When they got to Nakama's house, she just stood on the sidewalk, staring at the house with a far off look in her eyes. 'I'm not sure I'm ready to go home....' She took a shaky breath and turned her attention to Iida who was a few feet away and looking at her with gentle eyes and held his hand out to her. "Iida...." Her voice was getting softer and harder to hear but it was also getting more painful to speak even as quiet as she was being.
"I'll stay the night here don't worry about it. You are not going to be alone tonight. I'll be with you the entire time. Let's just relax and see where it takes us ok?" He knew she wasn't sure about going inside anymore but she knew she'd be fine with him so she nodded and took his hand and let him take her inside, both of them blushing. It looked like nothing happened and that seemed to make it worse for her. "Let's watch a movie and make some popcorn." He suggested and she nodded, walking calmly to the kitchen and grabbing popcorn and oil and a pan.
"Here, the stove is easy to use. I'll be in my parents room. I promise I won't do anything stupid." She spoke very softly and also got the salt down so he could make the popcorn before leaving to her parents room. 'I'll live for both of you I promise. Live. Love. Laugh. Sing. Dance. Dream. Play. Give. Cherish..... Right...? I'll make you guys happy and proud of me.' Iida sighed and went with her instead since he knew she needed support.
"Hey, come on. You need someone to lean on so come here and let it all out." He held his hands out and braced himself a little so she didn't knock him over as she rushed over, hugged him tight and broke down. 'Thought so. She's just holding everything in and going on autopilot....' He hugged her back just as tight and kept her close, knowing she needed this. "I'll be here for you for as long as you need it Nakama." He said softly and she just nodded, pulling herself closer to him and continuing to cry for a while. By the time she was done crying, it was later in the night and she was drained.
"I'm sorry for making you stay here." She chuckled through the pain of speaking and wiped her tears that were left while Iida just sighed.
"It's not a problem at all. Let's get some dinner made then we can just watch movies for a while alright?" He offered and she smiled and nodded. "Any preferences?" She shook her head and they left the room.
He went to the kitchen and began to make dinner for the two of them while she went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. 'God I look like hell.' She left and went to the kitchen and smiled gently at Iida trying to find something and cleared her throat. He whirled around, startled and smiled gently, making her heart skip a beat. "I don't know where anything is at." She giggled and nodded.
"What are you making?" She asked and he told her while she got the things he'd need out with a smile. "Is there something else we don't have that you need?"
"No, that should be fine thank you. Why don't you go rest? Figure out a movie to watch or something?" She nodded and pointed upstairs. He noticed and nodded. "I'll come get you when the food is ready." She grabbed scissors before going to the bathroom and getting the dye out and sighed to think of what she was doing. 'Well, all or nothing...' She first began to cut her hair, knowing she was actually really good at it, cutting it short and then dying it blue. She showered and went to put on a black tank top and dark grey sweatpants with white socks before coming back out. "Nakama! Dinner is ready!" She noticed his voice echoed much more now that both parents were gone and began to go downstairs.
"I'm here. Thank you for cooking Iida." He nodded and she coughed, pain taking over her throat again. She could quite literally feel herself losing her voice more and more with each word she spoke.
"Are you alright? You seem to cough every time you speak. Is there something I can do to fix it?" He asked worried while she just giggled and shook her head, going over and hugging him. He wrapped an arm around her, surprised not to feel long hair as he was accustomed to. "What happened to your hair? Did you cut it?" She nodded and smiled.
"Dyed it too." She let go as he whirled around and looked her up and down, just to blush. She sighed as the urge to cough subsided and lifted the back of her hair to show the light blue dye.
"I see. Did you do all this just now?" She nodded and smiled proudly, knowing that her semi perfectionist mind said yes. "You did an amazing job. The class will be wanting you to do their hair now, you know that right?" She opened her mouth and hung her head, closing her mouth after. He just laughed as she pouted and punched him in the arm playfully. "Alright, alright, let's eat while the food is warm." They went and sat down, beginning to eat, after Masa thanked him for cooking again. "How many times do I have to tell you it's not a problem at all?" She blushed and hung her head, smiling softly, liking this feeling but not sure what to do with it. 'Adorable. Wait, no, this is just to comfort her because of her loss!' He shook his head and continued to eat.
When they were done, she had a small smile on her face and a relaxed demeanor about her. "Do you still want to watch a movie or do you just want to go to bed? Or do you have something else in mind?" He asked and she held up one finger. "A movie?" She nodded. "Alright, popcorn and snacks or no?" Again, she held up one finger and he nodded. "Alright, we should probably do the dishes first so we don't just leave them piled up." She nodded again and smiled gently as they got up and did the dishes, Iida washing and watching where she put everything after she rinsed things. They finished in a few minutes and Nakama got to beginning to make popcorn while Iida went to chose a movie. That was done maybe ten minutes later and Masa brought the popcorn out and sat next to Iida.
"What movie are we watching?" He told her the title and she just nodded, actually not having watched this one before, while he played the movie. They watched what ended up being a comedy that they needed on a depressing day. They messed around for a few minutes after the movie when Hikari began to show signs of exhaustion.
"Let's get to bed. It seems like you need it. Where can I sleep?" She yawned and motioned for him to follow her which he did and she led him to the guest room between hers and her parents.
"You can sleep in here for now. I'll be in the room to your right." She cleared her throat and smiled gently. "Good night Iida."
"Good night Nakama." He hugged her and held her close for a minute. She returned the hug and relaxed, happy he was with her for the night. They let go of each other and went to bed, one fighting sleep a little more than the other but eventually went to sleep.
~~~The next morning~~~
Masa was the first one up and so she went to the backyard and sat in the middle, just thinking about life, how easily it was taken, how easily it was brought into the world, how much of a burden life could be and just how awful in general it could be to people. She was lost in her thoughts until she heard Iida calling her name and looking for her. 'Alright, time to face the first full day without her.' She got up and went inside. "Good morning Iida. Sorry for scaring you like that, I was just in the backyard." She rubbed her throat and smiled gently which only earned her a tight hug from a worried Iida.
"Don't scare me like that! I thought the league got you again." He said gently, not being a loud ass for once and she just smiled and hugged him back, shaking her head. "Good morning to you as well Masa." She moved away and looked up at him confused, knowing he loved his formalities. 'Breaking away from formalities? Why?' He just looked down at her, confused at the look she was giving him. "What? Am I not allowed to call you that?" He teased and she just blushed and looked away and heard him laugh. "Alright, I'm sorry but that was adorable." She just pouted but he was right, she was being adorable.
"Whatever but before my voice decides to shoot itself I want to say something. I love how caring, gentle, supportive and just overall an amazing friend." She cringed at the word friend before continuing even though she could feel she was only a few words, if she was lucky, before her voice gave out on her. "Iida..." She silently cursed as she realized her voice finally gave out and looked down and away at her failed attempt to tell him how she felt.
"It's alright. I get it." He walked closer to her, making her blush more as she saw how close he was getting. "Honestly, I'd need someone to help me if my mom died as well." Masa just flinched and Iida associated it to the fact that he mentioned her mom, not the fact that she just got friend zoned. He tried to make her feel better but she just pushed him away and walked off. He was standing there confused and sighed. 'I thought he was supposed to be the smart one in class!' Masa thought to herself angrily but she was also heartbroken and struggling to manage all the pain inside her. She just sighed and wrapped Aizawa's scarf around herself and tried to just lock herself up for a while but worked out while she had nothing better to do.