Chapter Text
1- Shinso
People had scary intuitions
Oddly enough, Shinso had found himself on the sidewalk, looking forward to hop in a cab to quickly return to his apartment and shake off that hellish day, because all the stress and fatigue showed no sign of reducing his fictional thermometer even a measly bit.
Even if he only had to do a few bureaucratic tasks for the agency he worked for today, the aftermath of the hurricane that had hit Japan hard three months ago was unbearable. Not forgetting that he had lost his car during the disaster; he was just waiting for the insurance company to pay him out for a new one, but he knew he wasn't the only one and that everything was going slowly. He had barely managed to organize a dinner with his boyfriend, and in all these years it had never happened.
The damage was so extensive that Pro Heroes had had to help workers renovate several buildings, clean up the cities, and rebuild the subways, which had taken at least two months. It goes without saying that there had been numerous casualties, and the villains could not pass up the opportunity of a temporary weakening. Like a virus that takes over the antibodies when the immune defences are weakened, crime waited for nothing else.
Spotting the cab, Shinso instinctively stood on his tiptoes and stretched out an arm. The car stopped not very far from his position and he reached it immediately, almost sighing with relief. Normally he never chose a cab, because apart from being quite expensive compared to conventional means of transportation such as trains, buses or subways, he was always the centre of a thousand stares that stared at him while he waited. It was also true that he didn’t have stratospheric success, but thanks to the trampoline he had jumped on at the Yuei, he had gained some credits and certain notoriety. Despite the different hairstyle, with his purple hair falling over part of his black mask, people had scary intuitions. Until three months ago, he didn't know exactly how Midoriya could even breathe.
He waited for the driver to unlock the door and climbed aboard, appreciating the comfort of the seats. He immediately told the cab driver the destination and made himself comfortable in the pleasant warmth inside the car, winter was now there. His clothes could only confirm that: blue jeans and a black polo shirt, almost completely covered by the thick coat that reached his knees. In fact, today it wasn't so windy that he was forced to wear a scarf; among other things, a garment that reassured him in any situation.
The dusk, which Shinso watched from the window, awakened in him an incredible longing for some absurd reason. Sometimes he almost seemed to hear a voice whispering to him, "Maybe you could have done more," but he knew that the world didn't revolve around him and that certain events simply had to happen, even if they had no particular purpose.
"Sad, isn't it?"
The hero turned around and was almost confused when he heard a voice. Right, the driver was a human, with a brain and a heart. Perhaps it was rude of him not to greet immediately when he got in.
"The city, I mean," he specified later. "Some faces I haven't seen since the retreat of All Might. Well! Inevitably, after all. I know it may seem obvious, but in many cases, it isn't: thank you for what you do. "
Shinso caught himself staring at his own face through the rear-view mirror as if he was totally clueless. Yes, people really did have scary intuitions. As a precaution, he always gave an address a few blocks closer to his apartment building to protect his privacy.
"That's our job," he simply replied, without going into detail. At that moment, he felt the phone vibrate in his pocket, saving him from a conversation he desperately wanted to avoid. "Excuse me, it's urgent."
He answered without even seeing the contact because at that time all calls were urgent. And as soon as it was about any advertisement, he hung up with a resounding insult.
"Hitoshi." Few people called him by name. "I'd like to talk to you tonight. Are you available?"
Shinso took two fingers and massaged the forehead area between his eyebrows. Denki is going to kill me , he thought. "Professor... I'm not on duty, but I have an appointment. Is it an emergency?"
He heard a sigh on the other end of the line, probably Professor Aizawa was imagining the situation. "If you can reschedule, I'd like to meet with you today. I'm sorry it's so short notice. "
"No, no problem, Professor," he replied wearily. "I'll call you back, I'm on my way home now."
"All right, see you later."
"See you later."
Great. Now he had to call Kaminari, his boyfriend, and tell him that they wouldn't be having sex today either. Shinso decided it was neither the time nor the place to tell him that in a cab, so he prayed again that the driver wouldn't start another conversation about Heroes.
"You know, sir, I recognized you right away," the man began proudly.
He was actually interested in that. "By what?"
"During the hurricane, you were in the Beika district. There were heavy rain and flooded streets. You helped my family get on the raft, and you had hair like you wears today, sir. Just incredibly soaked," he explained as if telling a story.
Shinso listened but obviously couldn't remember every detail of the scene he was referring to. "I see."
The driver nodded. "I've never been a fan of Heroes, so I know next to nothing about their past or their other exploits, and I'm not going to ask for photos. Of course, hiding your face involves a bit of healthy intuition, but I believe that certain experiences work on the inside. I just wanted to tell you that, sir. "
Shinso was almost hypnotized by this speech. Usually, people brought up the Quirk's eternal metaphysical argument that, in the opinion of many, was thoroughly suited for a villain. Every day he discovered other reasons that convinced him that his choice had been correct, and what the man in the cab had confessed to him was one of them.
All in all, he smiled. "It's part of the job."
That was the end of the conversation. For a man of few words like him, he was lucky to have met a fan of his who was content with simple, concise answers. That was an aspect of his personality that Professor Aizawa particularly appreciated; he didn't dwell on it and got straight to the point. Who knows what he wanted to talk about that evening... Certainly not about his relationship with Kaminari, otherwise he would have invited him to the meeting as well. It was useless to think too much, he would find out in a few hours.
"Relax," the cab driver advised. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Never trust appearances. "
Shinso raised an eyebrow. Wasn't he the one who controlled minds? Or did this guy have an ability that allowed him to read minds? Either way, he had a strange feeling.
"How do you know?"
The cab driver shrugged. "It's just an intuition."
That day it began to weigh on his back like a boulder; he could not take it anymore. The fact that the driver was human added to the disadvantage of taking a cab home, especially when he was alone. Now he had even more of a headache.
Fortunately, they arrived at their destination in a few minutes. Shinso paid for the ride with a tip and hurried out. He didn't know why, but the man's words continued to buzz in his head, even accompanying him to his apartment building. He entered the password and quickly entered the elevator. He had liked the apartment from the beginning: the people were quiet and respectful, and the environment was really pleasant. He knew that his boyfriend wanted to live with him, but Professor Aizawa had warned him. The mass media were just waiting for scandals of all kinds, and a homosexual hero was never well seen. He was still not sure whether he should take this step. Perhaps he should have asked Bakugo for advice. No, better not, he was still in a delicate phase and would probably have sent him to hell without much preamble as soon as he'd said his name.
He sighed as he entered his apartment and only then realized how tired he felt. It was nothing compared to the discomfort he'd felt in the cab. Without taking off his winter coat, he went straight to the bathroom and got a jar of pills. He took them on his doctor's prescription, probably the severe headaches that afflicted him were a result of his Quirk. The more he used it, the more damage it did. Plus, all the commitments he was taking on weren't helping at all. It was similar to Eraser Head problem; when he used his eyes, they were dry and red.
He looked at himself in the mirror with heavy breathing and it wasn't hard for him to call himself a disaster. He'd more noticeable dark circles under his eyes, sweaty hair, and a sweaty forehead. Soon he decided to call Kaminari after he'd eaten something and taken a long shower.
So, he quickly threw the clothes on the floor and started washing, also trying the new anti-dandruff shampoo he bought at the supermarket. He always used a lot of gel to style his hair so that his skin, which was already too greasy, wouldn't get more damaged.
Regenerating, he switched to skincare and randomly put all his clothes, except his coat, in the basket of dirty clothes. He covered himself with his robe and went to the kitchen, where he found that he'd some fruit to consume. He decided to make himself a quick and light fruit salad, while the bad feeling that was buzzing around somewhere in his head wouldn't stop. What did it mean? On the other hand, it had no logical or rational basis. He'd only exchanged a few words with the cab driver and found himself planning an improvised dinner with Professor Aizawa. The connection allowed him to remember that he'd call Kaminari to warn him of the bad news.
So, he pulled the phone out of his coat pocket and called him. He had to wait a few seconds before he heard his boyfriend's cheerful voice. "Hitoshi! I'm just on my way back from work. I'll see you at the usual place, okay? I swear I won't be with you after this until tomorrow morning, and then-"
"Denki, sorry..." began Shinso, feeling guilty for ruining the other's enthusiasm.
"Kirishima, I'll go away for a moment ..." There was a brief pause. "Hey, is everything all right with you? Did something happen? "
"Yeah, well... Before Professor Aizawa called me and asked to come out and talk. Unfortunately, we have to postpone our date," he explained, anticipating a tantrum.
"Again? Come on, what the fuck!" the exasperated blond snarled, but then seemed to calm down. "What if I come with you? Please, I need to be with you for a while!"
"I know, I'd like to be with you too," he confessed, playing with the spoon he was using to eat his fruit salad. "He'd told me ... that I could take you, I mean."
Kaminari seemed to need some time to process the new information. "Hitoshi, really, I'm tired. Since his death, everything seems different, everything seems harder. But I'm afraid that reality has only ever been one since I suggested we should live together. I must go now."
Shinso winced. "No! Denki, wait..."
He hung up.
"Damn it!"
He finished eating the fruit salad and checked the time; the phone showed 7:46 pm. He also had to call the professor to arrange the time and place. As Shinso thought about the previous phone call, he thought of the cab driver's words. Never trust appearances . Kaminari just had the wrong impression. Why did everything go wrong?
He cleared the bowl and got dressed: a pair of black pants and a white shirt that was currently only half-buttoned. Then he moved on to the hair and styled it as usual with some gel in front of the mirror. When he was done with that and had a slightly clearer head, he called Aizawa. "Professor, dinner confirmed. Can you tell me what we're going to talk about? I've got a worm that won't leave me alone. "
"I've always appreciated your intuition, Hitoshi," replied the elder, who'd expected it.
At that moment, someone rang the doorbell. Who could that be? Usually, they all called with some notice before they got there. Besides, they all knew that he might not be home because of his work.
"Unfortunately, I can't anticipate anything and they might listen to the phone call. I'll text you the location. For now, we'll see around 10:15 p.m. when the place is cleared. "
Shinso was starting to get restless. "Agreed. I'll see you tonight."
The person behind the door continued to ring, and the hero became nervous. On this day, he had the universe against him. "All right, here I come!"
He charged the phone and opened the door when he found himself in front of the last person he wanted to have anything to do with.
"Bakugo!" he shouted, without exaggerating the tone of his voice, as they stood in front of the door of the house. "What are you doing here? The other day should be the last! "
"Let me in, zombie," was his greeting, rude and pushy.
This day was getting worse and worse. Shinso rolled his eyes and felt forced to let the guest through to avoid tantrums on the landing. "How did you manage to get to my apartment?"
After discarding his coat and cap, Bakugo untied his shoes and replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "I asked your manager for the password, genius."
Shinso knew that the verb "ask" had a completely different meaning with Bakugo... Besides, he had to make sure his manager was still alive. Bakugo seemed to be out of shape. He'd certainly lost some muscle mass, even slimmed down, and had bags under his eyes. He probably needed sleep.
"This time is the last one," the blond promised and sat down on the corner sofa.
He sighed. "Bakugo, it's been three months. I know everyone goes through these moments in different ways, but you're the Number One Hero now. And if you keep this up, you won't be so for much longer. "
Bakugo stared at him. "And what the hell am I supposed to care about? Am I supposed to celebrate because my dream came true? Wow! In this fucking way ?"
A minute of silence passed, during which Shinso felt the impending headache resurface in his brain. In a way, this situation was reminiscent of Endeavor's asceticism, when the hero was accepted as Number One only with the "Can't You See? kid" speech and after a fight that could've been fatal.
"Look, I have a dinner tonight that I can't postpone. I can't stay for too long... " he said, trying to find the right words to avoid possible arguments. "You can't keep escaping into a dream, and you know it. If you promise me that it'll really be the last time, I'll do it. "
He nodded. "It's the only way... to not be alone."