My name is Shinsou Hitoshi, and I was bitten by a radioactive spider

Beach Episode

Did Hitoshi regret borrowing Dad's concealer? A little bit. With a beach towel draped over his shoulder, Hitoshi examined his reflection in his phone mirror. Pale streaks replaced his eyebags. He didn't look like himself. Who knows whether Kaminari would even notice? Not that Hitoshi cared whether the blonde found him attractive of course.

Plus, the odds were that the makeup wouldn't survive a dip in the water. Not that Hitoshi planned on swimming. He'd prefer to remain in the shade to avoid turning the same shade as a bright red tomato, thank you very much.

The worries were only confirmed when he reached the beach. Huddled beneath a parasol, Kaminari and Sero blinked at Hitoshi while rolling on the sand with laughter. Sending the boys a death glare, Hitoshi set down his tote bag and began applying sunscreen on his arms. Still, there was no ignoring Sero's mischievous grin as he readjusted a faded band shirt.

"What happened to your face, dude?"

"I got a good night's rest for once," Hitoshi lied.

Twisting his baseball cap backward, Kaminari cooed, "Oh, really? Sure, it's not concealer?"

Fuck, he'd been found out. With a nonchalant sigh, Hitoshi pulled out a pair of sunglasses, hiding the absence of his eyebags far too late. "Now, why would I do that?"

Sero perked up "Because –"

His expression went slack as Hitoshi activated his quirk. Looking into Sero's glossed-over gaze, he commanded, "Drop the subject."

Of course, that wasn't quite how Hitoshi's quirk worked, but it was worth proving his point. And there was also the off chance that his spider powers had given him a quirk upgrade. Still, Hitoshi froze up at the realization of what he'd done. What if his friends – the first ones he'd found in years – rejected him over a half-assed manipulation attempt? Yet when Hitoshi severed the invisible marionette strings Sero beamed at him.

"Woah, your quirk is super trippy! It's like being asleep and awake at the same time."

"Dude, that's wild," Kaminari chimed in. "You need to give me a turn someday."

Hitoshi flushed and attempted to cover his cheeks with his sunglasses. "Alright."

Giggling, Kaminari leaned backward and fell onto Hitoshi's lap. He was wearing a shirt but Hitoshi's nerves crackled just as much as if Kaminari had been shirtless. Get it together, Hitoshi. He's just touchy. Don't overinterpret. But his brain only went further into autopilot mode as Kaminari ran an index finger along his bicep.

"Though you know, Shinsou, some people might think that you wore makeup to impress me."

With the moment broken, Hitoshi shoved Kaminari off his lap with a chuckle. "In your dreams."

A yawn escaped Hitoshi's throat and soon enough he found himself curling up on a picnic blanket beneath the parasol his friends had brought. Yet it was difficult to rest even with the ocean's soothing lullaby nearby while Kaminari kicked sand in his direction.

"Ew, Shinsou! Why are you napping that's so boring?"

Hitoshi pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose and folded his hands behind his head. "Guess I'm boring then."

"But we're at the beach! Come on let's go swimming."

"No thank you."

Teasingly, Kaminari pulled up the corner of his shirt. "And miss the opportunity to see me shirtless up close?"

"Like that's anything worth getting excited for. You're scrawny as hell."

Kaminari pulled his shirt over his head, revealing rows of abs. He wasn't nearly as built as Todoroki or Midoriya, but his muscles were still defined. To be honest, Hitoshi found Kaminari's lithe physique even more attractive. Tongue-tied, Hitoshi felt his knees go weak. Thank goodness, he wasn't standing. Stupid raging hormones had taken over again.