Koge glanced up at the darkening sky as she delicately adjusted the assorted bouquet of flowers, placed with care in the crumbling arms of a statue. Discarded long ago, the figure of a woman had been standing in this same spot for over twenty years. Although she was missing her head and a portion of her right shoulder, her arms were frozen in a cradling position, though whatever child or item she had been carrying had crumbled and broken apart to be unrecognizable. Now, the arms of the statue served as the resting place for Koge's tribute, which she changed out any time the flowers showed signs of wilting.

This statue served as an important detail during her relationship with Bakugou. It was the place they always met up and even was the only witness to their first kiss. Koge wasn't sure why she picked this statue to place the flowers instead of the stone that had been placed in the graveyard for him. Though, she did dream of coming to place flowers here one day to find him waiting for her, or for the flowers to be with him at her doorstep. Stupid and childish, she knew better than to ever share this with anyone, even too ashamed to tell Nene.

Now, with fresh flowers, the statue looked more alive. She knew that if Bakugou knew she was leaving flowers like this, he would think it was stupid, and for a moment she thought she could hear him chastising her behind the clacking of horse hooves as a carriage passed her by.

"Are you ready to go home, Nene?" Koge addressed her friend, who was standing beside her, waiting patiently. Nene smiled, adjusting a cloth bag on her shoulder that held her shopping from that day. "If you are. Those flowers look lovely. You picked more this time?"

"Yes. I just thought it would be nice." After fixing one more flower into place, Koge turned to leave, ignoring the odd stares she was getting from passersby. Nene followed, her petticoats swaying with her dramatic turn. "It's wonderful. Do you have any plans for next week? For the statue?"

Koge tilted her head to the side a bit as she thought. "I haven't really thought about it. I don't think I'll do anything really huge… Just keep up my routine."

The one year anniversary of Bakugou's disappearance went by without any changes, followed by another three months. Every day was just as dark and grey in Koge's mind as they always had been, though some were admittedly darker than others. One of the worst was on a bright and sunny day, where Koge came to the statue only to find that it was gone, the dead flowers left trampled on the ground. Someone had complained, she had been told, that the statue was ugly and a nuisance. Another side of the story was that someone thought her flowers were a part of a ritual, saying that supernatural things had been occuring in their home since she began putting them there.

So, another piece of him had been ripped away, but there was nothing she could do about it. The rest of that day was spent at home, sitting on her bed with the flowers beside her. She had no appetite, wanted no visitors and allowed the beautiful day to pass by in a blur. Having slept through most of it, she woke in darkness, sitting up from bed to look at the window. It's night already? Great, now I won't sleep.

Sighing in frustration, she rubbed her face before crawling out of bed, shuffling her chilled body over to the window. Pulling back the curtains, she looked out into the dark streets, which were only illuminated by occasional torches. The flickering flames created an ominous glow, though it was nothing Koge wasn't used to. Sneaking out at night had been the norm at one point, as that was the only way her and Bakugou would be alone while he wanted to keep their relationship quiet. Life long friends or not, the son of a wealthy politician dating a lower class maids daughter wasn't exactly socially acceptable.

Restless and feeling caged from her day long self induced confinement, Koge dressed herself in a simple light dress and heavy wool coat, slipping her ice cold feet into some flats. As silently as she could without waking anyone, she made her way outside, only momentarily startled by the barking of a nearby dog. Silently cursing at herself, she began to make her way down the street, hugging her coat to her body tightly. There was no other sound besides her own footsteps, lulling her mind into fanciful daydreams and thoughts. Occasionally, she would walk past the random street whore or bar that was loud with drunken excitement, but otherwise there were very few people out.

She wasn't sure how long she wandered the streets, but when her feet began to ache, she decided that it was time to return home. Looking up to get her bearings, she thought for a moment that she saw the flutter of a black cloak round the corner in front of her. Huh… I hadn't heard or noticed anyone walking in front of me… Odd. Deciding it must have just been her eyes playing tricks on her, she continued down her decided path.

Come to think of it… I have seen people in dark cloaks around town before. Ever since I was little… I guess I just never really thought about it. I always just thought they were travelers. As she rounded the same corner where she thought she had seen the figure, she came to a stop, a bit shocked to see the dark figure just standing there. With its back to her, it seemed to be messing with something in its hands, but that isn't what struck her as truly odd. Even with a cloak, the way this person stood and moved was so familiar to her, with obvious bad posture and rough gestures.

"Damn it! Fucking belt…"

Koge's entire body went ice cold as the voice reached her ears. Although it was quiet, there was no doubt in her mind.

K… Katsuki? It's…

With an audible click of his tongue, the figure moved more into the light of a torch, body turned just a bit as he continued to fumble with a piece of his clothing. Locks of wild spiked ash blonde hair was visible poking out of the hood, and the side of his face was unmistakable.

Koge didn't even take a moment to think before she ran towards him, only gaining his attention when she called out his name. She barely recognized the shock that crossed his face as she launched herself at him, catching him off balance and sending them both onto the hard stone beneath their feet. Landing on top of him, she ignored his yelp of shock, clutching onto him with all her strength. "Katsuki, I knew you weren't dead!" She sat up, sitting square on his stomach keeping her grip on his vest tight, tears pouring down her face. "Where were you? What happened?"

"K-Koge… You have to get off me…"

"Huh?" Through her blurry vision, she finally noticed the expression on his face, an intense and horrified grimace that made her racing heart stop. "Katsuki…? What's wrong?" Leaning forward a bit, she brought her right hand up to caress his cheek, though he was quick to clench his eyes shut and turn his head away. "Koge, get off me! I can't do this!" His entire body was trembling beneath her, snatching onto her upper arms with an intense amount of strength. Koge winced a bit, but didn't budge, tugging at his clothing a bit that was still in her grip.

"Please, tell me what's wrong-" She squealed as he flipped them over, pinning her down beneath him. Bakugou was breathing heavily now, his face buried in the crook of her neck as he brought a hand up to cover her mouth. He was so ravaged with emotions and urges that he didn't know what to do. It was agonizing, wanting to do everything to her ranging from kissing, to fucking, to killing her by sinking his teeth into her flesh and ripping her apart with his claws. He could hear and feel her pulse, his lips barely resting against her pale skin as he fought to control himself.

Although her mouth was covered and she could not speak, Koge reached up to gently run her fingers through his hair, kissing his palm sweetly. The sensitive gesture snapped Bakugou back into focus, noticing everything else about her that had been overshadowed by his immediate instincts. The tears that were cascading down her cheeks touched the skin of his hand and his cheek, her breathing ragged and hitching with her silent sobs. She was so much lighter and thinner than he remembered, the energy she radiated sad and hopeless. He had sensed this before and he knew that all of it was his fault. And yet, she showed no resentment towards him.

Lifting his head up from her neck, Bakugou finally locked his gaze with hers, sliding his hand from over her mouth to caress her cheek. "Koge… You weren't ever supposed to see me…" Trying to suck in breath behind her sobbing, Koge placed her hand over his, only just realizing how cold his skin was against hers. "K-Katsuki, please- please come back to me. I-I can't do this, I need you!"

"I can't come back."

"Why-!" Her loud outburst was silenced by his lips, kissing her with a fierce and longing passion that she immediately matched. But, just as it had begun, it was cut short, Bakugou having to pull himself away as her taste overwhelmed him. He loved her so much, and yet, this new animal inside him just wanted to devour her. He couldn't bare the thought.

"Don't try to look for me!" Bakugou ripped himself from her, standing. "You'll just end up dead!"

"Katsuki, wait!" Koge tried to reach out for him, but with a blink of her eyes, he was gone. Not a single trace was left of him, besides the throbbing of her arms and the tingling of her lips. Sobbing openly, Koge hugged herself, leaning forward until her forehead was pressed into the muddy stone of the road. "I'm already dead! I'm dead without you, Katsuki!" The pain in her chest became so severe that she struggled to breathe, clutching onto the front of her dress as she collapsed over onto her side. Cold darkness began to fall upon her, crushing her under a tangible weight that sent her vision and mind into a swirling blackness.

I wish… He would have at least told me he loved me… Just so I would know it's still true…

…

When Koge awoke, she found herself in bed, head pounding and entire body aching as if she had just been run over by a carriage. With a tired groan, she reached up and put a hand to her forehead as she rolled over onto her back. The sun was annoyingly bright behind her white curtains, the sound of people and horses barely reaching her aching ears. It must be midday for there to be that much activity… How long have I been asleep? What happened? Turning away from the window and back onto her side, Koge's blurry vision landed on the crackling fireplace, finally noticing it's warmth. Beside her bed on a small table was a bowl, a rag and some medical bottles that she couldn't quite recognize.

Was she sick? She sure as hell felt like it, though she wasn't entirely sure if she had a fever. Her throat was aching and her mind was fuzzy, but that could have just been from a bad night's sleep. Come to think of it, she couldn't exactly remember going to bed. I… I remember getting up at night time and… going for a walk. And…-

With a sharp gasp, Koge sat up, all of it rushing back to her. Just as she did, her bedroom door opened, Nene gasping as she was startled by seeing Koge sitting up with shock on her face. "Ah, Koge! It's good to see you-"

"Katsuki."

"Huh?" Nene shut the door behind her, walking over to the bed with a confused expression. "What about him?"

"I saw him." Tears welling back up into her eyes, Koge looked up at her friend, just as surprised in her self as Nene looked. "I saw him. I touched him, Nene! He kissed me!" She reached out, taking Nene's hand. "I know I did!"

Nene held Koge's trembling hand tightly, though worry was apparent on her face. "Koge… I… I think you just had a dream. A stranger found you collapsed out in the street two nights ago. You've been out ever since. I think-"

"No, Nene, it wasn't a dream!" Koge's eyes began to well up with tears. "I… I know it wasn't. It was too real. H-he's alive!" She took her hand back, pulling down the sleeve of her shift to look at her upper arms. Sure enough, there were dark bruises around her arm where he had grabbed her, and the other was exactly the same. "He had grabbed me… But he… He was cold. He was like ice. But he was so handsome, more than before he vanished and he smelled… I don't know what he smelled like, but it was just heaven."

Nene gave a small cough to clear her throat, sitting down beside Koge as she took her hand again. "Koge… I want to believe you, but… How is that possible." Koge shook her head, taking in deep breaths to calm herself. "I-I don't know. He told me that… That he can't come back. And that if I look for him I could end up dead." Wiping her cheeks, she looked into the flickering flames coming from her fireplace. "He acted so odd… Like… He couldn't stand to be near me. Like it was painful or just upset him so badly that he couldn't breathe."

"Without any actual proof there's nothing we can do, Koge. You were found alone in the street, unconscious and chilled to the bone. People are already talking that you tried to… that you tried to take your own life again, if you go out and start saying you saw Katsuki-"

"What? People will think I'm crazy?" Koge snapped, taking her hands back from her friend. "Everyone already thinks I'm crazy as it is. I know what I saw and what I felt! This isn't like that other time-"

"It's exactly like that other time." Nene spoke softly to try and keep Koge calm. "You wanted so badly to see him again that you thought you did. It's okay to want him, but-"

"I didn't just see him. I felt him, talked to him! He kissed me!" Koge began to sob, now, distraught and exhausted. "Why didn't he stay with me, Nene… Why…" Leaning forward, she rested against her friend, clutching onto her for some sense of support and comfort. Nene held her close, stroking her hair gently as she rocked her from side to side. How could she possibly agree with such an outlandish claim?

Unless… He really did go into that forest… And the rumors are true.

"It's okay, Koge… We'll figure this out… Okay?"