Previously on Latibule:
I hung up before reaching for the remote to let my bed down again. I yawned, closing my eyes. My heart swelled with peace and my thoughts trailed to Bakugou. There was that unexplainable feeling again.
I yawned again, shaking the feeling off. I'm probably tired, I mused. I should really rest, like mom said.
A minute later, I floated into oblivion. And this time, I actually slept.
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Latibule — Chapter 29///Worried
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I was released from the hospital the next day and my parents came and took me home. I was surprised that people like Mr Aizawa and Endeavor had agreed to such a thing but, then again, I couldn't have been more grateful. Every step brought a new jolt of pain to my stomach and I doubted I would've been any good at the internship anymore.
After we got home, I went and collapsed onto my bed. I was careful not to open any wounds, of course.
I turned over on the bed, now staring at the ceiling. I couldn't help but wonder if I'd be in too much trouble for quitting my internship like that. Then again, it was just an internship. There were more to come so there was no reason to put it over my health... again.
My phone buzzed. I picked it up.
A message notification shone on the screen and I double tapped at it before putting in my password. My phone screen flickered to life once again, now with the messages opened.
Katsupow: Wdym a run-in with a villain?
Katsupow: Are you okay?
My mind flickered to the promise Iida, Midoriya, Todoroki and I made to the chief of police.
You: Nothing major, dw
You: Everything's okay, I just have to rest for a while
A minute of silence.
Katsupow: Hhh
Katsupow: You're an idiot, Y/n
Katsupow: But whatever
Katsupow: I gtg now, I'll see you back at school
I stared at the screen with a frown as Bakugou went offline. He seemed angry.
I snorted, realizing what I'd thought. He was always angry.
Still, there was a small doubtful voice in the back of my mind that I couldn't shake off until the internships ended and all of us got back to school. He's never angry around me...
With a sigh, I shook my head, trying to shake off that thought. It'd been tormenting me for days and even then, when Bakugou would soon walk through the class doors, there was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I was overlooking a crucial part of the big picture.
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We all gathered back at school when the internships ended and, naturally, the moment I entered the room, Midoriya inquired about my well-being. I answered honestly — my head was still a bit dull and spun every time I stood up from a chair or something of the sort and my stomach still stung with every step but I'd gotten used enough to the pain to not think much of it.
Midoriya invited me to sit with him, Todoroki and Iida but I refused, heading to my seat. Before I could sit down, however, hysterical laughter rang through the classroom.
I looked the door's way just to see Kirishima and Sero in tears from the amusement the sight before them caused. "What the heck?! Holy crap, Bakugou!"
"Stop laughing! My hair's gotten used to this and I can't get it back the right way!"
My heart skipped and I leaned forward, minding the wound on my stomach so it wouldn't touch the table, to get a glimpse at the owner of the familiar voice.
"Did you guys hear me?!" Bakugou went on.
They hadn't and I had to hold back a chuckle of my own, too. His hair had been combed neatly to the side and he looked more like a goody-two-shoes than ever before. I would've thought he was one if it weren't for the way his body shook with rage.
"I'll kill you both," the blond threatened the two still laughing.
"I'd like to see you try, pretty boy," Sero mocked, laughing so hard he was clutching his stomach.
Bakugou's hair exploded back into place and the dams holding in his anger shattered. "What did you call me?!"
A laugh finally bubbled up from my throat and I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to keep my emotions under control before laughing caused any damage to my already aching stomach.
Although, some damage was already done. Bakugou, who'd neared his seat, which was behind mine, had seen me laughing. He huffed, frowning as he plopped down, doing his best to ignore Kirishima and Sero. His eyes trailed to my temple, where the graze of the knife was dressed in a plaster.
"Hey, what happened to your he—" he started, trailing off when he heard Kaminari.
"Now if you want to talk about those who really changed, it was those three," the boy with the electrical quirk and personality chimed, looking at Todoroki, Iida and Midoriya.
Sero abruptly started laughing, as if knocked back to his senses. "Oh yeah, the Hero Killer."
"I'm glad you guys made it back alive, seriously," Kirishima added, genuine worry appearing in his creased brows.
Midoriya's eyes flickered to me.
My eyes widened. If he now—
"We didn't even get the worst of it, honestly," he mused, looking back at Iida and Todoroki as he said so.
"You were lucky Endeavor showed up and saved you," Sato added, thinking nothing of Midoriya's remark.
I breathed a breath of relief, thinking I'd gotten off the hook, but the glare in Bakugou's eyes told me otherwise as I faced him. "What does that nerd mean?" he hissed, anger lacing his voice.
I took a moment to take in the air before answering. The boy before me might've seemed angry to anyone around but I could tell from the emotions lingering in the air that he was more worried. There was also an undertone of an emotion I could not comprehend and yet it made my heart beat just a bit faster.
"Ah— Nothing," I stammered, subconsciously raising a hand to the wound on my stomach.
Bakugou's eyes narrowed. "A run-in with a villain?" he quoted my message from a few days before. "That's what you meant? The Hero Killer?"
I bit my lip, regretting many of my decisions. No matter how much I wanted to tell him, I couldn't. I'd made a promise to the chief of police and I couldn't risk the consequences of breaking it. If it got out that I'd been the one to fight instead of Endeavor, as the media claimed, it would soon be figured out that Todoroki, Iida and Midoriya were fighting, too.
Bakugou's brows evened out just a tad as he noticed my troubled expression. With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair before casting a look around to check if anyone was listening to our conversation. When it was all clear, he spoke.
"Next time tell me if anything happens, Y/n. I..." He hesitated. "I care about... you." His voice, although steady, betrayed emotions I couldn't name and the air suddenly thickened, as if he regretted uttering those words.
"Forget what I said," he let out, pulling himself up and straightening his back as he let a frown litter his brows again. "It's nothing."
I smiled softly, a bit sad that he regretted saying something that, for some reason, seemed to mean so much to me. "I care about you, too, Katsuki," I said, almost in a whisper before I turned back around, facing the front of the classroom once again.
At first I feared he hadn't heard me but from the way the air shifted from a regretful dense to a relieved light, I could tell that he did.