Familiarity

Chapter Six

The second funeral hurt worse than the last.

You were finally beginning to grieve. You finally accepted that your sister was gone and was never coming back. At the previous funeral, you hadn't accepted her passing. You pushed it off and allowed your eyes to blur the days away.

In a way, you thought that would make everything easier—that knowing your sister was dead would make passing through grief easier. But it was worse. Not because you were so angry you couldn't see straight or would kill everyone in that room just for her to be back. Rather everyone was farther along than you. They had made it past that acceptance weeks before and already began to unravel themselves from the pain that, for you, was still bleeding.

Though the event hurt worse, you were able to appreciate how beautiful it was. It took place inside for the first two hours everyone spent talking about your sister, playing old videos, and reminiscing over memories. Your mother kept a few tissues in her hand, and you found she was dabbing at her eyes for the tears that would fall every-so-often.

Nearly everyone was crying. During the videos was when you saw the most emotion, as oftentimes her voice would be heard through the speakers at the front of the room, and her giggles would echo from the tall ceilings. You and your brother, however, kept your faces sad but tearless. Usually it was easy keeping your face completely free of emotion. But after the dream from the night before, you found it difficult to act like you didn't care at all.

Still, as the first flutters of snow began to rain down on her grave that had yet to be touched heavily by time, you kept your face blank and your eyes focused on the lilies you placed on her tombstone.

—

In a strange way, you searched for Bakugou the moment you were dropped off at campus. It made sense, though. He was the only person you could talk to about your sister and every related subject that rotated around her name. Talking to him about it benefited you both: he was able to be nosey though he always pretended he wasn't; you were able to reveal parts of you that no one else has seen before and it was all without him pitying you like you were a porcelain doll.

School had barely ended and the sky was still a cloudy gray. You could hear new voices flood through the front doors, giving you notice that your classmates were back from school. You ran down the stairs but began to slow down when you got closer to the floor level. You passed Midoriya and waved, and then you saw Jirou who nodded at you. Before you were halfway down the final hallway to the common rooms, Kirishima passed you but called out your name, his tone beckoning for you to turn around.

"Where'd you go today?" he asked innocently, a bit concerned about why you left midday and never returned.

"Dentist," you said quickly, watching him look at you a bit strangely before adding, "Their office is almost an hour away, and I had a few cavities."

Kirishima nodded almost immediately, backpedaling after he blinked a few times. He shook his head, "Oh. Wait. Well, that's not very good."

"It's not very manly either, apparently," you said.

Kirishima made a face but laughed. It wasn't forced, though it wasn't necessarily out of amusement. "Are you making fun of me?"

"You do mention manliness often," you shrugged. Kirishima looked the slightest bit hurt, although the pain was hidden behind his brutal expression. You pushed his shoulder away with your hand, "But that's cool, so, no. Not an insult."

He smiled and nodded, turning back around and leaving you to walk into the common rooms. You saw your classmates swarming around the room and talking to each other with glee on their faces. They walked around and tapped on peoples shoulders, while some went to the snack pantry and began to share. You felt disconnected from the world and immediately was off-put. You didn't want to see them be happy when all you could think about was her grave and the nightmare that followed behind you like a second shadow.