Through My Finger Tips

  "What the hell just happened!? What's wrong with you?" Bakugou yelled, following her through the house. Anzu's mind was running so fast she couldn't keep up. This was bad. This was really bad. She was so spaced out she couldn't answer. She simply shoved on his oversized coat and a pair of boots. "You can't just leave! Hey Don't ignore me!" He ordered, storming after her. She continued to walk. Aizawa had to know immediately. For all she knew this could be a re-run of last year's field trip. She slammed the door behind her, now that the adrenaline had warn off, she could feel the fire on her hand. It stung and before long she was leaving a small trail of blood in the snow. She took a second to collect some and place it on the wound. It hurt but at least it would stop the burning. She could see behind her, as the crimson red soaked throughout the snow painting the ground pink. Her heart fluttered as anxiety began to plague her. She continued walking, the wind pushing and howling at her like a wolf. She was freezing, and it contrasted with her hand, which's burning feeling crept all the way up her arm. She tried her best not to look at it. It wasn't important right now. She regretted everything. Every moment she was with the villain. She should've done better. She was trained to do better. She was supposed to be better at this point. So why was she still helpless?

                "Aizawa!?" She called knocking on the door of his cabin. She had to knock four times before she got a response. He came to the door with his hair up in a ponytail, a long sleeve sweater and sweatpants hung loosely around him. He had a blanket wrapped around himself. "We need to talk right now." She said, her eyes stern but inside she was pleading. She just had to tell someone. Even if she was ashamed. Someone had to know. Aizawa squinted his eyes in confusion. He then moved to the side gesturing for her to enter. He closed the door behind her and though her surroundings grew warm she grew colder. What would she even say? Nothing she did could justify what's happened.

        "Did you need something or are you just gonna stand there?" He asked, still blatantly confused over what she was doing here.

        "Th-There was a villain..." The words just wouldn't come out right. Her heart hurt. Her head hurt. Everything hurt. She knew that wasn't the right term for what she was feeling. She didn't know what else to use. He put trust in her and look what happened.

        "What!?" He asked whipping around from the kitchen. "What happened!?" Aizawa walked over and starred her directly in the eyes. She forced herself to meet his gaze. She was expecting anger, frustration, distrust. But the first thing she saw was worry. Not sympathy. Worry. And it was the first time she had seen it genuinely. 

        "I-I'm so sorry... He got away I should've been better I shouldn't have left I just... He slipped through my finger tips..." She stammered, was never good with explaining herself. The frustration, all of it just made her furious. He shook her explanation off.

        "What about you? Are you injured?" He said staring her up and down. When he saw her hand he went immediately for the first aid kit. She didn't know. She couldn't tell if he was just doing what he was trained to do as a hero, or if he actually cared. Anzu wished she knew. "I wan't a play by play. How'd it happen?" He asked, applying a compress to the burn. She forcibly hid her wince. 

        "I was sitting on the deck outside. I heard foot prints and when I went to look, he grabbed me. I used a basic maneuver to get out of his hold. He then used his quirk that was an odd looking, blue fire to do this." She said, gesturing to her hand. "I didn't want to end up like last time... so I-" She wanted to hesitate but fought it off ". . . Used my quirk. The second he collapsed I went for Bakugou's help because I knew I couldn't hold it for long. The second I came back I could see the remnants of Kurogiri's portal." She finished, clenching her other fist. He didn't look up at her. Just worked quietly. This terrified her. She prepared over and over again in her mind. He certainly wouldn't be happy now.

        "You said you used you're quirk?" He asked, applying the final gauze. He stood up and looked her dead on. He looked completely unreadable. She nodded, looking elsewhere. She felt so guilty she didn't know what to do with it. In the end, he let out a long, exasperated sigh,

        "As long as you're not severely injured that's all that matters. I'll investigate more on the villain. I think I've heard of him before. He had a patchwork face right?" He asked, discrete memories popping up in his head. "You should go home and get rest. You're sick aren't you?" He questioned, staring at her now quite judgmentally. It had completely slipped her mind. She was still sick. Crazy how important things can become menial so quickly. She gave a slight nod and shakily turned to leave.

                "Thank you. I'm sorry this happened." She shut the door softly behind herself. Finally all the strength sapped from using her quirk returned. She looked at the bandaged hand. That was the absolute last thing she could've expected in return for what she did. It almost brought a smile to her face. But it was cut short all too soon when she thought of how she would explain this to Bakugou. He looked freaked out and she completely ignored him. She had a feeling there would be hell to pay when she got back.

                Anzu's hand levitated over the door handle. She felt the icy, rigid breeze brush up against her cheek. She was covered from head to toe in snow. She disliked that. Too much white. She rested the pads of her fingertips of the metal, feeling the frigid temperature. A deep breath, and she cracked it open. Bakugou had been sitting in the living room on the couch. His head was rested in the palms of his hands. Upon her arrival, Bakugou rose up, a visible vain popping up. Kiri took a moment to pop his head through the door frame, enough to see Bakugou, then quickly dissapeared. He looked like a prairie dog that had just spotted danger. Anzu closed the door behind herself and removed her frost laden coat. A shiver was sent through her, but his fiery gaze was enough to burn her from the inside out.

                "What the hell happend?" He hissed through a clenched jaw, squeezing his fists and trudging over to her. She wanted to say something. Anything. But she quickly realized that was a rhetorical question. She didn't even know what she would say anyway. "One minute you're sleeping because you're fucking sick, the next you're yelling for my help barefoot and bleeding." He spat, getting a little too close for comfort. "I'm getting real sick of the bullshitting and lies." He muttered under his breath. All she could see was anger. She didn't blame him. The worst part over everything... she couldn't explain what happened. Or at least not the whole truth. Anzu had already received enough mercy from Aizawa. She took a deep breath, her lungs feeling heavy. Everything spun around.

                "There was a villain. And it got away. That's about it. I needed help, but he escaped by the time we got back. There's nothing I can do now." She said this devoid of emotion. She stared up at him, eyes cold. He saw that same anger again. And it pissed him off. He hadn't seen it for an entire month. He thought she might have changed. Forgot. But he was wrong... she was just as bitter as ever and he didn't even know why. "Can we sit down?" Anzu asked, hoping he wouldn't question her. The last thing she needed was for her knees to buckle in the middle of the conversation. 

                "Where were you?" He questioned, staring at her, his fury still evident. 

                "I went to tell Aizawa. It seemed like the most logical thing to do." The dusty haired girl fixed her eyes on the ground. The room was fully spinning now, but she didn't want to stop talking. She needed to do this with him now, or she could lose his trust permanently. She blinked away the fuzzy vision and stared at him. "I shouldn't have left like that. I'm sorry." She added, looking back down. Bakugou simply sighed. There was nothing he could say. No matter how frustrated he got, she was soaked all the way through, sick, and she looked like someone just killed a puppy in front of her. Being out there for so long, not to mention barefoot probably made her fever way worse. 

                "Just get some sleep. We'll talk later." He said, standing up and walking away. He didn't like seeing her all pale. Anzu on the other hand had never been happier to hear his orders. She gladly retired to her room, not even bothering to change. She collapsed onto the bed, almost immediately giving into the black fuzz around the corners of her vision that had been threatening her for so long. The fading was peaceful and she felt warm again. She gladly let the mixture of exhaustion and sickness pull her into a coma like sleep. 

                Anzu woke up in her bed, but positioned differently. She was now under the covers and on the pillows. Someone must have moved her. She could hear all of her friends talking in the living space. She willed herself to get up but quickly realized it wasn't happening. She felt like her body had been thrown in front of a bus. Her head swayed when she sat up and the room took a few moments to stand still. She couldn't tell if she fell asleep or passed out. Kiri was gone from his bed, but she could hear his eccentric voice coming from the living room. She still had quite the explanation in front of her. He said he was sick of the lies. Soon he would ask for truth. No matter how much she pondered on it, ran it over a million different ways, there was only one way to fulfill his request. The only thing she could do was limit it to unimportant things like her past. She had to wait at all costs for her quirk. The door of the room was open, and she could barely make out the spiky red and blonde outline of her friends. Once Anzu was sitting up, she caught a quick side glance from the blonde. The two crimson eyes darted away. Had he been watching her this whole time? She felt flushed again. Bakugou heaved himself up, trudging over to the room. Anzu was about to panic, but she realized there was no reason to. He wasn't some stranger anymore.

                "You still sick?" Bakugou sat on the edge of the bed, keeping his attention elsewhere.

                "No." She lied, hoping he wouldn't ask more. He gave her a glance of disbelief. His eyes grew thinner and she knew it didn't work. She still had no idea how he got this good at deciphering when she was lying. He tentatively reached his hand out and placed it on her forehead. She moved her head away in surprise, but a little to late. Anzu watched as Bakugou scoffed. He looked at her in his peripheral vision. He seemed bitter. No not bitter. Something else.

                "I've never met someone that lies as much as you." He faltered. It annoyed her that she was so easy to read for him and he was always so far away. Anzu took a deep breath, taking in the warm air around her. She needed something to make him feel better, or at least calm his anger. 

                "Tonight... I'll meet you outside and you can ask me one question. I'll answer anything except what my quirk does. Would that help a little bit?" She offered, hoping he would take it and the situation could be resolved. The guilt was eating away at her.

                "Two. I want two questions." He demanded quietly. Why did she know he was going to do that?

                "Fine. It's a deal." She tried, but couldn't avoid a smile. He stood up, trudging back out of the room. 

                "Come get food when you want it." He added. Anzu finally came to terms with what she had just agreed to do. Anything? Was she crazy!? Anzu flopped back onto the covers. She had no appetite. All she could to do was wait in anticipation. Anything.

        To Anzu's dismay her plans were slightly spoiled. Due to it being the last night in the mountains, the class had decided it would be their only chance to go into the family sized hot tub. Because no one brought bathing suits, they decided to wear old t-shirts and shorts. 

        "Ahhh It's so nice." Mina sighed, feeling the steam on her face. It was odd. Everything around them being ice cold, but being so hot at the same time. Anzu quite liked it. From here, you could see the black mountain arching up, draped by a garment of black. Little white paint splatters all over like stars. She sighed, and continued to look at the trees. The forest certainly looked eerie at night. She half expected a serial killer to pop out at any moment. She had been watching one too many horror movies with Bakugou. Kaminari didn't want to go in the hot tub, simply because if one thing went wrong he could electrocute them all to death. Atleast, that was his excuse. They all knew he couldn't handle hot spaces for too long. Everyone seemed to be happy except for Bakugou. He just stared up, as if the very fact he was here was pissing him off. It caused her to snicker. He couldn't relax if someone put a gun to his head. Slowly, as the night continued Mina and Sero got out, claiming it was too hot. Eventually Kirishima fell asleep and was ordered to go to bed. And once again. Alone. With him. At this point she wondered if it was a coincidence. It was rare to see them separate till late at night when they were all at school. But here at the cabin, they all turned in around midnight. She was starting to get the sense it wasn't by chance. The bottom of her shirt was soaked, but the top still remained black. The steam rising from the warm water cleared out her nose and throat. 

        "So. Why don't we go ahead and get this over with." She suggested, glancing at the lurking forest once again. Bakugou brought his head down. Gave her the same old intense glare again.

        "Fine." Fine? I've been fretting over this all night thinking 'what have I done?' And that's all you have to say about it?! She felt her blood boiling as much as the water.

        "Where the hell are you from?" He asked, giving her an expectant expression. So he thought about it after all. Where did she begin? It was a long story.

        "Well... for starters I'm not from America I'm from Japan. It's not like any foreigner could have no accent from studying abroad in middle school. I... grew up in one room my entire life. All I could do is study. If I went into any more detail Aizawa would have my throat." She smiled downward. She was a little embarrassed. But relieved. To tell someone. Especially him. She looked at her with an unreadable expression. Like someone painted a dull face over his own. Anzu began to feel worried. Was that not what he meant? Or not enough? 

        "One room?" He questioned staring harder. She knew what he was doing. He was trying to make sure she wasn't lying. She grew somber. So that's what it's come to eh? She still could never blame him. She deserved it.

        "Yeah. Pretty bland one too. Everything was white except me." Anzu half smiled at it. It felt so far away but it hadn't even been a year. She was thinking lately that they were right to put her there. As horrible as it was, she had no one to disappoint. "And for the second one?" She prodded, starting to feel hot in the water. 

        "Yeah... You said I couldn't ask what you're quirk is." Bakugou��hunched over and rested his head in his hands. "But was it the reason you grew up in one room? Your quirk?" He said, genuine curiosity in his voice. And something else. Anzu grinned. So she was that see-through. She felt like she was being held in an interrogation.

        "Yeah. It is." She said, the wind picking up and carrying her words. She looked off into the mountain range. Far away. Bakugou assessed what he had just learned. A lot of things made sense now. That's why she had no belongings. Why everything that she said was a lie. Clearly she did something bad, to be locked in a room for a long time. Why she liked TV so much. Why she had no hero training. Why Aizawa and her practiced in private. Why villains kept coming for her. It honestly put him at ease. It could've been much worse. 

        "Man. You're childhood sucked." He said, thinking of growing up in one room. Was she allowed outside? Did she have windows? Everything was white? Why? His head buzzed with unimportant questions, but he was still satisfied. At least now he knew she trusted him enough to talk to him. 

        "It could've been worse." She smiled wide. Anzu was being honest. The world could have been much crueler to her. She had a roof over her head and food on the table. A bed. She didn't have the worst lot of the bunch. Bakugou was confused as to why she was so happy about it, but ignored her blinding smile. They both got out of the hot tub around one in the morning. It was cold and they both felt exhausted. Atleast Anzu could say that her sickness was letting up. It was only a quick bug that left as soon as it came. However, now she felt much better. She felt like Bakugou had a decent reason to believe her, even if it was fairly vague. She could sleep easy knowing the person she trusted most trusted her back. Anzu had a feeling that if anyone else had been chosen to room with her, she wouldn't like them as much. Something about his personality. His brutally honest demeanor. She had no way to explain why she liked the ill-tempered ass hole. But there was something soft about his personality. Even if it was covered by hundreds of impenetrable shells. And it rarely leaked out from time to time. She decided she would stick around for those few times. It meant life was never boring. And it never would be with him around.