blackbox | kirishima eijirou

33 | sunlit smiles

"Alright, everyone! Gather around the table!"

Her head snapped at the sound of the manager's voice.

"Haru?! Where the hell were you?"

"I was busy!" She replied with a smile hanging off her lips, making Sakura narrow her eyes at her when her response was the same as Eijirou. "Come on, guys! We wouldn't want to waste the party here!"

"As if I had a goddamn choice," she heard Bakugou grumble under his breath.

"At least you showed up," Eijirou nudged him with a grin, pestering the ash-blond.

"You owe me a damn match, Kirishima." And then the hot head walked off to the table, grabbing a chip before leaning against the wall.

A small chuckle burst out of her lips, causing the redhead to face her. "What does that mean?"

"Uh.. training stuff..?" He smiled sheepishly.

"Is everyone here?"

Sakura glanced around to see Haru by the table while the rest were huddled around. Eijirou's friends were beside hers, and to be frank, it was an uncommon sight yet fresh. Yui was chatting away with Ashido casually, Riku was talking to Sero and Kaminari while Sora.. well, she thinks he pretty much pissed off Bakugou and knowing him since the beginning of the year, his charisma won't shut the hell up. Hence, Bakugou was being held back by an annoyed Raven as his hands flailed aggressively in front of Sora's gloating face.

An unusual crossover indeed.

"Pretty sure you guys know I closed the café today for my beloved barista right here," Sakura glanced at Haru.

Well, this is awkward. She thinks as she only smiled at Haru in gratitude.

"Thanks to Yuki Sakura, my life running a coffee shop is a success—not to forget Akari and Reo," she motioned to the other two colleagues of hers. "I gotta admit, she's the most talented artist in lattes and the chalk art you see on the walls here. There were days when I noticed she's having a hard time but of course, knowing her, she'd continue to work hard no matter what happens. That takes a lot of courage for a teenager at her age to get through this and I'm really, really grateful that she still stayed. She's a hardworking and passionate person no matter where she is and that's why I'm promoting her to be my assistant manager."

As soon as the last two words left her lips, Sakura's lips parted in shock as her mind went blank at the moment.

Small cheers and claps filled the café, creating a new ambience that replaces the coffee-scented air with a fragrance of rapture. Everyone had a smile on their faces—except for Bakugou of course—and it only made her glance at Haru in a surprised look.

"H-Haru-san, a-are you serious?" Sakura managed to utter the words when she felt them struggling to come out, too overwhelmed at the announcement.

Haru strode towards her with her arms wide open. "Why would I lie about this? And it's Haru, not Haru-san!"

As soon as the young adult wrapped her arms around her, tears of ecstasy glossed down her cheeks, wrapping her arms around her in return. When she lifted her gaze, Akari started walking towards the two with a grin on her lips, joining them as well, followed by Reo.

A warmth of contentment seeped through the blue girl's heart, and at this point, she couldn't describe what she was feeling at the moment. But she knows she would tell herself she will never forget this moment.

Her mind was immediately filled with flashes of agony that felt like hours as she sees herself lying on the bed with tears dampening the pillow, and the battles she had to fight on her own against the people who lived under the same roof as her.