Chapter 80: Yet

Through teary eyes and a searing headache, the girl pulled her heavy head upward, trying to discern the figure through her blurry vision.

A gray head shape with the traditional UA blazer not worn on their body but instead tied around their waist, showing off their toned body barely hidden beneath their white dress shirt.

Mina took an instinctive sniff and had her eyes shake when she smelled that scent—one distinct yet calming one that she could easily make out.

'Suijin.'

Looking down, Suijin raised a questioning eyebrow at the huddled girl in front of him.

He'd just gotten up to stretch his legs since Denki had requested a break, and as he was walking around, he heard some voices from behind the bookshelf. Thus, curiosity piqued, he walked behind.

Once he appeared, he saw a wide-eyed Momo, Ochaco, Tsu, and what he had assumed was a distressed Mina.

Stuck in confusion, he couldn't help but call the girl's name, wanting to confirm if she was okay.

'And I need to talk with her.'

He grimaced, remembering the comical timing of when the bell had rung.

And though Suijin internally knew that the bell had a set schedule and knew that he had simply been too nervous to consider that, he still cursed the timing.

It was as if he was in a novel or something!

Still, he knew that he needed to have a proper conversation with her, not just a rushed one when he gained a bit of confidence.

The boy looked at the girl below him, noting how she still hadn't responded to him even after a few seconds had passed.

"~Mina." He repeated it, this time more affectionate and concerned than before.

The boy looked up, trying to ask the others why Mina was like this, but with their eye conversation, they replied,

'We don't know.'

'It just happened.'

Though Tsu was giving him a scrutinizing stare, one that told him that she thought the answer was obvious,

Still not receiving a proper answer, the boy could only return to gentle pokes and taps, hoping that something would snap her out of whatever funk she was stuck in.

Luckily, due to the view of him looking above, Mina's face was completely hidden, hiding her burning red face.

The girl cursed everything as she felt trapped, her face stuck in her hands as she couldn't get up.

Suijin just had to come when she was down, showing her once again why she had fallen for him in the first place.

Endless bouts of kindness.

Empathy that wasn't superficial but genuine.

And something about him—something that made the times when she was around him fifteen times more enjoyable.

Even now, she had just been on the verge of a panic attack before, yet not all notions of such were gone, replaced with embarrassment.

If she got up, then he'd question why she was like that, which obviously wasn't an option.

Yet she couldn't bear lying down anymore, as the longer she lay here, the more she felt like she was deceiving him.

A feeling she was desperately trying to forget.

But… listening to his voice, hearing his breath, and feeling the rhythmic poking, a feeling she didn't know whether to laugh or be angry at, she could practically feel the care wafting off of him.

Making her feel multiple times more guilty.

Finally, not being able to take it, Mina made a decision.

She quickly stood up, doing so so fast that Suijin wouldn't be able to catch a glimpse of her face.

The girl pushed the boy's back forward, forcing him outside of the library, before she spun around, putting her index finger to her lips.

Once finished with her friends, she walked in front of Suijin, forcefully grasping his arm and leading him.

She passed through the library doors, receiving some stares from the various study groups, and a confused but relieved one from Kaminari, but ignored them.

She led him up the flight of stairs, not stopping until they were at the roof, where she promptly led them to the wall the food was connected.

Clang

Letting the door shut, she took up residence on the same wall, patting the spot next to her after folding her skirt under her.

The boy, though confused, relented and sat down, looking forward to not pressure Mina in whatever she was inevitably going to tell him.

Silence rang amongst them, and contrary to his nature, anxiety was building up inside Suijin; thoughts of what this may mean were constantly running through his mind.

After what felt like hours, he couldn't take it anymore. Thus, turning towards the girl, Suijin opened his mouth and said, "Mina, I—"

What shut him up wasn't a stern look, not a louder, more boisterous voice. Instead, it was the appearance of determination that wafted off of the girl.

"Suijin."

She instantly took control of the conversation.

"Thank you."

Mina uttered the phrase that had been causing both her and Suijin trouble, and hearing them again, Suijin knew that she was referencing that afternoon.

'So I hadn't heard wrong.'

He'd been hoping so, hoping that his ears had betrayed him in the midst of that confusion, yet hearing her say it again, he was now sure.

But with that misunderstanding, questions he'd been keeping at bay with uncertainty were now released.

Who says thank you for a confession?

How was he supposed to reply to that?

What did that even mean?

As the question marks rang in his mind, Mina once again spoke out the thoughts she'd been wanting to say but hadn't known how to articulate.

"Thank you for your confession, for your thoughts, for your kindness, and for your feelings."

Despite the somewhat positive words, the slight shaking of her head sent a pit in the boy's stomach.

"But I can't accept them…"

Despair

A feeling he was accustomed to, a feeling he told himself that he had to expect prior to coming to the decision to take that risk.

It was as bitter and unpleasant as all the other times he had to taste its seeds.

His eyes grew dark as he unfocused them, unfocusing his attention from the world, finding the blissful nothingness that such unfocus brought him to be much more pleasant than the world.

Yet her next words brought him back into the living.

"...Yet."

Yet.

YET!

Before he could even begin to speculate, Mina put on a pained expression, showcasing her difficulties as she explained,

"I… have issues—personal ones that I need to figure out myself."

She added in that last part before the ever-kind Suijin could even begin to think about helping her.

This was her burden to shoulder.

"There are things you don't know about me—dark things—that I try to bury away, keeping them from the limelight. A history to forget is my past, one so bunched up that before I bring anyone new into my life, I need to unravel it."

She stood up, once again blocking the sunlight in Suijin's view, once again taking up his entire sight, and once again becoming his entire world.

With her black sclera, 'abnormal' pink skin, and horns on her head, Suijin gazed up, watching as the light hugged her like a blanket.

'Angel.'

"So thank you, for everything, and while I can't accept it yet, if you still feel the same…."

His mind tuned out everything else she said, forgetting all recollection of anything she said besides that one word.

Yet.

.

.

.

"So basically, I got, It's Not You, It's Me'd."

Looking at the lowering sun, sitting on a bench with his arms spread out, covering its entirety, Suijin recalled the conversation, completely forgetting how he got here.

Her words, well, words, constantly played out in his mind, never allowing him to forget their conversation.

Yet.

'At least this is an opportunity.' He tried to think positively.

'I delayed telling her my feelings because I felt like I wasn't the best version of myself for her, and now she's doing the same.'

He could've chuckled at their similarities.

'If that's the case, then my job is simple, support her in any way I can through whatever she's going through, while bettering myself, so when she is ready, just like I'm getting the best version of her, I'll make sure she gets the best version of me.'

Suijin patted his own back for his forward thinking and once again affirmed his future goals.

He'd improve himself, but this time not just to prove to himself and his self-doubt that he could do it.

Not just for the fragile, pathetic side of himself.

But this time for others as well.

For his mom, to make sure she never had to shed another tear as she went out into battle.

For Mina, so that they would get the most out of each other.

And for his dad, so he could rest easy knowing that both his nozzle and his duties as a hero were both kept safe.

Suijin would look towards the future, making sure that everyone, including himself, was safe.

He swore on his name as the Spray Hero: Cobra!