STRINGS // KATSUKI BAKUGO [2]

Chapter 28 // Until The End

not gonna lie, i legit cried while writing this chapter
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You were anything but quiet when entering Aizawa's home, your home, which easily woke the light sleeper.

As you made your way to the kitchen to make yourself a drink, you passed by Aizawa, who had just reached the bottom of the stairs.

Your silence as you deliberately acknowledged his presence was enough to get him to follow you, and you soon found yourself standing at the kitchen counter pouring yourself a glass of water with Aizawa lingering somewhere behind you.

"How could you think it was a good idea to walk home in the dark while being the main target of the most wanted criminals in Japan?" Aizawa asked, and you took a small sip of your drink to clear your hoarse throat before replying.

"It wasn't a good idea," you stated calmly. "I don't seem to have those anymore."

You turned around to face Aizawa, who was much closer than you originally assumed, merely a foot or two away from you.

"I can't keep doing this," you admitted before he could throw any more questions your way. "I can't keep running away from my demons and pretending everything's normal. I can't live in your house knowing the reason is because my mother's missing, and my father's gone insane. I can't go to school knowing Bakugo is missing. I can't party like I don't have an internal clock ticking down to my last breath. I can't do this anymore."

Aizawa remained silent, observing you, like always, as he waited for you to propose a solution to your problem.

"I'm the only one that's gonna find my mom and Bakugo," you continued. "I'm the only one they'll allow to find them, but I can't keep wasting time by pretending that's not what I'm trying to do."

Aizawa stay still, silent, and you were almost hoping he'd throw a fit, try and get you to stay. Instead, he left, walked out, and you waited.

When he returned, he had a pair of keys in one hand, and a large wad of cash rubber banded together in the other. He held out the items to you, which you took with hesitancy.

"What's this for?" you asked, staring down at the keys and money, which laid in separate hands.

"That's a key to my old house in Tokyo," he explained quietly as if he was afraid too loud of a volume would result in a breakdown. "I never sold it after moving into this one just in case a situation came where I needed a safe house. I guess it paid off."

You curled your fingers around the pair of keys, biting down on your bottom lip as a burning feeling crawled up your throat.

"That money has been for safe keeping," he proceeded, gesturing toward the wad of cash. "There's about 8,000,000 yen there."

Your eyes widened, and you inhaled sharply at the information, clutching the money against your chest.

"You can take my car. I'll write down the address," he offered. "You go to Tokyo. Work on finding your mother and Bakugo, and, if you lose your way, forget, I'll be right here working just as hard as you. If the day comes where you forget too much, you'll have that money to survive off of."

You pursed your lips as tears gathered in your eyes, quickly blurring your vision, and, just like that, you were a bawling your eyes out like a toddler.

This man, Shota Aizawa, he's trained you, taught you, taken you in. He's been your father, and, now, he was letting you go not because he wanted to but because he knew he had to.

Despite the inevitable future, he was going to take care of you until the very end. Even when you forgot who he was, he was going to love you, cherish you, and make sure you were okay.

"I love you," you choked out.

For the first time ever, Aizawa cried. His lips curled back into an ugly frown as tears spilled from his narrowed eyes, and he tugged his bottom lip into his mouth to avoid openly sobbing.

You rushed into his arms like a child running to their parent after taking a tumble on the playground. You collapsed into his heaving chest and allowed yourself to be enveloped in his warmth.

His lips brushed your hairline before he place a small kiss on your forehead, his hands rubbing your upper back.

"I love you too, Kid."

You'd remember that. Even when you forgot who he was, even when you forgot his name, even when you forgot his face, even when you forgot his voice, you'd know deep down that Shota Aizawa loved you like a daughter until the very end.

[EDITED]