Shigaraki and Scribe II

Chapters 1-5

Chapter 1

Scribe came down the steps to her bookstore feeling happy and light. Tomura had just portaled back to headquarters, so she had the whole day to reacquaint herself with her store. And her town, for that matter. It felt like she'd been gone for years instead of just a few months.

Chelsea looked up from the desk. "Oh, good morning, Ms. Radford."

"Good morning, Chelsea." Scribe felt a little jolt at the use of her fake name by one of her best friends. "Please, um, call me Sherri."

"Yes, ma'am. It's good to see you." Chelsea looked a little shy.

Scribe wanted to tell the girl not to be so worried. She and Chelsea had been friends, after all. But Chelsea only saw Scribe's glamored self, not her friend who'd run away to be in love with the leader of the League of Villains. She forced a little smile. "I, um, thought I'd go get some coffee. I haven't had a chance to go shopping yet. Can I bring you anything?"

"Um, sure. A coffee would be good." Chelsea nodded. "Thank you."

Scribe smiled and started out. She found the coffee shop and returned with two coffees. Chelsea said, "What about your husband? Does he need anything?"

Scribe almost giggled. She'd seen the picture of Tomura's glamored self on his fake passport. He was undeniably good looking, and Chelsea had always liked eye candy. Smothering her amusement, she said, "Oh, don't worry about Tom. He left early this morning. He won't be back until nearly closing time."

"Oh." Chelsea looked a little disappointed. But she shrugged. "So, do you have any questions about the store? Anything you'd like to change?"

Scribe turned to look at the little store that had been her home for so many years. "No, I think I'm pretty well acquainted with where things are now, and it seems absolutely perfect to me." She turned to see Chelsea looking at her curiously. "I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?"

"No...you just kind of remind me of..." She stopped. "Well, sometimes you just remind me of Scribe, the former owner. She thought the place was perfect, too. And sometimes when I came in, she'd be sitting here looking at the place just like you are." She paused, looking away. "I guess you know what happened, right? They'd have to tell you when you bought the place."

"I know." Scribe spoke softly.

"I just...I feel kind of responsible. I didn't mean to. I thought she was in danger, not in love." Chelsea sighed. "I mean, how was I supposed to know that? So I'm the one who called the heroes in, and Shigaraki took Scribe and fled, and the rest is history."

Scribe felt a rush of affection for the girl. She put a hand on Chelsea's. "I'm sure Scribe knows you didn't mean any harm."

Chelsea looked at her hand, then up at Scribe. A flicker of recognition in her eyes made Scribe straighten a little. Chelsea said slowly, "I hope so. Because if I could ever tell Scribe anything, it would be that her secret is safe with me."

For a moment, Scribe wanted to confess everything to her friend, but she couldn't risk Tomura's safety, and he would be returning to her that evening. She smiled and squeezed Chelsea's hand. "I'm certain she knows her friend would never hurt her on purpose." She drew in a deep breath. "But can you explain to me again how the checkout procedure goes? And the trade in policy?"

She kept Chelsea distracted until lunch, then sent her home, assuring her she could handle everything from there. The store was quiet. She wandered through the stacks, running her fingertips over the book spines. That was where Tomura found her.

He paused, watching her. "Hello, pretty."

"Hello, Tomura." She crossed to him, putting her arms around his neck and kissing him. Then she laughed delightedly. "I don't think I can ever get tired of doing that."