Need You (ShinDeku)

Ch. 118 - Arthritis

A/N: here's a long one.
Have fun reading!

Midoriya POV

     "Don't go snooping, don't do anything stupid, and do not drink all of my coffee. If there's an emergency call Hizashi, and if you're starving go through the fridge. This goes without saying, but you are not to tell anyone that you've been alone in your teachers' home. No, don't even tell anyone that you've been here."

     Hizashi got held up at his agency with some paperwork and just managed to leave a few minutes ago, but we had to leave for the appointment, which meant Hitoshi would be unsupervised in the apartment for a little while.

     Shota is wearing his hero outfit for our little evening trip, which I would be more worried about if it weren't for the fact that at least ninety-five percent of this country's population has never even heard of Eraserhead, let alone knows what his hero outfit looks like. Certainly not civilians, other than some students, and most of them won't be civilians much longer.

     He glares at Hitoshi from the doorway, who is curled up on the big chair in the living room with his new best friend, who happens to be a tuxedo kitty. He's already got cat fur all over himself, and he looks right at home. He certainly settled in faster than I have.

     "Yessir. I'll be here when you get back." He mock salutes with a roll of his eyes.

     Shota grumbles in response, turning away from him. "Don't do anything stupid," he repeats, not waiting for an answer.

     We take a taxi, which is evidently only the first part of the trip, as when we get out we're not at our destination. It's about five minutes of walking before we get to a seedier area in a neighborhood I'm not very familiar with. There's normal nightlife along with suspicious groups of people, and Shota gets quite a few looks of recognition. I won't take back what I said about not many people knowing about Eraserhead, but if these people aren't civilians they certainly don't look like heroes or police.

     I have a distinct feeling that these people are not a law abiding citizens. At least, most of the ones that aren't bar-hopping right now, and probably some of the ones that are. Nobody's acting hostile though, and in fact even a particularly suspicious person that I see eyeing my guardian doesn't look the slightest bit tense or ready to fight. So, a neutral ground? Or maybe I'm overthinking the stares.

     "Keep your head down." Shota mumbles to me, but he himself walks leisurely and openly down the street, even nodding when someone with a drawl calls out "evenin', 'raserhead." Definitely not overthinking the stares. These people recognize him.

     I continue to follow immediately behind him, watching his feet and listening carefully for anyone who gets too close as we walk. Weirdly enough, it really doesn't feel as though we're in any sort of danger.

     We turn down a well-kept alley with a door on the end that's got a neon sign above it. I don't bother to read what it says, more focused on the massive man acting as a bouncer by standing in front of the door.

     Assuming he has a quirk, it's gotta have something to do with how big he is. He's a full head-and-a-half taller than the very regular sized door, and his shoulders are just as wide as the doorway. There's certainly no going around a man like that, unless he lets you.

     And, well, that's exactly what he did. No words were spoken between any of the three of us but he unlocked the door with a keycard and stepped to the side to let us through. He didn't follow us in.
    
     Up a set of narrow stairs led us to an interior that was much nicer than it had seemed from the outside.