The Two Sides of Survival

4

Shouta was running out of hope. He had told way too many lies. He had told the man with the pink hair the wrong address. Instead of telling him his current home address, he told him the address of the apartment he and Hizashi had moved out of a few months prior. The man found out and punished Shouta by taking Hizashi away. He hasn't seen or heard from his husband in weeks. The only contact he had with him was what Pink hair told him. He would tell him that Hizashi's screams were the most beautiful he's ever heard and how gorgeous he looked with hair chopped and with his nose broken. It only got worse with the more and more lies Shouta told. He could barely even keep himself calm. He resorted to zoning out and daydreaming, remembering fun memories...

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome back to Hero's at night! The show where we talk to your favorite heroes, by your request, and ask them the most frequently asked questions about them or their work!" A television host says. Hizashi had been invited to be the pro hero co-host for the Friday night show. It was a special segment where he got to choose which hero they interview. Being the little bitch that he is, he picked Shouta, the most anti-social hero there is.

"Tonight I am being accompanied by none other than the voice hero, Present Mic!" The host exclaims into his microphone. The live audience clapped, excited to see one of the coolest heroes in person. The host waved Hizashi on stage. He came out in pretty casual clothing with his hair flowing down. He had on a denim vest with a short-sleeved red shirt underneath, making his full sleeve tattoos visible. He was still wearing his iconic fingerless gloves and a pair of bronze glasses. He waved to the crowd and sat in his designated spot on stage.

"What a treat tonight, viewers! Tonight's segment will be a little different from usual. Instead of you, viewers, voting on which hero we will interview, we have asked Present Mic to choose a lesser known hero to have a discussion with." The host explains. The viewers looked at each other in awe. Every once in a while on the show, they would add an extra twist to the broadcast. Usually the live audience members were told about the twist before the show began, however this time it remained a mystery to nearly everyone in the crowd.

"Tell me, Present Mic." The Host began. "Who did you invite this evening? Maybe a co-worker? A secret lover, perhaps?" The audience laughed at his little joke. Hizashi laughed along and shook his head.

"No, no secret lover here, Hinata. I actually brought my oldest friend and UA co-worker." Hizashi answered. "He's an underground hero, so this will be his first non-school related interview." The host looked a little worried. Underground heroes were known to be aggressive and hostile if they felt threatened. They were the heroes that died in the dark so that the citizens could live in peace. The amount of battle they have fought in a few years is way more than a daytime hero would ever fight in their life. Underground heroes went through a lot and had seen a lot of really nasty things. Most were depressed or absent from normal life.

"Is it safe to have him around loud things? Don't get me wrong, I would love to have him on the show, but I am concerned for the audience's safety." The host, Hinata, explained worriedly. Several members of the audience stood up to leave. Hizashi assured them that Shouta was perfectly safe to be around. He had made his promise that he would not bring any type of weapon to the show.

"He's more social and in normal society than you would realize. With him being a teacher, he has plenty of time to have a breather from action. He is perfectly safe and semi-happy to be here." The host and the audience relax knowing the information.

"Why is he only semi-happy to be here?" The host asks. Hizashi looked at him a little awkwardly.

"I kind of bribed him. He's not a very social person, but I needed someone to come with. I originally asked midnight to come, but she is busy on assignment, so I asked my high school best friend." He responded.