"You're such an idiot."

A giggle escapes from my lips as Bakugo and I finally reach his house. "Why? I've got spare bandages in my bag."

"Did you bring a change of clothes?"

"Uh... no, but it shouldn't take that long to dry them, right?"

Bakugo gives me the most surprised expression I've ever seen. Though, it might also be a bit of an offended one. "No, you heathen. God why are you so hopeless?"

"What do you mean? I'm not hopeless, just a little forgetful!"

The blonde sighs as we take our shoes off at the door. "Just... ugh. Give me a second, I've got to let the hag know you're here. Try not to drip all over the place."

I roll my eyes at that as he leaves me in the entryway, even though he's just as drenched. After a few moments I hear a familiar woman yelling, along with Bakugo's angry voice.

Well, that's his normal voice anyways. So, no surprise there.

"Benzaiten!" Mitsuki calls as she hurries to the entryway. "Oh dear, you're absolutely soaked! I've put some towels in the bathroom if you'd like to shower, I'll make sure there are some clothes put in as well."

"You're too kind, Mrs. Bakugo," I reply, and the woman waves a hand in dismissal.

"Don't worry about it. You should message your guardian though, I'm sure they're wondering where you are."

Yeah right, I think to myself while giving her a smile in return. She directs me over to the bathroom, a simple white tiled room with a shower-bath. I'm quick to remove the wet clothing and turn on the shower, letting out a sigh of relief. Wet clothes and bandages are NOT fun.

I take a moment to look at my reflection while unwrapping the last of the bandages. My skin is peppered with black and blue, markings left on my leg from when Mr. Crusty Lips tried to disintegrate me. As I stare at myself in the mirror, all of the energy I had washed away like the tides on a moonless night.

I'm such an idiot, I think to myself, slamming my fist into the counter. How could I have gotten so careless? Everyone's doting over me now, like I'm just...

Like I'm just...

I let out a heavy breath as I cut off my own thoughts. Put those emotions away, Zai. There is no room for them now. You'll only drag everyone down if you think that way.

I send a quick text to Aizawa before hopping into the shower, humming to myself as the water runs down my body. My hair begins to stick to my face and skin, a couple strands coming loose and falling to the shower floor. Thankfully, the hot water soothes my aching muscles, even those that had started to go numb from dancing in the rain for so long.

I hear a light knock on the door before it opens, footsteps approaching the counter as the water continues to run. "Hey sweetie," Miss Bakugo's voice rings out clearly over the background noise.

"Masaru and I are going out for the evening, so it'll be just you and Bakugo here. If it gets late and the rain is still going, you're welcome to stay the night. I've already told Bakugo this, so if he makes you walk home in the rain, let me know so I can beat the absolute crap out of him."

I fail to stifle my laugh at the thought. "Alright ma'am, thank you again."

"No problem. Be careful now, I've also laid out some new wrappings so you can bandage yourself up again. I don't really know the extent of your injuries, but you could also ask Bakugo for help if you need it. And if he says no, again, I'll kick his ass."

I burst into laughter then as she leaves the bathroom, allowing me to finish up my shower in peace. A cloud of steam follows me as I turn off the water and hop out, gingerly wrapping a towel around myself.

Looking through the clothes laid out for me, I find a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt with a skull on it. Is this... Bakugo's? I think to myself, before shrugging and slipping the shorts on. Though I can't help but smile at the thought.

I start applying the new bandages; however, I find that it's not as easy as it looks. Truth be told I've never had to do this by myself, usually Ama or my parents were the ones who patched me up if I got injured somehow. As soon as I notice it starting to look like a mess, I immediately cut off the bandage and toss it into the trash so as not to waste any more.

A knock on the door causes me to stop as I was analyzing how to get it done efficiently, unfortunately making me lose my train of thought. "You done in there, peacock?" Bakugo says from the other side of the door. "You're still injured, and if you pass out in there I WILL bust in and play doctor."

I scoff as I set the bandages on the counter. "I'm fine, thank you very much! And what if I wasn't decent, hmm? It'd be rude and improper to bust in on a lady like that."

"You're not much of a lady to begin with," he retorts, causing me to gasp in mock offense. "And it wouldn't matter, your health comes first. What's taking you so long anyways?"

"Just wrapping myself up again. It's going to take me a little while longer so you'll have to wait."

"... are you decent?"

"Uhhh yeah, why do you-"

The door swings open then, and I manage to step back just in time to avoid being hit by it as the blonde lets himself in. I roll my eyes as the door clicks shut, and Bakugo looks over at the small ball of wasted bandages before glancing back at me. "Excuse me," I start as he grabs the roll, giving me a death glare in response.

"Shut up and get on the counter," he says, opening the medicine cabinet and pulling out a small first aid kit.

"I can do it by myself!" I protest, crossing my arms as he shuts the cabinet door. Suddenly I feel his arms wrap around my torso, shifting to lift me up onto the countertop with my legs on either side of him. I squeak in surprise as both of his arms cage me in, red orbs staring into my golden ones.

"You obviously suck at it. And I'm not going to get yelled at by the old hag because your bandages are all fucked up. So just... shut up while I do this. The sooner you do, the sooner it gets done."

I purse my lips in frustration, but he doesn't shift his gaze. His expression is.. different than usual. It's softer, though I can still see the tiredness behind his eyes. He almost always looks so angry that I can't help but notice his more relaxed expression. After a few moments of silence I give him a curt nod, to which he merely scans my face for a second before finally moving back a bit.

"How do you struggle with this kind of thing anyways?" Bakugo asks as he begins to unwrap the bandages. "Didn't your parents teach you this, they are heroes after all."

"'Were' heroes," I corrected him, letting out a light sigh. "And no, not really. I was always getting injured since I'd go overboard while training, so Ama was always the one to patch me up afterwards. My parents didn't have all the time in the world."

"I'm just amazed that you're so bad at something so simple," he scoffs. "If you want to be a rescue hero, no, as a hero in general, first aid is the most basic thing you'll have to learn."

"Hey, don't forget who kicked your ass not too long ago."

"And don't forget who's patching you up now, princess."

I roll my eyes at the blonde, who can't help but smirk at his own remark. "Alright, hold still for a moment," he says as he brushes a few strands of hair away from my face. "I'm going to need you to hold the end here so it doesn't fall."

I do as he asks, keeping the end of the bandage in place as he begins to wrap it around my head. He's careful not to catch my hair in it, I can't help but notice how gentle he's being with his hands in the process. "You know, you don't have to be so careful with me," I say. "I know I annoy you to pieces, so you can speed it up if you want."

Bakugo glances down to meet my gaze for a moment, his face mere inches from my own before returning to his work. "I'm trying not to hurt you more in the process," he responds. "I saw your wounds the day of the USJ attack, I was surprised you were even still alive."

"Plus, you don't annoy me that much."

My golden eyes widen in surprise while a light blush begins to spread across his cheeks. However, his previous statement took precedent in my mind, leaving me a little more confused. "Wait, what do you mean?" I ask. "I thought only Mr. Aizawa and Ama had seen it, and maybe a couple of the teachers.."

Bakugo scoffs as he finishes securing the bandage, gesturing for me to put my hand down as he wraps it around a few more times. "Zai, you were thrown across the USJ after your altercation with Shigaraki and that Nomu. Who do you think caught your ass when you fell?"

The blonde moves away after double checking that the wrapping is nice and snug. "Kirishima was with me then, and I had him rush you over to the others. Iida, Uraraka, Shoji, those who were at the entrance still saw how injured you were. It scared them to see you like that, why else do you think some of them have been so doting over you lately?"

"I thought it was just because I was still recovering."

"... Man you're dense."

I pout again as Bakugo gets another bit of bandages ready to go. "Anyways, your injuries look painful as hell. You should be staying home and resting while you can before the sports festival. Going out and dancing in the rain isn't good for you."

"Ewww, you sound like my mother."

"Shut the fuck up, damn peacock."

"You're the one who suggested training anyways."

"Quirk training. Something you can do without moving around a whole lot. Plus, it's a big open area so neither of us would have had to worry about the volume."

"Ohhh how considerate, this is so unlike you!"

Bakugo's face becomes bright red, and he shakes his head before muttering something incoherently under his breath. "I'm going to need you to hold your shirt up so I can wrap these bandages around you."

The boy's expression doesn't change as I do so, though he doesn't again meet my gaze. "Anyways, it seems that you don't quite understand how my quirk works," I mutter, and I sense him hesitate for a moment before going back to his work.

"Then please, enlighten me."

It's been a while, hasn't it? Working on so many stories does make it hard to upload to one consistently, but thankfully it's a lot easier on my brain to write out the ideas I'm inspired for at the time. Bestie chose today that I write for this one, and I got it done!

I hope you guys enjoyed it; it's been so long since I've gotten to write for my own stuff since starting my new job, but I'll do my best to keep going. Fighting!

Daily Quote: 

Me: Don't have a knife? 

Grandma: Shrimp

Me: 😕😕😕🤨🤨🤨

~Author-chan