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He flew into Tokyo on his broom with a single bag of belongings. True, it'd been magically enlarged on the inside so that it could carry twice as many things without being too heavy, but that's all Hizashi had. And a place to live in the city is more expensive than a home in the country – that first night, he'd created a barrier around himself in the park and slept there.
Maybe it was only because Hizashi wouldn't be costing the landlord much in the way of electricity that they let him have the tiny efficiency. It's barely big enough for a single person, let alone someone trying to study a something as huge as magic, but Hizashi was simply glad to have a place of his home. And it had a great view of the street from the balcony, too!
And goodness – Hizashi doesn't really know much about online applications. In the town he was from, it was so small that everyone knew everyone else and if someone wanted a job somewhere then they would just walk in and ask. He's confused as he walks store to store asking if he can have an interview and they tell him that if he wants a job then he needs to go to their website and submit an application that way.
Nemuri had found his confused yet energetic question of, "Can I please have an interview for a position at this store?" incredibly adorable, as well as when she sat down with him and asked what he knew about electronics he said, "They run on electricity, which is like lightning!"
Honestly, if he hadn't been so eager and friendly she might never have given him a job there. But he is, and she took a chance, and now while Hizashi still doesn't know much about how to change the settings on a light dimmer, he's so good at getting people to come in and buy things that she's glad she took the chance. And Nemuri has to admit, she is endlessly fascinated with his magic and seems to take the problems it causes in good stride.
They're not really problems either. Technology he doesn't know very well just tends to get.... A little temperamental, as Nemuri puts it.
(Every time she catches him sweet talking their workshop computer she laughs at him.)
(Hizashi's magic shows that he's sweet on Shouta, which he finds confusing? It's in the way his favorite napping spots are always warm and smell nice, or the way that his favorite cup never breaks. Or how Hizashi's electronics always turn on for him first try- Hizashi had worried at first that Shouta would have a hard time turning on his TV or oven because with his magic he's never needed power or gas. But all Shouta has to do is ask and well...
He feels weirdly flustered whenever something like that happens. But not bad flustered?
Maybe he's just really happy to have Shouta as a friend.)
Hizashi views befriending Shouta as his greatest achievement in this town so far. With their conflicting schedules it had been hard to fall into a rhythm that fit both of them at first. Hizashi was often up at all times of day and night. Despite that he'd always be up with the sun, while Shouta kept getting scheduled on night shifts and slept during the day.
Not only that but Shouta had been reluctant at first to spend too much time with him, no matter how much Hizashi's magic seemed to fascinate him. He seemed to be a naturally reclusive person, being a quiet person that kept to himself. But through determination Hizashi had eventually won him over. He'd even gotten Nemuri and Shouta to become friends, although they seemed to be passing acquaintances even before that. "He comes to my shop sometimes." Nemuri had explained.
Whatever the hows or why's or anything, Hizashi is just really proud that he's managed to actually befriend the quiet cute guy that had saved his life.
* ~ _ ~ * ~ _ ~ *
Hizashi doesn't know how to lock or unlock his front door with his key.
He's always just used the balcony door! Sure, whenever Shouta comes over he unlocks the door from the inside and locks it up when Shouta leaves, but aside from the day he moved in? He leaves by broom. It all started because his landlord had said the door jams, and Hizashi figured that well he's a witch anyways who need to worry about that?
It becomes a bit of an issue one day when some kids break his broom.
And he'd left his house keys at home.
"Why, Hizashi?" Nemuri asks, hiding her amusement behind a hand. With how Hizashi is practically sobbing over the splintered pieces of his broom, she doesn't think it's appropriate to laugh. "Why don't you carry your keys with you like a normal person?"
"Because I'm a witch!" He practically wails. "I only need my keys when I go to check my mail! I haven't needed them for my front door since I moved in, and now they're up there next to my bed and I dunno how to unlock my door and I'm going to be homeless now – "
"Oh, baby boy." Nemuri hides her laughter by hugging the sobbing blonde. "It's okay. We can contact your landlord. Or pick the lock – Shouta's pretty good at that, did you know?"
"Th-that's against the law," Hizashi mutters into her shoulder. "... Isn't it?"
"Breaking into your own home? No, it's not."
"... I do like Shouta more than my landlord..."
"I know you do, baby." Nemuri replies, hiding her smile in his hair before she can say anything else. "Okay, c'mon. Let's call Shouta."
And that's how Nemuri learns that Hizashi not only doesn't carry a cell phone but has never actually exchanged numbers before.
"Why would I? He always goes to the cafe across from me, and when I want him to come over I just yell out my window at him!" Hizashi's protests are flustered and slightly defensive. It's not his fault his magic acts up and kills batteries! And it's not his fault that Shouta is easy to find and visits the cafe pretty much every day. "And when he wants to come over he throws rocks at my window so I'll unlock the door.
“....Although there was that time he climbed in through the balcony,” Hizashi adds in a mutter as he follows Nemuri to the store phone.
"Excuse me, what – Shou climbed in through your balcony?" Nemuri asks in surprise as she starts to dial Shouta's number. She would use her own phone, but she's gotten into the habit of leaving it in her apartment above the store after having Hizashi kill it one too many times. She's glad that she's long memorized Shouta's number.
"It was the first time we met, and I kind of reversed gravity? A little?"
As he tells her the story while they wait for Shouta to pick up Hizashi brightens more and more. Nemuri has to resist the urge to coo as Hizashi tells her about how awesome and cool Shouta had looked when he used the length of rope to pull him out of the sky.
"What," Shouta asks over the line. He sounds like he's just woken up- and given that his work likes to stick him with all the night shifts it's likely.
"Hey Shouta." Nemuri says, voice slipping into something lower and teasing.
Across from her, Hizashi purses his lips into a displeased pout as she starts a teasing line about being in bed still. He leans forward so the phone will pick up his voice, cutting Nemuri off.
"Shouta I need help!" He exclaims, and he doesn't necessarily push Nemuri away as he takes the phone but he also isn't careful when grabbing the phone either.
"Hizashi?" Shouta asks on a yawn. "What do you need help with? ...Aren't you at work?"
"Yes. I locked myself out of my apartment!" Hizashi explains, voice rising just a little as his previous distress rears its head.
Shouta's quiet on the other line for a moment. "... Don't you always do that?"
"Shooooutaaaaaa!" And there are the waterworks again. "Some kids broke my broom and my keys are at home and my landlord is meeeeean – Nemuri says you can pick locks, right? Can you please, please, please help me?"
"Okay, okay, calm down." There's rustling on the other line for a moment. "I just woke up. Give me a bit to take a shower and everything and I can meet you at your place. You're still at work, right?”
Hizashi sniffles. "Yeah. My shift ends in about an hour."
"Cool. That'll give me plenty of time to get woken up and get over there, then," Shouta says, yawning over the mic. "Have Nemuri walk you home, okay?"
Immediately Hizashi bristles, even though he doesn't know why. He likes Nemuri. She's a great friend. "Why? I know how to get home!"
"Sure, but you're always flying. When's the last time you walked?" Shouta asks. "I'm not even sure you know how crosswalks work."
"I do, too!" Hizashi whines, ears burning because maybe he doesn't.
"I'll see you at your place." And with that Shouta hangs up.
* ~ _ ~ * ~ _ ~ *
Walking home from work is different. By far. Hizashi has always just flown over the traffic, but now he's in it, people bumping into him as Nemuri keeps her arm threaded through his. "This is weird. Why are people so crowded on the street? They should all just get brooms. Much more room up in the air."
Nemuri laughs, pulling him to a stop before he just walks into traffic. "Not everyone has magic. I think you're the only witch in town, Hizashi - most witches stick to the country side, right?"
"I can't help that my pull took me here," Hizashi whines, pouting. "And hey, maybe my presence here will wake up magic in others! Magic begets magic and all that."
"Is that why there's been an uptick in magical creatures in the area?" Nemuri asks curiously, head tilted to the side and clearly recalling the handful of encounters she's had since Hizashi moved there.
Hizashi grins and snaps finger guns at her. "Precisely!" He replies happily. "The longer I live here and the more magic I use the more the lands absorb and the more..... Appealing? Feasible? Ah, the more magical creatures will be drawn here.
"And like I said- I might even awaken magic in people! Babies might be born with magic!" Hizashi flings his hands up excitedly, practically vibrating.
Nemuri grins at him and re-links their arms. "So what's the difference? Between being born with magic and having magic being awoken?" She asks him curiously, gently pulling Hizashi out of the way of a larger man carrying a bunch of boxes.
Hizashi hums thoughtfully. "Not much honestly. If you're born with magic you have a more intuitive grasp on it? And you're more sensitive to it. I was born with magic!" He adds proudly, chest puffing up for a moment. "But it doesn't mean much in the long run. Mostly it just means my old community was already established, and I was able to start learning from the time I was a little kid."
"I thought you said you're a fairly new witch?" Nemuri asks with a frown. "How does that work, if you were born with magic and you've been learning your whole life?"
"Well...." Hizashi frowns thoughtfully. "I knew things, but it was mostly preparing me for when I was sent out on my own you know? So I wouldn't be flying blind. I learned things like... Broom crafting and potions and how to tend to plants and herbs! But I haven't been practicing actual magic for very long."
Nemuri nods slowly, and takes a bit to think about what Hizashi just told her. Hizashi is content to walk in silence, watching the people walk past them with open curiosity. The route back to his place is so different (And slow!) from the ground. He might need to walk a bit more often.... Maybe Shouta would like to accompany him....?
"So you talked about the benefits of being born with magic. What about awoken?" Nemuri finally asks.
“Well, there might not be as strong of a community for the awoken to lean on. Especially if the community's witch is young and the only one settled there. I know things, but I'm just one person y'know? I'm still learning myself. And they're not going to be as comfortable with their magic. Wielding it isn't going to come as naturally.
"But that doesn't mean they're weaker than someone born with magic! In my old community there's this man – his name is Yagi – and he can transform his whole body with magic! He can augment his strength and speed so he's like a one man army. He's great when there's been wrecks or someone's building stuff. He's very talented at magic, but uh...." Hizashi scratches his cheek. "He's a horrible teacher. I hated when I had lessons with him because he never knew how to explain things."
"Wait, why was he teaching you?" Nemuri asks, turning her head to frown quizzically at Hizashi. "Is he, like, your uncle or something? Or did you parents just not have any time?"
"Oh, er," Hizashi laughs - it's a sheepish and small at the same time - as he scratches at the back of his head. "Well, y-y'know. My parents were just... Busy! A lot. So I got lessons on things where I could!"
(In truth, Hizashi doesn't know who his parents are - they gave him up at a so young an age that he doesn't know who they might have been. And even though the people in the small town he's from know who they are and can tell Hizashi that he was born from a magical family...
No one will tell him who they are.)
"H-hey, I think I see Shouta!" Hizashi waves widly, grin splitting across his face and taking the small shadow with it. "Shouta! Hey! Hey, you came!"
"Well, he did say he was going to meet you," Nemuri says with an amused laugh. She has to keep her arm tight on him to keep him from dashing across the street right to the person he's making heart eyes at. "Give it just a moment, baby boy – the light is still green. We have to wait for the traffic to stop."
"But he's just right over there," Hizashi whines, bouncing on his heels.
"And he'll still be there in ten seconds." The ten seconds pass and Nemuri laughs as, when the traffic stops and the crosswalk sign turns on, Hizashi practically drags her across the street with him.
"Shouta! Shouta, hi! Thank you so much for your help!"
Shouta snorts, a small smile on his face. "It's fine. What're friends for, right?"
(Hizashi tries not to swoon. Though he's not sure why he has the urge to.)
"Can I leave Hizashi in your capable hands, Shouta?" Nemuri asks, finally letting Hizashi's arm go now that he's right outside of his own apartment building. "I need to get back to the store and help with the after-school rush."
"I got it."
"Alright, let's go." Shouta leads the way into the building and up to Hizashi's apartment, producing a roll of tools that makes Hizashi grin.
"Shouta," He says in delight. "Are those thieves' tools? Are you a thief?"
"They're useful when you have friends that do things like this." Shouta replies as he crouches down in front of Hizashi's door. There's no heat in his words though, and when he looks down Hizashi swears there's a smile tugging at his lips.
Hizashi hovers curiously while Shouta selects his tools, peering over his shoulder with open curiosity. Shouta has a wide and varied skillset, and even after months of knowing the other man Hizashi hasn't seen them all. They fascinate him – Shouta is so skilled and clever and good with his hands! And he doesn't even need to use magic to accomplish any of it.
"What are you doing now?" Hizashi finds himself leaning against Shouta's back to watch him insert a slim piece of metal into the lock. Shouta doesn't even sway with his added weight, and that makes Hizashi's stomach flutter and twist in odd ways.
"With this piece and this screwdriver I'm simulating a key. If you listen closely you can hear the pins shifting in place, and if you manage to jimmy it just right....." Shouta trails off as the lock clicks. The door swings open easily when he tries the knob, and when Hizashi straightens up off his back he grins up at him.
"You're amazing Shouta!" Hizashi exclaims happily, beaming at his friend and swooping in to fling his arms around his neck happily. When he pulls back Shouta's face is pink, and he worries that he's squeezed too hard as the other man busies himself with putting his tools away.
"What are friends for?" Shouta asks the tools.