Chapter Text
Hitoshi wasn’t a morning person. He thrived at night, but he still had to stick to the normative schedule of 8AM lectures. Seriously, who thought of that? It’s way too early. Hitoshi couldn’t concentrate well when all of his concentration went into not falling asleep. Aizawa’s monotone voice wasn’t helping with that either, the only thing that could help is coffee. But Hitoshi was late this morning and hadn’t had time to get his usual coffee. Luckily he’s got a free period after this lecture.
Although Aizawa’s lectures kind of suck, the man always looks like he’d rather be anywhere else (probably in his bed, like Hitoshi), he’s the author of a few interesting and groundbreaking research articles on forensic psychology. Whatever he’s talking about this morning, Hitoshi has already read about it in Aizawa’s works. He’s a diligent student like that. At least when the topic interests him and forensic psychology does, that’s why he chose this major.
Right then though, Hitoshi couldn’t wait for the lecture to end and to get his caffeine. He probably did fall asleep at some point, because suddenly Aizawa was talking about something totally different. Well. Doesn’t matter that much, he preffers to sleep and study the syllabus later. It always worked out so far.
The campus coffee shop is located by the science department, which is a bit of a way from the psychology department. Hitoshi didn’t mind the fresh air though, it was just getting colder and autumn was his favourite season. As usual, lots of other students had the same idea and caffeine addiction and it took another ten minutes before Hitoshi finally got his treat. He probably shouldn’t have drank the hot liquid so fast after he aquired it, but oh well, a slightly burnt tongue hurts no one.
He then made his way to a small garden by the science building, Hitoshi’s designated napping spot, since science majors don’t leave ther labs very often and when they do, they don’t socialize. Just how Hitoshi likes it, no one will bother him here. At least usually no one does, because just as he was about to turn the corner, something bumped into him. Pretty violently, to be exact, not something but someone, who didn’t manage to stay upwards after the impact, while Hitoshi only stumbled a little. It’s almost clichee, the other person not only fell on their butt, but also managed to let go of a whole stack of papers that now covered the ground around them.
“Ouchie.”, they whined and Hitoshi held back a laugh, because who says ouchie out loud? Contrary to popular believe, Hitoshi doesn’t like to socialize, but he’s not mean either, so he squatts down to check if they didn’t break a leg or something. Which is entirely possible, Hitoshi knows a guy who likes to break his limbs over the smallest of incidents. Or, well, Izuku probably doesn’t like breaking his limbs, but he still does way too often.
“Are you okay?”, he asked the standard line and they looked up. Oh, Hitoshi knows this guy. Kaminari Denki from the former class A still looked exactly the same as he did in high school, just his weirdly yellow dyed hair was shorter. At least his hideously yellow hoodie fit the color scheme.
“Sorry, yes – oh, Shinsou? I didn’t know you went here! That’s cool! I’d love to catch up, but I’m kinda in a hurry here –“, Kaminari scrambled to gather his papers, they vaguely looked like corrected exam sheets with formulas, from the few quick glances Hitoshi got. Interesting. It’s also interesting that Kaminari remembered him at all, Hitoshi wasn’t really close with many people in high school. Kaminari pretty much got along with everyone, but they mostly had separate friend groups, so Hitoshi wouldn’t say they were friends. When it comes to romantic interest though… Hitoshi must admit, Kaminari probably was his gay awakening. His first crush definitely, though unrequited since the blonde had a very obvious crush on Jirou, whom he later got together with. Remembering that couple, they probably still are.
“No worries, I’ve got somewhere to be too.”, Hitoshi lied. Technically he didn’t need to be anywhere but in his favourite garden spot right now, he didn’t even know why he lied. It just slipped out. Didn’t matter, Kaminari hurried away after counting all the papers and Hitoshi spend his free period napping in the sun. That was the whole encounter. Their second encounter was a whole other story, oh boy, Hitoshi doesn’t really want to think back to it.
It was about two weeks later, when Hitoshi was riding his bike home. The cheap one-room apartment he rented out was further from campus, all the housing options closer to the university where either unavailable or too expensive when Hitoshi started looking for a place. So he rides his bike every day and it’s pretty much second nature. That’s maybe why Hitoshi’s attention wasn’t fully on the matter, or maybe he was tired. He usually paid better attention, minding the traffic and everything.
Not that day though, it happened so fast, one second he was on his bike and the next he was on the ground after swerving out of the way wildly. Why? Because someone decided to run right infront of his bike, they could be lucky that it wasn’t a car. And Hitoshi was lucky to be wearing a helmet, else he’d probably break his skull. His head was fine, his hand though? After the shock passed, he felt the throbbing in his right wrist as well as the cuts on his palms and knees.
He ignored it for now and looked around for who caused him to have to brake so suddenly. His bike was about a meter away and next to it stood a guy, probably about his age, looking very panicked. Hitoshi didn’t see immediate injuries, it was safe to assume that he didn’t get hit, but the shock seemed to affect him more than Hitoshi.
“Ren!”, a familiar voice called from behind and suddenly Kaminari was right next to the guy – Ren – and talking to him quietly, something Hitoshi couldn’t hear. Kaminari looked very worried, he didn’t even notice Hitoshi yet it seemed. They’re probably brothers, Hitoshi realized, Ren resembled Denki quite a bit even if his hair was fully black. Whatever Kaminari was doing, it seemed to help Ren calm down, so Hitoshi went to pick up his bike from the road, so no other accidents can becaused by it. The bike was fine, Hitoshi’s right wrist wasn’t, but Ren seemed to be doing better at least.
“Hey, uhm, I’m sorry? I wasn’t paying attention.”, Hitoshi said, only to make himself known. He couldn’t just flee the scene after all. According to law, he even should call the police for a traffic accident if someone was hurt (Hitoshi was hurt), but he was ready to let it go for a minor injury like that. He wouldn’t be able to pay for a doctors visit anyway.
“Oh, shit, oh – you again!”, Kaminari swerved arround and met his eyes, and oh, those were eyes of a mad older brother. If Hitoshi knew anything about facial expressions, he could tell this one apart. “Traffic rules clearly say that on turns like this one, cars and bikes have to look out for vulnerable pedestrians!”
Hitoshi looked arround and nodded, he was indeed about to turn right when the accident happened and he didn’t see Ren wanting to cross the street at all. Okay, this might be caused by Hitoshi’s terrible lack of sleep, when was the last time he slept a full night? He probably shouldn’t be allowed into traffic. He was about to apologize again, but he seemed to have taken too long to respond for Kaminari.
“Ugh, forget it, I’m not really someone who gets mad like this. I just got scared for my brother, but Ren is fine. Are you okay, Shinsou?”, his expression relaxed from the tense state it was in previously and his eyes roamed over Hitoshi, stopping at the wrist that he instinctivly held up to his chest for protection. “You gotta have this looked over, doesn’t look too good.”
“It’s not too bad. A bit of cooling will do.”, Hitoshi dismissed the concern. At least he hoped so.
“Maybe, but if it gets worse –“
“I know, I’ll see a doctor. I’m glad your brother is fine though, sorry again. I gotta go now.”, that at least wasn’t a lie. Hitoshi had to go take a nap before his night shift at the convinience store or else he’ll drop dead. He took one last glance at Kaminari’s brother, who stood shyly behind the blonde. Ren hadn’t said a single thing the whole time, he was just glancing between Kaminari, Hitoshi and the ground, a complete opposite of personality display. He seemed fine though, the shock was over, so Hitoshi gritt his teeth through the pain in his wrist and rode home, this time paying better attention even though he was tired.
In his small one-room apartment, Hitoshi took care of the cuts and iced his wrist before taking his well deserved nap. Three hours later he stood behind the convinience store counter, still tired and reluctant. There are at least a hundred things Hitoshi can think of that he’d rather do, than standing there and waiting for customers. But the bills don’t pay themselves and so, Hitoshi did what his manager told him to do with a still hurting wrist.
That’s how Hitoshi’s days usually look like. Wake up before the sun goes up, lectures, go home for a nap and work, study at night. Pretty fucked up sleeping schedule.
The next day, Hitoshi’s wrist was swollen purple and throbbing, even though he iced it right after his shift. So he iced it again and after realizing that he really couldn’t ride his bike like this, Hitoshi went on foot and took at least twice the time to get to university. It was only there that he finally realized that he couldn’t take notes with his right wrist hurting. Even typing on his laptop felt like an elefant stomping on his arm again. He somehow survived the first and second lecture, after which he luckily had a break. He usually met up with Izuku for lunch on Wednesdays, but he texted his friend that he was going to the infirmary first. Of course, Izuku immediatelly got worried and they met up at the infirmary instead. He even brought him sandwiches for lunch.
“That’s probably a sprain, very painful, but not as bad as a broken wrist. Takes at least two weeks to heal, still.”, Izuku frowned at the swollen wrist. Hitoshi made grabby hands with his left for the sandwich.
“Of course you’re an expert on bones and brakes.”, he said with a sarcastic undertone. Izuku was about to give him the sandwich, but he pulled away at that.
“Hey! Might I remind you, the last time I broke anything was in high school and that’s over two years ago! It’s not my fault that my body sucks.”
“Yeah, yeah, give me my food.”
“No, you’re mean.”, Izuku pouted, but holding the sandwich up high did nothing for him, since Hitoshi was still taller. He reached it easily.
“The truth is not mean, it’s just true.”, that’s one reason Hitoshi often clashed with other people. They’d label simple honesty as cruelty and Hitoshi learned to either avoid people altogether or stay quiet on his opinion. Izuku somehow never left though, even after witnessing hurt feelings from Hitoshi’s harsh words multiple times. He said it himself, even if the words hurt, honesty is better than to lie straight into someones face. “Didn’t you get anything?”
“They didn’t have gluten free options, but I brought snacks from home.”, he pulled out a bag of nuts. Then, finally, the nurse came to inspect Hitoshi’s wrist. It was indeed sprained, like Izuku said. That meant more icing and a wrist splint for at least two weeks. At least he didn’t have to buy that, since Izuku owned multiple wrist splints from past injuries.
“How did this even happen?”, Izuku asked on the way back from the infirmary.
“Bike accident – I almost ran over Kaminari’s brother, it was quite the shock. But he’s fine and other than this, I’m also fine.”
“Oh, that’s good. I didn’t know Denki had a brother, I haven’t heard from him for a while now, too…”, the former class A was and still is pretty tight knit, unlike Hitoshi’s class C. They have regular get togethers, according to Izuku. “Not to be a gossip, but – I think it was last year – he and Kyouka had a pretty ugly break up. He never shows to our get togethers when Kyouka is there and vice versa.”
“Oh.”, Izuku can say what he wants, but he’s a big gossiper. Hitoshi always finds out more class A tea through Izuku than he cares for. This was big news though, because Hitoshi remembers Kaminari and Jirou being The Couple. Sure, Izuku’s also dating Uraraka since high school and he knows about Bakugou and Kirishima, but those two were so close, it was unimaginable that they would ever fall apart.
“Yeah, I think he was very hurt. Kyouka is dating Momo now though. Did she cheat? I don’t know. Kacchan was pretty pissed, I remember that –”
“You’re such a gossiper, what the hell.”
“Ehh, sorry! Half of the gossip is Ochaco’s fault, I just take it in like a sponge!”, Izuku laughed awkwardly.
“I can see that. Kaminari looked fine, if you’re worried about that. A bit stressed, but nothing unusual for a student.”, Hitoshi said and soon they parted ways, both needing to go into different directions for their next lecture.
He didn’t want to admit it at first, but knowing that Kaminari was single did something to Hitoshi. It seemed that crush was only dormant for a while, not gone. He was pretty sure though, that they wouldn’t meet again so soon. Since he saw Kaminari near the science building, that’s probably his major and Hitoshi does go to that garden sometimes, but really not often enough for them to bump into each other again. That’s also not the place he saw Kaminari for a third time.
It was a Thursday afternoon and Hitoshi’s last lecture got cancelled, so he decided to spend the time at a café not far from campus and study for a bit. He didn’t have to work at the convinience store that day and every once in a while, Hitoshi wanted to just sit and enjoy an overprized coffee like that. All the better, it’s a cat café.
Hitoshi didn’t really believe in fate, but when he walked in, he saw Kaminari at one of the window tables with his laptop open, a half empty drink and a cat on his lap. He didn’t seem to mind the cat, he looked completely in the zone, bad posture and everything. It was also a table that Hitoshi had to walk past to order at the counter and through a blessing of the holy, Hitoshi was born to be a cat magnet. The cat on Kaminari’s lap jumped onto his laptop, nearly spilling his drink and startling the blonde, who also jumped in his seat. It honestly looked quite funny. Then the cat jumped down to greet Hitoshi and let him pet her.
“Wow, Yuki is a genius! That keyboard smash fixed my issue, what the hell!”, Kaminari gasped and grinned. “Oh and hi, Shinsou. Been seeing you a lot lately.”
“I’m glad it didn’t cause injury this time around. Mind if I join you?”, Hitoshi suddenly felt bold, he didn’t know what got into him. It’s probably the way Kaminari looked with his messy hair and moss green zip up hoodie, cute and attractive.
“Sure, go ahead.”, Kaminari shrugged.
“Cool, lemme just get a coffee, I’ll be right back.”, Hitoshi put down his bag and came back with a coffee about five minutes later. “So what did Yuki solve for you?”
“Oh, you know, just some homework for my coding class.”
“You study computer science?”
“No, I just take this coding class as an extra, I actually study physics!”
“For real? That’s ambitious.”, Hitoshi really was impressed. Any science major felt like a foreign language to him, he was okay-ish at science and maths in school, but he always preffered humanities.
“It’s not that hard once you understand the principles. What’s your major? Wait – lemme guess…”, Kaminari’s face scrunched up in thought, the image made Hitoshi’s heart melt. What on earth are these feelings he’s feeling? “Probably psychology, you seem the type.”
“Close. Forensic psychology, actually.”, Hitoshi took a sip of his coffee.
“Wow, that’s cool. I was wondering,” Kaminari leaned in, ominously lowering his voice like he was about to ask something deeply profound, “if that means you can tell I cheated on my high school finals.”
Hitoshi blinked. “That’s… a very specific concern.”, because Kaminari indeed had a class clown reputation in high school. It was a well known fact even in the other classes that he wasn’t on top of his studies, in fact he was at the bottom of class A. But it looks like he took a turn for the better, so Hitoshi didn’t see the point in worrying about the past.
“Answer the question.”
“I do think you’ve probably cheated at some point, I mean I did.” Hitoshi said dryly. “But I also think you probably wrote down way too much on your cheat sheet and it didn’t help one bit.”
Kaminari gasped, hand to his chest. “Wow. The elusive Shinsou cheating on finals? Never could have guessed that one. Also, my cheat sheet was pretty dope, all things considered.”
“So you confirm it?”
“Sure, since we’re both guilty.”
“I guess. You shouldn’t worry too much about high school though, it’s over and done and you’re here, literally studying physics in third year when I know about half of those who start don’t even finish it. I’m pretty sure you didn’t even need a cheat sheet.”
Kaminari narrowed his eyes. “…I don’t know if that was a compliment.”
“It wasn’t.”
“Wow.”
Despite himself, Hitoshi smiled slightly and took another sip from his coffee. Kaminari leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “Okay, your turn.” He squinted at Hitoshi with exaggerated intensity. “I’m guessing… You look like the type who – uh – has strong opinions about… pens.”
“…Pens.”
“Yeah. Like, you definitely judge people based on their handwriting. One of those who psychoanalyses the writing style, you know?”
“I don’t.”
“You do, I can tell.”
“I don’t,” Hitoshi repeated, though his pause before answering didn’t help his case. Okay, maybe he did unconciously, but only because that’s one of Aizawa’s research fields.
Kaminari pointed at him triumphantly. “HA! See?! You hesitated! That means I’m right.”
“That’s not how that works.”
“It is now.”
Hitoshi shook his head, a quiet laugh slipping out before he could stop it. He’s been having a conversation with someone other than Izuku for more than 15 minutes now and he’s enjoying it. Kaminari apparently was also enjoying himself from the way he grinned and that grin... Yeah, Hitoshi definitly likes him. This never happens to Hitoshi, seriously, what’s up with him?
For a moment, things settled comfortably, another cat strolled past Kaminari into Hitoshi’s lap and he petted her gently. Then Kaminari reached for his bag, still half-smiling. “Okay, but seriously, forensic psychology is insane. Like, do you ever just look at someone and go, ‘yeah, this guy definitely –‘”
He paused.
“…Wait.”
Hitoshi noticed the shift immediately. “What?”
Kaminari frowned, rummaging through his bag a little more urgently now. “I swear I had it like, five seconds ago.”
“Had what?”
“My –“, Kaminari stopped himself, then shook his head. “Nothing, it’s probably just buried in here somewhere.”
Hitoshi watched him for a second. The movement was just a little too frantic for something unimportant.
“You’re not very convincing, you know.”, he said.
“I am extremly convincing,” Kaminari shot back, not looking up. “Oscar-worthy, honestly.”
“You’re digging through your bag like you lost a winning lottery ticket.”
“Well maybe I did!”
“Did you?”
“…No.”, Kaminari admitted, then added, “But that would be nice.”
Hitoshi leaned back slightly, still watching. “So what are you actually looking for?”
Kaminari hesitated. Just for a second.
Then he straightened up, flashing a quick grin. “Relax, detective. It’s just my phone.”
Hitoshi’s gaze flicked to the table. “It’s not here.”
“Yeah, I noticed,” Kaminari said, laughing a little, but it came out thinner this time. “Which is, you know, mildly concerning, but also probably fine. Totally fine. Phones grow legs all the time.”
“They don’t.”
“Mine might.”
Hitoshi hummed. “When did you last have it?”
“Uh…”, Kaminari froze. “Just now. I think. Maybe when I came in?”
“That’s not very precise.”
“Wow, almost like I’m not a forensic psychology major.”
Hitoshi ignored that. “Did you use it at the counter?”
“…Maybe.”
“Did you leave it there?”
“I – don’t think so?”
“You don’t think so.”
Kaminari ran a hand through his hair, laughing again, a bit more genuinely this time out of sheer disbelief. “Okay, wow. I’ve known you for, what, ten minutes? And you’re already interrogating me.”
“You lost your phone. Also, we kinda know each other for longer.”
“Allegedly.”
“Right.”
There was a brief pause.
Then Hitoshi stood up.
Kaminari blinked. “Oh. We’re doing this? We’re mobilizing?”
“You can stay here and hope it magically reappears,”, Hitoshi said, grabbing his cup, “or we can go check the counter before someone takes it.”
“…You know what,”, Kaminari pushed his chair back quickly, “when you say it like that, it feels a lot less ‘fun quirky accident’ and more ‘I’m about to ruin my entire week.’”
“Glad I could help.”
Kaminari packed up his laptop and slung his bag over his shoulder, still half-laughing as he followed. “If my phone is gone, I’m blaming you.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know yet,” Kaminari said. “I’ll figure it out.”
Hitoshi shook his head, but there was a faint smile on his face as they headed toward the counter. Something about this felt simple, talking to Kaminari. In the end, they tracked back the phone all the way to Kaminari’s last lecture hall. He could be lucky that it wasn’t stolen, but seeing the cracks on the screen it was highly unlikely that someone would. It was also a good moment to exchange numbers, which Kaminari immediatelly agreed to in glee. Then they parted ways again.
Over the following days and weeks Kaminari became a part of the schedule, they found time slips when both would be free and met up quite frequently. It was nice, but Hitoshi’s feelings grew and he wasn’t certain if Kaminari felt anything romantic towards him. He didn’t even know if Kaminari liked guys and no matter how bold Hitoshi originally was at the cat café, he couldn’t find the courage to ask Kaminari out for real. So things stayed like that for a while, them just being friends and sharing lunch from time to time until one day, Kaminari asked a question.
“So, I know you’re not from the former class A, but we’re having a get together this week and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you joining in. What do you think?”
In a spout of spontanity, Hitoshi agreed. Then, later that week, he found out a whole new piece of Kaminari lore that probably should have stayed covered. Things changed from then on.