Chapter 1
Hanta likes to think that he was comfortable with change. He had to be, especially in this stupid and everchanging world. He learned how to change his attitude from just living life to surviving, or snacking when he was hungry to rationing a days worth into a week. That part wasn't really that hard; his relationship with food has always been tricky.
If there was something he was glad didn't change, was the friends that he found through this stupid apocalypse. Hanta was neighbors with Denki and friends with Mina; he and the darker skinned girl bonded in detention after getting caught passing a blunt in the gender-neutral bathrooms. It wasn't either of their faults, both of them were a bit too blazed to hear the door open. Anyways, Hanta knew of Kirishima and Bakugou through the grapevine, and knew that Mina would spend most of her time with them outside of school. When it was still going on, at least. When everything went down, Hanta can still remember it too clearly.
Mina and Bakugou had nearly dragged a sobbing Kirishima into Hanta's house, empty save for him as his parents had gone to the big city to visit his aunt. Mina had pounded on the door, and rushed them inside. The sirens in the background behind them flashed through Hanta's mind. Denki was already on his way over, and soon everyone was filled in on the news; something had gone wrong in the city, and people were sick. But these people, they were a different kind of sick, not with the sniffles or the shits. They were dying and coming back to life. it wasn't anything anyone had seen before, and authorities were at a loss as what to do. People were told to stay in their homes, but as cars rushed by and chaos slowly fell over the neighborhood, it was clear nothing was working.
That was the first day. The group of five teenagers had holed up in Hanta's house, charging anything that would make their phones last longer and calling countless numbers. Hanta doesn't remember how many hours Kirishima spent with a phone pressed against his ear, all until the cell towers went down and the T.V. only gave them static.
The second week was harder. They were running out of food, out of water, and out of hope. Nothing alive was heard outside of the house, not since that first day. The sirens didn't last for very long, but the screams lasted much longer. The second week was when they realized that those screams were dying out into snarls. Hanta remembers the first peek out of the house, and how Bakugou had thrust a garbage can under his nose to catch the vomit right after. Slowly, the group prepared to leave the house, and Hanta had let his tears fall as he shoved two Polaroid pictures in his jacket pocket. The second week was also the first time any of them had to kill. That might not be the right word; is it really alive if it has a penchant for flesh, and no humanity to speak of?
During the third month, it seemed to get easier. They were finding food, and had found a couple different kinds of people. Mina had nearly lost her hand on a beartrap, and Kirishima and Bakugou became Katuski and Eijirou. Hanta had somehow found a balance with his weight, and all of them were starting to gain this lean muscle - except for the powerhouse duo, they just lost a bit of the mass. Hanta had a new pair of boots because the soles of his old ones rotted after wading through a deep puddle, and Denki suffered greatly after the sudden detox from his prescription meds. At this point, they were able to stop and safely hole up until he felt better. All of them were well practiced in killing those things, and even allowed them a title: lurkers. Hanta learned how to bandage wounds, pouring over old medical textbooks that they found in houses.
Now, seven months in, Hanta wonders if he's going to be comfortable with this change.
The group had settled down for the night in a little highway restaurant, a few miles outside of the city they were heading towards. It was one of the only ones that didn't have a quarantine zone set up, and all five of them agreed that after the last zone, this would be best. Mina and Katsuki had headed in first, Eijirou backing them up. Denki followed the raven, and Hanta took up the rear. It wasn't terribly dark out, but the sun was on its descent and they didn't want to be caught out after dark.
"Clear!"
Mina's voice from inside the kitchen of the diner makes Hanta relax, and it was only then that he fully closed the door. He locked it, and slid the metal bar by the door over the handles as further measure. He doesn't know what a little side highway diner has to be protected from, but he knows that there's plenty of different people out there. Denki was already sitting at the bar tables, bag on the counter and head dropped. Katsuki and Eijirou were leaning against the broken doors to the kitchen, weary and trying not to make it look like they were actually leaning on each other, and Mina looked about ready to pass out on the floor. Hanta sighed, and slung his bag on the counter beside Denki.
"You guys stay here, I'll check if there's a basement and maybe a generator." Katsuki grunts, and Mina nods. Her eyes are closed, and she seems to be flagging fast. They did walk for majority of the day, and it wasn't like the end of summer sun was forgiving. Hanta moves around the counter and slides past his friends. His hand is already drawing his knife, just in case. "If I shout, retell my story and make it super dramatic."
"You got it, bro. I'll make you sound super manly."
"Thanks dude."
Hanta walks past the kitchen counter, glancing at the amount of grease on the tiled floor. Any dust that was in here has settled on it, leaving obvious footprints. He can see where Mina and Katsuki stepped, bootprints widely different in size. They went to the end of the kitchen, and stopped just before a door in the corner. Hanta hums to himself, and the indistinct voices behind him spur him on. He reaches for the door handle, and pulls it open to reveal a dark set of stairs. Nice.
With a small flashlight in one hand, Hanta carefully tests his weight on the top step. It creaks, but holds steady, and he slowly makes his way down. He prays to whatever Lord that he doesn't get grabbed through the steps, but he hits concrete and takes a deeper breath. It smells like dust and rot, but food rot and not people rot. There's a difference. Hanta shines the light around the basement, and winces as rats scurry away from the beam. It lands on a rack that contains moldy bread, and Hanta shudders but moves on. The ceiling above him creaks as someone upstairs moves.
Hanta makes a small noise of triumph as he finds an oil lantern, and leaves it by the stairs so he can grab it on his way up. It's very dark, so he's careful to scout out the corners for any surprises before he moves on. He lifts a box, and groans as the smell of rotten food hits his nose. God, it smells so bad. He coughs, and somehow through the rot he can smell the other kind; the human kind. Crap.
Breathing to keep himself calm, Hanta slowly backs his way towards the stairs. When he's closer to the light and his escape, he taps the handle of his knife against the railing. "Come on out, amigo. I can smell you in here."
Silence.
Hanta squints into the darkness.
Silence.
Silence, and then the scraping of boots on concrete.
"I knew it. Come on out, come to papi."
---
Maybe an hour later, with the backup generator running in the basement and the oil lantern ready to be used in case it fails, Hanta lets himself actually relax. Mina and Denki are already asleep, tucked away in their own booths. Hanta found space blankets in the basement, so they can pack them up tomorrow and take them with. Katsuki and Eijirou are in a booth together, but they're on watch first. Hanta would love to bet cookies that Katsuki lets Eijirou sleep first, but Denki hates losing because he knows Hanta's always right. Call it his elite gay-dar, only available to club members.
Anyways, Hanta tucks himself into the booth beside Mina, and uses his bag as a pillow. The space blanket crinkles above him, but it's better than nothing. As another lovely change, Hanta has gained the ability to fall asleep very fast and nearly anywhere if he tries hard enough. It really is a skill, and he uses it to his advantage. He closes his eyes, trying hard to think of something and nothing at all. It seems like mere seconds have passed, and the sun comes up faster than he'd like; he stirs to Mina gently shaking his shoulder. "Hanta, we're gonna head out. Kat wants to leave before it gets too hot."
Hanta groans, and rubs a gloved palm over his face. "'M up, 'm up."
He can smell coffee, and immediately perks up. Eijirou was a barista before everything went to shit, and if he gets his hands on coffee beans, you best believe you're in for a treat. Hanta tucks the space blanket away in a bag pocket, and slips into a chair at the bar beside a blond. He doesn't look to see which one, which was his first mistake, but leans against a shoulder anyways.
The bulky shoulder - ah, Katsuki - moves under his head, and a growl floats down, "Do you wanna fucking die?!"
Hanta reaches up with one hand and bats his new pillow, "Shh, Katsuki, not before coffee. I would need to borrow Denki's braincells if you're gonna threaten my life again."
Katsuki snarls, but as a cup of steaming black liquid is set by Hanta's hand, it feels as nothing even matters. Hanta sighs, and wraps his hands around it. The steam floats up over his cheeks and nose, warming them nicely. He glances blearily at Eijirou, who's humming as he stokes a fire in the sink. The kettle of coffee sits on a baking rack above it. "Eijirou, you're a god amongst men." Hanta takes a sip, and almost enjoys how his tongue gets burnt.
"Thanks, bro. Finish your own coffee, Katsuki, and maybe you won't be so explosive in the mornings."
"Who're you calling explosive?! Drink your own coffee, Shitty Hair, and mind your own business!"
Eijirou sighs, but the smile is heard and seen as he scratches his head and turns around. His hair is mostly black now, with red tipped ends where they haven't trimmed. The boy always says that if they get the chance, he's going to try and re-dye it. Hanta hopes they get to that point, even if he doesn't mind the black. He's got a mullet, so he has no room to speak, but he knows that a certain explosive blond definitely doesn't mind the black.
Hanta gulps down his coffee, feeling more awake by the second as the bitter liquid hits his tongue and gut. He pats Katsuki again, risking getting smacked for his troubles, and chuckles his way as he heads back to his booth. He hauls his bag up, and digs through for a second. "Did we refill water bottles?"
Mina tips her head at him, a protein bar hanging out of her mouth. "Mhm. Phwe' 'id." Her own blanket is tucked away, and she's sitting on the table of the booth, ready to go. Hanta nods absently, and takes a sip before he repacks it. Mina offers him a piece of the bar, and he takes it almost robotically. It's better just to chew and swallow and get it over with. Hanta rifles through his hand quickly, eyeing the ever decreasing amount of medical supplies. They really need to see if they can find a pharmacy or a drugstore and stock back up. Actually, they need to find somewhere to settle down, period.
Mina finishes her food, and throws the wrapper in a side trashcan. She then walks over to Denki, who seems to have fallen back asleep with a mug of coffee in his hand, and pats him on the head. "Wakey-wakey, Denki. We've gotta get going."
Denki hums and nods, but it's another few minutes before any of them are ready to go. They've been tired lately, and a lot has happened in the last month. The group they hunkered down with before wasn't all that they seemed to be, and things happened. Hanta spares a moment of sorrow for Jirou, and forces himself not to look at Denki as the thought of Shinsou crosses his mind. He hopes with all his heart that they got out of that attic.
Eijirou extinguishes the sink-fire. He slings his bag over his shoulders, and everyone takes that as a cue to go. "Ready everyone?"
There's no answer, but the grim looks are enough. Bakugou sighs, and trudges over to the door. "Never will be, Ei."
Hanta steps out into the sun; it can only be maybe nine o'clock, but the sun is already ruthless. The breeze is nice through, even if he has to lift the yellow bandana around his neck over his nose to stop the dust. Mina slides a pair of goggles down over her eyes, and Denki does the same with a pair of large sunglasses. Hanta and Katsuki share a look, and start snooping around the vehicles that were left behind. Hanta can hear Katsuki let out a muffled yelp when he looks in a window of a Volkswagen, but the front end of it is smashed up so Hanta can't imagine the outcome was good.
The other boy swings around the side of a truck with three flats, and nearly overlooks a dusty grey van sitting by the dumpsters. Almost. Hanta stops, and eyes it. All four tires are inflated, there's no blood on the front. It's a typical hippie van, missing only the flower decals on the sides and hanging dice. The windows are intact, and there's nothing visibly wrong with it except that it's a bit dusty. Hanta approaches it, and peeks in the front. No keys to be seen, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. He moves around the other side, and takes a leap of faith before swinging the door open. It creaks, but nothing jumps out at him and he bites back a smile. "Not yet, speed racer. Let's see if we can get it running, because that would be ideal."
Hanta reaches into the glovebox, and yelps as he slices his fingertips on something: a knife. Hanta scowls, and pulls the offending object out of the box and tucks it into the strap on his thigh. Sitting next to where the knife was is thankfully the keys, and a gun, innocent and dainty in the box. He leaves it there, and slides into the drivers seat. He breathes, and turns the key in the ignition. His finger burns-
The engine sputters, sputters, turns over, and-
"Let's go!"
It stays running. A quick glance at the gas gauge tells him there's just under half a tank. The oil pressure looks fine, and Hanta lets out another whoop. He leans out of the open door, and waves his bloody hand at Bakugou. "Need a lift?"
Katsuki cracks a rare smile as he jogs over, Mina and Denki celebrating behind him. Hanta hops out, and Bakugou gets in. He eyes the blood on the key, and whips his head back at Hanta, who chuckles nervously. "Easy, tiger. Just a scratch. I'll bandage it in the van."
Kirishima climbs in on the passenger side just as Denki opens the side door. The smaller blond lets out a squeal, and jumps into the very last row, spreading out and laughing. "This is glorious! Now we ride in comfort and style!"
Hanta laughs, and as Mina settles in, Katsuki complains about the lack of discs for music, and Eijirou finally doesn't look like he's gonna cry, he feels as though he did something good. This is good. He did good.
"Now, to the city!"
---
The ride doesn't go as smoothly as hoped.
The van was fine, mint actually. Whoever owned it previously took care of it, and they had no issues. The tan interior smelled a little musty, but nothing worrisome. No, it wasn't the van. it was the people they came across in the van.
"Shit..."
Hanta shifts in his seat as Katsuki mutters under his breath. He leans into the middle and nearly clocks head with Mina trying to get a good look in front of them. His eyes widen when the image comes into focus.
It looks like a mini herd, something small that slowly accumulated. Lurkers aren't known for being quiet and light-footed, so even five or six of them in a group can attract more. Sound draws them like flies to meat. Yummy. That seems to be the case here; all of them are interested in a little shack on the side of the road. It's insignificant, and as there's nothing on the highway, they would easily pass it and nothing would happen. However, the noise from the van might reroute them towards the city, which wouldn't be good. There's already enough lurkers there.
But something about this...
Hanta grips the backrest. "Kat, pull over."
Katsuki nearly jumps in his seat. "The fuck you mean, pull over? You got a deathwish?"
"There's not that many, we can take them..." Hanta settles as Katsuki slows down, "I got a feeling about this one. Trust me."
He can feel Mina looking at him, but feels Denki's hand on his shoulder and knows that he's got support. Katsuki blows out a big breath, and pulls over to the shoulder. They're not close enough to really attract attention, but one or two lurkers pull off the mob to stumble closer. "You better be fucking right about this, Flex-Tape."
I hope so too.
Katsuki doesn't kill the engine, but all of them pull blades before unlocking the doors. Eijirou's hand floats over the silenced gun on his hipbone. They approach the mob, and Mina is the first one to kick into action. She whistles lightly, and attracts a few lurkers. Denki and Kirishima dispose of the two that wandered from the sound of the van. Hanta kicks out the knees of one lurker and stabs it in the forehead, moving on fast.
Hanta knows that Katsuki is somewhere to his left with Eijirou, and Denki and Mina are on the other side; Hanta doesn't really know. He just knows kick, stab, move on, dodge, kick, stab, move on. He seems to shut down, and all he knows is that he's making the right choice.
The herd isn't as big as it looked, but it still leaves them all panting as Denki downs the lask lurker. Hanta can feel Kat's eyes on him as he approaches the shack door. It's small. nothing more than somewhere a farmer might store their tools at a field. The padlock is broke, and the door seems to be on it's last legs as Hanta wraps a hand around the handle-
Bam!
Hanta stumbles back, forehead stinging, and yelps as a heavy weight knocks him to the ground. He panics and hears someone shout and lifts his knife hand to stab, but fingers wrap around it and force it back down. The cold of a knife is pressed against his throat, and Hanta looks up-
A hard stare gleams down at him, heterochromic eyes boring into his. Hanta's breath hitches against the knife on his neck, and he exhales shakily. The person above him is trembling, just minutely, and it's enough for Hanta to open his palm. His knife slips out of his hand, but his eyes never leave the strangers. They come to a standstill, and Hanta grits his teeth.
"Easy, easy," Hanta mumbles, mostly for the stranger but also for his friends, who are slowly approaching. "It's fine, we aren't gonna hurt you. We just saw the herd, and stopped. That's all."
The gaze narrows, and Hanta dares to trace the edge of a scar around the left one. The scar is partially hidden by seemingly split-dyed hair, but Hanta snaps back to attention as his wrist is squeezed.
"That's all?"
A deep voice slips over Hanta's face in the form of an exhaled breath, and he forces himself to nod. "That's all. I'm Sero Hanta. Is it cool if you let me up? I think there's a rock under my back."
The eyes widen, and the pressure and shadow disappear. Hanta grunts and lifts himself to a sitting position with his hands, and goes to stand. A pale hand stops his movement though, and he looks up at the most beautiful boy he's ever seen. His face is pale and marred by the scar, but Hanta finds himself transfixed as he stares. He almost forgets to take the offered hand, and something sparks pleasantly when he's hauled up and face to face with this stranger. He can't be much older than any of them, and nervously skips his eyes around.
"My name is Todoroki Shouto. Thank you for helping us."
"'Us'?"
As if on cue, a pained groan rises from inside the shed and Todoroki winces. A dark head peeks outside of the doorway, and Hanta sees the glint of glasses. "Iida, how is she?"
The other boy - Iida? - raises his hand a chops it down. "Not well, if she had sufficient medical attention her condition would drastically improve but we are unable to do much with what we have."
Hanta shares a look with his friends before dipping his head to catch Todoroki's lowered gaze. "Was she bit?"
The boy startles, and shakes his head with wide eyes. "No, nothing like that. We got caught in a bad spot, and Uraraka took a bad hit. Stray bullet in her leg."
Hanta grimaces, and glances back at Bakugou, who's already shaking his head. Kirishima looks just as concerned, but Hanta turns around with a brave face.
"Can I see her? Let me see what I can do." Todoroki hesitates, and Hanta lifts his hands to placate him. "I don't have to touch her, I can just direct from the sidelines. You don't have any reason to trust me, I know but..." Hanta chews his lip and flips his hands, palm up. "I just wanna help."
A moment of silence passes; the wind ruffles the red in Todoroki's hair. "...Okay. Just look."
Hanta's breath leaves him in a whoosh, and he motions at his friends. "I'm just gonna see what I can do, trust me on this."
Katsuki growls, silent up until now. "Fucking Scotch Tape, we're trusting you already. Be careful." Hanta catches a look between Katsuki and Todoroki, and waves his surrogate mother friend off.
"Be back in a jiff."
Hanta turns and nods at Todoroki, who says nothing and leads him into the shack. Hanta blinks, and is greeted with the sight of a girl laying on the floor, a tourniquet just over her right knee. Hanta winces at the red he sees on the floor, and the slippery hands of Iida beside her. Todoroki leaves him standing there, and crouches beside the girl. He mumbles something, and nods to Iida before motioning Hanta to come closer. He kneels beside Todoroki, on the opposite side of the injured leg. He can't really see, but he guesses it's better than having a stranger near an open wound. Todoroki's shoulder brushes his.
"Okay, first thing. Did the bullet go straight through? Carefully unwrap the bandage and check for an exit wound. Should look bigger and super rough around the edges, I guess."
Iida tilts the leg. The woman whimpers, and Hanta carefully leans over her. "This wound?"
Hanta sees both of the holes, and nods. "Good, that means we don't have to remove it. When did she get shot?"
Todoroki swallows. "About a day ago. We had to move and just found this shack."
"Yeah, and attracted a fuck-ton of attention." Hanta jumps as a female voice rings out behind him, and eyes the two people he didn't see on his way in. A girl and boy, sitting against the wall. The girls' hands are stained with blood, and her green sleeves are rolled up. Her hard gaze dares Hanta to say something, eyes bloodshot and cheeks wet. The other boy seems to be holding her back. "Keep going, mullet-man. Help her."
Hanta nods, and turns his attention back to the wound. "Did you clean it with anything?"
"A bit, we had some water left over."
"Okay..." Hanta reaches for his bag, and chooses to ignore the way Todoroki flinches beside him. "That's not terrible, that's probably better for a wound this size. I can see you guys are trying to slow the bleeding. Keep pressure on both sides, we're gonna clean the bigger one first. That's the one most at risk of infection or bleeding out right now." Hanta produces a clean rag and his water bottle and sends a look towards Todoroki. His eyes look panicked and unsure, even if his expression is carefully blank. "May I...?"
Todoroki nods, and Hanta steels himself for this.
"You're gonna wanna hold her down. Two on her legs, one on hips and the other on shoulders. This is gonna hurt."
Hanta pours some water on his rag, and the rest of the people shuffle around him. Todoroki ends up following him, and his hands clamp just above the knee. Iida is on the other leg with the smaller boy with green hair, and the girl is on shoulders. Her blood-stained hands float over the injured girls' pale cheeks, and Hanta looks away. "I'm gonna clean it in three, two-"
Hanta gently presses the cloth to the wound, wiping away blood and gore. He winces as the girl cries out, but keeps going. He splashes water directly on the wound, flushing out diluted red that pools at his knees, and quickly wipes off what else he can. The one side of her calf might be okay without stitches; he doesn't know about the other side. He can only assume this was the exit wound, and grits his teeth. It's big, but it's not life threatening. If she was left any longer, she might have slowly bled out and that's not the way to go. Blonde hair and a wide smile flash through his minds eye, and he pushes it away furiously.
"Keep holding her, I'm grabbing something." Hanta dumps his bag beside himself, and spreads the contents out until his hand lands on a large retainer case. He pops it open, and carefully pinches the needle inside. He grabs the spool of thicker thread, and quickly pokes it in the needle before getting the lighter from his pocket. He runs the needle through the flame a few times, and looks down at his project. It's on the softer side of her calf; the girl is lucky the bullet didn't hit her fibula. "This is important now. Do not let her move. Please, I don't want to hurt her more..." Hanta trails off quietly, and blinks hard before gently pinching two sides of the wound together. Todoroki makes a small noise as the needle enters the skin, but Hanta can't look away to help him. He does whisper, "Don't look, Todoroki. Just look at her face, keep her still."
Todoroki inhales shakily, and turns his face over his shoulder. Hanta threads the needle through, and the girl trembles under his hands. A cry of alarm has him glancing up, and he sees the green-wearing girl patting the injured girls cheek frantically. "Ochako? Ochako, baby wake up...!"
"She passed out, it's okay. Let me finish here and then we can get her back up." Hanta quickly finishes two more stitches, pulling the wound closed and tying it off. Blood sluggishly seeps around, but doesn't well up again when he wipes it away. He sighs, shaky, and realizes just how fast his heart was going. After packing the needle and thread away, he sees just how badly his hands are trembling. He looks over, and meets the eyes of Todoroki. He looks shaken and slightly spooked, but the corner of his mouth ticks up and Hanta allows himself a small, breathless smile.
Somehow, that little connection stops the trembling completely.
---
Hanta winces as he cleans the blood off his fingers. His own bandage needs to be replaced, but he's more concerned about his friends playing nice with the others. Well, just Katsuki. He trashes the ruined bandage in the ground and quickly rewraps his fingers, and then shoves everything back in his bag before pulling his glove back on. He's just around the corner of the shack; it's about ten minutes after he stitched up the girls leg, Uraraka Ochako is her name, and the girl holding her head is Asui Tsuyu, her girlfriend. The other greenette in the room is named Midoriya Izuku. Hanta stands up again, and is just turning the corner when a shout catches his attention.
"Shitty Deku!"
"Listen to me-"
"No, I don't think I fucking will!"
Hanta stares at the standoff between Midoriya and Bakugou. Everyone else seems to be in the same shock, save for the two girls still inside the shack and Mina, who's driving the van closer. Hanta sees Todoroki's back, and walks closer. He makes his last two steps louder on purpose, also hating to be snuck up on himself. The boy doesn't move, but Hanta can see him relax as he makes himself known. Todoroki turns his head slightly when Hanta whispers at him, "So what's actually happening?"
Todoroki shrugs. "It seems that Midoriya knows your friend-"
"That doesn't mean anything!"
"Kacchan, I left the city like four days ago!"
Hanta snickers into his palm at the sight of Katsuki's red cheeks and Eijirou's exasperated gaze in the background. Mina seems content to make conversation with Iida, who's studying the van like a new specimen. Maybe the poor guy just wants a hobby. "Well, it seems Katsuki knows him from somewhere. If he didn't, he wouldn't be blowing up like this. Kinda funny though, you gotta admit. It's like watching a shitty soap opera."
Out of the corner of his eye, Hanta sees the corner of Todoroki's mouth lift ever so slightly. Hanta takes it as a win, and continues, "So, where were you guys headed, if you don't mind me asking?"
Todoroki glances at him. "The opposite direction of your group, actually. Most of us came from Kyoto, but it's overrun."
Hanta stops. "Overrun? Like... completely gone?"
Todoroki nods, seemingly oblivious to the way that he just crushed Hanta's heart. "The quarantine zone failed. They weren't prepared for the amount of people that went there."
"Ah."
Hanta kicks the dirt with his toe, and squeezes his eyes shut. He doesn't know where else to look for his parents, if there was ever any point after the second week. Mina is gonna be upset about this too; she said she had relatives in Kyoto, but there's no point now. Hanta recovers quickly, shoving the negative emotions down and grinning in a way that he hopes is friendly. "Well, where to next? I'm sure that if we tried we can fit you in the new and improved Mystery Machine. It's dangerous for Uraraka right now, especially with that leg, and we can always make space."
Katsuki and Midoriya seem to have hit a standstill, and both are lead away by strong hands on their shoulders and apologetic looks. Mina and Asui look thoroughly entertained as they poke fun at each other in the background. Iida goes back to looking at the van, and Denki chats up a now grinning Midoriya.
Todoroki turns towards Hanta, arms crossed over his chest and slightly fidgety. He's wearing a blue button up under a leather vest, and Hanta almost wants to give him his fingerless gloves just to complete the look. It would be much better than the dark grey Henley Hanta has on, and the tacky yellow bandana around his neck. His grandmothers chain sits safely under his shirt. "I don't know."
"Well, think on it. Bring it up to your group, and maybe we can come to a compromise, because I would feel like a terrible person if we drove away right now. Also, Denki seems to like having more people to talk to, so now we actually can't get rid of you." Hanta shrugs dramatically, faking a frown. "This really sucks, but you gotta come with now. No receipt, no returns, no take backs. I don't make the rules."
Todoroki's lip lifts again, and it feels like the sun shot through Hanta's heart. Oh boy. Here we go again.
"Flex-Tape! Are we leaving or what?!"
Hanta looks over at a fuming Katsuki, only slightly calmed by Eijirou's hand on his shoulder. He stifles a snort, and allows himself to knock shoulders with Todoroki. The touch zings up his arm. "Sure, but I'm bringing a couple things with me. Hope you don't mind, Blasty."
"Hope I don't mind?!?! Who said this was a time to pick up strays?"
Hanta openly laughs, and shoots a look at the van. Midoriya and Denki are already climbing in the back. "Since Denki decided he's bestfriends with Midoriya. C'mon, we can squish."
Katsuki growls, and stomps back over to the van door. He gets in and slams it closed, but Hanta sees him putting down the bench seat in the front, and he's certain that if he was any closer, the string of swears could curdle milk. What a softie. Hanta turns to Todoroki. "Let's get Uraraka in. The side doors will open wider than the front ones."
---
Uraraka slowly gains consciousness as they get farther away from Kyoto. It was hard breaking the news to his friends, and even worse having to see the heartbroken look on Mina's face. Believe him, Hanta feels the same. He rubs her shoulder, and they clamber in the vehicle. Katsuki, Eijirou and Iida are sitting in the front, left to right, and the three girls get the backseat. Uraraka is sideways, leaned up against the window with a shitty cushion behind her head and her injured leg elevated. Midoriya and Denki were the lucky souls to get the trunk area, which is pretty spacious because they're both smaller in stature. Hanta and Todoroki occupy the middle part, where the captains chairs are. Majority of the bags are between them and at their feet, except for Asui's which is under Uraraka's foot.
It's a system, and it works as Hanta starts to doze off in his chair. Mina and Asui are chatting idly behind him, and he's pretty sure Midoriya and Denki are playing Uno. He knows he probably shouldn't fall asleep, but if the emotional turmoil of stitching someone up didn't tire him right out...
"What is our destination?"
"Don't know yet. We were pretty set on Kyoto, but that's out of the books now. You got any ideas?"
"No."
"Neither do we."
Todoroki speaks up beside Hanta, but he doesn't open his eyes. He can't tell if it's just him floating away from the realm of awareness, or if Todoroki's voice is quieter now. "There was a safe-zone in Fukishima. We could-"
"-Too close to Sendai, it's too fuckin' big. We shouldn't trust any safe-zone, regardless of its location."
"Hm."
Hanta shivers, and draws his arms closer to his body.
"We could stick to the countryside... it might be harder to find supplies but at least we're away from hotspots. We might be able to find a bigger group-"
"-Ei."
The van hums as they drive further away from the city. All of the miles they walked, for nothing. All those miles to just get away...
Hanta feels chilled, and this time it isn't just the cold.
"The countryside is ideal. There is less population, therefore less chance of transmission. Uraraka was from the countryside, but her home... it did not survive."
"That's shit."
"Mhm... We were at Hanta's place, until we ran out of supplies and stuff. We were also looking for his parents, because they were the only ones that left with a location in mind. It was Kyoto, if you can't tell. I think he's sleeping now, but I can't imagine being in his place. Poor guy. He's been through a lot."
Hanta grits his teeth, and feels the slightest burning in his eyes. He cracks them open, and doesn't see Todoroki side eying him with something not unlike empathy. He closes his eyes again, and this time turns towards the window so he doesn't have to concentrate. He'll wake up the next time they stop.
---
The next stop turns out to be a shitty little gas station. They passed the diner a few hours ago, travelling a lot faster on wheels than foot. Then, Katsuki turned left, and took the road that would lead closer to the country and away from the cities. Katsuki doesn't know if they're gonna make it to the next stop before dark, so the plan is to settle down here, find some supplies, and figure out a better plan than a highway dream. Hanta jumps down off the van, stretching his arms over his head and cracking his neck. The newest additions are all dong the same before splitting off to do various jobs; Uraraka is conscious and sitting on the door jam of the van, so Hanta wanders over to formally introduce himself.
"Hey, I'm Sero Hanta. I'm the stranger that stitched up your leg." Hanta offers his hand, and Uraraka takes it with a kind smile. "You were a little, uh, indisposed when we first met so I thought I'd actually come and say hi."
Uraraka laughs, and motions her hand in Asui's direction. Her and Mina are helping scope out the gas station while the others find any extra gas. "Ah, thank you! I'm glad that the strangers we run into are super nice. Tsuyu was telling me about the rest of your group, you seem to be pretty tight."
Hanta nods, "Since day one, or even earlier for some of us. We were classmates."
The brunette hums her assent, and the pair falls into a comfortable silence as they watch the rest of the group wander around the gas station. It's cleared, shouted out by Denki, and Hanta pats his hands to his thighs.
"What do you say we get you inside, and I can check on that leg of yours? You can tell me all about the ways you're gonna make your bullet wound story sound super cool."
Uraraka giggles behind her hand, and Hanta leans down on her right side. She loops an arm over his shoulders, and his arm around her waist, and they slowly hobble inside. He plans to get his bag later, and gently sets Uraraka down on a somewhat sturdy looking chair by a large window. He gives her shoulder a friendly pat, and goes to turn around and walks right into a solid wall, but the wall gives an exhale that moves Hanta's bangs and large hands close around his upper arms. His heart stutters.
"S-sorry, I wasn't watching," Hanta manages, staring right into the eyes of Todoroki. Hanta chuckles lightly, and steps away once he's steady. Todoroki's hands drop, and Hanta nearly hates himself for missing them.
Todoroki tilts his head slightly, and motions with his shoulder. "I grabbed your bag, uh, you were carrying Uraraka." Hanta realizes that the other boy is actually holding a few bags, hooked over his arms and on his elbows like a sales rack. He looks so unperturbed, and Hanta can't contain the snort that escapes him.
"Lemme take some of those for you, so you don't look like a street seller." Hanta slides his bag off and grabs Denki's and Eijirou's, but doesn't recognize any others. One must be Uraraka's, because Todoroki leans into Hanta's space to drop it on the floor. It takes all of Hanta's willpower not to blush at the proximity, and he swears that he gets the slightest hint of wood smoke as Todoroki moves back. "Uh..."
The other boy nods at him. "Let me know if you need help with anything."
"...uh huh..."
Todoroki spares him one last confused look, before offering just a tipping up of his lips and walking away. Hanta swears that he did it on purpose, but what proof does a poor man have? Hanta clears his throat, and waves his hand in front of his face like that'll help cool him down. "Um, a-anyways, let's check your leg out-"
"I-"
"-Say a word and I'll decide that I need to do an emergency amputation."
"..."
"..."
"...My lips are sealed."
"That's what I thought." Hanta looks up at the girl as they both snicker at the foolishness, and gently rolls up her pant leg. Even without the bandages off, he can tell it's swollen but hopefully not on it's way to infected. He prods carefully at the area around the bandage, watching for serious signs of pain. Nothing major so far, so Hanta unwraps the bandages. The gauze pad that was between them and the wound falls off, mostly clear of blood except for a few spots. Hanta hums to himself, and tilts his head lower to check out the stitches. They seem to be holding, a little congealed and gross but that's what platelets do, man.
"Well, amputation is off the table. Shucks." Uraraka gently smacks his shoulder. "I don't wanna clean it just yet in case we irritate it more, but so far it's alright. How's the pain? Did you take anything?"
"Tsu gave me Tylenol, I think. We don't have anything heavier." Uraraka looks down at her leg, and winces. "Pretty rough, right?"
Hanta folds the gauze over and places it against the wound again. He wraps her calf, and then rolls her pantleg down. "I won't lie, it's not pretty. But I don't think you'll have problems with it. Now, I'm not a doctor, but I really liked Scrubs and I broke my ribs this one time, so I'd say I'm qualified, and that means I can say you probably shouldn't walk on it, and keep it wrapped more often than not. Lurkers like to grab, and I don't want you or the hole in your leg to get scratched."
The girl offers a mock salute. "Sir, yes sir."
Hanta stands, brushing his pants off just as the rest of the team starts rolling in. Hanta eyes the goodies in their arms, and his stomach growls. "Alright, soldier. Let's get you up and over to somewhere suitable for a meal."
Just as he gets his arm around Uraraka, Hanta gets the weirdest sensation of being watched. He looks up, and sees Asui's eyes boring into him where he's touching Uraraka, and Todoroki's eyes looking where Uraraka is touching him. It's sudden and he's definitely not expecting it, but he just snickers to himself as he and his newest friend hobble to the sharing circle. For some reason, he doesn't mind the attention. "Can someone grab that chair? I feel like Uraraka has earned the elderly and endangered discount."
That brings a small round of laughter from most of the group, and Asui tugs the chair over for her girlfriend. Hanta sets her down again, and plops down on the dusty tile floors to her left. Asui is on her right, and she leans her head against Uraraka's thigh. They took the tourniquet off before, not wanting to strangle poor Uraraka's leg.
The sharing circle becomes a real sharing circle when Eijirou reveals they found coffee grounds in the backroom, prompting a cheer out of Hanta and Mina. They lean across the circle to high-five, accidentally placing Hanta right in front of Todoroki. He would love to say he didn't notice the boy sitting to his left, but he seems to carry an aura of attention that Hanta can't help but lean into. Denki breaks open a bag of popcorn, and passes it around as Katsuki and Iida wrestle two cans of beans open. Hanta gets the bag from Todoroki, who opted to take a small handful and put it in the kangaroo cup of his shirt. "So was there anything not alive in the basement?"
Mina shakes her head. "Unless you count the raccoon that got trapped, nope. You're the only one that gets to deal with basement lurkers, honey."
Hanta shakes his head in mock disbelief. "Slander, they all hate me."
Denki offers the open can of beans to Midoriya, who's separated from Katsuki by only Denki and Iida. Risky, giving the old behavior they saw at the shack. "Some beans for a pour soul?"
"O-oh, sure."
Hanta takes a drink from a plastic water bottle. "Did you find a generator? Or gas?"
Katsuki shrugs, and offers his can to Kirishima on his right. "Found some jerrycans, there's not much but it should get us to the next shitstop."
Hanta nods, and takes a leap of faith. He offers his water bottle to Todoroki, who blinks at him and slowly raises a hand. His fingers wrap around the bottle just above Hanta's. "Thank you, Sero."
"No problem." Was his voice squeaky? Was it fine? The look Bakugou is sending him across the sharing circle tells him otherwise. Fucks sakes. "Soo, anybody have any ghost stories? Something juicy?"
"Oh!" Denki perks up, nearly sending the bag of popcorn flying. "We could play two truths and a lie! An easy way to get to know each other, am I right?"
Hanta nods, and so does most of the people in the group. It doesn't escape his mind that this was the same game they played in that attic all those months ago. A slight touch to his elbow has him looking over, and Todoroki is offering the bottle back. Hanta smiles softly, and just shakes his head before turning his attention back to the game. "Keep it," he whispers, "We can fill new ones later."
"Alright, I'll go first! So I've got a tattoo on my ass, I don't know how many chokers I had at home, and purple is my favorite color."
Hanta snickers, but it comes out as a full laugh as Iida protests. "This is very inappropriate! How could you have a permanent body modification at such an age?! Impossible!"
"I actually have fourteen chokers at home, next!"
---
"I own three of the same watches, seven of the same shirts, and twelve different pairs of pants."
"..."
"I actually own thirteen different pairs of pants!"
---
"Um, I'm not a secret lovechild, I've broken a bone on purpose, and I have a rolodex at home?"
---
"I was in gymnastics, my tongue is longer than any of you bitches' is, and- Sero, stop laughing! And I can see decently well in the dark."
---
"I got shot while trying to save a boat, I have rosacea, and I've been in zero gravity before."
"...I said to make it sound cool..."
"Eh?! That wasn't cool enough?"
---
"I have double jointed elbows, I broke seven of my ribs, and I am, in fact, straight-"
Cough cough!
"Woah, Todobroki, you good?"
---
"My father presumably killed my brother, I hate cold soba, and if I was able to, I would adopt and bring every cat that we've seen with me."
"...bro..."
"What?"
"Fast, group hug and then regroup in the sharing circle, one two three BREAK."
---
"I have spent more money on hair products than I have on a decent car, I danced since I was able to walk, and I passed my midterms last school year."
"If you'd have studied, maybe!"
"Shut up, Blasty! I can't learn like Kirishima does!"
"You just gotta beat it into-"
"I KNOW WHERE YOU SLEEP, DYNAMITE!"
---
"Um, I like rocks, I have a moss ball at home, and my mom was straight... oh God, my moss ball..."
---
"I hate spicy food, I hate Deku, and I hate you shitty extras!"
"Katsuki, it's two truths and a lie, not three truths and a side of softie-"
"DO YOU WANT TO DIE-"