Chapter Text
When Yashiro went through a purple-colored door, swearing that it would lead them to Hanako’s bathroom, she didn’t expect to be spit out in some weird plaza by dead bushes. Underneath her two friends, at that.
“Kou, your elbow is digging into my back.”
“Sorry, Senpai!”
After getting untangled from the mess, Yashiro takes in her surroundings. Hanako is floating next to them, with Kou brandishing his staff in response to any possible threat. Yashiro brushes dirt off her dress and chooses not to tell him that his staff is still inside his umbrella. She’s sure he’ll figure it out eventually.
“Hanako,” she asks, turning to the ghost in question. “Do you have any idea where we are?”
It’s a large building, with a glass dome above them showing it’s around noon. Yashiro hopes they’re still in Japan. Her English is terrible.
She wants him to say yes, or that it’s all okay either way, because he knows what to do and how to get home. Instead, he cheerfully says, “Nope!”
Kou sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose and looking obviously frustrated. He looks around, and his eyes narrow when he notices something ahead of them. “What’s going on over there?”
Yashiro turns to where he’s pointing at, confused. She takes an involuntary step backward when she notices that there’s a fight going on, a boy with blue hair and hands attached all over his body fighting with a weirdly dressed, long-haired man. She prays that they didn’t notice their entrance.
Hanako widens his stance and takes out his knife, the Haku-jodai swirling around him. “We should leave.” Yashiro nods.
Kou opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, a giant monster with an exposed brain and glassy eyes grabs the man with long hair, a sickening crack echoing through the plaza when it snaps his elbow. The man screams in pain and Yashiro freezes, terrified.
After breaking the other arm, the beast slams the man’s head into the concrete, blood starting to pool beneath him. He goes still, and Yashiro can only hope he’s not dead.
A different person appears next to hand-man, his body made of swirling purple mist. Part of Yashiro, the part already used to her crazy life, wonders if he’s a supernatural.
She can’t hear what they’re saying, their voices too soft to make out. But she knows when they realize they’re there, the blue-haired man turning towards them. She feels Kou stiffen next to her and her stomach drops. Her limbs feel like lead and her mind blanks out in panic.
“I guess I’ll just kill some kids to weaken his pride.”
Yashiro blinks, and the man is in front of her, a hand outstretched. She blinks again, and sees the telling glint of a knife before the man is screeching in pain. His hand falls to the ground with a thump, blood spraying on Yashiro’s already dirty dress. She distantly hopes it can wash out.
Hanako stands in front of her and Kou, his grip tense around his knife. Yashiro makes a note to thank him later.
“You fucking brat! I’ll kill you!” The man yells, stepping away from Hanako.
“You can try, ugly-ass bitch,” Hanako all but growling. Yashiro doesn't think that antagonizing the man trying to murder them is a good idea. But hey, she’s not the boss of him.
Hand-man (now with one less) snarls, “Noumu!” before the beast comes flying towards them, like a puppet on strings.
It slams into Hanako, sending him flying across the building. “Hanako!” Yashiro and Kou scream, worried for their friend. Kou turns to Hand-Man and starts yelling at him, trying to hit him with his staff. Hand-Man responds by going through a misty-portal and leaving the two teens alone.
Yashiro grabs Kou’s hand before he can do anything stupid like run after him. “Kou, I’m sure Hanako can handle it. We need to get out of here and get help,” she says, praying that he buys her false confidence. She honestly still doesn’t know where they are, but standing around gaping like a fish isn't gonna help them. He looks torn, but he eventually nods and Yashiro tries not to slump in relief.
“Right. Let’s grab Goggles and try to see what we can do.” Yashiro assumes he means the long-haired dude still on the ground, who she almost forgot about.
As they run towards him, trying to ignore the monster - Noumu? - attacking their friend, Yashiro sees 2 other kids not that far away from them. She hopes they’re on their side before calling out, “Hey, you two! Can you help me with him, he needs medical attention!”
The two teens in front of them, both with green hair, one a boy and one a girl, snap to attention.
“Aizawa-sensei!” the boy yelps, concern and fear painted on his face. Yashiro waves them over, coming to a stop near Kou, who’s already assessing long-haired man - Aizawa-san’s - wounds.
“Do any of you have bandages or something to stop the bleeding?” Kou asks, feeling for a pulse. He sighs in relief and Yashiro assumes he finds one.
The boy shakes his head. “No, but there’s someone who can help. I think she’s near the entrance,” he goes to pick up Aizawa-san, and Yashiro steps back.
Green-haired girl, who looks suspiciously like a frog, stares at them. “Who are you?”
Kou shares a glance with Yashiro. “I don’t think that’s important right now.” The girl nods.
Kou hovers near the boy as they make their way to the entrance of the building - that Yashiro learns is called the USJ. There’s a group of teens there, some fighting leftover stragglers and others watching. Some of them are funny looking, like the girl with pink skin and the boy with weird elbows, but Yashiro decides to drop it. She has enough on her plate as it is.
The boy from earlier calls for help, other students rushing over. They set Aizawa-san down, a girl producing bandages from her thigh. Yashiro glances at Kou who looks as confused as she feels.
Eventually, a kid with blond hair spots them. “Yo, who the fuck are you two?”
Yashiro doesn’t bat an eye at the language. “Ah, I’m Yashiro Nene and this is Minamoto Kou,” she introduces. Kou is bristling at the blond boy’s hostile attitude.
“What are you two doing here?” some kid with red hair and sharp teeth asks, a mix between concerned and wary.
“We’d like to know too.”
——
Hanako honestly didn’t expect his day to end up with him getting bitch-slapped by a weird muscle monster, but he also didn’t expect to end up in a different dimension. It seems like his afterlife loves to throw him curveballs.
After slicing the - Noumu’s? - skin for what felt like the hundredth time, Hanako hopes that Yashiro and the kid took the hint to get the hell away from crusty and his mist sidekick. He’s too far away to keep proper tabs on them but he trusts the kid with Yashiro. His staff may be useless, but there’s always improvising. He’s smart like that.
The fight is starting to get boring. The Noumu can’t actually hurt Hanako, no human really can unless they are bound with spiritual energy, and he doesn’t see this monster pulling out an exorcist weapon any time soon.
After the Noumu tries to break his skull open again, he decides to fly through the floor and hope for the best. The monster isn’t hurting him, but Hanako’s getting antsy being away from Yashiro in such a battle-tense situation.
He senses someone else, enemy or ally he doesn’t know, join the fight. He’s about as buff as the Noumu, with weird hair and looking like the generic superhero from those comics Kou brings to the bathroom sometimes. Hanako hopes the knock off he-man can end the fight as quickly as possible. He’s not actually allowed to harm humans, and doesn’t know what the fuck the Noumu is, but he wouldn’t mind if it was put out of commission.
He decides to go find his friends, spotting them with a different group of people. They’re surrounding the injured homeless-looking man, a girl with a revealing bodysuit patching him up. Neither group seem on high alert, so Hanako disperses his cape and puts away the knife.
“Yashiro!” he wails, overdramatic, as he hugs her from behind. She just barely stumbles and adjusts his grip on her. She’s warm and alive, but more importantly, safe.
“Hanako, thank god you’re okay,” she says, sighing in relief. Out of the corner of his vision, the kid also slumps a bit and Hanako laughs.
“Of course I am! You didn’t get into any more trouble, hm?” he teases, poking her cheek. Hanako keeps an eye on Kou, trying to see if he’s injured. So far they’re all good, except for shock and bruises.
Hanako doesn’t have to look at Yashiro to know she’s blushing, their banter a routine by now. Something settles in his core at the sight of them safe and in view.
Behind them, wind blows as the battle continues. He-man knock off is getting monologued by the dude Hanako cut an arm off of. The purple guy is standing a bit further away, seemingly trying to get the drop on he-man. Hanako unconsciously tightens his grip on Yashiro, moving closer to Kou.
Kou makes an alarmed sound when a green bean of a kid goes running towards the fight, two others hot on his heels. Hanako lets them, honestly not caring if they wanna get themselves killed or not. Obviously, their friends think differently as they yell at the teens to come back and let the adults handle it.
Hanako doesn’t know how battle-quipped this group of kids are, but even he can tell that the fight isn’t tipping in he-man’s favor. If the Noumu comes after Hanako’s group again, then he’ll rejoin the fight.
He glances towards the doors of the building, noticing more people making their way inside. The kids seem to relax at the sight of them, medics flanking the homeless dude and seeing if they need to resuscitate him. Hanako can tell the homeless dude is still alive, his breathing shallow and quick.
Gunshots ring out and Hanako instinctively curls around Kou and Yashiro, his Haku-joudai ready to summon his cape. The knife in his pocket feels like it’s ready to burn him.
The enemies make their getaway, spewing some more bullshit before going through one of misty guy’s portals. Hanako hopes he never sees any of them again.
He nudges Kou, noticing the dazed look in Yashiro’s eyes. “We should get out of here before more people notice you two,” he points out, tilting his head towards the open doors. No one’s paying attention to them currently.
Kou nods, grabbing Yashiro’s arm and whispering in her ear. She snaps out of it, looking around herself as she trembles. Hanako makes sure to grab her other hand, hoping he’s not too cold.
They make it about five feet before getting stopped.
“Excuse me,” the new man says, tall and looking like a stereotypical detective. Interestingly enough, he’s making eye contact with Hanako. “Who are you three, and what’re you kids doing here?”
Hanako stays silent, not sure if he’s actually visible or not. Kou ends up answering. “Um, I’m Minamoto Kou, that’s Yashiro-senpai, a-and Hanako.” His voice wavers at the end, hesitant to introduce the ghost. The man chooses not to comment on that.
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m detective Tsukauchi, and my quirk lets me know if people are telling the truth or not. I’m gonna ask you three some questions, and then you’re gonna get checked out by the paramedics, okay?”
Hanako has no fucking clue what a quirk is, but they all nod in agreement.
“Good. Are any of you associated with any groups that were present here today?”
Hanako answers for them, “None of us actually know anyone here.” The detective writes something down.
“Are any of you heroes in training?” He asks. Hanako just gives him a confused look but Yashiro is the one who breaks out of her stupor. “No, sir.”
“How did you get here?” The three members glance at each other.
“We went through a big purple door thinking it’ll lead to a bathroom, but instead we got dropped here and nearly died.”
The detective actually stops writing at that, a flash of exhaustion passing through his eyes. Good, now he knows how Hanako feels about this shit.
——
Kou thinks he’s a pretty flexible guy. He keeps his cool well enough, he’s been through some pretty crazy stuff after all. But getting escorted to a police station in a different dimension, with his upperclassman and a ghost as company, was not something he’d think would happen to him.
“Are we getting arrested?” Yashiro asks the detective, who lets out a sigh. Kou doesn’t think they deserve that.
“No. We’re just making sure your story checks out. Also, if you’re telling the whole truth, then you three are gonna need someplace to stay.” He’s right, Kou hasn’t even thought of that. He just expected Hanako to teleport them back home or something.
The ride is filled with Hanako whining about his seatbelt and Yashiro’s nervous fidgeting. Kou doesn’t know if Hanako is trying to break the ice, or if he actually thinks his seatbelt is chafing into his collarbone.
When they arrive, the station is already bustling with activity, which Kou doesn’t find surprising. Apparently, it was a whole class that got attacked. He didn’t get a full scope of how many people were in that building, but Kou is pretty sure that it was overkill for an entire first-year class.
Detective Tsukauchi leads them to an office-like room and gestures at them to sit down. Yashiro and Kou take a seat while Hanako floats above them. Kou nervously grips onto his staff.
“Okay,” the detective starts off with, grabbing a different pen and paper. “Supposedly, you three are from a different universe, got transported to the USJ, accidentally helped out in the fight against the league, and now don’t know how to get home. Is this all correct?”
Kou nods and Yashiro gives the man a sympathetic smile. Hanako just kinda floats there.
The detective rubs his hands across his face. “Honestly, I don’t know what to do with you all. Obviously, you have no money and nowhere to go. Plus, I can’t just have a bunch of kids running around without supervision,” Kou wants to point out that Hanako is pretty much 40 years old, but he keeps his mouth shut. “I’m gonna make some calls. I’ll be right back.”
He leaves the room and Yashiro slumps back in her chair. Her dress is all torn and bloody, and Kou is sure he looks no better. Even Hanako looks a bit sleepy, drooping in the air a bit.
Kou’s stomach grumbles and he looks away sheepishly. “I guess all that fighting made me a bit hungry.”
Yashiro hums. “Me too. Hopefully, they remember we need to eat.”
Hanako hovers in front of them, tapping his chin in thought. “I can try to sneak some snacks for you two.”
Yashiro frantically shakes her head. “No no, we’re not stealing!”
“C’mon! My poor assistant needs her nutrients!”
Kou watches his two friends argue before Hanako leaves anyway. He’s sure the ghost will get him something too. He’s tempted to curl up in his chair and take a quick nap, the adrenaline fully crashing. Yashiro looks equally exhausted.
Hanako comes into the room ten minutes later with juice and chips, his two friends fast asleep. He smiles, setting down the food and summoning his cape. After draping it over them, he settles down on the floor and keeps watch.
They deserve the rest.