•Chapter Two•
〄
Public school was a shitshow. A wave of people crowding the halls, yelling over each other while trying to simultaneously push others out of their way. And the way gossip spread was like an out of control wildfire. It wasn't even noon before Kirishima had heard all sorts of bullshit involving the new kid, Katsuki Bakugou. In a small school of a little over four hundred kids, they'll grip onto any sort of news and spread it around so at least something "exciting" is happening in their rather dull school.
From what Kirishima was hearing from his yapping best friend Kaminari, the guy looked like a complete prick and complimented his jerk-like exterior by ignoring every single person who tried to be welcoming with an introduction. The only part Kirishima cared about was the fact that he danced, some people said he was even on T.V. at one point. He wondered if the guy was at the same competition he had just participated in over the weekend because that was aired across the country. Kirishima went to ask Kaminari if he knew, but he remembered his friend didn't have regular television and the person to the other side of him, Jirou wasn't into dance. Mina, however, would know because she was more than thrilled to discover her best was going to be displaying his talent for so many people to watch. But she was late to school, again.
"And I also heard that his mom-"
"Dude," Jirou scolded the blond firmly, "gossiping isn't an attractive trait at all."
Kaminari didn't stop though. He kept blabbering anyway and eventually Kirishima zoned out, letting himself be led through the sea of teenagers by his husky, Riot.
His class was a special one. He stayed in the same room with the same teacher every day and didn't rotate out to different rooms for each subject like those around him. The teachers wouldn't know how to teach him and he'd be left behind. It'll be easier this way, he was told, you're going to be learning at the same pace as everyone else but in order to do that, you need to be taught separately. He had wanted to argue with them, to tell them he'd much rather be taught with everyone else, like everyone else and be behind than be caught up and alone.
Isolating.
It was already made clear to the other students that he was different, his books were so much thicker than theirs and he did all his writing by computer. Riot was another clear indicator that he was different from everyone else. Even in elementary school, it was very prominent that he was an oddity. The brailler he had to carry around and the big, thick markers along with the cream coloured paper he had to write on when he was learning his letters wasn't like the things the children around him had. They had white lined paper, the kind that hurt his eyes, and the lead pencils that were too light for him to see. His classmates were always aware that there was something wrong with Kirishima and he couldn't stand it.
He simply wanted to feel normal.
During class, the creak of the door caught Kirishima's attention and while he pretended to be working on whatever he was assigned, the teacher had to give directions to a voice that sounded... annoyed. He assumed it was the new kid and that he got lost on his way to another class. The door slammed shut loudly, causing Kirishima to jump slightly.
He took note of that voice because it was one of the only ways he could distinguish between people. He wasn't entirely sure if he would ever really need to remember that voice for he wasn't sure if he'd ever come into contact with the owner of it, Katsuki, but he filed it away in his brain anyway.
Time will tell.
〄
Lunch: everyone's favourite time of day because it required absolutely no thinking to shovel food into your mouth whilst carrying on a useless conversation with your friends. When the bell rang at the end of fifth period, Mina had shown up outside Kirishima's classroom to help guide him through the crowded junior hallway so he could drop his textbooks off in his locker for they were breaking his back and he wasn't sure how much more of it he could take before he collapsed to the ground.
His locker was on the opposite side of the hallway all the way at the end of the large row of metal boxers. It was the least crowded down there whereas near the middle of the hall was like trying to navigate through the streets of New York. Down there, away from his barbaric peers, he could actually think and thought that maybe it was best for him to stay away from them. Trying to get through the hallways during their passing periods would present Kirishima with a world more of challenges and he already had enough of those.
Kirishima held onto Mina's elbow as she practically pulled him through the swarm of people and took him into the cafeteria where the voices of all the students who were there collided to make a garbled mess that awoke the anxiety hiding in his chest. Loud places were always problematic for him, after all, his ears were very important when trying to navigate the world and when it's loud, his sense is basically corrupted and useless. School was always hit or miss when it came to that.
Their lunch table was tucked on the opposite side of the room near a set of large windows that gave anyone who looked through it a nice view of the parking lot and the small patch of grass that all the edgy kids sat on during the nicer times of the year. Since freshman year they have claimed the table as theirs, mainly because it lets in a mass amount of light and that gave Kirishima's brain the stimulation it often craved and is deprived of when he's in class or walking down the halls. It was away from all the bullshit that went on near the middle of the cafeteria.
Kaminari and Jirou were already there, sitting oddly close to one another, while Todoroki and Izuku sat across from them. The four of them were in their own little words, Kaminari was trying to flirt with Jirou and the other two were conversing with another about the school paper, which they worked on together along with Iida and Uraraka.
Mina helped Kirishima up until he sat down next to Kaminari before taking her seat across from him next to Izuku. Kaminari broke into a smile, leaning his elbow on the table as he peered at his friend.
"So, Izuku was talking about how he knew that new kid, Katsuki or whatever, when they were younger," he said, flicking his eyes to Izuku in hopes he'd back him up so he wouldn't sound like a complete idiot. Kirishima resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The topic was becoming overdone to him.
"Oh yeah, we... hung out?" Izuku sounded uncertain as he spoke, tapping his fingertips together as he tried to pull his words into actual sentences. "I guess I sorta just followed him around? After his mom passed he pretty much disappeared and didn't say anything to anyone about it. Just poof."
For once Kaminari wasn't spouting bullshit he heard from sources that weren't even credible, and Kirishima was intrigued. Izuku would know things and by "things", Kirishima wanted to know if he really danced or not and what kind of dance it was, that is, if he actually did.
"So, Kaminari said Katsuki danced. Is that true?" the redhead asked, his eyes moving around the shadows to find Izuku, or where he assumed Izuku was sat.
Izuku hummed and nodded before realizing Kirishima wouldn't be able to see the movements of his head so he gave a quick yes followed by, "Huh, I think it's what you do? Contemporary. Don't quote me on this, but I'm fairly certain he competed against you during the state finals."
Kirishima had opened his mouth to give a response but was interrupted by Todoroki. "By the way, did you win?"
"First place," he said proudly, a smile breaking his face. Todoroki must've not tuned into the airing of the dance, but that was okay. He didn't expect all his friends to waste their time watching him dance when they could be spending their time doing better things. Mina was an exception, she didn't have better things to do and that's why Kirishima expected her to watch.
And now he forgot what he was going to say. Thanks a lot, Todoroki.
"Cool, I'll put that in the paper then."
"He killed it!" she shouted rather loudly, throwing her arms up in the air. Of course, a smile had tugged at her lips. Her enthusiasm was normally overdramatic but in some circumstances, it was really encouraging and nice. However, in a room that was already overflowing with noise, her screams got mixed in with all the other voices that were clashing together around them.
"It felt like I did good."
"You did more than good, you did fantastic!"
Mina... She always knew what to say.
If only she were in his head...
...that's where he needed the most encouragement.
〄
The day continued on slowly, the deep voice belonging to Kirishima's teacher slowly becoming something that induced headaches and an overall sound he began to dislike. Too repetitive, too familiar. He wanted a change of pace that was completely different to his day-to-day life.
Even after the day came to an end and he started his walk home, alone because Mina had to go home early, was too familiar. The route Riot took, the small bit of light Kirishima could see, and the white noise around him was the same thing every single day. The bitterness of the cold air that filled his lungs and burned his throat every time he inhaled. At least every time he closed his eyes he could see a beautiful display of fireworks, though the sparks were the same three colours, he could never find them to be boring or overdone.
His life felt inadequate. He felt inadequate.
Freshly baked chicken and the smell of potatoes flooded Kirishima's senses the moment he stepped foot into the house. Dinner was done at the same time every day, just before the sun set behind the snow-covered mountains
Riot had already escaped from his owner's hands before the harness buckled tightly to his chest was removed and ran off to devour a feast of his own. He chuckled as he slipped his shoes off and abandoned his bag by the door. After placing his hands on the nearest wall, he guided himself to the room filled with the one thing he loved most alongside his family and friends: food.
Two feminine voices greeted him as his feet touched the cold tile flooring of the kitchen, the sizzling of grease soon catching his attention. He inhaled and grinned. Bacon. The manliest food aside from steak and by far his favourite thing to eat. Kirishima was grateful that the two women were willing to make it for him so his taste buds could be satisfied on a regular basis.
After stumbling around for several seconds, he found his seat at the end of the rectangular table and plopped himself down just as the main course, as well as several sides, were placed down on the middle of the table. Being the considerate ladies they were, they turned the lights on to a brighter setting, but not too bright, than normal for Kirishima so his brain could be given the stimulation it always was in dire need of.
Ayami and Kaori: the two wonderful women who took Kirishima in after a plane crash that swept his parent's away. He's known them for as long he could remember, maybe even longer. They've been with him through everything, his hardships and victories and everything that comes in-between. Where would he be without them? A question Kirishima never wants to know the answer to.
Dinner was great and all. The food always blew Kirishima's mind but there was something sorely lacked during that time.
Conversation.
If he never had to hear the sounds of forks and knives hitting the glass plates their food sat on, he'd die happy. If his family were to have a soundtrack, that would be it. The background music to a family that has little to nothing to say (though he had things to say whenever he came home from school, blabbing about himself whilst everyone else had nothing else to say in return bugged him). It was the same thing during every meal they've ever had and will have. Scrape, scape, scape. He wondered why they were so quiet, maybe they didn't like talking about their days or nothing worth speaking about happened. Ayami was a doctor though, her life just was a crazy whirlwind every day. Surely she had something to talk about, yet she never did.
Scape.
Scape.
Scape.
The meal ended with nothing passed between the three family members. Kirishima helped clean up what he could in the kitchen, nothing exchanged between him or the other women but he could still sense the smiles spreading across their faces, before he disappeared up the stairs with Riot hot on his trail and hid in his room, which wasn't really his room. He took Riot's harness off, tossed it to the side, and collapsed onto his bed. He was beat, which was a problem because he had a pile of homework to complete and he was in no mood to even think about pulling himself from his bed. It was too much work. Living was too much work.
Getting comfortable and relaxed in his room after a long day of knowledge wasn't always easy.
The room he was in once belonged to Ayami and Kaori's real son, Riku, a high school graduate with a stupidly high GPA and plans to pursue the field of medicine just like Ayami. The room was to be left untouched after he left for college so when he came back it still felt like home.
Real son.
Ayami always corrected Kirishima when he referred to Riku that was because she felt that it lessened what Kirishima was to Ayami and Kaori. He couldn't help it though. He felt as if he were a replacement child at times. They never make him feel that way, it's his own thoughts picking away at his brain.
Riku didn't make it to college. It was a seizure. There one moment and gone the next, and it was something no one would have been able to help. Kirishima always imagined that was something Ayami struggled with, then and now. She's saved so many countless lives but was unable to save the one she held closest to her heart.
It was strange that the room belonged to him now. Even after changing the colour of the walls and finding a different bed and switching the desk to one that was more stable, he couldn't help but think of Riku despite never meeting him. He wondered about what Riku would think if he knew Kirishima had taken over his room and changed it around to fit his own style. The thought never sat well with the redhead.
Kirishima wondered about Riku more than he should. His hobbies aside from being knees deep in medical terminology, his taste in music and if it was anything similar to what Kirishima liked. Relationships, wants in life, even drama.
But then he wondered... Would they have taken me in if he were still alive?
A knock from the door pulled him from his thoughts, a voice from behind it asking if it would be alright if they came him. He quickly sat up whilst giving his reply, a quick "yes", and propped his back on the headboard of the twin bed. It was Kaori who walked in and because the light from the hallway flooded into the room, it caused her to be backlit. He could see her shadow, only bits of it. The ruffles of her hair and her shoulders were the most defined parts for an unknown reason and everything else was a jumbled mess of shapes he couldn't make out.
"Can we talk for a moment?" she asked him. He felt the end of his bed sink down as she plopped herself onto it.
"Sure." Kirishima gave a quick nod.
"So, I was at the post office and they had a flyer up for a dancing competition and I thought you'd be interested in it. It requires a partner and there was another man there who I got to chatting with him and his son dances as well," she explained in that signature soft voice of her's. So soft and sweet.
"Oh!" Kirishima perked up, visibly more interested than before. "He goes to my school. And Izuku knows him, or knew him? They were friends when they were younger."
"That's wonderful! His dad thinks the whole partnership thing would be a good opportunity to work on his "social skills" and all. It's not set in stone yet, but I thought I'd mention it."
Kirishima broke into a toothy grin. "Thanks. I'm down for it if he is."
"I haven't heard from his dad yet, but he said he'd get back to me when he had his answer. I'll tell you his answer the second I know it. Sound good?"
"Sounds good," Kirishima repeated with a firm nod.
"I'll leave you to... whatever you were doing then." The weight at the end of his bed vanished and the door clicked shut.
Just as Kirishima settled back down onto his bed, his entire body relaxing against the memory foam mattress and his eyes fluttered shut his peace was interrupted when he remembered he had homework and that all of it was downstairs. All the way down fucking stairs. By the time he went down there and came back to his room, it would be time for bed. Or he was just over exaggerating. Or too lazy. Maybe both. All he knew was that sleep was calling his name and homework was most certainly not. It could fuck off for all he cared.
A sigh. An overdramatic groan. One more sigh. He just couldn't seem to will himself up from his bed but he needed to at least turn it in, even if it was half-assed.
It was going to be a long night. He could tell and he was far from ready.
〄
Word count: 3240
January 1st, 2019
Putting 2019 is so weird lol.
BUT HERE IT IS. First update of the new year. Updates may be sporadic as I try to get my life under control so I hope you guys don't mind waiting<3
As always, I did my hardest to make sure this was as flawless and mistake free as possible. I kinda don't like this chapter (mainly because of the dialogue and I absolutely hate writing dialogue, worst thing to ever exist lol). I'll probably go back within the next day or so and re-read it just to make sure.
-StarsNeverLanding