Through Chaos and Order | Shota Aizawa

Five

This chapter takes place in the past.

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"How has U.A. been?"

Ever since I was expelled from that high school, it isn't often I can hang out with my old friends. With their hero internships and me having a part-time job along with both of our educations, it is difficult to correlate schedules. We were all eighteen and seniors, weeks away from graduation. This was huge for them, for they were about to be released to the world to become the heroes they aspire to be. I, on the other hand, will be considering college.

Soft music played in the back ground as Shouta and I chilled in my room, passing a blunt back and forth. Hizashi couldn't make it. We were both extremely stressed for our own reasons, so we decided to just wind down and smoke to relax at my house instead of actually going out and doing anything. My mother was out for the night for her hero work.

"Crazy. Good, but crazy," he casually responded after taking a hit, giving the blunt back to me, coughing a bit.

"Come on, now. Enlighten me." I laughed, heavily inhaling the herb.

    He sighed, leaning his head back against the couch. "Exams, graduation. Our teacher is on our asses, I suppose for good reason, though."

    "How's Hizashi doing?"

    "Hizashi is. . . Hizashi."

    I handed him the remainder of the blunt and picked up another, lighting a larger one for myself, since it takes more for me to get high. He was already showing signs, so it wouldn't require much more for him.

    "I miss it sometimes," I mumbled, looking down and taking a hit.

    Shouta slowly looked over to me, dazed, "Huh?"

    "U.A. Studying heroism."

    "Mm," he groaned, understanding, "If it makes you feel any better, we miss you too. Maybe if you kept training with me outside of school, you could of gotten him to reconsider." He ran a hand through his hair before pausing, eventually proceeding to pet himself, enthralled.

    I laughed at his sudden shift in behavior, feeling a relaxing tingle run down my spine after my last hit. "Yeah, but like, I gotta focus on other things now, you know?" My vocabulary was growing simpler. "College, a job. I can't be a hero."

    "Anybody can be a hero," he stated, closing his eyes and subtly rocking to the music.

    A few minutes passed, but to us in this state, it just felt like seconds. Quickly finishing the last of the blunt, I tossed it into the ash tray. He did the same with his.

    I hummed before leaning back. Our shoulders brushed.

    He turned his head to look at me.

    "Your eyes are pretty," he said bluntly, raising his thumb to caress the skin underneath my eye. He chuckled. His laughter started to make me laugh and suddenly we were having a laughing fit that literally lasted for two minutes. "Your skin is so soft, man. Why is your skin so soft?" He ran a hand through his hair, other one feeling my cheek. He mumbled an, "Oh my god," in absolute astonishment, eyes wide.

    "You're goofy, bro," I laughed, raising my hand to move his away from my face. As I did, he grabbed my hand, a relaxed sigh escaping his lips as he did so. "What's up?"

    "Warm." Was all he said, bringing my hand to his cheek to cup it. I felt heat raising to my face, and I didn't know whether it was from the quite sudden intimate contact and vibe radiating through the air, or of the rising high sensation.