Royal Gambit

VI

At last the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day. Shoto quickly packed away his belongings and headed out of the classroom, saying goodbye to Yaoyorozu in passing. He went to the bathroom before beginning the short walk to the entrance gates where it was agreed he was to meet his classmates. He had not paid too much attention in his French class, his last class of the day, for his thoughts were too busy pondering over what the evening would hold for him. Thankfully he already had good fluency in the language, and chose the course simply to fulfil the requirements of his studies. 

Ahead of him, he could see Bakugou leaving a classroom further down the corridor and he wondered whether it would be decent of him to approach so that they could walk together. His conversations with Bakugou had been short and rare, his classmate seemingly not fond of polite conversation. Shoto himself disliked small talk, after all it was indeed tedious when you were asked the same questions and heard the same comments about the weather at social dinners, but he wanted to attempt to deepen his relationships with all of his classmates, Bakugou included. 

Bakugou did not seem to be very interested in their classmates, and Shoto was not sure whether he could call Bakugou's relationships with people like Kirishima and Ashido true friendship. It seemed like Bakugou only tolerated them, and was not hesitant to shout expletives or throw a punch. Yet Shoto himself could not assume such things, for at his old school friendships were formed based on your family's connections or how much wealth you could show off at formal events. He only knew what friendships were supposed to be like from books he had read, but those were in fictional worlds with fictional people. Shoto was still trying to understand the world around him, a world that was so close in distance yet so out of reach for someone like him. 

He took in a shaky breath, feeling his thoughts begin to race as familiar and uncomfortable anxieties began to rise in his mind. He slowed his pace, allowing Bakugou to get ahead and vanish around the corner, and followed his mother's advice by taking slow and deep breaths that matched with each thud of his shoes on the floor. He truly hated moments like these, where his thoughts stopped becoming rational and emotions grew too high, and despised that even though he had endured these moments from a young age it was a continuous battle even now. Thankfully, since he had begun attending UA he had never experienced this anxiety in front of his classmates, always finding it useful to take a walk around the courtyard or excusing himself to the bathroom. He maintained his perfect posture and neutral composure, mastering those skills at his old school lest he lose face in front of his classmates and teachers. He could not imagine what his father would think if he found out his son had acted in such a way in front of his important acquaintances. 

"Shoto, there you are!" Ashido's voice pulled him from his thoughts. He was already crossing the courtyard, having been too caught up in his head to be aware of his surroundings. That was something he would have to make sure never happened again, or else his father may pull him from attending UA by thinking Shoto was too incapable of taking care of himself.

"Himura, are you alright?" This time it was Kirishima's voice, his concern breaking through the last trailing thoughts in Shoto's mind. Even after years had passed and their family had begun to move on, the old ghosts of who their father used to be still lingered in the depths of his consciousness, always ready and waiting for when Shoto became too weak to hold them off. 

"I am quite alright, thank you." He bowed his head in greeting. "I apologise if you were waiting for a long time."

"It's all good, man." Sero pointed over Shoto's shoulder, and he turned around only to see Kaminari sprinting towards them from the secretarial office, shoving some papers into his bag whilst he drank what seemed to be an energy drink similar to the ones Shinsou was fond of. Shoto feared for his safety, wondering whether he would trip and fall or choke on his drink, but despite being red in the face Kaminari reached them safely.