The event ended without much fanfare.
After several hours touring the technical campus, Shinso and Reiji managed to check out practically every project on display. So were interesting, others dangerously absurd, and several seed to have been created mostly because their inventors had too much free ti and access to industrial materials. Even so, the general enthusiasm of the place was contagious, even for soone like Reiji.
Although, to be honest… Aside from i Hatsu, nothing really ended up impressing him.
It made sense.
Most of the students there were barely first-year students in the support departnt. This was probably the first real opportunity they'd had to publicly showcase their projects, and while there was obvious talent, they were still far from achieving anything truly revolutionary. i was an anomaly even among them, soone whose mind seed to be constantly several steps ahead of the rest.
They had left several minutes before the event's official closing to avoid the crowds that would inevitably form after Principal Nezu's closing speech. The outer hallways of U.A. were much quieter now, with small groups of students slowly returning to their respective areas as the sun began to set between the campus's massive buildings.
"Isn't this great?" Shinso asked as he strolled carefree along one of the outer paths.
In his hand, he constantly spun a tallic Frisbee that automatically returned every ti he threw it, regardless of the force or direction. The real chanism lay in the tight-fitting black glove he wore, which generated a small permanent field of attraction synchronized with the disc via an integrated computer system.
For Shinso, it was basically the best toy in the world.
He'd managed to snag it after winning one of the event's impromptu competitions using only his analytical skills and reflexes—sothing that clearly continued to feed his quiet ego quite a bit.
"For a kid, maybe," Reiji replied, shrugging his shoulders slightly.
Shinso caught the Frisbee again before turning toward him with a frown.
"You're incredibly bitter for soone our age."
"And you're easily entertained."
"Because I know how to enjoy normal things," he retorted imdiately. "Try it soti; maybe you'll survive the experience."
A small, mocking smile barely appeared on Reiji's lips, though it vanished quickly when he noticed Shinso coming to a sudden stop halfway down the path.
The Frisbee fell directly into his hand without him even looking at it.
His eyes were completely fixed straight ahead.
Reiji automatically followed the direction of his gaze.
And then he understood.
A tall man with ssy black hair was walking slowly down one of the academy's outer corridors with the usual tired look that seed to be a natural part of his existence. He wore a slightly wrinkled dark uniform, a white scarf draped around his neck, and a folder full of docunts under one arm as he walked distractedly, reading part of its contents.
Shota Aizawa.
Or Eraser Head to practically any student who admired heroes.
Reiji felt his body tense almost reflexively.
Though he relaxed upon rembering that months had passed since their encounter.
During that ti, he had grown a little taller, his facial features had beco more defined and sharp due to constant physical developnt, and above all… This ti he was fully using his real appearance. Light blond hair, natural orange eyes, and a relaxed expression impossible to easily connect with the altered figure Aizawa had t that night.
Even so, he maintained a certain instinctive distance.
Because soone like Aizawa was precisely the type of person who noticed small things.
And Shinso, on the other hand… He seed to be on the verge of an internal collapse.
"...It can't be," he muttered, almost to himself.
Reiji glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.
"Breathe."
"It's Eraser Head."
"I noticed."
"It's Eraser Head!" he repeated, now clearly agitated. "Do you know who I'm talking about?"
"Can you stop acting like a screaming fan?"
Shinso ignored him completely.
Aizawa finally looked up slightly from the docunts when he noticed the two figures in front of him. His tired eyes first scanned Shinso, recognizing the school uniform. Then he looked at Reiji.
And although his expression barely changed… Reiji imdiately noticed the brief pause.
Shinso reacted before the silence beca awkward.
"E-Eraser Head!" He straightened up almost automatically while holding the Frisbee under his arm. "Good afternoon."
Aizawa nodded barely.
"Hello."
His voice sounded exactly as tired as always. And yet Shinso seed genuinely excited.
Reiji honestly found that a little amusing.
"Did you co to the support event?" Aizawa asked, glancing partially at the folder in his hands.
"Yes," Shinso replied imdiately. "It was impressive."
"Mm."
The hero clearly didn't seem particularly passionate about student exhibitions, though he didn't ignore the response either.
Shinso hesitated for just a second before speaking again.
"I've always found your Quirk impressive."
That made Aizawa raise just one eyebrow.
"…It literally cancels out other Quirks."
"Exactly," Shinso replied quickly. "It doesn't need huge explosions or flashy stuff to be useful."
Reiji watched as Aizawa remained silent for a few seconds in response to that.
And honestly… He looked slightly uncomfortable.
Because he probably wasn't used to complints—which was precisely why he carried out his heroic activities at night.
Shinso continued speaking before losing his nerve.
"Most popular heroes have very visible or spectacular Quirks," he explained, avoiding eye contact now. "But you prove that one doesn't need that to be strong."
Aizawa watched him for several more seconds.
Then he simply replied:
"…That depends more on the person than on the Quirk."
The answer hit Shinso right between the eyes.
Reiji noticed it imdiately from the way the boy clenched the Frisbee slightly in his hand.
Because soone like Shinso needed to hear exactly that.
Even if Aizawa probably didn't even realize it.
"Can I ask you for an autograph?" Shinso finally asked, much faster than he had surely planned originally.
Silence.
Aizawa looked at him as if he'd just said sothing deeply strange.
"...An autograph?"
"Yes."
Another silence.
Reiji could almost see the existential regret passing through the hero's weary eyes.
But finally, Aizawa let out a small, resigned sigh before holding out his hand.
"Do you have sothing to write with?"
Shinso practically reacted as if he'd just won the lottery.
As he frantically searched for a marker inside his backpack, Reiji finally took the opportunity to look more closely at the folder Aizawa was carrying under his arm.
"Toxicological Analysis"
Although much of the docunt was partially covered, Reiji imdiately recognized certain terms and fragnts of photographs related to the case he'd been investigating for months.
Aizawa was working on it.
Or at least involved.
It seed he had taken his words from that ti seriously after all.
The conversation died down for a few seconds while Aizawa finished catching the Frisbee that Shinso was holding as if he were about to receive a sacred object.
The hero readjusted the folder under one of his arms and took a small step to the side, clearly ready to continue on his way, but before doing so, his gaze briefly returned to the two students.
"What are your nas?" Aizawa's voice imdiately snapped Reiji out of his thoughts.
Shinso reacted first, almost straightening up reflexively.
"Hitoshi Shinso, sir."
Aizawa nodded barely, as if ntally registering the na.
Then his gaze shifted to Reiji.
"Reiji Toga."
The last na caused a brief pause. Just that extra split second where Aizawa seed to make a silent connection before returning to normal.
"...Toga," he repeated softly.
Himiko had already been at U.A. for several months. Even though she was in the general course, it was practically impossible for her to go unnoticed for too long, given who she was.
"A relative of Himiko Toga?" Aizawa finally asked as he partially closed the folder again.
"Younger brother," Reiji replied casually.
That closed the small ntal gap that seed to have been bothering the hero ever since he saw them. Aizawa let out a slight nasal sound, almost as if sothing had finally clicked inside his head.
"Now it makes sense."
Shinso blinked, confused, between the two of them.
Reiji maintained a calm expression as Aizawa looked at him for another second. He was probably connecting certain physical traits between the two siblings now that he had the correct last na. Eye color, certain expressions, and other features.
Although he had clearly also noticed the most obvious difference.
Reiji was much calr.
"Your sister causes quite a bit of trouble," Aizawa comnted with his usual weary nonchalance.
Shinso let out a small chuckle under his breath at the sudden confession.
"That sounds exactly like sothing she'd do," Reiji replied with a barely audible sigh. Himiko had always been a rather expressive girl, and that caused certain obvious problems. "I'm sorry."
And honestly… That response seed to amuse Aizawa slightly, though it was barely noticeable in the slight shift of his gaze.
"But she has good grades," the hero added afterward, in an attempt to make up for his previous comnt. "More than I expected."
"She's smart," Reiji replied almost automatically. "She just doesn't always do what she's supposed to."
"That still sounds concerning."
"Because it is."
Shinso laughed again, a little more relaxed now that the conversation had stopped feeling so formal. Even Aizawa seed less uncomfortable after finally figuring out where he vaguely recognized Reiji's face from.
The tal frisbee shot out of Shinso's hand again before returning automatically thanks to the tech glove. Aizawa followed it with his eyes for just a mont.
"Try not to break anything while you're still here." Shinso tensed slightly at the reminder and nodded in understanding.
Finally, the hero took another step forward to continue down the hallway.
"Enjoy the rest of the event."
"Thanks for the autograph!" Shinso managed to say quickly.
Aizawa rely raised a hand in farewell without actually turning around.
Reiji watched him walk away as the hero slowly resud reading the docunts he was carrying.
***
Here's the bonus chapter for reaching last week's goal of 70 Power Stones. (We actually got 114.)
For this week, I'm raising the goal slightly to 80 Power Stones. It's not a huge difference, but who knows—maybe we'll end up with two extra chapters.
As for the story, in these two chapters I wanted to introduce Shinso more into the story.
Although his personality might not seem real, this is mostly because he's at an age of ntal and personality developnt that Reiji has obviously influenced. Since they're friends and Reiji supports him, it's clear that Shinso can be a little more expressive.
I don't have classes this week, so I'll try to write a bunch of chapters, because right now I'm posting them one by one since I was in the middle of exams.
Anyway, I hope you liked it and that you'll leave your precious power stones to start the week off right. With nothing else to say, I'll sign off now.
User Comments
0 comments from readers