-Shinobu's POV-
It was finally the day I had been dreading all week. Tonight, Shouta canceled our patrol so I could attend this dinner with my aunt and uncle. I tugged at the bottom of my flowing long-sleeved lavender shirt nervously as Nii-san drove us to our destination. To my surprise, we came to a stop much earlier than it would have taken to reach there.
When I looked up to see where we had stopped, I was surprised to see the back door opening and none other than Shouta slid in beside me. Instead of his normal hero outfit or sweatpants that I was used to seeing him in, he was wearing a dark button-up shirt with dark wash fitted jeans. His usually shaggy black hair was also tied up in a bun, and his usual stubble was missing. He looked ridiculously handsome and I found myself blushing as I gave him a questioning look.
Instead of giving me an answer, Shouta just shrugged, a small smirk appearing on his lips as he gently grasped my hand. A new wave of calm crashed against my rising anxiety, and I felt a lot better. Even if him showing up to come along was odd, I would be lying if I said I wasn't thankful for his presence. Suddenly a clearing of Hizashi-nii's throat in the front seat interrupted my thoughts.
"Look, I'm cool with you two dating or whatever, but no making out in the back of my car!" Nii-san teased, his voice clear that he was actually a bit uncomfortable but trying to be understanding about the whole thing. I let out a silent giggle before leaning up to the front seat and speaking quietly, barely loud enough to be heard over the engine running.
"So does that mean if we move to the front seat we can?" I teased causing Nii-san to let out a yelp of surprise as he gave a childish pout at me. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around my waist, and I was pulled back into the back seat. I looked over to see Shouta with an amused but stern look on his face.
"Don't distract the driver. That's dangerous, and you've already proven that you're quite accident-prone," he chided, his voice sounding tired and bored like usual but there was a hint of concern in it. He was right. Since moving back to Musutafu, I found myself getting hurt way more often than I had in the past, and especially since getting stabbed on our last patrol, Shouta had become more protective, though he wasn't obvious about it. If I wasn't used to working on my own and being more aware of my surroundings, I wouldn't have noticed.
In what felt like no time at all, we had made it to my aunt and uncle's house, and the anxiety that had been temporarily fought off by Shouta's presence came barreling back into the forefront of my mind. Before leaving the car, I looked at Shouta and gave his hand one final squeeze, needing the comfort, and he thankfully returned it giving me a nod as well before tucking my hair behind my ear before pulling away and releasing my hand.
The house itself was just as I remembered it, making me worried that the memories I had of this place were accurate and not created by that villain's poison. The walls were starch white with accents of burgundy and brown, colors that would have been inviting if not for the intimidating figures of my uncle and aunt who greeted both Shouta and Nii-san with kind smiles before turning to me with a much more sinister glint in their eyes. Not wanting to make things awkward, I came up to them with a timid smile and a wave.
"Oh wow, Shinobu! Have you put on weight?!" my aunt exclaimed with a fake concerned expression causing my face to go red in embarrassment as I felt my heart drop to my stomach. I shook my head, trying to keep a smile on my face hoping that would be the end of it. But of course, I could never be that lucky.
"Oh still can't control your quirk huh? Must be difficult to find a job when you're that useless. No wonder you've put on weight," my uncle added, rubbing salt in the open wound left by my aunt. I hadn't put on weight, and I knew that. But weight is an easy spot to hit any girl and make them insecure.
At that comment, my aunt and uncle laughed and motioned to Hizashi-nii and Shouta to follow them to the dining room. As we followed, Hizashi-nii shot a concerned glance behind me, and I returned it with what I hoped was a reassuring smile that I was fine. When we entered the dining room, the table had already been set with six chairs, just like it was when my parents and I would come over for dinner before the incident.
Unsure of where to sit, I ended up sitting between Nii-san and Shouta and across from my uncle. This made me feel a bit better as the food was served family-style and everyone began to eat; however, I had much less of an appetite after the comments on my weight so I put very little food on my plate. Everyone else exchanged pleasant conversation with my aunt and uncle asking Nii-san how his radio show was going and asking Shouta how he liked being a teacher at UA. I was completely content with being ignored, and it stayed that way till my uncle cleared his throat causing me to look up. As our matching colored eyes met, he smirked, and I felt dread build up in my stomach making me feel nauseous. He dropped his smirk and gave an apologetic sigh.
"Shouta, Hizashi, I have to apologize that you both are having to eat dinner with Shinobu. I know she's quite the inconvenience and terror to have around, but it makes us feel much safer knowing that we have two pro heroes if she gets out of hand," my uncle apologized, and my aunt nodded in agreement. Tears burned my eyes begging to be let out, and I felt my head pounding as I fought back my quirk without any help from quirk suppressants. Something had to break. Turns out, the thing to break was me.
"If I'm such a problem to have around, why invite me to come tonight?" I asked, breaking the silence in the room, my voice louder than I usually spoke, as I looked my uncle in the eye with a hurt glare of my own, "If I'm such a terror, why don't you just hit me? Will that make you feel better?!" My uncle didn't miss a fucking beat.
"I would, but it never helped when you were younger." That was it. The memories I had been fighting off since the encounter with that villain. The ones I had been trying to convince myself weren't real… They were real, and they were staring me straight in the face even now, but apparently, my uncle wasn't done.
"You deserved it for what you did to my brother and his wife you monstrous bitch! You should have been banned from their lives and locked up in some prison or insane asylum for the rest of your life! Not them!" my uncle bellowed causing me to shrink back at his words. But I was confused by his wording, and I wasn't the only one.
"But I thought her parents did ban her from their lives," Shouta spoke up, and his words devastated me. It was one thing to hear it from my aunt, my uncle, or even myself, but hearing Shouta say it was something that hurt more than I had expected. Not being able to handle anymore, I got up to leave but was stopped by a firm hand gripping my wrist. Chartreuse eyes blinked sympathetically behind triangular glasses as Nii-san silently urged me to stay. Not knowing what else to do, I sat back down as my aunt spoke up.
"I wish they had. Instead, I had to convince them with letters I wrote pretending to be the monstrous bitch claiming that she hated them and blamed them for the incident. It was for their own good, and it worked like a charm too. Now the doctors think neither of them can handle seeing her," my aunt explained proudly. At that comment, I saw red.
"You BITCH!" the voice that came from my mouth was louder and angrier than I had ever let out without using my voice quirk as I stood up and walked over to my aunt. The next moments happened in a blur. My uncle stood up with his hand raised to strike me, but it was caught by none other than Hizashi-nii who looked absolutely livid.
"You'd do well not to lay a hand on her again, Dad," Nii-san warned, his voice low and threatening as he glared harshly at his father. Next, I felt a hand wrap gently around my wrist and pull me out of the reach of both my aunt and uncle.
"Also, in the future, maybe think twice about admitting to crimes like that in front of three pro heroes," Shouta added seriously as he released my wrist to wrap his arm protectively around my shoulders and spoke softer to me, "Come on, Nobu. We're done here." At that, Shouta begins to guide me to the door only to be stopped by my uncle stepping in front of us.
"Now you're sleeping with a pro hero so you can frame us?! You treacherous, slut! Go fucking kill yoursel-" my uncle had begun screaming at me only to be stopped by a punch to the face courtesy of Hizashi-nii.
"Enough. Leave Nobu-chan alone from now on. This is your last warning, Father," Nii-san stated bluntly before opening the door and allowing me and Shouta to leave first. Without hesitating, we went straight to Hizashi's car. By now, I felt myself trembling as Shouta gently guided me into the backseat before reaching into his shirt and pants pocket to reveal a black box with a red light and a long wire with a microphone at the end of it. My eyes went wide, and my heart went in a million directions as I tried to piece together what the hell just happened.