Chapter 41: The Aftermath

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I laid in Shoto's arms and ignored the television while he told me about his latest lesson.

"Well, I'm glad you're starting to work through things with your dad. But I still can't believe you tried to tell your life story to a bunch of five-year olds," I said with a chuckle.

"I thought if they knew who I was, maybe we could better understand each other. Bakugo just yelled at them the whole time so I was trying to stay calm."

"I bet it was a sight to behold, seeing the two of you work together. I know you don't really get along on a personal level, but I bet you work well together."

"Maybe...although I'm not inclined to work with him at all after what happened today."

I turned to face him and realized how closely our bodies were pressed together. I leaned closer and kissed him. He kept me from pulling away, his hand on the nape of my neck, and deepened the kiss. Finally on the same page, we both parted our lips, tongues entwining. When a soft moan escaped me, Shoto pulled away, breathing heavily.

"I think Bakugo may deserve a thank you," I said, burying my face in his chest.

We held each other, catching our breath for a few minutes, before the sound of my phone ringing interrupted my peace. Very few people ever called me so, assuming it was important, I scrambled over to my desk to grab my phone. I froze upon seeing the screen and dropped onto my bed. I felt Sho's arms wrap around my waist as he, too, looked at the incoming call.

Father.

***

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her onto my lap as I glanced at the screen. Judging by her reaction, this wasn't a call she was looking forward to taking. She hadn't said much about her family lately and I assumed that meant everything was fine. But it didn't matter what her father had to say, I was always on her side and I would be here to support her. I squeezed her a little tighter and rested my chin on her shoulder just as she brought the phone to her ear.

She took a deep breath and sat straight before answering. "Hello, Father."

"Kana."

The silence that followed her name had me squirming. Why was it so uncomfortable just waiting for what he was going to say next? Was it something good? Something bad? My dad just blurted out whatever was on his mind. He criticized when necessary and praised when something was to his liking. This silence was giving me anxiety, yet Kana seemed to be calm. Even encased in my arms, she sat upright, unmoving, simply waiting for the voice on the other end to speak.

"I saw an interesting video the other day."

Again, silence. This felt like a form of psychological warfare, but one Kana must have been well-versed in because she didn't move and she didn't speak. She waited. I bit my lip to keep myself calm and to remind myself that, right now, I was a passive observer. I found myself holding my breath, instinctively knowing that distracting her in any way was a bad idea. I shouldn't do anything to break Kana out of the mindset she was currently in. 

"Because you've been sending me regular progress reports, I was aware you were working with Edgeshot. I was planning to reward you for making a connection with a top 5 hero. But then I saw a video of Edgeshot's newest sidekick."

Another long silence. Seriously, what was this? He was clearly unhappy about the video of Kana. Why didn't he just come out and say what his problem was instead of subjecting her to this tension-filled silence?

"Imagine my surprise when I couldn't see my daughter anywhere. But not just me. No one knew who you were. No hero name, nothing about you being a UA student, nothing. And since you were wearing a hood and a mask, even your face remains a mystery."

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