Rui and Shota visited for another hour before Shota went on his way. Rui set aside the remaining dorayaki- her and her uncle having devoured nearly all of them- and cleaned the plate before grabbing a sweater and heading across the street to Katsuki's house.

She knocked on the door, smiling as Masaru greeted her. "Hello, Mr. Bakugo, I wanted to return the plate Mitsuki sent over with the dorayaki."

"Oh, thank you, Rui. Would you like to come in?"

"Sure, if that's alright?"

"Of course, please."

"Is that Rui I hear?" Mitsuki called from upstairs. "How was the dorayaki?"

"It was delicious. My uncle and I nearly finished it all."

"I have more if you'd like!"

"I think I'm good, but thank you."

"My dorayaki can't be the only thing that brought you by." Mitsuki teased as she came down the stairs. "Are you here for Katsuki?"

"Yeah, we're supposed to go to the park for a bit."

"I see. Well, he's in his room right now, I can go get him if you'd like?"

"No need, Mom."

"Ah, Katsuki, perfect timing! Look who's here!"

"Hey."

Rui offered him a smile. "Hey. You ready to go?"

"Yeah." Katsuki turned to his parents as he pulled on his jacket. "I'll be back later."

"Alright, sweetie, just make sure you have your phone and your keys."

"I got 'em."

"Have fun you two and stay safe!"

"Yeah, yeah, see you later."

Rui bowed to his parents before stepping outside and she chuckled as Katsuki closed the door behind them.

"What's so funny?"

"You're so different from your parents, even as much as you look like your mother."

"Tch, whatever."

Rui chuckled again at the tone he used, glad to hear the sarcasm again over the irritation.

They walked a few blocks to the nearby park and Rui beamed as the memories started to come back.

"Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit!"

Katsuki smirked as she trotted over to the swing set and sat down, kicking herself gently into motion. He joined her at the swing set, leaning against the structure as he watched her.

"So what else did you want to talk about?" Rui asked after a few moments.

"I wanted to make sure we were good. You know... before you left."

Rui brought her swinging to a slow halt. "Yeah, me too..." She gazed up at the stars as they twinkled overhead. "I don't want to go, but..."

"You need to be there for your mom."

"Yeah..."

"Is everything going OK with her? You sounded pretty worried when you were on the phone with her earlier."

"She got hurt and was taken to the hospital, but she's OK and just got home before I came over."

"Must not have been too serious, then."

"I mean, she was grazed by a bullet on her way home from the store, but she got lucky. I'm just glad she's alright."

"Are you going home earlier than planned?"

"No, Mom said she was fine and insisted that I stay until I'm scheduled to leave."

"When are you leaving?"

"Sunday evening. My train home leaves at 6pm on the dot."

"Good, so then we have time."

"Time for what?"

"Time for you to say a proper goodbye this time, to everyone. That and I still owe you dinner."

Rui smiled at that. "Yes, you do." Then, thinking back on something Mina had said before at the movie theater, she really started blushing. "Kacchan, I-"

*bzzz bzzz bzzz... bzzz bzzz bzzz...*

Rui was cut off by the sound of Katsuki's phone vibrating in his pocket and she waited patiently as he took out his phone.

"It's Kirishima. He's probably freaking out about tomorrow."

"Go ahead and take it." Rui said, offering him a smile. She stood and wandered about the park playground a bit while Katsuki talked with Eijiro, sighing as she tapped a stone out of her path. 'It seems like there's always something that gets in the way whenever I try to tell him how I feel... maybe it is best after all that I don't say anything...'

"Sorry." Katsuki said, joining her.

"Eijiro worried about exam stuff?"

"Yeah, he asked if I could come over and help him cram for tomorrow."

"You should go ahead, sounds like he could really use the help."

Katsuki watched her a moment or two. "I told him I was busy and it could wait a bit."

Rui sighed, a soft smile present as she stepped closer to him. "Kacchan, it's OK. We can always talk later. Your friend needs you." She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close for a moment.

Katsuki was surprised by the hug and hesitated for a moment before returning her embrace. When he did, he noticed that she smelled of cherries and peaches with a hint of jasmine. He looked down at Rui as she set herself back on her feet, his hands resting on her hips.

"You should get going before it gets too late." Rui said, blushing a bit as his hands came to rest on her hips. "Be sure to let your mother know, OK?"

"Yeah, sure." Katsuki watched as she stepped back and started making her way towards the park entrance. 'Damn it..! Stupid Kirishima..!' But he knew it wasn't Eijiro's fault, it was his own for letting her go again without saying what he needed to say. 'Why does it never seem like the right time to say anything to her..?'

While he sent his mother a quick message to let her know he was going over to Eijiro's place, Rui felt her shoulders sinking the further and further she got away from Katsuki.

'Damn it, Rui... you need to tell him... tell him how you feel... tell him that you... that you love him...'

She quickly made it back home and shut herself inside, sinking to the floor with her back to the door. 'I wonder how Mom and Dad felt when they first started seeing each other...'