Chapter 23

"Hey, Hattori!"

Her head lifted to the bright toothy grin of Kirishima stepping up to her.

"We were all thinking of playing a game later with some of our classmates. You in?"

"Listen, Ejiro-"

"Wait! Before you say what you're gonna say, just hear me out. Look, I know things have been a little hard for you coming to U.A. and having to share a dorm with all of us so suddenly, but just know that even though we're not in the same class, that doesn't mean we aren't happy to have you all with us. In class 1-A, we look out for each other. Whatever you're going through, we're here for you, okay?"

His hands were clenched, and his face showed a mixed emotion of serious and soft at the same time. He meant what he said, and she knew what he was trying to do. He really was a good person. She only wished she could do the same, but right now, she was emotionally shattered to bits. The only reason she hasn't completely lost it yet was because she had managed to hold her shattered self together with a flimsy invisible strand. She wasn't sure if being around them was the best option, and God forbid she end up crying in front of everyone. That would be just awful.

"I don't know…"

"Please, just play one game. If anything, you get to relax with your friends for a few minutes." He begged, gazing at her with those gleaming, puppy-dog eyes. Damn that look.

Her heart dropped even lower, to which she let out a quiet sigh through her nose.

"What're we playing?"

Kirishima beamed with instant delight that this was moving in a positive direction.

"Never-have-I-ever. Everyone sits in a circle and holds up five fingers. One person starts by saying something that they've never done before, and if anyone else in the circle has done it, they put down one of their fingers. Whoever drops all five is deemed the loser and will be forced to pick a truth or dare to do in front of everyone."

"Never played before." She commented as she stole a glance back to the others sitting in the lounge watching them.

As soon as they caught her eye, they jerked their heads back to their phones, trying to play it off as if it was nothing. Among them she noticed Bakugo sitting at the end of the couch listening to his headphones with his eyes glued to his phone screen, too busy to care what's going on around him, as always.

"Oh, it's really fun. Trust me."

As she thought it over, that game sounded like it would involve doing or admitting some pretty embarrassing stuff about herself. And knowing that her two trainers were there, having them around would make it more humiliating, especially since Bakugo could use that against her later.

Of course, she wanted to relax. Today wasn't her best day AT ALL! As if she didn't have enough drama in training, no; the worst part was on her way back to the dorms. She had gotten a text message from her friend Tsuki. After being taken out of U.A. and sent back to her home in Hokkaido, their long distance friendship was only held together through their phones. Out of all the friends she had, Tsuki was the only one she could really talk to, and when she left, Akane missed her terribly. But then, strangely… her texts stopped for almost a full week, until today.

Somehow, her mother discovered that she was the villain's target that night. Her mom didn't want Tsuki to end up becoming their next victim because of their friendship, so she made a choice to end it. Akane understood why but compared to everything else that was fucking up her life right now, that hit the hardest. Akane wasn't even sure if she wanted to make friends with anyone after that. None of them were like her. Even still, it would be nice not to have to think about it right now, and coming for the game could be a good distraction.

Quickly, she shifted her eyes to the doorway that led to the elevators. If she wanted to, she could just go up to her and Ochako's room and that would be it. Unfortunately, someone was standing near it, someone she didn't want to cross.

Yuto glowered as he stared her down. His arms were folded across his chest as he leaned his back against the wall waiting for her to pass by. She had already made herself clear the last time they spoke that she didn't want anything to do with him anymore, but the look on his face clearly showed that he wasn't ready to accept it. Not only that, but he'd also been blowing up her phone with several apologies and angry messages that she completely ignored for the last few days. It was slowly starting to get to her, especially since he wasn't always like this until now.

Weirdly, it was only when it came to Bakugo that he really acted out. She couldn't figure out why, but he didn't exactly give her a straight answer other than his same old excuse that he was "protecting" her. Either way, she had endured enough of an emotional roller coaster today, and she was fucking exhausted. If he stupidly decided to start some shit, her actions would definitely get them expelled. She didn't want that, so comparing the two options, the game sounded better.

"So whaddiya say?" Kirishima leaned in. She knew he was determined to be friends, but this atmosphere felt pressuring.

Akane took one last glance over his shoulder to the others in the lounge. She wasn't into this type of thing with so many people, but then again, Bakugo didn't seem like the type either. If he was playing, then maybe she should give it a chance. She was also pretty certain that if he was close by, Yuto wouldn't bother talking to her.

"Is Bakugo playing?" she asked, the very question perked up his ears. Weird that she would ask that, but whatever.

"Yea! Of course, he'll play!"

Kirishima wasn't exactly lying, but he wasn't really telling the truth either. It was more like deciding on his behalf. If Bakugo was asked to do this, he'd definitely say no, but Kirishima was so desperate to have her join them, he went on and did it anyways.

"Okay, I'll do it. Just give me some time to take a shower and change clothes."

"Oh, yea! Sure! We're not gonna start it until after dinner anyways, so take your time." He smiled brightly. This was the greatest feeling he got since he first convinced Bakugo to hang out. Speaking of which, he hoped and prayed that deep down in Bakugo's cold heart that he would forgive him for throwing him into the game without asking.

"Alright, I'm gonna go find Ochako. I'll see you in a bit."

As soon as she left, Kirishima walked confidently back to his friends and held his arms up in victory. The guys tore their eyes away from their gadgets to pay attention to him. It looked fairly obvious.

"I take it, she said yes?" asked Todoroki.

"Yep. I told ya I wasn't gonna take no for an answer."

"Awesome. I'll tell Mina and Jiro to tell the others." Added Sato as he got up from his spot to leave.

"I have to make a phone call soon, but I'll come too." Said Todoroki, and with that, it was just him and Bakugo.

At this point, he felt a little scared to tell him. He said he wasn't interested in the game, but then again, he wasn't properly asked. After gathering up his courage, he waved his arm in front of Bakugo's face. He annoyingly glared at him as he took out an earpiece.

"What?"

"So uh- Hattori's gonna play." He said while his hand nervously moved behind his neck.

"Hmm, you actually got her to agree. How'd you manage that?" he asked sarcastically as he went back to his phone, completely unphased by it. This idiot always had to fill him in on everything that was going on, even though none of it actually mattered.

"Well, you see… I might've told her that you were also gonna play…"

The air around them suddenly gave Kirishima chills, and it only got colder when he felt him giving the death stare. A vein almost popped in Bakugo's head trying to suppress his growing rage, processing the stupidity of his own friend.

"You… did… what?!"

"Look, I'm sorry, she asked if you were gonna play and I said yes because I didn't want her to say no. It was the only way she'd do it. Please, Bakugo?" Kirishima clasped his hands together, praying that he would forgive him and not blow him into dust.

"Hell no, I'm not doing that shit! Why the hell did you go and do something that dumb?!"

"C'mon! You never wanna hang out with us. Just do it this one time, as a favor for your bro."

"I don't owe you shit! Where do you get off deciding crap for me?! You know I hate that!"

"Oh, you don't owe me? What about the night you asked me to cook dinner for the class 'cuz you were too tired and upset from sparring Hattori?"

"!"

Damn it, why did he have to bring that up again?

"Y'know… It's not just her that I want to be friends with. Why'd you think I kept asking you to come hang out all the time? I wanted to get to know you, Bakugo. After the Villains took you, I've always wondered what it must've felt like for you… to be in that situation. Even though you kept pushing me away, I still asked because I wanted you to know that I'm still here for you if you need someone to talk to, or you need someone to calm you down…"

Kirishima's eyes were serious, which puzzled Bakugo that he would openly admit all that out loud. He had no idea that that was the real reason behind his actions. For a long time, he just assumed he was just a last resort friend, someone he would go to if no one else would, but he was wrong.

Even still…

"It's not the same. You could've at least let me in on it before you went ahead and said it."

"Please, it's just for one night. You don't even have to play. Maybe she just wants to have you around for some reason." Kirishima pleaded again.

"Damn it, Shit Hair!" Bakugo scoffed. That idea sounded like bullshit. Why the fuck would she want him around?

"I promise it's not a card game. It's only for a couple hours and then we'll all go to bed at curfew. Just one night? C'mon, man."

Katsuki hated that fucking look he made. It was so damn annoying, and he knew he wasn't going to stop.

With a groan he said "Fine… But this is asking for more than a return on that favor you did for me. If anything, you owe me for dragging me into this shit!"

"Okay, I'll owe you one. So you'll do it?"

"You better not do anything like this again! The next time you go making decisions for me, I'll kill you! And you better not annoy me for the rest of the night. The same goes for them too. I'll go to bed when I feel like going to bed. If any of these conditions are broken, I'm out, ya got that?" Bakugo said loudly, making sure all his points were made.

Kirishima was finally able to relax after hearing that. "Okay, got it. Again, I'm sorry for doing that."

"Tch. Whatever…"

"Y'know, I figured it was the only way to get you to come too."

"Then you should've just asked me."

"If I did, would you have said yes?" Kirishima asked.

Normally, he would've had an answer ready for that, but this time, it left him thinking about it a bit longer. Guess he was right, he wouldn't have done it either way. It was still a gutsy move though.

Their conversation faded after that, and the two of them then went on to do their own thing to kill time.

Before long, their classmates had gathered around the common area for dinner. The atmosphere was filled with conversation and savory smells coming from the kitchen. Bakugo stood off to the side to check the bulletin board to see if he had dish duty tonight or not while he waited. He overheard a few classmates getting excited about the game, but it only irritated him more. He really didn't want to go through with this. The last game Kirishima forced him into was a simple card game, but depending on the cards you got, it added up points at the end of the game and the one with the most points lost. You had to get rid of them in order to win and at the same time it screws over your opponents. Sounded like the perfect game for him, that is until everyone started targeting him. He had never lost more than once in a damn game, and those idiots had to gloat about it the whole time. It was absolute Hell! What makes Dumb Hair think that this game would be any better?

"Alright, everyone line up in an orderly fashion so we can start serving!" ordered Ida from the kitchen doorway.

He didn't have dish duty tonight, but he did have to vacuum the hallway tomorrow. Taking out his phone, he went to set a reminder to do it before he turned towards the kitchen. As he tailed behind the others lined up, his vision was drawn to someone over by the separate dorm bathrooms. Hattori had just gotten out and was standing all alone over there. She was dressed in her comfy black yoga pants and matching long sleeved shirt, drying her hair with a white towel. He never noticed it before, but she always wore a little makeup every day, especially around her eyes. It seemed unusual that she would need it anyways. Now that she washed it off, she didn't look that much different without it.

She quickly noticed the crowd and immediately went to dispose of her towel in the laundry room. Once she was gone, it was then that Katsuki realized how long he was actually staring at her… Why was he doing that?!

He forced himself to ignore his own mind and eat dinner, but this time, it was proving to be much more difficult. It shouldn't be, since he does this crap every day. It wasn't just seeing her either, it was the fact that he was just now realizing that he was doing these things that he never did before, to anyone.

Was she such a pain in the ass that he couldn't help but pay attention in case she fucked up? So he could call her out on it later? Maybe… But she wasn't doing anything. They weren't training, so he wouldn't really have any reason to. It was all so fucking weird, and it was only when she was around that it happened.

He was starting to reconsider ditching the game altogether. It didn't matter if Kirishima got upset about it, or if Hattori didn't bother playing without him, he had to think of himself first. In the end, Kirishima would always forgive him and move on to dragging him into some other shitty thing, like he always did. Right now, he had to ground himself so he could stop overthinking again.

After a while, everyone had filled their bellies and cleared their plates. In no time, those who wanted in on the game had gathered around the lounge in a circle. There weren't as many people as he expected, more like half. If he could guess, most of them were probably studying for the big test Aizawa planned at the end of the week. If not that, then they probably had better things to do. He fucking envied them so much right now.

For fuck's sake, why did he have to do this?! Sadly, he already knew the answer. Kirishima's words stuck with him, and he gave in, like a pathetic wimp. When did these idiots get so controlling over his life?!

At least with less people around, it might not be completely insufferable. He made his way to pick a seat when his ears caught his attention.

"Come on, Yuto. Join us. I bet Akane would be happy if you sat next to her."

Bakugo heightened his hearing and followed its direction to the doorway offside to the elevators. That beady eyed bastard was standing right in it talking to that control chick. The very sight of him formed heat within his palms, ready to explode at any moment. It's been a long time coming with this asshole, but sadly, he hadn't noticed him.

"I can't. I know she still hates me…" he spoke.

Bakugo eased up the tension to pay closer attention.

"Please, it's been over a week. I'm sure she can't hold a grudge for that long." Emiri replied.

"I can see it in her eyes. She said so herself, she wants nothing to do with me… I don't get why she's so protective of that ticking time-bomb!" he quietly snapped, leaving Bakugo stiff as a statue.

"?!"

"There's no denying that what you did was wrong, but maybe if you showed her that you're truly sorry, she'll forgive you." She suggested.

"I have been. I've sent her messages, calls. I still leave a seat open beside me at lunch and dinner for her, but every time I cross her path, she completely ignores me. I don't know what else to do."

"Yuto, I don't know enough about her as Tsuki did. If she were here, she'd probably give better advice than me, but coming from me, as a girl, if I were to go the extra mile doing all that to avoid you, you probably deserve it. Right now, it's up to Akane to decide, not you. And if you truly want to be friends again, words aren't gonna cut it. You're gonna have to show her that you're sincere."

Bakugo heard enough. He changed his direction and walked over to the small circle. Now that he thought of it, it has been a while since he saw those two together. It had also been a long time since that fucker tried to pick a fight with him. If she was mad, just what the hell did he do? Maybe that's why she's been so on edge this week. He took an open seat at the end of the couch next to Kirishima and waited.

"Hey, Hattori, I saved you a seat." Kirishima quickly stood up and allowed the other redhead to take his spot while he took his place on the floor next to Mina.

Bakugo felt the tension building back up once her body squeezed in between him and Mina. Too close! This is already off to a bad start. Her thigh was touching, and it was all thanks to fucking Dumb Hair!

"Okay, everyone know how to play?" Mina asked with excitement.

"Yep." Replied Jiro and Kaminari at the same time.

"I'm still a little fuzzy on the details." said Ochako, and immediately Mina briefed them all on how to play.

He let a groan escape from his heavy chest. This was going to be a long night…

"Alright, we good now?" she asked again, which everyone replied with a nod. "Great, we'll start with me, and we'll go counter-clockwise. Whoever loses, whether it be one person or many, the person before them has to ask them a truth or a dare. If two losers are side by side, then we all get to pitch ideas and the worst one will be chosen for them both."

"Sounds good. Everyone, five fingers up." Ordered Kirishima. On cue, everyone held up their hands, all except Bakugo.

"Put it up, Dude." Said Sero, instantly drawing everyone's attention back to him and then to Bakugo.

"I'm not playing."

"Oh, come on! It's not fair if we all don't suffer together. If you're gonna sit here, you might as well play." Kaminari commented.

"I said no!" Bakugo growled as he glared back at Kirishima. He was definitely going to pay hard for this later.

The poor guy's eyes pleaded for him to stay, but this completely went against his set conditions. He wasn't even supposed to be here. That favor he owed wasn't even worth it.

"I guess this game is too hard for you, huh? It's probably for the best. You'll just blow us all up, like you did when you lost Uno." Sero smirked slyly.

His words hit Katsuki like a ton of bricks. That asshole had to bring it up in front of everyone. He knew he was trying to manipulate him, but he couldn't let him win, not even on some stupid fucking game.

"Damn it, fine!"

Giving in, he held out his five fingers.

"Alright then. Never have I ever crashed a party." Said Mina. And just like that, a couple of guys put down a finger.

"Never have I ever had surgery." Said Kirishima.

"Pretty much all of our surgeries involved Recovery Girl." added Denki as he put another one down.

"Never have I ever cut in line at a convenience store." Said Hagakure.

"Never have I ever had food poisoning." Said Yaoyorozu, which put practically everyone's finger down and caused many heads to turn.

"Seriously? How is that even possible?" asked Sero.

"My parents hire only the most exclusive chefs, most of whom own many five-star restaurants."

"Oh, yea I keep forgetting just how rich she is." Added Kaminari.

"Okay, your turn, Ochako." Mina assured melodically like a song.

"Alright, ummm…. Never have I ever… snuck into a movie."

"Never have I ever paid for adult content." Mineta bragged, as if it was seriously something to brag about. Fucking disgusting… The girls sitting beside him immediately scooted several feet away from him.

"You couldn't have picked something less inappropriate?!" exclaimed Jiro.

"Why pay for something that's always free?!" he yelled back.

At this point, he was just digging his hole deeper.

"Enough! Next!" Mina shouted.

"Never have I ever slept in a car." Said Kaminari. More fingers went down.

"Never have I ever... umm, I guess gone surfing?" Said Jiro.

"Oh, Kirishima lost!" Mina shouted just before she turned to him with a devilish grin on her face. "Which means I get to decide your fate. Truth or dare?"

"Dare! I'm not scared, bring it!" his fists clenched righteously with determination.

"I dare you to strip down in your boxers and do a polar dive in the snow outside."

"Hell yea! Let's do it!"

Without a second thought, he jumped from his seat and began to take off his clothes. As soon as he got to his pants, he headed right for the exit with everyone who wanted to see him follow through trailing behind. Once he was outside, he dropped his sweatpants and dove right into the giant pile of snow outside. He yelped from the intense cold all over his private parts; even his hardening quirk didn't help, but he quickly embraced it by shouting "woo-hoo!"

A couple of friends filmed the insanity while the rest of them had a good laugh. That was Kirishima for ya. When he finally had enough, he dusted off the excess snow from his skin and grabbed his sweatpants which Kaminari so generously provided for him. He put on his hoodie and immediately bundled in a blanket when they reformed the circle.

"Alright, five fingers up!" Mina ordered and again, which they followed through. "It's your turn, Sero."

"I've never hooked up with one of my ex's." he said with a shrug in his shoulders.

"I have…" commented Kaminari shamefully.

"Seriously? You went all the way?" asked Jiro, her face a bit flustered for asking.

"Not all the way, per say… More like, 1/4th of the way?" he questioned himself, not really sure if that was the right answer.

"What does that even mean?" Hagakure asked, since everyone else was thinking the same thing.

"We just made out, it wasn't anything big." He explained, which Mineta snickered.

"Then I feel sorry for her."

Immediately, the room was filled with laughter. Even Bakugo had to bite his lip to hold it in. That was a good one.

"Oh, c'mon you guys!" Kaminari yelled, feeling the shame just growing and growing. Eventually, the laughter died down and they were able to go back to playing.

"Sato?" she called.

"Never have I ever… ummm I never learned a foreign language."

Yaoyorozu immediately put her finger down. "I learned French, German, English, and Russian."

"Wow."

"Todoroki?"

"I've never lied on social media." He said calmly. Many fingers went down.

"You might be the only one." Commented Sero.

A moment went by in silence as all eyes fell onto Bakugo. He glared back at them hatefully.

"Bakugo, it's your turn, man." Kirishima pointed out, which only angered him more.

"I'm thinking! Don't rush me, dammit!" He took another minute before he finally spoke. "I've never driven a car!"

"But that's practically all of us, except Kaminari." Said Ochako.

"Yea, pick a different one." Said Sato.

"Then, I've never got a tattoo!" he snapped, throwing his hands up, hoping they'll finally shut the fuck up. Can't they just take his damn answer or skip over him already?

"That's still something none of us could-"

"Wait! Hattori put a finger down!" Mineta cried, pointing straight at her.

Instantly, all heads turned in her direction. Right off the bat, she could feel her anxiousness kicking in the longer they stared. Of course, they'd be curious, but fuck… she never felt so vulnerable.

"You seriously have one?" Hagakure asked.

Without a word, Akane shook her head and held up three fingers with her unused hand. Bakugo froze.

"You have three?!"

"Where is it?! Show me your proof!" Mineta screamed as hopeful tears cascaded down his cheeks.

Shit. This was getting bad.

"Yea, can you show us?" Jiro softly smiled.

Hattori averted her eyes to the floor, trying to ignore the butterflies fighting in her stomach and think it over. Why did they have to pressure her like this? To calm herself down, she sighed a long, shaky breath out her nose. This was so embarrassing, but that was all part of the game, right? So far, it has been really fun getting to know small things about the students from 1-A. It wasn't as bad as she thought, and for once, she didn't want it to stop.

Gathering all her courage, she shrugged off her fear to stand up and turned her body so that her back faced the crowd. Tilting her head, she parted all her hair so that the back of her neck was exposed, revealing a small tribal star tattoo. A few classmates jumped from their seats to give it a closer look.

"Whoa…"

"Cool."

"Where'd you go to get one? I thought the legal age to get one was 18." Asked Jiro.

"Forget that! Where're the other two?!" Mineta begged greedily, jumping up and down to check every body part carefully. He stopped when Jiro used her earphone jack to shock him. If something wasn't done, he wouldn't have stopped there.

Quickly, she straightened her neck, allowing her hair to fall back into place and sat back down.

"My other ones are not where you can see…"

Bakugo was just as dumbfounded as he was flustered at that hollow answer. She had tattoos? This weak-minded freshman managed to get three tattoos? How?! What are they?! Where are they?! On instinct, his eyes started to wander all the possible places she would have hidden them. It was insane.

After all the training they went through, he must've seen her clothes rip off at least a dozen times already. How could he have not seen a single one? Then again, if they were as small as the one on her neck, it made sense. So where could she- ?

The temperature started to rise in the room when his gaze drifted down near her chest area. In an instant, he realized what he was doing and scooted himself closer to the edge of the arm rest, looking anywhere he could to get that image out of his brain. Fuck…

"Can you show us where they are?" Ochako asked. How the hell did she not know either? Didn't they share a room?

"Or tell us what they are?" followed Mina.

Akane nervously hid her free hand next to her thigh to clench it and shook her head. If she showed them, she'd definitely get expelled, and one of the tattoos had a long, sad meaning behind it that she wasn't exactly comfy explaining to them. Sadly, everyone always used their curiosity to justify their annoying, inevitable questions.

Out of the blue, Bakugo belted out a loud groan. The palms of his open hand emitted a small explosion that grasped their attention and left behind a puff of smoke.

"Can't we fucking move on already?! Stop asking so many damn questions and play the game!"

"Geez, we were just asking, Bakugo. Relax." explained Mina.

"Yea, don't ruin everyone's good time." Sero interjected.

"I'm not ruining it! You're the ones who keep prying in everyone's bullshit! What, putting a finger down isn't enough for ya?! This shit isn't anyone's business and it's taking too damn long!"

The room went quiet as everyone looked at each other, wondering if he was actually right. After a few moments of silence, no one had anything to say against it. It only proved his case.

Mina gave in and sighed. "I guess you're right..."

"I'm always right!"

"We're sorry, Hattori. You don't have to tell us. If you still wanna play, it's your turn."

She thought about it and it didn't take long for her to accept their apology. Bakugo was probably just trying to make the game end quickly, but if it wasn't for him, she would've been really uncomfortable for the rest of the night. She'll have to thank him for that later.

"Hmmm... I've never blabbed something that I swore to secrecy..."

And just like that, the atmosphere went back to normal. The game went on, and only those who wished to tell more about why they did what they did could tell. No one bothered to pry more than a single question, and thankfully, it allowed the game to move faster. Kaminari and Mina lost a round. He was dared to drink a disgusting concoction of various liquids from the fridge and ended up puking, while Mina picked truth and told a story of her biggest crush in Junior High. Bakugo didn't really care so much for her dumb story, but he got a good chuckle in watching Kaminari suffer. Other than that, the game was indifferent, just another way to kill time.

He half-assed his plays, mostly since he didn't give a shit and wanted his turns to just be over with, but for some reason, right when it got to Hattori, he couldn't help but observe more closely. She was so quiet and collected, which made everyone, himself included, wonder what kind of things go on in her head. What's the story behind the things she's done? Why did she like those things? Or bother doing them? He couldn't figure out why he was becoming interested in her. Maybe it was because of all the missing information from her short answers the other day. He never liked to be left with more questions than what he originally asked.

As surprised as he was to find out that she had three tats, he found out a lot more unexpected things. She drank alcohol and smoked, or at least tried it, like everyone else. She sings screamo, plays guitar, stole from a convenience store when she was little, has had a crush on a fictional character, and many other things... It was even weirder to know that she never dated anyone...

Soon, it got down to both of them having one finger left. This makes game five and judging from the time, it was going to be the last game of the night. Aizawa and Ida would eventually come by to do their walkthrough of the dorm, making sure everyone was in their room by curfew. They had to make this last one count. It was Sato's turn.

"I don't know. What else is there?"

"Just pick something. Aizawa will be here any minute." Mina assured.

"I guess... Oh man... I, I've never watched a person die."

"Whoa, man. That's kinda dark." Kirishima said with a cringe.

The heaviness of that answer lingered in the air and showed on their faces. Most of them hadn't experienced it yet, but it was still to be expected as part of a hero's job. It still wasn't something anyone liked to think about.

"Sorry, I couldn't think of anything."

Bakugo felt his heart sink when he looked back at his hand. Just his index finger remained, and the game was telling him to put it down. Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to Akane's fidgeting hand. He could hear the hitches in her breaths as her body slightly trembled, trying to keep calm. He felt more discontent watching her remaining finger move up and down, as if she was about to make the difficult decision of putting it down.

Of the fucked up things he already knew about her, it was upsetting to discover she went through that too. It was hard enough for Bakugo when his Grandfather passed away, but it might've been more traumatic for her. Then again, he was just a little kid back then. He glanced back at the others. Amazingly, they were all arguing over what to change the answer to, too occupied to pay attention to either one of them. He decided to take the chance while they weren't looking and leaned over to her.

"Keep it up..." he whispered so only she could hear.

She gave a slight jolt and turned to him.

"If you don't want them to know, keep it up."

"But that's not playing fair, is it?" she frowned.

"They're already trying to change it, so there's no point in answering this one. It's fine."

She looked at her hand, contemplating if it was really okay. It just annoyed him more.

"It's okay to lie sometimes. Think for yourself, not for them."

"I'm not a good liar..."

"It's not like they're gonna ask why you kept it up. They only wanna know if it's down. That's not really lying." he explained. "Just keep it up. I'm fucking tired and this game needs to end."

But then why would he help her if he wanted that? For the moment, she kept herself from asking.

"Okay... Thanks."

There was a moment of silence between them as they tried to focus their attention back to the others in the circle. It was annoyingly chaotic. How hard is it to pick a different answer? It seemed that they were running out of ideas and their brains were practically frying trying to make one up. Why haven't they called it quits yet? This was so stupid.

"Hey. Did you ever read any of the books I've picked?" she asked quietly out of nowhere.

Bakugo rested his head in his hand against the arm rest before he went back to face her. "Yea... They weren't bad. I read them over the weekend."

"All of them?"

"Yea. Didn't you say they were your top three?" he asked, a bit weird that he would remember her telling him that.

"Well yea..."

"Then get me your other two choices, so I can have something to read later. You owe me big after fucking up my grenade bracers today."

She didn't remember, but could feel the saltiness in his tone of voice. He wasn't lying.

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks to your fuckup, I'll be wasting all winter break fixing it."

"Want me to help you?" she asked, which made his body stiff with bewilderment.

Why would she even ask? She didn't know anything about how they even worked, let alone the mechanisms that went with it. Strangely, that wasn't all on his mind. His stomach felt like it flipped like a pancake the more he stared at her, and that bothered him more. Why was it doing it again? It's almost like it's getting worse. Why was it only with her?

"Alright, everyone! It is now curfew time! Please cease your activities and go back to your dorm rooms at once!"

Everyone's heads instantly followed the direction of the voice to Ida walking into the commons from the hallway. A rush of annoyed groans and sighs echoed across the lounge.

"But we haven't finished the game yet!" Mina whined as she slouched on her knees to the floor.

"I'm sorry, but you'll just have to continue it another day."

"Thank you, Ida." said none other than Aizawa, who had just come from around the corner from his room to check. "Lights out, now."

On cue, everyone gathered up their things and scrambled back towards the elevator. Bakugo didn't bother continuing their conversation and instead mixed himself into the crowd and disappeared behind the elevator doors before she could ask again.

No, he wasn't running away. He just needed to go back to his room and sort some shit out. At least winter break was only two days away. By then, he'll have plenty of time to think.

Akane dragged her feet behind Ochako as she followed her into the elevator to go back to their room. For some reason, she was a bit disappointed that he didn't want to talk more. He didn't even give her an answer. She had assumed with the way they left things the other day that he would be okay with them having a conversation by now, but she must've made the wrong assumption. Maybe he didn't really care about becoming friends and just wanted an excuse to do something entertaining for a day. She wasn't sure...

At the end of that day, when he covered her hands to warm them, and when he bought her that hot chocolate... it didn't seem like that at all. She thought he genuinely cared. Looks like she was wrong again.

"Hattori?" Uraraka called, which snapped her out of her daze. "Are you okay?"

"I think so... Just a lot on my mind, I guess."

She opened the lock to their dorm and they entered. Both of them relaxed themselves on top of their beds and nuzzled under the covers. Akane rolled over to try and make herself go to sleep, but couldn't find the right spot to get herself comfortable. She turned, adjusted her pillow, even read a little more of the psychology book on her phone to bore herself to sleep, but nothing worked.

"Hattori? You know you can tell me if something's bothering you, right? If it's personal, I promise not to tell anyone. It'll just be between us."

Akane rolled over to be more direct. Her smiling face was calm and relaxing, as it always was. With this much on her mind and her best friend Tsuki ending their friendship, she didn't have anyone to go to.

It was always an issue for her to find a way to trust people. None of it was their fault. It was because of her own experiences that she made it so. She thought it was easier being invisible to everyone, but she was wrong... Being here with Class 1-A for almost a full month now and sharing a room with her, Uraraka hasn't given a single sign of ill intentions towards her, or anyone for that matter. Maybe it would be okay to say a little something. She wouldn't be able to sleep unless she got it off her mind. What better way than to talk?

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart." she said as she imitated the gesture.

"... Can you tell me about Bakugo?"