Hero of Hearts (Soriku)

Chapter 3

A/N: This is a warning for cursing, though none of it doesn't already exist in the English sub version of BNHA. Also, I hope you enjoy the long boy after the wait!

Sora and Riku stood before the door to Sora's apartment.

"Riku, I-" Sora looked up at Riku with a sad look of concern before squeezing his hand. "I know you're having nightmare problems, but please just… Try to get some sleep tonight, alright? I know you're not okay."

Riku sighed, "I'll...try…"

Sora let go of Riku's hand and turned to wrap his arms around him, burying his face into Riku's chest. "Please, Riku. If you don't get some sleep, you'll burn out. I'm just...worried about you…"

"It's okay." Riku hugged him back, resting his head on Sora's shoulder. "I'll be fine. I won't burn out."

"You better not," Sora chuckled as he pulled out of the hug and wiped his eyes. Were those tears?

"Just...don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow." Riku forced a small smile as Sora gave his own big smile back, before he waved back at Riku and walked into his house.

Riku let his face relax again once Sora closed the door. He lingered for a moment, his heart tugging him forward, but he eventually started off towards his own home to get changed into different clothes.

When Riku departed from his own apartment, he had on plain gray sweatpants and a red sweatshirt. He started down the sidewalk as if he was merely taking a walk, but soon ducked into a back alley. It was dark, but his eyes had adjusted to the night by now.

Soon, he was able to see the outline of a person, and as he approached, he was sure who it was. “Hi, Aizawa-sensei.” Riku gives him a small wave before sticking his hands into his sweatshirt pockets.

Aizawa was still in his hero outfit despite his injuries. “Let's go,” he commanded. 

Riku followed him as he began to walk away, deeper into the alley maze. Luckily, he didn't have to squint anymore once Aizawa's dream eater--a Keeba Tiger named Taigāsupiritto--joined Aizawa's side, and it wasn’t long after that they emerged out on the sidewalk, finally out of the maze. Riku knew where he was then, so he sped up to walk on the other side of Taigāsupiritto. He cautiously reached down to touch its fur as he walked, but once he heard a soft purr of acceptance, he smiled, stroking its fur.

Aizawa coughed to get Riku's attention once they arrived at one of UA's old training grounds. Old training grounds like this one were always made with multiple terrains. Still, most were either abandoned or repurposed. It was found more effective to have areas dedicated to single terrains for training, and the eventual establishment of the USJ facility covered the few advantages the old training grounds had over the new. 

This particular old training ground used to be called "Ground Chi", "Ground Kai", or even "Ground Key", and it was constructed as a miniature city similar to Ground Beta, but also contained a simple park and small forest, as well as a small lake.

"That Taigā?" Aizawa asked, referring to Taigāsupiritto, once he had Riku's attention, and Riku nodded, dropping the hand he was using to pet said dream eater.

“Usugurai. Bond with your dream eater."

Riku gave Aizawa a look, eyebrows scrunched up. "Why, Aizawa-sensei?" 

Aizawa coughed before answering, "You're honing your body well, but you also need to hone your quirk if you want to get stronger. This means testing the limits of your quirk." Then, he jumped back into his fighting stance. "Bond with your dream eater and fight me."