Freeze Frame

Chapter 82

Third person pov

Things settled down as soon as Lillian got a text from Shoto himself claiming that it was all okay, and that Hawks was on the way to pick him up. How he'd deterred the hospital from calling Endeavor wasn't completely clear, but they were thankful nonetheless. Hitoshi suspected he'd lied and changed his emergency contacts by claiming his father had gotten a new phone number. Lillian wouldn't have been surprised if that were the case.

The injuries he'd gotten weren't much. He had a few scratches, and some thin cuts, but he hadn't required stitches like Iida had. Iida was going to stay there, as his brother was admitted there anyway. Shoto was free to go. Lillian and Hitoshi were both 101% sure he was forcing them to let him be discharged. He was a teenage boy who'd just faced off against the hero killer. There was no way they hadn't asked him to stay longer.

Mic returned to the apartment later, dead tired and ready to drag himself back to the studio for their evening broadcast. He'd arrived looking ready to fall over, begging Lillian to come back with him so they could get it all over with. Lillian had only smiled and went a bit red, apologizing again. She'd been hesitant to go. After all, Mr. Aizawa was her dad. It was something they probably should have talked about. Hitoshi and Aizawa both agreed it would be better to do it after the internships ended, to prevent any extra stress. So after receiving a hug from both of them, Lillian found herself leading Mic out the door and coaxing him towards the car while wondering if he'd kill them on the way home.

They still don't hear from Neito. Lillian has started wondering if he's dead, and Hitoshi has begun reading through the funeral plans Neito left behind in case something unexpected should ever have happened to him. Hitoshi had no clue where they'd be getting a glitter cannon from, but promised himself and Lillian that they'd make it work if worse came to worse. Chad texts a few more times, sending pictures of the Nomu in various outfits as he tried to find the thing a suitable 'disguise'. 

Bakugo somehow managed to make it back to Chad's apartment without killing himself, Eri, or anyone else. It was a shock even to him. Looking back on it, he couldn't help but wonder how the hell he hadn't gotten pulled over. He'd easily shot past the speed limit. He couldn't count the amount of civilians he'd have taken out if he weren't such a badass. Thank god for his quick reflexes. Without them, he'd be dead in a ditch with Eri crying over his mangled corpse. Not a pleasant mental image.

The whole thing left him grumpy. He hauled Eri out of the backseat and let her sit on his shoulders while he scrolled through his phone's notifications. Chad's apartment was a shit hole, but Bakugo would admit that the man went to great lengths to protect it. There was no way he'd be able to break in without getting knives shot out of some homemade device and embedded in his torso. He was pretty sure he'd get shot if he tried to shimmy through a window. So, he found himself pacing in front of the apartment building with Eri perched on him.

His phone was littered with text messages from Lillian. She seemed to realize that he was no longer with Chad, and was worried he may be dead somewhere. A fair assumption all things considered. It still warmed him a little more than he'd ever admit that she found the time to text him despite probably being scared out of her fucking mind over Half-and-Half. She was the one who'd called Chad to begin with. From the sound of it, she'd been crying.

So maybe he cared about her more than he cared for other people. Big fucking deal. They were friends, and Bakugo was amazing at everything he did, so that's what was happening. He was being an amazing as fuck friend. Lillian was honestly lucky to have him, and anyone else who said otherwise could go fuck themselves. Since reinstating contact with the girl, he'd made her cry a grand total of zero times. Impressive considering what a baby she was.