Chapter 10
In life, Kuroiro Shihai had pitch-black skin and ghastly white hair.
Hitoshi had no idea how he looked in death, and he wanted to keep it that way. The only thing he knew was that he still had white hair, and that was more than enough.
He'd already have plenty of nightmares after learning that Kuroiro's body had been dismembered and scattered among the cherry blossom trees.
School got shut down early, all students herded into their classrooms while police came to investigate. The only exceptions were Hitoshi, Shouji and Tokoyami, the ones who'd witnessed the head. They were shepherded to the infirmary get some medicine to help them calm down. and eventually answer questions from police. Shouji was able to overhear some conversation in the hallway, which is how Hitoshi knew that they'd found more of Kuroiro's body in other trees, hidden too high to be seen from before.
Hitoshi's conversation with Todoroki kept flitting through his mind. Cold slowed decomposition, but the past few weeks since school started had fair weather every day. Never too hot, never too cold. But from that sound when it hit the ground, he had to think it'd been rotting for a while (and fuck if that wasn't a horrific thing to think). It wouldn't have sounded like that if it was still perfectly solid.
Four weeks was far too long to still be solid.
"He never left, did he," he whispered to Aizawa, clutching at his head as he sat on one of the beds in the infirmary. His teacher sat in a chair next to him, having left one of the other teachers to watch the rest of their class. Shouji had left to answer more questions from the police and Tokoyami had asked to go to another room to be alone, leaving Hitoshi to ramble and vent as needed.
And he definitely needed to vent, unable to contain the thoughts. "He never fucking left campus when he started calling out. He's been gone all along. He's been dead since the second week of school."
He heard Aizawa shift in his chair. "It's too soon to say anything for certain, but at this point, you're probably right," he admitted gravely.
"How?" Hitoshi gasped, tearing his hands from his face to look at his teacher wide-eyed. "How did nobody notice?"
"Not many kids go to that particular area even in regular years since it's so far from the main building, and there aren't many security cameras there either. That pathway leads to a training ground that usually gets used in summer, so it doesn't get much traffic at this time of year other than security robots doing patrols."
It was just enough information for Hitoshi to hang his head again, squeezing his eyes shut. If Kuroiro was killed the second week, then someone had been impersonating him to call out. Why would they stop though? What did it mean?
He didn't know, and he didn't really care. He just wanted this to all be a horrible, bad dream.
"Sensei," he said shakily. "What happens next?"
Aizawa was silent, and then, quietly, "I don't know, kid. I don't know."
A minute later, Hitoshi learned Aizawa was surprisingly good at hugs even with two broken arms. He wrapped Hitoshi in a tight embrace while he cried and sobbed, burying his face against the man's chest. He probably got a lot of snot and tears on the front of Aizawa's jumpsuit, but he didn't seem to mind. Just like Hitoshi didn't mind the thick casts digging into his back.
Needless to say, the rest of the afternoon was one of the worst of his life.
When police cleared students to leave, they needed a guardian or other adult to pick them up for their own safety. A measure not usually taken, but a necessary one with everything else that happened lately. A lot of kids had marveled at seeing Endeavor personally arrive along with one of his sidekicks, or so Hitoshi heard from the kids who needed to wait a bit longer.
"I think he went to Nezu's office," Sero reported with wide eyes. He and a bunch of others were in the hall outside the infirmary, having been herded there to wait under Recovery Girl's supervision. Most of the other teachers and faculty were busy talking to the investigators and searching the grounds, or else coordinating the parent pickups, so she and some Ectoplasm clones were the only ones free to watch them.
Hitoshi could see some of them through the partially open door, still sitting on the bed with knees hugged to his chest. Ojiro sat in the chair next to him in silent solidarity, the infirmary otherwise empty. Even with the distance between the bed and door, Hitoshi was able to see the way Sero's eyes gleamed excitedly as he talked about what he saw. "Burnin' took Todoroki home, and took Kouda and Satou with them too."
"I think I saw Iida's parents go there too," Ashido said. "They were wearing armor just like his and everything!"
"It's crazy, there's so many heroes showing up!" some kid Hitoshi didn't know said, sounding equally excited.
"I know we see heroes every day, but it's still so wild to see so many show up!"
"It's not wild or exciting at all," someone snapped. "Are you guys crazy? Something bad obviously happened!"
"Yeah, but hasn't a bunch of bad stuff happened anyway? What's the big difference?"
The big difference was that this time there was a body on campus, Hitoshi thought, but kept his mouth tightly shut as he hugged his knees closer to his chest. Aizawa had told him they wouldn't announce the murder to most of the students while still on campus. Some, like Ojiro, got told earlier, but most would be in the dark until UA announced it tonight, after they were off campus and in the safety of their own homes. After all, a bunch of panicking teenagers with superpowers would be a surefire recipe for disaster.
Unfortunately, that meant Hitoshi got to hear everyone speculate on why school was canceled. "Do you think someone got murdered?" someone asked, and he winced. Ojiro frowned and reached out a hand to touch his arm in a reassuring gesture.
"I don't know, don't you think they'd announce that?"
"What else could it be though?"
"Maybe they found a bomb!"
"Do you really think a bunch of Pro Heroes wouldn't know how to disarm a bomb?"
"Well, what if it's a nuclear bomb?"
"That's ridiculous!"
"Maybe someone called in some kind of crazy threat, like leaking a bunch of student profiles if they didn't cancel school."
"That's... weirdly specific."
"It could happen!"
"I still think murder is way more likely!"
Hitoshi winced again, biting down on his lip hard enough until he tasted iron. The taste of blood made him flinch and shudder, vividly reminded of the brief glimpse of dirty white among the pale, pale pink-white of the blossoms. Make them stop, he silently pleaded, but didn't dare open his mouth to voice that.
Thankfully he heard the door mercifully close and block any further conversation, but he still felt Ojiro's hand on his arm so it wasn't him. He glanced over to see Monoma standing inside, looking unusually pale and somber. He stood in front of the now-closed door for a moment before heaving a shaky breath, slowly walking forward.
"I... don't think any of us need to hear that right now," he muttered.
"So you heard about what happened?" Ojiro asked, and the other blond nodded.
"Vlad-sensei told me. I just... damn." He shook his head as he joined them, and lightly placed his hands on both their shoulders. Hitoshi flinched at the contact, and Monoma quickly withdrew his hands, frowning down at them. "Alright, you're definitely you. That's good to know."
"Did you just test us?" Ojiro asked, sounding more surprised than offended, and the other boy nodded.
"I also used my Quirk on Tokoyami and Shouji to make absolutely sure it was them before they left. The teachers asked me to check." He sighed again, sitting on the empty bed next to Hitoshi's. "Just... today is..." He trailed off, unable to really formulate words. Hitoshi could relate all too well.
"Does anyone else from your class know yet?" Ojiro asked, but Monoma gave a halfhearted shrug.
"I'm not entirely sure. Vlad-sensei pulled me aside so he could ask me to check you out personally. They might have also told Tokage, since she and I usually leave together, but... I don't know. What about your class, though?"
Ojiro grimaced. "Well, they didn't outright tell anyone this, but me, Iida and Sero were at the table when Shouji called Tokoyami about the shoe." Hitoshi flinched yet again at the reminder, and Ojiro gave his arm a brief squeeze as he continued. "A few kids nearby could've heard that. I know I saw Jirou looking over at us when Tokoyami went to get a teacher, and she's got enhanced hearing from her Quirk, so..."
He trailed off and shrugged feebly. "As for... the rest," he hesitated, grimace growing even more strained, "I don't think the teachers would tell them. I only got told because Shinsou's been staying with me, and he... kinda needs the support."
"I would imagine so, I canʼt begin to picture how you must feel right now," Monoma murmured, and Hitoshi shuddered.
"You... You probably have it worse, though," he said, speaking for the first time in... two hours, probably. Since he cried while hugging Aizawa. "I mean, he was your classmate. You, you actually knew him..." And this was also the second murder in 1-B, he thought but didn't say. At least 1-A had some hope that their missing classmates were alive, but 1-B had absolutely no illusions about that.
Monoma looked distinctly uncomfortable, frowning as he folded his arms. "It... isn't as bad for me as you would think," he admitted reluctantly. "Kuroiro was in our class, but he only attended the first two weeks. Honestly, I think I only ever spoke to him once. So, it hasnʼt hit me nearly as hard. Maybe itʼs just shock, but right now, I would say you came the worst out of this."
Hitoshi frowned, fingers digging into his arms as he averted his gaze. "I... didn't see much," he muttered. "I closed my eyes the second I realized what it was." But he still saw the hair, saw the blur of white in the corner of his eye as he landed in Shouji's arms. He'd never forget the slightly dirty tinge to it after being exposed to the elements for so long, or the horrific stench and the squelch.
"You still saw more than we did though," Monoma pointed out, and Hitoshi clamped his mouth shut, unable to argue that point. Especially since he was currently fighting another sudden bout of nausea at the memories. "I know Tokoyami and Shouji already left. Will you two be leaving soon?"
"Honestly, I don't think so," Ojiro sighed. "My folks will come get me later, but we can't take Shinsou with us. My grandma's health is pretty bad so she moved in with us last year, and introducing someone new... won't end well." He grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck. "And meanwhile, Shinsouʼs folks are out of town so they canʼt come right away."
"Wedding," Hitoshi managed to rasp. "In New Zealand." Monoma startled, eyes going wide.
"New Zealand?" he repeated incredulously, and Hitoshi could only nod. It was the wedding of his motherʼs lifelong best friend, who had moved there for work and fallen in love with a local. His parents had been planning to attend the wedding for a year now, and it wouldnʼt be easy for them to return on short notice. A direct flight alone would be over eleven hours. Otherwise, he knew they would be here in a heartbeat.
"Aizawa-sensei said he'd take Shinsou home," Ojiro said to sum it up. "I already told my parents to wait a while so he won't be alone the whole time."
"That's... good," Monoma murmured, nodding slowly. "Still, I just... I wish we knew something about what's going on." He sighed, and Ojiro frowned.
"Just out of curiosity, has anyone in 1-B been acting... off?" he asked hesitantly, and Monoma's frown grew, clearly catching onto his train of thought.
"Not that I've noticed. Komori was quieter than usual today, but she was out sick yesterday and is still probably recovering. Yanagi said something about sensing a dark and dreary presence today, but..." He trailed off, and Ojiro frowned.
"That sounds suspicious."
"A bit I suppose, but she's a bit of an occult fanatic from what I know, so I don't know if that actually means something. Itʼs best to take her words with a grain of salt, I think. In any event, both of them already went home. Have either of you noticed any odd behavior in your class?"
"Hard to say," Ojiro admitted reluctantly. "Kaminari called out sick, so between that and the thing with Kouda, Satou and Shouji, everyone was kinda paranoid today."
"That reminds me, I also cleared Kouda and Satou," Monoma commented. "I have to meet Kouda directly to use my Quirk on him, and I tested Satou this afternoon just to be safe." That was a relief to hear. Hitoshi figured they were safe since they apparently stayed with Mic last night, but it was good to get extra confirmation. "Anyways, I should go now. My aunt should be arriving soon, and I need to tell the teachers you two are clear before I leave."
"Did they really think we weren't?" Ojiro asked.
"No, but better to be sure. I'll... see you whenever classes resume, I guess." He gave them a brief nod before leaving. As he slipped through the door they could catch snippets of more wild speculation outside, but then Monoma closed the door again and the sound was muffled once more. Hitoshi exhaled shakily, hugging his knees a little tighter as he buried his face against them.
Ojiroʼs hand remained a steady presence on his arm.
Around an hour later, Ojiroʼs mother arrived and he left after giving Hitoshi a brief hug. Most of the other students had also been picked up by that point, leaving the hall outside markedly quiet compared to earlier. Recovery Girl asked Hitoshi to leave the door open and he obliged, just sitting on the bed and listening as more and more students bid each other farewell.
Half an hour after Ojiro left, Recovery Girl entered the infirmary with Aizawa in tow and removed the casts on his arms. They looked pale compared to the rest of his skin, the thin hairs standing out as very dark in sharp contrast. Hitoshi didnʼt know if they were always that dark, or if they just looked that way because they hadnʼt been exposed to light in so long.
"I was planning to remove these tomorrow after school, but one day early wonʼt hurt," the heroine huffed. "Especially because I know youʼre going straight home." Aizawa nodded stiffly and turned to Hitoshi.
"Come on kid, letʼs go," he said gently. It felt odd Aizawa was leaving so early with everything going on, but Hitoshi didnʼt feel like talking so he just nodded.
Aizawa didn't have a car and neither of them wanted to deal with crowds that came with public transportation, so a police officer volunteered to drive them home. The ride passed mostly in silence, save for when they stopped at a store to get some extra blankets and a pillow. The only time Hitoshi spoke was to say which pillow would work best. Then they were at Aizawaʼs apartment, alone once more.
"Sorry itʼs so empty," his teacher said as they walked inside, which might be an understatement. The only furniture besides the kitchen was a couch and a table, both of which looked surprisingly modern and new. They felt out of place with the rest of the empty apartment. Noting Hitoshi's stare, Aizawa huffed softly and explained, "Mic and Midnight bought those after USJ. I was stuck living with Mic for a while, so they took advantage of my absence to buy this stuff."
Somehow, the fact Aizawa originally didn't have any furniture wasn't too surprising to Hitoshi. He got the feeling that if the kitchen didn't come with a built-in oven and stove, Aizawa probably wouldn't have bothered with any appliances either.
Aizawa put the bag with his laptop and papers on the table, and Hitoshi dropped his backpack and suitcase on the couch. Ojiro's mother had stopped at the blond's apartment before coming to UA to pack Hitoshi's clothes, so luckily he'd be fine for the weekend. It occurred to him that he hadn't thanked her for that, just nodded at her. He'd have to do that if they saw each other again.
"I'll grab us some water," Aizawa said, heading to the kitchen. "Sorry I don't have a television or anything. If you want, we can stream something on my computer though." Hitoshi didn't respond, just sat on the couch and frowned at Aizawa's laptop bag.
"Why are you here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be at school helping?"
"There's not much I can do right now to help," Aizawa replied as he returned, putting two water bottles on the table. "The investigation just started, and there are plenty of heroes and police on scene. My time is better spent with you." Hitoshi continued to frown, not sure he fully agreed, but... what could Aizawa do that the others couldn't? Erasure wouldn't give him some special edge in investigating, and he didn't teach Kuroiro so he wouldn't need to contact his parents or anything.
"Could you tell me what they know?" Hitoshi found himself asking. "Please?"
Aizawa frowned, crossing his arms. "Shinsou, even without the confidentiality issues of discussing active cases, I really don't think you should hear about the details."
He was probably right, but... Hitoshi still couldn't help it. "I just... I just want to know there's some kind of progress," he whispered, pulling his knees to his chest again. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his face against them, voice slightly muffled as he mumbled, "I hate being in the dark so much."
Aizawa was silent for a long while, but eventually he sighed and sank onto the couch cushion next to Hitoshi. "I'm not going to tell you anything," he said tiredly. "I'm sorry kid, but it's too sensitive right now, and besides that, you're not in the best place either. I have nothing I can say that would reassure you."
Hitoshi's heart sank, and he hugged his knees even tighter. "So you don't have any leads at all," he muttered, and heard his teacher sigh.
"I couldn't tell you even if we did because of all the legal red tape involved. All I can say is that we're still in the early stages of the investigation. We don't even have any conclusive evidence on whether this is linked to whoever has been infiltrating UA."
That barely helped Hitoshi's mood, just inhaling a shaky breath. "When are they making the announcement?" he asked instead, and there was a pause. He heard the shuffle of fabric, and he peeked open one eye to see Aizawa had retrieved his phone from his pocket.
"Pretty soon," he said as he glanced at the screen. "Snipe texted a bit ago that Nezu's drafting the statement to send to the press. He'll email all the parents and students first, but he wants that done in advance so he can inform the media immediately so they'll hear about it from UA instead of kids taking to social media. The media is already aware that something is happening though."
Hitoshi snorted, fully aware of that. Though the police car they rode exited through a back gate used by faculty, there had still been some gawkers hovering there. He couldn't begin to imagine how the front gates must have looked. UA couldn't exactly cover up all the police or the fact it was calling parents to pick up kids after all.
"If you want, you can look at the email and announcement when it's sent out. It probably won't have anything new to you though, just an announcement of the victim's identity. But since I have my phone out anyway, I'm ordering takeout." The sudden announcement took Hitoshi by surprise, staring almost incredulously as his teacher continued, "There's sushi and donburi places pretty close by, but I can order something else if you want something in particular."
"Don't you have any food here?" Hitoshi asked with a frown.
"No. I already told you I was stuck at Mic's place for a while. I only came back last night so he'd have room for Satou and Kouda." Ah right, Hitoshi forgot about that. "I figured I'd order takeout, and then we can watch a movie on my computer. If it's on any streaming service, chances are I have that."
"Do you really pay for streaming?" Given how empty Aizawa's apartment was, he didn't think the man would bother to set up accounts for one streaming service, let alone... every single one, potentially?
"I don't," Aizawa replied, confirming his suspicions. "But Kayama—that's Midnight to you—saved her login information for pretty much every streaming service in existence on my computer. Said I could use the entertainment." His voice took on a particularly dry note, and Hitoshi snorted. "But anyways, so we order in dinner, and spend the rest of the night streaming whatever movies or TV shows you want to watch. Sound like a plan?"
Hitoshi thought it over, and then nodded. "Yeah. I don't have any better ideas, I guess." It would beat being alone with his thoughts at least. He frowned as he added, "But... I don't know what I want to eat." Honestly, the idea of any food sounded less than ideal right now and made his stomach churn. He had no idea what he'd be able to stomach.
Aizawa hummed in thought. "I'll check if there's anywhere that sells soup then," he decided. "Some kind of vegetable soup and rice. Those should be a bit easier to stomach." Hitoshi nodded, figuring Aizawa was probably on the right track.
After all, he'd probably seen far more bodies than Hitoshi had.
Aizawa made the call and soon enough a delivery driver showed up, dropping off two cardboard containers. Hitoshi didn't know exactly what kind of soup Aizawa ordered, but the smell felt like the opposite of the putrid stench that had filled that—nope, not thinking about it.
He firmly pushed the memory out of mind as he and Aizawa sat on the floor around the table using two ordinary pillows as cushions. The pair ate dinner largely in silence, but it wasnʼt a tense or uncomfortable one. The only conversation they had was about what to watch, with Aizawa okaying literally everything Hitoshi mentioned. Literally everything. Hitoshi was amused when even suggestions of kidsʼ shows like Togo the Bouncy Dog or Mew Mew Kitty Kid got just a shrug.
In the end, Hitoshi took pity on his teacher and chose a funny show he used to watch with his parents instead. On other nights he would probably choose something more serious, or hero-related, but tonight, he didn't want to think about anything like that. He just wanted to let his brain shut down and laugh at all the ridiculous disasters that somehow centered on this one market street trying to attract more customers.
For a few, precious hours, he got to put everything out of his mind and feel a little normal. Just a little bit.
Meanwhile, news of the body's discovery went public and Japan immediately went up in arms, internet message boards exploding with speculation.
A certain girl frowned as she laid on a couch looking at the seemingly endless stream of articles on her phone. "Hmm, that's no good, is it?" she mused. "No, that's very not good. That's very bad."
A muffled whine responded to her, and she tipped her head back over the arm of the couch to look at her captive. "Oh right, it's almost dinner time. I'll feed you, just promise not to try anything! I need to borrow your face again tomorrow I think, but then I shouldn't need you anymore, okay?"
The muffled grunt was almost indignant, and the girl grinned, revealing sharp incisors. "Don't worry. This will all be over soon."
Her smile faded as she lifted her head and sat up, frowning down at her phone. "It has to."
Kuroiro is now confirmed dead.
That scene is the whole reason I had to take the hiatus. I originally wrote it as the end of Chapter 4, but I knew it would end with UA temporarily closing. We're now in the final stretch. The truth will be revealed soon enough.