I'm on time today. I've been writing and editing regularly, so I'm excited to get a few more chapter out there. I hope you guys have been enjoying this story, because it only get more exciting, and depressing in a good way, from this point on.
As always, don't forget to follow and favorite. Leave a review. I really like reading your opinions on my story. You guys can't see it, but I can see the total amount of reads this story has, and it makes me happy every time I see the number go up.
(Also, side note, I briefly mentioned listening to Harry's album Fine Line, and I just wanted to know your guy's opinion on his new album. I like it, a lot. And I will be streaming it whenever I edit this story, lol.)
Bakugou awoke before Midoriya. He was confused at first because it was warm and he could've sworn at some time last night he was freezing his ass off. Then green filtered into his brain, and he realized that he was holding Midoriya. His mind blanking, all he could focus on was how she was pressed against him, clinging to any warmth he had. Her head laid on his chest, her eyes gently closed, her lips slightly agape. She looked beautiful, definitely a sight to see first thing in the morning.
She shifted, and her thigh rubbed against his private parts. He let go immediately, careful not to wake her up. He was sure that would make him suspicious, and it was already suspicious enough that they were sleeping so intimately next to each other.
Trying to stop the rush of blood to his cheeks and other areas he'd rather not think about, he began to fix them some rice for breakfast. It was the easiest and quickest thing he could fix with what they had, which wasn't a lot. Soon they'd have to throw out produce and meat. It would spoil before either of them could even touch it. His family was never big on canned goods, so there wasn't much dry or preserved food other than cereal, rice, and grains in his house. That would all go quickly between him and Midoriya, so they'd have to go out to look for food soon.
He didn't know if there was anything left in the stores. He was sure many people panicked, and with panicked individuals came panicked decisions. If he so much as saw a single can of vegetables or grain of rice he'd be surprised. He'd have to think of other places to look for food, maybe even raid a few houses…
But people were still bound to be in their own homes right? Come to think of it, he hadn't seen anyone on his street since they arrived. There were a few houses with cars missing in the front, his included. Was his street one of the streets of evacuated civilians? Were there no people on his street at all?
He ran his hand through his hair. None of it mattered. All that mattered was he did everything to make sure he and Midoriya could find their parents. If they were at a military camp like they said, there'd be food, shelter, and protection. They'd be able to sleep a full night without the worry of the infected getting them. He wanted to ensure that for Midoriya. He needed to ensure that for her.
She moaned next to him, pulling his jacket tighter around herself. That had to be the first night she didn't have nightmares since the apocalypse happened. She thought he didn't know about it–she thought he didn't know a lot of things about her, but she was wrong. He'd been keeping an eye on her the last few days. She'd been so quiet, so distant. He knew he was most likely the last person she'd come to talk about things with, but in this type of situation, he wanted her to at least be able to make eye contact with him. She was so timid, so uncommunicative that it scared him.
He took the rice and started to prepare breakfast for the two of them. Maybe he should be more open with her. He shook his head. The last time he had so much as asked her about her feelings had to be when they were five, and it was only because she hadn't been saying anything. When she was crying in distraught he knew she was fine, she cried a lot, but when she was so emotionally distressed that she didn't do anything, not cry or talk, he knew there was something really bad happening within that head of hers. The only problem was he didn't know how to talk to her. He didn't know how to leave his pride behind to make her feel better.
He'd have to leave it behind, wouldn't he? It would be just the two of them together. There was no telling what was outside. Clearly, there was more fear for the living than the dead. If he wanted to survive with her, he'd have to look at her like an equal, not a nobody like he'd been trying to do all his life.
Midoriya moaned again, this time her eyes cracking open as she took in her surroundings. She rubbed her eyes, pouting as she yawned. He cracked a smile. He wondered if she slept as well as he did.
"Good morning," she moaned out, stretching her arms well above her head. She slumped over, eyes widening as she looked at the food in front of her. She tilted her head to the side as she looked at him.
"I have somewhere I wanna take you today," he told her. He gestured for her to start eating. She hesitantly took her chopsticks, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Where?" she asked him, taking a big bite out of her rice. Bakugou paused. What would be the easiest way to say gun shop?
"The store for one, because we're running out of food," he said. She nodded her head. He had told her that the day before. "And the gunshop off the highway."
"Gun Shop!" she exclaimed, almost choking on her rice. Bakugou looked at the gun sitting on the coffee table. There was only a single bullet left, six he had used in the city to clear the path for them. The gun would be the best weapon for them to have in case they ran into a horde, or in case they ran into a human. He wanted to be prepared if either scenario happened.
"I want to teach you how to shoot a gun," he said, taking another bite out of his rice. Midoriya stared at him, wide green eyes searching his face for any lie. When she realized he was deadass, she started mumbling.
"Don't you think that's a lot? I mean, yeah, there are monsters outside who want to eat us, but I can do just fine with a bat. It would be hard to learn anyway. I've never handled a gun in my entire life. We'd just be wasting time. We should just look for our parents–"
"Deku!" he growled. She shut up, flinching and closing in on herself. He sighed, guilty for startling her. He placed his chopsticks down. "You need to know how to protect yourself. What if you get stuck in a horde of them, or are in a position where a bat isn't good enough."
"A gun's too much," she said. "I'd probably just drop it anyway." she started to rub the back of her head, a habit she had when she got really nervous. She was frowning and avoiding eye contact, a sign she didn't want to disappoint him. He didn't know how to handle the situation.
"It's just a thought," he said, deciding to avoid comforting her was the best option. "We still have to go. To get more bullets." There was an awkward silence as they ate the rest of their breakfast. Midoriya got stuck in her head again, her eyes wandering from place to place in the room, sparingly glancing at him once or twice. He almost snapped his chopsticks in annoyance, and she seemed to notice his change in mood.
"Do you think there would be food in the supermarket?" she asked. "What if it's raided?"
"I was thinking the same thing," he told her. "Did you notice there isn't anyone here? I think my street was evacuated, so all the houses are abandoned."
"So we take from people's houses?" she finished. She looked taken aback, almost defensive about being asked to do such a thing. He wasn't surprised. Midoriya probably never thought of stealing.
"If there's nothing in the stores," he said. "We'll have to or we'll starve."
"What if other people need it?"
"We need it!"
"We have food!" Bakugou slammed his hands on the coffee table.
"Goddamn it Deku, do you realize we're gonna run out?" he snapped, effectively cutting her off. Her eyes were wide and she had taken a noticeable step away from him. He took a deep breath, he didn't want to scare her more. "I know taking from people is the last thing you want to do, but we're doing what everyone else is. Surviving. Until help comes or some form of government confirms we're safe, we have to do things that will let us live. If taking food from abandoned homes is how it's done, then it's how it's done."
"Okay," she stuttered after a moment of silence. She was hesitant to stand, and when she did she turned away from him. "I'll get ready then."
He watched her walk away, his anger bubbling inside of him. He wasn't mad at her, he was mad at himself. He knew it was selfish, to take from others to guarantee their survival, but they had nothing else. They needed food, they needed protection. Midoriya could be mad all she wants, but he knew eventually she'll realize he was right, and that no matter how much she didn't want to do it, she wouldn't make as big of a fuss about it.
Midoriya wanted to curl into a ball and cry. She thought she was doing so good around Bakugou. He hadn't yelled at her in days, and if anything actually looked like he was tolerating her being around him, and then she had to mess it up.
She knew he was right. Every judgment he had made since the world ended was right. She just didn't want to think about it. About how stealing from other's houses was about to be the norm, or how bashing in the skulls of former people was about to be acceptable too.
Ms. Imada's caved in face still haunted her. She was disgusted with herself, with how easily and quickly she did it. She didn't even stop to think, 'hey, maybe she might be alive?" before her flashlight was buried in the woman's skull. Though it was physically easy enough, it was mentally hard bashing in the skulls of the infected, because to her it still felt like they were alive. Like they still had a consciousness, and they could feel everything she was doing to them. She knew she'd have to leave that mindset, that she couldn't survive if she kept thinking that way.
She sighed, brushing her long hair and braiding it into two individual braids. She ignored her bangs and how they seemed to be growing annoyingly long before she took one of Bakugou's old jackets and wrapped it around herself. Despite the clothes being worn when he was at least eleven, they were still too big on her. She had always been tiny, but since the world ended and they'd been eating less, she was even tinier. She hated pulling her pants up every two seconds, but oversized clean sweatpants were better than blood covered pants.
"Let's hope it stays that way," she mumbled to herself as she made her way to the front door. Bakugou was waiting on the porch, the police baton in his hand. He looked at her, eyes trailing over what she was wearing before handing her a kitchen knife and a backpack. He was wearing a similar bag on his back as well.
"Just in case," he said, then they started walking to the nearest convenience store. There weren't a lot of people infected outside, they were well out of the city. Midoriya assumed that going to a supermarket on their side of town would be better than entering a supermarket in the city.
After checking the area and making sure it was clear of infected, they entered an unlocked convenience store. From the front door, they could tell that the place had been raided, but there were still some things they could take and use to their advantage.
"Can't we just get what we need from here?" she asked as they began to pick out necessities. Bakugou didn't answer her as he began to put goods into his backpack. He took a few packs of ramen and some spare water bottles from under the counter. Midoriya parted from him and entered the feminine hygiene section, grabbing a few boxes of tampons and pads. She also went to the medicine section, where she grabbed peroxide, bandages, and painkillers for worse case scenarios.
"Did you get what you need?" Bakugou asked from behind her. She jumped and turned to him, nodding her head slowly as she zipped her bag closed. There wasn't much else for her to grab.
They walked out of the convenience store slowly, flinching when chimes went off above them. It drew the attention of a few infected behind them. Instead of fighting them off, they went in the opposite direction to avoid them. Her bag was a little heavier now, which made walking a bit uncomfortable, but they were almost to the supermarket.
"We should look for canned goods inside," Bakugou said, looking ahead of them for any infected. Midoriya couldn't help but notice how nice he looked with the wind blowing in his hair and his face so serious. She slapped her cheeks. She needed to focus!
In the distance, she could see the grand building of the supermarket, but she could also hear the sound of an engine revving. Startled, they both hid behind a brick wall as a car approached them. It was going really fast, too fast for them to see who was inside the car. The car was blasting loud music as if asking for the world to follow them. They waited until they could see the car anymore, then came out of their hiding place.
"Let's go," Bakugou said, jogging ahead of her. Midoriya managed to catch up to him as they approached the doors. She gasped at the sight. She's never seen a place look so barren. There were plastic bags and paper littering the outside of the stores, being carried away by the wind sheepishly. Windows were smashed in and glass was in shattered pieces inside and outside the store. It even looked like there were places that were burnt by fire.
Bakugou entered without saying a word. She followed close behind, grabbing a basket to push around. Bakugou raised an eyebrow at her, and she simply shrugged her shoulders. She wanted to put her bag in the cart to save herself the struggle of the extra weight, and if they did happen to find canned food it wasn't like her scrawny body could carry it back anyway.
Bakugou went ahead of her, baton ready to take out any infected. She stayed behind him with the cart, clearing anything left on the shelves. There were many food items left. The produce section and deli were picked clean–which was good because all the fruit, vegetables, and meat would've been rotten anyway. There was more food on the ground than on the shelves. Midoriya managed to find two bags of white rice, a few cans of green beans hidden deep on a shelf, a can of beans she had to climb to get, and three boxes of cereal. That wasn't a lot of food, and could easily go between the two of them, but it was better than nothing.
Eventually, Bakugou disappeared from her side. She hadn't noticed at first, she was too busy looking at different flashlights. When she noticed he was gone her breath hitched. Did he really leave her alone or was he right around the corner? She almost called out for him, but if there was an infected in there it would cause attention to herself. Hesitantly, she began to look for Bakugou.
The store seemed ten times creepier without him. It was darker towards the back of the store because there was no light. Moving shadows and creaky sounds scared her, and she almost collapsed when a shelf full of balls fell at her feet. She watched one of the balls roll away, the orange ball rolling into the darkness. She sighed, ashamed she was scared so easily.
Just as she was about to turn back to their stuff, she noticed some movement from the shadows. She frowned, squinting at the sight. Was her mind playing tricks on her or was there an actual danger ahead of her? She took her knife out anyway, in case there was. Slowly making her way to the next aisle, she peeked her head inside.
"Oh," she mumbled to herself. It was just a small barricade, big enough to block her cart, but small where the hunting aisle should be, but all the guns were gone. There was one tent left, big enough to fit two people. She grabbed it, she didn't know if they'd need to spend the night outside or not. She also grabbed a thermos she saw, as well as kerosene oil and a lantern. She wondered if Bakugou found those candles he was looking for.
Something fell behind her. She jumped, her kitchen knife in front of her. She waited, silence engulfing her, then there was a moan. She took a step back, registering there was more than one groan ahead of her. Both ends of the aisle were barricaded, so if she went where she came from, the infected wouldn't be able to get to her as easily. Deciding that was the best idea, she took a step back, one at a time, keeping an eye on the other end of the aisle. When she stepped over the barricade, she twisted her body and hid behind the metal shelves. Her heart was racing, pounding loud in her ears as she took shaky breaths. She peeked over into the aisle, watching the infected walk past. She let out a sigh when she couldn't see anymore, leaning against the shelf.
Then a hand grabbed her arm.
She screamed, pulling her arm back. The infected wouldn't let go, limping towards her. Midoriya was trying to create distance between the two, but the infected was stronger than her. It stumbled on top of her, forcing her to push the palm of her hand against its forehead to stop it from biting her. She was struggling, trying to avoid getting bitten, but it was only getting closer to her neck, and she was getting weaker…
Suddenly there was a squelch, and a thin line of blood hit her face. She gagged, the smell of iron and rotten flesh making her eyes water. The infected crashed to the ground in front of her, almost taking her down with it because of her weak knees. An arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her away from the infected. She barely registered the smell of caramel before her breakfast was on the ground.
"Thank you, Kacchan," she managed to mumble, embarrassed on multiple levels. She wiped her mouth and turned to look at him, watching him scan her neck with his eyes. "It didn't bite me." He scoffed, reaching to wipe the blood off her face. She froze, not expecting the contact. She watched him walk back to the cart, but something was wrong. He was gripping his side tightly, taking sharp breaths with each step.
"I found a radio," he said. "It's battery powered. If help was coming, we'd hear about it on that." He threw his backpack in the cart, his face pale from the action. she took a tentative step closer to him.
"What happened? Why are you hurt?" she asked softly, careful not to trigger him. He glared at her, cold and sharp like he always did when he didn't want her to bother him. He started to walk away, and she bit the urge to ask him again. He looked like he was in pain, and that hurt her, but there was no way she was getting through that pride.
Together they scanned the hunting aisle again. Bakugou managed to find two folding knives in one of the register drawers, and even some heating pads for their hands. They found some batteries towards the front of the store, as well as trail mix and a few candy bars. They began to walk home with their half full cart of goods. Bakugou trailed behind Midoriya, silent and brooding as he held onto his side. She glanced back every once in a while, a question of concern on the tip of her tongue but her brain reminded her who she was talking to. She looked forward again, pushing the cart to his house.
She noticed that they weren't taking the same route back. Bakugou had insisted on taking the route around her apartment to her house which was a few minutes longer than the route they had previously taken. She thought with all the infected he'd want to take the shorter route, but he was adamant. It made her want to ask again what happened, but she kept her mouth shut instead.
It was sunset when they arrived back at his house. Midoriya managed to push the cart through the front door with the help of Bakugou pulling it up the stairs. Once again, silence enveloped the two of them as they settled in for the night. Midoriya organized what they managed to get while Bakugou patched himself up. She noticed the long gash on his left side when he lifted his shirt, but then lost sight of it when he turned away from her. She nearly dropped the water she was holding at the sight of it.
"Kacchan," she gasped, walking up to him to look at his wound. He turned away, determined not to let her see the wound. She bent down, removing the hand that covered his injury. "Let go."
"No."
"You're bleeding."
"Don't tell me what to do, Shitty Deku."
"Let me help!" she exclaimed, her eyes narrowing as she met his. He glared at her, slapping her hands away. "Do you even know how to clean a wound?" Silence. She removed his hand, glancing at the wound. He winced when his hand moved, and she took a sharp intake of breath as she assessed the wound. "Lay down."
She stood up to get the peroxide and bandages she managed to find at the convenience store, and a towel to clean the wound with. When she came back, Bakugou was still stubbornly sitting straight in his seat.
"Kacchan!"
"The radio," he said, pointing to the wooden object resting on the counter. "Bring it here." She grabbed the radio, her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. Why was he more concerned about the radio than his own health?
"I'll give you the radio if you lay down," she bargained, pulling the radio away when Bakugou tried to reach for it. He glared at her. "Dammit, Kacchan! Can't you see I'm trying to help! What's so important about the damn radio anyway?" His eyes widened at her exclamation. He looked between the radio and her before finally lying down.
Happy she could finally get him to listen to her, she pulled his shirt up high enough for her to see the entire wound. She gasped. It's longer than she thought it was. It wasn't too deep, they'd be in trouble if it needed stitches. She opened the peroxide and poured some on a clean towel.
"This is gonna sting," she told him, preparing him for the pain. Bakugou just clenched his jaw in response, his arm falling over his mouth. Taking that as him being ready, she began to clean his wound. He didn't let out a sound, but she did notice that he tensed up. Trying to be as gentle as she could, she wrapped his wound with the bandage.
"I can give you ibuprofen for the pain," she said. "We also have Tylenol if you want." He didn't respond. Instead, he turned on the radio. White static filled the room as they waited for anything to come from the other side. Midoriya glanced at Bakugou again, noticing how blank his expression was. He was thinking about something really intensely. She wondered what it was.
"Are you cold?" he suddenly asked, meeting her eyes. She shook her head, blush coloring her cheeks. She wondered if he caught her staring. How embarrassing… "We need to back out soon, take one of the cars this time."
"To the gun shop?" she asked groggily, sleep starting to take over from the quiet static. He grunted in response. She sighed, burying her head in her knees. Maybe it was best for her to learn how to shoot. The infected were stronger than her, taking them out from a distance would help her greatly…
She fell asleep before she could think too much about it.
