Chapter Twenty-One: Premonitions
The U.A. Sports Festival was only three days away.
Koharu spent most of her free time training. In the mornings, she was up in time for yoga before running with the sunrise, and arrived at school early enough for various competitions with Uraraka ranging from arm-wrestling matches to tree climbing. They'd arrive to class with scratches and smiles on their faces. She would take dutiful notes in class, and sit with her friends at lunch. Her afternoons were spent with Kirishima and Kaminari, leaving her dirty and bruised when she crawled home at sunset.
At the front door, Shouta would scold her for over-exerting herself, but never stop her. Koharu would make them dinner, and help feed Shouta with only minimal mockery. She would do her homework in the main room while Shouta watched the news, and then they both would go to bed. Koharu would stare at her ceiling and pretend to sleep.
The next day, she would get up and do it again.
Tired, she thought. I'm so fucking tired.
Her muscles felt weary and weak, but her feet hit the pavement in a steady rhythm. The sunlight was only just beginning to stream through the tall buildings, reflecting off the shop windows in warm shades of pink and orange. She heard the birds rise. She saw the flowers in window-boxes begin to unfurl as they welcomed the sun.
She took a familiar turn.
A small cafe stood three buildings down, nestled firmly between a fashion boutique and a music shop that Koharu had once visited to buy a harmonica. Amanogawa, the quaint cafe run by the Nakanishi family, had a bright red roof and boasted a wall of ivy so heavy it looked ready to topple. The doors and windows were the only things spared, allowing passersby like Koharu to sneak glances to the darkened interior.
Koharu had told Aoi that she would visit, and she wasn't one to break promises. In fact, by her terms, she had visited the cafe at least ten times since the girls first met. The only trouble was that she had yet to visit while the cafe was actually open.
She had a feeling that wasn't considered "visiting" by normal standards.
Amanogawa's windows were typically still dark as Koharu ran by. The sign read that the doors wouldn't be opening for nearly another hour, and while she wouldn't be surprised to know there were people in the back, she had yet to see anyone in the front on her morning runs. However, that day was an exception, for not only was the cafe illuminated, but there was a face waiting for her in the window.
Koharu did a double-take. The familiar face of Aoi Nakanishi lurked in the window, the silver-haired girl's forehead pressed up against the glass. She beamed a smile as the two girls locked eyes.
"Aizawa!"
Gravity betrayed her, and she fell flat on her face.
A bell chimed as Aoi rushed through the door to Koharu's aid. "Are you okay?! I'm so sorry!"
"I— I'm fine!" Koharu stuttered as she pushed herself back up to her feet, gravel stinging in her palms. She winced as she wiped them against her pants. "Geez, you scared me. What were you doing with your face pressed up against the window like that?"
Aoi looked at her as though she was dealing with a child, a look not unfamiliar to Koharu. "I was waiting for you."
"Eh?" Both of Koharu's eyebrows raised into her hair. "For me? Why?"
"I've seen you go by a few times now, and I was hoping to catch you," Aoi easily admitted. "You normally run around this time, right?"
"...I do," Koharu confirmed warily.
"I'm not a stalker or anything!" Aoi said with a flippant wave of her hand. The motion drew Koharu's eyes to the bright pink and blue polish on the girl's fingernails. "If anything, you're the stalker. You keep running by, but you never come in."
Koharu glanced around them, taking in the quiet street. There was no one else in sight, and not a single storefront was illuminated. Her eyes slid pointedly to the store hours sign before landing on the teen in front of her. "You're not open yet."
Now her hands landed on her hips. "What, is that all?" Aoi quietly clicked her tongue. "We'll make an exception for you. We're open now." Those pink and blue nails wrapped quickly around Koharu's wrist, Aoi snatching the shorter girl with a firm tug.
"What?!" Koharu squeaked as she was dragged inside Amanogawa without ceremony. The bell chimed overhead as they walked through the door. "You really don't have to make any exceptions for me—"
"Nonsense!" Aoi bellowed. "I know as soon as you try one of our sweets, you'll be our very best customer, so it's only right to make exceptions." She released Koharu and walked quickly around the counter, leaving Koharu standing like an abandoned bird in the entry.
Amanogawa was heavily decorated in the same shades of pink and blue that Koharu had seen on Aoi's fingernails. The interior was small, but the colours permeated every surface— on the cushions of the chairs, the flowers on the tables, the coffee cups stacked behind the counter. Aoi grabbed a large blue mug and set to work making something at the espresso machine. She cast a glance over her shoulder and grinned at Koharu.
"Sit down, sit down! I'm making you a latte."
Koharu took tentative steps forwards, and pulled out one of the few stools at the counter. It was surprisingly comfortable beneath her. With a nervous edge, Koharu drummed her fingers against the counter top. "I— uhm, I don't have any money on me... "
"Don't be silly," Aoi responded with a flap of her hand. "Consider it on Pesu! You said that you like sweets, right?"
"I do like sweets," she reluctantly assented.
Aoi's answering smile was infectious. "Great!" She chirped as she set down the blue mug in front of Koharu. "Just pick something, and it's yours."
"Okay, uh…" Koharu bit the inside of her cheek as she leaned back to check what was in the glass display. Beautiful baked goods beamed back at her, all equally enticing. After a long moment, her gaze settled on a pear tart. Even before she could point, Aoi was pulling the piece out with a practised grace. "Oh, thanks."
After placing the tart delicately onto a small pink plate, Aoi presented Koharu with her treat, a fork, and a smile bright enough to blind the sun. Dumbly, she repeated, "...thanks."
"Your hair isn't normally that colour, is it?"
"What?" Koharu's hand shot up to her roots, equally startled by the sudden question and the thought that her roots might be showing. "No, my hair is black. Why are you asking?"
Aoi's eyes glinted something celebratory. "And your eyes?"
"My eyes?" Koharu repeated with a heavy blink. Her hand remained still on the top of her head. "No, they've always been this colour."
"Really?" Aoi's gaze turned piercing, eyes sharp on Koharu's. "They're never red?"
"No," she slowly said. Koharu leaned back in her chair, wishing she could get away from Aoi's intense eyes and sudden line of questioning. "I mean… they're orange sometimes. When I use my Quirk."
Aoi hummed thoughtfully before pointedly handing Koharu her fork. "What is your Quirk? If you don't mind me asking."
Koharu rolled her eyes. "Oh, now you're shy about the questions."
"Sorry," she responded, but didn't look it.
"Whatever," Koharu grumbled. "I can temporarily switch people's Quirks." Aoi's eyes widened, and she looked genuinely stumped by Koharu's response. Koharu felt her hackles rising with the look on her face. "Why? What's up with these weird questions?"
Aoi's hand reached out and clasped around something invisible, but Koharu felt something tug in her chest hard. The breath was wretched from her as she was suddenly faraway, the world hazy around her.
Koharu was lying on the ground, floorboards cold under her shaking fingers. The building was collapsing. She couldn't catch her breath through the dust and smoke in the air. A loud crack filled the air, and debris began to rain down towards her. Everything within her screamed to run, but Koharu couldn't move.
But then, there she was. Her dark hair was bundled up, but still pouring over her face. Messy strands couldn't hide the glowing red of her eyes.
It was her. It was Koharu, but not right. She was older, though not by much. Her pink goggles were nowhere in sight. A thin scar ran up the side of her face, ending just below one of those terrifying red eyes. But most importantly, Koharu seemed to be holding up a goddamn falling building.
"Haru?" Aoi's usual sunny voice spilled past her lips, shaking now. "Y-You came!"
Koharu looked down at the girl at her feet with a toothy grin. "Always. It's okay now, Aoi— we're here."
The world continued to crash, Amanogawa crumbling to the ground around them. Only the dust touched them as Koharu strained against the weight at her back.
Was that Aoi's heart pounding in her chest, or her own?
She was back in her seat at the cafe with a gasp, lungs eagerly taking in the clean air. Aoi's hand was still extended between them— Koharu shakily slapped it away. "What the fuck was that?!"
Aoi looked unperturbed by Koharu's aggression. She slid a glass of water closer to the teen. "That was my Quirk."
"Golly, I wouldn't have thought of that— obviously that was your fucking Quirk!" snapped Koharu. "That's not what I meant. What did you just show me?"
"Someday, you're going to save my life," responded Aoi, the words spilling from her lips like a sacred secret. "I knew it the second we met. Have you heard of the red string of fate?"
Koharu rolled her eyes even as she remembered the way Aoi had reached between them and tugged, like she was pulling a string taut from Koharu's chest. "Sure," she said.
"That's my Quirk," confessed the silver-haired girl, her tone low and conspiratorial. "I can see the strings that connect people— the moments. It's not particularly helpful most days— not everyone has strings I can see, and most are too frayed to read…" Aoi's gaze dropped to the counter. Her fingers swirled in an unseeing pattern. "Your string… our string… it's the first time I've been connected to someone else. It's never been so vivid before."
Koharu's mouth felt unbearably dry, but she wasn't sure she trusted the water Aoi had offered her. Her thoughts were racing too fast for her to read them. "So that's why you were waiting for me in the window like some demented mannequin. You wanted to show me… whatever that was."
Aoi blushed. "I tried to catch you yesterday, but you were already gone by the time I got outside."
"I don't think that's as good of an explanation as you think it is," Koharu muttered. "So, what? That's supposed to be the future, or whatever?"
"I think so," Aoi responded. "Like I said, it's never been so vivid before. Most of the time, people have already had their moments by the time I meet them. I've never shared a moment with anyone before."
Koharu looked down to the pear tart on her plate. She had completely lost her appetite. Glowing red eyes lingered on her mind. "Why show me? Why not just let it happen?"
"Your Quirk," answered Aoi. Koharu snapped her attention up to her, but found it hard to settle her eyes on the girl. "You must have noticed it too. It was totally different than what you described."
She had noticed. But that didn't mean she understood. Her mind felt like it was in a fog too dense to see through.
I'm too tired for this.
Koharu pushed away from the counter, stool screeching against the floorboards. "I have to go."
Aoi followed her around the counter as Koharu rushed to leave. "Wait, Aizawa! I'm really sorry if I scared you— maybe I shouldn't have shown you—"
"No," Koharu said, her voice sounding far away. "Thank you for showing me. I'm sorry to leave so soon—"
A hand clasped around her wrist just before she reached the door. "Aizawa, you really don't look okay. I don't think you should leave."
"No, I have to go—"
"Haru—"
Koharu wasn't sure how she was still standing. "Don't call me that."
"Okay, I'm sorry. I won't. But I really think you should sit down."
She was already on the ground before she realized it. Aoi's face was swimming above her.
"Aizawa! Oh no, oh— should I call someone? Aizawa!"
chapter end
okay y'all I was pretty nervous about this chapter, but here it is! Thanks for reading along xo
M — welcome back! Kirishima is absolutely the president of the Bakugou Fanclub. Koharu was voted vice president lmao. Thanks for the review!
Otakugirl1996 — welcome back! In this house, we love aggressive sibling love. Thanks for the review!
DominoDuh — your review has me like *side eye emoji*... time will tell! ;) Thanks for the review!
oLainao — welcome back! Poor Sportsfestival-chan... we still love you Sportsfestival-chan... thanks for the review!