07

At the beginning of their meal Saori kept mostly to herself, focusing on not dripping the sauce on her shirt as she tried to think of a way to start a proper conversation and to keep said conversation in safe topics. After all, she didn't want to make her guest uncomfortable or wary of her intentions, especially since she had invited him out of the goodness of her heart and not to pry into his shady business.

At the end, she settled into asking questions about his thoughts on the food, 'Is really good- Needs more salt.' Was what he had said much to her amusement, she had nodded before slurping her pasta and telling him she'd keep his suggestion in mind for the next meal. Indirectly opening a door for their future relationship.

As the night went on, Saori was in charge of the talk, asking small, harmless question about him here and there, like how long he'd been living here and if he was serious about the salt comment to which he had responded her with a quick 'No,' before contradicting himself on the same sentence.

Saori never brought his speech manners into the conversation, and she might not be the best at reading people but she could tell he was relieved about her lack of prodding.

After she bid her goodbyes with a wave and a smile and promising to invite him over some other day, Saori closed the door, back pressed on it, she slid down like she was the protagonist of a drama movie in the middle of a crisis.

Now that her mind was a little cleared from the fangirl fog that clouded her judgement, she could tell that she had been very careless. Their interaction could've ended completely differently, he was a villain and she had sympathised a little too much with him for someone who was an aspiring hero.

But how could she resist! He was one of her favorites characters and- That was the problem. She obviously still had some trouble with accepting the fact that these were living individuals with a mind of their own and not some characters in a story.

If she had slipped during their conversation, she had no doubt within her that Jin would've dealt with her accordingly.

That train of thoughts made her shudder, but she had already done it, invited him again even! There was no point in scolding herself for it. She could only be careful about their future interactions and try not to get involved in his business.

Satisfied with her decision she made her way to her bedroom, side eyeing the dirty dishes on the counter. She bit her bottom lip in deep contemplation, she had two options: go to bed and do the dishes in the morning before work or do them now to save herself from a future bugs invasion.

She stood there for a minute or so before the rational part of her brain made the choice for her and with a sigh, Saori crossed the short distance to her kitchen.

(...)

Thanks to her unchanging routine, Saori's days seemed to blend in together and without realizing it, another week had already passed by, making it exactly a month since she graduated and a month since she left home and still there was no sight of Homura besides the multiple calls from the first day she left.

It wasn't until she started to live alone that she realized how bad her home life used to be. She no longer keep her silly thoughts and ideas to herself and often acted upon them, like inviting a villain for dinner like they were besties, for example or that one time last week she tried to bake brownies and went to take a power nap only to wake up an hour later with a very burnt and charred dessert.

But the best part of it was the silence, she had forgotten how peace and quiet sounded like until she experienced it again. There was no doubt within herself that she did not miss Homura's monotone voice as she voiced her displeasure on whatever Saori did wrong.

But not everything was pink and perfect. The nightmares that plagued her dreams were an unexpected surprise that more often than not woke her up in the middle of the night. They weren't bad per say, at least not enough to keep her from falling asleep again but the idea of having never left Homura's house was her worst fear, so more than once she ended up doing a little tour around her apartment to calm herself and rectify that she had indeed left and that her traitorous mind was just playing cruels games with her.

Sometimes she dreamed with her tutor too. Those were awful nightmares as she often woke up after being hit by Nori-san feeling the area throbbing as if she had been hit in real life. Saori had recently come to terms with the fact that she had been physically and verbally abused by the man.

The only reason she had endured it was because she thought it was normal to be treated like that by tutors since she never had one, and often pinned his behaviour to cultural differences. It wasn't until she joked about it to Momo that she realized the truth.

She could never forget her friend's face.

Saori was sure that she had also experienced some sort of abuse by her grandma but she didn't know how to name it. Homura never hit her, but her glares, snide comments and sneers were enough to put Saori in her place... but they also ignored each other almost on a daily basis, partly her fault, if she were honest hence why she had a hard time labeling her experience.

Part of her wanted to forget it even happened, she was free now and could do as she pleased but there would always be a small voice in the back of her mind telling her that the only reason as to why she was here was because Homura gave her money.

Money she did not earn and deserved and sometimes when her apartment was too quiet, when even her upstairs neighbour would be silent she found herself reaching for her phone and typing a message that she always ended up deleting.

Was she supposed to turn the other cheek to be slapped again?

How was Saori supposed to thank the woman that allowed her to be hit and denigrated in her own home a few days after being released from the hospital, in the place she was meant to be safe and looked after. But Homura had also fed her, clothed her, given her a place to rest and put a roof over her head when no one else would.

Maybe that was her way of caring, and honestly it didn't surprise Saori that Homura's son had left as soon as he could.

Perhaps Hayato and her were more alike than she had first thought.

She still had the crumpled photo of her parents on her possession, stored safely between the wrinkled pages of one of her old notebooks.

She hadn't looked at it in a while.

Saori took a step back to admire the framed photo and to make sure it wasn't tilted.

"What is that?" Taro-san asked from behind her, brows furrowed in confusion.

Saori grinned, "Is the employee of the month wall!" She exclaimed excitedly.

His frown deepened, "That's just a photo of you."

She nodded, "Yes. I'm the employee of the month." She declared proudly, pointing her thumb on her chest.

Taro-san snorted, "How are you the employee of the month if you only been here for like three weeks?" He inquired, raising his pierced eyebrow.

She shrugged, grin widening, "Well then, that's the boss's favorite employee wall!"

"You're my only employee!"

"Exactly. So you better get used to seeing my photo everyday... watching you every step..."

He sighed dramatically, "I already see you every day. Isn't that enough?"

"Nop!"

Despite his protest, Saori's framed photo remained hanging on the wall behind the register. Her smiling face haunting her boss, who claimed he couldn't even lit a cigarette without feeling her judgement.

"Good." She had said as she wiped the counter since one of the customers had spilled juice on it. "Just go to the break room to smoke."

He opened his mouth to protests, probably something along the lines of, 'the break room doesn't have windows' when the glass doors slide open.

She didn't have to look up to know who it was.

"Saori!" Neito greeted her loudly with a grin, "Are you done with your shift yet?"

Saori checked the clock behind her, "Err, not yet. Give me 20 minutes."

"But the movie starts at 5:30!" He whined, catching the attention of her boss.

"What movie?" Taro-san asked with curiosity to which Saori froze and Neito's left eye twitched as his head snapped in her direction.

"You didn't tell him?"

"I was going to!"

Taro had the feeling he was going to regret his question, "Tell me what?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Neito was the one who answered, "If you wanted to come with us to the cinema!"

"No." Came his quick reply to which both teens gave him pouty lips and sad puppy eyes.

"But it's an 'R' rated movie," Saori said, stopping her wiping, "We need an adult with us or else they wouldn't let us see it."

Neito nodded, clapping his hands together as his pout deepened, "You're the only cool adult we know!"

Taro hummed, feeling a little proud of being called cool. 'Take that, Dad! Who is the uncool geezer now!' He thought to himself.

Neito looked down, a crease between his brows as he shrugged, "Though it is not like we know many grown people..." He whispered and Saori nodded in agreement, "And you have a car and riding the bus to the cinema is lame." He added as an afterthought that Saori also agreed with.

It was her turn to plead, "Please, Boss," she said, "You can be the favorite employee next month." She offered.

Taro pitched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed tightly as he contemplated the mess his life has become, "Fine. But I'm not paying for the tickets."

They high fived each other, "See, I told you he would cave in." Neito said, making his way to the sweets aisle to grab junk food.

Taro growled, "You two are evil kids, ya know." He said to Saori.

She smiled sheepishly, "Sorry?" She apologized, "But I promise you're going to have fun!"

He mumbled something under his breath, "Can't believe I'm going to waste my saturday night with two kids."

Saori just rolled her eyes as she went to grab some sodas, "Don't be dramatic. I promise you're going to have fun!" She repeated again.

"Yeah, yeah." He waved her off as he put a cigarette on his lip, "What's the movie about?" He asked as he rummaged his pockets to find his lighter.

She glanced over her shoulder, "Is a horror movie about a bunch of teenagers that go camping in the middle of the woods and get killed by psycho or something."

"W-what? You never told me it was a h-horror movie!"

She smirked, closing the cooler door with her hip, "What do you think 'R' rated means?"

"Don't know. I'm not much of a movie fan."

Neito walked back in that moment, arms full with junk food that he dropped on the counter, "Don't tell me you're scared?" He teased as he pulled out his wallet.

"Course not!" He denied quickly, the tips of his ears tinted red, and his unlit cigarette lied forgotten in the corner of his mouth, "Evil kids." He muttered as he rang the items.

(...)

"Stop squirming. You're going to shake the sodas!" Neito whispered behind him.

Taro glared at him over his shoulder as he struggled to keep his pace with the cold sodas pressed on his body, "I'm trying!" He whispered back, arms wrapped around his torso to keep the drinks in place.

Neito whispered a little louder, "Try harder!" He said as he too tried to keep the items under his shirt in place.

Saori just stared at them from the back, wondering why they preferred to walk like penguins playing the floor is lava instead of giving the things to her to carry on her bag. She shook her head and then followed after them, carrying the tray with the popcorn and some extra candies since it was rumored that the movie lasted two hours and she wasn't about to run out of snacks in the middle of the movie.

Her boss tightened his grip when one of the drinks started to slide down his sweatshirt.

Saori used a finger to keep in place as she walked past him, "Hurry up you two. The movie is about to start." She said walking ahead.

They kept their pace and after 5 minutes they finally sat down in their seats.

"Remind me to never hang out with you guys ever again," Taro said, a thin coat of sweat on his forehead. He removed his sweatshirt and in a flash Neito had grabbed a soda.

He lifted the lid and the hissing sound coming from it could be heard clearly on the dark cinema. He froze, face drained from color and Saori bit back a giggle as Taro just smirked at him.

"Did someone just opened a fucking soda?" Someone asked.

Neito's eyes widened as the Ads and trailers for new releases started to play on the screen. saving him from further embarrassment.

Saori laughed quietly as extended a hand to her friend, "Pass me the chips," she said loud enough for him to hear.

Neito wordlesly unzipped his hoodie, handed her the chips and grabbed a bag of cheese puffs for himself.

Taro grabbed the popcorn from her tray, shoving them on his mouth, "Can't you wait for the movie to start at least?" He asked in between chews.

"You're one to talk," she said, opening the bags of chips.

She sat back in her seat, stuffing her face with the junk food as the screen went black.

The room was pitch dark and silent. Someone coughed and Saori stopped munching on her chips.

Then a phone started to ring loudly by her side.

"C'mon! Who the fuck forgot to turn off their phone?" A voice complained.

"Y-yeah. What I-inconsiderate fuck forgot to turn off t-their phone, " Neito choked with the cheese puff, battling to dismiss the call with his greasy, orange fingers. He coughed, licked a finger that he wiped on his hoodie before swiping his thumb across the phone's screen and finally it quieted.

He was saved again when the name of the studio was displayed on the screen and everyone's attention was redirected.

Taro took a sip from his drink, "Yep. I'm never going out with you two again."

When the movie ended, both Neito and Saori were talking excitedly about the movie, arms moving wildly in the air as they replicated the last scene of the movie where the last survivor dies.

Neito was in the middle of doing the chainsaw sound effect with his mouth when Taro cut him off, "Alright. That's enough, you two." He leaned closer to them, "People are staring." He said.

"Sorry, boss!" Saori said sincerely, calming down, "Did you have fun?" She asked as they made their way to the parking lot.

He patted her in the head, "It wasn't so bad," he said, pulling out his car keys. He pressed a button and the blue car rear lights lit up.

Neito ran ahead, a wicked grin on his face, "I call shotgun!"

Saori growled, "Whatever. I'm taking the bus anyway."

Taro's forehead creased with concern, "What? No. I'm driving you home."

Saori was touched by his reaction. But she knew she couldn't let him drive her home at this hour. It was too dangerous. "It's okay, boss. I don't live in the nicest area and-"

"Then it's settled." He put a hand on her back to direct her to his car, "I'm driving you home."

"There's no need. I'm cool with the homeless people in the area and-"

"Saori, get in the car."

"But-"

Neito poked his head out of the window, "I don't know about you guys but I would like to get home before midnight."

Taro clicked his tongue, "Get back inside." He said, using his open palm to push him back. He opened the back door for Saori, and sensing her hesitation he gently guided her in.

Neito was rubbing his nose as he rummaged through Taro's-san CD collection, "You have old people taste." He commented as soon as her boss entered the vehicle. He lifted a CD, face scrunched in confusion, "What are knives and sunflowers?"

Taro's head snapped in his direction, obviously offended, "They're the best rock band in the world!- How you haven't heard about them."

Neito ignored him and turned to Saori, "Have you heard about them?" He asked as if to prove a point and when she shook her head he turned to Taro, "See? No one knows who they are."

Taro huffed, peeling one hand from the steering wheel to grab the Cd. Once in his possession he gave them an evil grin, eyes shining with mischief as he inserted the CD on the stereo. "Is time for you two to learn about real music." He said and then the sound of a guitar riff filled the car.

They both shared a look as Taro-san started to sing along and out of pitch, banging his head in the air and tapping his hand on the steering wheel following the rhythm.

Saori mouthed to Neito, 'This is your fault.'

He mouthed back, 'Sorry.'

Once Neito had been dropped off and it was only the two of them in the car, Taro-san turned down the volume to a more tolerable level.

"I wanted to teach him a lesson." He explained.

"I understand. But why was I dragged along?"

"Because you didn't know about the glorious Knives and Sunflowers and as your boss it is my job to educate you in the art of good musical taste."

She shook her head with a smile, "Alright. Turn left here," she said pointing to the intersection.

Taro frowned as he studied the area. The state of the buildings and the lack of night life was a dead giveaway of Saori's situation. Still, he kept his realization to himself. The further he drove the worse the scenario became.

"That's my building." She said and he parked near the entrance.

"You have your keys at hand?" He said stopping her from leaving. At her slow nod, he spoke, "Good. Hurry up inside. I'll wait here."

Saori opened her mouth to tell him otherwise, but the evident concern on his features made her change her mind, "Thank you, boss. For everything, I mean. Tonight was fun." She fumbled with her words.

"Anything for my favourite employee." He smiled.

Saori returned his gesture before opening the door. She had one foot out resting on the sidewalk when an approaching figure pushing a cart to her left caught her attention, "Hello, Rina-san." Saori greeted the elderly woman.

Rina-san halted by her side, giving her toothless kind smile, "Hello, Saori-chan." She said before resuming her pace.

Saori turned to the stunned man in the car, "See? I told you I was cool with them." She whispered before closing the door and hurrying to the entrance. She ran all the way up and reached her apartment in record time. She pulled her phone and texted her boss to let him know she had arrived safely as she peered down from her windows to see him driving away.

When she couldn't see the car's silhouette in the distance Saori moved away from the window. With her stomach full of junk food and soda she didn't have the need to cook dinner so she opted to take a shower and hop to bed.

She was about to unbutton her pants when she heard something heavy crash beneath her. Her floor shook at the force, and before she could question herself she heard something metallic fall as well.

She wanted nothing more than to pretend she hadn't heard anything and continue with her bedtime routine when realization dawned on her.

Jin lived in the apartment downstairs.

Faster than she had ever moved, she exited her apartment fearing the worst not giving herself the time to realize how much of a bad idea this was.

She found the door half open and she could see shadows moving around. Saori pushed down her nerves, and opened the door.

She couldn't contain the gasp that left her lips. Stretched on the dining table, half unconscious and bleeding out, was Jin.

An unknown man was bent over Jin, hands busied digging around the open wound with a pair of medical tweezers. Her eyes zeroed in his appearance. He was dressed very elegantly to be a mugger. The man's white dress shirt was covered in speckles of blood that Saori could tell didn't belong to him.

His sleeves were rolled to his elbows, exposing the intricate ink work decorating his arms. From this distance she couldn't make out their shape, but she could see what seemed to be a pair of yellow eyes that perfectly blended into the ink staring at her.

Saori pushed the door open alerting the man of her presence by the creaking hinges. The man dropped the tweezers in a metallic tray with a clank and in the blink on an eye he had strolled to her side, arms outstretched to grab her.

"Wait!" She said, raising her arms at chest height in surrender and she was quick to talk, "I can help him." She motioned to Jin with a tilt of her chin.

He looked skeptical, glanced back at Jin and then to her, eyes narrowing slightly as he assessed the intruder, "Who are you?" He asked in a gruff voice, his mistrust very evident on his tense stance.

She licked her lips, arms still raised, she pointed one finger up, "My name is Saori. I live upstairs. I've meet Jin a few days ago-"

Her explanation was cut short by the cough coming from said man, "Saori-chan?" He called for her, trying to lift his masked head to see her, and very dramatically he said, "Come to my side. I'm dying."

Jin's acknowledgement had confirmed her story and very reluctantly he stepped aside to let her in. When she started to move, his arms shot up to grab her shoulder in a firm, bruising grip that elicited a pained gasp from her. His yellow eyes stared into her soul, searching for something unknown inside of her.

Saori flinched under the weight of his cold stare, diverting her gaze to the carpeted floor.

He cupped her face delicately, a stark contrast with the iron grip on her shoulder. He tilted her head up, "Look at me." He ordered and when she did, he continued his inspection and after what seemed like an eternity he let her go, a pleased smirk on his face, he swung his long black hair over his shoulder.

Those were the eyes of a murderer. There was no doubt in her.

'Okay, that was totally not creepy.' Saori swallowed hard and a moan coming from Jin brought her back into reality. She could dwell into their unnerving exchange once she was back in the safety of her apartment, though she doubted her thin wood door could stop him from barging in, judging by how strong his grip was.

He might not look like much with his tall frame and lithe physique but there was a dangerous air around him that immediately put him in Saori's 'avoid at all cost list.'

She rushed past him to Jin's side. His face was hidden away by his mask but even without looking at his expression she could tell he was in pain by the way the black fabric was scrunched around his forehead.

She gently placed her hand on his forehead, "Shss. It's okay now. I will help you." She soothed, her thumb caressed his cheek where she felt dampness, and without looking up she spoke to the other occupant of the room, "Get me some water and an empty bowl. Now!" She barked her order in a strict voice. Her fear for the man momentarily forgotten.

Jin must be very tired hence the lack of his usual energetic responses. That worried her, she needed to act soon.

He wouldn't die from this, that much she knew. But that didn't mean she was going to do nothing as he suffered with pain.

One look at his bleeding torso had her sighing in relief. Whilst the wound was still pouring blood it wasn't life threatening. She could see pieces of glass peering from the open wounds and a quick glance at the metallic tray by her side confirmed her suspicions. It must be agonizing to have them removed one by one without anesthesia to numb the pain and not for the first time, Saori felt sorry for him.

He had most likely crashed or been pushed against glass. 'What happened to him?' The question burned at the tip of her tongue, but she knew that asking the wrong question could get her in trouble. The less she knew the better.

The man set both bowls to her right, "Thank you." Saori said before getting to work.

Clear tendrils of the clear liquid digged around the wound to remove the remaining glass. Warm blood leaked from it, dripping all over the table and the carpeted floor underneath. Jin arched his back, squirming under her as pieces of the broken glass were peeled from his raw flesh.

Another tendril dug deeper to make sure there wasn't any damage done to his organs. Despite her early conclusion, it never hurt nobody to be cautious.

Even though this was her first time tending to such an injury, Saori didn't squirm or shy away from it. Years living under a renowned surgeon's roof had left her able to stomach pretty much anything since Homura liked to study medical tapes for educational purposes and more than once she had made Saori sit along her to prepare her for a future that would never be. At least not like Homura imagined it.

On her side, the man loomed over her. His heavy gaze focused on her movements with keen interest.

With the glass all gone, Saori started to mend together his flesh with one swift motion from her left hand and soon it was gone, leaving no scar or trace of its existence.

Jin was breathing easier now and he fell into a deep slumber as Saori cleaned the mess he had made in his home. From the trail of blood on the floor to the puddle of the dark liquid under him. It was all cleaned like it never happened.

Beside her, the mysterious man let out an appreciative whistle, "That's quite the quirk you have little lady. Would you mind taking a look at this?" He asked, motioning his leg, "I think I broke my ankle." He informed her with a shy smile as he sat down in one of the dinning chairs.

'Broken ankle?! How was he even able to move like that?'

Saori's eyes went round, involuntarily looking down to said injury. She could see a purple ring blooming on his pale skin but besides that it didn't look to be doing too bad. "It looks like it is only a sprain." She deducted.

He frowned, "Can you fix it then?"

"Ah, yes." She used the leftover clean water to repair the strained tissue and erase the forming bruise. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your name?"

He seemed embarrassed as his previous behaviour, patting the back of his head sheepishly, "Where are my manners? My name is Kato Yuu. Sorry to have scared you before, little lady. I'm very protective of my friends as you can see." His eyes seemed gentler now, appeased, but Saori couldn't forget his lifeless stare pulling apart her soul.

"It's okay. I understand, Yuu-san. It was very reckless of me to barge in like that."

He nodded, still smiling, "Indeed, it was." He muttered and something in his tone made Saori uneasy. "You said you live here?"

"Yes, upstairs actually. Right above Jin's apartment."

At the mention of his name, Jin mumbled something unintelligent that had the corners of her mouth lift up in a grin.

"Then you live right below me." He said, smiling. "It's good to meet the reason for the impromptu concerts I get in the middle of the night." He teased lightly.

Saori flushed pink as her mind flashed with every memory of her dancing and singing around her home without a care in the world. Somehow she managed to speak again, "I'm sorry! I tend to forget the walls are very thin. I thought since Jin didn't mind it-"

He patted her head, "Take it easy, little lady. I was only joking." He smiled, before a thoughtful look settled on his face, "Though after seeing your quirk, I wonder if you had anything to do with the sudden change with the water pressure in my shower?" He inquired and the grin on his lips told her that he already knew the answer.

She shrugged, "Yeah. I thought you would enjoy a nice shower.

"And you were right!" He said cheerfully. "I would appreciate it if I could do it again tonight." His silent plea was heard loud and clear.

She agreed with a smile, more at ease with his new attitude, "Yep, no problem." She said and turned to check on Jin. "Just let me know beforehand, like knock twice on the floor so I know and don't leave you naked and cold under the drizzle of the shower head."

Yuu gave her a thumbs up as he grinned brightly, "Noted. Do you think he's going to take long to recover?"

"He should be fine after a nap. Should we move him to his room?"

"Nah. Let him sleep on the table. Last he learns to be more careful."

Saori nodded slowly. Their conversation was edging near dangerous territory so she dismissed herself with one longing look to the now closed door, "I should leave now. I have to work early... so I should go."

"Go on, little lady. You wouldn't want to worry your parents by being gone so long." His smile was amicable enough, but the same sensation from earlier filled her.

She gave him a tight smile, "I'm sure they wouldn't mind. Since they're dead and all." Her expression sobered, "Goodnight, Yuu-san." She said, one hand on the knob.

"I'm sorry about your loss, Saori-chan." He said. "I was very sad when I heard the news."

'He knows.'

Her heart started to beat faster and she had the sudden urge to question him just to cease her curiosity. His words implied that he knew who her parents were, but Saori had reached her limit of stupid deeds for the day by barging inside the home of a villain and she had no interest in breaking her record.

"So was I," she lied easily, "I must really go. It was nice to meet you, neighbour. I promise to keep my singing to more tolerable levels."

"Goodnight, sleep well. Let me know if you need help with anything. I heard from previous tenants that your apartment has constant plumbing issues and most plumbers will break your bank, especially for a girl living on her own."

"Thank you for the offer. I'll keep it in mind." She said before escaping Jin's home, resisting the need to run like a madwoman to her own apartment. Now that she was aware of how thin the walls were, she refused to give him the satisfaction to know he had gotten under her skin with a few words.

Whatever connection Yuu-san had with her parents did not interest her. The most it could do was peak her curiosity but that was it. She was certain she wouldn't be losing any sleep tonight because of it.

How much she wished that was true.

She could've never imagined that her parent's past would catch up to her. Not so soon. She had expected that after she became a pro someone like a villain or a jealous hero would expose her past just to ruin her reputation or something like that. Yes, Saori was that dramatic.

Yuu-san had ruined her expectations and she wasn't pleased at how eager he seemed to provoke a reaction from her. If he thought her parents were a sore subject for her, he had completely missed the mark with his deductions.

Wanted to develop Saori's and Neito's relationship before jumping into the entrance exam arc.