"Hey, we girls just had a great idea! How about we explore each other's rooms and rate the best one out of all of them?"
For a moment, the boys were stunned. Then, they quickly nodded in agreement, showing their enthusiasm for the suggestion.
"Great! Let's start!"
"Wait—where's Asui-chan?"
"Huh? Isn't she in her room? Where did she go?"
"Kurokai's room is locked too!"
"Are the two of them missing?"
"What about Bakugo?—Oh, never mind, he's sleeping in his room…"
"Hey! It's not the time for that! We need to find them!"
While the students of Class 1-A began searching the dorms, Kurokai had already made his way to the back of the building. There, he found Asui sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees.
With his usual playful grin, he approached her, stopping just in front of her. Tilting his head to look down at her lowered one, he spoke in his teasing tone.
"From Earth to Froggo-chan! From Earth to Froggo-chan! Can you hear me? I came just like you asked—"
*Sniff*
Kurokai's grin froze.
*Sniff*
The sound caught him off guard. He looked down at her trembling frame, confusion creeping into his mind.
"She's… crying? Why?"
It was so unexpected that he couldn't process it for a moment. He crouched down, poked her head gently, and asked directly.
"Froggo, are you crying?"
*Sniff*
The sound grew louder.
"Hey, hey, what's wrong? You can tell me—"
*Sniff*Sniff*
"Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you? I can use heal—"
*Sniff*Sniff*Sniff*
"...."
*Sniff*Sniff*
"Oh, it decreased."
*Sniff*Sniff*Sniff*
His eye twitched as the sound continued. Scratching his head, he thought about what to do but came up empty. Then a memory from his past life surfaced—something he once heard:
If you can't beat them, join them.
So, he did just that.
*SNIFF*
Asui froze.
*SNIFF*
Her tear-streaked face tilted upward, looking to the side where Kurokai was now seated, mimicking her posture.
*SNIFF*
She blinked in stunned silence, her tears momentarily forgotten.
*SNIFF*
The exaggerated sound and his dramatic pose quickly turned her confusion into annoyance.
"SNIFF!"
Before she realized it, her tongue lashed out and smacked him on the head.
"Ow!"
Kurokai yelped, rubbing the back of his head. He turned to her with a pout.
"Why did you hit me, Froggo?"
Startled by how close he suddenly brought his face, Asui stammered, trying to come up with an excuse.
"I-I… my tongue slipped!"
"Your tongue… slipped?"
He gave her a weird look.
"Yes! I mean, no! Wait, that's not—!"
Asui's eyes darted around in frustration as her brain scrambled for a coherent response. Kurokai blinked at her, then reached out and patted her head gently.
"Alright, calm down."
She flinched but didn't pull away, her gaze dropping to the ground.
After a moment, he leaned back against the wall, staring at the night sky. Neither of them spoke, the only sound being the occasional whisper of the wind.
Just when Kurokai was about to leave, her small voice broke the silence.
"I told them before…"
His ears perked up as she continued.
"Sometimes I can't help but say everything that comes to mind…"
She was talking about Midoriya, Momo, Kirishima, and Todoroki.
"But there are times when I don't know what to say…"
Her voice cracked slightly.
"I told them… that breaking the rules was the act of villains."
Kurokai remained quiet, listening intently.
"I said some painful things…"
Tears began to fall again, sliding down her cheeks.
"But even so, they all went.....When I saw it on TV and the next morning…....I was shocked."
Her hands trembled.
"I thought I'd stopped them. But then even you went with them….....and it made me feel so… .....sad."
Finally, she looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with tears.
"I don't think I can have fun and talk with everyone again…....and it made me very sad."
Their eyes locked. She looked at him, her shaking eyes filled with unspoken expectation.
In response, Kurokai replied bluntly.
"I mean, it's not that serious."
Silence enveloped the place.
Her eyes dimmed.
Seeing her reaction, Kurokai chuckled softly, patting her shoulder before giving her an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
"Just chill."
Asui blinked, feeling confused.
"Chill?" she repeated in a doubtful voice.
"Yes," Kurokai said, leaning back casually against the wall, completely unbothered.
"You're overthinking it, Froggo. Stuff happens. People fight, people mess up, but you move on. That's just life."
Her lips parted, but no words came out. She stared at him, a mixture of frustration and confusion building in her chest.
This was not the answer she wanted to hear.
Especially from him.
"You don't get it, It's not just 'stuff', I hurt them, Kurokai. I said things I can't take back. And then… they went anyway. What if they hate me now?"
She said in a low voice.
Kurokai tilted his head, watching her for a moment before speaking.
"Do you hate them?"
"What?"
"Do you hate them?" he repeated.
"For going against what you said? For putting themselves in danger?"
Asui hesitated. "No, of course not. I was worried about them, that's all—"
"Then why do you think they'd hate you?"
The question hung in the air, simple yet heavy.
"People don't just stop caring about each other because of one fight," Kurokai continued, his voice softer now. "You're their friend, Asui. They know you were trying to look out for them, even if it didn't come out the way you wanted. They don't hate you."
'They're all simple-minded after all.', He thought in his mind.
Asui's gaze dropped to her hands, her fingers tightening around her knees.
"But… what if they don't see it that way? What if—"
"Then talk to them."
Her head snapped up.
"It's that simple," Kurokai said, shrugging. "If you're feeling this bad about it, just say what's on your mind. You're good at that, right? Being honest?"
She stared at him, the weight in her chest lifting slightly, though doubt still lingered. "You make it sound so easy."
"It's better than sitting here crying about it."
She raised her hands in annoyance. "You're really bad at comforting people, you know that?"
He grinned, remaining silent.
Asui wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"By the way my counselling fees is pretty high so..."
She rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the faint smile from tugging at her lips.
For a moment, they sat in silence again, the cool night air wrapping around them.
"Kurokai?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
He glanced at her.
Before either of them could say more, the distant sound of voices reached their ears.
"Asui-chan! Kurokai! Where are you?!"
Asui stiffened, quickly wiping at her face again. "The others are looking for us."
Kurokai stood up, brushing off his pants before offering her a hand. "Guess we should head back before they think we got kidnapped or something."
She took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.
As they started walking back toward the dorms, Asui glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
"You know, I saw you jumping on Mount Lady's chest....."
Kurokai froze.
She stared straight at him.
Barely controlling his lips from twitching, he said in a righteous tone.
"It was necessary to heal her."
"So you did it to heal her?"
"Yes!"
"You weren't taking advantage of the situation?"
"Of course I wasn't! My heart is pure!"
Asui narrowed her eyes.
"Then why were you moving your arms and legs as if making snowmen on her chest?"
"....."
Looking at his ambiguous expression, Asui silently opened her mouth and yanked her tongue on his head.
"It hurts!"
----
Villains Base.
"Why did you summon me?"
Mechamaru looked at Mha's ex-strongest villain, AFO who was back inside his life support device in silence.
"Mechamaru...."
It was a serious voice, different from his usual one.
"How about becoming my successor?"
Filled with hidden intentions.