𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘

CHAPTER 41

They sat there. Nearly in darkness. On opposite sides of his bed. Bakugo's bed.

He sat with his back leaned against the headboard, his fingers laced so tightly together that they became numb from sitting there for so long. Kai sat with her back to the wall, wrapped in a small blanket as she stared at the bed covers, not knowing where to start.

She tried to distract herself by examining every corner, every detail of Bakugo's room. She tried to stall for as long as the two could bear. But it was unbearable from the start.

His room was organized, just like she remembered it. His desk was clear, only a laptop, a lamp, and a rolled-up All Might poster lay atop. His bookshelf was organized by size but barely followed a color pattern. His walls were so intricately decorated that anyone might've mistaken him for an aspiring designer. His dirty clothes, out of sight.

Who would've guessed? She thought as she fidgeted with the corner of the throw around her shoulders. Her hair was still wet, leaving a trace of her on the wall behind.

She didn't know how to begin. How could she? How do you tell someone the truth about a past people fear you have? You're a liar if it was true all along. She was a liar.

"Kai?"

She froze. Her eyes barely flickered upwards when he said her name aloud. How much courage did it take for him to say that?

She swallowed. How much courage will it take me?

She turned her head, her eyes lagging before meeting his dull, red stare. Bakugo had been watching her this entire time. His eyes never left her as he hoped she'd eventually turn to him and see that he was welcoming her; see he wasn't going to judge her, no matter what words filled the room.

She inhaled.
Exhaled.

"It's true. All of it."

"What is?"

"The rumors. The articles." She looked away from him, pulling the blanket tighter over her body as if it would save her, spare her from the truth that needed to be told. "I've been reading at the hospital since I don't remember much," she shrugged, shivering a little. "But reading some of those articles triggered some of the memories that I wanted to forget..." she bit the inside of her cheek.

Bakugo held his breath. He let his hands free themselves from each other and rested them in his lap. He didn't want to give away that he was nervous. Angry, too. He didn't want her to see that.

Kai took a shaky breath before letting the blanket's edge go, letting it fall from her shoulders. Without looking at him, she reached for her t-shirt sleeve and pulled it over her shoulder, giving him a better look at her arm. The scars that stained her skin began to glow as she activated her Quirk for the first time since her accident.

"I remember telling you that these were from my Quirk," her fingers began to glide down her arm, her brows slightly furrowing as if she were reacting to how they'd gotten there all over again. "I lied."

Bakugo swallowed. After hearing what his classmates had talked about at the Sports Festival and overhearing his parents in the living room, his fear was about to become a reality. It made his eyes blur with rage and his hands ball into fists. He wanted to block out what she was going to say next but he needed to hear it.

"Since the moment my Quirk developed, my parents saw more in me than I'll ever understand," Kai began, letting the scars dim and fade as she deactivated her Quirk. "A weapon. In their eyes, I was destined to be their handheld weapon that they could control." She grabbed the blanket again and pulled it over her bare skin. "But no weapon is perfect to start. It needs to be fixed and repaired, torn apart and put back together."