My aunt refuses to let go of me, her arms wrapped tightly around me, the night sky above us and the hospital. Due to my injuries being minor, I was allowed to get picked up by my aunt rather than stay the night at the hospital. She takes a deep breath and stares down at me, eyes filled with worry.
"Are you okay, Tazuma…?"
I can tell she's trying to hold back from asking a million more questions as I nod, my face blank like nothing happened.
"Yeah... I'm fine."
She pulls me in again, my head leaning against her collarbone, and her hand caressing my hair.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't get here sooner... I'm so glad you're safe…"
She takes another deep breath and let's go, her hands sliding down to my shoulders. We stare at each other for a moment as her face suddenly turns serious.
"I want to talk to you on the way home. Wait in the car for me, I'll only be a minute."
I nod, partially worried about what she means as I walk towards her silver Sedan. Opening the front passenger door, I slip inside and close the door behind me and watch out the tinted window. I watch her as she approaches Aizawa, who stands in front of the hospital entrance, as a few other students get in cars with their families too. She looks like she's talking to him, and I get the urge to try and listen in. My hand discreetly moves to a button near the window, and it slowly rolls down a little bit. I stop, and with my right side facing the window, a small dog ear comes out from the left side of my head where it can't be noticed It twitches for a moment before I catch wind of what she's telling Aizawa.
"-I'm sure you're busy and I apologize for disrupting your schedule, but I just want to ask this one thing before I leave."
Aizawa nods.
"What is U.A going to do about this? As a parental figure and guardian myself I'm obviously worried not just about Tazuma, but about the boy who was taken and his family, but I want to know what it means for the safety of the other students."
She stares at him, almost at eye level as he nods again.
"There's going to be a board meeting where the U.A staff is going to discuss it. It'll be aired on TV so you and the other parents can watch it there. You're Oritsu's mother, correct?"
She shakes her head.
"No, I'm her aunt. Her mother passed away a long time ago and I just take care of her."
There's a brief silence. For some reason, I feel a strange tightness in my heart.
"Thank you for everything. I'll be going now. Good luck with the press."
She bows slightly then turns around and walks towards the car. The dog ear disappears completely as I quickly press the button again and the window rolls back up. Aunt Usama opens the door and buckles into the driver's seat, closeing the door as she starts the car. Putting my seat belt on, I stare at her out of the corner of my eye as we drive away from U.A. She sighs and I tense up, waiting for the worst.
"I've been wondering recently... Why did you want to enroll into U.A?"
I swallow, my hands resting in my lap.
Not what I was expecting.
"Well, I didn't want to end up where dad was. You know, in jail. So, I guess I want to become the opposite. A hero who helps people."
Even I can tell I sound unconvincing. Not my best lie, clearly. It looks like auntie doesn't completely believe me either. She opens her mouth to speak, but I quickly interject to add a bit more.
"I'm not the most motivated in the class, there are others who have a more clear and defined goal, and it's not entirely easy to put into words, but being a hero is something I really want to do."
The grim truth that is my inevitable future eases into my mind and causes a bit of anxiety as I try not to think about it. Aunt Usama nods and smiles slightly, my fingers fidgeting.
"If that's what you want to do, then do it. I'll support you no matter what, Tazuma."
Her warm and genuine smile makes me feel warm and a bit calmer as she faces the road.
"But I am very concerned. This isn't the only occasion you've gotten hurt by attending U.A. It's not like I don't pay attention to these things. I worry a lot about you, Tazuma. Believe it or not... It's not like I don't have hundreds of questions about you either, even though we've been living together for over a year now. My first one being why your mother never told me she had a daughter when she always told me how close we were…"
I turn to her, surprised.
"I never knew that."
She sighs.
"I assumed you wouldn't. I also assume you don't know much about the first few years of your life as well."
Nodding, I stare out my window, gazing at the passing lights of the street, houses, buildings, and the flickering stars in the sky.
All I know is that my parents eloped and had me… To think I expected the Shie Hassaikai to tell me anything about it is stupid anyway…
"What I'm trying to say is…"
I hold my breath and tense up again. Aunt Usama has never really opened up like this before...
"...I know just a simple 'be careful' won't be enough this time, so I'm telling you as easy as I can, to think of me before you go and get hurt again. I know it's not your fault, but the more often things like this happen, the more often I worry. Every parent worries, but when your child is trying to become something that leads to so many dangers, you feel conflicted... I'm sure other parents feel this way as well. I want to support you so you can be happy and accomplish your goal, but I'm fearing for your well-being and safety as well. You understand what I'm saying?"
I nod. Slowly yet surely, conflicting feelings begin to grow inside me, swirling and arguing in the attic of my thoughts as I listen to her every word.
"Yeah."
She smiles again.
"Good. I'm glad."
I smile back.
"Me too, auntie."
Fuck…
Staring at the dull ceiling of my bedroom, I feel like screaming into my pillow as my eyes keep darting to my closet.
Fo fuck's sake... I really don't want to hurt auntie's feelings again because I know it would be hell for her if I just ignored her and went after Bakugo, but If I don't I'll feel like shit... I still feel like it's my fault, no matter how many times I tell myself it's not. I swear to god it feels like there are two people inside of my head… What the hell am I even supposed to do…?! If I stay, It'll make auntie feel better and one of the last things I want to do is worry her too much, but if I leave, there's the chance that I'll save Bakugo but if I don't, auntie will be very upset and the guilt will feel even worse but either way it just feels like fucking hell! Jesus, why is this so hard?!
Jolting up, I snatch my pillow as I whip around and throw it against the wall across from me. It falls short and hits the mirror beside my closet instead. My phone then starts buzzing and vibrating on my desk. Getting up from my bed, I glance at the number.
Mina…?
My thumb hovers for a moment before answering the call and putting it up to my ear.
"Hey."
"Hey, uhhh, Oritsu, this is Kirishima. I'm calling from Mina's phone. She let me borrow it real quick. Sorry about this, I'm actually surprised you answered so soon. Isn't it like, almost eleven?"
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.
"The time doesn't matter, just get to the point."
Kirishima stutters from the other end for a minute, and I hear a mutter in the background that sounds like Mina.
"Well, this may seem sudden, but I'm told you looked really upset about Bakugo getting kidnapped, and I completely agree... He's my best friend and I feel like I could've done something but didn't... I couldn't do anything..."
He pauses, and I understand how he feels.
"Yeah, I felt that too."
"Good, because I've been thinking that just maybe, depending on where you are right now, I'm at a hospital by the way, but I was thinking that we could use the tracking device Yaoyorozu put on one of the weird monster things the League of Villains used to find where Bakugo is and get him back! I haven't really told anyone else about this plan but I will. I was wondering if you would be willing to join me."
"When."
"Um, I was thinking sometime tomorrow. After all, not a lot of us from 1-A are exactly ready for something like this and I think half of our class is unconscious from the gas, so I think that would be the best time."
I go silent for a minute, the unresolved question of whether I should go or not threatens to burst from my throat as I take a deep breath.
"I was making a plan myself as well. Except I planned to go tonight if I had time. My reasoning isn't exactly the same as yours but it's close. I don't know who else you're conspiring with about this, but I haven't left yet because I've reached a dead end."
"O-oh, you've already got a plan? Wow... I personally don't think you should go because it seems more dangerous to leave right after they got him than to do it afterward, cause wouldn't he be in a more guarded area? And how would you find out where it is? From what I remember you took the bus back to the hospital with the rest of us then got picked up by your mom right?"
"Yeah, obviously I don't know where it is, I was just a bit overwhelmed and went overboard that's all. And that was my aunt."
"Alright, well, I have to go now. Good talk I guess."
"Good luck with your plan."
It sounds like Kirishima's handing the phone to Mina as she speaks in an anxious and serious manner, something that she's clearly not used to.
"Ritsu, please don't go after Bakugo... I already know you're rather reckless but doing that would just be too far. Please..."
"But I still want to help. Isn't there something I can do to help at least?"
She whispers something to Kirishima.
"Kirishima says he doesn't know. Just please don't do it, Ritsu...I'm being serious."
"Alright, I get it. I won't..."
She sighs and says goodbye as she hangs up. The line goes dead and I place my phone back on my desk.
At least now I know what everyone else wants me to do... But I still... No. No but's, just stay put. Mina's right. Your reckless and fucking stupid. Don't do it. Well, I don't have to actually go get him... I can find him and call the police. But what if U.A is also planning something with the police? Then I would just ruin that as well... Although If I went and just made sure he was alright and didn't do anything, I could just come straight back here right? No, that would feel like I'm betraying him or something. And how can I be so sure that he's even at the hideout? He might be somewhere else but the only location I know of is the bar and If he isn't then that's an entire problem in itself… This certainly overcomplicates things as if they weren't complicated enough...
I turn to stare at my mirror. Looking back at me is my tired and worn-out figure, hair down, and golden eyes glaring at the reflection.
What would Midoriya do...? What would someone who's so selfless and brave do…? ...He'd probably want to do something about it… Bakugo and Midoriya are childhood friends, right? Even if they obviously aren't friends now, Midoriya still cares about him, although Bakugo clearly isn't into it. But Midoriya isn't reckless like that, he's more chivalrous and heroic… And I'm neither of those things but I still want to try...
My brain tumbles and spins around this increasingly difficult decision as a few minutes slowly tick past, my frustration and impatience growing along with it. Finally, I decided to just face the consequences, whatever they are, when they come. A horrible decision. I reach into my closet and grab a black hoodie and grey straight jeans, I scramble to get them on while trying not to make too much noise seeing as it's almost a half-hour past midnight. Rummaging my hands through a drawer in the disorganized closet, I find a pocket knife. I pull it out and flick it open, the metal and jagged blade shimmering through the light of the moon as I turn it side to side. I flip it closed as I shove it into my pocket. Tossing my hair into its usual high ponytail, I quietly make my way from my room, quickly gazing at the locked door across from me-my dad's room-, and another similarly locked door down the hall to my right. Aunt Usama's room. I stare at the door with a sorrowful look.
I'm so sorry auntie... I'll be back as soon as possible, I promise.
Gently easing my way down the stairs, my hand skims the railing as I grab my black shoes and get them on as quickly as possible, tying the laces extra tight. I slowly turn the lock on the front door, opening it as quietly as I can. With one swift movement, I open the door and lock it again from the handle, then quietly close it behind me. My heart then begins to pick up the pace as I realize what I'm doing.
I've just locked myself out of the house… There's no going back now...
Getting to the League of Villain's hideout without being noticed or recognized by people who watched the sports festival was a bigger pain than I expected. Even if there weren't that people out considering the time, and with my hood over my head. After walking around for a few minutes, I found a mostly abandoned building that just barely felt familiar enough. I snuck in through the front door, and weaved my way past dust and trash on the smooth floors, and found the hallway I was looking for. Being extra careful, I peek down the hall and find the door I've seen hundreds of times. My heart starts beating faster as I tiptoe closer to the door.
Here it is...
My hand grazes over the glass window in the door, noticing the bars on the other side. It's hard to see through, but when I cup over my eyes and look in, I see Bakugo's hunched over figure, head dipped as he sits in a chair that looks like it's made of concrete next to the bar. Thick leather rope stretches from a weirdly shaped block covering his hands all the way around the back of the chair, keeping him tied to his seat. The same leather rope keeps his legs tied to the chair's legs. I feel anger and relief bubbling inside me as I turn the doorknob. To my surprise, it's not locked.
Weird... But that doesn't matter. I've found Bakugo, now I just need to get him and leave.
Peeking through the window again, it doesn't look like anyone is around. I slowly turn the doorknob and open the door as quietly as I can. It makes no sound, and I duck down low as I step closer to Bakugo. Once I reach the chair, I look up at him. His face is surprisingly peaceful, and he looks asleep. Standing up, I quickly look him up and down.
It doesn't look like they hurt him... Good.
Gently, as if I'm handling a small animal, I cup both his cheeks with my hands and lift his head up.
His face is... very soft...
I shake my head as I feel my face getting a bit warm and it quickly fades away. I pull my face closer to his and whisper in his ear.
"Hey dumbass... Wake up...!"
His eyes hesitantly blink open and widen as he sees me. I pull my face away and glare at him as my hands fall to my sides. I put a finger to my lips.
"Shh."
He doesn't say anything but just stares with questioning and angry eyes as I reach for my pocket knife. Flicking it open, I reach for one of the thick leather straps and start cutting. I know there are clamps keeping the straps together, but it would make too much noise. It's tough at first but not as difficult as I thought as the cut strap falls limp. I move on to the next with haste as I soon finish with the next strap, and then the next. Soon enough each one is cut, including the one around his lower legs. All that's left is the concrete block covering his hands. I flick the knife closed and put it back in my pocket as I hold my hand out and examine the lock embedded into the hard material. I feel a bit of sweat drip down my neck as my heart continues to get faster.
This feels too easy... Would Shigiraki really leave the door unlocked for anyone to come in? Would he really leave Bakugo here all by himself? Do I even have time to pick this freaking lock?! Should I just take Bakugo and leave?! He could be walking here any minute and I'll be dead meat...
I take a deep breath to calm myself down as a sharp curved quill emerges from my palm. Taking it out, I create another one with a similar design only at a ninety-degree angle. I stick them in the lock and start maneuvering the quill to find the right pegs to lift to unlock this thing. Bakugo is surprisingly quiet the whole time as the lock gets more and more frustrating to deal with.
This is more complicated than expected... I've got no time to waste, just hurry up!
The spring of the lock coming undone and the concrete handcuffs splitting down the middle, releasing Bakugo's hands sends a wave of relief over me as I grab his arm and pull him up to his feet, hastily towards the door. Suddenly, I hear something crash not far behind me. My eyes widen as I immediately get behind the bar, dropping my quill, pulling Bakugo next to me as I bring my knees to my chest. He does the same as he keeps his mouth shut, but not looking my way. I can hear my heart beating in my ears as I nudge alcohol bottles away from me, our backs pressed against the wood of the bar, the smooth counter above our heads. There's a second crash. My whole body tightens as I try to take deep breaths through my nose. Glancing at Bakugo, he seems equally tense as his fingers twitch beside him. I can tell he hates just sitting here, waiting for whatever or whoever made those sounds to find us. Slow and agonizing footsteps make the wooden floor creak as a different door than the one I came through is opened. I can feel the creak of the wood through the floor as more beads of sweat drip from my neck and I swallow hard.
Please, god no... Please, I beg of you...
It's already too late. Even in the dark, I can tell they've noticed Bakugo's absence, and it's only a matter of time before they-
The wood creaking rings in my ears as it steps even closer. Familiar partially purple burnt hands grip the edge of the counter and I immediately know it's Dabi. his shadow looms over as I turn my head and meet his gaze. Not knowing what else to do, I shout as he lunges for Bakugo.
"RUN!"
Bakugo jumps to his feet and hesitantly heads for the door, turning to face me as Dabi quickly changes targets. I grab the side of the counter and leap over it, but Dabi's swift kick hits me in the face as I tumble backward, bar stools tumbling with me. I feel warm blood trickle from my nose down my face as he leaves no time for me to move and grabs my hood, choking me as I try to wrestle away from him. His arm slings around my neck, giving me flashbacks of only a couple of hours prior at the training camp. The knife rests in his other hand as it rushes to my gut, but it stops just before it stabs me. My wide eyes land on a still Bakugo, his eyes wide but face expressionless as his hand pauses on the doorknob.
GO! YOU FUCKING IDIOT JUST GO!
Trying to use my quirk would be idiotic. With Dabi's arm around my neck and a knife at my stomach, I feel my head going into a frenzy as I try to find ways out of this, but Dabi already has an idea. His gravelly voice echoes right in my ear as he almost chokes the life out of me.
"If you don't want her to die, get back here and sit down nicely. I don't want to be stuck on clean-up duty this late at night."
Bakugo's hand slips off the doorknob as the anger in his eyes increasingly grows. My own wide eyes glare at him, trying to tell him to forget me and leave, but he begrudgingly walks back to the concrete chair I found him in. The door behind me opens as a less familiar voice yawns.
"Oh my, this is quite a sight to wake up to."
Dabi grumbles.
"Use your quirk on the two of them. Now, Compress."
Curses fly in my mind as I feel like crying.
I've gone and done it again. I've fucked up everything. I should've seen it coming... I should've stayed behind... Now auntie's gonna be devastated and disappointed and Bakugo's not gonna let me get away with this... If I make it out alive I could be suspended from U.A... Or expelled...
As Compress's rests a hand on my shoulder, I blackout. But my mind is still active...
WHY DO I FUCK UP EVERYTHING I DO?! IS IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THINGS TO GO RIGHT WHEN I'M INVOLVED?!
I want to cry so badly...
Why am I so fucking useless... The only things I do well are doing things that benefit the League... I'm no hero... I never will be...
I wake up tied with the same leather straps as Bakugo to a chair that's lazily drilled into the ground. The same concrete handcuffs also cover my hands as the leather straps feel particularly tight, my legs tied to the chair's legs. I don't see Bakugo anywhere, and I'm facing the wall. I come to the conclusion that the chair backs are tied together, and I hear him sigh behind me.
"You fucked up, smartass..."
My eyes widen and my voice shakes.
"You think I don't know?! Geez, thanks for telling me! I didn't notice that I'm now in as fucked a position as you are! Just shut up!"
He goes quiet.
"Why did you come after me?"
I take a deep breath and try to calm down, but I just feel too many things at once and I don't want to think about what I've done. So many things went wrong, and I admittedly don't want to face the consequences, even though I know I have to. I just want to disappear and forget about it all...
"Because I wanted to, and so did everyone else. What other questions do you want answered? We have all the time in the world now!"
He growls.
"Are you blaming me for this?!"
"Of course not, It's my own fucking fault for getting myself into this, why the hell would I blame you?!"
He scoffs.
"I knew you were stupid but I didn't think you'd be this stupid."
I feel the cap keeping all of my emotions in a bottle about to pop off, and there's no stopping it now that the fizz is bubbling over.
"Y'know, thanks for reminding me of that wonderful fact. Actually, I can't thank you enough for all the shit you put me through just because the world decided to fuck up my life even more. NO, it's not enough that I feel like shit every day, It's not enough that I've only recently gained confidence in my quirk, it's not enough that despite everything, It's. Never. Enough. People like you are blessed from birth! Perfect quirk, perfect abilities, perfect opportunities, while people like me have gotten the shit end of the stick since my parents decided to bring a shitty person into this shitty world! And I'm not being dramatic! If only you knew! If ONLY ANYONE KNEW! Jesus Christ, just give me a break already! Sure I've got two friends, the best and only friends I've ever had in my entire life, but it's not like I can tell them any bullshit about me before U.A! Not even the staff knows so it's just fucking perfect that I can't tell anybody! And what do you get when you mix someone who possibly has anxiety, already shitty self-confidence, and physical and mental childhood trauma with a universe that doesn't give any flying fucks about sanity?! You wanna guess?! Do you want to try to guess who it might be?! You don't need to because I'm right fucking here! I've already forgotten what it's like to feel normal if I ever did feel normal in the past so what can I do now?! I feel like I'm falling down a hole but it's a million miles deep and every possible obstacle and object are being hurled my way as I fall and I've got nothing to protect myself with and the closer I get to the bottom the worse it is, and I can't even see it, I'm just falling and falling and falling and..."
My voice gets weak... I realize what I've been saying. I realize tears are falling down my face, and staining my jacket. Amidst the hurricane of words that just flew from my throat, it felt good to finally get it all out. Like thorns were in my lungs but now I've coughed them all out. Most of them at least. I can only imagine what Bakugo's face says and what he's thinking and feeling right now after all of that. I can tell he didn't mean to cause it, but now it's too late to go back. I swallow, not knowing how to get things back to normal. After spitting out all of my emotions, it's hard to get them back in.
"I-I'm s-sorry... I know you didn't mean to...Well, to...cause all of that... I'm sorry..."
There's a long pause as I sniff and wipe my cheek with my shoulder. I can't tell if the silence means he relates to what I just said or he's still busy processing it.
"There's a lot more to you than what everyone else sees isn't there?"
I give a nervous chuckle.
"Yeah... Felt good getting it all out though... What about you? What issues are you hiding behind your angry outbursts?"
"I thought you'd be smart enough to figure them out on your own seeing as you've already noticed how similar we are. I'm not saying any more than that."
"It's weird seeing this side of you...But it's interesting. I think we both need to see a therapist at some point."
For the first time, at the worst time, Bakugo chuckles.
"I'll compete with you for it."
I smirk sadly to myself.
"Cowards first."
He grumbles, but it's not angry or upset. It sounds more relieved than either.
"Smartass."
"Shut up..."
He sighs, sounding angry again, but it's more like he's forcing himself to sound mad.
"Let's both agree to forget about this, alright? If not I'll kill you."
I nod.
"Sounds fine... I guess now we just wait until something happens..."
...Kirishima is our last hope... Let's hope he does it right this time...