"Uh, h-hey." Katsuki knelt down and retrieved the pencil, passing the utensil to Ashido, who was still nearly frozen.
"Hey…"
How long had it been since she'd spoken to him directly like this? And would this blush quit it already?
"Are you…busy?" His eyes darted to the various books on her desk.
"What? Oh- n-no! Um…!" Mina took notice and quickly retreated to close up her things, coming back to the door. "I'm not busy."
Just then, two of her notebooks fell to the floor gloriously, Ashido doing her best to maintain eye contact, but jumped and gulped at the mishap.
Still a goofball, huh? Bakugo closed his eyes, and chuckled.
"Cool." And nothing more. Taking the invitation into her quarters, Bakugo walked inside, and Mina closed the door behind him.
"How have you been?"
Just asking that question seemed like a mistake. Mina sat on her bed stiff as a board, playing with her fingers while watching Katsuki, who was much more comfortable in her desk chair.
"Not bad."
"G-good. Good…"
The two were plunged into silence once more.
"Speak up, you idiot!" she was mentally kicking herself, and he could see that. He supposed he could throw the young lady a bone.
"I, uh— heh..." Bakugo scratched his nose, fabricating a story to tell. "I walked by that cafe you always liked the other day. It reminded me of you."
"B-Butter Biscuits!?" Her face lit up, Ashido leaning forward.
"'Not all heroes wear capes—'"
"'But they all love our biscuits~'"
He always hated that cheesy line, shaking his head in disgust as he shared a laugh with Mina.
It caused the butterflies in her stomach to erupt with passion. She'd caught his gaze for a moment, before looking away swiftly.
"Are...are you doing something different with your hair?" Her eyes widened with shock, an undeserved fluster littering her face. "It's longer than usual." He noticed, how thoughtful and cute.
"I-I'm gonna cut it back down. I've just been so lazy an—"
"You should keep it."
She begged for him to let up on...whatever it was he was doing to her. She felt bubbly, like she'd explode. Maybe it was a part of his quirk.
"Okay…" Another smile found its way to her face. It'd been so long, her cheeks began to hurt. Mina strummed the ends of her hair, twirling it with a finger.
"Oh— the cafe." Katsuki snapped his fingers, getting back on topic. "I dunno'...rrgh, dammit. What I'm trying to ask is..."
The delight on her face was her answer, and Bakugo was glad to see.
"I'd love that."
It could've taken a year, and the pink young lady would have looked forward to this still. But the chime of Butter Biscuits' doorbell would ring at the end of next week. The pair took their seats like professionals, their stomach coaching them to fulfill their foodie desires.
"I haven't been here since your birthday…!" Ashido adored that delectable aroma in the air, beautiful orbs beaming to the menu.
"S-seriously? That was ages ago…" It was a good thing she could have a change in scenery. "That was a good day."
She wondered if he was referring to the many wonderful things that came with birthdays, such as gifts and celebration, or the pleasures great girlfriends like herself delivered after hours. It was probably the former, as she'd lost the latter title. But she needed to do away those thoughts.
Just push them out of her mind, and work on mending things with—
"You go on and order, I'm gonna take a leak."
He'd hardly even sat in his seat to begin with, Bakugo halfway to the men's room already.
...was this real? Mina had begun to question herself, but more so Katsuki's inviting her to lunch. What was this? He hadn't even addressed her infidelity, and truthfully, she wished he would. Anything was better than sweeping things under the rug like this.
"Alright, I'll get to'em! Just get off my back…!"
The fuss in the back kitchen pulled her out of her daze, but only for a moment. Still, she was glad to be talking to him again. But if this was just some 'we can still be friends' effort, then Mina wasn't satisfied. Maybe Uraraka could, but Mina couldn't 'just be friends' with Bakugo after experiencing a relationship with him. She wanted more than that, she needed it.
"Maybe I should bring it up when he gets back..." She muttered under her breath, looking at her reflection in her glass.
"Sorry about that!" A waiter who was offly fast on their feet rushed to the side of their table, still straightening herself out by the look of it. "Hi, my name's Mito and I'll be—"
"S-shit!" Mina's face contorted in confusion, sudden shock nearly shaking this woman. "Then that guy with the blonde hair was…!"
"I-is everything…?" Ashido started, but for a moment, she was captivated. This woman's eyes, they were two different colors. How fascinating.
"My, excuse me! If I'm being honest, you're very pretty miss~" The waiter composed herself, and could at least breathe with the alleviation of the suspicion she'd caused, Mina taken aback by the compliment.
"Oh, t-thank you! I really appreciate that." What a gentle laugh. And she was so affectionate. Was she seriously that hothead's…? "I was afraid there was something on my face for a second."
"No, not at all. Anywho, I'll be taking your orders today." Mito quickly wrote her name down on a folded napkin, stylishly at that. "Was that man in the bathroom your—?"
"Friend, yes."
Interesting, to say the least. She'd play along.
"Gotcha. Welp, I'll give you a few minutes to order, but I'll start you off with an appetizer. And no worries, our starters are on the house~"
"Oh wow, thanks!" She didn't remember that rule before, but Mina would never turn down free food. But my, what beautiful eyes that woman had! Mina was sure she got asked about them a lot, but temptation knocked on the doors of Ashido's mind.
Bakugo also knocked. Where was he?
...in the bathroom. Yes, Katsuki was still in the bathroom, splashing his face and trying to clear his head.
"What the hell am I doing here…?" He growled. 'Break the mold', he felt weak and as though he'd crawled back to her. Thousands of questions and demands stood at the precipice of his tongue, but they'd leap with toxicity and rage if he so much as talked about it.
Timid. She was so timid, and he hated it. He still hated Mina.
"At least own the knife you stabbed me with with pride dammit…" He gripped the edge of the sink before gazing into his own reflection again. It was all over his face. He needed to clear up this ugly expression before back out there. Before exploding.
Bakugo exited the bathroom, walking slowly back to the beautiful young lady patiently waiting for him. A few more people had come in since they arrived, a sign he was in the bathroom for far too long.
But there was this immovable object, this force that caught him off guard. A solemn hand gripped his shoulder with intensity, and Katsuki turned to dart at the waiter who he couldn't seem to recognize during his quick scan of the restaurant when they arrived.
"I'll only say this once." This woman's voice, it—
"The yellow car. Don't miss it."
"Y-you're-!" By the time Bakugo would even turn, the woman was gone, and all there lay now was a sea of busy waiters and waitresses. But there was no mistake. He's gotten acquainted with that voice some time ago.
What worried him more, however, was the cryptic message. Katsuki looked past his date to the window behind her as he approached, scouting out every car in view.
"S-sorry, I—"
"No! Don't be...!" Ashido was quick to offer the table biscuits they were given while he was gone, patiently waiting without any complaints.
Bakugo composed himself while taking a seat. He watched out the window while taking small bites, but there weren't any yellow cars. Not for a hundred miles. Not to mention, many cars were yellow- service vehicles like taxis especially.
"Katsuki."
Bakugo snapped out of his trance, slowly looking down to Ashido. Had she been talking this whole time?
"Did you say somethin'?"
"Everything...ok?" She tilted her head.
"Yeah...yeah, I'm just—"
"Hungry?" Mina finished, before captivating the blonde with a wonderful smile. Her voice was much softer than usual, it made it hard to focus on anything other than her. She pushed her plate forward, and offered her appetizer. "Here, have some. A lunch takes two people, y'know~"
"That...was really good." Ashido released a satisfying breath after patting down her lips, before greeting their newly-assigned waiter with a cheerful face and positive feedback. It was a shame, she thought, as she'd never got to talk about the woman's eyes.
But Bakugo couldn't care less about that, simply nodding and looking past Mina once again and out the window. "Where...where…!?" He thought, before his view of the bustling streets was once again intercepted.
"Bakugo."
Katsuki was brought back to reality once again, but a pleasant face wasn't here to greet him this time around.
"Heh, I'm starting to think this was an obligation for you..." Ashido placed her hands in her lap, glancing away.
"No! It's not like that!" Bakugo quickly leaned forward, taking a soft hand into his own.
"Y'know Bakugo, if you don't forgive me, that's one thing. But don't go and get my hopes up."
There was a tick that resounded in the air. Maybe it was because of all the chatter and white noise, but it sounded like a pin drop. Perhaps if it was quieter, one could hear it…
...of course, that wasn't true at all. Because the pin that dropped was the only lock on Bakugo's anger, and it had begun to spill.
A chuckle. A backhanded chuckle was what greeted Mina next.
"...'get your hopes up'?"
Katsuki couldn't help but arch a brow in confusion, vile thoughts spilling out of his mind.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know I had to cater to your needs." He spat.
"What's that supposed to mean?" A mixture of sadness and anger didn't do her eyes justice, he thought. But with each passing moment, he was beginning to care less and less. "You invited me out to lunch…!"
"Then cut me some slack, dammit! We're on my terms now, so—"
"Y-your 'terms'!?" Now it was the white noise that began to be drowned out.
"Yes Mina, my terms! And you wanna know how you get that!?" Bakugo stood from his seat, an overbearing and intimidating force making Ashido feel small.
"I'm sure as hell not giving you the opportunity, because we're done."
Mina narrowed her eyes in pain. Her lips quivered, whatever words she wanted to muster up refusing to come out. She yanked her hand from his, and rubbed it as he'd clenched a bit hard.
"I dunno' why the hell I still think about you when you just—"
The glare, in the corner of his eye.
"'I just' what?" Ashido demanded, tears beginning to spill down her face.
Katsuki's gaze into Mina's orbs slid across her face, and once more out the glass, beaming the pristine shine of the yellow taxi cab cruising by.
But Bakugo was captivated by the gleam of the small blue beads, which were flung out of the cracked window.
His gaze focused— he'd seen those before.
"Answer me! W-what the fuck are you looking at!?" Mina then turned to look at just what the hell was more fascinating than she must've been.
"Now watch carefully…" Compress sat back down in his seat, Toga and a hooded figure following instructions.
"...as one driver…" The magician's fingers pressed together with precision.
"...meets their demise."
*snap* went his fingers...
"Down, now!"
Nearly shouting his lungs out, Bakugo pulled Ashido over the table, as canisters of oozing oil spawned in the middle of the street like magic. He wouldn't wait for the unfortunate soul to inevitably swerve and crash into them, kicking the table on it's side for a pseudo-barricade.
After pressing Mina's head into his chest, everything else was a blur...
A catastrophic blur.
Writer's Note: I'm going to sit on this chapter for a while, and finish Wrath, which directly ties into this story. More on that soon!