Love Like You (KatsukixOC)

7.Missing

Something was missing.

Katsuki looked around the buzzing classroom, his hands in his pockets and his feet propped up on the desk. He had checked his bag several times and even pockets, going through a mental checklist of things that he needed. Nothing there was missing.

But something was.

He went to counting classmates now, stopping to leer at Izuku before his gaze settled on an empty desk.

Ah, that's what it was. Perhaps she was running late. Or maybe the press outside had her held up.

Maybe not, he thought, as Aizawa closed the door to the classroom, getting his things settled. He snuck a glance at his cellphone and pouted a little when he saw there were no messages.

Where was she?

~

Awako waved off her father from her bedroom window as he left, sighing softly. Exhaustion had kept her from going to class today and amongst other things her own anxiety seemed to bubble up for the first time in a long time, making her stomach hurt.

Curling up in her bed she fidgeted with her bracelet, rubbing the charm with her pointer finger and thumb. It must have taken him ages to fix it. Even longer to get all the beads. She laughed at the thought of Katsuki being patient, knowing he must have lost his temper a few times.

She remembered catching him staring at her hands as she worked when they sat together at lunch or when he gave up on tutoring her. It was one of the few times he seemed calm.

Her face flushed and she glanced at her phone to distract herself. Class had already started and she already had a message from Tsuyu.

Tsu: I hope u feel better

She typed back a thanks before rolling over in her bed and closing her eyes.

He was tall and slender, like Awako's mother, with short brown hair and glasses. He was much much older than her, she remembered. Seventeen or eighteen and what seemed like a prodigy. She remembered the praise he got when he walked her to school from people and even from her teachers. They always expected great things from Awako.

Her dreams of him were always the same. He always had a benign smile on his face as their mother laid behind him, unmoving.

"Awako, are you good or bad?" he would ask her, a coldness in his eyes. The same eyes she shared. Tendrils slither down his arms, long tentacles that reach out and wrap around her as stinging pain enveloped her body. It's her own screaming that wakes her up in a cold sweat. His quirk had been passed down the Kurage bloodline for generations, the exception being her father and great grandfather. Long tendrils come from the skin like a jellyfish and inject a paralyzing poison into whatever it touched.

Awako was only six when her brother was deemed a villain.

The sound of her phone buzzing woke her up.

~

Katsuki fidgeted in his seat, staring at the clock. He was already bristling at Izuku winning the position of class president and the media causing alarms to go off through the whole school. Aizawa lecturing him didn't help either. The whole day just felt off.

But why?

Finally class let out and he gathered his bag, slipping his hands in his pockets as he left.

"Ah, Bakugou," he heard, causing him to pause in his tracks.

"Kurage wasn't in today. Will you take her her homework? You seem to live closest to her and she's falling behind in her studies." It was Aizawa, holding out the homework for the day. He didn't really wait for a reply as he handed Katsuki the papers, slinking past him to the teacher's room.

He huffed, shoving the papers in his bag before he continued on to the station.

~

"I'm outside, open the damn door," she heard Katsuki grumble over the phone. She didn't even answer before ripping the covers off of herself, running around her room to find something to wear.

She pulled a sweater over her head, tripping over herself as she slipped into a pair of joggers. She nearly fell down the stairs as she pulled her hair into a messy ponytail before opening the door.

"You don't look sick," Katsuki said with a smirk. He pushed past her, slipping of his shoes and stepping into the hallway.

"H-Hey!" She said, closing the door and moving after him. "What are you doing?" she asked, following him into the kitchen where he dropped his bag on the table.

"Aizawa says you're falling behind. I'm tutoring you, idiot," he said, unzipping his bag and digging inside.

~

"I can't fucking believe..." Katsuki grumbled, gently tugging on a lock of Awako's hair. She fell asleep. He was in the middle of talking and she just fell asleep.

He had noticed the way she just seemed to space out randomly when they were working out a problem. If anything she had gotten even worse than the last time he tutored her, although that was almost a year ago.

He tugged on her hair again, wrapping the lock around his finger. She seemed to mumble in her sleep, though he couldn't make out what she was saying, even when he brought his head close enough to her's.

"Unbelievable," he said, tossing his hands in the air as he leaned back in his chair. He took the book out from under her head, causing it to hit the table with a "thud"

Still out like a light.

"Fucking incredible," he said, almost laughing.

She snorted in her sleep. He bit back a laugh. She really was like a puppy dog. He watched her sleep before slowly reaching his hand out. He hesitated, his hand hanging in the air before slowly bringing to stroke her head.

When did he start to feel like this toward her? His chest tightened and he brought his hand back. His gaze moved to the clock that hung above the doorway. It was getting late and he had to go home.

He really didn't want to go home. But he had to.

"Wanko," he said, shaking her shoulder, "Wake the fuck up." She snorted again, her head shooting up. She was drooling and had bags under her eyes as she turned to look at Katsuki.

"Just resting my eyes, th...the problems really hard."

His ears turned pink as he moved to pack his things.

"Yeah right," he snorted at her, standing. The look on her face made him pause in his tracks.

"Are you leaving?" She asked, eyebrows scrunched together. He had to look away, his ears burning once more before looking back to her and saying "It's fucking late, I got shit to do."

"Ah, I guess you're right," she said, laughing sheepishly. His chest tightened again as he watched her mope, standing from her chair. He headed toward the door, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Wait!" she said, reaching out to grab his wrist. "I have something to give you." He stared at her for a long moment and she stared back.

"Well," he said, "I ain't got all day."

"Oh!" she said before turning and scampering to her room. He watched her before looking down at his feet. God he felt so off today. Why was he sweating suddenly?

She scampered back, holding something close to her chest.

"Listen," she said, her face flushed red, "I...Thank you for fixing my bracelet. I...I made you something a long time ago, but I only now really have a chance to give it to you."

He stared at her, beginning to sweat more.

"H-Here," she said, pressing something into his chest. Her head was bent so her hair hid her face.

Looking down he saw a simple red-beaded bracelet.