Ghost in the Night
@zawavember day 1: rain/storm
Title: Ghost in the Night
Tags: Light Angst, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead Training Shinsou Hitoshi, minor spoilers for the joint training arc, Dadzawa, Shinson
Word count: 511
Summary: In which Hitoshi can't sleep because he's worried about his mentor. Excerpt: Hitoshi glanced at his phone for the hundredth time, but it didn’t offer him any solace. His gaze wandered back out the window only to find a figure there, perched on the ledge.
Read on Ao3
The scent of a storm brewing in the night air always filled Hitoshi with excitement. The crisp, cool air, the tiny droplets pattering on the pavement, the flashes of lightning, and the crackling of thunder all made stormy nights his favorite. Yet, recently, his love of these nights was marred by dread and laced with fear.
Training with Aizawa-sensei had taught him many things—crime never stopped or took a break. Even when the moon hid behind the clouds and the night came alive with the roars of thunder. Hitoshi also learned what it was like to jump from one building to the other. He learned how slippery building tops were, and how terrifyingly far the ground was.
“Aizawa-sensei is a pro; he never falls,” a voice inside him reassured. Hitoshi had long learned not to listen to that voice. It belonged to the hopeful child inside him, and life had done a good job of teaching him that the voice could not be trusted. It was the same voice that made him think the world owed him something when it never did.
Hitoshi glanced at his phone for the hundredth time, but it didn’t offer him any solace. His gaze wandered back out the window only to find a figure there, perched on the ledge. Hitoshi gasped and took a step back before his hands went up to grab his capture weapon only to find that it wasn't there. The hooded figure slid the window open, and the moonlight that managed to escape the sea of clouds shone on his yellow goggles. Hitoshi's whole body relaxed as a sigh of relief escaped him.
"Can’t you just use the front door, Sensei?" Hitoshi asked with folded arms, throwing his signature glare his teacher’s way. Part of him cringed inwardly at how his idol had seen him flinch. The man was training him to be a freaking hero, yet he saw him quail like a child afraid of ghosts.
"It's 2 am," Sensei mumbled as he jumped into the room.
Hitoshi scratched his head and sighed again. The tight knot that had festered inside him all night uncoiled; Sensei was all right. Hitoshi's tense shoulders relaxed.
"So, how can I help you on this fine night?''
"The usual," Sensei said.
Hitoshi turned and went for his nightstand. He threw the little bottle in his teacher's direction. The later caught it with ease, unscrewing the lid and holding the bottle up, letting the blessed droplets sooth his tired eyes.
Hitoshi still wasn't used to his teacher popping into his bedroom for eye drops. When he had asked him the first time this had happened why he didn't drop by his own house to get them, Sensei's answer was simple, "Your place is closer to where I patrol." And that was the end of that.
Hitoshi was glad of it. It gave him time to spend with his mentor, gave him an opportunity to be useful to him, and gave him a chance to make sure that his mentor had survived the night.