PUPPET // KATSUKI BAKUGO [1]

Chapter 71 // Hope

"I didn't ask if it was normal. I asked if it was wrong," you replied.

"The only thing wrong about your situation is that it happened," Aizawa responded with a tired sigh.

You rubbed a hand over your face and looked around the room, eventually saying, "can I see Bakugo? Is he allowed here?"

"I'm sure I can make some type of arrangement," Aizawa answered. "Why?"

"Maybe," you began, shrugging, "if I spend an extended amount of time with him, I'll remember something."

"I suppose it's worth a shot," the hero agreed. "You can only spend so long together though. We've got you scheduled for an appointment later today."

"For what?" you questioned, confused.

"We're gonna see if we can extract the quirks they put into you," Aizawa replied. "They may be able to look into the brainwashing, but the main focus is to make it so you only have your original quirk again."

"Should that really be the main focus?" you asked. "What's it gonna matter if I have five quirks or one? The whole city is still scared of me."

"Then we'll make them not scared," the man stated, "but we'll worry about that later. The main focus is you right now. After you're as back to normal as you can be, that's when we'll worry about everything else."

"Fine," you sighed. "Can you call Bakugo now?"

"I'll get on it," Aizawa promised as he stood. "In the mean time, do you wanna try and talk to your parents. They're desperate to see their daughter."

You looked toward the two-way mirror, knowing they stood on the other side of it, staring at you as if you were some kind of puppet on a homemade stage.

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm not their daughter anymore."

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You had moved from sitting in your chair to sitting on the padded floor of the room as you waited for Bakugo. The metal chair had gotten too uncomfortable. Besides, you liked directly facing the door.

You stared at it for a solid ten or so minutes further before it opened, and a familiar blond walked in. He had shed himself of his hero costume and wore simple sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Hibernating?" he questioned with a smug smirk. You rolled your eyes at the sarcasm as you pushed yourself off the floor and stood.

"You'd never seen me then," you countered, walking over to him. He met you halfway in the center of the room. "Wouldn't that just drive you crazy?"

"I think you're overestimating how appealing you are," Bakugo replied.

"Really?" you wondered, and he hummed. "I don't think you find me that repulsive if you dove into a collapsing building to save me, simultaneously killing yourself in the process."

"I never said I found you repulsive at all," he stated. "You're just a little full of yourself."

"That's rich coming from you," you joked.

Your eyes wandered over to the two-way mirror on the far wall, and you suddenly remembered that there was a possibility the two of you were being watched.

"Are my parents still out there?" you asked, looking back at Bakugo.

He glanced over his shoulder at the mirror, averted his attention back to you after a second or two, and said, "pretty sure you'd have to tase 'em to get 'em to leave."

"Did you talk to them?" you questioned.

"Is there a reason to?" Bakugo said in response.

You huffed quietly and looked back at the two-way mirror, staring at it for a good ten seconds or so before walking over to it.

"Go away," you ordered, knowing they'd be able to hear you. "There's no point in bombarding a girl who doesn't remember you. You're wasting your time."

It may have seemed harsh from an outsiders point of view, but they were only hurting themselves by remaining around. You weren't going to suddenly remember them and jump into their arms. The more they watched, the more they lost hope. Just your presence was hurting them. There was no helping.

"That's a little harsh," Bakugo claimed with a somewhat amused scoff. "You're hangin' around me too much."

You felt the corner of your mouth twitch as if your body was telling you to smile, but you didn't. Instead, you turned to face the boy and asked, "did Aizawa tell you about the surgery?"

"Surgery?" Bakugo questioned, his eyes growing wide. "What fucking surgery?"

"Surgery-type thing," you corrected. You didn't know exactly what would happen during the appointment. "They're gonna try and remove my additional quirks."

"Who's they?" he asked, seeming angry. You didn't understand why he was so pressed. Wasn't this a good thing? You were, hopefully, going to be normal again.

"I don't know. People? Doctors?" you replied with a shrug. "Whoever they are, they're gonna make me as normal as possible again. Aizawa said they may even be able to get some or all of my memories back. It depends."

Bakugo sighed deeply, saying, "is that why you called me here? You just wanted to let me know that you're going through surgery that might not even work."

"I wanted you here because I thought being around the only person who I actually feel a deep connection with would help me in some way," you stated. "I'm scared, Bakugo. I can't explain any of what I'm feeling because I don't remember shit about who I was, and I don't know who I'm supposed to be. The whole country hates me. Everyone is terrified of me."

Bakugo released another deep exhale and took a step closer to you. He lifted his arm and lazily wrapped it around your waist before tugging you into his chest.

"Not everyone," he said. "If those people have even an ounce of common sense, they'll be able to put aside the bullshit you went through and focus on all you've done to to help."

"Tell that to the cop that tackled me," you scoffed. "Are you really gonna be on my side once I take one step outside, and you see just how much people are willing to follow the crowd?"

"Mighty Mouse, I'd still be on your side if you pulled out a knife and stabbed me in the back," Bakugo teased, but something about the way he stared into your eyes with an odd amount of adoration told you he wasn't lying.

And that was enough to give you hope, hope that one day, someday soon, everything was going to be okay.

[EDITED]