Thursday night, I was sprawled out in the Bakugo's backyard, on the lounge sofa. A glass of some juice was on the ledge of the fireplace in the middle, that was off, and my stomach was full of good food. The night wasn't warm, but the chill in the air wasn't cold enough to permeate my sweater and joggers.
I was currently alone, and I wanted to see the stars. No light except the moon above.
Mitsuki asked me if I liked the moon or sun more. And I realized that I have refused to look at the stars since the nomu attacked me. If only I could have changed that night, gone to the top of the building with Katsuki.
Just to bask in the stars. They were so bright that night. And they were bright tonight, visible away from the city.
No clouds, no blearing skyscrapers. Just the midnight blue sky peppered with diamonds.
I heard the sound of the door open and close, a light tsk, and a smile fleeted by my lips. Footsteps walked around and then there was a dip at my foot as my legs were pushed apart and Katsuki came to lay between them. His head rested on my chest and his arms wrapped around my torso, his weight settling on me as he nestled his cheek to find a comfortable place on my breasts.
I sighed out but took my hands to his hair, playing with his hair with tender hands.
We stayed like that a while. Me treading fingers through his hair as Katsuki cuddled into me, holding me closely. The longer I reveled in him, the more guilt I felt. So I forced myself to sound out a question.
"Why haven't you pushed me to tell you everything about me, or why I've ignored all talk of heroes?"
Katsuki froze before relaxing as he gruffly sighed, his fingers beginning to write swirls on my hip, just under the hem of my sweater. I puffed my cheeks, eyes still on the stars, as Katsuki took forever answering.
And he finally answered, when his hand crawled up to my waist.
"If I tried forcing you to talk you won't say shit and withdraw." I sucked in a breath silently. "You'll tell me when your ready. Even though I do wanna fucking know... I'll wait."
I blinked up at the sky as a pressure built behind my eyes. I breathed out slowly and rested my hands in Katsuki's hair.
I wish it would be so easy. To just spill everything that happened, to go over my past and not feel as if I am wrenching spiked chains from my chest. But it hurts, the thought of people knowing what happened and what I have done - what was done to me. And Katsuki wasn't going to force me to tell him until I was ready.
And when I was, I won't lie. And I'll tell him flat out everything. And be satisfied with what he chooses to do with the information.
Clearing my throat, I finally respond.
"Get up here and kiss me, idiot," I grumble, tightening my hands in his hair.
Katsuki chuckled and his body weight was alleviated briefly. And I saw the soft smile on his handsome face and glinting ruby eyes, drowning out he diamond studded sky. Still bright even in the dark.
And he kissed me as I had asked. Full of warmth, slow but steady and heady, making my insides melt and head go blank.
And too soon did he pull away, and flip us over. On his back, Katsuki had me turn onto my back, our fingers locked over my stomach. My head on his chest, legs twined with his longer ones, and we watched the stars together.
********************
I was struggling not grit my teeth, stomp my foot in frustration, or throw the finger to Aizawa.
Instead, I had my arms crossed and obediently followed Shoji to our site. Ready for the physical part of the final exams.
The majority of the day was spent on the written exams, which I felt extremely confident on. A quick lunch break, then changing into costumes.
And then I had to watch seven matches, wondering how in the fuck I was going to pass. Flatten everyone so no one could say I didn't pass?
And then I am doing a rematch against Snipe. Just my fucking luck.
"You got this, Mira!" Mina shouted at my back. I waved at her but the second she was out of sight I dropped my hand and slouched.
I sighed and put my hands on my hips as the elevator moved down. This wasn't a good scenario for me, and Aizawa knew that.
"I'm sorry if I wasn't the partner you wanted, Kazama," Shoji suddenly spoke. I scoffed.
"You are a great partner to have. I'm fine with you as a partner, so why are you saying that?" I asked, spearing the tall man with a look. He shrugged with his array of arms.
"Well, you seem disappointed and sighing a lot, so-"
"I'm worried that I'll fail this because of my Quirk, not because of you or anything else," I cut off harshly. I pointed a finger at Shoji as we walked out to the city. "So stop with that 'I'm sorry' bullshit."
I believed he smiled but it was hard to tell with his mask on. "So why are you worried? Your Quirk is extremely powerful- oh, the Awakening, right?" I nodded, rolling my shoulders as we had to walk a certain distance away from the base.
I flexed my fingers, taking in the surroundings of the mock city. Anything that might be helpful for the fight. All we had to do was escape to the gate or capture Snipe with the handcuffs attached to my belt.
"I just hope that I won't make a disastrous mistake that will end up either killing someone or ruining our chances of passing," I explained briefly. Shoji understood.
I might accidentally crush Snipe to death. Or destroy all the buildings, making us easy targets for Snipe to shoot. Or kill Shoji too accidentally. And since Snipe is accurate, we'll either be hiding or me protecting us with shields. Aizawa knows that - so of course I am going against Snipe to make sure my Quirk can be accurate for at least a few moments.
Or I fail.
"Five minutes to prepare!" Toshinori's voice filtered over the speakers, and Shoji and I took shelter in the right at a storefront.
And began planning.
"If we can get close, it's over. I'm better at him in hand-to-hand, and a bullet shot - even if they are not actual bullets - won't stop or kill me." Not cocky. Just knowing my abilities.
Shoji expanded his arms into ears and eyes, listening and hearing as far as he could. "We can use one of those fake water tanks to make even more cover for us. Or we could bum rush him, using your air to block his bullets. I could then hold him down, and you cuff him."
I doubt I could actually do that, safely.
We continued to plan until it was time, a thirty minute time limit.
And my Quirk was on. It was easier without a shit ton of people, and at first Shoji had to keep me standing as I adjusted. The corners and spaces, cracks and windows. And...
"Shoji, there are a set of tunnels right underneath us," I say softly, eyes open but not looking in front of me. No, I was looking at the tunnels, unused, right under the city. A set of them tan straight to Snipe, hiding on a rooftop fifteen buildings away.
"Can we use it?"
I nodded. "J-just a second." I grit my teeth.
My body chilled as I focus on the spot before me. There I was - standing at the corner of the storefront, flat on the ground. From that angle, I could look up and see Shoji.
I can do this. I can size right and not crush. So I drew in a breath and stilled, again, imagining a circle. I could feel, physically, hardened air hitting my shoes. I closed the circle a bit smaller.
And crushed down.
The cement crumbled away instantly, dust wafting up. I quickly let go of the air and the breath rushed out of me as a pounding went off in my head. I stumbled, about to fall and Shoji caught me. Then we jumped down into the tunnel, and he began running.
"Tell me the way to go." Shoji sounded clear and in control. So I spent my energy focused on the turns and corners of the dark tunnel, heading towards Snipe.
"Left... right... keep going straight," I directed. Shoji didn't once doubt me, not as I doubted myself, in this dark space. It gave me a confidence I didn't expect to have. Even if I could walk now, with Shoji carrying me we were moving as one unit - less likely for me to leave Shoji behind or vice versa.
It was all right to rely on my teammates.
Snipe was moving, looking for us. I told Shoji to stop, realizing he was moving closer and closer to us.
"He's above us, twenty... ten feet ahead."
"Can you break the ground under him?"
I froze. "I might accidentally crush us, ya know."
Shoji set me down, one set of arms holding onto my shoulders, others forming a cage around us. "Then I'll hold off most of it, if that happens."
I could sense his smile, with the teeth, in the dark and smiled in turn. "Take the cuffs - I'll probably be incapacitated afterwards, so you take down Snipe. As soon as possible." Shoji gave no arguments as I set the cuffs in one of his many hands.
Then I focused. Why was it so hard to keep it controlled? This should be easy, a piece of cake, a walk in the park.
But my body shook and tensed from the cold, struggled to shrink a circle as to not kill me and Shoji and Snipe. It was embarrassing, but I doubt there was a camera on me right now, seeing as finding the tunnels was completely off our original plan and obviously not in use.
My fingers flexed, so used to the air coming out of them. But no, I was just controlling it now, as if was connected to but not part of my body.
A deep breath in, a deep breath out. Snipe was just before us. So I created one line of air that cut down the concrete, from next to Snipe all the way through the tunnel. He noticed, so I moved as fast as I could. In a square.
The ground came crashing down, Snipe on top of it. Light filtered in, blinding me momentarily as my focus snapped and my body tensed from the cold. But Shoji didn't hesitate one bit.
He flew forward, practically, using his arms to grab onto Snipe to keep him from shooting. Since Snipe was off balance, he wasn't able to go fast enough to grab his weapon. Shoji got him, and slammed the cuffs onto his wrists.
And we won.
But my head pounded away and my breath was shallow, my lungs cold. I flipped my Blood Quirk on to relieve the pain, but my Air Quirk refused to shut off. So I slid down on the ground, closing my eyes and brought my knees up, hugging them with my head between them.
It was too loud, once again. Shoji was worriedly checking on me, but it felt as if he was stumbling around my head. Snipe was banging away in my head with each step he took. The dust was as loud as rocks as they settled down.
I didn't think. I didn't wish so desperately for it to go away.
I just said to myself
"Stop."
And it listened.
Blowing out a breath I tilt my head eye, making eye contact with Shoji.
"I'm fine."
********************
I was not fine.
I now realized how painful it was to watch people get hurt. Not killed or crushed to death - fighting to win and get sent to the hospital.
Katsuki and Izuku fought Toshinori. Katsuki had some bruised ribs and Izuku had his ribs cracked, spine too straight. Nothing Recovery Girl couldn't fix. But damn, did I hate just watching it all go down and not be able to do anything.
So I was very upset with myself for just now realizing how bad it was for others. And upset, wondering how long it'll take them to wake up.
As I sat in a chair between the two beds in UA's hospital corridor. Albeit closer to Katsuki, I was also here for Izuku too.
I placed my phone down, tired of scrolling aimlessly. The sun was setting fast, the sky a hue of orange and purple fading into the room.
I had half a mind to scold the two boys when they woke up, but decided against it. It would be contradictory to my own actions if I scolded them. So I'll just give them 'the look' for a little while until I was satisfied of Katsuki snapped.
The door slid open. I looked to see Toshinori, in his normal weak form, walking in. He gave me a small smile and waved, a bit guilty. I sighed and waved back as he took the seat at the foot if Katsuki's bed. I turned the chair around so I could face him, crossing my arms and legs as I sat back down.
"You passed, huh," Toshinori chuckled. "I could tell you weren't expecting that."
I tapped my finger on my arm. "If I didn't sense those tunnels, it would have been much harder to win."
"Yeah, apparently those tunnels were part of an emergency escape route that hasn't been used for years. It was unexpected." I didn't respond. Mostly not sure what to say. Sure, I was upset with Toshinori, but he did his job as an instructor. So I wasn't going to do anything to him.
Toshinori cleared his throat. "So, are you upset with me?"
I shook my head. Looked down, still unsure. A weird silence fell.
"You know, us teachers had a bet going on," Toshinori piped up, amusement in his voice.
"About what?" I asked, intrigued. Toshinori's eyes flitted to Katsuki then back to me, a smile breaking his lips.
"How long it'd take for you and Young Bakugo to end up together." I scoffed, but a smile ended up on my lips, and Toshinori's eyes softened. Yet he didn't say anything about it.
"Who was involved? And how long?"
"Well, the betting started after the lunch incident the first week. And the entire faculty, including Nezu, made a bet." I gaped. He laughed. "You guys weren't sneaky about each other."
"What?" I question. "We didn't get together until the Monday after the internships?" What does he mean sneaky? I didn't realize my feelings until that stupid week.
"The two of you were enamored with each other! It was so obvious the chemistry the two of you had!" Toshinori complained.
"What? Us arguing? Or training? Or-
"Spending all day together?" The two of us said in unison. We looked at each other before we both began laughing.
"I guess we did act like a couple," I mumbled. "So who won?"
Toshinori glowered then. "Aizawa and Kayama." Kayama was Midnight's last name.
I jabbed at him. "Oh, really? You mean to tell me after asking you for love advice you ended up losing?"
He sighed, tossing his hands up in the air. "I thought you'd get together during the internship period. Most of the bets went to during summer break. Aizawa and Kayama both said right after internships."
"How much did you lose?"
Toshinori frowned. "Two hundred. They both made around eight hundred both." My eyes widened.
"All because of betting on us?"I asked, incredulous.
Toshinori nodded, and a guilty blush crossed his cheeks. "We also have another bet, but just including Aizawa, Kayama, Yamada and I... and it is quite embarrassing."
Well, that obviously got my attention. "What is it?" He didn't respond. "You can't tell me something like that, and then expect me to not want an answer?"
He sighed out and waved his hands. "Let's just say, Kayama decided that she wanted to bet on whether... ahem ..."
I stared Toshinori down. He refused to meet my gaze, turning to look at his hands.
"On whether you two went all the way before or after you got together."
Toshinori turned bright red, and I felt my cheeks flame.
"I- uh- fuck," I sighed out, adjusting my crossed arms and legs. "Well, we may or may not have. Who knows? I won't say anything. And why are you guys making bets on this?" My voice came out as a scold.
"I-ah-eh- I don't know. I apologize," he said gravely.
Shaking my head softly, I looked down at Katsuki. He looked peaceful, asleep. I found it a weird habit I've been growing - waking up early and watching Katsuki sleep with a peaceful expression.
Then I'd fall back to sleep and wake up in a compromising position.
I sighed and brushed a hand through my hair. I rolled my neck and shoulders, thinking of a way to phrase my question.
Well, being blunt is one way to go.
"What's going on with Aizawa and you?"
Toshinori froze. He looked at me then looked outside. "What do you mean?"
I rolled my foot. "You guys keep looking at me with some questions in your eyes, muttering to each other and immediately stop around me, and seem to shy away from answering straightforward questions. And Aizawa, shying away?" I scoffed. "What is going on, huh?"
Refusing to look at me, he clasped his hands and stooped over more, eyes cast down. Chewing on his bottom lip, I felt note nervous about the reason. I thought maybe it had to do with my Quirk, something they were worried about but not to a dangerous extent.
"I can't tell you, yet." Toshinori sounded grave. I swallowed, pushing down the anxious feelings. "You will find out during the summer camp, or right after."
I tapped my fingers. Poked my cheek with my tongue before sucking on my tight. And conceded.
"All right then." I tossed my arms down and uncrossed my legs. "I'm hungry. You want something to eat?" I offer.
Toshinori looked bewildered at me not pushing the subject. A major change, I would say. I guess sometimes I really should just relax and take it easy without something hanging over my head everyday.
"I-I'm good, thank you," he stammered out. I nodded and stood up.
Before I left the room, I spared a look back. The stooping hero and passed out rivals. And walked, with a purpose of going to steal some food from the cafeteria.
********************
"Mira!" I look up with my puffed cheeks as I stuffed the last of my hamburger into my mouth. It was Mina, bounding into the cafeteria, Ochaco following behind her.
"How did you obtain food? The cafeteria is closed," Ochaco asked, observing my empty platter before me. Fries and hamburger - currently being chewed - gone in under five minutes. Plus a rare cola I found.
UA been hiding the junk food. Assholes.
"I work in the kitchen, it's open to me," I said once I half-choked the hamburger down to talk. Mina smiled.
"You stole it." I threw a thumbs up as Ochaco reached my side, fumbling her fingers.
"What's up?" I asked, wondering what the duo wanted as to scream out my name. Then I notice how Ochaco flushed and Mina had a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Well, you see, I'm not allowed in the room Deku and Bakugo is in because- Mina," Ochaco huffed as Mina pushed her aside and grabbed my hands.
"Bakugo is refusing anyone to get in the room until he sees you, so we need you to tame the beast!" Mina explained as she pulled me up. I tsked but let her pull me away from the table, Ochaco grabbing the tray to go put in the dump bucket.
"What could that Pom-Pom do when he's in a hospital bed?" I asked, confused as to what Katsuki was doing to hold the class at bay.
"He's threatening to throw Midoriya out the window, and Midoriya's back is still messed up."
I rolled my eyes. Ochaco joined my side. "I didn't realize you all were still here, though," I mentioned.
Ochaco smiled and pointed outside. "We were having a group picnic outside as we waited! Most of us left by now."
I gasped, holding a hand to my heart. "Why wasn't I invited!?" I say, in false anger. Mina swatted at my shoulder.
"You disappeared into the room and we didn't want to deprive you of your grieving time," Mina said with a teasing lilt to her voice.
"I was mainly angry with their dumbasses," I grumbled.
Laughing, the three of us went up the stairs together. When we got to the 'hospital corridor', I noticed that everyone really was waiting outside the room the rivals shared.
Ida, Kirishima, Shoto, Kaminari, Kyoka, Sero and Sato were here. I thought Shoji might have stayed longer, considering how he decided to carry me around for a little while, but he wasn't. I need to thank him in the group chat.
"Kaza! Bakugo locked the door! Get over here!" Kaminari shouted as they all split to make way for me.
"This is unacceptable behavior. I am very disappointed," Ida sighed instructionally.
"Don't act like you didn't do the same thing in Hosu-"
"All right! We rely on you Kazama!" Ida shut off Shoto who just had a twinkle to his eye.
I sighed and walked up to the door, hands on my hips. I put on the pose I've seen Inko and Mitsuki do - the disappointed mother pose.
Clearing my throat, everyone went silent, watching.
"Katsuki fucking Bakugo! Open the damn door!" I shouted. I heard a sharp tsk and bit back my smile. "You had the nerve to lock the door after waking up without me in the room? What kind of shit is that!" I continued. I was surprised Ida didn't scold me for my choice words.
No response. I huffed. "If you don't open the fucking door I will make sure Mitsuki - hey!" The door slid open in a flash and I was flying through the air. I then hit a very good smelling chest and the door closed behind me, the lock sounding out.
"I don't want them in here," Katsuki grumbled, arms falling to wrap around me in a hug. I smiled against his chest and pulled back to look him in the eyes, tired and annoyed. I hugged Katsuki back as the shouts from our classmates filled my back.
"So, if I punch you in the gut and open the door, what will happen?" I ask straight face, hearing Mina shout my name. Katsuki growled and a hand went to grip the back of my neck, tilting me back.
He didn't respond to me, and just kissed me fully on the mouth. I groaned at the force behind it, my knees weakening and heat pooling down. His other hand went lower, over my hip to grip my behind, and I stumbled back.
"K-Katsuki," I groaned, trying hard to keep my mind clear as he moved his lips to my neck. He seemed to like marking me, not that I minded. "W-what are you doing?"
He hooked my leg up, to wrap around his hip, giving him better access to press against me as my back hit the wall. My hands unwittingly found themselves imbedded in his hair as Katsuki did the same with my other leg, hands kneading into the flesh of my thighs exposed by my shorts.
"He's sleep," his voice rumbled out before he bit into my neck. I bit back my moan at the simultaneous grind into me.
I looked over his shoulder, my breath in pants. Indeed, Izuku was still sleeping peacefully- fuck, stop grinding!
"F-fuck, Katsuki- nine people are outside this door!" I tried to warn him. He ignored me as he started to push the strap of my tank top and bra down my shoulder. "K-kyoka, too!"
He paused, long enough to speak as his hands roamed back to my ass and squeezed tight, my body jolting into his even more. "Fine. I'll fucking stop, for now." He bit my shoulder lightly. "You're not fucking sleeping tonight."
That promise excited me way too much. But I tugged my hairs out and smacked his chest.
"Put me down!" I ordered. He did so, unwillingly. When I saw his face again, Katsuki looked like a kid who had his candy ripped away from him. I snorted, and put a hand to my mouth to smother the sound.
He ticked a brow but went to sit on his bed, dejected. Waving, Katsuki said "Open the fucking door already."
"He-hem," I pronounced, fixing my top as I turned to the door. Taking a deep breath and hoping Kyoka didn't use her Quirk to hear everything that happened, opened the door.
Kyoka was there, ear jacks gloating in the air, a red face. She smiled at me. I sighed out.
"Come on in, everyone!" I waved my arm and moved out the way. They filled the space, and everyone got loud.
And Katsuki got his ear scolded off by Ida, Mina and Ochaco at him lying about tossing Izuku out the window and locking the door. Shoto just took a seat by Izuku, and Kyoka stood next to me against the wall.
Safe to speak, as the others drowned out our voices, I asked: "All of it?"
"All of it."
"At least it wasn't as bad as it could have been."
"Bad enough for me." I snorted in a laugh.
She elbowed my side. "Hey, at least you managed to use your Quirk and pass," Kyoka said lightly as Kaminari cried out when Katsuki hit the back of his head for asking a stupid question.
I bit my lower lip in thought, but a pair of heated eyes had me stop. "It sucks how hard it was to use it. If it wasn't for the tunnels, it would have been so much more harder to sneak up on Snipe."
"Do you think you could make a shield, like you used to?" She asked curiously.
I didn't know. "Honestly... no. A proper shield would probably take me a while. If I just threw one up, I would most likely destroy a bunch of shit."
Kyoka turned to look at me, and my eyes fell to her instead of the laughing people ahead of me. Her dark gaze was serious, lips a line.
"You stopped using that bracelet, right?"
I nodded. "I only wear it in public, but really it's in my pocket."
She gave a sharp nod of her head. "I understand public, but I think if you keep thinking of having a safety net like Aizawa or the bracelet, maybe your Quirk would be harder to control. You said it was reacting heavily to your emotions or circumstances, right?"
I saw where she was going with this.
"And since I am confident Aizawa will shut my Quirk off before it gets out of hand, I am unconsciously hindering my control?"
A smile beamed at me from her shorter stature. "You should bring it up to Aizawa," Kyoka prompts.
"Yeah, I will," I affirm before someone shouted my name - Ochaco.
"Mira is at the top of the class now, haha!" She said in a mocking voice aimed at Katsuki. He cocked his brow.
Why was that brought up? And how did she know?
"I overheard the teachers talking about it!"
Oh.
Great.
"Because she's a fucking genius, you dumb ass shit-heads!" That was a bit of pride in his voice. It made my heart swell.
"Can we stop with the colorful language!?"
"Ida, it isn't going to hurt you!"
"Yeah man, relax! It's all right."
"I mean, we can go worse if you want?"
"Ida is not prepared for the level at which you all can discuss certain topics."
"Is that your way of saying sex, Todoroki?"
"Any topic. Really."
"I take that as a compliment."
"You ain't shit at that either, Pink-Cheeks!"
"You are shit at saying even one nice word!"
"Uraraka, not you as well!"
"I swear get that fucking big ass stick up your ass! It's popping out your mouth!"
"What the fuck is this conversation?" Kyoka sighed to me.
"I don't know, but it's amusing and all over the place."
Katsuki and Ochaco were in an argument over me and manners. Kirishima and Kaminari were against Ida. Sato and Shoto were discussing with Mina just how colorful our group's vocabulary was.
And Kyoka and I watched it all. It was loud.
Loud enough that Izuku ended up waking up. No one noticed, and he looked extremely confused. So I walked, pushing my friends out of the way, and placed my elbow on Katsuki's shoulder as a stand. His hand sneaked to the edge of the bed to hold onto lower thigh.
"One- you guys are super loud. Two - Izuku woke up and is looking as if demons descended upon him. Three - we have just less than an hour before we have to leave!"
Safe to say everyone except Kyoka and Ida ignored what I said - excluding the part about Izuku. Who was soon crowded by everyone except Katsuki and I, bombarded with questions.
I brushed my hand over his shoulder unto his neck, rubbing it soothingly. Katsuki didn't complain.
I lowered my voice, just for him yo hear me. "You're ribs are sore as fuck, ain't they, tough man who hasn't moved an inch since you sat down?"
That earned me a pinch in the back of my thigh.
4900 words...
I don't know why this is so long. I just couldn't end it at one point, so I kept adding on and in until I felt comfortable with where I would end the chapter, and next thing I know it's almost 5000 words.
Not my longest but still surprised me.
Hope you enjoyed!