You Deserve it All

Chapter 16

DAIZEN'S POV

"Deku still doesn't know?" Reiji asked from beside me.

I shook my head. "It's getting harder and harder to lie to him. He keeps asking how it's going, and I say fine, but he doesn't know what I'm really doing. If he found out I was putting myself back in time to that day, I don't know how he would react."

"I assume he would be happy that you're trying to figure it all out, but I know it would hurt while you were doing it. He would spend every day in anticipation and be disappointed every day until you had figured it out." He sat up, and I followed.

"That's why we haven't said anything. I'm supposed to meet with Richard after dinner tonight to try again. I almost did it last time, but when I hit the tunnel, something snapped me out of it." Trying to put myself into a memory that was mine but not be in my own body was hard as hell. I've been able to see the guy who put her in a coma, but I haven't been able to see his face. He wore a mask, and every time I tried to, something snapped me out of it halfway through. Most of the time, it was fear.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I want to find out who it is, but I feel like every time I follow him down the alleyway and to the tunnel, my physical body is further away. It's hard to let yourself go like that. It would be like sleeping drunk with strangers. I trust my dad, obviously, and I want to trust Richard, but it's hard." Coming out of the memories, I'm disorientated for a minute. It takes a while for my brain to come back, and I've always been safe, but it's hard. Especially since there's been another person there. A sketch artist has been joining the last few sessions in case I'm able to see his face. I know my dad could easily kick their asses if needed, but I don't like him being outnumbered.

"Have you asked Deku to be there?"

I shook my head. "He'll know what we're doing. My grandparents have offered to be there, though. I may take them up on that."

"Boys!" Reiji's mom yelled from the back door. "We're leaving for my appointment. We're going to grab lunch on the way home. What do you want?"

Reiji turned to me. "Can we split a sushi platter? I'm not that hungry."

After telling his mom what we wanted, he turned back to me. "I can be there, too, if you want." I turned to him. "When you try again."

I smiled. "You would do that?" I don't know why that surprises me. Reiji's always been there for me and has had my back when I didn't even know I needed him to.

"We know I have one of the best quirks for it." His quirk was just like his dad's was. Except, when people touched him, it gave them third-degree burns, courtesy of his mom's quirk. He has to activate it separately, but he's gotten good at activating it on certain parts of his body. "I've loved you my entire life, Daizen. I would do anything for you and anything to protect you."

I moved a piece of his black hair away from his eyes. "I don't know what I ever did to deserve you." He's saved me time and time again. When I was spiraling so badly and taking the same path as my mom, he pulled me out of it. That's something I'll never be able to repay him for. He saved my life that day.

"Exist," he joked, pushing himself to his knees. His hand moved to the back of my head, grabbing the clip that had been holding my wavy hair in place. "You know," he mumbled, climbing onto my lap and lacing his hand through my hair that fell around my face. "We've probably got an hour before my parents get back."

My hands rested on his thighs. "Reiji," I said softly.

He sighed. "I know, I know." I may not be a virgin, but Reiji is, and I'm not going to change that during an hour of alone time where we would be rushing to beat a timer. He's worth so much more than that. "But my parents will be out of town next weekend. Maybe you can come over for a day."