Rui sat on her bed, staring at the flowers Katsuki had left for her- the sun glistening off of the plastic wrapped around the stems.
'I really should thank him...'
She reached for her phone, skimming through her list of contacts before finding his- only to hesitate as she recalled what happened the last time she had seen him.
"K-Katsuki, y-you're awake...!"
"Going somewhere?"
Rui's chest tightened. "I-I have to leave now, Katsuki... I'm sorry, I wanted to wait until you woke up, but I-"
"Bull crap! You were just going to leave again without saying goodbye, weren't you?!"
Rui backed away as he advanced on her.
"Why is it that Deku knows what's going on before I do?!" Katsuki demanded- the desperation, hurt, and confusion strong as they muddled together with his words. "Do I not matter enough to you to at least get a goodbye?!"
"T-That's not true, Katsuki! I wanted to say goodbye! I didn't want to leave like I had to before!"
"Rui, I want you to stay..." Katsuki said, grasping her arms and looking down at her as his brow furrowed. "Please... don't leave me behind again..."
Rui's tears slipped free and her breath caught in her throat as he leaned forward to kiss her, but before he could, she put her hand up to his lips and shook her head. "I'm so sorry..."
Rui sighed, setting her phone back down. 'What am I going to do...?'
She had wanted so badly to stay, to tell him that she loved him, to be with him and with her friends, to live a happy life the way she chose to, and she had promised her mother that she would do just that. But she still felt guilty about not noticing her mother's struggling sooner, for not coming straight home when she called to tell her what happened, for not saying goodbye the way she had intended on, for keeping Katsuki in the dark about how she felt about him, and for rejecting him.
'He tried to kiss me...' she recalled, her heart sinking even further than it had already. 'Why would he do that...? Unless... does Katsuki have feelings for me...?'
Rui put her face in her hands and groaned.
'Why does love have to be so complicated...?'
Sighing, Rui made her way downstairs and sat on the couch, flipping through the channels on the TV. A lot of it was just typical cooking, game, or anime shows, but she froze when she saw the local news station's breaking news story.
'Oh my god...!'
"We are live at the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall where the Police Force has temporarily closed down the mall in order to find Tomura Shigaraki, the leader of the League of Villains- along with the help of our local Heroes. However, after nearly an hour of searching, Shigaraki's whereabouts remain unknown. The call was placed by Ochaco Uraraka, a student attending U.A. High School, upon seeing her classmate, Izuku Midoriya, in the company of the villain as his hostage. Thanks to Izuku Midoriya's careful actions, collateral damage was kept to a minimum and no lives were lost. As a result of today's events, which is already being called 'The Hero Incident', the Police Force has decided to create a special task force in response to the League of Villains's actions."
As the reporter continued to drone on with what little information they still had, Rui grabbed her phone and called Izuku.
'Come on, come on, come on...!'
No answer. Rui tried a few more times, but still no answer. She dialed her uncle, hoping that he would have some answers.
"Rui, now really isn't a good time."
"Just please tell me that everyone is alright?"
"I see you've heard about the incident."
"I just saw the news report. I tried to call Izuku, but I can't get through."
"He's making a statement with the police. Don't worry, Rui, everyone is fine; just a bit shaken."
"Thank goodness..."
"I need to go, Rui, but I'll be home as soon as I can."
"OK, see you later." Rui hung up the phone, then dialed Mina.
Katsuki sat back with some of the others from his class as the police interviewed everyone about The Hero Incident. Izuku had been by himself when Tomura had approached him, and Ochaco had found them with Tomura's arm around him, but that was it. Everyone else from their class had gone off to do their own thing and get what they needed, so no one else saw anything. Not even the passersby had seen anything out of the ordinary.
Normally, Katsuki would be angry and bored, but his mind was elsewhere.
It had been nearly two days since he had seen Rui last and they hadn't spoken at all- given that she was passed out the whole way home.
'I wonder how she's doing...'
Katsuki glanced over at Mina as her phone rang and he heard Rui's name. 'She's calling Pinky?'
As he listened in on Mina's part of the conversation, he surmised that Rui had heard about the incident and was checking in to make sure everyone was alright. He sighed and leaned his head back to look up at the sky.
'Why do I get the feeling I won't see her again..?'
He glanced over at Mina as she finished her call and turned to the others who came up to her. He could hear them asking if Rui was OK and Mina's assurance that she was and just wanted to make sure that they were all safe and unharmed.
The way Mina talked about Rui, the way she had always talked about Rui and even how she interacted with her, made Katsuki feel a bit jealous. Mina and Rui had grown rather close in such a short time and he envied them for it. But his own anger, stupidity, stubbornness, and selfishness got in the way of him being able to have that with Rui.
"Damn it..."
Not long after Shota returned home, the family attorney stopped by to pay them a visit. They sat in the living room, going over the contents of Isane's will, where it was revealed that Isane had named Shota as Rui's legal guardian and left a substantial inheritance for Rui- money that apparently she and Hiro had been saving up from the day they had learned they were expecting Rui up until Isane's death.
Rui sat on the couch, processing the new information as Shota showed the attorney out and thanked him for his time.
"Kiddo, you alright?"
"Yeah, it's just..." Rui looked up at Shota as he came to sit down next to her once more. "Mom and Dad saved up all that money just for me?"
"Hiro and Isane wanted to make sure that you had enough for when you came of age and set foot out on your own. I knew they were saving, but I didn't realize it was this much."
"I'll be able to afford a nice place in the city with that kind of money. And it would more than cover my expenses until I could find work." Rui thought aloud.
"What are you thinking, kiddo?"
"Well... I still need to clear out our place before the lease is up next month, and get the rest of Mom's affairs in order."
"What about after?"
"After? I'm not sure..." Rui sighed. "I know you said I'm welcome to stay here with you, but you have enough to worry about and I've been pretty independent most of my life, so maybe I should look at getting a place of my own..."
"Are you sure this is what you want?"
"No, but I'm not sure of a lot of things lately." Rui looked at him and tried to offer him a smile. "I do think it is the best option given the situation right now."
Shota chuckled. "You are so much like your father that it's uncanny sometimes."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Rui replied, giggling a bit.
A few moments of silence passed before Shota spoke next, "When will you leave again?"
Rui sighed. "Tomorrow, I think. The sooner I can get back home, the more time I will have to take care of everything." She glanced up at him. "Plus, you're leaving for the training camp tomorrow, anyway, so it'll work out."
"Well, then, tonight let's enjoy our time together."