This was a mistake. With two broken arms and his face still heavily bandaged, his movements were rather limited. Aizawa knew he would need someone to help him for a while; it was only logical without the use of his arms. He had settled on Yamada instead of Akari for a few reasons, but the most important was that he had no desire to have her help him in the bathroom if it came up.
They had just arrived at the blond hero's apartment, Yamada having brought him home from the hospital. The blond had talked the entire time, but only about what was going on at the school. It was puzzling because Aizawa knew that he must have seen Akari at least once after the USJ incident.
Settling himself on the couch, he stared at the wall numbly. Everything hurt, but he intended to go to the school the next day so he was trying to overcome his pain. "How's Akari?" he finally asked, his voice muffled.
Yamada returned from putting away some groceries and sat on the other end of the couch. He had started to peel an apple and frowned when he heard Akari's name. "Shouta, you never told me that her new friend was a guy!"
"What?" Aizawa felt some emotion bubbling up. Some horrifying mix of anger, irritation, and something else. I guess I don't remember if she told me or not. Still. I don't like it. Shifting his gaze so he could look at Yamada from the corner of his eye, he scowled behind his bandages. "Did you meet him?"
"No, but listen! There's more! Akari said that he helped her get home after she left Recovery Girl! He was at her apartment, Shouta! I don't like this!"
The dark-haired hero gritted his teeth and looked away again. "She can have whatever friends she wants," he forced out.
"Shouta, what if he did something to her?! And she got super defensive when I told her that he might be dangerous! I think we need to-!"
"What are you doing?"
Yamada paused and looked down at the apple he had been peeling. It was basically ruined; the peel had been removed and then most of the actual fruit beneath it. "This isn't important! What if that guy-?!"
"Why were you even peeling an apple? I don't want any."
"Shouta, are you seriously not worried about this?! Akari has a guy friend that neither of us have met! What if he's a serial killer? Or he might be part of that group that attacked the USJ!"
Aizawa closed his eyes and sank back against the couch, his arms aching. He was starting to feel drained and he knew it was not simply from his injuries. The thought of her being alone with a complete stranger unsettled him. To make matters worse, she was so protective of them. It made him wonder how she really felt about her new "friend". "Call her."
"What? You want me to call her to come over?" Yamada's expression brightened at the idea. He saw Aizawa nod and happily pulled his phone from his pocket. "Hey, Akari, baby! Come over to my place for dinner! Shouta just got out of the hospital so he's here, too, and he wants to see your gorgeous smiling face!"
Do you really have to flirt with her every time you talk to her? However, as irritated as he was with Yamada, he had to admit that the blond was far less threatening than the stranger. When it was confirmed that Akari was going to visit, he relaxed slightly.
"So are you going to ask her about him?"
"No. If we ask her now, she'll just get upset. Give it some time. Didn't you just talk to her about him today?" He saw Yamada nod. "So we won't bring it up again for a while."
"Wait, so we're just dropping the subject?! Shouta, he might be a bad guy!"
"Which is why you're going to try to get information on him without her knowing." If the man was as bad as Yamada suspected, they would take action. Even if he was still recovering, Aizawa was not going to let someone hurt Akari again. Not after what he had witnessed at the USJ.
He had seen her get injured and it filled him with rage. Aizawa had become all the more determined to get to her before it could get worse. That was when he heard the blue-haired villain mention taking her. His blood ran cold and he knew then that he had to stop her from getting close to the villain again. When he succeeded in putting distance between them, he could see that the villain was furious at being denied his hostage. It left him extremely unsettled.
Shift P.O.V
It had never felt so good to smoke. Lighting a cigarette, he had to fight the smile that threatened to curve his mouth. Jin tucked away his lighter and inhaled, happiness settling throughout him. The past day had been good. He had so much time with her and he had even made her smile a few times.
He hated to leave, but he knew that she had things to attend to. She was supposed to go to work the next day. Is she really healed enough for that? She looks fine! He ran a hand over his hair and began walking back toward his motel.
As he walked along the sidewalk, Jin found himself actually looking at the people around him. Students and office workers, moving at a quick pace in their haste to return home. Women returning from shopping. Couples walking and holding hands, smiling. That caught his interest now.
Jin tried to imagine walking with Akari and holding her hand. Her hands were so slender and pale. Delicate. I bet it would feel pretty nice. No way! Her fingers are always bloody! He rubbed the back of his neck and frowned to himself. The man had been in a good mood, but now he was forced to think about certain things.
After being with her for an extended amount of time, he knew that what he felt for her was definitely love. He remembered waking up at one point the previous night and finding Akari asleep, pressed against his side with an arm resting across his chest. She had felt so warm and soft. Just thinking about it made him happy. However, there was a part of him that wanted more.
He could not help wondering what it might be like to be with her the way that these passing couples were together. Sleeping together. Waking up in the morning to see her slumbering peacefully beside him. Or seeing her smile at him. The thought of that made him half-smile.
Unfortunately for Jin, he had completely forgotten a detail that would most certainly complicate things. Akari had a boyfriend. She even mentioned having a boyfriend. However, when he thought about it, the contradictory thoughts convinced him that he must be mistaken. There was no way that she could have a boyfriend. She lived alone. She had nothing in her apartment, apart from his flowers, to show that she was romantically involved with anyone.
As he started to think about how well he had slept that night, he remembered her injuries. The chunk of flesh that had been disintegrated off of her shoulder. The broken wrist. The bruises and scrapes. Jin's mouth twisted into a deep frown and his anger ignited.
She said he had blue hair and red eyes. No; it was red hair and blue eyes! Where do I even start to look? His hands slid into his pockets and he clutched his mask. He had resisted the urge to put it on while in front of Akari. When he felt overwhelmed, between cooking dinner and her waking up, he had gone into the bathroom for a while and wore the mask to make himself feel stable.
The man's gaze skimmed over the people on the sidewalk, wary of staring at any one person for too long. None of them had blue hair. Blowing some smoke to the side, Jin resumed walking. He had no plans for the evening; he had a feeling that the red-haired hero was going to stay in that night. Akari was just doing her job. That psycho didn't have to hurt her. She shouldn't have been fighting without me!
He held a hand to the side of his head, gritting his teeth as he started to feel like he was splitting apart. With his attention divided, Jin accidentally bumped a figure in a black sweatshirt with their hood pulled up. A pair of red eyes briefly narrowed upon him when he apologized and then the person turned away. What's their problem? They look like they need a hug!
Shift P.O.V
"Yikes! Can you believe that?"
"What? What's going on?" Akari returned to the couch with a bowl of popcorn, seating herself between Aizawa and Yamada. The television was set to the news and she saw the caption "Brutal Alley Slaying". I got up for a minute and missed something like that?
"Someone was killed," Aizawa stated bluntly. He slouched forward a little, propping his cast-covered arms on his legs. "I'm tired."
Yamada reached behind Akari to pat him on the back, earning a growl in response. "You want to go to bed, Shouta?"
"I don't want to sleep here." Despite the firmness of his tone, he knew it would have no effect on Yamada. When the blond offered to help him to the guest room, he paused and looked toward Akari. "Hey. If I have to play sleepover, so do you. Come to the guest room to sleep."
Akari felt a rush of warmth rise to her face, but she nodded. He's injured. How romantic can it really get? Still…I'm just glad that he seems to be okay. She turned her gaze back to the television screen and she felt her stomach twist in knots. The news anchors were talking again.
"So far tonight, there have been three victims. None of them seem to have anything in common besides having blue hair."
No. Goose bumps rose on her skin when she heard that detail. The news anchors continued to talk about the murders. The cause of death for one was blunt force trauma to the head. The other two had been strangled. No. No way. No. It can't be…right? There's just no way!
"We do have a few eyewitnesses that claim to have seen a man wearing a black and white mask approach the victims before their estimated time of death. If anyone has any details about this possible suspect, please call-"
Akari wrapped her arms around herself, the sick feeling in her stomach increasing until she almost felt nauseas. She bowed her head, closing her eyes. Black and white mask. That man…he wouldn't actually kill…would he? Remembering how viciously he went after the criminal that almost punched her, she felt as though a cold hand was gripping her heart.
"Akari, baby! Hey, do you want to cuddle and watch a movie a before bed or-?" Yamada paused in the doorway and put his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow. "Akaaaariiiii! You okay, babe?"
Looking to her friend, she attempted to stay calm and nodded. If it was him…if it was my admirer…how did he know about the blue-haired villain? That was when she remembered how adamant Jin had been about knowing what her attacker looked like.
