#chapter thirty seven
Minori sat in disbelief as her face washed blank with confusion like her brain cogs couldn’t turn fast enough to take in the information from her wide eyes. When she finally processed the words fallen from the ash-blonde, she turned away from him, too slowly to be normal. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, her voice trailing slowly like her words are unwilling to take flight. “I didn’t say anything.”
“I’m not an idiot,” he sighs exaggeratedly, “unlike you.”
“I’m serious,” Minori rebutted, looking up at him. “You must’ve misheard me.” Minori pulled at her bottom lip; even from her own ears, she could hear her voice waver unconvincingly.
Silence clung to them like a poisonous cloud that, at any moment, could choke the life from them. The hairs on her body all stood up in fear that Tatsumaki wasn’t some nightmare that only she could see and hear; that maybe she was just going crazy, perhaps that would be better.
“Listen,” Bakugo interrupted, the low baritone of his voice bouncing off the walls of the room. “Everyone is worried about you, but those dipshits won’t understand what you’re going through,” he grumbled, frowning. “You were taken with me, so out of everyone here– talk to me. I’m the one who ended All Might’s career anyways.”
Minori’s heart clenched at his confession. She watched as his typical scowl morphed into a frown as his lips slightly jutted outwards. Here she thought no one would be able to understand the pain eating up at her, the loneliness that consumes her like a vice, squeezing with just enough pressure to be a constant pain.
Guilt, the ghastly beast that kills the two every day just a little more, takes what was once their inner light and replaces it with a darkness that overshadows each moment, leaving them traumatized. Right then and there, Minori acknowledged that Bakugo and her are actually two sides of the same coin.
“You didn’t end All Might’s career,” she scolded softly. In response, Bakugo simply rolled his eyes at her remark. Clearly, he didn’t believe her, which aggravated Minori more than she would like to admit. Huffing in annoyance, Minori took hold of her pillow and threw it toward the male, hitting him square in the face. Bakugo staggered in his place, his eyebrows shooting upwards as he held onto the pillow with so much force that Minori was sure he’d leave a handprint in the foam.
“The fuck?!” He roared, but before Minori could open her mouth to explain herself, she fell backward onto her bed as a breathless “oof” escaped her lips. Removing the pillow that felt more like a brick from the force Bakugo hurled the thing from her face; she sits up and gawks at him.
It seems that even Bakugo wasn’t aware of how hard he managed to throw the pillow because he stood frozen before her, his sharp eyes unblinking as neither of them removed their gaze from each other. The corner of Minori’s lips twitches as she forces herself not to laugh. Instead, she shrugs and pats the spot beside her for Bakugo to sit down, warranting him to raise his brows.
When he didn’t move, she sighed. “Sit down, Katsuki.” Finally catching the memo, the ash-blonde shoved his hands in his pockets as he sat down, slumping forward. “So are you going to speak or what?” he asks.
“Yeah.” Pulling the pillow closer to her chest, Minori sighs as she stares at the socks at her feet. “When we escaped the L.O.V, I saw her. At first, I was in denial. I thought that couldn’t be her. She disappeared; she’s gone. There’s literally no reason for her to return, but that spout of air felt too similar, and the hair–.” Minori shuttered, grabbing a strand of curls before tugging it away from her line of sight; repulsed by the color, she bit her lip. “That hair is the exact same as mine.”
“I haven’t told anyone because I was too scared. If I’m honest, I probably wouldn’t have told anyone if you didn’t overhear me. I know it sounds fucked up, but I just thought that if I said something, they’d lock me back up– and I can’t go back there.” Minori’s large orbs connect with vermillion red ones. Staring back into his, she allowed herself to continue because behind his intimidating aura, his gaze was the promise of protection and more. “I’ve worked so hard to get where I am right now, it’s not much to some, but this is everything for me. But I can’t shake the feeling that everything is going to be taken from me.”
“When friends feel like paper chains in the rain susceptible to fall apart, and the sky holds nothing but the promise of more storms, life is lonely. When all I want is a hand to hold or an arm around my shoulders, and none comes, the world becomes cold and empty. That’s what my life had been for so long until I came here to U.A.– I don’t want to lose this,” she heaves, her orbs glistening.
“I just–” her eyebrows furrow as the lump in her throat builds– “why? Why is she back? Why did she cause a massacre? Why did she leave me the burden to deal with it.” Tightening her arms around the pillow, she asks the question that has internally been consuming her for years aloud, “why do people blame me?” A single drop falls from the corner of her eye, and soon after, her face crumples, the salt of her soul pouring from her eyes.
There was a brief moment of silence as Minori cried to herself before Bakugo gently grabbed her wrists, removing her hands from her eyes. “They’re all dumbasses for ever blaming you, and even worse if they still are,” he grumbled. Minori’s eyes widened at his words as she sat, stunned and speechless. The two simply looked back at one another, and she picked up on the way Bakugo looked back at her with a hint of tenderness behind those fiery orbs of his. “Your mom sucks,” he adds, his eyebrows furrowing as he pouts, and Minori can’t help but giggle softly at his unique way of comforting.
“Yeah, she really does,” she nods with a gentle smile gracing her features, moving her hands that are still wrapped around Bakugo’s calloused fingers, and wipes the remaining tears away.
At the sudden realization that he’s still holding onto her, Bakugo hurriedly retracts his hand away, behind his back, and lowers his head as his face blooms in a mixture of bewilderment and embarrassment as the tips of his ears tinge a light pink.
Minori dismisses the sudden addition of color to his face and leans forwards, her smile never faltering. She never thought that she could be able to smile as genuine and laugh with no worry after the sudden sight of her mother. Placing her hand atop of his knee, she tilted her head slightly to look the male in the eye. “Thank you,” she says genuinely, a surge of happiness flourishing in her.
Thank you for listening. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for shining a light in my forever darkness.
Bakugo’s mouth slightly drops open in surprise before he blinks and shakes his head. “No problem,” he mumbles, removing her hand from his knee, getting up. “I’m going to bed now.”
Minori’s brows pull in confusion as she glances at the clock on a nightstand. “It’s only 8pm.”
“Your point?”
“But what about you opening up to me?” she pouts, throwing her arms up in exasperation only to have Bakugo snort.
“Some other time.”
“You promise?” Rolling his eyes, he nods, the tips of his ears still tinged a bright pink. “Pinky promise? Mina says that these are unbreakable.” Minori points out her pinky, innocently waiting for her friend.
“Mina is a fucking idiot,” Bakugo huffs as he interlocks their pinkies, making Minori’s lips stretch out into a toothy grin.
“Goodnight, Katsuki.”
His crimson orbs narrowed slightly as he hesitated at the door, and she got the sense that he wanted to say something but instead simply said his goodbyes for the night. “‘Night.”
A/N: Y’all have waited long enough. I’m dropping these bad boys on ya. Enjoy! ;)
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