Suspension Bridge Effect
(Hifumi and Hailey + the rest of the Hivemind, Bobby and Kaylee)
-"Listen, broh, I know this place you're gonna love! When I get my pay, I'm gonna take you there."
-"Hifumi, really, I don't need you to show me around another WcRonald's or any other burger joint. I'd much rather visit that ramen shop you parttime at."
-"Trust me, you're gonna loooove Burger Prince! It's just as good as Wakuro! But sure, if you're feeling like ramen today, we can visit my uncle's shop."
The boys were walking back after the gym class and their conversation was interrupted when they stumbled into a commotion in front of the girls' locker room.
-"GIVE IT BACK!"
-"Whatever do you mean?"
-"MY UNIFORM! I KNOW IT'S ONE OF YOU THAT TOOK IT! GIVE IT BACK!"
-"What possible use could we have of your smelly, baggy uniform?"
It was Kaylee still in her gym clothes arguing with Hailey and the rest of her Korean brigade. The smaller exchange students encircled her like a pack of hyenas around a wounded lioness. They were already in their school unforms and except for the Hailey in front, the rest had their phones out and recording the scene.
-"It's them again. That girl is shit out of luck. What do you think she did to attract their attention like that?"
Bobby asked Hifumi, but the latter didn't answer, instead he was just staring intently at Hailey.
-"ARGH! JUST GIVE IT BACK YOU DUMB BI-"
Kaylee was reaching her limit and cameras or not, she was nearing a point where she'd be unable to control herself. But at that moment Hifumi marched right through the Korean lines.
-"Hailey, let's talk."
-"Huh? What do you want? I have noth-"
She went silent mid-sentence in shock at the fact that Hifumi has just wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Everyone just stared dumbfounded for a moment. Even Kaylee seemed too surprised at the scene to continue shouting. Eddie and Faith kept recording, but the rest of the phones went down.
A second passed and Hailey turned beet red.
-"What the hell do you think you're doing?! Let go of me!"
-"Give me a moment, I'm still pretty new at this."
The onlookers split into three groups. Minnie and Bobby just facepalmed in unison at the ridiculousness of the situation. Faith and Max started whispering to each other and giggling. Eddie and Kaylee just stood there with their jaws open.
-"I said let go! This is harassment!"
-"Stop moving around, it's not helping."
-"I don't want to help you in whatever it is you're doing!"
Hailey, still too shocked to think clearly, haven't even thought about using her quirk, instead she just struggled to push Hifumi away, but without much success.
As the first onlookers to wake up from the stupor, Bobby and Minnie raised their voices:
-"Yo, bro, maybe you really should let go!"
-"Yeah, you should listen to him!"
But the only response they got was:
-"I've got it."
Hifumi closed his eyes, and the pair disappeared.
The roof of Shiketsu High's main building wasn't of the flat and fenced off type. It was imitating the traditional style to blend better with the rest of the neighbourhood. Sloped and covered in rooftiles it only had a small railing near the hatch that could be used to access it.
And it's next to that railing that Hifumi and Hailey appeared. The girl was still trying to get out of his embrace. The boy quickly grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer, before she slips on the uneven surface. She blushed, but he couldn't see it as his eyes were closed.
-"Careful, you don't want to slip and fall."
-"And whose fault would that be?! Are you daft?! Why the hell did you bring me here?! This is a kidnapping!"
-"Maybe, but hey it's a nice view... not that I can enjoy it right now... and we can talk in peace."
-"In peace?! How am I supposed to be calm when I'm..."
She leaned a bit on the railing to look down and confirm how high they are, but the sight just made her go pale.
-"Oh my God. Are you genuinely retarded? This is dangerous!"
-"Well, I've gotta admit, I'm not the brightest. But relax, you're safe with me."
-"If you're lying, and I fall and die, just know I'll haunt your sorry-ass!"
-"Sure, you can haunt me as much as you want if that happens!"
He smiled and unwittingly she did too.
-"So, what is it you want to talk with me about, and why this..."
She pointed at everything around them, but quickly realised that it's pointless to gesture when his eyes are closed.
-"There was this movie. A teacher there grabbed a bully and dragged him out of class. The kid thought it's to just berate or beat him or whatever. But really it was just so the teacher could talk with him one on one. He wanted to give the kid the chance to drop the mask he keeps wearing in front of his cronies."
-"Movies ain't real, you do know that, right?"
-"Yeah, sure. But the ideals that their creators put into them are. And if others like those movies, doesn't it mean they agree with them?"
Hailey grimaced. She has met some people in the movie industry, and knew the sad reality that most of them were in just for cash, not some lofty beliefs."
-"Not always, but whatev'. What about it? You think I'm just keeping some kind of a mask in front of my friends, and now I'd just open up to you?"
-"Why not? I feel like you've walled yourself off. I guess it's not easy to move to another country. I don't remember much from the time I moved in here. But anyway, I'm here and I want to listen. It's a start. And you don't have to be shy, I can't even see you right now."
He let go of her with one hand and waved it in front of his face. It was practically as close to him as to her, and it made Hailey conscious once again over how short the distance that separated them was.
-"So, I guess I have to have this talk with you if I want to go back?"
-"I guess you could just walk down the stairs, but let's say yes."
He grinned.
-"Okay then. Get on with that lecture of yours about how bullying is bad and let's get it over with."
-"Well, bullying ain't cool, but I haven't prepared any speech about it or such. I think for now, we should just get to know each other better. So, let's start at the basics. I'm Hifumi and I want to become the number one hero."
-"Ugh, fine. I'm Hailey."
-"And your dream?"
-"What?"
-"Your dream? Ya know, the wish for the future. When you think about yourself in ten or twenty years away, what do you see?"
-"That's your secret plan? To talk about dreams? What is this? Rosethorn's class?"
-"Hey, I'm interested. And class is class, this is this. So, spill it."
-"'I want to give a voice to the voiceless.' Ya satisfied?"
-"Yeah, sure. And your voice? What will it say when you gain it and are asked about your dreams?"
-"That I dream for this conversation to be over..."
-"The sooner I get a proper answer, the sooner this will be over. Hurry up or we'll miss the next class."
-"And it will be your fault, so you'll be the one punished."
He shrugged.
-"You're worth a detention or two. And anyway, it's Ethics next."
He added with a wink, and she felt the corners of her mouth lift."
-"So, I guess it's another reason for me to avoid answering."
-"I guess so. But tarry too long, and we'll stay here till tomorrow. This is only the first question. I've got others."
-"Ugh, fine. So, a dream. Something I'd like to do those decades away. I guess I'd just like to be free and have fun."
-"That's kinda lame. We'll have to work on it."
-"Hey! It's not nice to laugh at the dreams of others! I didn't laugh at yours!"
-"Ya could have. But yeah. It just sounds like you're cruising through. I think having goals and striving for them is cool, so we'll talk about this again sometime. Let's say my curiosity is satisfied, for now."
-"Thank God."
-"Next subject. So, you're from Korea, right? What's it like? I've never been there. I like your movies, though."
-"Movies again. Is that all you do? Watch movies?"
-"Well, I do watch them quite a lot, but I also do other stuff for fun. I'll show you one day. But anyway. You do have some kick-ass movies. Park Chan-wook is a genius."
-"Could have expected him to be your favourite. Let me guess. You think 'Oldboy is so coool'?"
Hailey giggled at her own impersonation of Hifumi.
-"Yeah, it is! But my favourite movie of his is actually the 'Decision to Leave'."
-"That's unexpected."
-"Well, to be fair, I've only seen it and 'Oldboy'..."
-"Still. Is this why you brought me here? You like mountains?"
-"And I guess you like water? But nah. I mean, I do like them, but I also like water. No real preference for either."
-"Good, increases the chances of us getting a different ending than the movie."
-"I sure hope so. So, you liked it?"
-"Yes. When will it be my turn to ask questions?"
-"You can shoot away anytime. We're getting to know each other. It's a two-way street. Just know if your question is 'can we go now?' the answer is still 'no'."
-"I guessed as much. So, you said you moved here. I thought you are Japanese."
-"I am, but I was born in Germany. Düsseldorf, to be precise. I think it sounds cool when I say I come from there, but to be honest, I don't remember much, barely even speak the language. Doesn't really compare to your situation."
-"You've been there long?"
-"We moved back when I was five."
-"Yeah, it definitely doesn't compare then."
-"You usually just hang out with your friends from Korea, right? Don't you want to get to know the rest of the class? It's a pretty varied group. Can be fun. And no, whatever's going on between you and Kaylee doesn't count."
-"We're going back to the 'bullying ain't cool' shtick?"
-"If you don't want to, then nah. But why not open up to others? I'm sure if you reached out, you'd be pretty popular. I mean, you're a recommendation student, so you're pretty smart, talking with you right now is fun, and you're very cute. I think you're cool, but kind of covering it in the lame parts."
-"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult."
-"A compliment with an advice that you should rethink what you're posing as."
-"And what if I think it's you and the rest of the class that's lame?"
-"Then it's up to us to change your mind. I know. Why don't we do that? Save your weekend. Hopefully I'll be out of detention by then, so I'll show you around. There are a lot of places we can have fun. For now, treat this place as the first of such."
-"It's not that fun here..."
-"Hey, the view is pretty great. Look there, we have a pretty nice sight of Kiyomizu-dera from here."
He pointed over her shoulder, moving even closer to her. She didn't move away as she turned around.
-"Yeah, it's pretty good. Worth a selfie."
She pulled out her phone and using her quirk made it float in the air, seeking the best angle for a photo. She took a couple, some with herself alone, some with Hifumi in the shot. She pulled the phone closer to herself and inspected the results.
-"I'd ask you to show me, but I can't exactly see them right now, so it'll have to wait. How did they turn out?"
-"I look great as always, you look weird with your eyes closed."
-"Could have expected that. Anyway, I think we've got the basics done. Ready to head back?"
-"Finally. So how does it work?"
-"Just hold on tight."
She hesitated for a moment.
-"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?!"
Some teacher's voice ruined the moment they were having and made her jump a bit.
That was a mistake. She slipped. The rusty railing gave way when she tried to hold onto it. She screamed in panic as she fell from the roof.
Hifumi reacted quickly. He leapt after, hugged her tightly and rotated them so he's the one below, falling back first.
He opened his eyes, and they disappeared, while the teacher's shouts mixed with the sound of the railing hitting the ground.
-"I'm telling you, it's gonna be alright. Hifumi might be a bit of a hothead, but he wouldn't do anything to hurt her."
-"I hope so! If he does anything to her, I swear I'll zap him so hard he'll think he was struck by a lightning!"
Bobby tried to keep peace until Hifumi returns, but the girls were getting impatient. Luckily, they wouldn't have to wait any more.
Hifumi appeared where he previously stood, Hailey in his arms. The problem was, he wasn't stationary. With great momentum, they flew through the corridor. It took a couple meters before they even touched the ground, and then they slid twice that.
When they finally stopped, they lied there for a moment breathing heavily with Hailey on top of Hifumi in a tight embrace. While the others were running towards them, the boy quietly asked the girl:
-"You alright, Hay?"
-"Yes. You?"
-"I'll live. Told ya you're safe with me."
-"You idiot..."
The girls helped Hailey stand up. Bobby was unable to assist his buddy in that, as he was too busy holding Minnie back, so she wouldn't fry him. After a moment, Hifumi stood up, dusted off his uniform's jacket and asked:
-"So, can I see the photos now?"
Hailey took a look at her phone. It turns out she accidentally took another photo while they were falling. The sight of her own face buried in his chest made her reach for the 'delete' button, but she stopped at the last moment. She locked her screen.
-"Some other time. Seems Minnie accidentally drained my battery while she was preparing to send you on an electric chair."
-"But Hailey, I didn't do anyth-"
The look Hailey gave Minnie spoke volumes.
-"Ah... yeah... happens when I get angry..."
The sounds of steps coming made them hurry up.
-"I think my detention might end up a little longer, so our plans might have to wait, Hay. You better get going now."
-"Yeah, sure. See you later."
The Korean students quickly headed towards the main building, the opposite from where the sound of the steps came. On her way out, Hailey took one last glance at Hifumi, and then when passing Kaylee, she whispered:
-"Maybe you should look for your rags under the vaulting box..."
Kaylee ran towards the closet where they were kept. The only two left were Hifumi and Bobby.
-"You didn't break anything?"
-"Nah, just some bruises at most. I'm tough."
-"So, what happened?"
The sounds of the footsteps were coming closer.
-"I'll tell you later, but our ramen trip might have to wait. You better get going, don't want you to get in trouble for me."
-"It's fine. I've got you. Together we can think of something to get you out of this, or at least get you a shorter detention, so you won't keep her waiting."
-"Thanks, bro."
-"No problem. That's what friends are for."