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[Ch. 74] Add /0ze1y8k1w4c to the DeviantArt Stash URL.

Bakugou woke up the next morning to find Hitomi still nestled up next to him, with his arm resting on her back.

What. The fuck.

He pulled his arm back abruptly as if he had been burned, grabbing his phone on the sidetable with his other hand to check the time.

6:42 am.

Bakugou huffed, pushing his bangs back. He was supposed to get up at six to get his luggage ready for their flight back to Japan, but the blue-haired idiot who was currently clinging to him had kept him from sleeping earlier.

He rubbed his eyes, still feeling groggy and grumbling to himself. Hitomi didn't seem like she'd be letting go anytime soon and it made him sigh in frustration. He had to be subtle about this if he didn't want to wake her up and deal with whatever may come after.

Bakugou carefully scooted to the side, lifting her hand from his chest slightly. She seemed to stir at the movements, grabbing around for something and he quickly pulled his pillow out from under his head, pushing it under her arm. Hitomi seemed to relax and he quickly sat up, moving to the edge of the bed as he saw the crease in her brow disappear.

Her arms tightened around the pillow and she continued to sleep, showing no signs of waking up anytime soon. Bakugou, however, couldn't bring himself to move, only staring at her instead. Her long blue hair was messy, a few stray strands sticking out in random directions. Her clothes were wrinkled, and one of her t-shirt sleeves was rolled up to her shoulder while her mouth hung slightly open.

Bakugou wouldn't have been surprised if she started drooling to complete the messy morning look, the thought nearly making him let out a snicker. He covered his mouth to hold back his snort, shaking his head.

As he looked back at her again though, his smile faltered slightly.

Hitomi Kanetsukabe.

Moon Face.

He thought… he knew her.

Knew her enough to think of each other as friends.

Especially after she'd been willing to share her troubles with him back then. Venting all that… Bakugou didn't think she was the type to share that sort of stuff with just anybody. Hell… he didn't even know how deep her issues actually ran, until she'd told him.

Insecurity. Guilt. Uselessness.

All of them were things he could relate to, in a way.

She was willing to share those things with him, cry in front of him. That kind of thing… was something anyone would have assumed would bring people closer. Being that vulnerable with someone.

That was what it felt like for him, at least… on the night he fought Deku. Being open with him, talking to him (even if there had been a few punches and explosions thrown around). After doing that with Deku, spilling everything to him… Bakugou could tell their relationship wouldn't be the same from that point on. Different… but better.

So why…?

Why… did it seem to be the opposite for him and Hitomi?

Why did she suddenly seem more closed off towards him? Why did it feel like she no longer wanted to be around him? That she looked at him like she couldn't stand him, if she even bothered to look at him at all?

Why… did she say she hated him?

It was either that it was something she always felt that he was only noticing now… or something had changed. When he looked back, her weird behavior only seemed to have started shortly after the provisional license exam.

But he wasn't even sure that was true. He wasn't even sure how much of their relationship was true, and how much of it was a lie. Maybe it had always been this way. The possible memory from two nights ago, that he wasn't even completely sure was real, certainly didn't help in clearing up his confusion.

Bakugou just didn't understand anymore.

And he hated not being able to understand.

All that had come out of this was asking himself the same questions over, and over, and over. It'd hardly been more than 12 hours since Hitomi had yelled at him and he was already tired of it. He was tired of not being able to understand, to find an answer, to make some sort of sense of what they were to each other anymore.

With a quiet tch, he finally forced himself up from the mattress, trudging to the dresser to grab his change of clothes for the day. He stalked to the bathroom, and after turning the lock he leaned back against the door, a frown on his face.

He thought he knew her.

But maybe… Bakugou didn't really know Hitomi at all.

…

Hitomi finally woke up at the sound of her alarm blaring, groaning as she reached haphazardly for her phone. She fumbled around blindly, only peeking out from her pillow when she picked up the device, turning it off. With a tired sigh, she pushed herself up from the bed, yawning as she rubbed her eyes.

She then looked around, taking in the light streaming through the curtains, the large bed she was on, and the TV in the corner. Hitomi blinked, her face suddenly flushing as she looked to her side.

The bed was empty.

Hitomi immediately relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief upon realizing Bakugou had already gotten out of bed. She looked around the room a bit more, seeing the bathroom door was slightly ajar with the lights off. Bakugou's suitcase seemed to be missing.

Oh… I guess he already got ready…

Hitomi pulled the covers off herself, moving to get out of bed. At the very least, she wouldn't have to face any more potential awkwardness for now. She could only hope there wouldn't be any more left over from last night…

She suddenly paused, her legs hanging over the edge of the mattress as she looked around the room one last time.

The last thing she remembered… was staring at the stars outside on the patio.

So how did I… end up here?

The class had fallen back into their regular school routine upon returning from the Philippines. The trip had been a nice change of pace during the national holiday, but for Hitomi… it had been much more stressful than she would've liked. At the very least, it was finally over.

It was currently Thursday evening, and she was walking with Kirishima to the elevators to head down to the first floor. They'd been going over his English homework until Hitomi's stomach growled, now taking a break to find a snack downstairs.

Hitomi saw him read through a message on his phone as she pressed the down button. When he let out a deep sigh, she raised a brow.

"Is it something from Fatgum?"

Kirishima stuffed his phone back into his pocket, wearing a toothy grin as they both waited for the elevator. "Something like that."

Hitomi's eyebrows furrowed as she stared at her redheaded friend. He'd seemed more withdrawn and lost in thought lately, even before their trip for Yaoyorozu's birthday. If Hitomi was being honest… it was weird to see her normally outgoing and upbeat friend so quiet.

But she'd been too caught up in her own problems, too busy worrying about herself… to look out for her own friends.

Hitomi nudged him slightly with her elbow, making their eyes meet. The floor number overhead paused at 2 as she gave him an unsure smile. "Kirishima… if there's something bothering you… you don't have to keep it to yourself. Don't…" She hesitated for a moment. "Don't let it build up… until you can't handle it anymore. You could always talk to me, if you need to."

"Oh…" Kirishima grinned, ruffling her hair. "Of course! Don't worry, though, I'm fine! I can't exactly tell you why, but I'm just antsy about my work study, is all. So don't worry."

Hitomi laughed slightly, trying to pull her head away from his hand so he wouldn't mess up her hair any further. Right as she grabbed his wrist, the elevator finally dinged, having arrived at the fourth floor. They both paused as the doors slid open, with Hitomi's eyes widening as she saw who was inside.

Kirishima's smile only widened. "Oh, hey Bakugou!"

Hitomi quickly shoved the redhead's hand away, standing straight and averting her gaze to the floor. At this point, it was an automatic response. Kirishima was unfazed by her reaction however, his attention completely focused on the blonde.

"You heading to your room now?"

"Where the fuck else would I go from here?" Hitomi heard Bakugou grumble.

"Oh, well, we were just taking a break from studying to get a snack," Kirishima laughed. "See you at dinner?"

There was a few brief moments of silence. Unbeknownst to Hitomi, Bakugou's eyes were trained on her.

"I already ate something I made earlier," he finally scoffed, stepping through the doors. He shouldered past them, making Hitomi and Kirishima both stumble back slightly. Finally, she looked up at Bakugou, seeing the back of his head as he trudged to the hallway. "I'm going to bed early."

"Okay…?" Kirishima said unsurely as they both watched him make his way to his room. "Good night, I guess…" He shrugged and they both stepped into the elevator, leaning against the back wall as the doors closed. "He seems crabbier than usual," Kirishima chuckled as the elevator started to move. "Didn't he?"

"Oh… um…" Hitomi nodded slowly, letting out a weak laugh. "Yeah, I guess so. Maybe he had crab sushi rolls."

They both laughed, and as they rode down to the first floor, Hitomi thought back on her words to Kirishima from just moments ago.

Here she was, telling him not to hold back his feelings if something was wrong. Meanwhile, she still couldn't bring herself to act normally around Bakugou. Ever since they got back… they hadn't really talked or interacted much the past few days. Part of it was still because she was making excuses (though half-hearted, now) to stay out of his way… but things seemed rather… distant… on Bakugou's end as well.

"Don't let it build up… until you can't handle it anymore."

…What a hypocrite she was.

A/N: This chapter's a bit short which is why I did two updates again this week. After this though I'm gonna do updates on Friday only to pace myself a bit better.