Strings and Buttons

Chapter 5: Cigarettes

He watched as the black shape edged slowly out from under the couch. It paused for only a moment before silently dashing across the drawing room carpet towards the farthest corner of the room, where the door is.

It was kind of hard to see everything in the dark, but once he darted to that corner, he saw that the door was left slightly open.

He had sworn that he closed it all the way. The fucking spider must have crawled into the wall and hidden behind the door. It wouldn't fucking escape him. He opens the door, ready to see and crush the dumb spider. It wasn't there, just the brick wall. He huffs, pissed off. He shuts the door and goes back to bed.

He dreamed of something fucking weird. A bunch of mice together under the moon, with red eyes and glistening sharp yellow teeth. He barely remembers the rest of the dream other than the fact that they sang a song in their high whispering voices.

It made him feel creeped the fuck out for some reason.

Then he dreamed of nothing.

The next day it had stopped raining, but it left a thick white fog that lowered over the entire house, closing it in. He left after breakfast, not bothering to tell his parents that he was going out since he doubts they would care.

He finds Mr. Hizashi outside in the fog, a cigarette between his teeth. He puffs out a small cloud of smoke and he looks at Katsuki when he leaves the house.

"Hey little listener."

He says brightly, his cigarette now between his fingers.

"Terrible weather we're having huh?"

Katsuki shrugs, hands in his pockets.

"It's always shit weather in this place."

Mr. Hizashi laughs, then takes another puff from his cigarette. He winks at Katsuki.

"Don't tell the man of the house or he'll be seriously pissed, you wouldn't believe."

Katsuki stares at him.

"Then you shouldn't be fucking smoking. That shit kills you."

He looks away, staring ahead at the fog almost pensively.

"Your right. I guess it's some sort of comfort. Like a reminder how bad things used to be, you know, before i met him. Maybe i think it's comforting because I'm so used to living back in those moments."

"Like i like to be sad. How crazy is that."

He turns back to him and smiles, dropping the cigarette and crushing it under his boot.

"Sorry, too personal. See ya, little listener."

Mr. Hizashi turns to go down the stairs towards his own flat and Katsuki listens to his boots hitting the wet concrete.

Katsuki continued his walk after he heard the door open and shut.

He was making loops around the house until he made it back to the front, where he heard someone.

"Hey kacchan!"

He looks up towards the sound to see Deku waving down at him from the stairs leading up the attic where the old man lived. The nerd gives him a bright smile and Katsuki glares at him.

"What the hell are you doing up there shitty Deku?"

He sees the dumb cat climb down from the roof, landing gracefully on the railing next to Deku. The green haired boy continues to smile.

"Mr. All Might invited me for tea. Wanna come?"

Katsuki rolls his eyes. The old man must have heard Deku yelling because he comes out of his door, looking down at him. When he spots Katsuki, he leans into the railing.

"Young Bakugo, i must speak to you!"

He stands there and finally gives in, not having anything better to do. He goes up the stairs leading to the attic until he's standing with Deku, his dumb cat, and the crazy old man. Once he's there, the man gets in front of him, and speaks.

Katsuki has no idea why he bothered to come close since Deku can clearly fucking hear him.

"The fallen soldiers of the fog have a message for you, young Bakugo."

He glances at Deku, who looks to hang off of every word he speaks. Katsuki didn't know what to say that didn't include swearing, so he stayed quiet.

"They say, do not go through the door."

He paused for a moment, his blue eyes searching.

"Does that mean anything to you young man?"

He shakes his head.

"No, what are you even fucking talking about?"

The old man steps back, sighing.

"I see. Too bad. Sometimes, the voices of the fallen get mixed, you see. Like a thousand different people speaking at the same time. Very very confusing."

Deku and him make eye contact, and Deku just smiles.

"But that aside, come in come in! I did not mean to make you all stand out here in the fog!"

The old man is quick to rush into his attic flat, Deku, the cat, and Katsuki following behind. The rest of the afternoon is spent with Deku and the old man. He finds that if you just roll with the crazy old man's stories, they get a little interesting if you think of them as just a story.

Deku and him sip their tea, which didn't taste half bad. Deku is sitting next to him, and Katsuki looks around at all the pictures of the old man back when he was younger as he tells his stories. The cat lays flat on the other side of Deku, small body moving up and down as it breathes.

Deku is very interested in what everyone has to say, listening attentively and brightly. Katsuki guesses that he isn't really that bad, a little nerdy, but he can get behind that. He is slightly surprised how easily the conversation flows between them.