~~~
Akira didn't sleep much that night.
Their time around the fire stretched well into the night, where the moon soared high in the sky, threatening them with a spooky atmosphere. All the while, Kira had to ignore the judgemental looks from her classmates. Bakugou may not be the most approachable human being, but it's not like he's an alien from another planet. Kira's not sure how much they know; Kira's not sure how much she knows.
These were the thoughts that plagued her throughout the night, as she spent several hours staring up at the ceiling made of rickety, ashen wood. Not only that, but also a problem that she noted as the first night effect, an issue where Kira couldn't really sleep in place that she didn't call home.
It took her a while before she was used to the dormitories, before she could settle in and sleep in a place she could trust and relax in. Most of that could have something to do with the nightmares that haunted her for a few weeks after the League of Villains held her and Bakugou captive. No one really knew about them, except from him.
Her arms were propped up under her head as she went about recounting the lines etched into the wooden structure above her head, hoping that the repetitive boredom would lul her mind into some kind of wishful slumber. It wasn't working.
That night, the students had shared stories, told tall tales and even tried a few games, until one by one, everyone filtered away, calling it quits for the night and trudging up to their cabins. Kira was one of the last to move, too paralysed by the fact that her classmates were side eyeing her most of the evening, simply because of the company she keeps.
Sure, Bakugou wasn't at all nice, and he didn't excel in being forgiving or accepting when it came to others. But, that isn't really a reason to stay away, is it?
Kira sat up in her bed, the springs squeaking their morning yawns along with her. She wondered what could possibly have been planned for today, what list Iida may have compiled for them to do.
There was an endless amount of things to discover in this alternate reality, in this new location the teachers sent them all to. Who knows what lingered beyond the forest?
Kira was up and ready for the day before the sun shone its early rays of warmth, showered and dressed for the challenge of another day.
First things first, Akira and the other students all had to fill out their names on the sheet of paper in the cabin back at the beginning of the track. It was merely an assurance, to let everyone know that they're all present and accounted for.
No one else in her cabin had woken up yet, including Bakugou who had turned in early, so that he can arise before everyone else does. Perhaps he's still sulking in his room. He didn't want to have anything to do with this whole week off anyway.
She doesn't even know why she's thinking about Bakugou in the first place. Kira tries to brush the thoughts away with a meagre scoff, leaving the cabin bare footed, her shoes now living at the bottom of the lake.
The lucky charm tickled her cheek as she left, as if to remind her of all its good graces it had to offer, but Kira pushed it aside, not really knowing how a charm like that is going to help her situation. After all, it hasn't promised that much luck so far, her absent shoes being a sad start.
Instead, Kira follows the dirt path back up to the smaller cabin that sat atop the slope, peering over as if looking down its nose at her. From up here, the lake was stunning in the morning, with the new sun glistening over the surface, causing a rippling reflection across its meek waves from a sudden breeze.
Kira brushed her hair back off her eyes as she entered the small cabin, the door creaking open like everything else here made of old wood.
"Oh for-" Kira had to stop herself from finishing that sentence. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"That's my line." Bakugou narrows his eyes at Kira, standing over the sheet of paper. "I got up early so I wouldn't have to run into any of you idiots."
"I did the same thing!" She blurts without thinking. "Ugh- I mean... I got up early so I wouldn't have to run into-"
Kira stops herself again, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from blurting out anything further. She didn't want to admit that she was avoiding Bakugou - that would just make her look weird.
"Huh?" Bakugou stands a little bit straighter from the desk he was leaning over. "What the hell-"
"Wait a minute," she cuts him off, looking past his arm at the paper on the desk. "What's this?"
Kira ignores Bakugou as he rants and raves about her dismissing his response and instead walks past him, their arms brushing as she peers down at the papers on the desk.
When they all first jotted down their names, there was only one sheet of paper, recently printed out for their purpose. Here, there were several pieces of paper, the ink long since dried, the sheen of the paper old, crinkled and dusty.
"They were already here when I got here," Bakugou says, turning with her to peer down at the papers, looking past her shoulder.
Kira didn't doubt for a second that Bakugou did something malicious in any way.
"Well," Kira says slowly. "I mean, it makes sense that these are different." She quickly looks through each sheet of paper, noticing the words, but not properly reading them. "We're in a different reality, after all."
"The sheet that we all signed yesterday morning is still in our world," Bakugou adds, his voice quiet as he mutters past her ear.
"Yeah." Kira scoffs. "Of course Visage didn't bring the sheet with her. It's something that everyone, including the teachers overlooked." Kira turns around to Bakugou, trying to ignore how close they both are right now, and leans up against the desk, the papers in hand. "Visage did say she was still developing her power, so it makes sense she wouldn't have thought to bring the sheet over with her. It's not a big deal though."
"We can just use these ones." Bakugou takes the papers from Kira's hands, their fingertips just about coming into contact enough that it sends a shiver down her spine, her skin tickling.
She watches his brows slowly knit together as he reads the words across the pages, his eyes focused and vibrant. Kira has to force her eyes to a spot in the corner of the room, anything to distract herself from his face. The only time she's ever drawn such a vivid attention to someone's features is with Kirishima, but now that's all over.
Kira pushes herself off the desk abruptly and scrounges around for a pen, looking in the drawers that open with a screech. One of them gets stuck and she curses at it, trying to wiggle it out before ultimately giving up and leaving it to hang out of the desk.
"Hey," Bakugou speaks up, but Kira ignores him, wanting to block him out for at least a few more minutes.
Kira turns around, facing the old metal filing cabinets, when she gets an awful sense of deja vu. She hesitates for a fraction, before opening one of the cabinets for a pen.
"Hey," Bakugou repeats, his tone getting more irritated as she ignores him still, her back to him.
Kira's fingers flick through the random files in here. Weird that they even have filing cabinets in here to begin with. Was this place a holiday spot for a school too and this is just where they kept the attendance sheets?
"Oi, you idiot," Bakugou says again, his voice closer as he scoots around the desk to get her attention. "Stop ignoring me and look."
Kira has no choice but to turn to him, as Bakugou holds out one of the sheets of paper he was holding.
"What?" She frowns at the paper and her eyes slowly widen at the words scribbled before her. "But- that's..." Kira lowers the paper to her stomach and meets Bakugou's eyes. "This paper is so old and... I don't understand." Kira looks at it again, recognising the handwriting. "It's... us?"
"No." Bakugou shakes his head as he pushes the paper down away from her face, so their eyes can meet. "Not... us. A few names are missing."
"You think we've been taken back to... that world?" Kira says slowly. "The one we were in last time?"
Bakugou sighs heavily, turning his back to Kira and rubbing the back of his head. "This is so goddamn annoying," he replies instead. "We never should have gone on this stupid trip."
"Bakugou-"
"I don't know!" He blurts all of a sudden, spinning around with his eyes wide and full of an emotion that Kira can't quite clarify. "I'm too pissed off to even think! You're right that it doesn't make sense. The papers are too old."
"Well." Kira places the papers back down on the desk tentatively. "Do you remember when we were fighting that bad guy from that reality? We had to wear-"
"Don't remind me of that shit," Bakugou snaps, in an awfully foul mood. "I remember it all."
Kira looks down at the ground as she explains, finding Bakugou's eyes painful to look at for some reason. "He was able to take us back to our reality, but also at a different place and time zone. He was especially more skilled than we previously thought."
"I wouldn't call it that." Bakugou crosses his arms.
Kira ignores the jibe, finding the strength to meet Bakugou's eyes again. "What if Visage did the same, but without even meaning to? She's been evolving her Quirk, but perhaps she wasn't even aware that she could do this yet."
"So, you're saying she can't even control her dumb Quirk yet? But, she sent us all here anyway."
"You seemed to trust Visage enough to let her do it in the first place," Kira says.
Bakugou looks to the side, admiring a part of the wall for some reason. "Only because you did," he mutters.
That reminded Akira why she had decided to ignore him from now on, to distance herself so she wouldn't have to share his space anymore. The way he spoke and held himself, the way he treated her, just her, when they were alone, separated from the others was the only chance she was going to get to see Bakugou like this and it was such a rarity that she should feel grateful. But, a part of her doesn't want this side of Bakugou, a side where he was so entirely different it was like she was with two different people, where she wasn't sure which Bakugou was the true Bakugou.
She didn't want to feel like an exception in his eyes.
Kira peels her focus away from him once more and buries herself in the drawers to search for a pen. Anything they can use to scribble their names down. Kira had hidden her head so far in the files, she thought the whole cabinet might fall over. But, she had to hide her embarrassment somehow.
"So, what if we really are in that same world?" Bakugou wonders and Kira stops rifling so she can hear. "We found out that because of certain things that happened there, the League of Villains didn't exist."
Kira stands up from the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet. "Certain things?" She says quietly with a scoff, before slowly turning to Bakugou. "If this really is the same reality, then I noticed a particular name missing from the list. He was there when we left and you... Before we left the school, you said some pretty horrible things."
Bakugou looks slightly stunned at her change in tone, his arms dropping to his sides.
"Looks like Kirishima isn't in this reality anymore, Bakugou," she says, tears prickling her vision.
Kira finds herself laughing inside at Midoriya's words now.
"It was you. Kacchan's changed because of you."
She had just admitted to herself that the possibility of Bakugou changing could have been because of her influence, but she's just an idiot. He may act differently when it's just them, but how the hell does Kira know that? Bakugou could act like this when he's with Midoriya, or Kirishima, or Mina or Sero. Anyone.
"I said I remember it all," Bakugou starts, a deep, determined brow set upon his features. "I was telling the truth. I remember the dormitories, I remember Mr Aizawa. I remember seeing the... that version of me. I remember going to your house and seeing the freakish papers all over the wall. Your mother. Your death. I remember you telling me the truth about your second Quirk. I remember shitty hair and I remember what I said back then."
Bakugou's tenacity is set firmly in the eyes that Kira's tried so hard to avoid. But, his words strike a cord with her - the fact that he remembers so much even though she was certain he'd dismiss everything the next day.
"I remember what you said," Bakugou adds, taking a single step towards her. "You called me a bad person."
Kira looks away shamefully, though she doesn't regret her choice of words.
"You were right," he says and Kira looks back to him again. "I also remember the promise I made you." His tone is so soft, Kira feels like she might melt away. "Nothing bad will happen to Kirishima. Not as long as I'm around."
~~~