"Shouta, you have cat fur in your hair," Hizashi laughed as he rustled his hand through his best friend's (surprisingly) soft locks of hair.
Shouta hummed in response, his eyes never leaving the black cat sitting his lap. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. Hizashi had invited Shouta over to listen to a new CD his parents had bought for him as a reward for ranking number one in his class for English.
A soft tune played in Hizashi's small room. It had been at least twenty minutes since he had put on the music, and Shouta had made a total of two comments that had a maximum of five words in one sentence. This usually wouldn't be any news for Hizashi, but he couldn't help but pout at how much attention Shouta was giving to the cat.
Ever since Hizashi had befriended Shouta, he had stuck to him like glue. Aside from being in the same class, Hizashi would always invite him over to his house after school. He first coaxed Shouta over by tempting him with his new house cat Oreo, but after a week, they started doing homework together. Study sessions soon evolved into weekday cartoon time and eventually play dates in Hizashi's room or at the nearby park.
Hizashi also tried to hog Shouta all to himself during school hours. (Granted, Shouta wasn't a very popular kid and Hizashi was probably his only friend. The most competition Hizashi had was with his own house cat.)
Originally, Hizashi's assigned seat in the classroom was in the front row while Shouta had a corner seat. But when they became fourth graders, Hizashi thanked the gods that he somehow ended up sitting right next to his best friend in the back of the classroom. When Hizashi found out about the seating arrangement, he was so excited that he screamed and pushed his desk right next to Shouta's, leaving no aisle room between them.
He couldn't explain his childish obsession with Shouta. Maybe it had something to do with his quiet personality, or how cool he looked when he used his quirk. Or maybe it was because Shouta always seemed so confident about himself. Regardless, Hizashi had worked hard to get their friendship started so he figured he may as well get the most out of it.
"Hey, Shouta," Hizashi drawled as he watched Shouta's lips twitch into a small smile while rubbing Oreo's stomach.
"Hnn?" Shouta grunted as he glanced at Hizashi, swatting away the hand that was still lingering in his hair.
"Do your parents not let you keep pets? I mean, I wouldn't mind if you babysat Oreo every now and then," Hizashi said, imagining a weekend without the black cat walking on his face in the middle of the night.
Hizashi noticed Shouta's shoulders stiffen at the question, momentarily stopping the belly rub he was giving to Oreo.
"My dad doesn't like them," he replied after five seconds of tense silence. Hizashi perked up at the mention of his best friend's parents.
"Hey, hey! What are your parents like? I've never seen them before and you rarely talk about them!" Hizashi said, sitting up in his bed with his blanket draped on his shoulders. "I've only walked you back home once or twice, but you never invited me to go inside!"
Hizashi didn't receive a response after a momentary pause so he decided to keep talking.
"Are your parents not home a lot of the time? Are they heroes?! Have they appeared on tv before?!" Hizashi exclaimed, eyes sparkling as he imagined Shouta's parents in brilliant red capes like the one on All Might's hero costume.
"No."
"Are they in the police force?! Heroes are cool too, but my mom always talks about how I should go to a nice policeman if I ever get lost," Hizashi said with a laugh.
"Hizashi…" Shouta grunted, glancing at his friend, eyes narrowed in irritation.
"Are their quirks like your's? It must be so cool to see all of your eyes light up at once! Villains would be so scared and – "
"Hizashi."
Hizashi clamped his mouth shut as he saw a flicker of red emanating from Shouta's eyes. He watched his friend give a huff of annoyance, pouting his lower lip as he turned his gaze to the cat in his lap.
"My parents aren't heroes," Shouta muttered. "Well, at least my dad isn't. I don't know about my mom. She's never around."
"Oh… I-I didn't know," Hizashi stuttered, for once at a loss for words.
"And there's nothing to see at my place so you don't need to go inside," Shouta continued, picking at a small hole in his long-sleeved shirt. "It's not as nice as your house."
"Oh… I'm sorry," Hizashi lamely said. He hadn't meant to bring up a sore spot. Suddenly he understood why Shouta chastised him whenever he complained about his family. He must have came off as a spoiled jerk whenever he whined about how his mom always made him embarrassing bentou or how he wasn't allowed to stay up past 9:30. He sunk into his blanket, wanting nothing more than to hide under it.
Shouta hummed in response as Oreo stood up and bumped his chin.
"It's not a big deal," he mumbled. Hizashi felt the blanket being pulled off of him. He stared meekly at Shouta who gave another sigh.
"Come on, let's go outside. We can go to the park and play that new hero game you made up. You were talking about it when we were walking home from school together on Friday. Something 'hero tag' or whatever." Shouta gently grabbed Hizashi's arm to tug him out of bed. "Your new CD is making me sleepy."
Hizashi perked up at the sound of playing a new game. "So you'd rather play with me than sleep?! That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, Shouta!"
"Are you coming or not?" Shouta huffed, cheeks turning slightly red.
"YEAH! OF COURSE, LET'S GO!" Hizashi yelled in accented English. He smiled as he watched Shouta cringe, a reaction Hizashi had secretly dubbed as "affectionate annoyance".
A week after that conversation, Hizashi found himself stuck with cleaning duty for passing notes during class. He had tossed multiple crumpled up pieces of paper at Shouta's sleeping head, trying to get his friend to talk to him during the boring history lecture. Unfortunately, the only attention he managed to get a hold of was the teacher's.
Hizashi didn't find it fair that he had to be stuck with a physical punishment while Shouta only had to sit through a fifteen-minute lecture on why it was important to stay awake in class. So while he wiped the chalkboard with a wet rag, Shouta had already walked to his place without him.
After an hour of sweeping the floors and collecting trash, Hizashi couldn't have been happier to run home.
"I'm home!" he yelled, kicking his shoes aside.
"Arrange your shoes neatly, Hizashi!" his mother berated, sticking her head out of the kitchen. "Shouta-kun is waiting for you in your room. Bring up some tea and snacks for him."
She gently gestured to the kitchen table, where some senbei had been neatly arranged on a plate.
"Alright~," Hizashi said, childishly extending his last syllable. He scooted his shoes next to Shouta's and smiled once they were right next to each other.
He carefully grabbed the plate of crackers, while trying to balance two cups of tea on a tray in his other hand. His tongue stuck out to the corner of his mouth in concentration as he slowly made his way upstairs.
With his bedroom door already slightly ajar, Hizashi slowly pushed it open with his back, pretending that half of the tea hadn't spilled during his little journey upstairs.
"Shouta, if you're hungry, my mom made us some snacks!" Hizashi said, his voice bouncing off his bedroom walls.
No response.
Hizashi glanced at the lump hidden under his blanket. The top of Shouta's head peeked out from the covers, his breathing even and slow. His house cat was sitting beside him, grooming his messy black hair.
Hizashi huffed in disappointment, carefully placing the snacks on his desk. He made his way over to his bed, taking a seat on the floor beside his best friend. Oreo momentarily stopped to stare at him, whiskers twitching as Hizashi frowned at him. Meowing softly, the black cat turned its attention back to Shouta, tentatively licking his forehead.
"Sometimes I think Shouta likes you more than me," Hizashi muttered, pouting as he laid his head on his bed in defeat.
He lazily stared at his sleeping best friend, blinking as he noticed an ugly purple bruise on Shouta's forehead, something that would have easily been hidden by his long bangs.
That was strange. Hizashi didn't recall Shouta hurting himself during P.E. class. If anyone would have gotten hurt, it would have been Hizashi and his clumsy, unathletic ass. Maybe Shouta had tripped at one point during class, hitting his head against the corner of a desk. Hizashi had already done that three times in the last month.
Oreo swiped at his hand when he lightly reached out to touch his friend's forehead.
"Okay, okay. I'll let him sleep," Hizashi grunted, squinting his eyes at the black cat, who cuddled closer to the sleeping figure.
Hizashi quietly exited the room, careful to close the door as gently as possible. His mind kept imagining possible scenarios that could have led to such an unsightly bruise. Hizashi couldn't tell if he was worried about his friend or if he was just too nosy about Shouta's life.
His eyebrows furrowed in concentration as he made his way downstairs to the kitchen. He took a seat at the table and sighed.
Suddenly he couldn't get rid of the incessant thought that Shouta might not consider him his best friend. Hizashi told Shouta practically everything, while Shouta seemed to share nothing. What if Shouta was only hanging out with him because he wouldn't leave him alone?
"Hizashi, is something wrong?" He looked up and found his mother peering at him while washing some vegetables at the sink.
"Oh, uh it's nothing!" Hizashi nervously laughed, fidgeting under his mother's gaze. "Oh, well I guess it's not nothing. I mean, Shouta's upstairs sleeping so I guess I rushed to finish cleaning duty for nothing!"
Hizashi nervously swung his legs back and forth on the kitchen chair as his mother quietly waited for another answer.
"L-let me help you with dinner! You're making curry, right? It has to be really spicy or else dad won't like it!" Hizashi squeaked, desperately trying to change the subject. He hopped off the chair and pulled up a little stool to stand next to his mother at the sink.
He could feel a pair of eyes watching him as he laid out the cutting board. Hizashi felt the tension in his shoulders dissipate when his mother sighed and handed him some carrots to chop.
"When Shouta-kun wakes up, let him know that he can stay for dinner," she said as she peeled a potato.
"Okay."
"And if he wants to stay the night, we'd be happy to let him sleep over."
Hizashi nodded.
He had tried countless times to get Shouta to sleep over so that they could build blanket forts and tell scary stories while eating popcorn. He received the same answer every time, something about how he couldn't stay out late or else he'd get in trouble. Then Shouta would lay his head down and close his eyes, indicating that he was done with the conversation. Hizashi would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little hurt at the constant rejections.
"Hey mom," Hizashi muttered, laying the knife down on the cutting board as he pouted. He stared at the thickly sliced carrot and held his breath.
"DoyouthinkShoutalikesbeingmyfriend?" he slurred.
The soft sound of peeling potatoes came to a stop. Hizashi meekly glanced at his mother, pouting his lower lip.
"Why do you ask?" she asked, crouching down to be at eye level. "Did he say something that made you think that?"
"No, but he doesn't tell me a lot of stuff and he's always quiet so I don't know what he's thinking and I thought maybe he only comes over because of Oreo 'cause he came over here without me today and –" Hizashi started twisting his shirt with his hands, smearing it with bits of the carrot he had been cutting.
"Hizashi," his mother began with a sigh. "Does Shouta play with you at school?"
Hizashi sniffed and weakly nodded his head.
"What did you two do together last weekend when he came over?"
"We listened to my new CD and then we went to the park to play. Then we came back here to eat popsicles. Shouta got the yellow one and I had green."
"What about the weekend before that?"
Hizashi wrinkled his nose in concentration. "We… watched a movie and then went to the library together."
"And do you remember what we did for your birthday last year?" she asked, smiling as Hizashi slowly loosened his grip on his own shirt.
Hizashi nodded, his lips twitching into a small smile. "We went to the zoo and saw tigers! When we got home to eat cake, Shouta gave me a book about birds!"
"Now answer honestly. Would someone who isn't your friend spend this much time with you?"
Hizashi paused and stared at the ground, cheeks turning slightly red as he sniffed again. He shook his head.
"It's true that Shouta-kun doesn't talk much and he seems to keep some things to himself, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't care about you," she said, grabbing a wet towel by the sink to wipe off Hizashi's hands. "Just be honest and tell him how you feel if you're still not sure."
Hizashi nodded again, sniffing loudly this time.
"Now go change shirts and wash your hands. Maybe Shouta-kun will stay for dinner tonight and if not, we can at least give him some to take home."
"Okay," he muttered, standing up straighter.
"Okay!" Hizashi repeated with a smile, saluting his mother as he crawled off of the stool to wash up in the restroom. He ended up changing into a bird sweatshirt his sister had gotten for him. It was a late birthday present from her after he wouldn't stop talking about the bird book he received from Shouta.
By the time dinner was ready, the sun had set. As Hizashi carefully placed bowls of miso soup on the dining room table, he heard cluttering noises upstairs. Loud stomps thumped down the stairs as Hizashi saw Shouta dash for the front door. His friend's black hair was tussled and his backpack was clumsily swung over one shoulder.
"Shouta, you're awake! We just finished making dinner so you can –"
"I can't stay. I have to go home," Shouta breathed, frantically putting on his shoes.
"But Shouta," Hizashi whined, running to the front door. His quirk influenced the volume of his voice. "We don't mind if you stay!"
"I can't. I'm sorry."
"Wait, we can at least pack you some to take home!" Hizashi ran into the kitchen to grab the little container his mother had prepared.
"I don't know if you like spicy foods, but my mother makes the best curry," he said as he walked back to his friend. But by the time he made it to the front door, Shouta had already left. Oreo was sitting by the opened gate, wagging the tip of its tail.
Hizashi sighed, dejectedly dragging his feet back to the kitchen. As he placed the container on the kitchen counter, he felt his mother rustle his hair.
"Why don't you stop by Shouta-kun's place after we eat?" Hizashi stared at his mother with his pair of big green eyes after hearing those words. "You worked hard helping me make dinner after all. It would be a shame if Shouta didn't get to try the tasty food you made."
Hizashi vigorously nodded his head, running to hug his mother.
Hizashi may have gotten lost trying to remember where Shouta lived, but after twenty minutes of walking around the area, he finally found the apartment complex.
He hugged the bag of food his mother had packed close to his chest, slowly walking up to the third floor of the rather shabby looking building. As he walked towards the third door down, he felt his pulse quicken. This was the first time he had ever gotten so close to the front door of Shouta's house. Was it really alright for him to stop by unannounced?
Hizashi hugged the bag a little tighter. As he reached for the doorbell, he flinched as he heard the sound of shattering glass from behind the door.
"WHAT WERE YOU DOING OUT SO LATE AT NIGHT? CAUSING TROUBLE SOMEWHERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT?!" Hizashi felt like his quirk was a whisper compared to the voice coming from behind the door. He shivered as he frantically rang the doorbell.
"WHO THE FUCK IS IT THIS LATE AT NIGHT? IT BETTER NOT BE THE LANDLORD AGAIN." A loud thump echoed through the thin door. "GO FUCKING ANSWER THE DOOR, YOU LITTLE BRAT."
Hizashi felt himself trembling. He bit his lower lip as he heard small thuds that were undoubtedly the sound of Shouta's footsteps. When the door opened, he was met with a pair of confused yellow eyes that blinked back at his own. Hizashi gaped at the large bruises and small cuts that littered his best friend's upper arms. He suddenly understood why Shouta always seemed to be wearing long sleeved shirts.
Shouta's wide eyes slowly narrowed, framing his face into a scowl. He folded his arms in a weak attempt to hide the bruises.
"You shouldn't be here," he muttered, his voice laced with irritation as he slowly nudged the door.
"WHOSE AT THE DOOR, SHOUTA?!"
Hizashi flinched as he heard heavy footsteps approaching. His heart began to race as he saw the flicker of fear that flashed over his friend's face. Before he could put together a coherent thought, Hizashi grabbed Shouta's arm and began to run, dragging his friend out the door.
He faintly remembered hearing the sound of the bentou box he was carrying clatter onto the ground.
"SHOUTA?!"
Hizashi didn't turn around to see who the voice belonged to. Every muscle in his body screamed for him to run. It didn't matter where. He just needed to leave with Shouta right this instant.
"Hiza- Hizashi?! What are you doing?! Let go of me!" Shouta yelled in confusion as they nearly tumbled down the stairs in their hurried state.
Hizashi couldn't find his voice. He was breathing too hard to respond, his grip tightening on Shouta's as they exited the apartment complex. His panic clouded his every judgement. He couldn't decipher if the voices he heard belonged to Shouta or from the angry, drunken voice that echoed from Shouta's apartment.
How did this end up happening? Hizashi should have known. He should have been able to stop this sooner. He should have been able to do something. Anything.
He should have been more insistent on visiting Shouta's apartment. He should have been able to piece together the bruises, his friend's reluctance to talk about his parents and the longing stares he caught when Shouta looked at his family. Then he would have seen what was going on. He could have stopped this. This was all his fault.
"Hi-… Hizashi… My arm. It hurts. Please…" he heard Shouta pant after what felt like an endless amount of running.
He abruptly stopped, feeling Shouta bump into his back. Hizashi let out heavy gasps as he loosened his grip, but he couldn't muster up the courage to release Shouta's arm. A part of him was afraid that he would lose his best friend the moment he let go.
They were in an empty neighborhood. Hizashi noted that no one was following them. He reluctantly released his hold on Shouta and turned around to face his friend. In his rush to escape with Shouta, he only now realized that he hadn't given his friend anytime to put on his shoes. Shouta stood in front of him with his tussled bangs covering his face, shoulders hunched and feet bleeding.
The sound of their heavy pants echoed through the quiet night. Hizashi twisted his shirt, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to think of something to say. Nothing came out.
He let out an irritated whine. Hizashi wouldn't admit it, but if he really did talk right now, he would burst out into frustrated tears. So he turned his back to Shouta and crouched down, silently offering a ride on his back. Hizashi clenched his eyes shut, hoping that his friend wouldn't walk away from him. After ten tense seconds, he felt a sudden weight shift onto his back. He could feel Shouta's hair brushing against the nape of his neck.
Hizashi let out a heavy sigh as he slowly started walking back to his place. He couldn't help but note how light Shouta felt on his back.
Hizashi was never any good at maintaining silence. He could feel the agitation growing inside him with each step he took.
"Shouta," Hizashi began, his voice coming out much softer than he had intended. He felt his friend flinch. "Why didn't you say anything?"
Silence.
"Shouta…" Hizashi grunted, pouting his lower lip even though he knew his friend couldn't see it.
"Wasn't important," he heard Shouta mutter. "You didn't need to know. I didn't think it was important."
Before Hizashi could let out an angry shriek, Shouta continued, "Do you remember one of our classmates who transferred out? She left last year."
Hizashi hummed in concentration, faintly recalling one girl with short brown hair transferring out during the middle of the school year.
"She tried to hide them, but I saw," Shouta muttered, laying his cheek flat against Hizashi's shoulder. "There were burns on her upper legs."
Hizashi momentarily stopped walking, blinking in shock.
"The teachers found out though. That's why she transferred. It's 'cause she had to move to live somewhere else," Shouta whispered, closing his eyes as he continued talking. Hizashi felt Shouta tense on his back. "If anyone found out about me, I'd have to leave."
Hizashi felt his mouth go dry. He kept walking at a slower pace.
"I don't want to leave." Hizashi bit his lower lip as he heard Shouta's usually calm voice tremble ever so slightly.
"Shouta, you're my best friend. You know that, right?" Hizashi said, his voice coming out more leveled than expected. He felt his friend give a small, reluctant nod.
"And um… I'm your best friend, too, right?" Hizashi questioned, his voice raising an octave. He felt a firmer nod on his back (much to his relief).
"So it doesn't matter where you go. That isn't going to change," Hizashi reassured. As much as he didn't want to part with Shouta either, he would never allow his friend to continue living in such a horrific way.
"We'll make it work out. Somehow… I'll figure it out so don't worry! Leave it to me, this generation's next top hero!" Hizashi exclaimed. He heard Shouta let out a scoff that slightly resembled a soft laugh.
Hizashi turned his head to give Shouta a tooth grinning smile. He didn't miss the slight blush that crossed his friend's cheeks as he huffed and turned his gaze elsewhere.
By the time they made it home, Hizashi was out of breath. His legs trembled as he let Shouta climb off his back. Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of explaining to do the moment he faced his parents with Shouta by his side.
That night, after tending to Shouta's injuries, Hizashi let him sleep in his bed. He pulled out a futon and laid on his bedroom floor, listening to Shouta's soft breathing. He absentmindedly stroked Oreo, who laid beside him. As much as Hizashi wanted Shouta to stay with his family, the logical side of him knew that such a scenario would be too hopeful. Even if they were separated, that didn't mean that they couldn't visit each other during vacations. If Shouta didn't move too far, they could even meet up during the weekends. But there just had to be another way where they could still go to the same school and live in the same town.
Hizashi didn't fall asleep until three in the morning that night.
After a week and a half of waiting, arrangements had been made for Shouta to relocate to a relative who lived in Kyoto, which was about a four-hour train ride away from Tokyo. Hizashi would have to cross off weekend visits from his list.
As the two of them sat on a bench waiting for Shouta's train together, Hizashi talked incessantly about anything he could think of. Shouta commented every now and then, even snickering when Hizashi sputtered at his remarks. It felt so surreal, as if Shouta wasn't really leaving Tokyo.
When the train was set to arrive in ten minutes, Hizashi grew quiet, glancing at his friend who seemed equally as anxious.
"Hey Shouta," Hizashi began. His eyes met his friend's. "I kept trying to think of a way where you didn't have to leave, but I couldn't come up with anything. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," Shouta huffed, flicking his friend in the forehead when Hizashi frowned.
"Ow! Hey, I'm not finished talking!" he yelled, clasping his forehead.
"You never finish talking," Shouta retorted, smirking at Hizashi's pout.
"Look, I couldn't figure out a way where I could stop you from leaving now, but I think I found another solution!" Hizashi exclaimed, flailing his arms as he spoke. Shouta raised an eyebrow, encouraging his friend to continue.
"Go to UA with me, Shouta! Become a hero with me!" Hizashi nearly yelled, leaning forward as he spoke.
"UA?" Shouta quizzically asked.
"Yeah, the top school for people who want to become heroes! We can make it, Shouta! I know we can! I mean, I should have asked you before, but you do want to be a hero, right?! Your quirk is super strong, Shouta! It's one of the most unique powers I've ever seen and I know that you would become an amazing hero!" Hizashi continued, his voice bouncing in excitement.
Shouta's lips formed into a thin line. "You really think my quirk is suited for hero work?"
"OF COURSE IT IS!" Hizashi yelled in English. "I've also seen how strong you are. You never lose during races and you're always super strategic when we play games together. You win even without using your quirk half of the time. Imagine what would happen if you became a pro! I swear, you would become one of the top heroes, Shouta!"
When Hizashi saw Shouta's face growing red, he coughed and started twisting the edge of his sweatshirt. "I mean, you'd be right behind me of course since I'm the one who's going to be the top-ranking hero."
"It's not going to be easy," Hizashi continued. "But when we make it, we'll go to school together all the time and we'd have to live in the same area. It'll be just like now, you know?"
Hizashi paused and glanced at his friend, who gave a playful scoff.
"That's not one of your worst ideas, I suppose," Shouta muttered with a soft smile. "I guess someone has to watch your back when you become a hero."
Hizashi squeaked in joy, showing another one of his tooth grinning smiles.
As Shouta boarded the train, Hizashi dramatically waved his arm at his best friend.
Even as the train left the station, he knew Shouta could still hear him when he screamed, "BYE SHOUTA! I'LL MEET YOU AT UA. IT'S A PROMISE!