sam

SMAU

BNHA

HAIKYUU!!

I stared at the lightning bolt on my wrist.

I should have been surprised. 

Maybe that was the part that bothered me the most.

After sixteen years of hearing about soulmate marks, of watching other people turn sixteen and spend weeks wondering who was out there waiting for them, I should have felt something when I saw mine.

Instead, all I could think about was the first time I met her.

She was six years old, standing in the middle of the playground with tears streaming down her face and storm clouds gathering above her head. I didn’t know anything about her except that the other kids were scared of her, and for some reason I couldn’t explain, that pissed me off.

I still don’t know why I cared so much. I just remember being angry.

I don’t remember what I said to the other kids. I don’t remember what she said to me afterward. I just remember expecting that to be the end of it.

It wasn’t.

She sat next to me at lunch the next day. After that, she just kept showing up. At first, I thought she was weird. Then I realized she was afraid of her quirk because everyone else was. That pissed me off even more.

So I did what the only thing that made sense. I told her to stop being afraid of it.

Then I taught her how to fight with it.

It started with training after school. She wasn’t good at it at first. Not because she wasn’t strong but because she was terrified of what would happen if she lost control.

The first time she called down lightning on purpose, she cried afterward. The second time, she got angry, By the third time, she was demanding we try again because she thought she could do better.

That’s when I stopped worrying that she’d quit.

She was scared. She always had been. But somewhere along the way, she stopped being afraid of what she could do and started getting angry when she couldn’t do more.

I think that was the first time I realized that no matter what happened, she wasn’t going to walk away.

After that, everything else just happened.

Training after school turned into weekends. Weekends turned into birthdays, movie nights, and arguments over things neither of us actually cared about. Somewhere along the way, she stopped being the girl I’d helped and started becoming the person I spent more time with than anyone else.

I don’t remember when it happened.

One day, I just looked up and realized I couldn’t remember what my life looked like before she was part of it.

I stopped thinking about whether she’d be there.

I just started expecting her to be.

For a long time, that was enough.

We got older. We got stronger. We got into U.A., and somehow, despite everything changing around us, the two of us stayed the same. She was still the first person I looked for in a crowded room. She was still the person I trained with, fought with, argued with, and sat next to when neither of us felt like talking. If you'd asked me then what she was to me, I would've told you she was my best friend. I would've answered without thinking, because that was what she'd always been.

I didn't start questioning it until U.S.J.

Not because I thought she was going to die. The truth was, I never let myself think that. Y/N had always been stronger than people gave her credit for, and somewhere along the way, I'd stopped imagining a world where she wasn't. But U.S.J. was the first time I had to face the fact that there were things in this world stronger than both of us.

I remember seeing her afterward. I remember the look on her face when she realized I was okay. I remember how angry I'd been—at the villains, at the situation, at the fact that any of us had been put through it at all. What I remember most, though, is the feeling that stayed after everything was over.

For the first time in my life, I had to consider what it would feel like if she wasn’t there.

I didn’t have an answer for that.

So I did what I always did when something didn’t make sense.

Ignored it.

It wasn’t hard. There were classes, internships, training, exams. There was always something else to focus on, something easier to understand than whatever had happened to me at the USJ. 

And besides, nothing had actually changed. She was still YN.

She still stole food off my plate when she thought I wasn’t paying attention. She still argued with me over things that didn’t matter and refused to admit when I was right. She still threw herself into every fight, every training session, every challenge like losing simply wasn’t an option.

If anything, I just started noticing things I’d never paid attention to before.

The way she’d grin after landing a move she’d spent weeks trying to perfect. The way she’d get back up after I knocked her down and demand another round. The way she’d look for me after class, even though she already knew where I’d be.

None of it meant anything.

At least, that’s what I told myself.

Looking back, I think I started noticing things long before training camp.

Not big things. Nothing dramatic. Just small things I couldn’t seem to stop paying attention to. The way I’d notice when she was late before anyone else did. The way she’d smile when she finally got something right and then immediately pretend she wasn’t proud of herself. The way she’d always end up beside me, even when neither of us had planned it.

I told myself it was because we’d known each other our whole lives. Because she’d always been there.

The problem was, I never seemed to pay that much attention to anyone else.

I probably could have kept telling myself that if training camp hadn’t happened.

People always talk about moments that change your life like you recognize them when they’re happening. Like there’s some line you cross, some realization you have, and suddenly everything makes sense. That wasn’t what happened. There wasn’t a moment where I looked at her and understood what she had become to me.

There was just fear. 

I remember seeing her fight. I remember watching her throw herself into a battle she knew she couldn’t win because she thought it would buy the rest of us more time. I remember the sound of thunder and the way the sky darkened around her, even though she was trying so hard to keep herself together. More than anything, I remember how angry I was. Angry that she was hurt. Angry that she was scared. Angry that I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop it.

I didn’t understand why that anger felt different from anything I’d ever felt before. I just knew that for the first time since I’d met her, I had to consider the possibility that one of us might not make it home.

I didn’t have time to figure out what any of it meant.

One minute we were fighting. The next, I was being dragged away.

I’ve replayed those moments so many times that parts of them don’t even feel real anymore. I remember fighting. I remember refusing to stop fighting. I remember knowing, with absolute certainty, that I wasn’t going to make it easy for them to take me.

What I remember most, though, is her.

I remember the way she screamed my name. The sky turning dark above us. I remember the look on her face when she realized she wasn’t going to get to me in time. I’ve seen YN angry, scared, and hurt. But I’ve never seen her look helpless before.

For a long time, I told myself that was why I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Not because I was scared for myself or because I feared what would happen to me. But because I had never seen her look like that before, and somehow, knowing that I had been the reason for it felt worse than anything the League could have done to me.  

The thing that nobody tells you about being kidnapped is that there isn’t much to do except think.

The League talked. They threatened. They tried to convince me that I belonged with them. I didn’t listen. I didn’t care. I spent most of that time trying to figure out how I was going to get out, because the truth was, I never seriously considered the possibility that I wouldn’t. Not because I thought I was invincible. Because I couldn’t let myself think about the alternative.

For a long time, I told myself that was because I still had things I needed to do. I had to graduate. I had to become the number one hero. I had to prove that none of them knew a damn thing about me.

The problem was, every time I imagined getting out, every time I pictured what happened after, I saw her. 

I saw her yelling at me for getting kidnapped. I saw her getting angry because I’d scared her. I saw her standing there. Alive and furious and exactly where she was supposed to be. And no matter how many times I tried to convince myself otherwise, I couldn’t imagine a future where I survived and didn’t make it back to her. 

One minute I was trapped in a bar surrounded by villains. The next, Kirishima was reaching for me. And somehow, against every possible outcome, I was going home.

I remember seeing her before she saw me.

She was standing beside Todoroki, staring so hard at the alley that it was like she believed she could force me to walk out of it if she wanted it badly enough. I’d never seen her look like that before. Not scared or hopeless. Just exhausted. Like she’d spent every second since I was taken refusing to believe there was any outcome where I didn’t come back.

Then she heard Kirishima.

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to remember exactly what I felt in that moment, because the second she saw me, she ran.

I’ve known YN for almost my entire life, and she has never run to me like that before. I thought she would yell at me or hit me. Instead, she crashed into me hard enough that we almost fell over.

I remember the way she was shaking. I remember realizing, a second too late, that she was crying. I remember wrapping my arms around her because the alternative—letting her go—never even crossed my mind.

I held her because she needed me to. That’s what I told myself anyway.

The truth was, I don’t think I’d ever wanted to hold onto anything more in my life.         

I’d spent the last twenty-hour hours telling myself that all I had to do was survive. I hadn’t stopped to thing about what surviving actually meant. It meant getting back to her. It meant hearing her yell at me for being an idiot and argue with me during training and pretend she wasn’t proud of herself when she finally got something right. It meant knowing that no matter what happened, she’d still be there when I got home. And standing there with her in my arms, feeling her hold onto me like she’d spent the last day convincing herself she was never going to get the change again, I realized that I would’ve done anything to make sure I got back to her. Anything.

And somewhere between her crying into my shoulder and realizing that I would have let the world burn before I let anything happen to her again, I stopped pretending I didn't already know.

She wasn’t just my best friend.

She hadn’t been for a long time.

I didn’t know when it happened. I didn’t know when she became the person I trusted most, the person I looked for first, or the person I couldn’t imagine a future without. I just knew that when she threw herself into my arms, after spending hours refusing to believe I wouldn’t come back to her, I stopped pretending that what I felt for her was anything less than love.

I was in love with her.

And I was okay with that. Or at least, I convinced myself I had to be.

Because loving her didn’t change anything. She was still YN. She was still my best friend, she was the person who had stood beside me for almost my entire life, and one day, someone else’s mark was going to appear on her wrist. 

I knew that.

I’d accepted it the moment I realized what I felt for her.

One day, someone else was going to get to see the smile she tried so hard to hide when she finally perfected a move she'd been working on for weeks. Someone else was going to get to watch her eyes light up when she got excited about something, listen to her complain when she lost, and stand beside her while she fought for everything she'd ever wanted.

And no matter how much I wanted it to be me, I'd already decided that if she was happy, I would let her go.

I thought I’d made peace with that.

Which was why, staring down at the lightning bolt inked into my own skin, I realized I'd spent a long time grieving something I was never actually going to lose.

I’d spent weeks preparing myself to let her belong to someone else.

I never stopped to consider what I’d do if she belonged with me.  

The weeks following Kamino passed in a blur.

Between the media frenzy surrounding All Might’s retirement, endless meetings with teachers, and adjusting to life after everything that had happened, it felt as though the entire world had changed overnight. U.A. adapted quickly, introducing new security measures before eventually announcing a plan that would keep Class 1-A living together on campus.

The decision had been met with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Mina and Kaminari had nearly thrown a party. Iida looked as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders, while Bakugou had called the entire thing stupid before immediately claiming one of the rooms furthest away from everyone else.

And somehow, despite everything, life continued. Not normally, perhaps, but enough. Enough for movie nights in the common room, late-night study sessions, and arguments over whose turn it was to clean the kitchen. Enough for Kaminari to get yelled at at least twice a day and for laughter to slowly find its way back into the dorms.

Healing, however, wasn’t always simple.

Some nights were easier than others. Some nights passed peacefully, allowing memories of the forest and everything that followed to remain where they belonged. But others still had you waking with your heart racing painfully in your chest, unable to separate the memories from reality.

The first time it happened, you’d spent nearly twenty minutes pacing outside his door, convincing yourself to turn around and go back to your room. By the time you’d finally worked up the courage to knock, the tears were still falling silently down your cheeks.

Bakugou had opened the door looking ready to murder whoever had interrupted his sleep.

Then he'd seen your face.

You'd barely managed to whisper, "Can I—"

The irritation disappeared from his expression so quickly you almost wondered if you'd imagined it. For a second, he simply looked at you. At the tears you'd tried and failed to wipe away. At the way your hands trembled around the sleeves of your sweatshirt.

Then he stepped aside.

Relief hit so suddenly it almost hurt.

You slipped past him without another word, and a moment later the door clicked shut behind you. Neither of you spoke. He didn't ask what had happened, and you didn't try to explain. Somehow, neither of you needed to.

After a long moment, he let out a quiet sigh and climbed back into bed.

"Move over."

The words were rough with exhaustion and lacking any real irritation.

You did.

And by the time you woke up the next morning, you'd somehow ended up tucked against his side, one of his arms wrapped loosely around your waist.

Neither of you ever mentioned it.

The second time, he looked just as annoyed when he answered the door, his hair sticking up in every direction as he glared at you through half-open eyes.

“Tch. Again?”

But he’d stepped aside immediately.

And once again, neither of you mentioned it the next day.

By the third time, you hadn’t even finished raising your hand to knock.

The door had opened before your knuckles touched the wood.

Bakugou stood there with a blanket draped over one shoulder and sleep written all over his face. He let out a long-suffering sigh before pulling you into his arms, one hand coming to rest against the back of your head as though he’d done it a hundred times before.

“C’mon.”

Still half asleep, he guided you back toward his bed before lifting the blankets and practically shoving you underneath them. A moment later, he climbed in beside you, one arm wrapping around your waist while the other settled against the back of your head, his fingers absently moving through your hair until your breathing finally slowed.

Neither of you ever talked about it.

Some things simply didn’t need words.

Tonight, however, wasn’t because of a nightmare.

It was tradition.

Ever since you were kids, the two of you had spent the night before each other's birthdays together. What had started as blanket forts and cartoons had changed over the years into movies, homework, and arguments over whose turn it was to pick what to watch. Some years you'd stayed awake until sunrise. Others had ended with one of you falling asleep halfway through a movie.

Not much had changed, really.

Which was why Katsuki Bakugou was currently asleep beside you, one arm hanging off the side of the bed and his phone still loosely clutched in his hand.

You smiled to yourself.

It wasn't even ten o'clock.

Honestly, he was eighty years old.

The movie the two of you had started an hour earlier still played quietly in the background while you sat cross-legged beside him, trying—and failing—not to laugh at the fact that he'd fallen asleep halfway through complaining about how stupid the plot was.

Shaking your head fondly, you grabbed the remote and shut the television off. Moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting pale shadows across your room while the campus outside slowly settled into silence.

Somewhere down the hall, Mina was probably still awake. Kaminari too.

But here, with him sprawled across your bed and somehow managing to drool on your pillow— life felt strangely normal.

And after everything that had happened, normal felt nice.

Eventually, you slipped beneath the blankets beside him, smiling when he immediately rolled toward you in his sleep, his head falling against your shoulder as though he'd done it a thousand times before.

Maybe he had.

Sleep came easily after that.

Until the dreams came back.

One moment, you were asleep. The next, you were back in the forest beneath a darkened sky, surrounded by smoke and screams and the feeling of your heart shattering as Katsuki disappeared into the portal. Even weeks later, the memory remained just as vivid. You heard yourself screaming his name, saw his hand reaching toward you, watched him being pulled farther and farther away—

And then you woke with a gasp.

Your breathing came fast and uneven as you sat upright, tears streaming silently down your face. For one horrible second, you couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't separate memory from reality.

"Oi."

A sleepy voice cut through the panic.

Your head snapped to the side.

Moonlight spilled across familiar blankets and familiar walls, illuminating the boy sitting beside you. His hair stuck out in every direction, one eye barely open as he blinked blearily at you, looking as though he'd rather be anywhere else.

But the moment he saw your face, the irritation disappeared.

"Kats…."

The name left you brokenly.

Before you even realized what you were doing, you'd buried yourself against him, your fingers clutching desperately at his shirt. Bakugou froze for only a second before his arms wrapped around you automatically, one hand settling against your waist while the other came to rest on the back of your head.

"Nightmare?" he asked quietly.

Unable to trust your voice, you nodded.

He sighed softly, rough with exhaustion, but his fingers immediately began moving through your hair.

"I'm here."

The words were simple and almost mumbled with sleep. But they loosened something painful inside your chest because he was here. Warm and solid beneath your arms, his heartbeat steady beneath your cheek and his hold tightening every time another tremor ran through you. Gradually, your breathing slowed, and somewhere along the way the two of you had settled back against the headboard, still wrapped around one another.

Neither of you noticed the minutes passing.

Or the phone sitting on the nightstand.

Until a loud buzzing suddenly filled the room.

Bakugou groaned.

"The hell…"

Still half asleep, he reached blindly toward the sound, squinting at the screen through barely open eyes.

You frowned in confusion.

"Why do you have an alarm set?"

He froze for just a second.

Then, to your complete surprise, the smallest smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Not his usual smirk. Not the cocky grin he wore after winning a fight.

Just something soft. Something shy.

And despite the fact that his hair looked ridiculous and his eyes were barely open, he looked down at you and quietly said,

"Happy birthday, brat."

The second time you woke up, sunlight had only just begun filtering through the curtains. For one blissful moment, you forgot what day it was.

Then something soft hit you in the face.

Groaning, you pulled your pillow over your head before realizing the offending object wasn't a pillow at all. Your training clothes lay sprawled across your blanket, and somewhere nearby, you heard the unmistakable sound of Katsuki rifling through your desk drawers.

"It's my birthday," you mumbled into the mattress.

"And?"

His voice was still rough with sleep.

You cracked one eye open. Katsuki stood near the door, already dressed, his arms crossed over his chest as though waking you up before sunrise on your birthday was the most reasonable thing in the world.

"You should be nice to me."

A snort.

The response was immediate and entirely unsympathetic.

"It's five-thirty every other day."

"It's my birthday."

"It's five-thirty."

For a moment, you simply stared at him.

Then, despite yourself, you laughed.

Because after everything that had happened over the past few weeks—after Kamino, after the nightmares, after waking up in his arms only a few hours earlier—the fact that Katsuki Bakugou still expected you to train before dawn on your birthday felt strangely comforting. Some things, apparently, were sacred.

"You know," you muttered as you finally sat up, "most people would let their best friend sleep in."

He shrugged, though there was something suspiciously satisfied about the expression tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Good thing I'm not most people."

You hated that that made you smile.

By the time the two of you stepped outside, the rest of the dorm remained blissfully asleep. The sun had only just begun to rise, painting the sky in soft shades of pink and gold. The air still carried the lingering chill of early spring, and for the first time in weeks, the world felt quiet. The training itself was familiar.

Sparring. Speed drills. Quirk exercises.

Bakugou yelling at you for dropping your guard.

You reminding him—repeatedly—that forcing someone to run sprint intervals before six in the morning on their birthday was probably illegal.

He remained entirely unconvinced.

Still, you didn't miss the fact that he'd packed your favorite sports drink. Or the way his explosions seemed just a fraction slower whenever you started to tire. Not enough to be obvious or for anyone else to notice.

But you'd known him long enough to recognize kindness when it disguised itself as something else.

By the time training ended, both of you were sweaty, exhausted, and starving. Which was exactly how you'd found yourselves sitting alone in the kitchen while the rest of the dorm remained blissfully unconscious.

Sunlight spilled through the windows now, the early morning quiet settling comfortably around you as he moved around the kitchen with the ease of someone who had been cooking for most of his life.

You watched him from your spot at the counter, chin resting in your hand. Maybe it was because it was your birthday. Maybe it was because you'd spent the night before crying into his shirt and waking up wrapped in his arms. Or maybe it was because after everything that had happened over the last few weeks, seeing Katsuki Bakugou standing barefoot in the dorm kitchen at six-thirty in the morning making you breakfast felt strangely important.

He caught you staring.

"The hell are you lookin' at?"

You smiled.

"Nothing."

"Tch."

The sound lacked any real irritation.

You continued watching him anyway.

It had always fascinated you, the way he moved around a kitchen. Confident. Familiar. Like this was just another kind of training. Somewhere between growing up together and spending more nights at each other's houses than your own, you'd become used to seeing him cook. Still, it never failed to impress you.

"You know," you said after a moment, watching him move around the kitchen with the ease of someone who had been doing this his entire life, "whoever marries you is going to be ridiculously spoiled."

The spatula froze.

For one glorious second, Katsuki Bakugou looked genuinely caught off guard. Then his ears turned red.

"The hell kind of thing is that to say first thing in the morning?"

A laugh escaped you.

"I'm serious."

"Tch."

He turned back to the stove with considerably more force than necessary, though not before you caught the embarrassed look that flashed across his face.

"No, I mean it," you continued, smiling despite yourself. "You woke me up before sunrise on my birthday, forced me to train, made me breakfast, and spent the entire morning pretending you weren't going easier on me."

That got his attention.

He looked over his shoulder immediately, eyes narrowing.

"I wasn't."

"You were."

"I wasn't."

The denial came a little too quickly.

You laughed again.

"Katsuki."

He opened his mouth, clearly intending to argue, before apparently deciding against it. Instead, he looked back down at the stove and muttered, almost under his breath,

"You had a rough night."

The words settled between you with a simple honesty that caught you off guard. For a moment, all you could do was stare at him.

After everything that had happened over the past few weeks, after the nightmares and the promises and waking up wrapped in his arms only a few hours earlier, the admission shouldn't have surprised you.

Somehow, it still did.

Because that was the thing about him that nobody else ever seemed to understand. People talked about Midoriya's empathy and Yaoyorozu's intelligence. They talked about Todoroki's insight and Iida's reliability. But nobody ever talked about the way Katsuki paid attention.

The way he always knew when you were tired, or scared, or pretending you were okay when you weren't.

The way he noticed things you hadn't even realized you were showing. Your chest tightened.

"Thank you."

He rolled his eyes as he placed a plate in front of you, though there wasn't any real annoyance behind the gesture.

"Quit bein' weird and eat."

Eventually, after helping clean the dishes—under heavy supervision, according to Katsuki—you headed upstairs to shower while he remained behind to finish putting everything away. Steam filled the bathroom as you stepped beneath the hot water, your muscles already protesting the early morning training session. The warmth felt good, and for the first time all morning, you allowed yourself to stop moving.

It wasn't until you stepped out of the shower and caught sight of your reflection in the mirror that you froze.

For a moment, all you could do was blink.

The mark was small and delicate, a simple four-pointed spark resting against the inside of your wrist.

You stared at it for several long seconds before a laugh escaped you.

"Right. Of course.”

Most people spent years imagining what their soulmate mark would look like. Mina had been talking about hers since middle school. Kaminari had once declared he wanted something "cool and manly," which had somehow resulted in a week-long argument with Kirishima over whether sharks counted as romantic.

Meanwhile, you'd completely forgotten.

Tilting your wrist toward the light, you couldn't help but smile.

The mark was pretty. Simple. Frustratingly vague.

There was something familiar about it, though. Not enough to place. Not enough to mean anything. Just enough to make you wonder.

After getting dressed, you took one last look at the mark before pulling your sleeve back down. There would be time to think about it later.

Besides, the smell of coffee drifting up from downstairs was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Smiling to yourself, you stepped out of your room and headed toward the common area. The second you stepped into the common room, every person in it started yelling at once. Before you had enough time to process any of it, Mina Ashido launched herself across the room and wrapped you in a hug so enthusiastic it nearly knocked you back into the hallway.

"Happy birthday!"

You laughed despite yourself, clinging to her long enough to regain your balance before finally looking around the room.

The common area had been transformed. A banner hung crookedly above the couch. Streamers had been draped across nearly every available surface. Someone—almost certainly Kaminari and Sero—had attempted to tape balloons to the ceiling and had only been partially successful. The coffee table had disappeared beneath snacks, presents, and enough wrapping paper to suggest that Mina had been planning this for weeks.

For a moment, all you could do was stare.

Then you smiled.

"Guys…"

The next several minutes passed in a blur. Ochaco hugged you next, followed closely by Tsuyu and Hagakure. Kaminari presented you with a gift bag with all the ceremony of someone handing over a priceless family heirloom, while Kirishima proudly informed you that he had personally helped decorate despite Sero's repeated complaints about his methods. Even Tokoyami offered you a quiet birthday wish, Dark Shadow enthusiastically echoing the sentiment.

The room was loud, warm, and happy.

And somehow, sitting there surrounded by your friends while everyone talked over each other and Kaminari nearly knocked over a lamp, it felt exactly right.

It wasn't until everyone had settled into the living room that Mina suddenly froze. Not because she'd noticed something, but because she'd remembered something. Her eyes widened.

"Wait."

The room quieted.

"You turned sixteen."

You blinked.

"Yeah."

"No." Mina sat up straighter, looking personally offended that you didn't immediately understand the gravity of the situation. "No, no. You turned sixteen."

For a second, you simply stared at her.

Then you realized exactly what she meant.

"Oh."

"Oh?" Mina repeated. "That's your reaction?"

You couldn't help laughing.

"I know, Mina."

"You know?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"And what?"

She looked moments away from climbing over the coffee table.

"The mark!"

Around the room, every conversation stopped.

Slowly, you became aware of the fact that everyone was now looking at you.

Even Bakugou.

The reaction was immediate.

Mina made a sound that could only be described as a victory cry before scrambling across the couch toward you. Ochaco leaned forward so quickly she nearly spilled her drink, while Hagakure let out an excited squeal.

"You have to show us."

"Mina…"

"You have to."

You laughed despite yourself.

For a moment, you considered refusing on principle alone. Unfortunately, after years of friendship, you knew exactly how that would end.

With a dramatic sigh, you pushed your sleeve back.

The room fell silent.

The mark rested against the inside of your wrist exactly as it had that morning. Small. Delicate. A simple four-pointed spark.

For several seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Mina gasped.

"Oh my God."

"It's so cute," Ochaco breathed.

Hagakure made a noise of agreement while Tsuyu leaned forward thoughtfully.

"It does kind of look like a star."

"It's a spark," you corrected automatically.

Mina reached for your hand before you could pull it away.

"A spark is adorable."

You couldn't help laughing.

"It's really not that exciting."

The collective look of offense that statement earned suggested otherwise.

"Not exciting?" Mina repeated. "It's your soulmate mark."

"I know."

"It's beautiful," Ochaco said.

Tsuyu nodded in agreement.

Carefully, as though she were handling something fragile, Mina turned your wrist toward the light again.

"It really is pretty."

You glanced down at the small spark resting against your skin.

Maybe she was right.

From across the room, Kaminari leaned forward.

"Who knows," he said with a grin. "Maybe I'm your soulmate."

For a second, the room was quiet.

Then Bakugou threw a throw pillow at his head.

The pillow hit him with enough force to knock him backward into the couch.

"What was that for?!" Kaminari demanded.

"You talk too much."

"I was making a joke!"

"It wasn't funny."

Kirishima burst out laughing.

"Bro, you got rejected before you even had a chance."

"I wasn't serious!" Kaminari protested.

The room dissolved back into chaos almost immediately after that. Mina finally released your hand, though not before reminding you that she expected updates the second you met your soulmate, and someone turned the television back on while Sero attempted to steal snacks from the coffee table.

And just like that, the conversation moved on.

Eventually, the conversation drifted to other things.

Kaminari recovered from his near-death experience, Mina reluctantly stopped interrogating you about soulmate marks, and someone turned on a movie that nobody was actually paying attention to. The room settled into the kind of comfortable chaos that had become normal over the last few weeks—multiple conversations happening at once, snacks being stolen from the coffee table, laughter erupting every few minutes for reasons that were never entirely clear. For a while, you simply sat there and let yourself enjoy it.

Then Kirishima looked toward the kitchen.

"Wait," he said, sitting up a little straighter. "Shouldn't we do the cake?"

You blinked.

"Cake?"

The look that passed between Mina and Kirishima immediately made you suspicious.

"What cake?"

Nobody answered.

Instead, almost every person in the room turned to look toward the kitchen.

Slowly, you did the same.

For the first time since you'd come downstairs, you realized Katsuki was no longer standing by the counter.

A moment later, he reappeared.

He was carrying a cake.

Not a store-bought cake. Not something thrown together that morning. A real cake.

Your cake.

The room had gone strangely quiet.

Katsuki, for his part, looked like he'd rather be doing almost anything else. His expression was carefully blank as he crossed the room and set the cake down on the coffee table with perhaps a little more force than was strictly necessary.

"There," he muttered.

For a moment, all you could do was stare.

Because, of course, he had made it.

The frosting wasn't perfectly smooth. One side sat slightly higher than the other. There were tiny imperfections that nobody else in the room would have noticed.

You did.

Because those imperfections meant he'd made it himself.

For you.

Slowly, you looked up.

"You made this?"

He crossed his arms.

"Tch. Obviously."

A laugh escaped you before you could stop it.

"Kats…."

You didn't know what to say.

Thank you didn't feel big enough.

Nothing did.

Around you, the room remained suspiciously quiet. Even Kaminari, somehow sensing that this wasn't the time for commentary, had kept his mouth shut.

Your eyes drifted back to the cake.

It was perfect, not because it looked perfect, but because he had made it.

"You know," you said softly, looking back up at him, "whoever marries you is going to be ridiculously spoiled."

For a moment, he looked genuinely caught off guard.

Then his ears turned red.

"The hell kind of thing is that to say?"

You laughed.

"I'm serious."

"Tch."

He looked away, crossing his arms as though that somehow made the situation better. Fortunately for him, Mina apparently decided he'd reached his maximum daily allowance of emotional vulnerability.

"Okay!" she announced, clapping her hands together. "Birthday cake time!"

The room erupted into motion.

Candles appeared from somewhere. Kaminari nearly dropped them. Kirishima insisted on lighting them despite several objections. By the time the cake had been moved to the center of the coffee table, everyone had crowded around so closely that you could barely see it anymore. Then, with varying degrees of talent and enthusiasm, Class 1-A began singing.

It was terrible.

Completely off-key.

Kaminari forgot part of the song. Mina sang loudly enough for at least three people. Tokoyami somehow managed to make "Happy Birthday" sound vaguely threatening.

And somehow, it was perfect.

You laughed so hard you nearly forgot to make a wish.

The rest of the evening passed the way the best evenings always did. There were presents and games and far too much cake. Kaminari and Sero attempted to start a pillow fight and were immediately shut down by Iida. Mina took enough pictures to last several lifetimes. At some point, someone turned on a movie, though nobody actually watched it.

Eventually, one by one, people began drifting off to bed.

By the time the common room had emptied, the decorations looked slightly more chaotic than they had at the beginning of the evening, the coffee table was buried beneath wrapping paper, and you were fairly certain you wouldn't be eating cake again for at least a month.

You stretched and let out a tired laugh.

"That was probably the best birthday I've ever had."

For a moment, Bakugou didn't say anything.

Then he stood.

"C'mon."

You smiled and followed him upstairs.

The dorm had gone quiet.

Most of the lights had been turned off by the time the two of you reached the second floor, leaving only the soft glow of the hallway lamps. The sounds of the party had long since faded, replaced by the familiar stillness that always seemed to settle over the dorms late at night. He stopped outside his door and pushed it open, stepping aside just enough for you to walk in ahead of him.

His room looked exactly as it always did.

Everything sat neatly in its place. His desk was organized with a precision that would have made Iida proud, and the blankets on his bed had already been pulled back slightly, as though he'd prepared for this before the party had even started.

You stepped inside and immediately laughed.

"It's freezing in here."

The corner of his mouth twitched.

"It's not."

"It absolutely is."

"It's fine."

"You sleep like this?"

"I sleep great."

You shook your head, still smiling as you kicked off your shoes and moved toward the shelf where he kept the extra blankets.

It wasn't until you turned back around that you realized he hadn't moved.

He was still standing by the door.

For a moment, neither of you said anything.

Then you frowned.

"What?"

He looked away.

"Nothing."

It was a terrible lie.

You crossed your arms.

"That's definitely a lie."

His jaw tightened.

For a second, you thought he might argue.

Instead, he walked over to his desk and opened the top drawer.

The realization hit you immediately.

"You got me a present."'

He didn't answer.

Which, somehow, was answer enough.

You felt something warm settle in your chest.

"Kats.."

He still wasn't looking at you. Instead, he reached into the drawer and pulled out a small black box before crossing the room and holding it out to you.

"It's stupid."

The words came out quickly, almost defensive.

You blinked.

"It's not stupid."

"You haven't even opened it yet."

A laugh escaped you.

"That's not the point."

For the first time since you'd walked into the room, he looked at you. And for just a second, beneath the annoyance and embarrassment he was trying so hard to hide, you saw something you almost never saw from him.

It was uncertainty. Not because he doubted the gift, but because he cared whether you liked it. Your chest tightened.

Carefully, you took the box from his hand.

"You didn't have to get me anything."

He looked away.

"I know."

The answer was so quiet you almost missed it.

Slowly, you opened the box.

Inside rested a silver bracelet. It wasn't flashy or expensive-looking. It was simple, delicate, and hanging from the center was a small lightning bolt charm.

For a moment, you forgot how to breathe.

Of course it was a lightning bolt.

You ran your thumb over the charm before looking back up at him.

"Katsuki…"

"I saw it," he said, crossing his arms. "And I thought of you."

For a moment, all you could do was stare at him—not because of the bracelet, but because of him.

Because he'd seen something in the world that reminded him of you and bought it without a second thought. Because he'd kept it a secret all day. Because he'd waited until the two of you were alone to give it to you.

Your vision blurred.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," he muttered.

A laugh escaped you through the tears already gathering in your eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you cryin'?"

"Because I love it."

The answer came so quickly that neither of you seemed prepared for it. You looked back down at the bracelet, carefully tracing the lightning bolt charm with your thumb.

"I really, really love it."

Before you could think better of it, you did the only thing that made sense.

You stepped forward and wrapped your arms around him.

He stiffened for all of half a heartbeat before his arms came around you automatically.

"Thank you," you whispered.

The words felt too small. They always did when it came to him.

After a long moment, you felt him sigh.

"You're such a pain."

The words lacked any real annoyance.

You laughed softly against his shirt.

"Sorry."

He was quiet for another moment.

Then, so softly you almost missed it, he said,

"Happy birthday, brat."

You smiled against his shirt.

"Thanks."

He grunted something that might have been a response.

Eventually, you pulled back, though neither of you seemed particularly eager to be the first to let go. You wiped at your eyes, laughing quietly at yourself before carefully lifting the bracelet from the box.

"Will you help me put it on?"

For a moment, he just looked at you.

Then he held out his hand.

You placed the bracelet in his palm and turned around, pushing your sleeve up as he fastened the clasp around your wrist. His fingers were warm and surprisingly careful, and for a second, neither of you said anything at all.

"There."

You glanced down at the small lightning bolt resting against your skin and smiled.

After a moment, you looked back up at him.

"Movie?"

He rolled his eyes.

"It's late."

"That's not a no."

He stared at you.

You smiled.

Five minutes later, the two of you were sitting in bed with your laptop balanced between you and a movie neither of you had paid much attention to in years playing quietly in the background. The conversation drifted in and out of the film. You made fun of the plot. He informed you that your taste in movies was terrible. You reminded him that he'd watched this exact movie with you at least six times growing up.

He denied it.

You reminded him that he knew every line.

He stopped denying it.

Somewhere around halfway through the movie, his responses started getting shorter, then slower.

By the time the credits began rolling, Katsuki Bakugou was asleep.

You looked over at him and couldn't help but smile.

He looked younger when he slept.

Not physically. Katsuki had looked mostly the same for years now. But there was something about the way all the tension disappeared from his face when he was asleep that reminded you of being kids. Of movie nights that ended with one of you falling asleep halfway through. Of summers spent training until sunset. Of every moment in your life when you'd needed someone and somehow found him already standing there.

Reliable.

That was the word people always used to describe heroes like All Might or Iida.

But when you thought of reliability, you thought of him.

You thought of a boy who always showed up.

You reached over and gently pulled the blanket up over his shoulder.

"Old man," you whispered affectionately.

He didn't move.

Smiling to yourself, you reached for your book.

You weren't tired. Maybe you should have been. You'd been awake since before sunrise. You'd trained, celebrated, laughed, cried, eaten far too much cake, and somehow managed to have what was probably the best birthday of your life. But every time you closed your eyes, all you could think about was how happy you were.

The room settled into silence around you. Outside, the campus had long since gone dark, leaving only the soft glow of the city lights spilling through the window. You read for a while, though eventually you realized you'd been staring at the same page for several minutes without actually processing a word of it.

With a quiet laugh, you closed the book and glanced down at your wrist. The silver bracelet caught the light first and then, just beneath it, the small spark of your soulmate mark.

You turned your wrist slightly, watching the light catch the edges of both. It still felt strange. Not bad—just strange. For sixteen years, you'd known this day would come. Everyone did. At some point, everyone looked down at their wrist and wondered who was out there waiting for them.

You wondered if they'd gotten their mark too. You wondered if they'd spent all day thinking about it. You wondered if, somewhere out there, they were wondering about you. The thought made you smile.

Maybe Mina had been right.

Maybe it was romantic.

You glanced over at Bakugou.

He was still asleep, one arm tucked beneath his pillow, completely unaware that midnight was only a few minutes away.

When you looked back at the clock, it read 11:55.

A smile spread across your face.

He'd been the first person to wish you a happy birthday.

It only felt right that you did the same.

The next five minutes passed surprisingly slowly. You tried reading again, but you spent more time looking at the clock than the page. Eventually, with one minute left, you closed the book and set it carefully on the nightstand.

11:59.

Your heart was beating a little faster than it should have been.

Not because this was a big deal.

Well, maybe because it was.

You'd spent every birthday you could remember with Katsuki. Every year, somehow, he'd always been there. And now, for the first time in your life, you were going to be the first person to tell him happy birthday.

The thought made you smile.

When the clock finally changed to 12:00, you reached over and gently shook his shoulder.

"Kats."

He didn't move.

You laughed quietly.

"Katsuki."

He groaned.

"What?"

The word was barely understandable.

Your smile widened.

"Happy birthday."

For a second, he just blinked at you, still caught somewhere between sleep and consciousness. You opened your mouth, fully prepared to tease him for falling asleep before midnight on his own birthday.

Then his expression changed.

His brow furrowed as he looked down at his wrist.

"What the hell…"

Your smile faded.

"Kats?" He didn't answer.

Instead, he stared.

Slowly, your eyes followed his.

A small lightning bolt rested against the inside of his wrist.

Before you could stop yourself, you looked down at your own wrist. The silver bracelet caught the light first, and then, just beneath it, the small spark you'd spent the entire day trying not to think about.

For a moment, the room disappeared.

Your heart pounded against your ribs as your mind desperately tried to catch up with what your eyes already knew.

The playground. The first time he'd stood in front of you and told the other kids to leave you alone.

Training together until your hands hurt and the sun disappeared. Every birthday. Every movie night. Every fight. Every time something had gone wrong and you'd called him because, somehow, you'd always known he would answer.

Kamino. The way your world had stopped when he was taken. The way you'd screamed his name. The way you'd looked at him after he was rescued and realized you could finally breathe again.

Your hands trembled, not because this didn't make sense, but because suddenly, it made too much sense.

It felt like finding the missing piece to a puzzle you'd been trying to solve your entire life and realizing it had been sitting in front of you all along.

Slowly, almost afraid of what you would find, you lifted your head.

Only to find that Katsuki was already looking at you.

And in that moment, before either of you said a word, everything clicked.

U.A. had never felt so quiet.

Most of Class 1-A had managed only a few hours of restless sleep, though judging by the dark circles beneath nearly everyone's eyes, nobody had truly rested. The usual noise that seemed to follow the class wherever they went had disappeared, replaced by hushed conversations and long stretches of silence as everyone tried to process the events of the previous day.

You supposed they all wore the same expression. Exhausted, running on only a few hours of sleep and whatever hope they’d managed to cling to after the previous day.

But unlike yesterday, the grief no longer felt suffocating. It was still there. So was the exhaustion. But sometime during the night, helplessness had given way to something steadier. None of them knew if the plan would work, but simply having one made it easier to breathe.

By the time you reached the empty classroom Midoriya had chosen, everyone was already there.

Todoroki stood near the windows with his arms crossed while Yaoyorozu sat quietly at one of the desks, her phone resting in her hands. Kirishima leaned against the wall beside Midoriya, and Iida stood nearby, looking as though he still hadn't decided whether he should be there at all.

Nobody mentioned how tired they looked. Nobody really needed to.

The moment you stepped inside, Midoriya straightened slightly.

"Everyone's here," he said quietly.

And just like that, the six of you began to figure out how to bring Bakugou home.

Yaoyorozu was the first to speak. She glanced down at her phone before looking back up at the group, her expression serious.

"The signal's still active."

Immediately, everyone's attention shifted toward her.

"It wasn't attached to Bakugou," she explained. "I placed it on one of the Nomu. As long as it's still functioning, we should still be able to track its location."

Kirishima straightened beside Midoriya while Iida's expression tightened.

"So we know where they are?" he asked.

"Not exactly," Yaoyorozu admitted. "But we can find them."

Midoriya nodded thoughtfully. "We're not fighting them. We're not trying to play hero. We find where they are, leave the rest to the professionals, and if there's an opportunity to help Bakugou escape, we take it."

Iida frowned immediately.

"You all know this is wrong."

No one argued because we knew he was right.

"We could interfere with the investigation," he continued quietly. "We could make things worse. We could get hurt."

"And if we do nothing?" Kirishima asked.

Kirishima’s question hung heavily in the room. Nobody answered, because none of them had one.

Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck before letting out a tired sigh.

"I know we shouldn't be doing this," he admitted. "But I'm still going."

Nobody looked surprised.

Because right or wrong, they'd all already made their choice.

Midoriya nodded slowly.

"Then we keep this simple."

Everyone's attention shifted back toward Midoriya.

"We don't fight. We don't interfere. We find where they are, wait for the heroes to engage, and if Bakugou gets an opening, we help him escape."

"And then we run," Todoroki added.

Midoriya nodded, though the tension in his shoulders didn’t ease.

"And then we run."

Yaoyorozu glanced down at the tracker in her hands. "Assuming the signal doesn't disappear, we should be able to locate the hideout before the heroes do."

"How are we getting there?" Kirishima asked.

"The train," Midoriya answered. "It'll be faster than trying to arrange anything else."

The room fell quiet again as everyone mentally worked through the plan. It wasn't complicated. If anything, it relied almost entirely on timing and luck.

But no one voiced the doubts lingering in the back of their minds. Maybe because none of them wanted to hear them spoken aloud.

Midoriya seemed to come to the same conclusion.

"If we get the chance..." he said carefully, "there's one thing we need to get right."

His gaze settled on Kirishima.

"If Bakugou gets an opening, you're the one who reaches out to him."

Kirishima blinked.

"Me?"

Midoriya nodded.

"You and Bakugou have gotten close. He respects you. If I reach out, he'll think I'm trying to save him."

A faint smile crossed his face.

"And he'll probably yell at me."

Despite everything, a few quiet laughs escaped around the room.

"But you..." Midoriya continued. "I think he'll take your hand."

Kirishima stared at him.

"You really think so?"

"He will."

The words left your mouth quietly.

Everyone turned toward you.

You looked down at your hands.

"Bakugou hates relying on people. He always has. But he trusts you."

Kirishima's eyes widened slightly.

"And if he gets the chance," you said softly, "I know he'll take your hand."

For the first time that morning, Kirishima smiled.

And somehow, the impossible no longer felt quite so impossible.

By the time they left U.A., the sun had begun its slow descent across the sky.

The train ride to Kamino was unusually quiet. Midoriya spent most of it staring at his hands while Kirishima bounced his leg anxiously beneath his seat. Even Iida, usually so composed, seemed unable to sit still. Beside you, Todoroki sat in silence, occasionally glancing out the window while Yaoyorozu kept one hand wrapped tightly around the tracker.

Nobody spoke much. The plan had already been made, and now all that remained was seeing it through.

Before long, the six of you found yourselves standing in the middle of Kamino Ward.

And for the first time since leaving U.A., the reality of what they were doing finally settled over the group. Somewhere nearby, Bakugou was waiting, and they were going to bring him home.

Yaoyorozu led the way through Kamino with her eyes fixed firmly on the tracker in her hands. The six of you kept close together, moving carefully through unfamiliar streets as the afternoon slowly gave way to evening. Nobody spoke much. Midoriya and Iida occasionally exchanged quiet words while Kirishima glanced around with barely concealed nerves, though even he seemed quieter than usual. Beside you, Todoroki walked in silence, matching your pace without saying a word.

Eventually, Yaoyorozu slowed.

"The signal's close."

The simple words were enough to bring the entire group to a stop.

Ahead of you stood an ordinary building. It wasn't imposing. It wasn't particularly memorable. If Yaoyorozu hadn't been holding the tracker, you might have walked right past it without a second glance. Somehow, that normalcy made the reality of the situation feel even stranger.

Bakugou was here.

The thought made your chest tighten.

Nobody needed Midoriya to tell them what came next. They had already agreed on the plan back at U.A., and now all that remained was waiting. So the six of you settled in, watching and hoping for an opportunity while the city around you carried on, completely unaware that somewhere inside the building sat the boy who had turned all of your lives upside down.

Minutes slipped by with agonizing slowness.

And somewhere overhead, unnoticed by everyone except Todoroki, dark clouds had begun to gather.

None of them knew how much time had passed before the city below suddenly erupted into motion. Pro heroes flooded the streets while civilians were hurried away, and before anyone could fully process what was happening, a familiar figure descended from the sky.

Midoriya’s eyes widened as All Might landed below.

"He's here."

No one had expected the heroes to move so quickly, and certainly no one had expected All Might. But suddenly, the impossible didn’t feel quite so impossible anymore.

The six of you quickly retreated to a nearby rooftop, keeping your distance as chaos erupted below. From there, the entire city seemed to come alive. Heroes moved through the streets while civilians were evacuated, and somewhere beneath all of it, the League of Villains had finally been found.

Beside you, Yaoyorozu gripped the railing tightly while Iida muttered something under his breath. Kirishima stood beside Midoriya, his entire body tense, while Todoroki remained unusually still.

No one spoke. Because somewhere below, Bakugou was waiting, and for the first time since the forest, bringing him home no longer felt impossible.

From their position above the streets below, the battle unfolded faster than any of them had anticipated.

Heroes flooded the area while civilians fled in every direction, and before long, the League of Villains had finally been forced into the open. It was almost impossible to keep track of everything happening at once. Smoke rose between the buildings while voices echoed through the city below, and somewhere in the middle of the chaos, Midoriya suddenly froze.

"Look."

Everyone followed his gaze.

And there he was.

For a moment, you forgot how to breathe.

Bakugou stood among the villains, bruises visible even from where you stood. His black shirt and dark pants were dirty from the past twenty-four hours, and exhaustion was evident in the way he carried himself.

And somehow, seeing him like that was enough.

You hadn’t even realized the electricity dancing across your fingertips until Todoroki glanced down.

"He's okay," Todoroki said quietly.

You swallowed hard and nodded, unable to trust yourself to speak.

Because after twenty-four hours of memories and empty spaces, seeing him standing there almost felt unreal.

But there wasn't time to think about any of that.

Below them, the battle had changed.

And suddenly, Midoriya was moving.

Everything happened at once.

Todoroki's ice shot into the sky while Midoriya, Iida, and Kirishima launched upward, their movements so quick you barely had time to process what was happening. Heroes and villains clashed below them as smoke and debris filled the air, and somewhere in the middle of the chaos, Bakugou's head snapped upward.

Your breath caught.

Without you realizing it, the sky above Kamino had darkened. The clouds that had slowly gathered throughout the evening had grown heavier, blotting out the last traces of sunlight as thunder rumbled faintly in the distance. 

The shift was gradual enough that no one seemed to notice. No one except Todoroki, who glanced upward for only a moment before turning his attention to the battle below.

Kirishima reached out.

Time seemed to slow.

Even from where you stood, you could see the surprise on Bakugou's face. For a split second, neither of them moved. Then Kirishima smiled, and after twenty-four hours of fear and uncertainty, Bakugou smiled back.

Beside you, Yaoyorozu covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes shining with relief.

Bakugou's hand shot forward.

The moment his fingers wrapped around Kirishima's wrist, Iida blasted them away from the battlefield below, carrying all four boys safely out of reach as chaos erupted beneath them.

And somewhere above the city, thunder rolled softly through the darkened sky.

Smoke drifted overhead as distant explosions echoed throughout Kamino. Beside you, Todoroki stood silently while Yaoyorozu clasped her hands tightly together, the three of you watching the battle unfolding beyond the buildings. 

The world felt strangely unreal. All Might was out there. The League of Villains was out there. And somewhere in the middle of it all was Katsuki.

Your fingers tightened around the sleeves of your costume.

Then, cutting through the chaos around you, you heard a familiar voice.

"Man, that was insane—"

Kirishima.

Your head snapped around.

Midoriya and Iida had already stepped out of the alley, their attention immediately returning to the fight. Kirishima followed after them, laughing breathlessly.

And a few steps behind him—

Katsuki.

Everything stopped.

You didn't remember deciding to move. One second you were standing beside Todoroki, and the next, you were running.

"Katsuki!"

His head snapped up.

For a second, his eyes widened.

And then you crashed into him.

The force of it nearly sent both of you stumbling backwards. Bakugou barely had enough time to catch you before the two of you hit the ground, his arms wrapping around you instinctively as you buried your face into his shoulder. Neither of you cared.

You were shaking. You didn't even realize you were crying until you felt his shirt growing damp beneath your face.

Bakugou held on just as tightly. One arm wrapped securely around your waist while the other found the back of your head, his fingers burying themselves in your hair as he held you against his chest, his grip tightening every time you trembled.

“Katsuki..." you whispered brokenly.

His grip tightened again before you felt his chin rest lightly against the top of your head.

"Yeah."

The answer came quietly.

"I'm here."

You buried your face deeper into his shoulder as his arms tightened around you, and for the first time since the forest, the emptiness that had consumed you finally began to disappear.

Around you, the battle continued. Explosions echoed through Kamino while voices carried through the streets below, but they felt strangely distant. Hidden away in the alley, none of it seemed capable of reaching the two of you. You didn't know how long you stayed there. Long enough for your breathing to finally steady. Long enough for the tears to slow. Long enough for the fear that had followed you since the forest to loosen its grip on your chest.

And through all of it, Bakugou never let go. His hand remained tangled in your hair while the other stayed securely around your waist, his grip tightening every time you shifted or trembled as though reassuring himself that you were really there.

Eventually, you felt him shift beneath you. Not because he wanted to let go, but because neither of you could stay hidden in the alley forever.

"Kinda hard to watch the fight from the ground, idiot."

The words lacked any real bite, softened by the hand still resting against the back of your head. A small, watery laugh escaped you before you could stop it, and though you couldn't see his face from where you rested against him, you felt his hold tighten around you one last time.

Eventually, the two of you stood. Neither of you said much, and when you finally pulled away, Katsuki’s hand lingered in your hair for just a moment longer, as though some part of him hadn’t quite realized he didn’t need to hold on anymore.

Eventually, he let out a quiet sigh.

“C’mon.”

The word lacked its usual bite.

Together, the two of you stepped out of the alley.

Their attention remained fixed on the battle unfolding beyond the buildings as the two of you stepped into place behind them. Neither of you said much. There wasn’t really anything left to say.

Shoulder to shoulder, you stood together as the Symbol of Peace fought for the future of hero society.

Your thoughts struggled to catch up with everything that had happened. Around you, Kamino still burned. Smoke drifted overhead, and distant explosions echoed throughout the city, but somehow the silence between you no longer felt unbearable.

After twenty-four hours of empty spaces, simply standing beside him again seemed to quiet something inside you.

And for now, that was enough.

You didn’t even notice when his hand brushed against yours.

Only when his fingers slipped between your own did you finally glance down in surprise.

Katsuki didn’t even look over.

His eyes remained fixed on the fight in front of you, his expression unreadable beneath the dirt and exhaustion. But his grip tightened slightly around your hand, and when you squeezed back, his fingers tightened once more.

Together, the two of you watched as All Might raised his fist toward the sky, and somewhere between the quiet squeeze of Katsuki's hand and the warmth of his shoulder against yours, you realized that after twenty-four hours of empty spaces, being together again felt like second nature.

You stared at the space in front of you, the space where Bakugou had just been.

It didn't make sense. A few seconds ago, he had been standing right there, and now he wasn't. You kept waiting for him to reappear, for him to come stomping back out of the trees looking annoyed and covered in dirt, yelling at everyone to quit standing around. But nothing happened. The space in front of you remained empty, and your mind felt strangely blank as heroes shouted orders through the forest and students called out to one another around you. Their voices blended together with the crackling of distant flames and hurried footsteps, but none of it seemed capable of reaching you.

One minute you were standing there, unable to tear your eyes away from the place where he'd disappeared. The next, you were on the ground.

You weren't even sure when it happened.

You vaguely registered your knees hitting the dirt, followed by your hands. Small arcs of electricity crackled instinctively across your fingertips before disappearing into the earth below, but you didn't seem to notice that either.

Because the space in front of you was still empty.

"Y/N."

The voice sounded far away.

You barely reacted, your eyes still fixed on the spot where Katsuki had disappeared. Even when Todoroki knelt beside you, one hand pressed against his side as he caught his breath, you couldn't seem to tear your gaze away. Midoriya stood nearby, breathing heavily as he stared at the same empty space. Dirt and scratches covered his costume, and though he looked like he wanted to say something, no words came.

His expression said enough.

For a moment, none of you spoke. What was there to say? Bakugou was gone.

"Y/N," Todoroki tried again, his voice quieter this time. "Can you stand?"

You wanted to answer. You really did. But when you opened your mouth, nothing came out. Your throat felt tight, the words refusing to cooperate no matter how hard you tried. In the end, all you managed was a small shake of your head.

Todoroki was silent for a moment. He didn't look surprised. He didn't tell you it was going to be okay or that the heroes would find him. He didn't offer empty reassurance.

He just nodded.

Small arcs of electricity continued to dance across your fingertips before disappearing into the dirt beneath you. You hadn't noticed them, but Todoroki had. Midoriya had too.

Neither of them mentioned it.

Maybe because they'd never seen you like this.

Or maybe because they'd never seen a world where Katsuki wasn't somewhere nearby.

And maybe it was because they'd known the two of you since the first day of U.A., or maybe because they'd spent enough time with both of you to recognize when something felt wrong, but seeing you sitting alone in the dirt with Bakugou nowhere in sight unsettled them more than they cared to admit.

Since the day they'd met you, there had always been a Katsuki-shaped shadow somewhere nearby. The two of you trained together, argued together, sat together. Even when you were fighting, somehow you still ended up beside one another.

Seeing one without the other felt wrong.

"We should get back," Todoroki said quietly as he stood and held out a hand. "Everyone's regrouping."

For a moment, you simply stared at it.

Then, slowly, you nodded.

Your legs felt unsteady as you accepted Todoroki's hand.

The exhaustion you'd been fighting since the final exams still lingered heavily in your body, but somehow it felt insignificant now. You let him pull you to your feet and, after one last glance toward the trees, followed him in silence. Midoriya fell into step beside the two of you, but none of you spoke. There was nothing to say.

The sounds of the forest slowly returned as you walked. Heroes rushed past in a blur of voices and hurried footsteps while injured students were gathered together nearby. Somewhere in the distance, Aizawa was shouting orders. You recognized Mandalay's voice too, though the words themselves seemed to disappear before they could fully register. Your feet moved automatically, carrying you forward while your mind remained somewhere behind.

Memories surfaced without warning.

You remembered being eight years old and spending an entire afternoon trying to push Katsuki into a lake after he'd thrown you in first. You remembered being ten and getting stuck in a tree after insisting you could climb higher than him, only for him to spend the next week calling you an idiot while making sure you never climbed alone again. You remembered middle school, when you'd forgotten your lunch and listened to him complain the entire time he shoved half of his food onto your tray.

None of them were important memories.

At least, they hadn't seemed important at the time.

They were just moments. Stupid arguments and ordinary afternoons that had blended together over the years. Yet somehow those were the memories your mind chose to hold onto now.

The memory made your chest ache.

You almost stumbled over a root hidden beneath the dirt, but Todoroki caught your arm before you could lose your balance.

"Sorry," you whispered automatically.

It was the first thing you'd said since the forest.

Todoroki glanced at you before shaking his head.

"You don't have to apologize."

The simple response hit harder than you expected.

Maybe it was because nobody was yelling. Nobody was panicking. Nobody was trying to tell you it was going to be okay.

The world around you had changed so completely in the span of a few seconds, yet Todoroki simply adjusted his grip on your arm and continued walking beside you while Midoriya remained at your other side, allowing the silence to settle comfortably between the three of you.

And somehow, for reasons you couldn't explain, that almost made it worse.

By the time the three of you reached the others, most of the students had already regrouped. Injured classmates sat scattered throughout the clearing while the Wild, Wild Pussycats moved between them, checking injuries and helping those who needed it. Everyone looked exhausted. Dirty. Shaken.

Aizawa sat propped against a tree nearby, bandages already wrapped around one arm. Even injured, his eyes immediately moved over the three of you, taking in the cuts, bruises, and exhaustion written across your faces. Mandalay stood beside him while Vlad King remained close by, both looking equally worn down.

For a moment, Aizawa simply looked relieved.

Then his eyes shifted.

"Where's Bakugou?"

The question seemed to steal what little air remained in the clearing.

You froze.

Beside you, Midoriya lowered his head.

Todoroki answered.

"He was taken."

The relief in Aizawa's expression disappeared immediately.

"What?"

Midoriya quietly explained what had happened. Mr. Compress. Dabi. Kurogiri. The chase through the forest. The portal.

At least, you thought he did.

Because by the time he finished, you couldn't remember a single thing he'd said.

The words blurred together as heroes exchanged grim looks and Mandalay's expression visibly fell. Vlad King muttered something under his breath while Aizawa closed his eyes for a brief moment, exhaustion written plainly across his face.

Nobody yelled.

Nobody panicked.

Which somehow made everything feel worse.

The reality of what had happened settled heavily over the clearing as the pro heroes began quietly discussing their next steps. Police. Search teams. Injured students. Questions nobody seemed capable of answering.

You listened.

Or at least, you thought you did.

Because all you could think about was that a few minutes ago, Katsuki had been right beside you.

And now he wasn't.

Eventually, the heroes moved away to talk among themselves, their voices dropping low enough that the students could no longer hear what was being said. Aizawa pushed himself to his feet despite Mandalay's protests, and together with Vlad King and the Pussycats, they disappeared farther into the forest.

Nobody tried to stop them or ask questions. It wasn’t because they didn’t have any. Everyone already knew they wouldn’t like the answers. 

Silence settled over the clearing.

Not complete silence. There were still quiet conversations, sniffles, and the occasional groan from someone nursing an injury, but the energy that usually surrounded Class 1-A was gone.

Kaminari sat with his head in his hands, unusually quiet. Mina stared at the ground beside him while Tsuyu rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. Even Sero and Jirou, who always seemed to have something to say, remained silent.

The attack had shaken everyone, but Bakugou being gone had broken whatever was left.

You sat where Todoroki had guided you, listening to the sounds around you without really hearing them. Your eyes kept drifting toward the trees, your mind stubbornly expecting to hear explosions in the distance or an irritated voice complaining about something.

Nothing came.

Another memory surfaced instead.

You were thirteen and had somehow convinced Katsuki to sneak out with you to watch a meteor shower. He'd spent the entire night complaining about mosquitoes and insisting he could be sleeping instead, only for you to wake up sometime around midnight and find his jacket draped over your shoulders while he pretended not to notice.

The memory hit harder than it should have.

You lowered your head, fingers tightening around the fabric of your costume as your throat tightened painfully.

Across from you, Kirishima rubbed at his eyes before letting out a shaky breath.

"They're gonna find him, right?"

The question wasn't directed at anyone in particular.

Nobody answered.

Because nobody knew.

Nobody answered Kirishima.

Nobody could.

The question lingered in the air before eventually fading into silence once more. You lowered your gaze to the dirt beneath your feet while somewhere nearby, Kaminari quietly sniffled and Mina shifted closer to him. Jirou rested a hand on his shoulder, and though nobody spoke, the gesture alone seemed to say enough.

Time passed.

Or maybe it didn't.

You honestly couldn't tell.

The adrenaline from the attack had long since faded, leaving behind little more than exhaustion and uncertainty. Even your thoughts felt sluggish.

Another memory surfaced.

You were eleven years old. It had been raining, and you'd spent nearly an hour trying to convince Katsuki to jump into puddles with you. He'd called you an idiot at least twenty times before eventually giving in, and by the time the two of you got home, both of your mothers had nearly killed you for tracking mud through the house. You remembered laughing so hard your stomach hurt.

You remembered Katsuki laughing too. Not loudly—he never really laughed loudly—but enough that you'd spent the rest of the night teasing him about it.

The memory twisted painfully in your chest.

Across from you, Midoriya sat with his head lowered, his expression hidden behind messy curls. Beside him, Todoroki leaned silently against a tree while Iida stood nearby, arms folded tightly across his chest. Everyone looked exhausted.

Nobody noticed when Midoriya suddenly sat up except Yaoyorozu, who blinked in surprise.

"Midoriya?"

His head lifted, and for the first time since the attack, you saw something beyond the guilt and fear that had haunted his expression since the forest.

Determination.

"We can find him."

The words were quiet, but they were enough to draw everyone's attention. Kirishima immediately looked up while Yaoyorozu stared at him in confusion. Even Todoroki straightened slightly.

Midoriya shifted forward.

"We know they took him, and Yaoyorozu..." His eyes moved toward her. "You put a tracker on one of the Nomu, didn't you?"

Yaoyorozu's eyes widened.

"I... yes."

For the first time since the forest, something shifted among the group. It wasn't enough to erase the fear or exhaustion hanging over everyone, but as Yaoyorozu confirmed that she'd managed to attach a tracker to one of the Nomu, the crushing helplessness that had settled over them eased, if only slightly.

Kirishima practically lurched forward while Kaminari looked up so fast you thought he might fall over.

"Seriously?" Kirishima breathed.

"Then we can go after him!" Kaminari blurted.

"No," Iida said immediately. "The professionals are handling this. We can't—"

"We're getting him back."

Midoriya's voice wasn't loud.

But it was enough.

And suddenly, everything around you seemed to stop.

The conversations around you faded. The memories that had haunted you all evening disappeared, and for the first time since Katsuki had vanished, something managed to cut through the numbness that had settled over you in the forest.

Because for the first time since he disappeared, someone had finally said the words your heart had been desperately waiting to hear.

We're getting him back.

The words settled heavily over the group.

For a moment, nobody spoke. Even Iida seemed caught off guard by the certainty in Midoriya's voice.

Then he stood.

"Midoriya, no."

The sharpness in his voice caused several heads to turn.

"We are students," Iida continued, exhaustion and frustration evident in every word. "The professionals are already handling this. Running after the League of Villains ourselves is reckless. We have no right—"

"You saw what happened tonight," he continued, his voice quieter now. "You know what they're capable of."

Midoriya nodded.

"I know."

"And you still want to go after them?"

For a moment, Midoriya lowered his gaze.

Because Bakugou was his friend.

Because he had watched him disappear.

And because doing nothing felt unbearable.

"Yaoyorozu's tracker gives us a chance," Midoriya said softly. "I'm not saying we fight them. I'm not saying we play hero. But if we can find where they are, then maybe—"

"Midoriya—"

"I'm getting him back."

The conviction in his voice silenced everyone.

Beside him, Todoroki nodded.

"I'm going too."

Kirishima immediately sat up straighter.

"Me too."

Yaoyorozu hesitated, but only for a moment.

"If the tracker can help..."

Iida looked horrified.

"You can't seriously—"

"I'm coming."

The words left your mouth quietly.

But they were enough.

Everyone froze.

Slowly, Midoriya turned toward you.

For the first time since the forest, your eyes weren't unfocused. They weren't fixed on the trees or lost in memories. There were tears in them now, and exhaustion, and grief so overwhelming you thought it might swallow you whole.

But there was something else too.

Purpose.

You swallowed hard.

"I'm coming."

Midoriya held your gaze.

And then, softly, he nodded.

"I know."

For the first time since the forest, the emptiness inside your chest didn’t feel quite so overwhelming.

The grief was still there. So was the exhaustion, and the memories that had haunted you since watching Katsuki disappear. But now they were accompanied by something else.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, you would bring him home. 

The bright lights overhead looked familiar, which was probably a bad sign.

A groan escaped you as you slowly opened your eyes, immediately recognizing the medical equipment, the white walls, and the unmistakable scent of Recovery Girl's office.

Again.

A wave of exhaustion settled heavily over you the moment you became fully awake.

Recovery Girl had done her job, but her quirk always came with a price. Most of the pain was gone. In its place was bone-deep fatigue that made even lifting your head feel like work.

Throwing yourself in front of an All Might punch, it turned out, still had consequences.

"You know," Recovery Girl said from somewhere nearby, "most students try not to make repeat visits."

You turned your head toward her.

"I'm starting to think you don't like me."

Recovery Girl snorted.

"I'm starting to think I should assign you your own bed."

A familiar scoff came from beside the bed.

You didn't even have to look.

A smile tugged at your lips before you turned your head and found Bakugou sitting in the chair beside you.

Again.

Unlike last time, he wasn't asleep. One arm rested across his chest while the other tapped impatiently against the armrest. An empty sports drink bottle sat on the floor beside him, and another rested on the table near the window.

You raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?"

Red eyes met yours immediately.

"What."

"Do you just live here now?"

Recovery Girl shook her head as she finished looking over your chart.

"You're lucky."

That got your attention.

"I got punched by All Might."

"And you're awake to complain about it."

Fair.

Recovery Girl closed the chart and gave you a pointed look.

"The worst of the damage is healed, but don't expect to feel normal right away. You're going to be exhausted for the next few days and sore for at least a week."

Your face immediately fell.

"A week?"

"You threw yourself into an All Might punch."

"When you say it like that, it sounds irresponsible."

Both Recovery Girl and Bakugou stared at you.

"...It was irresponsible."

They said it at the same time.

You gasped.

"Wow."

Recovery Girl sighed.

"Take it easy for the next few days. Eat. Sleep. Try not to do anything reckless."

"I make no promises."

"I know."

After one last look, Recovery Girl headed for the door.

"I'll let Aizawa know you're awake."

The door clicked shut behind her.

Silence settled over the room.

For a moment, neither of you spoke.

Then the question that had been bothering you since waking up finally won.

"Did we pass?"

Bakugou looked personally offended.

"Obviously."

Relief immediately loosened the knot in your chest.

"Good."

A brief pause.

"You passed too, right?"

The look he gave you was flat.

"We were on the same team."

"I know."

"Do you?"

You rolled your eyes.

"Kats."

"You literally shoved me and Midoriya through the gate before trying to sacrifice yourself."

A grin immediately spread across your face.

"I wasn't sacrificing myself."

"You absolutely were."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"That's not the point."

You laughed.

"You're welcome, by the way."

Bakugou rolled his eyes.

"Brat."

The warmth that spread through your chest was entirely unwelcome and completely impossible to ignore.

Your gaze drifted back toward the sports drink bottles.

Then the chair.

Then him.

A slow smile spread across your face.

"Kats."

His eyes narrowed.

"What."

"How long have you been here?"

His gaze shifted away.

That alone was suspicious.

Your smile widened.

"Kats."

"Don't."

"You've been here for hours, haven't you?"

"I haven't."

"Liar."

A muscle in his jaw twitched.

"You know," you said, settling more comfortably into the pillow, "most people celebrate passing their final exams."

"I did."

"You spent yours sitting in here."

"I was waiting for an idiot to wake up."

Warmth spread through your chest before you could stop it.

Bakugou noticed immediately.

"Don't make it weird."

A laugh escaped you.

"I didn't say anything."

"You were about to."

The grin on your face only widened.

Unfortunately for him, that only seemed to make things worse.

The next morning, every muscle in your body reminded you that Recovery Girl had warned you to take it easy.

Unfortunately, UA apparently had other plans.

Most of Class 1-A looked exhausted as Aizawa stepped into the classroom.

You weren't much better.

The soreness had faded slightly overnight, but the exhaustion lingered stubbornly.

Aizawa dropped a stack of papers onto his desk.

"Your final exam results have been finalized."

The room immediately tensed.

Even Kaminari sat up.

Aizawa glanced down at the papers in front of him.

"Several students failed."

The room groaned.

Kaminari looked seconds away from tears.

Aizawa continued before anyone could panic.

"However, all of you will still be attending summer training camp."

Silence.

The class stared.

Mina blinked.

"...What?"

"The students who failed will be participating in supplemental lessons during camp."

Relief washed across several faces.

Then confusion.

Then dread.

Kaminari looked personally victimized.

"How bad are the supplemental lessons?"

Aizawa's expression didn't change.

"Very."

Kaminari's soul visibly left his body.

Beside him, Kirishima looked equally concerned.

Aizawa ignored them.

"The camp will focus on combat training, rescue exercises, and quirk development."

The room immediately erupted into conversation.

Aizawa waited exactly three seconds before speaking again.

"The location has also been changed."

The classroom quieted.

"Due to security concerns, the destination will remain undisclosed until arrival."

That somehow made everyone even more nervous.

"You leave tomorrow."

The classroom dissolved into immediate conversation.

"Wait, tomorrow?" Sero asked.

"That's not enough time to pack," Mina complained.

Kaminari looked significantly less concerned about packing.

"Can we go back to the part where I failed?"

"You did fail," Jirou informed him.

"Thank you, Jirou."

"Anytime."

Aizawa looked like he regretted speaking.

Nobody seemed particularly interested in class after that.

The words training camp had completely destroyed everyone's ability to focus.

Kaminari spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out how brutal the supplemental lessons would be.

The answers only seemed to make him more nervous.

You, meanwhile, spent the entire day fighting exhaustion.

Recovery Girl's warning echoed in the back of your mind with every yawn and sluggish step between classes. The worst of the soreness had faded, but your body still felt heavier than it should have.

By the time school finally ended, all you wanted was sleep.

Unfortunately, training camp had other plans.

The next morning arrived far too quickly.

The parking lot was still mostly empty when you arrived, though that wasn't surprising.

You were early.

Bakugou was already there.

That was somehow even less surprising.

His eyes immediately dropped to the duffel bag hanging from your shoulder before narrowing.

"What are you doing?"

You glanced down at yourself.

"...Standing?"

"The bag."

Before you could react, he grabbed it.

Then the second one hanging from your arm.

You stared at him.

"Kats."

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"I do."

A sigh escaped you as you fell into step beside him.

"You're impossible."

"Recovery Girl said to take it easy."

Your mouth snapped shut.

Bakugou smirked.

"You suck."

"You got punched by All Might."

"And won."

"You passed out."

"And won."

"Brat."

Despite yourself, you smiled.

Together, the two of you headed toward the bus. You climbed aboard first while Bakugou wrestled both bags into the overhead compartment. The bus was still mostly empty, making it easy to claim a familiar seat near the back.

A few minutes later, Kaminari climbed aboard.

"Hey."

You looked up to find him grinning as he dropped into the empty seat beside you.

"You're here early."

"So are you."

"Fair."

Outside, Bakugou was still dealing with the luggage compartment.

Or threatening it.

Honestly, it was hard to tell.

A few seconds later he finally stepped onto the bus, took one look at Kaminari sitting beside you, and stopped.

Kaminari blinked up at him.

"...What?"

"Move."

The blond frowned.

"Why?"

Bakugou looked genuinely annoyed that he had to explain this.

"You're in the wrong seat."

Kaminari glanced around the mostly empty bus.

Then back at Bakugou.

"There aren't assigned seats."

"There are now."

You immediately had to bite the inside of your cheek.

Oh no.

Kaminari followed Bakugou's glare toward the empty space beside you.

Then back to Bakugou.

Then back to you.

A slow grin spread across his face.

"Oh."

Bakugou's eye twitched.

"Ohhh."

"Don't."

"But I'm comfortable."

"Move."

"No."

"Dunce face."

"Dude, there are like thirty empty seats."

"Then go sit in one."

You turned toward the window before either of them could see the smile threatening to appear.

Unfortunately, that only seemed to encourage Kaminari.

"Wait."

The grin on his face widened.

"Is this your seat?"

"Yes."

"Since when?"

Bakugou stared at him like he'd asked the stupidest question imaginable.

"Since always."

For a second, Kaminari just blinked.

Then he slowly looked toward you.

Your smile widened.

Kaminari looked back at Bakugou.

"Oh my god."

"Move."

"Okay, okay!"

Still laughing, Kaminari pushed himself out of the seat and headed farther down the bus.

The second he was gone, Bakugou dropped into the empty spot beside you.

For a moment, neither of you said anything.

Then you turned toward him.

"This has always been your seat?"

Bakugou didn't even look up.

"Yes."

Your smile widened.

"Always?"

"Yes."

"Since when?"

Now he looked at you.

The expression on his face suggested he already knew exactly where this conversation was going.

"Since always."

A laugh escaped you.

"That's not an answer."

"It is."

"No, it's not."

Bakugou rolled his eyes.

"I've been sitting next to you since we were five."

And there it was.

That stupid warmth in your chest again.

The one that kept showing up whenever he accidentally said something sweet.

Unfortunately for him, he seemed to realize it the second the words left his mouth.

His eyes narrowed immediately.

"Don't."

Your grin only widened.

"I didn't say anything."

"You were about to."

"Maybe."

"Brat."

Before you could tease him any further, the bus doors opened again.

One by one, the rest of Class 1-A began filing aboard.

Mina was talking before she even stepped onto the bus. Uraraka followed behind her, laughing at something that had apparently happened in the parking lot. Iida immediately started directing traffic despite nobody asking him to, while Todoroki looked like he wasn't entirely sure why everyone was being so loud.

Normal.

The familiar noise of your classmates gradually filled the bus as seats were claimed and conversations started. A few rows ahead, Kaminari was already complaining about supplemental lessons.

Jirou looked ready to throw him out the emergency exit.

Honestly?

Fair.

The bus finally lurched forward a few moments later, pulling out of the parking lot as conversations overlapped throughout the cabin.

For the first time in weeks, everything felt normal.

Beside you, Bakugou stretched his legs into the aisle.

"You still look tired."

You turned toward him.

"Wow."

"I'm serious."

"You always know exactly what to say."

"You were practically asleep five minutes ago."

"I wasn't asleep."

"You had your eyes closed."

"I was resting."

Bakugou looked unimpressed.

"There's a difference."

"There is."

"There isn't."

You glared at him.

He stared right back.

Neither of you blinked.

Then a yawn escaped you.

Traitor.

Bakugou smirked.

"Thought so."

You hated that he looked so pleased with himself.

Mostly because he was right.

The conversation drifted after that. Not because either of you ran out of things to say, but because the steady hum of the bus combined with the exhaustion still lingering in your system made it increasingly difficult to focus on anything for very long.

Around you, the rest of Class 1-A was more than capable of filling the silence.

Kaminari was still complaining about supplemental lessons, Jirou was still threatening him, and Mina had somehow managed to rope half the bus into a conversation that seemed to involve ghost stories.

You watched the scenery pass outside the window while the city slowly gave way to trees and mountains. The farther the bus traveled, the heavier your eyelids became.

Recovery Girl's warning echoed in the back of your mind.

A week.

Apparently she hadn't been exaggerating.

"You asleep?"

You didn't bother looking away from the window.

"No."

The answer earned you a skeptical look.

"You sound asleep."

"I'm resting."

"Tch. Sure."

Normally you would've argued.

Instead, you just hummed in response and shifted slightly in your seat.

The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable. It never really was with him. Somewhere along the way, the conversations around you blurred together, becoming little more than background noise.

You weren't entirely sure how much time passed after that.

Only that one moment you were staring out the window, and the next everything felt warm.

Comfortable.

Safe.

A bump in the road jolted the bus hard enough to pull you slightly deeper into sleep.

Beside you, Bakugou froze.

Your head had slipped onto his shoulder.

For a moment, he simply stared.

You were completely out.

The exhaustion Recovery Girl had warned you about had finally won.

Idiot.

Another bump in the road shifted the bus. Your hand moved with it, fingers curling loosely around the sleeve of his jacket without any conscious thought behind the action. Bakugou looked down.

Then immediately looked away again.

The warmth settling awkwardly in his chest was incredibly annoying.

Outside the window, the scenery continued to blur past.

Inside the bus, nobody paid the two of you any attention.

Which was good.

Because moving now would wake you up.

And if you woke up, you'd probably try pretending you weren't tired.

Then you'd overdo it.

Again.

With an irritated click of his tongue, Bakugou settled back against his seat.

The rest of the ride passed quietly.

Your head remained on his shoulder.

Your hand remained curled loosely around his sleeve.

And Bakugou stayed exactly where he was.

The bus eventually slowed to a stop.

You woke slowly, blinking against the sunlight filtering through the windows as conversations buzzed around you.

For a second, you couldn't remember where you were.

Then training camp came rushing back.

Right.

Around you, students were already gathering their bags and heading toward the front of the bus.

Beside you, Bakugou shifted forward in his seat.

"About time."

You stretched carefully, trying not to wince when a few sore muscles protested.

Bakugou noticed immediately.

His eyes narrowed.

You pointed at him.

"Don't."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were about to."

A scoff escaped him as he stood and reached for the overhead compartment.

The grin on your face widened.

Some things never changed.

Together, you followed the rest of the class off the bus.

The view waiting outside was impressive enough to stop several students in their tracks. Mountains stretched endlessly across the horizon while dense forest covered everything below. It would've been beautiful if it wasn't also incredibly suspicious.

"Where's the lodge?" Kaminari asked.

"Maybe it's farther up the mountain?" Uraraka suggested.

"It better be," Sero muttered. "I am not sleeping outside."

The appearance of the Wild, Wild Pussycats distracted everyone for a few minutes. Mina looked thrilled. Kaminari looked confused. Aizawa looked exhausted.

Normal.

The confusion only lasted until Aizawa informed everyone that the overlook wasn't near the training camp.

It was the entrance.

Silence followed.

"What does that mean?" Kirishima asked.

Pixie-Bob smiled.

Then the ground exploded.

The collective screaming started immediately.

One second the class had been standing together. The next, everyone was falling.

You hit the forest floor harder than you would've liked.

The impact knocked the breath from your lungs, and for a split second, your body reminded you exactly why Recovery Girl had ordered you to rest.

Unfortunately, the giant dirt monster charging toward you seemed unconcerned with medical advice.

"Seriously?"

The creature roared.

You sighed.

Lightning crackled across your fingertips.

Around you, the forest had already dissolved into complete chaos. Explosions echoed somewhere to your left, ice shot through the trees to your right, and several students were sprinting in entirely different directions while trying not to get flattened.

A familiar explosion rang out nearby.

You didn't have to look.

"Kats!"

"Quit yelling!"

The immediate response made you grin.

At least he was alive.

For now.

"Try not to die!"

"Tch. Worry about yourself!"

The dirt creature lunged.

You dodged, sent a bolt of electricity through its chest, and immediately regretted how much energy that took.

Recovery Girl was going to be insufferable if she ever found out.

Then again, surviving seemed like the more pressing concern, so you pushed the thought aside and ran.

The next hour was miserable.

That, unfortunately, seemed to be the entire point.

Every time you thought you'd cleared the last obstacle, another one appeared. Pixie-Bob's creatures seemed endless, forcing the class to fight, run, climb, and dodge their way through the forest while carrying all of their supplies.

Whoever designed this training exercise was a sadist.

Probably Aizawa.

By the time the camp finally came into view, everyone looked exhausted.

Even Bakugou.

Which was honestly a little concerning.

The moment the cabins appeared through the trees, a collective sigh of relief spread through the class.

It lasted all of three seconds.

"Don't get comfortable," Mandalay called. "Training starts immediately after lunch."

The collective groan that followed could probably be heard from another prefecture.

You weren't sure whether you wanted food or a nap more.

Unfortunately, neither seemed to be an option.

As students dragged themselves toward the cabins, a familiar hand caught the strap of your duffel bag before you could pick it up.

You looked over.

Bakugou was already walking away with it.

"Kats."

"No."

"You can't just keep stealing my stuff."

"Watch me."

You stared at his back.

"What if I wanted to carry it?"

"You don't."

"I might."

"You don't."

Unfortunately, he was right.

The forest run had taken more out of you than you wanted to admit.

Bakugou glanced over his shoulder.

The brief look was enough.

He knew.

Annoying.

Without another word, he kept walking.

And without another argument, you followed.

Lunch disappeared embarrassingly fast.

One minute everyone was eating.

The next, the Wild, Wild Pussycats were already herding the class back outside.

Apparently training camp wasn't interested in letting anyone recover from the forest.

The first exercise focused on quirk development.

According to the Pussycats, most students relied too heavily on the techniques they already knew instead of expanding their limits.

Which sounded suspiciously painful.

It turned out to be exactly that.

The afternoon quickly became a blur of drills, exercises, and repeated failures. Students were pushed far beyond what they were used to, forcing them to find new ways to use their quirks instead of relying on familiar habits.

You hated every second of it.

Mostly because Recovery Girl's warning was proving increasingly difficult to ignore.

The more you used your quirk, the heavier your body felt.

Not enough to stop.

Just enough to be annoying.

Unfortunately, Bakugou noticed.

Of course he did.

During one of the short breaks between exercises, you dropped onto a nearby log and reached for your water bottle.

Before you could take a drink, a second bottle landed in your lap.

You looked up.

Bakugou looked away immediately.

"Hydrate."

A laugh escaped you.

"Was that concern?"

"No."

"It sounded like concern."

"It wasn't."

You took a sip anyway.

"You're getting soft."

The look he gave you suggested he was considering throwing you into a tree.

The break ended before he could act on it.

Probably for the best.

By the time training finally ended, the entire class looked half dead.

Even the students who had spent the afternoon insisting they were fine had stopped complaining.

Mostly because they no longer had the energy.

The promise of dinner was the only thing keeping several people upright.

Kaminari in particular looked seconds away from collapsing.

"I can't feel my legs."

"That's because you used them," Jirou informed him.

"Why would I do that?"

Nobody bothered answering.

The dining hall was significantly louder than the training grounds had been. Between the food, the exhaustion, and the relief of finally being allowed to sit down, the class seemed determined to make up for the hours they'd spent suffering.

You weren't much better.

The second your plate hit the table, you started eating.

A few seats away, Bakugou snorted.

"What?"

"Nothing."

His expression said otherwise.

You narrowed your eyes.

"Kats."

"You're inhaling your food."

You looked down.

In your defense, he wasn't wrong.

Training had burned through what little energy Recovery Girl had left you with.

"Mind your business."

"Tch."

A minute later, another piece of meat landed on your plate.

You blinked.

Then looked up.

Bakugou was already eating again like nothing had happened.

The warmth that settled in your chest was immediate.

"Kats."

"Eat it."

A grin tugged at your lips.

"You're sweet."

The look he gave you suggested he was reconsidering the entire gesture.

"Take that back."

"No."

The next day passed in a blur of training.

By some miracle, nobody died.

Several students came close.

Kaminari spent most of the afternoon complaining about his supplemental lessons, while the rest of Class 1-A discovered increasingly creative ways to suffer.

You weren't much better.

Recovery Girl's warning continued to haunt you. The worst of the exhaustion had finally begun to ease, but every time training pushed your limits, you could still feel the difference. Not enough for anyone else to notice.

Unfortunately, Bakugou wasn't anyone else.

Halfway through the afternoon, he caught you wincing after a particularly difficult exercise.

The look he gave you was immediate.

You pointed at him.

"Don't."

"I didn't say anything."

"You were going to."

"Tch."

The conversation ended there.

Mostly because you were right.

By the time evening finally arrived, the entire camp looked exhausted.

The training grounds were quiet for the first time all day as students slowly made their way back toward the cabins.

For a little while, everything felt peaceful.

Safe.

Normal.

The last traces of sunlight disappeared beyond the trees as darkness settled over the mountains.

Then, somewhere in the distance, a scream echoed through the forest.

The conversation around the training grounds died instantly.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Several students glanced toward the tree line while others exchanged uncertain looks. The sound had been distant enough that it could have been anything.

An accident.

A training exercise.

Someone messing around.

Then another scream followed.

Closer this time.

The uneasy feeling that settled over the camp was immediate.

The Wild, Wild Pussycats reacted first.

Whatever amusement had been on their faces moments earlier vanished completely, replaced by expressions that made your stomach drop. Heroes didn't look like that unless something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Beside you, Bakugou straightened.

You felt yourself do the same.

The training grounds fell silent.

Then Mandalay's voice exploded inside everyone's heads.

"Listen carefully! Villains have infiltrated the camp!"

The effect was immediate.

Confusion spread through the students while several people froze outright.

Villains?

Here?

"All students are to retreat immediately! Head back toward camp and stay together!"

The panic started almost instantly.

Questions erupted from every direction, but none of the heroes stopped to answer them.

Aizawa was already moving.

The Pussycats were already moving.

This wasn't another lesson.

This wasn't training.

The League of Villains had found them.

"Move!" Aizawa barked.

Nobody argued.

The students immediately began moving back toward camp, the earlier exhaustion forgotten as adrenaline took over.

You fell into step beside Bakugou automatically.

This time, nobody was getting separated.

Not after USJ.

Not again.

For a while, it actually seemed possible.

The class stayed together as they moved through the forest. Students clustered closer than usual while the pro heroes spread out around them, watching the surrounding trees for any sign of movement.

The tension was suffocating.

Every snapped branch made someone jump.

Every shifting shadow drew attention.

Then the forest exploded.

Smoke burst through the trees ahead of them.

Several students shouted.

A massive wave of heat rolled through the forest seconds later.

And suddenly villains were everywhere.

The orderly retreat dissolved instantly.

Students scattered as attacks erupted from every direction, the forest filling with smoke, fire, and shouting. Several of the Wild, Wild Pussycats broke away immediately, intercepting villains before they could reach the younger students.

"Keep moving!" Mandalay shouted.

Easier said than done.

A burst of blue flame exploded through the trees ahead of them, forcing the group to veer sharply to the right. Somewhere behind you, Kaminari yelled something that sounded suspiciously like a prayer.

You didn't have time to worry about him.

A familiar explosion echoed beside you.

Bakugou.

Relief immediately settled in your chest.

At least you knew where he was.

Another villain lunged from the trees.

Lightning crackled across your fingertips as you reacted instinctively, sending the attacker flying before they could get close enough to touch either of you.

"Stay close," you said.

Bakugou blasted another villain backward.

"You stay close."

Despite everything, you almost laughed.

The two of you moved together through the chaos, watching each other's blind spots as students and villains alike disappeared into the smoke-filled forest. Around you, the retreat had completely fallen apart.

Somewhere to your left, ice shot through the trees.

Todoroki.

A second later, Midoriya appeared through the smoke, breathing hard as he caught up with you.

"There you are!"

Before anyone could respond, another explosion rocked the forest.

This one close enough to shake the ground beneath your feet.

The trees groaned.

Smoke surged between them.

And for several terrifying seconds, nobody could see anything at all.

The trees groaned overhead as smoke surged through the forest.

For several terrifying seconds, visibility vanished completely.

The world became a blur of gray and white as students shouted somewhere beyond the haze. Heat rolled through the trees a second later, followed by a burst of blue flame powerful enough to force everyone backward.

You threw an arm over your face as the forest erupted around you.

Somewhere nearby, Todoroki's ice crashed against the flames, filling the air with steam.

The collision was strong enough to shake the ground beneath your feet.

By the time the smoke finally began to clear, Midoriya and Todoroki were gone.

Your stomach immediately dropped.

"Midoriya?" you called.

Nothing.

"Todoroki!"

Still nothing.

Beside you, Bakugou's expression darkened as he scanned the surrounding trees.

The uneasy feeling in your chest returned immediately.

Then laughter drifted through the forest.

A figure emerged from the smoke.

Then another.

You recognized them instantly.

Twice and Mr. Compress.

"Well, there they are," Compress said pleasantly, adjusting his mask.

Twice pointed dramatically.

"We found them!"

"No thanks to you!"

"I literally found them!"

"You got lucky!"

Bakugou looked annoyed.

"Shut the hell up."

Small explosions crackled across his palms.

Compress chuckled.

"Ah. Definitely him."

The comment made something cold settle in your stomach.

Compress wasn't looking at either of you.

He was looking at Bakugou.

Before you could think too hard about what that meant, Twice's clones surged forward.

The fight started immediately.

Explosions lit up the forest as Bakugou launched himself into the nearest group, scattering clones before they could surround either of you. Lightning crackled through the trees a second later, arcing between several more and dropping them just as quickly.

For a moment, it almost felt easy.

The clones weren’t particularly strong, just numerous. Every time one fell, another seemed to take its place.

Still, the two of you had been fighting together long enough that neither needed to think about what the other was doing. You moved instinctively, covering openings before they appeared and reacting to attacks before words were necessary.

The clones kept coming.

They kept falling.

And through it all, Mr. Compress simply watched.

That bothered you.

A lot.

Villains didn't stand around doing nothing.

Especially not during an attack like this.

"Something's wrong," you muttered.

Bakugou blasted another clone apart.

"No kidding."

"No, I mean—"

A sharp pain shot through your side.

Not enough to stop you.

Enough to notice.

Your stomach dropped.

Recovery Girl’s warning hit at the worst possible moment.

The exhaustion you'd been ignoring for two days was still there.

Waiting.

Another burst of lightning left your fingertips.

The attack was weaker.

You noticed.

Unfortunately, so did Mr. Compress.

The villain's smile widened slightly beneath his mask.

And suddenly the entire situation made sense.

They weren't trying to beat you.

They were stalling.

"Bakugou."

His head turned immediately.

"They're waiting for something."

The words had barely left your mouth when the forest exploded.

Blue fire tore through the trees.

The heat hit first.

Then Dabi stepped from the smoke.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Blue flames danced lazily across his scarred skin, casting eerie shadows through the trees.

The sight of him sent a chill down your spine.

Beside you, small explosions crackled across Bakugou's palms.

"Tch."

That was all the warning anyone got.

Then everything moved at once.

A second later, Bakugou attacked.

The forest exploded into motion.

Heat and light collided as explosions tore through the trees. Dabi answered immediately, blue flames surging forward and swallowing the space between them. Smoke rolled across the forest floor, forcing everyone to keep moving as visibility disappeared and reappeared in unpredictable bursts.

You didn't give him time to recover. Lightning flashed through the haze, striking where Dabi had been standing moments before. The villain sidestepped at the last second, looking more annoyed than threatened.

That bothered you.

The entire fight bothered you.

Every instinct told you something was wrong.

The villains weren't pressing their advantage. They weren't trying to finish the fight. Every time one of you forced them backward, they retreated. Every time it looked like you'd gained ground, they simply shifted positions and started again.

It felt less like a battle and more like being led somewhere.

Another wave of Twice's clones rushed forward. You reacted automatically, electricity arcing through several at once. The attack worked, but the sharp ache that followed reminded you exactly how much you'd been pushing yourself.

You recovered quickly.

Not quickly enough.

Bakugou noticed.

Of course he did.

His expression darkened for only a second before another explosion forced the nearest clones away from your position. It was subtle enough that most people wouldn't have thought twice about it.

You knew better.

Before you could say anything, a massive wall of ice burst through the trees.

Relief hit immediately.

Todoroki.

A second later Midoriya emerged through the smoke beside him, breathing hard but very much alive.

"There you are," he said, sounding far more relieved than he probably intended.

For the first time since the attack began, the situation felt manageable. The four of you had fought together before. You knew how each other moved. How each other thought. Whatever the League was planning, having everyone together again felt like a step in the right direction.

Dabi seemed to think otherwise.

The villain's gaze drifted across the group, following the way the four of you naturally fell into formation. Every opening was covered almost immediately. Every attack was answered before it could gain any real ground.

A slow smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

"They stick together."

Mr. Compress adjusted his mask.

"That does complicate things."

The exchange sent a chill down your spine.

Neither of them looked frustrated.

If anything, they looked amused.

Like they'd already expected this.

Dabi's eyes drifted from Bakugou to you before settling back on Compress.

"Grab them both."

Something cold settled heavily in your stomach.

Before you could figure out why, Mr. Compress smiled.

Which was exactly why the smile that appeared beneath Mr. Compress's mask made your stomach drop.

The villain moved so quickly that for a second your brain couldn't process what had happened.

One moment he was standing several yards away.

The next, he had slipped through the battlefield entirely.

Midoriya reacted first.

"Todoroki!"

Ice surged through the forest as both boys moved simultaneously, cutting off Compress's path before he could reach the group.

It should have worked.

Instead, Compress laughed.

A gloved hand shot outward.

The world disappeared.

The battle vanished so suddenly it felt wrong. The explosions, the shouting, the crackling fire that had filled the forest only moments before disappeared completely, leaving behind a silence so unnatural it stole the breath from your lungs.

For a brief moment, you couldn't understand what had happened.

Then you realized what was missing.

Bakugou.

You couldn't hear him. No explosions. No annoyed comments. No familiar voice somewhere nearby.

Nothing.

The realization sent panic crashing through your chest.

Compress had gotten both of you.

The silence lasted only a second before the world snapped back into focus.

Trees, smoke, and fire returned all at once as Midoriya caught the marble containing you before it could hit the ground.

Strong hands steadied your shoulders.

"Y/N!"

You barely heard him.

Because your eyes immediately found Mr. Compress.

And Bakugou was still gone.

The panic that followed was immediate. Not because Bakugou couldn’t fight or because he wasn’t one of the strongest people you knew, but because suddenly every strange detail from the last few minutes made sense.

The villains hadn't been trying to defeat you.

They hadn't been trying to win.

They'd been trying to get to him.

And they had him.

"After him!"

Midoriya was already moving before the words fully left your mouth.

Todoroki wasn't far behind.

You followed immediately.

The forest blurred around you as the three of you chased after Compress through the smoke. Every branch, every root, every obstacle seemed determined to slow you down. It wasn't enough.

Ahead of you, Compress suddenly stopped.

The movement was so unexpected that everyone hesitated.

Then Bakugou reappeared.

The marble vanished and he dropped back into the forest, already moving before his feet fully touched the ground. Explosions ignited instantly as he launched himself away from the villains, refusing to give them a second of cooperation.

Relief hit so hard it almost hurt.

For one brief moment, it looked like he had an opening.

Like maybe this wasn't over.

Todoroki surged forward, ice racing across the forest floor as he closed the distance.

Midoriya pushed harder.

You did the same.

The gap between all of you began shrinking.

Twenty feet.

Fifteen.

Ten.

Close enough to see the frustration written across Bakugou's face.

Close enough to think you might actually make it.

Then blue fire exploded between you.

Dabi.

The flames forced everyone apart as heat rolled through the forest. Trees ignited instantly, smoke swallowing the battlefield once again. The delay only lasted seconds.

But seconds were all the villains needed.

By the time the smoke began to clear, a dark portal had opened behind Bakugou.

Your stomach dropped.

Kurogiri.

The portal twisted behind Bakugou like a wound in the air itself, dark mist curling from its edges as it slowly widened.

"No."

The word escaped before you could stop it.

Bakugou saw it too.

His expression immediately darkened.

An explosion ignited from his palms as he launched himself away from the portal, refusing to go anywhere he didn't choose.

For a second, it worked.

Relief surged through your chest.

Then Spinner appeared.

The distraction lasted less than a moment.

Just enough.

Bakugou blasted him away almost immediately, but the delay had already done its job.

The portal was closer now.

Too close.

Todoroki surged forward, ice racing across the forest floor.

Midoriya wasn't far behind.

You pushed harder.

Ignoring the ache in your muscles.

Ignoring the exhaustion.

Ignoring everything except the rapidly shrinking distance between you and Bakugou.

Ten feet.

Maybe less.

Close enough that you could make it.

You had to.

Another burst of lightning crackled across your skin as you forced more power into your quirk.

The response was immediate.

And wrong.

Pain shot through your arm.

Your vision blurred.

For half a second, your body refused to cooperate.

Half a second.

That was all it took.

Dabi moved.

Blue fire erupted across the battlefield, forcing everyone to break their momentum. Heat crashed into the forest hard enough to send sparks flying through the trees. You stumbled.

Not enough for anyone else to notice, but enough.

The exhaustion you'd been fighting since the final exams finally caught up.

Not completely.

Just enough to steal a step.

Just enough to make you late.

Ahead of you, Bakugou twisted violently as black mist wrapped around his arm.

The sight sent panic crashing through your chest.

"Katsuki!"

His head snapped toward your voice.

For one horrible moment, your eyes met.

You ran harder.

Ignoring the pain.

Ignoring the exhaustion.

Ignoring everything.

The distance between you disappeared.

Five feet.

Four.

Three.

You reached for him.

So did Todoroki.

For a second, it looked possible.

Like maybe—

Maybe—

The portal surged.

Bakugou vanished.

The mist swallowed him whole.

And then he was gone.

The forest fell silent.

Not completely.

There were still villains.

Still flames.

Still shouting somewhere in the distance.

But none of it seemed real.

Your arm slowly dropped.

The space where Bakugou had been was empty.

And for the first time since you were five years old...

You had no idea where he was.

| Prev | Next | Masterlist |

The first thing you noticed was the beeping of the monitor beside your bed.

The second was the pain.

It settled into every part of your body, a dull ache that made even breathing feel heavier than it should have. Your arms hurt. Your head hurt. Your chest felt like someone had parked a truck on top of it.

For a moment, you simply stared at the ceiling above you, trying to remember what had happened.

Then it all came rushing back—the villains attacking the USJ, Aizawa getting hurt, saving your classmates, Shigaraki trying to kill you, All Might arriving, and Bakugou pulling you away from it all.

Your eyes snapped open.

A chair sat beside the bed.

And slumped awkwardly in it was Bakugou.

His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, chin tipped forward as he slept. Dirt still streaked parts of his hero costume, and a scrape ran along one cheek that definitely hadn’t been there before.

He looked exhausted.

Which didn’t make any sense.

The attack was over.

He should have gone home hours ago.

Instead, he was here.

Something warm settled in your chest before you could stop it.

The door opened before you could think about it too hard.

Recovery Girl stepped inside carrying a clipboard.

“Well,” she said, glancing between the two of you. “About time.”

Bakugou’s eyes opened instantly.

The transition from asleep to awake was honestly concerning.

Red eyes landed on you immediately.

“Took you long enough.”

Despite everything, a small laugh escaped you.

“Good morning to you too.”

“Tch.”

Recovery Girl sighed as she walked over to the bed.

“You nearly burned yourself out.”

Your stomach dropped immediately.

“The others?”

“Alive,” she answered before you could finish. “Your classmates are fine. The villains were either captured or driven off.”

Relief washed through you so quickly your shoulders nearly sagged into the mattress.

Recovery Girl tapped the clipboard lightly against the end of the bed.

“That said, don’t get comfortable. You pushed your quirk well beyond its limits. If your classmates hadn’t gotten you out of there when they did, we’d be having a very different conversation.”

Your eyes fell to your hands resting on the blanket.

No sparks.

No static.

Nothing.

“How bad was it?”

Recovery Girl’s expression softened slightly.

“Bad enough.”

Silence settled over the room before Bakugou scoffed.

“She was reckless.”

You looked up.

“Excuse me?

“You heard me.”

“I was helping people.”

“You nearly killed yourself.”

“You jumped into a villain attack!”

“You electrocuted half. Lake!”

Recovery Girl stared at the two of you for a moment before shaking her head.

“It’s honestly a miracle either of you survived childhood.”

Before either of you could respond she was already muttering about needing coffee under her breath before heading for the door.

“Try not to kill yourselves before lunch.”

The door clicked shut behind her.

Silence settled over the room.

For a moment, neither of you spoke.

Your gaze drifted around the room.

The blanket draped over one arm of the chair.

An empty water bottle sitting on the floor beside it.

His gauntlets resting against the wall.

And the fact that he was still wearing his costume.

Realization settled in slowly.

“….Kats.”

“What.”

“Have you been here the whole time?”

For a moment, he didn’t answer.

Then—

“Someone had to make sure you woke up.”

Your breath caught slightly.

Bakugou immediately looked annoyed.

Like he regretted saying it the second it left his mouth.

“Don’t make a thing out of it.”

A small smile tugged at your lips.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

The days following the USJ attack felt strange.

Classes resumed almost immediately, but things weren’t quite the same. Students still laughed during lunch, complained about homework, and groaned through training exercises, yet an unspoken tension lingered beneath it all. Villains had attacked UA. Not somewhere else. Not on the news.

Here.

Everyone felt it.

Some were simply better at hiding it than others.

Training became more intense after that. So did the teachers.

The class threw themselves into improving their quirks, determined not to be caught unprepared again. You understood the feeling. Every time you closed your eyes, memories of the flood zone still lingered in the back of your mind, pushing you to work harder. Maybe a little too hard.

“You’re doing it again.”

You glanced over your shoulder.

Bakugou stood near the edge of the training field, hands shoved into his pockets as he watched you with narrowed eyes.

“Doing what?”

His gaze dropped toward your hand.

Only then did you notice the weak static dancing across your fingertips.

“…Oh.”

“Tch.”

You rolled your eyes.

“It’s not that bad.”

“That’s what you said before you electrocuted half a lake.”

“I did not electrocute half a lake.”

“You absolutely did.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

Bakugou’s expression said otherwise.

A laugh escaped you despite yourself before you turned back toward the training targets. Some things, at least, hadn’t changed.

Before anyone had fully recovered from the USJ attack, UA announced the Sports Festival.

The entire country would be watching.

No pressure.

The weeks leading up to it passed quickly. Training intensified, teachers raised their expectations, and students spent every free moment preparing for the biggest event of the year. The festival itself felt like a blur.

One moment you were standing at the starting line of the obstacle course, surrounded by hundreds of students.

The next, Present Mic was screaming loud enough to be heard from space.

You managed to place well enough to advance, though not nearly as high as Bakugou.

Not that he ever let you forget it.

“You lost.”

“You say that like you won.”

“I did.”

“Not the obstacle course.”

“Tch.”

The cavalry battle wasn’t much better. Teams formed, teams fell apart, and an alarming number of explosions somehow made it past the faculty without anyone shutting the event down. By the time the tournament portion arrived, everyone was bruised, exhausted, and running on pure stubbornness.

Somehow, Bakugou looked completely energized by the entire thing.

You watched several of his matches from the waiting area, shaking your head every time another opponent got launched across the arena.

“He looks happy,” Kirishima said.

You snorted.

“No, he doesn’t.”

Kirishima blinked.

“What?”

You nodded toward the arena.

“That’s his irritated face.”

“….That’s his happy face.”

“No, that’s definitely his irritated face.”

The redhead stared at you.

“You can tell the difference?”

You paused.

“…Can’t everyone?”

Judging by the look on Kirishima’s face—

apparently not.

The Sports Festival ended with Bakugou standing on the podium exactly where you expected him to be.

First place.

What you hadn’t expected was for him to be muzzled and restrained.

The crowd was a mix of cheers and boos, though with Bakugou’s attitude and the way he’d been dragged onto the podium in restrains, it wasn’t exactly surprising.

While everyone else focused on the trophy, your attention drifted toward him instead.

For a moment, your eyes met across the stadium.

Bakugou rolled his eyes.

Or at least, you were pretty sure he did.

It was hard to tell with the muzzle.

Internships followed soon after.

For the first time in months, Class 1-A scattered across the country. Different cities, different agencies, different experiences.

It should have felt normal.

Instead, it felt strange.

After everything that had happened at USJ, you had gotten used to seeing your classmates every day. Gotten used to training beside them. Arguing with them. Knowing exactly where everyone was.

The silence left behind felt oddly noticeable.

The first day back at UA felt almost normal.

You were digging through your locker when a familiar voice spoke from behind you.

“You look terrible.”

A grin immediately pulled at your lips.

You didn’t even have to turn around.

“Missed you too, Kats.”

“Tch.”

You finally looked over your shoulder.

Bakugou looked exactly the same—annoyed, tired, and perpetually angry at the world—but Best Jeanist somehow had managed to flatten his hair into actual submission.

You stared.

His eyes narrowed.

“Don’t.”

Your grin widened instantly.

“Kats, what happened to your hair?”

“I’m leaving.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Tch.”

The sight of him made the past week feel a little less exhausting.

“How was your internship?” you asked.

“It was fine.”

Which probably meant it wasn’t.

You nodded.

“Mine was good.”

“Good.”

The conversation should have ended there, but neither of you walked away. Neither of you seemed particularly interested in leaving.

Eventually you glanced toward him.

“You’re staring.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

“Tch.”

A smile tugged at your lips.

Some things, apparently, never changed.

The weeks passed quickly after that.

Between classes, training, and preparing for hero work, life at UA settled into something that almost felt normal again.

Almost.

Then final exam arrived.

Somehow, they managed to make everyone more stressed than the Sports Festival. Which honestly felt impressive.

UA had spent weeks drilling combat scenarios, rescue exercises, and written evaluations into all of you after the USJ attack, but the second Aizawa explained that the practical exam would involve fighting the teachers directly, panic had spread through the classroom almost instantly.

Except for Bakugou.

“You’re all extras,” he said confidently from his seat. “How hard could it be?”

“Those are professional heroes,” Kaminari pointed out.

“Tch. And?”

“You are literally the reason recovery Girl stays employed,” you muttered from beside him.

Bakugou clicked his tongue but didn’t deny it.

Aizawa ignored the arguing entirely as he continued writing team assignments across the board. Most of the class looked nervous until Midoriya froze.

“…Kacchan?”

You looked up at the board immediately.

Bakugou Katsuki. Midoriya Izuku. Y/N L/N. Vs. All Might.

Silence hit the classroom instantly before everyone started yelling.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” Kaminari shouted.

“That’s so unfair!” Mina added immediately.

Midoriya looked like he might actually pass out while Bakugou only grinned wider.

“Oh, this’ll be fun.”

You stared at the board for another second before slowly lowering your head into your hands.

“We’re doomed.”

The second the exam gates closed behind the three of you, the tension exploded.

“This plan sucks already,” Bakugou snapped.

“We haven’t even made a plan yet!” Midoriya shot back.

“Exactly.”

You sighed heavily as the massive training zone stretched around you, broken buildings and concrete pathways casting long shadows beneath the afternoon sun. Somewhere out there, All Might was waiting.

Midoriya was already muttering strategies under his breath while Bakugou looked ready to sprint directly into a fight with the number one hero barehanded.

Honestly?

Both options sounded terrible.

“We are not splitting up,” you said immediately.

Bakugou scoffed. “Says who?”

“Says me.”

“Tch.”

Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. “Maybe we should focus on escaping instead of fighting him directly—”

“We’re not running,” Bakugou interrupted.

“We’re not beating All Might either!”

“Speak for yourself.”

“You do realize ‘blow it up’ isn’t a real plan, right?”

Bakugou looked personally offended by the statement, but before another argument could start, the ground suddenly shook beneath your feet.

All three of you froze.

Heavy footsteps echoed somewhere deeper in the training zone. Slow. Deliberate. Getting closer. Midoriya’s face paled instantly. “He found us already?!”

A massive shadow moved across the buildings ahead before All Might stepped into view. Even weakened by the training weights strapped around him, his presence still felt overwhelming.

“Young Bakugou!” he called dramatically.

Bakugou grinned immediately.

“Young Midoriya! Young Y/N!”

“…Why does this feel like a death sentence?” you muttered.

Then All Might smiled.

And moved.

Fast enough to shatter the concrete beneath his feet.

“MOVE!” Midoriya shouted.

The three of you barely scattered in time before All Might’s fist obliterated the ground where you’d been standing moments earlier. Concrete exploded violently through the training zone as debris rained down around you.

Bakugou grinned like a maniac.

“FINALLY!”

Explosions burst beneath his feet as he launched himself straight back toward All Might without hesitation.

“Kats, WAIT—”

Too late.

All Might met him head-on.

The impact alone shook the entire arena hard enough to send debris crashing from nearby buildings while smoke erupted violently through the training zone. Midoriya looked horrified. “He actually attacked him directly?!”

“Of course he did!” you shouted back.

Another explosion burst through the smoke before Bakugou came flying backward across the concrete, barely catching himself before crashing through part of a wall hard enough to crack the entire structure behind him.

“You okay?!” Midoriya yelled.

“I’m FINE!”

Liar.

Even from where you stood, you could already see the strain starting to build in his movements. All Might wasn’t holding back nearly as much as any of you wanted him to.

Bakugou launched himself forward again before Midoriya could stop him.

“We need a plan!” Midoriya shouted.

“We need HIM,” you corrected quickly, pointing toward Bakugou as another explosion rocked the arena. “If All Might focuses on him first, we can actually move.”

Midoriya blinked before immediately slipping into analysis mode.

“All Might reacts to the biggest threat closest to him…” he muttered. “So if Bakugou keeps him occupied—”

“I can create openings,” you finished.

Midoriya nodded quickly. “And I can clear a path to the exit.”

Another shockwave tore violently through the arena.

Bakugou blasted out of the smoke again, skidding across the concrete beside both of you.

“Took you idiots long enough.”

“You started fighting All Might before we could even THINK,” you snapped.

“Tch. And?”

Midoriya ignored both of you.

“The gate’s northwest from here,” he said quickly. “If we keep moving while Bakugou distracts him—”

“I’m not a distraction,” Bakugou interrupted immediately.

“You know what I mean!”

Another shadow moved through the smoke behind him.

Your stomach dropped.

“He’s coming again.”

All Might burst through the debris a second later, moving far too fast for any of you to react properly.

“Scatter!” Midoriya shouted.

The three of you split apart instantly as All Might’s fist shattered the ground between you hard enough to crack the surrounding buildings. Wind exploded violently through the training zone while chunks of concrete rained around all of you.

Bakugou recovered first.

“Tch. Too slow!”

Explosions burst beneath his feet as he launched himself directly toward All Might again.

“Katsuki!” you shouted.

“What?!” he yelled back.

“You cannot just keep throwing explosions at him!”

“They solve MOST problems!”

“All Might is not most problems, Kats!”

Midoriya looked exhausted already as he dodged falling debris beside you. “We need to keep moving toward the gate! If he corners us, we’re done!”

Bakugou blasted another explosion toward All Might’s face before skidding backward across the concrete.

“Then quit slowing me down!”

You glared at him. “You are literally the problem right now!”

“All Might’s the problem!”

Honestly?

Fair point.

All Might moved again before another argument could start. The pressure behind the punch hit first.

Then the impact.

Bakugou barely blocked the attack with an explosion before the force drove him backward hard enough to crater the concrete beneath him. Cracks raced violently across the ground while smoke curled heavily from his gauntlets.

Your stomach twisted.

Even Bakugou couldn’t keep taking hits like that.

“Katsuki!”

“I’m FINE!”

Liar.

Midoriya noticed it too. His expression sharpened immediately as he flexed his already-damaged arm.

“If we keep fighting him separately, we’re going to lose.”

Bakugou clicked his tongue sharply.

“Tch.”

“No,” you snapped immediately, pointing at him. “You do not get to ‘tch’ your way out of teamwork.”

Midoriya looked dangerously close to laughing despite the situation while Bakugou looked personally offended.

Then All Might smiled.

And charged straight toward Bakugou again.

All Might moved too fast.

One second Bakugou was yelling beside you, the next All Might was already there, massive and impossibly fast as he pulled back one arm for a punch strong enough to end the fight instantly.

Your stomach dropped.

“Katsuki!”

Bakugou’s eyes widened.

Then you moved.

You slammed into him hard enough to throw him sideways just as All Might’s fist connected with you instead.

Pain exploded through your ribs.

The impact launched you violently across the training ground before you crashed straight through a section of broken concrete hard enough to leave the entire arena shaking.

For half a second, everything went silent.

Bakugou froze.

“Y/N!”

All Might straightened immediately, eyes widening slightly like he hadn’t expected you to throw yourself into the attack.

But before he could move toward you again, Midoriya reacted.

“Bakugou, NOW!”

Bakugou moved instantly.

No arguing. No hesitation.

Explosions burst violently beneath his feet as he launched straight toward All Might while Midoriya rushed in from the opposite side at the exact same time.

All Might turned toward Bakugou first, which gave Midoriya the opening he needed.

His punch slammed into All Might’s arm hard enough to throw off his balance for half a second before Bakugou’s explosion detonated directly beside him. Smoke and debris erupted violently through the training zone as the combined force finally pushed All Might backward across the arena.

“GO!” Midoriya shouted.

Bakugou was already moving.

The second enough distance opened between them and All Might, explosions burst violently beneath his feet as he launched straight through the smoke toward the rubble where you’d crashed. Midoriya followed close behind.

Bakugou reached you first.

Smoke still curled from his palms as he dropped hard beside the shattered concrete, red eyes scanning frantically across your injuries.

“Y/N—”

Your entire side throbbed painfully as you forced yourself upright from the rubble with a groan. “That,” you wheezed, “felt familiar.”

Midoriya dropped beside you next, looking horrified. Blood trickled down one side of his face from debris while his arm shook from overusing One For All.

“Are you okay?!”

Bakugou looked furious.

“What the hell were you thinking?!”

“You were about to get hit by All Might!”

“That doesn’t mean you throw yourself in front of the damn punch!”

You stared at both of them for half a second before smacking each of them upside the head.

The boys froze.

“OW—”

“Would you two stop fighting for FIVE SECONDS?!” you snapped. “You literally just worked together better in the last thirty seconds than you have this entire exam!”

Silence.

Midoriya blinked.

Bakugou clicked his tongue.

“No,” you interrupted immediately, pointing at him. “You do not get to ‘tch’ your way out of this one.”

Midoriya almost laughed while Bakugou looked personally offended.

“You both already know how the other fights,” you continued. “So either start acting like a team on purpose or All Might’s going to flatten all three of us.”

For a second, neither boy said anything.

Then Midoriya’s expression shifted first.

“All Might’s still guarding the exit,” he said quickly, forcing himself back into strategy mode. “Even if we fight together head-on, we’re probably not beating him in a straight fight.”

Bakugou clicked his tongue but didn’t argue.

Which honestly felt more concerning.

You pushed yourself upright fully despite the sharp pain still throbbing through your ribs. “We don’t need to beat him,” you reminded them. “We just need to get past him.”

Midoriya blinked once before nodding quickly. “Right. The gate.”

Bakugou’s eyes narrowed toward the other side of the arena where the exit sat partially hidden beneath broken debris.

“Tch. Then we force an opening.”

All Might moved again fast enough that the ground cracked beneath him.

“HE’S COMING!” Midoriya shouted.

Bakugou grinned.

“Finally.”

Explosions burst violently from his palms as he launched himself forward before either of you could stop him.

All Might met him head-on again.

The impact shook the training zone hard enough to send debris crashing from the ceiling while smoke and wind exploded violently through the arena. Bakugou blocked another punch before getting thrown backward across the concrete hard enough to tear a trench through the ground. Midoriya froze for half a second.

“He’s actually holding him back…”

Barely. Even from a distance, you could see Bakugou getting slower. His breathing had gotten noticeably heavier, smoke curling constantly from his gauntlets now.

But he still wasn’t retreating.

“Midoriya,” you snapped.

His attention immediately shifted toward you.

“Go.”

That was all it took.

Midoriya sprinted forward instantly while you forced yourself upright beside him, pain flaring sharply through your ribs the second you started moving again.

Bakugou noticed immediately.

Even while dodging another punch from All Might, his eyes flicked toward you for half a second. “Oi!” he shouted angrily. “Why are YOU moving?!”

“Because your plan sucks!” you shouted back.

“It’s WORKING!”

“It’s barely working!”

All Might moved again.

Bakugou barely blocked the next hit before getting driven hard into the ground, concrete splintering violently beneath him.

“Katsuki!”

Rage flashed instantly across Midoriya’s face.

One For All exploded violently through his arm as he slammed into All Might from the side hard enough to finally force him away from Bakugou.

The recoil immediately tore through Midoriya’s arm afterward, pain twisting sharply across his face.

“There!” Midoriya shouted through gritted teeth. “Move now!”

Bakugou pushed himself upright with a curse while smoke curled from his gauntlets.

For the first time since the fight started, the three of you moved together naturally.

Midoriya cleared debris ahead of you with controlled bursts of One For All while Bakugou blasted apart anything blocking the path to the gate. You kept All Might from closing the distance again, lightning cracking sharply across the arena floor every time he got too close.

Not enough to hurt him.

Just enough to slow him down.

Half a second was all the three of you needed.

The exit gate finally came into view through the smoke.

Midoriya’s eyes widened instantly.

“We’re close!”

Behind you, another impact shook the entire arena.

All Might was still coming, closing the distance far too fast.

The gate was right there.

Ten feet.

Five—

Then All Might appeared directly in front of you.

Fast.

Too fast.

Bakugou’s expression changed instantly.

You knew that look.

The second his grip around your waist tightened, you understood exactly what he was about to do.

Stay behind.

“Don’t you dare—”

Before either boy could react, static exploded violently across your skin as you shoved both Bakugou and Midoriya hard enough to send them stumbling straight through the exit gate together.

“Y/N?!” Midoriya shouted.

Bakugou’s eyes widened instantly.

“The hell are you doing?!”

You forced yourself upright despite the pain tearing through your ribs, weak sparks snapping violently across your fingertips as you turned toward All Might alone.

For half a second, everything felt strangely still.

Then you glanced back toward Bakugou.

“I can protect you too, you know.”

Bakugou froze.

Then lightning exploded outward.

The pressure beneath your skin screamed instantly as electricity detonated across the arena in a violent burst of white and blue. Thunder cracked hard enough to shake the entire training zone while the arena lights flickered violently overhead.

This time, you didn’t lose control.

Every spark moved exactly where you wanted it to.

The blast slammed into All Might head-on hard enough to force him backward through the smoke.

Pain ripped through your body immediately afterward.

Too much.

Way too much.

Your knees nearly buckled beneath you, but the gate was still open.

So you forced yourself forward.

One shaky step.

Then another.

Weak sparks flickered painfully across your skin as you crossed through the exit gate.

The alarm blared instantly across the arena.

PASS.

Relief barely had time to settle before your legs finally gave out beneath you.

“Oi—!”

Bakugou caught you before you could hit the ground.

One arm wrapped tightly around your back while the other hooked beneath your knees instinctively, pulling you fully against him as unstable static flickered weakly across your skin one last time before finally fading.

“I’ve got you, idiot.”

Your eyes lifted toward him weakly.

And somehow, despite the exhaustion dragging painfully through your entire body— you smiled.

Small.

Soft.

Completely trusting.

Then your eyes slipped shut.

Bakugou froze.

For a second, nobody spoke.

Then All Might laughed from the other side of the arena.

“Young Bakugou! Young Midoriya! Young Y/N!” he boomed proudly. “THAT was true hero teamwork!”

But Bakugou barely seemed to hear him.

His eyes stayed locked on you instead.

Your breathing was still uneven, face pressed against his shoulder while he held you bridal style against him.

Completely unconscious.

Something twisted painfully in his chest.

Idiot.

Complete idiot.

Throwing yourself in front of All Might.

Overusing your quirk again.

Protecting him like that.

And somehow—

somehow the only thing Bakugou could think while holding you against him was how unbelievably badass you’d looked standing there alone.

Static tearing through the arena.

Smirking at him like you weren’t about to collapse.

His grip tightened slightly around you.

Idiot.

His idiot.

| Prev | Next | Masterlist |

The bus ride to the USJ was louder than it should’ve been that early in the morning.

Kaminari and Mina had somehow managed to start arguing less than ten minutes after everyone sat down, voices overlapping loudly enough to echo through the bus while Kirishima tried—and failed—to drag Bakugou into the conversation beside you.

“C’mon man,” Kirishima complained from across the aisle. “You have to have a favorite pro hero.”

“I don’t.”

“That’s literally impossible.”

“Tch. They’re all extras.”

A few seats ahead, Midoriya turned slightly in his seat before speaking up.

“You definitely have one,” he said. “You used to talk about All Mi—”

“Shut up Deku.”

The response came instantly.

Midoriya sank back into his seat.

Kaminari blinked. “…Okay, wow.”

“You walked right into that one,” Jiro muttered.

You sighed quietly from beside Bakugou. “One day you’re gonna answer a question like a normal person.”

“Tch. Sounds terrible.”

That finally earned a laugh out of you.

Outside, the city blurred past in streaks of gray and gold beneath the early morning light.

For the first time since getting into UA, things actually felt comfortable.

Beside you, Bakugou nudged his shoulder lightly against yours.

“You falling asleep or what?”

You glanced sideways towards him. “Maybe.”

“Tch. Pathetic.”

“You woke me up at five in the morning.”

“And?”

“You’re lucky I tolerate you.”

Bakugou scoffed quietly, but there was something almost amused in it.

Across the aisle, Mina narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Oh my god,” she whispered dramatically to Jiro. “They’re getting worse.”

“We can hear you,” you deadpanned.

“That’s because I want you to.”

Bakugou clicked his tongue beside you. “Ignore them.”

You snorted softly. “Trying to.”

Kaminari pointed from the back of the bus. “See? That right there.”

“Oh, they’re absolutely going to get married eventually,” Mina whispered loudly.

“What was that?” you asked.

“Nothing!”

The noise on the bus slowly settled as the massive doors of the USJ came into view outside the windows.

Even from a distance, the building looked enormous.

Kaminari leaned forward. “No way…”

The second the bus doors opened, everyone started talking at once again as Class 1-A spilled out into the entrance area.

The inside of the USJ somehow felt even bigger once you stepped inside.

Different disaster zones stretched out in every direction beneath the massive dome overhead, flood zones, collapsed buildings, burning cityscapes, and rescue areas spread throughout the facility like entire miniature worlds.

“Whoa…” Kirishima muttered. “This place is insane.”

“It’s amazing,” Midoriya said quietly nearby.

You glanced upward toward the ceiling instinctively, faint static prickled across your skin at the sheer size of the space.

Beside you, Bakugou clicked his tongue quietly.

“About time we got to do something real.”

“You say that like Aizawa hasn’t been trying to kill us all week,” you muttered.

“He’s not trying hard enough.”

“That’s concerning,” Jiro said flatly from nearby.

A few students laughed quietly as the class slowly gathered near the center platform.

“Welcome!”

The sudden voice echoed dramatically throughout the USJ.

Several students jumped slightly as a figure in a black suit stepped forward near the center of the facility.

“The space hero: Thirteen!”

Almost immediately, excitement spread through the class again.

Thirteen lifted a hand toward the class as everyone gathered closer near the center platform.

“I know most of you are excited,” she began, her voice echoing softly through the massive facility, “but before we begin, there’s something important I want you all to understand.”

The energy around the group settled a little after that.

Even Bakugou stopped talking long enough to listen.

“My quirk is called Black Hole,” Thirteen continued. “It can turn anything into dust.”

A few students straightened at that.

“It’s a power meant for rescue,” she explained, “but like any quirk, it can be dangerous if used carelessly.”

You felt Bakugou shift beside you.

“Many heroes focus so much on capturing villains that they forget how important it is to save people first,” Thirteen continued. “Today is about learning how to protect lives during disasters.”

The massive rescue zones surrounding the class suddenly felt more real after that, less like training grounds and more like places built to imitate actual tragedy.

Beside you, Bakugou scoffed under his breath.

“Obviously.”

You glanced sideways toward him. “You say that now.”

His eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means your version of rescue training probably involves explosions.”

“That’s because explosions solve problems.”

“That is deeply concerning.”

A few people nearby laughed.

Even Aizawa looked tired already.

Then—

The lights flickered.

Small enough that most of the class barely noticed it.

But the static prickling across your skin sharpened instantly.

Your head lifted toward the center of the USJ.

A dark mist had started gathering near the lower plaza.

At first, nobody moved.

Kaminari blinked “Uh… is that part of the training?”

The pressure in the air changed sharply, wrong in a way that made every instinct in your body tighten.

Beside you, Bakugou’s posture shifted immediately.

“Mr. Aizawa,” he said sharply.

The exhaustion vanished from Aizawa’s expression as he stepped forward, eyes narrowing toward the forming mist below.

“…Everyone stay back.”

And then the portal opened.

Figures started emerging from the portal until there were dozen of them spread across the plaza.

The entire USJ went silent.

Unease settled heavily in your stomach.

Those weren’t training robots.

Those were villains.

“What is this?” Midoriya muttered.

At the center of the growing crowd, a pale hand pushed through the mist first.

Then another.

A man stepped forward slowly, fingers dragging against his neck as red eyes scanned lazily across the facility.

Behind him, something massive moved.

The creature standing near the back of the group barely looked human.

Several students froze instantly.

“Well,” the pale-haired man said slowly, looking around the facility with visible disappointment, “this isn’t All Might.”

Aizawa stepped forward immediately, placing himself between the villains and the class without hesitation.

“Thirteen,” he said sharply, “protect the students.”

Whatever exhaustion Aizawa had carried earlier was gone now. This wasn’t training anymore.

Besides the pale-haired villain, the dark mist shifted violently before forming into a taller figure wrapped almost entirely of black fog.

“A warp quirk…” Midoriya muttered nearby.

The mist-like villain bowed politely.

“Good afternoon,” he said calmly. “We are the League of Villains.”

The words sent a sharp chill down your spine.

“We have come here to kill All Might. The symbol of peace.”

Several students visibly froze at that.

The pale-haired villain titled his head slightly. “It would seem he is not here. Maybe if we start killing students he’ll decide to show up.”

Aizawa pulled his capture weapon free in one smooth motion.

“Like hell I’m letting you touch my students.”

Then he launched himself directly into the crowd of villains.

The class stared in shock as he tore through them almost instantly, capture weapon snapping through the air while villains dropped around him one after another.

“He’s incredible,” Kaminari breathed.

But while everyone’s attention stayed on Aizawa—the mist villain moved.

Dark fog surged upward toward the platform.

“Please do not worry,” he said calmly as the black mist spread slowly across the stairs. “We are not so barbaric as to attack children without reason.”

Bakugou moved before you could even process it. 

Explosions burst violently from his palms as he launched himself straight toward the mist without hesitation.

Kirishima reacted at the same time, following Bakugou.

“We’re not letting you do whatever you want.”

“Kacchan, wait!” Midoriya shouted.

Too late.

Bakugou’s explosion blasted directly into the center of the fog. 

For half a second, the mist twisted violently around the attack before reforming again.

Then the villain spoke.

“If you would allow me…”

The black mist surged outward sharply across the platform.

“…let us show you the difference between real heroes and villains.”

Cold rushed over your skin instantly.

The fog wrapped violently around the class, swallowing the stairs beneath your feet.

“You see,” the villain continued calmly, his voice echoing through the darkness around you, “this facility was designed to simulate disasters and accidents.”

The pressure around you spiked painfully.

“But what better place,” he asked softly, “to experience death?”

Your footing vanished beneath you.

Static cracked violently across your fingertips as the darkness pulled at your body.

Somewhere nearby, students shouted.

Then—

Bakugou turned.

His eyes locked onto you just as the portal started dragging you backward into the fog.

He moved instantly.

Your hand reached toward him at the exact moment his fingers brushed yours.

Then the mist ripped you away from each other.

And the world disappeared.

Freezing water crashed into you hard enough to steal the breath from your lungs.

For one disorienting second, all you could see was darkness and bubbles as the portal finally released you into open water.

Lightning cracked violently beneath your skin before you even realized your hands had lifted.

You broke through the water with a sharp gasp.

Around you, massive waves slammed against ruined ships scattered throughout the flood zone while artificial rain hammered down from overhead.

The USJ looked completely different from here, smaller and much further away than it had from the central platform.

Your breathing still hadn’t steadied.

Static crackled sharply across your fingertips again.

“Y/N!”

You turned at the sound of Midoriya’s voice.

A few feet away, Tsuyu floated calmly near one of the broken boats while Midoriya struggled to stay above water beside her, Mineta clinging to him in full panic.

“We need to move!” Midoriya shouted over the sound of the water.

Like he summoned them, several villains started surfacing nearby.

Your stomach dropped instantly.

There were too many of them.

A sharp pulse of pressure rolled through the air around you again.

Tsuyu’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Your quirk.”

“I know,” you snapped before forcing yourself to breathe slower.

The static around your hands flickered harder.

You couldn’t afford to lose control here.

Midoriya’s expression tightened immediately.

“Hey,” he said quickly. “Look at me.”

Your eyes snapped toward him.

“You’re okay,” he continued firmly. “You still have control.”

For half a second, all you could hear was your heartbeat pounding against your ribs.

Then—

Another crack of lightning split across your fingertips. 

Not gone.

But controlled enough.

Midoriya noticed immediately.

“There,” he said quickly. “See?”

You forced yourself to inhale slowly despite the adrenaline still clawing through your chest.

“…Right.”

Another wave crashed hard against the ruined boats nearby. 

Then one of the villains lunged toward you.

Lightning cracked violently from your hands before the villain could even reach you. 

The blast slammed into him hard enough to send him flying backward into the water, electricity flashing briefly across the surface around him before fading beneath the waves.

For half a second, the entire flood zone lit up white.

A low rumble of thunder rolled overhead in response.

Several villains hesitated.

Not because of the attack itself, because of the atmosphere surrounding it.

Rain hammered harder against the water now while wind whipped sharply across the flood zone, waves crashing harder against the ruined ships scattered throughout the area.

Midoriya’s expression tightened as the rain started falling harder.

“Your quirk’s affecting the weather again,” he said.

“I know,” you snapped, harsher than you meant to.

Static burned painfully across your fingertips again.

Another villain moved through the water toward you.

Tsuyu reacted before anyone else, her tongue snapping outward fast enough to slam the villain backward beneath the surface again.

More villains were starting to spread through the flood zone now, surrounding your group slowly enough that it almost looked coordinated.

Your eyes darted toward one of the ruined ships floating farther out across the water.

“We need to move,” you said quickly. “There.”

Before either of them could answer, you started forcing your way through the water toward the damaged ship.

Midoriya followed close behind, Mineta still clinging tightly to him as he struggled to stay above the surface.

“Why are there so many of them?!” Mineta cried. “This is not how I die!”

Tsuyu moved beside the two of them much more calmly. “Please keep swimming.”

The ruined ship grew larger the closer you got, rusted metal creaking loudly as waves slammed against its side.

By the time you fully grabbed onto the edge of the deck, your arms already ached from fighting the current.

Tsuyu pulled herself up first with ease before turning back toward the rest of you.

Midoriya practically shoved Mineta onto the ship before climbing up after him, breathing hard.

You hauled yourself onto the deck last, water dripping heavily from your costume as you forced yourself back to your feet.

The flood zone looked even worse from up here.

Villains spread across the water in every direction now, slowly closing the distance around the ship while the waves rocked violently beneath them.

Mineta looked seconds away from passing out.

“We’re trapped,” he said weakly.

“We are not trapped,” Tsuyu corrected calmly. “But we should probably do something quickly.”

Midoriya wiped water from his face before looking back across the flood zone, expression tightening as he started piecing things together.

“They separated us on purpose,” he said. “Every zone probably has villains assigned to it already.”

Your gaze drifted toward the distant center of the USJ again automatically.

Still too far away.

Still no sign of anyone else.

A sharp pulse of static rolled painfully beneath your skin before fading again.

Midoriya noticed the movement of your hand tightening against the railing but didn’t say anything this time.

Instead, he looked back toward the villains surrounding the ship.

“They think we can’t fight well in the water,” he realized. “That’s why they sent us here.”

Tsuyu blinked once. “That is because Mineta and Midoriya would drown.”

“HEY.”

Despite everything, a short laugh escaped you.

Mineta looked personally offended. “I could totally survive!”

“You are currently shaking,” Tsuyu pointed out.

“I am reacting normally to imminent death.”

Another wave slammed against the side of the ship hard enough to make the metal groan beneath your feet.

The villains surrounding the flood zone had started closing in faster now. One climbed onto a nearby piece of wreckage while another moved through the water toward the side of the ship, both watching your group carefully like they were waiting to see who would panic first.

Your fingers tightened slightly against the rusted railing.

Midoriya noticed the shift, his expression changing as another idea started forming.

“They’re expecting us to stay here,” he said suddenly.

Tsuyu looked toward him. “Meaning?”

“If we move first, we can break through before they completely surround the ship.”

Mineta stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “Break through with what?!”

Midoriya’s eyes flicked briefly toward you before drifting toward the water surrounding the ship.

Your stomach tightened.

“No,” you said before he could explain.

“I’m not saying you lose control,” he said quickly. “Just enough to create an opening.”

Another spark snapped across your fingertips as your gaze drifted across the water again.

Electricity and water were a dangerous combination even when your quirk was completely under control.

Right now, you weren’t sure it was.

Midoriya seemed to realize the problem the second your expression tightened.

“We don’t need a massive attack,” he said quickly. “Just enough to force them back so we can move.”

Your eyes dropped toward the water again.

The villains were still closing in slowly, confident enough now that some of them had stopped hiding it entirely.

They thought you were cornered.

Tsuyu crouched near the edge of the ship, watching the movement below carefully. “If we stay here much longer, they’ll surround the entire boat.”

Mineta made a distressed noise somewhere behind you. “I really hate how calm you are right now.”

“She’s always like this,” Midoriya said absentmindedly before looking back toward you. “Can you do it?”

You looked out across the water one more time before nodding once.

“Yes,” you said. “But you guys need to get off the boat first.”

Midoriya blinked. “What?”

“Electricity and water don’t exactly mix,” you muttered. “If I hit the water from up here while you’re still on the ship, there’s a good chance you’ll get caught in it too.”

A spark snapped sharply across your fingertips to emphasize the point.

Mineta nodded quickly. “I support this plan completely.”

Tsuyu’s eyes shifted toward the villains moving closer through the water. “We are running out of time.”

As if to prove her point, movement suddenly spread through the flood zone.

The villains surrounding the ship had started closing in faster now, waves crashing harder against the wreckage as several of the pushed through the water toward your group all at once.

Midoriya’s expression sharpened instantly.

“They know we’re trying to move.”

Another spark snapped painfully across your fingertips as you stepped closer to the edge of the ship.

Then the first villain reached the side of the wreckage.

The second he grabbed onto the side of the ship, you moved.

“Go,” you said sharply. “And stay out of the water.”

Midoriya looked toward you for half a second before Tsuyu reacted, grabbing both him and Mineta as she leapt off the side of the ship and started toward one of the narrow concrete platforms lining the flood zone.

Another villain pulled himself onto the deck with a snarl, water dripping from his arms as he lunged toward you. Lightning cracked violently from your hand before he could even touch you, the blast sending him flying backward hard enough to shake the ship beneath your feet.

Your eyes snapped back toward the others. 

Tsuyu reached the platform first before pulling Midoriya and Mineta onto solid ground beside her.

The second you saw all three of them clear the water, you turned back toward the villains.

They were already closing in around the ship, spreading through the water fast enough now that your chest tightened at the sight.

Your fingers curled against the rusted railing as static snapped painfully across your skin.

Then you lifted your hands.

Lightning exploded outward in a violent crack of light.

Electricity tore across the surface of the flood zone hard enough to illuminate the entire USJ while thunder roared overhead in response. Several villains cried out before collapsing beneath the surface while the rest recoiled violently, scrambling backward as sparks snapped wildly across the water around them.

For one horrible second, the electricity kept spreading farther than you meant it to.

Static burned painfully through your arms before the lightning finally disappeared, leaving the flood zone eerily still around the ruined ship.

Your breathing hadn’t fully steadied by the time Tsuyu’s tongue snapped toward you from the platform.

“Y/N,” she called.

You grabbed onto it carefully before she pulled you across the remaining stretch of water and onto solid ground beside the others.

Mineta stared at the water in horror. “That was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Midoriya looked toward you instead, something close to amazement crossing his face.

“You controlled it,” he realized softly.

Another weak spark flickered across your fingertips before fading again.

“..Barely.”

The word came out weaker than you intended.

The lightning fading from the water should’ve brought relief, but instead your entire body felt painfully overloaded, static still crawling beneath your skin hard enough that your hands trembled when you lowered them

Your hearing rang faintly.

The storm overhead hadn’t fully settled either.

It still pulsed somewhere deep beneath your ribs, unstable enough that another spark snapped weakly across your fingertips before fading again.

Staying upright suddenly took far more effort than it should have.

Midoriya noticed first.

“Y/N—”

A massive crash cut him off.

The concrete platform shook violently beneath your feet as something slammed through the side of the disaster zone behind you, debris exploding outward into the flood area.

Your head snapped upward.

Aizawa hit the ground hard several feet away, blood running down the side of his face as his capture weapon dragged uselessly across the concrete beside him

Before anyone could react, the massive creature from earlier crashed down on top of him.

Midoriya froze instantly.

“Mr. Aizawa!”

The creature pinned him down effortlessly; one massive hand wrapped around his face hard enough to crack the ground beneath him.

Your stomach twisted violently at the sight.

Then another figure stepped through the settling debris behind them.

Pale hair.

Hands attached against his whole body.

Red eyes drifting lazily across the flood zone before finally stopping on you.

On the fading sparks still flickering weakly across your fingertips.

Aizawa’s expression tightened instantly despite the blood running down his face.

“Shigaraki,” he snapped.

The villain’s eyes flickered toward him briefly before settling back on you again.

 “So that was your student?” he asked softly. “The one causing all that lightning.”

Every instinct in your body screamed at you to move, to attack, to do something.

But the second you tried to lift your hand, another violent pulse of static tore painfully through your arm.

Your quirk wouldn’t respond.

Shigaraki noticed immediately, a slow smile pulling across his face as he started walking toward you.

“Oh,” he murmured. “You’re drained.”

Midoriya froze beside you.

Not because he wanted to, but because fear had rooted him to the spot. The creature pinning Aizawa down looked impossibly strong up close, one massive hand crushing against his face hard enough to crack the concrete beneath him while blood spread across the platform around them.

Even Tsuyu had gone tense.

Shigaraki kept walking toward you like he already knew none of you could stop him.

Static snapped weakly across your fingertips on instinct, but the sparks died almost as quickly as they appeared. Your body was too overloaded to force your quirk into working properly anymore.

Shigaraki finally stopped directly in front of you.

Up close, he looked even worse somehow. The hands across his body, the constant scratching at his neck, the empty look in his eyes—

fear crawled violent down your spine.

You tried to force your quirk to respond again.

Nothing.

Shigaraki titled his head slightly as he looked down at the fading sparks flickering across your fingertips.

“That quirk is dangerous,” he said softly. “If you survive long enough to master it, you’ll become a serious problem later.”

Your stomach twisted.

“All Might keeps collecting these irritating little threats,” Shigaraki continued, fingers twitching against his neck. “Maybe I should get rid of one.”

Then he reached toward you, his hand closing around your throat.

Your body locked up instantly.

You waited for pain, for something to happen. But nothing did,

Shigaraki paused.

Confusion flickered briefly across his face before his eyes shifted behind you.

Across the platform, Aizawa forced his head upward despite the creature still pinning him brutally against the concrete. 

His eyes glowed red.

A slow grin pulled across Shigaraki’s face.

“Erasure,” he said softly, almost amused. “You really are cool.”

You could see the strain across his face now, blood running heavier down his arm as the massive creature pinning him down tightened its grip against him.

Shigaraki noticed too.

His expression sharpened instantly.

“You’re reaching your limit, Erasure.”

Behind him, the creature suddenly lifted Aizawa off the ground with one massive hand wrapped around his head.

Concrete crumbled beneath where he’d been pinned moments earlier.

Midoriya froze.

“Aizawa—”

The creature raised him higher.

Like it was preparing to crush him completely.

Shigaraki’s fingers twitched slightly against your throat as his attention shifted back toward you, red eyes flicking toward the weak sparks still struggling to form across your fingertips.

You couldn’t do anything, and Aizawa was running out of time.

Then a shockwave tore through the USJ.

Wind exploded violently across the flood zone hard enough to send water crashing against the sides of the platform.

Everyone froze.

Even Shigaraki.

A familiar voice echoed through the facility.

“I am here!”

Midoriya’s eyes widened instantly.

“All Might—”

The next impact shook the entire flood zone.

A blur of red, blue, and gold shot past the platform before crashing into the destroyed training zone behind Shigaraki fast enough to split the concrete beneath them.

The force alone sent water surging violently outward across the flood zone.

Shigaraki released you instantly, jumping off the platform as All Might caught the creature’s arm before it could crush Aizawa completely.

Before you could even process what was happening, another force suddenly grabbed your wrist.

Explosions burst through the air around you as someone launched both of you away from the platform fast enough to steal the breath from your lungs.

You barely registered where you were being taken until the noise of the fight dulled slightly, the two of you landing hard near one of the damaged training zones farther from the center of the chaos.

“Kats—”

“Are you hurt?”

Bakugou’s voice came sharp and immediate as he grabbed your shoulders, red eyes moving across you quickly like he was checking for injuries before you could even answer.

Static still flickered weakly across your fingertips, but the violent pressure in the air had already started easing.

“I’m okay,” you managed.

Bakugou looked at you for another second like he was making sure you meant it.

Then suddenly—

his arms were around you.

The force of it nearly knocked the air from your lungs again.

For half a second, you went completely still in shock.

Bakugou never hugged anyone,

Ever.

But before you could even think about it, your arms wrapped tightly around him too.

His grip tightened briefly against your back.

“Tch,” he muttered, quieter this time. “Good.”

Another weak crackle sparked against his shoulder before fading again.

Bakugou pulled back just enough to look at you fully, and whatever he saw made his expression tighten immediately.

Your breathing still hadn’t steadied.

Your hands were still trembling.

And the sparks flickering across your skin looked weaker now. Unstable.

“You overdid it,” he said quietly.

You tried to shrug it off. “I had it under control.”

“Bullshit.”

The answer came instantly, but there wasn’t any real bite behind it this time.

Bakugou’s eyes flicked briefly toward your hands again before settling back on your face.

“I saw the lightning from across the damn USJ,” he muttered. “Thought you were trying to kill yourself or something.”

Despite everything, a weak laugh escaped you.

The sound seemed to loosen something in his expression, just slightly.

“You scared me, idiot,” he said softly.

Your chest tightened hard enough that another spark cracked weakly across your fingertips.

Then your eyes caught something dark near the side of his temple.

Blood.

Your expression changed instantly.

“Kats…”

Bakugou frowned slightly. “What?”

“You’re bleeding.”

His hand lifted automatically toward the side of his face before he shrugged it off like it didn’t matter.

“It’s nothing.”

But the second he said it, your stomach twisted harder.

Because he was hurt.

And suddenly all you could think about was how close Shigaraki had gotten to you…and how easily Bakugou could’ve been caught in that fight too.

The static around your hands flared sharply again.

Bakugou noticed immediately.

Something in his expression shifted before he reached up, gripping your arms firmly enough to ground you.

“Hey.”

Your eyes snapped back toward his.

“I’m okay,” he said, steadier this time. “You hear me? I’m fine.”

The static around your hands flickered once more before finally starting to settle.

Then, before you could even respond, Bakugou pulled you back against him again. 

This time the hug felt different.

Less frantic.

Still tight enough that you could feel the tension in him, but steadier now, like he was trying to calm both of you down at the same time.

Your hands tightened instinctively around him.

The second they did, Bakugou pulled you even closer against his chest, holding onto you like letting go wasn’t an option anymore.

“Next time,” he muttered quietly against your hair, “we’re staying together.”

Your chest tightened painfully at his words.

Outside the ruined training zone, the sounds of fighting still echoed throughout the USJ.

But wrapped in each other’s arms, the rest of the chaos suddenly felt very far away, the only thing either of you were able to focus on was each other.

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Taglist: Open (Send me a message or ask to be added)

The quirk apprehension test had been worse than you expected. 

Not because you failed—you hadn’t—but because UA didn’t really give you time to breathe. The second one thing ended, another started, and somewhere between Aizawa threatening to expel half the class and Bakugou somehow treating every exercise like a personal attack, you realized pretty quickly that this place wasn’t going to get easier. 

Still, you were keeping up.

The days had passed and you had settled into a rhythm faster than you expected. Training, classes, more training. Somewhere in the middle of all of it, you stopped feeling like you were trying to catch up and started feeling like you actually belonged there.

Or at least, you were starting to.

“Again.”

You barely had time to steady yourself before another explosion went off to your left, heat brushing past you as Bakugou moved without hesitation.

“You couldn’t give me like… two seconds to recover first?” you muttered, catching your balance again.

“You’re still standing, aren’t you?”

You shot him a look just as another blast sparked toward you. Instinct kicked in before thought did this time, lightning cracking from your fingertips fast enough to intercept the explosion before it reached you.

The impact burst outward in a sharp flash of heat and light. 

Not perfect but controlled.

Which, honestly, felt like progress.

Another explosion sparked toward you almost immediately after.

You reacted faster this time.

Lightning surged from your hand in a sharp crack of light, forcing Bakugou to shift sideways before it could hit him directly. The blast slammed into the concrete behind him hard enough to split through the ground, spiderweb cracks spreading outward from the impact point.

For a second, everything went still.

Then—

“Well, that was terrifying.”

You turned at the sound of Mina’s voice, startled enough that the remaining static around your fingertips flickered out immediately.

A group from Class 1-A had wandered in at some point without either of you noticing. Kirishima looked impressed more than anything else, while Kaminari stared openly at the cracked concrete behind Bakugou like he was trying to figure out whether he should be concerned or impressed. 

“It wasn’t that bad,” you said automatically.

Bakugou snorted beside you. “Yeah, it was.”

You shot him a look.

“What?” he said. “You almost hit me.”

“I knew you’d move.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, but there was something almost amused in it.

“Tch. Obviously.”

Kaminari blinked between the two of you before looking back toward the cracked concrete behind Bakugou.

“Okay, hold on,” he said. “Is your quirk like mine?”

You let out a quiet breath, the remaining static around your fingertips finally starting to settle.

“Not really.”

“But it is electricity,” Kaminari said.

“Lightning,” Bakugou corrected immediately.

Kaminari frowned. “That still sounds the same.”

“It’s not,” you said, finally looking back toward the group. “My quirk is called Overcast.”

Everyone looked at you waiting for you to continue.

“It lets me generate and control lightning, but it also affects the atmosphere around me. Pressure changes, static in the air, cloud buildup… things like that.”

Almost like it was reacting to being mentioned, another faint spark crackled across your fingertips.

Jiro narrowed her eyes slightly. “Okay, no, the air literally changed.”

“It does that sometimes,” you admitted.

Kirishima looked more impressed than he did when he first walked in. “Wait, seriously? Your quirk can control storms?”

“Not completely,” you said. “It reacts more to my emotional state than anything else. The stronger the emotion is, the stronger the storm gets.”

“The lightning itself is easier to control now,” you added. “I can usually keep it focused.”

A faint spark flickered across your fingertips again, smaller this time, controlled.

Mina’s eyes lit up immediately. “Okay, that’s actually so badass.”

“That is so much cooler than mine,” Kaminari said immediately. 

You let out a quiet laugh before glancing down at your hands briefly.

Kirishima looked back toward the cracked concrete again before glancing at you. “So how do you even train something like that.”

You hesitated before answering the question.

“A lot of practice,” you admitted. “And a lot of trying not to panic.”

Another faint spark flickered across your fingertips before disappearing again.

“When my quirk first manifested, I couldn’t control the output very well. The lightning reacted faster than I could.”

Your gaze dropped briefly towards the crack in the ground before continuing. 

“The first time it happened, I caused an actual storm.”

Mina blinked. “An actual storm?”

You nodded once. “I was upset, and the weather reacted with it before I even realized what was happening. The pressure changed first, then the lightning started.”

The memory still sat strangely heavy in your chest, even now.

“I didn’t know how to stop it.”

The group had gone noticeably quieter now. 

Not uncomfortable. Just listening.

Jiro frowned slightly. “That must have been terrifying.”

“It was,” you admitted honestly. “I spent a long time being scared of my own quirk after that.”

A quieter crackle sparked across your fingertips again before fading.

“But it’s easier now,” you continued after a second. “The more control I have over myself, the easier it is to control my quirk.”

Kirishima looked genuinely impressed. “That’s actually incredible.”

Bakugou clicked his tongue beside you.

“She still almost hit me twice.”

You snorted softly. “That sounds like a you problem Kats.”

That earned a few looks from the rest of the group.

Mina’s eyes narrowed slightly as she looked between the two of you.

“So are you guys a couple or what?”

You nearly choked on air.

Bakugou looked personally offended by the question. 

“What the hell kind of question is that?”

“A valid one,” Mina said immediately.

“You literally tried to electrocute him,” Kaminari added, “and somehow that was the least concerning part of this conversation.”

“We train together,” you said.

“A lot,” Jiro pointed out.

Bakugou clicked his tongue. “So?”

“So,” Mina repeated slowly, “you call him Kats.”

You blinked. “Because we’re best friends?”

The silence that followed was immediate. 

Kaminari looked at Mina. Mina looked at Jiro. Jiro physically turned away to hide her reaction.

“…Oh,” Mina said carefully.

You frowned slightly. “What?”

“Nothing,” Jiro answered way too quickly.

Bakugou looked irritated now. “The hell’s wrong with you extras?”

“That explains literally nothing,” Kaminari muttered.

You rolled your eyes. “You’re all reading way too much into this.”

“Are we?” Mina asked.

“Yes.”

“Obviously,” Bakugou added.

That somehow made the group react even worse.

Mina stared at the two of you for another second before pointing dramatically.

“You realize you’ve been standing shoulder to shoulder this entire conversation, right?”

You blinked.

Only then did you actually notice the way your shoulder had been brushing against Bakugou’s the entire time.

Neither of you had moved away.

“…Okay, and?” you asked.

Kaminari made a noise somewhere between frustration and disbelief.

“Oh my god,” Mina groaned. “You’re both hopeless.”

Bakugou looked deeply offended by that statement. “The hell does that mean?”

Before anyone could answer, the training room doors opened again.

Aizawa stepped inside looking as exhausted as ever, capture weapon hanging loosely around his shoulders.

His gaze swept across the group briefly before landing on the destroyed section of concrete behind Bakugou.

There was a pause.

“I’m not even going to ask.”

“In our defense—” Kirishima started.

“I didn’t ask,” Aizawa interrupted flatly.

That shut him up pretty quickly.

Aizawa sighed, already looking tired of the conversation. “We’re leaving early for the USJ tomorrow, so it’s time to wrap training up for the day.”

Almost immediately, the mood in the room shifted.

Conversations started up again almost instantly, the rest of the class reacting with varying levels of excitement at the mention of rescue training.

Bakugou clicked his tongue beside you. “Finally.”

Aizawa’s eyes shifted toward you both. “Try not to destroy another facility.”

His gaze flicked once toward the cracked concrete behind him before he turned and walked back out of the room.

The rest of the group slowly started filtering out after that, conversations overlapping as everyone headed toward the doors.

You stayed where you were for another second, staring down at the damage split through the concrete floor.

“…Okay,” you admitted quietly, “maybe I almost hit you twice.”

Bakugou snorted beside you. “Told you.”

You rolled your eyes slightly. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Tch. Your control’s getting better.”

The words caught you off guard enough that you looked at him fully. 

He was already looking back at you, expression steady and certain like the compliment was the most obvious thing in the world.

Like he’d never doubted it for a second.

Something warm settled in your chest.

“Thanks Kats.”

You started toward the door, but his hand caught around your wrist before you made it more than a few steps.

You blinked, glancing back at him. “What?”

He nodded once toward your hands.

Only then did you notice the faint sparks still crackling across your fingertips.

“…Oh.”

You exhaled quietly, forcing the remaining static to settle beneath your skin until the sparks finally disappeared.

But even after the sparks were gone, he didn’t let go right away.

Your eyes lifted back to his.

He was already looking at you, expression unreadable in a way that made your chest tighten unexpectedly.

Heat crept into your cheeks before you could stop it. 

Then Bakugou clicked his tongue softly, finally dropping your wrist.

“Tch. You coming or what?”

And just like that, he turned and started toward the door like nothing had happened.

You stared after him for a second longer than you probably should have, heat still lingering in your cheeks as you watched him walk ahead of you. 

“Yeah,” you muttered, following after him.

You missed the faint flush that crept across Bakugou’s face as he walked ahead of you. 

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Getting into UA didn’t feel right at first. 

Even after the acceptance, even after everything that led up to it, there was still a part of you that expected it to fall apart somehow. Like maybe it had been a mistake, or you’d missed something, or someone would realize you didn’t belong there after all. 

Bakugou didn’t seem to have that problem.

“Tch. Took them long enough,” he said, like the entire process had just been an inconvenience.

You rolled your eyes, adjusting the strap of your bag as you walked beside him. “Yeah, I’m sure they were really worried about keeping you waiting.”

“They should’ve been.”

“Of course they should’ve,” you muttered. “How could they possibly run without you?”

He shot you a look.

You didn’t even try to hide the smile that came with it.

UA was bigger than you expected.

Not just the buildings or the grounds, but everything about it. The atmosphere felt different, heavier in a way that wasn’t uncomfortable, just… important. Like everyone there knew exactly why they were there, and no one was pretending otherwise. 

For a second, you hesitated.

Not enough for anyone around you to notice.

But Bakugou did.

“Don’t start,” he said, not even looking at you.

You frowned slightly. “I’m not—”

“You are.”

You exhaled quietly, adjusting your grip on your bag again. “I was just—”

“Thinking too much.”

You huffed, but it didn’t land the way you wanted it to. Not when he said it like that, like it wasn’t even a question.

“…You’re annoying.”

“Yeah.”

You shook your head, but you stepped forward anyway. 

The classroom wasn’t quiet. Not even close.

Voices overlapped the second you walked in, people talking over each other, introductions happening all at once in a way that should’ve felt overwhelming but didn’t. It wasn’t anything like before—no hesitation, no space being made around you like something might go wrong. No one was watching you carefully or waiting for you to slip.

You stayed near Bakugou without really thinking about it. You always did. The room was loud, full of overlapping conversations and people trying to figure each other out, but it didn’t feel like something you had to navigate carefully. 

If anything, it felt almost… peaceful. 

You barely had time to take it in before—

“Kacchan!”

The voice cut through the room, sharp enough to pull your attention instantly. You turned toward the doorway, already recognizing it before you even saw him.

Izuku stood there, slightly out of breath like he’d rushed to get there, his eyes landing on Bakugou like nothing else in the room mattered. You hadn’t seen him in a while—not like this, not here.

Bakugou didn’t hesitate.

“Don’t call me that,” he snapped, the shift in his tone immediate and sharp enough that it cut through the noise around you.

Izuku didn’t seem to stop, already talking like the tension wasn’t there. “Kacchan, you got in too?”

Bakugou moved before the words had even settled, crossing the room in second and grabbing the front of Izuku’s uniform, pulling him forward hard enough that it drew attention from the people around you.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded, his grip tightening. “How did you get in?”

Izuku stumbled slightly but didn’t pull away, his words coming out quick, uneven. “I passed. I’m in the hero course too—”

“You?” Bakugou cut in, disbelief bleeding into irritation. “Don’t mess with me.”

You watched him for a second, the tension in his shoulders sharper than what you were used to now, but not unfamiliar. It wasn’t new—it just wasn’t the version of him you’d been standing beside lately. 

You stepped forward just slightly, not enough to make a scene, just enough to be heard.

“You’re gonna get kicked out before we even start,” you said, your voice quieter now, steadier. Then, softer—“Kats… it’s not worth it.”

His grip didn’t loosen right away.

For a second, nothing changed, the tension holding just long enough to make it feel like it might not.

Then his eyes flickered toward you.

That was enough.

He let go—not gently, but enough to break the moment.

Izuku stumbled back, catching himself before he could fall.

You glanced at him briefly. “You good?”

He nodded quickly, still a little thrown. “Y-yeah. Thanks YN.”

Bakugou clicked his tongue, already turning away like the whole thing wasn’t worth his time anymore. “Stay out of my way.”

The tension lingered for a second longer, then something else cut through it.

“Cut it out.”

The voice came from the front of the room, flat and uninterested in a way that still managed to carry.

You followed it, your attention pulling forward with everyone else’s.

A man stood at the front of the room like he’d been there the entire time and no one had noticed—

wrapped in a yellow sleeping bag.

You blinked.

His expression didn’t change.

“Sit down.”

You moved without really thinking about it, stepping past a few desks before dropping into the seat just behind Bakugou.

“Great. You’re all here,” he continued, like this was the least interesting part of his day. “I’m Aizawa. Your homeroom teacher.”

There was a pause.

“Change into your gym uniforms and meet me outside,” he said. “You have eight minutes.”

“Wait, what? Why?” someone asked.

“If you aren’t out there in eight minutes, you will be expelled from the hero course.”

The room moved all at once, chairs scraping back as everyone rushed for the door, conversations picking up again in a different way this time—less casual, more urgent.

You stood, adjusting your bag as you fell into step behind Bakugou.

“What do you think he’s going to have us do?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just keep up.”

You huffed quietly, glancing at him.

“I always do.”

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I didn’t think I’d ever see Bakugou again after that day,

But he never really left.

At first, it wasn’t obvious. It wasn’t like he suddenly started following you around or going out of his way to talk to you every chance he got. If anything, it was the opposite. He showed up the same way he always had—abrupt, uninvited, and entirely uninterested in whether you were expecting him.

But he stayed.

Somewhere between the moments you expected him to walk away, and the ones where he didn’t, it stopped feeling temporary. He was just there, like it had always been that way, like it didn’t need to be questioned or explained. And somehow, without either of you really deciding it, that turned into something more.

A few years passed and things didn’t really change. He was still there, right by your side. 

The first time he told you to use your quirk, you thought he was joking.

You had been outside; in the same open space you always ended up in when neither of you had anywhere else to be. It wasn’t anything official—just a stretch of ground far enough away from everything else that he didn’t have to worry about holding back his quirk.

You had been sitting off to the side, watching him.

He didn’t ask you to. You just... stayed there. It had become a habit somewhere along the way, the same way he had. Watching him move, watching the way his quirk worked—loud, controlled, deliberate in a way yours had never quite been—it made something in your chest settle instead of tighten. 

Another blast rang out, sharp and bright, kicking up dust as he adjusted his stance without hesitation. There wasn’t any second-guessing in it, no pause between intention and action. It just happened.

You envied that.

You didn’t realize you were staring until he glanced over.

“What?”

You blinked, looking away quickly. “Nothing.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push it either. Instead, he let out another controlled blast, smaller this time, more precise, before dropping his hand back to his side like it hadn’t taken any effort at all. 

Then he looked at you again.

“Do it.”

You glanced at him, frowning slightly. “Do what?”

“Your quirk.”

You let out a quiet breath, shaking your head. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want to,” you said, like that should’ve been enough.

It wasn’t.

“That’s not a reason.”

You shot him a look. “It is for me.”

He didn’t respond right away, just watched you for a second longer than necessary, like he was waiting for you to change your answer on your own.

You didn’t.

“Then you won’t get any better,” he said finally, like it was obvious.

You frowned. “I didn’t say I was trying to get better.”

“Then what are you doing?”

You opened your mouth to answer—and paused. You didn’t actually have an answer.

“Exactly.”

You shifted your weight, irritation creeping in now, but not quite enough to shut the conversation down. “You make it sound easy.”

“I didn’t say it would be easy.”

You held his gaze for a second, like you were trying to decide if that was supposed to help. It didn’t, not really, but it also wasn’t wrong in the way you wanted it to be. There wasn’t anything to argue with, not without admitting he had a point.

You exhaled quietly, your shoulders tightening before you forced them to relax again. “You make it sound like I can just… do it.”

“You can.”

You frowned. “That’s not how it works.”

“It is,” he shot back, like there wasn’t any room for doubt. “You just keep stopping yourself.”

You looked away, your fingers curling slightly at your sides as that familiar tension built again, not as overwhelming as it had been before, but still there.

“…I’m not stopping myself.”

“You are,” he said again.

You huffed under your breath. “You don’t even know—”

“I know its strong.”

That made you pause.

You glanced back at him, caught off guard by how quickly he said it, like it wasn’t something he needed to think about.

“Not nearly as strong as mine,” he added, a little sharper now, like he wasn’t about to pretend otherwise. “But still strong.”

You didn’t say anything.

“You just don’t use it,” he continued. “So of course its gonna feel like that.”

Your grip tightened slightly. “Like what?”

“Out of control,” he said. “Messy.”

You flinched a little at that, even if it wasn’t meant to hit like it did. 

“Then fix it,” he went on, like that was the obvious next step. “If you don’t, you’re not getting anywhere.”

You frowned again. “I didn’t say I needed to—”

“If you want to get into UA with me, you do.”

That stopped you.

You looked at him properly this time, searching for something in his expression that suggested he didn’t mean it the way it sounded.

He didn’t look away.

“I’m getting in,” he said, like it wasn’t even a question. “So are you.”

You blinked. “That’s not how that works.”

“It is if you don’t screw it up.”

You let out a quiet breath, something between disbelief and frustration. “You’re unbelievable.”

“And you’re wasting time.”

You rolled your eyes, but there wasn’t as much bite to it this time. The words stuck more than you wanted them to, sitting somewhere in the back of your mind where you couldn’t ignore them completely.

“You’re so annoying,” you muttered.

“Yeah,” he said. “I know.”

You exhaled slowly, your shoulders tightening before you forced them to relax again. The familiar pressure was already there, building just beneath the surface like it always did when you thought about using it, but this time you didn’t push it away right away.

You hesitated—not because you couldn’t, but because you weren’t sure what would happen if you did. 

“What if I hurt you?” you asked, quieter now, your gaze flicking back to him.

He didn’t even blink.

“You’d actually have to hit me first,” he said with a smug grin.

You stared at him, somewhere between offended and caught off guard.

“You’re overthinking it,” he said before you could speak. “Just concentrate.”

You frowned, but it didn’t land the way it usually did. Not when he was standing there like it didn’t matter, like you weren’t something he needed to be careful around.

“If this goes wrong,” you said, more firmly this time, “it’s on you.”

“It won’t”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

You held his gaze for a second longer, like you were waiting for him to change his mind.

He didn’t.

You huffed quietly under your breath before turning your attention away from him, forcing yourself to focus instead.

The feeling built quickly—tight, sharp, familiar—but instead of shutting it down like you usually did, you held it there, steadying it before it could slip out of control.

Just for a second

Then you let it move.

The crack in the air was small, controlled in a way that it hadn’t been before. It didn’t spiral. Didn’t snap outward or pull anything else with it. It landed exactly where you meant it to, sharp but contained.

You stilled, your breath catching slightly as the sound faded.

“…That was—”

“Again.”

You blinked, turning back to him. “You’re kidding.”

“I’m not.”

You stared at him for a second, then let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh. “You’re actually unbelievable.”

“And you’re still standing there.”

You rolled your eyes, but you reset your stance anyway, the hesitation from before already starting to fade.

“…Fine. Again.”

This time, you didn’t wait as long.

The pressure came easier, building without the same resistance you were used to, and when you let it go, it followed through cleaner than before.

Not perfect.

But better.

“Again,” he said.

You huffed. “Do you know any other words?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “Use your quirk.”

You shot him a look. Noticing the smirk on his lips. “You’re soooo helpful.”

“I know.”

You tried again.

And again.

Somewhere between the fourth and fifth attempt, something shifted. It wasn’t dramatic, not enough to feel like a breakthrough, but enough that it stopped feeling like you were fighting it every time. The energy held its shape longer, steadier, reacting to you instead of against you.

You lowered your hand slowly, glancing at him. “That one was actually good.”

“It was fine.”

You narrowed your eyes. “You’re impossible.”

“And you’re slow.”

You let out a quiet laugh this time, shaking your head slightly. “Whatever you says Kats.”

The name slipped out without much thought. 

You paused for half a second—then decided you didn’t care.

He did. 

“…What did you just call me?”

You shrugged, like it wasn’t a big deal. “It’s shorter.”

“It’s stupid.”

“You answered to it.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“You literally just did.”

He clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed, but he didn’t tell you to stop.

Which was enough.

You smiled slightly, resetting your stance again. “Again, Kats?”

He shot you another look, sharper this time. But he didn’t correct you.

“Yeah,” he said, like it should have been obvious. “Again, brat.”

You blinked.

“…Did you just call me a brat?”

“You are one.”

You let out a quiet laugh, shaking your head as you reset your stance again, the hesitation from before already gone.

“Unbelievable.”

“You gonna stand there all day or what?”

You rolled your eyes, but you didn’t hesitate this time. The movement came easier, more natural than it had before, and when the crack of lightening followed, it landed exactly where you meant it to, with just the right amount of force behind it.

That was the start of it.

After that day, it became your thing. You'd go out to the clearing and practice, working on making your quirks stronger together.

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The next time it happened, it wasn’t nearly as big.  

There were no dark clouds swallowing the sky, no lightning splitting through trees or shaking the ground beneath your feet. It came smaller this time, sharper in a way that didn’t need to be loud to be noticed. A flicker in the air, a crack too quick to trace back, just enough to make people look. 

Just enough to make them step away. 

It didn’t take long for things to change after that day. 

Your parents stayed the same in all the ways that mattered. They didn’t hesitate around you, didn’t speak differently, didn’t treat you like something fragile or dangerous all at once. But outside of that, the shift was harder to ignore. People gave you space without meaning to. Conversations thinned when you got too close. The kind of quiet that wasn’t really quiet at all. 

You noticed. 

You couldn’t really stop yourself from noticing.  

They didn’t always say anything, not at first. It was quieter than that. The way conversations dipped when you walked too close. The way space opened around you without anyone acknowledging it. The way parents called their kids back a little sooner than they used to. 

You noticed.  

You couldn’t really stop yourself from noticing. 

“You’re gonna hit someone one day.” 

You didn’t look up right away. The words weren’t new anymore, just louder than they used to be. 

“I won’t,” you said, quieter than you mean to. 

“Yeah?” another voice cut in. “Then what was that the other day?” 

You shook your head, trying to find the right words before they slipped away. “It wasn’t— 

I didn’t—” 

“You didn’t mean to,” they said, mocking, like that made it worse instead of better. “That’s the problem.” 

Something tightened in your chest, quick and familiar, the edge of something you still didn’t know how to control. You forced it down before it could build, your fingers curling slightly at your sides. 

“I said I won’t,” you repeated. 

They stepped closer. 

“Then prove it.” 

You barely had time to react before one of them shoved you. 

It wasn’t hard enough to really hurt, but it was enough to throw you off balance, your foot catching wrong as you stumbled back and hit the ground. The impact knocked the breath out of you more than anything else, your hands scraping against the pavement as you tried to push yourself up.  

The shift came immediately. 

Not the sky this time. Not like before.  

Just a sharp crack in the air, sudden and wrong, close enough to make everyone flinch. 

You froze.  

So did they. 

For a second, no one moved. 

“See? I told you—” 

“Shut up.” 

The interruption cut cleanly through the moment, sharp and immediate. You looked up before you could stop yourself.  

He was already there. 

You hadn’t seen him walk over, hadn’t noticed when he stepped in, but he stood just a few feet away now, his attention fixed on them with a look that didn’t waver. There was nothing uncertain about it, nothing hesitant in the way he held himself. 

“Are you done?” he asked, his tone flat, like their answer didn’t matter. 

No one responded. 

He didn’t wait for one. 

“Then leave.” 

It wasn’t loud. It didn’t need to be. Something in the way he said it settled into the space anyway, heavy enough that it shifted the mood without effort. After a second too long of standing there, they backed off. 

You stayed where you were a second longer, your hands still braced against the ground, your breathing uneven as you tried to catch up with everything that had just happened. The sharp edge of it hadn’t fully faded, not from your chest, not from the air.  

He stepped closer. 

“Get up.” 

The words were simple, direct, and completely unbothered by what had just happened. You blinked, a little thrown off by how normal he sounded, like none of what happened was worth reacting to. 

“I’m fine.” you said quickly, even though you hadn’t moved yet. 

He didn’t react to that. “Didn’t ask.” 

There was a brief pause, just long enough for you to realize he wasn’t going anywhere.  

Then he held his hand out.  

It wasn’t hesitant. It wasn’t careful. It was just there, steady and expectant, like it didn’t occur to him that you wouldn’t take it. You looked at it for a second, unsure what to do with that, with him, with the fact that he was still standing there at all.  

“You gonna sit there all day or what?’ he added. 

You let out a quiet breath before reaching up, your hand smaller in his as he pulled you to your feet in one smooth motion. The sudden shift made you unsteady for a second, your balance catching late, but he didn’t let you go right away. His grip stayed firm jsut long enough to steady you before easing back without making it a moment.  

You pulled your hand away first. 

“...You didn’t have to do that,” you said, quieter now. 

“I know.” 

The answer came easily, like it didn’t matter one way or the other. His attention flickered briefly toward where the others had gone before settling back on you; his expression unchanged. 

“You gonna keep letting them talk like that?” 

You hesitated, your fingers tightening slightly at your sides. “No.” 

It didn’t sound convincing. 

He noticed. 

“Then don’t.” 

You frowned, more confused than anything. “That’s not really—” 

He cut you off before you could finish. “Doesn’t matter.” 

There was no sympathy in it. No attempt to soften the words. Just honesty, blunt and straightforward in a way that didn’t leave much room to argue. 

You weren’t sure what to do with that. 

“You’re not scared?” you asked before you could stop yourself. 

He looked at you like the question didn’t make sense. 

“Of what?” 

You hesitated, your hands tightening again. “Of me.” 

That made him pause, just slightly. 

Then— 

“No.” 

The answer came without hesitation, certain in a way that didn’t leave space for doubt. 

“Should I be?” he added, a little sharper now, like the idea annoyed him more than anything else. 

You shook your head quickly. “No, I just—” 

“The stop acting like it.” 

Your breath caught—not because of how he said it, but because of what it meant. 

He didn’t see you the way everyone else did. 

And for the first time since your quirk showed up, you didn’t feel like something people needed to stay away from.  

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The day it happened the sky was clear.

The kind of clear that didn’t ask for your attention, where the blue stretched without interruption and the sun sat warm against your skin. Nothing about if felt like it was about to change. It was the kind of day that moved exactly the way it was supposed to, steady and predictable, where nothing ever really went wrong.

You were supposed to be watching him.

He had been right there only a moment ago, circling back the way he always did, never wandering too far before returning on his own. You had seen him—knew exactly where he was—and then, just as quickly, you hadn’t. When you turned, expecting to find him somewhere just outside your line of sight, there was nothing waiting for you. The yard stretched out the same as it always had, familiar in every direction, but suddenly too open, too empty.

At first, it didn’t feel like anything serious. You called his name the way you always did, expecting the sound of movement, the quick return of something familiar. When nothing answered, you tried again, louder this time, stepping forward like closing the distance might bring him back. The silence lingered longer than it should have, pressing in slowly, turning something small into something sharper.

He always came back.

That thought settled in deeper the longer the quiet stayed. You moved again, this time less certain, scanning the edges of the yard, the fence, the trees just beyond it. Everything looked the same, unchanged, but the absence of him made it feel wrong in a way you couldn’t ignore. Your chest tightened, not all at once, but gradually, the kind of feeling that builds before you realize it’s there.

“Please…” you said on the verge of tears.

You turned again, faster now, searching harder, like effort alone would fix what had already slipped out of place. Your breathing lost its rhythm somewhere between one step and the next, uneven and shallow, and the space around you felt too large all at once, like it had stretched without warning.

That was when the air changed.

Clouds had gathered without drifting, thick and uneven, pulling across the blue too quickly to make sense. The change was abrupt, unnatural in a way you didn’t have words for, and it made something in your chest tighten further, sharper now, harder to ignore.

You tried to speak, but the words didn’t come out right.

Because the pressure wasn’t just around you.

It was inside you.

It climbed higher, filling your chest until it felt like there wasn’t enough space to hold it, like everything you were trying to keep steady was slipping at once. Your hands trembled without you meaning them to, your vision blurring slightly at the edges as the feeling pushed outward, too big and too fast for you to understand.

You didn’t know what to do with it.

You didn’t know how to stop it.

The first strike came before you could think.

Lightning split the sky with a force that didn’t belong to something so sudden, cutting through the air and striking the tree just beyond the yard. The sound followed immediately after, sharp and overwhelming, echoing through you as much as around you. You froze where you stood, your gaze locked on the place it hit, on the splintered bark and the thin trail of smoke that rose slowly into the air.

Nothing about it made sense.

You hadn’t moved. You hadn’t touched anything. You hadn’t done anything at all.

And yet it had happened.

Your hands lifted slightly, unsteady, like you were expecting to find something there—some explanation you could hold onto—but there was nothing.

Just the same trembling, the same pressure still building, still rising without slowing down.

When it surged again, it was stronger.

The second strike came closer, close enough that the ground seemed to shift beneath you, the sound cracking through the air before you could react. You stumbled back instinctively, your breath breaking as panic rushed in faster than you could control. The storm didn’t hesitate. It didn’t wait. Each shift in your chest, each uneven breath, seemed to pull something else with it, something louder, more violent.

Another strike followed, then another, each one faster than the last, the sky responding in a way that felt less like weather and more like something answering you directly.

You tried to speak, to say anything that might make it stop, but the words fell apart before they reached your mouth. Nothing slowed. Nothing changed. The pressure inside you didn’t ease—it built, feeding into something you couldn’t hold back no matter how hard you tried.

By the time you realized what was happening, it was already too late to separate yourself from it.

This wasn’t random. 

This wasn’t the sky.

This wasn’t something happening around you.

It was you.

And the storm didn’t stop.

The backdoor slammed open behind you.

You didn’t turn away. The sound barely registered through the ringing in your ears, through the uneven rhythm of your breathing, through everything that hadn’t quite settled yet. The storm had eased, but it hadn’t left. It lingered in the air, in the distant roll of thunder, in the way the sky still felt too heavy.

Your name carried across the yard.

That was what pulled you back.

You turned slowly, unsteady, your vision still blurred at the edges as you tried to focus on something that wasn’t the sky. Your parents had come outside, pausing at the edge of the yard for just a second.

They had seen it.

Not just the lightning. Not just the sky shifting where it shouldn’t have.

You. 

“I didn’t—” your voice broke before you could finish, your head shaking quickly like that alone might undo it. “I didn’t do anything.”

Your mom didn’t hesitate.

She crossed the distance and pulled you into her arms.

“It’s okay,” she said, firm in a way that didn’t leave room for doubt. “Hey—look at me. It’s ok.”

You couldn’t stop shaking.

“I didn’t mean to,” you managed, the words catching as you tried to hold onto them. “I didn’t know—”

“I know,” she said again, softer this time, one hand coming up to the back of your head, keeping you there when you might have pulled away. “I know sweetheart. It’s alright.”

Her grip didn’t loosen. 

Not even for a second.

Your dad stayed where he was for a moment longer, his gaze lighting briefly to the sky before returning to you. Something in his expression tightened—not with fear, but with the kind of concern that didn’t have a clear answer.

Then he moved.

It wasn’t rushed, not like your mom. Just steady. Certain.

He stepped in beside her, one hand settling carefully against your back, more grounding than holding, like he didn’t want to overwhelm you but wasn’t going to stay away either.

The storm hadn’t come back, but it hadn’t fully passed either. The air still felt wrong, still heavy with something that hadn’t settled, and the sky above you hadn’t returned to the clear blue it had been before.

But neither of them stepped away.

If anything, the space around you felt smaller now, held together by the way they stayed close, the way neither of them let go.

A soft thud of paws against the ground pulled faintly at your attention, something familiar cutting through the noise still lingering in your head.

Before you could look, something warm pressed against you, circling once in a way that felt achingly familiar. Lucky pushed in close, tail wagging hard enough to brush against your legs, before rising just enough to lick at your face, insistent and grounding.

He settled a second later, pressing against you again, his head resting against your shoulder like he always did, like nothing had changed.

“We’ll figure it out,” she said quietly. Okay? We’ll figure it out.”

You didn’t know how.

You didn’t know what this was, or what it meant, or how something like this could have come from you without warning.

But they didn’t let go. 

And for now, that was enough.

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Masterlist:

Summary:

at sixteen, a mark appears on your wrist—quiet proof that someone out there is yours.

you don’t know who until your eyes meet—and then, you just know.

you learned early not to hold back.

bakugou katsuki wouldn’t have let you anyway.

Pairings: bakugou katsuki x reader

Status: coming soon

Updates: once a week (hopefully)

Warnings: language, bullying, mild violence, emotional theme

Taglist: open-send me a message to be added

One: The First Storm

Two: Unafraid

Three: In Tandem

Four: A Different Rhythm

Five: Like Second Nature

Six: Eye of the Storm

Seven: What We Don't Say

Eight: Stay Close

Nine: Empty Spaces

Ten: Second Nature

Eleven: The Hour Between