Ame
Present
UA tracksuits sort of feel like a joke to gen ed students. We don't have costumes. Wearing these is supposed to make it look like the playing field is suddenly even between us and hero course kids.
To separate from the second and third years, first years get black athletic uniforms, gray and red outfitting it the way the blue is meant to on older students. I smooth the material down, my fingers flexing at my side.
Walking into one of the training centers on campus doesn't seem daunting until you see the sort of equipment they've got. Platforms on the walls only quirks made of flight could reach, weights lifted by super strength, heat, and explosion-resistant walls.
Deku-san told me to meet him here after school. He's actually going to train me. Granted, the thought was a lot more appealing in theory than execution. This place is empty for now, but that doesn't stop any of the sweat trickling down my forehead or the sudden feeling I'm going to trip over my own feet.
What the fuck was I thinking!? I don't have a quirk! I'm not fast or strong or even above average in intelligence! I should just leave. This was a mistake.
As soon as I turn around, start to shuffle out with my chin tucked to my chest and my hands in my pockets, the security guard starts talking.
"Kaido, there's a training event about to start, you can't use the facility right now."
Are you fucking kidding me?
"C'mon Anchi, you know I'm not causing trouble."
I can't see his face, just the outline of his hair, his shoulders as he towers over the guard in his way. She sighs, pinches the bridge of her nose, and puts her arm down.
"Alright, just don't get in any pros' way."
"I wouldn't dream of it," He chuckles, walking past her.
It takes less than a step for his eyes to meet mine. The gray shines with friendly air as he walks towards me, his blue tracksuit striped with white matching the strands framing his face. At once, the days that passed since I've seen him feel like an eternity.
The sourness of it all hasn't left my memory or my stomach.
When the guard takes her place again by the door out of sight, I swallow hard, realizing nobody else is in here but us. Mumbled grunted breaths skid across my lip with teeth.
"What do you want, Kaido?"
His hands grip my shoulders so hard my breath hitches. Suddenly his fingers dig into my skin, his thumbs pressing into the bone, the strain pushing me a few steps backward.
"Why'd you run off like that?!" He bites in a whisper. "Do you realize how worried I was?!"
I'm almost against the wall, the heat of his touch so overbearing I barely notice the crazed look in his eye or how quickly, how easily he flipped a switch. He might as well be a different person than the one just laughing off security.
"Don't touch me!" I yell back, swatting him away.
"Hey, Kaido!"
We both jump as more people enter the training facility. Three of his classmates waltz in, their bags in hand. Instantly, Kaido smiles again, waving at them.
"We're still coming over tonight right?" One of them asks, nudging his arm.
Their tone suggests they've been there before. Just like that girl. My brows knit together. The sourness grows and grows and grows.
