Only Red

Chapter Twenty Five

We stand in silence, my gaze still focused on the floor where it has been for the majority of my explanation. I try to gather my courage and look up.

My jaw almost drops at what I see. Katsuki looks...upset? But not in the normal way of 'DIE, DIE, DIE, YOU SHITTY EXTRAS!!!'. He seems upset in the...worried way.

He's worried about me?

I feel my eyes widen more when I'm suddenly engulfed in a hug. Luckily he doesn't start spontaneously sobbing into my shoulder, and somehow cry enough to soak through my clothes while staying upright through the extreme water loss, before confessing his undying love to me at sunset like in every Romance movie ever, but it still surprises me.

"Kirishima that's..." He starts in a quiet voice before I hear another's cut through his.

"Sorry to interrupt but our classmates will be unfreezing anytime now." Shinso says from his place in the doorway to the dorms. I freeze and see Katsuki pull away from me quickly.

"Alright, I'll be back in a moment to calm them down." I tell him, blushing a bit from the odd position he found us in. He nods and retreats back into the mainroom quietly.

I pull away from Katsuki and pause to look back at him for a moment. He still has that slightly confused and worried expression but he quickly covers it with his usual irritated look.

Knowing that after Shinso's interruption he's not likely to open up again, I turn away from him and head back to the mainroom.

I open the door and see them all pestering an uncomfortable looking Shinso for brainwashing them as he scratches the back of his neck nervously, his purple eyes darting from person to person.

His eyes catch mine and he seems to sigh in relief as the others notice me and direct their attention away from him. Mina sobs as she throws herself into my arms and starts crying beads of tears.

I smile a bit at how much my friends care, but I still feel a lingering sadness at how much things have changed since I woke up two days ago, still a boy, having a completely normal relationship with Katsuki, and not visiting prison in my free time.

I talk to the others and go into more detail, trying to clear up the situation and calm them on it's seriousness.

Needless to say the pika-I mean Denki-didn't really get it, but at least I was able to clear up the situation for Mina and Sero who had most definitely pictured some bad soap opera at my vague words.

I did a great job making it seem like a side note of the quirk and not the real thing, and to make it seem not as scary as before for them.

If only I could do the same for me...