#amajiki

He walked through the doors with an intimidating gaze turned toward the floor, ears poking out like an elf, and for some reason, you perked up in your seat. The cutest boy in your class was undoubtedly Todoroki, but when this guy walked in, your heart skipped a beat. Todoroki didn’t make your heart skip beats.

Amajiki, Mr. Aizawa had called him. Even his name was befitting of someone so delicate. He was awkward, he was fidgety—a person with a personality you had never met before. How interesting.

You followed the rest of the class to the training gym. They were so intent on defeating that Togata guy, and maybe you should have been too, because that was why you were here: to become someone worthy of the title Hero. But Hero’s were also just people, and though this was a school for the next generation of Heroes, you were still sometimes, just a high school girl.

And high school girls were allowed to have crushes.

You appeared beside him at the corner of one of the walls. He was tall, a lot taller than you, back you weren’t deterred by something measly like that.  “Hey, you—

He screeched at your tiny finger poke. “What—who are—why aren’t you participating?”

“Hmm?” You leaned in, eyes narrowing in calculation. “You don’t seem to have a problem talking to one person at a time.”

“Uhm.” He swallowed, finally turning to face you. “Shouldn’t you be with your classmates?” 

He pointed toward the group behind you, but you shrugged without looking. “Theres no point in fighting a losing battle.”

“Huh?” His eyebrows furrowed.

“I heard what you said,” you crossed your arms and leaned your back against the wall, watching your peers get pummeled. “The cons far outweigh the pros in this situation.” You blinked, “The only thing I would maybe gain from this is being humbled,” you frowned, “and I’m not really in the mood for that right now.”

He shuddered, holding his hands together, “You’re kind of scary.”

“Scary?” You pouted. “How mean, I’m your underclassmen, you’re supposed to take care of me,” you whacked a few little punches at his shoulder, careful to not actually put any weight behind them. “Besides, to be honest,” you straightened up, “I’m more interested in talking to you.”

“Me?” He faltered, “I don’t think I’m all that interesting… So.” His voice cracked and it was the cutest sound you had ever heard.

“You wanna know what I think?” You asked, unintentionally invading his personal space.

“Not really,” he leaned away from you, averting his gaze even as his cheeks burned and told you more than you needed to know.

“But I wanna tell you anyway.”

“Sainoji!” You huffed and turned around, spotting Aizawa walking toward you.

“Yes?”

“Go change, the others are already gone.”

Confused, you shifted to look over his shoulder. Of course, he wasn’t lying. “Right. Sorry.” You nodded, but before running off, turned to Amajiki one last time. “Let’s continue our conversation late, kay?”

“U-o..kay…”

 “Hmm, what was that?” Mirio appeared at Tamaki’s side, slapping his back.

“Oo, Tamaki, I didn’t know you could talk to girls like that,” Nejire held up a hand to her mouth as if containing her awe.

“It’s not like that!” Tamaki shouted. “Besides, I think she was just making fun of me.”

“Sorry about her.” Mr. Aizawa said, watching his student’s retreating form. “She’s kind of a wild card.”

“What do you mean by that?” Mirio asked.

“She’s not inherently crazy, but… She is sometimes… how do I put this gently…” he itched the back of his head, “Sainoji can be unpredictable, and sometimes it’s hard to know what she’s thinking.” From watching her the past semester, Shota could confidently say —san Sainoji went about things seriously only when it benefitted her. She was like that with everything, including people. Her own classmates had started to notice pretty early on, but that wasn’t any of his business so he never thought to get involved. He supposed Amajiki had just captured her interest for some reason. Though, he didn’t see how any of that information would be at all important to these students, so he kept his mouth shut.

“What, she wants to see us?” You motioned between yourself and Ochaco.

“I’m just as surprised as you are.”

“Hey, that’s not very nice.” You pouted, but Aizawa knew you weren’t really upset. You could see it in the way his face refused to move an inch.

“Wow, what do you think it’s about?” Ochaco tiled her head.

“I don’t know,” Kirishima jumped up, “but I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’m going over to the third year’s dorms!”

“Let’s go with him,” Ochaco said, already following.

“I have no problem with that.” You murmured, if you went with Kirishima, you were sure to see him, and you could even play it off as if you were just excited about what Hado had to say. Though you’d be lying if you said you weren’t excited about the conversation with her—knowing it likely entailed information about the work study—Amajiki was just a more intriguing topic. What did he do in his spare time? What did he look like when he was focused? Perhaps this would give you a chance to see him in his own habitat.

“Wait for me!” You chased after your classmates.

The walk across the dorms wasn’t hard, but you did have to pass all the second year’s, which took a little longer than expected. The sky was beginning to darken, painting the campus in shades of orange and purple, though you were sure you would be back in your room before it got too dark to see.

“Look, it’s there!” Kirishima shouted, pointing ahead. The structure was identical to your dormitory, the only difference was the white number 3 at the top, contrasting nicely against the brown paint.

“Let’s go.” Ochaco bounded up the stairs, but it was Kirishima who knocked. You stood a bit behind them, trying not to fidget with your fingers. The door cracked open and unfamiliar faces peeked through.

“Uhm, we’re looking for Tamaki Amajiki and Nejire Hado…”

“You’re first years right?” One of the guys in the doorway asked. “Give us a second, here, you can wait in the foyer.”

“Thanks,” Kirishima bowed and led the way through.

Cautiously, you followed, analyzing the interior. In comparison, there wasn’t much difference. What floor did he stay on? You swallowed back the sickness that lurched in your stomach. Amajiki walked down the stairs in a hoodie and sweats. Casual clothing was normal, especially with how late it was, but man he was so… Oh, what was the word?

He kept his head down and hands in his pants pockets. Hado flew out the elevator a second later, “You’re here!” She grinned. “Couldn’t wait, huh?”

“Nope!” Ochaco rolled back and forth on her heels. “Sorry, this is probably unexpected but it was just such a surprise.”

“Oh, I bet. Come on, let’s go talk in the common area. Are you guys thirsty or hungry?”

You forced yourself to move but your eyes remained on Amajiki. Kirishima was talking, almost shouting, and he was just standing there, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked so—

Domestic.

That was it.

Comfortable.

You wanted more. To see more of him and what he would do or say, how he would react to something you said. What was he thinking about you right now? Had he seen you walk in? Was he just as curious about you as you were about him?

But that wasn’t what you’d come here for.

You supposed it was enough to just see him like this. Surely there would be more opportunities to see these quieter pieces of him. Your stomach flipped at the possibilities and you hid a smile behind a palm.

Across the room, Kirishima settled beside Amajiki, who kept his limbs extraordinarily close together. You caught most of what Hado was saying, but every now and then, your eyes would sneak off.

“Well, that’s all.” She said, “I’ll look forward to tomorrow. We can go right after school.”

“You guys ready?” Kirishima grinned, but your gaze snagged on the taller boy who appeared behind him. Quiet and his hands were still stuffed into his pockets, but his eyes were on yours. He blinked away, almost squeaking when it seemed he’d been caught.

“Yeah, just about!” Ochaco jumped up.

“We should probably head back then,” Kirishima checked his phone, “Oh man, it’s late.”

“Oh, you’re right.” Ochaco frowned at her own phone, “Weird, it didn’t feel like it was that long.”

“Time passes by differently here.” Hado giggled like a weirdo.

“Stop it, Nejire.” Amajiki stepped forward.

“I’m only kidding.” She huffed. “Can’t I have a little fun?”

Sweat dripped down his forehead and he turned his gaze back onto the three of you, the tips of his ears turned pink, and you couldn’t help but hope it was because of you. Maybe one day, he would call you by your first name and you could do the same. Him and Hado were friends, close enough that first names came naturally to them. What would it be like to know him that well?

Your upperclassmen walked you all to the front door, with Hado saying, “Get back safely,” as you exited their dormitory.

Last to enter and last to leave, you passed her, then Amajiki, who seemed to grab the sleeve of your sweatshirt. “Did you do that?” It was light, so maybe you were just imagining it… But you could swear—

“Uhm,” he refused to meet your eyes, but that was okay, because he was so much cuter when he couldn’t function properly. “Our conversation, you said… You wanted to finish it later.”

“Oh, right!” Your eyes widened and your mouth fell into a deep grin. “So, can I have your number then?”

His breath caught, loud enough for you to hear it, and beside him, Hado coughed into her hand and looked away, as if trying and failing to pretend she wasn’t listening. You didn't care if she was or not, though, because you had no reason to be embarrassed.

“Is that a no?”

“Sainoji, come on!”

“Coming!” You shouted back, “Sorry for being so forward.” You smiled awkwardly, bowing before spinning around on your heels.

“Wait,” he reached out again, and when you faced him for the second time tonight, he had his phone inclined toward you, number pad open.

Tamaki couldn’t believe what was happening. Why she was so interested in him, he had no idea, but he knew questioning people like her about things like that would get him nowhere. It was the same thing with Nejire and Mirio. There was a little difference with this first year, though. She was harder to understand. Harder to predict. Mirio and Nejire were confusing sometimes, but eventually Tamaki could usually follow their logic. Sainoji's logic seemed to exist entirely inside her own head. She seemed to be acting only on her own agenda, like Mr. Aizawa had said, a wild card… 

Maybe that was why he was drawn to her.

“Just because.”

Tamaki blinked, mouth dropping slightly open. He wanted to ask what she meant, but he didn’t have to. It was like she could read his mind or something. Oh no—that wasn’t her quirk was it? Quick—think of something—anything!

Was that why she had sought him out that first day he’d showed up at her class? Back then, was she able to read his thoughts? Had she heard him say how scary standing in front of all her classmates was? And now she knew his greatest weakness!

“Amajiki?” She tilted her head and some hair fell into her eyes. “Don’t overthink it.”

But how was he not supposed to overthink things like this? People didn’t talk to him. Girls didn’t talk to him—certainly not underclassmen—but this girl…

“I wanted to talk to you…” she shrugged like it was nothing, “Just because I felt like it.” And when his eyebrows furrowed, her grin finally slipped free. “‘How is she reading my mind?’ That’s what you’re thinking right?” A laugh this time, “I can see it in your eyes… ‘See?’ That’s what you’re thinking now.”

He looked away, face burning up. How was she so good at that? How did people normally handle her?

“So, that's my answer.” She stepped backwards toward the door and for some reason Tamaki wanted to follow. “Just because.”