Chapter 86: The Night's Unheard Story
In front of a traditional, single-story Japanese house, Inasa Yoarashi sat alone on the steps, his head propped up in his hands as he dozed off.
Today was the U.A. Sports Festival. At Shiketsu High, where Inasa was a student, they hadn't been given the day off, but the school had broadcasted a live feed of the festival on the projectors in the classrooms so the students could get a look at their future rivals.
When Inasa had watched Shoto Todoroki steal the spotlight, his face had fallen. When he had seen Yoshikage Kira advance again and again, he had been unable to contain his excitement. The whole time, Camie Utsushimi, who was sitting next to him, had been muttering something about "if this keeps up, my screen time is going to get lower and lower, I can't be slacking off," but he had paid her no mind, his eyes glued to the screen.
When he saw Kira win his match against Todoroki, he had pumped his fist in the air in excitement. Kira really taught Endeavor's son a lesson for me! He's so reliable!
After the festival had ended, Inasa, a little worried about Kira's mental state, had left school early and had gone to wait in front of his house. Even when Camie had called after him, asking him to go to the arcade, he had just waved her off.
Inasa wanted to be the first friendly face Kira saw when he was exhausted. Other than going home for dinner, he had spent the rest of his time at Kira's front gate, sitting on the steps and waiting like a loyal dog for its master to return.
Of course, Inasa hadn't neglected his own physical training. In the open space in front of Kira's house, he had begun his usual workout: 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10-kilometer run.
(The run, of course, was just laps around Kira's house. But with his Quirk, his feet had kicked up a wind that had grown faster and faster, causing a passerby to think a tornado was about to destroy the residence. They had been so scared that they had called a nearby hero on patrol, and Inasa had had to spend a long time explaining himself.)
This incident hadn't discouraged him. He had just continued to wait, right up until the sky began to lighten on the second day.
The sun had just risen. Inasa was dozing off when his phone suddenly rang, jolting him awake.
He thought it was a message from Kira, but when he opened it, he saw it was from Camie. It was two pictures.
Both were selfies of her. Inasa wasn't interested at first, but when he saw what was in the background, his eyes went wide—
The first photo was taken at night. Camie was standing in front of a building with the word "HOTEL" spelled out in pink LED lights, flashing a peace sign. Behind her was a person in a U.A. uniform with blond hair. Even though it was only his back, Inasa could tell at a glance—it was Yoshikage Kira!
The second photo was simpler. The time stamp indicated it was taken just a moment ago. Camie was standing in the same spot, flashing another peace sign. And behind her, showing his face this time, was Yoshikage Kira, his eyes half-lidded as he walked out of the hotel.
Inasa's brain turned to mush. What is going on!? Kira didn't go home last night... he got a room with Camie!? I've been... intercepted!
Have I been betrayed? My feelings are so complicated right now... Inasa staggered to his feet and, with the expression of a broken man, walked back to his own house. He ignored his mother's questions, went upstairs, opened his door, and threw himself onto his bed.
This must be a dream. It'll be fine after I get some sleep... Inasa had already begun to escape from reality.
"Hey, Camie. Stop taking pictures. Shouldn't we get going?" Kira covered his mouth and yawned, still looking a little groggy.
Kira had always maintained a healthy sleep schedule, never letting his stress carry over to the next day. Even his doctor said he was perfectly normal. But last night had broken that habit, throwing his internal clock into chaos and leaving him with a bit of sleep deprivation.
"Okay, I'm coming!" Camie put her phone away, looking to be in a very good mood, and ran up to Kira.
"Good morning!" she chirped. "Wait, no... I love—never mind." Camie seemed to be struggling with something, then she suddenly looked up with a smile. "Kira, you were amazing last night!"
"What are you talking about? Did you wake up with low blood sugar and skip straight to dementia?" Kira shot back mercilessly.
"Hehe," Camie just scratched her head and didn't respond. She was a little too excited from having successfully trolled Inasa to be bothered by Kira's morning grumpiness.
The hotel they had stayed at wasn't far from the bar. They soon arrived at the entrance. The door was unlocked, but there was no sign indicating it was open for business.
"Let me get the door!" Camie rushed ahead and pushed it open, walking in as if she owned the place. "Aya-nee! I'm here!"
A woman with a single ponytail and a pretty face was wiping glasses behind the bar, a look of impatience on her face. Seeing Camie, she broke into a surprised smile. "Little Camie! You're just in time! Come help me out. I'm so sleepy right now..."
"No way," Camie said, walking behind the bar and making herself a cup of coffee. "You pawned your work off on Hitomi again last night and went out to fool around, didn't you? Just because she doesn't know how to say no, you, the black-hearted boss, are exploiting her! Don't you know she's still a student!?"
"Hitomi volunteered! And besides, it's the weekend today, she doesn't have school..." she muttered. Seeing the growing glare from Camie, she sighed and held up her hands. "Okay, okay! Makoto also told me not to work her so hard. I'll make sure Hitomi gets some time off."
Camie walked over to Kira with her cup of coffee. "Kira, let me introduce you. This is Makoto's older sister, Aya Hibikiya. She's a black-hearted merchant who especially loves to exploit her employees."
"Hey! That's slander, you know, little Camie," Aya said, rolling her eyes with a smile. She turned to Kira. "I'm the owner of this place. You can call me Aya-nee."
Before Kira could respond, she tossed down her towel, walked over, and opened the door to the back room. "You two are here for the rehearsal, right? They've already started this morning. Please, go on in."
"Thank you," Kira said. He declined Camie's offer of a cup of coffee and walked into the back room.
The room was just a small landing with two doors on either side and a staircase leading down to the basement.
Kira didn't hesitate and headed down the stairs.
Camie quickly took a few sips of her coffee, placed the cup on a shelf, and followed him.
At the bottom of the stairs was a large iron door. Faintly, the sound of music could be heard from inside—
The sound of a guitar, drums, and a clear, resounding voice.
Kira and Camie exchanged a look and opened the door.
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 400 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you!