Day Out

It had been a few days since the ordeal with Overhaul and the Shei Hassaikai, and Estelle had spent most of those days dealing with spirits and in her dorm room. She had felt off ever since Eri was saved. She couldn't seem to place a finger on what it was exactly, so Estelle found comfort in taking down spirits to empty her mind.

The class mainly had steered clear of Estelle. She was appreciative that they had picked up that Estelle needed some space. She almost felt like they were beginning to come to some sort of understanding of how Estelle operated.

Estelle grew up without many people around her. Alone, for her, would not be what alone is for someone else. The class struggled to understand it, but it seemed that they were beginning to respect her wishes. At least a little.

She guessed the similarities within her own life were throwing her off. Estelle liked to chuck those memories to the back of her mind and right into the Abyss. It was how she managed so well back home; it never affected her. It was like the Abyss turned into a boomerang because it smacks into her face all hours of the day, and all Estelle could do was throw herself back into her work.

The work for the bridge has had no progress; Estelle wondered if this would be her life now. Though, she reminded herself it had only been two months - it had felt like a lifetime. It was a lot for Estelle, which was frustrating in itself. She had dealt with so much more, and she was falling under the pressure of her own mind. It was pathetic; it was weak.

Estelle trudged to the entrance of Height's Alliance with a slump. Her sleep had been more broken than usual after the events. Honestly, the solace she found in the night was the nature shows on the television. Estelle realised her newfound love for watching them and used it when she wasn't hunting. It was a way for her mind to stop thinking of current events and just marvel at the beauty of the creatures. The creatures Estelle was familiar with were gruesome, so it was a nice change.

Bakugo was an odd one. The male had found her in the living room every night, and he would silently join her. He wouldn't say a word but would gesture to his lap. Estelle had begun to feel more comfortable in his presence, and she found that her mind relaxed the most it had ever been within his proximity. It was odd. She didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

It was a Friday afternoon when Estelle had gotten back from hunting. It was strange as the woods had primarily been silent; it was a bizarre contrast from the days before where the trees rustled with the movement of these creatures throughout the day.

She could only guess that it was just an oddity from the norm and not something else. She couldn't be so quick to jump to conclusions as it could be something simple as shifting in the territory. But still, it put her on edge.

She also found the whole thing kind of frustrating. Usually, Estelle would be over the moon to not deal with these things. But right now, she was using her katana to clear her mind. The hike through the woods was all-consuming. There was nothing to occupy Estelle, and she fell so deeply into her thoughts that her cheek bled from the aftermath.

She healed up the worst of it when Estelle made it into the common room. The students had an early finish and were gathered in various pockets around Heights Alliance. Pursing her lips, Estelle made her way to pick up a light snack.

Lost in her own world, Estelle ate her cookies in silence. Estelle glimpsed upwards mid-bite only when she could see legs at her side. Her eyes enlarged slightly at the glower towards the side of her face. Keeping her gaze innocent, Estelle held the baggie of cookies out for the hot-headed male to take.

Hearing a growl, Estelle inwardly smirked as Bakugo violently smashed his hand in the bag to take the biscuit and shoved it in his mouth. Chewing viciously, the blonde kept his eyes at why he was so volatile.

Shaking her head, Estelle moved the baggie back to take another cookie out for herself. Startled when it was ripped away from her, Estelle looked up at Bakugo with disapproval.

"Tch, what do you think you're doing?!" He growled back out in answer.

Raising a brow, Estelle said her following words slowly for him to understand, "I was eating cookies?"

"Gahh! You know that's not what I'm talking about!"

Gazing up at him in confusion, Estelle was inwardly stunned by his words. She could understand his company in the dead of night, but now it had translated to the daytime like they were friends. Estelle felt uncomfortable from the thought, and the blonde could see it. The male frowned at her in objection.

She was conflicted. Bakugo's presence was quiet and comforting, but she knew it was wrong. It wasn't something that she would be able to continue to do. It wasn't fair to either of them. Bakugo was just too stubborn to realise it.

She had been silent for too long in Bakugo's eyes since he spoke, jerking her from her thoughts. "Well? What is that for?"

"There was less activity today. I got lost in thought; that's all." Estelle explained, purposely keeping it short and blunt.

Bakugo wasn't dense though, it was enough for him to puzzle some of the pieces together. He knew she had asked for patience, but he surmised that if they didn't push Estelle at all. She would never step up. He had some form of gratification in his stomach when he realised that Estelle willingly gave him enough information to figure it out.

He was quiet as he thought about the next possible course of action. This was pitiful, sitting by herself like this. It wasn't like Estelle at all; she was strong and resilient. From whatever had occurred during the rescue mission seemed to have shaken her somehow. He didn't like it, not one bit. It wasn't her. Grunting to himself, he seemed to have come to some form of conclusion. "Get up."

Taken aback, Estelle gazed at him with bewilderment from the strange request. Finding no reason to decline, Estelle followed his ask. The blonde immediately grabbed her arm, leading her to the exit and stopping at the door. Turning to her swiftly, he muttered, "Wait here, I'm gonna grab a jacket."

Before she could even ask what the hell was going on, Bakugo was gone like the wind. Slumping in defeat and aggravation, Estelle took the time to try to figure out what he was doing.

Considering she was standing at the exit, she could only guess that they were going out to do something. What? she couldn't figure out. There wasn't enough info to deduce the likely scenario. Thinking in the silence, Estelle had the second thought of leaving before returning. Should she even be going somewhere with him? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of what Estelle was trying to accomplish? There was also the factor that Estelle favoured being alone; she didn't need someone else.

Before she could come to a decision, Bakugo was back in front of her. Estelle noted the hidden relief in his eyes when he saw her, and she immediately knew why that was.

'He thought I was going to run.'

Estelle felt some guilt for that as he dragged her out of the door and started walking. But, she was also staggered once again that he figured her out so well. It was strange and weird, but strangely and weirdly thoughtful. She was conflicted once again.

A light thump to Estelle's head shook her out of her daze, and she realised that they had finally come to a stop. Gazing up, Estelle felt something grip at her as she felt his stare.

"So, you fall into your thoughts a lot, huh?" he muttered out as if he understood.

Estelle didn't know how to feel about that or how to respond. So, she did what she did best, ignore it. "Where are we going?"

"Tch, you'll see. The bus will be here any minute."

Knowing the boy would be tenacious, Estelle accepted her fate. She may know locations well from her patrols, but anything out of the woods was never explored. She was effectively clueless.

After Estelle was shut down from paying her fare on the bus, the two sat in comfortable silence as the transportation took them to their location. Estelle was still trying to understand that she was actually here. What was she thinking? Not much clearly. She was failing at her original promise. She shouldn't be here with him or anyone, frankly.

Another thump brought her out of her daze. Bakugo's eyes gave the exact words he had given previously 'stop thinking.'

That was not something Estelle could do without a sword in hand. She lived and breathed in her chaotic mind. In an attempt to not get another thump, Estelle fidgeted with her sleeves as time went on. She was utterly unaware of Bakugo's eyes watching her throughout the journey.

When the pair eventually got off the bus, Estelle heeded Bakugo as they headed to the unknown place. A few minutes later, Bakugo's hand dropped from her arm, and Estelle glanced up to find out what was going on. Her eyes widened when they finally trailed up to the sign raised up high in the sky.

'Animal Sanctuary'

Estelle broadened her sights in shock as she took a step back. Her mind whirred to the only thing she knew. Estelle felt nausea grow at the base of her tummy, and it only continued to grow as she spoke the following words out loud. "A zoo? Where they cage and lock up animals?!"

Bakugo's own eyes enlarged in response before realisation slowly dawned on him as he observed her disgusted expression grow on her face. A minor panic expanded as he quickly moved to rectify the situation. This wasn't how this was supposed to go.

"You Idiot! Do you really think I would take you to a shitty place like that? This isn't a zoo; it's a sanctuary, so they rehabilitate animals and release them back into the wild. Breathe, Lioness. These people are helping them."

Estelle slumped in relief. A large breath left her lungs as Estelle took in the air again. When Estelle found out about majestic animals, she looked them up online. She wondered if it was possible to see them in person, but when she found about zoo's, Estelle felt a rage she hadn't experienced in a long time. How dare they trap them for the pleasure of others? It was vile and cruel, and as much as Estelle would love to see them, she could never support that.

The gruesome pictures were so easily shown on the internet to emphasise the horrid nature of these places. Estelle couldn't find it in herself to research more. She wanted to see them alive and free, not caged up like she once was. She never found out that there was a better side of the coin. Her heart lightened to the realisation that these animals were okay.

Bakugo watched her as she slowly relaxed and sighed in consolation himself. Putting his hand on her head, Bakugo gave a small ruffle as he grunted, "I know how much you love shitty animals. I wouldn't do that to you."

The blond stilled as a small smile grew on Estelle's face from his words. It was barely noticeable, but Bakugo thought it lightened her from the weight she carried around. His face softened from the picture.

Stepping forward, Estelle felt a new glimmer of something she couldn't fully name. The closest she could describe was anticipation. Grabbing Bakugo's arm for a change, Estelle proceeded to take both of them to the entrance.

Bakugo couldn't hold back his smile as she moved them quickly to the counter. He knew she was trying to hide what she was feeling but failed miserably. She was excited. Bakugo's grin broadened at the realisation; She looked her age for once.

Booking themselves a slot was pretty dull, but Estelle chipped in so that the pair could get a private tour. Estelle would do anything to avoid too many people. She was practically bouncing on her toes by the time they were walking to their first visit.

Walking up to the stable, Estelle widened her eyes from the scenery. It was a majestic four-legged creature with long hair and a neck. Flicking her eyes up to Bakugo, he pointed to the sign in front, which explained the animal further.

"A horse", Estelle muttered before flicking her eyes back up to the animals.

Bakugo and the supervisor could see Estelle's sheer awe from the sight. With small smiles, they watched as Estelle stepped forward to get a closer look. A tiny smile showed on her face as she observed a doctor helping one of them.

"We aren't supposed to do this, but you can feed them if you want?"

Estelle jerked her head to the side to gaze at the woman standing with an affectionate grin. Estelle felt mute from the whole experience, so she nodded slowly in answer.

Taking the time to feed a few of the animals, Estelle brushed the mane of Celia, the horse. Her short laugh of surprise rung out as the horse butted Estelle's shoulder with a snort. Gazing at the animal fondly, Estelle patted her head.

"Celia was the runt of the bunch and was abandoned when she was a baby. We don't know how she survived without her mum. We'll be letting her back out into the wild in two weeks."

Turning sombre, Estelle hushed as she stroked the horse's head and muttered back. "So, you persevered, huh? You keep doing that, okay?"

To everyone's amazement, the horse gave a snort back in acknowledgement before leaning her head against Estelle's with softness. Estelle gave a slight lip tilt in reaction before stepping back, conscious that time in this pod was reaching its end.

Walking to the next area, the trio was more gentle from the scene earlier. Because of that, the supervisor decided to take them elsewhere.

Estelle raised a brow at the pen in the middle of the field. Walking inside the opened house door. Estelle was taken aback by the sheer force of the animals rushing towards them. Estelle and Bakugo both fell onto their butts from the unexpected blow. When the duo finally recognised that they were being licked, they discovered they were surrounded by dogs.

Letting out a small laugh from the kisses she was getting, Estelle tried to calm the overexcited animals jumping over each other. Ruffling as much fur as she could, Estelle couldn't hold back her grin from the sheer joy emanating from the animals.

Bakugo eyed her when he realised that this moment was the most content he had ever seen her.

Throwing a bunch of toys for them to catch, Estelle and Bakugo sat side by side as they sat amidst the puppies and doggies all around the room.

Their shoulders brushed side by side as they continued their session of play. Bakugo had no idea what to say within the silence; later, he recognised that he didn't need to say anything at all. He didn't want to break the bubble she was in, surrounded by what makes her happy; animals. However, he found it hard to admit that the animals weren't the star of the show. But the girl beside him, unconsciously beaming as she threw the toys repeatedly for the dogs to catch.

The pair were eventually snapped out of their collective dazes when the supervisor interrupted to take them to their following location.

"He's beautiful", Estelle murmured as she stared at a baby monkey. Before Bakugo could even respond in acknowledgement, the baby monkey's mother landed on his face with a squawk. Estelle tried to hold back her grin whilst her fellow student rambled as he attempted to pull at the animal gripping his cheeks. The supervisor surrounded him in panic as she strained to help.

Estelle's view was so funny; she failed to hold back and belted out a laugh as the animal was eventually removed. Walking back up to Estelle with red cheeks and a grumble, Bakugo shot the humorous girl a glare as she attempted to stile her joy from the mauling that had just taken place.

"Stop laughing, Lioness! I'll tear you to shreds!"

A few slips of laughter managed to pass Estelle's lips as she tried to keep it together. It ultimately failed as she gazed at the paw print on the side of his face. Falling into another quick spell of laughter, Bakugo watched her with a deadpanned expression. It was only as her humour started to die off that Bakugo dropped his facade to let a smile slip, his eyes gazing at her with a strange aura that Estelle pointedly ignored.

The day continued, seeing various animals and spending time with them. It was evening when they left the sanctuary and headed onto the bus for UA. The silence droned on between the two, which Estelle was fine with. As much as she relished the day, she was exhausted and was looking forward to finally getting some shut-eye as it hasn't come easy.

The pair ambled back to Heights Alliance side by side. It was then that Estelle spoke up to Bakugo's surprise.

"Thank you for taking me there, Ruby."

"It's fine; I just needed to get you out of your shitty head."

"You didn't need to do that. But, I appreciated it. I've never had a day where I enjoyed myself like that. Until today. Thank you."

"Tch, whatever," Bakugo muttered as he turned his head away. It was unexpected for him; he felt conflicted with himself. Was this the first time she had smiled this much? It shot a bizarre discomfort through him to realise that with her words, it probably was. But, on the other hand, he felt gratification knowing that he provided that to her. It was a swirl of unknown and battling emotions, and the blonde did whatever he could to lock them out.

The two parted ways amicably, a small smile on their lips as they ambled away from each other.