Kiribaku

Chapter 7 (books, books, and even more fucking books)

Bakugou POV

We were walking down the sidewalk next to each other in silence. Shitty Hair didn't tell me much about the shitty festival, so I was left in the dark about today's events. "So, where to, Shitty Hair?"

"Uh, first we have to walk to the park where the festival is and then I thought we could just go from there," He announced "We could always stop and look around a few shops if the festival is not really your thing."

"Whatever" I say to stop his rambling.

We walk for a few more blocks. The sidewalk were getting more crowded, which was a sign that we were getting close. We round a corner and down the block we can see the festival. It's hard to distinct certain things from how far we are and how many people are in the way. From what I can tell, there is a bunch of stands, a few rides, and a stage for some music.

As we walk closer I can feel myself start to relax because there seems to not be as much annoying kids as I thought there would be. Mostly just adults, kids our age, and couples. Kirishima suddenly bumps into my shoulder, I turn to eye him. He blushes and apologizes, "Sorry, someone pushed me."

Him saying that makes me realize how tightly pack the crowd is at the entrance. In a attempt to escape the sudden overwhelming amount of bodies, I grab Kirishima by the wrist and weave us through the groups of people. I hear a few 'excuse yous' and Kirishima apologizes for my brash actions. I pull us into the first store that I saw and shut the door behind us.

I turn to see Kirishima examining the shop, shock plastered on his features. The store we walked into was a book store. A very messy book store. There was stacks of books that was taller than Kirishima or myself. Shelves upon shelves of different volumes. The different rows of shelves turning corners, making it look like a maze.

Kirishima and I stood there for a moment, taking the sight in. A small 'woah' can be heard beside me. His words seemed to have knocked us out of our trance.

I walk down the cramped aisle, reading the spines of the books. There are signs hanging from the ceiling that indicated which genre of books were organized on the shelves. I turn to see Kirishima's reaction to the place, only to see that he was not behind me like I thought. He must have found something that caught his eye.

I slowly walk pathway through pathway, scanning the books for something that would interest me and to look for Kirishima. Along the way, I pick out a few books that look interesting and intend to buy once we leave.

After successfully becoming lost in the rows and rows of books, I walk to a dead end. I start to feel like I might never find my way out. Retracing my steps, I spot a flash of red as I walk by. I look back and see Kirishima, he is sitting on the ground and surrounded by ten or so books. He seems to be immersed in a particular book, not even noticing me walking up to him. I gently poke his thigh with my foot to bring him back to reality.

His head snaps up to look at me. "Oh, hey man."

I eye him and the pile of books next to his feet. "Found something you like?" I question rhetorically.

His face starts to grow red and he gives me a shy smile. "Maybe I went overboard." He addressed the small stack of books.

I roll my eyes and start to gather up his books. He stands up along with me and we start to navigate our way back to the front of the store. We only check out six of Kirishima's books because we didn't want to spend all of our money at one place, but he does make sure to ask the cashier to put his books on hold so he can come back later and get the rest.

We walk out to the now less crowded sidewalk. The open warm breeze is a drastic change to the cramped, dusty feel of the shop.

We walk aimlessly through the festival, Shitty Hair talking about the different types of books he brought along the way.

"I didn't know you read so much." I spoke up.

His face grows into a thoughtful look. "Ya, I don't read much in school anymore, but I do at night. My dad used to read to me a lot as a kid. We had a big library in our house and I would always see him in there, reading," He looks back at me with a sweet smile, "Guess he rubbed off on me a bit."

Did he really read that much and I just haven't noticed? Is his room filled with books like that store? But why doesn't he read a school more? I must have been staring because Kirishima was waving his hand in front of my face.

"Hey man, you ok?" He said with a hint of concern.

I snap out of my thoughts and nod vaguely. To change the mood, I point out a ramen shop and suggest we stop there to eat. Kirishima agrees and we head inside.

Surprisingly, there is not many people in the shop. People must be eating food from the stands at the festival then. A waitress with long black hair and purple eyes comes and shows us to our seats near one of the windows looking out to the street. She brings us water and menus, she leaves with a big ass, cheery smile. Kirishima and I talk about random stuff while deciding on what to order.

The same waitress comes back to take our orders. "Is there anything else I can get you guys?" She beamed. Her eyes sticking on Kirishima the whole time she was here.

Shitty Hair grabs my menu and hands it back to the girl with a toothy smile, "No thank you." he answered. I could feel my blood rising on how obvious she was at flirting with Shitty Hair.

"Alright, if there is anything you need, just call me." She giggled and turned on her heels to prance back into the kitchen.

Shitty Hair just continues on talking as if he was oblivious to that girl. If he is choosing not to notice her then I guess I'll do the same.

After about ten minutes, our food arrives, along with more flirting directed at Kirishima. By the time we finish eating and the check comes, I'm more than just a little annoyed.

The waitress sets down the check near Kirishima and leaves with one last stupid smile. Shitty Hair looks at the check to see how much the cost is when he stops midway to grab his wallet. His face is a mixture of confusion and surprise. He shifts his face up to me with the same looks still taking over his features.

Kirishima's prolonged silence starts to get on my nerves. "What is it?" I urged with a obvious face of annoyance.

"She left her number." was all Shitty Hair revealed.

I can feel my hands ball up under the table. I suppress a tempting urge to roll my eyes or scoff. To my surprise, Shitty Hair only takes out his wallet and money to pay. We had already agreed that he would pay for the meal and I would pay for any souvenirs later on.

I stare in disbelief at him while he avoids the check with the number written on it and gathers up his bag. I find it odd that he isn't filled with pure excitement like Sparky would have been. "What, is black hair and purple eyes not your type?" I question with a hint of humor to cover up my curiosity.

His eyes only glance at me for a second before darting down to the ground. "I guess you could say that," his tone of voice implies he wants to say more, so I remain silent. He suddenly stands up and swings his bag onto his shoulder, "I'm more into blonds anyway." He indicated while scratching the nape of his neck. He eyes me for a moment before turning and motioning me to follow out of the restaurant.

I'm both relieved and confused about what he says, but for now I just follow Hair for Brains out the front door. At least Kirishima didn't seem interested in the flirty bitch.
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