Chapter Thirty Eight
A/N: a bit of an emotional roller coaster, may cause emotional whiplash... sorry haha
~Amy's POV~
"GOOD MORNING PRINCESS MIGHT!" Present Mic's voice jolted me from my peaceful slumber, startling me enough I woke with a yelp and toppled off the sofa. I fell atop something warm, solid and fleshy and my lips smacked into another pair of lips. My face flushed an alarming shade of scarlet as I realized the person I'd just crushed and accidentally kissed was Todoroki. He reacted quick enough, despite having just been rudely awoken, and managed to wrap an arm around me to keep me from harm.
I could hear similar shouts of alarm from some of my other classmates and a strange choking sound from Midoriya followed by a loud indecipherable roar of rage from Bakugo. There were a few heavy sleepers who managed to sleep through the chaos. My heart thundered in my chest as I pulled away from a wide-eyed Todoroki. His face flushed scarlet to match mine. Was that his first kiss too?! An alarming thought crossed my mind, what was going to happen when Dad found out?!
"GOOD MORNING PRINCESS MIGHT!" The alarm continued screaming.
Jiro hurled the Present Mic caterpillar away and I watched in awe as someone caught it out of midair, a familiar someone with long shaggy dark hair, and tired bloodshot eyes, Mr. Aizawa. He turned off the alarm, as he scanned the room.
Everyone looked in his direction as the alarm stopped and we all held our breath. Mr. Aizawa set the now quiet Present Mic caterpillar plush on one of the sofas. His gaze fell on me in a very awkward position atop Todoroki. Did he see the kiss?! "Amy...a word, please." He beckoned me toward him before walking away.
I scrambled off of Todoroki and offered him a squeak of an apology, though I was sure my voice was too squeaky he probably hadn't made out what I'd said. Nervously, I followed after Mr. Aizawa. He stepped out the glass double doors into the courtyard and closed them behind me.
"It's my fault! Please don't punish anyone else, just me." I blurted before I could stop myself before biting my lip, "sorry." I apologized for my outburst and bowed my head.
Mr. Aizawa pointed to one of the benches outside.
I took a seat and braced myself for the scolding that was to come. I tried to stay strong and tell myself not to cry, no matter what, but it was useless there were already tears welling in my eyes. Everyone was going to get in trouble, because of me.
Mr. Aizawa sighed and placed a hand atop my head, "you're not getting punished, calm down."
"I-I'm not?" I asked with a sniffle.
"I have no idea how anyone possibly could." He grumbled as he dropped onto the bench beside me. "What happened?"
I bowed my head, "I had a nightmare...it woke everyone up...they were just trying to help me." I wrapped my arms around myself.
"Why didn't you call me or your Dad?" He asked with a frown.
"They were going to...I told them not to. It was really late, I already felt bad enough about waking everyone else up...and I'm worried Dad will make me go talk to someone..." I admitted quietly.
"It might not be a bad idea for you to talk to someone." Mr. Aizawa noted.
I hugged myself feeling like I needed comfort, "I don't want to talk about it...I just want to pretend it never happened and move on with my life so I can stop worrying everyone."
"Stop worrying about worrying everyone else." Mr. Aizawa gently draped an arm around me as he noticed me shrinking into myself and trying to hug myself. "Everyone is going to worry regardless because they care about you. If you don't want to talk to a professional about what happened, you should consider talking to someone you trust. It's not good to try and pretend it didn't happen. It did happen, you went through something terrible..." He trailed off and I saw guilt cloud his expression.
Tears welled in my eyes, "ah! Why do you feel guilty too?!" I cried startling him.
He sighed, "you're too perceptive for your own good. We're talking about you right now."
I bowed my head.
"Is there anyone you'd feel comfortable talking to?" He pondered.
I thought about it for a moment. I wasn't sure...I didn't want to trouble anyone with it.
"Your dad?" He offered.
I shook my head violently. If I told Dad everything...it might break him. "...If I talked to you about it would that make your guilt worse...or could it possibly help you too?"
Mr. Aizawa gently squeezed me being careful not to irritate any of my aching wounds. "Only one way to find out."
I felt nervous about opening up about what had happened. "N-now?"
"I have a feeling if we stay out here much longer several idiotic hormonal teenagers are going to start exploding out of windows." He nodded his head at the wall of windows behind us. I turned and spotted the majority of my classmates worriedly pressed against the windows. Bakugo looked like he was ready to blow up the glass in his way. Todoroki looked like he too was contemplating something rash. Midoriya looked frantic. "Since you're supposed to be taking it easy, we could talk while everyone else is working on their big moves." He suggested.
I nodded.
"Alright go call off the dogs and tell them all you're not in trouble." He gave me a gentle pat on the head, "and, I don't think your old man is all that stable, so I'm not going to tell him about what I just saw in there, for Todoroki's well-being." He noted before muttering under his breath, "though I am tempted to give him a detention for some reason..."
My face flushed scarlet.
"Get going." He chuckled and sent me on my way.
I slowly returned to the dorm feeling embarrassed as I realized I was in one of my cutesy princess-y nightgowns. Midoriya managed to beat everyone else to the door and opened it for me. He looked to me; his bright green eyes filled with worry.
"Amy?"
I offered everyone a small smile, "it's okay, I'm not in trouble."
"What did he want to talk about then?" Yaoyorozu asked as she swooped in and steered me to the kitchen before depositing me at one of the seats at the giant table.
"...He thinks I should talk to someone, about what happened." I admitted quietly.
"You haven't?" Yaoyorozu's eyes grew wide.
"...no..." I squeaked.
"What?!" Everyone exclaimed causing me to jump in terror at all their raised voices.
I shrank back a little.
"Why not?" Yaoyorozu asked worriedly.
Everyone was looking at me. I felt nervous and anxious and wanted to run and hide. "I was worried about Dad." If he went with me or talked to the therapist and relived it with me, it would surely break him.
"Aw." All the girls swarmed me and I was pulled into a group hug.
Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Bakugo's face cloud with guilt. He clenched his fists before turning and storming away. Eventually the girls released me and everyone went to get ready for training. I made my way to the common room to gather my plushies and clean everything up but paused as I realized someone else had stayed behind. My heart skipped a beat as I spotted Shoto sitting on the sofa looking to the blue plush cat he'd given me sitting next to the orange hedgehog Bakugo had gotten me and the unicorn Shinso had gotten me. My face burned as I remembered our awkward awakening.
"Shoto?" I squeaked nervously.
He glanced in my direction. There was a soft expression on his face and a faint flush to his cheeks.
I fidgeted nervously, wringing my hands together in front of me, "I'm really sorry...about..." I was too embarrassed to say it.
He looked thoughtful for a moment before offering me the tiniest of smiles, "it wasn't a bad way to wake up, there's no reason to apologize." Gently, he patted the cushion beside him.
My heart skipped a beat. I nervously inched closer before taking a seat. A small smile wormed its way onto my lips as he dumped the three plushies into my arms. Unconsciously, I hugged them close to me and relaxed. I chanced a glance in his direction, he was deep in thought again.
He turned to me and looked as if he were unsure if he wanted to say what he was thinking of saying. He frowned slightly before going ahead with it, "if you didn't want to talk to a professional, I'd have suggested you talk to Midoriya, he's a good listener, but if your reason for not wanting to talk to someone is that it would get back to your Dad, I can understand why you wouldn't want to talk to him."
"Um-...about that-." I tried to explain that I was going to talk to Mr. Aizawa, but he cut me off.
"Though I find it annoying...I think maybe you should talk to Bakugo about it... I gathered since you two were in different locations you experienced different things in your captivity...he's angry and irrationally blaming himself because he wasn't there to protect you...he's imagining the worst...maybe talking to him about it, will be beneficial to you both, he'll have answers and you'll have someone to share your pain with. I'd offer to listen to you, but I don't think it would be as helpful to you as talking to him." He scowled at the plush hedgehog in my arms, he really didn't like the idea.
I felt touched by his kindness and his willingness to listen, "thank you, Shoto." Shyly, I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before offering him a small smile.
His face reddened, "I didn't really do anything."
"That's not true." I protested, "you helped rescue me, and you've sat through really childish movies for me on more than one occasion...and this little guy." I held up the blue cat, "has been a great comfort...you've helped more than you know."
"...it's not enough...you're still hurting..." He frowned before getting to his feet. He reached down and tenderly caressed my cheek, wiping away the single traitor tear that had fallen. "We should get ready."
My breath hitched in my throat and I felt a fluttering in my stomach. I nodded not sure I was capable of speech anymore. He offered me a small smile before retreating to the boys' dorms.
I used my quirk to pick up all my plushies and put the common room back in order before heading upstairs to change. It didn't take long for me to put my room back in order. I went through my morning routine and got changed into some comfy loose clothes that didn't put a lot of pressure on my healing wounds. As I was changing the bandages on my neck, I heard a soft knock at my door. An involuntary scream escaped me and my door flew open.
I dropped the roll of bandages and swiveled around in a panic. In the back of my mind I could hear the Nomu snarling and for a split second I thought I saw it standing in the doorway. I blinked and it was gone. Midoriya was standing in the door, his bright green eyes locked on my neck and grew wide with horror.
"...Amy..." His voice cracked before he recovered and realized I was shaking in terror, "...sorry...I didn't mean to scare you..." He panicked, normally he'd have rushed over to me but he moved much slower.
The bandages floated in the air and began winding around my neck to hide the grotesque looking wound from Shigaraki's quirk. "...it's not as bad as it looks..." I mumbled softly as I pulled my hair down to help cover some of the bandages.
"We should have tried to get there sooner." He bowed his head.
"You were gravely injured, Izuku, you shouldn't have gone at all...though I am grateful to you and everyone else...it was dangerous...if you'd have gone any sooner, when the heroes weren't there, you all would have died..." The thought of my friends being killed to rescue me made my knees buckle.
"Amy!" Izuku got to me in an instant as I started to slip toward the ground.
A soft gasp escaped me as he caught me in his arms and lifted me with ease. I saw them all in my mind's eye getting killed by the League of Villains, I could see it so vividly, so graphically it made my stomach churn. As I was now, I couldn't protect my friends...I'd have to learn how to fight and use my quirk offensively instead of just for defense. "I'm okay." I squeaked.
Izuku's face was flushed red, "are you sure?"
I managed a nod, "thank you, Izuku."
He gently set me on my feet. My legs were steady again as I found my resolve. As much as I hated violence, I needed to learn how to fight, at least a little, to keep my friends safe. "Everyone's ready to head to gym gamma and waiting downstairs, you coming?"
"Is Katsuki down there too?" I asked curiously.
"Ah, Kacchan went on ahead." He scratched the back of his head nervously. I had a feeling he was still in a mood and Midoriya must have asked him to wait for me with everyone else, but he'd stormed off.
"I'll meet you guys there." I said in a rush before bolting out of my room.
"Eep! Amy! Be careful!" Izuku panicked as I sprinted out of my bedroom. "You're still recov-." His words fell away as the elevator doors whooshed closed behind me.
The doors opened on the ground floor and I sprinted for the door past my concerned classmates. "Amy?!" They called after me in concern as I raced out the door. I knew what I had to do!
I ran as fast as I could toward gym gamma, it wasn't long before I spotted Bakugo on the path ahead trudging kind of slowly with his head down and his hands clenched into fists. "Katsuki!" My ribs were screaming at me in protest, I wasn't much of a runner and was already feeling winded. All of my wounds ached, I had a feeling some had reopened but I ignored them as I sprinted in his direction.
Bakugo lifted his head and turned in my direction. His crimson eyes widened in surprise before he exploded, "what the hell are you doing?!" He snapped as I attempted to slide to a stop in front of him only to succeed in barreling into him. He caught me with ease.
"I...want...to...ask...you...something..." I wheezed; my lungs felt like they were on fire.
"What the hell was so important?!" He snapped as he supported me while I gasped for breath.
I took a moment to catch my breath before looking up at him pleadingly, "will you help me learn how to fight?"
"Why?" He asked quietly. "You don't need to fight, just send all the scary things flying."
"...there was a Nomu there...where I was taken, it could erase my quirk...I couldn't do anything..." I shivered as I thought back on it.
Bakugo's gaze darkened. He clenched his fists tightly but didn't say a word.
I continued, "if I can learn to fight...maybe I can keep my friends safe...or at least protect myself enough they don't get hurt trying to save me..." I panted.
"You going to apologize every time you hit something?" He asked with a frown as he forced himself to unclench his fists.
"Probably." I admitted with a blush.
He rolled his eyes, "why me?"
"Because you're violent." I teased him with a giggle.
"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!" He roared causing me to giggle again.
"...everyone else will hold back or coddle me...you won't..." I blushed before peering up at him hopefully, "please Katsuki."
He made a strange choking sound and his cheeks started to redden, "don't be so sure about that." He huffed before placing a hand atop my head, "fine, just stop looking so pitiful." He gently shoved me.
A soft 'oof' escaped me as I lost my balance and teetered backward landing flat on my bottom in the plush grass. I offered him a big smile, "thanks, Katsuki."
He turned with a huff and continued on his way as the rest of the class started to catch up. Iida reached me first and extended a hand to help me to my feet while he turned to admonish Bakugo. "Bakugo, it's rude to push people around, especially while they're injured." He attempted to reprimand him as he helped me to my feet. Bakugo ignored everyone and kept walking.
"It's okay, really." I reassured everyone with a bright smile.
"Yeah, that's just Bakugo's way of showing affection for Amy." Kirishima snickered.
"Shut the hell up!" Bakugo snarled ahead causing Sero, Kirishima and Kaminari to crack up laughing.
I felt a little more myself and was able to block out the scary things as I walked with my classmates to the gym. Koda fell in step beside me as we walked and offered me a warm smile and an arm to lean on.
"The newest edition of the pony comic came out today. Want to read it later?" He asked shyly.
"There's a comic series?" I asked I awe.
"If you like comics, I have a series you can read." Mineta offered.
"NO!" Everyone snapped in unison before he was suddenly wrapped in tape and being dragged away.
I tilted my head curiously to the side as I watched Sero drag Mineta away while shaking his head. I looked to Koda who shrugged seeming just as confused as I was about the whole ordeal.
"I have the whole series, if you want to catch up." Koda said softly.
"Yes please." I beamed.
"I'll bring them all to the common room after dinner, then." He said shyly.
"That sounds like a lot of fun. Thanks, Koji." I beamed, "should we invite everyone else to read with us?"
He smiled and nodded.
I turned to all our classmates with a bright smile, "do you guys want to read pony comics with us tonight?"
"AW!" All the girls squealed.
"Oh god, that sounds awful, but it's too cute, can't resist." Kaminari clutched at his chest, "I'll read every pony comic in existence."
"Ah, are you okay Kaminari?" Midoriya panicked.
"I've never read a pony comic before. Perhaps it will be educational." Iida noted, "I'm in!"
All the girls agreed. The majority of the guys agreed too, though some seemed reluctant. I turned to Todoroki who had yet to respond. "Shoto?"
He offered me a small smile, "alright."
"Whoa, Todoroki, you're going to join in too?" Midoriya asked surprised.
"That's it, Amy definitely has a cute quirk too." Hagakure giggled.
"Only one way to find out for sure." Kirishima snickered as we reached the gym, "Amy you should invite Bakugo to join us."
I wasn't quite sure what they were all talking about but shrugged and made my way over to Bakugo as he stretched off to the side. Mr. Aizawa, Ectoplasm, Midnight and Present Mic watched curiously as I tapped Bakugo on the shoulder. He turned to me and scowled.
"Now, what?" He growled.
"We're all going to read pony comics after dinner, will you join us?" I asked him feeling suddenly nervous as I realized everyone was watching very intently.
The tips of his ears reddened. "That sounds like a nightmare."
"Oh...right..." I gasped as I remembered him saying my room was cute enough to give him nightmares. A horrifying thought crossed my mind, was Bakugo scared of cute things? Did he torture himself to watch all those movies with me even though they gave him nightmares! "I shouldn't have asked, that was horribly insensitive of me, I'm sorry."
His crimson eyes widened, "why the hell do you look like you're going to cry?!" He snapped.
"BAKUGO!" All the girls yelled at him.
"You said cute things give you nightmares! And you watched those cute movies for me even though they were scary!" I cried.
Kirishima lost it and fell to the ground holding his sides in laughter.
Bakugo's face was bright red, "I'm not afraid of cute things!" He snarled, "I'll read the damn comics just stop looking at me like that!"
"H-huh?" I tilted my head curiously to the side.
"Cuteness quirk confirmed." Hagakure said dramatically sending the rest of the class into hysterics.
"I don't understand what just happened." Present Mic leaned over to Mr. Aizawa and Midnight.
"I think we just witnessed the start of Amy's world domination." Midnight smirked.
"That checks out." Present Mic nodded.
Mr. Aizawa rubbed his temples in annoyance, "enough fooling around, everyone get to work." He looked over to me as everyone spread out and went to their respective training spots. "Ready?"
I felt a little nervous about talking about what had happened but reluctantly nodded and followed him out of the gym. After walking for a few minutes, I found myself outside the teachers' dormitory. It was for the full time and homeroom teachers, though now that Dad had retired as a hero, I wondered if he'd try to teach full time and try to get into the teachers' dormitory.
The teachers' dormitory had a similar layout to the student dorms, with a big spacious common area. I followed Mr. Aizawa quietly, feeling anxious about opening up. What if it didn't alleviate his guilt and made him feel worse?
When I finally snapped out of my spiraling worry filled thoughts, I realized we'd reached his room. He opened the door and I smiled as I heard a soft meow as a grey cat with splashes of white covering all four of its paws bounded out the door. A soft giggle escaped me as he rubbed up against my leg.
"Mittens!" I beamed and scooped him up.
Mr. Aizawa smiled, "I thought he might help."
Mittens started to purr as I hugged him close. I nodded and stepped inside. The teachers' dorm rooms were set up like apartments, with more space and privacy than the students' dorms. The door opened to a nice sitting room. There was a small sofa and a recliner chair. The sofa had a few super soft looking blankets and a familiar looking plush cat that I'd gotten Mr. Aizawa as a gift. There was a box of tissues on the coffee table. It was incredibly thoughtful.
I went to sit on the sofa with Mittens. As soon as I sat down, Mittens curled up on my lap and began to purr loudly as I scratched under his chin. Perhaps it wouldn't be as scary to talk about with Mittens here.
....
Mr. Aizawa and I had a long talk, I told him everything that happened and had several breakdowns in the process, but thanks to his quirk, I didn't break anything. I felt exhausted, like I hadn't slept in years. Despite feeling completely drained from the rollercoaster of emotions, I felt like some of the great weight that had been weighing me down had been lifted. I wasn't sure if Mr. Aizawa felt better or worse after our talk. He wasn't revealing anything.
His tired eyes glanced over at the clock on the wall. "We should head back." He gave me a moment to compose myself before offering me a hand.
I gave Mittens a hug goodbye before taking Mr. Aizawa's hand. Once upright, I realized how drained I was. Perhaps I could convince myself to take a nap once I got back to my dorm. We headed back to the gym. Mr. Aizawa offered me an arm to lean on as we walked. After my earlier sprint and a lot of crying, my body ached.
We got to the gym and I dropped onto the cement bench by the door as Mr. Aizawa went to check on everyone else. I leaned back against the wall and felt myself start to relax. The door next to the bench opened and I jumped as I heard a familiar voice.
"Got ya!" Monoma's voice sounded next to me as I'd just been about to drift to sleep. I let out a panicked squeak as I felt someone lightly smack me on the head.
I opened my eyes and felt my blood run cold as I saw Monoma in front of me, his periwinkle eyes were wide in terror and his mouth frozen in a half scream but no sound came out.
"MONOMA!" I heard several voices shout in anger from the doorway not realizing the danger he was now in.
"Get away from her!" Bakugo, Todoroki and several other of my classmates snapped.
My heart started to race as Monoma's face contorted with agony. Cuts began to appear all over his body as if invisible claws were tearing at his skin. It was like my quirk was rejecting him, and trying to claw its way out of him, though it was just a copy of it. The light faded from his eyes and I leapt to my feet and struggled to catch him as he slumped forward with a cry of pain.
"Monoma?" I squeaked as I struggled to keep him upright. My healing wounds protested, I felt a few of them reopen as I strained myself to keep him from falling. Blood began to seep through some of my bandages as more of my wounds reopened from the effort of keeping Monoma from hitting the ground.
Monoma was unresponsive. There was an alarming number of deep cuts lining his skin, oozing blood. I had a feeling my quirk would be dangerous for him to copy but I didn't realize it would be this dangerous.
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