MHA Tales of the Gentle Palm

"A-Ah, over there! It's my seat. T-Thanks for inviting me to have lunch with you both, Shaozaki-san, Aino."

The brown-haired girl bowed, thanking her new friends, whom she had just met after the written exam.

"You don't have to thank us, Komori-san. We've enjoyed your company. I've learned so much about mushrooms, thanks to you," Ibara quickly replied, assuring the brown-haired girl that they truly enjoyed spending time with her.

"Yeah, Kinoko, you're fun to be around," the mushroom quirk user couldn't help but smile at the lilac-haired boy's words.

Having a quirk that allowed her to grow mushrooms and finding many of them cute had easily made her the "weird girl" at her old school.

She had been avoided, laughed at, and even bullied.

Kinoko found herself alone and isolated from everyone.

Her time in middle school wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either.

People didn't pick on her as much as before.

That was because Kinoko had learned to keep to herself.

She was no longer the mushroom-crazed girl just the quiet girl.

She only spoke when someone asked her a question, never initiating big conversations. She preferred to either listen or keep her thoughts to herself.

She didn't really have friends, only classmates who spoke to her occasionally.

She knew it was her own fault for not making friends.

She had never made an effort to connect with anyone, even when some of them tried to befriend her.

Deep inside, a voice kept telling her that if she opened up about herself...

They would just start avoiding her again unwilling to get close to the weird mushroom girl.

That was why she had been caught off guard when an amused voice told her that her quirk was cool.

That person had accidentally seen her grow a mushroom in her palm after she had exhausted all her brainpower answering the test papers.

At first, she was horrified. Someone had caught her using her quirk. Surely, they would be grossed out.

But instead of reacting with disgust, that person asked if she could grow all kinds of mushrooms.

Kinoko had tried and failed to answer. She wasn't used to talking to random strangers, and the boy hadn't given her enough time to respond before launching into a monologue.

He had excitedly declared that since she could grow edible mushrooms, she would be the second person he'd take with him in a zombie apocalypse.

During the "conversation" or at least, almost a conversation he kept laying out his survival plan, explaining how they would rule the world together during the apocalypse with the help of her mushrooms.

Meanwhile, she was still struggling to answer the first question.

Then, out of nowhere, the lilac-haired boy had asked if she was nervous, since her quirk kept activating without her noticing.

She had only managed a nod.

In response, the boy had started fiddling with his papers and folding them into origami.

At first, Kinoko had thought he had lost interest in her and decided to do something else.

Only when Sir Snipe announced that the written exam was over and the students needed to leave the room did she realize what had really happened.

As she stood up from her seat and prepared to walk out, the lilac-haired boy suddenly stopped her in her tracks.

"Wait, Mushroom!"

Kinoko flinched at the nickname and turned to look at the boy, who had rushed in front of her.

"Here, take this."

She glanced at his outstretched hand and her eyes widened.

It was a bunch of tiny origami mushrooms, tied together like a keychain.

"Eight mushrooms for good luck!" The boy grinned, happily explaining his creation.

"You looked so tense and nervous earlier, so I made this good luck charm to help ease your nerves a little."

Kinoko stared at him, mouth agape. Earlier, she had thought he had lost interest in her and her quirk. She had assumed he had just been killing time.

But instead... he had been making this for her?

"If I had known, I would've gotten you an official charm when I visited the temple," the lilac-haired boy said, scratching his head with a sheepish smile.

"But don't worry! I put all my extra luck into making this one. It's not an official temple charm, but it should work just fine!"

"W-Why did you make this for me? W-We're not even friends… or know each other that well," Kinoko stammered, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Well, I think your quirk is really cool. And I can tell you're going to be a great friend, so I made this as a token of friendship."

He suddenly struck a dramatic pose.

"Your Majesty, the Mushroom Princess!"

Kinoko turned bright red at the impromptu theatrics. Her heart and mind were in chaos. Someone had just called her cool not just her quirk, but her as a person.

She was used to people ignoring her obsession with mushrooms or outright laughing at her.

No one had ever wanted to be friends with her because of it.

Even her classmates had looked creeped out whenever the topic of her quirk came up.

"I-I can't just accept this," she mumbled, flustered. She wasn't sure how to handle this kind of situation.

"O-Oh, I got rejected, huh? That sucks," the boy said dramatically, his cheerful demeanor visibly deflating.

Kinoko panicked. She hadn't meant it like that!

"N-No! That's not it!" she blurted out. "I just thought it was improper for me to accept something you worked hard to make."

The lilac-haired boy tilted his head, as if she had said something ridiculous.

"That's nonsense," he said with a chuckle, shaking his head.

"You looked tense, and as your self-proclaimed friend, it's my duty to help you relax. That's why I made these eight lucky mushroom charms!"

He shook the tiny keychain in front of her face.

Kinoko let out a small laugh at his words and antics. Slowly, she raised her hand and accepted the gift.

"I-I guess I'll accept it if you insist. T-Thank you for making this… uhm…"

She trailed off, realizing she didn't even know his name.

"O-Oh! Aino Itami. But you can just call me Aino," he said. "I grew up abroad for a couple of years, so people there always used my first name."

Kinoko blushed, knowing that calling someone by their given name was considered intimate for newly formed friendships.

"Kinoko Komori," she introduced herself, still red-faced. "If you're letting me use your first name, then you can just call me by mine too."

Aino's face lit up. "Nice! Happy to be your friend, Kinoko. Let's pass this exam so we can be classmates, okay?"

Kinoko smiled and nodded.

She wanted to pass this exam not just for her dreams but also so she could be in the same class as her new friend.

THWACK!

"GAHH, MY LEFT CHEEK!"

End of Chapter 4