▪One Too Many Lies▪

Chapter Nine

"Goodbye Young Kaminari, I wish you the best."

"Thanks, All Might." I lugged my bag out of the car as he got out of the other side. "I'll be seeing you then, I guess."

He stared at me for a moment before reaching out and giving me a hug. I hesitantly let myself stay in his arms while I tried to will myself not to cough.

"No matter what happens, know that everyone loves you, Kaminari." He said softly as he pat the back of my head.

I pulled back and smiled at him, "I know. Thank you."

He nodded and with one last sad look he got back in his car. The engine was already revved, so he glanced back at me once more as he put it in reverse.

"Bye!" I waved, he waved back, not paying enough attention to the road as he should. I watched with a strange sense of finality as his car rolled down the road and eventually out of my sight.

I wiped my eyes after finding them a little too wet for my liking, but that didn't work and I felt tears start streaming down my face. My lungs started tingling and I forced myself to take a deep breath.

I didn't want to cry again, I've already cried enough at saying goodbye to everyone else. Though I never cried infront of them, of course, just afterwards. There were already too many tears while they were saying bye and I didn't want to add to them.

This time I wiped my face with more conviction. I sniffled and put a smile back on my face as I started looking through my key ring for the one that belonged to my house door.

Once finding it I unlocked the front door, opened it wide and shouted, "Guess who's home!"

I heard thuds coming from the staircase and it occurred to me how different this goodbye would be from the others because... well...

This is the place I'll die.

"You better tell him, Sparky." Bakugo's words from this morning rang through my head.

"If you die I'll never forgive you." He had grabbed my arm violently and forced me to look at him. "You can't die in such a unimportant way, don't be a coward and do it."

"I... I didn't know you cared so much." I pulled my arm back, looking at him with a grim grin, "Bakugo..." he glared at me and I took a breath, "bye."

"Do it."

"Denki!" My mom and dad came barreling downstairs now, snapping me out of my thoughts.

They flung their arms around me, holding me in a tight embrace, the only sound being made were their strangled sobs they were trying to hold back.

"You're- choking- me!" I managed to spit out even though they were squeezing my lungs with their hugs.

"Oh! We're sorry, honey." My mom said as they quickly released me, but each still had a grip on one of my arms.

"How do you feel?" Suddenly my dad got in my face and asked me, tears brimming his eyes.

A cough escaped as I tried to answer, "I-I'm fine, good even!"

A big frown spreaded across both of their faces, if I was good then I wouldn't have been sent home, they wouldn't have been notified that their son is dying, so I guess they could tell I was lying.

"Okay. I'm not good, but I'm not doing bad, either!" I quickly tried to defend myself, but they still weren't believing it.

My mom looked at me sadly then spoke, "Why don't you go wash up before dinner?"

I rolled my shoulders back uncomfortably then compiled, bringing my bag up with me.

I could hear them whispering to eachother, you'd think that they would get all their talking out before I got here.