Thoughts and Doubts

RING! RING! RING!

Katsuki let out a groan as the sound of a phone rang through his ears, noticing the time had been around 12. At first sight he was met with an unfamiliar area. He found himself staring up at the ceiling as the room had been dimly lit with a lamp. He sat up as his eyes adjusted, flinching a bit at his wounds until he noticed something out of the ordinary.

His clothes had been scattered on the floor, another set had been scattered along the bed. The bedsheet had been the only thing covering his lower body; His scar along his left side, could be seen as clear as day.

"The hell…?" He groaned.

He soon heard the sound of soft breathing beside him. He looked over to his left and saw a familiar girl with aqua green hair and a purple laying on her side. The sheet had been covering her bare body, as she had a peaceful look on her face; her hair had been completely undone. He had been quick to put together what happened when he saw marks along her shoulder, neck and collarbone.

He laid back as he groaned, dragging his hands down his face, as he saw the scene played back in his mind.

"That's right… Reina and I… We both ended up--"

The ringing continued making Katsuki growl, and his eyebrow twitch. He swiped the phone from the dresser before he answered it.

"Who the hell is this?!" Katsuki said, keeping his voice down so as not to wake up Reina.

"Huh? That voice… Are you Katsuki Bakugou?!"

Katsuki recognized the voice as it had belonged to Malcolm. "Oh… You're the Inkhead's grandpa." He said nonchalantly.

"This Inkheaded Grandpa has a name you know!?" Malcom replied "Didn't your mom tell you to respect your elders!?"

Katsuki rolled over on his stomach, as he rubbed his eyes, "Do you have any idea what time it is? What the hell are you calling about?"

"Well we were wondering where you and Reina snuck off earlier! Aizawa would like to know too, and boy is he mad!"

Katsuki's eyebrow twitched again, "Crap, so Aizawa-sensei knows… Those big mouthed idiots..." He thought before he replied, "...We're fine, the Lollipop Head and I. We just stopped at a hotel for the night, so stop worrying you old Inkhead."

He heard Malcolm gasping before he shouted over on the phone, "WAIT! REINA-CHAN'S WITH YOU?!"

"Hey hey, keep it down, geezer!" He told him when he saw Reina stir a bit.

He soon heard Sonya's voice come over the phone as she yelled, "THAT BLONDE TURD HAS REINA-CHAN WITH HIM?!"

"Ah? The old ink hag's there too?" He said once again nonchalantly.

"WHAT DID HE JUST CALL ME?!" Sonya yelled.

Knuckleduster's voice soon came over the phone, "Easy Sonya. Your blood pressure is rising again."

"Are you guys done?" Katsuki said as he rubbed his eyes and yawned, "... I wanna go back to sleep."

Sonya shouted over the phone, "NO, NOT TILL WE KNOW SHE'S SAFE!"

"Like I said, she's fine." He said, "I'm gonna hang up."

"OH NO YOU DON'T YOU LITTLE SHI-"

And with that Katsuki hung up, before he placed the phone back on the dresser; his face planted in the pillow as he groaned. "Annoying…" He grumbled into the cushion.

"...Katsuki-kun…?"

He moved his head slightly so that his eye had been peeking out. He saw the familiar odd eye color staring at him. "... Is everything okay?" Reina asked tiredly.

"... Damn it." He said, before he rested his head on his hand, "Were you awake the whole time?"

Reina shook her head, "... I wasn't awake until now. What was that? A phone call?"

"Yeah…" He replied, "... It was from your babysitters. Fraid the cat's out of the bag."

Reina sighed, "... I figured as much… Shota's probably gonna scold me big time for this."

"Yeah… Are you worried?"

"... A little, after all… It is Shota we're talking about. I wouldn't be surprised if he punished me with suspension after what I did… I just hope he doesn't punish you for it."

Katsuki only huffed, "Like I'd be worried about a thing like that."

Reina could only laugh as she smiled at this, "... As always, you're being tough."

Katsuki only grumbled this time as he didn't really feel like arguing, considering that it had been very late at night, and Reina only laughed softly at the way he sounded. The two of them looked into each other's eyes.

"Hey--"

"I--"

They both stopped when they realized they spoke at the same time.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Reina said, putting her hands over her mouth, "I didn't mean to talk over you!"

"N-No it's fine!" He said, "It's--" He stopped himself for a moment before noticing the look in her eye, "... You look like you wanna say something. You can go first."

Reina's face turned red as she sat herself up; holding the blanket to cover her body as she had her back to him. Katsuki sat himself up as he placed his hand on her shoulder as if to reassure her.

"... It's okay." He said to her, before resting his head in between her collarbone and neck, putting his arms around her, "Just rely on me like I do for you."

Reina took a deep breath before she spoke, "... Katsuki-kun… This is going to sound weird but… I… I just wanted to tell you I…I--Um..."

She gulped, as she started to get hesitant again. Katsuki could feel her breathing and thought of a way to calm her down. She froze up as he placed warm gentle kisses along her neck and shoulder. "Just breathe…" He said to her softly, "... You're okay…"

Reina nodded and did what he asked before she continued, "... The… The truth is… I… I've been feeling… Different about you… I'm not saying that I've started to hate you or anything… If I did we wouldn't have… Well… You know…"

Katsuki stopped what he was doing before he raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you hated it?" He asked her.

At this Reina turned red before she replied as she looked at him, "N-No! Of course not! If I did hate it I would've told you to stop a long time ago!"

She started to get nervous again, as she turned away from him again. "At USJ… When you… Called me by my name… I… Started to notice things about you..." She started to stammer again, "... At first it was little things… Like… When you talked to me… Or even, when I ran into you on the train… I just felt my breath slip away… Than at the Sports Festival… When you told me everything was going to be fine… It was like… I was the princess locked away… And you were there as my knight in shining armor…"

Katsuki couldn't help but blush at the compliment, though didn't say anything as he allowed her to continue.

"... Than…" She said, her face turning a bit more red, "... Than when you kissed me for the first time… The aching feeling I had in my heart… Just seemed to go away in an instant… But… It sparked a new feeling--What I'm--What I'm trying to say is… I um-- I think I--"

At this she started to mumble a little, as she looked down. At this Katsuki pried himself from her before he gently turned her head towards him.

"Say it." He soon told her.

She soon shook her head, "... N-No… I shouldn't… I shouldn't after all…" She tried to pry herself away from him, though he cupped her face to keep her there.

In turn Katsuki shook his head, "I think you should finish."

Reina nodded again, though still had been hesitant to say anything as she tightened the grip on her blanket.

"... Katsuki Bakugou…" She said with her voice shaking a little, "... The truth is…" She gulped a little as her heart beat increased, "I think I…" She finally looked at him as her face had been red; she had a shy look as she soon finished her thought, "… I think I like you…"

At this, she was surprised to see that Katsuki had given her one of his rare genuine smiles, as he soon leaned forward giving her a quick kiss before he hugged her.

"Well… That's a coincidence…" He said into her ear, "... Because, I think I like you too…"

She had been taken back at this, as she backed up from him, just put into mere shock by his words. He couldn't help but chuckle at her expression.

"Are--" She stammered, "--Are you serious? You're not saying that… Just to make me feel better right?"

"... What do you think Lollipop Head?" Was all that he replied.

Finally, she smiled as new tears began to form; in that moment she was happy, and yet she couldn't help but cry at this. Katsuki soon wiped away her tears, occasionally kissing them away, "You really are a crybaby huh?"

"Can you blame me?" She said tearfully, "I'm just really happy, because you feel the same way I do! I don't think… I've ever… Felt this way before!"

His expression changed slightly at her words, though decided not to make a comment, as he kissed her again, though she responded in kind. He fell back into the bed as the covers tangled over them now. Reina had been on top of him, as they both pulled back.

"Reina…" He soon said, as he had been out of breath, "...You have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say it… It nearly killed me, and I almost lost hope. I thought I was going to be the one to say it, but… I'm really damn glad you were the one to tell me."

She had been taken back by his words as she straddled him under the sheets, "Lost hope…?" She asked, "What does that mean…?"

"I… Have something that can answer that but the thing is--" He said, "--I want to wait, just until after the internships… After all of this is over."

"But why…?" She asked him.

He replied this time a bit hesitantly, "Because it's something that I wanted you to know, since the day I saw you at the front of our classroom. I want it to be the right time, and trust me when I say… This sure as hell ain't it. Can you wait until than… Reina Nouki?"

Reina had been confused by this, as she gave it some thought. She wondered what it was he wanted to tell her, what he meant by almost losing hope. The mere thought of what he wanted to tell her, would've almost drove her crazy, but… As she looked into his eyes, those doubts seemed to go away.

There was something familiar about the look he gave as his pierced her own. It was almost like… She had seen it before.

Finally she gave her answer.

"... I still don't fully understand it, but…" Reina said, as she gave her own smile, "... But you've given no reason to doubt you before… Why would I stop now?"

He smiled back at her, as he pulled her on her side, burying his head into her neck making her giggle a little at the sensation she felt. "I thought you'd say something like that…" He said, his tone sounding happy.

"I'm sorry… Do you sound excited?" She asked him teasingly.

"Tell anyone and you're dead." He replied, "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep."

Reina only nodded, as she pulled him closer to her; their bodies entangled with each other. Though just before they drifted off into sleep, Reina had a thought come over her.

"Hey…" She said, "... This isn't a dream right…? You'll still be here… When I wake up… Won't you…?"

Katsuki only sighed before he gave her a comforting pat, "... You dummy… Of course I will be…"

***

Chouko had been worried the entire day.

Though Tenya wore a mask, she wasn't blind.

She had seen the look on his face when she saw news of the Hero Killer Stain come onto the screen. Despite him wearing a mask, she could tell there was this eerie atmosphere around him. She heard many stories and terrors about the Hero Killer Stain. The man who's Quirk was still deemed unknown, and yet, had been strong enough to take down someone as powerful as that of a Pro.

The mere thought of what Tenya could be thinking, couldn't put her to sleep.

She knew there was only one thing she could do at that point.

Sneaking out of her room, she tiptoed towards the computer their apartment provided. She remembered seeing Tenya on the computer earlier that day even after they ate their dinner. Though she couldn't really check sense, despite how Tenya is, he can be very perspective.

This could be her only opportunity.

Making sure no one was around, she turned the computer on, bringing up the web browser.

"Okay Iida-san… Let's see what you've been doing."

She opened the history browser and saw most of the tab had what looked to be news articles. When she clicked on one of them, it opened to what looked to be an older news article, dating back to only a few years.

"Why was he looking at--"

Chouko gasped in shock when she soon noticed what it had read.

"THE HERO KILLER STRIKES AGAIN! FIVE PROS FOUND DEAD IN HOSU."

She clicked on another tab reading what the others had read and what newscasters had said about the whole thing.

"MYSTERIOUS SERIAL KILLER ON THE PROWL; TARGETING PROS"

"--Police have yet to figure out what type of Quirk this mysterious killer possesses. Both citizens are advised to avoid the downtown area, and Pros are advised to remain on guard--"

"DUBBED THE HERO KILLER. TWO MORE PROS DEAD, ONE SEVERELY INJURED."

"--As you can see behind me, a young student from UA, calling herself the Phantom Witch is currently holding her ground against the Hero Killer! We're trying to get a better look but----It looks like she has him down--"

Chouko had been taken back when the feed had cut suddenly in between the video. She figured that the camera had been busted at one point, though she still couldn't help but find it to be odd. Despite having this thought she pressed on, as she clicked on the most recent tab.

"TURBO HERO INEGIUM NO MORE. FOUND NEAR DEATH IN HOSU; NO LONGER CAPABLE FOR WORK."

"Iida-san's brother… I wonder..."

She soon looked back to the other tabs, than compared to the most recent. The Hero Killer… The way Tenya looked when they saw him on the TV.

At this, her eyes widened with realization when she put it together.

"... The Hero Killer…!" She said softly, "... He's the one that did it, the one who attacked Tensei-san--!"

A thought soon came over her as she only looked more horrified, "That means--Don't tell me--!" At this she grabbed her phone before she pulled up her contacts. She soon pulled her messages, and the group chat.

"Call me ASAP. About Iida-san." The message had read. With a push of a button she sent it to their phones.

Though before she was about to go back to her room, Chouko couldn't help but feel curious about one more thing. She pulled back up the news feed as she noticed the girl fighting the Hero Killer, had been wearing the same uniform as they had been, though she noticed the weapon she carried in her hand.

It had been that of a sword, with familiar Chinese writing on its blade.

"That sword…" She said softly, "... It's the same one Reina-chan always carries during training…"

Though the image in the video had been blurry and the girl's back had been in view, she noticed something… Rather odd.

"That girl… She looks a lot like Reina-chan."