Izuku POV
Did... Did I just hear that right? No, I'm just imagining things. But... turning over to my side, I opened one of my eyes and saw Kacchan sleeping with his arms as support from the stand.
No, that couldn't have been my imagination. If it was then... I don't know what I'm thinking at this point, I could've sworn he said that he loves me. Not just like, loves me. That's impossible. How could he have feelings for me?
That's just crazy. Crazy as Rody saying that he likes me. Closing my eyes again, I remembered that scene all too well from today or was it yesterday. It's hard to tell sometimes. I can't wrap my head around the idea that two guys like me.
It's just too much! But, if his feelings are true, then... argh! What should I do? My face was heating up from this situation. Is it that bad to have two guys that like you? I mean, I know I never dated before, and I know for a fact that I only like one person. I just don't know if I like them both like that.
Kacchan... why did you have to make my decision harder? Not only I have to worry about Rody, but now, I have to worry about how you feel. Is... is this the reason why you couldn't tell me you were sent down here? Because of my wish? Did you accept because you like me? Wait. No, he doesn't just like me, he loves me. That has to be way different than like, right?
I'm so confused on how to feel right now!
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I have to take my mind off this dilemma I'm facing. But, the problem is that I can't stop thinking about it! It's like choosing between cat and dog as your favorite companion and now matter what people say, you'll be judged about it.
So, there's only one thing to help me figure this out. I know the right person who could help me figure out this whole mess.
"What? Why are you even asking about my love life?" Hagakure pondered while drinking a cup of her favorite latte. "I have to say, I'm surprised you're coming to me for advice."
"Heh. Well, you're the only person I know in town that's been in a healthy relationship. So, I thought, why not ask someone with a lot of experience with dating?"
She giggled and set her cup aside, "Still, I'm flattered you're coming to me for advice, but why not Ojiro? I mean, I thought you would want to talk to a guy about this."
"I do, but Ojiro has only ever dated one girl, which is you. And I thought that if I asked you, my situation would be more helpful."
"Very well then. So! What are we dealing with? Are we dealing with unrequited love over a crush, someone who thinks you're cute and wants to go on a date with you, love triangle—."
"Love triangle?" I interrupted her while she was listing out some things, "What's a love triangle?"
"Oho! Now, we're getting somewhere! Okay, so basically a love triangle is when there are three people and two people like the same person. Or! It can be where this guy likes this girl, but she likes the other one, and the other guy likes the first one." She explained excitedly as she tried to come up with the best answer, "I'll be honest, they're a bit confusing to understand."
"I bet. You seem to know a lot about love triangles, have you ever been in one before?"
"Nope!" That was a quick response! "I only ever read about them in books. But, from the look you're giving, that's telling me that is your situation." Great... now what am I going to do? Hagakure noticed that I was distressed, tapping her finger on the table, she sighed and shook her head, "Look, if it were me in this situation, I would go with my gut."
"I don't understand."
"What I meant was... you should just go with your gut. I don't know who this other guy is, but I recommend you try going out with them on dates. The more you spend time with them, the more easier your choice will be." She pushed herself out of the chair and took her cup off the table, "Now, I'm sorry if I couldn't be that much help."
"That's okay. I'm glad I got to talk to you. We should get together sometime with the others, like old times." I suggested it to her as she was about to leave.
"We definitely should! Who knows, maybe we can raid Uraraka's kitchen when it's closing time?" She snickered at the thought and waved goodbye to me.
I may have not gotten a lot out of it, but at least it's something. But, that doesn't really help me pick out who I like more. I gotta deal with the pro's and con's about this. If I had to pick Kacchan, I would be isolated and deemed as the schizophrenic man in a house who thinks my own statue is talking or go with Rody, the guy who lives on the run.
That sounds a lot like being his partner in crime now that I think about it. I read about it in books, but to have that happen to me is not something I want to do.
Urgh! What to do, what to do?! It's so hard to come to a decision! Spend time with both of them, huh. Sure, I know how to spend time with Rody, but with Kacchan? It's not like we can go anywhere we want. Even if we did go out in public, he would be turned to stone in a second.
Izuku! You're overthinking again! I need to clear my head, yeah.. that's it! Let's take my mind off this, and what better way to do it than to work on a new project! I reached for my sketchbook from my satchel. Only to find it not there.
Right, I forgot I used up the last page on my old one. I said I was going to get a new one, but that never happened. I wonder if I have any money in my—Nope. Pockets are empty. Damn, now what? I turned my head around and saw the studio in the distance.
I think it's time I just go home. I'll figure something out about the sketchbook. That's what I did, I just headed back home and went to my room. There I find Kacchan with a book in his hand, not just any book, but my old sketchbook that I've used up. I sprinted into the room and snatched the book out of his hands. I ended up on the other side of the room, keeping everything together.
"What the hell's your problem?"
"You were... looking through my sketchbook! That's an invasion of my privacy, Kacchan!" I spatted out and stuffed my sketchbook into my satchel, "You know better than snooping through my stuff!"
"Hey, just so we're clear. It's a sketchbook. How is that anything personal?"
"Listen, there are things that I've drawn in my life that no one should see. Back then, I was so bad at drawing, I cringed just by looking at the first page."
"Oh? So, that must mean that you find it weird when you get to the last page," he grinned at me while crossing his arms, "I saw what was on the last page. Gotta say, that was a pretty accurate description of my appearance. How'd you manage to do that without ever seeing me?"
Huh? My hand took out the sketchbook again and I immediately opened it up to the last page. Whoa. Seeing the last page, I glance at Kacchan and the page again. This is too weird. "I-I don't know. I was just drawing whatever came into my mind. Honest!"
This can't be like some weird coincidence. There's no way I just drew Kacchan without ever seeing him before in my life.
"Heh. It's nice to know that you think about me." He chuckled as he grinned at me, "You might not realize this, but sometimes I pop into your mind without even knowing it. Sometimes with mortals, they think about a person all the time. And they have never seen them before. You drew me because you felt something that felt right."
"Really?" Why... Why is he saying this all so casually? Why would he say things about how a guardian lives their lives? There are times where I just don't get him. He reminds me of a dog that's supposed to be big and mean, but he's soft whenever I'm around. "Is there something that's been keeping you here? I know it can't be me."
He stiffened when I asked him the question, now his gaze shifted away from me, "If I tell you my actual reason, I'd be sent back to Mount Olympus, and I'd rather keep my mouth shut than talking about this to you."
Kacchan... "Hey, if there's anything that you want to talk about, you can just tell me, okay? Do you want to talk about it? Is there anything that's been bothering you?" I asked as I went up to him. We're at a close distance between one another. I reached for his hand by his chest, but he moved away from me. "I'm sorry. Just forget about what I said—."
"I can't read." Eh? Did I hear that right? "Look, back on Mount Olympus, guardians aren't allowed to learn anything. Not unless you want to follow in the God's footsteps."
"Whoa, what?? You mean, there's more than one God?! Wait! But isn't that something personal to talk about? Oh no! I accidentally sent you back—! I'm going to stop talking now."
Kacchan stopped crossing his arms and sat down on my bed. So that's happening... I took a seat next to him on the bed, knees brushing against each other lightly. "Anyway... as I was saying about following in the God's footsteps, we weren't given the chance to read or learn anything. Like I said, our only purpose as guardians is to watch over mortals and be the successor of whichever God or Goddess is leaving their place."
No way! "That's so cool! Kacchan, it would've been so awesome to see you as a God! I don't get why you would still watch over me, I'm just a really plain person, you know. There's nothing that interesting about me." I rambled all of sudden and rubbed the back of my head. My wish should never have been granted in the first place, he could've had a better life than stick by my side.
"You're not plain. I don't know where you got that idea, but I think you're amazing. No, in a way you make things seem cool."
I arched my eyebrow up, "Like reading? You really don't think reading is cool."
"You just love to assume things, do you? For the record, I've always wanted to read this love story—."
"Love story? Huh. Funny. I don't find you to be a guy who's a fan of romance. But, please, continue." I chuckled and displayed my hand out.
"Tch. Stop interrupting me! It's annoying, Deku! That story about the Trojan War is a great one!" He shouted back at me in declaration, "When I first heard about it, I thought it was just another history lesson. Instead, our guide put in a few characters that weren't real to make things interesting. A love story that caused the Trojan War."
"Oh yeah, I remember that one. Even though that never—. Wait, did it happen though?"
"Uh... oh right, I forgot. My bad, I don't even know why I said it was fictional. The Gods actions do cause a lot of major events, but they manage to cover up their doings by saying they're made up. So, you didn't hear this from me, but the Trojan War was all caused by a guy named Paris who wanted Helen." He looked a little nervous and tried to form a smile.
It's okay, you don't have to do that, "Um, is it really okay to be revealing secrets like that? Wouldn't you get in trouble?"
"Ah, it'll be fine. These Gods are mostly laid back, I'll take care of it. To be fair, I sometimes leave a few details that they don't need to know about, for privacy reasons." Yeah, that's understandable. I wouldn't want to reveal things to a bunch of strangers unless it's necessary.
"So... Do you want me to teach you how to read, so you can read the story on your own?"
"If that doesn't bother you, then please?" I nodded my head and looked over his shoulder, "Can you pass me my book?" I asked. Kacchan turned his head over to the nightstand and took it off of there and handed me my book, "Why don't we start with this, okay?" I opened up to a random page and my finger traced through the pages and showed him the words and letters on there.
For the rest of the day, I kept teaching Kacchan how to read. I have to say, he's a really fast learner, he's really good. I'm thinking about starting with basic lessons. He's going to make fun of me for giving him baby cards. But that's just the process of learning how to read.
Hey, at least now, I know what to do and how I can spend time with Kacchan. This'll be easy as pie!
A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it!
So, I might've made a mistake about the Trojan War, so if you were confused I was trying to fix it. By the way, The Trojan War is real, but the Love story is just fictional. Anyway, I hope that cleared some things up!
As always, have a good day or night, take care of yourself, wash your hands, wear a mask, stay safe, eat plenty of food, drink lots of water, and get a good night's rest. Bye!