[42] Complications

The kiss deepened. Her hands slid under my shirt, tracing the scar on my chest. My back hit the training room wall - we'd been moving without me realizing it. Her touch left trails of heat across my skin.

I broke away, catching her wrists. "Wait."

"What?" Her voice was rough. "If you're worried about cameras, I already-"

"It's not that." I kept hold of her wrists, needing the distance to think clearly. "We need to talk."

"Now?" She tried to pull free. "Really?"

"Yes, now." I met her eyes. "Before this goes further."

Something in my tone made her stop struggling. She stepped back, crossing her arms.

"Fine. Talk."

I ran a hand through my hair. "I like you."

"No shit."

"Let me finish." I took a breath. "I like you, but... there's something you should know."

Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Kaori and I..." I watched her expression shift. "We have... something."

"Something," she repeated flatly.

"It's complicated."

"Un-complicate it."

I leaned against the wall. "We're not dating. Not exactly. But there are feelings there."

"And you're telling me this now?" Sparks popped from her palms. "After you kissed me?"

"Yes. Because you deserve honesty." I met her glare. "And because there's more."

"More?" She laughed sharply. "What, you got a whole harem I should know about?"

I stayed silent. Her laugh cut off.

"Oh my god." She stepped back. "You're serious."

"Not yet. But..." I gestured vaguely. "I'm not good at limiting myself to one person. And I won't pretend otherwise."

"So what, this is your disclaimer? 'Thanks for the makeout session, by the way I'm a man-whore'?"

"I'm trying to be upfront about who I am."

"You're trying to be an asshole!" An explosion punctuated her words. "You don't get to kiss me like that and then-"

"I'm giving you a choice," I cut in. "Now, before things get more complicated. If this isn't something you can handle-"

She grabbed my collar, yanking me down to eye level. "Don't you dare finish that sentence."

"Katsumi-"

"No. You listen." Her eyes burned into mine. "You think I can't handle competition? That I'll back down because things got complicated?"

"That's not-"

"Shut up." She pulled me closer. "You want to play this game? Fine. But understand something - I play to win."

"It's not a game-"

"Everything's a game." Her grip tightened. "And I'm going to be number one. Got it?"

I blinked. "What?"

"You heard me." A predatory grin spread across her face. "Rat-girl, whatever other girls you've got lined up - doesn't matter. I'll beat them all."

"This isn't about beating anyone-"

She kissed me hard, cutting off my protest. When she pulled back, her eyes gleamed.

"Everything's about beating someone." She released my collar. "And you're still an asshole."

"I know."

"Good." She stepped back, straightening her clothes. "Now, I'm going to go blow up some training dummies. Don't follow me."

"No promises."

She flipped me off as she walked away. The door slammed behind her. I slid down the wall, touching my lips.

"Well," I muttered. "That went... differently than expected."

The training room felt too quiet now. I could hear faint explosions from somewhere else in the building - Katsumi taking out her frustrations on innocent equipment.

My head thunked back against the wall. Kaori was still missing. Katsumi knew about... some of it. And Todo wouldn't stop sending dramatic prophecies.

"You're an idiot," I told the empty room.

The empty room didn't disagree.

I pulled out my phone again, scrolling to Kaori's message. Thirteen words that explained nothing. My thumb hovered over the call button.

The explosions from elsewhere in the building grew louder. I could picture Katsumi's face - that mix of anger and determination when she'd declared she'd be "number one."

I hadn't expected that reaction. Anger, yes. Maybe disgust. But turning it into a competition?

Classic Katsumi.

The truth was, I hadn't planned any of this. Not the kiss, not the confession, definitely not Katsumi's reaction. I'd spent three days thinking about Kaori, about that night at the hospital, about everything left unsaid.

And then Katsumi had shown up at my door, all fire and worry and hidden softness, and...

"You just do things!" her voice echoed in my head. "Big, stupid, life-changing things!"

She wasn't wrong.

Another explosion rocked the building. Closer definitely. I should really check on her.

I pushed myself up, legs protesting. How long had I been sitting there?

The hallway was empty. Most students were probably hiding from the explosions. Smart of them.

I followed the sound of destruction to Training Room C. The door was dented outward.

"Katsumi?"

"Go away!"

An explosion punctuated her words. I opened the door anyway.

The room looked like a war zone. Training dummies lay scattered in pieces. Scorch marks covered the walls. And in the center, Katsumi stood breathing heavily, hands smoking.

"I said go away."

"Since when do I listen?"

She spun, hands raised. I didn't flinch.

"You want to hit me?" I spread my arms. "Go ahead."

"Don't tempt me." But her hands lowered slightly.

"You're going to break something important."

"Good."

"Yaoyorozu will lecture us both."

"Don't care."

I stepped closer. "You'll have to fill out incident reports."

That got her attention. "Fuck."

"Lots of paperwork."

"I hate paperwork." She kicked a dummy head across the room.

"I know."

She glared at me. "Stop doing that."

"What?"

"That thing where you..." She gestured vaguely. "Where you're all calm and reasonable when I'm trying to be mad."

"Sorry?"

"No you're not." But some of the tension left her shoulders.

I picked up a piece of dummy. "Want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Want to keep blowing stuff up?"

"...maybe."

I tossed her the dummy piece. "Need a target?"

She caught it, studied it for a moment, then crushed it in her hand.

"You're still an asshole."

"You mentioned that."

"And I meant what I said." She met my eyes. "About being number one."

"I know."

"And I'm still mad."

"I know that too."

She threw the crushed dummy piece at my head. I caught it.

"Stop being understanding!" Another piece flew at me. "Be an asshole! Fight back!"

I caught the second piece. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because you're right to be mad."

That stopped her mid-throw. "What?"

"I kissed you without warning. Twice. Then dropped complicated emotional stuff on you. Then told you about..." I gestured vaguely. "Everything else."

"Yeah, well..." She lowered her arm. "Your timing sucks."

"I know."

"And you're still an asshole."

"You've mentioned that a few times."

She threw the last piece anyway, but softer. I caught it.

"I hate that I don't hate you," she muttered.

"I know."

"Stop saying that!"

I set down the dummy pieces. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know!" She ran her hands through her hair. "Something! Anything! Just... stop being so..."

"So?"

"So you!" She paced in a tight circle. "With your stupid calm voice and your stupid understanding face and your stupid..." She stopped pacing. "Just... stupid."

I waited. She kicked another dummy piece.

"I should hate you," she said finally.

"Probably."

"I should blast you through a wall."

"Probably that too."

She looked at me. Really looked at me, like she was trying to solve a puzzle.

"But I don't want to," she said quietly.

"No?"

"No." She stepped closer. "I want to kiss you again. And then maybe blast you through a wall."

"Interesting order of operations."

"Shut up." But there was almost a smile there.

I stayed still as she approached. She stopped just out of reach.

"This is stupid," she said.

"Probably."

"I'm going to regret this."

"Maybe."

She grabbed my shirt. "One condition."

"What's that?"

"When I win - because I will win - you have to admit I'm the best."

I smiled. "Deal."

She pulled me down and kissed me. Softer this time, almost gentle.

Then she shoved me away.

"Now get out," she said. "I have more stuff to blow up."

"Try not to destroy the building?"

"No promises." But she was almost smiling again.

I headed for the door. Behind me, another explosion rocked the room.

"Hey, Lotus Boy?"

I turned. "Yeah?"

She stood amid the destruction, hands smoking, hair wild. Beautiful and dangerous.

"Next time?" She grinned. "I'm not stopping at just kissing."

"Bold of you to assume I'll let you take the lead next time."

Her face flushed red, mouth opening and closing without sound. For once, Katsumi Bakugo was speechless. 

I slipped out before she could recover, closing the door just as another explosion shook the walls. The sound of her enraged scream followed me down the hallway.

The walk back to Heights Alliance gave me time to process. My lips still tingled from both kisses. The gentle one hit harder, somehow. Angry Katsumi I understood. Soft Katsumi was... dangerous.

The security bots whirred to life as I approached the dorms. Their scanners swept over me, mechanical voices overlapping:

"STUDENT IDENTIFIED: YOICHI NAKAMURA."

"CLASS 1-A VERIFIED."

"WELCOME HOME."

I nodded to them out of habit. They didn't respond, already powering down to standby mode. 

The common room wasn't empty when I walked in. Tokoyami perched on the windowsill, Dark Shadow curled around his shoulders like a living scarf. Koda sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by what looked like every bird on campus. Shoji occupied an entire couch, multiple arms holding different books. Jiro sprawled in an armchair, headphone jacks plugged into her phone. Yaoyorozu stood at the kitchen counter, textbooks spread around a half-empty tea pot.

"You look like shit," Jiro said without looking up.

"Thanks." I collapsed onto the free couch. "You always know just what to say."

"It's a gift." She unplugged one jack to point at me. "Seriously though, what happened? You look like you got hit by a truck. A truck named Bakugo."

I closed my eyes. "Something like that."

"Ah." Tokoyami's voice carried from the window. "The revelry of young romance claims another victim."

"Not helping, bird-brain," Jiro said.

"I merely speak truth from darkness."

"You merely speak nonsense."

I felt the couch dip as someone sat down. Opening one eye revealed Yaoyorozu, tea cup in hand.

"Here." She offered the cup. "You seem like you need it."

"Thanks." The tea was perfect - she always remembered how everyone took theirs. "How much property damage should I report?"

"Three training dummies, various wall panels, and one door." She sipped her own tea. "I already started the paperwork."

"You're too good for this world."

"I know." She paused. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Want to hear about Koda's new bird friends instead?"

I looked over at Koda, who brightened immediately. He signed rapidly, birds hopping excitedly around him.

"The small blue one is named Sky," Yaoyorozu translated. "The spotted one is-"

"Bean," Koda whispered, surprising everyone. He blushed but continued signing.

"Bean because of the marking on his wing," Yaoyorozu explained. "And the red one is rose."

I smiled at Koda's enthusiasm. The birds hopped around him, chirping and preening. It was a stark contrast to the chaos I'd just left behind.

"Can I pet them?" I asked, setting down my tea cup.

Koda's eyes widened. He nodded eagerly, gesturing me over.

I slid off the couch, careful not to startle the birds. As I approached, Koda signed something rapidly.

"He says to move slowly," Yaoyorozu translated. "The blue one - Sky - is the friendliest."

I crouched next to Koda, holding out my hand palm-up. Sky cocked his head, studying me with one beady eye. Then, with a cheerful chirp, he hopped onto my finger.

"Hey there, little guy," I murmured.

The bird's tiny feet tickled my skin. Its feathers were impossibly soft.

Koda beamed, signing again.

"He likes you," Yaoyorozu said.

"Smart bird." Jiro snorted. "You sure he's not defective, Koda?"

I shot her a look. "Hilarious."

"I try."

Sky chirped, drawing my attention back. He'd migrated up my arm to my shoulder, where he seemed content to perch.

"I think you've been adopted," Tokoyami observed.

"Could be worse." I reached up to stroke Sky's head with one finger. 

Sky hopped from my shoulder to my hair, settling in like he'd found his new favorite perch. Koda signed something excitedly.

"He's nesting," Yaoyorozu translated, sitting down next to me. She handed me my cooling tea. "That's rare. He must really like you."

"Birds have terrible judgment," Jiro said, untangling her headphone jacks. "Hey, anyone want background noise? I'm putting on something from Netflix."

Tokoyami raised a hand without looking away from the window. "Perhaps something suitably dark?"

"We're not watching a gothic horror documentary," Jiro groaned. "How about... Atlantic Rim?"

Shoji lowered one of his books. "Really?"

"Giant robots punching monsters never gets old."

No one argued with that logic. As Jiro queued up the movie, I turned to Yaoyorozu.

"How's Sebastian doing?"

She paused mid-sip. "You remembered."

"Hard to forget someone that important."

"He's..." She set down her cup. "Actually, he asked about you."

"Me?"

"Mm. He watches the news. Saw the USJ incident." Her lips twitched. "He was quite impressed by, and I quote, 'that young man with the spinning eyes who Dempsey rolled through that monster.'"

"He saw that?"

"Made the nurses replay it six times." She laughed. "Said it reminded him of an old boxing match he saw in London. Though I suspect the original didn't involve quite as much property damage."

"So he's having good days?"

"More than bad lately." She traced the rim of her cup. "The new medication helps. And he's taken over the rose garden - claims the other gardeners don't understand proper pruning techniques."

"Still bossing everyone around?"

"Of course. Last week he reorganized the entire medical wing's filing system. In alphabetical order. By plant species."

I blinked. "The medical wing has plant species?"

"It does now." She smiled fondly. "The nurses just went with it. Said it was better than the time he decided everything should be cataloged by tea compatibility."

On screen, a Jaeger punched a Kaiju. Jiro turned up the volume, drowning out Tokoyami's critique of the lighting choices.

"Think he'd mind visitors?" I asked.

Yaoyorozu stilled. "You want to visit Sebastian?"

"Why not? Sounds like an interesting guy."

"He'd..." She cleared her throat. "He'd like that, I think. Though he might try to teach you proper tea ceremony etiquette."

"I could use the education."

"That's what he said about the gardeners." She shook her head. "Four hours of rose taxonomy later..."

"I'll risk it."

She studied me for a moment. "This weekend?"

"It's a date." I paused. "I mean-"

"I know what you mean." But her cheeks were slightly pink. "Just... be prepared for questions. He's very invested in the USJ footage."

"Great. I'll bring diagrams."

Sky chirped in my hair, apparently agreeing. Or maybe commenting on Jiro's choice of movie. Hard to tell with birds.

On screen, another Kaiju went down. Tokoyami muttered something about "insufficient darkness." Koda's birds hopped excitedly at each explosion. Shoji turned another page, seemingly immune to chaos.

Just another night at Heights Alliance. Somehow, it felt like home.