Yoshiko sighed for the hundredth time that night, tossing over to throw her leg over Bear. She let him sleep in her bed tonight. She wanted some sort of comfort, and Bear was full of it despite not being able to converse like a human. She stroked his fur, mind running over the 'fight' she had with Bakugo three hours ago. She'd been lying in bed like a starfish ever since.
Since they were yelling at each other out in the front, the whole class got to listen to their confessions. Yoshiko's cheeks heated up when she recalled his angry confession. At the same time, she felt frustrated. This was not how it was supposed to go. She cursed Kenzo for kissing her in the first place. He had to waltz in and ruin everything. She was also mad at Bakugo for being so quick to judge her and call her a liar who led him on.
She lay on her stomach, burying her head in the pillow, eventually falling asleep. But while she finally fell asleep, the boy in the room across from hers still couldn't sleep.
Bakugo lay in bed, wide awake, hands under his head, blanket over his body. He turned to his side, his eyes falling on the black and white stuffed cat Yoshiko won for him. It had weird eyes made of silver glitter, oddly reminding him of her. He brought the cat into his chest. Sometimes, Yoshiko reminded him of a cat, too. She always chose the sunniest places to laze in, and he often found her taking her naps in one of the comfy chairs near the window.
He sighed, thinking of three hours ago. Several times, he got out of his room, knuckles hovering over Yoshiko's door to apologise. He couldn't bring himself to do it. He wished putting his pride aside wasn't so difficult for him.
Because I fucking like you too! Her voice echoed in his head.
"I'm such an idiot." He muttered.
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Yoshiko sat in the kitchen, drinking coffee after having finished her breakfast. Bear lay by her feet, napping even though he just woke up. She yawned, rubbing her eyes and taking a sip of the warm liquid. It was the weekend today. If things weren't awkward between her and Bakugo now, they would've gone to Yoshiko's private beach and settled the score.
"He's such an idiot." She muttered. As soon as she said that, Shinsou walked into the kitchen, scratching his bedhead and yawning loudly, unaware of her presence. Once he was done wiping the tears that formed from the yawn, he caught Yoshiko's eyes.
Yoshiko's eyes shifted down to her coffee, avoiding his lilac stare. She heard him walk past her and fumble around the kitchen. Bear stirred a little, tickling her feet with his fur. She moved her feet back, taking another sip of her coffee and closing her eyes. When she opened her eyes, she saw Shinsou sitting across from her, eating toast as he stared at her. Yoshiko sweatdropped, awkwardly looking away.
"I heard you and Bakugo last night." He stated.
"Everyone did," Yoshiko replied, still not looking at him. Both remained silent, eating and drinking.
Shinsou studied her face. Her eyes were tired. He could tell she didn't get much sleep last night. He looked down at his plate, thinking about the argument he had with Aoi after school. He hadn't texted her and apologised yet. It wasn't his fault.
Long story short, he was showing Aoi pictures from the vacations, and she found a few pictures of the girls making silly selfies on his phone. He wasn't even aware the pictures were there until Aoi pointed them out. They must've made them when Mina asked to borrow his phone to take pictures since she left hers at the hotel. Aoi threw a tantrum about it, bombarding him with questions about why he had the pictures. He finally snapped at her.
"I'm thinking of ending things." He spoke without thinking. Yoshiko looked at him in horror and puzzlement, "With Aoi." He added after her bewildered reaction.
"Oh, uh- okay." Yoshiko shifted in her seat. Shinsou knew she didn't really want to talk, but he went on either way.
"She's been getting too possessive. I think it's unhealthy for both of us. I feel like all we've been doing lately is arguing."
Yoshiko blankly stared at Shinsou and sighed, "I don't know what to say. All I know is I shouldn't have pushed you to confess to a two-faced ice cube. I don't know what I ever did to her, but she's got some beef against me."
"She's got beef against every girl that talks to me." Shinsou deadpanned. He felt lowkey bad for talking about Aoi behind her back, but he wanted to talk to someone, even if that someone was Yoshiko, who wasn't really friendly at the moment. He watched her suppress a smirk and get up with her empty coffee cup.
"Don't expect me to be all rainbows and sunshine just 'cause you told me that," she said, turning her back to him.
"It's alright." He replied.
Yoshiko washed the cup and walked out of the kitchen, retiring to her room, thankfully not running into anyone on the way. She fell onto her bed, taking her phone from under the pillow and opening Keigo's contact to text him.
Short-fuse: Hey, Kei
Short-fuse: Are you at the agency?
Yoshiko bit the insides of her cheek, waiting for him to reply. In the meantime, she opened the class group chat to see the texts from last night, snorting at the discussion of Bakugo's and Yoshiko's confessions. Keigo's name popped up in the notifications.
Keigo Fried Chicken: Yeah, what's up?
Short-fuse: Let me patrol today.
Keigo Fried Chicken: Why waste your weekend patrolling?
Keigo Fried Chicken: Are you trying to be like me?
Short-fuse: Fortunately, you're not my role model. Mirko is.
Keigo Fried Chiken: Ouch.
Keigo Fried Chicken: But for real, is everything alright?
Short-fuse: Mhm.
Short-fuse: Just asked because I ain't got nothing to do.
Keigo Fried Chicken: Mm, somethings definitely up, baby birb.
Short-fuse: Can I come or not?
Keigo Fried Chicken: Yeah, you can.
Short-fuse: See ya then.
Yoshiko changed into her hero costume and filled Bears water and food bowls before leaving. She took the train and walked to Hawks' agency from there. Truth be told, she didn't really feel like patrolling today, but the students from Hideka were still there as it was their last day. She didn't feel like seeing Kenzo again.
She kicked Hawks' office door open and invited herself inside. He looked up from his laptop, grinning at her, "Hey, Oreo."
"Hey." She walked up to his desk, stealing a potato chip from his snack tray, nose scrunching at the flavour. Chicken. Of course.
"So? What's up with you? Somethin' botherin' ya?" He went to clicking on the keyboard, momentarily taking a glance at her. His feathers sensed her heartbeat quicken, obviously coming up with a lie.
"Nothing. I was just bored." She replied, taking a skittle from the tray.
"You know you can't lie to me." He gave her a pointed look.
"I came here for distraction." She admitted, "Don't ask why. I ain't tellin' you that."
"Thought so. Alright, you can patrol blocks four and five. I'm sure no one's stationed there."
"Thanks." She smiled, leaving the agency. She blasted herself up in the air, relishing the sudden burst of wind that greeted her face. She flew over to block five, landing in a parking lot with a thud.
She cracked her knuckles and rolled her shoulders, "Let's hope I get to kick ass."
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Bakugo tapped his lips with a pencil, looking down at his geography homework. Bear had barged into his room earlier and now lazed on the bed. His attention fell on his phone, buzzing underneath a book. He picked it up, sighing when he saw 'Old Hag' on the screen. He answered the call, half-heartedly bringing the phone to his ear.
"Hey," he grumbled.
"What's with the dead tone?" His mother asked.
"Don't know what yer talking about. Whaddya want anyway? I'm doing homework."
"Groceries."
"Why do I have to do the groceries?" Bakugo huffed, "Ask the old man."
"Jeez, did you even see his text from last night? He told ya he's going on a business trip."
Bakugo pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. Now, he recalled seeing his father's text, but he was too busy thinking of the events of that night to let the text register in his head. There was a long silence on the line until Mitsuki finally spoke, her voice surprisingly softer, "Hey, kid. Tell me what botherin' ya."
"It's nothing."
"I can tell something's up," Mitsuki insisted, "You're being surprisingly quiet."
"It's nothing, ma." He muttered.
"It's Akimitsu, isn't it?"
"It's not!" Bakugo yelled, growing flustered. He heard her mother laugh over the other end.
"Let me guess. You messed things up, hm?"
"Just a small misunderstanding on my part..." He mumbled, pouting.
"Go fix it, kid. Shit like this happens. What matters is that you do the right thing to fix that mistake." He didn't need to be seeing her face to know she was smiling. Bakugo brought his knees to his chest, a warm feeling swirling in his chest, "Yeah."
"Now go get me groceries. I'm too lazy to get it myself."
"You better pay me back when I get them." Bakugo rolled his eyes, hanging up.
He got up, closing his book. He glanced at Bear sitting on his bed and decided to take the dog with him. He got his leash from the shoe rack downstairs, attaching it to his collar.
"Want to go out, big boy?" Bakugo ruffled Bear's fur, grinning when Bear sat down, his tail wagging. He clearly recognised the word 'out'.
The place where his mother usually did her groceries was a little far away, but it had everything she needed. Once on the train, he checked the list his mother sent him, putting the phone back in his pocket.
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"Get your Ursula lookin' ass back here!" Yoshiko yelled, blasting after a villain with long and slimy octopus legs, grabbing whatever bags and wallets he could. In one of his eight octopus arms were a bunch of necklaces, bangles and bracelets hanging. Yoshiko's eyes widened when he broke a lampost, the wires in the end breaking with a few sparks. He flung it at her.
Yoshiko dodged it easily since she was in mid-air. She looked back to see two panicked pedestrians. She shot herself towards them, moving them aside before the lampost hit them. She went after the villain again, leaving a slime trail in his wake. She got close to him, throwing an explosion at his octopus arms.
"You're a pain in the ass." She scowled, jumping back when his arms regenerated and came to whip her face.
"Out of my way, little hero." He gave her a sadistic smirk. Yoshiko blasted herself upwards, avoiding his arms. She threw an explosion at them, surprised by how fast they regenerated. She narrowed her eyes at his upper body. She doubted his upper body would regenerate. She formed a fist, aiming for his head to knock him out. Before she could land the punch, a slimy octopus arm slithered across her waist, throwing her away.
Yoshiko didn't have any time to process what happened as she crashed through a glass pane. She widened her eyes when the villain grabbed her leg again, tossing her onto a shelf. Her forehead hit the metallic shelf, its contents falling on top of her. She felt warm liquid flow down her forehead from a cut. She quickly stood up, taking in her surroundings. A grocery store.
She heard screams around her, panicked shoppers running away. Yoshiko had to be careful here. She saw one of his arms reach for a middle schooler watching with wide eyes. She pushed her aside and blasted the arm, which instantly regenerated.
"Heh, you saved one, but can you save them all?" He snickered, holding six hostages in six of his arms. A drop of sweat rolled down Yoshiko's forehead, her eyes darting over the pleading faces of the civilians. When her eyes locked with the last person, she deadpanned.
She did not expect to run into Bakugo here, out of all places. A couple of feet behind the villain, Yoshiko spotted Bear growling with his teeth bared.
Of course, the villain had no idea he'd captured a hero in training, but it made Yoshiko feel smug when he said, "Either you surrender now and don't follow me, or I'm strangling 'em all."
Yoshiko's eyes locked with crimson once more before she raised her hands and kneeled down with a smirk.
"What're you so smug ab-" Before he could finish, Bakugo blasted the arm slithered around his hands and waist away and freed all six people from the villain in the blink of an eye. Yoshiko took the villain's momentary confusion as an opportunity to race towards him, throwing a punch to his temple. His eyes rolled upwards, and he fell to the ground, his disgustingly long octopus arms twitching before they went still.
"Are you guys alright?" She turned around, facing the people who had been taken hostage. They nodded frantically, and she let out a sigh of relief. She met Bakugo's eyes, her chest heaving up and down from chasing the villain for so long.
"Thanks." She mumbled, averting her gaze to his shoes.
"T'was my job." He put his hands in his pockets, looking at the gash on her forehead. It was bleeding. He watched her step aside and pull her phone out to call the police. He didn't expect her to be on duty today since she always took the weekends off. Was it to avoid everyone at the dorms?
The police soon came and took the unconscious villain away. Yoshiko looked down to see Bear whine at her and crouched to pull him into her. She looked up at Bakugo to see him already looking at her, demanding an explanation by raising an eyebrow.
"My old hag needed groceries. Thought I'd bring him along since he's been following me everywhere."
"Alright." For some reason, she found it difficult to meet his eyes. She picked Bear up as they stepped on top of the broken glass to get out of the grocery store. She didn't want his paws to get hurt. Once outside, she let him down.
Bakugo followed her to the agency, where she signed out and changed into casual wear. He waited for her outside, tightly holding Bear's leash so he did not run away. When she stepped out of the agency, he noticed her face still had blood and soot on it. He handed her the leash and took out a tissue from his pocket, roughly grabbing her face with the other hand, taking her by surprise.
"What are you doing?" She frowned at him when he squeezed her cheeks. He silently wiped the blood from her forehead. She was supposed to be mad at him, but here she was, melting under his touch.
"Just 'cause I'm letting you clean my face doesn't mean I'm not mad at you anymore." She said through squished cheeks. Bakugo looked into her eyes, smirking.
Standing there, Yoshiko wondered what her reaction would be to seeing another girl kiss Bakugo. It must've been difficult for him to see another boy kiss her. She tried. She tried to be mad at him. She couldn't. Not when he looked so concentrated and cute wiping her forehead. She wondered if he could feel how warm her cheeks were right now and hear how loud her heartbeat was.
"Done," He said, snapping her out of her thoughts. He tossed the used tissue in a trash can and took Bear's leash from her again, walking ahead of her. He froze in place when he felt Yoshiko's forehead on his back, her fist taking hold of his jacket.
He relaxed, slowly turning around to face her. He looked down into her silver eyes shining from the streetlight. He let his forehead rest against hers, his eyes closing, arms around her, still holding Bear's leash tightly in one hand.
"I'm sorry for assuming things, Yoshi." He murmured. She couldn't be mad when he used her nickname like that. She didn't like the way his voice made her a mush.
"Shut up. I wanna be mad at you." She buried her head in his chest. He smiled, twirling a strand of black and white hair around his finger.
"That's alright. You can be mad at my ass. I fucking deserve it, but I'm still sorry."
"You don't sound like yourself right now." She said in a muffled voice.
"Yeah. It's your fault you make me like this."
She smiled against his chest and looked up into his maroon eyes. It really was difficult to be mad at him, "I forgive you. You're still an ass, though."
"Heh," He wiped a speck of soot off her freckled nose with a finger. They stared at each other blankly for a minute. He apologised, but there was still an elephant in the room to address- their feelings that were laid in the open. Yoshiko cleared her throat, taking a step back.
"Er- anyway, I gotta go finish the groceries for my hag. Going to have to buy them somewhere else." He muttered, handing her Bear's leash.
"Mm," She nodded, feeling a blush creep up her neck, "See you then."
"Yeah."
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Extra
Hawks stood on the roof of his agency, looking down at Yoshiko and Bakugo. His best friend's sister was totally head over heels in love with that blond brat who, without a doubt, was the reason why she wanted to patrol on her day off.
"Target spotted." He narrowed his eyes at Bakugo.
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