Chapter 7
Despite the tension at the start of the week and the reporters still hovering everywhere, Thursday passed... surprisingly normally. Sure, people from other classes stared at them and everyone was still on edge, but nothing big happened. All Might even put on some more videos to lighten the mood, some cheesy PSAs made in the early days of heroics. The bad acting had all of them laughing by the end.
Hitoshi had a therapy session scheduled after school that day, so Ojiro hung back with Hagakure while he headed to Hound Dog's office. Unlike some of his classmates, who got paired with outside counselors, he'd been paired with Hound Dog from the start. It had been admittedly a little intimidating at the start of the first session, but he'd never been more grateful than now since the man was a Pro Hero.
After confirming Hound Dog was up to date on Bakugou's case, Hitoshi vented about all his concerns. The conversation with Aizawa had brought a lot of unease and concern forward, worrying about whether the Bakugou Katsuki they knew actually was the real Bakugou. And even if he was, there was still the matter of his parents potentially being dead even before USJ.
Hound Dog had listened patiently and helped Hitoshi work through his feelings. The session ended up running a bit late and he still felt a bit down when he left, but he felt better now that he'd talked about it.
Friday also passed normally for the most part. Even the ever-present throng of reporters had finally started to thin, and by the end of the day the gates were finally clear enough to not need to use the underground tunnel. Aizawa told Hitoshi after lunch that Power Loader had told him the gear was finally finished, so the two of them went to the support department along with Ojiro to check it out after school.
Seeing the mask-like device dubbed "Artificial Vocal Chords" finally completed and testing it out had been the honest highlight of Hitoshi's week. Especially when his initial attempt ended with him squeaking out a high-pitched chipmunk voice.
"I guess the voice chip needs some adjustments," Power Loader declared with a weary sigh as Aizawa side-eyed the device. Hitoshi should probably feel a bit annoyed, but instead he found it hilarious. Fiddling with the settings revealed similar settings such as "inhaled helium," "dolphin-speak," "anime girl trying to sound extra-cute," and "kazoo" among others.
Ojiro found it just as funny, and they had spent about ten minutes just trying out various movie quotes while Power Loader slunk off to his desk in shame. Surprisingly even Aizawa joined in on the fun a little, dubbing one voice "Mic when he sees a bug" much to their delight.
"It sounds exactly like him," he said with a shrug.
"It really does," Power Loader agreed miserably.
In the end they arranged to return the next day so Power Loader could fiddle with the voice chip. He also refused to preserve the current settings, but that was probably for the best. So while the test hadnʼt gone exactly as Hitoshi expected, he and Ojiro left campus in a relatively good mood. The fact they could walk through the gates and enjoy the sunshine instead of walking through a tunnel only amplified the feeling.
For once, he thought he might get how a normal day at UA might go.
The next day was also overall uneventful—at least by his new definition of "eventful" since enrolling at UA. No more students went missing or died or anything, but someone had brought in photos of Kouda's rabbit, Yuwai. Hitoshi didn't know if it was Kouda himself, Satou or Shouji. All he knew was that by the time he and Ojiro arrived in the morning, all the girls were gushing over the pictures. Even Jirou seemed surprisingly charmed by it.
When lunch rolled around, Kouda found himself the new most popular student in class, at least with the girls. Ashido and Hagakure dragged him off to a table so they could pepper him with questions about Yuwai. Tokoyami and Ojiro also followed to help keep him from being too overwhelmed, as did Jirou to help calm the other girls. The combined excitement of Ashido and Hagakure would make the help very necessary.
So today's lunchtime company for Hitoshi included Yaoyorozu, Asui, Sero, Satou and Shouji. It was still odd how every day seemed to have a different roster of table-mates, but Hitoshi was getting weirdly used to it. As usual, it didn't take long for conversation to turn to current events.
"Aizawa-sensei told me that Aoyama's withdrawal was finalized yesterday," Yaoyorozu announced.
"Wait, I thought it already happened?" Satou asked with a frown.
"Not yet," Hitoshi piped up. "Aizawa-sensei said there had trouble getting all the paperwork because Aoyama's family lives in France."
"When did he say that?" Sero wondered. "I don't remember him talking about Aoyama."
"You wouldn't. He told me after school earlier this week, when Ojiro had an appointment with Hound Dog."
"I noticed you two stay after school sometimes," Shouji commented, and Hitoshi nodded.
"Yeah, we both still have counseling with Hound Dog. Kinda helps with, you know, everything." He shrugged, not really needing to elaborate.
"I do too, though I meet someone off-campus," Yaoyorozu added, and he nodded at her.
"Glad to hear we're not the only ones." He didn't mention it, but he was pretty sure Iida and/or Mineta also had counseling. At the very least, he'd noticed them lingering in the classroom after final bell a few times. He thought Mineta particularly needed it given how high-strung and nervous he was.
If so, that potentially left Asui as the odd one out from the group that went to the Bakugou house. Over the past week she always went straight home after school, so Hitoshi knew she didn't have any sessions with Hound Dog at least. If she saw anyone outside of school like Yaoyorozu, she didn't mention it.
"So you just wait with Aizawa-sensei now, kero?" she asked him.
"Yeah. Safer than waiting alone. He said they visited Aoyama on Monday. It was just taking a while to get the paperwork done with his parents due to time zone differences because again, France." He shrugged, rubbing the side of his neck. He wasn't sure he should've said that much, but since Aizawa had already told Yaoyorozu, he assumed it was safe to mention now.
"Did he say anything about Uraraka?" Satou pressed, and everyone turned to look at him. As they grew more visibly tense, Hitoshi realized they all probably had the same worries he did about whether their now-former classmates had been replaced.
That was why he decided to be honest, even if he wasn't sure he was allowed to tell them. "Actually, he said Uraraka told him she planned to withdraw on Friday, the day before the mugging. And her parents called it in the next day. He said both of them are already barred from entering since they're not enrolled."
He saw the others relax at that, which all but confirmed his suspicions about their concerns. For a few moments after that they were all silent, not really knowing what to talk about next, but eventually Shouji leaned forward.
"Has there been any word on Kirishima?" he asked lowly, eyes darting around the cafeteria to look for any eavesdroppers.
"Not that I've heard," Yaoyorozu murmured with a frown, and Hitoshi shook his head when they glanced at him.
"The teachers are probably keeping it under wraps," Satou said. "This is way more tricky than the usual missing person or villain situation." The others nodded in agreement. One could never be too careful when dealing with a shapeshifter, even with all the identity checks.
"Okay, that's enough of this depressing talk," Sero said. "Did anyone else forget their umbrellas today?"
The question had Hitoshi arching his eyebrows and glancing out the windows at the very sunny sky. "Uh, will we need them?"
"The weather forecast was rather bad for this afternoon," Asui commented. "My little sister gave me an expandable one that looks like a frog, kero." Her voice took on a happy note, clearly very pleased about it. Given her Quirk, Hitoshi had to admit it was a fitting choice.
"If it does rain and anyone needs one, I can make some," Yaoyorozu offered. "It won't be a problem for me at all."
"I didn't see the forecast, but I'll be fine without one," Shouji said.
Hitoshi hummed and considered the offer, and soon shook his head. "Nah, I think we'll be fine. Ojiro and I have to stay late today, so I don't want to hold you up."
"More therapy?" Satou asked sympathetically.
"Nah, just some stuff related to class. Don't worry about it." The others looked curious but didn't press, and conversation soon shifted once more. This time they focused on Cementoss's hair, and whether he needed a chisel to style it. Sero made a very passionate defense for why it was probably normal hair, and got amusingly frustrated by Hitoshi responding with no no, it looks very hard and stiff, it definitely needs a chisel and maybe a sledgehammer too.
(He might have been just messing with him.)
The rest of the afternoon proved to be just as peaceful as yesterday, and when classes ended Hitoshi and Ojiro once again followed Aizawa to the Support Department. Power Loader had switched out the voice chip, and it now functioned exactly as intended. And sadly, he'd stayed true to his word and had not included the chipmunk voice and all the related modes. Not even "Mic when he sees a bug" mode.
Testing it out when it actually worked proved to be just as fun though. Aizawa took him into the halls to see if it could pass with other faculty and lingering students. It became especially amusing when he found out he could throw his voice around with it using some small speakers. He couldn't trigger his Quirk over the speakers, but he used them to spook a passing Present Mic by whispering "seven days."
Aizawa's toothy grin as the blond swatted at him for suggesting the prank in the first place had been hilarious. Hitoshi also got some great new additions to his English vocabulary, a fact which had the English teacher despairing once he'd realized it. Mainly because Hitoshi had used his voice to parrot them. And then glared as he helped correct Ojiro's pronunciation, just like a good English teacher would.
By the time they finished the test run and returned the Artificial Vocal Chords, he and Ojiro were in a pretty good mood. Clouds had started to gather towards the end of the day and threatened to pour down rain any moment, but not even that dampened their spirits. When the first drops hit they just ran with large grins, feeling more energized than they had in ages. Sure, they hadn't brought umbrellas, but who cared? Hitoshi felt like he was on top of the world.
They made it two blocks before realizing the rain was only getting heavier with each passing second, and showed no signs of easing up. The initially light drizzle was looking to be a bit too heavy for their tastes. At that point they slowed down their carefree run, and decided to seek cover inside a convenience store. They both laughed as they trudged inside, dripping water everywhere but grinning wildly.
"Dude, your hair!" Ojiro laughed, and Hitoshi patted his hair to find it lying flat in its damp state. He snorted in amusement, flashing the blond a sly smirk.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said. "Don't worry, it'll pop back up once it dries out."
"Pop back up?" Ojiro repeated with a snort. "Dammit, now I'm just imagining it springing up." The comment had Hitoshi snorting too. It didn't happen quite like that, the change more gradual as it dried, but it was still funny to imagine.
"Shinsou-kun?" someone asked, and he turned to see Midoriya standing nearby holding a basket full of food and supplies. Hitoshi nodded at him with a lazy grin, uncaring how manic he may or may not look right now.
"Yo, Midoriya. Long time no see."
"Uh, y-yeah. Likewise." Midoriya nodded, looking a bit uncertain and nervous.
"Friend of yours?" Ojiro asked.
"Kinda, I guess," Hitoshi replied with a shrug.
"A-actually, I guess we're kinda more like acquaintances, maybe?" the green-haired boy suggested. "I mean, we've only talked a couple times, and it's always about... you know." He shrugged feebly and Hitoshi nodded.
"Yeah," he said, feeling his good mood sober a bit at the reminder of why he knew Midoriya. Ojiro just looked more curious now, and Hitoshi knew he had to make introductions. "Ojiro, this is Midoriya. Midoriya, Ojiro, my friend from class."
"I-it's nice to meet you!" Midoriya said with a quick bow, and then yelped when the sudden motion jostled the contents of his basket and made a bag of chips fall out. It bounced onto the floor and landed closer to Ojiro, who picked it up and held it out with a smile. Midoriya's face tinted red as he took it, mumbling a sheepish, "Thanks."
"So, how do you know each other?" Ojiro asked, and Hitoshi hesitated to answer. They'd been having such a good afternoon, he really didn't want to lower the mood now.
Midoriya was unaware of Hitoshi's qualms though. "Um, w-well, see, I don't think we really know each other that well? I mostly just ask him about Kacchan."
"Kacchan?" Ojiro repeated, and the other boy nodded.
"Y-yeah. Or well, I guess you'd know him as Bakugou Katsuki." The name had Ojiro stiffening, turning narrowed eyes to Hitoshi.
"You talk about him to other people?" he asked lowly, and Hitoshi frowned at the accusatory tone.
"They're childhood friends or something," he replied defensively. "Look, I wouldn't talk about this to just anyone. You should know that." His voice took on a more bitter edge than he'd intended, his thoughts straying to that horrible day at the Bakugou house. Ojiro had been one of the ones to see the bathroom, he should know Hitoshi wouldn't talk about it to just anyone!
"H-he really didn't talk about it!" Midoriya added hastily, picking up on the tension. "I just wanted to know if any of Kacchan's classmates knew anything, because it sounded so weird that he'd just withdraw! A-and, with Aunt Mitsuki and Uncle Masaru..." He trailed off, lower lip wobbling as his eyes began to tear up. That had Hitoshi's stomach sinking with guilt and sympathy for the other boy, but Ojiro wasn't moved.
He swore he could see the moment Ojiro's mind flickered back to the same scene that still haunted Hitoshi himself. He realized it from how the other boy's eyes widened and he gave a small flinch, his lips pressing together into a tight line. "Just... forget it," he said after a moment, and turned to stalk towards the aisles. "I'm going to find an umbrella. Talk about whatever."
Hitoshi just watched him disappear into one of the aisles, leaving him alone with Midoriya. Looks like the good mood was officially gone. "I'm sorry," Midoriya whispered. "I... I didn't mean to make you two fight."
"No, it's... fine," Hitoshi sighed. "We've been having a really rough couple of weeks." Understatement of the century right there.
"You should go after him," Midoriya said. "It's... not good for friends to fight." His eyes cast downwards almost guiltily, and it made Hitoshi wonder if something had happened between him and Bakugou the last time they'd seen each other. From the sounds of it, the blond hadn't been overly supportive of Midoriya's own aspirations towards UA, and it seemed like there'd been a rift between them.
The thought made him hesitate, feeling his stomach twist with sympathy, but at the same time it also further compelled him turn to go after Ojiro. Midoriya was right, it wasn't good for friends to fight, and Hitoshi barely had any. While this was a relatively small argument, and they'd have to go home together anyway, it still left a bad taste in his mouth to not address it.
He tracked down Ojiro just as he left an aisle holding two umbrellas, but when he approached the blond just said, "Don't. Not now." The words had Hitoshi freezing in place, stomach sinking, but ultimately he just nodded. They went to the register a few minutes later, silently picking out some snacks along the way.
They spent the rest of the walk home in silence.
Things between Hitoshi and Ojiro were tense for the rest of the night, and continued that way into Sunday. Ojiro didn't seem inclined to talk to him right now, not that he could fully blame him. Talking about the Bakugou case to an outsider felt taboo and wrong. If he was in Ojiro's shoes he'd probably be pissed too, so he wasn't too keen on breaching the silence himself just yet.
Given they were stuck together in a small apartment, it made for a very awkward Sunday though.
The walk to school on Monday had been almost deathly silent. When lunch rolled around Ojiro sat at a different table along with Hagakure, Kaminari, Ashido and Sero.
If any of the others noticed the sudden cold shoulder, they mercifully didn't mention it. Possibly because they didn't have a chance to before Todoroki approached Hitoshi and asked to eat lunch together in the classroom. It was surprising, since they hadn't talked since the other boy asked about the Bakugou case.
As it turned out, that last conversation was exactly why he'd asked this time.
"Aizawa-sensei told me I shouldn't have asked you about the Bakugou case," he said bluntly. They returned to the classroom after grabbing food from Lunch Rush, everyone else staying in the cafeteria today. Even Aizawa was absent, presumably napping or eating lunch in the teachers' lounge. It made a perfect setting for a private conversation like this. "I'm sorry if I caused you any distress by asking."
"No, it's fine," Hitoshi dismissed, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "It's like I told Aizawa, you gave me the option to refuse from the start. I chose to go through with it anyway."
"He also said I shouldn't have told you about what I heard."
"Yeah, from a legal standpoint, probably not. It's... cool though, I guess."
Todoroki simply nodded and they lapsed into silence after that, just eating at their desks. Now that they'd gotten that out of the way, Hitoshi was pulling a blank on what else he could say. The two barely knew each other, so it felt pretty awkward sitting alone with him like this. Hard to think of stuff to talk about. Maybe agreeing to spend all lunch alone here was a bad idea.
"Okay, I have to ask," he finally said. "You don't have to give me any details, but. Do you know if there's any progress with, you know?" He shrugged vaguely, not really wanting to directly mention the case, but didn't need to elaborate.
Todoroki's eyes narrowed. "Not that I've heard. My father is a bit more involved now, but he's not talking about it around me. I don't know if it's because Aizawa-sensei told him about our conversation, or if he's just more cautious. All he tells me is to be careful. Speaking of which," he added, almost nonchalant, "I don't know if you're actually Shinsou."
"You asked me last time because you were worried about Hands McGee from the USJ being behind it," Hitoshi responded in an almost deadpan. "Also, I came to school with Ojiro this morning. I think he'd notice if I was replaced at some point this weekend." Todoroki considered it for a moment before nodding.
"Alright, that checks out. But why aren't you suspicious of me?"
"Well, for starters, you're Endeavor's kid."
Todoroki stiffened at that, eyes narrowing again—almost glaring at him. "And?" he asked icily. "What does that have to do with anything?" His tone was a bit sharper than usual, and Hitoshi wondered why that seemed to strike a nerve. There seemed to be some serious resentment going on. Maybe he was sick of being compared to Endeavor?
In any event, it wasn't his business. "Tell me this, Todoroki," he said flatly. "How quickly do you think your dad would notice you acting different?" That had Todoroki pausing to consider it, his glare relaxing.
"Not long," he conceded. "We set up a password system, too."
"Good. And next question: how would he react to an imposter replacing his son?"
"...He would probably capture them and interrogate them for my whereabouts."
"With or without the fire?" Hitoshi asked, more to be snarky than genuinely asking. When Todoroki paused to actually consider it though, he decided he'd rather not know the answer and pushed on. "I'm just thinking it would take massive guts to replace Endeavor's kid. So if you are the fake, and you replaced him without being noticed yet, you'd kinda deserve to pull off whatever you're planning."
"That sounds almost like you're supporting the villain."
"I'm not. I'm just accepting defeat with grace." Hitoshi should probably be more wary, all things considered. But as he said, it'd take massive guts to try to impersonate Endeavor's son. They literally lived together; replacing him would be near-suicidal. It would only take Endeavor noticing one little detail wrong for the ruse to fall apart and end with them lightly roasted.
Todoroki, for his part, just nodded, and the awkward silence resumed as they returned to eating. Luckily, this time it didn't last as long before the door opened, Iida striding in with Mineta at his heels. They both carried their lunch trays, their meals half-finished.
"I heard you two were eating here alone!" Iida said, marching over to his desk and dropping the tray onto it. "I don't think it is safe for only two people to be alone in the current circumstances, so I hope you don't mind us eating here too." Given the conversation he and Todoroki just had, Hitoshi found his concern slightly ironic and quietly snorted.
"I wanted to stay at the cafeteria," Mineta sulked as he sat at Uraraka's former desk, conveniently behind the other boy. Since he now stayed at Iida's house, he'd become rather wary of separating from him during the day, almost like a shadow.
"You can still converse, we'll stay out of it," Iida added. Hitoshi glanced at Todoroki, who gazed back with an unreadable blank face that seemed to be competing with Aizawa for "best poker face."
"No, I think we're done?" he said uncertainly. When Todoroki didn't visibly react, he continued more confidently, "We finished what we were talking about. Probably a good call on having groups bigger than two here, though." He turned in his seat to face Iida. "So, any news from 1-B?"
The other boy frowned, becoming a bit more grim. "No, not much. We talked about it a bit with Yaoyorozu at lunch before I noticed you two were absent. From what she knows, the atmosphere seems to be... not the best." He grimaced, and Hitoshi could fully relate. Between Fukidashi dying and Kuroiro now missing, it'd be strange if they weren't affected by it.
"She said that one of the girls in there is thinking of dropping out!" Mineta whined. "That's another girl, gone!" Once again, Mineta's priorities were less than ideal. Then again, at least he wasn't all doom and gloom about this stuff like everyone else. Even then, his whining felt a bit more half-hearted than usual though.
"Do you actually care?" Todoroki asked, perhaps picking up on the same thing, and Mineta slumped in his chair with a groan.
"No, not really," he admitted, surprising Hitoshi. "I mean, I don't even know the girls in 1-B, and there's way bigger stuff to worry about, so it's not like it's a big deal to me."
"Then why complain?" Hitoshi asked.
"I don't know! It just feels like it's supposed to be a big deal to me even if it's not anymore! But lately everything just feels so wrong and messed up, so I at least want to try to keep some things normal!"
"By being a pervert?"
"I'm supposed to be the classic comic relief character! The classmate with the perverted streak who's still lovable!"
"If that's what you think, you kinda suck at it, dude. You lean more towards 'creep' than 'lovable' with your antics."
Mineta whined some more while Hitoshi nonchalantly returned to eating, secretly amused by his classmate's dismay. It might not be the sort of comic relief Mineta intended, but his reaction was still pretty funny.
After swallowing another bite of his lunch, he glanced at Iida. "Is that true though? Someone's leaving 1-B?"
Iida's jaw clenched. "I would rather not repeat rumors without any firm basis," he said stiffly, and Hitoshi knew he wouldn't get any further information from him. He'd have to ask someone else for the information then.
Investigating would have to wait. The lunch bell rang soon after, and they resumed their hellish intensive classes. By the time the final bell rang, Hitoshi's brain was too fried to think of anything but getting home and napping to recoup some mental energy. He and Ojiro returned to the other boy's apartment, still in tense silence, and Hitoshi barely remembered to set an alarm on his phone before passing out on top of his sleeping bag.
As his consciousness faded, his last thought was to thank Asui again. It really was a good sleeping bag.
Mineta's pervert tendencies is absolutely a failed attempt at a classic comic relief trope in anime. But outside that, his other reactions and lines can be pretty funny! I still think he'd probably be one of the most popular characters if it wasn't for the perversion streak. He's got some of the best expressions in the whole show, he'd be a gold mine for memes if he wasn't so hated.
Also, the draft is finally nearing completion, so I'm going to be trying to ramp up posting so I can have it done by Halloween. Tis Spooky Season after all~