Disappearing Act (open)

Kota didn't feel like going to his treehouse today.

Sure, it was his personal sanctuary, but for once, he wanted to try something different. It was a weird thing, willingly wanting to not go to his favorite place, but it was just for today. Kota knew he'd be there tomorrow, writing happily on his old beanbag chair. So today, instead of turning into the dark forest like he usually would, he continued to walk on the sidewalk to the park.

It wasn't too bad on the way there. Nobody came up to talk to him. Some people did look at him weirdly, though. Kota ignored those people as he strutted on, looking down at his shoes. But then, Kota looked up. He thought he heard yelling. He looked around to find some adult yelling at a teenager, probably a few years older than him. He usually wasn't nosy, but the lady was yelling so loud that he could hear from three yards away. The older kid was being yelled at for... walking around for no reason? How stupid. He walked around the place with no point of going anywhere lots of times and he didn't get yelled at.

As soon as he saw the hero's sidekick, he lost interest and walked away. No way was Kota going to be involved in hero business. He may not be a criminal, but they kind of disgusted him, in a toned down way. So self-centered and sometimes vain, always bathing in their own victories. Ugh. He hated it so much. None of them were as heroic as his dead babysitter. But they saved the world and everything, so whatever. The people they saved are still more important.

Kota finally arrived at the park. It was fairly empty, only a couple packing up from a picnic. He waited until they left to sit down on a bench near the playground. He let the cool wind blow onto his face, and he relaxed a bit. This was boring, but okay. He definitely was going back to his treehouse tomorrow.

He shut his eyes for a bit. The wind blew on his face for a few minutes as he zoned out. It was okay. He had a bit of time to relax, all by himself. But then he heard a shuffle. It was faint, but he heard it. Kota opened his eyes to realize he was no longer alone. The older kid from earlier was also in the park, a few meters away from him. He waved in a friendly, but slightly antisocial way. He scooted over on the bench, just in case the teenager wanted to sit there. Seemed as how the guy handled the hero and woman earlier, he figured it wouldn't be too much of a pain if he sat next to him, as long as he shut up. Oh wait- he wouldn't be able to speak anyway. He leaned back on the bench, feeling the wind again.

Kota watched the teen walk over, typing something on his phones. Okay, well, he's just texting someone, Kota thought. None of my business. But then the guy showed him the phone. Kota was slightly startled at first. Why in the hell would this teenager be showing Kota his phone? But as he read the message, he calmed down a bit. It was just a quick thanks for the seat. So, this guy couldn't speak either, at least Kota assumed. That was nice to know. He silently nodded and leaned back a bit further.

Kota kept thinking about the dude. There was something that he couldn't quite figure out. His face seemed... familiar? Kota didn't exactly know. Maybe he saw him on TV once. He didn't lean to look over at the guy's face, but he did close his eyes and imagine his face when he showed the phone to him. There was something off. What was it? Kota could've sworn... then the puzzle pieces clicked into place to reveal a memory. It was faint, he'd saw it maybe a few years ago, but still... he had witnessed a fight going on with two people. Not sure if it was a villain fighting a hero, or if it was someone getting in a conflict, but what he did know is that when it was over, the one that won the fight removed his mask and Kota saw the face of the person that was now sitting next to him. He kept digging deeper, and he thought the other dude mentioned something about... a villain!

Kota's expression tightened, but only the slightest bit. Sure, the dude was probably dangerous as hell, but what would he gain from hurting Kota? Okay, fine, villains don't really need a reason to beat people up. They're villains. Kota mentally kicked himself. No way was he going to slap that stereotype on the guy. If that was true about him, then why didn't he attempt to beat up the old lady or that hero's sidekick? Still, Kota took precautions.

He nervously took a piece of paper and a pen out of his pocket. He set it down on his lap and scribbled out a small, shaky message. "I think you're not just a regular person... are you a bad guy? Don't hurt me, please. I know what you did a few years back." He put it next to him in the gap between him and the teen. Kota just continued staring straight ahead, waiting for the unexpected.

The dude next to him cutely asked why he would hurt him. Kota blushed hard, with many attempts to hide it. He put his sleeve in front of his face. He couldn't believe he'd assumed this guy was a villain! Hold on, the guy began to say more stuff... oop, back on track. Maybe he was a villain.

Kota tried to recall the memory again. Sure enough, both people were definitely male. So maybe this was what the guy was talking about when he said meeting his boyfriend? But why would you meet a boyfriend in a fight? More signs pointing to villain, or at least that made sense to Kota. The other parts of what he said about Kota not being a threat... that was good. This was just going to be a nice, friendly talk as long as Kota didn't mess up. If they even kept talking.

It was up to Kota to keep it going, though, so might as well, he thought. His curiosity was peaking to the limit. He was about to say something when the other dude spoke first. His name was Asahi Arashi. Kota tried to think if there were any villains with that name, but he drew a blank. He probably used a cover name or something, or wasn't even a villain at all. Kota conscious was screaming about how stupid this was and that he didn't need to be so paranoid and curious.

Kota wrote down his name on the paper and handed it back to Asahi. One introduction deserves another, right? Kota leaned back on the bench again. Then he began to notice something. The park was beginning to fill up. Crap. He'd come here for quiet and now it was starting to fill with noise. Well, no, not really. The park still wasn't full, and his quirk helped deafen noise three feet within him, but it was starting to get a bit noisy. Kota shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He didn't like this very much, but he'd gotten into a conversation, so there was no leaving now. Darn. He twiddled his fingers awkwardly, not knowing what to expect next.

The questions Asahi asked took a minute to sink in. Go somewhere else? Have a nice, friendly chat? Kota threw all of his suspicions of Asahi out the window. All he cared about in the moment was making a friend, even an acquaintance would be amazing. Kota wasn't exactly the most extroverted or social, but it would be nice to go on a walk. He'd bring up whatever was on his mind and if nobody spoke it wouldn't be too awkward.

Kota smiled and nodded to Asahi. He began to write on the paper to respond to all of his questions. "I am a bit uncomfortable. I don't really like to be around tons of people. We could go on a walk, if you like. Thank you for asking." He shifted a line down and continued onto other things.

"As for things I like, I like to read and write. The library may be nice place to go also, as long as there's a lonely corner to sit in." After this, he neatly folded up the paper into fourths and set it next to Asahi. Kota was glad that he asked that question. He had known that they had things in common, but he didn't think there'd be a lot. Kota began to list off the things in his head. They were both mute, introverted... okay, so maybe there weren't many things that Kota could think of, but they had just met. He needed to give these things time. Kota sat up a bit. The park was getting fuller by the minute.

Kota followed Asahi out of the park. He was glad that he had someone to go to the library to, instead of alone. He'd been alone for a long while going anywhere because he didn't have any friends. Too quiet. Too weird. Too much of a lone wolf to care. But this was different. Kota didn't know how to explain it, but... somehow, Asahi just kind of gets him. If he were to put it in that sense.

He heard Asahi ask something he thought was rhetirocal, so he didn't answer. Would've taken a while to have pulled out another slip of paper to scribble on, anyway. Kota felt his uneasiness slowly go away as both of the boys left the crowded Park. Kota sighed silently. He was relieved about not being around too many people.

Kota then listened to Asahi as the teenager asked Kota another question, this time not rhetorical. What kind of books did he like to read? Kota had to think about that for a moment. He didn't exactly like full Fantasy worlds, because there's usually a lot to learn about the world and its species. He also wasn't very fond of realism, because he currently has a life and doesn't need to read about some else's. Then it hit him. He pulled out a piece of paper and wrote "Magical Realism" on it and handed it to Asahi. He smiled and continued on.

Kota walked up to the front of the library. It was very big, looming over the small boy. Kota had been there multiple times before, but every time he was still somewhat awestruck. Kota was a bit too far off into space to realize that Asahi was entering the library at a swifter pace, and didn't notice until a few seconds afterward. He walked slightly faster than Asahi to catch up with him and to avoid the people around him, and before he knew it, Asahi stopped in a section of the library and started to scan over the shelves. Kota waited until he saw Asahi pluck a book off the shelves and then wander over to a table. Kota again followed and sat next to the teenager.

He was just about to pull out a piece of paper and a pencil when Kota saw that Asahi had typed out a message. Kota skimmed over the three simple words, then took out the paper and pencil he had went to fish out of his pockets seconds before. Then he wrote out a small message. "Well, you've got to let me see it first. Let's trade." Kota slid the note over to Asahi, then picked up the book and began to inspect it. It was a nice book, a well-taken care of cover and binding. He opened up the book and read the side blurb at the very front of the novel, and was instantly intrigued. Kota turned and beamed, glad Asahi had found a good book for him. Kota no longer felt uneasy around Asahi for being a villain, and Kota was glad it was that way.