"𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚕 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚎
𝚒𝚗 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎'𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚛
𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚜."
- 𝙻𝚊𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚗 𝙴𝚍𝚎𝚗
18
He rifled through the papers on his desk for a moment before uncovering a large emerald green folder buried beneath them. He handed to me.
A gift from Bakugou...?
I don't trust it. Its probably gonna explode.
"...Whats this?" I asked, apprehensively
"Just open it, idiot."
My heart began to race a bit. The folder had my name on it in pretty gold letters. I opened it—inside were the following:
1. A small black planner with blue tabs.
It matched the colors of my hero gear perfectly.
2. A calendar page with the month of August printed at the top. Each day had something written in it.
(in Bakugou's chicken scratch handwriting.)
3. What looked a lot like a meal plan, or a dietary list of some kind.
4. A small paper book full of long paragraphs in small font, none of which I particularly felt like reading. The front cover said:
"Provisional Hero License Exam Information Booklet..." I read aloud
My mouth fell open slightly out of shock.
He thinks I can do this? He believes in me that much?
"That folder is going to be your life for the next month." Bakugou said "I will personally train you, teach you, and prepare you for your exam in any way that I can."
"I... What—how..?" I stammered
This is really the last thing I was expecting. I mean, it's everything I want... but I feel terrified all of a sudden.
Whats going on with me?
I was almost at a complete loss for words as I gazed up at the man in front of me.
"...Are you sure I'll be ready for that?" I asked quietly
"To be honest with you, I think you're ready now, at least combat wise. But I want you to be really ready—without a doubt. I want you to feel like you're gonna go in and fucking murder it."
What is this? Why the hell do I feel like this?
All I want to do right now is get the fuck out of this room. I want to run away screaming. I can't even... I can't even look at him anymore. I know it makes no sense, but...
This is all too much for me.
I don't deserve this. I don't deserve any of this.
"Rei...?"
"Huh?... Sorry. This is great, Kacchan. Really."
He furrowed his eyebrows. I could tell he was disappointed in my reaction.
"It better be, I spent a lot of time putting all this together... So, yeah." He muttered
"Did you pick this out for me?" I asked, pointing to the planner
"Yeah, so what about it?!"
Why are you so good to me...?
"Nothing. Thanks... I-I'm gonna go ahead and head down to the gym now, okay?"
Bakugou's Point of View
"Okay... Uh, I'll come down and see you when I'm done."
She nodded, grabbed her backpack and left my office.
What the fuck is up with her?
Rei is the kind of person that when her mood shifts, it throws the entire energy of the room off. Its creepy and it still messes with me.
Or maybe her emotions just effect me? Thats even more terrifying.
I don't know.
Something is really wrong with her. Obviously, I know it has to do with last night, her brothers, her dad—everything that went down. If she's anything like me, which she is, she's gonna either completely shut down, or she's about to push herself way too damn hard.
Maybe both.
I'm worried about her, but I'm still so busy, not to mention; I'm kinda pissed at her reaction to that folder.
I... put my heart into it or whatever.
SHUTUP!
I can't balance being a hero and fixing everyones damn problems—I can't even fix my own. I want to help her, but I've gotta trust that she can handle it on her own at least for the next hour and a half.
Maybe she just needs to blow off some steam.
After finishing up one of my most hectic meetings in a while, for most of which I was ridiculed for even having Rei around, I went to put my laptop back in my office. I'd spent most of the last two hours trying to focus on what's happening, what those creatures were, and why Rei's dad was inside of one.
My mind is plagued with the most intrusive thoughts now—all of which are about her. Its so damn irritating. What makes it worse is the fact that I know, without any fucking doubt, how hard I'm falling for this girl.
My train of thought was interrupted by Iida, who was coming down the hallway at top speed.
"QUIT RUNNING AROUND LIKE THAT, FOUR-EYES! WHO'S GONNA PAY FOR THE DAMAGE WHEN YOU RECIPRO BURST YOUR ASS THROUGH MY FUCKING WALL?!"
He came to a sudden and unexpected halt right in front of me.
"Bakugou-kun." He panted "I got here as fast as I could."
I could see the worry in his eyes.
"What's going on?" I asked
"Well... Reiko-chan, she's..."
"SPIT IT OUT!" I shouted "What about her? Is she okay?"
"I just think you should come down to the gym. Now."
What the hell is going on?
I ran ahead and, he followed suit. I was, once again, filled with anxiety because Iida didn't give me any fucking clue as to what was going on, or why I needed to hurry.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, I could see that there was a bit of a crowd gathered around one section of the gym—a section where Rei usually chose to train at.
I couldn't see her yet, but I could hear her so clearly. Her yelling was mixed with the sounds of intense metallic banging. Something was off in her voice, too. It wasn't her usual wild yelling she does so she can create explosions... these cries were painful. I could feel it all the way down to my bones.
I blasted myself towards the crowd.
"MOVE! YOU ASSHOLES ARE JUST STANDING AROUND WHILE SHE'S...?"
I looked up. She was on top of a giant steel, cylinder that I had made to resemble a water tower. She was repeatedly pounding her fists into the metal, bashing it in over and over until it bent and bowed to her strength. I noted that she had the targets activated, but she'd effectively destroyed every last one. Their remains were still smoldering from her attacks.
"REI!" I called out
"I've been trying to get her attention for 10 minutes. Nothing is working." Iida said
I blasted up to her with 2 quick explosions, carefully landing right behind her. She didn't react at all, she merely continued to batter the structure as if I wasn't there. Her knuckles were swollen and bloody. An endless stream of tears was pouring from her eyes, and painful sobs escaped her lips.
"Rei...?"
Nothing.
"REIKO?"
Still nothing.
Is she ignoring me?
That was when I remembered the drawback to her quirk. I moved closer to her cautiously, trying desperately to keep my balance as the metal beneath my feet shook violently.
Her ears had been bleeding... dark rivers of caked blood stained either side of her face.
She overused her quirk... a lot.
She can't hear anything at all.
I grabbed her arms and pulled her back. She struggled and jerked about violently to get out of my grasp.
"GET OFF!" She screamed
She tore herself away and faced me.
"K-Kacchan...?"
She reached up and touched her right ear, feeling the blood against her fingertips. Her expression twisted as more tears fell from her eyes.
"I'm here..." I said "Its okay."
She collapsed into my arms. I held her as tight as I could as she let out mournful sobs into my chest.
