Our Mask [Shinso Hitoshi X Reader]

Chapter 24 - Farewell Between Stories

It was hard to tell whether Aizawa heard him at all. The only noticable difference was the gradually lessening grip on Hitoshi's collar but Aizawa stayed eeriely quiet for over a minute and you didn't have an angle that could let you see his face. Neither of the two spoke up; though you guessed by the way Hitoshi's set eyes looked at him that the older man was probably looking for a sign of a lie. You couldn't tell if it was because he was challenging Hitoshi to be lying about this or because he couldn't believe the truth. Hitoshi broke the silence after some time again.

"Your agency conducted a 'low-level' mission while you were gone. There had been multiples sightings by hunters of a woman deep in the north forest and the location was strange enough to make everyone think she might be in trouble so an operation was executed to retrieve her. I met her. She's your soulmate, Sensei. I can't tell you more details on what happened to her. She insists on telling you first which is why she hasn't left the agency, even when she thinks you won't be back soon."

The silence that immediately enveloped the three of you again was deafening. Aizawa had yet to say a word but you let go of a breath you didn't know you were holding when his grip left Hitoshi. You thought you saw a slight shakiness in his hands as they came back down to his side. It was starting to feel wrong being here, just like how it first felt with Sara. You couldn't follow that train of thoughts when the older man surprisingly spoke up.

"Where?"

You had no idea what he meant. Luckily, the person who the question was for knew.

"In the refuge center. She's the only one there."

Aizawa turned and began walking in the direction of his agency. You saw his expression for the first time--it was incredibly stiff and though his face conveyed nothing, his eyes were an almost well-hidden mix of heartache and hope. He stopped right as he was about to pass you and you almost flinched under his gaze. It was clear you knew way more than you had the right to, and you'd also been the one to come along to take the necklace, so you prepared yourself for some kind of reprimand. You let out a small whimper when you felt pressure on your head; after a scary second later, you realized what he was doing.

Aizawa was patting your head. He looked apologetic as he gazed down at your trembling form.

"Apologies, (Last Name). Violence isn't your scene. I should've known better."

With that, he continued walking away, a barely noticeable haste to his steps. You were frozen as your brain tried to process all that just happened in a manner of minutes but snapped out of it as you heard a small groan from behind you. Amongst all the tension, you'd somehow forgotten that Hitoshi was injured.

"Toshi!!", your voice was breathy from the remnants of shock. You ran up to him to see the damage better and grimaced at the darkening on his skin that poked out from under his coat. As much as you'd hoped for it, it didn't look like all the extra layers of clothing were enough to help at all. Hitoshi noticed your worried look on the forming bruises and readjusted his coat so they weren't visible.

"Don't worry about those, princess. I've had worse. Plus, I expected something like that soon", he soothed you. You still looked shaken up from the sudden emotional assault from his mentor and as much as he should've probably kept the last part to himself, he figured the small detail could distract you. It only somewhat worked as your face flashed with realization.

"Y-You...is that why you offered to steal the necklace?So Aizawa-sensei would come home early and see Sara?",you finally connected the dots. He nodded and you couldn't believe he'd thought of that so quickly while talking to Sara but another thought crossed your mind and you found yourself a bit angry,"You knew he'd be aggressive when he came for you, and that's why you shoved me out of the way instead of getting out of it too?!You were okay with letting him take his anger out on you when you had nothing but good intentions?!"