Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I just couldn't find the motivation to write. My update schedule will kinda just be whenever I get the motivation. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Kuboro woke up to the sunlight from the smaller window next to him. The sun was nice and all, but he still preferred rainy days. He still loved sunshine! Occasionally, it motivated him through the day without having to have his large black coffee. Was he slowly becoming Shouta? Only in some ways, Kuboro still didn't understand how he could sleep for an entire day!

The events of yesterday hit him like a truck. He technically adopted a kid! Right now, he couldn't legally adopt Hitoshi. At least not until he gets a fake identity and takes all the proper classes needed for taking care of a kid. He didn't believe those classes existed until Tensei wanted to take a few to better care of his baby brother. Surprisingly, they worked so well that Tenya's first word was Tensei. Maybe he could ask him for help?

He immediately shook that thought away. All for One knew who his friends were. If Kuboro were to go back to them, that villain would get rid of them before he could blink. Until he had a solid plan to kill him, he had to stay far away from all of them. It hurts so much, but it's for their own good. Thankfully, All for One will most likely not target Hitoshi since he has no idea who his "warp gate" is close to.

With Hitoshi on his mind, Kuboro went to check on him. He was still dead to the world sleeping soundly on the couch. It was so adorable! He might as well attempt to make breakfast for him. Hitoshi deserves it after all he's gone through (Kuboro doesn't exactly know the details, but it seems terrible).

He quickly made his way over to his mini-fridge. Hopefully, this time there was something edible

in there. There was only some disgusting tofu inside last time. Probably from when he wanted to piss off that annoying vegan trying to force some little kids onto a vegan diet. Kuboro might've stolen her food while getting those kids away from her.

Bracing himself, he opened the fridge door. Inside was just a bunch of sushi. Honestly, that wasn't so bad. It was his favorite food but did Hitoshi even like sushi? Was he allergic? The mist man calmly reminded himself in that worst-case scenario, all he had to do was go to the grocery store. With that in mind, he grabbed some of the sushi and some chopsticks from a drawer.

He didn't even need to use the microwave to heat it! Another reason sushi is the best. As he set the sushi on a plate, he could hear Hitoshi getting up. The boy was walking around the warehouse aimlessly. Kuboro carefully went up to him with breakfast.

"Oh, you're awake. I made sushi for breakfast! Well, I didn't make it, but sushi is sushi!" Kuboro said.

Hitoshi flinched back at the sound of Kuboro's voice. He stared at the man with wide eyes.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! Are you good?"

"Last night wasn't a dream?"

Though, he didn't ask it like a question. It was more like a statement of wonder and awe. It made the mist man's heart feel happy and sad simultaneously.

"Yeah, everything was real. Somethings just seem unbelievable at times, don't they?" Kuboro affirmed.

"It still feels like one. Nothing feels real right now."

"That's okay. It doesn't have to feel real. You just need time."

Hitoshi sleepy nodded at that statement. He didn't seem to have much else to say. At that moment, his stomach loudly grumbled.

"Hungry? I have some sushi for us to eat. It's not much, but I'll stop by the store sometime today."

The kid thought it for about a minute before slowly nodding his head. Kuboro handed over the plate of sushi and some chopsticks. His chopsticks hovered over the food before he went for it. The second the food made it to Hitoshi's mouth, his eyes lit up. He started scarfing down more pieces of sushi. Suddenly, he looked up at Kuboro and stopped.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have eaten all your food."

"Don't worry it's fine. I've been meaning to get some groceries anyway. Besides, we need to go to the mall to get some stuff for you."

"I don't need anything. This is enough."

"Remember what I said last night? You're worth it, Hitoshi."

The boy looked at Kuboro with a slightly confused expression, but just ended up slowly nodding his head. Hitoshi still needed healing, but this was a good start.

After about an hour, they both arrived at the mall. It wasn't too far away; they just needed to take a short train ride. Kuboro had tried his best to disguise himself. It was hard though since all the mist could be recognized so easily. He was wearing a bucket hat with sunglasses and a coat. He looked suspicious as heck but it at least covered his yellow eyes and arms.

Hitoshi didn't necessarily need a disguise, but it was better to be safe than sorry. His parents did throw him out, but that doesn't mean they didn't make some kind of the cover story of him dying or going missing. If they did, Kuboro was going to find them and give them a little chat (that they would never come back from). So he ended up giving the kid some sunglasses and a very oversized coat.

It was the middle of the summer, so they looked even more suspicious. It was worth it seeing some people's funny reactions though. The second some lady saw them, she tried to move to the other side of the train. When there wasn't any more space, she glared at Kuboro the entire way there.

Right now, Kuboro needed to find a good thrift shop. He didn't exactly have a lot of money to spend right now. At one point, he had a good amount of money from the doctor's lab, but he was still learning how to save money. The mist man ended up buying a lot of overpriced things, like his mini-fridge. That's why he stays away from any type of salesman.

After searching for a few minutes, Kuboro found one in the corner of the mall. Hitoshi was right by his side but was still keeping a distance. Again, a good start; he just needed to get more trust.

"I've never seen a store like this before," Hitoshi commented.

"Oh! It's called a thrift shop! They sell old clothes for pretty cheap. Tell me if you see anything you like."

They looked around for a bit and found a few shirts, shorts, and a coat for Hitoshi. Nothing looked that interesting until they came across some cat sweaters. Kuboro stood there for a minute, remembering that time he saw Shouta's baby pictures.

Shouta finally invited Hizashi and Oboro over to his house. The cat cafe they usually hang out at was closed for the day. They couldn't figure out where to hang out after school until Shouta quietly offered his place since his parents were both on a business trip. Oboro was excited to see his friend's house. It could have anything! He hoped this would help him get to know Shouta better.

The trio walked up to his house talking about hero training. Oboro managed to trip and break his nose this time. Usually, it's a bloody nose, but he tripped a little too hard this time. Recovery Girl was just looked so over it when he entered her office.

The house wasn't that big, but not that big either. Shouta grabbed his house key and quickly unlocked the door for them. The inside wasn't anything too interesting. Most of the colors were dull with almost no bright colors. The only thing interesting was some of the pictures.

"Yo dude! Is that you in that photo?" Hizashi asked.

"Yeah. I was like five or something."

The photo was of Shouta wearing a super cute cat sweater. That wasn't the main thing Oboro noticed. Shouta was smiling! It wasn't one of his creepy smiles or a small one. It was a wide, toothy smile! It made Oboro smile and want to see that smile in person.

"You had good taste as a kid, Shouta!"

He didn't say anything at that compliment. Instead, he blushed a bit.

The trio tried to do their homework but got distracted and played truth or dare instead. It ended with a broken window.

He never actually got Shouta to smile that wide. He got close, but it was never like that smile. The cat sweater looked exactly like that one. Hitoshi eyed it the entire time he was reminiscing but never asked.

"Do you want the sweater?"

"I don't need it."

"Doesn't matter if you need it. Do you want it?"

Hitoshi nodded once again, so Kuboro added it to the cart. For the rest of the shopping trip, he noticed how when the kid wanted something, he never directly asked for it. He phrased it in a statement instead. That was pretty worrying, but he could ponder that later.

The trip went smoothly from there. Kuboro got more essential items and some Present Mic merch Hitoshi wanted (he ignored how his heart throbbed when seeing Hizashi's face on the merch). He even managed to grab some groceries from a store near the mall.

Of course, fate had other plans for after the trip. They were both walking back from the warehouse. Hitoshi was close to holding his hand this time! A thug walked up to them.

"Well, well, if it isn't Kurogiri. All for One is still after you. And I'm going to be the one to turn him in!"

Normally, Kuboro would ignore this guy and teleport away, but Hitoshi was here with him. Kuboro couldn't focus as this thug took out a knife and put it to the boy's throat.

"Move or the kid gets it!"

Hitoshi looked at Kuboro with a look of pure fear. Instead of screaming, he asked a one-word question.

"Why?"

"It'll be ok-"

The last thing Kuboro remembered from that was the thug grunting. Then, his mind went blurry for what felt like hours.

When his mind went back to normal, the thug was unconscious, but Hitoshi was nowhere to be seen.