A/N: I think I'm late. Am I? Oops. Hope you enjoy this nonetheless! Like and follow for more. Comment for... communicating purposes? :
Thankfully, dinner went better than he thought. It could have been worse, but mom stops her little interrogation right after he glared at her. Had she pushed any further, Hitoshi would have to dig a hole and bid the world farewell.
'Hitoshi-san' Morioka nudges his elbow, 'You need to wash it or the water will be a waste'
The boy looks down at the porcelain white dish in his hands. He had seen it so many time – the object is possibly as old as he is – yet it feels so foreign to him now. Morioka's presence in the house makes everything feels anew. It's interesting and definitely intriguing.
'Y-Yeah. Thanks, by the way,' Hitoshi replies to her, gratefully, 'You didn't need to help out with the dishes though'
'Don't be silly' the girl chuckles, 'Your mom cooked all of this for us. How can I possibly just sit there like a bum?'
He turns around. His heart stops. Mom is chewing on the piece of apple, bemusedly watching his and Morioka's backs standing side by side. What she might be thinking in her head, he dares not imagine. With the amount of questions that she had for his friend, the boy would think that the girl wanted to leave even dinner ends. He knows he would have.
'S-Sorry about my mom by the way' he turns back, passing another dish for her to clean.
Morioka shakes her head; a bright grin graces her face. 'She was lovely, Hitoshi-san. It's been a while since I get to eat a family meal so thank you for inviting me'
'You're welcome' Hitoshi chuckles, 'You can always come again when you want to'
'Really?'
'Really'
A small smile appears on his lips. When was it that he felt the same warmth like now? The boy can barely remember. Mom and Dad have always been busy with work that he doesn't get much time to eat with them either. It's even more wonderful that he gets to share a meal with Morioka in his home. There's something different about it. A little bit of nervous, but also a little bit of happiness.
Maybe that's how it feels – to let someone into your world and be part of your life.
Come to think of it, not much time passed by after he and Morioka became friend. He can still recall her carmine messenger bag that doesn't match color with her daffodil yellow Converse. Those shoes stood out so much against her uniform that he can't help but remember them. She was so bad at making friends – practically bribing him with flowers to accompany her. Hitoshi finds the awkward manner rude but with time, and more understanding of how Morioka operates, the girl slowly becomes endearing to him.
'Hitoshi-san' she nudges his elbow again, 'Stop zoning out. You gotta clean the dishes-'
'Or the water goes to waste' he finishes and watches her pout in amusement.
'Wash the dishes then' Morioka huffs.
The boy studies her features. She always has that one lock of stray hair falling next to her right ear. No amount of hair pins she used can keep it from falling down again which he finds is actually impressive than annoying. Speaking of hair pins, did she get a new one this time? She always searches for those near the legs of her study desk in class too, saying that she drops them again. He never helped her look for those before. Maybe he should have, but the eyes of students made him hesitated.
'Fun fact. Did you know you can clean dishes without staring holes into my face, Hitoshi-san?' Morioka smirks.
'Foul play' the boy scoffs, 'Be more creative, Morioka'
'How's the taste of your own medicine?' cheekily, she looks up at him.
Having her around is fun. Not a lot of people talks back to him for whatever reason. Hitoshi doesn't want to think about the logic behind that. Somewhere in his heart, there is fear that he already knew what the reason is.
'Hey, Morioka' he changes topic, 'Thanks'
His friend's hands stop as she turns to observe him. 'What are you talking about?'
'I just want to say thanks' Hitoshi looks away, 'For being friend with me'
'..oooo…kay?'
'No. Really' he insists, 'I just want you to know that before…'
'Before?'
The boy pauses. Anxiety creeps upward his back like a ghostly hand ready to strangle his every effort to let her in. Should he tell her? He can't know for sure how she'll react to it. He doesn't want her to know that he judged her either. But if they are going to be friend, then he needs to tell her his thoughts as she was willing to share hers with him. Hitoshi just hope that they'd stay friends despite his demons.
'… before we stop being friend?'
'What!?' Morioka jumps, 'Why?'
'You'll know when you participate in the sport festival' sadly, the boy hangs his head, 'My Quirk is a bit… evil'
She stays silent for a good minute. He sees her eyebrows fuse together as she wipes the sponge across the bony white surface of the china. Without a word, she passes the dish onto him.
'M-Morioka?' Hitoshi calls, timidly.
'Don't talk to me' she demands, 'I'm angry right now'
'Why?'
'Why? Because! You think that I would drop you because of your Quirk!'
'Morio-'
'For fuck- Hitoshi-san,' the girl snits, 'You've seen those kids in class laughing about my Quirk and you're telling me that I judge people base on their Quirk? Excuse you!'
'Did you just curse-'
'I watched movies too, okay!?' Morioka scowls, throwing the sponge down the drain.
Hitoshi reaches out to catch it before the thing ends up amongst the left over.
'Hitoshi?' Mom calls out from behind their back, 'What's going on over there? Are you making Hana-chan upset?'
'It's nothing' the boy mumbles, 'She's fine'
'I'm not fine though?' his friend looks up, questioning, 'My best friend just told me he wants to break off the friendship because he thinks I discriminate him based on Quirk'
'I didn't say that-' he tries to defend himself, but stops as he goes over their conversation, 'Okay. Maybe I did say that. But I didn't mean it! I just want to let you know about it'
Morioka pumps the hand soap and washes her hands. He turns the faucet away from her, interrupting his friend from finishing washing the soap off of her wrist.
'Morioka, listen' he starts, hurriedly, 'I'm not trying to break off the friendship, okay?'
'Okay' she replies, 'because I didn't choose to be friends with you like I choose tomatoes from supermarket. Are we clear on that?'
Her eyes lock onto his, challenging any other doubt in his mind. The boy takes a step back, wondering if there were ever concern or trouble in his thoughts. He suspected her to be like everybody else, but there was also a part of him that expected the opposite. So, now that she is firing back at him, questioning his own sincerity like he did hers, Hitoshi is both glad and ashamed.
Morioka rips the faucet from his hand and concludes her hygienic effort. He didn't stop her, instead chose to remain at the sink for some soul searching.
'Hey' he mutters before she has the chance to leave, 'Sorry…'
'I like you for who you are, Hitoshi-san' Morioka sighs, 'If you like me for who I am, then this conversation never exists. If not, then we'll talk about it another day. Is that ok-'
'I like you for who you are'
Hitoshi cuts in fast, not wanting to lose his chance. 'Let's forget the conversation'
'What conversation?' the girl simpers before returning to the dinner table with his mom.
He watches as she appreciatively takes the offered apples and chows down on the food. Her smile shines brightly as she and mom continue whatever talk they never got to finish at dinner. It's a strange sight. He had seen mom smile before and he had seen Morioka smile as well, but there is something magical about putting them together in the same space and seeing them enjoying each other company. Hitoshi can't quite explain it, but he knows there is something at work there and he wants it to persist. He wants to prolong this moment, frames it and puts it on a wall.
'So… this is friendship' he whispers, 'It's actually not as bad as I thought'
Removing the denim apron, Hitoshi walks back to the table. He takes in the scenery of two grinning females as he sits down and serve himself a piece of fruit.
'What you laughing about?' the boy asks, looking back and forth between Morioka and his mother.
His friend offers another slide of apple and, probably to the day that he dies he wouldn't be able to forget, sing-songs.
'It's a secret'
Hana studies the clouds, humming as she treads along the dark road. Hitoshi walks by her side, constantly on his phone. She wonders if he still thinks about that awkward talk between them about him and his Quirk, but she tries to not bring it up again. After all, she did declare that it never happened.
She never thought about how Quirk dictates friends and one's life before. Maybe that's because she never had any of the previous. Maybe they were judging her because of her Quirk. Funny how that has never been a topic in her household. Mom never failed to let her know that no matter what her Quirk might be, she loves and respect Hana as a human being and as her daughter.
The girl puzzles over the question of whether or not Hitoshi's family ever gave him the same talk. She's sure they did. However, busy as they are, his mom and dad's influence in his life must be quite little. If that is the case then, shouldn't she take it upon herself to help them with that?
'What you thinking about?' her friend asks unexpectedly and she crosses her arms.
'I was just thinking that the stars are beautiful' Hana lies.
'You didn't even look up, Morioka' Hitoshi raises an eyebrow. Typical.
'I was thinking about how beautiful the stars are'
She presses, speaking through gritted teeth. Even the girl herself doesn't know why she's hiding it from him – probably out of shame, but she doesn't want her friend to know that she worries about his familiar education. If they hadn't raised him, she wouldn't have a friend. It's just a bit worrisome when she has to think about her responsibilities as his friend.
'Fine' the boy shrugs, 'Don't tell me'
And she complies, remaining quiet. They walk among the silence, simply savoring the whisper like breath from each other's existence. There's a certain romance about walking home late at night just the two of them. They usually bid their goodbyes at the closing door of the local train.
Hana takes delight in the drawn-out hours with him.
'So, are you excited about the sport festival?' she starts.
'Not too much' Hitoshi answers, 'Why?'
'You talked about it before. So, I just kind of assume that you are excited about it?'
'Are you?'
She shakes her head.
'I'm meh about it. I can't do much anyway. But I'll cheer for you! I can promise you that!'
It's not a lie. Aside from making flowers bloom on her head – partially - at will, there isn't much she could do with her Quirk. She doesn't have any interest in expanding it either. Whenever the girl tries to make flowers or plants bloom elsewhere, an unknown dread starts to comes into surface. Usually, it stays deep within her – safe and hidden – but for as long as she could remember, anytime she tries to grow something separately from herself, that uneasiness comes out to play.
It's unexplainable, and almost instinctual for her. Like a phobia.
'Hey' she speaks up, 'Do you think people have like Quirk-phobia?'
'Where did that come from?' Hitoshi chuckles, 'Like fear of people with Quirk or?'
'Like fear of using Quirk?'
'Hmm…' her friend muses, 'I don't know. Never thought about it. Why?'
Hana rubs her hands together. 'No particular reason' she comments, 'Just a thought'
The view of her apartment starts to span into sight. Their footsteps slow down and gradually halts.
'This is me' the girl smiles, walking backwards and away from Hitoshi, 'Thank for walking me back'
'Don't mention it' he locks his hands behind him, 'Mom's gonna kill me if I don't anyway. Sleep well, Morioka'
'You too, Hitoshi-san'
She says, turning to go back in. But something feels missing, so she turns around and grab his left elbow.
'You can come for dinner too!' Hana announces, '…If you want to… anytime?'
'I'll take you on that offer' Her friend cracks a smile – one that is free of any teasing, and only of joy.
Hana couldn't help but stare at him – a Hitoshi who is genuinely happy. She never knew there is this side to him. Sure, he had given her some non-sarcastic smiles before, but something changes the moment she saw him smile today. It felt almost like there had been a barrier between them that just now disappeared.
The boy waves her good night and she nods, walking back inside.
It wasn't quite as late as she thought it would be but no one seems to be around in the neighborhood. Hana struggles for some light from her phone as she climbs up the metal stair. The light must have burnt out. She has to let the land lady know to change it tomorrow. No other attendance here seems to care anyway.
Finally, she stumbles her way to her room, but as she tries to open the door, her phone rang.
'Oh, for f-' the girl growls, turning the door knob and pushes through.
'Hello?' she answers, searching for the light switch.
'Hana' mom's voice echoes through the line.
'Hey mom!' the girl greets, 'What's up? I just got back from-'
'Hana, I-Your…'
'Mom?'
Her blood runs cold. Something isn't right with mom. Her voice sounds out of place.
'Mom, what's going on?'
She asks. And the silence seems unbearable. But Hana soon finds that she should have settle for silence because when mom found her voice at last and speaks, the girl regretted ever knowing.
'Hana… Y-Your granpa just p-passed away'
