fear. || { bnha }

four.

a/n: thank you all for reading and voting, i tried to make this chapter longer to show my thanks <3

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Valui's heart thumped hard against her ribs.

He... He agreed with me.

It felt like a dream. Her entire encounter with this purple-haired boy felt like a dream, but this — this — felt the most dreamlike. It wasn't her childish projecting anymore; her outlandish hopes and wishes of having her very own hero. Her idolization had become a reality with a single question.

Her first instinct was to hug him.

She didn't, however.

Despite Hitoshi having saved her, they still hasn't known each other for that long. It probably hadn't even been longer than an hour. The fear of making him dislike her, of making him think even somewhat negatively about her, put restraints on her actions.

Though somewhere, in the back of her mind, Valui tried to bring herself to do it. "People always hug the ones that save them," she pointed out to herself. "It's been like that since even before Quirks were a thing."

As true as that was, this felt...different.

Valui settled for a grateful smile, a weird feeling settling itself in her stomach as she looked up at Hitoshi. Disappointment? Regret? "Y-yeah, you are." Her eyes fell back to the bags in his hand. "Oh!" she exclaimed softly to herself, the reality of what they were waiting for setting back in. "Right, my house is this way."

As they started walking down the sidewalk in the direction of her house, Valui began to realize just how dark it really had gotten. Had she not left the house when the sun was still up, she could have easily assumed it was the middle of the night. A chill crept its way up her spine; if that man from earlier was able to snatch her off a populated street in nearly broad daylight, what could someone do in the dark?

Just the question — not even any of the possible answers — made Valui almost freeze with fear.

She sidestepped closer to Hitoshi until their arms touched. One of her hands reached up to the bottom of his school jacket sleeve, her fingers curling in a small fist around the fabric.

"Are you scared?"

He was looking down at her. She could tell; his voice fell right on her ears. The question was asked gently, if not a little curiously. Valui was accustomed to rude, condescending tones when it was asked — because how dare she have a "childish" fear — and had she not been so afraid, she would have reacted with more than a simple nod.

"Hm." Hitoshi tugged his arm upward so Valui's grip fell from his sleeve. Fear and confusion filled the small girl's head, but only for a moment. In the next instant, Hitoshi had slid his hand into hers and was squeezing it gently. Just as Valui's head snapped up to look at him, he looked down at her with a soft smile.

"I won't let anything hurt you."

Valui was surprised her face didn't catch fire.

She looked away in embarrassment, the feeling in the pit of her stomach growing much stronger than it had been before. She couldn't have said anything even if she wanted to — her mouth had run dry and her heart felt as if it had jumped straight into her throat. Her hand tightened significantly around his, her fingertips pressing lightly against the back of his hand.

Everything was silent for a while, save for the sounds of their shoes on the pavement and the plastic bags rustling against each other. Valui's fears had all but been dispelled, her anxiety having been soothed just by a single action.

Finally, a question entered her head.

"So what's it like at UA?" Valui tilted her head up in a way so she could look up at him, curiosity written plainly on her face.

Hitoshi met her eyes in a side glance. "I can't say for the other departments, but it's...fairly normal for me."

Oh, right.

Valui felt bad for a split second — Hitoshi hadn't seemed that big on admitting he was in General Studies as opposed to the Hero Course — but then that guilty feeling changed into something akin to anger. "I don't see why they didn't put you in the Hero Course," she blurted out suddenly, an annoyed tone to her voice. "Your Quirk is great for fighting villains."

When she looked up at him again, Hitoshi had looked away from her. His gaze was fixed on the sidewalk in front of them now, his expression unreadable in the dark and at her angle. He didn't say anything, as if he were thinking over what she had said intently. Finally, he let out a little huff of air and Valui saw him smile faintly. "I suppose so." His hand seemed to tighten around hers, but she figured she was imagining it. "I have a chance of getting into the Hero Course soon, though."

Valui's mind filled with intrigue. That was possible? Was UA more like a regular school than she had thought? Where, if you proved yourself, you could switch classes — or, in this case, departments? "Really?" The tone of her voice came out sounding more childish than she liked. "How?"

"The sports festival next week." Now, Hitoshi looked back down at her. "You've heard about it, right? If I do well enough, I could get switched into the Hero Course."

It was almost impossible to have not heard about it. It was a huge event, and Valui was more than a little envious of those who were able to go. She nodded. "Yeah, I've heard about it! I really wish I could go, though..."

Hitoshi made a thoughtful humming noise, one of his fingers tapping gently against the back of her hand. "If you want to go that badly, I could get you a ticket."

Valui's eyes lit up in the dark; the dull glow of the streetlights illuminated the happiness in her blue eyes. "Yes!" Her neck started burning when she realized how eagerly she had answered. "I-I mean, y-yeah, I'd like that."

Hitoshi chuckled softly as Valui stopped their walking in front of a house. "Then I'll work on getting you one." He glanced toward the house. "This yours?" When Valui nodded, he switched the bags to her free hand and then ruffled her hair gently. "I'll see you around, then. Stay safe, alright?"

That was when he finally removed his hand from hers.

The strange feeling in her stomach came back, as if on cue.

Valui nodded, thankful for the darkness; her face was surely bright red. "Y-yeah, see you around. And I will."

With a small smile and a slight wave, Hitoshi turned and headed back down the street they had come, leaving Valui alone on the front porch of her house. Taking a deep breath, she spun around and faced the door, fishing out her key with an unusually shaky hand. The clicking of the lock indicated the door was open; and when she opened it and stepped inside, the girl was met immediately by her parents.

"Who was that?" Her mother asked the question without a moment's hesitation.

"My..."

Hero.

"...friend."