I slammed my front door shut behind me to prevent any more water from getting in. It was raining heavily now.
"Shoes off," I instructed Kirishima. He took off his dark red trainers and then I led him into my living room.
"Make yourself at home," I said, "it's getting kinda late, you hungry? I can heat us up something."
"What d'you have?" he asked. I beckoned him to follow me into the kitchen, where I checked the cupboards.
"I have katsu curry that I could warm up." I said, glancing back at him.
"Yeah, that's cool!" Kirishima grinned. I grabbed the two pots and put them both in the microwave. I set the timer for a few minutes.
"So, Red. What happened to your hair?" I asked, not turning round as I grabbed two cups from the cupboard.
"O-oh. Well, I styled it this morning, but the rain washed it out," the redhead replied, his voice faltering slightly.
I turned to face him, putting the two cups on the counter.
"Is that why you didn't want me to come get you? Because of your hair?" I asked. He nodded sadly.
"You poor thing... Red, it doesn't matter what you look like on the outside. Like, I'm a box of really nice chocolates but the box is ugly," I said. I heard him laugh and I smiled.
"I don't think you're an ugly box of chocolates, Irezumi," he replied.
"Thank you," I replied, "you're not too bad yourself. I like your hair like that, you should do it more often."
We stood in a staring competition for a few more seconds, but then the microwave beeped. I turned and opened the microwave door, taking the two pots out. They would've been hot, except for the fact my hands can withstand extremely high temperatures because of my Finger Guns quirk.
"You can eat from the pot, right?" I said.
"Yeah!" Kirishima replied. I gave him the pot and we both sat down on the couch.
"Thanks for getting me outta the rain," he said.
"It's nothing," I replied between a mouthful of katsu curry, "sorry for leaving you in the rain, actually."
"What happened with you and Bakugou, by the way?" he replied. I took another mouthful of the curry, avoiding eye contact.
"Are you okay? did he say something to you?" Kirishima asked. I swallowed hard.
"more like what he did..." I sighed.
"What'd he do to you?" Kirishima asked, "I swear, if he did anything unsavoury!"
"No, nothing like that!" I exclaimed, "he, um, kissed me."
"Seriously?!" he exclaimed, crimson eyes widening.
"Yeah, but you can't tell anyone!" I replied quickly, "I don't want him to be even angrier than he already is... a-and I'd prefer if Sero didn't find out either."
Kirishima nodded without question, jumped slightly and then pulled out his phone.
"I've got a text from Kaminari?" he said, more of a question, "it says to tell you to turn on the news... huh."
I reached over and picked up the remote control, pointing it at the television. Immediately, it was on the news channel. I often found myself watching the news to watch all the heroes I knew in fights with villains.
"—An armed robbery at Musutafu's Central Bank," the reporter said, in the middle of her sentence - she put her finger to an earpiece, "ladies and gentleman, we've just had some shocking information — there is a suicide bomber in the building!"
My eyes widened.
"What the hell?!" Kirishima exclaimed, eyes growing even wider than before with horror. There was a blur of green and gold that the camera barely captured, though the reporter seemed to notice.
"Oh— oh my god! The pro hero Kamikaze has entered the building!" she shouted - green and gold, the colours of mom's hero costume. My stomach dropped.
"I-Irezumi? You've gone all pale, is everything okay?" Kirishima asked, "you're not gonna pass out, are you?"
"My... my mom," I choked out, my eyes not leaving the screen. More pro heroes had arrived on the scene, evacuating everyone away in the vicinity. The news cast moved back at the order of the heroes.
"Holy— it's gonna blow!" someone offscreen shrieked. There was a brief silence and then an earsplitting boom. I could hear it outside. The camera dropped to the floor, showing nothing but black.
I clasped one hand over my mouth, the other gripping my stomach. A nauseating feeling rushed over me.
"Irezumi!" Kirishima exclaimed.
"My mom... no, no," I breathed, stumbling to my feet, "I have to see her!"
"Irezumi, it's way too dangerous," Kirishima shook his head, "we aren't heroes yet!"
I was already tying my trainers.
"Fine. Stay here. I-I have to find my mom," I said, opening the door. Kirishima furrowed his brow and followed suit, putting on his trainers.
We got out and I closed the door, before booking it to the bank. It was only a few minutes with the speed we were going, so we got there in no time.
I was crying by the time we were there. Everything was on fire — bright, unnatural white fire. Kirishima stopped a few feet before the police tape but I didn't.
"Irezumi—" he started. I didn't stop.
"Mom!" I screamed. A policeman grabbed me and held me back, but I kept struggling.
"Let me go— my mom's in there! Get the hell off of me!" I screeched.
"Everything is fine. Why? Because I am here," a familiar voice boomed. I stopped struggling and looked up. The civilians were safe, and my mom was being carried by All Might, unconscious. She had odd wounds, that looked like they had been put there deliberately.
She was covered in burn marks that had seared through her hero costume, but there were also what seemed to be blade wounds. Crimson blood trickled from a small cut on the side of her neck.
"All Might!" I whispered, wiping my eyes. He looked down at me, his face holding the same reassuring smile it always did in his muscle form.
"Incredible! All Might has saved Kamikaze, as well as every civilian in the building!" the female reporter said. I watched her make her way over to me.
"You, darling, what's your name?" she said, holding her microphone out to me. She seemed a lot nicer than the previous reporters I'd had experiences with, despite the fact I was now crying on live television.
"Irezumi [Y/N]," I said quietly.
"I'm Inoue Orihime. We heard you calling for your mother. Is she alright?" the reporter asked.
"Y-yeah, she's fine," I said, my eyes not leaving All Might, "because he's here. All Might rescued her just in time."
"Ah! Speaking of, what's it like having a firsthand experience with the number one hero?" Inoue asked. It seemed a bit obnoxious, but I understood.
"Interesting," I said, rubbing my teary eyes. I'd had many previous experiences with All Might, "it's actually not my first; h—he teaches at my school."
"You're a UA student? Ah, of course, that's where I recognised your name! You're Irezumi [Y/N], the girl who placed second at UA's infamous sports festival, which can only mean... Kamikaze, the number six pro hero, is your mother!"
I nodded.
"My friend and I ran here as fast as i could when i saw the news," I replied, "w-wait, have you seen a redhead? I-I've lost him."
I heard my name being called out by Kirishima's voice.
"Hey! Irezumi!" I caught sight of him squeezing through people.
"Red!" I ran over to him, despite the reporter's calls. and he hugged me.
"Irezumi, idiot! Don't run away like that, what if you'd gotten hurt!" he said, smacking me on the head.
"I-I was just worried about my mom," I replied.
"Yeah, I was too," Kirishima admitted, "is there anything else I need to be worried about? Or, more specifically, anyone?"
I swallowed.
"No. I'm fine," I said.
"You can sleep round my place tonight... because your mom's gonna be in hospital," Kirishima replied, though his face said something different. It was hard, solemn - in a metaphorical sense.
With no hesitation, I nodded.
"We can go back to your place, get your stuff, and then we can walk to mine. It's kinda a long walk, but it's stopped raining," he said.
"Huh. I didn't notice," I said, instinctively looking up at the cloudy, grey sky.