#idk What to call this silly au i have of silver in his previous life having been alive during the human fae war and met general Lilia
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
I had this in my google docs unfinished so I decided to at least add an ending to my silly draft based off of a au I had.
âWouldnât a human like you be more afraid of me?â
âEr..why should I be scared of you sir?â
âIs it not quite obvious? Iâm a fae, you're a child of man. All humans hate fae.â
âFather?â Lilia snapped out of his train of thought to see Silver looking at him a bit concerned.
âHmm, yes Silver?â
âYou looked like you were zoned out or in some trance. Are you alright?â
âKufufu, of course I am, I just get a little stuck in the past. Thatâs all~â
âAh, okay.â
Lilia stared at Silver longer which led to a long awkward silence between the two.
âFather, I need to head to class now.â Silver said, breaking the silence as he went to leave.
Lilia nodded and watched Silver walking away leaving the dorm.
SilverâŠhe reminded Lilia so much. So much of a human boy he once knew.
***
Lilia wasnât sure why this human boy was following him. Even though the boy tried to be discreet about it, his unique features such as his silver hair and his aurora-like eyes.
Still he decided to humour this child of man and pretended not to notice him.
Soon after having enough of humouring the child, he turned around immediately, leading to the boy yelping in surprise at being caught so soon.
âWhat are you doing following me?â Lilia demanded.
The boy looked a bit nervous to say anything but still said what he wanted to say. ââŠI was curious to know more about you.â
âKnow more about me?â Lilia let out a laugh at the thought of that. How silly can this human be?
The silver haired boy nodded. âWell, yes.â
âIâm curious, child of man, how did you find me?â
âWell I like to explore the forest a lot and saw you so, I got curious and followed you.â
âMy, how brave of you. A human daring enough or perhaps foolish to go after a fae.â
âFoolish?â
âWell yes. Wouldnât a human like you be more afraid of me?â
âEr..why should I be scared of you sir?â
âIs it not quite obvious? Iâm a fae, you're a child of man. All humans hate fae.â
âI donât hate you though?â
With how the boy responded it only seemed to amuse Lilia more. Is this boy not aware of the war that is raging as of right now between the human and fae?
Lilia signed. âChild of man, shouldnât you be going back to whatever home you may have back at your human village-â
âI donât have a home.â
That surprised the war general. Lilia raised an eyebrow.
The silver haired boy fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. âNever had one really.â
âSo you never had parents or anything at all?â The human boy wanted to know more about the fae but now here was Lilia prodding the boy questions about his home life.
The boy hesitated before continuing. âI do have a dad, but heâs always drinking so I donât consider the house I live in a home.â
Ah. So the boyâs father was an alcoholic.
âYour mother?â
The boy shrugged. âShe left after I was born.â
âAnd here you are, a child of man, curious of what humans consider their enemy. The fae.â Lilia said, concluding it all up.
âIâm curious about a lot of things.â The boy said.
Lilia chuckled. âWe had an interesting conversation for sure but I must be going now, child of man.â
âWhy?â
Was it not obvious from his attire? He was still dressed up for war.
âHave you not heard of the fae-human war that is still going on?â He asked incredulously.
âI hear adults talking about it but I didnât know you were part of it.â The boy said bluntly.
Lilia snorted. âAnyways I must be going.â
âWill I see you again?â The boy asked curiously.
ââŠweâll see.â
Once again they met. The boy saw him trudging through the forest and instead of trying to follow him in secret since the fae general already knew of his existence he simply bounced up to him.
âYouâre back!â The boy said happily.
âYes. I am back.â Lilia responded back dryly.
The two then walked in silence before the boy broke the silence. âIs the war over?â
Lilia blinked. âIâm sorry?â
âSince youâre here not on a battlefield or anything that would mean the war is over.â The silver-haired boy said.
âThat. Is an interesting conclusion you have.â Lilia noted. He knelt down to look at the boy directly in his eyes. âTell me what do you think when you hear about war?â
âUh, I know itâs bad. Itâs like a long argument right?â
âSomething like that. In war, you can have truces between periods of time and then resume the fight to win over something.â
The boy scrunched up his face. âThat sounds complicated. But youâre here now so I wanna know more about you now!â
This child of man really did have a short attention span.
âWell I am a fae.â Lilia said.
âBut whatâs your name?â The boy asked curiously. âIâll tell you my name! Itâs Silver!â
âIs your name Silver because of your hair?â The fae general asked.
Silver thought about it and shrugged. âMaybe.â
âMost fae donât reveal their name you know.â Lilia said.
The boyâs expression dropped. âOh. Mr. Bat!â
âIâm sorry?â
âMr. Bat. Your new nickname until I get to know your real name. You remind me of a bat.â
He was surprisingly close to what type of fae he was. âFine. Call me that if you want.â He stood up. âBefore you said you didnât hate fae. Most children of man would be frightened by us fae.â
âYou donât look scary.â Silver answered.
âYou never would see me be truly scary until you're an enemy on a battlefieldâ Lilia thought.
âI should go back before it gets dark.â Silver said after noticing how it was evening already.
âAlright. You are off now then.â
âWill I see you again?â
âLilia?â Lilia blinked and looked to see Malleus looking at him. âYou were staring at your food untouched for a while. Are you unwell?â
âAh, no Iâm fine Malleus. Just reminiscing.â
The former general never did answer the boyâs question but still saw him again from time to time. It was rather nice back then to have someone not revere him in awe or fear.
It was a shock to him when he learned of the boyâs demise of being killed by the other villagers just for interacting with a fae. The villages had seemed to think the boy would have been too far infected to be saved so he was killed.
Lilia thought back to the question the boy constantly asked.
âWill I see you again?â
He smiled.
He would see him again reborn and come to adopt him.
#twst silver#silver twst#lilia vanrouge#twisted wonderland#silver twisted wonderland#twst#lilia twst#silver!reincarnate!au#I need a better au name#idk What to call this silly au i have of silver in his previous life having been alive during the human fae war and met general Lilia#at the time before he died#lol#this au i made up with silver been a child lilia used to knew#makes me feel silly#unfinished draft which I decided to finish quickly#to not leave it unfinished#the ending a bit confusing#since I rushed abit to put some ending to this#I Hope this is clear#selkiewrites
70 notes
·
View notes
Text
Dream Come True
Steve harrington x Hopper! Reader (coraline AU)
Summary: escaping your everyday life after you move to live with your father couldn't have been something you wanted more, luckily for you you are given the chance
Warning: swearing, Horror themes like idk It's Coraline i think that speaks for itself no?
So i don't know if im going to end up making this a series or not but hey if this does really well then I might, but just this is so long so i might have to.
~~~~~
In front of you sat a small box with many opportunities, two small glossy black buttons, thread and the promise of freedom...
You watched the rain drops race down the window intently as your father drove you home from the headwear store. you'd only been In Hawkins for only half a month, having to move there with your father after your mom died. And you had only spent the time unpacking, today you had finally convinced your dad to take you to get supplies so you could really make your new rooms more like you.
The car bounced slightly causing your head to lift and hit the window. "Ow!"
"Sorry pot hole..." Hopper said glancing over to you. "You alright?"
"Yea...but guess it takes a while to figure out if you have brain damage or not.." You muttered sitting straight in the car seat, crossing your arms over your chest.
"C'mon don't be that way...you get to redecorate your room..that must be exciting for you? Give you something to do while we wait for the rain to clear up. "I guess..." You perked up at a new idea popping into your head.
"Maybe I can start a garden in the front too? Make it look pretty? I have a garden box so we wouldn't need anything, el can help me too!?" You said almost as a question seeing if he would go along with the idea.
"Sure... Sounds good, just wait till the rain clears up so you aren't bringing mud in." You frowned lightly, ut had been raining for the past three days without any sign of stopping soon. "Yea...sure."
The car came to a slow stop infront of the house. "I'll help you get this stuff inside and make you lunch but I've got to go back to work." You nodded as you got out of the car.
You'd begun by rearanging the few things of furniture in the room,while hopper set to work at making you a lunch. You starting with the dresser dragging it across the room to set it in its new place.
You dusted off your hands and turned your attention to look at the new space you made, stopping once it was caught by something on the wall where the dresser once was.
"Hello..." You slid across the floor and dragged your fingers across the outline of a small door in the wall.
"Hey Dad!?" You yelled getting up to look for him. "Whats up?"
"What this?" You asked now running your finger over the key hole. "Do you have the key!?" You asked hopefully turing to look up at him in the dokr way. He shook his head and shrugged. "I...maybe? I'm not sure...if i did it's probably boared up! They're would be no point."
You rolled your eyes. "Now Food in on the counter your sister is with Mike so make sure to call in about an hour to check on her-"
"Can you please look for a key?" You cut in. He sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. "I can, but I'm late so just finish unpacking and setting up and I'll look for it when I come back." You huffed but nodded and started to finish setting up your room.
After about an hour and a half you'd finished painting, unpacking and decorating your room, you had finished. Even had lunch and called El just like hopper had asked. Now you simpily sat in your room staring at the photo of your previous bestfriends that sat on the bedside table.
Back in New York with your mom you never had to worry about being bored, all your friends where their and there where places to go. Hawkins was diffrent, granted you where still adjusting but that didn't make it any less difficult.
The phone rang snapping you of of your thoughts. You hustled across the house to puck it up. "Hello?"
"Y/n! Thank god you picked up! Just the girl I was looking for!"
"Hey Robin,whats up?"
"Not much, I was just wondering since the rains cleared up would you be intrested in taking a tour of Hawkins with me and Steve?"
You thought about it for a moment, The first day you'd mobed here and met everyone they where the two you'd hit it off with, well You did with Robin anyways so you didn't see why you couldn't get out.
"Yea...I'd love to!"
"Cool! We'll be there in a few."
"So what does one do around here?" You asked following beside Robin And Steve down the sidewalk. "Well there's the arcade... " steve started but quickly trailed off. "There are some shops around town." Robin added.
"Is there like, i dunno a mall maybe? A movie theater at least?"
"Movie theater yes, mall not so much."
"It a...it burned down." Steve informed. "Oh...wow..." You followed them through town, going in and out of every store that was open.
"So Steve...." You attempted to start while looking through a clothing Rack in a thrift store.
"Got a girlfriend?"
"Uh no..no ya know I'm kinda just testing the waters...seeing if theres anyone worth dating around here."
"And?" You asked not looking up at him, you could clearly tell he was trying to act cool around you.
"And?" He repeated your question.
"Is there?...anyone worth dating around here?"
"Nah none that are really my type." He said nonchalantly fixing his hair in the mirror across from him. "Wow...are you always this increadibly douchie? Or are you like this just for me?" You asked leaning on clothing rack to look at him better.
"What I'm not...I'm not being-"
"You kinda where Harrington." Robin said from across the store earing a chuckle from you. His face flushed and he pretened to look at a jacket that seemingly caught his attention. "Ah don't be that way stevie...it's sooo charming, I'm practically swooning for you." You said sarcastically. "Shut up!"
The sun was hanging low through the trees casting that late afternoon orange glow upon the three of you as you walked back home.
"This place is...pretty boring...how do you guys manage?"
"Hawkins isn't all bad...besides It's a lot more exciting than you would think." Robin said while offering you some of her candy. "You just gotta...know where to look."
"Sometimes the intresting things find you." Steve said stopping once your house came into view. "If you say so...thanks for showing me around."
"No problem, maybe we can hang out again soon." She offered as you started to continue forward. "Yea! That would be great!" They both waved to you as you stepped into the house shutting the door.
You placed a few of the nick nacks you'd bought onto the top of your dresser for decoration, glancing at something that wasn't there before. A glossy black key.
You plucked it from its spot on the dresser and turned to the small door quickly slidding across the floor once again to get to the door. You hestitantly dragged the key across the outline of the door ripping the wall paper open before slipping the key inside.
It slid in perfectly, giving you some sort of relife as it clicked open, you pulled it open being met with nithing but brick.
"Damn..." You huffed and shut the door and placed the key back ontop of the dresser.
Something yanked you from your sleep suddenly and you lied awake, a sliver of silver moonlight hitting your face through the curtains as you did so.
It was quiet as you lied there except for an ever so faint sound of humming that you just barrely missed. You stayed still fir a second trying to pin point the sound, it continued for a while as you did so softly floating through the air from an unknown source, you finally gave in and tossed the covers off and stood up from your bed moving around the room to find it stopping when your foot hit something on the ground.
"What the hell!?" Jumping back slightly at the contact you looked down seeing a long greyish green vine across your bedroom floor. "What the hell..." You repeared examining it closer you followed it with your gaze seeing it came from the small opening of the little door a slight glow came from it along with little white particals that floated up into the air around it.
You moved carefully over to it kneeling next to it careful to avoide the vine protruding from it, as you did you could hear the humming closer now. You pulled the door open getting a blast of air blown back into your face along with a bright glow. You gasped slightly watching a tunnle appear almost instantly infront of you.
The humming slightly louder now. With out a second thought you climbed through, eventually met with another door which you easily pushed open and found yourself crawling through only to see you'd cralwed back into your bedroom. "Huh?" The humming was louder, unmistakable too, you knew that song. You looked at your bedroom door seeing the light from the living room shining in.
"Dad!?" You stood up and exited the room being greeted by the smell of food cooking. "Dad? What are you do-" you stopped a few feet from the counter seeing him move around the kitchen
"Hey sweet pea! You're just in time for dinner!" You gulped thickly when he turned to face you. "Oh god...I must be mistaken...you aren't my dad...my dad-" it was him but, diffrent. He seemed plaer yet more lively.
"Doesn't cook?" He asked guesturing to the freshly cooked meal. You couldn't help but stumble back a little bit as he approached you with a light hearted laugh. "Well thats because I'm your other father dear! Well better father"
"Other...Father?...wha-"
"Why don't you get your mom and Tell her dinner is ready!"
"Mom?
"Well your Mother of course silly! I actually think she's in the garden out front." He pushed you forward lightly and you glanced back cautiously before going to the front door.
You opened the door and stepped outside being greeted by a beautifully bright garden. "Holy sh-"
"Watch your mouth young lady!" You jumped turning tonthe voice and and gulping.
"Oh my god....mom!?" You stopped and covered your mouth feeling tears briming in your eyes.
"Hello sweet pea!" She opened her arms and you instantly ran to her and hugged her. You could tell just like with your father she was diffrent but couldn't exactly tell whatbwas diffrent.
"You...your alive!"
"Well of course I am! Oh come look at this!"
She pulled away taking your hand and pulling you down the steps of the pourch into the flower filled front yard.
She held your shoulders as you watched the flowers practically bloom before you. "I planted them just this afternoon! Our faviorte!" It was true the flowers before you where always both you and your mothers faviorte.
"They're beautiful mom! Oh!" You turned to her with a smile. "Dad said dinner was ready and sent me to get you."
"Oh! We don't wanna keep him waiting!" She said giggling with you and guiding you back to the house.
"There they are!" Hopper yelled setting the last of the food on the table. "Thirsty?" Your mom asked as you sat down. "Mmm you know I could go for a purple cow!"
"Coming right up!" She knocked on the table lightly the lights above lowered themselves offering you said drink, along with extra grape soda and vanilla icecream just incase.
"Wow thank you!" You said taking the drink and extras. Hopper placed a plate infront of you. "Here comes the Gravey train choochoo!" You mom said earning a laugh from both you and your dad.
A toy train in fact made its way across the table stopping infront of you to dump gravey on your plate.
"Mmh! This is so good!" Youbsaid stuffing your mouth full of food. "More?" Hopper asked.
"No thank you I'm stuffed." You said leaning back and taking a last sip of your icecream float.
Hopper took the plate from you and your mother placed a cake before you that read 'Welcome home'
"Home?"
"We've been expecting you for a while!" Hopper said.
"Wow...uh..really?"
"Of course! You beling here! With your family!"
You smiled lightly.
"Thanks...but It's late...I should go to bed.."
"Oh of course!" You stood up and they both followed you to your bedroom. You crawled into bed and they took turns kissing your forhead and wishing you a goodnight. You slowly drifted off to sleep peacefully.
"It was so weird!" You said throwing a rock into the water infront of you.
"Well it was just a dream, nothing to freak about." Robin shrugged.
"Yea I mean your mom was there it couldn't have been real..."
You and robin both glared at Steve. "I...well thats not what I meant..." He gulped slinging his own rock into the water.
"He's right though." You said softly. "But it just...it felt so real! The food the...feeling! But I woke up and the door was all bricked up again..."
"That's just further proof it was only a dream." Robin said as you sat beside her.
"Yea..." It was already late afternoon and you had decided to stay out until the sun had set well into night.
Steve had dropped robin off at her house and so you sat alone with him in his car as he took you home.
"Sorry about what i said...about your mom..."
He said finally. "No...it's ok...like i said you where right...it's just a dream..." He frowned slightly, you could tell he was beating himself up about it.
In all honestly you hadn't gotten off on the best of feet with him but it's wasn't so awful to be around him, he just had a hard time telling when to open his mouth and when to keep it shut. But you liked him.
"Well here we are." He said pulling up to the house. "Thank." You said with a smile before getting out and going inside.
"Hey kid!" Hopper said happily as you stepped inside.
"Hey!" You smiled. "Oh hey, sorry I never got around to finding that key for you."
"Thats ok I found it"
El stood in the door way with a concerned look. "What are you-" you hurried to your room and pulled the key out and showed him.
"You where right though...there was nothing there." You shrugged going back to your room.
"Bad place." You jumped at El's voice behind you. "What?"
"Don't keep going there it's a bad place..." She said quietly. "What bad place?"
"El! Its Mike's on the phone!" El quickly left to take the phone.
"Bad place?..."
60 notes
·
View notes
Text
These Stones We Skip | ChaÌ”ÍÍÌÌŠpterÌ·ÌÌłÍÌźÍ 1
â previous part âŁÂ next part âș
[Read at FF.net]
[Read at AO3.]
Summary: Uraraka, as a newcomer to the most powerful guild in this forsaken village, had not only one, two; but three responsibilities: grow stronger until she was able to pin the world down, untangle the mystery that her past was and survive under the eyes of a crowd that watched over her as night chased the sunâs tail, the charade going on and on until the thread⊠suddenly snaps.
Rating: T because of obvious reasons such as Bakugou and swearing children. And itâs an AU. Medieval AU.
Word count: itâs fucking long get over it ALREADYYYY
Authorâs note: : I FEEL YOUR HEAAAAAAARTBEEEAAAT TO THE BEAT OF THE DRUMZ (8) Hi, y'all /kicked So sorry if this took so much but it's so damn hard to continue this story at a comfy pace with so much lore and stuff building up and having to construct some kacchako as well? I AM STRUGGLING? And a friend of mine told me this was novel-length like lmao she is right tho. I gotta reconsider my life choices. Fo now thanks to all kind people who leave reviews and stuff in this clusterfuck? I DON'T DESERVE IT? But omg thanks
Warnings: itâs long, itâs messy, OLD SCHOOL MIRAI :V It has them feels tho. Kinda. Tons of broshipping. And⊠some kacchako, finally?? maybe not idk
IâLL BE ALSO EDITING MINOR PLOTHOLES IF THERE ARE ANY HAHA SORRY LOVE YOU ALL BYE :D
âMama?â the little chubby child tugged at the womanâs red jersey, pointing then across the little river. âWho are those people?â
The pink woman followed the childâs finger to the land on the other side, and squatted to secure an arm around the girlâs petite figure. âThose people are dangerous, honey.â the girl blinked at the older woman, doubt dancing in her big pristine pools. âDonât you ever go near them, or they will do nasty things to your little cute body.â
The pink woman tickled her tummy for emphasis, which made the girl squirm in her hold. The laughter didnât last for long. âBut mama, I donât understand! Why are they dangerous? They donât look so menacing.â
She shook her head at the child and pointed at them. There were some adults working as guards across the river, meters away from the pair. âThey donât like us, and they want to invade our land, your land. They wish to destroy our home because they are greedy.â
âGweedy?â a finger scratched her cheek, and the woman nodded. The little girl gasped, hands flying to her mouth. âThey want to kill us? They want to kill this village?â
The elderly woman got up again, hands ruffling her hair with tenderness. âI donât know, but just be careful. They are a dangerous speciesâ they are humans, thirsty for blood and lands.â
âHumans?â the woman nodded above, and the brunette looked up. Sunshine covered the motherâs face, but the little girl knew those soft factions nonetheless. âBut Harold and I⊠see?â she rose her hands, grinning toothily. âWe have the same skin!â
The woman sighed. âI know, darling.â
âThen, why canât we all be friends, mama?â
Mother looked far ahead, frown crowning her kind eyes as her hands grew frantic around her childâs head. âItâs more complicated than being friends or not, Nameless.â her finger shot to point at a boy working on the river. His hair was golden, reflecting the sunshine of a clear day, and it made the childâs eyes gleam in delight. âSee that boy there? He is a beast, an assassin.â
âBut Hawold and Iââ
The womanâs hand slapped the childâs head in frustration, aware of the implications of such obvious fact as the skin color, the white of their eyes and the very same absence of horns. âI know, you are similar. But you will never be one of them, honey. You are not a monster like they are.â
The mother gave her hair a last ruffle before smiling softly at the girl under her, who was looking at the boy in wonder. âWhy would he want to kill me?â
The mother sighed and started to walk away, throwing a glance behind her to check that the little girl was still in place. âSame skin color doesnât determine oneâs intentions, honey. Just stay there until your friends come here.â
Mother left the second afterwards, the little girl sitting on the muddy grass as the contemplated the thought. A whirlwind of newfound doubt, curiosity and wonder swam freely around her eyes, corseting her heart into a tight grip of anticipation and excitement. Her heart beat out of cadence, skyrocketing high above and exploding into a mixture of deep expectations, wondering how that boyâs voice would sound like, or how his skin would feel. Would his body be as warm as hers, or would his eyes float against hers like Haroldâs did?
The girl got up, stumbled a little and brushed some dirt off her yellow dress. Gee boosted her energy and encouraged her to take a leap of faith and start runningâ running towards the land filled with warm golden night from the sun, bathed in blues and whites with silver creaking against her eyes like a jewel, and the boyâs pale skin coming to view the more she ran to him. Sounds of steel clanking against wood and iron twinkled around her, symphonies of sweat and grunts compassing the hush.
Her dainty feet reached the river, and the waters seemed darker than what they had looked like a minute ago. She tiptoed, human boy not noticing her presence as she smiled at him. There were some guards around that only acknowledged her presence inwardly and continued their game of minding their own business.
âHi, excuse me?â the boy didnât even flinch at her calling, focused on molding the iron. He couldnât be much older than her, maybe 11 years old or so, but his hands were bruised as if he had been working for a century, marred in blisters and dry blood. âHello, blonde boy!â
The boy grumpily turned to look across the border, expecting to find a brainless pink alien he would have to behead and seeing a waving stupid girl in its stead. âOi, what is your problem, cheeks? I am busy!â
âHello, blonde boy!â she waved even more excitedly, water crashing below her feet as her feet grew closer to the edge. He only huffed grumpily and went on working. âExcuse me! There is something I need to ask you!â
âWhat in the world is your problem?â his hands were constricted in fists, eyes shadowed by his untamed mane of golden streaks. He was somewhat pretty to her. âI am busy!â
âWellâ!â she almost tripped and fell over, squealing for a second before recomposing herself while messing with her head, anxiety for this boyâs mood crippling under her skin. âThere is something I need to ask you!â
âI donât care about your stupid problems! Besides, you canât cross and I canât hear your girly voice from over here.â his voice was also pitched, but gave hints of growth and it would undoubtedly become rich and deep in the future. âWho in the world are you anyway?â
Nameless had a quick solution for that. The girl touched her shoulder and leaped over the edge, floating for a pair of meters before touching ground. Guards around her started to point their spears at her, startled by the careless display. The blonde boy was scared shitless, having scrambled off his stool and standing a good pair of meters away from the floating alien. The brunette started to flail her arms around, panicking as her motherâs words ringed again in her mind.
âSorry, I didnât mean to cause such ruckus!â she took a tentative step towards the boy, only to have him recoiling. âI just didnât think I would have made it across in a single jump, and skipping rocks would have been too slippery and riskyââ
Golden boy pointed at her, words struggling to get out of his idle vocal chords. âYou breaking your neck while crossing would have been much better than this witchcraft you have going on!â
The guards only pointed at her with more intensity, armors clanking and drawing the attention of other humans who looked at the scene with concern. âNo, please! I donât mean harm to this village! I just desired to ask this boy a question!â
âAnd why did you have to be so adamant about it, crazy girl?â the boy grit his teeth at her, fists clenched and his body rigid, tense, ready in case that witch decided to pick up a fight. âYou are just another alienâ but you guys are mutating fast so we canât tell you apart andââ
âI am so sorry, I donât mean to be an intruder here!â her hands clasped the hem of her little yellow dress, shining like sunflowers in pure bloom. âPlease, allow me a second of this boyâs time, Iâll run away like the wind after that!â
People lost interest over seeing her so docile and carried on with their daily duties. Meanwhile, the boy snarled at her, shifting to grab his little shaping hammer in case she decided to get feisty and start throwing punches at him. âBe quick or Iâll smash your useless species to smithereens.â
His eyes flickered in fire against hers, a rush of trepidation washing over her as hell, blood and dangerous lights started shining through his bleeding eyes, pale skin contrasting with the dark intentions his impure heart held. Her question suddenly seemed useless seeing a human like this, so bare and bone think, but she still blurted it out.
âAre youââ her eyes pounded against his very own bonfires, beaming with intention and silly curiosity. âAre you a monster, golden boy? Would you kill me if I were to hug you, ride you like I ride horsey Harold, or if we had fun bathing in the river?â
His brows wrinkled in disgust as such blunt, stupid question, but he was taken aback by how much honesty and sheer wonder she had poured in a short amount of time. To her credit, she had shoved a ton of bullshit in very little time. âWhy in the world would Iâ no, why would I not kill an alien like you, cheeks? Get outta my sight before I shred you to pieces!â
âButââ
âYou said you wouldnât put a fight after this, we have pardoned you enough minutes.â he gripped the handle of his hammer harder this time, an alarming amount of teeth showing. Regardless, he didnât step to behead her or even made a move to harm her, instead decided to start waving her off the land. âDo your sparkly stuff and leap over, I donât care. Just leave this place.â
Nameless stared at the boy, heartbroken as he only stared back with a stern glare that warned her to leave before somebody saw her and decided to make the dirty job of torturing her in a dark chamberâ somewhere even he knew she didnât belong to. In a way, he was making her a favor. The doe-eyed girl nodded and turned around, activating her ability and jumping across, a fog of sadness clouding over her heart as the boy only stared in wonder, seeing her fly away so gloomy when she had come to him as a bright, beautiful flower. He decided to hammer those thoughts away, and the girl was soon forgotten.
When Uraraka came to, the smell of burning wood greeted her sleepy senses, heart swarming near her fingertips as the bonfire crippled upon the lodges of stacked wood, flickering and waving under the mercy of the night breezes. The little sorcerer fluttered her eyelids open as the flames greeted her unfocused eyes. Blurs of oranges, yellows and greens melted together and then sharpened to give shape to the forest, the bonfires and a very sleepy Kaminari struggling to keep his eyes awake.
The girl shifted underneath the spare blankets and, when she didnât feel Asuiâs body sleeping next to hers, an unsettling feeling came to open her eyes and slap her dazed mind awake. However, when she heard the rustle of leaves and clanking somewhere near her, those thoughts of alarm slowed her frantic sowing of irrationalities and she dared look up to see a little cauldron heating up something nasty, which prompted Uraraka to sit up.
âGood evening, Uraraka.â Asui peeked from behind the big pot to smile at her with kindness. âI see you have woken up. You sure have light sleep.â
The brunette rubbed her big gooey eyes to open, but they were tired and half lidded regardless her restless heart. âYou can say that again.â
The sorcerer removed the blanket from her form and straightened her back, eliciting a pleased little moan from her sore throat. Uraraka had never really slept on the ground beforeâ well, excepting that time she woke up mindless and brainless under a curtain of rain with a wound on her ribs, but it was a completely different kind of ground with some squishiness to it, wet and muddy. This ground was hard, dry, had stones sticking up from the sandy surface and there was always this irrational fear of ants tangling on her hair. Yes, that was petty, but she would have to get used to such hard conditions.
The girl glanced around swiftly, and found out that most people were asleep around the clearing. Iida and Tokoyami were asleep against a trunk between its big roots, swords resting right beside them. Kaminari was all alone though, making Uraraka kind of worry about where Bakugou could have scrambled off to.
âBakugou is off for some herbs.â she continued stirring the mixture as if nothing, but the sorcerer still almost snapped her head to look at Asui. That girl was perceptive. âNo need to worry so much. Donât cry me a river.â
âHuh?â a weak grimace made her nose wrinkle in distaste, but she couldnât deny that it was offsetting to see him off this late in the night. âI am not worried. I am just concerned. He is our leader and heâs gone so late in the night. What a freaking weirdo.â
Uraraka huffed in exasperation, eyes stealing a glance at the vacant place beside Kaminari. She didnât let her mind wander any further and got up with weak limbs, hands dangling by her sideâ there was no way that stupid narcissistic sociopath would even burden her sleep with his absence, with the possibility of him being in danger.
Why the fuck would he even be in danger? He was perfectly able, be it in the dead of the night or in the middle of a maze. Her teeth grinded against each other, jaw clenchedâ because this petty tiny concern was useless, unneeded, unrequited, he would never hold her in any higher regard as she would possibly doâ yet, a part of her seemed to hold some care for the boy. And it drove her off a damn cliff usually, because it was a tiring game of chasing in circles, never stopping.
Uraraka sighed tiredly, crumbles of sleep issuing from her throat. Despite the obvious fact that Bakugou would never get along with her, she found herself caring for his despicable self regardlessâ he was her leader, another peer that, she had been advised to stay far from. Yet, she couldnât find the heart to give up on him to such extent. He had defended her back there at the village, had kind of had faith in her against ShinsouâŠ
There was some hope for himâŠ
Perhaps.
âYou like sleeping, I see. I donât like being woken up, either.â the herbalist made an attempt to change topics, which Uraraka was thankful for. She got up from the makeshift bed and walked to the pharmacist. âWhile the others sleep, I take time during nights to prepare the potions for the next day, while somebody stronger keeps guard.â
Uraraka eyed the girl tenderly, a little soft smile sketching itself on her face. She was not as familiar as she was with other people like Jack or Mina, but she was attracted to her regardless. âI donât think you are that weak. You sure would put up a great fight, Asui.â
The water sorcerer looked at Uraraka, not impressed by the dash of fresh warm air the other carried with her, but still a little bit touched by her kindness. âItâs not like I undermine myself, but itâs just for safety measures. Donât want an ambush coming to kick our healerâs assâ Bakugouâs words.â
Uraraka looked at the pot afterwards, glaring at the nasty looking brewage. âAnd what is this you are preparing?â
The colors inside the pot blended, bubbled and brewed in an aromatic mist that Uraraka couldnât really identify, but it smelled like something akin to mind and chocolate mixed together. She tiptoed forward and smelled a little bit of the brewage. Again, it was minty, hot, and had that sweet undertone to it.
âItâs a dipping poison.â Asui stirred a bit faster this time, changing directions. The other girl looked at the water sorcerer and nodded with interest. Asui being there with her group would be a huge advantage, as Uraraka could learn lots from her and pharmacy was always a handy science to nurture from.
âDipping?â nod, nod, and Uraraka only looked at the colorful mixture in even deeper wonder. A part of her wanted to put her finger inâ but it looked scorching hot and her skin was easy to scar and blister. âIs this some kind of poison to use in food?â
The green-haired girl shook her head, not looking at Uraraka and instead rummaging through her bag. Her hands came out empty, so she signaled the other sorcerer to fetch her some spare ones in a flask on the ground. The frog girl couldnât reach down for the items below the cauldron as she was quite small and she had to stand on an actual big stone to reach the top of the pot, so Uraraka would have to serve as a temporal assistant. When she had the herbs, Asui poured them contently into the mixture, and stirred slowly.
âYou dip weapons here, and give temporary poisonous properties to them.â Uraraka nodded again, eyes glinting in curiosity and surprise. It was a pretty handy technique for making weapons be even more lethal than they already were, and it seemed like a very intelligent way of rendering any single threatening object as a needle useful and mortal. âBakugou wanted me to give his sword a coat of poison in case we have a harsh encounter tomorrow.â
The girl frowned at the prospect. âI see.â she peeked over the edge of the iron container and gawked at how it was turning darker and darker the more Asui stirred. âYou must know very well what you are doing when it comes it these things, yes?â
Asui removed the wooden spoon from the cauldron â it had big stains and it was broken in a few places, marred in scars of hurried preparations â and jumped off the stone. âIt is a risky process. But itâs not that much of a difficult science.â
She then marched off to a bag she had near her and Urarakaâs blanket, getting some jars full of some kind of pebbles no one but Asui knew about, and threw a handful of them from below, not even caring to look in afterwards. When the alchemist left again, the brunette lifted her hands to fidget with her gloves, afraid of burdening Asui with her request.
âI was wonderingâŠâ Asui didnât stop her task to even show a sign that she had listened, but the newcomer still talked. âif you could show me some advanced pharmacy when we reach our next stop, or maybe along the way?â
The girl did turn to her now, finger on her chin. âYes, we did talk about this.â it seemed more like a murmur of ponderation and not a proper answer, so Uraraka waited with her fists clenched. She didnât really have much idea on how to interact with some members of the guild, so she just would go with the flow most times. âI guess I can show you some techniques you can use at emergencies. I donât have quality equipment here to show you much more.â
Uraraka showed a dashing smile, eyes twinkling in delight as Asui gathered their blanket and settled it on the ground. The other girl was quick to sit down on her knees, legs together with her fists resting on her lap, head slightly bowedâ and the pharmacist was a bit taken aback by how willing and docile the sorcerer looked under her. A part of Asui believed that if she asked her to go to the end of the world for a single useless flower, Uraraka would go there if it meant making her happy.
God, how could have Bakugou mistaken her for a villain?
âNo need to be so stiff, Uraraka.â the girl didnât lessen the posture either way, and continued looking at her straightly and determined, serious and collected when she was squirming in excitement and gee for this little lesson. âItâs just a few tips to improve potions, curas and the like. I take it you can only prepare minimal brewages now.â
âEr, yes.â the brunette titled her head in defeat, a bit ashamed to admit that she knew very little for a being a sorcerer. âAll potions I have with me were there when I woke up at the forest. Some were a bit more advanced if I recall⊠but most were basic.â
âItâs fine, you can learn a bit now.â Asui took out some leaves and little fruits. Some sterolias rolled off her little purse, and Uraraka reached out to fetch one. Indeed, it was as sweet as Mina had mentioned it to be. She accordingly spit it out again. It would never not repel her with such invasive sweetness. âHold on while I sort this out. I didnât have time to organize my tools properly.â
âItâs fine.â the sorcerer waved it off with a kind smile, and looked around for a bit. Everyone was sleeping soundly, tired from the journey and beaten up after having to put up with Bakugou grumping about how unhelpful Grinning Blade had been, and Uraraka could recall how guilt had been crippling inside of her as she shut up about the ordeal with that man, that guy who had looked at her so intensely and whispered such cruel, fateful words.
Her fingers tightened the fist. Death⊠they unclenched, relaxed, and the brunette looked at her bruised palms in deep concern and wonder. What did he mean with all that? And why had Shinsou⊠opened up so fast? What dark business did they have that somehow involved her, of all people?
Something foggy and dark was stirring in a corner of her mind, blending behind the broken shards of a frosted mirror, her future identity and all that carried behind that somehow bringing a chill down her spineâ but she couldnât touch it. The thought was bubbling, bruising, even. In the back of her mind, that manâs words had caused an unpredictable damage that wasnât palpable, yet it was there, lurking behind the shadows she tried to look through, yet she couldnât tell apart from mere paranoia and mild fear for what was to come.
A part of her wantedâ needed to blame Bakugou for causing her such unnecessary ruckus inside her mind. The way he had spoken so highly and shaken about RampAge had her all kinds of shaken up. He was gone now, doing who knows what in who knows where, probably punching some butterflies off their caskets like the douchebag he was. Perhaps life was having a party on his body and he was being punished, hurt and that was why he hadnât come back, and an unnoticeable spine run down her stomach and pushed down, downâ
Her eyes darted across the clearing and stopped at the empty slot by Kaminari, wondering, again, why she was so uneasy at the thought of him being suspiciously gone so late in the night, why this care did actually exist. It could probably be because he had actually defended her from Shinsou and the whole village before this voyage had begun, but it was such a weird feeling to possess when he was all but kind to her. Why was she worrying so much when he was no more than some kind of vigilant for her?
What a nuisance, a little unneeded feeling. It sure would be a good riddance once she was out of this tired, critical state. A part of her wanted to get rid of it⊠yet another part of her knew there was no letting go.
âTell me, Asui,â words fell off her mouth helplessly, not even thinking about what repercussion theyâd have, or what Asui would think of her. It was a pretty bad habit of hers. Her eyes left the wrinkled blanket that was his red cape and looked at the one below their knees. âdoes Bakugou have that much trouble sleeping?â
It took a few seconds for Asui to answer. âItâs always been like this, really. I donât see him much often, but Kirishima told me itâs been this way ever since he was a child. He canât sleep until deep into the night. He runs on little sleep, though â tough guy, he is.â
Uraraka tasted those words wistfully, tapping her fingers on her lap. Bakugou didnât really seem to have such problem, skin always pristine and devoid of rings or bags â but now that she recalled, he had mentioned he knew it took him too much time to sleep. Judging by his foul mood, he probably never got good sleep either. Was the bed too big for him? Or maybe he just got into heated arguments with the pillows? Apparently, the only way to ease this issue was going up the clock tower to either spend a peaceful night in solitude stargazing or being tortured with her presence.
Maybe he was gone for so long because he found that maybe solitude would prompt the so needed rest. It made her feel some pity for him in a sick, twisted way.
âPay attention, Uraraka.â this snapped the sorcerer out of her reverie, blinking heavily. âMaking a novice cura is easy, but making a successful extra one takes some practice. Making one mistake on the process is normal, and it wonât be a catastrophe to ruin the ingredients, but you canât go relying on luck for further practices.â
Asui took a green, heart shaped leaf, and started to tear off its midrib with her teeth. âThis is rough hand work, and if I had pincers, I would be much more classy and neat. One has to take the midrib off these leaves. These are called looibus, and are pretty cheap in an average shop. Itâs always more economic to buy these instead of the prepared potions.â
Uraraka observed Asui remove the mid sections easily, and blinked in amazement. She had never seen such display in her life, her lips pinching the leaf and teeth tearing the section apart. âHow can you do it so easily, though?â
âThe veins of this species are especially thin at their starts.â she took a spotless specimen and pointed at the mid section, tracing it with her finger. She had a cut on a side of her index, Uraraka noticed. âSee how the veins are almost unnoticeable? It makes the process much easier. I usually act precautious and use pincers and gloves, but this will suffice for the time being.â
Then, her fingers pinched the petiole of the leaf. âGood fetched herbs must always have their petioles, and if possible, a part of the branch they come from â just a minimal part, to extract the whole juice of the plant. How big the petiole is determines how much properties one can extract from it, therefore determines its final value.â
âWas that why you complimented Kaminari the only day?â
âNot really, ribbit.â she started to squeeze the petioles, also draining some from the midribs. Gooey, red liquids cascaded down into the flask. âThe specimen he brought to me is special because of its spores. Those kinds of herbs have other value standards, and are hard to find. As for fruits, they depend on how squishy and intense they are in color.â
The sorcerer took a little sterolia from nearby and inspected it. She gave it a little squeeze, and the tiny fruit, not bigger than a raspberry, melded a bit. It was scarlet red, darker splashes coloring some parts. âDoes that mean sterolias are sweeter, then? You never mentioned any property other than its taste.â
âSterolias are used to dim the bitter taste of curas, but one canât go around eating them like Mina does. They are horrifyingly sugary and can give one a bad stomach ache if eaten in grand amounts.â
Asui uncorked the green part of the little fruit and squeezed it. A teensy drop of yellow splashed on the other ointment. âMay seem like a very small amount, but the potion wonât be very grand.â then, the sorcerer pointed at a jar near the cauldron, sitting next to Uraraka. âPour some of that water in here. Itâs fresh from a nearby river.â
Uraraka gingerly took the glass recipient and slowly put the water in. âGotâcha.â she was maybe a little bit too slow. The water made an agonizing dripping sound as it fell, and the other liquids started blending with the transparent water.
When the flask was full to a quarter, Asui put a hand on her shoulder. âThere, thatâs enough.â the brunette put the water away. âNo need to be so delicate, though. You can be all harsh you wanna. Speed wonât affect the quality of the cura.â
The brunette scratched her rosy cheek with a bit of shame, grin trembling in shyness. She was trying to be as careful as ever, not wanting to let Asui see how nervous she really was about learning so many new things, and being a good pupil. âRight, sorry.â
âItâs ok. Now, stir this a little bit.â the sorcerer started mixing the liquids together until the red and transparent yellow blended and created thick, red substance. âAs you see, you would need more leaves for a proper potion, but this will be enough for now. Looibus have high pigmented elements and nutrients, so very few leaves can do wonderful things.â
Uraraka took the little flask and did what human nature instructed her to: sniff the hell out of it. It smacked her nostrils with protruding sweetness and some acid undertones to it. If she had to guess, sheâd say it would taste like cherries and lemon. âSmells rather nice. How much damage would this cover?â
Asui looked at the flask and then up to the awaiting girl, who held the potion with dainty hands and delicate touch, as if it was a treasure. âIâd say only minimal wounds, and not very fast. Kirishima told me you gave him and Tokoyami a pair of those during the battle with Pyrox.â
âAh, I did.â the memory of Tokoyami and Kirishima sitting down in such bad state had Uraraka trembling for a second there. âI see it wasnât that much of a big help.â
Asui sighed, shaking her head. âNot much, but itâs intention what counts. They could go home in a better state thanks to you.â this information made Urarakaâs heart swimming in pleasant warmth. âEither way, I will give you a little secret for better potions. Itâs very silly⊠but it actually works.â she pointed at her bag as she drank a little bit of the point. âItâs part of what got me in this guild. Give me the little blue spines in a purple jar.â
The brunette undid the covering with deft fingers and ever so carefully took out a single needle. âThere we go.â Uraraka was scared to the bone, chilled in goosebumps as Asui unfazed pinched her finger. Hard. âDonât freak out, Iâm not gonna die.â
âWhat the hell, Asui?â the water sorcerer licked a bit of the blood, nodded and dripped some of it on the potion below. Just some droplets. âAre you actually telling meââ
âI one day discovered that looibus has an actual toxin that stimulates blood creation in the blood stream. I once thought about what would happen if one added blood into the mixture, healthy blood.â Asui stirred the mixture languidly, and dedicated Uraraka a sideways glance. The aforementioned was busy having a seizure near the cauldron, shaking in utter despair. âWhatâs wrong? Are you really so peachy over seeing a bit of blood?â
âT-Thatâs not it at all!â then, the brunette pointed at her with an accusing finger that Asui paid no heed to. The brewage turned darker and darker. âItâs just insane to see you so content with bleeding and stuff for the sake of a little cura!â
âThis isnât a little one, you see.â
As a demonstration, the herbalist poured some of it on one of her many cuts of her hand, probably done during harvesting these very herbs. The cut started closing slowly, like a flower blooming inwards, and it was gone in a minute. âMy blood is specially pure and healthy. Blood is thought to be replenishing for hard travels, a reason why most of us eat meat scarcely cooked.â
This had Uraraka even more afraid of the stoic herbalist, who was talking about drinking blood as if she was some kind ofâ âWhat the hell? Are you suggesting that even drinking human blood is alright?â
Asui looked at her with a slight exasperated glint in her eyes, but it didnât show much. It seemed like that woman enjoyed keeping herself to herself in the weirdest of ways. âSorry if it sounds weird, but itâs more of a little belief than solid science. It is true that blood boosts potions, though.â
Uraraka gazed at the still pouring blood, and saw it mix with the cura in little spurs of red claws, blending with the crimson red to make it powerful, an ingredient to save a life with the mere sacrifice of a droplet of human blood. A part of her heart trashed wildly inside her ribcage, the wise and troublesome words Asui had said so casually falling into a void of endless information, lore and extreme complications that would one day save her lifeâ she just couldnât see it right now, but Uraraka was sure she would find it useful one day.
She didnât know why, but this lesson was extremely important to her. Yes, it was mildly creepy and offsetting, but she couldnât help but feel thrilled to know a way to save someoneâs life so easily, or at least prevent such occurrence. She entwined her fingers with an easy smile, watching the herbalist dump the potion into her bag. âI had a little stupid question.â
âWhat is it?â
âWell,â she looked at the ingredients spread on the blanket before the other girl started packing them into her bag. âI was wondering, would the effect be the same if one sucked the liquid straight from the loibuus if one can handle the bitter flavor?â
Asui bit her thumb in thought, and Uraraka had the urge to mirror her doubts by biting her knuckles or messing with her hair. Actually, it was feeling awkwardly itchy. She started to absentmindedly scratch her nape. âNow that you mention it, I had never thought about it. It sure would come in handy.â
âWell, donâtââ
âAre you fucking telling me that sucking on leaves can actually do your job?â the gruff voice made them turn around, and they watched Bakugouâs muscles flex as he held some logs on his shoulder. He unceremoniously threw them into the fire and it started licking the wood with passion, his blood irises brightening. âWhat do we have you for?â
That bold statement would have affected anybody who didnât know him, but none of the sorcerers flinched at his brusque, rude words. Uraraka eyed Asui, who eyed her back for a second before looking up at their leader. âTo make sure you guys have decent weaponry and not sticks like Hatsume would make to you. She canât stand you.â
Bakugou shoved a bag with ingredients to the herbalistâs chest, who inspected the paper fixing in caution. âFair enough, I guess.â condoned the messy blonde to the pharmacist, who ran happily back to the cauldron now that the fires were at their fullest. When she was safely up on her stone again, Uraraka started to fold the blanket.
The hunter watched the sorcerer scramble to sort out their sleeping arrangement, and started patting her pillow. She stretched her arms, her shirt lifting a bit and exposing some of her soft, pale skin. When her mouth fell shut after a little yawn and her eyes blinked soreness away, he finally understood what she was up to.
And when she limmped on the makeshift bed, all he could do was rage about her blatantly ignoring his presence. âOi, Uraraka! What the fuckâre you doing!â
The sorcerer turned under the blanket and started stirring a bit, eyes blinking to focus on the heaving leader a meter away from her disgustingly tired face. âDo I seem to be killing rabbits?â
âWell, that would at least be useful to the situation, you dumbââ he shook his head, because snapping on her wouldnât do for the situation. He had tried to ignore this obvious feeling of hatred he had for herâ but sometimes, just sometimes, she made it a bit too difficult being so casual with him. âWhatever, just what the fuck do you think you are doing?â
Uraraka turned under the thin blanket, her eyes facing the sky. Her words took some seconds to get out, his glare so focused on her that it was both amusing and somewhat intimidating, again, to see him so agitated. âI thought we had already stated that.â
Bakugou shook his head and proceeded to squat right next to her bed, hands gripping the fabric of his clay pants. Only now did Uraraka realize he wasnât wearing his trademark cape and he suddenly looked so much more human and reachable like this.
âThatâs not what I meant.â his contorted eyes landed on her stargazing ones, full of stars he would never even dare reach out for. It agitated him so much to see her soâ just so pure and snarky at the same time. âSeeing the clusterfuck of problems we have around the problem, I canât understand why you are trying to sleep it all off and not help somehow.â
That made her finally tear her relaxed gaze from the stars and finally pay attention to her fuming leader, who was seething over her and was either trying to scare the hell out of her or get her to move. None of them worked. âI was just taking some spare lessons from Asui for chemistry resources. Should I remind you of our encounter with Shinsou earlier today?â
Just out of nowhere, the working herbalist butted in. âJust so you guys know, the others are sleepingâŠâ
Both warriors looked at her for a pair of seconds and dismissed her to continue bickering.
âYeah, I do remember pretty damn wellâ and not because you did much anyway.â
It was now when the brunette squinted at him a little bit harder, eyes pointed in analysis as his posture was too scrunched, his cape forgotten in a bunch â something so odd from him, as she had taken him as a tidier individual â and his eyes racking around the embroiled ends of her blanket, his mind probably years and possibilities away from what mattered, from what was spinning around them as she stared intently at him. Her brow fell, and she found herself asking before she could bite it all back into place.
âWhatâs wrong?â
The blonde snapped from his trance immediately. His hands released the fabric of his pants and they slammed the dirt underneath, eyes widened in panic and accusation before she could even explain herself. âWhat the heââ
She clamped a hand over his mouth, and much to her surprise, he didnât bite it off like he probably would have done before. Judging by his eyes though, he was probably dying to. âYou are going to wake the others up, stop raging on me.â Uraraka hesitantly let her hand drop a little after she sensed he had calmed down, and he made her retreat with a hand to her wrist. He didnât let go of it for security measures. âI am a member of Yuuei now. You have no other option but to regard me as such.â
She very sadly had the upper hand there. She could no longer be ignored or treated as the terrorist he was trying to believe she wasnât, but the title was so fucking hard to get rid of after he had hung it on her for this long. Now that he noticed it, her looks werenât those of a rogue criminal or a strong person altogether. Her cheeks were annoyingly rosy, eyes too big and hair too stupid. Again, she was so deceivingly naĂŻve looking that it frustrated him and only added more to the fire.
He despised her. Bakugou couldnât say he hated her anymore, because he was no fool and Uraraka wasnât either. Her eyes werenât those of a liar, but held kindness of an unbeaten person, slate clean purity in a brown splash of colors, gleaming to the fires of the camping. Her hands seemed to hold the keys to every untamed kingdom of his mind, yet he would never let her have the right locks to open all its rooms. His eyes shifted again, looking at his hands again.
Yeah â his hands clenched, admiring its scars, and closed it again with a grimace â he hated how he hadnât been right about her being an impure bitch, but a part of him lay in joy seeing the investment would be worth it. The little titles of her head, the twinkle in her eyes, he would be there to see it all come true. It would take time for him to fully accept it, but he had to start taking steps.
It took him a little bit of resistance, but he ended up talking, shaky.
âThere is a traitor in our midst.â
There was silence after that. Bakugou looked up to see her mouth agape, eyes big as saucersâ but there was no trace of suspicion or anger, just shock and mild fear, or maybe curiosity? Her mind had toppled over the edge and fallen into an impossible abyss of mindless options, scattered pictures of her companions crowding her fall. The faces outnumbered her, scratched canvases of compatriots becoming traitors, and claws pulling her down where it was darker, faster.
Her body landed in solid reality, snapping back as the possibilities stopped spiraling around herâ eyes settled on Bakugou, and this was the very first time that, underneath the soft stare of the stars and the moon, the leader had let anything akin to actual feelings show through that thick barrier of his, surrounded in spikes that not only separated people from him, but also the other way around.
He was a leader, another member, one that trusted his people with his stone, guarded heart. Knowing that there was a traitor in his surroundings must have him scared for once, feeling betrayed and having a knife pointed at his neck without knowing who the hand belonged to. The feeling was a bit alike with Uraraka, who regarded all her sleeping companions in a clouded scan.
It was then when the sorcerer realized that Asui had settled near her, and was tugging at the big blanket to cover herself as well. The girl gave the thingy up and shifted closer to Bakugou, who was sitting in front of her. This bad habit of being too near to people could get the best of her very easily, but this was the first time she intended to be a comforting presence to him.
After all, she had to take steps to normalization as well.
âHow can you say this?â
The boy sighed, and rubbed his face with hardened hands. The brash leader was a far cry from this exhausted man, who was starting to see a mountain of problems coming to them with RampAge on the loose as well. Having a traitor among them, possibly in this very same camping where security was minimalâ alarms were flaring inside of him, and it made him look ages older.
âRemember this afternoon, when we were almost ambushed by an archer?â the brunette nodded. Her hand had throbbed with intensity to protect the blonde in a primal instinct of sudden care, but the initial shake had very much worn off ever since. âThe wood of the arrow was made with our guildâs material.â
This piece of data was incredibly accusatory, but the pieces were totally scrambled in Urarakaâs head. âBut, maybe they simply use the very same types ofââ
âNo. Things ainât that easy in our village.â the wood had burnt so nicely in his hands once he had been alone, so flammable and nice to combust. He knew the touch and feel of it very, very well. âGuilds have their own portion of forest to take resources for weapons from. Pillaging is a very different thing to this, but the Council would never let us have a whole forest for ourselves. Even I can tell that would be conceited and dumb as fuck.â
âSo, you are saying that you know it because itâs wood from your forest?â
âNot exactly, as Grinning Blade has the very same kind of wood for their arrows and sticky blades.â of course he would talk about them as wimps when he had a fucking axe as playful toys to battle with. This man was gentle now, but he would have his claws out the moment this intimacy was torn apart. âClock girl applies a material that helps the arrows burn fast, but that can preserve the arrow while burning, like a match. Itâs a handy technique we use for ambushes at guild battles.â
Now that she thought about it, Minaâs hands did have ugly burns. She must be a really valued asset to their guild, as archers seemed awfully scarce as well. âAre you sure this is that much of a secret ointment?â
The ashen blonde nodded, a frown crowning his angular traits. He dragged his ass to a tree behind him and he rested his head on it, a bit far from the sorcerer now. Fire burnt not very much away, the clearing being small and the guild members resting far away from the other, yet close this time heart-wise.
âFrog girl there is who actually helped our blacksmith develop the resin.â oh, so he was talking about Hatsume, the overly excited girl at the support basement. Clock girl was⊠kind of a lame nickname for her, though. âI trust them enough to know they wouldnât give this away, so I assume this fucker must have taken arrows from our headquarters.â
Rewinding back into daytime, it had been a shame sun had hidden this traitor in shadows, cloak and hands covered in blackness. Uraraka hadnât thought much about this event in particular, had thought it was probably one of those illegal hunters making trouble again. Her hands started raking the back of her head, that thing she did all the time when she was nervous or anxiousâ yes, all the damn time, and everyone included Bakugou hated it.
âThis is troublesome, then.â spoke she, matter oâ factly. Her eyes bore in his, worry shining through like water in a glass jar, so painfully obvious she cared for his guild that he snarled, feeling creeped out by her attachment. âIf the traitor is with the others, they wonât be able to call us for help.â
He looked at her a bit more, then looked at the fires and secretly watched over his peers. The girl in front of him did the same. âI will be keeping guard in case somebody here decides to play hooky on my ass.â he spoke with such hate, burning ire and anxiety for his guildâs security rising into the air. âI wonât let that fucker get out of my eyes that easily.â
Uraraka observed him from the corner of her eyes, a sincere smile fighting its way into her tired cheeks. Her next words were as gentle as her smile, as her eyes. âYou do care, after all.â
It was no more than a whisper, but he heard her anyway, ears trained to hear an ant jump from a leaf to another, and craned his eyes to her. Bakugou showed no sign of approval, but didnât reject the statement, either. âI am a damn leader. It is my obligation to look after these wimps, because if I donât, they will be rotten meat by the time we get to the village.â
That made her laugh, then do a double take and actually revise his pointed words. âItâs not like we canât manage, you know. If you have won so many battles against Grinning Blade, you sure can be lethal. Jackâs words, not mine.â
The hunter turned to her, eyes indifferent but still tasting the pride in her words. In a sense, he was immensely proud of what they had all accomplished together, but his heart somehow didnât want to take the conversation in that direction. âI never said you werenât ableâ I sadly know you are perfectly able to fight anybody in your path.â she looked at him again, cautious for whatever he was going to spit now to ruin her. Surprisingly, he just didnât. âKaminari and Kirishima sure are, the same with Iida. I know you guys can actually fight back.â
Arched eyebrow at him. âSo, you are actually complimenting us.â
Bakugou doomed her with that sadistic smile of his that sent her heart in a mad ride, but she couldnât really explain why she still felt so intimidated while on the road to normalization. She would have to get rid of those petty fears if she wanted to meet his ground someday. âWhen I call you a terrorist, I mean it because you are a menace. It is an insult.â
Her eyes deadpanned in his, bored and waiting for him to go down the very same decaying road. âCâmon, finish me off.â
He squinted his eyes at her, head titled forward. The fires shadowed his eyes in an even harder glare. âWhat I mean is that now it seems like you can play the role we want you to. So you can try to see that as us knowing you are able.â
âSo, you are admitting to me, right here and now, that you do aknowledge that I am strong.â
âOi, donât sass me, Uraraka.â the sorcerer giggled, and she crawled to rest against the tree by her makeshift bed right next to Bakugou, who only recoiled so she wouldnât step over his boundaries. Her eyes climbed up to the starry ceiling above their heads, and found out that Bakugou was wistfully stargazing as well. âRelatively speaking, you are strong for a novice. But I canât have you relying on brutal smacks that leave you as a leech right after. That will never do.â
Her voice was lost in the night sky, then closed her eyes to feel the dark breeze of the river neat them. âI guess you are right on that. I do wanna get stronger, you know.â
Bakugou looked at her with intensity. The orange lights of the fire lit up her eyes, but it wasnât like she needed actual fire to shine, right? It was this weird feeling inside his chest of seeing something ever so scary inside of that petite body of hers, a feeling so enticing yet so mysterious as that face of hers seemed familiarâ but it had terrified him and then made him leap to anger. She was the only one in this forsaken guild that could flip his switches.
And it threw them off even stronger when he saw that she never meant to trouble him, but she did anyway. Uraraka hadnât meant to come across as a terrorist, as a menace, as his heart sworn enemy after Shinsou and Midoriyaâ yet, she hadnât shrunk. She had sucked it all up and faced him in so many occasions, little by little, and had made her stand up against a fucking mob of people conspiring against her.
She hadnât meant to step in here, but she had anyway and there she was, quiet as if her whole life hadnât been turned upside down like his had been. Couldnât she realize what a fucking nuisance she was, that he was bearing with a little too much to his liking?
Look at what she made him do, have to step out of his way to try and accept her. Disgusting. Yet he was doing it anyway, and it was starting to become easy not to hate her. And a part of him knew she was easier with it that she had once been. He didnât really want to know what was going through her head, but he deemed it better to be like this.
But then her eyes drifted to his, and she grinned when he found him staring. Bakugou growled with disdain, making her giggle. Her eyes warmed slightly when he didnât immediately threaten her like he would have, just swallowed it up. Yeah â both thought, eyes glancing up the stars â it was becoming easier to overcome such universal rules.
âHow strong do you wanna get, though?â his words were hoarse in wonder, more spoken to himself than her, but it made her interrupt her internal schemes to regard him. His eyes moved to hers as well, red bleeding in pure chocolate. âI donât know how ambitious you are power-wise, but I can assure you you ainât becoming a professional powerhouse anytime soon.â
Uraraka hugged her knees, sighing. Her tone deflated slightly, her mind set off far ahead. âAs much as I can. As much as I can take. As much as it requires so we can take down RampAge and fix the universe.â so there she went, speaking about such thing like it was a silly matter to the wind. âI will overcome myself, and never bow to an enemy again.â
Her eyebrow was knit in determination, no longer talking to Bakugou, but to herself. A part of him knew this was like some kind of mantra to her and that Uraraka had this tone that esteemed danger and threat in a thousand languages, but not a single cell of his body found the energy to complain despite this being a clear hazard to her. Honestly, at this stage, she could go throw herself off a cliff, he didnât care much about it.
It may be because he was tired, but stepping from actively trying to kill her to simply not caring about it seemed like a great step to him. Better to not want her than want her dead, right? Irony would get him for that later on.
âWell, as long as you donât cause me fucking trouble, itâs fine.â condemned the leader, but he had a feeling she wasnât really listening. âNow go to sleep, itâs been enough talk for the night.â
âMhm, agreed.â nodded she, still relishing in the glimmer of the fire near her, wood cracking under the moonlight. âWe have stayed civil for too long, better to not drag any further.â
The blonde hunter growled at her after such remark, to which she could only laugh and sigh. She wasnât stupid, and knew that deep inside, he was a bit afraid of moving on from that comfortable stage they had of hating each other recklessly and having swords drawn all the timeâ but she was starting to move on, which sadly didnât mean he would move as fast as she would. The past was a long forgotten memory, but she could only wonder how much itâd take for him to let it go.
And the thought tired her so, so much.
Yeah â after a short glimpse at his eyes burning at the fires with passion and complexity, her head craned back to the fires too â she did care about him, after all.
âPapa, who are those people at the barrier?â
Nameless peaked from the border of the cauldron, pink hands coming to swat them away in fear she would burn herself. Bubbles floated from the recipient, pink hues delighting the girl before they burst in the air, and she laughed in senseless joy. âAh, my child, no more than silly invaders.â
âYes, thatâs what mama told me⊠but I donât understand. They seem docile andâŠâ the face of the boy came into her mind, his rude and blonde behavior contrasting so much with those kind faces that had allowed her to cross the river, bland attitudes and some smiles thrown her way. âThey even have the same skin as I and Harold do!â
âHarold?â she nodded, only to have her tutor crouch and ruffle her hair with his clawed hand. âDonât you mean that red boy with the hard skin? Was it... Kirishima?â the girlâs eyes lit up, and her head bobbed again with a wide smile. âWell, yes. You do share some similarities, but the color of your skin doesnât define who you are, darling.â
âBut we are so similar!â Nameless outstretched her chubby hands, petite pads grazing his dadâs claws. âLook, papa, my hands are different! Yet, they are invasors and mama hates them? I donât get it.â
The little brunette crossed her arms, cheeks puffed in disagreement. Whether they were invaders or not, they hadnât tried to touch her despite being from another species, from another face of the incoming warâ she was their enemy. But nobody had dared to touch her. Her dad could see a million thoughts running across her sensible mind, so he just shook his head in utter defeat.
âSome time ago, we took something from themâ something very important.â that had her looking up, hands limp on her sides with the very same naĂŻve look everyone knew her for. âSomething that holds great power, something that belongs to us, and has always belonged to us. Itâs the reason we are still alive now, they fear us. This landâ this planet alone, it all belongs to us.â
Nameless continued looking up, brow knit in confusion. Her heart beat out of control, breath stale and staggering to keep her alive in the very same place she stood, and she wasnât there anymore, backgrounds changing to a fuzzy rainy ghost town full of dead trees, where an orange house stood and a warm family lived. The drops of a far away rain hammered on her skin, and never left.
When her eyes looked up again, they were wet with tears. âDaddy, I donât understand! Does that mean they want to really destroy our species? Because they are⊠greedy?â
Father looked at the girl sternly, but didnât give her a response, stirring the brewage silently as Nameless wiped her eyes clean. In fact, her father would never give her an answer, but the fact that his eyes had stared at her so intently brought tears to her face every time.
A part of Uraraka had once found herself believing that travels like these were bound to be fun, used for bonding and mental training. As she had been packing all her stuff, the only thoughts that racked her head being images of her friends laughing, telling stories as they went or taking about everything and nothing at the same time.
Of course, she had been wrong.
Not too much. But still.
The group walked through the forest in a slow trudge, under the shelter of a blinding sunshine that never gave it a rest. Whilst they were walking just by a river â Iida had diligently explained to her that the Capital was located just by a river, so as long as they went in the right direction, they would never get lost â there was no breeze whatsoever, and Uraraka had to remind herself that using magic under such critical elements was not healthy.
There was this moment when Tokoyami came to her side and asked for some whips of air, as Asui had no knowledge of how to do them. The brunette had sighed in resignation. âItâs not wise to use elements you canât actually bend in space. Bending elements consumes energy, but bending elements one has to actually create is an incredible waste of energy.â
Kaminari, who had been talking with her all the way, butted in shamelessly. âWhoa, those books that Yaoyorozu gave you must have paid off for sure. You sound so technical, Uraraka.â
The sorcerer smiled as contently as possible, sweat gleaming under the hat. âOne tries her best. It has happened to me that when I try to light up a candle with no fire around, I feel a bit colder afterwards. So now, creating air out of nothing would possibly knock me into a heat stroke, and I doubt you guys would enjoy carrying me all the way to our next stop.â
She could already hear Bakugou scheming ways to convince her to help Tokoyami, and fumed at his back. He walked a few steps ahead of them, battle sword in hand just in case any nasty enemy came to crash the party. Bakugou looked behind him and instantly snapped when he found her staring at him with that stupidly fumming of hers. âWhat the hell are you gawking at me for, Uraraka?â
âWow, Bakugou, moody much.â commented the other blonde, and it sounded like such an obvious statement, devoid of surprise and just too plain regular that nobody paid him any attention. âSleepless again?â
This time, the hunter was the one to look back at her, but his eyes werenât as loaded with hatred as one would expect them to be. âYeah, talkative midgets wonât let one rest.â
Uraraka found herself very much offended when all eyes landed on her. âHey, I am not that talkative! Stopâ Asui, are you seriously laughing at me?â
Asui had only giggled a bit, which counted as a laughing fit for her. âSorry, I am just kind of glad you two are already making nice. Kudos for putting up with Bakugou so far.â
The leader stopped in his tracks and leaped before Asui with a tapping finger on her arm. It had taken him way too long to snap at someone, which made Uraraka breathe out, finally. It was better to have him throwing a fit now than when they got to the village, tired and sore from skipping streams and getting boulders out of the way.
âOi, who you calling hysterical, frog girl!?â
She only blinked at him, not as terrified as pale Kaminari was of him. It really seemed like most people from Yuuei had the beast under control, but even Uraraka herself who was kind of used to him â she had experienced him at his worst personally, there wasnât much worse than that in store for her â would jump at his brashness sometimes. Asui, though, she was so collected and unbreakable.
Sometimes, she wondered ifâ
âFUCK!â Uraraka turned to see Tokoyami clutching his shoulder in pain, and with a little shift of his posture, she found a dagger stabbing his skin. âWhat the absoluteââ
âMy my, foreigners in our territory!â
The crew turned to their right, above the river and up to a mountain cliff. The leader of the group growled loudly and unconsciously walked to stand before his team, sword drawn at the unwanted presence that stood atop the cliff. They wore black cloaks and there was this one that stood in front of the group with some kind of scepter drawn out, black strands of hair blowing in the wind. Uraraka could even sense the wicked smirk that Bakugou sported so well under the capes.
âHold onâŠâ her eyes squinted at the cloaks, and recognized the beads at the pointed hoods. Her breath got stuck in her throat. ââ t-those areâŠ!â
âThat fucker.â snarled Bakugou, cleaning some sweat from his jaw. âWhere the hell did you guys come from?â
The female voice talked again, head lolled in mean intentions. âNobody you will ever care about, soft boy.â she looked at one of her henchmen. âWipe them out.â
This mercenary swung his hand to the right, and a thousand purple spears appeared in the air, pointing at them, and fell down faster than a lightning bolt to crush them dead, pierce their skulls and leave them bleeding on the ground, making the leader chuckle and lips her licks at the full display of flesh sheâd have for her people, butâ
âLook out!â Urarakaâs staff swung at the sky and a rampage of fire and lighting exploded the attack into smithereens as a ceiling of light rippled in the air, making the forest dance at the wave and the enemiesâ cloaks float for a few seconds. The energy rippled onwards into the forest, and burnt some of the highest trees until they were no more than ash.
Uraraka stood straight again, forehead sweaty and weak knees. âThat was close.â
Bakugou smacked her on the neck with a grimace, which she rubbed in pain. âNo need to burn the fucking whole forest down though. Weâre seriously gonna work on that.â
The woman narrowed her eyes at the awaiting group, dangerous lights flickering down in her glower. âNoisy children.â she tugged at her hoodie, and dug some dirt out of the cliff with her staff. âBe right back, guys. Donât wait up.â
And the woman straight jumped off the cliff, staying in mid air for a few seconds to focus on a safe landing. The blonde leader tugged at Urarakaâs neckline and yanked her backwards so she could stay out of the damn way because she didnât know how to do anything else but stand in his way. When he saw that that damn witch was going to land straight on him, he dug his blade on the dirt and held his wrist straight up.
âThis is gonna hurt like a motherfuââ and he fired, rippling explosions driving through his skin until they imploded and exploded into the air fifty meters above them, fire bubbling in the air as a gust of wind rushed into the ground and slammed on the dirt loudly, making Asui actually stumble and fall into Iidaâs armored hands. Uraraka held onto life by driving her staff into the ground, Kaminari holding onto her as well.
This foe though, she was no commoner. Her body dived straight through the explosion with her cloak riding the air, and the hunter had to leap back with a shriek her her scepter slapped the ground and made the soil crack under her feet. Then, she was up, head titled in amusement as her voice cackled in disbelief. âFun trick, kid. You sure donât fool around.â
âYouâŠâ Tokoyami stepped forward as well, standing by Urarakaâs side. A hazard of a shadow lurked behind his eyes, oh she could tell so well, and his hands were clenched in crossed arms, pondering the potential of this enemy. âyou are one of those illegal hunters, arenât you? From the Jirou family.â
âNe, such a blunt statement from a bird boy.â she wiped something from the corner of her mouth, and Uraraka came tumbling into the terrifying conclusion that is was red, crimson blood. âWhy say it so spitfully, boy? Itâs not like we are the plague. And please, donât make me feel related with that bunch of scruffy criminals. I have more class than that.â
Kaminari stepped in front of Uraraka and Asui, who looked troubled at the sight of such shady woman. âNot like you made that evident, jumping off a high cliff to attack some kids.â
âNever said it wasnât an adventurous kind of class, blondielocks.â her eyes bled in blue purity into Urarakaâs ones, speaking of horrible death penalties for the sorcerer in her head. âAh, this child. You sure ruined my little show before, I can get why your village is so damn scared of you.â
Her other hand rested on top of a black whip, nails long, black and dirty. Her uniform was torn in several places, revealing bunches of scarred skin and blood caked on her hip. This woman â Uraraka shuddered under Bakugouâs glare, who was exceptionally aware of what she was thinking â was dangerous. In a kind worse than Bakugou, worse than Shinsou, or darker than that manâs chamber at the mountain crevasse.
She was terrifying, and the thought made her take a step back until she was met with silence from the black-haired woman. Something was telling her to step back, something deep inside those eyes made her world fall into a ditch of statics and bugs, nagging thoughts of nightmares and blood dripping down her hands, heads surrounding her and rain falling on her neck againâ
A jolt of electricity made those thoughts disappear until they were no more than a stain in her mind. âSheâs toying with you. Donât look into her eyes or sheââ
âMy, such a talkative boy.â snarled the woman, flicking her hair over her shoulder under the cloak. âLet me introduce myself, even though I doubt itâs necessary, right? Judging by your faces, I doubt itâs necessary.â
Her hand fetched her hoodie and tossed it behind, revealing a sharp, pale face with black glasses and pointed factions. That face⊠â Uraraka screwed her eyes shut, biting her lip as she thought back in days when she had seen that face, that victory and those dead eyes of hers thatâ  Uraraka gasped, and a mild rush of fear ran down her spine at seeing such a dangerous figure stand idle in front of them, in front of him.
âI go by the name of Midnight, referred as Hollow Despair by my peers and all those who survive me.â her voice was arrogant, but not in the way Bakugouâs was, again. She was in so many ways as mean as the leader was, yet it was easy to see he was just unreliant and brash. Yet, this woman⊠she was so much more than that. âHey, brown eyes, see this staff? Itâs way prettier than yours.â
Uraraka had the urge to spit on her and say it just wasnât her cup of tea, because that scepter of hers held a deadly aura nobody liked. Black staff with bars surrounding a cracked skull, moss growing out of the ancient heirloom. It sprinkled some odd vibes off the scepter, smells like a cemetery, and the place is suddenly deadly silent for the moments to come, the voice of this mercenary filling the whole forest. âI am a necromancer, professional in the art of death and despair, and whoever who crosses paths with me is destined to receive a nightmare battle. No opponent of mine leaves unscarred. Nobody ever has.â
This makes Uraraka gulp, and hears the distant clinking of Bakugouâs sword being drawn out from the earth, and a chuckle. It is all so distant, why did she feel like this? Blood was plumping into her heart in a frenzy, rationality forgotten as her hands trembled on her staffâs hold. What the hell was going on?
âNecromancers are the antithesis of sorcerers.â mumbled Asui to her peer, who eyed the pharmacist with tired eyes. It looks like Asui was kind of exhausted as well. âTheir energy naturally draws your energy and sucks it into their bloodstream. Our magic canât do much against them.â
âThen, we are useless?â exclaimed she, frantic and desperate as the deafness only drew in closer. âWe canât do anything?â
âPretty much.â Asui looked at the four warriors in front of them, and eyed Bakugou as he drew his blade in front of his guild mates loyally, which made Asui sigh in relief. âThey wonât need us that badly. I wouldnât worry much over it.â
The brunette had never felt this helpless in her whole life. This was the first time she remembered to have needed to lay down her weapons, nature too cruel and mean to allow her to fight. Her hands trembled in anxiety as the boys aimed for the woman, attempting to nuke her as hard as possibleâ but their attacks were futile against that agile woman who rejected their attacks with a swing of her damned scepter.
âWhat the hell, woman?â the leader held a hand up, explosions rippling, and slammed it to the ground as to make it tremble, knocking her back a few meters as it cracked and shook under Bakugouâs grasp. âYou a look a lilâ shaken up! Why donât you come and face us?â
His bravado was all but useful â mused Uraraka solemnly, gripping her staff with strength. A little breeze blew from behind her in the middle of the battle, making her nape feel relieved and her life start beating anew, renewed limbs and decision etched in her thin veins. Asui looked at that dangerous glint of hers, and grew worried for her friend.
âIida, protect Asui!â called the brunette, making the knight spin to meet her eyes. âI will serve as support for them!â
The brunette treaded towards the fighting blur of colors and smashed the ground with her foot, a column of spikes rippling from beneath and running towards the necromancer, who broke them with ease with a swing of her scepter. Ah, so much for being sneaky, and Bakugou looked at her with exasperation at her for pulling such bland move.
âOh, we have a newcomer here.â Midnight tossed a strand of hair aside and pounded the ground with her weapon. Uraraka heard Bakugou and Kaminari grunt, and they were clutching their heads when she craned her head to meet them. Her eyes grew concerned, but didnât think much of it. âItâs good to see a little mage playing with the world as well. We sure are the misunderstood profession, huh.â
Her heart was tugging ever so slowly as Midnight stared at her intently, and her stomach lurched as something akin to exhaustion and awkwardness stirred deep inside of her, her brain racking with various facts that suddenly made her feel nervous, anxiety crawling and gnawing from behind as it pulled, pulled, and suddenly impacted on her.
The brunette was almost brought to her knees as energy was drawn from her, replaced with all kinds of negative thoughts that had her mind screaming to stop, weak and fragile, slow and burning. âDisposable.â snapped the necromancer, and tugged her hand up to make the ground quake beneath her, sending Uraraka flying towards the depths of the forest.
Kaminari screamed for her name, but was interrupted halfway when her feet scraped the ground and created cushioning spikes of stone and stopped the push, landing on her knees with a hand on the ground, panting. Bakugou and Iida blinked at her, and watched her brush a bead of sweat off her jaw. She might have survived that, but that woman was drawing energy off her too fast.
âYou canât die, huh? Miracle girl I shall call you.â snarky, egocentric and the pure evil, that woman was. The little sorcerer was able to stand up, and Kaminari instantly came to shield her, whip drawn out and sparkling with bolts. Midnight licked her lips at the blonde boy, who was frowning in a threat at the mad woman. âDonât stare at me so hard, boy.â
She dug her scepter a bit harder on the ground, her smirk tightening as Bakugou and Kaminari this time doubled over in pain. They groaned a few curses, but still managed to stand. Bakugou dug his hand into his head and Uraraka saw him tugâ wow, he was trying hard. âWhat kind of game are you playing, damned witch?â
Urarakaâs eyes then drew to the staff on Midnightâs hand, and watched the skull. Blood rushed to her ears and deafened for a second, a wave of displeasant wind thundering across the small clearing. It sent Bakugou and Kaminari to their feet almost instantly, but Uraraka was quick to bend the current and drive it back to her, sending the mercenary flying meters behind again.
âFucking shit,â mumbled the leader, struggling to stand again now that the other woman was a bit further away, trudging towards Uraraka. âwhat the fuck are youââ
âShe may be a necromancer andâŠâ her legs buckled underneath her, but Bakugou made no attempt to help her stand as in, as he expected, she was able to sustain the swoon and manage to grab her staff for support. âall that. But that doesnât mean we canât use brutal force against her.â
Bakugou stretched his fist with his other hand and rolled his neck a little. âI can handle her, but your magic will only nurture her if you use too much of it. It ainât wise at all to go into battle, Uraraka.â
The girl eyed him warily, an eyebrow quirked as she finally properly stood up. Midnight was starting to stand up, brushing some dirt off her neck, and Kaminari stepped to his peers again. âShe ainât backing off easy, huh?â
âAinât happening.â the leader was still kind of scored on, his legs were quivering in the meanest of ways, and he held his head on his hand. Still, the grimace of a challenge still gung on his face. That made her smirk a little, and his sword hissed in front of her feet. âNot like we canât take that bitch, right?â
Uraraka dug into the ground with a defiant, meancing glint in her eyes, and Kaminari stretched his fists as jolts shot out of them. Still, the girl wasnât sure if they would hold up for much longer. They were panting, willing to fight but their bodies seemed to have other plans. She did hold onto hope despite the circumnstances, and watched the necromancer get to her feet with a horrifyingly pissed expression.
Her head snapped to the cliff she had come from. âWhat the fuck are you losers doing up there? Get these kids!â
Bakugou already had a plan in mind, and flashed a glare at the bird man. âBirâ Tokoyami, Iida!â
âGot you, master.â Tokoyami was gone in a flash of shadows, and a screech that Uraraka had to cover her ears from. Iida was gone with the boy, and had left Asui to stride to her companions.
The enemy was gripping her cloak when Uraraka looked up again, and this strange, bleak smile broke free when she had all their attention. Her brow was knit though, showing a contradictory set of emotions. The sad, angry and ravenous vibe never wore off, and only started to wear thin on everyone. The more they looked in her eyes, the more the darkness drew closer.
Bakugou stepped a little bit forward, standing in front of the group. The woman wanted to laugh. She did. âOh my, such mighty group sending two boys after my mercenaries. I hope you bid them good farewells before this encounter.â
Kaminari put Asui behind him in basic instinct. Uraraka, instead of being content with the arrangement, stepped forward as well. âYou should be worrying about your people more, old hag.â
âWhat do youââ
A collection of pained screams issued from somewhere in the forest, along with the very same screech they had heard before but double in intensity, as if moaning in misery. It was heartbreaking, yet immensely powerful. Midnight turned at them in disgust after narrowing her eyes at the source of sound. âWhat evenââ
âThat must be Tokoyami sorting out the trash, ribbit.â
âTokoyamiâŠ?â now that Uraraka thought about it, she didnât even know much about him. As far as she had seen, he didnât even have weapons with him. What the hell was his profession or skill if he even had one? âWell, thatâs not the thing now!â
Mignight growled at the people who she saw as children, a nuisance, and pounded the ground with her scepter. âSilence!â
âGAH!â
Kaminari and Bakugou let out a loud scream of pain before limping onto the ground, trembling and crawling on the ground for dear life. Kaminari was out of comission in a second, his trembling stopping altogether and his breath haltering. Uraraka gasped and stiffled in a scream as some blood started pooling around the boyâs head, white and statics covering her mind as screeches, blood and rain mixed in a metallic pang of worry and panicking.
And above all, red. The red of Bakugouâs eyes, squinting at the necromancer as he crawled to her. It was as if gravity was pulling him down and not up as usual, his voice wasnât edgy nor his muscles were tensed in emotion. This was raw, desperate Bakugou, crawling as Uraraka stared from behind.
âY-You⊠fucking bitchâŠâ
Moments of void echos vibrated in the zone, and the leader fell out of consciousness, reality leaving his thoughts and movements and he fell, shattered and stopped breathing. When Uraraka and Asui saw the very same crimson blood start falling off Bakugouâs closed lids, something snapped in Uraraka. The image came in waves at her, something about it being so so vaguely familiar, yet so very distant and out of reach.
Showered in far away, metallic awry rain, she watched the blood spill from his head, and then looked up at Midnight in pure rage. âWhat the hell do you think you are doing to my people, witch!?â
âI canât really see the diffââ
âShut up!â Uraraka flung her staff in front of her, ruffles of fire cascading down onto the earth, with lighting, making Midnight jump to a side and avoid the fire crackers.
Her staff touched ground again, and as she crossed her hands, an ancient spirral of chaos and destruction shone under her feet, contained in a white seal of thunder and rocks. âAccept your fate, nothings!â
When she released the seal, a big thunder wave of wind and lighting slammed onto the ground, shook the gravel and sent the brunette flying meters behind, trashing trees at her wake as she flew across the air and landed on a bigger tree, which resisted her push yet made her head hit the trunk pretty bad, clothes scarred and torn with burns on her skin. The area was ruined with a long hallway of broken trees and dust, making Asui frown her eyes at the murderer.
Uraraka didnât get up yet.
Midnight looked at Asui with disdain. She couldnât feel any magic in her, and that⊠thing wasnât even human. She was a mutant. âI donât know what you are, little thing,â with a hard thrust on a crack, Asui was flying as a rock pillar sent her out of the ground from below. âbut I donât think these kids will need you anymore.â
Asui tried her best to flail her arms around for some movement, but Midnight ended discarding her at the river that flowed behind them, and Asui didnât surface from the dark waters either. The necromancer chuckled at the rich collection of decaying bodies in front of her, and saw them writhe a little as she moved. Her scepter articulated a chain with a gripper, that attached itself to Bakugouâs neck. It gripped his throat tightly, and as Midnight tugged at the chain, she smirked. Delicious blood dripped down his jaw as his nose bled as well, and she kicked his shoulder as she clenched the chain with her fists.
âPretty little boy.â the tugged at the chains harder, and tried to dislocate his shoulder with another kick from her heeled foot. âSuch a disgââ
A explosion was heard in the distance, and Uraraka was sent flying after Midnight as fire rippled from her palm, screaming at the top of her lungs. âWHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!â and her body impacted with Midnightâs in a deaf sound, movement stilling before the woman was sent straight into the cliff, a cavity created as the necromancer unceremonously landed on the wall.
Uraraka hissed in pain and waved her hand with a little blow. She couldnât understand how Bakugou did that crime on a daily basis without being handicapped for a while, because her hand would bleed and bruise after such compression and explosion of energy. Magic wasnât supposed to hurt her that much physically, but this trick of his was a fucking suicide bomb.
However, Midnight didnât take much longer to be getting up again. Uraraka looked at the river, and alarms rung all over her head, an annoying beep in her ears as the crash left the whole place silent. âAsui!â
But a clap of thunder tore the ground beneath her apart, and a huge shadow kicked her on the back as Midnight slammed the scepter into the crevasse. Uraraka rolled dangerously near the river, and the necromancer jumped to this side, snarling. âDisposable little thing.â she gave her another kick, and Uraraka was sinking into the waters of the stream.
Her eyes tried to blink open in the dark waters, and could differ some streaks of light stemming into the low ground below her as she floated deeper and deeper. Her hair waved around her like a halo, her torn clothes heavy and caressing her burnt skin, caked in blood and savage intentions that had left her dizzy, confused, and she was almost touching ground now. Luckily for her, the river was particularly still now, but it still carried her onwards little by little.
Uraraka finally fluttered her eyes open, and silence greeted her surroundings aside from occasional bubbling. She tried to make out her surroundings in the muddy waters and found out that some wounds were stinging her like bees, so she gripped her hand for dear life. Her back was throbbing as well, which wasnât very good either.
She grimaced. That nasty necromancer was for sure doing bad things to the bodies of her friends, and she had been so fired up at the thought of having to celebrate a burial in such nice day. Her eyes had lit up, teeth clenched as an avalanche of disarrayed emotions whirled through herâ only to die here, at the hands of muddy water and a laughing sociopath.
She looked at her bruised hands, then at the surface, and tried to flail a bit a move. Nothing. She kicked her feet around, nothing. Not knowing how to actually swim only came to her mind now, and she would have cursed loudly if it hadnât been for the water making its way into her esophagus, ice and fire fighting as it burned, scrorched, and she clenched her eyes in pain.
Then, something frail and lukewarm enveloped her in the muddy darkness, and she let herself be taken.
Midnight kicked Kaminariâs unconscious body a little, humming in approval. âHe would make for good fodder. I can use him as a delicious container, though⊠heh, so many possibilities for my people, toââ
A loud splash of water rumbled behind Midnight, and she turned to witness Asui enveloped ina massive bubble of water, Uraraka tucked under her arm as one of her hands was shot forwardâ and the pair floated in the ball of tides before Asui unleashed the currents onto the unsuspecting Midnight. âRiver Enchanting: Dragon Slash!â
The bubble disappeared into the shape of a roaring transparent dragon that screeched and pushed Midnight deep across the forest, creating a streak of havoc that threw the enemy out of the clearing, devastated trees and created a little earthquake when it smashed the necromancer onto the ground, throwing her to the dirt below.
Asui left an almost unmoving Uraraka on the ground as she effortlessly strode a bit towards the streak of destruction, no signs of pride showing whatsoever the moment she saw the wrecked, shaking bodies of her peers on the ground. The other sorcerer made an attempt to lift her head, and started coughing out water like a sprinkled as soon as she was conscious enough.
As Asui stepped nearer, she glared at Midnight like she had never done. âDonât underestimate a little girl like me, hunter.â
Midnight hissed dangerously at the herbalist, crouched and wiping some dirt and blood clean from her face. âNot worth the pain, fucking children.â she tucked her head under the hoodie of her cloak and fled out of the scene, letting Asui breathe in relief while rushing to Urarakaâs side.
The girl was trying to spit all water out of her lungs, clutching her chest while grunting and grimacing at her blisters and cuts. âAre you alright, Uraraka?â
Cough, cough. âY-yeah, justââ she closed and opened her bruised hand, sighing in relief when there was no open wound that could have been polluted by the water. ââ kinda peachy. the others thoughâŠâ
Uraraka scrambled to her feet and hurried over Bakugou to slap his cheeks a few times, then shook him. The fallen leader only breathed a little bit, blood falling down his nose and trailing on his cheek. Uraraka craddled him on her arms while Asui checked on Kaminari. She wasnât even thinking, all she wanted now was for him to wake up, just wake up, jusâ
âUraraka, stop!â she couldnât understand. Why was seeing Bakugou hurt hammering so hard on her? Her heart wasnât beating that hard, she wasnât breathing heavilyâ no signs of distress, yet, why was she clutching his head so tightly?
Metallic thunder and rain clapped in another place, falling down on them in another story, another world, another time. It was raining somewhere else.
âMotherâŠâ
âWe must hurry!â the brunette eased one of his arms around her neck carefully, and wrapped her own arm around his waist, getting up. âWe need to take them to the nearest village, quickly!â
Asui obediently tucked her own arm around Kaminari, who almost toppled over and crushed her with his weight. âCouldnât you use your ability, though? We could take them there faster.â
âImpossible.â and Uraraka regretted saying this, because if she had spent more time training her skills rather than chatting around, she would be able to take them flying somewhere safe. âMy ability gives me terrible nausea if I overuse it. I havenât had enough training toââ she adjusted Bakugouâs body on her side with a grunt. ââto actually develop it properly. Damn it.â
âWe should manage until we get to our next stop, but we will have to make it a race.â Asui looked around her, searching for the right path in the midst of the forestal havoc around them. âWe will have to make Iida sprint to the village and tell the others to give us a hand. Yaoyorozu is our best hand to play here.â
Uraraka took a cautious step, shrugging his body closerâ then another. She could manage. âThis guy sure is heavy, but alright. I gotta⊠be strong, and push on.â this last bit was murmured more for herself, mentally lost in the middle of a clearing of confusion, worry and searing heat around them.
But Asui smiled anyway.
When Bakugou came to, he felt like wherever he was, it was the wrong place.
His fingertips scraped the soft thing underneath him, tilting his head a bit when he was met with a soft blanket, rough at the edges, but smooth all the same. His head was on something bland, and his neck, bandaged and kind of tight. It was stitchy. His arms felt sore as well, and his wrist was pained, swollen much probably.
His mind did the kind gesture of backtracking a bit, then heard noises out of the place he was in. He clenched his eyes close for a second as light started filtering it, hinges sounding, and steps trudged around him.
âBakugou?â
The leader woke up with a start when he saw Asui staring at him right in the face, not more than a few inches away from his nose. âWhat the actual fuck, frog girl!â
âI was expecting you to remember my name or at least call me by it. Whatever.â the blonde boy supported himself on his elbows and looked at her go to a little table at the end of his brown, orange and white room. There were a lot of medical supplies there. âTry to rest. You werenât easy to fix.â
His eyes trailed down his abdomen, but no bandages rested there. There was nothing in his arms, excepting his hands, and then he had one wrapped around his forehead, something heavy straped on it. Bakugou let out a big breath of exhaustion as the events from lastâ
âHow longâŠâ Asui came to remove the damp cloth from his head and nodded. âhave I been here?â
âTwo days.â answered the girl quickly, and dried the cloth on a nearby bucket. âMidnight did a number on you and Kaminari.â
âright, two days since that stupid witch, a spawn of the devil, came to play with him. He felt impossibly weak after being so beaten up, and undeniably  weak and stupid. He wondered: what would had he looked like, laying half dead on the ground at the mercy of such a powerful enemy like that woman? The ground had cracked evenly beneath his muscles, pain rippling inside his mindâ and suddenly, he was no more. The aftermath was rough, but so was the fall.
âRibbit! Donât burn the mattress, Bakugou!â smoke was steaming from his hands, and Asui had to slap them off before he had no bed to sleep on.
He frowned and attempted to sit on the bed. When Asui tapped his shoulder, he extended his arm obediently, stil fuming over his defeat. âI just canât believe that bitch got me so damn goodâŠâ Asui quietly damped his neck and shoulder on oilments, and looked over his arm with critical eye. âDamn that Jirou clan⊠They are no good news.â
The girl gave his neck a final squeeze and retreated back a little to squeeze the water out of the cloth on a bucket. âShe was overpowered, there was no hope for us to win. All Uraraka and I could do was knock her around a little bit. Thank god she got tired of us quickly.â
Bakugou frowned when that damn sorcererâs name came into the topic, and hissed with deep hatred. She sure must have had the time of her life laughing at his decaying corpse while she nuked that necromancer. âOf course you were able to play with her.â he didnât know who he was exactly referring to, but he was getting pretty mad at the image of him laying and Uraraka standing and fighting. âFucking sure you could.â
âSheesh, calm down.â Asui stared at Bakugou shredding the blankets again. Such a waste of bed clothing. âItâs fine. You donât need to be the one stomping on othersâ heads all the time. Does it really make you that mad we were the ones who got her to escape?â
âI donât fucking care you were able to get her out of our tails. We wouldnât be here if it werenât for you girls doing something.â his grimace got so drunken in rage and regret that he had to close his eyes and seethe in silence. âBut I canât get over that damn midgetââ
âOh, so this is about Uraraka, even after all this time.â
The leader craned his head slowly to glare at the herbalist, who clearly didnât give a fuck about his little grudges with her. âDonât sass me either, you damnââ
âNo, really. I can understand what you mean.â condoned Asui, a finger to her mouth. Judging by Bakugouâs surprised face, frown squished in wonder, she had all his attention. âWe are all aware of what Uraraka is capable of doing. There will come a moment when she will surpass our own expectations, and she will step over us in power.â
âYes, damn straight.â agreed he, slamming a fist on the ruined blankets with a snarl. âFinally, someone sees my pointââ
âHowever,â of course, she had to ruin the little communication they had. âthat doesnât mean she is a menace to us. All this time, she has proven to us that she had a good heart in many ocassions. Do I have to remind you of how she still tries to talk to you despite your foul personality?â
Bakugou almost jumped out of the bed and knocked her to a better life, but decided against it because, after all, she was the one curing him. âI am a damn delight!â he slumped on the wall, arms crossed and pouted, nose wrinkled in distaste. âAnd itâs not like she is trying. She just doesnât get the damn hint I donât wanna be her friend, and if it was up to me, Iâd fucking  have her head on a wall.â
âYou still personally accepted into the guild, though.â
âWhen will you all stop rubbing that in my face!?â screamed he, but Asui still continued stirring some creams and treatments on a flask, herbs smashed on a little handkerchief. âDamn her, and fuck her cheeks, her staff, and her ass pity! I donât need anything from her.â
âStop sulking.â scolded the water sorcerer with a minimal scowl, disliking such childish displayal. âIf you were an actual mature leader, you would have put this grudge of yours aside and looked at the situation with critical eye. I understand that you may not like her, but she has saved your ass many times now.â
âEXCUââ
âListen,â she cut him off gently, like a little knife in fire cutting a solid cube of ice butter, her eyes soft and hands fidgeting beneath his eyes set aflame. âfor starters, it was her who got up after a solid, killing blow and knocked Midnight out of the clearing. I was the one who ended up kicking her off, yesââ
âAgain, itâs not like I donât aknowledge her strength, but I donât own her aââ
ââbut she was the one who actually saved youâ not Kaminari, not Asui, nobody else but him, and he could see that tint of insistance in the pharmacistâs eyes. âfrom probably getting necked off. When she saw you in such bad state, for some reason I canât comprehend, she went berserk. Afterwards, she personally carried your ungrateful ass to the village, and helped me tend your severe woundsâ wounds that, mind you, would have been worse if it werenât for her.â
Such rush of information caught Bakugou off guard, and he actually flinched at the accusatory tone in Asuiâs tired voice. Now that he noticed, she had bags under her eyes, her hair was unkempt, and her skin has several untreated wounds. Was Uraraka in such state as well? After saving his ass, after actually carrying him here, was she untreated and disarrayed like this snarky pharmacist was? The thought suddenly didnât bode well with him, and something akin to shame panged at his heart. He swatted it away quickly though.
âLook, I know that you donât like her, and you will probably never even be friends with her. Nobody is actually asking for such miracle.â Asui padded next to the leader, who glanced at her in thought. She had never seen so silent in her whole life. âBut she doesnât deserve this rage after going out of her way for you in these occassions. In the same way you think you donât need to thank her, she doesnât need to do anything for you â itâs not her obligation, itâs not necessary, but she still wants to help you out anyway.â
Out of the blue, his grudges were kept under the shadows and they just stopped nagging at him, stopped putting him on edge, and let him take control of the situation. It was true that the sorcerer was usually nice at him â well, apart from the times when she only went to him to pester and ask ridiculous questions, but that wasnât the point. Uraraka was a threat, hell yes, she would always be one â but that didnât really need to stay that way forever.
Up to now, all she had done was put his guild out of trouble when he was either too small or the situation was too big. She was undeniably powerful, had a strong will, and needed to bloom in so many ways. She was a sorcerer, a threat to humankind he needed to keep his eyes onâ but things didnât need to be that way. It was hard to stick to such beliefs, but now that he thought about it, it was more tiring to dislike her than just humor her.
He eyed Asui warily, giving up. He could try to be actively cooperative and stop taking steps back.
âAnd how am I supposed to be nice to her?â
The girl didnât show any signs of relief or happiness, just nodded and flashed a little smile. âYou could start by going to see her. She left a few hours ago, said something about studying, and scrambled off. Maybe thanking her would make her day a bit better after slaving herself for your sake.â
âThanking her?â the concept seemed painfully foreign to him.
âRemember, Bakugou⊠she may one day tire of being nice to you. It may seem like a good riddance now, but trust me she is a keeper.â and he had been told about that a few times now. Kirishima and Kaminari had talked pretty well about her, and all he had done to condemn those opinions was accept her into the guild. He had felt like he had done enough with that, but it was seemingly too little of an action.
The blonde hunter sighed tiredly. In a way, her studying for their trainings, for his guild, after tending his wounds for being a wimp⊠it wasnât really fair. He was a fair dude. He wanted justice in his guild. He could give her justice and try to make it all easier for them bothâ and his guild, remembered he with a grimace.
âYeah, whatever. Just gonna get this over with so you guys stop giving me earfuls about her being a fucking miracle.â grunted an ugly breath of discontentment and dettached himself from the wall. âCan I walk, though?â
âOf course you can.â he sat on the edge of the bed, hands clasping the blankets with care. He would probably have to pay for those. âYour neck will feel sore for a while, and your wrist is kind of swollen too, but that should be gone in a day. For now, take it easy.â
Bakugou played a bit with both parts, twisting his wrist â it hurt â and craning his neck â that did, too, and he slammed a hand on it with a hiss. âFine. Just give me some treatments so this nuisance is gone. Where is Uraraka at?â
âThis is our room, but she didnât want to be disturbed or disturb us, so she is taking an empty room for now.â seriously, who told her to be so goddamn nice? Bakugou growled a little. Was she trying to purposefully make him feel bad? He hadnât given her a reason to do such things, just⊠âItâs the one at the end of the hallway, with the pot on its side. Try not to be too brash, alright? You just woke up.â
The leader brushed past her, fetched a simple shirt from the hanger by the door and hurried inside of it with enormous urges to get such mental burden out of the way. He had no time to deal with petty businesses like these: he needed to focus on RampAge, on the timeline, on saving it and saving his comrades. It seems like he would have to get Uraraka to feel like one to start with.
âI ainât moody, frog-girl.â grunted he over his shoulder, biting back so many insults that, after some silent thinking, she didnât deserve. âIâll come back to get some painkillers. Pray for that bratâs safety.â
Asui was about to say something about it, but her voice died when the leader slammed the door close was left with heavy stride towards the damned door. He squinted and saw that the mentioned pot was red, giving him all kinds of bad vibes. Each step he took felt like a stab into his pride and all morals he had been building these years, like tearing a wall down brick by brick. She gave him that uneasy feeling of being defenseless in front of her straightforward attitude, how she was unaffected by his remarks.
He hatâ no, he didnât hate her. He didnât want to kill her, either, he decided. She was worth keeping, but she didnât need to make him feel bad about it. He hadnât done anything to deserve such treatment. He didnât owe her anything more than a simple thank you. He had already decided that she didnât mean any evil by being so⊠like this, and all he could do was try to make it easier for her.
Bakugou just shut his critical part of his brain and acted as his fair heart wanted to. He couldnât cut her off the picture anymore when she was so adamant on sticking by him. It annoyed him, yes, baceuase she felt like a liar, because he didnât need itâ but, apparently, his guild and him sometimes needed her. And for actually being there, she deserved the recognition. Even if she annoyed him.
Knocking on the door with obvious impatience, he have the pot a kick for the sake of keeping his personal tastes in check. He then knocked again, and again, but nobody answered. It came to him that the door was unlocked after a rather violent hit, and he opened it with uncanny precaution.
Bakugou groaned way too loud when he saw her slumped over the table, too many books and scrolls crowding the desk and her head tuked on her arms, on top of a book that seemed to be almost compeltely readâ seems like exhaustion got the best of her and she had collapsed before reading the book and had, consequently, overworked herself to this extent.
Uraraka was too hard-working. It unnerved him for a reason, because she didnât need to do this and instead she went on and did it. The world wouldnât stop spinning if she took a rest after taking care of him, she didnât need to make him see her worth so hard. Not like this after saving his ass. A small wave of new guilt came crashing on him, overwhelmed him for a second. The world faded, there was only her, books, bags on her eyes and wounds on her arms, blisters, burns.
She didnât deserve this. The feeling overtook him before he whacked the chair she was on to silence his heart. âYo, Uraraka, what the hell.â
The sorcerer didnât even budge at his brash attempt, only snuggled deeper into her arms and mumbled something under her breath. The leader angrily kicked the table, which shook, but didnât wake her at all. Talk about heavy sleepers. He gave her shoulder a little shake and silently seethed over how cold she was. Now that he thought about it, the room itself was abnormally cold.
âDamn it, Uraraka.â he tried to keep it in, but he never did good with unbehaving people. He slammed the table with his hand and made all materials quiver, including the sorcerer. âFucking wake up already!â
Uraraka flung her head back with a start, almost hitting Bakugou on her side, and somehow resumed reading the book in front of her. âSorry! Right, so, humankind tried toââ
He smacked her neck with a fist, angered at such careless attitude. âWhat in the world are you doing, Uraraka?â
The girl moaned and rubbed her neck with a pout, then yawned but stopped halfway, such gruff and hoarse voice so rich and vivid that she recognized it I a second too late. She turned her head to glance up at the livid leader, who had a hand on her chair. âOh, Bakugou! Itâs good to see you awake!â
The sorcerer blinked, some tears of sleepyness trailing down her cheeks, and yawned again. He grit his teeth and had this inhuman urge to close all her books and make her rest for a damn second. âWhat the fuck are you doing? Shouldnât you be sleeping after being my nurse or something?â
He mentioned the issue so lightly that if she took it into consideration for more than a second, he didnât notice. Uraraka turned to the books, then him. âRight! Well, I just had some spare time to finish off some books Yaoyorozu gave me, so I could go get some new volumes at the local library tomorrow, because you see, what I was given was kindaâŠâ
She trailed off for a few seconds, holding Bakugou onto a line of broken dialogue, then she yawned and that was the last nail on the coffin for him. âI donât give a fuck about it, go to sleep already. It wonât do any good for you to be limping around when we train.â
Bakugou then noticed that one of her hands was completely wrapped up in bandages, as was that very same arm. In fact, some medications laid around the room and he was starting to freak out over this woman. What kind of alien civilization educated her to be this crazy? All she was doing was straining herself. He didnât give a fuck if she had a bad time while being rough on herself, he wouldnât be crossing over that line anytime soon.
However, as much as he tried to stifle those thoughts, the excuse of this load of work being bad for the overall guild seemed kind of unfounded after all she had gone through because of him. Â She didnât really deserve that, but again, he couldnât bring himself to care that much. Still, he gave her another shake when she started dozing off on him. âOi, at least hold up until I leave the room.â
âOh! You are⊠right.â the brunette rubbed her eyes awake and looked at him from lidded eyes, peeking. Exhaustion swam all around her, she had this nasty ability to transfix feelings so damn easily. âWhat did you need, though? There is no way you would come to check on me without a reason.â
One of his eyes actually twitched after what sounded like an accusation, but he didnât verbally express it because⊠nah, it wasnât worth it. âJust go to sleep already. It ainât worth it anymore.â
âAre youââ
Bakugou got a handful of her hair and smashed her head â slowly, though, as to not break the books â on the table. âYes, I am sure. Just rest for a while. ThatâsâŠâ
That was the least she deserved.
âHm?â she didnât even make an effort to get up, and only looked at him as he turned around to leave her. Her eyes were closing on their own, submerging her into a field of flickering blackness and swimming, scattered mumbling. âWhat is it?â
âTch.â Bakugou shook his head and went for the knob, and before he knew it, she was breathing evenly again. He turned to her again, and was proven right when her eyes were closed, mouth parted and chest rising and falling under his irritated glare.
His head snapped to a blob of reds on a chair in a corner of the room, and a part of him wanted to walk the extra mile and get that blanket and suffocate her so she wouldnât feel the coldness of the room. After a minute of glaring daggers into the fabric, he gave it a rest and turned heel again. He had done enough already, no need to overdo it.
Yet, right before leaving, his eyes trailed over her slomped form and sighed, vexation finding itself into him again and he closed the door, softly, muttering something about this being useless, her being irritating⊠but he still decided that he would be giving her the message he had intended to.
She always made him feel so many contradictory emotions. He wanted to respect her and be nice, but she made it so very difficult by being so unbearably⊠hardworking, determined. He didnât like admitting that Asui may have been right in most parts of her version.
Still, he didnât care. Uraraka could go and sleep around all corners and cut herself an arm as long as she didnât bother him. And this didnât bother him.
Not a single bit.
Uraraka hadnât rested. Against Bakugouâs ever so gentle orders, her head hadnât found a drop of rest in the pages of this massive book of history. When her eyes fluttered open, about half an hour after Bakugouâs departure, a load of other volumes presented themselves in front of her eyes.
She glared pointedly at them, and frowned. It was a miracle she had managed to swallow so much information on a sole go after the battle with Midnight, or dealing with a Bakucorpse and the aftermath of it all. After being warned that she needed to train her abilities more to avoid situations like these in the future, she had gotten as many books from her bag and read as much as possible. The rest⊠it had rolled off casually, really.
In a moment, she had found herself wrapping a blanket around herself and padding to Midoriyaâs dorm, which stood right in the other hallway of the little residence, and she had been given a clear response on the matter before she had even completed her request.
âNo.â
Uraraka puffed her cheeks at Midoriya, who balanced himself on a chair. Lots of documents rested on his desk, unopened envelopes and maps, and she couldnât help feeling like an intruder in his room. âAre you kidding me? Why not?â
âFor starters, I donât know why you want more books after Yaoyorozu gave a pretty reasonable amount of them. I donât understand why you have decided to finish them off so quickly either.â
âWell, I just wanted to get things out of the way! After Midnight gave us such scare, I canât go on without some kind of training. I canât train with Bakugou having RampAge on the loose, not in ideal condtions anyway.â the leader shook his head with a bashful smile that made her hold her breath. âWhatâs so good about the situation anyway?â
âYou and Bakugou are so alike sometimes⊠such a shame he will never see you in that way.â he sighed, but there was this kind smile he always had on despite being serious. This man was levelheaded and calm, smiling and kind. It reminded her of Todoroki in some ways, but Midoriya was clearly more outspoken than the other boy would ever be. âStill, I donât want you go to overworking yourself any longer. You have other things to worry about.â
Uraraka crossed her arms, folding her hands on her elbows and tapping relentlessly. âI wonât overwork myself. Itâs not like the situation doesnât require someââ she had him frowning straight away, so she had to instantly cover it up. âbut still! I know itâs not healthy for me either! And it will hit the guild if I falter.â
Since she was lying a little bit, she even used Bakugouâs words for reference. Turns out she was using Bakugouâs methods and awful lot lately. Uraraka couldnât make anything good out of it. âPlease, Midoriya! I wonât overwork myself.â
âCanât take the risk, Uraraka. You are also straining yourself too much by even being here so late in the night.â
âThe sun just set.â
âStill.â
Both sighed in dejection, as they wouldnât reach a meeting point anytime soon. Midoriya wanted his guild mates to rest idle and easy, Bakugou as well. Then existed Uraraka as an oppositing force that would do anything to fight and become a fearsome professional on her own. She had the will, she had the strength, why not let her stretch the gum a little more?
âDoesnât matter, I guess.â breathed the girl in a whisper the other didnât hear. âI will just go have a walk around the village or something. I donât think Iâll be able to have a brink of sleep after all this.â
Uraraka bowed a little with a small smile, and turned swiftly to leave. Just as Midoriyaâs chair scraped to meet the table again and focus on the matters at hand, Uraraka faltered in her step. âI donât wish to be too inquisitive, butâŠâ
Midoriya turns a little to regard her, his eyes interested on whatever business she is about to say. Again, this boy had this strange ability to make her feel warm and kind inside, always listening to her requests and cheering on her. Her mind was always at ease when she was with him, his words well intended and his attitude collected and nice. She now wondered why, somehow, she had ended hanging around Bakugou instead of him.
Fate was not on the same wavelength as her, for sure.
âWhy is Bakugou so⊠perpetually on edge with you?â this seemed to startle him, and maybe this wasnât the right mood in which to ask so Uraraka stumbled to explain. âI know this is a sudden thing to ask but⊠itâs weird to see two leaders be so distant from each other. Donât mind me if Iâm being a gossip and stuff but I justââ
âPlease, Uraraka, itâs fine.â cuts he in, waving her worry off with this little shine of his eyes that was so sweet to her and endearing. âItâs an old story, no need to even mention it. He is justâŠâ he measures his words, rolls them around his tongue and them lets them fall off in a trail of sad thoughts. There is senseless regret there, too. âletâs say he just doesnât like me much for⊠reasons, personal reasons. We are working it through.â
âButââ
âItâs fine, Uraraka. For now, just focus on resting. Wander around a bit if that will help you sleep.â the girl had so many words inside of her to still say, but she forcefully swallowed them and gulped, a hand outstretched in shock. âThere will be several fairs around town we will be attending soon, maybe you can check some out now!â
And she blinkedâ blinked because Midoriya had been so quick to raise the shield and silently kick her out before she said too much, asked too much. If there was something she knew right now was that this wasnât her place, so she gave it all up and sighed, shrugging. âYes, I will do that.â
Surprisingly enough, she didnât sound edgy at all there was this scratchy knot in her throat from both exhaustion and the feeling of having this unbreakable wall in front of her that separated her from the nice leader, and having been so blunt about it seemed like lack of respect for him. In a bow of silence, the girl turned and left with a little nod of her head, leaving the leader to sort his business, which sure werenât small.
She found herself slowly trailing down the stairs of the building, her red blanket trailing behind her with the swoosh of the night breeze. The weather wasnât humid, wasnât dry either, just lukewarm and pleasant. Still, probably due to her tiresome schedule, something was off about it. There was a mild disturbance in the air, something about her stride was too fast, and people around her minded their own business when they felt so far away from her.
Right before leaving the small building, she noticed that the main door had no knob to open it with. She turned to a maid hurrying around the lobby. âExcuse me, miss! Exâ excuse me?â
The blonde woman halted her frantic race to look at Uraraka, a basket of dirty clothes to wash on her arms. âIs there anything you need?â
âWell, I wonder how⊠I know this may sound stupid but,â she signaled at the door behind her with a thumb, smile bashful and the other hand clutching the blanket around her. She also realized her hat was gone. âhow do you open the front door? Do I have to push it open? I feared it wouldââ
The maid arched an eyebrow at her after looking behind her shoulder. âMiss, Iâm afraid there must be a mistake.â
She pointed at the door, and Uraraka was met with a silver knob shinning teasingly under the lights of the candle chandelier above them. Her breath staggered in her mouth, swirled and got heavy like lead, falling down her stomach and crushing any sense of tranquility inside of her. Her thoughts, her little antics and whatever spark in her doe eyes faded to black, and her jaw trembled, shivered and cackled against her upper teeth.
The maid wasnât there anymore, only the feeling of being forcefully scraped out of the world and everything felt even odder than before, drearier, and all she could wonder was how the situation had gotten to this point. It had to be the timeline being messed up again â concluded she, gulping a big bubble of thick realization, eyes wide as saucers. The walls crumbled, the paintings fell and the maid disintegrated to flesh and bones, no more a woman, but a corpse.
This situation was⊠wrong. It was wrong in so many levels.
The sorcerer slowly touched the doorknob and finally released a load of relief when it didnât bite her, or burnt her skin. She twisted it and she didnât even bother looking behind her to watch the maid leave, just high tailed it out and closed the door behind her.
The small village was soaring to life, apparently. There was this small bonfire near her, at the center of the village, and some stands of warm food and little silly games were put around her zone. Her eyes drank from the orange flicker of the torches, ears tingling when she heard childish laughter â a few children came running near her, and she had to step away before they crushed her, all with a smile. The moon was high in the horizon, stars covered by some clouds, but it was beautiful in every way.
Her orbs roamed, her body idle, and when her eyes landed on a little tent, she snapped and her heart jumped. Some building away from hers stood a little purple tent, beady with crystals and lacking a door, just a curtain to let curious wanderers in. If she was insistent enough, a small quantity of incense could be noticeable.
Her feet made the way to the tent without the sorcerer really realizing it, and Uraraka found herself peeking from the curtain. Inside, there was only a little table, two candles lit with blue fires, and a deck of cards. The small breeze made her hair sway with the gentleness of its caress. She tucked a strand behind her ear before speaking out.
âHello? Good night⊠I amââ
âWelcome, dear.â
Uraraka was near to smacking a hinge off the fabric tent when the woman made an appearance in a cloud of mist, her head cocked to a side after seeing the little girl so shaken. Darkness embraced her like a second skin, the lights wrapping around her clothes in a mysterious, whimsical aura of obiquity and deep intentions, covered by a veil. All Uraraka could make out of her was her infinite trail of black hair, impolite porcelain skin and a black dress. And the thought of the woman unconsciously hiding her identity only made Uraraka feel further away from this world, tucked safely on this very small tent where incense fleeted on a thick cloud of dense air, hard to pin down but still offputting.
âIâm glad you came.â again, it was like a golden thread of smooth silk touching her, that voice. It was enticing and pleasant to hear. âNot much people entrust their lives with oracles these days. Your eyes though⊠seem troubled.â she took a break before saying these words. âAnd exhausted.â
Uraraka tangled her fingers on the back of her head and rubbed, rubbed, because those eyes of hers were echoing so hard into hers, and the air was again, too thick. She couldnât see them move, yet she could feel her as if she was an inch away from her. âAh, well, I didnât have much sleep tonight, miss. I was walking around here and saw this little place.â
âTell me, young girl.â she reached out and lifted Urarakaâs chin up, and she didnât put much of a fight. âWhat is it that troubles you?â
The sorcerer shuddered under her touch, and felt some kind of void when the woman busied her hands in shuffling the tarot cards. Whoever this oracle was, she had this power to draw information from her ever so easily. Her voice was soft and sweet like honey, but intentions and movements sharp like a razor blade. Still, the incense tingled around her, calming these feelings down.
âWell, I have been having these⊠weird dreams, nightmares. It can be any of both, really, but they follow the same theme, the same story.â Uraraka crossed her arms, trying to remember vivid images of it all. But all she could see now was a smiling girl, sunflowers in her hands and bloodstains on her dress. âI donât know who it is about⊠I see it all as a spectator, as an omnipotent force who can do nothing but stare.â
âDreams and nightmares, a classic.â the woman laid the deck on the table, and folded her arms beneath her chest. âIf you are having these occurrences, it means that something is calling out for you. Tell me, could they be something akin to lost memories?â
âI⊠I donât believe that to be the case.â despite that being the only likely scenario, Uraraka found herself ending up denying the possibility. âI never woke up with any sense of recollection, or bonds for that matter. The feelings fade from the memory fast, but they leave scars. I can feel it all,â she raised her shaking hand to the light of a candle, black swallowing her palm, and then closed it. No sense of completion got to her, so she mourned in silence. âbut itâs all like a far away feeling⊠I get this inkling it all may have to do with my dreams.â
The woman had listened obediently and nodded, it was her turn to play her role now. âI see, I can understand the trouble. Do you wish to make them disappear?â
Uraraka recalled having heard names from people she knew in those wild sets of dreams, adding fuel to the fire. âIâd want to find out what they mean, and then get rid of them, if itâs possible.â
The woman chuckled, but it wasnât an evil kind of laugh. âIt is possible, dear.â her hands disappeared from the table, and Urarakaâs breath was again dancing inside her lungs, stuck, when she drew out an ivory knife, golden handle and black dots on the back. âI will need a droplet of your blood.â
She took the sharp knife with dainty hands, testing its weight, and Asuiâs lessons suddenly came to mind. âDo you plan to create some kind of potion with it?â
âNot exactly.â the oracle hit the deck to even all the cards, and tapped it twice. âThese cards shall tell what those dreams mean, for which I will need to identify you. Your blood is all I need.â
Used to specific information, accurate data and loads of nearby facts, somebody being this vague struck hard in her, and she found herself feeling wrong in this place. The smell of incense and tightness was squeezing her heart in a vicious clap, all swirling around her madly as she stood in the eye of the hurricane. It was wrong, but at the same time, what could she do in this situation?
The girl sighed, dedicated a last look at the oracle, and cut the back of her palm with the knife. Rich, crimson blood started flowing out of it steadily, and when the oracle pushed the deck near to her, Uraraka tightened her palm into a fist and a newborn drop fell on the deck. As soon as the blood touched the deck, it vanished into a little puff of burnt paper, leaving only two cards on the table.
âThese two will tell you all information you need to know.â condemned the oracle, her eyes swirling around Urarakaâsâ and god, she could feel everything in this room sharpening, making her feel light-headed, and somewhere along the way her recollection of even entering this place left her. âWe will lift the first card, now.â
Her nails scraped the table, then flipped the card. Uraraka recognized it, and the view left her speechless for a second, a shadow setting behind her eyes as fear and horror soaked her whole.
âThe Hanged Man.â spoke the oracle, solemnly. When the sorcerer didnât even ask about it, she lifted an eyebrow at her. âNo need to alarm. There are no cards that are directly negative, but since this affects your dreams, I reckon you should be paying more attention to them.â
âWhatâŠâ her heart shrunk in her ribcage, eyes staring in disbelief at the glaring image. Her hand fisted the blanket around her. Uraraka only knew that the oracleâs voice had turned somewhat colder, only lukewarm, and heartfelt. âwhat is this supposed to mean?â
âA crossroad.â she took the card with two hands and showed it to the shivering girl. The image boomed inside the girlâs dampening mind, drunken in incense and high on clashing emotions that had her heart near an arrest. The fires lit up against the card. âA road that will have you make a decision. There will come a moment in your life when you will have to make a decisionâ an important one.â
âA⊠decision.â whispered Uraraka, her brow knit but trembling in confusion as danger thrived in a far away place from this, a very different time and very different circumstances. Her eyes drifted to a corner to not let this compelling sentence crush her, and the oracle nodded curtly. âWhat does this have to do with my dreams?â
âYour dreams are trying to guide you through your decision. They are posing different the options you may not see now, but you which you will see in the future. Someday, you will have to face a choice. And it may not make you happy, or others for that matter.â murmured the oracle, yet her voice blared in the otherâs ears.
So she shifted her hands on her lap and let it all sink in slowly, letting the thread leisurely snap inside of her, letting bleakness and obscure colors sneak up on her. âI⊠see.â
The oracle checked on her for a second, then flipped the next and last card when Uraraka nodded at her to proceed. The view afterwards pleased Uraraka to an extent, but the feeling dimmed quickly when the oracle only stared deep in thought. When the oracle caught the sorcerer shifting her eyes between her and the cards, a long sigh escaped her lips and fanned the veil.
âThe Hierophant.â judging by her solemn tone, that wasnât good news. However, she was now avoiding Urarakaâs inquisitive irises, which were searching for clues in the oracleâs hidden expression. There was a ghost of a grimace in her voice. âIt comes to affirm all I have been told to this very moment.â
Uraraka tiptoed around the topic carefully, and doubted about what to say next. She found her ground a solid minute later. âWhat⊠does it mean?â
âIt means making a choice. A good, correct choice.â responded the oracle, her tone dripping with grieving and sheer disgrace. Despite this card being shinier and overall more positive than the last one, she was talking about it as if it was a pure curse. Her presence loomed over Uraraka as darkness peeked again. âIt means stopping for a second, breathing and rethinking about which is the good choice.â
âAs in, backtracking?â
âKind of.â agreed she. The black haired oracle stared at the cards, now set on the table, then back at Uraraka. She let out a loud grunt after a while, and if the sorcerer could tell with perfect certainty, she would swear teeth were glistening underneath the veil. âYou will be confronted with a very tough decision, which may be why your dreams exist in the first placeâ to guide you to the right decision.â
âButâŠâ her eyes were shadowed by a sad frown and a slight descent of her plump lips, her face a ghost of the cheery girl she always was as a grim foreshadowing hovered over her head and settled over her shoulders, responsibility breaking her heart. âwhat is the right decision?â
âIâd say thatâs up to you to decide. If the cards insist this much on this decision, it must be a very important one.â theorized the oracle, tracing the hem of the cards carefully. Uraraka nodded intently, her eyes flickering in intensity under the blanket of incense. âThe cards seem to sense a relationship between your dreams and your future, so they are building up until the day this decision comes. Again, if the cards are so adamant on this⊠the world could very well be resting on your shoulders.â
Those last words shook her and it felt like a little knife brushing her skin, tender and slow, up and down, as it loomed around her for a surprise strike. Danger was always so close to her, showing its claws in oh, so many ways⊠yet, it would never present her with the reality that so many pointed at her. Everything⊠it all just looked like a dream, or a nightmareâ she couldnât decide, but it seemed like all she could do now was wait for time to come to her.
Not like it helped the situation, knowing that a responsibility she didnât understand hung on her shoulders an unknown number of days, weeks or months away. It was all so ambigue and uncertain it left Uraraka wondering if she should believe all this woman was saying, but decided to stick to it as a burning pole, blistering her skin and bruising her but serving as a flashlight in the darkness.
âI⊠see. Then, they are important, huh?â the oracle nodded, and Uraraka tried to wrap her mind around this fact, because they were nothing but a hassle that didnât seem to have anything to do with her life. They werenât really making that of an impact on her yet: just a little girl, a village, then another. What did she of all people have to do with that? âI still canât see the relation between them⊠but I guess they will come in time, right?â
The oracle was too busy to actually listen to Uraraka, but she nodded anyway. Her hands fetched for a little flask under the table. She made the transparent liquid dance a little inside the doe-shaped recipient to test its volume, then handed it to the girl with⊠haste? Her hands had trembled when Uraraka had brushed them, and the oracle had been quick to wave her off. âNow, if you truly desire to erase those dreams from your mind, you must leave and drink that potion.â
The girl got up with newfound excitement, eyeing the colorless fluid in the flask. It was as like creamy water on a legendary bottle, and it felt so exciting to both have such recipient and the possibility to get rid of those nasty dreams. If there ever came a point that she needed to choose in an important matter, all she needed to do was listen to her heart. There was nothing her heart didnât know, right?
âThank you very much, miss!â she vowed gently as she always did, a smile dancing on her now energetic step. âI hope we can meet someday!â
Before Uraraka could head out the curtains, the oracle offered her the fateful cards. âTake them, so you can remember this time. Save them as reference, they may save your life one day.â
The sorcerer blinked at the weird request, and didnât miss the shiver on the stoic womanâs arm. She leaped to the table again and took both cards under the fire of blue, quiet lights, purple fabric covering them as a quiet deal was stuck. âI will take them then, if you may.â
The brunette put them inside one of her uniformâs pockets and waved at the oracle again, smiling brilliantly now that her problems seemed to be stepping down from their stages, little by little. Her mind was a pure clean slate of purity, no spikes or cracks of imperfection clouding her mind aside from the invisible floating loom of responsibility, but she would put it aside for now.
âThanks, miss! I hope we will cross paths again!â
Uraraka saw the oracle wave at her from behind, and she pushed the curtain aside and stepped out, stopping once she was outside to look at the recipient and uncork it. Her feet were visible from inside the tent.
âI will take this now then, before going to sleep.â her head turned to look at the fair at the center of the village, which was starting to swarm with people. She shook her head with a smile of contentment, but inwardly disappointed at having missed the fair when it was mildly tolerable. There were too much people around for her, so she just decided to call it a day, finally, and looked down at the recipient, which gleamed to a torchâs fire.
Uraraka giddily brought the liquid to her lips, feeling the cold potion fall down her throat slowly, making its way toâ
The second one drop made its way into her stomach, her whole body quivered and started stinging, shaking uncontrollably as an insufferable pain shot out from her head to all parts of her body, hurt and acid scratching her mind with fire claws, drawing blood from her brain and making it fall down her nose as Uraraka stumbled, and gripped one of the poles of the tent for support.
Her eyes filled with tears as her vision blurred and blood pooled on her arms. Within a blink and a pained, moaned cough, Urarakaâs knees buckled and she fell to the ground as blood still flowed out of her and started staining her cheeks and hairs. Her eyes were open, seeing the building where she slept so in her reach yet, as she outstretched her hands and tried to crawl back to the beaten track, her strength faltered and she gave up the fight.
Her eyes closed, and her body stayed limp in front of the tent for two seconds before the oracle came out of her little place. She shook her head at the being laying on her doorstep and squatted down to her side.
She rummaged through her pockets to find one of the cards she had given her, and stared at it before looking at the people of the village, too far away to notice the crime. The oracle took the card and stood up again, giving Urarakaâs motionless body a kick. It wouldnât take much time before somebody found the body.
The flailed the card a little bit and frowned at the unconscious girl. âDestruction girl,â she spat right by her. âdisaster sorcerer.â
A few minutes later, the tent was out of sight, as was the tarot card with the image of the Hierophant, burnt to ashes in front of Urarakaâs right hand.
âLie her on the bed, now!â
Todoroki and Mina quickly laid the little unconscious girl on the bed as the others ran to the threshold, where Midoriya tried to keep them at bay. When Jack was denied the entrance, she frowned at the leader and banged the door frame with her trembling fist. âWhat the hell, let us in! Whatâs wrong with her?â
The knight sighed and trembled, stood and gulped to keep himself in check against the agitated crowd of people. Only a few members had been admitted into the room so Asuiâs work wouldnât be haltered, and it seemed like it would take them a little bit more than words to actually understand that. âWe⊠donât know. Mina came across her body a few minutes ago and we havenât given Asui enough time to check her conditions. Please, go to bed and we will sort this out overnight.â
âMidoriya, you canât be serious!â the leader looked at Iida patronizingly. As time moved forward and people started to jam-pack the corridors, the boy grew more and more irritatedâ and it was such a rare thing to see in the leader, a flash of vexation at the unfair situations.
Nobody knew what had happened, really. When Mina had seen a body laying on the now empty area, her first initiative had been to try and shake the body awake, thinking that it could be a drunk little girl taking a reckless napâ but then the hair, the smell of her skin and the color of her gloves, it all dawned on her, and she had let out a horrifyingly terrified shriek that had called Todoroki and Kirishima over, and they hastily carried the decaying corpse to the nearest room.
She could be dead for all they knew, and a chill ran down everybodyâs spines when the possibility came into mind. Her body was so light, her gasps for air so sharp and frantic, and her hands would tremble now and then, and the loll of her head into a tragic angle of uncertainty that had everyone at the edge of their seats. The critical situation had left everyone in a state of loss and worry that was only going on crescendo as Midoriya blocked the door.
âOnly us few will remain as to not collapse the infirmary, but we are sure itâs nothing severe.â and yes, this was a big fat lie, as nobody could really go that far and confirm such madness so soon. He heard busy chatter around him, which prompted the boy to grasp the knob to close the door. âWe will inform you all of the situation next morning. For now, rest assured we will do as much as possible to sort this out.â
With that, everyone dropped their shoulders and Midoriya took that as his cue to close the door, and he lay on it with a bead of sweat running down his temple. Who had told him to go and confront the crowd had no idea of how nervous the boy grew with these situations.
âYou look troubled, Midoriya.â commented Todoroki, sitting on a chair right next to Uraraka. One of his hands rested on the mattress, close to Urarakaâs in case she had a crisis. Asui sorted the potions with hurry behind him. âDo you think they will manage to rest with this situation in their hands?â
âThe thing is, itâs not something they can meddle with now.â Kirishima helped Asui with the arrangements, searching for something the girl had requested as he spoke. âIt depends on Asui to identify what the fuck happened to our little lady.â
Asui, for the first time in years, actually frowned at the redhead and took a little syringe from her bag. âRibbit, donât put more responsibility on my shoulders than what I have already.â she strode to her body and, after a few little touches on her forehead and checking her eyes from underneath her lashes, she took one of her hands. âShe has a cut here.â
Mina checked on the torn skin with curious eyes, as did Midoriya who was next to her. âWhat a weird place to have a cut. Itâs soâŠâ
âPrecise.â intervened the leader with a growl. âCould somebody have used her own blood against her?â
Asui was already extracting some blood from Urarakaâs forearm â all thanks to Todoroki who rolled up her sleeve â critically fast. Just as the crimson liquid started to flood the syringe, the girl frowned again. âNo, the wound is not the issue here, nor is her own blood.â
Asui hurried to her table on a side of the room, and arranged a little bent paper on a disk. The girl pushed on the syringe and, as the first droplet fell, she knew something was wrong. The liquid climbed fast through the filter paper, to the point in which there was no blood remaining on the disk, it had all gone through the paper. The sorcerer gave it a little shake, nibbled on the wet edges, and threw it to the disk again.
âHot blood.â announced Asui hastily, pressing her hands to Urarakaâs pulse. It was slow, but throbbed against the girlâs sensitive skin. âHer heart is having problems carrying it around her system, itâs thickening.â
Mina, having been around her lessons with Kirishima, was quick to identify the source of this problem. âPoison.â
The mutant nodded. âAnd whoever who poisoned her wanted her dead on the spot.â she coaxed the brunetteâs mouth open gripping her jaw, and passed a gloved finger along her tongue. There was something slimy glued to it, cold. Asui had a faint clue of what this could be, but she wouldnât be sure of what poison it was until she tested the substance.
The water sorcerer dipped her glove on a disk with water and saw the disk be infested with bubbles and oh, that very familiar purple hue. âA nitoria posion. Brash enough for a murderer.â
âYou are joking, right?â Mina stepped to the table and gasped when the disk started melting on the edges. âPlease, donât tell meâ!â
A loud moan of pain was heard across the room which had everyone getting up from their seats and chairs falling, as Urarakaâs body arched off the bed and her chest started panting with hurtful intakes of toxic air, her head trashing on the pillow while her head darted from side to side. Her brows were drawn to a painful knitted grimace.
Bakugou, who stood looking out the window, craned his head to look at the ruckus, and frowned wordlessly.
Asui, however, seemed by far less alarmed than her crew. âNitoria poisons have antidotes, and as this was made to be apparently healthy and hard to notice, its effects are dimmed by the quantity of additives in it.â nobody understood a word of what she said excepting antidote and healthy, and their faces were mirrors of this fact. âI can cure her, no worries. In the meantime, restrain her from making too harsh movements. Convulsions are fairly normal at this stage of the intoxication.â
As easy as that, everyone but Bakugou cooperated on the operation, gripping her arms and legs to the bed no matter how much she trashed or crumbled under their steel grasp. The pharmacist was rushed by the alarmingly loud gasps of Uraraka, how her peers were struggling to hold her tight no matter how hard they bit on their lips, or how they muttered words of encouragement under Urarakaâs piercing little screams of painâ all under her unconscious, yet seemingly only slumber state.
âSheâs regaining consciousness, Asui!â warned Mina, her irises starting to move too much in their sockets as something started racketing in that jumping mind of hers. âWe need to find an antidote before she wakes up! The nitoriaââ
âYes, yes, I know!â exclaimed the other stressfully. If Uraraka reached consciousness before the poison was diluted in her bloodstream, it would devastate her mind beyond humankindâs imaginationâ additives as boosters for side effects, decreasing the degree of lethality yet reaching and branching through the sorcererâs darkest corners of her mind. âI just need a second!â
Asui was sweating bullets by now, her hands trembling in the middle of the night to find a cure for this madness. Her fingers deftly worked through samples, substance that could render the poison useless in minimum time. She stroked fruits, mashed leaves with the help of Kirishimaâs hardened fists. The convulsions on the dying body were fading away little by little, making the straining easier while Bakugou only listened and fisted his hands, stroking the fabric of his pants to bite in swears of stress.
Once the yellowish substance on Asuiâs flask stopped bubbling, the girl let out a little squeal of hurry and charged the syringe with the cure. âGot it, ribbit!â she wasted no second on carrying her feet as fast as possible to the bed, swatting hands away to roll the sorcererâs sleeves up and plump in the needle.
As the liquid entered Urarakaâs bloodstream, the convulsions died to only minor shudders and eventual twitches, which also disappeared within seconds and only left a sleeping, tired girl at its wake. Her hands limped, fingers heaving down, and her breath grew sturdy and regular under everyoneâs pendant eyes. These very relieved members fell on the nearest source of support they could find.
Kirishima decided to limp on the floor and start chuckling to himself in success, and then laughed under his breath as heat flared on his face, heated from the rush of danger. He watched Asui crawl on the edge of Urarakaâs bed, right next to a sitting Todoroki. âYou are a pure legend, Asui!â
As the herbalist tried her best to push her pulsations to a normal beat, breath heaving in and out of her lungs. The dual knight gave her shoulder a proud shake, the feeling evident on his smile as the herbalist nodded back, smiling in sheer happiness and relief. âWell done, Asui.â
âMy god! That was a nerve-wrecking operation.â the pink archer eyed Uraraka, exhausted, and hoisted her whole weight on Midoriyaâs back. âWill she be alright now?â
Still breathing heavily, trying to ride off the hurry and letting the strings of time go back to their place, she placed a hand on Urarakaâs moist forehead. âShe may get a mild fever as her body tries to digest the poison, but other than that, she will survive.â
Everyone in the room let out a general breath of final allevation, giddy smiles directed at the tired doctor who only tried to recover from the rush. As a tranquil pace of united heartbeats and collective silence floated on the thinning air of midnight, a little question remained in between them.
âIâd suggest somebody keeps guard on our sick lady here.â Kirishima placed a hand on the girlâs forehead, and brushed off the sweat on his pants. âSheâs soaked in sweat, and will probably need some aid if she wakes up.â
Midoriyaâs first option to offer was Asuiâ of course, it was always her. The herbalist had always been a dependable person when days grew grim, when situations like these were critic and someone was needed to take the wheel other than the very able leaders, who were at a loss of what to do. This was a new member they were talking aboutâ an important one at that. Having her fall under a illness and be left unattended would probably make this situation drag for longer than necessary. And that, right now, was a hazard where one could see it.
âI am not going to offer Asui for the job, and I hope no one dares toâ because she is further than exhausted.â which was a point everyone agreed on. She had had to look after Kaminari, Uraraka and Bakugou in the same day, one of them actually twice, and rest off the exhaustion from the fight against Midnight. âAnd I know all of us are exhausted, but Iââ
âI will take care of it.â
The small voice came from the window, where a very tense Bakugou stood and, when he felt all eyes on his ample back, he turned with a grimace on his jaw, teeth clenched.
âWhat the fuckâre you all gawking at?â
âYou wannaâŠâ his hands pointed at Uraraka, to which the fierce leader nodded softly, getting the point in the angriest version of a bashful pout. âtake care of her?â
Asui and Midoriya blinked at the blonde, who was looking at a side of the room with his usual wall of unaffected emotions, controlled feelings and cautioned actions, all his blinks and heartbeats measured to a minimum so
they wouldnât betray his true thoughts. He then glared at everyone in the room, including the panting corpse on the bedâ actually, he practically glowered at her, because he always found himself either depending from her porcelain hands or saving her ass, and he despised that cycle.
He was more than bothered with this situation of owing something to her when he actually felt like he didnât, so he needed to get it over with.
He felt Asuiâs softened eyes on him, and then his eyes trailed to the other leader. âI owe this to her.â
âWhat do youââ
âShe has been looking after me after the fight with that fucking necromancer, and I never had to tell her even twice to care the slightest bit about me. If anything, I gave her reasons to hate my guts.â
Bakugou strode to the center of the room and kicked a stool into place, slamming his ass on the wooden seat right before Uraraka. Kirishima smiled at his best friend with a gentle spark of pride in his eyes, seeing the brash boy he knew start tearing the walls of his grudges down little by little, and trying to show that he could be kind when the situation forced him to. And even when it wasnât really that way.
âSheâs strong for putting up with me and saving my life, more than once.â commented the blonde, staring at the girlâs closed lids absent-mindedly. âAnd this is my way of thanking her.â
Asui propped her head up to gape at the once stubborn, pain in the ass leader and only saw a close to caring leader, and it caused her to smile a little at him in the darkness of the room. Â Â Â Â
âLittle Nameless, this is something you must do for us.â assured a pink man by her. He didnât squat â anymore, noted the little girl, as she had grown and she didnât need those petty things anymore. They stood on the back of a room where a light breeze flew, sometimes toying with her cut strands. Light streamed down on her, sounds of people on their thrones waiting for her.
Chains sounded as well from within the tumult, which snapped her back into reality. âBut papa, I donât know that man!â
âWhich is a miracle itself, considering what that man has done to our village with his knives and words.â
Shadows, shadows, creeping around the edges of her starlit eyes, galaxies dying on her heartstrung broken irises. Out of the edge of her mind, she was screaming to set these things back into rightness, but all she could do in such virginal state of ignorance was scream at the void like a fool, and feel something cracking at her fingertips. The whole world was swirling around her like a thunderwave, all spinning as voices mixed and chains clashed.
She was⊠so, so helpless. âDad, why would you want me of all people to execute this order?â
The pink man did squat this timeâ probably to make her feel higher in the power scale, so she would feel mighty and confident enough to actually carry out this scarring task. âYou are the only one who can do this, Nameless.â and she had heard this one time and another, plenty of times already. It was such a tiring charade. âYou know this.â
âIâŠâ she didnât. âdo.â
Because this power she had, it was all but normal. She herself was abnormal, kept as a treasure in her civilization but looked at as a monster from time to time, when the sun peaked in a corner of the sacred minds. Some would scream when her hands dig too deep into natureâs butterâ others, they would let her be.
This time, they would not let her be, but encourage her to release the monster from the cage. âThen, go out there and face the court. You can do it, hon.â
The girl was given a little push, then taken steadily to the big room that was the court. The walls were crowded with staged seats, rampaging people pointing at the wonder girl as a man on the center of the room, staying on an ivory stage and tied with chains to a poleâ he was screaming at a muffler on his mouth, then spitting on her from his silenced hell.
Her father stood near to her as the girl bunched the fabric on her shirt, nervousness crawling around her like the nasty monster she was. Words spiraled around her, something about her carrying out the right choice. Odd dots of pale colorsâ human colors, they splashed the room in bright diversity, yet she feared what this would do to the fragile bond between the races.
Her father tapped her shoulder, reality blurring around her as she tried to keep her thoughts at bay. This was like a band-aid, she knew, it was only a matter of tugging it off with enough force so it would hurt quick and short. Her hands were trembling when she rose her stretched fingers to the stranger, who screamed at her in pure agony.
âAnâŠâ Nameless panted, choked in disgust at what she was going to do, and withdrew her hand from the torture procedure. But, as sense of pride and duty flooded over her, she was able to call out the spell. Echo boomed from behind her, knocking some hats off their owners as she whispered the dreaded word. âAnihilation.â
Nameless twisted her hand with a pained grimace as the man twisted to her desire, his blood accordingly boiling and piercing his burning flesh as the humans on the room screeched at the display, hugging their families for dear life and hurrying out of the room along with some other people from her species, the smell of rotten skin and broken bones overwhelming her to a extent that the brunette gave into her knees, and fell to the ground in exhaustion.
âGood girl, NamelessâŠâ he gripped her shoulder a bit stronger, her father, and ruffled her hair. She coughed a smile, nodding emotionlessly. âGood job.â
A blond, red-eyed boy watched from afar, eyes wide in terror as he stared at the broken girl with a shudder.
âBakugou, Kacchan.â
The blonde leader snapped his head up with the gentle sound of Midoriyaâs calling. He groaned in frustration as his head lolled back, and he let himself look a little bit vulnerable by scrubbing his eyes awake. He still played it off as if he hadnât been dozing off. âWhat the hell, you scared the shit outta me.â
Midoriya, with an arm tucked around a big volume and a bashful smile on full display, rubbed his shoulder for some comfort and sat on the girlâs bed. âSheâs still sleeping, huh?â
The green-haired knight removed an stray lock of hair off her reddened cheeks, his touch barely stronger than a caress. A small grow reverberated from deep within his chest. âLittle witch here has been trashing around a little bit. Sheâs calmed down for now.â
âWell, if sheâs getting better, thatâs all that counts.â the boy realized the cloth around Urarakaâs forehead had been dampened, and Midoriya knew for a fact that nobody had come to switch guards yet that night. He smiled knowingly. âItâs good to see sheâs in good hands.â
The knight gingerly took the cloth to cool if off, all while Bakugou stared at the girlâs closed eyes with a piercing glare of anger and frustration. âBetter have her getting better soon so we can part, rather than me biting my own tail and being a dick to her. I am more responsible than that, bastard.â
Despite the insult, Midoriya chuckled from Asuiâs medical table. The sloshing of the water was all that could be heard in the building, so late in the night. âYeah, I know.â he turned his head a bit to watch Bakugouâs hunched position, and if he had to bet, heâd say he hadnât gotten up from that chair ever since the last change. âWho was the last person who came to watch Uraraka?â
âAlien girl.â spat Bakugou, shifting on the chair to adopt a confident position: crossed arms, crossed legs, and his glare switching to the other leader. âAnd you ainât gonna take the turn yet.â
âShouldnât you get up for a while and, I donât know, sleep? If you donât rest, youâll miss the festivities tomorrow.â the hunter mentally swatted him away quickly, chuckling in denial while his bones ached for mercy. He was biting the insides of his cheeks for some comfortâ the chair was uncomfortable, the situation worse and his body totally messed up. He hadnât felt this mentally exhausted for a while. âWhy take this business so far, Kacchan?â
âDonât you fucking dare call me that again, loser.â moonlight filtered through the half closed curtains, bathing Bakugou in this light that was so enticingly perfect to fall asleep on the arms of the sick girl. He couldnât lie: at the stage he was in, he could have fallen asleep on the mattress where she laid and not even think about later regrets. âI am her leader. And I owe this to her personally. I donât really think none of you will take this serious other than me.â
âCâmon, thatâs a blatant lie.â
Bakugouâs eyes burnt even brighter than before, his fangs gleaming. He would have gotten up if his legs were responsive enoughâ but they werenât, and it was driving him up the fucking wall. This shitty girl was always troubling his daily life and he didnât want to feel compromised with her, above all not in this way. He didnât owe her anything, he had no reason to be there other than sheer responsibility.
âDonât bark at me, itâs true.â Midoriya sighed, and turned to the leader to walk to them afterwards, his hands leaving the cloth on her forehead slowly. He stroked the blue fabric onto her forehead, eliciting a little groan from her. âYou have never taken matters this far when it comes to any regular member, other than Kirishima.â
âShe ainât a regular member. Not in any way.â
âNot like you are trying to see her in any other way, Bakugou.â
This made the leader make an effort to stand up and go pound the living lights out of that nerd, but his knees buckled and he had to sit down again under Midoriyaâs concerned gaze.
âI know what you are insinuating, and what everybodyâs probably thinking, but I donât give a fuck about her.â he forced his eyes on her, traced the curve of her little nose, and sighed grumpily. âSeriously, I donât. But she has gone out of her way several times to actually care about me when I didnât ask. I have said this before: I am thanking her for that.â
âBut you still feel like you shouldnât, right?â Bakugou glared at his peer from under his disarrayed spikes, night shadows crossing behind his eyes. It was silent warning. âYour voice is so strained, your back is probably aching. You donât want to go through this, yet you are.â
The blonde allowed himself a sigh of tiredness, and blinked at him in unusual tranquility. Being so drained was doing unmerciful things on his mood, and it seems like Midoriya would take advantage of that until he snapped back into his aggressive old self. âI loathe feeling in debt for this bitch, because I shouldnât. No one gave her the right to care about me, or put herself in danger. Now, I have to thank her, as a leader, and get her ass out of this trouble.â
âIs it really that? Just plain justice and the sake of being a leader?â
âWhy am I talking about this with you of all people?â
âBecause she has been like this for a whole dayâ more like two considering we are here past midnight.â his eyes found kindness in Urarakaâs relaxed figure, finally idle and breathing without coughs or heavy sweat. âYou have tried to kill her, you have dismissed herâ but you are here, Kacâ Bakugou, watching after her. What changed from being a dick to her to now actively want to see her healthy?â
âFor starters, my opinion about her remains unchanged at the root.â he was tired, he was letting Midoriya tug at the thread that got his thoughts stuck in a vicious cycle of autodestruction and doubtâ but for a reason, he didnât feel bad about it. Not a single bit. âI still think she is a threat, but itâs true she hasnât moved against our currents yet, other than be stupid and overwork herself. Other than that, she can work in our favor, and even I can see that now.â
âSo, you care aboutââ
âNo.â snapped the blonde, red suns spiraling and changing under the pressure of this crashing tide. âI donât think I can actively care about someone to this personal level. She benefits our guild, her being in good shape is good for the showdown against RampAge, and I owe to her. Thatâs all there is to it.â
âI still think you owe her much more than this, and thatâs only for putting up with your remarks and stupidity when you feel like bullying her.â Midoriya would have been backed to a wall after such insult, but Bakugou was being silent, observing the girl with a clashing mixture of hatred and frustration. He was only listening to his companion unfocusedly, as he let all his petty feelings slowly sink in. âShe has done nothing else but put up with your foul mood and actually fight you back. Really, she must be tired from resisting the urge to slap you on the face.â
âI donât owe her any fucking thing in that regard.â snapped Bakugou, narrowing his eyes at the boy. âAll she does is put me into trouble and try to be nice to meâ I never asked for all that. She is attempting toââ
Midoriya bit on his knuckles as he stifled in a good earful on respect and kindness, something the leader could lack very often. âStop seeing her kindness as a freaking attack, Kacchan. She just wants to be in this guild and be on good terms with you.â
âStop it, it ainât worth it to scream at me over this. Asui already has, in her way, and I am working on it. I am here, withstanding this hell so I donât owe to her. I donât owe her anythingâ I should never owe anything to a damn pest like her.â argued Bakugou, encasing himself in this bubble of hard ideals and a truth he couldnât come to terms with, but it was there, in his hands. âI donât wanna feel lied to anymore, I am working to fix this for the guildâs welfare.â
The anger in Midoriyaâs eyes faded to a pale hue of surprise. âSo, you want to try to trust her?â
Bakugou waited for a bit, rethinking his decisions with sharp eyes. Still, he had gone over it so many times already that the charade was getting tiring, and it was more worth it to actually try to be nice to her than find a reason to hate her after all she has done. She made his life so hard, sometimes.
He clutched the fabric of his shirt, right above his heart, where it ached worst. âI want to just get rid of this disgusting feeling of having to thank her for something I didnât ask for. I wanna stop feeling this stupid, I shouldnât even be here. She is a goddamn silly bitch who knows nothing else but trouble.â
The other boy blinked several times, staring at Bakugouâs tired shoulders and how his eyes would flicker ever so often at the girl in decreasing loathe, and more directed to worry for her wellbeing as a guild member he had acknowledged, someone he was starting to value as worth keeping. His hands could crawl their way out of his bruised heart, shadows casted on his lonely soul, but the rampage of thought and tranquility this girl had inflicted on him could be denied, but no longer ignored.
Midoriya could now understand why Uraraka shone so much. She was giving everyone an opportunity in the same one everyone was doing with herâ and she never had a reason, either. She was embracing everyoneâs threats, everyoneâs glares, everyoneâs doubts, and walking her way out of them with a loud parade. For that, he deserved the kind leaderâs admiration, so a little smile was directed at her.
âI will taking my leave then, Kacchan. However,â he left the volume from before on her nightstand, gave it a pat of reassurance as he knew Uraraka would love seeing possibilities and barriers grow, and retreated to the door. His eyes shifted to the leaning leader, whose eyes were droopy and weaker than usual, but still held that passionate gaze into the devilâs eyes. It was so charming to see those fires dim for once, prompting these words. âyou should know that she isnât causing any trouble to you. She is the one willingly putting herself on dangerâs way, receiving the throws, and getting into problems. That⊠shouldnât affect you this much, Kacchan.â
And with that, Midoriya chuckled at Bakugouâs dumbstruck expression of ire and tiny realization, closing the door behind him while the other crashed his head on the mattress, right beside Urarakaâs twitching handâ because he was right, in a way, and it only dawned on him that his little slip may have made him look more sick and foolish than he already was.
He groaned into the blankets. âFuuuuck.â
But he didnât care. Not even a pinch.
âNameless, thereâs somebody I want you to meet!â
The brunette girl turned from the well, more like kicked a bit so she wouldnât fall inside and then turned at Kirishimaâs voice calling after her. His step was quick, his red falling spikes bouncing in his stride while a blur of blonde hairs and pale skin also neared her. It took her a little bit to recognize that faceâ that face, sharp at the edges and bland in anger at the center, drawn in red and all suddenly made sense.
âYouâŠâ the blonde boy stopped and gulped after her voice chirped in, but frowned regardless. âYou are the golden boy from the river! What are you doing here?â
Kirishima slapped a hand on his shoulder and grinned again, showing her his shining pearly whites before the other boy slapped the hand away as soon as it touched him. âHe jumped across the river and asked me to take him to the girl with magic hands!â the fact that he knew such fact about her had her gulping this time around. âSo here we are!â
The girl with muddy eyes took a step back, taking her bucket of water to her chest. Once upon a time, she would have needed help to reach the wellâs edge, but it had been so long since then. Her reflection shone on the water. âHow⊠how do you know about my abilities?â
âMy people gave me a description of someone they are looking for, from their nation, who was lost a long time ago. She was a⊠magician, as well.â explained the blonde boy, fixated on how her hands trembled around the bucket. âSo I can recognize a magician when I see one. This.. town can do that, right? Magic, I mean.â
The redhead nodded hastily, and put his fists on his hips with pride. âOur race has vast knowledge about sorcery, right, Nameless?â she nodded curtly, eyeing her hands shortly. âThatâs what differentiates us from you humans, we can do lots of stuff!â
While Kirishima boasted about the abilities of their race â a race they bitterly didnât seem to belong to, at least physically speaking â the blonde newcomer took a step forward until he made the girl flinch, and outstretched a hand towards her without actually looking into her blown wide eyes.
âI saw you at the court a few days ago⊠and I knew I had seen your stupid face, a few months ago.â that made her stifle in a gasp of horror, as she had never wanted to be seen as such monsterâ but seeing how he was fighting back an excited grin, corners twitching, he was more than fine with her powers. âWhatâs your name?â
The girl left the bucket of water on the ground, and curled her fingers around her jersey for internal decision. The boy was⊠giving her his hand? Did he want her to take it or something? She was around twelve years old now, but she hadnât been educated into these things. However, she remembered that her pink dad had done that stupid gesture sometimes, and she decided to give it a little shake.
âI donât have a name. And if I do, I donât remember it. I was born without it apparently, and never given one.â despite the inner tragedy and later irony of the situation, she smiled at him sweetly, eyes closed in bliss for making a new friend. âI go by Nameless. And he is Kirishima. My sister, Mina, is not around now, but she should make an appearance now. She has the regular looks for our species.â
The golden boy glanced around and was proven right about that. Everyone had pink skin, lighter hair, spotless black eyes with a golden ring, and high-pitched voices. Some of them had big claws on their hands, others didnât. Looking at Nameless and Kirishima, it really looked like they were making leaps and twirls about developing camouflage strategies, as they could be mistaken by someone from his species without a doubt.
If he hadnât seen her come from across the river, he would have thought she was a human, too.
âThe nameâs Katsuki.â replied the boy, grumpy as she gave his hand a shake. He reciprocated the gesture. âPlease donât blow me up.â
It took her a while, but she actually understood the little joke and giggled, her little fit then erupting into gross loud laughter. It had been a while since she did that.
It would as well be the last time, rain falling harder that day as blood bathed her knees, a figure looming above her andâ
Urarakaâs back bounced off the bed with the start of a heart attack jumping from behind at her, claws sprouting from her brain and giving it another hard, lovingly scratch of welling tears that never fell, tension that never broke and images that never made sense, feelings and people that shouldnât be there and, however, she felt heartless and boneless whenever she woke up.
The aftermath of these dreams, nightmares and all kinds of havoc left her scarred a little bit more violent the more time that passedâ her breaths would grow more staggering, her hands would clutch her heart stronger and her eyes would dart more dizzily around the room. While the effects and emotions from the experience would wear off fast, faces and ideas sure didnât.
The fact that she couldnât see the face of that little girl monster clearly was so confusing as well for her, because she was probably the most important piece of the story. An innocent girl with a pure soul, yet terrifying sorcery used for ill intentions. Was this supposed to be a metaphor about her?
Also⊠why had, of all people, he been there withâ
She heard heavy breathing near her, and when she was able to focus her sight on her surroundings, a mane of pale hair came into view, sleeping right by her stretched legs. His muscles, tense and tight, hair unkempt and light snoring vibrating in his ribcage. Her eyes almost fell out of their sockets when she realized who this was, thinking about pinching herself to wake up from this vision.
What was Bakugou⊠doing there? He was sitting on a chair, yet his whole body was leaning on the bed as his head rested nestled on his strong arms, probably already given up on her waking up. How long had he been there? And again, why was he, of all people, there with her? The first thing she thought was that he was probably taking advantage of his sleeping problems to take the night shift and watch her, but why would he accept taking it in the first place?
Her hand hesitated, hovered above his head until they took the monumental step of touching his hairâ touching him, in a sense, and threaded his messy locks into place with a placid smile of tranquility. Her other hand wiped some sweat off her forehead as the moon gloriously washed over the dark room. While her fingers played with his hair and he slept calmly near her, brown eyes glanced out the window shortly.
There was ruckus outside â she thought, eyes aimlessly trying to see further from the bed â and she wanted to see more of it.
As to not wake her sleeping vigilant, Uraraka slowly shifted on the bed and placed her feet on the cold floor. Her toes relished at the feeling of the flashy temperature, because her body was overwhelmingly hot and she couldnât wait to get a change of clothes. She didnât even dare sniffing herself, she would sure be raking sweat.
As the sorcerer walked around the bed and brushed past Bakugou, she giggled a little to herself, but then concerned her eyes on the slumbering boy. Again, what business did he have with her? Why would he even bother come to check on her? It was sad to know somebody didnât entertain your presence even while being on civil terms, and it irked her to think this way. Still, she had done enough already to make nice with him, the ball was on his court now.
Urarakaâs body was engulfed by the moonlight. Bells of consciousness rung the numbness to go away, and she was suddenly blinking openly to the moonlight that loomed over the big window of her room. The night stars were shy and sneaky compared to this big cheese, twinkling timidly as part-time companions of the white angel. A sweet feeling of a breeze escalating up her spine made her skin tingle in delight as some music blared from outside, fires going off as shows and fights occurred as part of the nighttime fair.
And Bakugou missed it⊠to watch after her? Her head craned a little to eye his sleeping form, frown knit in confusion. He disliked her â concluded Uraraka, looking at the moon and fair once again â he must have been pressured to stay.
It was then when Uraraka remembered what had gone down with the oracle, when she spotted the vacant space at the corner of the fairâ she wanted to slap herself for being so naĂŻve, illusional, for letting a stranger so shady like that woman trick her. She had been as foolish as to even tell her about her secrets, those hideous dreams and nightmares, when Todoroki had clearly advised her to be careful.
She cradled her face on her hands and rubbed, then rubbed some more. The feeling of weight on her pockets reminded her of the cards and the misty bottle, for which she rummaged. Her fingers came in contact with one of the cards, yet as much as she fiddled around, the other card was long lost. As she took the card of the Hanged Man out, to the moonlightâs shade, something strung wrong in her heart.
âWhy this one⊠where is the other one?â she palmed her other pocket, and only felt the shape of the bottle, yet no other card was found. The hand holding the card trembled. âWhat in the worldâŠâ
âWhat are you doing up?â
Her hand hurried in a messy blur to keep the card inside her pockets, spinning to see Bakugou groggily making his way to her. Uraraka made quick work to hold the shield up and cross her arms, starting her usual defensive pose of unaffection towards the leader. Still, there was no hostility in her eyes, or in his for that matter. âI woke up and heard the music from the festival.â
âThen go to bed again, you still need the fucking rest.â grunted the leader, scrubbing his eyes again to wake up. âWe gotta part soon and you arenât helping.â
But the strained edge in his voice and the dryness of his throat gave one too many things away. âYou arenât in the best of shapes either, master.â mocked she with an arched eyebrow. At this, he growled with a sideways glare. Uraraka didnât know why he got so angry at her for releasing the feelings he stirred on herâ feelings of protection, shielding, holding her ground against this beast. âYou can take the bed, I am not going toââ
Her legs unexpectedly gave up under her, but she swiftly grabbed for the frame of the window to hold her. Bakugouâs hands had flinched for this, and he had no fucking idea why when he had known she could take care of herself. Being tired had never been so infuriatingly difficult before. âYou are going to sleep. If you donât fucking take care of yourself there is no use in taking you with us.â
âI am another warrior from this guild, Bakugou.â attacked Uraraka with a frown of her own, facing him directly. âWhy am I being scolded over doing an effortââ
âThis ainât a damn effort, itâs no more than a strain in your development.â he crossed his arms, his eyes glimmering beneath the moonâs cradle. His jaw was clenched, chin up, and he suddenly looked like he was going to say something, then kept it in for a little more. He shook his head. âYou are constantly doing things that arenât needed, and weâ I donât want none of it.â
The blonde had made it sound personal in a second and it worried herâ so much that she actually asked.
âIs there⊠anything I may have done to upset you, Bakugou?â
A low growl scraped his throat and constricted his vocal strings painfully, his fists tight as he spoke ever so clearly and demanding, scary and resolute. âI donât want anything from you, got it? I donât need your protection, your business with being kind and the likeâ I donât need it.â
The girl flinched under his sudden glower, but recovered from the blow hell fast. âWhatâs wrong with me taking care of you or actually looking after your protection?â
Uraraka asked it so patiently and kindly that his heart plummeted and left a soaring trace of hurt pride behindâ and something dangerous, atrocity and violence, it all came in full force to his eyes as he turned to look at her, stepping close to her in a second. She shot up a little as well, their glares sparking bolts and daggers to each other while Bakugou jabbed her shoulder accusingly and she slapped his hands away from her.
She should have known that her kindness would backfire, and stepped back from it when she still had time, back at the campfire. But she had given in to her generalized personality and now this happened.
âI donât wanna owe anything to you, got it? I donât give a fuck about you, I donât need you in my life, your magic or your goddamn glitter that chases me everywhere I go.â barked he, not observing how her posture suddenly softened and her eyes widened the tiniest way. Since only a few inches separated them, he really should have. âI donât owe you anythingâ I have watched over your sick ass for more than enough, I have changed your cloth and havenât complained! This is my way of saying thank you from before andââ
âYou sure can mumble and mumble like Midoriya when you are riddled, Bakugou.â commented she with this shocked face he detested on her because she knew betterâ she always knew better and he was suddenly feeling lied to again when he didnât want it.
âThatâs not the damn point!â yelled he. His hands mindlessly searched for his sword on his waist. âJust stop being like this. Stop giving me unwanted attention, stop trying to protect me, I donât need it.â Bakugou took a deep breath to calm himself down, too quick to anger when he was this tired, and sighed with exasperation. âI donât want it.â
When she didnât strike him with a quick comeback the very same moment he shut up and stopped spluttering so much bullshit, he dared to look at her. Those bubbling eyes of hers somehow remained unchanged, looking at him as if he hadnât said anything, her skin still sweaty and her smell still grossâ he loathed that about her. No matter how much shit he tried to throw at her to keep her away, she was resilient and either fought back or ignored the attack.
He needed her to stay away. He didnât need her in his life, he didnât need a terrorist in his life to taunt his sanity. Uraraka was stupid, careless, naĂŻve, sarcastic and too sassy to his liking. And yet, she was there. And he didnât want it.
After a little silence, she spoke up again. âSuch a shame, Bakugou, that you feel this way.â he thought she would finally give in and leave him alone. âI sadly wonât let up, though.â
But she didnât. When he focused on her again, her irises were shining under the moonâs gleam and her skin was clean, yet damp and ferverish. She herself was a damn illness he would never recover from, a maniac with the hands of a fairy that was supposed to be proving his inner fears rights and destroying the worldâ not there, alone with him and sticking to his thorny side.
The brunette stung his pride with a little smile of hers, that shaky one that held no emotion other than mockery for him. âWhy canât you understand? I know you donât really give a damn about meâ and not gonna lie, it sucks that the feeling is unilateral.â hell yes, she at least got that right. âStill, you are another of my peers, and I will watch after your protection. No matter how much you push me awayâŠâ
Her head turned to his, eyes closed in tranquility and spoke as this was a universal statement. He was speechless for the first time in his life, words stuck as moonlight bathed her. â⊠I will care about you, dumbass. Even if you want me not to. You gave me a place to belong, and for that, I will always be kind to you all. Even if you donât deserve my kindness, I still owe it to you.â
The echo of her words oozed into his bloodstreamâ but it didnât make his skin boil, his heart hammer with anger or anxiety for this situation. Instead, his whole body stood there, calmly, as her words sunk in deeper and deeper than a mermaid lost in the labyrinth that the sea was, swimming into the darker abyss that was his heart as his shouts, curses and violence were reduced to shock and utter silence. His eyebrows were knit in confusion, yet a line of heartbreaking realization and surprise was thereâ and it made Uraraka smile a bit higher.
âWhy do you do⊠this?â his words literally fell off, low and whispered in almost fear for what stupidity she would come up with.
âCare doesnât have an actual reason, itâs just a feeling.â answered Uraraka, eyes closed in peaceful contemplation. âYou have protected me as well from Shinsou, defended me against the village. And even without all that, with given time, I would have grown to care about you a little, as I do now.â
âBut I donât, and I am sick of feeling like I owe the world to you when I didnâtââ
âAsk for it?â finished she for him, and he nodded with something alike to desperation crossing his irises, tranquil like a shooting star but fading away fast, like a broken light. âNobody asks to be cared for, you just receive it. I can take care of myself, so I donât mind if you, of all people, donât give a crap. Itâs not like I expected you to.â
She was saying it as if it was fine, but a part of him just knew it wasnât fine. All she had done all along was protect his guild his peers, him from danger no matter how much it hurt her to do so. Then why had she been so preoccupied about him when he couldnât do that for her, when all he had done had been ridiculous compared to her feats? Why, in the end, was he the one being affected by her feelings and not her by his lack of them?
It was wrong. She was wrong. She couldnât care, it had to be a good joke or a big performance lie. He shouldnât have to feel thisâ that throb of having done enough, yet feeling like there was much more to do. He didnât like it, he hated it! Bakugou wanted to throw his heart out of the window or give it to her so she could just devour it and give it back ugly, but fixed.
She⊠was a sorcerer. It was fucking wrong for him to feel even debited towards her.
He⊠he couldnât say it anymore. He couldnât hate her after all she had done for him. And thatâs why he hated her despite not really doing soâ she had given him a reason not to hate her. She was giving him reasons not to hold back anymore⊠to embrace her. Uraraka had barged in, cared for him when no one asked, and pushed all his hatred back to pin him down and, suddenly, he wasnât himself anymore.
He wasnât full of hatred for her anymore. In its stead, there was this confusing set of annoying feelings, all contradictory and messy that he didnât even want to touch, screaming his name in a tangled sea of names and tags he didnât⊠he just couldnât touch.
Bakugou stared at her a little moment. So, he didnât.
That way, he didnât care now.
Not that much.
âGuys, did you hear that?â
Jack had ran to a side of the road, whip in her hand as a menacing thunderstorm rumbled from high above, near a hill and by the river they were passing by. Uraraka stopped in her tracks to listen closely, but nothing could be heard aside from faraway thunder rolling at the end of the canyon. The guild was currently walking through a very narrow path encored on the rocky cliff, the river flowing deep below them in direction to the forests ahead, then the capital.
Mina stared a bit ahead as well, her eyes finding nothing else but the dark rocks of the cliffs in the night and the waters running crystal black under the moonâs blurry embrace, covered by the thick clouds of incoming storm. She shook her head and held her torch a bit higher. âI canât see shit in the darkness, above all with the wind from up here. What did it sound like?â
Kaminari, who was at the head of the crew at the moment, stopped them all as he held his arm and sword. Even Bakugou stopped his match when he saw how serious the blonde had turned. âNo, I heard that too. It came from a bit under us.â
Everyone peeked from the edge of the thin way, some squatting to not lose balance and topple over. Yaoyorozu shook her head, struggling to see anything else but some dry plants and bubbling water. âThere are a few platforms of discontinued paths and the river. I can see some little hills as the canyon ends, but nothing suspicious.â
Bakugou lowered Kaminariâs arm, but knew better than to let his guard down. He let his axe out of his back and walked forward clutching it tightly. âThen, letâs going. A storm is coming and rain in the darkness ainât pretty. Above all in the canyon.â
Everyone nodded in unison and took a few steps forward to hear the very same noise Jack had heardâ except this time, it rung much clearer and louder than before, the screech reaching Urarakaâs ears so terrifyingly well, as if the monster was rightâ
A crash and a blow were heard and the walls that held the path clear started to crack, tremble, and a horrifying scream of agitation echoed across the whole canyon while a dark green monster with scales and claws started to surface from the depths of the river and crawled up the walls to the path, his eyes locking with Urarakaâs scared ones and letting out another piercing yell of territorial menace, his metal hands making the ground beneath the guild shake and start crumbling.
A panicked, petrified shaky intake of breath broke the confidence for a tranquil path, and Uraraka was suddenly frightened to death for this monster she couldnât clearly see in the middle of the darknessâ but the menace was there, its tail illuminated by the dim moonlight and she could feel him climbing closer, faster, his body making the canyon give in to its weight.
One of Asuiâs feet gave in to the cracks, and she would have fallen down if Todoroki hadnât caught her. âThe path widens into an esplanade a few meters ahead where the canyon curves! We must hurry and take it down there, we canât fight like this!â
Unable to find a better plan, the guild struggled to break from the shock and fear and ran forward through the path as it started giving up behind them and falling into the river. The river creature let out another screech and dived into the waters again, chasing them down while hitting the walls a little while beneath the canyon.
Once they reached the esplanade, Uraraka was ordered by Yaoyorozu to ensure a path out of it before the whole canyon gave up. The sorcerer nodded and pounded a crack of the canyon with her staff, spikes of rocks and solid minerals surfacing through the cracks on the path ahead and holding them in place. Still, the solution wasnât permanent. âThe path is a little fixer-upper, but this wonât last for long if whatever that is shakes it!â
Bakugou flung his war axe on his shoulder and immediately hissed after. His body hadnât rested enough for a battle of this caliber, not after looking after Uraraka and having to part afterwards. He was tired, achingâ but his mind was ready for any challenge like this, for he smirked. âLetâs take this little thing doââ
The beast surfaced again from the side of the big esplanade, making Mina and Midoriya leap backwards as the river monster blocked the way out of the portion of land, and swatted Urarakaâs work off to the river. As it crawled nearer to them, it let out another high pitched wail of anger as it frowned on them, its scales brightening after a flash of thunder and revealing a dragon with green scales, colossal tail and sharp claws, his teeth wet with blood and sweet water.
âItâs a legendary beast from the river!â screamed Midoriya into the night, to his comrades, as wind started howling them off the esplanade. âWe canât possibly kill it, all we must do is paralyze him before he moves too much!â
Even before the leader had finished his orders, Kaminari was completely involved in lightning and sparks as an uncanny smirk of pride wicked his skin. âAh, then thatâs sparkyâs field of battle!â
He charged a handful of bolts into his palms, liting up the land around them before smashing the currents and sending it through the minerals of the canyon, running deep into the canyon through the cracks and zipping the monster that lay before themâ but the monster never stopped shifting nearer to them. Uraraka took a hesitant step near to the edge of the cliff, and only stopped when the waters were heard too clearly.
âWhat the fuck is this thing!?â exclaimed Kaminari before charging his sword and adopting a fighting pose, breath heavy from the stamina consumption. âThat thing is huge! How are we going to immobilize him with such fat weight?â
Uraraka would have done something about it if it hadnât been for thunder clapping right beside her, the beast smashing his claw closer to her people and creating a crack across the esplanade. She let out a whimper of fright, yet stayed focused on the beast before them. She could have summoned a meteorite, called in a tsunami to wash the thing away, make the ground beneath him crack and fall, or warp him in a tornado of havoc and destruction.
Yet, she held herself in and charged up. The ground they shared was fragile, at the verge of destruction if the monster took another step as she could hear rocks fall to the river behind her, the surface giving in if the beast made it shake too much. And as everyone was being extra careful, she knew she wasnât the only one aware of this limitation.
Todoroki wrapped his left side in flames and swung his arm straight at the beast from near Uraraka, flames shooting up and striking right on the beastâs eyes. While the monster shook at the violent blinding, Bakugou was able to charge at him with his axe and jump upwards, hunching and then spinning  to strike at the beast and slice a part of his skin. Blood dripped from the monster and it tried to slap the leader off, him unraveled from his attack and scraping the ground with his boots as he was pushed off.
Big stains of blood covered his naked chest, which he wiped clean as fangs relished on the thought of eating that huge motherfucker for dinner. Jack was next to him, swinging her whip around the beastâs neck and extending it so it would choke his grand, whole body, but the monster easily wiggled and broke her weapon, throwing her off with his claw.
Jack landed on her back dangerously near to the edge, but Uraraka had no space to focus on her, but pushed her away from there before running forward, rain starting to fall on her as she dodged members from her guild. Her staff crossed the thin air before a big jump, a seal appearing beneath her feat and shining before bigger thunder and lights flashed closely above, her form petite and high off the cliff as she had altered her gravity.
Then, lights and electricity came crashing on the creature as the girl dove through the air, driving the thunder right into the beast as she summoned her cast. âDivine Lighting Carriage!â
And the monster did shriek even higher from this as smoke radiated off his body, and his claws pierced the ground as Uraraka landed with scraping boots and her knees brushing the ground as she hissed, pushed away from the beast as well. She realized that the beast was poking holes too deep into the surfaceâ claws digging into the solid rock like butter and creating fractures too deep into the canyon, and then, a big deaf sound beneath.
Half of the ground of the esplanade gave in and started crashing down into the river fast, the members that stayed at the last line started to fall down, crumble with the broken debris and precipitating themselves into the dark waters, meeting their soon to be demise. Mina stumbled and almost fell, but was able to grab onto the edge of the broken esplanade and quickly caught Uraraka when the sorcerer screamed and almost fell as well.
âAre you alright, sis?â her right hand was tightly clasped around Urarakaâs, yet her left one was slipping, and fast.
And the brunette, even in her state of agitation and unfathomable fear, could see thisâ she could see her hand so clearly. So many things were happening around her: the monster was still wailing at the guild, somebody had fallen into the river, and she could feel some more people struggling to hold onto the falling esplanade. She could see more rocks crumbling beneath her and crashing in the waters.
The portion to which Mina was holding onto would give up soon. And she would fall with Uraraka if the sorcerer didnât do something about it. âMina, let me go!â
âWhat?â wind made things difficult to be heard, but the archer still held her tight in the middle of the chaos. âNo way I amââ
Another deaf crash vibrated nearby, and more rocks crashed. Sooner or later, Uraraka would fall into the river, meters and meters and meters of void fall pivoting her future tragedy. âPlease, Mina! If you donât let me fall, both of us will!â
âUraraka,â one of her fingers slipped, and the pair was tugged a bit down. The sorcerer held her breath in, eyes widening. But Minaâs hold on her never lessened. âdonât be a pain!â
If she could, she would float the way up, but in this state of agitation and exhaustion from the run and the fight, there was no way she would be able to go up there again and stand straight. There was a loud gruff curse, a scream, and somebody else had fallen again. âMina, you must trust me on this!â
This made the pink girl look under her, grimace at the pain this was supposing, and started pondering the thought. She was quick to shake it away. She would never let a comrade fall, not in her wildest dreams! If Uraraka fell down to the river, she would probably die from both the crash and the rocks that laid below them. Thunder clapped, rain started falling, wind howling in the middle of the thunderstorm, and Uraraka felt both of them giving up on their stone holdâ
âForgive me for this, Mina!â
Uraraka used her last resort to summon a little flame that burnt Minaâs hand scarcely, making the archer let go for a moment in deep painâ but then, Uraraka was falling down, her hands reaching out for her friend again as air was knocked out of her lungs, a scream of hers piercing through the storm as she fell down across the canyon, compassing the raindrops and nearer and nearer to the wild waters inching closer to her.
Suddenly, there was no feeling of ground anymore. Her stomach was sinking into her, her organs lurched as she desperately tried to hold onto something, anything in her way, not knowing where solid ground was but only aware of the music of crash and rumble, quake and death climbing up to her as her body only fell down faster and faster, away from the stars and moonlight she had once soared under.
In a second, her body splashed and there was nothing around her anymore. Silence surrounded her as rocks and debris crumbled into the water with deaf bursts of rock meeting ground, foam forming at her fingertips and strands as her body plummeted down, almost touching the deep ground before the current starts pulling her awayâ and she let herself be taken as the fall sunk into her and all pain and sudden notion of having stopped numbed her.
Consciousness and pain mixed, narrowing down to something sharp and full of grim colors she couldnât see in the darkness, the only feeling that kept her alive actually trying to kill her. Water ran down her throat as she tried to breathe unconsciously, and all sensations crackled down to numbness and pain, all taking her down the trashing river.
Until, suddenly, something soft and nice enveloped her in the night, an insane cycle of destruction and agony stopping. Feet below the surface where it was darker, muskier and wetter, with a heartbeat where silence was all that bubbled around her again, and the warmth made her feel safe, like a child in a lost home of gray hues where a family once lived, where a child once lived.
And the last thought she had was... that is was so warm down there, in the dark, deep in muddy water, with him. It was so⊠nice. This place, she couldnât feel scared here.
The image of a scattered young, blonde boy crossed her mind like s hooting star, crossed in between the strings of times and lost galaxies, fluttering out of space.
âKatsukiâŠâ
#kacchako#kacchako fanfiction#fanfiction#bnha#this is the only time this fic qualifies as kacchako tho /snicker#also like THIS TOOK SO GODDAMN LONG BUT IT'S DONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
22 notes
·
View notes