The next day came and her classmates along with herself all met up at the Kiyashi ward mall.
Izuku of all people was the most excited as he muttered like a madman, moving forward, eyes darting around. Tokoyami told him off, saying that he was going to scare the children. Arisa was amazed by the sight, hearing vendors and people promoting their items. It was a lively place. She was just quietly looking around with her friends by her side, all discussing what they needed for their one week trip. Dufflebags, flashlights, all the necessities for a forest lodge boot camp. Arisa just needed to find a bag large enough to fit her things.
"Arisa, wanna come with us?"
It was Momo who was standing next to Kyouka, "We're going to look for bags."
"Oh, sur - holy shit," she suddenly breathed out when her eyes fell on a certain store and her eyes sparkled behind the cloth that obscured her eyes. The two girls looked concerned as they asked, "Arisa? Are you alright?"
"Hey, dude check it! Aren't those UA students?!"
Arisa zoomed past her classmates and headed towards the store that stole her attention. She ignored everyone and everything else because right before her eyes, was an anime store. Filled with merchandise. She could see a Fushiguro Toji cardboard cut out just within the store - she was sold. She went in and asked for its price before immediately buying it. She looked around a little more; the entire store was filled with her weakness. She could see all her anime men and was now currently hugging a Gojo plushie.
"I'm in heaven," she whispered as she looked at the shelves at the many plushies.
"Hey, you're the one from the sports festival. Hayashi Arisa!"
She turned to see a girl with blond hair tied into messy space buns. She had a bright grin on her face and her golden eyes sparkling, "I'm a big fan. Can I take a picture with you?"
Arisa smiled, her mood light after being surrounded by her favourite things, "Sure!"
The girl leaned closer and held up a pink phone, its screen displaying both Arisa and the girl as she held up a peace sign. Arisa gave a genuine smile as she hugged the plushie in her arms. The girl took the photo and suddenly hugged her, "I saw you on TV. Your eyes are so pretty. I wish I had eyes like yours."
"Thank you," Arisa let out a string of laughter, "What's your name?"
"Hmm, Toga Himiko."
"Nice to meet you, Toga."
She shook her head, her eyes gleaming almost manically, "Call me Himiko."
Arisa tilted her head to the side curiously, "Alright. Himiko it is."
The girl giggled into her hands, her cheeks now red, clearly pleased, "I really like you. I wonder how you taste like."
Huh...?
"I'm sorry?"
The girl grinned and giggled, "Nothing," before leaving the store, skipping happily. Before she went out the door, she looked over her shoulder, her eyes sparkling as she eerily said, "I'll see you soon, Arisa-chan."
Okay, totally not creepy. What's this called again? A yandere? I hope not.
She couldn't sense any blood lust nor malice so she brushed the encounter off. As long as her senses weren't going haywire, she had nothing to worry about.
Arisa shivered regardless and quickly paid for her items, happily carrying the Toji cutout out of the store. Outside, her eyes narrowed as she suddenly had a bad feeling. It wasn't as extreme as the time when villains invaded USJ but it was there. She quickly headed towards a certain direction, the place where her instincts were telling her to go, looking odd with her large Toji cutout occasionally smacking the side of her thigh as she ran.
Her eyes widened when she saw Izuku coughing in the distance, a panicked Ochako by his side. Arisa frowned and ran towards them, dropping her items at her feet and tended to the boy, "What happened? Izuku, are you okay? Come on, look at me," he was wheezing and holding his throat. Arisa bent down slightly and saw bruises lining his neck which made her frown.
Ochako explained to her the situation, "It was Shigaraki. Stay with him. I'll go get help."
The girl ran and Arisa sat him down on the nearby bench, her eyes darkened as she watched him rub his neck. Arisa glanced around, seeing the agents that were tasked to watch her hiding in plain sight. How did none of them notice Shigaraki? She couldn't approach them. She was forbidden from doing so because it'd hinder them.
"What did he want?"
"I don't know. He asked me about Stain and a bunch of other things. I don't know," he ran a hand through his hair. Arisa secretly used her quirk to remove her bruising from his neck and mentally cheered when they disappeared. Arisa wrapped an arm around his shoulder, leaning her head against his, "It'll be fine. We'll figure things out."
He leaned into her, "Yeah. I hope so."
Soon enough, Ochako returned and the mall was immediately closed. Izuku was taken away by the police to get his statement regarding the incident. Arisa walked home alone, her Toji cutout still in hand, deep in thought. It was surprising how easily Shigaraki blended into the crowd and got ahold of Izuku. She didn't sense anything beforehand. Perhaps it was because he wasn't looking to harm anyone within the vincinity. It'd be different if it were otherwise.
She reached home and Aizawa was waiting for her by the entry way.
He looked concerned, "Are you alright?"
Confused, she clarified, "I'm fine. Izuku was the one that was confronted by Shigaraki. I was someplace else."
Relieved he placed a firm hand on her head, "I know. I was just asking," he let her go and stared at the cardboard cut out beside her, "I told you to stop wasting money on things like that."
"It's worth it. Toji is daddy."
He grimaced and walked away, "Get away from my sight."
She laughed and headed towards her room, kicking the door open, set Toji aside and flopped onto her bed, stomach first. She pulled out her phone to see a text from Shoto.
Shoto 🤍🔥
I heard what happened.
Did anything else happen?
Are you okay?
Arisa ☄️💙
Nothing else happened
Izuku's the one that was confronted
So, I'm alright
What are you doing rn, Shoto?
Shoto 🤍🔥
I see. I'll text Midoriya
And I'm reading
Btw, can I come over?
Arisa ☄️💙
Sure
Just be careful. Never know when a villain's lurking around.
Shoto 🤍🔥
Don't worry
Arisa let her phone go and quickly got changed. The sun was setting and she stared out the window for a moment before changing into a much comfier set of clothing. A black shirt and black shorts before walking out her room, announcing, "Shoto's coming over."
"You're spending an awful lot of time with him."
Aizawa was laying on the couch in the living area, arm over his eyes and the news playing in the background. He lifted his arm to look at the girl that stood behind the couch he was on, "Do you like him?"
"Well," she propped her elbows on the couch, "I don't know. I don't understand things like that yet."
The doorbell then rang and she straightened, "That's him."
She shuffled towards the door, pulled it open to see Shoto. She smiled, "Hi. You're here quick."
He smiled, "I came from the hospital," she stepped aside and allowed him to come. She shut the door behind him and watched as he took off his shoes and stepped further inside, greeting Aizawa briefly who only held up a hand in response. Arisa looked to the boy, "Have you eaten?"
"I have. I actually came here to watch Anohana with you," he smiled slightly, "I heard that it was a good anime and so I thought I'd watch it with you."
Aw.
He give his sling bag a single pat and she could hear something rustle, "I got us snacks too."
Arisa scratched her cheek, "But I heard Anohana's sad. Like, really sad. You up for that?"
"I don't cry easy."
"Me neither. Let's go."
The two took to her room and she quickly set it up on her TV by her bed.
Needless to say, Arisa and Shoto ended up clinging to each other, crying by the end of the anime, surrounded by a pile of tissues. Arisa let out a few hiccups as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself while Shoto quietly wiped a few tears.
The anime ended and they were greeted by a black screen with their own reflections staring back at them.
"That broke my undead heart."
"I didn't realize it was that sad."
She sniffled, "I told you."
"It was really good, though."
The two glanced at each other, eyes still red and Arisa let out a short, noise of laughter and slowly Shoto smiled and his shoulders shook. The two laughed and Arisa smacked his arm, "You said you don't cry easy."
"So did you."
"Oh my gosh," she looked at the clock that was hanging against the wall, "Look at the time. It's midnight. Shouldn't you be home?"
"They won't mind. Can I stay over for the night instead?"
"You know I'd always say yes but have you texted your sister?"
She was halfway through her sentence when the boy was already typing things on his phone before tossing it aside, letting out a short, "Done," before letting himself fall and landed against her bed, his figure bouncing slightly upon impact. Arisa looked at him for a moment, "You can take the guest room from last time."
"Arisa."
"Yeah?"
"I've been wondering. How are you so skilled? I've watched you ever since the quirk assessment test until our practical exams recently. Were you professionally trained? You went against two pros skillfully, as if you've done it before. None of us are capable of doing anything like that," his dual coloured eyes shifted and met hers, "Who are you really, Arisa?"
Shoto had always been more perceptive than most when it came to these things.
Arisa held his gaze for a moment and flicked a strand of red hair away from his eye, choosing to lie down beside him on her side, head propped by her arm, letting silence embrace them for a moment. His eyes were expectant, waiting for a response but she couldn't find one. This was one of her very first friends and she felt like she couldn't lie. Arisa's life was based on a lie, everything about her was a lie. She was used to forming lies that would benefit her situation but looking at this boy, she felt the lie die in her throat.
Her lips parted, "I had a family of professionals."
Her eyebrows rose in surprise, "Your family? You mean your real family? They were pro heroes?"
She smiled and chuckled, "That's all I can say. You should go. It's a school night."
The girl sat up and he did the same but as she stood, he chanced, "You know I'll keep digging, right?"
"And I'm telling you not to. You might not be able to turn back."
"What does that mean?"
Tossing a look over her shoulder, she moved and suddenly, she was leaning over him, her arms on each side of him, trapping him, preventing him from moving. His eyes were wide and his cheeks were red as he leaned back slightly. Arisa whispered, "Will you respect my wishes, Shoto?"
Poor boy, his eyes were literally spinning as his face grew redder and redder by the second. Arisa pressed her forehead against his, "Shoto?"
"... Yes."
She smiled and planted a kiss on his cheek, "Good."
Arisa moved away from him and stifled a giggle, watching him wobble out her room, heading towards the guest room, "Goodnight, Shoto. See you tomorrow."
The moment he disappeared, so did her smile.
°°°°
"The destination for our regular school trip will likely be changed and the actual destination won't be announced until the day of the actual event," It was the next day and Aizawa announced the most recent update regarding their school trip where everything was to be altered out of concern for the class' safety. Arisa was glancing down at her phone stealthily to see text messages from Shinsou.
Shinsou 🧠
Hey
You never told me you live with THE Eraserhead
Arisa ☄️💙
How'd you know?
Shinsou 🧠
I accidentally saw his phone's lockscreen
You were on it
So, I asked him and he told me about you
KSKSSJZJAKSJ omg I'm jealous
I'm a big fan
Arisa's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
How did he get close enough to see Aizawa's phone?
Arisa ☄️💙
How were you able to see his phone?
Shinsou 🧠
Ah, right
He's been training me for a while now
He didn't tell you?
The bell suddenly rang and she looked up to see that Aizawa had left and Present Mic came in for their next class. She quickly sent him few more texts before shoving her phone into her blazer's pocket.
Arisa ☄️💙
No, he didn't
But ig he thinks idk you
Tell me more about it later