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Neito should’ve expected he’d be caught sooner or later.
Alas, he knew the risks and still snuck out of the dorms past curfew, hoping that his hero alias at the very least would be of help—the phantom thief can surely run around undetected if he tried hard enough, right? But Neito must not be operating at his very best, since he got careless, and thus alerted one class president of his nighttime activities.
Kendou stands in front of him, her arms folded across her chest and wearing a disapproving frown. Neito almost cowers under that stare. He feels like he’s twelve-years-old and actively being punished.
“Monoma,” Kendou says, and if Neito were in the right mind, he’d turn on his heel and hightail out of here instantly. Unfortunately, his bones are heavy with exhaustion, and he’s not exactly in a position that’s easy to escape out of. “It is two in the morning.”
Why, what an astute observation! Neito is well aware of the time. He is actually the opposite of someone with time blindness, considering he always carries so many pocket watches with him.
“It seems so,” he agrees cheerfully, wincing when her glare sharpens.
“So what,” Kendou continues, “are you doing up in that tree?”
Can a man not scale a tree if he so desires? Perhaps Neito just wanted to feel the breeze on his skin and admire the school grounds from a higher viewpoint. There are many new things to look at when you position yourself at a different angle, you know. Fascinating stuff.
“Would you like to join me?” he jokes.
He doesn’t expect Kendou to say yes.
There’s no easy way to climb a tree, though, but between the two of them, Kendou has always been more physically adept. Neito got up here with the help of Yanagi’s quirk, soaring without a care in the world—he had chosen such a large tree that jumping off from the thick branch he’s on would likely cause a fracture somewhere.
Neito’s heart drops to his stomach as Kendou makes her way up, with enlarged hands for support. He imagines the little splinters digging into her palms and grimaces, already searching for a tissue packet or some bandages, but he didn’t bring anything with him…
When Kendou arrives at the top, she nudges for him to scoot over, making herself comfortable. It’s a nice branch that Neito had selected. Sturdy. Doesn’t really hurt his bottom.
“Wow,” he laughs, a little nervously. “That was fast.”
Kendou rolls her eyes. She digs into the pocket of her pyjama pants—at least she had the sense to prepare before leaving the dorms at 2am—and pulls out a packet of gummies. Once she rips it open, she hands one to Neito, and he pops it into his mouth without any preamble.
They’re silent for a bit, sharing the gummies and staring into the distance. It’s a bit late for it, but Neito does start to wonder why Kendou even went out of her way to find him. Even if she did notice him sneaking out, she’s not that strict about curfews and rules like that, unlike Class A’s more neurotic president. Hah. Imagine that. Just another reason why Class B is the better class!
But overall, Neito cannot fathom why Kendou would bother with this. Maybe she’s having trouble sleeping too.
“So,” Kendou begins, and Neito tenses at her voice. She sounds like she’s approaching a wild, feral dog. “What’s up with you?”
“What’s up with me?” Neito repeats, feigning ignorance. “Nothing.”
“You’re not usually an insomniac.”
“Neither are you.”
She sighs, looking down. Her legs swing absentmindedly, unlike Neito’s crossed ones. “Yeah, well, it’s not like it’s been that long since the war ended. No one’s really been sleeping well.” She side-eyes him. “But you’re the first one I’ve noticed sneaking out the window.”
Her accusatory tone is not lost on Neito, but he pretends not to acknowledge it. “Ah, you know. I do like my theatrics.”
“That’s for sure,” she scoffs.
The silence stretches on again. Neito is starting to feel very uncomfortable, his skin prickling with nerves. This really is an unfortunate predicament he’s found himself in. Maybe he should jump down and run away when Kendou isn’t looking.
“…Was it a nightmare?” she threads.
Neito avoids her gaze stubbornly.
“Dude, come on. Everyone gets nightmares. You don’t have to be embarrassed.” Kendou nudges his side, prompting him to look up.
It’s been a while since Neito has properly looked at Kendou. Which sounds weird, but it’s true; and now he’s noticing a lot of new things about her. Like the heavy eyebags she’s sporting or the fact that her hair is only barely brushing past her shoulders—when did she cut it?
When has Neito retreated so hard into his own world that he’s stopped noticing the things around him?
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he grips onto the tree branch and says, “Yeah, it was a nightmare. So what? You didn’t have to come all the way out for that.”
It’s like Kendou said—everyone gets nightmares. That’s probably the body’s natural response after you experienced a dreary night fighting for your lives and watching blood spill on both sides. For Neito, the memories of the night are practically burned into his head.
It’s only a small price to pay, though. What, so he couldn’t close his eyes for a few hours. That’s no big deal in comparison to the hell the others were fighting in.
“Well, I just wanted to check on you,” Kendou replies slowly. “You haven’t really been the most… yourself recently.”
When Neito gives her a questioning look, she throws her arms out in a dramatic pose, her face contorting into an ugly expression. “Bwahaha! Like that. You haven’t been like that recently.”
“Wow.” Neito doesn’t know if he should be insulted or not.
“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” she continues. “I just wanted you to know that I’m here for you, I guess.”
Neito doesn’t know how to respond to such sweet thoughtfulness. He almost feels undeserving, but he knows that this is just in Kendou’s nature, to look out for everyone around her.
Whatever. It’s dumb. He thinks he might prefer having her knock him out when he’s being annoying—at least that’s familiar and less mushy.
He voices that out, and Kendou purses her lips like she’s genuinely considering it. It makes Neito bark out a laugh, a weight lifting off his shoulders.
“Let’s go back,” Kendou says, pushing herself off the branch. She rolls over to kill the momentum of her fall, landing elegantly, and Neito whistles. “Shut up! Get down here.”
Just for the sake of being difficult, Neito turns his nose away. “I can’t get down from here. The fall won’t be good for my—”
She grabs him with an enlarged hand before he can finish his sentence.
“I’m not going to ban you from sneaking out when you can’t sleep,” Kendou says as they enter the dorms as quietly as possible, tiptoeing so they don’t wake anyone else up. It’s hard to see in the dark, so Neito holds onto her wrist, guiding them through carefully. “But if you’re going to do it, let me know. I’ll come with you.”
“You don’t have to,” Neito mutters. He can’t imagine anyone would willingly want to be woken up in the middle of their slumber for something as stupid as that.
“I’m imploring you! President’s orders. No going out alone!”
He sighs, but he won’t say he doesn’t appreciate it. “Fine.”