A Tainted Hero

Chapter 7

UA is crawling with people. The first years had just kicked off the sports festival with a bang! The crowd is waiting patiently for the second years. A lot of people are arriving, opting to skip the first years in favour of seeing the second and third years instead. Among those people is, none other than, the number two hero, Hawks. He, however, only came to see one specific second year.

The stadium is slowly filling up again. It is about 2 in the afternoon, the second years are about to kick off their portion of the sports festival. 2A are all in their waiting room, some trying to relax while others theorise on the challenges for one last time. They all left the dorm without a word this morning. They're all focussed on the sports festival. None of them dare to notice that their missing someone and they don't try mentioning the night before either.

Kirishima is sitting at the edge of his seat, holding his hands and staring at the table with a tormented look on his face. He didn't get a lot of sleep last night and he refuses to forget the way she was crying. He can't help but replay the way she swallowed up all that to give him a smile and say, "thank you."

For what?
What did I do to deserve that?

He was torturing himself, not letting himself escape his own torment. There was a knock at the door but he didn't bother looking as it creaked open.

"Hi guys."

His eyes widen as he lifts his head to look behind him. There she was. He had tried to talk to her this morning but she was nowhere to be found. She scans the room, spotting Kirishima.

"Oh, Kirishima," she started walking over to him. "I wanted to talk to you before the festival started." She stops in front of him, he looks at her finding he lost his words.

Why is she being so nice after what I did?

"Do you mind talking outside," she gestures to the door.

He nods and sheepishly follows her as she grabs his arm and pulls him outside closing the door behind them.

Say something, this is your chance.

He opens his mouth to say something but she interrupts him.

"I'm sorry about last night," he blinks at her in shock.

Why is she apologising? I'm the one who-

"You were being really nice and I just ran off."

He stands back a bit and actually looks at her. She seems timid, not the almost arrogant confidence she usually radiates but rather a timid shyness. She's looking down and her body is tense.

"I-" she takes a sharp breath.

It's happening again.

"The kids on the recording... I-"

He pulls her into a hug catching her by surprise, her eyes widen as she lets out a small gasp.

"I'm sorry," he blurts out, "I should have turned it off when you told me to. I didn't mean t-"

She pulls away from the hug. Kirishima lets go, worried he did the wrong thing. He looks at her scared he made her feel worse. She lifts her head and looks him in the eyes.

She's smiling again.

"Kirishima," her voice is slightly shaky, "I really enjoyed what you did for me, it made me extremely happy."

She gives a smile too bright to be fake, a sweet sound to her voice.

"I don't like talking about it, to be honest I try to avoid it."