Cracks in the Armor.
The ceiling held his eyes captive, the late-night illumination curtosey of the moon shined into the dark room from the blinds of the balcony sliding door. Droplets of light and shadow faded in and out as clouds passed over, nothing that would normally drive the young man crazy, but tonight was an exception, it was the only thing taking his mind off the various issues that plagued him.
Kirishima was finally back from the hospital, along with all his mission comrades/classmates, it had stressed out everyone once they found out about the secret rescue of the little horned girl Eri.
However, things seemed to have winded down a little after they all confirmed mental and physical stability, well…as much as they could, given the loss that they all suffered that day. Ejiro was far from close to Nighteye, they may have spoken to each other once or twice, yet given his disposition and duty he felt just as guilty as his friend's for not being able to do a least something for the man, the tragedy of the situation hadn't stopped there as the young man remembered his work-study mentor…his arms beginning to tremble underneath the blanket, the pain from Rappa's offense in the base came back to him as he turned toward the various posters on his wall.
He stared blankly at them, as his hands continued to twitch, soon his lips trembled as well, topping it off with his breathing becoming sporadic and unbalanced. The spaces between each inhale had shortened, and the exhale had come just as fast, every single breath came with the consequence of his room somehow becoming darker, the moonlight almost nonexistent.
His palms gripped the sheets as his eyes closed tightly whilst his body shook even more, the memories flooding his mind like the ocean would to a tragic vessel of the sea, seeing the faces of: Amajiki, Mirio, Midoriya, Fat…Gum, Bakugo, Tsuyu, Uraraka, the two girls from middle school, The League of Villains, Chisaki...Rappa-
...
"RAGH," the red head threw off his blanket, revealing his sweat stained red shirt and black shorts, the safety and comfort of the sheet having turned to piercing daggers on his skin, frustrated at his lack of resilience, he ran his fingers through his hair over and over eventually gripping whatever loose strands he could get, pulling on them tightly, and his teeth gritting so hard that you would think it would chip them. His breathing got worse, faster and faster, the red eyes feeling as though they would bulge out of his skull as they shot open looking all over the room until finally landing on the punching bag.
The only way he knew how to release his pent up frustration, he jumped at the bag and began a flurry of punches; one after another as hard as he could. At first, they were unhardened, soon changing as he activated his power, his face becoming more distressed with each blow he landed.
Punch
Punch
Punch
Punch
Punch
Aizawa: "I hate to have to report this but, Bakugo has been captured by the League."
Punch punch punch
Punch punch
Tsuyu: "I was really shocked, about all the nasty things I said to you."
PunCH PUNCH
PUNCH PUNCH
"The Springer Hero Agency. Where is it?"
PUNCH PUNCH
PUNCH
PUNCH
Aizawa: "Nighteye has…passed away."
The chain on the bag had started to wither, the stress from the blows becoming far too great to maintain stability from his hardened punches, but the young man failed to notice. He changed up his routine as he then grabbed both sides of the bag, his sharpened fingers digging into it as he banged his head over and over against the leather. The events of his time at UA tore away at him, until he finally bottled up so much that when he slammed his face into it for the last time, he saw and heard one last thing…
"If you overcome that gloomy self of yours…let me know."
The memory of Mina's voice drew out an image that took the place of the punching bag: one of a young man, a black-haired youth dressed in a white button up and black pants, a scar over his right eye with sweat dripping from every pore, looking frozen…and defeated.
He stared this young man in the eye for what felt like hours.
...
He eventually snapped back to reality, ripping his hardened hand from the inside of the bag, sand seeping out of it as he balled his fist and punched the image as hard as he could in his unbreakable form.
*Snap*!
*Crash*!
The chain had broken loose as his fist buried into the young man, the force of the blow shooting it back toward the balcony door, cracking the glass.
His breathing slowed, various huffs coming out of him at a seemingly normal rate, afterwords his skin returned to it's normal state, but his hands still trembled. Slowly, light had appeared to him again, the moonlight flooding back into the room. Revealing the piles of sand all over the floor, pouring out of the bag leaving a trail to the now broken sliding door.
"Crap," he yelled as he grabbed his head in worry, "Ow! Ugh, man I need to remember to deactivate my-"
The red head went wide eyed, his arms were…cracked, his skin falling off like broken crystals, the spots where the skin fell were red and bleeding, more fragments descended as he trembled, sweat fell over him like rain drops, he wanted to scream but his voice died in his dry throat.
The arms were an illusion, a horrible nightmare…one that needed to end.
Location: 1st Floor of the 1-A dorms.
The ice-cold water ran through his hair and trickled down past his face, holding his head under the faucet to wash away the sweat, and an attempt to pull him away from the grips of trauma…at least for a moment.
The grip of his right hand remained on the handle for cold water, turning it on and off and blasting his head over and over. The overhead light above the sink showed the dye washing off, the black clashing with the red near the end tips of his hair, his original color becoming more prominent with every blast. The process impaired his sense of hearing, preventing from noticing the person who descended the stairs to the floor.
He took his hand off the handle, stopping the water flow as he rubbed his face, his hands slowly going down his cheeks and stretching his skin. The young man reached over, grabbing a paper towel to dry his head, forming a red stain against the white as the room fell to silence.
Before the mystery person spoke up.
"Thought I'd find you down here."
Ejiro twisted his body around in shock, getting in a battle stance, gripping the paper towel tighter as he balled his fist. His tension faded, the sight before him was none other than Mina Ashido, sporting a purple tank top, and black leopard print shorts, her expression was one of sadness and worry as their eyes met each other. Kirishima put on a brave face, and forced a smile that would make anyone hurt with a single glance.
"Well I do live here now Ashido," he fake chuckled.
She made her way over to the kitchen counter across from the sink, and took a seat on the end that allowed to still face him.
"Really? After all this time and you still stay so formal by calling me 'Ashido'," she smiled back.
"We both know if I start calling you 'Mina' you'll tease me about it," he said taking a seat at the counter directly across from her; continuing to try and dry his hair with the paper towel.
"Nah, I think I can get more material out of your faulty hair dye," she smiled, pointing at the paper towel.
"Well crap, I figured it had been awhile since I took care of this mess."
"You got more dye right?"
"Yeah, I'll do it tomorrow morning, Mr. Aizawa is letting us take a day off after the…operation," he frowned, forcing Mina to try and quickly shift the mood back.
"Well good, I need my horn buddy back in tip top shape," she giggled as she twirled her horns with her fingers.
"Horn buddy," he chuckled.
"Oh? What, you want me to call you 'dumb hair' like your favorite explosion boy?"
"No thanks, I'm good," his remark made her laugh, her smile was honestly a sight that made the darkest of days bright to him, he never spoke aloud about it because she would pick up on it in seconds, forcing the rather blunt young man to be subtle for once. It failed this time, a brief and genuine grin forced its way to the surface, as well as a tinge of pink. The pink skinned girl caught it, happy to see him step away from the gloom, it was cute to see him get flustered at her; a peer past the manly bravado he always put on.
"So what are you doing up," he asked.
"Oh, I just couldn't sleep really. Nothing major, just practicing some new dance moves."
"But you said you'd find me here."
"Oh, yeah well, I knew you would always work out in your room, and would probably over do it," she lied, 'Smooth Mina, smooth like butter!'
"…"
'Maybe not that smooth,' she frowned, "Didn't buy it eh?"
"I may be a bit dumb…but not that dumb."
"Stop calling yourself dumb."
"Why shouldn't I?"
"Because it's wrong."
"How?"
"You were the only one who thought it was a good idea to go save Bakugo."
"Yeah, and almost got you guys expelled."
"It was worth it to save him."
"I guess…"
"Kirishima…"
"Yes?"
"What's wrong…I know you said you were getting there, but you look like a mess."
"And who wouldn't be?"
"Nobody, I didn't mean it that way."
"Then what did you mean?"
"You look scared," words that cut him deep, he had focused so long on never being weak again, to stay strong so he wouldn't freeze, and now...he was scared, his eyes went down the bangs of his hair shadowing them.
"…Ashido…"
"Just please," she reached her arm across the surface of the counter, taking his hand into her own, caressing the top of it with her thumb, "Let me know what you all went through, if it's hurting you this much."
"…Not…in front of you."
"What?"
"Not, in front, of you."
"And why not?"
"Because I don't wanna look weak again! I can barely take looking at myself that way, so having someone who remembers me like that is too much."
"I would never think of you as weak."
"You would if you saw me there…barely able to do anything..."
"Tell me about it then, that way I can prove you wrong," she gripped his hand a bit tighter, reaffirming her stance of being there for him, one that he did appreciate, he needed to tell somebody about it no matter how he looked, plus it was futile to try and fight her on this. So, with his heart full of reluctance, he spoke:
"It started when we all raided the Hisaikai base…"
The tale left her speechless, in a way she felt selfish for even believing that her friends were even remotely okay. Tears had rolled down her face, covering her mouth with her hands, the only reason she didn't fully breakdown was because at least Eri had made it out okay, but her friend was much worse for wear, giving a look that made him seem like he had aged a thousand years, his eyes having bags under them, as he stared blankly down at the counter top.
"We're having his funeral in secret soon, Eri cannot know about it period…at least until she's old enough to hear it, so…"
"Y-yeah, *sniff* I'll keep my mouth shut," she wiped the tears from her eyes, as she got up from her chair, walking over to his side, and taking a seat next to him, tenderly placing a hand on her shoulder, "But Kirishima you can't-"
"It wouldn't have mattered…if I did more," the pain in his voice coming emanating with every word.
"I know you wish you did more-"
"If I could've caught up instead of getting knocked out after that big guy beat me down."
"Kirishima stop."
"Fat would've been able to do something if I was a better shield."
"I said stop," she said aggressively, grabbing his free shoulder and twisting him and his seat to face her. However, his head still hung low.
"He wouldn't be in the ground."
"Kirishima."
"I'm weak and people got hurt."
"Look at me."
"I'm weak and someone's in the ground."
"Look at me."
"I'm weak and my friend's keep getting hurt."
"Damnit I said-"
"I know what you said," he uncharacteristically yelled, shocking his oldest friend as she placed her hands on his cheeks and forcibly raised his head to meet her gaze.
"T-Then!-…."
…
Silence befell the room, the very sight before her had removed her sense of frustration at his words of self-deprecation. His tears rolled down harder than she had ever seen, his jagged sharp teeth completely visible as they gritted and trembled, his lips turned downward, and streams of water left undried ran down to his chin colored red by the fading dye.
"Look…at me," her grip on his face loosened, the expression pained her, like a bullet to her soul, the pain he held in had all finally come out.
"Ashi-Ashido…w-what is wrong with me?"
"Oh sweetie," she pulled him toward her, the fight to keep his distance had faded as his body gave into the pull, placing his head on her shoulder, his sobs becoming muffled as he buried his face into her, her arms wrapped around his torso gently, "Nothing is wrong you."
"Then why *sniff*... d-do I feel like something is?"
"Because, you can't do everything, and you keep getting frustrated because of it."
"A real hero can."
"No. They can't, all they can do is try."
"Then, I'm a nobody."
"No, you're not, listen to me. You did what you NEEDED to do, you saved Fat Gum from that Rappa guy, you saved Bakugo with the others, and if you didn't do those things, then it could've gotten so much worse for everyone, you helped save that poor little girl, so many are here right now, all because of one simple truth: you are not weak."
"I'm not…?"
"No, you are not, Fat Gum knows that, Amajiki knows that, the rest of the class knows that," she hesitated, her deeper feelings flowing out, she wasn't sure if this was the time to even speak about it, but…maybe he needed it, "And I know that, so maybe," closing her eyes, she nuzzled her head against his, and whispered "You should start believing the same thing that we all do."
"…You really believe that," he let out, his sobs stopping temporarily, as he raised up a little from her shoulder, a light blush took his cheeks, he wouldn't say it aloud, but her hair rubbing against him felt nice.
"I do."
"And what if…you get attacked…and I can't save you?"
"Then I will kick the crap out of them myself," she giggled.
"And what if you can't?"
"I'll be fine, as long as you're there anyway," she rubs her hand through his messy hair playfully, "Although, I think I may die from shock if your dew stays like this, lonnnnng before any villain could get me."
"Heheh *sniff* hehe, come on it's not that bad," he laughed, the most genuine one he's had in days, bringing the alien queen such joy that she couldn't describe.
"Oh yes, it is," looking at her red covered palm.
"You're just saying that to get your horn buddy back."
"Guess you caught me red handed," she lowered her hand to his line of sight.
"Oh my god."
"What?"
"That was awful."
"No it wasn't! I am a pun master!"
"Someone needs to take that title away from you ASAP, before you harm innocent people."
"Oh please I'm not that bad."
"The last thing someone hears before disaster."
She raises him up, and proceeds rubs the dye covered hand against his cheek and smears it across to the other.
"Come on man," he chuckles, attempting to rub it off.
"What? You don't like that RED Riot hahaha," she countered his efforts by rubbing in the dye on his face with both hands.
"HAHAH STOP COME ON!"
"Nope, gonna do it till your skins 100% red!"
"Oh really now Pinkie?"
"You bet!"
"Then ya know what," he runs his hands slowly through his hair, covering his palms with the red hair dye, as a drop of sweat went down Ashido's face, "Hey I'm feeling a bit down again I think I need another hug."
"No you don't," she jumps from the seat.
"Nah think I do," he gave a teasing grin with his arms wide open.
"No no no no no no," she places a chair between them.
"Ya know I think Reddie sounds better than Pinkie don't you think?"
"Kirishima I swear, I'll melt your face off!"
"Ah alright," he walks over to the sink, turning on the faucet and placing his hands inside, "Oh hey Mr. Aizawa!"
"Huh," she jumped, turning toward the elevator in a oanic. Only to see nothing, realizing her mistake she turned back quickly, a now easy target for Kirishima as he swiftly smeared streaks of red from the top of her head down to her chin with his fingers, "You. Did. Not," she laughed and growled, rubbing her face with her forearm.
"Oh yes I did! It's called payback."
"Well if that's the case...THEN IM GONNA!-"
Mina planned to get him back quickly, as soon as she opened her eye's though she was met with a clean wet rag extended to her by the young man, "Eh, nevermind, it wasn't your color anyway."
Mina smirked taking the rag from his grip, wiping her face with it as she walked over to him, whilst Ejiro continued to wash off the red.
The young man looked over after his face was clean and smiled, looking at the girl who sheltered his burden without a second thought, glad that she came down tonight. He couldn't stop his thoughts of her, how heroic she was during middle school, that cheery personality, those distinct cute eyes, and her endurable spirit, the one that made him fall for her years ago…
Maybe now…
He should say how he feels.
"Hey Kiriiiiiiiiiii."
"Hm?"
"You missed a spooot," she teased, pointing at his blush, the embarrassed red riot then turning his head away to hide his blush.
"A-ah, thanks Mina."
"Oh my, how personal using my first name like that," the remark made him blush harder.
"W-well you and I have known each other awhile like you said ya know, so...no need to be formal."
"Ah so you wanna get personal," she kept the catlike grin as she closed the space between them, her head only a couple inches from his.
"I uh, well that's not untrue but uh."
"Goooo on."
"…"
"Kirishima?"
"…"
"You in there?"
"..."
"H-hey, I didn't mean to offend you or anything, I was just having some," she felt a warm tender grip enclose her hand, he turned toward her again revealing his now only slightly red face, an expression that looked like a mixture of embarrassment and seriousness, "Fun..."
"M-Mina."
"Y-Yeah," she said, looking shocked at his mood change.
"Thank you, for everything tonight," he said calmly, making her swoon a little.
"N-No problem," the tables having turned, for once in her life, Mina Ashido's cheeks were crimson, her feelings for the young man had began to actually overpower her, that and the warmth she felt that her friend was now okay, happy to see him back to form.
"A-also."
"What?"
"C-can I uh…*gulp*…look I got a question and, is it cool if I whisper it?"
"But, we're the only two people in the room and probably the only ones awake at that."
"Yeah I know but…it's kind of…it's weird but can I please?"
"Uh sure, fire away."
Kirishima leaned over to her ear, and whispered the question that he wanted to ask for a long, long time.
Slowly pulling himself away, nervous at the idea of her response, she didn't give one immediately a little shocked that he'd be so forward, raising her free hand to her chin stroking it.
"Y-ya know it's cool if you don't want to."
"I know."
"It's just I've felt this way for a while."
"Uh huh, I get that."
"Plus you've always been a huge inspiration to me."
"Mhm."
"And I think you're really cool."
"Right."
"So-" the girl cut him off, answering his question with a single action.
Kissing him square on the lips, surprising him to say the least, but that didn't stop Ejiro from giving in as he leaned forward to return the passion; turning off the faucet with his free hand, and then intertwining her fingers with his.
...
The moment ended after a few seconds, their lips parted as slowly as their eye lids opened, smiling at each other happily.
"So...I'm guessing you feel the same," he asked awkwardly.
"You could say that," she winked.
"Awesome, and thank you by the way."
"No problem, just one thing."
"Alright."
"If you ever feel this bad again, just come to my door alright? I don't wanna stupidly just lay in my bed when you're feeling so awful," she looked at him with a serious and concerned expression, letting him know she meant buisness.
"I will, I promise," he replied as she hugged him once more, this time though he returned, and his previously heavy body felt lighter than air.
"Besides, not very manly to make your girlfriend worry," they shared a laugh.
"Not to cut our moment there short but, I should probably dye my hair and hit the hay."
"Good, black doesn't suit you as well anymore."
"You uh, wanna help me?"
"Glad to, my manly man," she took his hand, as they made their way to the elevator, stepping inside and hitting the button for the fourth floor.
Kissing once more, as the doors closed.
The End.
Author: I honestly needed to write this, ive been through somethings these past few months and after screwing up a chapter of TodoMomo story i was losing faith in my abilities as a writer.
It honestly feels so good when i write emotional work like this, and I hope you all enjoyed writing this as much as I did.I know this isn't a popular ship but ive always liked that deeper connection Kirishima and Mina have that was introduced in the Eri Rescue Arc, and o think it would be really cute if they end up together at the end of the series or before hand despite me liking the KiriBaku ship a little bit more but thats just me.
Im gonna try and get some more chapters done this month but you all know me and how this month becomes next month.
Im really happy to see how long you all stuck by me and hope you continue to do so, going forward i wanna try doing stories with characters i havent really focused on in prior tales.
Hope you all have a good one, see ya next time.