ATOMIC STRUGGLE

3「sneezes」5

"So, a friend?"

"No, more than a friend."

"So, like a best friend?"

"More."

"A lover?"

"No."

"Izzzyyyyy you're being so hard right nowww!" Mihoko whined, jutting her bottom lip out in a fierce and upset pout.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt," A familiar voice spoke up from behind the two, causing Izak, Mihoko and Shinso to look at the newcomer. "But can I get through? I'm up next," Sero sweatdropped, smiling as innocently as he could since he had no idea what was going on and he really didn't want to know.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Mihoko gasped, tugging Izak out of the next competitor's way. "Good luck!"

"Thanks kid!" Sero grinned, giving her a thumbs up as he jogged past them, trying to get out of there as fast as possible without drawing suspicion of being uncomfortable with how weird the atmosphere back there was. Once he was long gone, the three still in the tunnel were silent for a bit longer before Shinso finally opened his mouth.

"...Something like a comrade?" He voiced, trying to put together the earlier proclamation. Izak gazed at him for a solid moment, and nodded.

"I suppose that would be the word for it. The guys called each other life and death companions since they always had each other's backs, but comrades are basically the same thing as that, right?" He hummed as he reasoned himself through the meaning of the word.

"And what would this.. role entail?" Shinso asked, making eye contact with the maroonette. He had been too embarressed to do so earlier, and he found a pair of eyes as purple as his own hair staring back at him. They were a soothing shade of purple, more vibrant than his hair if he actually thought about it. Izak's voice broke the boy out of his thoughts a moment later.

"Coming to live with me, getting trained by me, having my back, stuff like that--" He broke off as a sudden surge of ice broke through the entrance of the tunnel, making the ground tremble a bit from the force. "What the hell is that idiot thinking?" He grumbled, then sneezed.

Shinso flushed. Izak had one of those adorable sneezes, and the boy had no problem admitting he was intensely attracted to that. However, in this instance, he blamed all of the mixed and strown signals. They had definitely given him whiplash bad enough to confuse his attraction standards.

"Tell the truth Sero, can you move at all?" Midnight's voice came over the speakers, and it was obvious she had been caught up in the ice attack from how her voice was trembling a bit.

"Are you kidding? Obviously not!" The tape-arms said. "My body is freezing!"

"Sero has been immobilized! Todoroki advances to the second round," The R-rated hero announced, though there were no claps this time. Instead, a bunch of people started chanting 'nice try' at Sero. "Morgan, could you help us out here?"

No verbal reply was heard, but a second later, the giant wave of ice vanished without a trace, causing the audience to gasp and whispers to go up as to how powerful one must have to be to be able to get rid of a huge ice spike like that in an instant. Todoroki huffed out a sigh, finding it almost comical how easily his classmate had cleaned up his mess.

"Fuck," The maroonette cursed as he wiped his nose, having sneezed several more times. Izak, Mihoko and Shinso had moved to an empty waiting room to continue their talk. The latter was watching as the little girl fussed about her guardian, though he was really just processing. This person wanted him as a comrade, life and death companion, and didn't seem all that concerned about his quirk.

He said he wanted to train him, which Shinso knew would be a great help. If he thought back enough, the purple-headed boy recalled that this person was in class 1A, so he would definitely be able to fulfill that promise. "Um," Shinso started awkwardly, causing the two on the other side of the table to glance his way. "I never caught your names.."

"I'm Morgan Mihoko! Nice to meet you Shinso!" The little girl introduced herself readily.

"My name is Morgan Izak, call me Izak," The dude said, so the boy nodded.

"Alright, Izak. Could you," He glanced down at his lap. "Tell me why you want me as a companion?"

"I'll tell it to you straight," Izak folded his hands on the table, his gaze not leaving Shinso for even a moment. It was so intense that the flush from earlier returned to the boy's cheeks. "I consider your power a threat to my existence. However, if you were to swear loyalty to me as a life and death companion, I would no longer have to be on edge that you may turn against me."

"That's messed up, Izzy," Mihoko deadpanned at her guardian, who shrugged and leaned back in his seat.

"That may be so, but I've never met a single person I've considered a threat until now. Not even Aizawa is a threat to me, since I can easily manipulate his body so that his quirk is useless. However, with you," Izak's eyes returned to his target. "As long as your vocal cords are still usable, if you even make a sound and I accidentally answer, you could control me."

"W-wait, I'm not--"

"You are," Izak exacted, causing Shinso to flinch. "You are that powerful. You have the potential to be, at least. I'm not willing to take that chance. So, what will it be, Shinso?" He asked with a tilt of his head. The boy swallowed, taking a second to recompose himself and go over the facts.

This person was acknowledging him as powerful. This person wanted to help him get more powerful, as long as that power was never directed at him. Shinso felt that was a small price to pay for what he wanted. So, he cracked a smile. "How exactly is the living situation going to work?"

"Izzy's apartment has three bedrooms, so you can have the third! It has a balcony and everything," Mihoko beamed at the new addition to their little family.

"You'll have to ask my parents, though I doubt they'll put up much of a fight," Shinso informed them sheepishly, and Izak nodded and stood up.

"Very well. Mihoko," He directed his words at her. "Looks like we'll need to update the sign."

"Oh yeah!" She gasped, then groaned. "That's gonna be so haaard!"

"I know you'll do well," The maroonette ruffled her hair, drawing a giggle from the little girl. Shinso watched this interaction with a slight smile, finding their relationship as pure as one could be in their messed up world. Then he flinched as Izak's hand was suddenly in front of him, causing him to look up at his new comrade. "I look forward to working with you." He said.

Shinso inhaled sharply, then smiled with a nod and took the outstretched hand. "Same here, I'll be in your care."