“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Shinso asked, leaning against the counter as Aizawa filled out the last section of Souto’s permission slip.
“No,” Aizawa replied flatly, scribbling his signature at the bottom of the form.
“You’re actually letting him go?” Shinso continued, sounding half-amused and half-horrified. “You know they’re going to call you. Probably before lunchtime.”
“Probably,” Aizawa said, “But it’s an opportunity to see if he can function without setting something—or someone—on fire.”
“Hey! I haven’t burned anyone in at least two weeks!” Souto piped up from the couch, where he was lounging upside-down, his head hanging off the edge.
“That’s not as comforting as you think it is,” Shinso muttered.
“Relax, I’ll be fine,” Souto said, flipping upright and bounding over to snatch the permission slip from Aizawa’s hands. “It’s just some dumb animals. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Aizawa and Shinso exchanged a knowing look but said nothing.
—
The morning of the field trip started out relatively calm—at least by Souto standards. He barely managed to wear his school uniform correctly, and his hair looked like it had fought a battle with a tornado.
“Remember,” Aizawa said as he handed Souto his lunchbox, “behave yourself. No biting, no fighting, and no feeding the animals.”
Souto rolled his eyes. “I’m not gonna bite a zebra or whatever.”
Aizawa sighed, handing him his water bottle. “And listen to your teacher.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Souto grumbled, shoving his water bottle inside his backpack.
“Don’t cause trouble,” Aizawa warned
“I never cause trouble,” Souto replied, smirking.
“Right. And I’m a ray of sunshine,” Aizawa deadpanned.
Shinso, leaning against the counter, raised an eyebrow. “One-thousand yen says you get a call before lunchtime. Either he falls into a cage or lets something out of one.”
“You guys have no faith in me!” Souto cried dramatically, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “I’ll be on my best behavior. Promise.”
“Your ‘best behavior’ is still terrifying,” Shinso muttered as Souto stuck his tongue out at him on his way out the door.
---
On the bus, Souto sat by himself, staring out the window and muttering about how boring this whole trip was going to be. That’s when a boy rather small for his age, with round glasses and a shy demeanor sat down next to him.
“Uh… hi,” the boy said hesitantly. “Is it okay if I sit here?”
“Whatever,” Souto replied, not even glancing at him.
“I’m Kenji,” the boy continued. “You’re Souto, right?”
Souto turned to glare at him. “What’s it to you?”
Kenji gulped but smiled nervously. “Nothing. I just thought… maybe we could be friends. My mom says you’re new, and it’s hard being new.”
Souto blinked, caught off guard by the boy’s openness. “Friends? With me? You know I bite people, right?”
Kenji hesitated, then shrugged. “Well, if you don’t bite too hard, I guess it’s fine.”
“You’re weird.”
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BNHA | A Bite-Sized Problem
Fanfiction.ᐟ Comic relief / Slice of life. Eraserhead, pro hero and notorious insomniac, adopts an 8-year-old vampire delinquent with an attitude problem? Chaos, that's what. Souto, a loud, abrasive troublemaker with a biting temper (literally), finds himself...
