HOME | DD

Description

Big thank you to my buddy jessicaarchambault for refueling my inspiration to draw with the adorable Cementoss x Chikara story she did for me! It inspired me to start doodling and I’m thankfully (hopefully-) starting to slowly get out of this sad phase.
Been a while since I posted any stories, and I think I’ve mentioned before Ive got a tone of MHA themed stories on my phone - here’s a quick doodle and story I’ve been working on!
Characters in drawing (all mine), left to right:
Senshi - Kirishima x Mina
Hoseki - Shoji x Hagakure
Kita - Kaminari x Jiro
Story takes place after this comic - palettepainter.tumblr.com/post…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The floor was hard beneath his feet, tired limbs dragging along the carpeted floor of the darkened hallway. The moon wasn’t out, hidden from view by a blanket of thick clouds, that where about as appealing as he felt.

Kita had been restless since he turned in for the night, rolling and squirming in his slumber in a fruitless attempt to find the perfect position to sleep. Alas sleepy was the furthest thing from him despite how his body said differently, even pressing the button the elevator to the ground floor felt like a chore to his fingers. The slow ride down almost lulled him to dream land - almost - the moment it stopped his eyes stubbornly jerked back open, he grumbled.

“Great. Just great. I love waking up at ungodly hours in the morning - I love being exhausted in class” he whispered to himself bitterly, turning out of the elevator and turning into the kitchen.

It was just as dark in the common area, and would be for the next couple of hours. It just gone half midnight the last he checked his phone, which had been a while ago at that point, so he could only guess it must be coming up to one o’clock. He pulled his hoodie tighter over him to keep him warm, underestimating how cold it was. His legs, which where only covered by a pair of shorts shivered, goosebumps covering his skin. “Mmn..”

With a whine he walked towards one of the sofas and carefully sat down, tucking his legs up so that he could lay down. Hands rubbed at the bare skin of his legs, chin resting ontop of his knees, ear jacks hanging loosely over his shoulders as he stared off with half lidded eyes at nothing.

He always got like this when ‘it’ happened.

His friends and himself had dubbed it ‘sparked out’. Kita had always found humor in his parents stories from when they where at UA, he couldn’t think of one story where he hadn’t been chuckling at the end or in awe. Before coming to UA, his parents had told him not to stress out over things he struggled with in class - heck, with his Aunt Yaoyorozu, he’d probably be able to learn a lifetimes worth of knowledge in one study session! He hadn’t really taken their advice all that seriously at first, brushing them off with a confident grin and a wave of his hand.

That all changed when he had his first maths test in Mister Ectoplasm’s maths class: on the whole, he seemed like an okay guy, as okay as any teacher could go. A little intimidating maybe, but maybe that just came with the whole thing of him being a pro hero and shyness on his part. One thing Kita has learnt since his first maths lesson was that Mister Ectoplasm didn’t hold back when it came to maths.

Sets of equations lines of numbers, he’s always have a new problem written up on the board when the previous had been solved - to the point it made Kita a bit suspicious at one point.

Kita was not the best in maths…okay that was putting it lightly. He was one of the worse. No matter how many times Ectoplasm explained, no matter how many times he tried to wrap his brain around the logic he’d always end up in the same place: confused. Continuously asking for help was embarrassing, when it seemed like everyone else in class had it all figured out. He started to be apprehensive, what was the point in raising your hand to have someone explain something you wouldn’t get anyway?? What was the point in trying to take part when he’d probably just end up making a fool of himself?

The first time it had happened was in a pop quiz a week after he’d joined UA, something so stupid and minor when compared to a proper test.
It was a simple one page test, a warm up to start the day Ectoplasm had called it. That’s when he’d first sparked out. Bolts of yellow and electrical zaps shot from his ear jacks, body going ridged for five seconds before he slumped in his chair like a ragdoll. He had been just as confused as everyone else when it had happened, back then it wasn’t such a big deal. But as time went on, the ‘sparked out’ moments got worse, to the point he’d fall forward on his desk totally knocked out right after. It was as if his quirk was mocking his stupidity.

Kita understood what his parents had really meant when they told him not to worry on falling behind in subjects. Every other subject he was doing just as well as the next kid, not mind blowing (aside from languages), but not terrible - but god did it make him feel inferior to his classmates.

Just that afternoon in maths he had once again ‘sparked out’ during a test, Senshi had taken him down to the nurse where he told him what had happened when he’d finally woken up. Senshi had told him mister Ectoplasm had said he could retake the test in the next few days, but honestly, that didn’t make him feel any better..

“You’re up late”

Kita stifled a silent scream, almost toppling off the sofa when a calm, but familiar, voice had brought him out of his thoughts. He heaved a sigh, one hand clutching the area of his heart when he turned to see the owner of the voice “Hōseki! God..you scared the crap out of me!” He scolded her, clearly still a bit shaken by the scare. Hōseki stood a few feet away, her silver hair a mess from sleep yet blue eyes wide awake. “I heard the elevator” she said, casually titling her head in the direction “I figured you’d be down here”

Kita cocked a brow, watching as the girl walked around and sat on the other end of the sofa “How’d you know it’d be me?”

“Because I know you” she answered as thought it was obvious, and Kita looked away.

Silence hung over the two, Kita leaning forward a bit with his elbows on his knees while Hōseki leaned back on the coach, slightly turned towards her company with her arms crossed over her chest. Hōseki tilted her head “You want to talk about it?” She asked “What’s there to talk about?” Kita replied, not looking at her “You know I’m not that stupid Kita” Hōseki deadpanned, her expression softer then her tone suggested.

More silence

“..Hey Hōseki” Kita leaned back, head resting over the back to stare up at the ceiling “Do you think I’m an idiot?” Hōseki hummed thoughtfully “..No” she answered “I don’t think you are anyway” she added, Kita made a noise of acknowledgment, showing he had heard her, but didn’t turn his head to meet her gaze.

“…Is this about what happened in maths class?” She asked, already knowing the answer, but knowing to tread carefully on the subject. Didn’t want to make things worse by making him upset with her bluntness.

”Course not!” Kita tried to sound unbothered and cool, but that worked just as well as he thought it would. Again, silence followed, Hōseki could practically count down the seconds until Kita would being to talk.

She counted down from five in her head, waiting for the change in Kita’s expression that would break what little facade he had left: It happened in the sad crease of his brow
“It’s just-…ugh” he pulled his hands down his face “I dunno. Everyone else just seems to take it so..easily! I mean I get I’m not the only one struggling in maths but- but why is it I’M the only one that freaks out?!” He let his arms flop to his side paired with another groan, sad eyes going back to the ceiling as he exhaled a short huff of air.

Hōseki watched him, thinking over her reply, before she spoke “Kita..you can’t control when you spark out” she stated a fact, and Kita mumbled something she didn’t catch. “And aside from mathematics, you’re doing well in all your other subjects. Your one of the top in English class after all” she ended her sentence with a compliment, hoping to brighten his mood. “That doesn’t answer my question or solve my problem!” He whined, hand gesturing as he spoke “Its gotten worse since I started at UA, what happens if it starts happening outside of maths class?? What happens if- if I’m in hero training or something and I spark out?!” His hands flew to his purple hair and tugged, gritting his teeth nervously at the thought!

Hōseki remained calm, not moving an inch as the collected her thoughts “..You know, there are things you can do to help with that” she started, looking to him hopefully “You could always talk with Yūrei in 1B” Kita quickly looked to her as though she’d suggested something outlandish “He’s the top in his class” she added, still calm. “And have everyone in the dorms think of me more as a dumb idiot!?” He rolled his eyes “No thanks!” He said with a shake of his head.

Hōseki leaned forward and slightly turned to him “Well, then you have one other choice” she narrowed her brows a tad, talking to Kita as seriously as she could “Go to mister Ectoplasm and ask for help”

If Kita has looked surprised before at her last suggestion, now he looked down right shocked. He didn’t say anything at first, probably waiting to see if Hōseki had been joking. But when she said nothing “…You can’t be serious” he asked raising a brow.

Hōseki gave him a half lidded blank expression

“Ugh..” Kita pinched the skin between his nose and pointing an ear jack to Hōseki as he spoke “No way, no how. Not gonna happen!” He pointed his earjack closer to her with every no he spoke. Hōseki, unphased, brushed the earjack aside with the back of her hand “What’s so wrong about asking him for help? He’s a teacher, it’s his job” again, Hōseki knew the answer, or at least had a strong hunch of what it was. But for Kita’s sake, it was better he let it all out in the presence of someone they had know since middle school rather then bottle it up.

“Cuz it’s!-..” Kita faltered, looking sheepish “It’s embarrassing..” he muttered, hoping Hōseki didn’t hear.

“There’s nothing wrong with admitting you need some help with a subject” Hōseki replied, causing Kita to mumble and curl in on himself “Besides…you cant just keep avoiding this. Some day we’re gonna be in our final year and we’ll have to do even more complex maths” it wasn’t something Kita wanted to hear, but there was a time for harsh truth, and Hōseki had learnt that sometimes some hard hitting facts where what Kita needed.

“You don’t have to remind me..” Kita groaned, hands covering his face

“Either way, I..I cant GO UP to him and ask for extra help! I do that enough in class”

“Why are you so set on avoiding asking him for help??” Hōseki asked, head cocked to one side. Kita blinked, as if processing the question, before he turned away from her “I don’t wanna tell you!” He said all in one breath. Hoseki’s brow rose further “Why?..” she drew out the word slowly, and Kita’s face turned red “…You’ll thinks it dumb”

“Kita-“ she leaned back up “Whatever it is I won’t laugh or tell anyone” when Kita peered at her, Hōseki sighed through her nose lightly and then did a crossing motion over her heart “Cross my heart”

Finally Kita slowly shuffled back round to her, one hand rubbing his neck while the other anxiously toyed with one of his ear jacks, a habit he’d had since they where little. Kita grumbled something quietly to himself and then paused again “…Well-“ Kita bit his gum, refusing to look Hōseki in the eye, his gaze seeming far more interested in the floor. “I’m just-…I’m kinda…well, it’s just. Mister Ectoplasm is..kinda…” Kita swallowed the last of his pride, and then muttered “Uh, intimidating..”

“….Sooo-“ Hōseki titled her head “..You’re scared of him?”

Kita jolted “NO!” He snapped “…Maybe” he said shortly after. “..Don’t give me that look!” He whined at Hoseki’s expression, her eyes where wide and mouth drawn into a thin line. When Hōseki recovered from her surprise she shook her head “Kita, mister Ectoplasm’s a pretty chill guy. He’s not gonna bite if you ask for some practise questions to study from!”

“I-I know that!” Kita defended “Its just..I dunno. I’m worried if, I ask for help he’ll…get annoyed?” He shrugged “Or something..And it doesn’t help that he always has such an unreadable expression. I can never tell what he’s thinking!”

Kita seemed to deflate, sighing as his body went limp against the cushions of the furniture. He drew a hand slowly down his face, half open eyes blinking slowly, staring off into nothing “Heh..” a sad smile pulled at his face “Pretty stupid right?? Wanna be a hero but I can’t even ask a teacher for help.” He tried to chuckle to ease off the awkwardness, but once again it came out sad sounding.

Hōseki’s trademark flat expression lifted, her brows bent down sadly in thought, eyes soft as she looked to one of her oldest long time friends. Hōseki carefully lifted her hand and rested it on Kita’s shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze “You’re not stupid” Kita half rolled his head to her, and then looked away, clearly showing how much he believed her despite how she was being 100% honest. “And there’s nothing wrong with being scared..even the greatest heroes get nervous over things. I’m sure Mister Ectoplasm at some point wasn’t good at maths, no ones great at anything right away!”

Kita hummed

Seeing that words clearly weren’t working, Hōseki wasn’t sure what to do next. It was already in the early hours of the morning, and the two couldn’t go to class still drowsy, Mister Aizawa wouldn’t be happy. She wracked her brain for something to do, but the longer she thought and the longer she looked to her saddened friend the less solutions she could seem to think of. Just as she was about to give up and coax Kita back to his room, a light bulb went off in her head, expression lifting as the idea hit her.

She hummed, thinking it over…before she turned to Kita “Come on, cheer up! No point going back to sleep sad” she shook his shoulder in a playful manner, coaxing Kita to peer back to her questionably “Smile~” she sang, one corner of her lip quirking up into a small grin. Kita rose a brow and then sighed “This doesn’t make me feel any better Hōsek-IEE!-“ Kita leapt away like a startled animal when Hōseki had quickly poked her finger into his side, where she knew Kita was terribly ticklish.

Kita’s face flushed pink as he tried to scowl at her “Dont you dare!” He warned when Hōseki made a tickling motion with her hands, her smile turning mischievous. When Hōseki slowly crept forward Kita narrowed his eyes “Nooo” he warned again “Stop!” He tried to remain strong and stand his ground, but when Hōseki suddenly grabbed at him and launched an assault on his sides he burst out with a cackle. His hands flew to his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter and snorts - remembering that everyone else was still asleep.

Hōseki gave a rare smirk, and ran her fingers faster up and down his sides while Kita made a feeble attempt to flee. Hōseki chuckled, one arm moving to catch him in a headlock while the other continued the attack. Kita was at this point struggling to breath and keep his laughing quite, tears threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes. “A-AHA-O-Okayokay!Ok-AY! HAHA!” He slapped at the arm that Hōseki was holding him captive with “O-Okayokay! YOU WIN!! YOU WIN!”

Hōseki smiled, and then held her hands to her side, finally releasing Kita who wheezed and wiped at his eyes.

“Feel better?” She asked, still smiling

Kita huffed for air “Y-Yeah..” he admitted with a nod, turning to her with a soft smile, cheeks still red from the tickling “…Thanks Hōseki”

“No problem” she said, her sentence ending in a yawn, Kita yawning too shortly after. “Mngh..” she rubbed tiredly at her face and stood up, turning to Kita who followed her lead “Maybe we should go back to bed..” she muttered, already making a move for the elevator with Kita following, now even more exhausted then before. Taking the elevator up it soon stopped at the third floor, and the two went to part ways to their respective dorms.

“Hey, Hōseki?” Kita whispered just before she could disappear down the opposite hall. Hōseki stopped and turned to him with a hum “Yeah?” She asked. Kita shuffled on his feet, looking away briefly “I Uh, just wanted to say…thanks” he smiled up at her “Ya know, for just..listening to me” he rubbed at his neck “It..helped me feel better”

Hōseki soon returned the smile, bowing her head a little “No problem” she said

~~a few days later~~

Kita sighed, rocking on his heels as he prepares himself. He’d taken Hoseki’s advice and managed to bring himself to ask mister Ectoplasm for help with revising, to his absolute relief the teacher had been very calm about it, the only down side was that the studying session had to take place after the actual school day. Not brilliant, but guess Kita was the one who asked, and he couldn’t just back out last minute.

Inhaling a final breath of confidence he reached for the door, hoping his nerves weren’t as obvious as they felt. Sliding open the door he was met with Ectoplasm sitting at his desk, flipping through an exercise book. When the door slided open he peered up “Ah, Kita. Good to see you could come” Kita nodded, smiling nervously as he stepped inside “Uh, yeah. Thanks for agreeing to help” he said, walking towards his d-

He stopped in his tracks at the two faces.

“Hey man!” Senshi greeted while a small wave “Hey Kita” Hōseki said after him, pulling out her work book while Ectoplasm began to write something down on the board.

Kita faltered, looking between the two “Wha-“ he shook his head “What are you two doing here?” He asked quietly, quickly moving to his desk behind Senshi who turned to peer at him over his chair. “Study up on maths, duh!” Senshi said, jabbing a thumb towards their maths teacher who was still writing up on the chalk board. “..That and-“ Senshi smile became calmer, less exaggerated as he casually bumped Kita’s shoulder with his fist “We thought you could use some friendly support”

Kita couldn’t help the smile that grew to his lips, hand moving to hold Senshi’s as he chuckled “Thanks man..”

“Don’t thank me” Senshi said “It was her idea” he said, pointing towards Hōseki, who when Kita and Senshi looked to her, quickly looked away. Kita was quite, as if taking in what Senshi had said, before quietly standing to drape his arms lazily over Hoseki’s shoulders “Aww Hōseki! You big old softy you~”

“Cut it out” Hōseki said with a sigh, trying to lean her head away from his ear jack that fondly poked at her cheek. “You know if you wanted to spend more time with me, we coulda just gone to the park or something” Kita teased with a lazed grin, prompting Senshi to chuckle at their antics and Hōseki to give him a jab with her elbow “Ugh, that’s enough” she tried again to push him off, face heating up from embarrassment, but Kita was not easily deterred.

“Aw whattsa matter?” Kita fondly leaned against her “Just wanna show my gratitude to ya is all~”

“You’re trying time embarrass me!”

“Is it working?~” Kita asked, brow cocked
“You have a boyfriend!“ She said, looking to Senshi, who to her distraught seemed amused at her suffering
“But your my bestest fwiend!“ Kita whinned in a silly voice-
“Ahem” Ectoplasm, who had been watching from the front of the class, calmly cleared his throat. It was impossible to tell by his hero mask but he was smiling in humour at their antics “If you students are finished, turn to page thirty-five in your text books”

“Yes Mister Ectoplasm!”

Description

Big thank you to my buddy jessicaarchambault for refueling my inspiration to draw with the adorable Cementoss x Chikara story she did for me! It inspired me to start doodling and I’m thankfully (hopefully-) starting to slowly get out of this sad phase.
Been a while since I posted any stories, and I think I’ve mentioned before Ive got a tone of MHA themed stories on my phone - here’s a quick doodle and story I’ve been working on!
Characters in drawing (all mine), left to right:
Senshi - Kirishima x Mina
Hoseki - Shoji x Hagakure
Kita - Kaminari x Jiro
Story takes place after this comic - palettepainter.tumblr.com/post…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The floor was hard beneath his feet, tired limbs dragging along the carpeted floor of the darkened hallway. The moon wasn’t out, hidden from view by a blanket of thick clouds, that where about as appealing as he felt.

Kita had been restless since he turned in for the night, rolling and squirming in his slumber in a fruitless attempt to find the perfect position to sleep. Alas sleepy was the furthest thing from him despite how his body said differently, even pressing the button the elevator to the ground floor felt like a chore to his fingers. The slow ride down almost lulled him to dream land - almost - the moment it stopped his eyes stubbornly jerked back open, he grumbled.

“Great. Just great. I love waking up at ungodly hours in the morning - I love being exhausted in class” he whispered to himself bitterly, turning out of the elevator and turning into the kitchen.

It was just as dark in the common area, and would be for the next couple of hours. It just gone half midnight the last he checked his phone, which had been a while ago at that point, so he could only guess it must be coming up to one o’clock. He pulled his hoodie tighter over him to keep him warm, underestimating how cold it was. His legs, which where only covered by a pair of shorts shivered, goosebumps covering his skin. “Mmn..”

With a whine he walked towards one of the sofas and carefully sat down, tucking his legs up so that he could lay down. Hands rubbed at the bare skin of his legs, chin resting ontop of his knees, ear jacks hanging loosely over his shoulders as he stared off with half lidded eyes at nothing.

He always got like this when ‘it’ happened.

His friends and himself had dubbed it ‘sparked out’. Kita had always found humor in his parents stories from when they where at UA, he couldn’t think of one story where he hadn’t been chuckling at the end or in awe. Before coming to UA, his parents had told him not to stress out over things he struggled with in class - heck, with his Aunt Yaoyorozu, he’d probably be able to learn a lifetimes worth of knowledge in one study session! He hadn’t really taken their advice all that seriously at first, brushing them off with a confident grin and a wave of his hand.

That all changed when he had his first maths test in Mister Ectoplasm’s maths class: on the whole, he seemed like an okay guy, as okay as any teacher could go. A little intimidating maybe, but maybe that just came with the whole thing of him being a pro hero and shyness on his part. One thing Kita has learnt since his first maths lesson was that Mister Ectoplasm didn’t hold back when it came to maths.

Sets of equations lines of numbers, he’s always have a new problem written up on the board when the previous had been solved - to the point it made Kita a bit suspicious at one point.

Kita was not the best in maths…okay that was putting it lightly. He was one of the worse. No matter how many times Ectoplasm explained, no matter how many times he tried to wrap his brain around the logic he’d always end up in the same place: confused. Continuously asking for help was embarrassing, when it seemed like everyone else in class had it all figured out. He started to be apprehensive, what was the point in raising your hand to have someone explain something you wouldn’t get anyway?? What was the point in trying to take part when he’d probably just end up making a fool of himself?

The first time it had happened was in a pop quiz a week after he’d joined UA, something so stupid and minor when compared to a proper test.
It was a simple one page test, a warm up to start the day Ectoplasm had called it. That’s when he’d first sparked out. Bolts of yellow and electrical zaps shot from his ear jacks, body going ridged for five seconds before he slumped in his chair like a ragdoll. He had been just as confused as everyone else when it had happened, back then it wasn’t such a big deal. But as time went on, the ‘sparked out’ moments got worse, to the point he’d fall forward on his desk totally knocked out right after. It was as if his quirk was mocking his stupidity.

Kita understood what his parents had really meant when they told him not to worry on falling behind in subjects. Every other subject he was doing just as well as the next kid, not mind blowing (aside from languages), but not terrible - but god did it make him feel inferior to his classmates.

Just that afternoon in maths he had once again ‘sparked out’ during a test, Senshi had taken him down to the nurse where he told him what had happened when he’d finally woken up. Senshi had told him mister Ectoplasm had said he could retake the test in the next few days, but honestly, that didn’t make him feel any better..

“You’re up late”

Kita stifled a silent scream, almost toppling off the sofa when a calm, but familiar, voice had brought him out of his thoughts. He heaved a sigh, one hand clutching the area of his heart when he turned to see the owner of the voice “Hōseki! God..you scared the crap out of me!” He scolded her, clearly still a bit shaken by the scare. Hōseki stood a few feet away, her silver hair a mess from sleep yet blue eyes wide awake. “I heard the elevator” she said, casually titling her head in the direction “I figured you’d be down here”

Kita cocked a brow, watching as the girl walked around and sat on the other end of the sofa “How’d you know it’d be me?”

“Because I know you” she answered as thought it was obvious, and Kita looked away.

Silence hung over the two, Kita leaning forward a bit with his elbows on his knees while Hōseki leaned back on the coach, slightly turned towards her company with her arms crossed over her chest. Hōseki tilted her head “You want to talk about it?” She asked “What’s there to talk about?” Kita replied, not looking at her “You know I’m not that stupid Kita” Hōseki deadpanned, her expression softer then her tone suggested.

More silence

“..Hey Hōseki” Kita leaned back, head resting over the back to stare up at the ceiling “Do you think I’m an idiot?” Hōseki hummed thoughtfully “..No” she answered “I don’t think you are anyway” she added, Kita made a noise of acknowledgment, showing he had heard her, but didn’t turn his head to meet her gaze.

“…Is this about what happened in maths class?” She asked, already knowing the answer, but knowing to tread carefully on the subject. Didn’t want to make things worse by making him upset with her bluntness.

”Course not!” Kita tried to sound unbothered and cool, but that worked just as well as he thought it would. Again, silence followed, Hōseki could practically count down the seconds until Kita would being to talk.

She counted down from five in her head, waiting for the change in Kita’s expression that would break what little facade he had left: It happened in the sad crease of his brow
“It’s just-…ugh” he pulled his hands down his face “I dunno. Everyone else just seems to take it so..easily! I mean I get I’m not the only one struggling in maths but- but why is it I’M the only one that freaks out?!” He let his arms flop to his side paired with another groan, sad eyes going back to the ceiling as he exhaled a short huff of air.

Hōseki watched him, thinking over her reply, before she spoke “Kita..you can’t control when you spark out” she stated a fact, and Kita mumbled something she didn’t catch. “And aside from mathematics, you’re doing well in all your other subjects. Your one of the top in English class after all” she ended her sentence with a compliment, hoping to brighten his mood. “That doesn’t answer my question or solve my problem!” He whined, hand gesturing as he spoke “Its gotten worse since I started at UA, what happens if it starts happening outside of maths class?? What happens if- if I’m in hero training or something and I spark out?!” His hands flew to his purple hair and tugged, gritting his teeth nervously at the thought!

Hōseki remained calm, not moving an inch as the collected her thoughts “..You know, there are things you can do to help with that” she started, looking to him hopefully “You could always talk with Yūrei in 1B” Kita quickly looked to her as though she’d suggested something outlandish “He’s the top in his class” she added, still calm. “And have everyone in the dorms think of me more as a dumb idiot!?” He rolled his eyes “No thanks!” He said with a shake of his head.

Hōseki leaned forward and slightly turned to him “Well, then you have one other choice” she narrowed her brows a tad, talking to Kita as seriously as she could “Go to mister Ectoplasm and ask for help”

If Kita has looked surprised before at her last suggestion, now he looked down right shocked. He didn’t say anything at first, probably waiting to see if Hōseki had been joking. But when she said nothing “…You can’t be serious” he asked raising a brow.

Hōseki gave him a half lidded blank expression

“Ugh..” Kita pinched the skin between his nose and pointing an ear jack to Hōseki as he spoke “No way, no how. Not gonna happen!” He pointed his earjack closer to her with every no he spoke. Hōseki, unphased, brushed the earjack aside with the back of her hand “What’s so wrong about asking him for help? He’s a teacher, it’s his job” again, Hōseki knew the answer, or at least had a strong hunch of what it was. But for Kita’s sake, it was better he let it all out in the presence of someone they had know since middle school rather then bottle it up.

“Cuz it’s!-..” Kita faltered, looking sheepish “It’s embarrassing..” he muttered, hoping Hōseki didn’t hear.

“There’s nothing wrong with admitting you need some help with a subject” Hōseki replied, causing Kita to mumble and curl in on himself “Besides…you cant just keep avoiding this. Some day we’re gonna be in our final year and we’ll have to do even more complex maths” it wasn’t something Kita wanted to hear, but there was a time for harsh truth, and Hōseki had learnt that sometimes some hard hitting facts where what Kita needed.

“You don’t have to remind me..” Kita groaned, hands covering his face

“Either way, I..I cant GO UP to him and ask for extra help! I do that enough in class”

“Why are you so set on avoiding asking him for help??” Hōseki asked, head cocked to one side. Kita blinked, as if processing the question, before he turned away from her “I don’t wanna tell you!” He said all in one breath. Hoseki’s brow rose further “Why?..” she drew out the word slowly, and Kita’s face turned red “…You’ll thinks it dumb”

“Kita-“ she leaned back up “Whatever it is I won’t laugh or tell anyone” when Kita peered at her, Hōseki sighed through her nose lightly and then did a crossing motion over her heart “Cross my heart”

Finally Kita slowly shuffled back round to her, one hand rubbing his neck while the other anxiously toyed with one of his ear jacks, a habit he’d had since they where little. Kita grumbled something quietly to himself and then paused again “…Well-“ Kita bit his gum, refusing to look Hōseki in the eye, his gaze seeming far more interested in the floor. “I’m just-…I’m kinda…well, it’s just. Mister Ectoplasm is..kinda…” Kita swallowed the last of his pride, and then muttered “Uh, intimidating..”

“….Sooo-“ Hōseki titled her head “..You’re scared of him?”

Kita jolted “NO!” He snapped “…Maybe” he said shortly after. “..Don’t give me that look!” He whined at Hoseki’s expression, her eyes where wide and mouth drawn into a thin line. When Hōseki recovered from her surprise she shook her head “Kita, mister Ectoplasm’s a pretty chill guy. He’s not gonna bite if you ask for some practise questions to study from!”

“I-I know that!” Kita defended “Its just..I dunno. I’m worried if, I ask for help he’ll…get annoyed?” He shrugged “Or something..And it doesn’t help that he always has such an unreadable expression. I can never tell what he’s thinking!”

Kita seemed to deflate, sighing as his body went limp against the cushions of the furniture. He drew a hand slowly down his face, half open eyes blinking slowly, staring off into nothing “Heh..” a sad smile pulled at his face “Pretty stupid right?? Wanna be a hero but I can’t even ask a teacher for help.” He tried to chuckle to ease off the awkwardness, but once again it came out sad sounding.

Hōseki’s trademark flat expression lifted, her brows bent down sadly in thought, eyes soft as she looked to one of her oldest long time friends. Hōseki carefully lifted her hand and rested it on Kita’s shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze “You’re not stupid” Kita half rolled his head to her, and then looked away, clearly showing how much he believed her despite how she was being 100% honest. “And there’s nothing wrong with being scared..even the greatest heroes get nervous over things. I’m sure Mister Ectoplasm at some point wasn’t good at maths, no ones great at anything right away!”

Kita hummed

Seeing that words clearly weren’t working, Hōseki wasn’t sure what to do next. It was already in the early hours of the morning, and the two couldn’t go to class still drowsy, Mister Aizawa wouldn’t be happy. She wracked her brain for something to do, but the longer she thought and the longer she looked to her saddened friend the less solutions she could seem to think of. Just as she was about to give up and coax Kita back to his room, a light bulb went off in her head, expression lifting as the idea hit her.

She hummed, thinking it over…before she turned to Kita “Come on, cheer up! No point going back to sleep sad” she shook his shoulder in a playful manner, coaxing Kita to peer back to her questionably “Smile~” she sang, one corner of her lip quirking up into a small grin. Kita rose a brow and then sighed “This doesn’t make me feel any better Hōsek-IEE!-“ Kita leapt away like a startled animal when Hōseki had quickly poked her finger into his side, where she knew Kita was terribly ticklish.

Kita’s face flushed pink as he tried to scowl at her “Dont you dare!” He warned when Hōseki made a tickling motion with her hands, her smile turning mischievous. When Hōseki slowly crept forward Kita narrowed his eyes “Nooo” he warned again “Stop!” He tried to remain strong and stand his ground, but when Hōseki suddenly grabbed at him and launched an assault on his sides he burst out with a cackle. His hands flew to his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter and snorts - remembering that everyone else was still asleep.

Hōseki gave a rare smirk, and ran her fingers faster up and down his sides while Kita made a feeble attempt to flee. Hōseki chuckled, one arm moving to catch him in a headlock while the other continued the attack. Kita was at this point struggling to breath and keep his laughing quite, tears threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes. “A-AHA-O-Okayokay!Ok-AY! HAHA!” He slapped at the arm that Hōseki was holding him captive with “O-Okayokay! YOU WIN!! YOU WIN!”

Hōseki smiled, and then held her hands to her side, finally releasing Kita who wheezed and wiped at his eyes.

“Feel better?” She asked, still smiling

Kita huffed for air “Y-Yeah..” he admitted with a nod, turning to her with a soft smile, cheeks still red from the tickling “…Thanks Hōseki”

“No problem” she said, her sentence ending in a yawn, Kita yawning too shortly after. “Mngh..” she rubbed tiredly at her face and stood up, turning to Kita who followed her lead “Maybe we should go back to bed..” she muttered, already making a move for the elevator with Kita following, now even more exhausted then before. Taking the elevator up it soon stopped at the third floor, and the two went to part ways to their respective dorms.

“Hey, Hōseki?” Kita whispered just before she could disappear down the opposite hall. Hōseki stopped and turned to him with a hum “Yeah?” She asked. Kita shuffled on his feet, looking away briefly “I Uh, just wanted to say…thanks” he smiled up at her “Ya know, for just..listening to me” he rubbed at his neck “It..helped me feel better”

Hōseki soon returned the smile, bowing her head a little “No problem” she said

~~a few days later~~

Kita sighed, rocking on his heels as he prepares himself. He’d taken Hoseki’s advice and managed to bring himself to ask mister Ectoplasm for help with revising, to his absolute relief the teacher had been very calm about it, the only down side was that the studying session had to take place after the actual school day. Not brilliant, but guess Kita was the one who asked, and he couldn’t just back out last minute.

Inhaling a final breath of confidence he reached for the door, hoping his nerves weren’t as obvious as they felt. Sliding open the door he was met with Ectoplasm sitting at his desk, flipping through an exercise book. When the door slided open he peered up “Ah, Kita. Good to see you could come” Kita nodded, smiling nervously as he stepped inside “Uh, yeah. Thanks for agreeing to help” he said, walking towards his d-

He stopped in his tracks at the two faces.

“Hey man!” Senshi greeted while a small wave “Hey Kita” Hōseki said after him, pulling out her work book while Ectoplasm began to write something down on the board.

Kita faltered, looking between the two “Wha-“ he shook his head “What are you two doing here?” He asked quietly, quickly moving to his desk behind Senshi who turned to peer at him over his chair. “Study up on maths, duh!” Senshi said, jabbing a thumb towards their maths teacher who was still writing up on the chalk board. “..That and-“ Senshi smile became calmer, less exaggerated as he casually bumped Kita’s shoulder with his fist “We thought you could use some friendly support”

Kita couldn’t help the smile that grew to his lips, hand moving to hold Senshi’s as he chuckled “Thanks man..”

“Don’t thank me” Senshi said “It was her idea” he said, pointing towards Hōseki, who when Kita and Senshi looked to her, quickly looked away. Kita was quite, as if taking in what Senshi had said, before quietly standing to drape his arms lazily over Hoseki’s shoulders “Aww Hōseki! You big old softy you~”

“Cut it out” Hōseki said with a sigh, trying to lean her head away from his ear jack that fondly poked at her cheek. “You know if you wanted to spend more time with me, we coulda just gone to the park or something” Kita teased with a lazed grin, prompting Senshi to chuckle at their antics and Hōseki to give him a jab with her elbow “Ugh, that’s enough” she tried again to push him off, face heating up from embarrassment, but Kita was not easily deterred.

“Aw whattsa matter?” Kita fondly leaned against her “Just wanna show my gratitude to ya is all~”

“You’re trying time embarrass me!”

“Is it working?~” Kita asked, brow cocked
“You have a boyfriend!“ She said, looking to Senshi, who to her distraught seemed amused at her suffering
“But your my bestest fwiend!“ Kita whinned in a silly voice-
“Ahem” Ectoplasm, who had been watching from the front of the class, calmly cleared his throat. It was impossible to tell by his hero mask but he was smiling in humour at their antics “If you students are finished, turn to page thirty-five in your text books”

“Yes Mister Ectoplasm!”