G H O S T [Shota Aizawa x OC]

T W E N T Y - F I V E

Sumire's cheeks became bright red as Shota held her in a close embrace. The memories and emotions of what happened between them suddenly flooded her heart and mind. Her heart fluttered uncontrollably at the thought of his lips pressed against hers, completely dominating her mouth and making her melt beneath him.

He slowly released her and pulled away, hovering just above her nose with half-lidded eyes and lips parted expectantly. She glanced between his tired eyes and lips, wanting to lean in and return his dramatic kiss. But she also felt incredibly nervous.

What if it was just that one moment he was overwhelmed with desire? What if it was just that one moment and he'd dismissed it and moved on? That wasn't like him, was it?

However, before she could come to any conclusions, the door to her hospital room swung open again. Two nurses came in eagerly and began to check on her, measuring her pulse and prodding her, but also separating her and the man in the wake of their passionate encounter that had yet to be discussed, confirmed, or even acknowledged.

One nurse updated her on her condition, explaining that they wanted to watch over her for the next twenty-four hours to make sure she was physically healthy. Then they dropped the bomb that they couldn't find her Quirk Factor.

That's when it clicked that what had been missing was her quirk altogether. It had previously diminished into a tiny flame that she couldn't use as well as she once did, but now it was entirely absent. There was nothing to latch on to or tap into. Phantom had disappeared.

Shota asked for the nurses to leave so that he could describe the events of that night. He explained from when he started hearing growling and screeching and he had to break into her apartment and saw her all spooky and possessed. He then told her how he kept her at bay from destroying everything and everyone, and how Eri used her quirk to rewind Sumire's quirk to sever the tie between her and the being inside her. Then, he told her how she had been brought to the hospital and in a coma for two weeks, conveniently dismissing the portions that included him getting injured.

"But what happened to the faculty apartments? Did I not completely destroy them?" She asked once he finished his play-by-play.

"First of all, it wasn't you." He clarified sternly. "New faculty apartments went up just as fast as the first ones did. These ones have more layout and bedroom options. I have a two-bedroom now and Eri finally moved in."

The silver-haired woman looked at her hands and muttered, "I really should get on that to get the one I want."

"You don't have to worry about that." He addressed her worries. "Granted, you can always switch your lease if you want to, but I had the one-bedroom next to mine reserved for when you woke up."

She looked up at him with wide, charcoal eyes and gasped, "Shota..."

"What?" He seemed taken aback by her demeanor.

A bright smile stretched over her pale lips, and she was feeling elated that he had been thinking of her. "Thank you." She hummed. "I'm sure it'll be great."

He averted his gaze as a light pink hue dusted his cheeks. He scratched the back of his head shyly, then pulled his hair back and messily tied it up from the heat that came over his flesh.

She found it very attractive when he pulled his dark layers back like that. She tried to avoid staring, but she couldn't peel her gray eyes from loose waves that fell in front of his face out of the bun they were collected in.

But he caught her. He glanced at her from the corner of his reddened eye and mumbled again, "What?"

"Ah, nothing." She quickly looked away, a light blush on her cheeks that matched the one the man wore moments ago. She then saw his hands that were littered with small, scabbed scratches in pairs of fours. "What happened to your hands?"