[BNHA oc insert]

chapter 4

"I'm sorry you never got to meet him. What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" Uraraka questioned softly, placing a hand on Chousuke's shoulder. He paused for a moment and sighed.

"I don't actually know. My mom never told me anything about him, she just said he left before I was born. She always seemed kind of weary about the subject." Uraraka nodded, and the three of them gave their condolences to Chousuke in regards to his absent father, before returning to their normal conversations. Chousuke began to get a sinking feeling in his stomach as he let his mind wander- not for any particular reason, just the thought of his father suddenly made him feel sick with shame.

The shame came mostly from 'stealing the spotlight'. It was stupidly common to grow up without a father, but he felt that just because he was famous in Uraraka's eyes meant that he was receiving special treatment because of it. Midoriya never knew his dad either, the two of them bonded over it in a way, but he didn't even seem phased by it anymore. Chousuke couldn't understand why he hung onto his father so much.

He'd thought it was because he yearned to at least know something about him. Midoriya knew his father's name and the reason he left- something about his job and him having to live abroad, resulting in his mother raising him on her own. But Chousuke's father was nameless and faceless. He huffed quietly through his nose in an attempt to ease the sick feeling in his gut and made a mental note to man up and ask his mother about it later.

By the time the three of them got onto the train Chousuke was no longer in a talking mood. He made an effort to look tuned in on the other's conversation and nod or chip in every now and then, but other than that he stayed silent and took to staring out of the window at the scenery rolling by. Nobody really seemed to notice, which was good for him. Iida and Uraraka must have just assumed that Chousuke wasn't the talkative type. Midoriya probably knew something was up, but they'd been friends long enough for him to know that Chousuke prefers being alone when he's upset.

Chousuke was left alone on the train in the end. The others' stops all came before his, since he lived practically at the edge of town, and he was left clutching his bag in his lap and staring out of the window behind him. Granted, doing so made him feel even more sick, but the sight of the setting sun glaring out from behind darkened buildings and the blue and orange gradient of the sky outweighed the churning in his stomach. He had long since finished his chocolate milk and was holding the empty carton in one of his shaking hands.

Eventually, his stop rolled by, and Chousuke jumped off the bus all too eagerly and threw his carton in the nearest trash can. The weather was still pretty warm, so he could take his time walking home without it being dangerous for him. Knowing this, he still unconsciously speed-walked back to his house, hoping to catch his mother in case she was going out.

Once he got home, he wasted no time in shoving the door open and kicking off his shoes. "Mom?" He called out. His voice echoed through the house and received no immediate reply from her, earning a sigh from Chousuke as he trudged upstairs, pulling his blazer off along the way. As he tapped lightly through the hallway, he heard the floorboards creaking in his mother's room and paused.

"Chousuke? You home?" His heart sank a little when his step-dad's joyful tone rang out from the master bedroom, the brunette revealing himself a second later as he stepped out with a mountain of clean, folded clothes in his arms.

"Yeah, hey Fujio-san."

"Ah, welcome back! How was your first day?" He questioned, walking towards the slightly taller boy and placing a few t-shirts, boxers and socks in his hands for him to take back to his room.

"It was okay. Our homeroom teacher's a little crazy, but I think his motives are straight." Fujio laughed and entered Hiro's room to put his clothes away, Chousuke following behind him and leaning against the doorframe. "Where's mom?"