The Realist(Shoto Todoroki x reader- Bakugo's twin sister)

Chapter 53

The blow dryer hummed in my hand, sending hot air over my scalp as I slowly dragged a brush through my tangled hair. The sound drowned everything else out, but my mind was loud- way too loud.

I stared at myself in the mirror, my tired eyes dull under the flickering bathroom lights, watching me with a quiet sort of judgment.

After the dream, I'd fallen back asleep. Or at least, I think I did. There were no more visions, no more strange whispers or shadowed woods. Just a heavy stillness. A blank space where sleep should've been comforting, but instead felt like a void pressing down on me.

I had too much in my head to even begin unpacking. That vision- no, that memory- was still playing behind my eyes like a movie on loop. Except it wasn't a movie. It wasn't even fiction. It was history, mine and not mine, tangled together like vines I couldn't tear apart.

And the worst part?

It wasn't even the full story.

I usually thrived on drama. Messy plots, sudden twists, chaos? Sign me up. But this? This was something else. Something bigger. Beyond my control.

Something I never would've believed even if someone screamed it in my face last week.

I couldn't stay in my room any longer. The walls felt like they were closing in. So I escaped to the dorm bathrooms before the sun had fully risen, hoping the silence and the sting of hot water would ground me.

Some half-asleep girls shuffled past, not even registering I was there. That was fine. I didn't want to talk. I didn't want to be perceived. I just wanted to feel normal for five minutes.

Then I turned the blow dryer on, and that apparently was enough to shatter my invisibility.

A familiar voice called softly over the whirring. "Hey... Cherry?"

I didn't look. I just kept brushing my hair like I was sculpting marble, expression locked, movements mechanical. But I gave her a soft hum in response. Just enough acknowledgment.

Momo stood a little behind me, her toothbrush in one hand, her other twisting the ends of her pajama sleeve. Her eyes were doing that thing where they tried to be subtle but weren't.

Concern practically poured off her.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently. "With... everything that happened yesterday, everyone was kind of freaking out."

I nodded. That was it, just a nod. The bare minimum. She deserved more, but I didn't have it in me.

Her voice softened further, like I might shatter if she raised it. "You looked really out of it last night. Mina said she saw you come back and... well, she thought you were looking for someone? She tried to follow you, but then... you stopped her?"

I paused, just for a second. Not visibly, not enough for someone else to catch, but inside, I felt my stomach twist. That damn orb wall. I hadn't meant to do it, not really- it just happened. And now everyone was noticing.

"I had something urgent to take care of," I said, my voice flatter than usual. Colder. "Didn't have time to talk."

Momo didn't press. She just nodded, like she understood- even if she didn't.

I turned off the dryer and set it down, using both hands to smooth my hair. The silence between us stretched, tight and uncomfortable. Then she glanced at me through the mirror again.

"Bakugo doesn't know what happened," she murmured. "We didn't tell him anything. Thought you might want to be the one to... check in."

His mention hit me like a slap.