Swan Dive

Chapter 20: The Pain We Share

A/N: Yo! How's everyone holding up? Hope you're all staying safe out there. Day 4 of consecutive updates. :) So while hours at work have been cut, a bunch of my coworkers have suddenly gotten scared of Corona, so they're just not working. I may be able to pick up more hours because of this. ^^

So a Swan Dive update 2 days in a row~! Whooooo!! This chapter's extra long (over 6k words) to make up for the short chapter yesterday. Oof. Chapter 23 is not yet written, so expect Swan Dive updates to start slowing down. Viridian should be tomorrow's update.

I've decided to add in everyone's favorite Purple Boi!! Hope you like it~! This chapter sort of covers the 10 months before the entrance exam, so look forward to the exam on the next SD Update~! :D

We've also got a My Hero group chat on an app called Telegram, so if Quarantine has you bored enough, come join us. We chat all the time. just @SilvermistAnimeLover and I'll add you (make sure you let me know that you wanna join the mha chat, cause we've got a Hetalia one, too). Forewarning, the chat is now called 'The Cult of Eraserhead' at this time. idk why.

Also! I welcome fanart. If you've got some you wanna send in, email it to betweentwoworlds@italymail.com and if you don't want it to be put up on a chapter, then please say so in the e-mail. PLEASE put the subject of the e-mail as 'fanart' or something similar so I can find it in my 4k+ignored e-mails.

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Kayama Nemuri sighed as she stared at the ceiling of her bedroom. She had officially moved into the Yamazawa household, and as grateful as she was for Shouta and Izuku's safe return, she couldn't help the bitterness in her stomach. Why did Inko have to die? She knew it wasn't fair to hide away from Izuku, but every time she saw him, she say Inko.

They'd never even told the others that they'd started dating.

She felt the hot tears well up in her eyes and moved her arm to cover her eyes. Her heart constricted painfully as she remembered how the other woman's embrace had felt. She missed those warm, loving arms. That gentle smile. The sweet kisses that'd have her blushing like a schoolgirl.

She missed Inko.

They'd been planning on telling the others during the U.A. break. They were going to take a little vacation and... Even though it hadn't been long, Nemuri was going to look at rings.

Inko had been the one. Perhaps her only one. And now she was gone before she even had the chance to appreciate what they had... could have had.

She startled when she heard a small knock at her door. Quickly drying her tears, she tossed on a robe and opened it. "Izuku?" She questioned as the young boy shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"I..." He looked away, and flushed. "I wanted to know if you wanted to... to come visit mom with me?" Nemuri's voice caught in her throat as he looked up at her with Inko's eyes.

"Y-yeah." She cleared her throat. "Let me just toss something on, kay, kiddo?"

"Sure thing."

A few minutes and a quick note to Shouta and Hizashi later, and the two were out the door heading towards the graveyard where Inko rested.

The trip was quiet, the silence broken only by the early birds welcoming the rising sun. A layer of foggy mist surrounded them, adding to the serenity of the morning.

Nemuri must've zoned out, because next thing she knew, she was staring at the headstone. The name of her girlfriend carved into the cold, hard stone made her heart clench again.