ERROR THEORY [BNHA fanfiction]

CHAPTER ONE: GREY'S ANATOMY

        The sports festival had ended days ago, but Hachimitsu had never seen her best friend so upset for so long. Shinsou was a boy of mystery and, while she didn't understand much about his trials and tribulations, she could understand--to some degree--how that was upsetting.

        He had been determined to make a spot for himself in the sports festival, to make himself known, but he was beaten right at the beginning of the most important part. She wasn't sure how to offer her condolences to him, so she just watched him quietly.

        "How many was that?" Shinsou asked.

        "Seventy-two," Hachi replied, finally looking back down at the anatomy book on her lap.

        "That's not enough," he coughed. "Water?"

        "It went up from last week, though," the girl pointed out, tossing the water bottle towards the sound of his voice without looking up. The grunt he gave told her she either hit him or he caught it. Or, really, neither of those. But she didn't check to see.

        It went quiet. The only sound between them was Shinso's breathing and the flipping of Grey's Anatomy. That went on for a while, not that Hachi really cared. Neither of them was one for conversation and it made things easier during times like this.

        "I'm going to do another set of the workout Aizawa-sensei gave me," Shinsou announced.

        Hachi merely glanced up from her book, just to see him beginning to stand, before looking back down. She didn't say anything, nor did she nod. She just went back to reading.

        It wasn't new knowledge that she was learning. Rather, it was something she was just etching deeper into her memory. If she were to become a doctor like her mother, she couldn't afford to not remember human anatomy. She still had yet to figure out what kind of doctor she would be. However, her heart told her she would be a surgeon.

        The heart and Hachimitsu often didn't get along. Her heart was a foreign body, one that she had disconnected from long ago. Emotions were complicated; understanding people was harder. But some people gave her the benefit of the doubt. Not many, but it was enough for a few people to enjoy her quiet presence.

        It was late in the day. The sky was becoming a nice soft orange. She had been with Shinsou since the early afternoon, keeping him company while he trained. They were tucked away in the park, away from prying eyes and under the cover of large trees and bushes. They called it their spot; they were never disturbed there.

        "It's late," Hachimitsu said but didn't look up from her book. The fingers rubbed against each other, one at a time. A simple stim. A constant habit she no longer realized she had.

        "Yeah, it is." Shinsou paused and chugged down more water. "Did you want to go home?"

        "We have school tomorrow," was the only answer she gave him.

        "I guess we should start packing up, then. I'll walk you to the train station?"

        Hachi didn't respond to Shinsou's offer, but they both knew he would do it anyway. It was unlike Shinsou to not walk her. A small girl like her could fall prey to all sorts of people, especially since she was quirkless. Sometimes she wondered if it was the seedling of a hero complex --one that was just starting to take root-- that made him want to keep her safe. To her, it was the only logical explanation, but she knew that he valued her enough as a friend to keep her safe.

        Hachimitsu had just finished shoving her book into her backpack (it was fuzzy and the texture made her fingers tingle in the right way) when Shinsou spoke again.