New Message to:

Peppermint Hair

₅:₅₈ ₚₘ 【 ɪ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ʜᴇʟᴘ 】

"Rin! What are you doing?" Dad hissed, bursting into my room. Fumbling with my phone, Dad told me to quit hiding in my room and get downstairs to greet the guests.

They're here already? When did they arrive? I didn't even hear the doorbell ring...

I let out a deep sigh. Getting up from my bed, I began to make my way to the stairs. I made sure to take a quick look at myself in the bathroom mirror before heading down but found that Dad was using it.

I'm sure I look fine. Hopefully.

Hearing the lighthearted chattering of my mom's voice along with two other unfamiliar ones made me feel uneasy. I hated when guests came over. It's gotten worse since Hiro went away to work. Now, I'm the one who has to fill in during the silence but I always make it awkward. I'm a terrible conversationalist. I wish I could hide in my room.

Going downstairs, I saw a young woman speaking animatedly with Mom. She had pale-blonde, spiky hair that touched her shoulders. She wore a light blue v-neck sweater with a white shirt underneath. Besides her, was a meek-looking man with ruffled brown hair. He had rectangle glasses and a small mustache. They were sitting on the sofa.

"And then, we ended up getting married and the rest is history," Bakugo's mom said.

The man, who was her husband, pushed his glasses up bashfully.

"M-Mitsuki... Must you really tell the story of how we met every time we have dinner with others?"

His wife boldly proclaimed her affection toward him which only made him even more embarrassed. Then taking notice of me, her eyes lit up.

"There you are, Rin," Mom said. I awkwardly walked over to the living room. Turning to the guests, she introduced me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Bakugo's mom said standing up. We gave each other a slight bow. "I'm Bakugo Mitsuki."

"And I'm Bakugo Masaru," her husband said, doing the same. After that, I stiffly sat down on the chair across from them.

"I have a son around your age. Are you in junior high, Onishi-chan?" Mitsuki asked.

I nodded.

"I see!" she said. "You're quite cute already! I'm sure you'll grow up to be a beautiful girl."

Mom let out a delighted giggle. I found myself beginning to grow a bit warm as I struggled to reply.

Then, I heard a door close. It came from the hallway to the left of me. Looking ahead, I saw a certain explosive boy come into view. We immediately locked eyes. For a moment, we stared at each other. Each second that passed grew more excruciating. I wanted to look away but I couldn't. Luckily, his dad jumped in and saved us from making our awkward encounter even worse.

"Ah! This is our son, Katsuki," he introduced. "Katsuki, this is Onishi-san's daughter, Rin."

Bakugo's red eyes flickered to me. He peered down at me like I was an annoying fly.

"I know that old man," he muttered, sauntering over to an empty seat.

Masaru tensed up upon hearing his rude reply. A strained smile appeared on Mitsuki's face. It looked like she wanted to comment on his language. Mom sensed the uncomfortable air. She decided to salvage the conversation.

"Oh?" Mom said, glancing at the two of us. "Rin, do you two know each other already?"

"Um... Yeah," I stiffly said. "We're in the same class."

I immediately felt Bakugo's eyes stab me like daggers, as his mom spoke.

"Really, now? I hope that he doesn't cause too much trouble for you," she said. "He can be a bit...difficult."

I glanced at the blonde-haired boy who stared me down.

"Right..."

»»—- —-««

"It's so great to see you again, Ryu-chan!" Mitsuki exclaimed. "Who would've thought that my favorite co-worker's husband was you? Your mannerisms have definitely changed over the years."

Hearing the word favorite, joy lit up in Mom's eyes. She could hardly contain her glee as she happily stuck stir-fried pork into her mouth.

"I see that you are still as peppy as ever," Dad calmly replied.

"And you are still as dark and brooding too."

As she continues to tell the table about her childhood memories with Dad, I noticed that Bakugo kept looking at me. I've been trying my best to ignore it, but I can practically feel his sharp gaze pierce my skin. Cautiously peering over, his eyes were filled with irritation. I quickly looked away.

He's been like that the entire time since he came. His parents were respectable and seemed like nice people but...what happened to him?

"Ah, really? I didn't know that you grew up with Ryusaki," Mom said in awe.

Mitsuki nodded.

"You see, he use to walk me home from school every day. He stopped once I got into junior high, but I would occasionally run into him in the street," she reminisced. "He may have been a delinquent, but I knew he was a big softie!"

Mom giggled in delight as she playfully shook Dad's shoulder.

"Teehee! Really, Dear? That's so sweet!"

Dad let out a sigh.

"Anyway, how's your sister? Is she doing well?" she asked.

Immediately, a solemn looked crossed his face. Mom's previous joyous expression fell. Mitsuki sensed the tensed mood. Her husband did too, and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Bakugo's gaze darted away from me. I peered at Dad.

"She is not here with us, anymore."

A sad look appeared in Mitsuki's eyes as she gazed down glumly.

"I see... That's a shame. My condolences."

I stared at Dad intently as he sipped his glass of water.

After dinner, I was stuck with cleaning duty. However, I preferred it that way. There was no way I was going to be able to entertain the guests without screwing it up. As Mom and Dad chatted about Hiro with them, I began to clean up. As I did, my mind drifted off to the conversation at the dinner table.

I didn't know Dad had a sister. How come he never told me about her? Does Hiro know this?

Carrying the dishes to the sink, I nearly bumped into Bakugo.

"Hey. Watch it," he gruffly remarked.

"Oh... Sorry," I mumbled. "Uh... What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to clean up," he grumbled picking up a bowl. "Don't get the wrong idea; my damn mom forced me to do this."

Great.

I suggested that he can wipe the dinner table while I wash the dishes. Despite giving me a "Don't tell me what to do, damn Coconut", he still listened.

Rinsing out the last plate, I placed it on the dishrack and dried my hands. I noticed that Bakugo was reaching into the trash to throw the bag away. He must've noticed that the other homes had their trash out and assumed that trash day was tomorrow. Seeing that, I told him that I can do it. He ignored me. Walking over to him, I grabbed the red plastic string from his fingers. He gave me a frown.

"I'll throw it out," I repeated looking into his eyes.

He tugged on the trashbag leaning the trashbag toward him.

"Shut up," he hissed.

I tugged it back.

"Just let me do it."

For a minute, we both argued about who was gonna throw the trash out while pulling the bag back and forth from each other. Bakugo's eyes were slowly filling up with irritation, while my voice had a tinge of vexation.

"I told you, I can do it," I said through my teeth as I gripped the trash bag.

"Screw off!" Bakugo grunted.

"If I don't do it, my dad is gonna ground me."

"If I don't do it, the old lady will scream my fuckin' ears off when we get home."

Staring at him, I found how similar our parents were. Then, an idea popped in my head. It was a bit embarrassing, but it was one that would avoid getting our parents upset.

"That was fucking stupid," Bakugo grumbled as we walked down the evening street.

"But at least we didn't get in trouble," I retorted.

My semi-idiotic and semi-genius plan worked. I suggested that we both carry the trash out. Although I didn't like the idea of walking side-by-side next to Bakugo as we carried out a lump of trash, it had to do. When we walked into the living room, his mom and my dad's eyes immediately flickered to us. They didn't say anything and continued on with their conversation.

"Where the hell do you put the trash?" the explosive blonde asked.

"Uh, my neighborhood has designated places for it," I explained. "It's to make the collection process a lot easier. Though, I wish it was a bit closer to my house..."

"Well, how far is it?"

"It's probably another five minutes."

Bakugo cursed under his breath.

We walked in silence. It wasn't completely night yet but it was dark enough for the light posts to turn on. As his sneakers and my flip flops thumped on the street, I can practically feel his negative energy seep out of his body. He was absolutely pissed. It'll be wise to keep my mouth shut.

I peeked up at him.

Now that I think about it, he has nice skin. It's so clear and smooth.

Bakugo caught me staring at him, and I immediately looked the other way. He wasn't going to let me off the hook though because he yelled at me.

"The fuck you lookin' at?!"

"Uh... Nothing."

"Damn liar!"

"Okay, jeez, fine," I mumbled. "I was just noticing how clear your skin is..."

Surprisingly, he didn't respond back. He was silent the entire walk. When arriving at the trash site, he roughly dropped the bag on the ground.

"Uh, you should probably be a bit gentler-"

"Shut up!"

Turning his back toward me, he jammed his hands into his jeans and walked off.

"...Um, that's the wrong way," I informed.

"Shut the fuck up!" he barked, explosion blasting from his palms.

No need to yell every single time. He makes my ears hurt.

As we began to walk back, I felt my phone vibrate in my sweater pocket. I saw that Todoroki responded to my text.

【 ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ? ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ? 】 ⁶:⁵¹ ᵖᵐ

⁶:⁵² ᵖᵐ 【 ᴛʜᴀᴛꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ɴᴇᴄᴇꜱꜱᴀʀʏ. ɪᴛ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱᴇʀɪᴏᴜꜱ 】

【 ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡʀᴏɴɢ? 】

I glanced at Bakugo to make sure he wasn't looking. Then positioning my shoulder slightly to block my screen, I texted back.

【 ᴍʏ ᴍᴏᴍ ɪɴᴠɪᴛᴇᴅ ʜᴇʀ ᴄᴏ-ᴡᴏʀᴋᴇʀ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ꜰᴏʀ ᴅɪɴɴᴇʀ 】

⁶:⁵³ ᵖᵐ 【 ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ᴋɪᴅ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴍᴀꜱꜱɪᴠᴇ ᴊᴇʀᴋ ᴡʜᴏ ʜᴀᴛᴇꜱ ᴍʏ ɢᴜᴛꜱ 】

⁶:⁵⁴ ᵖᵐ【ɪ ᴅᴏɴᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ】

【 ᴋ 】⁶:⁵⁵ ᵖᵐ

I let out a sigh. This guy was the wrong person to ask. I went to text him back when my phone flies out of my hands. Looking up, I saw that Bakugo had it. He was dangling it up in the air.

"Fucking loser. Are you texting your damn boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend..." I muttered, annoyed. "Can you give me my phone back?"

Bakugo's eyes flickered to the screen as he began to read through my messages. With his eyes scanning over a certain text, a flame lit in his eyes.

Crap. He must've read the part where I called him a massive jerk.

Without warning, he throws my phone on the ground. Before I could do anything, he immediately walks up to me. I can feel his breath as he glared down.

"It seems like Coconut-head is getting a bit cocky, eh?" he said. The light from the streetlight illuminated the left side of his face while the rest was obscured in darkness. His eyes glowed red with rage. I tried to move away but he let out a blast from his hand.

"Why don't you say it to my face?" he taunted. "C'mon. Say it."

I remained silent. I didn't want to make this situation worse. However, he didn't take my silence as an answer.

"I'm fuckin' talkin' to you!" he barked, grabbing my sweater. He pulled me up to his face.

Thump... Thump... Thump...

Please just leave me alone. I don't have time for this.

"What? You too much of a pussy?" he remarked. "I'll blast your damn face off."

"Fine," I sternly blurted. "You're a massive jerk."

An angry smile spread on his lips. He shoved me to the ground. My butt hit the hard cement as he sauntered over to me. He had his hands up ready to explode them.

"Heh. You actually said it," he said, amused. "But I'm still gonna blast ya."

Holding his palm out, he readied himself. I bolted from the ground. I sprinted away from him. But as I went past, he ignited his hands effectively boosting himself. His hand grabbed the back of my hoodie. He threw me against a wall and cornered me.

"Where do you think you're goin'?" he hissed as a blast exploded from his palm.

It was like time slowed as I watched a spark fly toward my face.

This feels too familiar. It's like we're replaying what happened from our Saturday detention. And now that I think about it... He definitely blasted me back then. But he lied about it saying that he didn't. I didn't get hit because I used my quirk.

...I didn't get hit because I used my quirk.

I stared at his face. Just as the fire reached my face, I clenched my fist. A gust of smoke blew. However, I didn't feel the impact. As the smoke cleared, I saw Bakugo's face contorted in a complex expression. His eyes were a bit wider than before. His mouth was open agape almost as if he wanted to say something but was struggling to find the right words. There was a dark stain on the left side of his face. It looked like something hot grazed his cheek. From behind, I saw that there was a black blur on the road. It looked like there was a fire there. Like there was an explosion.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"...What the fuck did you do?" the blonde boy spoke.

I don't know.

"How did you do that?! Tell me right now!"

You're too loud.

Bakugo's eye twitched slightly. He grabbed my sweater again and pulled me up.

"This isn't the first time you did this. This happened the last time. You better tell me what the hell is going on before I beat the shit outta you."

Just leave me alone.

"I told you to fuckin' tell me!" he exclaimed.

Letting go of my collar, he went in for a punch.

Thump, thump, thump.

His fist jerked to the right. It barely grazed my face. Without thinking, my hands stretched out to him and pushed him. He lost his balance. I didn't even give him time to recover because my fist goes flying into his cheek. Staggering onto his feet, he rubbed his cheek tensely.

"You... fuckin' bitch."

I stood there in a mixture of shock and horror.

I couldn't believe that I did that.

I hit Bakugo.

I swallowed dryly. I began to feel my body tremble. I tried my best to resist it.

Apologize. Diffuse the situation. Walk away.

"I... I'm sorry," I pathetically said. "I-I... I didn't mean to..."

The fire inside his eyes intensified as he glared at me.

"Sorry? You gotta be fuckin' kidding me!" he laughed in disbelief. "I'll fuckin' kill you!"

Using his explosions to propel himself forward, he punched me in the face. Pain erupted from my left cheek. But accompanying that was the growing feeling of rage. Since he was close to me, I took that chance to grab onto his shirt. I tried to throw him down but he kept resisting.

"Get your damn hands off!" he screeched. He lifted his palm up and blasted me. But on instinct, my fingers curled and it missed me by a centimeter. It flew back at him nearly setting his hair on fire.

"I'm gonna smash your damn face into the ground!"

In a quick motion, he was able to throw me off of him. Flying back, Bakugo bolted up and seized me. He blasted me again. I was able to deflect it but immediately doing so, I felt his fist slam into my face. It hurt. A lot.

But that just made the burning sensation inside grow stronger.

He readied another punch. I managed to finally time a punch correctly, and his fist flew up. Tackling him onto the ground, I began to recklessly hit him with all my might.

"Get off, fatass!" he demanded.

I kept thrusting my fists at him. Ignitions set off from his palms. It made the two of us skid down the street, but I was latched onto him. I felt his hands begin to burn my clothes. There was an explosion near my right abdomen. It burned. Nevertheless, I couldn't stop myself. I was on autopilot. My brain was getting overridden.

"Die!" he hollered blasting my face.

I felt intense heat explode. My hair flew up as fire inched toward my nose. Locking my eyes on him, the blast zipped back and hit him in the face instead. As the smoke cleared, his face was covered in smog. His crimson eyes glowed in fury.

"You-"

"Shut up!"

I squeezed his dirty shirt tightly, breathing heavily. My heart was beating so fast. It was ready to explode. Everything was ready to explode.

"You're so loud! Just be quiet! I can't think straight!"

I could hardly hold it in anymore. The more I tried, the more it flowed out. My fingers trembled on his chest as it began to spill over.

"Why..? Why can't you leave me alone? I did nothing to you!" I said. "Every time you mocked me, pushed me around, and threatened me, I held everything back. I did what I always did. But why... Why can't I do it anymore?!"

I finally looked at Bakugo. Embedded on his face was an expression of surprise and confusion.

"The way you talk, the way you act, the way you pick on people, the way you refuse to acknowledge others' feelings, the way you immediately attack anyone for defending themselves..."

I stared him dead in the eyes.

"How do you expect to be a hero like that?!"

"...What do you know about being a hero?" he rasped, grabbing me. "You don't know a fuckin' thing about me, so don't try actin' high and mighty. I don't need to hear your preachy bullshit."

"And you don't know anything about me either!" I snapped.

"You're a nosy, little, rat that's always gettin' into my fuckin' business."

I felt anger rise up in my chest. I wanted to punch him so badly.

"Shut up... Shut the hell up!" I exclaimed, pulling his face up closer. "You're the one always getting in my damn business! To everyones! Why can't you realize that not everyone is gifted? Not everyone is strong like you! I'm not like you!"

My gaze hardened.

"You're a terrible person, Bakugo," I said, with venom dripping with every word that rolled off my tongue. "Midoriya shouldn't have saved you."

Immediately after saying those last lines, regret washed over me. Bakugo propelled me backward with an explosion. As he staggered up, a dark shadow casted over his face. Smoke fumed out of his hands. I thought Bakugo was going to hit me again, but he instead walked away.

I sat on the cement in silence. I was so much in my own world that I didn't even notice the tall man that had appeared in front of Bakugo. The sounds of Bakugo's explosions echoed in my ear. I watched as the man smoothly dodge his attack. He sent Bakugo flying with a heavy punch.

The stranger walked over to me. Gazing up, I saw that a man around my Dad's age was standing in front of me. He had sunken, gray eyes with very pale skin. His black hair was messily pulled back into a half ponytail. He wore a white shirt with a maroon blazer. An armor of bone covered his right fist. His sleeves were rolled up to expose a tattoo of a viper with knives embedded into it. It was the same tattoo as my Dad's.

The feeling he emitted made me feel sick. This man was dangerous.

"You're Ryu's kid, aren't you?" the man spoke. "My name is Kiyoshi. I'm an old friend of his. Let me cut to the chase."

He pulled me up to my feet. Gripping my hoodie, he leaned down.

"I need to have a little conversation with him, for old time's sake. You know, man-to-man. Friend-to-friend. Tell me where he is."

I didn't reply. I didn't even look at him. Instead, my eyes were settled on Bakugo who was on the ground. He was trying his best to stand up but the blow he received him Kiyoshi was painful. He was clutching his stomach.

The attacker noticed that I was distracted. He let go of me. Walking over to Bakugo, he roughly lifted him up.

"Let go!" Bakugo demanded, smoke fuming from his palms. Kiyoshi punched him in the gut again preventing the blonde from activating his quirk. Then dragging him over to me, he said,

"I watched the little fight you had with your buddy. Seems like you get along great."

"S-screw...off!" Bakugo grimaced.

He peered over to Bakugo.

"You're a lively one, aren't you? You seem more like Ryu's kid than his actual kid, but you don't look like him at all," he remarked, chuckling. Turning back to me, he said, "I've been keeping an eye on you for a while along with your brother. Your brother's quirk is the same as his father's, so I imagine that it'll be just as strong. But for you..."

Bakugo tried to escape again and, he elbowed him in the same spot. Salvia spits out of his mouth, and I stiffened.

"Your quirk is a curious case, isn't it?" he said, his eyes glimmering in the darkness. "You certainly didn't inherit your father's quirk or your mother's. It doesn't look like a combination either. So, if you didn't inherit either of your parent's quirks or receive a fusion of the two... Then what could have possibly happened?"

"What...what are you saying...?" I quietly said. "I don't even know what my quirk is."

"But I do. I've seen that quirk before."

"...What?"

A relaxed smile appeared on his face. Reaching into his red blazer, he pulled out a syringe. It was full of orange liquid. I stared at him cautiously. Seeing my tensed reaction, he spun the syringe in his fingers playfully.

"Hm. Seems like you recognize this," he remarked. "I would think so. You were present at the attack nearly two weeks ago, after all."

My eyes nervously scanned my surroundings. We were at the edge of the neighborhood. There were a few houses but they were a distance away. Maybe if I yell really loud, they'll hear me. But again, no one came out when Bakugo and I got into a fight. My phone wasn't in my pockets since Bakugo threw it on the floor but even if he didn't, I doubt that I could call the police in time.

What am I supposed to do? I need to get away from him.

"I can you where your quirk came from," he suddenly said.

Hearing that, my eyes snapped onto him.

"I can tell you everything about it," he spoke. "But before I do..."

His deep, gray eyes froze me in place. I felt the intense aura get stronger. He held out the syringe to me.

"You have to inject him with this."

Hearing that, Bakugo immediately piped up. He began to wriggle in his grasp. That only caused him to get socked again. Kiyoshi sighed tiredly.

"I respect your spirit, kid, but it's getting a bit old."

His steely eyes peering to me, he waited for me to take the syringe.

"Why... Why should I do it?" I asked.

"Isn't it simple?" he replied. "You want to obtain something that I have information about. Don't you want to know the truth about your quirk? And once you do find out what it is, I can show you how to use it. How to master it. Then... I'll help you take revenge on all those people who have wronged you."

"What? Are you gonna cry? Your big brother isn't coming! If you tell him about this, I'll beat him until he can't move any more! I smash his face in!"

"You're a nosy, little, rat that's always gettin' into my fuckin' business."

That's right. I've been a victim my whole life whether it was to bullies or villains. I'm tired of being useless. I'm tired of pretending. I want to fight back.

I've had enough.

I began to reach over toward the syringe. I grabbed it from his hands.

"You damn bastard!" Bakugo exclaimed angrily.

A satisfied smile spread across Kiyoshi's lips. I gazed over at Bakugo in disdain.

I don't want to see your face ever again.

Kiyoshi held him down as Bakugo struggled to escape. As the needle began to inch near his neck, the events from our detention ago flashed in my head. The image of his trembling foot. His body tipping over toward the edge. My hands stretching out and clutching his back.

Why did I catch him..?

"Get your damn hands off of me!" Bakugo screeched.

Why didn't let him go?

"I swear to God! I'll kill you!"

Why did I save him?

Bakugo stared at me with eyes full of frustration, anger, and...

I can't do this.

And just as quickly as I grabbed him that day, just as quickly I realized how wrong it was, I swerved the needle away from his neck and stabbed it into Kiyoshi's arm.