𝗖𝗨𝗣𝗜𝗗 ᝰ bnha

25 | inheritance of ash

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
INHERITANCE OF ASH

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"Praise the lord, I'm free from hell."

You exhaled dramatically, hands on your hips. The fluorescent lights of the locker room buzzed above you as you yanked off the ridiculous demonic outfit. Correction: cheerleading costume. You hadn't even done that badly—your routine wasn't half as embarrassing as you feared. But it was hard to fully commit when Riri's there to drag you into all sorts of tomfoolery all the time.

Riri leaned against the row of lockers. ["Oh, what a shame..."] they said with a mock pout, lower lip jutted out. ["I figured maybe those three might've wanted to see their cute cheerleader for a little longer."]

You froze mid-zip, hand gripping the jacket. "Which three?!"

Riri grinned, clearly unbothered. ["Who else am I talking about? Of course, it's—"]

Before you could even hear them out, you slapped your palms to the sides of your head and let out a loud, exaggerated wail, like a stubborn toddler refusing to listen. "Lalalalalalala—nuh-uh! You can't make me hear this!"

God, when would Riri quit? The teasing. The comments. The constant pushing. You weren't even sure they liked you like that—or if this was just some ongoing joke to the wizard. Either way, you were focused on becoming a hero. That was the mission, the plan.

You don't have the time to spiral over whether someone like Katsuki—explosive, brash, permanently pissed off—was treating you a little differently than everyone else because he secretly harbored some buried feelings... or if he just tolerated you. Yeah. The second one sounded safer and more realistic. And Izuku? Just because he had a timid, heart-of-gold nature to him doesn't mean he's... Argh, nevermind. With his current responsibilities right now, he'd be too busy mastering One For All. He has way bigger things to worry about than romance. You all did. Frankly, same with Shoto. Now that you knew a little more about his past, it was clear he was carrying more than expectation on his shoulders. He'd also be too busy fighting his own demons—namely family-shaped ones. You pretty much all want the same thing, and have different means to achieve your goals.

Besides, wouldn't it be a lot easier if all of you were to just stay friends? Keep things simple? No weird heart-flipping nonsense every time either of them looked at you a little too long?

That way, there's no chance it'll develop into a relationship. Hah, exactly. Fricking Riri chose the wrong specimen to mess with.

["Oh, [Name], you're so stuuupid!"]

You blinked—and snapped, immediately, instinctively. "The fuck?"

Riri only watched you with that lopsided smile, like they knew exactly what you were thinking (Not that they could. They weren't a telepath. Just an annoyingly intuitive wizard).

["Just because you think they're not interested in dating, doesn't mean they can't fall in love. Romance is unpredictable. People change their minds all the time—sometimes without even realizing. That goes for them.. and that goes for you, too!"]

...Huh.

"And what if I don't?" you muttered under your breath, hoping it sounded dismissive enough to end the conversation.

What if you don't change your mind? What if you're the only one who keeps things simple? Who doesn't spiral into that weird, fluttery chaos everyone calls love?