STRINGS // KATSUKI BAKUGO [2]

Chapter 24 // Midnight

In preparation for the party, you spent the hours leading up putting on a much needed facade.

You used foundation to hide your evident eye bags and cover up your skin, which was gradually beginning to pale.

You dressed in clothes that would hide your visibaly weakening limbs, and you decided to wear your hair up to in a bun to hide its slight greasy tint.

Looking in the mirror at your final product, you concluded that, to a bystander, you appeared perfectly healthy, thriving even. However, inside, you felt like how a dug up corpse looked, but that was okay. As long as your classmates couldn't see that part, it was okay.

You helped Eri into her outfit after that and helped her gather what belongings she was bringing. Then, together, the two of you aided Aizawa in loading the gifts into the trunk of his car.

On the ride to the dorms, which wasn't terribly far away, you stared out the window and observed the scenery, cherishing the beauty of Japan.

Hopefully, you could at least take these images with you when you died. Maybe this could be your heaven, an eternal life surrounded by the wonderful nature of your home. That wouldn't be so bad.

Upon arriving at the dormitory, you took the brunt of gifts inside while Aizawa carried a few bags along with guiding Eri to the front doors.

"Sorry we're late," Aizawa apologized as the three of you entered the building. "We had a little too much packing to do."

The entirety of the class averted their attention to the three of you, and majority of them rushed forward to admire Eri, who was stood staring in her red Christmas outfit.

"She's adorable!"

"That looks great on you!"

"So cute!"

Eri looked at Aizawa in response to the praise, who kneeled down to be at eye level with the girl.

"Go, enjoy yourself," Aizawa said, gesturing toward the party. "Have fun."

Eri grinned, flashing her pearly white teeth, before running off with Uraraka and Asui toward where the food table was set up.

"She's adjusting so well," Midoriya observed, staring at Eri momentarily before looking at you. "Need some help?" he nodded his head toward the several gifts in your hands.

"If you don't mind," you replied.

Midoriya immediately took at least half of the items from your grasp before beckoning you to follow him with a nod of his head.

You departed from Aizawa and followed Midoriya over to the Christmas tree set up in the center of the lounge, which is where both of you set down the bags and wrapped  boxes in your hands.

"This place sure does scream festive," you stated, observing the interior of the dorms.

Along with the decorated Christmas tree, there were a variety of different colored streamers hanging on the walls and paper mâché shapes taped practically everywhere.

All of your classmates were dressed in Santa outfits that were similar to Eri's. However, some of them wore green rather than red.

"Mina did most of it," Midoriya chuckled. "We, um, we bought you an outfit if you wanna wear it, but you don't have to if you don't want to!"

You smiled at the consideration of your classmates before saying, "well, I'd hate to be the odd one out."

Midoriya smiled at your response and quickly retrieved the outfit for you, which ended up being one of the red ones. You thanked him shortly before heading to the bathrooms to change into it.

Once inside, you stripped yourself of your own clothes and changed into the festive outfit before observing your new look in the mirror.

Oh, how you'd so enjoy irritating Bakugo by trying to shove him into one of these outfits. Then again, he had grown so adhered to listening to you that you were sure he wouldn't even put up that much of a fight.

You found yourself frowning as you reminisced memories and flicked through images of Bakugo in your head, and what pained you more than the fact that he wasn't here to celebrate was the fact that one day you wouldn't have these moments to relive.

You pushed yourself onto the edge of the sinks before pulling out your phone where you clicked on your gallery.

You went to the folder labeled "fav pics" before beginning to scroll through your digital memories.

A pic you snuck during the bus ride to the training camp when Bakugo fell asleep on your shoulder.

A photo of a late night in the lounge when the two of you were watching The Grudge while eating popcorn and ice cream.

A blurry picture you took after abruptly jumping on to your boyfriend's back. He still caught you. He was more focused on that than the camera.

A snapshot of a typical moment in bed when Bakugo would tuck himself into your body for a comfortable night's sleep.

These were just a few of your most cherished memories, and, before you knew it, you were shedding tears.

Your silent moment of despair was interrupted by an abrupt text, one labeled with a bolded unknown.

You clicked on the message before it could fade away and read it carefully, immediately deciphering the sender.

'Go to the site of your creator's death after the conclusion of your fun. I'll be waiting, but I won't stay past midnight. I'm sure you don't want to miss this opportunity.'

It was obvious Shigaraki was trying to lure you, but it may not have been to your death, not yet. It was possible he just wanted to talk, and, even if he wasn't planning on deliberately telling you anything, you were sure you could get something out of him, catch something written between the lines.

"[L/N], you're in there, right?" Yaoyorozu's voice greeted you from outside the bathroom door. "We're about to start white elephant!"

"Be right there!" you shouted in response, waiting until you heard the girl's footsteps fade away before looking back at Shigaraki's text.

You had until Midnight.

[EDITED]