ʜᴇʀᴏᴇs | ʙɴʜᴀ

↳ chapter 44

After Shoto shared his past, I found it nearly impossible to avoid him, my body magnetically pulling myself to him. We always sparred, and when we didn't, I made him watch Disney movies. Meanwhile, every weekend, Hitoshi would invite me over to the general studies dorm to goof around, or ask me to assist in a prank with him, which I could never turn down. At the moment, I was with Shoto, snuggled up in front of the TV in the living room, watching Mulan, because apparently, Shoto had never heard of it.

"WHY IS MY REFLECTION SOMEONE I DON'T KNOW?" I screeched.

  Shoto chuckled at me as I sang along with the audio of Mulan, a small smile creeping across his face. My eyes lit up at the sight of him smiling. I continued singing in my horrible voice, which only sparked more chuckles from him.

"WHEN WILL MY REFLECTION SHOW WHO I AM INSIDE?" I sang.

  By now, Shoto was in full out laughter. My smile grew wider. I had never seen him laugh before. So I smiled. A genuine smile, not a forced one. My teeth flashing at him. I sighed dreamily. Mulan was still playing the background, overlapped by Shoto's laughter. Before I could stop myself, I let out a burst of laughter. I guess his laughter was contagious. His laughter was absolutely killing me on the side. He looked so... Cute. I couldn't believe my ears. I embraced all of it. I liked this feeling. I liked him. So, I embraced him. I wrapped my arms around him, which cut off his laughter. He froze. I also froze. When did I become so bold? Just when I thought he was about to push me off of him, he wrapped his arms around me too. My entire being practically sparked with excitement. He was actually hugging me back!

  I had never hugged anyone when I wasn't comforting them. To actually hug Shoto because I felt like it. It was.. Nice and warm. Shoto stroked my hair as our eyes were glued on the screen. Comfy and wrapped in Shoto's arms, I grinned.

  This was quite possibly the best day of my life.

••

  Shoto was frozen. Sakura had thrown herself on him. He didn't know how to react, letting his instinct take over him. He wrapped his arms around her, his feelings only getting stronger. What was this feeling? He still hadn't figured out. As they watched Mulan, he tuned the movie out. That was when his eyes flashed a sign of recognition. He remembered what his mother used to tell him.

"Shoto, one day, you'll meet a girl who will give you butterflies in your stomach, who'll stand by you no matter what, who will scold you out of love, who will give you this warm feeling inside, " his mother said, stroking his hair as he lay on his mother's lap.

"What is that feeling?" Shoto asked curiously.

"Its called love, Shoto, " she smiled at the young boy.

  Present Shoto thought back to it. Love. He liked the sound of it. So he decided.

He loved Yumé Sakura.

••

  I buried my face into my pillow, squealing. My high pitched squealing muffled by the cushion. I hugged Shoto. On purpose. And he hugged me back! It wasn't just him wrapping his arm around me protectively, or me jokingly punching his arm, or him pinning me down while sparring. He hugged me back! Maybe he just didn't know how to respond at that moment, so he just hugged me back, but my mood was too good to be spoiled. I should ask the girls about this. Wait, no. It was the weekend, so I was supposed to go to Hitoshi's. Maybe I could tell him. He didn't even know Shoto personally, so no repercussions. I checked the clock on my phone, my eyes widening. Hitoshi was spamming my phone with 'where r u's, prompting me to jump out of bed and throw on some half-decent clothes and run to the general studies dorm. When I reached, a sleepy-looking Hitoshi was already waiting for me at the entrance. I panted and came to a slow at the dorm.

"Where the hell were you, biatch? You made me wait for you here for a solid 30 minutes, " he snapped.

"Sorry! I totally forgot. There was something on my mind, " I apologized. Hitoshi raised his eyebrows at me.

"Alright, it must be really serious for you to actually apologize. Spill, " he sighed.

We went into his room, him lying on the bed, his head hanging off of the edge, and I sprawled out on the floor. I sighed, telling him what happened. By the end of it, Hitoshi was squinting his eyes at her.

"So you're telling me... That the stone-cold, heartless Sakura I know, has fallen in love with some crusty ass punk who, supposedly, just swept you off your feet, " he looked at me in suspicion.

"No, you must have misheard me. I, the sweet and lovable Yumé Sakura, like Todoroki Shoto. He ain't crusty, bitch, " I argued back.

"Essentially the same thing. And you hugged him, and you actually liked it. Why don't I get any hugs from you?" he whined.

"Not the point, " I grumbled, sitting up straight.

"Yeah, sure. Anyways, why are you telling me?"

"What should I do now?" I asked.

  Hitoshi choked on his saliva as though I had just said that 9+10=21 or something. He rolled off the bed, landing on the ground with a huge thump, without even wincing. He looked me straight in the eye, and I flinched at his menacing glare.

"Look him dead in the eye, and say, " he paused.

"I love you, " as though he was imitating me.

  I choked on the pure air. Both of us burst out laughing at his impression. What the actual fuck was that? There was absolutely no way I was going to do that, cause the both of us knew that I was a coward. After some time, we finally regained ourselves, still choking on of laughter.

"No way am I going to do that, " I said seriously.

"You're such a pussy, " he rolled his eyes.

  He was right. I was too cowardly to ever voice my feelings, because I was just... me. I was simply Yumé Sakura, nothing more.

And Yumé Sakura was a coward.