Note: The nail into the Shinsō/Tomo ship train I got on, I think. The connector and final nail in the "Another AU" pitfall Vy has fallen into! Everyone is in UA and happy! Do not try to convince me otherwise. Oh, and? Blame Lang for getting me on the Shinsō train. Because Shell Game 57 hurts. It really really hurts.

Fluff, ONWARDS. With a song I never thought I'd be using again, since it was originally Kei and Tomoko's song in my head. But, well, might as well let someone else into Tomoko's darker side. :p And the lyrics for the other song piece mentioned here come from Lyrical Nonsense.

Note that the songs that are performed specifically (on the piano and sung by Tomo) in this chapter are (1) There is a Reason by Konomi Suzuki and (2) Egao no Kimi e by Suzuko Mimori.

Chronologically takes place after all my other Shinsō content.

Enjoy.

Chapter 4: Don't Leave Me

Before meeting Gekkō in UA, Shinsō thought he could go without friends. The path to becoming a Hero wasn't easy, after all, and friends were just a bother back in General Studies. But these days, with a year in UA under his belt, he could never say that now.

Today too, was no different. He could've gone home early, but it was the first sign that stopped him.

Said first sign of anything interesting was the echo of music ringing through his ears. It took a second for him to realize it wasn't coming from the school's loudspeakers littered throughout the hallway ceilings. It sounded like it was a piano solo, but it wasn't a song he recognized. Whether out of curiosity or boredom, Shinsō didn't know, but he followed the sound of the music along, craning his neck a bit more in the hopes of finding the source.

Thankfully, it didn't take too long. The sign hanging above the door designated the upcoming room as the "Music Room", and considering the piano was louder…

Shinso put his hand on the door and quietly pulled it open.

He was not expecting to see Hoshino at a grand piano of all things.

With her eyes closed, she could've been a professional pianist with how her fingers flew across the keys. Her legs occasionally moved to press the pedals at the foot of the piano, and with the sound vibrating in the air, it created a scene he never really thought he'd see from her. Sure, Hoshino sang for him and Leonhart, and who knows how much else for Gekkō and Davy, but not play piano of all things while at school. There was no one else with her in the room, merely confirming his suspicion that the concert-level song was all her.

Just listening closer made the song stand out more. Like it was a declaration of war on something or someone. Or it was a declaration of protection and love towards one person.

Shinsō mentally decided he liked the second idea better. It was more fitting of Hoshino anyways.

Once the last key faded, Hoshino took a heaving breath. Her eyes opened too, although slow, and she blinked them. "Okay," she muttered, and if not for Shinsō being in the same room as her, he knew he wouldn't have heard her otherwise. "The song's good. Now for the actual singing…"

Now was probably a better time than any to let her know he was there. Shinsō gently cleared his throat.

As expected, Hoshino jumped. The noise out of her mouth was something akin to an anime character, his best approximation of it being nothing but a loud "FWAH!" that made his eardrums curl in on themselves. Ow. If not for the volume, Shinsō probably would have agreed with Davy's earlier declarations on how it was cute.

…Wait a second.

What?

Hoshino then swiveled her head around for some kind of answer before rounding on him, and her blue eyes widened. Pink proceeded to color her cheeks. "S-Shinsō-san! Um," her gaze focused in on him, her voice lowering, "s-sorry about the voice. I-I wasn't expecting you here."

"I wasn't expecting you here either, Hoshino," he said coolly, hiding his previous thought by taking a look at the piano bench. Hoshino, petite as always, was only taking up half of the thing. Shinsō raised a finger to point at the empty space. "Think I could sit next to you?"

"Um," Hoshino blinked, still blushing. "Sure? If you don't mind me fidgeting."

"It's you, Hoshino. I never minded." And he meant it. Hoshino merely blushed brighter. Shinsō shrugged but went with it anyway, swinging his legs under the piano keyboard while still facing her. "Besides. What were you doing here?"

Hoshino's blush died down to a lighter pink as a realization of sorts shined in her blue eyes. "Oh, that?" She giggles, a bit embarrassed, before ducking her head and muttering the response. Shinsō already knew that if not for him sitting right next to her, he probably wouldn't have heard it. "I was practicing a song for Kei."

"For—" Shinsō couldn't help but feel surprised. "For Gekkō?" Then again, it made sense. Gekkō and Hoshino were extremely close, more so than Hoshino was with Leonhart (in spite of Hoshino happily calling Leonhart "Hika-chan" of all things). Weren't Gekkō and Hoshino childhood friends or something…? "What's the occasion?"

Hoshino fidgeted with her fingers. "N-Nothing much, really. I just felt like it." She rocked back and forth in her seat a bit, a fond smile on her lips. "Kei sometimes…" Hoshino paused, her gaze flickering between Shinsō's hands and her lap. "She sometimes goes through things I'm not sure about," Hoshino settled for quietly, reaching upwards to rub a bit of hair ribbon between her fingers. "We've known each other since we were little, but there are still times I know she doesn't tell me everything. It's just how she is. And I still can't help but worry if she's holding things back because it's too dark and…" Hoshino paused. Her hand playing with her hair ribbon stopped too.

Shinsō inclined his head. "Hoshino?"

Hoshino jolted a bit in her seat before raising her head to give him a smile. Shinsō would be a fool if he didn't see that it was obviously forced. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to ramble at you, Shinsō-san! I-I can stop, if you want." She waves her hands in the air helplessly, and Shinsō aptly ducks his head so that she doesn't actually hit him. "I… I just want to sing and tell her that she's not alone. If that makes sense?"

Yep. It's still the same selfless and sweet Hoshino. "Sure," he says. "It's fine if you don't want to talk about it." Shinsō leans back on the bench, looking up towards the ceiling in the hopes of giving Hoshino some room. "Gekkō's weird like that. Being silent. So I get it."

Without turning to her, Shinsō already knew Hoshino was giving him a doe-eyed, wide look. Like she wasn't expecting him to understand her. "…Really?" she said quietly.

Shinsō reaches over, and without thinking, lightly taps the top of Hoshino's head with the back of his hand. "Really," he finishes, just in time with her newest squeak of "Ah!" The smirk was hard to hide on his face when she rounded on him with a pout. At this point, he couldn't help it and Hoshino was leaving herself too open for teasing. "You have weird choices in friends, Hoshino. And Gekkō's the worst at it."

"Muuuuuu," she goes, clearly very unhappy while still puffing her cheeks. Hoshino crosses her arms and rocks herself hard enough in her seat on the bench to bump shoulders with him. "Kei's fine, I've lived with her for more than a decade, and last I checked, I'm friends with you, aren't I?"

Shinsō laughs. "You're nuts, but you're fine too. Being friends with a guy who's villainized for his Quirk."

Hoshino blinks, then goes quiet again. "…Oh," she says finally, then proceeded to lean on his shoulder.

That was not expected. Shinsō does his best to not recoil, staring into her hair. "Hoshino?"

The reply is just as quiet as the words that started everything. "You're a Hero to me, Shinsō-san." Hoshino is twiddling her thumbs now and even if Shinsō can't see her face, he can see the tips of her ears and they're pink. "It doesn't matter what people said about your Quirk before. They don't know you. You're in the Hero Department now and, last I checked, you proved them wrong by every single scale. Plus," Hoshino waves a pointer finger in the air while lightly rocking against him, "you could've brainwashed me in the entire time we've talked, and you haven't done that now, have you?"

"N-No," he says, and it surprises him on how easy it is to talk honestly to Hoshino now. Like a veil was lifted off them both, and he can breathe. It's hard to care about his face burning because hearing those words is just nice in general. Hell, he can smell rosemary, and it takes a second for Shinsō to realize it's Hoshino's hair. Her shampoo? "I never intend to Brainwash unless I want to."

"And there we go." Hoshino huffs in a way that seems final before raising her head to meet his eyes in eye contact, and she's pouting again. "So, please, don't say depressing things like that again. You sound like Kei."

"Sorry," is all he can say in response. "Reflex."

Hoshino still puffs her cheeks, opting to hit her head against Shinsō's shoulder. As much as it stings, well, technically a little since Aizawa-sensei punches harder, Shinsō waits for her to speak. "You dork," Hoshino says finally after a moment, scooting over to fully lean on his side. "You're my friend, so no more self-deprecation." She paused, and then Shinsō hears her mutter, "And this is why my friends need more music. No one believes in themselves, and it's depressing." There's another pause, and then she mutters, "I know I do it too, but I don't like hearing it from other people, especially people I care about. Muuuuu."

Shinsō scoffed and taps Hoshino's head again. This girl was ridiculous. "You're mumbling, Hoshino."

This time, his underclassman doesn't even flinch, merely giving him a dirty eye through her black hair before focusing back on the piano. "Don't care," she adds childishly. Shinsō doesn't miss how her fingers linger over the black and white keys again. "I'm tempted to play something for you now."

…Okay, out of all the things Hoshino could've said, Shinsō definitely was not expecting to hear that. Then again, this was Hoshino, the girl who made more homemade chocolate than her family could even provide for Valentine's Day in their cafe when not swamped with work. He shouldn't have been surprised. "I thought you were practicing for Gekkō," he finds himself saying instead.

"That doesn't mean my other friends miss out!" Hoshino's voice goes up by about a level or two in pitch. "And you're important to me too, Shinsō-san! You deserve something nice!" She pauses before pressing a key and adds, a bit miffed too this time, "You already heard me play something for Kei. So I might as well give you a preview of your birthday present."

Shinsō can't deny the fact that he's blushing. Goddamn feelings. He turns his head away to break off their shared eye contact, but doesn't push her away either. "I-I didn't think you were looking that far ahead, Hoshino."

Another bump into his shoulder. Along with an extra hard thunk of a head against the crook between his neck and shoulder, Shinsō blinks before glancing in that direction. Hoshino — Hoshino was actually snuggled up to him. What the—? "You're someone I keep close to my heart, Shinsō-san," was the whisper. "There's no way I wouldn't." Before Shinsō could respond, she raises her head and he gets an eyeful of bright blue eyes. "And hey. You helped Kei and Jack-nii and Hika-chan a lot by being you. And," Hoshino reaches up to lightly poke his forehead with a soft smile, "You helped me too. So you deserve something in return, don't you think?"

Shinsō, for the first time in a long while, finds himself speechless. He stares at Hoshino for a second, then two, then for more until she fidgets and breaks off the eye contact. "U-Unless," she stutters, "you want me to sing instead? I-I could do that! Or make cake, or, or…" Hoshino trails off, sitting back up and scooting away an inch.

"I-It's fine," he says finally, turning his head mechanically just to force himself to look at her. And, yep. Hoshino is blushing, even when not meeting his eyes. "A song preview is fine, Hoshino. Whatever you feel is right."

Hoshino blinks, then sparkles. Too bright. Argh. "Piano and singing for you then!" she cheers, her voice high-pitched from the joy. "I hope you'll like it, Shinsō-san!"

Ugh.

How was she this happy?

Lub-dub, lub-dub.

Better question.

His heart is beating hard. Is this how Davy felt when looking at Hoshino? Because this was new and Shinsō didn't know if he liked it or not. The last time he felt like this, it was with Leonhart, and it was Leonhart. She wasn't looking for relationships. So, why was his heart starting up again with freakin' Hoshino?

If this is turning out to be what he thought it was becoming, Davy was going to murder him. Little sisters were off-limits, last he checked.

Double ugh.

Before Hoshino can turn back to the keys, Shinsō pulls her back to his side with an arm around her shoulders. She squeaks, he says, "You can use '-kun,' Hoshino."

"F-Fweh?" she squeaks again, more confused.

Shinsō sighs and taps Hoshino's head with his other, not-hugging hand. "If you're going to be putting on a concert for me after school, then you could at least call me by my name and not by some stiff honorific. Especially if I'm so 'close' to your heart as you say I am." He doesn't even know why his voice comes out irritated. Then again, he still doesn't know what to make of Hoshino either. How does she say things the way she does and not die of diabetes?

Oh, right.

Her Quirk is literally making chocolate with a touch.

There's no way she'd be dying of diabetes when she makes diabetes.

And Hoshino's looking at him again. "Then… Shinsō-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"Just trying it," she says, then leans into him a bit more. The next try has his ribs creak. "Hitoshi… kun?"

He tries not to jolt. "…Why are you going with my first name?"

"A-Again, just wanted to try!" Hoshino squirms in his hold, but doesn't pull away, instead resting her fingertips atop the piano keys. Their closeness lets Shinsō feel her exhale. "A-Are you okay with that?"

Shinsō takes a breath too. "…Just play the song," he settles for finally, bonking her head with his cheek. "And do what you want."

"Th-Then," Hoshino turns to look at him, blushing too. "Call me 'Tomoko' too, H-Hitoshi-kun. 'Hoshino, Hoshino' just makes things feel more formal."

Sure, she stumbled in delivery, but she still said his first name.

Shinsō sighs and closes his eyes. If he looked into those blue eyes, he knew he might die. From embarrassment or something, and he had to stay cool. Somehow. "Alright then, Tomoko," he says, even if he's close to stumbling himself from how strange it sounds. "Hoshino" had stuck for far too long. First names, on the other hand, were going to be a new obstacle to overcome. "You win. Go play what you want now."

He doesn't need to see to know that Ho — Tomoko is sparkling. "Aye aye!" she says with what sounds like an extra salute, and he slumps as soon as her voice turns away from him. "One concert for a bestie, coming up!"

The piano echoes in his ears first in a new melody before he hears Tomoko start to sing, and by then, Shinsō's tempted to fall asleep.

"Kimi o tsurete kakedasu yo
(I brought you to run off with me)

Dare mo oitsukenai basho e;
(To a place where nobody can reach;)

Ima koso kanaeyou yo ano hi no yakusoku.
(Now it's time to grant the promise we made that day.)

Katasumi no shiawase no tsubomi,
(The flower bud of happiness staying at the corner,)

Giniro ni kagayaita,
(Shining with a silver color,)

Saitara misete ageyou!
(I will show it to you when it blooms!)

Mikaeshita arubamu no naka de.
(I looked back to the album.)

Sono koro mo ima mo sou,
(Whether past or present,)

Issho ni waratteru.
(We laughed together.)

Minami no hou kara somatteiku kisetsu.
(The season arrives from the south.)

Tadaima to itte ne,
(Saying "I'm back,")

Kitto sugu ni mukae ni iku.
(I'll immediately welcome you.)

Kimi o tsurete kakedasu yo
(I brought you to run off with me)

Dare mo oitsukenai basho e;
(To a place where nobody can reach;)

Ima koso kanaeyou yo ano hi no yakusoku.
(Now it's time to grant the promise we made that day.)

Nee, zutto matteta yo kimi no koto o.
(Hey, I'm always waiting for you.)

Okaeri, watashi o mou nidoto oitekanaide.
(Welcome home, please don't leave me again.)

Harukaze hana ga odoru,
(Flowers dancing in the spring breeze,)

Yuudachi kasa o narasu,
(Rain striking the umbrella in a shower,)

Gairoju aka ni somaru,
(Roadside trees dyed red,)

Watayuki sukuiageta.
(Scooping up fluffy snow.)

Kimi o tsurete kakedasu yo
(I brought you to run off with me)

Dare mo oitsukenai basho e;
(To a place where nobody can reach;)

Ima koso kanaeyou yo ano hi no yakusoku.
(Now it's time to grant the promise we made that day.)

Kimi o tsurete kakedashita
(I brought you to run off with me)

Soshite egao o dakishimeta,
(And embracing your smile,)

Mousugu kanaunda ne ano hi no yakusoku.
(It will be granted soon, the promise we made that day.)

Mata koushite tonari doushi arukeru koto.
(We are still comrades, advancing together.)

Nandaka tottemo ureshikute hashaide shimau.
(I don't know why, but I feel happy and in high spirits.)"

Maybe later, Shinsō could work up the courage to ask Tomoko to record her songs. That way, Aizawa-sensei wouldn't be pissed when he eventually comes by to their daily training session.

For now, he'd enjoy this. It wasn't everyday he could nap peacefully against a friend.

By the time the song was long finished, Shinsō could've sworn he saw Tomoko smile. "Sleep well, Hitoshi-kun. You deserve it, you beloved friend of mine."

It was a good day.

"Where have you been?"

"…Around."

"Shinsō."

"Don't worry about it, Sensei."

"It's not because you became buddy-buddy with someone outside your class, is it?"

"…"

"Do not tell me it's Hoshino. We went through this with Leonhart and Gekkō already."

"I have her songs recorded for you if the cats like it…?"

"Goddammit, Shinsō."