A Messy Conundrum ~ ​hitoshi shinso

-•- Chapter 4 -•-

The final bell rings, and I practically sprint down the hallways of the school. I can already feel the soft cozy covers of my bed beckoning for me. I twist and weave around the students who, for some reason, insist on standing around and talking to each other for ages on end. Can't they see I have an urgent mission to return to my long forgotten bed?

I make my way to my dad's car. I decide to hop in the backseat in case my father and Shinso will be joining us again. I'm watching reels on my phone until I hear the driver seat door open. My dad gets into the driver seat, his spiked yellow hair folding against the roof of the car.

"Where's Dad?" I ask.

"Him and Shinso decided to do some training," He says. He puts the car in reverse and begins backing out of the parking spot. My eyebrows furrow.

"I thought Shinso's arm was hurt or something," I say. "Wasn't that like, a whole thing."

My dad laughs. "I'm sure your father has a less physical set of training in mind," He says.

"Ah," I nod. I turn my head to look out the window.

"Hey kiddo," He says. I see his eyes looking at me in the rearview mirror. "I heard there was a commotion in the courtyard during lunch today." I tense up. I know how my parents feel about Tanaka.

"It was nothing," I say. "Tanaka was bothering- some kid. And I told him to go away." I decided not to mention that it was Shinso. It wasn't my place to tell. I meet my dad's eyes in the mirror.

"Did you use your quirk?" He asks.

"Yes."

He sighs, softly. To an outsider, he might seem disappointed. But my parents aren't ashamed or afraid of my quirk. They're just worried. Always worried.

"Okay hon. Just be careful, okay?" He says.

I laugh gently. "Okay Dad."

We drive the rest of the way in silence. And although I usually might be annoyed at the worry in my dad's voice. I thought back to what Shinso told me this morning. 

It was nice to have parents who cared.

~~~

It isn't until much later in the evening that my father returns from his training with Shinso. Me and Dad have already had dinner, so he heats up some leftovers and sits in his office. Even though Dad already talked to me about the Tanaka situation in the car, I'm afraid of what my father might say. So, I don't go in to tell him goodnight.

I go upstairs and turn the water on to warm for a shower. I slip off my clothes and take a deep sigh against the warm water, almost stinging my skin. I close my eyes, and I see Tanaka's face. His horrified face as I sent him a vision.

But this memory wasn't from today, it was something I had done before. In middle school. I mentioned it briefly to Shinso, but I didn't give the full story. When he called me a villain, it wasn't because I punched him. It was because I sent him a vision.

My body shakes against the hot water. It's almost too hot, but I stay under it anyway.

I turn the water off.

~~~

I'm laying in bed trying to go to sleep, when I hear my door open. I know it's my father coming in to tell me goodnight. I pretend to be asleep.

I feel him sit on the bed beside me. He sits there for a long while. So long, that I begin to wonder if he's still there. Until I feel him brush my hair back from my face.

"My brave girl." He says. He kisses my forehead, and I feel a teardrop fall onto my skin. 

He closes the door on his way out.