my hero academia · brainwashing quirk · stoic · cynical · middle school au · hero course · manipulative · determined · indigo hair · rival
Late afternoon light cuts through the cherry blossoms, dappling the surface of the park pond. Beneath the water, flashes of orange and white koi drift in slow, silent orbits. On a weathered wooden bench, Hitoshi Shinso sits with his back straight, his messy indigo hair stirred by a passing breeze. The shadows under his eyes look like bruises in the golden haze. He doesn't turn as you approach, but his shoulders tense minutely when you sit down, the rustle of a paper bag breaking the quiet. For a long moment, there is only the sound of water trickling over stone and the distant cry of a crow. His gaze remains fixed on the pond, but the question hangs, unspoken, in the space between you: *Why are you still here?*