ʜᴇʀᴏᴇs | ʙɴʜᴀ

↳ chapter 25

"Cool. What's your number?" she asked, whipping her phone out of her pocket.

Dabi was confused. Was she not scared? She was supposed to be a pro-hero in training, yet she didn't even scream or turn him in. No reaction, whatsoever. He liked her, she had no opinion on this. He dialed his number into her phone, and she sent a text to him so that they could communicate.

"Why aren't you scared of me?" he asked, "I just openly told you that I was a villain,"

  She hummed in response, bopping his nose. Who did she think she was? Bopping him on the nose. She giggled, her melodious laughter filling the air.

"Villains are just people whose stories haven't been told yet, " she said.

"I'd like to hear yours, "

  Those words moved him. He didn't know why, or how. It felt like, she understood him. She wasn't pro-hero or pro-villain, and it made him question why. If she was in U.A., then shouldn't she be more to the hero side?

"If that's your opinion, then why are you in U.A.?" he voiced out loud his thought.

"I want to bring smiles and cheer to everyone. After all, that was my father's dying wish, " she said.

  She mentally slapped herself. Why did she say that? She hadn't even said that to anyone, so why was she telling a stranger? She internally sighed at her own idiocy. Why, why on god's green earth, was she so fucking stupid?

"That's nice. I became a villain because of my belief that a single person with a single conviction has the power to change the world. There are no true heroes, " he replied, clenching his fist.

  Sakura couldn't help but feel... Sympathy. He seemed like the kind of person to smile a lot, but not from the heart. The kind of person who smirks and taunts people, more often than realizing his own flaws. She patted his back and stood up, about to head in. Before she left, she gave him a few words.

"Nice, man. I've got to go before my friends wonder where I am. Anyways..." she trailed off, giving her signature gesture, using her index fingers to push up the corners of her mouth.

"Smile! Villains need to smile too, you know, " she declared, walking back inside.

  Dabi thought about it. And he smiled. He smiled to himself. Perhaps the girl was right. He never did get her name, but he walked off, satisfied with the talk she gave him. And possibly, he would smile more often.

  Sakura felt accomplished. She cheered someone up. Sure, she could be utterly mental at sometimes, and a sweetheart at other times, but she still made people smile, right?

  That was her definition of a hero.

••

"Sakura! Where were you?" Izuku huffed, tackling me in a hug.

  The wind was knocked out of my lungs as soon as Izuku came barrelling into me at the speed of lightning. Ochaco and Tenya trailed not too far behind, and Shoto stood at a distance, his arms crossed leaning against a wall. I started choking, patting Izuku's back with short 'let me go's. After the bone-crushing hug that Izuku pulled on me, I took in a deep breath of sweet, sweet oxygen, the air replenishing in my lungs.

"Sorry guys, I just went out to take a breather, " I apologized, making an excuse.

"I made friends with this really cool guy outside, so everything is fine, " I gave a thumbs up.

Hearing about the mystery guy, Izuku panicked. He flocked like a headless chicken, running around me with no goal.

"What if he was a villain?" he asked.

"Yeah, he was. He told me, " I said in a 'duh' tone.

Hearing those words did not ease Izuku's nerves. Poor Izuku was looking paler and paler by the second, that I had made friends with a villain, to the point he looked as though he was about to faint.

"What the hell do you mean by that!"

"What I mean, is that he told me, quote on quote, 'I'm a villain', " I emphasized.

"That's no better!" Izuku screeched.

I patted his back, trying to get him to calm down. Poor Izuku, having to worry about me. I smiled to myself. At least I knew I had friends who cared about my wellbeing. Meanwhile, Ochaco and Tenya, having heard the news from Izuku's screaming, insisted on telling the teachers.

"I mean, sure, since he already escaped, " I shrugged.

Finally, it was quiet. It was fun to toy with them like that, but they wouldn't understand things from my perspective. We all went together to report this, Izuku putting extreme emphasis that I had made friends with the villain. Some of the teachers looked at me amused, some whispered among themselves whether I was a traitor or not. Principal Nezu stepped out, a bright smile on his face.

"Don't worry. At least now we know what one of the villains look like! Anyways, I suggest that you guys return home now, since the exam is done. Your results will be revealed tomorrow!" he announced to everyone.

So we listened. We acted like nothing had happened, and we all wet home without a care in the world. Meanwhile, the teachers were trying to figure out how the mysterious man had gotten past the security. I plopped down on my bed and worried about the thing that had been on my mind the whole time.

Shoto.

•

"The people who failed are... Sato, Ashido, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Sero. As a result, all of you will be going to training camp, since you all need it, " Aizawa-sensei droned.

Cheers filled the classroom. After school, we all planned to go to the mall to shop for items, excluding me, as I already had everything I needed. I went back home, thinking about Shoto. Why was I so obsessed with that boy? Perhaps I had I minor crush on that boy, I considered. And I decided.

I definitely had a crush on the living, breathing air conditioner and microwave.