The skeleton of a tower yet built came crumbling down on itself, the wind produced pushing back the pillar of flame. For a moment, the flashing lights, bright colors, and loud noises all fell eerily still. The night sky stole dominance over the scene once more.
Pchew!
Iguchi, holding Tenko by the scruff of his clothes, blasted out of the concrete mound. Tenko was only half awake, surprised the two of them survived that. He thought he'd given the finishing blow that would end them both... Apparently not.
Iguchi screamed in the other's face as they went rocketing through the air. "I'M YOUR ENEMY NOW! ACCEPT THAT! SO USE YOUR FULL POWER ON ME, OR GIVE UP ON BECOMING A HERO!"
'Give up?... no.. why am I..? Why am I even considering it? Here?? Now?? When I am SO close to achieving my dreams?! When I'm SO close to being like my grandma? Like All Might??. NO!'
Tenko wove his fingers together and held them high above his head. Gritting his teeth, he prepared for the pain. "ONE HUNDRED PERCENT!"
BAM!
He smashed Iguchi into the ground and landed shortly after. When he walked up to Iguchi, his friend was still healing. So then, his regeneration was reaching their limits too, now, huh? Ugh, about time!.. They'd been fighting for over an hour by this point.
Tenko's arms were thoroughly broken. Every bit of bone shattered and some. Yet still he dragged his feet toward the enemy, filling his body with energy again. By the time Iguchi stood up, he was ready.
"JUST GIVE UP!"
BOOM!
Iguchi was blown through the building behind him. That whole three story tower fell off its foundations and on top of the pink haired one. By the time he crawled out of the wreckage, Tenko was climbing up -- without the help of his useless arms -- to meet him. Tenny wrapped his arms with Black Whip just to get them to move. All that emotion he felt so strongly before was gone. Now, there was only that hunter instinct. To finish and be done with it. He noted Iguchi's still healing face.
"..Ten more should be enough to kill you..." He calculated. Staring through his hair, red eyes glowing faintly in the haze, "Let's shoot for nine." Iguchi started to wonder if maybe, just maybe... he should run.
-----
It sounded like a thunder storm out there, the occasional tremor shaking the ground.
Hawks was the only one still awake. The air was uncomfortably warm. You had given up on consciousness a while back simply because you had no reason to fight it. Hawks, however, knew there was a chance he might never wake up if he let himself slip now. It was a struggle. He was so warm, so comforted. He didn't feel all that scared in the face of death. He did, however, not like the idea of you waking up to find him dead in your arms... That's something he wouldn't let happen. But, his mind was starting to get a bit....foggy...
""kkkkshshshhhh"" Some kind of static reached his earpiece. Hawks' heart jumped. He hurried to hold the button down and respond.
"He- hello?? Hello, is someone there?!" He heard nothing. His heart started to sink. But then,
""KKKSHSHHMNMSHHHNM"" This time there was faint mumbling through the static.
He tried again. "Can you hear me?? Hello! This is Hawks the winged hero! Please respond!" He worried his words weren't getting through.
Still staticy but easy to make-out, ""Try again.""
""Thanks. Hello? This is Gang Orca. We're receiving faint radio signals. Please, if you are trapped inside the flooded mall, give me your name and location.""
"Orca!" Hawks smiled wide. "This is Hawks! (H/n) And I are trapped inside a small black crate on the third floor! I scanned the area earlier and there are no other civilians in the mall!"
""It's Hawks.""
""(an assortment of cheers in the background from Orca's crew)""
""Okay. Now hang tight and conserve oxygen. We will have you out in no time.""
"Thank....you..." So relieved to hear this nightmare was nearing its end, the young man laid his head back down, allowing himself to give-in and fall asleep.
(Yes, I took inspiration from Bolt.)
Only a few minutes later, Gang Orca himself found the box and knocked on it gently. No response, but judging by the weight there were clearly people inside. The hero pushed aside his worry and hurriedly swam with the box. Exiting the mall's complex hallway system, he reached a strange structure at the center. A pillar of dirtied, rock-like ice, which hollowed out the middle and broke off at random into different tunnels to explore the mall. The hollowed out part was two stories too high. The hero swam up through a hole at the very bottom, breaking through to the air, which he hauled the box onto before himself. A couple local heroes assisted by dragging the box further from the hole. Others were at the top of the opening, holding the gathering press from getting any closer via the icy stairs. They were circling around the massive pit, providing extra light with all the pictures they were taking.
It was time for the moment of truth. Gang Orca opened the box, which allowed in a wave of cold, fresh air.
You woke from the sudden chill, squinting at the bright lights above. Orca made sure to block the two of you from as many cameras as possible with his large body. He patted your head before turning to check on Hawks. "...He's alive." The hero sighed in relief. "You two really are lucky."
Huh? Lucky? How long were you asleep?. Tired still, you chuckled and hid your face in the blond's hair, ready to go back to sleep.
Gang Orca gently grabbed your arm and pried it off the littler guy. You whined, prompting the elder's reason. "Hawks might need extra care. Mind letting go?"
"Mmmh.." You relented, not fighting as Hawks was stolen from you. Now you were cold. Only his jacket to keep you warm. Luckily, one on Orca's team offered you a blanket. A couple others placed Hawks on a stretcher and hiked him up the stairs to the nearest ambulance. You sat up, still in the box, and considered going back to sleep again. But you squished and pinched your face to wake up faster. After, you stood and searched for Kai. This odd structure had Overhaul written all over it! Still wrapped up in a blankie, you crawled some icy ladders until you were in a dark hall of dirty ice.
"(Y/n)!" Before you had the chance to enter the ominous hallway, you spun to the sound of Kai's voice. He was in another of the hollowed-out holes, waving at you. The two of you met on the ice scaffolding. First thing Kai did was hold you against the wall with one arm so you wouldn't fall. "How did you survive?" He pinched at Hawks' jacket. "Is this..?"
"Hawks saved me." You gave him the short answer. The long would have to come later if he was interested. "How did you know where I was??"
"That Hokusei heir called in a panic and gave me a rundown of the situation."
"Do you know if he's alive??"
"From what I heard, someone from class 3B was rescued and rushed to the emergency room."
You looked up at the dark sky and sighed. "Can you return my quirk please?"
"O-of course." He appeared baffled by your having to ask for that. When he placed his hand on your shoulder, all strength returned.
BANG!
Unrelated to anything on the ground, an explosion lit up the sky like a hammered firework, a mix of light sparkling in all directions. "Stay here." You told the man and ran up the stairs once they were cleared. In a haze, you discarded the blanket and followed the flaming objects hurtling toward the ground.
Thud...
Thud...
Both landed not far from each other in the preexisting rubble.
-----
Tenko couldn't feel his arms anymore. Not like he wanted to. He could see bone in several places. Cracked bone going every which way. His arms.. no.. they were beyond repair in any sense. His hands were chiseled down to nothing. His first real fight may just be his last... He'd already accepted that.
The teen staggered up onto such grotesque limbs. His legs were no good either. Same story. He wrapped Black Whip around his legs too and used extra tendrils like tentacles to maneuver.
He finally stumbled upon the crater Iguchi had made. "Y'r... Y'r wrong 'bout me..." Tenko mumbled to the unmoving form. "E'bout ever'body... Wh'r... We're n't th' bad guys!" Nine punches using 100% of his power... He'd.. really done it... How was he even still alive?! His body wasn't.. made to.. last. "Ig'chi?" Tenko squinted. He held his breath and stumbled, tripped, and fell down a few more cement chunks. "Iguchi!" The other, laying still, wasn't healing like before! He was-- ..was he??
Iguchi lay sprawled out on his back. His lower head, half his neck, and shoulder were all cleanly gone. And they.. weren't.. healing. "IGUCHI!" Tenko dropped to his knees in a panic. He couldn't feel for a pulse with his useless nubs for hands, so he laid his ear on the other's chest. It all came crashing down on him when he heard and felt nothing. No heartbeat. "Wait- wait- wait, no! Don't die, Iguchi!!" Tenko inspected the remarkable injuries for no more than a moment. He couldn't stand the sight of those unfocused, half open eyes. He placed his poor excuses for limbs on the other's chest and started chest compressions. He was hopelessly lost and had no idea what to do but cry and try. "Iguchan, PLEASE!"
You stumbled into the mess, panting and wide eyed. Didn't take but a second to assess the situation. You dropped on your knees beside Tenko and placed your hands on Iguchi's blood-soaked stomach. The horrible injuries rewound, but those eyes remained the same. Tenko tried again to revive him. You sat back, watching with tears in your eyes as you slowly accepted his fate. Tenko was a lot more reluctant to accept it than you. He used up all his remaining strength trying to revive him, resulting in him falling over his friend's corpse when his body had had enough. He cried. Unable to do anything but cry. You placed your hand on Tenko, using what was left of Eri's quirk to fix as much of Tenko's injuries as possible. This, thankfully, healed the worst of it. Put every limb back into their usual shape, at least. With the energy he now had, Tenko picked up Iguchi's torso enough to hug as he cried some more. This hurt to watch. Your eyes stung and you couldn't breathe.
It was hard to believe he was gone...just like that. The classmate you knew as standoffish and brash, but also kind, thoughtful and always had his friends' backs. YOU were his friend...once. You had so many fond memories with the guy... No doubt Tenko had twice that and more.
Some people gathered around the site to watch at a distance, more on the way. No press, thankfully. They were busy questioning Gang Orca about what was going on. Not like he knew anything. Nobody knew but a select few. The rest were simply reacting to it.
Tenny was trembling, slowly releasing his fallen friend. He was still crying though, gasping for air. You wrapped an arm around his back and leaned against him. You were at a loss yourself. Attempting to help another mourn. Suddenly, you were elbowed in the chest. Leaning back, you couldn't do anything but watch as Tenko reeled his hand back and,
SMACK!
He slapped you across the face and pushed himself away from you. "This is YOUR fault!!" He said with tears clouding his eyes. Tenko stood on wobbly legs. You let your hair hide your face. Sitting sloppy, you stared down at nothing. "IF YOU'RE SO POWERFUL THEN WHY CAN'T YOU FIX HIM?!"
"Shimura!" Endeavor grabbed Tenko's shoulders firmly and pulled him back. "That is not how we talk to women... That isn't how how we talk to anyone."
You croaked, "That's rich coming from you.." A single, glaring eye was visible through the white strands of hair. Endeavor pursed his lips and said nothing. He wasn't prompted to anger by your jeer. Surprising.
Tenko couldn't stand the sight of you. For what HE did. For what he wanted to do, say, and think. It was all repulsive and he hated it. But he wasn't in the headspace to apologize. Tenny turned around and hugged Endeavor, squeezing the burley man tightly. The flame hero hesitated a moment before returning the embrace. Tenko cried loudly, this time comforted by someone whose touch he could tolerate. Your eyes quickly lost interest, preferring the blood soaked ground.
...You knew this was it. This was the beginning of the end. Oh, who were you kidding? The beginning of the end could be traced back to the moment you were born.
Kai arrived just in time to witness the slap. He ran the calculations and, sure enough, it would be too big of a risk to kill every hero here. He scampered down the small hill of wreckage and crouched beside you, placing his hands on your shoulders. He whispered, "Shrink, okay?"
You didn't question it. You shrunk to your 5'3 self. You lacked the energy and motivation to do anything else. That's when Kai picked you up and held you against his chest, bridal style. Your whole body tightened as he did so and a tiny gasp escaped you. "You're safe now. No one's going to hurt you." The man calmly carried you out of there, not uttering a word to anyone unless it was to keep people from following.
"How did she shrink?"
"It's part of my quirk."
"Excuse me sir? Are you that young lady's guardian?"
"I am."
"Can you maybe put her down so we can interview her?"
"Later."
"Where are you taking her?"
"Home."
You didn't utter a word, for there was nothing left to say.
----------
The longer the walk progressed, the more your muscles relaxed. It was beyond clear though that you had become a stranger to being carried like this. And even back when you were, your father was so big and you so small that he could easily carry you with one arm. This, however.. Well, you worried you were impairing his movements.
While crossing the bridge, leaving behind that scene at last, you mumbled quietly. "I can walk..."
Unexpectedly, his hold only tightened. "You're not heavy."
"It's not that as much as it's- ..nevermind."
"What?"
"Don't you break out into hives still?"
"Only if something comes into contact with my skin." So he really has gotten better..
"Oh..." You noticed the man had used his quirk to attach his gloves to his sleeves, making it easier to hold you without worry.
The roads were so empty and quiet. As you made your way toward the station, hardly any noises could be heard but the distant dogs barking and trees trembling against the light breeze. That and Kai's heaver than normal footsteps. His heartbeat too, which calmed the longer he carried you.
After some peaceful walking along the river, on the path provided, you set your chin on the man's shoulder and stared emotionlessly at the world you were leaving behind. Still, the bright red and blue lights flashed against building walls. The river was so calm now.
"I take it your cover's been compromised. To a few at least."
Your lip pouted. "As long as Tenko doesn't fess-up I should be fine." His name echoed in your head until your eyes were full of tears again. You sniffled, embarrassed to be so quick about losing your cool. Kai patted your back in the little way he could.
"Maybe you'll finally leave those hero-sick thick-skulls for good."
"No.. I think even if the world was against me, I'd still be a hero."
"Why??"
"Mh." You shrugged. "I just don't like seeing people in pain. And I may as well help them.. since I can."
Kai's feet scraped to a stop. You turned your head around, looking for any road-blocks ahead. There was nothing. He was simply thinking. After a few moments, the man readjusted you slightly and continued walking. "...I'm not the superstitious type."
"Okay?"
"But ever since I remembered her, every stupid thing you say convinces me a little more that you could be my reincarnated sister."
Your head perked up. "Wait, you had a sister??"
"Before the memory jog a few weeks back, all I could remember of her were unidentifiable shapes and sounds. Now though... I know everything that happened back then."
"I'm...sorry to hear that..." You frowned, laying your head against his shoulder again. "I doubt that I am her, though.." Like, REALLY doubt it.
"The years line up between her death and your birth."
"And that's your strongest piece of evidence??"
"No need to get defensive or whatever's in your tone. I't's mere speculation."
You crossed your arms. "Mere speculation my a##..."
"Fine then. I'll stop talking about it."
"Wait-... Ugh." It was probably for the best the man not delve too deeply into something you knew would be quite traumatic. You were in bad enough shape already. Emotionally speaking. In that phase where your heart had to choose between processing all the ugly emotions at once or none of them at all. And judging by your rude comment, you'd chosen to hold off on that.
----------
There were only one or two other people walking around in the empty subway station depending how schizophrenic you are. Kai's footsteps echoed off the tacky tile walls. He stopped between the doorless entrances at the men and women's restrooms. After a pause, he chose the more comfortable of the two options and entered with you into the men's. "Is anyone in here?" You used Sight for half a second before shaking a quick no. He set you on your feet by the row of sinks. "Wash your hands real quick before sitting. Make sure you stay in that camera's view so they know I'm not a creep."
"M'kay.." He'd probably get the creep accusation regardless. While you washed your hands, Kai pulled out a sanitizing wipe from his back pocket and dabbed at his face. He wasn't satisfied one bit. The bathroom light was a dirty greenish color, and every flat surface welcomed random hairs and dust. And was that mold growing between the tile cracks??
He gave up trying to make himself feel any cleaner and turned his attention to you instead. "Okay, now-- ...Why are you on the floor?" You were sitting on the floor.
You looked up, exhausted in too many ways to turn on the dumba## filter. "You said sit."
"Khh, no. I meant... Here." He picked you up under the arms and set you down on the counter between two sinks. "Hhhh, you still have blood staining your hands." Disappointed in your half attempt, he set to cleaning them himself. He used his little sanitizing wipe from earlier to rub out the blood stains on your hands, then used clean ones to clean off that bloody handprint Tenko'd left on your cheek and some hair. All in the presence of such suffocating silence.
"..So was your sister older or younger?" You asked the man as he was fighting to keep your hair in place, since it kept falling in your face and making things difficult.
"Two years younger."
"Were you two close?"
"Very. Even after my quirk activated, she was always there for me."
"That's nice."
"No. It unfortunately wasn't." The man gave up fighting your hair, broke his hand through the glove with his quirk, and just stuck it all together into one mass at one part. "I'll fix it later." You trusted him. After all, it was either that or shave it all off, and you got the feeling he wouldn't like that.
"Well, I'm.. sorry about your sister."
"Every time she was caught bringing me decent food or bedding, she was beaten just outside my cellar door."
"That's sad."
"I never knew at the end if she was alive or not. She'd always lay so still for a couple hours I'd think she was gone."
"Kai."
"When she eventually did die, my parents forced me to use my quirk to-"
"-Kai!" You'd grown so agitated without realizing it. Such a sad story told in such a monotone way. This was not the time for it. "Why are you telling me all this right now? All the sad stuff at least."
He looked up slowly. Tears were in his eyes. Despite talking about past horrors so casually, his emotions were breaking through. "Because if you're feeling a fraction of what I felt back then...I want to help however I can." He stared down again. "I have a hard time relating to emotions, especially in other's... I have to pull from my own experiences and from there guess how much pain the other person is in... One of your best friends just died. That's a pretty big deal."
Your eyes fogged up instantly. All it took was for someone to acknowledge the pain for it to suddenly appear. You wiped your eyes with a shaky arm and sniffed.
"The other one doesn't seem to be on the best terms with you either. So I can bet you feel alone too."
One arm already desperately covering your upper face to hide the tears, you against your better judgement released a loud wail. You covered your mouth with your other hand, hiding your face completely. "M sorry m sorry! I- I haven't had th' best sleep!"
Kai stood and wrapped his arms around you in a loose-ish hug. You hid your face between his arms. "I know how bad you get when you don't let yourself process trauma properly. It's hard on everyone. Nobody wants to see the underworld's angel self destructing like that... I can set you up with my therapist. He's chill and won't judge you, since he used to be a villain himself."
Between sobs, "I- ..don't ..need therapy..."
"There you go lying to yourself." The man rubbed your back. "Says the girl only let out of the mental hospital because she was more useful to the heroes that way."
"When are you going to stop blaming heroes for everything?"
"Whenever they stop treating us like trash."
"Us?-" Though it made sense grammatically, it still felt strange coming from him.
Outside, the subway screeched to a halt. Kia picked you up in a hurry and sped walked toward it. Only one other pink haired kid jogged out a different door onto this flat, briefly sharing confused glances with Kai. The one carrying you stepped inside just before the doors closed. He leaned in a corner, extra careful not to let his head touch anything gross.
The subway had a surprising amount of people onboard -- probably people still escaping where all that commotion happened -- but it wasn't like every seat was taken either.
Your eyes and nose were still puffy and red. Kai had fixed your hair last second, thankfully, which you were now considering using as tissue. Embarrassed about crying, you hid your face in Kai's shirt and pretended to be asleep. Only a couple minutes later and you were starting to nod off for real. "...Kai?"
"Hm?"
"I had...sisters too. Two older ones." You started conversation, hoping it would keep you awake. "I... I think I loved them... They both died, though. But they.. helped me.. a lot." The man readjusted you so your heavy head had no other choice than to rest on his shoulder.
"You can sleep." He assured. "I'll take care of you."
"Hmh.. take care my a##. I don't trust... anyone..." You were out almost instantly.
Kai chuckled and uttered something under his breath. "You liar.."
After a while of holding you, the man had to drop his pride and take a seat. He sat closest to the door on an almost empty bench and craned his neck to stare out the window behind him. You set in his lap, same position as before. After a time, ten minutes or so, Kai rest his chin on your head, skin shielded by the mask.
Idly, Kai remembered how anxious he was on the way there. Couldn't stop tapping his foot and cursing under his breath. Considered tearing the whole subway apart and rebuild it to a much faster model. But..he lacked the know-how for something complicated as that.
It's why, when he heard you were likely dead from that ice man, he had his doubts but didn't deny the possibility. He spent the next half hour or so racing to prove himself wrong. Now, here he was, you safely in his arms. In the end, he hadn't contributed much to your actual rescue. It was one of those rare cases where he was actually glad to see a hero show up... The man wished he could have done a little more. Versatile as his quirk was, it wasn't useful in every situation. And for that, he considered allowing you to upgrade it for real this time. He wouldn't fuss, since he already knew you'd give it back.
You adjusted in your sleep to get more comfortable. The man started nodding off to sleep after a little while too. But, he quickly stopped himself. Couldn't miss his stop. That, and he was morally obliged to glare at the young woman snatching a picture of the cute couple across from her. Aka you two.
Kai lamented not having a phone. He couldn't remember if he left it at home or lost it in the chaos. Either way, he would have to use a landline to tell everyone he was on his way.. and he hated those filthy phone booths.
----------
He failed to stay awake any longer and passed out while at the station waiting for the right tram. Already, he missed the tram he was supposed to get on. And it was so late, public transportation would be shutting down soon.
Another man's footsteps were rather loud in such a quiet place, but it didn't wake either of you. Pops approached with a closed but broad smile. Once close, the elder ruffled Kai's hair and pat his back. That woke him, though slowly. The young man glared up, then broadened eyes when he saw who it was.
"Why are.. you here?"
Chuckling, "I couldn't sleep with the two of you running around all night." He pinched at and lightly tugged the young man's shirt. "I have a car parked just outside. Want me to carry her?"
"Gh, no." Standing up. "I got her... Didn't you strain your back earlier?"
"I'm sure it's fine now."
"Ehh, I'll carry her just to be safe." They were already headed for the exit by the time this small exchange ended. Kai was clearly tired. Pops could see the bags under his eyes. This long night was getting to him.
Pops laughed as Kai chose to sit in the back of the car so he could continue to hold you. "Are you ever going to put her down?!"
"When we get home, yes. I don't want to wake her."
Buckling up, Pops was the one driving this simple vehicle. "You sure you're not in love with that woman?"
"Seriously, old man?"
"Since when did I reach 'old man' status??" Starting to drive.
Kai rolled his eyes. "Forget it.." He stared out the window for a good long while, again resting his chin on your head. The old man adjusted his rearview mirror a couple times to smirk at you guys.
After a few silent minutes, Pops opened his trap again. "Heard you officially proposed to her a few weeks ago. So.. you intending to treat her like a real wife?"
"What do you mean by that??"
"You know what I mean! Living with her, sleeping with her, having kids with her!" Kai lifted his chin off your head for the explicit purpose of giving the old guy a disgusted look. Pops laughed and slapped the steering wheel. "Ohh, you know I like to mess with you, kid!" Kai rolled his eyes. He readjusted both he and you and laid his forehead against the window. "Do you at least want to have a proper honeymoon?"
"I'll be too busy with work.."
"You know that for sure already??"
"..."
Teasingly full of woe, "I can see the divorce papers already."
"Tsch. I don't care. Can't imagine (Y/n) would either."
"Oh alright alright. You know her better than I do at this point. Still think a honeymoon would be a good excuse to get you to relax for once."
"Can we stop talking about it?"
"Sure. ..Sure."
Before he knew it, the young man'd fallen asleep again. He was woken by Pops a second time after arriving home.
----------
You were woken just before being set on your feet. Your hazy vision locked onto the bathroom door ahead of you. "Here." You were suddenly handed a change of pajamas and nudged forward. "Take a shower before going to bed."
"Uh?.. Oh." You relaxed your muscles. You entered the bathroom and took a long, steaming shower. It woke you up a little more. You didn't really want to be awake, though. By hanging up Hawks' jacket on the bathroom door, you were reminded of everything that happened. And that it wasn't just a nightmare. No, this was real. Iguchi was really dead. You would never see him smile, hear his voice, or get to wonder about the trouble he'd get himself into ever again. He was simply.. erased. Gone.
...You'd get over this. After all, you got over your mother's passing eventually. You'd be fine.
But then there was already the issue of Tenko... He'd more likely than not run out of forgiveness. You really pushed his kindness to their limits with all the stunts you pulled, like an idiot expecting him to never find out and or not care. But he did care. He cared a lot.
Sucks that the moment you needed each other most, your past got in the way.
You stormed out of the shower a sopping mess draped in PJs and sorrows. Kai's door was open. Looks like he'd taken a shower not long ago too. You stared at him with the wettest eyes.
"What?"
"I'm sorry I was so rude to you earlier." You started to cry, keeping your voice low and kinda pathetic sounding. "I interrupted your story about your sister like I didn't care but I DO care I just couldn't think straight with so much going on and I was so tirrrrrred.." Kai sighed and crossed the room to meet you at his door.
Placing his hand on your head. "You're still tired."
"Nu-uh!"
"Uh-huh.." His hand retracted from how quickly water on your hair soaked into his glove. "Are you going to dry your hair at all??"
"No, I'll just go to sleep like this." You started toward your room but were grabbed by the wrist and taken back to the bathroom.
"You'll be cold all night and get even less sleep."
----------
"Okay so how do you work these?" Holding a hair dryer.
"Literally says on the buttons.."
"Why is it so cold?"
"Just press that."
"Oh... Okay, now hold still."
"Wait wait wait!"
"What?"
"If you're gonna blowdry it I need to put a special kind of oil in it to keep it from getting curly."
"Okay? Where is it?"
"...I keep forgetting to buy some."
"..."
"..."
"I'll just start drying it already."
*Drying noises*
Poof!
Your hair turned into the largest, messiest afro the guy'd ever seen. "s###.." You grabbed your hair. At least it was soft. Kai even dared to take off his glove to feel it.
"Your hair just turned into a cloud." Patting the fluff.
"Yeahhh..." You whined. "It'll take me hours to comb this thing in the morning."
The elder groaned loudly. He wanted to go to sleep, but since he was responsible for this... "I'll help."
----------
In the living room, Kai sat on the couch and you sat on the floor. Each with a comb in hand, you set to taming your hair. As much as you didn't want to keep Kai awake, you didn't actually want to sleep tonight. You couldn't sleep tonight. That would mean saying goodbye to the day Iguchi was alive and hello to the day he never was. And the world would slowly forget he ever existed day by day.
His things would be thrown away or given to a stranger; his clothes, games, school supplies, and more... You felt really bad for Tenko, who'd probably returned home already knowing the room next to his would forever remain vacant. He'd likely be the one responsible for getting rid of everything in there. Tenko would have to live with the constant reminder that HE killed his best friend... You, having been through the same thing in grieving your mom, could already imagine how hard that would be.
"Ow." Grabbing your head.
"Sorry." He was still learning how to deal with knots.
There was this nagging voice in the back of your head that he was still alive. That Iguchi was merely hiding and would come back later. But, you knew better by now not to listen to it.
You really wanted to be there for Tenko in his moment of need. But, you knew the next time he saw you he'd only see a murderer, a liar, and a monster.
"...What are you thinking about?"
Changing the subject to the other first thing you thought of, "So what happened after your sister died? Ow-!" He jerked your hair accidentally.
"Sorry..." When he continued combing your hair, his hands were a heck of a lot shakier. "I.. I was forced to.. deconstruct her body into something that would be easier to burry without leaving a trace... It had already been a whole day since she moved, but I foolishly held hope she was still alive... Because of that I.. thought I was killing her... A few weeks later, I killed my parents. I couldn't handle it anymore. My brain wiped most of my memories after that, but it needed me to remember why all that happened. That my quirk was the problem." You laid the back of your head on the couch cushion between his knees and stared up at him empathetically. You stared into each other's eyes for a while with the same look. No words needed to be exchanged to know what the other was thinking. Both your eyes got wetter and wetter with time.
Almost whispering, "I wish I could have met your sister. She sounds like an amazing person." That broke the stillness. The man's tears dropped on your forehead.
Throat so tight he could hardly breathe, "She was..." He used his mask to wipe his eyes dry, but the moisture was soon replaced. "And after all that, I had the nerve to forget everything about her. When my memories of her were the only thing left?? If I hadn't remembered everything by chance, it would have been like she never even existed!"
You turned around to rest your woven hands atop his knees, your chin atop your hands. "Then be thankful you remember her now... Terrible they may be, at least now you remember the girl who sacrificed her life for you."
"That's...yeah."
"Maybe we should make memorials for them tomorrow?.."
"I don't have any pictures of her."
"Maybe you can draw her?"
"I couldn't draw to save my life."
"Fine. I'll draw, and you correct me until I get it right."
"That.. could work. You should really consider taking a break from school too."
"I'm sorry but I don't think the Japanese school system would allow that." -_-
You eventually returned to straightening your hair. Except this time you took turns telling stories about their fallen loved one. Happy memories, so you'd forever remember more than just the sad. It was a good way to jog memories, lighten the mood, and bring happy/sad smiles to your faces. By the end of it, your hair was still very fluffy and thick, but it no longer was full of curls. By now it was EASILY past 3AM, though. You already planned on not going to sleep but maybe Kai would join you.
He didn't want to. :( He was ready for sleep.
As much as you didn't want to go to sleep, you were really tired too.
----------
Hhhhh... As you expected, you couldn't get any sleep. You weren't exactly scared of tomorrow, just, you weren't excited for it. It was a quiet, empty sense of dread with no real urgency. Rather, you wished time would slow. Stop, even.
...Maybe you should skip school... It would be kind of weird to your classmates, after all, if you never showed any signs of mourning in front of them.
You laid on your back and thought about what Tenko must be doing right now. He probably wasn't getting any sleep either. Heck, he might still be crying. To imagine Tenny crying all by himself hurt most of all. He had his mom and sister, but would they even know what happened until the next morning?? What if Tenko didn't tell them anything and-- Here you were, crying again. You wanted to be there for your friend SO bad your body physically ached.
But you couldn't. You knew he wouldn't like it. He might hate you more for the drop-by.
...
You wish you'd never befriended Tenko. Maybe removed his quirk, yeah, but you never needed to become his friend or anything!
Because the two of you became friends, a character who would have never even died found themselves at death's door. Standing next to All Might. Another life gone which wouldn't have been before. Of all the kids in that school, why'd ya have to befriend Tenko?
You were sure he was having very similar thoughts. That and worse. After all, Iguchi was the first person he ever saved... And the first he ever killed.
Heh.. and now here you were overthinking everything trying to make sense of why you felt so lonely.
----------
Rolled up in blankets, you waddled through a portal into Kai's room. He very quickly sat up in bed and identified you in the darkness. "What are you doing?"
"Keeping Buddy company."
Thump.
You landed on the floor between the bunny's cage and the foot of Kai's bed and curled in your blankets. Kai gave up trying to understand your logic and laid back down. "Snore and I'll kick you out."
"Okay.."
You fell asleep a lot quicker there on the floor. Just being in the presence of another person was nice. Kai fell asleep right away too. He woke a couple hours later, as the sun was about to rise, to you crying in your sleep. Not super loud, but he couldn't go to sleep to it either.
The man tiredly checked on you. Didn't appear like it was one of those nightmares, so there was no easy fix. Tired of waiting for you to stop, the man dragged his blankets out of the room and slept for however much longer he could on a couch. And because you were in another room, you slept through your alarm, not even waking until around 3PM.
By then, the next day was long into its lifespan. You were struggling to catch up. Didn't end up doing anything that day but sleep and eat half a meal. Maybe the next day wouldn't catch you so much by surprise. But it did. And the next. And the next. You lost track. They all blended into one, really long, miserable day.