, and Bakugou cursing the chair under his breath.

"Mina’s woken up?!" Kirishima burst in, looking quite excited. "That’s brilliant news!"

"But…! But there’s something wrong with her!" Hagakure said, looking at the redhead, whose smile began to fade. "She’s, she’s… unwell…"

"What do you mean, darling?" asked Recovery Girl in a calm voice, perhaps to help her calm down too.

"It’s just that… She says she can’t hear properly and…" Hagakure cupped her hands over her ears to try and explain, whilst Izuku set her down on the floor. "I don’t know, when Jirou and I came in, she wasn’t answering us… And then she wasn’t following the conversation… She said it was all quiet... And it’s very unusual for Mina to do things like that!" she finished, looking the nurse straight in the face, searching for answers. The nurse simply closed her eyes and sighed.

"I was afraid this would happen... And I hoped I could be with her in that case... It’s a shame she woke up now." She said, gathering the children around her to head for the exit and back to the infirmary.

"What? Happen what? What’s going on?" asked Uraraka, the first to go after her.

"Should we be worried?" continued Sero, and little by little, the line of people present began to trickle out the exit behind Chiyo.

"More for Toga." Hagakure heard, and turned to see the blonde picking up what was left of the sandwich and popping it into her mouth for a bite, before heading out shortly afterwards to join the others.

Hagakure grimaced in disgust at this, and was the last to leave the cafeteria. On the way back, the group passed Tsuyu, who was coming in from outside carrying what looked like an empty cardboard box. The girl watched them go by, stood still for a few seconds, then set the box aside on the floor and followed them.

(◇)

This wasn’t happening… was it? It couldn’t be happening. It felt like a dream. A nightmare, one of those stressful ones where you scream at the top of your lungs and yet no one can hear you… Only this time… it was she who couldn’t hear a thing. When she spoke for the first time after waking up, greeting Hagakure and Jirou, she was very concerned by the way her voice sounded. Distant, almost inaudible. She could barely make out what she was saying, but she decided not to make a big deal of it. Who hasn’t had a strange voice when waking up? Or perhaps she was still a bit sleepy. That’s why she didn’t want to panic. But as soon as her friends approached the bed, her confusion began to turn to fear. She could see Jirou opening and closing her mouth, but she couldn’t hear a thing. She covered her nose and blew out a breath, trying to clear the blockage she thought she had in her ears. Maybe some debris from the explosion had got in and Miss Chiyo hadn’t seen it! Which would be very strange, but… Who knows! Anyone can make a mistake!

"It can’t be…" she thought, realising she still couldn’t hear a thing. The rain against the window, her friend’s voice. Nothing. Complete silence.

She didn’t want to worry her, at least not any more than she already had, but there she was, in Jirou’s arms, hugging her tightly and letting out a few rather erratic gasps of air through her mouth, trying to control her breathing, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that it had even made her feel sick. Suddenly, Jirou moved and Mina looked up to see her and realised she was speaking, but not to her, to someone else. She turned her gaze in that direction, to see the academy nurse arrive, accompanied by some of her friends, who didn’t look well at all.

"Guys..." She said, raising her voice slightly, and the others’ reaction was immediate.

They looked at one another, pointed, gestured... and moved their lips, some faster than others. That meant they were talking to her, didn’t it? But just like with Jirou, she couldn’t hear a single voice. Kirishima moved closer than the others, almost pressing up against Jirou and taking one of Mina's hands. Mina looked at his worried face, watching as his lips opened and closed; after a few seconds, he stopped and stared at her intently, as if waiting for an answer. So... had he just asked her something...? But she couldn’t answer him if she didn’t know what his question was.

"What…?" she asked after a few more seconds, and immediately Kirishima began to turn as white as a sheet. "No! It’s just… I don’t know what you said…" She replied, forcing a smile in a clumsy attempt to see if that would calm him down. To no one’s surprise, it didn’t, and Kirishima looked worse and worse.

After that, Bakugou leaned against the foot of the bed and addressed her. With that expression and energy so typical of him. She even saw Tsuyu put a hand to her ear closest to the blond. Was that because he was... screaming...? Just like Kirishima, Bakugou stopped talking and waited for what seemed to be a response, but this time Mina didn’t even try. She just stared at him, and although his reaction wasn’t as extreme as Kirishima’s, the way he began to widen his eyes told her he was starting to worry too. Miss Chiyo raised her hands, her lips moving, and the others turned to look directly at her. She continued speaking, probably explaining something. After what seemed like an eternity, she looked at her and pointed to her eyes. Mina just stared back at her with a confused look. She didn’t understand a thing—whether she wanted her to do something, or if she was telling her that something was wrong with her eyes too. She felt a few light taps on her side and realised it was Jirou trying to get her attention. Once she had it, the girl with short hair closed her eyes and stayed that way for a few seconds, before opening them again and pointing at her. She still didn’t understand a thing. Jirou repeated her explanation a couple more times, until, when she went to do it for the fifth time, Mina gasped.

"Ah! Close my eyes?" she asked, and Jirou nodded.

Mina obeyed and closed her eyes, which was far more unsettling than she’d expected. Yes, she knew she was safe. She had a bed beneath her, a sheet over her, a friend she trusted holding her in her arms and her best friend clutching her hand, but even so... Being in the dark in complete silence... She felt like the protagonist of an adventure game every time they had to descend to the catacombs. After a while—minutes or seconds, Mina wasn’t sure—she felt something enter her ear, which made her tense up and grip her two companions more tightly. It didn’t take her long to realise what was happening; Recovery Girl was probably checking her ear. When she’d finished, she felt Jirou tapping her on the shoulder and she opened her eyes again. The worried faces of the others welcomed her back, and her gaze immediately turned to the nurse. The woman sighed and began to speak again, walking over to a table to pick up a pen and finish writing a few things on a piece of paper she had surely prepared beforehand. After this, she turned back to Mina, handing her the paper to read. With slightly trembling hands, the pink-haired girl took it... and her stomach lurched as she read what was written.

(◇)

"Hearing loss?!" asked Izuku, his voice breaking for a moment into a squeak of surprise.

"I’m afraid so. The explosion affected her inner ear. It’s a very delicate part."

"The inner ear…?" Jirou brought one of her hands to her own ears, her eyes widening more than usual.

"So, she can’t hear a thing at all…?" asked Uraraka, visibly distressed. Chiyo shook her head in response, and Tsuyu was sure that more than one person was starting to feel dizzy.

"But..." The frog girl walked over to the other side of the bed to look at what Chiyo had written on the piece of paper. "It says here it’s for a short period of time. So, it’s temporary, isn’t it, kero?"

"Yes, that’s right." Recovery Girl nodded again, this time pulling up one of the chairs in the infirmary to sit down. "It wasn’t that serious, and you managed to act very quickly and bring her here. That has prevented a lot of complications, believe me." She paused. "But for Mina to make a full recovery, it’s best to wait for the damage to heal naturally, even if that means she’ll be without her hearing for a few days."

"How long?" asked Bakugou, turning his gaze towards Mina, who remained frozen in place, staring at the piece of paper. "How long?" he asked again, this time looking at the nurse.

"I’d say a week, ten days at most. She might be lucky and recover sooner, but I’d say that’s unlikely." The boys exchanged glances. "Luckily, she has friends like you who I know will be here to help her, although... Oh, blimey, wasn’t the winter festival on now?"

"We were just finishing the preparations." explained Shoji. "Mina was the one who was most excited about it. And to think she’s going to miss it now…"

"Well, she doesn’t have to. What activities had you planned? Maybe she can go, if she’s careful."

"Well, there was the haunted house…" said Hagakure.

"I don’t think it’s a good idea for her to be in a dark place if she can’t hear."

"We also had the café." continued Kirishima. "Well, more than a café, it’s a stall selling hot drinks and biscuits."

"It’s not a bad idea, but if you’re the ones making them, Mina shouldn’t be near any stoves or kettles. She won’t realise when a drink is boiling over, and she might get burnt."

"The music stage?" Jirou asked, sounding a bit unsure.

"Music is fine, but she’d have to sit far away from the speakers to avoid damage to her inner ear."

"But also..." Sero addressed Jirou in a somewhat subdued voice. "What’s the point of going to listen to music if you can’t hear it?"

"You’re right…" Jirou lowered her gaze to the floor.

‘What a mess…’ Tsuyu thought, letting out a sigh whilst the rest of her classmates continued to list the various activities they had left to discuss with Chiyo.

Her attention then turned to Toga, who hadn’t said a word since they’d entered the infirmary. She had simply been watching as she finished her meal. Tsuyu raised an eyebrow as she watched Toga rummage through the infirmary drawers until she pulled out what looked like a small container. She then took what was left of her sandwich and picked out the pieces of tuna, placing them inside. When she’d finished, she popped the remaining bread and lettuce into her mouth in one go, puffing out her cheeks like a squirrel hoarding food. Without another word, she took the container with the tuna in her hands and left the infirmary.

"Hey, wait." Tsuyu followed her out. "Toga, just a moment."

"Hmm?" The blonde turned to look at her, her cheeks still slightly puffed out from eating.

"Where are you going?"

"Outside. Can’t I?" the girl replied as best she could, and Tsuyu looked away so as not to see the half-chewed food and the strands of saliva hanging from her mouth every time she opened it.

"Yes, you can, kero." Tsuyu nodded. It was raining; she knew what she was doing if she wanted to go outside of her own free will. "But if you see anyone from our class on the way, can you tell them about Mina? It’s best they come and see her as soon as possible."

"Got it. I’ll tell them she’s back, but that she’s lost a part of herself forever. OK." She said, turning on her heel and hopping away.

"What…? No, hey…!" Tsuyu made a move to follow her, but stopped in the end. It didn’t matter; if she told them that, they’d rush to the infirmary even faster.

After that, she stood in the middle of the corridor, not quite sure what to do. Should she go back to the others? Perhaps it had been cold of her to just walk out of the infirmary like that, but what difference would it have made if she’d stayed? As much as she wanted to, there was nothing she could do for Mina, and perhaps having so many people there at such a delicate time for her would only end up overwhelming her. She sighed and began walking towards the common area, hoping that on the way, she could gather her thoughts enough to take her next step. She hadn’t even gone halfway when...

"Cold! Cold! Cold, cold, cold!" Mineta, soaking wet and clutching a plastic bag, ran past her at full speed. "COLD!"

"So cold! So cold!" Kaminari followed him, just as wet and carrying a couple more bags.

But... what? Had those two gone out and not thought to take an umbrella? Immediately, Tsuyu followed them, not running, but walking quite quickly, until the three of them reached the common area.

"I can’t feel my fingers!" Mineta complained, dropping the bag on the table so he could start rubbing his hands together.

"Your fingers? I’ve been feeling a tingling in my leg ever since I slipped in that puddle!" exclaimed the blond, sitting on the floor to take off his shoe. Tsuyu moved a little closer to make her presence known, and immediately Kaminari turned his head to look directly at her. "Ah, hello Tsu."

"Have you just arrived?" They both nodded, still shivering with cold. "I thought you’d managed to get here before the storm started." She remarked, starting to head towards one of the nearby stalls.

"We wanted to, but there are people everywhere!" Mineta spread his arms out to the sides. "There’s a queue to get in even at the smallest shops!"

"Yes, everyone’s out buying seasonal sweets for the winter…" explained Kaminari as he took off his scarf and wrung it out in his hands to get the water out.

"Why didn’t you bring an umbrella?" Tsuyu bent down to rummage through the cupboard for a small heater. The academy had central heating, but Aizawa kept that heater there during the coldest months, just in case they might need it.

"It wasn’t raining when we left..." Mineta protested.

"But it was cloudy."

"Yes, b-but...! But who was to know that a few clouds would bring a storm? How was I supposed to guess?"

"Clouds at this time of year bring rain, Mineta. It’s your fault and yours alone for not checking the weather forecast for this afternoon." the girl remarked as she plugged the heater into the nearest socket and began to move closer to them both.

"That…! Ah…" Kaminari tried to intervene.

"Well, I’m not doing you a favour like this ever again!" Mineta crossed his arms with an offended look.

"It was your and Kaminari's idea to buy sweets to cheer Mina up. So, it was your job to go." Tsuyu placed the heater on the floor and switched it on, setting the temperature quite high. "Come on, get closer until you’ve dried off."

Mineta wasted no time in running over to the heater and kneeling in front of it, holding his hands out towards the warmth. Kaminari also stood up and hopped over on one leg—because of the shoe he’d just taken off—until he reached the same spot and sat down in front of it too.

"Ouch, Kaminari!" Mineta complained, nudging him with his elbow to push him aside. "You’re pushing me, move over there!"

"Oh, come on! You’re hogging all the heat, leave me some!"

"I need it more than you do!"

"I bet you don’t!"

"Your coat’s thicker than mine!"

Tsuyu closed her eyes and sighed as she walked around them and made her way to one of the sofas to collapse onto it.

"I wasn’t wrong in thinking these two had come back." Shinsou’s voice sounded beside her and Tsuyu turned her head to see him leaning against the back of the sofa, watching the spectacle.

"Ah, hello Shinsou." Tsuyu greeted him. "How long have you been here, kero?"

"Since I heard you three running down the corridor." He explained, then stared at her intently for a few seconds. "Is something wrong?"

"Mina’s woken up." she replied, and he opened his eyes in surprise; at the same time, the fight over the heater stopped.

"Oh, well... I’m glad." Shinsou shook his head for a moment to compose himself. "But if that’s the case, why are you looking so serious? Could it be..."

"Mina has lost her hearing."

"What?! WHAT?!" Kaminari and Mineta screamed at the same time.

"Temporarily. A week at least." She explained, looking back at the other two before leaning back and staring at the ceiling. "And she’s not doing well at all. The look on her face when she saw the diagnosis..."

"Who on earth would be okay with that?!" Kaminari turned round. "It’s Mina Ashido! Socialising is her whole life! If she can’t communicate with anyone, then…!"

"I know. But Miss Chiyo said the best thing for her is to wait for her inner ear to recover on its own."

Tsuyu finished speaking and there was silence for what felt like quite a long time. The frog girl was sure at least a couple of minutes had passed when someone else decided to speak.

"And where is she now…?" Mineta asked.

"She’s still in the infirmary." replied Tsuyu. "Izuku, Jirou and a few others are with her. I think she’ll be coming out any minute now."

"I’m going to go and see her." Kaminari stood up.

"You’d better not do that." Shinsou held out his hand to get his attention and tell him to wait.

"What? Why?"

"If there are already other people with her right now, you’ll probably just overwhelm her. You know what Mina’s like. She’ll be happy to see you’re there for her, but if she sees you all looking worried, she’ll probably get even more depressed. If Tsuyu says she’ll be out of the infirmary soon, the best thing we can do is wait for her here."

"But the thing is…!"

"Shinsou’s right." Tsuyu sat up, and Shinsou himself seemed surprised for a moment that she was on his side. "We’re not doing anything just standing there. You’ve brought sweets, haven’t you? I think it’s a better idea if we go and get some plates and glasses and have them ready for when Mina comes." She stood up and adjusted the jumper she was wearing so she could go and fetch what she’d mentioned. "Kaminari, will you help me?"

"I... Er..." The blond seemed to hesitate for a few seconds over what he’d been told, until he closed his eyes and nodded, offering a very small smile. "Sure, I’ll go with you." He said, moving towards her, whilst Shinsou headed for the table to start emptying the bags.

"This is ridiculous..." Mineta hugged his knees. "It’s something... I can’t..."

"I know." Tsuyu replied. "Nothing like this has ever happened before, but let’s take it one step at a time."

"Sweets aren’t going to give Mina her hearing back…" Mineta murmured in a whisper as he turned back towards the heater.

"Mineta, listen…"

"Can I say something?" Shinsou raised his hand to speak.

"What?" Mineta turned back to look at him.

"There are better brands of sweets to buy than these." he said, holding one of the cakes in his hand and showing the brand logo on the packet.

Tsuyu looked at Mineta, seeing him with his eyes wide open and his brow so furrowed it looked as if his face was about to split in two. She knew him well enough to realise just how much that comment had hurt him.

(◇)

Uncomfortable... Unnerving... Horrible... He couldn’t find any other words to describe how he felt at that moment. Once they’d finished helping Tsuyu get everything ready, both Kaminari and Mineta went to change into dry clothes. That put an end to the physical discomfort, yes, but it didn’t solve much else. Mineta returned to the common room, grabbed a blanket because he was still cold, and curled up on one of the sofas. And he wasn’t about to move from there for anything in the world. First, the rest of the class started arriving, some more shaken than others. And when almost everyone was there, the cause of all that distress arrived shortly afterwards.

"She told me that Mina had lost a part of herself forever!" exclaimed Momo, pointing at Toga. "For a moment I thought Mina had lost a finger or something like that in the accident!"

"You’re the one who’s taken what I said so seriously. Sometimes reality can be disappointing... or fun!" said the blonde with a laugh as she leaned over the table to pick up one of the cupcakes.

Mineta looked at her with a frown... Why was this girl here again? She wasn’t even in their class! And she was pretty, yes, but her attitude was too difficult and gloomy. It took away any charm she might have had. As soon as she unwrapped the pastry and Mineta saw her start squeezing it to do strange things with the cream, he looked away. He knew some people had peculiar tastes with food, but that wasn’t for him. There was no way he was going to let her spoil his appetite. However, his stomach knotted when he saw the others coming down the corridor from the far end. Jirou, Izuku, Hagakure… And Mina. The moment the girl in pink set foot in the common area, all heads turned towards her.

"Well, well! You really do love me!" Mina exclaimed, raising her hands. "Don’t worry! I know what they’ve told you. But I’m perfectly fine!" She said, nodding her head before looking at the table and smiling even more broadly. "Are those sweets?" She asked, moving closer to it.

The others immediately told her to sit on one of the sofas, and she wasted no time in doing so. From then on, things got... weird. Everyone tried to have a normal meeting, but you could tell something was missing. Mina was missing, even though she was there. Her energy, her responses, her humour. The conversations without her input felt empty. She would comment now and then, or speak up when she wanted something, but in short sentences. And disconnected from what the others were saying... Of course, how was she supposed to join in with anything? She couldn’t.

"And it’s unacceptable!" Iida’s voice echoed around the room, causing both Toga and Mineta, and a couple of others, to cup their hands over their ears.

"That’s what Aizawa told me when I went out to speak to him, kero." Tsuyu continued with a sigh. Mineta understood her frustration. No matter how hard they tried to talk about other things, they always ended up coming back to what had happened that day—specifically, the accident.

"B-but are we sure that’s what happened?" Koda pressed.

"Tokoyami and I have made sure." Tsuyu nodded. "Aizawa is still looking at the details, but he’s almost certain it wasn’t an attack, nor was there any external tampering to cause damage."

"They use that equipment a lot." explained Tokoyami. "Every time there’s a major event, wherever it is, whatever the weather. Apparently, they hadn’t checked it for quite some time. They hadn’t realised that one of them was malfunctioning."

"And that’s why it’s unacceptable!" Iida shouted again. "Who on earth would bring faulty electrical equipment to an event full of children and families?! They should be ashamed of themselves! The outcome could have been even more tragic!"

"But it wasn’t, was it?" Sero shrugged. "Let’s try to look on the bright side..."

After that, the conversation veered off in different directions. Everyone offered their theories, cursed the festival organisers... Until Mina stood up and the whole room fell silent once more.

"Right, lads. I think I’m off to bed." She said, stretching her arms out in front of her. "I know I’ve slept a lot, but believe me, with a sleep like that, you don’t rest at all! So I’m off to have a little nap. See you later!"

Mina waved goodbye and immediately turned on her heel to leave and head for the dormitories. Jirou made a move to stop her, but Mina gestured for her not to worry and carried on her way.

"She’s not right..." Uraraka said once the girl in pink had gone. "I know she’s trying to look strong, but... The last thing Mina needs at a time like this is to bottle up her emotions."

They all looked at one another. Uraraka was right. None of them had any idea what it was like to go through what Mina was going through, but that was precisely why they knew she was surely faking those smiles and that positive energy. At such a delicate moment, it was the worst thing she could do to herself, but of course, how could they try to convince her to be honest? How could they tell her that if she needed to cry or scream, she should do so, and let out what was inside her? No one could talk to her. There was no way to tell her that—... Wait... Maybe there was. Mineta stood up, pulled back the blanket, and walked off in the same direction Mina had gone.

"Where are you going?" Izuku asked him.

"To talk to her. I can’t rest easy with her like this."

"And how are you… going to talk to her?"

"I’ve got an idea, you’ll see that..."

"What idea do you have?" This time it was Jirou’s voice that spoke, and Mineta turned to see her standing with her arms crossed, looking at him with a very serious expression. "If you’re just going to bother her, you’d better stay here."

"What on earth is this?! What a way to accuse me!"

"I don’t trust you. The last thing Mina needs right now is someone like you dragging her down even further."

"And why on earth do you think I’d drag her down further?! What have I done to make you not trust me?!"

"You have no filter, you’re hopeless at reading people’s feelings, and it’s obvious that common sense has never been your strong point." Jirou listed them off on her fingers.

"Right..." Mineta clasped his hands together. "To start with, that really hurt..."

"I agree with him..." Izuku put his hand behind his head with a slightly awkward laugh. "That was a bit cruel."

"I..." Jirou closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "It’s true, I’m sorry... I’m... All this is getting to me."

"Insufficient apology accepted." Mineta shrugged. "I get what you’re saying, but trust me. I’m going to get Mina to be honest and stop pretending she’s fine. I’m sure it’ll only take a few words to get her to do it."

"I... I think he can do it." Izuku looked at Jirou with a reassuring smile.

Jirou stared at Mineta for a few more seconds, narrowing her eyes as she let her arms fall to her sides.

"If I find out you’ve done anything to ruin her day even further, you’re going to have plenty of problems to worry about. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma’am, loud and clear." Mineta leaned forward in a sort of bow.

"Good..." And with that, Jirou turned on her heel and returned to the others.

Izuku and Mineta watched her walk away, and shortly afterwards the green-haired boy looked at him, gave him a smile and nodded to show he trusted him. After that, he too returned to the others, and Mineta made his way back to the dormitories.

(◇)

Mina watched as the message congratulating her every time she completed a level in the game appeared on her mobile screen. She looked at it for a couple more seconds, closed it, and ended up leaving the phone on the floor beside her. Without hearing the music and the adorable sounds the characters made, it wasn’t the same… Nothing was the same. She had barely spoken at the meeting earlier because, not being entirely in control of what she was saying, she didn’t want to say something strange or that could be misinterpreted. She was already sure she’d made a couple of mistakes trying to talk to Jirou in the infirmary; she didn’t want the same thing to happen to her again in front of everyone. She tilted her head to one side, staring at the wall. She still remembered what had happened. How the loudspeaker had started to smoke, the crackling sounds of electricity signalling an overload, the people around her realising what was happening and rushing out of there as fast as they could... and that boy whose feet had got tangled up in the cables. She didn’t even think about it; she just knew she had to get him out of there. She ran towards him, grabbed the cables, untangled the knots so the boy could get up, and as soon as he was on his feet and had taken a few steps, everything went black. She hadn’t even had time to let go of the cables. That must have been why her hands had been burnt. She held her palms upwards. There was no longer any sign of damage thanks to Recovery Girl’s powers, but if she was honest, she would have preferred to have her hands covered in burns to… this. Did she regret it? No, not at all. If she hadn’t done something, that boy would have been seriously injured. But that didn’t change the fact that the thought of spending the next week like this terrified her. Her world had practically come to a standstill. She looked up again, realising that the door was slightly ajar.

"Mineta…?" she asked, somewhat surprised to see him peeking through the door.

As soon as he heard her voice calling him, Mineta stepped inside and approached her, kneeling on the floor right in front of her. He gestured with his hands to ask if he could stay.

"Well... Sure, if you want... But I won’t be able to talk to you."

Mineta nodded and pointed to his own throat whilst holding out his other hand. It was clear he was trying to tell her something, but she couldn’t quite grasp what it was.

"Ah, I’m sorry… I don’t think I understand what you’re trying to tell me…" she murmured, looking down at the floor with a slight sigh.

Mina stayed there for a few more seconds, staring at that fixed point on the floor, lost in her sadness, when something came into her view. A notebook. Mineta had left it on the floor, where she was looking, so that she could read it.

We don’t need sound to talk.

Mina blinked a couple of times and looked back at him, realising that he was holding a pen and staring at her expectantly. He was probably waiting for an answer.

"Ah, thanks, but writing is a lot of work..." she said, and Mineta lifted the notebook again to write something and show it to her.

It doesn’t matter. Anyway, I sometimes talk too much for no reason.

Mina gave a slight smile, particularly at the last comment, and Mineta turned the notebook over again to write in it.

I know you’re sad.

"Me…? No, of course not! I’m just coming to terms with the fact that…"

Don’t pretend with me. I know you well.

Mina stopped mid-sentence and pressed her lips together slightly. She was about to reply, but Mineta was quicker and started writing again.

You walked out of the meeting, and you’ve never walked out of anything before! I know you’re not well. Don’t force yourself to try and be.

Mina read the sentence several times, then looked at Mineta, and back at what he’d written to read it again. Her lips began to tremble.

I know you don’t want to worry them. There’s no one else here now. You should let it all out before you explode into a mass of pink acid or something.

Mina stared at the sentence for a few seconds. Then she forced a smile and looked back at the boy directly.

"It’s not that bad!" she exclaimed, forcing a cheerful tone into her voice. "It’s only a few days, isn’t it?"

Mineta pressed his lips together, turned the notebook over and started writing again.

So why did you leave?

"Because... Because..." She tried to explain, but she couldn’t put what she wanted to say into words; they caught in her throat.

Because you couldn’t keep up with the conversation? Or because you knew they were talking about you?

"I... I..." Mina sank back to the floor, clasping her hands over her knees. She felt her vision starting to blur, and tried to swallow to steady herself, but when she looked at Mineta again, she couldn’t do it. "I-it’s strange..."

Mineta seemed to let out a sigh, and Mina saw him relax a little.

"I-it’s just that... when other people speak, I can see their lips moving but... I don’t know when they start a sentence or when they finish it... I don’t know what they’re saying..." She closed her eyes, letting a few tears escape that she no longer wanted to hold back. "And when I speak... I don’t know if I’m shouting or whispering... If I say something strange... How am I ever going to be able to communicate like this...? How am I ever going to be able to do anything...?"

Mineta looked away, putting the pen to his mouth to nibble on it a little, searching for a way to answer that.

"What if this doesn’t go away...?" Mina continued, and Mineta looked at her, his eyes wide with shock. "What if I stay like this... forever...?"

Mineta hurriedly turned the notebook over to start writing again.

Chiyo said it’s temporary. Don’t jump to conclusions. Besides, if you stay deaf forever… how are you going to hear me shouting when I ask you to give me a hug?

"You’re such a daftie!" the girl exclaimed with a slightly nervous laugh as she gave him a nudge on the shoulder, causing Mineta to lose his balance and fall backwards. After that, she laughed a little more as she watched him right himself. "Even so, when I wake up tomorrow, everything will still be the same as today… And on festival week, too! I’m going to miss it all completely…"

You don’t have to. I’m sure Iida or Momo will think of something.

"And are you going to be carrying me around all week..?" Mineta wrinkled his nose slightly at that.

You say that as if you were a set of gym weights.

"B-but..." Mina was about to say something else, but Mineta looked at her with narrowed eyes and a very serious expression. Yes, she knew it all too well; the others weren’t going to let her spend the whole week locked in her room, no matter how much she insisted. That was just how they were. "I see... Well..." Mina looked back down at the floor for a few seconds. There wasn’t much else to say. After that, she looked back at the boy, who was staring intently at his notebook with a slight frown, as if getting angry at the pages would magically make the right words appear for this situation. "Mineta... You don’t have to... Uh, well... Do you think you could... just...?" She spread her arms out to the sides.

Mineta looked at her in puzzlement for a few moments, before pressing his lips into a thin line; his pupils narrowed and he glanced nervously in various directions. Mina let out a dry laugh at his reaction. He really was hopeless when it came to emotions, wasn’t he? Shortly afterwards, Mineta gave a somewhat nervous smile and nodded, spreading his arms out to the sides as well. Mina understood the signal and went over to him to wrap her arms around him and let out a flood of sobs. At first he was very tense, but after a few seconds, Mina felt him return the hug and pat her on the back in a clumsy attempt at comfort.

(◇)

He’d been waiting for her, so he wasn’t surprised when he saw the girl round the corner, continuing on her way to the dormitories. Jirou stopped, looking at him somewhat taken aback.

"Kaminari..."

"You’re going to see Mina, aren’t you?" the blond boy asked. Jirou sighed and turned her head away. "Let me come with you."

"Kaminari, look, it’s better if I don’t. We’ll probably overwhelm her and..."

"Why do you want to go and see her on your own?" Kaminari asked bluntly, and Jirou looked at him in surprise again. "You’ve been acting strange all afternoon... I know, I’ve seen you... Tell me, what’s wrong?"

"Kaminari, no..." Jirou crossed her arms. "It’s better not to..."

"Please, tell me what’s wrong. What happened to Mina has affected us all; it’s only natural. But I know you, and I know that..." Kaminari paused, stopped to think for a few moments and began to open his eyes wider than usual. "Don’t tell me that... Do you think what happened to Mina was your fault?"

Jirou fell silent, staring at him intently for a few seconds. She said nothing, did nothing, didn’t even blink. After a while, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh heavier than the one she’d just exhaled seconds earlier.

"She asked me to go with her..." She replied at last.

"What do you mean..?"

"Mina... She came up to the stage... She wanted me to go with her to fetch a few things..." Jirou turned her back on the blond, her voice a little shakier. "And I didn’t want to go with her... I told her I wanted to stay and practise a bit more... If I’d gone with her... If I’d gone with her, perhaps..."

"If you’d gone with her, you’d be in the same position as her right now." Kaminari stepped closer to her, placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her round to force her to look at him directly. "And Mina knows how important the sound is to you. She’d be heartbroken if you were going through the same thing... Would you have wanted that..?"

"W-what..?" Jirou spoke in a whisper, quickly bringing a hand to her eyes, possibly to wipe them away. She wasn’t crying, but Kaminari knew she was on the verge of tears and was surely holding back.

"What happened to Mina was an accident. It could have happened to anyone else, but in this case it was her..." Kaminari ran his hands down Jirou’s arms, without stopping to think about what he was doing. He just wanted to comfort her. "No one could have stopped it. So stop blaming yourself. What matters now is that we’re there for her... And that’s why I want to go and see her with you right now."

Jirou didn’t reply; she was just looking at him with an expression that was very hard to read. Was she... surprised? Moved...? Kaminari wasn’t sure, but he did hope he’d helped her put those dark thoughts aside.

"You’re the last person I expected to hear a speech like that from…" Jirou lowered her head with a somewhat bitter laugh, and Kaminari gave a faint smile. "But don’t do anything that might upset her, OK?"

"Hands behind my back, and I’ll only speak if you give me your permission." The blond replied in a proud tone as he clasped his hands behind his back.

Jirou smiled, even more broadly at that gesture, and they both continued on their way towards Mina’s room. Not saying a word. They were about to arrive, and Kaminari saw that the door was ajar, something that surprised him quite a bit, but he was even more surprised to see the way the girl tensed up beside him.

"Jirou..?" he asked, somewhat puzzled by her reaction, and she simply ran towards the door.

Kaminari was quick to follow her, and he immediately understood why Jirou had reacted that way. Sobs. Mina... Was she crying? Jirou peered in slightly to see inside, and Kaminari pushed the door fully open. Mina was sitting on the floor, at the foot of her bed, curled up, and seemed to be hugging something... A soft toy, perhaps? They both stepped into the room, and when they were close enough, both he and Jirou stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing that she wasn’t hugging an object, but another person.

"Mineta..?" Kaminari called out to him, and the other boy lifted his head to look at him with the saddest, wounded puppy-dog eyes he’d ever seen since he’d known him.

"I told you I could do it…" Mineta said to Jirou as she knelt on the floor on the other side of the girl in pink.

Jirou tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, and Mina turned, looked at her in silence for a few seconds, and immediately rested her head on the girl’s shoulder to continue sobbing. The short-haired girl wasted no time in wrapping her arms around her to comfort her, and Kaminari sat down beside them and joined the embrace from behind Jirou.

"What’s going on…?" A new voice echoed through the room, and Kaminari turned to see that Kirishima had also entered the room, looking as worried as ever. Bakugou was there too, but he just stood watching everything from the doorway.

Kirishima wrapped his arms around them and sat down on Mineta’s side to join the embrace as well, comforting Mina as best he could. Bakugou just sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh… Are you crying?" Toga’s head poked through the door, and Bakugou recoiled in surprise. The blonde girl came in without saying much else and crouched down behind Kaminari. "It’s all right, let’s all be sad together." she said, wrapping her arms around Kaminari’s waist to join the hug, and resting her cheek against his back.