After their bone-chilling encounter, Bulla pleaded for Midoriya and Uraraka to pretend as though nothing happened. Following this event, Bulla returned to Yaoyorozu, and continued their day as normal. At 3:00 PM, as agreed upon, Class 1A returned to the plaza that they had separated from. Bulla guided everyone to the food court, where their fun together continued. Although, despite having asked her friends to forget about their experience, Bulla could still see that man's deranged smile. Behind her laughs and smiles, she was constantly thinking about what his end goal would be.
Once everyone had left the mall, Bulla had begun walking Yaoyorozu home. As she stared at the ground ahead of her, she suddenly heard Yaoyorozu's voice calling out to her. "Bulla? Bulla!"
"Huh?" She suddenly snapped back, giving her friend an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, did I space out again?" She pressed her hands together and slightly lowered her head.
"Is everything okay? You've been in a bit of a daze since we regrouped with the class." Yaoyorozu told her, holding a balled hand up to her chest.
"Ye-Yeah, I'm fine. I just… It's nothing." Although she tried to drop the topic there, her friend persisted, grabbing her hand to stop her from walking.
"Bulla, if something's troubling you, I'd want you to share it with me. Even if it's none of my business, I want to be able to help. If the only thing I can do is lend an ear, then I'd gladly listen." Looking over, Bulla met her eyes.
Her eyes. They're so…determined. As she let out a sigh, she began to scratch her cheek. "Okay, fine." As she gave in, Yaoyorozu's eyes lit up, and a smile spread across her face. "But you have to promise not to tell anybody!"
"On my life!"
"Alright. The truth is…" It was like a weight pressing down, and she was constantly trying to lift it with a strength she didn't have. After gritting her teeth and stumbling over her words, struggling just to get the words, Yaoyorozu took her hands in in her own.
With a warm smile, she met Bulla's eyes once again. "It's okay. Just breathe, and say it."
As directed, Bulla took a deep breath, and held for several seconds before breathing out. Then, she blurt it out before she thought about it. "I GOT AN INVITATION TO I-ISLAND AND I INVITED BAKUGO TO GO WITH ME!" Suddenly, Yaoyorozu's hands slapped against her cheeks with a large gasp.
"I can't believe it, you finally worked up the courage to ask him out?!" The excitement in her voice was apparent, as it seems many girls in the class had been waiting for this.
"It's not like that, dummy." Looking away, the golden sky only emphasized the blush over Bulla's cheeks. "Pan stole my phone and asked him. But he said yes anyway."
"I'm happy to hear! I think this will be the start of something beautiful!" Yaoyorozu teased. "On that topic, I was actually going to invite you to I-Island, myself. Since my parents have stock in some of the sponsors there, I also got two extra tickets."
"Then I'll see you there, Momo." Bulla told her, turning away to hide her blushing face. "Let's hurry up and get you home. It'll get dark soon."
"Right." The two girls hurried along, soon reaching their initial destination. Once Bulla ensured that Yaoyorozu returned home safely, she made her way back to the orphanage.
"You told Momo?" Pan asked her friend. The two girls sat on Pan's bed, while she brushed Bulla's long blue hair. "I guess you're coming to terms with your feelings, then."
"Shut up! Shigaraki slipping into the mall, coincidentally while we were there. He threatened Ochaco and Izuku, so we let him go." Bulla explained.
"You let him go!?" Pan yelled.
"Yeah, say it louder, I don't think the police heard you." Bulla told her sarcastically. "If I wanted it blurted out like that, I wouldn't have panicked and told Momo about I-Island."
"Wait, you did call the police, right?" Bulla's refusal to answer spoke volumes. "I can't believe you didn't inform the authorities. Girls, don't take this lesson to heart. Always call the police if you spot a villain, or find a hero!" She said to Takado and Hanamura, who were minding business in their bunks.
"Could you stop? I know it was selfish for me to keep it to myself, but everyone was so happy, and excited about today! It wouldn't have been fair for me to ruin that! Plus, who knows if he would have flipped out and gone on a killing spree!? Take this lesson to heart, girls: pick your battles wisely! You can't get involved in every single fight you run into, it's not worth the energy!" Bulla explained to them.
"Still, Bulla. Don't you think there was something you could have done? To just let him go like that, what if he comes back worse than before?" Pan asked her as she tied Bulla's hair into a ponytail.
"To be honest, I really don't know. But I stand by my decision. At the time, without going into a panic, or causing a panic." Bulla finally turned to meet Pan's eyes, sullen and looking downward. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"A few things, really. You're just growing so much lately. Not just physically, too. I feel like if I'm not careful, you'll leave me behind." Pan told her as her friend took her cheek in her hand, forcing her to look her in the eyes.
"Pan, you've done so much for me. After we got here, I was a wreck, but you held strong. How could I ever leave you behind after that?" Her words earned a slight smile from Pan. "If you're so worried, then don't be. And if you still worry after keeping that in mind, keep striving to do better. I need my best friend and #1 rival to stay in shape, after all."
With a soft chuckle, Pan reached up and held Bulla's hand. "When you say that, it makes it sound like I've been gaining weight."
"Well, you have been tearing up those plates during lunch!" Bulla told her, curving her hands around her stomach.
As Pan burst out laughing, she lightly hit her friends shoulder. "Haha, shut up!" Once the two shared a laugh, Pan embraced Bulla. "Here I am, trying to make sure you don't fall apart, and now you're the one helping me."
"It's fine. I'm sure you've been holding so much in for my sake. Don't worry, I'll make sure to return the favor, just stop holding everything in."
"Promise."
"I think the girls are asleep, by the way." Bulla told her as Pan peeked over Bulla's shoulder, seeing through the dimly-lit room that both girls had their blankets over their heads.
"Yeah, I kinda figured when they completely ignored us. I didn't think it was like them."
"Hey, Big Sis?" Sandayo said, knocking on the door lightly. "Are you awake?"
The two girls parted and turned to face the door. "Is he still on with this 'Big Sis' stuff?" Pan asked.
"Yeah, there's no getting through." She told her. "What is it, Sandayo?"
"Do you think I could get a sparring match? I've been practicing with my Quirk, lately." As a demonstration, he reached over, allowing his hand to pixelate and disappear into a gray portal. In front of Bulla and Pan, his disembodied hand reached through a similar portal, inviting Bulla to shake.
"Gross..." Pan said, sticking her tongue out.
"Actually, I think it'd be better experience for you to spar with Pan. If you keep practicing against me, you'll develop some bad habits!" Bulla explained before grabbing Pan's wrist, forcing her hand to shake Sandayo's.
"Oh, yeah, that's a good idea. Let's go!" As he ran out back, Pan got up and stretched her arms, while Bulla grabbed her sword and followed along. Once the two girls met Sandayo outside, he began to stretch, and Pan followed suit, allowing herself to limber her arms and legs further. Meanwhile, Bulla pulled out her sword, now handling the weight much better that she used to.
"Alright, are you ready?" Pan asked as she stepped out over the dirt mound that was used to fill the crater she had formed before the Sports Festival.
"Yeah, please come at me!" Sandayo affirmed as Pan dashed forward. Readying his stance, Pan charged, and as she thrust forward with a leg stretched out, Sandayo raised a palm towards her, opening a portal in front of her. Pan passed straight through, and suddenly passed in front of Sandayo as he took advantage of her moment of confusion to deliver a jab into her side.
"Sneaky trick, but your attack was too weak!" Pan told him as she spun around, slamming a leg into his shoulder and knocking him down. As he rubbed his arm where her leg struck, he looked up to see Pan standing above him with her hands on her hips. "Don't get the wrong idea, it was certainly a clever surprise attack, but you didn't have your next move planned. Because of that, I stopped playing around and overwhelmed you with speed."
"Right... That wasn't much a sparring match, Son!" He told her as she reached out a hand.
"But there's no reason to take it seriously. I've seen fighters who've lost their lives because their hubris got the better of them. Sometimes you need to know when to stop holding back, and that's a testament to your opponent's potential. Understand?" She asked as she helped him to his feet.
"I think so..."
"Good. Then lesson's over. Keep working at it." She told him as she walked off to check on Bulla's progress.
"We only went one round, though." Sandayo mumbled to himself with a pout as he went back inside.
Approaching her friend, Bulla was still, holding her hand around the hilt of her sword, but not yet grasping it. "Are you working on Galaxy Striker?" Pan asked.
"Yeah, Galactic Strike is still a work in progress, unfortunately." Bulla informed her, bringing emphasis to the name change.
"Oh, thank Kami, I really hoped that you would change that name." She told her. "I wasn't a fan of it to be honest."
"I thought you liked the name?" Bulla asked.
"Well, I didn't. So it's a good thing you changed it before you went out there and used it someone. They would have laughed to death before the blow landed." Pan joked.
"Hehe, it's kinda hard to focus on a new move when you insulting its name, ya know."
"Yeah, well, there's no longer a name to make fun of, because Galactic Strike rolls right off the tongue, and I can imagine little kids across the world shouting that one with sticks in their backyards." Pan praised with a smile.
"Thanks. Go ahead inside, I'll give it a few more tries, and I'll be in." Bulla told her.
"Didn't you say you need help moving when you use it?"
"Just trust me, I decided to tweak it a bit. You'll see it in action at some point, promise!"
"Alright, but don't get mad if you fall asleep out here because you can't move. I tried!" Pan said as she started walking towards the door.
"I wouldn't dream of it." Bulla called out before her friend left her in the dark, allowing her to focus alone for the remainder of the night.
Although she had been given her day off, Bulla was to continue to visit her therapist at least once a weekend during her summer vacation. Despite having to return to school at least twice a week, it really wasn't so bad. "Bulla, come in, lie down. Let me know how your weeks been?" Kanjo asked her.
Bulla complied and entered the office, lying down on the chaise longue as she normally does. "It's been good, Ma'am. A lot has happened, so far."
As Kanjo got up and approached her patient, Bulla began listing off the things that occurred over the course of a week. "Well last week ended with studying for this term's finals. So this week started with finals. Although I'm grasping most concepts rather easily, I scored pretty high, but I was held back by Japanese history again." She began to explain. Kanjo lightly held her fingers against Bulla's temples. "And it's unfortunate that I spent all that time studying with Bakugo and I didn't progress as much as I wanted to."
As she continued, the air around her faded into a light red, which cleverly masked the pink that was hidden within her emotions. Oh, you sly cat. Kanjo thought to herself as she allowed her patient to keep talking. "Go over your practical exam for me, again."
"It went well enough, like I said before, but I lead my friend into a plan that resulted in her getting hurt. Then, as you know, I hurt my teacher really bad." She explained as green faded in for disappointment.
"And you made that up to her, right?" Kanjo asked her.
"Yeah! I made her a basket of cookies, and when I went to the mall with my class, she came along and we ate cookies and she told stories about her past!" Bulla explained, allowing yellow to grow more prominently among her emotions. "Then my class had a fun day at the mall! Momo and I went shopping for the summer camp that's coming up!" Despite the bright yellow that was at the forefront, there was a slight presence of blue and green.
"Something about this memory makes you feel sad, and disappointed." Kanjo told her.
"Yeah..." With a sigh, Bulla explained the details that she had been leaving out. "I lost a special item that I brought with me from my world. And there was a villain encounter that I decided to keep quiet about for the sake of everyone else, and I don't know if I did the right thing. I just didn't know what else I could do!"
"Brief, sometimes the least amount of involvement can be the best, depending on the situation. There's no right or wrong answer, rather, there is your decisions, and the decisions of others. It's your intentions that decide whether your decision was morally just. So what were your intentions?"
"I wanted everyone to stay safe, and I wanted my class to enjoy their day off. Because they've been through a lot for kids their age." Bulla thought.
"And you disconnect yourself from that group because of your parents accomplishments, correct?" Kanjo guessed as she massaged Bulla's temple.
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the light head massage as she thought back to the only bit of missing information. "Oh, and I got an invitation to I-Island this weekend. After I get back, it'll be about time to head to summer camp for a week."
As she focused, Kanjo could see the light frustration and sadness fade away, leaving behind a more intense pink, with a lighter pink in the center. "And going to I-Island makes you feel embarrassed?"
"No, it's not necessarily that..." Bulla's cheeks began to flush as she grabbed a pillow and held it tight to her chest. "I... Pan asked Bakugo to be my +1 to I-Island. So yeah, I'm really embarrassed."
"Because he rejected you?"
"Because he said yes."
"I see. Dear, I see embarrassment, but I also see infatuation in your emotions. Whatever it is about this Bakugo boy, you seem to have some romantic feelings for him." She explained as Bulla covered her eyes.
"Nooo, don't say that! That makes this even worse!"
"And do you know why you feel that way?" In response to her question, Bulla, who left her eyes covered, just shook her head. "Young ones always associate acts of romance with embarrassment. It feels embarrassing to allow yourself to be vulnerable to these feelings, because we first see that vulnerability as weakness. However, if you don't allow yourself the opportunity to be vulnerable, then surely, you will crack and crumble like a dam that's holding too much water with nowhere for it to go. You will not be able to get rid of this embarrassment until you sort these feelings. Whether it be with or without the boy, and whether you decide to pursue these feelings until it blossoms, or reject them until they wilt away. Do you understand, Brief?"
"I vink so..." Bulla mumbled through her pillow, having uncovered her eyes to hug it once more.
"I think that'll do for the day. I always appreciate you stopping by." Kanjo told her as she gestured her to her feet.
"You know I have to be here anyway, Ms. Kanjo. There's nothing to appreciate." Bulla claimed as she walked towards the door, leaving her pillow behind.
"On the contrary, you are able to reject my help at any time, unless your caretaker intervenes as your legal guardian, if you felt my help to be...well, unhelpful. You being here, just like we talked about, was you allowing yourself to be vulnerable to me, so that I may help you sort your emotions." She told her as they walked to the door.
Bulla stepped out and turned to her therapist, giving a sincere bow. "In that case, thank you for being here, and hearing me out, Ms. Kanjo. I really appreciate it."
"Of course. You have my personal cell number, in case you need to talk while you're out there this weekend, but don't forget to take your medication. I don't know how the airlines will handle your prescription bottle, so try to bring something small to carry them in, just in case they stop you for the bottle size. And bring a copy of my note for your prescription for when you're coming back into Japan." Kanjo explained, putting a hand on her hip as she thought about any other bits of advice.
"Yes, Ma'am. Thank you."
"Alright, I think that's it. You go have fun, now. And tell that Bakugo that he better buy you dinner first before expecting a kiss."
"M-Ms. Kanjo!" Bulla's face flushed over once again. She began to grow tiresome of the constant heat in her cheeks as she fanned her face.
"You know I'm only kidding. But in all seriousness, this would be the weekend to sort your feelings with this boy." Kanjo told her, lightly petting her head. "You go along now. I know you're going to have a lot of fun."
"Yes, Ma'am." And with that, Bulla made her way out of the school. As she walked home under the warm blue sky, she thought about what she would need to pack for her weekend at I-Island.