Just My Luck (BNHA x Male OC)

34: Maturity Takes Time

"Well this is surprising." 

Hibiki looked through the glass with an abundance of caution. His eyes zeroed in on the quirk suppressing cuffs. He took a deep breath. 

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Rin?" Kiyoshi said with a small smile. It seemed so genuine. The crazed edge to his expression had worn off, been sanded down by whatever had happened to Kiyoshi after that night. 

"Don't call me that." Hibiki said, glaring. Kiyoshi raised his cuffed hands in a surrender position. 

"Force of habit." He said, "So, what's brought you here? I thought you'd never want to see me again. Go back to your new life.". 

"I want closure." He said, "I want to move on. My dads have finally worn me down, so I'm going to therapy. I want something to talk about.". Kiyoshi nodded. 

There was a beat of silence before Hibiki finally worked up to courage to ask what he had always wanted to. 

"Why didn't you kill me?". 

Kiyoshi's expression turned sad. "I never wanted to kill you." He said, looking Hibiki in the eyes. Maybe the worst part of all of this was that looking into Kiyoshi's eyes were like looking in a mirror. They were the same. Although the rest of his biological brother was weathered, worn down and tired, his eyes were still bright. 

"Could've fooled me." Hibiki quipped. Kiyoshi looked like he wanted to laugh but didn't. 

"I really didn't." He said, "I know its impossible for you to understand my thought process but I just wanted you back. I thought the only way to get my Rin back was to remind you of the trauma we suffered together. The trauma I let define me.". 

The teen waited silently for Kiyoshi to continue. "But I know now, and I think at some level I knew the second time we fought, that you're not him. That I lost Rin the day I lost the rest of my family. I was just too fucked up to realize it." He said, a sad smile on his face. 

"I wish you had found me earlier." Hibiki said suddenly, shocking Kiyoshi. "I've thought about it before. If I had known you before, before you lost your mind and became a villain, we could have been a family. I spent so," He took a deep breath, forcing the emotions down, "so long trying to find my family. If I had found you-this whole thing would have gone differently. Whether I ever remembered or not.". 

Kiyoshi looked surprised, like he hadn't been expecting that. "I had to age out of the system first." He said, "I'm only three years older than you. I couldn't find you while I was in the system myself, no matter how hard I tried. And once I aged out I resolved to find you and never could. 'Echo' was my first lead but by then I was in too deep. Too many drugs, too many poor influences.". 

"Drugs?" Hibiki asked, surprised. Kiyoshi nodded. 

"You're too young to be told about that stuff." The 18 year old said, "And I'm not going to put all that on you. I don't deserve forgiveness just because I was under the influence during most of my crimes. That doesn't change a damn thing.". 

The 15 year old swallowed. He had basically forgotten that Kiyoshi was in the system too. Did he experience abuse like Hibiki and Mirai had? Probably. He even saw the faintest hint of muzzle scars on the cheek where it would have cut into his flesh. 

When he looked back at the prisoner in front of him he saw a statistic. A number of children raised in the foster system that end up in prison for violent crimes.  

Sometimes he forgot his family was the exception, not the rule. 

The silence stretched on between them before Hibiki spoke again.