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You hadn’t ever really gotten close to Hitoshi Shinsou before today. He was a cryptid at best who always firmly kept to himself, and being a bit shy yourself, you never found (or made) an opportunity to approach him. It wasn’t as if you disliked him; on the contrary, you were a bit curious about him and the way he always carried himself, hunchbacked and solitary. Of course, everything changes when a life hangs in the balance.
“I-I’m so sorry,” you say, almost pathetically in front of him as your teeth chatter loudly, “b-but you’re the closest one around here, and I—we—need your help.”
It takes all of your courage not to bolt, but the cold, unmoving mass cradled in your arms grounds you. You hadn’t meant to be caught outside in the snowstorm, especially since classes were cancelled. But the walk from UA to your dorm isn’t terrible if you bundle up properly, and you had emergency repairs to take care of on campus. Something dark in the white abyss had caught you eye during the trek, though, and a closer look revealed nothing to you but horror.
Shinsou raises an eyebrow at your sorry state. He’s clearly thinking about turning you away, and you can’t blame him for it. It’s an ungodly hour of morning, you’re a weirdo nobody, but you can’t back down. You lower your arm to show him, and the way his violet eyes soften into sweetened summer lilacs is almost magical.
“Come in.”
You swallow your awkwardness and fear and everything in between as best as you can and obey. His room is the first one you’ve knocked on to have anybody inside. You hadn’t been aiming for Shinsou, and when he’d opened up you’d been so startled that you could hardly say anything at all. But you’re committed to the situation at this point, no matter how dire, and follow him inside. The rush of heat that contrasts the cold hallway makes your numb fingers burn and tingle. He searches inside his dresser for something and then brings out a plain white towel, laying it down on the desk that sits in the middle of his room. You try not to be nosy and look around, but there’s a faint smell in his room that’s comforting and reminds you of times long gone.
“How is it doing?” he asks with quiet urgency, forgoing all pleasantries and getting right to the situation at hand. For a second you stop yourself from replying; everybody had told you, ‘don’t ever reply to Shinsou’, because of his quirk. People shy away from him and his wild mass of hair. People… talked. You tried not to listen because it’s unfair to think something of a guy you’ve never met, but of course you’d be a little hesitant. Somebody who could get in your head and make you do whatever he wants?
But then you figured that you could risk it. You’re not the bravest soul there is, but this is something worth clenching your fists and fighting through the fear for. Besides, the way his hooded eyes meet yours makes you feel safer than you ever have before, and your heart thuds a bit anxiously when you open your mouth.
“I think it’s breathing, but it’s been out in the cold for so long that I don’t… I don’t know if…” You trail off now, sadness wrenching your heart and gut. It was all you could do to hold the prickling in your eyes at bay. But to your surprise, Shinsou merely turns away.
“It’ll make it.”
He says it with such simple conviction that you’re stunned into silence. He’s already wrapping the kitten up in the towel and laying his broad hands on its furry chest, gently giving it his warmth. It comes so naturally to him, this essence of… life giving, that you can’t help but wonder just why anybody would say he’s more suited to villainy.
Now that your mission to save this kitten has pretty much been achieved, you wondered if you should just duck out and… go. Your adrenaline is dying away and you only now just realize what kind of situation you have stormed into, guns blazing. You just… demanded to enter a stranger (a boy’s!) room. And now you two are just sitting around, no eyes in sight? It’s already against the rules for people of the opposite sex to be in other’s rooms. It’s not well enforced, but if anybody found out that you were hiding out in Hitoshi Shinsou’s room… Your face is reddening and it’s not from the frigid cold outdoors. But before you can get up from your knees to excuse yourself, Shinsou looks over and nods his head down.
“Wh-what?” you breathe nervously, sensing a note of tension in the air that shouldn’t be broken. He looks at you for a moment before answering, and it’s almost like he holds you captive in it.
“There’s a heartbeat,” he whispers back, his voice so calming that already your heart begins to ease. “Look; it’s moving.”
The kitten had been so still when you found it that you’d already resolved yourself to bad news. You hardly know what Shinsou’s saying at first, too taken aback with relief and joy. Immediately you scoot closer, forgetting your shyness, and peer down at the bundle. Sure enough, an impossibly tiny pink tongue has poked out and its gossamer whiskers twitch. The ears look stiff but more alive than before. Its paws move slowly but it bats at Shinsou’s thumb with a carefree laziness, looking almost unreal near his large hand
“You saved it, looks like.” Shinsou looks up with a smile—oh my god, he’s smiling at you—and it’s all you can do not to freak out and grin back like a lunatic.
“N-no, it’s thanks to you!”
You wince at yourself. Now it sounds like you’re challenging him to a ‘polite battle’, but Shinsou doesn’t seem to notice, instead giving a small chuckle. You can hardly believe it. You’d always thought he was some sort of enigma, but here he was, sharing a tender moment with you like it was no big deal at all. He notices you staring at him because he looks up and you look away, praying that your cheeks aren’t mottled with a stupid blush.
“So, animals aren’t allowed in the dorms, but I think if you’re willing to help me keep a secret…”
He says it so casually that at first you take it the wrong way and feel your heart leap up into your throat. But then you realize (duh) he’s talking about the cat, not you, and you’re nodding furiously to cover for the slack-jawed stare you’d accidentally given him.
“I-I mean… yes, I’d like to help you take care of it! I-if you don’t mind.”
“Are you okay?” he asks, eyebrows furrowing with concern. He reaches out to tap your forehead with the back of his fingers. “How long were you out in the cold for?”
You now wonder if Shinsou also has the ability to bring you back to life, because the soft way he touches you is sure to knock a few years off your lifespan. Beneath the both of you, the kitten mewls for the first time, and the sleepy way it grins makes you suspicious that it’s laughing at you.