Chapter Text
Kirishima struggled to pay attention in class as Aizawa droned on. He slouched back in his chair, his fingers pressing on his temples. Normally he could concentrate somewhat during class, but the last few days have been bothersome. His gaze drifted away from the board where his teacher lectured, to the empty seat ahead of him to the right. Mina Ashido’s absence bothered him a lot more than it used to. His eyebrows tilted in a sorrowful expression as he couldn't help but worry about her. Ever since the raid on the Yakuza and his brush with death while fighting alongside Fatgum, the two UA students had grown a lot closer. After all, she visited him the most in the hospital after the raid. He leaned forward against his desk, his head propped up by his palm as he recalled their interactions during his recovery.
Kirishima’s entire upper body was wrapped up in bandages. The fight with Rappa did a lot of damage to his skin and muscle tissue. Fortunately, the minimal first aid he got from Fatgum after the altercation actually helped stabilize his condition and progress his recovery. By the time visitors were allowed into his hospital room, he was well on the way to good health and could speak and move his head fine, despite the rest of his body’s limited mobility. When his class visited him, Eijirou greeted them with a welcoming smile. Some were either shocked, sorry for him, or happy to see their classmate in high spirits.
Ashido gasped when she first saw her friend in such a sorry state in the hospital bed. Her hands covered her mouth and tear droplets pooled at the edges of her eyes. It was then that Kirishima realized he was probably quite a sight to see; his arms were still in casts, his torso was still sparsely bandaged, and the deep cuts on his face had slightly bloodied gauze patches over them. To assure her that he was fine, he grinned at her again, calming her down only slightly.
Over the days of his recovery, some of his classmates visited less and less, some coming along on other days. However, Mina came everyday, no matter what. Their afternoons were often filled with her feeding him while she caught Kirishima up with events going on at school. “What else happened?” Eijirou asked during one such session.
“Let's see,” Mina pondered as she propped a finger to her cheek, “Oh! Tsuyu slapped the hell out of Mineta yesterday!”
Kirishima snickered. “Harder than usual?” He asked.
“Oh yeah,” Mina laughed.
Over her visits, the two grew much closer, talking to each other much more and generally enjoying each other's company. Kirishima would be lying if he said he hadn't developed feelings for the pink girl.
Suddenly, his teacher’s voice pulled Kirishima out of his reverie. “Kirishima,” Aizawa snapped, “Please save the daydreaming for after class.”
After the brief humiliation, Kirishima paid his attention towards the lesson for the rest of the class time.
Towards the end of the last lesson, Eijirou’s phone vibrated. Pulling it out, he noticed he had a message. His eyes widened when he read who it was from: Mina Ashido. “Hey buddy!” It read, “I'm sick as hell :(”
Attached was a photo of Mina in pajama pants and a t-shirt with "Pinky" in cursive writing on it, sitting cross-legged in front of her mirror. Tuffs of her hair around her face were tied up in small bunches. Her nose was red and her cheeks were flushed and, although it was hard to tell because of her black scleras, her eyes seemed a little irritated.
Eijirou blushed a little as he started to reply. Before he could, however, she sent another message. “I wish someone could explain the lesson to me!”
His jaw dropped a little as he read the text. He was looking for a good reason to see her, and here it was. He smiled as he typed his message back. “Got it :)”
Right as he sent it, the bell rang, signifying the end of the school day. As his class got up to leave, he stayed in his desk, looking at Mina’s picture. Even sick and tired, she still looks cute, he thought. Suddenly, Kaminari patted him on his shoulder. “Hey Kirishima!” He said loudly, “Come grab a bite with us!”
Kirishima hurriedly stuffed his phone back into his pocket. “Oh! Uh, s-sorry, can't,” he stammered, “I gotta go do something!”
He got up, slung his bag over his shoulder, and quickly headed out of the classroom, leaving his confused friends behind. As he left the UA main building and started walking to the dorms, he mentally scolded himself on his awkward behavior. He could've just said he was gonna give Mina his notes. He didn't have to be so ambiguous or lie or anything, that probably just made his friends suspicious. As he tried to get over it, he noticed the beautiful weather outside. It was bright and sunny, with a relaxing breeze flowing with the air. Shame she's sick, he thought, she would love to be outside right now.
He eventually made it to the dormitory building. A couple other classmates made it there before him, but for the most part, the common area was pretty empty, at least for now. Befor anyone could distract him, he hurriedly went up the elevator to Ashido’s room. Once he found it, he rapped his knuckles a few times on its door. “Come in!” A distinctly cheery voice from inside the room shouted.
Kirishima opened her door to find an unusual, but fitting, sight in front of him: Mina was wearing the same outfit as in the picture, lying on her back on her bed, her legs propped up against the wall, her head dangling upside down off the side. She eyed him as he approached her and smiled ear to ear. “Hey Mina,” Kirishima said casually as he walked in.
“Hi! You came-” Mina replied brightly before being cut off by her own squeak of a sneeze.
Cute, Eijirou thought as she wiped her nose with a tissue and tossed it in the bin next to her. “Yeah, you visited me a lot in the hospital. Had to return the favor now that you're sick,” Kirishima said with a smile.
Mina’s face fell for a second before smiling again. “Well come on! Sit down,” Mina said happily as she quickly patted a spot next to her on the bed, “Oh, but uh, not too close. Don't want ya to get sick ‘cause of me.”
Kirishima set his stuff down and did as he was told, lying on his back with his hands behind his head. Mina sat up cross-legged and looked at him expectantly. He couldn't help but be a little nervous, being in a girl's room. On her bed, no less…
He quickly shook his head as if to get any tempting thoughts out.
“So…” Mina broke the silence with, “What's up?”
Eijirou glanced at her. “You tell me,” he replied, “You're looking pretty rough.”
“Gee thanks,” Mina giggled in response, “As much as I'd like to just talk with you, I was still serious about you explaining the lesson to me.”
He looked at her as she said that, watching her eyelashes flutter and her lips move, and only realized he was staring when she stopped talking. “Oh yeah, uh,” he stuttered as he sat up to grab his bag.
He pulled out his notebook and flipped a few pages to where the class lectures started for the day. His notes weren't the greatest, but they were at least detailed enough for him to give Ashido a basic explanation. Their study session was littered with quick explanations, a few more notes, and a lot more cute sneezes from Mina. After about an hour and a half, they were beat, and resorted to just chatting casually as Kirishima talked about some funny moments from the school day. “Oh man,” Kirishima said with a shark-toothed grin, “during lunch, Bakugo took Midoriya’s bread, but then Iida went off on a huge lecture about classmate brotherhood and all that. Bakugo got pissed, then next thing you know, Aizawa has them both wrapped up and separated…” Kirishima trailed off as the two started laughing about the whole situation. Mina realized that she couldn't help but notice his muscles a little more as he laughed with her, and she found herself stealing more gazes as she ran a hand through her messy hair.
As they calmed down, a restful silence fell over them. They sat next to each other on her bed, both of their backs against the wall. Casually, Mina leaned her head on Eijirou’s shoulder. He instantly tensed up, only a little panicked, but loosened more as Ashido started talking. “You know, Ei,” she spoke softly, “Earlier when you showed up, you seemed so casual. All happy. It was nice seeing you like that, and it actually surprised me when you mentioned your time in the hospital. That was a really dark time.”
Kirishima turned his head a little towards her. He noticed she wasn't smiling brightly anymore, and the tone of her voice had taken a sadder turn. He listened closely as she continued talking. “When I first saw you in the hospital bed…” she paused, taking a second to compose herself, “I was shocked. Scared for you. Even moreso, later, when I found out you took such a devastating hit while defending a pro. But most of all, I felt… guilty.”
Kirishima’s eyes widened as she told him all of her emotions in the moment. He wanted to say something, but he let her speak. “At the beginning of the school year, when I found out you made it into UA and saw your new look and everything, I teased you and challenged you to truly find yourself, deep down, and to let me know when you did. I was happy for you after all, especially after seeing how much you trained to improve yourself,” she hiccupped a little as she began tearing up, trying to stop the floodgates from opening, “But I never thought it would lead to you getting hurt. I never knew you were gonna push yourself that hard, and I'm so sorry for pressuring you into a position like that. It's my fault you were in that hospital bed like that, and that's why it hit me so hard. That, and--”
Kirishima stopped her right then. He turned his whole body to her and took both of her hands into his, looking into her teary eyes. “Listen to me Mina,” he said stoically, “It’s not your fault. It was never your fault. So don't apologize to me. You didn't pressure me, you didn't force me or guilt trip me or anything.”
Mina looked up at him, her mouth slightly open as tears trailed down her cheeks. Kirishima continued. “Mina--,” he said, “you inspired me. I've always looked up to you, ever since middle school. Whenever I trained in preparation for the entrance exams, you were one of the main forces keeping me at it.”
Mina broke right then and there. She started sobbing, and Eijirou embraced her, wrapping his arms around her as she pressed her face into his chest. He let her cry for a few seconds before finalizing his speech. “You don't need to blame yourself for anything, Mina. I put myself on the line because I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to be like the people I looked up to, like you or Crimson Riot,” he closed his eyes as he continued speaking, “and it hurts me a lot to see you guilt yourself like this because… I like you a lot, Mina. That's the truth.”
His eyes opened as he realized what he just said, but he didn't care. His confession was out there, and he just wanted for her to respond. Ashido continued crying into his chest for a few more seconds before calming down. When she pulled her face up and placed her hands back in Kirishima’s, she looked up at him. Her face was completely different from how the cheery, bubbly girl usually looked. She was no longer crying, but instead, started to smile a little. “I… I kinda knew that already, or I had the feeling,” she said back to Eijirou, “But I like you too, Ei. A lot.”
Both of their hearts pounded as they said nothing, eyes locked on one another in the vulnerable moment. A few seconds, that felt more like hours, passed through the thick air. Ashido’s pupils flicked down to look at his lips. They looked a lot softer than normal, ironically. She wanted to kiss them. Slowly, she put her arms over his shoulders, around his neck, and let them hang there, bringing his face down closer to hers. She looked back into his eyes, burning with passion. Kirishima placed his hands on her waist, pulling her closer. She felt soft, but strong. Mina gasped a little, but never broke eye contact. She couldn’t take it anymore, and suddenly pressed her mouth onto his, her fingers locked behind his head. They closed their eyes as they embraced in a passionate kiss. Arms wrapped around one another, lips pushing back, both finally relieved and confident in the other’s emotions. They finally pulled apart, foreheads resting against each other as the two caught their breaths. Heartstruck, Kirishima breathed. “You know, Mina,” he said quietly, yet firmly, “I think I found myself.”
Mina smiled and planted another quick kiss on his lips. “You have,” she breathlessly laughed.
After a few seconds, Kirishima shot his head up, wide-eyed, and slapped his palm against his forehead in exasperation. “Oh no!” he exclaimed.
“What?” Mina replied, startled, “What is it?!”
“I’m gonna get sick too now!”
Mina’s face went blank for a split second before falling back in laughter as she clutched her stomach. “Oh my god, Eijirou,” she said in between laughs.
“For real! Who’s gonna get us notes if we’re both sick?”
Mina didn’t care, and kept laughing. Eventually after a few seconds, he couldn’t help but start slowly laughing with her. She was contagious, in more ways than one, but more importantly, she was back, and they were together.