Blossoms of the Dark

CXXI Selene: Love

Trigger Warning:

- crude language

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After an inane discussion that consisted of Shigaraki complaining about no new arrivals, All-for-One and Kurogiri assuring him to be patient, and me letting him have his tantrum and eating Black Forest cake, I wasted no time wrapping myself in the coverlets of the bed.

My bed.

Because one person ever occupies this bed: me and only me.

Another month has gone by - it is March now - and in a week or two, the sakura trees will bloom with cherry blossoms.

My eyes droop, with the image of small, pale pink flowers in my head, but they jolt open when the door opens.

It's Kurogiri, who pulls up a chair, and nonchalantly says, "Something is bothering you. Let's talk about it." Groaning, I sit up and stretch languidly, only to flop on the bed again, but in the opposite direction to face him. Lying on my back, I stare at him upside down. Right. Because I am the type to not discuss my problems unless someone else brings it up. Ignore, ignore, ignore. That is my mantra.

"You tell me," I respond. "What do you think must be bothering me? Besides the usual torture at the mansion, I get to lie in a comfortable bed and eat desserts to my stomach's content. Thank you for the cake, by the way. It was absolutely delicious."

"Your welcome, Selene. I made it myself." I feel him smirk. "But don't try to evade the question. Remember what I told you about pride?"

My amusement is instantly replaced with dullness. "I would like to forget it. You used my favorite sugary treats as an analogy for my pride. I wouldn't feel so bad if you had commented on my gluttony instead."

He doesn't reply to that. Instead, he circles to his reason for coming here. "Is this about the peppermint hair boy? Todoroki? What did you do this time?"

Again, I reply placidly, "I would be offended if you weren't wrong. But yes. I did something." Before he can exclaim whether my friendship with him became turbulent again, I answer the question. "No. Our relationship is fine. In fact, it is going smoothly. It's just that I've made a few realizations in the past two months."

"Such as?" he prompts.

"Well, what has been bothering Shigaraki has also been on my mind. I was expecting an influx of criminals within a month, but it's been longer than that. More importantly, I have been committing murders since September, but I have not yet been caught by the English police agencies? My name appears in the newspapers and tabloids - they gave me the most absurd nickname: The Bone Crusher Killer. I admit, my modus operandi consists of shattering bones, but just how demeaning is that! It is utterly disgraceful! I deserve a better title than that! Anyway, most of my killings follow a fixed schedule, and I always go to a news company after to give proof of the dirty things my victims did. Shouldn't the government be making an effort to catch me? I heard that the officer in charge of the case is a woman. Aline Ahearn. But she and her team haven't even made a public announcement that they will try."

"Is that not a good thing the government is not on your tail?"

"Yes, but it is suspicious."

"It almost sounds like you want them to catch you. Like your ego has been bruised. How many more do you have to kill?"

I count on the segments of my fingers. "Including the one from earlier tonight, I've killed a little more than 30. There are approximately 10 ... 12 ... 15 ... 18 more left."