Hope yall enjoy
Chapter 18: Back to the Dorm
Three days had passed since the funeral, but the weight of Toru's absence still hung over Heights Alliance like a shadow no one could quite shake.
The dorm commons was quieter than it had ever been. A few students had already been pulled out by their parents, their rooms left empty and doors closed. The ones who remained were subdued, more quiet than they normally were. Even the usual background noise of the TV or someone's music seemed muted.
Cid and Yui walked through the front doors together hand in hand. It had simply happened on the walk to us after yui went to help cid get discharged from the hospital it just felt natural now after everything that had happened.
The moment they stepped into the commons room, heads turned.
Mina was the first to react.
Her pink skin practically glowed as her eyes locked onto their joined hands. For a split second the room went still, the heavy grief that had settled over everyone pausing as the new sight registered.
Then Mina pounced.
"Oh my gosh—OH MY GOSH!" she squealed, bouncing up from the couch so fast she nearly knocked over a side table. "Are you two—?! Finally?! I knew it! I knew it the second you were sitting together on the bus!"
The sudden burst of Mina's energy cut through the quiet like a bright light. A few classmates looked up, some with small, tired smiles, others with raised eyebrows.
Yui's cheeks flushed pink, but she didn't pull her hand away. Cid, for his part, just gave a small, tired shrug, the corner of his mouth twitching in the faintest hint of a smirk.
Mina was already in full motion, practically vibrating as she rushed over. "Okay, okay, details! When did this happen? Was it the hospital? The bus? The karaoke night? I need the full story! This is the best news we've had in days!"
She threw her arms around both of them in a quick, enthusiastic hug before either could protest, then pulled back with a dramatic gasp. "Wait—does this mean we finally have an official power couple in the classes? Because I am here for it. We need something good right now."
The room let out a collective soft chuckle. It wasn't loud or forced. Even the students who had been staring at the floor lifted their heads a little.
Cid rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, voice low and lazy as ever. "It's not that big a deal."
"Uh, yes it is!" Mina shot back, pointing at their joined hands like it was evidence in a trial. "You two have been orbiting each other since you first met in the lunch room. Toru would be losing her mind right now if she were here l, she'd be planning a whole party."
The mention of Toru made the room quiet again for a beat, the grief flickering back to the surface. But Mina didn't let it settle. She clapped her hands once, forcing the mode back up.
"Okay, new plan!" she announced, spinning on her heel to face the whole group. "We are doing a group movie night. Right here, right now. No arguments. We pick something light, something fun, and we all pile onto the couches. I'm even willing to bribe people with snacks if I have to."
Her eyes landed on Cid, and her grin turned determined. She squared her shoulders like she was preparing for the hardest sell of her life. "Especially you, cid. I know you're gonna say no, but I'm begging here. For the team. For morale. For—"
"I'll join."
The words came out so casually that the entire room froze.
Mina's mouth stayed open mid-sentence. Jiro's earjacks twitched in surprise. Kirishima blinked hard. Even Momo looked momentarily stunned.
Cid just stood there, still holding Yui's hand, expression as relaxed as ever.
Mina recovered first, eyes wide. "Wait… you'll *what*? Like… you'll actually sit with us? No trying to wiggle out of it? No 'I'm tired' excuse?"
Cid gave a small shrug. "Yeah."
The silence stretched for another second before the class erupted into quiet, bewildered murmurs. Mina's hands flew to her cheeks in pure shock.
"Okay, who are you and what did you do with the real Cid?" she demanded, half-laughing, half-serious. "You never agree to group stuff without at least three rounds of convincing. What changed?"
Cid glanced down at Yui for a brief moment, then back at the group. His voice stayed low and vague, almost offhand.
"I promised someone I'd change… and I'm keeping it."
Every eye in the room flicked to Yui. She felt the sudden attention and quickly shook her head, cheeks still faintly pink.
"It wasn't me," she said softly, but her small smile suggested she already knew exactly who he meant.
Mina looked between them, then at Cid again, clearly dying to press for more details. But something in Cid's quiet expression made her decide to let it slide. For now.
"Well… okay then," she said, recovering with a bright grin. "Movie night it is! I'll set everything up. Someone grab blankets. Someone else order pizza. We're doing this."
Within twenty minutes the commons had been transformed, blankets and pillows piled high on the couches, the lights dimmed, and a light-hearted action-comedy queued up on the big screen. Pizza boxes sat open on the coffee table, and for the first time in days the room felt almost like it used to.
Cid and Yui had claimed one end of the longest couch. A thick blanket draped over them both. Cid lay on his stomach, mindful of the still-sore injuries beneath the bandages, his head resting comfortably on Yui's stomach. His arms were wrapped loosely around her waist, holding her close. Yui's fingers moved slowly through his hair, gentle and rhythmic, the motion soothing in a way that made the Cid slowly relax.
Mina, sprawled across the opposite couch with Jiro and Kaminari, she suddenly sat up with a grin. Her phone flashed once while taking a picture.
Cid cracked one eye open. "Seriously?"
Mina just giggled, unrepentant. "For the group chat. You two are adorable. Don't ruin the moment."
Cid grumbled something unintelligible into Yui's shirt but didn't move. She just had a faint smile on her lips that told him she wasn't bothered.
The movie played on. Explosions and one-liners filled the screen, pulling soft laughs from the class here and there. It wasn't the same wild energy as before, but it was something. A small, fragile step forward.
About halfway through, Bakugo — who had been slouched in the corner with his arms crossed, clearly only half-watching — finally lost patience. He sat up straighter, red eyes narrowing across the room.
"Oi. Kageno."
The room quieted a little.
Bakugo didn't bother with pleasantries. "What the hell was up with your Quirk at USJ? were you always able to pull that space-bending shit?"
A few classmates shifted, glances darting between them. The movie kept playing in the background, but no one was watching anymore.
Cid stayed where he was unmoving for a few moments. His arms tightened slightly around Yui before he let out a slow, heavy sigh.
"No," he said quietly. "I wasn't always able to do that."
That surprised a few of the class. Bakugo scowled, "Then what the hell happened? Quirks don't just change like that."
He kept his voice low, eyes half-lidded as he stared at the blanket lost in the memory. "I got dropped into an ambush at the usj and they had everything planned. I thought it was just some low-tier villains at first, hardly a threat so i didnt take them seriously. Then they started strategizing and attacking in coordination and by the time I realized I was in danger something punched straight through my chest, my lungs collapsed and there was blood everywhere. I was on the ground bleeding out, thinking… that was it, I was gonna die."
His fingers flexed against Yui's side, the memory flashing behind his eyes.
" Then I remembered I had something to do. So I tried shrinking the wound over and over. At first it failed over and over and over again. Then… something just broke open inside because it was the only way I could survive. The new power came with it."
He didn't mention how he found Toru, or the villains around her, or the way her face had been frozen in terror. That part stayed locked in his head; he would at least spare them from that knowledge. That was his burden to carry, his sin he had to atone for, for being so lazy.
Toru's horrified expression flashed across his mind anyway.
His arms tightened around Yui a little harder, almost instinctively. She felt it and gently pulled his head further into her offering comfort, she could tell something was bothering him but she decided to leave it for now.
The room stayed quiet for a beat. Bakugo's scowl softened just a fraction, not pity, but something closer to understanding.
"Tch. So you finally stopped half-assing it and it gave you more bullshit powers," he muttered, leaning back again.
Mina opened her mouth, clearly ready to steer the conversation back to lighter territory, but a loud explosion from the move dragged most of their attention back to it. The movie resumed its noise, and slowly the class settled again.
Cid didn't move from Yui's lap. Her hand kept moving through his hair, steady and warm, and for the rest of the night he stayed right there, quiet, and a little less alone.