aerie (bakugo katsuki x oc)

chapter 36: amiss

   To say that Kai has been acting strange is... an understatement.

   When Mom and I go to the hospital to pick her up, she speaks very little. Just a "thank you" to Mom, and that's pretty much it. She barely even looks at me, which is fine. I've already decided I'm going to keep my distance, for Kai's sake. She'll talk to me when she's ready.

   In the car, Mom starts to ask questions, and I cringe. I probably should have warned her beforehand about Kai's aversion to them.

   "So, Kai," she says, "Is your mom in the picture?"

   "No," Kai replies, quietly.

   "Where is she?"

   She gulps. "Gone."

   "I see. Have you always had a bad relationship with your dad?"

   My eyes widen in horror at the invasive question. "Mom," I whisper.

   The whole point of me leaving Kai alone is for her comfort, so for my mom to be attacking her with questions like this is kind of defeating my purpose here.

   "What?" Mom says, "It's just a question. If I'm taking her in, I want to know what's going on. So, Kai?"

   I can see Kai in the side mirror, and she looks uncomfortable to say the least. "No," she says, "We used to be happy."

   "What happened?"

   "A lot of stuff," Kai murmurs, then looks over her shoulder at the cars behind us.

   "Like what?"

   Kai turns back around, and sighs. "He's not who I thought he was. And I'm not who he wanted me to be."

   "Ah," Mom says with a nod. "And who did he want you to be?"

   Kai makes a very annoyed face, and puts her tongue in her cheek. "Something I'm not."

   "And what's that?"

   She sighs. "Perfect."

   "Perfect at what?"

   Not gonna lie, this back and forth is pretty entertaining, and I've been wanting to know the answers to these questions myself. But Mom is relentless, and Kai's vague answers aren't gonna satisfy.

  Kai starts to scratch her neck. "He wanted me to obey every order he gave. And if I didn't, he made me pay for it."

   "What kind of orders did he give?"

   "Stupid ones," she mutters, and looks back over her shoulder.

   "Like what?"

   "Mom," I say, deciding to come to Kai's rescue. "That's enough."

   "Alright," Mom sighs, and we ride the rest of the way in silence.

   I keep an eye on Kai's bizarre behavior all the way home. She bites her fingernails, mutters to herself, and looks out the windows with wide eyes like she's searching for something. I've never seen her act like this before, and it's kind of weirding me out. Having no quirk must really be getting to her.

   When we get to the house, Mom tells me to show Kai to her room. We awkwardly walk up the stairs together, and I lead her to the room next to mine.

   "You'll sleep here," I tell her. "The bathroom is down the hall to the right."

Kai nods, walks in her room, and shuts the door, without a word.

   I stare ahead at the closed door, and sigh.