Shadowfire - OC x Shoto Todoroki

Chapter 17 - You Need Therapy

The next morning, Kaida was back to trudging through the halls of UA like any other sleep-deprived high school student, armed with a sloppy excuse as to why she hadn't done her homework, the real reason being that she had spent the last five days bleeding out on the kitchen floor and tied up in her basement. But Mr Aizawa didn't need to know that. She refused to look up from her feet as she walked, not having enough energy to shoot fake smiles at anyone, until she was stopped by a large body blocking her path.

"Excuse me." She mumbled frustratedly, trying to manoeuvre around the obstacle without looking up.

"Planning on skipping class?" A gruff voice questioned, and Kaida's shoulders sunk further at the all too familiar voice, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"What makes you think that?" She said flatly, refusing to meet his rosy irises.

"The fact that you just walked past the door."

She whipped her head around to look behind her, and sure enough, the door to class 1-A was several metres behind her.

"Overshot. My bad." She stated monotonously, turning back towards the classroom. Katsuki's large hand encased her wrist before she could take a step, making sure to avoid the patches of rope-burned skin but holding her in place as she rounded on him with a ferocious glare.

"Let go." She growled, tugging at his firm grip.

He pursed his lips, and she raised an eyebrow, urging him to spit out whatever he wanted to say.

"Are you ok?" He grumbled, his tone reluctant and his eyes trained on the ground.

Kaida raised her eyebrows, her lips parting slightly at the question.

"Fucking answer, dumbass. I don't have all day."

Her surprised expression morphed into a tiny, soft smile. "I guess." She started. "I just feel jumpy all the time. But all things considered, I'm ok."

Katsuki nodded, satisfied that he had gotten an answer. "That's good enough I guess." A nagging feeling resided in his stomach, a desire to make her happy, to see the return of the familiar giddy smile and have it be him that returned it to her face.

"The stitches are holding up well." She continued.

He huffed a laugh. "Of course they are. I did them. Even though I don't know how you're still standing with the amount of blood I saw on the floor"

Kaida smirked, rolling her eyes. "Is a simple 'thanks' too hard?"

"Yes."

"Jackass."

"Airhead."

"Look...I'm really sorry that you had to deal with all of that shit." Kaida's tone changed.

Katsuki exhaled loudly through his nose. "Look, if we weren't sou-" His voice caught in his throat, and he resorted to gesturing between the two of them "y'know." And Kaida nodded. "No one would have known where you were and you might still be tied up in your fucking basement. So as unpleasant as it was, I-" He rubbed a hand roughly over his face, obviously struggling to force out the words. "I'm glad I knew, and I'm glad I went there and I'm fucking glad I could get you out or whatever." He angled his face away from hers, his cheeks ever so slightly pink.

Kaida cocked her head happily, a smile pulling at her lips. "I'm glad you were there too. Someone actually knowing a bit about what's going on is a weight off my shoulders."

"Have you ever talked to anyone about it before?" He narrowed his eyes.

She frowned. "I talked to Shoto Todoroki about it a while ago, but that's pretty much all I've ever told anyone."