Darkest Before Dawn - 106

Chapter 106

“How do you know each other?” Kazuki asked, back with Hina and Katelyn.

“Changing topics?” the latter asked back, clearly amused by how uncomfortable he was at the moment. He gave her a helpless smile, resolutely not looking at his mentor. She was just waiting to pounce on him again. “You know it’s not gonna work, right?”

“I can hope,” he answered resignedly, earning himself a giggle from the woman.

“Kazukiiiii…”

“So, how did you meet?” he insisted, making Katelyn burst into laughter.

“Oh, I like you, kid,” she told him, shaking her head and grinning at him. “Well, you see, we met in America. She was there for a-”

“Don’t answer him! I want to talk about this, Kate!” Hina protested, waving around her phone.

Apparently, someone had recorded the whole thing with Eddie and his mother. That’d have been bad enough, honestly, but Hina had learned of the fact almost instantly. All of that had happened, too, before Kazuki even managed to make his way back to the table they’d been in. So, he’d kind of been ambushed as soon as he came back.

Hence, his attempts to talk about literally anything else.

“As I was saying,” Katelyn started again, earning herself a very venomous look from Hina but a very grateful one from Kazuki. “She was there for some cosplay thing-”

“It was a movie promotion!”

“-in this very skimpy devil costume-”

“Why did you have to include that part?!”

“-and there was this creep harassing her and the other cosplayers-”

“Models!”

“-and she was being all shy and scared.”

“I was not! I didn’t want to ruin the event!”

“So I came in and saved the day. She was so grateful that-”

“Are you gonna lie the whole way through?!”

“-she invited me for some drinks. She didn’t pay for them though, stingy bit-”

“You invited us, I’ll have you know. And I paid for mine, just like everyone else!”

“She somehow convinced me to stick around though, but don’t ask me how she managed. I still don’t know,” she finished, looking very pleased with herself. She was looking at a fuming and flushed with anger Hina like she was the masterpiece product of great effort and dedication. Kazuki, for his part, just looked between them and blinked after following that tennis match of a “conversation”, if it could be called that.

That had been something alright though.

“Interesting,” he replied slowly, mostly because he didn’t know what else he could reply to all that with. “And I guess it just went from there?” he asked. Evidently, that was both the wrong and right thing to say, because his mentor grinned widely and Katelyn paled.

“Well, kind of. It went from the time that-”

“Wait, Hi-”

“-she called us for help because there was this guy she wanted to impress and-”

“Hina!”

“-she didn’t know what to do. So, she called the models for advice,” Hina explained, completely ignoring her friend. She looked like she was enjoying her revenge very much. Kazuki was just happy that she’d moved on from the video thing. He really could do without that conversation.

Alas, he knew it’d come back eventually, but still.

“Granted, then she-”

“He doesn’t need to know that!”

“-decided to ignore all our advice and be really awkward.”

“I mean, nothing wrong with being awkward,” Kazuki commented, feeling more than a little solidarity with the woman. He totally understood where she was coming from. He could only imagine how bad he’d have it if he had to deal with that. That was part of why he didn’t even bother considering romance as a thing.

That could only end badly, after all.

“No offense, kid, but that’s hardly reassuring coming from you,” Katelyn told him and he gave her a helpless smile and a shrug. He was self-aware enough to know that she was definitely not wrong. Case in point, the path his mind had gone down at the idea of the situation.

“Hey, I’m offended on his behalf!” Hina protested, getting a snort from both of them. “As I was saying though-”

“You don’t have to continue!”

“-she went and all but screeched-”

“It was a squeak at best!” Kate argued, and the blush on her face said that she was very aware that was barely a better option.

“-at the guy to go out with her,” Hina finished, exasperation clear to see all over her person and to hear all over her voice. “It was such a tragedy. We spent hours helping her and she did that. I swear, Kazuki, you better listen to my wisdom much better. It’ll get you whatever girl you want, I swear.”

“Uh… Thanks,” he mumbled, although he definitely wasn’t interested. Maybe in a million years, when his reputation wasn’t all the way in the underworld. Maybe in a million years, when he stopped internally withering at the thought of strangers and conversations. Maybe in a million years, he’d consider looking for something more than friendship.

So, closing that topic off, he turned his attention back to his drink.

And in doing so, he missed the way Hina and Kate shared a look between each other.

“So!” Hina exclaimed, making him look up. Then Kazuki groaned at the sight of the phone she was waving in front of him.

Right.

He’d completely forgotten about the video thing, but Hina clearly hadn’t. So, he deflated, took a deep breath in and settled down for a good few minutes of a PR lesson involving it. All the while, he’d be wrung for every detail about the whole thing he could remember. By the end, he’d known exactly what he did well, what he did wrong and why.

And he appreciated that, he really did.

He just had a feeling that it’d be really embarrassing. Especially because Hina would open the comments and he could already see the “Monster Daddy” ones being thrown around. Maybe he could make it his career mission to stay away from kids?

But no, that kinda went against his goals, didn’t it?

That sucked.

[}-o-{]

[Hina Maeda]

“It was nice meeting you, Kate,” Kazuki said, giving the woman his most friendly expression. Which was very effective, if the way the grown woman melted was anything to go by. Not that Hina blamed her. Kazuki was capable of so much gap moe it was unfair.

It was like seeing a werewolf turn into a puppy.

“Don’t be a stranger, alright? If you go to America, at least try to get in contact, not like this hag,-”

“Excuse you?”

“-will you?”

“Sure thing,” Kazuki replied, very amused. He’d found Hina and Kate’s back and forth exceedingly entertaining, she knew. It had her almost looking to start another one as soon as possible, if she were honest.

Because she’d seen it, even if he was doing his best to cover it up with his admittedly very good acting. Hina had taught him how to act though, so it was no use, really. She’d noticed, all the uncomfortable shuffling, the stiff posture and the hard edges of his expression.

He was having a bad time.

Granted, she knew he’d had fun too, going around I-Expo and getting to play around with his Quirk in a less serious manner at times, or just flexing it to vent a little. He’d liked seeing what the place had to offer and he’d even had a good time with Kate around too, even though she was a stranger. All in all, it was supposed to be a good day and it should have been.

But then… PR.

Kazuki could only take so much of that, evidently, even if he’d learned what to do exceedingly well. The more time passed, the more it ground him down to have to jump through all the hoops and Hina could see it every single time they met. And I-Expo had been the straw that broke the camel’s back, by the looks of it.

The boy was done with it all.

Which was why she’d decided to try and humor him as much as possible with anything she could come up with while they were there, but while it had worked, it hadn’t been enough. That was why he was basically running away at that moment. After telling her that he wanted some time to himself that very day, he was now telling her that he’d leave and look for his friends.

He wanted to get away from her, not because of anything she’d done, but because of what she represented.

Even knowing that, Hina couldn’t help the hurt in her chest.

“He’s a good kid.”

“The best,” she replied to Kate with, a smile on her face even if there was a knot in her throat. “He’ll be someone important in the future,” she added, because she couldn’t not brag about her boy. And if she had to drag him all the way there, she would do so. Everyone would know how amazing a person Kazuki Endo was, if it was the last thing she did.

Maybe though, maybe Hina needed to stop looking so far into the future and look at the Kazuki that was in front of her right at that moment. Because it seemed that she’d gotten carried away. Kazuki wasn’t made like her. He could act the part and do as good a job as he could be expected to, but he wasn’t normal. He adapted, but he was still different from most people.

By the looks of it, he’d fooled even her though.

‘I’ll have to make it up to him,’ she thought, holding back a sad smile. No more PR hoops for him to get through. She’d have to make do with what he’d already done, which wouldn’t be hard, really. He’d done a lot.  Hina could take it from there for the time being and let him have a good time, like he deserved.

So, with a deep breath in, he turned towards Kate, who was looking at her with narrowed eyes.

“So, you remember that dozen favors you owe me?” she asked, a sharp smile forming on her face. One that grew the smallest bit when she saw the woman across from her gulp.

“I remember a different number,” Kate mumbled, a little concerned all of a sudden.

“I need to know what your contacts are looking like. I need more strings to pull, as it turns out. Also, do you know who all is here for I-Expo?” Hina asked, because she’d come to the island ready to do her best. Plus Ultra, as Kazuki would say, already infected with that particular motto. Her best, as far as she was concerned, had to include making things easier for Kazuki if he needed it, and he certainly did.

So, she’d take the time, while he relaxed, to pull all the strings she could find. He’d given her plenty to work with, intentionally and not. So, the least Hina could do was give him some time to relax and be a kid. Something she should have done already, if she were honest, but she’d gotten carried away in his determination and not quite seen how tired he was.

Hina would have to be careful with that in the future.

It was just that Kazuki did so well for the most part and he was very good at hiding his bad emotions with the good ones. She wondered if that was because even to himself, the good things stood out all the more from the bad. He was too used to feeling bad, so he was good at pushing it aside to focus on whatever sliver of light he got.

And that was very depressing, which only fueled Hina’s determination.

“Well, I think I know where you’re going with this,” Kate replied hesitantly, looking to the side towards Kazuki, who had yet to leave their sight even if he was getting further and further away. “I think I can make a few calls of my own,” she added, showing why she was Hina’s friend.

[}-o-{]

[Minoru Mineta]

“It was around here, right?” Toru commented, twirling around as if to take in the entire area.

“This is where the marker he sent was, yes,” Momo confirmed, checking on her phone.

Thus, the rest of them went silent as they looked around.

Kazuki had sent them a message about meeting up, after all. He had said something about escaping his mentor, but Minoru had his doubts. His friend adored Uwabami, after all. To him, she might as well be All Might, considering the way he talked about her on occasion. So, the fact that he wanted to ditch her… Well, either Kazuki really missed them or something had happened.

Minoru really hoped it was the former though.

“Maybe he’s still on his way?” Shoto wondered out loud, voice mild as usual. They all took a moment to consider that, but Minoru himself rather doubted that. It’d been a bit since the message had gone off and they hadn’t caught it right away. So, Kazuki definitely should be there already.

‘Well, at least there’s a good sight here if we gotta wait,’ he mused to himself, glancing towards a group of girls off to the side. They were gathered around something though, but that was hardly new. Minoru could hazard a guess that there was some – at the very least – semi-famous hero there. They’d seen that happen a bunch of times already while in I-Expo, even participated in such gatherings a few times.

Maybe it made him a bad friend to look at the very hot looking girls instead of searching for Kazuki, but he was sure the guy would forgive him. Besides, there were a bunch of goth girls there and who could resist those? Kazuki… Actually, he didn’t know if goth girls were Kazuki’s thing. Granted, Minoru had never met anyone that didn’t like those, but was his friend's aesthetic inclination something that made him like goths more or less.

Real questions needed to be asked on the matter, Minoru decided, but maybe when it was just the two of them.

“Wait a minute…” he mumbled, blinking and staring harder at the group of girls. Not because they were hot – though they totally were –, but because there was something odd in the middle, where the hero was supposed to be. Minoru caught glimpses of black, white and hints of red. Now, that wouldn’t be odd, considering the goths and all. There was, however, a familiar touch to it all.

Then he was smacked on the back of his head.

“Can you not be a pervert for two seconds? I thought you were getting better,” Kyoka started, annoyance plain in her voice. Which was fair, he was being a bit of a pervert. Still though…

“Look at that group, you see anything odd?” he commented and everyone looked in the direction he pointed towards.

“If this is about those girls-”

“No, in the middle,” Minoru insisted, a grin forming on his face. ‘Lucky bastard,’ he thought to himself. Why? Because those girls were gathered around Kazuki. “Someone’s popular,” he commented, eyebrows raising.

He was envious, for sure, but he tried to be happy for his friend. It was quite the difference from his usual reception anywhere they went. Granted, there were times when they came across someone nice or friendly, but Kazuki usually didn’t pull positive attention like that. Still though, Minoru wondered if he’d ever get a gathering of girls like that himself.

Maybe if he did a good job as a hero and if he grew a little taller.

He really hoped that’d happen.

‘Uh, right, almost forgot,’ he mused when he turned to look at his friends. Momo and Toru were standing still where they were, eyes fixed on the gathering of people – girls, really – and even Kyoka seemed taken aback, if not quite as upset. Shoto, Kirishima and Ashido were the only ones that seemed to be fine with things, unsurprisingly.

“Someone’s popular indeed,” the latter commented, sounding fairly upbeat. So, that was someone off the list of girls with crushes on Kazuki, Minoru supposed.

Good too, because he’d never quite forgiven her and Kirishima for abandoning Kazuki. They were all fine by then, sure, but… Well, Minoru could forgive, but forgetting? Never. He knew Toru was in the same boat as him too, in regards to that.

None of that mattered then and there, but it was something he noted to himself every once in a while.

“Looks annoying,” Shoto mused out loud and Minoru rolled his eyes. Of course the popular guy would think that. Although, truth be told, he imagined Kazuki certainly didn’t appreciate that. He wasn’t the most social guy around, after all. Then again…

He seemed to be doing well, as he tried to walk through the group and one of the girls asked for a photograph. He smiled like he meant it. He talked enthusiastically. His posture was relaxed. It almost looked like he was having a good time.

But Minoru could see it, because Kazuki was never that well, depressingly enough. There was almost always something that made him uncomfortable or feel bad, and he wasn’t great with strangers. So, Minoru could tell that it was all an act.

With that observation out of the way, he looked to the side… and almost scoffed.

Nobody was moving and that was kind of… Annoying. Because the girls definitely should go and save the guy if they wanted to date him, reverse the roles a little and all that, right? Shoto should have gone if he wanted to be a good friend, same with Eijiro or Mina or even Kyoka, if she truly wasn’t interested. Yet, none of them went for it. Some might have been upset, some might have been unsure, but Minoru just thought they were stupid.

So, with a roll of his eyes, he stepped forward.

Least he could do after the guy gave him and Kirishima the tickets to go to I-Expo, really.

“Hey, Kazuki! We almost didn’t see you there!” he called, going on a short, slow jog to reach his friend. When he turned to look at him, Minoru saw the smile turn less friendly but more relieved, and he knew he’d made the right choice.

“Minoru!” Kazuki replied, grin widening even more. “Hey, girls. Let me introduce you to my best friend, Minoru Mineta, or Grape Juice in costume,” his friend said in English and it hurt to see the indifferent looks several of the girls sent his way. However, that was washed away by the glint of anger that he saw in Kazuki’s eyes. “I should go now, if I don’t want to make my friends wait, but it was great to see you,” he added, stepping off and reaching to shake Minoru’s hand. “Thanks for the save, man,” he added in a whisper that only he could hear and Minoru snorted.

“Don’t mention it,” he replied with a grin. “Maybe we can talk later, girls!” he called, throwing a wink in for good measure. Sure enough, several of them already looked like they wanted to go away. Ouch, but also just as he expected.

“Sure thing!” one of the non-goth girls called, much to his surprise. “Just give me a call, Kazuki!” she added cheerfully.

“She’s hot. You have her number?” he commented, blinking at Kazuki and the guy chuckled like it was funny. It was something serious they were discussing though! That was no laughing matter!

“I do,” he answered with a nod before shaking his head. “You know what, I’ll give you the numbers of the girls that weren’t bitches when you came in,” he added with a smile and Minoru felt something painful in his chest. Because that was… He didn’t even know why, but that hit really hard for some reason.

Not because the numbers moved him, which they could, really. That was a great offer and Minoru appreciated it. However… it was a combination of factors that made it all the more significant. Because Kazuki was offering because he was grateful for something that Minoru had done – which was neat in the first place –, also because he knew that Minoru would like that – obviously, who would reject the number of a hot girl? Most of those had been 7s at the least –, but what was probably the most important fact was that… He’d noticed the ones that had been, as he put it, bitches.

And Minoru appreciated that he did and that he was implying he’d dismiss all of them, just because they’d reacted negatively to him. In a way, he guessed Kazuki knew a thing or two about people reacting like that to him too. It reminded him that, as different as they seemed, there were plenty of similarities between them too.

“You’ll get no pity from me, little one,” he remembered Kazuki telling him when they had first met. And through their time together, Minoru had come to understand what he meant a lot more.

“Think we can score a double date?” he asked, trying to push down the knot in his throat and forcing a smile on his face. Kazuki looked at him for a long moment, clearly noticing some of his emotions. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to dwell on those enough to point them out. Minoru noticed that he glanced towards the group too, which…

‘Right, the girls,’ he realized, looking nervously at Toru and Momo, who had clearly heard what he said. ‘Maybe I should have kept that to myself until we were alone,’ he mused, fearing for his life under the glare of the two. And that was with one of them being invisible.

“Maybe,” Kazuki answered noncommittal, but that wasn’t a no, Minoru noticed. Something to talk about later, he supposed. Something for a time when the girls wouldn’t kill him, that was for sure. “How are you doing, guys? Having fun?”

“I’d have more fun if I could beat your records,” Shoto replied immediately, clearly pulling no punches. Then again, he seemed plenty frustrated when he came short in all the games they came across that had Beacon up at the top of the rankings. Not that anyone blamed him though, considering most of those were really simplified with the numbers Kazuki had.

“Sorry about that, man. I’m sure there’s an event or two that are more suited for you,” Kazuki replied awkwardly.

“There were two that I beat you in,” Shoto added with a nod, still showing no emotion on his face. Minoru really thought he ought to learn to be more expressive one of those days. It was kind of unnerving at times, and that was coming from him, best friend of one Kazuki Endo, the guy who was unnerving without even meaning to.

“Did the rest of you guys try out in the games? They were fun,” Kazuki asked and Minoru noticed that he was forcing himself a little. Maybe there was something going on? He’d seemed adamant that he might not have time to meet them that day so…

“Eijiro and Mina tried out in a few, mostly we’ve been sightseeing and visiting displays,” Momo informed dutifully, eager to talk to Kazuki as always. Minoru was almost as annoyed with his best friend not picking up on the obvious interest as he was with the girls for not just making an actual move. Did they really expect the guy with almost no positive interactions in his social history to pick up on their hints? Normal guys would struggle, he was sure, let alone Kazuki.

No offense to the guy.

“That can’t stand. It’s your chance to make an impression, guys,” their friend said, shaking his head at them. “Come on, I think I saw a few that you could do well in,” he added, nodding off to the side before starting to walk.

As he did though, Minoru moved first and the fastest, to walk right beside him.

“Everything alright?” he asked, glancing concernedly at Kazuki. For a second, he almost saw the “I’m fine” coming. However, when his friend opened his mouth to speak, he stopped himself.

“Can you give me some space later? I’m… I could use some time to myself,” Kazuki mumbled.

Minoru almost asked why he hadn’t just gone off on his own when he ditched Uwabami, but he could see it with his mind’s eye. He could almost follow the train of thought in his friend’s head. He imagined the guy would feel guilty if he left everyone hanging. If he wasn’t with his mentor, obviously he should be with his friends, right? Else, they might feel neglected or some bullshit like that.

Sometimes Kazuki worried too much about pleasing everyone.

“Leave it to me,” Minoru said. It wouldn’t be easy to distract the girls, but he had a trick or two. Kazuki better make it up to him for all the smacks he was going to get though.

Then again, those girls’ numbers might be enough.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

More I-Expo things and we meet the friends, finally. Always neat to have them around. I always feel like aren’t getting enough of them, honestly, but I’m not sure if that’s an actual thing or just me…

All the same, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Who’s your favorite of the male friends? Minoru’s my favorite, just because he’s turned out great and even I had doubts in that regard when I started this fic. Shoto is a close second though.

See you.