#after all he was uncomfortable with midori's stare too

[shadowduel]

eye of the beholder

[i-need-air]

"Dude" — Bakugou Katsuki x Reader [P.2]

Word count: 6.7k;

[ Part 1 ]; [ Masterlist ]

The new message plastered on your phonescreen earned a small smile from you. After a couple of days of sitting together at the same table due to Mei dumping your lonely ass for her babies, Mina suggested to text just to keep in contact more often. Something you did not expect was to be thrown in a group text with her and her friends.

They were absolutely hilarious; until recently they found out you had decent grades and started asking for your assistance, bugging you to join their study sessions, adding something about Bakugou being an absolute beast whenever he tutors them.

Pinky: Aww sucks that you're not coming! You're missing out Bakugou strangling Kaminari lmfao

You rolled your eyes in amusement. Why of course he'd be doing that.

What a strange little man. He really was; just as you started sitting with them, he'd mainly mind his own business, wearing his normal resting gremlin face and poking his food as if he was practicing murder just for the sake of it. First he orders you to sit with them, then he turns into an antisocial bastard most of the times. Yet, somehow, lunch with them was delightful and you found yourself looking forward to spend time with them, hear about their amusing stories and to top it all, making fun of The Great Bakugou Katsuki turned the whole event into a whole different level of fun.

As you weren't completely oblivious, his wandering eyes were really hard to miss anyway; you'd catch his gaze from time to time and he'd look away, annoyed, grunting like the man-child he actually was. Infuriating; how your heart skipped every single time it happened and how you wanted to have those deep crimson orbs on you again and again.

One thing you did not want to do was to leave Mei to the side; whenever she couldn't hang out she would inform you and you'd find something else to entertain yourself with; in occasions you did march in her workshop and sat your royal ass down without permission. Like as you did today, sitting in silence, you enjoyed the normal machinery sounds and her focused hums as she worked with you by her side. It was calming. The much needed calmness that you craved.

It's been a couple of weeks after the glorious incident and you have been noticing how your classmates, mostly the popular ones, started giving you the stink eye; your spidey-senses very much aware that it had to be Midori's doing yet the girl was keeping a very low profile. The hairs on the back of your neck rising whenever you thought about her next step because this level of radio silence was suspicious.

Between your growing interest into the blond and the dread related to your nemesis, Mei stopped her hard work to frown at you.

"Something's on your mind?" She probed, adjusting her goggles better on her head. "You're awfully quiet~"

Through a small giggle, you nodded but took some time to answer. "I guess?"

"Let me rephrase that." She cleared her throat dramatically "Someone's on your mind?"

A sharp gasp left your lips, realization kicking in; you had Hatsume Mei's full attention for the first time ever. In the workshop. Where her babies were! About to point it out, she narrowed her eyes at you, zooming onto you.

"[Y/N]." It's all she needed to say before you looked down, mind on one person in particular, not noticing how your friend smiled fondly to herself as she placed her hands on her hips; she chuckled lightly.

"Mind sharing what's funny with the class, Mei?" You asked trying to decrypt her expression still locked on you. She shrugged and shook her head, her wild pink locks moving wildly.

"OI, WERD—" the brash voice interrupted itself in reconsideration. The owner of said voice clicked his tongue and entered her workspace with indifference, looking around. "My gauntlets fixed?" He asked, curiously checking the lone couch in the corner, then turning his glare at her.

Ignoring his question, Mei's inquisitive gaze locked on him. "Are you looking for someone?"

It was as if she pressed a Total Destruction button because even the hairs on his head spiked up more than normally as he threw her a bloodshot glare.

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD I LOOK FOR [Y/N]?! I DON'T EVEN CARE WHERE—"

"I didn't mention [Y/N] at all though." she cheerily retorted, seeing his position stiffen even more.

"WHAT— WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT— WHO EVEN IS [Y/N]?!" Word-vomit took over; he was shaking at this point, panicked and cringing at his own mistake. "I'm SO FUCKING DONE with people giving me SHIT about that dumbass!" he kicked a table trying to prove a point but the girl was unimpressed.

"So you do know [Y/N]."

"YOU KNOW WHAT? FUCK YOU, GOGGLES! Fucking bothersome assholes always buttin' in—" his voice started fading into the distance as he walked out, fuming with nerves.

She blinked before screaming "What about your gauntlets?" through a smile.

"OH, FOR FUCK'S SAKE, GIVE ME—" he appeared once again, agitated.

A wave of lava filled your chest as she told you casually, even trying to copy the way he talked, making you laugh in exchange. You shouldn't feel that way, shouldn't you? It was ridiculous since he truly only insulted you and screamed in your general direction; well, it seems he screamed in every direction but it wasn't the point. The point was the warmth in your chest only gave you hope and the still functioning part of your brain begged to differ.

"He's a good guy." You whispered, suddently shy under Mei's knowing gaze.

And he called her Goggles too. You giggled fondly.

—

A few days later, wild gutural screams made you jolt from your desk in panic. You would've recognized that voice anywhere by now so you rushed towards the infirmary door just to find professor Aizawa and two cocoons made of his scarf behind him. His eyebrow was twitching and had a dark aura around him, eyes glowing menacingly but not directed to you.

"I'll fucking kill you—"

"But Kaccha—"

"Silence." The irritated and tired looking man said entering the room, dragging said cocoons behind him, knocking one in the door and pulling harder. You cringed, sure thinking he wasn't having a good day.

"OOF— What the shit was that?" The bundle started to shake uncontrollably which made you giggle. It stopped; halted and froze in place listening attentively as you tried to hide your laughter, trying not to annoy the teacher that seriously gave off a whole Done with life aura.

"You must be [L/N]." he pointed out, undoing one of the cocoons, a big fluffy broccoli like head appearing, big green eyes trying to focus.

"Yes, sir."

"They're beaten. Broken leg and broken rib. Can you heal them or should we wait for Recovery Girl?" The dark haired man went straight to business.

"I can handle that so no need to wait for her."

"Good. I'll leave them in your care." With a nod, he also released the blond, making him tumble and fall on his face. The poor guy groaned but bolted up with a raised fist.

"Behave." The older man said walking away, not really caring about Bakugou's heated muttering. The door shut gently and you found yourself looking at two boys; one fuming and avoiding your eyes, the other on the floor, staring up at you. His leg looked wonky so you fought back a face of discomfort before going to his aid.

"You." You pointed at Bakugou then at the bed. "Sit." A grin spread on your face as you used his words, meanwhile you leaned down to help Midoriya Izuku.

His eyes were absolutely intimidating, as if the boy tried to search within your soul as you helped him up.

"My name is [L/N] [Y/N] and I'm going to heal you today." He returned your smile with ease and nodded, his fluffy green hair shaking through the action.

"I'm—"

"Midoriya Izuku, yes. You're pretty popular, you know?" His face went all red, taken back by the fact.

Curses could be heard behind both; your hand was supporting Midoriya's weight as he only hopped ahead with his good leg, leaded towards a bed. Shuffling sounded too, still accompanied with another round of indistinguishable curses and grunts.

When the green-haired boy was securely placed, you turned towards the other, finding him sitting on the edge of the bed furthest away from Midoriya, pouting adorably.

"So you've got a broken rib, right?"

"What's it to you?" It was his turn to be a petty little shit and copy your words, still not looking up. His leg was shaking and his posture looked uncomfortable so it was not the time to get into your usual bickering.

"Lay down." He tsk-ed sharply. "Please." You pleaded, pursing your lips at his childish attitude. He finally snapped his eyes on you, just slightly widened in what could be surprise but you couldn't tell. All that mattered was that he ended up doing what you said. Though with more huffing, as if it bothered him immensely.

"Ya happy now?" He snapped.

"Very! Now—" you're taken back yet again by the intensity of those green eyes that looked between you and Bakugou with interest. "I'm gonna have to give you an anesthesic and adjust your leg back in place before healing you—"

Like a working bee, you ran around the infirmary getting your syringe ready, a little bit too nervous as two pair of eyes burned into your back.

"Where do you know each other from, Kacchan?" Izuku asked. Even if his leg hurt like a bitch, he couldn't help but be curious about the person Kacchan has been having lunch with for the past weeks; but what type of response could you get from the one and only?

"Mind your own damned fucking business!"

You sighed, irritated but the nickname didn't fly above your head. In all means, he shouldn't be screaming. He had a broken rib and he was screeching like an idiot. Didn't it hurt to even breathe?!

"Bakugou, you need to lay low and shut up."

There wasn't any time to play around; Midoriya behaved exemplary, just barely wincing at the syringe probing his knee but did not complain at all. The polar opposite of the blond beds away.

After letting the anesthetic to take effect, you moved towards the guy that's been living rent free in your head. He looked beaten up, had a bloody nose, open-wounded knuckles and shaky hands.

"Okay, I need you to relax." You whispered, trying to lift his tank-top but he stopped your wrist.

"The fuck yOu doing?!" his voice cracked momentarily while hyperventilating.

"Dude, take slow, steady breaths. In order to heal you I need to touch the skin closer to the wound." It wasn't entirely true but not exactly a lie either. After a pause for consideration he nodded but his eyes remained wary. "You've seen me do it before! Now show me where it hurts."

You needed concentration, focus, steady hands, rock-hard abs and tanned skin— Nooooo, [Y/N]!

All your might; all of it to act nonchalant and professional, to not fucking stare like a degenerate because he was absolutely built. But you couldn't help it. You couldn't help placing your palm on his ribs gently, instead of just the tip of your fingers as you normally would've needed. His sigh of relief made you incredibly giddy, feeling accomplished and fulfilled knowing you've done a great job for him. You also couldn't help healing his most visible wounds one by one instead of doing it all together in one single touch.

Were you flustered? Definitely and his attention only made it worse. You picked one of his hands and he spasmed away but ultimately gave in with a choked grunt; then grabbed the other and channeled your energy into his body.

Your heads were tilted downwards, both staring at how his knuckles healed slowly. What neither him or you noticed was how all his scratches and bruises all over him healed too, or the prying eyes of a third wheel that was already taking notes of your quirk.

"Okay." You whispered, not really wanting to let go. Your brain screamed Dishonor! but your heart skipped a beat, then another, then exploded when you lifted your gaze.

Crimson eyes looked at you in awe, wide and never this clear. They were shining too and you couldn't help but give his strong hands a squeeze, feeling in the calloused skin of his palm and wondered which one of you was shaking... He blushed then and opened his mouth, yet his brows furrowed as his focus shifted behind you.

"THE FUCK YOU STARING AT, PUNK?!"

Oh, yeah. Your other patient.

In a heartbeat you were by Midoriya's side and got to work, chest heavy and no words coming out of you. No snappy or cheeky retorts either, just trembling hands and warm cheeks. Only with murmurs you guided him through the procedure before healing him completely.

Dizziness overtook you; the downside of your quirk and something you've been training with Recovery Girl for the whole semester.

"That was amazing, [L/N]-san! Thank you!" The boy cheered, staring down at his leg in utter disbelief. His compliment made you grin, full and proud.

"Of course it was!" Your normal self surfaced.

"Fucking woo-hoo." Nevermind. Mood dropped and your face did too.

"Well, since you've been a good patient—" you start and ruffle through your bag "You get a lollipop!" Said candy was thrown in Midoriya's lap and he stared at it baffled. Meanwhile you turned towards the bane of your existence and raised a brow, shaking another lollipop in your hand. "You don't. This one is mine because I deserve it."

His angry, stupid and scandalized expression was everything you were looking for. Did you get out of your way to buy lollipops knowing Bakugou would end up in the infirmary sooner or later? Maybe. Was it worth it?

"What the fuck does that mean, dammit— I—" words caught in his throat as he choked with air, looking at the candy in your fingers with murderous intentions. Definitely worth it.

"Thank you?" Broccoli Boy asked but started unwrapping it, probably not to insult your kindness, and the whole interaction fueled Bakugou's anger. He snapped out of the bed and so did Midoriya, but one was marching towards you while the other just wanted to run away in fear, direction Exit.

"Gimme that shit!" He tried to grab it out of your grasp, but you moved away, laughing at his face.

"Midoriya has been nice and thanked me for the healing—" at this point he was boiling. "Say Thank you, [Y/N], you're amazing and awesome and—"

"LIKE FUCKING HELL IMMA SAY THAT, DUMBASS!" he was so sweet, the guy you liked; yeah, your sudden realization hit as he looked like a tomato ready to bite your head off and the only thing you could think was how adorable and sweet he was. All gurgling in rage, spitting cussed words left and right; dreamy, he was dreamy. He caught the lollipop from your hands, his scowl turning into a full blown victorious grin. So shiny... so bright... God, he was so handsome...

You're suddently falling in his arms in slow-motion, the world around you twisting and turning with him in the center of it all. Warmth engulfed your frame as you hit the most comfortable pillow of your life. His chest.

"Oi, [Y/—" he cursed, taking no time to place you on the bed with ease. "You okay?"

"W-What happened? Is she okay?" It seemed the famous Deku decided to remain for the spectacle.

"Get lost!"

Even if you wanted to pass out, his snaps wouldn't let you and with that thought you chuckled breathlessly. "I'm fine, I just need a nap after healing this much..." you assured into the air.

"Will you be okay, [Y/N]-san?" You turned your head until you spotted him and nodded through a smile but someone else answered for you.

"I see you took matters in your own hands." The sweet, gentle voice of your mentor put you to ease but scared poor Midoriya to the core as she appeared behind him at the door. Bakugou was still hovering over you in bed, not really knowing what to do. "You should leave [L/N] rest, boys." With tiny steps she walked around, not really paying any more attention to the scene.

The blond gave you a glance and pursed his lip, analyzing the candy in his hand. Through half-lidded eyes you saw him secure it in his fist and give you a nod. At this point everything was blurry.

"Thanks... or whatever." He didn't waste any time to bolt towards the door, his broad uncovered shoulders were the last thing you saw before closing your eyes in contempt.

"Kacchan, is [Y/N]-san your—?"

"MIND YOUR GODDAM—" the door shut close, making the room tremble and you giggled like a drunk fool.

—

Bakugou walked with his hands in his pockets, looking around with little interest as Dunce Face and Racoon Eyes blabbered without pause to breathe. Fuck, he was exhausted and the concept of shoving food down his throat sounded fucking fantastic. His insides turned and twisted knowing you'd be meeting them soon.

"Yo, isn't that [Y/N]?" Like a flash, his head bolted in the direction Denki pointed at and before he spotted you, the blond already wanted to punch himself in the jaw. Why the fuck is he acting like that? The answer faded in his mind as the scene unfolded in front of him.

—

"You're such a fucking bitch, you know that, [Y/N]?" Arms crossed, you placated the poor first year that was whispering behind you.

"Wow, Midori, so original." With a dead tone and rolling eyes from you, the white haired demon only twisted her face in disgust. "My feelings are hurt."

"Who do you think you are? You're a fucking nobody, [Y/N]! You think you're doing any good here? Go kill yourself!"

"And give you the satisfaction? No, not happening, you fork-tongued lizard." Your nails looked interesting.

Her pale purple eyes got ignited and her diminute frame puffed, like a rabid little mole-rat ready to bite someone. And just like that, she took a deep breath and started yapping and barking. "YOU'RE BETTER DEAD ANYWAY, YOU WHORE! YOU RUIN EVERYTHING! NOW EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT ME! ABOUT HOW YOU STOLE HIM FROM ME! DIE ALREADY!"

Sadly you didn't have any cookies on since you definitely felt like shoving one in her fanged, venomous mouth and patting her head for the effort. Your lips turned oh, so slowly into a grin, enjoying her reaction way too much.

"That's nice. Now can you like, I don't know, go back to making potions with your coven or some crap? Leave the kid alone—"

"This pathetic little shit was talking about me! ME!" her screech hurt your ears so you covered them before you turned to the kid to just see him standing there, petrified.

"Did you try to summon Satan and she appeared instea—?"

"I'M SO FUCKING DONE WITH YOUR CRAP, YOU—" she pushed you but grasped your uniform, a ripping sound following. "UGLY—" nothing prepared you to get attacked by her. "FAT—" she raised her palm. "WHORE!"

No way in hell you were going to back down, instead you clenched your jaw and got ready to block it and finish the fight. She never remotely attended to hit you in a somewhat public place as she was a careful witch, always brewing something in that rotten brain of hers and making sure to keep her sweet appearance on point for the public.

You blinked.

"That was insane!"

The scenery in front of you suddently changed with that one single blink and a tall blond mass of muscle just popped out of nowhere. It knocked the air out of your lungs for a moment and seeing him staring down at her with such hatred, holding her wrist high in the air made you feel immense relief, much to your own surprise.

Were you that tense before?

"Midori-chan, I didn't know you were this rotten." Kaminari appeared in your field of vision too but got ignored by the girl. Her only goal was to free herself from Bakugou's grip but he wouldn't bulge.

"Y-You got it all wrong, Bakugou-s-san!"

Everyone stood there silent, utterly disgusted with her attempt to even try to twist reality.

"Don't even fucking think about it." He warned and those words rumbled deep, threat held within.

"We heard it all, Midori." You shook in place, twisting to see Mina by the kid's side, patting his back. After being used to seeing her easy-going attitude it was only natural to be amazed by her somber tone and serious manner.

Why were you so relieved? kept creeping in your mind. Why?

He then threw her wrist out of his grasp and bared his teeth in her direction, globes so bloodshot scrutinizing her. He oozed rage and fury and was combusting in place. But he did not scream. Bakugou Katsuki did not scream for once when he started talking, instead he growled his words, each with care and clarity.

"If i ever fucking hear you talking like that to anyone ever again I will— fucking— break you." you could hear his teeth grit, the sound making you shiver both in terror and excitement. "NOW GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY FACE! I BETTER NOT FUCKING SEE YOU OR HEAR ABOUT YOU EVER AGAIN!" she yelped, fluttering her tears away and scurrying so fast it could've been comical.

Bakugou then spun to study you, chest raising and falling heavily. You couldn't descypher his appearance at the moment; there was the aggravation, the outrage, the burning flame in his orbs but also... Uncertainty? Guilt? Shame? It wiped off his face before you could figure it out.

"We're taking him to talk to a professor about what happened." Mina's voice faded in the distance. He nodded at Kaminari, who was behind you, and got a nod in response plus a pair of thumbs up, and with that they were gone.

He still tried to control himself, but as soon as you parted your lips to say anything at this point, he snarled into the nothingness. "THAT FUCKING BITCH—"

"Bakugou..."

"FOR HOW LONG?" he then screamed at you, malice gone but tone just as rough and loud.

"For how long what?" You said calmly while also noticing and adjusting the ripped sleeve of your uniform. He ran his palm over his face, eyeing it too.

"For how fucking long has this been going?"

"Oh, her—" there was this pressure to say it out loud, to confirm what it really was, like saying it out loud would give it weight, importance...

"Her bullshit, yeah." he didn't force it either, thankfully.

"Since we were in middle-school." you shrugged, chest and neck aching without an apparent reason. You cleared your throat.

"Stop that— Stop that fucking shit. Don't do that." He got close to you in a single step and you had to look up at him, feeling so small out of a sudden by his side. You smiled, as you taught yourself to do whenever things got tough.

"Do what?" It came out shaky, too shaky for your own taste but he was so close.

"Act like it doesn't fucking matter! Like it's no big fucking deal!" His breath fanned your face.

"I mean..." you started shrugging again but he stopped the action, palms holding your shoulders in place as he gave you a pissed off look. "It doesn't really matt—"

"YES, IT FUCKING DOES!"

His fingers held you in the spot as he inspected your features with a clenched jaw and classic furrowed brow. Flames erupted in your ribcage at his words and you couldn't even breathe anymore.

You licked your lips, not sure if you could say the next words but the fact that he focused on the action too attentively gave you the push needed. "What's it to you?"

His breath hitched, fanning over your face as he stiffened. Deep crimson waved between your own orbs and your lips—

Those flames? The flames that burned your inside? They were spreading throughout your body rapidly, the epicenter at the spot where his thumb caressed your skin at the edge of your shoulder, just touching the start of your collarbone. Even through the layer of fabric you felt it, as tiny as it was, but he did not do anything, just stood there with red tinted cheeks in daze. Much like you were.

"Thank you for saving me today, Bakugou." You whispered and he just nodded, still enthralled with your lips. At least you knew he was somewhat still there with you. Involuntarily, you bit your lower lip, just a little, smiling softly, taking the smallest step towards him; the corner of his lip turned up slightly—

"[Y/N]! Director Nezu wants to talk to you too!"

The spell was broken; you yelped into him, grabbing his shirt for support and checked your surroundings. A waving hand caught your attention; Kaminari was signaling you to go to him then froze and started running away; little did you know someone was sending him a death glare.

You cleared your throat, still warm and fuzzy from head to toe and separared from the blond that caught you in his arms. Bakugou seemed to have noticed the position too because he jerked away a step back and looked completely out of place.

Ridiculous. And hilarious, looking anywhere but you and still made no attempt to move. Neither did you, instead opting to hide a giggle.

Because you felt warm, tingly, all while he was a complete gremlin, sweet in his own personalized way, in which he cared for you, he defended you.

And you're in disbelief because how come this guy, this adorable, blushing porcupine with anger issues made you feel so soft and fragile? How did you end up in this situation and how can you stay in it forever?

"What's so fucking funny, hah?" There wasn't any bite to what could've been an aggressive wording, just hidden tenderness. He fought a smile too and had the audacity to try to act annoyed. Sadly, you had to go, so you shook your head and took a step back.

Bakugou understood, so he nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I'll see how later, ok?" You promised and he glanced at you from the corner of his eye. Now you had his ear in full view for you to see the tips reddened too. You want to melt, even coo at the sight, but you really did have to go. However, you couldn't leave without sending him a cheeky smile.

"Yeah, whatever." His jaw sinked a little in the collar of his shirt as he stomped away too.

—

The whole afternoon was spent talking to a counselor and to the principal himself about a problematic individual. The first year student was encouraged by your new friends to report it as they escorted him to safety and soon an internal investigation started; maybe, possibly because of you.

Why were you so relieved?

Because they listened to you. Because they believed you. Because you didn't have to prepare yourself every single morning to take verbal hits from all directions. Because you've been given a voice, unlike your old school where everything was brushed off; "It's your word against hers" and much more bullshit. No, this time was real and they proved it by listening to every single word you said.

You were dropped at your dorms just before 9 P.M. and it was too late to meet anyone at the point. But it wasn't important; the moment you landed on your bed a smile broke on your face, a few tears fell and you had the best sleep in forever.

—

The air changed. The aura around your class switched. Midori was clearly missing, which instantly turns a bad day into a fantastic one, but it wasn't only that. Students were called, one by one, again and again interrupting class and took hours to come back. Meanwhile the Divas in particular looked concerned, another great view to enjoy now and until the rest of time.

It was obvious why this was happening and you never felt this much peace and satisfaction. Even so, you started to feel overwhelmed because people suddently started greeting you. The people that weren't in Midori's toxic and constricted entourage.

They said your name! Without hatred! The school's goldenboy's name, Kaminari Denki, was dropped again and again too. It seems he just casually started mentioning what he witnessed the day before and you suddently felt the need to hug him tight. Gossip spread like wild fire thanks to him, after all.

Maybe you fell into a parallel universe but you couldn't bring yourself to care, you just waltzed on the hallways after the bell rang, wanting to go get some food, then hide at Mei's workshop for some recharging. Another part of you wanted to meet the explosive boy too, though.

In all honesty, it didn't matter where you ended. You were in an incredible mood.They talked to you and it was exhausting but nice!

Was this what it felt in horror movies when the demon-child with rotating head and projectile vomit was finally exorcized? Was the curse really released for good?

As you floated in the skies, high on life and what-not, you turned the corner just to run nose straight into a wall. Your brain decided to take a break for the day, it seems, and you genuinely hoped nobody saw you march head first into— It wasn't a wall, but a boy that gave you a raised brow and narrowed eyes.

"Watch where the fuck you're going, dumbass."

"Great to see you too!" you chippered, walking around him, knowing for a fact his attitude wouldn't be able to piss you off—

"What's with the idiotic expression?" Nevermind, he can go fuck himself. Yet you smiled because you're a Godsend angel and that's what winged saints do.

"Just really happy." You shrugged, walking away with ease and tried to bite a bigger smile off your face when you noticed him turning to walk with you. "What are you doing on this side of the campus?" You inquired.

"Came to walk you to lunch or whatever." Well, damn, that made you halt in surprise. He's behind you, staring out the window with disinterest but froze when he saw your dumbfounded face. "WHAT? IT WAS IN MY WAY, OK? Want me to leave? I can leave! You can fuck off—" You placated your hands and started laughing.

"No, no—" Your eyes glint. "It's really sweet of you." You said, awaiting his reaction with mischief.

He first choked on air, like one normally does, and then showed the worst allergic reaction to mere words. "SW—! THAT'S NOT— I'M NOT— YOU— I— NO—" in no time you're crackling like a deranged witch, adoring every single second of the show he was pulling. He was basically howling and your laughter actually infuriated him more.

"FUCK OFF!" Your amusement calmed down as you studied him, his puffed cheeks, red eyes avoiding you; with a few stomped steps he placed himself ahead of you but made no attempt to stand you up and go be a hermit somewhere else.

Bakugou Katsuki. Ash blond hair, broad back, pink ears... Swears like a sailor, is all bark and and all bite, except with his friends. Has a big heart...

"Something strange is happening." You find yourself saying.

"Hah?" He glances back.

"People have been acting weird." That stops him.

"They better not be fucking messin' with you—"

"No, on the contrary, they're nice to me..." you assured, voice faint as his comment repeated in your mind and your chest warmed up once again because of him.

They better not be fucking messin' with you.

"Good." He says and you can't bite your tongue.

"You're a good guy, Bakugou."

He gives you a face. "Hah? Now you fucking notice?!" But he's grinning at the end of the sentence, cocky and so full of himself and you'd lie if you said you didn't consider him incredibly handsome. Although it seems he did not get the message.

"No. I mean it for real. You really are a good guy." He grunts like he hurt himself in his own confusion, staring stupidly at you, slightly blushing. "You're gonna be such a great hero too." Mouth agape to try to answer, he just gives you plate eyes and nothing else. On the other hand you genuinely expected more explosive reactions but this seemed to have broken him for some good seconds. He stared and watched and stood there like an idiot in front of you, making you want to both bury yourself in your own embarrassment and laugh at him.

You opted to look up at the ceiling, flustered and amused, yesterday's events suddently washing over you; they never really left your thoughts but now all the feelings decided to come visit once again.

"Oi—" he better not ruin it. "Wh— The fuck you kissing my ass for?!" You breathe out, long and loud for him to understand how stupid he sounded and stalked ahead; only food could save the day he's been actively ruining and that's what you were gonna get. He followed your rushed steps with cusses and questions until he grabbed your wrist to slow your pace. "Slow down, dumbass!"

The issue was that his obnoxiously loud voice caught then attention of some students that were just minding their own business.

"Is that Bakugou Katsuki?" Earning a groan from him as if it wasn't his fault!

"—with [L/N] [Y/N]?"

"Are they holding hands?!"

"So they're really together?" You cringe in embarrassment.

"Is that a confession?!" No, no, absolutely not happening. You rush out of the scene, gut burning, the boy on your toes cursing and mumbling whatevers but you didn't reach far until he talks. At least he had the decency of stopping you at an empty spot before giving you a heart attack.

"This is when you confess— or some fucking— dumb shit like that." Even without seeing him, back turned and absolutely petrified, you heard the cocky vibration in his tone that was sprinkled with some light stuttering.

Son of a bitch. That prinkly ass cocky fuck. That absolutely handful of a sea urchin—

You checked the closest stairway, your nearest exit and pathway to your salvation but something in that attitude of his just made you shake as you covered your face and laugh.

"You're... You're the worst." You mumble in disbelief but the grin that almost broke your face got even bigger as he choked and inhaled sharply.

"Hah?! Wasn't I the fucking best a minute ago?!"

"I did not say tha—"

"Same shit!" He bites when you glanced on him through your fingers. Your skin was burning so hot it would've been mortifying if he didn't look just as rattled. The view managed to calm your nerves and spike them at the same time.

"You're the worst..." Finally uncovering your face, he takes in your grin and visibly calms his fuming yet remains just as discomposed. "—and I like you."

Still, you cover your mouth because the blond in front of you started combusting and it was glorious to watch. Hell, you felt like grabbing a snack and watching him go through all those feelings that slapped his face on repeat. First his eyes widened, the teasing from before forgotten, then his skin, already splashed with red transformed completely into the same color, so deep it in resemblance with his eyes, eyes that were reading into you intensely. He went rigid too and as time passed and passed and he did not move, the only thing left was to break him out of his misery. Yes, break him.

"This is when you say it back."

He snapped. "I— DON'T FUCKING— DON'T FUCKING MAKE ME SAY EMBARRASSING SHIT LIKE THAT!" Birds flew away in one mile radius, windows trembled, your eardrums cried for mercy and you hid your smile because even through deafening volume, Bakugou Katsuki did not deny it. A zoo totally high on crystal meth started a revolution in your insides and the feeling threatened to burst out at any moment.

This is it. This ball of emotional constipation was taking your breath away while cussing you after you confessed and all you wanted to do was to squeal... What have you become?

But you said nothing, just stared with your hand covering your mouth, taking in the boy that looked like he wanted to throw fists with you, bared teeth and all, and also simultaneously die of a stroke.

"I—" he tried, you had to give him credit because he really did try. Like a challenge, like he wasn't going to back down, he gave his best and not without looking like it killed him inside. "F—" cuss word got stuck in his throat when you couldn't help a scoff. Suddently the show comes to an end when he halts, gives you a glare and takes a deep breath. For a moment you feared he'd walk away. Oh, how wrong you were because deep down you had to know he did not back down easily.

"I like— you, too." Beautiful words came out of his mouth, looking like it physically pained him to say them. "THERE, I SAID IT! YOU FUCKING HAPPY NOW?!" He howls indignantly, crossing his arms, trying to hide his clear flustered self yet it takes him one glance at you to return to his self induced stroke. "Don't fucking make that dumb fucking face—" he struggled to exist. "Don't look at me like that, dammit!"

You giggle, relieved and happy and in all honesty about to cry a tiny bit. You couldn't help it, enamored with how blissful this moment was. Bakugou stops his grunts and watches you in awe, small, minuscule grin taking over his face and he clicks his tongue, trying to fight it.

And deflects, as always.

"C'mon. Have to walk you there before you get lost or some shit like that." You breathe in and nod, even thought you were perfectly capable of walking to the cafeteria as you've done it for a year and some now.

"Okay."

"You'd be starving if it weren't for me." You snort and roll your eyes, but beam like a lovestruck idiot.

"Sure thing, dude." It instantly earns a grunt, then a pout, followed by grumbles and heavy feet by your side. You check on him, noticing his shrugged shoulders and tinted nose and you almost trip with your own legs because of it. He doesn't say anything for the longest time, which you didn't mind as you yourself needed some time to shoo away the butterflies and rainbows that floated all around in your very empty head. It wasn't until you almost reached the cafeteria that he stops you by the arm and looks away.

"You— You shouldn't call your boyfriend dude, dumbass."

Remember the butterflies? Now they're radioactive and fluttering around, crazed and disoriented.

"Says the one that calls me a dumbass, Bakugou." You relent, thankful he took the initiative to answer the question that lingered in the air throughout all the walk.

A wild flush takes over him and he refuses to turn toward you, just observing from the corner of his eyes.

"It's— It's Katsuki to you, dumbass." And he drags you inside without giving you a chance to process it. But when you do, you grin like mad and whisper just as you were manhandled through the door, preparing yourself for his explosive gargling and screaming and silently apologizing to everyone in your general proximity.

"Okay, Kacchan~"

Note: Thank you for reading and for any sweet mesages! I read each and every one of them and they make me so incredibly happy!! I would like to point out that the phone editor switches around paragraphs and it's very confusing. I edited some mistakes and for now it's good but I'm scared it wasn't fixed since I edited before too and I encounter the same problem again... If you find something off, could you please let me know? I want the reading to be enjoyable for everyone after all. Thank you again! 💕

[sillyguyhotline]

17. “How is any of this ok?” with Joe and Sara maybe?

dude im gonna be completely honest i havent written anything in like a month so i think the quality isnt gonna be great but here goes nothing

God, Sara missed the feeling of home.

Every semblance of familiarity and comfort she’d once found in the town she’d grown up in, the house she’d spent her childhood running through, now felt chillingly foreign.

Perhaps it was the heavy burden of knowledge weighing fresh upon her shoulders: ASUNARO’s corruption seemed now to peer slyly around every corner, no matter where she went. She still didn’t know how much of the town had rotted away under its grasp, how much of the town its poison had pervaded… but she was probably better off not knowing.

Whatever was left of Midori, that miserable mix of pulsing blood and electronic emotion, had been ground to bits inside that coffin… but Sara couldn’t ignore the creeping fear that his burning, ever-present gaze would appear out of nowhere and terrorize her again.

But he wouldn’t. The death game was over, and they’d promised they would never hurt her or any of her loved ones again.

Most of the loved ones she still encountered day-to-day, gruesomely blood splattered and sitting like corpses propped up hastily in a corner, would be safe no matter if ASUNARO was fresh on her tail or a thousand miles away. What a cruel price to pay for safety, to never be hurt again.

They still lived on if Sara closed her eyes tight enough, if she listened to the twisting words of the hallucinations and let them convince her she was monstrous. But the second she dared to open her eyes, she knew they’d be dead again. Life worked in terrible ways, and that was all there was to it.

Joe’s house had always been a second home to her, ever since the two of them became friends. Joe was the farthest cry from Sara in terms of social interactions- it had taken at least 3 months for Sara to trust Joe enough to invite him over, but Joe had insisted she hang out at his house the very same day they became friendly enough to exchange more than a sentence with each other.

There was a certain sort of comfort to the warmth of his house, the constant scent of cooking food pervading the air and the little trinkets scattered in every corner. No surface of his house went without decoration, in its silly little way. It was full of pictures, too, some carefully framed and some dangling from the wall by pushpins, but Sara got the sense that none of the photos went unloved. Most of them were occupied by an orange-haired man, often carrying a younger Joe (back when he was still sporting that atrocious crew cut). Sara always assumed it was his dad, but thought it would be impolite to ask… particularly when the weeks stretched on and Sara had yet to meet that mysterious orange-haired man.

Eventually, pictures of Sara began to join the collage on the wall- pictures taken as she butchered yet another pop song during karaoke, or when they went out to get food, or when she mistakenly sat down on a traffic cone during gym (after many protests from Sara, he took that one down). As silly as the pictures were, and as obvious as it was that Joe had waited for the most embarrassing moments to take them, it was sort of sweet in a way.

Joe’s mother was always kind to her, though there was a constant weariness in her eyes that Sara always felt a bit uneasy about questioning. Sometimes she’d let the two of them cook things in the kitchen, but more often than not they’d go up to Joe’s room and screw around in there, with video games or music or the 50 times Joe tried to persuade Sara to climb out the window and sit on the roof with him before she finally agreed.

As rare as it was for Sara to agree to sit on the roof, it was even rarer for Joe to agree to study with her, much to Sara’s chagrin. Joe had always walked a fine line between passing and failing, but Sara had to admit he walked it well. When she did manage to convince him to study, though (usually the day before final exams), they’d sit on the cushy couch in his living room and somehow manage to bother each other as much as possible while feigning concentration.

The couch hadn’t changed after several years- Sara could tell that much the minute she sat down on it and avoided the urge to break eye contact with Joe’s mother. It was still well-worn, a couch that likely should have been replaced at least a decade ago but had never really been disposed of. Loose threads were protruding from the cover, drawn out from years of visitors fidgeting with them.

Sara shifted uncomfortably in her seat, the slight motion making her sink deeper into the couch’s soft cushioning. She’d only spent one minute in the house and was already sweating, whether from the heat of the home or the thousand-yard stare of the woman sitting across from her.

Ryoko was there, too, sitting to Sara’s left and gazing listlessly at the well-trodden carpet beneath her feet. …Ryoko.

Sara cast a hesitant glance around the room, duly noting the photos covering the walls. Not a single one of hers had been taken down, but several more photos had appeared with Joe’s beaming face featuring prominently in them. Joe’s presence was always enough to fill a room even when he wasn’t speaking; it took a lot to fill in the gaps left by his absence.

God, she missed him.

The wind whistled against the window-screen; Sara had memorized the familiar creak of the wooden window frame being lifted up to welcome in the mild autumn air. Sara had always thought of autumn as a beginning- she loved summer as much as any other kid, but as the haze of the weather began to wind down she was quick to grow impatient and look forward to the school year, to being productive again. Joe had always disagreed with her.

“Fall is the literal death of fun,” he’d complained once, walking home with Sara after finishing the first week of school. “Couldn’t they have pushed back the first day of school by, like, another week? You think if we got enough people to sign a petition, they’d give us an extra week of summer?”

“Oh, come on, we both know even if you had an extra week of summer you’d just be complaining a week later,” Sara had teased back.

The death of fun. It certainly felt like that, Sara decided. She’d never feared the looming darkness of fall and winter quite so much before. But now, she supposed, there was no sunshine who’d weather it with her.

“Well… Sara?” Joe’s mother spoke up, voice hoarse with the sound of repressed tears in her throat. Sara recognized the sound all too well.

There was no resentment in the woman’s eyes when Sara made eye contact with her. No anger, no frustration, nor had there been any in her measured motions when she welcomed Sara into the home. It didn’t take any words for Sara to tell that there was no blame to be foisted upon her.

She was still Joe’s best friend.

“I’m sorry to have dragged you out here on such short notice.” The woman’s voice was weak. “I don’t know all the details of what happened, of course. Haven’t heard anything, aside from the little tidbits the police told me when I dropped by the station.”

Sara’s shoulders stiffened at the mention of the police, at the idea of them pleasantly answering her questions as though they weren’t just as complicit in that tragedy as ASUNARO had been.

“And…” the woman glanced down at her hands, toughened from a lifetime of working. “I know something terrible happened to you. The circles under your eyes are darker than midnight, I know it’s so selfish of me to be dragging you out here, but… I haven’t slept a wink for weeks. Been so worried about Joe, and about you too.”

She nodded in the direction of the black-haired girl who hadn’t spoken a word the entire time. “Ryoko’s been worried about the both of you, too. Your parents weren’t answering the door, so she went to me. I hope you’ll forgive the two of us for disturbing you, Sara, but… you have the answers the police won’t give us, don’t you?”

God, her gaze was piercing.

“...Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

It was taking everything in Sara’s power not to look at the vacant seat to her right. If Joe was there, he would have been laughing and lightening the mood, completing the circle that had been left so jarringly empty.

But they wouldn’t have been having this conversation if Joe was there.

Ms. Tazuna nodded slowly. “This means the world to me, Sara. Don’t forget that.”

Sara did her best to muster a smile. “Don’t worry. I won’t.”

The woman gave another nod, eyes defocusing as though even now, she wasn’t quite sure why she was there. “Alright. Alright. Well, then…” She cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Guess I should get right to the point, yeah? Is he… is… how is he…?”

So she still hadn’t quite let go of that little thread of hope, even after seeing Sara return home safe and alive with no best friend in tow. Who was Sara to judge? When hope was the only thing to cling to, it only made sense to cling to it like a lifeline.

Sara twisted her hands, the same old nervous habit she’d had for years, and wondered briefly if she’d picked it up from Ms. Tazuna. How terrible it was, to carry the news that nobody, much less any mother, ever wanted to hear.

“I… I’m sorry, Ms. Tazuna. He didn’t make it out alive.”

Sara hadn’t expected the hush that immediately fell over the room. She’d expected immediate tears, the grieving cry of a mother in pain. Instead, the room became muffled, still as a painting captured in time.

Slowly, Ryoko looked up from her bitten-down fingers, eyes rimmed red already. Ryoko had always been an emotional person, the only person Sara knew who could fluctuate from full-on sobs to cheerful giggles in less than a minute. Sara was so unused to the look that was now filling her eyes- cold, solid misery. As though there were no tears in her eyes left to cry, no more tragedies to bemoan. Just a deep and horrified comprehension of just how many things in her life had gone wrong.

And, slowly, Ms. Tazuna began to cry.

Tears had become so uncomfortable for Sara to bear witness to. Was it selfish of her to look away? It couldn’t be, not when every raw sob reminded her of the art student seeing her first (and certainly not last) death, of the broken sibling openly weeping over apologies gone unspoken, of the unknowing siblings screaming their throats out with pleas for death so the other could survive.

Especially not now. Not when every tear rang in her mind as a reminder of cold tubes piercing her best friend’s chest, of his corpse slumping and falling in a pool of blood, because oh god he wasn’t supposed to have lost so much blood, how was he supposed to live without it, of the clickclickclickclickclicking rising in volume while her attempts to save him grew feebler and feebler.

Her hands were bloodstained, no matter how many times she tried to scrub them clean. Those dreadful hands of hers had failed her, failed Joe, failed the women sobbing openly in front of her.

She swallowed back the apologies that always rose in her throat as Ms. Tazuna rushed to sniffle back her tears.

“I… god, I… he’s really gone?”

Sara couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“Please… please tell me it was a peaceful death. He didn’t… suffer too much, did he?”

The resounding wave of clicks flooded her mind. “It was as peaceful as I could make it. I… he smiled at me, right before he died. I’d… very much like to think that means he was happy when he died.”

“What happened?” Ryoko’s voice came out rough, the first of it Sara had heard in weeks. “Joe told me, after our date, that he was going to walk you home, and then neither of you showed up at school the next day. And now… it’s been three weeks? And Joe… Joe’s dead? What the hell happened, Sara?”

“God,” Sara mumbled, mesmerizing herself with the twisting motions of her own hands. “I’m not sure if you’d even believe me if I told you. I don’t even know if I believe what happened myself.”

“I’d believe anything.” The sentence was firm. “I just want to know what happened.”

Sara nodded wearily. The familiar weight of her bright orange ponytail was notably missing- the day after she’d escaped, she’d demanded the hairdresser cut her hair short and crisp. She shuddered every time she thought about the ponytail brushing against her neck as she spent each argument screaming and protesting for her life. Even worse was the memory of how carefully Joe had styled her hair, forsaking his usual clumsiness to braid every strand with a remarkable tenderness. She didn’t want to remember any of it- even though, as the locks went cascading to the floor, she was reminded starkly of Keiji’s bleach-stained trauma response.

“For some reason, something to do with the mafia, we were kidnapped. And pulled into a death game. There were twenty of us, including me and Joe. I- I’m not going to get into all the specifics. It’s going to make me sick to my stomach if I do. But… they made us play this sadistic fucking game to narrow down the competition. Based on cards. Joe drew a bad card, and… they executed him.” Something in Sara’s throat tightened as she finished speaking, and she fell silent.

“Just like that?” His mother’s voice came out as a hoarse whisper. “How… how’d they kill him?”

“I’d rather not say.” There came the gushing sound of blood pulsing through the tubes. “He didn’t suffer too long” - she hoped - “but it was a gruesome way to die. I don’t want to think about it, please understand.”

It took a moment for his mother to register the words and nod, face still painted with horror.

“Why… how did the two of you even end up there in the first place?” Ryoko spoke up again. “You said something about the mafia? How the hell are you two connected with the mafia?”

“I don’t know how I am,” Sara responded immediately. “It must be something with my family. I couldn’t control any of this, I swear, but… Joe wasn’t meant to end up there at all.”

Ryoko paused. “He… he wasn’t meant to end up there?”

Sara swallowed back the lump in her throat. “The game… it was something that was being prepared for ages. There weren’t just a few ragtag kidnappers behind it, there was an entire organization. Even the police were involved. They ran AI tests, hundreds if not thousands of them, trying to calculate who’d be the most likely to win. And… when all the numbers came back, the person most likely to win… was me.”

She spread her arms wide, baring her sins and her cruelties to the world, and in that moment felt distinctly like the angel of death Keiji had branded her to be.

“They needed something to drag me down, I guess. Make the odds more balanced. So they dragged Joe into this fucking mess. I guess they thought that him being there would keep me steady enough to make everything fair.” A cold hand, dripping with tendrils of phantom blood, caressed her chin with a lethal grip. “...They were right.”

Ryoko’s gaze had gone cold again. “So Joe died just because you cared about him? What the fuck kind of death sentence is that?”

Sara shook her head numbly.

“Why did it have to be him?” The heartbreak in Ryoko’s voice was clearer than day. “So many people love you, Sara, why did it have to be him? Hell, I’m your best friend too, aren’t I? Why couldn’t it have been me? I’m a much worse person than Joe ever was, I deserved to be in his place way more. Couldn’t they have killed me instead?”

Sara winced at the growing desperation in her best friend’s voice, the raw crack she knew all too well. It should have been me, it should have been me, it should have been me. Sara could have almost fooled herself into seeing a crisp aquamarine when Ryoko’s hair flashed into the light.

“Ryoko… it could have been.”

The girl fell silent.

“They had files on you too. They knew how close we were, they knew how much you meant to me… but Joe was in the wrong place at the wrong time. And they fucking killed him for it.”

Oh, how she wished she could go back to that balmy early-autumn night, see the smile on Joe’s face and listen to his lighthearted laughter again. The desire to keep one’s friend safe had become a crime deserving of a death sentence.

Ryoko’s eyes remained locked to Sara’s, devoid of any dullness. In the look they exchanged was a deep, sinking understanding, one that had nauseated Sara to the core the first time the realization struck her.

It was by no crafty strategy that Joe had died instead of Ryoko, no favoritism biased against the kindest person either of them would ever know. It was a simple, terrible twist of fate. Ryoko could have taken his place had she done something as inconsequential as offering to walk Sara home instead.

But she hadn’t.

It took everything in Sara’s power to avoid wondering what would’ve changed if she had.

“How is any of this okay?” Ryoko broke the silence weakly. “They killed him- they could have killed me, too. He was seventeen. Seventeen. How did anybody let this happen? How did this happen, Sara?”

“I- I don’t know.” Ryoko’s wrath was simmering; even though Sara knew truly that she wasn’t the subject of the anger, she still felt scalded. “I miss him so much, Ryoko. I watched him die, and nothing in my power let me save him. I miss him, Ryoko, I miss him every waking minute of every day. We were supposed to escape together and get out safe and pretend this never happened, but…” the tears were beginning to well up again. She couldn’t bear the thought of breaking down in front of anyone, especially not over him.

“I’m going to go make some coffee,” his mother interrupted suddenly. She’d been noticeably quiet, but the still-fresh streaks of tears painted down her cheeks told the story she didn’t need to vocalize. “Some coffee, and some snacks. And we’ll keep talking from there, alright? Do you guys have your phones?”

The two girls nodded uneasily.

“Please… find any pictures you have of him. I want to make this wall as bright as possible.”

Without any other words, she hurried out of the room, and it fell to silence once more. Outside the window, the cool autumn breeze began to stir the leaves in the air, gusting forward to brush against Sara’s cheek just as the hallucination had done mere minutes ago.

And the Tazuna household began to feel more like home again.

[gonbeeyamada]

23 & 27!

23.Character you find suspicious?

I've never once trusted Keiji no matter how badly the story wanted me too. Sorry ACAB even your emotional support cop dad isn't safe from my wrath. 😞

27.Favourite moment?

I'll do my top three because I can't just pick one! My answer you must deal with it or block me.

1) All time favorite moment is in Chapter 2-2 where Nao and Shin hack the Mishima AI and almost manage to escape with everyone. I love how Shin's facade drops for a moment and everyone is unified for once in the game. I really really love the scene where they are all walking up the stares of victory together and chatting about what they will do after they escape. :") Good times

2) Alice's negotiations in Chapter 2 :] The bongos scene literally breaks my heart everytime I play and yet.... I still go through with it... every playthrough.... because I love talking to Alice. Fav moment is when you're talking with him in the morning and he asks Safalin for fried rice but she makes him a melon salad and he complains about it. He's so silly :] Love my silly man :]

3) I must say... for how terrible it is the main game in chapter 1 is SO fantastic and I think it sets the tone for the rest of the game so fucking well. I think there couldn't have been a better way to execute it and I do think it's one of the best written parts of the game. The scrable at the end where you are trying to find out who the true Sage is before the timer is up. It's tragic and chaotic and I just love it to death.

Honorable mention: Anytime Midori is on screen because he is so ridiculously funny for an antag. Hi besties I know you're trying to kill me but I'll hold the elevator door open for you than make you uncomfortable by standing way too close ^0^!! So funny

YTTD QUESTIONS

[tcookies777]

Here is a sneak peek at a side story I've written for The Anatomy of Love (a KakaSaku modern college au - AO3 hyperlink included)! You don't need to have read the fic to read this side story since this is a flashback to Kakashi's past when he was a teen, but it does help to understand since it's in the context of the fic itself!

The Anatomy of Love: Side Story - The Angel from Hell

About 14 years ago….

Summer in Sound country was utter shit.

Fire country had its droughts for sure during this season, and more often than not the trees would catch fire just from the mere glare of the sun on a dried leaf. But at least the trees also offered plenty of protection from the heat so long as the Firewatch was making sure those trees weren’t burning first.

Sound country, on the other hand, had nothing but empty golden plains that seemed to stretch on for eternity. If it didn’t look like a sort of heaven, Kakashi would’ve thought he was in hell what with the sun burning through his clothes and the scorched patches of earth peppered throughout the fields—a telltale sign of the bombs that had rained down on the area not too long ago.

A summer thunderstorm last week had given them a brief reprieve from the intense heat wave, but it had still left them uncomfortably soaked in their own clothes. A week later, the sun was back with a fiery vengeance, and they were back to soaking through their tactical gear in their own stink and sweat again, but this time with the muck of the marshlands clinging to their boots.

It had taken almost the whole day to sludge through the marshes and find shelter at a farmhouse that seemed to have been completely abandoned days ago. They’d cleared the house and finished in disappointment upon finding that all of the livestock were either gone or already getting feasted on by the maggots. Most of the food in the pantry had also long been raided save for a single jar of strawberry jam and a cracked egg left to spoil on a shelf. It wasn’t that everyone was starving—although they were certainly hungry after a day out trudging through a war zone—but a jar of sweet strawberry jelly was practically bliss compared to their MRE rations. Even Kakashi himself was getting wearier and wearier over every pound of rice he had to eat with the bland curry packed in his ration meal.

So the moment Anzu had spotted the bright red jar, there had immediately been a scuffle over who got to eat it. Being the fifth in command (and with the first four already dead), Kakashi had asserted the order that each person would get their fair share of strawberry jelly: one scoop and only after they’d finished their MREs for tonight. Everyone except Obito had glanced warily at each other, reluctant to follow the command of a 17-year-old boy despite him outranking them all. But, not wanting to throw a tantrum over strawberry fucking jelly of all things, they’d each grunted in answer.

And now that last bit of the jelly was getting scraped out of its jar by Obito after Kakashi had passed his share over to him. Sweets weren’t his thing anyway even if he would kill for something homemade rather than a meal full of preservatives.

The leftover spicy powder clung to the base of Kakashi’s back teeth no matter how many times he swigged down some water from his canteen. It was like chewing on sediment, and judging by the faces of everyone else, he was willing to bet none of them were intent on eating curry anytime soon after the end of this tour. He didn’t blame them.

“Piece of shit!” Tsutomu suddenly snarled, unsheathing his kukri to swipe at the fly that had been assaulting his face for the last half hour. The fat insect buzzed around him before disappearing into the man’s beard that was still coated with the blood from when a Sound soldier had tried to bash his face in back at the marshes. With a growl, Tsutomu swatted at his beard, prompting two flies to crawl out and give him double the work.

Sitting closest to him, Yori ducked when his blade nearly chopped her ear off. “Watch it!” she barked at him, flicking her chocolate brown braid aside to pick up some of the cards she’d dropped. She was the only woman among the twelve of them here, and she was also the only one besides Kakashi who had the guts to speak up against Tsutomu whenever his bitching got too loud or too obnoxious. Usually both.

The rest of the unit was in the middle of a very intense game of Spoons, using a beat up pair of playing cards someone had the smarts to bring. Considering it was his first tour though, Kakashi initially could not fathom who would want to play a card game in the middle of a war zone, and especially deep in the trenches of enemy territory. But he’d soon discovered that a card game was the best way to pass the time when there wasn’t much else to do but scout, kill, and sit on their asses to do it all over again. As it was now, they were on their thirty-fourth round of Spoons, and he just needed an Ace of Hearts to complete the set in his hand.

Passing another card to Obito, Kakashi wiped away a bead of sweat from his brow. Tucked beneath his shirt, the hot metal of his dog tags rubbed uncomfortably against his slick chest. Summer nights in Sound country were almost as bad as during the day. The good thing about it was that the humidity dropped, leaving the air so dry that his tongue felt like paper every time he opened his mouth. The bad thing was that, with the place so arid, they couldn’t risk lighting a fire lest they burn down their only shelter for the night (or attract the wrong kind of attention). So they’d turned on their flashlights, thankful that the equipment had somehow survived the trip through the marshes but not so happy that they couldn’t even light a cigarette.

Even without a fire, the summer heat had become far more unbearable than the mosquitoes that assaulted them every hour of the day. By midnight, everyone had resorted to stripping their tops off and leaving only their tactical vests on, filling the small space with their stinky sweat. It went against protocol, but nobody—not even Obito—listened to him when he offhandedly commented that they were sooner to die from a mosquito bite than a bullet wound if they dawdled around half-naked like that. Even Yori had given up, leaving Kakashi as the only one fully clothed in his combat fatigues.

“Bet you we could cook an egg on the ground with this heat,” Obito rasped out, pressing the cool, flat edge of his kukri against his cheek. Not the smartest move unless he wanted to risk stabbing his eye out, but he was far too desperate to care at this point. “Fuck, man, what I wouldn’t give for a sunnyside egg.”

“There’s one on the pantry shelf downstairs if the flies haven’t got to it yet,” Kakashi replied dismissively, passing a Queen of Hearts card to him and then picking up—ah-ha!

Holding his fourth and final Ace, Kakashi surreptitiously slid a hand out to grab one of the eight bullets that sat on the stool they were all sitting around. It took twenty seconds for anyone to notice that there were now only seven bullets remaining, and then chaos ensued as the rest of the unit members wrestled for the last bullets.

Once the dust had cleared and the knocked-over flashlights were propped back up, they each opened their hands to show who had a bullet and who didn’t. Tsutomu didn’t, and he did not look pleased about it.

“All right, who won it this time?” Midori sighed even as everyone looked expectantly to Kakashi who’d already flipped his deck around to show them his complete set of Aces.

“Fuck this!” Tsutomu threw his cards down and jabbed his kukri in Kakashi’s direction. “He’s always winning!”

“And you’re always too slow,” Yori said with a roll of her eyes. “You don’t hear me bitchin’ about it.”

“Maybe because I would’ve made you shut the fuck up!”

Before the two could begin snapping at each other's throats again, Midori was already nudging his glasses up as he said aloud, “He’s a Hatake. They don’t call him the prodigal White Fang for nothing, so of course he'd win. He's one of those freakin' geniuses who excel at everything.”

One of the Aces in Kakashi’s hand folded slightly under his grip, but he said nothing as Obito glanced his way.

“Sounds like a freak to me,” someone mumbled.

With Anzu collecting all the playing cards to reshuffle, everyone had time to listen in on the conversation now.

“Ah, yeah, your old man was one of the hotshots in the military, right?” Genki sneered at him. His face looked like a weasel’s what with his long, sharp nose, narrow jaw, and beady eyes that twinkled as if he was constantly thinking of an insulting joke for anyone who caught his attention. But he was also the kind of weasel that shrunk back when a predator stared him down, and he did just that when Kakashi calmly turned his sights onto him. “B-Bet he has plenty of medals to show for it.”

Kakashi quickly looked away in disinterest. Fuck if he cared about his father’s medals. They were probably collecting dust and cobwebs somewhere in the back of a closet.

“Heard his Pops always carried a lil’ sword around in battle,” Tsutomu nodded to the hilt jutting out from behind Kakashi’s lower back. “Just like that one.”

“Who the fuck brings a sword to a gunfight?” Genki sniggered but just as soon stopped when he saw nobody else was laughing.

“It’s a tantō, you nitwit,” Obito said, slamming down the empty jar of jam with more force than necessary. Genki jolted in his seat from the harsh sound. “And it’s really no different from the standard-issued kukris we all carry.”

Tsutomu frowned at the knife in his hand that was almost double the length of Kakashi’s shortsword. He met Kakashi’s gaze over the curved blade, tawny eyes squinting at him for a second as if they were having a dick-measuring contest. Pleased with the extra inches he had over the younger man, Tsutomu lowered the knife to give Kakashi a smug grin. His shit-eating grin instantly flipped into a scowl, however, when the two flies from earlier suddenly appeared to attack his lips.

His breath must be that rancid, Kakashi thought with faint bemusement. While he could stand the pompous ass and his snide remarks, he couldn’t stand to watch Yori have to consistently dodge Tsutomu’s knife as he returned to stabbing at the flies with a vengeance.

Kakashi nodded towards the staircase that led to the bedrooms upstairs. “Tsutomu, Genki, switch off with Haya and Jun. It’s your turn to be on lookout.”

They clicked their tongues in unison but obeyed without question, grabbing their flashlights to head upstairs and keep watch for the next hour. As soon as they left the cramped room, the stink seemed to follow after them (although that wasn’t much of a surprise). Haya and Jun came in, propping their sniper rifles against a cabinet that held nothing but smashed plates within. As they searched for a decent seat where they could put their feet up and relax as well as they could in a warzone, Kakashi pulled out a map from his pack and spread it out on the floor. With the beckon of his hand, he urged everyone to pay attention.

“Amegakure is fifty miles from here,” he explained, tapping a finger on the northeast quadrant of the map. “The package is reported to be held within an underground bunker disguised on the topside as a water tower. At 0600, we’ll be leaving to cut through the Dead Marshes to reach Ame by 1800.”

“Why is it called the Dead Marshes again?” Anzu asked before slapping a fly off his sweaty face.

“Because a hundred of our men died there just last month. Cut down in an ambush after the enemy got ahold of our intel. Everyone’s been calling it the Dead Marshes since then.”

“So why the fuck are we going there?” Yori demanded. “I'm betting those corpses are still floating around for all the fishies to nibble on.”

“Then that just means we have even more cover,” Kakashi said.

Jun snorted and leaned over to snatch the map off the ground. Like most of the other survivors here, Jun liked to question Kakashi’s leadership at every chance. In fact, he was the kind of guy whom teachers would rip their hair out over had he chosen to stay in high school rather than head straight into the military academy. Running a hand through his greasy blonde hair, he snorted at the map before tossing it back to Kakashi. “There’s a river that we can follow for a few miles. It’ll lead us straight to Amegakure much faster than the marshes.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Because it's too tiresome to explain to a numbskull like you. “Because I said so.”

“A fucking kid said so.”

“At least I have a high school diploma.”

“And a Bachelor's and a Master’s,” Midori coughed out. When Jun glared at him, he took off his glasses and pretended to get busy cleaning them.

With a sneer, Jun pointed his flashlight directly into Kakashi's face. “I don’t care if you're a Hatake. I don't care if you're some genius with a dozen degrees. And I definitely don’t give a flying fuck if our superiors kiss your ass and call you the White Flash—”

‘Fang’, Kakashi almost corrected him, but even he found the nickname distasteful.

“—I'm not going to put my life in the hands of some kid who cares more about the mission than his own comrades,” Jun spat out.

“Look,” Obito sat forward, prying the map from Kakashi’s grip and smoothing it back down on the floor. “The obvious choice is the river, right?”

Jun nodded and then stepped on the foot of Haya who’d been too busy staring at Yori’s cleavage. “Y-Yeah, duh!” Haya nodded vigorously until the heel digging onto his toes relented.

Obito spread open his palms in gesture. “Then you would think they’d have an ambush set up for us there too since it’s the ‘obvious choice’. The river will be guarded, but Sound won’t expect more Fire soldiers to try the marshes after the first group failed.”

“Ah, so reverse psychology?” Yori still didn’t look so convinced, but she was already eyeing the marshes on the map again with renewed interest. She frowned and then looked to Kakashi. “You said you want to use the dead bodies for cover?”

“The marshes are our best bet if we want to get to the package on time. And without getting butchered,” Kakashi added firmly. “We’re the only ones left of our unit, so we need to play it safe but right. But I also wouldn’t expect Sound to turn a blind eye, so we need to move with stealth.”

Yori rolled her eyes. “Tsutomu is the opposite of stealth, but I guess we could always use his bitch ass for cover if needed. I just fucking hate the marshes,” she said with a sigh, sagging in her rickety chair, still exhausted from slugging through the marshes all day. “But Hatake’s idea makes more sense.”

“The fuck it does not!” Jun snapped at her. “I say we take the river—”

“And I say we’re taking the marshes,” Kakashi said, his voice low but harsh enough to make the fresh graduate stiffen. When Jun fell silent, Kakashi swept his gaze around all the others sitting and staring at him. He took turns challenging each and every one of them silently for a moment, daring them to question his orders anymore. “I don’t care what you think of me. I don’t care if you don’t like swimming with the fishes and corpses. I don’t care if any of you live or die. I care about completing the mission—and that is securing the package. That is our duty as a soldier and if you disagree then you are free to take off your vests and dog tags, put down your guns, and walk out that door and all the way back home.”

Everyone shut up at that, and for the first time in six months, Kakashi was finally afforded the peace of silence without someone bitching about the insects, the commercial taste of their rations, or a stone that had found its way inside their boot. Satisfied with the room’s consensus, Kakashi leaned back in his chair, unsheathing his tantō to wipe off today’s coat of blood and mud that stained the edges.

It was Yori who broke the begrudging silence first when she suddenly withdrew her pistol from its holster. “You keep staring at my tits, Haya, and I'll blow you a new eye. Right in the center of your fucking forehead.”

“Chill, darlin'!” Haya raised his hands placatingly. “I was just checking out your tags.” As if to prove his point, he leaned closer to her, training his eyes on the cleavage that could be seen just above the collar of her vest. Still under the pretense of reading her tags, he hummed and stroked his chin. “Impressive.”

Yori cocked her gun in warning.

“Hey, I got a place where you can blow me,” Jun snickered at her, prompting Haya to do the same.

“That’s it—”

“Enough,” Kakashi leaned across to grab Yori’s hand that was reaching for the kukri at her hip. Something then slipped out of his front pocket, fluttering down until it landed atop of the map to reveal little Rin shyly hugging onto a scrawny boy with silver hair and a dead gaze.

Jun swooped down in the blink of an eye, snatching up the photo with his blood-stained fingers. He whistled low, angling the photo for Haya to see. “Damn, Hatake! You like your girls really young, huh? But I didn't take you as a guy who likes four-year-old pussy! Or is she three?”

Over the men’s cackles, Kakashi resisted the urge to skewer the Private 1st Class with the tip of his tantō. Especially not when he had just finished wiping the blade clean of today’s muck. “The only pussy here is the one in front of me,” he replied coolly.

Midori choked on the water he’d been sipping from his canteen, letting it splash all over the glasses he’d just finished cleaning.

While Jun was still sputtering from the retort, Obito stole the photo away from him. He peeked at it for just a split second before handing the picture back to Kakashi who immediately tucked it back into the safety of his pocket. He wiped his sword down one last time and then sheathed it loudly enough for both Jun and Haya to flinch.

A grim silence fell over the group as everyone else seemed to recall all the beloved people they themselves carried in their pockets. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, and lovers. They were all waiting for their soldiers to return home—even if it meant in body bags or as dog tags.

“Is she your girlfriend?” Obito quietly asked as Anzu started to deal cards for the others to play a round of Thirteen with.

It was a sincere question, but it was still a personal one that had Kakashi scrubbing a hand over his jaw. His hand came away tinged with the thin film of blood that had yet to finish congealing on his mask. He could smell the sharp notes of copper with every intake of breath, so he made a mental note to retreat to the bathroom later and wash off the grime. It was pointless, he knew that. By tomorrow noon, his mask would be dyed in splotches of red again, but tonight he wanted to sleep without inhaling the stench of a dead man.

Sensing Obito still waiting for an answer, Kakashi wiped his hand on his trousers and then sighed.

“She's a girl. And she's my friend….” And he had kissed Rin before, but that was more out of curiosity than desire. Besides, he didn't count it as an actual kiss since he'd just been seven years old at the time. “She's… special to me,” was all Kakashi gave in answer. “What about you? You got anyone back home?”

This time, it was Obito’s turn to shift in discomfort. He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “Nah, I was... disowned by my family. I was always the black sheep, but one day, I fucked up and...” He paused to scratch his cheek for a moment. “And it cost my twin brother’s life. I mean, he’s not dead,” he added quickly. “But he got fucked up pretty badly from the accident to the point that... he’s like a shadow of himself. So I got kicked out of the family after that, got put in a group home, then joined the academy as soon as I could. I haven’t talked to my family or my twin brother ever since, so if I die... guess that’s it for me.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s the end for you. I mean, you’re free to haunt me if you’d like.”

Obito's mouth quirked into a grin. “You don’t mind me pulling all that poltergeist shit on you?”

Kakashi snorted. “With your butterfingers, you’d be dropping shit rather than throwing it.”

“Oh, fuck you!” Obito shoved at his shoulder with a laugh.

His laughter was cut short, however, when the heavy tread of boots stampeding down the staircase followed by the most unholy screeching interrupted everyone. Genki and Tsutomu appeared at the threshold, faces flushed with angry scratched lines marking their cheeks as if a cat had gotten the jump on them. But it wasn’t a cat that was making that screeching noise; it was a girl. Slung between them with her wrists bound in ripped sheets, she thrashed around wildly in search of an opportunity to—not escape but to bite at the men holding her captive.

White teeth flashed between long tresses of ebony hair as she tried to snap her jaws at Tsutomu’s thick neck. The man responded with a harsh slap that sent her face whipping towards Genki who was forced to reel back to avoid her bites.

“Lookie what I caught!” Tsutomu announced, grinning proudly as he grabbed the girl by the base of her head and yanked it back. She winced but made no sound that she was in pain. Even though her whole face was streaked with filth, it was obvious that she couldn’t be any older than fifteen years old. Only two years younger than Kakashi himself, but already looking as if she’d lived through an entire war. “Caught this lil’ bitch skulking around in one of the bedrooms. Probably was finding a spot to hide in so that she could slit our throats while we slept.”

There was no way she could’ve taken on twelve armed soldiers even with the element of surprise, but Kakashi didn’t doubt that she would’ve tried it anyway.

“I would’ve shat on your corpses too afterward!” she sneered at Tsutomu, earning a second slap to the cheek and making Genki flinch when specks of blood from her mouth landed all over his face.

“How the hell did we miss her?” Jun asked, stopping Tsutomu from slapping the girl again. “I thought we cleared this house from top to bottom.”

Apparently, you guys were sloppy about it, Kakashi was half-tempted to say. Instead, he stood up and yanked the girl out of Genki and Tsutomu's clutches by her bound hands. She struggled against him but just as soon froze when she felt the sharp tip of his tantō dig into the small of her back. Don’t move, Kakashi told her with a mere prod of his sword.

“Hey! Finders keepers,” Tsutomu growled, displeased that his catch was being taken away from him. His grubby hands reached for the girl, but Kakashi pulled her away from him and towards the staircase.

“We’re guests of this house,” Kakashi said aloud despite knowing that there wasn’t much of this house or its occupants left anymore. “This girl will be locked up in the master bedroom where no one is to touch her. Is that understood?”

Tsutomu took a heavy step forward to protest but stopped when the young Hatake turned his steely gaze onto him.

“Is that understood?” Kakashi spoke low, the lethal edge in his voice cutting through the tension like the blade in his hand. When Tsutomu bowed his head in answer, Kakashi glanced over at Obito who was looking at him strangely. “Relay to Tsutomu and Genki the plan for tomorrow.”

With a sharp nudge of the sword against the girl’s back, Kakashi prompted her to continue up the stairs. She remained silent on the way to the bedroom, but she didn’t stop trying to squirm out of the sheets roped tightly around her wrists. Kakashi took the moment to observe her calloused hands, deducing that she was a surviving member of this household. Probably the daughter of the farmer who’d lived here.

He didn’t ask where her parents were or why she was still here. Even though there hadn’t been any bloodstains found while clearing the house, he guessed that the rest of the girl’s family was already dead in a ditch somewhere.

“If you’re going to kill me then just do it already,” she finally said the moment she stumbled into the bedroom.

Kakashi closed the door first, watching her flinch at the sound of the latch clicking in place. “Turn around.”

She hesitated for a moment before obeying with a slow, reluctant pivot. Under the sharp beam of his flashlight, Kakashi could see the tear tracks that left a clean streak through the cake of dirt and dried blood on her cheeks. He raised his sword and she bunched her shoulders up despite the defiant tilt of her chin. The tantō flashed under the moonlight for a split second as he swung it down upon the girl.

She squeezed her eyes shut but then opened them when she found herself still alive... and with her hands free now.

Kakashi jut his chin towards the bed. Its sheets were still made as if nobody had ever slept in them at all. “Lay down there.”

She stiffened at this order, her body locking up more notably than the last time she’d hesitated. She took one step forward, and Kakashi caught the way her whole frame seemed to tremble before she hurriedly crossed the room and laid down on the bed, stiff as a board. The springs of the mattress creaked harshly, and her eyes widened as if the sound was a threat itself.

Grabbing a chair by the vanity mirror, Kakashi dragged it to the side of the bed before plopping down. His sudden close proximity to her had her sitting up rigidly, slim hands squeezing into fists on her lap. He would've preferred for her to remain lying down, but it seemed she was more comfortable sitting up, so he let her.

Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, he took the moment to study the girl. She had a split lip, a small cut above her brow, the red mark of a building bruise on her cheek (no doubt courtesy of Tsutomu and Genki), and dark bags of exhaustion weighed heavy beneath her eyes—eyes so black that they seemed to pierce right into Kakashi’s soul the longer he held her sharp gaze.

He looked away to reach for something in his pocket, pausing only when he sensed the girl stiffen again. Slowly, he withdrew the white handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the girl. “Wipe your face.”

She scowled at the implication but snatched the cloth from him. Glimpsing the little sunflower design Rin had sewn into the corner of the cloth, the girl stared at it first before remembering to wipe the dirt off her face.

“My name is Hatake Kakashi,” he said as she cleaned herself. “What’s yours?”

When she refused to answer, he reached into another pocket, slowly again like last time. He watched as her wary eyes flicked down from his to the orange thing in his hand.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, peeling the fruit for her. “It’s a mandarin orange.”

A rare delicacy among their rations, but he was never one for sweets anyway.

The girl watched him peel the skin of the orange off like a hawk would with its prey. As soon as he offered her a slice, she seized the small piece from his fingers and stuffed it into her mouth. Her lashes fluttered slightly as she took that first bite of tangy sweetness.

“Good?”

She froze at the question as if she was a thief who’d been caught stealing the mandarin he’d offered her. Without warning, she spat the mashed bits of orange to his face, her frown deepening when she saw Kakashi didn’t even flinch from the attack.

“You’re a bastard!” she said as he casually brushed off the pieces of orange clinging to his mask. In an effort to add insult to the non-existent injury, she flung the now dirty handkerchief back at him. Kakashi merely plucked it off his chest, folded it two times into a small square, and then tucked it into one of his pockets before placing the rest of the orange in front of her.

He stood up and she shrunk back from him after clutching the orange to her chest.

“We’ll be gone in the morning,” Kakashi said as he scanned the room for any dangerous objects she might try to use in retaliation. “You can rest easy tonight. I’ll make sure no one touches you.”

Although he was kind of late for that.

“But if you try anything, we will have to use force.”

The warning was vague, but it left her shivering and glaring at him with enough spite to make any man give pause. He gave her one final look of caution before leaving the room to make his way to the bathroom. The farmhouse was old, and every floorboard creaked under his boots, but he preferred it that way. It kept him on edge—kept him alert for any signs of danger that may be lurking around the corner.

Even upon entering the bathroom, he swept aside the shower curtain just to make sure no other stray kid was waiting in the tub to ambush him with a butterknife or whatever these civilians resorted to.

Seeing the coast was clear, he stripped off his tactical vest and then the black sleeveless shirt underneath. The water ran lukewarm as he turned the knob of the faucet, and he splashed a handful down his chest for a brief respite from the blistering heat. Taking his shirt, he detached his mask and held it beneath the stream. Black, brown, and red tainted the pool of water along with loose sediment of dried mud. He grabbed the soap bar from the corner and scrubbed his mask inside and out, letting the bubbles froth.

After rinsing his mask, he wrung out the excess water before hanging the cloth on the edge of the sink to let it finish dripping.

A shout could be heard from downstairs—either Tsutomu or Jun since those two loved to butt heads with everyone—but Kakashi didn’t care so long as heads weren’t rolling. Scrubbing a hand down his face, he shrugged on his shirt and vest but paused upon hearing a sharp creak just outside his door.

Creak...

There it was again, but further this time.

Kakashi heaved a sigh and then yanked his mask back on, unsurprised to find it already dry. Tugging the door open, he stepped out of the hallway and was met with the hulking figure of Tsutomu. His burly back was hunched over as if the guy was in the middle of sneaking... towards the girl’s room.

The rest of this side story chapter will be published soon on AO3 and Fanfiction.Net! Thank you for reading!

[stuffedtight]

1, 13 which leads to 12. Shiro has been taste testing for Asugi a lot and Asugi loves the effects it’s having.

Shiro wiped the sweat of his forehead after he sliced his training dummy’s head off with his lance. His training session was over, but he wouldn’t be satisfied if he kept his unfournate subject alive. He took a few deep breaths and leaned back on the fence around the training area. His training had been getting so much harder than before. Before, he hadn’t been piling on pounds and been forced to wobble around with his body in combat.

Leaning on the fence, Shiro gazed down at his bod. His round moobs and belly which made perfect spheres blocked his gaze from his feet. That’s how he knew his “bulking” had spiralled out of control. He believed he knew the mastermind behind his weight gain, his boyfriend, Asugi.

Asugi was a master baker, and apprantly not a bad cook either, showing that his meals have been rubbing off of him. Somehow, Asugi has always stayed a very skinny boy. He suspects that his cousin Midori made some kind of concontion to stop his weight gain from any of his bad habits. Still, Shiro wasn’t as lucky.

And it just so happens as the Hosidian heir was lost in thought about how he’d work his weight off, Asugi called for him. Shiro reluctently stood up from the fence and walked to the call. Asugi greeted him with a smirk. “How was training?” He asked.

Shiro ripped his shirt off and revealed his round belly. He was huge compared to Asugi. “I don’t know, see for yourself.” Shiro was still sweaty and it wasn’t his most flattering shirtless moment ever. Asugi poked his belly, chuckled and told him, “Well go take a shower buddy, we have a little family dinner today.”

Shiro sighed at the thought and rested his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder and gave a whiny pout. He didn’t get along with his family the best, not to mention Asugi, and wasn’t anticipating to be all prim and proper for his evening. Asugi patted Shiro’s soft cheek and reassured him. “I know, I don’t want to either. But we should really get out of the house. Plus, were bringing cookies.” Thinking of Asugi’s fresh-baked sugar cookies were a more welcoming thought. “Fine. But I’m using the outdoor shower!” Shiro shouted as he walked around to the back of their house, already ripping his pants off in the process. Asugi smiled as he saw his big boyfriend walk off his underwear.

The bigger Shiro came out of his shower wrapped in a white towel. It’s tight hold around the lower half of his body didn’t leave much to the imagination. His belly sat on top on the towel, leaving his upper half exposed. His fat ass bulged through and the shape of his large cheeks could be seen from behind, along with his jiggle. When he sat on a nearby bench to dry off in the sun, his fat thighs could be seen through the towel and spread his towel so far when he sat that anyone caught at an unfournate (or very fournate) angle could see what the towel tried to hide.

Shiro walked inside his house after drying himself and hair off extensively, as his boyfriend would always be cross with him if he got water in their house. He climbed up the stairs as Asugi called him to their room. The sweet ninja was lying on their bed and had clothes laid out on the other side where Shiro usually slept. “What’s up, babe?” Shiro said as he attempted to slip in bed beside him, before being pushed up by his belly from Asugi. “Nope. Not before you get dressed.” Shiro sighed, but reluctently began looking at his options.

He frowned as he looked at the dress shirts and pants. He already wasn’t looking forward to this dinner, but now he has to wear tight dress up clothes? If Asugi wasn’t going, this would be a dealbreaker. He wondered which pair of pants his butt would look better in, and before we could ask for Asugi’s opinion, he noticed an odd look on his face. “What’s the matter?” Shiro asked. “Well, don’t take any offense to this babe, but...I don’t know if you’ll be able to squeeze into those.” Asugi said. Shiro’s face blew up. A flustered Shiro nervously chucked back at his partner. “O-of course I can!”

Shiro took his new pair of boxes and ordered Asugi to close his eyes. He put his hands over his eyes, put of course, left a little peep to view his bigger boyfriend. He couldn’t help but become infatuiated with his body, wanting to tackle him to the ground and feel his massive stomach up and down and give it a good shake. Shiro, suspicious that he was beening looked at, turned around to hide his junk and showed off his massive ass. Asugi was a pretty submissive guy, but he’d do anything to see Shiro bend down to grab his pants, or bent down ready to take it from him.

“Alright, you can open your eyes, perv.” Shiro joked. Asugi watched with excitement as Shiro bent down to pull up his pants. As his pants became tighter and tighter as they traveled up his thighs, he started to expect the worse and he didn’t know if they would survive past his behind. “Quit staring at me like that!” Shiro yelled. His pants didn’t make it. Only halfway, the fat from his ass pushed up and made his butt pop up at the top. He sighed. “I’m getting fat, babe.” Shiro said, frowning at the candy-loving boy to signal he needs help.

Asugi stood up and slowly enjoyed grabbing the back belt holes to drag the back of Shiro’s tight pants, slowly up his, soft, plush ass. As Asugi tugged, causing Shiro to jiggle with uncomfort, the pants eventually managed to squeeze on. Shiro looked down nervously at the button on his pants. They already looked streched out, exposing a bit of his underwear, and he wasn’t looking forward to attempting to close it up.

He dug his buldge into his pants and tryed to pull the two parts together. He sucked in his belly as far as he could, which admitally wasn’t very far, but to Shiro’s surprise, he managed to lock it in place. “Nice!” Shiro exclamied. But his celebration was short lived, as his exclimation led to his belly popping back out, sending his pant button to pop and fly across their room.

Shiro sighed and layed down on the bed, Asugi swiftly joining him. “Nothing fits me, baby...” Shiro pouted. Asugi put a hand on Shiro’s round and fat belly in a circular motion. “Y’know, we don’t have to go. I’ll find some kind of excuse.” Shiro’s eyes lit up as he heard this. “A-and we can eat those cookies too?!” He said with excitement. “Yes, the cookies too.” Asugi chuckled as he wrapped his arms around his big boyfriend. Shiro then returned the favor by enwrapping him in a giant bear hug. Shiro’s round stomach pushed against Asugi’s flat body. Asugi, covered with Shiro’s fat, still enjoyed the cuddle and gave Shiro’s adomen a few pats before they enjoyed their night with a big meal and a few cookies.

[evilrubberducke]

A Day Among Nerds

I haven’t been able to write much for the past couple weeks, but I’m getting back in to the swing of things. As usual, have some fluff of my favorite couple of dorks. Hope you enjoy!

Summary: When Mina notices Izuku is hiding something from her, it leads to a day that neither will be forgetting anytime soon.

Rated T for some use of language.

Read it on AO3!

The school day had only just begun, but Mina could already tell that something was going on with Izuku. Ever since class began, he had been even more distractible than usual. Normally, he made a point of paying attention in class, even during boring subjects. Today, however, Mina had noticed him staring out of the window rather than paying attention multiple times. If it was anyone else it wouldn;t have been that remarkable, but for Izuku it was a significant change in behaviour. 

Even still, she might have dismissed it if it weren’t for the rest of his behaviour. 

During third period, while Present Mic and Iida were engaged in a heated debate over the correct translation of some English poems, Mina caught Izuku checking his phone. He was trying to be subtle about it, and failing miserably, probably because he had next to no experience breaking the rules on his own. Their eyes met as Izuku looked up and Izuku froze for a moment. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and looked away as quickly as he could, but the encounter stuck in Mina’s mind for the rest of the class. When they’d locked eyes, he had looked almost...guilty?

During the break he had been the first one out the door, despite his position in the class,and left her blinking in surprise. A quick glance towards Iida and Uraraka showed that they were just as taken aback as she was.

When he returned to class just before break ended, he looked even more nervous than he usually did. His fingers drummed an unconscious beat on his leg, and Mina could swear she saw a faint bit of perspiration on his brow. 

He was also sneaking glances at her whenever he thought she wasn’t looking. She caught every one of them, of course, thought she did her best not to let on that she could see him. While he stared, his nerves seemed to grow worse, and she could tell he was doing his absolute best to clamp down on his mumbling. 

There was only one real conclusion Mina could draw from his odd behavior, and it was one she really didn’t like. Izuku was trying to keep something secret, despite some part of him desperately wanting to tell her. 

Izuku was not the type to keep secrets, and especially not from her. He wore his heart on his sleeve nearly all of the time. True, Asui probably had him beat as the most honest person in the class, but Izuku definitely gave her a run for her money.

So, she decided, there was only one thing to do. She would have to shake him by the ankles until he started talking.

-

Her chance didn’t come until the end of the day. To his credit, Izuku proved to be extremely slippery. He’d manage to dodge her all throughout lunch, using some clever moves born of long years avoiding bullies. Their hero training for the day had been Quirk improvement exercises which meant she was on her own while she worked to improve the amount of acid she could expel and Izuku trained with Kirishima on their ability to give and receive damage, respectively.

When class was done, he tried to slip away once more, but Mina had grown wise to his tactics. The minute Izuku attempted to dash down the hall, Aizawa grabbed him by the shoulder and reprimanded the boy for attempting to run in the halls. Mina had learned months ago that while their teacher was not prone to enforcing the school rules when it didn’t affect him, his opinion could be swayed by a well placed bribe. Three weeks of no pranks or class disruptions was a hefty sacrifice to make, but it was a price she was willing to pay, given the circumstances.

By the time Izuku was free to go, everyone else had filled out of the class and were either on their way to the dorms to relax or to the gym to sneak in some extra training. The hallways were nearly empty as Izuku hurried down them, glancing behind himself periodically to make sure Mina wasn’t sneaking up behind him.

Instead, she popped out in front of him from her hiding place in the stairwell, and slammed a palm into the wall to bar his way. His reactions were fast enough that he didn’t get clotheslined, though he did stumble back a little bit in surprise. Mina took the opportunity to bring her other arm around him, guiding and trapping him against the wall.

“Afternoon Babe.” Mina said, her words as honeyed as she could make them without dipping into the territory of being actually threatening. Push him too hard and he would shut down before she could get what she was after. Push just hard enough though, and he would be putty in her hands.

“Good...uh...nice to…um...hi Mina.” His stuttering was as bad as she’d ever heard it. Perfect.

“Did you have a nice day?” 

“Uh...y-yeah? It was ok, I guess.���

“Really?” She was laying it on thick, but she didn’t mind too much. If Izuku was going to keep secrets from her, then he deserved a bit of teasing. “Cuz you weren’t looking so great during class.”

He laughed nervously. “N-no. I’m fine. I just….” his eyes were firmly glued to his shoes as he trailed off.

Mina placed a hand on his shoulder. She’d gotten her digs in, and now it was time to actually talk to him.

“Izuku, you know if there’s anything bothering you, you can talk to me about it, right? And I’ll help any way I can.” This time her smile was as warm and genuine as she could make it.

As she spoke, his eyes rose to meet hers, and his back straightened just a little bit. He wasn’t back to his old self, but a bit of his usual fire had returned.

“I know.” He said softly. “It’s….” He trailed off once more.

She waited for him to gather his thoughts, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. Finally, he gathered the will to continue. It did make her a little happy to see him push past whatever was making him uncomfortable for her sake. Sure, he had taken some prodding to get there, but that’s what she did best. Help him push past his mental hang ups and live life to its fullest.

“I didn’t want to say anything, because I know you’ve been looking forward to our date this weekend, and I know it’s selfish of me to want to do something else, especially since I know you wouldn’t enjoy it, but people keep talking about how amazing it’s going to be this year, and it’s just so cool and-” As he spoke, the words came faster and faster, until he was practically babbling. 

“Midori, I’m going to need you to breathe for me” Mina said, placing a finger on his lips to cut him off. She waited for him to calm down slightly before continuing. “Wanna try that again?”

He nodded, but didn’t speak. Instead, he held out his phone for her to look at. She grabbed it gingerly, interested to see what had sent her boyfriend into such a tizzy. There was a long moment where her eyes danced across the screen, taking in every detail.

Then she burst out laughing.

“Midori, you are such a dork!”

The page that had given Izuku so much grief was an advertisement for “Mightfest 2319”. The hero might have retired, but his fans were still going strong apparently, and were planning on congregating in Mustafu that weekend to celebrate their favorite hero and probably purchase a ridiculous amount of merchandise.

It took Mina several seconds to control her laughter, and to look Izuku in the eyes once more. He still looked worried, but now confusion was written plainly on his face as well.

“I'm ...pfft… I’m sorry, but only you would get so tied up in knots over something so ridiculous.” She wiped a tear from her eye as she spoke. The intensity of her laughter had probably been over the top, but the whiplash of going from worrying over her boyfriend’s mental state to realizing the insane reason for his nerves had left her feeling a little giddy. “It’s a little cute, honestly.” She said with a grin.

Izuku seemed to deflate as the last of his nerves left his body. His concerns had proven to be unfounded, but they had been weighing on him for more than a week, and it was a relief to finally be done with them.

“I’m sorry” He apologized, his voice still quiet.

“Izuku, it’s fine. I’m not angry. Well, I’m a little peeved that you didn’t think you could talk to me about this.”

“I didn’t want to ruin our date.” He protested.

Mina shook her head. “Izuku, we were gonna get pizza and watch a movie. We can do that anytime. This is something that only happens once a year, right?” Izuku nodded in response. “And you really want to go, despite the fact that All Might himself is one of our teachers and you see him every other day?” He nodded again, although much more sheepishly this time.

“Well then, I guess we’re going to MightFest!” She grinned at the look of surprise and excitement that blossomed across her boyfriend’s face. 

“Mina, are...are you sure? I mean, it’s really nerdy, and it’s going to be super crowded, and there’s gonna be tons of people in costume, and I don’t want you to be bored or anything.”

Mina pretended to think for a moment, then nodded her head. “Here’s what I think. You really like this, and I really like you, and therefore, by the transformation property, I’ll enjoy it!” Izuku raised his finger as if to correct her on her misuse of mathematical terms, but thought better of it and give her a hug instead.

She relaxed into the embrace, though she sighed a bit internally. She wasn’t quite as enthusiastic about the change of plans as she had lead Izuku to believe, but she would be damned if she let him find out about that. 

A few months after they had started dating Mina had asked a simple question about one of the many figures that decorated his room. Izuku had lit up at her curiosity and started describing all the variations and features of his collection as well as the symbolism and history behind them. While Mina hadn’t particularly cared about the information, she had enjoyed watching Izuku become so animated as he talked about his figures. 

However, when he was part way through his collection, one of Bakugou’s explosions had echoed through the dorms, and Izuku had frozen mid sentence. It was like a switch had been flipped. He crumpled in on himself and started apologizing for annoying her.

Mina hated it. The Izuku she loved was happy, goofy, occasionally over the top, and all the cuter for it. She decided then and there that Izuku wouldn’t end up like that because of her. She was going to indulge his nerdy side until he never reacted like that again.

<And who knows,> She thought to herself as the pair made their way back to the dorms, Izuku busy plotting out exactly what activities they would be participating in, <Maybe I’ll actually enjoy myself.>

-

Mina actually balked as she witnessed the crowd that had assembled outside the Kiyashi Ward mall. The last time she had come here had been in the middle of the day just before the beginning of summer, but the crowd now made that one seem tame in comparison.

Everywhere she looked, Mina could see excited nerds chatting with each other about their favorite All Might costumes or poses, or other such topics. Almost every single one of them was decked out from head to toe in All Might merchandise, which made navigating the crowd somewhat of a headache.

Thankfully for her, a beacon of green stood out in the sea of red, white, blue and blonde. 

“MIDORI!” Mina called as she pounced on her boyfriend. He staggered slightly from the sudden embrace, but recovered quickly and returned her hug.  “Were you waiting long?”

The pair had originally planned to meet up before heading into the event, but Mina’s little brother had proven to be a little bother, filling her shoes with the viscous and sticky goop he was just starting to be able to produce, and causing her to run late. She’d texted Izuku to get started without her, letting him know she would catch up. 

He’d apparently enjoyed himself. He was already carrying a small plastic bag with several rolled up poster sticking out of it. At the rate he acquired merchandise, Mina was amazed his that there was still spaces in his room that weren’t plastered with the hero’s iconic smile.

“No...not really. I just checked out a few of the booths. There’s some amazing artists over there, and I saw one girl who had made an entire sculpture out of macaroni, and she said she didn’t use her Quirk for it AT ALL which is so cool, and then there was this guy ...”

Mina chuckled as Izuku spoke excitedly. All around her she could hear similar conversations from other super nerds as they filed into the event. For once, she realized, Izuku wasn’t the biggest nerd in the room.

-

“Uh...M-Mina. Can we...That is...do you mind if we...um...”

Mina cocked her head to the side, trying to puzzle out what exactly Izuku was trying to ask her. He’d been doing fine with his stuttering this afternoon, so this had come out of nowhere. 

“What’s that Midori?” She asked, leaning closer so he didn’t have to speak up as much.

“I..uh...wanted to...take a picture. With you. Over...there…”

Mina turned to where he was pointing, and a smile broke across her face. At the edge of the crowd was a display of a classic image of All Might and Sir Nighteye posing victoriously, their heads replaced with holes so people could pose as the iconic duo. A young woman stood nearby, offering to take photos for you in exchange for a few yen.

She grinned as she looked back to Izuku, who was still imitating a strawberry. Even still, she could see the look in his eyes that said this wasn’t some idle whim, but something he really wanted to do with her. 

<Well then, here we go!!> Mina grabbed Izuku’s shoulders, and began to push him towards the display. He served as an excellent battering ram and the crowd parted around them, though whether that was out of respect for their fellow con goers, or just them trying to avoid the heat of the furnace that was emanating from Izuku’s blushing face was up for debate. 

She tossed her phone to the photo girl, who caught it with surprising dexterity and gave Mina a thumbs up.

Whoever had set up the display had obviously thought ahead. There were a pair of adjustable stools for anyone who didn't measure up to the massive hero or his lanky sidekick. 

Izuku briefly and unsuccessfully tried to relinquish All Might's visage to Mina, but she was having none of it. She practically shoved his head through the appropriate hole, then did the same for her own. 

She craned her neck slightly to grin at Izuku while they waited for the photo girl to line up the shot. He looked a little put out by the rough treatment, but his frown quickly changed to a smile as he caught her gaze.

"Say Plus Ultra!" The girl called to them, and the pair flashed the biggest smiles they could muster. 

-

“You know, it’s actually impressive how many of these have Izuku blinking.” Mina mused as she reviewed the pictures while waiting for Izuku to return with some snacks.

There were quite a few to choose from, the photo girl had been very diligent in capturing multiple angles and facial expressions. Unfortunately, this meant she had captured more than a few awkward ones as well. From Izuku mid blink, to Mina looking cross eyed, there were a few stinkers that Mina intended to delete later.

There were, however, several that she really liked. One captured Izuku’s surprised blush as she pinched his butt behind the scenes. The objectively best photo showed them both with matching smiles as they stared into the camera.

But Mina’s favorite by far was the final picture in the series. Izuku hadn’t realized that there was one more photo being taken, and so he wasn’t posing at all. Instead, he had turned his head slightly to stare at Mina, while she was still smiling for the camera. 

He had a soft smile on his lips, and a light blush dusted his cheeks as he stared at her. That was adorable, but what really made Mina’s heart skip a beat was the look in his eyes. She wasn’t sure how the phone camera had captured it so well, but she could easily see that he was looking at her in abject adoration. 

She squeezed her phone tight to her chest as a light blush touched her cheeks once more. She’d send the rest of the pictures to Izuku once they got home, but not this one. 

No, this picture was going in a special folder that she kept, one that sparked warm memories every time she opened it. It was where she stored photos and texts from her boyfriend that really reminded her why she had fallen for him in the first place. 

Not just because he was attractive, funny, incredibly smart, loyal, dedicated, and completely adorable. It was because he was the most genuine person she had ever met. She never had to doubt where she stood with him, since he told her how he felt with everything he did. 

She looked up as a drink entered her field of view, and interrupted her thoughts. 

“I...uh… thought you might be thirsty.” Izuku said with a gentle smile.

Mina grabbed the refreshingly cool bottle gratefully, and took a long drink from it. 

<That settles it.> She thought happily <Best boyfriend in the world.>

-

Izuku began to vibrate with excitement as the announcement came over the PA system. 

"The Mightiest trivia contest will begin shortly. All contestants, please make your way to the stage in the next five minutes so we can begin promptly." 

Mina smiled at her overenthusiastic boyfriend. "Someone's looking excited. You think the contest is going to be exciting to watch?" 

He shook his head. "I'm uh...I'm a contestant."

Mina blinked in surprise. Izuku had mentioned that there were some events he wanted to take part in at the convention, but he hadn't named anything specific and Mina had expected something a little more laid back. He had made great strides in his social skills, but standing up in front of a crowd like this was still a step outside his comfort zone. 

"You are, huh? What's brought this on?"

"Oh! We'll, uh, I've seen some footage from previous fests, and it looked really fun. They have these really cool, in depth questions, so lots of super fans participate, and it's really cool."

Mina arched an eyebrow in his direction. She could tell he wasn't giving her the whole story.

He lasted nearly a minute before breaking under her stare. 

"There's a really cool All Might plushie that they're giving out as a prize." Izuku mumbled, pushing his fingertips together dejectedly. 

"There’s my favorite dork." Mina teased. "Think you've got a shot?" 

Izuku looked pensive for a moment, then nodded slowly. It wasn't exactly the enthusiastic response Mina had been hoping for, but she'd take what she could get. 

Another announcement played over the PA, letting them know they had only a couple of minutes to reach the stage. Izuku stood quickly, shaking a little in the knees, and made his way through the crowd with Mina following close behind him.

-

The set up for the trivia contest was actually quite impressive. It wasn't quite a professional level set, but it was close. They had a large screen strung above the contestants to let the crowd see the questions, as well as some smaller screens for the contestants to view. They each had a large red buzzer placed in front of them, the kind that made an irrational part of Mina want to run up and press just for the sake of pressing a button.

Izuku was even easier to pick out of the line of contestants than he had been on the floor. For probably the first time since Mina had met him, Izuku was wearing the least amount of All Might merchandise in the room.  He had on a t-shirt, of course, and an armband that he had bought as they toured the con. Everyone else on the stage was decked out in full regalia, including several in full cosplay, complete with muscle suits. 

Izuku was also easy to pick out, because he was looking even greener than usual. Apparently he'd worked himself into a fine state backstage. Mina had no doubt that he'd taken one look at the other contestants and had started to feel self conscious.

She shook her head. Izuku would be Izuku, even when he was among his people.

The hostess tapped her microphone, indicating the crowd to be quiet. As the noise started to die down, Mina could see that Izuku was still working himself into a tizzy. 

<Guess I'll have to do something about that> Mina thought to herself. 

She cupped her hands in front of her mouth, and shouted as loud and enthusiastically as she could. "GANBARE IZUKU!"

He visibly started at her call, but Mina could tell it has worked. His spine straightened, and his shoulders squared as she watched. He still looked nervous, of course, but it was leagues better than before. 

Sighing contentedly, Mina sat back and tried to get comfortable in the plastic folding chairs the event had provided. Time to watch Izuku kick some nerd butt.

-

"Holy shit Midori" Mina said in amazement.

Izuku had come in first place in the contest, like she knew he would. One girl in gender bent All Might cosplay had given him some trouble, but in the end Izuku's encyclopedic knowledge of his idol had proven superior. 

It wasn't Izuku's success that had surprised her, though. It was the reward for said success that had blindsided her.

The "plushie" that Izuku had won turned out to be a nearly life-sized recreation of All Might in his silver age suit. It was made of a soft and fluffy fabric that just begged to be hugged, and the stitched on smile was positively adorable with its faux chibi style. Grabbing onto it, Mina was instantly in heaven. It was just as comforting to hold onto as it looked. 

"Midori you have to try this!" Mina called, voice muffled by the cushy fabric and layers of stuffing. She had no doubt that she was drawing several stares, but she also didn't care one bit. 

She felt the plushie shake slightly as Izuku grabbed onto the other side. A moment later, his hand found hers and squeezed lightly. "I’m glad you like it." Came the muffled response. 

Mina popped her head out, though she kept her arms wrapped around the plushie and her fingers intertwined with Izuku's. "What do you mean?"

Izuku popped his head up as well, staring at her with a small smile on his face. "I...uh...the plushie. I wanted to win it for...for you." He blushed, and buried his face once more.

Mina could feel the blush rising in her cheeks. It wasn't anything to rival Izuku's magnificent strawberry impersonation, but she did turn a rather lovely shade of lilac. 

For the first time that day, Mina found herself at a loss for words. At this point, she should be used to Izuku's heartfelt gestures, but they still had a tendency to take her by surprise, and after dating Izuku for so long, Mina found that she quite liked surprises.

In a supreme effort of will, Mina detached herself from the plushie and made her way around to the opposite side. Izuku was still spooning it, an image that Mina saved in her memory to chuckle over later. Then, she wrapped him in as large a hug as she could manage. 

"Thank you, Izuku" she whispered to him.

It definitely wasn't what she envisioned a perfect day out with Izuku would be, but it was special in its own way. And for her, that was more than enough.

-

“Hey Midori?”

“Yeah?”

“How are we gonna get this back to the dorms?”

“...I may not have thought this through all the way”

[speeding-fox]

Shianbon vs. Dark Tiirubon! (Part 2) (Pt. 1 of 2)

~~~~

(Part 1)

Some things to note:

"----" means the scene changes, while "~~~~" means the same scene, but takes place in a different area.

Due to Tumblr's text limit, I have to split this part into 2 parts.

With that out of the way, let's get into the story!

~~~~

Sora was just beginning to come to, much to the relief of Shiro and everyone else present. "Ugh." Sora slowly sat up and rubbed the side of his head. "Man, I feel like I got hit by a truck, urgh, how lame."

"Sorabon!" Shiro gleefully pulled his son into a hug, making Sora wince from pain. "I'm so glad you're okay!" "OW! Dad easy!" "Oops." Shiro lets him go. "Sorry kiddo."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Good to know your brain wasn't hurt from the crash."

"Hey!" Sora groaned. "Does someone mind telling who or what the heck wrecked me and Sky-Soarer, and what happened to you guys?"

The room went quiet, until Polka said flatly "It was Tiirubon." Sora blinked. "You're kidding."

"I'm afraid he isn't, son." Shiro said gloomily. 

"They became Dark Tiirubon, and attacked your dad, Midoribon-san, as well as Polka and I." Tosukana added. "They managed to overwhelm all four us. They were too strong."

"That explains you guys' roughed up looks." Sora remarked. "But Tiirubon went dark? That's so lame! Ti's a goody-two-shoes! What the heck even happened that would make them go dark?!"

All the adults got the look of obvious guilt on their faces, not one of them wants to explain why. Dot couldn't look at them, and Shian glared at them. "Are one of you gonna tell them why, or do I have to for you?"

----

"So THAT'S why they took off!" Sora exclaimed. "Why would you talk about that out loud?" Tosukana questioned.

"We didn' think they'd be listenin'!" Kiiro claimed.

"If they're upset at you four, then why would they strike me first?" Sora questioned. "I didn't do anything!" Everyone stares at him with a blank look. "Well, anything that I can remember anyway."

"They said it was the beginning of their "payback."" Midori said. "After our defeat, they said the mansion is next, before they disappeared."

"Wait, so they're gonna destroy the mansion?!" Sora yelled.

"I'm not sure why they would want to destroy their home." Dot mumbled audibly.

"Ti's dark, Dot. They're not exactly thinking rationally." Polka chimed in.

Mizuiro turned to glare at Kiiro, whom was leaning back on a nearby seat, his arms resting behind his head. It took a bit before he noticed. "The heck you starin' fer, Richie?"

"You shouldn't have said that earlier." He replied firmly.

"What?" Kiiro raised a brow in confusion. "What're ya on about?"

Mizuiro raised a finger to point accusingly at Kiiro. "Had you not said anything about about us once wanting nothing to do with Tiirubon after they were born, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Kiiro slams his hands down on the seat. "EXCUSE ME?!" He gets up from where he was, trudges over to Mizuiro, and gets right in his face. ARE YA SAYIN' TI GETTIN' CORRUPTED IS MY FAULT?!"

"I wouldn't put all the blame on Kiirobon, Mizuirobon." Mizuiro swiftly turned to Shiro's direction. "Shirobon?! Are you really taking his side?!" "No, I'm saying you didn't have to continue the convo! Had you said you didn't want to continue the discussion, Tiirubon wouldn't have turned evil and shot down my son!"

Midori stood up. "Quiet, Shirobon! You're not exactly innocent here either!"

"You're one to talk, Sarge! You didn't close that damn door!" Shiro snapped.

It wasn't long until all four adults were screaming at eachother, all trying to pin the blame on someone for starting this mess while the kids watched, incredibly uncomfortable, and Dot looking visibly upset, she didn't like when people are fighting, she even began tearing up.

Noticing Dot getting ready to cry really made Shian mad, her hands balled into fists, she had enough.

When a full blown brawl was about to break out, Shian stood up, raises her arms in the air, stomped once on the floor harshly, and shrieked at the fighting adults. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" That got them to stop. "Blaming eachother on whose fault it is is wasting time, and it isn't gonna fix the problem and save Tiirubon any sooner!"

"Shianbon's right." Tosukana joined her side. "It doesn't matter whose fault it is, fighting like a bunch of five-year-olds isn't going to make things get better. You four should be ashamed of yourselves."

During Shian's outburst and Tosukana's talk, Polka was busy comforting his sister in an effort to get her to calm down. When they finished speaking, he gave the adults the stink-eye for upsetting his sister. He wanted to say something as well, but felt that Shian and Tosukana said what needed to be said.

Mizuiro sighed. "You're both right."

"Fightin' won't git us anywhere." Kiiro followed.

"I guess all the stress from everything finally got to us." Joined Shiro.

"We apologize you kids had to witness that, as well as for not telling the truth sooner." Midori finished, with the other three nodding in agreement.

'You better be.' Polka thought to himself.

"Now that's all resolved," Sora spoke. "what do we do about Dark Tiirubon? If they're coming here, we can't fight them 'cuz our mechs were trashed, and Graybon, Aobon, and Akabon are still busy prepping for the party. Who do we even have left that can still fight them?"

"Me! I'll fight them!" Shian proclaimed.

A chorus of "WHAT?!" echoes throughout the room. "Shianbon, I know I said this to you a lot, but have you actually lost your marbles?!" Tosukana objected.

"You can't battle them, Shianbon! Have you already forgot what they did to us?! You don't even have a mech! They'll squash you like a bug!" Polka exclaims.

Shian heads for the door. "I've already made up my mind guys."

"Shianbon, wait." Shian turns to Mizuiro's direction after he called out to her. "You can't go, Shianbon. We've already lost Tiirubon," He wipes some tears away. "We can't afford to lose you too."

She turns away from him. "Sorry Pop, I've already made up my mind." She held a fist to her chest. "If I die trying to save Tiirubon, then so be it!" She bolts out the door before anything else could be said.

"Well that act didn't work." Shiro states once Shian was out of earshot.

"What do you suggest we do, Mizu?" Midori asked.

"You go after her and make she doesn't do anything brash." Mizuiro ordered.

"On it." Midori heads off after her as Mizuiro turns to Kiiro. "And Kiirobon, I'd like to have something specially delivered."

----

Standing outside in the storm, Shian stood some distance away, staring in the direction where Dark Tiiru would presumably arrive from. "I know I'm being crazy doing this, but I'm everyone's last hope, if I die doing this, then at least I'll die a hero!"

She points ahead of her. "You better watch out Dark Tiirubon! I'm coming for you!" 

She starts sprinting in that direction, but she didn't get too far, as she ran into something face-first full speed, sending her into a daze, and falling onto her back, eyes swirling with a red mark going across her face. Turns out the thing she ran into was Midori's training baton. "You blindly rushing into things reminds me of myself during my youth, but even I do not think I was as reckless as you." Midori remarks. Shian simply groans in response.

----

Shian pouts as she sat in a chair, towel wrapped around her, her hair all fritzy from drying it off, and she held an ice pack in the center of her face. Tosukana stood guard next to her to keep her from running off again, while Midori stood guard by the garage entrance with baton in hand so she doesn't get another bright idea. "You don't have to stand guard, you know." "I wouldn't have to if you weren't so foolhardy." Tosukana replied to her comment.

Shiro enters the garage. "Mizuirobon, I got all the servants evacuated."

"Well that was quick. How did you evacuate them all so quickly?" Mizuiro asked, intrigued by Shiro's swiftness.

"I just told them all they had a few hours off." Shiro replied.

"Oh..." He certainly didn't expect that answer. "I suppose that's one way to get everyone out (though I do hope they'll be back once this blows over)."

"Mr. Mizuirobon, where did you say my dad went again?" Questioned Polka.

"I asked him to get something specially delivered to here." Mizuiro answered.

Polka now bares an "you can't be serious" face. "You seriously ordered something, at a time like this?? Really???"

"I can assure you, Porukabon, this "something" will surely aid us in this crisis." Mizuiro assured.

Sora, whom was resting on a cushy recliner and not buying it, piped up. "It's more selfie sticks, isn't it."

Mizuiro, now a bit flustered, swiftly turns to Sora. "Ah- No! Certainly not!" He paused. "I mean," He straightens up and adjusts his bowtie. "No, not this time."

Everyone stared at him with an "uh huh" look. "If it's not selfie sticks, what is it then?" Shian asked incredulously.

He gives her a simple wink while smirking. "You'll see."

Shian raised a brow at this, she was going to ask what he meant when Dot speaks up. "He's here!"

"Ah, good timing." Mizuiro gets out a wireless controller, and presses a button that opens the garage door. The door opens to reveal Cargo Yäger, and a huge metal crate on its carrier.

"Special delivery fer Cashbag's Mansion from Graybon Hakese's lab!" He announces before entering then parking in the garage, once inside, Mizuiro presses the button to close the door.

"Whoa! That's some special delivery!" Polka remarked. "That box is huge!" Sora exclaimed. "I wonder what's inside." Dot wondered. "If it's from Grampa Graybon's lab, it's going to be big." Tosukana stated

Shian's interest is immediately piqued once see laid eyes on the giant metal crate. She gets up from her seat, takes off her towel to hand it to Tosukana, and approached over to get a better look. "Wow... that's the BIGGEST package I've ever seen! What's in it?"

Mizuiro smirked "Take a guess. Do you still think it's a bunch of selfie sticks?"

"Uhhh..." Shian tried thinking of a guess, but came up with nothing. "That depends on who it's for, but I have no idea what could be in that big thing."

"Simple." He says as he walks toward's Cargo Yäger's cockpit. "It's something you wanted."

Shian's eyes went wide. "Wait, what?! Me?!"

Polka had an "are you kidding me" face. "Seriously? We're giving out presents in the middle of a darn crisis?! Might as well start giving out cake as well!" 

Sora perked up at the mention of cake. "Cake?" Tosukana rested a hand on Sora's shoulder. "Sorry, Sorabon, no cake yet." Sora got pouty. "Aww man..."

"Well, Porukabon, this was going to be Shianbon's birthday present," Mizuiro turns to him, he now dawns an serious expression. "but given our situation, we have to make an exception." He turns towards the cockpit. "Kiirobon, if you'd please.~"

"'Kiirobon, if you'd please.'" Kiiro mocked softly before pressing the button to open the cargo.

What was revealed from the large package as it opened up was a large cyan tank. Shian's eyes got as big as saucers while the rest of the kids were in awe. "This is MINE?!" Shian yells excitedly.

Midori walked up until he was next to his daughter. "Yes, it is." He turned his attention to the tank and gestures to it with one hand and rests the other on Shian's shoulder. "Shianbon, this is Cyan-Sniper, it has the ability to turn invisible, and it's turret can fire Hyper Biida shots as well as quick and sharp shots called Sniper shots, but they take some time to charge. We entrust this to you to use this to save Tiirubon." He turns to her. "Are you ready?"

Without hestitation, Shian nods and shouts "Of course I do! Ti is my sibling! I'll do anything to bring them back!"

Shortly after stating that, she climbs into the tank, and turns it on. "Oh man, this is EPIC! I can't believe I have my own mecha now!"

"Shianbon." Mizuiro sternly called out. "I know you're excited to have your own vehicle, but you need focus on what's at stake here."

She paused, she took a moment to look around the room, her injured friends, and father, all that hype she had from getting her own mecha faded away and turned into doubt as the heaviness of everything sunk in. Tiiru isn't the only one that needs to be saved, everyone else and her home needed to be saved, and she had to do this on her own.

Having noticed her change of face, Midori stepped over beside the tank. "Shianbon, what is troubling you? You were ready to fight seconds ago, but now you seem doubtful." She was silent, then uttered "What if I fail?" "Huh?"

"Dark Tiirubon defeated Sorabon, Shirobon, Porukabon, Tosukana, they even took you down, Dad! I'm fighting them on my own! Not only that, you guys are counting on ME to stop them from destroying our home and saving everyone inside!" She clutches her head and her eyes water. "What if I mess up?! What if I can't bring them to their senses?! What if i can't do this?!"

"Shianbon!" Polka yelled as he stepped forward, everyone was now staring at him. "Shianbon, in all my time knowing ya,' you've never backed down, even with your most outrageous of ideas, you never have backed down nor doubted yourself, so why would you doubt yourself now?"

Tosukana stepped forward and stood next to Polka. "Polka's right. Even when you're outmatched, you never stepped down. I'm sure you can do it." 

Dot wheeled forward until she was beside Tosukana. "Your determination is one of your best qualities, Shianbon, you can do it when you put your mind to it."

Sora limped forward and stood next to Polka, he raised a hand up like he was going to give a speech, but he had no idea what to say. "Umm, what they said!"

Shian's eyes glistened as her eyes filled with sappy tears from her friends' words. "You guys..." She wipes them away. "What was I thinking? You guys are right!"

"You're welcome!" Sora said proudly as the other three gave him the "seriously?" glare. "...What?"

"You have the heart of a soldier, Shianbon! I believe in you too!" Midori exclaimed, then turned to Mizuiro to see what he has to say only to see his eyes looking to the side and him fidgiting his bowtie. "Mizu." He gave him a nudge to get his attention. "Huh? ...Oh, eh, sorry."

He clears his throat. "Err, Shianbon..." he pauses, trying to think of what to say next, he then sighs. "Despite you and Tiirubon, being opposites, your bond as siblings is strong, but I'm uncertain that alone will bring them to their senses, however, I do believe you'll find a way to bring them back, be it outrageous, or not, your righteous spirit does seem to find a way."

Shian blinked at Mizuiro, did he just say something positive about her? That's once on a blue moon, but she'll take it. She smiles. "Thanks Mom and Dad."

The alarm starts blaring, catching the attention of everyone. Dot wheels herself over to check it out to find a purple dot blipping on the radar, and said dot is getting closer and closer to the mansion. "Dottobon, what is going on?!" Midori demanded. "An enemy is approaching the mansion!" She turned her head to Midori. "And fast!"

Midori cursed to himself. "Drat, we're out of time!" He swiftly turned to Shianbon. "Shianbon, are you ready?!"

She nods. "You bet I'm ready!" She looks straight ahead and reved the tank's engine as the garage doors opened. "Alright! Ready to roll!"

"Wait, Shian!" Dot shouted, this stopped Shian from taking off right away and prompted her to look in her direction. "Huh, Dot?" "Before you go, just... please, be careful, okay?"

Shian lightly blushed and turned away, then chuckled after about three seconds. "Sorry, Dot, I can't make any guarantees," She glanced back at her. "but I'll try my best." Shian looked straight ahead once more, then took off, she turned on the tank's cloak function before she vanished into the storm, and the garage's doors close once again.

----

Dark Tiiru arrives at the mansion, stopping just out front. "I hope I've given you all enough time to say your good-byes." They announced. "Do any of you have any last words before turn this mansion to ruins?"

~~~~

Mizuiro glared at them through the security camera overlooking the mansion's front, then smirked. "Just a few." He takes out a wireless remote control, and presses a button.

~~~~

A shield soon surrounds the entire outside of the mansion. "You just have to get passed this first." He announced over a speaker.

Dark Tiiru was bewildered, they certainly didn't expect this. "What the?! What is this?!"

~~~~

Mostly everyone was in awe over the giant forcefield. Sora even muttered "So cool!" as Mizuiro stood proudly. Midori approaches him to ask: "When did you install this?" Mizuiro's reply: "I had Graybon Hakese and Aobon install it shortly after marrying you."

Shiro and Kiiro snicker at this response while Midori now looked flushed. "What?! Did you think I was going to break down the walls or something?!"

"Knowing your history, yes. Don't you remember that one incident where you lost control of Crys-Greaver?" Mizuiro remarked sassily.

"Oh..." Midori uttered as he realizes. "So that's what stopped it."

~~~~

Dark Tiiru growls. "Even if you do have a barrior protecting you, every shield gives away after enough hits!" With that, they tried firing at it, but it merely made the shots bounce back, which promptly hit them, angering them further. They then try punching it, but the blow only knocked them back as it sent a jolt through their hand, it hurt like a static shock, angering them even more.

They didn't care anymore, they back up several feet, then charge and rammed full force into the shield, not caring about getting hurt. They got knocked back further away, but shockwave from the blow causes the entire mansion to shake. Now with that knowledge, they continued to back up, then ram themselves into the shield. The shield soon showed signs of giving away, concerning everyone inside. After the last hit, it seemed it will break after one more blow.

Confident in their victory, Dark Tiiru backs up one more time, and bolts full speed towards the barrier. When they were within feet of the mansion, something invisible suddenly barrels into them, causing them to tumble until they skid to a halt. They looked around frantically for their assailant, but sees nothing. "WHAT ON MERCURY DID I JUST GET HIT BY?!" Seconds after yelling that, they got up, only to get sniped from behind and knocked back to the ground.

Shian turns off the cloak option, making her presence known. "It was me, dingus! Wow, you look more edgy in person." She quipped

Dark Tiiru grunted as they got back up to turn around. "Shianbon?! You?! When did you get that?!"

Shian smirks. "Tiirubon, met Cyan-Sniper, my new tank! With this, I'm gonna take you down and save everyone!"

"Peh! Do you really think your new toy will be able to beat me? Are you really everyone's last hope? You and an unflattering hunk of junk alone? You'll just end up like those other fools." They taunted.

"Shut up! As a matter of fact, I do! Not only do I believe in myself, everyone believes in me! I swear I will save everyone, and I swear I will save YOU, Tiirubon!" She proclaimed

As soon as she was done giving her short speech, Shian's righteousness for justice and determination to save everyone and her sibling cause her biidama start glowing a bright cyan, she felt a rush and could feel herself getting enpowered! She begins glowing cyan herself, and shapes form on her head and chest, the glow then fades away to reveal her newly formed armor! She was in absolute awe, but she knew she did have time to gawk at her new appearance as there was one more step that needed to be done! She jumps up and transforms, Cyan-Sniper modifies itself into a body, and to complete the transformation, the two fuse into one, once complete, she strikes a battle-ready pose and lightning disperses behind her!

~~~~

"She's done it! She's transformed!" Midori exclaimed with glee.

"That's so cool!" Sora shouts, awestruck by what Shian accomplished.

"Aw heck yeah! Go Shainbon go! Go Shianbon go!" Polka and Tosukana cheered while waving pom-poms around.

~~~~

"N-No way!" Dark Tiiru was both astonished and intimidated by their sister's sudden transformation. "How is that possible?!"

"What? Are you scared that I'm no longer small?" Shian teased.

They growl. "Grrr, no! Regardless of your new look, I'm still gonna destroy you!"

She chuckled. "We'll see about that! Bring it on, sib!"

The siblings began to clash as the group in the mansion watched their battle anxiously through the security camera. The two were equally matched, neither seemed to let up, until Shian slipped on a puddle. Dark Tiiru took a chance on her literal slip-up to deck her in the face, sending her flying into some trees in a wooded area. This action left her dazed.

"Heh, too easy, and to think you were everybody's last hope." They taunted as the approached their stunned sister.

~~~~

The onlookers watched in horror as Dark Tiiru approach Shian, then begin charging up a powerful shot. The kids and Midori screamed for her to get up, Shiro and Kiiro muttered "C'mon, get/git up, Shianbon.", while Mizuiro prayed for miracle while tearing up. "Please, I don't want to lose another child. Please get up, Shianbon!"

~~~~

"I'm sorry I have to do this, Shianbon. I would've given you the chance to join me, but then again, you're a goody-two-shoes, you would have simply refused outright anyway." They aimed their biida cannon in her direction. "Good-bye, sister."

Before Dark Tiiru could fire the charged shot at their sister, BOOM! They were unexpectedly hit from behind with a biida shot, knocking them off their feet and making them land on their side. "GRAAH! WHO DARES?!"

~~~~

"They got hit from behind, but what hit them?!" Polka asked loudly.

Mizuiro quietly sighs. "Thank goodness."

Dot points to the corner of the monitor. "More like who hit them. Look over there."

Tosukana squints at the approaching figure from them corner and quickly finds out who it is that hit Dark Tiiru, but seemed surprised more than anything. "Wait a minute, isn't that the Crimson-Dragon? Is that my sister?"

~~~~

"I dare." Scarlett replied stoically. Yup, it is indeed her, if not to mention in her transformed state as well.

Hearing Scarlett's voice snaps Shian out of her daze. "Sukārettobon?! Are you kidding me?! Why are you even here?! Did you "sense" the danger like before?!" Shian bellows accusingly as Scarlett stares at her blankly.

"No, I initially came to deliver something," She responded flatly. "but you do seem to be having trouble."

"Stay out of it, edgelord! This is between me and Tiirubon!" Shian exclaims as she gets back up and charges once again towards Dark Tiirubon.

Scarlett would object, but she was just told to "stay out of it", so she watches as Shian tries and fails on landing hits on Dark Tiiru. She did wonder what happened that caused Tiiru to become corrupted, but as far as she's concerned, it's none of her business, and she knows her brother, Tosukana, would fill her in on everything later.

Several minutes of Shian trying and failing later, Scarlett decided she had enough watching her foolishness, and goes up to her after she was knocked down from a strike-back. "Are you positive you have everything handled?" She asked stoically.

Shian growls, she HATES Scarlett's monotonous sass. She wanted to tell her rival she does having everything under control and to get lost, but seeing that her her tactic of "charging and attacking" doesn't seem to be going anywhere, she begrudgingly had to accept her rival's help. She sighed exasperatedly. "No, I don't. I need your help." Saying those words left a sour taste in her mouth.

"Good to see you realizing your plan of "charging and attacking" didn't seem to be bearing fruit." Shian rolls her eyes at her remark. "Are you gonna be making fun of me, or are you gonna help me?"

"The latter, preferably." Scarlett answered. "Since your previous method didn't work,-"

"Yeah, I got that already." Shian interrupted.

"Don't interrupt me." Said Scarlett, mildly annoyed, then continued. "As I was saying, we need a different plan of approach."

"But Dark Tiirubon knows my every move, probably yours too. What are you suggesting?" Shian questioned.

Scarlett whispers something into Shian's "ear," meanwhile, the entire time the two were chatting, Dark Tiiru was waiting for them to be done. They were tapping their foot impatiently, had their arms crossed, and checked their nonexistant watch every few seconds. They were beginning think the duo forgot that they were, they don't know, a threat? They shouldn't have been generous in giving them time to talk.

"Are you two done?!" They yell. As if on cue, Scarlett flies off, leaving Shian by her lonesome.

"Are you seriously leaving me?! Coward!" She called out to the "fleeing" Scarlett.

Dark Tiiru chuckles. "Guess you said something to tick her off, huh, sis?"

~~~~

"What the heck?! Tucker, did your sister seriously just ditch Shianbon?!" Polka exclaims to Tosukana.

"It looks that way, that doesn't seem to be like her though, unless Shian said something to make her mad, but I have a feeling there's more to it than that." Tosukana replied calmly.

~~~~

"Seems like you're alone, sis. Are you gonna try your failed tactic again, or have you actually given up?" They gloat as they step forward and Shian steps back. They let out a laugh. "I'll take that as yes. You have any last words before I destroy you?" Pause. "Just don't take forever."

"Yes, I do." She mumbles audibly as she stands tall. "Ti, I'm so sorry, I failed you as a sibling! I failed to save you from this darkness!" Her voice cracks. "But, even if I did fail, dark or not, you're still my sibling, Ti, and even if you do destroy me, I'll still love you, because we're still family!"

"..." Was the dramatic speech really necessary? Regardless, it did stir something within Dark Tiiru, but having their mind clouded by darkness, they didn't know what it was.

"Touching," They pause. "but did you really think your little speech would do anything? I will admit, it did stir something though." They charge up their most powerful biida shot, unaware that Scarlett was slowly creeping up on them.

Shian needed to buy a couple more seconds of time. 'Think, Shianbon! Think!' A lightbulb goes off. If the darkness didn't affect the airheadedness of Tiiru's brain, it should work! "Hey Ti! I think I saw someone leave a biiig matcha cake under that tree over there!" She points to a random tree to her left.

Dark Tiiru immediately stops charging their attack. "Matcha cake?! Where?! Which tree?!"

With them distracted, Scarlett used this chance to grab their arms from behind and pin them to their back. "What the?!" Realizing they've been duped, Dark Tiiru tries to wriggle free from Scarlett's grip, but she has a firm hold of them. "Let me GO!"

Scarlett holds them in place for Shian to fire a Healing Shot. "Shianbon, now!" Shian's biidama glows as she prepares a shot to fire at Dark Tenacious-Tealer's biidama, but she hesitates. She thought to herself: 'I have never healed before. Will it even work? What if I really hurt them instead?'

"Shianbon, what's the hold-up?!" Scarlett shouts.

"I... I've never done this before! I'm only good at fighting, not healing!" Her voice cracks. "What if I mess this up?! What if I make it worse?!"

"Focus!" Scarlett proclaims. "Now's not the time to doubt yourself! You need to save Tiirubon from corruption!"

Dark Tiiru growls. "I don't need saving! Let me go NOW!" They thrash about trying desperately to break free from Scarlett's grip. They didn't want to lose the newfound power they've been given.

Scarlett is noticeably struggling to keep them in check. "I don't think I can keep ahold of them for too much longer, Shianbon! You need to shoot NOW!"

As much as Shian didn't want admit it, Scarlett is right, can't doubt herself now! She thought back to what Polka told her earlier: 'You have never doubted yourself before, so why doubt yourself now?'. All her doubts washed away, her confidence returned. She wasn't only going to be saving her sibling, she was going to save her family, friends, and her home!

"This is for EVERYONE! BIIDA HEALING, SHOOT!" With that shout, she fires, and successfully shot it into Dark Tiiru's biidama!

Aside from the rain, and the dark static crackling from Dark Tenacious-Tealer's biidama, there was suspenseful silence between all sides. Scarlett lets go of Dark Tiiru as their marble suddenly glows a bright light. They shriek as they feel their entire being is getting filled with light once more, then they became enveloped in a bright flash of light.

After the bright flash of light fades, Shian moved her metal arm away from her eyes to see the aftermath, it stopped raining, and on the ground some feet away from her was Tiiru lying fainted with their Tenacious-Tealer being close behind them, both of them no longer bore the dark coloring they once had, even the biidamas are back to their normal blue coloring. Had she won? Had she really won? She'd celebrate her victory, but right now she was more concerned if her little sibling was okay.

"Ti!" She calls out as she reverts back to non-armored state, hops out of Cyan-Sniper, and bolts to Tiiru. She kneels down to try nudging them awake. "Ti! Wake up! Please, wake up!" She shouted frantically.

Tiiru groaned as they were being woken up, then their eyes open halfway. "Shi...Shianbon?" They uttered tiredly.

A wave of relief overcame Shian, and her eyes began to fill up with tears. They're okay, thank goodness they were okay. "Ti! Thank god you're okay!" She sat them up to pull them into a hug. "Don't you ever scare me like that ever again!"

Tiiru was surprised by the hug as Shian isn't the type to simply give out hugs, they even don't know what she was talking about initially, so they pulled away a bit. "Shian, what are you-" Their eyes widened as the realization hit them, the whole brunt of it: the corruption, the darkness, all the bad stuff they had done and planned on doing, it all hit like a truck.

Their eyes began welling up. "Shi...Shi..." They hiccupped, then bawled, hard, and hugged their sister as tightly as they could as they cried over her shoulder. "SHIANBOOON! WAAAAAAAH! I'M SO SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO GO AS FAR AS I DID! I'M SO SORRRRY!"

The best Shian could do to comfort Tiiru right now was return the hug and be there for them to let it all out. Hearing her sibling crying like this was heartbreaking. She wanted to say something, but what could she even say to help them? They just got out of their corruption, and she has zero clue what it was like, but one thing she was certain about: Tiiru was aware during the whole thing. She swore if she ever found who thought it was a good idea to corrupt her little sibling, she will teach them a harsh lesson personally. "It's okay, Ti." She whispered soothingly. "I know you didn't, but it's all over now. I'm just glad you're okay." Her voice cracked speaking the last sentence.

After she got Tiiru to calm down for the most part, she gazed up to her sibling to see Scarlett, still armored up watching them while leaning on her Crimson-Dragon with her arms crossed. Shian narrowed her eyes. "You're still here?"

Wondering whom their sister is talking to, Tiiru wipes away their tears and lets go of her to look in the same direction. "Sukarettobon?"

Scarlett walks up near Tiiru before stopping. "Glad you're alright, Tiirubon." She finally responds with her usual, stoic voice, before returning her gaze to Shian.

Shian raised a brow. "What, are you expecting me to say "thank you for the help" or something?" No response. Shian groaned. "Fiiine. Thanks for the help, even if I could've done it all on my own. There, happy?"

"... No, I wasn't expecting a thanks from you, but it's much appreciated."  She replied, making Shian groan again and roll her eyes.

"Shianbon." "What is it now, edgelord?" Shian grumbled as she and Tiiru stood up. "I must say, for what you've shown to me, your determination to save Tiirubon, as well as everyone in your home, and what you're capable of in combat, I must commend you for your strengths," She closed her eyes. "and perhaps you're not as ridiculous as I thought."

Shian didn't know if she was being genuine or not, so she wasn't sure how to take that compliment. "Uhh, thanks, I guess?"

Scarlett turns around, back now facing the siblings, and went back to her Crimson-Dragon. "Typical." Shian muttered aside.

She stops in her tracks, she pulls something from her cape, then tosses it to Tiiru, to which they luckily catch without needing to move much. "A present?" They stare from the present to Scarlett.

"It's your birthday gift on behalf of my family and Aiirobon, since they can't come due to illness. It's a bunch of matcha stuff. Don't eat it all at once." Tiiru's eyes lit up at the mention of matcha. "Really?! Thanks, Sukārettobon!" That seemed to cheer them up quick.

"I was coming here to drop that off when I saw that you were...you know." Their smile went away and glanced to the ground when Scarlett mentioned that. "..."

Scarlett was quiet for a bit. "I can't say anything as consolation as I do not know the full story of what happened," Ti silently gazed back up at her to see her glancing back at them. "but I do hope your birthday gets better from here."

"I hope so too..." Tiiru muttered as they stared at Scarlett's gift. Scarlett jumps into her mecha. "You aren't going to stay?" Tiiru questioned Scarlett.

"Parties aren't my thing." She replied as she turned to Tiiru one more time. "I do wish you happy birthday though, Tiirubon." With that, Scarlett took off until she disappears into the clouds, which seem to be parting.

"Seems like it's finally clearing up." Shian remarked as she looked up towards the sky.

The siblings turn to face the garage as they hear the door opening. The kids (minus Sora, whom had to be carried by his dad, Shiro) and most of the adults hustled on out (with the exception of Mizuiro, he simply ambled behind the bunch), and ran over to Shian as they cheered her name. Tiiru had to step back as they gathered around her, praising her for her victory.

"Shianbon, that was amazing!" Exclaimed Sora.

"I knew you could do it!" Dot chirped.

"I knew she could do it from the start!" Boasted Polka.

"She did have to have help from-" Tosukana tried to argue, but Shian shushed him. "Sssh, let me have this, Tucker." It was easy to tell she was eating up the praise.

She suddenly got scooped up by her proud dad, Midori, whom was crying his eyes out. "I know you've had the heart of a soldier!" He sobbed. "I'm so proud of yoooou!"

"Daaaaad, stop! You're embarrassing me!" She shouts as she tries to wriggle out of her dad's bear hug.

"Your daughter can't seem to "bear" your bear hug, Sarge!" Kiiro chuckled heartily.

"If I may join in on the praising," Mizuiro chimed in. "I will say I, as well all of us, including my servants, are thankful you saved us (and for not doing too much damage to the mansion)."

Tiiru looked aside as everyone, including their parents, gave praise to their sister, which they felt was deserved, knowing the deed she's done. With how highly everyone seems to be treating her, Tiiru didn't feel they needed to be there, so they slowly sulked their way to Tenacious-Tealer. Mizuiro took notice of this. "Tiirubon?"

Hearing their name, Tiiru stopped where they were, but didn't turn around as they heard Mizuiro's footsteps come up behind them. "Tiiru, where are you going?" He asks them. Hearing this, everyone's attention was on the two.

"I... I feel like I'm not needed here, so I was just...gonna leave..." They replied softly, their voice cracking a bit.

"Leave?" Mizuiro is not to taken aback by this response, Tiiru mostly likely feels guilty and ashamed of what they've said and done, but he doesn't want them to leave, not again... "Don't go."

Hearing that made Tiiru decide to turn around. What they didn't expect to see was their "mother" dawning a tearful expression, trying to desperately not start with the waterworks. They could see their father putting their sister down and making his way over until he's next to their "mother," he bore a similar expression. "Why do you feel you need to leave..?"

"I... I-I..." They stammered. "I did so much damage. I hurt everyone, I said awful things." They start trembling. "I-I even almost did something unforgivable." They sniffle and tear up, and their voice croaks. "How could you still want me around after all that?"

Both parents hugged them, and at the same time, they told them "Because you are our child, Tiirubon." They pulled away a bit to look them in the eyes, but each still had one arm wrapped around them. Tiiru couldn't understand it, they are not mad at them. Why aren't they after the mess Tiiru had caused? "I don't understand..." They mumble softly.

"Tiirubon." Mizuiro began. "About what happened earlier, we apologize you had to find out about you birth that way." 

Midori chimed in. "But about us not wanting you is the farthest from the truth."

"But..." Tiiru sniffled. "I heard Kiirobon say-" Mizuiro interrupts them mid-sentence. "Yes, we know, but that was initially."

Midori added in "Because you were unexpected, we were not prepared to be parents. It took us some time before we came to terms with that fact, but once we have, we no longer saw you as the product of a prank gone wrong."

"Then... what do you see me as now?" Tiiru asked. Both parents hugged them again and answered "A blessing."

Hearing them tell them that almost made Tiiru too choked up for words. They return their hug. "I'm...so glad."

Shian went up behind the group and pats Tiiru's back. "If I may jump in here, if it weren't for you, Ti, my life would've ended up completely different from the one I have now, probably for the worse, and I am super thankful for that. I'm glad to have you as a sibling, even if you are a dork." Tiiru let out a small laugh. "H-Hey!"

With the onlookers, Polka, Dot, and Tosukana smiled, Sora was attempting to not cry from all the sappiness, while Shiro and Kiiro were crying and wiping away tears with tissues. "Gosh darn it! I'mma sap for sappy stuff like this!" Blubbered Kiiro before he blew into his tissue.

After many minutes of hugging, the family break the hug pile. "Mom, Dad, everyone," Tiiru lowers their head. "I'm sorry for the mess I caused. I didn't mean to go as far as I did." They raised their head to meet their parents'. "I'm especially sorry for the stuff I said and jumping to conclusions."

Midori was first to respond. "Do not worry about it,  Tiirubon." "You weren't yourself. You've already been forgiven." Mizuiro followed up. Almost everyone nods. "Besides," He added while given the side-eye to Midori. "you're not the only one that jumps to conclusions."

"What? No I don't!" Midori was already getting flustered.

"Sure you don't, Hun, sure you don't." Teased Mizuiro before he, as well as most of the group, laugh at the Sarge's expense, Midori simply grumbled.

"Everyone may forgive you, Ti," Sora spoke up, catching the attention of everyone. "but I'm not sure if I do. You wrecked Sky-Soarer."

Polka couldn't believe what he said. "Dude, seriously? They wrecked most of our mechs!"

"Yeah," He raised a finger to point at him. "but you guys didn't end up getting shot down and knocked out."

"He does have a point." Tiiru went up to Sora. "Sora, I really am sorry for that. Is there anything I can do to make up for crashing your Sky-Soarer?"

Sora gave that some thought. "Hmmm... how about... you allow me to have half of the pizza and the other good snacks that will be served at the party, and I might consider forgiving you." 

"Eh-?!" Tiiru playfully slapped their arm. "Sorabon! Don't be such a greedy pigron!" "Hey!" Sora laughed. "You said anything!"

As they were laughing, Graybon's ship arrives with a gigantic package labeled party stuff. "Sorry we took so long! We trouble finding the place due to the storm!" Ao's voice announced over the megaphone, then Aka's voice came on. "I hope we're not too late."

Tiiru looked at everyone, then up at the aircraft. "Nope! We're just getting started!"

[To be concluded on pt. 2.]

[365daysoftododeku]

5th March 2019

Author: Kenyoda

Admin’s Note: This is the sequel to @ebonyphd‘s Candid Shoutos (Feb 19), which can be found over here! Credit to the idea goes to @crzangel, whose headcanon is over here for you to peruse through :)

________________________________________________________________

Flawless Together

“Hey! Midori-chan! What ya doing?” sang Mina as she plopped down on the couch next to him. Izuku grinned and showed her his screen. On the screen was a picture of Shouto with a completely done look on his face. It was a profile shot. He was half asleep, scowling into the mirror. His hair was an uncharacteristic mess. A fluffy cloud of white and red floating around his head. Shouto’s hair was curly like Izuku’s but his boyfriend worked hard to keep it straight and neat.

“Ooooh!!! Is that going on Insta?” cooed Hagakure as she plopped down on Midoriya’s other side. He shot a grin at the invisible girl.

“Yep! Everybody’s been doing the #flawless thing again and people have been begging for a bedhead pic. And as always I aim to please… with Shouto’s permission of course.” Izuku laughed. The girls laughed along with him. He went back to work and scheduled the posting of the picture for tomorrow morning with appropriate tags while they talked. He shut off his laptop and yawned. “Ok, I am going to bed. I’m beat.” He bid the girls goodnight and made his way to the stairs. He quietly climbed the stairs to his floor, swallowing another yawn.

He was unsurprised to find a red and white head peeking from under his bedcovers as he entered his bedroom. Izuku went through his nightly routine, careful not to wake his sleeping boyfriend. He sighed happily as he finally settled into bed next to Shouto. He gently pulled the other boy into his arms. Shouto mumbled something unintelligible and rolled over to face him, nuzzling into Izuku’s chest before slipping back into sleep. Adorable. Izuku thought fondly as he drifted off.

The next morning, Izuku woke to find sky colored eyes watching him.

“Mornin’ Shouto,” he rumbled, voice thick from sleep. Shouto pressed his lips to his. Izuku returned it with passion. They parted after a moment, settling back into bed. Shouto’s fingers drew small shapes on Izuku’s chest and he returned the favor on Shouto’s back as they both enjoyed the first few quiet moments of the day.

They finally parted when both his and Shouto’s alarms went off, snapping them from their daze. Izuku got dressed and checked that he had everything he would need for the day. He then headed for the stairs. When he opened the door to the common area, he was hit with a wave of sound. The morning was in full swing, it seemed.

“Midori!” Ashido.

“Good morning, Midoriya-chan,” Tsuyu.

“Deku-kun! Hey!” Uraraka.

“It is good to see you this morning, Midoriya-kun!” Iida. The class’s greetings washed over Izuku, warming him. It was so nice to have so many friends. Izuku greeted them with equal enthusiasm.

“Did somebody say Midoriya?” came Hagakure. She immediately rushed to him and started babbling. Izuku blinked in shock.

“Um… I didn’t catch that.” He said suddenly. She took a breath and started again,

“Have you seen the PlusInsta this morning?” Izuku shook his head.

“The morning started a little slow…” Izuku mumbled, refusing to admit to lazing about with his partner.

“Well, you done goofed, my friend!” she said dramatically as she showed him her phone. Midoriya blinked at the bright screen shoved under his nose. It was the candid_shoutos page. His scheduled post had been posted. But the counter and comments were off the charts. There even looked like a comment from the verified HeroWatch account. What the fuck happened? He thought, frantic. He took the phone and stared at the picture. What was off? He checked the tags and almost died.

#flawless #he looks like cotton candy #adorable #I love him

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shiittt!!!! Izuku screamed in his head.

“Holy hell! I—Shouto is going to kill me!” he wailed. All chatter in the common room ceased at his outburst. The silence stretched for several uncomfortable minutes.

“Why is everyone so quiet?” came Shouto’s voice suddenly. Izuku’s heart dropped to his feet. Izuku’s mind was running about in frantic circles trying to figure out how he was going to fix this. “Izuku?” Izuku leapt in the air out of shock, Shouto’s voice was right next to his ear this time. He realized that he had activated his Quirk when the back of his head collided with a painful crack against the ceiling. Izuku saw stars for a moment and then he landed on something solid. His head bounced off the floor again, and his vision faded to black.

Izuku came around with a groan. His head was throbbing gently. He sat up slowly, blinking. He was in Recovery Girl’s office—again. What had he done this time to end up here? He thought back. Izuku remembered being in the common room and Hagakure showing him something on her phone… the rest was kind of fuzzy. As he continued to glance about the room, a certain out of place color caught his attention.

Shouto was laying on the bed next to him. He appeared to be out cold. A nasty yellow bruise covered most of the left side of his face. Concern flooded his veins. What had happened to him? Before he could spiral into a bunch of hypothetical theories, Recovery Girl enter the office.

“Oh, you’re awake… I am not surprised. You almost broke poor Todoroki’s neck, so he’ll be out a little longer.” She sighed as she came over to exam him. Izuku felt his stomach roll and bile creep up his throat. He had hurt Shouto?! Why? How?

“I—did that?” he squeaked out. She nodded. Izuku went cold.

“Now, now. He will have one heck of headache and a sore neck when he wakes but he will live. I can’t scold you too much for an accident. But, please for the love of all that sacred be careful!” she tutted once she deemed that he was doing better.

“An accident?” Izuku muttered to himself. He wracked his head for any inkling of what had happened. He got nothing. Recovery Girl had moved back to her desk. A moment later, All Might entered.

“Young Midoriya. How are you feeling?” said the man as he took a seat next to the bed.

“Stupid. Awful.” Izuku gasped as tears started to fall down his face. He angrily wiped at them. But the stupid things kept coming. “Why I am crying, again, damn it?!” All Might said nothing, but he gently gathered Izuku in his arms. Izuku finally gave in and began sobbing in earnest. “I didn’t—I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“It’s alright, my boy. It was an accident. Just bad luck.” All Might assured him. Accident or no, Shouto had been hurt by enough people that should have been protecting him. Izuku had just added his name to that infamous list.

“He’s been hurt, enough… I just added to it.” Izuku murmured back, pained.

“Nonsense! The past year the two of you have been together has been the most relaxed, focused, and, dare I say, happiest I have ever seen young Todoroki.” Izuku stared at All Might, his tear soaked checks becoming even redder.

“What… how?” Izuku spluttered. The only people who should have known were their dorm mates, whom they had sworn to secrecy.

“Fear not, young Midoriya. I know that you are keeping your relationship quiet. But do you really think after all the “adventures” you and your classmates have created and stumbled upon, that we wouldn’t be keeping a closer eye on you?” teased All Might with a smile. Izuku chuckled at that. It was true. Izuku, mostly Izuku, and his classmates could be trouble magnets. So, it didn’t surprise him that the teachers were probably keeping tabs on them.

“Well, true. It still doesn’t change the fact that I—,”

“Tell me, would you beat yourself up over it, if it was an injury gained during a training exercise?” Izuku blinked. Well, he would; but not as much… training was demanding and injuries were expected. He sighed, but shook his head in answer to the question. “Then why are you beating yourself up over an accident?”

“How can you be so sure? I don’t even remember what happened!” Izuku hissed, fighting back more tears as he looked over his boyfriend’s face one more time.

“Oh…! Young Todoroki startled you and your Quirk activated. You hit the ceiling. That is probably what knocked you out cold. You landed on Young Todoroki. He took a foot to the face when you did so.” That did not make Izuku feel any better. He was close to graduating and he was still no closer to bringing his Quirk to heel.

“I should have better control of myself by now!” Izuku blurted, angry. All Might sighed.

“My boy, you have had One For All for a grand total of almost 3 years… would you expect a child with a brand new Quirk that is barely three years old to have full control of it?” All Might asked.

“No… I guess I wouldn’t. They haven’t had enough time—” Izuku paused. He really hadn’t had a lot of time with his Quirk.  He was getting better at using Full Cowl, but he still had a long way to go. “Ok, so I’m not a complete failure… but I really hate that I hurt him.”

“Of course you do! But the only thing you can do is move forward. Talk to young Todoroki and then move on.” All Might said. A shifting sound from the other bed caught Izuku’s attention. He looked back to see Shouto blinking at him.

“Izu-ow.” He groaned as he tried to sit up. He laid still again, gingerly cradling his head. Izuku was on his feet and by Shouto’s bedside in what felt like a blink of his eyes.

“Shouto! I am so sorry.” Izuku whispered thickly as he carded his hand through the bi colored hair.

“What—fuck me—happened?” Shouto grumbled as he tried to sit up again. Izuku immediately, but gently pressed Shouto back to the bed.

“Don’t move too much… you have a neck injury.” Izuku said. Shouto blinked woozily at Izuku but didn’t move. “It’s my fault. I am so sorry.”

“S’ok, ‘zuku. Love you.” Replied the other teen faintly, before slipping back into the embrace of sleep. Izuku couldn’t help the new flush that took over his face. A quiet chuckle reminded him that All Might was still in the room.

“It’s like I told you, my boy. It will be ok,” chuckled the retired hero. Izuku whined and buried his head in Shouto’s pillow.

Recovery Girl let them go the following morning. Izuku also remembered what had sparked the incident that nearly had Shouto eating Izuku’s foot. He had accidentally confessed his love of Shouto on the candid_shoutos page. The page had been going nuts for the last 72 hours or so. Everyone speculating on what the tag meant.

The speculation of who ran the page was once again a hot topic. Most people were convinced it was a classmate at this point but they never pushed too hard for an identity reveal. But now people were wondering if he was just a classmate with a crush or a stalker obsessed with Shouto. A stalker, really? Did they really think Shouto was that oblivious?

But the most concerning thing about the whole fiasco was that there were some heavy discussions surrounding potential hero couples, especially the up and coming ones like him and Todoroki being had. Izuku would pay it little mind and so would Shouto. But Izuku feared the one person that they didn’t want paying any attention to such talk, in fact would become heavily concerned:

Endeavor.

The man loved to squash anything that he felt would be a distraction to Shouto’s budding career/Enji’s pet pride project. Izuku snorted at the thought… Pride project, heh. Izuku shook off the silly thought as he continued to read through the comments and debate about his response to this whole mess. Not to mention, Shouto was still silent on what he wanted to do about the whole thing. That had him on edge. His own anxiety was flaring up at the idea that Shouto might hate all the attention and possibly break up with him over it.

Part of Izuku knew he was being ridiculous, but he was too much of an anxious person to put it aside so easily. However, fortunately or unfortunately, Shouto’s dazed confession was also weighing heavily on his mind. Izuku tried to ignore the butterflies that were constantly wanting to take flight in his stomach. Izuku was very much in love with Shouto as well. He just didn’t want to pester Shouto about what he said in Recovery Girl’s office. He didn’t want to push him away, if the boy had let it slip by mistake. So, he wasn’t communicating with Shouto like usual and Todoroki himself had been more closed off than usual.

Izuku sighed as he face planted into the couch, heart heavy. Ochaco laughed at him.

“Still moping Deku? Why don’t you just talk to Todoroki?” she asked as she poked him in the head playfully. Izuku groaned in response.

“I would love to, but in the past two days, he’s been nonexistent.” He huffed. She hummed.

“Yeah… I haven’t really seen him outside of class lately.” She replied thoughtfully. Suddenly, Izuku’s phone went off. It was a text from Mina prompting him to check the Insta. Izuku really didn’t want to, but he also knew Mina wouldn’t have bothered him if it wasn’t important. Resigned to his fate, Izuku opened it and blinked. There was a notification that a new photo had posted. ‘What?’ was his first thought. He hadn’t scheduled any posts recently because of the mayhem. Izuku froze. There was only one other person that had access to the page and that was…

He pressed the notification with a trembling finger. The phone went white for a moment as it loaded the page. Izuku’s heart jolted in his chest when the photo appeared. It was a picture of himself asleep, probably from one of their many late night study sessions. He was lying prone on his bed, his Japanese literature book laying open on his chest. But that was not the only thing in the picture. Shouto was sitting on the side of the bed, blocking Izuku’s legs. He was eyeing the camera with a bemused expression, glasses perched on his nose. All in all, it was a cute candid moment.

What had Izuku locked in place was the caption.

My boyfriend is an overachieving dork, not a stalker

#wtf people #A stalker really? #You think I would let just anybody take THAT many photos of me? #Endeavor don’t bother

A bubbly laugh started to build in the back of his throat, after a few moments, it tumbled out of his mouth like water over a cliff. He laughed and laughed. That was so like Shouto! Here Izuku was freaking out over possibly outing him and Shouto, while Shouto just wrapped up the situation with a bit of sarcasm. He truly did love his mess of a boyfriend.

“Deku, what on Earth is wrong with you?” Ochaco laughed, his laughter clearly getting to her.

“I-Shouto—that dork! I love him… I really, really do.” Izuku babbled, completely overwhelmed by his feelings. The laughter finally gave way to a calm contentedness. It felt warm, just like Shouto’s arms. Almost as if he was summoned, Shouto suddenly appeared in Izuku’s peripheral vision.

“Well, now you can tell him that in person!” she teased. She bounced to her feet, greeted Shouto cheerfully, and skipped away.

“Tell me what?” Shouto asked instead of a normal greeting. His eyes flew to meet Shouto’s head on as he sat next to him on the couch. Izuku noticed that Shouto’s body language was screaming ‘nervous’, although his voice was as steady as ever. Why is he nervous? He thought. Then he remembered the new picture. He wanted to slap himself. Shouto was probably just as nervous about this whole thing as Izuku. Neither one of them had much experience when it came to relationships. But they were willing to muddle their way through it together. Shouto had probably been avoiding Izuku for the same reason Izuku had stopped talking to Shouto.

“That… I-I love you.” Izuku squeaked out, sounding much like his younger self, a blush rapidly spreading over his cheeks. Shouto’s eyes widened and a pleased smile slipped across his face. His red hair lit at the ends with a gentle flame, while little flurries danced from his white making the strands look like icicles. Gods, why is he so adorable?! Izuku thought, heart full. He grinned back.

“I love you, too.” Shouto whispered back, voice heavy with emotion. Izuku leaned in and whispered,

“I know…” Shouto’s face turned pink. Izuku closed the gap before Shouto could question him and kissed him. Shouto purred, sending a shiver down Izuku’s spine. They spent several moments locked together, reveling in being together again. The ache of Izuku’s lungs forced him to pull away and take a deep breath. Shouto’s eyes were glazed over, a ghost of a smile still on his lips. His hair was still acting out, but thankfully hadn’t gotten any wilder.

Suddenly, struck by an idea, Izuku opened the camera app in Insta. He wrapped his unoccupied hand around Shouto’s waist, careful to avoid his hair. He looked at the camera with a roguish grin as Shouto continued to stare up at him with the same ethereal smile on his face. He took the picture, grinning at how well it turned out. Shouto finally seemed to realize his Quirk’s behavior and huffed in annoyance as he tried to put it out. Izuku just continued to smile as he tagged and posted his latest photo.

He is wild about me!

#Flawless Together #he’s mine #Endeavor f*ck off                  

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[translationandbetrayals]

Group Essay: Masculinity and Relationships: A look into Onodera Punpunyama from Oyasumi Punpun

Written by: Paula Bahamondes, Jairo Riquelme, Francisco Zúñiga [As most of posts here, expect explicit, or not, spoilers for how the plot develops, so be warned]

Oyasumi Punpun it’s a manga with a comin-of-age drama story written by Inio Asano. This manga explores various themes within the coming of age of a boy and the social circles he revolves around, such as sexuality, loneliness, mediocrity (or impossibility of being succesful), mental health and illness, religion, among others. Yet there’s something that threads how all these spheres or stages develop in the life of Onodera Punpunyama (the main character, Punpun from now on), and I’m referring about how he perceives social bonding, that put through analysis unveils a male chauvinistic way in his learning and how he relates to others, mainly woman that serve for his sexual interests.

Through the story, Punpun’s mediocrity relieves him to a constant state of despair for not being able to connect to others as he would like, nor to be someone not mediocre by himself alone. This leads to Punpun’s eventual isolation that develops a depression (it is not stated, but it’s my take) that will accompany him for most of the story, but also a way of relating to people in which he wishes for love (and do receives it) but is unable to give back and also to prevaricate people for rather selfish reasons. At this point something is clear for the reader, Punpun can attract people to give him love and he knows it but acts in an auto-destructive and negligent way because he is too selfish. This makes him unable to bond further with his childhood friends, as they grow apart as they get older, something that he constantly recriminates to himself.

But also, his isolation goes to determine how he bonds with women who serve his sexual interests. In the story, there are three female characters who are the sexual interests and, two of them, later companions to Punpun. The first one is Tanaka Aiko, a girl that he knows from his childhood and has been in love of her ever since, the main interaction with Aiko is at the end of the story, when Punpun has already developed as an young adult with behaviors like the described, so we’ll talk about it later.

After losing contact with Aiko and at his puberty, Punpun discovers his horniness, so he dates Midori, a girl who payed him a little attention, just to get to have sex with her, but his plan soon goes wrong as he can’t even stablish a conversation with her making things highly uncomfortable; at the end of the date, just before Midori is about to leave he asks her to stay a little while, where an awkward silence gets extended until Punpun falls in despair and almost assaults Midori. This unveils, once again, his selfishness, but also how he conceives women and sexual relationships.

The third women in Punpun’s life is Sachi, a writer who convinced him to help him making a story and publishing it. Their relation is a constant push-and-pull where the dynamic is like the one described two paragraphs above but is important to understand that they never settle as a couple but rather base their relation on publishing the story and a couple-like relationship. This is because Punpun has no and can’t have emotional responsibility, he doesn’t want to worry about the things that happen to Sachi. Once again, Punpun’s selfishness is shown and there’s a certain situation and dialog that revolves around how it is expressed in their relationship; in the situation that I’m referring, after the two had been apart and not in contact because Punpun isolated himself, Sachi needs emotional support for a personal matter, to what he can only react to hold her hand, this makes Sachi really angry and point out how he always acts like a romantic when is less needed, showing his lack of interest and selfishness.

Aiko is the most important character that Punpun is interested in through the story. As they re-encounter as adults, he sees how Aiko has changed from the way she was as a child, this makes Punpun furious and resents him as he blames her for, he had to challenge mental illness and isolation. But as soon as they both discover that they’re just pretending to be someone else, they go to a motel where he, once again, gets angry at her because she goes to a motel with a guy she hadn’t seen in years, slut-shaming her and thinking to himself “I want to make your life miserable”. Although that situation doesn’t end well because he assaults her, when they meet again, they start discovering more and more that they never got over each other and begin a sort of relationship, but with constant abusive behavior to each other. Their relationship is destructive and mainly for Aiko, but he doesn’t care, he is so sure that she is the love of her life that they continue in a toxic relationship because they are obsessed with each other.

Once described how Punpun conceives romantic/sexual relations trough a male chauvinistic way, we still have to analyze how the character grows into this. First, the relationship between his parents is violent and abusive, as at the beginning of the story his father gets a restriction order for domestic abuse. He could never bond neither with his dad or mom. His uncle, Yuichi, is introduced here and he will play a fatherly figure role for Punpun, but Yuichi is pretty much self-centered when it comes to talk to Punpun, as it can be seen in the dialogs that he always talks about himself; at the same time, it is put in highlight how Yuichi never loses a chance to stare at a women’s rearward, giving hints on his perspective of the female figures. Also, there’s the group of friends that Punpun has as a child, these kids would constantly talk about pornography and gather in houses to watch porn films that they stole or found somewhere, this gives the reader the idea that Punpun’s learning on sexuality comes mainly from pornographic media.

In conclusion, it has been shown that Oyasumi Punpun, probably not inadvertedly, develops a critique on masculinity and how it decants in sexual/romantic relationships and social bonding, that is to say, how relationships are conceived under male chauvinistic perspectives. And this is nothing new, there’s nothing surprising, but rather something relatable, whereas most men are raised in manners that differ little to nothing to how Punpun’s fatherly figures did and get a significant influence in their learning of sexuality of pornography. This manga serves as a critic, it is meant to make the reader uncomfortable with a sense of reality, its really a wonderful piece because what it problematizes is but a huge problem in our society that’s under a patriarchal structure.

[aliferous-ly]

Find yourself and grow - bnha

this has nothing to do with the prompt but it inspired this s oooooooooo yup

Kirishima stared at the ceiling. An uncertain sort of energy thrummed through him, his eyes exhausted and bones like jelly but unable to close his eyes, his mind active but muted like a frizzled television.

He didn’t have the energy to get up but he didn’t have the ability to sleep, so Kirishima leaned over and grabbed his phone. Turning it on started a small headache right behind his eyes but Kirishima didn’t know what else to do, so he scrolled through a few social media sites, staring but not seeing.

A snapchat notification appeared at the top of his screen. [BROCCOLI BOI is typing…]

Kirishima narrowed his eyes and waited for the consecutive “BROCCOLI BOI has sent you a snap!”, but it never came.

He went to snapchat anyway, hovering over Izuku’s name for only a second before clicking.

[you] hey i saw u typing u up

Kirishima waited, hoping that Izuku was actually up and that snapchat didn’t glitch on him. Izuku’s profile bubbled, indicating that he was typing, and Kirishima let out a breath of relief.

[BROCCOLI BOI] yea sorry about that haha!

[BROCCOLI BOI] just a lil tired didnt want to bother u

[you] no worries i’m up too

[BROCCOLI BOI] you really should be getting sleep! sleep is incredibly important for lots of things

[you] i could say the same to u bro

[you] why u up?

[BROCCOLI BOI] why r u up?

[you] uh couldnt sleep

[BROCCOLI BOI] me neither

[you] ah

[BROCCOLI BOI] u should go to sleep tho

[you] u first

[BROCCOLI BOI] i can’t

[you] me neither

[you] i’m so tired i can’t get up but i cant fall asleep

[BROCCOLI BOI] wanna hang out in the lobby

[you] i just said im too tired to get up

[BROCCOLI BOI] but ur awake

[BROCCOLI BOI] i can carry u

[you] dude no i’m rlly heavy

[you] comes w the perks of being a literal rock

[BROCCOLI BOI] is that a challenge

[you] i mean go off deku

[BROCCOLI BOI] brt

“Oh my god,” Kirishima said aloud, running a hand down his face. “Oh man.”

Not a minute later he heard knocking before his door swung open, Midoriya genuinely standing in his threshold with All Might pajama pants and a plain red t-shirt.

Kirishima started sitting up, the fatigue receding for a moment as he laughed in shock. “I can’t believe you’re here, Midori– ah!” Kirishima yelped in surprise as Midoriya strode forwards and leaned down, placing his arms under Kirishima’s knees and behind his shoulders, picking him up effortlessly.

“Midoriya!” Kirishima threw his arms around Midoriya’s shoulders in shock, his body tensing instinctively.

A dusting of pink was brushed on Midoriya’s cheeks, but he said, “You aren’t that heavy, you know.”

Kirishima stared at him.

Midoriya shifted, then, looking more and more awkward. “I’m… I’m sorry? Uh. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Uh.”

“This is the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me,” Kirishima said, in awe. And wow, this was not great for his mini crush, honestly.

Mini. Yeah, okay.

Midoriya’s flush grew deeper but he didn’t set Kirishima down, instead positioning him into a more comfortable hold and stepping away from the bed. “So, uh, to the commons?”

“Let’s go to the rec room,” Kirishima said. The commons was always colder than the rec room, being so close to the entrance.

“The rec room…?” Midoriya said slowly. “There’s…?”

“Holy– okay, Midoriya, prepare to have your mind blown,” Kirishima said, gesturing with one hand for emphasis. “It’s like the commons but with like, way more pillows, and a way better TV, it’s hidden though, and there’s a code, you gotta follow it, okay?”

“Alright,” Midoriya said, laughter in his voice. “Lead the way, then?”

Kirishima flushed and wrapped his arms around Midoriya’s shoulders and neck again. He could probably walk, especially after Midoriya hyping him up about the rec room, but who was he to turn down such a rare experience?

Kirishima led him through the hallways, Midoriya giving him strange looks when he told him to go through the boiler room to get there. They eventually reached a door with a wooden sign. Which, in reality, was more of a wooden slab pinned to the door. Burnt into the wood said “enter if you dare”.

Kirishima exuberantly gestured to the door. “Here it is! All your hopes and dreams behind these hallowed doors!”

Midoriya glanced at him, then turned his gaze pointedly at the wood, a blush creeping up his neck as he muttered, “doubt it.”

“Hey dude, okay, I gotta–” Kirishima struggled out of Midoriya’s arms, now wide-awake and excited. “Initiation. So. You are about to enter the former abode of the hero squad known as Burnout.”

Midoriya hide his smile at Kirishima’s grave expression and jazz hands.

“Burnout found this abandoned room years ago and renovated it. They’re inspirations, really, and there’s rules pinned around the room that we have to follow or the room will reject us,” Kirishima said, nodding seriously. “A main one: no telling teachers. Legend says a member attempted to inform a teacher and they were never seen again…” Kirishima said lowly, then added, “just kidding! They were unable to use their quirk for a few hours. And they lost the trust of everyone else, obviously.”

“That sounds easy enough,” Midoriya said, mind already running through the possible quirks with such a power. It would have to encompass the room, but also be able to effect any who knew about it – including technically him as well, unless the rules weren’t enacted until he entered the room itself. Then the quirk had to be able to cause losing another quirk for a select amount of time by spoken word, maybe? These rules sounded awfully hard to enforce, and –

“’Doriya, my dude,” Kirishima punched him lightly in the shoulder. “Stay with me my man, that was only one.”

“Ah, sorry!” Midoriya blushed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Rule number two,” Kirishima said, holding up two fingers. “No fighting. Real fighting, since it can tell the difference, somehow. Quirk usage is okay, but once it gets too… real, you gotta take it outside. That one makes you really tired, I know from experience.”

“…okay,” Midoriya said, deciding life would be easier the less questions he asked. Less time spent talking, the sooner they’d actually go in.

“Those are the most important ones I guess,” Kirishima mused, shrugging. “Alright, Midoriya, initiation over!”

Kirishima pushed the door open and beckoned Midoriya in, letting the door fall shut after Midoriya had entered.

“Welcome to the rec room!” Kirishima said proudly, like he was presenting a personal accomplishment.

The room could hold a decent amount of people while retaining that cozy size, with two couches, two recliners, and an uncountable amount of varying sizes and kinds of beanbags thrown about. Just as Kirishima promised, a large flat-screen sat on one wall, but a minifridge ran softly in the back of the room with a shaded window nearby.

“Wow,” Midoriya breathed. The walls were covered in old boards, giving the room a rustic feel.

Kirishima breezed by him and plopped onto one of the couches, sighing deeply. “Ah, it’s been too long.”

“When were you here last?” Midoriya asked.

“Two days ago,” Kirishima said. “Kaminari found it first, of course, so he told me and Sero, then Ashido because she beat him at arm wrestling, and Bakugou – I think Bakugou found it before all of us, honestly. Todoroki has totally been here before, too, the ice box in the mini fridge is always stocked – and maybe like, Tokoyami? Because that dude knows like, everything.”

Kirishima seemed to melt into the couch as he spoke, movements becoming more and more sluggish until he yawned. Midoriya took a step, hesitation pouring through his veins, because he didn’t want to intrude on Kirishima’s… on Kirishima.

Kirishima looked soft and pliable in a way Midoriya had never seen before, and the normally loud and expressive teen was… quiet, and tired, and yawning.

“Hey dude, wanna play like… video games or something?” Kirishima said.

“Maybe a movie,” Midoriya suggested, eyeing Kirishima’s drooping eyes as he finally made it to the couch and sat down gingerly.

“Dude let’s watch Pacific Rim,” Kirishima said. “You haven’t seen it, right?”

“I haven’t,” Midoriya said.

“Awesome.” Summoning energy from some deep energy source within him, Kirishima lurched from the couch and picked through a stack of movies next to the TV. While Kirishima was getting the movie ready, Midoriya glanced around the room.

Small post-its nailed – yes, nailed – to the wall littered the wood in pale yellow, pink, green, and the occasional green or orange pieces of paper. He read the nearest one to him: “Rule 31: if one of you little shits sticks ONE more piece of bubblegum to the ceiling you’re evicted”.

“Oh, yeah,” Kirishima said, noticing Midoriya’s gaze. “They added rules as time went on.”

Midoriya glanced at another one – a dark purple one with silver sharpie writing, sharp and jagged, with the words “Rule 12: NO SEX IN THIS ROOM YA NASTIES -from your neighborhood ace”.

Midoriya blinked, in surprise, shock, or embarrassment, or possibly a mixture of all three.

“I think the original three uh,” Kirishima cleared his throat. “Made a later member mad.”

“Oh my god,” Midoriya breathed, soft laughter falling from his lips.

Kirishima gazed at him for another second or two before flopping back onto the couch, pressing play. He was notably closer to Midoriya than when Midoriya had initially sat down, their arms almost (almost) brushing.

A few minutes in, Kirishima’s head dropped onto Midoriya’s shoulder.

By the fifteen minute mark, Kirishima was asleep.

Midoriya wasn’t sure how Kirishima managed to sleep through one of the most action-packed movies he’d ever seen, counting the All Might saga, without stirring once.

By the time the movie ended, Midoriya’s shoulder was asleep, but he didn’t dare move Kirishima – he looked softer, relaxed, while he slept, and Midoriya didn’t want to disrupt that.

However, after sitting in complete silence for a few minutes, TV black, Midoriya realized he’d have to move.

“Okay, Kiri,” Midoriya murmured mostly to himself, since Kirishima was sleeping. “Let’s get you back to your room.”

He propped Kirishima against the back of the couch and stood, cracking his back and rotating his shoulders, then leaned down and picked Kirishima up, throwing him over his shoulder. While the princess-hold had been great for dramatic effect and great because Midoriya got to see Kirishima’s expression, he wanted to have an open hand.

The halls were eerily quiet, as it was around three or four in the morning, but Midoriya’s stride was confident. He’d walked these halls at early times before.

Entering Kirishima’s room, Midoriya gently lay the teen on his obnoxiously colored sheets, pulling the comforter over his body and, unable to resist the temptation, gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

He was almost out the door when a quiet, “Midoriya?” sounded from the bed.

He paused, door in hand, and tilted his head. “Yeah?”

“I really…” a yawn, then, “I really like you.”

Midoriya’s cheeks inflamed and he tensed, throat suddenly dry. He turned around completely, to craft a probably embarrassing babble of a response, but Kirishima was already sleeping again.

Midoriya shut the door as silently as he could, then sped-walked back to his room, having a mini-crisis.

He definitely wasn’t getting any more sleep tonight.

[lisatelramor]

NLTSA Extra: Babysitting with Takumi

Takumi had been half-joking when he said he would babysit for the Kudos to get to know his maybe-sister. But he’d been half-serious at the time too, and now here he was. Alone. With two children. On a Saturday. Their parents wouldn’t be home until Sunday afternoon and of course this had to be a weekend that his dad and Hakuba were off on a kind of sort of romantic getaway too (did it count as a romantic getaway when they initially went away for a case?). Either way, Takumi didn’t actually spend much time with children. Ever. What had made him think this was a good idea again?

Two wide-eyed little girls stared back at him, either one of them looking like they could be a blood relative.

Right. Family. Maybe family. Family was important even if it was family that might not be family, or maybe just family in the adopted sideways kind of way.

“So... What do you want to do?” Takumi asked, wondering what the heck babysitters were supposed to do besides make sure children were alive and well and not setting things on fire while their parents were elsewhere.

“Usually we play games and eat dinner and maybe watch a movie or something before bed,” Hanae said. “When Ayumi-neesan is over we sometimes do girl stuff. Mitsuhiko-niisan only ever wants to watch documentaries or play trivia games, and Genta-niisan sometimes shows us how to bake.”

That was three babysitters right there; the Kudos probably had a whole bunch of other people they could have entrusted their daughters to but they’d decided to let Takumi watch them. Oh crap, he was responsible for two little kids.

“Are you okay?” Hanae asked.

“I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.”

“No, I’m good. Really. You didn’t say what you wanted to do?”

Hanae and Midori exchanged a look like they could read each other’s minds. Was it a sibling thing? They’d done something similar when they dragged him to play with them when he last spent time with them, so maybe it was a sibling thing.

“What do you wanna do, Takumi-niisan?” Midori asked.

What would Tou-san do at a time like this? Break out story books and magic tricks and a spur of the moment adventure game? Or what would Shiemi do? ...Pull out a pack of cards and teach them poker? Heck, cards weren’t a bad idea... “Want to play Go Fish?” He pulled a pack of cards from a pocket with as much flair as he could manage. It wasn’t his dad’s level of showmanship, but it should impress a couple of kids.

Midori looked excited. Hanae didn’t seem impressed, but then she was a bit older than her sister.

“Are you a magician like Kid-san?” Midori asked.

“Uh.”

“Of course he is, Midori,” Hanae said. “That’s how it works. Like Tou-san teaching us detective stuff and Kaa-san teaching self-defense.”

“Um!” Did they know his dad was Kid?

“Relax,” Hanae said, “we keep secrets. Right Midori?”

Midori nodded. “No one can know we know Kid-san. But that’s okay because he’s cool.”

“Tou-san’s better,” Hanae said. “But Kid’s not too bad.” She glanced sideways at Takumi. “Adults don’t notice you listening if you pretend not to know they’re talking.”

Takumi was uncomfortably reminded of the times he and Shiemi snuck downstairs to listen to adults talk in the kitchen after bedtime growing up. He swallowed. “Yeah, adults do that sometimes. Um. Maybe don’t mention you know I’m related to Kid?”

Hanae rolled her eyes. “We’re not stupid.” She grabbed his arm. “C’mon, we can play cards in the kitchen.”

“Do you know any card tricks?” Midori asked as Hanae dragged him down the hall.

“Some?”

“Can you teach me?”

“Maybe?”

“Teach her later, I want to play cards,” Hanae said.

And so that was how Takumi found himself in the Kudos’ kitchen playing Go Fish for the next half hour. Midori won the first two rounds and Hanae won the third, and Takumi wasn’t really trying to win and the girls clearly noticed because after the third round, Midori demanded he show her a card trick and it devolved from there.

It was hard to teach a child how to palm a card when the card was bigger than her hand. Stacking a deck was a little more successful and Midori was engaged in trying to get a simple trick to work, but Hanae was clearly bored with it all.

“I don’t get what’s so fun about it when it’s such a simple trick,” Hanae said as Midori tried to get it right for the eighth time. “Once you know how it’s done you can mess it up, and it’s not that awe inspiring anyway.”

Takumi had never met a child so utterly disillusioned with sleight of hand. It was annoying because he’d practiced hard to get the skills he had and his dad had taught him every trick he knew. And that was his family legacy she was looking down on. Takumi pulled a second deck from another pocket, bridging the cards between his hands in a showy flutter that would have made his dad proud. “Okay, there are flaws in that argument. One, the trick she’s learning really is basic. Of course it’s simple, it’s one of the first tricks you learn when you’re getting hang on working with the cards.” He kept up aggressive eye contact as he moved the cards in flashy patterns, muscle memory taking over. “Two, messing up a trick just because you don’t like it would be a pretty mean thing to do for both the performer and the audience. Three—” He exchanged the cards for a paper flower with a flick of the wrist and a bit of misdirection. “Magic tricks are meant for people who want to believe in magic. If you go in wanting to pick them apart, you’re not going to enjoy them. Just relax and appreciate the time and skill it takes to do them instead of worrying how it was done.” He held out the flower.

Hanae took it, reluctantly impressed with the display. She’d better be at least a little impressed. He didn’t practice some of those hand movements for hours for nothing.

“Okay, I think I got it,” Midori said. Takumi watched her go through the trick with clumsy hands and a determined frown, doing his part when prompted. This time the desired cards matched up at the end and Midori’s face lit up into a huge grin. “I did it!”

“Good job. Keep practicing and you’ll be impressing an audience in no time,” Takumi said.

The joy on her face was like how he remembered it every time he figured out a new trick. He couldn’t even remember what exactly he’d learned first, but the thrill of getting something right was always there, even years later. Hanae still had a bit of a frown on her face, but she smiled for her sister.

“Sometime you have to do that in front of Kaa-san and Tou-san and see what they think.” Hanae grinned.

Midori stuck out her tongue. “No way, Tou-san’d see right through it.”

“Kaa-san then.”

“Only if you help me practice.”

“Maybe,” Hanae said. “If you’re not a tagalong when I have friends over next.”

“Your friends are fun and it’s boring on my own.”

“Do we have a deal or not?”

“Only if you really help me practice.”

“I will,” Hanae said with a nod, like it sealed a pact.

Takumi took the cards back when Midori offered them and slid them back into his pockets. “So, dinner now or...?”

“Dinner!” Midori said. “I want omurice!”

“Uh.” He knew how to cook it theoretically. He looked at Hanae. She shrugged.

“I’m fine with whatever.”

“Okay. Omurice.” That was just fried rice stuffed in an omelet right? Not too hard. He found some leftover rice in the fridge and vegetables and eggs as the girls pulled out pans and a cutting board.

“Knives are up there,” Hanae said, pointing at a pull-down knife rack that was outside easy reach for a child.

Takumi fell into the rhythm of cooking easily enough. He gave the eggs to Midori to crack into a bowl and chopped up onion and garlic and carrots into tiny pieces. Omurice wasn’t something he’d made before, but his mom made it for him growing up and Shiemi had him help her a few times. Takumi wasn’t a great cook, but he could feed himself. He had to with Kaa-san working late so often. He couldn’t go over to Tou-san’s house every day just for dinner, so he’d figured out enough to get by. Shiemi’d made some pretty interesting mistakes with him. They only set the kitchen on fire once and that was because they tried frying something without knowing what the hell they were doing.

Vegetables and rice sizzled in a pan, frying slowly with ketchup and soy sauce to give it flavor. Milk and salt with the egg...

“I want cheese on mine,” Hanae said as Takumi contemplated the rest of the cooking process.

“I don’t want cheese on mine,” Midori said, wrinkling her nose. “Cheese doesn’t go with rice.”

“It goes with the omelet.”

“But tastes weird with the rice!”

“Got it, one with cheese, one without,” Takumi said. He’d have his without too; cheese and ketchup were weird together, and omurice was always better with ketchup.

It went pretty well until he tried to fold the first omelet around the rice. It ripped and he ended up with a mess on a plate. “...Guess that can be mine.”

“I’d eat it,” Midori said. “Put a bunch of ketchup and it’s like something from a monster movie.”

Comparing his cooking to something out of a scary movie was far from flattering. Thankfully the next one came out better if a little lumpy, and Hanae’s came out looking even better.

Takumi smiled at the last one. It wasn’t even a little dark like the second one. “There you go, omurice.”

“You have to put ketchup first!” Midori said when he started to move to the table with the plates. “Those are the rules. Draw something cute!” She thrust a ketchup bottle at his face.

Takumi took it and drew a wobbly smiley face on his egg disaster.

“That’s terrible,” Hanae said at his side. She snatched the bottle. “Here.” She drew a passable cat face on Midori’s omelet, two triangle ears, dots for eyes and nose, and little whisker lines. “Like that.”

“Me next!” Midori grabbed the bottle and stretched on tiptoe to draw an even more lopsided smile on Hanae’s omelet with a heart around it.

“Better?” Takumi asked.

“Good enough,” Hanae said. She stole her plate from Takumi’s hands. “Midori, get forks.”

“Not as good as Kaa-san’s omurice,” was the verdict once they dug in, “but still good.”

Takumi supposed that this was about the best reaction he could get because most of the time mothers did cook your favorites best. The dishes all got piled in the sink to wash later before he was dragged off by the girls again.

This time it was to watch a movie. There was a five second stare down in front of the DVD collection before the girls did jan-ken-pon, hands flinging out scissor and rock shapes. Midori grinned as she won. “I get to choose the movie,” she said.

“How do you keep winning?” Hanae complained.

“Cuz I’m good at it,” Midori said, rifling through an impressive number of animated movies. She held up The Cat Returns triumphantly.

“We watched that last week!”

“I won, I pick.”

Hanae looked at Takumi, hoping for support. He held his hands up defensively.

“Anything’s fine!” he said. “Do you not like it?”

“I like it but she keeps picking it. If you have to pick a Ghibli movie, Kiki’s obviously better.”

“I think you mean Spirited Away,” Takumi teased.

Hanae scowled, insulted. “Kiki’s plot makes way more sense than—”

“Cats,” Midori said, shoving the DVD she’d chosen at their faces. “Cats beat everything.”

“Cats are pretty cool,” Takumi agreed, taking the disc to put in the player. “But dragons are cooler.”

“Cats.” Midori repeated.

“Kaa-san won’t let us get a pet,” Hanae sighed.

“We have space. And I’d take care of it,” Midori grumbled. “And cats don’t need to be walked like dogs.” It was clearly a sore subject.

“I’m not allowed to have a pet either,” Takumi said. He sat on the couch and the girls followed, Midori flinging herself half on her sister and her feet in Takumi’s lap. It was kind of cute except for how she kicked him in the knee in the process. He rubbed his knee as he got to the disc menu. “But Tou-san has birds and they’re nice. Birds are loud, but Tou-san’s are pretty smart and friendly.”

“I wish I had any pet,” Midori sighed.

“Maybe sometime you could meet Tou-san’s doves. It’s not the same as having a pet, but I don’t think anyone would mind you visiting from time to time.” And maybe it would be a chance to introduce his grandmother to his maybe-sister. The smiles the offer got him were enough to make him glad he’d decided to be here though.

Bath and bedtime were met with very little resistance to his surprise—perhaps because the movie had kept them up later than the initial bedtime was supposed to be—and by the time Takumi found himself in the guest bedroom, he was both tired and relieved that he’d managed to get things right so far.

He checked his phone as he set an alarm for the next morning. Shiemi had left a text. Surviving babysitting?

So far so good, he texted back.

Getting to know your maybe-sister? Her answer was immediate—she must be playing a cell phone game or something.

Getting to know them both a bit. Midori-chan likes omurice the same way I do. Such a tiny thing, but it made him smile a little. Part of him wanted to pick out similarities and try to know for sure if she really was his sister... But the logical side of him knew that just because someone was related didn’t mean they were necessarily similar. And she’d been raised by the Kudos. Logically they weren’t going to be much alike. But it was nice seeing her try to learn a card trick and seeing her like what he cooked. Takumi didn’t know the first thing about being a sibling and barely knew anything about children, but the warm feelings were probably normal. He wanted to be something in her life. And in Hanae’s because she was kind of headstrong and skeptical, but she reminded him a bit of other women in his life. She likes cats, he added after a moment. He didn’t know much more about her than that yet, but it was a start. Hanae likes Kiki’s Delivery Service but Midori likes The Cat Returns better.

Obviously Whisper of the Heart wins over all of them.

Sacrilege. What happened to your crush on Lin in Spirited Away?

I rewatched Whisper and got caught up in the romance and struggle of young artists. Obviously. Takumi could picture Shiemi sticking her tongue out at him.

He smiled. You know that means a rewatch of Spirited Away is called for.

Your place or mine?

Tou-san’s, next Friday. We’ll rope everyone into a Ghibli movie marathon.

I’ll be there. And I’ll win everyone over on my choice ~_^

Takumi snickered and sent back a few increasingly ridiculous emojis before locking his phone for the night.

***

Takumi woke up with his heart pounding in his chest and the vague feeling like he was dying. Flickers of fear and horrified anticipation lingered, snippets of half-remembered lights and blurs of white dissipating into the gray-dark of his surroundings. It took him a moment to recognize where he was, the blankets twisted around his legs not his familiar worn bed-cover, but stiff sheets and a floral patterned coverlet. Takumi relaxed against his pillows, anxiety dropping as he recognized that it had been a dream. Just a dream that couldn’t hurt him no matter what his heart half beating out of his chest wanted him to think. He pressed his palms into his eyes before groping blindly for his phone.

Six forty in the morning. He’d set the alarm for seven thirty, but it wouldn’t make much sense to go to sleep again. If he could go to sleep again. The dream that woke him was less distinct than most of his nightmares, but he didn’t have to remember the details to have an idea of what it had featured. There were only two events that his brain currently fixated on and threw back at him in all the wonderfully warped ways an anxious brain could twist them. He hadn’t had a nightmare in a few weeks though. It figured that he’d have one now, staying at the Kudo house.

Brains were stupid. Even after dangers were over and done with, even when nothing bad ended up happening to him physically, it was like the sheer range and mass of emotions from those moments got condensed into a bowling ball and every now and then it’d roll off a shelf and shake things up again. Like bits chipped off and leached into the present sometimes. He hated it, but he was getting better, little by little.

In his hand his phone vibrated with a message. It was from Tou-san, a selfie with Hakuba in the background. They had tea mugs in their hands and seemed to be on a hotel balcony, watching the sun rise.

Case went well, the text following it said. Weather’s great here. If we get a chance we should come back for a family vacation someday. I’d even go to the beach. ^_^

Takumi snorted. Tou-san on a beach. Well, okay, maybe if he stayed in the sand but he’d have to try pretty hard to get Tou-san in the water. He looked at the picture again. Tou-san looked happy at least. Hakuba didn’t seem to know that he’d had his picture taken since he was looking off at the sunrise. It wasn’t intentionally romantic or anything but the framing ended up that way and it still felt... a little weird to think of his dad dating his teacher. But more in that his dad was dating at all than that it was Hakuba in the end. They both looked happier though and he genuinely liked Hakuba so it was all good. Hakuba would feel like family soon enough. He was halfway there already.

Shiemi still wants a beach trip next summer, Takumi sent back. Since we never made it this year.

She’s welcome to come with us. She’s family. There was another photo, just of the sunrise, all yellows and pinks and orange glinting off a distant ocean.

I’ll tell her you said that. She’ll hold you to it. Have fun on the rest of your vacation.

Good luck babysitting ~ ¶

Takumi smiled at his phone before hauling himself out of bed.

After running through his morning routine, he padded off down the hall to the kitchen. There was something inherently unsettling about having free reign over someone else’s house, especially early in the morning. The Kudo manor was big too, three times the size of his home with Kaa-san at least if not larger. He couldn’t picture growing up in this sort of place. He was used to crowded spaces and lived-in clutter. There were signs of life everywhere, but not the same stacks of newspapers and mail and paperwork on the kitchen counter like with Kaa-san or books and sketches and random notes like with Tou-san. The kitchen was clean and neat and everything had its place. Was it always like this or had it been cleaned since he was coming?

By the time he heard the girls coming down the stairs at a bit after seven, he’d already started the rice and had the miso soup almost finished. He’d considered pancakes, but he’d gone with what he knew he wouldn’t mess up.

“Good morning,” Takumi said as Midori bounced into the room, trailed by a sleepy Hanae.

“Morning!” Midori said, clambering into her spot at the kitchen table.

Hanae followed with a yawn. “I thought teenagers slept in,” she said, resting her head on her arms.

“I ended up waking up early.” Takumi dished out rice and soup. “Hope this is okay for breakfast.”

“Kaa-san makes traditional breakfasts on weekends,” Hanae said. She looked like she was going to fall asleep in her rice.

“Did you sleep badly?” Takumi asked, passing her a cup of juice to go with everything.

“Midori woke me up,” Hanae grumbled, shooting her sister an annoyed look.

“I was gonna start the rice for breakfast but you beat me to it,” Midori said.

“You can help with lunch instead,” Takumi offered, and Midori hummed in agreement before digging into her meal with a cheerful, “Itadakimasu!”

Hanae had another huge yawn before she started picking at her meal too, so Takumi just ate and watched them as they exchanged conversation back and forth between each other, arguing about something or other, but he’d missed what exactly the subject of the argument was.

***

There’d been a suggestion, Takumi thought, something that seemed perfectly reasonable for children. Yeah, sure, playing cops and robbers was normal for kids. Sure Takumi would play. Sure, he could be the banker in this scenario, why not?

Takumi was regretting agreeing to this.

He had somehow ended up tied to a tree in the back yard with Hanae standing next to him, one hand making a finger gun in his direction as Midori played the cop in this scenario. A cop that didn’t seem too invested in helping free the hostage.

“Just give up! You’re surrounded and won’t be getting away with it!” Midori said.

“Getting away with it? Getting away with it?” Hanae laughed a very good imitation of an evil cackle. “I don’t need to rob the bank to get what I came for!”

Wasn’t the point of cops and robbers to rob the bank and chase each other around? This was not, Takumi thought anxiously, how he remembered playing make believe. Hanae jabbed him in the shoulder with her finger-gun.

“It’s the bank’s fault I’m here! If they’d just given me that loan, none of this would have ever happened! Hiro would still be alive and no one else would have to suffer!”

“Killing a bank teller won’t make up for it!” Midori said.

“No, but blowing up the bank would make us even! It ruined my life so I’m going to ruin everyone attached to it.”

“But is it what Hiro would’ve wanted?”

“You don’t even know Hiro!”

Takumi felt like he was trapped in a soap opera.

“We can still fix this. You don’t have to turn evil to get revenge.”

“No one will take the lawsuit!”

Takumi tuned out the argument, twisting his hands around in his bonds. Considering he was tied up with a jump rope and it was done by a ten year old, it was surprisingly secure.

“You just need to—!”

“Too late!” Hanae shrieked. She raised a hand. “BOOM!” She laughed evilly. “And now we’re all dead.”

Midori huffed. “Hanae! The cop is supposed to win!”

“Where’s the fun if it’s always predictable? And I always end up the villain.”

“That’s because you’re bad at jan-ken.”

“But I still won this time,” Hanae said, smug.

“Ugh, I call take back! Bombs are cheating!”

“Are not. I can explode the game if I want to.”

“Can not.”

“Can too.”

“No.”

“Yes. Because I’m older and I said so.”

There was a moment when Midori went still and it hit all of Takumi’s instincts to duck and cover. Then she threw herself at Hanae and Hanae shrieked and ran. And Takumi was still tied to a tree. Crap. He tugged at his wrists.

“Guys?” Toward the house there was more shrieking. Two voices shrieking. He couldn’t even tell if it was play fighting or real fighting and how the heck had he even ended up in this situation? “For the love of...” Takumi started picking at the knots as best he could considering he couldn’t see them. “Someone’s going to be in a time out after this. Or something. Probably.” He’d agreed to this...sort of...but... Yeah he kind of sucked at babysitting.

The door to the house slammed. And now they were inside and unsupervised. Wonderful.

“...Is everything alright?” a voice said from the other side of the fence. A moment later an elderly man peeked over the edge. He blinked at Takumi. Takumi’s face burned.

“I’m the...babysitter,” he muttered.

“I’m their neighbor,” the man said. “And also one of their babysitters. I just got home though.” He raised an eyebrow. “Do you need help?”

The knots finally gave under Takumi’s frantic tugging. He wrenched his arms free. “No! Nope, I’m fine! Great even, I’m just going to go...make sure they haven’t killed each other!” Takumi all but ran for the house. The neighbor was probably going to tell the Kudos exactly what happened. Takumi was never going to live this down.

“Okay!” Takumi said, bursting into the living room where a pillow war between couch cushion fortifications seemed to be going on. “I think that’s enough cops and robbers! New rule; no tying me up, okay? Okay.”

A pillow flew his way. Takumi slung it back before he could even think the action through. Two wide grins turned in his direction. “Oh shiiiii—” Takumi got out before he was attacked by two children armed with pillows.

***

When the Kudos returned that afternoon, the living room had been turned into a pillow fort and Takumi and the girls were reading in a pile in the center. The jump rope from earlier was supporting the roof of the fort, tied between two chair so the sheet could drape. Once he’d finally stopped being attacked by pillows, it had been a compromise to stay in one place and not do anything that involved attacking each other.

Takumi was tired but a lot happier than he’d have thought to be curled up with kids reading. It was comfortable like they’d done it together dozens of times. Hanae was the sort who hyper-focused when she read. She didn’t even look up when her parents peeked into the room. Midori gave a distracted hello, slipping another page in her book before doing a double-take. Then she carefully shoved a corner of blanket in to the book to mark her place and scrambled over to give them a hug.

Takumi crawled out after her, smiling nervously. “Hey.”

“Looks like you were having fun,” Kudo Ran said, her arms around Midori.

“A bit, yeah.”

“More than a bit,” Midori said.

Kudo Shinichi laughed. He crouched next to the pillow fort. “Hey, Hanae, we’re home.”

“Mm.” Hanae flipped another page.

“We brought back some of those lemon butter cookies you like.”

“Mm.”

“We’re going to give Midori your share.”

“Mm—wait.” Hanae looked up. “Tou-san!”

“We’re not actually giving Midori your share of the cookies.”

“You’d better not!” She abandoned her book to give her dad a hug.

Takumi snickered. Both girls surrounded their father asking about sweets, and Shinichi struggled to his feet with children hanging off each arm as he laughed.

“They weren’t any trouble were they?” Ran asked.

“Not too much,” Takumi said. He wasn’t going to mention getting tied up unless they did first. “It was fun.” Mostly. Stress aside, he’d babysit again.

“He made us omurice!” Midori said, bounding over to give her mother another hug. “He also said we could visit sometime and see his family’s pets. They have doves. Can we?”

“Tou-san keeps them,” Takumi explained.

“Maybe sometime in the future,” Ran said.

“You never did say how many doves he had,” Hanae said.

“Oh, about eighteen or twenty?” He thought one of the doves had managed to hatch a few eggs, which would bring the number up. That sometimes happened though they normally tried not to have them reproduce because there were a lot of them to begin with. “They’re really tame. You can go in and hold your arms out and they’ll land on you.” If you had food, the bolder ones would land on you before you offered a perch. Takumi could remember having birds land on his head when he was little. They still did if he let them.

“So cool! We gotta visit sometime,” Midori said, giving her parents pleading eyes.

“We’ll have to see when will be a good time,” Shinichi said. “Provided it won’t bother anyone.”

“The doves always can use more socializing. Tou-san visits them daily, but they’re kept at Obaa-san’s house so they spend a lot of time in the dovecote. I could take them sometime if that would be okay.” Takumi hoped it wasn’t overstepping to offer. From Ran and Shinichi’s smiles, it must not be.

“Thank you. I’m sure they appreciate the offer.” Shinichi ruffled his daughters’ hair. Hanae batted his hand away while Midori kept smiling. “Now...those cookies...” Both girls bolted for the kitchen and Shinichi trailed after them laughing.

Ran and Takumi followed slower. “They didn’t actually cause you too much trouble did they?” Ran asked now that the girls were out of earshot. “They can get into trouble.”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Takumi said. “Although they’re, uh, intense when it comes to make believe. I’ve never heard a kid complain about loans not going through at a bank while playing cops and robbers before.”

Ran winced. “They have a lot of real life examples on why people might commit crimes,” she said diplomatically.

And right, Shinichi was a detective. They must have grown up getting glimpses of the worst sides of humanity. Thankfully that didn’t seem to make them less carefree. Takumi’d been shielded from a lot of that despite his mom being on the police force just because she’d shooed him out of the room whenever talking about work in specifics came up. The Kudos must take a more direct approach of addressing Shinichi’s work. Or maybe there was more bleed over with Shinichi working homicides than with his mother working heists. “That makes sense,” Takumi said. “I’m glad I got to spend time with them though. It was fun.”

Ran’s smile went a little lopsided. Midori being his maybe-sister had never been brought up, but Takumi had a feeling that it was on her mind too. “You’re welcome to come over anytime, Takumi-kun,” Ran said. “Babysitting or not.”

“Thanks.” He’d take her up on that. Maybe bring Shiemi with him sometime... That would be nice.

“We brought you back a cookie too,” Ran said as they got to the kitchen. “Since you were nice enough to watch them.”

“Thanks,” Takumi repeated. Yeah, he wouldn’t mind coming back and doing this again.

***

“So,” Shiemi said on the phone later. “Babysitting went ok?”

“Yeah. It was fun. Even if I did get tied to a tree.”

“You what?”

“We played a dramatic game of cops and robbers and I got tied to the tree,” Takumi said rolling his eyes. “I got out of it.”

Shiemi cackled. “I would pay for pictures of that.”

“I didn’t tell the Kudos about that part. But knowing my luck the neighbor will probably tell them at some point...”

“The neighbor saw?”

“Yeah.”

Shiemi kept laughing.

Takumi sighed. “Some friend, laughing at my pain.”

“That’s the best mental image!”

“Laugh it up, sometime I’m taking you with me to meet them and maybe you’ll get tied to a tree.”

Shiemi’s laughter petered out into giggles. He could practically see her wiping away tears. “You sound so sure I’d get tied to a tree. Takumi, what makes you think I wouldn’t be organizing those girls into a single-minded mission of catch-the-thief against you?”

“You wouldn’t.” The silence was a grin of bared teeth. Dammit. “You would. Now that means you can never meet them.”

“And deny me the pleasure?”

“I don’t need to be hunted down. Getting attacked by pillows is enough.”

“Wow, that does sound eventful. You have to spill all!”

Takumi rolled his eyes again, but this time with a smile. “Sure, Shiemi.” He’d definitely introduce them all at some point. He’d probably regret it later, but he kind of liked how the number of people he cared about in his life kept growing and he wanted them to like each other too.

AN: Fun story, my brother and I actually tied up my cousin to a tree once when she babysat us. Between that and accidentally leaving the stove on and setting off the smoke alarm, I'm not at all surprised that she only babysat us that one time. ^_^; Truth be told, I can't even remember why we tied her up. My parents got home, joked about something along those lines and she was all "well actually..." This was before my brother and I went through a phase of fighting all the time. Woo. 

Also, do you know how terrifying it is to find yourself backed in a corner and attacked with pillows by a horde of children? I do. I remember this happening very distinctly. That was about the family party I decided the adults were better company after all. My only time babysitting as a teen involved frantically washing two kids to remove possible poison ivy oils and teaching them to do headstands in their basement so Takumi's not doing too bad.

[aerielart]

I Guess It’s Got Something to Do With You - A Shindeku College AU

Chapter 5 -  All of Your Flaws

Izuku is not having a great day, and it's only made worse when he runs into a certain someone he never wanted to see again. Luckily, another certain someone is there to help him get his mind off of things.

Izuku was not having a great day.

He had not been able to stop worrying about Todoroki since he finally said goodbye to him the previous evening. He’d just seemed so… upset, as he usually was when the topic of his father came up. Hurt, frustrated, lost. Angry. Izuku couldn’t say he didn’t share his sentiments. His friend never outwardly showed it, but Izuku had known him long enough to see the signs. It was obvious he hadn’t been paying any attention whatsoever to what Izuku was saying, and when he did he only responded with clipped, single word responses and grunts.

It was not the first time Izuku had seriously considered going to the Todoroki residence and giving that repulsive excuse for a man a piece of his mind. Again. Because it had gone so well the first time. But that was a story for a different day.

As a result, he was distracted all day with thoughts of how he was holding up, and maybe a little tired from staying over so long. Rather than scribbling down notes in class like usual, his pencil tapped a rapid staccato on his notebook while he sort of stared off into space. He was unable to focus long enough to take in anything that the professor was saying because everything around him was just so loud and the fluorescent lights were just so bright and can’t everything just stop for a little while, please? His leg joined in with its own measured beat, sole slapping on the floor, and he shrank in his seat when the people around him noticed and started staring.

He wasn’t stupid. He recognized his anxiety spiking when he saw it, like a little meter above his head that was warning him that it was time to get away and decompress.

When his last class for that day ended up being released early due to some minor emergency, he vaguely felt like he should feel bad about it, but he could only be relieved. He lingered behind as everyone else filed out so that he could drag himself from his seat and out the door with as much solitude as he could get.

What an absolutely awful couple of days… He was just so glad that it was finally over.

For a while he just wandered aimlessly around the grounds, hoping that the fresh air would do him some good and that maybe he could expel some of this extra energy in his legs. It had finally cooled off some after a near week-long heat wave so everybody was outside today, taking advantage of the good weather by lounging under the trees on the large lawn near the building or just walking and talking. There was even a light breeze that was ruffling his hair. He couldn’t help but feel out of place within the picturesque scene. He should have been enjoying it, too; normally he loved this kind of weather, but his frazzled brain had other ideas.

In the end being outside, even by himself, proved to be too much for him at the moment. His body had turned to lead, and his already sensitive ears seemed to pick up every bump, rustle, and shout around him and seemed to magnify them tenfold, even though he knew that just wasn’t the case.  

Out of nowhere he was struck with the sudden and dire urge to take a nap.

At some point, he started turning in the direction of the dorms. Well, more like his feet started leading him towards the dorms and he was just dragged along for the ride. He had some extra time now that class was cancelled, maybe he could…

“Oh no way, hey Midoriya!”

Or maybe not…

He immediately recognized the voice; it was Ashido, on her way back to her own building, no doubt. This must be when she normally got out and he hadn’t ran into her yet because he was normally in class at this time.

Well, as much as he wanted - needed, really - to go and have some time sequestered away in his room, he could work himself up to be social for a few seconds. Just say hey back, exchange a few pleasantries, and then he could be on his way. No big deal. Pushing and prodding his face muscles into what he hoped was an acceptable smile, he turned around.

Only for his carefully crafted facade to crumble as soon as he saw who she was with.

Why did he and Katsuki keep meeting like this? And why was he with Ashido of all people? The sight was… unexpected. Because Izuku didn’t really have another more adequate word to describe how strange and out of place it was seeing the bright and cheerful smile of his friend’s roommate paired with Katsuki’s usual unimpressed glares. So that was how he had been invited to Jirou’s party, then. Or maybe they had met there? Either way, this was the last thing that Izuku wanted to be dealing with right now.

At least Katsuki seemed to share his sentiments. He was looking between Izuku and Mina with an incredulous raise of his brows, as if he, too, was surprised at the fact that they had a mutual acquaintance. It would figure that the first time they had seen eye to eye on anything since third grade was about how much they didn’t want to see each other.

He was reminded that they weren’t alone when Ashido left Katsuki’s side and barreled on over to Izuku, seemingly oblivious to the tense standoff going on over her shoulder. “Hey there Midori! What a coincidence! I’m surprised that we haven’t run into each other on campus before now!”

For a moment, Izuku was just surprised at being referred to with a nickname like ‘Midori.’ But then he gave another glance over Mina’s shoulder at where Katsuki was making his approach, and the urge to rebuff her with some excuse for being late for something or other hit him hard. In the end his good manners won out over his discomfort. “Ah, yeah. Normally I’m in class right now. We got out early.”

“Aw, lucky,” Ashido replied.

Izuku couldn’t say he agreed. It was starting to seem more like a curse than a blessing.

Katsuki had finally reached them now, and he had schooled his face into an impassive frown that somehow managed to be even more intimidating. At least when he was glaring at him Izuku could figure out what he was feeling, but an unreadable Katsuki was an unpredictable Katsuki  and an unpredictable Katsuki was nerve-racking.

“Oh, this is Bakugou!” Mina piped up again, still blissfully unaware of Izuku’s inner turmoil as she prattled on. “Bakugou, this is Midoriya!”

Katsuku just rolled his eyes at that, and Izuku was surprised to find them agreeing a second time.

Being under his judgemental gaze made Izuku feel like he was a scrawny fourteen year old all over again. Taunts of ‘loser’ and ‘worthless’ and ‘Deku’ played in his head against his will in a voice that was not his own and he felt phantom hands grab his arms hard enough to leave bruises and he hated how much power that he apparently still held over him. This was ridiculous. Izuku thought that he was done being pushed around by Bakugou Katsuki. He thought he was done dealing with him at all when he left for college, but clearly that was just a pipe dream. Katsuki was here, and he wasn’t leaving his life any time soon.

And yet, even though it was clear that he was about as thrilled to see Izuku as Izuku was to see him, he hadn’t… done anything. There were no snide insults or passive aggressive comments. He just seemed… annoyed, really; maybe for having his time wasted with this little detour, and suddenly Izuku was pulled back into the present and reminded that they were adults now. It had been three, nearly four years since his interaction with Katsuki had gone beyond awkward run-ins in the hall in high school or at the party. Of course he wasn’t going to be that same person. Izuku definitely wasn’t. He never gave up his insulting nickname, not to mention his surly attitude, but Izuku supposed that as many things had to change, some had to stay the same.

Maybe this was an opportunity. An opportunity for the closure that Izuku had wanted so bad but never got the chance to receive, and to let old, festering wounds begin to heal.

An opportunity for a truce.

Izuku knew that Katsuki was much too proud to extend the olive branch first, so it was up to him.

Taking a deep breath and putting on his most winning smile, he said, “Yeah. Hello, Katsuki. How have you been?”

Katsuki just turned his nose up at him like he was a bad smell. “Don’t call me that.”

The olive branch withered and turned to ash in Izuku’s hands, bringing his smile along with it.

Maybe not.

It was then that Ashido seemed to finally key in on the tension hanging in the air like smoke. She blinked, looking at Katsuki in surprise. “Oh, you… know each other…?”

Oh, they knew each other all right. Izuku grimaced, fighting desperately for a way out of this exceedingly uncomfortable situation while social niceties and anxiety kept him rooted in place. Now that Mina had picked up on it too, nobody else really seemed to know what to say either, and they were seemingly stuck at a standstill.

Read the rest on Ao3!

[who-has-done-the-thing]

|| Read from the beginning ||      || Go to previous post ||

4 The Phantom Accident "The saying that gossip only lasts 75 days, is misleading," Tsukagawa Ayumi said irritatedly. "Let alone 75 days, seven or even five days is suspicious enough." "It's only natural. There's a ton of news going on all the time, after all." As he said that, Ariga Yuuichirou made eye contact with Ayumi, then frantically looked away. It had become October, the long rains finally stopping. The short summer had been sent off with a hot spell towards the end of September, but then the weather had done an about-face, enforcing a very rainy series of days, before finally settling into a nice fall sun. The university campus was also overflowing with energy. That's because during the summer, these students on the verge of adult hood all say "It's too hot" and stay inside, while during the winter, they say "It's too cold" and all huddle together in the dining hall. The boys in particular looked especially depressing in those seasons. But with the coming of the refreshing fall days, all those lazy students were out lounging on the lawn chatting, just like Ayumi and Ariga. However, the blue sky and pleasant breeze only dampened Ayumi's mood. Tamura Kyuuya, in the middle of his honeymoon with the daughter of the Masuguchi family, went missing in Hamburg, Germany almost a half month ago. They found his bloodied jacket in the Hamburg pleasure district, and though they confirmed it was his, the owner's location was still entirely unknown. She still hadn't heard back from Takei since he hurriedly flew off to meet with Yoshiko. And there was also no sign of the incident of the truck crashing into the hamburger shop being resolved soon either. In other words, when all was said and done, she had learned absolutely nothing new. What little they did show on TV was primarily footage of the grief-stricken bride being escorted out of Narita Airport in Takei's arms. Afterwards, she'd checked every gossip periodical for updates, but couldn't find anything of note. Since her father, Masuguchi, was quite influential in the financial world, it would be extremely simple to keep the curious press away from his daughter. But even so, ever since those puzzling words Tamura whispered to her just before leaving on the honeymoon, "My wife is a different woman," Ayumi had kept the secret locked in her own chest. Ayumi doubted that Tamura chose to disappear on his own, considering he had nowhere to go. "I wonder what happened to Tamura-san," Ayumi said, reclining on the grass. "I saw on TV the other day, a panelist said he's probably not still alive." "What kind of panelist?" "A travel panelist." "They have those? They bring out the panelists for anything, huh? Soon enough they'll be nothing but panels." "But you know Europe. One step into its shady underground and you're done for. Especially compared to how free-spirited Tamura was." "Don't say 'was' as if he's already dead," Ayumi glared at Ariga once again. "Sorry, sorry. I'm overwhelmed. I wonder if you secretly had a crush on Tamura-san?" This time Ayumi did not glare. Instead, she kicked his shin. "Ow ow ow…" Seeing the dramatically felled Ariga, Ayumi burst out laughing. ——Simultaneously, she realized how unreasonably petty and angry she had been. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I got so mad at you." "Go on without me," Ariga said while exaggeratedly clutching his chest. "Oh by the way, tomorrow I've got plans so I want to skip. Lend me your notes?" "I thought you'd ask that. Sure. I guess I'll show up," Ayumi answered, smiling. "——Tsukagawa-san," called a voice, which turned out to be from clubmate Sakurai Midori. "There you are, I was looking for you." Midori sat down next to Ayumi. "What do you want?" "You have got to hear this." Midori glanced in Ariga's direction. "I was, just leaving," he said, standing up. "Hey, Ariga-kun, be nice to the girls and bring us two coffees from the dining hall, would you?" Midori said. "I won't make you treat us though." "You owe me bus fare," Ariga said, speed-walking across the lawn. "So, what did you want to——" Ayumi started to say, then stopped. Midori's expression was unusually serious. "It's about Tamura-san. ——Tsukagawa-san, afterwards, did you meet up with that one guy?" "That one guy?" "The one you heroically slapped in the face." "Oh. Yeah. ——But how did you know that?" "I saw on TV. The McDonald's case. Among the people you were helping, I recognized the man from the hotel, so I did some digging. And it was the same guy." "Yeah, I met with Takei-san. But wow, nice investigating. How'd you do it?" "I have my ways. But…" Midori seemed reluctant. "What's wrong? You look grim." "You shouldn't get too close to that man," Midori said in a suddenly low voice. "Huh?" "Well——" Midori started to say, but she stopped when she saw Ariga arrive with two paper cups in hand. Then she said "Come to the club room when afternoon lecture is over" in a low voice. "I'll wait for you." "——Alright, sorry if I kept you waiting," Ariga said as he handed over the coffees. "Thanks. It was like 150 yen, right?" Midori said in her usual cheery tone. "It's alright, I can cover that much at least." "Why thank you very much. Bye, Tsukagawa-san!" Midori walked away holding the paper cup in her hand. Ayumi stared at her retreating figure, taken aback. Absolutely everybody was acting crazy. Ayumi had no idea what Sakurai Midori could have meant by saying "You shouldn't get close to that man" about Takei. What and how exactly did Midori investigate, anyway? "What are you daydreaming about?" Ariga said, bringing Ayumi to her senses. "Oh, nothing in particular." "Your coffee's spilling." "Eek! Oh crap, get it off!" When Ayumi gets enthusiastic about one thing, her attention to other things gets muddy. A modest lack of sleep combined with a stomach full from lunch and being forced to listen to a tedious lecture, that's the best sleeping medicine. Ayumi, having experienced this before, planned ahead by choosing a seat at the back of the room. Lo and behold, not fifteen minutes into the lecture she was dozing off,her eyelids finally coming together as she succumbed to a pleasant sleep…. She had a strange dream. A hallway extending forever into darkness. Ayumi walked down it. Depite the crushing blackness, she made her way step by step without hesitation, until she suddenly came upon a white door. When she went to open it, she found that there was no knob to speak of. In fact, the door was nothing more than a plain white board. Pushing on it had no effect. She pounded on the door with her fists, as hard as she could, and the sound, like a churchbell, reverberated in the unseen space on the other side. Then the door abruptly opened away from her, revealing Tamura standing there. "Tamura-san…" Ayumi stepped inside, relieved. Tamura was wearing the same white tuxedo he had worn at the reception. "Yo, Tsukagawa-san," Tamura smiled. "You're the only one I can trust." "Don't say that…" Ayumi tensed meekly. Suddenly, Ayumi noticed a red spot on the chest area of Tamura's white tuxedo. At first she thought it was a red rose, but the rose was getting bigger over time. No. ——That was no rose. Blood was spreading across his chest. "Tamura-san, your chest——" Ayumi started, but found that she couldn't speak the word blood. "Huh?" Tamura had a confused expression for a second, then realized and said "Oh this? Forget that. It's nothing. Just a scratch. But I was just borrowing this coat. Looks like I'll have to buy it now." "How can you say that?" Ayumi was extremely uncomfortable. The red stain continued to grow, staining Tamura's entire upper body a scarlet hue. "Yep, it's fine. I won't die no matter how much blood I lose." Tamura chuckled as he said that. "Because I'm already dead." Tamura removed his glasses. Previously his lenses had reflected back the light, obscuring his eyes—— Now, they were just two black pits. Ayumi was frozen, as if freezing water had been dumped on her entire body. She wanted to run, but her body wouldn't let her. "Tsukagawa-kun." Tamura reached his hand towards her. Without her realizing, the hand had turned into a dried out mummy hand. "The only one I trust is you." "Stop it! ——Go away!" Ayumi screamed. "You're my only friend…" Tamura opened his mouth and laughed. It burnt her as if that mouth had belched red hot fire. "Stay back! Stop!" "Tsukagawa-kun…" "Somebody! ——Help me!" "Tsukagawa-kun…" "Hey, Tsukagawa-kun!" A hand gripped her shoulder. ——Ayumi frantically raised her head. Ariga's face was there. The lecture continued. ——Ayumi took several deep breaths. "You alright? You were making a fuss." Ayumi softly touched her forehead, and felt that sweat had moistened it. She quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped herself. "Sorry. I was having a dream…" "Must have been a scary one." "Yeah…. I didn't think I was gonna survive." As if to reaffirm that she had been dreaming, Ayumi looked around the room. "You sure you're okay. You look super pale." "I'm fine. Uhh… I was out for 20 minutes, right? I need to borrow your notes." "It's too late for that," Ariga laughed. Seeing Ariga's cheerful face, Ayumi finally calmed down. This seriously wasn't like her, to feel this way over a dream. Thinking that the dream might have been a sign that Tamura was really dead, Ayumi felt depressed. The lecture ended, and the classroom grew noisy. Some official-looking woman came in and started talking to the lecturer. "——Tsukagawa-kun. Is Tsukagawa Ayumi-kun here?" When the lecturer called her name, Ayumi couldn't respond at first. "Hey, that's you," Ariga nudged her. "Ah—— I'm here!" She stood up. "You have a phone call." "Thanks. Excuse me." Ayumi quickly left rhe classroom and waited for the official woman to follow. "You've recieved a call from the hospital——" "The hospital?" "Your mother's name is Kiyomi-san, yes?" "Yes." The blood left Ayumi's face. "There's been an accident. They want you at the hospital as soon as possible——" She took down the address. She returned to the classroom. She put her textbooks in her bag. ——Without realizing it, she had done all those things. The next thing she knew, Ariga was pushing her into a taxi in front of the school. "Want me to come with?" "Thanks, but I'm fine. I'll be in touch." Ariga also seemed to have already told the driver the destination. As the taxi departed, Ayumi felt just a little bit dizzy. She was grateful for Ariga's kindness. Her mother in an accident. ——What the heck could have happened? Well, she was quite fond of taking walks. Could a car have hit her? Or maybe… "No, I shouldn't think about it," Ayumi muttered. The hospital was very far away. The taxi got caught in rush hour standstill traffic. Ayumi could do nothing except gaze anxiously out the window. But anyway, when she finally arrived fourty minutes later, Ayumi rushed into the hospital. The receptionist's response was not at all helpful in the least. She eventually said "Please try going to the emergency ward." Ayumi held in her urge to shout at the woman, and followed the signs saying emergency. However, their response was a vague "Hold on, I'll check" and they went somewhere. Ayumi glanced around the hallway irritatedly. A red telephone caught her eye. "Oh yeah." Did her dad know? If he wasn't already here, then they probably didn't tell him yet. Ayumi hurriedly dialed her dad's business phone. "——What, is this Ayumi? What is it?" she heard her father's carefree voice. "Hey, Mom was in an accident." "What?" "The hospital told me. I don't know the details, but…" "Hey, wait a sec. When was this?" "Let's see… They contacted me at school. Something like an hour ago." "Don't be rediculous." "What?" I just called your mother at home five minutes ago to tell her I'll be late. She sounded perfectly fine." "Huh? Really?" "This isn't a joke? Just call home and see." Ayumi called home as if under a spell. "Oh, Ayumi? What's wrong?" Hearing her mother's voice, Ayumi stood mouth agape. Then she said "Oh, um—— Nothing." "Huh?" "You're okay?" "Yeah. I'm great. Why?" "I'm glad." Ayumi hung up the phone. Her mother was surely just as confused as she was. "——Tsukagawa-san." The receptionist was calling for her. Ayumi stealthily ran away. "Good grief!" When she reached the main street, she blurted out in anger "Who on earth did this!?" She didn't have any acquaintances who would pull such a mean-spirited prank. However, the reality was that she'd been the victim of a prank call. Feeling vexed, Ayumi popped into a sweets and tea shop and ate sugary foods with all her might. There may theoretically be no cure to psychological stress, but this method appeared to be working quite well. After calming down via consumption of a fruit parfiat and insertion of two cakes into her stomach, Ayumi was able to ponder whether this had been a mere prank. Perhaps, for some reason, somebody wanted to lure Ayumi out here… But, there wouldn't even be any point to luring her. Ayumi returned her cup of iced coffee to the table. "Oh crap, I forgot!" She'd promised to meet Sakurai Midori in the club room. ——Was it too late? Ayumi would try going back to school. Midori seemed like she had something important to say. Ayumi quickly finished her iced coffee, left the store, and hailed a taxi. Rather than to the school, she would take it to the nearest station. There were financial obstacles to being a student detective. "To the station," she said, taking a seat and calming down, before suddenly her head filled with doubts again. What if the prank call had been to prevent her from meeting with Midori? ——As soon as she asked that, she was sure it was true. "Um——" Ayumi was going to ask the driver to take her straight to the school, but changed her mind when she thought of traffic congestion. Looking out the window, she watched clouds obscure the sunny sky, making everything dim. ——She got a bad premonition, and frowned against the glass.

To be continued in chapter 5...

[choicesruinedmylife]

Stay a Little Longer (Drake x MC)

Book: The Royal Romance Pairing: Drake x MC (Carissa)

Warnings: Brief language, mentions of alcohol Summary: This is an expansion of how I imagined spending the night in the tent with Drake happened.

The fire was nearly completely burnt out when Drake decided that the group should get some sleep. He stood up and began to kick dirt over the embers, sending flurries of dust into the air. One by one, they started to stand and help clean up the area near the fire. The only sounds heard were the leaves rustling in the wind and the shuffle of tired feet as they headed for their separate tents. Goodnights were mumbled, and the sound of each sleeping bag being zipped up reminded Carissa of how lonely she could feel even when surrounded by friends. She sat on top of her sleeping bag, hugging her knees to her chest and thought about how the group felt like it was drifting apart. Her mind raced to comprehend if her actions towards Drake today were acceptable. There was always a slight fear in her mind that she would do something to mess this up, that she would accidentally push him away by trying too hard to keep him close to her.

“You’re fine, Carissa. He even said to you that you’re the only girl for him. Everything is going okay; stressing will just make you act strange and then he won’t like you anymore so just don’t stress.” Carissa quietly whispered this to herself to calm her mind.

She began to blush thinking about the interaction they had at the tea party. Normally, she did not allow herself to show her jealousy to a guy that she liked. Especially not someone like Drake. Guys like that, at least in New York, became uncomfortable when a girl got jealous. He thought it was cute when I showed how jealous I was. At this point, Carissa’s confidence began to grow based on her memory of the way Drake looks at her sometimes and the things that he says when they have the rare opportunity to be alone together.

A daring thought popped in her head and she reached for the bottle of whiskey that she had stored in her bag. Carissa sat in her tent a few minutes longer, waiting to make sure that people weren’t awake and going to come out of their tents anytime soon. She very slowly began to unzip her tent, just enough for her to get through without being heard. Peeking her head out, she saw that all the tents were dark except for one, Drake’s. Thank God, he’s still awake. She breathed out a sigh of relief and quietly made her way over to his tent. Standing a little way’s away from his tent, she took a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart. You can do this, Carissa. Be brave. Screw it, drink some whiskey. She opened the cap to the bottle and took a big swig, hoping that it would give her to confidence to actually enter his tent. She tentatively walked up to his tent and unzipped the flap. Stepping inside, she saw that Drake was laying down shirtless. He looked up at her in shock, his heart starting to race as to why she would be in his tent. He stared at her, wondering how she could look so beautiful with her hair in a messy bun while wearing some old sweatshirt and a pair of spandex shorts.

After a few moments of silence, Carissa finally spoke. “Oh, well, I’m glad I didn’t knock.” She winked at him and made her way over to his sleeping bag.

“Stein…. what’re you doing here?”

“What does it look like? I’m here to seduce you. Plus, I brought whiskey.” Carissa smirked at him, tossing the bottle onto the pile of blankets near the foot of his sleeping bag. She slowly began to remove her sweatshirt. Drake’s eyes went wide as he saw a small patch of bare skin before realizing that her tank top had ridden up due to the static of the sweatshirt.

“What?” He blushed when he noticed that she had seen his eyes widen. Laughing quietly, Carissa tossed her sweatshirt into a corner and lay down next to him.

“Scoot over, you’re hogging all the space.” Begrudgingly, Drake sat up and moved to the side. “Thank you very much. But, you gotta admit that this is just a little bit romantic?” Carissa snuggled close to him, her face nuzzling into his neck as he pulled her closer to him. She closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat, feeling the way his body moved as he breathed. He slowly began to relax before speaking.

“It feels good to be out here with you.” Carissa smiled, knowing that slowly she was beginning to chip away at his hard shell.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. I wasn’t sure with the way that you were bossing everyone around today.” She sat up and reached for the bottle of whiskey, passing it to him.

“I was just trying to keep everyone safe. Most of them wouldn’t survive out here without me bossing them around.” He took a long drink of whiskey and wiped his lips off with the back of his hand.

“Yeah but you could have given less orders and kinda just let things happen. That is part of the fun of going camping. People make mistakes and it makes for great stories.” Carissa grabbed the bottle out of his hands and took a sip. Drake sat up fully, fiddling with the tie of his sweatpants as he spoke. “I guess my dad always ran a tight ship when we went camping. Maybe too much of that rubbed off on me…” His voice trailed off, staring at his hands before beginning again. He looked Carissa in the eyes, the deep brown of his irises soft and vulnerable. “I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t ruin the trip.”

Carissa placed her hands on the back of his neck, gently running her fingers through his hair. “Hey hey, you didn’t ruin the trip. To be honest, seeing you all bossy was kind of cute.” She smiled at him as he stared back, a slight blush creeping up on his cheeks.

“Really?” He looked at her, the tenderness in his eyes still there but with a hint of disbelief.

“Yeah, I mean cute in a very Drake sort of way. It’s pretty adorable that you take camping so seriously. I think you would have a heart attack at some of the camping stories that I have.” Carissa laughed as Drake shook his head.

“I don’t think I ever want to hear any of these, but I am also very curious.” He chuckled softly as Carissa handed him the bottle of whiskey. He took another sip. “If I finish this whole bottle, it is because your story was horrifying and I want to forget it.”

“Oh, come on, they weren’t that bad. I will tell you one that didn’t involve me as a child because then you will never want to take our kids camping.” Carissa mentally smacked herself in the back of the head for saying ‘our kid’. She paused for a second, waiting to see how he would react.

In the back of his mind, Drake was processing what she had just said. His rational side told him to not say anything at all and to just let her continue on with her story. The side of his brain that does not listen to any reason told him to grab her and kiss her like he would never get to again. Luckily for him, he managed to find a balance between the two.

“Our kids, huh? You think about this a lot, Stein?” He smirked at her, watching her eyes widen before she quickly yanked the whiskey away from him and took a big sip.

“Uh not that I haven’t ever thought about it but yeah sure…Anyways, this happened freshman year of college when I was still living in California.” Carissa stuttered for a bit before clearing her mind, so she could continue the story.

“Wait, you lived in California?” Drake interrupted her, wrapping his arms around her waist and gently guiding her to lay down. He took the bottle of whiskey and put it out of the way of where they were going to sleep.

“Yeah, I was born there and lived there until about 2 or 3 years ago but that is a story for another time.” Drake noticed a hint of sadness in her eyes that quickly went away when she restarted her story.

“So, second semester freshman year, we decided to go camping after spring break because it’s fun and something to do on the weekend. Obviously, we found someone to get us alcohol, so we were stocked for the trip. A couple cases of beer, some Jack Daniels, a bottle of Midori and green apple vodka. The first night we got there, it was a little late when we arrived, so we made dinner, set up camp. Pretty much all the boring stuff that you like to do.” Carissa laughed, lightly tracing circles on his ribs.

“How many people were camping with you?” Drake closed his eyes, relishing in the thought of camping with just the two of them.

“You need to stop interrupting.” Carissa glared at him, faking a pout for a few seconds until she began to laugh. “It was just my friend and her boyfriend who was also my friend. We had another friend who was supposed to come but he bailed. Don’t ask why he bailed, that is another long story for a different time.” Drake nodded his head and pretended to zip his lips shut. “I promise to not talk until you are done.”

“So, the first night we drank a little, I didn’t get too drunk and then went to bed. The second night, we were like fuck it and decided to try to finish as much of the alcohol as we could before going back to school the next day. We went to a private school that was a dry campus so drinking, technically, wasn’t allowed while we were enrolled but we all just tried not to get caught. That night, I got really fucking plastered because we ran out of mixers and I thought it was a good idea to mix the Midori and Vodka together. My friends were tired, so they went to bed early. Honestly, now that I think about it, they probably hooked up because I was out there for a while by myself. Long story short, I attempted to put out a fire by pouring more alcohol on it and then dumping all my water on it. I went to bed, woke up to my friend asking me why the fire was still going. Pretty much I was too drunk to notice that I didn’t actually put out the fire.” Carissa smiled and raised her hand in a sarcastic thumb’s up.

“Oh my god, Cari. Remind me to never trust you to put out a fire after drinking.” Drake genuinely laughed and pulled Carissa closer to him. She felt the vibrations of his laugh move through her body and enjoyed this moment, not knowing when the next one would be. It was comforting to hear him use the nickname that people used to use for her back home. It felt right that he would be the one to start saying it again.

“I’m glad that you found my story entertaining and actually laughed instead of trying to hide that handsome smile of yours behind your stern face.” Carissa slipped one of her legs between his in an effort to be as close to him as possible.

“I aim to please. Is there anything I can do to make your camping experience more enjoyable, Ms. Stein?”

“There is one thing…You can kiss me.” Carissa bit her bottom lip gently, searching his eyes for any indication that he wants her as much as she wants him.

“Stein….” Drake raised his thumbs to Carissa’s lips and traced them lightly. “You know I want to.”

“Then do it.” Carissa tilted her chin up towards him, feeling the warmth of his breath against her lips. Her heart was pounding in anticipation and she swore that he could feel it too. She saw the conflict on his face as he tried to decide what he thought was the right thing to do. Carissa held her breath, waiting to hear him say that kissing her is not the right thing to do. She waited to hear him talk about how he needs to be a good friend to Liam instead of doing something for himself, for once.

After what felt like minutes of waiting, he spoke, “Aw, hell.” Drake leaned in and kissed her, one hand tangling in her hair while the other slid down her back and pressed her closer against him. His fingertips brushed under her tank top, inching it up slowly. Carissa moved her hands down his chest, feeling his breath hitch in his throat and she got closer to the waistband of his sweatpants.  

“BEAR! BEAR!” Drake groaned, reluctantly pulling away from Carissa. They were both still breathing heavy, the desire in their eyes fading as reality set in. They listened to Hana and Maxwell laugh over the fact that Hana thought that Maxwell was a bear.

“Next time we go camping, it is just going to be us.” Drake grumbled, kissing the top of Carissa’s head while she tried to muffle her giggles at his annoyance towards the interruption.

“I’m in.” Carissa smiled up at him and he leaned down to kiss her one last time. When he pulled away, Carissa stifled a yawn, wanting to spend every moment she had with him awake.

“You’re tired.” Drake lightly ran his fingers over her back and shoulders. “We should get some sleep since you will have to wake up before the others and sneak back to your tent.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. I just want to stay in here with you forever.” She murmured into his chest, leaving light kisses. The feeling of Drake’s fingertips lightly tracing her back lulled Carissa to sleep. Drake lay awake for a little while longer, holding her close. He memorized what it felt like to have her in his arms as she slept. He memorized the feeling of her body pressed against his in a way that was more intimate than any of the one night stands he had in the past. ————————————————————————————- The alarm on Carissa’s phone began to ring, jarring her out of her sleep. She lay there wondering why she felt so warm before realizing that Drake’s arms were still wrapped around her. Her back was pressed up against his chest, his head in the nook between her shoulder and jaw. She reached forward and turned off her alarm. Drake’s arms pulled her closer to him and she held her breath, not wanting to wake him. Turning her head, Carissa pressed light kisses to his temple, savoring his scent and the warmth of his body against hers. Slowly, she began to lift his arm so she could leave. Carissa was finally able to sit up  when Drake’s arm reached out and grabbed her waist.

“Don’t go yet.” Drake spoke softly. Carissa shivered slightly at the husky sound of his voice. It was much gruffer than it normally was but the hint of tiredness caused her to want to stay and lay in that tent with him for as long as possible.

“I need to get back to my tent before everyone else wakes up.” She turned to face him, lightly brushing strands of hair out of his face. He looked so peaceful with his eyes still closed, trying to pull her closer to him.

“Who cares…I just want you to stay.” Drake yawned, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes so he could look at her. She started to turn away again, willing herself to leave the tent so they wouldn’t get caught together. “You’re so gorgeous, I want to wake up next to you every day.” He slowly sat up and leaned forward, gently kissing the back of her neck. He made his way up to her ear, pressing a kiss behind it that made her inhale sharply. Carissa sighed and turned back to face him. He grabbed her waist and pulled her onto his lap. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his.

“Just. Stay. A Little. Longer.” He punctuated each word with a kiss, sliding his hands underneath her tank top. Carissa melted under the feeling of his calloused hands on the soft skin of her back.

“Drake…” She leaned back, grabbing his face in both of her hands. “I really need to get going. If Maxwell or Hana or, God forbid, Liam wakes up and sees me coming out of your tent, we are so screwed. We would be in such deep shit. I know I am always the one pressuring you to go against your morals for once but I don’t want to be the cause of you losing your best friend. You’re right. We need to do this in the right way.” She whispered softly, her hands sliding to the back of his neck.

“No, no. You should get going. I’m glad we were able to spend the night together.” Drake tried to hide the sadness in his voice as he was jerked back to the reality that being caught together was a terrible idea. Carissa leaned forward, kissing him softly. Drake gently bit her bottom lip before flicking his tongue against it. Carissa parted her lips slightly to allow him access. There was a hint of the whiskey from the night before. She moaned softly into his mouth as he deepened the kiss. Carissa gently let go of Drake, going over to the corner of the tent to grab her sweatshirt. She quietly began to unzip the tent, making sure that the coast was clear before she went outside.

“Stein, wait.” She heard the rustle of the sleeping bag as Drake got up and walked over to her. Drake turned her towards him and kissed her passionately. “Just something to keep you warm as you walk back to your tent.”

“See ya in a bit, Walker.” Carissa smirked at him, biting her bottom lip as she turned around and left his tent. As soon as Carissa was back in her own tent, she shrieked into her pillow, ecstatic that she finally got to spend an entire night in Drake’s arms. She already felt excitement for the next time she would have an opportunity to share a night with him.

[hopes4gf]

Wings of Fire (A MHA Fanfic): The Thunder

The next week we get our hero costumes back and try them on.

I suit up with my dress and my metal armor, analyzing my figure before going out to the Indoor Battle Field.

The girls wait for me expectantly and their jaws drop.

"Jeez, you have an amazing figure!" Uraraka says.

"Oh please, nothing could compare to Momo," I scoff.

Momo blushes nervously, adjusting her suit after my comment.

From the corner of my eye, the boys ogle me and Momo, even poor little Midoriya whose eyes are slowly being covered my Iida and my brother.

I spot Bakugo staring at me and I give him a little wave, he immediately looks away, slowly turning pink.

I see Kirishima whispers something to him.

"Shut up, shitty hair!" He exclaims, pushing Kirishima.

I roll my eyes and smile to myself. It's been a couple days since our interaction in the classroom. Fuyumi practically yelled at me when she found out I froze him to a table, on the other hand, Dad didn't seem to give a damn, resorting to a head pat of approval, which is a start for our relationship. I assume he's already said something to the group, or at least to Kirishima, the member he seems closest to based off his reaction. For the past week, he's been making comments about everyone else other than me and peeks glances at me during class.

But curiosity is put aside for now.

"For this trial, you'll be put into a simulation with two teams. The villains team will have to protect and defend a weapon hidden in this building, the heroes team will have to capture and desensitize the weapon. They will be a series of two on two battles. The pairs will be drawn by lottery," All Might instructs.

We prepare and give each other looks of approval.

The first pairs drawn are Midoriya and Uraraka vs. Iida and Bakugo.

"Wish me luck, hot stuff," Bakugo says, stepping up to the start while cracking his knuckles.

"Don't worry, I will," I say.

"What's with you and him?" Mina asks.

I return to my senses.

"A little teasing never hurt anyone, I'm just playing along," I say with confidence.

"Sure, but it does look an awful lot like flirting. And I know plenty about that," Sero says.

"Sure you do, scotch tape," I tease, poking fun at Sero's quirk.

We all walk with All Might to the surveillance room to watch the fight unfold.

Suddenly, I realize that Shoto is at Momo's side instead of mine, they laugh together as they converse.

Is my brother really flirting with a girl?

I return my vision back to the cameras and see that the match has already started. I watch as the screen fills with the view of Bakugo's explosions, his explosions send the couple backwards. I stare at his fitted frame underneath his gear. His tongue pokes out slightly as his eyes focus on his targets. He's motivated. But I wonder by what.

"Midori-kun, avoided it!" Mina exclaims.

"Here comes, Bakugo!" Kaminari says, watching as the explosion user runs towards the couple.

"I won't do much damage so that the fight gets stopped but I'll get close enough!" Bakugo exclaims as he runs.

Midoriya fights back, slinging Bakugo's right arm behind him in a suplex.

"Kacchan, you usually start with a big right swing. you think I haven't seen you?" Midoriya explains.

Bakugo looks at him in confusion.

"My 'Deku' means 'I can do it'!" Midoriya says, recalling a nickname Bakugo usually calls him.

'Even though you're scared, that's what I hate about you!" Bakugo exclaims, getting fired up by Midoriya.

He kicks Midoriya into the wall, his explosions hitting towards Uraraka's direction. Midoriya tells her to run and she does.

"Looking away? Must be sure of yourself," Bakugou scoffs.

Midoriya attempts to tie his leg in capture tape but he breaks the tape with his explosions.

"That guys' amazing," Sato says.

"He's not even using his quirk against the guy who was first on the entrance exam," Sero exclaims.

All Might stares at the monitor with a grin on his face.

Midoriya escapes and we see bakugo chasing after him. it's a game of cat and mouse at this point. he stops and realizes Bakugo is behind him. Bakugo's wrist grenades glow.

"They're filled," Bakugo says with scowl as Midoriya stares at his gauntlet grenades.

"I'm not afraid of you!" Midoriya exclaims.

Bakugo powers up his explosion sending it through the hall and breaking down the walls, the ground shakes from the power of his explosion.

"This is supposed to be a class, damn it!" Kirishima says.

"The more that's stored in these gauntlets, the bigger the blast! Come on, use your quirk, Deku...Let's fight with our fists!" Bakugo exclaims, laughing intimidatingly.

Bakugo lunges forward but throws an explosion towards his back.

"No!" Mina exclaims.

"What the hell was that?" Kirishima asks.

"Come on, Deku. it's your favorite right swing!" Bakugo taunts, hitting his elbow with the gauntlet.

He charges an explosion and pivots.

"You're nothing!" Bakugo exclaims, slamming him into the ground.

"Those aren't actions of a hero," tokoyami says.

"Well, Midoriya was pretty amazing, too.." Kaminari says, scratching his neck nervously.

"Bakugo seriously does play the part well," I comment.

"He's running away? Now, that's not very manly but he has no choice. But something's off, why?" Kirishima asks.

"Why don't you use your quirk?" Bakugo asks frustratedly.

"Because I want to surpass you, you idiot...!" Midoriya says with confidence.

"Don't look at me like that, you damn nerd!" Bakugo yells.

Midoriya's arm suddenly starts having a veiny glow, activating his quirk. We all watch in awe at the quite personal battle ahead of us. Bakugo puts his hand out prepping for an explosion but Midoriya punches it up, blowing out all the windows of the building. I look to the other monitor and see Uraraka hugging the weapon.

"Retrieved!" Uraraka exclaims.

The classmates leap for joy at Midoriya's victory. I laugh as I see the look of shock wiped across Bakugo's face. He's absolutely mortified.

When both teams return everyone hounds Midoriya asking him questions and praising him. Bakugo huffs and puffs, not accepting his defeat.

"THAT DAMN DEKU~! HE DODGES ONE EXPLOSION AND SUDDENLY HE'S A FUCKING SAINT," Bakugo yells.

"It wasn't even your fault, Iida got distracted by your powers. You did great," I say, trying to calm him down.

Bakugo lets out a sigh when put a hand on his shoulder, activating my ice quirk to cool his explosions down. He sinks into my touch, his breathing slows. It works.

"Whatever," Bakugo mutters, starting to blush again from my actions.

"I'm just trying to help," I say as he turns away from me.

"I know that, dumbass," Bakugo says stubbornly, walking away from me.

I smile to myself as he joins Kirishima and Sero.

Later, I'm paired with Mina on the Villains team and we win due to my ice blocking strategically placed at the entrances.

When I walk back I see Bakugo's head hanging low with a smirk across his lips, his arms are cross and he finally looks up to face me.

"That's one hell of an ice quirk, hot stuff," Bakugo compliments.

"Thanks," I say with a soft smile, not questioning his actions.

He chuckles to himself softly as I walk by towards my brother Shoto.

"What the hell was that all about?" Shoto asks, questioning me and Bakugo's interaction.

"Just something I liked to call...pushing buttons," I say, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Shoto rolls his eyes at me and returns to watch the final matches.

I peek a glance at Bakugo and catch him staring at me, but this time his eyes stay glued to mine. I wink in his direction and his eyes widen. He mutters to himself before blushing. What a tsundere...

Later, me and Shoto go home.

"How was school, twins?" Fuyumi asks as usual.

"It was good, we did Battle trials," I explain.

"Cool, you guys tired from using your quirks all day?" Fuyumi asks.

"I'm kind of tired," Shoto says.

"I actually wanted to go out tonight, you know for a midnight walk to the park," I lie.

My actual plan is to go visit my mother. In the envelope I opened from last week, my mother ordered me to go to the hospital because she has something for me.

"Sure you can! Just be safe and check your phone," Fuyumi says.

I nod and head out the door.

I race to the train station and head to the hospital. When I make it there, I knock on mom's door and walk in to see Mom staring out the window.

"HI mom!" I greet with a smile.

"Aki! You finally came," Mom says, standing from her seat.

"No, sit down! Please," I say.

Mom sits back down and I sit beside her.

"Como estas, mija? (How are you, my daughter?)" Mom asks in her mother tongue.

"Todo bien (all good), school was quite interesting today," I say switching back and forth from the language.

"Tell me about it. I'd rather hear it in person than in one of your letters," Mom says with a smile.

"Well. We went through a battle trial today. Me and one of my friends were paired up and I used my ice quirk to block my opponents out. We won our round. And the kid I told you about, Midoriya, he had an interesting fight. Even Sho was impressed," I explain.

"Que bueno (how good), how is Shoto?" Mom asks.

"He's doing okay, at least I think so. He's been working hard and training like usual. Dad pushes him a lot so, I guess it's not a surprise. But actually, there's a girl I think he's interested. I know, because she's my friend," I say.

"Naturally, we all eventually fall in love in school. That's actually how I met your father," Mom says.

I raise a brow and move closer to her.

"Me and your father met back in high school. He was a tough cookie to crack. I would tease him all the time for his big temper. It was a common joke among us. One day he confronted me about it and I developed feelings for him. But then he bought out my family so we could get married, I was uncomfortable with that but I had to keep reminding myself of the man I cared for. That's why I send letters to you and Shoto. I don't know what he might dictate next," Mom explains.

"But what happened that made you leave?" I ask her.

"You ought to know now that you're older I guess. I'll tell your brother eventually but I feel like you deserve to know before him....your father used to lash out at me. He bought my parents out so he could make you. A child with a powerful hybrid quirk. His successor. We had Touya at first but...then he disappeared. If you ask me, he was even worse when hitting Touya than Shoto. He couldn't take it anymore so he left. Imagine, losing your son, having an abusive husband, being exploited for your power and fertility. Shoto was his masterpiece, his project, his son. But he never took the chance to acknowledge Natsu or Fuyumi. But his biggest mistake was overlooking you. You're Shoto's twin and I believe you have just as much capability as your brother. But he doesn't understand that. I called you here to tell you this: prove to Enji that you are worth his time. That no matter what, you won't be overlooked. That you can do what you dream of and that his neglect isn't gonna stop you," Mom admits.

"Did he ever love you? Truly love you?" I ask.

"There was a time. We were in the car listening to our song, and he was just...laughing. He was so happy. I'd never seen him like that before. We wanted each other badly, but his pride got the best of him. Never let a man do that to you...ever," Mom says.

I nod, taking her advice.

"Speaking of love... what you had with dad, you know the part about high school, there's...this guy. He's kind of like dad in a way even though he hates him. He's got this big ego around his friends but when we're alone it's like he's trying to break from the façade but he's too scared to admit it. I tease him all the time and he always passes glances at me. He blushes all the time too. But even when he's honest he doesn't know how to act. I want to help him," I say.

"Because you care about him? Or just because you're attracted to his personality?" Mom asks.

"Because I know there's a person inside of him that's focused and determined, who cares about people and wants to become emotionally aware. He can't be a hero without it," I say. "And what made you conclude this?" Mom asks.

"Even though he puts up that front, I watch him fight and I watch him think. He's a smart guy. Strategic, agile, focused, he knows exactly what he wants in life. But inside he's absolutely mortified of the results. He told me himself, his number one enemy is competition. He doesn't want to be dragged down. He wants to stand tall so he can feel some kind of emotion. That's why he's egoistic and has a terrible temper. He uses these things to cope with how he feels," I say.

"And does he have feelings for you?" Mom asks.

"Well, I'm kind of skeptical. I usually sit alone in an empty classroom to eat my lunch and focus, and when I do, he's always there waiting for me. This happened after he flirted with me and I told him that even though I wasn't interested, that I enjoyed his company. After that, he started coming back. We'd joke about our friends and tease each other for our mannerisms or actions or things we'd done during the day. And he'd call me stupid nicknames like dumbass, idiot, hot stuff, loser and all that. And then, he pinned me down one day and he kept asking me why I teased him. I told him that..."

I explain, hesitating before continuing.

"You made it this far, go on," Mom advises.

I laugh to myself.

"I told him he'd need to grow some balls before getting with me. He said I was trying to soften him up, but he did that on his own. He was opening up in his own way, expressing his feelings, apologizing, and complimenting me, like a regular human, but he's scared to completely open up," I explain.

"It's because he's been treated like that before. He knows what it's like to have no power, that's why he's scared to have someone see him for who he really is, an emotional piece of shit. It happened with your father too. I was in the same boat," Mom says.

"So...what should I do?" I ask. "Keep meeting with him. Ask a couple honest questions about life. If he doesn't crack it's not worth it. If he even has a hint of interest, he'll start to open up. From there, you could take the reigns if he's too scared to do it himself," Mom advises.

I kiss Mom's cheek.

"Thanks mom," I say, thanking her for the advice.

"Of course, mija," Mom says with a smile.

Suddenly, I get a call from Fuyumi.

"Yeah I know...I'll be there...I know...I'm near Dad...I know he can track me down...I know I'll be home in 10...okay,' I say into the phone, then hanging up.

"Dad's onto me. I gotta blast," I say, gathering my stuff.

"Keep me posted about that boy," Mom says.

"I will and I love you. By the way, those are pretty," I say, pointing to a bouquet a mom's favorite flowers.

"Enji brings me them," Mom admits.

My smile drops.

"He visits?" I ask.

"No, but he sends them every week," Mom says.

I smile at her before turning to leave and hop on my train.

------------------------------------------

A couple weeks later, we are invited to a field trip to USJ for a special training course from All Might. On the way there, we all chat on the bus about the recent events of school.

”How you doing class pres?” I ask Iida, whose just been appointed class president by Midoriya.

”Perfect as usual!” Iida says.

“Bakugo’s always angry, so he’ll never be that popular,” Tsu says.

”WHAT DID YOU SAY?! ILL KICK YOUR ASS!” Bakugo yells.

”See?” Tsu says, proving her point

”He’s just an angry pomeranian,” I comment, using the nickname for the first time in front of the class.

The whole class erupts with laughter. Bakugo turns to me and looks angrily at me as I laugh along.

”Shut up, Icy-Hot!” Bakugo yells.

”I thought that was my nickname,” Shoto says.

I snicker to myself and Bakugo growls underneath his breath.

”You damn twins...you’ve got the same mindset with different personalities,” Bakugo says.

”Technically, twins have their own telepathic genes that enhance their quirks,” Kaminari says.

”That’s why they work better together,” Midoriya says with a smile.

”And who would know that? Shoto’s been working against me this whole time,” I say.

”Even if you are against each other, you have similar moving patterns, meaning you have the same objective,” Midoriya says, pulling out his notebook.

”Damn nerd,” Bakugo mutters.

”He’s observant, not a nerd ‘suki,” I say in a low tone so only Bakugo can hear me.

”Same fucking thing,” He scoffs.

”You two seem awful close having just met,” Kirishima says, eavesdropping.

”What? No,” I say, denying the statement.

Bakugo smirks devilishly.

”We’ve spoken a couple times in private,” Bakugo says honestly to his friend.

”Is that so?” Kirishima asks me.

”S-sure,” I stutter, being put on the spot.

”Look who’s getting nervous this time around,” Bakugo whispers.

”Whatever, dipshit,” I scoff.

”Not gonna lie, I like it when you call me nicknames. It’s kinda hot if you ask me,” Bakugo says.

I feel a flush appear on my cheeks, I realize I’m blushing profusely. I look away from him and hide my head into my hands.

Soon, the awkwardness dies down and we make it to the the USJ.

We meet Aizawa-sensei there  and wait for All Might.

Suddenly we realize All Might isn’t here and a dark portal opens....villains.

This should be fun...