Chapter 81

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Kaede left the building through the roof, where the black layer was already slowly disappearing. Standing up there, she felt like she had not been able to breathe for ages, until she felt a cramp. Her lungs cramped and she couldn't breathe until she got down on her knees. Only now did she realise that she was starting to feel the pain in her wound again. She was not in her hero costume, but wore black army pants, her boots with the white cow spots, her top with a cow on it, which Mina also had, and her white sweatshirt jacket. In any case, she had worn them before. Her jacket was ruined from the blood and the bullet hole. At least it was more colourful now than before. She took a running start and confronted her feelings. She wanted to leave. She wanted to disappear and never reappear, so she took off and ran as far away as she could. It took her a while to feel her feelings again, she slowly realised. But she did not realise until too late that she did not really mean any of the words she had said to Katsuki. "Oh god." She froze. Her heart pounded as her mind raced. There was nothing she wanted more than him and she had told him he didn't love her? That his love wasn't enough for her? Shit, she had felt his love, she knew full well that was the only thing she wanted, and yet.... He was right. Without feelings, she wasn't herself. Feelings made her the person she was, even if it sucked. She had to throw up and spit blood more often on the way, so it took longer. She passed a TV with a news programme on. "A bank robbery was prevented by six students from UA High School." One of the hostages was shown being interviewed. "They are children, and yet they fought so great for us! UA must be imaginative!" "There were no casualties, the 10 attackers were apprehended and the UA once again made for a terrific public appearance." "The UA must be pretty cool, right?" Kaede jumped to the side too late. She wasn't at her best, still injured and exhausted, she couldn't do much while Dabi, Mr. Compress and Shigaraki himself faced her. "All for One wants your Quirk and All for One gets your Quirk."

...

Class 1A sat worriedly in the living room. Kaede only had 20 minutes until the curfew expired. "We should have called hours ago, we-" Izuku put a hand on Tenya's shoulder and pushed him back into the chair. "It's her decision when she comes and goes. She will come, trust me." "But it's just not her decision. We're all worried about her. You were in a fight and she-" "That's just how she deals with things." Mina looked up, her gaze steady. "That's the way it's always been for her, because she's always been alone. We have to teach her that she's not alone anymore, that she has us. We wait. We support her and if need I hypnotise her in her sleep so she finally understands that-" The door opened and a silence descended over the room as Kaede entered. She looked at the class, not knowing where to begin. "I'm sorry-" "Shut up!" She stumbled back again as half the class threw those words at her. "We were worried about you Kae." "Sorry." "Listen to me first, we don't want you to apologise. We want you to know that we accept it, but we don't tolerate it." Kaede looked at Mina in confusion. "If you want to leave, Okay. But we will try by all means to stop it, because you can talk to us. You're not alone." She nodded demurely as the class hugged her. Two people were missing. Hagakure and Bakugo. She still needed to have a word with both of them. "Recovery Girl said I had to sleep early, sorry." She went to Hagakure first, then Bakugo. She knocked on his room door but he didn't open, so she sighed and just went in. He was sitting on his bed, reading a book. She knew this book. "You said you never wanted to see me again." He watched every step she took. "Forget that. I wasn't myself, I'm sorry." She walked over to him and took the book from him, grinning as she sat on his lap. "But I already know how to show you how sorry I really am." She kissed him on the lips and closed her eyes. It was the first time she had enjoyed a kiss so much. She felt his hands on her hips until he turned her around and pressed her against the wall. Her heart raced as she wondered what she had done wrong. But Katsuki Bakugo was smirking. "Better that you came back, because I wouldn't have been able to get you out of my fucking head so easily, Troublegirl." She smiled against his lips. "That sounds great. I can show you what a troublegirl I am."

...

There was a knock at her door. "Come in." Hitoshi Shinsou stood at the door. "Can I come in?" She nodded. He entered and looked around. "Where's Bakugo?" Toga knew the moment Shinsou slumped his shoulders that the game was over. "Kaede would have answered me." Himiko threw the smoke grenade and sprinted past the boy into the hallway where more figures waited. She reached for the person whose shiluette was at the end of the corridor and held a knife to their throat. Then she waited until the teachers at the end of the corridor had cleared the smoke. "Himiko Toga you are finished, release Hagakure and tell us the whereabouts of Miharu." She smiled. "I'm going to leave now because if I don't show up again they will kill Kaede and if you don't let me out I will kill Hagakure." "I will shoot you in the head before you can move." Snipe raised his gun threateningly. "Then Kaede is lost, and Toru might be too if I'm quick enough. I'm leaving now." As she led Toru down the stairs, no one stopped her. She was glad Bakugo wasn't there, the hothead probably would have pounced on her without a second thought. "So many little heroes and you're all powerless." Himiko Toga disappeared.

"You didn't last long though. Were you such a bad actress?" Toga smiled at Twice. "My job was just to stall for time so we could get rid of all the clues. It wasn't my fault the animals smelled foreign scent on the jacket, you should have just given me the real thing." Toga jumped with jaunty steps to Kaede, who was hanging tied to a post. Her eyes were half closed but she was struggling to stay conscious. "Your life is so great Kaede! You have such great friends, it's been such fun. And Bakugo was the best. I would have liked Ochako or Izuku better, but that cinnamon flavour was good too." Kaede felt like throwing up when Toga licked her lips. "First of all, my life can't be that great or I wouldn't be here. And secondly, it's not like your cinnamon flavour was very worth it if you got caught afterwards." "Oh, what? You think Bakugo found me out? No sweetie, we had a lot of fun. That's what we found out when we were reading your mind, that it could be fun. But he didn't spot me. None of your friends noticed any difference. Funny, isn't it? Some animal sniffed you out!" Kaede turned pale. Dabi looked at her from the side and kicked an already broken rib. "Well Toga, she looks like a dead fish, now you've taken away the last of her confidence." Kaede clenched her teeth. "You have my fullest sympathy." "Not this again." Annoyed, Dabi turned away. "You are pitiful because-" "Screw the dose up, I don't want to listen to this lecture a fifth time!" Ever since she had fought the three villains, breaking ribs in the process, a broken thumb by trying to get out of the restraints, probably her nose, received heaps of bruises and a black eye, she had been consistently put on drugs that shut down her bodily functions. She couldn't use her Quirk, at least not in a controlled way. "You wouldn't believe how happy I'll be when she's gone." "I like her. Maybe we can be friends when she no longer has a Quirk. After what we've seen in her mind, she should be grateful to us, after all." "Well Himiko, I doubt that."

Kaede tried to concentrate before it was too late. However dangerous her Quirk was, however little she could control it and however much she wished to be rid of it, she could not leave it to the villains. Actually, it was a wonderful thought to be freed from what was causing her such agony, but she had to protect it to the end for the good of all. She did not concentrate on her feelings, but on her Quirk, because nothing mattered more. She didn't want to kill Toga, nor Dabi, nor Twice, for she felt them all, she felt they had been broken, as she was about to break, but she couldn't listen to her own morals when so many other lives hung on it. Therefore, she gave in to her Quirk. Chaos broke out.

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