The Greatest

04

I was packing up my stuff for the day as the bell had a minute left to ring. I hadn’t been called out to Paris today or yesterday so either it was quiet, which isn’t good - that means something big is coming or something is going to happen later today, which was bad timing as well because I was going to be hanging out with a friend, that friend being Shinsou. I knew he was Mr Aizawa’s son but nobody else did.
Now that I think of it, I hide a lot of stuff from the BakuSquad, my double life, Shinsou being our teacher’s son and my crush…Jirou, Mina, Kiri and Sero know about him. They know who he is but they keep it a secret. I slang my bag over my shoulder and walked out of art and waved to the teacher. I walked to Shinsou’s maths class and he was waiting outside, scrolling through his phone. He gave me a deadpanned look when he saw me arrive. “I’m not that late.” I laughed and he replied with. “Mmhm.”
We walked out of school and to where Mr Aizawa had his car parked. It was a sleek black car with tinted back windows and normal front windows, it was also a BMW. I opened the back door and slid in next to the booster seat on the other side, behind Mr Aizawa. Shinsou slid in the passenger seat. “Hey Dad.” Shinsou said, buckling himself in. Mr Aizwa drove off, we dropped in to pick up Eri who continued to talk my ear off the rest of the way back to their place despite Mr Aizawa telling her multiple times to shut up. But he’d say it in a more polite way.
We arrived back at their home, it was suburban and modern and in a nice part of town. I walked with Shinsou up to the front door and followed him up the stairs into his room. We sat on his bed. “So…” He said, awkwardly. “What do you want to do?” He asked, lying down. Kiss you. I laid down next to him and sighed. “What would you do if you didn’t become a hero?” I asked. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve never thought of that.” Shinsou replied, staring up at the ceiling. “What about you?” He then asked me. “I’d be a barrister.” I told him, staring at the same spot on the ceiling. “Why a barrister?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think I could do anything academically apart from English or art. 1) because I’m not good at school and 2) because I don’t like school.” I explained to him.
“Makes sense.” “You two should be training or studying.” Mr Aizawa said, he stood in the doorway. “He’s over to hang out.” Shinsou responded. “Yes but you both have homework to do before anything else.” He finished and walked away. “So, is there anything you need help with?” Shinsou asked. “And here I thought you were the smart one.” I replied sitting up and getting off the bed to grab my bag. Shinsou laughed and shook his head and grabbed his bag. I sat back down on the bed and did homework for a few hours, Shinsou helped me where I needed it.

***

We laid on our stomachs in Shinsou’s backyard. It was near 8pm and I was supposed to go home an hour ago. But it was okay because Mum wouldn’t know, she didn’t get home from work until late. I was flicking electricity off my fingers while we talked.
“You know Kaminari.” He said to me, “Yeah?” I replied. “You’re a cool person. I remember coming into the Hero Course thinking you were a complete douch bag. The first time you spoke to me, you were just being nice, making sure I knew what was going on, where everybody was going and writing me out a schedule because I lost mine. You stuck with me throughout the day and invited me to eat lunch with a BakuSquad and when I didn’t want to stay, you came and sat in the hallway with me so I wouldn’t be on my own. I admit, I had complained to Dad, calling you annoying and stuff. He’d told me to give you a chance and not to call him annoying because you were just being nice. I scoffed and didn’t talk to him the rest of the ride. Then I agreed to tutor you because I was tired and I didn’t pick up the fact that I’d said yes and then Dad wouldn’t let me bail, and then when I got there and I hung out with you more and more, my thoughts about you changed, and now you’re the first person I’ve ever considered a friend.” Shinsou explained.
“You’re the first person who’s tutored me who’s not been a total dick about it.” I told him. “Yeah, you’ve told me about Bella and Gisèle..” He replied. “Bella was the worst. She spread it around school that I had dyslexia and ADHD and every person in the school thought it was funny apart from my friends at the time.”  I explained.
“This was back in France wasn’t it?” He asked. “Yeah. I lived in Paris. Did you know that?” I asked him. “I did not know that. What’s it like?” “Pretty normal, except I had to learn French really quickly so I could keep up in school, but my Mum is fluent in French so she was able to teach me enough that I could get by.” I explained. “What does she do for a job?” He asked me. “She’s a homicide detective. She gets moved around a lot but she managed to get her boss to let her move back to Japan so I could attend U.A.” I explained. “Wait, so you were there for the akuma attacks?” Shinsou asked excitedly. “Yeah, they’re pretty scary.” I replied. It was the truth. They are. “Damn! Have you ever been… you know…” “Akumatized? Nah.” I replied. We laughed. Then he turned to me and cleared his throat. “So, Kaminari.” He breathed. “Where do you disappear to all the time?” He asked. Shit. Shit. Shit. He knows. And I know he knows. “You don’t have any other friends in Japan so I know you’re not going there. You disappear in the middle of the school day and just randomly.” Shinsou continued.
Think Denki, think. “I go walkabout a lot.” I said. He nodded. “Randomly?” “It helps me clear my head.”
“Sorry, I was just curious.”