❝Rethink❞ (BNHA x BSD)

★ Chapter 20 ★

~ 3 years later ~

I am leaning on the bridge's railing, the wind gently caressing my hair and flowing through my dress. It is a beautiful afternoon. The sun is shining way above the horizon, yet the water glistens beautifully. Passengers pass by behind my back, often in some distant conversation. The semi-busy traffic adds a sense of comfort. Everything is serene.

And yet I am missing something. Someone. I look around, but I don't see him yet.

I decide to rest my head on my arm and stare at the scenery. Soon enough, I get bored and close my eyes.

"Eliana," an ever-so-familiar voice calls out to me. "We meet again."

I turn and look at him. Chuuya hasn't changed much in appearance since we last saw each other at the camp. He was still wearing the same-looking hat and couldn't bother putting his hands through his coat sleeves.

"Congratulations on graduating," he continues.

Without saying anything, I pull him into a hug. He hugs me back.

"I've missed you," we both admit while looking into each other's eyes. I can feel myself blushing. He looks away.

It is my turn to speak. "We don't have to start over again, Chuuya. Let's not go the "as if nothing ever happened" way. It won't end well."

"I'm happy to hear that. You're as sensible as always."

"A huge drag, right?"

He looks slightly annoyed.

"Ah, your apprentice apologises."

"What don't you remember?" he asks jokingly. We both laugh a little.

"I tried my best not to forget anything," I reply seriously now.

"Me too. I remember the bad and the good."

꧁☆꧂

Author's notes: Thank you so much for reading until the end! Below I will share some of my thoughts, so if you're not interested, I hope you have a lovely day/evening! :)

Here's the analysis from the author's POV.

I intended a different ending. To be honest, for a while, I wasn't even sure whether I wanted Eliana to live or die in a fight, a bad or a good ending, or whether she would meet her father. She lived because I wanted the ending to be up to the reader – will Eliana get together with Chuuya? What happens to them (career-wise)? The ending was good (as vague as the word "good" is) because I didn't want the villains or the Mafia to win. She didn't meet her father because of a Christian idea of not seeing God but still following His advice.

Endings should tie up loose ends, but I wanted to go one step further and ensure that no one got away with anything. Eliana didn't feel comfortable in class 1-A because Dazai had submitted the application in her stead. She struggled because she wasn't honest about her quirk. The Mafia declared her a traitor because she went to the Detective Agency. Chuuya assumed Eliana loved Todoroki because he saw them hugging. Our heroine felt terrible for using Bakugou to meet the people of class 1-A.

As for that part where she went to ask Bakugou a favour, the technique she used, asking for a small favour, is still valid. Her manipulative intentions failed her. It might be obvious, but I wanted to insert some advice into this story. Not to preach but because it makes writing easier for me if my character follows or tries to follow a particular philosophy.

I'm a big fan of Jordan Peterson, so some of his points also made it to this story, more specifically from Beyond Order (2021). I also read some Bungou Stray Dogs light novels, and I found Odasaku's description of the Mafia (e.g. the three rules) very useful. Because I struggle with staying consistent in my writing style and "efforts", I also read the romance / enemies to lovers parts of We Hunt the Flame. It might have inspired me to "guide" the story back to Chuuya and Eliana.

At first, I wanted to write a fluff about Eliana and Chuuya, but then I realised that Eliana was 15 and Chuuya was 22. Oopsie. That's why I steered the story away from their relationship, but since he's the man on the cover, I just couldn't write the finale without him. Let's console ourselves with the fact that Eliana had the power to stop Chuuya from the first chapter. If you felt uncomfortable, good, you were supposed to.

Her relationship with Todoroki Shoto turned out to be a gimmick. I included it when I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the romantic aspect of the story, but it turns out it wasn't meant to be. What happened with Todoroki was what happens to many characters in my stories: I underwrite them. Well, I don't want to bore you by repeating what you already know from the anime or manga, but this also means I forget to write about them. I'll leave it to your imagination to fill in what I don't mention.

I found the first-person point of view significantly limiting this time around. One of the Bungou Stray Dogs light novels uses the first person but then switches to the third person to describe events the main character could never know about. But it just doesn't make sense to me, so I wrote simply, keeping in mind Eliana's perspective (as if she's recalling everything while waiting for Chuuya). It was an interesting limitation regardless. You're the judge of how well I did.

There are so many other things to mention, but this is getting very long... (feel free to comment and ask if something's bothering you :))

I really enjoyed writing this. Combining My Hero Academia and Bungou Stray Dogs is not tricky, but it certainly made it more interesting. I want to write more stories about this joint universe, but since I have yet to write solely about Bungou Stray Dogs, I might do that for a change. Who knows. As of writing this, it is my last free day before a new semester, so I'll see how I manage everything from now on.

If you have read this far, thank you SO MUCH! :D I hope we'll "meet" again someday.