Three weeks felt like an eternity. It was disillusioning to come back after her extended time away. Kuri had forgotten the exhaustion of her household: the nonstop nagging, often absent parents, and Mayu's untimely requests.
"Can we stop this and play something yet?"
Kuri glanced briefly at her brother, who was lying on the couch beside her. Mayu was slouching to such an extreme that he looked like he'd melted.
"No way," Kuri said, looking back at the screen. "I haven't watched this movie in so long."
Strangely enough, though, she wasn't watching it that intently. It was hard to focus on another person's story when she was caught up in her own. That day at the pool played on repeat in her mind. No matter what she had done during her entire stay at home, nothing could seem to fully distract her from thoughts of Bakugo. A contemplative frown resided on her face most days.
Mayu groaned, sliding from his seat onto the floor in a heap. He rolled his way to the television, and with an extended arm, reached up and shut it off.
"Hey!" Kuri exclaimed.
"You haven't played with me at all this whole time, and now there's only one day left before you leave," he said, beginning to set something up. Kuri crossed her arms, displeased but too lazy to stop him with force.
"Because I can never win!" she said grumpily.
"You've never cared about that." He was right. After Mayu had developed his quirk, Kuri had learned to take losing to him in stride. She couldn't really do anything about it anyway.
"...Well," Kuri said, not sure how to argue against him. "I'd rather just sit and watch movies."
"Because you're sad?" Mayu asked, shooting her a look. Kuri's eyes widened.
"What are you talking about?" she said conspicuously. Mayu rolled his eyes.
"I'm not dumb. And you're very obvious." Mayu held out a controller towards her.
"Whatever," Kuri huffed and took it from him. "It's not like it concerns you."
"Yeah, I'm not nosy—unlike you." Kuri scoffed and turned away. They sat in silence for a moment.
"Do you actually want me to tell you?" she asked, glancing back at him.
"Meh."
"Okay, then…"
While they played, Kuri's mind drifted elsewhere. She daydreamed for the billionth time what might have happened if Bakugo reciprocated her feelings. Would they be dating now? What would that mean for their future? Returning to California had reminded Kuri of the ever-approaching day that she would come back for good. Would Bakugo be willing to come back with her? Was she willing to stay in Japan with him? So Kuri decided it was for the best that he didn't like her back. Well, that's what she told herself to think.
Kuri loved him too much for her own good. Certainly too much to stay mad at him for rejecting her. He had no obligation to like her, so it was nonsensical for her to be angry. Though that didn't stop her from crying about it multiple times and constantly wishing she could take back her words.
In any case, Kuri was determined to patch things up with Bakugo as soon as she came back. She wasn't going to stay idle and prolong the inevitable awkwardness. When she stepped back into the dorms, she would find Bakugo and ask if he could ignore her feelings so they could be friends again. A tall order for Kuri, considering her shyness. But crush be damned, she refused to lose him in her life.
Friendship and romance were separated by a fine line. Kuri had a foot firmly planted on either side of it. She hadn't stopped loving him. There was no possibility of that happening. He was all that she adored. And though she regretted confessing, Kuri was surprised to feel a sense of ease. The secret was out now, which took some of the weight off of her shoulders. Well, there would be work to do to repair their friendship, but that wasn't going to be her problem until she got back, and Kuri had hope in her capabilities. It couldn't be that hard, right?
Oh, how naive she was.
After the soul-sucking ordeal of international travel, Kuri finally arrived back at Class 2-A's dorms. Though it was late, Mina had stayed up to greet her at the door. Helping carry some of her luggage as they went upstairs, Mina recounted the events of the past three weeks.
"Things were pretty normal while you were gone. We did our summer homework together and just kinda hung out," Mina said. "Typical summer vacay stuff."
"Well, I'm glad I didn't miss anything," Kuri said with a yawn. Her suitcase practically led her out of the elevator.
"Someone certainly was missing you, though," Mina said, making a quick glance at the boys' side of the fourth floor. Kuri tilted her head to the side, too tired to be shocked.
"Really?" Kuri said. She shuffled over to her door. Kuri wasn't sure what she had expected. For him to be happy in her absence? It filled her with quiet hope. Maybe he was willing to return things back to before.
"Yup," Mina said, setting down Kuri's bag. "He was moping basically the whole time you were gone. I wonder how he'll react tomorrow…"
Not great, Future Kuri answered.
In all her planning and building of her self-confidence, Kuri neglected to consider Bakugo's talent at running away from his problems. Though she had initially thought of approaching him during a meal and talking things out or catching him in the hall to chat, it seemed as if that would not happen. There were a few reasons why.
One, Bakugo had been avoiding her. After a good night's rest to recover from jet lag, Kuri awoke to absolutely no Bakugo in sight. He only left his room to eat or use the restroom, and even then, he was quick and never glanced in her direction.
Two, Kuri's will was more fragile than she thought, so she continued to put off speaking with him. Her first day back, Kuri had tried her best to gather the courage to talk to him. She stared at him from afar as he ate breakfast, standing in the kitchen area with her food and trying to organize her thoughts. Kuri had a script in her head of what to say, but she was sure to fumble her words. And before she could even take the first step towards him, he left the table. However, when other opportunities to speak to him appeared, Kuri always managed to delay her decision until it was too late.
Three, that's it. Those were the only things preventing Kuri from her goal. Still, those two measly obstacles were enough to make Kuri doubt. Maybe Bakugo wasn't willing to be friends again. So she withdrew from trying, their relationship returning to a state reminiscent of the tense two weeks that followed their first fight.
And so a week passed, bringing with it the new term.
Which meant it was time to return to the work study.
Kuri stood in Endeavor's office, accompanied by her friends. Plus Bakugo, who she wasn't sure how to categorize. They stood in a straight line, facing the desk as they awaited their orders for their first day back. Kuri fussed with her sleeves, not quite comfortable with standing next to Bakugo. It was pretty awkward to be beside the guy who had rejected her a month before and ignored her since.
"And you two," Endeavor said, looking in Kuri's direction. "You're patrolling today. The usual route."
"Me and Izuku?" Kuri asked hopefully, leaning towards her friend. As much as she loved Bakugo, Kuri wasn't sure she could bear the discomforting silence that was sure to follow them.
"No, you and the blond boy. You're partners, aren't you?"
Kuri felt like she was caving in on herself. At least she might have the chance to chat things out with Bakugo… Kuri glanced at him and caught him just as he looked away from her. Kuri held back a sigh and filed out of the building with Bakugo in tow.
That day was a record low for crime. During their patrol, there was virtually nothing to do besides interact with the public. Kuri and Bakugo did not speak to one another. In fact, Kuri was sure that Bakugo hadn't spoken at all that day.
And holy crap, it was awkward.
Multiple times throughout the patrol, Kuri opened her mouth as if to speak but repeatedly decided against it. She didn't know how to come up with fun banter anymore. Perhaps the time away had weakened her socializing skills.
They were already on their way back to the agency, and Kuri was losing time to make another attempt at conversation. She wasn't even dead set on fixing the friendship first thing. She just wanted to break the ice.
Kuri gulped, slowly building up her courage once again. She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, prompting Bakugo to halt as well. He turned to face her, looking her in the eyes for the first time since she'd been back. His expression seemed to soften in that split second they made eye contact.
"Baku—"
"Bunny?!"
An unfamiliar voice shouted Nakano's nickname—no, hero name. It was her hero name. Both of their heads whipped around in the direction of the voice and saw a girl running over. She looked to be a bit younger than them.
Bakugo backed away, allowing the child to have Nakano's attention. He stood with his arms crossed and watched their exchange, indifferent.
The girl seemed to have a similar quirk to Nakano and became a fan of hers after seeing her in the sports festival. And, in a fashion similar to Deku's, she wanted all the tips Nakano could offer about applications for her quirk. Bakugo's mind wandered as he stared at Nakano's bewildered but flattered face.
He had really missed her. Those three weeks had been hell. In the aftermath of his colossal fuck-up, Bakugo had locked himself in his room and mourned the death of his friendship with Nakano. Not that he cried. Okay, just once. Maybe twice.
All he wanted during that time was to speak with her again so he could apologize, but unfortunately, he still didn't have her number. What? Was he supposed to ask someone else for her number and face the unintelligible amount of embarrassment? No fucking way. But even if he did have her number, he thought it would be inappropriate to try and resolve something so important over the phone. Nakano probably wouldn't like it.
But despite all his wishes that she would come home faster, he couldn't even bother to meet her when she arrived. And then he avoided her for an entire week, never even acknowledging her presence. It wasn't out of any sort of hatred for her, though. He was just… confused. Why did he feel so overheated and panicked whenever she came by? She was the one with the crush, not him!
It was painful, the way she drove him crazy without so much as a glance. It was probably his karmic punishment for upsetting her that day at the pool. She probably hated him. But that didn't stop him from wanting to apologize.
Because he liked her. As any friend would.
Still, he had no idea how to go about doing anything because he was a clumsy buffoon who only ever managed to say the wrong thing. Thus, Bakugo continued to stand there silently, contemplating his confusing affection for Nakano as she chatted with the kid.
After a while, the girl finally said goodbye to Nakano and left. Nakano waved as the kid ran off. She looked back at Bakugo with a grin.
"Can you believe I have a fan?" Nakano asked, giddy. She looked less upset than before. He didn't feel worthy of sharing in her happiness, considering he was the source of her initial grief.
"I'm not surprised," he said, starting to walk again. He wanted to say more. There were so many reasons why Nakano would have a fan: her strength, her charisma, her kindness, her beauty. But if he said that, he would make a fool of himself. Even more than he had at the pool.
Those first few days after her return, it seemed as if Nakano had wanted to speak with him, and yet he had ignored her. He had likely made things exponentially worse by not taking the opportunity then to talk it out. She probably hated him beyond belief. So why was she this friendly with him now?
After a few brief moments of uncomfortable silence, Nakano cleared her throat.
"Oh," she said quietly. "And about what happened… Water under the bridge. If you can, please forget what I said. It'd be cool if things could go back to normal."
Bakugo couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nakano was being chill about this? Actually, that was unsurprising. He tried to subtly sigh with relief. There was hope for them.
"Of course," he replied, a bit carelessly. How could he promise her normalcy when he could barely manage to speak a complete sentence?
Bakugo had no time to ponder this query since Nakano's phone suddenly rang. She fished it out of her pocket and answered, putting the phone on speaker mode. Bakugo noticed that it was Deku calling.
"What's wrong?" Kuri asked. "You're on speaker, by the way."
"Kuri, this is an emergency," Deku said grimly. "Nana Sakamoto and Hayami Chiba have just been spotted on security footage a few blocks away from the agency."
Nakano's sharp intake of breath as Deku said their names made plain her shock. Bakugo glanced at her, concerned. Her hand holding the phone shook slightly, and she did not peel her eyes away from the screen.
"I'm sending you their approximate location now. It should only be about a block away. You've been dispatched to handle the situation, but we're also sending backup. Be careful, and good luck."
Nakano replied with solemn thanks, then hung up. She quickly pulled up the location that Deku had sent her. Bakugo hadn't seen her so serious in… ever.
She glanced up at him after confirming the position of the vigilantes, who had decided to stage their first reappearance in two months in a convenience store. Of all places. Nakano nodded wordlessly and began walking briskly down the sidewalk. Bakugo followed alongside her, guiding her into an alley near the store.
"What's your plan?" he asked quietly. Nakano looked up into his eyes, hers shining with a tenacity he was unused to.
"We're going to get them this time," she whispered. Bakugo nodded firmly.
"Whatever it takes," he said. A small smile lit up the corners of her lips but quickly retreated to form a sharp, resolute line.
"We need to subdue them and get this over with," she said. "One of us can go through the back entrance, and the other can go through the front door. That way—"
A figure abruptly materialized beside them, and though what proceeded occurred almost instantaneously, it felt as if time stood still. Both of their heads turned to see the familiar face of Hayami Chiba, one-half of the vigilante duo. Her sights were already set on Nakano, and her arm darted toward her with incredible speed. Bakugo reached for Nakano's wrist to pull her away, only to realize she was trying to do the same thing. Their hands clumsily joined just as Hayami brushed against the bare skin of Nakano's cheek.
Bakugo had wondered what it would feel like to travel between dimensions. Apparently, it felt like nothing at all, and he was left with a gnawing sense of loss as the dreamscape closed in around him. The inescapable darkness was all-encompassing as it warped and twisted, sending Bakugo into the depths of Hayami's abstraction.
