Chapter 53

The fact that I'm excited to go to the library should be appalling, but that's just how things are apparently. It's Saturday and I'm dead set on acquiring some nice books and wouldn't you know it, UA has a massive library with an almost infinite collection. Geez, all they would need is some on-campus restaurants and stores and they would be a school city, we wouldn't even have to leave to get the basics needed for living. Mina had made her displeasure about the situation known even as I slipped through the door and promised to make things up to her when I return. I did plan on spending the day with her and after having lost a bet it has been decided that our next activity will be "dress up". I'll be the poor unfortunate soul who has to model for her and there's nothing I can do about that. Eijiro has earned a ticket to the show and somehow Jiro found out and has invited herself, so I'll be putting on a show it seems.

The library hadn't been that hard to find, just as Israel had said and all I would need is my student pass to have access to every book I would need. The door is as massive as all the others in this school and there's a simple "library" written just above the door, basic, but helpful. The door slides open quite easily and for a moment I have to wonder if the school has all the books in existence. Rows upon rows upon rows upon rows of books line the walls as soon as you step foot into the room. The shelves reach high until they meet the ceiling and the ceiling makes it look as if the room goes up and up.

Oh man.

There's a desk and computer where one would expect a librarian, but there's no one there. I wonder who mans the library - whether it's a student or a faculty member.

Dismissing the missing librarian I travel deeper into the room, not sure where anything is, but willing to explore every shelf if I have to. I doubt I'll need to, however, since the rows and shelves have names that would suggest what type of books could be found in that area. I see fantasy and my interest is piqued. There's a book I've been reading and I'm too close to finishing it without the second book on my shelf. If the school has it, that'll save me some money, that's for sure. It's a classic fantasy book, nothing special so I didn't think I would love it as much as I do. Oddly addicting and investing. The hero is the typical chosen one who has to defeat the big bad. There's the angsty rival, the obvious love interest that is far better than the one the main character is currently head over heels in love with. The mc has an amazing ability unlike what anyone has ever seen before and I'm sure the final battle will end with the power of friendship.

Cheesy and cliche but I live for it.

I'm quite lucky today, aren't I? Because I see the book just a few feet away and I'm thanking whichever higher being's watching over me in this life. You have never let me down, whoever you are, and I appreciate it.

My mom sometimes used to joke about how things don't go your way when you acknowledge that things have been going your way for some time and those words come back to me when I bump into literal air.

"You see, this is just great"

There's nothing in front of me, nothing at all and the air isn't moving as if something is solid standing in the middle of the aisle. Reaching out and hoping my perception of things may have gone hey wire I am not too relieved to meet something solid. Solid and smooth and obviously there, yet not visible to the eye.

It's likely someone's quirk is at work because I don't think it can be anything else at the moment.

All I have to do is locate the nearest person and see if I can get them to remove the invisible wall in my way. And it's not a hard task, with how quiet the library is it's easier to focus on the wandering thoughts until I latch onto the nearest voice and with it comes a very vivid imagination. The wall in front of me is supposedly purple and made of solid stone. I reach out and knock, I hear nothing, but someone apparently does and they're alert.

"Oh"

Pale orange hair, round amber eyes, coy smile, and blushing cheeks. The mimer stands in front of me, a book held open to her chest and glasses sitting on her face and she's fumbling with something I cannot see. A moment later she reaches out for me, hands small and cold and red at the knuckles as she pulls me into the confined space of her imagination. Her ability is a fascinating thing and while I had been curious as to how one would counter such an ability, it seems I've figured it out. She has a very vivid imagination and when I delve into her mind what was once invincible appears as if the cloak had been lifted.

"Hello, sorry" her voice is pitched as the words rush out and she only releases my hand when she realizes she had still been holding onto me. It's almost as if she had been burned when she pulled her hands away and she apologizes again. "I didn't realize I had barricaded myself in here, I'm really sorry"

Ah, so her quirk can function without her awareness. It's her imagination that does all the work then and if she does it unconsciously, is there no drawback to her abilities?

No, there is a drawback, she's blinking behind her glasses, eyes almost dazed and she shakes her head as if to clear her mind.

"I should get a better hold on that" she mumbles and trudges away, pants dragging slightly on the door from how big they are and her sleeves hang past her hands. She's small, I'm reminded and follow her without much thought. She ruffles her hair, making it even more of a mess than it had already been. Strands of hair stick out from atop her head, disheveled. She's makes an odd-pitched sound and scrambles to pull her hood over her head and her book almost tumbles right out of her arms.

"How long have you been in here" I wonder, looking through the spines of books until I find the one I had been desperately searching for. Well, I wasn't desperate.

"I don't know" Kusei answers after a buffer of silence and she's sitting in a green beanbag chair that seems to want to suck her in completely. "What time is it?"

"It's almost three," I say after a quick glance at my watch.

Quiet again, I don't know if she heard me with how focused she is on the book spread open on her lap. I let her be and go through the acquired part two of my cliche story, just a quick peek of what I'll be getting into soon.

"It's three?" She speaks suddenly, sounding as confused as she is concerned. "Pm?"

"Yes"

She cringes after a moment, a clear sign that she has been in here for quite some time and in the blink of an eye she's on her feet, stumbling but quickly regaining her balance with a show of nimbleness and she steps past me with another apology.

"It's been eight hours" she mutters sounding on the verge of panic.

Well, I would be in the same state if I realized I spent eight hours locked away in a library. Her perception of time is completely nonexistent, isn't it?

"It's been eight hours" she repeats, spinning past me again to gather the stack of books piled near the beanbag chair and most of them tumble back to the ground, earning a sorrowful whimper from the poor girl. "It's been eight hours"

I move to help her when the same thing happens a second time and gather the fallen books even when she insists I don't need to go through the trouble. There's a total of sixteen maybe seventeen books and I carry half of that for her. She goes silent when I don't let her try to carry it all and I silently follow her to the still abandoned desk and watch her rummage through her pockets and another sad sound leaves her.

"You idiot" she admonishes quietly, something close to self-loathing coming off her small frame. "Idiot, idiot, idiot"

"You forgot your pass?"

"Yes, I did" she groans and turns back around, apparently going to return all the books she had been set on taking out of here.

"Hold on, no need" it's painful to imagine not being able to leave with all the books she had likely been eager to acquire. "I'll use my pass, you don't need to put them back"

The mere thought of me offering more help to her seems to be like a stab to the girl and I'm starting to see that she may have some issues with herself.

"I can't let you do that" her words are rushed and having known her for just a few minutes, it seems to be the way she speaks when she's distressed in some shape or form. "I'm the one who forgot my pass, I need to take responsibility for that and I can't let you go through the trouble"

While she's saying all of that I already have my card on the scanner and have already started registering the books for her. When she sees this I'm sure she almost panics and the books in her hands almost all come crashing down again. She doesn't move from where she stands, however, she releases a heavy sigh and looks down to the ground.

Yeah, there's really nothing she can do to stop me and she must have realized that.

"All done" the books are registered on my pass and now she's allowed to have the books. "When you're done with them, just let me know and I'll come with you to return them"

"I-" she's pensive, brows furrowed and teeth chewing on her bottom lip. "Thank you"

"You're welcome"

"Um..you're Fox?"

"Zena, yes" I nudge open the door and motion for her to go on ahead.

"Kendo calls you Kitsune," she says once we wandered into the halls.

"Yes, you're free to as well"

"I'm Kusei" she introduces

"I remember" it's hard to forget the mimer. At least that's what I've been referring to her as. "You have an amazing quirk"

Oh, she laughs, that's a first. It's short and surprised.

"You think so" she asks. "Well I guess you do, many people in this school seem to think so"

But not so many shared those thoughts before.

"What can you do?"

"Elementumkinises," I say. "I also have cognitive abilities"

"Can you read minds?" She seems sure of the answer even before I nod. "Figured"

"Why?"

"You knocked" is her reasoning behind her assumption and she doesn't go on to explain.

We lapse into a companionable silence after that, carefully making our way out of the building and towards the class B dorms. Her mind wanders quite easily, straying to the plot of the recent book she had been reading and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I become lost in thought with her. It sounds like something I would read and I would gladly borrow it after she returns it, even if I've learned half the story already.

"I'm convinced the main character will die," Kusei says suddenly, bringing me back.

"Huh?"

"You were in my head, weren't you?" I'm curious as to why most people I've told about my second ability are so unbothered by it. "I think he'll die"

"Well, it wouldn't be too unexpected" I decide to shrug off the bewilderment that is this odd girl.

"I'll let you know if it comes to that" she promises.

Soon enough we're in front of her dorm room and she fumbles with her keys until she can finally push the door open and I linger in the doorway. It's not very polite to enter uninvited.

She has a nice bright room with shelves lining the wall - all of them packed with books. There's an art table pushed against the wall near the window and a half-finished drawing sits atop. There are clothes scattered on her bed in a mess I'm quite familiar with and her school books are added to that mess as well.

She likes to read, draw and I'm assuming she likes stars if the ceiling and bedsheets are anything to go by.

She places the new books onto the shelf above her bed and rushes to get the last few from me and add them to the shelves as well.

"I'll get going then" there's not much else for me to do now I've helped her.

She's awkward and I think that's what made it easier for me not to make a fool of myself. She doesn't seem to know what to do now and settles on a quick wave and thank you before the door is closed in front of me.

Hmm

Odd one.

Before I can leave, however, the door opens again and Kusei all but falls through it. She stops herself just in time and looks beyond mortified, refusing to meet my eyes and almost shoves a book into my hands.

"My thanks"

Is her explanation and she disappears behind her door again.

Okay, I've got a book.

~~~~~~~~~

When I get back to my dorm I'm almost run over and I can't help but wonder why I'm always in the middle of things whenever I return. I don't fall, thankfully and the person who had run into me is staring at me with odd and familiar eyes. She's very much in my personal space and I would be weirded out had I no clue who this kid is. With long pink hair, goggles on her forehead, odd golden eyes, and a bright smile I find myself staring at an excited Mei whose face is dirtied by what could possibly be oil.

"Hello," she says merrily, somehow stepping closer into my space and I'm looking off in hopes of finding Alissa. "You're foxy's cousin, yes?"

"Yeah" first I've heard anyone refer to Alissa in that manner. "You're Mei"

"Yes," she beams. "Tell me, how did you like your suit? Did the thin soles help?"

Oh, that was her?

"Oh yeah, they were great actually" I had no clue she worked on it as I had naturally assumed most of the work done on my costume had either been done by whatever company works for the school or Alissa, maybe even Izuku.

I seem to have made her day with such simple words and I can't imagine I've seen someone smile as brightly as her.

"Great" she's out of my personal space now and steps around with a song in her voice. "It was nice meeting you"

"You too"

Today has been rather unexpected and I would appreciate some time in my room.

When I get there the room is unoccupied safe for Kurama and my trusty little Orochi who seems to be taking a rest under the warmth of her light. I had expected to find Mina here, or Eijiro, or even Jiro after she had popped up with a request to "jam out".

Oh well.

I climb into bed, gently nudging Kurama more to the middle of my sheets, and open the book Kusei had lent me while the other joins its partner on the shelf. Quite an odd one, that Kusei. But I doubt I have any right to say that about people. I've estimated her about Mina's height - five foot two or so - but she has a way of appearing quite smaller. Could be the baggy clothes, they were a bit big on her too with sleeves hanging past her hands and pant legs touching the floor. Even her glasses were a bit big. Actually, she looks like any bookwork I've known, they don't tend to wear anything impressive and mostly frequent such clothes. I could be wrong.

She was in the library for eight hours.

I'm kinda impressed. She just got up at around seven and decided to go read some books on a Saturday and spent most of her day huddled in a corner surrounded by books and her imagination. Doesn't sound that bad actually and I might join her should she let me.

"Kitsune" my name is called before the door is pushed open and Jiro stands there with her guitar in her hands and a wide smile on her face. "You're back"

"Good afternoon" I greet and she closes the door with her foot, places her guitar on my bed, and walks off to get one of my keyboards.

"Play something with me" she lifts my keyboard carefully and almost falls over when she places it on my bed. Sighing, I put the book away and take my precious keyboard from her. "I was playing around and I made something that sounded great, but I need some keys with it"

"Momo wasn't available then?"

"Homework" Jiro muses. "And she's more classically inclined"

She drags over my amps, sets everything up, and plays the first chord to test the volume. It makes Kurama rouse from his lazy state and he lashes at her with her tail in his annoyance, but he's quick to close his eyes again.

"Okay" content with the volume the testing chords merge into an actual melody, one I can tell was accidentally made up with how languid and simple it sounds. "I need keys, but I'm not sure in what way"

I suppose I'm meant to be her experiment buddy today.

Her current guitar has a more acoustic sound to it and the melody she's created is played in d minor exclusively, a very pleasing sound.

I follow suit in d minor as well, playing something that blends nicely enough until they do sound quite nice together. Hmm, would work just as well in c major, wouldn't it?

"Are you gonna use this for something?"

"Doubt it" she shrugs. "Just thought it was nice"

Just as she says that she switches to something else entirely uttering the words to a silly song and laughing when I give her a look.

"You know what would be fun?" I say when an idea strikes me. "A musical"

Jiro makes a face, but struggles not to smile.

"No"

"Yes," I grin. "A musical would be all kinds of fun"

"You just want chaos" she accuses me.

"No" perish the thought. "It would be fun, come on, think of a character"

She's quiet then, thoughtful.

"Someone unhinged falls "in love"" she says sounding rather unimpressed.

"How unhinged"

"Likely to kill for the other unhinged"

Ugh, she just described that kid from Heathers. I don't know his damn name and it's been forever since I watched that thing.

"You were meant to be mine" I sing, remembering that constant lyric throughout the musical. I hated that guy.

"I am all that you need" Jiro continues, mocking and I'm a bit surprised. Then again, it's not hard to imagine what someone like that would say about their "lover"

"You tore open my heart" I watch her intently, hoping beyond hope that she says the next line. Come on, do it.

"Can't just leave me to bleed" she sings after a moment, brow quirked.

Hahaha, she knows the lyrics without knowing the lyrics.

If only this musical had been a reality here, it would've been so much fun.

"Sing something" she suddenly urges, legs folded and hands on her knees.

"I just did"

"No, sing something else" she insists.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, just sing something"

She can't just tell me to sing something and expect me to have a song in mind.

"Jiro"

"Come on, you have a nice voice, just sing something"

It appears she won't let up until I humor her.

And while I'm trying to think of a song, something finally enters my mind and I run with it. Almost there from princess and the frog was a nice song, I'm not gonna lie.

I sing maybe four lines, seeing it sufficient enough and Jiro's watching me as if I had wronged her.

"You have a nice voice" she repeats, her wronged look morphing into one I can't place.

"You have a thing for voices?"

I hit the nail on the head because she goes red in the face immediately.

"Hey, well, so do I no need to be embarrassed"

She's still colored pink but doesn't look like she's about to pass on to the next plane of existence.

"Yaomomo can sing, you know" she admits.

"Ah, understandable" really, I understand her fascination under normal circumstances, because it's Momo. She's a sweetheart.

"Don't think I've forgiven you for what you did at the hot springs" I'm being accused now

"I didn't do anything" all I did was call Momo, it's not my fault Jiro almost choked on water.

"I'll get you back" she swears under her breath.

"Good luck with that"

She grumbles, knowing it would be a hard mission.

"Don't do anything Yaomomo wouldn't approve of" I add in just to be smacked by my pillow with enough force to send me tumbling over.

"Such a kind friend"

"Ew"