day 18 — phone charger. (still the same day)]

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Back in a rather large farm that was approximately three hours away from Tokyo— Manato Amachi sat on one of his parents' faux brown couches.

While sipping on some hot tea; he listened to most of his older brothers catch up with one another. It had been a while since more than half of them spoke in person.

Most of them lived in separate parts of Japan by now, which is why it took a day or two for everyone to finally be able to get together in the home they were all proudly raised.

"Manato, how's your wife's crazy life treating 'ya?" One of them suddenly asked [____]'s father.

"Well...We travel a lot. It's quite exhausting."

"Not as exhausting as raising a daughter, I bet!" Another sibling joked about this. The rest of them agreed; throwing small comments here and there, teasingly.

Manato had thirteen older brothers and all of their quirks varied anywhere from being able to mimic someone's voice, to elasticity. Something their farmer parents didn't expect would happen.

However, out of pure luck, their last born son was finally able to bring something good into the family business with a fertilizer quirk. Because of this; his parents relied on him to take over the farm when it's time; while the rest of the brothers enjoyed bullying him about it.

Manato got by family gatherings assuming they were all just envious of his rather luxurious lifestyle as of now; and he figured that all the 'only-having-a-daughter' jokes just came from pure jealousy— given that [____] had nothing but male cousins coming from her father's side. Needless to say none from Himeko.

"Now, all of you, shush!" [____]'s paternal grandmother spoke roughly to all of her sons while she placed a tray of more snacks on the coffee table.

No matter how many times she would fill bowls of dried fruits, chips or tea biscuits; she would turn her back on the room full of men for three seconds and then realize her dishes would be empty again.

"Manato is going through a rough time. Don't you brutes know that my only granddaughter is being hospitalized after that incident everyone in this country knows about?! My heart breaks for him and his wife..."

The men, full of shame, remained silent as their mom consoled their little brother with a few back rubs. "It's going to be alright, Manato...I'm glad to hear that she is doing better. Now..."

"OUCH!" [____]'s father wasn't expecting a strong blow on the back of his head caused by his mother's fist.

"Why even enroll [____] in a school like that in the first place?! What's wrong with you?! Have you not thought about all of the dangers heroes face day-to-day?! You're telling me you knew [____] can get hurt this bad and still encourage her to go after such a career?!

You need to learn how to keep your kid safe!! If I was you, I'd homeschool her completely, after this mess! She wouldn't even be allowed to leave the house without a parent or a guardian! You have money, don't you?! Why not hire bodyguards for her sake and track after every step she takes?!"

"We did, for a moment— Ah, but [____]-chan ended up accidentally sending him off to another part of the state...Besides, she may resent Hime-chan and I if we don't give her any privacy at all and show we can't trust her..."

As Manato continued to get scolded by his angry mother; his father, on the other hand, spoke gently while sitting on the only powered recliner in the whole living room area. "She does have that portal quirk...Even if she were to be stuck at home all day, she could easily escape anytime she'd wanted to."

Manato was glad to know his father was on his side regarding this. "Yeah, exactly! It pains me to even think about [____]-chan rebelling against us like that, though...I know it's for the best...To allow her to take charge of her own decisions, especially at this age...

All of you...You may already know how my wife's relationship with her mother isn't in the best shape, and that is due to so many parental controlling attempts. My wife believes in raising our daughter differently."

To this truth, [____]'s paternal grandmother lowered her head for a second. "Kumiko...that woman sure knows how to sour someone's day with just mentioning her existence in this world. Ugh, it's like a curse."

"Well..at the end of the day, you can't force a kid to follow your advice all of the time ...I say Manato is doing a good job at raising [____], despite what happened recently."

Not a single one of [____]'s uncles or cousins attending the gathering disagreed with their dad/grandpa, or even had commentary to include in the serious conversation.

To get over the bad energy in the air, [____]'s grandmother changed the topic. "So? What's with the big news you have been waiting to tell us in person?"

"Oh, yeah...I had purposely left to mention this through emails with you all, but...I just didn't know how I could be happy to share this while my daughter's condition was unknown...But now that we know that she is expected to make a full recovery, well...How do I say this? I'm going to gift her a baby sibling. Hime-chan is pregnant once again."

[____]'s grandparents seemed a little too shocked to even congratulate him at first; meanwhile, her uncles were starting to bet with each other about the baby's gender. Shouting things such as, "2,000 yen that it's another girl!!" and "Do you really think Manato is that unlucky?"

However; [____]'s dad couldn't concede to any of their replies due to his cell phone notifying him of an incoming call from his previous wife.

"I better take this."

He excluded himself from his loud older brothers and nephews; as well as respectfully bowing his head to his parents before walking out of the farmhouse to answer. "Yes, my love? Did everything turn out alright, after all?"

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Himeko Amachi laid on the uncomfortable examination bed in the prenatal area of another hospital in Tokyo, on the other side of the phone call. "I am feeling better, but these stupid doctors won't let me come back to Musutafu until they're completely sure of it, themselves. Sorry to scare you.

I wanted to call earlier, but couldn't. I just wanted to check in real fast and ask you...Did you happen to show any photos of [____] to my mom when she was first born?"

The question caused a bit of confusion between the married couple. Manato found himself pondering if this was some sort of mental test. He had no other option but to tell her the truth, either way. "No...Of course not, my love. I'd never do anything without involving your thoughts, in specific... anything relating your mother, really. I know you two weren't on the greatest terms when [____]-chan was born."

Himeko let out a satisfied sigh. "Glad to know...She claims she was there, though, thanks to that stupid quirk of hers. She told me her exact birth weight to prove it; 8 lbs and 5 oz...Can you remember?"

Manato found that hard to believe. "Was that how big she claimed our baby girl was?! I always remember things like these about her....If I recall correctly, [____] was born 7 lbs and 2 oz, and 20 inches long, exactly! I cannot be wrong about it!"

"What?! So you're saying...You think mom is lying to me, to try to manipulate me again somehow? What excuse does she have for me, this time?!"

[____]'s dad faltered to the sudden accusation. The last thing he wanted to be actively involved in was the strain relationship his wife shared with Kumiko. "I...Well, I....I think this is something we should talk about, later. Just the three of us...I'll be there to support you, Hime-chan."

The nickname Manato called his wife since they first met, [____]'s mother loved to still hear it. It reminded her of his kindness, one of the many reasons she fell in love with him from the start.

She closed her eyes to recollect fast bittersweet memories of their youth; though it was cut short when her doctor knocked on the door before allowing herself in.

"I have to go." Himeko mentioned. "I will call you later tonight, and in case I hear anything about [____] before you do. I love you."

She hung up without listening to her husband's response; then focused on what the female doctor was going to show her.

"Well, Mrs. Amachi, like you have been trying to tell us all along...We can't seem to find anything wrong with your pregnancy." She seemed a bit reluctant to say the next part. "I wouldn't be able to tell you why the contractions you felt the other day have been more painful than what you're used to, but...I am hoping these will cheer you up."

She handed [____]'s mother printed sonograms of her current gestational stage. "Congratulations on your babies."

"Thanks..." Himeko accepted the printed pictures as a form of an apology for keeping her waiting longer than anticipated without much thought, at first.

Her eyes opened wide once she realized what the doctor congratulated her for. "Did you just...say...BABIES?! WHAT?! There is more than one in there?!"

"I'm sorry...I thought you knew. When was the last time you had an ultrasound, may I ask?"

"I don't know...I was maybe 6 weeks pregnant?!"

"Then that would explain it...Too difficult to tell whether there's even a single embryo yet, let alone two...Well, do not worry. Both of the babies, now, are growing exceptionally well at this stage. One seems a little bigger than the other, but it is to be expected when they're both sharing one placenta."

As the kind doctor continued to teach Himeko about her sudden twin pregnancy, [____]'s mom was finding it difficult to even listen.

'Why do I suddenly have such an odd feeling, coming from my gut..? Is this really just about the pregnancy?'

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"Thank you for allowing me to visit your family tonight in such a short notice, Enji Todoroki."

Kumiko entered the Todoroki household on her own, refusing to wear the traditional Japanese clothes that everyone wore inside to match their surroundings.

"My...What a place. It's magnificent." She meant the compliment as she stepped in the dining room area, but didn't receive any sort of gratitude for it from anyone.

Instead of focusing on her anger due to that, Kumiko spotted Enji's youngest son. He was sitting on the igusa floor, waiting for dinner to be served. "Shoto, darling. Hello. How are you?"

"Good evening." [____]'s classmate replied nonchalantly.

"Dad...I wasn't expecting any visitors." Fuyumi Todoroki was in the middle of setting up the dinner table. She panicked a little bit, assuming the old woman was going to stay longer than one would expect.

She then accidentally mumbled a little too loud about something that was on her mind. "I wonder if there will be enough side dishes for an extra person..."

"Oh no, dear, worry not. I wouldn't like to consume any of your cooking, no thank you..." [____]'s maternal grandmother softly laughed as she said this, as if it would help reduce her rudeness.

"Oh, okay..."

Shoto furrowed his eyes at the woman upon hearing her dismiss Fuyumi; the last time he spoke to [____]'s grandma was more than two weeks ago during the exam and he couldn't remember being treated the same way as his older sister.

"What's the meaning of this visit, Kumiko?" Enji couldn't envision a single reason for her unexpected entrance inside his family home. "You could have just called me, if it's in regards of UA and our similar endorsement."

"What kind of tone is that, Enji? I simply stopped by to say hello." The woman lied, but it wasn't obvious until she paid more attention to the high school student once again. "Shoto, it has been a while, hasn't it? What have you been doing to keep you so busy, young man?"

"Schoolwork...and practice." At this point, the youngest Todoroki threw a glance at his dad; something he rarely did, as a way of asking for an explanation to the woman's sudden interest in his daily routine.

"Kumiko...Would you like to speak with me, but in private? If so, we can head to my office immediately and—"

[____]'s grandmother interrupted the number two hero in an unceremonious way. "— You're telling me now that you don't remember our chat, the day of that infamous school exam? You know...About joining our families, like we once intended to, years ago."

Fuyumi stopped dead in her tracks as she poured her little brother some hot tea into his cup; Shoto could only listen and watch the steam coming from the liquid.

"Dad...Did she just say...?"

"Absolutely not." Enji answered his only daughter's unfinished question before clearing his throat. "Kumiko, my answer is the same as before, I only want what's best for my kids right now and if you recall...I mentioned that marriage is out of the question for Shoto."

'Marriage...?' [____]'s classmate continued to listen to the adults without saying a thing.

"I have to ask...What would be so wrong about it? You're telling me my granddaughter isn't one of the greatest suitable bachelorettes in Musutafu for your son? Give me an example of another exceptionally unique quirk like hers, if you're sure about it.

I know she is not in the best shape, at the moment...I am ashamed to even think about her current state of mind...But I'm doing this because I know the future, truthfully.

My strawberry will surpass her entire class in a matter of time; this is just unavoidable...But you don't even need my quirk to see it too, Enji. Do you?"

"I am not disagreeing with you about your granddaughter's quirk, I am just—"

"— Unless, of course, you're trying to tell me that your son will hate the idea of spending the rest of his life with [____], then..." Kumiko wouldn't let the man have a say in this, she gave Shoto a gentle smile. "...That would be another story, right, Shoto? Tell us what you think."

"A marriage proposal..." The guy repeated the words to himself, as if that would make it more believable. "To [____]...."

Not a day had gone by where everyone in 1-A wouldn't think about [____] and her ameliorated health. It was a mystery to everyone, or so it would seem considering that no one had been able to say they have spoken to her.

Shoto had been spending a couple of nights away from his own home, just to clear his head and line up his emotions towards his current crush. The fact remained that he still felt strong feelings towards [____], in spite of knowing that Katsuki Bakugo was his unwavering opponent for the girl's affection.

"Are you really thinking about agreeing to this, Sho?" His older sister broke off his train of thought to timidly inquire. "I mean...Do you even like her, in that way?"

"You mean, do I love her? ..." He could only answer that question inside his head in that moment, due to the presence of their father.

For a second, Shoto glared at Enji; and the man began to speak his thoughts on the matter. "He is not able to make a rash decision about his future like this, all by himself. Shoto will not be a good candidate for whatever proposal you are referring him to, Kumiko. He is unprepared, not focused, far too young and—"

"— I accept."

His son had heard enough of the talk down and finally gave his answer to the old woman, though it was mostly to go against his father on the spot. "[____]'s grandmother...I am able to accept your marriage proposal without an issue."

"YOU WHAT?!" — "You will?!" — "Will you, now?" The three people in the room all showed their different levels of surprise at the same time.

He only responded to Kumiko, at first. "If I'm allowed to have a conversation with [____] in person, before any further step is taken, then...I will agree. I can only do this if she is okay with it as well."

"Oh, trust me." [____]'s grandmother sounded quite confident about it. "You have nothing to worry about. She will agree to marry you, Shoto Todoroki."

"Shoto, you don't understand—" Enji was ready to reveal what he had been hiding from his past to half of his children right then, if it wasn't that his son was already standing up and sauntering his way out of the room. "You cannot accept this offer on your own!! Just listen to me."

"Not possible." Shoto quickly retorted. "I don't need your opinion on this...You may be my father, but you don't have any right to decide for me about my future anymore. That is all."

He gave a little head bow to the old woman and his older sister before leaving the dining area without being able to eat anything for the night.

"Sho..." Fuyumi knew she couldn't go after him whenever he acted like this; it was more than likely he'd give her the cold shoulder as well if she tried to take their father's side.

"...It seems like he does not respect you much, does he?" Kumiko poked fun at Enji's parenting skills at a time like this. "I've envisioned that, if you remember what I said to you years ago, when I gave you that free reading...I'm so sorry your life turned out this way, in the end..How unfortunate for you. Things surely would have turned out different for all of us, in this room, if that engagement had been properly maintained..."

"Dad...Are you alright?" Fuyumi couldn't read that strange look on her father's face, and it was beginning to scare her with all honesty. "We should probably call off dinner, right? ...I can take you and Sho's plates to your rooms and collect them later."

She did not mind doing that; since it was something she had to do most of the time with Natsuo's meals, anyway. Fuyumi obviously had questions in regards of Kumiko's engagement talk, but it seemed like the old woman was not interested in speaking with her at all, and her father was currently facing a blank state of mind. It couldn't be anymore apparent.

"My apologies, sweetheart." Kumiko had decided it was finally time for her departure a second after she glanced over at her bvlgari watch. "I have a few important matters coming up. We may have to reschedule this whole 'family dinner' thing for another time.

I mean, you are about to become my strawberry's sister-in-law someday. Once our futures are bound together; I will have to agree to finally have a taste of your cooking. I am hopeful that it is delicious."

The woman fake smiled for a split-second at Fuyumi before giving her father one of her real, rancorous ones. "Always a pleasure to speak with you, Enji. I'd ask you to keep in touch...But it is obvious now that we will have to. Have a pleasant night."

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[____] finished her speech therapy before supper time; she knew she had about twenty minutes left until her grandmother stopped by to work on crossword puzzles with her and have dinner together; as per usual.

Everyday had the same routine; she could memorize it but she was barely able to start grasping on the knowledge of time and have control of her fingers as she grabbed her phone and ignored the lot of text messages she still hadn't read.

It's not like she was actively trying to ignore all of her friends, the ones she couldn't quite remember yet. It was just that the logographic characters seemed to jumble up inside her head each time she would even try to take a peek at any of them.

So instead, she would only open her call log and sometimes stare at Katsuki's name on the screen. It was written in full kanji, but she could easily distinguish it out of the rest. 'I wonder what he is up to...'

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Katsuki Bakugo was sitting on his desk chair at home, finishing up on homework when [____] called him. The entire day, he kept wondering when it would happen again.

He knew he couldn't call or text her first, just to be safe. He didn't want [____]'s grandmother (or anybody but her, really) to touch her cell phone and he wasn't sure if the girl knew how to shut down her notifications, just yet.

"Hi!" She was happy to speak first.

"Hey, baby."

[____] was truly enjoying the new nickname; but she couldn't recall since when, exactly, and why he started using it. "I'm baby? When? How, me says..? Sorry...Hahahah."

Rather than answering her broken question, he decided to mention. "I really missed your voice...How are you?"

"Fine, I...Today, doctor said I may use, uh...restroom? But with a button push call of the bed— But, less pain! So that's good! ...Hello?"

Katsuki was playing with a black ink pen as she spoke; whirling it around his fingers like a drumstick. He thought about how it had been a while since he last practiced any instruments. He also wondered if [____] knew he could play them. Or how much she knew about him, for starters.

He couldn't remember the last time he talked to anybody about his hobbies, if he'd be frank.

"Hey?" His crush asked for his attention. "You..Ok?"

"Yeah, I was just...Thinking..." Katsuki heard everything she was saying; but couldn't focus on any of it. "You mind repeating that?"

Lately, it had been this way, not just with others speaking to him but with school work and things on TV. Anything he used at first to keep him distracted were no longer doing the job. It was as if a large chunk of his brain had gone missing. He was sure [____] owned it.

"Yeah...I will repeat! For you, I mean...Sorry. Still learning stuffy...But, um...Doctor told to me—"

"— I really fucking missed you."

He had to put the pen down and leave his chair to move towards his bed. He flopped his back on it without delay after interrupting his crush. "When do you think we can see each other? Your grams is making a big deal about anyone visiting you at the hospital."

"Grams..?" [____] thought too much about that abbreviation to reply to the first half of his terms.

"Not that I care...since I agree that everyone who isn't me shouldn't be trying to get close to you, but...It's just that..It has been a while since you and I last shared a..."

'Kiss.'

The word was at the tip of his tongue; he just didn't want to say it. 'Maybe that makes it sound like I just want her physically...Does she think about it that way? I can't tell...'

As Bakugo fought the emotions that were starting to stir inside of his chest; His crush bit both of her lips together and looked outside through the large window in the hospital room.

The autumn sky was growing darker around this time, it made her feel a tad uneasy although she couldn't pinpoint the thorough reason. [____] finally remembered that there was something she was figuratively dying to ask more people about. "Oh, music...Listen to any, do you?"

"If I listen to music? Duh, you idiot." After giving such a harsh, quick reply, he had to laugh the shame off. "I didn't mean...Whatever. Why do you ask?"

A bit of silence followed; then her answer. "...I can't. Noises, they...just over-helming but, I think...Um, its help me? Maybe."

"If it's overwhelming for you, cheeks, then just stop trying." He made sure not to say anything mean to her, after giving his opinion. "...What do you usually listen to, anyway?"

"Pop; mostly!" [____] replied so fast; it was kind of laughable. "Don't that word sound funny, kind like? Pop! Pop, pop."

She repeated it; as if it was a melody while Katsuki smiled a little at her dumb behavior.

"...I really wish I could kiss you."

His own face felt a little hotter after the girl asked him to speak louder in her own way. "I said I wish I could see you— Can't you FaceTime, right now?"

"FaceTime?"

"Yeah. That's video chat, cheeks." He sat up from his bed and cleared his throat in preparation to further explain. "Look at your screen. You see those buttons? I'm gonna send you the request, and your screen should change right after."

Once he let her know that all she had to do was press a bright green button; [____] was ready to accept. "But..Maybe I...Look strange?"

It was the first time in a while that Bakugo had heard the girl sound like herself. It made him feel a little dispirited to know that she was still as self-conscious as before since he felt as if currently, he had everything to do with it.

"Trust me, cheeks. You could never. So just let me see you, yeah?"

Silence was her answer, then he sucked in just the tiniest bit of his pride to ask again. This time, he spoke softer as he requested the video call once more.

"Baby. Let me see you. Please?"

The last part was practically a whisper.

[____] soon figured out that she couldn't deny that tone of his voice anything. She moved the phone away from her ear and spent a little more than thirty seconds to find the correct button on her screen to press.

The first thing he noticed was that [____] had the tiniest scar close to the slit of her left eyebrow; it didn't require stitches but the scab was still visible and ill-lit compared to the rest of her complexion.

Her lips were a little discolored from lack of vitamins and her eyes were a tad dull; as opposed to how he last remembered her. Definitely still beautiful to him, though.

He tried making her smile by speaking first; "Hey there."

"Um...Hi."

[____] had forgotten how bright red his eyes were. She felt a little intimidated by him already; she kept looking away from her phone. "..Um...Hi?"

"You said that already." Although she was still not smiling; he was already enjoying himself thanks to her odd reactions. "What are you looking at? I'm right here."

"Yeah. I..." She couldn't get a hold of herself so she chose to not try to explain it.

Katsuki raised an eyebrow and she glanced at him for one second before staring at the wooden door right in front of her bed for an entire minute.

"...So you're just gonna ignore me?"

He meant to sound playful but he actually came off a tad menacing to a hospital patient. He didn't know of this until [____] panicked to find the words to apologize.

"Shit. Relax, I wasn't angry with you. I was kidding."

The girl took a moment to study his face. He was not showcasing any emotions. She couldn't figure out why he reminded her of someone else so much, though. Then, the only thing she could muster out to him sounded so serendipitously lovely.

"Suki..."

He could feel some of his heartstrings being tugged by her subdued tone of voice.

"Baby, I am so sor—"

"— I'll keep in contact with you and send you the contract once our relatives approve, of course. We are not trying to violate any laws." Kumiko's voice, that came rather sooner than expected for the girl, was loud enough to startle [____] and her crush.

"Shit. Is that grams?!"

[____] didn't answer, she was too busy waiting for the golden knob on her door to twist and open.

"I'll hang up— Just— Promise me you won't let her see your phone. Got it?" Katsuki requested. "This is important. We won't be able to get a hold of each other while you're in there unless you do as I say."

The girl was confused, but she couldn't express it in time as he said his last goodbye to her. "...— you. Bye."

"...Bye."

[____] wondered what he began to whisper, as well as why he looked like he was in as much physical pain as her right before their call was cut short.

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She managed to put her phone under her right thigh just in time as her grandmother walked into her room, phone in hand and next to her ear. "I will speak with your son regarding most of the details, later. Have a pleasant night, now. Goodbye."

[____]'s attention went towards the paper bag the old woman was holding with the other; she watched it attentively even after it was placed on her lap.

"Hello, my precious strawberry. This is for you."

"Hello...and thanks?"

"'Thank you, grandmother.' Is what you should say. Have you been taking the time to study, like I asked?!" Kumiko sounded more disappointed than one would expect.

[____] blinked hard at her tone, only once. "I try..."

She sighed, lightly massaging her left temple with her thumb. "Perhaps...You believe I should decrease my expectations of you...I did not mean to yell, I just had a very tiring day. Try to understand it."

[____]'s hand slowly moved towards the paper bag in front of her.

She was given permission to open it, then. "It's only a letter set, strawberry. I always owned the gist that you would grow up to properly showcase gratitude to others. It is just a known fact to me now, after taking a mental note of all your habits. I continue to be profoundly astonished by your kindness."

As [____] inspected the violet-dyed lined paper and it's envelopes stamped with ivory, vintage flowers, she formed a smile. "It is pretty, very much...Thank you..."

She mouthed the word 'grandmother'; and it was oddly satisfying for Kumiko to watch her struggle to say it out loud one or two times before getting it right.

"You are upmost welcome, dear. Have you any idea why I'd purchase these, as well as a handful of workbooks for you to practice your writing skills during your free time?"

[____] waited to hear an answer for a moment, then shook her head.

"The gift basket that your concerned classmates created for you...I must say, was an unexpected deed...At my age, you'd think the younger generation grows up to become nothing less than spoiled brats, however..."

Kumiko signaled to her granddaughter with a hand to scoot over and let her sit on the edge of the hospital bed for a moment. "...Your peers seem to care for you, inordinately, may I add...And that is why I think that— with my help of course, you should write to them. In specific, let them know you are alright and there is no need for anyone outside of this family to feel uneasy for your health..."

In the old woman's eyes, sympathy was only an insult disguised as kindness, after all. The stern expression she gave [____] did a bad job saying otherwise.

[____] waited a long moment before nodding a few times. "Ok. Practice, is ok...Too..."

Her grandmother sighed in displeasure with the teenager's lack of vocabulary. "I sure hope you can write better than you speak, now...My precious strawberry, where would you be, right now, without me?"

She attempted to show basic affection by gently patting the back of [____]'s hand; like a delicate, but dangerous work of art she rather admire from afar. Everytime Kumiko looked into [____]'s eyes, that were full of compassion, it infuriated her more and more.

It was as if she was able to sympathize with everyone with just one look— including her.

"I will make sure you get out of this hospital, feeling stronger than ever before. I promise."

Disregarding the cocktail of complex emotions she felt towards her only grandchild, Kumiko swept a strand of hair away from [____]'s forehead and sighed one last time. "Now, then, let's have dinner together. Shall we?"

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Since more than an hour and a half had passed by; Katsuki decided to take a break from waiting to hear back from his crush and hop into an alarmingly hot shower to clear his head.

"I wonder if she was caught and had her phone confiscated..." He stood under the handheld shower head and let the water run over his nape.

His ash-blond hair was wet enough to stick to his forehead, but he didn't seem to blink even when the close-to-boiling droplets would glide through his nose and fall on his feet.

"Who am I kidding? She's an idiot. Of course that's exactly what happened."

He laughed about his assumption as he turned the faucet off and lathered himself completely.

'I might be waiting for nothing, at this point...But I won't back down so easily. If she no longer has a phone, then I'll just have to buy her a new one. I'll keep doing that, since there's not many options for her to contact me right now.'

He rinsed, not caring about the temperature at all and then dried himself completely before stepping out of the bathtub.

He left his change of clothes on his bed; he encountered no issue getting back into his bedroom and getting dressed.

While his hair began to dry and take its naturally jagged form, all thanks to the small white towel he placed over his shoulder; Katsuki got a hold of his phone once again and stared at his home screen.

Nothing.

Yet.

"Maybe she fell asleep."

After all, it was pretty late already. (At least— what he considered late) He reassured himself that everything was going to work out in his favor, in the end.

Because after all, he was the only guy [____] had claim to fallen in love with, and he allowed himself to share a little bit of that emotion towards her that night.

A string of still images of [____]'s face ran circles around his head as he finished drying his hair and tossed the damp towel to the ground without giving it a second glance.

He picked up his ear phones and tried to listen to some music to assuage his suspicions as to why he hadn't heard back from his crush.

Bakugo laid on his back with his right knee bent, his left calf crossed over his right thigh and eyes shut, annoyed.

"[____], eh?"

Truthfully, the crying face of the girl he used to bully as kids was the last thing he wanted to think about before falling asleep, yet at the same time...

It belonged in his mind, forever.

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"Thanks for all your help. I am very sorry I had to interfere with your dinner preparations tonight."

The elderly man that lived next to the Shinso family was struggling to stand still, even with the help of a portable metal walker with two tennis balls disguised as feet and two small trainer wheels in the front.

Both of them were outside the old man's apartment, he was preparing to move in with his grandson in a new house the following weekend; but because they resided on the second floor of the complex, the old man was having trouble moving old furniture out into the corner of the building, for other residents to view and take before the garbage collection truck would pick it up in the next few days.

Hitoshi was on his way back from the grocery store when he noticed the struggling elderly person in need of a hand to help him take out a single cardboard box full of plastic and wooden hangers.

"It's not an issue. I'm glad I could help." The indigo-haired guy was getting ready to show respect with a small bow and walk towards his own home, when the man asked for some more of his time.

"If it's not much trouble, could you give this to your mother?"

The neighbor displayed a sealed white envelope with his shaky hand and slowly handed it to the high school student.

Shinso took note that it had his mother's name written on it with a blue ink pen, as well as the words 'SPECIAL REQUEST.'

"What's this...?" He made the mistake of asking out loud; not because the old man loved to talk for hours, but because he considered himself rude for even wondering about something that had nothing to do with him.

"It's my 95th birthday soon; I was just hoping your mother would bake a coconut cake for me in celebration...I added my new address in there and included extra money, too. I hope asking her to deliver it for me won't cause too much of her valuable time."

Shinso couldn't help but smile warmly at the envelope after knowing its purpose. "No...I think she'll love the idea, actually. After all, you only turn 95 once."

The old man let out a chuckle. "That's the spirit. You know? I always thought of your parents as family...When they first moved here as a young couple, before having you, I used to always worry for them. As if they were my own children."

"Don't tell me." Hitoshi could feel his social battery running low already, luckily his words flew out rather lightly than he meant.

"Ah, yes. Your parents were always busy, too busy with school and part time jobs. I couldn't help but wonder if they were really doing okay, and not skipping meals or anything of the sort. My wife and I would visit them often and bring dinner with us, you know...before she passed."

Shinso nodded a few times to his sad experience.

"Ah, but all of their hard work paid off very well. Your dad is in the medical field and your mother? She bakes the best pastries in all of Japan."

"One can only be so proud of them." He didn't try to sound so sarcastic, either.

The old man put the remaining words of the conversation he wanted to have with him to rest and finally assumed that Hitoshi was on some sort of tight schedule, just like his parents. "I must say, though...I wanted to keep living here until the day I die. I hoped to continue to watch your family grow."

"There seems to be no plans for a little sibling, I'm afraid." Shinso laughed at the idea.

'Not at the rate my parents are going— last time they shared a meal at the dinner table was almost a year ago.' He kept that part to himself, though.

"So, please...Enjoy your time with your family, from now on."

"Ahah...Maybe not, but you could have gotten married and start your own family tree as well." The old man mentioned his idea, and to Shinso— it sounded so out-of-this-world.

The guy just had to blink, shake his head and then smile. "What age do you think I am, truly?"

"You're in high school, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"Back in my age, it was considered the norm to get married after high school with your sweetheart, right before college. Having children around that time was just inevitable."

"I bet that worked out wonderfully for everybody."

The old man laughed at his curt response. "You sure are a comedian...But I am serious. This may be the last time we ever speak in person, so please...Make this old man's day and tell him you're going to live your life to the fullest and search for your soulmate at this age."

"I am sure I can do that just fine without marriage, but I appreciate the advice."

"You might not know it, now, but that is okay too. Life is sweeter than any dessert you'd ever taste when you get to share it with somebody special, trust me."

Shinso smiled very faintly. "Then I'll consider."

"That's all I need to hear. I will let you go, now. Thanks again for your time and your help." The old man finally dropped his persistent side and made his way to his front door.

Shinso bowed his head and walked into his own home following that odd conversation. He had forgotten that the entire time he was speaking with the man, his phone kept vibrating inside his coat jacket. He just didn't pull it out to check on it just to be respectful.

He closed the front door, placed the grocery bag on the kitchen counter and viewed his screen. He immediately noticed that there was three missed calls from [____].

He then felt a little anxious.

"Did she call me by mistake?"

'No...a mistake could be one. Maybe even two times, but...Three...Should I call her back? But...What would I even talk about? I wonder how I sound through a phone call...'

'Should I just text her, instead? She probably just needs something, and thinks I'm at work.'

"It's probably just a mistake, after all. But to be sure..."

He wondered if he sounded a bit too aggressive as soon as it was delivered. To keep his mind off of things, he quickly set his phone down on the counter, but close enough for him to keep an eye on it, and then arrange dinner.

On the back of his mind the entire time, he anxiously waited for a reply that even he knew wouldn't receive for the rest of the night.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

[an; mistakes are always there 😩

me: *disappears for a whole year* so, um, anyways...where did I leave off?🤪
ya'll: ???😒

I owe y'all Mina's birthday special and Shoto's 🥴 as well as the end of the Christmas special but that can wait. Everything can wait. I just wanna write this story for a while and focus on the character development in here hehehehe

HOW HAVE YOU ALL BEEN?! I CURRENTLY HAVE COVID AND IT SUCKS BEING QUARANTINED LOL

I had to reread this whole ass story to figure out what to write next cus I had plenty of drafts saved but most of them make no sense to me anymore hahahah

I love you ❤️ stay safe and stay perfect. You are literally so perfect 🤩 I simp for ya. See you soon 😍]