I stared at my phone, reading Kaori's text for the hundredth time. The words hadn't changed:
"Family emergency. Won't be at school for a while. Don't worry about me."
That was it. Three days of silence broken by thirteen words.
The car hit a pothole, jolting me from my thoughts. Mom's driver - some guy whose name I kept forgetting - muttered an apology. I pocketed my phone and watched Tokyo drift by outside the window.
Security checkpoints had sprouted up like weeds around UA. The news was calling it an "enhanced protection initiative."
"Young master, we're approaching the final checkpoint."
I grunted in acknowledgment. The driver was new - the third this week. Mom kept rotating them, probably paranoid about infiltrators or something. This one had a lizard-like quirk, scales gleaming whenever we passed under streetlights.
The checkpoint guards took their time checking our credentials. One of them, a guy with metallic skin, did a full walk-around of the car. Another scanned us with some kind of detection quirk.
"Clear," Metallic Skin finally announced.
The gates opened with a mechanical whine. Heights Alliance loomed ahead, exactly as we'd left it. But now it felt different. Harder. Like someone had taken our home and turned it into a fortress.
"I can take your bags, young master-"
"I got it." I grabbed my duffel before he could reach for it. "Thanks for the ride."
The morning air hit me as I stepped out. A few other students were trickling in, most dropped off by parents or pros.
Kaminari spotted me from the entrance. "Yo! Memory Man!"
"Original as always, Pikachu."
He bounded over, grinning. "Dude, you missed it. They installed these crazy new security bots. Yaoyorozu says they can detect quirk signatures or something."
I followed him inside, half-listening as he rambled about the upgrades. The common room looked the same, at least.
"...and get this - they're putting in underground bunkers! Like, actual apocalypse-style-"
"Has anyone else checked in yet?" I cut him off.
"Oh, uh, most of Class A. Some of B." He counted on his fingers. "Kaori's still out though. Family thing, right?"
My grip tightened on my bag. "Yeah."
"Man, that timing though. Right after everything with USJ-"
"I'm gonna unpack."
I headed for the stairs before he could say more. My room was exactly as I'd left it - clean and organized. I dropped my bag and fell face-first onto the bed.
The ceiling fan spun lazily overhead. I'd spent three days trying to make sense of that night in the hospital. Every time I thought I understood, the pieces shifted. Like trying to solve a puzzle while someone kept changing the picture.
My phone buzzed. For a second, hope flared - but it was just Mom.
"Settled in? Driver says you were quiet."
I typed back: "Fine. Stop spying."
"It's called being thorough. Love you."
I didn't reply. The fan kept spinning. Outside, voices drifted up - more students arriving. Life trying to return to normal.
My hand drifted to my chest, where phantom pain still lingered. The doctors said I was lucky. That the damage could have been much worse. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw that villain's face. Felt that surge of power.
Saw Kaori's tears.
I pulled out my phone again, scrolling to our last real conversation. Three days of trying to talk about that night. Three days of her changing the subject or going silent. And now this - a family emergency that felt about as real as any excuse.
"What aren't you telling me?" I typed.
My thumb hovered over 'send.'
Delete.
"I miss you."
Delete.
"I love-"
Delete.
The ceiling fan kept spinning. Someone knocked on my door - probably Kaminari again. I ignored it.
The knocking turned to pounding. I rolled over, pressing my face deeper into the pillow.
"Open this fucking door, Nakamura!"
Katsumi. Of course.
"I know you're in there! I will blow this door off its hinges-"
"You'll pay for it," I called back.
"Then open it!"
"I'm sleeping."
"Bullshit!" Another bang. "You've got three seconds before-"
I yanked the door open. Katsumi stood there, fist raised mid-knock, hair wild like she'd run here. Her eyes locked onto my chest where the injury had been.
"Hi."
"Don't 'hi' me, asshole." Her voice cracked slightly. She cleared her throat. "One week of shitty texts and now you're hiding in your room?"
"I'm not hiding. I'm unpacking." I gestured at my untouched bag.
"Right." She shoved past me into the room. "Because that's totally what you're doing."
I closed the door, watching her pace. She kept glancing at me, then away, like she was checking I was still there.
"The doctors cleared me," I said. "I even went out with-"
"I know! Todo wouldn't shut up about your stupid wing challenge." She spun to face me. "That's not- I mean-" She ran a hand through her hair. "Fuck."
I leaned against the wall. "Eloquent as always."
"Shut up." She dropped onto my desk chair. "Just... shut up for a minute."
I did. She stared at her hands, opening and closing them.
"You saved me," she said finally.
"Yeah."
"That Nomu could have killed you."
"Yeah."
"And you just..." She made a frustrated sound. "Who does that? Who just throws themselves-"
"You would have."
"That's different!"
"How?"
"Because I-" She stood up, pacing again. "Because that's what heroes do! And you're not even- I mean-"
"Not a hero?"
"Yes! No! I don't know!" She grabbed my shirt, yanking me down to eye level. "You're not supposed to save me, dumbass! I'm supposed to save you!"
I blinked. "That's the stupidest thing you've ever said."
"What?"
"And you've said some really stupid things."
"I will murder you."
"No you won't." I pried her hands off my shirt. "You just admitted you want to save me."
She punched my shoulder. "I hate you."
"No you don't."
"Yes I do." Another punch. "I hate how you act like everything's fine. I hate how you make jokes when things are serious. I hate-" Her voice cracked again. "I hate that you almost died saving me."
"But I didn't."
"But you could have!" She grabbed my shirt again. "Do you know what that would have done to-" She stopped.
"To?"
"To everyone! The class, your mom, Todo - god, he would never shut up about his 'fallen brother' or whatever."
I waited. She glared up at me.
"What?"
"Nothing." I smiled. "Just waiting for the actual reason."
"There is no actual-" She saw my expression and growled. "Fine! You want to hear it? I was scared, okay? I saw you hit the ground and there was blood and you weren't moving and I thought-"
She pressed her forehead against my chest. Right where the injury had been.
"I thought you were dead," she whispered. "And my first thought wasn't about being a hero or saving anyone else. It was just... no. Not him. Please not him."
I wrapped my arms around her. She tensed, then slowly relaxed.
"I'm okay," I said softly.
"I know that, idiot."
"I know you know."
"Then why are you saying it?"
"Because you needed to hear it."
She mumbled something into my shirt.
"What was that?"
"I said thank you." She pulled back enough to glare at me. "And if you ever tell anyone I said that, I'll deny it and then kill you."
I stared down at her glaring face, suddenly aware of how close we were. Her hands were still bunched in my shirt, but the grip had softened. The light caught her eyes, turning them from their usual crimson to something deeper.
"You're doing that thing again," she muttered.
"What thing?"
"That annoying thing where you look at me like-" She stopped, her eyes widening slightly.
I raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"
"Like..." Her voice dropped to barely a whisper. "Like you're about to do something stupid."
"Probably am."
I kissed her.
For a heartbeat, she went completely still. Then her hands tightened in my shirt, pulling me closer as she kissed back. Hard. Like she was trying to prove a point.
Classic Katsumi.
My back hit the wall. I hadn't even realized we'd moved. One of her hands slid up to the back of my neck, fingers tangling in my hair. The other stayed fisted in my shirt, like she was afraid I'd try to escape.
As if I would.
We broke apart, both breathing heavily. Her face was flushed, hair even messier than before. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again.
"That was-"
"Yeah."
"We just-"
"Yeah."
She punched my shoulder. "Stop agreeing with me!"
"Sorry."
"And stop apologizing!"
"Sor- okay."
She groaned, dropping her forehead against my chest. "This is so fucked up."
"Why?"
"Because!" She looked up at me. "Because you're you and I'm me and we're- I mean- fuck!"
"Still eloquent."
She tried to pull away. I kept my arms around her waist.
"Let go," she growled.
"No."
"I will explode your face."
"No you won't."
"I hate you."
"You already said that." I touched my forehead to hers. "Right before you kissed me back."
"I did not kiss you back! You kissed me and I just... didn't stop you."
"Really? Because it felt like-"
She kissed me again, probably to shut me up. It worked.
This time was different. Slower. Her hands unclenched from my shirt, sliding up to cup my face. I pulled her closer, erasing the last bit of space between us.
Someone knocked on the door.
We jumped apart like we'd been shocked. Katsumi's hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to look less... whatever I looked like.
"Yo, Memory Man!" Kaminari's voice called through the door.
"Yeah!" My voice cracked. I cleared my throat. "Yeah, what's up?"
"Class meeting downstairs in ten. Yaomomo's orders."
"Got it."
Footsteps retreated. I looked at Katsumi. She was staring at the floor, face red.
"So..."
"Don't."
"We should probably-"
"I said don't!" She paced to the window, then back. "This didn't happen."
"Pretty sure it did."
"Well, it's not happening again!"
"Okay."
She spun to face me. "That's it? Just 'okay'?"
"What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know! Something! Anything!" She grabbed her hair in frustration. "You can't just kiss me and then act all... all..."
"All what?"
"All you!" She gestured at me wildly. "Standing there being all calm and- and- looking at me like that!"
"Like what?"
"Like you're not freaking out! Like this isn't completely insane!"
I stepped closer. She backed up until she hit my desk.
"Maybe," I said quietly, "I'm not freaking out because I've wanted to do that."
Her breath caught. "What?"
"You heard me."
"That's..." She swallowed. "That's not fair."
"Why not?"
"Because!" She pushed at my chest weakly. "Because we're friends and classmates and- and you almost died and now you're saying things and looking at me like that and I can't-"
I kissed her again. Gentle this time. Brief.
"Stop doing that," she whispered.
"Why?"
"Because..." Her hands fisted in my shirt again. "Because if you keep doing it, I might..."
"Might what?"
She met my eyes. "I might want you to never stop."
My heart did something complicated in my chest. Before I could respond, she shoved me back.
"We have a meeting." She straightened her shirt, not looking at me. "This conversation isn't over."
"Okay."
"And this-" She gestured between us. "This stays between us."
"Okay."
She reached for the door, then paused. "And Yoichi?"
"Yeah?"
She turned back, grabbed my collar, and pulled me down for one more kiss. Quick but fierce.
"If you die before we figure this out," she said against my lips, "I'll kill you myself."
Then she was gone, door clicking shut behind her. I touched my lips, still feeling the ghost of her kiss.
"Well," I said to the empty room. "Shit."
The ceiling fan kept spinning. Outside, voices called up and down the halls - other students heading to the meeting. I checked my reflection in the window, tried to fix my hair.
My phone buzzed. For a moment, I thought it might be Kaori again. But no - Todo.
"Brother! I sense a disturbance in your aura! Has something momentous occurred?"
I stared at the message, then at the door where Katsumi had disappeared.
"No idea what you're talking about," I typed back.
"The bonds of fate cannot be denied! I shall discover the truth!"
I pocketed my phone without responding. Todo's weird sixth sense for drama was the last thing I needed right now.
The common room was already full when I got downstairs. Katsumi stood near the back, arms crossed, deliberately not looking at me. Her lips were still slightly swollen.
Deal with that later.
Yaoyorozu stood at the front, clipboard in hand. She cleared her throat for attention.
"Thank you all for coming. In light of recent events, the faculty has implemented new security protocols..."
I tried to focus. Really, I did. But my mind kept drifting to the weight of Katsumi in my arms, the taste of her lips, the way she'd looked at me before that last kiss...
"Nakamura?"
I blinked. Everyone was staring at me.
"Sorry, what?"
Yaoyorozu sighed. "I asked if you'd be willing to help demonstrate the new emergency response procedures?"
"Oh. Yeah, sure."
I moved to the front, very aware of Katsumi's eyes on me. As Yaoyorozu explained the procedures, I caught glimpses of her in my peripheral vision. She'd moved closer to the front, but still wouldn't look directly at me.
The meeting dragged on. New protocols, buddy systems, emergency channels. Important stuff, probably. I nodded in all the right places, demonstrated what I was supposed to.
Finally, Yaoyorozu wrapped up. "Any questions?"
Silence.
"Alright then. Remember, these measures are for our safety. Please take them seriously."
The crowd began to disperse. I headed for the stairs, but a voice stopped me.
"Oi, Memory Man."
I turned. Katsumi stood there, hands smoking slightly.
"Yeah?"
"Training room. Ten minutes." Her eyes met mine for the first time since she'd left my room. "Don't be late."
She stormed off before I could respond. Several people were staring.
I took the stairs two at a time. Whatever was about to happen in the training room, I needed to change first.
My phone buzzed again as I pulled on my gym clothes. Todo again:
"The stars align! Venus rises in the house of Mars! Love blooms like-"
I turned off my phone.
The training room was empty when I arrived. I started stretching, trying to calm my nerves. The door slammed open right on time.
Katsumi stood there in her gym clothes, hair pulled back, looking ready for war.
"So," I said. "We're fighting about this?"
"Shut up and get ready."
"We could just talk-"
She launched herself at me, hands sparking. I easily dodged the first explosion.
"Okay then." I settled into a fighting stance. "Fighting it is."
The next minutes were a blur of explosions and near-misses. She was going all out, but something was off. Her timing was wrong. Attacks that should have connected with my barrier went wide.
She was distracted.
I caught her wrist as she went for another explosion, using her momentum to spin her around. She broke free, but I could see the frustration building.
"Stand still and let me hit you!"
"Not really my style."
"Everything's a joke to you!" She unleashed a series of rapid explosions. "Even this!"
I wove through them, closing the distance. "This isn't about the kiss anymore, is it?"
"Shut up!" She aimed for my head. I ducked under it.
"It's about USJ."
"I said shut up!"
Her next explosion went wild, leaving her open. I stepped inside her guard, caught both her wrists.
"Let go!"
"Not until you talk to me."
"There's nothing to talk about!"
"Really?" I held her gaze. "So you're not mad that I almost died?"
"Of course I'm mad!" She struggled against my grip. "You jumped in front of that thing without thinking! Without a plan! Just like-" She choked on the words.
"Just like what?"
"Just like you did upstairs!" She stopped fighting, but her hands were trembling. "You just... do things! Big, stupid, life-changing things! And you don't think about what happens after!"
I loosened my grip but didn't let go. "I think about it."
"No you don't! You act on instinct and damn the consequences and I-" Her voice cracked. "I can't lose you, okay? Not to a villain, not to your own stupidity, and definitely not to... to..."
"To feelings?"
She slumped against me, forehead pressing into my chest.
"I don't do feelings," she muttered. "Feelings are messy and complicated and they make you weak and-"
"And?"
She looked up at me. "And they make me want to kiss you again."
So I did.