Lonely Rabbit

Chapter 4: Plans for the Future

A/N: Things are finally kicking into motion.

~ ~ ~

It was the Monday after Hitoshi and Izuku had exchanged numbers, and despite it only being two days later, their messages were filled with cat memes. Being the insomniac he is, Hitoshi had texted Izuku at 2 am last night, contemplating life sarcastically before sending a ton of cat memes and videos. Izuku was on patrol as Rabbit, but there wasn't much activity, so he had sat down on a roof and texted back a few of his own cat memes before telling Hitoshi he had to 'get ready' for work in an hour.

Of course, it was somewhat true, but Hitoshi needed to try and get some sleep. He knew he wasn't one to talk, but his friend isn't a vigilante and actually has to go to school, so Izuku can scold him.

Apparently though, Hitoshi wasn't able to sleep well and came into the café at 6 am, just missing Eraserhead who left half an hour ago after drinking 3 cups of coffee and eating a blueberry muffin. The bell jingled, and Izuku was already walking over to the insomniac who looked even more tired than usual.

"Hey Toshi! What are you doing here so early, don't you have school?"

In response, Hitoshi sighed and sat down in his regular booth, a hand pinching his nose, "can I get some coffee first?" Izuku just chuckled, "Your brain not awake enough to hold a conversation?" Hitoshi laid his head down on the table and hummed in confirmation, so Izuku rushed back and made coffee for both him and Hitoshi. As soon as the cup was set down, Hitoshi took it and drank a few gulps before placing it back down with a sigh.

Izuku just sipped at his coffee, "so, what are you doing here before school? Just for the great coffee or...?" Hitoshi glanced at him and then sighed once more. 'he sighs just as much as Eraserhead when he is tired' Izuku noted down in his mental 'Hitoshi is Eraserhead's long lost son?' folder.

"Actually, I did need some good coffee since I barely l sept last night, but that's not the only reason..." Hitoshi looked down at his coffee nervously before taking another gulp of it. With a hum, Izuku just sat and waited for the boy to say what he wanted, though Izuku's nerves started to buzz. 'maybe he realized that he didn't want to hang out with a quirkless failure despite the past few days' Izuku's brain helpfully supplied. But he shook off the thought, Hitoshi wouldn't have come all the way here before school just to tell Izuku off.

He took a deep breath before speaking, "Um well, I was kind of hoping to ask you a favor?" Now that made Izuku stiffen slightly because what on earth could Izuku help Hitoshi with? Instead of showing his confusion and unease, Izuku just leaned back and sipped at his coffee, trying to act casual.

"Shoot"

"Could you help me train?"

Izuku blinked in surprise, but his brain quickly began to fill in the blanks he was so stupid to have missed. He literally just talked about how Eraserhead fights quirkless and that Hitoshi was in a very similar boat the other day after beating those bullies. Not to mention, Hitoshi watched Izuku kick their assess while being quirkless himself so it only made sense that Hitoshi would want his help training so he could become a hero. He had mentioned UA a few times in their conversation on Saturday, so Izuku knew he would be aiming for the hero course which was, aggravatingly, biased towards flashy and destructive quirks.

"Um, I'm sorry- I shouldn't have asked, you are very busy."

Hitoshi's voice broke Izuku out of his daze and he realized that he had just left Hitoshi in silence instead of responding. "Oh, no, I would absolutely love to help you train! I just got too excited and forgot to respond is all, haha, sorry", he rubbed his neck and laughed sheepishly.

The purple boy's eyes widened almost comedically, "wait really? You want to?"

Izuku just smiled back at him, "Of course, I don't know if I'll be a good teacher, but I want to try!"

With that, Hitoshi was surprised and thankful while Izuku just steered the conversation to what Hitoshi wanted to learn and his goals. Of course he told Izuku that UA hero course was his goal, but he was worried about the exams both the practical and the paper test. Luckily, Izuku had already finished his high school degree a while ago, so he could also help out with the test portion.

Izuku even brought up the backup plan in case Hitoshi only got into the general education course. (If he did, Izuku said he would storm the school which made Hitoshi laugh, but Izuku was only half joking.) He told Hitoshi that Eraserhead, the boys' idol, had gotten transferred into the hero course from general education after winning the sport's festival when he was a student. And it if came down to that, Izuku would do everything to make Hitoshi win. Even if it meant hacking into UA and changing challenges or matchups, but Hitoshi didn't need to know that.

The real issue was when they could train. Izuku had work basically every day except Sunday, but he usually slept after work at the cafe since the night was dedicated to vigilante work. So on weekdays, he really wasn't free. Even on his shorter days that he got off at noon were hard to plan since Hitoshi wasn't out of school until 3 pm when Izuku was already asleep.

In the end, Izuku asked Hitoshi to come to the café on Saturday like usual and then they could plan things out then, plus it gave Izuku time to think about a training plan for Hitoshi instead of having to scrabble something together on the spot.

~ ~ ~

It was Friday morning, the day before Hitoshi and Izuku would cement the boys training schedule (and study schedule to Hitoshi's dismay in the form of several cat memes). Izuku had a solid plan ready to propose and work out with Hitoshi including a longer term schedule that would up the difficulty and add new elements as time went on. On top of that, Izuku had talked with Yui about working less hours, but still coming in every morning as usual.

She had agreed since he would still be baking the pastries in the morning and make Eraserhead's coffee. For some reason, she insisted that the hero liked him and loved his coffee to the point that his day wouldn't be the same without it. Izuku had no clue why she thought that, but he wasn't planning on leaving the hero hanging anyways, Eraser was fun to talk to some mornings when he was less grouchy.

Speaking of, the hero had just entered the café once more today and Izuku already had his coffee ready, bringing it over as soon as the hero sat down with a sigh. Izuku placed down the coffee while the man opened up a folder and began looking though it, barely glancing up and nodding in thanks for the coffee.

Now Izuku could sneak a peak at the folder since he was going crazy with curiosity, but the hero wasn't dumb and would defiantly catch him. So instead, Izuku just walked away and continued his morning baking. But nearly an hour later, the hero was still here looking at that folder. When the hero finally placed the folder down on the table and pinched his nose with a sigh, Izuku saw his chance.

He brought over the pot of coffee and began to refill the hero's mug before speaking, "What's got you sighing more than usual?" The hero chuckled before taking a swig from his now refilled cup, even though the liquid was probably still scalding hot. "Just a vigilante case I've been put on."

Izuku perked up, both in excitement and nervousness. Who was it? He knew a few vigilantes in Japan, ranging from veterans who had evaded capture for over 10 years to newer faces that were starting out. Sure, he didn't interact with them except on a secure website they used that was invite only, but he still had some kinship with them.

"Well", the hero continued, "this guy has been active for 3 years now and still doesn't have a proper description. The only note on his appearance is a flash of dark green and rabbit ears on his hood."

Izuku felt a chill run down his spine, 'wait, does he mean-'

"He goes by Rabbit"