MonoShin - How the Mighty Fall on Shit Island

1

Shinsou was accepted into the hero course and started working with Class A in his second year at UA. But that's not what needs to be talked about now. His future from then on was set and without question. Not everything was perfected that day he stepped into Class A, though.

There was something that happened before then. Something not stressed on or put in the spotlight because it shouldn't be. It was a flaw, but it had just as much impact on Shinsou's well-designed future. To explain simply: It was doubt.

After the team battles verses Class B, one day before Shinsou entered his second year, now in the hero course, Monoma met Shinsou.

It had been at night and Shinsou had been on his way back to the dorms when he spotted Monoma, or the other spotted him. There was a brief pause between the two of them before Monoma took a step forward towards Shinsou. Two more and they were face to face.

"Yo, Shinsou!" Monoma grinned at him.

Shinsou could tell he was waiting for him, unless he was waiting for someone else in his class which he doubted."Why are you here?" he asked, not wanting to assume regardless.

"To see you, of course." Monoma just kept smiling."C'mon, don't be shy. Let me up into your room so we can talk."

It felt like some kind of order, which made Shinsou sour. Plus, he was acting like they were friends. Shinsou hadn't felt they were, but still he gave in.

"Just don't start making a bunch of noise," he mumbled, walking towards the dorm. He knew better than to assume Monoma wouldn't pitch a fit like a spoiled child if he didn't have his way.

"Don't worry, I wont." Monoma walked next to him now."Just for you, Shinsou. You should be grateful."

Shinsou was. He truly, honestly was. Monoma didn't care if he made an ass of himself, as long as you felt like shit in the end, that's all that mattered to him. So Shinsou was grateful that at least he could catch a break. How long it would last, he had no idea.

They miraculously reached Shinsou's room in silence and Monoma was let inside the room first, Shinsou closing the door after him. While Shinsou put his stuff down, Monoma looked around idly, then finding his place sitting on his bed.

Shinsou stared at him with unease. Something was different. Monoma was acting strange.

"Hurry up and sit, Shinsou." Monoma pat the back of his desk chair across from his bed."We have class tomorrow, so I don't want this to take too long."

Shinsou reluctantly did as he was told, turning the chair around and sitting, staring back at Monoma while rubbing his neck. Why couldn't he understand the look on his face? It was like there was nothing there.

"You look tense, Shinsou," Monoma noted firstly and Shinsou thought 'no shit'. With Monoma acting so strange, there was no way he wouldn't be tense."Well, it makes sense. We're second years tomorrow and you'll be in the hero course and in Class A at that. Congrats."

It was dry and not something Shinsou felt like he should respond to. There was nothing happy or excitable about these new experiences in Monoma's voice. He just sounded worn down.

"I was thinking maybe you would end up in our class, but I should've known better. With all the work Aizawa put into you, of course you'd end up in Class A. The far superior, brighter, star-bound..."

"It's not—"

"It is," Monoma snapped, cutting Shinsou off."I know it. Everyone in Class B knows it. All of UA knows it. The only people naive to it is the people in Class A. They'll become the best heroes of our generation because of that, too. Though a few of them are lower class as the pedestal was created. I wonder where you'll fit in..."

Shinsou was being scrutinized, so he looked away."I don't get what you're talking about."

"You want to become a hero, right, Shinsou?" Monoma asked.

"Yeah." More than anything.

"Then that's all you need to worry about." Monoma leaned back slightly, Shinsou eyes now back on him."Enjoy your flowery school life. Become the hero you've always wanted to become. But just for now, I want you to listen to me. You can forget all this once I leave."

Shinsou kept silent this time. Monoma liked to ramble, so he would let him ramble. He didn't like listening to other people talk anyways.

"Saying that Class A is superior to my class is admitting that I am weaker, and will always be weaker, than those above me. My quirk is to copy other peoples quirks, but I can never fully master a quirk someone has been sharpening for years in just ten minutes. So what's the point of having someone on your team with a half-assed quirk when you could have someone who uses it all the time and is lightyears better at using the quirk instead? A quirk copier is nothing more than a stand-in.

"I have a quirk limit, I have a time limit, and I can't even use every quirk available. I have all these limits. And did you know that there's a villain in the League that has an even better version of my copy quirk? She can shape-shift into what the quirk user looks like along with using their quirk. A villain having a better quirk than me! How laughable!"

Yet no one was laughing. Monoma was just rambling and Shinsou was just listening. It was a one-sided conversation, a lecture almost.

"And if I want to be a truly amazing hero, I can never be alone. That's fine, you would think, because heroes are all about teamwork and helping one another to ultimately help others. But Shinsou, have you ever seen All Might stand next to others after he's defeated a villain? In the battle against All for One, he was alone.

"Heroes are singular characters. People like to see combined effort, but they like to see their favorite beating a villain all on their own much more. So what do you suppose I'm supposed to do when the time comes? Just hope I have enough time?"

Shinsou wanted to say something, but he couldn't think of what to say. Monoma's words were becoming more skewed, his voice was getting duller, and his face was growing crazier. He was losing his grasp on what he had left.

"Right now, I'm quirkless. I touch you, and I have ten minutes to become a hero. Do you think I can do it?"

Monoma stared Shinsou in the eye and Shinsou forgot how to speak. His mouth opened slightly and closed directly after. He was horrible.

Monoma sighed as Shinsou tilted his head down."It's meaningless to become a hero at this point. The only reason to push forward is just to show everyone that I'm not a villain and I'm not completely quirkless. Like a child trying desperately to prove a point they know is wrong."

Shinsou's eyebrows scrunched together."You're not a villain." Of that he was sure. He knew best of all if only that.

"I'm not," Monoma agreed."But can you say I'm a hero? Can you say that even with my personality and my quirk and with the class I'm currently in, that I'll be able to become a pro-hero? That I'll make it into at least the top 15?"

Monoma was drowning in doubts. He was recognizing his flaws and trying to better them, most would say. That didn't sound correct to Shinsou. There was something off about all this. And Shinsou couldn't respond.

They stared each other down. Monoma gave him plenty of time to say something and lift up his spirits. Yet all his questions, in the end, were rhetorical and Shinsou was, just as before, terrible at helping others.

Monoma stood up, stretching slightly and suddenly the atmosphere was clearing."Well, that was a good talk. Of course it was because I did all the talking!" He bent back then snapped up. One brief glance and that was it."Goodbye, Shinsou."

It felt final, like they would never see each other another again. It was Shinsou's last chance, but he was too late and Monoma closed the door behind him.

Shinsou would be seeing Monoma again, but not truly seeing him until much later. So, as requested, Shinsou forgot. He had much bigger things to stress about anyways, like finally entering the hero course.