Mission Midoriya || A RuthTheNerd MHA fanfiction||

Chapter 25: Big Bright Moon

Rieko chewed ferociously on her muffin, biting into the stale bread. Hard chocolate chips melted on her tongue, providing a rare sweetness that she wasn't used to. In her household, her diet consisted of protein - meat, eggs, and on the rare occasion that meat couldn't be cooked - beans. 

She gagged at the thought of her dad's beans and continued eating. Her eyes trailed over to Ryo, who, as usual, was the center of attention. After Momo, being as smart as she was, figured out what was off about them, the other students had taken the liberty to ask as many questions as they could come up with. They flanked her sides like guards and each mouth yapped with persistent inquiries. Ryo was trying her best to answer them in a way that wouldn't give away her identity, but was having a hard time. 

Rieko swallowed a laugh. This was just karma on Ryo's part. Her curiosity got the better of her so much, she drew everyone bat-shit crazy with her relentless questions. 

Yet, at the same time, Rieko couldn't help feeling a little bad. She noticed all of Ryo's little anxiety ticks - the way she stuttered slightly when answering a question, or when her jaw quivered when she wasn't talking, or the little drops of sweat sliding down her forehead-

Rieko took another bite of her muffin, trying to intercept the thoughts. Ryo brought this upon herself. You will not help her. 

She turned to Toshi, who was lounging on the couch next to them and adding inappropriate commentary to everything Ryo said, which didn't help boost her confidence. 

"So U.A is still standing after all those years!?" an excited Ochako exclaimed. Ryo weakly nodded, probably still shocked to be having this conversation with her mother.

"Yup," Toshi added. "Surprised it hasn't yet been destroyed."

Mina, who had been staring at the bottle of hair dye for a while, turned her attention to the trio. "Hey, quick question. If you guys used my things to disguise yourself, and your hair is really brown, does that mean you have my eye contacts, too?"

Ryo blinked. "Oh. Er, yes. Sorry?"

Mina tossed her hands. "It's fine, I never used the purple ones anyways. Green, hm?"

Ryo's head snapped up. "Green?"

"Yeah. I just remembered what you used to look like. We met outside the dorm building, and you guys just...fell out of the sky?"

"Time travel sucks like that," Toshi chimed in. Ryo glared at him. 

Rieko hid her grin behind her muffin and gobbled down the rest of it. She watched as Bakugo, who hadn't appeared interested by them at all, suddenly walked up to their seats. He didn't look any different in his youth, just a lot more haughty. He sat down on the couch with a loud, vibrating thump and slammed his feet on the coffee table. Ryo jolted. 

"So," he began, giving them each a long stare, "you're from the future?"

Toshi rolled his eyes. "Have we not already established this?"

"Yeah. But it's hard to believe bullshit."

"Then don't listen."

Bakugo tilted his head up at the ceiling, staring at whatever interesting particles of air were up there. "I can believe it now. And I have a question for you. Who's number one in the future?"

The room stilled. Everyone's heads swiveled through the group, eyes hungry with curiosity, greed, and intensity. Ryo gulped.

"Well...we can't actually tell you. That could change the future and-"

"This isn't a fucking cartoon. Nothing'll change."

Toshi snorted. "That's what they all say."

Ryo shook her head rapidly. "I'm serious. I really can't tell you."

"Give me a clue, then."

"Well," Toshi folded his legs nonchalantly, "it ain't you."

Bakugo lifted his head. "Fucking hell?"

"I said it's not you. You're in third." Toshi said. Rieko discarded her muffin wrapper, holding back her input. Bakugo was mad enough as it was.

He knit his eyebrows, but didn't say anything. "But you didn't answer my question. Who. Is. First?"

Ryo wove her fingers together. "I just said I can't tell you."

The class began to murmur. Ochako stepped away from her trio and gave Bakugo a look he didn't seem to cower from. Ochako's death-stare wasn't as great as it was in her adult years. Rieko knew because it was usually her that it was used on.

"Lay off her, dude!" a vigorous Kaminari called out, jutting a thumb at his dormmate. Bakugo gave him no thought and continued to press. 

"Who."

Ryo backed away as he came closer. His approach was more forceful than violent, something Ryo wasn't accustomed to.

"Is."

Her back hit the couch. 

"First?"

Ryo bit her lip, but then the stress cleared from her face. "I'll tell you, but you can't make me elaborate. Deal?"

"I don't do deals."

"Who's answering the questions, me, or you?" she snapped. Reiko snickered.

He growled. "Fine then. Who's first?"

She leaned in, smirking, and said: "My dad."

He drew back, and sneered. "Specific much?"

She grinned. Reiko could tell she was praising herself over the stupidest tactic ever. Nevertheless, it had fooled Bakugo. 

Crowing in triumph, she crossed a leg over the other. "Well, we had a deal. I can't say anymore."

Bakugo stared at her with his intense crimson eyes, each undecipherable look sending one clear message: this isn't over.

And with that, he left the room. 

"Uh-oh," Toshi fake-whispered, leaning over to Reiko, "Bakugo-boy's pissed."

Reiko shook her head. "He isn't mad, just curious." She knew her father's habits pretty well, considering that she'd inherited most of them. In contrast to Deku, he had a different approach to asking questions. If not for Ryo's stunning quirk strength, he would have maimed Ryo later for answers.

"Curious?" Toshi muttered. "He has a weird way of showing it."

Ryo grinned, feeling strangely cheeky. "He has a weird way of showing everything."

Her stomach lurched with unexpected pain. She hadn't felt homesick since she'd arrived, probably because of all the drama that had kept her emotions from surfacing. Now that she had relaxed and sat back for a bit, it had come back in small, annoying dregs. If she started bawling like Ryo, she'd never hear the end of it from Toshi.

So instead, she tried to focus on something more positive. This was not permanent. Not permanent at all. It was stupid to even assume they had any idea when they would get back, but it was all she needed to keep herself afloat in the giant black sea of raging emotions she'd sailed into. The air was humid and her ship was being tussled around, but those two tiny, meaningless words - not permanent - were her anchors. 

Like a crack of lighting, a scream shattered through the air. Not a scream of fear, but rather one of pain. The entire class scrambled outside the dorms, where a large, white circle was growing. The light illuminated the front steps and forced a few of the more sensitive students back inside. 

"Mon dieu!" Aoyoma squealed. "Now that's sparkly!"

"Fuck that," Reiko muttered under her breath. Their escape had arrived.