fear. || { bnha }

two.

Hitoshi.

Valui looked out one of the windows of the store at the darkness. It had gone from sunset to full night in the time it took the events from earlier to transpire. She still had to get home, but not before buying what she had been tasked with getting — there was no point in rushing or hurrying to get home before the sun set now.

Hesitantly, Valui looked up at Hitoshi, her fingers toying nervously together. He wasn't looking at her anymore, now gazing boredly around the store. "U-um," she started to get his attention, the back of her neck beginning to burn. "Can... Can you stay with me? I-I'm kind of scared to be alone..."

Hitoshi's eyes seemed to widen, but that was the only physical reaction to her question. "Sure."

Valui smiled — sheepishly, but genuinely. "Th-thank you..!" She wished she had some way of showing how appreciative she was, but it seemed her verbal gratitude was enough. Hitoshi nodded slightly at her and gave a small smile back. "I have to buy some things so, u-um, I'll be back there somewhere."

She pointed toward the back of the store, but instead of making some acknowledgement, Hitoshi brushed past her. "I'll come with you."

H-huh?

Valui's face started burning, though she didn't know why. "O-okay." She trailed after him, glancing at the shelves as they passed. When they stopped in a different aisle, Hitoshi looked down at her.

"Why didn't you use your Quirk to get out of that?"

Valui adjusted her gaze to the items on the shelves. There was a weird look in his eyes; anger, or maybe jealousy. That wasn't why she couldn't look at him, though — shame and embarrassment was. "I...don't have one," she said softly, grabbing something off the shelf.

When she glanced up at him as she walked past into a different aisle, the look in his eyes had softened.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Hitoshi's voice came from behind her, his tone awkward and slightly uncomfortable.

It was understandable. Most people who were Quirkless were bitter about it; any mention of it made them upset, and they spent a majority of their lives miserable.

Valui knew, because that's how she was.

She spent most of her days feeling out of place, like she was the sore thumb of society. She felt lost; how could she possibly amount to anything when all her competition had superpowers? Even her parents looked at her like an outcast. She'd heard them talking many a time about trying for another child in hopes that the next one wouldn't be so useless.

It hurt.

But she didn't like letting others know that.

When they stopped again, Valui forced a smile up at Hitoshi, hoping he wouldn't be able to see through it. "It's fine," she lied. "It doesn't bother me anymore."

It does. It bothers me all the time.

As she sifted through the items on this set of shelves, the uniform he was wearing caught her attention. It had looked familiar at first, but she hadn't been able to place where she had seen it before. The talk of Quirks refreshed her memory. "You go to UA?"

Hitoshi glanced off to the side, one of his hands rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I do."

Whatever sadness had been in Valui's chest was replaced instantly with curiosity and amazement. "Really?" She was beaming, her smile wider than it had been before. She always wanted to meet someone who went to UA — if she was honest, she idolized them — and ask what it was like; to train alongside heroes, to learn from heroes, to become heroes. "Are you in the Hero Course? What's it like?"

Hitoshi's expression changed, but Valui couldn't determine what it was. "I'm not actually...in the Hero Course." His eyes met hers for a split second. "I'm in General Studies."

Valui's face fell considerably, but she tried not to make it obvious. She picked a few things off the shelf and turned to him, her items in her arms. She'd forgotten to get a basket. "How come you're there? What's your Quirk?"

"Brainwashing." Hitoshi took a few of the things in Valui's arms so she wouldn't have to balance all of them. "It's not physical, so I failed the Hero Course entrance exam."

"Oh." Valui bit her lip and looked down, her eyebrows furrowing. Not being accepted into the Hero Course generally meant you weren't going to become a hero — or that it would be extremely hard to become one.

But...

She hesitated, then looked up at Hitoshi again, a small smile on her face.

"Well, you're my hero!"