Motivation - SPORADIC UPDATES

Fourteen

Kazue deflated as he stood at the entrance to Yūei's cafeteria. The two previous days in the building, he'd found a random spot to sit that was away from anyone he knew, turned off his hearing aids, and re-read a few chapters of his Kuroko no Basket manga collection. He would choose to re-read a bit of Horimiya, the first volume of which was hidden in his sleeve, but, well... no.

However, both times had resulted in someone trying to talk to him, getting annoyed that he 'wasn't paying attention to them', and, in the case of the second time, trying to pick a fight. Seriously, why was that one guy from Class 1-B with the Copy Quirk so goddamn weird? Then this orange-haired girl karate chopped him on the back of the neck with a giant hand and dragged the other first year away with an exasperated apology.

So on the third day, Kazue simply paid for his lunch and slipped right back out the door to find somewhere private to eat. He doubted anyone would be in the classroom, but also doubted that students were allowed to stay when they'd been dismissed and no teacher was present.

Where to go, where to go...

"Aren't you supposed to be in the cafeteria?" Eraser Head asked from right behind him.

Kazue half-turned around, making sure his lunch tray didn't fall from his hands. "Yeah," he replied dully, eyeing the door he'd been walking away from.

"Then why aren't you there?" the man queried, slipping his hands in the pockets of his hero costume. "And sneaking off by yourself?"

The brunet mentally debated whether he should tell the truth or not before letting out a silent breath, figuring it couldn't hurt. "People keep trying to talk to me," he muttered, adjusting his arm so the manga held between it and his torso so it didn't fall. As much as his sleeve was better for keeping it hidden, he didn't want it to get all bent.

"Aww, he's a mini you~" a woman's voice cooed, shoes clicking against the floor as the heroine known as Midnight draped an arm over Eraser Head's shoulder. The dark-haired woman winked as the man made a face of annoyance. "If you're looking for a place to eat all by your lonesome, cutie, go up to the roof."

Kazue hesitated. "Thank you."

~-~-~-~

The green-eyed teen halted in his motion as soon as he pushed open the roof access door, recalling to his mind Midnight's exact words. 'All by your lonesome' his ass. There was a brunette girl sitting on the ledge with her own lunch tray next to her, purple eyes wide as they stared at each other in muted surprise.

"I'm sorry, I was told I would be alone up here," Kazue apologized semi-awkwardly, taking a small step back and glancing over his shoulder down the stairs. "I can go-"

"Is that... Horimiya?"

He froze, stealing a glance down at the manga he was sure he'd covered the title of. It still was covered, only... Miyamura's head was just barely poking out from confinement. "Um," Kazue said smartly, about to take another step back before he realized that he'd fall down the stairs if he did so. "Maybe?"

The girl offered an awkward smile, holding up the same series, just a different volume. "Same... I guess?"

Kazue sweatdropped, his mind going back and forth on whether he should hightail it out of there or stay. On one hand, he'd be saved the embarrassment of reading a romance manga in front of someone. On the other, she was reading the same series and seemed just as startled.

"You can stay!" she blurted suddenly, eyes fixed on the bricks beside his head. Oh. Great. Two people that avoided direct eye contact talking with each other. "Erm. I mean, only if you want to. This roof's... huge."