Cracked Shell

It was the third time this week that Bakugo and Kirishima arrived at the cafe to study. Estelle wasn't surprised when she watched them walk through the doors and sit at the same table they'd learned at for the last two days. Estelle shook her head at her emotions since they had become confusing. She felt annoyed that they were here again and strangely happy that they could fill the silence she used to enjoy.

Estelle has become increasingly aware of the silence in The Beanery once the boys had left a few days ago. She felt a little resentment for them since she had taken solace in the quiet. Now, when she was serving customers - she almost expected to hear Bakugo barking in the background.

When a little time had passed from when her classmates arrived, Estelle was surprised to be greeted by Shinsou standing sheepishly at the entrance. Raising an eyebrow in question, Estelle picked up her notepad and met the boy halfway.

"Well, this is unexpected. Where you just looking for some coffee?"

Shinsou shrugged whilst he responded, "Well, I wouldn't mind some, but I came here to drop off your jumper. You left it with me the last time we met."

"Oh! Yeah, I forgot about that. Thank you. Sit down, and I'll get you something."

Shinsou nodded before taking a seat at the table Estelle gestured to. He waited patiently for his beverage, his fingers still clenched around the black jumper she left when they last trained. Shinsou's eyes scanned the cafe and widened in disbelief when he discovered the two studying students. The male noticed that Estelle wasn't close with her class; she wasn't close with many people at all. It was odd to view her with other people. The Class 1A students gawked back at Shinsou.

"Oi. What do you think you're doing here, shit for brains?" Bakugo scowled out.

"Didn't you hear? I'm here to drop off my friend's jumper from when we last hung out," Shinsou retorted with a smirk. He found his mission of getting under the blonde's skin was successful as Bakugo visibly growled before turning his head away with a 'Tch.'

Estelle brought out a black coffee, his favourite and placed it in front of the tired-looking boy. He flashed Estelle a grateful smile before taking a sip of his drink.

"You make great coffee, you know? Anyway, here is your jumper. When do you finish?"

Estelle took the jumper whilst responding, "I finish when we close at seven. Why?"

"I thought maybe we could hang out?" Which was code for training.

"Tch, why do you think we're here? Idiot. She's with us today." Bakugo piped up from his seat as he stared down at the purple-haired male. Shinsou showed no outward expression that he heard and kept his eyes on the female he was talking to. He smirked when he heard Bakugo growl once again at the apparent jab. Estelle shook her head at the juvenile antics of the two.

"Sorry, but it seems I'm busy today. How about I text you the next time I'm free?"

Shinsou took another gulp of his drink before nodding with a brief smile. He went to his pocket to take out some cash to pay for the beverage but was dismissed by Estelle since it was on the house.

"A gift for bringing me my jumper."

Taking another gulp to finish his coffee, Shinsou stood up and hugged the girl. Estelle was getting used to Shinsou's hugs; he made sure to give her one at least once every time they met. Most of the time, it still startled her, but she patted his back until he let go and left through the cafe doors with a slight wave.

Estelle grumbled to herself about the fact he was a clingy boy who was too affectionate for his own good before she was disrupted by the two boys at the side of her vision. Turning to them, she saw her classmates try to close their jaws at the scene they had just watched. Kirishima jumped up in his shock, shouting, "Hugs!? How does he get hugs, and we get the cold shoulder?!"

Estelle shook her head in slight amusement and responded, "He pretty much forced me to accept them. "

"Can I hug you?"

"No."

"Wh-what?!" Kirishima sputtered.

Estelle just chuckled back at the redhead.

"How come you two are so close?" Kirishima continued to ask inquisitively.

"We aren't."

"You don't hug us, though!"

Estelle sighed and concluded that she had to give some form of an answer. "He helps me sometimes, and I help him. I guess we could call ourselves acquaintances. He just likes to be affectionate. Stop looking so deeply into it."

The two teens visibly loosened a little at the answer, relieved that it wasn't just the class she was so cold with. Estelle shifted to Bakugo and asked a question that made him tense back up.

"Why did you say I already had plans with you guys?"

Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly while Bakugo tried to find his words. He finally managed to when Kirishima kicked his leg from under the table.

"Well, we were going to ask you if you wanted to have dinner with us - As thanks for letting us study here. Don't think for a second that I'm being nice! I don't like to owe people anything!" Bakugo shouted at the end, red tinting his cheeks with a frown.

Estelle wanted to say no.

'But their faces.

They looked so hopeful.'

God. Someone, please kill her now.

"Sure."

Kirishima pumped his fist up in delight with a broad grin.

Estelle sat across from Kirishima and Bakugo and ordered their meals. Estelle was pretty happy with the spot they were eating at. She loved pizza since they were not something that existed back home. One day, Nona took her for some, and Estelle fell in love. She could eat the cheesy goodness for breakfast, lunch and dinner if she didn't keep an eye on her diet so much.

They sat in silence when they ordered the food. Kirishima decided to take the opportunity to befriend the lonely girl.

"Did you know Black Heart is playing in Hosu next week? I'm so pumped!"

"What's Black Heart?"

"Only greatest band ever! I can't believe you haven't heard of them?"

"Band?"

"Yeah, like music."

"Music? Like poetry?"

The two boys looked at the girl strangely as she tried to figure out what Kirishima was talking about. She was so sure she covered everything when she was researching this world but by the looks of their faces.

'I must have missed something.'

Estelle grew flustered at the fact that she was probably making a fool of herself; Kirishima awkwardly smiled and tried to explain. Taking out his phone, it was silent while he flicked through his screen like he was eagerly looking for something.

After giving a sound of achievement, Kirishima placed his phone on the table and asked Estelle to listen. She leaned forward, unsure of what to expect.

The words rang out quietly along with a melody. Estelle's eyebrows rose in wonder, and she gazed at the phone with apt attention. The two boys watched her with interest. She looked like a child who had discovered something new for the first time.

But this was music. Why is Estelle so surprised?

Estelle tried to hold in her awe at the sounds she had never heard before. To her, it was as if a poet had masterfully woven words together to go along with a beat. She was enthralled by the bliss her ears were experiencing. She smiled slightly at the phone lying between them. This world just keeps on surprising her.

The teens sitting across from Estelle were deadly silent since they feared that interrupting the quiet would break Estelle from her childlike gaze. Their eyes softened from the sight. She may be aloof to them nearly all the time, but this showed a hardened exterior that she portrayed to the world.

Unfortunately, the calm came to an abrupt stop when the waiter arrived with their meals. Estelle immediately leaned back and shook her head like she had just awakened herself from some form of hypnosis. She awkwardly looked away, embarrassed at being caught like that.

The two boys didn't say a word, aware that commentary would probably make Estelle run for the hills. Instead, they thanked the waiter and began to delve into their meals.

"How have you never heard of music before?" Bakugo asked, finally breaking his silence.

"I grew up sheltered, I guess. It was never something that was introduced to me," Estelle was quick to answer.

"What about when you went to Nona's?" Kirishima piqued in question.

"I haven't been with Nona for long, and I never knew it existed. Why would I search for something I never knew anything about?" Estelle asked back rhetorically.

The two classmates nodded in understanding while Kirishima muttered, "That makes sense."

"I thank you for showing me. It was... nice." Estelle thanked, inwardly a little embarrassed and turned her head away again to hide her light blush.

Kirishima brightened up with his enormous grin. "It's no problem; I'm glad I got to show you something new!"

Estelle gave a small smile back in return for his kind words; Kirishima's grin broadened if that was even possible. Bakugo watched the scene with a scoff and grabbed his phone from his pocket whilst muttering incoherently.

"Here," he growled and hurled his phone onto the table, making Estelle and Kirishima jump. They both looked at him in question as he stared them both down.

"That was only one song! There's a fuckton of them out there. Take our playlists and listen to them. It's disgraceful only knowing one."

Estelle squinted her eyes at the blonde as if she was trying to read his mind to no avail. She recognised that this was his way of being friendly with a dash of his usual insults. Estelle gave the same small smile to the blonde that she gave to Kirishima previously and took his phone to copy his playlists. He had a weird way of being kind.

She didn't see his blush.

The three carried on throughout their meals, talking about various types of music and their differences. The two boys randomly shouted out multiple people to write down into her phone to check out.

She was a little confused at why they called them artists when they don't draw, but she figured she would google it later to prevent further humiliation.

Estelle found herself enjoying the conversation throughout the meal. Bakugo and Kirishima seemed to be having a good time as well. Unfortunately, Estelle felt an odd feeling wash over her when they were nearing the end of their meals. Estelle instantly froze at the familiar rush and discreetly attempted to check her surroundings. She had checked as soon as she stepped into the room, just like she always did. There was nothing of suspicion.

Looking around the restaurant for the cause gave no answer, but Estelle knew that this atmosphere was no coincidence anymore. Looking down at her table in thought, her eyes widened at what she saw.

It was a napkin.

With a drawing of a raven sitting on an hourglass.

But what was even odder was the message written underneath.

'Your joy will forever make me sick. Till we meet again Multum magna occisio machina.'

Estelle's breath halted.

The two boys broke off their minor argument at the sound and turned to the pale woman. She stared at her napkin that was now lifted up to her face. Quickly stuffing the tissue into her pocket, Estelle stood up abruptly and turned to the concerned males looking up at her.

Giving a quick bow, Estelle calmly voiced, "I apologise for leaving this dinner early since it was for me. Honestly, you didn't need to, but I appreciate it nevertheless. The cafe is open to you anytime. I will take my leave now."

Estelle dropped a few bills onto the table without another word and made quick headway out of the door. She finally let her facade slip as her gaze quickly flicked around the area in hopes of finding a culprit.

Startled, Bakugo and Kirishima jumped out of their seats to stop and challenge her further, but Estelle was already on the streets. Not used to giving up, the two males nod to each other in silent approval. Kirishima quickly made his way to the counter to pay whilst Bakugo made his way to search for the girl who so suddenly rushed off.

Bakugo tracked Estelle down the road since she already had a head start. He attempted to reach her as fast as he could. Bakugo growled in difficulty as he barged past bystanders in his determination to find out what the hell was going on.

He ultimately caught up to her further down the street, yelling her name and obscenities at the fact she was pointedly ignoring him. Bakugo grabbed her arm and forcefully turned her around as he exclaimed, "What the hell was that, Lioness? You can't just do that and then bolt!?"

Estelle grimaced at the howling blonde before hissing, "It doesn't matter, leave me be, Bakugo."

"Like hell, it doesn't matter! What made you run off like that?!"

Estelle's eyes dart around to those walking past suspiciously, causing Bakugo to be put on edge. Thundering footsteps could be heard behind the blonde, forcibly allowing Estelle's paranoia to burst. Before the footsteps could fully reach the duo, Estelle rushed to the intruder in a blink of an eye. Bakugo, who was still looking forward, blinked in confusion because Estelle literally disappeared in front of his eyes.

He was looking ahead in confusion and in the hope of finding her. His eyes widened at the whimpering sound from behind him. Turning around quickly, his mouth dropped slightly from the sight in front of him.

Estelle stood next to Kirishima, her back facing Bakugo with her hand raised to the redhead's neck like she was about to grip it and strangle him. She was frozen, a millimetre from his neck as if she had stopped herself just in time. Kirishima's face, which Bakugo could see since Kirishima was facing him, showed surprise and unease at the turn of events. Bakugo could also detect the slight terror in his eyes.

Estelle was looking at the ground, her hair shielding her face from view. It was a few moments of silence when they heard her take a deep breath before she slowly moved her hand away from Kirishima. The boy began to slacken once her hand was at a reasonable distance from his neck, fear etching away as concern overrode it.

"Sorry," Estelle muttered. "You scared me there for a second."

Kirishima loosened completely at the words and gave a small but worrying smile. "It's okay. Mind telling us what's got you twisted up like this?"

Estelle didn't answer.

"Hey! You can't just act all weird, go completely psycho and then be silent on us. We need some sort of explanation, Lioness!" Bakugo shouted out in his continued frustration. Estelle stopped before moving slowly to face her two classmates. Her posture immediately eased into a smooth and confident exterior. Bakugo's fury grew from the sight, he could tell she was hiding, and he was pissed that the frustrating barren emotion was back on her face!

"It isn't your concern. I appreciate the meal, but we are not friends. I will take my leave now."

"Like hell, you will!"

"Who the hell are you to tell me what I can and can't do?" Estelle seethed out before taking another deep breath to calm herself. "I said my goodbyes, and you both followed me. I don't need your concern."

Bakugo went to open his mouth to lash out at the female. Before his words could leave his mouth, the two boys realised she was gone.

Looking for her in the clusters of people walking on the street, they could see Estelle look at them from a crowd. She slowly slipped into the haze of people. She effectively disappeared from view.

Bakugo screamed to let out his temper and kicked the trash can next to him. Kirishima looked down at the pavement with an unsettled grimace.

'That could have gone better.'

Latin translation:

Multum magna occisio machina.

My little killing machine.