AN: I'm sorry! I just had my first week of college and I don't have a lot of time to write now. This chapter is short, but the next chapter will be longer.
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It's the day before the exam, and Hitoshi's anxiety has been playing up all morning. He ends up pacing around, hudled in his cat blanket, and eventually Aizawa tells him to go on a walk once he's on his 15th lap of the apartment. Hitoshi gets dressed and goes for a walk, heading towards the park, coming up with a route as he goes.

As he passes through a crowd of people, he sees a girl a few years older than him, with light lavender hair tied back in a half up half down style. "Emi?"

The girl turns, a wide smile appearing on her face as soon as she notices him, "Toshi!"

"What are you doing here?" He asks as she walks over.

"The police called me and asked me to come down and answer some more questions. I already gave a statement, I guess they needed more to go on" She shrugs, "Let's go somewhere else and catch up"

He nods, and she smiles leading him down the path to the quieter part of town that he recognises. They follow the path towards a small cafe at the corner of the street, and she walks in smiling. "Remember the last time we were here?"

Hitoshi nods, making eye contact with a grey tabby. Emiko brought him here for his birthday last year, as his parents decided to forget it. So the two celebrated it together, surrounded by cats.

When they sit down at a table near the back, Emiko orders a hot chocolate and Hitoshi orders a coffee. Once they get their drinks, her expression changes, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't call you as much as I used to because the signal is awful. I really tried, I feel bad" she puts her head in her hands, "Besides...when I told you that I was going to Hosu we had that fight. You wouldn't talk to me afterwards, and I just...I didn't know if you would pick up. I thought you were still mad"

Hitoshi frowns. He had screamed at her because he thought she was abandoning him too, and never properly said goodbye when she left. It took him two weeks to forgive her, and nearly two months for her to finally call.

"When I did call and you picked up, I was just so happy to be talking to you again. I don't want you to think I'm blaming you for why I haven't called enough. It's mostly my fault"

"I'm sorry..." He sighs. A white cat with ginger patches leaps onto his lap, and Hitoshi strokes it gently.

"It's not your fault. Hosu was my dream school...but I always regretted leaving you at home with them. Mum wasn't that bad, but the things that dad did to you...Toshi I'm so glad you're still here" Her soft lavender eyes stare at him sadly, and she frowns seeing the scar through his eyebrow. He looks away. That can mean two things, but which one is it?

"I was always cautious since then...except the day I ran away. I fought back and he beat me half unconscious. It was a miracle he stopped when he did, I thought I might die. He was so pissed off, it was terrifying" Hitoshi keeps his eyes on the cat. "But I'm ok now. I have a new family and I'm almost in the hero course. I don't have to worry about them anymore"

She smiles nodding, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He glances up and smiles, "I have a little sister"

"A sister? Can I see her?" Emiko perks up, leaning fowards. He laughs and takes his phone out, showing her a picture of him and Eri. "She's so cute! What's her name? How old is she?"

"Eri. She's 6" He shows her some more pictures of the family. There's some sadness in her eyes, but it's mostly drowned out by happiness.

"I'm so glad" She sighs, "Toshi, honestly I'm so proud of you. My little brother...a hero" Emiko looks him over as she sips her hot chocolate, "You've been working hard. And those noodle arms are gone"

He laughs, "Aizawa trained me. It was tiring and painful, but it was great in the long run. He's a really great teacher, though he does push people to the end of their limit. Or maybe that was just me because I was so behind. You will not believe the soft side of him, it's the strangest thing ever"

"Cold hard Eraserhead can be soft?" She smirks. He smiles and drinks.

"Yeah. You'd think he was a dad before, but me and Eri are adopted and he's never had kids. He's secretly proud of his class, and would probably murder anyone who hurt us. He also gives nice hugs"

Emiko leans back smiling, "Your favourite hero trained you, became your dad and gives you hugs? You're the luckiest boy on earth"

"I know"

The cat on his lap shifts and nudges at his hand, so he begins to stroke him again. "He also likes cats. We have three"

"Adorable"

He laughs, "Yeah"

Emiko sighs, and reaches up to pet a large ginger cat.

"My exam is tomorrow...If I do well I can transfer. I'm really nervous, they've had months to prepare and get stronger. They have more experience than I do..."

"Toshi, you'll do great!"

"You saw me in the sports festival...you saw what the hero course students are capable of..." He sighs, "Their quirks are physical. Not to mention that guy with the tail doesn't trust me at all"

His sister goes quiet for a few seconds. "I mean...you did brainwash your entire team. I can see why..."

"I was desperate...I felt bad but I was just so desperate. I couldn't risk failing so I used my quirk" Hitoshi looks away. When he and the others pulled out from the next part of the tournament, he felt guilty for using them.

"You'll do good. Eraser trained you, you're trying harder than anyone to be a hero. I know you can do it!" The determination in her face makes him smile.

"Thank you. I mean...we did come up with support items to help with the disadvantage I have" He grins, "Aizawa gave me a copy of his scarf and trained me to use it. Did you know it took him 6 years to master it? It's so cool. Oh and I have this gear that allows me to copy someone's voice and mimic them. That makes it easier to trick them into replying"

"That's awesome!" His sister grins, then looks at her watch "Ah, I have to leave to catch the train"

"I'll walk with you" Hitoshi picks the cat up and carefully puts him on the floor, before finishing his coffee. They leave the cafe and head towards the station, talking about things they want to catch up on.

They stop outside the station, and Hitoshi hugs her smiling. The comforting cinnamon and lavender smell from her quirk cling to her clothes. "Come visit again soon?"

"I will. Maybe I can meet your family when I do?"

"They'll love you" He moves away hesitantly, and she ruffles his hair grinning.

"Good luck on your exam! I'll try and call you soon!"

As his sister disappears into the crowd of people, he waves goodbye feeling more confident than before.

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Did you think anyone would want you ? That you'd actually be a hero? You're so naive, Hitoshi

Dad, please I'm sorry.

I'll have to teach you a lesson, won't I?

Hitoshi screams as he wakes up, bolting upright in bed panicked. He takes deep breath shaking, bringing his knees to his chest as he looks around his room, only calming down when he confirms that he's in the right place. It was just a nightmare. A nightmare that warped a really bad memory.

Aizawa bursts into his room still in his sleeping bag, making him look like a yellow caterpillar. Hitoshi would probably laugh if he wasn't so shaken up.

"Hitoshi, are you ok?"

Perhaps the talk from earlier set it off. Emiko did refer back to that day, maybe it's a psychological response. He nods, staring down at the covers as Aizawa slides the sleeping bag off and sits on his bed.

"Nightmare?"

Another nod. The hero sighs and leans over to hug him, frowning in concern when Hitoshi flinches away.

"Sorry...sorry I..." He whispers. Tears form in his eyes as he slowly looks up at Aizawa, who notices that he seems to be analysing him. Once done, Hitoshi physically relaxes and Aizawa cautiously opens his arms. Hitoshi just leans over and falls into his embrace sighing, burying his face in his chest. Stroking his hair, Aizawa softly mumbles to him to try and comfort him. The teen relaxes as he reminds himself that this is him, not some messed up illusion created to hurt him.

"Hitoshi...you don't have to answer, but what was your dream about?"

Silence falls between them for a while, but then there's a sigh, "You were there, telling me that you didn't actually belive in me, and that you don't actually want me"

Oh?

"Then you turned into my dad...and he said he created the illusion to punish me, before he..." He doesn't finish the sentence, taking a shaky breath. "It felt so real...like I was back there with him and I just..." There's a breif pause before he continues, voice cracking slightly, "I was so scared" 

Oh...

"Hitoshi, it's ok. Its just a bad dream, it didn't happen. He's in police custody, and he can't hurt you anymore alright? Zashi and I will protect you"

Yeah...just a dream...

How can he tell him?

"Try and get some sleep...it's the big day..."

"Can you stay with me?" He asks quietly, "I just...I don't want to be alone..."

Aizawa nods, and moves to sit beside him. There's a small aching in his chest when Hitoshi continues to hold onto him, as if he's scared that he'll disappear if he let's go. He throws the covers back over him, then keeps his arm around him as Hitoshi tries to fall back asleep.

He frowns. Hitoshi had only ever explained what happned to him the night he left home, and a brief summary of how he was treated. There's still a lot of things that he hasn't told them, and this is something that concerns him. The last time he had a nightmare, he broke down in school and refused to take his medication for days.

A gut instinct screams at him. Something is very wrong with the way Hitoshi reacted, and just how terrified he is. Something awful happened, but the boy probably won't tell him.

Before he what? What did his dad do to him?

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Hitoshi's dad is a terrible person. I won't be explaining what happened, as it may be explained later on.

Please tell me if this needs a trigger warming.