Awkward silence...
That was what came after the weird hand-holding incident. Both Iida and I had finished our food and now sat in silence, neither of us having a clue what to say. It was the first time I had felt this lost for words, my mind not being able to conjure up anything to say or ask the boy who sat next to me.
"So, you said you used to train?" he asked, keeping his eyes on his lap. I was thankful that he was the one to speak first, receiving a nod from me.
"Yeah, I used to train a lot when I was younger. I had a teacher who lived nearby who would teach me martial arts as well as general school work," I answered, pulling my knees to my chest, resting my chin upon them.
"Do you mind if I ask what you did while training? Your abilities are so vast, I'm just wondering what things you would work on." I found no problem giving him the answer to this question, remembering all of the training I used to do with my teacher.
"Well, there was general martial arts for combat but I also did a lot of things like yoga and gymnastics for flexibility and training my reflexes. My quirk also relies on mental strength so meditation was a big part, especially with sensory."
"You can use your quirk for sensory?" he inquired. I hummed quietly, closing my eyes since the sun shone through the branches of the tree above and into them.
"Yes, but I don't use it for that any more. I could use it to sense people's aura's and recognize those of people around me. It was not long after my mother passed that I completely gave it up. Sometimes my quirk plays up when I get overly emotional and so if don't train that aspect of it, I won't have to worry about any problems with it." Iida nodded along as he listened. There was another moment of silence, this one a lot less awkward than the first.
"I noticed that you were a bit off yesterday, is everything okay?" he asked, startling me. I looked up at him in shock, having not given a thought that anyone would notice something was up with me. Burying my face in my knees, I heaved a quiet sigh.
"I'm surprised that someone noticed that there was something up, it's quite unexpected. It's nothing you really need to worry about but it all derives from my problems with trust. I undermined a friend's trust and now I worry that I've lost them forever," I told him, no longer caring about what he heard from me.
"Is that why you wouldn't shake my hand when we met? Because you find it hard to trust others?" Iida questioned, looking concerned. I nodded.
"Something horrible happened to my mother and even though I know that he would never do such a thing to me... I still shut myself off. I try my hardest to trust people but sometimes it's really hard for me."
"It's not your fault, you're allowed to be afraid," he said, noticing me shiver gently as the sun moved behind a cloud. Reaching back, he pulled out the jacket he had brought with him this morning and draped it over my shoulders. Feeling the abnormal warmth against me, I looked back, directing a smile at Iida after seeing his harmless act of kindness.
"Thank you, Iida. It really means a lot, not only with the training but also this just now. After losing my closest friend, I have no one to turn to."
"What about your father?" Hearing that made me laugh, making Iida give a concerned look.
"My old man hasn't been in my life for a long time, not that that's a bad thing," I said, whispering the last part. Iida still heard me, his worried gaze not leaving me for a second. Lifting my head, I met his gaze.
"Please don't pity me, Iida," I told him, my tone dull and face without emotion. He gave a slow nod, averting his gaze.
"I'm not pitying you, I'm just worried. If you're not living with your parents, who are you staying with? Other family members?" he asked.
My lips formed a line as I thought about my other family. On my father's side, there was just my grandfather, my grandmother had died before I was born and my father had no siblings. My mother's family wasn't allowed to be apart of life after my mother passed, father saying there was no need for them. I knew that my mother has both her parents alive as well as a younger sister, but I don't even remember what they look like. But the saddest reality to me right now was that I wasn't with family, nor was I with anyone who gave a shit about me.
"A foster home, I guess," I said, not knowing what else to call it.
"How is that?" he pressed. I knew that he was doing this out of worry, Iida being the kind-hearted person who actually cared about others.
"It's okay, the mom doesn't really like me but the dad is really nice," I told him, thinking about how it was back at the Shinso household. It had been alright so far, I hadn't spoken to either Hitoshi nor Mihoko but Hajime seemed happy to continue showing me kindness.
But it also made me wonder if he was just doing it out of pity, the thought of this saddened me. Iida noticed this and caught my attention by shifting closer, giving my shoulder a nudge. I lifted my head, lips forming a line as I tried to force my upset expression away.
"Are you sure?" he pressed, knowing that I was lying by the look on my face. I let a sigh out, hiding my face in my hands.
"I don't know, he's probably only nice to me because he feels sorry for me. I ran away from my real family not long after my mother committed suicide," I said, feeling surprised that I had actually told someone about it. Hitoshi knew this, but I never went in-depth with what had really happened. Iida stared at me with eyes full of worry, his body moving so he sat directly in front of me. He reached forward to take my hands but paused, most likely remembering what had happened with the handshake on the first day. Sighing, I lifted my hands, giving him permission to comfort me. He moved quickly, taking my smaller hands in his own, his gaze fixed on our connected hands.
"I'm sorry, I know that your mother has passed and it keeps coming up," he said, his voice quiet. Moving one of my hands I place it on top of his, getting him to look up. Meeting his gaze, I sent a reassuring smile.
"It's fine, I feel sad when I think about it because my mother and sister meant so much to me. But everything is okay now, there's nothing to worry about," I tried to assure the spectacled boy. He gave my words a moment of thought before humming quietly.
"What happened to your sister?"
I paused, my face falling as I was overcome with guilt. When I had left, I had left her behind. I had told him that I wanted to take Eri with us when we ran away. He had even promised that she was already ahead of us and that we would meet up with her once we had left the house.
Liar.
"She should still be with my father," I answered, not being able to hide the worried expression on my face. Iida mirrored my look, outwardly showing worry, his eyebrows furrowed and mouth curved into a frown. Shifting forward to be closer to me, he enclosed my hands within his larger ones once again. Then, while holding my gaze, he spoke.
"Your father wasn't harming you physically was he?" he asked, his grip on my hands growing tighter as if he feared I would try and run away. Shaking my head, Iida released a sigh of relief.
"I know it's a stretch but I just wanted to make sure. After getting to know you I can tell that you're a kind person and even though you don't want to be a hero, I know that you wouldn't want to hurt anyone either," he expressed. I wasn't sure how to react but couldn't help but resist the smile that was already trying to creep onto my lips. It made me feel a little embarrassed but I dealt with it, averting my gaze from the boy in front of me.
"Thank you, Iida. I'm happy to know that you care about me." He seemed surprised by my reply, his cheeks tinting a light pink. But they grew even redder when I moved suddenly, hugging him without warning. Iida, with his entire face flushed red, found difficulty in understanding my sudden change in mind about physical contact. At first, I had been against the idea of something as simple as a handshake and here I was now, clinging to him. But Iida, pushing past his confusion, focused on the situation on his hands.
A girl, one which he was quite fond of, was clinging to him in need of comfort and reassurance.
Giving in, Iida secured his arms around me, trying to ignore the blush which had consumed his face in red, now spreading to his ears. He tried to keep the embrace between strictly me and his arms, but couldn't help but lean in even further in. With his face nuzzled against the top of my head, I held on even tighter, feeling happy just being able to be so close to someone.
"If there's anything you want to talk about, I'll always be there to listen," he murmured, sending shivers down my spine. It was then that I let go, the two us slowly separating. It was only then that I realised how awkward that was, my hand instinctively moving to the back of my neck.
"And I guess I can say the same. If you ever want to talk to somebody or just wanna hang out, you can always come to me," I said, feeling embarrassed, especially after the hug. He nodded, the two of us remaining quiet, neither knowing what to say. Checking the time, I saw that there was plenty of time left in the day.
"Do you wanna train a little longer?" I asked, refusing to look up at the boy with the speed quirk. Iida was quick to respond, giving a robotic nod.
"O-of course, let's go!" he announced a lot louder than he had wished to. But all seemed to work out, he managed to get a giggle out of me. Walking by his side, I gave him a playful nudge before beginning to run towards the track, the two of us training for the remainder of the afternoon.
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"What do you mean you haven't seen her all day?" Hajime panicked, having just returned home from work. Mihoko folded her arms across her chest, glaring at her husband.
"It means what it means, she went out and she hasn't come back." Heaving an exaggerated sigh, Hajime loosened his tie. Leaning his bag against the wall, he turned back towards the door.
"What are you doing?" Mihoko asked, her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. Hajime paused in front of the door, glancing back over his shoulder.
"I'm going to find her." The creases in his wife's face became even more defined as she outwardly expressed her dislike of what Hajime was about to do.
"So you just got home and all you care about is where that damn brat is. You're not even going to greet your wife?!" she yelled, fists clenched in anger. Rolling his eyes, Hajime ran his fingers through his hair.
"Oh, grow up. I'm just going to find her, calm down." Reaching for the door, he was stopped by Mihoko grabbing a firm hold of his wrist. Pulling it to her chest, she refused to let go.
"Let go of me, I'm going to find her."
"No, I won't let you," she argued, clinging as he tried to pry himself from her grip. This continued for a minute or so before Hajime gave up, giving his wife a blank look as if to ask what this was really about. Gritting her teeth, Mihoko's hold loosened, her grasp becoming more of an embrace as she wrapped her arms around her husband's forearm.
"Why do you care so much about her?" she whispered, nuzzling her face into Hajime's hand. Sighing once again, he allowed his wife to hold him.
"Because if I don't care, who else is there who will?"
Mihoko seemed to freeze in place, allowing Hajime to free his arm. He then turned back to the door, watching as it opened.
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"Thank you for walking me back, Iida!" I called out to the spectacled boy who stood on the footpath, waving to me before he sprinted in the direction we had just come from. Walking up to the front door, I opened it and was surprised to see both Hajime and Mihoko standing there.
"We're you been all day, kid?" Hajime asked, sounding worried. I then remembered that I had only said I was going for a walk and hadn't told anyone that I would be out all day.
"I'm sorry, I ran into a friend from school and we hung out all day," I told him. Placing a hand on top of my head, he sent a gentle smile.
"Next time sent me a text or something, you worried me finding out you had been gone all day."
"Sorry, I'll be sure to do it next time." My eyes shifted from Hajime's kind smile to Mihoko who stood not too far away. Our eyes met for a brief moment before we both looked away, but my attention was drawn back to Hajime as he gave my head another pat.
"Go and wash up before dinner, you're covered in sweat," he chuckled. I nodded and hurried past the couple, heading upstairs and to my room, readying everything so I could go wash off.
Today had been better than I could've ever hoped. To run into Iida and spend the day with him, whether that be training or just talking. We had swapped numbers so we could contact each other whenever and I was happy that I had made another friend. I would admit that the hug was a little awkward to begin with but it became strangely intimate after that part was over.
And I was grateful, having someone to spend time with made me feel less lonely. In the beginning, I wouldn't have imagined Iida to be that good company but he was attentive and could see through my facades. I knew that he could tell there was so much more to me than what I had let show on the surface. And by his words, I could tell that he planned to stick by me whether I wanted him there or not.
Just to make sure I was okay.
Iida is a real sweetheart and I love him. Also, got some domestics going on in the Shinso household. Do not fear, there is no physical violence, it's merely arguments for the sake of character growth. I would like Mihoko to evolve and see that (Y/n) isn't the monster her mind has fabricated. Anyway, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)