Time Before Tragedy

Chapter 2

It had been almost a full week since the Sports Festival. Mashirao sat beneath an oak tree on campus, reading a book. He was alone once more. Little did he know, he was being observed. Shinsou had been quietly watching, planning.

Someone cleared their throat, catching Mashirao's attention and causing him to look up. It was Shinsou. His expression was different. He was usually cold and calculating, but now he just looks sad. Almost as if he had something he regretted.

"Can I help you?" Mashirao asked kindly, though anger began boiling in him. What did Shinsou think he was doing?

"I hope so. I wanted to apologize for my behavior at the Sports Festival." Hitoshi said. Ojiro hesitated, but Hitoshi sounded genuinely apologetic. "I understand if you don't ever talk to me again, I just needed you to know I regret my actions. If you're willing, maybe we could talk more." The lilac haired male seemed hopeful.

Ojiro stood, using his tail to help his balance. He stared at the male's eyes for a long moment, finally sighing and closing his eyes. "I suppose I can forgive you. I'm not quite sure how I feel about friendship at this point. Maybe in the future, but I'm still quite angered at you for what you did." said the blonde, his voice soft and careful.

Hitoshi looked down at his feet in shame. "I understand. Hopefully, you'll be able to see past my actions and be friends with me." He looked up as he spoke, determination shining in his eyes. "Can we agree on being acquaintances?"

Ojiro's tail flicked behind him as he pondered his question. Deciding to give it a shot he gave a small nod. "I suppose we can be acquaintances for now." He said. "Be warned, you're walking a thin line between forgiveness and hatred. Pick a side to cross to and choose wisely."

Shinsou smiled and nodded. "Thank you. I won't disappoint you, I promise!" He said. "Would you like me to accompany you back to your dorm building?"

Ojiro shook his head, grateful that Shinsou hadn't taken control over him. He held his hand out, putting his tail over his shoulder where it usually rested.

Shinsou shook his hand and nods to him. "I'll leave you be then. Thank you." He said, giving him a small bow of respect.

"You're welcome. I'll see you later." He said, nodding to him as walking back to his dorm. Was Shinsou serious? Did he really want to be friends? Ojiro's heart raced at the idea. Friendship!

He walks into the kitchen, tripping over the limp body of Midoriya. He yelped and caught himself, turning around. "Midoriya!"

Midoriya groaned, lying face down on the tiled floor of the kitchen. He rolled onto his back and grimaced, holding his nose. "Hey, Ojiro. Am I in your way?"

"Oh my, All Might! What happened to you?!" Ojiro crouched next to him. Midoriya's body was littered with bruises and scrapes, his face had a cut and bloody nose.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit bruised." He said. "I'll be okay, I just need to lay down for a bit." He trailed off and sighed. "I need the nurse. Can you help me get there?"

Ojiro picked him up, using his tail to support most of his weight. He carried him to the nurse's office and helped him lay down since he wasn't able to and Recovery Girl wasn't as strong as she used to be.

"I'll take it from here young man. Thank you." She said, giving Ojiro a small pack of gummy worms.

"You're welcome, ma'am." He said. "If he needs help getting back to the dorms, I'm sure I could find one of his friends."

Recovery Girl nods and shoos him away so she could heal him. In order to calm down, Ojiro retreated to the library, immersing himself in the world of fantasy, to escape from the world that otherwise didn't acknowledge his existence.

He stepped into the room and inhaled the scent, a small smile tugging at his lips. He let the smile flood his face as he greeted the librarian and walked up and down the rows.

After choosing a story, he curled up in a window seat and opened the book. The book cover held the picture of a girl with her hair floating around her, presenting a glowing orb to the reader.

Almost immediately the blonde found himself with his nose in the book, thoroughly enjoying the story. At some point, he'd fallen asleep while reading.

Newcomers to the library asked about him, but the librarian and people who studied there often just told them to ignore him. He was having a nice time, awake or asleep, and everyone deserves happiness. After all, that's why the library existed.

...

Ojiro woke to find himself not in the library but a tree. Everything seemed to have a haze, like the moments when you first wake up and everything is blurry around the edges. He recognized it as a dream and excitedly examined himself.

His form held a slightly messy brown shirt and leggings, no tail in sight. He climbed down and was met face to face with Stella. He knew who she was almost immediately, the main character's best friend in the book he'd been reading.

"Stella!" Ojiro said, giving her a small wave. The girl seemed angry, her long, beautiful brown hair flung over her shoulder in a hurried braid.

"Pheonix! I've searched the town for you twice over!" She scolded, arms crossed over her chest. She wore a light blue dress with a crimson necklace.

"My apologies my lady. I was merely..." He trailed off, scouring his mind for what Pheonix had been doing when Stella caught him. "Reading." He concurred.

"By that, I don't suppose you were daydreaming about Fea again? She's named so for a reason dear friend. Imagine the disgrace to your family if you were to marry her and not Ruby." Stella scolds.

"Disgrace! Ha! It might seem to be a disgrace to the unknowing, but I truly love her. You know I do not care for looks! If it's a disgrace to marry for love, I may as well change my name." The words flowed from Ojiro's tongue like water off the clouds. He enjoyed these dreams.

Stella gripped the folds of her dress and glared. "You're so pig-headed!" She announced angrily, storming off.

Ojiro sighed and sat under a tree, staring at the sky. Was this how the book went? He couldn't remember...