My Hero Academia: The Promises We Make

Chapter 8: Home

"How could you be so STUPID?!" There was sharp pain as his fist met my jaw.

"Stop!" Clayra stepped forward, her eyes a raging blue fire. It was a far cry from the timid girl I knew. "He just wanted to save that man!"

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" His voice spat at her, and the forcefulness caused her to stumble back.

I gritted my teeth. "No one saw. No one knows. It's fine."

"You got LUCKY. I taught you BETTER."

The room reverberated with his anger. It was nothing like we had ever felt before. And the pain I felt at disappointing him hurt deeper than any punch to the face.

"Well..." His furious anger turned cold as his voice dropped to a seething whisper. "I guess if anything... this just proves how desperately I need to recruit some better help."

He clicked towards the metal door, waves of his disappointment washing over me.

"Stay here until I come back..." there was a creak as he opened the metal door. "And keep digging the tunnels." With a slam, Clay and I were once again left alone in the darkness of the caves.

I winced as Clay dabbed a wet cloth to the lacerations his punch had caused me. He definitely didn't hold back.

"I'm proud of you, you know."

I kept silent, my ego more bruised than my face.

"I think Dad would've been too."

I looked up to her, her blue eyes meeting mine with a glisten.

"Well... lot of good it did." I clasped my hands together in frustration.

"It did a lot of good for the man you saved."

The wet rag dabbed my face one more time with a sting.

"You know..." I looked down. "He told me to get out. Out of all of this."

She stopped. Sitting next to me on the cot.

"And do you want to?"

I looked over to her, the fluorescent light catching the waves of her white hair. "I-I don't know. We owe him so much...and we both know the truth of what happened to dad. How could we ever go back to that?"

She was silent for a moment, wringing the cloth in her hand.

"I'll follow you anywhere. You know that. No matter what we are in this together, but..."

Her voice trailed off, and I shifted slightly in order to face her directly.

"But I don't think..." she sighed. "I just have a bad feeling Connor. And... I don't know what it means yet."

I nodded. I knew the feeling she was talking about, but something deep in me refused to acknowledge it. Be it out of loyalty to the man who pulled us off the streets, or even out of fear of being on our own again, I buried that feeling deep down.

"I know. But we should give him the benefit of the doubt. We owe him that much, and besides..." I looked around the cave with the cots and the small wooden table. Over the years we had slowly made it our own. Knick knacks with lamps and a warmth that covered the coldness of the cave walls. "This is our home."

She nodded. "Alright. But promise you'll be careful?" She stuck out her pinky to me asking me to seal the covenant.

I wrapped my finger around hers. "I Promise."