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Whoever had decided that freshmen-- first years, should be allowed to intern just months into the gate of Yuwei must have been dropped on their heads as a kid. It didn’t make sense, throwing these young kids into something so dangerous with little to no experience. What was so dangerous? Well.
Hizashi. To put it lightly.
Simple recon, nothing that should’ve ever been anything so complicated. He accompanied his internship overviewer, some hero he’d never heard of before with a sound based quirk like his own, on a patrol of the city. And it was dusk,,, maybe that’s why what happened was so unexpected, the low light. Zashi could point blame all the wanted, but he knew that,,, it was his fault. And no matter how he tried to cover it up, standing in the rubble, it was his fault.
With no license for this, he made a fatal mistake.
It was a construction site. He happened to not look where he was going as he conversed with his elder, and he slipped down into a sudden sinkhole. It wasn’t that bad at first, he’d just have to crawl out. But it wasn’t something natural. His hero, assigned to him, was left tumbling down after him for a rescue he shouldn’t’ve ever needed. And maybe that’s why, when the street next to them collapsed, no one could save the girl falling away from her family and to the concrete below.
The scene had stopped dead where he was, staring in horror as he was whisked up from the tumbled earth covering his legs. And the only thing bad about it,,, was he almost saw it coming. And as he closes his eyes now, he can replay his actions.
Tumbling and tripping, he broke from the grip of the hero and ran. Right to her. Where she lay, panting and confused. There wasn’t any signs of injury at first, but he didn’t stop to be concerned with that. And suddenly the ground was ripped from under him, some other quirk-- he wasn’t even sure what it was, had fished him out. Along with the girl, thankfully, as the fight roared on from the other side of the crevice.
When another civilian had happened to fall, he couldn’t stop himself from thrashing from the grip of the hero, sounding his quirk through horrified tears to the problem. It caused the villain to stumble and,, it quite honestly helped the fight tip to the capture of the earth-shattering quirk holder, but Zashi would never see it that way.
The injuries happened to be extensive, some broken bones, twists, lesions, and he blamed himself for it all. When he was finally written off as fine, he ran with his tail between his legs away, too ashamed to even admit anything he’d done.
The truth was, he helped. He saved those two by providing a distraction to the villain, he didn’t see it, but the reason he was whisked away was to avoid projectiles directed to him instead of the girl. He, albeit a fucking idiot, managed to save her in some inadvertent self-faulted way.
So now he sits, on top of that same building next to the fire escape he knew from when he was even a kid. Where he went to escape the city and get lost in what was above. But this time it didn’t help.
Eventually, Shouta had gotten suspicious. He hadn’t seen his friend come back from class and that’s about time he decided to message him. It’d been a couple of hours and, honestly, that’s the maximum that Zashi’d ever been late to reply. Luckily, the reply came in as he set himself on the trolley.
[🐱leetle creacher (the beast)🐱] sent at 17:23 ; zashi
[🐱leetle creacher (the beast)🐱] sent at 17:27 ; zashi its been 3 hours, where are you
[🐱leetle creacher (the beast)🐱] sent at 17:28 ; if you dont answer, im gonna come look for you and I will not be a happy man, I promise you
[✨i seduced the beast✨] sent at 17:31 ; Hey!!! Sorry!!1 Got busy!
[🐱leetle creacher (the beast)🐱] sent at 17:31 ; you know how I feel about liars
[✨i seduced the beast✨] sent at 17:32 ;
[✨i seduced the beast✨] sent at 17:32 ; Alright!!! You got me.
[🐱leetle creacher (the beast)🐱] sent at 17:32 ; how the fuck did you just do that space-
[🐱leetle creacher (the beast)🐱] sent at 17:33 ; what do you mean I got you, ive been looking for you and I can assure you I do not have you
[✨i seduced the beast✨] sent at 17:33 ; I mean Im sitting on top of fort Knox
[🐱leetle creacher (the beast)🐱] sent at 17:33 ; it costs literally no money to talk like a normal person, I have no idea what a fort Knox is
[🐱leetle creacher (the beast)🐱] sent at 17:38 ; wait it’s that apartment building isnt it
[🐱leetle creacher (the beast)🐱] sent at 17:39 ; dont you jump without me
[🐱leetle creacher (the beast)🐱] sent at 17:39 ; im on my way
Pretty soon, Zashi’s met with the thunderous steps up the fire escape; the old rickety thing he’s surprised hasn’t crumbled to the ground yet. With as many times as both of them have run up here, it’s probably been due for a replacement for a while. And, judging from the crash,,, that while is probably now. Thankfully when he’s turned in concern, he sees a panting Shouta staring over the edge of the building with his capture tape. At least getting down isn’t gonna be a problem, but he can’t help but crack a small smile before turning back to staring down at the street beneath his dangling legs.
“Christ, Zashi, wh-what even,,, happened, that you’re up here again?”
“D,,Did you just break the fire escape?”
“I might’ve. Stop avoiding the question.”
Soon enough, there’s a weight beside the blonde, a little less reluctant to be near the edge than the other. And in a moment of observation, there’s a brow raised from the new addition. “Zashi,,, have you been,, crying?”
Pretty soon there’s a dirty palm brought to the blondes face as he turns away from Sho, as if wiping them now is gonna erase the fact he’s been caught.
“No.”
“Again, you’re lying.”
“,,,I-,,,” pausing with a sigh, the blonde’s expression finally drops and his legs are brought up from the edge to his chest. “I know.”
Taking a sigh, Sho looks over to the city, something he’d learned before. Give him space, let him settle into the realization, and then push slightly. And he’s generous with the time allotted for Yamada to calm down.
And soon, the suns hit the point in their view where it starts to paint the sky pink. With the sunset illuminating the city below, the bustle almost seems to start dying, fading into the sunset. But it’s brought back, albeit muted, with an inquiry.
“So,, what happened?” Shouta’s left looking to the blond, brow raised as the form next to him seems to relax. He’s, of course, sitting forwards to attempt to show at least a hint of the genuine interest he has. It’s not that it’s not there, let me clear that suspicion. It’s that he’s bad at showing it. And the air grows a little heavy as a breath is taken from Hizashi, shaken and clearly nearly giving weight to the situation.
Before either than even fully comprehend, The blondes moved closer, one leg dropping over the trim of the building and his head dropping on the other's shoulder. While Aizawa would like to comment, it shocks him enough not to.
“That bad, huh?” With a slight ‘tsk,’ he offers his shoulder more, leaning closer just so the other knows he’s not refusing him. And maybe a little more.
“I-I,,, al,,,almost got,,, someone killed.”
The air hangs heavier, weighing down and starting to crush the atmosphere between the two. Mostly Hizashi, as his shaking begins to pick up once more and the tears threaten to prick. But Shouta is calm, staring at the colors dancing around the sun. “Almost. They’re still alive, aren’t they?”
“W-Well yeah b,,but--”
“You do know as heroes, it’s our job to save people. And judging as they aren’t dead-- it sounds like you did that job.” A brow raised, he glances to Hizashi.
“But-- Sho, s,,,she could’ve died because,, of me.”
“But she didn’t, right?”
There’s silence between them as green eyes, once hurt and horrified, calm into,, confusion. “No, sh,,,she’s okay.” And then there’s that helplessness. “But I couldn’t do anything! I keep-- slipping, my quirk, my feet-- I keep getting in the way and messing up, making the real heroes jobs harder and,, and-”
There’s a sudden weight against the others mouth, a finger, hushing him from working himself up again. And there’s a visible pout from the blonde before the finger's gone and he’s calm enough to continue. “I just feel,,, like I’m not meant to be a hero.”
There’s a snort from the other, and a quick laugh before he raises a brow. “And who IS meant to be a hero? Who’s born with the defined right to be something more than a human being? Why’re you beating yourself up so much when you know its a goal and not a federal requirement? Get better. It’s just a bump in the road, just learn to go around it next time.”
There’s silence from the blonde before Sho continues, working with his words best he can to erase that constipated look from his face. “My point is, she isn’t dead. She gets to see the people she cares about again and live life being more careful, which isn’t even a bad thing considering half the people in the world can be blind idiots. I know you saved her somehow, you’re Yamada Hizashi, aren’t you? Worlds best hero, they don’t even know it.”
There’s a spark of recognition in Hizashi’s eyes, some passion deeper down burning again as he lifts his head from his friend's shoulder. A dusting of pink to accompany the last tear he wipes with a smile and he’s left chuckling again ever so slightly. “D,,,Don’t give pep talks for a living, Sho, leave it to me.” The words strike a bit of a nerve in the other, causing him to look a little offended.
“Hey-- I’m trying.” The look causes Hizashi to laugh just that much more, actually slipping back into his bubbly self, and not just in false pretenses. It’s a welcome change and,, you know, Shouta might be a little offended, but seeing the other laugh’s just enough to make him crack a smile, too. But not before swatting him upside the head.
“If you ever disappear like that again, I’m grounding you for a week.”
With a salute, there’s an ill-placed ‘yessir’ in Zashi’s chuckling. Shoulder shoved and tension resolved, Sho’s left glaring at the edges of the sun as it sets. And it gives him a smaller smile on his lips, eyes growing just that much kinder,, and the blonde mimics it. Not intentionally, it’s just something in the air.
Pretty soon, Hizashi’s met with some,,, awkward words. “You know you don’t have to run up here every time something's wrong. ,,,I’m always here-- and,,, you’re a pretty good hero in my book.”
Starry-eyed, the blondes left staring Sho down, a little awestruck at the way the fading sunset borders his profile just nicely enough.
Smiling, the ‘yeah’ in response is softer, not a whisper but probably as close as he can get,, being,,, you know,,, him. “And you’re not always a crab!” There’s a light smack right on the darker haired boys back, causing him to jump nearly out of his skin and off of the building while Zashi lets out his own little laugh.
“Augh, but I mean it. You’re too hard on yourself and it almost makes me sick.” There’s a false look of disgust on him as he turns to face Zashi, nose wrinkling in the basking glow of a,,,, c-c,,,compliment. Absolutely abhorrent, must be purged.
But the light-hearted feeling they both get from the moment doesn’t fade, it doesn’t purge. And it sits for them both to see in the fading light of a bad day. At least it paves the way for a good night.
“Yeah but if you always believe in me, I think I can get over my flaws!”
“,,,Well I do. Always,,, believe in you.” Grumbling, Shouta’s looking away from the other, at the now sun-less sky as the sun beside him radiates in absolute joy. Enough to cling and hang off of him with. And he does.
He’d been used to Zashi’s touchiness for a while, it’s kind of something he liked about him, but lately, it just makes his stomach flip. And his eyes are closed as the blonde goes on. And on,,, and on. Thoughts are spilled openly from his mouth, from things of what he did today, incident fully included, to what he did during passing periods, what he had for lunch, and he only stopped long enough for the black haired student to agree.
It was a happy moment for them both for a while. Just talking over the quiet streets, lamplights buzzing and flickering to add to the calming ambiance.
And easily enough, when the talking's reached a head and Aizawa needs himself a break,,
his hand is brought over the twitchy blonde’s, easily silencing him.
And it stays like that for a while as the last of the sun’s color fades into the backdrop and the stars are allowed enough darkness to peak through the scattered clouds. Every so often the moon, now bright in the sky, will be blocked out and blotted by the now black clouds. A gentle fog rolls in, and the silence becomes something that is needed to break.
And Hizashi’s glad to do that.
“Thanks, Sho. You’re,, a pretty good rock.”
“Yeah,”
And pretty soon, the night has entirely settled in, enveloping them in a calm mood. Zashi looks out to the stars, and a curious Shouta looks to the blonde beside him, eyes ,,loving and gleaming in the dim light.
“Don’t mention it.”