False Heroes

Won't You Shake a Poor Sinner's Hand?

Shinsou doesn't understand. He can't. Who would ever choose to become a villain? Being a hero has always been his lifelong dream. Why would he give that up for-- what? Some silly crush? Kaminari doesn't think of him as that stupid, does he?

Though Shinsou will admit, part of him is telling him to say yes. He doesn't trust that he can protect his friends by himself. But he knows he will only be putting them in more danger if he goes with Denki. There's no way their safety can be guaranteed.

"You must be an idiot if you think I would ever agree to that," Shinsou decides upon saying, tensing up as the soft smile on Kaminari's face is replaced with a cold stare. Hitoshi, more than anything, wishes they could just go back to being friends again, to joking around and studying on his bed all the while Hitoshi has to deal with the annoying butterflies swarming his stomach. He will take the useless pining any day over this.

"That's such a shame," Kaminari says, voice once again laced with a venomous bite. "But it's your loss." He pouts, turning his back to face Shinsou, who musters up just enough courage to scoff.

"I wouldn't say that," he responds, hating how his voice wavers more than he intended. Still, he powers through it.

It's Denki's turn to huff, rolling his eyes where Hitoshi couldn't see. "Anyway," he says, voice straining, "I must go now. It's not like I have anything to do here, now that my cover has been blown." He turns around, his devilish grin facing Shinsou again. "You understand, don't you, 'Toshi?"

Hitoshi bites back the sharp ping that travels through him at the coldness of the words. "You don't get to call me that," he says, knowing full well that he won't actually try to stop him. He has to fight the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes because this is stupid and he shouldn't be crying over something like this!

"Whatever you say," the blond says, shrugging before stepping forward to stand on the edge of the building. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you again. Until next time, 'Toshi."

Denki salutes him, waving with an actual smile before letting his weight pull him down, falling backward off of the roof. Hitoshi doesn't even bother checking to make sure he was caught by the purple mist of that villain. A small, bitter part of him almost hopes that he isn't, but he has a distinct feeling that it won't be quite so easy to get rid of the villain.

Shinsou isn't given any time to process what just happened before Aizawa and a few of his other classmates are bursting through the door to the roof. Though he tries to hold it back, a singular tear drips down Hitoshi's cheek. He stares at where Kaminari was just stood before wiping it away, turning back to face Aizawa.

"He's gone," he says. His classmates give him funny looks, trying to understand the meaning behind his words. Aizawa's eyes widen a hair, and Shinsou surmises he knows the exact weight of those words.

The teacher silently wraps an arm around Hitoshi, leading him past his classmates and off of the roof. The warmth of the heated building makes Shinsou's skin tingle and he's suddenly thrust from whatever world he was in, now realizing how real the situation is. Denki is a villain. Denki is gone, and he might never see him again. He wants to break down right there in the middle of the stairwell. He managed to lose two of the closest people to him in one night.

But Hitoshi powers through, too afraid to show weakness and cry in front of someone like Aizawa. Instead, he slumps against the teacher's side as he leads him to his dorm room. Shinsou doesn't even question it. He's exhausted and, despite knowing deep down that he'll never be able to sleep tonight, appreciates that Aizawa knows he wants to just be alone. And maybe it will be able to accept everything and move on with his life if he has someone to help him, but, as he said, he's not ready to open up like that to his teacher.