Morbid Corvids

Shouta was certain of one thing: Hizashi was his best friend. It’s been that way before and it will remain that way after.  Hizashi made that very clear the day they graduated from UA. 

Shouta knew it had to be true. He never felt that special connection with Nemuri, Tensei, Kan, or even Emi. Shouta only knew of one person who was close to him as Hizashi - perhaps even more. Thinking about him still ached Shouta’s heart and brought a tragic memory that still plagued his mind everyday. 

Shouta brushed off his thoughts as he passed by the food court of the mall. It was very early in the morning on a Tuesday and the mall was relatively empty. He planned it that way for minimal safety risks, but without his morning instant coffee he felt the weight of his eyes slow him down. It wasn’t as if there was a shortage of coffee shops at the mall, but he’ll be damned if he spent five dollars for a small cup. 

He didn’t even know what prompted him to become distracted with such odd thoughts. Maybe it was the fact that Hizashi invited himself and came along with Shouta to the mall with five of his students: Sero, Jirou, Kaminari, Mina, and Kirishima. 

The weather began to cool, and the group insisted on Shouta allowing them to go buy some warm clothes for the winter. It was supposed to be a simple trip that should have lasted for only an hour, but that didn’t stop Hizashi from swaying his way in and encourage his students to “treat themselves” as he called it. 

This wasn’t the first time Hizashi invited himself at the last second. It has become such a constant in Shouta’s life that he wondered how he got by without Hizashi a few years back. 

Hizashi being his frequent companion felt natural by this point. Shouta just didn’t understand why his mind ran in circles as his heartbeat increased whenever Hizashi was close to him. 

Maybe he did know - but he buried that knowledge deep inside his mind. 

As he made it past the food court, Shouta felt the ground mildly shake. He grabbed the nearest pole and tried to balance himself. He tried to listen for anything indicating danger, but the panicked noises of the employees and few visitors blocked any outside sound. The first thing he focused on was the safety of his students. 

The trembling began to die down as Shouta made his way towards the center of the mall. 

He was relieved when he saw another pro hero helping the employees and visitors evacuate the area. He scanned the nearby stores and found Sero and Jirou among the crowd. The two students caught sight of him and quickly ran towards their professor. 

“Mr. Aizawa!” Sero acknowledged as he composed his breath. Jirou kept close as the wave of people passed by and bumped their shoulders. 

“Sero! Jiro! I need you to help him evacuate the people safely. Then I want you to stay with him until I come get you, understood?” Shouta ordered, pointing at the pro hero near the entrance. 

“But, Mr. Aizawa, we can help you!” Sero insisted. Jirou nodded as fear crossed her face, “we have to make sure Kaminari, Mina, and Kirishima are safe!” 

“Listen to me, right now your job is to help evacuate and that’s it,” Shouta emphasized, “I’ll go find Kaminari, Mina, and Kirishima. Do not leave that pro hero’s side. Am I clear?” 

His two students gazed with hesitant expressions, prompting Shouta to narrow his eyes. 

“Am I clear?”

Only a few seconds passed by, but it seemed like a lifetime before Jirou nodded again. 

“We’ll do as you say, Mr. Aizawa,” she stated, tapping her earjacks together, “just please be safe.” 

Shouta reached for Sero’s and Jirou’s shoulders, tapping them lightly. 

“I will,” he assured before running off to the north end of the building. The columns were keeping the building steady, but a quick inspection made it clear that it could crumble down at any moment. Shouta needed to act fast, get everyone to safety, and apprehend the people responsible for this. 

The issue was that he had no idea who were the perpetrators and whether they possibly mixed in with the panicked crowd. He shrugged off that concern for now, and focused on finding his remaining students. 

He dreaded the thought that something might have happened to them. 

He suddenly felt the ground shake violently again and his ears ache as a loud sound emanated further down the northern end. 

He knew that sound more than he knew his own voice.

It was Hizashi’s scream. It was his quirk.

Shouta instinctively ran towards the sound, blocking everything around him. His mind was only centered on that voice. 

On his friend. 

He almost bumped into Kirishima if it weren’t for his sharp reflexes. The spiky red-haired boy slipped as he tried to avoid clashing into his teacher but was quickly caught by Shouta’s binding cloth. 

“Sir!” Kirishima breathlessly yelled as he pointed to Mina. “Mina and I were looking for you! Sir Present Mic and Kaminari are fighting two villains!” 

Shouta noticed Kirishima’s ragged, shaky breath and placed both of his hands on the boy’s shoulders. 

“Kirishima, I need you to tell me everything,” Shouta explained calmly; not wanting to make Kirishima panic even more. Kirishima's eyes widened, but he feverishly nodded. 

“I was walking with Mina and Kaminari when we found Present Mic”, Kirishima began, “that’s when we heard this loud crash and the floor started trembling. Present Mic told us to stay close to him...he told us everything was going to be fine but everyone started panicking and screaming and next thing I knew Mina and I were separated. I tried to join Present Mic and Kaminari but they were far away and I saw them fighting two people and I - I couldn’t go because of the crowd - I just couldn’t…”

“Kirishima, please, calm down,” Shouta instructed, “you did good in trying to find me. Nothing here is your fault, I want you to understand that. I need you and Mina to go join Sero and Jirou. They are by the entrance of the mall and should be helping a pro hero. I’ll go help Hiz- Present Mic and Kaminari. Understood?”

Thankfully, Kirishima and Mina were quicker in accepting their new roles. Mina wished him luck before dragging Kirishima towards the entrance of the mall. Shouta regained his pace and grew concerned when it became eerily quiet. 

As he reached nearly the end of the building, a sudden wave of lightning blinded him. He was then met by a whole body crashing into him. Shouta felt out of breath and a sharp pain on his chest as he fell with the other person. 

Shouta grunted and felt his legs shake violently as he stood up. He immediately recognized the figure next to him; helping them up as they struggled. 

“Kaminari, are you alright?” Shouta asked, looking for any noticeable injuries. Kaminari nodded, but his eyes were filled with terror.

“Yes, b-but…” Kaminari choked, tears threatening to escape. 

“It’s okay,” Shouta assured, awkwardly side-hugging his student. He never knew how to comfort someone, but damn him if he didn’t try his best for his students. 

“Present Mic - he…”

“Present Mic? Did something happen?” Aizawa questioned, noticing the desperate tone in his voice. He cursed himself for the incessant questions, secretly hoping it didn’t worsen Kaminari’s panic. 

“He was protecting me when one of them just separated us-“ 

Kaminari was interrupted by a glass wall shattering near them from a store. Shouta quickly covered Kaminari as he saw Hizashi struggling with someone else. Every time the person took another step, the ground around them would shake. So this is the person responsible for the attack. 

Shouta swiftly used his scarf to move Kaminari out of the way and grabbed the criminal simultaneously. The assailant, puzzled, looked at the white fabric around him, but soon bore his eyes towards Shouta. 

Shouta looked back at him; undeterred. How dare he mess with my students? How dare he mess with...him? 

“Shouta!” Hizashi yelled, approaching his friend with a small smile. Shouta couldn’t look back due to the usage of his quirk on the delinquent, but he knew Hizashi would understand. They’ve been doing patrols together for years and learned how to communicate through various situations. 

Shouta dragged the criminal towards him and tied them up properly for the authorities. He could sense Hizashi lingering near him - talking to Kaminari.

“I was told there were two people,” Shouta said, waiting for an answer as the captured criminal wrestled to be let loose. 

“The other one vanished before I could do anything,” Hizashi explained, sighing deeply, “but I have a feeling he has a teleportation quirk so that makes him very dangerous.” 

“Well, we best make sure to catch him before-“ 

Shouta wasn’t able to finish his statement before it happened. Everything occurred so quickly it left Shouta in a daze of confusion and despair. 

He first heard two notable gasps and his head instantly turned towards the sound. Between Kaminari and Present Mic stood a stranger who Shouta assumed was the missing assailant. 

Everything went crashing down from there. 

The man was holding a knife and pointed it at Kaminari. Shouta instinctively used his quirk, but it was no use against a weapon that didn’t rely on a quirk. A simple knife was all it took to cause such damage. 

Before the villain could plunge the knife into Kaminari - Present Mic acted quickly and pushed the kid aside. He stood in the place Kaminari was at when it all happened. 

Shouta doesn’t remember screaming, but the ache in his throat suggests otherwise. He just remembered his body acting before he could think and made sure the criminal couldn’t use his quirk. The criminal was clearly shocked when they couldn’t teleport away and prepared to fight Shouta. 

Shouta has dealt with many villains before, and this man was the same as all those petty ones that fought against him. The man was bound similarly to the other criminal, but something compelled Shouta to hurl the villain towards a wall with all his strength. He knew it was completely unnecessary, and perhaps stupid, given that the villain is now unconscious and can’t speak - but his anger blinded him. 

“Mr. Aizawa!” Kaminari shouted, carefully holding an injured Present Mic on his lap. The pro hero looked miserable as his face twitched in pain. 

Shouta just stood frozen in shock. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about Hizashi’s state. On the contrary, he knew he cared too much for his best friend. He’s seen his friend injured before, but never this close to death. That knife landed close to Hizashi’s neck and could have hit something fatal. 

He could have lost another friend. He could have lost someone he loved. 

His heart stopped for a brief moment at the realization. He...loved Hizashi. 

No, no, this isn’t the time Shouta. It became difficult to balance himself but Shouta didn’t realize he was moving until he was standing in front of Kaminari and Present Mic. The boy looked up at him - breathing heavily as he tried to soothe his teacher. 

Hizashi was sweating profusely from his forehead, and his eyes were shut in agony. Shouta knelt down and delicately placed his hand above Hizashi’s arms. The blonde hero was startled by the sudden touch and attempted to open his eyes but the lights tormented them. 

“Don’t move too much, Hizashi,” Shouta instructed softly, moving his hands to caress Hizashi’s hair. Through his side view Shouta saw Kaminari shift awkwardly, probably thinking he’s interfering in a personal moment. Shouta would have reserved his actions after Kaminari left, but seeing Hizashi in such a grave state made him forget about anything around him. 

From a close distance, Shouta heard the sound of sirens and officers roaming around the building. He knew they would handle the criminals as soon as they saw them. Shouta quietly gestured for Kaminari to go join the other students. As he expected, Kaminari hesitated at first, but soon realized it was not only for his safety - but for Shouta to be alone with Hizashi. Kaminari gently placed Hizashi’s head on Shouta’s lap before leaving to join his friends. “Don’t be too harsh on him,” Kaminari said abruptly before he left - not allowing Shouta to respond. 

Shouta turned his attention to Hizashi, who was looking back at him with an eye smile. Shouta softly chuckled - noting that even as he’s heavily injured Hizashi always shined bright. 

“Why did you do that? They could’ve killed you,” Shouta whispered, still caressing his dear friend’s hair. 

“You…” Hizashi began, struggling to speak through his raspy voice. “You love them so much, Shouta...I wanted to protect that love too.”

Shouta’s breath hitched and his eyes widened in shock. He felt tears forming on his eyes as he placed a hand on Hizashi’s cheek. 

“...and also because I am a hero and it’s my job.” 

Way to ruin the special moment, idiot. 

But he’s the idiot I love. 

Shouta snorted, with Hizashi joining him. They both laid down in silence, ignoring the world around them. 

Only a few minutes passed before a first responder interrupted their moment of peace. Shouta hesitated before letting Hizashi go, but he knew it was for Hizashi’s safety. 

As Hizashi was being placed on the ambulance, Shouta contemplated his feelings. It was uncharacteristic of him to express his feelings in public, but Hizashi could have died. 

He could have died without knowing how Shouta felt. 

As the ambulance door was closing, Shouta forcefully kept it open with his arms. The paramedic looked at him baffled, but Shouta ignored him. 

“Hizashi, when you get out of the hospital, do you want to go out to dinner with me?” 

Hizashi’s body shot up, and the blonde hero locked his eyes at Shouta. 

“Are you seriously asking me out on a date inside an ambulance?” 

Shouta looked back sheepishly. “...Yes. But it’s okay if you don’t want to.”

Hizashi’s eyes glowed, and he practically squealed as he jumped up and down in excitement. 

“Shouta, of course I’ll want to!” 

Speechless, Shouta released his hands from the door, prompting the paramedic to finally close it. He couldn’t help but hide the wide grin from his face with his binding cloth. 

Now, how am I going to make Hizashi fall for me?