•Manipulation• [BNHA × Male!OC]

Chapter 30: Sh-owo-to Tod-owo-ki

I sighed as I sat alone in my waiting room, the sounds of Bakugou and Todoroki's fight coming to a close echoing from outside.

"I didn't even get to face off against him..." I huffed, leaning my chair back onto its two hind legs, teetering back and forth. "After I made such a cool challenge too..." I sigh again and tilt my head backwards, staring at the incandescent lights above me.

'retina damage is my passion.'

I lift my hand above my face, the glow of the cuffs now significantly dimmer. They'd never go out unless I did so I guess the light was pretty comforting. Plus I got cold hands and feet so the extra heat was always a plus. Guess my quirk gives me shitty blood circulation as a side effect too, fun.

I plop back onto all four legs of the chair and look at the PE shirt I'd removed seconds upon entering the room. It was to aid the dissipation of energy from my body but also because I was way too sexy for a shirt. I mean I was hot in more ways than one.

But it was in that stupud joke I made to myself that I realised who that shirt's previous owner was.

I brought my hand up to my stomach. My entire waist had been wrapped in white gauze after a chaste smooch from Recovery Girl, no doubt thanks to all the rough landings I'd endured from Bakuhoe.

I grabbed the shirt and held it before me.

"You're such a douche." I mutter accusingly at the innocent garment.

'And i'm an idiot for talking to a shirt...'

I toss the shirt to my left and rest my head on the table.

But it takes all of two seconds for a strange guilt to fill my chest, and for me to drag myself out of my seat to pick up the discarded shirt.

But, it didn't quite make the floor.

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I stare at the human coatrack, face obscured by the messed up shirt.

"Uh..." I mumble, slowly approaching the stunned person.

'its a boy for sure but who...?'

"Marco?" I call out to a confused tilt of the head from under the shirt.

'well that level of ignorance narrows it down to two boys and Midoriya would have said something way earlier so...'

"Peppermint?" I wonder aloud as I lift the shirt to reveal messed up streaks of red and white hair.

'Bingo!'

I chuckle a greeting as I watch the heterochromic boy give me a confused look. I tug the shirt from his head and pull it over myself. I shuffle back to my chair as I button the shirt closed.

"Who's Marco...?" I hear him mumble from behind me and I resist the very tempting urge to laugh my ass off.

"You'll find out another day, what are you doing here?" I turn back to the boy as he pulls up a chair and sits beside me. It only takes a glance to notice the dressings plastered over his person and I gathered that the fight was over.

"I..." He mumbled, eyes cast to the floor. His hand was brought up to his head gripping his hair. "I don't...know...?" He seemed to finally work out and i couldn't help but huff in amusement.

"Well, I appreciate the company," I grin, leaning back in my chair.

"So," I flick my gaze over to him as he stares straight ahead, at the wall opposite us. "Did you win?" I grin, the idea of Anger-Issues throwing a fit over losing rather entertaining. He gently shook his head, eyes slowly falling back onto the floor. "I went out of bounds," he murmured and I sighed. "Well, I don't quite mind that," I kick my feet back up onto the table, Iida probably would have had an aneurysm if he saw. "Means I made podium," I smile at the floor, imagining waving the bronze medal before Kaminari just to piss him off.

But yet...

The image of the first place podium made my stomach churn.

Regret?

Maybe.

"But then again, maybe it would have been better if someone else took the spot," I mutter humourlessly to myself. "I don't need it anyways."

The silence ensues for a bit and I was pretty sure he didn't hear me until...

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"Why...?"

I look over at the boy, a little surprised that he'd heard me but also a little stuck on how to reply.

"Well..." I laugh but it's dryer than I intended. "Let's just say that whatever I do..."

I grip the red feather under my shirt, my dog collar.

"I will never become a hero."

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The silence is painful.

I cough out a chuckle and swing to my feet.

"Forget about that, it's not anything important anyway-"

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'Warm...'

That was my first thought.

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He was so...

Warm.

"H-hey, Candyca-"

"I felt better when you did this so..." I could hear him swallow. "Let me do this for you..."

I paused and let my arms fall.

'Damn him and his ikemen skills...'

Despite being a good few inches taller than him, I found that the crook of his neck was an enticing place to hide my face.

So I did.

"You..." He mumbled, clearly trying to work out what to say.

"You're..." he placed a hand over the back of my head.

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"You're going to be a great hero."

I can't help the shaky laugh I breathe against his shoulder.

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"Thank you..."

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Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the fluff 😉😉💖

So I'm pretty much gonna be posting whenever i finish a chapter so updoots are gonna be a little sporadic, sorry yallz :')

But I will definitely do my best to see this story through!

Love,
Ari