Time Before Tragedy

Chapter 8

Ojiro walked back to his dorm room with Shinsou. Once in, he closed the door and sat on his bed, breaking down. Shinsou wrapped him in a hug and held him close. He leaned into the violet haired male's chest, trying to calm down.

Once he'd stopped crying, he dried his eyes and took deep breaths. He sighed and explained everything to Shinsou, small tears on his cheeks.

"That really sucks man. I'm so sorry." Shinsou said, rubbing the male's back. "I'm going to be here for you, okay Mashirao? I'm always here for you." He offered a comforting smile.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it Shinsou. You don't know how much this means to me." He said.

"It's not a problem." Shinsou said. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love. Granted, I lost a cat and not my parents, but I barely know my parents so that cat was all I had before I got to stay with Aizawa." He paused for a moment. "Ah, sorry. I'm rambling. How rude, I apologise. Do you want to talk about what happened or something else?"

Ojiro smiled softly, more focused on taking in Shinsou's smell. It was comforting and reminded him of the library window seat.

They sat in silence for a while as Ojiro thought about what happened and Shinsou thought of what to say. A blonde cat hopped in the window and curled up on Ojiro's lap, meowing.

"Aww who's this cutie?" Shinsou asked, smiling softly and petting the cat. The cat purred and nuzzled his hand, tail flicking happily.

"Her name is Sunshine." He said, watching them interact. "She comes by whenever I don't feel well. Until you became my friend, she was kinda like my furry therapist." Ojiro explained. "I haven't seen her in awhile."

"Oh? Why's that? Do you know?" The taller male asked, tilting his head at the male while scratching the cat's chin.

"I think she knows her jobs been taken." Ojiro said, only half joking though hoping that Shinsou saw the truth in his words.

"Oh." He smiled and ruffled Ojiro's hair. "Well, I'm glad I can help you." Shinsou said, petting him.

He leaned into the touch. Sunshine hopped down and curled up in Ojiro's closet. Shinsou's hand travelled down to his chin to scratch it, eliciting a purr from the male.

"Geez, your like a cat." He mumbled, chuckling softly at the male's actions. Ojiro laughed as well, leaning back. "Hey, are you ticklish?" Shinsou asked, eyes holding a mischievous glint.

Ojiro's eyes widen and he shook his head, crossing his arms over his torso. "No." He said, too quickly for Shinsou's liking.

"Are you sure~?" Shinsou peeled the blonde's arms off his torso and pinned him down, hovering over him on his bed. "Cause you look pretty ticklish to me." He said, looking him up and down.

"Y-Yes?" He said, more of a question than anything. His cheeks burned bright red at how close they were. Shinsou hummed in response and kept Ojiro's hands pinned down with one of his own as his other hand explored his arms.

Travelling south on Ojiro's body, he found a sensitive spot on his side, a matching spot on the opposite side of his torso, a few inches below his chest and right above his hips. Acting quickly, Shinsou let go of Ojiro's wrists and attacked the sensitive areas, making the blonde beneath him burst into loud laughter.

"S-stop!" Ojiro laughed, squirming under the purple haired male to get away from the onslaught.

"Never!" Shinsou grinned widely and redoubled his efforts, pulling the male into his lap to make it harder for him to get away. He did stop after a few minutes, laughing softly and smiling at Ojiro.

Ojiro smiled back, happy that he had someone to spend time with who could actually talk and not just meow. He didn't make any notion of wanting to move from Shinsou's lap, perfectly content staying there.

"Thank you." The blonde said softly. "For distracting me. I didn't realize that I needed it until now. I've been so upset since the crash I..." He teared up and his smile wavered, sniffling.

Shinsou's smile faded and he pulled Ojiro fully into his lap, cupping his cheeks. "Hey, listen. If you want to talk about it, fine, but I won't force you to. I'm more than happy to just sit here and hold you if that's what you want. I know it's terrible to lose someone, and I know sometimes you just need to cry. If you feel like crying, I won't judge you for your tears. I'll be a shoulder to cry on, a rock to lean on, and an ear to rant to."

Ojiro stared at him in silence fr a moment, processing what the male had said. After a moment he gave a sad smile and leaned on his shoulder, curled up in his lap. "Thank you Shinsou. I appreciate it."

"It's not a problem Mashi. I'm glad I can help." He said.

"Mashi?" Ojiro rose an eyebrow at the taller male.

"Sorry. Too soon?" Shinsou frowned slightly, worried.

"No, no, it's fine. I just didn't expect it is all." He smiled softly. "I like it."

"Okay." Shinsou hugged him.

~~~~

In the afternoon a few days later, Ojiro went to the library. He remembered the librarian saying something but never explaining it.

"Ojiro! Glad to see you. Where have you been?" The librarian asked.

"Oh, I've been a bit busy." He admits. "Hey, um, last time we spoke you tried to warn me about something. What was that?" Ojiro asked. He was always blunt, something the librarian appreciated.

"Oh, it was nothing. Do you need a book? Have you finished all you checked out?" He changed the subject, not sure if it was okay to tell him anymore. He seemed happy with his friendship.

"I need answers. Please, I want to know what you needed to say." Ojiro begged him.

The librarian sighed and led him somewhere private. "Ojiro, I wanted to warn you about Shinsou. He's using you."