Shoot Your Shot - MHA College AU

Scene 24: A Wrench in the Haystack

{ Scene 24: A Wrench in the Haystack }

Crouched behind him in the dark, Bakugo waved you forward, tiptoeing around the next corner. The warm glow of his hands led the way, counting the door numbers in his breath.

He paused near the end of the hall, in front of one of the rooms. This had to be the place he was hiding everyone.

"Got enough juice in your phone?" he uttered, barely above a whisper. His quietness was something you had a hard time accepting for someone who ruptured eardrums on a daily basis. But the boy found his ways to surprise you, more times than you'd ever admit to him.

Maybe part of that came with his dream; of becoming the number one hero. Even the greatest heroes knew when to cut their odds and put others first. There was a shimmer of pride, seeing that in the boy, grown as he was now, no longer the arrogant brute who'd leave others behind in the dust without a second thought.

Power wasn't the only strength the boy had acquired over the years.

You nodded, patting your pocket.

He continued. "Up those stairs. Stick to the left. Their names are on the doors."

Before you could scurry back into the dark, he grabbed your wrist, tugging it firmly.

"Wait, just..." his mouth fell empty of words, jaw hesitating with his breath. The faintest patter of footsteps were beginning to round the staircase below, tones of quiet conversation following the sound.

He shook his head. "N-Nevermind, just go. Meet me here."

You took off, not looking back, for fear that stewing on your worries would send your mind wandering elsewhere. Bakugo would be waiting for you. You had to trust him on that.

The final step of the staircase blessed you with silence as you made your way to the 7th floor hallway. It was worse for wear, with blackened walls from the drifting smoke and water leaking in through the ceiling, forming puddles in the carpet. Feet scuttering beneath, you scanned the doors, eyes flicking between names. A mixture of colorful letters, kanji, doodles, and stickers.

None had her name, or Mina's for that matter.

Mina?

No, Mari.

Too similar for your own good. Part of you worried for your friend, her tousled pink curls and raccoon eyes staring back at you from the house, watching you take off in a panic that same night.

Her voice on the phone, and her reassurance that '–it can just be us. Everything's going to be okay.' You hoped she was right. There was a promise set in stone between you. A girl's weekend waiting ahead.

It was then that you saw it. Doodled in bright pink and orange letters.

Mari & Ava

723

You reached for the knob, waiting to burst through the door and near snatch the girl from inside. But it was locked.

Blood drew from your lip as you jangled the knob, biting away anxiously at the flesh. Surely, the guards would start to pick up on the noise at this rate.

"Ava?" you half whispered, knocking on the door this time. Maybe the rattling startled her, mistaking your rescue for guards waiting outside.

Knock, knock, knock.