#5- Her slap worked wonders
(In which Eri's slap does indeed work wonders for Kota)
"Oi, Kota! Wait up!"
As Kota heard the familiar voice of his friend, Eri, he allowed himself a grin. Even though he was 1 year younger than her and Katsuma, he'd managed to be in the same grade as them because he was just that good. Academically, at least. But anyway, he slowed down just a bit, allowing her to catch up. And today had been a good day- he'd never liked that damn Tamashiro at all. But when Tamashiro had said things about Eri that he'd rather not repeat, he had to fight him. And he did, though he ended up with a few bruises, a black eye and a bloodied nose.
"Hey, Eri-chan. What's up?"
Eri slid to a slower walk beside him, fixing her long snow-white hair in the process. For some reason, everyone hated it, but Kota couldn't fathom why- to him, it was beautiful. He liked it. He liked her, actually, though why he did he could not for the life of him explain. But today she was angry. He didn't know why- he was pretty sure he'd been a good boy.
"Eri? What's wrong?"
She didn't reply, instead walking forward a bit, then turning to face him. And when she looked up to meet his eyes, he could see- she was pissed.
"Eri, what-"
He didn't even get to finish, because she slapped him.
"Ow!"
"You had it coming. What were you thinking?! Picking a fight with Tamashiro, of all people?!"
Oh, right. That. Well, it hadn't been that bad, he was surprised Eri would gt so worked up over it.
"He insulted you!" Kota replied defensively. "You hadn't even done anything to him! You think I'm gonna just stand there and let that slide?!"
"This isn't about me, Kota! It's about you! You haven't even been able to shoot high-pressure water yet, and you still picked a fight with him. Over me, of all people!"
Kota sighed. "Do you want to at least know why?"
"Yes, please. Go ahead and justify getting yourself injured," She retorted dryly as the effect of Rewind started to show, his bruises slowly healing and nose going back to normal.
"Because he's wrong about you. He thinks you're weak? Bollocks, you're as strong as Katsuma- stronger, even!"
"That's not why, though."
As Kota realised the jig was up, he sighed.
"The real reason I fought him was because.. I.. I.."
"You what?" Eri replied. "Wanted to fight someone? Wanted to worry me? Wanted a reason to be beaten up?"
"Because I like you, dammit!" The moment the words left his mouth, he realised what he'd just done- he'd just confessed, and in the most dramatic way too. Yet it was true. He did like her. He liked how her hair refused to be any other colour than snow white. He liked the single horn on her head that grew day by day. He liked her red eyes. He liked everything there was to like about her. And when Eri heard it, she too froze up- because she felt the same way too. That was the whole reason she'd been angry at him- because she hated seeing him hurt. Especially by that smug bastard Tamashiro.
"Y-you do?"
Kota nodded, his face red now. Extremely red.
"Then maybe I should tell you why I'm mad at you. Because I like you too. A lot, actually. And really, I hate seeing you hurt."
Kota laughed. "At least Tamashiro's worse for wear."
"True," Eri replied, a slight grin coming to her face. "He was pissed."
A third pair of footsteps ran toward them- Katsuma.
"Hey, Kota! Did you really fight Tamashiro?!"
"Yeah. Got him straight in the face with a splash of water."
"Striking Tide?"
"Yeah."
Eri sighed. "What do you mean, Striking Tide?"
Kota laughed nervously. "Well, I may or may not have applied to U.A's Hero Course…"
"And he might need an ultimate move," Katsuma finished. "So I suggested he practise by making moves and naming them after Water Breathing techniques…"
Eri's grin grew wider. "You don't say? I was learning Water Breathing myself."
Katsuma's eyes widened. "No cap?"
"Nope," Eri replied.
Kota laughed. "Well, you could always slap me again if I get injured." And as soon as he said that, Eri slapped him again- but playfully this time.
"You'd want that, wouldn't you?"
"Your slap did do wonders for my bruises."
"Ugh, fine. But don't treat this as an excuse to fight Tamashiro again."
"I won't. But then you're coming with us to the arcade."
"Deal."
As the three walked to the arcade, Katsuma wondered what had happened between Kota and Eri- their hands would touch once or twice, and neither would get flustered like they would have before, and they seemed happy to joke about while Katsuma tagged along. But Katsuma didn't mind- even if he did have a slight crush on Eri, he was happy for them. Maybe someday, he'd find someone who liked him in that way.
Thanks for reading! Come back next Sunday for more!