Dammit! Why do I feel like crying?!
*
Ren drifted in and out of consciousness multiple times since that day at the beach. She was never awake enough to open her eyes or move, just enough to catch parts of sentences here and there.
"... Has she stirred yet?..." That sounded like it could've been Jiro.
"... Wouldn't you like to go out for a shift?..." And that was certainly Iida.
"... I brought you some food..." Kirishima or maybe Kaminari.
"... What are you doing here, Icy-hot?..." Bakugo, clearly.
"... You're not the only one who cares..." Was that... Todoroki?
"... Let me take over for a while, you get some rest..." Uraraka...
"... Just... Just for a few minutes..." Bakugo, again.
She could recognise some of the voices in her half-conscious stupor but mostly the sounds around her blended together into mush. The last few times she stirred, she could open her eyes a little but each time it was dark so she would just go back to sleep.
Ren finally opened her eyes early in what she assumed to be the morning after it had all happened. She blinked a few times as she got used to the soft light coming into her room. Bakugo was leaning against her wardrobe with his eyes shut and arms crossed. A tea stained mug was knocked over beside his right leg. He crinkled his nose a few times in his sleep.
She moved her arm up to rub her eyes but something prodding into the inner crease of her right arm caused her to freeze. Ren's eyes trailed down slowly to the catheter impaled in her skin. "Ha-ha-AAAH!" She yelled out.
Bakugo snapped awake and jumped up to her. "What?! What's wrong?!" He yelled out.
"Get it out! Get it out!" She screamed yanking at her wrist. "He's got me! He's got me again! The serum!"
Bakugo grabbed her shoulders. "Ren! Ren it's okay!"
"Just get it out!" Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Bakugo held her bicep firmly and yanked the catheter out of her arm. He quickly covered the small wound with his other hand and brought her to his chest. "It's okay, it's okay." He said soothingly.
Ren howled against his chest. Her mind hadn't fully woken up or registered where she was. She fiddled her fingers under his hand and pressed onto the little wound in her arm. "What did he do?!" She cried into his chest.
Bakugo held her face his hands, his thumb smeared a small trickle of blood across her cheek. Her tears poured into his hands. "Ren. It's me. He's not here, he can't hurt you. I'm here to protect you." He whispered to her.
Ren bit her lip. Her mind centred and focused on where she was. She was in Okinawa with her class, her friends. They were heroes and yesterday they fought the Nomu. "Katsuki..." She blubbered. "I'm still so scared."
Bakugo felt tears stinging his own eyes. 'Dammit.' He thought to himself as he pulled her back into his chest. 'Why do I feel like crying?!' He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffed. "You never have to be scared when I'm here. I'll roast anyone who comes near you, I promise."
Ren hiccuped. Her door swung open and Yaoyorozu and Jiro stumbled in. "What happened?" Yaoyorozu asked while rubbing her eyes.
"I heard the noise, it woke me up." Jiro pointed to the jacks coming out of her ears. "How long has she been awake?"
"Not long." Bakugo shook his head slightly.
Jiro and Yaoyorozu sat on either side of Ren and inspected her. Yaoyorozu created a small round plaster and stuck it over the little needle hole in Ren's arm. "Thanks for keeping watch, Bakugo. We'll take it from here and get her cleaned up." Yaoyorozu said with a little nod.
Bakugo hesitated to let go of Ren but he did need a shower and to lay in an actual bed for a while. With a soft grumble, he peeled Ren away from his chest and stumbled to his feet. She watched him go with puffy eyes, red cheeks and a furrowed brow. He stared at her longingly for a few seconds before he pulled the door shut behind him.
Bakugo immediately headed for the showers before the morning rush hit. He let the hot water pour into his hair and fall against his face, hoping it would clear his mind of all worry for Ren. It didn't.
When he returned to his joint room with Kirishima, the redhead was already up and doing his morning stretches. "Hey man, you taking a break?" He asked him from his contorted position on the floor.
"She's awake." Bakugo answered plainly and ruffled through their small cupboard for some clean clothing.
"That's great!" Kirishima sang out and collapsed against the wooden floor from his lack of concentration. "Ouch." He grumbled and rubbed his hip.
"Yeah." Bakugo grimaced. His mind trailing off to the unspeakable things he wanted to do to Ren's father if the man was ever unlucky enough to come across Bakugo. The fear in her eyes stuck to him like glue. The always calm and collected Ren, the girl who even when losing control of her quirk played it off to be cool and powerful, fear didn't suit her perfect blue eyes.
*
Ren was spooning down some sweet rice porridge that Uraraka had made for her. The common area of the old house was in chaos with majority of the class getting ready to go out for Hero work, berating Ren with questions as they had their breakfast or readied their gear. Kirishima and Bakugo came down together, the redhead in his Red Riot gear and ready to head out.
Bakugo felt the need to wrap his arms over Ren, hide her from the prying eyes and intrusive questions but there were so many of the class there already, and they'd agreed to keep the blossoming relationship on the down-low. As far as the class (minus the three in the know) were concerned, Ren and Bakugo only had a mutual understanding of one another. His explanation for waiting by her side to wake up was payback for her pulling him out of the ocean after the Nomu sent him flying.
"Are you feeling okay?" Uraraka asked Ren leaning over the table and resting on her arms. "After the whole, needle incident?"
Ren nodded. "Yeah. Why did I have to have one anyway?"
"The nurse didn't want you to dehydrate, being unconscious for that long." Yaoyorozu explained as she handed a box of cereal to Jiro's expectant hands.
"For what? A day?" Ren chuckled. The chaos of the room went silent. Bakugo and Kirishima exchanged a glance as they poured their morning coffee. Ren looked around the quiet room at the frozen teens. "W-What?"
"Oh... Ren..." Uraraka mumbled.
"What?" Ren crinkled her brow. "What day is it?"
"It's Thursday." Yaoyorozu's bottom lip trembled as she broke the news to Ren. Ren dropped her spoon into her bowl, it landed in the rice porridge with a soft splat. Her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly.
"F-four days?" Ren stammered. Her nails dug into the table instinctively, leaving a slight mark in the old and already dented wood.
"The nurse said you'd exhausted your quirks so much your body kinda shut down." Yaoyorozu explained. "You had fever for two nights, and then after that she was keeping you comfortable. We took shifts keeping an eye on you but Todoroki and Bakugo basically never left your side."
Ren glanced up at Bakugo. He kept a his eyes on his breakfast but froze for a second when he felt Ren's eyes on him. Todoroki cleared his throat, almost as if trying to signal the rest of the class to go about their days. Ren looked over at Todoroki, a slight blush appeared on his cheeks when he caught her glance. Bakugo clenched his teeth as his top lip curled up into a snarl.
"T-Thanks you guys." Ren mumbled and pushed her rice porridge about in her bowl.
"What does that bastard think he's doing?" Bakugo grumbled under his breath.
"Ren." Iida entered the common area. "Mr Aizawa is waiting to have a video conference with you." He gestured to the second common room that had been set up as their hero base. Ren nodded once and grabbed a bottle of water before following Iida.
A laptop was set up on one of the tables with Aizawa's tired face on the screen. He was leaning against his hand, dark bags hanging low beneath his eyes while he waited for Ren. She sat down in front of the laptop and heaved a heavy breath. "Mr Aizawa." She said simply.
"Chinami." He straightened slightly. "Glad to see you're on your feet, how are you feeling?"
"Completely normal." She shrugged. "Well... Aside from everyone kinda cottonwooling me." Ren smirked. There was a pause. "Sir, I-"
Aizawa held up his hand to stop her. "Don't try to explain..." He looked past her. "Are you alone?"
Ren glanced up at Iida. "I take my leave." He said with a little adjustment of his glasses before he left them to their discussion.
"Listen, kid. I got good news and bad news." Aizawa said after a few moments. "The bad news is I'm gonna have to ground you to the house, and when you're back at UA, you're locked down to campus until further notice. You'll have to fill out request forms for when you'd like to leave."
"W-what?!" Ren stammered.
"The reason you're only been rostered on for simple almost volunteer-like tasks on the island is because you lack a Hero license." Aizawa began. Ren nodded. "Fighting the Nomu has technically put Beachems agency, UA and your class at risk of heavy fines and having their Hero licences temporarily revoked."
Ren bit her lip. "Hmng... Right..."
"However, and this is the good news, Beachems has such a good reputation with the people of Okinawa that their reporters have reached an understanding with UA. They released that the students partaking in the Hero Assistance Program held the creature off before Beachems and Sandy took care of it. No names were mentioned, the people of Okinawa won't talk and most importantly, you're not even considered in the equation."
Ren felt strangely hurt by that. She could've taken the Nomu herself, in fact she was about to obliterate it. She felt her water bottle crinkle slightly in her hands. Aizawa raised his brow at her. "Go on." Ren held her anger back in her throat.
"This attack, the re-emergence of the League of Villains; it's helped blow over the events of the trial and The Doctor. You'll come home to a Japanese mainland that doesn't care about your life." Aizawa clasped his hands together. "In a way your stunt has freed you from the public eye."
Ren sucked on the side of her cheek as she processed everything Aizawa had said. "And what about..." She glanced behind her to check if their were any prying ears. "What we talked about?"
"They're having your application fast tracked thanks to him." Aizawa leant on his wrist again. "I'll let you know as soon as it's approved and good to go." He waved his other hand about.
"S-Sir, about the Nomu attack-" Ren began.
"I know what you wanna ask me kid but unfortunately I'm under strict instructions to keep my knowledge on the down low." Aizawa explained before Ren could even finish her question. She huffed a deep sigh of disappointment and frustration. "That's not to say your classmates are under the same rules." He added with a little eyebrow arch.
Ren thought about what he said for a few moments. Great, more time being in the dark. "What should I do while I'm here?"
"Phones, rosters, etc." He waved his hand again. "And..." He sighed. "Don't tell anyone it was me who said it but you all get Sunday off, so you can do stuff with the class but be on your best behaviour. It'll be your ass before mine if something goes wrong."
Ren smirked. "Thanks, Mr Aizawa."
He sighed again. "I only did it 'cause Eri won't stop asking about you. She obviously loves you. See you next week." He waved at the camera lazily.
Ren nodded. "Thank you, Sir. See you then."
The camera disconnected. Ren sat in front of the screen for a few moments before she scraped the chair away from the desk and re-entered the less chaotic living area. The room was filled with teenagers pretending like they weren't listening in to her talk with Aizawa.
"So..." Uraraka mumbled. "How did it go?"
"Yeah, Jiro." Ren turned to Jiro and folded her arms. She quirked her brow and smirked at the panicked girl. "How'd it go?"
It was obvious she'd plugged in to listen as she was the one standing closest to the entrance to the second living area. Jiro grumbled. "Dammit." She clenched her teeth and looked down. "Sorry, Ren."
Ren giggled. "It's fine, Jiro." She bumped her arm. "It could've gone worse, that's for sure." Ren ran her hands through her hair. "I'm on house arrest." She glanced over at where Bakugo had been sitting when she left for her call. Had he really sat with her for four days without a break? It warmed her heart to think he cared that much for her but she wondered why Todoroki would do the same.
Sure, they were friends but she was a hell of a lot closer to the girls more so than Todoroki. She even considered Deku and Kirishima closer friends than the half and half boy. Ren furrowed her brow as her thoughts got the best of her. How had Bakugo not blown Todoroki's head off just for being near him? The thought of her explosive.... person? Getting irritated at the two-toned boy made her chuckle.
"Ready to start?" Uraraka broke her train of thought and pointed to the room Ren had just exited.
Ren blinked a few times and shook her head. "Yeah. Let's do it." She smiled warmly to her pink-cheeked friend.
And so began Ren's three days of answering calls, directing others to tasks and creating rosters. Okinawa barely had a crime rate, and the tasks she'd send her classmates out to were simple. After having been out of action and by her side for four days, Bakugo took full day shifts without any rest. So when evenings came, he was exhausted and would retire to sleep as soon as he'd eaten something. Sure, she had her other friends from time to time but there was no denying that Ren was unbelievably BORED.
In the afternoons, when things were especially quiet, she took it upon herself to get a head start on dinner for the class so whomever was rostered on wouldn't have to. Locals would bring them fish and fresh produce throughout the day and so she replicated the broth that Granny B had taught her. That Saturday night marked their last day of work in Okinawa before leaving on Monday and having the Sunday to themselves.
Iida stood up from the head of the table to give a little speech. "I just wanted to say how proud I am to be the representative of such a hard working class. We have received startling feedback from the locals, and although some things didn't quite go as planned..." He tilted his head towards Ren.
"Hahaaaa- Yeaaah..." She chuckled awkwardly and hid behind her glass of iced tea. Bakugo rolled his eyes at Iida and lent his elbow into the wooden table. He just wanted to eat so he could sleep.
"Thank you all for your incredible efforts. And thank you to Ren for our last home cooked meal here in Okinawa using the fresh produce from the locals." Iida raised his glass and the class followed. "And furthermore-"
"I think we've heard plenty, teach. Let's eat." Bakugo cut him off with two growls, one from his throat and the other from his stomach. Iida pursed his lips and sat down firmly. He may have mumbled something under his breath about manners and respect but soon the excited chatter of the class drowned out his irritated attitude.
Bakugo slurped his broth and froze as soon as the flavoursome brew flooded his tongue. He shut his eyes and let the chilli warm his stomach while the garlic and coriander seeds found their way into his nose. The addition of fresh fish had added a subtle saltiness to the broth he loved and knew so well.
"Hmm! Ren this is so good!" Kirishima spluttered through his heavy mouthful of broth and rice.
"Yeah this is delicious!" Deku placed his bowl down and picked out a few flakes of fish. "Where did you learn the recipe?"
Ren hummed as she indulged in the broth that reminded her of Granny. She flicked her clear ocean blue eyes over to Bakugo's crimson stare. His lips curled into a sneaky, satisfied smirk. "Got it from a friend." Ren mumbled without breaking Bakugo's intense stare.
Todoroki cleared his throat to interrupt the gaze from growing too lustful. "Thank you for preparing such a delicious meal for everyone, Ren." He bowed his head slightly and smiled.
Ren chuckled awkwardly and a slight flush appeared on her cheeks from all of the praise she was receiving. "I'm so glad you guys enjoy it." She rubbed the back of her head and darted her eyes between Bakugo and her bowl in front of her. The excited chatter between the class of friends picked back up. Uraraka had grabbed Ren's attention with some kind of story about the last time the class went on a group work study.
Bakugo gripped his spoon tightly. The metal in his hands bent against his fingers as his anger triggered his quirk. Kirishima shoved him in the ribs, noticing his change in demeanour. "Chillax, dude. Everyone's just being nice." The redhead whispered to his irritated blonde friend.
"Yeah. Sure." Bakugo mumbled back. He stared at the beautiful broth Ren had cooked up for them all and let his anger subside a little.
Because the broth fed the class, sure, but he knew she'd done it for him.
And that was something he really liked about her.
No.
Something he loved.
*