After finishing our final game at the arcade, we both had empty wallets and nothing but free time. Having only each other's company, we walked around the mall, entering stores and joking around. But as it started to get later in the afternoon, we knew we would need to go our own separate ways. The two of us walked to the train station, needing to catch different trains.
Sitting at the station, I noticed Kaminari's eyes on me. I turned and met his gaze, tilting my head slightly.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, snapping him out of his daze. He was quick to shake his head, his hand moving to the back of his neck again as he let out some nervous laughter.
"It's noting really, I just wanted to ask you something."
"Ask away," I answered, keeping my eyes ahead in hopes of taking the pressure off of him. He took a few deep breaths before he spoke.
"Is there are reason why you choose the Pikachu? I mean there were so many other machines but you choose that one, was there a reason?" he asked, his eyes trailing down to the pokemon that occupied my lap. I looked down, petting its head, paying no mind to the sound of an approaching train.
"It reminded me of you and since I had so much fun today, I wanted to keep something to remember it," I told him truthfully.
"Huh? I don't look anything like that," he laughed, his cheeks turning pink. Seeing that my train was arriving, I stood from my seat. Standing before the blonde, I reached forward and placed my hand on top of his head.
"From your yellow hair and the black lightning bold here..." I trailed off, running my fingers through the black-marked part of his hair.
"To your pink cheeks and electric quirk," I continued, giving his flushed cheek a gentle poke.
"You remind me of a Pikachu, but they're cute so that's not a bad thing," I assured him, not noticing how his face had grown even redder. At this time, my train had just arrived and people were nearly finished getting on. Picking up my bag, I slung it over my shoulder and began walking over to the train. Waving back at the boy who sat dumbfounded, watching you get on the train and then disappear into the mass of people inside.
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It didn't take too long to get to my stop. But as soon as I arrived, I remembered what kind of place I was about to enter, one in which I was not welcome. The only one there that I could speak with would be Hajime, him being the only one who wasn't pissed off or scared of me. The walk from the train station to the house didn't take long either, making me have to face my fears a lot sooner than I wanted to.
Approaching the house, I was quiet in opening the front door and coming inside. I hoped that I could get off without coming in contact with anyone but that wasn't what happened. As soon as I entered, Hajime poked his head around the corner and smiled at me.
"Hey, dinner's ready," he called out, giving me a lazy smile. I gave a polite nod, thanking him quietly as I slipped my shoes off and followed him into the dining room. There, already seated at the table, was Hitoshi. He didn't look up as I entered, his eyes staring down at his food as he waited for everyone else to sit. Without a word, I sat in my usual seat beside him, placing my bag on the ground beside the table.
Hajime placed a plate in front of me before taking a seat opposite me at the table, lifting his head to look at Hitoshi and I. It was obvious by the look in Hajime's eyes that he knew something was up between us and I was thankful that he didn't bring it up. He was a reasonably closed off guy and wasn't the kind of person who liked to interfere in with other's problems. He gestured towards Hitoshi and me, urging us to start eating. Hajime was the first to start, beginning to eat without hesitation. I followed suit, waiting to distract myself from the awkward atmosphere. Hitoshi was slow to begin with, barely eating. But the mood in the room dropped as soon as a single question was asked.
"Where's mom?" Hitoshi asked, eyes locked on his father. Hajime froze at the sudden question, pausing his eating to give his son an answer. I remained silent, keeping my eyes on my plate as I continued to eat, listening in.
"Your mother is resting," Hajime answered before filling his mouth with more food. That was the last thing that was said before I finished my dinner, resting my chopsticks on the bowl in front of me. Hajime noticed I had finished and smiled gently at me.
"You're welcome to leave the table now," he told me. I nodded in response, muttering a quiet thank you before I took my bag upstairs and to my room. There I lay down on my bed, fishing out the Pikachu I had recieved that day, hugging it to my chest.
It may not have been any different than hugging a pillow, but because it was given to me by someone, it made me feel a lot better. It was nice feeling wanted and accepted by others and after everything that had happened with Hitoshi and his mother, I worried I would never again find that acceptance in this house. And so I had successfully found people outside of this house that made me feel happy and just having that knowledge made me smile.
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Hitoshi remained at the table with his father, the two finishing their food in silence. That is until Hitoshi decided to ask even more questions.
"Is she really resting or is that how you're covering it up?" Hitoshi asked, not holding back. His father swallowed the food in his mouth before putting his chopsticks aside, readying himself for the conversation.
"She is resting, your mother is going through a lot of emotional stress right now."
Hitoshi remained quiet, eating a little bit more since he wasn't sure what else to say. He knew that going off at his father was pointless because he seemed to be his only ally right now. The table remained quiet, having only the occasional sound of chewing. But that stopped when Hajime continued talking.
"After what happened with (Y/n) and your mother... I'm not sure how everything is going to play out. Sir Nighteye asked us not to contact the Hero Association but your mother keeps talking about it. She wants to send (Y/n) back and end the contract early," Hajime informed his son, watching how the boy's eyes widened.
"Contract?" Hitoshi repeated, having only heard about a contract from (Y/n). But today was the first time he had heard it because he was sure that his family had properly adopted her. His father lent back in his seat, heaving a loud sigh.
"You probably don't know about this because your mother wanted to keep it quiet but (Y/n) hasn't actually been adopted by our family. Technically, she belongs to the Hero Association, we were only a temporary host family for her. When the Hero Association approached your mother and I about temporarily taking care of her, we immediately declined. At the time we were very low on money and were sure we wouldn't make it another week. I had just lost my job and the same went for your mother, we nearly lost the house. But then the Hero Association offered us a large amount of money so we could continue to live happily as long as we took her in. For the benefit of our family, I made the decision to take her in." Hajime paused, running his fingers through his hair.
"But before we could make it official, we were let in on a lot of information about her as well as a lot of rules. I remember the first thing they told me was her affiliation with a yakuza group called the Shie Hassaikai as well as being told who her father was. These things... she's probably already told you but there was much more that even she didn't know about. These more frightening things were only told to us a few days ago and are the reason why your mother had such an outburst."
"What did they tell you?" Hitoshi asked, lifting his head to meet his father's gaze. Hajime sighed, leaning even further back into his chair.
"They said that a hero with the ability to read futures read her's and saw three possible futures. One where she becomes a hero and the other two where she becomes a villain. By this time she most likely has already been filled in about this but before then only the heroes and Hero Association knew. When your mother and I were informed we were both shocked, I had faith that (Y/n) wasn't the kind of person who would hurt anyone but your mother let it get to her head. She started getting fearful and even had a few nightmares, it was her drinking alcohol that really pushed it and made her speak her mind. And right now, I don't know how I should feel. I know that (Y/n) is a sweet girl but it's hard not to have doubts, so if you feel like you don't-"
"No!" Hitoshi cut him off, standing from his chair.
"(Y/n) would never do anything that would hurt anyone and I will never doubt that in her," he declared, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared harshly down at his father. Hajime let out a long breath before giving a second to scratch his face.
"I know that the two of you are close and all but are you sure it's not already happening? I can tell there's something up with you two and I'm sorry if what your mother said pushed you to fight. I support your pursuit of that girl as long as you're happy, son." Hitoshi muttered a quick thank you for his meal before heading towards the stairs, wanting to go to his room. But Hajime wasn't done talking yet.
"Hitoshi?" he called out, getting his son to stop.
"Despite the fight, I want you to think over whether or not you really want to let her go or not. When people are emotional they say and do things that they don't mean and I know that (Y/n) has a lot of pent up emotions. Not only that but because of being away from her real family and the heroes she stayed with, I bet she's incredibly lonely. So before completely casting her aside, just give it some thought."
Hajime's words were left with no response but that didn't mean Hitoshi wasn't thinking about them. How could he not?
Even though he had argued with (Y/n) and her words had hurt him, he knew that she didn't mean any of that. She was angry and scared, he knew she had every right to be. Having his mother say such things about her... he wasn't surprised by the reaction. But there were still things which he couldn't forgive, not yet anyway. She had thought of him as untrustworthy despite everything they had been through together and that was the most painful. And he would be happy with a simple apology, he loved her after all.
But before that could come, he knew that the two of them needed some space. It would allow him some time to think and hopefully, (Y/n) to cool down so she could think rationally about all of this. He didn't blame her for any of this, if anything he was more curious as to why she was so quick to dismiss their whole relationship. He wasn't sure how far back into her past he would have to go for this answer but he knew that whatever it was, he hoped to hear it from her mouth when the right time came.
Just the end of (Y/n)'s date with Kaminari and then some awkward family time. I'm happy to have the extended scene with Hitoshi and his dad just to go further into depth with Hitoshi's feelings as well as how his dad feels after everything too. Hitoshi's mother will return soon, I have some stuff planned later so I hope that goes well. Anyway, thank you for reading :)