First morning of school after the USJ incident, Shouto woke up swinging.
This is nothing new to him. He's lost count of all the times that bastard woke him up early to 'test his reaction time'. He left home sore from last night's training, and headed down the hill to the station.
Passing Ringoki lane and the apple trees that line the road, he caught Kimura jogging round a corner, slowing down and beaming at him. "Hey Peppermint Swirl!"
"Kimura." He nodded in greeting, "You normally leaves earlier."
"Father's in America. No reason to leave sooner than now." She shrugged, "I usually leave before five to avoid him, you alright? You feel..." She frowned and tilted her head, "woah, you're drained."
Shouto grunted in reply. " 'Training'." He said, and Kimura winced.
"Eh. Sounds tough."
They walked down the hill, Kimura filling the silence with nonchalant chatters about everything and nothing, him just listening or drifting off. The sky is still dim and barely painted pink and yellow towards the east, and Kimura snapped a few pictures with her phone, which he noticed was not the same as the one he saw before.
She must've noticed his gaze, because she caught his eye and gave him a strained grin, "My father broke the last one just before the USJ." She said, "I'm partially broke now that I got myself a new one."
He nodded, humming. That bastard did break some of his possessions before, not his phone, but he kind of understands what she's going through.
Ever since the girl told him, albeit minimally, about her father, it somehow felt... Easier, to communicate with her. They aren't friends, no, Shouto don't have friends. She's more like... A companion? Someone he can talk to. Peers, acquaintance? Yeah, an acquaintance.
She fell silent, however, shortly after they got on the train as she began to type feverishly on her phone and scrolled through multiple social media platforms. She perked up at one point, and suggested some songs from American bands that she likes, some online song called 'My R'. He listened but didn't memorise any of that.
Kimura is comforting like that. She knows what to fill the silence with. She makes things... Less awkward, sometimes. Though when in front of the class she is usually crazy and loony, she has a more quiet side. She's quiet in the morning, before Ueno gets to school. She's also quiet when she's thinking, and when she's quiet, it's pleasant.
Not that she's unpleasant when she's shouting those internet references out loud, it's a little confusing sometimes, so he never paid much attention, but when he does, her antics are amusing to watch.
They made their way to school in a comfortable silence, Kimura not speaking but sometimes humming to the songs on her phone, walking a little in front of him while he listened with minimal attention, letting little things distract him.
They attracted some attention from the staff, of course. But not quite what Shouto was expecting. Usually some of the workers around here would recognise him as Endeavor's son, some would whisper and point at him. But today the attention is pointed towards Kimura, who greeted the staff like old friends and smiled brightly. They didn't notice him for a change.
It's... Refreshing.
The classroom was empty when they arrived, Kimura dumped her bag by her seat and waved a 'see you later' at him, before digging out several files and headed out the classroom— right. He almost forgot. She worked for All Might's secretary. On what, he doesn't know. He would usually care more about this sort if things but somehow he doesn't.
The class slowly begins to fill in, and the days finally returned to normal.
Just a tiny slice of life.Please RnR for cuddly cats in coming chapters!
