shark bait / bnha

my head hurts

TW: MENTIONS OF THINGS AKIN TO MENTAL ILLNESS ( THIS WARNING IS PERMANENT FOR THE REST OF THIS STORY AND ONE OF THE ONLY YOU WILL RECEIVE, LISTEN TO IT )

(Name) is still in the Sports Festival for the second part. Immediately after the first event ends, the next event is announced. There's no real time to prepare for it.

A cavalry battle.

She barely hears the instructions and rules over the rush of her own blood in her ears. Her skull is practically pounding from her quirk being overloaded with sensory input. It leads to a state of that similar to dissociation— a comfort of some sort.

Shinso taps her shoulder and she can only raise her eyebrows in response.

"We should be on the same team, but I'm gonna need to brainwash you for optimal performance. Is that okay?" 

"Knock yourself ou—" Oh. Touché.

Her headspace feels fuzzy now, not quite completely aware of what's happening around her. Simply listening and performing like some sort of puppet.

She feels bad for the other teammates Shinso's recruiting. He probably isn't giving them any sort of warning like he did with her. They probably don't understand why he's brainwashing them either.

It makes sense honestly. Shinso is determined to win this, that much was obvious from the start when the Sports Festival was announced to be happening. (Name) wouldn't be of much help with her quirk anyway, she thinks. It's useless in battles like this. Honestly, it's most likely useless for the entirety of the Sports Festival. Just a hindrance to her natural functions.

Brainwashing the whole team leaves Shinso the real work. It gives him complete control and little to no room for teammate mistakes. All mistakes would be because Shinso let them happen. (Name) will selfishly and happily let her friend carry that burden.

The lack of control and feeling of being stuck in her mind, watching her body move like she's in a movie is comforting in a way. The pounding of her head isn't as prevalent anymore, it's more forgotten. Her quirk isn't overloading her with information. For the first time in the last hour, there's peace and quiet.

This feeling could almost be addicting, like a drug of sorts.

She has no clue how much time passes until her headspace is returned to her, but the full frontal assault of sensory input comes hurtling back towards her like a train. Her mouth dries and she visibly winces, which earns a concerned glance from her purpled haired friend.

The other two teammates stand in confusion, blinking and staring at each other, then at her, then at Shinso. One of their teammates was someone from 1-A, she realizes. The results are shown. They've made it, though barely.

Shinso gives her a grin as they both walk away from their still suspicious and weary teammates. There's finally a spot for a break, for a bit of relief.

As they walk towards the cafeteria, (Name) rubbing her temples as her quirk's activity fades to the background of her mind, Shinso explains.

"I tried staying in the background most of the time. No one really payed much attention to our team, so honestly it was really easy to snatch headbands. A few teams we stole from didn't even notice they had lost their headbands until we had already walked away. Hilarious honestly,"

"I bet," She mumbles, speech slurred. The food she gulps down doesn't stand a chance. Shinso shifts awkwardly next to her.

"I hope you didn't mind me just sorta, taking over so suddenly,"

"Nah, it was needed honestly. I wouldn't of been much help if we're being completely honest,"

Shinso nods, content with her words.

"You'll need to head to that waiting room thing soon, isn't your battle with anxious little green kid soon?"

Shinso pauses, and nods hesitantly.

(Name) glances at him. "Don't be too worried now, that'll just impair your performance. Also, don't feel bad if ye lose. No matter how we want to see it, those in 1-A have a huge advantage over us,"

"They have from the start," She concludes.

Her friend clears his throat and nods. A minute of silence later, he waves goodbye and heads to the waiting room. 

She lays her head on the table beneath her, letting static fill her head.

The boy at the table next to her was in a car crash when he was six. Lost his unborn sister and mother in it.

What a wonderful world!