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The thing is, he doesn’t even notice at first.
Hitoshi is generally a fairly observant person. His former life as a shinobi had required it — observing every key detail on a mission often made the difference between life and death. But here, he’s so set into his everyday life, so dulled by his familiarity with the new normal that it’s actually Midoriya who brings up the first hint.
“I-I can’t believe it!”
Hitoshi is scrolling through Korean tutorials on his phone, so he’s not paying much attention, but he still vaguely tunes into the conversation happening on the other side of the room. Some of his classmates are gathered around the dorm kitchen table, chatting and eating, when Midoriya made his shocked outburst.
Uraraka’s head pops up. “What is it, Deku?” She asks curiously.
“It’s about the new policy! Look!” Midoriya turns his phone around, thrusting it out enthusiastically. “Two weeks ago, it was announced that UA is now accepting quirkless students! It’s an extremely progressive move from our school, and it’s really so incredible that we’re at the head of this to allow all students the same chance at joining the hero industry, no matter their quirk—”
Hitoshi had heard about that when the news had first broken. It was an extremely controversial decision made by the school. News outlets had covered it for weeks. In the current political climate, quirkless individuals were heavily discriminated against. Most of the population thought they were incapable of holding a job, never mind becoming heroes. The principal of UA had apparently disagreed.
“And the first quirkless student ever was finally accepted!” Midoriya continues. “They’re going to be attending in the First Year Hero Course this year! Isn’t it amazing?”
The other students nod and chime in with various other expressions of surprise and agreement. Hitoshi’s not entirely surprised himself. From watching most of his fellow classmates’ training and skill level coming into the program, he’s of no doubt that a dedicated quirkless prospect could easily keep up. But of course that’s dependent on their level of fitness, their tactical skills, and practical combat knowledge. Most people weren’t dedicating their entire lives to training and fighting, and without that, it’s true that the lack of quirk would put them at a disadvantage.
Then again, he’s used to people fighting the odds and succeeding regardless. His former life had been full of them. No one would ever have dared suggest that Gai was any less of a shinobi due to his sole reliance on taijutsu. Sakura had been a civilian born on a team full of heavy hitters, all of whom sported powerful kekkei-genkai, and she had made herself into one of the greatest powerhouses in the Elemental Nations. Even his father hadn’t been gifted with an enormous amount of chakra. The Hatake didn’t sport many unique bloodline abilities, coming from a family of farmers. Sakumo had more than made up for it with his unique mastery of chakra-controlled techniques and the pure devastation of his incomparable swordsmanship.
The point is, deviations from the norm like this aren’t entirely unfamiliar to him. That’s why, apart from a vague curiosity about what their skill level might be like, he isn’t overly invested in the new student. He tunes back out of the conversation just as Midoriya starts mentioning something about support tools and a sword, and doesn’t think much on it again.
–
The second hint comes from Kaminari.
The boy comes up to him in class, clapping a hand on his shoulder, though relents without protest when Hitoshi brushes it off.
“Yo, my man!” Kaminari greets. He seems to be in a strangely good mood this morning. Even better than the usual, at least.
“My man,” Hitoshi echoes wryly. “Did something happen?”
“What? Oh! Yeah!” He straightens up, grin wide, like he’s about to deliver the world’s greatest news. “You have a fan!”
“Sorry?”
“A fan!” Kaminari emphasizes, which, yes, Hitoshi heard him clearly, it’s just— what?
“Why would I have a fan?”
“Uh, maybe ‘cause you’re super cool, and amazing, and you’ve helped put down villain attacks, like over five times? Duh.”
Hitoshi shakes his head. “We’ve all helped defend against the League.”
“But this guy asked about you,” Kaminari insists. “C’mon, aren’t you excited?”
Hitoshi sighs. He knows Kaminari’s not likely to let it go anytime soon, so might as well get it over with. “And what did they say?”
His fellow student brightens. “That’s what I’m talking about! See, it was one of the new first year students. He stopped me in the hall just to ask about you! You’re famous, Shinsou!”
Famous. Great. He’d been well known back in his past life. It seemed as if every enemy he ever faced always wanted to announce his identity. Hitoshi’s certainly never missed that aspect of his time in the Elemental Nations.
“Really.”
“Yeah! Hey, we should celebrate your newfound fame. This is a big deal!” Kaminari sighs gustily. “Man, I’m kinda jealous. Nobody’s asked about me before.”
Hitoshi looks straight ahead. Hopefully class will start up soon. “Don’t worry. I’m sure your heroic fame will catch up to you one day.”
“Haha, thanks man. But seriously. He was a nice kid. Polite, kinda quiet… he kinda reminded me of you in some ways.”
“Mm.”
“He had so many questions about you too!”
“Questions,” Hitoshi repeats blandly.
“He asked about how you chose your name, some details about your hero outfit…” Kaminari leans over a bit further, propping his elbow on Hitoshi’s desk. “You know, fanboy stuff! I couldn’t answer all his questions, but I told him a bit about the fight last week. You know, you were on the news! And then he asked how you were doing! Isn’t that sweet?”
Sweet? More like, the last thing he needs at this stage in his life. “I’m sure,” Hitoshi says neutrally.
“You should talk to him!” Kaminari pushes. “I think you’d really make his day, and it’s probably, uh… good media training, right? See, I knew there was a reason why you should do it. Hey, I could even come with—”
Thankfully, that’s when class starts up again and Hitoshi is able to push his potential fan club off to the back of his mind. That is, until the stalking starts.
—
The third hint is not so much a hint, as a neon sign appearing in the form of a concerningly vigilant stalker.
Hitoshi has actually stalked a fair number of people in his life, not that he would ever have referred to it as such. Tailing, as it was generally known. Tracking. Intel gathering.
Of course, the majority of this had again been back when he was Kakashi. He wasn’t known as one of the village’s best trackers for nothing, after all. He had plenty of experience with both tailing as well as losing a tail. The fact that it often ended in violent confrontation was not a detriment to his abilities, but it was a bit inconvenient here, considering the actual culprit.
It takes him a couple days to realize what’s actually going on. They’re good, is the thing. He takes no notice at first, but when his senses start screaming at him in the hall, on the train, walking between home and the dorms… That’s a sign something is up. A good shinobi never ignores their instincts, and Hatake Kakashi had never settled for being just good.
It takes a significantly talented individual to successfully stalk him for so long without getting caught. It’s no surprise his mind automatically jumps to a dangerous villain. He doesn’t tell Aizawa or Yamada right away. His foster parents would only worry, and their instinctual reaction to protect him would give it away. The stalker hasn’t acted yet. He’d rather investigate first, figure out their identity and motivations before reporting his findings.
After another day or so of carefully tracking their presence and schedule, he finally discovers what he’d missed before. It’s a discovery that makes him feel slightly foolish, and for good reason— the stalker is one of the UA first years.
It’s the quirkless one, of all things. Sugiyama Hokuto. Midoriya talks about him all the time, not that Hitoshi has been paying it much attention, but he hears about it all the same. But it’s the stalking that finally pushes him to take an active interest.
He’s a wonderful student, apparently. He doesn’t ask Aizawa directly, but he’s still able to glean some details from the man. Sugiyama is a focused, dedicated, and intelligent individual. He’s also skilled. Even quirkless, he had managed to place second in the assessment. Skilled in more ways than one too, if his shadowing skills were anything to go by.
It makes Hitoshi wary. Surely Sugiyama must have some ulterior motive. Is he monitoring Hitoshi for a reason? Reporting on his movements? Maybe he’s a spy for the League. But time continues to pass, and there’s absolutely no indication that he’s doing anything with this information. He’ll pass by, check on Hitoshi discreetly, then go home to his quiet family townhouse and stay in for the rest of the night.
There’s no attempt at contacting anyone and no meetups. In fact, he rarely goes out at all, with no outings on the weekend and no hangouts with friends. In all appearances, he’s the perfect picture of a total recluse.
It leaves Hitoshi feeling very uneasy.
—
To combat this particular stalker, maybe it’s best to go to an expert. Hitoshi decides to consult with Midoriya the next morning.
“M-me?” Midoriya looks up from where he’s been hunched over his notebook, furiously scribbling out what looks to be a sketch of one of the villains they faced in the most recent attack. “I mean— of course I’ll do my best to help, Shinsou-san! What did you want to know about?”
“Sugiyama Hokuto,” Hitoshi says bluntly.
“Sugiyama-kun?” Midoriya blinks slowly, before brightening. “I can help with that! Wait, are you interested in his techniques? He’s extremely talented in hand-to-hand combat just like you!”
Hitoshi shifts on the balls of his feet, expression neutral. “I’m just curious. I’ve been hearing an awful lot about him lately.”
“Oh! Well, he’s really amazing! Sugiyama-kun is so brave, and so dedicated, and— and he works really hard too! He’s always training; I see him staying super late working in the woods behind the gym nearly every day.”
“I see,” Hitoshi says. “That’s very committed for a first year.”
It’s true. Most students in their first year weren’t spending all their free time with training and exercises. Social activities, entertainment, homework… there were a lot of other things the typical teenager tended to do.
Not so for Sugiyama, apparently.
Midoriya nods eagerly. “Mm hm! At least I think it’s training. It must be. It looks so fluid… almost like a dance. And then he’ll do it with his sword too. It’s super impressive to watch! N-not that I watch all that often, but sometimes I’ll see him when I’m in the gym…” He laughs sheepishly.
Hitoshi knows for a fact that the part of the building where the gym is located is positioned just far enough into the ground that the windows are nearly impossible to see through unless watching from one particular exercise machine at the top of the room. Still, he’s not going to call Midoriya out. Especially not considering that he’s the one benefiting from this information.
“Sounds like katas,” he says instead. He’s certainly run through his fair share. Hitoshi has even seen civilians doing something similar, what with their karate and judo courses for all. Much less thorough, accurate or practical, but the foundations were there.
Midoriya frowns thoughtfully. “It didn’t look like what Ojiro does at all… but I suppose without a tail, all the movements would look extremely different… I wonder what style he uses. It’s not like most martial arts that are commonly used— if I’m being honest, if I could compare it to anything, I would compare it to your style, Shinsou-san.”
Now that’s interesting. Hitoshi can’t help but wonder just how close their fighting styles might be and where Sugiyama would have learned. A sword is a curious choice though. Not many heroes used swords. Even Hitoshi, who had been trained in kenjutsu from a young age a long, long time ago…
Well, he much prefers using knives now.
—
At a certain point, it comes time to disperse with the games and to simply confront the problem head on.
After class, he wanders around to the back of the school, meandering through the grass to the forest beyond. Midoriya hadn’t been completely accurate when describing where Sugiyama was training. He’s not just out in the open where anyone could spot him. The boy is all the way in the back, partially hidden by a clump of trees and a particularly thorny bush.
Hitoshi listens for the sounds of harsh breathing and moving feet. He hears nothing. He continues walking up to Sugiyama anyway, moving around the trees until the junior is completely in view.
And the second he sees him—
It’s like Hitoshi is in a trance. His foot flicks out, rolling a stick smoothly from the ground to his hand. He steps forward into the blow, meeting the movement perfectly. The form continues on from there. Where it would have once been one half of a dance, an imaginary battle with an invisible opponent, now Hitoshi is there to provide every necessary counter.
He’s barely thinking. Barely breathing. He knows these movements by heart, as rusty as they are. Some of them sit strangely, his mind too used to performing them with a body much smaller than the one he has now. And isn’t that odd? He hasn’t had that particular thought before. Usually it’s the opposite.
The movement ends as simply as it started. Blade and stick cross, part, and meet again, before dropping to a resting position by their sides. Hitoshi’s head drops almost without conscious thought. His body is hunched, head bowed in front of the figure before him. He’s waiting. Waiting for—
“Good job, Kakashi-kun.”
His voice is soft. So much packaged down into those three quiet words. Hitoshi lifts his head.
Sugiyama Hokuto is a short boy with pale, messily parted hair, large hazel eyes, and thin, pinked lips. His UA uniform is slightly rumpled, red sneakers worn and mud-stained. His expression is tired, longing, regretful— a tangled up complexity swirling in those unfamiliar eyes.
When Hitoshi looks at him, a completely different visage stares back.
Hitoshi sucks in a single short, uneven breath, before closing his eyes.
“Hello, Tou-san.”