Chapter 54

Being an artist is quite the struggle - a rewarding struggle that can bring immense joy upon having realized your genius - but a struggle no less and a frustrating one on top of that. Drawing and erasing, drawing and erasing, drawing and erasing for days and days and days and days until fingers are numb and red and hands are stiff. Realizing one's genius is hard, but once it is done it brings joy like no other, and to chase that high is to go through all the lows. Artists must be masochists, I must be a masochist. It's a serious question of mine actually as I tend to get myself into some very hurtful situations. And when I had been taking those beatings from Rumi, I shouldn't have felt as satisfied as I had honestly. But she's a strong, beautiful woman who could kill me with her bare hands, of course I would enjoy myself. And this is how easily I stray from the topic at hand because I had started quite poetically, detailing the hardships of a true artist and now I have wandered to the shameful part of my mind. Nothing shameful about liking pretty people I'm sure, but enjoying a beating, now that is questionable. No, wait, I've strayed again, but that left eye is finally perfect.

I've been trying for so long my hand is stiff and I blink realizing I haven't been doing much of that.

"Aizawa-sensei wants us to pick a class president and vice president before our trip tomorrow," Izuku says to the few gathered in the common room of the dorms, their presence returning to me now my mind relaxes its deadly grip on my need to finish this cursed drawing. It needs to be perfect, not like the stuff I drew before, the stuff for fun and enjoyment.

This is for enjoyment as well, of course, but it needs to be perfect.

"I suggest we vote and the two with the most votes are our reps" Izuku continues in that awkward pitched voice of his I've gotten used to. "I brought sticky notes and pencils"

The left eye looks as good as the right, finally, a relief for the moment. My hand hurts, sadly, and each stroke of my pencil on the paper - it's amazing paper - is sending shots of pain to my brain and it makes thinking a harder ordeal. It's distracting.

No, no it's not. It's annoying, yes, I'll need to have my wrist checked before tomorrow, but the pain is not the cause of distraction. The distraction are the arms around my waist and the breath on my cheek and the familiar scent of my clothing and the comfort of familiar thoughts. It's far too distracting right now and I'm just trying to draw and listen to whatever Izuku has to say to us, get this whole thing over with. The distraction needs to stop being a distraction, but to stop being a distraction would mean the loss of contact and the retreat of such comforting thoughts and the overwhelming feeling of fondness and I don't very much like that thought.

So I'll be distracted and draw because I'm an artist and artists suffer.

A shadow falls over my drawing and looking up I come face to face with an actual shadow, a curious thing drifting above my creation and swimming closer to me until I can almost feel it.

"Dark Shadow" Tokoyami calls, trying to reign the creature back, but it refuses to and circles around to drift at my side, watching. "I apologize"

"It's okay" it really is, I like Dark Shadow. "I've had a question for you and I hope you don't mind it"

He nods, a signal to continue and I do, wanting my question answered as to not mess up.

"Does Dark Shadow have a gender?" It sounds ridiculous, but I know Dark Shadow has a gender. "Dark Shadow feels a tad human-like and has emotions, I can feel them, so I would like to know"

He goes quiet, surprised, thoughtful, and considering.

"She likes you" is his answer, a good answer and Dark Shadow pushes against me, urging me to continue my drawing.

I do, of course - bringing my pencil back to the page and adding more to the piece I had been worrying over for days. What had started off as a boring sketch in class has turned into this; a serious project.

But that pencil is carefully plucked out of my hand and a sticky note is slid onto my drawing pad, blocking that perfect left eye I'm so proud of.

"Votes" Mina reminds me, scribbling my name onto her sticky note and pulling it away when I try to grab for it. "Nope"

Of course she would vote for me, I'm not sure I wanna be in charge of this class, I'll just lead us straight to jail or whatever detention UA has.

On my note I jot down Izuku's name and pass it along, the issue handled and no longer disrupting my hard work.

The sound of guns and explosions erupts from the TV where some of the boys have situated themselves and their excited shouts and cheers would bother me if it couldn't fade so easily into white noise. When I look over, Nistsu sits next to Eijiro with a controller in hand and an expression I did not expect to see on his face; confusion and determination as Ejiro slowly instructs him on how to play the game, baffled and saddened when it's revealed the boy never played such games. If Todoroki would stop staring at me from his secluded corner and join the boys I feel he might learn to loosen up some bit and let his shoulders relax from around his ears.

On one particular stroke of my pencil, my wrist refuses to move as fluidly as I'm accustomed and I stop. Ah, can't keep going like this when we have the whole USJ incident tomorrow.

"Your wrist hurts doesn't it?" Mina states when I pause and gently takes my poor hand in inspection. She can't understand why I would continue to this point, while she also fully understands why I have at the same time. She puts an end to further drawing by closing my drawing pad and pushing it away to rest somewhere nearby but far enough out of reach. "I've got some wrist braces if you want one"

Mina is no stranger to injured wrists, in fact, it happened quite a lot when we were in middle school. What with dancing and gymnastics it would be odd if her wrists hadn't suffered, and every now and then we would see her with some wrist braces, each time having one of a different color. I'm sure she has a collection of the stuff.

"That would be best" if I leave my wrist as is it's not likely to feel much better in the days to come. My attempt to rotate my hand ends with the expected shot of pain and Mina's fingers around my wrist to stop my second attempt.

"You masochist, don't do that" it's a joke and concern all in one and I'm barely offended when I take a look at my track record. "You're always so casual with pain"

"Funny, because I had a very low pain tolerance as a child" I recall the many times tears filled my eyes when I hurt myself by the dumbest things while the same injury wouldn't affect Alissa as much.

"Yeah? What changed?"

"I started martial arts" I shrug. I had to build a higher pain tolerance if I didn't want to be a teary mess after every fight and while my instructor had been very fond of me, she was also quite strict and blunt.

"Votes are in" calls Izuku from where he's seated on the ground with separated groups of sticky notes. Not everyone is currently present - most noticeable being Bakugo - but the majority had decided this impromptu meeting worth their time and effort so the votes will be valid. The votes are counted and oddly enough, Izuku and I had been the only candidates, apparently and I had the most votes between us two. "Huh, okay"

Izuku seems as bewildered as me but doesn't offer more commentary safe for that. What have I done to earn such a title anyway? My interactions with my classmates have been very normal and I don't think I show any signs of leadership.

"You're oddly charming" is what Nitsu says when I voice my question, blunt and truthful. "And fairly logical in thinking"

"Eh, I just like you" is Jiro's reasoning and Momo expresses something similar, albeit more articulately.

Kaminari's reason is simply that he thinks I'm cool, Tokoyami reasons that Dark Shadow likes me, Tsuyu views me as someone worth following, Koda - adorable Koda who I've barely talked to save for that one time I had caught his runaway bunny - shyly states that I'm a nice person. Alissa voted for Izuku as to not be biased, Iida and Ochako - obviously - Ojiro and the others I'm not aware of.

There's Eijiro and Mina and their reasons are obvious enough.

"Really?" I'm still trying to understand this. "You all thought it would be a good idea to make me president"

"Aizawa-sensei doesn't like you" Jiro points out with a grin that's filled with too much amusement. "And that makes it all the better"

The majority agrees - the troublemakers.

"Why exactly doesn't he like you two?" Toru asks

"Our cousin likely did something stupid" Alissa explains. "And now Aizawa doesn't trust anyone baring our name"

I nod, attempting to twist my wrist again to test the waters and Mina's grip tightens enough to prevent such actions, yet not enough to hurt.

"Since I'm president" my attempt to free my hand is unsuccessful. "My first order of business will be to present a dire issue to our teacher"

This does get the interest of everyone present as all eyes turn to me with unhidden curiosity.

"Mineta's room is on the same floor as several of the girls" I point out an issue that has been brought to my notice upon my exploration of our dorm. Upon revealing said information, Mineta makes a very undignified sound. "We'll have to fix that"

Unlike what had appeared in the manga, Aizawa has not assigned us rooms and I'm not sure if he will do such a thing in the future. However, if I bring this issue to his notice, he's likely to take a better look.

"Midoriya and Bakugo are also on the same floor" I add and many nod to the silent implications.

There is plenty of space in our dorm building as some rooms are empty so moving people around won't be much of an issue. It should be taken care of before something happens on Izuku and Katsuki's floor.

"I have something to add" it is Sato who speaks and it's the first I'm hearing him since this thing started. "Would it be okay if we have dinner together a few days a week?"

Well, if fights don't break out, then yeah, we can do that. There's a pretty damn big dining room in this building that is likely there for this exact purpose.

"Tonight maybe? I'll cook, but I'll need some help"

"Oh, Zena can help" Eijiro quickly offers up my assistance. "She's an amazing cook, I swear. One taste and you're addicted"

"Now that's exaggerated"

"Yeah, Zeni can cook like no one's business " Alissa agrees.

"I don't mind"

"You have a stiff wrist" Mina points out. "On your right hand"

"Wrist braces Mina" I remind her, but she's not reassured.

"I can participate as well" Nitsu offers. "I'm a fairly good cook"

Alright, we've got three people willing to cook, so this should be perfect. If Bakugo were here I would have somehow convinced him to participate as well, but he is not, sadly.

Or luckily.

"Anyone have any requests?" I ask. "I can make basically anything if I know the ingredients, so fire away"

"Katsudon," Izuku says without further prompting. Of course.

"Nikujaga" Ochako says a bit hesitantly. "If it's not too much trouble"

"No trouble at all"

More requests come in and Izuku quickly decides to write it all down, concern creasing his brow as he wonders if we can make all of this.

"We don't have much in the fridge," he says. "For all of this"

We have a fair amount of ingredients in the cupboards and the fridge but not enough to throw the feast we're planning.

"Okay, I'll go shopping then" I decide without much thought and everyone gives me a look. "What?"

"What?" Sero looks bewildered. "Do you know how much you have to buy? The money?"

"It can't cost that much" Momo mumbles and no one raises an issue with her simply because they know of her situation.

"You're a rich kid Yaomomo," Jiro pats said girl on the shoulder. "You wouldn't understand"

"Zena's a rich kid too" Alissa snorts.

Well, there's no other way to put it.

There's silence for a moment until everyone just accepts it and Sato starts making a grocery list.

"May I come along?" Nitsu asks, surprisingly enough.

"Oh yeah, sure"

~~~~~~~~

Mina wouldn't let me leave without taking proper care of my pained wrist and I've gotten several warnings not to do anything stupid to make it worse. She even had a talk with Nitsu and instructed him to carry everything that needs to be carried so I don't put any strain on my wrist and Nitsu has taken that quite seriously. He's an odd character and has been hanging around me for some weeks and I'm not sure how we became friends. We're obviously friends, he sees me as a friend so that means we're friends, but I don't know how we got to this point. He just sat with us during lunch one day and never left.

I've decided to buy everything while I'm out here and ended up with a list of mixed-matched handwritings of my classmates. It took a lot of convincing and reassurance to get Uraraka to agree to this, but in the end, she relented and wrote down everything she would like from the store and has thanked me over a hundred times. Some of the girls need period supplies. Eijiro needs some self-care products and while I'm at it I'll get him that Crimson Riot shampoo set.

"How are you paying for all of this?" Nitsu asks me. He's back to the emotionless voice, I see. It's not that he doesn't express emotions, because he can be very expressive, it's just that he gets very monotone and unbothered sometimes and has been this way less and less around me.

"I have a card" I shrug. I'm not sure what type of card it is, all I know is that my parents put money on it monthly and I'm not even sure how much is on it. Must be a lot since I barely use it. Morgan tends to take care of our expenses despite our parents sending money for that exact reason.

I wonder if I can purchase a motorbike with this.

Wait, how old do I have to be to own one?

But wait, couldn't I get one in the name of my hero career?

Something to think about.

"Am I allowed to buy anything I want?" He then asks me while grabbing two jugs of milk out of the cooler.

"I suppose so"

He nods and grabs four jugs of juice all in one go as if it were nothing.

"Thank you," he says and takes the basket I'm carrying from me."Also, you're not allowed to carry anything"

He has taken Mina's words seriously.

This superstore is extra cold and I shiver despite the jacket I've pulled on. Nitsu isn't as affected as me because he walks around in his measly shirt and knee-length pants as if it weren't freezing in here. He's amused too, he's not fooling me with that cool expression and casual posture.

"I'm buying this" he points to the massive tub of ice cream in the ice cream freezer and waits patiently on my word. He says he's buying it but he's waiting for permission to do so. It's only when I verbally tell him it's okay that he takes the tub of ice cream and places it in the cart amongst the rest of our stuff. "This is mine"

He makes that very clear to me before he takes two more and places them neatly next to the other one.

"This is for the class," he says. "But this one is for me"

Yes, I understand, but I'm not the one you need to be telling this. At least I've learned that he's possessive of his ice cream.

The next thing he buys is coconut water. He asks me again to buy it and again I tell him it's okay and only then does he add it to the cart.

"Coconut water is good for you" is his explanation for his purchase.

He's right so I don't question it.

When we're at the counter Nitsu is hyper-focused on the numbers flashing across the register and he effortlessly adds the numbers up as he goes. Hmm, he wears the Harry Potter glasses so naturally, he's a wizard. As smart as I am, I cannot add up numbers as skillfully as he does so I'll give him his respect.

Everything is totaled up, I hand over my card, ignore the cashier's rude and suspicious thoughts about us and go about my day. To be fair I would be a bit suspicious of two teenagers buying maybe two thousand dollars worth of food and the likes without an adult. And then one of them hands over a card? Even more suspicious. And she's a foreigner - how scandalous.

"And how are we getting all of this to the dorms?" Nitsu now asks as he adjusts his glasses on his face and pushes some stubborn hairs off his forehead. He pockets his hands and stands near the many boxes containing what's bound to last us a good month or two, grey eyes going over each one carefully.

"My cousin"

He doesn't question it further and falls silent once more. He's as still as a statue and stands as straight as a soldier before his commanding officer. He looks completely bored with life and his thoughts are nothing but mental checks to make sure we've got everything.

Alright then, time to call Morgan.

She picks up immediately which means she's likely free.

"You free?" it's best to make sure

"Sure am" I hear a clatter that follows by a familiar laugh. "Are you calling because you miss me and wanna hang out or are you calling because you need something? I'm down for anything because today has been very boring"

There's an insulted shout after that and Morgan snickers.

"I need a lift," I say.

"Yeah?" she sounds as if I told her I wanted to go to the amusement park and I hear the telltale jingle of keys. "Send me your location and I'll be there soon"

"As soon as possible Morgan"

"Yeah yeah, send me your location"

I do and she keeps to her word. She's here within minutes and greets me as if she hasn't seen me in years. We've seen each other just last week when she had popped up to give me the new shoes she impulsively bought for Alissa and I. They're perfect fits too.

"Who's this kid?" Rumi asks quite rudely through the window of the car. Nitsu's quietly loading everything into the car and looks at her when she addresses him. "You got a boyfriend or something?"

Why is that her first thought?

Nitsu on his part isn't even fazed.

"Nitsu Kimei" He introduces. "Yes, I am her boyfriend"

You see the thing with Nitsu is his jokes. When he jokes you can never tell because he can keep a damn poker face even in the face of death, I'm certain.

Morgan does a double-take and almost drops the box she was fetching to look at me as if I had committed some great offense.

"What in the world?" She gasps. "Zen? Is this what we're doing now?"

What is wrong with her?

"What about Mina?" it's a whine more than a question and she's shaking me in the next instance. "What about Mina? What about your one true love? How dare you break my heart like this? You two are so cute together, why would you go date someone else?"

You see what you've done, Nitsu?

I look at him and he promptly turns his attention to the next box and gets to work as if he doesn't see what he's done.

"I like this kid" Rumi announces with a grin. "He doesn't give a damn"

"He was joking," I say bluntly and Morgan doesn't seem to believe me.

"He was quite serious, Zen"

"That's the thing with him" I sigh and shrug. "He has an amazing poker face"

Morgan looks to Nitsu for confirmation and he smiles just a bit.

"Yes, I was joking. What I meant to say was that I'm her girlfriend, you see, I'm actually a girl"

Nitsu would you stop, please?

"Nitsu"

He shrugs now and closes the trunk.

"That was also a joke, I apologize"

"That's some friend you've got there" Morgan, relieved confused, and amused all at once, releases a sigh. "I was scared for a sec"

"I'm going to pretend I heard nothing of what you said about Mina and me"

Morgan smirks, slings an arm around my shoulder, and pulls me close.

"Listen, kid, I'm only speaking the truth here. So what you need to do is get it over with, yeah? All you gotta do is walk up to her, grab her by the waist all smooth and sensual, and just kiss her. It's as easy as that"

I would rather not have this conversation with you.

"Yeah, and while you're at it, cop a good feel" Rumi adds with this devious smirk. "See where it goes from there and tell me all about it"

No, no, I don't like this conversation.

"You don't tell her that, Rumi" Morgan flicks a bunny ear and Rumi almost slaps her.

"You're right" she agrees surprisingly enough. "How good are you with your fingers?"

"Can we not?"