Sorry this chapter took so long. I may or may not have gotten the Diamond remake and have totally not been playing that for the past two days in the Grand Underground and being an absolute potato by naming my entire team after MHA characters. That would be ridiculous! A Houndoom named Katsuki? Hah laughable! Anyway, enjoy the chapter, next one will screw you up, and as usual, thank you to all that followed, favorited, and the people that leave reviews because reading them makes my heart happy knowing I have people enthralled. Music selection for this chapter: Maybe It's Time by Sixx:A.M. and various artists, and Every Time You Leave by I Prevail and Delaney Jane.
(PS I also have a playlist on spotify for this and update it regularly as I find songs for the story and to describe character relationships. It's called Short Temper because that's my name for Lei and Katsu's ship. All the songs are there so far.)
"You've never been in a hot spring?!" Mina asks, stupefied as they get undressed for the bath outside. Leinei shakes her head, hesitantly pulling her shirt sleeves off. The scars on the inside of her arms are visible as she folds the shirt and places it in one of the baskets. "Literally, where were you raised? Under a rock?"
"You could say that," she laughs awkwardly, wrapping one of the towels around herself and looking down at her feet. Mina looks at her friend, concerned as she sees her trying hard to hide the insides of her wrists as the others around her walk out to the bath, happily chatting.
"Okay, what's with your arms?" she asks, coming over and gently pulling one hand away from her chest. Leinei's face goes pale as she sees the scarred lines up and down each of the inner of her arms. "What happened? You had so much confidence at the mall, I didn't even notice these-"
"My sister used, um what was she called it, concealer to cover them before I went out," she replies, pulling her arm away. She looks very ashamed of them, tucking her arms under her chest and readjusting the towel covering her body. "I..it's a long story and it happened a long time ago. I don't really feel like talking about it right now."
"Alright," Mina says, pulling the girl in for a hug and holding her tightly. "You know you can talk to me, right? I know I'm not Bakugo, or Kaminari, or Kirishima, and we haven't been friends as long as you and Todoroki, but...I still care about you, and if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here."
Leinei nods and swallows back the lump forming in her throat. Mina pulls away and messes with some of her lavender strands, smiling. She orders her to turn around, which the girl does obediently and the pink girl gently braids her hair into a bun, pulling her with her to grab a hair band to hold it in place. Leinei seems a little confused, reaching back to touch it.
"You typically want to wear your hair up in a hot spring," Mina tells her, smiling softly. "You ready?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Mina leads her out, rolling her eyes when she hears the boys messing around in their own spring through the wooden wall. She sits on the edge of the spring, Leinei hesitantly standing next to her as she watches the others relax and sit comfortably lining the shallows of it.
"Sit down," she tells her, patting the spot next to her. Leinei nods and sits down, slipping her feet into the water and immediately feeling the tensed muscles relax. Ochaco wades over and sits to the opposite side of Mina, smiling as she looks at the soft smile on Leinei's face.
"Y'know, you've been in our class for almost three months now, and we all still barely know anything about you," the brown haired girl says, getting everyone's attention to Leinei's embarrassment. "Well, besides your sister is Elementia and your quirk is really cool."
"Ah well...I...there's not really much to know," she admits sheepishly, shrugging. "I live with my sister, my parents passed away when I was little, and Shochan is one of my childhood friends prior to their passing."
"There's gotta be more than that to you," Yaoyorozu says, reaching up to fix her hair. "How about this! We can play a game to make you more comfortable with us! We each go around saying one thing about ourselves we don't think anyone else knows. I'll start! I can play the piano and violin!"
"Why does that not surprise me?" Jirou teases, leaning back against a rock with her head tilted back. "I guess I'll go next. My parents are musicians and producers."
"Oh that's so cool!" Hagakure says, the water around her shifting and splashing as she stands up. "My favorite food is caramel!"
"That's a sweet, not a food," Asui points out, much to the invisible girl's embarrassment. "But, I have two siblings. Their names are Samidare and Satsuki."
"Oh that's so cute!" Ochaco gushes, leaning over. "Are they younger or older?"
"Younger. My parents weren't home a lot for work, so I had to take care of them. But my parents said they were taking this week off to watch them, so I didn't have to worry about anything."
"That's good," the brown haired girl says with a big smile. "Um, I really like mochi!"
"Ooh, mochi is really good. I like the okra flavored ones," Mina pipes up, grinning. "Oh, I can also dance, but I guess that's two things."
"Are you any good?" Leinei asks, tilting her head. Mina sticks her tongue out at her, one eye closed.
"I'd say so! We all shared, so it's your turn."
"Um...I...I really like sea salt caramel truffle ice cream," she says sheepishly. At that point, there's a commotion on the other side of the wall and the girls look up, confused. "I wonder what the boys are doing…"
"Being boys," Mina says with a roll of her eyes before skimming her fingers across the top of the water and splashing Leinei a bit. She yelps, surprised by it and laughs before losing the gentle balance she had on the edge of the pool and slipping in. She yells the pink girl's name, to which she laughs and does it again. "Loosen up, we're here to relax. You can't relax sitting here in a towel."
"Now Mina, she may not feel comfortable just yet with being nude in front of us," Yaoyorozu says matter of factly, only to take a splash of warm water to the face. She blinks twice as Mina and Leinei both laugh. "Well that was just rude. Which one of you did that?"
They point at each other as the others laugh and giggle, Asui starting to paddle off and float in the water. Leinei takes her wet towel off, wringing it out before folding it on the side of the pool and settling in the water. Mina whoops and pushes herself off the edge, the water rippling as the other girls start to go off and do their own thing.
"I wonder how Lei is doing with the girls," Kaminari states to Kirishima, shielding his face as Ojirou smacks his tail on the water to splash him. "It sounds like they're having fun."
"Yeah. She's gotten a lot more comfortable with everyone," the redhead adds, splashing some water at Izuku and shielding his head with both arms as Sato gets him. "What do you think, Bakugo?"
"What does it matter what I think?" he snaps, tilting his head back as he sits in the corner of the pool. Shoto tilts his head as he looks at him, to which Bakugo snaps his head forward with a glare. "What's your problem, Icy Hot?"
"Nothing. I just noticed you spend a lot of time with Leinei," he replies simply, relaxing against the edge of the pool. Kirishima and Kaminari stiffened, taking a faceful of water each from Ojirou, Izuku, and Sato before falling back into the water. The water ripples violently, everyone shifting up and down with the waves as it sloshes the sides. "If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you actually like someone besides yourself."
"Todoroki, I don't think you should say that," Izuku says, his voice high pitched as he watches the vein in Bakugo's forehead pop out. "Ka-kacchan-"
"You don't know me, so why would you even say that?" he demands. "Tch."
"May-maybe we should just calm down?" Izuku suggests watching Shoto just stare at Bakugo blankly. "Kacchan, you are capable of caring about someone else-"
"Shut the hell up, Deku!"
"Right, sorry."
Izuku sits in the water, submerging up to his nose as he sits there and watches the tension grow between Shoto and Bakugo. A hero has to be able to diffuse tough situations, and this was a tough one alright. He couldn't get through to Bakugo but maybe…
"Todoroki, you and Salinsa are childhood friends right?" he asks, getting Shoto's attention away from Bakugo as he tilts his head. "Do you have any fun memories with her growing up?"
This gets Bakugo's attention, him sitting up a bit but also trying to make it look like he wasn't listening. He was curious too, wanting to hear more about her past but also trying not to be involved in this obvious bait and trap. He just...she never talks about her childhood much, so maybe Shoto will fill it in some. But Mina had to have set him up to this. There's no way Deku would just ask about Leinei.
I wonder what she's doing over there...Oh god, are they talking about me? Is she telling Mina that she doesn't actually like me?
He could see it in his head, Leinei laughing and asking how she could ever like someone like him. Mina laughing with her, the others joining in. The very idea of it makes his chest hurt, the thought twisting his stomach. But then the thought was pushed away with an image of her soft smile, the one she had just for him. And his stomach untwists and his heart relaxes, him tuning back into the conversation between the others as Shoto finishes telling a story he vaguely recalled.
"So she used to cry a lot?" Izuku asks, Shoto nodding.
"I would hear her while my father trained me," he replies. "She was really attached to my older siblings."
"Why did you two stop being friends?" Kirishima asks, having made his way over. Shoto tilts his head back, eyes closed as he slumps more in the water so it was up to his chin. Everyone is listening at this point, tuned into the two most...quiet kids in their class, to put it best. With their shared history, it was almost fascinating how similar and dissimilar they were.
"If I remember correctly," he starts, eyes still closed. "Her parents passed away and she was taken into another family. It was a bad accident. I don't remember all of the details, it was so long ago."
"Oh…"
"So..is it nice being friends with her again?" Kaminari asks.
"I suppose," he replies with a shrug. "We got to know each other a little better during our internships."
"Oh you mean when you guys almost died?" Sero says, cracking a smile as Iida, Izuku and Shoto's faces flush. "What? I mean, if Endeavor and Elementia hadn't stepped in, you and the Class Rep would be-" he makes a cutting motion with his thumb across his neck, sticking his tongue to the side.
Bakugo says nothing as he stands up and climbs out of the pool, wrapping his towel around his hips. Izuku calls after him, but a sharp look over his shoulder sends the green boy sitting back down. The ashen blond walks back into the changing rooms, his head down. He didn't want to be reminded she could have died that day, while he was getting his stupid hair combed by Best Jeanist.
I should have been there too. I could have protected her, I could have helped. I wanted to be there too. Maybe then she wouldn't be terrified to be alone in her home.
Leinei yawns and stretches her arms over her head, before climbing out of the pool and wrapping her now slightly damp towel around herself. Mina wades back to the edge, folding her arms on it as she pouts and sets her chin on her forearms.
"Are you going inside already?"
"Yeah, I'm getting a little lightheaded," she admits, rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "I'll see you all in the room."
"Alright!" Ochaco calls, waving as she walks into the girls' changing room and dries herself off before getting dressed. She struggles with her hair as she walks out of the room into the hall and nearly bumps into Bakugo. He grabs her arm as she stumbles a bit, her fingers caught in the braid Mina left her hair in.
"Oh hey," she says with the same soft smile she always gives him. She tugs at her hair and sighs, hanging her head. "Mina did my hair and now I can't get it undone."
"Maybe I can help," he replies, lifting his hand as if to ask for permission. She turns and lets him gently untangle her fingers from the braid. "She put too small of a hairband around this bun," he grumbles, just snapping it instead of taking it out. From there, the braids tumble down and he untangles them. "There. You should be good now."
"Thank you, Katsu," she says, beaming at him as she runs her fingers through the gentle waves in her thick lavender hair. He shrugs and looks away, inhaling a bit. The silence between them starts to drag on, becoming a little awkward as she continues to comb her hair with her fingers and look at the floor. Well here goes nothing.
"Can we talk about something?"
"Hmm?"
"Just..walk with me," he says softly, gesturing with his head towards the rooms they were supposed to be staying in. She nods and follows him, both of them quiet as he contemplates what he's about to say. He feels sick to his stomach, not wanting to upset anything they had together. The closer they got to the dorms, the more lightheaded he felt. He wants to tell her, he wants to say something. But...what happens if she doesn't..return the sentiment?
"What did you wanna talk about, Katsu?" she asks, shocking him out of his thoughts with a concerned look. "You're worried about something, and I don't need my quirk to see that. You can talk to me."
"..." He takes a breath and looks at her. He could continue to lose himself in those beautiful blue eyes of hers, the flush of her cheeks from the hot spring, the few trickles of sweat tracing her hairline, her jawline, the side of her nose. "I..like you. A lot."
"Oh!" A bit of hesitation crosses her face, a flurry of emotions twisting in her stomach. She smiles at him, closing her eyes to hide the growing storm in her thoughts and tilting her head. "I like you too. We're really good friends!"
Say what?
"No, like I really like you."
"I really like you too," she giggles. "You're my best friend, Katsu. I never want that to change."
Did..did she just friendzone me? No, wait, did she? I-I can't tell..
"I'm sorry, just..what do you think I'm trying to say?"
"Oh, that we're best friends!" she says a little too earnestly, standing on her tiptoes. "That is what you were trying to tell me, right?"
"Yeah...yeah that's what I was trying to tell you," he murmurs, closing his eyes. She didn't friendzone me. She's so fucking smart, and so fucking dumb at the same time. "Did you bring Mr. Spokes with you?"
"Yeah, I did," she assures. "I can't really text you at two in the morning if I can't sleep this week."
"You can still," he promises, placing his hand on her head as she settles flat on her feet. "Everyone would understand."
"Right...I should get ready for bed, Katsu. Thank you."
"Yeah."
She slips out of his hand and walks to the girls' room, closing the door behind and leaning against it. Her heart is beating so hard and loud, hearing his footsteps pause outside the door before continuing onto the boys' room. She can't breathe, her hand going to her chest and gripping her shirt as she struggles to get any kind of breath into her lungs. Tears bleed into her eyes as she feels her legs tremble. She shakes her head, letting go of her shirt to fist her hands in her hair as she slides down the door into a crouch.
No, no he didn't mean any of that. He couldn't. Because if he does, he'll leave me too. He'll give up on me too...I can't..I can't lose him too, I don't want to lose anyone else.
I like him, I do. I like him so much, I like talking to him. I like spending time with him. I don't know what to do, what do I do? I don't want to lose him. Please, don't leave...don't give up on me like everyone else…
I don't want to lose anyone else. I can't...I can't be alone...I don't want to be alone.
She manages to get off the door and get to her bunk, sitting on the mattress before digging through her duffel bag and pulling out Mr. Spokes. She hugs the plush against her chest, using it to keep her grounded in this moment. His confession rings in her ears, the words playing on loop, the syllables a thousand times louder than he had even uttered them as they bounce around her head. She curls into a ball, sliding back into the corner and burying her face in the hedgehog's fur.
I wish I could tell you. I wish I could tell you everything. I want to tell you everything…But you'll give up on me too...once you realize how broken I really am…
