"The only thing worse than not knowing where she belonged . . . was knowing where she didn't." - Tessa Shaffer
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♪Listening suggestion: Hurt By You by Sophie Rose
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About three weeks later, hotel in Nagasaki. (Y/N)'s POV
It had been twenty days since I came to Nagasaki. During that time, I'd been able to successfully find and track the suspect, as well as attach a weightless tracking device to one of the many scarves he always wore. Though that was all the mission had initially called for, I had recently received a call from the agency that they wanted me to keep on him for a while, and find out more about him if I could. So, I was still in Nagasaki doing agent work, trying to keep up my schoolwork and violin practicing.
Today, however, it was raining outside. I was feeling rather lazy, and was only lying on the bed, listening to music, and thinking.
I still thought of Shoto often. Even when I was out in the field, I found myself wondering what he was doing at the moment. As far as communication went, however, I hadn't spoken to him since the day I left, even though he had called me once and texted three times.
I guess, I was trying to protect myself. The more I talked to him, the more I fell for him. The more I fell, the more I got hurt in the end. I felt a pang of guilt every time I decided not to answer, but I was afraid to fall any harder.
There was also the initial issue of me being a damn assassin kid, the issue I hadn't thought much of lately. Every week, there were stories around the agency that innocent people had been killed just because they had a relationship to an agent. We were all being followed by dangerous people, and they went for anyone they could lay their hands on. I was afraid for Mikura, Midoriya, Bakugo, and the others. However I was terrified for Shoto, not just because I loved him so much, but because he was so intimate with Taega. Taega was a danger to him, as was I.
It was depressing to think about. I tried to erase my mind of the matter and turned my music up louder.
Just then, the song was interrupted by a text message I had suddenly received. I glanced at the screen to see who it was.
Katsuki Bakugo
I laughed a little and opened it to see what he wanted.
So the dance in a week . . . wanna go with me?
I knew it was gonna come sooner or later, ever since Shoto had told me a few weeks ago. I let a few minutes slip by before I responded.
Sure :)
Almost just as I had sent it, he decided to call me. My ringtone suddenly blared in the dead silent room, startling me out of my mind. I picked up right away to end the noise.
"Hello, Bakugo," I said calmly.
"Hi, good afternoon," he responded. "Actually, closer to evening."
I looked out the window. He was right, night was actually starting to fall as it continued to rain. It was probably even darker where Bakugo was.
"Thanks for saying you'll go to the dance with me," he said. "I wasn't sure when to ask you but I thought I put it off long enough. You'll be back in time, won't you?"
I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "Yeah, I should. You see, my aunt and uncle just had a baby and I had to come with the rest of the family...but hopefully I'll be back within the week." I felt like my heart face-palmed for the hundredth time at my lie.
"Besides, my violin competition is the day before, and that I gotta go to. You're welcome to come if you want, but you don't have to." Finally, I added, "And thanks for asking me to the dance, Kacchan."
"I'll go to your competition," he replied, "and no problem. Wait, WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"
I nearly jumped at his sudden raised voice. I swear this kid will make me go deaf. . . ugh, and he was doing so well until now! Ever since we'd become friends, Bakugo had slowly began to mellow down temperament-wise. He screamed at people less, and if he did, it wasn't as loud. I liked to think that I softened him a bit.
"Um. . . Kacchan. I noticed Midoriya calls you that, so I thought I'd try it. If you don't want me to call you that though, just say so."
"Yeah, well. That's been my pet name ever since I can remember and Deku's the only one that's known me that long. You can call me that, though. I'll let you."
I laughed a little. "Okay. For the record, I think it's cute! Kacchan."
"JUST DON'T OVERDO IT!!!"
"Ahhh! Don't worry, I won't!"
Just then, I was getting an incoming call from Kaito. My phone was asking me to either decline or hang up on Bakugo and pick up.
"Hey, my brother's calling me. . .can I call you later tonight? Sorry."
"That's fine. But wait, I thought your whole family was there; your brother's not with you?"
"Um, no, he had to work. . . listen, I really have to go. Talk to you later!"
"Are you sure-"
I hung up on him before he finished, and received Kaito's call. Sorry, Kacchan.
"(Y/N), there's been a development." Kaito's voice was urgent and no-nonsense.
"Okay, hit me with it," I said.
"We're gonna need you to capture the suspect and bring him back, preferably this week. Just assume he's become the prime suspect."
The moment he said 'capture', I suddenly doubted my abilities. I'd never taken down a grown man by myself with no team before. However, I was too stubborn to let him know that. "Okay, let me just track him a little more so I'll know where to get him."
"Thanks, (Y/N). Will you be okay? I can get Nachika and Taega to do my work and I'll be on the next train there."
"Nah, I'll be fine. Don't worry." I walked to my desk and looked over the suspect's file. "He's only 5'7, that's not too much taller than me."
"Okay, you seem confident. However if anything goes wrong, call me. I'm gonna come and help."
"Got it, thanks." With that, I hung up.
I had to come up with a plan for myself, so I sat down at the desk. Before I started, however, I took a moment to review the suspect's characteristics.
Shinya Kamihara, I thought. I wonder what he's done to become prime suspect?
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That night, U.A. school dorms. Shoto's POV
Tonight, us boys were at the common area of the U.A. dorms, which had recently been constructed for us.* The day had worn us out, and we found ourselves just talking about random things. I didn't engage much, though. I lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling, thinking.
I was worried about (Y/N). Ever since she left, she was all that was on my mind. The only thing I was aware of at this point, was that I never knew how much I'd miss her. I missed seeing her around, even if that was all the contact we made for the day.
However, I couldn't deny that my spirit was slightly bruised by how she'd never answer my calls our text me back. I felt like she was pushing me away, whether it had to do with Taega or not.
Presently, my ears picked up (Y/N)'s name in the conversation, and I lapsed out of my daze.
"Right before dinner, I finally asked (Y/N) to the dance," Bakugo said proudly. "She said yes."
"Oh wow, I'm happy for you Kacchan!" Midoriya said. "You texted her?"
"Yeah, of course I texted her you nerd!" he spat in return. "We talked on the phone afterwards a little, but then she had to go."
I sat up. "So, you've been texting her Bakugo? And she answers?"
"Well, yeah. Duh."
I felt an ache in m chest.
"Todoroki?" Iida asked. "Everything okay?"
"Wait. . ." said Midoriya. "You've tried to get a hold of her too, haven't you. And she doesn't respond?"
"No, she doesn't," I admitted. "It's making me pretty anxious."
"Well, not that I think nothing's going on with her," Bakugo asserted, "because she does act weird and inconsistent a lot of the time, but it's probably got something to do with that high-strung girlfriend of yours."
"But don't you guys think that she'd want to be friends still, even if he has a girlfriend?" Kirishima got up from where he was sitting on the floor and sat beside me on the couch.
Midoriya agreed. "Maybe, it's not all you, Todoroki. But I say Taega is a big part of it."
"Break up with her, dude!" Kirishima urged.
"But how?" I asked. "I don't want her to be too hurt. She always seems so happy when she's with me."
For the past two weeks or so, my friends had been encouraging me to break up with Taega. I knew they were right, but I was afraid to go through with any of the plans I had come up with. I also knew she would be hurt, and I really didn't want to hurt anyone.
"Don't think, just do it!" Kirishima laid a heavy hand on my shoulder. "We're here for ya! Just be nice to her, there's really no trick to it."
Iida cleared his throat. "I'm afraid there's no way to avoid hurting her feelings. But longer you put it off, the more it'll hurt her."
"Are you sure? What if-"
My words were cut off by a sudden ring of the doorbell. I offered to get it.
I went to the door and opened it.
"How are you this evening, my Shoto?"
Taega.
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Okie dokie! There's another chapter for you! As always, I hope you liked it.
* I know I skipped the whole summer camp thing, but this is where I'll be pulling away from the MHA plot, because I can't tell my own story while being bound to the story line of the actual anime/manga. You guys probably understand :P
Thanks all for reading!