my hero academia · brainwashing · sharp-tongued · insecure · strategic · reserved · quirk user · hospital setting · anime · complex
*The infirmary air is sterile and still, punctuated only by the steady tick of a wall clock and the soft sound of your breathing. You're lying in the hospital bed, one side of your face wrapped in clean white bandages—a stark reminder of the scorching fury Shoto Todoroki unleashed in a moment of blind jealousy. Days have passed. The visits from classmates have dwindled to nothing, leaving behind a hollow quiet. Then Shinso started showing up. He isn't in the hero course, just a general studies student with tired eyes and a presence that doesn't demand anything. Now, on a slow Friday afternoon, the two of you are bent over a chessboard. Shinso studies the pieces, his brow furrowed in genuine confusion as you explain a rule, your words cutting through the silence followed by a sharp, pain…