The Return [Kiribaku]

Bye, Blasty

Baku

I wake to find Kiri asleep, and a very amused-looking mother standing beside the bed. I almost tear myself from the blankets and make a run for it, before I register Kiri's face pressed softly against my chest.

"Hi Katsukiiii," the hag practically sings, careful to keep her voice low against her growing excitement.

"The fuck are you doing here," I grumble, reaching with my free hand to brush the stray hair from my eyes.

"Well, I wanted to see Kirishima." She pauses, gazing down at us with an unreadable expression. "I also thought that...this might be kinda hard. For you. It would be for anyone."

"'M fine." I keep my eyes trained on the rise and fall of my chest, and therefore Kiri. He looks almost thoughtful, mouth open in a soft pout, red eyebrows drawn slightly inward.

"Mhm," she says skeptically, footsteps retreating. "I'll be in the car, but I'm only waiting 30. Maybe 40, if you're nice."

I glance up to her soft smile before she closes the door behind her with a click.

Kiri

My eyes are burning again. Fuck. I sigh, reaching clumsily for my water, keeping my eyelids stubbornly shut and wincing as the familiar heat spreads itself across their sockets. With a gasp, I feel a hand come to rest on my cheek.

"Oi. You okay, Dumb Hair?"

"Eek!" I rip my eyes open, almost blinding myself with the harsh rush of iridescent light.

Bakugou grips my arm before I can fall out of bed, rolling his eyes. "The fuck's up with you?"

"Oh," I breathe, embarrassment seeping across my cheeks as I remember falling asleep next to the blonde only a few hours ago. "Sorry, man. Forgot there was someone else here."

"Rude," he huffs, finally releasing my arm and moving to climb over me, grumpily handing me the water bottle as he gets to his feet.

"What's up with you," I ask, raising an eyebrow. "You seem...extra..."

"What, Dumb Hair?"

"You know, irritated? Grumpy? Mad? I could go on-"

"Fuck off." He throws a middle finger over his shoulder as he goes to grab his hoodie from the chairs across the room. "The old hag visited. Gotta go." He turns to me with his piercing gaze, brows tilted outward just slightly.

I feel my cheeks heat, noting the tick of his jaw, his sharp collarbone just peeking from the neck of his shirt- shit. Quickly, I take a gulp from the bottle in my hand. "Oh, um. Okay. Thanks for visiting, man."

Before I can process his quick stride across the room, he's leaning slightly over me, eyes sweeping across my features. With a nervous glance, his hand pauses at my ear before delicately tucking into the hair behind it, pushing me ever so softly into his torso.

I feel his other hand between my shoulder blades as I relax into the hug, smiling at his chin coming to rest atop my head.

"Bye, Shitty Hair," he murmurs, his grip tightening before releasing me back into the pillows.

"Bye, Blasty," I call after him, flashing a grin as he stalks toward the door.

"Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow." And he's gone, the feeling of his arms accompanying me to the dreamworld as I drift back to sleep.

"Come here."

As the whispered command jabs into my consciousness, I find myself whimpering, straining against air keeping me frozen where I stand. Gray walls leer as tightness crowds my throat until my breathing becomes ragged, sharp gasps forcing their way past watery eyes. I hack saliva down my chin and watch dots circle my vision, latching onto the hurried whispers floating somewhere nearby.

"The boy-"

"He'll die..."

"We need...keep going-"

"His name, find it. Find his-"

A gargled scream makes its way across my swollen tongue, blood halting my airways enough to leave me hunched and frantic as I hack red onto the sheets crumpled in my white fists. I wince, feeling sharp teeth marks along the surface of my tongue, and reach to wipe the pink drool from my trembling lips. My eyes dart to the door as it flies open.

"Kiri! Shit." It's the nurse from the other night, her expression fearful as she registers the splatters of blood in my lap.

Before she can rush to me, I tug a wide grin across my face, ignoring the sharp pain as my tongue screams in protest, writhing slightly against my sharp teeth. "I'm all good. Just a nightmare, sorry to bother you."

The nurse shakes her head tiredly, pulling her bob into a spiky ponytail and tugging rubber gloves carefully onto her fingers. "You don't have to lie to me, Kiri. But get up at least, so I can change your sheets."

The smile slips slightly from my cheeks. "I don't even know your name. Why would I trust you?"

"Right," she sighs, making her way toward me. "Ochako. Now, can you stand?"

"Yeah." I lug myself from the mattress, stumbling slightly to my familiar perch under the light switch.

"What happened," Ochako asks, glancing at me as she pulls a stack of folded linens from a cupboard next to the monitor.

"Bit my tongue," I mumble, cracking open another bottle and taking a long, bloody sip. I tune out her reply, slumping further into the bright white behind me, breath calming as lashes flutter across my vision and my head hits my shoulder with a quiet thump.

Baku

"Bakugou."

I huff, pulling my eyes from the window and settling them instead on Mr. Aizawa.

"Please stay for a few minutes after class." He motions everyone else toward the door, ignoring the curious glances that shoot between the two of us. "Come on. We don't have all day."

Shoving my chair backward, I sigh before making my way to his desk at the front of the room.

"I understand you've been to visit Kirishima in the hospital at least once, correct?"

I nod slowly, watching him messily shove a pile of essays to the corner of his desk. It takes every muscle in my face to avoid cringing at the clutter littering the stained wood. I opt, instead, to focus on the dusty chalkboard just behind Aizawa's tangled head of hair.

"Kaminari tells me he's having some...memory troubles?"

"Yep. Didn't remember him or Ta- Sero. The nurses say it's only temporary though."

"Hm." His eyebrows come together in thought. "And how has this been for you?"

"What?" I glance at him sharply, thoughts halting as I silently repeat his question. "...This isn't about me," I say finally. "It's about Kirishima."

"Sure, but you're his friend, right?" He regards me knowingly, a kind of pity behind his eyes that makes my palms sizzle in irritation. "And he's been gone for a year. That must be challenging, especially in these circumstances."

Circumstances?

"With his memory."

I push hot air from my nose. "I'm fine." Doubling back to snatch my bag, I stomp from the classroom.

The stuffy air of my dorm crashes into me as I open the door, doing nothing to calm my flaming temper. I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. I kick the door closed behind me, throwing off my backpack and slouching onto my comforter. Its bright red fabric stares me in the face, causing Kiri's gelled spikes to flit across my vision. What the fuck?? 

I tug my blazer from my shoulders, revealing my white undershirt, slightly untucked from my uniform pants, which I kick off. Tugging on a pair of black basketball shorts, I root around for my earbuds before slipping them into my ears and trudging down the dorm stairs. 

Craving the fresh air of the early evening, I try to force down any thoughts of Kirishima or his memory. This moment is about me, and the slight crunch of leaves underneath my feet, as I fly across the school grounds, music blasting.