|| Sunlight || k. bakugou x oc || mha x oc ||

. Chapter Twenty-One .

Kai POV

A maniacal laugh bubbles from my lips, "Or do you want me to answer that as well? You won't shoot me because I'm your boss's daughter. You were sent by my real father to seek the reason why I joined UA. So let's cut to the chase, shall we? You will go back to my bastard father, and you will tell him that I've joined UA for the sole purpose of ripping him and my mother apart. I will grow stronger, I will get a hero license, and I swear I will put them six feet under if I have to search every city in Japan. After that, I don't care what happens to me. I'm sure he'll be relieved to know that I don't actually want to be a hero, I just need a way to kill him and my mother."

My fake smile drops suddenly, "Be sure to tell him that I refuse to be a villain, I'm not the plant in UA High School. Oh...and don't forget to tell him that I will follow him and my mother to the depths of hell to get my revenge."

"You—" The man in front of me breathes shakily, his aura completely overwhelmed by fear. He did a good job concealing the deceptive intent. But my, was he easy to break.

"Get out of my sight. If I see you again, I'll send your ass to the actual police." I scoff and wave him off. He scrambles out of the apartment with a pathetic whimper. Coward.

The moment he leaves, I collapse to my knees. My breath comes ragged through gritted teeth, my fists clenched with poorly concealed rage.

How dare They try to invade my own space?

I'd gone to such lengths to move on, but their lingering presence is always there. They're there in every carefully trained movement I fight with, in every nightmare I experience, and in—simply put—within myself. In my voice, my strength...my cruelty.

So long I'd pushed myself away from them, tried everything to forget them. But my mind stubbornly grasps my memories of them with desperate claws. I want to push them away and run toward them at the same time.

Once again, I hear Kurogiri's words: "Of course they're worried, they're your parents, they love you."

So then why...

Why did they make me hate them?

Bakugou POV

For some indescribable reason, I'm distracted today. I sit at my desk, waiting for class to start. Who's even going to teach class? I arrived here earlier than usual. I find myself glancing at the door every time it opens. My classmates can only talk about the stupid attack. The door swings open again, I glance over but it's only the shitty nerd Deku.

Stop looking at the damn door, Katsuki, it's not like anyone interesting is going to arrive.

Moments later, Kai enters the classroom with Sora by her side. She nervously chews on her lip, her eyes ringed by dark circles. Something about her is...off. A handful of others in our class eagerly approach her, drawn in by the cute animal at her side. Some start asking questions while others' attention is only turned to the dog.

"Hey idiots!" I raise my voice, "Can you not read the vest? The dog is working right now, which means you can't touch him. Give both of them some damn space!" The morons crowding around her step back, mumbling stupid apologies.

"It's okay." She gives them a strained smile, "Now you guys know. I promise I'll let you guys pet him during lunch, when he's not working." As she walks to her desk, her posture seems to droop.

What the hell happened to her?

By the time she settles into her seat behind me, everyone has gone back to talking about the attack. I consider asking her about what happened that turned her expression so grim, but I bite my tongue. It's not like we're friends or anything...it's none of my damn business.

Kai POV

I broke another promise. I lied again. I didn't mean to. It's a stupid thing to lie about too. I don't go to lunch like I promised. I don't let my classmates get the opportunity to pet Sora like I promised. Instead, I grab Todoroki by the arm after the bell rings, "Hey, can I talk to you really quickly?"

The boy pauses, but quietly shoulders his bag and murmurs out a polite, "Sure." While the slow-moving mass of students surges towards the lunch room, I lead Todoroki in the opposite direction. Sora happily pants in front of me, reassuring me that I'm not leading the poor boy straight into a wall. Eventually, I duck with him into the staircase used for emergencies. Our footsteps echo in the stairwell, but no one is here.

"What is this about?" Todoroki mumbles, working hard to hide the alarm in his voice. I search for the right words, racking my brain for the easiest way to string together what I want to say without it being awkward. Todoroki speaks up again, "This isn't about the USJ Attack, is it? Don't tell me..."

Dread fills me, a chill running down my spine.

"...You were the information leak to the villains?"

"What?" I cough, nearly laughing, "No. Nothing like that, Todoroki. I just—" I compose myself, forcing my voice to take a calm demeanor, "Has your father ever mentioned...me?"

"Bold of you to assume I converse with my father." The boy mutters, "Why do you ask? Have you met him on the street or something? You're not a fan or anything right?"

I chuckle, "No. It's because well...I'm his adopted daughter. It's a long story, but to keep things short, I live alone in an apartment paid for by the hero Endeavor because he is my legal guardian. I just—I felt like I should tell you, since technically—legally, that would make us..."

"Siblings." Todoroki finishes quietly. I can't quite read his aura, there's so much happening all at once. Rage directed at his father, delight about a new found connection, sympathy for my living situation, confusion about everything.

"I know we're not siblings by blood, and I don't expect you to start acting like we're family or anything like that. I just wanted you to find out from me. Not from some random police officer or some gossip. And definitely not from your bastard father, though it seems I was worried about nothing. Since you had no idea I even associated with your father at all."

Rage bubbles up, taking over Todoroki's aura. He seems to speak through gritted teeth, "He didn't even tell me. We're in the same class, I've mentioned you at the dinner table—he never even mentioned you. How could he—?"

"That doesn't matter, Todoroki." I say in a poor attempt to cheer him up, "I'm pleased with my situation. I live comfortably thanks to your father, he gets respect from the press for being charitable towards a poor, orphaned child. It's transactional, and I am perfectly fine with that."

"Did you take the entrance exam? For UA?" The boy mumbles, my words of comfort falling on deaf ears.

"What—of course I did? I'm here aren't I?"

"I mean the regular exam. The bastard didn't even let you take the recommendation exam?"

I shake my head, "He well...he said he didn't want me to get in the way of—of you." I speak the end of that statement barely above a whisper, suddenly understanding the boy's anger. The unrelenting grief and rage that swirls constantly through him. Even without my sight, I can tell he's fuming—shaking with anger.

He grabs my wrist, pulling me closer to him and speaking in a ragged voice, "H-how—how long have you legally been Endeavor's adopted child? How long has he hidden the truth from me?"

I purse my lips, "About four years." The red hot aura grows hotter in front of me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't—" The boy scoffs, "I didn't even know."

"It's okay Todoroki, really."

"Shoto. Please. Just Shoto. I hate hearing his name."

I smile, "Shoto. Your father may have neglected me, but he took me in when no one else wanted me. I'm eternally grateful for that." The boy doesn't respond, falling into a dark pit that I know all too well. A pit of memories, of emotions too long suppressed. My smile turns into a mischievous smirk, "Say...what if we played a little prank on each other? You know, just to mess with the guy a little bit."

Shoto pauses, "What do you have in mind?"