I hate school.
Chapter 4.2
Days moved on, the last of the cherry blossoms disappeared and summer moved into the country. Many started looking forward towards the summer holidays. Some families would find the time to go swimming in the ocean, some would pick a quiet mountain retreat and some would remain at home. Some would barely change their schedule at all.
Kota would be moving temporarily with his cousin to a more mountainous area so she and her team could host the UA firsties just like the previous year.
That being said, when the part of 'just like the previous year' came up, Kota's mind stopped for a moment, trying to fish out any kind of memory related to that event, only to come out blank as he had never been there with his cousin. Or with anyone else.
"We have hot springs there, many board games and you can always participate in any of the other activities there!"
Once she turned away and left the kitchen, Kota tiredly slipped onto the table, resembling some odd slug. The schoolwork is boring and he would definetelly skip on it if it weren't for his cousin checking on him every now and then to make sure that it is done before making him pack his stuff so he wouldn't be doing that in the morning.
A classmate, whose name he still couldn't recall even though they have been talking every now and then, often swooped in the moment his foot stepped onto the schoolgrounds and asked him to copy it. Kota relented if only to make the guy go away.
He honestly wouldn't have believed that he was looking forward to getting out of this place and away from school. And everything else that came with it.
"What would you like for dinner?" Kota immediatelly went back to the sitting position, hoping that she wouldn't mention. She didn't, right?
Kingu has been missing for about a week and there was not a day when she wouldn't look at him with that question hanging in the air.
Needless to say, their conversations were awkward at the best most of the times. The feeling was only amplified by the fact that she refused to ever leave him alone. whether it was because she was upset with him for not reporting Kingu to her or worried for whatever reason he did not know but leaned towards the first option.
He is not required to tell her anything. Why? Would she want to know every single kid that he talks to?
"I'll… just eat whatever."
No, he had no clue where Kingu could have gone.
One of the positive things about the current situation is that things seemed more peaceful than what they were in a long Kota arrived really. There were no questions regarding how some things accidentally broke, upset outbursts or hiding in his room forn hours, he was not exactly smiling either.
Shino may have met the boy only a few times after he was born, partially due to her bussy profession. But he was always the sort of kid that smiled from ear to ear every time she saw him, right before he pulled something off that got him into a lot of trouble.
She fully admits that she may not have been the best choice of a guardian, but it was a better choice than forcing the boy into the foster system as she was the only relative that had anything resembling a stable home and willing to take him in.
That is what she told herself at least.
She would lie if she said that sometimes she really doubted this decision. Seeing Kota open his heart - even if not fully - to some stranger before her hurt. A stranger who himself looked like a pretty bad can of worms even before she and her colleagues learned about the additional details.
"Don't be worried, it just takes time to get into it!" Her very much blond (and very much still single) team mate encouraged her. "I mean, this is your first time looking after a child, right? I am sure you will get into it!" If there was one time that she really felt like actually punching something, it was that moment.
The last time she felt so incompetent was when she still attended UA, uniform brand new and she not quite realizing what it really meant to be a hero. Remembering those times, now she felt terrified. It took a few nasty blows before she got accustomed to her profession, much like with most heroes worth their salt.
She sighed and leaned against her chair.
Kota is already upstairs hiding in his room.
It also worried her what the other child could have taught him. While he or she did not seem 'evil' at first sight, the big elephant in the corner is that children tend to have this weird knack for cruelty. Speaking hurtful words and doing things that no adult ever would, too innocent to understand their actions until their parents step in and explain it.
Naturally, children that do not have a figure to guide them through this period of growing up have a harder time of dropping this habit, or maybe they won't drop it at all.
The good news is that the green haired kid won't start a fight, even when provoked, which is more than what she could say about a good number of villains so there must be some self reatraint.
But at the same time, It was hard to determine where Kingu stood.
One moment he is not willing to meet her eyes and the next he carries himself with enough confidence to put some of her colleagues to shame. While that could be attributed to his young age, something rang a loud alarm bell in her head, telling her to be careful.
And she couldn't even point out why that would be the case.
Once strong coffee and old energy drink later, she recollected the encounter and realized that she perhaps went wrong about it.
Maybe he was not a stranger to combat. It was in the details: Eyes scanning the surroundings, subtle - subconscious even - shifting of weight, quiet movement of arms in position, ready to block a strike.
She almost felt like laughing when she realized this. Her own expectations that she is talking with a kid caused her to miss something so obvious.
Kingu is NOT a stranger to combat.
One phone call later and she had Aizawa's confirmation. "So It was not just me." So there they got something else to keep in mind. Although to make sure that was the case, it would require a more direct approach and definitely not making everyone wear the softest pair of gloves imaginable while handling the matter to make sure that nobody gets hurt.
Though, fighting a kid was still out of the question. She herself wore those metaphorical gloves.
To summarize, Kingu was a walking mess that nobody ever seemingly bothered to fix. She could tell that he cared about Kota. But it was hard to tell whether his definition of good was the same as hers, or even comparable with a normal person.
While the local villain groups do not seem to have gained an extra member, the information regarding those people always had to be taken with a grain of salt. Especially when it came to the League of Villains.
Shino Sosaki is still determined to protect her cousin.
"Hey! Kota! Can I copy your homework?" Even though it came out like a question, somehow the kid had managed to turn the innocent question into something so irritable and loud that half of the class immediately turned their heads around to look who is dying.
"Do you…fine!"
"Thanks!" Somehow the thanks was even louder than the question before. "Can I also borrow this?"
"Buzz off!"
The moment of pride for finally telling him off was gone in about a split second when the kid produced a sound that was some weird mix between a screeching dying cat and a plane engine. This time the entire class turned around.
Like….
…. what?
"What did I do?!"
The old gaming console poked out of his bag lightly. He had cleaned it and changed it around a bit. Or at least watched some tutorial on how to do it, asked his cousin for necessities, she gave him what she could (within reason) and he put himself to work with Sosaki looking over his shoulder every now and then to make sure everything was alright.
It was a decent job. For a kid. Oh and the color after it dried up changed it's tone bit into an eye gouging neon green. Kota looked at it twice and just accepted defeat after hours of struggling with it.
Maybe if he shines some light on it, it might absorb some like those fluorescent paints and he could use it as a pseudo light?
Yeah, no.
Damn it.
Kota took the console out of his bag while sitting in the school courtyard, half hoping that the empty seat next to him would soon become occupied and they would play for a few minutes before one of them would throw a tantrum about losing to Kota again.
Of course, things did not work like that.
Kota remained sitting alone until it was time to go back inside the building.
Kota tried kicking the stand next to his bed. The leg broke completely this time. That old piece of wood looked like it would remain standing for a moment before it let out a short creaking sound… and promptly fell onto his guilty foot.
Kota once heard a name for this, he thought in between his curses.
Instant karma.
"Hey! Where is your girlfriend!"
"Smoochie, smoochie!"
"Isn't he hanging out with that weirdo, what is his name?"
Kota put his head down, pretending to be immersed in his current game. It was the unwritten rule of going to school to pretend that nothing is going on. Soon enough, the group of bullies would move onto some other target, possibly some quirkless kid.
He really was not in the mood to fight.
Cousin is going to be there soon enough and he does not need trouble. So he continued to press buttons. He has managed to break the high scores several times just that day. If anything, he could brag about that.
"Look around when others are talking to you!"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The leader of the group scoffed and lost his interest. Kota looked around to see him walking away, his gorillas in tow.
Kota sighed, relieved, then went back to his game.
The first sign that something might not be alright came in a form of an odd 'thunk' resembling some object hitting a thin metal roof.
Kota continued to rack up highscore. He has already learned the bosses patterns so he can dodge them much better than before…
The second hint came in a form of a splash.
If he keeps this up, he could double the score from 2 days ago. Just a little further.
Lastly, there was a scream.
The sound itself startled him so much that the console flew out of his hands, right onto the solid ground. Kota looked at it dumbfounded, brain trying to catch up with what has happened.
"What do you think you are doing!" When Kota arrived at the scene, he immediately regretted it. Although it was pretty obvious what was happening - the bullies were very eager to pick a fight that day, something about a new way to use quirk, he still did not expect to find them actually going through with it. And of course, the moment Kota stopped dead, his mouth decided to go ahead and announce itself.
Whenever these guys became a problem, Kingu always handled them, it was pretty hilarious seeing them trip on seemingly nothing, a trick that Kota has yet to figure out.
Needless to say, they did not like Kingu.
Needless to say, they did not like him by extension. However unlike with most kids, Kota had the added benefit of being looked after by a Pro Hero, meaning that he could afford to safely ignore them.
"Kota!"
Unlike the other kids. Thinking about it again, that loudmouth was kind of asking of it by attracting attention like that.
Kota did an instinctive step back.
No. He is not a hero.
Absolutely not.
"Do you want something?" A portion of the area had the loud mouth's things scattered all over, the other side featured the bullies with the unfortunate kid being forced into a small pool of greenish old rain water that gathered over time.
Where is Kingu when he needs him. Kota is not a hero. He can't do this. Maybe if he calls loud enough…?
"Wait, just, please! Leave him alone!"
The group of bullies seemed as surprised as he was with himself. Exactly which part of that sentence contained Kingu's name? Kota took another step back.
"Do you want to join him?!"
He did not think, he just acted. Whatever else the bully wanted to say… well, he did not get a chance to say it. Kota activated his quirk on instinct and the thin water stream did the rest by connecting with his face. His mouth formed a perfect surprised O while Kota grabbed the kid and ran.
The good news was that Kota was not in trouble. At least not in as much trouble as the other kids. After his cousin stopped apologizing, she swiftly took him home, surprisingly very quiet.
Kota tried to do even better when it came to playing invisible than at school as he sat at the sofa. Why is there never a convenient hole to hide in when you need it?
"I am not upset."
Yes. That is what he gathered. Though honestly, he did not get why, because Kota felt exactly that. Upset and angry.
"Kota. I am sure that they would be proud." Like a charm, both of his hands immediately formed into a fist, a mix of emotions swelled inside him even stronger than before.
"No." He could hear steps as Shino came closer and placed a warm hand on his back. "I mean, I am not a hero!"
"If it was not for you than the boy would have been badly injured."
"I..." He could already feel the tears coming.
"Kota...you saved that boy. That is something to be proud of." The gentle rubs helped, but only a little. Emotions continued to swell inside him, anger mixed with sadness.
"Then why didn't I help Kingu?!"
And that with snapped and regretted it. However, looking at her face, he felt even angrier than before. She is a hero, just like they were when they have abandoned him to do their 'job'.
"I mean, It's obvious! Kid in the streets? I bet that his parents also died, he must have been lost out there just like I was and for who knows how long! I bet that he really just wanted to talk and have a friend. And I did what? I told him off!"
Quite ironically, Kota did the same thing to his best friend. Kota saved the kid today like a hero. But who is there to save Kingu?
"He acts all high and mighty, but what if he is dead! What if some villain got him?! Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut when he asked me that?!"
The days just moved on just like when his parents died even though they honestly shouldn't have and he still does not know what to think.
On one side, he sees his parents and they… just thinking about them hurts. With how dad often carried him on his shoulders and mum always helped him with homework. They were perfect.
On the other… Kingu always stood by him. He is kinder than he lets others know. Kota once heard this thing. Word. Tsundere? Some kids joked about it. Looking back, it fit Kingu to a tee.
The point was that he cared. Not in the same way like his cousin or his parents but he was there.
I.. I…
He cried. Shino remained with him.
Yeah. If Kingu was a girl, he would be a tsundere. He used to tell himself before this crap went down. His imagination immediately created a version of him wearing a girl school uniform.
That thought was immediately stabbed with a knife, beaten over with a giant shovel for a good measure and promptly buried somewhere where it would never be found. Just in case. To his defense, Kingu was also at fault a little bit with how girly he looked.
At least that is what he used to tell himself back then.
Kota leaned out from the window, doing his best to swallow his nervousness. He did this before so it shouldn't be an issue next time, right? At least that was his line of thought earlier when he planned this.
Food, money, warm clothes, a map ot two and a phone with a charger. He had no clue how long this would take, but he was determined. His trip down went very smoothly. Not even a minute later and his feet lightly touched the grass.
Kota would find Kingu and drag his smug ass back home whether he liked it or not.
I really hate school.
Looking back at things now, I really should have published this at some other time. I had it sitting around in my brain for close to a year so it is not like it would join the pile of abandoned bunnies. There is also the matter that I am anime only. I tried reading manga before but then the anime started airing again and I felt like I spoiled the experience. Bones does some amazing work.
I was encouraged to write down some plot bunnies as one shots, maybe with the hope that someone would adopt them but then i remembered that I still need to publish here.
And yeah, the 'chapter' looked longer in planning stage. Again.
Good night.
