The following day, Kahoko didn't turn up to class.
Hitoshi frowned, staring at her seat in class.
"Her cold finally won?" Naoko asked him, sitting down after lunch.
He sighed. "I guess so, I'll check on her after school."
"You act like her dad." Naoko laughed.
"Someone needs to keep an eye on her."
"You're good to her. She's lucky to have someone like you to have her back. I must say, she's opened up a lot these past few weeks." She opened her exercise book. "When we first met, it was hard to get a single word out of her."
"She'd just lost her twin brother, it hit her hard. She only came here originally because that's what she believes he wanted." He snapped a little.
"Okay! I'm just saying, I'm beginning to really like her, now that I have gotten the chance to talk to her." Naoko smiled. "She's kind but strong, both physically and mentally. The way she acts with her little brother, its adorable."
"She's not as strong as she makes out." He stated. "She's broken inside, she's insecure and worries about everything. She's always found it hard to make friends because she only wanted to be with Tama. Now he's gone, she's trying to be strong for Natsu. She's latched onto me because I was the only person outside of the family she had, the only one she trusted, not because of her own feelings, but because she trusted her brother's judgement." He felt his eyes sting. The truth hurt. At first, she only stuck with him because she didn't know or trust anyone else. Now she has them… she won't need me for much longer.
Naoko watched Hitoshi trying to keep it together. "Shinso. You don't have to worry, she won't leave you behind."
He blinked.
"Like you said, you're probably the only one she'll trust till the very end. You… are her saviour in the tragedy. You are her comfort. Even if she's met all these friends, and potential lovers, she'll always come running to you in her darkest moments."
"Shiki…" He breathed.
Before he could say anymore, her father walked in.
"No Sano? Must still be poorly." He remarked, looking over the class. "Shinso, please take this week's homework to her after class?"
Hitoshi nodded. "Yes, sir."
Kahoko walked into the canteen for some lunch.
"Kaho!" Momo called from their table.
She walked over with her tray of food.
"You look a lot better today."
"Yeah, I ache all over though. I only came in here because I'm starving." She sat down next to her friend.
"Ochaco said she saw you in our kitchen with Todoroki last night." She wiggled her brows.
"We just sat and had coffee. No big deal." She shot her down.
"Iida said that he met you too. Said that Todoroki knew exactly how you liked your coffee."
"Well, we do hang out a lot." She sighed, picking up her sandwich.
"Still, I think it's cute."
"Kaho?" Hitoshi sat in front of them.
She looked up at him and smiled. "Hey!"
"How are you feeling?" He reached over and felt her forehead.
"I'm okay, just using today to sleep."
"You finally did as you're told." He chuckled. He pulled out the homework. "Mr Shiki told me to give you this."
"Oh, joy!"
A tray landed on Kahoko's other side.
"Hey." Katsuki sat down.
"Hey, Kacchan!"
"You seem to be on the mend." He remarked.
She nodded. "Yeah, I slept most of today. I think it's helping."
"Good. You're no fun when you're sick." He added.
She sipped at her drink.
Shoto walked into the canteen with Deku.
"Oh, look. Kahoko is here." Deku observed.
Shoto looked and suppressed a grumble, seeing the explosion hero sat next to her.
"I wonder how she's feeling today." Deku looked up at his dual haired friend. "You did make up with her last night?"
"Things are back to normal I think."
"That's good. Let's sit with them." Deku led the way.
"Kahoko!" Deku grinned, sitting next to Hitoshi.
She smiled. "Hey."
"Are you feeling alright? You seemed to take a bad turn before you left."
She nodded. "Yeah, I was fine." She met Shoto's gaze for a split second before returning her attention to her meal, feeling her heart pitter-patter.
"Hey, Kaho, you like mushrooms, right?"
"Yeah, why?" She frowned, looking to Katsuki.
"Because they're gross. Here." He picked out the mushrooms from his stew and put them on top of her rice.
She covered her mouth as she began to giggle.
He raised a brow. "What?"
"You act like a child." Momo remarked.
Kahoko nodded.
"Sorry, I didn't want to waste."
"It's fine. Thanks, Kacchan." She took the mushrooms and mixed them into her rice. A sudden thought hit her, and she looked to Shoto. "Todoroki? Have you seen my mp3 player?"
Shoto looked a little confused before it clicked. "Oh… um no I haven't, why? Have you lost it?"
She gave a sad nod.
"When did you last have it?"
"Yesterday, before going outside. I must have dropped it somewhere."
Hitoshi frowned. "The one that was Tama's?"
"Yeah. I wanted to listen this morning and couldn't find it."
"I'll get you a new one." Katsuki said offhandedly.
She shook her head. "It's not the device I'm sad about. It was loaded with my brother's battle-cries and other songs he sang."
"Oh…" Katsuki hung his head a little. "I didn't know, sorry."
"It's not your fault, Kacchan." She patted his arm.
Katsuki glanced over to Shoto, who's eyes were filled with mild concern. He knew about this? About the music?
"Hey! Sano!"
They all looked to see Eijiro walking up to her.
"What is it Kirishima?" She asked.
"Is this yours?" He held out the small mp3 player. "I think you dropped it last night. It caught my eye after you left. It's got Tamaki written on it, so I assumed…" He was cut off by the green-eyed girl throwing her arms around him.
"Thank you!" She exclaimed.
Eijiro felt his face heat up. "No problem…" He managed to breathe.
She stepped back and took the mp3. "Thank you so much…" She sat back down and held the small device to her chest.
Eijiro stared at her. "I'm glad I was of help."
"You don't have any idea what this means to me." She mumbled.
Shoto gave out a small sigh of relief.
Katsuki leaned over and looked at the mp3 player. "C'mon, let me hear?"
She met his curious gaze. "Sure." She handed it to him.
He plugged in his earphones and pressed play.
"Hey, Sano. Maybe you should transfer the music onto another device? Like your laptop and another hard drive?" Shoto asked.
Her eyes widened a little. "I haven't even thought of doing that." She gave a laugh.
Eijiro sat on Katsuki's other side. "Let me have a listen?" He looked to Kahoko for the okay.
She gave a nod.
Eijiro took one of Katsuki's earphones and slipped it into his ear. "Whoa… handsome and an awesome voice. Your brother must've been a hit with the girls…" He remarked. He glanced back to the girl, making sure he didn't over step.
She smiled warmly. "He sure was."
"They were both super popular in middle school." Hitoshi said.
Kahoko sipped her juice quietly.
Shoto watched her carefully, worried that something had hit a nerve.
Katsuki handed the mp3 back to her. "He sounds amazing. I can feel my energy pumped up just listening to the recording."
Eijiro nodded.
She put it carefully into her bag. "I'm gonna go back to bed. You guys should get to class soon. Lunch is almost over." She stood up. "I'll see you later." At that she walked away.
"She's weird." Katsuki remarked. "Did something upset her?"
"Nah, I just think that she's still groggy from her cold. Hopefully she'll be right as rain tomorrow." Hitoshi added.