Sukuna walked out of the school gates by himself, hands in his pockets, an uninterested look on his face. He could hear Mina's voice from a distance, the girl conversing with her group of friends.
"Oh uh I gotta go now!" Mina waved hurriedly at them before rushing away, straight towards the direction where Sukuna was at.
"Go get your mans girl!" She heard her friend shout, causing her to blush a little. Shaking her head, she stopped running as soon as she was right beside her pink haired classmate.
"Heya!" She grinned, waving at him energetically. He looked down at her and nodded a little.
"Mina. Same route home as always?" He questioned. Mina nodded as they continued walking together. For a couple of months now, walking home together had became a sort of a routine for the two due to coincidentally having the same route home, and it was nicer walking with a friend rather than being alone.
"I'll drop you off first then." Sukuna muttered, as Mina glanced at him. Now that was a big surprise, her home was further than his after all.
"Oh? Why?" Mina asked with a smile, touched by the gesture. She had long promised herself that she would make an effort to get closer to the antisocial boy, and it looks like progress was being made.
"Do I really need a reason to walk you home? I just felt like it." Sukuna grumbled. Mina giggled at his tone, because settling down with a calm sigh. The pink haired boy wondered why he would mutter such a thing that was out of character for him, as his mind went back to what Kirishima told him during recess, he guessed that was probably the reason why.
"Thanks for letting me copy your homework by the way. The look on the teacher's face when she realized I completed it was priceless." Mina smirked proudly to herself.
"But do you actually understand what you're writing?" Sukuna questioned. Mina hummed before shrugging.
"Fifty fifty." She replied. Sukuna remained silent. Mina glanced at him.
"I get the feeling that you're not satisfied with my answer." She commented. Sukuna shook his head.
"No, I just thought back to what I said the other day, about you wanting to enter UA."
"Oh? You remembered? Aww how sweet of you Sukuna~" She teased him, bumping into him playfully. Sukuna grunted, not knowing what to reply.
" Yeah but what about it?" Mina got back to the point.
"Well, I just think that you need to put more effort in your studies. UA is a prestigious school, you certainly can't copy your way into it." Sukuna answered bluntly. Mina looked back forward, silent for a while.
Sukuna thought he might've said something wrong. He was about to say something before Mina looked back, with a warm smile on her. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I need to do something about it instead of relying on luck." Mina nodded, giving him a thumbs up.
"Thanks for that, I really needed that wake up call." Mina patted Sukuna's back in reassurance. She could tell that he was worried he might've hurt her feelings, he could've worded it better, but sometimes the direct way is the best way.
She then stuck out her tongue at him. "Don't expect me to do a complete 180 though!"
Sukuna stared before he did a mix of a scoff and a smile. "I expected that." He paused, noticing that Mina was staring at him with her mouth open.
"What?"
"Dude, did you just smile?" She asked, pointing at him. Sukuna blinked, before he realized that his lips did indeed form a smile. He shrugged, not really seeing the point of getting defensive.
"I guess I did. You don't like it or something?"
"N-no!" Mina shook her head. "It's just... You should smile more. It suits you." She explained, a small blush on her face. He blinked at her, noticing the blush, before rubbing the back of his neck.
'So does it mean that she likes that I smile? There's no reason she would blush and suddenly suggest that.' He wondered to himself. He glanced back at Mina, seeing that she was focused on walking, trying her best not to make it look awkward.
Mina is weird, in a good way. That much he knew from how long he knew her. He put her reaction to the back of his mind, continuing to walk with her in silence.
"Speaking of UA..." Mina restarted the conversation. "Do you wanna get in that school too? Become a hero?" She asked. It seems that everyone was worried about his future today. He found the coincidences amusing.
"Not sure, Mina. I need to think carefully about it." Sukuna replied. Mina nodded in understanding. This isn't a decision one should rush making after all.
"You'd definitely make a great hero, Sukuna." She stated, as the boy looked at her with a curious glint in his eyes.
"How so?" Sukuna asked, curious at why she came to that thought. Mina smiled at him.
"Think back to when we first met. Before that I saw you helping an old lady cross the street and carrying her groceries. Even though you had to go to school, you still took the time to help her." Mina recounted.
"Ah, that was when you came in and assisted her while I focused on carrying her stuff. We both ended up getting scolded by the disciplinary teacher for being late on our first day back to school." Sukuna mused, a small smirk on his face as he remembered what happened. Mina nodded, her smile bright.
"Though I don't think using that as an example isn't a good reason why I'd be a good hero. Being a hero is much more than that." He continued as she nodded in agreement.
"True. But I think you really have what it takes to make it. I know you do. I don't think you'll regret choosing this path." She stated confidently. Sukuna was touched that she had so much faith in him.
"Like I said, I need to think about it first. But thank you, for your words." Sukuna muttered. Mina smiled warmly at him.
"That's what friends are for..."
...
"See you tomorrow at school then." Sukuna stated as they stood in front of Mina's home. Mina smiled brightly at him, hands behind her back.
"Thanks for walking me home. I really appreciate it." She replied. Sukuna shrugged.
"It was nothing. I'll do the same thing tomorrow, if you want me to that is." Mina nodded at the offer.
"Of course, I don't mind!" Sukuna nodded as he walked away. Mina watched as his outline dissolved, back shrinking with each step.
"Soooo Mina, that's your boyfriend huh~" Mina widened her eyes in horror, realizing exactly who that voice belonged to. She turned around, looking at a much older pink skinned woman, who was Maya, her one and only mother.
"M-mom!" Mina shouted, her flustered expression caused her pink face to turn a darker shade. Her mom grinned down at her. Maya had square-shaped eyes with black sclerae, a trait Mina inherited, but Maya had red irises instead of Mina's yellow.
"Oh don't act surprised. With the amount of times you keep talking to me about him, I was just waiting for this moment to happen."
"Hehehe...." Mina laughed nervously. Maya patted her daughter's back.
"My daughter's growing up so fast~ So when are you inviting him over for dinner?"
"M-mom! It's too early for that!"
"Oh really? But I didn't hear a no from you though! Muehehehe!"
To be continued...