Mr. Hoshino fell quiet quickly while his daughter slowly sunk in her seat. Kairi's shame warmed her cheeks, pressure bearing against her as she braced for the inevitable lecture. He remained silent, pushing around the medley of glazed sprouts and vegetables on his plate. As she grew apprehensive for his response, the clatter and low muttering conversation of the others patrons in the restaurant hummed as loud as summer cicadas. The din held her stiff, fingers nervously playing on each other under the table.
"You said this has been going for three years?" Robotically, she seemed to nod her response. He rubbed thoughtfully at the greying scruff on his chin.
"I'm sorry," she squeaked.
"So you've said," he sighed, deciding to take a stab at the steak on his plate. Kairi eyed the barely touched chicken skewers and dumplings on her own plate.
"I don't know what else to say..." she confessed.
"Sit up," he advised carefully. She adjusted herself so her back was pressed firmly against her chair and held her eyes wide before him, demonstrating her alertness. "Can you hold your legs still for a moment?" It wasn't until the comment she had noticed her legs had been shaking. "You don't need to fiddle your fingers either, Kairi. I promise I am not going to yell at you."
"You're not?" She felt her rib cage open, freeing the tension that had built. Kairi placed her hands freely on the table. Naoko shook his head, cutting into the cutlet of steak.
"No. It's only natural you would want to connect with her. For so many different reasons. I am upset you lied to me about it. Do not get me wrong about that." While his manners were polite enough to not draw any attention to their table, the look he gave her told Kairi all she needed to know about his emotions. He spoke gently, but the disciplined anger in his eyes was similar to the rage Kairi felt when she believed an injustice to be occurring. If that was the same look she held when she blew up in other's faces, she could understand their conclusion that she must be villain. The difference being - his was disciplined. Hers wasn't, and that was scarier.
She gulped and cast her eyes downward.
"I asked you several times if you had any desire to contact her. If you wished to see her. If you wondered what her life was like. How you felt about the distance between you too. Time and time again, Kairi, you told me you cut her out of your life. You wanted nothing to do with her. You didn't want to speak with her. You wanted nothing to do with her. I believed you. I could have read your mind and known you were lying but -"
"You didn't want to invade my privacy..." Her voice was a sheepish squeak, darting away into a corner. "I know."
"I'm not against my daughter contacting her mother but if she truly hasn't changed then she is not a healthy person to have around. She is toxic and I... I can't have her damaging you anymore than she already has. Especially when I could shut it down."
"Then you're not going to like what I have to tell you next." He paused, halfway through leading a piece of steaks towards his mouth. His arm lowered and he folded his hands in front of him. Shoulders fell back as he took on that authoritative silhouette he adopted when he wore his uniform. Mr. Hoshino cleared his throat and already wore judgment in his eyes. Terrified sparks electrified Kairi, holding back the secret she had dreaded spilling. Fiddling fingers fell back into her lap.
"I'm listening."
"She's..." A deep breath filled her lungs. The restaurant stirred, uneasy without knowing why. Kairi lowered her head, as if that would prevent them from feeling what she did. "She's coming here. Just before my birthday. So in about a month." Across from the table, the veins in his face were already beginning to tighten with anger. Her gut twisted, spiraling into her throat. She coughed, fighting against the anxiety building. "Of course, I was against it. I was ready to tell her off. Shoto was right there when she talked to me. I was firm on not wanting her to come, but then she threw me some pretty drastic move." He crumpled the napkin in his fists.
"And? What was that?"
"Dad. I have a little sister and a brother."
He froze. His whole formed stopped. It wasn't even clear if he was breathing. Servers and customers breathed past, but he might as well have been a statue with as still as he kept himself. When he finally did move, it was only his lips.
"That fucking goddamn bit-"
"Dad! Remember, we don't call women that!" She hissed.
"I'm... sorry, it's hard not to use it with her!" The table shook with the force he slammed the napkin down. She jumped at the vibration. "I wanted more kids. I wanted you to have siblings. And we were going to, around the time your quirk showed up. But then she... the things she said about you..."
"Broken? Damaged? Selfish? That I made her unwell? How she wished I could just grow up and control it?" Kairi sighed, recalling every mental slap of the echoes from her words. She winced, ignoring the biting deep within her soul. With each repeated word, his expression grew more whine. He was just as tired and beaten from the verbal abusive she had thrown around as she was. Weary with numbness.
"She said she couldn't risk having another damaged child. I see then. She saw your quirk as a weakness and believed that I was the one that caused it." Kairi swallowed, trying hard to ignore the tightening in her again. She looked around, begging for those around her to not react strongly. They seemed uncomfortable but still maintained smiles and conversation. A skinny exhale escaped her. It was a start. "And you had no idea?"
"Not until she told me."
"You kept contact with her, but never once did she mention her other kids?" he scoffed, insulted. "Did you know she had another partner?"
"Not a thing. None of this was told to me until recently." He made a face. "I'm not an idiot, I know was this is. She wanted to keep that whole side a secret until it was convenient for her to say something. Now that I'm getting pretty well known, she wants to be a part of that. She's using her children as a tool to get to me. It's all completely selfish and I'm aware of that... but..." He flicked his eyes back up at her. "When she's here I don't want to give her the time of day. I want all my attention to be directed to my siblings. I want to know them. I want to be something inspiring to them. I want to be a sister they can be proud of. Maybe Mom doesn't care, and she's lost all her chances. That doesn't mean I should give up on those kids. They don't carry her sins, right?" Slowly, he followed her remark with a nod. "That's not fair to them, and I want to know them. I'm doing this for them; not Mom. You won't have any contact with any of them, I'll make sure of that."
His silence was becoming too much to bear. He went on for two minutes, three minutes. Five minutes of pure agonizing silence almost shook anxiety through her whole form. But at least, Mr. Hoshino finally spoke, calm and collected.
"I could never deny you that. And it's not like you don't have a gang of heroes to call on if there's trouble now, right?" She smiled.
"Yes."
"All right; but I am too worried about her trying to manipulate you. Shoto, Yaoyorozu, Tsu, Aoyama, Midoriya, I don't care who but someone is going to be with you at all times."
"And I know how to call the cops, I'm covered, Dad." The ease around the table lightened, and she picked up two dumplings at a time, ready to gorge herself on the feast before her. A bright light from a distance went off. She growled at the now too familiar gesture and pulled up the hood on her sweatshirt, preventing any good shots.
"I thought he was going to explode in that restaurant," Kairi solemnly explained that evening. Fingers dabbled back and forth between two or three keys against her keyboard, guiding her character's horse towards a town tavern. Shoto smashed away at his own laptop across from her.
"Do you think he would have if you weren't in public?" he asked, trying hard to keep up with Kairi in the game as he ran alongside her on foot.
"Maybe. I don't know. He's always said he would understand if I wanted to speak with her but I... I... hard to say. Something in me just always felt he wouldn't be happy about it. His worry manifests in anger sometimes And he's gets just as worried about Mom's treatment of me as he would a villain."
"But he wants you to have someone go with you when you visit?" She nodded. "I'll be there then."
"No, you're going to be finishing up your internship then don't worry about it."
"As cocky as this sounds, I get internship offers all the time. It isn't often I get to play bodyguard for my girlfriend." The word still caused a flutter up her spine and titillated her gooseflesh. She stifled a giggle, peering just over the edge of her laptop. He rewarded her with a soft smirk, one that easily caused her heart to ooze warmth.
"It wouldn't be bodyguard, I'm sure it's fine. He's just being... Dad... why are you... what is this... Shoto!" Within the game, Shoto's character passed her seven different kinds of flowers found within the game. Before he then passed a glittering garment his also had in his inventory, and eight different gems.
"They're pretty and I wanted you to have them," the boy murmured with a reddening face.
"You don't have a stuffed ogre doll to give me instead?" Shoto frowned.
"...Nooo..."
"It's okay, buy me an ale instead and we'll call it good." His character walked around to the NPC bartender and soon three ales turned up in Kairi's inventory. She imbibed on them quickly and the edges of the Kairi's screen became a bit foggy. "Just send our characters to bed and then I suppose we should probably... log off... I have training after class tomorrow so early to bed I guess..." Sadness drenched her words. Something in her friends words seemed to get to her about taking a break. While she remained committed to her studies and was fascinated by them, carving out a bit of time to relax had reminded her how sweet and valuable it was. It was hard to tear herself away, but exhaustion was also making it hard to hold her eyes open. Their characters purchased a a tavern room for the night and they scurried up the steps to it.
"Maybe we can finally get a high enough level to take down that cyclo-... Shoto?" The computer made a noise, indicating a quest was being asked of her - at the moment she watched her boyfriend - that was so fun to say - put his hands on either side of his head and stare at the screen in horror.
"I... meant to click the bed to put him to sleep!" he apologetically professed. Kairi looked back down at her screen, quickly pursing her lips as her face flared with embarrassment. While the bulk of the game was mild enough in many respects that many teenagers played it without it causing much concern, there were some mildly more adult elements that made the game just barely squeak into the mature category. One of them was a selection Kairi had never used because it required having someone in a party with high intimacy stats - she had never played in a party long enough to have high intimacy stats with anyone, until Shoto. Both parties had be standing next to a bed at the same time for an option to come up if they just wanted to go to sleep or... something else. They had both always picked "sleep" because both were too embarrassed and awkward to see the other option. She hadn't even been sure if she wanted to see the other option, though from what she read it was basically nothing. Black screen, an awkward noise or two, and sometimes an NPC child was born, if the character wanted it.
Now Shoto had misclicked, his teenage embarrassment making him overreact over a game option. For a moment, Kairi hovered over "No" - the answer to the proposition his character was giving. But then a suspicious smirk among her reddened cheeks told him she no longer cared - and clicked "Yes." Black screen, two short awkward noises that caused both of them to avoid the gaze of the other, saved game, and exit. They both closed their laptops, beholding each other's sheepish looks of shock.
"So I guess... bedtime?" she guessed, and then two more dark shades heated her face. "I mean of course I meant real bedtime not, uh... I'm not... selecting the wrong option."
"Yeah! Yeah, are you sure you still want...?" Shoto gestured to his bedroll, waiting to be drawn out. She cast him a part of heavy, saddened eyes. "Right, yeah sorry I just... wanted to make sure."
"I - I know it's..." She sprung from the place on the floor, and dug through a small travel bag on his desk. He looked away, avoiding watching her as he kept his focus on the wall while he sat with his embarrassment. Kairi fiddled through her toiletries, making a show of it to avoid looking over at him.. While she took several moments in the bathroom, Shoto dressed quickly.
She gripped her face in her mirror image, horrified by her actions. Surely there were plenty of teenagers that had done far worse than her. And it was just a game anyway, and it wasn't as if anything obscene was shown. Yet her action clearly, obviously, must have suggested that there was something lingering on her mind. Of course he would read into that, who wouldn't? Kairi thought it was funny, and her response was one of mischief. But now that the embarrassment had time to stew and churn, it grew and made itself home. She rushed through brushing her teeth and was thorough in washing her face, hoping to scrub away some of the red. It remained, following her shame. Surrendering to the sickly grief for her sense, Kairi hung her head on the way out. Shoto had made himself comfy in his bed roll, a space open beside him where her stuffed elephant awaited. He looked content, looking over his phone.
"Uh, hi..." she said carefully, diligent in her care to slip into the bed with him.
"Hello," he replied with a charming tone, eyes dancing as he turned to look at her. His cool answer stunned her. He turned back to his phone, appearing completely normal, as if she hadn't just done something inappropriate.
"Uh, you're not...?" Her voice extinguished the question as he offered a questioning look.
"Hmm? Not what?" Her eyes flicked to the computer. Shoto's head shook as he dropped his phone in his lap. He turned down the covers, clearing room for her to slip inside. "It was an awkward two seconds, to be certain. But it's nothing more than a game, Kairi. Many people do things in games they would never do in real life, criminal things. I misclicked and you tormented my mistake with your response. Nothing more than that." He leaned to kiss her forehead lightly.
The casual reply twisted her with confusion, followed by relief. How had he not come to the conclusion she was certain he would? If the situation was reversed, she would have been racked with the hidden meanings between his reply, what it all meant, if that was really on his mind. Then again... she oft was told she saw double meanings where there were none and made up situations and issues thanks to her constant insecurity. Another situation perhaps, amplified by her feelings for him.
"You didn't think that was... on... my mind?" Quietly she squeaked out a response.
"Ah... no?" he asked with surprised. Then, he became a beet once more. "I mean, not til now that is. I assumed you were just having fun and being silly, even though it was a tad awkward. It's fine, really, I mean... unless it is?"
"Is it on yours?"
"No! That is, eh..." He quickly grew warm, feeling nervous prickles dance across his own skin. He dared a half second to cast a glance across Kairi's body, before his respectful sense slapped him and he turned away, gripping the blanket. "I'm... not going to deny that I don't enjoy quick glances of certain..." Fumbling over his words, he gestured casually in front of her, illustrating her angles. A tidal wave collapsed over the fluttering in his chest, slamming him with discomfort as he forced out an uncomfortable cough. "It, it happens. But I... I try not to linger because it's disrespectful to you and I do, perhaps... wonder... you know in the future. The far future, if anything... you know... am I making sense?"
"Your words are matching the mess that is in my brain," she chuckled, clutching her knees. She squeezed the elephant to her chest. "I mean it's the same for me. I do you know... look. Quickly. I won't if you don't want me to..."
"Its fine!" he quickly replied, then cleared his throat. "I mean, you can. I'm okay with it."
"Then it's the same for me. A short look now and then, but don't... don't make a show of it. And I do... wonder. In the future. Maybe in a couple years or you know... whenever. But not now. Definitely not now. I'm not... not really. I'm not emotionally mature for that and quite frankly I... as much as my father is insistent on making sure I have all the details and am properly informed for... that, erm..." It was now her turn to awkwardly clear her throat. She wrung her fingers. "I'm not. I have the knowledge but... no. Just no. Eventually, maybe. And I think I would like it. With you, I mean, just not... now. Not for a while."
He extended his hand, gripping her fiddling fingers. His lips softened with a smile, his tenderness soothing her anxious expression.
"Same, Kairi. Not for a while. Not until I really know what it means and feel more mature. I think I would... with you. Eventually. Years from now. A stupid silly motion in a game doesn't mean anything. We kill ogres and steal in the game and yet we're training to be heroes. If we did that we would be a disgrace. It's just a game, dear. Just for fun, just for a laugh. Nothing more." He abandoned his bed to reach the light, before quickly running back and joining Kairi again. She gripped his hand as they both fell back against their pillows. His arms reached to pull her closer, taking in the aroma of honey and minted scented hair. The pleasant smell lulled him, finding comfort in the reminder of her presence while she fell against his chest. "Until one of us feels like we are ready and wish to discuss it, it will never be mentioned again. Instead, I am perfectly content with just the occasional look now and then."
She held herself tight, mindful of her hold against his body for fear it would be too much. She caged the squeal that suffered to be released from the feel of him beside her, from his gentle, relieving words and replaying his cadence when he called her "dear" - the first time he had used a term of endearment beyond "Riri." Everything about him was far beyond anything she could dream she would ever have. Yes, it was perfectly okay neither of them were ready to explain that area of intimacy. For a long while, this was as intimate as she wanted to be and it made her happier than she ever thought she could be.
Annndd that's as "mature" as things are ever going to get in this story, but I hope it gave you a laugh. Yeaaahh it's a super awkward conversation but I figured it was probably realistic that it would happen, and I thought it was a pretty funny way for it to happen - after all, come on. When playing video games, who doesn't try to be mischevious? Anyway, I hope you are all well, and staying safe! 3
