MANIA - Katsuki Bakugou

hatsume ━

chapter 45

THE NEXT DAY

"I don't get it."

"What's not to get? Read the words, smart one."

Shimamura huffed and puffed out her lip like an actual child. "Why would she betray her friends like that? I thought she was one of the good guys!"

Bakugou rolled his eyes from behind her. He leaned against the headboard of her lavender bed while she sat between his legs, criss cross with his comic book in her lap. His hands currently threaded through her long white hair as he tried to braid it neatly. He held a few bobby-pins between his front teeth but spoke through them anyway.

"She was and she wasn't. It's complicated. She was playing both sides to see which side would give her the most benefits."

"Benefits? You're telling me the bad guys offer dental?"

He narrowed his eyes as she snickered. "No. You know what I mean, Whitey."

"But why would she be playing both sides? She fed either side information."

"Exactly. She's an antihero. She's just looking for the biggest payout—or at least whichever side lets her survive the longest."

Bakugou was an expert with the comic book she was currently reading. Some sort of hero story about alien races and advanced people being the last known members of humanity in the galaxy. Shimamura didn't really pay attention to those details. She was more focused on the characters.

"What an uncertain way to live..." Shimamura sighed. "Never knowing which side she'll end up on in the long run. Having to dance around friends to avoid making connections—oh, that explains why she didn't kiss Jax."

"Bingo," he said as he pressed a bobby-pin into her scalp, pinning back a stray piece of hair. "Plus, when you read the comic, you're reading it from Clarisse's point of view—the antihero's. She's the narrator. We get to see things from her perspective on both sides. It makes it that much more interesting, you know?"

Shimamura giggled, but didn't say anything. He raised an eyebrow as he finished tying off her long braid in the back, proud of his work. "What? What's so funny?" He growled.

Shimamura leaned back so she was lying against his chest, his knees on either side of her as he had his legs propped up. He looked down at her as she stared up at him with a silly smile on her face, still giggling about whatever had tickled her so.

Current bipolar level: 8

"You sound like Midoriya, you nerd."

Bakugou immediately scowled at her.

"You take that back. Right now."

Shimamura laughed and shook her head no. His mouth creased further into a frown and he pinched her nose. She squealed and swatted his hand away.

"Alright fine! Fine! I take it back!" She screeched as he released her nose after a few seconds.

"Damn right."

Bakugou let out a breath and shook his head at her. His thumb lightly grazed her cheek, lingering there momentarily. She stared up at him happily. The bright blue radiance of her eyes flickered ever so slightly, signaling a change in bipolar level. Not anything significant. But a change nonetheless.

Shimamura sighed and got up from her lying position. His hand left her face and he leaned back on the headboard again, propping his hands behind his head. She stood up and walked over to her desk, staring at her reflection in the mirror above the surface. She grinned, seeing the intricate braid he had somehow mastered. She trailed her hand across her silvery hair, admiring it.