[ This is either going to have one more part or two, but I still need to finish the planning regarding that. Also, I've been TRYING to work on the epilogue some more, because I know EXACTLY how I want this to end, but I keep on getting so emotional. Hell, I get emotional just thinking about this book ending, which is why I'm tearing up as I write this. This fanfic is like my baby, goodness... :')
As of late, I refer back to the manga rather than the anime because that's just easier personally, although I do occasionally make exceptions. So that's why I skipped the pool episode. That, and I didn't think that Y/N would be that interested in going in the first place.
No headcanons this time. I'm saving them for next. Sorry about that! ]
• • • • •
After our little "moment," things got a bit awkward between us. However, I managed convinced myself that it could've been worse, so I just tried to survive the rest of the visit.
When the two of us left, it was pitch black outside, and I realized that I had stayed much longer that I had planned to. We both wore a flower crown on our heads, leaving the extra flowers for Rei to enjoy. My body was still warm from her tight hug minutes before, but I didn't complain. It was a nice change, since my body temperature was usually cold even in the middle of summertime, especially in my hands. I fiddled with the end of my sleeve as we walked side by side down the sidewalk, shoulders occasionally bumping into each other and only the sounds of crickets and our footsteps filling our ears.
That is, until Shouto spoke, breaking the silence between us.
"Thanks for coming with me to visit my mother," he said to me, tilting his head so that he could glance at me from the corner of his eye. Blinking, I returned his gaze, heart thumping in my chest as we made eye contact. "It felt refreshing, having you there, and I think she enjoyed the extra company as well."
Once again, I blinked, processing his words. Once I did, I smiled sheepishly, raising my free hand—the other grasped my ukulele—to push up my glasses, as they were on the verge of sliding off of my nose. "Oh, it was no biggie! I'm just glad that you trusted me enough to let me meet her. She's so kind!"
"She is..." He trailed off, falling into deep thought. At this point, I was used to it, although I couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his head.
He ended up dropping me at my home before heading to his own, probably to avoid Endeavor for as long as possible. That, or he was just a huge gentleman. When we got to my door, I found myself getting downcast, wishing that we could spend more time together. Though, that would just be greedy to think. I had just turned to wish him goodnight when my free hand was grabbed, catching me by surprise.
All I could do was watch with bated breath as my hand was brought to his lips, hovering near them for a heartbeat before he planted a kiss on it, holding my gaze all the while. I could feel his smile widen as I stuttered out an incomprehensible sentence, clearly flustered, and swore that I could even hear him chuckle lightly afterwards. But the moment ended sooner than I'd like.
Backing up and letting my hand fall to my side, he stared at me for a bit, wearing a thoughtful expression. "Sleep well, Y/N."
I responded only when he started to walk off, raising my voice so that he could hear. "Goodnight, Shouto!"
All I got was a smile and a wave in return before he vanished out of my line of sight, my heart still beating erratically and my palms getting sweaty. "Dammit, Shouto, getting me all flustered like that," I muttered to myself, still wearing a grin. I took one last look over my shoulder before I grasped the doornob, twisting and letting myself in. It was eerily quiet yet peaceful, and I found myself letting out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. Nobody could possibly hear me, but I felt the urge to say it anyways in hope that someone would.
"...I'm home."
• • • • •
And just like that, summer break and the first day of training camp arrived sooner than I thought it would. I double-checked my bag over and over, making sure that I wasn't forgetting anything, and only laughed as both of my parental figures fussed over me like I was a child. It was only for a week, and yet they acted like I was travelling abroad to Paris for an entire year.
"I'll be fine!" I shouted between bouts of laughter as Mom—I was just beginning to get used to addressing Aiko as such—lectured me about brushing my teeth for what felt like the fifth time. "And don't worry, I'll brush my teeth, I promise!"
"I hope you do," Kasumi piped into the conversation, seeming more energetic around her blonde comrade. I didn't usually see this side of her, but when I did, it always made me smile. "If you don't, I'll visit you myself and make you...!"
"There's no need, really, because I am going to brush! So chill out!" All three of us burst into giggles, Emiko still resting upstairs in her crib, before I grabbed my stuff and waved goodbye.
I rushed in again like two seconds later, though, because I almost forgot my ukulele. Kasumi was used to it at this point, so she met me at the door and gave me another sendoff, still glowing as Mom beamed besides her. I was still in disbelief that the soft-spoken female was pregnant, but in all honesty, I should've guessed.
For the training camp, some plans were changed last minute regarding supervision due to Shigaraki suddenly appearing at the mall and threatening Midoriya. If they hadn't been changed, Mom would've joined us along with some other pro heroes, and her other quirk would've finally been revealed to the rest of the world. However, that didn't happen, so she was able to keep Split secret for a little longer.
I had just piped into a conversation between Mina, Ochaco, and Sero about our favorite summer activities when a familiar voice interrupted us from behind. Turning my head, I frowned upon spotting Monoma, a boy from Class 1-B that hated our guts for some reason.
"What?" A hand running through his hair, he shouted at us, and I simply sighed as he droned on. "Some Class 1-A kids are getting extra lessons? That means some of you failed?! Huh? How weird is that?!"
He babbled on endlessly, mentioning how we were "supposed to be superior" until I interrupted him off, a stoic expression on my face. "Shut up, Monoma. Weren't you the only person to fail in Class 1-B?"
Caught off guard, the blonde looked at me with confusion, brows furrowing. "How'd you know about that?"
"I didn't, but thanks for confirming." It was true that I had only said it to tick him off, but I wasn't expecting to actually be spot on. So, I played it off as well as I could, blinking at him once more before returning my attention to the trio in front of me. I did manage to hear a whack from behind, though, which I assumed was Kendo hitting Monoma.
A few minutes later, we boarded the buses by class, Class 1-A in one bus and Class 1-B in the other. Of course, I sat next to Shouto, who I let have the window seat. He seemed a bit tense, and I was on the verge of asking him why when he opened up. Looking down at his hands with a pink tint on his cheeks, he began apologizing. "Y/N, I'm sorry about what I did that night with your hand. It was very impulsive of me, and-"
"Shouto." I cut him off sternly, causing his gaze to snap up and stare into mine. When our eyes met, my expression softened, and I gave him a faint smile. "There's really no need to fuss over that. I... Well, I thought it was nice." I stopped myself before I went into a rant and blew my cover, hearing a voice shout at me from the back of my head.
You're gonna confess sometime this week whether you like it or not, because he deserves to know and it's getting harder to keep it a secret. So, stop being a chicken and just go for it already...!
I knew that I had to, I really did, but I was just scared. I've never felt this strongly about anyone before, and Todo meant a lot to me, so I didn't want to ruin the bond that we had. Yet, I didn't want things to continue like this, either. I wanted more.
Then and there, I decided that I had until the end of the week to make a decision. After that, I was probably better off being quiet. Not only that, but it was the perfect opportunity, too. But when was the main question. I guess I'll find out when I get there.
Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I zoned back to reality just in time to see Shouto nod and Mina peer over at me with curiosity. "N/N, you know how to play the ukulele?"
Realizing that I was holding my ukulele in plain sight, not bothering to hide it at all, I nodded sheepishly. "Do you want me to play something?" I asked, perking a brow. That was the whole reason I had brought it along in the first place—to play some music for my peers to enjoy and sing along to.
In response, practically the entire bus erupted in a chorus of excited replies, and I began strumming at once. It wasn't long before all of us—it took a lot of convincing, but even Shoji, Tokoyami, Koda, and Bakugou joined us—were shouting the lyrics to "We Are Number One" from Lazytown as Aizawa deadpanned, probably rethinking his teaching career.
For an entire hour, we just screamed song lyrics as I continued strumming my ukulele, and some Pocky was passed around after the first few. It was really fun, and it felt like we were one big family. I hoped that things would be like this or at least come close to it for the entire week, but of course, that wasn't what was planned.
All of us got off of the bus in the middle of nowhere at a rest stop, Class 1-B nowhere in sight. Surrounding the platform we were on was a fence, and beyond that were rolling hills that went as far as the eye could see. As my classmates began to speculate, all twenty-one of us now puzzled, two unfamiliar voices spoke up from behind.
"Rock on with these sparkling gazes!"
"Stingingly cute and catlike!"
"We're the Wild, Wild Pussycats!"
At once, I recognized Mandalay, who was the commander of the Pussycats, and Pixie-Bob, one of the other members. The both of them were in costume, dressed in catlike attire, including tails and paws. Off to the side stood a younger boy who seemed disinterested, and I couldn't help but wonder who he was, exactly.
Sensing our confusion, Aizawa began to explain why we had stopped, sounding as bored and monotone as ever. In the background, both women were now wobbling as they struggled to stay in their poses. "These are the pro heroes who'll be helping us out this time—the Pussycats."
Seeming to recognize them, Midoriya's lips spread into a wide grin as he began to ramble, his fanboy side making an appearance. "They're a four-member hero team who all work under a single agency! This veteran team specializes in mountain rescue operations! They've been in business for 12 years now... "
In a flash, Pixie-Bob had rushed over and thrust her paw in his face, shouting, "We're eighteen at heart!" The blonde seemed really sensitive about her age, so I made a mental reminder to not bring up anything that could trigger her.
Ignoring her, Mandalay walked up to stand right before the fence, the young boy—I guessed that he was four or five—sticking to her side. She placed her paws on her hips, looking over the expanse of land. "This whole area here is our territory," the burgundy-redhead informed us, soon diverting her attention back at us to point. "Your lodging is at the foot of that mountain over there. It's now 9:30. I'm thinking... noon, at the earliest."
I don't have a good feeling about this. I tuned out my classmates' chattering, slowly backing up hesitantly. Once Mina yelled, telling everyone to get back on the bus, I immediately started running. If I could've teleported, I would have, but it had been erased as if Aizawa knew what I was going to do. Behind us, Mandalay told us that if we didn't make it by 12:30, we wouldn't get any lunch.
We had almost made it, but out of nowhere, Pixie-Bob had jumped in front of us and placed her paws on the ground with a smirk, manipulating the earth and sending us off the cliff in a cloud of dust and rock. As I fell, screaming at the top of my lungs, I looked up to see the commander leaning against the fence with a wide grin. "This is our private territory, so feel free to use your quirks! You've got three hours to reach the facility on foot! Make it through the Beast's Forest!"
At the last second, I teleported onto solid ground, landing on my feet and spitting out dirt. Rising up from besides me, Denki adjusted his shirt sleeve, clearly discouraged. "Seriously? It's like a name straight out of Dragon Quest." I had never played it, so I kept quiet, unsure how to respond.
I did, however, guessing by one of the "beasts" that I saw in the distance, know that I would probably be throwing my guts up once all of this was over. And you know what?
I was, unfortunately, spot on.
AN: Sorry about the shorter (and not to mention late, cough-) chapter! But seriously, I'm so bad at update schedules, it's not even funny anymore. This was roughly 2000 words, and I'm used to having between 3000 and 4000 words, so I apologize. Also, I didn't proofread, so call me out on any and all mistakes.
I'll do headcanons in the next one, I swear. I was just too braindead to think of any-
EDIT: I published this without naming it the first time, oh my god-