hello~
so when i was about finished writing this chapter my computer crashed and it didn't save any of my work so i laid in bed listening to in the end by linkin park and seriously contemplated about life. it was a miracle that i didn't yeet my computer out the window out of pure rage. anyways sorry for the late update
enjoy
Sakura POV
"She's still sleeping?!"
I grunted at the sudden voice, making me roll on my back as I ignored the immense soreness in my body.
"Keep your voice down, All Might!" I heard Chiyo angrily hiss. "She probably hasn't had a proper rest in awhile. Don't wake her."
"Too late," I groaned, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes before opening them to see Toshinori standing over me in his All Might form.
"Good morning, Little Sakura! It's time to wake up for school! I brought a pair of extra of clothes and necessities to get read-"
"Mhm, thanks Toshi," I mumbled with a tired smile. "Just give me five more minutes...." I shut my eyes again.
"I think someone needs the wake up song."
I cracked open one of my eyes. "Don't you dare, Toshi."
I saw Toshinori puff in chest as he took a deep breath in. Then he opened his mouth and started to sing a song that made my ears want to bleed.
"It's time to wake up! Wake up!
It's time to wake up! Wake up!
Open your eyes! Jump out of bed!
Open your eyes! Jump out of bed!
Find your shoes! Find your sock!
Find your shoes! Find your other sock!
Don't hit the snooze on your alarm clock!
It's time to wake up! Wake up!
It's time to wake up! Wake u-"
"Alright! Alright! I'm up!" I groaned, throwing a pillow at Toshinori to shut him up from singing that horrid song any longer. Just listening to it made me want to swim right into a boat motor.
I grumpily got up from the bed and snatched the bag in his hands and went inside the restroom that was located in Chiyo's office. After finishing getting ready for school and getting one last healing from Chiyo, I made my way towards my classroom.
I let out a big yawn as I walked in the hallway where my classroom was located. Apparently Izuku and Katsuki had woken up a couple of hours after our exam and had already gone home. Unfortunately for me, the painkillers had knocked my ass out completely after just a few moments I had taken them. I winced as I stretched out my arms, still feeling a bit pain in my back. All my muscles were incredibly sore and I still felt exhausted.
And worst of all.... I didn't have my morning caffeine.
I slid open the door to my classroom to see a crying Mina and an very devastated Kirishima, Kaminadi, and Sato.
"E-Everyone," Mina sniffled, big tears trailing down her face from her yellow irises, "I'm looking forward *hiccup* all of your stories of how *hiccup* fun *hiccup* camp was...."
My eyes saddened at my dispirited friends. 'That's right. They didn't pass their exam yesterday.'
"W-We don't know for sure yet," Izuku tried to reassure them, although he sounded unconvinced himself. "There might be a last minute twist! You never know! R-Right, S-Sakura-chan?!"
Izuku frantically looked at me, silently begging me for some backup. I blinked in response, my brain still trying to function without my usual caffeine. "Y-Yeah who knows? Aizawa might change his mind.."
I internally cringed by how doubtful I sounded. I
"Stop, Midoriya, Sakura," Sero sighed from behind my green-haired friend, putting a hand on his shoulder. "If you say it loud, it'll probably jinx it."
"If we failed the exams, then we'd have to skip training camp and be stuck in summer school hell," Kaminari muttered, a dark aura suddenly surrounding him. "And since we didn't pass the practical exam..... If you guys still don't
get it, then you're dumber than monkeys!"
My eyes widened when I saw the Pikachu suddenly stab his two fingers into the big green eyes of my poor friend, letting out a cry of pain. Not wanting my curly-haired friend to go blind, I gripped onto Kaminari's arm, trying to get his fingers out of the eyes I so adored. 'I can't believe I have to deal with this shit this early in the day without even a singe cup of coffee.'
"Calm down, Kaminari," Sero said while I still tried to pull back Kaminari's arm. "I don't even know if I'll get to go either, like you and Mina. Our team passed thanks to Mineta, but I was just sleeping the whole time. Anyway, since we don't know how they're scoring it...."
"IF YOU TRULY FEEL BAD FOR US, THEN BRING US BACK A LOT OF CAMP SOUVENIRS!"
Kaminari suddenly jerked his arm back, causing me to stumble back and lose my footing. I felt myself fall backwards and I braced myself for impact. But only I didn't feel my back hit the floor. Instead, I felt a strong pair of arms grip my shoulders,
"Be more careful. She's still recovering from her exam," I heard a monotone and familiar voice behind me, my eyes widening as I realized who it was.
"Oh, sorry, Sakura!" Kaminari apologized to me as he rubbed the back his neck. "Nice reflexes, Todoroki."
Once Shoto helped me stand on my own two feet, I turned around to give him a small but grateful smile. "Thanks, Shoto. You just saved me from another trip to the nurse's office," I let out a small chuckle.
He gave me a nod in response before turning to the desk beside him, a coffee cup and a small brown bag placed on it. "Here, I had a feeling that you probably didn't have a proper breakfast," he said, handing me the warm drink and bag.
My heart actually melted as I look inside the bag to see a blueberry muffin. "You, Todoroki Shoto, are a beautiful angel sent from the heavens," I chirped, not wasting anytime to take a sip of the coffee. I closed my eyes as I tasted the perfect balance of sweetness, acidity, and bitterness.
"I know how you get without your daily cup of poison," Shoto said, shrugging his shoulders as we walked towards our desks. "I thought I'd be doing everyone a favor by saving them from a test Sakura."
"You know me so well, Shoto," I smirked, placing my bag beside my desk before taking a seat.
"Are most of your injuries fully healed?" Shoto questioned as he started to take off his jacket and drape it on his chair.
"Mhm," I hummed. "I just feel a bit of soreness and drowsiness, still. These painkillers I took did the job but really knocked me out good," I took a bite from my muffin.
"I know. I was there."
Instantly after hearing this, I choked on my food and started to have a coughing fit, pounding on my chest to swallow the piece of muffin that was lodged in my throat. 'What?! Shoto was there?'
"Sakura? Are you alright?"
I raised my hand to let him to know I was fine as I coughed painfully for a few more moments. "W-What do you mean you were there?" my voice was raspy and strained as I narrowed my eyes at him.
"I went over to see if you were fine," Shoto said, his face remaining passive but I could have sworn I saw his eyes crinkle in amusement. "You seemed pretty out of it so I'm guessing that's why you don't remember."
I desperately searched my mind for any memory of seeing my IcyHot friend after my exam. But it was all too fuzzy. I don't remember a single thing after knocking out. 'Oh god. What if I said something really embarrassing without knowing.'
"Did I..... Say anything weird?"
Silence.
"Oh my god. I did, didn't I?" My face recoiled in horror. "What did I say?"
Shoto was silent for a few more moments before I saw the corners of his lips tilt slightly upwards as he gave me a nonchalant shrug. "Nothing bad," he stated with a suspicious glint in his eyes. "Let's just say that you weren't quite yourself."
I felt my face growing hot from his mocking tone. I looked at him, wide-eyed and dubious, and almost choked when I spotted hints of a smirk on Shoto's face. 'Is he... Is he teasing me?! Shoto Todoroki teasing ME?!' My jaw dropped my head in disbelief as I stared at his cocky smile. 'Oh how the tables have turned...'
"W-Wait, what does that even me-"
But I was cut off from the sound of the sliding door slamming open.
"Once the bell rings, you should be in your seats," Aizawa warned.
Everyone then scurried to their seats, not daring to move or make a sound as they sat down. I cursed myself as I tore my gaze away from the IcyHot boy, reminding myself that I would get to the bottom of that later.
"Morning. Unfortunately, there are those who did not pass the final exams. Accordingly, for the training camp in the woods...."
'That's a little harsh, Aizawa..' I winced at his bluntness, and saw the faces of Mina, Sato, Kirishima, and Kaminari perish with dismay. 'He didn't have to call them out like that when they already clearly know.'
Then, a very creepy smile appeared on Aizawa's face that made me slightly shudder. "Everyone is going!"
"It's a last minute twist!"
"We can really go, too?" Kirishima asked, his shark like teeth bared in a grin.
"Seriously?!" Mina was literally crying tears of joy, her cheeks looking pinker than usual.
"Yeah," Aizawa conformed. "Although some failed, no one failed the written portion. In the practical, Kirishima, Kaminari, Ashido, Sato, and Sero failed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sero slap his palm against his face as the other four wince. I couldn't help but feel bad for them. They gave it all in the exam, so for them to fail the practical had to be killing them.
"For this time's exam," Aizawa continued, "the teachers who played the villains made sure to leave a way for the students to win while watching to see how you all would take on the task at hand. If we hadn't, most of you've gotten stuck before you started."
"But didn't you say that you all were going to try to crush us?" Ojiro asked from the front.
"That was to make you feel cornered. In the first place, the training camp in the woods is one to increase strength. So those who failed need it the most. They have to get stronger. We were never going to separate you." I grimaced at the spine-chilling smile I'd ever seen on Aizawa's face. I didn't even know that he was capable of smiling like that. "That was just a logical deception we used."
"Logical deception?!" I jumped from the whole class suddenly erupting into a mixed cries of joy and confusion. I sweatdropped at the frustrated aura that came from our class rep.
"However, since you lied to us twice," Iida cried out, arm shooting up as he stood, "our faith in you will waver!"
"Wow..." Ochaco tilted her head. "You're being a wet blanket, Iida."
'Get used to it, Iida.' I thought to myself as I took another sip from my coffee. 'I'm sure he's just getting started with his little mind messing games.'
"That's true," Aizawa admitted. "I'll consider that. But I wasn't lying about everything.... Failure is failure."
The five students immediately stopped their happy dancing, freezing in position as they stared back at our teacher like deers caught in the head-lights. I put a hand to stifle back a giggle from the adorable sight.
"We have prepared a separate time for extra lessons for you all. Frankly, it'll be tougher than the extra lessons you'd get if you stayed at school."
After a couple of hours of mind-numbing lectures and torturous cries, class finally came to an end. Aizawa handed us information booklets about the training camp, leaving us to converse with each other as the last bell rang.
"Well, in any case, I'm glad we can all go together," Ojiro said, holding his booklet in his hand with a excited smile.
"A week of training camp, huh?" Iida muttered, his eyes reading every line of the information handbook with great focus.
"We are going to have to bring a lot of stuff," Izuku pointed out, looking over Iida's shoulder as he carefully read the information.
"I don't even having a bathing suit," Kaminari commented, frowning. "I'll have to buy a bunch of stuff."
"I'll need some night-vision goggles," Mineta popped out from below them.
"I have an idea!" My attention was then directed from the boys to Toru. "Since we are off tomorrow, and we've finished our exams, why doesn't Class A all go shopping together!" She said so excitedly, that I could just imagine she was wearing a big grin.
'Shopping? All together?' I pondered to myself. I didn't even go shopping with myself. But I supposed going with my classmates sounded fun.
The class sounded with hums of agreements.
"Hey, Bakugo," Kirishima called out to the ash blonde who was exiting the classroom. "You're coming, right?"
"I can't imagine doing anything more annoying."
I let out a snort from his response. I couldn't imagine the hot head shopping for clothes at the mall. I turned to Shoto and sent him a hopeful smile.
"How about you, Shoto? I asked. "Are you going to come?"
"Sorry, Sakura," he said, shaking his head, "but I see my mom on my days off."
My smile slowly melted off my face. I knew that his relationship was his mother was improving and I couldn't be more happier for my friend. But I felt a twinge of disappointment in my chest.
"No worries," I flashed a reassuring smile at him. "Go enjoy your visit with your mom. I hope she's doing well."
He blinked for a moment before a small, but sweet smile adorned his lips. I felt my heart rate pace faster and my cheeks tingled with warmth. 'How could a smile make me so damn flustered?'
"Thanks, Sakura. Hopefully, I'll get the chance to shop with you sometime."
I felt my cheeks even grow hotter from the sight of his own cheeks blushing, making me want to jerk my head away from his earnest gaze.
"You party poopers!" I flinched when I felt a pair hands grip the back of my shoulders. "Don't you guys ever get sick of being so serious?!"
I reached back and grabbed Mineta's shirt, gritting my teeth in annoyance. "And don't you know anything about keeping your perverted hands to yourself?!"
I then threw the grape-boy across the room, and straight into Kaminari, knocking both of them down to the floor, making my class burst out in laughter.
I huffed out proud sigh for taking out two problems with one single action.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And so, here we are!"
"Wow!"
I stared around me, mouth agape and eyes wide as I took in the sight. There were hundreds upon hundreds of people walking around the building, and thousands of shops on each level. There were so many floors that I couldn't even see where they began or ended.
"With the most stores in the prefecture, the newest and coolest, most advanced— Welcome to Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall!"
'Wow. I've really been missing out.' I thought as I looked around the windows, spotting various shops selling clothes, furniture, electronics, food, and so much more. I've never been to a place like this before since shopping was never really was a favorite hobby of mine. And so was going to public places with a lot of people....
"Woah! Look, those are first years from U.A.!"
My classmates' and my wandering eyes were then directed to a group of boys who were yelling and pointing at us, causing more people to look at us.
"The first place winner is even with them!"
I smiled and waved at the boys who were shouting and cheering for my attention, knowing that if I didn't, they wouldn't shut the hell up. But deep inside, I was not smiling. At all. In fact, I was already annoyed from receiving the unwanted attention. 'People are still talking about that damned Sports Festival, huh?'
"Looks like you got some fans, Sakura," Mina said with a teasing tone as she nudged my shoulder. "Maybe you should go give them your autograph."
I refrained from rolling my eyes at her statement. "That's complete nonsense, Mina."
"Since everyone has different things to do, why don't we all split up," Kirishima suggested, raising his voice we could hear over all the noise. "We can meet here again when we're done."
"I agree!" Mina exclaimed, the rest of us either nodding or humming in agreement, as well.
"Okay then! Let's meet back here around three!"
"Sounds good!"
In just a blink of an eye, everyone split up, forming into smaller groups as they headed to the stores they needed to go to. I planned to stay beside Izuku since we both wanted to shop for the same things and frankly, I was worried about leaving the freckled boy alone in a huge place like this.
Ochaco, Izuku, and I were the only three left, a deafening and awkward silence suddenly. It took all my might not to laugh as the two of them just stood there, not making any eye contact, but I could see how nervous they looked, the sweat forming on their foreheads and how red their cheeks were.
"Everyone's really fast..." Izuku quietly said as he fidgeted with his backpack straps.
"Y-Yeah," Ochaco replied.
'Oh man, they've got it real bad.' I shook my head at my adorable but clearly clueless friends.
"Wh-What are you looking for, Uraraka?" Izuku turned to face our brunette friend. "Sakura-chan and I were going to go look for some training equipment."
"I need bug spray...." Ochaco's voice then trailed off as her brown eyes went wide and her cheeks even blushed harder.
"....bu-BUG SPRAY!!!!" Ochaco suddenly took off running, waving her arms around like she was being swarmed with bugs.
"I-I'm a bug?!" Izuku worriedly questioned, pointing a finger towards his face. He had looked absolutely hurt.
I put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm sure that's not it, Zuku. I think she's just really really excited about getting bug spray," I somehow held back a giggle.
"Right.... Anyways, are you sure you didn't want to go with the girls, Sakura-chan?"
"Nah. Knowing them, they probably are going to go shop for clothes," I replied, shaking my head. "I'd much rather shop for things I actually need."
"Okay!" Izuku's usual cheery smile returned. "Want to go look around, then?" He questioned with much excitement.
"Yeah, lemme just use the bathroom really quick, okay?" I said before turning to walk away from the broccoli boy. "Stay here. I'll be back in a few."
After leaving Izuku, I headed off to go find the restrooms. Thankfully, there were signs everywhere to help people find their way to their destination through this maze.
As I walked through the heaps of people, I noticed I was gaining a lot of stares and whispers from passers-by.
"I remember her! She was in the Sports Festival!"
"Wasn't she the winner of the first-years?"
'I should have worn a hat.' I mentally slapped myself, keeping my head low as I continued to walk. Trying to block out the murmurs, I pulled out my phone from my back pocket of my jeans to keep myself distracted. I was scrolling mindlessly when all of a sudden a flash of red and white came to my mind. 'He would understand how uncomfortable I felt since we both share a hate of crowds. I wonder how he's doing?'
I then opened up my contacts and tapped on Shoto's contact and started to type up a message.
Shoto Todoroki
Hey Shoto. How's your weekend going? Hope your mom is doing well. I'm at the mall and there's so many people, it's crazy. Wish you were here
My fingers then stopped typing as I read what I had just written. 'Wish you were here? What am I doing? That sounds so dumb and desperate. Not like me at all....' I was just about to delete the entire message when I suddenly bumped into someone, making me drop my phone.
"Oh sorry, sweetheart. I didn't see you there."
I looked up to see who I had just accidentally collided with. I found myself staring at a fairly tall, slim man who looked like he was in his early twenties. He had longish, black hair that spikes up around his head, hanging low over his eyes, which were a pretty turquoise color. But what caught my attention was the wrinkled and purple skin that covered most of his lower face and neck. 'Were those burn marks and staples?'
I continued to stare at him as he bent down to pick up my phone. My eyes narrowed when I saw him glance down at the screen which was still on to Shoto's contact. Has this guy ever heard of privacy?
"Here you go, hun," he handed me my phone with a smile.
"Thanks," I curtly replied, grabbing my phone from his outstretched hand and turning it off before sliding it back into my pocket.
"You should pay attention more to where you're walking, sweetie. Wouldn't want a pretty girl like you to get hurt now, would we?" He gave me a tight-lipped smile that sent slight chills down my spine.
"I think I'm capable of taking care of myself, thanks," I scoffed, raising a brow as I hated how the word 'sweetie' was directed towards me. I don't know why, but his presence made me incredibly uncomfortable.
"Oh, I have no doubt about that," He purred, a creepy grin stretching his lips as his eyes trailed up and down my body, as if he was studying me. "Well, take care of yourself, gorgeous," he said, taking a step to walk past me.
"And don't forget to always pay attention to your surroundings."
I felt my whole body shudder from his last words which he whispered in my ear. The way he had said it almost sounded like a warning. I turned around to see that he completely vanished. My brows squished together in a frown. 'Where the hell did he go?'
Remembering that Izuku was waiting for me, who was probably freaking out because he was all alone, I started to walk towards the restrooms again, trying to shake off what had just happened. But his words kept repeating in my head.
"And don't forget to always pay attention to your surroundings."
'This place is full of weirdos, that's for sure.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3rd POV
It was safe to say that Midoriya was in a tight situation.
Shortly after Sakura had left to go find the restrooms, a stranger had come up to him, slinging his arm around his shoulder, asking for his autograph. Midoriya thought it was a fan at first, before he had caught a glimpse of the man's face.
He wasn't a stranger at all. It was the leader of the League of Villains; Shigaraki.
Now here he was, unable to move or call for help, for if he did, Shigaraki would destroy his throat with just a touch of his finger. So, Midoriya just sat near the fountain, completely frozen with a hand tightly wrapped around his throat as he answered all of the villain's questions about what made him so different from the Hero Killer and listened to his annoying tirade.
"You know, Izuku Midoriya," Shigaraki whispered into the boy's ear, "I had really hoped by now that your friend would have returned. She's actually the one who I had come looking for."
Midoriya's eyes widened at the mention of Sakura. She was the reason why he had come here? He didn't like the sound of that, at all.
"But it seems like she's taking awhile, isn't she? I certainly hope for your sake that she comes back-"
"Let him go."
Midoriya immediately looked up after hearing the familiar voice. His scared, green eyes met with a pair of intimidating, blue ones. She was here. Sakura was here, her expression telling him that she was pissed.
"Sakura-chan.... Go..... Run..." he whispered out with a broken voice, not wanting his friend to get hurt.
But Shigaraki just laughed at this, now tapping his middle finger on the boy's throat in wanting. "Look who finally decided to join us. Be careful now, doll, I would behave correctly to the big bad villain who has your friend trapped," he said as he tightened his grip on Midoriya's neck.
Sakura's eyes narrowed at this, already knowing the consequences of her actions. She couldn't do anything or else he could kill her friend and who knows how many other people in just a couple of seconds. She cursed herself in her mind, greatly regretting leaving Midoriya alone.
"You so lay a single scratch him," she hissed, her eyes now glowing red, "and I'll make sure you won't be walking out of here alive."
Although the villain just smirked at her threat. "You don't scare me, little girl," he shook his head. "You know the last time I saw you, you managed to single handedly destroy my little plan to kill All Might. Do you know how angry I was about that?"
"It was a dumb plan that was doomed from the beginning. I didn't have to do much," she bluntly replied, shrugging her shoulders. "And as for your anger problems, I suggest you take an anger management class and express your problems there. Don't take out it out on innocent children."
Shigaraki laughed at her bold words. "I think we both know that you're not that innocent, little girl."
Sakura's eyes narrowed at this, knowing exactly what he was trying to get at. But she kept her expression blank. "What do you want, Shigaraki? Why are you here?"
Shigaraki gave the girl a chilling smile. "Wouldn't you like to know? It's okay, I'll tell you. Like I was telling your friend here, I actually came to have a chat with you."
Sakura felt a slight chill run down her spine from his words. "Really? Well, that's too bad. I have nothing to say to you so I suggest you leave. I don't associate with scum like you," she spat.
"You're really quite the stubborn and annoying one, aren't you?" Shigaraki chuckled as he rose up from his seat, taking Midoriya with him. "You see, when I saw you fight against that Nomu, I couldn't help but feel like I recognized you. But after watching your performance at the Sports Festival, it finally clicked in my mind."
Shigaraki was now behind Sakura and she felt like he was breathing down on her neck. "How you managed to easily fight against the Nomu, and how incredibly powerful you truly are," he continued, lifting his opposite hand to graze his fingers along her cheek.
She jerked her face away from his touch. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she hissed, glaring disgustingly at him.
"No, I believe you do, Sakura Asano," Shigaraki retorted, a menacing smile stretching his dried lips. "Or should I call you by something you're more familiar with? Perhaps, like Experiment Number nine?"
Sakura then felt her blood run cold from hearing those words she had pushed in the very back of her head, along with the dark memories that came with it.
Midoriya could see his friend's tough expression start to crack beneath the surface, his own eyes widening from what Shigaraki had just called her. How did he know about her past?
Shigaraki seemed to notice this as well, taunting the girl even more with it. "Now, do you understand what I'm talking about?"
"Go to hell," the raven-haired girl snarled, but her shaking pupils showed that she was starting to get scared.
The villain just laughed at her poor attempt of trying to keep a strong front. "I'll admit, considering how powerful you are, you were quite the creation. But, I still don't find you useful. I will be the one to kill All Might, not you. In fact, I would rather much kill you so you wouldn't be in my way anymore."
Midoriya saw the poor girl start to tremble and he felt like he had to do something. Thinking that Shigaraki was too distracted on Sakura, he slowly started to pull away from his captor so he could help his friend.
But Shigaraki noticed this and he tugged the boy back, tightening his grasp around his small neck, sending him the message. "But as much as I want to get rid of you, I know that he won't let me," he shook his head, letting out a exasperated sigh. "He still thinks that you could serve a purpose."
Sakura's eyes widened at this, her breath staggering. Feeling the overwhelming sense of fear take over body, she completely forgot about Midoriya as she reached out and grabbed the villain's collar abruptly, forcing him to look at her dead in the eye. "And what purpose would that be?" She growled, pulling him threateningly close.
Although, her aggressive action only made the man smile even wider. "Ah ah ah. Careful now, you wouldn't want another person's blood on your hands now, would you?" He questioned with a taunting tone, tightening his hold on Midoriya even more.
"Sakura-chan..." Midoriya gasped out, his voice begging her to stop as his breathing became dangerously short.
Sakura felt dread completely take over her body as his words sank in her head. Images of her murdered parents, All Might's master, and the innocent man flooded her mind. And now looking into her friend's pleading eyes, made her face the harsh truth. That's right, their blood was on her hands. She couldn't stand to let anyone else get hurt.
Shigaraki felt her fingers release his collar and he smirked at her quick obedience. Ah, so he had finally hit a nerve and a big one at that. "I see that you're not so tough when it comes to the danger of others getting hurt," he let out a small chuckle. "Good to know..."
"W-What do you want from me," she started to sound desperate and helpless. "If you want to talk, then talk. Spit it out already so you could let him go."
Her beaten voice only amused the villain more, a menacing smile appearing on his lips. "I just have one more thing to say. Well, it's more of a question, really..."
Shigaraki then took a step closer towards the girl, her neck burning like a prickling sensation from his breathing. He lifted his hand and ran his fingers through her long strands. "How does it feel to be a fraud in your little world of heroes? I bet it's very exhausting, lying to not just yourself, but everyone else around you every single day," he said with amusement. "It must scare you, really. Wondering what kind of terrible and evil things you are truly capable of doing. I'm sure that you even lose sleep over it, too scared to face those horrifying nightmares..."
His words seeped into Sakura slowly, her absorbing them like an extremely painful poison. Her breath caught in her throat and she suddenly felt sick all at once. What he had just said were all the things she truly feared.
Midoriya watched his friend's face grow more darker from each word the man had said. He noticed that her bottom lip had a slight tremble as she tried to keep herself together, but it was obvious that her confidence was completely diminished. The strong girl he knew and had looked up to was gone. He gritted his teeth in anger as he finally gathered up the courage to save his friend. But before he think of doing anything, he heard a familiar voice call out.
"Deku, Sakura?"
Midoriya's attention was then directed towards Uraraka, who was standing behind Sakura, looking at her friends with worry.
Just when he was about to warn her to stay away, Shigaraki let go of his throat in one motion and began to walk away before he could get caught.
"Tomura Shigaraki," Sakura suddenly called out, making the said man stop in his tracks. Midoriya was shocked to see something in the girl's eyes he has never seen before; Genuine fear.
"Just what exactly is All for One planning?"
Shigaraki glanced back, their eyes meeting for a moment as he gave her haunting smile.
"You'll find out soon enough."
And with that, he slipped into the crowds of people, not leaving a single trace.
"Sakura-chan, we should contact the police and tell them to shut the mall down," Midoriya hurriedly said, eyeing the direction to where the villain had escaped. "Before he gets the chance to hurt anyone else."
But the only response he got from the girl was a dreary, hollowed expression, her eyes staring into nothingness.
"I-I'll go get the police!" Uraraka quickly said before she ran off.
Midoriya kept his gaze on his friend as he started to get disturbed from her uncommunicative state. He noticed that her breathing was irregular and that her whole body was violently shaking. "S-Sakura-chan?" He carefully reached for her. "Are you okay?"
All of a sudden, the girl lost the strength to stand and dropped to her knees. "Sakura-chan!" Midoriya gasped out, catching the girl in his arms, shuddering from just how cold her touch was. He wrapped his arms around her small figure, trying to stop her from shivering.
As he held the girl, the boy thought back to the words Shigaraki said to her a couple of moments ago. The villain had known every single detail about her dark past, talking to her as if he knew her.
He really hated that Shigaraki had called her a fraud. Who was he to say that about her? And what had he meant about All for One had something planned for her?
Sighing to himself, he pushed all his questions and suspicions away for now as he focused on saying soothing words to the girl that was falling apart before him.
Uraraka came running back with the police along with the rest of Class 1-A shortly after, to find Midoriya and Sakura sitting on the bench, the green-haired boy whispering softly to the girl who was struggling to get her breathing back to normal.
It was safe to say that their relaxing shopping trip was completely ruined.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sakura POV
After our encounter with Shigaraki, Izuku and I were taken to the police station for questioning with a detective by the name of Naomasa Tsukuachi, who was investigating the League of Villains and was also a good friend of Toshinori's.
Apparently before I had reached them, Shigaraki and Izuku talked about Stain, and what made the villains different. So while Izuku told Mr. Tsukauchi the details about their conversation, I stayed completely silent as I fiddled with my fingers underneath the table. Ever since my talk with Shigaraki, I hadn't uttered a single word, my vocal cords not being able to produce speech.
"Was there anything else he had said that should concern us?" Mr. Tsukauchi questioned, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Um, well-" But I had cut off my green-haired friend with a sharp kick to his shin.
"No," I finally spoke, my voice sounding slightly raspy and rough. "All Shigaraki wanted to talk about was the Hero Killer. Nothing more," I said firmly.
Mr. Tsukauchi raised a brow as I stared right into his eyes, my expression not faltering as I silently hoped that he would buy my lie.
Thankfully, he did.
"I see. Well, from what I'm hearing, it sounds like they aren't a monolithic organization," he said, scratching his head with a pen. "But the part where he wants to defeat All Might hasn't changed..."
My throat tightened at this, recalling what Shigaraki had said before.
"I will be the one to kill All Might. Not you."
"Anyways," Mr. Tsukauchi flashed us a kind and friendly smile, "thank you, Midoriya, Sakura."
"Oh.... you're welcome," Izuku quietly said as I responded with a small nod.
After he finished asking us questions, Mr. Tsukauchi then escorted Izuku and I towards the exit of the building. As we walked out the door, I heard a familiar voice call out.
"Little Sakura! Young Midoriya! Tsukauchi!"
I looked to my left to see Toshinori walking towards us in the alleyway.
"All Might! But why...?"
"I'm so glad to see that both of you are okay!"
Without thinking, I dropped my bag beside me and flung myself towards him, wrapping my arms around his skinny waist as I hid my face in his chest. Suddenly, I felt like I was a little girl again, deathly afraid of everything except him.
I felt his body stiffen, probably surprised from my abnormal motion, before he embraced me back gently. "Thank god you're safe, Little Sakura," he whispered, placing a hand behind my head, pulling me closer into his chest. "I almost had a heart attack when I heard. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to save you. You're not hurt, are you?"
'I am, Toshi. I'm hurting so damn much.'
I felt my eyes sting as I shook my head slowly, swallowing a sob down before it could escape.
"All Might," I heard Izuku call out behind me. "Do you also have times when you can't save everyone?"
Toshinori was quiet for a few moments before replying, "I do. A lot. Someone could be injured and passing out somewhere in this world right now," he continued, soothly stroking the top of my head as I still clung onto him. "It's frustrating, but I'm human, too. I can't save the people I can't reach. But that's all the more reason to stand and smile. So that the 'Symbol of Peace' can always be lit inside the hearts of the people, the heroes, and the villains."
'How does it feel to be a fraud in your little world of heroes?'
I shut my eyes as I dug my hands into the back of Toshinori's shirt, trying to block out Shigaraki's haunting words
"It's getting late," Tsukauchi chimed in. "Also, Midoriya, there's someone here to see you."
"Izuku!" I heard a woman cry out frantically.
"Mom?"
I released my grasp on Toshinori and turned around to see Izuku's mom running up to her son in tears.
"Izuku, I can't take this anymore," the mother said, tears running down her cheeks as she held onto her son for dear life. "My heart can't take it...."
"Sorry," Izuku apolitically smiled at his mother as he wiped her tears away. "It's fine. I'm fine. Please, don't cry."
I tore my eyes away from the heartbreaking sight, remembering how close Izuku was to dying from my reckless actions.
"You wouldn't want another person's blood on your hands, would you?"
"Sakura, are you okay?" I heard Toshinori worriedly ask me as I noticed my body start to tremble again.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I croaked out, not daring to make eye contact with him, for I knew if I did, he would instantly know that I wasn't.
"Sansa, make arrangements to take them home," Tsukauchi ordered the police officer who had the face of a cat.
I felt Toshinori place a hand on my head, making me to finally meet his eyes. "Get home safely and try to get some rest, okay?" He gave me a small smile. "I'll call you in the morning."
I responded with a tired nod as he pulled me into his embrace one last time, planting a kiss on the top of my head. I then headed off with Izuku and his mother towards the car that was waiting for us on the street.
The car ride back home was silent. I kept my weary gaze on the passing buildings as I leaned my head against the window. I felt numb, drained, and just completely exhausted.
Feeling the car slow to a stop and seeing my house out the window, I bid my farewells to Izuku and his mother and politely thanked the policeman for the ride. I was walking towards my front door while pulling out my keys from my bag when I heard the car door open behind me.
"Wait! Sakura-chan!"
My feet stopped moving from hearing Izuku's voice. I let out a breath before putting the best smile I could muster as I turned to face my friend. "Yeah? What's up, Zuku?"
"Oh, well I..... I wanted to ask if you were y'know, okay?" He shifted awkwardly, but the concern in his eyes is genuine, attentive.
My mind was a mess, my emotions an even bigger one, so no, I wasn't 'okay.' Not even close. But the last thing I wanted was to dump my problems on someone who has plenty of their own to worry about.
"Oh yeah. I'm fine. Why do you ask?" I asked, my eyes meeting his with a more confident forced smile.
But I knew Izuku was a smart boy and had keen eyes. He frowned, and I felt the anxiety bubble in my chest. "Then, why didn't you tell the police about your conversation with Shigaraki?"
My smile immediately disappeared, replacing it with a tired sigh. "It has nothing to do with their investigation. So, I didn't think there was a reason to tell them ab-"
"But it is important!" Izuku cut me off abruptly. "It was all important; how he knew about all the details about your past, and even threatened to kill you..."
"Don't, Izuku.." I mumbled, not wanting him to remind me anymore of the conversation.
But he kept going. "What he said about All for One and when he called you a-"
"I said drop it, Izuku," I snapped, my voice sounding almost vicious. 'Like a villain's.'
The air suddenly became cold and tense as I stared at Izuku, seeing the hurt that flashed behind those big green eyes of his. Guilt swirled thickly in my chest as I realized that was the first time he had looked at me this way.
God, I felt like such an asshole.
"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that," I quietly said. "It's just..... It's been a long day and I'm just.... really tired," I swallowed massively.
Izuku offered me a kind smile, making me even feel worse. "N-No, it's okay, Sakura-chan! I shouldn't have pushed you like that," he quickly said, waving his hands in front of kim. "I just want want you to know......You know you can talk to me, right? Whatever is on your mind, I-I can help with it."
Hearing his words, I was trying so hard to not cry, but a small sniffle rippled out of my chest, my frustration desperately wanting to explode out of me. 'I'm sorry, Izuku. But this is my own fight.'
"Yeah, I know," I managed to give him a small smile. "You should get going now. I'm sure your mom was given a real scare today. You don't want her worry more," I turned away him, so he wouldn't see my glossy eyes. "I'll see you later, Izuku. Goodnight."
"Goodnight Sakura-chan...."
I dug my key into the lock and twisted it, opening the door to my house. After I closed the door and dropped my bag, I turned to face the emptiness of my home.
It was the first time that the loneliness had truly bothered me.
The wood of the door bit into my back as I slumped against it and let my body slide down until I was sitting position on the ground; knees pulled up to my chest.
Tears filled my eyes and blurred my vision. So, I raised my hand and pressed my palms against my eyes hard enough to see starbursts against my closed lids. My chest felt tight as I tried to take gulping breaths to calm myself down. But no matter how hard I tried to resist, my mind kept going back to his words.
"How does it feel to be a fraud in your little world of heroes? I bet it's exhausting, lying to not just yourself, but everyone else around you every single day. It must scare you wondering what kind of terrible and evil things you are truly capable of doing."
'Fraud.'
'Monster.'
'Their blood is on your hands.'
My head was swimming, the words attacking at my conscience, fueling every waking moment. It almost felt like I was drowning, the destructive thoughts forcing themselves down my throat to the point I couldn't breathe.
I desperately wanted it to stop, for the words to go away. But I wasn't able to shake them from my head. The little voice inside my head was so persistent, nagging at me to believe every word it spat out.
I felt my breath start to get heavy and erratic, my muscles so tense that my body began to shake violently. My hands gripped at my hair, pressing my forehead down into my knees. My breath was hot in and out my mouth and I gasped suddenly, choking on my own breath. I felt like my skin was on fire and I covered my head with my arms, curling into myself.
I was having yet another panic attack. And this time, there was no one to help me.
I quivered, knowing that I had to get out this suffocating, painful situation myself. I closed my eyes and focused on my heartbeat as I breathed deep in and out. I gripped the rings around my neck and let myself rock slightly back and forth, slowly feeling the panic begin to subside at the calm and repeating movement. I began to hum a song quietly, feeling myself relax more as I calmed down.
Luckily for me, I had a lot of experience of dealing with this by myself.
I slowly unwrapped my body and placed my hands against the cold floor as I forced myself up, getting a little light-headed for moment. I walked towards my kitchen and started to pour myself a cup of water. The cup slightly shook in my hand as I took slow gulps of the water, painfully going down in my tight chest.
After taking a quick shower, I put some grey sweatpants on and pulled a soft hoodie over me, feeling extremely cold. I reached for the towel that was sitting on my chair so I could finish drying my hair, when the picture of my parents and I caught my vision. I placed my fingertips on the plastic frame.
"I really wish you guys were here," my voice was hoarse. "I could really use your help about now."
But they were gone. And it was all because me.
My ears perked up at the sound of someone knocking on my door. Confused, I glanced at my alarm clock. It was ten o'clock at night. Who could be here this late?
My slippers skidded against the hardware floor as I made my way to the door, getting slightly agitated from the constant and impatient knocking. I twisted the lock and swung the door open to reveal my IcyHot friend, who was panting heavily, beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he rested his palms on his knees.
"S-Shoto?" I furrowed my brows at his unexpected presence. 'Did he run here?' "What are you-"
"Do... you ever.....check... your phone?" He asked between breaths, glaring angrily at me.
I blinked at his odd question. "Uh, I haven't checked it in the last few hours. Why?" I frowned.
"I must have called you a dozen times!" He exclaimed, flailing his arms out in frustration as he stood straight. "I saw the news about what happened at the mall earlier and heard from our classmates that Tomura Shigaraki talked to you and Midoriya," he stated, his eyes flashing with concern. "What happened? Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, right?"
I let out a small smile from his overbearing, considerate worriment as I motioned him to come inside. "I'm fine, Shoto. Midoriya and I, both. We got away completely unscathed."
I heard Shoto let out a small sigh of relief as he walked past me. "Are you sure, Sakura?"
"Yeah," I let out a half-hearted chuckle from how he worried he looked with his furrowed brows. "Really, Shoto. I'm fine," I reassured, taking a seat on the sofa in my living room.
"What happened?" Shoto questioned, taking a seat beside me. "What did the leader of the League want with you and Midoriya?"
I stared back at Shoto's intense gaze, recalling back to my conversation with Shigaraki. I knew that I could tell Shoto anything, he was my best friend after all and I trusted him, completely. I opened my mouth to explain what had happened when the voice came back into my head.
'Fraud.'
My lips pressed together as I shut my eyes, trying to push the haunting voice out of my ears, feeling the familiar chill run through my spine.
"Hey," I heard Shoto softly say, feeling a warm hand covering mine. "Tell me what happened."
I was torn between answering and keeping my mouth shut, incapable of even looking at him in the eyes for fear that I might just fall apart here.
"He..... He wanted to talk about Stain," I said, lowly. "All he did was ask questions about why the Hero Killer was getting so much attention and praise."
I opened my eyes to see how the bi-colored hair boy would react to the lie I had just managed to say perfectly. I searched for any clues but his expression was unreadable, his face remaining completely passive. It was so quiet that I was almost positive that Shoto could hear my heart pounding against my rib cage.
"I see," He finally spoke, and I exhale out out, realizing that I was holding my breath.
It was silent as we stared at each other for a few more moments, his eyes melting right into like, displaying nothing but warmth and care. My stomach churns from lying to him, but I just couldn't tell him the truth. I didn't want to dump any more of my problems on him.
"It's.... getting late," I managed, clearing my throat in an attempt to compose myself as I rose from my seat. "You should get going, now."
Shoto responded with a nod, walking towards the door. Right when he was about to walk through, he looked at me with such concern and sincerity. "You would let me know right away when something is wrong, right?"
"Y-You would be the first one to know, Shoto," my voice stupidly cracked as I forced a small smile. "Goodnight, Shoto."
"Goodnight, Sakura."
Closing the door, I sunk to the floor and pressed my palms to my forehead as the tears threatened to spill out.
Somehow, I had felt even worse than before.
A/N: well this chapter started happily at first and then ended in a shitfest. I'm actually not that happy with how this chapter turned out oh well.
so i'll be only writing one more chapter before i do the bonus ones for two heroes!
also over 20k reads! that's crazy! thank you all so much for the reads and votes!
next chapter: sakura finally realizes her feelings but the talk with shigaraki starts to make her question everything....