The crowds at the mall were huge.
I fiddled with the zipper on my bag awkwardly as I stood amongst my classmates at the front of the mall. The place was huge! I'd never been anywhere with this many people before — I was starting to feel a bit anxious.
Aizawa had discreetly pulled me aside before I went off with my classmates and he gave me his credit card and a list of what I needed for the trip, and some other things that I needed just for my normal life. I was also given an old phone that had the numbers of all of the faculty members just in case something went wrong and I needed help. He told me that he was going to keep an eye on his card purchases, and to keep all of my receipts but he was going to trust me. I also had permission to get something to eat if I got hungry.
"Oh man, do I love this place! It's got a ton of different stores to shop at and they're all so super cool and hip! The Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall!"
Glancing down at the list, I had no idea where to start. I'd never been to a place like this, and my classmates were already starting to split off into groups. I don't even know what I'm getting, let alone where to find everything! I quickly went to read over the list Aizawa had written for me.
SweaterRain CoatBathing SuitA few casual outfits for the summerRunning shoesBootsSome snacks for the camping tripWater BottlePyjamasMenstrual ProductsSunscreenBug Spray
My eyebrow twitched. Menstrual Products? Really? You just had to make me buy this shit while I was shopping with the entire fucking class, didn't you? Fuck you, Aizawa. Fucking fuck you.
"Woah! Are those UA students?"
"1A! I saw them on TV!"
"The sports festival was so good!"
Cringing back from their yelling, I glanced back at my classmates. They were all talking to each other, discussing the things they needed and finding groups to go with. I shied away from the conversations.
"So then why don't we split up and look around? We can meet here again when we're done," Kirishima suggested.
"Great idea!" Ashida called with a smile.
"Perfect, let's say we're all back around 3?"
"Sounds good!" Everyone called their agreement.
And soon enough, everyone was running off on their own. Deku and Uraraka hadn't appeared to have a true group, but they'd ended up trailing after the others a little bit before realizing they were together. That left just me. I don't know where to go. There are so many people here.
"Lost, little sister?"
The voice sent quivers up my spine as an arm was thrown around my shoulder. He hid his face beneath a cloak, but I didn't need to see it to know who he was. The voice and nickname alone had given it away.
"What do you want?" I whispered under my breath.
"You don't have your Pro Hero guard dogs around anymore, that's new. You came here with your class, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Looks like they all ditched you," he shrugged. "Some friends they are. Hey, how about you and I hang out for a little bit? It'll be fun. I'm sure your father will be happy to know we're getting along so well."
His hand wrapped around my wrist, and he snatched the list from my hands using his free one. Reading it over, the man let out a slight chuckle. What can I do? If I call Shigaraki out, then he'll probably hurt a lot of innocent people. Even if we did capture him, he'd tell everyone about my work with the League of Villains. They'd lock me up too.
"Some snacks for the camping trip, huh? So, you're going camping? What's that about?"
"I..."
"Well? I'm waiting."
"Our class is going to a training camp," I whispered nervously. "I don't know where. Mr. Aizawa hasn't told me much about it and I've missed the last few days of class."
"Oh, and why is that?"
"Injury. I'm fine now, though."
He nodded in response, and soon enough the man was pulling me along after him. It made me feel nauseous going around the mall shopping with him like this. With him holding my wrist, all he'd have to do is activate his quirk and I'd decay into nothing. He wouldn't do it, I'm sure, but who's to say he wouldn't hurt someone else if I didn't listen?
"This sweater looks nice, don't you think?" he grinned in my direction as he stopped in front of a store.
"Oh, um, I guess..."
"Not your style? No worries. I won't be upset if you don't it. Just tell me the truth about the clothes, okay?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Of course, what?"
"O-Of course, Nii-san!"
He pulled me into the store and over to the sweaters, looking them over before holding up a black hoodie. Glancing it over, it looked pretty comfortable and I liked the design of it.
"So this one?" he questioned.
"Yeah..."
He dragged me from store to store, holding the list hostage like the plague would begin if I looked at it. The whole situation was petrifying, but so domestic at the same time. I was shopping with Tomura Shigaraki, the man who insists we're siblings because my father is his master, and the leader of the League of Villains.
"Well, that's the last thing on the list. How about we visit the food court?"
"S-sure," I twitched my fingers uncomfortably. I don't want to be here anymore. I shouldn't have come on this stupid trip in the first place. I should have just gone home. I shouldn't have let myself be separated from the others. I don't like this. I don't like this!
"Hey, Izumi, that you?"
"K-Kirishima!" I called out suddenly as the boy approached with Kaminari and Iida close behind.
"Oh, are these friends of yours?" Shigaraki hissed in my ear. "If I recall, you're not supposed to have friends."
"They're pawns," I replied quietly. "I use them for information."
"We were just heading over to the food court to grab a bite before heading back to the meeting spot and wanted to invite you to join us! If you're busy with your friend though, that's cool."
"Oh no, I was just leaving," Shigaraki spoke from beside me. "I'm Izumi's older brother. We don't see each other very much, so I was just glad we had a chance to catch up."
"Woah, I didn't know you had a brother, Izumi!" Kaminari called out as he reached Kirishima's side.
"I don't talk about family much," I replied as I looked away.
"Well, I'll be off. It was nice seeing you, little sister. I'll come back to visit you again soon. You could spend the summer with me! I'll talk to our father about it."
"Y-yeah! That sounds fun, Nii-san. I'll talk to you soon."
He turned away and I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. Why is my body shaking? I have to calm down before the others notice. I can't let them find out. I can't let them find out! Turning to face the others, I glanced at the large clock on the wall near us.
"We have to meet the others in 15 minutes, so we should hurry," I told them.
"You sure did a lot of shopping," Iida commented as we arrived at the food court.
"I needed to pick up some other stuff too, so I merged everything into one trip."
"Ooh, what did you get?"
Kaminari grabbed one of the bags and I immediately shot out to snatch it back with a loud protest. The idiot dodged to the side and pulled open the bag, only to shriek and throw it back at me in disgust as he covered his eyes.
"W-what did you see in there?" Kirishima asked nervously.
"And that's why you don't look through other people's shit!" I pounded him in the head with my fist.
"M-menstrual..." was all Kaminari whimpered out.
"Look, man, it's just a part of life," Kirishima pointed out.
"And there is no reason for you to search Izumi's bags so this is your fault. It's improper to go through a lady's things!" Iida scolded.
We put our stuff down at the table and Iida offered to wait with everything while the rest of us went to order the food. He gave Kirishima some cash and his order so the redhead could grab something for him too. Kaminari rushed off to the nearest McDonalds on his own, whilst I trailed after Kirishima to get in line at Burger King.
"What are you going to get? I always order the Triple Whopper Sandwich!" he clenched a fist excitedly for his meal.
"I don't know. I've never had fast food before."
"Wait, what!? How have you never had fast food!?"
"Um, my parents were always a bit strict about what I eat."
"Okay, well you've had a burger, right?"
"No..."
"Seriously? You're in for a treat! Tell you what, I'm buying. I'm going to get you the best burger ever and you're going to love it!"
I stared at the red-haired boy in shock. Was he this motivated to buy me a burger? I mean, it was just a type of food. Don't get me wrong, I was super excited to try it but Kirishima was getting a bit excited about this.
"A Triple Whopper Sandwich, a BBQ Bacon King, and Izumi, how hungry are you?"
"Starving."
"Alright and a Bacon and Cheese Whopper!"
He pulled out his wallet and paid the teenager who was working before leading me down to the other side where a couple of other people were waiting. Leaning against a wall, Kirishima glanced down at the receipt before moving over so I could lean on the wall beside him.
"Your brother seems pretty cool," he commented.
"I guess. I don't see him much so I barely know him. To be honest, he makes me a bit nervous..."
"I'm guessing you're not huge on spending the summer with him?" He guessed. Sensing my surprise at his words, he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck, "You looked a bit uncomfortable when he mentioned it."
"My father wants us to get along, and I can't say no to him. I'll have to try, I guess."
"That sounds real mature, Izu!"
"Izu?"
"Yeah! You gave me a nickname, right? I thought I'd come up with one for you!"
"I've been calling you Kirishima recently."
"I dunno, I kinda liked Rocky," he chuckled.
"Order 632!"
Kirishima's head perked up and he raised his hand. Moving off the wall, he went to collect the two large brown bags and we went to sit down with Iida. Kaminari was still stuck at McDonalds. Looks like they were pretty slow today. Kirishima distributed out the food and soon enough some sort of sandwich with a large piece of meat and some other various things inside was placed in front of me, along with a box of these weird rectangular yellow things.
"Those are fries. Have you never had them either?"
I looked away to hide the redness forming in my cheeks, "No."
"You've never eaten fries!?" Iida called out in shock.
"Never had a burger either!" Kirishima announced.
Both boys stared at me intently, glancing down from me to the burger, from me to the burger. Neither dared to take a bite from their food. Reaching down to lift the weird sandwich in my hands, I opened my mouth and awkwardly took a bite as I tried not to focus on their staring.
"Mmm!" I swallowed with a smile, "That's good!" I then popped a fry in my mouth and shivered in excitement. "That's good too! Woah! I can't believe I've never eaten this stuff before!"
Content that I liked it, Kirishima and Iida dug into their burgers just as Kaminari joined the table singing about, 'Chicken Nuggets'. I don't know what the fuck a chicken nugget is, but I'm assuming they're the weird little things that he was eating.
"The mall will be closing due to an incident that has happened. We ask that everyone please make their way to the nearest exit."
Our group sent each other confused glances as we stood up from our table and began to pack up our things. What incident? What had happened? We quickly headed back towards the front entrance where we were supposed to meet the others.
A few policemen were there speaking to Midoriya and Uraraka, whilst a few other of our classmates stood close by, watching. Whilst the rest of the civilians evacuated, we were made an exception.
"What happened?" Kirishima asked Midoriya as the police went off to talk to each other for a moment.
"Shigaraki—" he clenched his fists tightly in anger—"he was here!"
"Shigaraki? You mean that League of Villains guy?"
"Yeah... that's the one."
As Midoriya explained what had happened to our group, I could only stand there in silence. This was my fault. If I hadn't gone to eat with Kirishima and the others, I would have gone with Shigaraki. Izuku would never have had to go through that. We would have met up with each other and left at 3 as planned, so there would have been no opportunity.
"Izumi, you okay?" Kirishima placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, fine. Just a bit surprised, is all."
"Makes sense. Hey, do you want me to walk you home or something? Or wait with you until your parents get here?"
Shit. As much as I didn't feel comfortable being on my own right now, I couldn't let Kirishima find out I was living with Aizawa. What if no one was supposed to know? Then I'd get in trouble. Aizawa would get mad at me. He'd probably start hating me again.
"Um, let me just check with my dad really fast," I said and pulled out the phone.
God, this is going to be so embarrasing. Scrolling through the contacts, I clicked on Aizawa's name and held it up to my ear. He may be my guardian, and kind of like a parental figure, but that doesn't mean I can call him—"
"—Izumi."
"Hey, Dad!" I spoke into the line.
"Uh... what?"
"Yeah, um, there was a bit of an incident at the mall. Someone from the League of Villains showed up and threatened one of my friends. I'm feeling a bit anxious about it, so one of my friends offered to walk me home or wait with me until you come pick me up but I didn't know what was going on so I wanted to check with you?"
"Jesus christ, you freaked me out for a second there. Yeah, I get it. Not supposed to broadcast our situation. Who is it?"
"Kirishima... Yeah, I told you about him once, remember?"
"God, this entire conversation is weird. Anyway, that's fine. I'm coming to pick you up so he can wait with you if you want. I'll park far away from the doors and try to hide my face so he won't recognize me. Just don't let him get too close to the car."
"Alright, thanks dad. Talk to you soon!"
"Still freaks me out a bit. See you soon, kid."
Hanging up the phone, I shoved it in my pocket with slightly red cheeks. That was so embarrassing! It was even worse too because no one could hear his end so he didn't have to play along. It was just me. Besides, it was weird calling someone 'dad' so casually. Father was very strict about it, and about being formal.
"So?" Kirishima questioned.
"Uh, my dad's coming to pick me up. If you'd be willing to wait with me though, I'd appreciate it."
"Sure, no problem!"
And so, soon enough our class split off on their own as they began to head home. Kirishima and I went down the steps at the front and sat down on the bottom few steps. Since no one was around, we wouldn't be trampled unless the opened up the mall before Aizawa got here but I doubted that.
"So, you live with your dad and don't see your brother very much. What about your mom?"
"Um... she's out of the picture. My mom and I lost contact almost 6 years ago now. I haven't heard from her since."
"Oh, shit. Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"It's alright. What's your family like?"
"Well, my dad's super cool. He cracks a lot of stupid jokes all the time, but it always makes everyone laugh. My mom is super supportive and is always there as a shoulder to cry on. Then there are my younger siblings. They can get into a lot of trouble, but they're all super sweet and love to run around and play."
"That sounds nice. Sometimes I wonder what my family would be like if things had been different... if my father had been different."
"Huh?"
"My father's very strict, and he can be quite cold. He doesn't believe in physical affection, or weakness. Only the strong survive. He pushed me a lot when I was a child to make me stronger, but in the end my family broke."
"Wow. I'm so sorry, Izu. If you ever want to talk about it, then you can come to me, alright? I'm glad we're friends again!"
And my lips shifted to form a large smile all on their own, "I'm glad that were friends again too."
And in that moment, when he smiled at me, something stopped. I don't know what it was, or how it happened or anything. I just know that some part of me, deep down, wanted to see Kirishima smile like that all of the time. He had... a really nice smile. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I looked at it.
My hand mindlessly reached out and I gently brushed my fingers against the scar over his right eye. Tilting my head, I wondered why I hadn't noticed it until now. I guess I was too wrapped up in everything else to pay attention to everyone around me.
"Oh, I got that when I first manifested my quirk. I woke in in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and went to rub my eye, but I hardened my hand and cut myself. What about you? What happened when you manifested yours?"
"I—"
There was a loud honk and I glanced over to see Aizawa's car parking far away from the entrance. Great timing. Thanks for the save! Raising to my feet, I turned to Kirishima with a small smile as he got up beside me.
"Thanks for waiting with me. I appreciate it!"
"No problem, Izu. Any time! I better get going, but I'll see you on the trip!"
"See you around, Rocky," I chuckled as I started walkin towards Aizawa's car.
He grinned, "I was wondering when you'd start callling me that again."
I opened the car door and jumped into the front seat beside Aizawa, who was currently wearing his hair in a bun and wearing a baseball cap. I closed the door behind me and shoved all the stuff I bought in the back seat before pulling my seatbelt over. He put the car into reverse and soon we were taking to the roads.
"Sorry about the whole phone call thing..."
"It's fine," he coughed awkwardly. "Let's just pretend it never happened."
"Agreed."