Nature's Beautiful Smile

Chapter 68

Moments before the shot could hit Sparky, everything froze. I looked around in utter confusion. "Dia! Are you able to redirect the blast or shield Kaminari? Rin asked, rushing over to me. Ah, this is Rin's doing. Thought I had a new quirk for a second. "It may be possible for me to completely extinguish the flames if I cancel out all the air around the blast... Just in case though, I'll shield Kaminari also." Rin nodded and watched quietly as I performed the said acts.

When I gave him the signal, Rin unfroze time and Kat's shot cancelled out. "The fuck?" He growled under his breath before glaring at me. I ran up to him and moved his arm down- or at least attempted to. I knew what I was doing was a huge gamble here considering that Kat's physical strength bypassed my own by a lot. Now even more so since he was angry. I couldn't  reduce his oxygen because that'd just make him fight harder and ultimately kill him. I was at a complete loss pertaining to calming him but the best I knew was putting his hands to his sides and trying to comfort him.

"Kat! You can't do this!" I exclaimed as we both struggled to get the other's hand out of the way. "Don't interfere, Dia!" He growled back, attempting to yank his arm away. "Ka-" "SHUT UP!" He shouted as he hauled off and punched me square on the cheek. The force of his punch had made my head jerk to the side. Everything was silent and seemed to stop. I slowly brought my trembling hand to my cheek as I turned to face him. He had a look of concern, but I could tell his punch was intentional. My head throbbed a bit and the weight of everyone's stares and shock gave me an even worse headache. "Di, I-" "You know, I feel so stupid right now. I thought you changed since then, but... You're the same." I said with a quivering voice, cutting him off. Before he could say anything else, I ran out of the cafeteria; afraid that tears would spill in front of everyone.

I ran to the first place I could think of as tears slipped down my face. When I arrived at the familiar room, I knocked on the door slowly and lightly as I simultaneously wiped my tears. Upon opening, Togata was revealed. The moment he saw me, he ushered me in without a word. He sat me down on his bed, gave me a hoodie and told me to get comfortable before leaving the room.

I removed my blazer and over shirt before slipping the hoodie on and bringing my knees to my chest. Why am I here of all places? Did I get used to running to him all the time before? Pathetic. I thought, putting my head down as I silently cried. The door opened and I looked up to see Togata with a pint of [favorite flavor] ice-cream and a spoon. He handed me the items before sitting down on the bed beside me and putting his arm around my shoulders. "When you're ready, tell me what happened." He said softly, eying the silent tears. I nodded and began eating the ice-cream.

Halfway through the pint, I had stopped crying, but Togata still held me. "Kat punched me." I said softly. Togata looked shocked, but didn't say anything. "I don't know exactly why I cried about it. I've been punched by guys before- and much harder at that... Maybe it just brought back bad memories. A cold, bitter type of nostalgia." I sighed, resuming eating the ice-cream. "Am I allowed to ask what those bad memories are?" Togata asked softly. I shook my head in response. "I don't really like to talk about it. It's one of the parts of my past that needs to stay buried." I replied, closing my eyes and leaning on his shoulder as he held me closer to his body. I slowly drifted off, his scent filling my nose in the process.

~

When I woke up, I was tucked in under the blanket and the pint of ice-cream was no longer in my lap. I looked around the room, no traces of Togata anywhere except an envelope with my name on it on the nightstand. I picked it up, examining how crisp it was before opening it and removing its contents. Inside was a letter from Togata.

"Dear Dia,

I'm probably in class by now, so you should probably be too. I don't know if you want me to punish Bakugou for you, but knowing you: most likely not. I'll respect your decision, but he won't be forgiven by me so easily. He not only bruised your face, but he also made you cry and I just can't tolerate that. Thanks for coming to me. I'm always here to lend an ear, hoodie, and a pint of ice-cream.

  Sincerely, Mirio Togata"

A soft smile graced my lips when I finished reading the letter. I took off his hoodie and put my over shirt and blazer back on. Before I left I neatly made his bed and put his folded hoodie on top of it. I also took the letter and put it in my pocket. Sighing, I checked the time. "Oh shit!" I exclaimed out loud, bursting out of the room and dashing off to my next class.

When I walked in, everyone's eyes were on me. Even so, I felt Kat's gaze the heaviest. Everyone I've known for so long is slipping off of my trust list...  I thought, taking my seat next to Kiri. Almost as soon as I sat down, I noticed a piece of paper taped to the bottom of my desk. I slowly retrieved it so that the teacher wouldn't notice. Opening it, I saw that it was from Kiri.

"We'll take a day off work to cuddle if you need to."

I let out a small breath as a tiny smile formed on my face. I wrote a message back and swiftly passed him the paper using wind. The teacher didn't even notice and proceeded to write on the board.

"If we get some chicken nuggets and pizza and watch a movie marathon, I'm down."

I had written back. Upon reading it, Kiri looked over at me and smiled, nodding his head and flashing a thumbs up. I smiled back and he blew me a kiss. I pretended to catch the kiss and put it over my heart. Kat gagged behind us, but I didn't care. I don't even think I want to bother myself with anything pertaining to Kat anymore. I'm entirely done with him if he was able to get rid of someone as bullheaded as Kiri.