Enchantress - Katsuki Bakugou

24 | Popularity

"I haven't seen you in ages, my dear! Did you bring food?" He rubbed his hands, eyeing the bags that had settled themselves in the corner.

"Oh, shove off." She laughed, startling Midoriya. She seemed very at ease and open with the old man. It was definitely different from the reserved Aurora he usually saw at school.

"Who are you?" A switch flicked in the man's head and he stopped laughing, staring at Izuku. Aurora waved him over to the table.

"He's Toshinori's successor." She said over her shoulder as she opened the cupboard. "Where the fuck is all the food?" She called out, Gran Torino shrugging sheepishly. She rolled her eyes and decided that she was going for a walk as she closed the door behind her.

"Shouldn't someone go with her?" Izuku asked as he watched the door close shut.

"She is only going for a walk. Besides, I believe the only reason she came here was to protect you." He scratched his chin, also staring at the door. He glanced over to the wide-eyed boy next to him.

"Who are you again?"

Shoving her hands in her pockets, Aurora wandered around the bustling streets. She didn't mind the people rushing around her, some heads deeper up their asses than others. It was like wandering in wildlife.

Except the wildlife had phones. She tried to imagine different animals on phones and snorted as a man with a literal rhino head walked past her, knee-deep in irony.

As she entered the city square, she noticed people staring, pointing and actually following her.

The murmuring got louder as she slowed to a stop, people crowding around her as if she was a zoo animal.

"Hi?" She questioned, thoroughly confused. She wasn't anyone important.

Well, publicly anyway, so why was she being surrounded?

A young girl answered her question as she waddled up to her and asked if she was from the UA on the telly. She smiled and crouched down to the small girl's level, nodding slightly.

"Yeah, my name's Aurora, what's yours?"

"Eri!" She squeaked, clutching what seemed to be the bandages that her arms were wrapped in. She flinched away from Aurora's hand. " I wanna ask you..." The girl's voice trailed off as she glanced over Aurora's shoulder.

"What's wrong, Eri?" The girl suddenly turned and bolted, zigzagging through legs so fast Aurora had no time to reach her. The crowd thickened around her and she gave up trying to spot Eri. She might've seen her parents and run after them, Aurora concluded.

It still didn't settle the unease in her stomach.

The unease stayed, unlike the tall figure behind her. The one with the plague mask, who slipped back into the shadows, a wicked grin hidden underneath the mask.

The crowd stayed the same, however.

"You're the first-years champion for the UA games!" Someone called out. Others started shouting and yelling, most staring to push their way to the front.

"Settle down everyone!" She yelled.

Yeah... That didn't work.

____________
Time Skip

It had taken three hours to get through the crowd. She had given up walking ten minutes in and got everyone in a line. Speaking to people for a couple of minutes turned out pretty interesting, but there were a couple of assholes in the line who had asked her for nudes. 

They did get something, though.

A broken nose. Each. How lucky were they?!

The sun had set a while ago, the streets light as bright as ever. She wandered past the market street, temporarily blinded, the giving off a chaotic fun vibe that she seemed not to enjoy. She quickened her pace as a gruffy man who looked like he could barely stand made eye contact with her.

She closed the door behind her, and once she saw the mess, her palm met her forehead, but definitely not for the first or last time.

She knew it was quite late, so she refrained herself just in time so she didn't wake anyone up. Using her quirk, she lifted the leftover glass and broken plates off the floor and into the bin. Deku came in seconds later holding a broom.

"Oh, sorry." She rubbed the back of her neck. As the words came out of her mouth, he seemed to register that she was standing in front of him.

"Twi-Aurora!" He stuttered as she sent a pointed look his way.

Ah, right. She had told him to call her Aurora. Well, in that case...

"You c-can ca-ll me I-I-Izuku, only if you want though! I don't mind it's just that you're letting me call you Aur-" She stood there, chuckled silently at the rambling boy in front of her.

"Shut up boy!" Gran Torino's voice called from another room. Izuku immediately froze and apologised, looking absolutely terrified. She nearly burst out laughing when, as he apologised, bowed to a wall.

She caught the broom before it hit the ground and placed it in the cupboard.

"Go get some rest, it's late." She murmured, still facing the cupboards.

"I wanted to do something else though." This made her turn around, eyebrow quirked.

"Go on."

"The alleyway, next to the house. Do you think you could help me get a grip on One For All?" He didn't stutter once, which amazed Aurora. It seemed when he was talking about things he was passionate about, he set confidence and self-esteem aside. It had taken her so long to stop her stuttering, and sometimes it still came out.

Not that she would tell anyone, of course.

She knew as he stood there, she knew she was helping a past version of herself. A different version, who hadn't felt as much pain as she had.

Oh, how it will hurt for him when it comes.

Because she hadn't answered and was still staring at him, he went on about ideas and how could he ever be as heroic as All Might.

"Alright, that's it, stop." She cut him short of his extremely self-deprecating speech. His eyes widen as he realised what he said.

"Right, sorry." The tomato said, eyes downcast.

"Hey, I didn't say no." His eyes snapped back up at the sheepish girl in front of him, rubbing her neck.

"Really?" His voice rose.

"Really, let's go." She turned around and walked out the door.

He didn't see the small smile tug itself on to her face, nor the sparkle in her eyes that was there because she was happy to be needed. He didn't see her wring her hands nervously, because she hadn't had to teach anyone anything before.

He didn't see it. But that didn't matter.