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Hitoshi slowly makes his way through the park, hands shoved into his pockets in an attempt to keep them warm and his eyes roaming the area.
He has been here at night often enough to know that no one lingers in this part of the park, but it's always better to be safe than sorry and so he keeps his vigilance up, even as he gets closer and closer to his normal bench.
It's too cold to sleep there tonight; when the temperatures fall below zero like they have for the last couple of nights, it's always best to keep moving, keep the blood going by staying on his feet and so it's not as if Hitoshi is even going to use his bench tonight, but it's always good to check it out regardless.
If someone else laid claim to it, he needs to know so there are no evil surprises the next night he wants to sleep on there.
It's still fucking freezing though, and no amount of walking will change that, but Hitoshi keeps going.
At least right until he comes into sight of his bench and finds a person stretched out on there.
That makes him freeze in his steps, before he forces himself onward, because it's more suspicious to turn around and walk back than to simply pass by it and at least like that he'll get a good look at the bench-thief.
Not that he's going to start a fight but it's always good to know how roams the streets at night.
Hitoshi tries to appear as nonchalant as he can, walking through the park in the middle of the night at temperatures that make even the animals hide away, but his eyes keep darting over to the bench, trying to make out she shape of the person, to see if there are any features he can make out in the dark.
It's not until he's practically right next to the bench that the person comes into focus and when Hitoshi spots a familiar mop of blond, spiky hair he stops dead in his tracks.
"Bakugou," he blurts out, because that's him, with that hair it has to be him and the figure stirs.
"The fuck," he grumbles as he pushes himself up, but the words come out low and slurred and Hitoshi doesn't think, he just darts forward and puts a hand to Bakugou's absolutely fucking freezing cheek. "Oi!" Bakugou barks out, his hand coming up to circle around Hitoshi's wrist and that hand is ice-cold, too.
"You're going to die if you stay out here," Hitoshi blurts out, uncaring of the danger of Bakugou's hand on his wrist, and it's cold enough that he thinks Bakugou might have some problems firing off his quirk anyway.
"Eyebags?" Bakugou mutters as his eyes fall on Hitoshi and he seems about as confused as Hitoshi feels, too.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"Could ask you the same," Bakugou bites out and pulls his shoulders up to his ears.
He's not shivering and Hitoshi thinks that's a bad sign, especially given how cold he is to the touch.
"Yeah, but I asked first," Hitoshi shoots back, absolutely unwilling to explain his current living situation to anyone and Bakugou's eyes slide over to his.
"Stupid," he gets out but he seems slow and Hitoshi worries. "Parents kicked me out," he finally admits and now that Hitoshi knows that, his appearance makes more sense.
Because Bakugou is definitely not dressed for the weather and he seems too prepared for this to be a normal occurrence, but if he got kicked out—
"You have to call someone," Hitoshi rushes out, his wrist still in Bakugou's freezing hand.
"No one to call," Bakugou says, and he sounds so fucking defeated it's almost scary.
"There's Aizawa," Hitoshi blurts out and for a moment Bakugou's eyes go wide before they narrow accusatorily.
"Then why are you not calling him for yourself?" Bakugou wants to know and Hitoshi almost curses when it becomes clear that Bakugou is starting to wake up or warm up; he's thinking faster now, that's for sure.
"That's different," Hitoshi almost roughly says. "You're his student. I'm just—"
Someone Aizawa spends his precious time on training; someone Aizawa has asked again and again to trust him and open up; someone Aizawa gave his phone number to so he could always call.
Hitoshi knows all of that, but it's not the same.
It never is for him. He learned that the hard way.
"You need to call him," Hitoshi reiterates, because Bakugou cannot stay out here, he's going to freeze to death.
He already seems weaker than Hitoshi would like and it's jarring, seeing him this listless.
"Don't have his number saved," Bakugou mumbles after a moment, as if he's embarrassed about that, but that's easy enough to fix.
Because Hitoshi doesn't have a phone, but he sure as hell has Aizawa's number memorised.
"Give it," he says, holding his hand out until Bakugou gets with the program and hands over his phone and Hitoshi is quick to type in the number, before he presses the call button.
"Bakugou, what's wrong?" Aizawa says after just two rings and at least he clearly has the numbers of his hell class memorised or at the very least saved.
"It's Shinsou, sensei," Hitoshi says and there's a confused silence on the other end of the line.
"This is Bakugou's phone," Aizawa finally replies and Hitoshi hums.
"And he's sitting here in front of me, but he's in need of help."
More audible confusion.
"What is happening?"
"I found him sleeping on a park bench; apparently his parents kicked him out."
The confusion is deafening at this point.
"What the hell are you doing at the park?" is what he eventually asks and Hitoshi briefly grits his teeth, because that is something he cannot answer.
"Sensei, he needs help. He's very cold and he seems out of it. I can't see any visible injuries, but he hasn't been yelling at me like he normally is."
"I'm not hurt," Bakugou mutters, apparently loudly enough for Aizawa to hear, because he grumbles a "That will be something I decide," before he lets out a deep sigh.
"Drop me a location pin, I'll come and get you."
"Him," Hitoshi weakly says, because he shouldn't even factor in here, but he's only met with the annoying beeping of a cut connection.
So much for keeping his head low, he thinks, worry settling low in his gut.
He still drops the location pin, because he fears Aizawa is going to track them down regardless, should he be tardy with that and he only gets a thumbs up in reply.
No indication how long he will take, no follow up questions. Hitoshi wonders if he could still just—leave, but then Bakugou lists to the side and Hitoshi is quick to reach out and stabilise him.
"Careful," he mutters and Bakugou only hums.
"What is wrong with you?" Hitoshi mumbles under his breath. "How long have you been like this?"
"'s past my bedtime," Bakugou gives back and if the situation wasn't so fucked up Hitoshi would probably be doubling over in laughter because what kind of grandpa is Bakugou even?
He can't think of anything intelligent to say to that, though, so he stays quiet and just makes sure that Bakugou doesn't slide off the bench or freeze to death right that instant, even though Hitoshi's own meagre body warmth is hardly going to help here.
He runs cold, normally, and he has been outside for close to four hours now and despite the fact that he's marginally better clothed for the weather, he is still cold.
Hitoshi tries to keep Bakugou engaged in an inane conversation but he's hardly met with anything more than grunts and enraged noises and soon enough he stops it all together.
Thankfully from that point on, it's not long until Aizawa's almost familiar figure makes its way over to them.
"Boys," he sighs out when he comes to a stop in front of them and Hitoshi is just about to get up, to make space so Aizawa can deal with Bakugou and whatever he needs, when a thick, heavy blanket is being dropped on both of them, before it's also tucked around them. "Here," Aizawa adds and thrusts a warm water bottle into their middle before he hands both of them a thermos as well. "Drink that, but careful, it's hot."
Bakugou follows the instructions easily enough and Hitoshi's stomach grumbles when he smells the chicken broth but he can't bring himself to open his own thermos.
It's not as if this is new for him and should he get used to this then the next nights are going to be fucking horrible.
"What's going on here?" Aizawa asks after a moment, carefully watching how Bakugou takes a sip of the broth and definitely also noticing that Hitoshi doesn't.
"He said his parents kicked him out," Hitoshi helpfully says, as if that could take the heat off him and going by the look he receives for it, Aizawa is on to him.
"Bakugou?" Aizawa still asks, though his gaze promises Hitoshi the same interrogation later and Bakugou slumps.
"What he said," he sighs out and takes another sip of the soup. "Got loud, mouthed off, was kicked to the curb. Don't know what you want me to say."
"That's about enough, I think," Aizawa says and drags a hand over his face. "Did they hit you?"
"No." There's a very clear hesitation before he ducks deeper into the blanket and then says "Well, not more than the hag normally does."
"Wonderful," Aizawa drily gives back and then his gaze turns towards Hitoshi.
Who shrinks in on himself as best he can, hoping against hope that maybe Aizawa will simply lose interest in him.
"And what about you?"
"Nothing," Hitoshi is quick to deny, because there's nothing to say about his own situation.
It just is what it is.
"So you being here is just a coincident?"
"Yes! Yes, that's exactly what it is, glad I could be of help, I'll be on my way then," Hitoshi rushes out and untangles himself from the blanket, getting up as fast as he can, even though he still tries to make sure that Bakugou stays covered.
"Hitoshi!" Aizawa snaps and just like that, Hitoshi freezes. "Don't take me for a fool. You're not home, just like Bakugou isn't and I demand an explanation. Have you been kicked out as well?"
"No," Hitoshi gives back, because he hasn't. He's—just not allowed into the house past a certain time but that isn't being kicked out.
That's just a rule that exists for him.
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I—" Hitoshi cuts himself off because he doesn't have a real explanation, has no excuse for his nightly exploits in the parks of this area and Aizawa seems to know it as well, because he sighs and then softens almost imperceptibly.
"Can you go back home?" he asks, his voice suddenly gentle and Hitoshi ducks his head.
"No," he admits, because he knows he can't lie to Aizawa.
His only way out of this now is to brainwash him and Hitoshi is not going to do that.
"Why not?"
"It's—my guardians—I'm unpredictable, you know," Hitoshi mumbles and he keeps his gaze fixed on the ground. "There's no knowing what I would do when they are asleep and locking me up and muzzling me hasn't helped them feeling save so—"
"They kick you out every night?" Aizawa hisses, just as Bakugou lets out a confused "Muzzling?" and Hitoshi takes a shaky step back.
"It’s not—they are not kicking me out, that's not it, there is just a rule in place that tells me what to do and it's fine, it's—"
"That's it, I'm taking you both home," Aizawa interrupts him, and even though his voice doesn't allow any kind of argument, Hitoshi jerks at his words.
"No!" he almost yells out at the same time Bakugou grumbles out the same reply and Hitoshi doesn't even want to imagine what's going to happen to him should Aizawa drop him at the doorstep of his guardians.
Aizawa looks kind of funny at them before he says "Home with me. I'm not sending you back to your families until we figure this situation out but it's too cold out here and I, for one, want to be home. So you're coming with me."
"Oh," Hitoshi breathes out, because he wasn't expecting that and even Bakugou seems perplexed by that.
"Nothing to figure out. I'll go back tomorrow," he says as if it's a foregone conclusion and Aizawa pinches the bridge of his nose.
"Bakugou, you're underage and out at a time where you're not supposed to be, in weather that is cold enough to kill. You're not dressed adequately, your guardians have no idea where you are and you mentioned that your mother hit you. You're not going back home until I've had a talk with the police and then your parents. And Hitoshi," he says and turns his gaze on him. "You just said your guardians don't allow you into the house after a certain time at all, you mentioned being locked up and muzzled and those are not things I will tolerate happening to you, so you are not going back until I talked to the police and CPS and then your guardians and could we all please just move this somewhere warm now? I have cats at home."
It feels like a cheap bribe, it feels ridiculous and stupid and it shouldn't work, but Bakugou hesitates for only a moment before he shrugs and says "Whatever," and then he gets up as if he's ready to follow Aizawa anywhere and strangely enough, Hitoshi feels that same urge in his chest, too.
"One of them loves to cuddle," Aizawa adds when Hitoshi clearly takes too long to come to a decision and it's enough to make him crack a smile, even as he nods and therefore sees his entire life crumbling around him.
But if he gets to pet a cat through all of it then maybe, he can survive it.