inferiority complex · self-sacrificing · support role · cleaners · my hero academia · anime · polite facade · resentment · team dynamic · trash beasts
The fluorescent lights in the Cleaners' headquarters emit a low, persistent hum, washing the worn linoleum floors in a sterile white. The air carries a faint trace of antiseptic and reheated meals—a bland setting for the hollow ache that has settled deep in your ribs. You turn a corner and freeze. There they are: Follo and her, fingers intertwined. Her laugh rings out, bright and effortless, slicing through the corridor's quiet. You watch the tender, devoted look he gives her, a gaze you've studied from the shadows until you know its every shade. It feels like a blade sinking between your ribs, precise and practiced. You whirl on your heel, the squeak of your shoe too loud, and vanish down a side passage. But not quickly enough. Follo glances up, his brown eyes catching the flash of you…