MANIA - Katsuki Bakugou

━ proof

chapter 28

2 DAYS LATER

Something isn't right...

I think something happened to Shimamura...

Bakugou smacked himself in the forehead. He lay on his bed, closing his eyes and rubbing his reddening forehead and nose where he hit himself. He grumbled. Deku's voice kept ringing in his mind—repeating the same two lines over and over again. It was getting to be annoying.

To be truthful, Midoriya's warnings had been bothering Bakugou since the damn nerd uttered them in the first place. He had convinced himself that Shimamura was sick, that's all it was. If something bad is being sick, then he had nothing to worry about. But that ominous tone that Deku had... ok, maybe something was wrong. But Bakugou assumed he was overreacting.

I think something happened to Shimamura...

"Shut the hell up!" Bakugou yelled in frustration to no one but himself.

The entire dorm was empty now. Just him and his thoughts in his room on house arrest. Midoriya had already been relieved from his service. Bakugou was alone in his punishment. But that gave him freedom to do an assortment of things in the dorm.

And that assortment being absolutely nothing. He had done all his work. Now all he had to do was lay back and listen to Midoriya's grim prophecy on repeat in the back of his mind.

But there was one other thing bothering him... Another voice trying to push him over the edge.

Don't touch him.

Bakugou opened his eyes. His angered expression relaxed into one of guilt. He could recall the fight between him, Shinsou, and Shimamura like it was yesterday even though it was more than a week ago. Shimamura's small yet powerful voice demanding that he back down from her friend.

Her friend. Shinsou. That useless extra. Was he really Shimamura's friend? He acted all high and mighty like an actual prick. What does he have that Bakugou doesn't? Huh? Bakugou was leagues ahead of him. Shimamura was stuck waiting on someone she doesn't even need. If she just—

Bakugou suddenly sat up. His heart beating at rapid rates within his chest. He clutched at his black t-shirt, staring at the wall with the most bizarre expression.

Am I jealous?

He shook his head. No, this isn't jealousy. This is... well, he doesn't know what this is. Something had been building up inside of him since the hospital meeting with Shimamura—since he realized she actually cared about his wellbeing. A lot of people did, sure. But nothing like she did.

She wanted to help him but knew that she couldn't. She knew that he didn't want her help. So she stood and watched and waited for the day he needed her.

He thought he was just trying to understand her before, her and her complex intricacies. The little tics she had or the way her eyes changed in hue, some things he couldn't explain. He thought that want to understand her was just growing.

But it was turning into something more than that...

He tossed the thought of Shinsou and Shimamura from his mind. You're delusional, he told himself. But his subconscious sent him back into Deku's warnings.

Whatever. I'll go to Shimamura's room and prove to that damn nerd that she's fine. Nothing's wrong.

Bakugou hopped up from his bed and walked down the flights of stairs and headed to Shimamura's room. The only occupied girls' room on the first floor of the dorm.

He knocked on the door, awaiting a reply. But then remembered no one was home. She was at the hospital, just like Aizawa said to the class two days ago so that no one would worry. Bakugou jiggled the doorknob, but it was locked. Of course.

That didn't stop him.

He let loose a small explosion that demolished the metal handle. The metal fell to the floor with a THUD against the carpet, and he let himself in. He stuck his hands in his pockets after flipping on the light switch and peered into Shimamura's oddly furnished room.

The lavender blinds were pulled closed over the balcony doors and windows, letting no natural light in although it was early in the bright morning hours. Encircling the room were bean bags against almost every empty inch of the wall. Some were clearly used more than others as they were indented with a sitting space. Her cushioned bed was tucked away in the corner.

There were a few posters put up but nothing too glamorous about the room. Nothing that really screamed "Tikki Shimamura!" except for the bean bags that she had at home too. Bakugou wandered over to the desk, looking at the weird tweezers and mechanical instruments she had strewn across the wooden surface. Her books were in the corner of the desk, unopened.

He picked up a screwdriver, inspecting it. What the hell is she doing with tools?

His eyes wandered again, looking around the desk. The tools seemed out of place, or at least unorganized. Like they had been tossed around. But Shimamura was neater than this. She would've had them lined up or tucked away after using these.

A flash of black caught his eye on the floor. Wedged between the back table leg and the wall. He knelt down to the ground and picked it up. It must have fallen behind the desk. He inspected it for a less than a second before immediately realizing what it was.

Shimamura's black temple covers.

The one contraption that she always had on. The one thing that kept her from accidentally unleashing her quirk on everyone around her within a 65 yard radius. She would never leave anywhere without them. But she's in the hospital, maybe...

No. Bakugou remembered from when he ran into her at the hospital after the Kamino incident. She had her temple covers on. Which meant she entered the care of the hospital with them as well. She'd never take them off.

Unless she was working on them. Which she was given all the tools on her desk. But she'd put them back on right after. No questions asked. It was too dangerous for her. She'd never leave this room without them.

A slight rustling sounded from next to him. He glanced to the side, seeing the lavender blinds blowing slightly from the gust of wind that had flown into the room through the open window. The open window...

Bakugou tensed up. His sweaty palms gripping onto the black temple covers.

Where the hell is she?