"Hey Kirigaya. Some of us are going to the pool before dinner. Wanna join us?" I looked up from the book I had been reading. Kaminari was leaning over the back of the couch grinning at me.
"I don't know. Does 'some of us' include just you and a bunch of girls?" I teased him.
"He wishes," Jirou interrupted before he could answer. "It's going to be the Bakusquad though. You should join us," she finished.
"Come on, Jirou! I was gonna tell her that!"
I chuckled and marked my spot in the book before closing it. "Sure, sounds like fun. Give me a sec to grab my bag." I stood up and made my way upstairs to my room.
It has been about a month since I became a member of Class 3A, and things are moving along smoothly. Nezu accepted the explanation that most of my records from the US are lost in transit. Of course, this meant I was to be watched closely by Aizawa and the other teachers, but that's to be expected.
I have managed to successfully weasel my way into the Bakusquad. Despite his initial protests, Bakugou eventually admitted that I am not so bad to keep around. This had surprised everyone around us but me. After all, I am his daughter. Even if this is the younger version of Dad, we still click in a way the others can't. Besides maybe him and Kirishima.
As per the agreement with Aizawa, I attend weekly therapy sessions (ugh). The raven-haired hero had convinced the principal to hire on a therapist for the entire school (long overdue if you ask me). Anyone can schedule an appointment, but every Friday during hero studies is designated for me.
Did I protest the timing? Hell yeah, I did! I have already gotten questions about it from the squad! It does not make sense for me to miss out on a class every. Single. Week. And I brought this up with Aizawa.
"I know it raises eyebrows, but this way I can keep track of your progress," Aizawa had told me. "You said yourself that you had skipped out on sessions whenever given the chance. By making you go during school hours, I can have Mic escort to and from the therapist's office."
Ugh! I hate that he can read me so well!
I guess… the sessions aren't so bad. I don't give any details that would raise suspicions about where I'm from. I don't mention anything that could be searched up and verified. But I do talk about the emotions that I have been bottling up inside. It has been… therapeutic, I guess. I have been holding in the pain and sorrow from watching Daddy die for so long that I forgot what it's like to feel… free of that. I mean, one month's worth of therapy isn't going to fix four months of depression. But it's a start.
Anyway.
I grabbed my gym bag and made sure to pack in my bathing suit, towel, and anything I would need for a shower afterwards. Slinging the bag over my shoulder, I jogged back down to the common room where Jirou and Denki were waiting for me.
"Alright, let's go," I grinned at them.
The three of us made our way to the on-campus pool together. Once there, we changed into our bathing suits and walked out to the others.
"Yo bimbo!" I could see the eye twitch as Bakugou turned around to face me.
"What the fuck did you just call me?"
"Whoops, my bad. I meant bimbro." I smirked as Sero and Denki snickered. "Wanna race? No quirks this time. The others told me about you using explosions to win last time you raced."
"'S not my damn fault you extras can't keep up with my awesome quirk."
"Oh wait, I get it." He narrowed his eyes at me. "You can't swim very quickly, so you use your quirk to overcompensate. Why didn't you just say so? Don't worry, I won't embarrass you. I'll just as Midoriya and Todoroki if they want to race instead." Sero and Denki were laughing their asses off.
I waved and started walking away. 'Explosion in three… two… one…' Right on que, I heard mini explosions going off behind me. I smirked. 'So easy.'
"Get your extra ass back her! I'll swim circles around you!" I paused to look at him over my shoulder.
"Wouldn't I have to be swimming slower than you for that?"
"Kirigaya, please! Mercy!" Denki gasped out between laughter. He and Sero were leaning into each other by now to hold each other up.
"I hear a lot of trash talking but not a lot of swimming, extra." I shrugged and walked over to the end of the pool. Bakugou strutted over to stand next to me.
"Alright, Bakusquad of Class 3A! It's gonna be a race between our very own Bakugou Katsuki and Kirigaya Shigo! Five laps, you two are big boys and can handle it! No quirks, no sabotage, you got it?! I want a good clean race!" The two of us nodded. "Racers, on your mark!" We both crouched down into position. "Get set… Go!"
At Mina's call, we jumped into the water and started swimming quickly. Our squadmates were cheering us on, but I paid them no mind. At the end of the first lap, we did a flip and kicked off the wall at the same time. We were neck and neck for all five laps, and I pushed myself to take the lead after the final flip/kick off. But the stubborn bastard was also starting to push himself.
"It's gonna be close!" Kirishima called. At the same time, we both did a special kick that gave us a boost (he taught it to me). In the end, we touched the end of the pool at the same time.
"It's a tie!" Jirou announced. I smoothed my hair out of my face and smirked at Bakugou.
"Guess you're not so bad, bimbro." He snorted.
"'Course I'm not, ya damn extra."
I only pushed off the wall to float on my back. The other members of the Bakusquad jumped into the pool, and we enjoyed the time off.
After pool time, I walked with Mina and Jirou towards the girls' side of the dorms. We had just finished showering and were going to meet up with the other girls of the class to hang out in Momo's room.
"Hey, Kirigaya! Can I talk to you?" I paused and looked over my shoulder to see Denki approaching us. I turned around fully as Mina and Jirou paused as well.
"Sure, Kaminari. What's up?"
"We have permission to go off campus tomorrow as long as we're back by curfew. You wanna go catch a movie or something?"
"Sure, sounds cool. Did you ask the rest squad, or should we…?" I started, turning back to the girls as if to ask them if they wanted to join us.
"Actually, uh…. I was thinking we go together. You know, alone," he put in.
I'm ashamed of how long it took his words to register in my brain.
"Oh…. Oh! You mean… Oh." Mina and Jirou were snickering behind me, and I ignored them in favor of grinning at Denki. "I mean, that's cool too. We could totally catch a movie."
"Sweet." His grin was as bright as his quirk. "Let's meet up at 12 in the common room."
"Sounds good." I watched him turn around to walk back to the common room before facing the girls again. Mina was grinning mischievously and Jirou was rubbing the back of her head. "What?"
"So, what you gonna wear to your date?" the pinkett asked me. I rolled my eyes and led the way to the elevator.
"It's not a date, Mina. We're just going as friends."
"I'm not so sure about that Shigo," Jirou declared as we rode up to the fifth floor. "I mean, think about it. He wants to spend our day off alone with you. Off campus. Doing what most would call a cliché first date."
"You say that as if friends can't go to the movies together," I scoffed and walked to Momo's room.
"You're just in denial," Mina grinned.
"Who's in denial about what?" Hagakure asked, opening the door before I could even knock on it. I lowered my hand.
"Kaminari asked Shigo out for a date!" Mina said excitedly.
"Not a date," I groaned as I plopped down onto the massive bed.
"It sounded like a date!"
"But it's not!"
"Can you two start over from the top please?" Tsuyu put in before Mina could argue further.
"Yes please. You're not making much sense," Momo pointed out. I sighed and sat up so that Mina and Jirou could also sit down.
"On our way from the showers, Kaminari stopped me to ask if I wanted to go to the movies with him tomorrow. Just the two of us. I agreed, and we're going to meet up downstairs at noon."
The room was silent for a few seconds. I was about to speak up when….
"Kirigaya, that's a date."
The little fuckers! I groaned with frustration.
"It is not! Look Kaminari does not see me that way. He just wants to hang out. He does it with everyone."
"No, Kaminari's idea of a hang out is playing video games in his room. Maybe in the common room. He almost never suggests actually going out with someone alone," Ochako pointed out.
"See, there's a hole in your logic. I see him and Sero going out all the time."
"Yeah, but those two knuckleheads have been denying their attraction to each other since the second part of first year," Hagakure declared.
"You're only proving my point. He likes Sero, not me."
"Kirigaya, he's in denial. Or he is bi. Either way, him dating you is a way to test the waters and explore his options," Momo pointed out.
I only frowned and looked away. He can't like me. This is the month that he and Sero finally starts dating! If I ruin that, then… Kohaku might never be born. And I can never allow that to happen.
"Hey guys. Let's just focus on girls' night," Jirou spoke up.
"Oh fine," Mina sighed, and the others agreed. I smiled at the purple haired girl as the others started gossiping about other topics.
~Line Break~
'What do I wear…?' I thought as I looked through my closet. It was about thirty minutes before I was supposed to meet up with Denki. I wasn't sure what to wear that wouldn't give him the wrong idea.
"You're making this harder than it has to be, Shigo," Mina declared behind me. I huffed softly.
"Shut it, pinky," I grumbled back at her.
She only chuckled and walked over to nudge me out of the way. She pulled out my favorite black ripped jeans, dark red shirt, and jeans jacket.
"Wear that with your red and black high tops. It's casual enough while still making you look absolutely gorgeous."
"Thanks, Mina," I said with a smile, catching the outfit. She waved and left the room, giving me privacy to get dressed. After some thought, I brushed my hair up into a ponytail and tied a ribbon around the hair tie.
When I walked downstairs, Denki was waiting for me already. He was wearing an outfit like his hero costume and one of his many hats. He grinned as I approached him.
"You look awesome, Kirigaya." I smirked at him.
"'Course I do. So do you. Fancy hat you got there." I winked at him, and he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Let's go."
This was one hundred percent a date.
The movie we had gone to see was a horror movie. The jump scares didn't really get to me: Dad loves this movie and watched it with me and Daddy every Halloween (A). I tried to act scared though, which worked. Maybe a little too well: Denki ended up wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
Now we were at an ice cream parlor. I was sitting at the booth we had chosen by the window, waiting for him to grab our orders.
'I really hope I'm just imagining things. I don't want things to get awkward. Nor do I want to erase my partner from existence in the future,' I thought to myself, looking out the window. I need to find a way to nip this thing in the bud.
"And we have sundaes," Denki grinned as he walked over to the booth. He set down our bowls of ice cream sundaes before sitting across from me.
"This looks awesome," I grinned as I picked up my spoon. "Itadakimasu!"
We started eating our sundaes, chatting about the movie. He reached over as if to hold my hand, but I stealthily moved my hand into my lap. I didn't want to lead him on by allowing it. He didn't make another attempt at it, and the problem with Denki's potential feelings slipped my mind.
At least, it did until we got back to the school.
On the walk home, he had bought a single red rose and offered it to me. "A beautiful red rose for a beautiful lady," he had grinned. I was going to deny it, but there were so many people watching us and making a big deal about how romantic he was being. I had to accept it to avoid embarrassing him in front of everyone.
Now we're making our way back to the dorms. The sun was setting, and he was acting nervous. Oh god, I can't do this…. This was exactly how Kohaku had asked me to be their girlfriend….
"Kirigaya, wait." Denki grabbed my hand to stop me from walking inside. My stomach dropped as I turned back around to face him. "I really had a good time today," he told me.
"Yeah, me too. It's really fun hanging out with you," I admitted.
"Maybe we could do it more often. As… maybe more?"
I sighed softly and fully faced him. "Kaminari, I'm flattered really. But I think of you as a friend, that's all. Besides, I have a partner back home."
"Oh," he said softly, disappointment in his eyes.
"Look, it's not what you think. You are very sweet and amazing, and any girl would be lucky to date you. Or rather, any guy would be." A confused look filled his face. I smiled softly. "After all, I've seen how you are with Sero. You two are incredibly close."
Denki blushed lightly. "N-no, it's not like that. Sero's just my best friend." I raised an eyebrow at him, and his blush deepened. "It's n-not like he even l-likes me like that."
"Oh, you adorable dummy," I sighed. 'I see now where Kohaku got it from. Idiocy must be a Kaminari trait.' "Look, Kaminari. The girls said you two have been pining after each other since first year. I've even seen how you look at him, and how he looks at you. Don't you think it's about time you stop lying to yourselves?"
"But what if… what if you're wrong? And he rejects me?"
I squeezed his hand gently and gave him back the rose. "You'll never know unless you try. And if he does reject you, we can try the date again. K?"
He smiled softly.
"Ok."
A: I realized I need to make a distinction between when she's thinking about the past and the future versions of Bakugou and Kirishima. Therefore, when she refers to them as their names, she means the past, hero hopeful versions of them. When she says Dad (Bakugou) and Daddy (Kirishima), she means the future versions. Hope that makes sense.
I'm sorry for not posting in a while. I'll try to post more often, but no promises T^T.
As usual, all questions and comments are welcome! I'll try to respond to them all!
-RozaCourt