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Toru Hagakure sat on the curb, rain hiding the tears streaming down her face more than her invisibility ever could. After weeks of pestering from Mina, she’d asked Ojiro out on a date. And well… And it wasn’t even his fault! She couldn’t hold his refusal against him when he was gay after all. But that fact didn’t mean it hurt any less did it? If anything, she was glad he’d refused because of that if only because that meant the problem wasn’t her. Or, more accurately, her quirk. That all she had to go on to foster that sort of attention came from her personality at least meant she wouldn’t get creeped on by a certain problematic grape, but still. Either way, after Ojiro’s response, she really hadn’t wanted to see any of the girls, and Ojiro was hanging out with most of his friends, so most of the dorm was out. So she’d tried going for a walk. Walking always helped her sort this stuff out. But no dice. She’d barely been out for twenty minutes when the waterworks started- both from her and the sky.
“Hey, what’s up? Hagakure, right?” A familiar voice asked in concern. Toru sighed. She and Kiri were friends by proxy of Mina, and don’t get her wrong, she thought the redhead was awesome, but she really didn’t wanna see anyone right now.
“Kiri, if it’s alright, I kinda don’t wanna be around people from class, right now, okay?”
Tetsutetsu blinked before laughing a bit “Kiri? As in Kirishima? Why does everyone always get us mixed up? We’re like, nothing alike! But, I can appreciate being compared to someone so manly. Speaking of manly, it wouldn’t be very manly of me to leave someone who clearly needs a friend without one, ya know? And it would hardly be heroic to leave someone out in the cold.”
Hagakure spared him a glance (not that he could tell, unfortunately…) before sighing “sorry Tetsutetsu, I just had the voices to go by, and ya know… you do sound kinda like each other?”
The Steel Hero nodded “yeah I kinda get it. Say, why don’t you come back to my dorms? You only said you don’t want to see anyone from your class, right? And don’t worry, no one will judge. Monoma might try and crack a joke about Class A not helping you, but he’s out visiting his folks so it’s a bit moot. And we have cocoa if ya need to warm up.”
Toru looked at him quizically, though the boy’s offer was very tempting. She really wanted to get out of the rain. But she was somewhat skeptical and asked, “Are you sure? I don’t really know anyone in your class….”
Tetsutetsu nodded with an earnestness that again reminded Toru of Kirishima. After a moment, Hagakure smiled and offered her hand, silently asking him to help her up. It took the metal boy to realize what she was asking (in fairness to him, he couldn’t exactly see her hand so he just saw her sleeve…) but when he did, he was quick to nod and pull her up as he stood. So quick in fact, that Toru fell onto his chest with a soft thud. She was surprised how muscular he seemed to be- he could definitely give Kirishima a run for his money, but Hagakure idly wondered about Blasty or Mido. She’d probably bet on Midoriya no quirk, but damn! That was still impressive.
“You good Hagakure? You just sorta spaced out there, ya know?” Tetsutetsu asked, concern creeping back into his voice.
“Hm? Oh, yeah I’m fine. Just didn’t expect to get a gun show, ya know?” She giggled slightly at his confusion when she poked his abs before understanding appeared on his face. The Metalhead (heh) smiled awkwardly and flexed his arms with a snort. Soon enough though, he began leading her to the Class 1-B Dorm, about ten minutes away from where the two had been talking. Their part of Heights’ Alliance was basically a mirror image of the Class A dorm, so it wasn’t too weird. There was a part of Hagakure that wondered why Tetsutetsu was trying to help her so much- yeah, he, Kirishima, and even Midoriya all seemed to idolize heroes more well known that comforted people as much as saving them, but well. So did Bakugo, and god knew that he was hardly social to anyone but Ejiro and Mina. Flippin Bakusquad… Regardless, when they arrived, Class 1-B simply gave a subdued collective nod of acknowledgment. Kendo made her hand bigger to stand out, which Toru thought was kinda funny, but that was the bulk of it.
Either way, Tetsutetsu showed her to the kitchenette with a smile. “So, what do you like in your cocoa? Just marshmallows or….?”
Toru smiled contemplatively, “hm… Oh! Do you have caramel syrup? Sato does this really cool thing where he melts the sugar into caramel over it but I don’t wanna impose, ya know?”
Tetsutetsu smiled with a nod as he squirted the coffee into the bubbling milk. Under the warm glow of the lights, Toru had to admit he was kinda cute. Maybe not her type but definitely someone any girl would be lucky to get. Or guy, as Kirishima and now Ojiro would be keen to remind her. Remembering Ojiro, and his refusal… she wasn’t quite able to restrain her sigh. Tetsutetsu turned to her, his smiling drooping into a small frown.
“What’s up Kure?” he asked over the rolling boil of the milk, while he absentmindedly added the chocolate powder.
Toru rubbed the back of her neck and paused, before starting, “it’s just… I don’t know. I asked a boy out today and he turned me down. That’s what got me into the funk you found me in, ya know? I’d been crushing on him for ages too…”
Tetsutetsu furrowed his eyebrows (which Toru may or may not have just noticed wrapped around to the bottom of his face…?) before saying “well that’s not very manly of him. Any guy would be lucky to have you, ya know?”
Toru blushed “oh you’re just saying that; you can’t even see me! Heck, we barely know each other. And, well… he’s gay, so it’s not like I’m even capable of having a chance….”
“Bullshit.”
That got a start from Hagakure. Kirishima never swore, so she’d sorta assumed Tetsutetsu might be the same way. And to hear him do so in regards to her beating herself up? It was a genuine shock. The girl pushed past him to stir the pot some more, just to make sure stuff didn’t spill and stain her uniform. Granted, it was already a bit wet, but still. Either way, she glanced back at the boy, silently asking him to continue.
“When I said any guy would be lucky to have you, I meant it. First of all, you’re in the hero course. If you were just trying to get attention, there are way easier ways to do it, so you’ve gotta be pretty noble on some level. Which is really manly, by the way.”
Toru was tempted to point out most girls did not want to be thought of as manly, but she also knew he was trying to be nice and appreciated that. So she remained silent.
“Second of all, even people here in class B love your energy, ya know? You just sorta light up a room when you show up, and seem really nice!” he smiled and poked her nose, muttering a “boop” to go with it.
Wait. he poked her nose. Her nose, which is invisible. What?! That had never happened before! She started sputtering out something she hoped resembled a question. Tetsutetsu had the audacity to laugh. Even worse, the fact he’d pulled that off made him even cuter! That wasn’t fair!
“Well, even if I didn’t know what a nose felt like I take it I was right?”
Toru just stared at him in shock, “you mean that was a guess? How did you do that!? No one has ever pulled that off before!’
Tetsutestu smiled “It’s actually pretty simple cause I do a lot of drawing ya know?” she didn’t but allowed him to continue, “Meaning I know a lot about proportions and how most bodies work- obviously some quirks get in the way of that- but basically, because your uniform tells me where your shoulders are, and you wear normal sleeves, I know roughly how big your head is. From there I just sorta ballparked the center, ya know?”
Toru was surprised. The way he said it it sounded so freaking simple, and yet no one else, not Midoriya, not Yaomomo, both of whom were prolific drawers or anyone else had done that! Not even her parents. Though, the invisible girl had to admit that in the case of her classmates it was probably out of respect. …. And the fact that Mido would probably die at the thought. So to hear this practical stranger do it so soon? The girl nearly teared up as she went in to hug him.
“Thank you thank you” she sniffled as she wrapped her arms around him so tightly that Tetsutetsu, a boy who proudly boasted he was made of steel, let out an ‘ oof’ of shock.
The boy rubbed the back of his head, surprise undercutting his tone as he said, “Woah, Woah. Uh, thanks Hagakure. But honestly, I didn’t really do anything special. I just poked you to distract you from your funk, ya know?”
“I know. I know. But…. the last time anyone intentionally touched my face was when I was seven, and my quirk hadn’t quite turned permanent…” she muttered. Tetsutetsu’s eyes widened in shock as he poured the cocoa.
“I can’t imagine… that sounds awful, Kure. I just…” he stopped trying to formulate a response and simply handed her the cocoa, filled nearly to the brim, with a few marshmallows just in case the chocolate and caramel were a little too healthy. Hagakure let out a hum of approval.
“Tastes like Sato’s got competition!” the girl giggled at the idea of the two hero students entering a cooking contest (maybe with Bakugo as the third contestant…. Or the judge, depending on which was funnier.) “But Kure? That’s twice now.”
“Oh! It’s just that I like to give my friends nicknames and well, even if it’s not as harsh as in English, calling you a hag wasn’t exactly a good idea now was it? So, Kure. I mean, unless you don’t want me to. You’re right we don’t really know each other, so I can see why you might not want a nickname but I mean…”
Toru put a finger on his mouth, silently shushing him before taking a sip of the cocoa (and getting a cocoa mustache but that went unpointed out,) “No no I like it. I just wanted to know why, ya know? But you are right we don’t really know each other. But I also refuse to not be friends with someone who makes cocoa this good. So, I have a deal, okay? We hang out more on Saturday, and you bring cocoa. In exchange, I let you call me Kure, and we become friends. Okay, Tetsu?”
He blinked a bit at the nickname, before smiling and nodding “Yeah that sounds good. And Tetsu is such a manly nickname! Thanks Kure! Wait am I only allowed to call you that after this Saturday or?” he scratched his head, slightly confused.
Toru giggled, her mind already wandering to Saturday. Ideally, it would be the two of them alone to get to know each other over cocoa. Come to think of it, wasn’t that like the textbook definition of a date? Although, as she looked at the grey-haired boy, who’d offered someone he barely knew a warm and safe place while trying to comfort her, she found she didn’t really mind the implication. Tetsutetsu, for his part, had come to the same realization as Kure, and decided he wanted to help her realize how manly she was, and if that meant dating a sweet, energetic girl who loved his cocoa more than life itself? Sounded like a win in his book.