MANIA - Katsuki Bakugou

━ unstable

chapter 20

PRESENT
JUNE 24th, 10:30 AM

Shimamura knelt down to the ground to pick up a stack of books. She blew upwards to try to push her white bangs out of her eyesight, but it was no use. She stood and walked over to the bookshelf, starting to put them away neatly.

The two bedroom apartment was a mess. The living room had piles of books on the ground stacked up in tens and an empty bookshelf where they used to sit. The coffee table was completely empty with all its previous placeholders littered on the floor surrounding it. The kitchen was a bit neater, thankfully. But the living room was a living nightmare for Shimamura and Shinsou.

Since the recent earthquakes, everything had just been shaken all over the place. And as two pro heroes of a prominent mainstream agency, neither resident had time to clean up. So, they sort of just left everything everywhere.

Shimamura at least made the attempt some time in the last few days to take the books off the bookshelf and pile them up on the ground so they'd stop falling. Smart.

The only reason they're cleaning up now of all times was because they have a guest coming.

"Mina said her plane just landed!" Shinsou shouted to Shimamura from the other room.

"Alright. Come help please," she responded, quieter than him.

Mina Ashido—Shimamura's closest female friend besides Sayuri Uchiha—was coming to stay with them for the weekend. Since Deku sent out the invitations for his mini reunion, Mina's decided to come in from out of town on late notice to attend. But again... the earthquakes have been such a pain.

All of the hotels were booked up because of the earthquakes and the wreckage, so Shimamura and Shinsou offered up their place for Mina to stay. She said of course.

"You think she'll mind sleeping on the couch?"

Shima turned to see Shinsou walking into the living room from the kitchen. He was holding a disinfecting wipe to dust off some of the tables. She turned back to the bookshelf and kept stacking.

"Are you kidding? She'll love it if anything," Shimamura joked.

Shinsou shrugged from behind her. He knelt down and started swiffering down one of the tables. He brushed a hand through his fluffy purple hair.

"I haven't seen Mina since we graduated," Shinsou casually mentioned. "Don't you think that's weird?"

"Not really. I saw her once last year but that was it. She's been working in Kyushu since we got out of high school. I think something about environmental safety and hazards. She's big on that sort of thing nowadays." Shimamura said without really thinking. Her mind was focused on the books.

Shinsou laughed. "I'm sure Tokoyami is responsible for that."

"Yeah, probably." She didn't get the joke.

Shinsou glanced up at her from her lack of response. She was acting so bland right now. He stared at her for a second then sighed, standing upright and putting the wet cloth down.

"How much do you remember from high school?" Shinsou asked, walking over and standing just behind her. She didn't seem to notice his presence.

Shimamura shrugged her shoulders as she stood on her tiptoes to put a book on the very top shelf. "Quite a bit. As much as anyone else I suppose."

"Personally," Shinsou added, "I can't remember a whole lot. I remember bits and pieces from when I joined the Hero Course. But not much. Kaminari sticks out in most of my memories, unfortunately... What I do remember is how you and Bakugou used to try to keep your relationship a secret when you first got together. But you couldn't keep a secret from me to save your life... you definitely tried though." He chuckled.