Technical Support

Chapter 8

"Ah." That was the only acknowledgement that Ayano gave to the ash blond. After exiting through her front door, she was immediately met with the sight of Bakugou who just happened to pass by her house on his walk to school.

She was only mildly surprised. They had always lived close to one another so this wasn't unusual, but they hadn't walked to school together since they were small children.

Normally, she would have waited for Midoriya to walk with him, but he revealed his training schedule to her. Having to wake up at 4:00 AM to begin his exercise, he told her that she needn't wait for him. Who knew that she would run into Bakugou on her first day back?

"Morning." Ayano greeted tentatively. Bakugou merely grunted in response and returned to facing forward with his permanent scowl. Leaving him be, the brown-haired girl returned to her daily morning routine by pulling out another one of her creations.

They easily fell into step with one another, Bakugou seemingly ignoring her presence and going the same pace as he was before, Ayano walking and working beside him. "I'm glad that you are okay." She spoke again.

"I didn't need your help." Came the boy's immediate reply. "I suppose you didn't, but I don't see how that was, in any way, a proper response to my statement." The girl replied in complete confidence, having expected this kind of behavior.

Bakugou's brow furrowed even more. "I didn't need your help..." He stated again. "...But...thanks..." He mumbled the last part. To nearly any other person, they would've thought that he was saying it out of some sort of obligation or that it pained him to do so, but Ayano knew better.

They didn't stop walking, but Ayano took a good, solid look at him. He still hadn't looked at her once, but she could tell that his feelings were no less genuine.

That was the thing with him.

He had never treated her poorly.

Even when his quirk manifested along with his superiority complex, he never treated her poorly. Surely, his attitude worsened but he didn't behave that much differently with Ayano. In fact, the only reason why their relationship had somewhat soured was because Ayano chose to defend Midoriya.

Midoriya had to face the brunt of Bakugou's anger all the time, but Ayano only had to do so when she was around the both of them. It seemed as though she were merely in the 'splash zone' when Bakugou decided to unleash his quirk on the other boy.

The blond had bullied and tormented Midoriya, but he didn't dare lay a hand on Ayano. He would threaten her when she got in the way, but the girl soon came to the realization that they were always empty threats. He never followed through with them. Never.

Eventually, they just grew distant from one another. Bakugou did so for whatever reasons and Ayano did so because she protected Midoriya.

Choosing not to respond with a 'You're welcome' since that would probably just anger him, Ayano remained silent while she dug inside her bag. She pulled out something that looked like a large flower bulb made out of some sort of metal and handed it to Bakugou, causing him to finally look at her in what she assumed to be confusion.

It was a little hard to tell with his constant scowling.

They stood still, with her staring right at him. Her arm was still outstretched with the metal flower bulb sitting snug in her palm. Bakugou simply stared at it with furrowed brows and slanted eyes.

Growing a bit impatient, Ayano pulled back her arm slightly and stretched it out in offering again, hoping to jerk him out of whatever mode he was in.