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The rhythmic pumping of the bass had a strangely soothing quality to it, pumping through Hizashi’s living room in tune with the flashing neon lights haphazardly slung from the ceiling in an obvious fire hazard. The aforementioned blond was at his DJ table, swaying left and right to the beat as he scratched the records and hyped up the crowd with well-timed bellows of “ Yeaaaaaaaaaah !” Oboro watched him with a smirk peeking above the rim of his red plastic cup; Hizashi never failed to be the life of the party, but he was extra hype tonight considering they’d all just graduated from U.A.
“So, do you feel like an adult yet?” crooned a sultry voice. Oboro’s smirk widened as Nemuri draped herself over his back, looping her slim arms around her neck as she pressed a friendly kiss to his cheek. “My three boys, all grown up now~ How time flies.” He had to chuckle at her doting mother-like comment, considering she wasn’t much older than them. She certainly didn’t look the part, with a sinfully short metallic-like black dress riding up her thighs and diving down to artfully display her endowments.
“I dunno. I don’t feel all that different yet,” Oboro admitted with a chuckle. Nemuri tutted and patted his cloud-like poofs of light blue hair.
“Fufufu, it won’t be long,” she assured with a mysterious glint in her dark eyes. Before she could elaborate, she peeled herself away from him to saunter over to Shota, who was trying to squeeze himself down between the couch cushions to teleport himself anywhere but Hizashi’s crowded living room. Shota exclaimed angrily as Nemuri launched herself— an impressive maneuver considering she was wearing six-inch stilettos— over the back of the sofa to land on her belly in his lap. Oboro couldn’t see from his angle, but Shota began screaming at her to pull her dress down. Based on the whistles and whoops from the multitude of guys in the room, Nemuri was probably wearing something as scandalous as her dress— if she was wearing anything at all.
Oboro left the packed living room behind to meander into the kitchen, where half-emptied soda bottles and finger foods were strewn across the counters and table. As he shoved his hand into a bag of potato chips and shoved the whole fistful in his mouth, he found himself considering Nemuri’s seemingly innocent question.
Do you feel like an adult yet?
Honestly, Oboro thought he would have. He felt some sense of achievement upon receiving his diploma early that day, but it was more along the lines of “ I didn’t flunk out! ” than actually feeling like he was transitioning into adulthood. He found himself ruminating on the strange lack of emotion, frowning as he drowned the salty potato chips in cola. No matter how much he tried to summon up some sense of maturity, it just felt like any other day.
“Huh,” he grunted under his breath.
Suddenly, the thrumming of the bass and scent of sweat and din of conversation was too much for Oboro. He found himself wandering upstairs to climb out of a bedroom window and perch on a small section of the roof, leaving the party behind to embrace the calmness of the night. He exhaled deeply as he reclined against the siding, eyes lidded as he gazed up at the sky. The stars glimmered against the inky backdrop of space, diamonds slewn across a canvas surrounding the tilted crescent moon. He sipped at his soda, but the popping carbonation only served to dredge up a sense of disquiet within him.
He scratched at the side of his head with a lopsided smile. Man, since when did he think so much? Nemuri was always saying crazy things, so he really ought not to put too much stock into her innocuous comment— but he found that it nagged him, all the same.
He exhaled deeply through his nose, rolling his shoulders as he found them growing a bit stiff. Really, he didn’t have anything to worry about, did he? So what if he didn’t really feel like an adult yet? There was plenty of time for that. Oboro was a bonafide professional hero now, although as a sidekick for His Purple Highness. Still, he’d be involved in the real deal, not just uneventful patrols and fetching cats out of trees. A smile began to spread over his lips as he basked in it— the realization that he was one step closer to being the hero he always dreamed of being.
Not only that, but he had the best damn friends in the world . They were a ragtag little group, but just today, Hizashi was broaching the topic of eventually starting an agency together. Oboro could think of nothing better than saving people alongside his best friends. Surely that had to count for something, too. The world was their oyster, and they were sitting at the dinner table with forks in hand. Now that he thought about it, he sure has come a long way since that starry-eyed boy with his head in the clouds living a life based on the whims the wind brought.
He smiled to himself as he recalled the day he, Shota, and Hizashi first began hanging out. Now that he thought about it, he really was a hoodlum, floating in through the classroom window like he wasn’t late for class! Really, it was a wonder his teachers put up with him with all the crazy stunts he pulled. One April Fool’s Day, he even floated all the desks in the classroom above the school to try and get the teacher to cancel (which would have worked if he hadn’t left the damn desks floating on his signature clouds above the roof like a moron !). As he reveled in the memories of his halcyon days, Oboro realized how much of a kid he used to be.
Wait. Is this what she meant?
Oboro scratched at his head, smiling in embarrassment. Wow, he really had been thinking too hard about something so simple, huh? Now that he considered it, he really had come a long way— growing from a carefree, head-in-the-clouds kid to a slightly subdued, somewhat responsible hero. He still definitely retained his sunny personality and was a bit impulsive, but he definitely wouldn’t try half the stunts he pulled in high school, that was for sure. Grinning, he drained the dregs of his soda and released a satisfied sigh.
“Heh… I guess I do kind of feel like an adult now.”
“Really? That fast? I would’ve thought it would take a week or two.”
Oboro nearly jumped out of his skin as Nemuri spoke from the windowsill. In his fright, he actually did generate a cloud underneath him and went floating up a couple of feet. Crossing his legs underneath him, he glowered down at her over the edge of the fluffy construct. She stuck out her tongue mischievously; she had totally meant to scare him, the minx. She climbed out of the window, again displaying remarkable maneuverability in those frighteningly tall heels, and put her hands on her hips as she breathed in the fresh aroma of the night.
“It’s liberating, isn’t it? Realizing how far you’ve come,” she said, tossing a smile over her shoulder. Oboro leaned his cheek in his hand as he smirked slightly at her.
“I wouldn’t call you very grown-up, Nem, considering the band of your thong is showing,” he chuckled with a quick point to the swathe of her thigh that was showing. She cursed loudly and tugged her skirt down before flipping him the finger, which made him laugh spiritedly. He sighed contentedly and glanced out of the corners of his eyes at the sky. “But I get what you mean now. I didn’t realize it, but I’ve changed a lot in the last three years.”
“And you’ve still got a long road ahead of you,” Nemuri smiled as she reached up and affectionately flicked at his fluffy blue hair.
“ We still have a long road ahead of us ,” Oboro corrected. Nemuri’s glossed lips curled up into a charmed smile. A slight rustling at the window got their attention, and they both turned to see Hizashi straddling the windowsill with a slight pout on his face.
“What’s up, what’s up? Are you two not enjoying my totally awesome party?” he whined. Nemuri placated him with a motherly tut and a pinch of his cheek.
“Of course we are, ‘Zashi! We just came up here to get some fresh air, is all. Your tunes are so radical that we were overwhelmed.” Oboro hid a snicker into his hand as Hizashi absolutely beamed, completely oblivious to the fact that Nemuri was yanking his chain. He clambered out onto the roof, slipping a little on the rooftops and steadying himself by digging his fingers into the soft plush of Oboro’s cloud.
“All right, all right, I’m pickin’ up what you’re puttin’ down!” the blond trilled as Shota poked his head out of the window, mildly interested in why his small circle of friends was now cramming themselves on the roof instead of the living room. We really live up to our moniker “The Rooftop Gang,” Oboro thought in amusement. “Man, it’s a nice night. Can you guys believe we’re like, adults now?”
“You’re about as far from an adult as you can get,” Shota snorted derisively. Hizashi stamped his feet with a petulant whine, crying into Oboro’s cloud about how mean Shota was— which really only kind of served to prove his point. Oboro leaned back a little, holding onto his calves as he reclined into the open air, and looked back up at the brilliant moon shining overhead.
They all had a considerable length of the road behind them already. Together, they’d overcome trials big and small, navigating the turbulence of being a teenager and earning a number of scars and stories to show for it. Still… they still had a long road ahead of them, and Oboro was more than grateful to know they all had each other.
The world was their oyster, and Oboro was ready to dive right in.
