Another Ally

Estelle wondered why she bothered to stay at UA when she barely had time to attend class. She guessed it didn't matter anyway, considering she would be leaving and her grades would be useless, but Estelle kept up where she could. The female knew she was incredibly behind, but what could she do when so much attention was needed on the outside world?

It wasn't a shock for anyone when her phone rang in class. They had gotten used to overlooking the random chatter in the back of the classroom when her ringtone buzzed. The thing that caught them all off guard was the hopeful look on her face as she hustled out of the room, practically toppling over her two feet without a word.

Strutting down the hallways, Estelle's thoughts ran a mile a minute as she processed the new information. Surprisingly, Endeavour was the one to contact her, but she wasn't complaining; it was a win in her book.

Flying over to the location, Estelle nodded to the flaming male in greeting and gratitude once she anchored. As her wings disappeared from her back, he grunted, "It's good to see you, Estelle."

"You too, old man. Where is he?" she responded, pushing the feeling of conflict aside at the slowly swerving relationship.

"He's around the corner; follow me." Endeavour stated, motioning for her to shadow behind him.

Turning around a few trees, Estelle's head swivelled back and forth as she tried to glimpse the spirit she was looking for. She felt her heart choke as her gaze stopped on a pair of green eyes, and the tightening of her throat prevented her from saying a word.

Picking up her pace, Estelle wasn't surprised to see that the spirit was already in his warrior stance, his four fingers on his heart as he stared straight forward. "General."

"At ease, Lieutenant," Estelle answered softly, mainly in disbelief that her squad's second and final member was standing in front of her. The spirit towered over her, tall and extremely thin within his garments. If he was human, he would be considered malnourished to the point of decay. The most prominent part of his appearance was the blue tint to his elongated ears and barely noticeable and slightly webbed hands. Despite the build, the soul was mighty in battle. He was a Nix, a species of light spirits who lived by the water.

"Oh, Estelle! The horrors I have had to endure without you!"

'Ah, there he is,' Estellethought wryly as she monotoned, "You survived."

"By the skin of my teeth! The days are murky without your soul's sunlight to shine on my days! Oh, the horror!" The creature replied, his body in a T pose like performing a theatrical reading.

'So overdramatic.'

"Is he like this all the time?" Endeavour grunted, disgust in his voice as he stood a few meters behind them.

"Yes," Estelle deadpanned back. She had forgotten how irksome he could be.

"General! The poems I have written about the battles we have fought! You must join me in the remembrance of our timely conflicts! We must revel in the bloodshed and heartbreak we have weathered! Come, and I will read the tears of my words as we mourn the passing of those we love!"

"Shut up. Please," Estelle whined, a headache already arriving from the meeting.

"The battles, the death, the hardships, the depravity we have suffered!" He cried out, his hand on his face as he raised one leg to his other knee in some weird yoga pose.

Sagging in complete exasperation, Estelle and Endeavour stared at the male as he rattled on about the war in a disturbingly poetic way. Estelle must have blocked out the memories for this single purpose; how did she survive the fight with this idiot? Looking up at Endeavour, the hero seemed to be thinking the same thing as he scrutinised the spirit with disgusted scorn. The grimace on his face was evident as he desperately wished he was no part of this meeting.

"Libra! Shut up! Before I shove your poems so far up your ass, you'll wish you had never met me!" Estelle barked, knowing she had to step in before he lost himself within the words.

"My deepest apologies! I will revel in the pain of rejection!"

The strange thing about Libra was that he was a black sheep within his kind. Nix spirits lived off the music, and Estelle often found them singing by the lakes and sea. There was no lying; Libra was awful at it and was forced to be silent and separate from his kind. They despised him. They thought something was wrong with him, and they feared his presence would bring dark times.

When she recruited him (More like he followed her everywhere until she agreed), Estelle felt empathy for him and spent some time helping him gain some of his voice back. Though it would never be the form of music as he was too traumatised to try, they found a perfect middle ground.

Poetry.

To this day, she doesn't know if she regrets it or not since the man turned from being stubbornly silent to unable to shut the fuck up. But, he found something to pour his voice into, and ever since, he stood by her in battle through thick and thin.

Deadpanning, Estelle only soughed in response before delving into the topic of his arrival. After some time, he had calmed down; speaking to him became a relief since he wasn't always that over the top. The fact he hadn't seen her in a while undoubtedly set him off; nevertheless, after interrogating him, Estelle realised that none of the spirits could tell her where the fucking bridge was.

It was fine. As bothersome as it was, the bridge wasn't Estelle's top priority ever since her old guardian showed up. Estelle couldn't even think about leaving until she had dealt with the situation and she was actually able to return home. Endeavour stayed by her side, but she assumed it was more out of morbid curiosity than anything else.

Settling him into camp was pretty straightforward, but there was nothing else to report since the male had only just arrived. Having her two lieutenants by her side eased her in the reality that she wouldn't have to be completely unaided when she had to fight.

Walking back with Endeavour wasn't anything exciting, though the hero was uncomfortable with the body language he portrayed. "They call you general," He stated, his eyes peeking at her with curiosity.

"They do."

"I knew you were strong from our fight during your exam. But to be labelled as a general is a feat most will never accomplish. "

"Please don't bring up marriage," Estelle sighed, her shoulders drooping as she anticipated him to be an ass again.

Chuckling, the hero shook his head before responding. "As much as I would like you to join the family, I know not to push you. Shoto deserves more than I have given him, so I will accept the wife he chooses."

"You're improving."

"I still have a long way to go. But I ask because you seem to hate the spotlight, so it's very odd to see a group of shimmery beings look up to you as a leader. They watch you with awe; they look up to you. They don't have to say it because it's clear when they see you."

"I would have preferred not to be," Estelle admitted bashfully, taken off guard by his observations. She hadn't seen it herself, and it almost seemed wrong to think like that, but she also knew the hero wouldn't lie. "But, my home never gave me much choice. It was either me or let them all rot."

"Hm, a true hero."

"No, I was selfish. I just wanted to be alone, and I couldn't do that if the world was crashing and burning around me," Estelle argued, feeling a weight in her stomach from words that had no right to be connected to her.

"Yet you took on that burden anyway because you knew you had to. That was selfless."

Halting her footsteps, Estelle turned to the gigantic hero with a smirk that made him perk up a brow. "Keep talking, and I might start liking the new you."

"Hah! Now that would be a comeback story!" Endeavour laughed, a broad grin on his face that she wasn't used to.

Estelle sat in her room, weaving the materials as she hummed to herself. The light knock on the door shook her out of her stupor, and Estelle quickly shuffled her side project into her desk before opening the door.

Before her eyes could even recognise the visitor, Bakugo was already storming into the room and making himself at home. Rolling her eyes at his lack of manners, Estelle closed the door and faced the blond with an inquisitive look.

"Tch, you sure put us in our place yesterday," He started, his weight shifting from one foot to the other as he regarded the female.

"I had to. Your safety is my responsibility," Estelle defended, hoping he wouldn't bring up the aftermath of her yelling. Her shoulders tensed when the male turned quiet, and he redirected his stare to the floor with pursed lips. Contemplating his actions, Estelle took a couple of steps forward as she patiently waited for him to speak.

"What about when you saved me from Nyx? Was that just responsibility?" He abruptly questioned, peering at her with evident interest. Clearly, this was a burning query in his mind.

Feeling her breath catch in her throat, Estelle was taken aback by the query. They had never really spoken about the event properly, mainly because it was a whole bag of worms that Estelle wasn't mentally prepared to delve into. Every time the thought would enter her mind, she would instinctively push it away like her soul already knew she wasn't ready.

The emotions she experienced were like those she had yesterday, and the recurring theme made Estelle feel hesitant about the change slowly brewing. She felt clueless, and frankly, she had no idea what to do about it. "Yes."

"Don't lie."

"Why did you bother asking me then?" Estelle contested, exasperation lacing her tone as she viewed the male with a slouch.

"Just wanted to see how you would answer. You are still delusional."

"Fuck you," she muttered back, looking at her roof in prayer that the topic would end.

"Sure."

"Huh?"

Standing up again, Bakugo sauntered his way towards Estelle, forcing her to take multiple steps backwards before her rear hit the door. Raising his hand to lean against the doorway, Estelle shifted uncomfortably from the sudden close proximity. The same evolution that occurred a few days ago repeated itself as his chest lightly touched hers. Forcing her mind to focus, she heard his following demand. "Tell me the truth, Lioness."

"Why does it matter? And why are you so close?" Estelle argued, desperately hoping he wouldn't scour further into the subject.

"Stop changing the topic. I wanna hear you say it."

Wilting, Estelle could only shake her head in response. The twist in her heart was evident on her face as she glimpsed away. Why did he have to explore further? Couldn't he just accept it for what it was? His look evidently showed that he wasn't willing to drop the topic, so Estelle was compelled to muster the courage to say, "I didn't want to see you hurt. Satisfied?"

"Why?"

"I've seen too many deaths. No more. I refuse for somebody else to die at the hands of that madman," she explained seriously, resolution lying within as she held her unwavering stare.

His face was inches away from hers as he tried to inspect her features. The unspoken sentence rang out into the air, and Bakugo could tell they were at the tip of her tongue, but she still refused to utter them.

'Somebody else I care about.'

Oh, he wished he could hear it. But just the fact he knew they were there was enough to satisfy the blonde. Still, he didn't move from his position, and Estelle immediately tried to take another step back before realising she was trapped. "What are you doing?"

"I'm admiring the view."

"Huh?!" Estelle startled out, jerking in place from stupefaction. Feeling her heart accelerate, Estelle leaned back as his face drew closer, an underlying nervousness in her tone. "Why are you so close?!"

"What? Am I not allowed to be?" He challenged with a buttery smooth voice. It was a clear contrast from his mind, internally screaming from the action he was making, but he couldn't stop thinking about the moment he shared with the girl. His heart was propelling him to push it, to see how far it could go.

Estelle was clearly confounded by the whole thing, and Bakugo could understand why. When they had gone to see the aquatic animals, Estelle had questioned him on what a date was. He could have groaned out loud at the disbelief from the innocent query, but it gave him a better idea of her cluelessness on the whole topic.

"No, but you're bursting my bubble. It's actually quite uncomfortable."

'Again with the bubble talk,' He sighed lowly. Feeling his heart drop to his feet, Bakugo nearly pulled back. But, something inside of him pestered him to push on, so he did. Leaning further in so his nose lightly brushed against hers, he whispered, "In what way?"

Flushing a light pink, Estelle struggled to process the current occurrence as she tried to find a way out. it was becoming increasingly difficult the more he stared at her, the red boring into her soul as if lingering for a response. "I don't know."

Hiding his widening eyes, Bakugo noted the change in her skin tone and smirked. The red flush peeking out from her collar made her look adorable, and the unsure expression on her face was defiantly new. It was endearing and too pretty for his thrashing heart. Pressing harder on the wall to compensate for the whirlwind within his body, Bakugo murmured, "Why don't we find out then?"

Dumbfounded, Estelle enlarged her eyes as her mouth dropped. She had no idea what he was implying, but the words held more weight than she realised. Still, it didn't change the fact Estelle could hear her heartbeat, and her body had turned into an inferno. What was it about him that made her feel like she was on the sea? Her legs felt like they could give out as the sensations thrumming through her body made the blood rush to her ears.

She felt small, out of control. Yet there was no fear there. Still, the urge to escape was genuine, and the longing to stay within Ruby's stare confused her. His sapphire red eyes watched her like he was soaking in every breath, every twitch, every beat of her heart. It was like he ripped out the floor beneath her. Leaving her only one solid place to balance on, Bakugo himself. He seemed to be bracing for her weight, ready for her to fall into him without a second thought.

It was nothing and everything at once. Bakugo's eyes shouldn't be invoking such a reaction from her; she knew that. But when she was under them, it felt like everything. A friend, a companion, support, and, strangely, home.

She knew she was being ridiculous. She just needed to snap out of it. Her legs needed to move.

Panicking from the strangeness and confusion, Estelle's voice was at a higher pitch as she shuffled out of their bubble. Frantically opening the door, she didn't give Bakugo a chance to compute the sudden transition before shoving him out of the door. "Well, it was nice seeing you. Goodbye."

Leaning against the door, Estelle took multiple deep breaths as her mind tried to make sense of the shift between Bakugo and herself. Hearing his footsteps leaving the hallway, Estelle respired with relief as she sprawled down onto the ground.

Bakugo kept a smug expression on his face the whole journey back to his room.