"So she was telling the truth…" Shota said aloud to himself, leaning back in his chair.
'Ame Shimizu was really her name. I mean, Shimizu is a pretty common surname, but to choose to name her after the rain was a strange choice. They must have had a sense of humor…' His eyes drifted back to the computer screen, looking back over her parents' records. 'All three of them have some sort of water quirk so I suppose it makes sense.'
It turns out that Alidressa (or rather Ame) did live at that address with her parents. Her father had an office job that kept him busy late into the night and her mother had been hospitalized about four weeks ago. He assumed that this must have been the cause of her anger and rebellion.
He recalled how difficult it was for him and his family while his father was hospitalized for his cancer. Shota figured he was about the same age as Ame at that time. His father's condition had deteriorated so suddenly and it disrupted their lives for a long while before it all finally fell apart. Shota could remember being so angry and frustrated with everything at that time. He gradually distanced himself from his friends at school and once his father died he really just gave up on everything.
Well… he did… but at the same time he didn't.
Shota's feelings were lost somewhere in his spiral into depression, but the only thing he could grab onto and hold on for dear life was his father's encouragement. He had removed the heavy burden of taking over the dojo from his shoulders and finally gave him the blessing to do what he wanted to do and be who he wanted to be. His life was no longer predetermined and it gave him enough drive to keep from falling apart at that time. His father's spirit pushed him forward to pursue his dreams. His own dreams and no one else's.
…
Suzumi turned her head to face Shota's office as the door opened. She watched curiously as he emerged and made his way to the stairs. As she listened to him ascend, her focus and willpower to finish the statement she had been writing ran off with him. She sighed, dropping the pencil and watched as it rolled back into view across the table.
She decided to go up after him, quietly going up the stairs on all fours. The steps were steep and a bit narrow, but they didn't creak under her weight. From the layout of the house she assumed that this space up here was meant to be storage or another bedroom, but as she stopped at the top she found that it was made into something else entirely.
The size of the room suggested that this should have been the master bedroom, but instead of the appropriate furniture an array of workout equipment was arranged against the walls and around the room. She had heard Shota come up here a handful of times, but never really dared to follow.
She watched him with quiet admiration as he did his stretches. He stood and bent down to touch his toes, something she could never do. She smiled, feeling like a ghost watching over him. He didn't even know she was there yet. She felt honored to be able to see the side of him that only showed when he was completely alone… but at the same time it wasn't too different from when they were alone together, especially after they confessed their love for each other.
They started to feel less awkward living together. In fact, they started sleeping together nearly every night and would reach out to touch the other person in some way whenever they noticed the other in the room.
A gentle touch on the shoulder. A hand on their head or back. A head leaned against the other. Just a tiny touch made her feel so special.
Although Shota used his quirk less on her now than before, he still checked up on her from time to time. Suzumi could feel his gaze on her while she cleaned and cooked, but when she turned around he would either vanish or walk up to give her a hug or put his hand on top of her head.
Suzumi pushed herself up onto her tip toes and went to step up the last step but ended up tripping over herself and falling onto the floor, back on all fours. She pressed her lips together into a fine line, disappointed that she gave herself away.
"Are you okay?"
Shota looked over immediately to make her visible with his quirk from his spot on the floor. Suzumi smiled and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything his brows dropped and his eyes narrowed at her.
"Is that my hoodie?"
Suzumi's eyes darted away nervously and her embarrassed grin turned into a downward smile as she shrunk down within it. "Maybe…" She muttered into the front collar sheepishly.
"It is!" He got to his feet and charged in her direction.
She yelped out a tiny scream, clambering to her feet and skittering to the other end of the room. Shota chased after her, the two erupting into laughter as she skillfully dodged his attempts to grab at her. Suzumi knew that she wouldn't be able to get away if he was keeping an eye on her so she reached down and pulled off a sock, balling it up before throwing it at his face.
She unfortunately missed, but still dove off to the left in hopes of getting past him. She was successful with that, but even if she were able to turn invisible again she would have given herself away with how much she was giggling. She didn't get far before her feet tripped her up once again and she fell to the floor, rolling onto her back to continue laughing nearly to the point of tears.
She suddenly fell silent as Shota dropped to all fours to trap her beneath him on the floor. The two stared back into the other's eyes, panting heavily, the remnants of their smiles continuing to fade away as they both began to recall the last time they were in this position…. And how awkward this was quickly becoming.
Both were panting heavily, their eyes slowly scanning every detail of each other's face.
Shota would have immediately withdrawn from this position in the past, apologizing or trying to ignore the intense way they were staring at one another, but this time he stayed put. He was allowed to do this now. Suzumi was okay with this. She wasn't scared. She wasn't pushing him off either. She was excited. She just stared so lovingly up at him with a tinge of something in her expression…
She was waiting for her punishment for being caught.
Suzumi flinched, squeezing her eyes shut as he leaned down. She was at his mercy and it was up to him to decide if things were going to take off and escalate into something more. Her heart began to race and she held her breath. She waited for him to start grabbing at her body, but he leaned down to plant a single kiss on her forehead before straightening his back and getting to his feet.
She remained there on her back and even though he rubbed his eyes and allowed her to go back to her usual state, she still didn't fully vanish. Her visage shimmered slightly like a mirage, not quite fully visible, but also not vague enough like the countless times before when she tried to figure out her power. Instead of a suggestion of herself, she was now so close to being fully visible on her own.
Shota smiled down at her in admiration of her progress wondering if he spoke those magic words again, would it help or would she become too flustered and disappear?
He held out his hand to her, redirecting his focus. "I thought you couldn't wait to get your own clothes back…"
"I… I was cold." She took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, realizing that what she said didn't really provide an answer to his question. She had plenty of warm clothes to wear. "Well… It just makes me feel safer."
Shota watched as she averted her eyes to the floor, shrinking once again within the hoodie she was already swimming in. He decided that he'd allow it, finding it endearing and also a better alternative to her burrowing a hole into his chest and climbing inside– something she nonchalantly mentioned one night while they were laying in bed.
"I just think that's the safest place in the world…" Suzumi sleepily hummed, hugging him close from behind and feeling his heartbeat below her hand on his chest. "Nothing could reach me there but you… and I don't think any place is safer."
"Alright." Shota sighed, giving in while he rubbed the back of his neck just under where his hair was tied up.
It wasn't that big of a deal anyway. He wanted to give her anything and everything that would help her feel like a normal human being. He wanted to make sure she felt safe and that she knew she was loved. She had become his whole life– something he never thought could happen to him before. This stranger had become someone he couldn't imagine ever living without.
Suzumi smiled, unable to shake his kindness from her mind. She watched as he turned away and resumed his stretching before going to a metal bar bolted to the top of the far wall. He pulled himself up and swung his legs over it, hanging upside down now to do some crunches.
She reached up and touched a finger to her forehead, feeling the spot he had kissed. Her heart fluttered and she found herself smiling softly. She loved how kind and gentle he was with her. She felt like she didn't deserve it, but savored how special it made her feel. Just when she thought she knew where something was going, he would surprise her with his gentle words or actions. At first glance he was cold and distant and seemed indifferent or even annoyed with other people… but deep down he was so kind and caring.
At first he had held her like she was about to fall apart and shatter, but now it was different. He held and treated her like she would assume a girlfriend should have been. He never really raised his voice and yelled at her, he never hit her or threw her around, and most importantly she felt like she didn't have to fight or survive every second of the day anymore.
She wasn't grabbing onto him and holding on for dear life anymore either. She was starting to feel normal and she considered it to be a major milestone she finally reached. Things were finally changing for the better.
"It seems like you're starting to get better at doing that."
Suzumi looked over at Shota who was staring back, hanging upside down with his arms crossed over his chest.
"I've noticed lately… I've been able to see you sometimes without my quirk." He continued, "do you think you have it figured out? How to control it?"
She bit at her cheek, considering it. Had she really figured it out?
She looked down at her hands and saw that they were only slightly see-through. It had been a long process to be able to achieve this level of control over her quirk, but what was it? What was the trick behind it?
"I'm not sure yet…" She sighed, trying to really pin down the answer. "I do really think that it must have something to do with my feelings or emotions though. It's nothing physical that i'm doing. Part of it may still be the fact that I don't feel like I'm in danger anymore, but I still feel that there's more to it…"
Shota reached up to the bar and returned himself to his feet on the floor. "I think you're getting closer to figuring it out. Don't let it upset you that it may take a while longer to get it. There's no rush after all." He offered a supportive and casual smile before turning back to his equipment.
Suzumi returned his smile with an eager nod. She wanted to get it figured out as soon as possible but something deep within her felt afraid to rush it. Was she really ready to show herself to the world? She wanted to be less of a burden on Shota… but at the same time she worried how this would change their relationship.
Change.
That was the problem. Change was always a scary thing for her, no matter how big or small. It always made her nervous… probably because she never had any control over what would happen to her in the past. The shell of her body was slowly returning to her and once it was fully in her grasp, then she would have to step in and fully fill it with intent. Not only intent, but with herself. Her true self with all of her hopes and dreams and conviction. All of her fears and newfound feelings like love and happiness and content…
And then there was anger. It had a place to call home in there too even though she was terrified to even look at it. She was too afraid to touch it, pushing it even further behind her.
If she dared to give it attention…. Would it destroy everything she worked so hard to finally have?
…
Suzumi had returned to her spot at the kotatsu, holding her arms above the table to look at what she had written on the page. She knew that writing a statement would be difficult, but now that she was actually working on writing it, it was even more frustrating. There was so much time for her to cover and so many moments to remember. She knew that they expected details, but anything that didn't happen recently lived in such a deep and buried haze she didn't even know where to begin. She decided to start with Keiji and work her way back, writing out her condemning story.
If he were still alive she figured it would be more than enough evidence to keep him locked up for good… and she worried that she was giving her parents the same fate. It would be without a doubt the biggest act of betrayal to her family, but on the other hand they were the ones to betray her the most. It wasn't really guilt she was feeling for them, no, it was disappointment. Just heavy disappointment in the ways that they treated her and that they never met the expectations she put on them. They always gave her the highest expectations, but they could never meet hers. Suzumi didn't feel like hers were that hard to meet either. She truly wanted to love them and to be a real family… but….
The doorbell rang, pulling her even further out from the fog in her mind. She instinctively looked to Shota's office, but remembered that he had left for his patrol. Her heart began to beat against her chest as she realized it was just her here. Alone.
She got to her feet, stopping short in the hallway. She wrapped Shota's hoodie closer to her body, staring at the door in fear.
'Should I answer it? Or maybe they'll go away…. Or maybe it's Franklin? Or could it be that one of the Gokudo members finally tracked me down?'
The doorbell rang again impatiently, setting her even more on edge.
'They're not going away!'
She tiptoed closer to the door, holding her hands over her chest to keep her heart from leaping out. Once she was close enough she mustered up any crumb of courage she had left in her to peek through the peephole.
'Oh thank god…!'
Suzumi exhaled all the air out of her lungs, thankful to see the familiar face of Hizashi on the other side. Despite this, her skin still crawled when he started knocking on the door. She wanted this torture to end so she flipped the lock and pulled open the door, peeking at him around the corner.
She opened her mouth to greet him, but the look on his face and the way he leaned in to look for a body made her freeze. Suzumi had completely forgotten that she was invisible, hanging onto the door in a silence she found she suddenly couldn't break. The words wouldn't come.
Hizashi stared into the hall, taking a hesitant step forward. "...Sho….ta….?"
He put his hand against the door, taking a step inside to peek behind it. It was as if he was expecting his friend to be hiding somewhere inside the house but as he looked down to the shoes that were lined up he noticed that his boots were gone. His back straightened and his eyes widened, realizing that the house was indeed empty and a ghost had allowed him entry.
Suzumi had covered her mouth with her hands, silently panicking against the wall she pressed herself against to stay out of the way. She had waited too long to speak! She made this awkward! She had to say something before he freaked out! She had to fix this!
"Um…. hey…." She spoke gently to avoid startling him, but it obviously did the opposite.
Hizashi nearly jumped out of his skin, slamming his back against the opposite wall the voice came from. He sucked in a breath to let out a shrill creeped out scream, but froze as a person manifested into view before him.
"Hey! No! It's me!" Suzumi panicked, coming closer and waving her hands between them.
Hizashi blinked, staring back at her in surprise, his blank stare quickly growing into awe. "Holy shit! Suzumi?!" He doubled over to catch his breath, holding his hand to his chest as he dipped his head towards the floor. "You can't scare me like that!"
She pushed the front door closed, worried that he was being way too loud for the outside world to hear. "Sorry!" She tried to explain herself but wasn't sure how to. Unsure whether to console him or give him all the space he needed to breathe. She paced between both ideas nervously.
He finally raised his head, looking around in confusion now that he was calmer. "Where's he hiding?"
Suzumi put her hands down, grabbing at the bottom of the hoodie she was wearing. "He's… not here. He's working right now."
"Ah…. Well… He's not gotten himself into another undercover mission has he?"
"No. Just the regular hero work according to him. Is everything okay?" She recalled the worried look he had on his face as he knocked on the door.
Hizashi put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the wall. An apologetic and concerned look fell over his eyes behind his glasses. He wasn't dressed flashy like before, he was much more casual today. A regular pair of glasses, his long blond hair pulled back into a messy bun, and he wore tight black pants with a t-shirt.
He let out a defeated sigh as if coming clean. "I've just been worried about the guy. He's been leaving me on read for weeks and I came over to chew him out… but." His volume lowered along with his chin as he leaned forward and peeled himself off of the wall, looking up at her over the top of his glasses. "I guess I've figured out the reason why."
He gave her such a knowing smile it made her cheeks flush red.
"I'm sorry…" She whispered, feeling guilty for stealing Shota's attention away from his friend.
She was surprised to hear that Shota had been ignoring his messages, but at the same time she knew how busy he was between dealing with her and getting back into his regular hero work. It seemed like he barely had time for her sometimes.
She was nervous to meet Hizashi's gaze again, but instead of feeling that shame he looked back at her with admiration and permission. He almost looked thankful, a relieved smile cracking across his face as he removed his hands from his pockets.
"Don't be!" He put his hands up as if to shoo away the negative feelings. "Shota let me know that the mission was over, but he didn't say anything about you… I'm honestly pleasantly surprised for you to make a reappearance like this!"
Suzumi put a hand to her still burning cheek and motioned for him to come further inside with the other. "Come in and take a seat–! If you have time," she nervously laughed. "I can explain what's been going on."